Who's In Focus?

I'm In Focus! In case you haven't yet read J-Law's "hot scoop" on the Tag Board, my picture is on the front page of the In Focus section of the Herald News today. It's actually a picture of a lot of people, but Courtney, Melanie and I are among them. You may remember my July 1 entry about the Dancing Couple at that Saturday's Jackhammers game. Well today the Herald has a special picture page (sorry, no Bill Cosby) about Jackhammer rain delays and features a large picture of the Dancing Couple in all their glory, surrounded by amazed onlookers. Courtney, Melanie and I are in the top right corner. I'm the one with the hand in front of my mouth in disbelief. I am thrilled to have this moment in time captured on film, a shout out goes to Robert Sumner for his artistry.

In other news: Friday night, as usual, I recovered from Thursday's antics with a trip to the movies. Courtney and I saw Freaky Friday, and it was a cute movie. There was really nothing noteworthy enough to merit a full review, except that Jamie Lee Curtis didn't frighten me quite as much as usual, and I was creeped out by the teenage boy who seemed to be trying to get with Jamie Lee after she and her daughter swapped bodies, just a little too Ashton Kutcher-Demi Moore to be amusing. That being said, I'd give it about three stars, fine family fun.

Saturday night Melanie and I headed out to the Village O'Shorewood (side note: I was a Shorewood trustee for a day during Youth in Government in 8th grade) for the Shorewood Crossroads Fest. Despite the title, I was sad to see that Bone Thugs N Harmony were not performing. Our time was spent in the beer tent enjoying free beverages (thank you Eric for the tickets, they were put to good use) and watching the band, Five Guys Named Moe. There were some fine Whiskey Tangoers shaking their booties (and in the case of one man in a Hawaiian shirt, smacking his wife's booty) to the sounds of the band. The highlight (or lowlight, if you will) for me was a couple sucking face on the dancefloor. Why so funny? The ponytailed male half of the couple was wearing a Just Do Me shirt. Think Nike's "Just Do It" slogan, only cleverly substituting the "It" for "Me." I don't know if these things are back in vogue or if Spit Swapping Sammie had saved his from 1993 when these things first hit the suburban festival scene. We met up with Courtney, Rob and Mike and headed over to Bedrocks, where we left almost as soon as we entered due to the lack of a lively atmosphere, and went to Grapevine. The atmosphere was not especially thriving there either, but for some reason it's hard to find a good bar on the weekends in Joliet. Suggestions? Let me know.

Sunday night I went over to St. Joe's with Megan and Melanie. It was the St. Ann's Parish Picnic, and the crowd was hopping, but one very important thing was missing: smokies. There were no smokies for sale at Sunday's picnic. I had a hot dog, but it just wasn't the same. However, I did wear my new tee-shirt to the picnic that says "Joe" on the front and "Mamma" on the back, which entertained several elderly men who also claimed to be named Joe. I'm now debating whether to never wear the shirt again or wear it on many occasions, with my choice leaning toward the latter. My favorite observation of the evening came from Melanie as we watched the elderly set get their polka on. We noticed a couple pairs of elderly women dancing in each others arms with solemn expressions, and Melanie commented, "I wonder if that turns the old men on."
That's all for now, I'll be back soon with more "News You Can Use," including my favorite Blotter entry from this weekend.