The Last of the Doughboys

doughboy.jpgAlthough yesterday was officially Veterans Day, every day is Veterans Day for me. By virtue of my choice of practice, I have the privilege of providing eye care to “him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan” (and increasingly these days, her as well).

I consider it an honor and a privilege to care for these men and women who are, by and large, among the most decent, salt-of-the-earth folks you’ll ever meet. Indeed, they are cut from a finer grade of cloth than any politician who ever sent them into battle. At this point in my career, if I was suddenly thrust into a situation where I had to care for the well-to-do and whiny LASIK/liposuction crowd, I would probably end up strangling someone in frustration.… Read the rest

Migrating Blogs

migrating-birds.jpgFor those of you who might have stopped by since last Saturday, you probably noticed that the old blog appeared deader than a doorknob. You may have thought: Uh oh, The Eyeguy’s done up and gone off the deep end this time–he’s committed blogicide.

Nah. I would never do that. But my blog has been “migrating.”

Which leads to the following question: When blogs migrate, do they fly in formation?

Well, here’s the short of it. Basically, my hosting company was bought out by an outfit called NaviSite. Now you would think with a cool name like NaviSite that they would actually know what the heck they were doing and have a clue about navigating and migrating and such.… Read the rest

A Hot Time In T-town

It looks like it’s going to be a hot time in T-town tomorrow night.

A few minutes ago, I received this email from the University of Alabama Athletic Department:

Dear Crimson Tide Fan:

As we approach the home stretch of our 2007 home football schedule, I want to thank each of you for your support throughout this season, both at Bryant-Denny and at the away venues. You have helped make a difference for Coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide football team, and all of us at the University are appreciative of your contribution each and every Saturday.

Certainly, this weekend’s game presents a challenge not only to our team and coaches but to our game management personnel as well.

… Read the rest

Now That’s Trickeration

I was in Jackson, Mississippi with Number Three Son on Saturday attending The Crossroads of the South Invitational sponsored by The Jackson Futbol Club. Kudos to the club and the city for putting on one of the best tournaments we’ve ever attended.

Number Three’s U-15 United squad played very well, winning their bracket by defeating a Chicago Fire junior team 3-1. Despite carrying the field in both possession and shots on goal in the semifinal, we fell 1-0 off a free kick from 35 yards out (one of only 3 shots on goal our opponents had all afternoon) that slipped past our keeper’s fingers and just under the crossbar.… Read the rest

She’s No Lumberjack’s Wife

All you Fusioneers who are waiting around with bated breath for the reincarnation resurrection of Ocular Fusion into whatever-the-heck-it’s-gonna-become are no doubt starving for something good to read in my absence.

Well, never fear, my friend Jason is here. Jason, former youth minister and now associate minister and right hand man to the Big Kahuna, would be the first to tell you that he’s not afraid to explore the feminine side of things, and of course, these days, there’s no shame in that. So it was no surprise, really, that he freely admits to reading this.

He got one thing wrong, though–she’s no lumberjack’s wife.… Read the rest

Registration, Please

policestop1.jpgI hate to do it, but I’m going to have to ask for registration prior to any future comments. I’ve had some malicious spam that has slipped through my Super-Duper Askimet Spam Zapper the past two days, both times apparently resulting in some corruption of my WordPress files.

For you 35 or so regular commenters, it’s really no big deal. You just do a one-time registration (no one besides me will see your name or email), then you’ll receive a password. When you log back in you’ll have the option to change the password to one of your choice, and then all you have to do is ask your browser to remember the password when it prompts you.… Read the rest

Uh, Hey Vols

Uh, hey Vols. Uh, hey Vols. Uh, hey Vols.

We just beat the, well, you know, crap out of you.

Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, give’em, well, you know, heck Alabama!

Roll Tide, Roll!

UPDATE 10/22: For those of you from other parts of the country and world who may be unsure of what I’m talking about, here’s the Full Monty version of the “Rammer Jammer” from field level. This is what it sounded like to Phil Fulmer.

Take a good listen, Tommy–you’re next.

… Read the rest

Persona Non Bloggus

There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven:

…a time to be silent, and a time to speak.

Ecclesiastes 3, v.1 and v.7

Two years ago yesterday, I launched out onto the “bloggy cybersea.” Somehow I managed to survive the use of that horrible turn of phrase and go on to write 526 other posts in 64 categories which generated 4,195 comments. Some of those comments came from me, a good deal of them from pesky spammers hawking everything from cheap, cheesy porn to counterfeit Nike shoes (those have been fried for the most part by my Super-Duper Askimet Spam Zapper and don’t figure into the total count), but most came from the likes of you, my beloved Fusioneers, whom I have come to appreciate very much.… Read the rest

It’s All About “The Process”

Now that the Crimson Nation has suffered through “The Recent Unpleasantness,” it’s time for a sobering return to earth via the good folks at RollBamaRoll and realfootball365.

Okay, Tiders, stop sucking on those Kool-Aid straws. I hate to say I told you so, but, well, I did. I predicted several losses and now I see us finishing 8-4 or maybe even 7-5 after the last two weeks have revealed significant chinks in the armor. Conference USA champ Houston will be coming to T-town this weekend for Homecoming (we have tickets–woo hoo!), and this test will be a real barometer of the direction of the rest of the season.… Read the rest

Happy Birthday, Eyegal!

eyegal.jpg
** years ago today, Eyegal was born. The world has not been the same since. Especially my world.

Eyegal, I just want you to know that those arbitrary chronological units based on the orbit of the Earth around the Sun mean nothing to me. You’re still hotter than a Fourth of July firecracker. Period.

Happy Birthday, Dear Heart. Everybody now: Happy Birthday, Eyegal!

… Read the rest

Pray for Lamar

I realize that very few of you know Lamar Jackson, but take my word for it: He’s a great guy. Lamar played club and high school soccer with Number One Son, and he is a sophomore pharmacy student at Ole Miss. Like many college kids in town, he had come back to Huntsville to rendezvous with friends at Big Spring Jam. On his way back to Oxford, he apparently fell asleep at the wheel and was injured badly in a single car accident near Tupelo Sunday evening.

Things were touch and go for a while and he was on a respirator, but he is now able to breathe on his own.… Read the rest

That’s the Way Soccer Should Be

Watching 16-year-old boys play soccer at a very high level is not for the faint of heart. They are insanely quick, closing down the available space in the blink of an eye; if you find yourself thinking about your next decision of what to do with the ball, it’s already too late. And the physical contact? Brace yourself, because it hurts just watching. They are young kamikazes in colorful kits who have no regard for their own bodies or the bodies of their opponents. They are young rams testing their mettle in head-to-head combat, guarding their turf as if it were a matter of life or death.… Read the rest

Home! Sweet Home!

I was up way too early this morning, the insomnia calling out to me like the cock’s crow.

But as I made my way through the hall and toward the coffee pot, I noticed that the doors to all three of the boy’s rooms were shut, meaning that they were all home (Number One is visiting from T-town this weekend to attend Big Spring Jam).

I must say, knowing that all of us were under one roof for the first time in a while left me with the deepest sense of satisfaction and joy.

Home! Sweet home!

… Read the rest