Miss Debbie bought a small angel at Hallmark to place at Ma's grave. That's a cough drop on the far right. In the spirit of my mother and grandmother we picked up the plastic flowers on the road at the cemetery. Ma always had a piece of hard candy that she offered you the first time you coughed. What a gal!

Fridays

No, this isn't the last supper. It's from December 21st I believe. Jesus brought the pork chops according to George Carlin.

If you're reading this at work right now you need to induce vomiting (like Jason Bateman in Horrible Bosses) and get the hell out of there making sure to stop at the liquor store on the way home.

Mrs co-workers spent a decent amount of time dissing the relatives they had to see for Christmas and then told her it was too bad her family lived so far away.

I'm pretty sure we'll be at the Mall Of America tomorrow watching the desperate bastards trying to find presents for the old lady. It's a thing of beauty.

I just got back from the late morning dog walk and I must say it's a little chilly out there. However, this is a better time of the year to walk a dog who hates the sight of every other dog.

I wasn't the one doing Amy Koch just so you know.

Will all 4 people who didn't buy their Pugsley/Mukluk with a 40 percent bike shop discount please go ride their bike. You people who live in some God-forsaken outpost like Saint Cloud are also excused. C'mon, you know I love you kids in St Cloud and the Soo Foo (Sioux Falls, SD).

I have fended off every effort to get me to leave my house on Christmas Day. I shall walk a dog when necessary and dine elegantly on aerosol cheese and crackers. Four boxes for seven bucks at the grocery store. Natch.

Let's hear it for Ma on what would have been her 88th birthday.

Yeah Red, it's not Fletch.

So Blagojevich gets 14 years for corruption and Michael Jackson's doctor gets 4 years for basically killing him. That sounds right. Is that 3 or 4 Illinois governors who have gone to prison for their generous acts? How's that line from Apocalypse Now go? 'Accusing a guy of murder here is like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500'. Same thing goes for Illinois politics.

I really like this part of winter. I'm trying to keep riding my bike. I drop Mrs off with the car and then park the car back in the garage. I then ride my bike the 2.5 miles to Midtown for the amazing coffee clutch. After the gainfully employed kids leave for work I ride another hour and a half or so. That's plenty of time out in the cold.

I also spend about 45 minutes walking the Assassin when I get home. The girl has to read her pee mail out on the street.

It's sentencing day for our old buddy Blagojevich. From what the legal analyst on WGN said yesterday, I'm setting the over/under at 12 years. They should build a politician's wing at some federal prison. These guys shouldn't be in with the general population and become some bad man's boyfriend.

Fridays

Happy Friday, boys and girls.

Not all that grueling but very enjoyable. And I didn't bust my ass once on the slippery streets.