Why do I keep trying to play golf?  I never cared about the sport.  In fact, I never really considered it a sport.  In my mind, in order for something to be a sport I have to hit somebody.  Anything you can do while drinking or smoking is nothing more than a way to pass the time.  For some reason, though, when I was 30 my Dad convinced me to pick up a golf club.  If you know anything about golf, you know I started about 22 years late.  I'm I pretty athletic guy, or at least I used to be, so I thought golf was going to be easy.  HA!  So far, this is the the only time I've successfully put anything into a hole on a golf course:



One of the organizations we support at Hot Mix 101.9 is the First Tee of Northwest Arkansas.  It teaches kids life lessons through the game of golf.  One of the girls in the First Tee is Courtney Burris...she's 17 and a senior at Har-Ber High.  She qualified at a tournament in Pebble Beach, one of the meccas of golf in the U.S.  And she hit a hole in one yesterday during her practice round!  Courtney is half my age and half my size and she's done something that most professional golfers haven't done and something I'll never do. Never, because I'm about to throw my clubs in the lake and move on to something less frustrating.  Maybe rocket science.

I don't know why I stayed up to watch the opening night of the Democratic National Convention last night.  I'm not even a Democrat (I'm not a Republican, either.  Or a Communist).  Anyway, there I was watching Michelle Obama's speech about her life with Sen. Obama and why he should be elected. 



She talked about her background and what's important to her, and at the end of the speech it occurred to me that the Democrats have nominated the wrong Obama.  I'm serious.  Of all the people involved in the presidential election right now, she's the only one I want to vote for.  Maybe I was just really tired or gullible or something, but her speech sounded that good to me.  I want to know who wrote that speech, and maybe I'll vote for that person.  Maybe I'm just looking for someone other than the two candidates to vote for...anyway, if you're interested, for the full text of Mrs. Obama's speech click here.

This will be my last word on the Olympics...for the next two years, anyway.  The opening and closing ceremonies were spectacular, Michael Phelps was great, and it was a lot of fun watching the U.S. athletes win lots of different competitions.

Sometimes though, for whatever reason, you find yourself rooting for somebody from another country.  You know that Visa commercial narrated by Morgan Freeman when he says maybe it's not where an athlete is from that makes us root for them, but it's the fact that they are human, and we are human, and when they succeed we suceed?  It's true...and sometimes success can be defined as something much more than winning.

This is Samia Yusuf Omar.  She competed in the women's 200 meters, and she finished dead last.  Click her picture to read about her and why she might be her country's greatest Olympic success.  And how we take so much for granted.

I must admit, I'm getting a little sick of this year's presidential election, and it hasn't even officially started yet.  And I speak as somebody with an interest in politics...after all, these are the men and women we elect to make important decisions for us.  The problem is, we aren't usually given a very good selection.  Take this year's presumptive presidential candidates, for example.  Sen. John McCain apparently is the best the Republicans can offer.



The man doesn't know how many houses he owns.  He says he doesn't know much about the economy.  If elected, he will have his freaking finger on the red button.  And the Democrats would have us believe Sen. Barack Obama is some sort of mythical figure sent by the gods to put our country back on track.



Five years ago this dude was the president of his neighborhood watch, and now he wants to be President of the United States.  Apparently all the countries around the world that hate us now will love us the when he's inaugurated.  Everybody will lay down their guns and we'll all sing together in harmony.

And now it's gotten dirty, with Sen. McCain questioning Sen. Obama's patriotism and ability to lead.  Obama is running ads saying McCain favors rich folks and doesn't care about the middle class.  What about the issues?  Remember the war in Iraq?  Gas prices are high, housing prices aren't, the U.S. dollar is losing value, we have a growing trade deficit with China, Americans are losing jobs, Social Security is going bankrupt...what are we going to do about all that?  I'm an independent, so I don't vote by party.  And honestly, I'm not that excited about either one of these guys taking the oath.  I always say that if you don't vote you don't have the right to complain, but this year I'm starting to understand why lots of people don't vote.  I'm not saying I'll stay home on election day, but I don't have a clue which lever I'll be pulling.  Can we do the primaries over again and maybe come up with some better candidates??