Dogs + Dirt...Road Trips Redux...Tailgating...Badger Precautions

Canine Capers

After over 2 months of PT for my neck injury, I'm back to walking Sammy more often again. Hey! . . . He's developed a habit of nibbling on dirt. What's with that?! Anybody who can shed light on this, please let me know either via message or email (pleckband@hotmail.com). You'll get your name, along w/appropriate KUDO's, in a future blog. [As far as you know.]

Road Trips Redux

Today (FRI 9/1) Lois & I will be embarking on another road trip to, where else, Minnesota. Not that we have anything against MN! Among other things [OK, primarily about this one thing] we will get to visit Calvin, our "getting closer to 2-years-old grandson. And his parents. 

A rundown of MN road trips.

• Calvin's 1-year-old birthday party.
• Nevis, MN, for a funeral, which really didn't have the feel of a road trip.
• Our anniversary trek to N.E. MN, which included explorations in state & national forests, exploring quaint towns, like Grand Marais & Duluth.
• Back up to MN for time spent w/Lois' brother David--married to my cousin Carmen--at their fishing lodge on Little Island Lake near Park Rapids.
• This weekend trip, which has become an annual tradition, will be our 5th road trip to MN. *

* We actually made another road trip to MN late last fall, attending my aunt's funeral in Lakefield. That will make 6 trips in less than a year.

It's That Time of Year . . .                             There Truly Is No Place Like Nebraska

Our newspapers have supplied Cornhusker fans [& enemies] w/a constant stream of endlessly fascinating facts, even before the annual Omaha World Herald's 4-section, Sunday edition, published last SUN 8/26. I will regale you with some of the more nuanced details that I gleaned from this & other media sources.

From the OWH (8/27)

• "Tailgating Is the Tastiest Ritual of Fall. Hank Vice has "been tailgating next to near Morrill [Elephant] Hall for the past 4 years & in the loop next to Memorial Stadium for the 19 before that."
• (Over the 20 years Hank has tailgated), "things have changed at the Vice tailgate. There are 3 big tents . . . Two big TV sets w/a satellite dish . . . An industrial smoker . . . A beanbag toss game, no matter what, gets run over by a car at sone point during the season . . .Now the guest list can stretch on some SAT's to more than 200, & once, more than 450. to more than 450 . . .  He always serves burgers & Fairbury hot dogs . . . Brats are a staple, too . . . If it's a morning game, he makes breakfast burritos. If it's a cold game, chicken soup & chili. Sometimes he makes 50 racks of ribs in his smoker. ]Sometimes we might do steak sandwiches' . . . Early in the season guests bring jalapenos from their gardens, stuffed w/cream chesse. Lots of people bring desserts . . . "
• "Fans Flock to a Pair of Stadium Favorites . . . "Cold weather months, when the games are around lunch or dinner. Those are the days when the restaraunt will sell as many as 15,000 in Memorial Stadium . . . " 
• MY COMMENT:  That's approximately 7.5 Runzas for every person in my hometown of Concordia, MO.
• "The university invited Valentino's into the stadium later in 1993 . . . If it's lunch or dinner time, Val's an sell more than 20,000 slices in a game.
• MY COMMENT:  "Or, 10 slices for every man, woman, & child in my  home town.
• "A multitude of favorite dishes in NE's wild game cookbook . . . Mikale Wilson grew up on 'soul food . . . The standout eater on the team? Wilbon says it's Tanner Farmer, the 305-lb junior lineman. Wilbon has seen his teammate consume 3 6-finger combos in one sitting at Raising Cane's . . . "

Ditto, (9/1):   

"What's new, besides season . . . FB season has arrived & with it new things for Husker fans to consider:  Clear bags. Sweeter scoreboard images. Eight new honorees. Twitter captioning . . . The policy, for safety reasons prohibits carrying in coolers, backpacks, briefcases, fanny packs, computer bags, camera bags, binocular cases, diaper bags, umbrellas . . . With inspections, blankets carried on the shoulder will be allowed. Also allowed w/inspections:  hand-held G s & radios, binoculars (w/o cases), infant feeding supplies, empty cushions that are no bigger than 16x16" & don't ha e zippers or arms . . . "

MY COMMENT:  Everybody knows this stricter policy became necessary when WI fans started bringing beer cans hidden in fanny packs . . . & did I mention that it's CHEAP beer being smuggled?