Maybe I've Been the Problem ...

... maybe I'm the one to blame.

I've been thinking, maybe I've been partly cloudy, maybe I'm the chance of rain
Maybe I'm overcast and maybe all my luck's washed down the drain

But when I look at the stars ... when I look at the stars,
When I look at the stars, I see someone else,
When I look at the stars, I feel like myself

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Hey, ho faithful readers and longtime hail contemplators ... wzzzzup?

I'll tell you what's up here ... in snippet format. The official format of the DCV.

Names: Did you see that the SSA came out w/ their list of most popular baby names for 2007? There were some odd things as noted by the SSA data collectors:

1) there are seven boys names that rhyme w/ "maiden" in the Top 102: Jayden (No. 18); Aiden (No. 27); Aidan (No. 54); Jaden (No. 76); Caden (No. 92); Kaden (No. 98); & Ayden (No.102). (Then there were another 27 in the top 1000: Braden; Cayden; Jaiden; Kaiden; Aden; Caiden; Braeden; Braydon; Jaydon; Jadon; Braiden; Zayden; Jaeden; Aydan; Bradyn; Kadin; Jadyn; Kaden; Jaydin; Braedon; Aidyn; Haiden; Jaidyn; Kadyn; Jaydan; Raiden; and Adin.)

Raiden? Really? Kris & Tim ... I nominate Quayden before it gets too trendy.

2) "Neaveh" is the #36 name for girls. It's backwards for "heaven". I just wish Harry Carey had lived long enough to see this. Strangely enough, "Lleh" is not in the top 1000. Parents are pretty optimistic I guess, at first.

APD/School: He's done w/ 5th grade. Haven't gotten his report card yet, but it looks like he got straight A's all four quarters. And he was like U2 at the Grammys in his elementary school awards ceremony (thankfully w/o Bono's "expressive" Irish tongue) ... collecting 5 awards including Top Math Student in 5th grade and Top Reader of the School. He has been blessed w/ excellent teachers every step of the way. The beautiful KMD & I are so thankful that he's had such talented and caring instructors helping him get where he's at (not really that far ... only 6th grade ... pick it up son). Blog-reading teachers ... we salute you. Truly important work, it is that you do.

APD/Baseball: His team won their first tournament game tonight & it was exciting, 6-5. The tying run was on second in the bottom of the sixth, but two great plays by their SS & P won the game for them. They were 9th of 10, so having dispatched #8, they now get to face the #1 seed on Saturday. APD hasn't gotten a hit since shortly after Abner Doubleday invented the game, but he's playing good defense, having fun, & most importantly has a great attitude about it all ... so it's all good.

Softball: Dolberry's play has been erratic at best. More bad than good, I'd say. I have 6 games over the next 7 days, so maybe I'll get into a groove. Dolberry is currently putting a hurt on the bathroom scale and the scale has somehow karmaically retaliated against my poor heel & Achilles. Anyway, I think both my teams are in 3rd w/ similar records (6-4 and 6-5). About 2-3 weeks left in the spring season.

Work: Is fine.

Other things: Can't really think of anything else. Oh, I added another blog to my list of ones that have the Dolberry seal of approval. Enjoy! Hey, toodle-oo everybody! Thanks for reading!

Golf ball sized hail in Apex

Not at our house unfortunately, though. Storm just rolled through. One of the few storms I can remember that you heard coming about 90 seconds before it came. Loud winds and presumably the hail was making some noise. As it blew by here, it hailed for about 90 seconds. The biggest I could see (i.e., landed on the porch) was just over pea-sized, but not quite marble-sized. Very cool!

I know DCV readers want to know where it ranks among hailstorms that Dolberry has experienced. I rate this as the 4th best hail storm I've ever seen.

#5 Louisville, 1983? - The one that dented our station wagon & El Cueto got the insurance company to pay us for (ahem) "repairing" it. I don't really remember the storm or I'd rank it higher.

#4 Apex, 2008 - For about 45 seconds, this storm was as good as any storm. Pea-sized, but plenty of it.

#3 Apex, 2004? - Remember it nearly covered the ground. Want to say it was in March.

#2 Arnold MO, 1989? - Was visiting Ron McCann over 4th of July and there was a huge storm. Largest hail I've ever seen. Just short of golf-ball sized.

#1 Louisville, 1984? - The one that shredded our awning. That was awesome! Remember it hit right around 5pm and I tried to watch it from our front porch but got scared when the wind ripped the door out of my hands. Retreated to the basement at that point and watched out that little window by the dryer.

(Remember, graupel is not hail. The Derby Day graupel event is #1 in graupel events. 1 of 1. If I did count it as hail, I'd probably put it as #2 or #3 on this list.)

I'm going to bed now, though. Lousy poison ivy + PI medicine has made sleep pretty much a non-entity over the last two weeks. Feel sorry for me! (that's pitiful, more so than the hail countdown)

Ha. Ha. Check out video on the right.

Run for the Roses: Episode 134 (by guest blogger APD)

The Dolwicks had a very busy day on Saturday. Peak Fest, baseball, Derby party, tournament, you name it, we had it.
We started off with some BIG Spring Cleaning, outside and in.

Lawn Mowed: Check
Walk Swept: Check
My Room Cleaned: Check
Vacuumed House: Check

Next: Peak Fest AND my Heroclix tournament for a special figure AT THE SAME TIME! Problemo? Nah! Mom (a.k.a. KMD, in All-Important-PAT's words) & I dropped Dolberry off in downtown Apex for TCC booth in PF, maneuvered around traffic, and headed toward AF&G.

Heroclix Tourney: Check
Peak Fest: Check

Unfortunately, after winning once and losing once, (tourney probably had 3 games for each player) I had to forfeit because I had more on my schedule.
Next: Baseball game vs. undefeated White Sox.
I Gobbled down Wendy's, then Mom dropped me off and went to get Dolberry at PF.
In baseball, I went 0-1 w/ BB. My team was up 5-nil going into bottom of 4th w/ about 20 min. left. We Gave Up 7! Sox clean-up was up and we were up 5-3 w/ 2 outs. I was playing CF. Mr. Cleanup hits a TOWERING fly to CF. I was far back in the OF, but ball drifted over my head even w/ a dive towards it. Triple. 3 runs score. We end up losing 7-5.

Baseball: Check

Next: The biggie of the day: The 10th annual Dolwick Kentucky Derby Party.

But before that, for once in the jam-packed schedjy, we had a one-and-a-half hour break until the jam-packedness came back.
We had a smaller party than usual this year, even though it was the 10th annual. Dolberry invited three friends from EPA/NOAA/work; two of them brought family. One came over early (early meaning about 3:35) to watch STL play our national past-time. (Um, you missed the message, but we're having a party for horse racing, not baseball. We already had our baseball part of the day. See, I have it all planned out here!) Whatever the case, D-berry decided to show extra hospitality and let him in before the gates opened. Once everyone came, we hung out and ate from about 4 to about 6, (the eating started at about 5:20, of course. I could never eat for two hours.) which was when the Call to the Posts came (precisely 6:04). And we'll have MR. fancy schmancy ESPN announcer call the race... Aw, well, he bailed on me, but at least I can show you the results.

RESULTS
Winner: #20 Big Brown
Place: #5 Eight Belles*
Show: #12 DenisofCork

* = Filly

Unfortunately, I didn't want to take the time to show you the rest of the results.
Unfortunatelier, (a word I learned from my arguable favorite Christian writer, Bill Myers) that means you'll have to look them up yourself.
Unfortunateliest, the filly, Eight Belles, fell down after finishing and had to be euthanized.
Unfortunatelierer, (that one I made up myself) which is a word that is unfortunatelier than unfortunatelier, but ununfortunatelier than unfortunateliest, I have no more unfortunatelies to say (whatever that means). Confused? How unfortunate.
After the Derby, we finished dinner, then went outside. The kids, Kevin, 13, Sarah, 6, Jake, 4, brother of Sarah, and I, 11, played while the grownups, led by D-class berry (must not have tasted very good) talked about poison ivy and other stuff. After a while, the adults went inside because the mosquitoes were bad. Mosquitoes don't like my taste. They never have, and they hopefully never will. The other kids stayed outside, too. we played with tennis balls and Cherish, our dog for a long time.
When it was time for people to leave, we handed out Mom's cookies on their way out. Finally, our day was over. After taking a shower, I went to bed.

The next day was Sunday. Mom stayed home from church because she had a bad headache. Everyone in my family was tired. Mom & Dad were very tired. I was just normal tired I met my Sunday School teacher on the way in. She said, "Alex, you look like you just got out of bed."
"Actually," I replied, "I'm probably the most awake in my whole family!"





I am honored to be the first guest blogger in this archive of indescribably great blends of art, talent, and writing, and I am amazingly overjoyed that I was hand-picked by the highly esteemed, fluent, and legendary Dolberry himself.

-Alexander Paul Dolwick











Yeah, right, what fancy schmancy overrated speech do you want me to be forced to recite next?!?!?!? Some war victory speech by a leader of the French Resistance? A revealance of a Pablo Picasso painting? James Buchanan's Inaugural Address???!!!???!!!!?!?!? GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-very sincerely, APD

Derby Picks

4 - Eight Belles
3 - Z Fortune
2 - Colonel John
1 - Pyro