What Was That Loud Boom?

It was about 9:45PM EDT last night (Sunday March 30th). Suddently, my wife and I were startled by a loud boom/explosion that, literally, shook the house. I looked around and saw no damage. I heard no sirens so I thought it must have been something at one of the bases or just alot of wind. Then I came in here this morning and Jimmy Ray and Jen are talking about it - wondering what it was. Supposedly, the National Weather Service is checking into it. There were reports of sightings of a flash, then a fireball and THEN, a few minutes later, the boom/explosion sound. That tells me, whatever it was, that it was fairly distant from us. Regardless, THAT was rather unnerving. Are there aliens among us? What do you think?

If You Get The Flu, Listen to the Right people

After being bed-ridden for the first time in over 8 years with what our doctor called "Influenza B" over the weekend, I would suggest you follow whatever program your doctor says. Don't deviate. First of all, knowing that there is an actual WORSE flu called Influenza "A" is scary enough. How do I know all of this? Well, I thought I was out of the woods after a day's rest. Got hungry and sent someone to get me some of those great onion rings from a local fast food institution. BIG mistake. Need I go further. I was told to follow a strict bland diet (known as the "BRAT" diet - Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast). I learned the hard way. Don't you.......Never did a slice of dry toast taste so good after that!
Here's to the beginning of Spring and the end of flu season!

NOW I'M INTERESTED IN BASKETBALL

Suddenly, this past weekend, I got VERY interested in college basketball. How can you not be? And this year may be the most competitive in a long time. How many bracket contests are you in? I'm now in 4. Of course, I study the teams....see who may have the best matchups, etc. My wife also gets involved. Her method? Color and location. She favors blue and red and any team in the Southeast. Last year she picked Davidson to make it to the Final 4 and, you know what?....she almost won a bracket contest because of that pick alone when they almost made it there. So, does all the studying matter? Not really. It IS fun for me. For my wife, it's all about how you look and where you live. Go figure!

ONLY THE COMMON FOLK SACRIFICE?

I can say now that I have LOTS of friends out of work and alot more who have endured one or more pay cuts already at their current job. None of them work in Congress or none of them is a professional athlete.
Who made up these rules? A defensive lineman is signed for the highest amount of any player, edver.....in this economy, no less. I'm sure we'll see that reflected in the ticket prices. Congress votes to NOT give themselves a raise until 2011.....but no cut....no travel cutbacks, etc. How nice!!! The two groups that should be leading the way as examples for cutting back are shining examples as to why our economy is in its current predicament.

FAREWELL GOOD FRIEND

I had known the man 9 years. I didn't meet him face-to-face until last year but he's been a close work associate for that 9 year period. Whatever I asked him to do, he would do and always in record time - of course, done exactly the way I had wanted. He was as much a part of the staff of 97.3 The Eagle as Jimmy Ray or Jen. You never heard his name but you heard him more than Jimmy Ray, Karen West, Mark McKay or Stephanie Taylor. You just knew him as the Eagle "Big Voice Guy". His name- Brian James. Last Friday morning, Brian suffered a massive heart attack at the young age of 48 and passed away, just a day after he and I had a little Facebook exchange. He leaves behind a wife, a son and a stepdaughter - and thousands - and I do mean thousands - of radio friends. Brian, we will miss that booming voice but, most of all, your friendship. You treated us all like family. You will always be the best!

Bonding With My Daughter

Dad's have some interesting times with children, especially daughters. My grown daughter and I found lots of ways to "bond" through the years - music being the primary source, although she is somewhat a political junkie these days, too. So here I am, doing it over again with my current 10-year old daughter, who is as "girly" and pink as one can get. Plus she has virtually no interest in sports. But - we found a way to bond at this early age and it's on TV. No, not Hannah Montana....no, not Sponge Bob......would you believe two shows on Discovery? Destroyed In Seconds and Road Rampage!!! For some reason, we are both mesmerized by all of these crashes and destruction. We spend hours together watching and enjoying. Makes her mother feel so proud....:)....I am confident, though, that the UFC is not the next step.

The Shomby Economic Stimulus Plan

There are billions, upon billions, of dollars on the table for the government's economic stimulus plan. Are you sure, EXACTLY, how it's helping you? The goal is to create jobs and give us enough spending income so that we have the confidence to buy those goods and services we haven't been lately. Are you sure, EXACTLY, that this current plan achieves that? If you can answer a resounding YES than I need you to explain it to me.
Otherwise, I have a thought, or better yet, my own thought for a stimulus plan. How about, first of all, everyone in Congress gets a work a week without pay. They serve us yet we are the ones doing most of the suffering. They need to feel it. That should save a few billion dollars, don't you think? Now, I think the rest of the money should go to two places - employers and US! Distribute $400 billion to any and all SMALL business owners in the country. Make them qualify, as if they were qualifying for a loan, but they wouldn't have to pay it back. Then get the rest of the money and distribute it among the population. Depending on your income, depends on what you get. The more you make, the less you get and vice versa. If you're not working and just getting unemployment, you get the highest amount. Again , the application is used here also. Have Warren Buffet oversee the distribution - not someone in Congress. We need someone who knows business and has done it well - not a politician.
The distribution is tax-free BUT normal taxes with jobs, purchasing, gains, etc., would apply after. Imagine all that money being put right back into the system. It's possible, that we may pay back alot of what was distributed. Maybe I'm being way too idealistic but I think it's worth a shot, don't you?