Just Reflecting.....

Reflecting...http://thinkexist.com/dictionary/meaning/reflecting/

I guess today's blog can be dedicated to Cars, Wrecks, Beer, Sports and a combination of same "reflections"

"Topper" 1937______

I sit here this morning, watching one of my old comedy favorites..."Topper" the Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, Roland Young, vehicle from 1937....it comes on Turner Movie Classics from time to time, and by today's standards is anything but politically correct...can you imagine the bean counters, and Liberals that ruin, er run, Hollywood today allowing a comedy that makes lite of drunken driving, in anything but a crude way?  Anyway, Grant and Bennett meet their demise in what is nothing less than a drunk driving accident, then proceed to "haunt" their stuff shirt banker buddy, Roland Young ...aka:  "Topper"...well acted and classic....needless to say they don't make them like this anymore.  Sure the movie calls it a tire blow out at high speeds, but given the opening, it doesn't take much imagination to realize that the couple had been partaking more often than not in liquid delights before getting behind the wheel.

The Nitro Returns_____

After the January 2nd wreck on the slippery streets of my birth town of Van Wert, Ohio, with no alcohol involved on my part, Patricia's Dodge Nitro went into the shop at St. Henry's Carriage Werks...the body shop is a busy place, and one of the best....finally the Nitro was returned last night, thus allowing Patricia to have her vehicle back, and me to sleep in....which I still couldn't do this morning...the aging Airedale, Reagan, got me up at 6am, while the wife was working out at the Snaps Fitness Center...and that was it, I was up, and not heading back to the sack.

I am glad the Dodge is fixed, however, not sure if I want to drive it again, at least anytime soon....feeling much more at home in the 98 Buick Montana...hardly a classic vehicle, but it suits me for now....however, with winter finally here, I realize that I do miss the Jeep Wrangler, although it's been gone for 6 months and I had not driven it in almost a year now...oh' well, what the Hell?  I'm sure I will need another "manly" vehicle one more time before I die, but at this point I am content to drive the "Soccer Mom" vehicle....{he writes while rolling his eyes}.

Winter Brews____

Regular or casual readers of this blog know I enjoy beer....lots of beer.  No so much I get drun very often, but enough over the years if not for partaking in the liquid hops, I probably would be financially better off....but I'm sure I would have spent my extra cash on something else.  

Anyway, during the summer and baseball umpire season, I am usually content on downing large quantities of American Large brews such as Miller Lite...however once the air turns cooler, about October, I switch taste buds....from the flavorful Oktoberfest brews in the fall, to the Dark Lager and Stouts from European recipes in the winter....Sam Adams, Blue Moon, and Guinness, are among the regular brewery selections I frequently purchase...but I am always looking for a new favorite, at a reasonable price....It appears that I have found a new one...but sadly, having found it, it's hard to keep in stock, seems I, and one other person, have bought out the local stock.


Kostritzer is the brand name and Schwarzbier, a German Black Lager, is what it is.  I had some over a year ago, when my buddy Bill Clem treated me to a Columbus Blue Jacket hockey game in October 2009...I liked it then, but had not been able to find a suitable bottle of it until a couple of weeks ago....then, once found, and purchased, the few six packs were gone within a week, and the local speciality beer barn is waiting on it's next delivery....so in the meantime, I will stick with Guinness Dark Larger, Blue Moon Abby Ale, and others that I find appealing.  One thing I have discovered, is I do not enjoy the Dark Amber, as opposed to Black shaded Lagers....it just comes down to taste.  But you can be sure, I will be on the lookout for Kostritzer's Schwarzbier, and buy out the stock when possible.


Basketball last night___

Back at Wayne Trace last night...where they were playing five games....a Junior High double header, a Freshman game followed by the JV and Varsity games....the JH games were on the small court, while the rest were in the main gym.  My young cousin, Aaron Hockenberry, and I had the Freshman boys(they all were boys contests) game....which went down to the wire, as the home team was upset by visiting Continental 29-27.   I was home by 7pm.  No game tonight, then Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, will see me officiate four Junior High games, sandwiched around a JV Boys game on Friday night at Columbus Grove.  Aaron, who was a good HS roundball player and played some in college, has the potential to be a good basketball official, hopefully he will stick with it in the coming seasons.

Baseball Umpiring____

With the first local baseball rules meeting just two weeks away, and the on-line state rules meeting up and running on January 26th, I have been checking out my gear and uniforms, and deciding what new purchases I might need to make....at the least, at least one pair of base pants, and a new facemask are in order....and perhaps other items as well.  When checking out the dealerships, one thing is obvious, the costs of replacement items is not going down.

Haircut Time?

 

That is enough "reflecting" for one day.....


back later>>>>

Thunderstorms, Debates, and Dartball....

Out of bed at 7 this morning, I checked "The Weather Channel" on the Internet.  I long ago gave up watching that "Global Warming Science is God" Network on TV.  Since NBC took over the original Weather Channel, it has become a mix of left wing political junk, mixed with fake global warming 'fact', and endless stories of people surviving or chasing tornadoes...what ever happened to the damn forecast?  Anyway, I checked the Radar, and noticed a large batch of heavy rain coming our way...and it did arrive minutes later.  I also noted that the temperature was a balmy 53 degrees, on January 17th no less...it was actually one degree warmer than my old hometown of Venice, Florida, some 1000 miles to the south....go figure!

The rain will end today, and be replaced by 40 mph winds and much colder temperatures by the time I awake tomorrow morning....more like 20 degrees, with a windchill factor probably below zero....that too won't last, by Sunday they are predicting temps back into the 50s...crazy weather indeed for this winter season.


 Dartball_______

Sam drove home from Columbus yesterday, basically just to play Dartball, so he would be tournament eligible at season's end...and that is basically our reason to play.  We were swept, by Rockford last night, not that they threw that well...but without our leading RBI man, we are a very bad team....I pushed my Average back above .400, going 6 for 12, but even with me batting .404, we are not hitting together, and appear in for a long second half of the season.  Gene, "Cowboy" Linn is down after back surgery, and 93 year old Martin is also out...our aging team, even with some new blood, is but a shell of our glory years of the late 90s and early 2000s.  Hopefully everybody will be back and playing well, so we can make a tournament run, much like we have done the past three years, where we have placed  tourney runners up in two of those years.  For now we will muddle on, hopefully winning a game or series, here and there.

The South Carolina Debate_____

I got home in time to watch the last hour or so of the GOP/Fox Debate in South Carolina....and the first thing I saw happen was Newt Gingrich knocking a question by race baiting Juan Williams out of the park....Seems Juan, like every other dung-for-brains Liberal cannot figure out why you might need to show some identification if your are going to vote...duh!  Sure the corrupt Obammy Administration wants illegals and criminals to vote, he has that vote locked up, which is where most of them should be....locked up that is.

While Newt was kicking Juan's ass, Ron Paul was proving again he is a doddering old fool when it comes to Islamic Terrorism, and National Defense.  The guy is a senile relic and cannot be trusted to figure out what day it is, let alone how to fight terrorism.  All of his freedom and economic issues aside, he is clueless, and his supporters, at least in large part, are becoming nothing more than hate filled, free speech preventing, radicals, out of the 1960s mentality.  While I agree with his "bring the troops home, close down the Europe Bases" stance....he, or anybody else that thinks the radical Islamic hordes will live beside us in peace...is a Gawd Damn Fool.

With the debate over, I gave Newt a narrow win, from at least the parts I watched, Paul was the loser, despite the crying and denials from his rabid supporters like Patriot Radio host Mike Church....Ron Paul was laid open like a beached whale...his campaign is done, the only thing he can do now, is lead his mind numbed followers on a mission to re-elect Barack "Insane" Obama.

So for now, my support remains with Rick Santorum....but I am open to just about anybody, except Obammy the Kenchurian Candidate....even Ron Paul, while getting us killed by Islam, he would at least cut our taxes and Government spending.  

The South Carolina Primary is up Saturday, then regardless of outcome, it's on to Florida....for me it's.back to basketball tonight, a Freshman boys game at Wayne Trace.

back later>>>>

Photos--The Radar as it looked at 7am...the heavy storms rolling across Indiana into Western Ohio...meanwhile, mid January and our temperature was a degree warmer than down in Venice...go figure~The Dartball season drags, personally I'm having my usual season, a .400 plus batting average or above, but the team continues to struggle to win on a consistent basis...and the GOP Debate, thanks to a photo from The Blaze, droned on in South Carolina last night...Florida is next.

Political Views Part #6, a final look....Winter Makes a Showing

The weekend finally saw a taste of winter, although nothing out of the ordinary...we ended up with perhaps three inches of snow, and plenty of wind.  Yesterday the temperatures finally settled in the single digit range, about 8 above by the time I awoke...things will warm up for a couple of days, probably melting the snow, then colder for middle and late week.

As I traveled back from Ada Friday night, after officiating, Interstate 75 was a mess...the lite snow was being blown across the north-south highway, and the cars and 18 wheelers were packing it into a thin icy mess....the usual idiots with front wheel and 4WD vehicles thinking they cold go the speed limit were ending up in the various ditches and guardrails along 75...with my experience two weeks ago, while having a fender bender, driving 5 mph, I took it easy, and made it home safe and without incident.

Saturday with JV games, Girls in St. Marys, and Boys at Crestview, I finished off my 10 game week...this coming week it gets a bit easier, less busy, and will stay that way until my season is completed on February 24th.  Frankly I am tired, and ready for the fews weeks off between roundball and baseball, which for me begins on my 63rd birthday,  March 16, 2012, with a scrimmage at Lima Central Catholic.

Speaking of baseball, I have already received my first post season assignment, a Sectional Game on May 9th...with the new rules concerning the post season and who works it, I'm pretty pleased that I was among the first to get an assignment.  More sectional locations will select their picks, then the District, Regional, and State games will be handed out come April..and by that time, hopefully the spring will have turned warm and somewhat dry.....unlike last year, when it remained wet throughout the early baseball season.

Political Views....a final look!

After the 1976 disaster, known as the Election of Jimmy Carter, I finished up studies at Hocking, moved back to Celina, where I attended Wright State Lake Campus for a year, then when finished there, I chucked it all and Patricia and I along with the Airedales, Rag and Max, the mutts, Ginny and Dixie, and the stupid cat, moved to the frozen north country...Wausau, Wisconsin, where I worked on the ski hills, bartended, and took classes at Trans American School of Broadcasting....finishing up there in the summer of 1978.  For the next few years I would be "living on the radio" in such places as Wausau and Merrill, Wisconsin, Kokomo, Indiana, and Dodge City, Kansas, before returning to Celina, where I would play Program Director at the local station, before turning my attention to Environmental Health work full time, and broadcasting would become a second and part-time paid hobby, for the next 20 years.

My politics became pretty well solidified by this time....While in Dodge City, early on in the 1980 Presidential Campaign, I had the chance, during the Kansas Primary, to interview, George Bush 1, Reagan, and Ted "The Swimmer" Kennedy.  But by that time I had already decided to cast my lot with Reagan.  Kennedy was challenging Carter, because he was not "Liberal" enough...lol, can you imagine that?  Jimmy "F-ing" Carter, not liberal enough?...meanwhile Bush and Reagan were doing fierce battle...George Bush one, the ultimate RINO, and Reagan, a true Conservative...both were far superior to Carter, or the bloated man-slaughtering Kennedy.

Reagan would to on to win that primary, the nomination, pick Bush as his running mate, to placate the moderates in the GOP, and easily defeat the dimwitted Carter, despite the appearance of another RINO, liberal John Anderson, as a 3rd party candidate.   We would have eight great years, bringing America back to respect, slap the shit out of Islamic Radicals, and repair the economy.  Sadly however, it's been all downhill since Ronald Reagan left office in 1989.  The past 22 years have seen nitwits, RINOs, fornicating hillbillies, Marxists, and Jackasses, hold office, and all variety of same have served in the White House....topped off by the Marxist Kenyan son of a Kansas whore we are currently saddled with...a man, in name only, that has as his Mission #1. destroying the Republic, his main goal...there are no Ronald Reagan's on the horizon.  Only a group of self absorbed Socialist Ambulance Chasers, and worse....even the most Conservative of the Republicans running for President in 2012, is less "conservative" than John F. Kennedy was...that's how far we have sunk as a country.  The media, the so called "5th Estate" has become nothing more than a sound bite filled bankrupt voice of the Democratic Party and the infiltrating filth of what's wrong with the USA these days.


So, there you have it....a rambling look at my politics, from Ike to Reagan...I've become more conservative{see far right} over the 55 years I have followed politics...and I've come to despise Liberals and the Government more....

My opinions include one which would surly piss off some of my fellow veterans and conservative patriots....I told my boys, when they were in high school,  not to enlist in the military....because frankly, a people that would elect Bill Clinton, not once but twice, to the office of President, was probably not worth fighting for....and now, with one illegal Marxist named Barry Soetoro, aka Barack "Insane" Obama, in the highest office in the land....that opinion has intensified...while I love this country, and love it's history, the current "Nanny State" with career political hacks is not what our founding fathers had in mind....if alive today, they would be leading a second American Revolution....and their muskets would be aimed straight at Washington DC....we have become a nation of "entitlement slaves", one were less that 40% of it's citizens actually work, or if they work, work on the taxpayers dole....and frankly I was one of those for 20 years...a fact that doesn't dim my distaste for what we have become at all.


I'm not sure what will happen this coming November, I suspect that by hook or crook, Obama will be re-elected....and if that happens, you best be prepared, because if the Mayan Calender is wrong, and the world doesn't end....what is coming to America and the World, is not for the weak and cowardly.  Let the game of war for our soul begin.....


back later>>>>


Photos-While Reagan and George Washington, both American Heroes, rode horses, today we are saddled with Horse's Asses, like the departed Ted Kennedy, who drank and fornicated his way through life, and Hillbilly Bill Clinton, who screwed anything with a skirt on in his 8 miserable years in the White House...What would our Founding Fathers, like Ben Franklin, of yesteryear think?  I suspect, "Washington DC?...let's get out the rope and find the nearest tall Oak Tree"

My Political Views, Part 5, along comes Ronald Reagan...

A taste of winter has come....the lite amount of snow, maybe 3 inches, was not the problem. it was and is the wind...45 mph when gusting, making the small amounts of snow blow, and dropping the chill factors below zero for the first time this season.

I got my double header Junior High game in at Wayne Trace, and headed the 35 miles home..Paulding County had some icy roads, but as I traveled south, conditions improved....it appears that continued overnight, while the schools here were on a two hour delay, the schools to the north cancelled classes....including Ada, where I am scheduled to officiate tonight, however since they are hosting nearby Allen East, the game is still on, at least for now....a decision will be made later in the day.  Two more games on the agenda, one in St. Marys and a night JV game at Crestview, will finish off my 10 game schedule for the week.

My Political Views..part #5...The Coming of Reagan___

As the sixties moved into the decade of the 1970s, and I finished up my four year Air Force stint, I had pretty set my ways and my views on politics....I had become a far right kind of person, but with the notable exceptions that included the following:

I hated authority, and refused to follow or bow to it.  I was in constant trouble in the military, frankly, because I though most of the rules and regulations were pure BS, that had nothing to do with national security or serving my country.   Some of my battles with so-called "superiors" are chronicled in the past four and 1/2 years on this blog.  I also had a Libertarian streak....with the notable exception of Abortion, I came to believe that whatever one did, if it didn't affect others in a negative way, was OK by me....I have modified those views over the past 40 years, but basically they remain as they were in my later years in the Air Force.

After the Air Force days which lasted from  1968-72, I "enjoyed", for the most part, my next 4 years, raising Hell, working as a bartending, bouncing, manager of a youthful nightclub in Celina, and really not caring or thinking much about politics.  Nixon came, and I voted for him in 1972, back when you had to be 21 to vote, but could drink at 18...those of course have been reversed, why I don't know....the fact of the matter is, 18 year old kids are to naive and stupid to vote, of course given the fact the 53% of the voting population voted for Barack Obama in the last election, the kids were not the only dumb asses pulling the switch for a half wit fool in 2008 election.

Nixon went down in 1974, and was replaced by the inept Gerald Ford, not a bad guy, but nothing special...and when Ronald Reagan challenged him early in 1976 for the GOP nomination...I jumped on board.  By this time I was in college, spending my first years at Hocking Technical College, majoring in Environmental Health.  When Reagan was narrorly defeated by Ford for the nomination, I held my nose and supported Ford over another inept fool, one named Jimmy Carter.  A peanut brained clown that made LBJ look competent.  Carter won, and America sank into the deepest bowels of a recession, and to our lowest level of respect as a nation...Carter was indeed, and still is, a pitiful clown of a man and President...by the time 1980 rolled around, despite a 3rd party effort from a RINO named John Anderson, Ronald Reagan would win the White House...the next 8 years, despite a Carter caused bumpy start, would look pretty good for the country and Republic...the "Reagan Years" were some of the best in the later part of the 20th Century, and as good as it would get for years to come.  We are still waiting for better days.

More next week, beginning with Part #6, on Monday.....

back later>>>>

Photos-Our first real taste of winter, with a bit of snow and winds to move it around, came last night.  Ronald Reagan, the actor came on the National Scene as Governor of California in the 1960s...then after a failed bit to take the GOP reins in 1976, defeated a useless Jimmy Carter in 1980....Carter, has to rank in any honest persons estimate as one of the 5 most useless Presidents in American History.

My Political Views, Part 4....JFK, LBJ, Goldwater, Dick Nixon, and Vietnam...

It appears that our spring-like weather, which has been with us much of the late fall and early winter season, is about to take leave, for awhile at least.  Near 40 as the rain ends this morning, but by tonight, snow will have moved in, and temperatures will drop to the low 20s...and by this time tomorrow, a few inches of white stuff, somewhere between 2 and 5 inches will cover the ground...that should stick around for awhile, with cold temperatures to hang around through the weekend at least.

LCC Freshman game last night, tonight back to Junior High Boys at Wayne Trace, where I will work with a cousin, Les Hockenberry, whom I have never met...or at least I don't recall meeting him, perhaps at a Waldron Reunion, the common family link, but I don't recall...guess I'll find out tonight.

My Politics, part #4_____

The family left Venice, Florida, and returned to western Ohio, late in 1962...early in my 8th grade...while politics had interested me during the 1960 Presidential Race, I became enthralled by it  by the time 1964 rolled around.

JFK was shot down in Dallas, shortly after we moved into our new home near Montezuma, Ohio, in the fall of 1963.  I remember walking into Freshman Algebra class and our teacher began the class by telling us "President Kennedy has been shot in Dallas, he is presumed dead"...after getting home, I would spend the next days watching the news from Dallas, mostly CBS coverage....and was even watching when Lee Harvey Oswald was gunned down by Jack Ruby, as he was being taken away...looking back I think to myself, "Where the Hell was Security"?

As far as the assassination?  I was not a JFK fan, but I certainly didn't want him dead...especially with that criminal knuckle headed Texan, LBJ, now as President....no doubt the most evil, corrupt, son of a bitch to hold the office of President, save perhaps Woodrow Wilson, and the current Kenyan assclown now running the country into the ground.  Lyndon Baines Johnson and his "Great Society" was the biggest mistake ever foisted on this Republic, making even the policies of FDR look tame by comparison.  Needless to say, when 1964 came around, I was supporting Barry Goldwater, with my 15 years of experience in life.


Goldwater had no shot....with Kennedy's death, and the media's support, LBJ would win in a breeze.  Looking back at Goldwater, at that time he was a solid rock ribbed Conservative voice....and he would change the GOP forever to the party of Conservatism...at least compared to the Democrats.  However, Barry Goldwater, as he would prove later in life, was really no Conservative at least in my opinion...by the time he became a doddering old fool, with his mind gone, his Liberal leanings, especially on social issues, would come seeping through.  His first wife was Queen of the Arizona Ghouls...a stanch supporter and funding arm of the murderous Planned Parenthood, and Barry supported them to the hilt...as the years moved on, his second, younger wife, and her far left politics would influence the man even more.   As I grew in my political knowledge, I came to realize that Barry Goldwater, was not really the man I thought I admired...but he still had LBJ beat all to Hell.  

I would meet Barry Goldwater in Vietnam later on....he, while still a General in the Air Force Reserve, would fly into Nha Trang late in 1969, and stay for a night on base....as one of the not-so-elite Law Enforcement Security Police, Phil Lange my old friend and NCOIC, would give me a shift watching Goldwater's quarters....I did get to salute him once.  Knowing what I now know about him, a middle finger might have been more appropriate.


As for the war, or conflict, whatever the Hell you want to call it...LBJ foisted that on the American People...sure Kennedy and Ike had advisers there, and JFK basically overthrew the South Vietnam Government, but Johnson was the bastard that lied about the Gulf of Tonkin, and thus sowed the seeds of defeat and the useless deaths of 60,000 men and the destruction of lives of thousands more...and for what?  I supported the war, supported those I served with, we won that damn war on the ground, the bastards back in DC, and the gutless protestors, lost it for us, and will forever have blood on their hands.

Dick Nixon to the Rescue.....


After his presidential defeat at the hands of John Kennedy, Rich Nixon limped back to California and was soundly defeated in an attempt to win the Governorship of that state in 1962.... and despite his claims to the contrary, we had not seen the last of Dick Nixon, but the press still would "kick him around", and still do to this day.


Nixon, winning by the narrowest of margins in 1968, defeated the sitting Vice President, a laughable Hubert Humphrey, and states rights candidate Alabama's George Wallace.  But before this we had to sit through the resignation of LBJ, well not really resigning, he just choose not to run, beaten down by the War in Vietnam, Johnson chucked it all, and would die a handful of years later, in disgrace, only to be propped back up by the press in death as some kind of good President, he was anything but.  

Then Robert Kennedy, while running against Humphrey and others, was gunned down in California...that and the murder of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, turned the late 1960s, especially the year 1968, into a time like no other....it would also be the year I was handed my draft notice, and choose instead to join the Air Force.  1968 also saw my cousin, Jack Poling killed in Vietnam, and my brother Mike's best friend, David Kim Deeter, gunned down in Vietnam as well.


1968 would not be a year I would forget....it would be the year I would realize just where I stood politically....despite some fine tuning over the next 40+ years, I had pretty much became an independent right, hard right, radical thinker.

more on that next...


back later>>>>


Photos-Goldwater, JFK, minutes before he was gunned down, me at Nha Trang, about the same time as the Goldwater visit, and "Tricky" Dick Nixon....a conservative?  Not Really, but more on that tomorrow....

My Political Views, Part 3...We Like "Ike", JFK, Nixon, and LBJ...

It appears that the "spring-like" conditions will end by tonight...rain moving in, then a couple of cold days, before things settle into a more January-like mode....cannot complain, in two months plus a week, my baseball scrimmages will begin.  Meanwhile the basketball season, for me at least, is about one half way done.  Seven weeks down, seven to go....take a few weeks off, get the baseball gear ready, and move outside.

Youth sports 'fans', never cease to amaze me....

Last night I was back at Lima Central Catholic, working a Junior High double header...the home team, LCC dominated both the 7th and 8th grade games, and we were out of there by 7:15, after a 5pm start.  There was a good size crowd, and several in the stands, didn't like the fact that I wasn't calling enough fouls or blowing the whistle enough to suit them.  I am sure these so called fans{mostly parents at this level}, would have been pitching a bitch if we had let the games become a foul shooting, drawn out contest.  My theory in basketball is:  "Let the kids decide the game on the court.  If it gets too physical, or starts to get 'chippy", I'll start blowing the whistle, otherwise I am letting them play".  The game has changed over the years, and if the kids aren't cussing, or fighting, for the most part, I'm calling only what obviously affects the play or game, otherwise..."Get Er Done".  Tonight back at LCC for a single Freshman boys contest.  This week contains 10 games, after tonight I will be half way there.

Politics Part #3

With the completion of the New Hampshire Primary last night, it appears that Mitt Romney is closing in on the 'coranation' as the GOP standard bearer, thanks to money, the Republican establishment, and the media, who desperately want an Obama-lite running against their chosen "Messiah"...if Mitt wins the nomination, I will support him, unless he chooses Ron Paul or John Huntsman as his VP running mate, if that would happen, I will either sit this one out, or vote 3rd party.  The way I figure it, we are on the track to reaching "Hell in a hand basket" one way or the other....Romney will just get us there a bit slower, than Obammy The Wonder Kenyan.

Growing up in South Florida, I remember my first taste of politics....

Dad and mom were Republicans, and my early recollections included watching the 1956 election returns on the fuzzy black and white screen, with WFLA Channel 8 out of Tampa/St Pete bringing in the re-election of Ike Eisenhower, with ancient graphics.  At that time I really don't think it mattered much...Hell we were pretty poor, and lower middle class, and I don't think if would have meant a tinkers-damn difference if Adlai Stevenson had been elected.  However, by the time 1960 rolled around, I was in 6th grade, and pretty damn Gung-Ho about the upcoming Kennedy-Nixon campaigns.

Several of our "gang" of buddies in the Edgewood Section of Venice, picked sides....most of us were for Nixon, but a few others supported Kennedy, it no doubt had everything to do with our parents politics.  Back in those days, as I recall, unlike today, there was no hatred just because we disagreed on the Republicans or Democrats....today, sadly, you cannot have a friend that disagrees with your politics, it is next to impossible.  If family members disagree or have a far different view, you pretty much either don't see them, or avoid political discussions if possible at family get-togethers.

The Halloween before the 1960 Election, we headed out on "Trick or Treat", and in our group, the Nixon camp began pasting bumper stickers, we had picked up at the local elections headquarters, on any available window, store or car, that we could find...the Kennedy group did like-wise.  I guess we would be accused of being "JDs" or Juvenile Delinquents these days....we weren't, just young and stupid.  Those were the days when kids could still walk the streets of small town America, without worry....thanks to the man who would replace JFK upon his assassination, Lydon Baines Johnson, our world would change forever.  America would never be the same, thanks to LBJ and his Presidency, "The Great Society" would change America, then the Vietnam War would divide us, like no other...by the time I reached High School living back in my birth state of Ohio, my politics would begin their never ending slide towards the radical right.....today that lean gets more pronounced by the day.

Tomorrow, part #4, LBJ, Goldwater, The Vietnam War, and Nixon....the seeds of my political views had been sown....they would and will continue in the "right direction" for the rest of my days.....

back later>>>>

Photos-The 1960 Bumper Stickers like the ones we pasted on store front windows and cars in Venice, Florida....1956, liking "Ike" was my first taste of presidential politics, JFK, although I didn't like him, now seems Conservative, compared to the infected Marxist Democrats of today, and even most "Progressive/Liberal Big Government Republicans...and LBJ...I despise the man in 1964, I still despise what he did to this country....as bad as FDR was, Lyndon Johnson was perhaps the worst President of my lifetime, although one Barack Obama is giving that moniker a run for LBJ and his outlaw politics.

Entertainment Costs...through the roof!

 So they call this "Entertainment"?


I call it "Highway Robbery"
---------

More Sunshine, and above normal temperatures through at least early tomorrow....upper 40s, before a cold front pushes through by Friday leaving us in the lower 20s for highs, but even those colder predicted temperatures won't last for long.....every day of decent conditions brings us closer to spring....and the time, she is a flying.

When I got done working a basketball double header yesterday afternoon, a girls junior high roundball get-together, I headed for Dartball....we ended up losing 2 of 3 to start off the second half of the season, I arrived late in the first game, and had a total of 13 at bats, just 4 hits, 3 singles and a triple, with a run batted in...dropping my season average to .390 with 8 RBIs...the average, my lowest of the season.  At my, or any age, it can be pretty tough to run up and down a basketball court for 2 and 1/2 hours, jump in the car, drive 35 miles, and be ready to toss underhand heavy darts...sorry excuse I know, but I have noticed my level of play drops drastically, as the basketball season wears.  I've been especially pathetic at home, batting about .280, while hitting over .600 on the road...next week, no basketball, due to MLK Day, and we are on the road at Rockford, so maybe the hot road shooting will continue.

The Cost of "Entertainment":_____

When I got home, Patricia came downstairs and wanted to show me a couple of items.  The main one being the bill from Time-Warner.  TM is our TV, Internet, and Digital Phone provider.  It's prices have been going up like a hot air balloon.  In December, the bill for all services was a {IMO} outrageous $141.58.  Mind you the TV package is on for basic and standard services, we have no premium channels, just a Digital Variety package, with no digital TV?  WFT???  Well, that's not the half of it....the 2012 year kicks off with an increase of $44.47 per month, to $186.05!!!!  Gawd Damn!

Needless to say, that won't stand....I don't watch much TV, so I sure the Hell am getting rid of some of the channels, maybe the digital phone, and wherever else I can save.  When you combine the Internet from Roadrunner, the Digital Phone, TM Cable TV, XM Satellite costs and two cell phones, it runs us about $300 per month.  I call that Bullshit...so here I sit, looking at other options...and nothing looks good, so the only option is to dump some services.

Any suggestions, except to dump the entire mess, and start over with Internet, and cell phones?  Because that is the way I am leaning.....$300 per month?  That's more than our current mortgage payments...since we paid the house down over the years.  I'm not a cheapskate, but I sure the Hell am not a rich man, and even if I was, the cost of cable and other "perks" has become a joke over the past decade, since the Internet became a major part of all of our lives.

OK, today's rant, got me away from my Political View look back....I'll get back on that track tomorrow, but I had to vent on this today....meanwhile with eight games left to officiate this week, of a total of 10, I am feeling every bit of my 62 years and 10 months. 

Meanwhile the Dodge Nitro still sits in St. Henry waiting to be repaired, I did get the check from Nationwide Insurance yesterday for the damages....just under $3000...which means, there was really not a lot of damage outside the bumper and A/C Radiator unit....as for the other driver's damage?  I'm guessing it was a bit, Hell, a lot more.

back tomorrow, with the political side of life>>>>>


Photos-Grand Lake back in July, the mild winter has made the switch from hot to cold more bearable than in past years, especially last year and it's bitter winter season.  Last night 's Dartball was pretty mediocre for me and the team, we went 1 win 2 loses, personally I was a below average 4 for 13, with a triple and a run batted in.  Time Warner's fees are soaring, but checking around, others are just as bad...and the Nitro at the shop for a week, is now waiting on the $3000 in repairs to be completed.

My Political Views, Part 2

The lack of winter weather continues, "I love Global Warming!"...fake science and bullshit it might be.  Sunny and upper 40s today, back in the 50s by mid-week, before finally another short round of Winter weather arrives for  the weekend....but even then, it will be around "normal" as we head into mid-January, by average the coldest time of the year.  After all, once January 21st hits, the sun and moon say our average temperatures will start to rise, and will continue on that upward move, until July 21st.

I suspect the only thing that drives the left as bonkers as refuting Global Warming, is one Denver Bronco Quarterback, named Tim Tebow....he's a wacky Christian you know:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/another-sunday-miracle-tebow-connects-game-winning-80-013306463.html

Gotta love it...Tim Tebow is the Atheist/Progressive world's worst nightmare....so much fun watching them lose it when he wins....The Broncos, with the Bengals out as of Saturday, are my "new" team to root for down the stretch in the Playoffs...taking on New England next weekend.
---------------------
While the loser left hates Tebow, it worships Mother Earth, and the fake science of Man-Made Global Warming..."Chicken Littles" that they be.

For folks like me, with an education in Biology and Environmental Health, I smile when the losers on the left side of politics go bonkers when people like me refute and make fun of their gods that claim that man-man Global Warming{or now it's climate change, I guess}is fact.  The only fact is, it's a lie and a money grabbing, people controlling lie at that.  Man Made Global Warming is a lie, a hoax...don't let the dimwits in the media, or that half wit in the White House, tell you different.  It's about power, money, and control, and that is what the left, in this country and out, is all about...Controlling your and my lives, through regulation, money, and power.

My Political Views part #2____

I guess you could say I got my early poltical views from my Grandmother Houseworth....Wilda Waldron Houseworth was born in Van Wert County, Ohio, on December 22, 1883, she passed away in Van Wert Hospital on April 15, 1975, at the ripe old age of 91.  

Going through many of her papers, photos, and post cards, after I took possession of her home, that she shared with daughters Cecil, and Eva, back in the late 1990s.   Her political leanings, which I had a bit of knowledge about before, came into full light at that time.   Wilda was not only a Republican, she was a far right one.  A member of many right leaning organizations, she especially, disliked the policies of FDR, and the progressives like Woodrow Wilson, that came before Roosevelt.

I found and kept, invitations to political events, including a personally signed one from newly elected Governor of Ohio, John Bricker, inviting her to his Inauguration in early 1939.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_W._Bricker

Bricker served as Ohio Governor from 1939 through 1945, was the VP Candidate for the GOP in the 1944 Presidential Election, a losing effort to FDR and his Socialist cohorts.  He went on to become a Ohio/US Senator from 1947 until 1959.

Grandma's politics rubbed off on her kids that were interested...I know Eva, Cecil, and Stan Houseworth, my dad, were conservatives...not so much as I would become, but for back in the FDR madness, when America was coddling Communists, they were pretty far to the right.  The others, my uncles John and Forrest?  I gotta believe John was a Republican, and believe that Uncle "Housie" Forrest, didn't really give a rat's behind about politics.

While the Houseworths and Waldrons were Republican Conservatives...mom's side of the family, consisted on mainly Irish Democrats, with one notable exception.  My GG-Grandfather Patrick Feeley, who immigrated from Ireland in 1860, was a rock ribbed Republican from Chester, Pennsylvania, who served in the City Council or as Ward Chairman.  

On the other side, the DeVores...well, as much as I love Grandad William DeVore(1900-1970), and my uncles, Bill(1925-1998), and Uncle Jack, who still is alive these days, in his 80s...I never have agreed with their politics.  Mind you they were or are not "Liberal Democrats"...just plain old fashion, union supporting Dems, who seem to think that the Democratic Party of today favors the "working man".  Of course nothing could be further from the truth....for all it's faults, the GOP at least favors American workers, while the Democrats favor the lower forms, that freeload off the backs of others....including the illegal interlopers, who work for low wages, and steal the bread off American workers tables.

The Democrats are not the friend of the working American, or any American, that I know...in fact both major political parties, have major issues, that I find disturbing. ..I guess I should note that at least two members of the DeVore clan were Republicans...mom, certainly is not a Democrat, and never has been in my years of knowing her.

Tomorrow, I will recollect how my political views have moved from center moderate to far right semi libertarian over the years.....

back later>>>>

Photos-Tim Tebow, whether at Florida or with the Denver Broncos, drives the Liberals and Atheists nuts.....Yep,Global Warming, as fake as Barack Obama's Birth Certificate, Grandma Houseworth, standing,  in her days at the Scott, Ohio, Phone Company(around 1920), was an early political force for me.  John Bricker, Governor and Senator from Ohio from 1939 through 1959, was the GOP VP pick in 1944...and my uncle Bill DeVore, a World War 2 combat veteran, was a union Democrat...other than that, there wasn't much I didn't like about Uncle Bill....we just choose not to discuss politics when I stayed with him and Aunt Agnes, some 40 + years ago, instead talking about our favorite subject, baseball.

My Political Views, Part 1

The "January Thaw" has arrived in western Ohio...except for one thing...There is nothing to thaw!  So far the purveyors of that fake science, Global Warming, have to be gnashing their collective teeth....way above normal temperatures thus far...today Celina and Grand Lake will reach 50 degrees under sunny skies.  Although a bit cooler for the weekend, the skies will remain sunny, with mild temperatures through the middle of next week.  Then the clouds return and a chance of snow with colder temperatures return...but even then, nothing below normal on the horizon...we have yet to see a day in the single digits or lower, and here it is a week into the new year.

Boys JV game at Lima Shawnee tonight....and back at Lima Central Catholic tomorrow for a morning Junior High double.  Last night I worked a double header JH Boys here in Celina with my friend Kim, a women official from the New Bremen area...she always does a good job, and we needed to be on our toes last night...both games, especially the 8th grade contest were up and down the floor.  Elida took the 7th grade game 30-29 withholding a late Celina surge, while in the second game, Celina's 8th grade remained undefeated by pulling away late to win by about a dozen, after a close first three quarters.  Seven weeks in, 7 weeks to go in my Basketball schedule.....frankly I am ready for both the meetings and season to start in Baseball, by far my most skilled{IMO} and favorite sport to officiate/umpire.

Politics 2012_____

To be honest, I really don't like talking or arguing politics...I am a political junkie, but not so much as my younger days, because frankly most politicians and both major political parties are corrupt, and lawyers/courts rule both the Republicans and Demo-rats.

Yesterday I posted my reasons for not agreeing with or supporting one Ron Paul, on my facebook page.  The comments came rolling in....that name, Ron Paul, brings out the passion in both sides.  While I may agree with RP on his economics, I think he is Bat Shit Crazy when it comes to appeasing Islam and Islamic Terrorism.  Paul is the favorite of the Constitutional Party, which like Paul, supports limited government, and bringing our troops home from foreign soil.  Once again I agree with those points...here is where I disagree with them, to the point, that I left the Constitutional Party, and cannot support Ron Paul, unless it would come down to him vs that interloping Kenyan Bastard Child in the White House.

Both Ron Paul and the CP are of the mistaken notion that Islam and it's radical elements {about 90% of Islamics are radicals in my view} are peaceful and would be so if we just left them alone...Talk about Naive!  Once this country opened it's door to these murdering bastards, our fate was sealed...you cannot live in peace with Islam, no way, shape, or form, can we coexist.  They have a foothold in this country, and we are on the fast track to becoming what Europe and Canada have become, that being held hostage to Sharia Laws and radical Islam...anybody that thinks otherwise is a damn fool, and part of the problem.

I have watched the worshippers of their pedophile leader for over 35 years now...first taking note of the smelly bastards at the College Inn at Athens, Ohio, and Ohio University, when I was living there back in 1975-76...I have never forgotten my first impression of them....I never will.  And don't go calling me a Islamaphobe, because I am not afraid of them...but I do know what most are, and they are not peaceful or friends of America, Christians, Jews, or Women and Children.  And if you're gay or lean left...what the Hell are you thinking?  These Sons of Camels Fornicators will have you killed off first.

So there you have day one....my main concern this coming November is not jobs, or the economy, it will come and go...we survived the Great Depression, we will survive the ecomonic plundering of Obammy and Company.  The question is:  Will we survive the Islamic onslaught from the monsters of the Middle East?  This is my problem with Ron Paul and his naive "Let's smoke dope, lower taxes, and we will all be happy" crowd....Bullshit!  Grow a set, and wake up, because it will soon be too late, if it's not already.


Monday,  I will start with my political beliefs and how they got to be where they are....part #2 up next.

Photos-As I grow older I tend less to give a rat's ass what people think of me or my politics...not that I ever gave much thought of what came out of my big mouth.  Basketball Season is about half done for me...moving quickly.  And my #1 political concern as I see happening to America what has happened to the fools in Europe, THE CANCER CALLED RADICAL ISLAM!  and how do we, as a people and nation fight against it?

My Day In Court....

It's been interesting since I had my wreck on Monday....with the Nitro in the repair shot for probably a few weeks, and with the Jeep Wrangler sold....Patricia and I are down to just one running car....the 77 Buick is not near ready, and thus only the reliable 1999 Montana Mini Van is usable.  With Patricia needing to get to and from work in St. Henry, a 25 mile round trip each day, and me having games most nights and Saturdays...it's kind of a pain in the ass, to say the least.  It's also not like us, usually with 3 vehicles running, the selling of the Jeep to my neighbor is looking, not as good as previously...but this all will work out.

So, I'm getting up earlier, driving Patricia to SH, then back...picking her up again around 3:30, then heading to my game, or like last night, to Van Wert for a final Basketball Rules Meeting.  Next week it will be real busy, as our schedules collide...but this will pass as well, it's just a pain, in the  ......, well you know.

Court Day_____

I, after much thought, decided against paying the $115 bond plus court costs for my accident....instead opting to drive the 22 miles back to Van Wert.  I arrived at the court location on South Walnut Street in plenty of time for the court session....at least a dozen of us in traffic situations, many from the icy Monday morning past.  However before we got our 'day in court', a couple of felonies, and some not-so-minor misdemeanors.  The felons were accused of selling Heroin to youth in Van Wert, near the juvenile detention center no less...both the male and female had multiple convictions, mostly drug related.  We also got to hear from a "lovely young lass" accused of doing something on New Year's Eve, which resulted in a charge public something or other, indecency, I believe....then a few DVIs, fictitious plates, etc....finally we mere minor traffic violators were called one-by-one.  I was up 3rd, and the judge and officer  read the charges, I gave my story...the judge says to me....you have an excellent record, no charges, speeding in 2002..."Guilty fine $30 plus court costs"...I thanked her and walked out paid the fine, which including court costs, was an even $100.

So, even with the time and drive up and back, I saved at least $75 bucks....nothing to sneeze at....plus the points, which would have been 2 or 3 will not show up on my records....hopefully my 45 year association with Nationwide Insurance, with only 2 claims against it, will continue with no increase in my rates.  And hopefully as well, the Nitro will be repaired in a timely manner....saving miles on the van, and stress on our nerves.

So games aplenty on the schedule,  including a double header at Celina vs Elida Junior High Boys tonight.....

In other news....I am focusing on the coming Presidential Campaign, and the radicals that have taken over the Ron Paul movement....while many of my friends, including my life long best friend Rick, support Paul,  however others have become Bat Shit Crazy in their support...radical Homosexuals, radical Islamics, and other elements have imbedded themselves in the campaign....some it seems are nothing more than Obammy supporting Liberals, who just happen to hate paying taxes....

More on this as the year moves towards a November election, which in-my-opinion,  will either save or,  more likely, destroy the republic....

back later>>>>

Photos-Traffic Ticket, Getting the Nitro back on the road is job #1 at this point, and Ron Paul has some crazy supporters.

Let the Political Game Begin....

Sitting here this morning, waiting on the towing company to pick up the Nitro for transport to St. Henry, where Nationwide and the body shop will decide what needs to be done and how much to pay for the repairs....hopefully it will be in the shop and out in a couple of weeks tops....but with the rash of wrecks in the area on Monday, I am sure the shops, especially this popular repair place, will be backlogged.

The Iowa Vote____

I have not written much about politics or the coming presidential race much of late, because frankly, the entire process makes me wanna puke....this circus is not what our Founding Fathers had in mind.  We have a probably foreign born illegal President in Office, a lawyer I suspect, although this half baked/half wit Marxist, releases no college records along with a fake birth certificate, while the lap dog media has his back covered.  Meanwhile on the GOP side, you have mostly a group of lawyers with the morals of snakes.  I however was surprised, pleasantly so, to see Rick Santorum come on strong in Iowa, and as at last look, out of 140,000 or so votes cast in the Iowa GOP Caucus, Santorum trailed front runner Mitt Romney by just 8 votes...and amazingly close vote count...meanwhile 'Crazy Train' Ron Paul was in third....the excuse maker for Islamic terrorism, has his hard core supporters, many who are nothing more than spawns of the 1960s radicals that hated those of us who served in Vietnam rather than cut tail and run off to college or Canada, like many of them did.

Newt Gingrich came in a distant 4th, Rick Perry, likely to drop out, was fifth, and Michelle Bachmann trailed far behind in 6th.  In my view it becomes a four man race...basically you have Romney, and Paul, then the anti Romney vote for Santorum and Newt.   I have, from a distance, supported Santorum for awhile now, but could vote for, Romney, or even Gingrich{while holding my nose} if I have to...if it would come down to a Ron Paul vs Barack Obama contest in November....I would likely vote third party.   At this point I can't see myself voting for the Crazy Train...and I sure the Hell won't be supporting that interloping Kenyan bastard currently sitting in the White House.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2012/iowa-caucus-jan-3 

So the race for November now moves on to New Hampshire, compete with all it's new Liberal voters, most being refugees from Taxyer2shits, and following that, South Carolina, with a more Conservative base.  Things should start to work themselves out in the next few weeks, and I suspect by the time March 1st rolls around, it will be much more compacted and clear, this GOP race for the White House.

Meanwhile the tow truck from Van Wert, same group that delivered the Nitro home on Monday, has arrived and taken off with the vehicle for estimates and repairs....I will lift weights later today, then head back to Van Wert for my final Basketball Rules Meeting of the year....baseball meetings begin in just 5 weeks, that I am looking forward to.

back later>>>>>

Photos-I'm not sure what the Hell is wrong with Blogger, but it is not posting the photos from my folders...which is wasting my time and pissing me off to no extent, so I'll post a photo of the Nitro and Rick Santorum, from old postings and see where we go from here.....exasperating to say the least...so now I can add new photos??? Anyway here we have added the Captain of the Crazy Train, Ron Paul, and the Nitro has it get a ride to St Henry for repairs....

The New Year Comes in, Crash, Boom, Bang....

It is now 3:19AM on 3 January 2012....Happy New Year to all, albeit a bit late.

Yesterday, January 2nd, was to be, by all accounts, my New Years Day, after all it was the holiday and Bowl Day...I would get up fairly early, pack a duffel bag, jump in Patricia's Nitro, and head north and west to near LaOtto, Indiana, where I would go to Rick's place, and spend the day with the same gang that does the annual Mushroom Hunts each May in Michigan...Rick, his sons, Clay and Guy, and Clint, our old Celina friend, and college buddy that was at Ohio University when we roamed the grounds of Ohio U and Athens, back in the middle 70s.  A lite snow had fallen, and Patricia, after her workout, had warned me that the city of Celina streets were slippery, with a coating of ice under the half inch or so of fresh snow that was being blown by the wind....this was the reason I decided to take the four wheel drive vehicle.

After pulling into the Northside Marathon station, where I filled the tank and got a large coffee to go, I headed north on US 127 towards Van Wert...a mile out of town I called Rick, letting him know I was on my way, telling him that the city streets in Celina "sucked", but that 127 didn't seem bad, and I would/should be there in a bit over an hour, if things went well... they wouldn't".  He told me if the roads were bad that we could always do our annual football, beer and buffet, pig out at a later time...."nonsense" I say, "the Nitro will make it fine".

I drove the 20 miles to Van Wert without problems...a few slippery spots, but I was cruising about 58 miles per hour and made it behind a 18 wheeler,  it was about 10am when I entered the city limits.  The big rig crawled along Washington Street(127) so when we got into town, I decided to jump to Jefferson Street, north to Bonnewitz Avenue, and then pick up the four lane US 30 and head west to Fort Wayne, and beyond...I should have stayed on Washington Street.

As I turned north onto Jefferson I knew that the streets in VW, like Celina, had not been treated.  Near 3rd street, as I drove north, I had to do a slight swerve to avoid a car sliding though the intersection....then as the new GPB system (which Hal and Lisa had purchased for us for Christmas), was yapping "stop ahead one quarter mile, then turn left", I began to slowly break....nothing, but a sickening sliding as the wheels locked up....I was going maybe 5 MPH for God's sake, this wasn't happening was it?  Yes it was....another 18 wheel tanker truck was heading east on Bonnewitz....I was either going to slide into him, he was going to broadside me or I had to make a quick maneuver....I decided to tap the gas and turn right onto the Avenue, instead of crashing through the intersection(which was a T) or taking on the semi.  I turned right, but nothing was gripping, and in slow motion I watch the Nitro slide into the north side of Bonnewitz, hitting the curb with all fours....that would have been OK, but as I looked up, I saw a silver Saturn, heading right for me....the driver had no chance in these conditions, and as I watched in super slow mo....she crashed head-on into me.

"Damn"!  The high sitting Nitro crashed over the top of the hood of the smaller car, sending the hood of that vehicle into a crumbled mess....fortunately the air bags on neither vehicle deployed...frankly the speed was just too slow.  I sat for a second, then jumped out to make sure the women driver, about my age, was OK....she said she hit her leg, but was OK....I went back to my vehicle and called 9-1-1.  The emergency operator ask me where we were, and when I told her, she replied..."Hold on, somebody will be there real soon, there are now three accidents on that same street, the other two with injuries".  As it turned out, by the time we had the accident report done, there had been at least six accidents in town in a matter of minutes...it would be a long day for police, and tow truck drivers.

The officer, Jeff, who I had met back in my Health Department days, apologized when he told me he would have to charge me for "failing to control"....I didn't think much about it at the time...a minor traffic violation, and he was following routine procedure.  As I assessed the accident scene, her car appeared totaled or close to it...the Nitro received some front end damage, and the radiator unit at the bottom was trashed...both vehicles would be towed.  With AAA plus, I would received a trip back to Celina...I cannot tell you how many times over the past 25 years that AAA has towed me or the boys home, without charge,after a wreck or breakdown.  Expensive yes, at some $100 per year, but it has been well worth it in the long run.

The Aftermath____

So I arrived back home about Noon, via the Mace Company tow truck, and watched the bowl games at home....basically without interest, as Ohio State and the not-so Big Ten, once again had a bad day of football, but no nearly so bad as mine.

Calls to the Nationwide Insurance got the ball rolling on getting the estimates of damage and repairs taken care of.....the home office and adjusters will be around in the next day or so.....meanwhile, I am scheduled in Van Wert on Thursday for a court appearance for "failure to control"...I though about that, and perhaps that is why I got up at 2:45 in the morning.  I'm not pleading guilty or no-contest to that, Hell, the only thing I could have controlled was not being in that spot at that time.  Minor misdemeanor or not, I, while my insurance company needs to take care of the other driver, could have done nothing, except stay home, or on 127/Washington Street, to have avoided the mishap.  So that will also be on the Tuesday agenda, after I take Patricia to work in the one remaining drivable vehicle....that, check out my standing with the local insurance office, and get ready for basketball tonight....I will call the courthouse in Van Wert, and see how I can move the date back, because, at this point I have no intention to pleading to something, that could not have been avoided.  I say this without anger....except for at myself, but frankly, except for staying home...I'm not sure how I could have done anything to avoid this New Year's mess.....

Stay tuned....updates on all of this exciting installment of "Pat's Daily Rant"....I know it could have been worse...check this out from a 100 miles or so to the south of us:


http://news.yahoo.com/photos/emergency-crews-scene-crash-along-interstate-75-involved-photo-235321325.html

I-75 is always and adventure.....I have driven that portion, south of Cincinnati maybe a 100 times or more.....always a lot of traffic, and if one person screws up on ice, fog, or snow, this is usually a common result.

back later>>>> 

Photos-All though the photos of the wreck don't look bad, the other driver's Saturn is probably totaled...the Nitro, while it doesn't appear bad, is going to need some front end work and a new radiator at least....the first two photos are from the crash scene, and the last, while the Dodge was sitting in our drive, after being towed home.