August is the best month of the year for a reason that requires no explanation. Baseball themed birthday cakes for me are a long tradition in this family, going back to the era of Cincinnati's Big Red Machine. This year's multi-day birthday observances began with a breakfast at Frisch's.
My Dear Elderly Mother and I reminisced about those halcyon days of yesteryear when Bill Knapp's would discount your birthday meal by a percentage equal to your age. And play a pre-recorded rendition of "Happy Birthday" over the restaurant sound system when the waitress brought the birthday cake - with a single candle - to the table.
It was a pleasant late summer afternoon so we retired to a shady bench in the Oxtown uptown parks. A lone red maple tree blazed an announcement of the imminent approach of autumn. Turning to face High Street a scene more reminiscent of the big city than a small Midwest college town presented itself.
So much for the view.
Dinner later that evening took the form of a cookout at Lou's palatial estate. Burgers, dogs, sweet corn on the grill, Mexican bottled Coca-Cola. You might think you have a great brother. I have the best brother in the galaxy.
Earlier in the month, the foremost paleontologist of the western Carolinas joined me for an evening of ice cream and conversation on another uptown park bench.
A helicopter made a low speed approach over the parks to a landing on the hospital helipad.
In July, one of the uptown parks in Oxville found itself in the grip of the same mood of protest that swept the country this year.
Call out the riot squad! Or get them each a glass of lemonade. They look parched.
But enough about Oxtown's violently peaceful riotous protesters and back to what's most important, my sequence of birthday observances! Each year The Old Master of the Turf treats me to a day of wagering on horse racing at Saratoga. This year we opted to watch and wager from the luxurious comfort of Mr B's home control & command center in a restricted-access undisclosed location in southwest Ohio. The morning workouts at Saratoga were interrupted by a strong storm front that blew through upstate New York and deluged the historic race course under rainfall measured in fathoms.
Photo credit; longtime Daily Racing Form photographer Barbara Livingston (https://twitter.com/DRFLivingston).
The main track was Sloppy at post time for the first race but a bright sun, breeze and warm temperatures soon found the surface upgraded to Good and then Fast. With the exception of the day's feature race, the one mile (turf) Fourstardave Handicap, the turf races were moved onto the main track. That surface change resulted in more than a few scratches, changing fundamentally the complexion of several races. We decided to focus our wagering strategies primarily on rolling Pick 3's, Pick 4's, a Pick 5 and of course the Pick 6. I cashed a few Win/Place wagers but it was a day characterized by near-misses for me and The Old Master of the Turf. The horses I used for my multi-race exotics finished;
Race 1: 3rd
Race 2: Winner
Race 3: 3rd
Race 4: 3rd
Race 5: 2nd
Race 6: 3rd
Race 7: 2nd
Race 8: No wager, went to pick up a pizza
Race 9: Off the board, last seen on the far turn
The big news of the day from Saratoga was that old school, Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito acquired a smartphone.
The end of summer heralds mailboxes stuffed with presidential campaign materials. The joke's on them, I've already settled on my candidate!
Take that you violently peaceful riotous protesters!
The highlight of the summer was my niece Maria obtaining her drivers license. She received perfect scores! #familytradition
She benefited from world class guidance.
Working late one night this summer at the Genco Pura Olive Oil Company main office, my 2:00 AM drive home revealed a new turn lane on West Chestnut at South College that was painted into existence earlier that evening.
Another late night at headquarters this month was under a dazzling sunset.
On Father's Day this summer, Mr B shared some old family photos from the archive. Here, me and Mr B from 1999 at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire:
And this photo of me and Lou at Disney World, Christmas 1985:
Check out my Stewart Tigers 8th grade basketball team Nike Sky Force high tops!
Stylin' and profilin'.
Mr Heavy Artillery sporting all the logos. #goteams
Roll the credits!
