Blind Taj Mahal

Duck season is opening in a few weeks. In that spirit I offer a picture of this multi-level,multi-hunter Duck Blind sent to me by one of the Duck Hunting websites I peruse on a frequent basis. Part of me laughs at this over-grown hunting tenement and thinks it is absurd. However, another part of me is envious and thinks this mallard hunting monstrosity is very cool. Either way, the boys at the Club are cleaning the Semi Auto 12's and stocking up on #4 hevi-Shot for opening day. They will probably start e-mailing me to ask about the opening Eve menu....

Skippers and Coaches

As a Philly sports fan one admires Charlie Manuel for getting his team to 100 wins this season. Charlie and his boys have 2 NL Pennants and 1 World Series ring to offer to faithful baseball fans here in the Quaker City. When Charlie is interviewed fans enjoy a delightful mix of folksy baseball wisdom and self deprecating and humble gratitude for his players. Charlie is staight forward and forthcoming about injuries and a players status and does his best to answer post game questions and be a gentleman in the Press Conference. He is an intense Manager and has engineered the World Championship that wet the throat of the parched Philly fans....and at the same time he lacks a certain patina of arrogance that is distressingly prevalent in today's professional Sports world.....and we love hm for that.

On balance, Eagles faithful have to suffer through the wheezing, throat honking, canned nonsense that Andy Reid offers up after games. He routinely says the same obtuse and evasive" I gotta do a better job positioning my players to succeed" twaddle at every press conference. He goes through his little spiel and then blurts:" "Times yerz" before allowing only a few questions and not proffering anything substantive. The die hard Eagles faithful deserve something more on the line of what Manuel provides.
The Eagles have had some mimpressive success during Reid's tenure....NFC champs several times and an ill-fated trip to the Superbowl in 2004. Much of this winning way can be chalked up to a weak NFC East over the past several years. Now that there is more parity in the Division, the Eagles have looked hapless.....as they did Sunday in the embarrassing loss to the hated N.Y. Football Giants. This Sportsman fears it will be a long season. In the meantime....Let's Go Phils!! Go get 'em Charlie!

Back From Mexico

The Anniversary trip to the Ritz Carlton in Cancun was wonderful. I will endeavor to report on same when the photos are e-mailed from my wife's computer. Suffice it to say, this particular Ritz property is an oasis of luxury and civility perched on the Mexican coast. Through a client we were comped a suite worthy of Kate & William for a ridiculous price per night and we received the full "Sinatra treatment" from the moment we arrived.

In the meantime, the early duck season is open and I am heading down to the Club tomorrow evening to hopefully shoot some Teal. These early season birds are fast and sometimes plentiful...they are also extremely tasty on the grill!

A Personal and Professional Loss

When the phone rang this morning at 6 A.M., I knew it was going to be ill tidings. When I answered, a friend advised : "Shep passed away yesterday."
"Shep" was the Honorable Albert W. Sheppard,Jr. He was the Judge I clerked for when I graduated form Law School. He was a mentor,a teacher, a gentleman and a stellar jurist of integrity and scholarly legal wisdom. He helped me hone my legal writing skills, told me which lawyers to watch in the court room to learn the chops of a litigator....and he was a friend. Furthermore, he officiated at our wedding ceremony 20 years ago this Wednesday.His son went to Lehigh with me and the Sheppards treated me like a trusted family member. Shep imparted to me the tenets of what he called "intellectual honesty" in the practice of Law and of loyalty to the client, the litigants and the black letter of the law itself. He convinced me that there is no such thing as great legal writing....only great legal RE-writing. He will be missed on the bench and in the community. I am profoundly saddened by this news.

The following is an excerpt from the Penna. Bar Association text when Shep was given the prestigious William Brenna award:

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Senior Judge Albert W. Sheppard Jr. will receive the Association's Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Distinguished Jurist Award at the Association's Oct. 20 Quarterly Meeting and Luncheon.
The award recognizes a jurist who adheres to the highest ideals of judicial service. Any member of the state or federal bench, whether active or retired, who has made a significant, positive impact on the quality or administration of justice in Philadelphia is eligible for consideration. Examples of accomplishments worthy of nomination include innovations in court administration, implementation of pioneering case management techniques, assumption of a leadership role in areas affecting the administration of justice, publication of a significant opinion, article, or other scholarly work, or the like.

P.S. Apologies for the poor photo quality of the image of Shep and I shaking hands on my last day of work in his Chambers....the scan did not work to well....but blurring my countenance is probably a good thing....and the point gets across...

Sunday Random Shots

The Dove hunting this week was miserable. The thought is that Irene and her fury drove all the migratory doves out of Kent County. My son did have a beautiful 35 yard left to right crossing shot and I popped a few. The sunflowers pictured are NOT what our field looked like this year....drought in May and June gave is a dessicated stalk of only waist height which did not help for hunter concealment. Well, the pig roast and camraderie was good anyway.
I went at it again with my buddy Wight yesterday A.M. and only shot one...but we had a great time catching up and a tremendous crab feast at Sambo's in Liepsic friday evening. Wight came down from Connecticut and I picked him up at the Wilmington Train station on Friday. We got a few hours in the dove field Friday evening before the crab dinner and had some icy cold beers and good conversation in the field while sitting on the back of my F-150 tailgate. Nothing like a post-hunt brew with one of your oldest friends to make things seem in equilibrium.
My daughter had her horse grazing in our back yard yesterday and this picture rounds out the random images....along with the spectacular view from the window of the master suite on Lower Saranac lake where we stayed during our recent trip...and a shot of my wife and I with our best friends Bonnie and Glenn at Glenn's parent's Camp on Lake Colby...around the corner from Lower Saranac.
So, last randomalia is a few pictures of the Ritz in Cancun. We cannot wait to head to the Ritz Carlton in Cancun on Tuesday morning to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. I have some special celbratory things planned for the trip....and to satisfy my inner Sportsman, I will get in a 4 hour Marlin deep sea fishing venture on Saturday morning while my lovely wife enjoys the hotel Spa.
Enjoy the waning of Summer and get ready for Waterfowl and small game seasons which will be here shortly!