Over the weekend, we watched (or sobbed at) Disney's movie "Eight Below." Those dogs seemed closer to humans than many humans. It was a great study of anthropomorphism like Elizabeth Marshall Thomas beautifully described in her book, "The Hidden Life of Dogs." I am a sap for dog shows or stories of any kind.

One of the most touching moments I recall in golf happened yesterday after Darren Clarke won his Ryder Cup match for the Europeans. He cried, hugged people and showed real emotion. When Tiger went to him and talked, hugged and shed a tear with him, I was touched.  Tiger lost his dad in May and Darren lost his wife in June. It was Clarke's first golf event since her death. It was good to see some empathy and shared emotion. I think emotion is the reason the Europeans have such a good Ryder Cup record. They bonded as teammates where the Americans seem to have a hard time being team players. (Hmmm...that idea might apply in many other areas, too.) Having played team events, I think the chemistry among team members is as important as the skill level. I think the Americans could learn from the Europeans.

It's a relief to have R finally feeling better. We played a golf tournament Saturday and played again yesterday. I was happy when he suggested we play yesterday. He is not a person to complain about anything. When he says he's not well, it's got be serious. His cold is finally going away, his knees and back are feeling better, too. He's been so used to being a big, tough guy throughout his life, it's had him bummed. It's good see him happy again.

Just when I think Jerry Falwell can't get any lower, he opens his mouth and amazes me... again. In a way, I think the ranting, right-wing, Neo-Cons are helping the centrist cause. People are put off by such extremes. I hope the voters show up in November and prove the point that extreme partisanship on either side isn't what we want in our government anymore. It'll give McCain or Giuliani a better chance of being nominees.

My coffee is tasting better this morning than most. I couldn't have any until after this nurse came and took two tubes of blood, two tubes of urine, my height (5'1"), weight (128), blood pressure (119/80), and pulse (yes, I had one).  My Wells Fargo portfolio manager suggested that I roll over the cash value from a life insurance policy I've had for about twenty years into my Roth IRA. He suggested looking into a new term life policy which will double my coverage for about the same or less money per month. Hence, the nurse's visit for the underwriters.