We study and analyze the stats of our local sports teams to death. It is too early in the season to make playoff predictions for the Wings, and the Pistons are still in pre-season play. But, how about those Lions and Tigers!! Each of them is fresh off a win and we all hope our ferocious teams keep up the momentum. Since each of you have your favorite players’ stats memorized already, I’m going to indulge in a little self-promotion and share my own stats after today’s walk – check ‘em out:

Grand total miles walked this year as of 10/13/13: 350

I have walked 27 more miles than I’ve driven so far in 2013!

The above picture of Tigger and yours truly was taken sometime in the early 90s. My mother and I attended a grand opening of Forest City, a home improvement store which has since gone out of business, but would be comparable to a Lowe’s or Home Depot. One of the event’s promotions that day was the opportunity to be photographed with Tigger the Tiger. We drove to Redford, Michigan and found the queue for the photo op stretched half-way across the large store. Although Tigger had two handlers, plus another gentleman sitting close by with a large cooler of raw meatballs and a tranquilizer gun (just in case), Tigger was on his best behavior. His fur was sleek and very soft and my mom and I commented to each other that he reminded us of a tiger pajama bag that sat on my first real bed, after I outgrew the convertible crib. Tigger laid there motionless while the photographer posed his subject and then bustled about with his portable strobe light and Polaroid camera. After each photo session, Tigger received a little ear scratching and one raw hamburger meatball. I decided to wear this safari-suit outfit to make the picture look authentic, but too bad I didn’t don a safari hat as well, eh?

Ahh … such wonderful warm and fuzzy memories. Here’s hoping our Tigers make some special 2013 memories as well.