2009 Year In Review/July through September

Sam and I headed to one of the area High Schools near Lima today to officiate a JV Girls Game against a Toledo School....Wednesday at noon is not usually how things are scheduled....but I accepted the game earlier this summer figuring, what the Hell? they would have trouble filling in a weekday game, even in the Christmas week, so I was glad to help out, and Sam was home for school.

It was an up tempo game that got off to a fast start...when the head Varsity Coach{who used to be the boys head coach} decided to get in my ear about a call he thought I missed on a player stepping over the end line....she did, but it was because of the way I tossed the ball to her after a made basket, and I didn't make the call....So I listened to him for a few seconds, told him.."you coach and I'll officiate". About that time he yaps out something about the way I was officiating a non-league JV game. That was getting personal as far as I was concerned, so I "Teed"{Technical Foul} him up....

That ended that, I know he was not pleased....but let's get real, I wasn't working the game to please him or his ego. He left the bench area{not wanting to get a 2nd technical, which would have resulted in a suspension and fine}, let the JV Coaches do their job, and I didn't see him until I left the floor at game's end...he pretty much just glared at me, as I walked towards the locker...Oh' Well...**it Happens! Let's see, 60 years old, Vietnam Veteran, and retired...I'm gonna worry about the bruised ego of a coach? I think not! Besides, the home school won by a dozen or so in a high scoring game for a Junior Varsity contest, so what's he got to complain about?

Sam and I were home by 3:15, and he headed out towards Chicago for a visit with friends before heading back to Columbus for the beginning of classes come January 4th.....no games for me until that same date...the 4th, next Monday.

I'm ready for Baseball Season....by far my #1 sport....the egos of some(not all) Basketball Coaches is something to behold....and makes that game less enjoyable to officiate, than either baseball or football, in my mind.

The Summer of 09'___July through September

One thing I will always remember about the Summer of 2009 is the very cool weather we were blessed, or cursed with, depending on your pleasure....Global Warming? Right...

In late June Patricia and I decided that we needed to replace the aging roof shingles...despite it being shingled by a concrete and asbestos, the wood shingles{from 1923} were starting to show signs of rot...so we figured that one good shingle job would probably take care of the place for the rest of our natural lives.....

Once that was completed, I would climb up the ladders and begin the summer painting project...once again, probably the last I would do for this life time.

July____

The Amish crew arrived in late June and finished off the roof within a few days after the July 4th Holiday....once they were finished, the gutter boys came in and put up new spouting...the house, a former church parsonage, needed the upgrade.

After they were done, I took the paint I purchased, and headed up the various sized ladders, and began what was to be a 2 month long summer job for me....Not my favorite project, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the final outcome.

In my world, in addition to the painting, I had a full slate of American Legion and Summer ACME Baseball to umpire...110 games in all from March through August, and the legs held out for the entire season...that in itself was a victory for me. Also I got a visit via Harley-Davidson, from a old High School friend, Don "Rat" Boyce, whom I had not seen in over 40 years....we would hook up later in the year again, this time for lunch and a chat with another old buddy from that era, Bob Jones....

On the World Stage, Sarah Palin, the Vice Presidential Candidate resigned from her job as Alaska Governor to write a book...this of course drove the batty left in and out of the media nuts...good for Sarah, if you can drive the freaking libs nuts, you got my support.

August___

The 8th Annual Bar Stool Open took place on Grand Lake and the various bars that line it's shores....Nick, me, Hal, and his old college roommate Woost, took turns hacking up the mini golf course holes...and this year we stunk...but a good time was, as usual, had by all.

Patricia and I, along with Anissa, and some of the clients and workers, at Mercer Residential(where I sit on the Board of Directors) headed south to Cincinnati for a Reds game...and despite the poor season{again} by Cincy, we got to witness a extra inning Reds win, over San Francisco....Later on Nick and I took our turn at "Smoking" the Salmon we had caught the previous fall while fishing in Michigan...it was good, at least we thought so....

On the national front, Ted "The Swimmer" Kennedy assumed room temperature....considering how many lives were ruined because of his actions, excuse me if I didn't shed a tear for this bastard child of privilege.....may he roast in Hell, if that's what God has in store for his soul.

September____

After getting blood drawn at my regular doctor visit, the informed me that I was in the process of acquiring Diabetes 2....and they set me up with an appointment for a Dietitian at St. Marys Hospital. She put me on a 2000 Calorie/225 Carb a day diet, and I proceeded to lose some 20 pounds, down from 208 to 187 by December 1st...I've bounced back and forth between 187-193 since then, but with the Holiday feeds about over, I should resume my quest to drop to 180, without D2 medication, around January 2nd....

Baseball turned into football in August, and by the end of September, I was fully in the football mode...my back and legs held up for the duration.....

On the National Front, Obama's poll numbers and status with real Americans, continued to fall...but his Socialist Programs were still being pushed forward...lead by the Trillion Dollar Health Care take over, and the phony science of Global Warming, and it's Tax er... Cap and Trade boondoggle....

Fall was just around the corner....and the temperatures would fall to well below normal by October....

More on that next>>>>

Photos-Top Left, The 86 year old house after I completed another painting project. The next two photos show the work and the Amish Crew getting down to the old wood roof after removing the shingles/Me sitting on Nick's boat as our "Golf" Crew headed out early in the day of the Bar Stool Open in August...and finally, this is what Salmon that has been smoked looks like....taste pretty good as well.