Only seven more days before the Mariners open their 2008 season on the windy streets of New Haven. We’ve been in spring training since late January and can only hope our tunes, hands and hearts are ready. Some of us also hope we know where our uniforms are.

It’s been 49 years since a group of Guilford Men decided they and the Fife and Drum world were both ready for this group, and as we prepare for our 50th Anniversary Festivities for the summer of 2009, we tip our collective bandannas to their visionary brilliance.

The current incarnation of the Mariners is also full of visionaries- from the musical, to the theatrical, to the poetic, to the just plain ludicrous. Here’s two now:

Anyhow, another such latent talent has emerged in the last decade in the form of our own “Little Dick” (another story entirely) giving us his own version of ‘100 bottles of beer on the wall’ or ‘the 12 days of Christmas.’ He posts a tidbit for each of the 100 days leading up St Patrick’s Day (differently each year, dear reader) I could try and wax philosphic, somehow trying to explain these bits of witty and truly trivial bits of knowledge, but instead, I’ll share seven with you, for the days until the Mariners take to the streets of New Haven.

Seven: “96 days until SPD in NH (AND a fun sexual position for dyslexics!). ”

Six: “88 days until SPD in NH. 88 is a great number. It is a numeric palindrome; it reads the same forward and backward. It also reads the same upside-down! Finally, it is the hull number for INDIGO; she was the 88th boat of her type produced. 88 is the number on our sails. ”

Five: “64 …will ya still need me, will ya still feed me….”

Four: “56 days until SPD in NH. 56 is the sum of the first six triangular numbers (making it a tetrahedral number), as well as the sum of six consecutive PRIMES (3 + 5 + 7 + 11 + 13 + 17). Adding up the divisors of 1 through 8 gives 56. Since 56 is twice a perfect number, it is itself a semi-perfect number.”

Three: “49… Little Dick, sorry to steal your thunder, but I was awake, and I’m so fired up about the parade, and so bummed out at nothing new to read on the board I figured I’d post Saturday’s count for you. I know, it was out of line. Sorry.” J.Mawn

Two: “33 days until SPD in NH. Rolling Rock – From the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe we tender this premium beer for your enjoyment as a tribute to your good taste. It comes from the mountain springs to you. “33”

One: “27 days until SPD in NH. 27 is a perfect cube (3×3x3=27). If you are 27 years old, the last time your age was a perfect cube was when you were 8 (2×2x2) and probably didn’t notice. The next time will be when you are 64 (4×4x4) and probably won’t notice again!”

Well, that’s our countdown and a random selection of the brilliance that is our own Little Dick.

Parade steps off at 1pm, The Mariners will be at Rudy’s shortly after sunrise.