15 Years ago, July 2007

 

Minus 2 weeks it has now been 15 years ago I started this Blog...now mind you I only post a couple of dozen times a year these days, but in the beginning it was well over 200 times each full 12 month period...I cannot imagine doing that now.

It was easy then, I had retired as Environmental Health Director at Van Wert County, was 58 years old, and in between officiating gigs, traveling the nation and Canada delivering motorized RVs, and working security for a large corporation at times {when I felt like it}.  I had time on my hands, so "Blogging" as was popular back then, was something I gave a shot...and I had a pretty good sized following...pissing off more than a few with my comments and observations, nothing I will ever make apology for.  Did it cost me? A bit, but nothing I regret at all...

I was booted from my Life Time Membership at the Vietnam Security Police Ass~ociation, got my license to officiate High School thru the OHSAA Sports yanked by some Snowflakes that were more interested in being WOKE Leftists before it was even a phrase...but all in all the first few years of this blog were fun, albeit, the older you get there is only so much "reminiscing" you can do...and frankly, "Blogging" is pretty much ho~hum with the youngsters and for us old farts these days...the younger set just isn't into it...but for now I will post a few times per year when I feel the urge, or something stirs my right leaning brain up.

But for now, let's look back at the very first post on this Blog...July 27, 2007

First Blog Post July 27, 2007    

Pretty pedestrian stuff it was...by late 2007 my photo placement and old time Radio News style, which I perfected in the 1970s, helped me through it all.

I'll be back later...God Willing!

Water Water Everywhere

Here in the Heartland of West Central Ohio we went about 3 weeks with very little rain, normally not bad, but the sun and heat dried things up and the lawns started to wilt...I actually had to water my growing Sunflower Plant population a few times...that all came to an end on July 5th morning.  In the past 32 hours or so, the Grand Lake area has received anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of rain, and it looks to continue for another couple of days...it, IMO, can stop anytime.   

The Sunflowers, which don't have deep roots, are now struggling to stay rooted in the ground, and with anymore rain, I will be doing some major propping up, already had to do some...

Water "Shots" 

The main focus of this post today {only my 7th or so this 2022 year}was to showoff some of my "Water Related Photo' work...weather it be around Grand Lake, or Florida trips, the Atlantic, or the Gulf of Mexico, where I grew up in the 50s and early 1960s. And other locations too...I will have more on the next installment, when I get around to it.

So here goes...Some are "pure", others are "fixed", and some have my personal "touch" and edits...Descriptions at the bottom.  As always, click to see the large, and IMO, better views.

Shots are from various water haunts...except top photo of one of my "Chocolate" Sunflowers...not sure it I will get any of those this season, planted some seeds that frankly are looking to be a mystery, along with the large yellow usual flowers.

The Water Shots?  An American Eagle Flying into the Sunrise at Grand Lake, a Schooner at the Gulf at Venice, spit screen work...a related Sunset at the Gulf shortly after a Thunderstorm in October of 2019.  The Naples, Florida, City Pier...a passing Thunderstorm in 2021, October as well, off Venice Beach, FL.  Room with a View from October 2019 at my Islamorda, Florida {Keys} Motel, Spring Sunrise at Lakeshore Drive, Celina, in 2012, I think March of that year.  Sunrise over the Atlantic, from the Balcony of the Beach Front Motel on A1A at Flagler Beach, Florida.  Cloudy Sunrise from Lakeshore Drive, Grand Lake.  A 13 foot or so Gator at the corner of US 41 {Tamiami Trail} at Loop Road in the Everglades, in February 2006.  Sunset at my buddy Rick Pearson's pond near LaOtto, Indiana, on New Year's Day, 2018. Large White Pelican landing at Grand Lake, Fall 2021. Sunrise over Windy Point Grand Lake @ Montezuma, Ohio.  A Windy Point Sunset on July 4th 2018...Blue Heron, Boat, and Clouds approaching from the west...The Upper Michigan on Route US 2 on a Dual Sport Motorcycle Ride in early August 2015, a lone White Pelican on Grand Lake, fall of 2020 in the Gloam...a Windy Point/Grand Lake Sunset in the winter of 2017.  A Sloop sans the sails, October 2021 off the South Jetty at Venice, Florida...waves crashing the rocks at the South Jetty, also October 2021...and finally in the spring of 2016 a hazy purple sunrise at Windy Point on Grand Lake...

More of these types to come in Part #2 of Water, Water...

4th of July 2022...a Nation on the Brink

Of disaster...

Demented Joe and his Puppet Masters, Susan Rice and the Kenyan Illegal ex~Prez, have America and Americans in their sights...

This Shit Show by the Left won't end well unless Patriots take drastic action in the not to distance future...I will leave it at that.

Wake Up America!

 

My Personal "Summer of 69" June 30, 1969...

 

53 years ago today, I stood out in our family front yard in Montezuma, Ohio, took a few obligatory photos with the family...Mom, Dad, the two younger sisters, then jumped into Dad's Plymouth VIP and headed for the Dayton Airport at Vandalia, Ohio...within 48 hours I was sleeping or at least in a Transit Barracks at Tan Son Nhut Airbase outside of Saigon...my "Summer of 69" had begun.

Summer of 69  

The smells of Vietnam were the first thing I noticed...growing up in South Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico, at Venice, I was used to Hot and Humid Weather, but the smells of Vietnam were, and would continue to be, something I never experienced, before or after.

After an overnight in Tan Son Nhut, I headed down to base ops, and they hooked me up with a large, noisy, C~130, and I was off to my first base in South Vietnam, Nha Trang on the South China Sea...

My "Vietnam" tales are around this blog in various pages, so I need not repeat them...just do some research and if you want, you can find them...however, 53 years later, that day I left and my arrival are still clear in my mind, for the most part...and much clearer than almost any day I spent in either of my 2 permanent bases, Nha Trang or back at TSN {Saigon} later in my tour...



But 53 years, once you get a bit older, are but a blip on the Radar ...trust me youngsters, once you hit 30 or so, time flies by like a thief in the night...enjoy your time, do what you must do, and don't waste it...you never know when God will turn out the lights.

Back Later>>>

(1) Me in front of my late Brother Mike's 1968 GTO, {2} Dad, Mom {both RIP}, a few minutes before heading to Dayton, and (3) a sketch from a photo October 1969 at the Civilian Gate at Nha Trang, with the 14th SPS...

More F***ed Up, Joe Biden's Brain or the Cincinnati Reds?

 

We know it's Demented Joe's Brain, but having not posted in 6 weeks I needed to post something.

We did get our "Vietnam Sky Cops" Reunion in at WPAFB last week, more on that later...since it was the first one in 3 years thanks to the phony COVID BS...

More later>>>>

Hitting 73 and still going

Not sure sometimes, why or how I have made it this far and long...most of the men in the family don't make it out of their 50s or 60s...but PRH hit 73 the day before St. Patrick's Day, and youngest Grandson, Kruz, aka:  "The Kruzer" his the big "One" the same day, and we partied at his place...

That's it for today...I will be back later however, God Willing...

 

The Red Door Celina, Ohio Revisited

 Back in the early days of this Blog, about 7 months in to be exact {when I was posting daily} I recalled the times I was Bartending and Managing "The Red Door" in Celina...well Hell I was checking "comments" to see if they were worth posting or pitching and I came across one from the Original Owner/Founder of the "Door", one Bill Huber.

I remember Bill well, from my late teens when he turned the "Golden Cue" into the Night Life of "Sin City"/Celina..."The Red Door".  I wasn't a close contact of Bill's but I do remember him and his wife Claudia well...her family owned another watering hole in Celina, down by the Tracks,  "Kerns Town Tavern"...at least I think that is how it was...perhaps.

Anyway, rather than talk about our Idiot of a President, or the contrived "War With Russia" or the even more contrived "COVID will kill us all", I think I will post a couple of older posts from March and April 2008, when I was thinking back about The Red Door, and looking forward to the 40th Red Door Reunion, and it's aftermath:

March 2008 Looking Back at The Red Door

After a "Back and Forth" in my mind, I finally decided to give that 40th Reunion a go...and here is that story:

Red Door Reunion 2008 part #1

and one final look back...thanks to Bill Huber for me looking back at this post from nearly 14 years ago...a 'reunion" of sorts in itself:

http://patsdailyrant.blogspot.com/2008/04/red-door-final-lookfor-now.html

Red Door Reunion part #2

back later with some "new stuff" perhaps soon  :)-

Following the Cincinnati Bengals to Kansas City

Youngest son Hal is a season ticket holder for the Bengals and managed to grab tickets for the Cincinnati team's first playoff victory in 31 years...that game, at home in Paul Brown Stadium, a win over the Las Vegas Raiders, took the monkey off the "Bungals" backs and gave the fans of the young team some hope for a Super Bowl appearance in the next couple of seasons...the upset victory at top seeded Tennessee the following weekend gave rise to "Why Not Us, This Year?" in the Ohio River City...

Hal calls and wants to know if I want to go to the Championship AFC game...well my response was ..."Perhaps KC but not Buffalo"...Buffalo was out...lousy weather, crazy, vile, fans, and the fact that they would require "Proof of the Jab" for COVID was a non starter for both of us...however the Chiefs pulled that crazy game out in a comeback and in Overtime, and we were thinking it could be in the cards. 

Tickets would be costly, the Hotels?  Not so much for us, as Hal's brother-in-law works for a Major Chain, and we would get 3 nights, one on the way in Terre Haute and two nights the weekend in downtown KC...so we decided to make a go of it.  It ended up with just us 2 as one buddy of Hal's came down with COVID, so off we went of Friday evening ...staying in Indiana late Friday and heading west on Saturday AM...

Hal, after some hits and misses, got a pair of tickets lower upper deck on the 15 yard line...$500 each...ouch!  But nothing compared to what they would go for Nose Bleed seats, right up to game time.

Parking was expensive at the game, $60 and a half mile from the stadium, but no way in Hell were we paying $150 to be close...it would still take hours after the game to get out...All in all of course it was worth it...The Bengals down 21-3 in the early second quarter came roaring back and pulled the upset off in Overtime and will play the LA Rams in Super Bowl 56 this Sunday evening..."Who Dey"? 

Ribs and More...

Kansas City is famous for it BBQ Rib Joints...we took in 2 of those, Q39 on Saturday Afternoon, and Jack Stacks after the game on Sunday Evening...

Q was the winner, both were good, but Q39 had Ribs like I've never grilled or even tasted, and the Wings were just as excellent...All in all, a somewhat expensive weekend, dropping around a grand, but with the wings, time with the youngest son, and the Bengals coming out on top, it was worth it...IF the Bengals can finally win a Super Bowl this Sunday, it would top off a grand season, if not, it will still have been one Hell of a ride, and with the young QB Joe Burrow, and the youngest team in the NFL, the sky is the limit...

Below are the Q39 fare...I admit I ate a bit to much and paid the price overnight, the Tums were not enough, but it was worth the discomfort...

Q39 Ribs and Wings

Back Later>>>

Passings...

 My 97 years old mother passed away this past Wednesday, January 19, 2002...She passed away in a rehab facility in Naples, Florida, after suffering a fall about a month ago at my youngest sister's place.  She had a stroke on Monday, and passed peacefully 48 hours later.  My wife, middle Grandson, and I had talked to her last Saturday, she was in good spirits, and alert as she always was. The lady was sharp and had a memory like a sponge, right up until the stoke...her eyes and hearing had started to go...but otherwise she didn't pass along after months or years in a assisted living facility or COVID infested nursing home...I thank God for that...

Margaret Helen Teresa DeVore was born April 13, 1924 in Chester, PA, she lived her childhood in Wilmington, Delaware, and graduated from P.S. Dupont High School, in Wilmington, in 1942...She met my dad at the end of WWII when he was stationed in Newark, Delaware, they married in Ohio on January 5, 1946...Dad passed away on Christmas Eve 1972...by her choice mom never remarried, and after her retirement, she and our cousin, traveled much of the world for over a decade, she lived in Ormond Beach, Florida, for 30 winters, in Ohio from May through December, and finally in Naples at sister's place, on the Gulf of Mexico, for the last 14 months of her life, and a good life it was.

She lost my older Brother Mike a few years ago in 2016, she is survived by me and my two younger sisters, 8 Grandchildren, 6 Girls and my two Sons, and 9 Great Grandchildren, 5 boys {including my 3 grandsons}, and 4 Granddaughters ... Rest in Peace Mom, you have deserved that, after a long a glorious life, that others would envy.

Photos-Mom and me in front of my Grandma's House at Scott, Ohio, in 1949... 
and on her 94th Birthday in Naples, Florida, in 2018...

Welcome 2022...And the Workfree Me...

 

Hard to believe that it was nearly 15 years ago, July 2007, that I started this Blog...the first few years I was posting over 200 stories and comment pages each year, the past decade things have slowed way down...but I check on this puppy at least once a week, and if I feel the need to get something off my chest, or to post new adventure photos, I can still do that on occasion.

As I approach 73 in March, things over those 15 years have changed me and the world...long time retired from full time work {retired at 53 from the Van Wert County Health Department in the Summer of 2002}. I decided to end all "jobs" for pay on January 1st...the security company I was working part time for, and making enough for vacations, motorcycle adventures, cigars, and good craft beers, decided to "Go Full Biden/COVID Bullshit" and require that everybody employed be "Jabbed" or Tested Weekly if refusing to get stuck...so I told them to "Stick It"  While the extra few thousand a year {I made $13,500 in 2021} was nice for what I needed, I really don't need the money, and sure the Hell won't go along with that Demented Fool in the White House or "Adolph Fauci" on their Masking and Jabbing...as a Retired Biology Guy, it's Bullshit and the recent upswing in the "Vaccinated" getting COVID is proving my point...despite what Twitter, Fakebook, the Lame Stream Media, and Left, might tell you...

So 2022 it appears will see me in Full Time Retirment, giving me more time to ride, fish, some good Cigars, and enjoy some backyard Beers...and perhaps,

maybe, to come up with some old stories from my past, that I have long ago forgotten or neglected on purpose...

So: "Let's Go Brandon" FULL STEAM into 2022

back later>>>>

Winding Down 2021

 

Since I got back from Florida on Halloween Night, the last 6 or 7 weeks have not only flown by, they have been filled with many ups and downs.  The older you get {73 in March, if I survive that long} the crazier and quicker moving life goes...

In November I returned to doing some part time Security Work at Honda, basically to refill my "Fun Money" that I spent in Florida, a couple thousand would take care of that and I worked enough right up until Thanksgiving week to make the "refill", that way I would be set for the planned Dual Sport Motorcycle Rides in 2022 to Moab and other adventures...

My old radio buddy, who I got his first gig some 40 years ago, from Cleveland, now living with his family in Louisville, KY, came to visit for 3 days.  Andy is now the Senior VP and Political Liaison for AMAC, the Conservative alternative to the Biden Obama Loving Leftist Group AARP...Patricia and I are among the 3 million and growing members.

AMAC - The Association of Mature American Citizens  

Anyway it was a nice 3 day get together and we rehashed some old times and  looked ahead.  Andy is "Vaxxed" while Patricia and I are not...and when Andy was leaving on Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I noticed that I had a slight cold and scratchy throat...BANG, by Wednesday I was sleeping a bunch, by Friday, Patricia was doing likewise...COVID?  Probably, but no way in Hell I'm becoming a "Stat" for the Leftist Ghouls at the CDC and Fauci/Biden.  By Saturday I was recovering, Patricia took the Ivermectin that she had ordered over the Internet, and after 3 days of sleeping, she recovered quickly...There you have that.  Vaxxed son Sam, and the rest of the Unvaxxed family members were in and out over Thanksgiving Weekend.  Some had already had COVID some not...nobody in our family, besides Patricia and me, came down with it on this round...HOWEVER!  Vaxxed or not, Andy calls me a week later, after spending a few days at his inlaws in Cleveland, and Vaxxed Andy has the COVID...he recovered within the week.

There you have it...Vaxxed or Not, that stuff is around and you are likely to eventually get it...take some precautions and you, if no underlying issues, will likely be fine.  IMO it was no worse than any cold or Bronchitis that I have had over the years ...
-----

Enter December:  As we were recovering from that we headed into mid December...I get a call from youngest sister down in Naples, that Mom at 97 has tumbled out of her bed and crashed, busting her head open.  Mentally alert, she seems to be recovering, after a few days, but they have moved her from sister's house to a rehad facility, perhaps for a month??  We will wait that out, the other sister flew down and they can deal with that...I'll be ready to head down if needed.

Then just like that we were looking forward to oldest son Sam's 40th birthday on the 17th and Patricia and my 45th Wedding Anniversary on the following today, that would be today, the 18th.  However in the meantime we received a couple of crushing notes.  My good friend and fellow Vietnam Sky Cop, Wayne Dezarn died of a sudden Heart Attack on Thursday the 16th...Wayne was one of the original 5 that started the Dayton Vietnam Sky Cop Reunion back in 2007, there are now 3 of us...services in the Dayton area are pending.  Then last night we received word that Patricia's Sister in Law, Sandy Callies, had passed after a long battle with cancer...Sandy dies on Sam's Birthday and the day before our wedding anniversary, in which she was Matron of Honor back in December 1976...

December has always been a month filled in my clan with Weddings, Births, Deaths, and December 2021, half way through, is no different...add that to the fact that that crazy demented son of a bitch, Joe Biden and his Puppet Masters are trying to refire the bullshit COVID scare, and it appears that 2022 is going to be one "interesting" year...IF we, and I, survive the last two weeks of 2021

Back Later>>>

Photos-Me{right} and my good friend Wayne Dezarn at one of our frozen Dayton Vietnam Reunions, before we moved them to April back in 2013...Andy and his wife Amy during a Fox News interview concerning the effects of Obamacare on everyday citizens...Patricia and I on our wedding day 12/18/1976 at her hometown, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin...and Sam and his broadcast partner, back in his Ohio State days broadcasting a women's OSU Basketball Game...