Well, it looks like my Facebook account got hacked. Yesterday, my status claimed that I had finished my pluming, wiring, drywall, and cabinets. It even had a link to photos of this work. My apologies if you tried to access those photos. It appears that someone has played a cruel, cruel joke on me and my friends. Rest assured that I will contact Facebook and get to the bottom of this.
With all the building going on this summer, we have had little time to just get out and have fun. We did make an excursion to the Mohican State Forest this week, though, and really had a blast. I took the older four on a hike to see Big Lyons Falls while Valerie, who decided to come with us, sat in a chair in the middle of the river and read a book. Good times. I was impressed with the kiddos. The hike was about 2 miles in all and it was a very hot day. I have a water bottle belt that I use for my long runs that I let them wear. They loved it. We also took a small backpack and picked up bottles and cans that littered the way. There was some complaining on the way to the falls, but once they saw the cave and played in the trickle of the falls (it has been uber dry lately), there were smiles on everyone’s face. We found a small spring and a little cave along the way, too, which was fun. Oh, and we captured a frog and a millipede to show mama, too. When we got back to Valerie, we all jumped in the river for a while, skipped rocks, and let the “specimens” go free.
I also had the chance to take my boys to a local stock car race this summer. Not NASCAR, mind you, but fun nonetheless. The boys loved it. They were looking at all the numbers and trying to find #99…Carl Edwards. They found the car, only to find that Carl was taking the night off. That’s how they rationalized the fact that Carl was nowhere to be seen, anyway.
One of the coolest things of the summer happened on a Sunday after church. We had just pulled in when I saw a plane going up and down and round and round right behind our house. I ran out back and found a crop duster doing his thing. He was spraying the field behind us and we watched him for a while as he dove toward the ground, turned on his spray, then charged toward the treeline, only to pull up to the sky at the last moment. I got a great photo of S with the plane right above him. If I wasn’t a teacher, I think I would seriously look in to starting a career as a crop duster. It looked like a ton of fun.
I was so busy playing Bob the Builder in July that I didn’t have time to write about my favorite July activity: watching Le Tour de France. I have been following it for quite some time (usually by internet or my mother-in-law’s video taping service), but now that we are at mom’s, I get to watch it on Verses (formerly the Outdoor Life Network). I normally would be home from workinig on the house by 5 each night and was able to catch the prime time replay of that day’s stage.
One thing I noticed this year is how much closer the top 5 or 6 riders stayed in the overall classification as the race progressed. The top 5 spots were not decided until the next to last day. Normally, there is a 2 or 3 minute separation between the top riders by that point in the race. Secondly, I noticed that there were some riders that previously had been lower in the standings doing quite well. The most obvious is Christian Vande Velde of, (ahem), my favorite team…Garmin-Chipotle. Third, there were a few riders who were pre race favorites (due to past Tour success) that were no where near the top. Damian Cunego and Alejandro Valverde are the riders I am referring to.
All of these things, in my mind, point to the fact that we probably had the cleanest (although not 100%, I am sure) Tour in over a decade. I think that guys who previously were doping (Cunego & Valverde) are finally off the juice and it has allowed formerly second tier riders (Vande Velde & Carlos Sastre) who have been clean all along, to rise to the top where they belong.
Some may say that guys like Christian and Carlos are now doping, and I would have agreed in years past. However, the fact that the teams they are on have such a rigorous blood control system in place puts my mind at ease. I think it is neat that these teams are creating a “blood portfolio” of each of their riders and are being so open about it. Unfortunately, this is the only solution to the doping epidemic in sports since the Ricardo Ricco affair shows that the drug tests don’t work all the time (they only work 20% of the time, in fact). That and sponsors pulling their funds if riders on their teams test positive, as with Saunier Duval.
All in all, I found it a very refreshing race and feel like cycling has turned the corner on its doping past and is on the upswing.
I am a huge pro cycling fan. Track and field has always had my heart (you had me at “take your marks”), but I have loved to cycle since I was a kid and still do. I remember hearing about the Tour de France for the first time in 1986 when Greg LeMond became the first American to win it. I was in 5th grade and I would race my silver and red Huffy down Opal Dr. hill and fly onto Emerald Ave. in a full sprint, then throw my arms up in mock victory as I passed the church mailbox. Good times.
Then I followed Miguel Indurain’s great career as I went off to college to run. I had a mountain bike then and loved riding the trails and hills of Virginia in between track and cross country seasons. When I graduated, a guy named Lance hit the scene and won the Tour like a gazillion times (thanks EPO) and it was then that I really started to follow the racing scene. I began to actually listen and watch the Tour every July and my mother-in-law would faithfully tape the Outdoor Network’s coverage every day.
The I found out about the Giro d’Italia. I’m sure you know that the Tour de France is a bike race that takes place in France, hence the name. It is considered one of the most grueling athletic events in the world due to the length of the race (3 weeks and 2,000 miles) and the fact that they cross both the Alps and the Pyranees mountains along the way.
Well, the Giro is the Italian equivalent of the Tour and takes place each May. It is actually the first of 3 “Grand Tours” that are in Europe each summer (TdF & Vuelta a España being the other two) and I have come to like it more than the Tour. Sure, the Tour is more popular, but the Giro has a classic charm to it and has much less controversy. Some say the Giro is more difficult than the Tour because all the riders have fresher legs (being the first big race of the season) and the course is more rugged (some of the roads are actually dirt!). They race three weeks and 2,000 miles, too, and it crosses the Italian Alps. Not exactly the easiest task in the world.
Anyway, the Giro starts today and I am thrilled. The U.S. has a new pro cycling team called Slipstream that is finally serious about stopping drug cheats in cycling and they were invited to race this year’s Giro. Lance’s old team (U.S. Postal/Discovery Channel) has moved to Europe and is now called Astana and is in the race, too, but most people feel that they are some of the biggest drug cheats out there. All the shady American riders that Lance had around him ride for Astana and all the Americans who are considered clean ride for Slipstream. It’s like Tom vs. Jerry, Superman vs. Lex Luther, Darth vs. Luke. Of course I want the Slipstream boys to win the Maglia Rosa but they are definitely the underdogs.
It’s going to be a fun three weeks!
I want to sincerely apologize for the server debacle earlier today. It seems that all of the subscribers to the Groovy Sputum rss feed received this message:
RSS permission denied: WordPress has encountered xml syndication error x000564. Please re-subscribe to this feed by visiting lukeburton.us.
In addition, all visitors received this 404 error upon navigating to Groovy Sputum. I have sacked the technicians responsible for these errors and have hired a completely new, highly trained crew of chimpanzees as network administrators. Things seem to be running much better now.
Feel free to vent your anger about today’s events by leaving a comment on this post. I will be sure to pass them along to the guys I just fired.
Did you watch LOST tonight? Was that the best episode ever or what! They have written many neat, weird, quirky twists into this series, but the whole time/mind travel thing was really cool. I have to say that I think that this is my favorite episode so far in the whole LOST experience. There have been like 80 episodes, right? This one is by far the top of my list.
For those of you that don’t know, I started watching LOST when the network was running re-runs between Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2004. I just happened upon the first episode and told Valerie about this new show where a bunch of plane crash survivors were on a strange island with polar bears and stuff. She watched episode 2 with me and we have been hooked ever since. It is the only show we watch.
The thing that makes it so unique is the character development. So many shows anymore are all plot or just use sarcasm or filthy humor as the basis of the show. LOST lets you into the lives of these people and you begin to understand them, see yourself in them, and realize that they are not much different than yourself in a lot of ways. Sure they survived a major plane crash and are stranded on a tropical island with a bunch of strange Others who have lived there for a while and there are these crazy hatches everywhere and no one from the main land seems to know the place exists, but other than that, they are just like you and me. Oh, and they had to push a button every 108 minutes or the world would blow up…and these certain numbers keep popping up everywhere…and everyone seems to have murdered someone in their previous life…other that that, they are just like you and me. That’s why the show is so good.
I’m sitting here watching the Super Bowl and I must admit that I am a bit disappointed. First off, I thought the Patriots were better than this. The score is only 7-3 and NE has really done nothing all game. Isn’t this the team that is supposedly the best team ever to play the game? Why are they playing so crappy? Now, don’t mis-read me here. I am rooting for the Giants to win. Yes, I am one of the old school thinkers who believes that if you get caught cheating, you should forfeit the game. Well, that didn’t happen, so now I am hoping that the 18-0 cheaters Patriots earn the loss they should have received in week 1. Still, I thought they were better than this.
Secondly, the commercials have not been that great. I did like the Sync one where the surgeon says “anesthesia on” and then proceeds to slice the still conscious patient open. I also laughed at the SoBe life water spot with the lizards dancing to Thriller. Funny stuff.
Lastly, Tom Petty is just plain old and not very exciting. Believe it or not, I liked the artist formerly known as Prince much better last year. I like TP’s music more, but Prince put on a great show. And man can he play guitar. Poor Tom has a $5,000 Rickenbacker around his neck and is barely playing rhythm.
2003 Fiesta Bowl
The reason this moment tops the list for me is because it was the first national championship that I ever saw with my dad. It was also the last. I remember thinking at the time how cool it was that we were able to share that experience. The Burtons have been Ohio State fans far longer than I have been alive and Buckeye football has always been something that brought the family together. On top of that, when the Bucks made it to Arizona in 2003, it was a the first time that OSU had done so in my lifetime. Sure, dad had seen Woody Hayes win 4 or 5 titles during his tenure, but this was a first for me. I had no idea that Tressel would lead the boys back in ‘07 and ‘08, so I was determined to enjoy the moment. For all I knew, this wouldn’t happen again for another 25 years.
I remember watching the game in dad’s unique way: weird food, radio turned up loud, and the tv sound turned off. He preferred the radio play by play over Mr. Woah Nellie, and I can’t say I disagreed with him there. I don’t recall specifically what he snacked on that evening, but I can tell you that it probably involved some unique combination of items that, individually would be delicious, but put together was sure to raise an eye brow or two. Sauerkraut juice and V8, or pancakes with olives in them. Maybe it was something sweet, chocolaty perhaps, with a big old jalapeño on it, or some kind of dried mystery meat with a stinky, moldy cheese. He had his ways of doing things.
Dad had just put in a hot tub on his deck and I remember sitting in it at half time and watching the steam rise from the surface of the water. We lived in Plain City at the time so enjoying the hot tub was not a regular thing for me. I tried to convince dad to hook up a tv in the corner of the deck so I could watch the whole thing out there, but that didn’t happen.
There was, of course, the ceremonial blasting of the marching band music, the buckeye necklaces, and dad yelling at the tv, as if the players could hear him. “Come on, Bucks!” or “Get ‘em!” or even “Break his leg!” The last phrase was always qualified with, “not seriously, though,” a few moments later. I think he felt bad for thinking that way, but he couldn’t control himself. I find myself shouting these same things as I watch football. I guess the intensity of watching football is genetic.
The game went well into the night and I remember the excitement of it all as I finally fell asleep. If I had known that this was the last championship game I would share with dad, I may have stayed up a bit longer and let the moments linger. I love to see the Bucks win and I love to see them play for the crystal football, but if I could watch OSU football with dad again in exchange for the Bucks never winning another game, I would take that trade in a heartbeat.
Field Side Seats And Parking At The Shoe
I said earlier that 2007 was a banner year in my OSU football memory book. The icing came to my pigskin cake when a student sent me an email asking if I would be interested in 4 tickets to the final game of the season. They would be out of town and knew that I was a fan, so they offered. I kind of knew that I wasn’t interested…I mean I had season tickets and would be going to the game with my friend Scott anyway. I really didn’t have $400 to drop on four more tickets. Politely, I asked how much they wanted, just to entertain conversation. Their reply: free! Plus, they had a parking pass they would throw in. Wow! How could I refuse.
I quickly called my brother and brother-in-law and lined up people to use the extra tickets, not knowing exactly where they were located in the stadium. When the USPS overnight package arrived the Tuesday before the game, my jaw dropped. These weren’t just any four tickets. These were field level seats on the 30 yard line. And, if you have ever been to an Ohio State game, you know that 99% of the people sit on aluminum bleachers. Not exactly the height of comfort. Our seats had backs! Actually, we were in folding chairs in a railed off section that was wheel chair accessible. After talking with the ticket owners, I found out that they had been getting season tickets for years and years and someone along the way was disabled. OSU has reserved these seats for this family and they have been siting there ever since.
And the parking pass? Well, let’s just say that my walk to the stadium was about 50 feet from the east lot. Our tailgate party was literally in the shadow of the rotunda! This was very nice and allowed us to have a great party with the whole family before the game. I loaded up Moby (my 12 passenger van) with kids and were in our spot by 11:00. We grilled out, played cornhole, and caught the Skull Session. Then, we loaded the kiddos back up and Valerie headed home while the guys (and Paul’s wife) stayed for the game.I mixed a video for your enjoyment, but I am still new to the streaming world, so the mpg1 file format may not be the best quality. You will get the jist of the day, though. Good times…good times.
$10.00 Tickets
In 2006, my brother Paul came to Ohio to take his kids to an Ohio State football weekend on campus. It was a noon game and we decided to drive down early, take the band practice in, hang out in front of St. John’s Arena for a bit, and then head home to watch the game on tv. I took a few extra buckeye necklaces with me to sell while the kiddos watched the cheerleaders on the lawn. When two fathers and their school age kids asked me how much the necklaces were, one of the kids asked me if I wanted to buy tickets. “He doesn’t want tickets, son…he’s selling necklaces,” one of the fathers said. Curious to know what the going rate was this time of year, I asked him, “how much?” He kind of paused and shrugged his shoulders and half heartedly replied, “I don’t know…20 bucks?” “Each?” I inquired. “No, for the pair,” he said.
The next few seconds were like time stopped and the camera man in my mind did that zoom thing close into my face…you know, where the rest of the world is all blurry behind me and my thoughts echo in my head. I wanted to say, “Man are you crazy? Don’t you know you could get $125 a piece for these things?” but I actually said, “sure…I guess I’ll take them.”
I rushed over to where Paul was and showed him my find. I figured we could do one of two things: find someone to take care of our kids for the afternoon and go to the game, or sell the ticket and walk away with a few hundred bucks. I gave my mother-in-law a quick call and she was gracious enough to swing by for the kids and we were off. Our seats were in a perfect place for that day: D deck. Normally, I wouldn’t want to sit that high up, but there was a stiff, cold wind that was blowing that day. We didn’t even feel it.
One other thing to note about that day: Jack Nicklaus, one of the greatest golfers ever, dotted the i in Script Ohio that day. If you don’t already know, dotting the i is one of the highest honors at Ohio State. Only a handful of people have been allowed this honor. It was neat to see.