Today is the First Day Blah Blah Blah

So, I wake up this morning, and I gotta tell you, I'm feeling good. It's a new year. I'm a new man. Today, I'm thinking to myself, is the first day of the rest of my life. And what a life it's going to be. I'm done with complaining. I'm just going to look on the bright side of things and, if I can't think of something nice to say, then I'll simply refrain from speaking. I get in the car, whistling a happy tune, and drive to work.
And then, I get behind a school bus. That does it for me. I made it twenty minutes, but some things just really irk me. The school bus is going down some residential street, I use as a short cut to work. Doesn't the school board realize that my getting to work is more important than getting these little brats to school?
And, why can't these kids walk a few feet and all catch the bus at the same spot? When I was a kid (and this is the total truth), I had to climb a mountain to get to school, and I'm talking first grade here. If you don't believe me, ask anyone who attended Boones Mill Elementary. The dilapidated old school house sat on top of a mountain. There were 186 narrow, steep steps that we little kids had to climb just to get us some education.
Admittedly, that character-building exercise didn't build all that much character in me, but at least I did it. These kids in Chesterfield, don't even have to walk a block. I'm surprised the bus driver didn't stop at each house, go inside, and carry the poor little things out on her back. In the course of three blocks, the bus stopped five times. That's ridiculous.
It's not only ridiculous, it's the reason this year will not be any better than the last. It's the sole cause of me reverting back to my rather contentious 2005 self. You can appreciate, I'm sure, that it's not my fault.
So, as long as I'm complaining, here a a few more things I might as well get off my chest. Have you seen where they want to put a new ballpark now? I didn't think there was a more unattractive section of the city than the location of the Diamond, but, lo and behold, the city has found some place even worse in which to build a stadium...the Fulton Gas Works, or whatever that section is called.
It's not even near a Greyhound station. There's absolutely nothing nearby. Not even decent roads. You know how some women are abused by their husbands for so long, that they begin to think they deserve being abused? Well, I think the R-Braves are suffering from abused local sports franchise syndrome. They must be buying into the belief that they deserve to be stuck in some desolate, seedy section of town. Admittedly, the new site is fairly close to the proposed Rockett's Landing development. But, is there any reason to believe that will eventually become a reality? I know artist's renderings have been produced, which generally is the downtown Richmond kiss of death for a project.
I think I'm on to the mayor's dirty little secret. I think he wants to propose a site so horrible, that the existing location will look great. Well, I'm too smart for that, Mr. Mayor. I know what you're trying to pull.
I think Shockoe Bottom is a great place for a ballpark. There are already entrepreneurs who have invested big sums down that way. I think what has made Shockoe Bottom succeed is that there never were any artist's renderings.
I tell you what. Build a stadium in the Bottom and I'll personally build a slave trail museum down there. I'll even go down on Sunday afternoons and conduct tours. Just, please build me a nice ball park. That's all I ask.
I could go on with a laundry list of gripes, but, hey, we have a whole year to air out my grievances. But, come 2007, I'm a new man. In 2007, you won't hear one complaint from my lips. I promise.