Vietnam Reunion 2009

Each year for the past 14 years or so, members of the Vietnam Security Police Association:

http://www.vspa.com/

have gathered in one spot each October for it's annual reunion. The association has grown from a handful of dog handlers back in 1995 to a fully funded organization of some 1200 members nationwide. The Internet and our web site is responsible for almost all of the groups growth in it's entirety. The annual get together is held near an Air Force base each year, and this past year it was in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The 2009 event will be held in Phoenix...other years we have been in Las Vegas, Valdosta, Georgia, Washington DC, San Antonio, Texas, and in 2002 it was in Dayton...the only year I have been able to attend.

The problem with the annual event comes in several areas. Expensive, long travel distances, getting the time off....for me, the past few years have been, I do football officiating, and the middle of October is a busy time....my wife is working, and I really have no reason to travel long distances for a get together like that without her.

A couple of years ago a half dozen of us decided to get together for a rather informal meeting...some guys being from Kentucky the rest from southwest(or my case, west central) Ohio, we figured Wright-Patterson was as good of place as any to meet....we chose February 2007 in the dead of winter to meet at the Air Force Museum at Wright-Pat...It so happened Sam and I were on our way back from an RV run to Florida that morning so we hooked up with the other guys and broke bread and drank coffee, got a few photos(see banner shot of me next to the Security Police Defender Statue), and had several hours of good conversation. When we broke up the meeting, we decided we should do it again "someday" and invite some other guys from around the region to join us.

Fast forward to December 2008....after some e-mail exchanges, the original gang, me, Mike Tillman, Larry Dotson, Wayne DeZarn, and Rick Adams, decided to meet up again in the winter...and why not post a note on the web site Bulletin Board:

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

asking anybody else that felt the need, to join us at the Museum......

Needless to say we were not, or at least I wasn't, prepared for the response. it was outstanding....so at 11AM tomorrow January 31, 2009, a small group of Air Force Security Policeman who served in Vietnam and Thailand during the Vietnam "War", will gather with wives and family members around the frozen statue outside the Air Force Museum near Dayton, Ohio.

At this point, depending on those willing to travel, in cold weather, we will see somewhere between 50 and 100 old timers....I have to admit when this all started, I was feeling that we would get maybe a dozen of the gang, from Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana....instead we have guys coming from Florida, Virginia, Montana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, and the other states mentioned as well. Needless to say we are surprised in a good way....who would have thunk it? Traveling in the dead of winter to frozen Ohio for a 6 hour get together with guys who for the most part know each other only through the web site and mail....AMAZING! We will have a memorial, lunch and then tour the impressive AF History Museum...say our good byes and head either home or to the various motels we will use.

The VSPA is comprised of Security Police who served in SE Asia during the 1960-1975 war. Unlike Army and other outfits...we SPs did not serve as one outfit during our time in the military. We served as individuals within a Squadron...and got orders, not as a group, but as individuals....I went to Nha Trang in the summer of 1969 by myself....I landed at Tan Son Nhut, and flew via a C-130 north to Nha Trang, on that plane were me, and old mommasan with her goat, and the 5 crew members....it is a trip that is forever burned into my mind....I love that memory...the new guy in country, flying in an open cargo door airplane above the jungles, just 48 hours after leaving the USA...amazing, I had never been out of the country, let alone into a war zone. Most of the other members of the VSPA have similar stories. We served as individuals with other individuals as a well oiled group....it was unique.

So most of the members of the Vietnam Security Police Association never knew each other until this group came along...some of us found old friends long lost....I know that is the case for me. Harry Beven, Bruce Thompson, my old NCOIC Phil Lange(who I drove nuts at Nha Trang), Tony Nieomoka, are old friends I found after 30 years, when I joined the group in 1999...others that I now consider friends, I never knew...Bill Marshall from my old home town of Scott, Ohio, Big Sam Lewis, Mike, Rick, Wayne, and Larry, and others...I am glad I found this group, I look forward to tomorrow.

We will start off by freezing our asses off at the statue, saluting those that are no longer with us, including those lost on January 31, 1968, the day of the TET Offensive that took the lives of several SPs and hundreds of other American Heroes.....

I plan on having the complete story and some photos to share next week.

back later>>>>>>>>

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photos-Patches I have worn/VSPA Today/14thSPS Nha Trang/377th SPS Tan Son Nhut...and manning the Civilian Gate at Nha Trang, RVN, October 1969.

More White Death

The forecasters were calling for at first 1 to 2 inches in the Celina area, then 2 to 4, 3 to 5, and finally they said "Screw it" and called for 9 to 12 inches of snow...only then did they get it right.....it appears from my back yard ruler rule we got about 10 inches of the "White Death"...the schools and colleges are cancelled....giving Hal a chance to leave the Dayton area and go skiing at Mad Mountain near Bellefountaine, Ohio, while Sam's break gave him the chance to help Ma and Pa Houseworth out with the digging, then going over Grandma's house and dig a path for his Uncle Mike to the car...which he won't be using anytime soon, as the alley where the car is next to has not been touched...I plowed the Jeep Wrangler into that alley and with the inch of ice on the bottom of all that snow, I slid off into the neighbor's side and had one Hell of a time getting out...even 4 wheel beasts like the Wrangler slip and slid on ice...off I did get though and plowed like a 16 year old through the side alleys...sometimes the kid in you has to come out.

The most snow we have had since last March, when the short lived 14 inches came our way...it melted quickly, like most March snows however, when the temps climbed to 50 a couple of days later...this one will be sticking around awhile.

Even with Dayton getting a heavy snow, it should have little or no effect on our Mini-Reunion for Vietnam Air Force Cops on Saturday....we plan on taking shovels to dig out around the statue for Air Force Security Police for our prayer service honoring the men who died at TET on January 31, 2009. Then we will move inside for our tour of the Air Force Museum and a hello and BS session...we are still hopeful of a gathering of around 100...and even though it's a Midwest event, we have guys coming from Florida, Virginia, and even Montana. Should be a great day!

We did get our games in, Sam at Spencerville, while I made the slippery drive 50 miles north to Antwerp, sliding home in the intrepid before the roads deteriorated as they were this morning.

I could do some more ranting about the disgrace of Obama's $825 billion stimulus(see Pork) package...but the out of his league rookie has become a joke in his own right...he sees radio talk icon Rush Limbaugh as his arch enemy....maybe Barry should don a mask and with his trusty rusty sidekick, Joe "Hair Plug" Biden fight the evil Conservative "Talkers", Limbaugh, Hannity, and Beck....

Obama is a Punk...his followers are gawd damn fools! And anybody that hasn't figured that out by now, is a hopeless dolt.

Stay warm, wherever you might be.....

back later>>>>

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Photos---Various scenes of The Great White Death of 1/28/09 in my front and back yard....top, the picnic table ruler...says about 10.5 inches/The driveway before the work began, Patricia starts on the front porch/the view from Livingston Street, and the driveway once the shoveling and plowing was complete.

King of the Useful Idiots

Or in this asshat's case, useless idiots. Jimmy Carter, is without a doubt, the WORST PRESIDENT in my lifetime...probably anybody's lifetime. The peanut brained cracker put the misery index through the roof during his miserable 4 years as Prez. 12% unemployment and 21% bank loan interest. You think 2009 is bad? Just remember(if you are old enough) back 30 years when this SOB was sitting in the White House.

The brilliant Carter years brought us:

Free Passes for the cowards known as Draft Dodgers of the Vietnam War....Jummy gave these gutless bastards a free pass, thus spitting on the graves of 58,000 Killed in Action, not to mention those of us who came back alive, although many hundreds of thousands came back with physical and mental injuries.

The Ayatollah Assahola in Iran...Peanut Brains stood by when the Shaul was ousted in Iran. Soon after 400+ hostages were taken at the American Embassy and held until Carter's miserable excuse for a Presidency was over...freed when one Ronald Reagan became President, thus ending our national nightmare called Jimmy Carter.

The boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics...brilliant move Jummy.

Double Digit inflation and double digit unemployment...the worst economy since the Great Depression, and nothing, not even the Great Recession of 08-09 comes close.

So the American voter ends Carter's miserable administration despite the best efforts of CBS, NBC, ABC, and the New York Times/Washington Post cabal. Ronald Reagan brings America back from the brink.

And now that he has been out of office almost 3 decades, Jimmy is back...back supporting Islamic trash rather than our allies in Israel. Getting a laughable Nobel Peace Prize...For What? His Peace Prize is as big a joke as Al Gore and his phony Global Warming/Chicken Little thesis. Carter is back, building Houses for Humanity(probably the only decent thing this useless bastard has done in his miserable life), writing plagiarised books bashing Israel and other former Presidents, who by all accounts(even Clinton and Bush 2) were more successful and better, than his sorry ass.

I was actually channel surfing when I got home last night, so who do I see? I see the miserable 39th President on the Jon Stewart show on Comedy Central...the only thing I could think of was..."Which of these 2 is the most useless?"

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Jimmy Carter=Islamic Terrorists Best Friend...I'm not sure even Obama can top that.

I also should say despite my dislike for Carter and his ilk, like Bill Clinton, this has nothing to do with the folks in the south, who are some of my favorite people....it would be nice if they could send a true southerner(i.e. Conservative) to the White House.

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OK, OK, that is my rant for today....Just seeing that miserable excuse for a human being proped up by the MSM for the past 30 years is enough to set my blood a boiling...and I have to vent!

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In other news...my cold is starting to subside. I did a Jr High Girls double header at Greenville last night and survived, got a couple of games of Dartball in after. Tonight I head back north to Antwerp...for a boys double header Jr High. I could be driving through several inches of snow on the way home....at this time we are expected to get 3-5 inches. Dayton and south are scheduled for 6-9 inches, the schools(including Hal at Fairborn) are already closed in anticipation. The good news is, this stuff will end by Thursday and the weather for our Vietnam Mini-Reunion on Saturday at Wright-Patterson looks good...cold yes, but clear. So things are on schedule for that.

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Any anger you read in my posts is strictly an illusion...

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back later...........

Obama is....Out of his League!

Still in a battle with my second cold of the winter...and I've got to say, this is a nasty one. After going 3 years or so without any virus problems, this winter has taken it's toll...but at least my back is holding out, so far.

As I watch the first few days of the Obama Administration, one thing shines clear. The man is out of his league...a rookie, a lightweight, not ready for prime time. Whatever you want to call him, the one thing for sure is, this guy is not Presidential material.

He called for change, so what does he do? Hires retread after retread from the Clinton years. He wants to work across the isle(so he says), but responds to his GOP critics, "I won"(question is Barry, what have you won, except a thankless job, you aren't ready to handle?), he tells the GOP not to listen to Rush Limbaugh. Yep, that will work, as soon as you and your henchman put the "Hush Rush" Fairness Doctrine into place.

In addition to the retreads from the Clintons, he appoints a Treasury Secretary that is a tax cheat to run the IRS...nice move Barry! He plans to close down GITMO in Cuba...of course "The Ebony Messiah" has no clue what to do with the terrorists housed there....lots of luck with that one Barry. He appoints a hired gun, anti gun stooge, Eric Holder, as Attorney General...this is the guy who ordered his Jack Booted ATF agents to break into a young Cuba refugees home at gun point to kidnap him and return him to Castro's Cuba, against his dead mother's wishes.

In other brilliant moves, "The One" appoints his arch enemy Hillary Clinton and her baggage(see former President as husband) to be Secretary of State....so she can report on the small arms fire she receives when visiting Bosnia and other 3rd world countries. He opens up the US Taxpayers wallets to pay for abortions in other countries...nice moves Barry, you idiot!

And this clown has not been in office a week....you can bet other brilliant moves, including more assaults on the first and second Amendments are in store.

Barry Barack Obama=Out of his league/out of his mind! And for those that voted for this lightweight, choke on your change! The Islamic terror community has to be licking their chops at this guys ineptitude.

And no, the Republicans don't get a pass...all too many of those in Washington are all set to approve his Cabinet without questions, and pass his bullshit stimulus package. which will reach $2 Trillion before it's said and done. Nice work cowards of the GOP.

back later>>>>>>>>

DAMN!!!

For someone who is seldom sick, this really pisses me off! Sure I have back issues, my blood pressure moves up and down, a little high these days, 145/75, I need to shed 15 or 20 pounds, 208 right now, turn 60 in about 7 weeks, etc, etc, I usually can count on at least feeling pretty healthy...

Not so this winter. Early in December I came down with a cold that lasted almost a month...3 weeks later, I come down with another. One day after getting my 6 month BP and heart check-up, I feel the tingle, and it's not down my leg thinking about "The Obamanation" being sworn into office. It was in my throat on Wednesday night. After my JV girls game last evening, it had turned into another full blown cold, and it sucks. Sure I can still move around and do my daily chores, and basketball games...at least for now. But it still stinks! I purchased some rather expensive over-the-counter cold med called "Zicam"...so far it's been a $10 failure, but I started on it late in my symptoms...so will see how it goes from here on out.

Today is a day of rest...no games, I will need it, tomorrow this old fart has 3, a Junior High boys double header at 10AM at Waynesfield(with Sam), then tomorrow night I do a boys JV game at Lima Perry....that should be a test, considering how my cold feels...I will probably need Sunday to rest up for the next week, which includes 4 nights of basketball and my VSPA Mini-Reunion at Wright-Patterson.

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Our weather will hit above freezing for the first time in over 3 weeks today...that will last exactly one day. Tomorrow back to teens for highs and single digits for lows.

In the meantime I will take meds, listen to Beck and Rush, and drink plenty of fluids...mostly coffee and OJ. For now, it's down to the basement, for a nice hot shower.

back later>>>>>>>

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Top-The Vietnam Security Police Association has a Mini-Reunion at The Air Force Museum on January 31, 2009, 11AM-5PM at WPAFB Fairborn, Ohio.

Do you have those days/weeks?

Where nothing seems to come out of your mind worth writing about? Well that is where I'm at now.....plenty on the table, but can't put it into words.

Gun Laws...Obama...Marxism...Obama...Coming Financial "Depression"...Obama....upcoming Vietnam Reunion at Wright-Patterson...Obama...coming down with another cold...Obama...Armaageddon...Obama...The end of Capitalism....Obama...2 months until spring...Obama....Hillzilla Clinton as Secretary of State...Obama!!

There you have it, plenty of stuff to write about, but the thought of this man leading the Free World trumps all....I see the Dow is down about 300 points at Noon, I see the Tax Cheat has passed committee 18-5(way to go RINOS) with the help of the GOP to become the Treasury Secretary....

So I have a mental block, sue me!

I'll be back with more tomorrow. Basketball, Girls League game at Lincolnview tonight.....

back later>>>>>>>>>>

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photos-both of these make some folks feel good, one is good for you, the other isn't. I'll leave it to you to pick and choose.

Mid Winter and other Events

Here we go, January 20, 2009, a so-called(by left wing loons and pundits) historic day in America. I agree, this is the day a hard core Socialist is installed as President of these United States. In a similar vein, I see where now fully 50% of our states have organized succession movements, are they related? Perhaps.

If you want to celebrate what is happening in this country...compare Ronald Reagan's inaugural speech and the one given today by Barack Obama....Obama is a Progressive, aka: Fascist! His followers and excuse makers are fools. As I said yesterday, I hope he fails miserably, because if he succeeds we, as a country, lose. Words mean something, and by Obama's very words, he is a Fascist, Progressive, Socialist, Marxist, whatever? He is something else....something, even the likes of Bill Clinton could not pull off....he is the tanned version of FDR, and that is not a good thing.

Ronald Reagan was a great President, Barack Obama will be a disaster.....and even the likes of Fox News(the so called Right Wing Network) are giving him a pass......I won't!

I won't be watching TV News today or perhaps for the next few days...my stomach has been rather unsettled of late, why make it worse?

Basketball and Dartball last night(where I continue to struggle going 3 for my last 29 at bats)...basketball at Lima Central Catholic tonight....

This morning, after an overnight low of 3, we got another inch of snow, then about 6AM the frozen fog rolled in for an hour, delaying schools, but that has cleared, and left us with the ice crystals on trees, shrubs, and wires.

That is it for today.....except to say a half hearted "Thank You" to George Bush for his release of the Border Agents yesterday....of course doing things the half-assed way, like he is used to. Bush only commuted their sentences, meaning he didn't have the guts to pardon them, instead releasing them(March 20th), with time spent....their crimes remain on the books. Better late than never George, but as usual, not quite good enough!

back later>>>>>

Photos-Ronald Reagan in Western Movie Garb...the Last Real American President, the rest have been wimps, whore mongers, and marxists./And some "icy" photos with crystals left by the overnight frozen fog.

The One gets Crowned/Worst Presidents Ever!

Tomorrow Barack Hussain Obama becomes President of these United States...Barry and his followers are determined to make it "The Socialist States of Amerika"...thanks to the Bush and Democratic Congressional bail outs, they already have a pretty good start. This guy is going to be a bad President, at least for the first 2 years. You need look no farther than his "plans" and his picks for his Cabinet....a group of Marxists, Socialists, and Greenly Weenies...you can bet his court appointments will be the same. The Junior Senator from the crime ridden capital of Illinois, Chicago, is way over his head. He's a guppy in a world of large mouth, tax spending, hungry Bass. In short, Obama, is out of his league.

I've made it a point to ignore politics, and not watch the crowning of Barry Soetoro, since the election...but even Fox News is gushing all over themselves in anticipation of the $150 million Inauguration party which starts tomorrow...Bush, who those with Bush Derangement have despised, well "W" and his cohorts spent only $42 Million. I actually heard Washington Post loudmouth Sally Quinn talk about the Obama's in the same vein as the Kennedy's...."Camelot", she says....lol they said the same thing about the gang of white trash that the Clintons brought to Washington....The media is so in tank with the Democrats, it is almost laughable, if it wasn't so sickening, and Obama so dangerous.

I've seen and read from Republicans and even some real Conservatives that they want Obama, after all he is our President, to be a success....I'm not going to lie, I want him to be a flop, a one term disaster, a total failure. Why? Because, if he succeeds, we become a Socialist or worse yet, a European style shithole...controlled by Washington and it's bureaRATS. A "Nanny State" which our kids and grandkids, and their kids, will never be able to pay off the debt for. So folks, I don't want Barry to be a success, I want him to be a one term failure. Why lie, like so many others are doing? I won't, I can't!

Tomorrow it begins, brace yourself, bend over, and grab your wallets!

Bush and the worst Presidents of my lifetime.

I voted for George W. Bush, not once, but twice. I don't regret it. However, I am disappointed in his record over the last 8 years....Bush is not the worst President of my lifetime...not even close, I can think of 3 disasters as President that were far worse.... but first off "W".

Bush 2 came to DC with solid Conservative credentials...he gave those away by failing to stop runaway Congressional spending(he would seldom veto anything), working with liberals, such as that drunken assclown Teddy Kennedy on bills like education. You never work with snakes, unless you are a Pentecostal Preacher. He supported the flood of illegals, let Border Agents be jailed(they are still there) for defending themselves and the border. And he spit in Israel's eye by calling Islam, "The Religion of Peace" and stifling our ally in it's efforts to bomb the Hell out of Iran.

Those more than offset his good work on the War on Terror and his court nominees, especially his 2 Supreme Court picks....Bush was a disappointment, but can you imagine if either Al Gore or John "Hanoi" Kerry has been sitting in the White House? A freaking disaster for sure.
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I was born in 1949...Harry S Truman had won the White House on his own, defeating NY Governor Thomas Dewey. All I can say about Harry is, he ended the Second World War, and he did the right thing....Bombing the crap out of Japan, was the right thing.

Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower, was a war hero, and a moderate Republican....he built the Interstate system....as President, I guess he was OK....myself, I would have much rather had someone like General George Patton in charge of both the war in Europe(he would have taken out the Soviets, saving us money and time) and White House, Patton would have probably kicked ass as President.

JFK? He wasn't in long enough to rate...a womanizer, Kennedy, despite what you read, was a fiscal conservative. The left would like you to think he was a hard core liberal...maybe in his sexual habits, but not in the running of the country. Sadly, he didn't last long enough to give him a thumbs up or down.

LBJ, Lydon Baines Johnson, ranks #2 on my list of worst Presidents of my lifetime....this corrupt son of a bitch got us into the war in Vietnam, based on lies, and then refused to win it....he was in bed with the industrial/Wall Street complex, who didn't want to piss of China. How's that working? China now freaking owns US. The second coming of the New Deal, aka The Great Society, was a disaster, as was his Civil Rights legislation....say what you will, those little items divided the country by class and race, they did not bring us together.

Nixon...much like Bush, Richard Nixon was a self proclaimed Conservative, he turned Washington into more rules and brought more Bureaucrats. Forget Watergate, I could care less, Nixon was a paranoid big spending politician, who decided to rub elbows with China, and like above with LBJ, they now own US.

Ford---never elected as President or Vice President, Gerald Ford was a good guy, it seems, and severed with honor....he was a transition President.

Jimmy Carter--#1 on my list of Bad Presidents in my lifetime....this Georgian was no peach...he did however have a brain the size of the peanuts he planted. The worst President in my lifetime, and possibly the worst of all time was a disaster. Jimmy coined the phrase "Misery Index" then proceeded to put it to record levels...by the time we got this clown(much like Obama, way over his head) out of office, we had seen unemployment over 12% and interest rates at 21%. We had been shamed in the Iran failed rescue and watched as Carter slithered back to Georgia, disgraced and a failure....somehow this bastard keeps coming back, and the media, like they did in the 1970s, gives him a pass.

Ronald Reagan...simply the best President of my lifetime, no one else comes close.

Bush 1...a disappointment, he never embraced Reagan's policies, left Iraq and Kuwait before we finished business, and was in bed with Congress on tax increases. George Herbert Walker Bush was a mediocre President.

And then there is Clinton, or should I say the Clinton's. Like a bad smell under the house, we can't seem to get rid of these 2 and their friends. Hillary, rejected by the loons on the left has still managed to weasel her way into Secretary of State status under Obama....lots of luck Barry with that appointment.

Bill Clinton is #3 on my list of worst Presidents of my lifetime....a liar, a womanizer, and most likely a murderer....and those may be his good qualities. If nothing else Clinton was so bad, that the GOP gained control of Congress, both houses together, for the first time in 40 years in 1994. That however, did not stop him from appointing far left judges to all courts, selling nuclear secrets to China, with the help of VP Al Gore, for campaign cash, and corrupting the very foundations of Federal Government to the point it may and probably won't, ever recover.

So there you have it....for what's it worth(which isn't much), my list of past Presidents, and my outlook for the crowning of King Obama tomorrow.....like it or not, I will not sugar coat my distaste for everything Obama, and will point out his faults when necessary...his good qualities? Why should I point those out, if he has any? The media and slobbering morons of Hollywood and pop culture will do that.
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In other news...the weather has stabilized, it is 5 above as I type this, the snow won't be melting anytime soon. But after a cold one today, another Federal Holiday no less, things will seem average for the next week or so. Congrats to Sam, he officially made the Deans' List at Ohio State-Lima with a 3.9 of a possible 4.0 in his first quarter back(after a 6 years layoff) majoring in Actuarial Science, keep it up Sam! Hal finished the first quarter of his Masters at Wright State with a 4.0...he will get his Masters in High School History Education this Spring, hopefully there will be some jobs out there, but if not, I guess he can drive truck until something pops up....not that he wants to, but its' good to have a back up.

Basketball at Columbus Grove tonight, with Dartball in Rockford to follow.

back later>>>>>>>>
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Photos-Obama and his Very Rev Racist White, Bush and the 3 biggest assholes that seved as President in my lifetime.


And one more thing....I would be remiss if I didn't mention that you should celebrate the birth of a Great American on this day.....that would be one



GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE...born this day, January 19, 1807.



Who did you think I was talking about?

16 below zero with a 35 below chill factor/"The Thing" (1951)

Those were the stats from this morning....about 8 degrees colder than predicted and a nice 10 degrees colder on the wind chill numbers....

I crawled out of the sack, Patricia and everybody else had school cancelled(cold more so than the icy roads, although they are still bad), and most of the varsity basketball games have been postponed as well. The skies dawned blue and cold, like a .38 police special.....at 2pm it was still sitting a -2 and will stay there or get colder as the day wears on...tomorrow some wind and flurries will bring the temps near 20....which of course will seem much warmer.

First off, I fired up the various vehicles, Sam's being the only one of the 4 not to turn over....I finally put the jumper box on that and got his Dodge cranked up an hour or so ago. Reagan(the Airedale) had a vet appointment at 8 this morning, so I had little choice but to move my sorry butt out of the house. Neither one of us wanted to do that.

I went by frozen Grand Lake about noon, and took a couple of photos...the 13500 acre lake is froze solid....Global Warming? The lake has seldom seen this much ice in the past 25 years...so choke on that Al Gore, you fat lying sack of dung! The same goes for your lemming like legion of followers in the Chicken Little world of faux Global Warming.

"The Thing from Another World"(1951)

Every time we get weather like this, it reminds me of one of my favorite all time movies, the Sci-Fi Classic from the early "Atomic" scare days of the 1950s.

The original "Thing" came out in 1951, and featured a crew of Air Force sky jockeys up near the North Pole, who hooked up with a group of nerds to fight off a survivor from a downed "Flying Saucer".....the lone monster was none other than James Arness in one of his earlier parts...."Matt Dillon" never said a word, and didn't get anywhere top billing, that went to the lone eye candy of the movie, Margaret Sheriden....but it did get Arness his start towards the big time.

The entire movie took place in the frozen tundra of the great northwest somewhere in Alaska....I remember one line in particular after the monster had cut off the heat supply...."Captain, Captain, the temperatures down to 5 degrees"....Scotty, the journalist, wisecracks back, "Next stop, Ten Below".....it's one entertaining show, and even with the monster looking like a giant carrot, it is entertaining as they come, without blood, guts, and nudity. You can buy it on DVD or catch it on Turner Movie Classics on occasion.

With the basketball games getting backed up to do postponements, the Vietnam Security Police mini-reunion, and other goings on, I suspect the next few weeks are going to be quite busy...but our baseball rules meetings start the middle of February, and that can only mean, spring isn't that far off.

back later>>>>>>>

photos--at the top a couple of shots this noon of the frozen 13 thousand acres of Grand Lake.....then from "The Thing"...Robert Cornthwaite, Margaret Sheriden, and Kenneth Tobey discuss matters/The Fly Boys find the Flying Saucer/ and the updated studio poster that says "Starring James Arness as The Thing"...the 6'7" Arness was the thing, but never said a word, and only appears on screen for a few minutes....but he was "the star"--Great movie, and far superior to the 1988 remake.

Sometimes it just looks cold

Some days you don't need to step outside to know the weather is brutal cold...but you have to anyway, to get things done. This morning is one of those. Zero this morning, with the winds picking up. Chill factors are on target to reach -25 degrees below by tonight. All schools and games have been cancelled.

Now I've gotta tell you, I've seen a lot worse, this is cold, but really in the faux Global Warming environment it's small potatoes....here are some of my all time "bad" winters.

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1962-63

Celina, Ohio

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Our family had moved from balmy Venice, Florida, in early October of 62....we saw our first snowfall in mid October...it only got worse from there. We lived 4 miles from town, and dad owned the local Marathon in Celina....I remember walking from East Elementary/Junior High to the station after school and my ears cracking from the cold....to stubborn to wear ear muffs or a pull over cap. That winter seemed to last for ever, the fact that I had spent the previous decade in south Florida I am sure made it seem worse.

1970-71

Griffiss AFB, Rome, NY

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Once again, I had spent the past year in Vietnam so in reality when winter hit in November of 70 I had not seen cold weather since about February of 69 at Dover AFB, Delaware, and Delaware had pretty mild winters in general....The Griff was to see 318 inches of snow that winter, and I spent much of it working security on the flight lines guarding B-52s and KC-135s....it was a long winter, which saw the snow piles finally melt in early July....I remember it snowed June 5th as I was guarding a Cargo Bomber uploading in the deepest recesses of the base. The good news was, I did learn how to snow ski that winter....spending my off time at Snow Ridge Ski Hills near Turin, New York.

1976-77

Celina, Ohio

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Spent much of the winter going to classes at Wright State-Lake Campus, and working part-time in Van Wert.....I remember driving US 127 from Celina to Van Wert, and the road looked like a tunnel...the snow was piled several feet high on both sides of the highway...it lasted most of the winter. High winds were prevalent throughout the season, and most of the winter seemed to be like a blizzard, whether snowing or not, because the ground snow stuck around until late March.

1977-78/1978-79

Wausau, Wisconsin

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Our first 2 and only winters living in northern Wisconsin...the first saw a sting of almost 2 months where it never got above freezing...we lived in an old rental farm house half way between Wausau and Merrill on the Lincoln-Marathon County Line Road....just us, 4 dogs and the cat, until Anissa came along in February 1979....our landlady lived near by and raised horses....it was so could one morning(at 40 below without the wind chill) that even with engine warmers(which froze up) our batteries completely froze and the terminal posts broke off....we ended up taking the landlady's old pick-up, the only thing that would start, into Merrill to get new batteries for both the Jeep Cherokee and the AMC Hornet...it was a brutal winter.

The next year, while not as cold, saw much more snow....one night shortly after Anissa was born, Patricia brought Anissa to the radio station(WJMT) where I was working....she wanted to stay with me, we cold sleep on the couch, but I sent her on her way with Anissa in the Cherokee....they made it home, I was stuck with the Hornet....and after finishing my shift, I made my way the 7 miles of rural roads towards home...despite hitting a ditch and gunning the engine to get out, I made it to the farm....the Hornet stuck in the driveway, as can be seen by the photo.....I think we ended up with 20 inches by the time the storm ended.

I was not sad to leave the Northwoods in June of 1979.

1981-82

Celina, Ohio

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Living on the farm on Coldwater Creek Road, south of Celina. It was the winter Sam was born and the Bengals made it to their first Super Bowl. Our water froze up on the farm, so with Sam about 4 weeks old we moved into Celina with mom(not fun for anybody, especially mom) for several weeks until the pipes were redone and a new furnace was installed on the farm house. If I recall, not only cold but every weekend for at least 6 weeks we saw large amounts of snow....I think WOWO Radio in Fort Wayne, called for a blizzard a weekend contest....

1983-84

Celina, Ohio

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Another brutal windy, snowy, cold winter on Coldwater Creek.....the cold, much like the winter of 77-78 in Wisconsin, was the worst...the pipes didn't freeze...but even the outdoor dogs, Jenny and Dixie, had to be moved inside for much of the season....chill factors in the 40 to 65 below range were not uncommon, and it was a constant war to keep the vehicles running and batteries charged.

That last one was 25 years ago...since that time we have moved into town, but even during my working years I had a 25 mile commute one way to Van Wert....we have had some storms and some cold...but nothing compared to that last winter of 83-84....so maybe the weather hacks have it right, maybe we do have a bit of Global Warming(I don't believe it for a freaking second though)...and if we do, I say GOOD! With the winters I have lived through, another 3 or 4 degrees higher is fine by me.

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This morning I did one more path on the sidewalks and driveway with the snow blower...I then turned my attention to the back yard....clearing the sidewalk along the perimeter, then a path to bird feeders...my mistake there was forgetting about a buried metal dog dish...which I sucked up into the blades and sheered a pin from one side....lucky I was done for the day....so I can go buy another pin and replace that one....but I my wait until it warms up.

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back later>>>>>>>

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Photos-Top, a sepia look down frozen Livingston Street this morning....and a couple of photos from the Wisconsin farm after the 20 inch snowfall of March 1979....the top you can see the family Hornet buried(while the Jeep was safe inside the barn) where I left it after barley making it home from work....the next day the township snow plow helps dig the Hornet and the driveway out......click to enlarge and get the full effect of the snow amount.

Winter Storm Warning

Sent out an e-mail to many of you this morning, laughing at the so-called Winter Storm Warning we have in west Ohio...now don't get me wrong, my wife has to drive 10 miles or so each way in this mess, and Sam is at OSU-Lima then to Delphos for a basketball game and back to Lima for a college contest tonight....and the roads, especially the back ones have a layer of ice.....the Intrepid was sliding around this morning...the Jeep is on call for the next run up town.

But seriously...Winter Storm Warning...they are calling for 2 to 4 inches....this is hardly a "storm", a lite snow? Yes, slippery roads? Yep, but don't call it a STORM! I suspect we will get at least the 4 inches maybe some additional amounts, but nothing that the trusty snow blower(hauled out for the first time this season) can't handle....I've made one pass on the sidewalks along Brandon Avenue and Livingston Street, and done the 50 foot gravel driveway as well.....a nice layer of ice keeps the blower from sucking up the stones and toss them like missiles. Once more this afternoon should do the trick....our main concern is some wind and then the bottom drops out as far as temperatures....chill factors to -30 below tomorrow and Friday, I've seen worse, but still this sucks.

Did a Junior High boys double header last night at Waynesfield...my partner was a former High School Varsity Coach, who teaches at one of the Lima area schools....the second game, the 8th grade contest was a bear...we called 56 fouls, and could have called 100. And neither one of us is inclined to have a "quick whistle"....it was just one of those games that both teams seemed to be out of control.

In area baseball news, one of the better local Baseball Coaches from Parkway High School was "non-renewed" last night at the school board meeting...by a 3-2 vote he was 'canned', despite the fact that the Athletic Director, Superintendent, and Principal wanted this successful coach retained....it came down to a board member being upset because his kid didn't play varsity as a Junior....so as payback he got 2 others to join him in vote the coach out. Not a good situation, but since I work games there I will leave my personal opinions at that.

One final note on the last days of George Bush as President....a personal message........... Show some guts and make your miserable 8 years worth something...PARDON THE BORDER AGENTS! Ramos and Compean have been in prison for several years now for shooting a drug smuggling border jumper in the ass as he tried to escape....do one last thing to piss the left off...pardon or at the very least commute their sentences to time spent. You've had no guts when dealing with illegals and Mexico, so I expect you to sit on your ass on this one....making you the biggest asshole of all the RINOs claiming to be Republicans. We have enough suck ups with Obama in charge, do the right thing W and release these men before next Monday. Otherwise you are no better than that scumbag Johnny Sutton that prosecuted them. I voted for you twice, and supported the war on terror and Supreme Court picks, but the illegals and the bail outs have pissed me off big time!

back later>>>>>

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photos-The White Death strikes my yard and streets....we may get 4" or 5"....not exactly the blizzard of 1978, but the local news seems to think so.

Dartball Downer/Winter Drags On

I long ago came to the conclusion that the National Weather Service, with the billions in funding, research, and equipment, is no better that the Farmers Almanac when it comes to prediction of the weather. They have been throwing out the "White Death" is on its way card for the past 4 days....so far we have maybe 2 inches of snow and a 1/2 inch of ice. They have dropped the Blizzard Warning, but continue to call for snow, especially tomorrow(Wednesday) and tomorrow night...with high winds...just don't take it to Vegas and bet the house on it.

So for now the games are on at Waynesfield tonight....and despite the winds, the weather is not bad, although the temps will be dropping out of sight for the next few days...by Thursday, so they say, we will see highs near Zero with lows in the single digits below Zero....farther north and west(Minnesota and North Dakota) temps will drop to -35 and more, with the winds, it's gonna be frigid(so they say).

Last night I finished up a Girls Freshman game here in Celina and then cleaned up and headed to our weekly Church Dartball League game....at home I have been hitting over .500 this season, but have slipped off the past few weeks, which saw my overall average drop from .481 down to .397....home cooking, against a team we usually dominate, should bring my average back to more normal range, so I thought!

In my 14 season, the worst night I ever remember was on the road a number of years ago, hitting just 1 for 11....since that time I had produced at least 2 hits a night, even on my bad ones......last night, neither I nor the team could get untracked in the first game, and we dropped a 1-0 decision in game #1....now 1-0 is something you don't see often in Dartball....sure we have some new players, and the older guys(like myself) have been inconsistent, but 1-0? Our lead off hitter got the only 2 measly hits....game 2 wasn't much better, but we did come out on top 3-0....the team finally got in tune the final game and came out with a 10-2 win, to move to 3 wins 3 loses in the second half of the season.

The team got untracked, but as for me...???? I went 1 for 11, equalling my worst night in memory, I punched across an RBI with my only hit, and dropped to .353 on the season with 12 RBIs....a blow to my dart throwing ego to say the least. Not sure if it was from running the floor officiating or not, but my throws were just off...usually one dart outs that either hit the wire or just missed the white and touched up the orange(see board).

Oh' well, always next week....another set at Rockford, after I do a Junior High double header....

That's about it for my busy lifestyle for today.....

back later>>>>>

photos-Dartball Board and Darts we use...we throw underhanded from 20 feet using Widdydarts(shown).

The Story of Earl Brown(1901-1920)

I became interested in family genealogy 10 years ago this month, or at least that's when I started to research the Houseworth family in earnest. January 1999 was when I started taking notes and using the internet and the Paulding County and Van Wert County Libraries to find out what I didn't know about my ancestors...what I did know wasn't much. Within a couple of years I had pretty well exhausted most of my resources, and had done pretty well in my search...well enough to make 20 or so copies of my "book" The Family and Descendants of Israel Houseworth 1751-2001 and send them out to fellow Houseworth Genealogy Researchers....you can find most of that writing and more on my blog:

http://israelhouseworth.blogspot.com/

Before that time though I had become Power of Attorney for my Aunt Eva Anspach, the last surviving member of my dad's immediate family.....as I have mentioned before, Eva, her sister Cecil, and my Grandma Houseworth, Wilda, were pack rats....I had found items that dated back well over 100 years, photo, hunting licenses, occupied Japan items from WW2, and thousands of post cards, etc, just to name a few things....some valuable, some worthless, and some valuable to only folks with an interest in my family history.

I did find many large framed photos in an upstairs closet, pictures in old 100+ years old frames, the included horses, farms houses, people, landscapes, etc. Most of the photos were not worth much, the frames however, were. Many were handmade and crude, others, like the one that housed a portrait photo of my GGG-Grandparents, Joseph and Catherine Nungaster, were of higher quality. Joe and Catherine were married in 1847 down in Ross County, Ohio, and moved to Lima sometime later....I guessed the studio photo was from the 1870s or so. This was 1996, and I had not developed a nose for genealogy, but since Eva was still alive and doing well in one of the Van Wert Nursing homes, I found out who the folks were from her, the Nungasters were my grandmother Wilda's Grandparents.

I packed up the photo along with some other framed ones, and hauled them home....didn't really relish the glaring photo of the GGG-Grandparens staring at me from the wall, but I would keep the photo out of reference to the family history.

Once home I started to clean off the glass and carefully took the backing off the frame....lo and behold, behind the Nungaster photo was a photo that seemed to fit the 15 1/2 by 18 1/2 oval inside the 22 x 25 inch frame. The photo was of a young boy dressed to the nines, holding onto an iron toy steam engine train set. The photo was in perfect condition, the antique glass and frame it was attached to likewise. I kind of liked the photo and thought it would fit well into the house we had just moved into....our house, which we purchased in the year before(1995), is an old church parsonage, and the woodwork and feel of the frame and photo fit the era our house was built, that being 1923. So I cleaned it up replace great-great-great grandpa and ma with my version of the Blue Boy. I had no clue to who the lad was, except that on the back, written in pencil was Carey Brown, 1906. Off to Aunt Eva to see if I could find out more.....what I found was one step towards an interest in genealogy or at least local, Scott, Ohio, history.

Eva told me that the boy in the picture was the son of a man named Carey Brown, who was a local blacksmith at the time, the family lived in Union Township, a few miles south of Scott, and near the town of Cavett. My grandmother, she said, had ended up with the photo and frame at the auction of the parents(I as assuming when the last Brown passed away), and thought it would look good with her Grandparents photo in it. She also went on to tell me that the boy in the frame was named Earl Brown, and that Earl had died in a drowning accident when Eva was about 10 years old....well this set out the history buff in me, and I went searching for one Earl Brown.

Earl was born in Van Wert County, on June 29, 1901(although the death certificate says born in 1920, this would have been hard, since he died on July 21, 1920) Earl was the only child of Carey and Myrtie Brown of Scott. Carey was the township blacksmith, living on a farm between Scott and Cavett in northern Van Wert County. Earl was Earl's middle name, having been born one Russel Earl Brown.

I went searching for information on Earl's life and death....seems Earl was one popular kid at Van Wert High School, where he graduated in May of 1920, just shy of his 19th birthday. In the school yearbook, Earl was active in many things, and his wish for his post graduation was to go east to see Washington D.C. and the political process in action. Sad to say, the only child of the Browns, would never make it.

According to the reports in the Van Wert paper, Earl and several other boys, including one Volley McClure of Scott, were working in a beet field the morning of July 21, 1920. At around 9 O'Clock Earl, who was a good swimmer, jumped in the Holland Quarry(those local quarries can be up to 100 feet or more deep) to cool off....he was seized with cramps, and Volley jumped in to rescue him, the boys that were working with them stated that both had dropped out of sight, not to be seen alive again.

{other stories had Early jumping in to save McClure but that point is mute some 80 years later}

Earl's body was pulled out that afternoon, it was another day before the body of Volley McClure, one of 9 children in that family, was recovered. So Earl would never see D.C., his parents would never be the same(according to Aunt Eva), and Earl, with no surviving siblings would be long forgotten until 1996, when I uncovered his photo behind another. Earl now has a prominent spot on my living room wall, where all that enter can see him....his story and death certificate is located behind the photo, so maybe someday, some unsuspecting auction buyer might find the story of Russel Earl Brown.

No, the story is not as exciting as finding the Declaration of Independence or some other valuable painting or document behind a photo....but it is a story, the story as I know it, of Russel Earl Brown....and Earl's story will remain alive and well, as long as I do.

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Our Winter Storm pretty much was an inch of snow and about that much ice....north of here some 50 miles they got 10 inches of the white stuff. We got nasty roads, cancelled basketball games, and slippery sidewalks. I stayed in an watched the NFL games, even though I had little interest. Seems my body still is not 100%, although I did sleep though the night last night with little coughing, I am still not where I want to be. Brother Mike made it back from Naples, so mom is settled in for the winter with sister Kelly and her husband Mike.

back later>>>>>>>

photos-Top Russel Earl Brown with his steam train in 1906--Earl's Death Certificate from Van Wert County(with wrong birth date) and my GGG-Grandparents Joe and Catherine Nungaster the photo in front of the photo of Earl, until I "discovered Earl" back in 1996.

The TET Offensive-41 years ago this month-Tan Son Nhut

2 years ago this February, five members of the Vietnam Security Police Association(VSPA), got together at the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB outside of Dayton, Ohio.

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/

At that time the 5 of us, joined by my oldest son, Sam, got together. I had never met any of the other 4, while we were all connected, by region or serving together. None of them had served with me, we had only the shared experience of being Air Force Security Police guys who served in Vietnam during the war....and the fact we all lived within an hour of so drive of the Museum.

Back in late November 2008, we decided to get together again, and invite a few of our Midwest "brothers" to join us for an afternoon at the Museum, We planned to get together, BS, take a few photos, eat lunch, and tour the Museum and grounds.....we figured out that maybe we could get 10 or even 20 guys.....WRONG! If the weather cooperates, we are scheduled to have somewhere between 50 and 100 VSPA Members and potential members, along with wives, together at Wright-Patterson, on January 31, 2009. That very date, 1/31 is infamous in the history of Air Force Security Police History.

The Tet Offensive 1/31/1968

Tan Son Nhut AB, Republic of Vietnam

I arrived at TSN on December 27, 1969, from my previous in country base Nha Trang, RVN. I would spend the next 6 months at the "Saigon Airport" base....from one of the smaller bases in South Vietnam, Nha Trang, to the largest, Tan Son Nhut....from working Law Enforcement, to working night time(Charlie Flight) Security in the ECHO Sector from 8PM until 6AM, six days a week...Monday was my day off, if we were not under alert.

My first night on duty was the last day and first day of the old/new year...I went to work on December 31st and was relieved January 1, 1970. The bunker I worked the first night(I didn't know it at the time), was the spot of the old 051 Bunker...the very place where on the first night of TET 1968 the Viet Cong began their offensive on Tan Son Nhut Air Base...the very sight where 4 Air Force Security Policeman were killed in action on that first offensive thrust of the VC.....

The 4 SPs killed that night were all "Buck" Sargents, 3 were 22 years old, the other 21...William Cyr of Massachusetts, Louis Fischer, of New York, Charles Hebron of Texas, and 21 year od Roger "Butch" Mills of Maryland are probably the most 'famous' of the more than 200 Air Force Security Police killed in the line of duty during the Vietnam Conflict...however the others are remember as well, especially in the pages of our association on line home:

http://vspa.com/

For more on the workings and history of the 377th Security Police at Tan Son Nhut, and the base itself, you can find much of what you need at these sites:

Charles Penley a survivor of TET night at Tan Son Nhut has put together a quality web site honoring the 377th SPS

http://webpages.charter.net/cepenley/377th/index.html

and the Tan Son Nhut Association, this month, has photos and stories of the TET and men who fought and died at Tan Son Nhut on January 31, 1968:

http://www.tsna.org/

As I said earlier, I arrived in Vietnam some 18 months after TET, and at Tan Son Nhut and Bunker 051 almost 2 years after the night the men of the 377th put it on the line. We will say a prayer for those that fought and died that morning 41 years ago....and those still with us and those now gone that survived that battle.

So January 31st will see many more than I thought possible get together in the dead of winter in southwest Ohio....some of us know one another, many have never met, except for the world of the Internet....pray for good winter weather for those traveling, even from as far away as Florida and Arizona for a one afternoon get together, as we meet and greet each other, and honor those that served and are no longer with us.

The cold and light snow continues, typical January weather in west Ohio, back to basketball, a Junior High double header at Waynesfield tonight...then Friday night and Saturday afternoon round ball at Fort Loramie for the weekend.

back later>>>>>>>

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photos-Me in February 1970, getting ready for Charlie Flight duty mugging for the carmera at Tan Son Nhut/The 051 Bunker at TSN, the morning after and during the January 31, 1968 firefight with the VC/and the Defender Forteras Statue at Wright Patterson AF Base Musuem, where on January 31, 2009, Security Police Vietnam and SE Asia Veterans will meet, and honor the fallen and living.

From our February 2007 get together left to right Larry Dotson, Pat Houseworth, Wayne DeZarn, Rick Adams, and Mike Tillman....and me at the Statue on that frozen February day.

OSU-Close But No Cigar!

Just stuck the camera out the landing window a minute ago....as you can see the snow has just started, it appears however, that that will turn into ugly sleet and freezing rain before long.....1/10 to 2/10ths is slated to fall, making travel a mess. Not much snow but plenty of rain and some ice continues in the flatlands of western Ohio.

Meanwhile the entire state of Ohio wakes up to another BCS hangover....our Ohio State Buckeyes have lost their 3rd straight BCS game, at least this one was not to a SEC school, wasn't in the National Championship Game, and was close and respectable.

The Buckeyes came from behind to take a 21-17 lead over the Texas Longhorns with 2 minutes left last night, only to see UT drive the field and win on a broken defensive play with 16 seconds left....OSU now stands at 4-4 under Jim Tressel in Bowl Games, and 3-3(with 3 straight losses) in BCS games playing for "The Vest"...or "The Weasel" as I like to call him. The good news locally was that St. Henry grad, Senior Todd Boeckman, finally got back on the field for some extended playing time, and was by far a better QB than FreshmanTerrell Pryor, Pryor is a outstanding athlete, but just does not throw a deep ball well enough yet.....so the Ohio State University comes up short again....28 seniors, including Boeckman, finish with 4 straight Big Ten Championships(2 shared, 2 outright), but only one bowl victory, that over Notre Dame in January 2006. Hopefully we will see Boeckman and a number of other seniors play in the NFL....despite the lackluster support on the coaching front from Tressel.

Depending on the weather, I return to basketball officiating this afternoon...Sam and I are at Waynesfield for a Junior High double header....

That's about it...however I would be remiss if I didn't say "Happy Birthday" to Buck and Lin's resident state of New Mexico....and aren't you guys glad to be getting Bill Richardson back as Gov? :)

back later>>>>>

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photos-top The snow getting started early this morning....and local kid Todd Boeckman and Ohio State lose a heartbreaker to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl.

Hummmmmmmmm!

Didn't really know what to call today's post, so hummmm it is...The Christmas season has come and gone, now we(at least here in the North country) can look forward to another 2 to 3 months of winter type weather. So far, it's been pretty normal, no deep cold spells, no big snow storm, but plenty of rain and some ice when the temps dip below freezing....if we keep this type of weather until mid March, I can deal with it.

Patricia headed back to school this morning, Sam back to OSU-Lima, and Anissa goes back to her usual routine....Hal is back in Fairborn, with classes set to begin at both Fariborn High School, and his grad schedule back at Wright State is beginning this week as well.

Guess I could talk about the International and National scene...The Israelis continue to pound and kick the crap out of the criminal element called Hamas and their trash followers in the Gaza Strip, you gotta wonder how much longer before Israel takes matters into their own hands and attacks the main problem, Iran? Because as long as Iran gets a free pass from Europe, UN, and the American Left, they will continue to build their nuclear arsenal, and be a threat to Israel....

Or I could talk about the totally corrupt politics of the American Left....Gov Blog-O and his hand picked Senate replacement for Barry, will he, Burris, be seated? Or more political fun..New Mexico's Governor, Bill Richardson, done before he was even confirmed as Secretary of Commerce, seems Billy Boy has taken some kick backs(although they use a different name now days, it's called Pay to Play)....I wonder if Richardson would take a IQ Test? My guess is, his is somewhere in the double digit range....not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

And how could I forget former Saturday Night Live and Air Amerika Radio failure Al Franken stealing, along with the courts and DNC, the Minnesota Senate Race....is anybody really surprised? The GOP really knows how to lose, don't they? The whimps go down without a fight, as usual.

How about football? The NFL first weekend of playoffs was pretty well ho-hum. I don't have a dog in the fight any longer, I was rooting for Miami, but they are 1 and done. So maybe I'll pick the sad sack Arizona Cardinals, they finally got their first win in the playoffs since the team was in Chicago back in 1947...they never won a playoff game in St. Louis, and this is it's first in Arizona...Go Cards! I guess?

Speaking of football...Ohio State goes against Texas tonight in the Fiesta Bowl....the Buckeyes, who have been whipped in the past 2 National Championship games, are big underdogs...no surprise there, so I'll pick Texas, and hope the reverse comes up....after being totally wrong in my predictions the past 2 years, maybe I can reverse OSU and my fortunes.

I, along with friend Rick, and his 2 sons went over to Fort Wayne to the first 2009 gun show Saturday...not a big crowd, because Lima and Dayton also had shows within 60 miles of Celina. A bit of an overkill I suspect...no bargains, but I did get a gander at what I plan on buying, but I wanted to price compare. I have discovered that good(not great) personal protection can be had for reasonable money these days....the Manufacture is out of Ohio and their handguns are rifles are of the Hi-Point brand....you can pick up a 9MM pistol for a fraction of what a Glock or other high priced piece will cost you, and the reviews are pretty good, about 90% positive. This made the trip well worth while. I will be purchasing one or two in the next few weeks.

This month will be busy, I have 15 dates for basketball, and I have been the point man for our upcoming Air Force Vietnam Sky Cop Reunion on January 31st. It looks like, despite the Ohio winter, we will have a large group getting together with wives, at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton.....

And who could forget, "The Messiah" will be coming to a home near you January 20, 2009. One Barry Soetoro Obama will be crowned King of America by the press and liberal lap dogs....he will inherit a boat load of problems, and like any good Socialist, I suspect Obama will try throwing money and regulations at those problems, while our personal freedoms take another hit.

And Hell, to top it off, I turn 60 in March....yes sirree kiddies, 2009 is gonna be one hell of a time!

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