Kokomo Vietnam Reunion part 3..more from The Boar's Nest

Got a call early yesterday afternoon for the Celina High Athletic Department...due to the heavy rain they were moving the game from Celina Stadium to the Track field at the High School.  Lucky for them they did, the heavy rains continued off and on throughout the afternoon and the game...the field became a muddy mess by the time the Wapakoneta and Celina JVs finished their game.  After a 0-0 stalemate in the first half, Wapak took advantage of several turnovers and a big return to pull away 26-0.  Hardly a true test of football skill at any level.  Tonight I stay in Celina for an 8th grade contest....hopefully at the stadium, since it is drying off, because the track field looks like a war zone at this point.

Kokomo Part 3

After settling in a the Boar's Nest Campsite, the sun quickly changed to clouds as the afternoon progressed.  We grabbed some food at the free tent, one of the local churches provides(refusing any donations from the campers).  Another church does the same for breakfast, working their free fare before the official opening of the event on Friday, where the vendors sell their food and snacks.

We were preparing for DJ Carl and his Old Time Rock and Rock Show.  Carl was the hit of my short stay last year...he was again going to play his thousands of CD Classics under the stars this year...however a fly in the ointment came in the form of rain...no outside music with the downpour, however the officers of the HCVVO gave Carl and the attendees the keys, as it was, to the clubhouse bar, and Carl moved his music inside, where he would spin the CDs until 1am.

The music poured, some home made concoctions were sampled, and some of the old geezers even got out on the dance floor...I watch the show, and played a little pool.  Drank a few beers, and sampled some of the stuff in fruit jars.  Everclear topped with a dozen or so varieties of fruit.  Unlike last year, I took it slow this Wednesday night, and got through the night, without staggering back to the Nest.  This year we piled 6 of us on and hanging off a golf cart, and make out way back to "Sweetie Pie" and our various beds in her domain.

The skies cleared overnight leaving us with 40 degrees overnight and a cool north wind for the day Thursday.  On this day we would swap stories with a group of guys from the Marines, and Army Infantry.  Our biggest kick was telling "Tommy" from the Army. "Our Air Force Cop Vietnam War Stories".  We watched as he looked in amazement of our stories of warm beds, clean sheets, hot food, and hot showers.  By the time we added our stories of Steaks on an open pit, movies in Air Conditioned theaters, and cold beer, he had us rolling with his facial changes and comments...finally telling us~"I was in a different War than you guys, I was lucky to have a canteen of water".  We convinced him that our stories were true(and they were, even though maybe stretched a bit)...all-in-all that hand full of Marines and Army grunts became pretty close to the Boar's Nest crowd that Thursday.

As the sun finally peeked through the clouds, and the north wind died down...we headed out for more entertainment in the form of Russell doing his one man musical act, then following on stage a group called the Lemon Wheel, of 4 girls and 5 guys played various music, most from out era, until 11:30 or so.  Tom McCandless and I were the last to survive, and we headed back to camp to finish off the beers in my cooler, swapping stories with the Bay City, Michigan, neighbors, before hitting the sack.

I would be remiss to try to tell you that this is all fun and games however.  There are still wounds that may never heal, and some memories, unlike mine that are mostly pleasant, are not the stuff of fun and games.  War is war, and not all glory for many.  One of Tom's buddies Don Davidson, who camps just east of the Boar's Nest, is a great guy...but one that, like the Marines and Army guys we hooked up with, has a different view of the War in Vietnam, and the America we came home to.  His poem that he penned several years ago, and left at "The Wall" in DC is listed at the bottom of today's post.

More tomorrow~photos and stories

back later>>>>

Photos from Kokomo...(1)"Sweetie Pie" greets all who pass by the "Boar's Nest" on the south side of the Howard County VV Grounds...glow sticks of one sort of the other always show the way.  Santa and his helper Carl The DJ Elf...(2) Carl, Santa and a dozen or more others spent Friday afternoon collecting for the VA hospital and rest home nearby, all proceeds go to make sure forgotten veterans of all wars and not forgotten by their brothers and friends.(3) Me, on Wednesday night taking a small sip of "Apple Pie"...I'm sure more than a few have been sneaked up on by this concoction of Everclear and other special ingredients.  (4) Our new found friends from the Army and Marines gather as the Thursday entertainment begins....(5) Tom, the Boar's Nest leader and "Tommy" our new found Army buddy who the Air Force Sky Cops drove just a little nuts with our stories of our lives in Vietnam...as he said, "You guys were in a different war".   Below~(6) Don Davidson sits in his golf cart in the afternoon sun, (7) and his poinent poem telling of his views on Vietnam

Back from Kokomo...Vietnam Veterans Reunion part 2

Heavy rain this morning, it must have started just after 4am when I let the old Airedale, Reagan, out for her morning break.  I gave her a biscuit, headed back to the sack, and when I awoke at 7:30, it was pouring pretty good.  Over the weekend I worked 5 games, 3 football and 2 baseball, and my legs, especially the right hamstring, feels it.  Between the officiating and sleeping in the van during the Kokomo Reunion, the age shows, and the pain takes longer to subside....neck, legs, back, plus a slight cold, and cold sores on my lips{from being out in the wind and sun}....tells me, I need another break...but I know that won't happen anytime soon.  JV Football at Celina tonight, probably in the rain, and a 8th grade game here tomorrow....with the rest of the week looking busy, but the weather appears to be cooler and dryer from here on out...after today's 100% chance of moister.

Kokomo, the arrival on Wednesday____

I packed up the van on Tuesday night and was ready to head the 85 miles west early Wednesday morning...gas tank full, a large 24 oz cup of coffee from the Marathon Station, and I was on my way.  12 miles to the Indiana border then the back roads from there, I arrived at the Howard County site on Indiana 26, at 10:30 Wednesday morning, paid my fee, and worked my way through the tents, golf carts, and campers to the Boar's Next site on the far south end of the field.....West 162 is the address.

I found "Sweetie Pie" the stuffed boar {see yesterday's night photo} but no Tom or Sam were in sight....that didn't matter however, as I was greeted by Mike, Dewey, and Jerry....

Mike Fitzgerald is not a Vietnam Veteran, but the southern Indiana policeman has more invested in the Vietnam war than many of us who served.  Mike's father John W. Fitzgerald Jr, was Killed In Action in December 1967.  Mike has made it a life's work to honor his father and his memory with as many photos and pieces of archival information in a tent at his and Dewey's campsite.  Mike points out the only photo of his dad that he had(Mike was about 10 when his dad was KIA), then showcases the other information, letters, and photos, that were shared with him by those that knew his dad during that tour.....quite an impressive tent, with mountains of memorabilia and photos that he shares with those that stop by.

http://www.virtualwall.org/df/FitzgeraldJW01a.htm

Sitting drinking coffee with this trio before Sam Lewis and Tom McCandless, the "curator" of the Boar's Nest returned....Jerry introduced himself, asking where I was from in Mercer County, as he had noticed my license plates.  "Celina" I answered, "Where you from"?  "Antwerp" was the answer....I then realized I had met Jerry before at my aunt's funeral and a family wedding.  Asking the usual question I do with anybody from that small northwest Ohio town..."Do you know my Uncle Jack, or as you guys call him John DeVore"?  "Of course" was the reply..."We are good friends"...everybody knows my Uncle Jack and his family.  I would see Jerry and down a drink or two with him a few more times before I left Friday afternoon.

Soon after Tom and Sam returned, and I was treated with stories of the early part of the weeks do-ins'.  Seems some of the gang had gotten an early start on Monday night, and took Tuesday to recover, they would be ready to go again Wednesday night.  Sam had arrived from Virginia on Sunday night, and Tom arrived early Monday afternoon...

That's the great thing about the reunion....although it doesn't start officially until Friday morning at 11, the regulars, and retired folks, arrive much earlier...some as much as a week early, or even more.  That crowd is pretty well in full reunion/party mode by the time the weekend arrives.  Thousands of campers are already on site and the preliminary fun has began, before the raising of Old Glory on Friday Morning....in addition to the campers, you have the local vets who stay in town, along with those that fill up the local hotels and motels, nary a spot is to be found at the campground, overflow grounds, or local sleep locations.

Plenty of "War Stories", most done with humor, were swapped and shared throughout my 50+ hours at Kokomo this year.  Despite the rain on late Wednesday afternoon and evening, the HCVVO board opened up the bar space under cover and several hundred of us partied well into the night...I just wish I had taken a photo of 6 of us heading back to the Boar's Nest on a single golf cart....that would have been priceless!

As it is, I will have more photos from the Wednesday night outing on tomorrow's blog.....along with Don Davidson's poem about returning home from that conflict many years ago....

back later>>>>


Photos-Tom McCandless the Mayor/Curator of "The Boar's Nest" at the HCVVO Reunion...a fellow "Sky Cop" who served his entire tour with Big Sam Lewis at Phan Rang....Swapping "War Stories" at the tent at the Boar's Nest on Wednesday afternoon.  Mike Fitzgerald and his display honoring his day John Fitzgerald Jr., from Louisville, Kentucky, who was Killed in Action on 13 December 1967.  And from Wednesday night, at the moved indoor DJ Carl's Musicfest..."Antwerp" Jerry having a ball, and me(looking more than a bit intoxicated) and my buddy Sam Lewis listen to the music...we even got in a few rounds of pool, which, if I remember correctly, we both won a game or two.

Back from Kokomo...Vietnam Veterans Reunion part 1

I returned from the Howard County(Indiana) Vietnam Veterans Reunion on Friday...the event continued through this morning, and was without a doubt another outstanding success.  Even as our numbers drop at an alarming rate, the number of Veterans of all wars, their friends and families, continues to fill the campground on Route 26 and the local Kokomo area motels and overflow sites.  I am guessing 6000 campers and another 15 thousand "day trippers".

Although the "official" kick off for the H.C.V.V.O Reunion is on Friday, many of the campers arrive a week or more in advance to campout, party, bs, and just visit, and swap war stories, which get bigger and better each year.

I arrived early Wednesday morning and set up shop at Tom McCandless's "Boar's Nest"...located at the southern most road next to the fence and farm field, Tom's place is never hard to find, as "Sweety Pie" the stuffed Boar's Head is always on the alert.  As this week progresses, I will have several days of photos and stories to tell.

In addition to the Boar's Nest group, there were more than a few Vietnam Security Police Association members on hand, many of whom will be with us at Dayton next month for our annual VSPA annual reunion.  Along with Tom, Sam Lewis, and me, others in attendance at Howard County from the VSPA included John Rowston, Tony Morris, founding member John Langley, who got me signed up back in 1999, John Zolinac, Phil Savage, and a few others I am sure I am forgetting their names.  It was a good USAF "Sky Cop" turnout....

Along with the regular crew, there were other occasion that proved it was indeed a small world, folks with ties to my old home town of Venice, Florida(including John Langley), and Jerry Wycuff from Antwerp, Ohio, who was sitting at our camp when I arrived....and immediatly I asked him if he knew my Uncle Jack DeVore....and find out he not only knew him they were good friends, and was at my Aunt's funeral, and their son Mike, and grand kids wedding over the past decade.  I thought I recognized the face....

Sadly I had to leave early, and with a cold coming on, and 3 football and 2 baseball games to officiate/umpire over the weekend, it was probably best I did, although I sure hated to leave early...and God willing will be there for a longer spell next June at the mini, and again in September for the regular get together....this year 52 hours on the ground, hopefully next year at least 96.

Back tomorrow with the details of my week at Kokomo and the effects this reunion has on all that attend.

Meanwhile here are the first of the photos and descriptions:

Top:  from left to right, Vietnam Security Police Association Members:  PRH, Tom McCandless, Sam Lewis, and founding member John Langley...Langley was a K9 handler at Tan Son Nhut, Tom and Sam were stationed their entire Vietnam tour together at Phan Rang, and I was at Nha Trang in 1969, in Law Enforcement, and at Tan Son Nhut in 1970 working night time security.  "Sweety Pie" the wild boar and guarding the Boar's Nest during the encampment....K9 Handler Phil Savage out of Michigan, with his Air Conditioning unit for K9s(tongue firmly in cheek) in a tropic war zone.  And more VSPA, as Tony Morris, another veteran member and Organization Photographer at the Boar's Nest with three of the usual suspects. 

more tomorrow....

Kokomo Vietnam Veterans Reunion 2011 preview

The weather continues back and forth between Summer and early Autumn...yesterday on the warm and humid side as I headed to Celina Stadium to work the Defiance/Celina Freshman Football game....The Host team came out on top 32-14 in the battle of the Bulldogs.  Tonight, Sam and I have a youth league varsity game at 6pm then will head for Van Wert to take in the local rules meeting. 

I met Tom Friedly and Nick at the Pullman Bay Restaurant this morning for breakfast, that took about 45 minutes.  Also on the agenda today is a haircut and getting ready for Kokomo.....

Kokomo 2011____

The Howard County Vietnam Veterans reunion is this weekend.  Now called the All Veterans Reunion, it officially kicks off Friday, but I'm as I type this, the campgrounds are already pretty well filled, as upwards of 20,000 vets, their families and friends will gather in the farmlands east of Kokomo.

http://www.hcvvo.org/hcvvo_006.htm 

I lived in Kokomo back in 1979 for about 8 months, working as Morning News Anchor at WIOU Radio in that blue collar town of nearly 50,000.  For the past 3 decades, A rural area near Greentown, just east of Kokomo, has been home to one of the largest reunions of Vietnam Veterans in the world.   Last year I had a short stay at my buddy Tom McCandless Boars Nest Campsite....this year I will make it awhile longer.

I will head out tomorrow morning, leaving Sam to be the watchful eye on the abode, while I spend 50 hours or so camping, visiting, and mostly BS'ing with old and new friends from that conflict long ago.  One of these years, when my football officiating days are over, I will attempt to stay the entire week, like Tom and Big Sam Lewis will do this time around. 

One thing for sure, whatever the weather(and it looks cool after today, real cool), the bands will be playing, the food will be plentiful, the BS'ing in large doses, and the Moonshine and other adult beverages flowing......

Of course Tom Mc and Sam Lewis will also be at Dayton next month for our Vietnam Security Police Reunion at Wright-Patterson, as will Harry Bevan, Tony, Bruce, and a few other guys that I have not seen in over 40 years, since our Law Enforcement days at Nha Trang Air Base on the South China Sea..   Damn~How time does fly!

This means the next 4 weeks will be filled to the brim, with football, and reunions....I plan on enjoying it as much as possible...

back later>>>>

Photos-Pins, Hats, and Neckwear, all part of the Kokomo Reunion....Sam Lewis, Me, and Tommy Mac, along with "Sweety Pie" at Boar's Nest Campsite last year....and a small part of the gang, before things got too rowdy last September.  Finally and me and Harry Bevan, 42 years ago in the Summer of 69, at Nha Trang, working Day Shift Law...I'm sure neither one of us will have changed a bit, when we meet up next month in Dayton.

The Weekend...Where Did It Go?

Although I often mention my age, and sometimes complain about getting older, I still sometimes am amazed how much one can spend doing in a realitivly short time span...the last few days, and next few weeks, it appears, will be as busy as it gets for this old timer.

Thursday____

In the rain I headed for St. Henry and officiated in a 3 man crew for a Junior High Football double header between league rivals Parkway and St. Henry....it rained off and on during the contests, and as I headed for home I realized the old bones were going to need a hot bath.   Now as a person who takes showers two or three times a day during the Summer months, I had not taken a sit down soaking bath in about a decade.  Patricia added some magic soap to the water and I relaxed for about a half hour soaking with a cold beer by the tub.  Wet fields and weather are not good on the knees, back, butt, and legs for sure.  Afterward I grabbed another beer and sat down and watched the Packers/Saints shoot-out, won by Green Bay in a high scoring close one.
 
Friday_____

Mowed our lawn, then about 5:30 I packed up my varsity gear and headed for Parkway High School, where I would fill in as Head Linesman in a game between the same two schools at Rockford. Parkway would host St. Henry in a Midwest Athletic Conference game....

By this time the rain was gone and the weather, albeit somewhat humid, was fine for football....St Henry took down the Panthers and won their opening MAC game by a 42-19 count.  

I sometimes wonder what the Hell I'm doing officiating football at this age...then I checked out the combined ages of the crew I was filling in on....281 years old!!!!  And that's with a 27 year old line judge, who was also filling in....73, 62, 62, and 57 were the rest of us....time for some new blood in the Ohio Football Officials world.  But when you have a few clueless jerkoffs coaching who blame their own failings on officials and umpires, you get what you get.  Young guys, for the most part, just don't want to put up with the BS...and I don't blame them.  I couldn't have done it at 25 or even 30, and don't fault the young guys for not putting up with it.  at the pay scale, it's not for the money, so unless you love the game, and some don't mind some conflicts, why would you officiate?  I just happen to love the games and the workouts, and don't mind some good old fashion heat...especially from guys who were not even hatched when I got started, playing, coaching, and umpiring/officiating.  Sometimes you just kick back and laugh.....don't get me wrong, there are some good people coaching, and like officiating there are some stinkers, neither side has a contract for greatness. signed and sealed.

Saturday_____

Still sore and more than a little tired, I headed for Convoy, to work the Junior Varsity contest between host Crestview and Wayne Trace, two old rivals....Wayne Trace won a 2+ hour marathon and I was headed back to Celina...where I would grab a bite to eat, a shower, and then head to New Knoxville, where I would work the plate in two-6 inning games with the area youth fall baseball league.  These kids are in Junior High and Freshman High School....I worked the plate for about 4 1/2 hours, and headed home for a few beers.

The fall baseball thing came up when an umpire canceled, and they called me...I had put away the gear for the season, but told them I could help out...so Saturday 3 games, one football and two baseball...now they are asking me to help out a few more weeks..??  Glutton for punishment, just call me.

So the glutton I am looked forward to Sunday.....

Patricia, Anissa, and I, with sister Marty and mom following us. headed for Centerville....a dozen or more women would have a baby shower for Hal's wife Lisa, and the guys, 9 of us would head for Springboro and golf 18 holes....our four hour golf outing ended up being over 5 1/2 and we sat out a rain/lightning delay as we got called off the course on the green of the 9th hole.  I should have stayed in the clubhouse and watched football, as my back nine was a shoddy 63....after shooting a 53 on the front.  Now mind you I had not touched a club until Hal and my outing in July, in over 8 years....so yep, I stink...but did hit a few good shots.

By the time Patricia and I dropped Anissa off at her place, it was 10pm....and I was wondering where the Hell had the last 72 hours or so gone?

Games in Celina tonight and tomorrow.....a MRSI Board meeting at 11:30 today, and the Kokomo Howard County Vietnam Veterans encampment coming up on Wednesday....it's going to be another busy week.

back later>>>>


Photos-Golf is not my game, here I am from earlier this summer the first time playing since the turn of the century or so...but even then it was better than I fared on the water filled course yesterday....The 72 hour period from Thursday afternoon until last night was filled with 5 football games officiated, 2 baseball games umpired and 18 holes of fun but bad golf by me.....color me bushed.  The final photo is youngest son Hal teeing off in July.  Although rough around the greens and close iron play, he can hammer the ball 325-350 yards, sometimes straight....and that can make up for some bad play near the greens....but he's not in his Grandpa Callies league just yet.

September 11th~Ten Years After

The stalled low pressure area continues to play havoc with our weather....the cool, wet, and unpleasant conditions prevail....but I have to admit, it's better than the near 100 with high humidity to match that we endured late last week and into the Labor Day weekend.  They call for things to improve, but so far, I'm not buying it.  It has that late October early November feel to it.  It will not be pleasant tonight at St Henry working a Junior High double header, but as before, still better than triple digits.

9/11 approaching 10 years....

The conditions are in stark contrast to that day nearly 10 years ago, September 11, 2001, when the world changed.  On that day, both here in western Ohio and the east coast of the United States, dawned almost cloudless, with 70 and 80 degree temperatures under those bright blue skies.  

Where were you on 9/11/01?  

When I first got word of  the massacre in New York, I was sitting at my desk at the Van Wert County Health Department.   I had the early days of Glenn Beck's national radio show on in the background on WOWO Radio.  We only had the Internet at work for maybe 2 or 3 years at the time, and I was working on inspection reports, when I looked at the computer screen, which was on it's Yahoo Page...I noticed an Aerial shot of the World Trade Center and saw a fire and gaping whole in the side of one of the towers...about that time WOWO broke in with a bulletin.  I don't remember what the reports said exactly, but it was something like "A small plane has crashed into the World Trade Center in New York".  Within the hour we would know it wasn't a small plane at all, but the first of multiple terrorist flown hijacked passenger jets to make the world as we knew it stand still.


In those days I didn't blog or still know much about the Internet, but I did keep a written diary...for some reason that day I didn't write anything, but did make note the next day, Wednesday September 12th....stating simply :                    


                                      "Arab Terrorists Bomb World Trade Center with Hijacked Planes...
                                         Pentagon hit as well...KAOS!"


Naive and simple to be sure...by Thursday the 13th I would pen "Looks like upwards of 20,000 dead--Rescue efforts continue...Still not sure what our response is going to be-----"


By the end of the week we all knew the death toll, while horrific, was not going to approach the 20 thousand mark, or even the 5,000 that I was writing about in my daily diary on the following Monday September 17th....the days and weeks ahead would bring the war in Iraq, and bombing in Afghanistan....it would also bring our "Americans Unite" mode to an end.

We as a country and both left and right "united" for but a few short months...after that the left and the press changed course, and nutjobs like Ron Paul on the right and the usual suspect on the left, decided it was time to take up for Islam and blame America, American Policy, and Conservative Americans for the attacks.  And the hate between the left and right continues to this day.  No longer is America united as it was for a few weeks after 9/11/01.  We are at each others throats...you can lay the blame squarely on the main stream press and Democrat politicians like our current asshole-in-chief, and his lap dogs Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and NBC News, among many.


Yes, 10 years after the attack on America, we are still fighting wars against terrorism and radical Islam...but the greatest threat to the American Republic is the American Left and the American Press.  They continue to claim that the attacks were an "inside job" and that 90% of Muslims want to live in peace....I say Bullshit!  You might want to reverse that 90%...I've yet to meet even a handful of the worshipers of Allah that will condemn the 9/11 attacks.  And I've never met a left wing nut that will condemn them either...they are either too PC, to batshit crazy, or just plain Chicken Shit to say what they really believe, or to simply tell the truth.

Those are my thoughts and remembrances of 9/11/01.....the war against radical Islamics continues, the war between right and left is going full throttle as well.

back later>>>>

Photos-I saved two complete newspapers of that day....the September 11, 2001, local paper, The Celina Daily Standard, and the USA Today from the next morning September 12, 2001.   The 3rd page headline "Unite" was a fools gold wish, it didn't last.






















                                   
 

Gloomy September Weather...

The Heat of Early Labor Day Weekend has turned into the Cool, and Damp, of the post Holiday Week....

Again today, temperatures struggling to make it out of the 50s, with a drizzle of rain, after some heavy overnight showers, throughout the day....

No game tonight, and this will be my last free day until I head for the Vietnam Veterans/Howard County Reunion in outside Kokomo, Indiana, next week.....

back later>>>>

Photos-The Heat of last week has ended, and turned cooler than normal...highs will not get out of the 70s for the foreseeable future...

Pear Canning and Sci Fi Classics....

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, what a difference a short time can make in weather conditions, especially in Ohio and the upper Midwest....Friday and Saturday were brutally hot and dangerous, and by Sunday evening, and since, I'm almost tempted to turn on the furnace....but have held off on that for now.

Pear Canning____

 Friday after, in the heat and humidity, Patricia and I headed to a friends backyard orchard to pick pears....the fruit was falling off the trees at an alarming rate, and we needed to get those remaining off the limbs and in our baskets, in order to save them for canning...and we did, or at least I should say, my wife did.  She did most of the picking, while I held ladders.  It turns out she spent much of her final Holiday Weekend before November, working in the kitchen, peeling, cooking, and canning.  I admit to being no help except to toss out the skins and cores into the backyard compost pile.   By yesterday afternoon, she had canned 58 pints of Pears and another dozen quarts of Pear Preserves a massive 70 pints of goodness in all....I am set, Pear wise, for the next year or so.....I'm sure she wants no part of looking at anymore canning items until sometime next Summer.

It has been a strange year for gardens, and canning....the wet and cold spring, combined with the brutal hot July, has made for smaller numbers and size in some items, such as my Sunflowers, green beans, etc, and later harvest of sweet corn, and pears....it has been a wild year...and our personal harvest, still not complete(at least at Nick's place), but nearing the end.

Sci Fi Classics on Turner____

This morning I have been cruising the Internet, and catching some of my favorite 1950 Science Fiction Movies on Turner Movie Classic TV....right now they are in the middle of a great triple header, which takes me back to my childhood days.

"The Thing from Another World", "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" and "Them" are running now, with the campy schlock classic "Attack of the 50 foot Women" to come later in the day....great stuff.

The Thing has always been my personal favorite, while The Beast from 1953 is the first movie I remember seeing as a child.  We lived for a short while in mom's hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, and I recall seeing this movie in 1953 or so at a local Drive-In Theater back then.  I remember most vivid the Beast picking up a local cop by the head, as the hapless officer kicked and screamed...I'm not sure how if affected me back then, but I have always found that scene amusing in the nearly 60 years since it's release, I was but 4 when I first saw it, but I still remember that particular scene like it was just a week ago.

The Week Ahead____

The remainder of the week will be busy with football officiating, and then next week, the Kokomo/Howard County Vietnam Veterans reunion kicks off some 90 miles west of here in Indiana...I plan on hooking up with my VSPA buddies, Tom and Sam again this year, and hopefully spending a bit more time, at least 48 to 60 hours there...maybe more.  The weather ahead looks "promising" at this point, and that is always a plus.

 back later>>>>

Photos-Patricia spent most of the Labor Day Weekend, "Laboring" over a hot stove, Canning Pear and Pear Preserves for the next year.....and some of the greatest Sci Fi Classics are running today on Turner Movie Classics..."The Thing", The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms", and "Them" are three of my personal favorites./

Labor Day Weekend, the Hot and Cold of It...

After reaching near triple digits on Friday and Saturday, for record highs in West Central Ohio, the cool down began yesterday, and today it is in full swing, with temperatures, predicted for the mid 60s, but as of 3pm unlikely to make it out of the upper 50s....it is 58 as I type.

Friday was brutal...after she was done at school, Patricia and I headed to some friends house north of Celina and spent a couple of hours picking pears...and working up a sweat.  She has spent most of the weekend canning pears and pear preserves for the winter...more on that with tomorrow's blog.

On Saturday morning, by the time I headed for the stadium, the air was hardly moving...so despite a 10am start...the conditions were not good for football.  As it turned out, we got the Freshman game between Celina and O-G out of the way, although a couple of kids had heat exhaustion and were dismissed to the shady areas of Celina Stadium...we finished the 22-16 Ottawa win before Noon, and we were glad it was done. 

Meanwhile Sam was working the Ohio State vs Akron game...but was doing video directing and managed to stay out of the on field heat, as he worked the press box in the Buckeye 42-0 season opening win.  During the early part of that game, I saw the head Referee go down with heat exhaustion and never come back in...the conditions were indeed brutal.  The places that didn't get rain were steamy, while many locations in the Midwest, like the Notre Dame and Michigan games were either delayed or stopped/ended by heavy rain storms and strong lightning.

Saturday night some storms came through our area, and with it the cooler weather arrived....and both the rain and downturn in temperatures was welcome....

Our old buddy Tom is staying at Nick's place, after work at the horse farm in Deshler slowed....so Tom will take some time off before heading to Florida later this fall.  Yesterday Tom and I headed over to Nick's, downed a few beers and grilled fresh sweet corn picked from Nick's garden....I'm not a great sweet corn fan, but this is the way I like it when I do partake...Tom meanwhile downed at least 10 ears....can't imagine what that would do to my system, especially washing it down with multiple beers.

So Tom will be around for awhile hanging out on the south side of Grand Lake....

After we were done grilling the corn and picking melons, etc in the garden, I called Patricia to pick me up.  After months of getting up and taking Sunrise photos at Windy Point, this time I had the camera and talked her into driving down Windy Point Road, where I could get some Sunsets photos from the same area....the cool breeze parted the clouds just enough for some decent Sunset photos looking west across the lake.

This promises to be a busy football week....

Tomorrow I have a youth league game here in Celina, Thursday a Junior High Double header at St Henry, then Friday I will be filling in for a MAC Varsity game as St Henry travels to Parkway.  Frankly though, I am not sure even what position I will be working, although my guess is it will be one of the "wing" positions on the sidelines.  On Saturday I head for Convoy Crestview for a JV game at 10am.  Sunday Patricia and I head to Centerville....the women will be having a baby shower for Hal's wife Lisa, while the guys, 8 or so friends of Hal's and men from both families will be golfing...I should be the worst of those participating...but what the Hell?  I'll give it another shot...since I played fairly well back in July.

That's the Holiday weekend and a look ahead in a nutshell....

back later>>>>

Photos-A couple of "Sunset" photos from Windy Point on Grand Lake...a change of pace from my usual morning shots....and Tom downing probably his 10th ear of sweet corn out of Nick's garden, and when done there Left to Right, Tom, Nick, and PRH, enjoy a couple of Great Lake Brews...

Welcome to my Heat Wave.....

When I awoke at 5am or so it was still at 75 degrees and it was not going to drop, as west central Ohio heads for 98 today....breaking any records for this late in the year....tomorrow won't be much better.  Not going to be a good night for Varsity Football either, especially teams that have many players going both ways, on both offense and defense.  Probably going to be a night where the subs get some playing time at many schools.  Tomorrow morning, I luck out, our Freshman game at Celina begins at 10am, so we should be done before the real skin cooker weather begins.  Meanwhile Sam is working the Ohio State/Akron game, and even on the natural field, it's gonna be hot in Columbus by the time that one ends....98 today, 96 tomorrow, and then storms and cooler for the end of the Holiday week ahead, including Labor Day, which they say will barley reach about 70....that's more like it

This morning I was up early again, not sure if it's the Zocor, or just one of those nights that I couldn't stay asleep...but I took the opportunity to go on another early rise photo shoot.   With the haze it did not appear that I would get anything worthwhile while trying to get the sun coming up over the lighthouse at the intersection of 127 and Lakeshore Drive in Celina.   So after a few photos and a walk, I decided to just head towards Montezuma and Windy Point and enjoy the morning, before the heat got to be too much.

As I turned on 219 towards the point, I looked and the Sun was coming up a huge orange ball..."Damn" I think to myself, a wasted opportunity, as I could have taken a few shots of the lighthouse with the sun in the background....as it was I continued towards Windy Point, where I got some decent photos, but most I have seen before, I missed the opportunity to get what I wanted, The lighthouse in the rising sun...maybe next week sometime.

Despite the heat on tap for today, I have a few things I need to get done....the back yard needs mowed, that will take just 15 minutes, the rest of the yard is good to go for the weekend.  The van, which I am back driving since the Nitro is fixed(we hope), needs an oil change...heading for Wolfe's Tire for than at 11am....and then a wash and vaccum for the Montana.  Hope to lift some weights and do the treadmill....then kick back in the A/C and relax.

No big plans coming up for the Labor Day weekend, but remainder of the month and October, I do have a full plate on the table....

back later>>>>

Photos-A couple more Sunrise shots from Windy Point on Grand Lake this morning...I had hoped to get the sun coming up over the Lighthouse in Celina, but misjudged the effect of the haze, and missed out on that opportunity....and Norman Rockwell salute to Amateur Football is almost as old as me...from the Cover of the Saturday Evening Post on October 21, 1950....celebrating the "Kickoff" of a the three major football draws coming together this week...High School, College, and the NFL....

Summer Reruns...

It looks as if we will have at least a few more days of Summer...not normal summer weather, but the Florida like hot and humid stuff....lower to mid 90s for the next couple of days, with things getting better as the weekend progresses....that will make things a bit uncomfortable for football players and officials alike.

Speaking of uncomfortable/uncontrolled football...check out this story from Sarasota, Florida:

http://www.mysuncoast.com/news/local/story/Youth-football-referee-attacked-on-camera-in/No2et0n5CE6tQdbqGJInsQ.cspx

I grew up about 20 miles south of Sarasota, in Venice, and never did like that county seat, it appears it has only gotten worse in the past 50 years...the offenders appear to be the usual suspects....out of shape coaches/fathers, and uncontrolled punks playing....why the Hell any official would officiate that level in those circumstances is beyond me.

As for me, I have been challenged, but so far never had a punch thrown at me, let alone being assaulted...although there have been a few cases where I was forced to be vigilant.  Nothing like the above mess however.

The heat and humidity were already on the rise by the time I walked out to give the birds and backyard squirrels their allotment of feed for the day...the bees had already started their days work on the Sunflowers, as the summer winds down, but not before a few more very warm days...

back later>>>>

Photos-My backyard Sunflowers are attacked by the backyard bees, as Summer winds down.