Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 2:00 a.m. in "The City."

I'm going to change my focus a bit this morning because this is my son's birthday. How old is he today? Well, let's just say that he is mature, just like his parents.

I am very proud of Adam. In all the years I have know him, he has been a good son and a good man. While no man is perfect, I can say that he has been there for us through many changes. His wife, Stephany, is part of who he has become too, and so we are thankful for her too.

However, this is supposed to be about A.J, so let me begin near the beginning. It must have been about this time in the early morning hours of September 7, when Mary woke me and told me it was time to go to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL for Adam's arrival. Since it was not a dark and stormy night, and there was no traffic to contend with, I never got to drive like a madman on the way to the hospital. I guess that some father's do, but we made most of the lights and arrived safely.

In those days, fathers were finally being allowed into the delivery room. While it wasn't a novelty, fathers were usually excluded from the birthing area and confined to the waiting room nearby. We had prepared for Adam's arrival with Lamaze classes to facilitate the process. As I recall, he was nine lbs, nine oz, and 23 inches in length. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say, I was not in the room when Adam was born.

Where was I? I was in the father's waiting room when the hospital chaplain came in in his clerical collar and asked if I was there. When you see someone dressed in clerical garb asking for you, you conjure up all sorts of scenarios, none of then good. However, the chaplain was there to tell me that both Mary and Adam were fine. I don't remember much after that.

The usual things happened for the first few years, and I watched as Mary did a great job of guiding Adam towards becoming the self-sufficient adult that he is today. Elementary, high-school, and college all seemed to happen so fast. I'll leave it to Stephany to make the final determination, but I think that he turned out fine.

If he has one fatal flaw, it's that he inherited the car gene from both his mother and me. He has bought, driven, sold, and worked on more cars than most men do in a lifetime. Naturally, he became a banker. Go figure. Fortunately, he got a math gene from somewhere, perhaps his maternal grandmother, and so he is in the right profession.

There are a lot of stories that I could relate, but instead, I'll just wish Adam a Happy Birthday!

We have a current temperature of 60°, very similar to the morning of Adam's birth. We are supposed to drop to an overnight low of 53°. Today's high after the sun rises @ 7:16 a.m. and well before it sets @ 8:08 p.m. will be a very comfortable 74° under partly-cloudy skies.

The Caps are on their way. They are moving on to the MWL East championship series against either the Lansing Lug Nuts, or the Bowling Green Hot Rods. The Caps first game in round two will be Saturday night @ 6:00 p.m.

The Cubs took 10 innings, but a solid double by David Bote pushed across Albert Almora Jr. and sent Cubs fans home happy and Nationals fans home to wait until next year, following the Cubs' 6 - 4 win. The Cubs and the Nats play again tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

Both the Red Sox and the Tigers were off yesterday. The Sox open a series tonight against the Astros @ 7:10 p.m. in Fenway Park en route to the AL East championship, while the Tigers play out the string and open a series in Comerica Park against the St. Louis Cardinals, also @ 7:10 p.m.

Mary tried a new recipe for dinner last night, a slightly modified version of cheeseburger pizza. I loved it! I started to make vegan jerky after I got back from my walk with STWD. Mary arrived before I was done. She had been out taking pictures with Ginger and both Mary and I think this is my best effort to date. I too modified the recipe as I went along, something that I feel more comfortable doing these days.

Today. Mary has requested that I make more of my famous vegan stir fry. I have rice left over from my last effort, so I am ready to go. Some chopping, dicing and sauteing and lunch will be served.

Otherwise, we have nothing, and I mean nothing, on tap for today. Adam and Steph are out of town, so we'll call him later this morning. Ciao.