Winding down 2011.....Here comes 2012 part #3/Marathon Man

Marathon Man....

 Four games yesterday, four full basketball games officiated....after games Tuesday and Wednesday, with a wrap up game for the year tonight....yesterday, with two Girls JV games at the Holiday Tournament at Parkway High School, and a full house in the small gym at Wayne Trace for a Junior High Boys double header, I was ready to rest my tired butt and legs, with a couple of cold ones last night... and still feel it this morning.  I won't do that much more...yesterday was an accident, having not have the second set of games posted on-line.  But I got through them, and after a Freshman Boys contest at Minster this afternoon, I can relax over the New Year weekend.

The weather remains mild for late December....a front rolled through this morning about daybreak, and deposited another batch of unwelcome rain...still less than an inch of snow so far on the season...and with each passing day, we get closer to Spring....just 83 days to go!  With this coming year being a Leap Year and all.

2011 in Review, part #3____

As the summer of this year passed into early fall, several milestones occurred.  The highlight, at least for me, in September and October, were the Vietnam reunions, and a chance to see some guys that I had not tossed a drink back in over 40 years.

The first reunion was the annual Howard County Indiana/Kokomo Vietnam Reunion and camp out....4 or 5 thousand campers and hotel staying Vietnam Veterans, family, and friends, get together each mid September, for a chance to tell war stories, down some friendly Moonshine, listen to music, eat, and just have a damn good time.   2011 was my first {it been going on for 30 years or so}, but only spent 24 hours...this time I stayed for 2 nights and 3 days.  In 2012 I plan on driving over the 85 miles for the June mini-reunion, and then again for a longer stay in September.  

September was a full month, in addition to the Kokomo gig, I worked a full set of youth, Junior High, and High School football, both at the JV and Varsity level....I stayed busy, usually working football 6 days a week.  As October approached, the weather stayed "summer-like" and it was indeed perfect as the annual Vietnam Security Police Association Reunion took place from October 5th through 9th....this year Dayton and Wright Patterson AFB was the site, and Patricia and I headed down for most of the activities.

This year was different...in addition to old friends that I had met through VSPA, like Sam Lewis, Dave Ramey, and Jackie Kays....I hooked up with guys like Harry Bevan and Tony Niemotka, who I was stationed with at Nha Trang Air Base in Vietnam in 1969....42 years later, we were still kicking...it was a great reunion.

As October cooled off, I worked one final Varsity game in Football...traveling with a crew that I fill in on, all the way to Ironton, some 225 miles from Celina...to work a game at their classic old semi-pro football stadium, in the rain and mud....that night was the same night as it turns out, that the St. Louis Cardinals topped off their meracules turn around from early season woes to win the World Series....I still hate the Cards!   November would usher in the arrival of our first grandchild, Kasyn, and the holiday season....more on that tomorrow, with a final look at 2011.

back later>>>> 



Below-Members of VSPA from Nha Trang....Sky Cops from Security and Law Enforcement from 1968-1970

 < Sam at Ruth Lewis at the final Banquet on Saturday Night....they left for Virgina shortly after the banquet...Patricia and I headed

From the Top....Pat Houseworth and Harry Bevan at Dayton, and the before shot with me and Harry at Nha Trang in 1969...from Kokomo in September, Houseworth, VSPA photographer, Tony Morris, Sam Lewis, Tom McCandless, and "Sweety Pie"...Beven, Houseworth and Tony Niemotka at the Banquet in Dayton, and Tony in 1969 at the Nha Trang Main Gate,

Seems I've freaked out Blogger with all the photos...so here we go with descriptions of the rest: After the Sam and Ruth Lewis photo, from Dayton we have Doug Davis at the Banquet, Howard Yates with Bagpipes in hand at the Statue Bench Dedication, A portion of the attendees at the park dedication, old Sky Cops, Mike Tillman and Rich Adams, who started the first Dayton Mini Reunion back on 2007, me and old Scott, Ohio Alumi, Bill Marshall....Bill's mom and my Grandma Houseworth were best of friends back in the age of innocents, from the 1940s and 50s....and finally from Kokomo, Sky Cops from Vietnam, Houseworth, McCandless, Lewis, and John Langley, a Tan Son Nhut K9er, who got the VSPA started, John lives in my old hometown of Venice, Florida.