Friday September 17

TGIF

It has been a very good week. Wednesday evening I attended a dinner held by my Masonic Lodge, Jefferson Lodge No. 553 F. & A. M., which honored a member of their lodge being Potentate of Moslem Shriners. I was awed by the number of friends/family that attended. For those of you who are not aware Jefferson Lodge is one of the mos appendant body-friendly lodges in Michigan. We are proud that many of our Brothers not only serve their blue lodge with loyalty, but also seek further light in all our appendant bodies: Scottish Rite, York Rite, Shrine, Eastern Star, etc. We have had many members serve as presiding officers of not only the local appendant body chapters, but also as state wide leaders. I have the honor of being the 6th Brother of Jefferson Lodge to serve as Potentate of Moslem Shriners.

When I view the accomplishments and reputations of the 5 other members who served as Potentates, I am so honored to be included in their company.

Thursday: I had to have a minor surgical procedure after work and I tried to drive to Plymouth to meet the Lovely and Talented Carrie for her Annual work gala. I travel I696 Westbound at least 3 times a week without any traffic, except for last night. It took 1 hour and 45 minutes to get from my house to Orchard Lake Road, by which time Carrie called and said I should just turn back, which was not much lighter. I got home around 8 P.M. and rested a little.

This weekend is kind of light. I am attending a Masonic Memorial Service for a Past Master of my lodge this evening. Saturday AM I a meeting some Shriners at the Downtown Garage to clean/wash the Child Care vehicles, and Sunday I have another Masonic Memorial Service for a Past Master who was one of the brothers in attendance the night I was raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason.

Monday is our first Shriners Hospitals for Children Charity Golf Classic to be held at the TPC Dearborn. We are very excited about the future possibility of this event in raising monies for our hospitals. We have a full slate of golfers and plenty of Child Care information to pass out. The weather forcast is low 70's and Sunny, which to me, sounds like a very nice day to golf. Of course, I will take my place at one of the par 3 holes to assist in my own way.

Now on to one of the most important topics everyone is interesting in, how is the University of Michigan Wolverines Collegiate Football Program going to perform against UMass this week. First of all, I was told that some people do not understand the abbreviations of certain Colleges, therefore I will state that UMass is the University of Massachusetts, which are referred to as the "Minutemen".

As you know I went out on a limb earlier this year and predicted that the Wolverines will win the BCS National Championship. So far, I am pleased with my prediction. I believe that the next three games, which many may consider very light competition, will provide some breaks for Denard Robinson. I do not see him rushing more than 20 times in any of the next 3 weeks, saving his body for the real Big 10 season. If all goes according to plan, he will play about 3 quarters and then Gardiner will get some playing time. I am not too happy that Gardiner has seen limited play, I beleive that it may affect his redshirts status, however, if Rich Rod feels that he is the true backup and next starter, the next 3 games should give him some real good experience. Also, we will see what the new special team kickers will look like. I never like left footed kickers, it is too much a disadvantage in not only running a play but to also make sure the ball placement is at the correct hash mark for your kicker.

Potentate's Prediction: Woverines 24 UMass 13