Bryan’s Blog

I took my mother and my son on a trip to upstate New York to visit family. We stayed at the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge, which has an indoor waterpark. One of the rides is a wave simulator called a FlowRider, where riders can boogie board on a wave-like surface. Well, my 5-year old says to me, “I want to go on that!”

So, we stood in line and waited for our turn. I was a little unsure, since there was a lot of teens in line. I figured we were just going to waste time, especially since it was almost closing time.

Now it’s his turn…

He certainly wasn’t the best rider there, but he did great! Even the kids in line were cheering for him. Then he wiped out and had his pants pulled down by the force of the water. What a riot!

I know…the Eagles won yesterday! I should be happy about that, but I’m not. They looked bad, and should be thanking the Redskins for letting them steal a win on the road. But sorry fellow Eagles fans, we are not a good team. I wouldn’t be surprised if we lose to Miami next week, and I certainly don’t have any expectations against New England.

Let’s examine some points…

• McNabb did look a little better, in terms of his mobility. But for nine years I’ve watched this guy throw into the dirt on short passes. There’s no finesse, no soft touch at all. As John Madden said last week, no wonder he doesn’t get intercepted that much, he’s not throwing it well enough to give anyone a chance to catch it.
• Where’s the D-line? Patterson had a decent game with 6 tackles. What happened to Trent Cole? Howard? Kearse? Those two talented free agents combined for 1 tackle and 2 assists…COMBINED!
• Hey secondary!!!!!! James Thrash…JAMES THRASH!!!!! (I can’t even write about it)
• The one bright spot is still B-West. Granted, you have to give some credit to the O-line, in particular Runyan and Andrews, but Westbrook can make a guy look silly. I’m not sure what that says about a team where one guy is the leading rusher and receiver, but give credit to this workhorse.

Logic would suggest that we should handle Miami, in all honesty, but you can’t go into that game with too much confidence. Look at the Saints-Rams this week. Any given Sunday…

Hey folks, have you seen the election results? Pitiful…

I’m not talking about the actual results, but the turnout. According to the Mercury, only 30.48% of the registered voters turned up at the polls. Are you kidding me?

Guess what people, the 70% of you who didn’t vote, don’t bitch when the shit hits the fan! As far as I’m concerned, unless you are on your deathbed, you have no excuse not to vote, regardless of how important (or not important) this particular election happens to be.

I don’t particularly like to talk about politics, as I’m not the most informed guy on the planet, but I do know that 30% turnout is wrong. Growing up, my mother was judge of elections for our township in Bucks County. The worst turnout she ever had was around 67%.

So, what is our problem here in Upper Providence and Montgomery County? Apathy? Busy work schedules? Everyone on vacation? I’d like to know what collective event was going on that 70% of the population felt more inclined to do that than vote.
First and foremost, what kind of message does that send to our children?  What is says to me is we don’t believe our vote makes a difference.  It says I’m too busy to participate in the very thing that makes this country great.  It’s a shame, really, to see what we’ve evolved to.

So listen up people, we are a year away from one of the most important elections in the history of our country.  If I see another 30% turnout, I might have to move to Guam!