#AtoZChallenge - Octopus

 

Welcome to day 15 of the April A to Z Blogging Challenge!

My theme this year is thing that inspire and/or entertain me.  This post falls directly in the "entertain" category!

The Legend of the Detroit Red Wing's Octopus.

(the following pics were taken at Hockeyfest in 2009, which is why you see Joe Louis Arena instead of Little Caesars Arena)

(text below)

There are few traditions in sports that compare to those in the game of hockey.  One such tradition is the throwing of octopi onto the ice at Red Wings games.  Ever wonder how it started?

The octopus first made its appearance on April 15, 1952 during the Red Wings' Stanley Cup playoff run. 

Two Detroit brothers, Pete & Jerry Cusimano - storeowners in Detroit's Eastern Market - threw the eight-legged cephalopod on the ice at Olympia Stadium.  Each tentacle of the octopus was symbolic of a win in the playoffs.  Back then, the NHL boasted only six teams, and eight wins (two best-of-seven series) were needed to win the Stanley Cup.  The Red Wings swept the series that year, and the octopus has come to be the good luck charm ever since. 

The tradition carried over to Joe Louis Arena on opening night in 1979 when several made their way onto the ice. 

During the 1995 playoffs, Bob Dubisky and Larry Shotwell, co-workers at a meat and seafood retail company near Detroit, tossed a 38-pound octopus onto the ice during the national Anthem prior to game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.  The year after, the duo struck again with a 50-pounder in the Conference Finals.  Although the feat received no airtime on the nationally broadcast game, the octopus was proudly displayed on the hood of the Zamboni between periods. 

As of the time I'm writing this, the Wings are currently playing.  So the last time I can confirm an octopus hit the ice was... 2 days ago!  

#AtoZChallenge - I am a Non-Writer (clearly - lol!)

  

Welcome to day 14 of the April A to Z Blogging Challenge!

My theme this year is things that inspire or entertain me.  However, I'm a couple days behind in posting so there's been a definite lack of inspiration!  I'm trying to come up with interesting topics and not just grabbing some random word just to post.    

I have bits of stories bouncing around on my head, but I am not a writer.  

I probably could be but getting the stuff in my head onto paper (or in this case, a screen) is tough. 

Gratuitous photo of coworkers watching the eclipse.

I started blogging prior to 2009.  I was on Yahoo360 in the beginning and when it shut down, I didn't export my posts like they recommended.  I'm almost 99.998% certain that there were no quality posts anyway so I'm not sad.  Anyhoo. 

 I started blogging to give me an outlet to vent about the Spouse & the Spawn not getting along and various other woe-is-me stuff.  See - not quality!  Nobody wants to read about that.  I now make a point to try to keep my posts positive.  Either way, I started putting thoughts down since I have a magical talent of the middle of my sentences interrupting the beginning of other people's!  When I blog, people can't talk over me or change topics all willy-nilly.   

I used to have 3 blogs.  This one used to be called "Random Ramblings", then I had "...Slow & Steady" which had been "the Life of Lisa" prior.  It was geared toward my weight loss journey (don't ask how THAT is going!!)  I ended up combining them since I did a lot of double posting anyway.   August 2011 is when I started my Halloween-esque blog called "Maple Grove Cemetery".  I post there sporadically year-round, and it obviously picks up in the fall.    

I was pretty ambitious when I first found the A to Z Challenge, since I jumped right in with all 3 blogs which meant 3 different topics!  I did that in 2012 & 2013.  Then I stopped with MGC since I also did the Countdown to Halloween bloghop that used to happen in October.  Then I had the 2 blogs in the challenge for 2014 & 2015.  September 2016 is when I combined the 2 blogs so other than the 2 years I skipped the challenge, it's been just one entry every year.  

Rusty napping in the sunshine on my pillow.

Links to all of my A to Z posts in the tab above.  My favorite A to Z theme was in 2015 when I wrote about my time in the US Navy and told some sea stories.  It was the easiest topic to write, ever! 

#AtoZChallenge - Kayaking

 

Welcome to day 11 of the April A to Z Blogging Challenge!

My theme for this year is stuff that entertains and/or inspires me. 

Today is kayaking!

This is something I definitely don't do enough of!

I don't have that many pictures since I'm always concerned with flipping over and losing my phone.

I wasn't too thrilled with this particular river because there weren't many places to stop and relax.  The shores were hidden by tall reeds.  

I grabbed this little guy off a lily pad to say hi before letting him go.  And then kept all appendages inside the kayak afterward when I saw a snapping turtle as big as a hubcap! 

Of course, Chuck the skeleton went along with us! 

So stylish!

There's an event currently on Facebook put on by the Friends of the Rouge River in SE Michigan - a Haunted Paddle trip!  I think it would be a lot of fun, but do I really want to kayak in mid October in Michigan??  We could easily be having snow!