BILL BLOG
Tuesday October 1, 2024
Tuesday morning and the first day of October is already here. How can that possibly be? Some sunshine and a high of 80 on the way for today.
YESTERDAY
Monday was surely a day of catching up on some household stuff after being on the road for 4 days…with 4 more days on the road starting tomorrow.
I found out I now have 3 shows instead of 2 at the Pensacola Songwriters Festival this Friday. I’ve been added to a show at the Holiday Inn Beach Resort on Friday at 6 pm at the outdoor Tiki Bar looking at the ocean. Tough work huh? Songwriters Jeff Silvey and Earl Bud Lee will join me. Earl wrote a little ditty for Garth Brooks that did okay…”Friends In Low Places.”
Then I have a second show Friday at the Native Café with bluegrass greats Jerry Salley and Larry Cordle at 8 pm.
And on Saturday you can find me at the first ever Bluegrass on the Beach night at the Casino Beach Bar and Grill that also has a view of the Gulf of Mexico. This show is with Jerry Salley, Larry Cordle, Ronnie Bowman and Billy & Marija Droze.
More details are available at the festival website or here on mine. See you on the beach.
SONG OF THE DAY
This is a song that Scott Southworth and I wrote that he recorded which is pretty cool. It’s titled “Country No Matter What Country You’re In.” And when Scott recorded the song he invited six or so international singers to sing parts of this song with him. Made it even more cool. Check it out.
HEALTH NOTES
The first human case of tick-borne disease in the northeast has been reported in Connecticut.
A woman was struck by a flesh-eating virus after having a Turkish tummy tuck.
Shania Twain who’s 59 says the key to good health for her is to look in the mirror naked each day. (Love ya Shania, but unless I can install one of those “fun house” mirrors in my bedroom…I’m going to pass on that)
HERE’S YOUR SIGN
Noticed this during our recent road trip in Louisiana
I went for the sharpen chains, local honey, and flea pills "three for one" deal myself.
HELENE
Over
100 dead now from that tragic hurricane. 1,000 or more are still unaccounted
for. And another storm “Kirk” is brewing and could turn into another major
hurricane. Some of the pictures are just heartbreaking. Florida we kind of
expected. But what’s happened to North Carolina is unfathomable. Hard to look at the pictures.
4192
I’ve seen some great “electric” baseball players that were more than worth the price of the ticket. I grew up a Cardinal fan and got to see Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith, and Lou Brock play. You couldn’t take your eyes off of them.
But I have never seen a baseball player play harder with more passion or have more FUN than Pete Rose who passed away at the age of 83. Put me firmly in the camp that he should be in the Hall of Fame despite betting on baseball. If they really dug into some of the players who have been enshrined? You’d find a lot of warts. I’d separate the “baseball” from the personal if it were me. And now he’s passed and he’ll never see that happen…if it ever would.
Yes, I
got to be around Pete a little. He was a great interview…and he was great to
listen to when he joined the Reds broadcast team in the booth.
But here’s my favorite memory of him.
I attended a Reds Fantasy Camp one year down in Plant City, Florida. I broadcast my morning show for WUBE Cincinnati every morning, and then played baseball. Pitched and played outfield for my team.
The teams were managed and coached by former Reds players. My coach was the late Joe Nuxhall, the youngest pitcher to ever pitch in the Major Leagues…and he was the color guy on the Reds radio broadcasts for years. There were a lot of great ex-Reds players that we got to hang with.
But one day we’re taking batting practice. And a guy in his 70’s or maybe even 80 was trying to hit the baseball being pitched to him without much luck. Pete Rose rode up on bicycle! He was not part of the camp but had a place nearby and just came over one day. He watched this guy swinging and missing, and finally got off his bike from behind the batting cage and came around, and put his arms around the man and said, “like this”. And he got a FREE batting tip from Pete Rose! Simply because nobody loved the game more than Pete I think.
Later I got to interview him. I’m in a Reds uniform and he’s in street clothes. How crazy is that? And of course he was great. AND…I got this from him after the interview.
At the end of the Fantasy Camp every team played a 3 inning game against the Pros. The Pros have never lost a game. Pete played in the first couple of games. But before the first game took place, I sang the National Anthem and Pete and the rest of the Pros were right behind me lined up on the field. When I finished he said, “nice job”.
Lots of folks are going to be sharing their memories of Pete today. He touched a lot of lives and was always great with fans…like me. RIP.
POP A CORN DOG?
Check out this beer that will be available at the Texas State Fair this year.
Can't beat a beer that comes on a danged stick now!
STRIKE
And now a “port strike” they say could empty shelves and hike up grocery prices even more. Geez Louise. It makes me think that John Prine was ahead of his time when he wrote these lyrics into the chorus his classic song “Spanish Pipe Dream.”
Blow up your TV
Throw away your paper
Go to the country
Build you a home
Plant a little garden
Eat a lot of peaches
Try and find Jesus on your own
TV TONIGHT
The VP Debate (Mud Sling Festival) is on TV tonight. So is the Major League Baseball playoffs. Guess which one I’ll be watching.
For the record, I would always choose to watch a baseball player slide in the “dirt” as opposed to watching politicians throw “dirt”. Play ball!
JOKE OF THE DAY
From the late comedian George Burns who once observed, “If you live to be 100 you’ve got it made. Very few people die past that age.”
TODAY
Packing bags for a trip to the beach for a couple of very different events.
Wednesday and Thursday.
Friday and Saturday.
Have a great Tuesday!
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