2008 in Review/March-April

62 degrees in Celina, Cincinnati headed for 73 F. December 27th and this is what we are scheduled for today in the Midwest. Of course that hint of Global Warming won't last...storms, high winds, and then a cool down will follow for tonight and tomorrow, but we get one day at least where the Global Warming Alarmists will get their day to cry like Chicken Little.

The weekend between Christmas and New Years is usually found watching Bowl Games and looking at the extra notch taken out of your belt...wondering "Where the Hell did that weight gain come from?"

2008 Review

March/April

March of this past year saw my back make major progress after the December Epidural. I was scheduled to begin the Varsity High School Baseball Season on March 31st, and as the month began, I was still not 100% or 100% sure I could make it a whole season...but things were looking up. First off however, I decided to make a RV run....I had not been on one since September, so along with Sam, Hoosier Transit offered us a combination run...I would take a Class C BT Cruiser to Albuquerque, while Sam would take a large 40 foot Diesel Pusher to the hills outside L.A. in Southern California....I would pick another up in New Mexico and proceed with that one to SoCal. As things turned out, we left March 6th, one step ahead of a large March snow storm in the Midwest.....we circled around it, and made our way west, taking I-44 to Oklahoma where at OKC we hit I-40 and headed west. The back held out as we arrived in the Big A a couple of days later...my pick-up unit wasn't ready, so I jumped in with Sam(after a stay at the Route 66 Casino), and we headed through Arizona towards California. As we crossed into the Illegal Alien State of Ill Repute we came in contact with our first $4 gallon of gas...$3.99.9 to be exact, at the desert city of Needles. The rest of the trip, including train, plane, and bus ride back to Nappanee went with little sleep, but no major back issues, and a pretty good profit.....as it turns out, the economy would end my RV Delivery days, not the back. Other than a couple of short runs...my days of delivering RVs is probably done. In addition in March...Ohio held it's Presidential Primary, which saw Hillzilla Clinton aka "The Hildabeast" and Juan McCain aka "The RINO" win their respective primaries. Gas Prices, even in the Midwest roared toward $4 a gallon. We had a variety of ice and snow storms, but other than the large one, which I missed, early in the month, nothing major...and even that one melted fast. Finally on March 26th Sam and I did a baseball scrimmage at Sidney Lehman High School...I did the plate for over 2 hours, and the back, albeit somewhat sore, proved it could handle the stress, and I was ready for Opening Day at Delphos Jefferson.....I would go on to do 83 Varsity, ACME, and American Legion games over the next 4 1/2 months...both me and my back made it through.

April saw Kansas win the final 4 in college basketball, and the opening of the Major League Baseball season...the Cincy Reds were pretty much eliminated on day one. The weather warmed up in the middle of April and the High School season, after a rainy start, saw pretty nice weather through the tournaments in May. Patricia, Anissa, and I, went to Lima, and purchased a quality treadmill for Anissa, which I also use as I get time during bad weather. For the house we got 2 new leather/oak recliners, replacing our "Lazy Boys" we had(and still do) for 10 years.....my back was indeed ready for the quality leather chairs. Expensive(for us anyway), but well worth the cost.

My highlight in April came on April 5th....when 35 years after I quit bar tending/managing at the Red Door to head off to college, the new owners(no longer called the Red Door, now after several name changes, it's the FUSE) of 211-213 South Main Street, decided to have a 40th Reunion...and invited back all the old bartenders, hangers on, and clients of the place.....over a thousand showed up, including me and another 20 or so former employees....we had one great time, and closed the place down around 3AM.....it took me at least 36 hours to recover, and it was worth it! Many old friends, some that I had not seen in years, were on hand.

The rest of the month saw temps and gas prices rise, flowers bloom, and me concentrating on writing stories of growing up in Venice, Florida, and my days at Nha Trang AB, Vietnam.....the final destruction of the old Mersman Factory was completed as well.

Tomorrow-May and June 2008.

back later>>>>>>>>

photos-Top...The Red Door Bartenders from the past 40 years(those of us who survived anyway)-Me next to the BT and Sam's Diesel Pusher in Illinois on our way to New Mexico and California-Mersman's Table Factory, almost down in total-Needles, California, gas in the Desert hits $4 a gallon in March 2008-Sam in his home plate umpire gear at Delphos Jefferson for Opening Day-Back Yard Spring Flower, one of the new leather/oak recliners, and old buddies/fellow bartenders "Ponzi" and Rick Tester...both one of a kind, at the 4/5/08 Red Door Reunion.