Jack Drambuie

3pm

After working in Greenville this morning, longer than the usual 45 minutes to an hour....some material was, let's say, out of my eye...and it took longer than normal...but nothing big....I got home and took 11 year old Jack the Airedale to get his haircut....Jack is getting long in the tooth, has a large tumor on his side, and sad to say, this will probably be his last trim....he basically hangs out in the large dirt hole he has fashioned beneath the spreading tree next to the dining room window.....even though he's has a nice kennel and a dog box with plenty of bedding, he seldom goes there anymore, unless the thunder and lightning gets to be a little much.

I bought Jack after Josey Wales died in 1996, wasn't sure I wanted another dog, but Hal especially seemed more than bummed that Jose had passed on....so I went to northern Indiana and picked out Jack...the breeder had no females available, so Jack was it...little bastard puked in the van all the way home.....tried to make him a house dog, that lasted about 2 weeks....he likes it outside, and the fenced in back yard has been his land, except the few times he has managed to escape and run the town streets, usually with his sidekick the late L.T. the Beagle....who passed away a couple of summers ago at the ripe old age of 16.

Female Airedales(and most breeds) are much better house dogs and companions....so breeding Jack with Mick Szabo's(my college roommate and fellow Airedale breeder) Ivy brought us Reagan, the house dog...Reagan turned 9 last month.....so the pups are getting old.....and I suspect this will be Jack's last summer, hopefully he will at least get to enjoy the coming fall...but time I'm afraid is getting short for Jack Drambuie(that would be Jack Daniels and Drambuie the Liqueur).

Will pick up Sam at Van Wert around 7....he will head to Rootstown with me tomorrow to bring back the RV to Nappanee for repairs, and pick up his car.....Hal was in Cleveland working, called and said the Interstate(75) was a flooded mess this morning, but they were on their way back.....Patricia has her first day with students today.

48 years ago

___________Where were you when Hawaii became our newest and last state, if you're old enough that is? Not sure this is like the Kennedy shooting(9th grade Algebra Class) or Neil Armstrong stepping on the Moon(SP Barracks, Nha Trang, RVN)...but I do remember the 49 star flag only lasting a short while...the 50 star old glory was introduced when I was in 5th grade....I do remember early on, our 5th grade teacher having us do a report on the Hawaiian Islands.

Got to visit there on my way to Vietnam...about 45 minutes at the International Airport Bar.....Hawaii always held my interest when I was younger....so I decided to take my R&R there in April 1970...even though most of the guys were going elsewhere, I always wanted a week in our Island State, a Army guy from West Virginia, Denny Moneypenny, and I shared a room and some other expenses to keep our costs down....and got to see most of the Oahu and Maui islands....all in all, it was a good 5 day stretch back in the states....hardest part was stepping back on that plane and heading back for Saigon.

photos [Jack Drambuie in his early days]

[ a much thinner me April 1970 @ Honolulu Airport, getting ready to head back to Tan Son Nhut]

prh