Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "TheCity."

The answer to the question of who won the game is a simple one. Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Cubs Win!, 6 - 5 over the San Francisco Giants in a game that went the regulation nine innings. A game in which the Cubs seemed to be on the ropes as late as the 8th inning. A game in which the Cubs were down by three runs. A game in which the Cubs scored four runs in the top of the ninth in a dramatic come from behind win. Yes, Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Cubs Win!

The Cubs now await the winner of the series between the Dodgers and the Nats, a series which is tied @ 2 - 2 following yesterday's game. Both of those teams get today off before playing again on Thursday in Washington, D.C. The winning team will have until Saturday before they have to face the Cubs.

We spent the afternoon in GR yesterday. It really is a great small city. It is also home to the Kent, County Animal Shelter, the temporary home to our newest family member, Ginger. She has to stay there today for some medical care and then she will be home with us forever as of tonight. A soon as I have a picture available, I'll post it. I can say with certainty that she is a cutie and we are already smitten. Her ancestry is a bit murky, but she is a real cuddle-bug and exactly the dog we were supposed to adopt.

I finally spotted the missing afternoon train from Monday. It passed through yesterday afternoon heading north. EMD GP 38-2 locomotives 2057 and 2019 passed through on the RSTL @ a good clip towing 12 CHCs, 22 DBTCS, two DWTCs and three GTCs, all fully loaded. I noticed for the first time that several of the DBTCs were loaded with Anhydrous Ammonia and Sodium Hydroxide rather than crude oil.

Anhydrous Ammonia is used as a commercial refrigerant in ice rinks and also on the farm as a source of nitrogen for fertilizer. It is a highly toxic chemical widely used as a cheap source of nitrogen for those farm crops. It can explode as it did in Texas in 2013.

Sodium Hydroxide is more commonly called lye or caustic soda. Sodium Hydroxide is used in drain cleaners and as one method for peeling fruits, processing cocoa, and thickening ice cream. It is also used with other substances for making black olives, black, among many other uses.

The DWTCs carrying Hydrochloric Acid are regular users of the short-line railroad that runs through GH. Hydrochloric Acid is often marketed as Muriatic Acid, which is used to clean the extra mortar off of newly erected brick buildings, cleaning algae off of boats, and also for cleaning the grout in shower stalls and tubs. If people realized what's in those cars, they might have strong objections to them moving through neighborhoods where children play.

Sugar and I have an appointment at her doctor's for a follow-up exam later this morning. Sugar is doing much better now. If it is raining, I may have to drive there instead of our usual walk. Once again. a game-time decision. While there, I will make an appointment for Ginger's first visit @ our veterinarian early next week.

Mary had another go at the index yesterday and it should now be done. The latest book for indexing is now due from the publisher. I don't remember the topic.

The current temperature is 56° under clear skies. The NWS is forecasting scattered T-storms this morning and then mainly cloudy conditions this afternoon with T-storms likely @ 80%. Today's high is predicted to be a very comfortable 68°. However, the 80% chance of T-storms will not make our return trip to GR to pick up Ginger any easier. The sun will rise @ 7:56 a.m. and set @ 7:06 p.m. Ciao.