Monday, August 28, 2006
Wild Weekend
Some (including the VOLConWife) were saying that I was looking a bit overworked by Thursday of last week. As much as I have done the past few months, I would be obliged to agree.
This weekend was just what the doctor ordered.
I took off after court on Friday (which ran into the afternoon thanks to picking up multiple new cases Friday morning) to take the VOLConWife to a (very) late lunch and a movie at the Regal Pinnacle 18 at Turkey Creek. At lunch, I started to receive an avalanche of phone calls. It seems that Shirley Ward had been arrested for voter fraud.
My reaction to that is not the shock that most have had. In my extremely limited dealings with the woman (after this oh-so-benign post sparked this public reaction and more malignant private ones), this doesn't surprise me. Given the manic reaction of her son back in March, I did call Shirley Ward to make sure that she had read the post and saw that no allegation was being lobbed her way. (Unlike what her son Jeff later posted, I did not call to apologize, which I am not prone to doing in cases where I have done nothing wrong.) While I will not get into the specifics of the exchange, I will say that Ms. Ward struck me as irrational, egotistical, and not at all gracious. (Please understand - these are my opinions, not factual allegations. The opinions of others may differ greatly.) I have disagreed with many people in politics - including, for a time, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist - but they have always acted with the grace and nature that brings people together. Ms. Ward showed none of that in my opinion.
Is it fair to judge someone on one telephone conversation? Probably not, but that (and a plethora of stories provided to me since that date) is what I have to go on. So am I surprised? I guess not.
After I fielded several phone calls (and I apologize to those who I didn't get to talk to during that stretch), we finished our meal and hit Invincible at the Pinnacle 18. It was OK, but nothing fantastic. Despite the claims that it is over two hours long, it felt about as long as an episode of "Deadwood." The ending is abrupt, and that is kind. On the positive side, Wahlberg gives a strong performance, and the football action scenes are extremely well done. I give it a 7.7 out of 10. (Apparently I wasn't the only one to see the movie - it was #1 at the box office with $17.2 million in ticket sales.)
Saturday morning brought the long-awaited fantasy football draft for the ninth season of the Confederate Football League. The VOLConWife is the defending champion, and the league champion cup has resided in the Huddleston household for all 8 years. However, I am not optimistic after this year's draft. The Undecided Philosopher has a killer team this year, as he posted on Sunday.
After wondering what went wrong at the draft, I hopped in the Firebird and headed for Bristol. The Undecided Philosopher and I ate like kings (thank you, Food City), played games like kids, and watched the Winston Cup race (hey, it will ALWAYS be the Winston Cup to me, pardner) from Turn Four of the World's Fastest Half Mile. Check out his post here (along with a picture of the incredibly unphotogenic VOLCon), as I would not be able to equal his efforts. He did allow me to lift the pics, though, so they are included below.
Sunday was a day of rest, as it should be. I am pumped after this weekend, but it was actually only the appetizer for the upcoming weekends of UT football and a trip to D.C.
It is truly the most excellent time of the year.
This weekend was just what the doctor ordered.
I took off after court on Friday (which ran into the afternoon thanks to picking up multiple new cases Friday morning) to take the VOLConWife to a (very) late lunch and a movie at the Regal Pinnacle 18 at Turkey Creek. At lunch, I started to receive an avalanche of phone calls. It seems that Shirley Ward had been arrested for voter fraud.
My reaction to that is not the shock that most have had. In my extremely limited dealings with the woman (after this oh-so-benign post sparked this public reaction and more malignant private ones), this doesn't surprise me. Given the manic reaction of her son back in March, I did call Shirley Ward to make sure that she had read the post and saw that no allegation was being lobbed her way. (Unlike what her son Jeff later posted, I did not call to apologize, which I am not prone to doing in cases where I have done nothing wrong.) While I will not get into the specifics of the exchange, I will say that Ms. Ward struck me as irrational, egotistical, and not at all gracious. (Please understand - these are my opinions, not factual allegations. The opinions of others may differ greatly.) I have disagreed with many people in politics - including, for a time, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist - but they have always acted with the grace and nature that brings people together. Ms. Ward showed none of that in my opinion.
Is it fair to judge someone on one telephone conversation? Probably not, but that (and a plethora of stories provided to me since that date) is what I have to go on. So am I surprised? I guess not.
After I fielded several phone calls (and I apologize to those who I didn't get to talk to during that stretch), we finished our meal and hit Invincible at the Pinnacle 18. It was OK, but nothing fantastic. Despite the claims that it is over two hours long, it felt about as long as an episode of "Deadwood." The ending is abrupt, and that is kind. On the positive side, Wahlberg gives a strong performance, and the football action scenes are extremely well done. I give it a 7.7 out of 10. (Apparently I wasn't the only one to see the movie - it was #1 at the box office with $17.2 million in ticket sales.)
Saturday morning brought the long-awaited fantasy football draft for the ninth season of the Confederate Football League. The VOLConWife is the defending champion, and the league champion cup has resided in the Huddleston household for all 8 years. However, I am not optimistic after this year's draft. The Undecided Philosopher has a killer team this year, as he posted on Sunday.
After wondering what went wrong at the draft, I hopped in the Firebird and headed for Bristol. The Undecided Philosopher and I ate like kings (thank you, Food City), played games like kids, and watched the Winston Cup race (hey, it will ALWAYS be the Winston Cup to me, pardner) from Turn Four of the World's Fastest Half Mile. Check out his post here (along with a picture of the incredibly unphotogenic VOLCon), as I would not be able to equal his efforts. He did allow me to lift the pics, though, so they are included below.
Sunday was a day of rest, as it should be. I am pumped after this weekend, but it was actually only the appetizer for the upcoming weekends of UT football and a trip to D.C.
It is truly the most excellent time of the year.
Permalink posted by Rob Huddleston @ 7:57 AM 
