AND A LOOK AT THE PAST! ..... Sports, Dual Sport Motorcycle Riding, Politics, Nostalgia, Music, Photography, and a Healthy Dose of BS....
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
2009 Year In Review/July through September
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
2009 Year In Review/April through June
Sam has decided to purchase the 1999 Toyota Corolla we looked at in Dayton....so he'll use the Intrepid for a few weeks while he gets the paper work done and picks up that vehicle....
Tomorrow Sam and I head for Lima Shawnee to do the opener Junior Varsity game between the Shawnee Indians vs Toledo Waite in a Girls High School contest....then I'm off until January 4th, while Sam will head back to classes next week at Ohio State.
2009---Spring Springs___
April____After having pretty nice weather in March for baseball, April as usual turned wet and cold....I was elected eligible to do the State Finals for the first time...and although not getting a State game, I did garner the nod for a complete District at Elida...doing all 3 games in Division 3...and was also selected for a Regional Semi-Final at Patrick Henry. Those would take place in May, after the regular season concluded....
On the world front, our Kenyan Prez, went on his world apology tour to Europe and the Middle East....daring to apologize to the world for our perceived "arrogance"...proving once again this lightweight asshole wasn't up to the task that the majority of dolts who voted had given to him....things would get worse as the year continued....
On April 15th pissed off Patriots gathered by the hundreds of thousands to protest the criminals in Washington DC, who had been spending like drunken sailors, at our expense....the main stream news media, with the notable exception of Fox News and Talk Radio, ignored the protests....showing once again they were indeed lap dogs of the far left.
In Sports, my NHL team, the Philly Flyers, were eliminated by eventual Stanley Cup winner Pittsburgh...while in the IHL, the Fort Wayne Komets, my favorite team for over 50 years, were crowned once again Turner Cup Champions...this time for the second straight season....
In Baseball....the MLB got underway, another disappointing season was in store for the Cincinnati Reds, while the Yankees would eventually win their first crown in 9 years...
The former Red Door, where I had managed and bartended back in the mid 1970s, had it's 2nd yearly 40th Reunion in early April...the crowd was not as large this time around, but a good time was still had by the decent gathering.....
May____
Our Kenyan in Charge, Barack "Barry" Obama, continued to build the road to Socialism...not only blackmailing the nation's banks...he decided to purge Chrysler and GM of their management, and the Government{taxpayers} became majority stockholders of the 2 bankrupted auto makers....Way to Go Barack!-you tool...
My annual mushroom hunt hit a snag....set to go to Mesick when my District games were over, I got a call from Rick and the boys telling me that our usual spot had been overrun by "bugs and worms"...they headed a couple hours north, I headed back to Celina. Turns out they found a great spot by Boyne Falls, and that is where we plan on making the trek next May.....
I hit post #500 on Blogger, and the weather would remain cool...not only for May, but for most of the summer...Global Warming? I think not....
June____
June saw the passing of my friend and NCOIC of Law Enforcement from Nha Trang AB, Vietnam, Phil Lange...before he passed away Phil and his son Paul, made a gift to me of flags, patches, and badges from our days in Vietnam, and paid for my Life Membership in the Vietnam Security Police Association as a gift of friendship....Phil's wife of many years would pass away a short time later, joining her husband in God's hands....
In addition to the loss of Phil, another old Sky Cop, Larry Dotson, who survived the Prison uprising at Lucusville a couple of decades ago, passed away in early June....Larry missed our mini-reunion in January due to illness, and never regained his health...
We finally had the century old maple tree cut down at mom's house...the worry of it falling over on her or the neighbor's place was too much of a risk....
On the national news, Obama went on another Islamic Butt Kissing tour to Egypt and the Middle East...proving once again, that his slobbering love affair with radical Islam knew no bounds....He is indeed an apologist and coward, to top even Jimmy Carter{which I never thought possible}.
I would spend much of the remainder of the summer painting the house, and we would have the gutters and the 86 year old concrete roof shingles replaced....those stories and photos next on the Review of 2009....
Back Later>>>>
Photos-Air/Security Police Badge, much like the one I wore during my 4 year stint.../I framed the badge, crossed pistol patches, and South Vietnam Flag, that were included in the collection that Phil Lange sent me before his death../Working the plate at Minster...I would be voted to State for the first time...and came away with both Regional and District Assignments in 2009.../Phil Lange, Captain Bailey, and Lt. Wright outside of Bailey's Speakeasy, the Air Force Sky Cop bar, movie, and eatery hangout at Nha Trang in the summer of 1969.
Monday, December 28, 2009
2009 Year In Review/January through March
Sunday, December 27, 2009
A "Wicked" Christmas
I headed out about 1 pm to drive around the lake, just to get away from all things....and called my old fishing/drinking buddy Nick...he was in Coldwater, but asked that I meet him at his Montezuma house for a holiday cigar....I arrived about 2, and we proceeded to BS, smoke a couple of hand rolled cigars, and put a dent in the untapped bottle of Drambuie in his booze cabinet....I left for home about 5. Hal and his girlfriend Lisa arrived from the Dayton area shortly after I jumped out of the shower, and we all headed for Christmas Eve dinner at sister Marty and her husband Pat Hemmelgarn's place....both families kids were all home, and Mom and Mike made it all of our family except youngest sister Kelly...and why would you leave Naples, Florida, in December to winter vacation in Ohio? Plus Kelly and Denmark Mike have purchased a new home on the waterfront in Naples and are in the process of moving....Mike the Master Chef at a gated community in Naples has his busiest time of the year, making travel pretty much out of the question anyway....but we had a good crew consisting of 16 of us....
I continued on my 48 hour eating spree, turned on the "Christmas Story" Marathon on WTBS and waited for the rest of the family to arise...Anissa was up, and ready to open presents, as was Hal....
http://www.wickedthemusical.com/#
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Christmas Eve in Vietnam 1969, Nha Trang Air Base, RVN
My wife usually makes several thousand cookies of 20 or more varieties for the family, co-workers, and friends....this year however it was cutback on the cookies time....with my battle since Labor Day against the possibility of getting Diabetes 2...she decided to take away much of the temptation of eating my way through them....with the 20 pounds lost thus far and the drop in my Blood Pressure, I am thankful for that...although I am sure the boys and those that usually get their share are disappointed....but sacrifices must be made...at least that's what I'm saying.... She did however, made several hundred of maybe a dozen different kinds, and got them out of the house and delivered before I got my hands on them....a couple of "named" plates remain, and honest, I have stayed away from those....Honest!
So just how is the diet going through the Holidays, you ask?
Well, when we headed to Wisconsin for our "Pre" Thanksgiving with the wife's family I weighted in at 192...a drop of 16 pounds...since then I have been as low as 187 and a bounce back up to 193...right now I'm in the middle of that at 190. Tonight at the family get together and next week at Rick's place for our annual New Year's Bowl fest, will be the 2 test days....I hope to stay at the 190 level or less through that, and then finish off the final 10 pounds before the end of basketball season, and our Vietnam Security Police "Mini-Reunion" at Dayton the first weekend in March. By that time I will know where I stand blood sugar and blood pressure wise...I hope to stay off any Diabetes meds and get off the BP medication{although that really is not a big issue}.....
Christmas at Nha Trang_____40 years ago
By the time Christmas Eve 1969 had arrived at our pristine little base on the South China Sea, called Nha Trang, I had received orders to Tan Son Nhut and Saigon....I had arrived at Nha Trang on a C-130 by myself from TSN 6 months earlier...I would be returning the same way on December 27th. Seems the Air Force was bound and determined to keep me separated from those I served with before.
I had left Dover AFB, Delaware, for combat training at San Antonio with just Walsh and Lippencott. Then it was on to Nha Trang by myself, with a stop over in Saigon....I would head back to Saigon/Tan Son Nhut as the lone cop from Nha Trang...others headed to Phan Rang, Tuy Hoa, Phu Cat, and other places in groups of 2 or 3. I was hoping to stay in Nha Trang...I really liked the place, plus I had secured a place to stay out near the down town and beach area on my days off. It looked like luck would have me staying, but Uncle Sam's Air Force decided to throw me one more(or should I say another, there would be more to come later} curve. I got my orders for Tan Son Nhut and the 377th Security Police Squadron on December 22nd....4 days and a wake up call and I would be out of Nha Trang....so I spent Christmas Eve 1969 packing and working a night shift(I had been on days for the entire first 6 months) driving a patrol Jeep near the Beer and Soda Storage Compound....As far as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Nha Trang....they seem like a blur these 40 years later.Did I miss home? I'm sure I did...but to tell the truth, I really don't remember much about those 2 days...the days before, the day I got orders for Saigon, New Years Eve working the old B51 Bunker at the edge of Tan Son Nhut's Perimeter? I remember those as clear as it was yesterday...but those 2 days, Christmas and XMas Eve, somehow have escaped my long term memory....but I was there indeed, 40 years ago.
On a Holiday Note: It appears that our "White Christmas" may become a "Wet" Christmas...icy drizzle is being called for this morning, with rain arriving this afternoon and more rain tonight and tomorrow...our 3 inches of snow on the ground may be a muddy, icy, memory by the time nightfall on Christmas Day happens....Regardless:
MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL.....
Back Later>>>>
Photos-Me with a cheap beer(a common sight) on the Beach at Nha Trang in 1969/Part of Patricia's limited Cookie output for the season/and Nha Trang Beach as it looks some 40 years after I walked in it's sand.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Christmas Eve Milestones, Obama Poll Numbers In the Crapper...
Tomorrow will be Christmas Eve....always a day of remembrance for the Houseworth Clan....It will be 37 years since dad, Stan Houseworth, died at the age of 55 years old....I was in New York when I got the call from brother Mike....a massive Heart Attack on Christmas Eve evening...a somber flight home from Syracuse to Dayton....and a Christmas hardly remembered, except for the funeral arrangements, the Van Wert funeral home, and the burial on a cold December 27, 1972, at the Scott, Ohio, Cemetery. I was 23, and just out of the Air Force...looking back at the 60 years old I am now....Dad seemed somewhat old, but for sure too young to die of a Heart Attack....all these years later, his death now seems even more premature....but who said life is fair?
Tomorrow evening we will head as a family to sister Marty's place....both families kids will be there, including out of towners, Hal and Mikki, Hal's girlfriend Lisa, and the newest member of the family, Molly and Aaron's 9 month old daughter Lilly.....Mom and Mike as well.....those 2 will head out sometime next week for Florida, where mom will spend the winter with youngest sister Kelly, and her husband Denmark Mike, the Danish Chef.....
Things to do today...finish off a quick Christmas shop for Patricia, take the Intrepid in and have a bearing worked on/or at least looked at...bank, and take some fall yard items from Anissa's rental place....after last night's double header, I need a easy day...
Headed to St. Marys for a Freshman Girls/Boys double header with league and county rival Wapakoneta....the home Roughriders won both ends...taking the foul easy girls game by 10, before the boys took the court. The boys contest was a foul filled frenzy first half, followed by an intense second half that say St. Marys come out on top by 3 over the Redskins....I did call a technical on a Wapak player with about 4 minutes left in the game...my first of the year. The call was simple, he overreacted to a call my partner Steve made....way overreacted...and the "T" was the only call to make....Wapak missed a desperation 3 at the buzzer, and St. Marys came out on top by a 59-56 score....off now for a week, next contest will be a Junior High tournament at Russia(Rue-She), followed by a Girls JV Holiday contest at Shawnee on December 30th.....
Christmas is the time for joy_____
And the latest Obama poll numbers from Rasmussen are certainly great news for Real Americans....the lowest of any first year President since they began polling...gotta love it:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll
Barry is down by 3 touchdowns(-21)...but of course it's late in the 1st quarter{of his presidency}, and I'm sure the Kenyan-and-Thief and his lap dog press corp still have some trick plays to get his numbers back up....stay tuned!
Out and about...will check back later>>>>
Photo-Stan Houseworth {12/10/1917-12/24/1972}-in 1942/and Obummer's falling poll numbers are a Christmas gift for any "Real" Americans....
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
That Damn Global Warming!
While the eastern US digs out from under 2 feet of snow in some places...like my Vietnam buddy and fellow Air Force Cop from our days in Nha Trang describes on his blog:
Monday, December 21, 2009
Down goes the Economy!!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Christmas Week is Here/Winter Brews and other temptations
Sam Adams Winter Classics____
Friday, December 18, 2009
#33/Oconomowoc, Wisconsin December 18, 1976
We were married 3 years to the day after we met...December 18, 1976.....
Happy Anniversary Patricia.....
Enjoy the weekend...back later>>>>
Photos from Oconomowoc 12/18/1976
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Happy Birthday Sam!/Fallen Bengal/Obama Blackmail
Sam Houseworth turns 28______
Sam was the first boy on our side of the Houseworth family since I was born in 1949, some 32 years earlier...mom had 2 daughters and 5 granddaughters before Sam came along. Since that time, only Hal has broken the string of girls in the family...mom has a total of 6 granddaughters, 3 great-granddaughters, plus her youngest children, Marty and Kelly are both girls, then there are Sam and Hal. Men in the Houseworth and extended family are few and far between these days.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Nostalgia 101/William Waldron and Family
Merry Christmas 2024 and Happy Enjoyable 2025
Things are looking up...The Demented Fool is about to leave OUR White House, and looking at the Miserable SOB, it appears he will be takin...
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Schools in the area from Dayton to the south, to Putnam and Paulding Counties in the north, were shut down today...last nights rain didn...
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The weather has stayed warm, in fact another record by tomorrow of 80 degrees....of course, in my case, not much chance to enjoy it....the ...