Golf Scramble...cha-ching!!!

I know it's been a while, but I had to try to catch up on some outstanding items from the fall.  One in particular was the Fourth Annual "Northender-Southender-Village People 1&2-Featherfolk 1,2 $ 3" Neighborhood Golf Scramble.

As you may know or surmise, this started out as a "our players can beat your players" kind of thing.  Now it's developed into a fun afternoon of golf where neighbors get to know neighbors just a little better.  Of course we still like to win, and we certainly don't want to take the "trophy" home, but it's gotten a bit less cut-throat.

This year's rendition was pretty good.  The teams played pretty well, and we had a great day.  Of course, one of us had a GREAT day...Steve D. had a hole-in-one on the Par 3, 7th hole on the North Course!!!

Team scores were as follows:  SouthEnders (-7), Feather Folk #1 (-5), Village People #1 (-3), Village People #2 (-1), NorthEnders (-1), and Village People #3 (-1).  The Northenders were awarded the "Trophy" based on a scorecard playoff from the 18th hole backwards.  Larry H. graciously accepted the trophy and assured it's safekeeping until next year's outing.

These kinds of things aren't the greatest challenge to our golf skills, but they sure are fun.  I think this is one of the things that is missing in today's rat race.  No big prizes, no money involved (other than the $2.00 entry fee per person to cover the golf balls given away at the tee-off), just a bunch of good guys getting together to have a fun late season afternoon of golf.

Oh, yeah, just in case you're wondering -- this is the 2nd win for the Southenders!!  Not that anyone's counting !!!

HOOAH

Mission Accomplished...

One of the projects I have been wanting to do here for a number of years was to pave the rest of the drive way.  When we built the house, we had about 1/3 of it paved, mainly because that was all we could afford at the time.  The gravel part wasn't too bad, and was a kinda "country" effect.  But over the years, there were some things I just did not like -- the weeds growing thru the stones and having to continually spray them, and each spring having to spend several days picking up stones out of the yard from the snow blower activity of the previous winter.  Also, every once in a while, the lawn mower would kick out a handfull of stones, launching these projectiles at my house, the neighbor's house or a passing car.

So, this year, a neighbor and I got to talking about paving our drives (he had gravel too) and we thought we could get a better price if we could get a contractor who would want to do both of them a the same time, saving time on tools, labor, and cement.  I think both of us are very pleased with the finished products.  At least I am now that I have pretty much finished it up.

Here are some pictures of the project.  I'm putting these on mainly because my grandson, Quinn, is fascinated with construction equipment.  He lives in Brooklyn, NY and likes coming to Grandma and Grandpa's house so he can see these and farm vehicles.  He also likes the pond.  I put a pond picture in because I wanted to show you what I did with most of the gravel from the driveway.

After about a month of letting the dirt settle, we got the fertilizer and seed down and spread the straw during a downpour.  That helped to secure the straw and saved us from watering it in for the first day.

This is where most of the gravel went.  Really helped to secure the banks of the pond.

I added these last three pictures of the two of us so Quinn would see us next to the construction vehicles.


All in all, this was a pretty good project.  I like the way it makes the house look, and will surely be better this winter and spring.

Every day I look around at the pond, the yard, the house, and I thank God for the gifts he has given us.  We love to share this place with guests, family, lots of young (and old) fishermen, and our dog, Bailey.

Hooah

Sad day for local fishermen...

This past weekend, Pam and I were part of a group of volunteers who took 34 Veterans (WWII and Korean War Vets) and their caregivers to Washington DC to see their Memorials.  It was a lot of work, but what a rewarding time it was.  Each time I do this, I am whiped out for a couple of days, but it is a satisfied tired, if there is such a thing.

While we were gone, it rained a whole bunch around here.  The pond came back up to spring levels (it had been down about 4 or 5 inches).  There was standing water in the fields all around the place, but everything seemed OK here.

And then along came Tuesday.  I got started early cutting the grass.  It seemed to be about 4" tall and I had just cut it the previous Thursday.  Anyway, when I got around to the back yard, I was cutting down by the pond when I saw "Walter" (a bass) lying out in the middle of the grass, about 6' from the bank.  He had been dead for a while -- don't know if a critter got him or one of the hawks in the area.  He could also have been exploring the new grassy areas where the high water would normally be and couldn't get back to the normal stuff. 

In any event, we sure are going to miss him.  Pam would often go down by the edge of the pond, and he would swim up to greet her.  She would walk all around the perimeter and he would swim right along beside her.  Everyone who ever fished here knew that was Pam's pet fish and if they happened to catch it, they were to take it off the hook and gently put it back in the water.

The last we had caught him was about 3 weeks ago.  He weighed in at 4# and 22" long.  It was always fun catching him, and he always gave you a good fight.  Maybe he knew he would always be put back to fight another day.  Anyway, he will be missed.

There are other bass in the pond probably just as big and just as capable of giving young fishermen a good battle.  But this one was special -- he was "WALTER."

I don't think this was the last time Walter was caught, but Moriah had a good time reeling him in. 

A faithful friend is the medicine of life.

Hooah 

Found some old pictures ...

I was actually going through some of my old army stuff here in the war room, and came across these pictures.  These were from a trip to Italy when I was a young captain.  I am not sure if the whole thing was classified in any way, but I know the reason we were there was pretty important at the time.

Anyway, here are some of the pictures. 

Believe it or not, when I was a young captain I actually did look like this.  That was about 60# ago.

This is the train station by the airport at Milan.  It would be fun to go back some day to see if much has changed.

When we landed in Italy, we really didn't know any of the language and relied on the old "point and guess" method to get from one place to another.  It worked out pretty well and the people accommodated us pretty well.

One interesting thing I did remember was seeing this "sign" for a 2nd floor "recruiting station" just across from our hotel.

One of the places we "visited" was the American base at Pisa.  After finishing our business, we were able to go see the Leaning Tower. 

This was pretty cool, and all the guys had fun climbing the steps.  One of our issues to think about was if we could get a radio antenna up there or up on the church roof next door.  As flat as the ground was there, we would certainly have had a tremendous range on communications from there.
 As we were heading back to the base, our driver asked us if we wanted to go to the beach.  None of us had the proper attire for the beach, but he said that wouldn't matter.  So off we went -- if only to stand in the sand and look around.  Little did we know what kind of beach this was going to be.

The side nearest to us is the "American" side.  Swimming suites required.  The far side of the dividing wall (the side with all the umbrellas -- and they are there for a reason) was the "European" side.  No swimming suites allowed -- in fact, pretty much no clothing at all allowed.

As you can see, it was pretty cold and windy there on the ocean.  No customers on either side.  One of the guys checked.

Then, we continued on with our "business" and came upon an old deserted collection of buildings.  This was called the Mussolini School for Boys.   You can Google this and find out more.  It was quite a layout.

 

I have to say, this was quite a trip.  I don't know what ever happened to our report, but we got to see some of the more historic sights this country had.  I will look around for more of the pictures, because we visited the Port of Livorno, Rome, a number of airports and sea ports (to include Venice), and a number of old fortresses.  We also spent time driving their roads.  I'll keep looking and see if I can find anything else.

The experience I gained at age 21 would be useful if I were ever 21 again. 

Hooah

The Boys of Summer...

I know, I know ... we all know it's summer.  In fact, it's now the 4th of July, long past the beginning of the grilling season, neighbor boys little league ball games, golf league, and 2-3 times per week mowing the grass.  But since I was such a slug in keeping you informed on what has been going on around here, I thought I would fill you in.

The neighbor boys were over a week ago and did some fishing.  Dylan got pretty lucky that evening -- catching one of the big bass in the pond.  Carter caught bluegills like they were going out of style, and I believe Jarred caught a crappie.  But it was Dylan who came away the big winner.

Dylan went home the big winner for this day, but the fish will have their day.

Later that same week, one of the neighbors went for a ride on an experimental "wing."  The pilot is an Air Force full-time technician who lives a couple of miles from here, and the neighbor (Dave) has a Cessna 180 which he keeps in his hanger just down the road.  He has a real nice grass strip which he uses all the time.  Well, the "wing" came in one night and picked him up.  What a beautiful night for flying.  I bet that was fun.  I'll have to try it some time.

We also welcomed back the hummingbirds.  I really enjoy being out back on the deck when I hear them, buzzing like miniature buzz-bombs, darting here and there, chasing each other, or just sitting quietly on the feeders.

 We also had some ducks stop by for a visit:

And one of the guys down the road took down his wheat this week.  The field was across from our house -- Quinn would have loved to have been here to see it.

Doug would have had a hard time with all the pollen.

Summer is a great time to be here.  I have sat out by the fire ring at least 6 times in the past two weeks.  It is really nice watching the stars, listening to the fish jump, and the frogs croak.  There's also a sense of comfort knowing these guys have my back, over in the cemetery behind the house.  

There are 8 Civil War Vets buried out there.

When you can think of  yesterday without regret and of tomorrow without fear, you are near contentment.

Hooah

Field Day, 2011...

Each year, the amateur radio community (Ham Radio guys) has a thing called "Field Day."  This is an opportunity for the clubs to go out and test their club's equipment by attempt to make as many "contacts" as possible around the country.  These contacts can be by "Phone" (talking to another Ham over the radio waves) or by "CW" (the Ham abbreviation for Morse Code).  These contacts are made over several different frequencies (15 meters, 20 meters, and 40 meters) because the "bands" (the frequencies) go in and out, depending on weather conditions and time of day.

The objective is to make sure Hams can still talk to other areas of the country should the need arise.  In the event of an emergency, when cell towers won't work, land lines won't work and there are no other means of communicating, Ham radio guys are thrown into the mix as the only reliable means of civilian communications over long or short distances.  In our case, we are a vital component in the EMA's disaster preparedness contingency planning, working closely with local law enforcement, hospitals and civil agencies.

So what does a "Field Day" look like?  Well, check out the pictures below.  This is a 24-hour contest that reveals some interesting things about equipment that we would have sworn worked last week!!!  It goes like that some times... especially when we are finished with the contest and getting ready to go back to the "house."

One of the things I find myself doing everywhere is cooking.

Our station call for the contest was K8ZUK.

Sherm (KD8FZV) is shown working on the antenna for S.C.A.R.E.S. II.

Joe (KC6NLX) works on getting the equipment in S.C.A.R.E.S. I set up.

Eric (W8EJK) is working Morse Code in S.C.A.R.E.S. I.

Here are a couple of pictures of the gang working the net at night. Grant (N8KZL) on the left is the club president.

We have two communications vehicles, S.C.A.R.E.S. I & II.  They are really decked out quite well for this kind of thing and have been used quite extensively in support of various events in Shelby County -- to include parades, and simulations and training events.  However, when it comes to the end of the event, there are still some surprises for us, things that just add to our list of things to be prepared for.

Yep, we left the dash lights on in the truck all night and the battery was dead!!  Notice the generator mounted on the front of the truck?  Well, it has a battery on it.  We used it and still had to use the car battery from Joe's Honda.

I used to take my troops to the field all the time, sometimes, according to my superiors, too many times in a year.  I found that was the only way I knew for sure if something really worked.  I could simulate all I wanted or test something a dozen times in the office, but that wasn't the same as taking it to the field.  That really paid big dividends for the unit when they got to Cuba and Iraq and other places where the supply sergeant couldn't just go to Lowe's for a part when something broke down.

The trouble with using experience as a guide is that the final exam often comes first and then the lesson.  (Author Unknown)

Hooah

Another trip is in the books...

I know I have been in one of those non-productive writing slumps lately.  Sorry.

Let me fill you in on our latest "Veterans to DC" Trip which was held May 20-22.  What a great time we had...all 101 of us.  There were 8 WWII Vets and 34 Korean War Vets on this our 5th Trip.  It seems hard to believe we have done this 5 times already and at this writing are deeply into planning and preparing for Trip #6.

There were a couple of "glitches" in this one.  We usually have the Saturday lunch on the Potomac River at the park just beyond the Jefferson Memorial.  Well, there had been several days of rain (you remember this spring don't you?) and the tide was in  while we were there so the park was closed due to flooded grounds.  Well we had to find another place for lunch.  Fortunately the bus driver (Larry) and I were both quite familiar with Washington so we quickly decided on the Mall area.  We first tried to set up our lunch tables at the Sculpture Park and got run out of there by some local security guys.  So we set up on the sidewalk and the Vets and their caregivers ate in the garden area between there and the Museum of Natural History.  They were real champs -- we didn't hear any whining or complaining.  They saw it as an adventure.  Maybe some of the school groups that passed by could have learned ANOTHER lesson from these heroes.

We also had one lady get sick.  She was suffering from a sinus infection and she thinks the heat just got to her.  We took her back to the hotel and she got a nap and felt much better.

My favorite parts are the ceremonies and visits at the two Memorials -- the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the WWII Memorial.  They guys do a great job there during the ceremonies...placing the wreaths and saluting their flag and their comrades durint the playing of Taps.

 

I had the opportunity to get a picture with some of the WWII guys.

  

This was quite an honor and I was really glad to be able to share some stories with them, listen to them beam about their service and watch them soak in all the honor that was shown to them.  But, just like all the other Vets on all the other trips, whether WWII or Korean War, they continuously said they didn't do anything ... they just did their job and came home.


Well, this certainly was a good time.  I am so glad we have such terrific volunteers on the trips.  They make everything go so smoothly.  There is something about 21 different people, from different walks of life coming together to be able to show so much respect to these heroes.  That's the reason I keep doing it -- most of these people wouldn't get a second glance from most people passing them in Wal-Mart or Krogers.  Just another "Old man" or "Old woman."  But for this one weekend, they are royalty.  Everything that isn't important in life is set aside for 72 hours so these people are treated well and shown respect and honor.  At the dinner on Tuesday before the trip, they were just 101 strangers, not sure what to expect from each other, not sure if this is really what they wanted to do.  On Sunday night when we got back, they were chattering together like they had known each other for their whole lives.

I hope we will have as much good fortune on Trip #6.  I know we will discover some interesting things.

Old men's eyes are like old men's memories; they are strongest for things a long way off.   
(GEORGE ELIOT, Romola)

Hooah