Cardinal Vault XXI: You want some?

By K.J. Cardinal

Last night I was doing some work and somehow stumbled upon this old clip of Anna that I just had to post. So, the 21st installment of The Cardinal Vault brings us all the way back to September 23, 2009.

You want some?

The Cardinal Vault XX: Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

By K.J. Cardinal

Well, it's Super Sunday and all the roman numerals have reminded me that I haven't made an entry into The Cardinal Vault in quite some time. So, what better way to commemorate a Sunday, Sunday, Sunday than with a good old monster truck photo.

The 20th edition of The Cardinal Vault takes us back to June of 1985.

Here, Tiffany and I both easily fit inside the rim of a monster truck tire at the Rochester Fairgrounds.

It's a great photo and classic photo op, but my favorite part is absolutely my hat. I remember that it was a free giveaway at a C's game back in the day and I cherished that thing. I used to wear it religiously... that is until I got Bill Walton and Greg Kite to autograph it during the 1985-86 season. That's right... Greg Kite. I know, I'm a big timer.

Enjoy the Super Bowl tonight everyone. Think of me as I'll be spending all day at the Northeast-10 Swimming & Diving Championships at Southern Connecticut State University. What a way to enjoy this glorious Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.

Happy Birthday Mom

By K.J. Cardinal

The backbone of the Cardinal family turns 53 today. Happy Birthday Mom!

I know most women would cringe at the idea of having their age posted on a public blog, but I think we all know, my mom's not "most women". She's Superwoman. Always has been and always will be.

Mom, your 53rd birthday wraps up a year that tested you and our family, both physically, mentally and emotionally. I am so grateful of everything that you've taught me and you mean more to me than anyone could ever imagine.

Like Zach Gill says, "I love you now, like I loved you then... back in the day."

Happy Birthday.




[WATCH MOVIE]

Wellllll... well, it's the Big Show

By K.J. Cardinal

Following in the footsteps of Maria Menounos, I think that Anna is about ready to take the plunge into the world of professional wrestling.

For some strange reason, Anna has developed this habit over the last couple days of slipping her right arm out of her shirt, through the neck hole, in an attempt to mimic former WWF wrestler, The Big Show.


When I was in college, a few of my friends and I would sing the opening line to The Big Show's entrance music "Wellllll... well, it's the Big Show" (click here to listen), every time that we'd see a girl wearing one of those stupid shirts that had just one strap going over one shoulder. So, I am compelled to bust out that tune every time Anna does the same.


Anyway, someday we will all look back and laugh at the day when Anna was dressing like a professional wrestler... I have no idea where she gets this stuff...

The Cardinal Vault XIX: Smile Santa, please!?

By K.J. Cardinal

The 19th installment into The Cardinal Vault takes us back to December of 1982 (I think) and fittingly it somewhat celebrates the holiday season that is upon us.

I believe (and maybe my mother can confirm) that this was taken a few weeks prior to Tiffany's fourth birthday and a few months before my third. Regardless, Tiffany and I seem rather content to be sitting on the lap of this angry Santa.
Seriously sir, can't you muster a smile?!?! I mean, you should have known that someday the little boy on your right knee would post this on his blog and rip you to shreds for looking pretty creepy. I give you props for the quality effort put into your hair and beard, but if you don't smile like Saint Nick, then you can't sell it.

If you were the real Santa, then you'd be celebrating the joyous occasion of having such a cute girl sitting on your lap with a vintage Strawberry Shortcake shirt on...not to mention the preppy little fella on your other leg, rocking a collared shirt under a V-neck sweater. If those two don't put a smile on your face, then I don't know what could.

The Cardinal Vault XVIII: Vintage Vegas

By K.J. Cardinal

The Cardinal Vault makes it valiant return with this trip out West back in the summer of 2005.

The Cardinal and George families took Las Vegas by storm over the Fourth of July weekend and for some reason Tiffany, Pete, Matt, Angie, Katie and Donnie felt that it was necessary to bring some vintage clothes along to create quite the scene down in Old Vegas.

They all got dolled up and actually rented a limo to help take the spectacle to the next level.


You may be wondering where I am. Well, I was taking the photo for one. And two, I wasn't about to put on a three-piece suit in 100-degree Las Vegas weather.

My favorite part of this photo has to be Matt's eye patch. Not sure how that is "vintage", BUT it was freakin' hilarious. Also, this photo doesn't do justice to the shade of pink that Donnie's pants were...those who were there know what I'm talking about.

Also interesting to note that this was just a few hours before I drank this huge football mug full of SoCo and Coke and lost about $300 at the craps table in 5 minutes.

July 3, 2005 was memorable for many reasons...thank god "Vintage Vegas" is the event that we have visual evidence of and not my hammered miscue on the felt. However, I was rather embarrassed by both.

The Cardinal Vault XVII: K.J., Matt & Employee #8

By K.J. Cardinal

It's only fitting for the 17th entry into the Cardinal Vault to be Celtics related. So, this entry takes us back to the Spring of 1997.

Pictured below, Matt and I are with none other than Employee #8 himself Antoine Walker.


As juniors in high school, Matt and I traveled to Washington, D.C. as part of the Close Up program, a nonprofit that exists to educate and inspire young people to participate in our democracy.

So we were moseying around the nation's capital going from one meeting to another when we came across a chartered bus that had a small sign on the windshield that said "Inside the NBA."

We saw that the bus had people aboard, so we decided to wait to see who was about to come off the bus. The first person to step off the bus was none other than "Coach" Willie Maye. At the time he was a courtside reporter for Fox Sports Net and the Celtics, so I was immediately fired up.

Then a handful of kids came off the bus followed by none other than Toine. My insane, psychotic, staulkerish love affair with Antoine had already begun as he was wrapping up his rookie season for the C's...so needless to say I was giddy as a school girl.

We approached Toine (Matt recalls that I was throwing kids out of the way to get up-close with him) and chatted it up for a few minutes. He was pretty cool and was rather skeptical of my fanaticism until I pulled a Celtics ticket out of my wallet to prove that my family had season tickets.

Anyway, we had Willie Maye snap this picture and it's definitely one of my all-time favorites. I look like a tool with those sunglasses on, but I was 17 and thought I was cool. Also, yes, my polo shirt has a zipper instead of buttons...WTF was I doing?

I appreciate that Toine is showing that he isn't any bigger than us as he was wearing a name tag too. Something tells me that after his rookie season he wouldn't be caught dead with a name tag on, regardless of the scenario.

Apparently "Coach" and Toine were taking Boston inner-city kids with perfect attendance on a trip to D.C. So that's why he was there...not sure why he had to have the name tag, but he did.

The next entry into The Cardinal Vault will feature another encounter with a member of the original Big Three that is definitely vintage and priceless.

The Cardinal Vault XVI: Lovebirds

By K.J. Cardinal

The 16th entry into the Cardinal Vault commemorates my parent's 27th wedding anniversary, which is today. Happy Anniversary!

Pictured below, the two lovebirds are nuzzling at what I believe is Grand View Camping Area in Rochester, N.H. My Meme and Grandpa (my mom's parents) camped at Grand View during my childhood and since that's their camper, I can only surmise it's there.

In unrelated news, when I was in high school I got banned for life from Grand View...becoming the third family member to get the heave-ho for life. My Uncle Doug and cousin Jeff also got the boot at one time...but I digress.


My absolute favorite thing about this photo has to be my Dad's shorts. I believe the correct term for those, which is also a Kimism, is "nuthuggers." I am also digging the white on white by Kim the elder...what a pimp.

Seriously though, Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad. You guys are the best parents, friends and grandparents that I could ever ask for. Thanks for being you!

The Cardinal Vault XV: Red & a Hulkamaniac

By K.J. Cardinal

The Cardinal Vault returns for its 15th installment with these two photos that take us back to the Spring of 1988.

Below, I am pictured at the Red Auerbach statue located near Faneuil Hall in Boston.


Being the godfather of the Boston Celtics, getting my picture taken with Red was really something special for me. I also think that it actually helped spark my love affair with the city of Boston.

My favorite part of this photo actually has nothing to do with the Celtics, but rather the headband around my neck. That is nothing other than a "Hulkamania" headband.

I remember vividly that we were in the city for the weekend for a big WWF event, so I had to don the colors of one of my childhood heroes, Hulk Hogan. Seriously when I was eight years old my heroes were Larry Bird, Robert Parrish, Roger Clemens and Hulk Hogan...not necessarily in that order, but probably par for the course of most eight-year-olds living in New England.

As a special gift to all that read my blog, below is a free ticket to the gun show.

The Cardinal Vault XIV: What's A Prom Mascot?

By K.J. Cardinal

It's been a while since I've made an entry into The Cardinal Vault, so I figured I need to go all out with this post. This gem takes us back to 1992 when Katie was the mascot of the Farmington High School Junior Prom.

I'm not exactly sure why they call this role a "mascot" since she's not dressed like a Tiger or anything, but nonetheless she's super cute. In this video, Katie is escorted by Seth Chagnon. Enjoy!

Beware the Ides of March: Auntie turns 60!

By K.J. Cardinal

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Auntie Sheila
Happy Birthday to you

Those of you who know my Aunt Sheila know why it's only fitting to start off this post by "singing" Happy Birthday. For those of you who do not know "Auntie", let me explain.

First off, Auntie is my father's oldest sister...as evidenced by her Class of '66 photo to the right (sorry I couldn't resist). But more importantly, Auntie is the Queen of Holidays, Birthdays and Gift Giving in general. She's the type of person that wraps presents by taping every last crease on a gift so it takes you forever to open them. She's the type of person that picks a theme for a gift and buys you everything known to man in that theme. If there was a professional league for celebrating holidays, Auntie Sheila would be Michael Jordan.

Growing up, Auntie would always make a huge to-do about our birthdays. Living in Maine and then Florida, it often made it tough for her to celebrate our birthdays with us in person, but that didn't stop her from going all out.

A day or two before our birthdays, we'd get a ridiculous care package in the mail from Auntie. But of course, we had to wait until our day to open it. When our birthday came, she would always call and sing Happy Birthday to us. If we weren't home, then sure enough we'd check the answering machine and there was Auntie's Happy Birthday rendition.

For the year's when we were fortunate enough to spend our birthdays with Auntie, we were in for an even better treat. Not only would we get her child-like joy, but also one of her famous birthday cakes. She is a pro cake decorator. Don't take my word for it though, just take a look at the photo to the right. For my Dad's 35th Birthday, Auntie's theme for my dad was Bud Light (I know, shocking). So, as you can see, she did up a cake that looked just like a Bud Light. Her gifts were always great, but the cake itself was always my favorite gift.

Anyway, Auntie's holiday joy didn't stop there though. It continued throughout the entire season concluding with her Super Bowl...Christmas.

When Auntie would walk in the door to spend Christmas with us, you could literally feel the holiday spirit come in with her. She'd get so excited for us and got us so fired up for the big day. She is the sole reason why our family started the insane tradition of getting up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning to open our gifts.

Now, when I say crack of dawn, that's actually incorrect. Many years, "dawn" was still a few hours a way. Waking up at 4 a.m. on Christmas morning in those days was considered sleeping in...seriously.

It was crazy. It was insane. It was unhealthy. It was what we all loved about having Auntie at our house for Christmas. Auntie actually had to rotate her holiday schedule each year (one with the Cardinals, the next with the Lords) because we couldn't get enough of it.

So as you can see, saying Auntie Sheila is the Michael Jordan of celebrating holidays might actually be an understatement...if that's possible.

Happy 60th Birthday Auntie and thanks for always making our birthdays so special. We love you!

The Cardinal Vault XIII: The K is for Knievel

By K.J. Cardinal

Not many people know this, but the K in K.J. actually stands for Knievel. As in Evil Knievel. Don't believe me? Well this entry into The Cardinal Vault should help explain.

You see, from a young age, I had this love affair with any sort of all-terrain vehicle (ATV). And, apparently I also had a thing for open-faced helmets (see right) and posing for the camera after I crashed (see below).

So, it should be obvious to all that the K in K.J. clearly stands for Knievel.


OK, well that's not entirely true...the K really stands for Kim, which I'm very proud of despite having a girls name, and my love affair for ATVs came from me wanting to be just like my big cousin Billy who had his own ATV.

The Cardinal Vault XII: K.J. breaks finger

By K.J. Cardinal

For the 12th installment of The Cardinal Vault, and the second video entry, we travel back to 1987 for these two gems.

Both clips are from my Pee Wee night game when I was seven years old in a classic match-up of Red vs. Yellow. It's great to not only unleash my stellar basketball skills for the world to see on the internet, but also to see my dad and some of his friends as they were involved in the 500 Boys Club in Farmington back in the day.

The first clip is the highlights from the big game. In starts with me winning the prize for selling the most tickets to the game, followed by the Red team starting lineups and ends with me breaking my pinky finger as I sky for a rebound :)

For those of you familiar with the Farm-town crew, take note that Paul Moulton is the emcee of the event, while my Dad (gray sweatshirt with blue sleeves) and Dave Sargent (blue T-shirt) are the refs for the game. Clearly a conflict of interest with my old man as the ref, which is probably why we won by 14 points. For you America East folks out there...yes, Charlie Diehl was assigning officials for the 500 Boys Club in the mid-80s.

The second clip is from the opening tip until when I check out halfway through the first quarter. It's just an unedited snippet to show you the fast-paced action that epitomized 500 Boys Club basketball back in the mid-80s. It's reminiscent of the Lakers' Show Time. Please take note that it takes me approximately seven seconds before I fire up my first shot...I was a gunner.

Also, just because I'm a stat geek, I couldn't help but keep stats in my head as I watched the game in entirety. I'll be honest, for the game I was 0-for-5 from the field with four assists, five rebounds, three steals and three turnovers. My team was up 12-0 with 5:23 to go in the fourth quarter when I break my finger and then the defense fell apart and gives up a basket. Don't worry though, the Red team was able to hang on for the 16-2 victory in my absence.

The Cardinal Vault XI: Chubby Wubby

By K.J. Cardinal

Your wait is finally over and after seeing this post I'm sure you'll agree that adding videos to The Cardinal Vault is arguably the best idea I've ever had.

After milling through VHS tape after VHS tape, I was able to round up tons of great footage that is going to help take The Cardinal Vault to the next level. With so much footage you may think that I had a hard time choosing which video was going to be the first entry into the Vault. But, that was not the case at all.

No matter how many good clips I came across or sequences that I spliced together, nothing seemed to hold a candle to this 25 second clip that features Katie. Every time I see it I can't help but crack up, so I just had to share this joy with you all.

If you know Katie now, then I'm sure you can imagine that she was a cute kid since she's so beautiful. But, I really think she was the cutest kid ever. As if her big brown eyes, chubby cheeks and freckles (AKA "fly poops") weren't enough, Katie had (and still does have) the best personality of all time.

If you don't believe me, take a look at this and you'll be saying the same thing. An instant classic and a no-brainer for the first video entry into The Cardinal Vault.

I really hope you all enjoy this video because there is plenty more of Katie where that came from. She seems to be the central figure in a lot of these videos, so she'll be back frequently for more video vault entries.

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In related news...
I'd like to thank my buddy Steve Lemon of the world renown Come to the Pooks blog for coming to the rescue for a fellow blogger. Steve read that I forgot the VCR up in New Hampshire and he saved the day by letting me use his. So, if it wasn't for Steve, the video debut in The Cardinal Vault would have undoubtedly been delayed a few more weeks. Thanks Steve!

The Cardinal Vault X: Cheeeeese!

By K.J. Cardinal

The 10th entry into The Cardinal Vault bring us back to November of 1982. The only thing that I can possibly think of to explain this picture - other than the fact that I ate a lot of paint chips as a child - is that I was in the middle of saying "Cheeeeese!" when someone snapped this picture.


Never mind my unintentional destruction of what would have been a great photo of Mema and Papa's grandchildren. I am pictured here with my cousins (from left-to-right) Vicky, Billy and Missy and my sister Tiffany. I am not sure if this was a special occasion or anything, but we are at my Aunt Carol & Uncle Bill's house in Strafford, N.H.

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Other news regarding The Cardinal Vault...
In the not-so-distant future, the first vintage video will be submitted to The Cardinal Vault. Last weekend when I was up in Farmington, I went through a few old VHS tapes (god, I hate VCRs) and found a few gems. I was planning on posting a video this week, but when I got our VCR out of the basement and hooked it up to convert the video, the VCR decided to eat a tape (again, I hate VCRs). So, once I can get my hands on a functioning VCR I will be sure to get a video or two up into the Vault.

The Cardinal Vault IX: Brokeback K.J.

By K.J. Cardinal

With no posts in a full week, I know you all probably thought that The Cardinal Blog fell victim to the on-going Writers Guild of America strike, but this is not the case.

Actually, despite the recent writer's strike, I crossed the picket line for the ninth installment of The Cardinal Vault which features an adaptation of the screenplay Brokeback Mountain. I dub this photo "Brokeback K.J."


I don't feel like a lot of commentary is necessary for this post. But, I will say that if Tom Brady can go "Brokeback" (see the Stetson ad pictured to the right) that it must be OK for me to reveal this photo from my childhood. Maybe now I'll embark on an undefeated season of my own or something...who knows.

Also, earlier this winter I had a friendly wager with my friend Scott on our fantasy basketball match-up. The winner got to pose the loser in an embarrassing photo. For whatever reason, Scott never came to collect his reward, so here you go Scott...this one's for you.

The Cardinal Vault VIII: Victory Lane

By K.J. Cardinal

The eighth installment of The Cardinal Vault takes us back to the summer of 1995. Pictured below is the Cardinal family with Rick Wolf in victory lane at Lee U.S.A. Speedway.

Rick, a lifelong family friend and one of the nicest and funniest guys you will ever meet, just piloted his #38 street stock to his second of two victories during his '95 campaign.

My parent's business, Cardinal Snax Sales, was a big sponsor for Wolf Motorsports through the early years of Rick's racing career. During the early to late 90s, you could find our entire family at the start-finish line at Lee on just about every Friday night.

Fora few seasons I was actually part of Rick's pit crew. I know nothing about cars, so I was pretty useless except for my wise cracks and record-keeping abilities.

It was such a blast going to the races and watching Rick develop into one of the top drivers in New England. The highlight of Rick's racing career (so far) came during the 2004 season as he won the 2004 NASCAR New England Region Championship.

Back during the 1999 campaign, I approached Rick about starting a website for him, www.wolfpack38.com. We launched the site later that summer and it's been a great thing for Rick and I ever since. It was the first real website I did on my own and it has helped Rick generate some sponsorship dollars and publicity too. The site has actually won a few awards, which helped legitimize the site and my design skills along the way.

Anyway, there are three things that just crack me up that I have to point out in this photo:


1) My mom's hair. Wow. That was a tight perm. She could've teased that thing out into a fro if she wanted.

2) Rick's mustache. The only thing that could possibly explain that sexy 'stache was that Rick was attempting to become a porn star.

3) My dad's hip pack. I know they can seem like a convenient way to carry all of your race paraphernalia, but c'mon Dad, you're cooler than that :)

The hip pack also reminds me of one of the funniest stories from one of the best weekends of my life when my Dad, Rick and I went down to the Daytona 500 back in February of 1998. The story is too long to tell right now, but ask me about it the next time you see me and I'll be sure to fill you in.

The Cardinal Vault VII: Papa's Grandkids

By K.J. Cardinal

The seventh entry into The Cardinal Vaults comes courtesy of cousin Vicky. In this photo, Papa is pictured with all six of his grandchildren.

For those of you who don't know everyone in this photo, I'll start with myself in the bottom left and identify my cousins/siblings going clockwise: cousin Billy, cousin Vicky, my sister Tiffany, cousin Missy and my sister Katie. When I say "cousin Billy" or "cousin Vicky" I can't but help thing of Balki Bartokomous saying "Cousin Larry" back in the day on Perfect Strangers...but I digress.

Anyway, there are three particular things I love about this photo:


1) Vicky's "D.A.R.E. to keep kids off drugs" t-shirt. An instant classic. I can remember taking the D.A.R.E. classes in elementary school and that D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. Officer Roberge would be proud.

2) My Reggie Lewis t-shirt and Celtics shorts. You can tell that my love affair with the Celtics started at a young age and it's probably no coincidence that I ended up attending the college that Reggie put on the map, Northeastern. Man, I wish I kept that shirt.

3) Papa holding Katie. As you can tell from previous entries in The Cardinal Blog, my entire family adored Papa to no end. But I have to admit that no matter how much me, Tiffany, Billy, Missy and Vicky loved Papa, Katie was without a doubt his favorite grandchild. I, however, hold the unique distinction of being the only child or grandchild that Papa ever "spanked." I did deserve it though because I whipped a rock at Tiffany and hit her in the head after she was gloating about catching more fish than me. Give me a break though, I was probably only 6 years old...but you can see my competitive spirit started way back then...d*mn you Tiffany.

I have another good photo of Papa with his grandkids (before the "chosen one" Katie was born) that will appear in The Cardinal Vault at a later date. Check back soon for the latest entries and thanks again cousin Vicky for scanning in some classic pix.

The Cardinal Vault VI: The photo booth

By K.J. Cardinal

There's nothing quite like a good ole photo booth picture. We've all had our picture taken in one and we've probably all thrown them away, ruined them in our pockets/wallets or forgot where we put them.

Fortunately for The Cardinal Vault, the sixth entry features a classic photo booth picture of me, Tiffany and Katie. My favorite part of this photo has to be the confused and bewildered looks on Katie's face. Tiffany and I just assumed that she was smiling and making silly faces like we were and then when we got the print, we realized that she really had no clue what this crazy box with a curtain for a door and flashing lights was doing. I don't know the exact date of this photo, but if I had to guess I would say it was taken during the summer of 1990. That would mean that Katie is almost three-years-old, Tiffany was 11 and I was 10.

I believe this is the only photo booth picture that we were able to salvage from our childhood, but the three of us will definitely be making plenty of appearances in The Cardinal Vault, so be sure to check back frequently for the latest additions.

The Cardinal Vault V: A little teapot

By K.J. Cardinal

Like mother, like daughter.

It's only fitting to follow up the The Cardinal Vault: Dancing Queens entry with this photo of Tiffany from her 1983 dance recital.

I can't be certain if this is the same year that Tiffany did her "I'm a little teapot" routine, but every time I see this photo that's what I think about. When I was really little, my parents would always refer to my "manhood" as a "teapot" to Tiffany. As you could imagine, Tiffany was completely shocked and embarrassed when she was at her dance lessons and the instructor told the class that they would be dancing to "I'm a little teapot" at their recital. Classic. It was just first of many times that Tiffany would be doing a dance for a "teapot" :)

Unfortunately, I think this is the end of the dance recital photos, but be sure to check back frequently for the latest additions.