Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 3:30 a.m. in "The City."

More importantly, it is now officially September 1. That's a great day in my life because that date marks the 43rd anniversary of the day that Mary did one of the most mysterious things that I have personally witnessed. She said "I Do" when the priest asked whether she wanted to take my hand in marriage. I can't explain the inexplicable, but I can give thanks that she did. 43 years ago, two kids started out on a journey that would take us to many places, a journey that would allow us to witness many events, most notably the birth of our son, Adam, and perhaps most importantly, to give us the opportunity to go through life together. In honor of my good fortune, I would like to dedicate the following song penned and sung by Ruth Bloomquist. It is entitled simply One Day Ain't Enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPFoNV8VcgQ

My thanks to Mary for giving me time to learn how to be a good husband. My thanks to Mary for being patient enough to watch me stumble and fall along the way. My very special thanks to Mary for giving me a son of whom I am very proud. My thanks to Mary for allowing me to buy all the girls over the years. But most of all, my thanks for being there when I needed her to be there. No, my friends, one day ain't enough.

We've seen and experienced a lot in those 43 years, but the truth is, the most miraculous event is probably the chance to see the Cubs in the World Series™. I just have to reprise that Steve Goodman song again as I note the sports report from yesterday, you know the refrain, sing it out loud my friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9XtDyDUjIU

The Cubs may have struggled in their game against the 3rd place Pirates in another NL Central  game which they Cubs won 6 - 5. That win gave the Cubs 22 wins, and a sweep of the Pirates who are now 17.5 games in back of the Cubs. That 22 wins in August gave the Cubs a very solid hold on 1st place with what is becoming the norm for the Cubs. Addison Russell contributed an acrobatic catch from the shortstop position, a catch that should make the highlight reels and which probably saved the Cubs three runs. If you missed it, here is that catch that he made with the bases loaded, courtesy of MLB™

http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/198889164/addison-russell-robs-pirates-with-great-catch/

Not to be outdone, Kris Bryant smacked his 36th home run and made his own spectacular catch @ third base. I don't think that I'm being premature when I quote the old third baseman, the late Ron Santo, when he famously said, "This year, it looks like the Cubs could. win it all!" The Cubs next opponent will be the San Francisco Giants @ 8:05 p.m. tonight.

The Tigers narrowly defeated that other team from Chicago by a score of 3 - 2. That win gives the Tigers a still firm hold on 2nd place in the AL Central with a record of 72 - 61, 4.5 games behind the division-leading Indians, who also won. The Tigers have the day off before traveling to Kansas City to face the Royals Friday night @ 8:15 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox notched a win over the Rays in the AL East with an 8 - 6 victory. The Sox are still in 2nd place with a record of 74 - 59, 2.0 games in back of the Blue Jays, who also won. The Sox also have today off before traveling to Oakland to face the As @ 10:05 p.m. Friday night.

The Caps defeated the South Bend Cubs 3 - 1. That win didn't change their 5th place standing in the MWL East, but they are now only 12.0 games in back of the Bowling Green Hot Rods. The Caps have a division record of 30 - 33. They take on the South Bend Cubs @ home tonight @ 7:00 p.m.

I witnessed the passage of locomotives 2057 and 2019 @ 11:15 a.m., as they moved slowly through GH on the RSTL. In their wake were two BCs, 19 CHCs, and three DBTCs. I heard the northbound run, @ 2:40 p,m., but I did not visually witness that passage.

We traveled to the big-box most everything store in the early afternoon, and that's why I didn't espy the northbound run. We also walked downtown and to the Post. With my outdoor chores and our walk around that big-box store, I walked over five miles yesterday. I have included some pictures of the Grand River channel that we saw/experienced during or afternoon walk,

The Coast Guard was patrolling the relatively empty pre-holiday weekend channel.

Wispy clouds and an azure sky looking up the channel past the BLP powerhouse. 

It was a beautiful day yesterday in GH for the morning safari with STWD. I am once again behind on my crossword solving, but that's OK because being outdoors was a good place to be.

Mary was inside making reservations @ Sugar's camp for our future journey to Detroit/Dearborn to see a Tigers' game and the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour exhibit @ the Henry Ford Museum, The Tigers are scheduled to play the Orioles on Sunday, September 11, @ 1:10 p.m.

Today after the morning safari, I plan to get to some chores in the man-cave and Mary plans to continue on the organization of her crafts along with baking what has now become a combination birthday/anniversary cake. She will also be getting some IT intervention from our out-of-state, IT guru.

It now looks as though our new mattress will be delivered on Friday.

We have a current temperature of 62° under partly cloudy skies with a high temperature of 76° under sunny skies. I think it is safe to say that our anniversary will be another beautiful day in the Tri-Cities area of West Michigan. No rain is in the forecast and the relative humidity is forecast to remain low until Tuesday of next week. I'll be watering every other day for the foreseeable future.

The sun will rise @ 7:09 a.m. and set @ 8:18 p.m. Ciao.