Here we are again. Captain America's birthday -- and who can seriously believe it's on Independence Day? I mean, come on. It's like the guy was born to be a sentinel of liberty or something.

Wearing anything with a flag on it seemed kinda tacky given whose birthday it is, but that doesn't stop me from wearing the loudest Hawaiian shirt I can find over a pair of khaki board shorts. No one asked for fireworks this year, so I'm left to socialize -- not my specialty these days. Flying solo at events like this has more or less become the norm for me, but this one's at least a little less painful than the norm. I know most of these guys, so I can relax a bit, feeling free to take up two chairs to kick my feet up as I tear through a second piece of cake.