Danny Boy, the sequel

Any town big enough to have a Walmart has another grocery store.  For people who get fired by Walmart, this gives them a second chance to show their worth.  In some cases they confirm Walmart’s judgement that they are as useless as a bag of football bats.

Our hero got fired by Walmart after less than two months because he worked harder at avoiding work than he would have if he had shut up and done the work.  Stocking shelves does require some flexibility, but is not that hard.  Danny Boy managed to do the work of three drama queens complaining about pulling merchandise to the front of the shelf.  Known as zoning at Walmart and fronting or facing at other grocery stores, this is one of the least physically demanding jobs on overnights.  At this point the next step is out the door.

Danny Boy moves to the next town over and gets a cleaning job at a competing grocery.  He’s making about two thirds the wage he made at Walmart with fewer hours.   During his third week on the job he is cleaning the deli display and drops the glass cover shattering the cover and forcing the deli to close for several days until the glass is replaced.  Since the other store is more reliant on their deli than Walmart is, they are hurting even today.  Danny Boy is out of a job and now has the reputation of making any situation worse.  Even companies that are just wanting warm bodies are interviewing the stiffs rather than Danny Boy.

Trash talking with the Denver Broncos

In 2002 and 2003 US Footy held the national tournament in Kansas City.  It was held in October each year two or three weeks after the AFL Grand Final.  The weekend started with a Friday night reception and registration event. Games were played on Saturday and Sunday with a Saturday night dinner in between. 

I am not sure which year it was but the Broncos were playing the Chiefs that weekend, staying at the same hotel we were and arrived right before our dinner started.  We had a few guys who could barely fit through a single door height or width wise.  Over half of the Broncos couldn’t fit through that same door.  Talking about their mamas was clearly out of bounds, but making fun of a sport that has helmets, huddles, and timeouts was not.  Trying to explain that the only ineligible receiver is the guy too slow to get to the ball to offensive linemen was a novel experience. Meanwhile then Essendon Bombers coach Kevin Sheedy is signing autographs for a few autograph hounds who are getting a crash course in Aussie Rules.  After a few minutes the last Broncos got their room keys and our buffet was ready.

Karen and Kevin meet the Kansas City Power.

I was one of those guys who got hooked on Australian Rules Football in the early 80s when ESPN didn’t have much other programming available and broadcast one or two games per week on tape delay. 

When the Phoenix Scorpions were recruiting players in 2001, I decided to give it a try while I had the chance.  I was not much of a player, but I can say I gave it my best shot and got a lot of great memories in return.

I went to nationals three years in a row.  Exchanging stories with players from across the country was the highlight of the weekend. One of the best WTH stories came from the Kansas City Power during  the 2002 nationals.

They were playing the St.Louis  Blues at home when the cops came up at halftime with sirens blaring.  Someone called and said two gangs were fighting on the field, one in blue and one in light blue, black and white.  It took quite a while for the cops to be convinced it was a game and a couple of them actually stuck around until three quarter time to make sure no one was getting killed.

Karen, the ball should have been your first clue.  Your second clue should have been the goal and behind posts, which are 16 feet and 10 feet tall respectfully.  Your third clue should have been seeing those PVC pipe posts were not being used on each other. 

I called in sick last night.

I had chills all day yesterday and most of today in spite of high temperatures in the 60s.  Even with two heavy blankets I was shivering last night. 

This morning I felt a little better, so I went to a beginning beekeeping class put on by the local beekeeping association.  It was an all day class and I was tired by the end of it.  There was a lot of information that will take a week or so to completely process.  I was leaning toward getting a  couple of hives, but this presentation removed any doubt.

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