Jump Thursday Rundown

Who else is enjoying these loooong June days? In this part of the country the sun begins to rise at 4 a.m. and sets after 9 p.m. I always advocate to take advantage of this surplus daylight as much as possible. I also advocate that you take advantage of my excellent Thursday Rundowns (sarcasm). I present to you tonight’s five topics…

Star Wars Merchandise – At last weekend’s yard sale, my brother-in-law was selling some of his collectible items, including these Star Wars Lego kits. Although they were the subject of much interest from our sale’s customers, they didn’t fly off the shelves. But that is a good thing because that means these rare editions can be yours. If you are interested in some Star Wars stuff, just let me know and I will put you into contact with my brother-in-law.

A look at my brother’s Star Wars Lego setup at last weekend’s garage sale.

White Men Can’t Jump – The movie that Sidney and I watched together this week was “White Men Can’t Jump.” I had seen bits and pieces on TV before but never viewed the film from start to finish. Let me tell you, it is early 1990s cinema at its finest. We enjoyed the humor, hustling tactics, and the Jeopardy angle that was worked in. You want to know a fun fact? Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes did all of their own basketball scenes and the coach that was hired to develop their skills said both men could have had collegiate basketball careers if that acting thing never worked out. “White Men Can’t Jump” can be streamed on Peacock.

We were very entertained by “White Men Can’t Jump.”

Dude Night – Yesterday evening, our family split off. Sidney hung out with Sloan and I paired up with Beau. The girls crawled into our bed and watched shows. I took Beau for a bike ride around the neighborhood followed by play time at the park capped off with some ice cream. Lately I have realized that I haven’t spent a lot of one-on-one time with Beau so it was nice to just have a “guys’ night.”

Beau and I finished our night together with ice cream.

Gas Price Insanity – Three months ago I addressed surging gas prices. At that time, I didn’t think it could get much worse than the $4.39 per gallon that my local gas station was charging. Boy, was I wrong. Today, a gallon of gas at most places in Spokane is $5.29…yes, I said $5.29. I think most of us are fed up with the madness at the pumps and the stark reality is that relief won’t be coming any time soon. How crazy to think that in 2016 we were paying $1.79 per gallon?

I took this photo at our local Maverik gas station in Spokane Valley.

Bachelor Party – On this date six years ago, I had my “bachelor party.” I use the quotes because I didn’t necessarily have a stereotypical, wild bachelor party that is now common in today’s culture. My dad, father-in-law, and groomsmen went on an Intracoastal Waterway boat cruise and stopped at one of the restaurants just off the water for lunch and cornhole. Although it wasn’t an out of control bender, we all had a lot of fun.

My bachelor party was relaxing, low key, and fun. In this photo my father-in-law is driving the boat and is seated next to my dad. I am in the back pointing, my friend Kenny is in the middle, and my brother is in the red.

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That will do it for me tonight. I am looking forward to a pretty significant date this Saturday and I hope your weekend is significant in some way too. Don’t Blink.

Wolves Thursday Rundown

If April was nice, May has been gorgeous. We have enjoyed another perfect week here in our little corner of the world and I can’t but help feel appreciation as each day is noticeably longer than the previous. On that positive note, let’s begin the latest Thursday Rundown.

Gas Shortage – The Colonial Pipeline hack has impacted the Southeast by sending people to the pumps in a panic buying frenzy. Although the cyberattack certainly raised gas prices in the region, according to my father-in-law, the price per gallon is what it is currently here in Spokane…approximately $3. Recently I was waiting at a stop light and noticed the rates of gas on the digital board belonging to the convenience store out my passenger window. I assumed it was just too good to be true and kept driving once the light turned green.

I figured the store probably wouldn’t offer me this rate.

Wienermobile – Three years ago, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile came to Myrtle Beach. Sid, Sloan, and I went out to our local Publix Supermarket to see it. We took photos, played with the cut outs, and ate free hot dogs. Last week, Sid and Sloan had the “rare” chance to see the vehicle again when it rolled into Spokane. The Wienermobile parked at our nearby Fred Meyer and Sidney and Sloan once again utilized the props and got their photo taken. No free hot dogs this time!

The top photo is from Sidney’s and Sloan’s visit to Fred Meyer in Spokane last week. The bottom photo is from our first encounter with the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile in 2018 in Myrtle Beach.

Blippi – The jaws of all toddlers and their parents dropped this past weekend when they tuned into YouTube for the latest Blippi episode only to be greeted by an…impostor! The dude who has always been Blippi since 2014 was no longer Blippi! Thank goodness Sloan, who is a diehard fan, wasn’t subjected to such a monstrosity! But breathe easy, little ones. The real Blippi will be back. It just turns out he was humble enough to let the actor who will star in the Blippi Broadway show—yes, there is a Blippi Broadway show—take part in one of the YouTube episodes. Considering many people thought the world was ending when the new actor was subbed in, I don’t know if it will happen again.

Who the heck is this???

Dances With Wolves – The movie I watched throughout this week was the 1990 classic “Dances With Wolves.” It was the first time I ever watched the film and I found myself impressed by the beauty with which it was shot along with the relationship development of Costner’s character and the Sioux tribe. Although it was a little strange to watch three seasons of “Yellowstone” and then see Kevin Costner play an entirely different character more than 30 years earlier, good acting is still good acting. I think the runtime of three hours is worth it and if you have Netflix you can watch it on there.

This movie is a masterpiece.

Urban Turkey – Now this isn’t nearly as cool as the porcupine I encountered in this exact same spot several months ago but I am running out of ideas for tonight’s fifth topic. The Spokane region, especially the specific area I live in, is home to a large population of urban turkeys. In fact, from time to time they will congregate in our backyard. This morning, however, on my way back from the gym I was forced to stop my car and ask Why did the turkey cross the road?

I encountered this turkey crossing the road this morning.

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I wish you the best this weekend. Let’s make sure to pray for the people in countries like India who are experiencing great suffering from the Coronavirus. Don’t Blink.