The food does it for me.  And the hospitality.  You?

I used to get upset when my Uncle Guy would joke at my expense.  Then he said, “Sherri, I’m honoring you!”  And I got it.

Same with this wacky tradition we have in the KTBS newsroom.  Whenever someone has a birthday (I share mine today with KTBS producer Nick Caloway), we celebrate during our afternoon news meeting with a cake and by belting out a version of Happy Birthday that’s so off key, there’s no way anyone would ever have to pay music royalties for mass production of such a beast.  The more off key, the better. 

It’s an honor.

So, I’m sure I speak for Nick in saying thanks for what you’re about to hear.  You might want to send the dog out of the room before you turn up the volume. 

In about a week, the latest member of the Talley family will be born.  Much to Kim’s relief, my, Suzie and CT’s nephew and HRB’s son, Daniel Grey will be here.  This is one of our gifts to Daniel Grey.  

During the commercial break after sports in last night’s 6:00 newscast, we had the most spirited conversation ever about candy bars.  Joe, Gerry, Fletch and I wondered where all the good ones went.  I used to love Cherry Mash.  Now, they’re harder to get than a steady week of ups on Wall Street. 

Remember the 10:30 Candy Bar?  The candy bar had cinnamon stripes and white chocolate.  It was light, airy and crunchy.  And I did not take it!!!!  Whoever Took The 10:30 Candy Bar in the Talley household one day in the 1970s is still a mystery.  That one incident caused so much turmoil in our family.   

The talk started with Fletch’s quest for a Zagnut bar.  What are/were your favorites?  And what is nougat?  

 Bill Hyde had a rough Tuesday night.  He and his wife thought an intruder was in their house.  Here’s the rest of the story from the Associated Press.  I’m diggin’ how police chased the “suspect” through the house.

DALLAS — The masked burglar turned out to be a raccoon — and it wasn’t fazed by a “tase.”

Police got a 911 call Tuesday night from an 85-year-old man who heard noises near his front door. Officers surrounded the house and soon realized their intruder was a raccoon — which by then had gone down the chimney and gotten inside the house.

With officers in pursuit, the raccoon took off through the house, ripping up blinds, pulling down drapes, knocking over a lamp and toppling a flowerpot. Finally, Officer Daniel Ek tried to let it out the back door — and that’s when the raccoon apparently turned threatening.

Ek used his Taser on the animal, but the raccoon ran up the chimney with the stun gun’s prongs in its back. An animal control officer tried unsuccessfully to flush it out with ammonia.

A neighbor helped secure the front of the fireplace to keep the raccoon from getting back in the house. The next morning, when the neighbor returned to put a cap on the chimney, the raccoon had escaped.

From The Associated Press

Photo by Michael Mulvey/Dallas Morning News

I came face to face with one of you bloggers today!  MaryS910, one of our bloggers here, was at the ceremony where a local nurse was honored for saving the life of a shopper in the express lane at Brookshire’s.  That shopper was MaryS910’s significant other.   Click here to read Mary’s account of what happened. Tonight on KTBS 3 News at 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00, we’ll have more on the awards ceremony.  And I’ll tell the story in more detail in an ArkLaTex Miracle Worker’s report Monday night at 10:00.

Thanks for sharing your story, MaryS910! 

I love this picture because it’s such a piece of Shreveport history.  From the mid 1980s:  Musicians, members of the local media, the police chief, Sister Margaret.  Some here have passed away, some moved away and some are still around.  Who do you recognize?  Click to enlarge and get a better look. 

Thanks, Suzie.  Now I can’t get this song out of my head.  So you guys won’t feel bad about hijacking the previous post, here’s one for you on a topic you’ve already started.  Carry on.

Several years ago, I drove my son to Atlanta on the 4th of July and surprised him with tickets behind home plate.  John Smoltz (the greatest closer) pulled it all together in the ninth. 

America’s night.  America’s game.  America’s team. 

So, imagine how excited I was to see that John Smoltz had a Facebook page!  Okay, I’m not much for all the fan clubs and applications, but I’ll join this one!  Did.

I was updating my Facebook page, when I got an instant message from John Smoltz with his picture, like the one you see here.  “Hi”, it said.  Then I got that feeling.  You know, like the one you get when you answer the phone and realize your caller is an outsourced employee from India? 

The clincher…the closer..yes, Smoltz wrapped it up…with …

…a homework question! 

“Who are you?”, I wrote.  He responded with, “My name is John Smoltz, but I’m not the baseball player.”   More of the India Outsourcing feeling ensued.

Dang…shoulda called it in the air.