Ramblings I'm back at work as much as I can be. Unfortunately, I have some tests to have run today at my docs to make sure the bladder thingie is working. I've been busy so my posts here on the lovely hobby I like to call Newscoma have dwindled for my tens of readers. At the paper, as I've slowly made my way back. The two big stories coming out of Weakley County is that Tennessee-Martin's Skyhawks actually made the playoffs and beat Murray State last weekend. Murray was having a crappy season and has the coach we had last year who defected over there at the end of the year. Everyone is taking the high road on all of this, but being that he left has made tons of folks happy that the college's football team whipped their hineys last weekend. There was a sense of satisfaction over it all. They play their first round of playoffs Saturday against the Salukis at Southern Illinois. In the past few years, the Tennessee-Martin football program hasn't been that hot. So, they are loading up buses for the game and fans are heading to Carbondale to savor it all, which I think is just fine. The other thing happening in the west as I've made my way back is that Santa has already arrived and will most likely be on every paper we have until Christmas. The Jolly Old Elf gets around, although the niece, Charley Bear, who is seven says they are all elfs because Santa has commitments to make toys this time of year. Commitments to make toys? She sees Santa as a corporate chief which amuses me to no end and makes me remember how I loved the magic of Christmas when I was a kid. I just thought he was a really nice old guy who had figured out how to use secret powers of mind control over reindeer. I never bought that he had a reindeer with a lightbulb on his nose though. It just wasn't possible because you needed batteries for that (or at least you did in my six year old mind.)  ¶ 11/22/2006 04:52:00 AM