Afghanistan...The Good War?

A cool breeze is blowing through the flat lands of west central Ohio this morning...after a few thunderstorms overnight, a strong west wing, gusting to 50 MPH, is moving clouds, leaves, limbs, and whatever else isn't held down....more fall like it is this first full week of Fall. Tonight and tomorrow I will remain in Celina for football, this evening a JV game between the local Bulldogs and Van Wert...always interesting when I do a Celina vs Van Wert game, even with this being a JV contest...Van Wert is my birth down, also where I worked at Environmental Health Director before retiring 7 years ago, and is the school where I was voice of the "Cougars" for over a decade on Cable Channel 7, out of that town some 22 miles north of here on US 127...Celina, of course, is where I graduated from High School in 1967 and where I reside today...the kids also are Celina graduates.

Obama's War____

I have a question for anybody interested, or that has a clue. Just what the Hell are we doing in Afghanistan?

Obama's hand pick General, Stanley McChrystal, was on 60 minutes last night...that being a show I have not watched in years, and probably will not watch again in this lifetime. Why would I watch a bunch of left wing lap dogs, that hate middle America, hate the troops on the ground, and yet worship that same ground as long as Barack Hussain Obama walks on it? Anyway listening to and watch clips of McChrystal from last night's show...I have come to the conclusion that this guys is typical of many American Military leaders, that being he's dupe.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/09/24/60minutes/main5335445.shtml

Tough talking General he may be...but saying that Job #1 is "protecting the civilians of Afghanistan" You gotta be freaking kidding me? We are sending more troops to that sheethole in the far Middle East to "Protect Civilians"? Is that how you win wars in these days of Obama and Political Correctness? I don't think so, not now, not ever.

Just so you know...I am for winning the war on terror, I am against losing one more American life(unless it would be a few hundred liberal ass clowns going there as "Human Shields") for this "Obama War". The clueless rookie, who really didn't expect to win the presidency in this go around, and now that he has, is crapping his pants.

So how do we go about winning the war on terror? (1) We bring home our troops from around the world, protect the home turf, and seal the borders, all of the borders, including the airports. (2)Send home the illegal Islamics, most support their perverted religion before they support this Republic...note I said "Illegal", not all Muslims. (3) Blow the Hell out of Iran, Afghanistan, and wherever else the Taliban is hiding....i.e. Keep the Nuclear Option open! Yep, I know, all would be tough to do...but I seem to recall a time in American History, when we, as a country, were tough enough to do it...somehow I have my doubts about today's America and its' people.

Right now we are fighting Obama's War....a war which he appears to want to win, as long as we don't really have to kill anybody? Obama is a Marxist, an Appeaser, and a Rookie, way out of his league...McChrystal is falling into his trap.

Wrapping up the Weekend____

Sam and Hal were both home, with laundry in hand. Hal was home for a friend's wedding, he was one of the Groomsman....along with one of the other guy's in the wedding, he came rolling in about 2:30 in the morning, they got up, had breakfast, and Hal heading back south with Hangover in Hand. Sam was home for a short time Saturday...officiating a JV game with me at Spencerville...he headed back to Columbus in the mid afternoon, in time to catch the OSU game on the tube. He did not work this game, but will work the Iowa game later on, which should be a good one, considering the fact that Iowa knocked off Penn State at Happy Valley over the weekend.

Things are more quiet today, and should remain that way for the next week or so....

In addition to the Spencerville game, I officiated a Rec League double header yesterday, and the season at all levels is into the second half of the season....Basketball is on the Horizon...I am not ready for winter sports just yet, but this change in weather makes me realize the season is not all that far away.

back later>>>>

199 and Going Topless/Rush Runs Over Al Gore

Yesterday I put in 3 posts on the blog, a record....usually 4 or 5 a week is normal, but I had a couple of political points to make, so figured I'd get the Obama Garbage out of the way in one felt swoop. Today, back to more mundane stuff, but I will have an observation and opinion of events going on at the end of today's post.

Weight down to 199, time to go Topless____

Since I went on the Diabetes 2 Diet on September 3rd, I have dropped 9 pounds, so on average about 3 pounds per week...although the weight loss has ceased for the past week....I have in total dropped 15 pounds since early March....about 17-19 more to go. So here it is, late September, and I'm going topless! Well, not really me, but my Jeep Wrangler has been topless since June....I usually take the ragtop off for the summer then put it back on before the snow flies. If any of you have ever had a Jeep soft top, you know that they are a pain in the butt to drop the top, then zip and hook back up...so I just take the damn thing off, and either park Jeep in the garage or put a tarp over it when rain threatens...which has not been a problem for the past 3 months, this week not withstanding.

I'm thinking it's about time to hook the top back up, but I hate to drive it around with top on in the final "Indian Summer" type good weather. So maybe I'll push the envelope for a couple more weeks......

Not so empty nest____

The partial empty nest I talked about earlier this week won't be so empty this weekend...all 3 "Kids"{ages 30, 27, and 25} will be home for the weekend. Hal is home for a friend's wedding in which he's a groomsman, Sam is home from his first week of classes at OSU in Columbus to officiate a JV game at Spencerville, with me tomorrow morning....Anissa will be staying her usual weekend in full with us, it appears she will be moving into a apartment with another handicapped women with 24 hour supervision/care before the year is out...but that is by no means set in stone.

Hugo Chavez loves Obama, hates Fox News____

Now there is a big surprise, Not! This Marxist son of a dog faced jackal, is the Dictator of Venezuela...and like the other world trash, Ahmadinejad of Iran, Kadafi of Libya, and Barack Hussain Obama of the USSA...he stunk up New York City this week...the UN needs to be booted out, once and for all.

Loving Obama, ignoring the G20 protests in Pittsburgh{while calling the Tea Party folks "Hatemongers", and of course hating Fox News}...this is the stuff the world, the American left, and Media are all about. Frankly, it's all they have! I enjoy being on the side they despise.

Israel, when will they strike Iran, and what is Obama going to do?__

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/09/24/2009-09-24_israeli_leader_benjamin_netanyahu_blasts_holocaust_deniers_as_he_holds_aloft.html

Israel's Leader Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at the UN yesterday blasted the bloated corrupt body for allowing the Holocaust denier Ahmadinejad to speak...why would the UN do that? They are in bed with the Anti-Semites and the Israel hating left.

What is particularly sad is to watch American Jews like the TV nitwits Jon Stewert and David Letterman, Hollywood assclowns like Barbara Striesand and Steven Spielberg, and political hacks like UpChuck Schummer of New York, and Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, hate Israel as much as Obama and most of the Muzzie world....it appears they are blind or complicit of Islamic terror and hate of Israel.

Anyway, the question of the day is......When will Iran get the bomb, and will Israel hit Tehran and the Nuke sites before the work is complete....? Go Israel, do what needs to be done, because the American {lack of} leadership, will sit by and fiddle while Jerusalem Burns, if you don't.

back later...enjoy the weekend>>>>

Photos-My Jeep Wrangler "topless"/Hugo the fan of Obama and hater of Fox News/"Obummer, The Fiddler does his dirty deeds, will he leave Israel Burn?"

On a final note, you'll find this funny as anything you'll see today, if you're not a fan of Al Gore...Rush Limbaugh was on Jay Leno last night and "Ran over Al Gore with his Ford Green Car"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RsCkkvnfhQ

Enjoy!

Will the Real Neville Chamberlin Please Stand Up?

Just like the original Hitler Appeaser, Obama and Jimmy Carter are doing their best impressions in the face of Islamic Terrorists....and the lap dog media goes along in lock step---All Hail Obama! They shout!

More Obama Youth Indoctrination

Indoctrination, pure and simple:

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

This is the kind of "Sheet" going on in our Public Schools....you can only imagine what these little brain washed dolts will look like by they time the enter Emperor Obama's State Run Universities.....

I'm thinking the time for a second American Revolution is here.....the so-called leaders and power brokers in Government and Media are doing a full court press on the youth of America. Wake Up America...Before it's too Late!!!!

Now Back to your usual programming...Soaps, Game Shows, and Liberal BS(Today, The View, Oprah, etc) as shown on the Boob Tube.

The End of the Dollar/The End of the Republic?

Our not-so-esteemed Prez, one Barry Soetoro, was last seen butt kissing the 3rd world trash at the UN yesterday....and today he heads for Pittsburgh to rub elbows with the stench of the G20, as his American Apologist Tour continues...what a Man this naive Marxist isn't. This clown is leading us down the path to ruin, and still a full 50% of the populace are clueless or complacent.

The Kenyan-in-Charge has in 8 months in office pretty well sold us and our few remaining allies in Europe out to the Russians, China, and he has bowed down to worship the crap known as Islamic Terrorism. The Prez is no an less Anti-Semite and Anti-American than those our men are dying for in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Either win the damn "war on terror" or get the Hell out of the Middle East....no American life is worth losing to these ungrateful bastards. In fact, pull our men and women out of every corner of the planet, bring em' home, secure the border, our borders, against invasion, and let the rest of the world drift off and fend for themselves. Our economy is in the tank, and we cannot afford to be the police force of the world any longer.

The Drudge Reports this morning that our Dollar is in deep trouble and China{and others} wants a new world currency....you should have seen this coming:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/financeeconomyg20forexuschina

The worst is yet to come.

Glenn Beck is fighting the good fight, but I see few others, except a few Johnny-Come-Lately types, actually bringing this to light:

http://www.glennbeck.com/splash.php

That's about it for this morning...got some Dartball League work to do, that is just around the corner, and with Sam off at Ohio State, and this being our year as host Church, looks like I'm in charge? Who says retirement is boring?

Just my quick rant for today.....rambling it may be.

back later>>>>

Photos-Glenn Beck's new book, released Tuesday is kicking butt and is already #1/Obama is burning the dollar and selling US out to China and anybody else who will take our debt.

Cigars and Humidity, Kids and Airedales

Cigars, Humidors, Kids, and Dogs___

I figure that might be as good as it gets today....it's humid out, and I received a new batch of Cigars from the Smiley Face Cigar folks at Cigar International{see Mr Smiley in the right hand column}.

We have had a bit more rain overnight, and the humidity levels remain high, despite the continued drought{despite the recent rain}. It got me to thinking about the 100 or so new cigars in the basement...Should I unwrap them? Leave them in the cellophane wrappers? Load them in the 3 cigar humidors I have in the basement, or leave them in the Antique Room with my grandmother's old salt shaker collection and some other remains of her and other long gone ancestors lives' that reside in that corner room of the partially finished haven beneath my Pine Floors that were laid in the winter of 1923?....The 8 x 10 room in the northeast corner has the small Antiques, some personal framed photos, officiating equipment and clothes that are in the off season stage, and mountains of paper work for tax purposes that I have to save from my 5 years delivering RVs around the country as a Private Contractor....Now I put a humidity gauge in there, to see if it meets the requirements to house my Cigar Stash without the hassle of putting them in the humidors:

http://cigars.about.com/b/2006/05/17/humidity-and-cigars.htm

68 to 72% the man says, and my gauge looks to be saying 71%...it usually is pretty constant below ground level, I like the look of a Humidor on my Antique Desk upstairs, but the Cigars tend to get stale and dry upstairs....The basement has been the place for the humidors, but now I think I'll leave them in the wrappers boxed in the Antique Room....Cigars remind me of the late 1800s and early 20th century, so this room seems a good fit, to go with all the other ghosts that may inhabit the items there.

No games for a few more days. No Sam, he's at OSU in Columbus...he actually text ed me yesterday wondering who Earle Bruce was...seems Earle was being interviewed by the Big Ten Network and Sam was doing the camera work...of course Bruce was the Coach that replaced the fired Woody Hayes in 1978 and preceded John Cooper, who was replaced by Jim Tressel. For the younger Buckeye fans, Earle is the lost coach, everybody knows about "Woody" and all despise Cooper for his poor record against Michigan. Earl Bruce was a successful coach for OSU, and finished with a winning record, 5-4-1, against Bo Shembechler and the Wolverines. Anyway, Sam now knows who Earle is. His classes finally started at Ohio State today.

Anissa has been away, she returns tonight, and Hal is busy with his life down near Dayton now that he has finished his Masters at Wright State...of course he still is working on another degree with on-line courses from Penn State...hopefully when and if the economy rebounds{not as long as arsehole Obummer is in office I fear}hopefully he'll bring home enough to pay off the bills...I don't envy the kids in these times, the days of the 3% Student Loans are gone with the wind.

Anyway a semblance of "Empty Nest" has hit, albeit not in total yet...you'll see no tears from me. I love my kids, and they are good goods who didn't or haven't given us any serious trouble, no outlaws, no out of wedlock children, and no drugs or refusing orders problems. But I have to say, and told Patricia so last night, I am looking forward to the final chapters sans the everyday drama the kids seem to bring...and I'm sure the boys are thinking the same. For now, during the school year, during the weekdays, it's me, the dog, and the stupid cat...I'm not sure how much longer Reagan the Airedale will be around however, she is past her 11th year. We started raising Airedales back in 1974 with our first one Rags...we've had at least one, and usually more, since then. I have decided that Reagan will be our last dog...I know better than to say never, but that is the plan. They are expensive to care for, they are a pain when you want to vacation, and of course the biggest pain of all is when you lose them and have to say goodbye. For now, I cannot see me doing that any longer. It will be just me and that stupid cat! Once Reagan is gone.

I think I'll go fire up a Cigar before I shed a tear....back later>>>>

Photos-The 3 "torpedo" cigar types that make up my new supply, one which will get me through the winter, well into next summer, unless I smoke more than usual, which isn't likely to happen in cold weather, being the "outdoor only" cigar aficionado I am. The hydrometer says 71% humidity in the basement...good to go for the supply of new cigars. And me and my first child, Anissa, back in 1979...4 years earlier, in 1975, me and my first pure blood Airedale Terrier, Reagan(1975-1987) camping near Higgins Lake Michigan.

Out of the Past~World War II in Texas

We finally got a little rain Sunday night and yesterday...but in Celina, just a little, we remain dry for the most part, with the drought still in place. The humidity was pretty intense as I headed off to do a Freshman Football game between Celina and it's arch rival, St. Marys. Good game, with the visiting Roughriders coming out on top of the local Bulldogs 14-12....the Celina Freshman team is pretty good, but once again, St. Marys finds a way to win...such is football in the rivalry, it's been one sided for the past decade. No games for me until Saturday, a welcome break of sorts, for the first time since the season, now entering the half way point, began.

Sam called from Columbus, yesterday marked his first game, a Junior Varsity contest, in the Columbus City League....said it was different, just like city folks are different from us "country bumpkins"....classes begin at Ohio State tomorrow, and his life in Columbus, at age 27, begins anew. For the next month he will be coming home on weekends to do games around here...this in addition to his Columbus games, and his work for the Big Ten Network and the OSU Athletic Department. Hopefully he will have time for his class study, because it appears he will be busy, to say the least.

Uncle Harry Anspach, a look back at WW2____

I don't really remember much about Harry, he was my Uncle, but by marriage to my dad's sister, Eva...Harry was not a blood relative, but according to mom he was a decent guy....Harry was divorced from Aunt Eva in the 1950s and passed away in the 1960s if my memory serves me correctly.

I know Harry was a Veteran of World War 2, and was into sending postcards by the hundreds from the places he was stationed stateside{I don't believe Harry was overseas during the war}...Some of them ended up being quite valuable, the old "real photo postcards", those featuring real photographs of places he visited or was stationed. I still have some, others I sold on Ebay for pretty good money. Anyway this is about Harry and his attachment at San Antonio, Texas. I have mountains of paper and postcards to go through, but if I remember correctly Harry was stationed at Fort Sam Houston during the 1941-43 period of the war.

Names and Places from Fort Sam Houston 1943____

The Squadron name remains in my stacks of paper and memories in the basement....but I do have the names and locations of the men in the photograph from 1943( or maybe 41 or 42) located at the top of the story...I have "Googled" the names and have found some, like Otis H. Hall, from Shamrock, Texas, still alive....last information on Otis is that he's in his early 90s and residing in Amarillo, the pearl of the Texas Panhandle...not far from his hometown of Shamrock. I was stationed in Basic Training at Amarillo, and have been through Shamrock, located on I-40 many a time while delivering RVs west.

I have the names, but not in the exact order or location, on the photo...but wanted to put the names on this blog, just in case some of my meager, 75-125 visitors on average per day, might accidentally come on a name they recognize.

The Names_______

Here are the names{some no doubt spelled incorrectly} and hometowns of the men on the photograph...Fort Sam Houston 1943(?)

Clyde Beeler

1321 West First Street

OK City, Oklahoma

----------

Jerry Lyon

Box 2394

Little Rock, Arkansas

----------

Otis H. Hall

Box 524

Shamrock, Texas

------------

Bill Nicholl

84th and 27th St.

Salt Lake City, Utah

--------------------

Don Lembeke(sp?)

Newcastle, Nebraska

----------

Harold D. Nichols

Pullman, Washington

------------

Paul Boman (Roman?)

Snoqualmie, Washington

-----------------

Jay Allen

General Delivery

Newark, Arkansas

------------

Sam Duro

Akron, Michigan

--------------

Captain C. Guinn

E1514 9th

Spokane, Washington

------------

William W. Reco(Rico, Riceo, Reeco? not really sure, but don't believe it's Reco)

Jackson, Michigan

---------------

Robert Greeco(? another one that I doubt I have right)

Newark, NJ

---------------

Jim McVey

Philadelphia, PA

-------------

Hugo Lindgren

416 5th St.

Coronado, California

---------------

Harry Anspach

Scott, Ohio

--------------

Carl Smith

Stearns, Kentucky

---------------

Fred Reo

2965 Northwestern

Detroit, Michigan

------------------

Frank Corso

67 St. James Place

Brooklyn, NY

---------------

Charles J. Jase

New Britain , CT

There you have them, the men, who long ago served their country and were stationed at a Army Base in south Texas...most, like Uncle Harry, I am sure have passed on, others, like Otis Hall may still be alive...as a Veteran of an unpopular war called Vietnam, I salute these men.

Back Later>>>>

Photos-The men at San Antonio whose names appear above and "Uncle" Harry Anspach at the family cottage near Coldwater, Michigan, in the later 1940s, after his service was up. And the portrait photo shot of him and my dad's older sister Aunt Eva when the were married in San Antonio. {Double photos Click to Supersize}

Not So Wild Hogs/Sunday Sunrise

Sunday, September 20, 2009 8AM

The rain is slated to end our sting of sunny early fall like days sometime today...hopefully after the double header that Sam{on his return from Ohio State for a day} and I have to officiate this afternoon. The grass is straw-like and I tore up the lawn mower knocking down weeds earlier this week, so hopefully I won't have to mow many more times, as I need to get the mower and snow blower into the shop for post season and pre -season repairs respectively.

It's been a busy week, over to Rick's Place on Wednesday, then a football double header at St. Henry for Junior High games Thursday....Friday night was my first shot at working as a Back Judge on a Varsity Crew. The lower level games from JV down through Jr High use only 3 or 4 officials, so the Back Judge, used for deep coverage is left out...at 60 years old and not a fast on foot as I once was, I figured doing this position with a crew I had not worked with before was going to be a challenge, especially with 1 team{Fort Recovery} using almost exclusively the spread offense with 4 and sometimes 5 receives going deep. In the 13-6 FR win over home standing Minster, we threw 16 penalty flags, I tossed only 1 and that was for delay of game....there were a couple of punts that I swallowed the whistle and held the flag I probably should have tossed, one bobbled ball that I called incomplete, after the receiver had ran 5 or 6 yards. I ruled he never had solid possession...it was close, before he fumbled out of bounds...all in all, I give myself a C+...should have been better, could have been worse. We met up with Garry's crew at the bowling alley in St Marys afterwards to discuss the 2 games{his crew being down at Riverside} After only a few hours sleep, I was back up and headed to Convoy to do a 3 man crew at the JV contest between Crestview and Bluffton. Today, down to the lowest of levels, the Rec League double header.

Another Get together___

After yesterday's game, I hooked up with 2 old friends at the local Bob Evans Restaurant. I have known Bob and Don since Junior High School when the family moved to Celina in late 1962...Don moved across the state line a few years later, and finished high school near Portland, Indiana...Bob and I were next door neighbors throughout high school, when we lived out by the Montezuma Airport. After high school and our military days, we hung around Celina, rode our Kawasaki Motor Cycles together for several years...I headed off to various parts of the country, Bob stayed around these parts, we see each other on occasion these days, and it's always good together, especially when a funeral is not involved. Don and Bob were close in those early high school years and beyond, I had not seen Don for over 40 years until he stopped by with his wife "Sam" on their Harley earlier this summer...seems they were looking for Bob, and his daughter found this blog, with a few photos of us...it all fell into place after that.

We had a good 2 hours get together yesterday and discussed what had been going on these past decades...time indeed does fly. We found out that while Don and wife continue to ride{just getting back from one trip, and getting ready to head out on another}, Bob and I had given our "biker" days up years ago...2 wrecks, at least 1 too many, was my excuse...Bob and I had some interesting times though...we all agreed, that alcohol and riding do not mix. Not sure if I always followed that 35 years ago. In addition to being older, Bob at 61, me at 60, and Don turning 60 next month, we seem to have become much wiser. Although the photo at the top appears to look right out of the 2007 movie "Wild Hogs" with Tim Allen and John Travolta(Minus the Cycles), not sure I could do 2000 miles on a Harley, those trips back from Vegas in the Jeep were hard enough over the past few years.

Will have more on our visit later this week....when I take a look at one of Don and Sam's road Harley trips to Brown County, Indiana. We parted with a decision to get together with the wives for dinner out down the road...at our ages we probably shouldn't wait another 40 years however. :)

Red Sky in Morning____

Up before sunrise, I checked out the radar and forecast...rain moving up from the south and a 60% chance for showers, and maybe a thunderstorm before night fall...by the looks of the radar screen, it will get here before then....I'm hopeful it will stay dry until about 5pm when our games will have ended. Then the rains can come, we, at least in Mercer County, need a bunch, if for nothing else, the lawns and rivers....

Photos-{double click for large up close view}Yesterday at Bob Evans...Me, Don, and Bob...older and perhaps wiser, but don't bet on that...it was a good visit. And looking east at the Immaculate Conception Church this morning...we will find out if the "Red Sky" predicted the rainy weather correctly by later this afternoon.

Rick's Place and Mammoth Moths

Rick's Place____The temps dropped down a few degrees yesterday for my trip to northeastern Indiana. I headed north and west 65 miles to my buddy Rick's place north of Fort Wayne. Rick and I have known each other since high school in Celina...we worked as Carry Out guys at Marsh Supermarket in Celina, back in the mid 60s. Got Drunk together for our first times(I think I was 17 and he might have been 16), both were Military Police during the Vietnam war, Rick in the Army, me in the Air Force...I went to Vietnam, he lucked out and got stationed in Belgium. In 1976 he was my best man when I married Patricia in Wisconsin, I returned the favor when he married his wife Toni in the early 1980s. We now get together every New Year for Football Bowl Games, in the late Spring in Michigan to Mushroom hunt, and see each other a few other times during the year.

Rick and Toni live in the country not far from Fort Wayne...they have lived in the open spaces since their marriage...a few years ago they purchased 17 acres a few miles from their home in northeast Indiana...with the kids moving out, they had planned on building on the property...in the meantime, Rick had a 2 acre pond dug, stocked with pan fish and Bass, planted in quality trees, and built a 3 car garage and workshop....they rented out the remaining 10 acres to have farmed. I had been out to the property on several occasions, smoked some cigars in the garage and walked around the pond. It is a nice peaceful place.

Tomorrow has come___

Out of the blue they have an offer on their home, and if all goes well with the sale, they will be building their dream house starting soon....by New Year 2011 we should be enjoying our Bowl watching at his new place.

Yesterday Rick and I headed out to the pond for a few hours, BSing, smoking some of my new Cigars, and walking the property viewing what will be down the road a few months. It was a relaxing day.

After the visit I headed for Van Wert where I took in a Football Rules meeting, just one more to go, as the high school football season approaches the half way point. I feel a cold coming on, which sucks, since I have a boat load of games coming up: Tonight a Junior High double header at the Wife's school at St. Henry, tomorrow a Varsity contest at Minster, JV game at Convoy on Saturday Morning, and a double header with Sam in the Celina Rec League Sunday...Monday I finish up a long stretch with a Freshman game here in Celina as they take on arch rival St. Marys. Then I get a few days off before going back at if for the seasons second half.

Giant Moths___

In my photo of the day, I put up a shot of one of the Mammoth Moths that frequent my back yard on occasion, usually during the late spring or early summer...sometimes I am lucky enough to get them to stick around for a photo shoot, or even to handle them before they lumber off to do whatever large fliers like these do. My English Island Blogging friend Shrinky:

http://shrinky1.blogspot.com/

Commented on the moth photo, so I have decided to post some of the large buggers from the past years, that we have found hanging around the yard and fence.

Bigger than my fairly large hands...I enjoy these guys when they visit, although they don't do it often enough.

Busy football work coming up, back later>>>>

Photos-The moths that frequent the yard in the past are usually referred to as Cecropia....large members of the Polyphemus Family, although no expert am I. And Rick's property with the long winding drive along a long ago abandoned railroad right of way. Looking acorss the 2 acre pond at his workshop and garage, and the water lilly plants that his daughter set in the pond.

Jimmy Carter as "The Village Idiot"

Our peanut brained former President, "Jumma" Carter thinks all of us ignorant anti Obama folks must be racists, if we dare to speak out against the Kenyan Messiah:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/09/15/carter_claims_there_is_racist_tone_against_obama.html

Ol' Jimmy, the Islamic Terrorist Loving SOB is without a doubt, not only the dumbest Prez we have ever had, he's the worst by a country mile...he makes LBJ look like a genius. My guess is however, by the time 2012 rolls around, we will have a new candidate for worst President ever.

Ya hear me Barry? You've got a long way to go to top Carter for buffoonery, but I know you can do it. If you want to hear and see a real "racist", take a gander at another "Georgia Peach", Congressman Johnson:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/09/15/congressman_people_will_wear_white_hoods_if_wilson_not_rebuked.html

Of course we all know, only white people can be "racists"....but this Con-Ass-Man seems to think the KKK will be coming out of the closet if Joe Wilson doesn't get rebuked for calling Obama a liar...yep, don't want our Congressional leaders telling the truth about our illegal Prez, would we?

Heading over to northern Indiana and hook up and hang out with my old buddy Rick...back later>>>

Football Upgrade/Diabetes 2 Diet

As late summer moves towards early fall, the dry but outstanding weather continues...yesterday was a little hot out at Celina Stadium for the High School JV game between the local Bulldogs and Wapakoneta. The visiting Redskins won 12-0. I managed to get myself run over in the 3rd quarter with no damage, except a few grass stains on my white shorts. Working the Umpire position{behind the defensive line about 7 yards}, I got caught up in a fullback run, with 4 defensive players gang tackling the back, I, slow footed that I am, got run over...no damage, except to maybe my pride.

Tonight I am at a Celina Rec Department game, as a youth team takes on Sidney Lehman...tomorrow morning, I plan on heading over to Rick's place in Indiana...things are getting pretty damn boring around here, and I need to get out and about before the cold weather kicks in.

Speaking of Football. As many readers know, I have been a High School baseball umpire for many years...this year garnering enough votes to make me eligible for the State Tourney for the first time...I did a number of Tournament games, including multiple games in the Sectionals and District, and a Regional Semi Final at Patrick Henry High School. In baseball I feel comfortable doing the higher levels, and about 90% of my games are at the High School Varsity or American Legion level. Not so much in Football{4 years} or Basketball{2 years}. I am eligible to do Varsity, but at 60 years old I thought I would stick with the lower levels...this Friday however, I will get my chance to work a higher level game at a High School Varsity contest.

I've never been a Back Judge...they don't exist at the lower levels. In a 5 man Varsity Crew, the Back Judge takes a position about 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage and basically looks for pass interference or other infractions...with at least one of the teams being pass oriented, I will get a work out Friday Night...I'm hoping I can keep up, and my legs will hold out. If this filling in on a veteran crew for one night and one game works out..I might do it more often, if not, I'll stick to the lower levels, for football at least.

How's the Diet Going?______

A few weeks ago I was told by the family doc that my blood sugar levels were elevated. After a second round of blood tests it was decided that I was inflicted with Diabetes 2 in it's early stages. No medication at this time, but I was to meet with a Hospital Dietitian at St. Marys and begin a balanced diet...since I was diagnosed August 21st, I have lost 14 pounds, in the 12 days since I met with the dietitian at Joint Township and begin the diet balanced with fats, carbs, and calories, I have dropped 7 1/2...down to 200.5 pounds{my scale does the 1/2 pound increments}. My goal was to drop to 180 and stay off any other medications...I do take a low level aspirin and Lisinopril for my moderate levels in my Blood Pressure readings. Speaking of which...even with the meds, my BP has been reading at 145-150 over 70/80. Since I began this diet journey in addition to the pounds lost, my BP reading are now down this morning, after a steady drop last week, to 133/70 with a resting heart rate of 64. Not bad for an old fart.

I have not weighed 180 pounds since before I began heavy weight lifting and training back 20 years ago at the age of 40...I don't doubt that I can do this, just don't want to drop it too quick, because you lose muscle along with the fat...not good. The diet is pretty simple, and you can balance fat, carbs, sweets, alcohol, etc....at around 2000 calories a day, you can eat plenty, and eat well. I plan on dropping it before the Holiday eating season, the key is making it through Christmas and New Year's football watching season...after that, it should be a breeze right up until next spring. I will continue to follow and post my progression on my back pain and other pains in the ass blog at:

http://patsbackissues.blogspot.com/

back later>>>>