Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 5:00 a.m. in "The City."

If there were trains on Friday, I didn't see nor hear them, so like that proverbial tree in the forest, if I wasn't here to hear or see them, did they actually pass through on the RSTL? We were out quite a bit yesterday, so it is possible that the trains happened, but who can say with any degree of certainty because mine is the only opinion that counts.

The weather yesterday was spotty. The rains tried to come many times, but the only time they came in earnest was about this time yesterday and then in the early evening. As you may have surmised, it was not a dark and stormy night nor day. It was mostly to partly cloudy. We had a high temperature of  68° that has fallen to a current temperature of 59° with partly cloudy skies. Today's forecast from the NWS calls for a high of 66° with a 40% chance of showers and perhaps T-storms in the a.m. hours that will clear out by afternoon. The sun will rise in a few hours @ 7:43 a.m. and set @ 7:25 p.m.

A side note, Hurricane Matthew is now a category 5 storm with wind speeds of 160 mph! Matthew is expected to hit Jamaica and that will be the biggest hit the island has ever taken. It was 1988 when Hurricane Gilbert hit the island with deadly results and Matthew is possibly stronger. The storm is expected to hit the north end of the Island, so the capital city of Kingston may only see heavy flooding as the storm delivers more than25 inches of rain.

Sports news yesterday was all positive, at least for my favorite teams. The Cubs defeated the last-place team in the NL Central, the Cincinnati Reds, by a score of 7 - 3. That gives the Cubs a division-leading total of 102 - 57 as they await the second season. The Cubs and the Reds play again this afternoon @ 4:10 p.m.

The Tigers are still in 2nd place in the AL Central with an overall record of 86 - 73. Their Wild Card fate rests in the hands of another AL team, the Blue Jays, who lost to my beloved Red Sox last night. The Tigers defeated the once mighty Atlanta Braves last night by a score of 6 - 2. Those two teams play again tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

Speaking of my beloved Red Sox, they did defeat the Blue Jays last night in an AL East game to stay atop their division with an overall record of 93 - 67. David "Big Papi" Ortiz drove a ball over the right-field fence to break a 3 - 3 tie and power the Sox to a final score of 5 - 3. The Blue Jays are just .5 games ahead of the Tigers in the Wild Card race. The Sox meet the Blue Jays again tonight @ 7:10 p.m. with a chance to improve the Tigers chance of making the playoffs.

Since I am talking starting times for really big games, the 4 - 0 Wisconsin Badgers come to the Big House in Ann Arbor, MI. today to face Jim Harbaugh's 4 - 0 Wolverines @ 3:30 p.m. This will be a real test of  both teams in a Big 10 matchup.

The 2 - 1 Spartans of MSU travel to Bloomington, IN to face the 2 - 1 Hoosiers @ 8:00 p.m. The Spartans were drubbed last week, so they have something to prove this week. We shall see.

The 0 - 4 Huskies of NIU travel to Muncie, IN to face the 3 - 1 Cardinals of Ball State, also @ 3:30 p.m. The Huskies have fallen on hard times this season in the Mac 10. I don't know what to predict for an outcome.

Meals yesterday were a super lunch and a so-so dinner. The spicy tomato loaf sandwiches were complemented by Mary's tasty rice and peas salad. The chili we had for dinner was based on a new recipe that Mary wanted to try, but even with the best ingredients and my assistance, it was only filling and not all that exciting. I don't like spicy chili, but I do like tasty chili, and this recipe did not deliver. Mary plans to augment this batch to make it more palatable, but I am betting that she will not be adding this to her personal recipe file.

Today we are going to stay in after  the morning safari, I plan to read and play with the girls while Mary works on the index. My part is done for now. Ciao.