What's so strange about random people kissing on the sidewalk?

Mrs. William Barfield felt a little bit drunk. Yesterday, she had been quiet Miss Fredericks. Today, she was somebody all together different. Could it be so? Yes, it must be so. Here was his ring on her finger. Here was his hand in hers. It must have happened. They must have gotten married. Life really was full of surprises.

Is this picture really all that it seems? Or is there a man-eating dragon just beyond the left hand border?

William Barfield carried his new bride over the threshold of their new home. He too felt a tad intoxicated. None of his married friends had told him that the process left one feeling slightly punch-drunk. However, he thought cheerfully, his position was, altogether, to be envied. He gave his wife (ooh, what a nice word) a squeeze as he set her down inside.

Artist's (aka Photobucket) sketch of the Barfield's house

The house, although nothing special, was cozy and efficiently built. It had four basic rooms. There was a kitchen, neat and prim. It had a little wooden island with a few barstools and thus doubled as a dining room. The big main living room, onto which the front door opened was empty, save for a little pot-bellied stove and a sofa. The master (and only) bedroom was also neat and prim. (Neat and prim would probably be the best description of the whole house) It adjoined a small bathroom, complete with bathtub, modern toilet, and sink.

Errrrrrrrrrr...duckies?

The newlyweds settled right in, exploring each room, handing out praise where it was due and noting possible improvements. They ate a nice companionable dinner together, after which William kindled a fire in the stove while Hannah washed the dishes. As darkness fell, Hannah joined William in the living room. He took her hands in his and they looked into each others’ eyes.

“Tired?” he asked quietly.

“Not very.”

“Good.”

The social protocol of the wedding night is well-known. It is looked upon as nigh-on the duty of a newly wedded couple to perform certain rituals the night they are joined.

We shall say no more than that Mr. and Mrs. Barfield performed said rituals with alacrity and no small amount of enjoyment. Social protocols exist for a reason.

Newsflash: The Greater Skeffing Department of Plumbing has released a fascinating new pie chart!

William, with his usual promptness, interviewed and was accepted for a post sorting mail at a local company. His small salary was enough for he and his wife to live comfortably upon.

“You’ll make such a nice provider for the children,” his wife teased him.

“I am at your service,” he replied, smiling.

Messager de dieu

Social protocols extended outside the home, unfortunately, and the Barfields found themselves becoming acquainted with all their neighbors. The vicar paid them a visit not long after they had moved in. He was a pleasant young man, new to the area himself and eager to get to know all his parishoners. William and Hannah heard all about his lovely wife and two three-year-old sons and expressed a seemly wish to get to know he and his family better.

Hannah called on their new neighbor Robert Jenkins soon after he arrived in Greater Skeffing, a week or two after William and she had gotten settled. Mr. Jenkins was a fresh-faced youth of twenty-one years and six feet six inches. Hannah, who was only five foot six, found it highly disconcerting to be so towered over.

"No, no, no! You move the knights like THIS!"

While she was calling on Mr. Jenkins, Hannah met a Miss Phillips, one of the twin sisters who had started an orphanage down the street. Mr. Jenkins invited them to stay for tea and showed them his beautiful wooden chess board. Miss Phillips expressed a great interest in chess and promised Hannah a game at whatever time suited her.

"Please, call me Mary."

She also found time to return the vicar’s call and pay a visit to the vicarage. She was greeted by Mrs. Lord, a woman some five years younger than herself, barely out of girlhood. They exchanged pleasantries and Hannah expressed a wish to meet the children. Matthew and Mark were very cute boys. Their identical heads of red curls were distinguishable only by Matthew’s somewhat conspicuous noselessness. (Which is to say, he had one, but it was unbelievably short and nearly non-existant)

“They’re very pretty babies,” said Hannah politely. Mrs. Lord was holding a small luncheon inside and she invited Hannah to sit down and served her a sandwich.

"Can you just schooch down in your chair a little? No. No, now your legs are taking over the territory beneath the table. Can we just hack off half a foot above your feet?"

She found herself seated across from none other than the gigantic Mr. Jenkins. He was somewhat less intimidating when sitting down, as his enormously long legs were coiled beneath the table. They chatted pleasantly over their sandwiches and then Hannah bade a courteous farewell to Mrs. Lord. She left feeling a little uncomfortable. There had been an unidentifiable something in the other woman’s eyes that she had not liked at all.

Cloning technology? Of course not! A totally normal genetic connection that has nothing to do with computers!

As William worked every day and Hannah’s domestic duties were as yet next to nothing, she found herself wandering the neighborhood often during the day. She dropped in on the orphanage and met the other Miss Phillips. Although, she secretly wondered whether there really were two Miss Phillipses, because, for the life of her, she could not see a difference between them.

Oh yeah, when you go to an orphanage I bet you talk about the world being all cool and round. You do, don't you?

As it turned out, it was Miss Valerie Phillips Hannah had met at Mr. Jenkins’. She was delighted to see Hannah and invited her into the orphanage.

“Don’t worry about the children. We’ve only got one girl with us at the moment, Arianna, and she’s at school right now.”

“It is no trouble. I am very fond of children.”

There is no poverty gap in this universe of which you speak? Interesting.

The two women got on splendidly and Hannah found herself spending more and more of her spare time with Valerie. They often sat together in the kitchen of the orphanage, sharing a cozy gossip and looking after Arianna.

"Ah! Yes, sir! The Larson-Kentar file! Immediately!"

William was working very hard, trying to get a promotion. He practiced his speech every night in front of the mirror and let Hannah comb his hair every morning before work.

“Don’t work yourself to hard, dear,” she told him. He pecked her on the cheek, grabbing his briefcase.

“I have to bring home the bacon for you, my love,” he replied, halfway out the door.

"We own a table dear. You can put your bowl down."

However, just because he was working hard didn’t mean that William was neglecting his bride. They ate dinner together each night in the kitchen and talked over the day. William told her the news from his workplace, what funny thing had happened to which co-worker and what unbelievable thing his boss had said that day. Hannah told him the neighborhood gossip, how Miss So-and-so had tripped down a hill and broken her ankle and how Mr. Whatsisname had found a stray dog on his front porch. They didn’t just discuss daily events, of course. Sometimes they talked over the stars in the night sky, the results of the week’s local cricket match, or the goings on in the big-city miles away. Life seemed perfect. (And boy did that ending seem…cliché)

Read the latest Buzz around the Cleveland Indians

Josh Barfield (#29) is a right handed batter He was in 12 games 33 times at bat, batting for an average of 1.282, Batted 2 Runs in, was walked 0 times, while he was struck out 10 times, and scored 3 Runs. His 6, including 1 doubles and resulted in an on base percentage of 1.282 and a slugging average of 1.212.

On defense Josh, Barfield played 71.0 innings in 9 games and as a right-handed thrower, he put out 26 players and assisted on 24 at 50 Chances, he committed no Errors, all in all resulting in an Fielding Percentage of 1.000 and a Range Factor of 6.34.

Barfield is 6-0 tall and weighs 190 lbs. He’s 26 years old (born on December, 17th 1982)
If you want to check out his complete stats, you can do that here
Cleveland Indians underground Fan T-Shirts

Numerous Charlottesville and Albemarle police officers were recognized Friday by the Charlottesville Police Department Foundation for their work.

Four officers received Class Act Awards for their work on two high-profile cases — one involving a serial rapist and the other the November murder of Jayne McGowan.

Detective Mark Fields and Ron Morgenegg, a forensic specialist, worked on both cases. Detective Sgt. Ralph Barfield, now retired, worked on the serial rapist case. Diana Hueschen, a forensic specialist, worked on the McGowan case.

The serial rapist, Nathan Antonio Washington, 41, kept police at bay for the better part of a decade before he was arrested in August 2007. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four life terms plus 20 years.

McGowan was shot and killed in her city home in November.

William Douglas Gentry, 22, and Michael Pritchett, 19, face capital murder charges in the case.

Other award winners included:

— Officers Chris Hockman and Shawn Marshall for helping a person escape a burning house.

— Fields and forensic specialists Jeremy Carper and Caesar Perkins for work on a homicide investigation.

— Corey Culbreath, school resource officer, for helping students escape a school bus fire.

— Sgt. Rodean Shaner and officers Chris Hockman and Jeremy Carper for arresting a man suspected of sexually assaulting a University of Virginia student.

— Shaner, Hockman and Sgt. Shawn Bayles and officers Todd McNerney, Jon Friedvald, Greg Wade, Justin Young and Tony Newberry for helping in the arrest of an armed suspect.

— Officers Kia Vest and Kathryn Saunders for helping remove two elderly residents from a house fire.

— Records specialists Jason Dent and Robert Fox for work that helped in the apprehension of a murder suspect.

— Officer Derrick Dean for helping catch an armed robbery suspect.

— Officers Newberry, Carper, William Chan, Mike Flaherty, Lee Gibson, John Wormly, Brady Kirby, Brent Hall and Albemarle Police officer Dave Rhodes for their work in resolving a potential barricade situation involving wanted felons.

— Sgt. David Jones and officer Harvey Finkel for helping with the department’s re-accreditation process.

— Detective Phil Giles, Garlin Mills, Joe Brown, Durrette Williams with Albemarle Police, and Albemarle Sheriff’s Deputy Melvin Davis for helping catch a bank robbery suspect.

— Phil Martin, community resource officer at Buford Middle School, for outstanding performance.

— Casey Breeden, records specialist, for helping with 507 arrest warrants.

— Dave Glassman, for superior service to the vehicle fleet and work on mobile data computer and in-car video projects.

— Sgts. Phil Brown, Tito Durrette, Steve Upman, along with Locia Arnette and Tom Estes for 15 years’ service.

— Sgt. Paul Davis for 20 years’ service.

— Bobby Durrer, animal control officer, for 25 years’ service.

The ceremony was held at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel.

Link

Why the internet can’t stop trying to parody Garfield, and why it fails

The last few years have seen such online preoccupations as Rickrolling, lolcats and machinima, but strangest of all has been the internet’s obsession with altering the daily newsprint comic Garfield. No other comic, mainstays of the dwindling paper sepulchers hidden between Business and Sports, such as Cathy, Foxtrot, The Family Circus, The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts, even Dilbert, have been so detourned and satirized online.

Wait, you shout, hysterical at the keyboard. You’re trying to tell me that Garfield is satirized more online than The Family Circus? I win, you yell, sweaty hands swabbing your computer like greasy coldcuts on glass. Except I didn’t say that, or not exactly, so I win on a technicality.

But you’re right – take a look at The Nietzsche Family Circus or The Dysfunctional Family Circus, or hell, watch “Family Guy” or run your own damn google search and you’ll find hundreds more that are direct satirizations. Or try Cathy – there’s a satire by Achewood , and a few more out there, but Cathy is more ridiculed than it is parodied.

There’s a difference between these parodies and how online communities have reworked Garfield. The Family Circus has only two or three prominent satires, and they are direct responses to the conservatism and near Puritanism of the comics – they are angry retorts to the impossibility and inanity of the characters, plot and humor. Cathy’s satire is the same way – the humor is in parodying how Cathy’s life is idiotically consumed by guilt (a little research will show that one of the most documented aspects of Cathy is what the author (also, in a bizarre twist, named Cathy) refers to as the Four Basic Guilt Groups) and her ubiquitous ACK! (I don’t really know how she even says ACKKKKKKK, but I’m not a cicada.)

Then why am I singling out Garfield, surely it’s got direct parodies too. And yeah, it does, but in very unpredictable ways such that classifying them satire or parody is a little fuzzy. Maybe the most direct would be Barfield or Fuckfield, which depend largely on scatological and sexual humor. But there isn’t really anything about that in the original Garfield comics. Yeah, animals poop, and Garfield had a litter box and Jon has admitted to wanting to kiss Liz (or any other bitch, yeah!), but the discussions on these fit nicely within normal conversation. Cats don’t like full litter boxes and dudes (especially one as naive as Jon), would not immediately say they’re looking forward to screwing a girl – a kiss and a date are more likely. So what’s the satire here if it’s not against Garfield? That’s out of the scope of this essay, but I don’t think it’s far off to imagine any public figure sucking cock in the newspaper is so offensive that it’s bound to be funny. It seems that these parodies are using Garfield to satirize something larger than just the comic. Whereas the Cathy or The Family Circus satires are aimed at the comics they came from, the Garfield satires are used as a vehicle to go beyond the comic – the parodies are a means, not an end.

And things get weirder. There’s a slew (a SLEW!) of other parodies that are even more difficult to classify as such. Even the creators of these satires don’t quite know what to call them. Hell, since we’re talking about the internet here, google “Garfield remix” vs. “Garfield parody” and “Garfield satire” and you’ll see that the first search gets more hits than the other two combined. And they come in legions. Most famous of them is Garfield Minus Garfield, which rose to such prominence that even the New York Times took notice. Note that even in that article, the words satire and parody never appear.

But there’s more. An incomplete list follows: Lasagna Cat and Silent Garfield and Garfield as a Real Cat and Garfield Variations and Garfield Randomizer and The Death of Garfield and Nothing Garfield and Permanent Monday and Garkov and Not Garfield (by Anticon artist Doseone, no less) and I don’t know how many more. All of these, however, share a similar approach in that they cannot properly be called satires. They’re saying nothing about Garfield, and they certainly aren’t mocking it. Instead, they are new creations, remixes of the comic in which themes that were overlooked or invisible within the comic are brought to the surface.

Many of these only address satire, if there is any, by simply inserting absurdity into the comic. It’s a stretch to say that this addition is satirizing the mundanity and repetition of Garfield, because there are plenty of other comics who deserve this derision more. Why else does The Onion, the most popular print satire that exists in the nation, run prints of The Cranks? If boring is the issue, why aren’t there comics where Marmaduke is replaced by Immanuel Kant, or why hasn’t anyone made a comic of Hi and Lois in which all the dialogue is replaced by chatroom logs? Even if these comics did exist, they would still be in the minority of absurdist remixed comics, Garfield Minus Garfield alone eclipsing them in popularity and number.

The variety of these new Garfield comics astound. We’ve got comics wherein all dialogue is replaced with Markov chains, comics with no dialogue, comics with Garfield as a real cat, comics without Garfield at all, even a blog that breaks down each panel into deep analysis of the action, the art, and the comic’s effect on society.

So why the hell does Garfield – a comic that I thought was mediocre when I was nine – attract this kind of attention, where even Peanuts satires are either idle musings (What if Picasso had made Peanuts! ZOMG!) or are asking what would happen if Charlie Brown beat the shit out of Lucy? Why has Garfield attracted so much attention from (ugh, I’m saying it) Post-Modernists, Dadaists and detournement…ers? No other nationally syndicated comic has inspired so many original recreations, but why? We’ve decided (You’re a part of this. It’s too late for you now) that it’s not due to the comic being boring and it’s not because the comic inspires conservative values. So, what?

Advertising! As silly as it might seem to bring up Jim Davis’s work prior to creating Garfield, the fact that Jim Davis’s first job was at an advertising agency first seems pretty damn relevant to the primary feature of Garfield – it’s empty.

All widespread general population advertising is about lack. An advertiser who wants to target everyone (not a niche market or the ‘hip kids’ who use ‘apostrophes’) will see just a brand – a logo and nothing more – as his cream dream. To appeal to everyone, the ideal ad will have one argument (buy our shit) and will be void of anything else – controversy, scandal, occult knowledge – specialization of any sort. Jim Davis created the ideal pop comic by following this same logic, making Garfield accessible while avoiding scandalous or offensive topics and imagery, and jettisoning any substance that was not “read this comic” (buy our shit). There is so little substance in Garfield, in fact, that Jim Davis himself has very little involvement in it – he signs the comic which is created by an enigmatic business called Paws Inc. which generates between $750 million to $1 billion a year – far more than is possible from simply selling the comics and requires a great deal of merchandising. (It’s hard to think of a more creatively vapid product than merchandising – remove the character from all context and make it a lone symbol that cannot make any statement besides what the viewer already knows. Merchandising creates money by selling the product and creating a reminder of the product, guaranteeing a double return with no creative or very little creative input, like putting Odie in a cyute widdle hat.) Hell, Davis himself told the Washington Post in 1982 that creating Garfield was “a conscious effort to come up with a good, marketable character.” There is no argument in Garfield, no statement beyond popularity.

There have been many essays written about Calvin and Hobbes or Peanuts capturing the alienation of children from adults or chronicling the eventual (fictional) fall from grace that is puberty, and feminists have torn apart Cathy and don’t get me stated on what social critics have done to The Family Circus, but there aren’t any essays about how deep or destructive Garfield is because Garfield says nothing about anything universal. Jon is lonely, Garfield is hungry and Odie is dumb, but there are men, cats and dogs that aren’t. There’s not even an angry NAACP exasperated at how few black people there are. There is so little here that the only thing to read into Garfield is what is read onto Garfield.

It is the very absence of substance that makes Garfield so useful as materials that can be used to examine language, comics, loneliness and psychology. With no comment to critique or twist, any comment made is valid. This lack of statement is precisely what allows the most freedom in recreation, remixing and appropriation.

I’ll take this one step further and ask you what would happen if these disparate comics were all seen as written by one author or seen as one show? What essays might be written about that, I don’t know. But what is clear is that Garfield invites Dadaism, detournement and absurdity like no other comic, and the only reason it does so is that the only argument it has ever made is no argument at all.

The Tattler loves going over to the Corner Brewery. They have great brats and the Tattler can get a pint of what ever flips my lid. I am always interested in trying the newest brews and I am enamored with Tree Fort right now. I still keep falling back to my favorites, Brasserie Blonde and Sacred Cow.

What is great about hanging out at the Corner is it’s also the favorite hangout of the ruling elite in Ypsilanti. So the Tattler is privy to all sorts of nefarious plans, scheming, and general bitch sessions about those young upstarts that were opposed to the City Income Tax. As Barry LaRue said, “They are just ruining this city for everyone else.”

The Tattler was curled up in the corner with a copy of the Thornbirds listening in on the next table. The whole group was there: Barry, Gary, Mary, Glen, Jane, Paul, Caleb, Bill, Karen, Rod, John, and the rest of the pump house gang.

In a break between campaign mailings and parade antics,  Brian Robb’s name came up. Tatt had already heard them say that Robb worked on the line at Ford. Robb is an engineer at the mother ship at Ford in Dearborn. But lets not let facts get in the way of a good story.

Ypsi Planning Commissioner and skating coach Gary Clark said to no one in particular at the table “The reason Brian Robb installed Wireless Ypsi is so he could read other people’s email.”

They all nodded their head in agreement with Gary and complained about how Robb asks too many questions at Council. The funny part was that several gang members had their computers open and they were using, wait for it … Wireless Ypsi. Barry is right, they really are ruining it for everyone else.

Here on the Water Tower we get a great Wireless Ypsi signal from the Ugly Mug. So the Tattler can stay in touch with all my friends that migrate South for the Winter.

Brian, if you are reading my email, please don’t tell my mom that I was really in town for her birthday. She will never forgive me for missing her party.

Before they donned aluminum foil helmets and began talking about Area 51 and Water Street, the Tattler flew over to Parkridge Park to scope out the latest happenings.

John Barfield

Just as the Tattler flew over, John Barfield, Ypsi’s version of Warren Buffett, was unveiling a plan to build a $3.4 million rec center at Parkridge Park in Ypsi’s southside. The Tattler has already scoped out a perfect perch on the SE corner over looking the park and school.

The building is 20,000sf and Barfield said WCC has committed to rent 10,000sf on a long term 20-year lease. Barfield and Company are meeting this week with EMU, U-M, and the County for the other 10,000sf. They expect to break ground in 2009 and be open in 2010.

Perhaps after Barfield is finished at Parkridge, the mayor could ask him to negotiate a new AATA agreement with those same people supporting Parkridge.

Our BoaF’s (Birds of a Feather) at EMU and WCC tell the Tattler the first meetings with the Mayor and City Manager to talk about buses didn’t go so well. The story goes that they sympathized with the city’s plight, but they don’t have any spare change to spend on buses for Ypsilanti. I guess Barfield said “pretty please” to get them to fork over the scratch for Parkridge.

They don’t let birds on AATA buses, so the Tattler will stick to the friendly skies.

Oh no, the growler is almost empty. I need to make one more stop back at the Corner. Maybe can I sneak in the back door by the beer garden and not be spotted. Damn, sure enough, the aluminum helmets were out.

Earlier this week, I met up with an old media mate, Zach Barfield. Zach is a veteran serial entrepreneur, one of the best networkers I’ve ever met, and also horribly good fun.

Since I last saw him, he’s become a mentor for The Prince’s Trust; which I thought was rather good. So I asked him what tips he had for younger entrepreneurs.

Listen to the podcast for the big picture…

…or try these snippets:

• Networking is essential. And feel free to network in places which aren’t focused on your specific business
• Underpromise and overdeliver. Surprise your clients with your excellence
• Be persistent

I recently got my hands on a lot of great music, and have been listening to it and reflecting quite a bit lately.  I thought it would be fun to post some of the more exceptional lyrics every once in a while. 

This song literally stopped me in my tracks.  If it would have been around when I was getting married, I would have had it sung at my wedding!!!  The lyrics are so poignant. 

My brother Brock and his fiance Renee are getting married a week from today.  My prayer for them is that this is what love would be to them…

Love Is Not A Fight  by Warren Barfield

Freshly off that last pack which we shall not speak of, It’s time for a second pack. Maybe I’ll find more than a Keith Hernandez card in this one. Hopefully keep the level of doubles to a minimum (and I knocked on wood for that one). I guess that’s what happens when you get 3 Hall of Famers in one pack. Your next one goes down the toilet. I have to say, I m having a lot more fun doing this that I thought I would have. Like I was telling one of my friends. I feel like there is a story in each pack and I try to remember what each of these players mean to me. Let’s tear into pack 12.

1. George Hendrick – OF – Angels – 190 – His modern day comparison would be Jeff Conine. George logged in a lot of years. starting out on the 1971 A’s, he finally wrapped up his career in 1988. He had some power, he could hit for average. He made a nice 3 or 6 hitter. He was considered a starter until 1984. However after that season he saw drastically less time until his retirement. I will always remember him in his Cardinal years, especailly in the 1982 World Series. I was really into baseball back then, and he was one of the major hitters in that Cardinal lineup. He hit Brewer pitching for a 0.321 average and the Cards won the series.

2. Sal Butera – C – Expos – 407 – He played 9 years in the majors and only racked up 182 hits. Some players do that in one season. He did have a monster season in 1981 where he had 40 of those 182 hits, but it was all downhill from there. His last season was in 1988.

3. Bob Clark – OF – Brewers – 452 – Bob was another one of those back-ups. He was another one of those guys, retired in 1985 but had a card for 1986. I should go back and firgure out how many of those I have come across. I bet it’ll be quite a few cards.

4. George Foster – OF – Mets – 680 – Now this was a big signing for the Mets. As his card below indicates, George was one cool cat. He was a monster home run hitter when there were no monster home run hitters, he was hitting over 50 when no one was hitting over 40. From 1975 -1978 there were very few players as fearsome as Foster, he made national league pitching just look silly! There was a push for him to be considered a Hall of Famer but in reality he just wasn’t that good. Plus the writers hated him. He retired after the 1986 season, playing on the Mets until he was released mid season. He wrapped up the year with the White Sox then retired.

5. Mike Mason – P – Rangers – 189 – A spot starter who wrapped up his career in 1988, nothing real special about him. For most of his career, healways seemed to be on the losing end. Retired with a 29 and 39 record, over 8 seasons.

6. Eddie Milner – OF – Reds – 544 – I liked Eddie Milner, of course it was because stolen bases has always been my favorite category and Milner from 1982 – 1985 had plenty of them. Of course in 1986 he had some injuries and never quite got his speed back. When you rely on your speed to keep you in the majors and suddenly lose it, you can’t expect to be in the majors for too long. Milner retired just 3 years later.

7. Teddy Higuera – P – Brewers – 347 – HUGE Higuera fan. In 1985 he stored the league with a 15-8 record. 1986 was his rookie card and I had plenty of them. In 1986 he went 20-11 and everyone took notice and started comparing him to the greats. So what happens to everyone that gets compared to the greats, they get injured and Teddy did in 1989, unfortunately he never regained his mound dominance and retired in 1994 after putting up some horrific years the 3 previous years. Still though I have fond memories of him dominating batters in 1985 and 1986.

8. Dave Collins – OF – A’s – 271 – He was a speedy guy, just shy of 400 career stolen bases. He was a decent number 1 or 2 hitter for most of the 70s and 80s but after 1986 he got injured, lost his speed and was soon out of the game. I breifly remember him as a Yankee but have no impression of him from that one year stint. I think I was too young to appreciate what he did in his heyday.

9. Mark Salas – C – Twins – 1985 was his rookie year and he had a very nice season swatting 9 homers and batting 0.300. Unfortunately for Mark, that would be his best season and the rest of his career was spent as a back-up for a myriad of teams.

10. Brian Fisher – P – Yankees – 584 – Another spot starter who didn’t have much of a career. He played for the Yankees for 2 years, then was on the Pirates. Never really settling in and finding a full time position for himself. He only played in 6 seasons and never really had a stand out year.

11. Tim Wallach – 3B – Expos – 685 – I always wanted Wallach on my fantasy team. He always seemed to hit 20 homers, around 80 RBIs bat about 0.260, even swipe a few bases. Also he was aways one of the last players to go since he wasn’t very flashy. Think of a Robin Ventura type player and you have a good idea of what his stats were like. Never going into the Hall of Fame, but definitely a solid guy.

12. Bob Grich – 2B – Angels – 155 – Bob played in the majors forever. His rookie year was 1970 and 1986 would be his last year. A very good player who had stats like Ray Durham. Could hit about 20 homers, and bat around 0.285. He was the kind of guy you’d like to have in your 3 or 5 slot. I don’t actually remember him as a player but I should have, his stats weren’t bad.

13. Bryan Little – 2B – White Sox – 346 – He was a backup and 1986 would be his last year in pro ball. He finished his career with the Yankees, but I would be hard pressed to pick him out of a line-up.

14. Jesse Barfield – OF – Blue Jays – 593 – He and George Bell made a hell of a duo for the Blur Jays in the mid eighties. 1986 would end up being one of Jesse’s best years as he smashed 40 homers, 108 RBIs and batted 0.289. By the time he was traded to the Yankees for Al Lieter (still kills me to this day). His career was pretty much over and along with the Buhner for Phelps deal this was one of the worst in Yankee history.

15. Scott Garrelts – P – Giants – 395 – Double, previously reviewed in pack 10.

Nice pack, but then again could it be worse than the last pack?  I’ll throw this one a 2.5 stars rating.  I got a Foster, Barfield, and Higuera in this pack so slowly we push on towards 792 cards.  This pack pushes the total card count to 151 cards.  I am hoping that over the next few packs, we start to see less and less doubles.  I think I need at least 400 cards out of this box which might not even be possible.  So maybe 350 then.  All I know is 2 boxes is my limit (I hope), the good news is that I have a lot of people that said they would help if I come out short on the set.

I am sure you’re doing a lot better now in cat heaven. I’m sorry I didn’t spend as much time with you as I did before, as much as I should have, and as much as you know we both wanted to. I know you have an unlimited supply of your favorite tuna-flavored cat food up there.

I knew you always preferred Whiskas, I got you a big new bag just a week ago… I’m just not sure if you were given any aside from the handful I put in your plate. I don’t know what that old witch woman made you eat. I’m sorry I left you with someone who didn’t understand that you’re not just a cat… you’re a human-cat. Sometimes, a dog-cat. You were never just cat-cat. You lived most of your entire life with humans, without ever seeing felines like you until this year. Maybe that is why you preferred socializing with humans more.

I cried buckets when I learned of what happened. I’ve had you even before you were able to walk. You’re the first cat my boyfriend ever liked. You loved my mom and would constantly follow her around the house. You might have even been a dog in your past life.

We’ll miss you, you little squirt. Thank you for the memories.