Their songs were great and their between song banter and overall presentation made for the kind of performance that made me wish the young college whippersnappers in attendance would have shut their yaps and listened to the show. No harm, I suppose. Despite battling illness, Tiffani demonstrated a Letterman-like ability to make a bad joke funny with witty post-punchline commentary.

They were joined on stage by their mother, Carrie (sic ?), Tif’s husband Bill Passalacqua, and Bill’s brother Larry. I went to college with Bill, which is how I found myself in Edwardsville on a Saturday night. He’s a great perfomer in his own right, and if you have young children, they need to hear Jack Rabbit.

Since Tammy and I had a night out without the kids, and we were in the vicinity of Fairview Heights, I thought I’d treat her to somewhere special for dinner. We brought some home for the kids and the babysitter.

HUMZOO Welcome!
Another Japanese surf rock band? NO! It’s a new venture from our local Heinzel. HUMZOO is "a free service that lets people create personal web sites that are easy to browse, easy to edit and easy on the eyes.” There’s also an affordably priced extra-feature version. Somebody interested in setting up a class of 1980 grade school alumni site (hint, hint) might find this the perfect vehicle for achieving that venture.

Say your prayers, chicken sandwich lovers.

displaying the bounty of our trip to Chick-Fil-A. We left Indianapolis early Saturday morning to get to South Bend by lunch time. Little did we know that Route 31 would take us past our favorite restuarant.

Victor is . . .



putting himself to the test. An inflated obstacle course in the JACC was all that it took to forgive me for not letting him play at the indoor playgroud at the Chick Fil A. We came back to this a second time when roaming the campus didn’t satisfy his need for action.

Victor is . . .

under the watchful eye of Touchdown Jesus. It’s hard to explain to a six-year-old why the son of God would be signaling a score in a football game, so I didn’t even try.

Victor is . . .

meeting some percussionists. He’s got a drummer’s soul, I’m convinced, so it’s time he met some of his own people. Also, if you’re ever in South Bend on game day, the band members are the friendliest and most helpful ambassodors that you’ll find.

Victor is . . .

giving five with the players as the walk from Mass and into the stadium. You can’t see it here, but several of the guys reached down to slap him some skin. It’s one of the many traditions at ND that makes game day such a cool experience.

Victor is . . .

clearing the way so the Irish Guard can pass. They looked serious as they made their way across campus, but also quite majestic.

Victor is . . .

digging on the band. After watching the pre-game concert, we went to see the drum circle, where they were kicking out some dope beats. The tuba players laid down their weapons and Victor went to frolic in the brass garden. Drum Major Ryan Bailey was happy to pose with young Vic.

Victor is . . .

slightly pissed that he wasn’t allowed to climb on the Frank Leahy statue. Respect, laddie, respect.

Victor is . . .

posing with his dad in front of the golden dome, but would have much rather been posing with the cute coed who graciously agreed to take the shot.

Victor is . . .

again with his dad, this time in the stadium. It was a touching moment. Dad isn’t an ND grad, but for some reason, sharing this moment with his number one son tugged at the old heart strings.

Victor is . . .

watching the team take the field. We soon ran out of film (film?) so we don’t have any pictures of the game. Victor now hates the “Georgia Techs.”

Next week, we’ll go see the Cyclones.

Victor is . . .

the best looking dude in the stadium.