This and That -- wsbt.com

I don’t do Black Friday. In fact when I was anchoring the news I practically begged them to make me work the day after Thanksgiving because I felt safe inside the newsroom, while we sent the newest rookie reporter out to mall land. Most of them lived to talk about it, but some, as I recall, decided right then and there to change professions.
Still I gave some ground on deriding those who do risk life, limb and sleep when I saw a story in an out-of-town newspaper. The picture showed four guys literally camped first in line at their local Best Buy. They had a nice tent, sleeping bags, a heater and several decks of cards. They also had a well-stocked cooler. So, I’m thinking that might be fun as long as I can flee the premises the minute the doors open.
I live in the city, so I want to give a shout out to the guys from South Bend who pick up the leaves. Year after year they do great job. Came home today and every leaf was gone. And, while I am at it, hats off to the folks who pick up my garbage. That has to be a miserable job by some people’s standards, especially when you consider all the bad weather we can have around here. The same should be said for those who get the recyclables. I could set my watch on the time they show up every other week. And I know the post office employees have been taking some hits lately, but they really do deliver often under difficult circumstances, and I am pretty sure I have never missed getting one of my bills in the mail.
The Notre Dame Football program has a long, long way to go, and it has been like that for a long, long time. So anyone out there who thinks the solution is changing quarterbacks or coaching regimes has not been paying attention. Been there, done that. Think about this, there can be only a handful of undergraduates on campus who were even born the last time ND won a National Championship. All you had to do is watch the LSU or Alabama games over the weekend to see the difference. Thank goodness ND will not play a good SEC team in a bowl game.
On a brighter note you should do whatever you can to see the ND hockey team at the beautiful Compton Family Ice Arena. The building exceeds all of my expectations, and the team is not only really good but also filled with really good guys. There are a couple of games scheduled when the students are on break, including a New Year’s Eve game against a good Boston University team. You should go and celebrate afterwards.
Don’t you think that one of the keys to living a good life is learning how to make good gravy? I stole my recipe from my sister about 25 years ago and have been trying to perfect it ever since. This year it was so good that if I had roasted hockey pucks they would have tasted okay once buried in the gravy. I also owe a thank you to WSBT’s Kirk Mason who told me his dad used to cut up a large apple and toss it in the turkey cavity. It not only works but also adds a nice additional smell to the holiday kitchen.
Who put Grover Norquist in charge of this country? Personally I pledge allegiance to the flag.