The Ghosts of Christmas Past...part #1

Another dreary day in western Ohio, weather-wise at least...rain again overnight, with it still slowly coming down at this hour...a few miles to the north in the Convoy/Van Wert area, where I worked a game yesterday evening, it is coming down as snow, but that won't last as temperatures approach the 40 degree mark today, with a high of 50 on the horizon for tomorrow.  It could be worse, the folks along the I-40 from New Mexico through Oklahoma, and north into western Kansas, are dealing with a major blizzard.  10+ inches of snow, and now the wind has moved in, making travel impossible out that way.  I've been on I-40 in the Texas Panhandle driving RVs during a winter storm, believe me, it is no place to get stuck.

Last night after finishing the JV girls game at Crestview, I rushed back to Celina to finish up the first half of the season...I should have taken my time....we had already won the first game 2-1, by the time I arrived...but after starting game #2 with a 2-0 first inning lead, where I went 1 for 1 with a triple, RBI, and a sacrifice, I went hitless for the rest of the night, and we never scored another run...losing 4-2 and 3-0...to finish the season's first half at 11 wins and 10 loses.  The second half will begin in early January, though we may switch the opening from January 2nd to the 9th.  I finished the first half at .413 with 7 RBIs...about par for the course, although the RBI total is low, but since I am now hitting mostly lead-off, it's not surprising.

Christmas Pasts_____part one

Needless to say, I don't remember much of my few Christmas seasons, from 1949 through the 1953, we lived in the tiny berg of Scott, Ohio, on the Van Wert-Paulding County line...the area my great grandparents had settled in shortly after the Civil War had ended, and where my grandfather Sam Houseworth, the 10th of 11th children of Nelson and Mary Ann Houseworth, was born in 1877.

My first Christmas recollections were living in the post war travel camp at Alston's Cottages in South Venice, Florida...mom, dad, Mike, Marty, and Me, and usually those early Christmases, Grandma Houseworth would travel down from Scott, to stay with us in those tiny, cramped, quarters.  We didn't have much, but the tree was always filled with plenty of toys, and gifts....so if we were indeed poor, we sure didn't notice or realize it.  The years of 1954 through 1956, and into the Spring of 1957 were spent in South Venice.  By late Summer 1957 we had moved to the Venice By-Way, before the folks purchased the home in Venice on the corner of School Street{don't know why it was named that, there was no school nearby}, and Pineland Avenue, by the time Christmas 1958 rolled around.  We would live there another 4 years before packing our bags, dogs, cats, and belongings, and returning to west Ohio, where we would settle in the Celina/Montezuma area.

I remember those first Christmases in Florida best however, always getting enough to satisfy us, but not so much that we became spoiled.....I remember board games, bikes, knives, pellet guns, and other items long since gone.....we may not have realized it, but we were indeed lucky.  Never did we overly expect more than we got....and I never remember being dissatisfied with those items...even though some may have been put by the wayside shortly after the season.  Frankly, after moving back to Ohio, where the weather was more 'Christmas like', I just don't remember the Christmas seasons, like I did those of the decade we lived in south Florida.


More tomorrow....another JV game, this one of the boys variety, in Van Wert tonight...back later>>>>


Photos-Christmas 1955 is probably the first that I really remember.  Me, Marty, and Mike, on that morning at the Alston's Cottage living room.... despite the looks I don't believe that Mike and I were unhappy with what we received...more like we were still too damn tired to wake up, probably after staying up half the night waitin' on Santa.  The Cottages were are home from the early days in South Florida, 1954 though the early months of 1957.  The bottom photo is from out new home on School Street in the Edgewood Section of Venice, Florida....our friends from Scott, Ohio, joined us that Christmas in 1959...left to right, me, Mike, Marty in front, and my best friend from my Scott days, Al Foust....who still lives up that way, in Payne, Ohio, these days.
 

The Week Before Christmas....Engine "erring"

The Basketball "Wars" Friday and Saturday were certainly more enjoyable tham the Junior High games of mid week...both night's JV games were close, and even though sloppy, were much better with less fan, less coaches whining, and quicker, than the girls JH games earlier...and these were Boys high school games.  This week will be busy as well....Girls JV at Crestview tonight, followed by a run back to Celina to finish up the first half of Dartball season.  Tomorrow JV Boys at Van Wert, Thursday back to Crestview for a boy Freshman game....then Friday, I will work a double header, Freshman and JV Boys at Ottawa-Glandorf, and both games will be worked with a three man crew, making it much easier, on the legs, knees, lungs, and entire body.  That will do it for the week, but next week Tuesday through Friday will see me working games before the New Year, and our annual get together at Rick's over in Northern Indiana.

Yesterday, Patricia and I had our 35 wedding anniversary to celebrate....she headed for church, Anissa and I went over to mom's like we do most Sundays...after that we headed for Bob Evans for a Sunday Anniversary dinner....pretty laid back, but that was good enough for the day, I am sure we will get out for a more elegant dinner here in due time...but with Sam's birthday, and our wedding date, both the week before Christmas, sometimes you just move the celebration around...like with Sam, he was back in Columbus on this 30th Birthday on Saturday, so we will celebrate that on Wednesday.....The Family get-together, with the two newest members of the family, Kasyn and Luke, by that time a month and 2 weeks old respectively, having their first family Christmases at the Hemmelgarn house....17 of us will join in welcoming the new men of the family into the fold.

Old Guys, Old Vehicles, and Old Engines____

Saturday afternoon, before the game at Delphos, I headed over to Nick's to see how he was coming on rebuilding his 305 Chevy engine in 1988 1/2 ton pick-up.....for someone who, like me, is not much of a mechanic, it was coming along pretty good, and he thought he would have it done, by weekend's end....that I wasn't sure of, but will check with him this week to see how far he really did get.

What it did get me to thinking however was, I need to either get the 1977 Buick Landau back on the road, or sell it.....The land yacht only has 61,300 miles on it, and the body, despite a dent, where Sam kicked it when he owned it, is in good shape...the engine, rebuilt, is solid.  I'm guessing for $2000 I can have it back up and running during the Summer months, the main concern is getting off my lazy ass and getting er done! 

With a minor amount of body work, a little hood Bondo on one spot, and the dent pulled out....it will be a semi-classic, with only new paint job to make it near perfect.   Now, if only I can convince myself to do it......sometime before I die, or let someone else give it a try.

Politics rears it's ugly head_____

Friday on facebook, one of those on my "friends" list  {1700+ people, most of whom I have no idea who they really are}, gave me some grief about calling our Marxist-in-Chief,  Barack Obama, "Obammy"....calling my political views "ignorant" and my calling the Kenyan "Obammy" racist.  "Just who the Hell is this clown"? I thought to myself....after some research, it turns out I officiated a basketball game with him some 4 years ago...one time...and he adds me to his facebook list.  Well now I guess I'm on his 'shit list'...because I called Obammy, well, called him "Obammy"....hardly racist, but you know liberals, both black and white, are so freaking politically correct, anybody that despises Obama, and I do indeed despise the son of a bitch, is a racist.  Anyway, I dumped the fool....my dislike, like any of the black conservatives on my facebook page friends list{and there are many}can tell you, list has nothing to do with his color.  He indeed may be half black, half white, half breed, but there is no doubt The Kenyan, is a "half wit" and a full Marxist....so my advice to "Ed" and those, black, white, or brown, that think like him, "Don't let the door hit you in the ass, on the way out of my facebook page". 

As for the term "Obammy", which he suggested was designed to make it look like "Mammy" and was racist....yep, I guess, Dion, Liza Minnelli, and The Happenings, were all racists for redoing the old Al Jolson song, "My Mammy"?  Nothing I hate more that politically correct race baiters....they, including the likes of Jesse Jackass, and Fat Al Sharpton, and they can all take a flying leap at a rolling donut.

With that, it's off to the basement weight room to work out...back later>>>>

Photos-Nick's 305 truck engine is about done....meanwhile the monster that sits inside my 1977 Buick Landau needs some TLC....as does the outer shell, but it's not that far from being back on the streets.  Meanwhile, what can you say about Obama?  Nothing I could call this dimwitted excuse for a human being can be described as racist or insulting...after all, he does that quite well for himself.

Basketball Wars, Part 3....and a week of Milestones....

Just when you think things cannot get any uglier in the lowly world of Junior High/Middle School girls basketball, last night tops it off....

Not going to mention the schools involved, because frankly the host school has been very good to me, in both Baseball, where I do many of their top league and non-league Varsity games, and Basketball, where I pick and choose the lower level games that I want....note to myself, I will never officiate another game involving the Junior High of the visiting school...again, but that has no reflection on the host school, where I usually enjoy working.

Knowing the visiting school involved, my partner Mark, a diminutive man with 17 years experience officiating basketball, and I knew this would be an ugly double header.  These days girls JH teams, for the most part are bad, and out of control when it comes to knowing the game and how to play it...there are exceptions, Wayne Trace, Celina, Crestview, all come to mind...good teams, with good coaches, that know how to coach and discipline.  From here on out, with the exception of last nights home team, and those 3 mentioned, I will not accept contracts to do this level...sure the pay is good, but the headaches are not worth it....anyway here is how it folded out.

In the opener, the 7th grade game, things were out of control play wise, but despite it's length, time wise, we were done from the 4:30pm start at about 6...still way too long for a JH game.   When the second, 8th grade game started, I knew instinctively that we were in for a long one.   The short round coach, resembling a  bowling ball, was a pain in the ass from the get-go.  A little round black man, who thought standing on the court 3 feet out from the bench was appropriate....and bitching about every call and move, was likewise.   Meanwhile his girls, at least three of them, 8th graders all, were big girls, who towered above the coach, Mark, and even one or two of them were as tall or taller than my 5' 11" frame.  The home team, while more skill talented, would not match up with the bigger girls from the visitors.  The game, as ugly as it was, would remain close, and much to Mark and my dismay would drag into an overtime session, before finally ending with the visitors winning by three of four points, but that time I could have cared less, we just wanted to get off the floor with our hides intact.

Midway through the game, I forget exactly when, Mark "Teed" up the bowling ball...giving him a Technical Foul in layman terms.  The bowling ball was not deterred, and continued bitching.   Shame on me, I usually tried to work the alternate side of the court away from him...although in reality in a different world and place, I would have probably given the mouth a head butt, and rolled his sorry little ass down the floor...it would not have been much of a challenge, even at my age.  Finally Mark had had enough and sat the coach down...realizing another Technical would have sent the coach to the showers, and cost him $160 in fines from the state association, and a session in anger management/sportsmanship.  Mark gave him a verbal lashing instead....in retrospect he or I should have tossed the bowling ball and left him to pay his 2 game suspension and fine.  The tongue lashing provoked some yells and muted slander from the inner city side of the gym....I could picture in my mind some black white violence if this kept up...after all there was no security, I mean a F'ing Junior High Girls Basketball Game?  Give me a break....this should not go on, at any level, but especially this brand.

As I was standing in front of the largely black visiting crowd during a 3rd quarter time out, I and one of the fans were talking....he tells me, "You know your partner should not have yelled that way at the coach"?  I nod my head in agreement, and reply, "No, he should have kicked his ass out, long ago your coach is a buffoon"...well as luck would have it, away from us, two fans, both black, began having a go at each other....no security, Oh Shit!   Finally after other "fans" rushed to the stage, where the real action had began, school officials to their credit ended the minor fight....by this time I had walked over to the scorers table, and told the home coach, "If this shit doesn't cease, we are killing this game, and leaving"....he had no argument with the proposition.  The game did continue however, as the crowd, while still loud, settled down, and were satisfied to yell, scream, and generally, make asses of themselves, without further threats of violence.

It was 7:45 by the time the mess was done...3 hours 15 minutes for a double header that usually take 2 hours to 2 1/4 hours...BS was what it was.  Mark and I, sticking around for another 15 minutes to let the crowd leave the building and lot, both agreed we with never do another game involving the visiting school and the little bowling ball coach.  Like I said, in retrospect, we should have tossed him and done the paperwork.  Sure that might have caused a mini riot....but this little clown should not be coaching at any level...he sucks as a coach, and I assume as a human being.  Mark this down as a learned lesson.....

More December Milestones____

I mentioned early this month that December was as busy as it gets in the Houseworth and related surname families when it comes to births, deaths, and other anniversaries .... this week is certainly no exception.

Last Saturday would have been dad, Stan Houseworth's 94th birthday, Christmas Eve will mark the 39th since the night he died at age of 55.  This week however, is loaded with more pleasant markings...

Sam Houseworth, the oldest son, turns 30 tomorrow, December 17th.....born in St. Marys on a snowy morning back in 1981....he will finish up his Bachelors Degree at The Ohio State University in the spring...kind of a family tradition, finishing up college in your 30s....right along with mom and dad with that.  On the day after Sam was born, Patricia and I celebrated our 5th anniversary...this Sunday marks 35 years since we were married in her hometown of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, in 1976...and a record warm day for the date...temperatures were well into the 60s, a rare day indeed in Wisconsin, even the southern part, that late in the year.

Meanwhile yesterday was brother Mike's 65th Birthday....he was born 11 months or so after mom and dad were married, he was hatched out on December 15, 1946....one of the early day "Boomers"

Tonight it's back to basketball, but both this evening and tomorrow, it will be boys High School action, while at times more intense, at all times more in control and more enjoyable than the disasters of the past two nights.

enjoy your weekend...back later>>>>

photos-December Milestones...top Emma Callies, Patricia's grandmother along with us on 12/18/1976 at Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, "Uncle Sam" Houseworth, who turns 30 tomorrow 12/17 with the newest member of the Houseworth Clan, Kasyn, last week in Centerville, another of Patricia and me in 1976, and brother Mike Houseworth and me, in the Spring of 1958...playing for the Venice Elks, in our childhood hometown of Venice, Florida.

Rick Santorum for President....more Basketball Wars!

Crazy weather we are having....57 degrees at 10:50 in the morning as I start typing today's blog, a bit late again...basketball every night does seem to do that to one....I'm just glad to be retired, otherwise I really don't know how I would accomplish much at all....well, maybe I would just have to make a different use of my time.  In about 8 months I will be officially retired from Environmental Health work for a decade...where the Hell did that time go?

With a high near 60 today this is likely to be the warmest, or close to the warmest day, we will see in western Ohio between now and mid or late March....by that time, basketball will be out of the way, and baseball, my first scrimmage is slated for my 63rd birthday, March 16, 2012.  Speaking of basketball however......

Basketball Wars..Redux____

Working a girls Junior High double header last night, I solidified my observations over the past few years.  One being, basketball at this level, with some significant exceptions, is best left off my contracts in the future...while there are some good girls teams and coaches at this level, they are indeed few and far between.  Last nights two game resembled anything but basketball as we know it.  While you try to officiate on an even keel, if you do that for an entire game, those normally 6 minute quarter, 1 hour in total games, would reach 2 or more hours, and you would finish the games with less than 5 players on most teams, due to fouling, travels, double dribbles, etc.  I won't even try to describe the eight grade game, the second of the two, last night....except to say, we, despite our best efforts to 'let them play", fouled out 7 girls, five on the home team, and it could have been more.

Tonight I'm back, the JH girls again, this time at Lima Central Catholic vs Lima South....we will see how that shakes out.....

Rick Santorum For President____

Until now I have made no choice for President...those people I have liked in the past, have fallen by the wayside, or not even chosen to run.  As for the others, Mitt, Newt, Ron Paul, and others?  Let's say they are not what I am looking for, although all would be much better than the Kenyan Assclown that currently has turned our country into a 3rd world shithole, that is the laughing stock of an equally corrupt, pathetic world.

With this in mind, I sat down and looked how candidates stand on the issues....and only one pretty much hits all my points in agreement....Rick Santorum, the former Senator from Pennsylvania:

  http://www.ricksantorum.com/issues

Now, don't get me wrong, nobody is perfect, and in reality, Santorum has no shot at this point in time....but he appears to be the one person, still running, that 'gets it'....if and when he falls by the wayside, I will consider others, but for now he is my first choice in this "Anybody buy Obammy" world of mine.

The Sun has peaked through the overnight rain and gloom....the wind is trying to dry things off....and I will head out for a walk on this last day of Spring-like weather before , well before next Spring.

back later>>>>

Photos-Rick Santorum is my choice, for now...girls Junior High basketball won't be after this season....Smoke Em' if you Got Em'

Foggy Morning on Grand Lake....

Just a quicky....


For the next two nights I go back to officiating Girls Junior High double headers...tonight at Lima Perry, and tomorrow back to Lima, at Central Catholic.  After that, with the rare exception, maybe a night or two, I am done with girls JH for the season....although I will still work several JV girls games as league action kicks off over the holidays.

This morning, I awoke, and walked through the chill and drizzle from the overnight rains....first through the neighborhoods, then heading to the bank, the Marathon station for $5 worth of Ohio Lottery Tickets.  I seldom play, except on occasion the daily rolling cash draw, where last week I got a $12 return on my $5 dollar investment.  Enough perhaps for a 6-pack of beer.  After that stop I headed with camera over to the shelter house on the northwest corner of Grand Lake....some loose ice had gathered and was being washed back and forth by the southerly winds and waves....I snapped a few photos, and then headed back to the house.

Patricia has fixed her annual allotment of Christmas Cookies...I had some for Mike and Mom, as well as a homemade Cheese Cake that she had made for Mike, as my older, and only brother, turns the big 65 tomorrow.....

That's if for today's posting....gotta get stuff around before heading to Perry....but I will be back later>>>> 

photos-Loose Ice and Fog were the name of the game around Grand Lake early today...

Just Rambling.....

As happens on many occasions these days, I really have nothing, or at least very little, to write about.....the Christmas season is upon us, but with rain on the way, it certainly doesn't seem much like it, and here we are just 12 days away.  As I mentioned yesterday, this will be one busy week.....

Double Header Boys JH last night at Lima Central Catholic, as the T-Birds took two from Marion Local....neither game was close, as LCC used a smothering defense and a full court press, when needed, to seal the Flyers fate.  Tonight, more boys JH action as I head north to Wayne Trace, for a double header...meanwhile Sam, back from Columbus for a few weeks before classes begin at Ohio State. heads for Crestview for, likewise, a boys JH double.

Last night, after I finished at LCC, I headed for Dartball at Mt Carmel....I arrived midway through game #2, and finished 3 for 6 with an RBI to raise my average to .426...but we fell two games to one to the South Division leaders.  With one week left in the season's first half, we now stand at 10-8, still with a mathematical chance to defeat Carmel, but it won't happen, our next opponents, Schumm, are not likely to lose three to us, and if they do, I doubt if Carmel and/or Hopewell stumble that much...so a winning record for the first half is our goal.  Then hopefully we will improve for the second half, and make another run in the tournament like last year.  Frankly though it is rough, our older guys are going through a bad stretch, and the younger guys are not picking up the slack...and with Sam gone most of the season {he was 4 for 12 last night), it is not looking good.  After my .426, our next best hitter with enough at bats to qualify is hitting .316...and we are averaging just 2.94 runs per game...I remember years ago we were scoring 8 runs per game.....now we are getting just 8 hits a game.

I could talk politics...but screw that, frankly I am sick of the whole mess, even the GOP side is driving me to drink...and Hell, that's a short trip....One thing for sure, we, as a nation, will never be the way we were in December 1941 or even on September 11, 2001...the left, and the leftist media has made sure of that.  In the foreseeable future, my lifetime for sure, we will never be undivided.  It's not in the cards....and no war, or attack will ever take us back to December 7, 1941.  A Civil War is more likely to happen on our soil....

back later>>>>

Photos-Grand Lake in the Morning....waiting on the ice...and Dartball, while our team's record and mine personally are not bad, we have a long way to go to be competitive.

Parents as "Fans", What Would Tim Tebow Do? and Weight Fluctuation

Cold but moister free was the weekend that was....

A postponed game due to a late lasting football season on Friday, so no game, then early Saturday up for a Junior High double header at Crestview versus their rivals from Wayne Trace....unlike the injury scarred JH games at Trace on Thursday, these games, played on the larger High School gym, went off without a hitch.  Crestview won the 7th grade game easily, but as expected, the 8th grade girls, with a couple of real prospects playing, ended up 35-32 with the lead changing hands in the final minute, and the home team on the winning end of a great "battle".....of course using that word might cause some parents who viewed Thursdays games to scream at their computer screen.

As a parent of kids who played Junior High and High School sports, I never can be surprised at the 'Tunnel Vision" which many parents view these games.  Thursday night in retrospect was indeed a disaster.  From unconfirmed reports, one girl, as I suspected, has a broken arm, in 2 places no less, and another may have had a concussion, and possible broken nose.  I know, it sounds like a damn war...but it wasn't....it was basketball, junior high girls to be exact...and the game was not that rough, although from the injuries one would be hard to convince.  Sometimes lack of coordination and smaller gyms can result in falls.  But of course some parents want a perfect world where that are no fouls, no falls, and no injuries...I also suspect those parents are the same that vote for Obama and his ilk, the "Nanny State" types that think nothing of blaming somebody for anything or any accident that may happen.

I remember youngest son Hal, early in the baseball season years ago, in Junior High, broke his thumb while catching a fast ball from a young hurler that eventually played and pitched at Bowling Green.  Did I yell at the umpire, or assign blame to the coach or the kid throwing?  Hell no, it is sports, sometimes bad things happen, it's part of growing up.  Officials and Umpires seldom can or do have any actions that result in injury., and at these levels, especially in the lower levels of high school and junior high, the kids are not committing "flagrant" or deviate fouls to purposely injure someone else.  Anybody that thinks otherwise needs to pull their heads out of their backside.

Some parents need to take a look in the mirror, and they will see the reason that schools can't get enough quality coaches, and young umpires and officials are as scarce as hen's teeth...who wants to put up with the BS for little pay and constant criticism?

The Miracle Man....Tim Tebow!

After my walk yesterday, I listened to the Bengals choke their way basically out of the playoff picture, losing in the final 2 seconds to Houston 20-19...the game was blacked out locally, because Cincy failed to sell out the game...something that happens most Sundays this season.  Sam, home for most of the holidays from Ohio State, and I then proceeded to watch the Packers stomp Oakland, but with that game being a blow-out, we turned the channel to watch another "melt down".  The Chicago Bears, up on Denver 10-0 with 2 minutes left, imploded as the Christian Wonder Boy Tim Tebow, who looked pathetic most of the game, brought his Denver team from behind, tying it on a last second field goal from 59 years out, then we watched as the Bears fumbled on their way to a winning overtime score, and let Tebow lead his team far enough down the field, for Matt Prater to kick another long field goal, this one from 51 yards out, to secure a 13-10 win.

So just what is it with Tebow that brings out such strong emotions?   I know many Ohio State fans hate him, simply because he played at Florida, when the Gators kicked our Buckeye asses in the National Championship game....many others hate him because he seems too perfect, too goody two shoes, while most hate him simply because he's a Christian, who is not afraid to admit it...one who thanks Jesus Christ for his success and his failures.  Atheists, fake Christians, the sports media, and left wing political radicals, despise Tim Tebow, for who he is, and for what he says....I guess that's why, as silly as Pro Sports is....I'm really starting to like the guy.

Like Tebow says...."God doesn't root for teams, it's just a game"...and I agree, but I would like to believe that on a random occasion, God might just like to poke a finger in his, and Tim Tebow's detractors eyes....and this 7 game come from behind winning streak by Tebow and the Denver Broncos, might just be one of those occasions....makes me smile, just thinking about that possibility. 

The "Weighty Weekend"....

Of late I have to admit I wonder on Monday mornings...."What the Hell did I eat over the weekend to cause this"?  Almost each Monday morning weigh-in of late, it seems that I gain 3 or 4 pounds...this morning it was four.  Up from 192 on Friday to 196 this morning.  Now I will be the first to admit, my weekend eating and drinking habits are different than Monday through Friday...but three or four pounds?  Come On!

This weekend especially was hard to figure out....frankly I didn't feel that great most of the weekend, and more than that, I didn't eat much, and drank even less....but still here it is, first thing on Monday the scale showed a 4.2 pound gain since Friday AM.....WTF.?

On Saturday I ate some chips and dip and had a couple of beers and a deli sandwich...but little else.  Yesterday, Sunday, Patricia did fix me a omelet for breakfast, but other than a sandwich late in the day I had little else....and for this I gained four pounds?

So today, here we go again...it usually works, I will go back to my usual breakfast...a English Muffin with a spoonful of preserves, coffee, and a banana for breakfast.  Lunch it will be a can of Sardines, Spinach, and a fruit.  With basketball every night this week through Saturday,  my supper will be waiting when I get home...but I don't and won't eat much that late....so I figure I will lose 3 or 4 pounds back....then face the weekend again.  It appears however, if I want to survive the holiday season under 200 pounds{and I didn't lose 30 pounds over the past two years to gain it back at any point}, my weekend meals and habits, will have to be more like my weekday ones.

I'll let you know how it works out....

back later>>>>

Photos-Tim Tebow, of the Denver Broncos....the left wing and Christian haters worst nightmare....and the usual weekday breakfast...looks like I will have to adopt this and my other weekday eating habits for the weekend, if I want to keep the weight I've lost off.

Basketball Wars and December Births

A bit of lite snow on the ground this morning, and temperatures hovering around the 30 degree mark...

Another December Birth____

Our family, as I have mentioned before, is loaded with December Births and other events....my dad, brother Mike, Uncle Bill, son Sam, late first cousin Gary, his sister Linda, Grandma Houseworth, Aunt Cecil, and I'm sure that there are others that I am forgetting...and that doesn't begin to name the other cousins born in the years final month, add that to the fact that Patricia and I were married in December, 35 years ago this month, and that dad died on Christmas Eve back in 1972...December is indeed a milestone month.  Our first grandson, Kasyn, just missed being a December birth, as he was born 2 weeks ago yesterday on Thanksgiving....

Yesterday, my niece Molly and her husband Aaron, a football coach at Hillsdale College in Michigan, welcomed the newest December birth in the family.  Aaron, who starred in football at Celina, then moved on to Athens and Ohio University as the starting Center, and Molly who was an all state trackster in the hurdles at Celina and a gymnastics performer and coach, were both great athletes...their young daughter Lily will probably be one as well, and young Luke Patrick has a BIG start on being as large as his dad...21 inches and 9 pound 10 oz...was his arrival size.  His dad, a defensive coach at Hillsdale, is the only family member bigger than our son Hal, and with Hal at about 6' 4" 260...Aaron has an inch height and probably equal weight to Hal...so young Luke is likely to be a big one as he grows.

Basketball War!  And this was Junior High Girls!!

After working some 40 football games, from youth to varsity High School this past fall, I did see a number of injuries...but even for the speed and size of some of the players in those games, none of the 40, none I say, reached the injury level of last nights Middle School Girls basketball double header at Wayne Trace.

I should say, near double header, because we never completed the 8th grade contest.  Late in the 7th grade game, with visiting Antwerp up by a couple of dozen points, their point guard stole the ball, and was fouled from behind as she laid the ball in...she lost control, hit the padded wall in the small gym arm first, and crumpled to the floor..... I'm not medical expert, but it did appear she had a broken right arm, or at least a major dislocation.  Nothing flagrant about the foul, it just happened.

We finished that game up, then the real action began in the 8th grade game....Wayne Trace blew it open early, but we had two players, one from each team, go down in the second quarter.  The Trace player lay on the floor for a couple of minutes, before heading towards the bench with a painful expression on her face...she would return minutes later and was crashed into by a Antwerp girl, both fell to the floor, with the Archer player landing own her head...she was down for perhaps 10 minutes before finally moving to the Antwerp bench.  My partner official Perry and I were glad to see the half end, without further injury, we would not be so lucky in the shortened second half.

The home standing Radiers continued to hold a commanding lead midway through the 3rd quarter, when after a basket that made the score 31-8, I heard Perry blow his whistle, and point to the floor in the backcourt , where a blue clad Antwerp player lay.....nobody on the floor had noticed, but appearantly the girls were diving for a loose ball on the previous run down court...she fell, struck her head on the wooden bleachers, neck first.   That was all it took....the coaches and trainers worked on her for 15 minutes to keep her comfortable, and the EMS was called.  I don't think her injury was serious, but being a head and neck injury they didn't take a chance.   After consulting with the coaching staffs, we called the game...

As I was leaving the parking lot some 20 minutes later, the Ambulance was still sitting in the back exit way to the gym....I took the darken photo with my Cell Phone as I was leaving, it doesn't show much...but then again the entire afternoon and early evening was a surreal experience, to say the least. 

My High School Boys game tonight was moved, due to Delphos St. Johns being in the football playoffs late...so I get the night off.  Tomorrow another JH girls basketball game....and this one also involves Wayne Trace as they travel to Crestview, let's hope things are a little more "normal"....?

enjoy your weekend...back later>>>>

Hawks and much ado about very little else....

Heading out shortly...will walk to the post office, bank, then another mile or so to get hair cut at George's....back by Noon, then this afternoon off to work a Junior High girls double at Wayne Trace....this morning dawned clear and cold across the Grand Lake Region, temperature may reach the mid 30s by this afternoon, but right now, it sets at 26 degrees.

The Hawk...part 2

I did not see any signs of the Hawk yesterday.....but I'm not really looking out the kitchen windows at all hours either....but seeing and photographing him on Tuesday did remind me of one of my favorite Seinfeld Episodes....#162 to be exact.   This segment is from when Kramer found the set of the old Merv Griffin Show in a dumpster.  The side shows have Jerry getting his girlfriend drunk so he can play with her old toy collection, and George running over a pigeon and a Squirrel...which of course reminded me of the back yard Hawk, who has harassed our collection of Sparrows, Squirrels, and Pigeons, in past years....the episode was one of the best.  Here in the final 7 minutes or so you will see Jerry confronted by his girlfriend, and George, with Bionic Squirrel, come face to face with a Hawk...:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsUX-sCMDuw&feature=related 

One of the best......

No game last night, but did attend a rules meeting in Van Wert, so I've got three of the four required local meetings, as well as the state meeting completed....

Off on my walk around town....back later>>>>

Photos-Our Visiting Backyard Hawk, and the Seinfeld, Merv Griffin/Hawk/Squirrel Episode #162



 

Return of the Marsh Hawk....and 70 Years Ago Today, A Day that.........

Drove through the fog and mixed drizzle with icy mist late yesterday to work a girls JV basketball game at Convoy Crestview...which resulted in a close fought 30-27 for the home squad.  I showered and left before the end of the first quarter of the Varsity contest.  Arriving home at 8:30 as the drizzle had turned to light snow, but only a dusting occurred and the roads are clear this morning, as the sun begins to shine through the early morning cloud cover.

The Hawk Returns_____

 About this same time, the first year I started this blog, I believe the early winter of 2007-08, a Marsh Hawk began hanging around the back yard bird and Squirrel feeder.  That first late fall and early winter, he{or she?, but I believe it to be a male given the size} started off catching a slow moving Pigeon or two.  The Pigeons were nesting high on our roof and the old Church across the street.  They were easy prey for the Hawk....when the old Mersman Factory Building was raised, those birds moved on, but the Hawk continued to come back for a chance to feast on Doves or the smaller, but quicker, noisy Sparrows that gathered each morning.  On occasion I would note a successful hunt by the larger bird.  On some visits he would face off with one of the dozen or so back yard Squirrels, but would invariably fly away from the confrontation.  I'm sure the Hawk could have taken out a "tree rat" if he was really hungry, but the price he would have to pay apparently was not worth the effort...unlike Doves, Pigeons, and Sparrows, those Squirrels have teeth.

Last Winter, the Hawk only showed up on a couple of occasions, I had however noticed, if this indeed was the same bird, that he had grown over the previous 4 winters, and had become a quite strong looking and attractive bird.  So it was yesterday I let Reagan, the 13 1/2 year old Airedale, out for her Noontime duties, I had already given the birds and Squirrels their morning ration of feed seed, and corn....when Reagan began scratching on the back door, I let her in, as I opened the door, there he was, the Hawk, on top of the arbor, ripping apart the remains of an unlucky Sparrow.  Unlike past years, the Hawk didn't fly when Reagan was out, and he looked at me as I stood in the doorway, but didn't bother to cease his feeding.  This gave me the opportunity to run back in and grab the small Nikon.....

Putting the camera on auto~focus, I began to snap photos of the feeding predator.  As he stayed, I moved forward, finally getting more than a dozen photos, as he finally jump onto the high wires, and eventually flew into the neighbors tree filled yard to the west.  The point and shoot Nikon, although I enjoy the ease of its workings, is not best for outdoor close-up shots, my hands just are not that steady these days, and I didn't have the time to set it on the mini tripod...so out of the 16 total photos, perhaps 5, after working with them on my computer imaging studio, came out worthwhile....I particularly like the one above with him sitting in the tree staring down at me...done feeding, but not happy that I rushed his meal with my intrusion.

70 years ago today_____

Over seven years before I was born in Van Wert, Ohio, The Japanese attacked the Hawaiian outpost of Pearl Harbor.  Historical stories differ, and as more evidence is uncovered, it remains a question just how much of a "Surprise Attack" the invasion really was.

Was FDR well aware of the coming attack?  Was he indeed wanting the attack to happen so he could toss the US into the second World War?  Or was this FDR shining moment, an opportunity to save his long lasting, but ultimately failed Presidency, after all the Great Depression, for all of his Socialist Engineering, was still gripping America.   Perhaps a combination of all these theories and more....As a student of American History, especially the Civil War and WW2. {both to me, much more interesting than "my war, Vietnam" or any other, including WW1, in American History}...I have my thoughts, but admit, I really don't know the thought process of the ultimate progressive mind of Franklin D. Roosevelt....a man I consider right down there with Wilson, Carter, LBJ, and the current Assclown Kenyan, as the five worst Presidents in US History.

Regardless, whatever the reason or cause for our entrance into the Second World War, Pearl Harbor was the catalyst of our going to war...and like Americans back then{not so today}, we were going to war to win it...and we did.  America, my ego included, won WW2 pretty much by ourselves, sure we had help, from the Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and Russians...but make no mistake, if not for the American GI, the war would have been lost......there can be no argument on that fact.

So looking at today, what would happen if we are attacked, by Iran, China, or even North Korea?  Here is a hint, especially if the current Islamic Camel Fornicator is in office...NOT A DAMN THING!  

Barack Insane Obama, his Administration, the Media, and his supporters, haven't the guts or balls to fight anybody...they are cowards to the Nth degree.   Any attack on America would, under his lack of leadership, go unpunished.  The diplomats would be called in...and it would end there.  As long as anti Americans are in charge of America, and the Media cheers them on{being America haters for the most part itself}, we are in deep dung.....it is indeed time for a change.  The question is, is it too late?

Something to think about on this 70th anniversary of the Attack{surprise or not} on Pearl Harbor:

back later>>>>

Photos-The Large Marsh Hawk made its return to our back yard yesterday, feeding on the noisy Sparrows that feed at the station and arbor that sit along the fence.....and would we have the same "guts" today as we had 70 years ago?  I think not, Hell today we can't even call the Japs "Japs"...no politically correct you know, you know we would not be able to call the Islamics invaders what they are, "Stinking Terrorists", let alone fight them...such is America in the days of Obammy.....

Off to Hawaii on our Dime...The Kenyan Assclown loves spending our money

The 3rd day of rain wound down, and turned to snow for a brief while last night....leaving a muddy mess in West Central Ohio....with just a small crusting of snow on the ground......today, wet grounds, but nothing falling at this time, just cloudy, cold, and windy.

After finishing up the Junior High double header for girls basketball at Celina last night, I headed to St. Johns Church for a Dartball battle with rival St. Johns Hopewell....neither team had it's game going, and after losing a 15 inning marathon in the opener, we split the final two games.....we and Hopewell both stand at 9 wins and 6 loses in the season's first half, tied in the South Division, not sure what Mt Carmel, who entered last night at 7 wins and 5 loses did...but with them on our schedule next week, we still have destiny in our hands...although with our play thus far, that isn't saying much.   After a very slow start, I finished 5 for 14, with a lone RBI....now standing at .419 on the season with 5 RBIs.....

Tonight it's off to Crestview to work a JV Girls game at Convoy.....

The Pretender and Thief______

The White House has announced that Barack Obama, aka: The Kenyan Assclown, and his lovely wife Moo~Shell will be jetting off to Hawaii on December 17th for 2 1/2 weeks on our dime.   No doubt the continuation of the Moo~Shell "Let them eat Cake" tour......I guess the only good thing about Obammy taking so many vacations and golf outings is, it leaves less time for the useless son of a bitch to screw things up, although gawd knows he still tries his hardest:

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash1.htm 

Can we in retrospect give Hawaii it's freedom and make his already illegal and phony Hawaiian Birth, even more illegal?  Just asking...because we need all the help we can get from this clown and his free spending "fashion queen" of a wife....although we really know, the only "queen" in this couple is Barry himself....just ask his Chicago boyfriends, the ones still living that is.

OK...as you can tell, I'm stretching things for today.....so I'll be back later>>>>unless the Secret Service comes to take me away...