Washed Weekly: Boats, Grounders, & Hanger Steaks
🎶 Time marches onnnnn. 🎶
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Time Marches Onnnnnnn
Naming our company “Washed” didn’t come from nothing. We were on the heels of a canceled show and on the way out of a once-popular blog that targeted a demographic much younger than us, especially me, really. It fit at the time, and that was seven years ago. It fits more with each passing day, sadly. Damn, time really flies.
As the years go on, we’re certainly not getting less washed. As I sit here, my shoulder aches for an unknown reason, my hair isn’t as thicc as it used to be, and I look forward to a very lowkey Saturday and Sunday, highlighted by my son’s playoff baseball game (consolation bracket).
This morning I was thinking about our dinner plans for tonight and how excited I am about getting the squad together. Klein is in town and suggested we all go to Mattel Rancho’s with our better halves (you know I’m bringing Che Che).
He first texted us about it LAST Monday, May 4. And honestly, I’ve been thinking about it ever since. What would have been nothing more than a precursor to a loaded weekend of bar outings and golf with my absolute boys 15 years ago is now my entire social calendar for the next few days. And that’s okay with me.
Maybe it’s because we see each other at work every day or because two of us have little ones at home, but it’s a rare occasion that the boys get together on a Friday night. And with Klein in town, what a treat.
These plans coming to fruition have absolutely made my weekend. That’s all it took. Just dinner plans. There’s no guarantee of a bar outing afterwards or anything like that. Not even sure I’ll have the legs for that anyway. I won’t see them the rest of the weekend, either, nor do I need to. Just dinner plans. It’s all the social activity I need. The mere thought of going out a second night in a row sounds like such a heavy lift to me. It’s not even a thought that enters my brain, and I bet the others would agree.
Other washed things about me:
I can’t sleep on my right shoulder anymore – I’m a side sleeper. Actually, I fall asleep on my side and usually wake up on my back, but a lot of the time I spend in bed is with a shoulder bearing a lot of my weight. My right shoulder no longer supports this position.The last time I fell asleep on my right shoulder, like the few times before it, I was out of commission for several days with what I assume was a pinched nerve.
I’m a left shoulder only guy now. If that one gives out like my right one has, what will I do?
I’ve lost my lateral movement – Dave and I, as baseball dads, talked about this on Circling Back the other day. Casually trying to field a ground ball to your left or right at our age will absolutely expose your lack of lateral mobility, and your bendability. It’s the bending over to the side that’s become a real chore. When doing so, I even make the old man sound that happens with even the slightest exertion of energy.
I make old man sounds – You know that sound that every dad makes when lifting himself out of a recliner? I don’t know how to spell it, but it’s sort of a “hnnng” sound. Can you hear it? I started doing it recently. It wasn’t a conscious decision. It just happened and I noticed it. And it freaked me out.
Sleep is one of my favorite activities – I’ve realized that the older we get, the more we value a comfortable bed and a solid eight hours. Sleep SUCKED as a kid, but now I wake up each morning thinking about getting comfortable in bed again later that evening. Of course, I do so while drinking piping hot bing bong in bed after waking up, which is another of my favorite things to do as an aging, but still spry, dad.
Time marches onnnnnnn. Shoutout Tracy Lawrence.
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What I’m Cooking, Drinking, And Watching This Weekend
by Dave
What I’m Cooking
I’ve been looking forward to typing this up all week. We’re on the cusp of entering an entirely new era of home cooking in the Ruff household. After some discussion with a noted, yet controversial, member of the golf media last week, I’ll be taking a swing at my first hanger steak.
Last week, I practically begged for ideas. You can only do ribeye so often before you start to look for things to dislike about them. Reading my last Washed Weekly entry back, it’s borderline pathetic. What kind of man doesn’t have a plan for his protein intake? For his family’s? We did some soul searching this week, and after much deliberation, I’m breaking out the cast-iron for the old butcher’s cut. It’s hanger time. Or: it’s hang time, baby. Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper. You get that one, right? You’ll want to hang around my place this weekend, folks. Folks…
The plan is to salt it the night before, then hit it with some garam masala, ancho chili, and just a tasteful amount of chili powder before letting it sit out and get to “room temperature.” We’ll say 30-45 minutes before going quick-sear with the skillet. Thank you to the member of golf media who reached out privately to offer this recipe. He’s busy following Blockie around The Mink right now if I know him. Frat on, good sir.
What I’m Drinking
What do you drink when you’re taking down a half pound of steak fajitas at the most infamous Tex Mex joint in town? For me, it’s all about where we’re seated. You may have heard of Matt’s El Rancho, known commonly as, “Mattel Rancho’s.” Great vibes, atmosphere, etc. One thing that I haven’t discussed publicly, however, is dialing in a drink order to match the table. This is probably wild, but I’m less likely to pull trigger on a margarita if I’m eating outside in 80 plus degree weather. That’s gonna be a big “beer me, chief” from me, dog. It probably makes you think differently about me. You might even unsubscribe from this newsletter. But that’s a real play from my playbook, and I felt like I should share that with you. Hopefully, our large group is seated in the main room which is famously temperature controlled. If so, I may opt for their famous Sunset Margarita and kiss Saturday morning goodbye.
What I’m Watching
It feels nice to be unburdened by gambling interests during the second major championship of the 2026 season. I can just sit back, place the lumbar support pillow I purchased behind me, and watch as Michael Block wows us once again with superior fits and unmatched aura. Let’s. Go.
Now, it’s not a secret that I’m riding with the Pistons right now over in the Association. Backs are against the wall, and it feels like the powers that be don’t want to see us thrive. I’ll be dialed in Friday night as we get one back for the D. Otherwise, that Cade wants to go home to Dallas noise is gonna get pretty loud.
Other than that… I’d like to watch the offseason officially kick off for the little man. He’s got all of the momentum from his first tee ball playoff run. He wore his jersey to school this week. Getting back out there is all he can talk about. We haven’t sat down to review tape and do a full autopsy of the season, but he knows that this is a very important offseason. I’d be derelict in my duties as a father if I didn’t have him working on his range at second over the next few months.
Playlist: BOAT DAY!
by Will
Everything has fallen into place.
The cooler is filled with ice, bubbles, and Peroni. Not a cloud in the sky. There’s a slight breeze but not enough of one to tarnish the vibes by introducing waves to the equation. What should be the perfect day is about to be the perfect day.
That is, until it hits me.
“Shit,” I thought to myself. “I don’t have anything downloaded for this right now.”
On our recent boat day, there were a lot of things working in my favor but cell phone service was simply not one of them. While I had several playlists downloaded for offline usage, none of them encapsulated what I was striving for in this moment. I didn’t need rock or jazz — I needed straight-up beats.
While attempting to queue up “Stereo Love” by Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina, I was met with a spinning wheel that meant I would actually get zero love from the stereo.
It was in that moment that I knew I needed to make a default playlist for scenarios like this. I needed to have some heat in the hopper when the vibes begin to tank. I needed the perfect Boat Day Playlist.
While compiling some of my favorite songs that gave #EuroSummer, I began to see a trend. Sure, I love some tasteful saxophone mixed with a house beat. But the songs that began featuring some Italian accordion? 🤌
Once I returned from the old country and back to the states, I was still addicted to the playlist that I made in bed that night. I couldn’t shake the Euro vibes and I found that listening to these songs was coming very close to curing my post trip-sadness.
Next time the vibes are tanking and you see someone nodding off from having too much to drink, fear not — BOAT DAY is here to help create a shift.
And yes, I’m taking feedback for potential bangers to put on here. Just remember: If it’s not Euro Summer-feeling, I’m out.
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Dillon stays carrying the newsletter
Can’t believe yall didn’t want to squad up at Hecho to shake things up