Last Thursday we drove to Chicago to see Wicked. We got there about 1 p.m. and checked into the hotel and grabbed some lunch at a restaurant in the hotel. We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant, Sal Picon. It’s a real trendy Mexican restaurant that a fan recommended to us during the U.S. Nationals. Then, we took a cab to the show. It was pretty good. It was a little long for me, about three hours, but it was good. It made the wife happy, and that’s important.

We spent Friday shopping on the Magnificent Mile. We bought some baby stuff for Chris Abbott on my team and the Dixons. We had lunch at Chipotle because Melanie had a VIP card from the ESPYs and she gets free food for a year. We stopped at another Mexican joint and had some chips and guacamole before heading back to Indy. No sushi this time folks. It was a sushi-free weekend.

Saturday, I spent the day doing yard work. We pulled weeds and fertilized and did odds and ends around the house. I got a call to come out to ORP to watch Jack Beckman test and get his license Funny Car license, so I rode my bike to the track. Whit Bazemore and I signed his license. I rode my bike back home, took a shower, ordered a pizza online from Papa Johns, and sat and watched the Cup race from Richmond. It was a pretty good race and the final race to make the chase.

Yesterday, I got up and did some more work around the house. I ran some errands and cleaned the Denali in the afternoon. We were on the go all summer, so it was time for some fall cleaning over the weekend. Last night, all the neighbors aerated the yards. We used my John Deere and Kevin started on his yard before going around the neighborhood. I watched the end of the IRL race and Kevin and Gretchen came over for some NFL and chili. Melanie made chili for the start of football season. Then, we went to Freddy and Tina’s house for the Colts/Giants game.

At the shop, we got our chassis back from Murf’s, so the guys are working on that. We had our old car fronthalved, so they are putting that together before Reading. They’ll leave tomorrow. We’ll leave on Wednesday afternoon; it’s a 10-hour drive from Indy. I have to call Aaron Rowand of the Phillies to see when he’s coming out to Maple Grove. Unfortunately, he got hurt and is out for the rest of the year, but he’ll be able to come to the race track this weekend.

Today is the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and I think it’s important that we all reflect. Five years ago, I was getting ready to go to the airport and fly from Denver to Philly. That was a Tuesday morning. I was flying into Reading early to do some press work, and my sister called me and told me to turn on the TV as I was about to leave for the airport. After all the flights were canceled, I did like most people and stayed glued to the TV the rest of the day. The NHRA was one of the first sanctioning bodies to cancel activities for that weekend, and I think they should still be commended for that.