Cuban baseball update
Well, Los Gallos took the Lowlanders to 7 games, but Pinar del Rio beat Sancti Spiritus 7-6 to move on and face Santiago de Cuba for the championship. Wouldn't it be great if that was always the worst news coming out of Cuba?
Cuba is still viewed by the United States government as a terrorist state (a la President Bush's "axis of evil"). Restrictions on travelling to Cuba have gotten tighter, as have restrictions on Cubans travelling to the US. Our embargo deeply affects their economy. The cold war has been "over" for quite some time now, but we still treat a nearby neighbor as a threat. I wish our country would take the first step in a better relationship. I believe that real diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba might make things better. I am praying for this.

Let's be careful out there.
Folks, you didn't hear this from me, but the Internet can be a rather dangerous place. If you don't type so well, you could enter the wrong URL and be well on your way toward viewing objectionable content via the good intention paved path of helping your teenager with his biology homework. "Dot com" instead of "dot edu" could spell disaster (actually it only spells . c-o-m).
For the sake of your further education, though, I quintuple dog dare you to visit
www.uniquesplits.com
If you can locate their product. I believe you will be glad you did.

Cuba's Final Four
Well . . . while most of the sports world's attention is turned toward San Antonio for the NCAA men's basketball championships, I am planning on watching baseball. Of course, I'll take in as many Braves' games that are directed my way. I'm also enjoying the free preview of MLB Extra Innings on Direct TV. Mostly, though, I will be watching games on the Internet as the semi-finals in the Cuban National League get under way tonight.

I have gone on 4 mission trips to Cuba. My first trip in 2002 was during the baseball playoffs. We went to the game in Sancti Spiritus, and it was in that atmosphere that I realized I might be a pitiful sports fan. The fans in the stadium, as well as the majority of the Cuban population pin their hopes on their local teams. They tend to live and die with each pitch of the game. Add a salsa beat to the mix and I think you can glimpse the picture slightly. I must also mention that the best popcorn I've ever eaten was in Sancti Spiritus at estadio José Antonio Huelga (and only 1 peso!).

One cool note regarding this year's semi-finals is that all of the Havana teams have been eliminated from the playoffs. Pinar del Rio swept Industriales and Sancti Spiritus took out La Habana (oh yeah, the other Havana team Los Metropolitanos didn't make the playoffs). I would liken this to having the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox knocked out of the MLB playoffs by the wild card team --heaven for the for the rest of the baseball world.

Here's your final four preview.

Eastern Conference Finals - Santiago de Cuba vs. Villa Clara
Game 1 tonight (Friday 4/4)

What? Do you really think I can offer expert analysis here? Sorry, who do you think I am, Peter Gammons? Here's what I know, the Hornets (Santiago) are the defending champions and the Oranges are the Cinderellas at this dance. Quote from VC's web site: "Santiago is a freight train, but trains derail." OOOOOOHH!!

Western Conference Finals - Sancti Spiritus vs. Pinar del Rio
Game 1, Saturday night (4/5)

How'd you like your favorite team to be known as the Holy Spirit Gamecocks? I guess that's the best translation for Los Gallos de Sancti Spiritus who'll host the LowLanders from tobacco country Saturday night. Let's hope our boys don't lay an egg. I take back the Cinderella comment and give it to the Gamecocks. They finished third in their division and bring the worst record (48-40) into the playoffs. Wild card? OK.

Pinar del Rio is the home of current Minnesota Twin Livan Hernandez. They still miss him back home and have refused to let pitcher Pedro Luis Lazo retire (99's not just his jersey #) until Livan moves back home.

Wanna watch the games. Here's a link: http://www.cocotest.cu/Playoff/index.asp

¡Vaya gallos!

Hey, guess where I am?
I am sooooooooo glad baseball season is here. But only 2 or 3 games into the season, I have seen enough of one thing. I am really tired of the cell phone people. You know these people, right? They are usually seated behind home plate, or beside the dugouts. They are ALWAYS on their cell phones waving over the batter's shoulder at whoever is on the other end of that phone conversation.

I tune into the broadcast to watch the game. I am not interested in seeing cell phone people. I think it is a tremendous waste of a great seat for WATCHING THE GAME!!!! That's the problem here. If you are looking out at me over Mark Teixeira's left shoulder, and you've got a cell phone up to your head, and you're waving or looking down holding your other ear shut, you are hardly a baseball fan who deserves dugout level seats on the Braves' side of the infield. At the risk of saying someting ugly, you are hardly a fan at all. I don't pay my satellite TV bill to watch you making sure your buddies see you.

This is one of the reasons I cannot argue with Red Sox or Yankees fans. Their fans go to the stadium to watch the game. Their fans show up at road games to root for the visiting team. Take a look around Turner Field, and you will see too many people who are there only to be seen not to watch. Don't get me started on the people who are only there to do the wave.

Unless you are at your first game ever and want to thank your Grandpa in Alaska who loves baseball for the sweet tickets he bought you, either hang up or give your seat to a kid who wants to grow up to be Brian McCann.

What's on Your iPod?
OK, I'm going to sound kinda OLD here, but recently while perusing Reader's Digest . . .
Yes, America's favorite little magazine has found that ideal place of prominence in our home--the magazine rack of the master bathroom. And by "magazine rack" I do actually mean atop the toilet tank. I'd put the Sunday School book in there, but who's got that kind of time?

Back to the subject. Over the last few months, I have enjoyed reading the celebrity interviews. In many recent articles RD has included a sidebar interview related to pop culture. Often the question that gets asked is, "What's on your iPod?" This month, Tina Fey confessed to having Britney Spears' "Outrageous" and the soundtrak from Annie in "high rotation".

Well, I have owned an iPod shuffle for less than a day now. It as a lot of music from grade school through college on it such as Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Spin Doctors, No Doubt, and Cranberries. But I had to give into guilty pleasures and pick up some more contemporary sounds. So in there with Don Henley you'll find Wyclef Jean because I'm working on incorporating the phrase "dolla-dolla bill, y'all" into my lexicon. Might slip it into the offertory prayer some weekend. And thank you, Fergie, for the way you say "Check it out!" Chris Brown is helping me add an entry under "boo". It's no longer only an interjection, folks!

What's really cool about my late entry to iPod-dom is that Trisha got the the "product RED" version. Apple will give a portion of it's purchase to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa. (http://www.joinred.com/) So, having a red iPod gives me something else to talk about than the importance of having Green Day's "Holiday" turned waaaaaaaayyyy up! "Say! . . . Hey! " Of course, when I'm wearing my red iPod while riding my Heifer Project (www.heifer.org) water buffalo into a that needy village, a Big and Rich song might be a little more appropriate.

Branches in the Road
You might have heard that we had a tornado in Allendale on Saturday. That is not true. We had TORNADOES Saturday evening. The great news is that everyone is OK, but we have a lot of damage. One of my church members lost her home. What remains of it is scattered in the peach orchard across the highway. Her daughter lives next door, and her home is severely damaged.
http://www.wjbf.com/midatlantic/jbf/news_index.apx.-content-articles-JBF-2008-03-17-0001.html

A lot of trees and powerlines are down. A lot of roofs around here have at least one tree on them. Of course, people are still frightened and heartbroken. Cleanup has commenced on a variety of levels.

We came to Sunday morning services without electricity. We stuck with the Palm Sunday text from Matthew because there were a number of pharases there to resonate with. We understood quite well what it meant to be a "city in turmoil" (Mt 21:10). We all had shouted our "Hosannas in the highest", first in the original meaning of term "save us", and then in sighs of relief learing everyone was OK, and again in praises seeing FEMA representatives and Disaster Relief volunteers showing up quickly.

We came to Palm Sunday with branches in the road already, an appropriate carpet upon which Jesus can ride into this town. It looks like were heading into a very interesting Holy Week.

Of course, our tornadoes, weren't the only ones in SC one Saturday. Branchville is home to many childhood memories for me. That's where I got my haricut, celebrated Railroad Daze, and enjoyed many a cone of soft-serve ice cream. The Churn was one of the landmarks destroyed by a tornado. Here's an article about Branchville . . .
http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2008/03/17/news/13010723.txt

Haven't got sense enough to . . .

"The one constant through all the years has been baseball. America has
rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard,
rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this
game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what
could be again."

That's beautiful, Mr. Jones, but may I counter your oft quoted soliloquy with another gem from baseball cinema . . .

"A good friend of mine used to say, 'This is a very simple game. You throw the
ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you
lose, sometimes it rains.' Think about that for a while."

People know I love baseball. One thing that keeps me sane in small-town church life is that there is a "field of dreams" of sorts right here in Allendale. The local junior college USC-Salkehatchie has a team, and when they play, I am there. No, the diamond is not carved out of a corn field, but it occupies space near pine woods that border the old airport.

The line from the Bull Durham quote that has been resonating with me is "sometimes it rains". We have had some nice downpours here in the last two weeks. It didn't rain on gamedays, but it rained so much on the days before that the games were cancelled or moved to the other school because the field flooded.

Let me be clear, I am not complaining about rain. We need it down here. I love baseball, but I also love peaches (Hear me, frost, you are not welcome here 'til October!).

Yesterday evening's game was scheduled for 5 PM. Walking out to the car, I noticed a few drops on the windshield. The game went on amid off and on light showers. I stayed for the whole thing and was treated to a 9th inning rally by the home team to win the game. I probably will have a cold, or pneumonia, or tuberculosis, but today I'm happy!

The Bird Funeral

Day four of the Gold Finch invasion of my front yard took a sad turn this morning. As I was on my way out to walk to the church office, I noticed one of the birds had died by the front door. I don't know what happened to him. I don't know if he crashed into the glass of the front door or if he'd been attacked by a cat or hawk. I'd like to think that he gave his last efforts in life defending the feeder from that "dang squirrel".

Last night, I led the Wednesday night crowd in a study of Matthew 24-25. We went through that long list of signs of the end of the age. Several could be viewed a threats. Some could be seen as natural events. All of them, though, must be interpreted as calls for Jesus' disciples to remain faithful, sharing the Good News to every corner of the earth until the end does come.

So, here on Thursday morning, I was presented with lab work based on Wednesday night's lesson. "Consider the birds of the air," Jesus said earlier in Matthew, "They don't grow crops or store grain in barns, but our Father in heaven cares for them." That point in the Sermon on the Mount is that God will take care of us also. We are called to remain faithful, and when we do we really are like the birds, doing what God created us to do without one worry.

I grabbed a shovel and headed out to the daylily patch. In a few months, the "lilies of the field" will be clothed in splendor just like the plumage this bird sported in summertime.

"Praise the Lord from the earth . . . wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!" (from Psalm 148). Overhead, a mockingbird sang every song he knew.

Call Home; Play Van Halen

(If you're preaching on 1 Samuel 16:7 this Sunday, here's a freebie--you're welcome!)

It seems to me to be something of a mixed message. Perhaps you have seen the ads on television. The ones I am thinking about are for the new Ford vehicles that come equipped with SYNC, a voice activated technology that allows the driver to control his or her MP3 player or cell phone without releasing he steering wheel. This ad is easy to do on television. The commercial seems to be a simple demonstration of this new gadget. It is a much more difficult trick to pull off in a magazine.

The ad in last week’s Sports Illustrated began with a banner headline, “A lot of cars make a statement. This one listens.” That was followed by a brief explanation that the 2008 Ford Focus comes with “voice-activated SYNC technology”. The remaining 10 inches of the page proves that times really have not changed that much, in spite of the technological advances of the early 21st century. The rest of the page was a photograph of a shiny, sleek, brand-new, car. One inch of copy advertised what was available inside the car while the majority of the space was dedicated to a picture of one sharp looking vehicle.

Remember the Ford Focus’ distant, distant relative the Pinto? There could have been a super computer in the dashboard and a super model in the passenger seat. Those amenities could never change the fact that it was still a Pinto. When it comes to selling a car, appearance matters. That probably is true when it comes to selling anything. I almost missed the Ford ad because on the previous page Maria Sharapova was trying to sell me Gatorade.

Egg Before Chicken
I have been put on a “money diet”. Of course this is the time of year (New Year, Lent, etc.) when most people are on food diets as well. My apologies to the liturgical crowd, I do realize it’s called fasting in Lent. Gimme a break, I went to seminary, too.
As you can tell, I’m a bit cranky. See, where I spend money the most is on going out to eat. After church yesterday, I want to go out for lunch. I had preached well AND sung a duet which went well, too. I deserved a treat. I was hungry. Such formulas normally result in pastors eating fried chicken. Money diet said I had to stay home and have a sandwich (Mmmmm . . . egg salad). I could have begged. I could have pouted. Instead I saw $15 staying in the bank. It hurt, but I’m better for it.
I have been drinking more water lately. Today when I jammed my cup into the door of the refrigerator, and yes it does have a dispenser, no water came out. I switched to “ice” and I got ice. I switched back to “water” but no water. There was no way that I was going to even tempt my old nemesis “crushed ice” to complicate this matter.
Resolving to have water to drink, I put the tea kettle under the tap in order to boil water that would then have to cool in the refrigerator. I could have drunk water from the tap, but I am not far enough removed from the great, brown water episode of the summer of ’07. As I began to fill the kettle, I laughed as I yelled at myself, “You can BUY a jug of water at the store!”
OK, I am not kidding here. The moment I said that, I heard water drip at the door of the refrigerator. I stuck a cup there, and the water flowed out like latecomers to Sunday service—casual, free, clueless about their imposition, and without apology. And, to go against the grain of the Old Testament story (Exod 15 and/or17), I am not bitter about it. It actually tastes pretty good. Sorry, I can’t blog much more right now. You see, I’ve had a lot of water to drink and . . .

Sorry You've Missed Me
It is time to apologize AGAIN for not updating the blog. It might prove, though, that ministers can be just as busy as normal people.

Feed People and Learn Stuff
I am grateful to my friend Cindy Bell for sending me a link to freerice.com. Thanks!
We are in a feasting time of year. Many of us will be under the heavy influence of participating in more than one Thanksgiving celebration. Advent brings a wonderful series of worship services to our churches, but they are accompanied by a number receptions and holiday parties. From the last week of November to New Year’s Day the dominant tradition in our culture is that we eat.
Of course, when we gather around our tables we pause to give thanks. We pray our thanksgivings grateful for all of God’s blessings. Often when I have listened to these prayers, I have heard several people, much wiser than I, add to the missives, “Remind us of the needs of others.”
In this prolonged season of feasting, there are also a number of opportunities for us to feed people who do not have much food. I am to now know about a creative way to help feed the hungry.
Go to http://www.freerice.com/ (that’s “free rice”). There, you will find a vocabulary quiz. For every definition you get right Free Rice will donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. It seems to be sort of a win-win situation. You learn big words and help feed hungry people at the same time. Since starting the web site in October, Free Rice has donated over 1.7 billion grains of rice. It shouldn’t take any erudite philanthropist a hemidemisemiquaver to ascertain that this is a sensible munificence.
There are a number of opportunities to help the poor in our community and in our world. I hope that you will find yourself involved in more than one in this season not only of feasting but of giving.

A Prayer at the Save-A-Lot
(of course, look for a very different kind of prayer on the day before Thanksgiving)

O God of all our days, our shelter and hope through all generations: In every age, your truth has been proclaimed by many voices that it is you who makes our hearts wise, our minds sound, and our purposes righteous to the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord.

We celebrate that this day has arrived. We pray a word of thanks on behalf of many people who have worked hard to make the opening of this store possible. Through the processes of visioning, planning, renovating, rebuilding, purchasing, and stocking; many minds, voices, and bodies have labored to see this day happen. We are grateful for what they have been able to do. We pray a word of thanks on behalf of men and women who now have work because this new store is here.

Most of all, we pray a word of thanks that there is something new in our community. Though it could easily be considered small and insignificant, we have often confessed that little things add up, and we have agreed with your word that all things work together for good. May this new thing help us to have hope for the continued renewal of this community. Open and enlighten the eyes of our hearts that we would be able to see the coming of your kingdom, even on days like today, and where we can each work as your servants within it.

We pray your blessings upon all the businesses of our town and our county, for these are the places where your people also gather. Though we can be found gathered in church buildings, we also see one another in the post office, in banks, and in the grocery stores, and we will lean heavily upon your promise that where two or three are gathered in your name there you will be also. We are grateful that you bless us with your presence as we worship, but we also pray you will bless us to go to work in your name and that we will find you waiting for us there.

Again, O Lord, we give you thanks for this good day, but we know it is not the work of our hands or the achievement of any human effort. This day is good because you have made it so. Therefore we pray these words of thanksgiving through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Invocation at the Grand Opening

of Sav-A-Lot grocery store

in Allendale, SC. October 31, 2007.

The Town Pastor
I have been pastor of First Baptist Church of Allendale, SC for almost 8 months now. I now have to watch my step because folks are beginning to recognize me at Hardee's, the post office, and grocery store. This is small town life and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I am one of a few full-time pastors who reside in town. This makes me the go-to-guy for a number of occasions. One distinct honor came this summer when members of our National Guard unit returned after being deployed in Iraq for a year. I was asked to deliver the invocation in a welcome home ceremony. It was a special experience to look out at the faces of families who had not seen these men and women for a year. Everyone was happy they were home. It certainly was a holy moment. Everyone knew that. I might have felt like Peter did at the transfiguration. "It's good for us to be here!" I don't know why Jesus did not turn to Peter and say, "Well, duh!" Of course, it being Jesus, I reckon he didn't have to.

This Wednesday, I am honored to pray again at another moment in the life of the town of Allendale. A new grocery store is opening. This might not sound like a big deal, but in a town that has seen its fair share of difficult days, here is at least a glimmer of hope. Here are a few more jobs in place that has the state's third lowest unemployment rate. Here is some commerce being generated where folks are used to not being an option for shopping. Perhaps, in some subtle way, it wakes us up to more that we all could be doing as a community. Maybe, then, it won't be a glimmer of hope, but we could somehow become exposed to the bright, shining glory of God. And I'll get busy building boothes for Moses and Elijah . . .

Look for me to post the grocery store grand opening invocation Wednesday.

One Happy Computer Owner
You might want to ask for clarification when your pastor says, "My latest experiences using the internet have made me really happy."
What exactly do you mean by that, Rev?
OK, it is not what you think. Lately I have been determined to catch up with some folks I have not seen for a long time. The internet has been a big help.
I have used Facebook over the last couple years to keep up with friends. Now that Facebook has opened up beyond college students, I have been able to find a lot of folks who went to college with me.
I haven't seen my taekwondo instructors in 11 years. Of course the TKD association has a web site, and Dave and Caryn are still teaching. They are level 5 TKD masters now!
All in all, it has been pretty easy to find people, though I would never confess to being a brilliant, private investigator type. I'm really glad to be able to stay in touch with a lot of friends and family members.

The Lord's Supper
Yesterday, I think I had one of "those moments". I think you might know what I mean, moments that come around to help you get a glimpse of what the ministry is all about. I mentioned to Trisha that every church member should get to sit where I sit sometimes and take a good look at this part of the body of Christ. Yesterday, I got to see each of these folks passing the bread and the cup to one another. The plates passed between family members, from the old to the young and back, from the poor to the the well-off--each person a loved member of the family of God. It overwhelmed me for a moment, and I breathed a hopeful prayer that each person I saw got what they needed. I did.

I was reminded of that ending scene in "Places In The Heart". Everyone was in church passing the Lord's Supper to each other. This scene gets a bit unusual as the plate is passed down a row that includes a man who was killed and a man who killed him. The message: even if there is not room in your heart for another, there is room at the Lord's table for all. Paul told Timothy, "If we are faithless, he remains faithful--for he cannot deny himself." (2 Tim 2:13) The little boy in the movie said, "The peace of Christ." I say Amen.

Pastor Perks
I have been in the business a while (16 years this summer). I have been taken out to lunch. I have had church members invite me to their homes for dinner. I have received my fair share of fresh vegetables and preserves. But today . . . (cue the Lou Gehrig speech)
Today... Today... Today...
I consider myself... myself... myself...
The luckiest preacher on the face of the earth... earth... earth...
Thanks to some good church folks, I've got 6 pounds of shrimp in the freezer!!!
What a treat! Thanks, church people!!!
And you knew this was coming . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF7XPcUnDj4

Sunday, September 30
Year C, Proper 21, Season after Pentecost
Meditaions, Prayers and Scripture Readings

Welcome
There are a couple of ways that we consider stewardship. The first way is to think about the right use of money, and sometimes we consider that by taking a look at the wrong ways we use money. God is concerned with how we make our money. Have we come about it honestly or have we harmed people in the process? A second way to consider stewardship is to understand what we owe God. Our first loyalty is as participants in the kingdom of God, and it is a loyalty that nothing on earth can claim and no Christian should give except to God. We are ultimately accountable and responsible to God. Our loyalty is demonstrated in faithfulness. It can be seen in worship. It can be seen in missions. And it certainly can be seen, heard, and known as we announce the loving presence of our Lord in this world. “The peace of Christ be with you.”

1 Timothy 6:6-16

Invocation
Gracious God, giver of life, without you we have nothing. We cannot rest in our earthly accomplishments, for they are not eternal. They wither like grass in the unapproachable light of your presence. We are gathered as your church, not because of what we have been able to do. No, we are here because of what our Lord has accomplished on our behalf. By his great love for us we have been saved. We ask your blessings upon us that we might shun the ways of the world in order to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. As we worship you today, we pray that you would find us taking hold of the eternal life to which we have been called, keeping the commandments of our Lord in purity of faith. May all we do in this hour glorify your presence, in words spoken, prayed, and sung; in our welcoming of each other in this service; and in our honoring your sovereignty in our lives. May this time be a good confession in the presence of many witnesses, even now as we confess your name in prayer, saying as our Savior taught, “Our Father . . .

Psalm 146

Prayers of the People
Our Lord and our God, we are glad that we know you and we sing your praises. Hear our hallelujahs and receive the prayers of your people.
You are the God in whom we can place our trust. We have no need to rely on the powers and systems of this world. They are temporary, fading and dissolving with time. You are eternal, keeping faith forever, and our hope is in you, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.
You execute justice for the oppressed. We offer our prayers for the people of this world who find them selves subjected to oppression by others. We pray for believers who suffer persecution. We pray for people who suffer from hunger or poverty because a tyrant disrupts the distribution of food or a government violates human rights.
We pray for the healing of the sick and the relief of all who are in distress. Open the eyes of the blind. Lift up all who are bowed down. Sustain them with your presence. Drive away illness from their bodies and set their spirits aright that they may know the victory of life and peace and be enabled to serve you now and evermore.
We pray for your continuing watchcare over strangers. May your peace accompany them. May your protection be a noticeable characteristic of their travels.
We pray for the care of the widow and the orphan. Lift them up to know the ways that you have provided for them in love and grace.
As we pray for others, we also pray listening for your word to us. Show us the ways that we can help meet the need of these we have lifted up to you. Strengthen us to be your servants and guard us from wickedness that we would acknowledge your reign with songs of praise to all generations.
We sing your praises all our life long, for we have much for which we can be thankful. We especially say “praise the Lord” in thanksgiving for the eternal life granted to us by Jesus Christ our Lord. It is in his name we are gathered as his church, commissioned to make disciples, and in his name we make this our prayer. Amen.

Luke 16:19-31

Benediction
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Go in the name of the One who came back from the dead for our sake. Go with your eyes wide open to see your neighbor in need. Go with your hands open to lift up the broken and give all you can to help. Go with your heart open that the love of Christ would be known. And your good works will be seen to the glory of our God in heaven. Amen.

Mascot Madness
Speaking as a former "man in the suit", I've got nothing but love for K. C. Wolf today.
Did you see it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOofejdChSg

Buccaneer Speak

If you read Ken Burger's column today on CSU's trip to Hawai'i you might have run across Coach Mills' quote . . .

"Every man desires by innate nature a battle to fight and an adventure that involves risk taking," Mills said. "Through the game of sport, particularly football, those two opportunities are provided. This kind of game answers the question, on a play by play basis, do I have what it takes?"

Sounds cool. It also sound like something the "voice of NFL Films" John Facenda might say in a highlight reel of bruised and bloody offensive linemen breathing a heavy mist on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. It might be like that for the Bucs this weekend, except for that frozen tundra part.

Speaking of Buccaneers, yesterday was International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Well, me hearties, did ye parlee with ARRRR's and AYE's? You know me--I be a buccaneer through an' through, you scurvy sea dogs. AVAST and heave to, laddies!!

Not too long ago, my sister forbade me to teach her kids my pirate song. It was kind of a nonsense song that three-year-olds would be good at singing. But, I guess the content could be considered rated ARRRRRR. Here 'tis. You be the judge.
I'm a pirate.
I'm a pirate.
I'm a pirate, be a-feared.
Here's my pirate eye patch,
And here's my pirate sword,
And these are my
BUCCANEERS!

Ahoy there, cue the fight song! ARRRRR you a buccaneer?