"Youth is a Curable Disease" – Teddy Roosevelt

My apologies for not blogging during the past month, I attribute it to blogger’s block, leading to the lack of any original thought combined with a stifling case of lethargy brought on, according to my health care professional, by the Cubs inability to step on home plate after touching the other bases, otherwise known as ARDS, Acute Run Deficiency Syndrome.

So here we are at the all-star break with the Cubs sitting 14.5 games out of first and 12 behind in the wild card race, and somehow that doesn’t seem so bad. As frustrating as the first half of the season has been for this team and all of Cubdom, it feels like they should be at least 20 games out, of course that’s not much consolation. I’m not going to do a recap of the recurring nightmare that has been the Cubs season since Derrek Lee’s injury, or tell you what should be the done to fix the problems, or who is to blame for what we have witnessed. We all have our own opinions on those subjects, I think so far the Cubs year is mostly worthy of forgetting. As for the second half of the season I don’t hold much hope for a miracle turnaround, of course I’ll be monitoring the situation, but at this point I am starting preparation for spring training 2007.

Summer in Arizona is now cooking along without me as I have escaped the desert heat and am currently sequestered at a cabin in the midwest on the shores of Lake Wobegon. I am working on the final edits of the “Boys of Spring” documentary otherwise known as ?????????? aka “The Boys of Spring”. That’s right I am not entirely happy with the name “The Boys of Spring” so if you have any suggestions, please let us know, or if your business is interested in sponsorship, naming rights, or any other tie-in we would love to talk to you. It could be: YOUR COMPANY’S NAME presents ______________aka “Boys of Spring” or?? Contact us via email, we welcome the possibilities! With the words “Cult Classic” already being attached to the film, (I am having it printed on the disc) your exposure could pay dividends far into the future. The release of the film is finally set, for Spring 2007. It has been a long time coming, especially for me as my original outline was written in 1991.

We received a very nice letter from the Alzhiemer’s Association thanking us for our contribution on behalf of “The Voice of Summer” Vince Lloyd interview. When I interviewed Vince he was 85 years young and had a very sharp mind, he never had alzhiemers but knew friends who were afflicted, so he had genuine concern for helping the fight. Many Cubs fans who have watched “The Voice of Summer” DVD have commented on Vince’s great powers of recall during the interview and what an outstanding storyteller he was. I recently talked with a great nephew of Vince’s who thanked me for capturing those memories on video because it reminded him of family gatherings where Vince would tell about his interesting experiences and Cubs tales. His nephew also mentioned that it is the only extended interview with Vince on video(DVD) that he knows of, and has become treasured family viewing. That’s very gratifying to hear, I do feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to spend the afternoon watching the Cubs talking to Vince.

One last piece of business, we drew a name for our mid-season give-away from fans reviews of “The Voice Of Summer” submitted to this site, and the winner is Robert W. from California, he will receive a Ron Santo autographed rare unused ticket from the very last game ever played at Old Hohokam Park in 1996. A game won by the Cubs with a walk-off HR that Santo broadcast on WGN radio. Robert will also receive a “Voice of Summer” DVD autographed by yours truly (sorry if that decreases the value), and 2 box seats to a Cubs 2007 spring training game of his choice. We will be doing more give-aways during the second half of the season, so check back here often and see how to win!

Good luck to the Cubs in the second half, I’ll try to blog more often.

Timothy