it didn't explode. i just haven't written in a while. and it isn't because ive been too busy either. so now that's cleared up.

i was thinking today ( on my 9:30 pm to 4:30 am flight ) of all the things that i like. mostly to combat the lots of things i didnt like about being awake, and being on that plane. they werent big things either. they were smaller things; things that i can recommend to you. then they can be things you like too.

a well written book
      - the elegance of the hedgehog
      - city of thieves
      - born to run

a new music bit (usually recommended by my older brother)
     - alexi murdoch
     - ben lee

a good tv show
    - arrested development
    - the twilight zone
    - scrubs

a creative blog
    - http://ryansworth.com/
    - http://www.blogonoscopy.com/
   


now you have some good things too.

with a nod to dr. theodor seuss geisel, who lived the latter years of his life right here in la jolla, and was a brilliant imaginarian...

my drive from pittsburgh to san diego spanned 5 cities and covered almost 4000 miles..and if you ever find yourself in the vicinity, these are (just a few of) the things i suggest you see for your very own self..

amazingly, it appears that we have made it all the way back to the offseason..and this blog will commence operations accordingly..


as i did last year, i would like to extend an invitation to my main blog reader guy (or girl) to ask questions about whatever he or she would like to know about..and i'll get to answering them in the most expedient fashion possible..that seems like the best plan for now..further plans will be made at a further date, furtherly.

after arriving in florida last weekend, and spending most of the week unpacking, grocery shopping, and catching up with teammates..it's time to get started again.

unfortunately, this means the (offseason) blog will be offline for the next nine months or so. don't worry though, ill be back as soon as the offseason is. thanks for keeping up, and in the meantime, check this blog out....caught in the middle.. it's written by a good friend of mine from back home in pittsburgh about her travels through europe..and it's awesome.

 

now, i dont really consider myself a main art guy. and that's not to say that i don't appreciate art, or that i wont go to an art piece every once in a while. ill even help out on the occasional creative bit joe dude gets down on. im just saying as far as art lovers go, im middle of the road. with that said, this guy is awesome.

one full year after my inaugural caravan trip, im back in the far north for another round. as you may or may not recall, last year's caravan leg was a southeast (that's up for discussion) run with stops in red wing, owatanna, and albert lea...this year they've given up on directional descriptions and merely termed our trip route #3... im not kidding, our itinerary reads "2009 Twins Winter Caravan Route #3"

                                                 

so far so good with route #3...jesse crain, bert blyleven, john gordon and i left the twin cities monday morning and stopped in at the home of a WFTC contest winner for breakfast, coffee, and some autographs. after eating more than our fair share of bagels (bert had a protein shake), we packed up and headed to the american legion in red wing for an afternoon luncheon. 'action' jack of KWNG radio was our friendly emcee and the fans in red wing all came out to show their support...

from there, we took off for gillette children's hospital in st. paul where i ran into a good friend of mine, luke seufer .....luke and i met last year at the courage center in lakeville, where he informed me of his intent to go dog sledding later that afternoon ( it was the middle of July and at least 90 degrees outside)..i, of course, thought dog sledding was a fantastic idea, and we began planning out our trip... kids like luke are the real reason we go out on caravan...as much as we love bert's jokes, radio liners, and autograph sessions, they don't mean as much as a single smile from a kid like luke...

we finished up day one in rochester, mn with a visit from our main man and gm bill smith. john gordon ran the program, and the fans who came had plenty of questions for mr. smith..which just left autographs for us before we finally retired for the night.

day 2 started with a bank visit to the Community Bank of Owatonna, where jesse and i signed autographs and took pictures while bert and john tried unsuccessfully to lighten the load in the vault..we completed our task, but the other two guys failed miserably..from there we shoved off towards austin, minnesota for a nightly event hosted by our radio amigos at KAUS. and now, after another tremendously successful program, we are all headed to bed...thank you very much.

                                                          

                                               (rik aalbert blijleven) 

 

if, for some unbelievable reason you are not familiar with the terrible towel...this is what it looks like..
      the towel, a creation of the late Myron Cope, became famous long before ridiculous rally animals, thunder sticks, dog masks, that 'caroline' song, and starter jackets.. and is generally considered the greatest fan demonstration implement of all time. I suggest you find a way to get one of these by 6:30 Sunday night ...or you'll miss out on this.