published

I'm coming out with a new book just in time for the hollidays. I figured that since I work at a job I really don't like all that much, I may as well capitalize on the opportunity and cash in while I can.
So what is this book?
It's going to be a new coffe table book that sweeps the nation. Our America...or even the world...hasn't seen the likes of it since Kramer's coffee table book about coffee tables.

Because you all are my loyal readers, I'm going put the Introduction to the book on this blog. This is the same introduction you will see once the book comes out. The following should explain everything.


Ladies and Gentlemen, the Introduction to my first coffee table book.


Introduction
Being a teacher puts me a unique position. I get to
educate America’s tomorrow. I also get to confiscate
their notes. The following notes you are about to
read have been censored in terms of who wrote them and
cuss words. Every note in here was either found on the
floor, a desk, the water fountain or seized.

Some times I wonder if I were to have let him or her
write a little longer…just a little longer… what other
magnificent insights you, me, and the world would
receive from these seventh graders. However, I can’t
take that chance. If by the chance they quit writing
and put it away, I can’t have them open their
three-ring binder and ask them to take out the note
they were just writing on, can I?

you've got to be kidding

A lady in St. Louis had this in her obituary this weekend...


"Mrs. Eckert was a member of Zion United Church of Christ, Millstadt, Ill., Zion Women's Fellowship, VFW Post 7980 Ladies Auxiliary, Millstadt, Ill., an avid Wednesday night bingo player at VFW, when she was younger and playing softball she led the league in batting, she made several quilts, enjoyed cooking and baking and she was a big Cardinals fan, she was glad to see Ray King traded."


I don't make this stuff up, people. I just report what I see.

borring schmorring

Whoever posted that, obviously didn't leave a comment on the last post, so guess what you get.

More baseball talk! Maybe someday, we'll learn our lesson.

Last year, Edgar Renteria signed with the Boston Red Sox. Then, David Eckstein signed with the Cardinals. Cubs fans every where were going nuts.

"Ha! Eckstein to the Cardinals! He's...like...12!"

Cubs fans love to say that Eckstein is looks like a twelve year old. As if that makes him play worse.
That's fine. That's one heckuva 12 year old baseball player.

Cardinals fans all along said that Boston fans were going to rip Edgar apart, and he would not be nearly as good or happy there. Not soon after the season started, fans there started calling him, "Edgar Rentawreck". Rentawreck commited an MLB leading 30 errors, and did very little with the bat.

Yesterday he was traded. To the Braves. Now, I actually think that he could do very well under Bobby Cox. But, I think I can speak for all of Cardinal Nation when I say to Renteria...I told you so*.

Matt Morris should learn from this and resign with the Cardinals. 8 million per year for him is the going rate now, and that'd be okay with me. I'd rather have Burnett, but not at 55 million dollars.



* I've actually never talked to Edgar Renteria. However, a year ago I did say "Edgar is not going to be good in Boston. It's going to be too much pressure" to my computer screen.

Danny Cox's 1985 brown blazer

Because of my stent, I have not been able to tuck in my shirt for the past 2 months. It hurts whenever I have to tighten my belt *down there*.

So when it comes to what I've been wearing to school, I've had to adapt. Go with the flow. Listen to what my body has to tell me. And it's been telling me, "Jerry, just go with it. Go with it." So I've been wearing jeans at least 3 out of the 5 work days, and I moslty wear long sleeved dressed shirts, a variety of Steve Madden shoes, and top it all off with one of my 3 blazers. Navy Blue, Grey, and Brown Chorduroy.

Today I chose Steve Madden shoes with orange stripes (which Tim Lybarger made fun of), a tan brown and orange striped dress shirt, and my classic Brown Chord blazer. Get that mental picture in your head. Got it?

When I walked into first hour today, one of the girls asked if I could come over to her. I went over there, and she said, "Mr. Cox, you are the best dressed teacher. You're always mixing and matching. I love your outfit today! You're always lookin' clean. You should be voted best dressed teacher this year."

Then her fellow brotha chimed in.
"Yeah, Mr. Cox! You're like a white Kanye West!"




George Bush hates white people!!

5 years, $55 million

Who in the world would want to play for the TORONTO BLUE JAYS?!?!!? When they're offering $15 million dollars more than the Cardinals, I guess anyone. The Cards were said to offer 4 years at $40 million, and with that, I'd be a little weary. But 5 years and $55 million?



Even if AJ would have went with the Cardinals offer, it would have been near impossible to resign Mulder and Carpenter when their time would come. How can you give 10 million dollars to a guy with a career .500 record and expect to sign a Cy Young award winner, and the guy with the best winning % in the major leagues to less money?
Jocketty is one of the best GMs and he always finds his guys to fill in. I'll just sit back and watch him do his thang.

mabry is a cub

John Mabry has signed with the Cubbies. Not that this is a major loss for the Cardinals, but I found it interesting. Usually players leave from the Cubs and go to the Cardinals, but not vice-versa. I thought to myself, "why would John John want to leave the team that he's been on the past two seasons and gone to the playoffs both years for the miserable & disfunctional pit that has been Your Chicago Cubs this year? After the Cardinals decided not to offer him a contract, all I had to do was read John's quote in the paper...

"I am just looking for a job."


Have fun, John!

state of gas

Now I know how Kortny feels every night.

There has to be something in the Champaign water that is making these Junior High kids releasing some serious stank. I mean, I've NEVER smelled so many, so horribly bad smelling farts in my life. Today goes down in my history book as the day in which I have smelled both the most farts, and the worst-smelling farts.
Ever.

The only time(s) I can think that can even hold a candle to today were(was) one of my many car trips with Dave where I had to smell his fiber-eating butt gas over and over and over and over.

I told the Science teacher that he may want to re-think using the bunsen burners today.

iJeremiah

I would say my hobbies in life rank something like this...

* video editing
* playing music
* following baseball
* general TCB (taking care of business)

I have recently purchased that has both encorporated all of these 4 hobbies, and rocked my world. Of course, I'm talking about the new iPod video.
I'll now take questions.

"Jeremiah, how does the iPod video help you follow baseball?"
- Well, I must admit that that one on the list was the weakest one that relates to the iPod, but I obviously love baseball so much that I couldn't leave it off the list. So, with my iPod, I can carry up to 10,000 photos, and so far I have 10 baseball photos that include pics of my last game at Busch, demolition, and sweet photo (curtousy of Tim Lybarger) of Pujols walking down a tunnel in Busch with the name "Jesus" on the back.

"Oh, wow! You can edit video on your iPod?!"
-No, you dork. But I can put up to 75 hours of video footage on here, which so far includes my original videos (both Quest videos and ParkLife), every Nooma, the complete first season of The Office, the first season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and 14 full length movies I ripped off my DVD's.

"Wow. That's really cool."
-Thanks. I didn't make it though. I just bought one.

"Jeremiah, you must make a ton of money being a special ed teacher and a worship leader to buy this."
-Actually, no. Because I'm a teacher (and a darn good one) I was able to get an Education discount on the iPod. I got it for under $300.

Thanks for all the great questions. I'll now take questions from the commenters. After all, they are the ones who make this site possible.



I like my iPods how I like my women. Small, black, and with a non-click wheel.

real role-models.

This is the best Christian athlete story I've heard since Albert Pujols took the enire Cardinals' minor league (about 250 players) to see The Passion of The Christ.



************************* UPDATE! **********************


Pujols became the first Cardinal to win the MVP since Willie McGee. Albert winning the MVP and Carpenter winning the Cy Young in the same year is awesome. However, it's bitter-sweet due to the fact that the Cardinals did not at least win the Pennent. But these are some pretty nice consulation prizes. I know that the MVP and Cy Young aren't supposed to take into consideration the post-season, but both Carp and Pujols came up big-time in the playoffs.

It's also nice to see that the national writers for the most part, ignored what they were being fed on ESPN and their website to actually look at the numbers and give them to the most deserving players. This goes for not just the Cardinals that won.
Here, here, national writers. You actually did your job.

I know I said I wouldn't talk about baseball during the winter, but this has been a pretty big deal. Sorry, kiddos.

Man, it has been over a week since my last post. My stent has demanded all my time. Taking 2 Vicatin every 4 hours makes one feel real good. Really really good.
Hey everyone!!!
Come see how good I feel!!*

The double Vicatin shot works for about an hour and a half. Then it's right back to Painville. Which also takes me to Grumpytown. Not to be confused with taking me to Funkytown.

I don't know how many times I've heard already students in my school today saying the words "get rich, or die tryin'"
My favorite was in Social Studies class, when the teacher was talking about families going west to make a better life for themselves. A student in the back chimed up and said, "Man, that's it. Get rich or die tryin'"
The other students in the class agreed.
"Do doubt, dawg!"
"Aww yeah!"

Does anyone else feel awesomely entertained when they see 50 Cent making the rounds to places like The View and Regis and Kelly? I can just imagine all his homies in his entourage talking...
"Did you see Fiddy on The View Friday? Man, that $%*&, was tight!"






*The two lines refer to Ron Burgundy in Anchorman.

we're getting personal.

As if you all really wanted to see the foot and a half long stent that is in me. Forget the kidney stone. It's this mo' that causes all the pain.

On Friday, I was in 7th grade reading class. The students were working on an assignment for the book Hatchet. They were to draw a missing poster about the main character in the book. One of the students in the back was raising his hand for a long time. Both of us teachers were helping other students, so he kept his hand raised. When I finally got back to him, we had this conversation...

"I'm sorry you had your hand raised this whole time. What's your question?"
"Can I give him peach fuzz?"
"Can you give him what?"
"Peach fuzz"
"Peach fuzz???"
"Yeah, you know. Like how I have a peach fuzz mustache. (pointing to the area above his lips) Can I give him a peach fuzz mustache?"
"Oh!!! Um..ah...yeah. You rock that out, man."

I've always noticed the "pube-stache" this kid has sported. I have NEVER EVER heard a kid actually refer and/or acknoledge his pube-stache/peach fuzz. This kid has intentionally grown his 7th grade pube-stache and refers to it as peach fuzz. He is proud of his peach fuzz.

This was, hands down, the most awesome moment of my teaching career so far.

i just LOVE these!

I got one of those survey e-mails last night. Are you kidding?!!? Are these still passed around? I thought I'd post my responses if I were to send this back.

1. What is your occupation? Babysitter for middle school students who have problems

2. What color is your underwear? clear

3. What are you listening too right now? you just used the wrong "too".

4. What was the last thing you ate? a pain pill

5. Do you wish on Stars? why did you just capitalize Stars?

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? clear

7. How is the weather right now? fine.

8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? the bullpen coach

9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? No. I hate them. Why am I on her e-mail list? Is it her hate e-mail list?

10. How old are you today? 48

11. Favorite drink? Clear Pepsi

12. Favorite sport to watch? cards (not cardinals, but cards. you, know. spades, hearts, ect)

14. Do you wear contacts or glasses? I can't answer this because I wear neither.

15. Pets? huh? are you asking if I have any? if I want any? what are you asking?

16. Favorite month? again. stupid question.

17. Favorite food? penn station

18. What was the last movie you watched? breakin' 2.

19. Favorite day of the year? now

20. What do you do to vent anger? punch in the mouth

21. What was your favorite toy as a child? ken

22. Fall or spring? summer

23. Hugs or kisses? BOTH!!!!

24. Cherry or Blueberry? razzleberry

25. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? no. i want them to comment.

26. Who is most likely to respond? dave

27. Who is least likely to respond? because there is not much mentioned about baseball so far...Tim.

28. Living arrangements? I don't want to give you to many details, but let's just say...they...are...awesome.

29. When was the last time you cried? when I got one of these e-mails.

30. What's on the floor of your closet? a dead body, i mean clothes. clothes are on the floor of the closet. sorry.

31. Who's the friend you've had the longest? shut up.

32. What did you do yesterday? I worked, you bum. someone has to work around here.

33. What inspires you? Inpirational songs, movies, and e-mail forwards.

34. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Spicy hamburgers? Okay, now you are just stretching.

35. What are you afraid of? Falling into a pit jam packed full of spicy hamburgers

36. Favorite car? The Adobe. The little car...made out of clay.

37. What Is Your Favorite Breed Of Dog? The breed that is none. I like no dog.

38. Number of keys on your key ring? I don't know. But there is only one key to my heart. And that is Kortny. Yes!

39. How many years at your current job? 1.25

40. Favorite day of the week? I don't know why everyone say Friday. You still have work on Friday. I choose Sunday.

41. How many states have you lived in? Ask my wife. She lives in the state of gas every night whem I'm around.

42.. Ring size? This is the final question? The climax of this whole thing is to ask me what my ring size is?


Jeremiah's ring size: AWESOME

mr. cox sucks

Barring an off-season aquisition, I hereby state that I will post about baseball no more on here until spring.

Today was my first day back to school since my second kidney surgery. I think my students were just waiting until I came back to kick it into high gear. What is "it", you ask?
It is acting like a fool, writing "Mr. Cox sucks" on their test, and telling me that their parents were going to "mess me up".

Yes. A student today actually had the kahones to write, "Mr. Cox sucks" on the bottom of his Illinois State Assesment bubble sheet. Did I erase it?
Heck no.
I want to give whoever feeds the sheet into the machine at Springfield something to think about.

Who is this Mr. Cox?
I wonder if he really is a mean teacher?
I wonder if all the students at his school think he sucks, or just this one?
Why did this student only complete half the test?

a touch of the pujols flu

Brade Lidge got bit by the Pujols bug a few days ago.



He was still suffering from it last night.



Get better! Here is my e-card for Brad Lidge.

sorry, george and barb.

Check this video out. It takes a few minutes to load, but it's a wide screen shot of the Pujols homerun from Game 5. You can see good ol' George and Barb Bush on the right, and George turning around and yelling once Pujols connects.
Hey, I've got to watch something to make me feel better.

show's over.

Well, I would have thought they'd put up more of a fight than this. I didn't always think they would necessarily win tonight's game, but I didn't think it would be this.
The Astros were the better team in these past few games, and they deserved to go on.
Again, the Cardinals fans show their class by applauding for the Astros.

Yes, Pujols' shot in game 5 will forever be remembered as one of the biggest clutch homers in baseball history, but how much more sweet it would have been if the Cards would have won the Pennent. It was a good year. It was a very good year.

It was a shame to see the Cards go down like this. Their pitching was the best in the league all season. Their hitting was in the top 3. It was a good season for the Cards, and at least we didn't have to watch it end at Houston. St. Louis ended 11 games ahead of the Stros, 19 ahead of the Brewers and 21 ahead of the Cubs. When people doubted they would be as good as the 105 win team, they proved everyone wrong. Back to back 100-win seasons. The NLCS came down to the best two teams in the league, and that's how it should be.

So, what comes next? Should I be rooting for the White Sox, who have always been my second favorite team, or go for the Astros so that the Cardinals would have lost the World Champs?
Do I actually root for a team in the American Leauge, or do I root for a team who celebrated and didn't show as much class in games 4 and 5 as they have the past few years?


Hey Houston.

Don't celebrate too much if you beat Chicago in a non-clinching game.


Go Sox.

this is why we traded for mulder...

I saw this quote from Roy Oswalt today regarding the bomb Lidge allowed to Pujols...
"We kidded with him the whole time on the plane today. We actually told him we almost got hit by the ball when it took off."

So, here we are. The day off, and game 6 is tonight. Everyone has had time to soak in what excactly did happen in the 9th inning of game 5.
Oswalt shut down the Cards the last time out. The Cardinals had their opportunities against him,but failed to come through. Mulder pitched a good game as well.

I'm not going to make any predictions for tonights game. After what just happened, I think it goes without saying that nobody can ever really have a grasp as to what is going to happen. I will say this though. If the Astros are going to win this series, it's going to happen tonight.

Is anyone else more daring than me and care to venture predictions for this series??

I just found this picture, and thought it was great...

meet me in st. louis

Busch Stadium: You will not be demolished quite yet.

I couldn't stand how Houston was celebrating like they won the series after Sunday's win. I couldn't stand how Berkman acted as if he already hit the game winning homerun in the 7th inning.
I love how Pujols just looked ticked off.

David Freaking Eckstein getting a hit with two outs and two strikes.
Jimmy Ballgame swallowing his pride and taking the walk.

The legend of Albert Pujols continues.

That was the defining moment of his young career. The dude is clutch. When he unloaded on that 0-1 slider, I turned to Kortny and told her that she just witnessed one of the biggest homeruns in postseason history.

Sure, LaRussa takes heat every now and then. But you have to say one thing about him and this year's team. They play a hard nine. Remember the game against the Reds? Down 9-2 in the 9th? Cards come back to win 10-9. Against the Braves: down by 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th, and Eckstein hits a grand slam.
They've done that all year. They've certainly got heart.

I don't think I've ever heard a crowd go from that loud to that silent.
Anyone see the shot of Pettite when Pujols hit that bomb? You could read his lips all the way.
"oh my ____".

okay, okay...

Now that I've had about 15 hours to cool down, I'm ready. I still think the Cardinals are done, but being a fan I always have to have some hope.

Going into Houston, all along I said that all the Cards have to do is win one game. Then, they'd be going back to St. Louis, down 3 games to 2, just like last year. We've got our best going tonight, and Carpenter has an ERA below 1 in his career at Minute Made Park. He's won three times there this year.

The Cardinals hitting aside from Pujols has been horrible. Pathetic. Discusting. The pitching has been very good.
Do I think the Cards are going to loose this series? If I was a bettin' man, I'd say yes.
Do I think the series is allready over? No.

*************THE BOTTOM LINE***************
What do the past 2 World Series Champs have in common?
Red Sox came back from 3-0 against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.
Marlins came back from 3-1 against the Cubs in the 2003 NLCS.

jumping the shark

Absolutely pathetic.

not good.

I won't talk about any silver linings in last night's 4-1 loss.
I could mention Mulder's 7 innings, 6K, 1ER or the Pujols homer.

Sanders is down with a sprained back
Tavarez has gotten rocked by Houston all year
Edmonds blew all his chances last night
Walker is hobbling around and 1 for 17 in the series so far

I kept on forgetting, however that it would be rediculous to think that the Cardinals could get 5 runs off of all three of these starters every game. When you are facing Pettitte, Oswalt and Clemens, you are going to get shut down some games. I think the Cards need to win 2 of 3 in Houston before coming back to St. Louis.
The only thing that worries me about Houston right now, is that bandbox of a stadium where I could even have 15 homeruns at with that left field.

However, I love the fact that all of ESPN except John Kruk is saying that Houston is definenitley going to win the series now. The Cardinals always do better when people are betting against them.

in true cy form.

"Reggie Sanders is old and awesome."
"David Eckstein is small and good."
- Matt Ahrens




I've been to a few postseason games before, but I have never heard a more deafening noise than last night after Reggie Sanders hit the homerun in the first inning. He absolutely killed that ball. It was the 2nd longest homerun in Busch stadium this year.
Last night, the Cardinals showed excactly why they can beat any team.
-Scored off the homerun
-Scored off basehits
-Scored off the suicide squeeze
-Good starting pitching

While Mark Prior was busy getting sued, Chris Carpenter was busy being his old self, and has allowed 2 runs in 14 innings this postseason.

How good is David Eckstein?

Roy Oswalt is 2-1 with an ERA over 5 against St. Louis this year. Let's see if they can keep that up.

Hey, is anyone going to take Robbie up on his offer and watch Mark Mulder do this thang????

houston, you have a problem.

HAHAHAHAA!!!!! Get it?!!?!?! Hahahahahahaha!!!


Since LaRussa has been in town, if the Cardinals won the first game of a playoff series, they went on to win it. If they lost the first game, they went on to loose it.
What was up with the Chi Sox yesterday? Their offense was weak. Scotty-Po has been caught stealing more than he has stolen in the past 2 months.


Did anyone else enter the drawing for the chance to buy World Series tickets?

nope. sorry. not the red sox...

Ooooooooh man, I bet ESPN is hacked off that their precious Red Sox and Yankees are allready booted from the playoffs.

Here's my delima. The White Sox are and always have been my second favorite team. IF the Cardinals make it to the World Series, do I really want to see them face the White Sox? Do I want to run the risk of being forced not to like them?

Ever since I was friends with Even Walles in 2nd grade, who is a die-hard Sox fan, I've always wanted a Cardinals/White Sox World Series.
Here is my problem. If the White Sox become instant foes in the playoffs, will I all of a sudden see Ozzie Guillen no longer as *energetic* and *refreshing* but instead as *annoying* and *stupid*? Will I think of Mark Beurhle as a future self-proclaimed Cardinal, or a guy I'd never want anywhere near St. Louis again?

My head tells me to root for the Angels, so that I have a clear-cut foe in the World Series.
My heart?
Well, my heart says, "You go, White Sox!"

goshdangit.

The Cards would have crushed Atlanta in the NLCS. Last year's St. Louis vs. Houston went to 7 stressfull games. I'm worried about the Cards being able to beat them again. Honestly, this series could go either way. I have no idea who I think has the edge.

Here's my lowdown of the NLCS, which will start on Wednesday.

Houston
They have Pettite this time around
Don't have Kent, Beltran, or a full strength Jeff Bagwell
They have a weak offense
They have a chip on their shoulder from loosing to STL last year
Have that whole "team of destiny" thing going for them with their 18 inning win

STL
They have Carpenter and Mulder this time around
They don't have Scott Rolen
Their bullpen had a rough NLDS
They have a chip on their shoulder from getting swept in the World Series
The just swept a .500 team, and are well rested

Just to give you an idea of how close last year's NLCS was...
After six games, each team had scored 29 runs. Each team had an ERA of 4.80. And each team was batting .246.

Like I said before, the World Series champ will come out of the NL Central.


Discuss.

next.

Dave's boy, Eckstein connects with a 2-run homer and went 3 for 4.

Pujols had a series average of .556.

Sanders set a NLDS recored, 10 RBI in three games.
As Matt said; Reggie Sanders is old and awesome.



SIDE NOTE
I thought I would get more reaction from my last post. Was that too "out there"? Did I over-do it? I guess I should talk about baseball more.
Listen, I'm really sorry.

no more baseball talk

today.

The following post is gross and may cross the line. I'm just warning you.I've been thinking for a while a way to make a post on my experiences in the doctor's offices before my surgery and still keep this blog family-friendly.

You know, just like WBGL.

All the way up until last week, I've always had things *exit* my *exit only* orphace in the rear. One may say that is a given, but in this day and age, you can never be too sure. Medical doctors, doin' their thang.
So, when I was in the office, Mrs. Doctor said to me, "okay, I'm going to need you to drop your drawers and turn on your side.

"May I ask why" I asked.
She then proceeded to tell me not only why she requested I take this position, but who, what, when and where she was proceeding.
"Hmm" I said.
"Tell me if this hurts" she asked.
"Well, to tell you the truth, I've never felt this before...it doesn't feel good, if that's what you're asking".

She took her gloves off and left the room. And that was it. No good-bye. Nothing.

The next day, I visited the specialist. He was poking, and prodding, while asking me questions about my job, family, urine, and bowel movements. Memories of my experience with yesterday's doctor were a distant memory.
Then, Mr. Doctor asked me to turn to my side. I saw him put on his glove and get out the lube.
"Really?" I asked.
"My doctor just did this yesterday."
"Yup. I need to check" he told me.

He asked me the same question the other doctor asked. I gave him the same response, telling him that it doesn't feel good, and that I *guess* it doesn't hurt when he does that.


He asked me if I had any questions, and then left.
What is it with these doctors that come in and take advantage of me and leave?

What, no dinner and a movie?
I feel so used.

yes.

Two down, nine to go.

what now?!?

So, does this mean that Jimmy Fallon going to be a White Sox fan soon?

yes.

Reggie Sanders - 2 for 3 6RBI, Grandslam
Edmonds - 3 for 4, Homerun

Carpenter - 6IP, 3H, 0ER

Looks like Carp got his Mojo back.

my kidney or the playoffs?

I don't know which one is causing more pain right now. The foot long stent that is going from my kidney to my bladder or the anticipation of the playoffs starting in 4 1/2 hours.
Here are my final thoughts going into the postseason. I think the Cardinals will either loose in the first round or win it all. If Carpenter and Mulder pitch well against the Pads, then they will be on for the rest of the playoffs. If they don't, then it's all over.

Al Reyes done for the year?
It wouldn't be a true St. Louis Playoff until someone got hurt right before or during the playoffs.
- The tarp running over Coleman
- Mike Matheney getting cut by a hunting knife he got as a birthday present
- Alex Friggin Cintron running into Scott Rolen

So, here is my final prediction. The World Series winner will come from the NL Central.

Oh, and I would love nothing more than to see the White Sox knock out the Red Sox.

Game on!

worry?

I should be more worried about my kidney right now, but I can't help worry about the state of the Cards going into the playoffs. Carp has been roughed up, and Pujols is struggling too.

Let's dissect the Cy Young race.

Honestly, I don't know if Carpenter is the choice or Willis. Willis leads in wins and ERA, but Carpenter leads in just about everything else. Even though Willis has 22 wins, he has 10 losses against Carpenter's 5.
If one looks at only Wins and ERA, then Dontrelle is your man. If one looks at everything else in addition to that, then Carp gets the nod.
What about Carpenter's bad September? Both have had a bad month; Willis in July
(23ER and 7.14 ERA, plus his last outing) and Carpenter in September (24ER and 5.73 ERA)

.................Willis........Carpenter...................Advantage
Wins.............22............21..........................Willis
Losses...........10............5...........................Carpenter
Winning %........688...........808.........................Carpenter
ERA..............2.59..........2.83........................Willis
K's..............158...........213.........................Carpenter
Games............33............33..........................Tied
Complete games...7.............7...........................Tied
Shutouts.........5.............4...........................Willis
Ks/9.............6.20..........7.93........................Carpenter
K/BB.............2.9...........4.18........................Carpenter
Innings Pitched..229.1.........241.2.......................Carpenter
Walks............53............51..........................Carpenter
WHIP.............1.12..........1.06........................Carpenter
OBA .............290............273........................Carpenter


But we don't need to get wrapped up in awards voted by sportswriters. It's all about the playoffs.

Here we go!

*******SIDE NOTE********
Don't get me started on Andruw Jones for MVP. I have one stat that shows why...
Batting average with runners in scoring position???
.206
.206!!!!!!!!!!!

My MVP is Lee or Pujols.

ryne-o!

Spirit of St. Louis
By Ryne Sandberg, Yahoo! Sports
September 28, 2005

MVP: Albert Pujols
It's about time this guy wins an MVP award. The St. Louis Cardinals first baseman has been one of baseball's most dominant hitters the last five years while improving his defense every season. Pujols is batting .330 with 39 home runs and 110 RBIs. Also, when Scott Rolen went down with a shoulder injury, Pujols picked up the slack for the Cardinals.

Cy Young: Chris Carpenter
The Cardinals right-hander ranks second in wins (21) and fourth in ERA (2.71), and is tied for first in complete games (seven) and tied for second in innings pitched (235.2). It's surprising to me that he also has 207 strikeouts (third in the NL) because he's not that type of pitcher. He'll spot his fastball on the corners and change speeds as much as possible with sinkers down in the zone. Carpenter was impressive during a 13-game win streak from June 14 to Sept. 8, throwing at least seven innings and allowing fewer than three earned runs in every start.

mom? can i get the HIV plush doll? pleeeeease?!?

I was in 7th grade science class today looking at a catalog for science teachers. In this catalog, there are numerous different activities, models, and other types of *cool* and *awesome* things for teachers. I got to one page, which advirtised GIANT Microbes!
Stuffed toys.

Yes, that's right. Now you can have a stuffed toy of your favorite germ! Some of the germs that are available (and I'm not kidding) are...
HIV, Ghonorrea, Ulcer, Ebola, The Common Cold, The Flu, Sore Throat, Stomach Ache, Cough, Ear Ache, Bad Breath, Kissing Disease, Athlete's Foot, Ulcer, Martian Life, Beer & Bread, Black Death, Ebola, Flesh Eating, Sleeping Sickness, Dust Mite, Bed Bug, and Bookworm.

Here's a quote from the catalog...
"We make stuffed animals that look like tiny microbes—only a million times actual size! These dangerous (but cute) germs can engage your students in learning about germs. They'll love how soft they feel!"

Giant Microbe Ebola Plush - $6.99


Giant Microbe HIV Plush - $6.99

predictions...

ALDS
-------------
Angels over White Sox (in 3)
Indians over Yankees (in 5)

NLDS
-------------
Braves over Astros (in 4)
Cardinals over Padres (in 5)

ALCS
-------------
Indians over Angels (in 7)

NLCS
-------------
Cardinals over Braves (in 6)


World Series
-------------
Cardinals over Indians (in 7)

This is an article from this weeks, "The Onion". Well worth the read...

Oprah Stuns Audience With Free Man Giveaway

CHICAGO—The season premiere of The Oprah Winfrey Show unleashed a surprise for viewers Monday, when host Winfrey presented her studio audience with an unexpected gift: eligible men.

"Everybody gets a man! Everybody gets a man!" said Winfrey, almost drowned out by cries of disbelief as 276 men, one for every member of the studio audience, filed onto the Oprah set.

Hoping to top last year's season-debut surprise, when members of the studio audience received free cars, Winfrey watched elated as the men knelt before their awestruck new mates and delivered gallant kisses and professions of undying affection.

"Signed, sealed, delivered... they're yours!" Winfrey said.

Hand-picked by Winfrey and her staff, the men range in age from 29 to 63 and were described by assistant producer Sally Heffernan-Ross as "great catches" with semi-professional to professional careers and stable personalities.

"Oprah showed it can happen: You can get that man of your dreams, or at least of your minimal expectations," Heffernan-Ross said.

The men, dressed in fresh chinos and polo shirts and bearing single red roses and gift baskets from Bath & Body Works, emerged moments after audience members were instructed to reach beneath their chairs, where they found inlaid boxes containing keys.

The keys, Winfrey explained, unlocked the doors to the men's individual domiciles.

"He's yours! He's completely yours!" Winfrey said to one speechless young woman who appeared stunned by what was going on around her. Assuring "no months of awkward dating" or "questions over who's going to make the first move," Winfrey said her man giveaway had totally eliminated the guesswork of romance.

The men Winfrey gave away are guaranteed to enjoy snuggling, to find the few extra pounds gained over time "cute," and to have read at least three books by the poet Maya Angelou.

"Oh, I love Maya," said one of the giveaway men, 32-year-old electrical engineer Doug Jefferson, who also enjoys warm, comfy sweaters. "I think she's very brave. Heck, I love poetry in general. Who doesn't?"

Winfrey had to reassure several of the more timid studio-audience members.

"Don't worry, ladies, they won't be going anywhere," Winfrey said. "Kiss him! Give his behind a little squeeze! It's okay—he's your man!"

As with 2004's Pontiac G6 giveaway, the man giveaway came as a complete surprise to audience members, many of whom said the men arrived just in time.

"I was beginning to think it was never, ever going to happen," said Karla Drozdowicz, 34, an unmarried bank teller from Superior, WI who won radio-sales executive Chris Iredell. "I'm totally thrilled to get Chris. He's not what I imagined from my romance stories, but I'll love him just the same."

Another audience member, Gwendolyn Havers, said her years of watching Oprah instead of dating had "finally paid off."

"My mom says my 'wallflower' personality keeps me from meeting men," Havers said. "Well, if I wasn't such an Oprah fan, I wouldn't have gotten tickets to her show, and I wouldn't have won [part-time assistant tech-support manager] Eric [Fitzgerald]."

Heffernan-Ross said the audience members were selected from a pool of "hundreds of thousands of single, lonely women" who had put in requests for show tickets.

"Unlike the selection process for the men, finding unattached women was very easy," Heffernan-Ross said. "All we had to do was stick our hands in a big barrel of letters, and voilá, our perfect audience."

Harpo Productions, Winfrey's production company, assured the winners that their prizes are guaranteed to "be into [them]" through 2010, and agreed to pay all local and state taxes relating to the men, as well. However, federal income tax and expenses such as meals, movie tickets, motel stays, teddy bears, plush slippers, and commitment rings will not be covered.

Audience member Karen Schoenegge, 38, who was awarded 41-year-old collections-department supervisor John Zimmerman, said several drawbacks have emerged since the show's taping.

"Well, as soon as we got back to the hotel, I found out that John doesn't give backrubs," Schoenegge said. "He's also weird about me walking in the bathroom to pee while he's in the shower. I mean, it's not like I'm looking at him. He needs to loosen up a little. But I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. I really, really needed a new man."

The seven audience members who declined their men, saying that they were too insecure about their weight to feel confident in a romantic relationship, were instead treated to all-expenses-paid weekends at the Omni Hotel in downtown Chicago.

boston public

A run-down of my students today...

Situation 1... A student got a "strike" for talking in her class. She then throws down her binder on the floor and starts yelling at the teacher. She sits on the floor and won't move until Mr. Cox is called in.

Situation 2... Another student was in class and called the teacher a F*^$ing B*&%H. Sent down to the office.

Situation 3... Another student was in class when a peer said, "This sucks!" In reference to an assignment. The teacher said, "Excuse me. We don't curse in here". My student chimed in and said, "Aww. That aint' cussin. I'll show you cusssin. SH$#! Fu%$! D&^%!"

Situation 4... One of my other students stabbed another student in the arm with his pencil.

Situation 5...I heard a lot of yelling and laughing coming out of a room down the hall. I walked down there to find girl and a boy in a fight. What where they doing? Well, all the desks were pushed to the side, and the girl had the boy in some kind of hold while biting his arm. Finally, I got the students separated and had to hold the girl while another teacher had to grab the boy and get him out.


YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ehhhem?

I walked into 7th grade matt class yesterday. Nothing new. Just going to the class where a couple of my students are. One of my students sits in the back row in front of windows which overlook the playground. 3 stories up.
So I walk in the room, and the student (not knowing I just walked in) stood up, and proclamed to the class...
"I'm going to throw this book out the window now!"

He then proceeded to throw the book out the window.
Down three stories, to the playground.

He then turned around, sat quietly in his seat, and started on his math work. I was still on the opposite side of the room, when I then said...
"ehhhem?!?!?!"
He looked at me with wide eyes, and I gave him the pointer finger "come hither" motion. He looked around, because surely I wasn't gesturing towards him, right?!!?
He slowly got up, and walked towards me. We then proceeded to go into the hall where Mr. Cox ripped him a new one.

i've got your prague right here...

Here are some pro's and cons for going to a wedding with your wife all weekend.

Cons
-----
-Sitting through wedding rehearsal
-Sitting at the reception at the table that was clearly the "umm...I don't know where to put all these 6 random people, so I'll just throw them all to the same table" table.
-Sitting in the upper level of a two-story reception hall and not being able to see any of the action down below.
-Eating mushroom-stuffed chicken for dinner

Pros
-----
-Hot looking wife
-Hot looking wife
-Hot looking wife



Matt's going to Prague this week, and flying first-class.
Ohhhhh...we're all very impressed.

clinching it...wrigley style

Get ready to see this (minus Roger Cedeno, thank goodness, and Rolen) at a Wrigley Field near you.






Today I head north to watch the St. Louis Cardinals baseball club play a game against the Chicago Cubs.
I get to visit again, the Worlds Best Baseball Stadium Ever Created In The Universe.
A stadium just filled to the brim of History.
The place where history has happened such as...
Moises Alou slamming down his glove in a pout.
Sammy Sosa sliding/diving for fly balls that he should have caught on his feet.
Sammy Sosa's homerun jump that was transferred to Derrek Lee
Alex Gonzalez's botched double play ball
The Goat
The Black Cat

Oh, what great History

Anyway, with a little bit of luck, and a whole lot of Corey Patterson, I might get to see the Cardinals clinch the division tonight. That would be the same division that after their 105 win season, the critics said, "Oh, the Cardinals won't be near as good next year. The Cubs will be fighting neck and neck with them for the Central".
I get to see Mark Prior (best pitcher ever, 3.64ERA) vs. Jeff Suppan (#4 starter, 3.69ERA) dual it out. This will be my 4th Cardinals game this year, and 4th time seeing Suppan.

Chris Carpenter, please?

best morning ever

Today I walked into the teacher's lounge to put my lunch in the fridge. I saw out of the corner of my eye, something awesome.
The most ridiculous act of cheapness the likes I have ever seen. George Costanza would be proud of this.

On the vending machine, there was a napkin with writing on it that was pushed over a button on there to say on. On the napkin, it read:

"The Fritos that are stuck are Linda's."

I would have LOVED to seen this whole event on tape...

Linda, in eager anticipation putting her 65 cents into the machine.
Pointing up to the Fritos bag.
Taking note that it was code B14.
Dragging her pointer finger all the way from B14 to the key pad.
Punching in B14.
Waiting for the turnstyles to release her Fritos.
Seeing her eyes open wide as her beloved Fritos get stuck.
She starts shaking the machine.
She starts talking to the machine.
"C'mon" she says.
"C'monnnnnn!"
She goes over to the door in hopes of finding someone stronger than her to help her shake harder.
No one.
She stands in silence.
She puts her hands on her hips. Thinking.
In an act of desperation, she grabs a nearby napkin, and her trusty Sharpie.
She writes down, "The Fritos that are stuck are Linda's"
She pushes the napkin over a button so as to hang it from the machine.
She leaves in pain.
She leaves in anger.
After paying 65 whole cents, she leaves with only hopes that soon she will receive the Fritos that she rightly deserves.
She will get those Fritos.


I wanted more than anything to buy the Fritos and put them in her mailbox.

UMCOR

We received an e-mail from my mother last night telling us that my father is going down to help serve the hurricane victims. He got connected through UMCOR, because he's a Methodist pastor. He tried getting some people to go down with him, but nobody was able to go.
They said that because he will be by himself, that they will most likely send him all the way to the coast. Please pray for him. Pray that he be safe from the small % of people down there who are idiots, pray for protection from the bacteria and viruses that are spreading due to the dead bodies everywhere, pray for his car to be not broken into.

If you are looking to give $ to the hurricane, I encourage to look at UMCOR (United Methodist Committee On Relief). When one gives to Red Cross or Salvation Army, a percentage of what you give goes to administrative costs (which they have to do, of course). When you give to UMCOR, 100% goes straight to the cause. The administrative costs are already paid for by church Conference apportionments.

We are pretty worried, but also very proud.

24.

I'm really not one to talk about my birthday. I mean, when I turned 18 and Cigarrets, Lotto, Gambling, and Porn all became readily accesible to me, who needs to celebrate another birthday, huh?

When talking with my accountibility group this week, we got on the subject of the 5 Love Languages. It was discussed that my secondary language is "Gifts".
Ahhhh yes.
How selfish.
Upon talking about this Ahrens piped up and said, "you know, Matt House put his Amazon wish list up on his website around his birthday. I loved it! It was so easy! I didn't have to shop around or anything. Just point and click! Bang!! Bang!!"

Okay, he didn't say the "bang" part.

So, here is my Amazon wish list.

Remind me if I forgot anything.
Thank you.

whoa.

So, when I don't post for a summer, I get people on here saying things like...

"holy snap - I nned more My Turn than this. I'll be back a lot to bug you until you post again. COUNT ON IT. Also, you know I gotta agree with the first post."

and

"I comment again, in a formal act of protest against the lack of new posts.

WHAT DO WE WANT? NEW POSTS!

WHEN DO WE WANT 'EM? NOW!!!!"

and

"If September passes without a post, I can't be responsible for what happens..."

and

"The things I would do for a good new blog..."

So, I have been posting new things up, and getting very little response. I've been going to my fellow bloggers and posting. AT, thank you for your continued loyalty. Maybe instead of posting on The Internet for the entire galaxy to see, I'll just start sending you personal e-mail blogs.

You're the only one who really appreciates me.
Never change.

Preach it.

Listen to this.

It's worth the 10 minutes. Trust me.

I'm a *pro-life* guy. Some people say they are pro-life, but support the death penalty. As chief editor of Sojourners and author of the book, God's Politics, Jim Wallis says, it's hypercritical. If you say you are pro-life, you have to go all the way.

Today I am making an exception.

When I heard that the National Guard has been given orders to shoot to kill anyone in New Orleans that were a threat, I was in support. It absolutely makes me sick to my stomach that in the midst of all this tragedy that is still going on, there are some low-life thugs who are raping women and children, shooting at police, hijacking ambulances, and patrolling the Superdome with guns and killing people.

Hey, W. We've got some terrorists and "evil doers" right here in your own back yard.

The thing that I think gets me most is idea that people could act like this any where in our country. Why should we be naive enough to think that for some reason, only in New Orleans there are people like this. What if this happened in Chicago? Los Angeles? St. Louis? Maybe I'm just little innocent Jerry, but I honestly never thought that that many humans in this country could stoop THAT low.
Am I against the death-penalty?
Yes.
But in those cases, you can seclude someone for the rest of their life. They are of no or little harm to anyone else. But when there are people standing in the way of other people's help for their lives??

My heart hasn’t' been broken from a natural disaster like this before. I've felt like I've had a cold heart. But I am literally sick to my stomach thinking about these low-life’s who are standing in the way of someone else's aide.

God, your people need you.

old post follow-up

At the beginning of the baseball season, Tim posted on his website the Champaign newspaper's top ten reasons the Cardinals won't win in 2005. So, now with about a month left of the season, let's see how their reasons have played out for the 84-49 Cards.
(my commentary in parenthesis)


1. Matt Morris' shoulder (has missed 0 games)
2. Tony LaRussa's brain (his horrible brain has put him #3 on all-time wins for managers)
3. Scott Rolen's knee (actually, his shoulder)
4. Albert Pujols' heel (how many games has the MVP missed because of this?)
5. Reggie Sanders' age (before breaking his leg, he was the best player on the team besides Pujols)
6. Larry Walker's back (actually, his neck)
7. Mark Grudzielanek's glove (funny. He'll most likley win a gold glove this year)
8. Jason Isringhausen's hip (huh? All-star? What?)
9. David Eckstein's height (Edgar who?)
10. Chris Carpenter's elbow (just call him Cy Carpenter, please)

Dear News-Gazette,
I'm sorry that as of August 31, your beloved baby bears are 20.5 games behind the Cardinals. I'm sorry that Kerry Wood is not awesome. I'm sorry that unlike the Cardinals and White Sox, the Cubs could not cope with and overcome major injuries.

Love,
Jeremiah

season 4

Season 4 of Curb Your Enthusiasm comes out today.

Hello, Barnes and Noble.
Oh, hello Jeremiah.
I will take one Season 4 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, please.
Sure. Here you are.
Thank you. Point taken. And recieved.


If you guys want some fun, here's a video of Dave crossing the finish line of a tri he ran this weekend. The reason I'm not in this video is because I finished first. I swam/rode/ran so fast that they didn't get the video camera up in time.

here. here, quest softball team. here are your butts.

It's crazy that when I was in school in May, I was writing about our Men's Adult Church Softball League, and here in late August, we were still playing.

Key word there.

Were.

We went into the post-season with either a 6-4 or 7-5 record. I forget which one. I thought that was pretty good considering we were an expansion team in the league. Most of the losses we had were close and we actually should have won considering our talent. So, I went into the post-season thinking that we actually had a shot at winning the whole thing.
I also thought the Cardinals had a shot of beating the Red Sox last year, too.
Playoffs are single elimination. So, our first playoff game was against the lower seeded Faith UMC #1 (they had two teams). This is a team that we beat in the second game of the season. I don't want to go too much in detail about the game, but I will recap it in the form of a quote...


"Here, Quest Men's Church-League Softball team. We've taken the liberty of ripping your butts off. Now we are going to hand them to you. There you...ooops...don't...don't drop your butt...yeah...there you go. There. We've handed you your butts."

We got beat by the 10-run rule. Not a way to end a decent season. Not at all.



Dodgeball, anyone?

and away we go...

I told you I'd start posting once school starts. Well, school started an hour and a half ago, so here's your first post.
I got to school, and was here for 15 minutes before I got yelled at* by a fellow special-ed teacher. I used my Emotional/Behavior Disorder technique to defuse the situation.

Starring.
Looking.
Not talking.

Works every time. Listen, lady. I'm really sorry I moved your desk that was not unpacked yet in this room that we have to share with 4 other teachers. Cool down.

Cool down!!!

COOL DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This last year of teaching has gotten off to a blazing start.

reviews of your butt.

Again, people. Take my "Sorry" for lack of posts. When school starts, My Turn will once again be hub for all things meaningless on Highway Internet.
Here are some thangs I have been nice enough to make cute little reviews for you.

Movie : Monster
Review: I know this has been out a while. But ohmygosh this is a very good movie, but a very disturbing movie. * * * * stars

Movie: War of the Worlds
Review: Ehhh. * * 1/2 stars

Song: Doubting Thomas
Album: Why should the fire die? (to be released next month)
Band: Nickel Creek
Review: Sweet action. * * * * * stars

Quest Men's Church-League Softball Team
Review: Suffered a real tough loss to "mother" church New Horizon, but showed its zeal with a stunning rebound beating defending champions, The Vineyard. Biggest church in town vs. the new church start. C'mon New Horizon. we'll meet in the playoffs. This time, we're going to go all "postmodern" on you.
* * * * stars

2005 MLB All-Star game
Review: Awesome that Chris Carpenter starts the game and does well. NL looses. Really, as Fox Sports said, the Cardinals are the real loosers because they loose home-field advantage in the World Series. Don't worry. It wasn't your fault, Chris Carpenter. * star

Your Butt:
Lookin' good!
* * * * * * * * * * * 1/2 stars.

movie review: batman begins

Well, My Turn was once again a "hub" if you will, for awesome social things as my invite to the the whole My Turn Universe resulted in a Matt Ahrens, Robbie Biggs, and Jeremiah Cox date to the Beverly to watch a showing of Batman Begins.

For those of you who declined, you missed out. Too bad for you. And I heard that they are never showing the movie ever again, so you totally missed your chance.
Best comic book movie I have ever seen.


Hands friggin down.

Not only was the movie somewhat believable but Christian Bale, who I have been a fan of ever since American Psycho, was the best Batman yet. I know, I know. Mike Keaton was good too. But there's something about a lesser known actor that makes me more excited. The movie left me wanting more of The Scarecrow, which is better than me wishing he wasn't in it as much, which is what I can say for Katie Holmes' character. It was seriously cool watching how Batman got all his cool toys and I love the fact that the Batcave was not all pimped out, but just a dark wet cave.
Kind of like my shoes.
Not pimped out, but dark and wet.
The settings are much more believable than the other Batman franchise.

The movie sets up for what you think would be a sequal, and after some research, I've found that indeed, there will be a sequal.
The candidates they are talking could be Joker in the next movie excite me as well. Crispin Glover (Back to the Future) and Paul Bettany (Wimbledon) are the leading candidates. I'm pulling for Bettany on this on. However, there is some rumor that Sean Penn will play The Joker. For some reason, Penn annoys the crap out of me.

Out of 5 possible stars, I give this * * * * 1/2 stars.

I'm willing to go see it again. So, I extend the invite one more time.
Oh wait. They aren't showing it anymore. Ever. So I guess I can't.
Sorry.

take 'er easy...

Geez, I'm sorry Kortny. I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while. Why couldn't you have just told me that in person instead of putting it on the world wide web for the whole world to see????

Kortny and I went on a mini vacation last weekend. I took my first weekend off at Quest, and we went to Chicago and then up to Grand Rapids. Chicago was cool, as we stayed on Michigan Ave on the Magnificent Mile. I waited in Forever 21 as Kortny shopped for 3 hours.


3 hours.

Husband of the year, thankyouverymuch.
And then, on Saturday, we drove up to Grandville, Michigan, which is a suburb of Grand Rapids. We went there to check out Mars Hill, which is a church that is attracting the twentysomething, thirtysomething crowd. Except they are attracting about 10,000 of them. They did 3 things which I thought were very very cool.

1. They called the boxes that people drop their offerings in, "Joy Boxes". And whenever Rob Bell (the pastor) would say at the end of the service, "and if you have an offering, you can drop it in on of the Joy Boxes in the back", and the people there instantly started cheering and clapping. They do this every week. Cheering and clapping at the idea of giving to the Lord. Nice!

2. They had huge stacks of Bibles for people to pick up and read along. At first I was thinking that that's not very seeker friendly for someone who is new, but they simply put the page number on the screen.

3. They sat in the round. There was a stage right in the middle, with a 4-sided screen above. The speaker would walk around and talk to all sides. It made it feel like less of a show and more of a gathering. It made it feel more personal, but gave it more energy at the same time. I don't think this would be good for Quest now, in the space we are in, but I think it is definitely something to consider when we move into our own space.

So there you have it. A post a brand new spanking post. I really want to see Batman Begins. Kortny doesn't want to see it. Anyone want to go? Any takers?

summer lovin

One would think that when I'm done with work for the summer, I'd be able to update a lot on my blog. The truth is, is that my blog is somewhat of an escape during the year.
During work.
So, I'm not official saying that I am taking a summer hiatus from My Turn, but I am saying that I may not be updating as much. But there are still some times when I will post something.

I mean, when the Cubs are doing wo well, and only gained 2 games on the Cardinals, I've gotta write about it, right???

i am google.

Quest is doing a new series on worship. Cindy, who does our slides, used image-google search for "worship" and on the first page. Yup.
Me.

Chris Tomlin? No.
David Crowder? No.
Matt Redman? No.


Jeremiah Cox? Yes, please.

lookin' good!

I'm a big Tony LaRussa fan, but this...this is too much.

why i can't lick the tables any more

Today, a girl studying to be dentist came to talk to a small class today. She taught how to properly brush teeth. She also taught the kids proper body hygiene. I was thinking to myself, "God bless you, child. Thank you for teaching these smelly kids how to make them not stink".

At the end, she gave the students a card where they could write a question they might be too embarrassed to ask in front of the whole class. There were some good questions in there, like...
"At what age to boobs grow bigger and penises grow longer?"
and
"How long does deodorant last. And can I put it all over my body?"

These are fine questions. I have asked those at one time too. Now that I think about it, I think I asked these a couple of weeks ago.
But it was the 3rd and final question that really got to me. She picked up the card and read...
"Sometimes kids scrape the plaque off their teeth and wipe it on top of the table. Is this bad for you?"


WHAT?!?!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!!?

I quit. Right now. If this is true, I quit. I can handle kids who have no respect for adults and themselves. I can handle violence. But scraping the plaque off your teeth and wiping them on top of the table?
I'm done.

hog heaven

During the period when Kortny didn't have a job, and all that was going through our heads was just finding her ANYTHING, I really just focused a lot and prayed a lot about the difficult things in my life. Even on here, I would post about our struggles. I told my self that I really needed to start celebrating and taking extra notice when things were going right. I prayed when things were going bad, and I need to pray when things are going well.

On Saturday night, Dave came down to Champaign. He was staying the night to play djembe' at Quest on Sunday. We played catch, talked about girls (for Dave) while eating ice cream (off of the same cone*), and gushed over dream guitars. But it was later on, when Dave, Kortny, and myself when to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. There, while eating some nice wings, it really hit me that life is very very good. I was sitting with the best man of my wedding, my wife, and watching Larry Walker hit the game winning home run on the huge big screen.
I've been more than blessed to have great friends and an incredible wife. I know this is cheesy, but I am just thanking God and giving credit where and when it is due.

Life does not get much better that this, my friends.


*Dave and Jeremiah really didn't eat ice cream off the same cone.

ever.

Move over, Yankees vs. Mets.

Sorry, White Sox vs. Cubs.

Nice try, Astros vs. Rangers.

Not even close, Braves vs. Red Sox.


Cardinals vs. Royals. Best rivalry in baseball. Ever.



VS.



We're talkin' epic stuff here, people.

seattle.

This is my favorite kind of weather. Degrees in the 60's, drizzly, rainy, occasional thunder.
Oooooooooohhhhhhh this is nice.
I have 8 days of school left. Eat that, people. 8 days. Then starts the sleeping in 'till 8.

Listen to this. So, Kortny is subbing at my school. She was walking in the halls, when some student came up to her and the following conversation took place...

Student (very playa-like)- "Excuse, me. Are you an adult, or are you a student?"

Mrs. Cox (annoyed) - "I'm an adult."

Student (still very playa-like)- "Ohhh. (nodding) That's what I thought. You've got all the adult features."

uhhh.

Wow.

my knees hurt

On the first play of the game last night, I ranged to my left and knocked down a ball heading to the outfield. I scraped both of my knees and my left shin in the process. It was bleeding. I went home. I got sympathy points from The Lady.
We had our first game last night, and I'll keep the score from you until the end. For suspense. First things first, I'll let you know how I did. That's most important.

---------------------
Men's Church-League Softball Stats
Name: Jeremiah Cox
Number: 7
Pos: 2B

Last night
Hitting: 1 for 3
Fielding: eh.
---------------------

For some reason, when it becomes game time, I can't hit the stinking ball out of the stinking infield. I didn't have this problem last year until the final game, and it has carried over to this year already. I just know that I'm going to be knocked down in the order from the 8 spot to the 10th or 11th. C'mon, coach!
As far as fielding went, I made the plays I was supposed to make, but there were 2 or 3 that I should have gotten to that I didn't.
Overall score for my game: C-
I would say one of the worst 3 games I have played.

Now, as far as the team.
We were winning 16-11 going into the top of the final (5th) inning. First Baptist scored 5 runs capped with a 2-run error by Adam Tarr to make it 7 at the top of the inning. There were still no outs. We got the next three outs pretty quickly, and we were going to the bottom of the 5th. Final at bat. Down 16-18.

We had our big guns leading off, and it started with Andy Adams hitting a single/double/thingy where he tripped on first base, landed on the ground, advanced to second on the center fielder's error and dove head first into second. Then, the next two batters popped up and grounded out. So, there we were, with 2 outs, one on and down by two.
Here come up the 7th and 8th place hitters.


Tarr and Cox.

Adam was still fuming* from his error in the top of the inning. He wanted to redeem himself.
He did.
Adam hit a double and advanced to third on the left/centerfielder's error. He knocked in Andy. Well done, Adam. Clutch.
Sooo Clutch.

(*My Turn has used poetic license with this part of the story)


So, here I am. On deck. I actually said out loud, "ohhh crap". Because I knew I haven't hit the ball out of the infield in two games. My confidence level at the plate is at 4%. Andy, who just scored, comes by me on his way to the dugout and says, "no pressure".

Thanks, Andy.

The pitcher throws a blazing softball pitch inside for ball one.
The tension grows. There is my good friend just 65 feet away. Wanting to come home. The tying run.
Next pitch.
I hit it.
Right to the shortstop.
He fields it cleanly.
Adam runs home.
I run to first.
The shortstop throws to first.
I'm running.
The first baseman catches the ball.



Safe.

Game tied 18 all.
The next play, is a force-out (which I was safe by 2 strides) at second. Game over. It's a tie. As a guy on the other team beautifully put it...


"That's the way Jesus would have wanted it".

i play church-league softball. so what?

Is it wierd of me that I play church-league softball? I've been thinking lately, about this whole grown-men playing softball thing. Is it really just a time for boys to be boys or are we all out there trying to get as close as we can to something that was deemed never to happen 18 years ago?
I mean, when I'm out there at second base, I'm not playing 2nd because my all-time favorite player was there. If that were the case then I'd either be playing first in honor of Greg Jefferies, or 3rd in honor of Scott Rolen. Instead, I play 2nd because I enjoy playing the infield, and have a really sucky arm.
I look all around me and wonder if these other grown men are thinking the same thing.

Not about my arm.

But about pretending to be major league ball players.

And when I see the competiveness in some of the players, I wonder what it is exactly, they are taking so serious? Church-league softball?

Don't get me wrong, I really love playing. But I wonder if I JUST enjoy playing, or that playing under the Parkland College softball lights is as close to playing under the Busch Stadium lights as I'll ever get. There was a point in my life (and I'm sure some of yours) when I played baseball in hopes to someday be good enough to play in the Big Leagues. At what point do I stop playing with that goal? Well, for me it was about age 10, when I told myself "well, this isn't really going to work out". So, then at 10, did I start playing it ONLY because it was fun? Or because it was fun and if I could just pretend to be playing for the Cardinals? I think that would be a hard transition, but I don't remember it being so rough.

We play tonight at 8. Faith United Methodist Church is about to get a "new church start" up in them.

in honor of the best TV series ever.

new logo

Okay. Your thoughts were appreciated. Noted that the hardcore style maybe didn't match totally our music style. What do you think of this one?

all non-Cardinals roster

At the game a couple of nights ago, AT asked who our favorite non-Cardinals player was. It got me athinking, so here is my favorite non-cardinal roster.

Catcher - Mike Matheney (Giants)
First Base- Todd Helton (Rockies)
Second Base - Brian Giles (Braves)
Third Base - David Wright (Mets)
Shortstop - Khalil Greene (Padres)
Outfield - Aubrey Huff (Devil Rays), Bobby Abreu (Phillies), Geoff Jenkins (Brewers)
Closer - Fransisco Rodriqez (Angels), Billy Wagner (Phillies)
Starting staff -
Ben Sheets (Brewers)
Zack Greinke (Royals)
Dontrelle Willis (Marlins)
Rich Harden (A's)
Tim Hudson (Braves)

Manager - Ned Yost (Brewers)



***BONUS PARAGRAPH!!***
Some talk of people watching their homeruns...
This is a quote that I actually have up on my bulletin board in my office...

"If I strike out with the bases loaded, I never want to show the pitcher he beat me," Rolen said. "I never want to show the fans I was beaten. I never want to show my teammates I was beaten. Let them all wonder. Maybe I was blown away. Or maybe I'm kicking myself for missing a pitch I should've hit. And if I hit a home run, I'm going to run around the bases and get back in the dugout. No one but me needs to know if I'm locked in, or if I just had a lucky swing."

don't read if you don't care about baseball

So, we're a fifth through the season, and I'm going to give my position by position grades on the Cards so far. As a side note, we had KILLER seats last night thanks to Mr. Joe Waeble (sp) from New Horizon United Methodist Church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We're talking about 11 rows back, behind home plate. We're talking waitresses coming down and taking our orders. We're talking about padded seats. We're talking about David Eckstein going 4 for 5, Cardinals winning 9-3.

Now, we're talking Cardinals...

1st Base - A
Albert Pujols is putting up decent numbers by his standards. 9 homers, .338 BA, and showing some good glove work. Best offensive threat in all of baseball. Barry Bonds, step aside please.

2nd Base - B+
Mark Grudzielanek has been amazing for the Birds so far this season. He's made some dandy plays, hit for the cycle, and is batting .336. The move to St. Louis has rejuvenated his career. Thank you, Cubs, for signing Todd Walker.

3rd Base - C
Rolen is out for a few weeks after colliding with Choi at first base. I actually think this will be a good thing for Rolen, as his neck and back have been hurting him all season and have hampered productivity on both O and D. He's the type of player that plays through a lot of pain, and I really think this will help to force him to rest. Mabry was awesome last night at the hot corner.

Shortstop - B +
For those ESPNers who have talked about Eckstein’s arm being a rag arm, haven't seen him since the season started. He has been going through a shoulder workout that a lot of the Cardinal pitching goes through, and scouts from other teams that have gone to Busch have said his arm is greatly improved. As a leadoff batter, Eckstein is now batting .320, and even better, has a .397 on base percentage. Very nice. Billy Beane, nice.

Catching - C+
Yadier Molina (who is returning today) has been spectacular behind the plate, and is finally starting to pick it up with the bat. After batting less than .200 for most the season so far, but has hit better as of late. However, with this Cardinal line-up, it's the defense that management wants out of the catcher. Molina has the best gun of any Cardinal catcher in recent memory. The dude loves to let it go.

Outfield - C-
For the exception of Reggie Sanders (9 home-runs), the outfield needs to step it up. Larry Walker had a good game last night, but Jimmy Edmonds needs to come through. Although, after the game winning home-run in game 6 last year, and "The Catch" in game 7, Jimmy's got some breathing room for me.

Starting Pitching - A+
I know that giving them an A+ is a little over the top, but I wanted to portray that this is the best part of the team. With the vaunted staffs of Houston and Chicago in the Central, it has clearly the been the Cards starting pitching that has been the best. After a couple of rough starts, Mark Mulder has shown exactly why Walk Jocketty gave up a lot to get a lot. He has been lights-out for 5 straight wins in his last 5 outings. He threw TEN shutout innings against Roger Clemens, and only used 111 pitches to do it. Those power pitchers in on the Northside can take notes about high pitch counts. Chris Carpenter has also been very solid, as he too has thrown a complete game shutout. Amazingly enough, going back to the very beginning of the year, Jason Marquis has actually put up the best numbers. Check out these stats from the 5 starters.

.................... W.......L.........ERA
Mulder .........5........1.........2.70
Carpenter ....5........2.........4.02
Morris ..........2.......0..........3.10
Marquis........5.......1..........3.26
Suppan ........3.......3..........3.53

Relief Pitching - B -
Jason Isringhausen (also returning today) has been lights out. He has been a perfect 7 for 7 in save chances (LaTroy). King and Tavares are still very solid as set-up men. The problem has been middle relief, where the Cardinals have sucked. There have been a couple of bright spots, in Randy Flores and Brad Thomson (minor leaguer who threw a record 57 consecutive scoreless innings). Jocketty is said to be looking for help in middle relief. If he finds something good out there, it could really shore up this team. If he doesn't, the Cards are going to have a quick exit in the playoffs.


THE BOTTOM LINE
Middle infield has quieted the critics so far. Starting pitching is not fluke, and the Cards finally have two Aces in Mulder and Carp. The Cardinals are clearly the best team in the Central, but if help is not on the way in middle relief, it will be short playoff appearance.

uh, oh. random time.

Time for another "scatter-brained" (girly chuckle) post.

- It is freaking hot outside. I work in a big school with no A/C. My butt sweats, and if you didn't know, that is NOT a good thing.

- I get to go to the Cardinal game tonight and site butt-close to the feild. Thanks, AT.

- I have said "butt" in the first two random thoughts.

- Now the first three.

- Kortny is subbing for a special education teacher in my building who is off on materinity leave. I'm jealous of Kortny, because she is working with the kind of students that I've always wanted to work with.

- I'm worried about the Cardinal's middle relief. I'm worried about Scott Rolen's shoulder. Hee Sop Choi caught a ball in the base-line and Rolen ran into him. Stupid Choi. Leave it to a former Cub to do something stupid.

- I like the fact that David Burke is out of school as of.......right now. I don't like the fact that I have a feeling he is going to be working a lot, and thus not be able to visit The 'paign as much as one would hope.

so, i got hit by a car today.

What a freaking idiot.
On Fridays, I help students cross Green street. It's my duty post. All teachers have to do one. I was crossing a kid today, and some idiot ran into me. I saw him coming a very fast speed, and not slowing down much. I started waiving my arms, and once I did that, he started flipping me off with both hands.

BOTH HANDS!!!!

So, he would have ran into the student, but I stood my ground. He ran right into me. He didn't run me over for two reasons.
1. I can take on a truck any day of the week.
2. He slammed on his breaks at the last second.

I yelled at him, "this is a school zone!"
He yelled at me, "Get out of the *&%^$#@ street, @##&*($!!!

So, for the first time in my life, I called someone a bad name. Looking back on it, I am not happy with what named I called him. I could have called him a lot better name, but it was the best I could come up with in that certain situation.

Here's what happened.

(I have removed the picture because of its rediculously huge size. If you would like me to send it to you, let me know in the latest comments section. I love you)


By the way, I only got the first couple of digits in the plates, but a police car came by right after it happened. I have him the information and he said he'd try to find him on what limited info I had. He said if he finds him, he's putting him in jail.

And the mo' better hope we don't meet in court.
I've got a Microsoft Paint diagram to shove up his...

****Jeremiah applogizes for the inappropriate language on this blog today. He's really mad and blowing off some steam.

music review

Band: Carbon Leaf
Album: Indian Summer
Released: 2004



I originally saw the band, Carbon Leaf when they opened for Guster a few weeks ago. I had never heard of them before, and when all I heard about them was they were a popular college band...kind of like phish...I was not looking forward to it. I didn't want to sit through a three song-three hour set. But that's not at all what I got.
Carbon Leaf's album, Indian Summer is a nice break from the rush of eclectic bands out there right now. When I listened to the first couple tracks, "Life Extraordinary" & "What About Everything", I was refreshed to hear some straight forward rock. Not heavy. Not light. Just right. The chorus on both of these songs will get stuck in your head for days...and that's a good thing. CL does a nice job of integrating just enough acoustic guitar with electric, that each song on the album has its own distinct character. Some mandolin makes itself known throughout Indian Summer and adds the perfect amount of folk into the rock. The overall sound is catchy, but not so catchy that it stops you dead in your tracks.

I found the lyrics to be overall kind of cheesy. On the official website, the lead singer admits that he hates writing them, and it shows through. They aren't all bad, as "What about everything" has strong lyrical sense and flow.

I emailed the lead guitar player in the band to tell them that they did a great job and that I bought their CD. When he replied, he actually encouraged me to feel free to burn the CD and give it to friends. That automatically earned Carbon Leaf a half a star more.

THE BOTTOM LINE
A very solid buy. But will I still be listening to it in 5 years? Unlikely.

* * * Stars (out of 5)

decatur vs. champaign

Here's the lowdown. There's been some heat up in here lately about which is better. Decatur or Champaign?
I actually know the answer, but I'm not going to tell you.
Before things got heated-and I mean heated, Dave Mike Burke and Jeremiah Chris Cox have decided that it would be completly awesome to have a Decatur vs. Champaign baseball game. For those of you that were at my Bachelor party, if you remember back before we went to Big Al's and got wasted (ohh, for the nights I'll never remember with the friends I'll never forget).
We played a game of rag ball in Dave's back yard. For those Champainies here, a rag ball is nothing more than a softer baseball made with a cloth cover. It rocks.

So, here's what we're going to to do. Some Saturday in June or July we are going to have a Champain vs. Decatur ragball day.
The day will start off in Decatur's home turf at Burke Ballpark. We will play for an hour and a half or so, and have lunch. Then, both teams will travel to Champaign to play at Champain's home field of Bottenfield Stadium. Then, if we want, we will grill out after that game. This is an open call to any Champain folk or Decatur folk. Men or Women.

Here are the rosters as I see them so far. If your name is on the list and you don't want to be on it, tell me. I will take it off and never put you back on, jerk. If I don't have you on here, please don't be offended. Because I either:
A: Don't know you are reading this
B: Have never played baseball with you
But I am posting this because I want to invite ANYONE who is reading this to play. Let me know in the comments section! I put my self on Champaign's roster right now, but Scott or I can both be moved to either team as needed for numbers because of our ties to both towns.

Champaign
1. Jeremiah Cox
2. Adam Tarr
3. Matt Ahrens
4. Tim Lybarger
5. Matt House (unlikely, because he's moving)
6. Abe (if you would come down)

Decatur
1. David Burke
2. Scott Wentworth
3. Jeff Lester
4. Brad Shelton
5. Warren Brinegar


Okay, so let's throw out some dates and get this mo' goin. Also, if your name is not on the list, AGAIN, please holla. I'd love to have you in on this grudge match.

May the best town win.

get up, baby! get up!!

Are you kidding me!?!?
That is the thought that went through baseball fans everywhere last night.

I must confess. I gave up. I was playing with my new camera, when I was watching Jim Journell (or should I say, the Cardinals' Kyle Farnsworth)walking in a runs and overall just sucking. I changed the channel when it was 9 to 3.
I called my friend Scott, and we talked baseball, Seinfeld, and girlfriend/wife talk. I heard on my phone that someone was calling. I haven't talked to Scott in quite a long while, so I didn't click over. After we hung up, I checked my voicemail.
It was Matt.
He said something like, "Hey Jeremiah. You are the coolest cat around. I look up to you in every possible way.* Also, I would like to congratulate you on the Cardinals' 9th inning rally."
*My Turn made use of poetic license with this part of the quote.

What.

Sure enough, my boys in red scored 7 runs (5 with two outs) in the top of the 9th to beat the Reds for the biggest 9th inning comeback in Cardinal history.
Some dude on Sportscenter summed it up best...

"That's why they're the Cardinals and you're the Reds".


-----------------

"Nice job hitting the game winning 2-run homer, John Mabry"
"Thanks, Albert Pujols. Has any one ever told you that you are the best hitter in baseball?"
"Um, I think so, John"
"Good. Because you are."

all blogged down.

It's getting kinda lonely in this corner of cyber space. Tim Lybarger has stopped his Cardinal bashing/Cub nonsense website (it was a matter of time), House doesn't post much any more, and Hifi has stalled ever since 420. We don't hear about Philthy's road adventures NEAR as much as we should, and just because TJ is moving away, he thinks he can move away from our hearts as well.

Ahrens has so much potential, but his job requires that he actually work, and Adam Tarr has yet to start a blog of his own.

The Decatur blogging community has had a resurgence, if you will, thanks to Dave's steady contributions and Warren's new found time for typed words. The audio blog has made its debut and, welcome technology...welcome.

My Turn has not heard from the likes of John Meredith-Cox for a while, though the two editors talked briefly over the phone last night. The internet is great, but nothing beats a crisp, clear, no delay phone conversation over the Atlantic Ocean.

On the other hand, phones are great, but nothing beats a crisp, clear, no delay hug, either.

dee.

After Dee Brown had successfully stood up 2 middle schools in Champaign for appearances, he finally made it to my school today.
Last night, his "publicist" called my colleague who was originally in charge up setting this whole thing up with Dee. She told her that Dee had to take a test the day he didn't show up. My colleague said, "that's fine. I understand that. But he needs to call". The group of students who get to see Dee is a group that is taught to be responsible and make good decisions.
Ironic, eh?

Then Dee's publicist told her to please show Dee the "red carpet treatment". She then said, and he "MAY be a few minutes late. 8:30 is really early for these guys".
This kind of stuff makes me sick. This dude will be babied for the rest of his life. Everyone is going to suck up to him, he's going to make millions, and we have to give the red carpet treatment to this guy who is nothing more than a college student who can play basketball and has to get up and be somewhere by 8:30 in the morning.

Give me a freaking break.

music review

I am going to start writing some music reviews on here. Now, these will not all necessarily be new releases. And they will be on CD's that I already own, which mean that most likely I will think they are good. But, I will try to be balanced and throw one in here and there that I think aren't the greatest. I'm going to kick this off with a Jeremiah Classic.


Band: Guster
Album: Goldfly
Released: 1998



The first time I listened to Goldfly, I wasn't impressed. The songs seemed way too poppy and they weren't even catchy. However, "Demons" caught my attention from the beginning. The song is almost a ballad, but has a nice guitar duo part that catches you at the beginning and never lets you go. The more I listened to Goldfly, the more I fell for it, hook-line-and-sinker. Every song from Great Escape to Rocket ship could be radio hits on any other band's record. Each song boasts Guster's insane harmonies and percussion. What I really love about this album is that it's hard to figure out who is actually the lead singer in the band. Adam Gardner and Ryan Miller not only take leads in different songs, but will take different leads within the same song. The band consists of 3 members. Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworsel (born in Champaign). Brian is the percussionist who plays bongos, congas, djembes and cymbals--all with his hands. Brian and Ryan both play acoustic guitar. This set-up may sound like they would not be able to produce a full sound, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Guster can rock out with the best of them.
I have lent his album out to a number of friends of mine and EVERY single one who has borrowed it has gone out and bought one for themselves. Do your self a huge favor and do 2 things.
1. Take a shower. You stink.
2. Buy "Goldfly" by Guster.


THE BOTTOM LINE
If you were to implant a chip in my brain that continuously plays this album, well, I'd be fine with that.

* * * * &1/2 stars. Out of 5 possible.

this one's for the ladies...

okay ladies. I know many people come here and don't like reading about baseball. Well, this post is for anyone who doesn't care about baseball. Because for this one, all you have to do is give your opinion on something. Guys, you can chime in on this if you'd like.

Here's the deal.
Pick which one is more dreamy. You can either simply answer which one you think is better looking, or you can give explanations.
Let's forget about baseball for a second and focus on something even more superficial .
Looks!

So, let's put it to a vote. Is it "A" or "B"?


A.

or

B.

anything you can do, i can do better.

Carlos Zambrano was good last night.
Chris Carpenter was better today.


Yep. Those are still the Cardinals above you in the standings.

Kortny and I are starting a new business. We are going to be wedding videographers, and also do commercial videography work for businesses, schools, and/or churches. We don't have a name yet, but don't worry, I won't ask for suggestions. This won't be one of those *help us think of a name* blogs. I will use this summer to start getting the business off it's cute little feet.
This summer is going be very nice for me, because I for the first time, don't have to go work for Dr. Jesek or something else with manual labor. I have found though, that when have a job that is manual labor, you yearn for a desk job, and when you have a desk job, you yearn for manual labor. Let me give you a run-through of some of my summer jobs I have had when I was in high school and college.

1. Russell's Cycle and Fitness
Russell's is a bike shop in Washington, Illinois that has been rated as one of the 10 best bike shops in the country. Russell's bought an old movie theater and made it into a bike shop. Huge, people. Huge. I worked sales and never actually worked on bikes. They just used me for my smile and winning persona.

2. The Main Hanger Restaurant
I was a bus boy and host here. The restaurant was actually pretty cool, because it was in the Airport and had windows looking out to the runway. My sister worked as a waitress there for a little while, and those customers had no idea what hit them when they got a whole bunch of Cox and Johnson serving them.
Whoa. That totally didn't sound right.

3. Velocity Cycle
This was a small little bike shop in Decatur that I worked at for a couple years while in high school. I actually got to get dirty and work on bikes. There were only 3 other employees here, and the atmosphere was so relaxed that one Saturday, Dave Burke came in at 9 am and left when we closed at 4. He just hung out. To this day, I am amazed that I worked in place where my buddy could just come in and talk for 7 hours. This is also the place where I chased a kid who was stealing a bike down the streets of Decatur.
I didn't catch him.
Dangit.

4. Mt. Zion cemetery
I know this may sound weird, but this is best job I ever had. I got paid good money for high school, and got to make my own hours. I worked with a buddy of mine and some other dude. Our job was to mow, weed-eat, and general upkeep of the cemetery. Our boss was some good ol' boy who we maybe saw once a week. The times we were not mowing, we held lawn mower tracker races, played king of the hill in the barn with power-washers, and cussed like sailors. This was the one period of my life where I cussed. And I mean cussed, people.

5. Dr. Jesek's *whatever*
Then, my final summer job through college was working for a dentist in town named Dr. Jesek. I didn't help with teeth cleaning or pulling files. What I did help with, though was mowing his lawn, mowing his office's lawn, waxing his horse trailer, washing his HUGE mobile home (I thought of it as my tour bus for when I was in a famous band), cleaning his pool, helping build his horse barn, painting his fence, and much more. As I told people, basically, I was his b*&%$ for 9 dollars and hour. The pinnacle of working for him was when I accidentally filled his diesel gas tractor with regular unleaded gas.
Nice work, Cox.

I think that's all my summer jobs. Now, days when I'm getting cussed out by 6th graders, I yearn for the chance to spray someone in the face with a power washer and get paid for it.