Books Read in 2017

"Woodlawn:  One Hope, One Dream, One Way" by Todd Gerelds, Mark Schlabach
"Finding My Road" by Ino Cantu, Thomas Woltz
"And The Walls Came Tumbling Down" by Frank Fitzpatrick
"Behind The Wall To The Boston Marathon 2016" by Bill O'Shields
"Unsportsmanlike Conduct:  College Football and the Politics of Rape" by Jessica Luther
"Living Out Loud:  Sports, Cancer, and the Things Worth Fighting For" by Craig Sager with Craig Sager II and Brian Curtis
"The Baseball Whisperer:  A Small-Town Coach Who Shaped Big League Dreams" by Michael Tackett
"Son of Bum:  Lessons My Dad Taught Me About Football and Life" by Wade Phillips with Vic Carucci
"The Plot To Scapegoat Russia:  How The CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Villify Russia" by Dan Kovalik
"Crisis Of Character" by Gary J. Byrne
"Big Data Baseball" by Travis Sawchik
"Coach Wooden And Me:  Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off The Court" by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
"Mighty, Mighty Matadors:  Estacado High School, Integration, and a Championship Season" by Al Pickett

New Restaurants in 2017 - 54

Across The Street Diner, Corsicana, TX (May 27, 2017)
Babe's Chicken Dinner House, Sanger, TX (October 11, 2017)
Bakers Ribs, Inc., Weatherford, TX (April 27, 2017) +
Beer 88, Lynchburg, VA (February 4, 2017) +
Blue Baker, College Station, TX (September 3, 2017)

Bodacious Bar-B-Que, Tyler, TX (August 12, 2017)
Bolivar Street BBQ, Sanger, TX (October 4, 2017)
Bone Daddy's House of Smoke, Denton, TX (November/December 2017)
Burger Time Machine, Denton, TX (July 12, 2017)
Casa Torres Mexican Restaurant, Decatur, TX (July 25, 2017)

Cowboy Chicken, Waxahachie, TX (September 28, 2017)+
Dix Coney Island, Denton, TX (May 24, 2017) +
Dos Chiles Grandes, Bridgeport, TX (July 11, 2017)
El Fenix, Denton, TX (November/December 2017)
Five Boys Ranch, Bridgeport, TX (April 18, 2017) +

Grumps Burgers, Cleburne, TX (May 10, 2017) +
Hamburger Depot, Lumberton, TX (June 19, 2017) +
Home D Pizzeria, State College, PA (June 24, 2017)
Joe's Pizza & Pasta, Decatur, TX (May 3, 2017)
Julio's Mexican Restaurant, Chico, TX (May 23, 2017)

Keller's Newberry Diner, Newberry, PA (June 24, 2017) +
Kincaid's Hamburgers, Weatherford, TX (June 22, 2017) +
Koffee Kup Family Restaurant, Hico, TX (July 22, 2017)
Kroll's Diner, Bismarck, ND (September 16, 2017)
Leeper Creek BBQ, Decatur, TX (September 26, 2017)

Little Frilly's Tex-Mex, Decatur, TX (October 3, 2017)
Luigi's Italian Restaurant, Denton, TX (October 17, 2017)
Lupi's Pizza Pies, Chattanooga, TN (July 8, 2017)
Mama Juanita's Mexican Restaurant, Huntsville, TX (May 29, 2017) +
McKenzie's Barbeque, Huntsville, TX (January 12, 2017)

Meyer's Elgin Smokehouse, Elgin, TX (May 28, 2017) +
Mi Casita Mexican Food, Waco, TX (January 21, 2017)
Mighty Fine Burgers, Round Rock, TX (May 27, 2017) +
MOD Pizza, Spring, TX (October 6, 2017)
MOOHYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, Denton, TX (August 1, 2017)

O'Charley's, Lynchburg, VA (May 11, 2017)
Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom, Waco, TX (June 1, 2017) +
Oscar's Mexican Restaurant, Abilene, TX (December 27, 2017)
Pancheros Mexican Grill, Bismarck, ND (September 16, 2017)
Pastafina Italian Ristorante, Weatherford, TX (May 31, 2017) +

Plaza Mexican Bar & Grill, Goodlettsville, TN (November 5, 2017)
Ray's Drive In, Lufkin, TX (January 9, 2017) +
Richie's Grill, Hawkins, TX (February 10, 2017)
Rio Mambo, Weatherford, TX (June 21, 2017) +
Rock City Burger Company, Bridgeport, TX (April 26, 2017)

Rooster's Roadhouse, Decatur, TX (June 6, 2017)
Slovacek's, West, TX (May 18, 2017) +
Stillwater Barbecue, Abilene, TX (December 28, 2017)
Sweet Boy's Diner, Bowie, TX (May 16, 2017) +
Verona Pizza & Italian Restaurant, Decatur, TX (Spring 2017)

Village Kitchen Restaurant, Jacksboro, TX (May 17, 2017)
Waverly House Restaraunt, New Waverly, TX (October 28, 2017)
The Woodhouse Restaurant, Bismarck, ND (September 15, 2017)
Yesterday's Diner, Bridgeport, TX (September 20, 2017)

A Good Day; December 10, 2017

I figured it out.

Yes, I figured out what I did today -- sometime between 4 and 7:30 a.m. this morning, that is.

Perhaps my best friend, Bill, was going to the B-CS Marathon in College Station to support the approximately ten runners in his training group that were running the marathon or half marathon.

I always enjoy the time that I get to spend with him.

And was possibly looking forward to hanging out with him earlier today.

Meanwhile, the 30K in Sugar Land is a race that I announced a couple of years for race director Andy Stewart.

I haven't continued just because I didn't have fun as there were a number of impediments - and absolutely nothing negative on Andy - for me doing the things I do well.

The biggest is Sugar Land's noise ordinance and no amplified sound prior to 7 a.m.

There's a rhythm that eminates from making pre-race announcements into the rest of the day and without being able to do that, it takes a lot of the good feel out of the job that I was doing.

I was meeting and exceeding Andy's expectations, but I didn't enjoy the process with the site logistics.

I had a friend that was participating in it and, of course, I knew many people that were running it.

To be in College Station for the 7 a.m. start, I would had to have been up and leaving shortly after 4 a.m.

And the time logistics were similar for the 30K and its 6:30 a.m. start.

As each half hour passed laying in bed, while still needing more sleep to recover from Friday evening and Saturday's adventures, the goals for the day changed.

At about 7:20 a.m., I realized that I could get up, get showered and make it to The Church Project for their 9 a.m. service.

I texted my friend Leanne and asked if she and her husband Jim were going to be there and she affirmed that they were.

I arrived just before the service started and a few minutes later, a mutual friend, Dawn, showed up.

While I have always enjoyed being in church - and sitting - with my family, especially my daughter, there was a different comfort in worshipping God together with my friends.

Even though I have visited there two or three times before, I had never heard their Pastor speak before and his message didn't disappoint.

It was from John 1 and spoke about how darkness is real, being without Jesus is being in darkness and that our entire life is darkness unless we let Jesus into it.

It supported his point that in this Christmas season that we as believers and followers of Jesus Christ have the light that the world needs - and that we need to share it more than we ever have in the past.

Leanne was adamant about me getting to meet their Pastor and I enjoyed the exchange.

They invited me to go to lunch with them at Cilantro's and as always, we had a great visit.  Like Bill, Leanne and Jim are among my very best friends.

I made it home, visited with my daughter for a little bit and then went to a pair of women's college basketball games.

First, I saw East Tennessee State University take on the University of Houston at Texas Southern University's gymnasium as Hofheinz Pavilion is undergoing renovations.

Then I went over to Houston Baptist University to watch them host Huston-Tillotson University, which is located in Austin.

The trip in for ETSU was so that Montgomery HS star Malloree Schurr was able to play in front of family and friends.

That's one of the college basketball traditions that I love.

It was really no contest as UH, which is pretty good this year, easily won a physical 88-69 contest with the Buccaneers.

Over at HBU, the Huskies struggled against Huston-Tillotson, which is a member of the Red River Athletic Conference.  (Prior to returning to NCAA Division I athletics, HBU was an RRAC member.)

Huston-Tillotson held the lead early in the third quarter and then later tied it at 70-all before dropping a 76-72 decision to the Huskies.

I then made stops at Barnes & Noble - to pick up a new book after finishing my most recent purchase, "Coach Wooden And Me:  Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off The Court", written by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - and HEB before making it home.

I had dinner, helped Waverly with some HR forms that she needed to complete (more on that in a week or two) and sat down to punch out the content here.

I'm glad I made it to church.  I need to be there more often.

If you're willing to allow God to feed your soul, it is a place to be fed, spiritually.

What Am I Going To Do Tomorrow?; December 9, 2017

How do you solve the "What do I want to do?" problem?

Or "What makes me happy?" dilemma.

I struggle with these two constantly it seems, but I'm not unhappy or depressed.

It is just that I don't have the same type of drive that others do.

I'm around endurance athletes alot.

I did what I originally set out to do and that was run a marathon.  I'd like to get one more in, but I'm thinking that it might not happen in January.

I can live with that.  I will support my daughter's effort to do her first completely.

I've finished 54.  That's more than some people who would like to finish one have done.

I'm thankful for the resources that I've been given to do those.

But it just doesn't mean anything to me to do an Ironman or qualify for Boston.

I think a large part of it is that in doing some of the things that I enjoy - writing, announcing, promoting others, etc. - my skill set is as strong as there is (when I want to do those things).

Meaning I'm in a higher percentile of those with my same interests.

Again, I'm thankful for those abilities and opportunities to use those skills.

Yet I sit here at 8:30 p.m. and ask myself, "What am I going to do tomorrow?"

Plenty of options, but I can't say that one is going to make me any more happy than the other.

Thus the dilemma.

Today was good.  I ran a 5K last night in La Porte, then drove to Lake Charles before the roads possibly froze (not that there was any precipitation or anything).

I ran the Swamp Stomp Half Marathon.  I ran OK.  I've got some issues I'm trying to figure out.

I was disappointed with the visibility or existence of mile markers on the course.

Never saw three of them before mile 7 (the only one with a sign).

Never saw eight or nine.  Time between seven and 10 seemed acceptable, but 15 minutes between 10 and 11?  I wasn't walking, which would have produced that.

And 2:31 for the last tenth of a mile?  No way.

Drive home was brutal coming across FM 1960 from Atascosita all the way to Cypresswood where I turn to go to my parents.

My grandmother was there.  She's 92 and got cleared to travel after some of her recent health challenges.  It was great to see her.

My cousin and his wife and their two girls were there.

Waverly came over and spent time playing with Aubree and then we had a good dinner at MOD Pizza over here by the house.

I have nothing to complain about.

I have much, much more than many people.

And with everything, I'm really, really thankful.