NEWPORT BEACH – Jessica Nerney and 35 friends and co-workers woke up before dawn Sunday and dressed in pink T-shirts that read "Team Nerney" and "Saving the TaTa One Step at a Time."

Nerney, 31, was diagnosed with breast cancer in May. She is undergoing chemotherapy, and will have surgery after five more sessions. But Sunday morning she was upbeat, walking with her friends around Newport Center and wearing a pink wig, a tiara and a boa.

"Because I have cancer, I've enlisted everyone to help out with the cure," said the attorney and Newport Beach resident. "They are the best."

Team Nerney was one of scores of organized groups that participated in the Susan G. Komen Orange County Race for the Cure Sunday morning. More than 30,000 people attended the 18th annual event, which helps raise money for breast-cancer research and treatment.

Organizers estimated that the fundraiser – the biggest of its kind in California – brought in about $2.5 million, with more donations anticipated through Oct. 16.

This year, expectations were drawn back a bit because of the faltering economy. Last year the event hit record numbers with 30,000-35,000 attendees and $3.2 million raised. The financial goal this year is between $2.8 million and $3 million.

"It was absolutely a fantastic success to have this crowd, this outcome in an economy that's tough for a lot of people," said Lisa Wolter, executive director of the Komen Orange County Affiliate. "It's just inspiring. It says so much for the people of Orange County that, contrary to stereotype, they care."

The morning started with a 5K run/walk at 7:30 a.m. Shelby Buckley of Newport Coast won the women's first-place medal; Michael Powers of Irvine won first place in the men's division; and Caroline McAndrews of Laguna Niguel won first place among breast-cancer survivors.

A one-mile fun walk followed the first race; then survivors gathered on the steps of the Pacific Life headquarters and delivered emotional speeches about surviving their common foe.

Organizers introduced Elizabeth Lueke, 99, the county's oldest breast-cancer survivor, and Hannah Powell-Auslam, 11, one of the nation's youngest.

"I looked out there and saw that I was not alone," said Powell-Auslam, a resident of La Mirada. "There's a lot of support out there."

Actress Sarah Chalke of TV's "Scrubs" also offered some inspiring words to the audience.

At 9:45 a.m., another 5K run/walk took place on blocked-off streets in Newport Center and along Fashion Island. The first place winners were Sara Schaible of Newport Beach in the women's division; John Yelsey of Corona del Mar in the men's division; and Caroline Taylor of Coto de Caza among the survivors.

The individual who raised the most funds was Lauren Heller of Corona del Mar ($35,121), and the team that brought in the most money was I Survived Real Estate 2009 ($58,012.96).

Jennifer Feldman, 27, of Tustin, said she was amazed with Sunday's turnout.

"There was pink in all directions, as far as you could see," said the breast-cancer survivor. "How many people breast cancer affects is astonishing. When you actually see that sea of people – that's what puts it in perspective."

I thought that was so awesome!!!!  Even the men joined in!!!  The men slowed down at the end and let the women pass them  My MIL survived breast cancer and is doing so well that you would never know.  I'm so proud of her!!

So COOL!!!

PS  The amount raised has now exceeded $4 million!

 

 

 

 

Chris Erskine

 

 

 

 

 

Cats have claws and scratching is a normal behavior.  Cats scratch to sharpen and clean their claws and to stretch, but they also scratch to leave their scent on things.

If you go to the zoo or watch lions and tigers on nature shows, you will see the big cats engage in scratching behavior similar to that of our pet cats.  Instinct tells a cat to scratch, but training allows you to control where the scratching occurs in your home.

Yes, people, you can train your cat.

Many owners tell me their cat scratches the sofa, and when I ask if they have a scratching post somewhere in the house they sometimes say, “No.”

Other owners tell me they have a scratching post, but when I ask if they trained their cat to use it, they often say, again, “No.”  Cats are smart, but they are not smart enough to know the difference between the arm of your sofa and a scratching post, unless you help them.

Getting a kitten to scratch in an appropriate spot is easy.  You need to make it part of the daily routine of play and interaction.  It is a good idea when you first get up in the morning to take your kitten to the scratching post, put his feet up on it, and help him scratch.  You can also dangle toys on strings close to the post to stimulate the kitten to jump up and grab the post and toy.  This play can occur several times during the day.

There are three main materials that scratching posts are made from: carpet, cardboard, and rope (sisal).  Some cats have preferences for different materials, so if your cat is not interested in the post type that you have, try another kind.

If your cat likes to scratch a horizontal surface, the cardboard type of post that lays flat on the ground may be best.  The cardboard posts often contain catnip, or catnip can be sprinkled or sprayed around the other types of posts.  Catnip works as an attractant for most cats over the age of six months.  Kittens are not stimulated by catnip and catnip attraction is actually a genetic trait of cats.

Put the scratching post in an area where your cat likes to hang out.  If the post is inconveniently placed, your cat is not going to search the house for it and will use other materials when he or she wants to stretch or scratch.

If your cat begins to scratch something inappropriate, squirt him with water or clap your hands loudly to get his attention and stop the behavior.  If your cat has already been scratching something you don’t want him too, try placing a scratching post right next to this spot and begin a transition to the post.  If the cat starts using the post, then you can SLOWLY (over several weeks) move the post a few feet at a time to a better location.

To keep a cat from scratching carpet or furniture in the house, there are several items that can help.  I have not seen repellent sprays work very well, but I have seen Feliway Spray to be effective.  This pheromone spray was originally designed to prevent urine marking, but seems to work very well to keep cats from scratching things.  Sticky Paws is wide double sided tape that can be placed on items you don’t want scratched.  Cats hate it when their feet stick to things and this will negatively reinforce scratching behavior.

Soft Paws, vinyl nail caps, are another solution to prevent damage by a cat that likes to scratch things.  These nail caps are glued onto your cat’s trimmed toenails and make the nails soft and smooth at the tips.  Nail caps need to be reapplied every 4-6 weeks or sooner if you cat likes to chew them off.

If your cat has damaged a sofa or other piece of furniture that you want to replace, consider making a scratching post out of the item.  By doing this, you know that your cat is already attracted to the material and will want to scratch it.  You might need to confine your cat in a room with the scratching post and let him establish a habit before giving him the opportunity to scratch a new item.

Some cats will scratch things out of boredom.  If you have a cat like this, he may scratch to get your attention, even if it is negative attention.  Take this as a warning and play with him and find other outlets to stimulate him.

Don’t give up on training your cat to scratch appropriate items.  Make sure that he has a scratching post made out of a material he likes to scratch and it is placed in an area he can easily get too.  Your cat needs to scratch, so help him out.

One more cat tip:

How to Prepare for a New Cat

 

 

 

The National Weather Service still isn’t expecting a major Santa Ana wind event. But forecasters now say that dry offshore winds could gust up to 35 mph in Orange County’s northeast canyons and foothills Monday night and early Tuesday as a heat wave takes grip. Earlier, forecasters thought winds would peak at 20-25 mph.

But the weather service’s overall message remains unchanged: Orange County, which is in severe drought, will experience a sustained heat wave that could raise inland temperatures to 105 degrees and drop the relative humidity into the teens. Add that to the dry, offshore winds and you have an elevated risk of wildfires in a county that hasn’t gotten a full inch of rain from a single storm since mid-December.

The weather service says, “A change gets underway Monday as a strong high pressure ridge heads into Oregon and expands throughout the west. Upper low pressure to the east will produce a weak offshore flow starting Monday night. That will bring very dry conditions to all areas except the immediate coast Tuesday and Wednesday.

“It will also produce local offshore breezes where top gusts could exceed 35 mph Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Temperatures will increase Monday and soar Tuesday with readings approaching 100 not far from the coast because of the offshore flow. Of course all this will elevate the fire potential. But luckily the winds will not be strong. The ridge will weaken a little Wednesday or Thursday or Friday.”

A red flag warning has already been issued for portions of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The warning goes into affect at midnight Monday and will last until sometime Wednesday. A warning for Orange County is expected on Monday.

A new fire has just started today in Temecula, which is closer to us.... Riverside County.  Then I saw this..

Fire extinguished at Naval Weapons Station

The fire, which started about 1:20 p.m., caused crews to temporarily shut down Pacific Coast Highway in both directions near Seal Beach Boulevard as a staging ground for firefighting equipment, Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Greg McKeown said. All lanes are now reported open.

The fire is not near the base's weapons or ammunition, base spokesman Gregg Smith said.

Animals on the 6-acre island were not in danger, Smith said. The 1,000-acre refuge supports endangered birds such as the light-footed clapper rail and the California least tern, he said.

Seven engines and two trucks responded to the fires and no injuries were reported, McKeown said.

 

 

 

 

By Chris Erskine

September 19, 2009

My favorite columnist, yet again!

There's a cricket in the kitchen. Chirps all night long, like he's trying to sell me something.

I'm not sure how the cricket got into the house, though I suspect he was carried in by one of the dogs. In my experience, dogs are vessels for any sort of unpleasantness. Bugs. Mucus. Bad breath. Were there no dogs, there would be no germs. It's not a coincidence that cold and flu season start in the fall, when dogs are running rampant.

Anyway, we have this cricket in the kitchen. I think he's a teenager, because he's up all night. At first, he was by the fireplace, but then he jitterbugged to a spot near the refrigerator, which is where most of the action takes place in our house.

"Can you go up in the attic today?" the wife asks.

"Why?"

"Because that's where the cricket is," she says.

Everybody's got an opinion on this cricket's whereabouts. The attic. The cabinet. My nose. It's a little like trying to pin down a car rattle, each person hears something different.

In the light of day, when we might most be inclined to do something about the cricket, he goes silent. By night, when we are exhausted and prone to surrender, he begins to sing again.

There are advantages to having a cricket in the house. You don't need to ever walk them. They don't shed. And last night, he performed the theme from "Monday Night Football," which is why I suspect he's a he. My wife tried to make requests, something by John Mayer, but the cricket didn't respond. He's not an iPod, I told her. He's an artist.

"Hear that?" I ask.

"What?"

"Brahms," I say.

"Like you know Brahms," she says dismissively.

This is a woman, mind you, who wouldn't even attend the opening ceremonies for AYSO (American Youth Soccer Origanization) last Saturday. Now, admittedly, nobody but a 5-year-old actually enjoys opening ceremonies, yet it's just something you do, like open house or back-to-school night. You can't "hit for the cycle" in the suburbs and not go to opening ceremonies in September. You just grit your teeth and go.

The other moms went. One mother was there with two baby strollers and three husbands. That's not a lifestyle I envy, but neither am I to judge. The point is: With all her responsibilities, all the complexities she has in her unconventional, multi-husbanded life, this woman still managed to attend the God-forsaken opening day soccer ceremonies.

"We don't have doughnuts?" one kid kept asking.

"No, we don't have doughnuts," I said.

"I want a doughnut," he said.

We are the one team out of 300 that didn't bring doughnuts to opening ceremonies. As it was, we had kids literally climbing the walls as we waited to parade in. One was about two feet from the Rose Bowl rafters before we found a crane to peel him down. So, no, we didn't bring doughnuts. Actually, I might've brought doughnuts, but for the fact I was racing across town trying to pick up a uniform for a kid who never even showed up for opening ceremonies. Half the stuff coaches do is invisible -- the meetings, the paperwork, the drinking -- and this was just another little hiccup in prepping a team for opening day.

Fortunately, the soccer ceremony went well -- my 20th -- and then the players all met up later for our first game in the ultra-competitive 6-year-old division. I had opening day jitters, but the boys seemed all right with things, wild as they were.

We started by singing our fight song:

Soccer is the game we love,

We kick, we claw, we scream, we shove . . .

Then the game begins. It is for them a Pearl Harbor, for there is enemy aircraft circling everywhere and it's hard to make sense of things. Every once in a while, an adult in a canary-yellow shirt blows a whistle and yells, but the game keeps going anyway. Then someone goes barreling into your gut, cleats flying. Might be a teammate, might be an opponent, might be a mom.

It's opening day, after all, and things aren't supposed to make a whole lot of sense. But in the end, everyone gets snacks and goes home happy.

Of course, I've got a serious bite on my knee that I can't explain, and one kid took out my left retina with a straw.

Except for that, opening day was perfect.

LMAO!!!!  I do NOT want to be a youth soccer coach... EVER!!

Or do THIS for a living!!

 

NEW MEXICO

Champion downs 33 1/2 burritos

Professional eater "Humble" Bob Shoudt ate 33 1/2 burritos in 10 minutes, winning the 2009 World Burrito Eating Championship before an excited crowd at the New Mexico State Fair.

Shoudt, of Royersford, Pa., won $1,500 for consuming the most 4-ounce burritos in the International Federation of Competitive Eating-sponsored contest.

The burritos were filled with beef, beans and green chile.

The wimp couldn't eat that last half??

 

September 16, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Doyle McManus

September 14, 2009

President Obama set out a long list of worthy goals in his healthcare speech to Congress last week, but at least one of them was utterly unrealistic. "I am not the first president to take up this cause," he said, "but I am determined to be the last."

If Obama succeeds in winning a comprehensive healthcare bill, he will have established, for the first time, a federal government obligation to make some kind of health insurance available to every citizen. That's a monumental achievement.

But it will be only the first step in a process of designing, launching and improving a new healthcare system for a nation of some 300 million. That's a monumental task.

And it won't be completed in a single presidency -- not even a two-term presidency that would run until 2017. If Obama succeeds, most of the new program won't even be launched until 2013, so his successors will inherit the job of managing the system he builds and -- when flaws reveal themselves, as they inevitably will -- the obligation to make adjustments.

"The repair is going to be a process, not a one-time event," Atul Gawande, the celebrated physician-journalist at the New Yorker, wrote last week. "Reform will have to be more like a series of operations, with X-rays and tests in between to see how we're doing."

Whatever bill gets through Congress this fall -- and it seems increasingly likely that one will -- is almost certain to obligate citizens to obtain insurance, require insurance companies to offer "affordable" basic policies and impose taxes and Medicare payment cuts to help pay the insurance bills of low-income families.

But no matter how specific the bill gets, it can't guarantee that the president's proposals for funding the plan will generate enough to cover the costs.

And the bill won't reshape the medical system to focus on overall care instead of individual procedures -- at least, not yet. It only launches a series of experiments and studies to see what works and what doesn't.

The most intriguing question the bill can't answer is this: How will the practice of medicine -- the way doctors, nurses and hospitals actually treat their patients -- change to make all this work?

There's no question that it will have to change. "If you talk to doctors, they'll tell you, 'Yeah, we're practicing inefficiently, and we know it,' " said Dr. Mark McClellan, who ran Medicare under President George W. Bush and supports the basic thrust of Obama's plan.

How do we get from our current patchwork system to one that works better? Reformers want to nudge doctors in the right direction by changing the way they're paid.

The Democratic proposals include bonus payments for doctors and hospitals that coordinate care, for example, so patients don't bounce from specialist to specialist, repeating the same tests at every stop. But the bills are still too tentative, in McClellan's view. "We need more carrots, more incentives on the positive side -- but we need more disincentives, more sticks too."

For one thing, some doctors won't be willing or able to move into new payment systems. The government currently plans to wring savings from them the old-fashioned way, by cutting Medicare fees across the board. But that kind of cost-cutting doesn't do anything to make doctors more efficient or effective.

One answer, McClellan said, is to track doctors' practices more closely, to offer targeted rewards for those who improve both service and efficiency -- and targeted penalties for those who don't.

This is called "provider payment reform," a term you'll hear more often as 2013 nears. Does it mean a more intrusive government role in medicine? Sure. But federal, state and local governments already pay almost half of all the healthcare bills in the country. Government is already involved. And with increased scrutiny will also come a beneficial side effect: more transparency.

Right now, the U.S. healthcare system is a patchwork of different systems -- Medicare for the elderly, Medicaid for the poor, military and veterans' medicine, private insurance for the fully employed, and a lot of cracks in between.

Decisions about how much to spend on health, and how, have often been made through backroom battles among big institutions: employers, insurance companies, drug companies and hospitals. Doctors and patients have been among the least influential players.

By expanding the federal role in healthcare, and by setting up a system that guarantees all citizens access to affordable insurance, Obama's plan gives everyone a stake in its success. Voters will want to know that this system is working well at a reasonable cost. They'll demand -- even more than they do now -- evidence that their money is being well spent. Future Congresses and presidents, far from being relieved of the issue, will find themselves debating it year after year. American medicine is being politicized -- and that may not be a bad thing.

Looks like an uphill battle.  Your thoughts, please.

Have a wonderful week.

 

By Chris Erskine

September 12, 2009

Ahhhh!!!!

 This is a letter written to President Obama during Ted Kennedy's last days

  

 

 

 

The aftermath of the attack is filled with stories of ordinary people responding to disaster with calm, courage and compassion. It was a moment that we shined as a people, and we should not forget it.

I read this in the editorial page today and thought I would share.  NEVER FORGET!

By Rebecca Solnit

September 11, 2009

Al Qaeda's attack on New York's twin towers eight years ago today killed about 2,600 people, destroyed buildings, contaminated the region and disrupted the global economy, but it did not conquer the citizenry.

When the planes became bombs and the towers became torches and then shards and clouds of dust, many were afraid, but few panicked. Instead, hundreds of thousands of people rescued each other and themselves.

Even as New Yorkers worried about more violence to come, a spontaneously assembled flotilla of boats, ranging from a yacht "borrowed" by police officers to a historic fireboat, evacuated 300,000 to 500,000 people from Lower Manhattan, a nautical feat on the scale of the British evacuation of an army from Dunkirk in the early days of World War II.

As Adam Mayblum, who walked down from the 87th floor of the north tower with some of his co-workers, wrote on the Internet immediately afterward:

"They failed in terrorizing us. We were calm. ... If you want to make us stronger, attack and we unite. This is the ultimate failure of terrorism against the United States."

Far more people could have died on 9/11 if New Yorkers had not remained calm, had not helped each other out of the endangered buildings and the devastated area, had not reached out to pull people from the collapsing buildings and the dust cloud.

The population of the towers was lower than usual that morning because it was an election day and many were voting in the mayoral primary before heading to work; it seems emblematic that so many were spared because they were exercising their democratic powers. Others exercised their empathy and altruism. In the evacuation of the towers, John Abruzzo, a paraplegic accountant, was carried down 69 flights of stairs by his co-workers.

Many New Yorkers that day displayed such solidarity with their co-workers, often at great risk to themselves. In fact, in all the hundreds of oral histories I have read and the many interviews I have conducted while researching a book about how humans respond to disasters, I found no one saying he or she was abandoned or attacked in that great exodus of 9/11. People were frightened and moving fast, but not in a panic.

A young man from Pakistan, Usman Farman, told of how he fell down and a Hasidic Jewish man stopped and saw the Arabic inscription on Farman's pendant. Then, "with a deep Brooklyn accent, he said, 'Brother, if you don't mind, there is a cloud of glass coming at us. Grab my hand, let's get the hell out of here.' He was the last person I would ever have thought to help me. If it weren't for him, I probably would have been engulfed in shattered glass and debris."

Errol Anderson, a recruiter with the New York Fire Department, was caught outside in that dust storm. "For a couple of minutes I heard nothing. I thought I was either dead and was in another world, or I was the only one alive. I became nervous and panicky, not knowing what to do, because I couldn't see. ... About four or five minutes later, while I was still trying to find my way around, I heard the voice of a young lady. She was crying and saying, 'Please, Lord, don't let me die. Don't let me die.' I was so happy to hear this lady's voice. I said, 'Keep talking, keep talking. I'm a firefighter. I'll find you by the response of where you are.' Eventually we met up with each other, and basically we ran into each other's arms without even knowing it."

She held on to his belt, and eventually other people joined them to form a human chain. He helped get them to the Brooklyn Bridge before returning to the site of the collapsed buildings. That bridge became a pedestrian escape route for tens of thousands. For hours, a river of people poured across it. On the far side, Hasidic Jews handed out bottles of water to the refugees. Hordes of volunteers from the region, and within days the nation, converged on Lower Manhattan, offering to weld, dig, nurse, cook, clean, hear confessions, listen -- and did all of those things.

New Yorkers triumphed on that day eight years ago. They triumphed in calm, in strength, in generosity, in improvisation, in kindness. Nor was this something specific to that time or place: San Franciscans during the great earthquake of 1906, Londoners during the Blitz in World War II, the great majority of New Orleanians after Hurricane Katrina hit -- in fact, most people in most disasters in most places have behaved with just this sort of grace and dignity.

Imagine what else could have sprung from that morning eight years ago. Imagine if the collapse of those towers had not been followed by such a blast of stereotypes, lies, distortions and fear propaganda that served the agenda of the Bush administration while harming the rest of us -- Americans, Iraqis, Afghanis and so many others.

It could all have been different. It's too late now, but not too late, never too late, to change how we remember and commemorate this event.

The dead must be remembered, but the living are the monument, the living who coexist in peace in ordinary times and who save one another in extraordinary times. Civil society arose that morning in full glory. Look at it: Remember that this is who we were and can be.

Yet again, I am the only one on my street flying my flag.  Pathetic!!

Here is a song just for today:

http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/19/795611/Allen%20jackson%20-%20Alan%20jackson%20-%20Where%20were%20you%20when%20the%20world%20stopped%20turning.mp3

Please take a few minutes to listen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you are all enjoying your Labor Day and didn't have to work today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 3, 2009

Don't read this if you have one of those big, bleeding hearts. Don't read this if you're a sucker for an up-by-the-bootstraps story of guys who never give up, even if they have reason to. Roger Owens doesn't want your sympathy or your tears. Owens merely wants your money and your laughter.

And don't read this if you're one of those poisonous sorts who scoffs at inspirational Horatio Alger stuff. Owens doesn't need your cynicism. Owens wants your $5.50 and maybe a smile. The $5.50 pays his bills. The smile soothes his Vaudevillian soul.

For more than 50 years, Owens has been flinging peanuts to Dodgers fans, more than 4,000 games by his own estimate, firing wisecracks at wiseguys and making their girlfriends laugh. His kingdom, his stage, is the loge level between home and left field. Along with other baseball treasures -- Bill Veeck, Bob Uecker, Vin Scully -- he takes the game to a higher level: He makes happy people happier.

"I'm the only pitcher in the majors making less than $1 million a year," he jokes. "I work for peanuts."

He's certainly no secret, this master salesman. A ballpark requires a lot of folks to work the levers -- electricians, chefs, horticulturists. Vendors are probably the most public faces among these support troops, and Owens is their Koufax, their alpha hot dog.

He has peddled his wares and his corny jokes to Dodgers fans for 51 years, first in the Coliseum, then at Dodger Stadium. His trademark: a behind-the-back pitch he almost always throws for a strike. "I throw a fast nut, a curve nut and knuckle bag," he brags. Monday night, near as I could tell, the guy threw a perfect game.

"Last year I only missed two throws," he says. "Probably cost me the Cy Young."

Over the years, his skills and chutzpah have attracted outside work. The Bellagio flies him in for sports-themed Vegas events. He's visited Tokyo to pitch peanuts, and has appeared on TV and in movies. In 1977, Owens shelled a presidential inauguration (Jimmy Carter, of course).

"Where I get my power is in my wrist," he says, explaining the secret behind his snap throws. "For a senior citizen, I'll put a little arch on it. I even allow for wind conditions."

At 66, he seems a storybook character, all mirth, hijinks and hyperbole, the kind of creature ballparks attract like mice. About once every 10 years, he says, he snags a foul ball. "About 15 years ago, one landed in my peanut basket," he says.

It's not till you look at the back story, that you really appreciate the improbable tale of Roger Owens and his 4,000-plus games. The oldest of nine kids, he had the hardest of childhoods. Dad was a Baptist minister from Tulsa. Without a full-time congregation in L.A., Ross Owens worked any job he could. There was never enough food. Mom watered the milk, thinned the soup. Still, kids went to bed hungry.

Then things got worse.

When Roger was 10, his mother, Mary, suffered a mental breakdown. During her five years in an institution, the kids were sent to foster homes across Southern California, and never all together. Roger and a brother bounced between three homes, one almost a labor camp.

When his mother recovered and the kids reunited, Roger began selling soda at the Coliseum to make ends meet. The year: 1958, the Dodgers' first season here. Owens remembers Frank Sinatra and cronies asking the vendors to bring them cups of ice. The fluids they'd brought themselves.

Owens worked hard, moved to Dodger Stadium with the Dodgers and began to make a life for himself with a day sales job with a trucking line. But the bad breaks weren't over. In 1969, during National Guard training at Ft. Irwin, the driver of his vehicle fell asleep.

"I was flipped out of the Jeep like a slingshot," Owens recalls. "They couldn't get me out of the coma."

The military rushed him to San Diego, where a neurosurgeon saved his life with three major operations.

So that's the movie moment, the pivot point. This guy, born on Valentine's Day 1943, could've lost heart. He could've awakened from that coma and decided to live each day as if it were his last.

And that is exactly what Roger Daniel Owens has done.

His amazing story is chronicled in detail in "The Perfect Pitch," by Daniel S. Green, available at stadium souvenir stands and on the Web.

But the story isn't over, not even close. Tonight, for example, you'll see Owens back on the mound, the man with the golden arm working the loge, aisles 101 to 167.

The boy who grew up hungry in Eagle Rock and Compton now spends his evenings feeding the world.

"I have never seen him miss," says George Green, a season-ticket holder for three decades.

Why would he? He's the toughest Dodger of all.

 

Here is today's song: Just a GREAT Song!!!!

As usual, just turn your sound on and click on the link below.  Hope you weekend is going very well!

http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/19/795611/Rascal_Flatts_-_Things_That_Matter.mp3