More Football!

Tomorrow night (Thursday, August 29th) the ladies of

Team H.O.P.E.

and

~Simply the Breast~

will be at the

University of Phoenix Arizona Cardinals Stadium in Glendale!

We will once again be at the Touch Down Tortilla!

We will once again be selling beer and food.

If you are one of the thousands of people at the game,

please come see us!

Our lines are the fastest,

our ladies are the friendliest and happiest,

our nachos are the nacho cheesiest,

and our beer is the coldest!

Not just in the stadium but in the entire valley!

Gates open at 4:00

Game starts at 6:00

Tipping is allowed

All Tips go to the 3-day walk for Breast Cancer

(but we are not allowed to mention or suggest tipping at the stadium)

Join us and watch the Cardinals beat the

. . . um. . . hmmn. . .uhhh. . . .

the other guys!

.

Chrome!

Chrome, She can see herself
In the shiny grill and the
Wire wheels of a red Chevelle
with four on the floor and the top down

Chrome, zippin' by on an Electra Glide
With dual tail pipes doin' 105 in the broad daylight
On a two-lane headin' outta town

Chrome, got her leg up high
on the bumper of my big black Mack truck
With a smoke stack pointed towards the sky
And mud flaps, you know the kind

Yes, it's true that we are members of the 'Cult of the Pink' as one snarky blogger referred to people involved in Breast Cancer fundraising activities. Oh well. We were not at the vanguard of the cause so we didn't get a vote. Which is probably a good thing. Imagine hundreds of thousands of people trying to reach consensus on which color best represents the cause they are supporting? It's much better that these things evolve organically.

I'm trying very very very hard here to stay on topic and not wander into exploration of colors and symbols and colors as symbols. For instance I find it most fascinating that after years of "better dead than red" being a rather right wing sentiment that somehow states with larger right wing populations are now "red states".

I don't understand the evolution of the yellow ribbon going from a Tony Orlando and Dawn song about a man being released from prison, to being a symbol of hostages, to being a symbol for supporting the troops.

Not to mention the evolution of the ribbon itself being the agreed upon symbol of support of anything and everything.

As intriguing as the subject is - it is not our topic for today so we will leave it for now but shall return at our leisure.

The topic for today is chrome.
Not really, but this is how we're getting from point A to point B today so bear with me!



I mentioned that I did not get to vote on the internationally recognized color symbol for breast cancer awareness. (which, if you remember, is pink!)

If I had to pick a color to immerse myself in it would have been chrome. I know that chrome isn't technically a color. It isn't even a metal. Well, it is - but not really. Chromite is an ore that is mined to produce the element chromium. Chromium is added to steel (which is iron mixed with carbon) to produce stainless steel. Or you can take a hunk of steel, plate it with copper, then plate it with zinc, then plate it with chromium to achieve the chrome we are are referring to here.

So where would one go if they wanted to support breast cancer fundraising and yet preferred chrome to any of the nonmetallic colors, including pink?

I found out yesterday when the Pink Ribbon Tour held a rally before hitting the road on their tour across America. As I've mentioned here before the Pink Ribbon Tour is a phenomenal effort spearheaded by Dave Graybill, a firefighter. Mr. Graybill first came to my attention and won my heart when he convinced the folks at Maricopa Metals and others to build a giant polished steel ribbon. Is that not the prettiest thing?




So yesterday Mr. Graybill left Glendale on his way to Tucson and all points east.






He was escorted to Tucson by a swarm of motorcycles. I know when one thinks of Bikers' causes one usually thinks of their undying commitment to the POW/MIA issue or the many 'Toys for Tots' efforts at holidays but apparently many are also big supporters of breast cancer causes. Many of the bikers present yesterday were wearing the cool t-shirts from the pink ribbon tour. Not just the lady bikers and not just the black t-shirts.

The star of the event was the pink fire truck but one could not help but admire the acre of chromium plated bikes or the other big shiny firetrucks from all over the valley.







(And if I were not a happily married woman I probably would have noticed and appreciated the young, clean cut firefighters and the not so young and not so clean cut - but oh so wild and sexy riders.)

Which reminds me - I know in these enlightened times we are not supposed to value atavistic concepts like machismo. Fine. But if we were tempted to appreciate unbridled masculinity then we would definitely have to give the Air Force the "Most Macho Fire Truck on the Planet" award.




Which reminds me - yes I know the mudflaps that referenced in the song quoted at the beginning of the post do offend some people. I can definitely understand why.

And yet when two Arizona legislators last year introduced an amendment to a safety bill to outlaw 'offensive' or 'hateful' mudflaps including but not limited to these; I found myself suddenly defending the ubiquitous chrome bimbos.

Which leads me to a suggestion. Because chrome is not currently a recognizable color symbol of any particular group or cause or disease or corporation ~ ~ ~ ~ I propose that from here on out we accept Chrome as the international color of freedom!




. . .

RE: Spacey. Did not 'space' on pic

A few sharp eyed (and sharp-tongued ) readers noticed that I made a reference to Kevin Spacey and the movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" and yet the picture showed Mr. Spacey in the movie "The Negotiator"

Contrary to what some may think, this was not an error. Here at Team H.O.P.E. we have a policy of never making errors unless they are large enough to warrant a spot on the evening news and/or make for a fun Jeannie story.

The thing with the picture was deliberate. Because we weren't really talking about Mr. Spacey and we were not talking about any particular movie.

We mentioned the movie in passing because something triggered that particular memory cell. Which jumped a synapse to the Kevin Spacey file in our brain.

Now Mr. Spacey was brilliant in the midnight/garden movie. But he was also a tad bit effeminate.



Not that there's anything wrong with that -
it's just that when I think about Kevin Spacey my mind goes straight to the strong and wise and honorable and sexy character he played in "Negotiator"

We will get back to our Team H.O.P.E. and Simply the Breast exploits soon, for today we will just daydream abit about Mr. Spacey:

Okay - the last two are more Nightmarish than Daydreamish - but they just go to show that Mr. Spacey is an extraordinary actor - and not just a sex symbol!











...

...

Hoe, Hoe, Hoe

Don't worry, this isn't a post about Christmas in July or Christmas in December or Santa Clause or anything like that. Although there is a gift involved. . . .

Today we bring you another insightful and penetrating 'Pink Ribbon Product Review'!

First, of course I have to give you some background. Any old reviewer can pluck an item off of a shelf, use it, and then discuss the good points and bad points. But that's not what y'all are paying me for. (ha ha ha, ha ha!) Y'all want the story behind the item, you want human drama, you demand well constructed plots and a lively narrative.

So sit right back and you'll hear a tale. . . . .

Here at Team H.O.P.E. and Simply the Breast we have activities that are as varied and diverse as we are as a group. We had our fun and elegant and feminine Christmas in July Tea, we do the raucous and athletic football concession thing, we are planning a golf tournament like no other, and of course we have done the standing on the corner thing.

I am willing to do pretty much anything for the cause. One day I made a reference to being a woman who will do anything, including soliciting on the street corner, if there is money to be made. So the next day my Team H.O.P.E. friends bought me a little thank you gift.







That's right. Aren't they the sweetest, most considerate friends a person could have? I must think of a way to reciprocate their kindness. But until then we will do our standard "Pink Ribbon Product Review"

This hoe is made by a company named Bond. The pink ribbon label states that "a portion of all proceeds from the garden for the cause tools will go directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation."

A portion? How big a portion? Net or gross proceeds? I have questions! So I go to the Internet, wherein lies all truths. I do a search for Bond Garden Cause.

One of the sites that Google thought I might be looking for was this one:



Apparently it is a fan site for a group (a singing group? I dunno) called Bond. The website is called Midnight Garden.

Not to be confused with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - A truly great book and movie. Don't you just adore Kevin Spacey?



Uh oh. . . . I seem to be wandering off track again. Where were we? Ah yes, we were trying to find out how much money Bond Manufacturing is giving to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Don't know - that info was not detailed at either the Bond site or the NBCF site.

So we can't evaluate the worthiness of the ribbon but we can evaluate the product.

Well, it's pink - there's no doubt about that. It is 54 inches long. The shaft (Miss Linda - you just stop your giggling right now! This is serious!) is made of fiberglass so it shouldn't warp. The blade is supposedly sharpened but it isn't what one would call razor sharp. I'm not even sure if it would be considered hoe sharp.
But the good news is that one is not likely to accidentally sever a digit or a limb.


The head is inserted into the shaft and secured by a steel rivet - which is a good thing.

But can it cut weeds? Well, I guess I should try it out. The only problem with that is that if my husband catches me hoeing he will think, "Oh, she can do the yardwork", and I'm not sure that's a risk I'm willing to take right now. Can't I just talk about how pretty my hoe is and leave it at that?

Okay, okay. I can't call myself an expert reviewer if I won't actually use the product being reviewed. Such a tough row to hoe.

The label clearly states: "Sharpened blade edge penetrates tough ground with reduced effort." and "Easy penetration of a variety of materials designed for efficient moving and lifting."



Ummmm. Not so much. Now, granted, I am not a world class hoer. I avoid hoeing and weeding and all manner of yard work. So maybe all hoes require you to hack wildly at a weed for ten minutes, spewing dust and dirt and gravel and little weed fragments until the actual weed succumbs. I don't know. Maybe that's why so many people risk the wrath of the green police and wantonly use vegetation killer in a bottle. All I know is that as much as I appreciate the kind and thoughtful gift from my friends; you will not find me out hoeing anytime soon!

I hate to say bad things about a pink ribbon product so I will go back to how nice it looks. Except that now the pretty pink paint is all scratched and chipped. Heavy sigh.



Oh, and speaking of gardening I have to share with y'all something that happened yesterday. I needed to bring some golf tournament fliers over to Kristine. When I arrived at her house her son told me she was out back. I went out into her backyard and there is Miss Kristine mowing the lawn. Which is a reasonable thing for a person with a yard to be doing.

Then I notice her husband sitting there in a lawn chair, all kicked back in the shade, drinking a cold beer and watching Kristine mow the lawn. Needless to say this irritated me. In fact it enraged me.

I looked him straight in the eye and told him, "David - you ought to be hung!"

He smiled at me and replied, "I am. That's why she's willing to mow the lawn"


. . .

Christmas in July Pics

Setting up the night before.
I always thought Miss Jeannie was in charge,
but this looks like one of the Tinas is taking over.



Miss Jeannie fighting with a tree?



Looks like Jeannie won!


This is Tina, our OSHA compliance officer.

I'm beginning to suspect that Tina is a little shorter than some.

You can't hide your lying eyes.

We think she needs reading glasses but we are afraid to tell her!

I tried to get a picture of Jeannie when she wasn't yapping into the microphone but. . . . .

Dude!
What a big. . . . . . .
basket you have!

Formal wear flip flops? Welcome to the desert!

Yes, I know. Southern Living. Not Southern Loving.

The not so bossy Tina! No offense other Tinas!

Toni and Mo. Mo is a saint.
When she isn't being a Tea Party Cook and Hostess,
she is saving lives and caring for the extremely injured.

Hmmmn? They seem awfully ladylike for alleged TomBoys!

Of course the Flip Flop lady would win the scarf and the Ski Package!



. . .