Road trip to Ohio ...

Well, this past week we took our annual road trip to Ohio.  These are always fun, pretty tiring, but they generate lots of memories -- enough to hold us over for a little while. So, I'm going to just give you some highlights of the trip.  Here goes:

1. This time, since it was summer and light a lot longer, we decided to make the drive each way in just one day. It was only 9.5 hours and a pretty easy trip.  Only got into construction one time and that was only a slow-down for about 10 min. or so. Pam packed snacks so we didn't have to spend too much time stopping to eat. Saved on two nights of motels, and made each trip on one tank of gas each way.  Prices for fuel ranged from $2.31 in Sidney, to $3.19 on the WVa turnpike. The Jeep has great range so those savings were good.

2. After getting in and settled, we were able to visit with our old neighbors. It was Jim's birthday so we bought an ice cream cake at the DQ located next to our motel and had a nice celebration. Amanda and two of his boys (Carter and Dylan) helped us sing his praises. 

3. On Friday, we were able to visit an old WWII friend of ours...99 years old and still living at home. It was really good to see him again.  Looking pretty good, Warren.

4. Following this visit, we were able to visit some really good friends and have a lunch at Marrion's Pizza, the best place in Troy to eat a good pizza. This was a great visit with two couples we've been friends with for over 53 years. 

5. Pam was able to spend some time with a couple of her friends - had dinner with her friend, Wannie and breakfast with her friend, Paula. She also got to spend a good part of Thursday with her sister-in-law, Mary, in Lima. You can always talk to people over the phone or text back and forth, but actually sitting down to a meal with them or visiting them in their home is special -- especially when it only happens maybe once a year.

6. My visits with friends consisted of playing golf  on Thursday morning with a bunch of guys from Anna. These are the guys who will be coming down for the "Man Trip" later in September. I was hoping to show them how my golf game had improved while playing down here.  Unfortunately, I had a 7 on the first hole and couldn't get it together after that (shot 104). That might not be all that bad though. On courses I play here, I have a 24.6 handicap and when I put that on the table at our Man Trip I'm sure they will squawk. I'll just remind them of my round with them in June.

7. Later that night, I went to the Sidney Veteran's Center for our annual euchre night.  Each time I'm back in Ohio, three of the finest Veterans you would ever want to meet, get together with me and we play euchre, drink a few beers and sell a lot of "wolf tickets" ("wolf tickets" are civilized versions of military tall tales). We have lots of fun, and there is also some rivalry in this as two of the guys are Marines and two of us are Army. The Army guys have won the last two years so that doesn't set too well with the Marines. (Just kidding -- it's all good fun. Besides, we have their $0.55. Big stakes, huh.).

8. A couple of observations:

    a. Streets in Sidney have to be the worst. 

    b. Troy is one of the most beautiful cities I have seen in quite a while. They are really working hard at making that place something special. Good job, guys.

    c. There should be some kind of law against having a book store across the street from a pizza place. I can't pass one by, especially since it is SO close. Somehow, I got out of there with only two books.    

  “Good friends listen to your adventures; best friends make them with you.”

Hooah 

Our thoughts are with you ...

Yep, our thoughts are with you, but kinda glad I'm not shoveling snow again!

My sister from northern Ohio sent me a text that they have 13" of snow right now and will probably be getting more today or tonight.  DeWine has his lockdown, and God has His own version.  

My neighbors from Anna sent some pictures of the snow and their roads and drives.  I can really recall doing this.  The only saving grace was that they had a big snow blower with a cap and heated handles. It was kinda like the neighborhood snow blower.  We could use it to do our drive and walks, and everyone helped doing each other's drives.

This may not look like much snow, but I'm guessing that the banks of their drive are at least 18"-20" and pretty solidly packed.  The wind blows so hard that the snow develops a very hard crust on the top and makes it hard for the snow blower to get through.  It tries to climb the snow.  Also, anyone who has lived in the country knows that somehow, immediately after you get the end of the drive cleared out, the county snow plow comes down the road and deposits another foot of slush, ice and gravelly snow right where you just cleaned !!!!

This picture looks out their back door toward the back yard of our former house and the cemetery back there.  I remember this area when the wind would blow (which was always) there would be areas in the back yard that were clean down to the grass, and other areas where the snow  was 2'-3' deep from drifting. Part of the bad memories was how I would just get the driveway and sidewalk cleaned and it would already have started to drift back over.  Sometimes by evening you couldn't even tell we had cleaned it in the first place.

These are the medals that go to my friends and family back in Ohio for all your hard work today and last week.  You are champs. 

 

 And I know I always say that nobody likes a smarta_ _, but just wanted you to see what our reward is today for having just gone through 5 straight days of heavy rain here in Youngsville. My weather station says we have had 4.40" of rain just this month.  We had over 6" of rain last month.

Normally I wouldn't do this to my friends, but all that rain has pretty much drowned out a couple of trees we planted in our back yard and we'll be doing a lot of yard work back there this spring.  The saving grace is that all of the water is outside, and we don't have to worry about the sump pumps any more.  Supposed to be 60 degrees today ------- but Thursday's weather shows 100% chance of sleet and ice, and Friday calls for a return to rain..Oh well, I see some upper 50s pretty much all of next week.  Pollen clouds are on the way!!

"O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?" (Percy Byssche Shelley)

Hooah  

P.s.  Funny. While I was outside taking this picture of our house, a guy and his son from California drove down our street and stopped right next to me.  He said he noticed that I was taking a picture of our house and wanted to know if it was for sale! He was moving here from California and was looking for a house to buy.  Housing around here is booming!! Can't build them fast enough.

A journey Rudy would have been proud of ...

In the world of football, whether it is Pee-Wee league, high school, college or professional, discipline, imagination, drive, courage and teamwork are all key ingredients to success.  Pundits, coaches, parents and "Monday morning quarterbacks" will "cuss and discuss" the merits of each trying to make a case for one of these being more important than any of the others, but when asked for my opinion, I vote for discipline followed closely by perseverance and teamwork.

So let me make the case for this point of view.  My last civilian employment was as the principal of Anna High School, a small school in west-central Ohio.  When I went there the high school pretty much and about 45-50 students per grade and did not have a football program.  It had been 30 years since I last played the game, and 21 years since I last coached it, but I remembered how much fun it was, especially playing on Friday nights under the lights and then going to school dances in the gym.

So when the opportunity came to start up a program, I took it.  Our campaign got a lot of help from our superintendent who also happened to be a football guy.  Once we got the program off and running, there were lots of funny experiences along the way, ranging from having to show players how to put their pads on, to playing one of the early "varsity" games at a school that had a dog show for the half-time entertainment!

None of those things cited above or below would have happened, though, if there had not been an intense drive tempered with discipline over a long period of time.  It would have been real easy to throw in the towel after a season of "two-a-days"  or a winter of pre-school day lifting and running.  After all, this had never been done at Anna before.  While their friends at other schools were running around all hours of the night, doing who knows what, these young men were now introduced to a new discipline that made certain new demands of them. Men who were good or stars at another sport now had competition for the glory.  They had to learn new skill sets, all of which required dedication and DISCIPLINE. I had coached that in my earlier years, but our traditions had been established long ago and everyone knew what was expected.  As the principal, I could watch the development from the sidelines, but I really got to see what was going on when I talked to my community friends and my next-door neighbors.

One of the exceptionally great things that happened was our next-door neighbors had three boys and all of them have played or are still playing for the school.  The oldest is now graduated and attends University of Toledo.  When he was a senior, the team tied for the championship of the MAC (Mid-American Conference), arguably the most powerful football conference in Ohio (based on the number of schools who have won state championships and the total number of championships won  -- 34 state championships just in football). 

Jarred, #23 (3rd from right) is the oldest of the boys.  He played for several years including 4 yrs. in high school.  Here he is with the other seniors on that team as they display the co-championship trophy, the first such award in the school's football history.

He was also joined by two younger brothers, Dylan and Carter.  While all three boys were beset with injuries during their careers, the younger two have had more than their share.  Dylan missed pretty much the whole second half of his Junior year and Carter was injured in a pre-season scrimmage and missed the whole season (and all of his basketball season due to the virus plague).  Both boys also play baseball and will miss those seasons too.

The boys are holding this year's (outright) MAC championship trophy.  I am looking forward to following them next year.  This could be fun -- Carter is a quarterback and Dylan is a center.

But this year's team had a unique goal or battle cry -- "Leave no doubt." It seems there was some talk arond the league that Anna wasn't really a co-championship last year because they were just lucky or some other schools had injuries, or whatever.  So this year, they set their goals high and were determined to leave no doubt as to who was the champion.  Discipline.  And why stop with just the league, why not be state champions.

 

I think the pictures speak for themselves.  Not only did they win the Division VI state championship, they did it in a rather convincing manner with 4 "running clocks" in the state play-offs. Quite a feat for a team that only started football in 1999, and played its first varsity game in 2000. Oh, by the way, Anna is the first school in Shelby County to win a football state championship in any division.

Really glad I was able to play a small part in this.  Way to go, guys.

"Leave no Doubt" -- not a bad goal for a season (or life) well played.

Hooah

We'll give it our best shot ...

I was going to start this article by saying that unless you live in North Carolina or south of there, you know this winter has been pretty cold up North.  But it appears that the South is really getting pelted by snow and cold temps. I have seen pictures of several inches of snow on the beaches of the Outer Banks near the Kitty Hawk area, and my son sent pictures of the snow at their house in Raleigh.  They got over 6" of the white stuff -- which is great for the kids being able to ride sleds, saucers and cardboard box sleds in the back yard area.  But it isn't too good for the drivers of the area who have absolutely little or no experience driving is this snow and ice.  But my son also told me that the stuff is melting quickly and they are expecting temperatures in the 60s this weekend.

But all of that doesn't play too well back here in Ohio.  It's winter, and it's cold.  In fact, it has been so cold, that the pond has been pretty much frozen over for weeks -- pretty much since just before Christmas.  Soooooo, not wanting to have another fish kill this year, I figured I had better open up some holes so they could get some oxygen and sunlight.

I got the chain saw out of the basement and did some maintenance on it (my old military commanders would be proud of me pulling the maintenance first).  I mixed the gas and oil, put a new chain on it (it seems that cutting ice really wears down a chain saw) and checked the oil levels.  Everything was good to go so I went out to the pond -- hearing my wife telling me all the while to "be careful, do you really need to do that?"

Normally the first thing I do is start walking and jumping up and down in the shallow end of the beach area so if, by some chance, it is not as think as I think, I will only fall through up to my knees.  That step accomplished, I then cut my first "line" in the ice to get an idea of how thick it really is.  Seems this particular day, the ice was at 7 1/2 " thick.  Wow!

So, feeling pretty secure that this was going to go well, I moved out by the end of the dock and started to cut away.  The object here is to cut out a few 2 foot by 2 foot squares, push the ice block down under the top layer in order to expose the water to the air.  Then I turn on the air bubbler so as it pumps "warmer air" into the water, it will also cause some of the "warmer water" at the bottom of the pond to rise up and open up the holes a bit more.  That's the theory behind all of this.  And actually, it works pretty well.  Before I had the bubbler, I would cut holes with an axe, and then graduated to the chain saw. But the only trouble was the holes would freeze back over almost as fast as I could cut them. So anyhow, you get the picture.  At first the neighbors who would drive up the road and just shake their heads when they saw me out there.  Couldn't figure out why I was so determined to ruin a good cutting chain on the saw!

It was funny -- my wife posted a picture of this on Facebook and the comments she got ranged from "be careful" to "why are you worried - they're only fish!"  You can kinda tell pretty quickly who has ever wetted a line before and who has only known a fish that comes from a market and a frozen foods box or maybe a restaurant.

Sometimes doing something like this is what you have to do when you take on the responsibility of having a pond, especially one where so many of the neighborhood kids learned to fish.  Besides, it kinda reinvigorates me and brings back memories of my childhood when we did the same thing (with the axe) on farm ponds during the winter when we were growing up in Zanesville.

I kinda, sorta also think the fish appreciate it (may be a stretch, huh?).  I know when the ice melts and the spring temperatures ignite my fishing spark, I am glad there are decent sized fish here and they are not just little 6" fingerlings that I had to put in because the winter killed all the rest of them.

BTW, I plan to redo the dock this year.  The decking is getting a bit worn and splintery and I don't want to be picking them out of my feet.  Besides, I think if I lower it a bit, I can sit there with my feet in the water. Doesn't that sound like fun!!

So here is a picture of this morning's efforts at opening the hole up.  The bubbler did a pretty good job -- but then again, it's up to 33 degrees this morning here. Hmmmmmmm -- getting close to golf weather, 'er, I mean, fishing weather.

And that reminds me -- it's time to clean up all my fishing gear and check the lines to see if they need replaced.  Nothing worse than having a line snap in the middle of the fight because it was old or frayed.  This can get really expensive too when I have to replace line on my fly rods.  That stuff sin't cheap.

My Biggest worry is that when I'm dead and gone, my wife will sell my fishing gear (and golf clubs !!!) for what I said I paid for it. (Koos Brandt)

Hooah

A couple of family gatherings ...

We recently had two family gatherings and I wanted to bring you all up to date.First there was the Thanksgiving celebration at our house.  It was a very nice day and I managed to remember how to set the timer on the camera so we could get this picture.

A long time ago we gave up trying to get "all" of the family together for the holidays.  It seems that there are just too many other obligations pulling people away, so we take what we can get and have a good time.  I think everyone kinda looks forward to me fumbling with the camera, running around to get in the picture (complete with a resounding chorus of "Run, Forrest, Run!" from the members of the peanut gallery), only to find out that I didn't set it correctly and we have to go thru it all again (and again, maybe).

The tables were set just right.

 And the "cook" is caught in a mid-sneeze moment as she is reacting to an overdose of pepper to some stuffing.

Of course, no get-together would be complete without a friendly game of after-dinner pool.  Luke and Pam are having at it.

The nice thing is that we got to do it all over again at Christmas... and guess what -- I managed to get there in the picture just in time.  Guess I still got it!

 

So that brings you up to date on our celebration pictures and family gatherings.  It's an ageing group, but we're still doing pretty well.  This year saw some medical issues, stress producers like moving, redecorating, renovating, and just "getting older" things, but we made it through them all and dare I say, they are not invited to come back!!

What greater blessing to give thanks for at a family gathering than the family and the gathering.(Robert Breault)

 Hooah

Something different this year...

For the past few years, Pam and I have tried to do some different things when decorating the house and grounds for Christmas.  It is such a nice place and I really like being able to put up festive lights and other decorations.  I think it really helps spark the Spirit.

I put most of the lights on timers so they will come on at different times.  I especially like having the lights on at 7:00 a.m. for an hour or two so the kids who are going by on the school bus and the neighbors going up and down the road on their way to work will see them and  maybe have a little nicer start to their day.  I don't know, they might just see it as the old retired guy rubbing it in, but I choose to take the high ground and brighten their day.

So here is the newest set of decorations I put up.  Last year I put up these wreaths on the fence posts, but kinda thought it was missing something.  I didn't want blow-up Santas or lights that looked like reindeer or snow flakes on steroids.  Something nice and simple would do just fine.  So, I thought lights along the rails and around the wreaths might look good.  See what you think.

 I took these pictures shortly after putting them up, and just before sunset.  This was also before any snow came our way.  Unfortunately I never got around to taking a picture with the snow.

Snow came late to McCartyville Road so for about a month, this was what people would see as they drove by during the day. 

All in all, I thought it turned out pretty well.  In fact, we didn't take them down until well into the second week of January -- partly because the temperatures for the first two and a half weeks after Christmas never got above single digits and often hit negative numbers on the weather machine (just too dag-gone cold to be out there -- I could wait until the January thaw came...), and partly because I still liked the look of them.

I think I might go with this again next year.  I guess I'm kinda old school that way.

When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things—not the great occasions—give off the greatest glow of happiness. (Bob Hope)


Hooah

Play ball ...

Back in August, Pam and I had the opportunity to celebrate our wedding anniversary in a rather unique way -- we went to a minor league baseball game. This was #48, nothing special, but well on our way to #50.  You know, I used to see a lot of articles in the paper highlighting couples celebrating their 50th, but not so many lately.  Either they have already been there and are steaming toward even bigger numbers, or there might be a whole lot of them in the same boat as we are (all of us Baby Boomers).  But it could be, too, that maybe not as many stay together that long or maybe some have died off before they made it.

Regardless, we have made it this far, and one thing I have learned over the years is that if you want to have a long and happy life together, treat each other as though there is nothing you wouldn't do for the other and nothing is too good for that special person in your life.

So having said that, I spent a great deal of time thinking what I could get her to make #48 somewhat special.  Finally, it came to me -- I'll take her our for a show and dinner...two of her favorite things.  Boy, do I know how to treat my woman!!

I called the box office at the Dayton Dragons and got two seats behind home plate (remember -- nothing but the best) and even got the Jeep washed before we went.  I always like to take my sweetie out in clean wheels.  It seems that Dayton was playing the Lansing Lugnuts that night -- doesn't get much better than that.  OK, OK -- if you don't think that a good minor league baseball isn't a good show, you have never been to a game at that level.  The players hustle, there are dancing mascots and vendors shooting T-shirts up into the crowd.  I remember going to one of the Columbus Clipper's games back in the 80s and when a player hit a home run, everyone got up and danced and rang cow bells.  Tell me you've got something that compares with that!!  BTW -- in this picture of us in our seats, is that lady behind photobombing us?

Oh, yeah, back to the dinner part.  Well, ballpark hot dogs and popcorn usually top the night off.  Sometimes I'll even go for a slice of (highly overpriced) pizza and a beer.  And if it is a really good game and the evening is a good one, I might even spring for a foam finger. Uhhh -- probably not.

 So that pretty much wrapped it up for #48.  And as the old Left-hander used to say, "We're rounding third and heading home."  Making our way toward the big 50!

I found this picture (below) which kinda sums up the two of us... just a couple of old prarie dogs making our way through life.  This was a fun twist on a wedding anniversary celebration.  Not something we would do all the time, but definitely fun.

Our wedding was many years ago. The celebration continues to this day. (Gene Perret)


Hooah

Never trust a phone posting ...

Early last week I saw on my phone in the Google section that is supposed to keep me up to date on tracking my favorite sports teams, a thing that said that OU was playing Clemson in basketball.  I thought -- well it's possible, so I looked some more and the ap said that the game was at Ohio at 5:00 p.m.

I thought it a bit strange that Clemson would come to Ohio for an early season game.  If it had said that Ohio was going to Clemson I would have believed that.  OU isn't really the kind of team that would draw Clemsonesque  teams, especially in what is usually the "let's play a patsy to get the kinks out" time of the season.  Usually teams such as OU are the "patsy" teams others want to schedule.  But what the heck -- two levels of this ap said "Clemson at Ohio" so I told my wife I would take her down to Athens for the game.  It was a decent day and might be kind of fun.

So we drove the 3 hours to Athens.  My first clue that there was something wrong was that I  didn't see any "Event Parking" signs as I drove up to the Convo.  But we were a little early so I figured maybe the signs weren't out yet.  However, as we found a parking place and walked up to the doors of the Convo -- and there wasn't a soul around, well I knew something must be up.  So we walked over to Baker Center and asked the gal at the book store check-out counter if there was a game here tonight.  The deer in the headlights look should have been a sign.  After all, I couldn't smell any "weed" in the area.  Well, she looked it up on the computer and sure enough, her computer confirmed that there was a Clemson team that was to be playing Ohio at 5:00 p.m.  She then looked one other place -- the Athletic department website -- and it said the game was in Charleston, SC.  The "at" part was since both teams were part of an early season  tournament and neither one was actually the "home" team, they just assigned one as home and the other one as the visitor... thus the screwy wording on the phone ap.

So --------------- we bailed the car out of the parking garage and headed home.  All was not lost however, as we were able to listen to the game on the radio until we got to about Logan where it faded out.  I think that's also about when the team faded.  They lost the game pretty handily.

But again, all was not lost as we decided to stop at the 94th Aero Squadron in Columbus for dinner.  This is one of our all-time favorite places in the world to eat.  Great food and super atmosphere.

Might look a little ragged but by the time I took this picture we had driven about 6 hours for dinner -- a trip that might have taken 1 1/2 hours max on any other day.  But like I said -- good food, good wine, good story.  The radio guy said they would play again tomorrow night against Dayton. Now we're trying to figure out if we should try to drive to Charleston, drive to Dayton, drive to Athens or just stay home and go to the Sidney Ohio Winter Wonderland parade.  Chose the parade.

You know, every once in a while you just have to have something crazy like this in your life to give you things to look back on and laugh.  We were only out a few bucks for gas and some time, and got a free pass on the stadium hot dog and popcorn.  Pretty good trade for dinner in Columbus.

All great stories in one's life become grander at the dinner table.

Hooah

Refurbished and ready to go ...

About 20 years ago or so, our son made us a sign for our back yard area -- a piece we put over by the pond to show off the Bailey's Harbor area.  It was there year-round and really took a beating over the years.  Winters in Ohio can really do a number on outdoor things.

It was a wooden sign, and the surface was coated with several coats of marine varnish,  But, again, Ohio winters extract a pretty heavy price for being outdoors.  I am not sure how long this sign lasted before it became unstable.  It was followed by another sign he made and that one lasted for a number of years too.  But for the last 4 or 5 years we have been without anything there and it looked prfetty bare.

So, I took the original sign to a wood shop and had them remake it.  They did a pretty good job of using a lot of the original wood and putting it back together.  It sure looks good hanging out there. 

I had planned to surprise my wife with this for our anniversary.  She liked that sign and really missed it.  She is pretty good at surprising me with Christmas, anniversary and other gifts.  And since she says I am not very good at surprising her, this was my chance to pull one off on her.  Well ----- let's just say that I moved up the ladder of surprise presentations a bit with this.  Totally caught her off guard.  Worked out rather well, if I do say so myself.

Having that sign back is like having an old friend come back into our lives.  We like it for the memories of our trip to Bailey's Harbour, Wisconsin; for memories of the GREAT brown lab named Bailey who was part of our lives for 16 years; and for our son having made this for us.  Good stuff.  Welcome back old friend.

To be with old friends is very warming and comforting. (Ian Zierling)

Hooah

To be with old friends is very warming and comforting. Ian Ziering
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/i/ianziering563308.html?src=t_old_friends

To be with old friends is very warming and comforting. Ian Ziering
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/i/ianziering563308.html?src=t_old_friends

Got a little catching up to do ...

Well, it certainly has been a long time since I sat down behind this keyboard.  In fact, it's been too long so I plan to go on a marathon to catch things up.  This first article will deal with a subject that kinda rocked my world for several months.

About this very time last year, I went in for one of those Medicare wellness check-ups.  First of all, they were going to pay for it, so I figured that since I had not had a physical since I retired from the Army in 2008, what the heck.  I figured the worst he could do was yell at me for being about 20 pounds overweight, but I could take care of that.  Also figured that he would order some blood work and that was nothing new so -- I called and scheduled it.  You know, it's easy to make phone calls, but it's another thing when it gets down to a few days before the appointment.  Maybe I won't feel good that morning and have to cancel.  I guess I can't say I just forgot, because then they would charge me.  So I was committed.  Besides, my wife knew about it and she would make sure I made it there -- on time.

OK.  Yep -- he yelled at me for being overweight, and said that could cause diabetes (which I knew already ran in my family). But that was not what he was most concerned about -- it seems my PSA results were over the moon.  He was sending me to see a urologist to get this looked at. Like real soon.

OK.  I have been told before that I have an enlarged prostrate, and that we just need to keep an eye on it.  'Course that was 11 years ago when I was leaving the Pentagon.  So after about a month or so, (so much for real soon), I was able to get in to see the doctor.  After about an hour of poking, listening, and digesting what was being said, I walked out of his office trying to get my head around the "C" word.  Yep --"prostate cancer ... aggressive ... need to do something about it soon ... real soon... I am ordering more blood work and I will see you back here in a week."  Boy -- what a drive home !!

So in a week, we were back in his office and things had calmed down a bit.  The world hadn't come to an end, California hadn't fallen into the ocean, and I had settled down a lot.  This time, he outlined a plan which called for radiation treatments (no surgery -- too old and not positive it would do the trick) and meds.  My wife and I went home, Pam did a lot of research on doctors that were recommended and hospitals for radiation, we talked to some guys who had had this before -- both surgery and the procedure he outlined for me, prayed, and decided to go with his plan.

So that was in late April.  Radiation started in May and ended in mid-July.  One treatment every week day for 45 days (10 weeks).  I had my work done at the Premiere Health Facility in Troy and those doctors and technicians and nurses were absolutely the best !!   You know, going into this you don't have any idea what the outcome will be, what the side-effects could be, you just know it probably isn't good, but hope it will all work out.  I met people there who were really hurting and in a bad way.  But you know what -- I never heard one cross word, saw one sour-puss expression or any short tempers from the techs, nurses or doctors.  They really made it  an OK experience -- at least for me.  I thanked God each day I left that place that my condition was no worse than it was and was, hopefully, getting better each day.

Well, after the treatments ended, the doctors wanted more blood work to check to see if the PSA numbers had really improved and the treatment had done what it was supposed to do.  Well ----- my numbers went from the upper 20s to 0.6 !!  The meds were working and the doctor thinks the radiaiton did what it was supposed to do. Thank you Lord.

I cannot thank all those involved enough -- the doctors, technicians, nurses, neighbors -- my wife.  On the last treatment day, my neighbor had made some signs and sent them in with one of the techs who lives up near us.  So when I got back to the room for the last treatment, it was quite a surprise.

The neighbor boys who go fishing with me all the time at our pond made some of these signs.  They even put them in our house while we were gone.  Great neighbors!!

So this is something I will have to keep an eye on for the rest of my life, but as long as the numbers stay good, I think I was/am pretty lucky.  I know mine wasn't anything, and I certainly think about those people I met at the hospital, but it got my attention. 

When I had my heart attacks, when I had my issues in Iraq, when we had that bus wreck on one of our Vet trips to DC and they all worked out OK, I told myself that God still had something He wanted me for.  It wasn't my time yet, and for that I thank Him.

Oh yeah, I know none of you who are reading this are as dumb as I was and have not had your PSA checked.  This is one of those things that can be pretty much a non-issue if caught early.  So, as Larry the Cable Guy would say -- "Git 'er done."

From the bitterness of disease man learns the sweetness of health. (Catalan Proverb)

Hooah

P.S.  One more thing -- in this process I have lost 25 pounds.  Guess that first doctor won't be able to yell at me now :-)

Pioneer woman at it again...

Just catching up on some of my old pictures and post ideas from earlier this spring.

As you know, I spend a great deal of time out by the fire ring -- some weeks at least 3-4 times, especially during the early summer and early fall.  Sometimes, I feel that between that and cutting the grass and fishing, the neighbors think those are the only things I do around here.  Hmmmmm ... they might be right.

But enjoying the peace of the fire ring doesn't come without some work on the front end.  It seems I have to order my firewood early in the spring, before the farmers get out into the fields.  My wood guy has a farming business which has him spraying fields for a number of people.  He is pretty much busy 24/7 for a while and if I don't get my order in and delivered before he hits the fields, it might be some time in June before he gets around to me.  So anyway -- this is what everything looks like once he delivers and after I split it all once.

Now it is time to take all of this back to the woodpile and stack it.  That's where the pioneer woman came into the picture.  She helped me load the wagon and then she would drive it to the back yard where I would stack it.  What a team !

Pretty good looking wood pile, huh ?  This was in March I think.

So here is an update -- it is now August and that wood is pretty much down to the last row.  Might need to get another load so I will make it through the fall.  Won't use it all, but it won't spoil being out there all winter.  Besides -- who knows -- maybe we'll have a mid-winter wiener roast or need a fire to keep warm while we're trying ice fishing again.  Stay tuned.

Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. (Athenaeus)

Hooah

At least it's not on the front porch of "The Home"...

From looking at the picture, you can tell that this was taken earlier this year prior to all the leaves coming out on the trees at Tawawa Park.  Pam and I like to walk there, and it seems they have some nice swings located near the creek, and along through the woods.  It is very relaxing there and we often indulge ourselves when we are ready to leave...just  a relaxing swing session before heading out.

As you already know, both of us like to spend time in our hammocks behind our house -- both the one on the deck and the one out by the pond, under the maple tree.  We would probably spend a good bit of time in a swing on our front porch if we had one, but the porch is too narrow.  Wouldn't work.  So, that's why we like this one at the park.  Does that mean we're geezers? Ehhhh -- I don't know, but at least we're there enjoying ourselves somewhere we had to drive and walk to and not at "The Home" . 

Never, ever, ever lose the desire to climb a tree, to run through a sprinkler, or ... to swing with your sweetie in the park by a babbling brook.

Hooah

Kinda like a Norman Rockwell thing...

Well, it's that time of year here in Shelby County -- time to gather the wheat and as always, time to see huge rolls of straw in the fields.  For a number of years we would jokingly say they looked like big elephant turds lying all over the place.  Not so anymore...

We have come up with a new description -- Tootsie-roll Minis.  They look like huge Tootsie roll pieces .  Another name we came up with was those little round pretzel things with cheese in the middle, only much bigger.

Anyway, another marker of the passing of time is out there for us to enjoy.

 Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant. (R.L.Stevenson)

Hooah

Better late than never...

How many articles have I written over the years with that lead-in?  Hmmmmmmm.

Well, this one will just have to be another one in the series.  Today, tonight, and tomorrow the talking heads of local and national TV stations are predicting the end of the earth.  It seems that a snow storm, not unlike the ones of our youth, is poised to hit the east coast.  Some of the extreme prognosticators are calling it the storm of the century.  Don't know that it is much different from the one by the same name last year, but that's how they make their money and ratings so let's drive on.

Daylight savings time just took place this past Sunday, and now Spring is only 7 days away. Don't know why it waited till now to come, but maybe this late season snow is something we really need.  Seems any time I get around my farmer friends, they say we really need some snow to build the ground water table a bit. OK.  I know the ski lodge guy at Mad River is really diggin' on another blast, especially since his business has been up and down (get it) the last few years. So, given all that and more, I guess a late snow should have been anticipated.  All I know is it really was fun being around here today.

Snow started around 3 p.m.  My wife told me that most of the stores had sold out of everything on the shelves by then (we're only expecting less than 3 inches).  As it proceeded to snow a bit harder, I sat in the pentagon room and watched it.  The bird feeders were full, so we had quite a bunch of hungry flappers out there.  The whiter it got, the brighter the birds showed up against the background.  We had a large assortment of wrens, brilliant cardinals and their mates, scores of morning doves, woodpeckers, red-winged blackbirds, fat robins, and some that were passing through that I didn't get a chanced to look up in the bird book.  The last couple of weeks, we have been having a couple of mallard ducks stopping by for a morning swim.  We also have rabbits who live between the underside of our deck and the woodpile by the "waterfront cottage (a.k.a.the shed by the pond).  They run around, chasing each other -- wonder what they are up to?  Today, we had two of our owls flying on hunt over the field just behind our house.  Those are majestic birds when they are soaring on the winds.  And, of course, there is always the red tail hawks that swing in occasionally for the possibility of a meal, which could be fish or fowl.

So, even though it was/is snowing, and it is getting too close to golf season for this stuff to hang around, I don't mind it that much.  I have the luxury of staying in the house if I want.  So a day or two won't hurt.  I'll just keep reading, talking on the ham radio every once in a while, and maybe, just maybe, taking a nap if the spirit moves me.

Man trip in two weeks.  Can hardly wait.  Knee is about 95% now.

 Snow and a bad day on the golf course are the only things that "go away" if you ignore them long enough.

Hooah

Getting one of my wheels repaired...

For about the past year or so, my right knee has been giving me a hard time, so I decided to bite the bullet and get it fixed.  Figured it couldn't be too big of a deal -- a little cut here, a little snip there and good as new.

RIGHT!!!

I went through all the hoops with the doctors and finally got an appointment with the surgeon.  He seemed like a good enough guy -- he is a duck hunter and we talked a short time about hunting and his recent luck on a trip.  OK.  We're off to a good start.  He told me that this would be a 15 min. deal at most and I would walk out of the surgery recovery room after about an hour of shaking off the sedation.  OK.  That sounds good.  I kinda laid out my tentative timeline of when our golfing man-trip would begin and then backward planned this deal so that we could get this done, rehabbed, and ready to go.  He said that he does pro football players who are back to playing within 4 weeks.  OK.  That sounds good.  He said he also does young high school athletes who are up and around sooner than that.  OK.  I figure I'm tougher than most high school football players, so sounds like this is a "GO."  If it went as well as he said, I figured I might still be able to try out for the QB position for the Browns -- after all, they need help.  The Doc said I might want to set my sights a little higher!!  He must not be a Browns fan.

So, everything went pretty well and I did, indeed, walk out of the place shortly after the procedure.  Oh, did I tell you how well that pain killer they gave me worked.  Well, when it wore off later that evening, I had a pretty different outlook on the whole thing.  It actually hurt like heck.  He did a repair of a meniscus on the outside of the knee, and scraped off some arthritis on the inside part.  Here is the contraption I had around my knee for several days.  It circulated ice water and really worked pretty well.

The bruises shown in the picture on the left are from the tourniquet they put on at the beginning of the procedure.  I'm taking their word for it because I was somewhere else at that time, sleeping very comfortably.  Anyhow, that was really a deep bruise in the muscle and it took several days to work its way out and feel somewhat better.  Notice the two little marks on the kneecap -- that is where all the work was done.

So now, it has been 4 weeks since the procedure.  He said that I would be 100% in 5 weeks.  So that means I will be able to hit my drives 300 yards straight down the fairway  and make every putt on the first try.  That's my definition of 100%.  Anybody know a good malpractice attorney who plays golf!!

So, I've had a better time with this than I expected.  The Doc was great, and the procedure went right according to his plan.  How will the golfing go?  We'll see in a couple of weeks.

Golf is a hard game to figure. One day you will go out and slice it and shank it, hit into all the traps and miss every green. The next day you go out and, for no reason at all, you really stink.  (Bob Hope)

Hooah

I could hit those...

About two months before Christmas I decided to take up a new hobby -- trap shooting. 

One evening after finishing up our weekly round in our golf league, a number of us happened to be sitting in the 19th hole at the golf course, doing what we probably do better than playing golf -- having a beer and telling old stories.  The conversation centered on how so-and-so missed two birdies that night, and somehow turned to one of the guys mentioning that he was much better at shooting quail.  And then it moved on to me saying how I had always wanted to do trap shooting and I thought I just would take that up pretty soon.  Well, then a couple of guys said that if I did, they would too.  And that is how we got started.  Sounds like a productive outcome from a 19th hole discussion group.

Probably the most remarkable thing of all of this is that we actually followed through on it.  Greg, Larry and I all joined a local rod and gun club and actually went out and shot clay birds.  Well...some of us shot AT clay birds, but it was really fun, relaxing, and will probably serve as a whole new source of stories for the sit-arounds we usually have.

So this new hobby gave Pam an idea of what she could get me for Christmas.  I told her how I had actually (luckily or skillfully) shot up pretty much the whole box of birds (that's how you refer to our targets once you are part of the "club") and would have to get more before we went out the next time.  She went to the local Wal-Mart and inquired.  The clerk said they were all sold out, but should have some in before Christmas.  Seems some more people had the same idea because they were sold out again when she went back just before the big day. 

My wife is not one to take small set-backs very easily, so she just came up with a unique solution.  Check these "birds" out.

A little copying from the old bird spotters book, and there you go -- "birds."  Have at it, big boy!

I was able to redeem the paper versions for a new box and am now just waiting for the weather to break.  Just like golf, shooting is not that much fun in snow and low-twenties (Man trip excluded, of course).  Oh, and another way trap shooting is like golfing -- the object is to keep your head down and hit the what you're aiming at.

So the guys at the "club" told me there are two ways to break the targets -- either shoot them or watch them break when they fly on by and hit the ground.  Didn't ask which was better.

Some say it is better to "live, laugh, and love."  I'm kinda likin' "pull, aim and shoot."
Hooah

A weekend project completed...

Back in February, Pam and I went down to the Troy Home Show just to look around.  It was a pretty crummy week with lots of clouds, wind, and cold temperatures so we just wanted to get out of the house.  Besides, we had not been in Hobart Arena for quite a while, so it was good to be in the old building again.  I used to coach high school wrestling tournaments in there, and it was where we held our high school graduations when I was employed at the Troy City Schools.  They have spruced it up a bit, and the displays were pretty good.  Home show was pretty small -- probably too early in the year for a lot of the contractors.

One of the displays did catch my eye, however.  It was a guy and his wife selling flagpoles.  I had been looking to kinda consolidate all of the flag displays at our house and this looked like the perfect way.  Going to a home show and looking at a display you kinda, sorta want anyway is like going to just "look" at puppies. Everyone knows you cannot just go and "look" at puppies without bringing one home.  That's the way I bought our last Trailblazer.

So, this weekend was the planned project date.  Pole - check.  Flags - check. Cement - check. Posthole digger - check. Advil - check. Rainy forecast - check.

I put 340# of Quickcrete in this hole which should hold it pretty well.  While it was setting up, I also had to scrawl our initials in it along with the date I put it up.  Just like some kid,  Also checked it several times that afternoon while it was drying just to make sure it was level.  Nothing worse than a leaning flagpole.

Finally got everything done, mulch re-positioned and raked, excess dirt taken down to the pond to fill in a low spot by the bank that I had noticed, and flags attached.  This is a telescoping pole, so I did not have to mess with a rope.  The pole is a 20' pole when extended to it's full height, but I put it up at that height and thought it was too high, so I brought it down to the first stop on the telescope which put the pole at 15". I think that looks better, so it will probably stay there.  The picture at the left is the taller version, and the one to the right is where it now stands.  After everything was completed and the area policed, I saluted the flag and took all the others down.  I am not sure if the old lights from the small flag that used to be in the front of the house will sufficiently light the new one at night.  We'll see.

Oh, yeah.  So if you remember, I had a check list earlier in this report.  Well, guess what -- this project has been completed now for about 45 min. and it is now raining. Guess a new U.S. flag and a new Army flag should be broken in properly.  Kinda like the old Army sayings, "If it ain't raining, you ain"t training." Or "If it ain't raining, you ani't having enough fun."  Oh well, I am sure there will be plenty of sunny days ahead -- and maybe some snow, and lots of wind.


Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
(Francis Scott Key, The Star-Spangled Banner)

Hooah