A river's wrath

He sits quietly, his head down so as not to cause problems with his most-noticeable presence. A group to which he used to belong no longer wants him. Yet, he sits among them like old times. He fights to hold his tongue while the group struggles to find direction, consistency and the ability to better themselves.

It tortures him to realize how much they need him but refuse his services. Not surprisingly, he is largely ignored and the few times he speaks, his stare stays fixated on an imperfection in the table.

He never wanted this.

Never expected this.

He would give a lot to make it right, but realizes that's just how it goes sometimes. While one can never set foot in the flowing water of a river twice, one can step into the same place in the river and see similar surroundings.

A desperado's pain

The desperado sits in a bar, surrounded but alone. A silent cry for help goes out with every pitcher purchased, every slurred word and every shot killed. The smile hides all he can't say and the laugh everything he's never known. He can't help but feel adrift while watching the door swing open and close -- beckoning him with the temptation of leaving. The only anchor being a life he's carved out of sheer happenstance and failure. The harshest judge he has ever stood before is staring right back at him out of a grungy bathroom mirror in a swirl of smoke and deceit.

But there's no time to think about that, another pitcher is on the way.

FOOTBALL!

Finally, football is here! I can't wait for the Chiefs preseason game Thursday against the Bears. For the first time in awhile, Chiefs preseason games actually matter. In the past the Chiefs have been good so preseason games were filled with players who weren't necessarily going to make much of an impact.

But this year is different.

They are still on a horrible 9-game losing streak and a very young, inexperienced team. These preseason games have a much more important meaning as a testing bed for all the young talent they have. It will be interesting to see if their QB Brodie Croyle can show improvement vs. this past season, especially since he has yet to win an NFL game.

And that's scary to think about. Our starting quarterback, with whom we are hanging our hopes and dreams on, didn't win a game last season. And the guy who's supposed to be protecting his million dollar blind side?

Well, he's hurt along with the Chiefs' other first-round pick, Glenn Dorsey. Both Brandon Albert and Dorsey are out for an unspecified amount of time. I was hoping to see the faces of the Chiefs overhaul on the field against Chicago on Thursday. Alas, no one will.

All I can say is I expect the game will be ugly. I'm sure the entire preseason will be, but nothing new there. And I can only imagine how bad the Chiefs will be slaughtered on opening day in New England.

I just hope a .500 record isn't too much to hope for, but seeing as how the Chiefs generally fall short of expectations, I'm going to keep a beer in my hand at all times during the game -- the only safe bet with the Chiefs this year.