Scattershooting / Perhaps I Should Jinx Alabama-Clemson

Ever have lots of thoughts go through your mind? I do, especially every time I get another urge to do some Scattershooting, right here on Case's Column, neatly tucked in on City-Data, where it's great to be alive. Well, fasten your seatbelts as we take off for another computer rouser. This proves once again that "Here, There, And Everywhere" isn't just simply an old Beatles tune.

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Oh, the dirty, rotten things this writer can do when it comes to sports predictions. Is anyone else tired of Alabama and Clemson in the NCAA Championship football game? After all, my Texas Longhorns figure to be about two years away, pending the outcome of this upcoming National Signing Day. The last four years, it's been Alabama, Clemson, Alabama, Clemson, and it's just time for somebody else to grab the national spotlight. Even though the Crimson Tide is expected to have the number one haul in the country once again come February, that doesn't always translate to The Big One. You never know with the what-ifs.

All I can hope for is for my Texas Longhorns to make good for February and for the season to come. Our defense must improve, as should the offensive units. Coach Tom Herman is working his magic.

So, I'll make an early pick for the national championship game again. I'll choose Alabama and Clemson this time! Why? So I can jinx both schools at the end. Why not? After all, it only takes just one loss in the regular season.

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Ol' Case took a recent errand to The Vitamin Shoppe to restock on an item. The man at the counter decided to give me a surprise since he discovered that I had a cold. (And this aside, yes, I'm trying to heal up from that....) His surprise came to me in three small containers. They were elderberry gummies. Now, I'm not much of a gummy person, but these were worth a try because the same counter guy said that that product in the regularly-stored containers under its parent brand were all sold out in a relatively short period of time. How so? It's because of a supposed health benefit in elderberry, which I've never tasted before in my life. Two gummies appeared in some small containers, to be taken as one gummie in the morning and one at night until they run out.

They aren't bad at all. Really.

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Just checked this out recently in a Lubbock publication. How does Cowboy Chicken fail in Lubbock? Their one location in the Hub City closed last year after a few years in the area. It boggles my mind. The respected rotisserie chain is known for great chicken dishes and fabulous sides, and you'd think Lubbockites would eat that up in a heartbeat. Well, in many cases where a restaurant closure takes place, it's usually due to lack of customers pouring in.

As the area continues to grow, hopefully there will be enough demand for Cowboy Chicken to be given a second chance there. There's no reason for it not to have one.

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Regarding the recent Gillette ads which just came out that you've probably heard about by now: Don't you just miss the way things used to be?

Women are women, and men are men! Period.

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Here's a heartwarming story about what the NHL's Dallas Stars did to make dreams come true for a young boy with a special condition.

https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/nh...game-texas-boy

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Where you do think the first Buc-ee's built outside of Texas is located? Long ago, it was believed that Louisiana would have some possible prospects, as that's a neighboring state and they have many travelers there.

Well, a location outside of Texas is open. And that new spot for beaver nuggets and fun is in..........



........Alabama.

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Have you seen a trend in the Games forum on C-D lately? There are more and more random letters games being put together, and with an increasingly outrageous number of letters for people to try and play with them. Isn't enough enough? Do we really need more of those games when what we had before was already enough? 26 letters??? That's the whole dang alphabet!

It's time for people to come up with new ideas for games. Surely, something new is out there rather than just rehashing old ones.

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Allen (Texas) High School's marching band just continues to get larger. With 800 members in the corps --- Eight hundred --- and the largest in America, one can only wonder if they need a new band hall, or if they should just move all rehearsals to the field house. Goodness, gracious....

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President Donald Trump may have initiated this "government shutdown" to get Congress to better protect and secure our southern border. Well, now, he's offered to open it back up with his proposal. So, guess who's actually keeping the government "shut down" now? The Democrat Party, of course. Those out there who worship government must be having conniption fits.

I, on the other hand, am doing just fine (except for my cold) and not noticing anything different about my life. Those folks who actually were affected by this will eventually be taken care of, as there's no real need to worry.

Quit fooling around, Nancy Pelosi. Get with the program. Secure the border!!

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Did Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros really hide what turned out to be an arm problem? That's the word I've gotten from the Astros' website. Surprising to me, in that nobody really would have even known about it, especially the way he's been playing. In any event, he's rectifying this so he can be ready to go for a new season.

Major league pitchers and catchers report to Florida and Arizona in less than a month for another spring fling. Cooperstown looms for x number of former players come Wednesday. How many? Find out.

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Oklahoma transportation officials need to address a serious quirk in their highway system. Interstate 44 east of Tulsa was realigned a few years ago to relieve a logjam at its junction with OK Highway 66. It was the old Will Rogers Turnpike Gate location, long since taken down. There's a problem in the new alignment, however. The Creek Turnpike's old alignment and exit-numbering plan were never truncated, and it created a discrepancy on I-44. It happens at Pine Street, using mile marker 35 instead of what should be two hundred forty-something. Very messy.

Okies, you should have had some forethought when redesigning and rerouting highways. The Creek Turnpike's terminus should permanently be at I-44 and U.S. Highway 412, with the Will Rogers Turnpike beginning at the same interchange. You guys look silly right now.

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And here's something that almost sounded silly: KAAM-AM (770) airs a program on Sunday mornings called Lake Country Jubilee. Its host is Harold Marshall, and it's all about great Southern gospel music on this weekly program. Well, your writer tuned in this morning, and during one of the songs playing, Marshall forgot to turn off his microphone, allowing listeners to hear what we're not supposed to be hearing. You know how things are in the studio when you're a radio host, and all that contains behind the scenes, right?

As far as we know, no cuss words were uttered. And there were no tirades with members of his crew, either.

And while that was going on........

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....., this next subject for your perusal. What's this??? I'd stopped at Buc-ee's in Denton and a QuikTrip location in far north Lewisville this morning, and an unusual sight occurred at both locations. There were scant few vehicles. Literally. Never seen such a sight before. Now, granted, it was Sunday morning at 8 o'clock, but, still, people go to church, people travel, people are still on the roads. Never mind that it was 29 degrees outside. It was just a crazy sight that you would typically not see at either place. The Buc-ee's deal was just a drive-by this morning to check the place out after finishing breakfast up the road. So few people and vehicles this morning, which, for them, is not common at all. Beaver Nation is usually very picked. Once that Brinker/I-35E interchange is finally complete, Buc-ee's will certainly thrive there. It's not time to panic.

Oh, well. Your writer had the gas pumps all to himself once he got back to Lewisville. And at QuikTrip, the grounds at the pumps were even cleaned up really well.

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Funny thought: Wordplay time again. If Vladimir Putin ever wins a farting contest, then does this make him Vladimir Pooting? Better yet, if Jell-O wanted to feature Ol' Vlad in an ad, then does that make him Vladimir Pudding?

Putin on the Ritz?

Putin your head on my shoulder?

Nice com-putin, Case.

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We are going to see a super blood moon eclipse tonight (as of this writing). Depending on your weather situation, you and I will be able to view this event late tonight for about an hour. This will be the last time for about two years where the moon scoots its way into Earth's precious shadow.

https://www.foxnews.com/science/janu...the-rare-event

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How many more times will my apartment complex's management team send people with access to my apartment into it? Too many unnecessary random inspections. Okay, the exterminator hired to spray to kill insects, I'll give them that. But endless inspections, some nine in the past thirteen months now, are getting out of hand.

Perhaps I should just let them move in to my apartment with me since they like it so much....

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Today's the day that this year's Super Bowl square-off gets decided. Kansas City plays New England for the AFC, and the Los Angeles Rams play New Orleans for the NFC. Many watching parties will be taking place this evening, and the Big Game comes to us in two weeks.

And, yes, I plan to watch. The players had better stand for Old Glory, however.

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Time to wrap this up, all the while pondering my McDonald's visits for burgers. The McService was not too McGood recently. And I ate too McMuch and nearly became McMiserable, forcing thoughts of McQuitting Mickey D's. But I still have to grab a quick breakfast before McWork, so the McStops have to keep on McGoing.

And there you McAre.