Vacation is Life Its Ownself

And one of the most important things we'll ever do

St. Augustine Beach, a few years and a couple bad shirts ago.

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JOHNNY THINWALLET is in a fine mood this AM. It’s raining trailers and peanut farms. JT would call it a “$20 rain.’’ That’s what I’m saving by not having to water my grass for the next coupla weeks. I’m a simple man.

Tomorrow, the clan heads to Ponte Vedra/St. Augustine, for what has evolved over the past 20 or so years from a one-off vacation into an annual tradition. We first went to St. Aug because my maternal grandfather had lived and lawyered there, back in the 1930s. We’ve stayed because the town is one of the few along the Florida coasts that has retained some sense of itself. The old downtown is as it was 50 years ago, if more crowded.

Vacation is special and sacred and as necessary as anything we do. It reminds us of who we are and who we can be. On vacation, we’re all nice to each other. Even J. Thinwallet goes big on vacations, annually overspending on a mansion by the sea.

But it’s more than that. Vacation puts a magnifying glass to the importance of time. How we spend it, what we make of it, how quickly it runs from us, how mindful we should be to make the most of it.

Twenty years ago, I gave little thought to the passing of time. Now, I hold it like I’m in a tug of war and time is the rope. Getting older gracefully is a matter of handling well the HowManyMores. And making best use of them. Aging can be a blessing, but it needs wisdom as a partner.

These days, I try to take nothing for granted. The smallest moments can be the biggest joys. Last night, it was nothing more than sitting on the covered porch in the middle of a big rain. Spectacular. Vacation is a week of non-stop watching the rain from the porch. (Metaphorically, of course. A week of rain at the beach would not be ideal.)

I couldn’t tell you, at this moment, where my earbuds are. I could tell you without hesitation where we’ve spent every summer vacation in the past 40 years, with whom, and what the highlight was.

It’s not just a week off. It’s life its ownself.

Time is not without its bruises. My wife’s parents were regulars for years on our beach vacations. Her mom has passed, her dad is too fragile to make the trip. Life demands caused our son and his wife not to be present this year. It’s just Kerry, Jillian, Ryan and me. Which only serves to crystallize the importance of the week. Nothing is guaranteed, not even vacation.

Take life for all it gives, yeah?

Now, then. . .

IF YOU’VE EVER been curious about what The End of the World in Cincinnati might look like, you should have been at PayJoe Stadium Thursday afternoon, when the dreaded Cart came for Joe Burrow. In the NFL, nothing good ever comes from a Cart sighting.

(Not that I was there. I was playing golf. I mean, I’m retired, yeah?)

The Saint pulled up lame without being hit, after an innocuous rollout on an innocuous play in an innocuous practice in July which, when it comes to football, is an egregiously innocuous month.

The apparent calf strain will do nothing but keep Burrow watching for a few weeks, which is probably good. He’s now 0-for-4 when it comes to complete preseasons. He seems to have done OK. Two weeks not practicing is two weeks of total Cart avoidance.

The league acknowledges the risky meaninglessness of summer football. Six exhibition games was cut to four, decades ago. Now, NFL owners get only three of those full-price farces, and players’ chances of getting hurt in games that don’t count drop apace. To which we can only say, good.

Now, then. . .

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS, Marty and Amanda Brennaman. Perfect-est couple I know.

THE REDS ARE IN LA, facing a team calling itself the Dodgers. The Dodgers identity has almost always been pitching, all the way back to Koufax and Drysdale. They play in a pitcher’s park, in low-humidity weather that favors pitchers, for an organization that’s never without mound studs.

Koufax begat Osteen begat Sutton begat Valenzuela begat Hershiser begat Kershaw. And we’re not even counting the Brooklyn guys.

So who is this team that’s rolling out these starters named Miller, Sheehan and Grove this weekend? Two of these fellows have ERAs over 6. Not a Buehler or Kershaw among them.

The Dodgers rank 20th in ERA and 16th in WHIP. It’s surreal to say, but the Reds (Williamson, Weaver, Ashcraft) might have the starting pitching edge beginning tonight.

OF COURSE, WE HAVE TRADE (NO) NEWS. . . What’s never made sense to me is why most teams wait until the last minute to do these deals. The team that gets, say, Jordan Montgomery or Eduardo Rodriguez: Why not get him sooner, have him for an additional start or two?

You’re theoretically draining some of your Future tank. Why not get the clock ticking on Now before the last minute? Is there a rule on this I’m missing?

Anyway, your daily rumor mongering:

Ken Rosenthal says the Reds won’t trade India:

This is a club bursting with young talent and brimming with payroll flexibility. The Reds know they need more pitching to keep pace with the Brewers, who on Thursday acquired first baseman Carlos Santana from the Pirates. But for now, they likely are keeping India. And unless they can acquire someone special, their best prospects, too.

Jim Bowden says the Reds will trade India:

Mariners trade RHP Bryce Miller to Reds for 2B Jonathan India

The Mariners appear set to buy and sell at the deadline. They need to improve their offense, and India would provide power and speed to their lineup. He’s under team control through 2026 and will be eligible for arbitration before next season. India has slashed .251/.336/.410 this year with 14 home runs and 12 stolen bases. He won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2021 when he hit 21 home runs, drove in 69 runs and stole 12 bases. He is a high-energy, positive clubhouse presence.

The Reds need another young, controllable starter, and Miller fits the mold. He is 7-3 with a 3.96 ERA in 14 starts in his rookie season. He was a fourth-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft. The 24-year-old righty has a mid-90s fastball and a hard slider (his best secondary pitch), and he mixes in a curveball and changeup.

Regardless, can we at least lose the idea that the Reds can make October without pitching help, either starters or relievers or both? Their current best starter (Abbott) will be in uncharted innings waters no later than Labor Day. Their 2nd-best (Lively) is an unproven commodity, currently exceeding expectations. Their co-2nd-best (Ashcraft) has been as consistent as the weather. The Brewers will be getting Woodruff back soon.

Meantime, the bullpen is fine now, but a month from now? Do you trust those guys?

Win while you have the chance and the means.

AND NOW. . .

HEY MICHELLE recommends you have a Danger-ous weekend.

Danger Wheel ~ If you haven’t checked this out you just have to go! Nothing funnier than watching people on big wheels go flying down the hill in Pendleton! :) 64 three person teams race, crash and all the while you can throw water balloons at them ;)  and it’s just a ton of fun.  Saturday 2-8:30 E. 12th St. 

Glier’s Goettafest ~ IYKYK goetta is our thing in Cincy so hit up a weekend full of everything goetta “from pizza to fudge”now through Sunday night at Newport’s Festival Park at the Levee. 

Barbie Brunch & Fashion Show ~ Everything Barbie photo-ops, music, giveaways and more. Saturday at Moerlein Lager House. Grab a ticket and join in the fun 

Sharonfest ~ Sharonville celebrates summer at Gower Park Friday 6-12 & Saturday 5-12 with a live music line up, inflatables, drink, food and fun! 

Gran Carnivale ~ King’s Islands extravagant international festival runs now through August 6th everyday 5-10. Wonderful performances, nighttime Spectacle of Color Parade, lavish floats, family activities, street performers, delicious food and more. 

Anderson Days ~ Saturday 4-10 at Beech Acres. Tons of food, live music, Rozzi’s fireworks, games, rides and more. 

Water PAWrk ~ Saturday 1-4 Woodburn Brewery. Purchase frozen doggie yogurt grab a drink and hang with the pups 

Plan ahead ~ Grab tickets to Cincinnati Chamber Orchestras SummerMusik Festival. Tickets are going fast and I don’t want you to miss any of these performances that will be held all over the city from Aug 5th-Aug 20th 

Hey Michelle,

Do you want to know where to eat, drink and have fun in Cincinnati? Follow me @HeyMichelle1 on IG … https://heymichelle-help.com

IMBIBER DAVE wants to show you his burnt ends.

Had a fun-filled weekend with family visiting from KC. Luckily they support the Bengals, so we allow them to stay with us every so often.

Now despite obvious sports related issues, KC does in fact have some of the best BBQ on earth. One of their specialties is burnt ends, which simply means they chop the fat cap off the brisket after its mostly smoked and cube the meat so it transforms into giant beefy bacon bits.

Now in the land of the flying pig, I’ve been wanting to try my hand at pork belly burnt ends, so the smoker got put to work. This homage to KC actually turned out to be fairly easy to make. I opted for the recipe where you cook the belly whole, with the underside simply cut, but not all the way through the fat. After it smoked for four hours it resembled a pork bloomin’ onion. I cubed them up and after about eight minutes in the air fryer we had enormous bacon bits ready for prime time.

We had some straight up, with BBQ sauce and mustard, with homemade spicy slaw, and combining several of these things onto Hawaiian rolls for sliders, all for testing purposes of course.

This is a great crowd pleaser for your next cookout, and way less expensive these days than buying a brisket. Rhinegeist Beer For Humans was tasting pretty great on a warm day, but we opened up a few bottles of red to really class up the joint, and all were happy.

Cheers!
cincybeerguydave@gmail.com

TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . Now that I’m good and melancholy-ed up, why not some Van to keep me that way?