1949-1954 Scott, Ohio, Life in Black and White/100 days 20 pounds 20 points

Middle of December...where has the year gone? Older brother Mike turns 63 today...another in a long line of December Birthdays/Milestones in the Houseworth/DeVore/Waldron/Feeley families...oldest son Sam turns 28 on Thursday the 17th, and Patricia and I celebrate 33 years on Friday....
I did a one game Junior High contest at Lima Temple Christian last night, then headed back to Celina in time for our Monday Dartball league game at St Johns with Bethany Church. With Sam home for the first time this season, we took 2 or 3 to improve our record to a still miserable 7 wins 11 loses, still good for the basement in the South Division....Sam lead the way going 5 for 11 with a couple RBIs. He needs 25 at bats to be eligible for the post season tournament, so with next week and Martin Luther King Day, he should be able to do that....I finished at 4 for 9 with just 1 RBI to bump my average up a little, from .411 to .415....Next week ends the first half of the regular season, with the second half to begin January 4th of the New Year.

Diet Update_____

I went to the dietitian at the St. Marys Hospital 100 days ago today....my goal was to stop any increase in blood sugar count, drop some weight, and lower the blood pressure. Will find out about the blood sugar when I go back to Doc Bergman next month, but the other 2 goals are working out well....

Down to 188 pounds this morning...20 full pounds since Labor Day. It's been a slow but somewhat steady ride...lose 2 gain 1, lose 3 gain 1, etc....my original goal was to be 180 by the start of baseball season...with the workouts from basketball officiating, it looks like that goal will be met with plenty to spare. Even the Holidays, thus far, have not seen any bump up in weight.

Likewise the Blood Pressure is down....from the 150/80 range it now reads on the home monitor between 125-130/70 on average with a resting heart rate of 62 or so....no bad for an old fart, who turns 61 in March.

My Life in Black and White_____

Yesterday I looked back at an afternoon 50 some years ago, where me and my neighbor buddy Teddy Blackburn came across a White Wild Boar in the wilds just outside of Venice, Florida, back in 1958....it got me to thinking, despite the pains in the ass of the family moving on several occasions, and having to adjust, I was pretty lucky.....and I have many old photographs of the different places we have lived...most are in black and white or sepia, with a Kodak Color photo thrown in when we were lucky enough to have a roll of color film in the camera....I always have liked the sepia and black and white photographs best....just like on old Bogart Movie, always better in black and white.

Scott, Ohio 1949-1950____

Born in Van Wert, Ohio, on March 16, 1949, I was quickly whisked away to Great Granddad's house in the little town of Scott, Ohio...Scott was located on the border of Van Wert and Paulding Counties in the old Black Swamp region of Northwest Ohio. Great Granddad's house was located on the Paulding side, just a block away from his daughter, my Grandmother, Wilda Waldron Houseworth. That was my first house, although the memories are few, I do remember the old place...it still stands today.

I can remember looking out the large living room window at snow flakes coming down, not sure which winter that was, but I was probably 2 or 3 at the time....I also remember our neighbors to the north across the street has Geese...and they would lay eggs, big eggs....I'm pretty sure we would get eggs from them on occasion, but will have to check with my 85 year old mother, her memory is better than mine at those things.

Scott had a population at that time of about 300...still does today, but the difference being back in 1950 the population was mostly small close knit families who learned to survive the Great Depression and World War II together...My Grandmother was the patriarch of the Waldon Houseworth Clan, or maybe it was Great-Great Granddad William Waldron...but he died when I was just 2, so Grandma Houseworth was on the throne as far as I remember.....

















Scott had in 1950 a couple of gas stations, the large Scott Exchange Elevator{which still is there today, despite burning down a couple of times}, a grocery story, fire house, post office, and restaurant...which is still there today as well. Seems to me that despite the size of Scott, or lack of size, there was always plenty for us to do....especially when we came home for summer vacations, after moving to Venice, Florida in 1954

On the days in the summer of the mid 1950s, when we would return to Scott, a group of us kids, Al Foust, my cousins the Polings, and several others would walk the cornfields or the railroad tracks north to Haviland, about 2 miles from Scott....that would be our big adventure. Or we would play wiffle ball in the streets...no danger there, if 10 cars would go down Grant Street per day, it would have been considered a heavy travel day....

Those were the days of innocents in small town America in the Heartland....sometimes I doubt if they still exist, if they do, surely not in the same numbers or innocence as back then.

From what I see these days, post Depression and post World War II in the vast Midwest was a great place to grow up.....but we were to be uprooted by the Dad's "Wanderlust", and we would head south to the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico and remain there for the remainder of the decade, into the 1960s.

More on that later.......

Photos-Me and dad's 12 gauge shotgun along with the Red Fox he dispatched...standing outside Granddad Waldon's house in the winter of 1951-52/The Scott Elevator as it looked around 1910...it has burnt down at least twice since then, but still is going strong in the same location 100 years later/In the Fall of 1951...Mom says I was shading my eyes from the sun, not waving...?/One of the family women and her husband tooling down Main Street in Scott, in the 1920s in Motorcycle and sidecar/Me and Mom in late 1949/Al Foust(left) and me in the summer of 1957 with a batch of Frogs taken from Uncle John Houseworth's Pond on the south edge of Scott/And in the summer of 1954 brother Mike(left) and me with a couple of fish that dad had probably caught...sure was fun getting dirty, bet mom loved washing those clothes by hand....hummm!

1958 Remembering A White Wild Boar Venice,Florida, /Obama in Free Fall

Stayed busy and away from the computer over the past 3 or 4 days....basketball Thursday and Friday nights, along with a Junior High double header on Saturday morning...yesterday I sat around and watched the Bengals play poorly, and get stomped by a very good Vikings team in Minnesota. Even though a Bengals fan, I have been to more games in Minnesota the past 10 years(8 between baseball and football), compared to only a handful of Reds and Bengals games....usually me and Nick meeting up with Jim Olson. Not that I can remember most games....usually under the influence of beer and food for the duration of the trips.

Along with the basketball officiating at Spencerville Thursday, Elida Friday, and Delphos St. John on Saturday....I also drove down to Columbus early Friday to pick up the vehicle less Sam for the break between Fall and Winter Quarters at Ohio State....he will be around until the first of the year, before heading back to Columbus.

I was supposed to head over to Nick's for his outdoor winter Bar B-Q on Saturday evening, but the old man was just to wore out from the trips and basketball to get out of the chair...such is the glory of aging.

Remembering an Albino Wild Boar from Venice, Florida____

I stopped by a web site, I frequent on occasion the other day, and saw a thread talking about the increase of Coyotes in Ohio{I saw a large dead one on US 33 on the way back from Columbus on Friday}...someone asked then if Wild Boar, or Wild Hog as some call them, have increased in numbers in Ohio...That I don't know, but it did remind me of an incident while growing up outside of Venice, Florida.

From 1957 through the summer and fall of 1959 we lived a couple miles north of Venice on a wild stretch of road called the Venice By-Way that ran between Nokomis and Venice a few miles to the east of the Tamiami Trail(US 41), and by passed the town of Venice. The folks rented a house that sat on a few acres of scrub grass and was bordered by Roberts Bay and a creek that flowed out of same....{today it has been disposed of by "progress}. Large acres of woods also lay next to the property.

Our next door neighbors were the Blackburn Family, whose forefathers had helped found the towns of Venice and Nokomis back near the turn of the 20th Century....One son Teddy was my classmate at Venice Elementary, and his folks owned acres of Orange Groves directly across the road from us{this portion of the By-Pass in now Albee Farm Road}...Teddy and I, along with his brothers and my older brother Mike spent many hours, along with the passel of mongrel and hound dogs both families had, exploring the back water areas....Alligators, Snakes, and even Wild Boars be dammed!

One windy afternoon in the Summer or early Fall of 1958, Teddy and I, along with his old hounddog "King" were walking back through the brush near the water line, when we heard a rustle in the bushes...and what we though was a grunting sound...we were not sure, but we knew it was "something". Old King ran into the bushes, and about a minute later he came hauling ass out...like his butt was on fire. Well Ted and I didn't wait around, we got our butts in gear as well and with King keeping pace we headed back to our house and the relative safety of the front porch.

A few other dogs greeted us and we talked about what might have been in the bushes.....within 5 minutes we knew the answer.

Off in the scrub bush between our house and the creek appeared a large Wild Boar....2 nice tusks, and something I had never knew existed...he was white. An albino? Perhaps, but today some 50 years later, I believe he was just a dirty white color...big son of a bitch he was, no matter what color. Old King and a couple of our dogs alerted as the wild hog snorted the air...pure evil we thought, but with him being a hundred yards or so away, we stayed on the porch, and watched. The dogs started raising Hell, but not being stupid, they knew they were overmanned by this giant porker....the hog looked our way, and then without a care headed back into the wilds....

I would have said after the incident, that scared us from going out alone or even with the dogs...but it didn't. Snakes, bugs, Gators, snappers, and even an occasional White Wild Hog were common stuff of young boys back in 1950s South Florida....and we were better off for the time outdoors.

Venice, Florida, was once a wild place that sat along the Gulf of Mexico...today, overrun with Blue Hairs, overcrowding, and traffic....you wouldn't recognize my childhood home....the history though is worth the read:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gulfcoastlivingonline.com/trail-map-11-07.gif&imgrefurl=http://gulfcoastlivingonline.com/vhistory%2520trail.html&usg=__HsiZzHdBG5N0oVEd7TVoNFqxQwc=&h=615&w=520&sz=200&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=Oq6QGMrm6uqLuM:&tbnh=136&tbnw=115&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHistory%2Bof%2BVenice%2BFlorida%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26gl%3Dus%26um%3D1

Our kids and future generations have not clue on what life was like back then....Video games, Computers, rap music, and cable TV, have nothing on the children of the 1940s and 50s. We left Venice for Ohio back in 1963....it had changed 10 fold by the time I returned for a visit in 1975....and continues to change on a monthly basis today.

Good News on the Obama Front____

While our resident Kenyan-in-Thief, one Barack Insane Obama, and his lap dogs in Congress and the media continue to try to shove Global Warming, Taxes, and Health Scare, down our throats...there are signs, big time, that the majority of American Voters are starting to wake up:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

Scott Rasmussen has been the most accurate of pollsters for the past several elections, and usually gets it right on the nose. He hit the 6% win by Obama over McCain right on the money for 2008...when his poll numbers come out, most folks heed the warnings. Apparently our Kenyan Warrior and his staff could care less that they are now as hated as any President has ever been after only 1 year(less in Obummer's case) has ever been.

Keep pushing Barry, eventually you will get buried....and quit having your lap dogs telling us the Recession{actually a Depression} is over....it's not, and no matter how much printed money you throw at Your(not Bush any more) Economic Problems, the problems are going to last....get off the American Republic's back and leave us the Hell alone, you miserable bastard!

Sam will take over the Dartball chores tonight....I will be back at Temple Christian for a Junior High boys double header......a full week of basketball, along with Sam's birthday on Thursday and Patricia and my 33rd Anniversary on Friday the 18th.

Back Later>>>>

Photos-top The Blackburn boys with me and my sister Marty on March 16, 1958, in our yard on the Venice By-Way...the event was my 9th birthday. That's me with my new catcher's mitt, and Teddy on my left in the middle. Mom's 1956 Chevy{her first car} sets in the background. And a wild hog{boar}...ours was much whiter, and had large tusks....considering the size of Ted's hound king, my guess is the boar weighted in at somewhere in the 150-200 pound range.

Oklahoma Justice! The "Peace" Prez? More December Milestones

The big storm that hit the upper Midwest blew north of the plains of western Ohio...we got the winds for sure{they have died down somewhat this morning}, in the 40 to 50 mph range with gusts even near 60....our old trees remained standing, but I'm sure we have lost some old limbs from those aging trees. We lucked out however, no snow to speak of. Meanwhile Wisconsin got hammered, as did the lower southwest section of Michigan which is subject to the effects of Lake Michigan snows produced by the winds across the warmer waters. Madison, Wisconsin, got 17 inches, while Patricia's folks in Oconomowoc checked in with just under a foot....no snow blower action for me, and that is fine. If I don't use the recently rehabbed snow machine this winter, I won't complain.


Today would have been Dad's 92nd Birthday....more on him after a look at a couple of headlines.


Justice, Oklahoma Style____
In a story ignored by most of the main stream media over the weekend, a 57 year old women in Oklahoma showed us all how to protect herself and her property.....and Law Enforcement gave her the go ahead: First the Story:

http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=11620296

And the 9-1-1 recording and video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m31ZpQVILRk

A big thumbs up to Brenda Hart, the 911 operator....instead of telling the women to run or not to shoot, she basically told her..."You have to protect yourself" and that she had permission to use deadly force if necessary.

Of course the usual left wing idiots are feeling pity for the nutcase that tried to break in...Screw him and screw them!

Thank God for places like Oklahoma and Texas....where a person has a right to lock, load, and fire away to protect life and property. Good for this women, and good for Oklahoma!

The "Peace" Prez____

Our Kenyan Commander-and-thief jetted off to Norway to pick up his "Nobel Peace Prize" yesterday...wonder how many tons of greenhouse gases were used in that trip to promote a lie? And why didn't Barry just wait until the Copenhagen Global Warming trip next week? That way he could have cut his "gas" consumption in half?

And you gotta wonder how the leftist shills in Norway feel about giving this asshole a prize for "peace" a mere week after his announced the increase of troops by 30,000 in the Afgan War?

Nice move boys....I hope you Socialist swine choke on these awards....given out, not for peace reasons, but for Bush Derangement Syndrome reasons...next time Barry, you useless ass, do the Europe thing in one freaking trip, stop wasting our tax money for your follies.



Stan Houseworth 12/10/1917-12/24/1972___

The old man was born in Scott, Ohio, this date in 1917...he weighed in at 13 pounds at birth, so I've been told....raised by his mother, my Grandmother Wilda Waldron Houseworth, along with 2 older sisters, and 2 older brothers. He would have been 92 today.

Dad had the Houseworth trait, that he was born with and passed along to us..."Wanderlust". Dad, served with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Idaho back in 1938. After returning home to Ohio, he eventually joined the Army Air Corps during World War 2, where he served stateside in Colorado, Delaware, and at Mather Field in California.

After marrying mom, in 1946, he worked a variety of jobs, most but not all revolving around his skills with tools, as an auto mechanic. Ohio, Delaware, Florida, and back to Ohio from from after the war, until his death on Christmas Eve of 1972 at the age of 55. Stan, despite having numerous jobs, was never, as I recall, without work...but he would rather be in the field hunting or on the lake or rivers fishing. Later in life Dad became an Antique Aficionado, he would go to small auctions and yard sales and pick out items that looked worthless or of small value, and turn them into quality Antiques....he had an eye for collectibles.

Happy Birthday Dad, wherever your soul might be.

Back to basketball tonight, a Freshman boys game at Spencerville...then tomorrow I drive back to Columbus in the morning to bring Sam home for the holiday break between Fall and Winter Quarters at Ohio State. Tomorrow night a WBL game at Elida, then Saturday morning I head for Delphos St Johns for a boys JH double header, while Sam gets his first basketball action at St. Marys at the same time.

Posting might be light for the next 3 days....but return I will, God Willing!

back later>>>>

Photos-Home Invader Billy Dean Riley, has assumed Room Temperature....a 16 Gauge Shotgun like the one the women used to dispatch Billy Dean....and Stan Houseworth on the Venice, Florida North Jetties, with the 100 pound Jew Fish he caught in November of 1956.

Lower Poll Numbers,Tom Russell, and the Winds of December

Walked outside to feed the birds and squirrels...the winds are whipping, and after a dropping of snow, sleet, and then rain, last night, the temperatures climbed to around 45 by daybreak...now they are on the way back down....a high of maybe 20 with 40-50 mph winds by tomorrow....beautiful, just freaking beautiful!

I did a boys Junior High double header at Lincolnview yesterday, when we walked out of the school at 7:30, the wind had picked up, and the skies were dumping a combination of snow, sleet, and rain....but by the time I reached Celina{25 miles south} it was all rain with slippery conditions due to the 30 degree temps....the roads were just wet by the time daylight was with us.

No games today....

A quick look at some news:

Obama's First Year Poll Numbers Worst since Harry Truman____

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/08/obamas-percent-approval-lowest-president-point/

His numbers are even worse in the most accurate of pollsters..Rasmussen:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

It appears that the shine is off the Kenyan, despite the best efforts of the lap dog media, and groveling clowns like Jon Stewart and Keith Oldblowaman....as for me, everytime I mistakenly catch one of his speeches or parts thereof...I get a sudden rapid case of nausea. It appears that much of the country is finally getting it, but it may be too late to stop the flood of rules, laws, and spending, this SOB and his lemmings, Reid and Pelosi, are tossing out at us. War has been declared, it's the Obama Administration versus the American People.

Tom Russell-American Cowboy Poet____

A couple of weeks ago when I met up with my old friend Bill Clem at G&R in Waldo, for a beer and super Baloney Sandwich, he handed me a half dozen or more CDs of 2 of his favorite artists...one was Chris Knight, and the other Tom Russell.

I listened to Russell's 1991 CD "Cowboy Real" on the 2 hour or so drive from Waldo back to Celina....and have to admit I enjoyed every song on it....since that drive I have been alternating listening to Russell and Knight on the car CD when traveling to games...I especially like Russell's older stuff, but have to admit I find some of it a little "left wing" for my political taste....but disregarding some of the lyrics that bemoan the plight of illegals, criminal murderers and draft dodgers, like Claude Dallas, and American Indians, I find this type of music enjoyable...it reminds me of Woody Guthrie and the genre from the Great Depression era.

Here are a couple of selections on you tube:

First off from October on the Letterman Show, with one of his new ones that strikes a cord with folks my age: East of Woodstock/West of Vietnam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIDCYjvj5XU

And here is a favorite Cowboy song of mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwh-h6pHN1Y&feature=related

That was "Tonight We Ride".....and finally Bill's favorite "Gallo Del Cielo" a live version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgom-IWpKdM

That about does the musical version for today...enjoy!

back later>>>>

Photos-Tom Russell's outstanding album from the early 90s.."Cowboy Real", and our resident Dope of a Prez!

December 8, 1969....Orders to Saigon

It appears that Winter has settled in here in western Ohio....snow, rain, and wind, in the forecast for the next few days...and only a high of 20 by Thursday. Nothing out of the 30s for the foreseeable forecast through next week. All this while our idiot Kenyan-in-Chief heads to Denmark to try to bankrupt the country with "Cap and Tax" in pursuit of the fake science of Global Warming. Said it once, will say it again...Global Warming doesn't exist, and is nothing more than a political power grab by the left....far left. Should we protect the Environment where possible? Yes....Should we be taxed into serfdom to try to achieve something that cannot be done? Hell No!

Now a look at some headlines in News and Sports:

Speaking of Criminals_____

The White House is full of em'

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/33941/

And it appears that this Felon is writing the Health Care fiasco and rubbing elbows with King Barry and Queen Michelle.....nice job, you dolts that voted this swine and his minions in.

Sports_____

With the Packers 10 point win over Baltimore last night, it appears that the Bengals have a stranglehold on the AFC North

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teams/bal

The sad tale of an American Superstar, one Tiger Woods, just keeps getting more weird:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,579698,00.html

How far and how fast has this guy and his squeaky clean reputation fallen?

Meanwhile in my Dartball World...St Johns-Celina defeated St Johns Hopewell 4-0 in the first of 3 last night, but that was as good as it got...dropping the final 2 games by scores of 4-3 and 5-2. We now stand at a miserable 5 wins 10 loses in the season's first half, {thank gawd for split seasons} while Hopewell stays firmly in 1st place at 11 wins 4 loses....on the other hand, I had a pretty good night individually...going 7 for 12 with a couple of RBIs to move my average back above 400 for the season at .411 with 9 runs batted in.

Vietnam 40 years ago today____

By the time December 8, 1969, had arrived, most of us at the 14th Security Police Squadron knew our numbers were up....We knew, except for a few, that we were going to be shipped out from our beach front base on the South China Sea for places unknown. I was hopeful that I would stick around, even though many of my friends had already been sent home{Harry Bevan and Marc Payen} or shipped to other bases {Johnny Claflin and others}

.

Nha Trang, in my opinion, was as good as it got in terms of Air Force Security Police during the Vietnam War....and my 6 months had been as good as time as I had in the Air Force. But those times were not going to last....on that sunny Vietnam morning, I was summoned over to SP Base Police HQ and give my marching orders....On December 27th, I would grab a flight south to Tan Son Nhut....the big base at Saigon, where I had entered the country 6 months before, and report for duty with the 377th Security Police Squadron. The 377th, a squadron that had actually been in combat, was going to be my new home....dandy, just freaking dandy!

I still saw plenty of 'action' in my final 3 weeks at Nha Trang....with less personal I was moved to C flight{midnight till 8am} from the day shift, which gave me a chance to ride jeeps into the beer and soda compound, and abscond with some goodies for the troops. I also saw a horrific Air America plane crash, where I worked the perimeter and kept the rubber necks and gawkers from seeing the carnage....10 people on board and the ground died when that plane, after an in air bomb explosion, slid into a local school house.

By the time Christmas Day{and strangely I don't remember that X-Mas Day at all}rolled around, I was packed and ready to take a C-130 back to Saigon....

Tan Son Nhut and Nha Trang had little in common...TSN was large and set in a large city..Nha Trang was small and set in the tropic like setting on the South China Sea...I worked Law Enforcement with the 14th SPS, during the daylight....I was slated to work overnight Security at TSN.....it was going to be a whole different world.

More on the transfer to Saigon later.....

Boys Junior High Basketball double header tonight in Van Wert County at Lincolnview Schools....the head cold is improving, as is the back.....hopeful for a pain and illness free December and Christmas season, but you never know how things will work out.....

Back Later>>>>

Photos-top Working Law Enforcement at Nha Trang, October 1969, and "Sargent" Houseworth 5 months later, working night flight Security at Tan Son Nhut....pssst...yes Global Warming is a lie!

Head Colds/11 Hours Sleep/ and 1st Snow

Sitting here this morning, wandering the Internet, and listening to Glenn Beck:

http://glennbeck.com/

In the News_____

There is little doubt that the fix is in....Congress with the pushing of our President, one Barry Soetoro aka: Barack Insane Obama, it going to roll like the lap dogs they are on Global Warming, Cap and Trade{taxes}...That and the take over of the Health Care industry by the left wing bureaucrats is a done deal.....The Congress, including the Blue Dog Dimocrats, is going to let it happen, despite what the majority of Americans think of it....

I guess we can deal with it, or fight back....which side are you on?

\No amount of bitching by folks like me, is going to change anything....The Marxists in Charge are bound and determined to go forth with the usurping and destroying of our freedoms and economy...no matter what we may want....Global Warming my ***

And this morning, we have our first snow of the season in west Ohio. Houston, Texas, had snow over the weekend, and Sacramento, California, has snow for the first time since 1976....I repeat....Global Warming My ***!

The Fix is in...the Question Remains..."When are the people going to wake up, and throw these bastards overboard"?

First Snow/First Cold___

\I woke up this morning, after 11 hours plus of sleep, to an inch or so of snow on the ground...our first measurable deposit of the season....it looked kind of nice.

I managed to acquire a head cold over the weekend...I had not had a major cold or bout with the flu for years until last winter...I caught one at the start of basketball season, and battled the bug for a couple of months off and on. It appears I may be in for the same war this winter...I have to believe it has something to do with basketball...you get close up to fans, players, coaches, and handle a round ball that gets touched by at least a couple of dozen players each evening...a prescription for colds, flu, etc, without a doubt.









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So I will continue to take the vitamins, drink the OJ, and down a spirit or 3 each evening. Over the weekend I didn't manage to down many, but I did try a couple of speciality brews, "Full Moon" by Blue Moon and Leinenkugel's Dark Creamy Winter Ale....not bad. I downed a couple yesterday while watching football, probably the reason I managed to grab 11+ hours most needed sleep.

Sports_____

Hal and his buddy Matt, both Bengals fans, headed to Cincinnati yesterday to watch the Bengals take on the Lowly Lions of Detroit....not a pretty game, but Cincinnati cemented it's lead in the AFC North by taking out the Lions 23-13. It looks like the Bengals will make playoffs for only the 2nd time since 1990, barring a complete collapse in the final month of the season.

The Bowls____

The BCS managed to luck out with the Texas win over Nebraska on a disputed 13-12 Field Goal as time expired....then put the 2 "outsiders" Texas Christian and Boise State, against each other in the Fiesta Bowl, so the have-nots won't have the opportunity to take on the big boys....the NCAA and B{c}S sure wouldn't want that.

Other Major games have Ohio State vs Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Florida takes on unbeaten Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, Georgia Tech against Iowa in the Orange, and in the Title Game, Texas Longhorns face Alabama's Crimson Tide at Pasadena....I'll make my predictions later on this blog.....

And it appears in my "I have no Life" section....all 3 of my NFL Fantasy Teams on ESPN will make the Championship rounds....Hooray for me!

Dartball at Hopewell Lutheran tonight and back to Basketball Tomorrow with a Boys Junior High double header at Lincolnview.

December 7, 1941____

I would be remiss if I failed to mention that today is Pearl Harbor Day....on December 7th 1941, the Japs{yes I know that is not PC, but that's what they were and what we called them}...attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to begin WWII....I wonder, but doubt, if we would have the guts to fight back today like we did then....the current Administration and clowns in Congress, are not patroits, they are gutless cowards....


I salute those brave men and women from that day 68 years ago.......the sad part is...you can hardly find a newspaper headline on the Internet that declares "Japs"...Google and the rest of the Internet are part of the sickness called Political Correctness and Revionist History!

back later>>>>>


Photos-top/looking out my bedroom window and the Kitchen window, at the inch or so of snow on the roof looking across my back yard and neighborhood. And the two brews I tried, despite the cold this weekend, "Full Moon" and Leinenkugel's Dark Ale. And the newspapers of the day told it like it was...sadly, you can hardly find a copy of the true headlines on the Internet in these days of political correctness.

Change of Seasons

The Changing of seasons____

Times and weather are a changing....27 this morning, but the sun is shinning bright, so who is to complain? Didn't even look what the high would be, figure that nothing major is coming our way, weather wise, or I would have heard about it....

Speaking of Change:{and we ain't talking Obama's}....I checked my weight this morning first thing, and came up with a reading of 188.4 pounds...I can't remember exactly the last time I was below 190 before this week, but suspect it was back in the mid 90s, before I became involved in weight lifting on a regular basis. The routine at the Racquet Club, was lift weights for an hour, do the treadmill for 45 minutes, and drink beer for the rest of the evening. That of course was great for my muscles and strength....it also managed to add 30 to 40 pounds on, most of it on my gut....beer, fatty foods, and weights, all added to the muscle and FAT!

So after the pre Diabetes 2 was discovered, along with the usual high blood pressure. On Labor Day I made the decision to lose what I needed to drop the weight and lower the BP while remaining off any Diabetes meds, and hopefully getting off the *Lisinopril-HCTZ for BP.

This morning 188 pounds with a BP of 137/67 with a pulse of 65....pretty good/normal for my age{I think} and size....

Football/Basketball Seasons Collide____

This weekend will see the beginning of the High School Boys Basketball season{Girls began last week} and the ending of the Football Playoffs.....

Tonight I head north to Paulding to officiate the JV game between the hometown Panthers and Continental....tomorrow, the same visiting Continental Pirate team is at Lima Temple Christian, and I'll be there as well.

Meanwhile on the Football side of things, the state high school finals begin at 11 this morning....then at 3pm in game #2 the local Coldwater Cavilers will try for their 2nd state title in 3 years when they take on Youngstown Ursline in D-5....Coldwater stands at 13-1, including 2 OT wins{4 overtimes against rival St. Henry} in the playoffs...their only loss was a last second defeat to MAC League rival Delphos St. Johns....who in Division 6 will take their defending state title and 14-0 record against Norwalk St. Paul tomorrow afternoon.

So, it's out with the football tomorrow, and basketball season begins in earnest tonight...4 dates last week, 4 this and 4 more next...before things slow down somewhat until after the first of the year.

On the College Football Side of the Ball____

The Oregon Ducks came from behind to defeat PAC 10 and instate rival Oregon State last night 37-33....so the Rose Bowl is set. Ohio State will take on the Oregon high power running game. Even with the inept offense the Buckeyes have shown, I suspect their outstanding Defense will bring home another Rose Bowl victory for OSU....but ya never know!

Errands to run, bills to pay before I head to Paulding....enjoy the weekend.

back later>>>>>

Photos- Area Schools, Coldwater Cavs and Delphos St. John Blue Jays of the Midwest Athletic Conference will try to hoist state crowns in Division 5 and 6 this weekend...both have been there, and won, on more than one occasion before. High School Basketball begins in full this weekend...and me this morning, down to 188/20 pounds since Labor Day....8 or so to go to reach the goal.

More December Milestones

Running late, gotta get ready for a Basketball double header at Spencerville...So I will forgo the news and get right at this one....

Milestones Missed____

I stopped by mom's today to discuss the death of her sister-in-law, my Aunt Agnes DeVore, in Wilmington, Delaware. Mom reminded me that there were many "milestones" in December in her DeVore/Feeley side of the family as well as the Houseworth/Waldron side.

Agnes was my aunt by marriage to mom's brother Bill. When I was in my early days of my Air Force tour, back in 1968 and early 69, I was stationed down the road from them at Dover AFB, Delaware. I would usually take my 72 hour breaks and spend it with them and their daughters, Mary and Diana.

Bill and Agnes treated me like the son they never had...Uncle Bill and I would sit out on their screened in porch and listen to the Phillies games, and down whatever beer he happen to be trying out....If Bill got a can that he considered "skunky" he would switch brands...anything from Ballentine, to Schlitz, to Falstaff....they would also feed me well, and when my once every ten days, 72 hour break was up, I would head down Highway 13 towards Dover....full and usually relaxed.

Uncle Bill and I got alone famously...as did me and Agnes....we just usually avoided politics.

Bill was a lifetime Democrat and UAW worker at the GM Plant in Wilmington...I was a not so enlightened Republican...so we just agreed to disagree on those issues. Not to say Bill and Agnes were liberals, because they sure were not....more of the old fashion Democrats from the FDR era....

Bill was 2 years younger than mom, and passed away in 1997...he was born in December(what else?)...On December 4th to be exact, he would have been 84 tomorrow. He was a WW2 Veteran, joining in 1943, when he turned 18. He was shipped off to the European Front, where he took part in the Battle of the Bulge. Bill left the front with a Purple Heart, and was shipped to the prison where Helmet Goreing was being held...he was one of the guards at the prison when Goreing dropped a capsule of cyanide, and checked out of this life for his appointment in Hell....

Never did discuss the war with Bill, even though I was with him when I received word that I was heading to Vietnam. Bill made a successful effort to stay close to home when he returned from his war, other than a trip or two to a Phillies game, he rarely left the State of Delaware in his last 50 years.....

Agnes was a little more outgoing, and did the driving and traveling, while Bill was usually content to be dropped off at one of the watering holes in the neighborhood when on occasion he decided to go out....I would go with him to the bar when I got the chance, or to the Amory for the local Golden Gloves boxing matches....those were indeed simpler times, I miss him and those days on occasion.

I got a call from Diana yesterday informing me that Agnes had passed away in the morning, at the age of 79, in December of course, 2 days shy of what would have been Bill's 84th. The 2 girls, along with Mary's husband John, had shared a house with Agnes the last few years...I last got to visit with them back in 2005 on one of my RV runs to a dealer just north of Wilmington...we had a good talk about Bill, the 60s, and even some politics, which of course we still disagreed on.

I hope Bill and Agnes DeVore are reunited and looking down at us now.....a salute to both of them. We did have some good times all those years ago, didn't we?

back later>>>>

Photos-Bill DeVore home on leave in 1943 just before heading over to Europe and the Battle of the Buldge....Me, standing in Bill and Agnes's living room in the Spring of 1969 before heading out to a homecoming dance or some like event.

A Message for Anonymous from Litchfield, Maine

Not many haters of the American tradition of free speech stop by this blog...but on occasion some assclown drops by and leaves an inane comment. A few months ago it was a nitwit from Frasor, Colorado, named Charley McCauley. It turns out Charlie was a fellow Air Force Sky Cop that, like me, was stationed at Nha Trang AB, in Vietnam....seems Charles has a man crush on Barry Soetoro{AKA Barack Insane Obama}, and didn't like what I had to say about our Kenyan-in-Chief...Charlie didn't stick around long, just long enough to make some veiled threat and call me a racist{that's all Liberals have it seems}....I'm still waiting Charlie, you big bad ass you....

So last night I get home from my basketball officiating gig and while watching North Carolina put a beat down on Michigan State... I turn on the computer, bring up this blog and I see a couple of comments had been posted on yesterday's post{which had nothing to do with Obama}:

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=468891502132816575&postID=7895090075855832390

It appears that Anonymous{who after a little searching I deemed is from the Litchfield, Maine area}, who didn't have the stones to leave a real name or even a fake one...is a "Warrior for Obama". Coming from a state that gave us Olympia Snow and Susan Collins, a couple of true blue RINOS, Anonymous from Litchfield's comments come as no surprise.

He also left another for Cappy, but as I told Anon...you only get one bash at your host, and his readers, so make it good....he didn't. The punk instead used a photo of Obummer on my side bar calling him a Kenyan Man-Child. as his reason for his rant. Of course anybody that reads this blog with any regularity, knows I could care less where Obama is from...he is one evil un-American son of a bitch, regardless of his ancestry or birthplace. But Anonymous from Litchfield, like Charlie from Colorado, is of the mind that anybody that doens't like The Obummer is a racist....sorry boys, it ain't so....I would despise and disrespect Barry, no matter his skin color or place of birth.

And Anonny...if you want to figure out how I know you hail from Litchfield, drop me a line....in the meantime...YOU ARE DISMISSED!

On the menu for today____

Not much is the short answer.

No games tonight, but I may or may not attend the rules meeting in Van Wert. I already have 5 of the required 4 in, so I could pass on the rest of the meetings this season. However, as bad as I think I officiated the girls Junior High games in Waynesfield last night, I may want to attend far more than are required....I was out of it, and missed a few calls that should have been made. Another JH girls double header at Spencerville tomorrow, before moving onto the Big Boys games this weekend at Paulding on Friday, and Lima Temple Christian on Saturday.

In the meantime....

I took the Intrepid up to Wolfes for a oil change, tire rotation, and a check on the brake pedal that is making a "noise" that I don't like...haircut at noon, then at 3:30 Patricia head up to The American Shoppe to pick up our new bed and mattress set. I think we've been on the same mattress for about 20 years, so she plunked down a pretty good sum to get Anissa a new bed, and one for us....my guess is this is our Christmas Present, because the bank is empty and closed on the Holiday account. Hopefully it's back and sleep friendly, for the price it should be.

That is the short of it for today....back later>>>>

Photo-It's my guess that Anonymous from Litchfield can be found at your local Obama Rally carrying a sign like the one this dolt is holding...

December Milestones....Bogart Month on TCM

First a look at News____

At least we will be spared an expensive trial and the pain of watching the racist nitwits like Sharpton and Jackson come to this murdering bastard's defense:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091201/ap_on_re_us/us_officers_shot

And that is the good news....may be roast in Hell.

Sorry to say thanks to Mike Huckabee and his Parole Board at least 4 police officers are dead, at least one child raped, and families destroyed forever. The murdering swine's sister and others who helped him while on the run, should be charged with his crimes, IMO.

In Sports___

Well kind of... St John Lutheran Dartball results from last night.

We traveled north to Schumm for a dartball evening at perennial power Schumm Lutheran. To say they have had our number over the years is an understatement...they defeated us in the league tournament final last year, and have had the best of us for the most part, but we do knock them off on occasion.

Both teams are somewhat down this year, us more than them, and last night was no exception...they took the first 2 games by scores of 6-5 and 4-1, we salvaged the final game in comeback fashion winning 5-3 with a 2 spot by the bottom of the order in the 9th. As for me? Not a good night...going 3 for 12 with 1 RBI and dropping my average to .366, the lowest it's been since my back issues of 2007. As a team we drop to 4 wins 8 loses, with top ranked Hopewell Lutheran next week on the road.

December a family milestone month____

Even though I wasn't born in the month of December, it has been probably the month with the most milestones in my Houseworth side of the family_____

Here are some "events" of December for the family____{and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few}:

First off Patricia and I were married at Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, on December 18, 1976.

Oldest son Sam was born the day before our 5th wedding day on 12/17/1981

Dad Stan Houseworth was born 12/10/1917 and passed away on Christmas Eve 1972----->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Brother Mike Houseworth born 12/15/1946

Grandma Wilda Waldron Houseworth born 12/22/1883

Granddad Sam Houseworth born 12/4/1877

their daughter Cecil was born December 7, 1901

First cousins Gary and Linda Houseworth were both born in December. Linda in 1941, Gary in 1946 and he passed away in December 2008.

Granddad Sam's brother William was born on December 12, 1875 but died as a child from Scarlet Fever in 1879. A Great Great Aunt, Elizabeth Houseworth, was born on December 14, 1846.

Looking at my book "The Family and Descendants of Israel Houseworth" I can find a number of other births, deaths, and marriages, listed for this month.

So December is indeed a month of Milestones for this family.

.....Speaking of December milestones:

Turner Classic Movies is featuring December 25, 1899, birthday boy Humphrey Bogart

http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/index/

While I have no use for Ted Turner and his politics or his world views, I love the TCM....probably by far the channel I view most often, and I give him credit and a thumbs up for this channel, on the mostly giant wasteland called TV.

This month every Wednesday starting at 6AM, they will show Bogart Movies throughout the day and evening....Bogart, although his politics and mine don't match, I enjoy most of his movies, and probably along with Cary Grant, John Wayne, and Jimmy Stewart, he ranks at the top of my favorite movie actors from the Golden Age of Cinema.

Basketball at Waynesfield tonight...back later>>>>

Photos-Patricia and me on December 18, 1976 @ Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Dartball Darts/Stan Houseworth as a AAF fly boy in 1942, born(1917) and died(1972) in December....and Wednesday's in December Bogart is featured on TCM.

Empty Nest, Huckebee's Folly, and a New Record

Here we go with the last day of November, I guess I should ask the rhetorical question....Where has the year gone? Don't know, but it sure is flying....

First some news headlines:

Why Mike Huckabee should never be President____




http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,577691,00.html

This bastard, Maurice Clemmons, is one of the hardened criminals that former Arkansas Governor/Christian/Presidential Candidate, Mike Huckabee released because he felt it was his duty as a compassionate Christian...Nice move Governor...NOT!
Of course Governor Huckabee on his web site tries to shift the blame this morning:

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?fa=News.View&News_id=a9c58e43-9675-4da0-9567-674110678ef8&Label_id=&Year=&Month=

Do I need to mention that the accused is black, the police officers white, and this bastard is without a doubt a racist piece of trash? Huckabee seems like a nice enough guy...he's a Christian, so am I, but I think our views on "compassion" run a little different. This son of a bitch was sentenced to 95 years in prison, Huckabee set him free. So what does Mr. Clemmons do? Well he moves to Washington State, rapes a child, gets caught, and is promptly released on $150,000 dollars bail. Now how does murdering scum with no job, get his hands on $150,000? Do you think that it might have been reduced somehow, by some Liberal "compassionate and guilt ridden" Judge? Just Asking.

So Mike Huckabee I know you are considering another run at the White House...here is a hint. Don't bother. Most Conservatives and Christians aren't buying your compassion...we call it stupidity, and moral weakness. This bastard should have never seen the light of day.

Tiger Woods can drive a golf ball but not his SUV____

News or Sports?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,577809,00.html

Of course being a man of privilege Tiger, can blow off the cops in Florida by claiming this as a private matter....I would normally agree. But Tiger, the darling of the Sports Media, needs to air his dirty laundry, after all he wanted this fame and fortune....throw the folks a bone Tiger, they worship you.

A couple of questions though...how does a man with a women as hot as your wife, get caught with his pants down? And how do you let that women{your wife} who probably weights in at 110 pounds, beat up your sorry ass? I thought you were in pretty good shape from all those work outs? Funny, funny, stuff!

Empty Nest and a New Record____

Well we moved Anissa out last night, moving in a house with another women with disabilities...and a staff that will see someone on duty 24/7. This completes the Empty Nest for Patricia and me....well kind of, let me explain.

Anissa{as many of you regular readers know} is our 30 year old daughter. She was born in Wausau, Wisconsin, back in 1979 and seemed like a normal child for her first couple of years...but the time she turned 3 we realized that she was delayed in several areas and after much searching for answers we discovered that she was indeed mentally retarded, with side issues. Being our oldest she was followed in birth order by Sam and Hal, 2 seemingly "normal" boys...it's been a long road for her and us, especially Patricia...and it is far from over. Anissa is a happy, healthy, alert adult, who is sharp on many fronts...but she is retarded{I know the politically correct would rather not use that word, but it is what it is}>

The term empty does not really apply to our household...Anissa, who turns 31 in February, will still be home most weekends, from Saturday morning through Sunday evening, staying Saturday night with us. She will also spend the Holidays with us...and frankly I'm not sure how her Summer schedule will pan out, or if this will work out at all. But with me approaching 61, Patrica at 56, we know we will not be around or even able to care for her forever.....we are lucky to have good friends and sons who will help out if the worst happens to us in a quick manner.

In addition the nest won't be empty for long...Sam, who turns 28 this month, will be home for the Fall to Winter break at Ohio State on December 10th...so our empty nest will last 11 days and then he will be home for 3 weeks. 25 year old Hal, is the only one who has really moved on thus far on a permanent basis....so "Empty Nest"? Not exactly!

4000 page views and 2400 stop byes for November, by far a record for this blog since it began in July 2007. The views and folks from all over the world stopping by continues to increase at a steady pace...for this I am grateful, but I know it's got a long way to go, and after all, it's about my daily and former life, not about how many people stop by....but Thanks to all, none-the-less.

Dartball tonight....basketball gets under way in full force in December. Games this week, on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

back later>>>>

Photos-The Houseworth "Kids" Sam 28 on December 17th, 30 year old Anissa, and 25 year old Hal. Mike Huckabee former Presidential Candidate and Bleeding Heart Governor. And Tiger Woods and Wife...? Tiger, what the Hell were you thinking?