Last night was the 100 meeting between the Murphysboro Red Devils and the carbondale terriers in a series that dates back to 1921.  I was a part of three of those games but and my son and father who played in two each.  While I was on the team I didn't play in the game my sophomore year which we won.  We also won my senior year but lost my junior, my dad and son both won the two games they played in.
It was a great high school atmosphere last night with big crowds for both sides and Murphysboro went all out with it's hosting of the event.  Fly overs, sparklers, old coaches and more were a part of the evening with a free concert afterwards in they gym.
The game itself was a disappointment for a confirmed Red Devil with them losing 21-6 in game they could have won.  Murphysboro only had four seniors and the inexperience showed at times as did the speed of carbondale.  Playing mainly juniors and sophomores against juniors and seniors is a lot to ask.
I did see my high school teammate and buddy, Twink, in terrier attire, heartbreaking.  He's doing what he loves to do coaching football but I'm don't think I could have done it.  Head coach, volunteer assistant coach and athletic director are all former Red Devils.
On a positive not I shot my all time best score today, going 39, 36 for a 75.  Hard to be disappointed but there were a couple shots on the front that I hit badly or it could have been even better.

Last night Roll'em took to the brick dust with all our team there which hasn't happened enough this year.  For August in Southern Illinois it was an absolutely gorgeous evening.
In the first game we took on Muddy Rollers who were missing several of their regular team.  They were hot at first as the game seesawed back and forth with their sub players throwing great.  Finally a big four point frame jumped us out in front and their inexperience started showing as we rolled to a 9-4 win to get the night started.
In the second game we played Late Bloomers with newly retired Tim.  We got the first point but they answered with a two pointer and the lead.  We got a four pointer from the women to jump out 5-2 and like the first game it was all us after that.  We scored the last eight points and won 9-2.
On a night where none of us threw particularly well we were very lucky to catch a couple teams who weren't themselves and win two games.  After the game the Glue asked if we'd now won as many games as last season referring to the lost season.  We haven't but moving to 4-0 to start the season feels pretty sweet.

I have to admit that the eclipse was way cooler than I thought it would be.  The surreal darkness was awesome but way too short and watching the covering and uncovering of the sun by the moon was awesome.
We decided to stay home and not worry about fighting the crowds that were expected.  We invited a few people over and I fixed ribs and the Glue fixed her famous wings and some sides.  Unfortunately the fire for the wings wasn't very good and she had to help with the grandtwins so I had to help up with them, thus they didn't end up near as good as when she does them.
On Sunday we decided to drive around and check out how crowded it was at the lake and then decided to go to Carbondale and check it out.  Neither were overly crowded but I saw some pictures about how crowded the roads were yesterday morning and then again after the eclipse so I'm glad we hung around the house.
Worst part of the weekend is we received our real estate tax bill :-( but I haven't had the nerve to open it yet.

Roll'em began it's fall season last night without Clutch who was out of town training for her new job.  In her place we once again turned to new super sub Danny.
In the first game we faced Kiwanis.  Roll'em got off to a great start and jumped out to a 5-0 lead but Kiwanis mounted a comeback and tied the score 5-5.  With Herbster having the point and Kiwanis down to their last ball they went for a hard throw to try and hit him but they instead hit their ball.  We had three balls remaining and their closest ball was a several feet away.  Herbster's next ball ended up short and was iffy, my next throw ended up short too.  The last ball was in and now it was time to measure.  Herbster's throw was a point but after several measurements my ball ended up a tie.  Kiwanis followed with two points and I thought we'd blown it but the Bake came up big with his last throw and we won 9-7 in a marathon game.
In the second game we played Boccilism on the fast court by the alley.  Boccilism had played their first game on the slow new court while we were on the same court we'd played on first so we had a big advantage starting out.  Roll'em used that advantage to get an early lead helped in a big part with a three point frame from the Glue and Bake.  Boccilism got a couple points but we never let them back in the game, winning 9-3. 
As always it was great getting back on the court and seeing everyone.  After missing the tournament last season hopefully this 2-0 start will get us back on track and in the tournament.

Yesterday we decided to take a quick trip to Red Bud and check out Burnt Ends bar/restaurant that had been recommended to us.  We took a meandering path to get there thanks to a couple brain malfunctions on my part.  Unfortunately upon arrival we found out they were out of burnt ends but at least they were open which is better than I can say about Jordo's in AJ on Saturday.  We decided to split a rack of ribs and 1/2 pound of brisket.  Both were good but I preferred the ribs which really isn't a surprise but I really liked the baked beans.  One of the owners took time out to talk a little with us which was very nice.  As I told the owner "we'll be back" which is a good recommendation.
On the way back I wanted to stop in Evansville and see if this bar I went to back when I played slow pitch softball was still there however just after turning into there we saw what appeared to be a bar on the river and we had to check that out.  Waterstreet Bar & Grill is the name of it and we really enjoyed it.  They had a band named Close Enough for Country playing and they were very enjoyable to listen to as they played a wide variety of music.  We spent a little longer than we were going to there because there's just something about being on by water.  This will definitely be a place we come back to.

Yesterday was the Glue's last day before she had to go back to work so we decided to go out to eat.  After our typical where do you want to go, I don't care where do you want to go debate we decided to go somewhere different.  After another short debate we decided on the aptly named Lisa's Bar and Restaurant in Prairie du Rocher.  I'm not sure I'd ever been to Prairie du Rocher but if I have I was very young.  It was a nice drive up especially once we got off route 3 in Ellis Grove.  Once we got to the bar I found out they have Stag on draft so I got one of those and Lisa got a Coors Light.  We decided to split an order of fried pickle chips and an order of fried chicken.  The pickle chips were good but salty.  The fried chicken was very good, I really liked it.  Lisa's is located in an old brick building that has several old school painted advertisements on the sides.  One of the signs was for Busch Bavarian beer so we both had one of those too.  I really like seeing the painted advertisements on the sides of buildings.
Next we walked down to the other end of the block and had a beer in Rocher Pub.  Nice neighborhood type pub which we found out later has pretty good food too.  A downside to both places is that is no cell service, of course that could be an upside instead.
We'd seen a place in Modoc on the way up so we stopped in there on our way back to check it out.  Boondocks is the name and as soon as we walked in you knew they still allowed smoking but we went in anyway.  We were the only people in the bar so we talked to the bartender and asked her some questions about the area and the bar.  She is from Red Bud and confirmed the Glue's thought that there is a place in Red Bud called Burnt Ends and that in addition to bbq they are a brewpub.  I didn't want to backtrack so this will be another road trip sometime.  She did tell us how to get to a bar in Chester.  I enjoyed to stop but we smelled like ashtrys when we left and probably won't go back.
In Chester we stopped at the Salty Dog.  At Lisa's and at Boondocks I'd got frosted glasses which had Killians on it so when I saw they had it on draft I knew what I was getting.  We talked to this guy at the bar who was on his way home to Belleville after an overnight trip to Cave In Rock.  While we were talking to him a guy when know but hadn't seen in years stopped in so we had a lot of catching up.  He told us about another place in Red Bud, Village Inn pizza that is good so there's another road trip.  He also told us his kids are opening a bar in Chester that we'll have to try.  We decided to split a second Big Dawg cup but decided not to drink it all.
At this point it was time to call it a day and head home.  All in all it was fun road trip and we checked out some different places.

Last night me and the Glue went up to Murphysboro's sunset concert for the first time.  Lewis Creek was playing and one of the members is a classmate of the Glues.  We've heard them several times and really enjoy them.  We got a surprise when our son and daughter in law showed up.  The weather turned out nice and the atmosphere was awesome.  Like when we started playing bocce the question was raised about why it took us so long to go up to one of the concerts.  Great time in small town America.

A couple weeks ago I tore out the wood deck portion of our veranda to make way for a new and larger concrete veranda.  It was a bittersweet moment as my son helped me build it.  The new veranda is a big improvement and shouldn't need much upkeep, plus it gives a lot more room for my grill and smoker.
Since it's been installed me and the Glue have been making good use of it when the weather hasn't been too hot.  We have the umbrella to provide shade but we didn't want to screw it into the concrete so I got a base for it.  The sand I got to fill the base was a little wet and it was a pain to get in the base.  The Glue spent 3+ hours working on it while I was doing yard work.  She was on the last one when I got done and started to put them on the umbrella.  The second one I put down busted :-( which meant that the sand had to be removed so it could be returned which was another pain but not as bad as filling them.  I got another base but let the sand air dry before filling which made it a lot easier.
We are also adding a storage box which should arrive tomorrow.  I don't want too many things on the veranda so it may be awhile before we add anything else.  The box does have a two person "seat" on top of it which will be nice.
Now we have to decide and install the landscaping around it but I'm in no hurry to get that done.