September's BONUS One-Liner of the Month

The following is an excerpt from "September 13, 2009 -- Never Forget -- Rest in Peace, Dad":

"Always remember, never forget, remain resilient -- strength is everything when pain strikes the heart."

September 13, 2009 -- Never Forget -- Rest in Peace, Dad

If you look up at the sky at any moment, it's likely that a steel bird is flying in the heavens miles above your head. September 11, 2001 was the first time in as long as I've been alive that there wasn't.

It's been eight years since the terrorist attacks on America's soil. We all know this -- and still, it's hard to fathom.

2,752 souls perished that day out of hatred and spite. That's not fair.

When thinking of those days events, I find it hard to recall how it felt in the moment. However, what I do feel is the sense of loss. I understand it now. And although it's not of the same magnitude, a day like this helps to put my past eight months in perspective.

Between the dates of January 17 and August 22 my family lost four integral members.

Now -- I know what you're thinking -- that's nowhere near the same as waking up one morning on a September day in New York City to the death and destruction of your loved ones due to a terrorist attack. However, the pain induced from losing a loved one remains a difficult concept to muster.

I do not have the time to mourn those lost on September 11th, but I do understand how their families must feel. It's my dad's birthday on Sunday and it's the first one he won't be attending.

There will be no obligatory phone call complete with the birthday song. There will be no gift exchange or golf-themed birthday cards. His laugh won't be ringing in my ears after getting off the phone with him because of how loud it was. And in a nut shell -- that hurts.

As a nation, we must never forget the swift actions taken against our country in an effort to shake our spirits. As a young woman, I am obligated to take the past eight months and rise above them -- just as the American people continue to rise above terrorism.

Eight years ago I sat around the kitchen table watching the news with my sister, mother, dog (RIP Coco), and dad as the news played the attacks on a loop. We were lucky we had each other. We were glad we had a reason to celebrate life -- in particular, my father's 46th birthday.

Eight months ago I sat at that same table while watching the inauguration of our nation's first black president -- without my dog and without my dad. Nothing feels right anymore and nothing is the same, but if America can make it through the worst terrorist attack on our own soil then anything's possible.

Always remember, never forget, remain resilient -- strength is everything when pain strikes the heart.

Wells, The New Wood? -- This Year's Rookie Makes His Mark

Randy Wells pitching at Nationals Park, July 2009. Photo By: R.H. Levitin

It’s been almost a year since Chicago northsiders said farewell to their favorite homegrown pitcher of recent memory – Kerry Wood. The man who started his career with the Cubs as the 1998 Rookie of the Year cemented what became a disappointing version of what we all knew and thought would end up being a Hall of Fame tenure. But we know how that story ends.

The 2003 season didn’t just spell disaster for the Cubs but for one of the best starting line-ups the team had ever utilized. From there on out, the once invincible pitcher found himself a regular spot on the disabled list due to shoulder/elbow problems (we can all thank Dusty Baker for that). Since then, Wood has shifted from an ace starter to set-up man to closer and no longer sports the blue and red of Chicago, but rather the navy and red of Cleveland.

Chicago lost one of their favorite sons in off-season trades between the 2008 and 2009 seasons but there was a gain in all of this – Randy Wells.

The Cubs came off of back-to-back National League Central Division championships with the hope that this year would end up being “the year” all Cubs fans and team members hope to achieve. This is a club that came into 2009 with a $135 million payroll and 6 former All-Stars and somehow they managed to mess up Piniella’s plan for victory.

"Names don't win baseball games," Piniella told the Chicago Tribune. "Production wins baseball games.”

And the Cubs offense is doing the opposite of that.

"We're going to score about 160-170 runs less than we did last year," Piniella continued. "That's a lot of offense to lose. That's a dozen or 15 games on a win or loss column. ... To me, that's the biggest reason we find ourselves in the position we're in."

What the Cubs do have is a rookie pitcher who is the sole member of this year’s pitching staff to surpass single digits in the win column.

Wells is one hell of a pitcher. In Tuesday night’s 4-1 victory over the Houston Astros, he allowed one unearned run over 6 2/3 innings which is the first time a Cubs rookie has reached a double digit victory count since Wood’s 13 in 1998. Only five other Cubs rookies have compiled a record of double digit wins over the last 40 seasons: Rick Reuschel (10 wins in 1972), Burt Hooton (11 wins in 1972), Mike Harkey (12 wins in 1990), and Geremi Gonzalez (11 in 1997).

Is it possible that we have a new Kerry Wood on our hands? It might very well be. Wells remains positive about the rest of the season while staying modest about his rookie achievements.

"I'm not trying to reach any plateaus or win any awards," Wells told the Tribune. "Every time they give me the ball, I just try to do my job."

September's One-Liner of the Month

The following is an excerpt from "Obesity of the Brain":

"Technology is man spooning himself information."

Obesity of the Brain: Why Man Can't Find The Answers He's Looking To Find

“All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again.”

These wise words spoken by the Battlestar Gallactica cast during the re-imagined series (running between 2005 and 2009) define validity … even when spoken outside the realm of a Sci-Fi plot construction.

It has dawned upon this blogger that the cliché is correct – life moves in a circular pattern with an occasional pause on its way coasting through eternity.

First, there’s school. Who doesn’t remember the early morning wake-up calls where parents yell through every corridor of the house and kid grunts and rolls around in bed hoping to grab a few more seconds of shut eye because it feels so damn good in that warm cocoon of a bed.

Now, there’s work. The same morning struggle of getting out of bed remains but the parents are no longer supporting characters in this particular scene. The kid has transformed from a wide-eyed leading roll youngster with a potential case of dimples to a full-on, bill-paying, alcohol-consuming adult who has to wake themselves up in the morning.

A once simple task seems daunting now what with the technological advances of today’s society. Before, your father’s voice in the morning was all the alarm clock needed. Now, a cell phone on vibrate substitutes for the human voice.

How do you know what to wear to work for the day? Before, opening your front door or window helped you gauge the blaze of the heat outside or the frost covering the streets. Now, logging-in to weather.com answers all questions including what the weather will look like over the next 10 days.

Technology is man spooning himself information. The constant saturation of junk food-for-thought in cyberspace is enough to crowd the human mind and leave the brain swelling from too much STUFF. Forget physical obesity, our brains are fat enough due to the over saturation of useless information flooding our thoughts. Think about it.

A strong health regiment for the brain is just what people need. A few calisthenics should do the mind a little good. Some newspaper (in print, not online) columns in the morning, a cross word puzzle at lunch, classic or modern novels before bed – these would all help solve obesity of the brain.

This blogger would like to propose an experiment. All Chicago to DC readers, please, I beg you to oblige. Take a risk. Turn off that computer when you get home from work at night. Don’t even bother turning the television on, what good will it do anyway (evening news/post-bad day movies are exceptions to this rule?) Write friends you haven’t seen in awhile a letter instead of a wall post on their Facebook (yes, permission to ask them for their address via a Facebook message is granted for this endeavor.)

Society has lost focus of what’s good. We turn to our mistakes and continue to harp on them. Why not go back to what worked instead of attempting to discover a new alternative? Maybe the best decision we can make for the future is to utilize the past for our benefit. It worked once, it will work again – but we have to try if we want the answers.

August's One-Liner of the Month

Forget all reason and logic -- human instinct is the best indicator of desire.

Free Happy Hour: Who Cares?

Today marks a first in my brief stint with life so far -- I won a free happy hour. Then, within minutes of being notifying of this wonderful evening in which yours truly can drink for free for two hours while treating her friends to cheap rail drinks and the like ... I lost that loving feeling and was reminded of the economic woes that continue to strike fear into the hearts the American majority.

All anyone seems to talk about anymore is money -- or rather -- their lack there of.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, unemployment is up to 9.4% as of the end of July.

Minimum wage was raised to $7.25 July 24 but that's not helping anybody.

Here's what's really going:

The majority of my fellow graduates from the class of 2009 are unemployed. Those who aren't deserve whatever salary they're making due to the fact that they worked the system and got the "good-enough-for-now" means to their end.

Then there are the volunteers and interns. You know the saying "Freedom isn't free?" Well neither is blood, sweat, and tears being poured into a job that you either wont end up getting or is sucking your soul.

The worst part is -- all the work stuff is during the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (more or less). But no-no, money woes don't stop at 5 p.m. They carryover!

Nightlife is miserable. I've even heard it compared to being as close to the Depression era as we ever hope to get. Sure people still go out, get hammered to forget day-to-day woes of a cruel boss, taxes, bills, and the like. But where are they getting the money to do it?

I can only speak from experience. So here's the truth. None of us have the money. We're faking it. And if you're not faking it -- call me. I want in on the presidential flash cards trading game.

There's nothing I'd rather do than spend $7 on an overpriced gin and tonic at some trendy yuppie bar instead of buying a couple frozen dinners. And I know I'm not alone in that.

There's one request left to file. Where are the people with the jobs, living the life I crave and how can I get them to give me one? Sharing is caring people, didn't you learn that in kindergarten? Everyone deserves a salary.

After all, life is about going out and doing what you want to do when you want to do it -- just as long as you show up on time to your job the next day.