Darkness and Light

Thank Mitra It's Friday!

"Hot enough for you? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Dallas Atrocity

On Thursday night there was a horrific sniper attack in Dallas, where a group of shooters deliberately targeted police officers. At least five officers were killed, and many more wounded.


There isn't a lot of solid information available yet about what happened or why, but
of course that hasn't stopped some people from trying to capitalize on the atrocity to advance a political agenda.

That kind of shameful behavior comes from all points on the political compass, and none of it is worth reading. None of it.

I'll spend a lot of time today praying for the loved ones of the killed and wounded, and waiting for a more complete explanation of what took place...

Cruise Update

Today my best friend Skip and his wife Elaine spent the day in Qaqortoq, one of the larger towns in Greenland...

The highlight of their day was a visit to the Upernaviarsuk Experimental Farm and Gardening Center...

"Today was their last day in Greenland, right?"

Correct...they'll be at sea again tomorrow, then back to Iceland briefly before flying home on Monday evening...

Walk Off

Last night my beloved Kansas City Royals returned to Kauffman Stadium following a 3-5 road trip and mired in a four-game losing streak. Heading into the bottom of the 8th inning, they trailed the Seattle Mariners 3-0 and had only gotten four singles off of Mariners starter Jeff Paxton. Then they staged yet another wildly improbable rally, winning 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th inning.

"BAM!"

Starting All-Star C Salvador Perez began the rally with a lead-off single in the bottom of the 8th, and scored along with 3B Cheslor Cuthbert on a two-out, two-run single by CF Paulo Orlando.

In the bottom of the 9th with one out, Salvy banged a two-run double to center field, scoring 2B Whit Merrifield and PR Jarrod Dyson and giving the Royals the walk-off win.

"I just want to do what I can to contribute."

Royals starter Danny Duffy pitched well again, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing just two runs while striking out seven.

Rookie RHP Brooks Pounders
got his first major league win by pitching a 1-2-3 top of the 9th inning.

"Good to see that 'Never give up!' attitude is still there, eh?"

Yes...it has been a tough season so far, lots of injuries and losing streaks, but the Royals aren't dead yet...

Presidential Perks

From the pen of Chip Bok, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

The late 1970s weren't an especially memorable time for me in terms of popular music. The sound known as "disco" had taken over the airwaves thanks to the popularity of the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever. Even bands like The Rolling Stones were incorporating disco idioms into their music. I never much cared for the style.

Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty wasn't remotely interested in that style. His music was rooted in artists like The Beatles and Bob Dylan. After a relatively successful stint as part of the band Stealers Wheel, his career as a solo artist took off with his second solo album, City to City, released in January 1978.

On July 8, 1978 City to City reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, ending the 25-week reign of the Saturday Night Fever movie soundtrack. It only spent a week in that position, but for folks like me who were sick to death of the disco sound Rafferty's record was like water in the desert.

The album was one of the few
I owned in cassette format, so it got regular listens in my car for a couple of years until the tape finally wore out and broke. It produced three Billboard charting singles, including "Baker Street," one of the most recognizable hits of the late '70s.

Today's send-off is "The Ark," a song that was not released as a single in the U.S. but whose lyrics resonated with me, as I was less than a year removed from the death of my first wife. It has been in my "Tearjerkers" iTunes playlist from the beginning. Enjoy...