Nobody 750

Thursday, January 1, 2009
Nobody # 750

Nobody Asked Me But:

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW.

And it did. As we pulled up to our Tucson hotel, snow started to fall in very fine flakes. It lasted only a few minutes and didn’t stick, but what a wonderful Arizona greeting.

On the flip side, the first leg of our trip was terrible. From Pasadena to Palm Springs it rained, poured sometimes, as we struggled with heavy traffic. What were all those cars doing out on Christmas day? It was our first time on the newly opened extension of the 210 from the 15 to Redlands, and I couldn’t see a thing. But it was clear on the way home, and I found that I didn’t miss anything.

Back to the trip.

Our Palm Springs stop at Tom’s was excellent. Opening presents with Tom, Dana and Hana was neat. Then Tom served us his freshly prepared French onion soup, and it was some of the best we have ever had. He followed up with grilled steak and lobster tails. Delicious!

In Tucson, we stayed at the Omni Tucson National, the frequent home of the Tucson Open. We had not been there for at least 14 years, and it was good to be back. The casita gave us plenty of room to spread out with the 9 family members who joined us for pizza and presents – and Barbara’s cookies. All seemed delighted with their gifts. I know I was.

The next day, as is our custom, we divided in to two groups. Barb, a group unto herself, did her shopping tour of Tucson, while the rest of us went to a movie. We saw “Four Christmases” (slim pickings for family films this year). But there were enough belly laughs to save the day.

Later that evening we had a special treat. Barb, Elizabeth, Ryan, Emily and I gathered at a brewery-bar-night spot to hear Greg play his guitar and sing with his friend’s band. You can only imagine how proud I felt. Having the best son and daughter in the world will do that for a person. Add to that the best wife and grandchildren, and you can plainly see why I am the luckiest man in the world.

(Note – we almost didn’t find the music spot. I won’t say it was isolated, but we saw Sarah Palin hunting bare along the way.)

On Sunday, we met Elizabeth, Emily, Elizabeth's close friend Cassie and her daughter for lunch and some exploring of the great small village of Tubac. Then it was back to the hotel to pack and get to bed early in preparation for our drive home.

SUPER TRIP<<<

Now, to end all suspense, here is the way the PAC-10 will finish this season.

1. UCLA - They have two quality players at every position except PF. And they are decent there.

2. ASU - James Harden is one of the two best players in the league and can carry this team. Jeff Pendergraph is a quality second banana. Not much beyond.

The PAC is down this year and spots 3-7 are totally scrambled and anybody’s guess. So here is mine.

3. USC – The talent is there. The toughness and cohesion isn’t.

4. WSU – Home court edge makes them tough. Bennett makes them tougher.

5. Arizona – Stop Nick Wise and you stop the Wildcats. Good defenders can stop Wise.

6. Stanford – Nothing inside but very good and very experienced wing and guard play.

7. California – Less talent than Washington but Monty’s coaching lifts them above the Huskies.

8. Washington – Brockman always plays hard. The others, not so.

9. Oregon – Continues to play below talent level. Is Kent losing control?

10. Oregon State –Still at the bottom, but Craig Robinson has them playing better. They will win more than last year. (Easy prediction since 1 PAC win will be more than last year.)

PAC-10 Player of the Year – This year it will be a flat-out tie between Darren Collison, UCLA, and James Harden, ASU.

Runners-up – Jordon Hill, Arizona and Jon Brockman, Washington.

Freshman of the Year – Jrue Holiday, UCLA.

Runners-up – Demar DeRozan, USC and Klay Thompson, WSU.

Coach of Year – Ben Howland, UCLA, for winning his forth straight PAC championship – convincingly.<<<

OTHER PREDICTIONS (of these I am a bit less sure)

Rick Warren will be kidnapped just before the inauguration by his Far Right followers to prevent him from praying for the heathens.<<<

Despite the frequent criticisms in Nobody, Adam Sandler will win two Academy Awards: Best Actor and Lifetime Achievement.<<<

The Dodgers will trade Mat Kemp for a back-up catcher and play Manny Ramirez in center field.<<<

Disappointment of year – tie between:

John McCain for taking the low, low road in his campaign. This good man should not have wanted to be president that desperately.

And

John McCain for choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate. This good man should not have wanted to be president that desperately.

Fraud of Year – President Mikheil Saakashvili, of Georgia gets the James K. Polk Award for almost inviting Russia to attack and then crying, “we are being invaded.”

Brazen Idiot of the Year – Rod Blagojevich.<<<

Best movie (that I saw) – “The Dark Knight” edges out “Gran Torino.” ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona" was also very good – the Woodman back in form.) The only films that I haven’t seen that might change my mind are “Frost/Nixon” and “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Worst movie of the year – anything staring Adam Sandler.


THE ANSWER MAN

Q: What don’t you do to solve the financial crisis in the Los Angeles Unified School District?

A: You don’t lay off hundreds of teachers and drastically increase class size.

Q: What do you do?

A: Close schools when the money runs out.

Q: What were the most overused words by the Bush administration?

A: State secret.

Q: You are a frequent critic of Israeli hard line policies. What have you to say about their attacks on Gaza?

A: YOU GO ISRAEL!<<<

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guide to pictures
1. Greg playing.
2. G, E, R & E at movie
3. & 5. Our hotel
4. Barbara at hotel
6.Ryan
7. Elizabeth
8. Ben
9. Airanna and Lily
10. Dana & Hana
11. Rainbow on 10
12. Decorating our dining room