39 Years ago today.........Vietnam Arrival!

Keeping in the same theme as my previous post on Friday, 40 years ago today, 39 years ago today I arrived at Tan Son Nhut, AB, RVN....it would be an overnight stop, and I would be on my way to Nha Trang Air Base, north of Saigon, on the South China Sea. 6 months there, then back to Saigon and Tan Son Nhut, for another 6 months.....I arrived in Vietnam on June 30, 1969, and returned via Braniff International Airline, on June 29, 1970.

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I have chronicled my Vietnam experiences elsewhere on this blog, although I will write more, especially about my time in Saigon(which I haven't written much about) in forthcoming posts....all-in-all, my time in South Vietnam, was my favorite time in the military....sounds strange, but compared to the chicken shit duty I had elsewhere, Dover and Griffiss, the freedom from stupid over regulations, was a pleasure, despite the dangers....Hell it's dangerous driving on the interstate, so why would I worry about a small thing like war? Especially since I was usually on an enclosed base, which I was assigned, as a member of the Security Police, to protect....yes the year was surreal, but I never remember being overly nervous about my time there.

That's enough of my "war story" for today.

The weekend we dodged rain showers and did baseball tournament games...that will continue for the next week or so(baseball and rain)...as I type, the weather is cloudy and cool, especially for the last day of June....won't get past low 70s today. Sam is at Crestview for a Jr ACME(akin to Junior Varsity high school) tournament, while I'm at Rockford Parkway for the same type tournament....more of the same, Jr ACME, ACME, and American Legion for the rest of the month....some time off, then football begins middle of August. So far the back is holding out...so far.

That's it for today...........back later!

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photos- At Nha Trang summer of 69, me(left) and my buddy Harry Bevens from Philadelphia...Harry returned to his home town as was a Philly Cop for many years....have contact with Harry these days after not seeing or hearing from him in 30 years...thanks to the VSPA and the Internet. The other shot is from my days working Charlie Flight(March 1970) Night Perimeter Security....right after I sewed on my Sargent Stripes....always thought it was a goofy ass photo.

40 Years Ago Today!

I had to go down to the basement Antique Room and pull out my folder of old Air Force records just to make sure.....I remembered it was late in June of 1968, .....and sure enough after a gander, I saw the date: 27-06-68..June 27, 1968 for those never blessed with Military BS.

I had signed up with my friend Eddie Bonifas from Coldwater, and we were selected to go into Basic on the "buddy system"...first thing the Air Force teaches you is..."Don't believe a damn thing we say"...I ended up going in 2 weeks before Ed, although we both did end up at the overflow Basic Training facility in Amarillo, rather that the main basic roundup at Lackland AFB in San Antonio...some "buddy system".

My first ever airplane ride was out of Columbus, Ohio, to Amarillo via stops in Dallas and Lubbock. Arriving late at night, we were whisked away to these wood and tar paper barracks on base...finally getting to bed around midnight or later....I am sure of the time we got up though...SSgt Joe Prokop, my Drill Instructor(or TI, Technical Instructor, as the AF called them), came rolling though the sleeping quarters at 4AM...yelling some macho crap akin to...."Drop your cocks and grab your socks"...and smacking his sawed off pool cue on the metal edges of the bunks.....needless to say, this 19 year old country boy had no freaking clue as to what the Hell was going

on.

I was 19, stood about 5' 9" and weight was maybe 135....I grew 2 inches and 30 lbs over the next 14 weeks between arriving at Basic and finishing up Security Police School later that fall at Lackland.....I would never be the runt of the litter again. Basic Training at that time seemed like Hell, of course looking back 40 summers later, not so much, after all I could have been at Paris Island or some other Hell hole, if I had chosen to let the draft take me....Army or Marines? and the choice would not have been mine....I faced 4 years of orders and bullshit, most of which I ignored or fought, but at least I had a bed and 3 squares a day...even in Vietnam, I still had at least 2 hot meals a day....

all in all, despite chicken dung and the so-called 'Mission"(or as we used to chant).."Mission?, Mission?, F**k the Mission"....my 4 years could have been worse.

My cousin, Jack Poling was killed with the 101st AB while I was in Basic....he chose to take his chance with the draft.....I'm still glad I took the "easy" way out, and no, I never thought of hiking to Canada...the old man would have kicked my ass....and I would never have been able to look at myself in the mirror....Cowards, whether in the Military or out, are cowards for life....'Draft Dodgers' are cowards, slice it anyway you choose. I remember many a 'jock' and 'bad ass' that ended up nothing more....funny how all that macho stuff went away when they had to make a decision......all respect was gone.

Basic, then regular military life, changed us all....we were never the same, some grew, some regressed, some still claim to have been destroyed....not me, I served, I honor those I served with....but I'm no BS artist...I hated the military life, and military rules...I fought them every step of the way for 4 years.....I got out in May of 1972....received my Honorable Discharge, with the stipulation I was not eligible to re-enlist(thus no 2 years inactive duty in the Reserves)....I have a certain First Lt, and a CMSgt to thank for that.....a Hell raiser I was...but I survived with my stripes and regret not one day of service.

Some of those I served with in Vietnam, Harry Bevan, Marc Payan, Johnny Claflin, Bruce Thompson, Phil Lange.. and Bruce Dei and Bruce Kohli fellow Buckeyes, from my days at Griffiss, I still have contact with today...others, like my TI Joe Prokop(whom as a SP I was in Vietnam with), Jack Friedl my best friend from Griffiss AFB, Marvin Bussey, and others have passed away....most?, I don't have a clue to as what happened or where they are..... where you be? Jack Gates, Carroll Marcelle, Aceavedo, DeJesus, and George Hundley .... then there are some others?(see previous first louie, first shirt, Smilin' Jack Adkins, Joe Gomez, and a couple others), well let's just say we are better off not knowing where each other are.

All-in-all, I have no regrets about my service or actions during that time.....It all began 40 years ago this day....June 27, 1968

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photos----Prokop's Pups I'm 4 rows up second from left....or somewhere around there....me in front of the Prokop sign attached on our fire trap barracks on a hot July day in 68, and my original Military ID...issued after that sweet GI haircut.

The Supreme Court gets one right

This morning the United State's high court, by a narrow 5-4 decision overturned the Washington DC hand gun ban. That's the good news, the bad news being, it was only a 5-4 decision, and the usual 4 anti-freedom assclowns were on the side of Marxism and over government regulation. If Obama Harry Hussain gets elected, guess what? He will have the chance to name at least 2 or 3 new members in a 4 year period....basically this means one of two things. America as we know it, will cease to exist, or we will have one Hell of a Revolution on our hands....which in my eyes, might not be all that bad.

As the court stands right now it is 4-4-1 on the right-left-middle line...Justice Kennedy is the lone wolf, who basically can throw a monkey wrench into either side's plans....I don't think this is what our founding fathers had in mind....it comes basically down to 1 man, Kennedy, deciding the fate of laws in this nation....that is not a good thing.

Games were a wash last night, heavy rain socked us from later afternoon through midnight...my guess is somewhere between 2 and 3 inches locally, and more to the north. Things don't look to improve before Sunday, but who knows? The weather folks have been wrong more than once.

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photos-Swing voter Justice Kennedy, Public Enemy of the common man #1, Justice Ginsberg, and a sweet little thing that fires both .410 shotgun shells, and .45 bullets.....

Baseball Tossing/The Power of Blogging

Sam and I did our third straight game together last night....and for the first time in those 3, Sam didn't toss a coach out of the game. After not ejecting anyone since last season, the oldest son got 2 in a row on Sunday and Monday....not that they didn't deserve to get tossed, but you really(well at least most umpires) don't like that part of the game.

On Sunday in a single game at Celina vs Bellefontaine...things were going along smoothly with the visitors leading most of the game...once Celina took charge after a bases loaded double, things changed. The Bellefontaine coaches wanted a call for the Celina hitter missing first base, Sam(who was doing the bases) said "no"...the runs stood and the Bulldogs went up 7-5. Things settled down until the final inning(7 innings in ACME), The Chiefs had runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out....their lead runner gets caught off 2nd base and heads for 3rd, it appears the Celina pitcher throws him out by 5 feet as he slides head first into the bag...Sam calls the runner out, and the head/3rd base coach gets bonkers...yelling, "he missed the tag, you are killing us"...Sam wastes no time and tosses his butt out of the game. I head out from behind the plate, and this coach has a wild look in his eye...I say something to him and then add..."get off the field, what's your problem?"....his assistant gets between us, and takes him off....the game ends on the next pitch. Celina wins 7-5.

Fast forward to Monday night at Van Wert..this time a 9 inning American Legion game against Lima....these are high end games and pretty competitive....midway through it, I'm doing the field, and ring up a Van Wert kid getting picked off at 1st base. The assistant coach at 1st didn't like the call, and yells as I walk back to my "A" position, "That was pathetic"....I return "That's enough"....meanwhile the Lima center fielder adds...."toss him out"...this goes back and fort with basically the coach telling the kid he would "kick his ass"(not using those words, but you get the drift)...well the Lima kids knew how to get to him, and the "conversation" continues into the next inning, between coach, fans, and players...I finally get into the coaches face and tell him"that's enough, you are the adult, it's time to shut up"....after some whining on his part, things settle back down. Come the bottom of the 9th with Van Wert down 10-7 Sam calls a strike on the lead off batter...first base coach starts to bitch, I knew he was on a short rope by this time....the batter strikes out on a check swing, coach complains again(meanwhile the head coach says nothing)....next batter, pitch maybe a bit low, Sam calls a strike, first base coach let's out a yell..., and Sam tosses his butt...he storms off the field, the game ends a short time later, Lima 10-7....2 days 2 coaches thrown out! I have Van Wert about 5 more times, plus Sam and I have the District Tourney at Van Wert....could be interesting.

Last night's game was a pleasure....close game, 7-6 the home team, and nobody tossed out.

The power of blogging

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Sometimes you gotta wonder how many folks read these...sure I get 30 to 80 "hits" a day, but most are just passers by. I basically started this for a on line diary, and never worried about it, same went for the family genealogy site:

http://israelhouseworth.blogspot.com/

But it was nice to see a comment, and get an e-mail about a subject. This past Monday was one of those days....first I receive a e-mail from a man named Gary(G.W.) Houseworth....turns out he found the blog while researching his own name. G.W. lives in Sarasota, Florida, and turns out he is my first cousin Gary's oldest son.....I had not seen G.W. since his dad and I lived together for a few months back in 1974, when Gary(Sr) had moved to Celina...G.W. was 7 or so. He had been researching the family, when he found my 2 sites....so the younger Gary is now on my genealogy e-mail list, and another cousin is found.

Not 15 minutes after I get the message from G.W. I get another from one of his co workers...turns out this co-worker, Mickey, is one of my best friend from my days living in Venice. Mickey and I were pretty close, and I stayed at his house a number of times when we were at Venice Elementary.....I have not seen Mick in over 45 years.....we have a few things in common all these years later, including the love of Civil War history, and a good beer.

So there you have it, through good and boring of the blog, I have made a few contacts, and Monday was as good as it gets....found lost cousin, and found lost childhood friend. For all the garbage, the internet does come in handy and useful in the long run.

More baseball tonight, if the storms hold off...

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George Carlin/Radio Days

I woke up to read that "Counter Culture" hero and so-called funny man George Carlin has assumed room temperature at 71 years of age. The left wing babbled and gooed over Carlin in years gone bye, much like they do with non-funny man Jon Stewart....the left leaning morons idea of funny is stuff that you don't have to think about...much like their political views, they just want somebody to follow, like the lemmings they are....these days clowns like Stewart, and "cartoons' like "South Park" fill that void in their lives...that void being unable to think for themselves.

On to Carlin and my drink of water in Radio.....I first heard Carlin while "walking the line" and humping B-52s and KC-135s as a Air Force Cop at Griffiss Air Force Base in upstate New York....while walking around aircraft for 8 hour shifts in usually frigid weather conditions, you needed something to kill time.....because in all reality, it was the most boring job one could imagine....I used that time to plug in my transistor radio and listen to either WABC Radio coming from NY City, or one of the local underground FB stations in the local Rome-Utica area...."underground FM"? Funny thing, all of the top-40 stations were AM back then(we are talking 1970-72)...the FM was either news, long hair(we ain't talking Beatles) music, or the occasional "acid" stations...those are the ones you could hear the comedy of George Carlin on. Carlin, much like me, was a radical type guy, he had also been in the Air Force back in the early 1950s...and claimed to have been court-martialed 3 times, this I doubt, because he would have been drummed out, or jailed...so I suspect Ol' George was lying through his teeth for effect...as funny as I thought he was then, I realize he was just stringing us all along for the money and "fame" back then.

George Carlin was born in Manhattan in 1937...and was a "straight" man in a 2 man comedy show in the early 1960s....this after starting out as a disk jockey in Louisiana radio, while in the AF in 1954....he eventually became a counter culture stand up comic in the middle 1960s. In 1972 he was arrested in Milwaukee for his infamous "7 Words" which he uttered(Google them up, I need not post them here, there may be some children accidentally dropping in)....a judge threw the case out as a violation of Free Speech....in 1978 the US Supreme Court did rule those words "offensive" and they could not be uttered on the Air Ways.....as chance happened I was attending Trans American School of Broadcasting in Wausau, Wisconsin, when that ruling came down....and still have the original AP transmission of that story locked away somewhere in my "junk"....needless to say, we students at TAB had great fun with those. This was basically the last time I took anything Carlin did to heart....his politics and mine had parted company, I became a far right kind of guy, and ceased laughing at his mindless BS....both Carlin and I had dislike for the government, but for differing reasons....I enjoyed Carlin in his days when we viewed things much the same....I traded my hippy dippy days and realized Winston Churchill was right, Carlin and his followers never figured that out.

My full time radio career began in late 1978 after graduating from Trans American, the list of jobs and stations in a short span of time lists like a "how fast can you get in, how fast can you get out?" list of small and medium market radio stations....here is a list:

WRIG Radio Wausau, Wisconsin, News Anchor and weekend DJ-1978

WJMT AM-FM Merrill, Wisconsin, Afternoon Drive DJ 78-June 79

WIOU/WZWZ Komoko, Indiana, Morning News Anchor June 79-January 80

KGNO/KDCK Dodge City, Kansas, News Director, January 80-August 80

WCSM Radio, Celina, Ohio, Morning Drive DJ, Program Director, and Sports play-by-play

August 1980-June 1983

No, I didn't stick around long...the combination of moron owners, excessive egos from untalented fools, and pathetic wages, do not go hand-in-hand with long term employment in the "business". In addition you got stuck doing sorry local commericals(give a small market station a listen sometime, they are painful to listen to), remotes, and boring ass interviews...with people nobody wants to hear.....

Finally in the Summer of 1983 I left full time radio and went into my college major, Environmental Health, a career that would last the next 20 years, before boredom and working with bureaucratic BS said to me, "it's time to retire, Patrick, let's do it".

When I left full time radio in 1983 I did not leave broadcasting in total...I became a cable TV News Anchor, did sports play-by-play on both TV and Radio for another 20 years...finally giving up the ghost in 2003...right after retiring from the Environmental Health field. Despite it's ups/downs and pitfalls, I will always remember my days in broadcasting, not that I loved in all, but it was fun at times, much like George Carlin's humor. It seems pretty lame to me now, but when I was younger, he seemed to be a pretty funny guy. George was not a Christian by any stretch, and where his soul rests today, is any body's guess....peace be with you Mr. Carlin.

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photos-a couple of Newspaper photos from the radio days-top/Dressed up doing the MC'ing for a local farm show back in 1982...I actually had a pretty good time doing these type events...always a good meal and a audience that appreciated any break from the usual business at hand. As you can see, they grow them big on the farm in Mercer County..I stood at 5' 11" and the Father at about 5'10"...and we are dwarfed by the other guys...big time. The other photo is from on the air at WCSM with a noontime local show called "____________" Hell, I don't remember, but as you can tell, I looked excited doing these hard hitting interviews with the local movers and shakers...usually the Chamber, Lions, or Rotary type thing...the problem was.."How can I get a half hour interview out of this material?" and as you can see, this live(barley alive) broadcast has one minute to go...lasting from 12:30 to 1PM...."I made it"

And finally the late and in some minds great, George Carlin, dead yesterday at 71.

Weekend Outlook!!

First off...the photo above is from my Niece's wedding 2 weeks ago(disregard the date on the digital code)....I have to confess I really don't remember it or a few others being taken. As you can tell from the look on my face, I may have had a few of those Miller Lites....but what the heck?, one of the few photos with me, Hal, and Sam, all together as adults(or at least they are now adults, still have not reached that point myself)....L to R...Hal who is 24 and starts Grad School at Wright State this fall, Me, the semi retired one, and Sam, the rouge of the road....still umpiring, still driving RVs, who turns 27 next December and plans on going back to Ohio State-Lima this fall....depending on the econonmy and change in his pocket.

Patricia and Anissa are still in Wisconsin, and I'm the Lord of the Manor.....yard work and keeping up with the house chores, taking the dog to the vet, and scheduled to do 4 games, 2 today and 2 tomorrow, this weekend...although rain is on the map...none here so far.

After the double header with Sam tomorrow here in Celina, I will head down to Dayton to pick up the women....who are scheduled to arrive about 8:30 PM .....that's about it for the weekend plans....have a good one!

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Sepia Photography

Sepia Photos.............................. Self Portrait...........

With the wife gone and the house for the most part quiet...no game last night or tonight(although 2 double headers total of 4 games scheduled for the weekend)...I've got time on my hands. Last night, I grabbed a couple cigars, one of the digital cameras, a cold beer, and plopped my butt on the front porch.....my usual place of outdoor refuge is the back steps...much nicer view, but on occasion I do the front window view, and watch the world of Brandon Avenue and West Livingston Street go by. Late yesterday was one of those.

Sepia is described in the dictionary as "dark brown"...for some reason I have always been attracted to this type of photo...I guess it goes back a dozen years or so when I took possession of my aunt's home in Scott, Ohio, and sorted through the thousands of photos from 1885 through the early 1990s....many of the older shots were done in sepia tones, and those struck my eyes as being "Americana" in nature and always liked that look. Well after a few beers and on my first cigar of the evening, I decided to take some self-portrait photographs and pick out one for the header of the blog. I usually change the look about once every 6 weeks or so...and decided it was time, so I took out the Sony that has the Sepia program and began to smoke, drink, and photograph myself...such is the man with time and ego on his hands.

The results of that "photo shoot" are above......

The rest of this Friday looks like this.....Patricia and Anissa are not scheduled to return until Sunday evening...so with 60 hours or so to go, I will make an effort to get the following done today. Since with baseball all weekend, today is all I have to work with....I will mow the rest of the lawn, clear some tops on the bushes around the house....trim the ivy vines that are taking control of the front porch....give Reagan the Airedale a medicated bath......finish the laundry, etc, etc...then park my keister again, and drink some(or all) of that six pack of Leinenkugel "Summer Shandy"(a beer Lemonade mixture) and enjoy a cigar....sounds like a plan, and if I can get 75% of that done...I will consider it a sucessful Friday.

Have a good weekend Ya'll...{below, the overgrown porch, and the menu for tonight}

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Baseball Hazards and Summer Shots

Worked down at the Honda affiliate in Greenville this morning...some changes going on down there, and my usual 1 hour inventory time has increased twofold....so I got my walk in doing that, and now with the lawn due to be mowed....a bonus in my effort to "get fit"....or so I tell myself. It was a cool, clear morning, so I took the West Bank Road along Grand Lake, and the photos are above the post..... meanwhile outback a few new flowers, some kind of Red Tulip that Patricia planted, have sprang up in the back yard flower area as well.

Sam at Delphos, and me in St. Marys, got our respective games in last night....which brings me to another subject....the Hazards involved in being an umpire...especially from Varsity High School to American Legion baseball and above...the higher the level, the more verbal and physical abuse you receive....the verbal is from coaches and fans...the physical is usually from being just unlucky behind the plate. But there are exceptions, once in awhile some punk may let you have it:

{make sure you watch the You Tube video link as well as the story}

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3450245

Not sure what I would have done...however, if I knew it was on purpose, the catcher and the pitcher(whether innocent or not) would have been ejected.....probably the coach as well(If I had any proof the coach was involved, I probably would have kicked his ass in the parking lot)....I would have gotten my "pay back" somehow. But I would not have picked up a lawyer or sued....just not in my nature.

Now having seen the video, take a gander at the picture of my chest(ugly a shot I know)....that purple thing is the shot I took this past Sunday(here it is 4 days later) off a foul tip. Now remember, we have chest "protectors" on...and I have a good one....but this is the second time in a week, a foul ball has hit a crease in the gear....and I paid the price. Some spring and summers I take few direct hits...this spring and thus far the summer games, I have not been as lucky...I have taken a beating on this 59 year old body...bruises and headaches are slower to heal.

So anytime you see some umpire take one in the ________________(name your favorite pain place), remember...sometimes it isn't pretty doing these games, but it is a hazard of the profession. Some punk letting a fast ball hit the ump on purpose is not part of the game.....and it appears both the school and this kid have paid a price.

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Photos---The Blue Herons waiting for breakfast at the West Bank Spillway as this morning's sun was rising....The Red "Morning Tulips" in the back yard were in bloom this morning, and my chest "bruise" in all it's glory, after taking a foul tip last Sunday at the American Legion Tournament in Columbus Grove....I expect that one to stay around awhile...4 days and the bruise is in full bloom, just like the flowers.

Stocking Up!

As I've been writing in e-mails to some of you....it's past time to start getting ready for whatever the new Government(A Radical Islamic Marxist supporter like Obama and his wife, or an open border "Maverick" like Juan McCain) might bring. I think we are in for a long spell, regardless of who sits in or abuses the White House....the American Government and Congress are in the hands of far left leaning Environmentalists, anti free speech, anti gun, anti God, and anti American Radicals....Changes they are a coming.

My answers are simple, from this simple man....STOCK UP NOW! Food prices are going to sky rocket, Natural Gas prices have went double since last winter, and we already know what has happened to Oil, Gas, and Diesel prices.....doom and gloom? I think not, it's called getting your collective heads out of your asses, and being prepared for what this change might bring. Food and Ammo are a good hedge against the coming depression, of course make sure you have on hand your God given/Constitutional right to some bearable arms....when the coming crash arrives, will you be ready? If not, don't say PRH didn't warn you. Times, they are a changing!!

Back to everyday life____________

Patricia and Anissa arrived safe and sound in Wisconsin, and will remain there for the remainder of the week, flying out of Milwaukee Sunday evening for Dayton....

Hal went back to Dayton today for a preliminary "must do" for Grad School coming this fall...Sam and I got our games in last evening...I'm across Grand Lake at St. Marys tonight, he's at Delphos. Switched days, and I'll work tomorrow morning at Greenville.....the only day this week. Weather remains cooler, no need for the A/C, and so far dryer for a couple of days....50 last night, the fresh air, open windows, and incoming breeze, are a plus this time of the year, especially after the past 2 weeks of hot, humid, and stormy conditions.

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photos-A portion of our basement supplies...Patricia started this a couple of years ago, and we make a concerted effort to update/rotate the stock...including batteries a all purpose radio that works via hand crank when the battery supply dies. Keep your stuff in a cool, somewhat dry, darkened environment, for maximum shelf life.

The Weather=Breath of Fresh Air/Bachelorhood for 5 days!

Patricia and Anissa flew out of Dayton for Wisconsin this morning, they will be gone until Sunday night....so it's me and the 2 "boys"(26 and 24) hanging around the house for the next 5 days.....Hal will be gone much of the time working his summer job before Grad school starts...Sam and I hopefully will get our share of Summer Baseball in, before the season winds down, and I get ready for football to begin in August.

Anissa, as I have written in past posts, is our 29 year old special needs daughter....despite her needs and handicaps, Anissa is always aware of what is going on, and not afraid to tell you what she thinks.....not sure she was "thrilled" flying out this morning, but unlike her trip last year...this Midwest Airline flight is non-stop, both coming and going.....the girls completed round one about 90 minutes ago and are making the drive to see "Granddad and Grandma" in Oconomowoc.

Yesterday through the next few days will also bring cooler and maybe drier weather...although some showers may pop up(what else is new?) for tomorrow and beyond....should have walked today, but I haven't, should have taken Reagan the Airedale outside and given her a bath, because she stinks like a dog, but I haven't.....should have vaccumed the porch and indoor rugs, and swifted the hardwood floors, but I haven't.....maybe tomorrow! Today I will enjoy the cool temperatures, and head to Lima Bath for a game at 6PM.....that's about it.

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Photos-Patricia and daughter Anissa at the Dayton Airport in Vandalia....and some new blue flowers in the back yard.

Wright State Graduation and the Weekend

Busy weekend around the PRH household....Friday night was a washout of games and the storms of 2008 continue to dump way to much rain on the mid west...west Ohio has gotten it's share, but no way as much as Iowa, west Illinois, and Wisconsin. SE Wisconsin where Patricia's parents live has more than it needs, Anissa and her fly out of Dayton tomorrow, landing in flooded Milwaukee, eventually making their way to Oconomowoc.....although the high water is still there, it appears dry for the next few days.
We got up at 5 am Saturday....after getting ready, the 4 of us(Me, Patricia, Sam, and Anissa) stopped at one of the Bob Evans Restaurants on I-75 at Sidney, Ohio....then we headed for Fairborn and the Wright State Campus. The skies had cleared and the day ended up being sunny but not overly hot.....the Graduation went without a hitch, the usual array of boring speakers, but at 2 1/2 hours the presenting of diplomas went well. 2300 Grads from March and June(1500 or so marched), and a full SRO house of about 15,000 in attendance.

We got the usual family photos after(pissed that I didn't bring one of the digitals), the Kodak disposal did OK, but not the quality or close-ups I would have liked. We headed back north to Celina, where we hooked up with mom and brother Mike for the 25 mile trip across the state line to Decatur, Indiana, and the Graduation Dinner at the famous Back 40 Restaurant. The Buffet as usual was outstanding, although, like everything else, it has gotten pricey over the past few years....hasn't everything? Hal has Grandma to thank for "springing" for the Grad Dinner, he also collected the usual array of money, checks, and what he wanted most the Ipod his mother got for him.

Sunday.............Headed up to Columbus Grove yesterday morning. Umpired at the Tawa Run American Legion Baseball Tournament. This well run get together is HQed in Ottawa, Ohio, and takes place every June.....I've been helping out for the past 7 seasons....but with the Graduation I was limited to 1 day this year.

I got home around 4PM....pounded a couple of beers, a cigar, and relaxed until the next storm blasted through the area...that occurred around 8PM, coming through the area with a vengeance. The rest of the week should be dry, less humid, and cooler...a welcome change!

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Photos from the Graduation and the Dinner--------Hal "The Graduate"...(damn tassel), Anissa, Hal, Patricia, and me after the ceremony, Hal and Sam, The Back 40 in Decatur, Indiana, the rustic entrance, Hal and Grandma, and Hal with his IPod.....

Waiting on the Rain

The storms appear to have moved out of rain soaked Iowa and Wisconsin, and we got some unwelcome rain this morning....but not as much as we are probably going to get. Walked out back and noticed a cash crop of mosquitoes...afraid we are going to be in for a 'buggy' summer.

The various family members here for the niece's wedding have returned home for Florida, California, and other nearer locations.....after we head to Dayton tomorrow for Hal's Wright State Graducation ceremony....Patricia and Anissa will prepare for their flight next Tuesday to Wisconsin....hopefully with dry weather in the forecast for that area....

Game a Minster last night, did the plate, hot and humid...dropped a few pounds no doubt, but no doubt I put it back on with a few Miller Lites after the game, as I sad on the front porch and listed to the Reds defeat St Louis 6-2.

As you can see, life is pretty hum-drum these days....that's what summer is for, next week's cooler weather should bring more outdoor activity...although I really won't believe the forecast, until it happens.

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photos-more back yard flowers blooming-shows you just how exciting things are around here.