Go Ahead...Make My Day! Eastwood at the RNC

You can tell the left wing {Marxists} of America are upset about last night's Clint Eastwood speech at the Republican Convention...they, as they are best at, are bitching about how bad it was....BINGO!

Old give em' Hell Dirty Harry hit a home run:

http://townhall.com/video/clint-eastwoods-speech-to-the-republican-national-convention

Of course the left wing media hated it....Clint Eastwood, hardly a rock solid Conservative, bashed their empty headed, empty suit,  half breed, half witted, fool of a President....and got laughs to boot.

Made my day, and Hell, I didn't watch 10 minutes of the Convention, except for Josey, er Harry, damn Clint:

What effect will it have?  Probably not any...but it was entertaining none-the-less.  Sure Clint Eastwood is 82, and stumbled a few times...but everybody watching knew he was right on target, and that pointy eared nitwit was his target.

Off to Antwerp again tonight...in the 90+ degree heat to work the varsity contest between the host Archers and visiting Hilltop....both teams like to run, and given the conditions, I am hoping they do.

back later>>>>

On the Road....and a Day with the K-man

Got up yesterday and Sam and I headed over to Mom's, our mission was first to take my sister Kelly to Russles Point, Ohio, where we would meet my niece Holli, and she would take Kelly and dog Alfie" to Columbus, where they would stay with her and then head via plane from Port Columbus to Fort Myers/Naples....they should be leaving about the time I finish this post up.  Kelly has been staying with mom for a month, while mom recoups from her hospital stay.   After exchanging Kelly and "Alfie" to Holli's Jeep, Sam and I headed towards Centerville....here I would watch grandson Kasyn for the afternoon, while Hal and Sam went to Cincinnati, where Sam was doing an interview with a major insurance company for employment.  He would have his second interview for a position of Product Development...not exactly Actuarial, but similar that they are Math heavy, are insurance related, and pay well.  He says this type of job is actually more to his liking, but it's all about the offer...he should know within the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile I spent the day with the K-Man, and he, despite being tired, was not going to sleep for me....so me and the recently turned 9 month old, took a walk in the stroller, with the dogs....ate plenty, and I listened to the Reds sweep the Diamondbacks, and push their NL Central lead to 8 games over the Cards and 9 ahead of Pittsburgh....things are looking good at this point, with just over a month to go.

Kasyn finally napped after his mom arrived home, Hal and Sam returned about an hour later, and we dined on some carry in Pizza...Sam and I headed home about 7:30, and jumped off the Interstate and took the back roads to Celina, arriving home at 9pm....the Ohio 49/US 127 route was shorter in length, and about the same, time wise, as the I-75/Route 33 trip.

After a couple of days off, I head to Antwerp tonight for a Junior High game, and back that way for our Varsity game tomorrow night, as Hilltop(who we had last week at Montpelier) takes on the host Archers....Saturday morning I stay home for a Celina JV game with O-G.......then nothing until Monday, Labor Day, when I head back to Centerville, and Hal and I will head to Cincinnati and take in the Reds, Johnny Cueto, and Company take on the Phillies.....despite the Reds success this season, I have yet to see them win, this will be my 3rd shot.

Back to football later next week, then the week that follows will be the Howard County/Kokomo Vietnam Reunion...this will be my 3rd year attending this event which sees thousands of VN Vets and Friends camping out....drinking some "shine" and swapping 'War Stories"...more on that as the week approaches however.

back later>>>>

Photos-The K-Man and Grandpa
Houseworth, Kasyn has really gotten into solid foot over the past 2 months or so.....and left to right
Me, Tony Morris, Big Sam Lewis, and Tom McCandless, Air Force SPs from Vietnam at last year's 2011 Kokomo Vietnam Reunion.

The Long/Lost Weekend....

Since Friday morning, the past 72 hours have been a mixed bag, and my body feels more like a bag that has been punched since about this hour on Friday....

After the first varsity game of the season, which for the only time this season for our crew was Thursday night...thus giving me a day of rest, or so I thought, on Friday.  Dick Finke stopped by early in the day, and was pondering his flight from Fort Wayne to Clearwater, scheduled for today being cancelled...I am assuming it was because of "Issac" but will give him a call shortly, to see exactly what had happened.  Meanwhile, Sam, who had a Junior High game on Thursday came downstairs, fixed himself breakfast, and sat down at the computer.  Dick said his good-byes, and Sam headed for the shower, as he was scheduled to work a Ohio State women's Volleyball game in Columbus for the Big Ten Network.

When he came upstairs, he said he felt very dizzy and disorientated...out of the blue it seemed....long story short, he cancelled his Volleyball, then his JV football game, Saturday morning at Anna, another VB contest in Columbus on Saturday night, and then the double header with me back in Celina yesterday...in fact by the time Friday evening rolled around, Sam was in Coldwater Hospital, with what is described as:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benign_paroxysmal_positional_vertigo

Nasty stuff....we got him back home by 2am Saturday....as of this morning, he is better, but nowhere close to being back up and on the fields.  And we/they have no idea what caused it...since he is not a drinking person, the attack was even more strange for someone who is only 30 years old.  And it does have a reoccurring rate, that usually comes back within 10-12 weeks...let's hope not.  He has job interviews this week and other items on his plate, and doesn't need this.

Meanwhile the late night got me off on the wrong foot for the weekend as well.  With a 10am JV football game at Paulding, followed by a fall baseball doubleheader at Spencerville in the afternoon...with temperatures nearing 90 and humid conditions, I knew my old ass was going to be dragging by days end.  Sunday with a youth football double in the afternoon, was not going to be much better...especially with the heat/humidity.  By the time it all ended around 5:30 yesterday, it had been a gasser of a weekend....with several people needing replacements tonight, I am open, but rally cannot do a game, I need a few days off and right now I am open until Thursday, and plan on staying that way.

I don't bitch about getting old, and am actually proud of what I can do at 63...but there are times, when you just have to "man up" and admit, you ain't 27 anymore, and cannot do what you once could.

So for the next couple of days, with temperatures down a bit, I will mow a couple of yards, but other than that sit on my backside and recover from this long/lost weekend.

back later>>>>

Photos-Never had Vertigo, but a few cases of too much drink might have felt like it... :) Sam's case was much worse than anything I've seen of late.  And 27 sure isn't 63....we don't have much of a say in the matter.  Here is me at both!

The Football Season Begins....I find KTTape

So, last night the season began.....

@ Montpelier, Ohio, the season begins on a rare Thursday Night Contest...my plans our to chronicle the entire season, and it started like this...

First off I forget my camera, so my plans on at least photographing the pre-game and stadium were deep sixed to start....not a good beginning.

I headed out of Celina, and hooked up with our umpire Denny in Payne, some 45 miles north and west about 4:30 at his place and we met the rest of the crew at Montpelier at 5:15pm....our pre-game and meeting with the coaches went well, and by 6:15 we were out on the field for the 7 o'clock start.

The host Montpelier Locomotives had been suffering though a long losing streak which had gone on for several seasons, under a new young first year head coach, they would take on Hilltop, their rivals from close by, also being coached by a first year guy, but one much more "mature"...someone closer to my age...both teams were looking to get off on the right foot....speaking of foot, or feet, ankles, heels, etc, that takes me back earlier in the day to my situation.

After a pre-season which included 6 or 7 scrimmages, and a Freshman game at Celina this past Tuesday, I had noticed my feet, especially the heels and ankles, were not taking the pounding of the fields very well...and after suffering a slight sprain Tuesday, I knew wrapping or something needed to be done, if I was to get through the early season, able to walk...especially with few days off in order to recover.  It was usually taking 24 hours of more for the pain to stop and for my walking routine to get back to normal...whatever "normal" might be for a 63 year old.  So I headed out to Wally World looking for ankle support in one form or another...there I purchased a few rolls of athletic tape and wrap. 

While in that sporting goods section, I also noticed a rather expensive brand called  KTTape....turns out this stuff is what, if you were watching any of the Olympics this past month, you saw some swimmers and runners using.  Seems it is suppose to offer a bit more support to muscles, joints, and sprains....I picked up a box of 14 for around $8 a box, and figured I would give them a try.  Once home, I realized that these expensive little numbers were also a bit difficult to figure out how to place on the pain spots, or potential pain spots...lucky for me however, they do have a web site that gives you directions...and being clueless when it comes to anything like this, I gave it a try:

http://www.kttape.com/instructions/ankle-stability/
This link if for the ankle...while switching back to the home page, you'll can find other remedies for using the KTTape...

So at 2:30 yesterday I followed the directions and managed to get my right ankle fixed up....while leaving the less painful left heel and ankle without.  I must say it seems to work, the right ankle head up well during the game...while the left side hurt like Hell by games end....so it seems I have found something to use...although at the price, I will be using it only when facing some real pain, while using the old athletic tape and wrap the remainder of the time.

Meanwhile back to the game....

Montpelier managed a 6-0 lead at the half, then made some good defensive stands in the 3rd quarter, and pulled away for a 27-0 win, thus ending a long, long, losing skid....Next week, we will have Hilltop(some of a rarity having a team two game in succession) again on the road at Antwerp...this game could be close, but really you never know.

So the season has began...I have a busy weekend ahead, at Paudling for a JV game tomorrow morning, baseball fall double header in the afternoon, and then a youth league football double on Sunday here in Celina.

Then  next Friday night off to my Uncle Jack's hometown of Antwerp for the host Archers against Hilltop...

Hopefully I will have my KTTape on and camera, in hand for that one.

back later>>>

Photos-In addition to my duffel bag filled with clothes, towels, whistles, flags, bags, and shower items, my briefcase goes with me filled with rules, and more items designed to get me through the Varsity contests.  The KTTape appears to be a good find, despite the issues with limited adjustments and novice approach to wrapping it correctly...hopefully I will get better as I use it.

Chronicle of A Football Season

With the one day early kickoff to the Varsity Football Season in Ohio, getting started tonight, I am checking my various equipment and body parts to see if I'm ready for the games ahead.

I have decided to at least try to chronicle the coming season of varsity action.  Working with a single crew this season, for the first time since I started this blog, it gives me a chance to document the games and the happenings before and after....no photographs of game action of course, as I will be roaming the sidelines as the Line Judge, working on the home side of the field:

http://football.refs.org/mechanics/basic5.html

So hopefully I will be able to recall things that went right or wrong from my point of view...this that I was involved in, without commenting on teams play, coaches, or my fellow crew members...or at least nothing on the negative part.

The Day Before the Game_____

Yesterday, was Wednesday, almost always an off day, but usually two days before the Varsity games kick off....in our crew's case, at least for this first week, it was a day off, but only a day before our game.

I suffered a minor ankle sprain on Tuesday at the Celina/Versailles game, and it was bothering me yesterday, along with the minor aches and pains from officiating, especially at my advanced age for football officials.  So I headed out to Wally World to pick up some tape...it will be necessary to tape up the right ankle for sure, the left one...?  I will decide today.

I have gotten back into my usual Monday, Wednesday, and Friday weight lifting routine, and yesterday was no exception, after the 30 minute lift session, I headed out for a walk...my ankle and feet were sore and the pain was there for sure.  I knew after the walk around the Fairgrounds, that I would need some support for my feet for tonight's contest.

There is the main issues for tonight, other than the usual glitches that are expected with the first action of the season...but having worked as a fill in on various crews the past five years, I have come to expect just about anything...this season will indeed be different knowing the position and what to expect each Friday(or Thursday in this week's case).

I will get the gear and clothes packed up, load up the van...then tape the ankle(s), head out about 3:30 for Payne, where I will meet at Denny's place, and we will make the final 45 minutes to Montpelier...and begin preparations for game #1 on the 2012 season.

Hopefully I will have the details of a good start on tomorrow's post.

back later>>>

Getting Old Ain't All That's It's Cracked Up to Be....

Worked my first non-scrimmage of the football season last night, the first of many games over the next two months..by my count, if I work most of the double header youth games on Sundays...I will have 50 football contests, and a handful of scrimmages worked by the time the regular season ends in late October...If my body holds out.

In years past my back has been the issue...now, it seems to be my feet and ankles.  Those have me most concerned over the coming football, as well as the basketball season that follows.  Baseball, despite working upwards of 100 games each spring and summer, certainly does not have that effect...there I am usually concerned with foul tips bouncing off my body in various places at various speeds.  So with the beginning of the varsity season tomorrow night, some 80 miles north in Montpelier, my main concerns are getting the calls right, and making sure my feet and ankles are supported.  I took care of the feet support by purchasing a couple of boxes of "Dr Scholl's" Gel Work inserts for my field shoes....I still have to find a way to support my ankles, perhaps tape, rather that the ankle supports I have used in the past.....getting old sucks fans, bank that!

And I may seem to be in pretty good shape for someone who turned 63 this past March...but as active as I am, things just keep "breaking", so to speak.  With the Carotid surgery on my birthday last March 16th, the obvious has become more so...I ain't getting any younger.  My goal was to continue with football and basketball officiating until I hit 65...baseball on the other hand, I would do until they put me in a box and shipped my ass to the other side...those are still the plans, and I don't plan on slowing down...just working a bit smarter, after all I have been "retired" since I left the Van Wert Health Department, 10 years ago earlier this month.  Despite the financial hit I took retiring at 53...I wouldn't change it.

After-all I drove the highways and byways in luxury RVs {Motor Homes} for five years after my Health Department days....yesterday I counted that in addition to 2 Canadian provinces, I had driven those gas guzzlers, and got paid to do it, through 45 states, missing only Vermont, Montana, and South Dakota(and I don't know how I missed it}, along with Alaska and Hawaii.  My old regret is not returning in the old Jeep more often than I did....or getting a newer one, that was a bit more comfortable...I still remember that drive back from Vegas across I-40 and then who could forget the delivery to Yuma, Arizona, that oldest son Sam and I did together.  Dropping  two Motor Homes off in 100 heat, then by the time we entered the Texas Panhandle, with the temperature have dropped to 10 or so, we battle a torn section of "rag top" and froze our collective asses off as the little Wrangler rolled across the plains.  Even in my post Vietnam Air Force days, in Upstate New York, "humping" the ground around those B-52, I wasn't as cold as that 36 hour stretch from Show Low, Arizona, to southern Illinois, near Effingham, when it finally started to warm a bit, and allowed us to take off our wool hats and remove the sleeping bags wrapped around our legs....great times!...Seriously!

Speaking of Adventure......

All the thoughts of travel and roading it, got me to thinking yesterday about the years past....especially the 1970s...and the crazy 'road trips' me and old friends took.  Things you can do in your 20s, and the chances you take, are what makes life worth living...especially if you survive.

Lucky for us, I think all of us are still alive...Rich Pearson, Rick Tester, Nick Hromish, Jim Olson, Mike Schilling, and a scattering of other guys that jumped on for a ride or two.  The places and faces were varied, and I have described most of them on this blog over the past five years.  One such run was done by me and Pearson back in the late Summer of 1980....Patrica, daughter Anissa, and I were in the process of moving back to Ohio from Dodge City, Kansas. 

Anyway I had to return to get our 1976 Jeep Cherokee from a shop in Dodge, and gather the rest of our meager belongings  I needed a co-pilot, someone to drive the Jeep home, while I piloted brother Mike's Ford Pick Up, and Rick was always ready for a day trip, or in the case a "week trip"....anyway, making long story short, we ended up in Canon City, Colorado, and a trip over the infamous "Shelf Road" between Canon and Cripple Creek...and adventure of a life time especially if you were not ready for it....were weren't but had a ball anyway.  Including take a dip in the near freezing Cripple Creek.

That is how I happened to "Google" a website yesterday....I checked Google Images and came across the photo of two guys standing with off road bikes on Shelf Road....and I back linked to this site:

http://www.bigdogadventures.com/default.htm

Big Dog is Mark Sampson, who lives in Southern Illinois, and has logged thousands and thousands of miles on his off road motorcycle adventures.

Those photos and stories took me back to my first "bike"....a 250cc Kawasaki on/off machine, which I used on the highway, in X Country Races, and for just riding the trail...after that of course I "graduated" to street machines for the next 15 years, finally giving up the ghost in 1987, after some old fool pulled out in front of me, and sent me ass over teacups, doing a 360 smashing my back and helmet into the roadway....and began a long, painful, battle with back issues...my second major wreck, first one was indeed my fault, ended my riding days at the ripe old age of 38...25 years ago.

Mark's web site and adventures however, have, I must admit, gotten be back to thinking off roading at least....after all, I still maintain my license to ride...and at 63 what the Hell can happen to me that's bad?  I'm in reasonably good shape, and have plenty of Life Insurance if the worst would happen,  Patricia could retire herself....{insert smart ass grin here}

But for those who like to at least wax nostalgic for adventure...check out the Big Dogs road trips.....I'm just getting started.

back later>>>>

Photos-(1) Pre-Carotid Artery Surgery last February....did I really look younger in photo (2) in 1977......some 35 years before?  (3) Swiped from BikeZ Catalog...this is what my Kaw 250 looked like new...it would change over the next 3 or 4 years of my and it's life. (4,5) The Shelf Road as it looks from the drive and from below...Rick Pearson and I had no clue when a couple of locals from Canon City sent us that way to Cripple Creek...I want to drive it or ride it at least one more time in my life.....(6) If I only had a time machine....I would go here in the Red Wood Forests of California back in the early 1940s...this in my idea of paradise, from and old post card my dad  sent to grandma Houseworth during his days at Mather AFB, during the last days of WWII, And (7) 1974 me and the Kawasaki....just a block away from where I live today, nearly 40 years later.

"Just Reflecting"

Patricia headed back to school today...her students arrive tomorrow.  I'm not sure how many more years before she joins me in retirement{in my case semi-retirement} but at 59 I am sure she is probably more than ready, although she has enjoyed teaching over the years...but like anything else, the bureaucratic mess has infested the public and private systems, to make them almost useless.  Political Correctness and the NEA, and it's useless members have basically destroyed American Education.

With her back at school, the old Airedale Reagan passing away earlier this Spring, it's now just me and the old cat...along with Sam on occasion, as he interviews for Actuarial jobs, officiates, and continues to work at Ohio State, broadcasting sports, and fills in on the Big Ten Network...with those, he balances his time between Columbus and Celina.  Congrats to him for passing test #2 on the Actuarial Ladder, one more foot in the door, now that his graduation from OSU is completed.  Hopefully one of the jobs will come about in his chosen profession...but for now, the sports broadcasting gigs help him muddle through.....

My football season "kicks off" this week...having been at scrimmage work the past couple of weeks, the real games get started tomorrow.  I stay in Celina for a Freshman contest with Versailles....on Thursday Night, I make the long trip north to Montpelier, snuggled in the far northwest corner, just off the Michigan line to the north and the Indiana state line to the west....a rare Thursday game starts the regular season for my new found crew.  Having worked the past five seasons or so as a fill-in, working between 4 and 7 varsity games a year, this season sees me on a crew with guys I have known for years, from both football and baseball, and I agreed to work at least a season with them, and see how it goes.

I really was never interested in working every Friday night during football season, happy to fill in and travel on occasion...this year will be different and hopefully the legs and body will hold out.  If I survive this season, I will take it one game and one season at a time.  In a change of plans this Saturday, after working a JV game at Paulding at 10am, I will head to Spencerville, and work some Fall Baseball....now call me crazy, baseball ended weeks ago for me, at the State ACME Tournament in Bryan...and after a long and late Friday Night, then an early Saturday football game, just why in the Hell am I working baseball late Saturday?  Money?  Hardly....ego?  Perhaps...no fool like an old fool, so I will drag out the gear and do a double header, and hope the weather is agreeable.

After a busy 24 hours...Sam and I take to the youth football fields in Celina on Sunday, where we begin the fall season, working double headers, most Sundays for the next two months.

 Speaking of the weather, it has certainly changed...and for now at least, for the better....

After a miserable hot, humid, and rainless start to the summer, on the heels of a warm winter and dry spring, the changes over the past couple of weeks have been indeed welcome.  The weekend just past was about as perfect as it gets....cool nights, sunny less humid days, and the temperatures not rising past the middle 70s....Mid August?  Can't ask for better conditions.

So, there you have it....as Summer begins it's slow descent into Fall....sure we have plenty of weeks of warm weather to get into....but without a doubt, at least for the most part, I am looking forward to September and October, those two months are my favorite, weather wise, without a doubt.

back later>>>>

Photos-Grand Lake, despite it's issues, looks much better when the weather is clear and less humid....football starts this week, at all levels, from Varsity down to youth ball....and call me "Crazy"...I have picked up some Fall Baseball as well...

Summer Phases Out? Football Arrives....

So Tell Me Again Barry Boy...Just Why the Hell Are We Protecting These Assholes?

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/08/17/nato-2-us-troops-killed-in-afghan-police-attack/

This trash, goat fornicators and pedo worshipping scum they are, are not worth a bucket of warm spit, let alone spilling one drop of America Serviceman Blood...now if a few Liberals and Obama Tools want to die for the Islamic cause....I say go for it!  But no real America should waste their time or blood, to fight along side or with these bastards.


Now on to our regular programming....

After a brutal couple of months, June and July exact, August has passed it's first half more towards the lower normal side.  The rains have came, not ending the drought, but putting a dent in it...and after nearly two months of no lawn mowing, ours has been mowed 4 times in less than two weeks, with another round on Sunday coming up....

Tonight, another pre-season game, with plenty of travel.  I've got the longest trip in our crew, some 68 miles ot the west end of Bryan...while my "Wing" partner, Jamie, has just a couple of blocks to travel.  After the Jamboree game between host Bryan and Anthony Wayne, we will all meet at his house to go over the game and the regular season, which begins next Thursday night, at Montpelier, some 78 miles north and west of Celina...gonna be some long road trips this year.

After our game and meeting tonight, I will make the long drive home, then turn around early tomorrow, and head back north, to Pauling this time, for a Junior High scrimmage.  Freshman Football kicks off in Celina on Tuesday night....and then it the real thing from there on out.

The Empty Lake....

Spending my High School years growing up{sort of} in Montezuma, Ohio, on the south shores of Grand Lake, meant I spent many hours, fishing, swimming, and partying, on the massive body of water.  Hand dug back in the 1830s, it was the largest man made body of water for over a century, until the building of Hoover Dam, created Lake Meade, back during the Great Depression.  Even back the 45 to 50 years ago, that I lived and played near and on Grand Lake, it was never what you would call pristine.  Along with being shallow, some 7 feet deep in most places, it was the feeding point of farm runoffs, that included chemicals and animal waste...add that to the discharge of open sewers from the south side, and you can imagine that despite it beauty, it was polluted....never so much however, as the past few years, since the Alga Bloom came calling.

The State of Ohio has made some half arsed efforts to clean the lake, but like everything Government, it has been indeed "half assed".  Property values have tanked, the bar and marina business has suffered, and boating, swimming, and especially fishing, has come almost to a stand-still.  Grand Lake, the subject of many of my photographic efforts, is for all intensive purposes dead, as far as recreation is concerned.

On my walk Tuesday morning...I did a 15 minute or so pass on Lake Shore Drive, on the lake's northwest corner...a calm and warm, but not hot, day...a perfect day, it would seem, for boating, or even fishing, and maybe a swim....2 boats total, and zero fisherman, were seen on my walk...and these days, that is the norm, rather than the rare day.  Grand Lake St. Marys, has become a sad mirror image of what the country has become, especially under one Barack Insane Obama, a mere shell of it's once proud and glorious self.

Enjoy your weekend....back later>>>>

Good Bye Captain America...

I left the umbrella at the house yesterday morning, when I climbed into the Nitro for my drive, first to Coldwater to hook up with "Wulfie", then head to Fort Recovery for Kent Dilworth's services and following funeral to the graveside site in Portland, Indiana....

After all, the rain had passed the area and it appeared we would have no rain for the graveside services....I was of course wrong.  Probably 50 family and friends were in attendance at the funeral home...most of the old Racquet Club gang had stopped by during the Thursday visitation hours, a few people we expected did not show, but that is understandable....I know how I hate funerals, seldom going to most, even folks I knew well.  I can count them on my hand, over the past dozen years, preferring to remember those old friends as they were when I last saw them.  But Kent, even though we were not that close, friends yes, for sure, but there was something I felt that I needed to be there.  I guess it was because of the fight he put up, something you seldom see in people, many, probably me included, would just chalk it off to bad luck, and cash in our chips...not so with "Captain America".

Kent, diagnosed with colon cancer, with spots on his liver at 47 years old, and given 6 or so months to live, it was already at Stage 4, he turned that into over 4 years of a full life....The Captain was a fighter, and if for nothing else he deserved my presence at this, his final honor.

 As Wulfie and I headed from the funeral home towards Portland, across the state line, and some 10 miles from his home town, the rain, gone from the Radar, returned to greet the procession of vehicles....and it continued in light fashion through out the final words of the pastor....as we headed out of the cemetery, the rain ended and we rolled back across the line into Ohio towards the "Hole in the Wall", the old converted Roller Rink, which is now a country bar that straddles the Ohio/Indiana state line.  This is where the family would have the Wake....a small get together where we all were "required" to have a Strohs Beer as our first order of business.  The Captain for some reason liked that skunk tasting brew from our childhoods.  Strohs and Pabst Blue Ribbon were the two big brews back in the 1960s and 70s in these parts.  To me, Pabst was a bit sweet, but preferable to that nasty tasting skunk piss called Strohs.  But we downed one for Kent....it was his brew of choice when available, and how could we not have one in his honor?

There after, the old friends, some who I knew and some I didn't, along with the brothers, sister, and nieces, nephews, stood and or sat talking about Kent and his days on this earth and what he meant to all....

51 years, much too short to be sure, but "Captain America" got as much out of those years as possible....right up until the end.


Changes in the Kitchen Plans____

It appears our new kitchen project has been scaled back....that is my doing.  I'm sure Patricia is disappointed, but as for me, I just didn't feel like going through the hassle and scrutiny of getting an addition on our mortgage, at 15 years, despite the almost zero rate.  So, at least for now, we will get the picture window overlooking the back yard replaced, the floors done, with the newer style, and some other cosmetics and insulation work.....this will probably cost about a third of the $20,000 or more that was going to go into the kitchen.

As I told Patricia..."Hell, if I check out, you can use that bundle of cash from the Life Insurance to get whatever you want done"  She looked at me and says "You wanted the new kitchen"....yes, but really not the hassle and the cost.  So we will improve it, fix and replace the floors and window, repaint the walls, and see what shakes out down the road....hassles be damned.   I'm not sure if she is saddened or relieved....I know I am relieved that the decision appears made.

back later>>>>

Photos-Back in December of 2000...the two photos are from the "Ho House Lounge" days at the Racquet Club....this was from Noon or thereabouts, on a Sunday, as we were preparing for the Wallyball Wars, downing a couple of cold ones to get in the mood...Kent in both, and me with a sheet eating grin, "Wulfie" was bartending and snapped the photo.  Strohs, just one by me and most at the Wake was downed....the first can is the way it look when brewed in Detroit back in my old Red Door days...the bottom photo is what the new, but not improved, Strohs looks like today, and what we drank yesterday at the Captain's Wake.

Realist not Racist!

Realist:
{A person who tends to view things as they really are}

The weekend started out on Friday Night with a three-way scrimmage at Convoy Crestview High School, with the host team facing off against Antwerp and New Bremen, on both the JV and Varsity sides...Sam joined a couple of other veterans working the JV scrimmage while our crew worked the varsity games.  The amazing thing was, after a miserable hot an dry summer, we worked the games in a mid 50s temperatures with a lite rain spitting, blown by the wind throughout....it was downright cold.  We finished up around 9pm, showered and worked out way to The Tavern in Convoy, grabbed a bite to eat, I had a couple of cold beers and Sam and I headed home towards Celina....the rest of the crew, for the most part living north.  That is where, less than 12 hours later, the five of us on the regular crew were, back at Sherwood Fairview...working another scrimmage{our second at Fairview within five days} at the host Apaches faced Paulding.  The temps remained cool and breezy, but comfortable conditions to officiate football in.

Sunday I got out and mowed the lawn...after no lawn mowing in almost 2 months, with the recent rains, yesterday marked the 3rd time in 8 days mowing our yard, with two more mowing mom's....which Sam will do again today.   Most of the family stopped by, Hal, Lisa, and Kasyn, along with the other grandkids and great grandkids, came to Celina and attended the Mercer County Fair, and stopped by to visit Grandma and the younger ones Great Grandma...

Speaking of mom, she returned to her house, complete with oxygen, from sister Marty's place.....glad to be home, but with the state and Medicare BureauRats still swarming....this is without Obammy Care in place....can you imagine what it will be like when the Kenyan Pole Smoker gets his Marxist health care system into place?  Folks it's gonna be ugly...and just about the time I turn 65....son of a bitch, do I hate this useless bastard and his power grabbing Government Toads....and how?

Speaking of the Kenyan CSer....I love how his supporters, the media, far left bloggers, and the masses of ignorant uninformed, love to say that those opposed to Obama must be "Racists"...the dreaded "R" word...I guess we Conservatives should just start calling Obammy the dreaded "N" word?  But the truth of the matter is....I despised Billy Boy Clinton, almost as much as I do Barack, and certainly I despised that half witted Peanut Farmer from Georgia, "Jummy" Carter more so.  My problem with the Kenyan Pole Smoker isn't race....it's the fact that the lying son of a Kansas Whore is a freaking Marxist....and either himself is, or he is controlled by the most evil sons a bitches, this side of Islamic Radicals to infest planet Earth.

Make no mistake....Obama needs to be gone come November, or the Republic as we know it{already at the door of death} will be over....you can take that to the bank.  Frankly, even with Paul Ryan as the VP pick for the GOP...Obama will likely win the election...the reason?

To many stupid people, to many senile senior citizens that believe the lies from the Democrats and the Press, and way too many freeloading bastards that don't, or won't work, preferring to live off the backs of others....topped off by guilt ridden white liberals, with nothing to feel guilty about, except their own stupidity.

Look around folks, the people producing the vast amount of kids these days are the lazy welfare mothers of all colors and creeds, and the low life lazy bastards they bed...those with the brains to actually contribute to society are having fewer and fewer kids....meaning in a ball park guess, that for every child produced by intelligent and/or hard working people of America, fives times as many are being produced by the lowest common denominator.  Look around, it's just not the large cities...look in the bergs and small town America.

I feel for the future generations...because this side of a major breaking up of the producers from the non-producers...there is very little hope for America and the world to survive what we face....but then again, I think the Bible says as much.

Lock and Load.....it's not Racism folks, just good old fashion Realism!

back later>>>>


Photos-Being the Realist I am, it doesn't take much to realize that if the Kenyan Marxist who calls himself Barack Obama is re-elected, the chances of this Republic surviving in it's current state{weakened as it is} are not worth a bucket of warm spit.  And America will once again look like it did during the FDR years....like a Steinbeck Novel....and there are only a few ways to work out way out of America's "Death Wish"....

End of the drought....passing of an old friend.

Patricia and I headed to Centerville yesterday to watch grandson Kasyn for the day....at 8 1/2 months the youngster is climbing everything and everywhere....at 30 pounds or there abouts he is way ahead of schedule in most areas...still not walking on his own, but that to is coming...he pulls himself up at the nearest piece of furniture and he is on his way....dropping down to crawl if he has to.  Hal and Lisa have had to put a pet/child gate on the stairs as he can climb those....he demonstrated that yesterday, as Patricia backed him up, and I sat at the top of the stairs  and snapped photos.

In between walks and Hal grilling steaks before we left, it was a busy day for the grandparents...we headed for home just after 6:30 and arrived just past 8pm, as more storms arrived and dumped large amounts of rain on Ohio....probably too late to save most of the crops, but welcome enough....and I see a full schedule of lawn mowing in the near future.

It's been a strange year, weather wise, mild winter, warm, very warm, March, April was windy and cool, but not below normal temp wise, and then the heat wave began, along with the dry conditions...today will be an exception, as the high temperature is predicted to be just 70,  with more showers on hand...tomorrow 77, before it begins to warm back up before the weekend ends.

A Passing______

For many years I frequented the old Lakefront Racquet Club on Celina's south side...we had quite the collection of characters that played "Wallyball"{Volleyball with Walls}, tennis,basketball, lifted weights, and drank gallons of beer at the "Ho-House Lounge"...the leader of the Wallyball crowd was Kent Dilworth from Fort Recovery...a dozen years younger than me, Kent ran the schedule and wallyball leagues, and was especially known for his co-ed leagues on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons.  If I could have a dollar back{Sunday was dollar beer day at the club} for all the beers I drank on Sunday, I could have paid the mortgage off on the house already.  Those Sundays were the stuff legends and hangovers are made of.

A few years back Kent, by this time Lakefront had been hijacked by new managers with the intent of running out the riff-raff, had came down with the first signs of prostrate cancer....he began his fight, and even up to a month ago, with a few set backs along the way, seemed to be winning the battle.  "Wulfie", Kent, or as we called him "Captain America" , me and a few others gathered at the Southside Inn in Coldwater....he looked good, ate well, had a few beers, and talked about a new treatment that he was about to begin in Columbus.  That treatment never came around, and "Captain" returned home from a visit to his sister's place in South Florida, he entered the Coldwater Hospital, and never came out:  RIP Captain....

Kent A. "Captain" Dilworth, 51, Fort Recovery, Ohio, died August 9, 2012, at Mercer County Community Hospital, Coldwater, OH. He was born November 14, 1960 in Celina, OH, to the late Francis "Lefty" Dilworth and Betty (Trout). His mother, Betty Dilworth survives in Fort Recovery, Ohio. Surviving are 3 brothers - Keith (Rena) Dilworth of Richmond, IN, Kevin Dilworth of Houston, TX, Kirk Dilworth of Fort Recovery, OH; sister - Portia (David) Halterman of Port Charlotte, FL; and several nieces and nephews. Deceased is a sister, Patsy Dilworth. He is a 1979 graduate of Fort Recovery High School and ITT Technical Institute, Dayton, Ohio, with a degree in Electronics Engineering Technology. He also had a Class Three Water Treatment license from the Ohio EPA. He was currently employed at the City of Celina Water Treatment Plant, Celina, OH and formerly was employed at J&M Manufacturing, Fort Recovery, Huffy Corp, Celina, and Panasonic, Troy, OH. He was a member of the Moose of Celina, OH, Eagles of Greenville, OH and the Ohio Lake Front Racquet Club, Celina, where he earned a Black Belt in Gen Kotsu Kai Karate and participated in many tournaments. He also participated in numerous Wallyball Tournaments and won a National Championship. Graveside services are 10:30 am Tuesday, August 14, 2012, at Green Park Cemetery, Portland, IN, the Rev. Verl Ballmer officiating. Calling is 4:00 pm-8:00 pm Monday and 9:00 am-9:45 am Tuesday at Brockman - Boeckman Funeral Home, Fort Recovery, Ohio. Contributions can be made to the Cancer Association of Mercer County.

Way too young...but then again, none of us are promised tomorrow.

Football scrimmage at Crestview tonight, then up tomorrow early for another back at Sherwood Fairview....then a few days off before more scrimmage action late next week, in anticipation of the new season, which begins for our crew on August 23rd.

back later>>>>


Photos-Plenty of rain and lightning last night and into early this morning, hopefully ending the drought and helping to ease the summer into fall...K-Man climbing the Stair Mountain at the Condo...the last get together of the Wallyball Crowd in September 2010...Kent "Captain" Dilworth, the guy on the far right, between two woment as usual...RIP Captain!  And finally Kasyn, after a busy day, in the stroller outsdie, climbing the stairs, and finally falling asleep during his afternoon meal.

Sunrises, Football, and An American Skunk....

Getting up a bit before 6am this morning, I showered and headed out to my favorite photography spot on the southern reaches of West Bank Road....I must say the weather was pretty well perfect for an early August morning...especially considering the heat and humidity of the past weeks.  The Canada Geese were in the small boat basin, while the Mallards, Wood Ducks, and a few Cranes, were swimming and wading along the western shore of Grand Lake...no clouds in the sky were visible, although the rising sun did manage to illuminate the planet of Venus{?} in the eastern sky, just above where the sun would rise.  Over the next 20 minutes or so, I would snap 3 dozen or more photos, of varying success.  I had grabbed a large coffee at the local Docksider Marathon Station, and sipped on that, as I waited for Ol's Sol to rise above the lake....some of the results are shown on today's posting.

Football Arrives_____

My two week break from umpire and officiating comes to an end tonight as I travel north on US 127 some 55 miles to just north of the tiny berg of Sherwood....just a couple of miles out of the city limits lay the Fairview Schools....at 6pm the scrimmage season kicks off as Parkway from here in Mercer County visits.  Frankly I have done zero getting ready, either physically or mentally for the coming season...I will re-check the rule changes for the season after I finish today's blog....and get ready for the 3 hours of work tonight.  Three scrimmages this week, just one next, then the season will be here, and the following two months will see me pretty busy.  Friday night I am at Crestview, then on Saturday morning, it's back at Fairview for another Varsity Scrimmage

Sam returned home for much of the week last night...still looking for work, post Ohio State graduation, he has another interview today...this one with an insurance company near Cincinnati...when he finishes with that, he will stop at Hal and Lisa's in Centerville, and visit them and check on his nephew Kasyn, whom he hasn't seen in a few months.

Obama...The American Skunk____

I was visiting with Mom yesterday, she seemed almost back to her normal 88 year old self...for now at least...hopefully any ill effects of the week in the hospital, seem to have passed...she remains on a small amount of oxygen.  We will try to get her house ready for her return from sister Marty's.  As I was sitting there, telling her about my "bet" with youngest son Hal, about not posting political rants on facebook for a month, I happened to mention that Barack Obama reminded me of a Skunk...Black, with a streak of white, and he and his policies stink.  She just rolled her eyes. 

Then as luck or fate would have it, when I checked in on facebook before hitting the sack, on old newspaper acquaintance of mine had posted the following captioned photo on my facebook page...seemingly out of the blue:

"Damn" I sez to myself..."That is just what I had in mind"...Lyle had beat me to it...and since I can't or won't post about politics or the Kenyan Assclown on facebook for a month...it appears others will do it by Proxy...lol!

So that is my life...other than sweating my ass off yesterday, mowing both lawns, and watching the Reds lose two in a row for the first time in over a month...now it is time to wake up and smell some more coffee...

back later>>>>

Photos-A cloudless and cool(for early August) morning greeted me when I went out to take some sunrise photos....which included more than a few large gatherings of Mallards, swimming in the morning gloam.  Football, at least on the High School pre-season front, begins tonight....An Barack Obama is the American/Kenyan Skunk....everything the half breed bastard does...stinks! and is designed to weaken the nation and Republic.

Recap of a lost week....

I see it's been six days since I last posted....the longest stretch in the five years of typing away on this blog site....I have spent much of the past week at the hospital in Coldwater, as mom has had her ups and downs before finally being released yesterday....complete with a small daily dose of oxygen.  She will spend a few days at sister Marty's house, and hopefully be at her own place by week's end...but we will see.
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My two weeks, more or less, off of baseball and getting ready for football is about to end....frankly, with the exception of taking the on-line State Rules Meeting last night on the OHSAA Website, I have not done much looking forward to the upcoming season.  Tomorrow night our crew will travel to Sherwood, Ohio, as Parkway visits Fairview....with only a couple of weeks under their belts, I am sure the teams will be a rusty as I am....3 scrimmages this week, just one next, then the season begins on August 23rd, with the opening of Varsity season.  For our crew that will be on a Thursday Night....then things revert to the usual Fridays after opening week....once again, "am I ready"? ...we will see.
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The weather has broken...at least for a day or two....We had some pretty good storms on Saturday and early Sunday, and a good amount of rain to go with it.  At least the yards can finally be mowed, as there is grass to go with the weeds that have taken over the past two months.  I plan, with the weather a bit cooler, and less humid, to mow both our and mom's lawn today.
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The work on the kitchen has yet to begin...at least the contractors work.  Patricia has stripped the walls of paper, sanded them, and has those ready for painting...but if the kitchen and floors are finished before Christmas, I will consider it a minor miracle....once again, time will tell.
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On the political scene, not much has changed....except the fact that I will not be posting about politics on my facebook page for a month....youngest son Hal, has made me a bet{no doubt designed to save what he may perceive embarrassing posts on fb by his old man} that I cannot refrain from posting about politics until after Labor Day....if I do, then I pick a Reds game, and he pays the bills....with the Reds 4 1/2 games in front of Pittsburgh, and 7 up on the Cards, they are looking good for the post season.

Facebook NO, but I can and will on occasion post my political rants on the blog....after all, the Kenyan pole smoking Marxist in the White House will get no free passes from this corner....especially since he is trying to steal the election in Ohio and elsewhere by squashing the Veteran and active duty vote:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/05/axelrod-defends-suit-on-ohio-military-voting-law-calls-romney-stance-hameful/

Make no mistake, the large margin of Vets and Active Duty Military hate Obama's stinking guts...and the Kenyan and his SS Troops will do anything to win Ohio....including screw over the Military.

The there is the shootings in Wisconsin....

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/06/authorities-search-for-motive-in-deadly-shooting-at-wisconsin-sikh-temple/#ixzz22kaYJb99

I know Oak Creek, my brother-in-law used to live there, before moving a few miles to South Milwaukee...I believe he still attends Church, as opposed to Cult House, there.   I am sure that Obama, his henchman, and the left wing media will once again drag out their tired "anti gun" mouthpieces, in order to portray the shooter, as some right wing nut.....they have the "nut" correct, however, "right wing nut" in probably another lie....but then again, the left and Obammy cannot open their pie holes without lying.

So there it is...."I'm back" from a short break, and will attempt to make the postings a bit more regular once again.....at least 2, 3, or 4, times per week.

back later>>>>

Photos-Despite little activity on Grand Lake, the morning sunrise on the West Bank continue to be worthy of photographing....Obama and his Jack Boots are still out to destroy Conservatives, Christians, and America, as we know it....and football pre-season kicks off tomorrow.