Saturday, December 30, 2006

"Yup, Saddam's Dead"




It was a historic day, Dec. 29th 2006. Although, I guess the date can be debated, but that it what day it was in America when Saddam got hanged by Iraq.

I have to say it was pretty crazy all the trials and BS we went through, and we hand him over to Iraq, who are just like: "Um, yeah we are going to kill him"

Seems like a pretty big waste of time sort of if you think about it. Anyway, He was horrible person and was the cause of so much suffering and death that I guess you could say he had it coming.

Seems like it happened pretty quick and some people didn't even know. When Rick and I were have our Friday night ritual conversation about "Whats going on tonight" I asked him if he was fired up for the Saddam hanging, and he had no idea what I was talking about.

Might go down for our age group as one of those "Where were you moments" I can always say I was at Dukes when it happened. Later this weekend I plan to post "Where were you moments" for me and my age personally that I think are what would be considered important moments of "our" times. But, I am too tired to do that now.

Anyway, one thing we learned about Saddam when he was in our custody, was he loved Doritos. He just loved those snacks. Kind of funny, this guy who was full of such evil and horrible ideas, and killed thousands of people, just loved the cheesy snacks.

You have to think that he was sitting there one day cursing our America, and "The Great Satan Bush" when he opened a fresh delicious bag of Doritios. Than he tried to fight back the enjoyment of it. But, as you know you can't eat just one. So, he went for another. I bet he had to fight back a smile of the American invention. Trying to remind himself how much he hated America. But at the end of the day, he may have had all these bad thoughts about us, but thought to himself, these Doritios are pretty damn good! Yeah, I might want to kill all Americans and kill people I don't like, but I just can't stop eating these buggers.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

"Eagles Fly Into Playoffs"








Call it the reverse Tucker's World Jinx. Since I posted that the Eagles season was over and everyone should throw dirt on them, they have not lost a game. Not only that, they gave all the fans in the Philadelphia area a last second Christmas present by making the playoffs.

Back up Garcia has calmed the Birds a bit and thing have really come together. In addition to Garcia's solid playing, the team realized playing defense is a pretty good idea.

It is kind of hard to comment on the game since the NFL just had to have a game during Christmas and I didn't get to pay too much attention to all the plays. However, the time the Cowboys were a yard or two away from a touch down, and Eagles stood strong and prevented them from scoring just makes you realize this team is capable of what we thought.

So 3 weeks ago, people were saying, "There is always next year"

Now everyone is fired up and caught up in Eagles fever. One guy called up 610 earlier this morining, and was say dropping the "S-word" over and over again. People are putting their heart into this team, and hanging their hopes in the turn it around story of the year. What could possibly go wrong?

Monday, December 25, 2006

"Merry Christmas"



Just a quick message to all my readers. Just wanted to wish everyone reading this a Merry Christmas. Even to those that read this blog that I may have no idea about. Thanks for all the comments this year, and hopefully Santa was good to you this morning. Feel free to post about family Christmas traditions crazy or other wise.

"The Gift"

Well this is Tucker's World Christmas Tradition, to post this story. I wrote this story, back in my Camden County College Days. Just for the record it isn't a true story, but it is based on a few actual events.

Some time around the first week of the year. I took a second look at one of our traditional Christmas decorations; it was a complete and total eyesore. It was a gift some old lady gave my mother 10 years ago for Christmas and I guess she felt obligated to put it on the tree each year. It was a gaudy looking knitted cat. It was one the most hideous things I have ever laid my eyes on.
They say its thought that counts well it’s the thought that angers me when I see it every year. That same Christmas like every year an epidemic spread through the grade school. This year it was in the form of Sega, the newest video game system. Over greasy square pizza, pale yellow peas, and flavorless mashed potatoes shaped like an ice cream scoop, I would hear all the kids discuss the latest video games. I would try my best to stay absent from the conversation. I wouldn’t know what to say when they would ask me if I had gotten past the castle board yet.
One day went I went home I sat my father down and tried to tell him how I would benefit from having a Sega game system of my very own. I told him it would give me better hand eye coordination and against the popular notion it made kids zombies, I told him it acutally made them think and make quick decisions. He went on and on about how when he was a kid he would just use his imagination to have fun, and how kids today are spoiled. I think that conversation is had all over America in every family at one point and time. I used to think that my parents and all the other parents would go to secret meetings at night or when all their kids were in school and discuss stuff like this. I pictured a man with a gavel leading the meeting and hammering home the idea of telling children why they are spoiled and to shove vegetables down their throats. One time I actually searched my mother’s purse for a pamphlet when they got home late the night before.



That Christmas I was hoping for a miracle. I rushed down the steps that morning and studied each mystery. I did the shake test, the weight test and the hold them up to the sunlight test. As I tore, open each one my chances of getting the coveted Sega was getting slimmer and slimmer. All kinds of flashes were going off from my mother’s camera capturing images of me, and my reactions to each present.


Later that day my family and I went to my aunt and uncle’s for dinner. I was in a miserable mood the whole time. The only bright spot was that my cousin Robby who was about my age was there. And guess what he got for Christmas? Of course the very same Sega system. He told me he got it weeks before Christmas even came. Robby and I were always highly competitive. So while the sweet smell of the pending ham dinner dissipated through the air we settled down in front of the television. With all those weeks of practice, he had on me he humiliated me. I think he set a record for goals scored in a hockey game, shot my plane down about a dozen times, and beat me all over the wrestling ring.

I went home feeling worse than I did when I realized I wasn’t getting the Sega. On the ride home my father tried to reach out to me. But I just pushed him away. The image of my wrestler I was controlling laying on the floor after about 30 seconds was burning in my mind. I sat in fit of rage in the back seat as my parents were in the front. My father turned the radio down. He told me that maybe one day I would get one. But I didn’t hear it. I wanted to tell him how Robby’s parents weren’t any richer than we, that I was the only kid that didn’t have a Sega. But all that came out at the top of my tiny lungs was I HATE YOU! And instead of saying anything after that. I just repeated I HATE YOU! Because he was driving of course he had his back to me. But we passed a street light that light up the rear view window and I glimpse of his face. Suddenly I didn’t want to yell anymore. I did not apologize either, in fact no one said anything. The car just hummed along the rest of the ride.

About two months later I got a Sega for my birthday. It funny the minute I unwrapped the gift and realized what it was, I almost had to fake excitement. Sure I spend many a night in the glow of my television going to far off lands and winning championships, but I could never take those words back. At least in a video game you are blessed with more than one life. At the time I meant the words that came out of my mouth. I hated my father as much as I hate that stupid knit cat now.

One time after coming home from a fishing trip with my father after many years of those words keeping me up at night, it figured it was time to apologize. However my mouth froze, I never did. I like to think that my father knew what I was thinking. Like I said they say it’s the thought that counts.I put the rest of the ornaments in a box, and I carried them basement. I placed them in a closet we hardly used. It was full of dust and mildew. I rested the box right on top of the Sega.