Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Now. I have to ask you a question. To be honest, how many of you watch professional wrestling on TV? Come on, no one is looking! I still watch it, and Sunday, April 8, was the ultimate wrestling match: Wrestle Mania 34 in New Orleans. Four hours of adult mayhem “soap opera” entertainment will fill the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with 75,000 plus screaming fans. John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, Shane McMahon, Triple H and many more are in the lineup. (Note…a true fan would recognize all of these names.) My earliest memory of wrestling was a Saturday afternoon where cars were sold in between matches. They couldn’t put gas in the cars, so several guys had to push the cars in and out of the studio. The matches were very tame compared to today’s over-the-top shows. They mainly involved real wrestling moves without any high-flying antics such as leaping off the top rings, biting, eye gouging or using chairs to batter one’s opponent into submission. A lot of that stuff was left for the paying customers later in the night. Sometimes they would chase each other around the ring or throw a few chairs in the air, and sometimes demonstrate feats of strength like tearing a phone book in half. All of the matches were previews of the matches that were going to happen that night under the big tent. Yes, a tent. At that time, I understood that this was not real, but I honestly believed that when it came to title bouts they would let them go at it. Some of the earliest names I can remember are Buddy Rogers, Bobo Brazil, the Sheik, Dick the Bruiser, Killer Kowalski, and so on. Of course, through the years many other names have stood out like Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and the Undertaker. Despite it being a scripted entertainment show, the wrestlers put themselves in harm’s way. One has to admire their athletic capabilities. Having a 250-pound man jump off a ring post nine feet in the air and flatten his opponent outside the ring has potential for injury written all over it. Many wrestlers have wound up in the hospital for broken bones and pulled muscles. Unlike TV shows or movies where one can say, “Cut! Do it again!” or “Bring in the stunt double!” these guys get one shot at doing it right, and if both parties are not on the same page or timing is off, serious consequences can and do occur. No matter what you think about professional wrestling, you have to take your hat off to them. It is not an easy career for sure.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“The only difference between taxes and death is that death never gets worse every time Congress meets.” – Will Rodgers
IRS
*IRS SLOGAN… ”You make it …we take it!”
*Overheard: ”The government is great at breaking your leg, handing you a crutch, and saying, ‘You see, without me you couldn’t walk.'”
*Income tax is a do-it-yourself mugging.
*The government is living beyond our means.
BEAUTIFUL WOMAN
Husband: I just saw a very beautiful woman.
Wife: Really? Then what happened?
Husband: I just kept on admiring her (on and on)
Wife (getting irritated): What happened then?
Husband smiled and said: You’re still here!
All I have for today. As always, be good, do good, play safe, and remember, it is only money…but it is your money!
–JR
