My Sunday Feeling

It is a pleasant Sunday morning here in the People's Republic of Hillcrest. There is a nice breeze coming over from the West. It carries a hint of cool weather that we can expect soon and very soon. Friends are checking in from all over. Sula writes from Florida wanting to know the latest from New Orleans. Marge writes from Jackson with a picture from the Internet. Phil sends a text message reminding me to pick his wife up at the airport tonight. All in all, it is a perfect morning to sit on my porch and ruminate before it gets too warm.

• How 'Bout Them Hawgs?- The Arkansas Razorbacks managed to lose to the Vanderbilt Commodores up in Fayetteville last night. Granted, Vanderbilt is not a bad ball club. They are as good as they are gonna get and nobody in their right mind would look forward to playing them. But you just can't be losing at home to the Vanderbilts of this world. This does not bode well for Houston Nutt. You can already hear the yahoos on the radio call-in shows and the Internet calling for HDN's scalp. And, as sure as the sun comes up in the morning, you can bet that someone will make reference to the fact that UA has no business losing to "an academic school" like Vanderbilt. It will be ugly. If they don't run the table after next week's loss at Southern Cal (who was the genius that scheduled that one anyway?) HDN will be fired. You heard it here first.
• Like It Is- It is always instructive to turn to Wally Hall when a debacle occurs in Razorback sports in order to get a cogent, well-thought out post-mortem. Today's column does not fail to disappoint, containing as it does the following gem : " As for the Razorback's offense, overall, it might as well have been a copy of the New York Times with the lights off." Huh? If anyone can translate that for me, I will kiss your ass on the steps of the State Capitol at noon.
• Small World- A Jewish friend of mine called me last week. He had gotten a call from the synagogue with the news that "four nice Jewish boys from Tulane Law" had washed ashore here in Little Rock. They are first year students and can't enroll anywhere else so my friend asked me if I would help find them jobs. Since last week, two of the guys have headed home but a girlfriend has popped up. It will be easier to find work for two nice Jewish boys than it would be for four. Girlfriend is on her own. Also I got an e-mail from a kid who is staying down the road with a lawyer couple who have taken her in. She has enrolled in law school here. I told her that if she needed anything to holler, as we say here in Little Rock. This is amazing.
• The Response-My church is running a shelter in the gym for people displaced by Katrina. I got an e-mail asking me to pass the word that all Methodist shelters and UMCor (United Methodist committee on Relief) depots have more stuff than they can use. This, too, is amazing. A friend of mine and a bunch of her girlfriends went down to the church to volunteer to work a shift and was told that they are booked up through November. My brother was told by his front office to forget about sales for awhile and to help bring these shelters up to speed on the Internet so the folks there can register with FEMA and the Red Cross. I told him we needed a laptop at the church. He got me a laptop. Somehow we will get through this. People are good. Somehow we will get through this.
• The US Open- Boy, you got to love Andre Agassi. In the quarters against James Blake he faced every problem you can face on a tennis court and still won in 5 sets. Check that. He didn't face every problem as today he plays in the Finals against Roger Federer. My heart goes with Andre but my head says Federer in straight sets. Federer just may be the best to ever play.

As Andre put it, " Federer doesn't have any weaknesses and he has a few great shots. So that equates to a problem." Well said. Again, Federer in straight sets.

Enough of this. It is starting to get hot out here. Time to grab a shower, clean up the kitchen and look for a fully electrified copy of the New York Times.