Sunday Stealing

A KWIZGIVER KWIZ

1. What has been your favorite part of the year so far. It's been a weird year, so I'm going with what brought me joy, comfort and continuity. THE CUBS!

 
2. Have you started Christmas shopping? I do my shopping all year around.

3. Do you like your handwriting? Yes. I have pretty handwriting. I believe it's becoming a lost art. That's part of why I'm proud of 345 postcards I wrote to registered Democrats this season. I like thinking that one of my handwritten efforts helped inform/remind someone about getting to the polls.
 

4. Song you could hear over and over and over again. It changes. These days, this is the one that keeps running through my head.

 
5. A favorite quote. "The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of us all." John F. Kennedy

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honours, the men it remembers.”

Read more at: https://yourstory.com/2017/05/quotes-by-john-f-kennedy

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honours, the men it remembers.”

Read more at: https://yourstory.com/2017/05/quotes-by-john-f-kenne

“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”

Read more at: https://yourstory.com/2017/05/quotes-by-john-f-kennedy

6. Last dream you remember. Oh, this is weird. But it's a dream, so it's not my fault. For some reason, I was forced to quarantine through the pandemic with Willie Geist of The Sunday Today Show. And his wife and children. I don't know know the significance of this dream, but I'm pleased to report the five of us seemed to get along.
 

7. Most expensive object you want to buy right now. I'd like to renovate my home. New windows, new flooring ... You know, the disruptive, expensive stuff.

8. Describe your eldest family member. Either my Aunt Jo (dad's side) or Cousin Rose (my mom's side). They both live outside Tampa. I don't know which one is older. Aunt Jo is also my godmother. She loves mysteries, her second husband, Richard, and their poodle, Ella. Cousin Rose enjoys genealogy, NCIS, and British mysteries on PBS. Even though, at times, I want to smother each of them with a pillow, I treasure them. They hold my history, and they love me.
 

9. What has your weather been like? It's different every day. Saturday was sunny and 57º. Sunday will be 40º, cloudy and windy.
 

10. Do you enjoy your job? Usually.

11. What is your favorite everyday item? My shower radio.

12. Are you currently obsessed with any TV show? Saturday into Sunday, I binged on Sex and the City. Specifically Season 5, when Carrie gets the compilation of her columns published. I wish it had been a real book. I'd like to see if she was really a good writer. By the way, I've tried to read Candace Bushnell, who created Carrie in the SATC book. I really hated her work.

13. Book you’d like to read before the year ends. Oh, I don't know. Meet Me in Monaco sounds good.

14. Describe Kindness. Being present for and sensitive to someone else.

15. Describe your favorite candy in great detail. Ah! Mary Janes! Hard little squares of peanut butter taffy. They are popular at retro penny candy stores, but I never see them at drugstores. Probably just as well, as they are most certainly hell on teeth.

 

The News from Wrigleyville

The Cubs resigned my favorite-most! I've been worried. The internet is abuzz with rumors and the conventional wisdom has been that no player is untradeable. I could not bear seeing Rizz in any color but Cubbie blue, so this has weighed heavily. While strictly speaking, this doesn't mean he can't be traded, it does make it less likely.

I'm not thrilled by the $16.5 million though. It's a lot of money to you and me, but not within the MLB. He's nowhere near the highest paid first baseman in the league. Or even in the division! (St. Louis' Goldschmidt makes $26 mil.) Or even in town! (The Sox' Abreu gets $17.6.)

But part of what makes Rizz so very Rizz is his approach to the money. He told reporters that he's not motivated by it -- he's "already set for life" and he "wants to be a Cub for life." I think we can all agree that he is not an especially savvy negotiator. So if he's good with $16.5, I guess I should be, too.

But then there's Jon Lester's classy farewell. The Cubs have chosen not to resign our 36-year-old ace. Not a surprise. It's been a good run -- six years and A WORLD SERIES -- but now it's over. Maybe his career is done, maybe he'll sign on for one more season, probably with the Red Sox. But he's thanking Chicago by buying everyone in the city a beer. I'm not kidding.

Three full days of beer at three popular watering holes. Fucking awesome. 

I love my Cubs so much!