I called my pops today like I do pretty often, just to check in and talk, and he said that he was about to leave to bring our puppy, Maggie, to the vet. She’s had a lot of health problems in the past, so her going to the vet is fairly common, but then my pops said that she fell today and hurt her front leg pretty bad. He said she might need surgery. My poor puppy! I wish I could be there for her like the rest of my family. Here’s to hoping her injury isn’t that bad.
My life is finally moving toward being complete again as the Amazing Race returned to CBS Sunday night. Here are my initial quick hit thoughts on the teams:
Christie and Jodie: Came within a couple of seconds of being Philiminated, not because of missed clues or struggling with tasks, but because of travel errors. I expected flight attendants to at least be able to do that. Potential weakness: Non-aircraft travel (until proven otherwise).
Tammy and Victor: These guys are this season’s young sibling power couple who have good heads on their shoulders and are driven to succeed. They are this season’s Nick and Starr, and should find themselves in the top three when all is said and done. Already playing mind games with other teams. Potential weakness: Victor’s big brotherness. He seemed to get on Tammy’s case a bit… could be a problem if times ever get tough.
Steve and Linda: I thought they would be the first team out, since Linda is utterly unable to do anything physical, and Steve seems intent on making her feel terrible for it. Steve did well to get past the cheese, but they got lost trying to find the yodelers. (Not so) Potential weakness(es): Lack of ability to move quickly, lack of composure, lack of travel / world experience, etc., etc., etc. Will probably be Philiminated soon.
Kisha and Jen: Pretty much cruised through in the middle of the pack. Haven’t really gotten a feel for them. Potential weakness: Averageness – finished ahead of only the hicks and the flight attendants – and who couldn’t.
Brad and Victoria: This is the token older couple, but this season the older couple is jacked – they work out all day together. Will they be able to combine the wisdom of their years with the physical strength other old teams have lacked? I think they might. Potential weakness: Already playing mind games in the first episode. The older teams usually rely on some sort of alliance at some point during the race – so you don’t want to burn bridges.
Mel and Mike: Instead of a token gay couple we get a token gay family! Mike had a great quote about not letting his dad down by being gay because his dad already beat him to it. I’m feeling that I could get to like these guys. Potential weakness: Physical challenges. I know they do Yoga and seem fit, but Mel complained about a tweaked groin muscle on the hill, and had to slide down on his bum. Injuries are magnified given the short time frame of the race.
Amanda and Kris: The lovey dovey couple! Hate on love all you want, but I am unashamed in saying that I think it is really cute. Once again, I didn’t really get a feel for them. They finished a solid 5th. Potential weakness: Conflict. What happens when times get tough? What if one of them stops with the lovey dovey under the pressure?
Mark and Michael: What isn’t there to love about these guys? They’re stuntmen. They’re short. They’re full of energy. They seem happy. They’re brothers (I love when brothers get along well enough to do something like this). They seem to have a nice blend of physical strength and mental capacity. I think they have a real shot at winning this thing. Potential weakness: a task or roadblock that requires you to be… well… normal height.
Jaime and Cara: Another relatively anonymous team to me. That’s the best they could dig up among ex-NFL cheerleaders? Seriously, folks. Come on. (Potential?) weakness: they are cheerleaders.
Preston and Jennifer: He likes to win. He is competitive. He made her cry. She says she learned a lot about him and wants to love ahead with their relationship. Polly marveled at the fact that she realized that over the course of just two days on the race and one hour on TV. I think I have to agree. Potential weakness: Already Philiminated.
Margie and Luke: Clearly my favorite team after the first episode. They are uber cute, and it is an amazing story. Dominated the first episode and decisively won the first leg. I’m rooting for these guys to win, and if their performance yesterday was any indication of the future, they just might. Potential weakness: Communication. A couple of times Luke seemed to leave his mom behind, leaving her to wonder what he was up to.
This is the 14th Amazing Race. The team that has ended up winning the race has finished in the following position in the first leg (from most recent to oldest): First, Third, Fourth, First, Second, Ninth, Eigth, Fourth, Eigth, Ninth, Second, Sixth, First. That is an average finish in the first leg of fourth or fifth. Notice that in recent years it has become even more important to finish near the top in the first leg. This is not good news for the teams at the bottom right now. The cream tends to rise to the top pretty quickly on the race, and barring some miraculous Andrew and Dan miracle the best teams usually advance.
This is a picture of the baptism record of Stephanus Szymaszek. It comes from the church books in the Roman Catholic parish in Straszecin, Poland. Stephanus was born in 1800. His father, Thomas Szymaszek, is listed just to the right of Stephanus. The record, including the names, is written in Latin.
This is a picture of the ship manifest from the SS Bohemia in 1888, showing my ancestor Joseph Szymaszek when he arrived in the United States after emigrating from Poland. His name is at the bottom of the page. The “31” indicated his age.
Another way that I am going to share what I have uncovered during my family history research is to post pictures of some of the original records that I’ve found.
This is a picture of the will of my ancestor Michael Messinger (Mössinger).
The signature in the picture is Michael’s actual signature. Note that the double “s” was written like a cursive “f” in those days. The will was proved in 1791 when Michael died at age 71.
After sleeping on the whole A-Rod thing and his interview I have a few random thoughts to throw out there.
I agree with everyone on ESPN, ESPN Radio, and every other sports related anything that there is NOTHING that surprises me anymore when it comes to steroids (or whatever you want to call it) and baseball. Despite not being surprised by anything, disappointment and anger still swell within me when news like this comes out. That’s how I feel. Angry and disappointed. Not shocked or surprised. I still don’t know how I feel about the statistics from this era. Thankfully I have a lifetime to figure that out.
As I was listening to Tirico and Van Pelt yesterday someone commented on the fact that we want our athletes to be super-human, then get mad at them when they take steroids to be just that. As an athlete and a rather hardcore fan of sports, especially baseball, I have to disagree 100% with this statement. I do want my athletes to be superhuman, but I want them to do it because of their natural ability and work ethic, not because they are on steroids. I do not want every Joe Shmoe on the street to be a great athlete. I want great athletes to be unique… to come around once in a generation… not to be constantly pumped out of drug labs.
The other thing that strikes me is the absurd hubris that must drive someone like A-Rod to use these substances. Here’s a generic version of what I think must have gone through his head:
I am the best at what I do for a living in the world right now. Nobody does my job any better than me. There are 6 billion people on earth and not one single person does this any better than me. What’s more, I am probably the best EVER at my job. In the entire course of recorded human history, not a single person has ever done this as well as I do. But I want to be even better and set the bar so high that no one will ever reach me. So I guess I’ll take illegal drugs to improve my performance.
That someone can sit down and think that is unfathomable to me. I was watching Troy yesterday on FX and I can’t help but compare these athletes to the Achilles character in that movie. I don’t get it.
I’m also not sure how much of what he said last night we can really believe. I’m a trusting person, so I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, but a year and a half ago he did another TV interview and categorically denied ever using or being tempted to use performance enhancing drugs. So he’s already been proved a liar. I guess time will tell how much of what he said is really true.
I’m not sure who is responsible for the leak of only A-Rod’s name, but I really want to know the other 103 names on that list. Those players who have never used steroids need their names to be cleared of all suspicion.
I will give A-Rod credit for coming out and admitting his use. It takes guts to admit that you lied to the world. You have to respect someone for that. Now maybe we can have a legitimate conversation about steroids and how we can get them out of the game for good. Until a star was willing to stand up and publicly admit his use and open that dialogue it was never going to happen. If A-Rod can be the catalyst for that he might just redeem himself in my eyes.
Family Name: Szymaszek
Earliest Confirmed Record: 1800 – baptism record for Stephanus Szymaszek in Straszecin, Poland
European Origin: The family comes from the town of Straszecin, Poland. It is located near the city of Debica in southeastern Poland (in the modern Podkarpackie Voivodeship)
Date of Arrival in America: March 15, 1888 on the ship SS Bohemia.
Place of Arrival in America: New York, New York
Place Settled in America: Meriden, CT
Origin of name: Szymaszek is a patronymic name – meaning that it is derived from an ancestor’s first name (in this case male). In the case of Szymaszek, it is derived from the Polish equivalent of “Simon,” which is “Szymon.” Additionally, Polish names that end in “-k” often denote something similar to “little” or “son of.” Therefore, “Szymaszek” likely means something along the lines of “little Simon” or “son of Simon.”
My Szymaszek ancestors: (the names of my ancestors in Poland are in Latin because that is how they are recorded in the church records)
I read Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback every Monday morning during the NFL season. He is an amazing writer and it is endlessly entertaining. One of his sections is called “Ten Things I Think I Think.” I figured from time to time I’ll throw out 10 things I think I think. Mine aren’t nearly as good as Mr. King’s, but oh well.
Ten Things I Think I Think:
1. I think that if three Bush administration nominees had been embroiled in tax fraud we on the “left” would be hammering them, the administration, and the president. Just because our guy is president now doesn’t make it ok to overlook this sort of thing.
2. I think people need to be careful about double standards.
3. I think I can’t stand the sound of Lindsey Graham’s voice.
4. I think I need to sleep more than I did last week.
4.a. I think it is a testament to how great my mood was last week that I did not collapse from exhaustion.
5. I think I cannot remember the last time I was awake past 2 AM two nights in a row.
7. I think I did pretty well on the intermediate course my first time ever cross country skiing.
9. I think I’m really fired up for Wednesday’s USA vs. Mexico match.
10. I think I loved Colin Cowherd’s “To Catch a Predator” reference this morning.
I heard this morning on the news that the next version of the classic board game Clue will include a text message feature and a black-light to find clues with. Should be pretty sweet. Also, apparently the newest version of Monopoly features credit cards. Why do I not own this?
On a completely unrelated note, this is the second night in a row I have been up past 2 AM. I can’t remember the last time that happened.
Those of you who read the Fail Blog will get the reference… those of you who don’t should start reading it!
I snapped this photo of our TV during our most recent “Gilmore Girls Night”:
FAIL!
The World of the Mess 