Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 3:45 a.m. in "The City."

Well, yesterday was as strange day. Like Mary said, when you fall off your horse/bicycle, you have to get right back on or you'll never get on again. I waited a few days, but I did get back on yesterday, rode to my orthopedists' appointment at the hospital, and I didn't crash. That's all good, and what's also good, is that I got basically good news regarding  my aching left shoulder.

X-rays confirmed that I don't have anything like the problems I had with my right shoulder several years ago, when my labrum was torn, my rotator cuff was frayed, and the joint was damaged from a bike crash many years ago. All of those things required surgical intervention and also several months of recovery/rehab. In the case of my left shoulder, I just have some tiny bone-spurs that are irritating the muscles and nerves in the joint area. So, I just need to do some exercise, takes some Ibuprofen for the pain, and see the doctor again in six weeks when everything should be right again. Whew, I dodged a bullet this time.

With the assistance of my apprentice train-spotter, I have a complete trainspotting report from yesterday. At 11:53 a.m., she and Ginger spotted the southbound run of MMRR locomotives 2019 and 2025 as they towed 16 CHCs, four DWTCs, 27 DBTCs, one GTC, and one car that was possibly white, but so rusty, that its color was nearly obscured. My apprentice may be getting her journeyman's card soon.

We were @ JWs @ 4:36 p.m. when I heard that lonesome whistle blow and rushed out to see the northbound passage of the same locomotives towing 15 CHCs, two DBTCs, and one DWTC. At the corner of 7th and Washington, the location of JWs, the trains passes even closer than it does when passing the PE, so you might say I had a close encounter of the trainspotting kind.

Speaking of close encounters, the 38 - 27, 2nd place in the NL Central Chicago Cubs, fell to the 42 - 27, 1st place in the NL Central Milwaukee Brewers, 0 - 1. Starting pitcher Mike Montgomery, tossed a masterful game, but the Cubs bats must have stayed home in Chicago, because the Cubs lost the game, 0 - 1. The only thing worthy of note in the game for the Cubs, was the multiple switch of pitchers by Cubs' manager, Joe Maddon.

In the bottom of the 8th inning, Maddon heard the announcement of a pinch-hitter for the Brewers and grabbed his lineup card and went to the mound and sent relief-pitcher, Steve Cishek to left field, and inserted another reliever, Brian Duensing. He pitched to one Brewer and then Maddon switched Duensing and Cishek's places, moving Duensing to left-field and putting Cishek back on the mound.

It got weirder after Cishek got that Brewer out and Maddon made another switch, sending starting-catcher, Willson Contreras to left-field and putting Duensing back on the mound. Duensing got the out and the switch worked without a problem, but the Cubs still lost. Oh well, the Cubs are off today before they travel to St. Louis to play the 36 - 30, 3rd place Cardinals Friday night @ 8:15 p.m. EDT.

I better endeavor to keep the balance of this blog short or I'll be here later today and still be typing.

My beloved, 47 - 22, 2nd place in the AL East Red Sox, defeated the last place, 19 - 48 Orioles, 5 - 1 to sweep their three-game series. In addition, Mookie Betts was back in the outfield and contributed his 18th home-run and went 2 - 9 in the series. No rest for the Sox though, as they are off to Seattle to face the 41 - 24, 1st place in the AL West Mariners tonight @ 10:10 EDT.

The 32 -37, once again 2nd place in the AL Central Tigers took a game from the 29 - 35, 3rd place Twins, 5 - 2. The Tigers also get no rest as they play the Twins again today @ 1:10 p.m. EDT.

Sadly the 32 - 34, 4th in the MWL East, Caps lost their 4th straight as they dropped another to the last-place in the division Loons, 5 - 10. The Caps really are in free-fall and they need something or someone to spark them and get them back on top. I know they are an "A" level team, but they have been more competitive in recent seasons. The Caps and the Loons go at it again tonight @ 7:05 p.m. EDT.

I also went to the library last night to see a multi-media presentation about the Beatles White Album, entitled Carte Blanche. Beatles aficionados know that the White Album was the band's most stylistically diverse album and the only double album they ever produced and it's actual title was simply, The Beatles. Where Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band was more of collaborative effort in many ways, the White Albumhad no Beatles songs on it, instead all the songs on the two-record set  all had Ringo Starr on drums, the other band members didn't play together. It was during the recording of this album that Ringo got frustrated and planned to quit the group. However, all the other band members felt that they were more of a band than during the recording of Sgt. Peppers, which was less stylistically diverse than the White Album. Go figure.

So, that's enough for one blog. John will finish painting today, we'll get a visit from the landscape designer and the fur-children will get their lives back to normal. STWD is spending her nights here in my office and Ginger is moving her bed around the media room trying to get some feeling of normal in their disrupted lives. Me too.

A current temperature of 60° will lead to an overnight low of 57° under clear skies. Later today, the NWS is forecasting a high-temperature of 77° under sunny skies and with much lower humidity. The sun will rise this morning @ 6:04 a.m. and set later @ 9:25 p.m. Ciao.