Sunshine, A Quick Trip & "The Graduate"

Got a call from Hoosier Transit yesterday, Shawn(Dispatcher) wanted to know if I could pick up a 24 foot BT Cruiser and take it to Piqua, Ohio. Piqua is only 45 miles east then south down I-75 from Celina, so what the heck? I pulled the Jeep out of dry dock and headed northwest to Nappanee, Indiana, to pick up the ride. Talking with Hoosier, things are a little slow in the RV business right now...spring usually is, but with the fuel prices($3.79 for unleaded in Indiana today, Ohio sets about $3.65), I'm sure things are a little "nervous" in the RV manufacturing land of Indiana.

Drove the BT home, and will drop if off early tomorrow morning, probably could have made it there and back and still got home for the game tonight, but didn't want to cut it that close to tonight's game at Spencerville, with Sam. Besides, what the Hell, I'm retired(sort of), and tomorrow is open until baseball time.

The sun is bright and 78 degrees today with a strong southwest wind...the temps have risen about 25-30 degrees in the past 2 days, which is good, but rain is in the forecast for tomorrow and the weekend(AGAIN!)...let's hope that is wrong.

Sent many of you the e-mail yesterday that the youngest son Hal received confirmation of his graduation winter quarter(March) at Wright State University in Dayton....been a long haul for Hal, but to his credit, he did most of it on his own....we paid his car insurance, the wife helped him out some with groceries and some early expenses...but for the most part, he paid for it on his own...which is the way to go. Unlike some of his counterparts, Hal is only a little "in debt" with student loans....he has friends that are as much as $80,000-$90,000 in the saddle with student loans....he has just a fraction of that. After transferring to the main Dayton Campus, Hal has worked at a carry out during the school year, and driven for Allied Moving-Celina Moving during the summer and vacation time....he will now work his tail off this summer at Celina Moving, and then head back Grad School back at WSU for 3 more quarters. If all goes well he will then have his Master's and be ready to begin his High School teaching gig, in the fall of 2009...somewhere. He would also like to coach baseball, eventually becoming a head coach, and would probably not mind doing a gig as an assistant football coach as well....time enough for that though, we are just celebrating his first hurdle. The ceremony will be June 14th, with a small family/friend get together to follow.

I still plan on 2 or maybe 3 more segments of my "Growing up in Venice, Florida" story and will pick up on that over the weekend and/or Monday...hopefully they have been enjoyable, I know they have to me, when I write that stuff, the old memories come flowing back, some that I have not thought about in years, many years.

Time to get ready to umpire........Back Later>>>>>>>>>>

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photos-the 2008 BT Cruiser by Gulf Stream, sitting in our drive-way, I'll drop that off tomorrow. And Hal's "Sheep Skin from Wright State University...and yes the first 2 are of "The Graduate"...one about 20 years ago, nice and quite, and the other a few summers ago at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio, the 6'4" 245 lb 21 year old(at that time) showing why he may have struggled just a little those first couple of years in college...but, all is well that end's well, and complete the job he did.