I Feel Good (Nanananananana)

That's right a little James Brown on Friday.

The reason I feel good is that I spent two hours this morning at the Henry Davidson Center in Cedar Rapids serving breakfast to about 75 men and women outisde of society's mainstream. I don't want to call them homeless, or jobless, or "the poor" because I don't know if those descriptions fit these people. But I can teel you they were people who enjoyed and appreciated a hot breakfast. In the afternoon, the Center turns into an after-school safe haven for kids.

I feel good, but I also feel guilty. I don't write this e-mail from a position of pride, but rather from humility. At 35 years old, after a lifetime of professing Christ, this is the first time I've ever done something like this. Oh, yes, I've given money to causes, and donated clothes. But I've not shook the hand of a man who may not say hello to anyone else all day, or greet a women who took a breakfast to go so that she'd also have lunch taken care of.

Shame on me that a Christian man like myself talks a good game but has been sitting on the sidelines. I hope I can schedule more Friday mornings at the Center. It would sure do some people a lot of good. It would do me a lot of good, too.

---------------------------------------

Last week's pick of Iowa over Iowa State turned out to be one third correct. I did pick Iowa State to score 17 points, and they came in at 16. I count that as an accurate prediction. OK, so I picked Iowa at 27 and as the victors. If I hit .333 I'd be a NationalLeague All-Star!

This week Iowa invites the University of Northern Iowa Panthers to Kinnick Stadium. UNI is my alma mater, but don't think I'm picking them. Iowa shouldn't even be playing UNI. Iowa SHOULD be playing the Missouri Tigers, but they chickened out in 2004 when they realized the Iowa program was on the rebound. IOwa scheduled UNI at the last minute as a replacement.

Now, that said, there is the remote possibility that Iowa could get their lunch handed to them. That offense was horrendous last week. UNI, on the other hand, has scored more than 100 points during their first two games, and the starters were only around for one half of each game.

The Hawks have to put up some points, and shut down the Panther's quarterback. I think that will happen, for the most part. I look for Iowa to come out on top, 31-14. But the next week ... whoah nelly, is at Colombus to take on Ohio State. I'll give my prediction next Friday.

See post below for last night's survivor episode.