On to Marquette, a bit of dirt, some gravel, and a taste of sand...

After a night, most spent in the bar, at Baraga in the Michigan UP, the trio planned a short ride to Marquette located some 80 miles farther east in the "Yooper"....today we would get to see some off pavement riding for the first time since day 1.....

Honestly I was still a bit "hung over" when we pulled out of the Inn...we would be on US 41 for a few miles, then try to find some dirt or gravel for some off road fun....after fueling up a few miles down the road, Kurt found Herman Road, which would take us through the woods and mostly dirt and gravel to the tiny town of Nestoria, some 20 miles away, back on Highway 41.  The day was cool but sunny, with the winds from the previous day still present...it was good to get off the pavement, even if only for a little while.

After getting back on 41 and Michigan 28, with a stop for coffee and a bite to eat at a gas/convenience store, we made the remaining trip in short order and stopped for the day, a day of relaxation and food, around Noon...

Buffalo Wild Wings for Lunch, Chinese for Supper....inbetween we grabbed a room at the quaint Cedar Inn, and while Nick and Kurt headed off to look at Leather Coats, I headed to Wal Mart for a clean batch of socks and white T-Shirts....then back at the room I grabbed my swimming trunks and took a dip in the pool and a quick Hot Tub...before heading out to the deck for a bit of sun...the good thing was, NOBODY else was using the facilities, and I had the early 1pm check in to thank for that.

So Thursday was a day of gravel, dirt, 2 meals, and some rest....we would need it as it turned out, because Friday and Saturday we would put on over 640 miles total, and that is a couple of BIG days of Monkey Butt Riding on the TWs....



Friday July 31, 2015....

Up early as usual, I wanted to catch some photos from the Lake Superior shore...so we headed through downtown Marquette, a university town that houses students from Northern Michigan University, in the cooler weather months....

We maneuvered through the festival roadblocks, and got to a nice park, where we would snapped a few photos before heading out...this day we would manage to say off the Federal Highways for the most part, hit some gravel, cross the huge Mackinac Bridge, on a most windy day....and ride ourselves into the only{albeit} brief rain of the entire trip as we pulled into the State Forest town of Atlanta, Michigan, in the lower part of the state.....

those stories and photos coming up in the next installment...


Photos-Nick and Kurt stop for a photo shoot as we find dirt on Herman Road, south of Lake Superior..{2} A railroad bridge across a river I forget the name of half way between Baraga and Marquette...{3}The Sandy Shore of Lake Superior on early Friday Morning...{4} and I take a photo of the speedometer waiting to pay the toll on the Big Mac Bridge...my trip total had reached 1001 miles{as I started with 1333 miles on the TW the previous Sunday}...

Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday July 29th, Out of Wisconsin, back into Michigan{the UP}

 On Tuesday, after Docking at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, we had a quick exit from the "SS Badger" and hunted for a fuel stop and we were on our way once again:

Getting up a running shortly after Noon{CDT} we knew we would not ride a long way this day and it actually turned out to be the second shortest days, miles wise{unless you count the 90 miles via boat across Lake Michigan} that we would have.  We managed, by mistake, and road detours, to back door into the growing Green Bay berg of De Pere before rush hour, and after another stop for fuel, we quickly headed west and north, via mostly back roads to Shawano, near the Indian Reservation.  We pulled into a decent Super 8 motel and slapped down another $100 for a smallish roon, and headed out to dine on Mexican for the 2nd straight night...no complaints, I can always find something to chow down on in those type restaurants.

We had met some Harley riders from Iowa and their wives at the BP fuel stop just outside of Shawano....turns out while we rode the 6 miles into town, they took the longer way {22 miles} around the lake and stopped at the same place...nice folks, who we had some good conversations with....

Wednesday the 29th

Up early{as we usually were} we head north combining Wisconsin 47 and 55 towards Eagle River....thanks to a detour, we "Detoured" away from Eagle River and back to 55 and several passes across the Wolf River, where we took some obligatory photos, and then headed into the Michigan UP or "Yooper" as the natives, oops, locals,  call it. 

Wisconsin 55 would become Michigan 73 as we crossed the Brule River near the final Cheeseland town we would see, Nelma.  By this time Kurt had noticed a problem with his front tire....there was little doubt something had come loose due to the violent crash his TW had been through on Sunday Afternoon...the front bushing keeping the tire and wheel steading had broken off and it was going to need a fix, before we were to go much farther....our trio slowed down and we crawled{40-45mph} into the town of Iron River, Michigan.  Lucky for us, the historical little berg had a ACE Hardware, and that would be our saving grace.

Kurt found a fit for his missing piece....and the nice folks at ACE let us use some of their outdoor blocks and stones to lift the 2011 off the ground...while Kurt and Nick worked on the wheel, I held it steady...being the least Mechanical of the group, it was my little contribution....the "Mechanical DNA" must skip a beat....while my dad, was a excellent mechanic during WWII{which kept him stateside working on B-29s and B-17s}, my late cousin Gary was a great mechanic as well, and even older brother Mike, knew enough to get out of trouble...me?  Not a chance!  Just never like getting my hands dirty and greasy unless I had to....I can work on engines, change oil, etc, etc, if I have to, but if I don't, I don't!

Anyway, within an hour, the problems received a temporary fix, which would get Kurt's ride the remaining 800 or so miles to complete the trip....we were on our way once again.  Our plan, although not set in stone, was to get somewhere along Lake Superior before nightfall, and off we headed straight north with a bit of a westerly early on path along several seldom used paved roads...the town of Baraga, located on Keweenaw Bay, on the extreme southern tip of the Peninsula that reaches far into Lake Superior and where Cooper Harbor and the beginnings of US 41 are to be found.  "US 41" the very road I grew up on in South Venice, Florida, some 2000 miles south, back in the 1950s....

The temperatures dropped as we neared the big lake, and the clouds looked like they may drop some rain on us....we needed not to worry, not only did we roll into Baraga dry and fairly warm, we found the nicest motel, complete with dining room and bar...and to our pleasant surprise, it was the lowest cost of the entire trip...$87, of course the bar tab plus tip would be equal to that and probably more...this would be the only night that we would any serious beer drinking, except the nights spent at Kurt's Ranch where we didn't worry about riding, and could down a few....

http://book.michigan-hotels.org/hotels/hotel/?refid=1073&refclickid=1073%7EMichigan-Hotels.org%7EBaraga2&hotel_id=700207038

I would awake Thursday Morning and wonder just "What the Hell was I thinking"?  A small hangover in tact, but a short day of riding would await us....and we headed out towards a Photo Session at Lake Superior and a combined dirt, gravel, a bit of sand, and pavement towards the next stop at Marquette.....where we would do some eating, and some resting up for the final few legs of the trip....

That story and photos next up.............

Yamaha TW200s around the Great Lakes {Part #2}

With the quick fix to Kurt's TW, we would roll out of his Auburn Ranch on Monday{July 27} at about 9am....

The goal was to reach Ludington by 5pm or so, grab a motel and meal, and rest up for the ride across Lake Michigan on the SS Badger to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the docking site located some miles south of Green Bay. 

Not your typical TW Riding was in store....we needed to cover nearly 300 miles, most of it on Michigan 66, through the rural areas of central and west lower Michigan, and then shoot west on US 10 to the port city of Ludington....a couple of things happened on the way, which would prove a pain in the ass, but nothing of major proportions.

First off my $40 wrap around goggles, which had been on the top of my Helmet for a few hundred miles over the past couple weeks, would fly off somewhere near Kurt's place, never to be seen again....then at our first fuel stop, some 80 miles in, I would leave my sunglasses at a Marathon Station...figured out, no sunglasses, no goggles, meant bugs in eyes or worse, so I headed back the 3 miles, and the damn glasses were already gone..."O' Well", the nearby Shell Station had a nice selection so I picked up a pair for $17 bucks and they proved better for riding than my others, so small price to pay, and we were on our way north again.

It was not a route I had planned or wanted, on pavement and somewhat busy highways, but in retrospect it was what we would do much of the trip, with breaks for better off road and back roads, at times.  We weaved our way through small towns and larger ones too{Battle Creek}, without further incidents, and arrived at Ludington at about 5pm, found a nice "Mom and Pop" motel about a mile or so from the docks, plunked down $100 for a three bed room, and immediately headed out to a Mexican Restaurant.  After a good meal, we stopped at the local Wal Mart, I grabbed a six pack, Kurt needed a leather belt{he left his at home}, and we called it a night.

The SS Badger

Our departure time was set for 8:45am, and we had been told to be there an hour before the boat was to leave....we got there about 90 minutes before hand....I had already taken a ginger root capsule and a Dramamine just in case of rough seas would make my motion sickness kick in....I needed not to worry!

The Ship is a converted 1953 built coal boat and was loaded with passengers, semi trucks, cars, and 8 of us on Motorcycles...without really knowing, I would say a couple hundred passengers were on this trip...sunshine, little wind, and lite seas greeted us.  Nick and Kurt ate breakfast, I settled for a small coffee, not really being hungry, and not wanting to chance the motion sickness bug, even with the small waves...

 

I spent most of the first half of the trip across on the 3rd deck smoking area...no I didn't smoke, but the air was pretty good, and I spent a couple hours taking with a couple of guys on Harleys that were heading for the HD Museum in Milwaukee, then on to the big rally at Sturgis, South Dakota....this would be one guys 9th trip, the other was making his maiden showing at Sturgis.

 I finally worked my way down to the sundeck where Kurt and Nick were parked...and spent the next 90 minutes or so until we drifted into Manitowoc Harbor....

A quick unload and we were off towards the Wisconsin Northwoods....

that will be continue next.....{probably Thursday, due to being with the Grandsons tomorrow}

Photos-Top:  The SS Badger as it awaits our TWs and other vehicles for the 4 hour tour across Lake Michigan (2) One of the rare rural spots on our first full riding day...a park and area Kurt knew near Mongo, Indiana{3}Our first Motel Night at the Mom and Pop at Ludington{4} A "Selfie" with the new sunglasses in all their glory {5} Leaving Ludington {6} The Sun Deck of the Badger, where many of the passengers would spend the trip {6} and finally we pull into Manitowoc, Wisconsin, as the fisherman watched us arrive.

7 Days of Riding Around the Great Lakes on Dual Sport Motorcycles

On the little Dual Sport Yamaha TW200s no less:

About six weeks ago I got a burr under my saddle and contacted my old acquaintance Nick, who would be retiring on July 20th after 38 years at Crown Industries, that we should take our TWs around the Great Lakes...a trip that we could stretch into 8 to 12 days and 1600-2000 miles...depending on how we felt and what the weather and severe cases of "Monkey Butt" would do to us.  We finally agreed to leave on July 28th, or maybe the 27th, and we would avoid Chicagoland and head out through central Indiana, work our way slowly northwest through Illinois and end up somewhere near the Iowa border as we hit the Wisconsin State Line with the Land of Lincoln

....that was the plan, until wife Patricia and I were finishing up our stay in Brown County, Indiana, on a Cabin Mini Vacation.  Another TW Rider, Kurt from the Auburn, Indiana, area{who we had traveled with to Moab, Utah, in March, along with his nephew Spencer, aka "Weasel"} called me on the cell phone while I was getting ready to hit the sack and declared he had the week off and wanted to ride with us...although our 8 to 12 days and miles might be reduced to 7 days and 1500 miles..."Great with me" I declared...Kurt is much better at maintaining the bikes, and as an experienced mountain climber, knows how to travel and survive...so we kicked up our leave Celina day to the Sunday before, July 26th, we would head to Kurt's Ranch and stay there and we 3 would head out on the 27th...but instead of going across Indiana and Illinois, we would ride north deep along the central and west side of Michigan, and arrive at Ludington, where we would put the bikes on the Great Lakes Ferry, the SS Badger, and ride the waves for 4 hours on Tuesday before debarking at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, south of Green Bay.

Nick and I changed the oil in our rides, putting in synthetic blends and tightening up the stock chains{something we would do multiple times during the next 8 days}...Sunday the 27th arrived, and Nick and I headed out from Celina towards Auburn at 2pm.  Winding our way around the west side of Ohio and the State Line Road with Indiana, we finally arrived at Kurt's at 5pm or so...this is where the real adventure would begin:

Wrecking Kurt's TW, the first disaster....

Shortly after arriving, we viewed Kurt's 2011 with admiration....he had it equipped with soft bags and balanced and ready to go....while things looked up for the trip, the bike would be dealt a setback...{I won't go into full detail here} the Kurt Machine would slide on some gravel{and no Kurt, nor Nick, or I were riding, Weasel either!} the bags would be destroyed, the handlebars ruined and other cosmetic damage would be received as well....It looked for awhile as though Kurt would be forced to ride his Triumph Scrambler, a fine ride, but which would pretty much derail the planning of the trip....but....

"Weasel" and Renaldo to the rescue.....


Enter nephew Spencer and his buddy Renaldo, who had been partying on Lake James on Sunday....they arrived like knights in shining armor, and within the hour had changed the bike from "wrecked" back into rideable .  The trashed bags were replaced with Kurt's metal ones and despite a bit of a lean, the handlebar switchout was complete as well....being a clueless one at most things mechanical, I was amazed at the quick work and well done as well, which would enable Kurt to ride his TW, so all three of us would be riding the virtual same ride{the TWs never change, style wise in nearly 30 years, just the paint scheme yearly for the most part}.



A few more beers, and a night's sleep and we would head out fairly early Monday morning and the real adventure would begin....

Next Up:  Riding to Ludington

The Buzz

Growing up in south Flordia{Venice} in the 1950s and early 60s, I usually wore a Buzz Cut Hair Style, at least during the Summer Months, especially since my childhood hero, Mickey Mantle, also wore the Buzz during the Yankees summer baseball season....that all changed during my high school years back in Ohio when the Beatles came along....although I never wore it extremely long until my post Air Force days in the 1970s.  Since those days I usually have it cut about once a month, and kept it fairly long, but mostly above the ears...

The last time I received a Buzz Cut was basic training, free of charge, from the US Air Force at Amarillo, AFB, Texas in June of 1968....I made it a point as an Air Force Cop to wear it as long as possible after that, just to piss off the brass and lifers....I was written up more than one time for refusing to get it cut to what they thought was the proper length...."F*ck Em" was my motto, for my four year tour, including my time in Vietnam.

After motorcycle riding in the desert in Moab, Utah, and the surrounding desert mountains back in March, I knew, wearing a helmet, most times while riding, I would need to get rid of the hair for awhile...at least during my proposed Great Lake Dual Sport Motorcycle Adventure coming up in late July and into early August...the only question was "When do I pull the Trigger"?

This morning was time....so I headed off to my barber of 35 years, George, and asked him to the dirty deed....He sez "Really, are you sure"....it's time I sez, it will grow back, no baldness in my family, either side....

So after 47 years I have the Air Force Basic Training Look....a lot more gray stubble on the melon, to go with the 60 pounds since 1968.....135 when I entered basic training and the 195 pounds of today....

Here Ya Go:

Before and After, After

The Tale of Two Flags...

One designed to appease the "Queer Nation" of fags, perverts, dykes, child molesters, and pedophiles, is approved by the media, White House, Liberals, and gutless faux Conservatives with no spine:

The Rainbow or as I call it the "RainBlow Flag"....




The other the Confederate Battle Flag is called Racist by the usual suspect...the foreign born piece of dung in the White House, and Black Racist'/Poverty Pimps, and the Media, Liberals, and RINOs who want to curry favor from those groups{yea, like that is going to work}...Here is a message, the far left is never going to like you, unless you turn Democrate and admit having an affair with the same sex, or a goat...the at least the Radical Islamics will like you...

The Confederate Battle Flag....

I'm neither a queer or a member of the collection of perverts who wrap themselves in the Rainbow Flag...neither am I a son of the South....even though I grew up in south Florida, I was born in Ohio and all the immediate members of my family that I know of {16 at least} fought and some died for the Union....

However only 1 of those two flags deserved respect, and it's not the cute little faggot flag:  Don't like that or agree, ask me how little I freaking care:

back later:

FaceBook's Ban Hammer

Never let it be said that radical Liberals, especially white radical Queer Liberals are tolerant....that is about as far from the truth as it gets....

While I have no problem with faggots, dykes, and other perverts, as a whole...I do have a problem with Radical Gays, most of whom are if not convicted or charged Child Molesters or members of NAMBLA, certainly have that mindset...and dare anybody challenge them....silly me, I did that on facebook, and as usual the perverts got their way...so I've been given the "Ban Hammer" for a week...not the first time that has happened, but the first time in awhile...

We will see how it all plays out...but one thing you can be sure of...Mark Suckenberg and the Left Wing Nazi Patrol at Facebook will do any and everything to protect the perverted minority, racist blacks, Islamic Trash, and their Fuhrer Obammy the Half Breed Half Wit....

For now, I will content myself with other pursuits, mainly praying for the rains{27 of 30 days with record monthly amounts} of June to end, and preparing for the Great Lakes Motorcycle off road trip coming up in late July and early August...

Stick Around....my short lived recess on this blog has ended...

back later

Approaching 8 years and well.....it's about time

The End of the Blog?

Next Month it will be Eight years since I started this Blog....and I posted almost daily for the first 4+ years, but admit that over the past couple of years things in the blogging world have changes.....after looking back at my life I settled into a routine of boring banter, which frankly has become a chore, rather than fun...so, while I am going to keep this blog afloat, I will no longer post with any urgency....fact of the matter is, that stopped a couple of years ago.

So feel free to look back at the past  posts and photos from that July 2007 day until today....but other than an occasional rant or photo I deem important to nobody other than me, there will be little activity on this blog....however, with over 1500 posts since that summer back in 2007, there are plenty of things to look at, from growing up in Venice, Florida, to my days in Vietnam, to political rants and my sporting life and umpiring gigs to look at if your are bored on some rain filled or winter snowy day....

I want to thank the thousands that have visited and especially those that have left a message or two.....

As I said, I will keep the blog active in some way, but for now....the postings and photos will be few and far between...

Thanks for stopping by, and I wish you God's Speed in your personal journey.

Pat Houseworth {PRH{
Celina, Ohio, USA
June 2015

ps:

One other reason I am slowing this Blog Pony down is because of all the guys I "met' while first blogging are dying off....Sgt Charlie, Buck Pennington, etc, others like Bruno, who knows what happened to him, Lin, Jeff, and Paul, have basically stopped Blogging....it had been so long since I visited Buck Pennington's Blog...

http://exileinportales.blogspot.com/

I had not known that he passed away just before Christmas...that told me...PRH, it's time to go!

High School Baseball's Second Season Begins

The Regular High School Baseball Season is stuffed into 6 short, usually cold, wet, and windy, weeks, from the last week in March until May reaches a double digit number....seems I just got back from Moab, Utah, and here I am getting ready to do post season assignments already...the time has flown by, and now we will once again{those of us lucky enough to do post season} wait and see what Mother Nature will throw at us...the beginning of tournaments, this Saturday already has 'weather issues' in the forecast.

Saturday May 9th...

All six of my tournament games that I am scheduled to do are with Mr Bob G....two of those, as we face a 80% chance of rain are this Saturday.  The Northwest District of Ohio is now in charge of selecting all Sectional and District Umpires, and have paired Bob and I, both from Celina, up for the first 3 games, and with Ed O from St Marys for the District at Coldwater....by plan or not, we kick off the tournament with 2 teams from the MAC, Midwest Athletic Conference, at Delphos St. Johns we have them playing league rival, New Bremen....on paper, the two look pretty even, and in fact they{as luck would have it} play each other Friday at NB, just hours before they are scheduled to meet again....Celina and Shawnee are basically facing the same situation in the WBL, the Bulldogs beat Lima Shawnee 6-5 on Tuesday to gain a share of the WBL Title, and now will likely fact the Indians again next week in the Division 2 Tournament.

I should mention that Bob and I have all six of our games in the Sectional and District that will end up in Coldwater...all of our games are D4 and the first 3 feed into Coldwater on May 20th and 23rd, which we will do those 3 District games with Ed O....

Anyway once we finish up at St Johns, we take a few hours off and then end up in southern Mercer County at Maria Stein Marion Local,  for another game featuring 2 MAC teasm...the host Flyers vs New Knoxville...another game which should be competitive....but you never know....once again, the forecast doesn't look good...we will find out Saturday.

Wednesday May 13th...

Bob and I head to southwestern Mercer County, and Fort Recovery, located on the Indiana/Ohio State Line, some 20 miles from Celina...there at 5pm we take on top seeded and #1 ranked FR Indians as they host the winner of the Waynesfield-Lincolnview game, which takes place on Saturday at Middle Point Lincolnview....the hosts started out 17-0 but have stumbled a bit and now set at 19-2 and must play St Henry for a share of the MAC Title tomorrow night....they do get a by, in the tournament and this should keep their pitching in order for both the league match and the Sectional Title Game on Wednesday.

The D4 District at Coldwater...May 20th and 23rd...

This District usually produces a state final 4 and often a small school state title...that was the case when Ed, Bob, and I, worked this District 3 season ago, when Minster squeaked out a title, then when on to win the State D4 Title for the second straight year....the top 4 seeds in the District are  Fort Recovery, Minster, Crestview{state runners up out of this District a year ago} and Spencerville.  Will those four teams make it to Coldwater?  Who Knows, that is why they play the games, and why every team in the State makes the Tournament.....

Rain go away....Play Ball!

Back Later to tell you how it all went......

Another Successful Dayton "Mini Reunion"....2015

Back from Dayton, Wright-Patterson AFB, and the Air Force Museum.....as we held a Vietnam/Thailand reunion for the guys that served back during the war as Air Force Security Police.

Five of us got together back in February 2007 and since that cold, snowy day, every year since 2009, we have gathered, the past 5 or 6 of those at the Hope Hotel on WPAFB....with the highlight being a day on Saturday at the Air Force Museum....the gang, despite our advancing ages, continues to grow.

This year 50+ spent at least part of the reunion with us, and 38 Sky Cops, wives and guests were at the banquet on Saturday Night at the Hope.....

Photos-The Majority of the guys that attended the reunion, this was taken at our annual gathering point, the Defender Fortis Statue at the West Grounds of the Air Force Museum. 

Patricia and I, another Mike Helton Photo from Saturday Night at the Banquet....
and finally the surprise Sky Cop Bust they presented me
on Saturday for the years Bob Griffith and I have led the
Mini Reunion at the Hope Hotel on WPAFB.

back later>>>>

Baseball....60 Years in the Game!

Now that the excitement of the Moab Dual Sport Motorcycle Adventure is passing into a pleasant memory, reality of Spring back in West Central Ohio has returned....umpiring Spring Baseball in the Midwest is a challenge of it's own...Wind, Cold, Rain, Fans, Coaches, and Players, make this sport, my favorite by far, a challenge....a challenge I began 60 years ago playing "Wiffle Ball" around the pine trees of Alston's Cottages our first home in South Venice, Florida....since that time in 1955, almost without exception, I have been involved in the sport of Baseball or it's cousin Softball, both fast and slow pitch.

Baseball....60 years, in and around the game.....

Hard to believe that I have been around 66 years, let alone being 6 decades since I first picked up a bat and ball....I found the game, and my love of it back at those cottages....and remember watching the Yankees{my favorite team back then, always loved a winner} on the grainy pictures coming through on the small 14 inch or so black and white TV that sat on a stand in the small cottage living room...the first game I remember watching on the tube was the 1955 All~Star Game....Mickey Mantle was my childhood hero....how many kids today can pick out a player, who will spend his entire career playing for one team, earning a small salary{even though Mick was the highest paid player of the day, it is peanuts compared to the overpaid clowns who bat .240 and sit out half a season, or the pitchers who earn about a Million Bucks per win....}?  The game was different, the times were better, argue all you want, there is no comparison....for people like me, the fifties and early 60s, were superior by far.

After we moved to the Venice By~Way and then on to School Street in the Edgewood Section of Venice, I had began playing organized Baseball in the Venice Little League System....first with the Venice Elks, then with league expansion, I was placed on the Venice-Nokomis Bank team, where I was the starting catcher for two seasons....a average player at best for most of my early years, it did not stop or deter my love of the game....Baseball, followed by Fast Pitch{during my Air Force days, post Vietnam} and then Slow Pitch Softball took me into my 30s....in between I coached Little League in Celina, dallied with umpire work{didn't have the patience to put up with the BS from coaches and fans early on}....add radio play-by-play of Minor League Baseball in Wisconsin and then High School Baseball when I returned to Ohio, kept me in the game....the side benefit of working radio gave me a chance to get in free for the Reds Games in Cincinnati, and a chance to meet just about every super star in that Reds Organization....

Finally approaching 50, with youngest son Hal on the Celina Bulldog team, older son Sam, his high school days finished decided to head to Daytona Beach and attend the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School, in hopes of becoming a MLB Umpire down the road....

When Sam finished up, he did not get a minor league offer, only 3 of the class of that year did...but by that team he was prepared to come back to Ohio and try his hand at High School Umpire work....before he returned he asked me if I would like to get back into umpire work....?

16 years later, the rest is history...Sam now works and umpires baseball and officiates football in Illinois, I continue to do 3 sports, baseball, football, and basketball, in Ohio.  I'm not sure how many more seasons I will work the three sports, but baseball will be the last one I give up....I would like to umpire until I hit 70...buy my health and God are in charge of that...I'm just along for the ride....which so far this season has me scheduled for 47 regular season games and at least 7 Post Season Tournament games on the docket so far.  After that the usual Summer Baseball will dome in June and July.

I've been blessed with the ability to do just about every level and the tournament assignments keep coming my way...avoiding major injury, I will continue to stick close to the game and hopefully be able to help out younger umpires that are coming up....our ranks are not expanding, some guys, despite the reasonable pay, especially for the time spent on the field, just don't want to put up with the hassle for coaches, players, and clueless fans...the guys in their 30s and 40s are busy with jobs and raising families, leaving the games to us "Old Farts" and younger, single guys...

So there you have it, as we reach about 1/3rd of the way through the High School season....it goes fast, but then, the past 60 years around the game has gone by in the blink of an eye.  Tonight I'm at Lima Central Catholic, tomorrow at Lincolnview High School....the weeks are full, and hopefully the rain outs will be few and far between, so far I've done 11 of 15 assignments, so despite the nasty wet weather, we are getting most of the contests completed.

back later>>>>>

Photos-top Working First Base at the Elida D4 District last Spring{2} Alston Cottages where I first picked up bat and ball, back in the Summer or fall of 1955..{3} Brother Mike Houseworth on the Varsity and me on the Venice Elks JV Team in 1957...{4} and working the plate during the Sectional Tournament at Lima Shawnee, 'discussing' a call with Hall of Fame Coach Mike "Spanky" Schumm back in 2012....and below...earlier this season at Van Wert....working another cool and rainy game: