TEXAS RANGERS.

I've been away. Not like to the South of France away, but in general away. We've had a couple of parties and a couple dozen illnesses around here. I owe you all tons of great pictures from some FUN times this fall. I'll get it together...maybe by spring.

In happier news...THE TEXAS RANGERS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!! How cool is that? Pretty cool when you're from Arlington, Texas and you have super fond memories of the Rangers starting from the time you can remember. I've watched a million games on tv, I've been to quite a lot at both stadiums, a friend of mine's dad was the team doctor when we were kids (that was cool), and I can still hear the sound of the announcers on the radio. My dad would always have the Ranger game on while out in the garage or tooling around town after a Saturday barbecue lunch. It's just nostalgic for me. I hope they can clinch it this year. I have high hopes!

When I was born my name was entered into a drawing for a $1,000 scholarship presented by Danny Darwin, a pitcher for the Rangers. Believe it or not, I won for the month of March. And 18 years later when I was leaving for college I went to the Rangers' business office and collected my money. Pretty good deal, I'd say.

But, now that it's 30 years later, I think the best part of the whole deal is this photo. There's so much about it that I love. I love my dad's rockin outfit. And my brother's cleats and the fact that he's so super stoked we're standing on the field and he has no clue it's not all for him. And the fact that my mom has a 6 month old and she's lookin so skinny. And that my brother and I have kids that look an awfully lot like us today. And in total vein, I love that my name is as big as Dallas on the scoreboard. I'm so glad this picture has made many moves and survived the shuffle. It's a precious little keepsake that I hope to always have.

GO RANGERS.