September 22

Ellie, Isabel, Evelyn, and Emma ride the subway back in February

Things abound today in my attempt to not talk about depressing real-life things.

September 22 is a reminder that it's my parents' wedding anniversary. They were married on a hot September day 62 years ago.

There are love stories that give me faith. I know my parents would be still very much the kids they were back in 1957.

Call me crazy or just a romantic.

I suppose there's a deeper thought in there.

September 22 is also the birthday of my great-niece Eleanor. I wrote on Facebook how she's my pal with a variety of other things. But the thing about Ellie is that she just loves to smile. That's about the coolest thing in the world.

Being known for a smile is a nice thing.

But Ellie is just one of a collection of nieces and nephews. I've never been known to play favorites and won't start now. Each one brings something great to the table. I've been a proud uncle since my first niece was born when I was 12.

September 22 has some notoriety as well. From Susan comes the note that Sept 22 was the date of the execution of eight people in Salem, MA in 1692. As a history buff, I was fascinated by her knowledge of the Salem Witch Trials, which took 19 lives via hanging and one via "pressing" (or crushing).

We toss around the term "witch-hunt" and there is, quite honestly, a far-deeper meaning to it. While one shouldn't let Wikipedia be their guide, it's still not a bad jumping-off point. So here's their article on the history and meaning of a witch-hunt.

Say what you want (and, believe me, you do in the number of reads we get here) but we really do cover a lot of ground here.

Beyond that, I have plenty of things to growl about, but really, why? Blah blah blah depression blah blah blah annoying broadcasters blah blah blah and so on.

I'll say this again: quality doesn't matter anymore. It's what can yo do for "me," be it financially or prestige.

I'll also say this again: umpires and officials are not the stars of a game. Joe West is an embarrassment to baseball (from Yahoo). Then there's this story, via Deadspin. The NFL is simply a mercenary league. There's no excuse to throw a penalize a player who threw his helmet because said player was injured.

But yeah, go ahead and tell me how whiny the #Savages are. Because no other team whines. No Red Sox team. No Mets team (Gary Carter whined over Mike Scott in '86). Nope. Just the Yankees.

Or maybe sour grapes?

I'm tired of the nonsensical rhetoric.

Just silly.

Today's not the day for it.