Quarter Of A Million Miles!

This Weekend The Odometer On My Truck Will Reach 225,000 Miles! That's Alot Of Miles!
Even Though The Majority Of Those Miles Were Put On It Long Before I Purchased It. The 93 Chevy Box Truck Runs As Good As The Day It Was Born. It Was A Budget Rental Truck At One Time So I Imagine That's Where The Miles Were Racked Up.
It Had Been Sitting Behind A Church Prior To Me Buying It. It Was Rarely Used And It's Exactly What I Was Looking For. This Will Be My Third Season Working With It.
I Can't Imagine Doing What I Do In A Regular Size Pickup Truck!
I Didn't Want To Celebrate This Special Mile Mark Cruising Down The Road When The Odometer Announced This Special Number Alone. I Take Good Care Of This Truck And In Return It Takes Care Of Me.
I Consider Myself Working A Special Mission In Life And Cannot Imagine Life Without This Truck.
So If You Are Traveling Down The Road And See A Nut Waving His Arms As He Is Driving Down The Road, Just Ignore Him. I've Got My Own Little Celebration Going On!

Thanx Cuzzzz

A Big Thank You Goes To My Cousin Kim For The Banner She Created For My Blog Site. I Think She Did A Wonderful Job!
Thanks Again Kim!

God Is Awsome!

Please Pray For My Truck

Ok, Here We Go! My Season Has Started And I Already Have Problems. Why Can't These Problems Occur After I Get My Feet Wet? Yes I Know, Maybe It's Best It Happens Early In The Season Before I Really Get Too Busy To Have Problems With The Truck. Money Is Tighter Than The Lady Next Door Right Now So I Guess When It Rains, It Pours!
I Know They Don't Design Cars And Trucks To Run Forever Without Problems But The Timing Can Be A Little Easier For My Wallet. Now If I Were To Have Problems Like This In Mid Season I Would Probably Not Bat An Eye.
If It Were A Minor Problem I Wouldn't Be So Upset About It. My Truck Is Everything To Me. Without It, Well I Don't Want To Imagine Life Without My Truck.
I Will Know Tomorrow What Kind Of Problem I Am Dealing With And How Much It Will Set Me Back. In The Meantime I Will Be Stressed Out Hoping It's Not The Worse. I Know It Could Be Worse. My Engine Is Good As Well As The Transmission. My Brakes Are The Problem And I Just Know It Won't Be A Cheap Project. I Will However Try To Get This Accomplished By Cutting A Few Corners.
In Cases Such As This It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know. I Will Keep You Posted.

It's Mowing Season Once Again

Yep, That's Right, Lawnmowers At Work Again. Since Illinois Has Been Experiencing This Odd Spring Weather Today Was The First Day I Have Mowed.
My Feet Hurt. My Back Hurts. My Legs Hurt. Well....I Would Not Be Suffering As Much If I Had Not Put On That Extra Weight Over The Winter Months. Yes I Know We Go Down This Road Every Springtime. I Manage To Shed The Extra Pounds I Put On In The Winter Months By Doing My Summer Gig But I Really Feel The Pain In The Month Of April. It's April When I Get Started In My Truck. It's Also Mushroom Season And Mowing Season.
I Really Need To Go On A Massive Diet Over This Summer In Anticipation Of Me Gaining Weight Next Winter But Hopefully Not As Much As I Normally Do. I Am Getting Too Old To Shed The Weight Like I Have In Years Past. I Use To Laugh About It In Years Past Because No Matter What Weight I Put On Was No Sweat In Taking It Off. I Need To Make Some Drastic Changes This Year. The Plan Is To Lose More Weight This Summer And Gain Less Next Winter. Sound Like A Good Plan To Me. I Wish It Were That Simple.
Every Wednesday I Mow The Church Grass, My Grass, And The Grass Where My Storage Building Is Located. That's Alot Of Grass To Mow In One Day But Somebody Has To Do It. It Won't Get Mowed By Itself. I Try To Mow Every Wednesday So All The Yards Look Good Plus It Keeps Me In Shape. But Come on It's So Hard To Get Use To After That First Mowing Day.
Did I Say My Feet Hurt?

Is It Just Me?

This Blog Is For Real Mayonnaise Lovers. If You Are Not One, No Need To Read Any Further. I Grew Up In A Household That Served Miracle Whip. I'm Not Going To Bad Mouth Miracle Whip To Get To My Point. My Point Is Some People Don't Think There Is Much Of Difference Between Miracle Whip And Mayonnaise. Someone Might Say Pass The Mayo And Low And Behold They Pass You Miracle Whip Or Salad Dressing.
I Believe I Was A Young Adult When I Fell In Love With Mayonnaise.
For Those Who Like The Taste Of Miracle Whip Or Salad Dressing I Say Hey Hey, I'm Happy For You.
What Burns Me The Most Is Whenever I Order Out And Order Mayo On My Sandwich, It Comes To Me With Salad Dressing. These People Are In The Food Business For Crying Out Loud! Is It Just Me?
When I Order Something Prepared Especially For My Taste I Expect It That Way And Not Substituted With Something Other Than What I Ordered.
If You Wanted Mustard On Your Sandwich And The Restaurant Ran Out, Is It Ok For Them To Put Horseradish On It Instead?
Let Me Say It Like This. Real Mayonnaise Lovers Know The Difference. You Can't Fool Us!

Never Judge A Book By It's Cover

As The Old Saying Goes, Never Judge A Book By It's Cover. Susan Boyle Has Been All Over The Internet For The Past Couple Of Weeks. In Case You Have Missed It, Here's An Opportunity For You To See Exactly What I Am Saying.
I Really Don't Need To Elaborate Because In This Case Words Speak Louder Than Anything Else.
It Appears You Will Have To Copy And Paste For Viewing. I'm Sure You Will Feel Great After You Listen With An Open Heart. Enjoy!


http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/videogaga/16130/susan-boyle-hype-revitalizes-10-year-old-cover/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

Alaya Goes To Grandma's House

It's Been Talked About For Weeks But It Wasn't Until This Past Sunday When I Took Alaya With Me To Grandma's House. I Told Both Mom And Dad I Would Bring Her Down Some Sunday When We Come Down For Our Euchre Lesson.
Mom And Dad Have Been Tossing Around The Idea About Getting A Pet. I Know Finding That Perfect Pet Can Be Difficult.
Alaya Is A Miniature Yorkshire Terrier. She Is The Perfect Dog For Billie. She's The Perfect Lap Dog Weighing Only 3 Pounds. She Is At Billie's Side From Morning To Night. She Is On The Couch Or Wherever Billie Is At The Moment. At Night You Can Always Find Her Snuggled With Billie.
Alaya Came To Us When Her Previous Owners Had To Move And Their New Residence Did Not Allow Pets. So In Reality She Was Abandoned From The Only Home She Knew.
I Believe Alaya Thought She Was Being Abandoned Once Again. Showing Her Displeasure She Made A Deposit On Their Lovely Couch And Carpet.
First Off Let Me Assure You Pets DO NOT Rule Our House. If Our Pet Is Not Housebroken It Does Not Come Into Our Home. I'm Sorry But That's One Thing We Won't Tolerate. I Am Almost Positive She Would Never Ever Make A Mistake Like This Again At Grandma's House Because Now She Know's The Routine. She Knows She Is There For The Attention She Gets Then Goes Home When I Go. Boy, She Was Right On My Heels When It Was Time To Leave. She Made It Clear She Was Going Home With Me.
If They Haven't Given Up Their Thought In Bringing In A New Addition To The Miller House In Westville, I Think A Yorkshire Would Be A Wonderful Addition To Their Lives. Yorky's Are Loyal To The Ones Who They Reside With. They Prefer To Go Wherever Their Masters go. They Love Care Rides. If They Must Stay Home They Are Content With Their Favorite Blanket And Maybe Their Favorite Toy.
Alaya Is Billie's Dog. I Continue My Search For An Australian Husky. I Will One Day Have One I Could Call My Companion.
In The Meantime I Will Smother Alaya With The Love She Deserves. To Know Alaya Means To Love Alaya. I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way.
Even Though That Day The Shirt She Wore Said Daddy's Girl. Not True! She's Mommy's Girl 24/7.

Those Who Believe In God Knows He Works In Mysterious Ways. One Moment In Time Is All It Takes For You To Believe Again, If You Have Ever Had Doubts Before. Some Times In Weakness We Question God's Existence. Yet Again There Are Times We Need To Be Reminded Just How Mysterious He Can Really Be.
God Listens To Our Heart. I Think I Realize This More Today Than I Ever Had.
Today Is One Of The Holiest Days Of Christianity.(Good Friday)
Those Who Read My Blog On A Regular Basis Know I Seldom Express My Christian Beliefs.
It's Not That I'm Not A Believer Because I Truly Am. Some People May Feel If They Want To Be Preached At They Would Go To Church. That's Ok, No Preaching From This Pulpit.
I Must Say However, Unless You Have Been Touched By The Holy Spirit, You Have No Concept Of What I Am Trying To Tell You.
I Know God Visited My Heart Just A Couple Days Ago. This Experience Will Be With Me For The Rest Of My Life.
I'm Sorry I Cannot Give Complete Details Because It's Between Me And God. Trust Me Friends, God Is Real. God Is Love. I Know It's Difficult To Believe In Something You Cannot See. This May Be The Reason Why There Are So Many Non-believers Today.
I Guess You Must Experience What I Experienced For You To Truly Understand What I Am Trying To Say.
I Know There Is Eternal Life For Those Who Believes In Him. Do You?
Have A Wonderful Easter Everybody!

People Ask For Forgiveness For Various Reasons. Some Are Sincere, While Others Are Not. I Have Found Those Seeking Forgiveness To Be More Humbling Than Those Who Receive It. My Reasoning Is Self Gratification On The Part Of The One Who Seeks It.
It's Easy To Say You Are Sorry. However, Words Are Just That. The Meaning Behind Your Words Are More Sacred.
Sure There Have Been Times In My Life When I Told Someone I Was Sorry. However, On A Handful Of Occasions I Truly Meant It Deeply. You Say You Are Sorry When You Accidentally Bump Into Someone. You Say I'm Sorry When You Offended Someone Or Hurt Their Feelings.
I Can Count On One Hand When I Sought Forgiveness Because I Truly Was Sorry. A Person Reaches A Point In Life When Seeking Forgiveness May Be Their Last Act On Earth. I Believe Those Who Seek Forgiveness And Are Sincere Should Without Doubt Receive It.
Nobody On This Earth Should Be In A Position To Hold Out On Forgiveness Due To Anger. Anger Can Destroy A Person Within. At Times Anger Seems To Be Your Only Option To Deal With Or Get Even With The Person You Are Angry With.
They Say Confession Is Good For The Soul. I Believe Forgiveness Ranks Right Up There With It.

Ohhhh No!

I Just Hung Up The Phone From Talking To Mom. I Did Something I Feel Embarrassed About.
Here Goes. I'm Finishing Up My Conversation With Her And I Casually Mention The Cubs Are Coming On Television. I Told Her I Suspected Dad Is Sitting In Front Of The Television Prepared To Watch It. She Told Me No, He Was Asleep. I Told Her She Better Wake Him Up So He Won't Miss It. I Hung Up And Turned My Television To WGN. No Ballgame. I Brought Up The TV Guide Page To See When They Came On. Ohhh MYY!
They Don't Come On Until 7:00. That An Hour From Now. I Know It's Too Late To Call Her Back, Because I Know She Has Already Woke Him. I Went In The Other Room To Tell Billie What I Had Done. I Told Her All I Could Do Is Blog About It So I Won't Feel So Bad About What I Had Done.
They Say Sleep Is Over-rated Anyway.....Sure, That's Until He Decides To Wake Me Up An Hour Before I Wanted To Get Up.

I Voted & Maintained My Personal Goal

Say What?
Yes, I Tried To Cheat At Voting This Week. Last Week I Called The Election Board To Inquire As To When The Deadline Was For Absentee Voting. I Was Told I Could Come In Up To The Day Before(Monday).
Yes I Know Some People Don't Believe In Voting Early. I Never Voted Absentee Before Other Than When I Was Serving In The Navy. However Since I Moved To The East Side And Was Told I Would Be Voting At The College I Was Turned Off Immediately. Why You Ask? I Assumed Being At The College It Must Be The Central Voting Location For The Entire East Side. WRONG! I Had To Pass Up Fire Station Number 4 Which Has A Polling Place To Get To My Polling Place. They Sure Don't Set It Up To Be The Nearest One To You Anymore.
Ok Back To My Story. I Went To The Election Office Yesterday To Attempt To Vote. I Gave Them My Drivers License And They Found Me To Be An Eligible Voter. They Printed Out A Paper That Had All My Vital Information As To Who I Am And Where I Live. I Was Asked To Check A Box As To Why I Was Unable To Vote In The Election On Tuesday.
Reasons Such As Being An Election Judge, Out Of The Country, Serving On Jury Duty, Etc. Well.... I Could Not Find The Appropriate Box Which Pertained To Me. I Told Them I Called Last Week And They Told Me I Could Vote Absentee Up Until Monday. They Informed Me I Could Have Voted Absentee Without Showing Cause Up To Last Friday.
They Then Looked At Me And Asked If There Was A Reason I Didn't Want To Go To My Polling Place. I Confessed I Don't Like Lines. They Laughed And Assured Me There Would Be No Line. To Be Truthful About It, I Have A Perfect Record Of Voting And Never Having To Stand In Line. Since This Election Is Not Considered A Major Election They Told Me They Expected A Very Low Turnout.
Ok, I Gritted My Teeth After I Passed The Fire Station On My Way To The College. I Walked In And They Were Correct In Their Assessment, No Line. Nobody Was In There Other Than The Election Judges.
Ok, I Dodged The Crowd This Time And Still Maintain My Perfect Voting Record Without Standing In Line. I Realize The Next Time I Won't Be So Lucky. Yet Again I Just May Make Another Trip To The Election Office, But This Time On The Right Day!

MY BIGGEST FEAR!

Wrigley Field....

It's That Time Of Year Again! Baseball Season Is Upon Us Once Again. For Me That Means The Chicago Cubs And Wrigley Field. If You Have Never Heard Of Wrigley Field You Are Either Very Very Young Or Live On Another Planet.
The Cubs Begin Their Season The Day After Tomorrow(Monday)In Houston. It Will Be Another Week Before The Cubs Come Home To The Friendly Confines Of Wrigley.
They Play Three Games In Houston Before They Go To Milwaukee To Play The Brewers.
It's Been Awhile Since I Have Been To Wrigley. Next Year My Brother Tuck Will Be Living In Danville And I Am Certain A Trip To Wrigley Will Be On His Agenda. I Would Enjoy Taking My Father Once More. He Is Getting Older And He Loves The Cubs Just As Much As I Do. It's Only Right For Him To Return To Wrigley Atleast Once More.
I Think I Have Traveled To The Windy City About A Half Dozen Times To Watch The Cubs Play. A Couple Times When I Was A Snot Nosed Kid And The Rest Was When I Was Old Enough To Go By Myself. I Never Went Alone Because Wrigley Was So Special You Just Had To Share The Experience With Somebody.
Wrigley Field Is Rich With History. The Wall Of Ivy To The Old Fashioned Scoreboard.
It's Not The House That Ruth Built, But Babe Did Play There. In Fact So Did Many Other Well Known Players Of The Game In Baseball's Past.
I Will Always Have Fond Memories Of Wrigley. The Bleacher Bums, To The Fans That Throw The Homerun Balls From The Apposing Team Back Onto The Ballfield. The Wind That Would Blow In From Lake Michigan And It Would Freeze Your Tootsies Off. On The Other Hand If It Was Blowing Out, Homeruns Would Be Bountiful!
There's No Place On Earth Like Wrigley Field. If You Haven't Been There I Hope One Day You Will Have The Opportunity To Go.
Cub Fans From Around The World Were Praying The Cubs Would Win The World Series Last Year On The Cubs 100th Anniversary. Now That We Have 100 Years Behind Us, Maybe This Will Be The Year Of The Cub.
In Any Event All I Can Say Is GO CUBS!!

Growing Up Playing Ping Pong

I Remember The Day As If It Was Yesterday. It Was A Fold Up Type Of Table That Had Wheels On The Bottom Side To Manuvere Wherever You Wanted To Play The Game.
My Father Must Have Been A Very Patient Man To Teach His Three Young Sons And Daughter How To Play Ping Pong.
I Would Say We Were Considered Very Good Players. I Played In PE Class At School And Nobody Could Beat Me. I Sure Do Miss The Game. It Has Been So Many Years Since I Played A Game.
One Thing I Appreciate The Most Was My Father Never Gave Me A Game. You Know How Some People Let Someone Win A Game To Give Them Confidence? Ofcourse Nobody Wanted To Lose All The Time. My Two Brothers And Myself Played All The Time And I Would Have To Admit We Were Pretty Much At The Same Level Of Play. So Ofcourse We Won Some And Lost Some. However When It Came To Dad He Told Me One Day That If I Were To Ever Beat Him I Would Earn It. My Father Was A Very Good Player. I Believe He Was Pretty Much The Best At The Firehouse.
I Knew Someday I Would Eventually Beat My Father At Ping Pong. I Was 22 Years Old Before I Beat Him At The Downtown Fire Station. I Knew It Wasn't A Gimmee, And That I Had Earned The Honor Of Finally Meeting His Challenge. I'm Glad He Raised Me With Those Principles. If You Want It Bad Enough You Must Work For It. Nobody Is Going To Hand You Anything Unless You Earn It. It May Have Taken Me 22 Years To Accomplish Beating Him On The Ping Pong Table. It Wasn't The Win That Matters The Most To Me. It Was The Fact That I Worked At It Long And Hard Enough To Earn It. The Day I Earned That Game, My Father Shook My Hand In Defeat. I Beat Him Maybe A Couple Times After That But It Wasn't As Important Than The Lesson I Learned From It.
It Never Was About Ping Pong Afterall.

Mac Bowls A 600 Series In Bowling!!

I Just Love That Headline! Wishful Thinking On My Part I Guess! I Am In My 4th Consecutive Year In Bowling. I Started Bowling On A League Back In 1976. I Bowled Just 1 Year Then Quit. I Bowled The Entire Season Using A House Ball And Rented Shoes. It Wasn't Until 1984 When I Began Getting Real Serious About Bowling. I Bought My First Ball At K Mart. I Bowled For About Three Years Then Quit. A Little More Than Ten Years Later I Joined The Senior Citizen League.
When I Joined The Senior League I Was The Youngest Member On Board. The League Lowered Their Age Restriction From 55 To 50 In Order To Get More Bowlers.
First Off, Don't Get The Idea In Your Mind A Bunch Of Old Folks With Walkers And Canes Throwing 5 Pound Balls Hoping It Makes It To The Pins Before It Stops. There Happen To Be Some Very Good Bowlers. First Bowler That Comes To Mind Is Stan The Man. I Call Him Stan The Man Because He Is The Man. He Is A Very Talented Bowler That Has Held The Mens High Game And Series For As Long As I Have Been A Member.
You Have Big Bob. As Big Bob Stands There Staring Down Those Pins, You Could See Those Poor Pins Shivering In Fright. All Ten Of Those Pins Recognizes This Man Who Throws The Ball 100 Miles Per Hour Down The Lane. Even Though This Gentle Giant Bowls Each Week In Unbearable Pain At Times, His Love For The Sport Is Greater.
Sammy Who Retired For Health Concerns. With Her Fibro Condition She Knew Every Day May Be A Challenge For Her. Yet She Has Come Out Of Retirement To Finish Out The Season For Our Beloved Mr Magoo(Ralph).
You Have Terry Who Everybody Loves. We Had A Scare A Couple Years Ago When He Was Diagnosed With Cancer. He Was Able To Beat The Cancer And Now We Have Our Wonderful Friend Bowling With Us Again.
I Saved The Best For Last. My Father. We All Thought His Bowling Career Was Over Just A Few Weeks Ago. His Hip Has Been Giving Him Fits And Everything Medically Has Been Done With The Exception Of Surgery.
He And My Mother Have Been Bowling On This League Ten Years Or More. He Use To Have A Respectable Average Throughout His Career Of Bowling. Because Of His Hip Ailment He Has Not Been Able To Bowl His Potential. I Know How Frustrating That Can Be. You Can Love A Sport So Much But Because Of Health Concerns Are Unable To Enjoy It Fully.
I Pray His Hip Condition Will Get Better Over The Summer Months. We Have My Brother Tuck Joining The League Next Season After He Retires And Moves Back To Illinois From California. Hopefully We Can All Three Bowl Together On The Same Team.
Alot Depends On Whether Or Not My Father Is Physically Able To Continue. We Have Bowlers On This League Who Are In Their 80's. We Have Bowlers Who Have Had Knee Replacement. We Even Had A Blind Bowler, God Rest His Soul. Oh Charlie Boone Had Very Poor Vision But His Love For The Game Brought Him To The Alleys Every Thursday Afternoon.
There Are Only Three Weeks Left In This Season. I Am Running Out Of Time If I Intend To Bowl My 600 Series For The Very First Time In My Life. I Have Come Close Several Times But Never Mastered It. I'm Going To The Bowling Alley Tomorrow With The Intentions Of Bowling That First 600 Series. Tomorrow's Match Play In My Opinion Is The Most Important For Our Team This Year. Our Team Is Not In Contention This Year So All We Can Be Are Spoilers. There Is Only One Half A Point Separating First And Second Place Team. We Can Make A Big Difference If We Do Well.
If The Next Blog Doesn't Have The Headline Mac Bowls His First 600 Series, Remember One Thing Is For Sure. All Five Members Of The Keenagers Know What Is At Stake. Wish Us Well!
We Want To Win All The Games And I Want To Bowl A 600 Series. That Is No April Fool!