Dahlia show.

Sunday was beautiful. It was opening day for the NFL but the Bears weren't scheduled to play until 3:00PM. In hindsight, it wasn't much of a game to watch anyway.

St. Charles Illinois is a pretty city on the Fox River about 40 miles south of us. They were having their 41st (I had never heard of - where have I been? Ha.) dahlia flower show at a local resort.

I've been growing the simple, smaller, round, red dahlias for years. They flower all summer but I have to dig them up before it freezes and store them in the basement. It is worth the effort though.

Clint and Jenni had seen notice of the show so we all decided to take a drive down there. Had fun. They also treated me to lunch. Perfect day.




Football update: I was cruising at 10 and 4 Sunday, surviving some close games.

Monday killed me. First Baltimore couldn't score in the red zone, losing to Cincy. The (quite) later game had San Fran beating my pick, Arizona, in the last seconds. A possible 12 and 4 ended up a pedestrian 10 and 6. I hate football pools!!!

Midnight Rider.

Clint on the Mini-Chopper I won at the 95 WIIL Rock Football Pool. It's pretty cool. Has four speeds, goes up to 60, can be ridden on the street (with limitations). Enough snow has melted, we'll probably take it out this weekend. Fun, fun, fun.

I couldn't tell you how many times I saw the Allman Brothers. Five, ten? Whatever the number, I was never disappointed. Sweet sounding jams lasting as long as an album side (half an hour). Gotta love the slide guitar.

(Quick Wiki note on slide guitars: The late Duane Allman played a key role in bringing slide guitar into rock music, through his work with the Allman Brothers Band ... Beginning in the 1960s, Allman used an empty glass Coricidin medicine bottle, which he wore over his ring finger, as a slide; this was later picked up by other slide guitarists such as Bonnie Raitt, Rory Gallagher, and Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Such bottles eventually went out of production in the early 1980s (although replicas have been produced since 1985))

The Allman Brothers Band

Midnight Rider

Well, I've got to run to keep from hiding,
And I'm bound to keep on riding.
And I've got one more silver dollar,
But I'm not gonna let them catch me, no,
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider.

And I don't own the clothes I'm wearing,
And the road goes on forever,
And I've got one more silver dollar,
But I'm not gonna let them catch me, no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider.

And I've gone by the point of caring,
Some old bed I'll soon be sharing,
And I've got one more silver dollar,

Repeat three times and fade
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
Not gonna let them catch the midnight rider.