The "Deep Freeze" is here for a short visit....

1 degree above zero, the Internet said the wind chill factor was -17, and even inside the garage, when out to scoop up the morning seed rations for the Birds and Squirrels the temperature was 16 above...cold indeed.  It will be about 10 for a high today, cold again tonight, and maybe in the low 20s for tomorrow...the forecast for the next week to 10 days doesn't see any major warm up...and snow, albeit light, will stick around.

As I mentioned yesterday, this is the apex of the Winter Season in the Northern Hemisphere...January 21st, by average, is the coldest day of the year....and this time around, it appears to be right on target.  However, with a week and more left in January and the entire month of February to go, 1 above is not likely to stay the coldest day of this long winter.

Spending a decade in south Florida winters, as a child, during my elementary and junior high schools days, seems long ago and many frost bitten fingers and ears past.  We lived in the now historic Edgewood Section of town:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Edgewood-Historic-District/112002858811628

Our idea of winter was a thin layer of ice on the front yard birdbath...which older brother Mike and me would blow up with our moderate collection of firecrackers that we would buy while traveling through Georgia on our summer vacations...then save for special events, one which was tossing them on the ice atop the bird bath.   28 degrees in the mornings were usually as cold as it got...and that may have happened 2 or 3 times a year, usually in January.  Even those days usually warmed into the 60s by mid afternoon.

Since those years during my childhood, most of my winters have been spent in cold northern climates, only Vietnam being the exception...Ohio, Upstate New York, and frigid Northern Wisconsin, among others.  The Mohawk Valley of NY being the snowiest, with the Northwoods of Wisconsin being the most brutal cold.  One day in February 1978 it reached -52 below, without a chill factor, at the water treatment plant in Merrill, Wisconsin...that morning was brutal by any standards.  So cold the battery terminals cracked and broke off in both of our vehicles, even with engine warmers plugged in.  I have never been a fan of winter, but usually have made the most of them...however that winter of 77-78 in Wisconsin was the worst.

Never one to sit around the house or barracks(in my Air Force days), I usually make it a point to get out and about, even in bad weather.  I guess that's why I've tried to have vehicles with 4 wheel drive most of my adult life.  From the Jeep Cherokee that Patricia and I purchased in 1976, which got us through the Wisconsin winters, and those brutal Ohio winters in the years before we moved north, and when we returned here in 1980.  That vehicle only got stuck once in the years I had it...the Jeep Wrangler, since I have purchased it in late 2002, has never been stuck(insert knock on wood).   Even going across the Appalachian Mountains during a major storm in West Virginia shortly after I purchased it to pull behind the RVs I delivered across the country.  I've been lucky, and those Jeeps have helped me with that luck.

Winter, despite my dislike for it, isn't all bad...I learned to snow ski while in upstate New York, honed that skill while working for the Parks Department in Marathon County, Wisconsin...employed during my Broadcast School days at the county owned ski area in Wausau.  Added ice skating to my roller skating skills when we moved from Florida to Ohio.  And even took a shot at ice fishing...that however, was never a favorite, too damn cold, and if the fish were not biting, it was pretty boring in my mind.  These days, basketball officiating keeps me busy during the cold weather months....regardless, for the things done during the cold season,  I dislike winter, and am ready for Spring, just 59 days away.

back later>>>>

Photos-top, this morning the neighborhood birds waiting for the morning rations in the below zero wind chill...and two photos from our house on the corner of School Street and Pineland Avenue in the Edgewood Section of Venice, Florida....me with sister Marty's cat sitting on top of Dad's Dodge Station Wagon, or was it a Mercury? and brother Mike with our dog Brandy next to the Bird Bath which was the brunt of our firecrackers, every rare time a winter ice would form on it.

The "Dead of Winter"....Basketball, College Style

Here we are...the apex of Winter, the days that mark the coldest on average here in the Northern Hemisphere...and it appears that the next few days will be just that.  A light snow is falling as I type, my games have been canceled due to bus concerns from the visiting Kenton team.  I will have that make-up on  February 3rd...the day before we head to West Virginia for youngest son Hal, and his fiancee Lisa's wedding, in the snowy Appalachian Mountains.  After the snow ends here tonight, the bottom will drop out of thermometer, and we will see temps near Zero, with a high tomorrow about 10 above.  Cold and snow will continue through the early days of next week.

January 20th and the surrounding days, one month after winter officially begins, are by record the coldest of the season...next week, those averages will start to slowly, very slowly, climb until July 21st or so...then the warmth apex and downward slide will once again start.  Regardless, the next two months until Spring, will see an increase in average temperatures, and that is indeed welcome, despite the ups and downs.

Winter Entertainment....Basketball___

With no game to officiate last night, and my 2 favorite college basketball teams on the tube, I had my butt glued to the leather recliner, and my eyes to the tube.  Ohio State, where Sam was working the game for osu.com and The Big Ten Network, took on Iowa, and the number 1 ranked Buckeyes topped Iowa 70-48 to remain undefeated in both league and overall.  Duke, my personal favorite basketball team over the past 25 years or so, took on instate rival NC State on the road, and came away with a convincing win.  The Blue Devils, ranked #4 or #5, depending on polls, bounced back from last weekends loss at Florida State....the only blemish on their record thus far.

I really enjoy college basketball....on the other hand, you couldn't pay me to walk across the street to watch the garbage played by the "gang bangers" of the NBA.  That crap, while played by great athletes, is boring as Hell in the current form it is played.  Give me the college game, and NHL Hockey on the tube in the winter, that I can watch...NBA, don't even ask me who is in the hunt for the championship, don't know, don't care.

Even with tonight's games canceled, I still have four games on the schedule for tomorrow and Saturday.  Tomorrow night, at a WBL match up at St. Marys, then back to St. Marys Saturday morning for a Junior High double, and then north to Paulding on Saturday night for a non league contest.  In the meantime, I will wait out the snow, to see if I need to fire up the snow machines, and batten down the hatches for the cold that will follow.

back later>>>>

Photos-The look out my Jeep Wrangler windshield this morning at the melting snow and the intersection of Mill and Wayne Streets where they connect...Duke and Kyle Singler bounce back at NC State last night, and Ohio State, now number #1 defeats Iowa...there is a chance that they could meet in late March or early April with much on the line.

Amarillo Air Force Base 1968....The Summer of Basic Training.

Schools in the area from Dayton to the south, to Putnam and Paulding Counties in the north, were shut down today...last nights rain didn't move out in time before the temperatures dropped well below freezing, and ice ended up being the culprit.  I arose early, scarped off the ice from the Jeep Wrangler, and headed the 20 miles south then east down highway 127 and State Route 119 to Minster, for my semi annual check-up.

The blood tests showed no worsening of my pre-Diabetes 2, and my BP was 124/68, heart rate of 63...not bad for someone who turns 62 in less than 8 weeks.  I still need, or at least would like, to lose 10 pounds, dropping down to 178 or so was the original goal when I started in September 2009.  I made 184, and now sit this morning at 188.  The 178-180 range on the 5' 10 1/2 inch frame(as of this morning, guess I've shrunk about an inch over the past few years?) is a reasonable goal.   Doc says I need to get my eyes checked, and he also recommends a pill for a minor toe nail infection...told him, no problem on testing the eyes for any diabetes related problems, but no to the "pill" for toe nails(I'll continue to see if the salve works for now), at least not until my next check up in 6 months, and no flu shots either, have not had one since 1976, and don't plan on getting one either.  But for now it looks like I'll live....unless a heavy rock or some angry fan takes me out.

First Air Force Stop_____

 My year in Vietnam, first at Nha Trang, then at Saigon, is usually the focus of any, or at least most, of my military memories on this blog.  However, my first Air Force year, June 68 thru June 1969, saw me at 3 different Bases before heading over the pond...Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle for Basic Training, Lackland in San Antonio two separate times for Security Police training, and Dover, Delaware, where I patrolled the Nuclear Storage Mounds in the middle of the of Winter 68-69.

When I left the Columbus, Ohio, Airport in late June 1968, for Amarillo, it marked my first time flying.  Many more have come and went since, both during and long after my Air Force days. That first flight however saw stops in Dallas-Fort Worth, then in the small airport at Lubbock, preceded my landing late in the evening at Amarillo that early Summer night of 1968.  The next six weeks would mark the indoctrination into the Air Force lifestyle...a lifestyle frankly, I was never able to embrace.  I wasn't then and never have been able to follow orders or walk the line that says this is the wrong way/this is the right way type of life.  Although I look back at those days as ones that gave me confidence to face the world, I still never could have survived a career of taking orders, I never would have wanted that life...3 years 10 1/2 months was more than enough of the military for me.

I arrived at Amarillo as they were winding down operations, most of the training centers and base operation segments had been moved elsewhere...the Basic Training would cease by the end of the 1968 calender year as well.  My training instructor, or TI as the Air Force called their basic leaders, was Joe Prokop, a burly Staff Sergent from Wisconsin.  As it turned out Joe's bark was much worse than his bite.  My roommates were a couple of hillbilly types, Carter Miller from Arkansas, and Bobby Joe Glover of Alabama.  The training period which lasted through mid August, saw mostly hot dry, days, and cool, cloudless nights.  Two other troops at Amarillo during my stay were the late Ed Bonifus from Coldwater, whom I joined with on the "Buddy System", and fellow Celina resident Chuck Long, a younger brother of one of my high school classmates.

As for Miller and Glover, I never saw them again after basic...Chuck and Ed, I ran into back home(still do in Chuck's case from time to time), and Sgt Prokop?  Well it seems Joe, who passed away a few years back, was a Air Force Security Policeman.  His last words to me before leaving Amarillo for Lakeland for Sky Cop training were, "Houseworth, you'll probably be walking a dog around the perimeter of Tan Son Nhut within the year, yep, you'll end up in Nam...you don't have the attitude to make it stateside for too long".  It turns out that Joe was pretty close...within that year I was in Vietnam, volunteered because I couldn't stand my NCOIC, a Tech Sarge named Jack Adkins, we called him "Smiling" Jack, and it wasn't a compliment.  I did end up at Tan Son Nhut, as Joe Prokop had predicted, but sans the dog...and one of the first guys I met at the Saigon Airport, there to pick me up, was Joe Prokop.  Joe had reverted back to the duties of a Security Policeman after his tour of duty as a TI, we both worked Security, Joe on A(day) Flight, which I worked over night(C flight)...we tossed down a few beers together before Joe was shipped back to the states in the spring of 1970.   Sadly I found Joe after my Air Force days, but only because I was informed he had passed away back in 2005...he was indeed a good guy.  A career Air Force type, much like Phil Lange, guys who gave their lives to their military careers, but didn't give their souls to the corp.

As for Amarillo_____

When I flew out for Lackland I didn't see Amarillo for a number of years....the base had been long closed by the time I rolled my delivery RV through the Panhandle and into Amarillo in 2003, on the way to San Diego.  I passed and even stopped many times in the next five years...but the Amarillo I knew, the Air Force Base, was only a memory...one of the first of my four year AF stint.  Most of the people I met there are nameless faces locked away deep in my memory banks.

No games on schedule tonight, but some snow in the forecast for tomorrow...back later>>>>

Photos-Our Flight just before Graduation in August 1968...Joe Prokop is seen Kneeling 3rd from left in the front row...I'm near the top fifth row, first on left, with one roommate Bobby Joe Glover, over my left shoulder in the back row.  (2)  Me in front of our barracks, with the painted salute to Joe Prokop...and his Prokop's Pups as his flight students were called.  (3) Entry control point at Amarillo, maned by 2 Air Police, which switched to be Security Police a month before I joined the ranks, and now in today's Air Force are called Security Forces, a much more "war trained" group than we could ever hope to be....but we were sent off to defend our bases in Southeast Asia anyhow, with little war training(a couple of weeks at Lackland if we were lucky), and weapons that were good, but hardly heavy enough for what we sometimes faced.

Doc Visit, Dartball, a Cold Forecast, and more Nha Trang 1969...

The cold freezing drizzle from last night, turned to rain with accompanying fog this morning, and as temperatures rose into the upper 30s, our ground cover began to melt....that is not destined to last however, as more snow is forecast for Thursday, then the bottom will drop out of the forecast...lows near zero with single digit high temperatures for the early part of the weekend.

Junior High basketball double last night at Delphos St. Johns, again tonight at St. Marys, then depending on the snow amounts and road conditions, another 6 games starting Thursday and lasting through Saturday Night.  After basketball last night, I headed back to Celina, for Dartball.  We played perinneal champion Schumm Lutheran, out of Van Wert County, whom had swept us 3 games to none early in the season.  Matter of fact, despite beating them a couple of times in tournament play over my 16 years, I can never remember us sweeping them in a 3 game series.  That all changed last night, somehow our struggling team of old men and young untested kids, pulled out a three game sweep, by the scores of 5-3, 4-2, and 6-5, crawling out in the last game from an early 5-nothing hole.  This moves us to 5 wins 4 loses on the second half of the season, after the miserable 6 win 15 loss first half.  Arriving late in the first game,  I went 4 for 9 with a couple triples and 2 RBIs, to move to .357 with 12 runs batted in for the season.  I'm still down about 100 points from last season, but plenty of time left to creep towards .400, if I don't have any terrible nights.

Waking up early this morning, I headed to Minster to get some blood drawn, will head back tomorrow morning for my semi-annual checkup.  Blood Pressure, pre-Diabetes 2 update, and medication renewal.

This morning and early afternoon, I spent checking out a couple of "burned" CDs to see if I should change the music on this blog....my jukebox has got some breaks in it...at least certain songs do.  I also down loaded some photos from Nha Trang, that were put on CD, but my old NCOIC, the late Phil Lange, and fellow Sky Cop,  Bill Morgan...I'll add more diverse shots from that time to future posts as we move forward into 2011.

gotta run...back later>>>

Photos from Nha Trang Air Base 1969...top, me with a V100...we used several of these with our "on call" SAT(Security Alert Team) groups.  TSgt Phil Lange, my NCOIC at Nha Trang, we met 30 years later when we found the VSPA on line, sadly Phil passed away in 2009, but gave me several items from our days at Nha Trang, as well as a life time membership in the Vietnam Security Police Association, before he left this earth.  "Bailey's Speakeasy", our own Security Police hangout..movies, a bar, and the occasional "cook out" when our "gofers" could wrassell up steaks, burgers, and fixings....and the RED STAR marks Nha Trang on the South China Sea...a top Vietnam vacation spot today(and frankly not bad duty in 1969, for being in a war zone).

Mr Ass Hat!

The Comedic Geniuses who handle President Barack Obama need to be given out special praise...from the speech writers, his outgoing press secretary, his wife's wardrobe designers, and those that keep fools like Chris "Tingles" Matthews, Keith Oldblowaman, and Rachel "Mad Dyke" Madcow employed, are to be praised...if for nothing else, for keeping propped up the most incompetent and most useful tool since Jimmy "Peanut Brain" Carter....

I would Call Obummer the Ultimate American Ass Hat...except for the fact, that we still are not sure if this sorry excuse for a human is evan an American....Where is the Birth Certificate Barry?

Needless to say I don't have much to write about today...weather is pretty drab, politics is slow, sports I could talk about...Ohio State is now #1 in Basketball, but how long is that going to last?  Nobody is going through this season without a loss, so with Duke having been beat, it remains to be seen, how long the other four undefeated teams can last.  Joining the Buckeyes are San Diego State, Kansas, and Syracuse...all will surly fall before the post season gets underway...or in the SDS case, at least when the post season kicks off.

In the NFL, The mighty Patriots became the second #1 seed to fall over the weekend, following the Atlanta Falcons....both teams were ousted by #6 Wild Card teams...the Falcon by Green Bay, and New England by the Jets.  This leaves the Jets to face Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and the Packers to head to Chicago against arch rival Da Bears.  I'll take the two Wild Card teams, Jets and Green Bay in the Super Bowl, with the Pack coming out on top...but I've been wrong before.

But back to Ass Hats, or Ass Clowns...take your choice.  Obama is obviously "Top Dog" of all the asses, but I've met a few others...either wandering around a college campus, or in my radio news digging days.  A couple of dandy's come to mind:

1976 Athens, Ohio~Back when "The Boss" Bruce Springsteen played only before small venues.  Little Brucie, with the "big voice" on his 5' 6" frame, was in concert, at Ohio University...so, having a night with nothing to do, I decided to slum with the hippy population of Athens and Ohio U.  As it turned out, one of the worst, most boring, performances I have ever witnessed.  Not that I am into loud, live, concerts...I wasn't impressed by Springsteen, who I considered, and still do, a runt with a big mouth, who would not toss out his far left political bullshit in private, in fear of getting his ass kicked:  So Call "The Runt" err, "The Boss" another Ass Hat...bank it!
---------------------------

1980 Dodge City, Kansas~This was during my News Director stint at KGNO Radio time, and it came down to Bush(1) vs Reagan for the GOP nomination, and Ted "The Swimmer" Kennedy was challenging incumbent, incompetent, the aforementioned, Jimmy Carter for the Socialist Party(aka Democrats) nod.  I was lucky enough to be in on a Reagan press conference(great man), and a Bush conference call.  Carter was a Kansas Primary no show that spring of 1980, but I did get to meet the soused Teddy and a couple of his handlers, he needed more than a few, because usually he had more than a few...although at the time of the interview, I couldn't tell...I just remember him as a self important babbling idiot, which he would remain until the day awhile back when he assumed room temperature.  Yep mark "The Swimmer" down as another Ass Hat, bank that as well.  But I really miss mocking him, that made the far left loons even madder than when you make light and fun of the "Ebony Messiah" who is currently gumming up the works in DC and the world.

Believe me, these 3 dandies are not the only Ass Hats that fester in the deep, smelly, bowels of the American Left...but I've spent enough time wasted on their ilk for today...these three just came to mind while I was sitting here wondering what I was going to write about...as you can see, it and they are not much.

Basketball double tonight at Delphos and then rush back to toss some darts, showing up late again...but Sam home for the long weekend, will take my place, and hopefully last week can repeat itself, and our team makes slow progress. 

back later>>>>

Photos-Ass Hats all, Barry, Brucie, and Teddy....

Sunday: Songs From my Vietnam Year(1969-70)

'I usually don't post on Sundays...but sitting here watching the sun bounce off the snow, I figured, what the heck?  This Sunday is certainly much calmer that last weekend, when the left wing loons were doing their full court "Blame Palin, Fox News, and Right Wing Radio" for the Arizona Shooting.  That turd didn't float, no matter how hard the far left bloggers, and the space cadets on MSNBC and in the NY Times tried...and despite the Obama Cheerleaders at the Tucson Memorial Service, most Americans are not buying it.  So politics be damn...life moves on.

Of late I have been posting much about Arizona and the leftist nuts, both here and on Facebook...I figured it was time for a change.  After working 3 basketball games yesterday, as well as 2 on Thursday, and a rough and tumble JV game on Friday night, the rest for the knees, back, and legs are appreciated...10 games(including 3 double headers) await me this week, with my season, which ends in late February, half over, I can say I am looking forward to some late winter rest, before the Baseball season, and a large umpiring schedule, begins in mid March.

The Music of my Life______

I posted some songs on FB the past few days, mostly from the late 60s and early 70s.  Those songs got me to thinking about my year in Vietnam, and how much that music was a large part of our lives during that time.  Of course later on I would become a radio DJ and music would continue to influence my daily activity.  So if I appear to be stuck, at least musically, in the 60s and 70s, so be it....while some of the newer stuff has merit, I just don't enjoy much of it.

When I arrived at Nha Trang Air Base on July 2, 1969...I was a Top 40 contemporary music and radio fan, by the time I left Tan Son Nhut AB on June 29th a year later, I still liked Top 40, but also had gotten into the newer "country rock" and what we called "Head Music" by the likes of Led Zepplin, Cream, and others.  That time between "The Summer of Love(1967)" when I graduated from Celina(Ohio) High School and time after my Air Force days were completed, in May of 1972, were some IMO of the best times for music.  The period between the old rock of Elvis, the newer, but tame stuff, by the Beatles, and the time before,  in the later 70s that the garbage knows as "Disco" appeared on the scene.  Of course Disco was nowhere as bad as the crap known as "Rap" that still infests the music world today, or worse yet, the trash that so-called performers like Lady Gag-Me, and others put out as "music"....anyway, back to the Summer of 69 and some of the songs that were on AFVN(Armed Forces Radio in Vietnam) when I stepped off that C-130 at Nha Trang, that sunny, hot, and humid day, in early July.

Here are a few of the songs in their original forms:

David Clayton and Blood, Sweat, and Tears, had several hits in a short time:  "Spinning Wheel" was one I remember from my early days at Nha Trang:
http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=kK62tfoCmuQ&feature=related 

Kenny Rogers, before he was country icon, performed with "The First Edition" group...the song about a returning disabled Vietnam Veteran was still being played on AFVN when I arrived in-country:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EJGZt3X6uU

And one of my favorite artists, as hokey as it sometimes sounds today, back in 1969 was Glenn Campbell, who followed up his "Wichita Lineman" with the Jim Webb classic about a solider in Vietnam singing about his town and girl back in Texas..."Galveston":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIUPCfIihQ4 

And finally "Galveston", a more poignant version by the song writer/singer himself Jimmy Webb, on a salute to Vietnam Veterans on you tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaMf6ydI-YI&feature=related 

Damn, that wasn't hard....enjoy the remainder of the weekend, back later>>>>>

Photos/Pictures~PRH a couple of months after arriving at Nha Trang on the South China Sea, playing "Sky Cop" with the 14th SPS...day shift Law Enforcement was pretty easy duty in a "war zone"...and the album and .45 covers of BS&T, The First Edition, and Glenn Campbell back in the Summer of 1969

 

Cause and Affects...

As I approach 62, and will turn Social Security age(at least for us "Baby Boomers"), in two months.  I still don't quite get the hang of the human body and how age affects it.  Sure, I know as you get older, your body breaks down, and you have to take extra measures to keep it going, or at least it going at a high functioning rate...and even that doesn't always work.  You cannot stop father time from working it's ugly magic...no matter how hard you try.  I realized back in early September 2009, that I would need to do something about my "habits"...Doc told me that I was "pre diabetes 2", and in addition to my moderate blood pressure meds, I would probably need to see a Dietitian at the St. Marys Hospital, and began a regiment to lower my sugar levels and drop a few pounds, from the 214 on my 5' 11" frame.  So off I went, got myself on a diet, and promptly lost 25 pounds by Christmas of that year.  That took me down to 189, and I dropped a few more by last summer, down to a low of 182...I felt good, my blood pressure had dropped from an average of 150/80 to 125/65, my sugar levels within the first 6 months had also dropped to a significant level to keep my off any further medication.

Move forward to Yesterday.....

I had, for the most part, kept the original weight loss off, and when I weighed in, I was right at the same weight as the day I began my personal "Holiday Season"...that is usually the day Nick and I head for Michigan the last weekend of October.  It then moves forward to Patricia and my trip to Wisconsin, the Thanksgiving here in Celina, and the following Christmas and New Year's parties.  I was pretty happy with myself when I weighed in yesterday, yes indeed..sure a few pounds heavier than my low of last summer, but right on target with what I weighed as the "Holidays" began...somehow though, I just didn't feel right.  Sure I had kept the weight off, but I had been eating salty, fatty, foods, and drinking dark, stout beers, rather than my old stand by, Miller Lite.  I had also went off on checking my bp, so I figured it was time, I didn't feel bad, but I didn't feel exactly in tip-top shape.  For somebody that had kept the weight off...didn't take long to figure out why.

BP, Up, Up, and Away.....

I strapped on my home monitor and figured that my 125/65 with a heart rate at 60, the last time I checked in November, would probably be elevated, even though I had been faithfully been taking my daily dose of Lisinop/HCTZ in moderate amounts.  I usually take 3 readings so the mind and body can work together to get a average reading...the first one:  178/85, not good, the next 183/78...hummm, and finally 175/72.  Not good at all...so, where to begin, what had I done since November to get the BP up this high?   Let's see, besides salty snacks, a cheesecake which I made my myself, almost an entire cheesecake consumed.  Add gallons of rich, dark, thick beer, and despite no weight gain, I soon realized that I had shot the diet all to Hell...there is indeed more than weight when it concerns Diabetes and Blood Pressure.

So I go back on the serious side of dieting...my usual breakfast will stay the same, muffin with preserves, coffee creamer and sweetener, and a banana, or pear, or fresh pineapple. More veggies and less salt, less soup, more chicken and lean red meat....and a can or two of tuna(yeck!) per week.  Boring, but necessary...

Last night my BP had dropped to 125/65 and this morning it stood at a manageable 135/65, with my heart rate at 65.  With blood work due next Tuesday and a check up next Wednesday...we will see what the Doc says, meanwhile, less salt, and sadly less beer, especially my favorite Stout, at least for now.

Plenty of basketball over the next 36 hours...a JV Boys game at Allen East tonight, then tomorrow a Girls JH double header at St. Marys in the morning, followed by another boys JV game at Spencerville tomorrow night.

enjoy the weekend...back later>>>>

Blue Devils Toss Bricks and Lose...The Kenyan Devil Tosses Political BS at "Memorial"

Long time readers of this blog know I'm a hard core Duke Blue Devils basketball fan...root for Ohio State in Football, Duke in hoops.  Duke went in to last night's game at Tallahassee against Florida State, undefeated and ranked #1.  Meanwhile Ohio State traveled to Ann Arbor, ranked #2 and likewise undefeated...when the dust had settled, The Buckeyes had pulled out a close one against Michigan, while the Blue Devils took a tumble at FSU and limped away with their first defeat of the season.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201101120213

If Ohio State wins this coming weekend, they are likely to be ranked #1, with that target squarely on their scarlet and gray backs.  The Duke defeat, was hardly a surprise, the Seminoles have had a habit of defeated top ranked Duke teams over the years on their home court...this being the 3rd suck occurrence since 2002.  Nobody is going undefeated this season...OSU, Kansas, and Syracuse remain(along with San Diego State), but none will escape the season without a X mark, you can say you read it here.

While I was watching The Buckeyes, then the Blue Devils...our own Kenyan Devil, Barry Soetoro, was tossing something besides basketballs at the contrived "memorial" event in Tucson.  Complete with political rally "t-shirts", our ignorant President, complete with double digit IQ and "posse" by his side, was playing politics with the blood of the Arizona shooting victims still not dry:

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//110112/480/urn_publicid_ap_org_ffb533d16d6548058df1085e682a679d/

The clown will stoop to no low...a University Cheering Section at a memorial?  Something only the fartest left wing loons could appreciate, cheer, and support.  This joker will stop at nothing to win his political war.  I would claim that he is the Anti-Christ...but no, Obama just isn't that smart...evil yes, bright bulb?, hardly.  Plus he only has about 30% of the folks believing his BS.

Politics, sports, and weather aside...things are moving along.  January 13th already...2 weeks into the new year, and if it keeps moving at this imagined pace, spring will be here before the blink of an eye.  Hal's bachelor party in in 2 weeks, and his and Lisa's wedding just over 3 weeks away in the hills of West by gawd Virginia...with the reception back in the Miami Valley at Fairborn on February 19th.  After that, spring and baseball will be a month or so away...frankly, I can't wait!!!

Meanwhile, back to basketball tonight, with a boys junior high double at Celina, against cross lake rival St Marys, the Varisty in both girls and boys between those two schools will also face off between tonight and tomorrow night.  I'll return soon...

back later>>>>

Snow Job!

They were predicting anywhere from 1 to 6 inches of Snow in the Upper Miami Valley, and in Celina and Mercer County we probably got near the top of the predictions...maybe 4 or 5 inches.  That was enough to let some schools out early yesterday, and delay most by 2 hours today...it was also enough to cancel most of the basketball in the area last night, including my JH Boys games at Elida.  No games tonight, but the rest of the week Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, will see me scheduled to officiate 6 games in those 3 days/nights.

The amounts we received are nothing compared to the bashing that the northeast got overnight, anywhere from 9 inches in Central Park, NYC...to a couple of  feet in Connecticut.  That was their second big storm since Christmas.  Meanwhile the folks down south in Atlanta and elsewhere, continue to be locked in a deep freeze after their weekend snow and ice event, and those folks are not able to handle it like the authorities in our part of the country.

As I watched the white stuff, a nice fluffy, rather than the heavy wet variety, come down yesterday I prepared to use the Snow Machine on my place, and the new Toro over at Mom's...I "prepared" by heading to Wally World and grabbing a 12 pack of Blue Moon Winter Samplers, which included 4 each of Blue Moon White, Pale Ale, and Abbey Winter Ale.  At that time I wasn't sure whether the games would be cancelled, but figured I would enjoy a couple of brews(or more than a couple, depending when and if the games were called off) after my chores were done.  I also made a spot on the back step to plop my butt down, so I could sit and have a couple glasses of beer, and a 1876 Torpedo Cigar.  I usually don't smoke many cigars in the winter months, too damn cold outside.  But yesterday, after working up a moderate sweat,  it didn't feel bad outside, so while waiting for Patricia to arrive from school(they were not let out early), I had a couple of frosty glasses of different types of "Moons", and a 40 minute cigar.  By this time the games had long since been cancelled, so I drank a couple more, and headed in to watch my Philadelphia Flyers knock off the Sabers 5-2, to increase their overall lead in the NHL East.

By the time the cigar, beers, and hockey were done, so was the snow.  Today, with no games on the schedule, I will give both places a "do-over" and seek something else on the agenda...maybe read a little, one thing I won't be doing is watching some asshole named Obama, along with his cronies, try to gain political points, by leading the prayers tonight in Arizona, at the memorial service for those slain and injured in Saturday's shooting.

Pretty amazing it will be for a group of Christian hating assclowns to speak at this memorial.  The very people that hate us, and hate the freedoms we seek to keep, trying to gain favor...screw those bastards and the brooms they fly in on.

back later>>>

Photos-Relaxing next to my "smiling" Snow Machine, with cigar and dark ale after the work was done...5 or so inches of white fluffy snow in the driveway was no problem for the machine, nor was the amount at Mom's place, her smaller Toro went through it without problems.  The Philly Flyers remain on a hot streak, defeating Buffalo 5-2 last night in New York, to increase their Atlantic and Eastern leads.

Let it Snow.....

They are calling for 1 to 6 inches of the white stuff here in West Central Ohio...it got started about an hour or so ago, and it looks like we will get at least a couple of inches...perhaps more.

Yesterday was a pretty busy day for the semi-retired...a MRSI Board Meeting, a Freshman game at Lima Central Catholic late afternoon, then a quick rush 50 miles to Dartball at Mount Carmel Church, home by 9:30 to watch, with little interest, the final 2 1/2 quarters or so of the Auburn win over Oregon in the National Championship game...an overrated, boring, 22-19 Auburn win on the last play of the game, via a field goal.  Dartball saw us defeat perennial power Mt C 2 games to 1, for sure the highlight of our team season to date.  Not that we played that good, in winning the first 2 games, but they couldn't hit a lick, the third game saw them pull out a 3-2 win.  I went 6 for 15 with a couple of RBIs, as I arrived in the 2nd inning of the first game.  My average climbed to a so-so(for me) .347 with a paltry 10 RBIs , with the season 60% complete.

Tonight, depending on what the predicted snow might do, I am schedule to travel to the fieldhouse in Elida for a Junior High double header...if we have the games, it will be a good night to fire up the Jeep Wrangler and take the back roads....maybe get some snow photographs.  However, if it keeps snowing like it is at this hour, I would not be surprised to see the games cancelled....hopefully not, once I plug something into my brain that I plan on doing, I dislike changes in schedule at the last hour.

I continue to watch the aftermath of the Arizona shootings...the wrangling from the left continues, but the conservative media, after taking a step back, has now began to fight back, against the lies and the BS spewing from that idiot Pima County Sheriff, Clarence Dipstick(see yesterday's post), and the far left media.

back later>>>>

Photos-Top, the radar at 9:30am ESP...the arrow and the darkest blue shades sit right over Celina and Mercer County....it has slowed down in the half hour since....and Livingston Street looking east from our walk...not much yet, but an inch or so of the fluffy White Power type snow.

Pima County Arizona's Fascist Sheriff...

Clarence Dupnik or Dipstick, the Pima(Tucson) Country Sheriff is intent on getting his "15 minutes" of fame.  The Brown Shirt of local law enforcement in Tucson is intent, like the rest of the left wing bizarro world, of blaming Sarah Palin, and right wing talkers in the shooting in Arizona that left 6 dead and 14 wounded, including his fellow Democrat, Congresswomen Gabby Giffords.  The guy is a dyed in the wool tool for the American Left:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/09/pima-county-sheriff-sets-debate-price-free-speech/

His rants, including well placed help from so called "conservatives" on Fox News, including Geraldo Rivera and Shep Smith, are the things that must seem like sexual release to the loser on the left side of politics.  He "explains" his baseless claims to Megyn Kelly on Fox News this weekend:

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

This is what happens when you get clowns like this left wing stooge running Law Enforcement....a brown shirt that would be more than happy to enforce shutting down the Internet, as well as Fox News, Talk Radio, and the First and Second Amendment.  As sick as the twisted Jared Loughner is, this guy, and those that think like him, is even more dangerous.

back later>>>>

Photos-Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and his ilk would have all of us marching to Commander Obama's tune, if he had his way...he doesn't have that power, at least not yet!

The Arizona Shooting and the Aftermath....

I watched bits and pieces yesterday as the shooting of Arizona Congresswomen Gabrielle Giffords unfolded...knowing what the aftermath in the media would be.  As usual in these things, I was 100% correct.  The "lame stream media", and it's lap dog left wing followers are just too easy to pigeon hole.  The outcry would be, and continues to be, the same:

Let's blame Sarah Palin, Fox News, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, etc, etc, etc....especially Sarah Palin. Why?  Pretty easy, the left and the media hate Palin, even more than they fear her and her perceived power..  The media and liberals are rubbing their hands in glee this morning...sure they hate the fact that this women was shot and mortally wounded, but after all, like their leaders say..."Never let a good crisis go to waste"...and they are wasting no time in doing so.

Not 15 minutes after they found out the shooting victims included a Democrat member of Congress, they were all over it, like stink on a Monkey.   "It's Sarah Palin's fault, after all she put targets on Congressional Districts, including Giffords".

It's All Bullshit____

Bullshit Indeed!  The guy is a mental case, he's not a "right winger", as far as we know, and if he is,  nothing in his past claims as being a follower of Beck, Palin, Fox News, or whatever or whoever else the loony left wants to claim. Idiots from the middle of the road to the extreme far left will use this for one thing...to gain political power, and erode freedom of speech as we know it.  6 Dead, 13 wounded, and the left is all about gaining political points.

The Aftermath as I see it_____

What this will do is result in a a full court press by the left wing press, and leftists in Congress and the White House. It  will be an attempt to destroy not only Sarah Palin, but Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and the American's who want the border sealed and immigration legal.  Not to mention free speech from anybody that rebukes their perverted Socialist/Marxist agenda.  They will use it to neuter the new Congress from passing any new laws or stop spending for leftist agenda programs..."Let no good Crisis go to Waste"  That is indeed the war cry from the fringe American Left.....

How will it play out?  It's anybodies guess, but I'm guessing the right and the GOP will cave, after all that is what the Republicans do best...get criticized and blamed for something you have nothing to do with, and cave like a cheap tent.  It's the Republican modus operandi.  All too willing to cower and cave...I expect nothing less from this group after this event.

Meanwhile the shrill cries from the left will continue.."It's Palin's Fault". "Shut Down Beck, Hannity, and Rush", "Shut Down Fox News"...when in reality, Fox News has already caved.   Resident Obama ass kisser Geraldo Rivera was complacent in his two-hour show last night, by putting bigoted American hater, Al Sharpton on to dis Palin and Conservatives.  Fox News is no friend of free speech Conservatives...Beck and Hannity maybe, but Fox News is quickly slipping into the main stream of media, or the "Lame Stream" as I label it.

One thing this tragedy will do for sure, is further divide the country along political lines....with 24 hour news/talk TV and Radio, one thing is for sure...we will never get along again. the Republic is divided, Right, Left, and Middle...Government lovers vs Government haters, "Truthers" vs Realists....this country is going down the road to Hell.  The far left is cheer leading the efforts of the media to make it happen.

Whatever Jared Loughner accomplished with his vicious, cowardly, act, the left will seize on all of it to blame the right thinking folks in this country...that you can take to the bank. They will used it to further demonize Sarah Palin and folks that think like her...it is the way of the American left as we know it today.  I am sure the wacky leftwing is disappointed that this didn't happen 2 weeks before the election, that way they could have played it for maximum effect to save Nancy Pelosi's job.  After all the left believes with all their hearts "Never Let a Good Crisis Go To Waste".

Photos-Speaker John Boehner and Arizona Congressman Gabby Giffords, and Sarah Palin, who is #1 on the American Loony Left's hit list...

Wandering Through The Winter Wonderland....

The January-like temperatures and conditions seem to have settled in for the foreseeable future in West Central Ohio...20s with some light snow for the daytime, and lower teens or higher single digits at night.

Worked a JV Boys game at Crestview High School in Convoy last night.  The home team defeated their arch Van Wert County rivals, Linconlnview, in both the first and Varsity games....with the Varsity contest being a one point affair...the JV contest not nearly as close.  I slid on icy and snow covered pavement on the 30 mile trip home...those long trips are getting to be costly...gas up to $3.14.9 in Celina today.  And the outlook in this failed Obama economy isn't much better.  You can blame the Oil Companies all you want, but the real enemy to our freedoms, and our pocketbooks, is the Kenyan fool and his cronies in the bloated Government Bureaucracies, and with Wall Street speculators.

As I wrote earlier, I'm not much of a New Year's Resolution type of guy....but I did make plans on several fronts.  One was to be on this blog, and the rest of the Internet less in the future, and to read more books...mysteries, history, and those about things, people, and events, from my youth.  I began that quest a week or so ago, when Patricia picked up a few recent releases from the local library.  The first one I started was a book by Jane Leavy titled "The Last Boy, "Mickey Mantle and the end of America's Childhood".  No glorification of my childhood hero is this writing, but no vilification either....so far it's been a straight forward read about Mantle and the end of American innocence.

Once done with that I will read political talker, and Fox News commentator Glenn Beck's foray into fiction....this one called "The Overton Window"....Beck's political books have been runaway best sellers, much to the chagrin of the left wing losers that hate him and love Obama and Islamic Terrorists...I'm sure this one pisses them off even more.  Another best seller and it's not about his political opinions.  If I get those done before the due date, I will delve into Darwin Porter's book about Humphrey Bogart.  Not sure if this will be a hit piece about Hollywood or what?  The author has written some "suspect" stuff....

So that's my plan....Books, a Wedding in the family to get ready for and following reception 2 weeks later, and plenty of Basketball to officiate.  Meanwhile baseball rules meeting kick off in a little over 3 weeks...I might be retired, sort of, buy I have plenty of irons in the fire to keep my busy/entertained until spring ends the long nights of this Midwestern Winter.

back later>>>>

Photos-Top and Bottom, a look at the fresh but lite snow that covers the ground in our Celina Neighborhood.  The Middle photo is of the 3 books I plan to tackle in the next few weeks.

A New Beer Discovery, Baseball Just Around the Corner...at least the rules meetings

Just a spitting of snow this morning as I walked outside to feed the resident squirrels and backyard birds...nothing on the ground, and there hasn't been since the 50+ degree temperatures melted the December cover, just before the new year kicked in.  I'm not really sure what the forecast is...I'll look it up when done here, but I can remember from yesterday that the forecast called for plenty of "near normal" conditions.  Highs in the 20s and lows in the teens....with some snow flurries here and there, about what you can expect for western Ohio in January.  I can live with that...although if I don't have to fire up the snow blowers anytime soon, I won't mind that at all.

Last night I traveled the 8 miles to Coldwater and hooked up with "Wulfie", Kent, Doc Herron, and his son, at the South Side pub and watering hole.  We tossed down a couple of beers and did some bs'ing for about 90 minutes, before parting ways, Kent back to Fort Recovery, "Wulfie" walked to his place across the street, and I headed back towards home...always good to see old faces, I don't travel the bar circuit these days, so sometimes the visits are few and far between.

Another "Stout" for my Beer list_____

During the rare trips to a bar and during the warm weather(baseball) months, my beer of choice is Miller Lite.  A harmless beer that goes down easy in the summer, when, after working a double header, I feel the need to fire up a good cigar in the back yard, and wash the smoke down with a few or more American Larger Beers.  However, of late especially, when the weather cools off I find myself downing darker, more tasteful, and frankly more alcoholic content beers.  Porters aren't bad, Bock in the late winter and early spring is good, but my favorite by far are the dark, thick, stout style beers and ale.

I have over the past 2 years been testing different types of dark stouts from various breweries.  Sam Adams has a decent Cream Stout, and the dry Guinness Extra Stout has been at the top of my list for a couple years now...but I continue to read about and taste different brands.  Now don't get me wrong, stout beers run about 40% higher than regular beer in cost, and some 20 to 50% higher in alcohol content.  So if you are into drinking massive quantities of beer to get "sheet faced", you may want to avoid stouts...you will find your wallet lighter, your waist line bigger, and yourself not being able to find your keys..  You definitely do not want to drink more than a couple of these and drive any distance...that would not be a good move...or a safe one.  I stick with these beers when I'm not going anywhere...like on a cold winter night watching a Duke basketball game(speaking of which, the #1 Blue Devils won over UAB last night in easy fashion), on the tube.

Anyway, yesterday I went looking for something in a stout that wouldn't break the bank, and would be a change from my usual Guinness Extra Stout.   Chief Super Market in Celina has installed a nice collection of beers in all shades, styles, and taste....yesterday I noticed a couple of six packs from a Cincinnati based micro brewery called Mt Carmel...seems these folks brew the beer in their farmhouse, and began just a few years back:

http://www.mtcarmelbrewingcompany.com/first_1.html

This brewery opened in 2005, and it appears to be just beginning to bloom in sales...looking at their list of ale and beer, it appears that I will have to try some of their others styles, if I can find them...Celina seems to be at the northern most reaches of their sales area... for now.  I will stick with the Stout for now, and pick some extra style brews up when Hal and Lisa have their wedding reception in Fairborn in mid-February.

The Mt Carmel Stout, is dark, real dark, like an Imperial Stout, has about a 5% alcohol content, and I have to say I really, really, like it.  If you are into dark stout beer, and live in the west Ohio or north Kentucky/southeast Indiana area, you might want to give this a try.  Good Stuff....

Baseball, just around the corner?

Well, not really...but I did get the Ohio High School pre-season manual and rules books in the mail from the OHSAA yesterday, and it sure made me feel better than spring is not that far off.  Our local meetings begin on February 2nd in Van Wert, I'll also attend a couple at my southwest Ohio association at Indian Lake.  The state meanwhile, like they did in basketball, and will offer in person, and on-line state rules "meetings" that you have to complete...I'll probably attend the live session, if basketball doesn't have all my dates blacked out.

Anyway, with the rule books here, and the schedule for my spring varsity games pretty well completed, except for tournament assignments, the baseball light at the end of the long winter tunnel is beginning to make a peak through the gloom. 

Off north both tonight and tomorrow for basketball, Junior High boys this evening at Antwerp, and a JV boys battle at Crestview in Convoy tomorrow night....

back later>>>>

Photos~top left, the logo from the Mt Camel Brewery founded in 2005.  My first six-pack of Mt Carmel Stout...excellent stuff!  Me, doing what I do best in cold weather, enjoying a torpedo and a glass of Drambuie, cigars and Stouts go together just as well...and my and Sam's pre-season baseball stuff from OHSAA arrived in the mail yesterday...I'm ready for spring!

Good Bye Monkey...Buckeyes finally beat an SEC Bowl Opponent...

As I mentioned yesterday, I am pretty sick/disillusioned with Ohio State Football these days...even with a son working with the OSU athletic department/Big Ten Network while attending The Ohio State University.  The drama of late, with selling gifts, discount tattoos, speeding tickets, car rentals, etc., put a damper on the on field success of Buckeye Football.

Bring in last night's Sugar Bowl versus Arkansas....

Ohio State, ranked #6 in the nation, Big Ten Co-Champions, and participant in the most BCS games since that mess came into play, faced off against #8 Arkansas, a first time BCS Bowl Game participant...some dropped touchdown passes by the Razorbacks, and some outstanding Ohio State offense, and the Buckeyes were up 28-7 midway through the 2nd quarter.  Never a team to stand prosperity, The Buckeyes saw Arkansas come storming back:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE_BX22J6-Y

Thanks to the final minute interception, the Buckeyes held on to a 31-26 squeaker...and thus ended the sorry 9 game bowl losing streak to SEC teams.  Meanwhile "The Vest", Jim Tressel pushes his personal BCS Record to 6 wins 3 loses, with a 1-2 slate in National Championship games....

The Ohio State Quarterback, Pryor, was named game MVP, it should have been the massive defensive lineman Cameron  Heyward....meanwhile local product, Ross Homan from Coldwater had an excellent final game at linebacker, and like Heyward, should get drafted pretty high in the upcoming NFL Draft, both men are seniors.

What will happen to Terrelle Pryor and the 5 suspended teammates next season is anybodies guess.  Five of them are scheduled to sit for the first 5 games of 2012...will they go pro(they "promised" not to), will their suspensions be shortened?  Frankly, I don't care...I'm just glad the season is over, and I can now concentrate on Duke Basketball to get me through the rest of the winter sports viewing season.

Double Header at Elida last night for Junior High Basketball...nothing tonight, tomorrow I travel to Antwerp, and Friday at Convoy.  Tonight I hook up with "Wulfie" and Kent, in Coldwater, and will down a few beers....

Enough for this quick look this morning...back later>>>

Top-The "Real" MVP of last night's Sugar Bowl...Ohio State Defensive End Cameron Heyward...

Pushing into 2011....

If this new year of 2011 is anything like last, it will go by at warp speed...it seems that way, especially when you get old(er).  A few observations on what might lie ahead, but first a look at what has been and will be....

I did a full 3 games of Dartball last night at church, no basketball to have me arriving late.  It didn't seem to make much difference however, I went 4 for 12 and my average continues in the high .330 range (down a point to .338), and still 100 or so points below last seasons .441 finish, which was good for 2nd in the league...not looking to be in the top 5 this season, unless I get real hot.  As a team we started the second half, like we did the first, by getting swept in all 3 games by defending champions, Hopewell.  We went 0-9 out of the gate on our way to a 6 win 15 loss first half...as of now, I wouldn't bet on us being any better in the 2nd half.  Our veteran older players are all down in average, and our 4 younger guys are just not picking the game up just yet, so our once top of the league records have been reversed, and who knows when we will get back on top?  If we ever get back on top.

Basketball is back on the schedule tonight, with a boys Junior High double at Elida...at Antwerp Thursday for the same, then Friday a JV boys contest at Convoy Crestview.  No games Saturday, for a rare weekend off, but next week a full schedule returns with 8 games and 10 games the following.

When I return from Elida tonight, it should just be about kick off for the Sugar Bowl between The Ohio State Buckeyes and Arkansas Razorbacks.  OSU will try to salvage some pride for the Big Ten and especially themselves since they are zero wins and nine loses all time in bowl games against the SEC.

I am a life long Ohio State Football fan, but as regular readers know, I am pretty sick of the way the program is being handled.  Sure Jim Tressel is a great field coach, and has destroyed rival Michigan, won a National Championship, with 2 runners up trophies.  On top of that the Buckeyes have won or shared 6 consecutive Big Ten championships...yes Jim "The Vest" Tressel has been more successful at winning than even the great Woody Hayes.  Where I part company these days with Ohio State Football, is the way Tressel shoved the overrated punk name Terrelle Pryor on to the scene.  He tossed his senior QB Todd Boeckman under the bus, after a National Championship game(a loss to LSU), all for the glory of this so called "can't miss" quarterback from Pennsylvania.  I won't go into the details of this disaster named Pryor, but just suffice to say, he is not lived up to Buckeye fans expectations...however, he is just what I thought he would be.  A spoiled "hey look at me, and worship me" kind of guy.

Pryor and 5 others were suspended for almost half of next season, for selling prized items for a pittance...but the sugar daddy NCAA will let them play in tonight's bowl game...hmmm, you think money and ratings might be behind that?  So tonight it's another bowl game...rooting for Ohio State?  Not sure I really care...yes, oldest son Sam goes to OSU, and works for the OSU and Big Ten Network as a paid intern to help him pay his way through school...but I've pretty much soured on the entire mess called Buckeye Nation.

2011, looking ahead___

During weigh-in this morning, I was pleased to note that I was at exactly the same weight as this time last year...still down 23 pounds since I began the pre-diabetes 2 diet in September of 2009....up a few pounds from last summer, but the holiday season, now ended, only saw a couple of pounds added.  With 2 weeks until blood work on the 18th and a check up the following day, I consider the season a success, and should be able to drop another 5 pounds or so, and get back towards my goal of 180 by the time I visit the doc...which has 8 pounds to go.

During 2011 I will try to roll with the flow....continue with my usual breakfast 6 days a week, eat a senisble lunch(get back to more veggies and fruit, I slipped up the past few months), less beer, and a few cigars, and eat lite at supper.  If I can handle that, along with my workouts and sports officiating work...2011 hopefully will continue to see me active and healthy for the entire year...but I have no crystal ball, so the future is going to have to work itself out, I'm just along for the ride.

Social Security____

Speaking of pittance, I just got off the phone with the Lima SS Office.  I had applied online and the local office called a few minutes ago....asking questions, and more questions.  Interesting conversations, especially considering we have a handicapped adult child....I really wasn't looking for extra benefits for Anissa since she is mostly living on her own, with 24 hours care....some of which is with us, but mostly with providers from MRSI.  After getting off the phone, it's no wonder they want you to start 3 months early...this is going to be a interesting process...all for a few bucks a month.  Since I retired from the Health Department, which isn't under SS, the money I will be getting might make a car payment and put some gas in it....but what the heck, might as well get my share of the shrinking American Pie...right?


So that is where my life stands at this point....looking forward, and on occasion back at the life past...I will try to continue to press forward with the good and bad, and roll with the punches in this new year...after all I've already made it longer than I had really planned....2011, turning 62 in a couple of months....who would have thunk it?

back later>>>>

Photos-My usual breakfast these days...at least 6 days a week.  A fresh fruit, English Muffin topped with one of Patricia's home canned preserves(we usually have 7 or 8 varieties on hand...Peach, Pear, Cherry, Strawberry, Rhubarb-Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry, and maybe another in season.  Dartball continues into March, so far it's been a long season...and The Vest, Jim Tressel, and his wayward man-child quarterback, Pryor, will try to salvage a Big Ten win in the Sugar Bowl tonight.

The Holiday Season Ends....

Here it is January 3, 2011...and the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year Holiday Season has ended...it came to me with a nice 11 hour nap last night and early this morning.  Just enough to recover from the food and football bowl fest at Rick's acres over in Noble County in northern Indiana.  Clint, Rick, and I, got together for our annual beginning of the new year.  Rick and his wife, Toni, set out the spread, and we 3 with some help from Rick's sons, dug into the wide variety of food...Chili, wings, shredded beef, veggies, cakes, chips, dips, and more varieties than we really needed.  We washed that done with a half dozen different brands of beer.  I started and stuck with Coors...the first time I had downed that in years.  We retreated to the garage for a half hour or more to partake in some Indian Tabac cigars that I had brought along.

As far as the Bowls...football bowls that is.  Well suffice to say, being in Big Ten country, they were a disappointment...the Big Ten contingent got it handed to them...Michigan, Penn State, and Michigan State got clobbered by SEC teams, while Wisconsin was a loser in the Rose Bowl, and Texas Tech squeezed by Northwestern.  This leaves the Big Ten at two wins and five loses, with just Ohio State against Arkansas tomorrow night in the Sugar Bowl to repair some much wounded pride.  We finished off the day by watching some old westerns...and after crashing in the basement den, Clint and I headed out yesterday morning about 9:30.  Once home, I sat watching some NFL yesterday recovering from the day before, and I decided about 7pm it was time to catch up on some much needed sleep...and that is just what I did....11 1/2 hours and a shower later...here I sit.

With the long holiday(about 7 1/2 weeks for me if you consider it starts 2 weekends before Thanksgiving on our trip to Wisconsin)...it was time to tabulate the damage done to my weight loss progress over the past 116 months.  When I stepped on the scales this morning I discovered I was only up about 2 1/2 pounds over the entire 7 weeks...and only up 2/tenths of a pound since New Years morning...considering what I downed on Saturday, I am pleasantly surprised to say the least.  The slight gain over the period still leaves me down 23 pounds or so over the 16 months...I have yet to check the Blood Pressure this morning, and given all the salt laced goodies I had on Saturday, I may hold off on that a day or so....my next checkup is January 19th, with a blood draw on the 18th, so I have a couple of weeks to "purge" myself.   All in all, I am less than disappointed with the "Holiday Results".

Basketball resumes tomorrow night at Elida...tonight we begin the 2nd half of the Dartball season with a 3 game series at St. Johns against defending champions Hopewell.  I batted .339 for the first half, about a 100 points below what I finished at last year....as a team we had the 7th best record in the 8 team league, finishing at 6 up 15 down for the half...I cannot imagine doing worse on a personal or team basis this half...at least I hope not.  So here it is...time to lose a few pounds(still a handful away from my goal of 180), finish off the basketball season, get ready for Hal and Lisa's wedding...and prepare the body for baseball come late March.  I have at least 3 Vietnam Reunions to attend this year, and Patricia and I plan on taking a long vacation in the late summer(providing gas isn't $5 per gallon)...so here we go with the New Year, hopefully it will be good for all, well for all except our Marxist Prez and his progressive lemming followers and the lame stream media...the can all go straight to Hell.  That is one thing I will not waver on in 2012...my dislike for those that would destroy this Republic and turn us into a nation of servants...we are looking more and more like Europe and you gotta wonder if their plans are even more sinister than that.  Stay Tuned!

back later>>>>

Photos-Clint, Rick, and Me, enjoying a Indian Tabac Robusto in the garage between halves of football and handfuls of food and beer...Rick's youngest Guy, along with Clint...the view of the pond on the 17 acres from the basement/den picture windows in their new house...last year at this time it was just getting under roof....now it's complete except for the basement/den waiting for it's cosmetic work.  And finally Rick, doing what we did most of the New Year's Day...sitting, watching football with beer and snacks in hand.