Sunday Potpourri No. 47

Rosary Month

There are many like it, but this one is mine.

The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary, so before Mass each Sunday this month here at
St. Peter's we have prayed the rosary together as a congregation.

Although it isn't necessary in order to participate, I like to bring my personal rosary with me to Mass
for such occasions...

On The Brink

Last night's World Series game once again lacked much drama, as the Indians beat the Cubs 7-2 in Game Four at Wrigley Field to take a commanding three-games-to-one lead in the series, which continues tonight with one more game at Wrigley.

Now 2-0, 12 IP, 0.75 ERA, 15 strikeouts

Indians starter Corey Kluber won his second game of the Series, holding the Cubs to a single run
on just five hits in his six innings
of work.

The Cubs managed just two hits over the final three innings, and have now scored just two runs total in their three Series defeats to this point despite having the second-best offense in the National League over the regular season.

"BOOM!"

Down 1-0 when the top of the
2nd inning began, the Indians got
a leadoff solo home run from
1B Carlos Santana to tie the score, then took the lead for good when Kluber's infield single resulted in
a throwing error by Cubs 3B Kris Bryant that allowed RF Lonnie Chisenhall to score what turned out to be the winning run.

A three-run home run by 2B Jason Kipnis in the top of the 7th put the game far out of reach.

"So, will the Indians be dancing on the field after the game tonight?"

Hard to say...the pitching match-up favors the Cubs, but the Indians are playing with
a lot of confidence right now...

A Pretty Good Day

Somewhat unexpectedly, considering the number of road games involved, my college football rooting interests had a pretty good day yesterday.

The Army Black Knights came from behind in the 4th quarter on the road to beat Wake Forest 21-13 and improve to 5-3 on the season.






Elsewhere, Boston College also staged a 4th quarter rally on the road to beat North Carolina State 21-14 and get back to 4-4, while Notre Dame rallied at home to defeat Miami 30-27. My best friend Skip's No. 24 Penn State Nittany Lions were tied 17-17
at halftime on the road at Purdue, but exploded in the second half and crushed the Boilermakers 62-24 to improve to 6-2.

The Iowa State Cyclones lost a close one at home, falling 31-26 to Kansas State. On the plus side, though, Nebraska suffered their first defeat of the season and the hated Kansas Jayhawks got bombed 56-3 by Oklahoma.

"Well, that explains why I heard so little cursing yesterday."

Yes, it was a pretty good day of college football outcomes...

Math Dorks On Halloween

From the droll comic strip FoxTrot, by Bill Amend, which you should read every Sunday.

Until Next Time...

On October 30, 1939 Grace Barnett Wing was born to upper middle class parents in Highland Park, Illinois. After considerable moving around during her childhood, Grace's family settled in Palo Alto, California, where she attended high school. She went on to attend college in New York and Florida before returning to California to get married.

By 1965 Grace Slick had helped form a band called The Great Society with her then- husband Jerry Slick and his brother Darby. That band went nowhere, but Grace's abilities as a vocalist and songwriter got her an invitation to join a more successful Bay Area band, Jefferson Airplane. That band's first album hadn't made much of a splash, causing their singer to quit in order to raise her child. With Grace's voice added to the mix, however, the new band lineup quickly found success.

On the day after she turned 27 in 1966, Grace joined the rest of her new bandmates to begin recording what became Surrealistic Pillow, one of the defining rock recordings of the 1960s.

Released in early 1967, the album wasn't a big seller right away, and the first single release didn't crack the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. The second single, however, was quite a different story.



"Somebody To Love," written by Grace's brother-in-law Darby Slick, peaked at No. 5
on the Hot 100 and was a fixture in the Top 40 all through the summer and into the fall, when I began my 9th grade year. It became a signature song for the rest of the band's performing career, and was selected for Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

Eventually Surrealistic Pillow would peak at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart,
a remarkable accomplishment for a fledgling West Coast "hippie" band. The album wound up being selected for Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, and the Airplane became one of the biggest bands of the '60s. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

There were no female rock stars of the period bigger than Grace. I thought she had
one of the most amazing singing voices I had ever heard, and she was quite attractive
as well. Naturally, she became one of my earliest crushes.

Today's send-off is the 2003 remaster of "Somebody To Love," from the band's VEVO channel. Enjoy...