I hope your month has started off on the right foot. As I present my first Thursday Rundown of September 2020, I want to thank you at the start of my blog post instead of the end of it for your readership. Thank you. Now, let’s get started…

Look at Those Tomatoes – At the end of July, I wrote about something my dad did with Sloan. He gave Sloan her own tomato plant. They planted it and then watched it grow as I documented the progress. Earlier this week, they picked all of the tomatoes, bringing in quite the harvest. The photos below were all taken 3-4 weeks apart. What a wonderful grandpa/granddaughter activity! 

The progression of Sloan’s tomato plant.

Monte’s Roommate – It was seven years ago when I became a very minor Missoula celebrity. In a blockbuster 2013 opening weekend football game, the Montana Grizzlies hosted Appalachian State. In front of the largest ever Washington-Grizzly Stadium crowd at the time, we debuted a Monte movie on the video board that starred yours truly. I look at the video now and cringe, but I do vividly remember sitting in the press box and listening to the collective laughter of the 26,000+ fans in the stands as the movie rolled.

The opening scene of the movie!

Grandma’s Birthday – If my maternal grandmother was alive today, Virginia Fazzari would be 103. She was a quiet but strong woman who was committed to her family and her faith. Three years ago, I wrote one of my all-time favorite Don’t Blink entries about her life and the traits that defined her.

My grandma would have turned 103 today.

Not New – Yesterday I took the early morning, my lunch break, and right after work to watch a movie called “Here Comes the Boom.” It stars Kevin James, who I really like, and Henry Winkler, my hero. In the film, James is a slacker teacher who ends up participating in MMA fights to raise money to save his school’s music program and the music teacher’s (Winkler) job. Here is what is funny: I discovered this movie on the IMDb section of Firestick and thought it was a new release. I announced out loud to Sid that I thought Salma Hayek, who also plays a key role in the film, looked really good for 54. Coincidentally, yesterday was her birthday and I found out her age by watching the news, a couple hours before watching the film. Anyway, when I turned on the movie to watch the final 20 minutes of the film last night, I saw that it was made in 2012! A movie I thought was brand new was actually eight years old.

I watched “Here Comes the Boom” as if it was made in 2020.

Directionally Challenged – Every Thursday, my friend Lindsi shares a collection of memes on her Instagram Story. This particular one below made me laugh as it definitely resonated with me. Sidney and I always smile when my dad gives us directions somewhere because he will always say “go west, turn east, head south, etc.” Although I should be more competent with this type of direction expression I do much better with landmark point of references. Or, better yet, I just use the navigation app on my phone.

This resonated with me.

—————————–

That will do it for another week. Have a relaxing and safe Labor Day weekend. Please pray for the end of the Coronavirus. Don’t Blink.