On Fatherhood 2...

It's Father's Day 2008.

I miss my dad terribly. It's been 13 years since we lost him, and still not a day goes by that I don't think about him. As I tell people, "it's hard being a dad without one." Dad was a huge baseball fan. And now, every time Sparky's having a tough time at the plate, and he's on his 4th, or maybe 5th and final pitch of the at bat...every time I've asked my dad "please help him hit this pitch"...you know that it's worked every single time. So I guess he's not so far away after all.

As for my two sons, it is wholly my honor to be their father. So thank you, boys. I am so very proud to be your dad.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads everywhere.

On Fatherhood 1...

My oldest son, "Sparky," is in his first year of baseball. I'm not an official coach, but I'm one of the dads who helps out. Sort of by default, my customary position has been first base coach. I didn't think there would be much action down there...at this level, the hitters are limited to singles, no steals...not much to do as a first base coach. I wondered at times why I should even stand out there.

Well, I found my answer. And now, halfway through the season, I've begun pushing the other dads out there to take an inning or three. Because what I've experienced is something every father of a son should get a chance to experience:

There is nothing quite like the feeling you get watching your son hit a baseball, and being there at first base to greet him when he reaches it safely.

On Tim Russert...

I never thought my first political blog entry would be thoughts on the passing of Tim Russert. I am a political talk show junkie, and I never missed Meet The Press with Tim hosting. As someone on TV said tonight, he was "as much a part of Sunday mornings as bacon, eggs, and a good cup of coffee."
Any eulogy I could offer would pale in comparison to those by leading journalists and political figures, who knew him personally, that will be offered in the days to come. I can only say this...in these Red State/Blue State days, where political reporting has morphed into polarized political opinion bloviating, I was never able to read Russert's political leaning in the way he conducted his interviews. It is his wonderfully artful neutrality that I will remember most.

I'll miss you, Mr. Russert.

Thoughts on Friday the 13th

So, the Big Iguana begins his blogosphere foray on the ominous Friday, the 13th...COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT.
I love Friday the 13ths. in fact, 13 is my lucky number. I love sports jerseys. Between baseball, football, and hockey, I probably have 12-15 jerseys. I like having numbers on them. And whenever I get a number put on, when I'm not trying to recreate a particular player's jersey, my number of choice is 13.
Even my 13th birthday was on Friday the 13th. Cool. I love when people get creeped out at that one.

Welcome to my blog

Well, I'm finally dragging myself, kicking and screaming, into a new vein of technological gluttony...the blog. Truth is, I thought about doing this 10 years ago, before anyone (well, at least me) had heard of a blog. I was going to call it BrainSponge...wringing out my brain, you know, like a sponge. Well, that blog name is taken now, and with my assumed secret identity of the Big (or Rabid) Iguana, this seemed like a suitable alternative blog title.

So welcome. I expect this blog to end up being many things...some random observations, some good stories, the occasional political rant, and hopefully a LOT of funny. It's one of my favorite things...to make people laugh.