Levy Trail Loop

 I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 33:14.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South on this damp, cool, overcast morning in 31:24. ...By the way, the DFL Green Bay Packers lost in the semifinal round to the Fat Chicks, 126-102. My team had a nice season. As for the NFL Packers, this is one of those years they have a reasonable chance to win the Super Bowl. Home-field advantage through the playoffs will help a lot. For one, they will have to win two rather than three NFC tournament games. The other is that they have the best all-time NFL home-field playoff record.

Levy Trail 5K

 I walked the Levy Trail 5K this morning in 47:55, with splits of 15:47, 15:20, and 15:21. I went through three miles in 46:28. To take advantage of this recent climate-change perk, I turned my heater off, a window fan on, and opened all my windows two days ago. It has since remained 65-70°F in my house.

Lakewood Lake No. 2

 An old Hash friend of Elaine's and mine named Rachel walked with us this morning from Lakewood Lake No. 2. I hadn't seen her since something like 2015. She is forever pleasant.

Levy Trail South/Levy Trail Loop

 I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 33:30. ...Tonight, I walked the Levy Trail Loop in 34:35.

Lakewood

 I walked for a bit on my own and then quite a lot with three other Geezers this morning. In all, I was out from Lakewood Lake No. 2 for 1:30:36. That should help make room for fried chicken wings, mashed potatoes and gravy (the wonderful flour-milk-and-fried-chicken-grease kind I have mastered over the last year), and fresh fried okra.

Levy Trail South

I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 30:33. ...By the way, I got my Pfizer Covid booster Monday. My shoulder was sorer than two motherfuckers through Wednesday evening.

Levy Trail North/DFL

 I walked Levy Trail North this morning in 29:57. My splits were 15:47 and 14:10. ...The DFL Green Bay Packers are in the semifinal round of the playoffs. My best, most consistent player—Austin Ekeler, a running back for the LA Chargers—has Covid and likely won't play Sunday. Even if he does, Walt Webb's team will be hard to beat. ...The NFL Packers are 11-3 and, with three games to play, have a one-game lead for home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. ...A fantasy football media woman interviewed Ekeler this afternoon. He sounded sick and said he felt awful. He said he doubted he would play Sunday. ...Rats.

Burns Park Tournament Course/Levy

I walked a rather random route south of my house in Levy tonight for 39:45. ...This morning and early afternoon, John and I played Burns Park Tournament Course. I scored 96, with nines of 43 and 53. I used 29 putts. John scored 101.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 34:04.

Levy Trail Loop

 I walked Levy Trail Loop this morning in 31:27.

Oaklawn/Levy Trail North/Hash/Joe report

 It's cold, 36°F at 9:22 a.m. I  alternated four-minute walks with one-minute jogs to complete Levy Trail North this morning in 29:13. Last night, I took the long way to my car from the Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort press box to my 2000 Crown Vic (which is, by the way, in stellar mechanical condition). That walk lasted a little over 39 minutes. ...Please don't tell the Green Bay Packers, but I missed the first half of their game this afternoon so that I could spend 1:38:16 on a Hash run this afternoon. We ran from Merriweather Park in Little Rock, not far from Z-Man's house. ...Joe has allowed me to get up first for at least the last two weeks. Maybe three.

Ghetto Cat Loop

 I walked the Ghetto Cat Loop this morning in 32:47. ...Yesterday morning, John, Ed, and I played Burns Park Tournament Course. I scored 92, with nines of 46 and 46. I sued 30 putts. John scored 86 and Ed 89.

Levy Trail Loop

I walked the Levy Trail Loop this evening in 32:52.

OVERHEARD "If you want your french fries air-fried, go on ahead, but they ain't for me."

— a security guard at Edward's CashSaver with several anti-air-fryer customers 

Burns Park Championship Course

 Ed, John, and I played Burns Park Championship Course. I scored 92, with nines of 52 and 40. I used 32 putts. Oh. I had two birdies on the back nine, one w/ a 25-foot putt, the other w/ an uphill 60-yard gap-wedge to two feet. Ed scored 88 and John 93.

Orange Street Loop

 I walked the Orange Street Loop this morning in 46:38, with splits of 15:34, 15:51, and 15:13. I am not sure how long it has been since I last walked this loop but will put the over-under at exactly three years (I worked on this for two or three minutes while on this loop). Let's see: Nope, it was two and one-half years. I last walked it on June 9, 2019, when I alternated one-minutes jogs with four-minute walks to complete it in 41:50. ...If any of my readers want to know minor details of the most important thing in my life, read this: The Democrat Football League Green Bay Packers, at 9-4,  began the final game of the regular season Thursday in third place in our fourteen-team league. We're a playoff lock, but a win would greatly aid our chance to make at least the semifinals, where we would likely play the second-place Fat Chicks, who have fallen to late-season injuries. That would give us our best opportunity to make the Cooper Bowl. According to Yahoo's® computer projection, we are currently 122.46-119.99 underdogs in our game against the Sherwood Shigellas (I wonder if the Asian-looking woman I knew in Sherwood remembers how often I pointed out the home of Shigellas' owner David Barham, who also lived in Sherwood and whose condominium was on a route she [and also occasionally her husband] and I walked fifteen years ago).

Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort

 HOT SPRINGS—I walked to and throughout Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort this afternoon from my car to the press box. The trip took me 39:36. ...I tried to make a $5 bet on the race described below, but I bought my ticket from an automated teller and hit an incorrect number. Immediately afterward, a human teller was unable to change it before the race started, and she handed me a refund. Consequently, I remain $2 down for the season. ... The following lead written prerace does not demand Super Stock win, but that would help:

HOT SPRINGS — A deferral to World War II made way for Super Stock, the first of 87 horses to race at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in December of the same year they won the Arkansas Derby.

 I had to use a shoehorn, but I worked it in:

PETE PERKINS

HOT SPRINGS — A deferral to World War II made way for Super Stock, the first of 87 horses to race at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in December of the same year they won the Arkansas Derby.

Super Stock’s Arkansas Derby victory came at 12-1 odds. This time, he fell short as the 5-2 second-choice. Last Samurai, ridden at 4-1 by Jon Court and trained by Dallas Stewart, won by 3/4-lengths over second-place Super Stock in the first running of the $150,000 1-mile-and-1/16th Poinsettia Stakes for three-year-old horses before an estimated crowd of 7,500 at Oaklawn on Saturday.

“He just keeps trying,” Court said. “He’s a great horse to ride. He’s fun to ride. We just needed everything to fall into place, and it did today.”

Last Samurai’s winning time was 1:43.70.

Flash of Mischief finished third, 1 3/4 lengths behind Super Stock and 2 3/4 lengths ahead of fourth-place Defeater, the 2-1 favorite.

On behalf of a request from the U.S. Department of State, horse racing across the country was postponed through the spring and summer of 1945 for the final allied efforts to end World War II. Oaklawn rescheduled its 30-day meet that year to November and December, and there was no Arkansas Derby, which led to Super Stock’s new stature as a racing artifact despite his runner-up finish in the Poinsettia.

Last Samurai ran fourth, five lengths off Flash of Mischief’s lead through the opening quarter-mile in 23.90, with Myopic in second and Super Stock third, 1 1/2 lengths behind the leader.

Last Samurai finished fifth in this year’s Arkansas Derby, 10 lengths behind Super Stock.

At the half, Flash of Mischief maintained his lead. Last Samurai remained in fourth but had moved within four lengths of the leader. Erv Woolsey’s and Keith Asmussen’s Super Stock, ridden by Luis Contreras from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, was third, 2 1/2 lengths off the lead and a length behind Myopic, ridden by David Cohen and trained by Robertino Diodoro.

Jerry Namy’s Flash of Mischief, the 3-1 third choice ridden by Ramon Vazquez from the barn of Karl Broberg, led through six furlongs in 1:13.45 — a length in front of Myopic, still second. Flash of Mischief’s lead was intact by half a length over the eventual winner as the field turned for its stretch run.

Speed near the lead has commonly held well at Oaklawn through several recent seasons, a trend that has stayed in place. It was due at least in part to a speedy racetrack, made evident Friday by a six-year-old gelding named Hollis, ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr. and trained by John Ortiz, who sprinted from just off the pace in second to win a 5-1/2-furlong race in 1:02.17.

“Just where we were, the fractions were perfect for Hollis,” said Ortiz on Friday. “Sitting just off that pace was the best thing.”

Hollis’ time shattered the track record of 1:02.60 set by Sis Pleasure Fager on Feb. 15, 1984, long before racing at Oaklawn began in December.

Myopic would fade to sixth in the Poinsettia’s field of seven, 6 3/4 lengths behind the winner in a race on a day that seemed to favor no particular style.

For a change, a favorable position late held little promise of success.

“I think [the track] has been playing pretty fair,” Diodoro said. “There’s been some horses go wire-to-wire and some come from left field today. I think it’s been a real fair racetrack so like I said, no excuse.”

Last Samurai carried his momentum from the turn to put a nose in front of Super Stock 1/8th of a mile from the wire. He stretched his lead on the most recent Arkansas Derby winner as the two pulled away from Flash of Mischief toward the finish of one of four new stakes races scheduled for Oaklawn’s December start to the 2021-22 season.

“I had so much horse turning for home,” Luis Contreras said. “He ran his race the whole way. I just got outrun.”

Stewart was impressed by his colt’s return to Oaklawn.

“[Last Samurai is] really a nice horse,” he said. “Last trip at Oaklawn [for the Arkansas Derby], he ran a big race. Got in trouble, but we really like him. I liked him in the spot today, and he had a good trip. I think he’s going to be a real nice four-year-old.”

Ridden by Court, 61, and owned by Willis Horton, 81 of Marshall, Last Samurai’s performance was perhaps a triumph for geriatric horsemen.

Horton, before his 2 1/2-hour ride home, praised Court.

“I’ve known him for 50 or 60 years,” he said. “He’s a guy who can get the job done. He’s strong, and you know he’s in good shape. A lot of people don’t like him because [they think] he’s too old, but I know he’s not.”

After the race, Court walked from the paddock to the jockey’s dressing room. He crossed paths with Florent Geroux, who would ride in the final race.

“Not bad for an old guy,” Geroux said.

Court laughed.

“That doesn’t bother me at all,” he said.

Burns Park Championship Course

 Ed and I played Burns Park Championship Course this morning and early afternoon. I scored 95 and Ed 92. I had nines of 45 and 50 and used 35 putts,.

Levy Trail North/Burns Park Championship Course

 I walked Levy Trail North this morning in 33:04 as a warmup for a cold round of golf with Ed Pennington. ...Ed and I played Burns Park Championship Course. I scored 93 and Ed 88.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South early this afternoon in 34:something.

Hot Springs

HOT SPRINGS—I took the long way to my car tonight from the Oaklawn press box. I walked for 38:07. ...I made my first bet of the season today and lost $2.

Levy Trail Loop/Oaklawn

 HOT SPRINGS—I walked for 42:15 through the Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort building and over a few blocks of neighborhoods west of Central Avenue late this morning before I wrote two, c. 800-word stories. The first was an advance story to journalistically market the first running of the Mistletoe Stakes for three-year-old fillies, which had a bit of an opening-day feature built into it. Then I wrote a race story for the Advent Stakes for two-year-old horses. Combined, they are an eight-minute read. I haven't reread them but feel confident they will not embarrass me. ...Yesterday, I walked the Levy Trail Loop in 35:45. ...By the way, solely because my laptop rewrote a typo to read "catalyst," I wrote the word for the first time ever in Story No. 1. I'm not sure I have ever said catalyst. I won't likely ever know, but I believe there is a reasonable chance a college-schooled journalism major (I am the only one I know to have worked for a newspaper who is not) will strike the word from my story. Truth is, I kind of reached to whittle it in place.

PETE PERKINS

HOT SPRINGS — Three-year-old filly Semble Juste stood in her stall, her salmon-pink gums aimed at an onlooker’s hand, which, unfortunately for her, was free of snacks. At 9 a.m. Friday, she seemed aware of nothing else but the treat-free palm, including the bubbling furor of opening day all around her.

After all, opening day for Semble Juste, a daughter of the Irish sire Shalaa, comes today, when she and stablemate Oliviaofthedesert are entered to race in the first running of the $150,000 1-mile-and-1/16th Mistletoe Stakes for three-year-old fillies at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort.

Post time for the feature, the ninth of 10 races on the card, is scheduled for 4:13 p.m.

As 86-year-old Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas sat on his pony late in the morning training session, eager to escort a racehorse to the track, he sounded sympathetic to Semble Juste’s indifference.

“When you’re 86, you don’t get excited about much anymore, including opening day,” Lukas said. “I get excited about the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders’ Cup, and that’s about it.”

Cold early-morning fog had responded to the catalyst of warmth and risen into the overcast sky. The clump and click of horse hooves on dirt and asphalt, respectively, highlighted the soundtrack of opening day on the backside. Despite Semble Juste’s equine apathy, excitement among horsemen was evident.

“I thought it was a little bit dull around here until this morning,” trainer Robertino Diodoro said. “This morning, you can tell it’s opening day. Everyone’s excited. Everyone’s a little more pumped up. Even yesterday, at feed time last night, you could tell the helpers were getting a little revved up and stuff, and that’s continued this morning.”

Commonly referred to among horsemen and fans alike as the earliest opening race date since racing at Oaklawn began 117 years and 10 months ago, Friday was in fact the latest date for opening day. According to press accounts, the 1945 fall season — moved from the spring in deference to the final months of World War II — extended until December 8.

Lukas said it was high time for December racing at Oaklawn. He said he had long recommended the change to Oaklawn president Louis Cella.

“Every year, I’ve said they needed to start in December,” Lukas said. “I even kidded Louis about it. I said, ‘I’m glad to see we finally got together on this.’ ’’

Lukas, like everyone, has noticed nearly universal approval for the late early start.

“None of my colleagues are negative about this,” Lukas said. “None of them.”

Diodoro said it’s different from seasons past, when shippers from Kentucky had to wait seven weeks or more to race. For this season, the wait lasted five days.

“It does make it a little more of a rush,” Diodoro said. “Our foreman and the last couple of grooms just got here last night from Kentucky, but at the same time, I’m not complaining. I’m definitely excited about starting this early. Anytime you can run at Oaklawn and be in Hot Springs longer, that’s a good thing.”

Steeped in stakes experience, including a fourth-place finish in Oaklawn’s Grade III 1-mile-1/16th Honeybee Stakes on March 6 last season, Susan Moulton’s Oliviaofthedesert, 15 4-1-3, is the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the Mistletoe.

Trainer Kenny McPeek, with horses stabled for a full season at Oaklawn for the first since 2017, said Olviaofthedesert’s consistency has served her well.

“She’s been really solid all year long,” McPeek said. “She’s a filly that seems to be going in the right direction.”

Oliviaofthedesert, a daughter of Bernardini, was sent into her three-year-old campaign off a win as the favorite in the 1-mile Trapeze Stakes last December at Remington Park in Oklahoma City. She has three turf starts this year, including a seventh-place finish, 4 /12 lengths behind the winner in a field of 11, in the Grade III 1-mile-and-1/16th Valley View Stakes at Keeneland Race Course on Oct. 29. The Mistletoe comes as her first start since the race at Keeneland.

David Cabrera is listed to ride Oliviaofthedesert.

David Cohen has agreed to ride Semble Juste, 12 2-1-2 and the 8-1 morning-line sixth choice, in her first stakes start.

“The filly has run really well,” McPeek said. “She deserves a shot at the black type, which is really what we’re after.”

Brad Cox trains Madaket Stables’, Wonder Stables’, and 4K2 Stables’ Marion Francis, 10 3-3-3, by Constitution, the 4-1 second-choice in the program. Marion Francis, with Francisco Arrieta set to ride, won her last start in a $100,000 1-mile-and-1/16th optional-claiming race at Keeneland on Oct. 21.

James Rogers’ and Michael Robinson’s Kavod won the opening-day feature, the 6-furlong Advent Stakes for two-year-old horses before an estimated crowd of 15,000 at Oaklawn on Friday.

Six hours earlier, Diodoro fretted over a chance for wet weather today, and he said his concern had nothing to with the quality of the track.

“I’m thinking about the fans,” he said. “I hope we can have nice weather for them tomorrow.”

PETE PERKINS

HOT SPRINGS — Experience paid off for a two-year-old claimer in the first feature race of Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort’s latest opening day.

James Rogers’ and Michael Robinson’s Kavod, ridden by Francisco Arrieta and trained by Chris Hartman, won the first running of the $150,000 6-furlong Advent Stakes for two-year-old horses in 1:09.97 before an estimated crowd of 15,000 at Oaklawn on Friday, the first day of the racetrack’s 2021-22 season.

Kavod, off at 3-1, finished as a one-length winner over second-place Higher Standard, the 4-5 favorite ridden by Florent Geroux. Tom Amoss trains High Standard, a son of Into Mischief and maternal grandson of Northern Afleet who raced in the Advent a mere 19 days after she won her first career start at Churchill Downs on Nov. 24.

Four-1 third-choice Cairama, ridden from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen by Ricardo Santana, Jr., finished third, 1 1/4 lengths behind Higher Standard and 1 1/2 lengths in front of fourth-place Ruggs, off at 12-1 under jockey Martin Garcia. Ruggs is trained by Ron Moquett.

Kavod, 9 3-0-0, had one more career start than any other entrant in the eight-horse field. His starts included four consecutive out-of-the-money finishes in four graded-stakes races, including a last-place finish behind five others in the Grade I 1-mile Champagne Stakes at Aqueduct in New York on Oct. 2. The Champagne is one of 10 U.S. Kentucky Derby qualifying races for two-year-olds.

After those starts, Kavod was entered as a $50,000-claimer in a 6-furlong start at Churchill Downs on Nov. 20.

Hartman filed a claim for Kavod’s current owners. After the race, which Kavod won in 1:08.20, Hartman walked away with the winner.

Hartman said he thought he would take a shot at the Advent.

“He came out of his last race really good,” he said. “This race didn’t look like it was overly stacked, so we took a chance, and it paid off.”

Geroux, a handful of minutes after his finish on the beaten favorite, figuratively bowed to Kavod’s experience as he paused in the paddock on his way to the jocks’ room.

“The winner, he’s a horse with a lot of experience,” Geroux said. “He came out of a very strong race at Churchill. It was claiming, but he won very decisively, but he’s just a more experienced horse. Our horse has only run one time, shipped straight from Churchill to here. Short rest. We had a couple of things going against us.”

Regardless of his experience, with eight previous career starts, compared to one for each of the second-, third-, and fourth-place finishers, Kavod willingly ran into trouble just past the quarter-mile split of 21.61, when he was third behind race-leader Oro Azteca and Higher Standard, who was tucked near the rail.

Under Arrieta’s command, Kavod slowed to avoid contact with Higher Standard, a hesitation that allowed Rugg to move into third. It also positioned Kavod for whatever acceleration he was capable of.

Which, on this particular date, the latest on the calendar to serve as Oaklawn’s opening day, was a lot.

Kavod dug in and raced between and past Oro Azteca, who led through the half in 44.96 but would fade to last, and Ruggs, who Kavod passed near the head of the stretch. Kavod chased Higher Standard’s lead past the one-eighth pole. With one-sixteenth of a mile left, he passed Higher Standard and pulled away through the wire.

“He broke good,” Arrieta said. “A couple of horses went to the lead. I tried to relax him. When he was stopped behind horses, he was a little green. At the quarter pole, he may have been in a little bit of trouble. Finally, he came back and I went for the space. When I asked him, he ran. Great job. Great horse.”

On Wednesday, Amoss said he wondered how Higher Standard would respond to a trip from New Orleans and the relatively short break between starts. He said the latter was his primary concern. With that declaration in mind, Amoss said he was happy with his colt’s second-place finish.

“The horse ran well,” Amoss said. “We came back a little quick with him in the race, and the ship, and maybe that cost him a little bit in the end, but I was pleased with the way he ran.”

Like parents of young children, trainers tend to applaud improvement and any hint of talent displayed by their two-year-old horses.

Moquett seemed delighted by Ruggs’ fourth-place performance, which came after the son of Gun Runner’s only previous start, a win over 6 1/2 furlongs at Remington Park in Oklahoma City on Nov. 15.

“It’s a step forward,” Moquett said. “He’s an immature colt. This is his second race, and I think he ran greenly but showed some talent. That’s all we can ask right now. He’ll keep moving forward.”

Ten minutes after Kavod’s victory, Hartman hesitantly said he might, perhaps think about the consideration of a longer race for his winner, but that he thought a better target for Kavod was the possibility of continued sprint success.

“I like to run, so there’s always a chance [Kavod will go longer],” Hartman said. “I like to run and he likes to run, but I believe I’ll sprint him.”

 

 

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 34:45.

Levy

 I walked around and about Levy this morning for 38:14. It was an attempt to hone my appetite for the first vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner I have ever heard tell of, courtesy of Jayme and Kayla. Ron and Elaine will be there, too. Ron told me he plans to bring meat for himself. ...Everything I ate was at least as good as any of those things I have eaten, including some instant mashed potatoes Jayme said she bought at Whole Foods. Ingredients: dehydrated potatoes, as in, they ain't nothing in this box but dry potatoes and shit ...This has always worked. I called Joe in at 10 p.m. last night. He came from nearly a block away, but he clearly wanted to stay out a bit longer when I greeted him on the porch. An hour later, right before I went to sleep, he was nowhere in sight. It is now 6:01 p.m., or seventeen hours later, and he hasn't come home. I am not worried, though. Joe has always responded to this sort of blog post with a quick reappearance. ...As I said. At 6:31 p.m., Joe's behind the couch eating supper.

Burns Park Championship Course

 John, Ed, and I played Burns Park Championship Course from the pink tees this morning. It's crazy, I know, but we each scored 93. ...mlb.com published a list this (Thanksgiving) morning of what each team has to be thankful for. Here are a few:

Astros: They have more proof of dominance
They’ll never silence the haters, but with their 2021 World Series appearance, the Astros have moved another year away from the sign-stealing scandal ... and another year in which they looked, as always, like one of the best teams in baseball.

Mariners: The streak is about to end
Maybe it’s in 2022. Maybe it’s a year after that. But the Mariners are building something, and it’s about to come to fruition. Seattle fans have been waiting since 2001 for a return to the postseason, and their patience is about to pay off.

White Sox: The winning culture is finally installed
The White Sox were too young to win, then they didn’t know “how” to win. Now, they’ve breezed into the postseason. Time for the next step: postseason success. It’s actually been a logical progression so far, all told.

Reds: Joey Votto

The Reds are in a period of transition, but the eternal delight that is Joey Votto is still here, and what a gift that is for the rest of us.

Downtown Little Rock

 I walked for 37:42 before the leaders reached the half-marathon clock on the Little Rock Marathon course this morning.

Downtown Little Rock

 I took the long way to pick up my Little Rock Marathon credentials this morning as I walked through downtown, past a few somewhat historical landmarks. They included buildings on Main St. that once housed Bennet's Military Supply (where, as a high school junior, I bought an orange, blue, and yellow rugby jersey I wish I still owned), the News Mart (by far the most reliable place to buy The Daily Racing Form from the start of my horserace passion in 1986 until it closed six years ago), the Gazette Building, and the former site of the streetlight pole that fell on and destroyed my all-time favorite car.

QUESTION OF THE DAY. ...Why would anyone contribute to any of Madonna's thirty-two charitable causes once they learned she recently paid $500 million to have a house built for her dogs?*

*according to an Associated Press reporter on National Public Radio this morning

Burns Park Championship Course

 Ed and I played Burns Park Championship Course from the pink tees this morning. I scored 90 with nines of 45 and 45. Ed scored 93. ...Joe went to the vet yesterday. He hated it, of course. He weighed fifteen and a half pounds, nearly twice as heavy as Jo was at her peak. Surely, that will remain his weight for a few years, I hope.

Burns Park Tournament Course

 John, Ed, and I played Burns Park Tournament Course this morning. I scored 91. Ed scored 81 and John 95. I used 32 putts. My streak of no more than two putts stands at 37 holes.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 32:09.

River Trail

 Several other Geezers and I walked for about an hour and a half on the River Trail from Burns Park Golf Course this morning. ...On the way there, I saw the gray cat about four blocks from my house at an intersection on 38th Street, a six-minute walk from here on the Ghetto Cat Loop. It's not far from the COGIC, on the way to Edward's Cash Saver. He is too healthy to be purely feral, I believe. He has become the Maddy Ellis of cats.

Two Rivers Park

Again, a boatload of other Geezers and I walked all over Two Rivers Park this morning. Elaine, Bill Brass, Tom Zaloudek, and I were out for about 1:56:30.

Fort Roots Loop

 A bunch of other Geezers and I walked the Fort Roots Loop from the Burns Park Golf Course parking lot this morning. Several were out for 1:56:30.

River Trail/Levy Trail South/Burns Park Championship Course

 Ed and I played Burns Park Championship Course this morning. I scored 89, with nines of 43 and 46. I used 31 putts. Ed scored 82. Before we played, that beautiful gray boy cat wandered up to our front porch for a drink. I believe I mentioned him a month or so ago. I wish Joe was a bit nicer to him. This cat is borderline breathtaking. ...Saturday morning, I walked on the River Trail with a few Geezers but mainly with Ron and Elaine and Kayla and Jayme. We were out for something like an hour and twenty minutes. Afterward, Kayla, a technological superstar, taught me how to send text messages with the phone AT&T made me buy last May. I will have my critics know, it took the IT security contractor ten minutes to figure it out. I sent test texts to three people, each of whom responded with, "Yep." Is that how to say "yes" on texts? ...I walked the Levy Trail Loop early Sunday evening in 35:13.

River Trail/Levy Trail Loop

 I walked the Levy Trail Loop at lunchtime today in 33:32. Yesterday morning, several other Geezers and I walked on Levy Trail in 1:39:15. I primarily walked with Bill Brass and Kirk Riley, a one-time masters star who began to walk with us a year or so ago.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South late this afternoon in 32:19.

Burns Park Championship Course

John, Ed, and I played Burns Park Championship Course this morning. I scored 100, with nines of 51 and 49. I used 34 putts. Ed scored 95 and John 97.

Burns Park Championship Course

 Ed Pennington and I played Burns Park Championship Course this morning. I scored 86, with nines of 40 and 46. I had 1 birdie, 6 pars, 7 bogies, 3 doubles, 1 triple, and used 28 putts. Ed scored 95.

Levy Trail

 Bill Brass, Elaine Gimblet, and I walked on the Levy Trail this morning for 1:38:30.

Hash

 I walked and jogged from the Burn Park archery range with the Little Rock Rock Hash House Harriers this afternoon. I was out for 49:21, got in first, and scooted. Neither Matty nor Abby nor anyone else I would have talked to for more than a handful of minutes was there, so I went home to watch more football. ...By the way, I hope the Houston Oilers sweep Atlanta.

Burns Park Championship-Tournament Courses

 John, Ed, and I played, in order, the back nines of Burns Park Championship and Tournament Courses this morning. I scored 98 with nines of 48 and 50. Ed scored 97 and John 102.

Burns Park Championship Course/Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 34:34. ...Yesterday morning, Ed and I played Burns Park Championship Course from the pink tees. I scored 90 with nines of 45 and 45. I used 28 putts. Ed scored 81.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 33:48.

Levy Trail North

 I alternated four-and-a-half-minute walks with thirty-second jogs to complete Levy Trail North this morning in 31:24, with splits of 16:02 and 15:22. ...I have not seen the pretty gray cat since yesterday afternoon. He looked well-fed, so I guess he went back home.

Levy Trail Loop

 I walked the Levy Trail Loop late this afternoon in 35:41. ...Before I left, I fed a nearly solid gray, handsome non-feral cat on my front porch. He let me pet him before Joe scared him away. He looked healthy. ...Please tell Dan I wished him a happy birthday. My little brother John turned 44 today.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 34:10. ...Arkansas lost at Ole Miss yesterday, 52-51. 

Levy Trail South

 Kind of hauling ass, I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 31:37. ...A significant percentage of the Levy population, including Joe and me, will watch the No. 14 Razorbacks play at No. 17 Ole Miss, with the kickoff scheduled for 11:05 a.m. CDT. ESPN will televise the game. The Pigs (4-1, 1-1 SEC) will play a team, like the rest on their schedule, with whom they are suddenly and nearly stunningly on par, at least in terms of performances thus far. This game might indicate how the rest of their season will go.

Levy Trail

 Six other Geezers and I walked on the Levy Trail this morning for 1:37:52.

Burns Park Championship Course

 Ed and I played Burns Park Championship Course from the pink tees this morning. Ed scored 79, and I scored 84, with nines of 42 and 42. I used 34 putts. ...On Monday, Ed, John, and I played the same course from the silver tees. Ed scored 97, I scored 98, and John 107.

Levy Trail

 A handful of other Geezers and I walked for 1:31:26 on the Levy Trail this morning.

Burns Park Golf Courses

 John Czarnecki, Ed Pennington, and I played the back nines of the Burns Park Championship and Tournament Courses this morning. I scored 90, with nines of 45 and 45. I had 3 pars, 12 bogies, 2 doubles, 1 triple, and used 29 putts. Ed scored 91 and John 100. ...This was a new route John is sold on, so it looks as if it will become routine.

Several routes and rounds of golf/War Memorial Park

 Somewhere in the neighborhood of nine days ago, while under the influence of too much insulin and too little food, I spilled a footbath of water and Epsom salt into the laptop I used to replace the one I bought ten months ago to replace the one Joe broke. Thus, golf rounds and walks since, before this evening, will forego reports. Tonight, before Little Rock Catholic's home game against Cabot at War Memorial Stadium, I walked through War Memorial Park and around the former War Memorial Golf Course for 36:48.

Levy Trail Loop

 I walked the Levy Trail Loop at lunchtime today in 34:57. ...The NFL and DFL Packers got bent over and cornholed this weekend. It was as awful to watch as anyone could imagine. The NFL Packers were buttfucked by the New Orleans Saints to the tune of 38-3. The DFL Packers lost to the Sherwood Shigallas (the team owned by the husband of a family whose house an Asian-looking friend of mine and I walked past with her dogs frequently from 2005-07) by about 131-106. As for the NFL version, it interests me to note the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also lost to New Orleans last season by the same score. No kidding, by 38-3. I do not expect a similar turnaround, but there is perhaps room for hope. We'll see, I guess. ...Here's what someone at Sports Illustrated thinks of the Packers: Losing on opening weekend doesn’t mean the Packers are not one of the obvious Super Bowl favorites out of the NFC. Green Bay tanks a few of these a year, where it becomes obvious that they’re faltering and Aaron Rodgers seems to fold down the wings for an afternoon. This is still a cherry-blossom-laden stroll to the NFC North crown.

Burns Park Championship Course

 Ed and I played Burns Park Championship Course this morning. I scored 87, with nines of 42 and 45. Ed scored 83. I had 7 pars, 7 bogies, 3 doubles, 1 triple, and used 31 putts.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South in 35:39 this morning on the first Sunday of the NFL season and the first week of the 25th Democrat Football League season. The NFL Packers play a bit after 3 p.m. CDT on most Fox stations across the U.S.

Levy Trail

 Several other Geezers and I walked on the Levy Trail this morning. I started late and was out for 49:21.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 35:09. ...Early this afternoon, I made my twenty-fifth Democrat Football League draft. This will be the DFL's twenty-fifth season. I am one of four original players still active.

Burn Park Championship Course

So, this poor 70-year-old fuck just had his house blown over. He's standing in five feet of water as he watches everything he owns float into the Gulf of Mexico. It couldn't be any worse. And then an alligator eats him. ...John and Ed and I played Burns Park Championship Course from the silver tees this morning. We all played awful, particularly John. I scored 92 with nines of 47 and 45. I had 4 pars, 8 bogies, 5 doubles, 1 quadruple, and used 34 putts. Ed scored 93 and John 110.

Burns Park Championship Course

 John, Ed, and I played Burns Park Championship Course from the silver tees this morning. I scored 85, with nines of 43 and 42. I had 9 pars, 6 bogies, 1 double, 2 triples, and used 33 putts. Ed scored 86 and John 98. I concluded the round with five consecutive pars, one short of my record, set on the Rebsamen Park Short Nine with JoEllen Black in 1991.

FUNNIEST HEADLINE EVER WRITTEN: PURE CLIMATE -CHANGE SLAPSTICK:

Man attacked by alligator in flooded Louisiana waters after Hurricane Ida

Levy Trail

 I walked for about 1:45 with Ron and Elaine on the Levy Trail this morning.

Burns Park Tournament Course

 Ed and I played the front nine of Burns Park Tournament Course this morning. I scored 45 and Ed 42.

Hash

 The Little Rock Hasher scheduled to set our run today got you-know-what, and I thus volunteered to save the Hash for at least the eighth or ninth time. I spent 1:49:07 setting the run, primarily along the good ol' green trail this morning, and I hope the cute women show up to witness my heroics. ...Only about twenty people showed for my run, including Maddy (Way Down Yonder on the Tickachochee), but I had enormous fun. Folks hung on for nearly four hours and drank a great deal of far-too-much beer I brought.

Burns Park Tournament Course

 Ed and I played Burns Park Tournament Course this morning. I scored 90 with nines of 45 and 45. Ed scored 85.

Burns Park Championship Course

 Ed and played the Burns Park Championship Course from the pink tees Tuesday morning. I scored 84, with nines of 42 and 42. I had 6 pars, 11 bogies, 1 double, and used 34 putts. Ed scored 82.

Levy Loop

 I walked the nearly-thirty-five-year-old Levy Loop this morning in 32:23.

Burns Park Golf Course

 Several other Geezers and I, including Jayme and Kayla, walked for 1:28:10 on or near the River Trail from Burns Park Golf Course on Saturday morning.

Levy Trail Loop

 I walked the Levy Trail Loop late this morning in 34:19.

OVERHEARD  "Fuck yeah, man."—Reds second baseman Jonathan India after left fielder Jesse Winker's second-inning grand slam gave Cincinnati a 4-1 lead in Atlanta

Hash/Levy Trail South

 Bill Brass and a handful of others and I were out for nearly an hour and fifty minutes with the Little Rock Hash House Harriers yesterday from Curran-Conway Field, the park near UALR that has housed its baseball team since the 1970s. ...This morning, I walked Levy Trail South in 34:41. ...Afterward, I asked the boss of the contractors cutting trees in Levy if my crepe myrtle was in danger. He said no, they were only cutting trees near powerlines. "That ain't nothing but a streetlight wire," he said. I am currently far too delighted to yet regret my failure to ask the same question several months ago.

OVERHEARD: "How's that heart rate doing?" — Bearded man in khakis as Rockamudo walked by on the Levy Trail. "It's doing fine," Rock said. "How 'bout yours?"

Burns Park Championship Course

 Ed and I played Burns Park Championship Course from the pink tees this morning. I scored 89, with nines of 41 and 48. I had 1 birdie, 2 pars, 11 bogies, 4 doubles, and used 32 putts. Ed scored 83.

Burns Park Championship Course

 Ed and I played Burns Park Championship Course. For the first time, I broke 90 from the silver tees. I scored 88, with nines of 42 and 46. I had 5 pars, 8 bogies, 4 doubles, and used 32 putts. Ed scored 91.

Levy Trail Loop

 I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 33:05. ...By the way, it turned relatively cool in Levy late Sunday night. You know, drier air with lows in the 60s, highs in the 80. The weather fucks say it will remain this way through Friday. This change should help make a more comfortable trip home for some of Pam's Boy's readership.

Burns Park Championship Course

 John Czarnecki, Ed Pennington, and I played Burns Park Championship Course this morning. We played from the pink tees. I scored 87, with nines of 42 and 45, I had 3 pars, 12 bogies, 2 doubles, 1 triple, and used 31 putts. Ed scored a group-record 74. John scored 94.

Levy Trail Loop

 I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 35:52.

Burns Park Championship Course/Levy Trail Loop/Levy Trail Loop

 Erin Vratil and I walked the Levy Trail Loop on Friday evening in a little over 34 minutes. ...Nearly twelve hours earlier, Erin and I golfed the front nine of at Burns Park Championship Course. I scored 46, with 2 pars, 4 bogies, 2 doubles, and 1 triple. I used 19 putts. Ed scored 46, John 47, and Erin 59. ...This morning, I walked the now more precisely measured Levy Trail Loop in a slower-than-two-motherfuckers 36:17. I paid for my diet of pizza, hamburgers,  potato chips, and dip, absolutely all I was allowed to eat by my guest yesterday.

Burns Park Tournament Course

 I played the back nine of Burns Park Tournament Course this morning in 44, with 1 par, 7 bogies, and 1 double. I used 17 putts. Neither Ed nor John showed. I wouldn't be surprised if they were no more than pools of sweat from their eighteen-hole marathon two days ago.

QUESTION OF THE DAY  If "critical measures of global heating have reached the tipping point," as a 1A headline in the Guardian states a study has found, will everyone shut the fuck up?

Burns Park Championship Course

 John, Ed, a newcomer named Larry, and I played the back nine of Burns Park Championship Course from the silver tees this morning. The other three then played the back nine of the Tournament Course, but even though I felt fine, I was so fucking soaking wet on the hottest and muggiest day of the summer so far, I decided to go home. My house is reasonably clean, but I nevertheless said, "Fellows, with the prettiest Eskimo in Texas coming to visit, I need to go pick up a bit." I scored a 46, with 1 birdie, 6 bogies, 1 double, 1 triple, and used 14 putts. Ed scored 46, and John scored 47. Larry scored 55.

OVERHEARD. ..."Make sure you take a shower."—Ed, after my pick-up-a-bit line

Levy Trail 5K/Hash

 I walked the Levy Trail 5K this morning in 48:12 and went through three miles in 46:43, with splits of 15:55, 15:25, and 15:22. ...I walked and jogged for 59:55 with the Little Rock Hash Harriers at lunchtime today. We started and ended near the Arkansas River on the western outskirts of downtown Little Rock.

OVERHEARD  "I can tell you're getting after it, man."—man I have talked with outside the Levy Church of Christ at least twice before over my years of the Levy Trail

Levy Trail 5K

I walked the Levy Trail 5K this morning in 48:58, with splits of 16:20, 16:25, 14:48, and 1:25. I went through three miles in 47:33. 

Levy Trail 5K

 This odd result interested me. I have never completed a three-mile loop, or three miles into a 5K, in Levy over 50 minutes, partly due to not attempting one unless I knew I could comfortably finish under that mark. Today, I decided I am old enough to quit caring. I kind of hoped to finish over, but when I pulled my watch out of my pocket at the mark (I only remembered in the final second or so), it was at 49:58. I completed the 5K in 51:33.

Levy Trail

 I walked on the Levy Trail early this evening, in shade a much as possible, for 36:12.

OVERHEARD. ..."I don't know if this is the vaccine line, but if it isn't, I'm sure they'll tell us." — lovely 25-year-old woman with a disarming smile and voice as she spoke to her dour-looking teenage brother at the Sherwood Walmart pharmacy. They stood in line with exactly 40 others. Rockamundo read on Google News today that Fox News hosts had begun to advocate vaccines, so perhaps this was in part a byproduct of that

Burns Park Championship Course

John, Ed, and I played the Burns Park Championship Course this morning. I scored 96, with nines of 48 and 48. I had 1 birdie, 4 pars, 5 bogies, 6 doubles, 1 quadruple, and 1 quintuple (5-over).  I used 35 putts. Ed scored 94 and John 102. The silver tees are too long for our games now, but it looks as if that's where we'll play. 

Levy Trail North

 I walked Levy Trail North this morning in 32:37.

Burns Park Tournament Course

 Ed and I played Burns Park Championship Course from the silver tees this morning. The silver tees measure 5,400 yards, or 880 yards longer than the pink tees at 4,520. It's similar to the difference between the yellow and red tees at First Tee, 5,580 and 4,396, respectively. Ed scored 90, and I scored 93, with nines of 47 and 46. I had 2 pars, 12 bogies, 3 doubles, 1 triple, and used 33 putts.

Levy Trail South

 Understand, I have eaten very well the last several days. This morning, in a cool mist, I walked Levy Trail South in 29:24 and got home just in time to see the second-to-last group tee off for the final round of the Open Championship. ...Late this afternoon, I walked an out-and-back total of about a mile and a half with the Hash House Harriers. It was especially short in deference to Hashers who ran the Midnight 25 and 50Ks last night.

Levy Trail Loop

 I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 32:19. Now, I am back in my house cheering like two motherfuckers for Lodwicus Theodorus "Louis" Oosthuizen to win the Open Championship.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. ...Did researchers at the Wuhan Institue of Virology hold significant shares of stock in golf products, recreational vehicles, treadmills, delivery services, and/or alcoholic beverages, or were they directed by the Communist Party of China to find a way to encourage supporters of President Trump to kill themselves, collateral damage be damned?

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 32:42.

Levy Trail Loop

 My attempt to walk slowly enough to not sweat failed this morning as I walked the Levy Trail Loop in 37:02.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South late this morning in 34:17.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 34:56.

Levy Trail Loop

 I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 35:38.

Hash

 We were out for something ridiculous like ninety minutes on our Hash run from Zach's and Lacey's house this afternoon. ...Pet owners in the greater Little Rock metropolitan area are bitching like two motherfuckers on Facebook about tonight's fireworks. Joe, as he smoked a cigarette on our couch, asked me to post something about how they should go fuck themselves.