My Sister Florence Patton (229)

On April 2, 2008 I wrote a story on this blog, quite a long one about my sister Florence. If you care to read it just type in Florence Patton on the search box on the left corner here and up it will pop....She was a young 92 then but has spent the last 2 years since in the Mulberry Nursing home. And the last year I know has not been good at all, and it is so sad when one gets to the point of being ready to pass on but the old body just hangs on for dear life and prolongs the passing. But I am told by my brothers that she quit eating about 10 days before and that usually is a sign that the end is not far ahead. Her four surviving sons and the rest of us will all miss her, but I know we are all comfortable with this turn of events that has sent her on to the life after joining her husband, her son Tom and her parents and sisters and brother that went before her. Going to keep this short if you have the time try and pull up my story of two years ago about her. Her son Jim took this picture with his cell phone awhile back..it is pretty good of her.

My First Tea Party (228)

Last week I think it was Tax Day I left a perfectly good working corn planter for a couple hours to attend my first Tea Party. Folks were giving speeches and lots of signs to see and lots of flags. I do think this T Party movement is good for our nation. People are waking up to the fact of our responsibility in government. Not to take care of everyone like the clowns in DC would like to do, but to take care of the business of sending to Washington people who will be about the basic business of our government. Downsizing it, repealing the boondoggle healthcare bill, maybe getting us out of NAFTA, and all this envolvement with climate control and foreign aid to everyone. I mean we have been led down the garden path the last 30 years or so thinking our representative were doing a good job. Actually they like all of our government enities have just taken on a life of their own. It is true government it seems likes to grow and do more things so they can grow even more. Trouble is someone has to pay for this stuff and that someone is all of us. We have allowed ourselves to spend ourselves into oblivian a we probably have a very limited amount of time to correct this and reverse this process...I hope the American people will be up to the task...

But I would not be surprised with the Washington arrogance of fixing everything for everybody all over the world that maybe they will pass an emergency bill to stop this volcano from erupting in Greenland...you know pass it, let Obama sign it and see what happens...it makes as much sense as climate control so give it a whirl...

An Open Primary Election (227)

Recently I heard of this idea, of an open primary election. If we were to adopt such a primary election all candidates of all parties would file for office and we would all have opportunity to vote for one or maybe even two of them. Then in the fall the two highest vote totals would oppose each other, regardless of political party. To me this just seems to make so much sense that the two most popular would be opposing each other for the job. No doubt the present two party system would oppose such a change because they would loose the power they hold over candidates. A lot of power would be in the hands of the candidates and the voters. But we as voters, the people with the power to elect like thinking people could make this happen. This could be tried on a state by state basis first, but then to extend this to a national primary would get pretty exciting. Think about it, the more you do the more sense it makes.
Maybe such an idea could be on the State ballot for a popular vote?

Yesterday was 3 years since my wife of 28 years, died. Last night I looked at pictures and listened to some cassette tapes. I swear it does not get any easier as time passes. But it is my choice I guess to remember as best I can on occasion, so maybe as time passes one tries less hard to remember, I don't know......

Daffodil Dam & Recreational Farming (226)

Fourteen years back this farmer was in Lowe's store in the fall and saw they had daffodil bulbs on sale..it was late in the year and they were trying to clear them out to make room for maybe Christmas stuff maybe. Anyway an idea hit me to buy maybe 200 of these things and plant them on the back side of the dam that I had just finished building. Maybe in the spring if it was covered with yellow flowers I used to refer to as "Easter lillies", but know better now they are daffodils. So harvest was over I had the time to plant them I figured. And I did just that but I think maybe I planted them about 6 inches deep or more and it must have been a little to much. They came up OK the next spring but not one bloom, just the spiky tops.

Well 14 years have passed and each year they come up but never a bloom. A couple times I thought what I should do is did them up and plant them more shallow...Well you know how that goes its easy to know what you should do but doing it is sometimes another matter. Much to my surprise last week as I walked around the pond spraying a little chemical to control algae I noticed some large yellow blooms. I thought well how about that finally one daffodil has decided to bloom. As I walked a little farther I then noticed maybe 20 or more clumps of blooming flowers...

The only think I can figure is time has done it for me maybe. I know as these bulbs grow they do produce other bulbs and maybe just maybe as they did that each year they moved up toward the surface and were shallower than the older ones. And finally this year the new bulbs must be shallow enough to do what daffodils are supposed to do this time of year...It was a nice surprise as you can imagine...
So if you click on the Picasso of pictures to the right and look closely you will see some of the Daffodils blooming right now on Daffodil Dam...And if you click on the picture it will bring up a larger version of them that reveals the pretty flowers I am trying to write about here.

The sign was a gift from a painter friend named John Getz who has passed away. Susan added fresh paint this year but the work and the words were John Getz who was an artist...I remember when we named the dam a lot of people kind of got a kick out of our choice of what to name the dam if it even needed named...Well we thought it did as we named about everything around here, the grain trucks the tractors they all had character and so they had names to maybe try and match that character....Daffodil Dam seemed to fit well what else after planting 200 daffodils that then never bloomed, until 2010, this year....

Farming season has started here. Many of my neighbors are out doing "recreational farming" I call it...they pull large equipment across the fields tearing it up leaving a trail behind them of freshly worked black soils..it does look nice and gives one a real sense of accomplishment...and it is not without merit its just that the cost of the machinery and fuel for some additional yield potential in my eyes is just not worth it...I love the "no tillage" system of farming that I and a few others are engaged in these days. I know for sure that the bottom line is about the same, some years it may be more so one way or the other one never knows...but I do know also that the soils need to be protected from erosion and with no tillage the residue from last years crop does hold the soil from eroding and being wind blown. I like the system and it allows me to do other things as I wait for the right weather and soil temperatures that will allow my seeds to get off to a good start....

So when you see these farmers recreating out there wave to them...there hearts are in the right place, they are as convinced that the system they are using is the right one as I am that it is not...

Happy Easter Everyone (225)

Happy Easter everybody out there. It is a great season for sure, as the price was paid by our saviors death on the cross but the thing we celebrate this day is not the death but the empty tomb they put him in. That is something to get kind of excited about it. You know the old saying none of us are going to get out of this alive?

Well that may be true but for some of us those who believe in Jesus as your Savior and what he did, well we are going to get out of this with eternal life in heaven...He showed us the way and extended it to us with his rising from the bonds of death...that is exciting and why we celebrate Easter....

So, wow it used to mean getting up Sunday morning to a basket full of green plastic grass chocked full of great candy to enjoy, not even thinking much about what we were celebrating...That was then, now its just thinking about what it means for all of us and maybe just a very small piece of candy...Reality sometimes just has a way of sneaking up on us does it not?

But in the end candy or not we do have a risen Savior to celebrate and an eternity to look forward too....Happy Easter see ya in heaven some day...

Takes a real Man to Apologize (224)

Here it is folks, I apologize to our wonderful President Obama. He truly is such a wonderful leader for our nation. We had no idea what we needed as a nation until this brilliant man came from nowhere, and told us that change is not only possible but if elected he would see to it. I was dead wrong this guy has it together, and along with Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid, why they have done truly wonders for this nation. Even though we are doing it on borrowed money it is without a doubt all good...I mean what good is borrowed money if we don't just spend it for wonderful things for the American people?

And it does feel good to finally get this off my chest, I have been feeling this need now for quite sometime, that I need to join in and realize finally what a great leader the majority led us too. This new healthcare bill is going to make things so much better for all of us. The one they are working on now the global warming is so needed and will eventually pass when the stupid Republicans just "get it" and quite struggling to stop it. It also will be so good not only for us but the entire world if not the entire universe maybe. I say throw open the doors and just let it happen, amnisty for all, maybe legalize marijuana, lets get it on, why not, the only thing stopping us now from total freedom is nothing. We have the people in power to do the things we all know is best for us...

So there you have my sincere apology for having struggled with all of this for the past year...and also you have my sincere APRIL FOOL......

Yes I would never say any of this but on a day like April 1...

Are you a Generous Farmer? (223)

Probably you can count on one hand the farmers that visit this blog occasionally. But, regardless of the number, I want to do this post today on a "vehicle of giving", that I have come across and am currently using to the benefit of both myself and the benefactors of my giving.

If you click on the title here it will take you to the web site of this vehicle. It is called the "Foundation for Christian Stewardship". And basically how it works, and works well is a farmer can give an amount of grain to the Foundation, and then direct the foundation to give the money to the church or churches, and Missionaries or Ministries of his choice, as long as they meet basic standards set forth by the foundation.

Why do this you ask when I can just write a check for my giving desires and have it over with? Well glad you ask. By giving grain, you can still use the deductions for growing the grain in your farm expenses but you avoid paying federal and state and county income taxes and social security taxes on your giving amount. Because you don't report the value of the grain in your income nor do you report the value in a deduction on your tax papers. But it is legal to still report the cost of growing the grain within your farm expenses. What this means is that you can without costing you one red sent actually give maybe 30% to 50% more money to these organizations of your choice from a liberal viewpoint..Or from a conservative viewpoint you could give the same amount to your choices and actually cost you maybe 30% to 50% less...However you look at this and to what level a giver you want to be is of course up to the individual...I guess truthfully sometimes I look at it one way and sometimes the other maybe depending on how good a year I feel I am having.

I actually started doing this maybe 15 to 20 years ago after reading an article in the Indiana Prairie Farmer magazine on this subject. The article stated that the practice was legal and beneficial to all if one chose to do it. I began delivering a certain amount of grain to the grain terminal in the name of a certain church. I sometimes then directed the church to give a portion of it to maybe a missionary or two that I wanted to support. But some churches do not like to be involved in dispensing money to others in this way. But this foundation that I found this past year works so much better and is designed to do just what we wish to do and that is give a portion of what we have been blessed with back to the work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Gifts of Grain is a service of the Foundation for Christian Stewardship. The local chapter is here in West Lafayette Indiana with a phone number of 765 807 2810 and its web site is

www.giftsofgrain.org

I just wanted to share this opportunity with my fellow farmers, I think perhaps there is opportunity to also do a similar thing with other types of property and stocks etc....Have a great day out there....

Consider forwarding this to any Christian farmer you may know that could benefit.

The 2010 Cowrolla...very safe...(222)

They say necessity is the "mother of invention" and I think Toyota has acted exspediantly and responsibly by rolling out their latest new car....This Cowrolla as seen to the right in the picture is not going to have any runaway or braking problems....I look for other companies to follow suite on this before years end...

Corney you say? Well yes, but we needed a chuckle and relief from the current day to day news stories...My buddy Jim sent this my way an hour ago so blame him if you think its a little on the lame side...

How about those Butler Bull dogs...beating Syracuse tonight and taking them into the final 8????? Gosh I hope they win again this week end and could finish in the final Four...Would be so cool for them to play right at home in Indianapolis next week....the hometown Cinderella....Go Butler

Spring has sprung for sure here in Indiana, today a Fed Ex truck dropped off three Persimmon trees and 3 exotic grape vines to be planted. Just what I probably did not need but remember how excited I get about persimmon pudding? You betcha and that's just about wild persimmons...Hold the phone when and if I ever get any big fancy Japanese varieties...One is even called Chocolate, man now that will be some kind of persimmon pudding for sure.

The grapes, well they will be fun never heard of any of these varieties so it will be fun to nurse them along and see what they look like and taste like a few years down the road....You would think with over 400 trees I have planted here that one would call it enough, but I guess not, always room for something new....

It's bed time in Hoosierland.....

A Heapin big Helpin of Communism (221)

Well today I watched Mr. Obama sign the Health Care Bill on TV. He laid it on pretty thick about how wonderful it all was...I wish he had told the truth and said, "here you go America, have a nice big heapin helpin of Communism"....

So a lot of Americans are probably feeling like, 'well maybe it will be OK'....Well America wait till you get the bill for this...Of course you won't find out the bill till after the fall elections, you did not elect idiots last election, just very liberal smooth talking politicians, smart enough to get past these mid term elections before we have to figure out how high the bill will be....

I wonder what is next, maybe cap and trade, immigration, hard to tell but rest assured they all one by one will be ways of spreading the wealth around...Yes these clowns are out to do that and do it well, call it what ever you want and like it if you like, but for me it's communistic and I for one don't like it at all...

But he did promise change and by golly were getting it....and the euphoria will prevail for some till we get the bills, hang onto your money folks as Uncle Sam will be calling....

Can you believe it? Our Congress????(220)

If pro is opposite of con, then what is the opposite of progress?
Congress!
Men's restroom House of Representatives,
Washington , DC

This was meant to be a joke but turns out as of maybe tomorrow it will be true...I can not believe that congress is about to pile this boondoggle of a health care bill upon us..We are steeped in debt that may very well take our financial system and all our finances DOWN....and they still insist on adding more red ink to our system...

And somehow passing this bill without actually having to vote on it???? Is that to keep voters from pinpointing who needs to be voted out??? I think so... Well my prayer will be if these liberally handicapped bazzoons pass this bill and the equally liberally handicapped President signs it into law that somehow the voters of the nation will have their day this fall and we retire these guys.

And then we urge the new class of legislators to repeal this mistake and while they are at it repeal the special benefits of being a member of congress....I would vote for or will vote for a man or women who states, "I am against the congress getting any type of special benefits"....

This whole system is reminding me of the Roman empire where these senators just all became little almost kings and the whole system came crashing down around them...Today one of Rome's attraction is the big broken down Collisium that still remains from a time when they would go there and enjoy watching Christians being ate by lions....Will some day a Capital Building collapsed be something that bears an equal reminder...I hope not but we are headed that way and congress is about to put their foot even more on the accelorator...

Whizzer Time and Fishing Time (219)

Just found this picture that relates I guess in a way to yesterdays story about two Whizzers...I see this picture was taken during my Whizzer ONE days...so it was the first vacation so far of my young life...taken on my 15th Birthday on a lake in Wisconsin on Aug. 25th 1953..My mother wrote on the bottom, (Phil, Jack and Ralph getting ready to go fishing)...So when it was taken I had enjoyed my Whizzer getting to work all summer in that first job...but prior to returning to school and then my not so hot encounter with the intoxicated gentlemen turning into the Dayton Cemetery in Oct. of 1953...

The handsome dude riging a fishing pole is Ralph Hengst, my brother in law and also his daughter Phyllis, mother of Rick and Kirk Callahan, and Roxy Winnings...A very fine lady who passed a few years ago from breast cancer. Matter of fact of all the people who were in this party my Parents, Sister Frances and Ralph and Phyllis, gosh they are all gone, all passed away. My dad just did not care for fishing at all, I don't think I ever seen him with a pole..I did see him shoot some carp once with a .32 calibur rifle in the stream in our farm...he liked shooting them instead of catching them...And come to think of it I saw him jump once into the steam with a pitch fork and spear some carp...he had his ways to get fish just not legally with a pole...Thank God he was not into dynomite.....

Anyway my love for fishing and maybe then passing that to some of my kids all came down from this man, Ralph Hengst, the best fisherman I ever knew, I think I said at Ralph's Funeral, "the best part about fishing with Ralph was watching Ralph Fish"...You just knew something was about to happen, he just knew where fish were and how to attract them...I picked it up a little as time when on and my son John has picked it up also, maybe better than I, but he also was trained by the master shown here...Not me so much, but Ralph...he was the best....This day and age he would have made good money as a fishing guide...His personality would have carried him even on the days the fish were not biting...I still think of the days not a lot but a few that he and my sister would stop by not too many years ago to fish in my pond, even then, things were about to happen when he picked up a pole....

The Story of two Whizzer Motor Bikes (218)

First off let me say I am back in business here as my camera has been found...No more "cussy darn" going on here...it was in the motor home under a little basket holding a salt and pepper shaker...now I should have known...SP found it for me, truth be known she probably lost it for me also but we won't go there, I may have put it there....but today were talking Whizzer's.........

My title could be Life and almost Death on a Whizzer, as it very nearly was except for a lady maybe an angel who lived just across the road from where my first Whizzer became a twisted total mess as I too almost did....

But lets start at the beginning...these Whizzer Motor Bikes started to appear I guess during World war Two in the early 40's they tell me that you could purchase the motor, gas tank and pulley for your back wheel and mount it on a boy's bike and you were in business...all for about 60 bucks I guess...during the war with rationing and all the government tried to shut them down but the Whizzer people convinced congress that they were necessary cheap transportation to allow people to get back and forth to work...Well after the war as we grew just a tad bit afluent these bikes started to appear around the Dayton Indiana area with kids riding them...boy it looked like fun, and in the spring of 53 I talked my dad into allowing me to purchase one so that I could ride to my off the farm, farm job about 5 miles away each day that summer...gosh I loved that thing...held a full gallon of gas that cost a full quarter of a dollar...and it would go 100 miles on that gas...I would hop on it and start peddling and it would start and away I would go down the road to where ever I needed to go...Life was good...I was just a little short of the 140 bucks needed to buy the two year old model from Glenn Electric in Lafayette but my pops helped me out with the rest...I could hardly sleep at nights for the first week or so anticipating the next days excitement of riding just anywhere..just to feel the air hit me in the face, man I had arrived....

I was only 13 not a legal driver but no one was watching much...Dad told me to take the back roads and not get caught by the State Police so I did...I took old Haggerty lane west from 900 east, all the way past the wild cat creek and on past present day Subaru auto plant to I think it was 400 or 450 east and then south across 38 and 52 to the Kirkpatrick farm on about 450 south I think...took me maybe a half hour each way and I loved the ride each day...it was a good summer and my very first job, don't remember what my wage was but I was working and having fun...Mick Blair was the farmer I worked for that summer and the next summer also...

That fall after school had started I rode my Whizzer to Dayton to play some ball of some sort one Sunday afternoon...Coming home that afternoon I took the chance of riding home on 38 past the cemetery...I followed a very slow old pick up truck through Dayton and after we started down the hill east I could see nothing was coming so I tried a passing manuever around the old truck...As I was even with the truck and passing it the two gentlemen in the truck decided to turn left, without signaling into the cemetery, and came over against my bike sending me carrening into the ditch at the entrance to the cemetery...The old truck had been in a previous wreck and the left front fender was torn and as I hit the fender it tore my right thigh a deep gash cutting it from the knee, almost to the hip all the way to the large bone of my leg...I slid across the gravel drive way of the entrance and landed in the ditch just east of the cemetery gates...I jumped up immediately and looked down at my leg as it felt wet...it was wet alright, and I could actually see my leg bone exposed and my first thought was that should not be that way and I took the two halves of my thigh and pushed them back together over the bone, at which time a huge amount of blood gushed from my wound....I then just sat down on the edge of the road not knowing anything else to do and each time my heart beat a lot of blood came out...I really figured I was a gooner for sure....Out of no where my angel a Mrs. Robinson came out of her house there at Adams Road and 38, ran over and looked at me and turned and ran back to her house...then reappearing right away with a rag and a wooden spoon...she tore it into a turnicut and tied it around my upper leg...took the spoon and put it through the rag and twisted it until the blood stopped running out... she saved my life that October day in 1953....I saw it all happen but was not sure of course I was going to make it.. I remember the ambulance ride to St. E. Hospital in the Baker Funeral Home Hearst I think they called it which double for an ambulance in those days....Four hours and 140 stitches later I woke up, and a new in Lafayette Dr.William Furgeson, told me I was a lucky lad... I then had a months stay, and about 3 more months at home...Leg got totally stiff so took several more months before I was back to normal but thank God and Mrs Robinson that day did come....Feeling returned to the right side of my thigh maybe 15 years later.

So that was the end of my Whizzer days, I thought...lots of years passed by but about I think 2000 or 2001, I was driving past a bike shop on 38 east, and something caught my eye and I thought was that a Whizzer?, I turned around and went in the shop, and sure enough they had started to make them again, and they looked just about like before...Someone my age, had paid the 2200 they were now selling new for and got real winded trying to start it by peddling it....they traded it in on something with a key start...I asked how much an was amazed at the stated price of 750 bucks for a new Whizzer with 69 miles on it...I went home and thought about it for all of about an hour maybe and went back and said, "hey if you throw in a helmet, and take 700 I will ride that puppy out of here"...I rode my second Whizzer home on a cold day in Febuary.....

My wife Linda said to me when I got it home, "did you not almost get killed on one of those, what are you doing"? I jokingly said, "well maybe I am trying to finish the job"...

I was back in the Whizzer business for a few rides and enjoyed it remembering the old days. It was fun till one day someone just for fun passed me at very high speed and almost brushed me...maybe a foot away or less, and I thought of what could have happened if I had weaved just a foot to the left not knowing they were coming by...it took the fun out of it that day...I parked it, never rode it much after that. About a year later I showed the guy I sold it to how to peddle it to start it and it was gone.He was about my age from the West Point area, so watch out for him on that bike..So now, I am Whizzerless and glad of it, thanks for listening....

Wrapping up Naples and Cussy Darn (217)

Each time I re-enter the great state of Indiana (if I have been gone longer than a week or so) I feel duty bound to sing the song "BACK HOME AGAIN IN INDIANA"...Granted when Jim Nabors finally gives up the job of singing it at the 500, they won't come looking for me, I know that and sweet pea knows that too...But never the less, I do it, I sing like no one is listening, well almost...well anyway back to todays story, that happened a couple days ago when we were in the middle of the bridge over the Ohio coming from Lou a vall, as the tucky people say it....Since I had been gone almost 6 weeks I laid the whole two verses I know on her...she was kind, saying "not bad", I knew she was lying....

Going to do a wrap on Naples today, pictures to the right show scenes from the Mullet Festival at Stans Bar in Goodland...the home of the Contest where brave women wear costumes that makes them appear to look slightly like Buzzards...and they do a dance called the Buzzard Lope...making motions much as maybe a buzzard would do having found a nice jucy rode kill along the roadside...they choose a queen each year and it is all in good fun...thousands of people come to this goofy event each year, half of them maybe on Harley's but who's counting...it is a hoot and everyone needs to see it at least once...I guess I personally am tiring of this event and may not bother ever again, thus I better give it some mention here and maybe put it to rest, well unless SP finds some feathers and wants to try her luck at the dance....

More fun than Stans Idle Hour Bar and the Buzzard Lope is Back water fishing just south of Marco Island...Now that is a lot of fun...Just being out there on that gorgeous water is worth the effort...the water just smells good...the blueish green fast moving water as the tide moves in and out is just something to behold...I do love it...Would love to own a place that would afford a boat dock and ocean access to and from this paradise fishing area also known as the 10,000 islands....But I know I am dreaming here, but it is fun to dream of such things...Maybe more practical would be just a small fishing boat to be stored somewhere when not in use...that is just not as much fun dreaming about as the house with gulf water access...it does not hurt to dream now and then as long as one realizes it for what it is, just that...

The fishing holes are many and the fish in them like the sheep head the lady to the right is happy about just make ones day...Being out there is great, if you are lucky enough to catch a few fish it is wonderful...and if you catch enough for a fish fry it is, well marvelous....we usually buy about 4 dozen live shrimp and breaking them in half then gives you 96 chances to land a fish legal for keeping...Sheephead need to be 12 inches long minumum and 16 to 22 gets your excitement level to a peak...the bigger the better but that size you need a net to get them into the boat without chancing them breaking the line lifting them out..

I know from cleaning them that a 16 inch will yeild the same amount of fish as two 12 inch fish. Already I have about maybe 10 months to wait but feel the excitement of casting the line into that perfect spot where they will be...and feeling the tug of a "sheephead bite"...I usually wait till maybe the second or third tug hoping they will get stronger as he falls in love with the taste of the live shrimp before giving a quick jerk on the pole to hopefully "set" the hook in his mouth somewhere to keep him hooked until you work him over to the boat...some times it works, maybe a third of the time, the other two thirds, your just looking at a bare hook to be rebaited for another try...all part of the amazing fun of back water fishing in the salt water...

Once in a while spotted trout are caught, or mangrove snapper, or redfish, or snook or even sand trout...but for the most part the catch is Sheephead and that is fine with me...occasionally a trash fish like the catfish is caught and if I am close enough and the little coons are waiting for a handout I have been known to toss that type fish to them...they love a good day in the backwater too...

Cussy Darn is part of my title here tonight, cause I seem to have lost my new camera I got as a gift for Christmas...don't have a clue where or how but it is missing so pictures for the blog for awhile may be scarce...may have to go back and use the many I already have instead of new ones...someday though I will get another one, as I do like taking pictures and working with them with my photoshop program...and sometimes I even enter photo contest while in Naples, never winning but learning from the process the better ways to focus on subjects, with proper backgrounds, lighting and all the rest that goes into good shots...if it comes down to fishing or photography well you will see me headed out with "poles", not a camera anyway...but a small camera is good to have along with you as those really nice fish always want their pictures taken for some reason...

T'was the coldest dam winter in Florida I have seen in the 17 years I have been there....this global warming is just not working out at all...poor AL Gore if he escapes a good tar and feathering he will be lucky.....but some still think its for real so they will be happy when summer comes and maybe we can hit 100 a couple days in July or August...I did have about 10 days in late January that we hit 80 down there...and one day about a week ago we hit 80 again...other than that it has been in the 60's to 75 most of the time...OK if you had on the blue jeans and not the usual shorts...and you better have a sweater handy cause you usually needed it...

So in closing it's not too bad being "back home again in Indiana" for the most part. It's a little colder but hey cold is cold so I am now here in position to await the first signs of spring...my favorite season of the year...I love the first flowers, the greening up of the grass, the smell of fresh mowed grass, the buds coming out, fish spauning, water lillies first blooms...its all good and just around the corner....

Editor's note....funny thing below I see the Key West Shuttle is advertising on my blog....ha go figure after the story I did about how not to see Key West...maybe google is not as smart as I give them credit..

How NOT to do Key West....(216)

Going to Key West is always fun, but getting there can be a nightmare if
you do like we did and take the boat from either Marco Island or Ft.
Myers. The Marco Island boat kept getting cancelled everyday because of
weather, which for people of intellect would have figured it out that it
maybe is not the thing to do. But for the hard nose,stubborn and just
plain not the smartest bear in the woods, this became a challenge to be
met and conquered….Well we did that alright by driving all the way to Ft.
Myers and taking the bigger boat that was advertized to be able to take
rough water much better so it is hardly ever cancelled. It was four hours
of wave bouncing hell with sweet pea getting a tad sick going down. I
burped a few times because of the mixing I guess happening in the old tum
tum but kept it all down.
Bottom line is I would not recommend this way of getting to key west
anymore, it just was not fun and the trip back was just as rough and just
as long…Probably the best thing would be to drive down maybe stay
overnight or just make a long day out of it and drive back that evening
after sundown. …For us if we ever want to go again would be to take the
motor home to Blue water Key just 40 miles from Key West and stay a few
days there going back and forth each day and avoid the high lodging rates
of that town…Maybe the place is best enjoyed by the young and dum…older
and dum just don’t have that much fun there anymore I guess.

Funny stuff from the internet and wasting away in Margarittaville(215)

Well before you go any further do this...click on the title here which will take you to a very very funny video about an arangatang and a coon hound....it by itself is worth the price of admission for today's blog....ha

We were going to go to Key West today on the boat but we screwed up...the boat was full and we were thinking we did not need to make reservations...boy were we dum and asleep now that I think back on this...one yesterday was cold and rainy, two,  tomorrow is going to be cold and rainy...today was perfect....Hello when would people want to take the boat to Key West....if you answered TODAY, THE DAY OF GOLDEN SUNSHINE, then by golly you get a gold star.... and we get the dunce cap for not being very smart....

But that is the beauty of living here in Florida, we kind of hang loose like they do in Hawaii....yes siree, and we will brave the cooler temps of tomorrow and take the boat to key west then....and by golly we have a reservation too...we ain't pulling stupid two days in a row......Well maybe we are...they just called and said the trip for tomorrow was cancelled because of "incliment weather"...so now we be going thursday instead...
So I guess we will just see...interesting as a lot of folks I would say half of them got on the boat today with luggage intending to spend a night in key west and come back on Wednesday.. so these lucky folk will be stuck there another day...boy Margarettaville is fun.....

Today sweet pea relaxed with a good book and a couple good drinks...you will see the results of that to the right here....she's had a tough winter and needs some relaxing time...she is getting it....

Six toed Cats.... and lots of wild life here in Florida (214)......

Well as you can see by the pictures to the right side here, my camera has been busy of late....S.P. is coming to town tomorrow and that is good, real good...We will be heading down to Key West probably Monday on this boat, the Whale Watcher...I think it takes 2 hours and then by 10:30 we will be taking in the many sites of Key West...Will take her up to Hemmingways' place and check out the six toed cats that own his house there...If you click on the title here it will take you to the link and tell you all about the cats that he let kind of run his home there and when he died he left the place to the cats...yep they own the joint and lay around on the beds and do just about anything they want to do....then the museum that have all the pirate gold they have found on sunken ships in the area..And then there is the Truman White House also that is interesting....lots and lots to see in old Key West and sure we will have fun....

I enjoy a camera club that I am in down here...I need a wild life entry for next weeks contest...so will be on the lookout down there but may enter one of these shots to the right side here if I don't find anything better...I like the blue herron I think the best...but the other goofy bird whatever he is looks cool and of course the cute little coons may get entered just not sure...I have to decide can only enter one picture so maybe will let sweet pea help me decide which one to use....OK its bed time here as I got to get up early clean this place up an then head on up to the airport.....later....

The Coons and what we gotta do...(213)

It was a great day on the back water south of Marco Island...Did not see these coons today but last week they talked me into throwing them some junk catfish and oh my how they loved fresh fish...we are freinds for life...hopefully mine longer than theirs but ya never know...But today the "honey hole" that is there where the coons are yielded 4 nice sheephead over the 12 inch size limit..Three for me and one for Bud Lampkin and our Captain Ernie Maier caught fish but they were among the many we had to throw back to grow up.....there is no better fishing than the backwater of the Gulf of Mexico which lies west of Florida....We fished, we listened to Limbal on the radio and we injoyed the sunshine...Just being out there is what makes it so good, the catch is always a plus but just being there in that beautiful water and clean air, wow...And we are glad that the guy who chose to end his life in the airplane in Texas only claimed two lives, that could have been so much worse...Will be interesting when the full story comes out on this man and his hatred of the IRS....I suspect that possible the paying of taxes in general was the route of his hatred....we will see...

An insurance add on TV states will this be the great recession or the recession that make our country great?
I like this commercial because it will all depend on us as to which way this sucker goes...But we do have it in our power to make it the recession that will make our country great...But, we have to do it, not the fregin government...they screw things up big time...people have to step up to the plate here and do the job...they screwed up the bail out which should have never happened and they will continue to screw things up especially with the democrats in charge...but we the people must do it from the ground up not from the idiots's down to us...and don't forget about our duty as voters to research in depth the candidates and send the ones to hold down and conserve on money we just don't have to spend...when your upside down you knock off the frills.....

Jobs is the answer to our problems and until we all get a grip on this it is going to continue...But when we spend our dollars we MUST start from here on to make sure that it builds jobs for America and not China or Japan or anywhere else outside the USA....Look at labels people and make sure what you spend your dollars on is made here in this country...it is the only way we will build jobs...and you may be called upon as Americans to spend just a little extra to buy a product made in the USA... I hope you are up to it if you not and you always go for the lowest cost and don't look at labels then my friend you and I may be part of the problem and not the solution.

Another thing we can do is support the tea party movement in this country....We have to stop this spending in congress that is money we don't have...we got to tighten our belts for sure and we need to support reform...for get about party lines we need to do what is good for our nation....

:Lots of work ahead for us it is not going to be easy and quick, we are in for a long effort but we can make this the recession that made America great...let get started.....

Politics getting very interesting...Tis good......Huckabees Book (212)

Boy what a day...Evan Bayh Indiana's junior but good democratic senator announcing he will not run for office...No way is Evan afraid of getting beat in a coming election...And even if he were to get beat, it would not be the reason he is not running...My opionion on this is but one reason, Evan will challenge Obama for the Democratic Presidential nomination....Mark my word he will do it...Why? because he would be twice the President that Obama is...I think he has a chance, I know the country would be better off...Would I vote for him? Well not if Mike Huckabee was on the other ticket for sure...Or Mike Pence...But if McCain was running against Bayh, believe it or not this guy would go for Bayh, yes I would....Obama will come to regret not bending a little and making Bayh his VP candidate...But Bayh would have overshaddowed Obama so he chose instead the not to swift Joe Biden...

And today I hear that McCain is being challenged by some guy called JD....Don't know who he is but he says he is more conservative than McCain....no doubt that sucker turned liberal during the debates for the election against Obama...Still a better choice than Obama but not by much....I say Go JD, kick the liberal out of the Senate and end his career...

But for the ultimate candidates we have got to get Huckabee and Pence 'hooked up' and there we will have it...A President and Vice thinking alike...And thinking alike on good conservative governnment...A friend of mine today told me that Huckabee told her that Pence is his very favorite congressman...so I think this all could happen...God willing and I sure hope so....it could at least start to save our nation...

Today I finished the Huckabee book "A Simple Christmas"...get a copy and read it and then dare tell me that this man is not qualified to be one of our best presidents ever....this man has it together....I love what he stands for and his ethics and ideas on government and his ideals on life in general....His moving into TV and Radio is no accident, he has worked in Radio since he was 14.. He is a communicator much like Mr. Reagan...Go Huck, Go all the way and take Mike Pence with you as your VP.....

Neat Church/ Randy Kington and good ole Fishin (211)

You know what is neat about this ole blog?  It's neat cause I can write about anything I want to...And today, I will write about something similar to what I wrote about a year ago...my buddy, a well decorated Viet Nam Vet Randy Kington...author of the best war story book on Nam I have ever read "What a Life"....
And I will write about a church that also impresses me, The Celebration Community Beach Church of Naples Florida and I will also finish by writing a little about what else empresses me down here, Fishin.....

Ok, lets get on with it all....Today Randy was invited to give the sermon or "his story which is a sermon" for the, he said 6th year in a row here at this church...And Randy always tells basically the same story but always in a different way, which I guess is why I keep going to hear him...I guess I just want to see how many ways he can tell this story...His story is basically a story about a horrific battle in Nam in which he recieved a severe life changing wound to the spinal cord with a bullet from a very brave Viet Nam soldier's rifle...And how that moment then affected the rest of this man's life....actually it all turns out OK because he met a great women who then became his wife in a VA hospital and the two of them with his darling wife's leading the way turned life's biggest lemon into lemonade.....if you know of anybody who is down and out because of a bad turn of events you should buy Randy's book and give it to them...it is a great beacon of hope.....

As per usual today Randy did a great job and Randy invited me to go to breakfast with them and some of his other friends after the service...Met a guy who actually fought on Iwo Jima at that breakfast today...sat right beside him.... he is 92 and looks like 80....plays golf and tennis, a very nice, very funny gentlemen....he tells me that he also was invited to and attended the dedication of the Marine Museum back in 2006 that my wife and I attended, and he also shares my position that the two of us have contributed enough money to that museum and are now waiting on some other good Marines to pitch in and finish the job....I was glad to hear him say that as I did not want to be the only one feeling that way...but like many good causes once they get your name man they just don't want to let up...I have given good sums about four different times the last of which was in August last year while at the Museum...I know there are lots of good Marines out there who have not even been asked so General Ron Christmas that is who you need to contact, the rest of them...

The Celebration Beach Church needs a plug here also there motto is "go to church, get a tan and change your life......it is a large church and has no building..they meet in city parks like the one today in downtown Naples...Next week there is an art fair there so they move to another park even closer to me, and if she will go I plan to take a guest there, sweet pea is coming down and I want her to experience this church, where we will meet on a beach and there will be hundreds of people there and the money they raise then goes to the poor and underpriviledged of Naples, Haiti or anyplace out that needs help...no building to maintain what a novel idea....

The fishin, my favorite topic while here in Florida, went twice last week with a good friend Ernie Maier who live here in the park also and owns a little pontoon boat...but we found a honey hole, and jerked 9 really nice Sheep head out of that hole in two trips into the backwater...They look like Convicts these Sheep head but that is just the way God made them...with stipes...actually come to think of it convicts, of old wore suits with stipes running horizonal on them...Sheep head God made with Vertical stripes...They are gorgeous fish and they are delicious to eat....I ate both sides of a 16 inch Sheephead last night...he can be seen to the right here posing with me....Its a shame it has to be that way but, I bet if he has been a 16 foot Sheep head and given half a change he would have eatin me instead, if I had fallen out of the boat....

The weather is horrible these days, even in SW Florida it has been of late 15 degrees below normal...Al Gore, the Drum Major of the Global Warming Craze and winner of the NO Bell peice prize for his efforts, could have not been further from the truth....This is a really cold winter and if anything is going on we may be getting colder as we go not warmer....The whole thing is a "joke"....to think that we have had anything to do with it and an even bigger joke is to believe we could do anything about it....Government is oversized, over extended and overdosed on addictive ideas that they can fix anything and everything, even problems that do not exist....

Reading great book and that horrendous Debt.....(210)

Reading a book titled a Simple Christmas by Mike Huckabee....Today in chapter 3 he writes about an uncle that came a couple times a year to visit and how he would beat him in checkers over and over until one day he was able to beat the uncle and how fulfilling that was...he writes this, "this might be hard to believe for those that are so afraid of hurting a childs self asteem, that they have created a society in which" everyone gets a trophy.....and no one loses, no matter how little they practiced, or how poorly they performed.   And goes on to state, "THIS IS THE RECIEPE FOR CREATING INCOMPETENT CEO'S who, when their companies fail miserable, rush to the government to rescue them, because they are "too big to fail".   It is also creating 'total idiots' in government, who feel they are doing these poor businesses, as well as the rest of us, a favor by bailing out the losers at the expense of the winners so everything will be fair....he goes on, "Call me crazy, but I believe there's something to be said for competition and for rewarding hard work, talent, and intelligence instead of laziness, incompetence and stupitidy.......

This book is a composite of stories about Christmas times in his early life time...I have laughed out loud so many times reading this book so far...but it gives insite into a man who really has it together in my opinion...I have watched him on his Huckabee show several times at 8 pm on Fox on Sat and Sunday evenings...Gosh the guy has so much wisdom and such a heart...Read the book if you get a chance, watch his show...I am thinking what a combo he as President and Mike Pence as VP would be together in 2012 to challenge the present set of "total idiots" we have trying to cram stuff down our throat that we can ill afford or even need..

I see that our national debt now has reached such a monumental status that if we divide all the people in our nation into the debt it would be over $40,000.00 per person....Can you imagine that if you are a family of 6 your share would be a quarter million dollars.  What the hell have our polititicions done to us over the years?

We have got to get a handle on this and soon, we I believe are moving very close to national bankruptcy and no one wants to talk much about it, nor address it...Only a few and we must seek their leadership and heed the warnings....Most nations in Europe are also bankrupt and at some point the dominoes could and someday will fall....Let us be about getting our house in order before it is too late....

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Da BREES 'dat' cooled da COLTS....(209)

Probably nothing could be more boring than a snap shot view of last nights Super Bowl,  than one done by a "Fair Weather" fan....But dat is just da way it gonna be here today.....

This may be the first time I ever watched both the commercials and da game totally...and I guess the reason I did is I really did want both teams to win, so I was at peace all through the game dat it would happen and dat probably sometime in da second half, warm in my bed I would as usual maybe "bore out" for lack of a better term and fall off to sleep, finding out in da morning who dat winner was....

When I heard early on in the broadcast dat the Saints had practiced "hard" all week long, I did figure dat was probably it for the Colts, who maybe had taken it a little easy, to save themselves for the game... My thoughts were dat maybe Drew the "little david" here, had carefully selected his rocks and was about to slay da giant being the mighty "Colts"....The colts looked good early on, but I think little david and his troops, did then sense that maybe some real good effort could take dat giant down....

And maybe just Drew on his own would not have pulled it off, but the whole team had their hearts in this game.  Dat kicker, wow he had 9 of the 16 points at one point...but the hard work of all, had gotten them to within range, and his slingshot foot put three long rocks dead on da target....

The second half, well dat 'onside kick' was a game changer for sure, and Peyton Manning had a somewhat worried look from then on...the interception dat went all da way downtown, was I think the nail in da coffin...It was an exciting game and no doubt about it da team that wanted it da most, won dat game.....
They are the Super Bowl champs and I wish both teams could have won, but dat don't happen, so dat is just the way it is....Great night for Purdue University with Len Dawson carrying the trophy onto the field and then Brees carrying it off, both good Boilermakers.....

Well dat's it, this boring commentary is over....have a good one....boilerup!!!!!!

Mike Pence...Maybe Senator, Maybe President and then the Pelican (208)

I have listened to Mike Pence a congressman from Indiana for years now on WIBC an Indianapolis powerful radio station.  When he was interviewed you could just tell this guy had it together and had this nations best interest at heart.  In 9 years in the house he has risen now to the number 3 man in the House of Representatives on the Republican side of the isle.  I hope you will click on the links and listen to his philosopy on serving the nation.  I think he may run for the Senate this fall but not sure I want him too...Evan Bayh is still a popular man in Indiana...He has challanged Obama's policies on many occassions and that just may get him re-elected this fall, we will see..So not so sure I want Pence to challange him and then maybe loose...I would sooner see Pence stay in the House seat and win with a huge majority this fall and be setting in a position of maybe being a strong candidate for President in 2012....He would be a strong President for getting our fiscal house back on a track of less debt and lower spending which would sure make a lot of sence following the run away train of "Everything for Everybody" that we have seen attempted this past year since "the occupant" of the White House was sworn in....It looks as though the run away train may be slowing up as it proceeds up grade now since the people of Massachuttes spoke out...Those great people of that state finally seen the light and by thier votes applied the brake to the democrats careless ways.

So I guess I am proud of this man Mike Pense, proud of his ethics, his convictions and his commitments to stand his ground and just see how far this all takes him...I met another ground stander yesterday with the picture to the right here.  The little fella did not allow the sign to not feed the Pelicans in anyway keep him from giving it his all...When it came my turn to clean fish I stepped up there and he moved in even closer placing the end of his beak against my blue jeans...Worried me a bit but he never bit me but he did stand his ground and I surely would have liked to have given him the remains of the fish I cleaned...But a game warden who had just checked our fish was still in the area and sure would have enforced the sign that was posted.  But for sure this was the bravest Pelican I have ever seen in Florida and the only one with the back bone to stand there and at least let you know, he sure would like some fish....I know why they have the sign though as if the feeding was allowed then there would be 20 Pelicans standing close by or even setting on the fish cleaning table...But like Congressman Pence this Pelican was saying I got a right to be here and someday it may all pay off...Till then he at least meets a lot of good fisherman.....

The Movie "THE BOOK OF ELI......and Drew Brees (207)

Rainy Day today so after my daily chores I saddled up the Silverado and went to the Movies.  About a month ago sweet pea and I seen the previews of The Book of Eli and I remarked, "hey that one looks pretty good".
Well unlike the previews I saw today of a couple new ones coming in March that look like garbage, to me this movie was excellent.  Yep I am giving this movie my full two thumbs up equal you know to 6 stars....

This is a faith based movie, if you got faith you will like it, if you are without faith then you may, or may not like it.  My faith today told me this is a really good movie.  A war pretty much destroyed the earth and most of the people 30 years prior, but some of the lucky ones are still around barely surviving...Denzel Washington does great in the hero's part.  I like it a lot and I think most of you would also...See trailer to the right. Click on it or click on the title of this story either way you will get the trailer to the movie.

Also today comes a video of the New Orleans Saints Quarterback and former Purdue University quarterback, Drew Brees....it is also faith based and very good...
Looking forward to the Superbowl this year, it will be maybe the most interesting Super Bowl I have ever watched or tried to watch.  Not being a red hot fan of most sports or maybe any sports, I count myself as a Fair Weather Fan of sorts...I watch the World Series Final game, The NCAA Basketball Final game and of course I always try and watch the Super Bowl....Never really had a team I would really really like to see win..this year I have two teams I would really really like to see win...Being from Lafayette it would be good to see Brees and the Saints win..Being from Indiana it would be good to see Peyton Manning and the Colts win....Folks guess what I can not loose, I am gonna have a winner...
Click on the video to the right about Brees and watch the video...

Watching the President, I hope I am wrong...(206)

I watched the state of the union address and yesterday I watched the meeting between President Obama and the Republicans in the House of Representatives.  It was like watching two different Obama's..the State of the Union Obama was pretty much what I have seen before and was not overly impressed.  He did not let on that he got the message that the people want good transparent government.

But yesterday he did, it was a side I have not seen and a side that I liked.  His meeting with them was covered by the media pretty well but all the networks showed and commented about it in a way that furthered their bais on politics in general...The best view of it was on CSPAN...they did not make comments and they also covered the hand shanking and greetings that many of the Republicans the President had afterward.  It was good watching them converse and smile at each other, no doubt promising better bi partisan cooperation in days ahead.  I was encouraged that IF OBAMA 'wants too', that he can indeed reach out and solve problems.  If he does this I think there is a possibility that he may be re-elected in 2012 for a second term.  He does have charm and can be Presidential no doubt about it.  I saw that side of him yesterday for the first time.

As he listened to the questions and answered them, he no doubt had the Miracle of Massachuttes on his mind.  Knowing that the electorate there mostly democrats had elected a Republican to the Senate, yes, but they were actually without a doubt telling their President they wanted transparency and bi-partisanship,
                                                                  OR ELSE.
And Mr Obama Got the message....Maybe we can visualize it like this, the night Massachuttes elected a Republican to the old seat of ted kennedy, his YOU GOT MAIL light, went on with a loud BONG...After watching the President yesterday I guarantee you he 'read the mail'....

The exchange was cordial and refreshing and the three members of the house in leadership were also very professional including Indiana's own Mike Pence. Now at least yesterday it looked good, but now we will have to see if this guys spots have changed just a little or will he flip flop back and forth when he gets in front of the camera's and is talking to the populace in general similar to the state of the union message...Will he allow himself to show he has changed when he works with the members of his party.  He promised to hold leadership meetings in the white house with leadership from both parties from here on....that came when some of the republicans relayed to him that Speaker Pelosi used dictator style tatics in the house and is absolutely not bi partisan when she thinks she has enough votes to cram liberal legislation down the voters throat.

Actually from here I doubt he has changed, I think he will still pursue the liberal overspending and nutsville legislation we have seen proposed, but Buddy the Cavalier seen below and I will be watching and I am hopeful that we could be wrong....

Don't ya just LOVE IT? (205)

Watching the Obama administration try and keep the plane in the air is starting to get interesting.  I am looking forward to watching the State of the Union message tomorrow night.  It will be quite interesting to see the spinster put a spin on "whats happenin now" in DC and the nation.

                                              Buddy keeps a "concerned eye" on the news.

Tonight I just had to burst into laughter when one congressmen said, that Obama's proposed spending freeze is like "going to a big pie eating contest and then afterward announcing you were going on a diet"....Later I learn that the cutting measures will actually cut a whopping one (yes 1) percent of the proposed budget of this administration...So basically this is just a knee jerk reaction to what happened in Massachusetts last week.

I guess it is good to know that they are at least observing what is happening with voters even though the reaction is kind of an insult of the voters intelligence.  But at least they finally realize that what they have been doing is "over the top" in fiscal responsiblility.  Now we wait till summer and see what the candidates have to say and then we do our duty as we see it in the ballot booth.

It is hard to believe that it took a year for the populace to start to notice that all this promised wonderment was being purchased by dollars that we really don't have...  It has been something to watch unfold these last 18 months from the time these wild promises were made and wildly applauded until the chickens finally came to roost...

You know really government can not operate indefinately spending more than it takes in, any more than a business or even a family can, we all know that but these clowns, I don't think really get it...I really don't think they do, to them it is disney land and everyone just lives happily ever after.  Especially if you can give unlimited amount of money to the less fortunate and lay the bill at the American tax payers door...But actually not because the plan is to borrow it instead and then lay the bill plus excessive interest at the door of our children and grandchildren...Now that is if we are even solvent at that point in time..The reason of course that we can not operate this way as a business or a family is the lender eventually says NO....  But in this case of government spending, we are the lender, and we someday soon here better "buck up", and just say no and we do that at the ballet box by who we send to Washington.....Sometimes I just shake my head and wonder how in the world it will all turn out and if 5 years from now we will still have the nation we all love.

Moving back towards a Republic with "some" Democracy. (204)

This nation did start as a Republic, a government of laws, a centralized government, mainly responsible for the nations security and our founders did fear that it would become eventually "too" democratic and fall into disarray.
Our pledge of allegiance bears that out, We pledge allegiance to the US and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation , under God etc........

We soon became more and more a democracy and that is not all bad if held within reason and not taken to extremes which is what has almost happened here with extreme spending issues that we have seen proposed of late and almost put into law.  When I say I would like to see us move back more to a Republic I am not naive enough to think we could actually get there.  I agree with a lot of what democracy is about, but I surely don't agree with it having become overpowering to the point of bankrupting the nation...We should all fear this as we are close to this point of falling off the cliff...So much so that the voters in almost totally democratic Massachuttes sent a Republican to the Senate this week...I think it was the shot heard around the world that the people have seen the light that we have gone to far with liberal careless spending...

I have seen it in my life time over and over again that the government we have evolved to thinking there is no end to what they can magically do for the people but at the peoples expense of course...I know we can not go all the way back to our early days Republic form of government, we have evolved too far to have that happen, but we can and should turn the direction of government around and at least sail our ship of state back towards those days of less government and not sail on toward falling off the edge...the earth is flat you know....ha

Kidding aside, the two parties of our government have become intermingled in what they believe and want for our people... It is tough sometimes to tell who is who.....In this last election even when McCain the Republican candidate seen the people admiring the liberal promises of Obama, he instead of warning the people of going to far on something we could not afford, he actually tried to "out lie the liar" so to speak.  His reteric sounded almost the same...So it became a contest of promises we could ill afford and we ended up with what we have..Old adage has it that the first liar does not stand a chance, but in this case he did as it was hard to keep ahead of so many generous promises that just seemed like what  a lot of people wanted....And thus the democrats felt they had a mandate of unlimited promises to fulfill and actually tried to do it....The mistakes they made was to do it at any cost, making deals to some and promising the people in the meantime that it actually could afford this....Luckily some of the people woke up especially in heavily democratic Massachuttes and it has gotten congress' and the Presidents attention...It was becoming obvious when the debt ceiling kept getting raised but at the same time telling us this was actually going to be lower cost...Lincoln said and let us not forget, "you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time", and that is what they tried to do...Abe was right and Massachuttes reminds us of that.

I hope this 'voters paying attention', continues this fall and that we the voters pay very close attention as to what candidates stand for and ask the right questions of them, and then do our duty and vote for the ones that could maybe bring our ship about and head it back into smoother waters.....The days of saying I don't vote cause they are all crooks needs to end...If they are all crooks then its cause we have not paid attention....

America Speaks for "real change" and they mean it....(203)

Don't know about you but I and many others are exhuberant about the elections in Massachusetts....Now I may not have spelled a couple words right here but you probably know what I mean...gives me hope that maybe this nation will not go down the tube after all...Obama administration had us greased and sliding very close to the swirling drain...the healthcare bill could have been the one that put us on a downward plunge....then came the Senate election to fill the seat of Ted Kennedy....Wow and the people spoke and spoke well to  the liberal democrats headed up by Obama and the congressional leadership...They sent a message and the message was recieved....I hope it will end the chain of nonsense that has been the adgenda of this administration....I really doubt that it will change what they want to do...This community organizer, couple with the likes of Polenski and Reid, the loose cannons directing this madness wants dearly to reorganize our country in a very liberal borderline communistic way...I want them to fail big time...I want our country to move back to a Republic form of government..It will take time and diligence on the part of the voter, but it could happen.....We need much smaller government not larger..we need to dump a lot of what government has grown to be....Gosh they made some really stupid mistakes..buying votes from some Senators, buying the loyality of the labor unions, really dum stuff....enough dum stuff that I think this momentum could send a lot of congressman and senators home to look for work come this fall...I surely hope so..I am excited for sure and recharged with hope for our Nation.

Now off to the right here is the harvest I found today when I arrived on the south 40....not acres but feet in width that  I habitate here in the third phase of my rotation Corn Beans and Naples.....
The Lemon tree is or was loaded but a lot of folk have taken me up on my offer to "hep yo self" to them...I guess there is maybe 25 nice ones left on the tree...The Starfruit tree is my "pet" and I do not make that offer to my buddies...I love those things and the tree last year produced none...this year maybe there are 30 hanging on it and about 6 have dropped to the ground about 6 are dead ripe and will be enjoyed by this writer in days ahead...and the other 20 or so will be watched with care as they ripen...I did give my buddies George and Gladis a couple today but they are special so I had to share...they take me fishin you know into the backwaters that I love...and we fry them suckers and enjoy them with great wines and maybe a nice salad and who knows what else...but it is always a lot of fun and all very good...

Very very good is how this writer feels tonight as I watch CNN twist and turn with this turn of events from the election out east......They actually are asking good hard questions and I surely love watching them eat a big big helping of "crow".....

Today 31 Years ago...........(202)

It was a day just like today..Snow everywhere, Purdue Agriculture Alumni held their annual Alumni fish Fry at the Purdue Armory...Very funny things happened at that event each year, why one year maybe that year that I can not remember, but those rascal ag alumni shot Purdue President Hanson threw a circus canon and he went throw a target bullseye at the south end of the Armory....Its true I saw it happen.....they do crazy stuff at Purdue..

But after that my brother Bob dropped me off at the Purdue Airport for an afternoon flight to Chicago, time was 2:45 PM. Destination was Sunny El Salvadore for 5 wonderful days of 90 degree temps, I couldn't wait.....I checked in had a few minutes to wait, and a good looking young lady was checking in also.

Well for the details of that you need to go back in my archives here and read my story dated Feb 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th, 2008, I won't repeat all that here, but it was titled Making it Rain and inside that is the story I wrote in the third person titled "Love was in the Air", of my meeting this lady at Purdue, but today is the 30th anniversary or will be a 2:45, of my marriage to Linda (Vanmeter) Randolph and a very good day for this divorced at the time father of five........

It was a marriage like most, up and down and sideways at times even topsie-turvey but through it all we never fell out of love....and I guess that is why on days like this I miss her and wish it had not happened the way it ended....She was suddenly diagnosed with lung cancer that had already moved into her liver and it really was incurable. She lasted 16 months of treatments that did not help very much. She passed on another 12th day of the month in April, 2007.....

But the best light I can put on it all is this, Linda was a Christian, I won't try and say to what degree or magnitude, cause I don't know, God only knows, but a good one, I do know she was a true believer and found comfort even in those last days of where she was headed. And I just like to think that "Business picked up in Heaven", and God needed a really good greeter. He needed to open a new check in lane maybe..And with that smile and looks and disposition, well I guess he knew for sure what he was doing and set it all in motion to happen...Only thing is I wish he had not a lot of days especially days like this.....Holidays, Birthdays and Anniversaries are remembered all to well after they can not be celebrated anymore. Life does go on though, and will starting tomorrow...but today at 2:45, I will try and remember the best of times......

If you care to read my story "Love was in the air" type the key word "Jane" into the search box in the upper left corn of this blog page..they will pop up three of he four chapters...You need to scan down to the bottom and read chapter one first then the second but for some reason chapter three is left out..for that you need to go back to the search box and type in Salvadorian Gringo Harvest,  and it will then pop up...

Winter Wonder Land (201)

Winter Wonder Land is right out my new back door, and for my friends who have migrated south I offer this picture...you have the cold but you don't have the snow and with cold you need snow so here it is...just do a right face and there you have it my view of Mid north Indiana this day January whatever, who's keepin track? We are to get up to 6 inches today and then tomorrow maybe some winds that might make some interesting drifts here and there. .....

But I am ready, yesterday I attached my 8 foot wide snow blower onto the back of my 90 horse power tractor...and I have the tractor inside my 45 degree barn beside my motor home so it will for sure start and do its job if needed. Kind of late in the season to be finally getting it attached but I did not know for sure...I have been confused of late with congress working so hard on a climate change bill I thought maybe it would not ever snow again...Sometimes, (actually all the time), I think that Al Gore's global warming dream is just so dam far from reality it is just plain laughable.
The guy is a wacko to the inth degree...the inth degree by the way is just about as wacky as a wacko can get....But the funniest part is the little wackoettes that buy into this horse shit and repeat it to confuse even more folk....even some in bonkersville where they hand out those comical no bell peace prizes.....

Those actually years ago meant something, an accomplishment that helped mankind...now a days they are nothing but political wishes as to how the wacko's wish the world to be....enough said lets move back to my winter in Indiana

It is for real, man it has been colder than a "well diggers", butt....and its headed colder a few days from now I seen a zero degree low in the forecast...but actually I have enjoyed it all...I have a new fireplace and I have firewood and I have finished my remodeling for now and kind of enjoy a crackling fire and the view of the snow falling huge flakes and kind of blowing a bit. A little country music piped through the Bose Speakers threw the house, a bowl of yesterday's chilli, gee pinch me, I must be dreaming.......

Tonight, I will crack open a bottle of Gallo Family Sonoma 2006 Merlot and share it with sweet pea as she tells me about her day....We will enjoy and maybe even share a laugh about how crazy it is with the economy being down that congress works on a bill to blame us for global warming and make our electric bills higher and our cars cost more all while its very very cold in the winter just like it has been for thousands of years....God help us and God help us elect good responsible people to congress next year....

PS...something else to pass your time....at the top of my blog there is a place to click on "next blog"...I sometimes do and you never know what you will get but it is very interesting...gosh there are a lot of great bloggers out there and some not so good, but when I come across a good one it is fun....try it...and if you find a really good one, save it to your favorites and check it out again another day.....

GRANT MICHAEL SMITH (200)

Well the years have somehow wandered by and I was informed today actually 10 minutes ago that I am now a Great Grandfather....Seems like yesterday I was a grandfather and before that maybe last week I was a dad...Well maybe a little longer ago than that, but time does move on...

Anyway a great grandson was born about an hour ago in Georgia on a Naval Base there. His father is Ensign Eric Smith and his mother is my grand daughter Mandy...And the new guy is Grant Michael Smith....I am for now anyway calling him Seaman Smith...He has a navy uniform, I know that as I got it for him as a shower gift last summer...Its a little big for him just yet but he will grow into it and wear it proudly I am sure...Especially when he sees his dad wear one and figures it all out....So WELCOME ABOARD SEAMAN GRANT SMITH......Maybe some day he will want to be a real Sailor or who knows he may want to join that other department of the Navy, the Marine Corps..Or he may just grow up and be a great solid citizen, who loves his nation and votes each election to try and keep it that way, we will just wait and see.....Will post a picture to the right as soon as one arrives......Ok got the picture up, hey he is one fine looking guy that is for sure, can't wait to see and hold him.....Great job and congrats to Mandy and Eric.....

Great Grandpa Lahrman

Stories from my sister Frances (199)

My Dear sister Frances and her hubby Ralph Hengst have been gone for a few years.
But she wrote some stories true ones about her life and her Grandson Rick Callahan
who is a writer for the Associated Press in Indy shares them from time to time...So
I guess Rick gets his desire to write honestly from his grandmother.  So this arrived
today from my niece Roxanne Winnings so thought I would today turn my blog site over
to a guest writer, my sister Frances Lahrman to share with you all...Stories are over
80 years old, closer to 90, but still alive here today. Note at right tells of the
basketball talent of Ralph Hengst..I had no idea but am not surprised he was a winner.
And the team may have lost a "valuable man" when he graduated but I think we all know
a young female who gained one....... 

By Frances Lahrman
"Just Pretending"
Just a glimpse of how my two older sisters and I used to spend our time, and what
times they were. When we three get together we sit and talk and laugh about the way
we used to pretend like we were Edra, Kreda Ay Mericaus, and Medra. Where we got the
names I don’t know. We would dress up fancy in some of mother’s old style
dresses and gee, but we did strut.
One time I went home to visit with grandmother and grandfather. Where grandfather
worked there was a handsome boy, Jim Fowler, who thought he was just it. And when I
saw him I did too, although I was only about seven years old. When I came home I
told my sisters of my new beau, Jim Fowler. After that, when we played house we were
always expecting Jim Fowler to call on us.
Then came the dispute _ which one was to have him? It usually settled that he should
never go steady. What fun we had just pretending we were someone else.

====="My Patent"
Between the ages of six to nine, one is prone to mischief. For one likes to explore,
or find out what isn’t clear to him. So that’s the reason this story can be
told.
There was a large pond on the Parker farm, where we used to live, that always took
my eye. Being little, mother never allowed me to go to the pond alone.
Each evening during the winter months, mother would drive the ducks up from the
pond. I would often go with her.
One afternoon as I was playing in the back yard, I spied the old red hen and her
seven baby chickens. I was just thinking how tiresome those poor little chickens
must be following their mother around from morning till night, while those little
ducks are out swimming all day long.
I went into the house to get a box, and sneaked out quietly, for I never dared let
mother catch me at this. Packing all seven chickens in it, I was determined to find
out why chickens can’t swim while ducks can.
When I reached the pond each little duck was swimming with the greatest of ease.
Well, that is very simple I thought. So I took one of the chickens and put it into
the water, but for all the kicking and flopping that went on, it then disappeared. I
thought if you want to play hide-go-seek, just go ahead. I took another chicken and
it went through the same gestures, and another, and another, until there were only
two left. I looked all around the pond, but not a chicken was in sight, when all of
a sudden two came to the top, and do you know they were floating on their side. I
was certainly surprised to find out that they had taught themselves to sink or
float. Later all five of them were floating.
As I was just ready to put the last two in the water, so they could float, one
chicken washed to the bank. I picked it up, but my goodness it was dead. I then
realized what I had done. I found out that ducks can swim but chickens can’t.
Most people try experiments, and if they are successful they receive patents, but as
you know my experiment didn’t work, therefore; I received something similar to a
patent but in a different form.

I got to share a footnote here about the first story that mentions "Jim Fowler"
My grandfather worked for the Fowlers on South Street which is now the Tippecanoe
County Muesum and called the Fowler House.  He was a custodian of some sort taking
care of the horses and buggies' and the wine cellar I have heard, maybe linking to
my desire to taste and partake in fine wines.  Well, I doubt Frances ever dated the
boy from the wealthy Fowler family, but she did date and marry the boy who lived up
the road at the corner of 200 South and 900 East.  Ralph was a gem and she could have
done no better....Picture at the right takes some explaining.  I know it is goofy
but it was taken for a purpose. The story is my brothers were in the service in the
1940's and my mom and sisters took this and sent it to him for a laugh.  He was
embarrased, and did not share it with his buddies but kept it quiet...good move

Another note the "parker place" she refers to is still standing, an abandoned farm
house and barn along I65 just south of the new Clarian/Arnett Hospital.

Christmas is over, but good as always. (198)

Well I have listened to my Christmas CD's playing now for at least a month. Everyday most of the day while I worked on the house, wrapped gifts, ate breakfast, enjoyed wine and cheese at 5, whenever, it has been good. All the old favorites, White Christmas, Chestnuts Roasting, I could go on and on but you get the idea and probably the idea that starting tomorrow I won't be listening to all these wonderful songs...for at least 11 months, then I will be ready again, I am sure. But for now, well I think I am ready for whatever is coming at us the rest of this year and then the bitter cold months, the Indiana Winter of January and February. They are just plain cold and I hope to spend at least part of this time in good ole Naples Florida....Which by the way is as my blog title states the third phase of my yearly rotation...First come Corn that I plant and followed closely by Beans, then a long lull while that stuff grows, matures and is harvested...But then the last phase the Naples part, and surely a welcome phase especially with what goes on here in Indiana those two winter months.

But getting ahead of myself here a bit, I do want to put a wrap on Christmas with this blog. Today was the last of the many parties I attended. Today my dear friend sweet pea had her party at her house with her family and close friends. She got me nice gifts too, I did well unwrapping my many gifts and she did well also. All of us did well, young and older, that would be me and even buddy the wonder dog did good. He got a nice winter jacket with a boilermaker logo on the back for him to wear out in this bitter cold winter ahead when he has to go outside and relieve himself....Buddy is such a good doggie, he never makes a mess anywhere, well except for onetime he got direa but we just won't go there, and I didn't but instead put him in the garage and kind of "left town". But anyway we ain't going there, were concentrating on Buddy being a real wonder dog which he is....Anyway I slipped it on him and to the right side here is the only pic I am posting from today of Buddy modeling his new Boiler Jersey...He loved it wore it all day long inside and out. I told him he looked stunning and marvelous in it so he just kept it on. He is a great dog, thinks himself a person and not a dog at all, his mom has spoiled him just a tad maybe.

Also over the right side is my Son John's family in their rendesion of the Christmas Story where the kid gets his wish of a Red Ryder BB gun...I love that movie, used to watch it each season, but anyway it is a comic spoof of this movie, good for a laugh.

Today I noticed an ad on my blog for Persimmon Trees. I kind of have a soft spot in my heart for exotic trees so could not resist the idea of having a couple Japanese Persimmon trees in my little forest here I call home. They are the really big persimmons that you see in the grocery stores all year long, just had to try them so I did. Now I wait till spring for them to be shipped and then I plant and hopefully someday harvest them as I do my Indiana variety.

So, here we are, I am glad it is all over for this year. Was a good Christmas, sometimes dampened a bit with memories of the past, but for the most part moving on an building some new ones, that can be built on then in future years. I hope that each of you out there had a good Christmas also

INVICTUS the movie......and Happy Birthday John..(197)

Gosh I can not believe it but Hollywood, via director Clint Eastwood has done it again...Sweet Pea and I have now seen three movies in a row that are kind of like the old days...They make sense and some times a tear or two...I love good movies and I detest most that are by my rating system "garbage". But here we are the streak of excellent movies now setting at three. First came the Amelia Earhart movie, Then Blind Side which I did not write about but it was one great movie...But now comes "INVICTUS", a really great true story about the first black president of South Africa, Nelson Mandella who was in prison for almost 30 years. But when Aparti I think it was called broke down he was released, ran for president and won....Morgan Freeman who looks like him played the part well...Matt Damon played the captain of the Rugby team...Anyway sports was used to unite the people of the nation, black and white...absolutely great movie, don't miss it.....

My rating is two thumbs up on this one which is equivelant to SIX Stars......

And 41 years ago my son John was born this date....I got 30 years on him but waiting on him to "catch up"....Seems like the older one gets for sure time does, "speed up"....I always heard that growing up and dismissed it as nosence, but like so many things I ignored and did not believe it is true. Time does speed up every decade after 40 I think time speeds up by 10% and not exaggerating one bit believe me....So not sure he can catch me as my clock is now running 30% faster than his...I better forget that idea, he ain't gonna catch me....

Happy Birthday John......

Christmas Traditions (196)

Well, I can think of two for sure...One being gaining weight, boy that is a tradition that goes all the way back to my childhood and I am sure yours. And probably as far back as when food could be cooked and shared with ones family...Its a great time of year to "push food" onto folk, makes ya feel good to share your food..And of course they can't say "no thanks", no way, so down the hatch it goes and guess what? Come January there is a New Years resolution to...................yep lose some pounds...

But another one and the one I want tell about for sure is the Lahrman Men's Christmas Breakfast.
I think my brother Joe or Bob came up with the idea and according to my brother Joe who lives in Mulberry this little tradition got started about 35 years ago he say's...Maybe more maybe a couple less I forgot the announcement he made at our meeting last Saturday morning....But anyway his memory serves him to say that at first it all started with just the three "farmin" Lahrman Boys getting together for breakfast for Christmas sometime in the 1970's....Joe said that after a few years of that that we decided to invite our banking brother Larry and let him in on the fun...After a few years of the Lahrman Boy's Christmas, liberalism crept in and we decided to allow the sons of the Lahrman Boys to attend our little shindig and the four brothers usually popping for the bill for their son's breakfast.....

Then after that the son's in laws were allowed and then we just threw open the doors at some point not too many years ago and we now allow in laws, out laws, as long as you are a decendant of our dad Lawrence Lahrman, who just turned 119 this month or if you are married to a decendant male or female...So our crowd grows, gets a little bigger each and every year...We meet at the New York City Grill on Teal Road, I think the first saturday morning in December and we take up the whole east part of the building...We have fun, we eat of course and we visit and we have an annual picture taken as you see here at the right side...So goes our tradition of the gathering of the Lawrence Lahrman decendants..If everyone has been good all year we usually pick up the tab for our linage, and probably one reason this event grows in numbers, and popularity....I hope I can make at least 20 more of these, and hope the money holds out, we will see...

Merry Christmas Everyone....

Family Christmas 2009 and Christmas Parade (195)

The family Christmas gathering happened for my family yesterday...We started with a "brunch" at 11 am...it was good, we had some really good stuff to eat and plenty of it...just what we all probably did not need but, "its Christmas"...Will we ever learn? Probably not because that is the way we Americans seem to celebrate the Holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Easter, they are all eating and drinking events it seems.....We are stuck with it and I for one don't know what to do to change it..Maybe the Democrats will come up with something on that, they are very big on change, so who knows after Heathcare, Global warming, the economy, and the wars are solved well these genius's will maybe just take on and change Holiday Celebrations...

OK how in the hell did politics get into the middle of my Christmas message here? Lets move on here, it was a good day and all went well...Again the food was fabulous, the gifts we all got were very nice, Sweet Pea made it out, all my kids were here and looking successful. Most of the grand kids were here but some were tied up elsewhere, in School, in the military, or at work...But for the most part as my picasso of pictures to the right will show a lot were here and all had a good time. We had the meal, shucked our gift wrap and looked over our gifts recieved and stayed on schedule to make the Lafayette Indiana Christmas Parade. We had too because again this year a member of our clan was elected "Snow Princess" from an elementry school...Yep Sophie Post was our snow princess and the reason a lot of us froze our tookis's off until her magisty had passed in review...I for one would be for holding these Christmas Parades in maybe September. The problem being the darn thing last so long, as they put half the people in Tippecanoe County in the parade, so then the other half of the people have to show up to watch it. My son John has used his car for our family snow princess's and prince, the last few years and that is great but he don't even get cold...He has a heater in that car, and I'm sure it is on high, so yeal bring it on, drive slowly down main street, smiling and looking at the viewers struggling to raise their arms and produce a smile on their faces. Most of our politicians show up for this, the smart ones walk, just to stay warm but some dress real warm and ride on floats....smiling and probably wondering what the hell did I do to deserve this?

Well that's my family Christmas so far...While typing this I consumed a can of candied pretzels, figuring that a pretty balanced lunch for this time of year, and called the Tippecanoe County Clerks office to find out that I owe them $127.50 for a "ticket" that I was lucky enough to obtain on one of my last days of harvest....Just a normal preventive check there Mr. Lahrman the DOT officer said...Hit those brakes Mr. Lahrman, ow ow, must be a fuse out, most likely that's usually it Mr. Lahrman, and hey 3 of those tires on the tag axle sure don't have much tread...Here you go Mr. Lahrman call this number they will let you know if you owe anything....fuse 98cents, tires and tubes 760 bucks at All Star Tire... the experience "priceless" everything else went on my mastercard...

Merry Christmas out there everyone, everone needs a little "stimulus" this time of year, especially this year with change in the air....don't forget those good missionary's and charities...

Obama on Afganistan and my Christmas Tree (194)

The occupant of the white house, has finally done something I approve of. Gee I almost called him the President but will hold that respect to see how some of the nutsville stuff he has going on turns out. But for now he is the occupant, and the occupant did finally make a good decision I feel on his long awaited decision on this war. And I am not too upset on his approach to making the decision. Some of my Marine friends are but I think sometimes sleeping on things a bit is good.

I like the idea of 18 more months with a larger force to hunt down and destroy as many bad guys as we can find. I also like the idea that we shift this war to the people who benefit from the freedom they can have if they are willing to step up to the plate and grab the vision of a free nation.
Maybe they are not capable of that if not then I say and I hope the nation will say that they are not then worth the price of our blood on their battlefields. In 18 months we will have a handle on that and if not then start the withdraw of our forces except for a few trainers maybe. But this old business of staying there forever like we have in Europe and Korea is not good, not good at all. And we should do likewise as soon as possible in Korea...Let them know this is their freedom and do you want it or not...and then get the hell out of their also and Europe...By the way Mike Huckabee has also complimented Obama on his decision and that is why Mr. Huckabee would make this nation one whale of a good President/commander in chief...

If things go good and Obama gets reelected, I guess so be it but I hope not...I hope it is Huck or Mike Pence with maybe S. Palin as the VP choice...we will see.

But to more important matters, its Christmas time and hey I got a tree...its ugly, I know but it's my tree....I walked across the field to the west to a fence line where it has been growing and I have been watching it for maybe 6 years. It has no distinct top at all and its as fat as it is tall but once cut, I had not the heart to put it on my burn pile until it had its turn as my first tree in a long time...You see Linda and I got into the habit of doing Naples before Christmas so we got out of the habit..but I thought it would be fun and the family is descending on my place this Sunday morning for a brunch and exchange...wine, poo-poo's you know all that goes with it, maybe even my award winning pumpkin pie and persimmon pudding...and then we are all going to the Christmas Parade where yet another grandchild will be riding in the back of a convertible...Sophie Post got the job this year at Cole Elementary...by the way she is turning out the lights on my participation at cole after this year. I went to grandparents day and I said well where is Tabby at and she informed me that Tabby who was snow princess a couple years ago also had moved on to Wainwright...She said I am the only one here now grandpa and next year I go to Wainwright also...So that's it for Cole, I am out of there, no more visits for me unless I live too long, and get invited to great grandparents days there....who knows?