Today’s post will be as random as the title…
One year ago today 56PackardMan wrote his last post (at least as of now). Dirty Dingus McGee informed me that he is still posting comments on Bring A Trailer.
While we did not agree on every issue he was a great booster of this blog. He did not reply to two emails I sent him after he stopped posting and I have respected his privacy since then.
I miss his contributions to this blog and his disappearance from the blogosphere has somewhat changed the direction of my blog in that I am posting less about defunct American makes–like Packard–than before. I hope he is still reading Disaffected Musings on occasion and will consider posting a comment or two in the near future.
******************
I am re-reading When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss’ biography of Vince Lombardi, for the eighth or tenth time. Can you say OCD?
During one of those readings 7-10 years ago I had a dream that I was Lombardi’s quarterback with the Packers. It was one of the most vividly real dreams of my life. I guess that dream was the definition of wish fulfillment.
Of course, when I first discovered sports at about the age of 8 I dreamt of being a professional athlete. While I actually played football and basketball (ironically, I didn’t play too much baseball, the sport in which I would make a living for 20+ years), much of my “involvement” consisted of making playing statistics for myself and for those friends/family who would be my imaginary teammates.
Around age 12 I discovered statistically based sports table top games like APBA and Strat-O-Matic and, some might say, the rest is history. I certainly felt that playing those games gave me insight into strategy and the power of data.
Playing those games also might have been the most fun I had during my teenage years. As recently as last year I played a computer football game based on statistics and that is not a video game. I am debating whether or not to order the game with the players based on last season.
Part of me thinks I am just too old to continue playing sports games. Part of me is turned off by the dismissive manner of the game’s creator and publisher when I informed him of the many bugs in it, a game that has been on the market for 20+ years and shouldn’t have any bugs. However, part of me wants to buy the game, have my usual random draft of players and see how the season turns out. It will give me something to do while I am hibernating during the hot Arizona summer.
I have not made up my mind. The new edition of the game is supposed to be available beginning today. My wonderful wife, (i)ncomparable niece and Dr. Zal all think I should buy the game. Do any of you want to offer an opinion?
******************
This was my view yesterday while walking to the mailbox:
If you look closely you can see houses on the side of the mountain. I don’t think I would ever live that high up on a mountain, but I’m sure the views are amazing.
******************
A photo I forgot to include in a recent post:
This is a 1948 Buick Super that I photographed while at the local Gateway Classic Cars franchise. I have an affinity for Buicks, of course, since the first car I ever drove was a 1956 Century.
I really like the looks of this car, especially the waterfall grille. Maybe one of these days…
#WhistleWhileYouWednesday
#VinceLombardi
#WishFulfillment
#DesertViews
#1948BuickSuper
#somanycarsjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.
Disaffected Musings 
So I am not the only person who reads a book more than once. I just finished for the second time “The Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara. It is a novel about the Battle of Gettysburg with the main characters being the actual people in the battle. The movie Gettysburg was based on this novel and followed the book almost exactly. I have also read John S. D. Eisenhower’s “So Far From God”, his history of the U. S. War with Mexico, at least four times. There are other books I have repeated reading but I won’t bore you with the list.
The 1948 Buick Super is elegant. I have a soft spot in my heart for the post war cars. The Buick is especially nice because it was before they started adding the large bullet shaped pieces to the bumpers commonly referred to as “Dagmars.”
LikeLike
I’m sure we’re not the only two people who read the same book more than once. When Bill James’ first edition of The Historical Baseball Abstract was published, I read it every day for more than a year. It made my commute via subway much more enjoyable.
LikeLike
Statistics would bore me no end; however, anything regarding history interests me. Lately, I’ve take to finding pictures of old, long demolished baseball parks. Architecture and engineering are also involved in these long forgotten places. And did not know that the New York Giants Polo Grounds and the then newly built Yankee Stadium were across the river from each other and you could sit in the Polo Grounds and see Yankee Stadium?
LikeLike
The Yankees had shared the Polo Grounds with the Giants (now the San Francisco Giants). After the Yankees acquired Babe Ruth, they outdrew the Giants, which made the latter jealous of the Yankees’ success. The Giants kicked the Yankees out and Yankees’ ownership was determined to get revenge on their former landlords by building baseball’s finest venue within eyesight of the Polo Grounds. That’s the story, anyway.
LikeLike
I am not that into pro sports to enjoy the statistical part of the game. My son, however, is far more interested than I. Each to their own, I guess.
I took the week off from reading blog posts between traveling home to North Dakota and stopping to visit family along the way, hence my late comments on this post.
LikeLike