December Rains

"If this was Snow......."

That's a comment you hear often when the rains are coming down...and this past weekend through today and tonight, if what we have gotten thus far was snow...just say, it would be a bunch.  Pretty miserable conditions over the past week, with just a couple of dry days.  For the most part is has been wet, wet, windy, wet, and more windy and wet.  I guess the only good thing about the moister, is that, it has not come down hard, for the most part....persistent yes, but usually not in heavy doses.

Saturday I got up early, and headed for Convoy, where we worked a three man crew for a Junior Varsity double header to kick off the Van Wert County Tip Off Classic.   Unlike Baseball, where I work almost exclusively Varsity High School games, and Football where I do a mix of Varsity on Friday nights, and lower levels the rest of the week, for Basketball I seldom work Varsity or 3 man crews....basketball is my newest of sports, and I never ventured into it by wanting to work varsity...I was and will be satisfied to work JV and other lower level games....Saturday, although a JV double, they thought it best to use a 3 man crew, since we all would be doing both games{the same for later in the month at Ottawa-Glandorf}.  It gave me a chance to work with a couple of guys that do the Varsity circuit, and I picked up some valuable information and tips from them to help me, on those occasions I do work the 3 man....so "Thank You" to Todd and Todd, for the tips and hints.


On Sunday afternoon, after watching the Bengals pee down their legs at Pittsburgh, Patricia and I took mom down to Centerville, for her first look at Great Grandson #2.  Mom, who is 87, now has 3 great granddaughters and 2 great grandsons, with #3 g-grandson on the way this week or next, in Michigan.  We took down a meal, and joined two of Kasyn's uncles from Lisa's side of the family, who were also there to meet their nephew for the first time.  We stayed about an hour, and headed back in the rain and dark, the 90 mile return to Celina.  We may not see them again until Christmas Eve, but that's OK, the new parents need their time alone to practice their parenting skills.....which seem to be coming along pretty good so far.   As far as our first Grandson, he is gaining weight and doing fine....a non fussy, pretty quite 11 day old, so far at least.

Tonight I have a Junior High double header here in Celina, then drive the 3 blocks to the church for Dartball...as we take our south leading 8-4 record into battle with Hopewell, who comes in tied for 2nd with Mount Carmel at 7-5...frankly they and Carmel are probably better teams than us, but we had the early easier schedule, we have 3 tough weeks ahead to end the first half of the season, we will see just where we stand after that.

Tomorrow night back at Crestview in Convoy for a girls JV game, rules meeting Wednesday, then back with a Junior High girls double at Wayne Trace on Thursday....as for the rain, it should end by tomorrow morning, but colder air will be moving in.

back later>>>>

Photos-The St Marys and other rivers and streams are way out of their banks this week....the second photo?  yes that is corn, unharvested in the background...some 10% of the corn crop is so far unharvested, and won't be for awhile, if at all....and my mom and her Great Grandson, our Grandson Kasyn....

Double Murder in Mercer County/The Grizzly Details Emerge, Sam's latest OSU Gig

Some 24 hours after the discovery of the wheel chair bound 70 year old man and his caretaker/daughter who was 47, dead in their home, the Sheriff's Office release more details of the horrific murder in rural Mercer Country....:

http://www.dailystandard.com/archive/story_single.php?rec_id=16670

The End of Innocence____

Some sort of sick son of a bitch required to execute two innocent people like this...it now appears law enforcement is nowhere near close to solving this case....but you can be sure, in this small nit county, if they are here, they will be caught....problem has been over the years, in the few murder cases, mostly domestic, some limp wrist judge will let them off light or nullify the jury.  Fortunately the former liberal judge who coddled criminals, Dean James, has assumed room temperature and can no long go against the law and decisions of the seated jury...thank gawd for small favors.

Getting ahead of myself to say the least....hopefully a suspect or suspects can be captured quickly...but I suspect even if that happens, the citizens around here will remain cautious and even fearful after that tragic event.  This once naive populace is getting a wake up call.  When I moved to Celina with the family back in late 1962, Mercer County, with the exception of Celina, was 100% white, mostly Catholic, and crime free, at least from violent type criminals..  Celina had it's "wrong side of the tracks", but even that was limited to "Friday Night Fights" at the local pubs.  Not the case these days...Celina, and even the smaller towns to a degree, have been infested by trash.  Welfare seekers from the larger cities, Mercer County has always been an easy touch, and others...the days when everybody knew everybody else are gone, probably forever.  These days in Mercer County, instead of beer and pot, Heroin and Meth usage has soared, and crime, especially rural robberies and break-ins at small business are a weekly event.

Nope, this is no longer the Celina or Mercer County of my childhood....our kids move on to other areas, and the trash, which begets trash, moves in.....

Sam's latest gig___

Oldest son Sam is moving through his Senior year at "The" Ohio State University....still maintaining, at least the last I looked, a 3.3 GPA in the math heavy, very difficult, major of Actuarial Science...Hell I can't even spell it....but it does have to do with equations and quotients for the Insurance Industry.  But while he heads for his degree in that, he is working for the Ohio State Athletic Department.  And despite the trials the football program has seen over the last year,the OSU Athletic Budget is still the largest around.  Sam, while attending OSU-Lima for a year, hooked up with the Athletic Department, so when he transferred to the main campus, he got a gig there, to help him pay his way through school...along with grants, loans, and his officiating work in Football, Baseball, and Basketball.  Thus saving mom and dad big bucks...of course since he turns 30 later this month, I'm thinking it's the least he can do....

So this weekend, Sam gets a TV shot with the Big Ten Network...now he has done some play-by-play on the network for the student productions, but tomorrow, he gets to work p-b-p for the TV Network it's self On~Line....Sam will do the calling, while his color commentating partner will be big brother of Ohio State All American Jared Sullinger, JJ Sullinger, a former Buckeye Roundball star in his own right, from previous years.

Here is the information:

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/120111aaa.html

and here is the all access channel for the game:

http://video.btn.com/allaccess/

Sad to say I'll miss the live version, because the old man will be working a double header at the Van Wert County Tip Off Classic at Crestview tomorrow, beginning at 11am.

State finals in Football begin today, with Coldwater in D5, Marion Local in D6, and Kenton in D4 from this area...

back later>>>>

Photos-The Victims, photo from Hometown Stations in Lima, Ohio, and Sam gets a chance to broadcast Thad Matta's 300 win on Saturday on the BTN.com

Double Murder in Mercer County (Ohio)

The snow remained on the ground, despite bright sunshine, and temperatures in the upper 30s...this morning a hard freeze made sure the white ground would stay just that for awhile.


Last night I made the trek across town to the north shore of Grand Lake and worked the last half hour of the WKKI Sports show with "Wulfie" from the Celina Moose....following the Celina head basketball coach, Chris Bihn, my little buddy and I talked Ohio State Football, OSU/Duke Basketball, High School football finals, and the Bengals and Browns.  We also did some trivia and gave away two sets of Browns tickets for this coming Sunday's Ravens game in Cleveland....finishing up, I had a single beer, and talked with some of the old Racquet Club tennis crowd, then headed home. Tonight, it's back to basketball officiating, with a JH Girls double header at Elida.

Murder in Mercer County____

Waking up yesterday and starting on this blog, news slowly crept out about a double homicide near Fort Recovery, Ohio....
http://www.dailystandard.com/archive/story_single.php?rec_id=16638 

"The Fort" located some 20 miles southwest of Celina is directly on the Indiana~Ohio State Line.  The murder of a 70 year old man and his mid 40 year old daughter took place a few miles east of Fort Recovery, between that town and St. Henry in a rural farm house.  Here it is over 24 hours later and news and details are slow coming out....was this a domestic issue{doesn't seem to be at this hour}, or likely related to the increase in drug crimes that have infested this mostly rural setting in the past several years?

The problem is...our Sheriff is suddenly silent.  Jeff Grey is always quick to have a story in the local media about his conquests of drug dealers in the country...but nary a word or details, sans the victims names, of what went on here...and that leaves a problem for local residents.  If this was a domestic murder, why not just come clean, and give the area residents a chance to breath easy?  If not, why not come out and say it?  After all, local residents have the right, and need I say Law Enforcement has the responsibility, to inform them that danger might be near....and they should be prepared to defend their property and families?  

So Mr Grey...should we be prepared to lock, load, and shoot to kill, if someone, unknown, decides to come on our property or through our doors or windows?  After all...we have had no information as to the rhyme or reason for these crimes...so let it be known at this hour, until I know some details, if some traveling salesman, or some urban lad comes to my door trying to "pay his way through college"...they better be quick on their feet.  Because this is on you....

Mercer County has had but a handful of homicides over the last century...this religious based, 99% white,  farm belt county of some 45,000, is just not where you find these types of crimes...sure on occasion a domestic murder, but home invasion?  Not hardly....too many hard working gun toting patriots...and if the scum from the cities, that increasing have began to infiltrate the area think they can set the agenda....I think they will find out, it won't be easy  While hardworking, honest, and Obama despising we might be....not to many cowards who are going to duck, and hide....more like, "What do you want, Sucker"?  And if you give the wrong answer, you may find your ass filled with buckshot.

I was a Military Cop for 4 years, I passed my Civil Service Test on my discharge, and was offered jobs as a postal agent in both Dayton and Cincinnati{turned them down because I didn't buy their politically correct rules, even back in 1973}...I know a little about Law Enforcement, and I know the number one job is to "Protect and Serve"...I might add, " at least inform the public so they can protect themselves", so far you, Mr Sheriff, are failing this time around.

If more details arise I will post them...until then, you can bet your ass, I am locked and loaded....

back later, updates, if I get them added below>>>>

Finally an update:  Both victims the 70 year old and his 47 year old daughter were bound with Duct Tape and shot to death...no sign of forced entry....Sheriff Grey at a Press Conference this morning:
http://www.wcsmradio.com/uploads/audio/PRESS%20CONFERENCE.mp3

Appears it's time to lock, load, and aim.......Hell has come to usually quite Mercer County, Ohio. 

My question to the Sheriff is...."Why did it take you 24 hours or more to inform the public that this was indeed an appearent invasion and execution style murder?  The public has a right to know, if dangerous felons are running around your jurisdiction....a right to protect themselves in any and all means..." 

Photos-Mercer County Ohio, nestled on the Indiana border in the west central part of the state...farming and light manufacturing is the name of the game....and from the Hometown Stations in Lima, the house on Burrville Road near Fort Recovery where the double homicide occurred.

Snowed Out....and a Ohio State/Duke Blow Out!

The last thing I was thinking yesterday, early yesterday, when watching the steady rain fall, was that the JH Girls double header at Wayne Trace, some 35 miles north, would be canceled...but it was.  The rain, expected to stay through early evening, changed over to heavy and wet snow by 2pm...as I was preparing to leave Celina for Haviland, a call on my cell phone from the WT Athletic Director, told me "Pat don't start out, the game is off, Edgerton says they have snow and ice, and are not going to make it...."  Well, heck, that took care of that....I cannot remember a game being snowed out this early, at least in the handful of years I have officiated basketball.  December, January, February?  Sure, those are expected...but this first official week of the season, that has to be rare.

So with the games canceled, I drove up to the Celina Wine Store and grabbed a trio of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout bottles, drove home, fixed a pork chop supper for me and Patricia.  I wasn't sure when she would arrive home from work, so I ate, and kept her's warm....I polished off a bottle of the stout, and kicked back to watch some of the games in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.  After last night, the B10 leads 4-2, thanks in part to a Buckeye ass kicking of my favorite Duke Blue Devils.  Now being an Ohio State football fan, if Duke was going to lose, it might as well be against Ohio State...but by 85-63?   Ouch!

Sam was working the game, cutting video for the highlights on the Big Ten Network....so I'm sure he was pleased that his soon to be Alma Mater, came out on top....and he told me he especially enjoyed the boo fest that occurred when Ohio native and former Cleveland Caviler LaBron James, and his Miami Heat teammate Dwayne Wade were introduced.  Did I ever mention, I despise NBA Basketball?  So really, who cares about "LaBrown the Clown"?

As for Sam, he tells me he will be doing play-by-play for the upcoming Ohio State-Texas Pan Am match-up on the Ohio State Internet Network and his color commentator will be JJ Sullinger, former Buckeye star,  and older brother of Jaren Sullinger, the leading candidate for national player of the year....that takes place on Saturday at Noon on osu.com which can be found at the following link:
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/

Meanwhile I will be back on radio tonight on WKKI 94.3 with my little buddy "Wulfie" working with him in the second half hour of his live from the Celina Moose Lodge sports talk show....which is available on-line here:
http://www.k943.com/

Celina boys basketball coach Chris Bihn will be the guest in the first half hour, as the boys tip their season off this weekend Friday at Bellefontaine, followed by the rival early season game at home on Saturday night against perennial power Lima Senior.  In the second 30 minutes we will take Urban Meyer's hire at OSU, the high school football finals this weekend, with two local teams, Coldwater and Marion Local playing for titles, in D5 and D6 respectively, and no doubt the pounding Duke took at OSU last night.

Tomorrow night I am back in action, officiating at Elida for a girls JH double, then Saturday morning I travel to Convoy to work two games in the Van Wert County Tip Off boys classic at Crestview High School.....

Out for my daily walk...back later>>>>

Photos-Not much snow, but enough to cause some slippery walks and roadways, the first of the winter season none-the-less, about 2 inches in Celina, more north.  The Buckeyes pound my Duke Blue Devils....and with the games canceled yesterday, I took time to decorate the Houseworth Christmas Tree.....

Snow.....The Seasons First....and Kasyn at 5{days that is}

A surprise snow canceled my scheduled JH double header basketball at Wayne Trace tonight...far north Edgerton had ice and could not make the game....we had about an inch, the season's first.   Might be some ice tomorrow morning....

Watching Duke at Ohio State Basketball, the #2 ranked Buckeyes are having the early success...leading by 10 or so, after jumping out to a 9-0 lead....my #3/ or #4 ranked Blue Devils will be hard pressed to pull this one out at Columbus...where oldest son Sam is working the game, doing video for the Big Ten Network....a long time OSU Football Fan, I am just as big a fan of Coach K and Duke Basketball....even though I attended other schools, Wright State, Hocking, Trans-American, and Ohio University....

And Hal sent the latest photo of the grandson.....Kasyn T. Houseworth at 5 days old...seen above.

back tomorrow>>>

The Basketball Season Tips Off......and Thanksgiving Weekend in Review

The Thanksgiving weekend flew by at warp speed.....

Grandson Kasyn arrived in the world, our first grandchild.....the parents Hal and Lisa got to take him home yesterday morning after the late Thanksgiving evening birth.....

Ohio State fell to Michigan for the first time since 2003 in Football....don't look for scUM to have a similar run....they just aren't that good....Ohio State has a coach to name, because sadly Luke Fickle, thanks to the previous moron, Jim "Vest" Tressel and his man-child QB, Toilet Paper Pryor left the program in shambles.  Too much talent however, and OSU will return to prominence in short order, probably with Urban Meyer at the helm.

The Bengals came from behind to defeat the Browns in Cincinnati 23-20 on a rainy Sunday afternoon, with a surprising record of 7 wins 4 loses, Cincy is still in the hunt for the NFL playoffs...something nobody could have or would have predicted before the season began.

Saturday morning I worked my final pre-season scrimmage in basketball...today the Junior High Girls season tips off...I have double headers at Wayne Trace both today and tomorrow.  I am at Elida for another JH Girls double on Thursday, before the boys High School season, for me, starts on Saturday Morning, for a tip-off Classic double header at Crestview in Convoy....after this week, the schedule, except for a couple of days around Christmas, gets pretty crazy....we will see if the old body can handle the load.

Other highlights this week______

Tuesday night the Duke Blue Devils roll into Columbus to take on the Buckeyes.  I will have mixed emotions with this one....I am an Ohio State football fan, but have rooted for Duke and Coach K in basketball for 25 or so years.  I will root for the Blue Devils, but if OSU wins, and the Big Ten can capture the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, I won't be to upset.  I just hope they don't meet for the National Championship....

Wednesday Night I will go back on the air for a half hour, as "Wulfie" needs a co-host for his radio sports show from the Moose Lodge in Celina....high school basketball will be the major subject, but I suspect we will talk football as well, especially with 2 local teams once again in the State Finals.  Marion Local will play for the State Championship in Division 6 Saturday against New Washington Buckeye Central, while the Coldwater Cavilers will play in it's third straight State Final in D5 on Friday.

Patricia and I headed to Centerville in the rain late yesterday afternoon, to take the new parents some Thanksgiving Dinner a bit late....no Turkey, but a large batch of Patricia's home made Chicken Noodle Soup and a large Strawberry Short Cake, homemade as well....we only stayed about 45 minutes...time to let the new parents enjoy the new arrival by themselves.  Of course we had their two dogs over the weekend, and took them back home to meet and greet Kasyn as well.  I am sure we will head back down for a visit next weekend, probably on Sunday, and hopefully Great Grandma Houseworth will go with us and meet the newest family member.

back later>>>>

Photos-Basketball, the regular season, starts for me tonight and tomorrow at Wayne Trace HS...Grandson Kasyn has arrived home....Duke takes on Ohio State in Columbus tomorrow night.  And The Grandparents, Poppa Hal, and young Kasyn on Thanksgiving Night.....

Catching Up with the Whirlwind Weekend....

It is is a rainy Sunday, a rare weekend post for me for sure....After 2 nearly perfect late November days, sunshine and in the 60s, things will be wet for the next few, then the bottom is slated to drop out, with highs hovering in the 30s and near 40 for the foreseeable future beginning Wednesday.

The Grandson Arrives_____

Kasyn Timothy Houseworth came along late Thanksgiving night, via C-Section...it wasn't planned that way, but having a mind of his own, it was the best for both him and Lisa....Hal held up, the grandparents, the first grandchild for both sets, survived as well.  As I mentioned on the last blog, he was 7 pounds 12 oz and just under 21 inches long...not as big as we or the doctors had predicted, and his head, average size, compared to the Houseworth melons...he does however have big hands, fingers, feet and toes.  My guess is, he will be someday in his dad's size body, which is somewhere around 6' 4" and about 250-260 pounds, but time enough to watch him grow...for now we are just glad he and mom are safe and healthy.  They will head home from the Kettering Medical Center today and Kasyn will begin his life in the Condo in Centerville....our plans are to take a belated Thanksgiving meal down late this evening, return the dogs, Kam and Avery, who we have been sitting with, and let the new parents and family, including dogs, get a chance to know and enjoy each other.

Football and Basketball _____

Friday we headed back down to the Medical Center, Hal and Lisa had requested we stop at LaRosa's and pick up Pizza for them....neither being thrilled with Hospital Food....we got a couple of large, one with just cheese and one with sausage and pepperoni, along with some cheese sticks, and ate lunch with them, and Aunt Anissa, since with Lisa having four bothers, Kasyn will have a total of 5 Uncles but just one Aunt.

We didn't stay long and headed home for some needed sleep...I was in bed by 7:30, but the dogs got me up several times, so my 10 hours in bed{rising around 5:30} did not net me 10 hours sleep...I ate breakfast and headed to Delphos for a Junior High scrimmage at 9am....the teams wanted done, so all could get home for the Ohio State vs Michigan game....if you don't live in this area, you no doubt really don't know how big this game is, regardless of records, in both states.  In a high scoring affair, scUM, as we OSU fans, call them, broke it's 7 game losing streak to the Buckeyes by a 40-34 score...it appears Urban Meyer will soon be named the new coach at Ohio State. 

On a side note, Michigan, not knows for it's high school football, usually has to raid Ohio for talent and coaches, this year was no exception...21 players from Ohio dot the Michigan roster, while only one from Ohio is on the scUM roster.  In addition, first year head coach Brady Hoke, is from Kettering, Ohio, where first grandson Kasyn was born on Michigan/Ohio State week.

On the high school scene...two Mercer County teams made the State Finals next week....no surprise in that they were usual powers, Coldwater in division 5, and Marion Local in D6.  In the Marion game, they had to face league rival and defending state champions, Delphos St. John.  St. Johns Blue Jays had defeated Marion Local in the regular season, but the Flyers turned the tables 21-14 in the State Semis.  Down 14-13 with less than 90 seconds left, Marion recovered a fumble on their own 23...and in 5 quick plays scored the go ahead touchdown and 2 point conversion to seal the win.

Delphos had entered the game with heavy hearts...their starting center, a 16 year old Junior, had committed suicide on Wednesday evening....making a silly game of football seem somehow even more meaningless.  You just shake your head, wondering why someone with talent and a good student would choose to end their lives during the football playoffs,  which he was such an integral part?  Only God knows....

The week ahead____

This will be a busy week, but compared to the past holiday weekend, not nearly so much.  The regular basketball season kicks off, at least for the girls.  I have Junior High games at Wayne Trace Monday and Tuesday, then following a rules meeting Wednesday I will be at Eldia on Thursday, Friday off and Saturday Morning I will officiate a Boys JV double header at Crestview in the Van Wert Country Tip-Off Classic....that will be the slow week, after this, most weeks will see me working as few as 7 or as many as 10 games, if you include Middle School double headers....only Christmas week and New Years will provide some respite, between now and February.  

It's going to be a long winter season....today I will relax watching the Bengals bounce the Browns, before heading south one more time......


back later>>>>


Photos-top Me and first grandson Kasyn on his day one...and right below that almost 33 years ago in February 1979, me and first child, Anissa on her day one...don't think I've aged at all....Grandma Patricia and Kasyn, and Kasyn sacked out....

Happy Thanksgiving!...Kasyn Makes his Arrival....

We had Thanksgiving Dinner here, with Sam and Anissa...Sam headed back to Ohio State having to work a women's basketball game for the OSU Women at Noon today...Anissa was back at her house, and we headed to Kettering {Dayton} to await the arrival of Grandchild #1....

Much like his dad, some 27+ years ago, Kasyn was not cooperative, and finally after 30 or so hours in the Hospital the decision was made to take him C~Section.....just like his old man.   At 8:53pm on Thanksgiving Night, Lisa delivered Kasyn Timothy Houseworth at 7 pounds 12 oz and measuring some 20 3/4 inches.   His scores were in the 8/9 over 10 scale, and healthy and noisy he was, when the bath proceedure was given to him.   Everybody was exhausted by the evenings end, and Patricia and I trooped home the 85 miles, arriving home at 1:30 this morning....at Noon today it's back down to the Hospital, where the new parents have requested LaRosa's Pizza for lunch....so, that's our day...back home later, with a Basketball Scrimmage at Delphos Jefferson tomorrow morning, and home to watch the Buckeye/Michigan battle...can OSU make it 8 in a row?  The stats and records say NO, but, this rivalry is one you can toss the records out, and despite Michigan failures in the past decade, it's still College Footballs Greatest Rivalry...

 back later>>>>

Photos-Kasyn Timothy Houseworth 11/24/11 Thanksgiving Evening at 8:53pm...The Houseworths....Pat{granddad}, Hal{dad}, Kasyn, Lisa{mom} and Grandmother Patricia...Patricia with her first Grandchild...Pat, Kasyn, and Hal Houseworth...

back later>>>

Gonna Spend the Day...screwing around with photographs

Yesterday was a complete wash-out in Ohio and much of the eastern Great Lakes region....40s for highs with moderate to heavy rain throughout the daylight hours into the early evening.....I didn't get out and walk for the first day in awhile, and just didn't feel like dropping down the treadmill into the "go" position.  I did however lift weights in the basement for about an hour, watched the Bogart Classic "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" in the afternoon, fixed a supper for Patricia and me, and then settled in to watch my Duke Blue Devils defeat hated Michigan in Basketball in Hawaii, and flipped it over to watch the Ohio University Bobcats squeak out a win over the Miami Redhawks{nee' Redskins}.  This morning the rains are gone, replaced by bright sunshine and cool but seasonable conditions, with a high slated to reach 50.

Tomorrow, with Sam, coming from Ohio State, and Anissa joining us, we will pack up bright and early, and drive the 90 minutes or so to Centerville, near Dayton, and Patricia will help fix Thanksgiving Dinner for Hal and Lisa.  This will be the first Thanksgiving for us together since Hal and Lisa were married in February.  We thought perhaps our first Grandchild, name of Kaysn, would be joining us...but the little guy has yet to make his appearance, they thought, given his size, and progress, he would perhaps be born by now...but it appears he will make his appearance closer to or perhaps after his due date of November 28th, another in a long line of December milestones in our family?  Maybe, but I'm sure they, at least Lisa, would like him to come along sometime before then...we shall see.

Today, not much on the schedule...I will get out and walk, do some pushups, and get to the bank...other than that, I think I have some older photographs I need to work on....changing the view and quality, by various means with my various programs...some of the stuff from 35 to 75 years old can be "tinkered" with to make them more viewable and enjoyable, without messing with the original.  Damn for all their faults and time wasting gadgets, computers, along with modern digital cameras and their programs, are something to behold.

That's the plans....no posting tomorrow, so enjoy your Thanksgiving tomorrow, with family and friends.....

back later>>>>>

Photos-Poster and Still, with Bogart, Tim Holt, and Walter Huston, from the classic "Treasure of the Sierra Madre"---Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Rain, Dartball, Jefferson, and JFK...

A massive area of moderate and heavy rain has arrived in Mercer County in the past hour, it appears it will last the day, and drop an inch or more of unneeded moister....

When I headed to Mendon for our Dartball match last night, the combines were in the fields, trying to get the corn down and in the hoppers before this arrived, it they didn't get it done by this morning, it won't get done until December, if then.

Dartball, we took our 4 win 2 loss season record into Mendon, the team with the worst record of the 8 with a 1 win 5 loss standing...we took the first game 7-1, but then proceeded to be edged out 6-5, and then fell asleep in the final, losing 2-0.  So we sit at 5 wins 4 loses, but with 12 games on 4 dates to go in the first half, we still have the South Division to win or lose in our own hands.  As for me, after taking an out, leading off the first game, I got 8 straight hits, including a triple and a couple of RBIs....going 10 for 12 in the opening stretch...however, like the rest of  the team, I tanked in the final game, going 0 for 5, as I finished 10 for 17 on the night, to boost my average to .450 on the season, I suspect near, if not, the league leader in that category.  Next week, we are back at home, but I'll miss at least one game of the three, due to opening my basketball regular season with a Junior High double header at Wayne Trace.

Jefferson and JFK____

Liberals always love to invoke John Kennedy and Thomas Jefferson as heroes of the left...in doing so they take a blind eye to real history, but given the fact they are Liberals, it's in their DNA.

They claim Jefferson was an Atheist or a Deist.  Nothing could be further from the truth in the former, as for the latter claim, Jefferson did show some leanings as a Deist, after family tragedy struck...however, any true and honest look at Thomas Jefferson, shows he was a man of faith, and in today's world a Conservative/Libertarian.....and we are not talking Ron Paul the assclown Libertarian.  Check out these true Jefferson quotes, and there are many, do you see any "Liberal or Progressive" views?   I think not:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/thomas_jefferson.html 

Told you.....

JFK...the legacy 48 years later___

John Kennedy was shot down in Dallas 48 years ago today....meaning he has been dead longer than he was alive{46 years old}.  The Kennedy family are the darlings of the American press and the American left{in the press case, one and the same}.  However, peel off the press clippings and it becomes obvious than JFK's dad was a Nazi sympathiser, while all the Kennedy men had insatiable appetites for women by the dozens, if not more.  In short, the Kennedy's are as dysfunctional as a family could be.  Murder, Sexual assault, drunkenness, and anti Americanism....at it's lowest form.

As for war hero John Fitzgerald Kennedy, it turns out he really wasn't a Liberal at all...at least by today's definition of "Liberal or Progressive".  Sure he had some liberal tendencies, but he was a pro life Catholic, a Conservative when it came to fighting Communism, and a free trader.  Find me a Liberal that has those views today, and I'll show you a dead Liberal, like John F. Kennedy.  Murdered by Lee Harvey Oswald 48 years ago today...no vast right wing or Cuban conspiracy, he was gunned down by a lone gunman with mental issues.  Was Lyndon Johnson behind the murder?  My mom and many others think so....and LBJ, one of the worst Presidents in history, right up there, or down there with Wilson, FDR, Carter, and Obammy, had reason to kill both John and Bobby Kennedy, however, I think not.   It was Lee Harvey, all by himself.

So, if alive back then, where were you when Kennedy was gunned down?  

I was walking into 9th grade Algebra Class at the old Celina Insurance Building on a cold rainy November, much like today.  The Insurance Building had been converted into a Freshman Class building, because we had outgrown the old High School on East Livingston Street...and the "New" Wayne Street site would not be completed until the following 1964-65 school year.

That old insurance building would be part of my life for many years....my dad, Stan Houseworth, owned the Marathon Gas Station next door, giving me the chance to walk to his place, some 10 yards away, rather than bus it home.  The building, now sitting empty, would also hold my office at the Mercer County Health Department, and other County/City offices for my entire tenure at the local Health Department, before I moved on to Van Wert.   But 48 years ago, at about 2pm I would walk into the downstairs Algebra Class, and we would be told by our math department head..."President Kennedy has been shot in Dallas, he is presumed dead".  The age of Camelot was gone...

back later>>>> 

Photos-JFK, Dartball Darts, Thomas Jefferson, and JFK and Jackie Kennedy on November 22, 1963 

Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Processing the Memories, or lack of...part 3

After a quick basketball scrimmage at Delphos Jefferson Middle School on Saturday morning, I basically spent the weekend watching football....both Ohio State, who really sucks this season, and the better than expected Bengals, lost close games.  In addition to the basketball work Saturday, I did do some weight lifting and managed to get a 40 minute walk in yesterday.  Other than than, except for an occasion run out of the house to usual destinations, Patricia, Anissa, and I, spent the weekend around the homestead.  Pat began making her batches of Christmas cookies, although she vows not to make as many this season...good by me, it's hard enough to keep the 30 pounds I have lost over the past couple of years off, without that temptation.

Still no Grandson in site just yet...the official due date is November 28th, but Hal and Lisa thought Kaysn would come early...that doesn't appear to be the plan that he has however.  As of now, he's still not ready to come out, but we do plan on heading down to Centerville, with Sam coming from Columbus, and fix Thanksgiving Dinner for them.  A change over the past years....unless the baby decides to come before then.

Tan Son Nhut a final look(for now)_____

On Friday's blog, I presented a list of names from my tour at Nha Trang, names and faces I remember vividly.  Since Vietnam,  I have hooked up with some of those guys, some have passed, and others remain lost in time and space.  The same can be said for Dover, where I was from the fall of 68 until my Vietnam Vacation which began on 30 June 1969, and my final Air Force stay at Griffiss in upstate New York, from August 1970, until my quickie discharge in May 1972.  Names and faces are clear as a bell, even now, 40 and more years later....but as for Tan Son Nhut, not so much.

When I started thinking about Vietnam back in 1999, 30 years after the tour began, the memories, faces, names, and places from Nha Trang came flooding back.  From the flight out of TSN to Nha Trang, to the day I got my orders to return to Saigon and the 377th.  I wish now I had kept a complete diary of the time I was there, because although I remember many things from my 6 months at Tan Son Nhut, the names, almost all, are gone from my memory banks.

My drill instructor{TI in the Air Force, for Technical Instructor} from Basic Training at Amarillo, in the summer of 1968, Joe Prokop picked me up at the airport, but Joe would be on B flight, so I only saw him a time or two before he headed back to the states.  My buddy Aceavedo, a Hispanic from Texas, and I spent much time in downtown Saigon, in the bars and brothels together, but I don't remember his first name...we had Tuesdays off, so we spent a boat load of time together.  My cube mate in the barracks, was another Hispanic, a great guy, but frankly, although I remember his face, I cannot remember his name, Martinez? Manuel? Hell I just cannot recall....other names are completely forgotten, although I did connect with one guy through VSPA that I had worked with...but everybody knew Chris Godfrey, although I really didn't know or remember his name, we just called him "Surfer Joe".  Chris, from California, spent 4 of his 6 years at Tan Son Nhut working Security...and is a member of the VSPA...he saw a lot of faces come and go during his tour. I salute him for sticking it out that long, I only wish I had done my final two years there as well, although as I mentioned on a previous post, sometimes you don't know what would have happened, if you had stayed...I am happy with the way things worked out in the long run.

So there is my block or 'brain freeze" when it comes to Tan Son Nhut....I just don't remember the names...not sure why...maybe it was working nights, or having a bout of insomnia.  During that spell, I would get off duty on C Flight, first in Echo Sector, then with Blue Patrol, head to the NCO Club, and try to drink myself to sleep...it seldom worked...I battled the lack of sleep for at least 2 months, finally after returning from my R&R in mid April, and managed to get back to some semblance of normal sleep.

Hawaii April 1970_____

I'm really not sure why I choose to take my R&R in Hawaii?  Most of the guys who were not married, went to Australia, Hong Kong, or some other southeast Asia location...the married guys were hooking up with their wives in Hawaii.  Regardless, I headed out to Honolulu, and as luck would have it, another guy, unmarried, from Army Artillary, Denny Moneypenny, from West Virginia, was seated next to me.  Now, for some reason, I remember his name, clear as a bell.  Denny and I decided to save ourselves some bucks, and would share a room at a off beach hotel called the Kalakaun, we rented a car for the 5 days, and toured the Island, either together or on our own.  We hit the local bars at night, but pretty much went our own way most of the trip, especially during the daylight...each searching on our own, for whatever we were looking for...{insert obvious conquest attempts here}.  

On our final morning, before jumping on that 707 back to Saigon, we grabbed a cab, from an outfit called "Love Cab Company".  A "Hippy Dude" was our driver of the flower power Chevy, he took one look at us and asked "You guys heading back to Nam"?  Answering the affirmative, he opened his dash pocket, where a jar of small rolled joints was stashed....he fired one up, and we proceeded to smoke it on the way to Honolulu International....topping off that R&R, I slept most of the way, or at least a good portion, back to Tan Son Nhut, where I would face about 10 more weeks of duty.

The Final Days____

The next two and one half months rolled by, me and "Ace" continued to spend our Tuesday off days downtown...sure I had some concerns about safety, but I knew life would not be the same when I returned to the states, and wanted to do as much living as I could muster when in Saigon.  

With my insomnia clearing up{I think}, I would get my 5 or 6 hours sleep in, until the sun and heat would wake me....most days, I would head to the outdoor swimming pool, working on my tan, so I could at least look like I was in a tropical location when I returned home for my 39 day leave{30 days plus 9 days allotted travel time}....when 29 June 1970 arrived, I was ready to return home, sure I had my doubts, well founded, about serving 20 months in the USA, but I was ready to come home.....

I have no regrets about my service in Vietnam....no gung ho war hero am I, no draft dodging coward either, just somewhere in-between, someone who has no doubts about my service there, and I don't worry what people think of those of us who served....those that continue to dis us for our service, and those, now some 40 years later, who claim to praise us today, while when we were there protested us, do you hear me Bill Clinton and Company?  Can kiss my ass!

back later>>>>

Photos-top left...the only piece of the self-serving "Award" I received for my duty with the "Blue Patrol"...from March 24 through my late June 1970 final days at Tan Son Nhut...The Terminal at Tan Son Nhut....I traveled out and arrived here on more than one occasion.  The Monsoon Rains come down on our Barracks Compound 1300... On the Beach at Waikiki,  The Kalakauan Hotel, where I spent my five day R&R in Hawaii....and finally, getting ready to leave the Honolulu Airport and return for my final couple of months at Tan Son Nhut.