The Ulitmate Pose Off...oh and a wedding

As mentioned earlier, our heartfelt congratulations go out to our cousin Emily and her new husband Wes. Had you not chosen the 15th of March to be wed, I would have never have gone down to Sierra Vista. And had I never gone to Sierra Vista that day I would have missed...

The Ultimate Pose Off .

Well, actually I did miss the Ultimate Pose Off. The Copper Classic, as it is formally known, was held at 5 PM in Sierra Vista and Teri promised me that if we were still in Sierra Vista at that time she would go with me and the boys. Curiously at 4:45 PM Teri just couldn't bear to be away from home any longer so we packed up the kids and went back home to Mesa.

It's really too bad. Highlighting the event were two guest posers - ages 79 and 73. These guys have a long history of going up against one another in bodybuilding contests. But 73 year-old Hank Diaz (below left) has only beaten 79 year-old Kent Marshall (below right) once.



Personally, I don't understand how that could be the case. True, neither guy looks his age, but I find Hank Diaz much more attractive than the Kent Marshall. But I guess I haven't gotten a good look at their abs - or their thighs.

Despite my enthusiasm for the Copper Classic's silver anniversary event Teri was probably right to decide to pack up and leave. Those events are pretty dangerous. There are lots of attractive women there, but if you get caught ogling they'll beat you up. I got a black eye trying to take this photo just last week - and that was from the skinny one on the left. Who knows what the guy on the right would have done to me?

Mid-March Update

Here's a quick note about the important events in our lives and yours:

Congrats to my little sister Amy who managed to bull her way into the newspaper. As the Bingham High School drill team matador, she endured the jeers and cat calls of Utah-based Spaniards who, while searching for a 6-fingered man, rudely told her that bullfighting was a man sport. Amy refused to give in and won herself the Deseret News Prep Athlete of the Week. Although Amy may not be as famous as Cristina Sanchez, her bullfighting skills are taking her places...like the rodeo pageant circuit where she'll face off with another Amy and her pleather dress.

Mazel Tov! to my cousin Emily who wed the love of her life Wes on March 15. Teri and I took the kids down to Sierra Vista for the blessed event and we had a blast. We're excited for you Emily and Wes and wish you the best of luck.

Finally, here's a short "Tall" tale. My Dad got into a car accident and a fight all in one day, which is unbelievable because he hasn’t been in a fight for more than thirty years. He was driving to work on a road covered in black ice and although he wasn’t following the car in front of him too closely, when he stepped on the brakes his car just started sliding and crashed into the guy in front of him.

I’ve always considered my Dad to be a very responsible guy and this case was no exception. My Dad got out of his car to see if the other driver was ok. But at that point things went downhill.

You know how sometimes when you’re in a stressful situation anything can just make you start laughing even though it’s not particularly funny? Well, as the other guy is getting out of his car to inspect the damage my Dad sees that this guy is a little person – you know, a midget. Now my Dad doesn’t have anything against midgets, but the stress of the situation just made him laugh.

Well the other guy was not in a laughing mood. He roared out at my Dad, “What’s so funny? This is terrible! Can’t you see that I am not happy?”

“So which one are you?” asked my Dad.

And that’s when the fight broke out.

March Madness

The most important thing about this post is my idea for a new way for everyone to join in the fun of the annual NCAA men's college basketball tournament. But I quickly divert your attention for one moment to this thought.

[BEGIN THOUGHT] Shouldn't they rename the hyped up title of this event? March Madness? C'mon. Madness implies that this tournament is unpredictable, exciting, and just down right crazy - which I think most people would agree that it truly is. But then I hear people, often who are still trying to figure out what sport they are referring to, say that they are looking forward to filling out the "paper thing" for "March Madness." Don't get me wrong, I think it is great that people take an interest in sports and college athletics, but when "madness" is as commonplace as a "pizza party" the name just doesn't work for me any more. [END THOUGHT]

Anyway, here is my great idea. Usually people get together in an office pool or as a collective of friends to wager a small amount of cash with the person who predicts the most games correctly taking the whole pile of money. While this makes for a great time for the person that wins, it isn't as much fun for everyone else. Plus, Teri thinks that this kind of activity may be somewhat close to what some people call "gambling." So, I've thought of a new plan.

March Madness meets Yankee Swap/White Elephant

In my version of March Madness everyone contributes something. It could be movie tickets, a book, a bobblehead, whatever. Then we all fill out the brackets and see how everyone does. The prizes can be distributed one of two ways.

The first option would be to give 1st place the first choice and they get to keep whatever they end up with.

The second option, which is probably more fun, would be to let last place pick whatever they want and then let each better performance take their pick. You can steal anything you want and there are no caps on stealing (otherwise first place wouldn't get a chance to grab the prize they want most).

So who's in? Today (Sunday) the bracket will be announced. You don't get a point for picking the playin game correctly which means that you have until Thursday, March 20 to decide if you are in.

Well...there goes the neighborhood

I'm sure everyone has seen those cheap signs that people put out alongside the freeway, the roadway, or some other thoroughfare. You know, the signs that say "KB Homes this way" or "Painting and Electrical Work Call (602) 555-5555" or even "Make $200,000 a week just by looking for rare stamps."

I consider most of these advertisements to be a large inventory of eye filler. You peruse for a glance or two and when you realize that rare stamps probably aren't as common as bad Southwestern art is in Arizona, you move on. But the sign I saw yesterday actually got me to pay attention. So much so that I went back and took a picture. I guess there's a market for everything these days.