Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:30 a.m. in "The City."

Currently, the temperature is 53° under clear skies. The forecast from the NWS is for the temperature to eventually drop to 48° before we rise to today's high of 72° under sunny skies. The sun will rise @ 7:09 a.m. and set @ 8:18 p.m.

A perfect segue to the most important thing about today, our 44th wedding anniversary. It was a Saturday with the weather much like the forecast for today when we married and started our lives together. Back then, I had thick curly hair and Mary, well she looked much like she does now, lovely,
although she is much accomplished and better cook now. Fortunately for both of us, she was able to teach herself and not rely on the recipes that were her mother's best.

We started out in a little garden apartment in Des Plaines, IL and moved to an apartment in Wheeling, IL shortly before Adam was born on September 7, 1974. We bought our first quadrominium home in 1975 where we stayed for a few years and then moved to Bartlett, IL for a very short stay. We later moved to another condominium in Palatine for several years, followed by a long, 25-year stay, at our "Let's go buy a house, house", also in Palatine. Finally, we moved here to GH with a short stay in Schaumburg, IL, and we are here to stay. Like I've said before, if I could change things, I wouldn't, because you never know how different choices might turn out. Here's to many more years.

The train appeared yesterday @ 1:54 p.m., with locomotive #2057 once again soloing as it headed south towing eight CHCs, two DBTCs, and one DWTC. I don't think there was a northbound run yesterday.

In sports news, the Ohio State Buckeyes romped over the Hoosiers of Indiana University, 43 - 22. Personally, unless it is the Spartans of MSU, the Wolverines of Michigan, or the Huskies of Northern Illinois University, Adam's alma mater, I don't pay much attention, Also for those who care, the Bears fell to the Cleveland Browns, 0 - 25. It is going to be a long season. The Detroit Lions will get more attention from me.

The Cubs took another game last night, this one from the Atlanta Braves, 6 - 2 to move to an overall 1st place record in the NL Central of 73 - 60, 3.5 games ahead of the winning 2nd place Brewers and 6.0 games ahead of the winning 3rd place Cardinals. Kyle Hendricks pitched a gem and Kris Bryant nailed his 25th home run in support as he netted two additional RBIs. That gives Bryant 25 home runs in his first three straight seasons, a Cubs' first and he is only the 12th player in MLB history to accomplish that lofty feat. Jon Jay also contributed with four hits. The Cubs and the Braves play again today @ 2:20 p.m.

My beloved 1st place Red Sox fell to the 2nd place Yankees, 2 - 6. That gives the Sox a 4.5 game lead over the Yankees in the AL East with a record of 76 - 58. The Sox and the Yankees face off again tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

The Tigers were off yesterday in the AL Central before they face the Indians today @ 1:10 p.m. The Tigers completed two blockbuster trades yesterday, sending Justin "J'Up" Upton to the Angels for a top prospect, Grayson Long, and that infamous player to be named later. To complete the trade, the Tigers will have to pay $1,000,000 towards the $22,125.000 contract that Upton signed not too long ago.

Upton could have opted out of that contract, but instead, he accepted the trade to the Angels. He may choose to stay with the Angels for four more years at that lofty sum or opt out and try free agency. I guess if you want to play for a winner, the Angles @ 69 - 65 in the AL West are a better option than the 58 - 74 Tigers, who are definitely in a rebuilding mode.

Speaking of that rebuilding, the Tigers also traded Justin "JV" Verlander to the 80 - 53 Houston Astros for three prospects. Verlander had to approve that trade as a long term player. Verlander won the Cy Young Award in 2011 and was second in voting last year, following a couple of off years in 2014 and 2015. Verlander was with the Tigers for 13 seasons and appeared in many postseason games for them, but the chances of more postseason appearances are slim to none with the Tigers before Verlander hangs up his spikes. With the Astros, he has another shot at a World Series.

The Caps fell to the South Bend, IN Cubs last night, 1 - 3. However, they maintained their 1st place in the MWL East lead of 3.5 games over the 2nd place TinCaps. The Caps and the Cubs play again tonight @ 7:35 p.m. The playoffs are just around the corner.

Otherwise, I went to P/T and the chiropractor yesterday and both appointments went well. I am making progress, albeit slow progress, in overcoming my aches and pains. Mary also went to the chiropractor and she felt much better than she had earlier in the day after her visit.

The fur-children and I were outside around 2:30 a.m. and did their duties. They both got into trouble earlier in the afternoon yesterday. When we returned from our visit to the chiropractor and JWs, we found that one of them had gotten into the dog treats that are kept in their food bin in the kitchen. Plus, Ginger felt bad when she was admonished by her pawferred human, Mary, when Mary discovered another "gift" that Ginger had left in the foyer. They made up as the evening progressed. Dogs live in the moment, but Ginger knew that she had messed up.

Today, more indexing after the morning safari. That will take the better part of the next few days to finish up. Ciao.