Texans may move 2017 training camp to the Greenbrier Resort (West Virginia)

[Arky]

Originally Posted by chuck

A couple of months ago I did one of those DNA tests to see about my ethnic heritage. .....

Which service did you use for that? I looked into it a few months ago and thought most of them were a little too generalizing. I didn't want to pay $200 for them to tell me I was mostly "Western European". Hell, I know that. Was looking for something a little more specific in country/region breakdown....

[chuck]

Originally Posted by Arky

Which service did you use for that? I looked into it a few months ago and thought most of them were a little too generalizing. I didn't want to pay $200 for them to tell me I was mostly "Western European". Hell, I know that. Was looking for something a little more specific in country/region breakdown....

I used the Ancestry one. It wasn't quite as specific as I might've have liked but it was ok and it was $100. You can get it for $80 if you're patient as they occasionally have a sale.

I might do the other one at some point just for the hell of it. I don't really remember the key differences or just why I chose the one I did.

[Arky]

Very good. Thanks!

[HPF Bob]

Hey, Chuckles, say "Hello" to Manny Sanguillen next time you see him. My favorite Pirate back in the day.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Hey, Chuckles, say "Hello" to Manny Sanguillen next time you see him. My favorite Pirate back in the day.

I've met quite a number of those old guys over the years. It was especially convenient when they actually used to qualify for participation in the WBC, you'd get a lot of them together in one place.

I ran into Mariano Rivera in the grocery store a year ago or so. He still looks like he could put on a uniform and get people out whenever he wants.

But in all seriousness, if I ever run into Manny I'll send you a picture of the both of us. I'm pretty sure he still spends a lot of time in Pittsburgh but he's pretty likely to spend winters here. I'll ask around.

Roberto Duran lives a block away from me. He is a total lunatic, but in the best possible way. I was walking by his house a couple of weeks ago and he was out in his driveway in his underwear yelling at someone inside. He has what once were luxury cars but are now nothing but old, beat-up pieces of metal crammed into every available square inch of parking in front of his house. Who knows if any of them even runs anymore. Back in 1990 or so he had a pet lion. It got loose one day and went roaming around the neighborhood eating out of trashcans. I too find it odd that anyone would actually use a trashcan but I guess you never know.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Arky

Memoirs? I got your memoirs.

Awesome. I would have never subjected these boards to those haiku contests back in the day if we had all these memoirs to read in the summer.

Originally Posted by chuck

And Keith and I have actually met. But that was back when his son was just a little boy. He's probably about 25 now, paying for Buford's so-securtee.

Ha, he just finished freshman year of high school, now 2" taller than me and still growing. He is a LHP getting his fastball into the low 80s, so he plays a lot of travel ball when the HS season is out, which is why I am tardy catching up here.

Originally Posted by chuck

A couple of months ago I did one of those DNA tests to see about my ethnic heritage. My mom's family is your normal southern hillbilly clan, you know, you can trace them back forever but hardly get out of Tennessee.

I did 23 and me. Then I sent my results and five bucks to Promethease for more info on my genetics. Pretty cool stuff. Done the ancestry.com thing; enjoyed that, too.

On a related note, growing up (around Texas, generally) I had often heard from classmates that they had some small amount (1/16th, etc) of Native American in their family. Like, wayyy too many people said that. Always had me curious. Anyhoo, these DNA tests can certainly provide some interesting results, because these folks who think they are part-Cherokee or whatever are FAR more likely to have African blood in them, especially if any part of their family has been in the southeastern U.S. for 200+ years.