June 30, 1969......and a Global Warming Update!

The weather forecast is looking fine, if you are thinking October in West Central Ohio. 50% chance of rain today, and 40% tomorrow...71 today, and 65 predicted for tomorrow, July 1st. Global Warming my ass!

Cap and trade, the phony climate bill championed by the far left is being ramrodded through by our illegal Kenyan born Prez, and we are all getting bent over to receive the benefits of sky high utility bills...."Beautiful, just stinking beautiful"! Not to worry, Barry will have us all worshipping his sorry ass, and we should be thankful so he thinks.

In other News, Michael Jackson is still dead, so are Billy Mays, Farrah, and Ed.

Sam and I traveled to Van Wert to umpire an American Legion game last night...the host team taking on Troy, Ohio. In a 3 hour 15 minute marathon{with Sam behind the plate}, the visitors scored 6 runs late, and came across with a 10-6 victory. Tonight I'm back at Crestview for the double header which will decide the 2 Junior ACME teams moving on to Parkway for the District. Sam is with Garry at Van Wert for a second round ACME Sectional game.

June 30, 1969, Vietnam Send Off_____

40 years ago today____

I remember Monday June 30th in the summer of 69 as a cloudy, humid day....my flight out of the Dayton, Ohio, Airport, at Vandalia, Ohio, was scheduled for early afternoon. I had been in the Air Force for 53 weeks on the day of my flight over to the "conflict" zone called South Vietnam.

We arrived at the Airport, and back in the days before increased Airport Security, I had a chance to grab a early flight, or sit around for 2 1/2 hours looking at the faces of mom and dad, and their thoughts on me heading to Vietnam, just get this over I though, little time for tears and worry...I opted to grab the early fight, and the old man and I had to haul ass to get to the gate in time for me to get on the 707 to Chicago. I was 20 years old, not really mature in any stretch of the imagination, and here I was heading overseas to play Air Force Cop in a war zone.

As luck would have it, the flight from Dayton to O'Hare would fly right over Grand Lake, and low enough(since the Airport was only 60 miles from my house) so I could see our place sitting next to the Montezuma Airport...a view of the home, I would not live in again, by the time I returned, the folks would sell that house and move into Celina.

Changing planes in Chicago, we would fly west towards San Francisco...The thing I remember about that portion of the trip was that we hit a hard air turbulence over Colorado, just as the stewardess's were serving out the in-flight meals....not good! We hit a couple of big ones and several folks were wearing their meals...they stopped the meal service for a half hour of so, until the plane cleared the rough ride portion of the trip. The rest of the flight went without problems, and we arrived in San Fran early in the California Afternoon. I deplaned and took an Air Force Blue Bus(just like the yellow school buses, except dark Air Force Blue in color), to Travis AFB outside the city.

After arriving at Travis from an interesting ride that took us past Candlestick Ball Park and the Hearst Castle, I began the processing part of my journey to "Nam"... then with that done, I was hearded on a commercial flight towards Hawaii where we ran towards the setting sun before landing at the Honolulu International Airport while it was still daylight. I thought to myself.."My first trip to the 50th State", that seemed a little exciting, but within a couple hours, after a beer in the lounge, I climbed aboard my final plane of the trip....a orange 707 jet from upstart Braniff International Airlines. Now, the trip got interesting...we soon headed across the International Dateline and it was July 1, 1969.

One notable difference between the Air Force and rest of the services when it came to being sent overseas, unlike the other services, we were sent as individuals and joined up with other individuals to form Squadrons, Flights, etc....much of the movement in the Army and Marines were as groups...I always arrived alone at my different stations....From Amarillo to Lackland, Dover, Nha Trang, Tan Son Nhut, and finally Griffiss AFB in Rome, New York. And for most of my 4 year tour, I served the same way. I did it my way....getting more hard headed and insulate as the time passed.

On the next post we will continue across the Pacific towards Vietnam____

back later>>>>

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photos-(1) June 30, 1969, me with mom in our front yard, as I was preparing to head for the Dayton, Ohio, Airport, on the first leg of my trip to Vietnam.(2)A view of the Hearst Castle outside San Francisco, the AF Bus passed this on the way to processing at Travis AFB.(3)Honolulu International Airport as it looked from the air in 1969(4)Orange was the color of my Braniff Airline plane that crossed the Pacific in the summer of 69...Braniff went under in 1984...but when it was in operation the made a name with their plane's loud colors, and the flight attendents bright outfits.

Wrapping up the Weekend...40 Years Ago Today

Spent the weekend, mostly at Convoy Crestview, umpiring with Sam, the Sectional Junior ACME Tournament{akin to High School Junior Varsity Baseball}. The heat and humidity Saturday was oppressive to say the least, our double header started at 11am and it was already hot by that time...Saturday night a front went through, we got no rain, but did pick up a strong west wind that stayed with us through out the games on Sunday, making the conditions much more bearable.

Now, check the forecast out on the top of this post....June 30th..69 degrees with Showers, July 1st 67 with a possible shower...when was the last time July was ushered in with a high in the 60s in Western Ohio?....I can't remember one, it will be a refreshing change, albeit a short one, from the past week of heat and humidity.

JackO and the Media____Especially Fox News

As one of my readers mentioned in her comments on Friday's Blog....What the Hell was Fox News doing covering Michael Freaking Jackson 24/7 after he assumed room temperature? The House of Representatives were passing{with 8 Republicans help} a massive Cap and Trade Bill, that if OKed by the Senate and His Majesty Obama, will send our Utility and Tax rates through the roofs...not that they are not already high beyond belief. Meanwhile the folks in Iran were being slaughtered by their Government while our Asshole-in-Chief Obama, was having a freaking Tiki Pork Roast at the White House, and Fox was covering Michael Freaking Jackson's death.....

Nice going Fox...NOT! I'm a Fox News fan, I can tell you though, with the country going to Hell in a hand basket, why are they covering wall-to wall Michael Freaking Jackson? I have no ideal what CNN, MSNBC, and the rest of the Liberal Obama lap dogs were covering, because frankly, they are so biased, they are not worth viewing....But Fox, the channel of most thinking Americans, drops the ball and covers Jackson's death the entire weekend.

40 years ago___

June 29, 1969, I was our drinking a few beers with Bob and Jerry Jones, and some other friends of mine...one last Hell raising night before my Vietnam send off....my memory may be a little cloudy, because the 29th was a Sunday, but I do know that last weekend saw plenty of suds downed. I knew what was coming(a Summer Trip to Vietnam), I just didn't know what was coming...I know that's pretty redundant, at least in reverse...but in short, I knew I was heading for Vietnam, but I really wasn't sure what to expect or exactly what I would be doing there.

So June 29th, 40 years ago was my last day before heading across the "pond"....June 30, 1969, was my sendoff day....tomorrow on this blog I will be posting my thoughts on that year as they happened. At least once or twice a week I will take a look at what I was doing 40 years ago. I didn't keep a Diary, but I did take a few photos{many of which I lost} and did plenty of reel-to-reel tapes....I will unlock what I can remember, starting tomorrow, and look back on that year, for the next year, on this blog.

Common Sense by Glenn Beck____

I purchased the audio version of the book last week at Wally World...I went back on Friday to get Patricia the written version of it, both audio and written, were completely sold out. Beck has another best seller on his hand. I spent my baseball runs to Lima and Convoy on Friday and the weekend listening to the book....Beck gets it right about 80% IMO. I guess my failure to give him a higher percentage of agreement is minor. Beck says a new Revolution in America in necessary, but that it must be done without violence, it has to be done by winning hearts and minds. I don't believe that it can be done....the American Media, and Education System is so far embedded with Socialists, Marxists, and Progressives, that we will never be able to change enough minds or take back our children and grandchildren from those that are ruining this once great Republic. It will take a real 1775 Revolution to take the country back...am I calling for one? Hell, I'm not that dumb...the Obamanation wants folks like me, and probably you, to call for an overthrow of them so they have a reason to come after us....I'm not going to call for that.

Beck gets most of it right, and the book, selling like Hot Cakes, is worth buying, sharing, and most of all, reading.

Tomorrow my look at my year in Vietnam begins....

Back Later>>>>

Photos-End of June, start of July, in the 60s??? I'll believe that when it happens. (2) Bob Jones and me, on the night of June 24, 1968...the night before I left for Amarillo Air Force Base in Texas for Basic Training...one year later both Bob and I would be in or getting ready to head for Vietnam, him on a boat in the South China Sea, me playing Air Force Cop at Nha Trang on the South China Sea. Note my skinny 130 pound self and the great outfit of the era, geeze, was I ever that little and able to fit into those size 30 waist, tight assed pants?....(3) My Audio copy of Glenn Beck's "Common Sense"...the books is selling 8 times it's nearest competitor in the first week.

It always happens in 3s...

Beat the heat and the rains last night at Lima...getting in the Lima Legion vs the Ohio State Lima Barons summer game....the temps were at around 97 with humidity to match when I arrived at the OSU field. There were thunderstorms north and east of town, but we stayed dry{well weather wise anyway} until the 2 hour contest finished up about 8pm...having the plate, with 20 pounds of gear, I sweated off more than my share of pounds.

After getting home around 9, the storms continued to pop up, Celina got missed by most, but we did get an overnight storm, and after a week of hot and dry weather, the rain was welcome...however it did little to alleviate the heat or humid conditions....back at 89 with plenty of sun today.

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and "The Glove"______

The old adage is "it always happens in 3s". Well in the case of Pop Icons, that is exactly what has happened this week. Now, don't get me wrong, the pop culture builds up average semi talented folks then loves to rip them down....I can't remember having any Pop worship, except maybe back in the 1950s and early 60s, when Baseball Great Mickey Mantle was my "hero"...talk about flawed human being...old Mick was that it turned out, but he was still the stuff heroes of the 1950s were made of.

Not so the 3 who died this week...let's take a quick look at them.

Ed McMahon was Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" sidekick, and "Star Search" host. Ed seemed like a likable enough guy, who did his job well. He played foil for Carson, and was the erstwhile host of several pre "American Idol" talent shows, including Star Search, which brought us, among other, Brittney Spears....and aren't we lucky for that? I don't think so. Ed lived a long life, dying at 86, but ended up on the verge of losing his house thanks to the Freddie, Fannie, and Barney Frank fiasco, before being "bailed out" by Donald Trump. A Hollywood Icon? Probably not.

Farrah Fawcett was made famous by a poster and a one season stint as one of the "Charlie's Angles" on ABC back in the mid 1970s. That and some battles with boy friend, abuser, and drug addict Ryan O'Neil...Farrah died yesterday after a long battle with cancer, at the age of 62. A Hollywood Icon...Hummm...No!

And then there is Michael Jackson...What can you say about the so-called "King of Pop"? Jackson came from a dysfunctional family out of the American Shithole called Gary, Indiana. Little Mike, and his brothers formed "The Jackson 5" back in the late 60s and 1970s. Michael went solo following that and had some great albums including "Bad" and "Thriller"....however for the past quarter century, he became a freak show. A black kid who wanted to be a white women it seemed, a media made him a freak without money or talent. I hope he finds peace in death, he could not have had any in the last half of his 50 years. A Hollywood Icon? Yep, but the folks that made him one, need to look in the mirror, because they are every bit as sick as the tortured soul known as Michael Jackson.

Three pop culture made people gone in the span of a couple of days...may they rest in peace. Were they important in my life? Hardly...didn't watch the Tonight Show, always thought Farrah was not the real babe of Charlie's Angles....she might have ranked 3rd of the 5 or 6 women who played the roles over the shows 5 season run...and Jackson, I didn't like the Jackson 5 music, but did think Thriller and Bad were pretty good....then came that putrid duo with Paul McCarthy..."Ebony and Ivory"...probably the worst recorded song in history, and after than Jackson and his music, went south.

Speaking of 3 I'd like to see gone_____

Well let's just say they probably all reside in Washington DC.....and rather than see them dead, I'd just like to see them gone...before they destroy the Republic....as for who are the 3? Pick any you care to, whoever you choose, the country would be better off.

Enjoy the weekend.....

ALERT! Cap and Trade is up for a vote today in the House....Call Your Congressman and say NO to out of control utility regulations>>>>>

back later>>>>>

Passing of Phil Lange 1932-2009

The Hot and Humid weather continues...kind of early for this type of weather, but I've seen it before in June. Today is scheduled to be the most brutal...93 for a high with the heat index nearing 100. Garry and I are scheduled for a ACME game at Crestview(Convoy) tonight...I've got the plate duties and it promises to be a warm one. I might have to have a few beers when I get home.

Phil Lange 1932-2009____

I posted a story back on May 1st about my old NCOIC{Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge} Phil Lange sending me some items from our time at Nha Trang:

http://patsdailyrant.blogspot.com/2009/05/phil-lange-gifts-from-nha-trang-rvn.html

At that time I did not realize just how serious Phil's health situation had become. I received an e-mail from Phil's son Paul about a week and a half ago to notify me that Phil's cancer had spread and that Hospice had been called in. Phil would spend his remaining time at home in New Hampshire with his wife, who is also undergoing cancer treatment, and family.

Paul had a request from his father for me....He would like to pay for me as a gift of friendship, a life time membership into the Vietnam Security Police Association{VSPA}:

http://www.vspa.com/

Phil and I had met up 30 years removed from Nha Trang, RVN, back in 1999 through the pages of the VSPA Bulletin Board:

http://www.voy.com/287/

I of course accepted the honor to go along with the gifts from Nha Trang that Phil had sent me back in late April.

It is with great sadness and honor that I report the death of AF Security Police retired veteran, New Hampshire college professor, and my friend, Phil Lange 1932-2009. Paul Lange informed me that his father and best friend had passed away peacefully last night at 7 o'clock in New Hampshire.

Paul has other items, photos, etc, that he needs to go through, along with the upcoming services in New Hampshire....I have other stories, and photos I will share on this blog later on.

May your journey have just began old friend...Good bye for now.

Phil Lange Life Member #154 VSPA gifts to Pat Houseworth Life Member #575...Thanks for everything Phil.

back later>>>>

Photos-the gifts from Nha Trang that my old boss with the 14th Security Police Association had sent me...QC(Crossed Pistols) Patch that Air Force SPs wore in Vietnam, A regulation Security Police/Air Police Badge from the 1960s, we wore these both stateside and in Vietnam, and a genuine flag from the South Vietnam Republic.

Random Photos of the Week

Sunny, hot, and humid for the week, but as they say, the breeze helps....sure it does. Been busy, and heading for another baseball game within the half hour. Here are some photos of this weeks activities:

Me with my Uncle Jack DeVore of Antwerp, Ohio, on Saturday night for the celebration of his 80th birthday...he had just played 18 holes of golf....

The Amish Crew has the roof done and the old chimney down...just the gutters and downspouts to go...then I can begin the painting process. Shoud be nice hot summer work....the South Vietnam Flag, the Air Force/RVAF QC patches, and the Air Police Shield that my former NCOIC Phil Lange sent me back in early May are now behind glass and matted and framed. More on Phil Later in the week. And finally Glenn Beck has come out with a new version of "Common Sense" based on the 200+ year old Thomas Paine novel. Beck's book sold more than 8 times any other new book that came out over the weekend....much to the gnashing of teeth in the Liberal Lame Brained Media I am sure....As for me, I don't read many books these day, just too time consuming, but I still love to listen to them on audio, thus at about twice the price, I picked up the "book" at Wally World that I can listen to while driving between games for the rest of the summer. Take that NY Times and MSNBC!

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Back Later>>>>

Father's Day and Obama's Weak Knees

The father's Day weekend was hot and mostly dry in west Central Ohio...Sam and I did a Friday night American Legion game with me behind the plate, a 5-3 win for Van Wert at home against Lima...2 hour 15 minute game that went without a hitch...the storms in the area stayed in Indiana and by-passed us...it did rain overnight. Sam headed off to Michigan, Ypsilanti area, for softball over the weekend, while I stayed home with Patricia and Anissa until about 6pm when we headed to Antwerp, Ohio, for my Uncle Jack DeVore's 80th birthday celebration...folks in the family from as far away as Wilmington, Delaware, showed up. Jack is mom's youngest brother and my only surviving aunt or uncle from either side of the family. He is a great guy, albeit a life long Democrat and Union supporter...if we stick to family and sports talk we get along great....politics? Not so much...but we avoided the political talk and had a great time for a couple of hours with about 100 or more other folks.

Sunday was Father's Day____

My Dad, Stan Houseworth passed away at age 55 on Christmas Eve 1972....I was 23, so I had the chance to know him and observed him until I was an adult, he was by all accounts a good guy. Dad was the fisherman and jack of all trades in the family, mom was the disciplinarian and the steady job worker....I can see both sides of that duo, especially in my later years. I can just imagine what the old man would say about the Obamanation presidency, it would probably make my comments look tame.

Hal called early to wish me "Happy Father's Day", Sam had given me his present...a pair of tickets for the Fort Wayne Tin Caps(formerly Wizards) Class A Baseball team in the Midwest League...the Tip Caps have moved into their new stadium early this season, and the new digs I have not seen yet, Patricia and my tickets are for August 6th....and I am looking forward to the new park.

The first place TinCaps home is here:

http://www.tincaps.com/

I went to Church with the women, and after I headed to Minster for a Father's Day double header between the home team and Fort Loramie...as luck(good again)would have it, the games were a quickie, with the total time of games and intermission being around 3 1/2 hours....a pretty good pay day that didn't last all that long, given the humidity, that was a good thing....I worked the game with Wayne from Sidney. Wayne is a great guy and a fellow Vietnam Veteran. I must say however my service pales to his. Wayne was with the 25th Infantry in 1968-69 and fought near the DMZ. He received 2 Purple Hearts, 2 Bronze Stars, and a Silver Star for his actions....He is a true American fighting hero, and a pretty good umpire. Like me, Wayne was eligible for the State Finals.

When I returned home, I was surprised to find 2 new porch chairs...Father's Day presents from Anissa and Hal.....so all in all, I had a good Father's Day. I finished the day off with a cigar and a few beers, then watched my favorite(and only one that I watch) Reality Show..."Ice Road Truckers" on the History Channel.

Our Gutless Leader_____

Kenyan born Barack Hussein Obama continues to show that he isn't ready for prime time. Not only has our Illegal President put us on the fast track to Socialism, Marxism, and Bankruptcy, he continues to bow down in chicken shit rhetoric in the face of Islamic Terrorists. The latest example:

While the world demands that Iran stop murdering it's citizens on live Television, Barack takes the keep low and keep kissing Iranian President I'm A NutJobs ass, along with the Assaholas in charge. Bottom Line: Obama is one gutless sonofabitch. The Chicago Street Pimp who is running the show in DC, is a shallow punk in the face of Muslim extremism. Should anybody be surprised? I think not.

Now, in all honesty, it doesn't matter in the long run who is in charge in Iran....the NutJob or some other Islamic Sock Putter that the Assahola picks...but the fact that our half baked leader doesn't have the guts to speak out, says more about him and the American voters that elected him, than it does about Iran.

Iran is going to have to be dealt with, it will probably take Israel to do it, because with Obama in charge, the US doesn't have a leader with the balls to handle the task.

The week ahead_____

Storms continue west of us, but so far we have been spared the brunt of most of the severe stuff. We will see how that shakes out, I see a batch of Thunderstorms just 60 miles to our west, but they appear to be moving south of us for now. A complete schedule of games, from ACME to American Legion to summer College Baseball are on my schedule...with only this Friday open for the rest of June.

back later

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Photos-The New Father's Day Chairs.... Stan Houseworth with his 100 pound "Jew fish" caught off the North Jetties in Nokomis, Florida in 1956, and the Tin Hats Logo. And our fear-full leader, The Obamanation as he really is....he puts the San Diego Mascot to shame, nobody does chicken better than Barry.

Google/Blogger at it again!

Once again Google and Blogger have been up/down, on and off(mostly off in western Ohio-Time-Warner)....

So nothing to put out for the weekend....hopefully back to "normal', whatever that may be in Google land by Monday.

back later>>>>>

Sam and I went to my birth town of Van Wert last night as the home team defeated defending District Champion Lima 5-3 in an American Legion match-up. I did the plate with little in a pretty smooth 9 inning 2 hour 15 minute contest.

Boeckman Gets His Shot with Jacksonville

A large massive rain mass cruised southeast out of Iowa and Wisconsin this morning and appeared headed in our direction with 75 mph winds, heavy rain, and some hail....I warned the Amish Roofing Crew as the storm approached...from what I saw on the radar, we were going to get hit, although the bulk of the storm was going to go just south and west of us. About 10:30am I walked out and told them.."I was wrong, we might get a sprinkle".

The storm had died as it hit the Ohio border, and had indeed shifted south, where Indianapolis, Terre Haute, and Louisville in Kentucky had gotten raked by strong winds and rain.. Another batch that had been building out of Wisconsin into Illinois is starting to die out as well, we will see if anything else brews up. Tomorrow even stronger storms are forecast...hopeful the roofing crew will have most under shingles and secure.

Todd Boeckman gets his shot_____

Local kid Todd Boeckman from St. Henry(where the wife teaches) and a former Ohio State Buckeye was signed as a back up quarterback with the Jacksonville Jaguars yesterday. It's been a long and probably painful odyssey for Todd since he took over the starting job at OSU in his Junior season with the Buckeyes back in the fall of 2007. After a successful season at the Big Ten's leading passing QB in 07, Buckeye Coach Jim Tressel saw fit to dangle a starting chance to freshman phenom Terrell Pryor if he would sign with the Buckeyes. 4 games into last season, after some iffy outings by Boeckman and the OSU offensive line, Tressel, known as "The Vest"(I prefer to call him "The Weasel") saw fit to put the over matched Pryor into the starting line-up. Pryor was a disaster(despite what hard core Buckeye fans may say). But Tressel, who would never admit to being wrong, men with massive egos and not much else going for them seldom do, kept Pryor in the line-up, despite a pitiful showing against Penn State. He finally gave Boeckman a clean up roll against Michigan, then used him in the Bowl Final, a heartbreaking loss to Texas, where Todd was one of the bright spots.

The cost for Tressel's folly for Boeckman was sticking around for his senior season, while his draft stock dropped from a probably 2nd round pick to not getting picked at all. TB finally got an invite from the Cincinnati Bengals, but never really got a look before they sent him packing. Yesterday he was flown to Jacksonville for a look-see. By afternoon's end, he was signed to a 1 year contract, and back-up Cleo Lemmon was sent packing. Todd is now one of guys(3 so far) in the battle for back up spots behind David Garrard.

There are no guarantees, but hopefully he will get his chance...maybe if he sticks, when the Jags go to Indy this season to play the Colts, he can leave "The Vest" a couple of tickets, somewhere in the nose bleed seats, with a note saying "Thanks Coach, thanks for nothing". Good Luck to the St Henry native, if he makes it, he would be joining other famous St Henry residents to make it in pro sports....a town of 1800 that has produced the likes of Wally Post(MLB) and NFL players, Pro Bowlers and Super Bowl winners, Jim Lachey, Jeff Hartings, and former Buckeye and grandson of Post, Bobby Hoying. Quite an amazing thing, coming from a town so small.

Speaking of St. Henry________

Sam and I head there tonight for a Junior ACME game between SH and Coldwater...tomorrow if the storms miss us, we get back into American Legion action at Van Wert. In the meantime, "stay away storms"...

back later>>>>

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Photos-Todd Boeckman(top) will try to join other St. Henry natives, Jim Lachey(Redskins) and Jeff Hartings(Steelers) as All Pros and Super Bowl Winners in the NFL.

Time To Take it To the Streets?

Got into the 6th inning last night before we 'shut it down' due to the rain. The showers never got heavy, but the artificial turf got dangerously wet, and the dirt/clay pitchers mound was becoming slippery when Larry the Home Plate Ump decided to call the game with Celina up 14-8 over Parkway in Junior ACME action...the coaches and I agreed, and we headed home. I went to bed around Midnight, and once again was awoken about 6:45 by the sound of our Amish work crew on the roof. The sun has come out, but there is still a chance of showers, increasing as we head towards the weekend....gonna be one of those summers it appears.

Protesting 1960s style___

I have to admit, even at a young age(late teens early 20s) I despised the protest marches of the 1960s and early 70s. Those were not my kind of people... the same ages, more or less, but these folks were hard core sheep that were being pulled down the streets by their socialist, Marxist, and Civil Rights leaders. I was and am a Conservative Midwest Guy. They stood for everything I hated, and still dislike. Draft Dodgers, Commies, Racist Civil Rights leaders, haters of the troops, and Marxist Professors.

I do however have to admit on thing....They were effective...whether is be so called Civil Rights issues, or for those poor innocent Viet Cong Freedom Fighters(biggest line of BS ever), these people got their acts together and brought about real change. Not the kind of phony change Barack Insane Obama is bringing about. That change is forced change, forced by a zealot and the Government he wants to wield power over. A zealot that has his sights set on the destruction of the USA and our Republic.

This naturally brings up the question. Is it time for real Americans, Conservative, freedom of Speech, freedom of thought, freedom to carry personal protection(you know, the 2nd Amendment?), Americans to do their own 1960s style protests? The so called Silent Majority have always been slow to anger and protest....I am thinking it may be time to get off our collective asses. Yes, the Tax Day Tea Parties were a success, despite be ignored by much of the media, except Fox News and Conservative Talk Radio.

July 4th has been set by more "tax/tea parties"...I'm not sure if that will work over a holiday...we will see. One thing is for sure, we "Real Americans" better do something to wake ourselves up, or it will surely be to late...it may already be.

I know the phrase "Real Americans" pisses much of the left off...and I use it for that purpose. "Real Americans", meaning, citizens of this country, legal citizens willing to defend the Constitution, willing to stand up and fight our illegal, Kenyan born Dictator-in-waiting who currently sits on his throne in the White House. Those Americans willing to stand up and say "no" to Nancy Pelosi, tell David Letterman to "Shut the Hell up Pervert", and tell the 3 major networks, CNN and MSNBC to go to Hell.....the rest of you are pretenders, you are fake Americans. Don't like it? Tough Luck! You are what you are....The Enemy of freedom, my freedoms, and in fact, your own freedoms.

Biking across the country_____

An acquaintance of mine from nearby Versailles, Ohio, is taking a bike trip across America. Tony is my age, 60...a former football player with the University of Toledo, back in the days when I was running around Vietnam and various Air Bases across this country, and a self made small businessman. Tony is somewhat farther to the left than me, perhaps way farther left. But he is a self made person, and speaks his mind.

What is on Tony's mind this summer is taking his 60 year old bones on a trip across this country...I think he is undergoing bike repairs out in Missoula, Montana, at this point. He has been Blogging along the way with multiple daily updates.....to go along for the ride, you can visit Tony here:

http://thebicyclemonologs.blogspot.com/

or click on the Crazy Tony's Bike link on the right hand side in my favorites for his daily updates.

It's a fun read and ride....I'm just wondering about his mental(already in question) and physical condition when he returns to West Ohio.

It the rain stays away, I'm at Fort Recovery tonight....

back later>>>>

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photos-top left, a modern day "protester"/middle, The 1960s/bottom, Tony enters Montana on his biking adventure...follow his trip on the line above.

Up on the Roof

Finished up my game with Sam at Delphos just before 8 last night...headed down I-75 towards Dayton, where I met up with Hal and the women at the Troy-Covington Exit. Seems the girl's plane was running about 30 minutes late, so I probably could have picked them up without putting Hal out, but he had some legal papers to sign that I had brought along anyway...we had a good food/poor service meal at the local Troy Shake N' Steak...it was past 10:30 before he headed south and we turned the van north towards Celina...finally got in bed about 1am.

Roofing____

My sleep was interrupted at around 6:30 by the hammering of nails, and the sound of lumber being ripped and slate shingles being torn....The Amish Crew had arrived and had began work on putting new shingles and undercover on the main section of the house{the front porch was done 2 years ago, and the kitchen about 5 years ago}.

Seeing the stuff crash and dust up the east side of the house{west side is next}, it made me glad that I have not started the paining project just yet. The major fly in the ointment will be the weather{what else?} for the next 4 or 5 days....a 60% chance of daily storms is in the forecast now, through Friday, with still a chance on Saturday.

I've never been a big fan of climbing heights, although I have on occasion. I usually take the latter to the lower roof and porch areas while painting the exterior and even hang on the ladder while painting the upper portions of the house. However, climbing to the top roof area is a "not gonna happen" for me. As you can see by the photos however, the Amish work crew does it in stride. Some 30 feet up with no catch guards or foot supports is not something I plan on doing....my hats off to these guys.

Game tonight at Celina...heading off to catch a nap before I have to get ready.

back later>>>>

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Photos-Day #1 of the Amish Shingle Project.

The Long Weekend

Starting Friday afternoon at Delphos I began what would be 7 games umpired in less that 72 hours...Saturday was the busiest, 4 games. I left Celina at 8am for a American Legion Tournament double header at Columbus Grove, the south site of the Annual Ottawa Run American Legion get together which began at 10 in the morning...finishing up there about 3pm, I headed back home, where Sam and I would do the final 2 games of the Celina ACME Invitational at Montgomery Field,...I would finish up at 10 that evening, making for a long 14+ hour day from the time I hit the road, until I cracked open a beer as I headed to the basement shower. That would be the longest stretch of the weekend, which ended yesterday with a Semi-Final double header in the Consolation B Bracket. I pretty much vegetated after getting home, watched some College World Series action, and the remastered version of "Lonesome Dove" on AMC.

The rain danced around the area all weekend, but none or very little hit the ball diamonds, so no delays in the action. It was actually pretty pleasant and coolish for most of the weekend in the area. Back at it tonight at Delphos St. Johns...then will head to Dayton to meet up with Hal, Patricia, and Anissa. Hal will pick them up at the airport, then we will meet somewhere inbetween....since I will be late, this saves the women from sitting in the airport for a long stretch while I'm in limbo at the game.

Sunflowers and Mersman Debris_____

I chronicled the demise of the old Mersman Table Factory and buildings on this blog back in 2007-08. The 100+ year old structures has housed the Mersman Table works for many years, and sat across the street from our house...in 2007 the new owners, looking for something profitable to do with the land began the job of dismantling the buildings brick by brick. What was left last Spring(2008) was a pile of bricks, brick dust/dirt and concrete, across the street and east of our place...not a pretty site. The plans were to take the material and dump much of it into Grand Lake for rip-rap and wave breaks....that final process finally began a couple of weeks ago. Here are some photos of before, after, and the process of putting the debris in the lake.

The 100+ year old(built in 1905) Mersman Table Factory across the street from our place as it comes down....what was left after it was leveled, and the debris finally being laid as a wave break on the west end of Grand Lake this morning.

Sunflowers 2009_____

Last growing season we decided to add some colorful Sunflowers to our garden area...using the Evening Sun Mix we came up with a few nice flowers by summers end....this year I have decided to take the Sunflowers one step further...adding the Orange colored Citrus Sunflowers as well as the Mammoth Sunflowers to the mix. In the first couple of weeks several dozen plants have sprouted, and the large mammoth ones are going great guns near the fence and old kennel area. Hopefully by mid summer I will have a bunch of Flowers and with the large ones, plenty of seeds to bag.

Time to do a little pre-emptive house cleaning....them head to Delphos, and on towards Dayton this evening....

back later>>>>

Sunflower Photos__top, an evening shade Sunflower from our garden last year....then several of the 2 foot tall(at 3 weeks from planting date) Mammoth Sunflower plants...so far about 2 dozen of these and another 18-20 of the Evening Shade and Citrus Sunflower plants have broken the surface....hopefully the Mammoths will look something like the bottom photo by summers end.

Bachelorhood Day #3/Cheesecake, Ivy, and Baseball

Bachelorhood Day #2 went off without too many hitches. It rained all day, except a few hours in the mid afternoon. I spent a couple of hours in the early afternoon cutting and cleaning the Ivy on the front porch....one Hell of a job, especially when it's humid, and yesterday, despite not getting much above 70 degrees, was one miserable, uncomfortable day seemed you could barley breath when outside. But I was determined to clean the Ivy up...it had been looking poor in recent months, and the usually lush green of summer had been retarded by a choke of dead leaves and dying vines. So it was out to Wally World(Wal-Mart) to buy a new pair of cutting tools for the vines, the old set was not going to work on this mess. A couple hours and much sweat later, the results are shown in the above photo. I should have done a before and after, the disaster it was would be easier to understand...while not looking great now, it(Ivy) at least has a chance to breath, and the porch is at least sit able.

The Cheesecake____

Since I first met Patricia back in late 1973 she has always been a great cook, and knew how to make desserts well....that's not the reason I find myself on the battle of the bulge however, I can pretty much contain myself from eating lots of sweets...Beer and red meat are more my issues. On occasion she makes a Cheesecake, usually taking it over to Cherry Street for Mom and Mike...on occasion though I do request one. Yesterday after finishing up the porch, knowing my game was rained out, and popping the top on a Miller Lite Longneck, I spied a couple of boxes of Cheesecake Box mix...I had tried to make one before{can't really remember when}...so I figured, "What the Hell?".

These are simple box cakes, and sometime even somebody like me can handle them....well at least I hoped. So I pulled out the blender, and a pie plate and went at it....20 minutes later I tossed my prize in the refrigerator, and would wait the hour until it firmed up and was ready. About 60 minutes later before Sam knew the cake/pie was ready, I sliced off a large piece and downed it....about and hour later he asked.."Dad, is your cheesecake ready"....Already done and tried some I say. So oldest son proceeds to dig himself out a large piece, leaving just about 1/2 of the cake to go. I am thinking, well tomorrow, I can take a photo of what's left, since it still looked nice sitting in the glass "pan"...and use that photo as part of the blog post for today.

'WRONG........."

I headed to bed about 11, and left Sam to watch whatever he was on the tube...I awake at 7:30 this morning, head down the stairs, into the kitchen to make coffee...and Lo and Behold, what do I see in the sink? My cheesecake pan, was empty except for a few crumbs...Sam had finished off the rest of my prize possession...."No Cheesecake for me, for Breakfast". Which I guess is all the better, it came out pretty good, but Sam saved me a few calories...so I'm stuck with a banana to go with my muffin and coffee.

Today and the weekend____
The rest of my bachelorhood days{until Monday Night} will be spent mostly on the baseball fields or mowing the lawn.

I plan on mowing our yard today, since it appears we will get 24 hours of dry weather...Sam will take care of Mom's over on Cherry Street....I'm at Fort Jennings for ACME baseball tonight, he will be at Lima Shawnee. Saturday will be a challenge. The Ottawa Run American Legion Baseball Tournament begins tonight. Tomorrow I'm scheduled to be at the Columbus Grove site for a double header beginning at 10am. Then dodging the predicted rain, I scoot back to Celina to do another double header with Sam at Montgomery Field...a round robin double header starting at 5:15{4 games in total in about 12 hours}. If the rains dodge us, or we it, that should be a real test for this 60 year old body, especially the back and legs. If I survive, Sunday morning will see a triple header back at Columbus Grove for the AL finals...3 of us will share that, so hopefully not as much stress on the old bones.

Patricia and Anissa are scheduled to fly back in to Dayton Monday evening, youngest son Hal will pick them up, and we will meet somewhere in the middle on I-75, after I finish up my game at Delphos......So.....

It sounds like I won't be around the Internet or house for much of the next 3 or 4 days...I'll check back when I can, in the meantime, enjoy the weekend.

back later>>>>>

Photos-{top} The front porch after the clean up, you can see by the bright areas of the outdoor carpet where the Ivy had covered before being cut back somewhat. {next} The remnants of my once complete cheesecake...and Baseball is the theme of the weekend, if we can dodge the rain....

David Letterman=American Jackass

The rain began during the 4th inning of my game in Celina on the artificial turf last night....just one large cloud that refused to move much, so we called it in the middle of the 5th. Celina lead 4-3 over New Bremen....not sure if they will continue it when they meet in Bremen next week, or just call it complete....but that's not the umpires problems, we just call them. Meanwhile Sam, 8 miles south at Maria Stein, never saw a drop, and their game was complete without problems, a Marion Local 12-4 win over Parkway.

We are scheduled to work together back in Celina tonight...but right now plenty of rain in the area, with more to come, makes that doubtful, even with a rubber rug as the infield. A busy baseball week and weekend is ahead, depending on if and when the Monsoon Season ends in western Ohio.

Dave Letterman, the Anti Jon Voight_____

Late night comic David Letterman was born in Indiana, and went to college at Ball State in Muncie, just 50 miles down the road, and across the state line from me. I never thought this left wing asshat was funny, and seldom watched his show. In recent years, he has become a political hack, and in recent months, a typical butt kisser of Barack Obama. My guess is, like equally non-funny left wing hack, Jon Stewart, Letterman has a set of Monica-Style Knee Pads in his office just in case "The One' shows up unannounced, so he can give proper service to his fake god Obama.

The Hoosier Hick reached a new low earlier this week on his Top 10 segment of "Late Night"....Being the frightened leftist he is, he felt the need to trash former VP Candidate Sarah Palin since she was recently in New York. The "10" list included calling Palin a Slut(as in Slutty look of an Airline Stewardess)...then stooping to the ultimate low of saying Palin's 14 year old daughter was caught having sex with Yankee slugger ARod. Nice going Letterman, you gap toothed pervert. This is how far this no-talent failed Muncie Weatherman has fallen...a pathetic shell of a "man", and not much of one either. Much like his younger counterpart, Jon Stewart...he is not funny, and not very smart, but he does have a few thousand left wing trolls hanging on his lines and lies.

Now of course Letterman says he wasn't making fun of Willow Palin, the 14 year old daughter, he was making fun of the 18 year old Bristol Palin....like that makes a difference? So he invites Sarah Palin, who called him a 62 year old pervert(being way too kind), and her husband Todd on the show. Sarah will and should decline...her husband should go on, smack the sorry son of a bitch in the mouth, and open up another gap in his ugly mug.

David Letterman=Another Sock Puppet for Obama. This country is going to Hell in a hand basket...clowns like Letterman, lead by their Messiah, Barack Obama, are driving the bus over the edge. I say it's about time real Americans take this country back...and we better do it pretty damn soon, before it's too late. Talk is cheap, action is needed, in the streets and at the ballot box. Real America has been sitting on it's ass way too long....the tax protests need to be only the beginning.

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back later>>>>

Jon Voight Hollywood Hero vs Barack Obama Kenyan Fascist

Arose this morning and headed down to the Dayton International Airport outside Vandalia, Ohio. The task was to drop my wife and daughter off so they could catch the Midwest Air non-stop to Milwaukee....as luck would have it, a large batch of heavy rain and thunderstorms was lurking near the airport. The rain began about 5 miles away, and was coming down at a moderate but steady pace when we arrived. The plan was to park at the Short Term lot and help Patricia with Anissa, our 30 year old handicapped daughter, get inside the terminal with as few hassles as possible. More plans gone amok...the parking lot has become a bloated construction area{did I mention I hate airports and flying?}, and we would have had to walk in the rain for about a half mile to get to the terminal. The ever growing Dayton Airport has become a freaking construction joke the past few years...the newest "work" no doubt a part of King Obama The Asshole's "stimu-less" package.

Anyway...I ended up pulling up to the terminal entrance, and unloading the women and the small amount of luggage....I headed to McDonald's, waiting for Patricia to call and let me know that the plane schedule was on time...She did, it was, and I with large coffee in hand, headed back north towards Celina. It's now just past 10:30 Wisconsin time and I expect they have arrived or will be arriving in short order....{stop} just like clock work, she just called and they arrived and are waiting for her brother Bill to pick them up....

So here I am, along with Sam, on my own for a handful of days.....hoping to get some work done around the house and yard...wish me luck.

Jon Voight vs Barry Soetoro____

Hollywood legend, Jon Voight, known by most younger readers as the father of that Hollywood Ditz of the Big Lips, Angelina Jolie, and by us older folks as a quality actor, and star of Classics such as "Deliverance" and "Midnight Cowboy". Jon is becoming more political and has come out swinging at our Kenyan Born Assclown in Chief, Barry Barack Soetoro Obama. Not too many in Hollwierd have the soul or guts to take aim at it's chosen hero, our illegal President....Voight must figure out he doesn't care, or that he has had so much success already, and at his age, what are they gonna do?

Here is the Oscar Winner's speech to the GOP House-Senate Dinner Crowd:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK2XyMYZ4T4

Mr. Voight pulls no punches....rare indeed for a product of the Hollywood Crowd...Jon Voight is an American Hero for his words....Barack Obama is a Traitor for his actions, and should be brought up on charges of Treason against this country{wishful thinking on my part, at least for now}. Obama, as Voight calls him, is indeed a false prophet, and so much more.

Photos from the Mesick..er Boyne Falls, Mushroom Hunt___

My buddy Rick E-Mailed me several photos from the Mushroom Hunt in Michigan that I didn't make....Rick and his band of sons and their buddies got to Mesick, but the inch or tarp worms ran them out before they got started or even settled....Nick, Clint, and I, cancelled out because of the uncertainty and extra miles and time. Rick and the boys didn't miss a beat, and headed north where they found a new spot to hunt Morel Mushrooms, and they even took time to pan for a little gold.

During our college days at Athens, Ohio, Rick majored in Geology, and received his BS from Ohio University...he never worked as a Geologist in public or private life after school, but did manage to put the GI Bill funded degree to use as a part-time amature Gold Panner....He even showed me the ropes a few times, most notably in Colorado back in 1980, and in the mid 80s in the Salamonie River in Indiana. As you can see from the photos, he found a spot to pan in middle lower Michigan as well...

It appears we will be heading to the Boyne Falls area next year.....Mesick and the worms are out, and Boyne is in.....

back later>>>>

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Photos-top-Jon Voight today, and Voight and co-star Dustin Hoffman from a poster from the 1969 Film of the Year "Midnight Cowboy"...a strange, dark movie, that I remember seeing for the first time early in 1970 at the Base Theater at Tan Son Nhut AB(Saigon Airport), Republic of Vietnam. Rick last month panning for a few specks of gold near Boyne Falls, Michigan, and Guy(far left), Clay(3rd from left) and friends with part of their haul of Morel Mushrooms from the annual hunt.

Hand Job!

The predicted storms held off until after 10 O'clock last night, and a good loud lightning and thunder based rain maker came through around 2:30 this morning....things have since turned sunny, albeit still muggy, despite the original cooler, dryer, prediction....Weather Channel Gerbils wrong again? I am shocked!



Give me your hand_____please!




Son Sam and I worked the Bellefountaine at Celina ACME game last night. It was my turn to do the plate....I donned the gear, knowing I had been hit in the left hand the past 2 times doing the "Dish"...since I had not been hit in the hand, at least not hard, in 4 or so seasons before that, I figured, "what are the chances"?....ummm...about 100% I say. The second pitch of the game from the hometown hurlers got past the catcher, and bang...for the 3rd time in 21/2 weeks, and the 3rd straight game behind the plate, my left hand was on the receiving end of a hard ball to the flesh.



Now, I've got to say...this is getting surreal...I had went the past 10 years, getting hit on the arms, shoulders, thighs, in the cup, chest, etc...and even a few glancing hits on the hands...but nothing like the 3 straight ones since May 21st. We finished the 8-2 visiting team victory without any further damage...but I knew I needed to do something to change my luck, or at least my left hand and knuckle's luck.


Now, I really don't want to go back to placing my left hand behind my back to protect it...that never felt comfortable or look professional in my mind...it sure was successful however. But I really never liked the feel or look. So I need to come up with another way to protect my "off" hand. Patricia and I went to Bob Evans for breakfast this morning and stopped at the local Wally World after...she went looking for some new clothes for her and Anissa's flight to Milwaukee tomorrow, while I headed to the pharmacy area, then on to sporting goods to look for something to give some protection to my wayward hand. Nothing really seemed to work(other than purchasing a soft cast, which I really didn't want to do)...so I settled on a Gold Gym style weight lifting glove....the same type I use in my work outs, only with a little more padding for the upper hand and knuckle area...Will it work? Who knows, I'm just hopeful that I go another 10 years before I get it that hard again...by that time I will be 70, and my days of umpiring will either be over, or at least I'll be doing the lower levels, where 85 MPH fastballs are replaced by those in the 50 range.


Batching it for a few days____


Tomorrow morning I will be driving Anissa and Patricia to the Dayton Airport at Vandalia, Ohio. There they will board a non-stop flight to Milwaukee, brother-in-law Bill Jr. who lives nearby will pick them up and take the the 40 miles to her dad and Bev's Condo on the lake at Oconomowoc. They will fly back out next Monday for home.


In the meantime, depending on weather, I have at least 10 games scheduled to umpire....6 of those this weekend on Saturday and Sunday....doing a mini-ACME tournament in Celina, and 4 American Legion games at the Annual Ottawa Run Tourney at Columbus Grove....the weather for that looks dry(for now) and not to warm or humid....so perhaps I can survive the extra work load.


Anyway, I should remain busy while the women folk are away.....baseball and hopefully a real start on the painting project. {procrastination alert!}


back later>>>>

Photos-My trice hit, in the past 17 days, swollen left hand, and the Gold Gym Glove I will use for now to try to protect it from further baseball harm.

Thoughts for a Monday

Not much rain over the weekend, despite what the Weather Channel folks said...60% chance today...so will see what shakes out. Game scheduled for tonight at Celina with Sam...if the storms miss us.

Monday___Monday___

Not really much to talk about this afternoon...so will post a few "Right Wing" images....guess you could say I resemble these remarks____

And then you have the Jack Booted Obama Nation at the bottom....a more diverse collection of scum and trash has never this nation seen.

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