Tan Son Nhut Memories, or lack of....part 2

As I headed out for my daily walk around the fairgrounds yesterday, after my weight lifting session, I realized that I would be needing a bit more clothing than I have in the past....so I donned my winter coat with "hoodie" attached.  The wind was whipping pretty strong from the southwest, and the temperature was in the mid to upper 30s, that would be the high for the day.  Today, and again tomorrow, it will be just as windy, coming out of the southwest at 25 mph or so, but temperatures will moderate, reaching the upper 40s today, and mid 50s tomorrow.

Tonight and tomorrow the Regional finals in High School football will be played.  Garry is still officiating, working the Backjudge spot at Wapakoneta tonight as WBL's Elida takes on one of the Columbus teams...due to Elida being in the playoffs, my Varsity girls scrimmage at Lincolnview has been canceled....tomorrow I have a Junior High scrimmage at Delphos Jefferson...taking next week off in anticipation of Thanksgiving, and the possibility of Grandson #1 being born...so far however, Kaysn is refusing to be rushed out into the world.

Tan Son Nhut part 2

I mentioned yesterday that my days and months at Tan Son Nhut, were completely different than those at Nha Trang.  At my first duty station, Nha Trang, I was situated on the South China Sea, we had a beach, and I worked day flight Law Enforcement... the 14th SPS was a small squadron, among the smallest, especially compared to what I would see at Tan Son Nhut.  I believe we had no more than a dozen of us working each shift, and perhaps, if you included Security and K9 handlers, maybe 75 or 80 Sky Cops at one time, on the base.  Also I remember many of the guys I worked with, and their names....Bevan, Claflin, Payan, Niemotka,Thompson, Walsh, Sloan, Lange, and others, and many of those I still have contact with today.  Fast forward to Saigon:

When I arrived at Tan Son Nhut on December 27, 1969, it was a completely different world...same country, still in the Air Force, still a cop,  but the location and duty were completely different.  Once I got situated in the 1300 compound, I walked over to the 377th SPS HQ and processed in.   It pretty much was a blur after that...I was assigned to C Flight Security with as many people as comprised our entire squadron with the 14th at Nha Trang...I ended up working mostly ECHO Sector.  My first night on duty was December 30th/31st and I {although I didn't know the history at the time} was placed at the infamous Bunker O51 location..."51" although rebuilt, was ground zero for the Tet Offensive nearly two years earlier, on the night and morning of 30/31 January 1968.  Four SPs lost their lives that night on that bunker, dozens of NVA and Viet Cong also lost theirs during the assault. 

Of course if you read news accounts of the day, or listened to the American Idiot Walter Cronkite, tell the world that we had lost the war, you would think TET was the American "Waterloo"...in reality, at Tan Son Nhut, and throughout Vietnam, the Americans and their South Vietnamese allies kicked the crap out of Charlie and the north...but of course in the minds of the haters of America, like Uncle Walter and the rabid left, that would never do....so they lied, and the suckers back home bought it, hook, line, and sinker.


After that first night at the new Bunker 051, I do not remember manning it again.  I would spend the next 3 months or so, working mostly the towers in Echo Sector, on occasion I would work foot patrol around the flight line and the LOX{liquid oxygen} Plant.  Then in March 1970, a new flight was formed...It was to be officially named "Resource Protection" or unofficially "Blue Patrol".  We were a small group of mostly trouble makers, long hairs, and guys they wanted to keep away from the inspecting eyes of superiors that liked "spit and polish", the men of Blue Patrol, were anything but spit and polish.

I would work the first week walking the building areas of the inner base..."protecting" the huge base from thieves both military and civilian....then, being one of the few NCO types, a  Buck Sargent, with time in country, but little left, I was assigned the Coffee Wagon.  I, armed with my M16 and .38 Smith and Wesson side arm, would drive that Jeep around for eight hours in the dark and make sure the dozen or so other Blue Patrol guys were awake, BSing with them, giving them coffee, fruit, milk, or a smoke...it was a great way to finish off my duty in Vietnam.  First however, I would take R&R in Hawaii...that, and more Tan Son Nhut, in Part 3, coming on the next post.


back later>>>>

Photos-Me, on typical duty at Nha Trang, before heading to Tan Son Nhut...The firefight at Bunker 51 with Tango Tower 4 in the background.  Bunker 0-51 in it's better days, before the attack of TET...Who Won the TET Offensive?  Not this group of VC who met their maker at the hands of the Security Police and Army at Tan Son Nhut on 31 January 68.  And finally the map of Tan Son Nhut the day following TET....Bunker 51 is located on the Western Perimeter of the base.

  {First photo is from my collection, the others, in order, ASIS International, TSNA, TSNA, and VSPA, with my appreciation}

Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Processing the Memories, or lack of...part 1

Got out and walked yesterday, also began alternating my weight lifting regiment with Gladiator push-ups and other weight training in addition to those I do 3 days a week...why?  Frankly, Hell if I know, maybe it's the ego as I approach 63 this coming March, to show that I can still do this....what doesn't kill you just breaks down your body.

On the coming Grandson thing... youngest son Hal called, still no baby, and no plans on inducing labor...so Kaysn will come, it appears, when he is ready.  The actual due date is November 28th, but Lisa is more than ready, as the coming youngin' is already at the 8 pound plus mark....looks like he will be a Big One...just like his old man.

Weather~wise things have cooled, but he sun is shining, 40 for a high today, with some wind, so the walk may be a brisk one this afternoon...tonight I head for Coldwater to have a brew with "Wulfie" and Kent....

Processing Tan Son Nhut_____

I have written many times over the past 4+ years on this blog about my Vietnam "Experience".  Regular readers know that Nha Trang Air Base was my favorite duty, not only in Vietnam, but for my entire 3 years and 10 months in the Air Force....my "other" Vietnam base, Tan Son Nhut, located on the outskirts of Saigon, at times gets shorted in my flashbacks and memories.  As far as why?  Frankly I'm not so sure...but I have my guesses and opinions.

First off let me say, all of our Vietnam experiences are unique and different...no two could ever be the same.  As for the men of the Air Force Security/Air Police, I have not in the past 41 years since my return found two to be the same.  Some have, or claim to have PTSD{Post Traumatic Stress Disorder}, others suffer from the ravages of Agent Orange exposure.  I cannot, or will not, claim either...in my life, neither is something that I see as a part of my post Vietnam life.  My two duty stations, while different to the maximum in the Vietnam setting, are not something as I see as a negative.  We were cops, Air Force cops...some died, some were in short term combat, some like me, suffered from no more than a bout of insomnia.  Frankly, after the first few days in country, I never remember be scared, except perhaps while on a tower one stormy night on the Tan Son Nhut perimeter, when lighting was hitting near and around that 30 foot tower, and I climbed down out of that metal death trap and laid in the roadside ditch with the snakes and rats, figuring I was safer there than in that damn tower, not because of 'Charlie", but because of Mother Nature.

Despite the war around me, I just did not dread that year in Southeast Asia, and as I have said before, if not for the worry from the family back home, I would have spent the final two years in Vietnam, rather than with the Chicken Shit workings of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Griffiss Air Base in frozen upstate New York.  In fact, sick of SAC, I walked myself to base opts in the late spring of 1971, and volunteered to go back to Vietnam...but was told (1) The War is beginning to process down, so you can't go back unless (2) you re-up/extend for another 2 years.  Well, that took care of that, no way was I staying in the AF longer than I had signed up for.   I never regretted  joining, but that is not to say I liked military life...I hated every minute of it...I could not take orders, didn't like haircuts, and sure the Hell didn't like calling people "Sir" or saluting those,  that I had little respect for, and thought frankly that I was far more intelligent than{arrogant little prick that I was}.  So there I was...one more year at Griffiss, and then out on my own....perhaps in the long run, things were best that way...who knows what would have happened if I had returned, nobody but God, that I can say with confidence.

But back to TSN and the 377th SPS, my original purpose of today's blog post...

My friend from the VSPA, Charles Penley, created a web site for veterans of the 377th SPS a dozen or more years ago....and I discovered that site, about the same time I found the Vietnam Security Police Association{VSPA}....it was about that time I finally started to come to terms with my Air Force and Vietnam Service.  Not that I ever regretted either, but frankly for almost 30 years following Vietnam, I just choose to move on with my life and did not dwell on those years...they were in the past.  I hardly was ashamed that I was a Vietnam Veteran, but neither was I going to relive those days, while sowing my wild oats either...life had moved on once out of the Air Force, and back then, I was not into reminising, it just wasn't in the make-up, time sure has changed me, at least in that respect.   Now I embrace the bases and men I served with while in Vietnam and even those at Dover and Griffiss, my non-Vietnam bases...no I still hated the military service, just not those I served with or the service I performed.

To the point Patrick, to the point....Charles Penley, who served on "Charlie" Flight during the bloody Tet Offensive against Tan Son Nhut and the 377th SPS,  has updated his web site honoring those of us that served with the 377th SPS...and as was my point in this posting, the updated and new look 377th SPS web pages can be found at this link:
http://www.377sps.org/index.html 

You might even be able to find a photo of a 21 year old smart ass...listed on the ECHO Sector link, around the years 1969-70.  As for the Vietnam Security Police Association you can always find more about the life of the Air Force Security and Air Police in Vietnam there:
 http://www.vspa.com/aspprotect/vspa-nav-index-menu.asp 

And this is why I added "Part 1", as usual I've waxed nostalgic way too long for one sit down and read....more on this tomorrow, where  I will compare my memories, or lack of same, of service at Nha Trang and Tan Son Nhut.

back later>>>>

Photos-Top Left..the 1300 Compound of the 377th SPS, my living quarters were on the top floor of the second barracks in...there were two rows of 8 two story barracks, 16 in all, sandwiched between the Base Exchange/Movie Theater and the MARS Radio HQ...The map overview of Tan Son Nhut...I spent 4 months working the towers, bunkers, and flight line of Echo Sector, before working the inner sections of the base with the Resource Protection{Blue} Flight, both jobs under the cover of darkness on Charlie Flight.  Tango Tower 1{I believe}, me on my 21st Birthday, March 16, 1970, heading out to work my final days of Echo Sector duty, before switching to Resource Protection...The aftermath of the Tet Offensive at Bunker 051 in Echo Sector, where four Air Force Security Police heroes, including Charles Hebron(pictured) met their final fate on January 30,31, 1968...

{All Photos, with the exception of the one of me, are from Charles Penley and other Tan Son Nhut Veterans, with thanks}

Yuengling Arrives in Ohio, Coack K wins #903, and My Roundball Season Begins

After I finished my blog posting yesterday, I received an e-mail telling me of a cancellation of a Friday basketball scrimmage, due to one of the schools football teams still involved in the playoffs....lucky for me that happened, because as I cleaned up my calender, I noticed that I had a scrimmage at Spencerville on the schedule for last night....one I that had slipped my mind, due to the trip to Wisconsin, and other things rolling around in my aging brain....so, with the scrimmage gone on Friday, at least I made it to my first of the year, last night.

7 of us worked the two gym floors as Spencerville hosted Lima Bath....I stayed on the JV side, and worked a combination of 2 man and 3 man mechanics for six 10 minute quarters....and, after a decent workout, getting my sea legs back, I headed out....avoiding the moving White Tail Deer through the St Marys River region along Ohio 197, I arrived home without incident around 8pm.

Yuengling Come To the Buckeye State____

I've been a beer drinker since I turned 18, back in 1967, late in my Senior Year at Celina High School....sometimes heavy, sometimes I would go months without a beer.  For most of those nearly 45 years I drank what was available....in my youth it was Pabst Blue Ribbon and that skunk pee out of Detroit called Strohs...while in the Air Force, it was either the local favorites, such as Ballentine while at Dover, Delaware, and Genesee and Utica Club, while in upstate New York.   In Vietnam it was whatever was available on the loading docks at Nha Trang or the NCO Club in Saigon/Tan Son Nhut.  I Finally settled for Miller Lite a dozen years ago, when I first tried to lose weight via the "Adkins" Diet, and until five years ago, I was pretty well satisfied with downing that.  Frankly during the summer months, after working a baseball game or double header, I still prefer to sit on the back steps or front porch, and down a few while smoking a good cigar.  Of late however, I finally learned to enjoy good dark brews...yes they have more calories and more carbs, but the taste, alcohol content, and the fact you can drink much less to satisfy, makes them more appealing....Yes!! I've become a Beer Snob!

I particularly like Stout Beer, especially Irish, and dark porters or black lagers...and on occasion I like a draft mix of dark and lager while sitting at the sport pubs or Buffalo Wild Wings.  However, seldom can you get those in a bottle or can...last February while in West Virginia for son Hal's wedding, I discovered that the oldest in the USA eastern brewery, Yuengling had done just that...mixed a good tasting, low cost Black and Tan brew, called simply "Original Black and Tan".  But I only got a case, and that was gone soon enough....so with the news that Yuengling was coming to Ohio, western Ohio no less, I was looking forward to making reacquaints with this low cost dark brew....and yesterday, I finally got my chance.

Yuengling and it's various flavors finally has arrived in my neck of the woods....much like Coors of the 60s and 70s, things always seem to taste better when you can't have them, isn't that the way of most things in life?  Once they are available, the thrill is gone.  Yuengling Lager is a decent tasting beer...but IMO nothing out of the ordinary...for the most part, when I want a lager beer, I will stick with the lower calorie, lower carbohydrate brews, like Miller Lite...but as for Dark Beers..."Black and Tan" has a place in my refrigerator...at less than $11 for a 12 pack of long necks, as compared to most stout and black lager 6 packs costing between $9 and $10, I will be keeping a supply of this brew on hand.  In fact I downed 4 when done with basketball last night as I sat down in the recliner with remote to watch both the Duke and Ohio State games.

Coach K reaches 903 wins____

Anybody who reads this blog on regular occasions knows I have been a Duke Basketball fan for many years.  Since the early days of coach Mike Krzyzewski, "Coach K" for short, because nobody could pronounce his name the way it is spelled.  I like the way he coaches his teams, I like the fact that they are students, and let's face it...being a white guy myself, I like to watch a team with some white boys do well.....nothing racist about it, but let's face the facts, I have a hard time rooting for a bunch of inner city guys that I have nothing in common with.  If that makes me a "racist or bigot" then so be it....must be why I read Thomas Sowell and would like to see Allen West be our next President.  Anyway back to the Coach K saga....

Last night he went into the game with Michigan State at New York's Madison Square Garden, needing a win to top his former coach and mentor, Bobby Knight's record of 902 wins....in typical Duke Blue Devil style, almost blowing a 19 point lead late in the game, Coach K and Company held on for a 74-69 win.  The 6th ranked Devils are now 3-0, and can concentrate on improving their relatively young team...meanwhile down south of Celina in Columbus, oldest son Sam was broadcasting the play-by-play of the 3rd ranked Buckeyes against the 7th ranked Florida Gators.  In a game, looking much like the Duke/MSU contest, Ohio State held on late for a hard fought victory.  Sam was working the game on the Scarlet and Gray student network, I'm not sure how he manages to stay above a 3.3 GPA in Actuarial Science, officiate high school sports, and work for OSU and the Big Ten Network, but early on in his senior year, he has been able to handle that situation quite well.

With the Friday cancellation, I have no scrimmages until Saturday morning at Delphos Jefferson....then am off until the Girls regular season tips off, for me, on November 28th, with the boys season following in short order.

back later>>>>

Photos-Yuengling has come to Ohio...featuring my favorite out of that old brewery, "Original Black and Tan"...My roundball officiating kicked off last night with a Varsity/JV boys scrimmage at Spencerville, it's going to be a busy 4 months....Coach K of Duke breaks the win record with 903 as the Blue Devils take down Michigan State...and Ohio State beats the Florida Gators for the 2nd straight year.

Still Waitin'....Wisconsin, Fish Fries, Beer, and Thunderstorms....

Patricia, Anissa, and I, headed north and west towards Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, on Friday, Veterans Day....the trip was pretty uneventful, and the traffic on our new route was light to moderate....avoiding the I-94 mess around Wisconsin's very own craphole, known as Milwaukee is a must, and doable by taking a combination back roads.  After 35 plus years of making this trip, I think I've finally got down a route that is less stressful than any in the past.  Of course there really is no good way to get around Chicago, but this route, if driven at the right time of day, isn't bad....plus no issues with the Nitro this trip, made the trip that much more pleasant...at least going up...coming back?  Will talk about that later in this posting.

Pre-Thanksgiving in Wisconsin____

 With still no baby news  from Centerville, Ohio, we figured it was safe to head to Patricia's home town of Oconomowoc, a growing but old city of 16,000, which has turned into a version of "Yuppieville" on it's own, with the help of an influx of move ins from the bergs of Milwaukee and Chicago.   It's still a nice area, but the 50 Cent millionaire types have changed Oconomowoc forever, and in my eyes, not for the better.

Patricia and I were married there 35 years ago next month....and for years, even while living in Northern Wisconsin, we rotated Christmas and Thanksgivings there and in Celina...that was until about 5 years ago, when we decided the winter driving through Chicagoland was just no longer feasible or safe...so we started to spend the second weekend before Thanksgiving with her parents...and it seems to have worked out well.

After arriving Friday afternoon, the first order of business was to head The Golden Mast on Lake Okauchee, for a fish fry.  If you've never had a Wisconsin "Fish Fry", I guess they would be pretty hard to describe.  Wisconsin Friday Night Fish Fry's are like nothing you'll find anywhere else.  The Golden Mast is where Patricia and I had our pre-wedding meal back in December 1976...and where she was a waitress back in her high school days in the late 60s and early 70s.  The Weissgerber Family who owned the restaurant at that time, are still in control, although I believe the sons now run the daily operation.  Once done we returned to Bill and Bev's condo, and after that meal, along with a dark draft beer of generous portions, combined with the 7 hour drive, was ready for an early sack time.

{here is the link to the menu and facilities of the Golden Mast}
http://www.weissgerbers.com/goldenmast/html/banquets.html 

Fast forward to the rest of the quick moving 4 days "weekend":

We had Bev's Turkey meal, our "Pre Thanksgiving Dinner" on Saturday, and ate well throughout the visit. Over the weekend I did get a couple of long walks in, also drank plenty of beer, along with watching too much football{including a pathetic loss by Ohio State to a bad Purdue team, thanks to no offense and a blocked extra point}.  On Monday morning, after breakfast at the "Around the Lake" restaurant in Oconomowoc, with Patricia's parents and sister Sue....we headed towards home and the "Eye of the Storm".

The rain started as a few sprinkles on the toll roads outside Chicago...but by the time we were 100 miles out from Celina, near Warsaw, Indiana, the temperatures jumped from the mid 40s to the 50s, and lightning and heavy rain accompanied us through Fort Wayne...and by that time the temps had soared to 68, and after a call from Hal, telling us that Tornado warnings and watches were out in the area, we switched the car radio from the Satellite to WOWO Fort Wayne, and followed the progress of the mess.  We made it into Ohio, outracing the front, for a short while...but by the time we arrived home, the heavy rain, lighting, and winds, joined us, although the did weaken somewhat as the night progressed, with no damage in our area.


Dartball~Week #2

I'm not sure if it was the long rain/storm filled drive or just a bad night, but I stunk up the darts and board last night....going without a hit the first 8 at bats, before connecting on 2 in a row, and finishing the night a paltry 2 of 11, which dropped by second in the league batting average from .636 down to a more "normal" .409.  Regardless, the team, after losing the opening game, came back to defeat Rockford Methodist in the final two games.  So we sit at 4 wins and 2 loses on the season, as we head for Mendon next Monday.


So, that was the last 4 or 5 days in a nutshell...lots of miles, lots of food, lots of rain, lots of beer, but no grandson just yet....so we will continue to wait.

back later>>>> 

Photos-Bill Callies, the 88 year old World War II Veteran of the Pacific Theater,  with his daughter Patricia. on Veterans Day 11-11-11 at the Golden Mast for a Friday Fish Fry.  The main items, at least for me, a plate full of breaded Cod and other fish, along with a tankard of in house Oktoberfest Beer on Tap.  The view from out table next to the fireplace of Okauchee Lake in Southeast Wisconsin, and one of the new beers that I tasted for the first time, Murphy's is a dark Irish Stout in the Guinness tradition, but with more of a "Kick"...after just 1 pint and part of a second, I could feel the effects of the alcohol.

Waiting on Kasyn....part 1

After the rain moved out yesterday, the wind picked up, and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees from the afternoon high of 60, by nightfall...it was  cool and windy, with a spit or two of snow as I drove back from Van Wert, where I attended another local rules meeting for Basketball officials...just five days away from my first scrimmage of the season on November 15th.  The long regular{lasting until late February} begins over Thanksgiving Weekend.

Waitin' On Kasyn____

Our youngest son Hal and his wife Lisa are expecting our first Grandchild this month...Kasyn Timothy is his name, and like his dad, it appears he will be a big one....3 weeks away from the due date, Kasyn is already 7 pounds 12 oz...meaning if he went full term, he will weigh about 9 pounds at birth!!  The parents-to-be were back at the doctors yesterday to make sure all was well....in addition to being in the high percentile for size, they told the couple that the boy has a big head and waist...I don't know about the waist part, but if any of you know the Houseworth men...we all have pretty good sized melons on top of our shoulders.  None of us can fit a "normal" size ball cap on our heads.  In addition to having a heavy head, Hal himself is hardly on the small size...about 6' 4" and some 250 pounds...so my guess is, there is a good chance that young Kasyn will be a big baby, size wise, and eventually a pretty good size adult.  After all, even though I'm average height at 5' 11'(or I used to, I may have shrunk an inch or so}, the boys, both Hal and Kasyn's "Uncle Sam" are pretty big guys...Lisa's dad and brothers, are more like me...average height and weights, so anything is possible, but for now, I predict our first Grandson to be a "biggie".

Anyway, Lisa is ready for child #1 to be here....and Hal and some of his Celina and College Buds posted videos on facebook, all in fun, to encourage Kasyn to "Hurry Up"...here is future father Hal: {click on links below}

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXpm1NvJQE 

At least 5 more friends have posted as well including Stu "rapping" Kasyn to come out:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaKok5suF6k&feature=feedu

You can find more, just type in "Kasyn Hurry Up" on you tube and quite a few videos should pop up....

So we are all ready for the grandson to be here....I'm sure Lisa more than anybody...her first child is going to be a big boy...and it appears by all signs he is ready to join us before Thanksgiving....

back later>>>> 

Photos-{top} Hal and Lisa, when Kasyn was about 5 months along, in late July at his cousins wedding in Wisconsin....and me and Hal, back in 1986, when Hal was 2, and I was a lot younger, sitting on the Suzuki MC, when living on the farm on the banks of the Coldwater Creek.

Mixed Bag Election/Mixed Bag Weather....

The Election is over, and the results are a mixed bag, especially here in Ohio.

As predicted Issue 2 failed, or the public unions/teachers unions won, keeping their rights to bankrupt and blackmail the populace of the Buckeye State....it may not matter in the long run,  the law is being reworded and reworked and those unions will still have to play by the rules....the taxpayers in this over taxed, dying state will win in the end.  Liberal Freeloaders be Damned!  Issue 2 was poorly written, and with NO meaning YES, I'm sure many were confused.....either way, it's not as bad as it could be.

Meanwhile Issue 3, the vote to abolish Obama Care passed with flying colors....2 of 3 voters in Ohio told The Kenyan Marxist to shove his Health Care up his largest orifice...and we are not talking Moo~Shell's big butt.  The US Supreme Court will have the final say, but Ohio is on record...."No Obama Mandated Health Scare Here".

Locally in Celina, the Democrat Auditor who butchered the books and "found" and extra $1 Million after the City Council used scare tactics to get an extra 1/2% income tax increase, was shown the door...she was defeated easily by her Republican challenger.  However, the voters rejected a roll back of the tax???? What the Hell were they thinking?   And the City Council, who has guided us into this train wreck will remain the same....not a lot of difference in the lone challenger and the 3 incumbents, so we will continue down this track....for now!

Walking Weather____

Yesterday was just about perfect for an early to mid November day...I don't think it reached 70, but mid to upper 60s with a southern breeze was pretty nice.  I got out and did my 45 minute walk over to and around the County Fairgrounds....snapping some photos and taking in the stench of the large dairy farm on the southwest side of the city.  That was the lone fly in the ointment...cleaning those barns and depositing the dung is necessary, but when it happens, and the breeze is from the south and southwest, the smell takes away for the outdoor delights.

I had the windows open throughout the house, but had to light the fragrant candles to get rid of the Cow Pie Oder.  By late afternoon, Reagan the aging Airedale, and I went to the back yard, I took some photographs of the flowers and Ivy, as they make one last colorful stand... then I poured a couple of Dark Abby Ale brews, and lite a Cigar...that pretty much ended my day...damn, retirement is pretty nice.  No money, no problem!
 
Today began with rain, another dousing came overnight and appears to be letting up as I type.  Cooler weather is on the horizon for the rest of the week.

Tonight I head to Van Wert for another basketball rules meeting....other than that, not much on the agenda...except dropping a few pounds.  I've gained about 10 back of the 30 I lost over the past 2 years...I know why, despite the increased workouts, you can't fool Ma Nature and age....some cutting back is on the docket, I've just got to figure what to cut back on...that is the hardest part.   Beer?  Not a chance....

back later>>

Photos-From the Backyard and Fairgrounds.....A late season Honey Bee takes pollen off the backyard Marigolds yesterday afternoon, meanwhile on the back of the garage, the climbing Ivy has turned a bright burnt Red.  On my daily walk at the Fairgrounds, these are the views of November...most of the large maple and other trees have shed their leaves, but some of the smaller young healthy ones are holding on as long as they can.

Election Day and Dartball "Kick Off"

"WOW"~That is about the best way to describe this Election Day weather in Western Ohio....no excuse not to get out and vote, unless of course you have nothing to vote on but a~holes and jerkwads.  The high today may reach 70 under most sunny to partly sunny skies.   Frankly even though there is rain to our west and northwest, the temperatures, while scheduled to drop, will not be cold...things look normal to above for the foreseeable future, at least looking out 10 days.

Election Day 2012_____

Locally we have city council, mayor, and others to vote on who it appears more than willing to tax and spend us into oblivion, all for their own ego and glory....I won't say who I voted for, only because, I had to hold my nose when casting my ballots this morning.  On our one local issue, the city of Celina got a 1/2% tax increase a year or so ago...saying the city was in desperate need, once we suckers passed that approval to increase income taxes from 1% to 1 and 1/2%...lo and behold the City Auditor "discovered" a windfall of over 1 Million bucks.   And soon as that happened, the Fire and other departments already had dreams of spending that money on new equipment.  Others wanted to buy buildings, to be torn down for unneeded and unwanted public parking.  Meanwhile the streets and allies continue to go to Hell.   So thanks to some concerned citizens, the issue to roll back that tax to 1% is on the ballot....do we as a city need that extra 1/2%??  Probably, but the lies coming out of City Hall have made even the most gung-ho city supporters jaundiced to what is going on.

I'm guessing the repeal is going to win, and I'm guessing the City Auditor, a Democrat{now there's a surprise}, is going to be shown the door today by the voters....


Meanwhile to the State level, we have Issues 2 and 3....Issue 2 if it fails, will undo the work that Gov Kasich and the GOP has done to gut the utterly corrupt public teachers union and other public unions power....that power needs to be gutted.  Gawd Damn It...these clowns are using our taxes, especially property taxes, to fund their BS and Obama's BS....the NO votes sadly probably will win, mainly because of an ignorant voting block, and the wording of the ballot...where a NO means YES....go figure?

Issue 3 a yes vote will confirm Ohio's hate of Obama Care....not sure if it really means much, but if passed with a YES, it will send a message to our Marxist Kenyan to "Shove It'...and hopefully the US Supreme Court will do the right thing and put Obama Care out of our misery.  The Results Tomorrow!

Dartball Season Begins_____

Most Monday nights between now and mid March, I will be at St Johns or one of the other area churches tossing darts at a board that looks like the one pictured here.   Last night I began my 17th year of tossing underhand darts at the big board, as we traveled north to Mount Tabor Church....our mix of  guys as young as 11, and old farts as old as 93, took two of three games in the series to kick off the season.  Gotta give a thumbs up to Martin Fancke...he turned 93 years young on Sunday, and has been playing in the Wabash Valley Dartball League since it's inception in 1937.  Martin was still batting above .300 in 2009, and although he slipped down into the .260 range last season, he continues to be someone who can collect a hit when we need him.

As for me....I took a one dart out on the first pitch I threw to begin the season, and the proceeded to collect 6 straight hits, including 2 triples and a couple of RBIs....I cooled off somewhat but still finished the night 7 of 12 for a .636 batting average, with 3 RBIs to go with it....next week we kick off the home schedule.  I will be working basketball on some nights and will arrive late, but for the most part, my Mondays will be pretty well taken up with darts and basketball for the next 4 months.

Off to walk...gotta get out and enjoy this Indian Summer weather, for as long as it lasts....

back later>>>>

"Where Are You At 62?" part 2..the basement

 November weather has come in like a lamb....any bets that it doesn't go out that way?



It was pretty much a perfect weekend weather-wise for early November.  Sunshine with afternoon highs reaching the low 60s on Saturday and into the mid 60s yesterday with southerly breezes.  A bit of rain is back today, but temperatures for the next couple of days will remain in the 60s, before cooling off for midweek and the coming weekend.

Today will be busy enough...MRSI Board meeting at Noon, and the opening of Dartball season tonight, as we travel north a few miles north to Mount Tabor to kick off the season.  How about those Bengals?  A team that many were predicting to go 0-16, came back from a 17-7 deficit at Tennessee yesterday and defeated the Titans 24-17,  to move to 6 wins and just 2 loses on the year, and a 5 game winning streak has Cincinnati sitting with the best record in the AFC....things get tougher from here however, as they host Pittsburgh next week, then after Cleveland comes to town, they play at Baltimore and Pittsburgh back to back.  The next four weeks might tell Cinderella's story.

"62" part 2___

Friday I wrote about getting back into weight training on a good scale, after several years of starts and stops, mainly due to back problems, and frankly getting old....

I've been back at it for 5 months, lifting 2 or 3 times per week to go with my daily walks in good weather around town or the Fairgrounds, and if it's lousy outside, I climb on the treadmill for 30 or more minutes.  So far the results have even surprised me.  I'm not back to where I was in my weight training days of yesteryear, but for 62, 63 in a few months, I'm doing alright.  Now the old adage is, that muscle weighs more than fat...must be true, because since I started lifting again full bore, I've gained back about 8 pounds of the 30 I lost over the previous two years...but still fit into the 36 inch waist jeans and khaki pants.  I'd like to drop the 8 or even 12 pounds, but, not by giving up the weight lifting or beer....that's just the way it is going to be.

The Basement___

I do my workouts in the ancient basement....the house, the former First Church of God Parsonage, was built during the winter of 1923, the basement, according to newspapers I found in the cracks and crevices of the dungeon like rooms.  These days in newer and even some older homes, people fix up the basement areas, and make a den like setting...not with ours, it's pretty old, with the cost, and frankly the lack of use as a den it would get, tends me to keep it as it is....spiders and their webs are down there, along with the washer, dryer, my cigars, food storage, clothes, weight center, a TV with cable access, my officiating/umpiring equipment and uniforms, along with many old antiques from Grandma's Scott, Ohio, home...yep the basement is what they were meant for...the furnace sits along side the weight bench in one room, and my old shower, installed by Patricia when we first moved in, sits in the corner under the stair well....that shower, which needs replaced soon, has seen me and the boys, when they were living here, take 99% of our bathing needs....I've used it at least twice per day over the 16+ years...I can think of no more than a handful of times I have used the main bath upstairs.

The basement was a "full" one when the house was constructed some 88 years ago....in 1945 the south end of the house saw a kitchen, dinning room, and utility room, along with extra half bath installed...instead of the full basement continued under that portion, they added a 4 foot deep crawl space adjoining the basement area.  Anyway, that basement portion is where I spend some time each day, winter, and summer...and I like the "dungeon" just the way it is.

Busy day...so I'll be back later>>>>

Photos-The basement isn't finished or like most 88 year old things, isn't pretty, but it gets used daily...weather for weight lifting, food storage, washing, drying of clothes, and my daily showers.  The Bengals, along with Buffalo and San Francisco, are the surprise teams of the first half of the NFL season. Food Storage in the age of Obammy is important...you never know when the Kenyan bastard is going to declare Marshall Law....and when not walking outside, due to inclement weather, this is the view I get from the indoor treadmill....

"Where Are You At 62?" or "Where Will You Be"? part 1

Rained last night, that seems to happen every few days....but the sun, albeit in cool conditions, is back this morning.  The coming weekend looks seasonably cool but sunny, then rain returns for early next week.

"62"

Sixty-Two...not some home run record to be broken, but an age barrier, that I reached last March...frankly, given the family history of the Houseworth men, I am somewhat surprised that I reached that goal...perhaps that is one of the reasons{besides being sick of being a Government paid Bureau-rat} that I retired at 53...or at least semi-retired, in order to do things I really wanted to do.  I managed to travel the US in RVs for more than five years, delivering them to various dealers and locations throughout the country.  I also had gotten back into baseball umpiring before I retired, then I decided to try my hand at football back in 2005, and added basketball a couple of years later.  Retired?  Sure, but I figure I'm busier now than I ever was riding around Mercer and Van Wert Counties, inspecting and ruling on all things Environmental for those two Health Departments over the years.

I also worked in broadcasting for 25 years, the last 20 on a part time basis, after working as a broadcast news hound full time back in the late 1970s.  Yes, I managed to work, without really working at all over the years...sure I tried my hand at factory work early on, then bartending, and of course I've written about my four year Air Force stint as a Security Police guy both stateside and in Vietnam....all-in-all, I've been there, done that, and seldom look back with regrets.  I don't know how long I have left on this earth, but I plan on living them out on my terms...arrogance?  ego?  Perhaps, I've always been a smart ass, who usually says what he believes and thinks...thus sometimes getting me in trouble...when I was 17, even in my 20s, I would be concerned about what people would think of me and my lifestyle...no more.  Other than my wife, and perhaps my kids, that is something I don't concern myself with.

Weight Lifting____

 When I joined the Air Force in 1968, I was a lean{i.e skinny} 5'9" 135 pounds...by the time those four years were over, I was 5' 11" and about 185.  Over the next 25 years I stayed about at that level...finally gravity started to catch up, so I figured if I was to eat and drink like had been doing, I better get back to the gym.  In the 1970s I used to run about 3 miles a night...usually around town and through the Fairgrounds which was close to my Brandon Street home in Celina{just a block from where I live now}...however I had gotten away from that, and along with the back problems{from a couple of motorcycle mishaps}, it put me in a sedentary lifestyle.   Determined to get out of that rut, I decided to take up weight lifting at the ripe old age of 44 and pick my treadmill workouts up as well.   And I did.....over the next 10 years I was workout hound.

However, the extra workouts also increased my appetite for fatty foods, and beer...sure I might have increased my biceps and triceps, but my waist line grew from 34 to 38.  The weight went from 185 to 225... and after retiring from the health department in 2002, along with the RV travel, the weight stayed, the workouts slowed to a crawl.  It became a battle....

Finally in the fall of 2009, with the weight at 214 and the BP up, and the cholesterol and pre-diabetes setting in, I figured it was time to being the workouts anew...sure I was getting a good workout with my officiating, especially during basketball season, but I felt I needed more....after several starts, stops, a couple bouts of back problems, things seem to have come full circle.  The weight lifting is back as part of my life, and in addition to my officiating and umpiring, I walk the fairgrounds or hit the treadmill at least 5 days a week.

 Things are looking up...except the weight, which dropped from 214 to 185...it now is hovering around the 190 mark...and I could lose 10 or 15 if needed.  More on the basement routine on the next installment.

Next...The Basement Workout Routine.....or how I learned to love my dungeon....back later>>>>

Photos-At 62 I've finally gotten back into a weight lifting routine, my ego is not enough to believe I can do what I did at 50, but I'm please with my results over the past couple of months...so far.  My 88 year old basement looks much like it did when the original church parsonage was built in late 1923....and I like it that way.  Food and Ammo storage, furnace, central Air, my shower, antique rooms, TV, junk, washer, dryer, and my "Jake" Bench and Weider Workout Center....no frills, just my personal clutter, which can be moved to suit my needs.  The basement needs to impress nobody....

Earl Brown{1901-1920} of Scott, Ohio, Revisited

Yesterday ended up 65 with a southern breeze and plenty of sunshine mixed with a few high white clouds....today dawned mostly cloudy, temps in the mid to upper 50s with rain arriving from the southwest by nightfall, or earlier...pretty seasonable from here on out for the rest of the week.....

Our friends Rick and his wife Toni dropped by for a few minutes yesterday, after their visit with Rick's mom, who stills lives in Celina at the old homestead, where Rick lived when he and I met, while working at Marsh Supermarket, back in our high school days.  I was on the phone when they arrived and Rick was looking at my large photo of "Earl Brown" hanging on my wall....I was going to retell the story of "Earl" when I got off the phone, but we got into other things...Antique Desks and Snow Blowers, and I forgot about it until after they had left....so the morning, I sent him a link to the blog I did about Earl and the photo, and how I came into it's possession....this retold blog post is from January 1969:  {Click Link Below}

http://patsdailyrant.blogspot.com/2009/01/story-of-earl-brown1901-1920.html

Just shows that sometimes, even long after you have passed, there is a chance, weather by accident or by design that someone will dig up information and a story about you....the truth of the Russell Earl Brown photo/portrait is that it was one of the things that awakened me to my own roots, and was a big factor in me getting started on my Genealogy Research of the Houseworth Clan, that research began in 1998, about the time I hung "Earl" on my living room wall.

My Genealogy Research is in blog form itself.....and can be found at this site:

http://israelhouseworth.blogspot.com/

I got my first local basketball rules meeting in at Van Wert last night....that season is just around the corner....back later>>>>

Photos-Earl Brown posed for this photo/portrait with his toy Steam Engine Train at the age of 5 in 1906...and his death certificate from drowning at the Scott Quarry in 1920 at the age of 19.{not the date of birth says 1920 but is wrong, that was his death year, his birth was 1901}

Native American Summer.....got cha!/Political Correctness gone Amuck!

Thought I'd start out today's blog with my first Political Correct headline of November....

Anyway, today is supposed to be somewhat like "Indian Summer"...65 for a high, under sunny skies, light winds and dry conditions...tomorrow will see things cool off and maybe rain in the afternoon, however the weekend ahead looks sunny and pleasant.

I did get up fairly early{for me} this morning, and drove out to the lake to get some sunrise photos...nothing special, but with the clear skies, the fall sunrise was, while not spectacular, pretty decent...some of those photos are included on today's blog with descriptions at the end of same.

The yapping left and the paranoid right______

If you've been reading this blog long, you pretty well know I despise Liberals, especially left wing political types, but for the most part, Liberals in general are not worth my time.  They do have one thing going for them however, that being the ability to stifle free speech from their opponents.  Whether it is calling the right side racists, bigots, homophobes, hate mongers, members of the Nazi Party, etc...they know how to shut much of the other side up....of course with the willing help of the media, it becomes easier to shut down your opponents freedom of speech.  That is unless you are some old horse's ass like me, who really doesn't give a rat's ass what you think or what those to gutless to speak out think.

Witness the latest little gem from the left....and the cowering in the corner from the so-called Right.  A branch of the Virginia GOP sent out a brochure with the likeness of our Kenyan asshole of a President on it...well sort of a likeness.  It was Obammy looking much like a Zombie on the TV show, "The Walking Dead"  complete with skin falling off, and bullet hole, or a ass hole on his forehead, where his brains seeped out long ago.  The left jumped on that like stink on a Monkey.....crying foul {and what could be more "fowl" than the Kenyan and his supporters?}  Saying this was like wishing Obammy dead....well Hell, after all, the clown is already brain dead, as are his supporters, so what's the problem?  Anyway, here is the little fun with Obammy likeness that is causing all the stir:  


Again, what's the big deal?  Unless we want to destroy free speech and expression, like the have in Canada and Europe.

My plans, when done here, are to lift some weights, take my daily walk, a half hour or 40 minutes uptown via the post office and back....then?  Who knows?  I might just sit outback with the dog, and relax in the sun....who says retirement has to be boring?  Tonight I will take in my first local basketball meeting of the year at Van Wert....the scrimmage season for me, is just 13 days away, and I plan on enjoying those 13 days.

back later>>>> 

Photos-A Gull flies over the shoreline of Grand Lake this morning, just as the Sun begins it's ascent about the eastern shore, so 10 miles away...The second photo showing that the usually smooth waters on the west side of the lake, where a bit choppy as the sun was rising.  The offending Obammy portrait...which really isn't at all....and finally from the state park down West Bank Road, the before sunrise travels of various commercial jets left their marks.