Cardinal Nation is in mourning again. What is there about the Cubs that proves fatal to Cardinals' pitchers? Five years ago, Darryl Kile passed away in Chicago during a Cards-Cubs series ~ and then this morning we lost Josh Hancock in a car accident in St. Louis ~ in the middle of another Cards-Cubs game. My thoughts and prayers to the young man's family, friends, fans, and teammates.

However, mostly I mourn the loss of Phyllis Jean McGee, who also passed away this morning. She was the aunt of my dear friend, Pammy, and the only sister of Pammy's mom, who, in many ways, has been like a mom to me since my own beloved Mama passed away in 1993. *Aunt Jean* had been ill for some time ~ may she rest in peace with the Lord now.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., was one of my favorite writers. He could pack so much meaning into such few and simple words. Although he was pessimistic where I myself *try* to be optimistic, I definitely agree with his views against war and bureauCRAPcy. In his short story "Harrison Bergeron," he also predicts what "average" will be like in a few years. As a teacher, I am alarmed by how prophetic that story has become! Oddly enough, his most famous book, Slaughterhouse Five, is my least favorite Vonnegut book. I preferred Mother Night.

Rest in peace, Mr. Vonnegut. I'll miss you.

Okay, I'm finished with this thread now. :)

A retraction already? In the spirit of fairness, I am updating the AP news that I posted yesterday. :)

"Keith Richards may never have met a drug he didn't like, but on Wednesday the Rolling Stones guitarist denied mixing his father's ashes with cocaine and snorting the ghoulish concoction.

"The 63-year-old rocker caused an international uproar on Tuesday when British newspaper New Musical Express quoted him as saying: 'The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father. He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow ... . It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive.'

"Richards, known for his death-defying appetite for drugs, said in a statement on his band's Web site, rollingstones.com, that 'the complete story (was) lost in the usual slanting.'

"'The truth of the matter is that I planted a sturdy English Oak. I took the lid off the box of ashes, and he is now growing oak trees and would love me for it!!! I was trying to say how tight Bert and I were. That tight!!! I wouldn't take cocaine at this point in my life unless I wished to commit suicide.'"

Take a look at the man ~ methinks his brain may already be dead? If ever there was a poster boy *against* drug use, Keith Richards is it!

In the *good grief!* department:

LONDON (AP) -- Keith Richards has acknowledged consuming a raft of illegal substances in his time, but this may top them all. In comments published Tuesday, the 63-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist said he had snorted his father's ashes mixed with cocaine.

"The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father," Richards was quoted as saying by British music magazine NME.

"He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared," he said. "... It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive."

Richards' father, Bert, died in 2002, at 84.

Nasonex, anyone???

My favorite time of the year! My lilacs and dogwood are blooming, and I can sit on my *pitio* (the pitiful patio that I made myself) and read. Today is also the first day of baseball season ~ no fooling! Let the games begin! Go, Cards! Aren't the Clydesdales *beautiful*??? :)