September 15, 2008 - PPM - Finger Photography

This week’s PET PEEVE MONDAY is a couple of days late.

Hurricane Ike’s impact was felt by Ohio on Sunday with 75 mph winds and massive power loss. Obviously, lack of electricity for a day or two is a minor disruption compared to the devastation experienced by those in Galveston.

My PEEVE is NOT about power loss.

Last week, I traveled with 3 buddies to Southern California to see the latest “Game of the Century”, #5 Ohio State visiting #1 USC.

My PEEVE is NOT about the over hype attributed to a single college football game.

On game day, we hooked up with an old friend, George, and the subject of a WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Blog from June 2006. George was eventually located in November 2006. George, originally from Ohio, was my California roommate from 1987-1989. He still lives in Orange County.

George secured a stretch limo and we went to the game in style only to see OSU get trounced 35-3 by the Trojans. The last time I was in the LA Coliseum was 1989 when Ohio State lost 42-3, so the team is making progress. The below picture is BEFORE the game.

My PEEVE is NOT about how Ohio State has been blown out is their last three prime time games.

My PEEVE is NOT about the Unsportsmanlike Conduct of some USC fans before, during, and after the game. Many of these “fans” were probably never students at the University as many of their chants and taunts were grammatically incorrect. Many of these rogue “fans” actually had trouble with the English language period. Unfortunately, there is never an INS agent around when you need one.

During the game, I asked George to take a picture of me with my camera phone. Our seats were across the aisle from a famous American.

Here is a nice picture of George’s finger.

I thought I would give George another chance. Now you can see part of me, my new friend, and most of George’s finger.

When George finally got it right, he captured a picture of me rolling my eyes in disbelief at his inability to use a camera phone.

My new friend is Maria Shriver, wife of the California Governor, Kennedy clan member, former NBC reporter, and staunch supporter of Barack Obama. She was wearing a T-shirt with his likeness.

As a USC fan, Maria told me she admired my devotion to Ohio State as illustrated by my OSU DUDE license plate. The plate used to be on the back of my Chrysler Le Baron convertible when I was living on the left coast.

Maria’s appreciation was short lived when I flipped the plate over to reveal the George W. Bush and McCain stickers. Note - This was after George's 7 attempts to TAKE A PICTURE.

My PET PEEVE is how can somebody in this day and age NOT KNOW HOW TO USE A CAMERA PHONE.

God help George if he experiences the rare sighting of Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster, or another Republican in California and all he has is a CAMERA PHONE.