If You Want It, Go For It!

Arrived at Bobby's: Sat, Feb 25, 2017, @ 7:30 AM.

#SecuredThePorch: Accomplished

* * * * * * * * * *

BK Movie Review submitted by Team Widdoss

My wife and I have been trying to see as many of the Oscar-nominated movies as we can before the Oscars air on TV. Recently we saw three movies about three very different real life stories (Patriot’s Day, The Founder and Hidden Numbers).  To me, each movie has the same underlying theme. The theme being that despite numerous setbacks and poor odds if you set a goal and have the determination to keep going forward you will succeed.  

Patriot’s Day tells the story of the capture of the Boston Marathon bombers. The determination of the multiple law enforcement teams and civilians was apparent as thousands of pieces of evidence were analyzed including store security cameras, civilian cell phones and television network’s footage of the marathon. The smallest clues were pieced together and eventually led to the capture of the bombers in five days.   This feat was in a city of 48 square miles with a population of close to 675,000 people where the bombers had no previous arrest records.  

The Founder tells the story of Ray Kroc a moderately successful traveling salesman who always wanted more success. When selling milkshake machines he stumbled across the McDonald Brothers. The brothers’ ingenuity and packaging of food created a very successful hamburger walk-up restaurant.  Ray Kroc had the vision and determination to use the McDonald Brother’s concept  as the nucleus to create an empire. Today, McDonald's is one of the world's largest restaurant chains, serving approximately 68 million customers daily in 119 countries across approximately 36,615 outlets.

Hidden Figures tells the story of three black women (Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson) working at NASA as female black mathematicians in the early 1960’s.  Katherine’s job title was a “computer” and she was the only black women on her team. Katherine eventually proved to be instrumental in many of the NASA missions at the time. Most notably  she served a key role in the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. Dorothy was a supervisor without the title of supervisor title since supervisors could not be black.  Dorothy had the vision and determination to teach herself and then the other black mathematicians she supervised how to program “the IBM”. Mary Jackson persevered and overcame segregation in the classroom to earn her engineering degree and become NASA's first black female engineer.  All three women overcame many obstacles through perseverance and determination that eventually led them to their successes.

Each of these 3 stories ended in a success because they had a goal and the determination to achieve that goal. 

I tell this tale as a reminder to us all that in this great country we live in if you want it bad enough the only thing stopping you from achieving your goal is not being determined enough to do whatever it takes to get you there.  You can catch a bomber, build an empire, or fly into space to name a few things if you just keep at it.

* * * * * * * * * * 

On Saturday, Feb 25, 2017,  all participants in the BKWRP(Breakfast Club Weight Reduction Program) weighed in. This marks the end of the 8th week with only 2 weeks remaining.  From week 4 to week 8, we have 2 entrants who gained weight, 2 who lost weight, 1 stayed the same and 1 declined to weigh in. The excitement of winning has been greatly diminished when $100 of entrance fees were wagered on the Super Bowl and lost leaving only $20 for the winner. However, there still appears to be a very tight race between BC-3 & BC-6. BC-6's failure to weigh in could be all part of a sophisticated plan to gain a mental edge leading up to the final weigh-in on Saturday, Mar 11. But, I'm not sure if BC-3 is going to let up.

Key:
BKWRP - Breakfast Club Weight Reduction Program
BC-x - Beauty Contestant

* * * * * * * * * * 

It was great seeing Rob Sarosy & Billy Rooney this Saturday. It's always good to hear some fresh ideas. God knows the BK Club can get pretty stale at times.

I did hear some rumblings about me being very generous with my selection of Vince Vaughn to play me in the BK Comes to Broadway play. All I have to say is I think I was VERY generous with everyone. 

Mike Ballanco has been removed from the BK Lottery Board. It had something to do with the abysmal return during his tenure but great thanks have been extended for his service.

There have been several updates made to the BK Club Bylaws as reported by Coach Al, the BK Recording Secretary.  The updates appear to be very benign and fail to address the retirement issue, i.e. when a member retires, receives a retirement party, goes back to work and retires for the 2nd time, is a 2nd retirement party warranted? Hey - sounds like a good excuse for all of us to get together and have a few laughs. 

I have been asked to back up a claim I made stating, "since Obama was elected President in 2008, the Democrats have lost significant ground on the local, state and federal levels." (Because I exaggerate a claim every now and then I get put in the "must fact check" box. Geesh!!!) Here is a sampling. 

House of Representatives
Pre-2007 D-236, R-199
2008 election D-257, R-178
2016 election D-194, R-241

Senate
Pre-2008 D-49, R-49, I-2
2008 election D-57, R-41, I-2
2016 election D-46, R-52

Govenors
Pre-2008 D-28, R-22
2008 election D-29, R-21
2016 election D-16, R-33

Any bets on this trend reversing with the 2018 & 2020 elections?

The BK Club Comes to Broadway

Arrived at Bobby's: Sat, Feb 11, 2017, @7:30 AM.

#SecureThePorch: Accomplished
Technically, Coach Rick & Coach Tom arrived before me but only about by 1 minute. They have me wondering if they don't approve of the job I am doing as the Head Security of the BK Advance Team. 

Arrived at Bobby's: Sat, Feb 18, 2017, @7:30 AM.

#SecureThePorch: Accomplished

* * * * * * * * * * 

I was so happy, and surprised, this week when my lovely daughter Carly asked if she could drop in on the Breakfast Club. Of course, all children of the BK members are welcome and do show up from time to time but this would be her first time. 

Carly is currently enrolled in The New School in Manhattan and is working for Dodger Theatricals, a producing partnership that has an extensive list of Broadway shows including Jersey Boys, Matilda, and A Bronx Tale. She already has produced a few shows off off Broadway and is rapidly climbing the latter. Carly had a particular interest in discussing the role sports has played in all the BK members as a coach as well as a participant. In addition, a number of questions were directed towards the 'C' level BK members regarding leadership styles, motivation, effectiveness, team dynamics, and inspiration.

Why would I not be surprised if 5 years from now there was a play about the BK club and it's members? With that in mind, I along with Cindy, my assistant casting director, took the liberty of sketching out some possible cast members for "The BK Club Comes to Broadway". Let me know what you think and please share any thoughts you may have. I do need suggestions for who will play BK wives.

BK Member	Actor	BK Member	Actor
Ed B	Vince Vaughn	Jim W	John Goodman
Tom R	VP Mike Pence	Steve B	George Hamilton
Rick B	Ed Harris	Mike H	Pierce Bronson
Mike B	Phil Dunphy	Al D	Robert Deniro
Perry B	Justin Bateman	Bobby	Seth Rogen
Auxiliary Members
Jerry C	Keiffer Sutherland	Mark C no photo available	Charlie Sheen
Rich S	Rainn Wilson

A couple of notes:
Yes - I know Mike Pence is not a thespian but he is doing a heck of a job performing for President Trump.

* * * * * * * * * *

Happy Birthday Mike B!

We had a bit of a kerfuffle(impressed?) between Mike B. and me over water discharge from a home owner's sump pump. My claim is a homeowner is in violation when a pipe is punched into the street to handle discharged water from a sump pump. Mike's claim is that it is perfectly legal... "What else are you suppose to do with the water?" That sounds very reasonable and logical but to suggest townships are always reasonable and logical is a bit of a stretch. I know it's commonplace but that doesn't mean it's legal. For starters, a homeowner typically breaks through the curb to allow discharged water to flow to the sewer. Wouldn't breaking the curb compromise the integrity of the street and or the sidewalk? It is a bit daunting taking on the 'master plumber' in the group but I stand by my claim until proven otherwise. A Heady Topper shall go to the winner. Please weigh in.

Congratulations to Tom Rooney for winning the BK fantasy Football league. Last year's champion, Mike Hagerty, graciously handed over the trophy. Enjoy your victory, it's not often that the Hagerty boys lose a sports bet.

Someone had an interesting take on the Super Bowl. "If  I was the owner of the Atlanta Falcons, the head coach would have been fired before he left the stadium on Super Bowl Sunday." Hey - we roll hard at the BK Club. As a side note, the Falcons just hired disgraced ex-Rutgers Head football coach Kyle Flood. Clearly, that would never happen if the BK club owned the Atlanta Falcons.

Al - let's set a date for A Bronx Tale. This play has your name written all over it.

One issue that is bubbling with the BK club is whether or not a BK member is entitled to a retirement dinner if said person has already received a retirement dinner but is retiring for the second time. It's not fair to mention anybody's name because that would be personalizing the issue. But, as they say in Brooklyn, "it's not personal, it's just business." Of course, we could always look this up in the bylaws but no one knows exactly where the bylaws are. We know they are somewhere in South Florida but that's about as specific an answer as we ever get.

Congratulations to the Team Connelly for coming up winners in the Super Bowl pool(s). Team Connelly consisted of Jerry C, Tom R, Steve B, Mark C, and Perry B.

Congratulations to Rick Black on his Super Bowl victory.

I'm not going to even ask you how much money was spent to come up with a winning box. I wouldn't want to take away from the victory parade. Am I bitter? Damn right I am!!!

Rutgers University - The Real Super Bowl Champs

Arrived at Bobby's: Sat, Feb 4, 2017 @7:35 AM.

#SecureThePorch: Accomplished

* * * * * * * * *

So, the New England Patriots won another Super Bowl. Yawn! Tom Brady gets his fifth ring and was named MVP. Yawn! Lady Gaga gave a great halftime performance and the Atlanta Falcons give up the biggest lead in Super Bowl history. Another yawn! The real story is Rutgers University had more players playing in Super Bowl XLIX than any other college. Yes, that includes Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, LSU, USC, et al. Hopefully, this can give a nice bump in the recruiting efforts. The Rutgers players are:

Mohamed Sanu, Atlanta Falcons, WR
Devin McCourty, New England Patriots, DB
Logan Ryan, New England Patriots, DB
Duron Harmon, New England Patriots, DB
Jonathan Freeny, New England Patriots, LB(injured)

Rutgers actually had more than twice as many players in the Super Bowl as any Big Ten school. That makes Rutgers the real Super Bowl Champs...bam...mic drop!!!

* * * * * * * * * *

The Library - Submitted by Coach Tom

The Library is one of the cornerstones of a town. It’s right up there with City Hall, the Court House, Police, and Fire Stations. Where else can you rent a book for free, use a computer, read the local newspapers and current magazines? Teachers use it to prepare lesson plans, students to do research, adults to job hunt, seniors to relax and get caught up with the news and parents to read to their children.

Recently I had a problem with the rent a book for free part. When a new book comes out I go online and place it on Hold. When it becomes available, the Library sends me an email informing me that it is ready to be picked up. Then you have three days to pick it up. Recently I received one of those emails. Actually, I received three of them. So off to the library I went to pick up the three books. I have two weeks to read three books.

I finished and returned one of the books in six days. By then I knew I couldn’t finish the other two in the remaining eight days. So I had to decide between Jeffrey Archer and Lee Child. After a lot of reflection and prayer, I decided that Jack Reacher’s Night School would have to wait for another time.

So on a Saturday I left BK early and drove over to the library to return Night School. As I walked towards the library I decided to drop Night School into the outdoor book drop instead of going inside and returning it.

I check my online account every day. After a few days, I was surprised that it showed Night School still checked out. When the 14 days were up, I had finished Jeffrey Archer and returned it on the due date. The next day I checked online and Jeffrey was shown as returned but Night School was showing as out and now a $.20 fine was due.

After three days I started to panic. The fine was up to $.60. I decided a visit was necessary. Upon entering, I picked out the most friendly looking clerk and explained my situation. This nice lady explained how sometimes books get stuck in the outdoor chute. She had a young person go out and check the chute. When he came back empty handed she immediately went on the offensive. She said a lot of people forget books in their car. Books slide off the seats. She kept mentioning the book cost $28. I explained again that I made a trip just to return the one book. That I didn’t get out of the car and walk to the book drop without the book. She was no longer the friendly person. Now she was the Accuser. She told me I should go back to my car and look under the seat or on the side. I left frustrated. I went back to the car and checked under the seat and on the side Nothing. I started questioning myself. Am I getting old? Did I really return the book?

To make matter worse when I went home my family wanted to know if a poster of me was on the wall at the library. Would my daughter still be allowed to take books out?

Two days later while at home I received a voice mail. It was the Accuser. They found the book.

For the next few days, I checked my account online. The book was no longer outstanding but the fine was still there. So I decided another trip was warranted. This time when I entered the library the Accuser greeted me with a big “Hi Tom.” (Tom!!!) She explained how one of the young people put the book in the donation pile instead of the return pile. She happened to be working when someone wanted to buy the book. She claimed she yelled, “that’s Tom’s book.” Now she’s a hero! I told her the fine is still showing up on my account. She walked me over to the counter and told the clerk to offset my fine. The clerk asked why. She told her just do it. I think the clerk muttered something like “another President Obama pardon”.

Now that I was back in good graces I went to find a book. Guess which book I found and am reading right now, Jack Reacher Night School.

* * * * * * * * * *

Although this is the second consecutive blog that involves a Breakfast Club member being accused of committing a crime, there have been no convictions. Which means, for the moment, the BK Club is still in good standing in the community.  Let's see what next week brings.

The sheets were being passed around the BK table and I had to get in on the game. There were $10 boxes, $20 boxes, $50, $100 and $500 boxes and I was in on every sheet. For the bigger boxes, I had a partial stake but I was in on every possible bet. It was all playing out in my head too. After winning, we would all be smoking big fat cigars and drinking martinis celebrating out good fortune. While slapping each other on the back, we would be discussing out next big sports betting opportunity and of course, that would be college basketball. Well, it didn't work out as planned. Not a single box turned up a winner. It kills me to think how I allowed myself to get pulled into the gambling world. I am praying Cindy, my wife does not read this blog.