Remembering Past And Looking Forward

Looking Back At 2012 I Would Have To Say The Weather Stands Out More Than Any One Thing In Particular. At The Beginning Of Last Winter We Experienced Cold And Bitter Temperatures. We Were Prepared For One Of The Harshest Winters. Much Surprise To Most Of Us At The Turn Of The New Year (2012) The Temps Were Above Average. Those Living In The Midwest Saw The Least Amount Of Snowfall. Actually It Was Declared The Third Mildest Winter On Record. I Got My Snow Shovel Out One Time And It Was Just Used To Remove An Inch Or Two Of Snow. The Likelihood Of Ever Seeing A Winter Like This In My Lifetime Would Be Slim To None. It Doesn't End Just There. We Jumped From Winter Right Into Summer. Speaking Of Summer Chalk Up Another Record Breaker. We Experienced A Drought I Had Never Seen Before. The Only Thing That Came From This Drought Was No Mowing Grass For Almost Three Months. The Grass Turned Brown And Stayed That Way Until Almost Near The End Of Summer.
Record Hot Temperatures Blasted Throughout The Midwestern States. Lakes And Rivers Were Shrinking And In Some Places Cities Were Requesting Residents To Conserve On Their Water Use.
As I Sit Here On The Last Day Of 2012 Soon I Will Watch The Nation Ring In A New Year. How Can We Ever Do That Without Dick Clark? Dick Passed Away Last April. The Man Who Never Aged Would No Longer Host A New Year's Eve Celebration.
Departing This Wonderful Earth To Just Name A Few Was The Man Responsible For Being The First Person To Walk On The Moon, Neil Armstrong. Music Icons Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, Robin Gibb And Kitty Wells. Those We Saw On The Big Screen Or Television Well Known Names Like Ernest Borgnine, Larry Hagman, Jack Klugman, Sherman Hensley, Phyllis Diller And Andy Griffith.
My Brother Tuck And Wife Evelyn Were Able To Travel Back To California To Spend Time With Their Daughter And New Husband. My Parents Stayed In Their Home And Got Well Acquainted With Granddog Jackee.
Closer To The Home Front We Chalk Up Another Great Year For The Robin Hood Foundation Of Danville. Our Grand Finale Was Yet Another Successful Blanket Drive. More Than 400 Beds Will Be Warmer This Winter's Season Because Of The Generosity Of Those Who Donated Blankets To Those Living In Poverty.
So There You Are Folks, This Years Events As I Remember Them. If I Failed To Mention Something Of Importance Just Chalk It Up To Forgetfulness.
Looking Ahead In Just A Few Days Will Be My Father's 80th Birthday. He Prefers To Keep It Simple So We Will Have A Little Cake At The Bowling Alley In Celebration.
Since I Didn't Win The Lottery I Will Fire Up The Old 1993 Box Truck The First Week Of April And Start Helping People Obtain Items They Cannot Afford. This Will Be My 27th Year In Picking Up Left-Over Rummage Sale Items. You Just Never Know What You Will Find A Long The Way. Each Year Can Be An Interesting One.
One Thing I Want To Mention. My Last Blog Titled "Remembering Bobby" Gave Me Reason To Reminisce About Fond Memories I Had Of Bobby. As A Matter Of Fact There Have Been Numerous Blogging Moments About Bobby. Even Though I Have Mentioned Touching And Memorable Moments And Times Of Bobby It Also Allowed Me To Heal. Two Years I Have Grieved For My Son. I Found Blogging  Has Helped Me Move Forward In My Life. You Can't Put A Time Table On One's Grief. We Are All Different. Even Though It's Just As Fresh In My Mind Of The Events Of Bobby, There Comes A Time You Must Let Go. I Found Myself Not Being The Productive Person That I Can Be, Or Once Was. In Order To Move Forward I Cannot Continue To Live In The Past. Please Don't Misunderstand Me. I Think It's Healthy To Look Back And Remember The Good Times. In Order For Me To Be More Productive, The Days That Led To His Death Must Be Shelved. For Too Long I Have Been Haunted By What If's.
Things I Cannot Change I Must Put To Rest And Move Forward. I Will Forever Love My Son And Miss Him Dearly. However, I Have A Beautiful Daughter, Wife And Grandchildren Who I Need To Focus On. The Years Ahead Of Me Need More Attention Than Those Behind Me. What Is Done Is Done.
I Have Always Been A Firm Believer That God Has A Purpose For Us All. Senseless Deaths We Cannot Understand Will Someday Be Revealed In His Bigger Plan For Us.
So When A Crazy Man Guns Down Innocent Children At School Or A Tornado Wipes Out An Entire Community, There Is A Reason. Maybe That's Why Life Seems To Be So Mysterious. The Answer To All Our Questions Lies Beyond. One Day We Will Understand.
For Now Though I Will Try To Focus More On Those Who Matters Most. I Will Try To Stay Positive In Things I Do In My Life. Maybe Along The Way I Can Drop A Few Pounds To Make Things Easier In April So I Can Get In And Out Of My Truck. Will This Be The Year I Roll My First 300 In Bowling? Oh God Let It Be While My Dad Is Watching. Recently He Has Been One Of My Biggest Supporters In Watching Me Bowl With The Old Folks On Thursday. Him And My Mother Show Up And Cheer On The Keenager's Each Week. I Certainly Hope They Know How Much I Appreciate It. They Claim No Shame In Me Accusing Them Of Child Abuse By Declaring Themselves Winners At The Euchre Table. Like The Cubs For Me And Tuck, Maybe Next Year.
So There You Have It. This Is As Close As It Gets To Making A New Year's Resolution This Year. I Make You Only One Promise When It Comes To My Blogs. This One Will Be My Last In 2012.

Remembering Bobby....

Today Marks The 2nd Anniversary Of My Son's Passing. I Chose This Photo Because Bobby And I Attended An Annual Pancake And Sausage Breakfast. I Attend Every Year And It Has Become A Tradition That My Bowling Team Also Attends Since It Always Lands On Thursday.
He Took This Photo From His Cell Phone. Just Another Memory Of Him I Can Cherish.
I Miss Him Terribly. Words Cannot Describe How My Heart Aches When I Think Of Him. I Can Remember The Conversations We Had The Summer Of 2010. I Told Him Sometime Down The Road I Would Like For Him To Carry On My Charitable Work In The Community. It Was Something He Believed In And Enjoyed Helping Me On The Truck. I Considered Him My Right Hand Man. He Told Me It Was An Honor That I Selected Him To Serve On The Board Of Directors Of The Robin Hood Foundation Of Danville. He Understood The Need For What We Provided To Those Less Fortunate. He Seen First Hand How We Obtained The Items And Who Received Them. In All The Years While He Was Growing Up He Knew What I Did But Never Fully Comprehended It Until He Became A Part Of It.
So Today I Cling Onto The Memories I Have Of Him. That's All There Ever Will Be Of Him. He Had Some Problems In His Life But Don't We All? I'm No Saint And Never Claimed To Be.
I Think We Sometimes Take Life For Granted. We Just Expect Things To Always Be The Same. Life Just Doesn't Work That Way And That Cold December Morning Reminded Me Of That. We Always Expect The Oldest Living Member Of Our Families To Go Next. It Doesn't Always Work Out That Way.
Many Lessons I Learned From My Son's Passing. I Found Out Who My Friends And Family Are. Yes I Said Family. You Just Assume Family Is Family. Through My Experience I Leaned Onto Those Closest To Me In Life. They Are The Ones Who Helped Me Get Through This. Sometimes It Takes A Tragedy In Life To Find Those Who Really Matter. It Sure Was A Wake Up Call In My Life. I Know Now Who Matters Most In My Life. You May Sense Some Bitterness In My Words And In My Opinion It's Justified. I Think It's Always Good To Know Who Matters The Most In Your Life. I Try Not To Put Too Much Of My Personal Life In My Blog. I Try To Keep It Simple. I May Have A Story Or Experience To Share. I Try To Keep My Blogs Upbeat And Positive. I Try Not To Ever Air Out Dirty Laundry Through My Words. The Words I Leave Behind After I Am Gone You Can Reflect On What Mattered Most In My Life. Some Days You Can Enjoy A Moment Of Laughter. Others Can Be A Reminder How Much I Enjoyed Pranking Someone If I Can Get By With It.
Whether You Laugh Or Cry After Reading My Blog, Let It Show You The Real Me. I Am The Real Deal. You Take Me For Who I Am.
I Will Always Love You Bobby Miller. May You Rest In Peace. One Day We Will Reunite And Spend Eternity Together.

After Writing Letter's To The Editor For More Than 40 Years I Got My First Rejection From The Commercial News. I Can Certainly Understand Their Concerns Of Libel If It Was Printed. When You Attack Someone's Character You Had Better Have Proof On Your Side. I Do Have The Proof But That Comes From Familiar Faces I Know Through The Summer Months. I Suppose The Salvation Army Documents Recipients, But Not Positive. I Normally Document Everything I Do. Somebody Told Me It May Seem Useless At The Time But Somewhere Down The Road It May Come In Handy. Wellll, I Suppose This Is One Of Those Times. I Decided From Now On Anything And Everything I Do Within The Summer Months All That I Do Will Be Documented. Sometime, Someday, I May Need That Information. I Could Write This Letter Later In The Year After I Have John Doe's Name And His Testimony. In The Meantime I Will Be Patient. I May Find Myself More Productive In Just Helping Those In Need And Leave The Politics To Others.
In The Meantime I Will Share My Letter With Those Who Read My Blog. If Someone Wants To Raise An Eyebrow And Challenge Me, All I Can Say Is Bring It On. This Is My Blog And I Will Control The Content Of It. It May Be The Commercial News Policy To Be Cautious In The Letters They Publish Because They May Question The Validity Of The Accuser. I Don't Need To Be Cautious Because I Have The Proof In The Pudding.
I Am A Strong Believer In Karma. Maybe That's All I Need In This Particular Situation. Here Is My Unpublished Letter.

Editor, Recently I have witnessed activity around the Oaklawn Inn Motel. Painting, pouring new concrete, beds inside and outside of rooms. I am very disturbed by this. My reason for feeling this way is based on firsthand knowledge of events that happened after closure of this motel this past July. 

For reasons of public safety, officials from the city of Danville gave residents staying there 24 hours to vacate. I had heard rumors from ordinary people on the streets the motel was full of drug dealers and prostitutes. This was not true. Even though there may have been drug dealers or prostitutes living on the premises it doesn't represent the total makeup of those who resided there.

My reason for this writing is not to crtitisize the city for protecting the safety of the residents. It's because of the events that followed the closure of the motel. The motel offered daily, weekly and monthly rates. The vast majority of these residents paid monthly rates. When these residents were told they had to leave by the 4th of July they had no place to go.

Being only 4 days into the month these residents asked for compensation for the remaining days of July. The owner of the motel refused all of them any compensation. He told them no refunds. I thank God this happened in a warm month of the year. My reason for saying this is because many of these residents had no place to go. Keep in mind July was one of the hottest July's on record for Illinois. However, it was tolerable compared to if it were January or February. Many of these people were forced to live in the woods for the three weeks remaining in July.

I was approached by a concerned individual searching for any kind of assistance for these people. After explaining to me what was happening and where a lot of these people were "camping out" I began compiling a list of different social services that may be able to assist them. A gentleman I spoke with told me he took in a Vietnam Veteran who relied on oxygen. He didn't have the resources to help but just the one. He was able to provide different locations as to where these people were living for the remainder of the month of July. I had found a few here and there and gave them some food that came from the Abundant Life Pentecostal Church Of God. On the back of my business card I listed other social service agencies that may be able to provide assistance to these people.

These residents lived from month to month. None of these individuals had the resources to contact an attorney and tell them what had happened to them. A terrible injustice was inflicted upon these individuals by the owner of the Oaklawn Inn. I had contacted the Salvation Army and spoke with Sharon Sawka who was very aware of the situation because some had come to her for assistance. I called WCIA because they had been reporting the fire of the annex of the motel. I wanted the television station to know the whole story. I gave them Sharon's number and I believe they done a follow up story on the displaced residents of this motel.

It's my opinion the owner of the Oaklawn Inn should be criminally charged by not refunding these individuals the money owed to them. He knew these residents could not afford an attorney to represent them against him. I feel he took advantage of the situation knowing he would not receive further income for his property while the motel was closed.

Today there are signs of improvements to this motel. I'm afraid if the property passes the inspection from the city the motel will again be open for business. I just wanted to bring awareness to the people of Danville how this business owner treats their patrons. He took advantage of their poverty knowing he would not be held accountable for it.

It saddens me to know we have a business person here in Danville that would do such an injustice on helpless individuals. 

Gregory Miller-Director

Robin Hood Foundation Of Danville

Spreading Germs

We Had To Cancel Playing Cards This Past Wednesday Because Billie Was Coming Down With A Cold. Actually It Was AJ Bringing Home Cold Germs From School. It Never Fails That I Get A Cold Sometime During The Colder Months Of The Year, Sometimes Twice.
I Don't Like Being Around People Who Have Colds Or The Flu. It May Go Back To The Day When I Caught TB From Somebody Way Back In The 1980's. I Bowl Three Leagues A Year And I Give High Fives And Shake Hands With Many People Throughout The Week. I Try To Watch People And See Whether Or Not They Are Blowing Their Noses Or Sniffing A Lot. If So I Try To Keep A Distance From Them. I Try To Avoid These Nasty Germs The Best I Can. Recently I Ran Across A Home Remedy To Help With Colds. It's A Simple Recipe Of 1 Tablespoon Of Honey And 1/4th Teaspoon Of Cinnamon In One Cub Of Hot Water. I Googled This And Found Out The Same Recipe Helps You Lose Weight As Well. Drink A Cup The Very First Thing In The Morning About 30 Minutes Before Breakfast. Drink Another Cup Before Going To Bed At Night. So Far I Haven't Seen Any Results In The Weight Loss, But I Didn't Catch That Cold Billie And AJ Had. I Always Catch A Cold When Someone Else In The House Has One. However I Had Been Drinking This Mixture About A Week Before The Cold Symptoms Came Into The House. Maybe By Me Having This Mixture In My Body And Continuing It Kept The Nasty Bug From Turning Into A Full Blown Cold Like It Normally Does With Me.
Even If I Don't Lose A Pound In Weight, Drinking The Mixture Is Well Worth It If I Can Avoid Catching A Cold This Winters Season.
I Was Taught At An Early Age To Share. However When It Comes To Sharing A Cold I Look At Things Differently. As Far As Bowling Goes I Can Normally Bowl When I Have A Cold. However There Have Been A Couple Occasions I Decided Not To Go Because I Felt So Bad. When I Do Decide To Go Though I Make Sure Everybody Knows No High Fives For That Strike They Got.
So Please Be Cautious When You Are Carrying Germs. Do Everything You Can To Keep Those Around You From Catching It. I Know They Will Appreciate It.

Bobby Parks

He Was My First Encounter In Befriending A Mentally Retarded Individual. He Was 14 Years Older Than I Was But In Reality A Person I Could Relate To.
I First Met Bob When I Was Introduced To Him By A Neighbor Friend. I Knew He Was On A Different Intellect Level Than I Was But I Have Always Been A Social Person. A Trait I Inherited From My Father. Capable To Communicate With Others At All Levels. I Suppose I Was About Ten Years Old When I First Met Bob. That Would Make Him 24. Most Men At That Age Were Married Or Out On Their Own. Bob Lived With His Mom And Dad. I Remember His Father Had Passed Away Around The Time We First Met.
Today's Terminology For Bob's Condition Is Called Downs Syndrome. He Was A Gentle Soul That I Will Remember For As Long As I Live. He May Not Have Understood Me On The Same Level Of Knowledge Yet He Over Shadowed Me On Kindness And Happiness. Because Of Him I Learned That Even The Seriousness Of A Situation Didn't Necessarily Have To Be Looked Upon As A Blockade. Because Of Him I Learned There Will Always Be Obstacles In Our Lifetime.
How You Handle Them However Shows Your True Character. I Would Like To Say People Like Bob Parks Are Responsible For Molding Me Into The Person That I Am Today. As I Watched Others Make Fun Of Him It Showed Me Their True Character. I Would Like To Say I Am A Better Person Because Of How My Life Crossed His. The Lesson I Learned In Knowing Bob Parks Is That We Are All God's Creation. He Molded Us In His Own Way For A Reason. Whatever That Reason Was I Believe Was To Show All Of Our True Tolerance. There Is No Doubt In My Mind Because Of Bob, I Know Love, Compassion, Caring And Patience.  
May He Rest In Peace...

Beckie Has A Little Lamb

Meet Mary. Mary Is A Little Lamb Adopted By My Beautiful Daughter Beckie Jo.
She Lives On A Farm That Has Hundreds Of Sheep And Pigs.
I Nicknamed Beckie Ellie Mae(Beverly Hillbillies) Years Ago When She Took A Liking To Every Critter She Came Across. She Wanted To Live In A Zoo.
The Next Best Thing To Being In A Zoo Is That Of A Farm. Well, With The Exception Of The Smell. I Believe Mary Think She Is A Dog. No Barking, Just A Lot Of Baaaing.

Never Fear, Underdog Is Here....

Bob Link Pictured Here, Recently Passed Away. Again The Date Of November 22nd, A Day I Will Never Forget If You Have Read My Previous Blogs. That's An All Together Different Story.

Once You Met Bob Link You Could Not Help But Like Him. I Met Bob Back In The Early 80's When CB Radio's Were Popular. I Met His Voice First. He Went By The Handle Of Underdog.

After Meeting Him It Was As Though We Had Known Each Other For Years.

One Thing That Stood Out The Most With Bob Was His Relationship With The Lord Was No Secret. He Was A Talented Guitarist And Enjoyed Playing It In Church. He Was A Wonderful Friend That I Will Always Remember. I Seldom Seen Him In The Winter Months. He Lived Across The Street From The Church I Conducted My Sales. He Would Bring Me Outdated Newspapers He Delivered. I Would Wrap The Fragile And Glass Items To Prevent Them From Breaking. He Was A Gentle Soul That I Am Sure Is Enjoying His Eternal Life In Heaven. He Often Shared His Beliefs With Me And I Enjoyed That. I Believe The Reason I Enjoyed This Was Because He Was Never Meek To The Real World. I Have Known Christians To Just Fill In Space And Become Part Of The Crowd. It Was Never A Secret With Bob. If You Knew Bob You Knew He Loved The Lord. He Lived His Mortal Life Knowing One Day His Eternal Life Would Be With God. You Have To Respect A Man For That. 

Bob And I Shared A Touching Moment When I Told Him How I Felt About Organized Religion. It Is The Belief Of Some That If A Person Takes His Life He Goes To Hell. The Thought Of My Son Being In Hell For Eternity Is Heart Wrenching. I Want To Someday Be Reunited With My Son As Well As Others I Believe To Be At Heavens Gate. He Placed His Hand On My Chest And Told Me I Will Find My Peace Within. He Reminded Me To Keep My Trust In Him And Only God Himself Makes That Judgement Call.

I Have Not Had A Conversation With Anyone Else Since On This Subject. I Was Comforted By His Words And I Felt Peace.  

Writing My Blog's

You Never Know What You Will Find In The Writings Of My Blogs. Maybe That's Because I Don't Know What I Am Going To Write Until A Thought Crosses My Mind. One Thing For Certain Though, It Will Always Remain Public. I Know Some Who Have It Private. I Encourage Comments To My Blogs. Of Course It's Up To My Discretion Whether Or Not I Make Them Public.
Today I Walked Quite A Distance. The Temperatures Have Been Above Average For This Time Of Year. Today Being The First Day Of December I Made It Extra Special And Walked More Than Usual. I Left The House At 59 Degree's. I Returned About 2 Hours Later With A Temperature At 63. Tomorrow Promises Another Nice Day For Walking. I Suppose I Will Lick My Finger To See Which Way The Wind Is Blowing.
I Would Have To Say The Entire Year Of 2012 Was Rather Unusual, Weather Wise. Last Winter's Season Began With A Very Chilly December. It Gave Us The Impression It Was Just The Beginning Of What Could Be A Very Cold Winter. However, At Springtime After The Turn Of The New Year, 2012  Was Officially Declared The Third Warmest Of All Time. What A Treat It Was For Me Since I Hate The Winter Months. However If It Weren't For The Winter I Would Not Get That Much Needed Break From The Work I Do In The Warmer Months. Actually It's Five Months I Call My Hibernation. I Don't Recall Having A Spring This Year. Illinois Went From Winter Into Summer. We Had Some Very Hot Days This Past Summer. Very Little Rain Brought Us Right Into A Drought. The Grass Turned Brown And I Didn't Mow For Almost Three Months. It Really Didn't Matter To Me That Much But I Did Feel Bad For Those Who Mowed Grass For A Living. Equally So For Those Who Shoveled Snow. 2012 Could Not Leave Fast Enough For Them. No Corn Mazes For Central Illinois This Year. However My Brother Inlaw Told Me His Grain Company Were Seeing Normal Amounts Of Corn In Spite Of The Drought. I Suppose Some Places Got Rain While Others Did Without.
Today Being The First Day Of December I Feel It's Appropriate For Me To Reflect On The Days Of 2012 In My Blogs This Month.
I Make No Promises When It Comes To My Blogs. Ok? You May Shed A Tear Because I May Pour Out My Heart About Something. You May Get A Chuckle Out Of Something That May Jog A Fond Memory In Something I Might Say.
I Guess What I Am Saying Is Read My Blogs At Your Own Risk. If You Are Easily Offended I Suggest You Not Come Back. My Upbringing Has Allowed Me To Wear My Cap In The Right Direction. Even Though Sometimes I'm Not Sure Whether I Am Coming Or Going.
As I Type This Blog I Am Watching "It's A Wonderful Life". George Bailey And His Wonderful Life Has Become A Tradition In Watching Christmas Movies Over The Years. Miracle on 34th Street I'm Sure Will Be On As Well.

Close To 300 Blankets Were Collected For Our 4th Annual Blanket Drive. That Means Close To 400 Beds Will Be Warmer This Winters Season. Blankets Collected Throughout This Past Summer Were Put Into Storage Until After The Drive. I Have So Many People To Thank For The Success Of This Years Drive. I Must Sit Down And List Their Names Or Business So I Can Include A Thank You Through Our Local Newspaper. This Is Far More Than A One Man Show. 

This Project Has Two Reasons For It's Existence. It Is My Belief Every Bed Should Have A Blanket In The Winter Months. Not Only Will It Keep That Person Warm But It Will Give Them The Opportunity To Lower The Thermostat At Night. We Spend One Third Of Our Time In Bed. Why Not Save Yourself Some Money While You Are Sleeping?

This Year We Were Able To Get Flyers Out To All Of The Elementary Level Schools In Danville And A Couple From Rural Areas. Getting The Word Out Was The Most Important. We Chose To Have This Drive On Black Friday Of Every Year Because It's The Busiest Shopping Day Of The Year. Being The Day After Thanksgiving It's Fresh On Our Minds How Thankful We Are To Have A Warm Bed At Night. It's Also The Season Of Giving. It Also Warms The Heart Of The Giver Knowing Their Donation Will Be Appreciated Every Night This Winters Season. It Was Cold And It Was Windy. The Prime Ingredients To Conduct A Blanket Drive.

All In All I Would Have To Say We Collected More Blankets This Year Than Any Other. My Thanks To Those Directly Or Indirectly Involved In Any Way. There Is A Special Place In Heaven For People Like You.

I Would Like To Thank My Father This Year For Taking My Family In A New Direction. It Is Not My Intent For Any Of My Readers To Leave My Blog In Tears. Yes I Do Pour My Heart Out In My Writings. The Next Blog Under This One Was Written With A Heavy Heart. November 22nd Of Every Year Will Always Carry The Memory Of The Last Date I Saw My Son Bobby Alive. This Year It Landed On Thanksgiving. I Remember Last Thanksgiving Was Kind Of A Blur. It Sure Didn't Have The Same Feeling As Thanksgivings Of Years Past.
We Knew We Had More Thanksgivings In The Future Without Our Beloved Bobby. This Year My Father Did What Good Fathers Do. He Guided Us Into A Different Path. A New Path That We Could Always Reflect Back On Past Thanksgivings And Remember Them All With A Smile. My Father Treated Us To A Thanksgiving Dinner To A Popular Buffet That Had All The Holiday Trimmings We Are Accustomed To. He Paid For My Entire Family Including My Brother Tuck And His Wife. For Others On The Outside Looking In Appeared To Be A Generous Man Willing To Pay For A Family Gathering. Yet It Is Much More Than That. My Father Started A New Tradition For My Family. Next Thanksgiving Will Be Celebrated At A Restaurant. I Know It Must Look Rather Cold To Gather In A Restaurant Atmosphere For A Traditional Meal. You Would Be Shocked To See This Restaurant Filled To Capacity. I Don't Know Their Reasons For Being There. Some May Not Want To Slave In A Kitchen All Day For A Meal That Will Take 20-30 Minutes To Eat. No Matter Their Reason It Has Nothing To Do With Mine. A New Beginning, A New Chapter Has Been Written For Our Future Thanksgivings. It's Comforting For Me, My Wife, And My Daughter. We All Remember The Thanksgivings Of The Past. I Think We Would Appreciate The Remembrance To Be Sacred. I Don't Want To Confuse My Grandson Though. He Will Most Likely Grow Up Thinking Most Families Enjoy This Feast In A Restaurant Setting. I Will Someday Set Him Down And Explain To Him Why We Do Things Differently. Thanksgiving Is What You Make It. My Family Was In Limbo. We Needed A Little Guidance Like What Happened Today. Maybe Next Year We Can Add A Few Euchre Games After The Meal. We Just Needed To Get Away From What We Always Did On Thanksgiving.
The Healing Continues.....

Look Beyond The Smile

As The Holidays Are Approaching, Please Remember Many Of Your Friends And Relatives May Feel Differently About The Season. There May Be An Empty Seat At The Thanksgiving Table This Year. The Absence Seems To Never Go Away. Sure I Am Not Crying Every Day Like I Did When My Son Passed Away. There Is Never A Day That Goes By I Don't Think Of Bobby. I Will Miss Him Every Day For The Rest Of My Life.
I Have No Suggestions On What To Do To Help Ease The Pain Of Missing The Ones We Loved So Much. Last Thanksgiving Is Just A Blur To Me. I Cannot Remember What We Did. I Can However Remember That I Really Wanted No Part In Celebrating The Holidays As In Years Past.
I Gladly Accepted An Invitation From My Parents To Meet Them In Champaign At Ryan's Steak House For Thanksgiving Meal. Included Will Be My Brother And His Wife. I Will Consider This Year To Be A Tradition For Every Thanksgiving For Years To Come. I Cannot Bear The Thought Of Going Back To Traditional Thanksgiving Meals At Home Minus Bobby.
Now I Understand The Pain So Many Feel Around The Holiday Season. The Loss They Have In Their Hearts For The One Who Is No Longer With Us. There Are Times When I Feel I Cannot Go On. Yes I Am The Guy You See With The Smile On His Face At The Bowling Alley Or Playing Euchre, Or Picking Up Rummage Sale Items And Distributing Them To The Poor.
Behind That Smile Is Someone Who Is Crying On The Inside. Starting New Traditions Is A Good Idea. I Just Can't Go Back To The Ways Things Use To Be. It's Just Too Painful.
So I'm Glad We Accepted This Invitation For Thanksgiving Dinner. We Can Enjoy The Fellowship With My Parents Who Are Getting Older And Who Also Someday Will Be Just A Memory Of My Past. It Will Make This Thanksgiving Dinner More Bearable For All That Is Sitting At The Table. Yet We Still Have Much To Be Thankful For And This Is The True Reason For The Holiday. Even Though We Might Have Lost A Family Member We Still Have Family That Surround Us. We Still Have Our Continued Good Health Minus The Aches And Pains From Minor Ailments. We Have A Warm Home And A Warm Bed To Sleep In At Night. We May Not Be Eating Steaks But Good Food That Fulfills Our Body's Needs.
So If You Know Of Someone Who Has Lost A Loved One And You Feel They Are Lonely, You Are Probably Right. They May Not Admit It. They Will Most Likely Be The One Who Is Smiling At You At The Grocery Store Check Out Lane Or Serving You With That Smile. Don't Let That Smile Fool You Though, They Are Really Crying On The Inside Because Of Loneliness. That's Right, A Person Can Be In A Room Full Of People And Still Feel Lonely.

I Ask Of You To Keep These People In Your Prayers And Thoughts This Year And Every Year Around The Holiday Season.

Kodak Moments

We All Have Them Periodically. Some Times We Appreciate Them And Others Don't Even Realize They Just Experienced A Kodak Moment. A Moment In Time That We Wish We Could Have A Hard Copy Image Of. However Many Of Us Store This Memory In Our Minds And Cherish It Forever .We All Have These Kodak Moments Over The Years.
I Will Have A Kodak Moment Tomorrow And Sunday. Each Year Our State Conducts A Senior Bowling Tournament. Men And Women Over The Age Of 55 Compete With Others In Their Age Division. This Will Be My Third And Last Tournament Bowling With My Parents. They Have Reached The Time Both Age And Pain Makes It Convincingly Clear They Can No Longer Compete In The Sport They Have Loved For Many Years. Bowling Is Not Just A Sport To Them. Years Of Memories And Creating Friendships With Those Who Also Enjoy Bowling. A Weekly Social Event For Both Of Them. I Had The Privilege Of Bowling Weekly With My Parents For Seven Years. Our Teams Name Is The Keenagers.
The Finale In Bowling With My Parents Will Be This Weekend. They No Longer Bowl On Our Weekly League. The State Tournament This Year Will Be In Champaign, Illinois. Just a 45 Minute Drive. Each Year We Always Looked Forward To This Event. In Years Past We Would Stay Over Night In A Hotel. The Distance For This Years Event Saves Us The Hotel Need.
Regardless, This Next Two Days Will Be One I Will Look Back At For Years To Come. I Plan To Take My Camera With Me So I Can Capture Those Special Kodak Moments.

My Dad Will Soon Be 80 Years Old. I Know I Won't Have Him Around Forever. I Am Always Reading Obituaries Of Classmates Parents Who Have Passed. I Feel Blessed To Have Both My Parents. We Try To Spend As Much Time Doing Different Things Just To Spend Quality Time Together. Some Day I Will Be Looking Back At All These Kodak Moments. At This Moment Though I Intend To Just Keep Creating Other Kodak Moments.

Pre-Hibernation

It's Not Official Just Yet But I Am Close To It. I Consider The Saturday After Black Friday To Be My Official First Day Of Hibernation For Me. Black Friday Is The Conclusion And Grand Finale For The Robin Hood Foundation Of Danville. The Blanket Drive Will Be The 4Th Annual Event To Collect Blankets To Help Those Less Fortunate. Every Bed Should Have A Blanket. Lowering Your Thermostat At Night Allows You To Save Money While You Are Asleep. For Every Degree You Lower The Thermostat Saves You 3% On Your Heating Cost. This Years Blanket Drive Will Be Noticed More Through Our Local Schools. We Are Focusing More On Elementary Students Because They Are More Likely To Take Home The Flyers We Are Distributing To Their Parents. I Want To Personally Thank Those Who Have Donated The Cost In Having The Flyers Copied For The Students In Danville And Area Communities. The Following Week The Blankets Will Be Distributed To Those Who Need Them. From That Point On I Am Officially In Hibernation. This Year However Will Be A Little Different Than Previous Ones. In Years Past I Have Gained Back Most All The Weight I Had Lost In The Summer Months. I Am Motivated In Trying To Maintain My Present Weight. My Chances In Shedding Unwanted Weight Is Greater In The Warmer Months When I Am Most Active. I Really Don't Expect To Lose Any Weight In The Winter Months Because Of The Holidays And The Likelihood My Path To The Fridge Is Frequent. My Brother Has Been Walking The Same Path Day After Day, Weather Permitting. This Has Helped Him To Lose Weight Over A Period Of A Couple Years. I Pray We Don't Get Too Much Snow This Year. My Continued Prayers For Days Of 50 Degree Days Or Higher. When It Snows It Would Be Difficult For Me To Walk Without Falling And Taking The Chance That I Hurt Myself. My Winter Will Consist Of Bowling My Three Leagues. Playing Euchre Online And With Friends And Relatives. The First Day Of April I Will Get Started Once Again In My Truck. Hopefully I Will Weigh Less And Be Able To Get In And Out Of The Truck Much Easier. All Of The Leaves Have Fallen From The Tree's On My Property. Now All I Have To Do Is Clean Them Out Of My Gutters And Mow Them Into Mulch. The Garage Is Almost Clear To Make Room For The Car. I Don't Like Scraping Windows Or Clearing Snow Off The Car. I Plan To Dress Warm And Walk As Much As I Possibly Can This Winters Season.

Mum's The Word

What A Beautiful Reminder Of Two People I Loved So Much. In A Much Earlier Blog I Explained About The Mum's. For Those Who Missed Reading It Let Me Briefly Explain How They Came About.
At A Family Reunion I was Presented With A Mum In Memory Of My Sister Who Passed Away On July 4th, 2010. We Brought Them Home And Bobby Asked If He Could Plant Them In The Front Yard. I Told Him He Could But Warned Him They May Not Survive. Even Though We See Many Mum's Being Sold In The Fall Months, The Actual Planting Of Mum's Are Suppose To Be In The Spring. After He Planted Them He Told Me He Put His Memory Stone He Got At Brenda's Funeral Next To The Mum's He Planted. He Grinned And Told Me They Will Be Back In The Spring Time.
Bobby Didn't Live To See Spring Time. He Passed Away On December 29th 2010. I Had Covered The Mums With Plenty Of Leaves To Protect Them From Winters Brutal Temperatures. I Uncovered Them In March. They Were Wilted And Obviously Dead. Of Course I Was Disappointed But Knew The Chance We Took By Planting Them In The Fall Months. A Couple Weeks Later While Mowing I Seen A Few Leaves On A Stem Very Close To The Ground Where The Mums Were Planted. I Decided To Keep An Eye On Them To See If It Was Indeed The Mum Or Just A Weed. As The Weeks Passed It Got Larger. By Mid Summer I Realized It Had Survived The Winter And I Would Soon Have A Reminder Of My Sister Brenda. She Loved Plants Anyway, So Maybe It Had A Little Help From Heaven.
The Reunion Came Around Again. I Was Presented Another Potted Mum In Memory Of Bobby. To Be Honest About It I Decided To Not Attend Any More Reunions But I Suspected To Be Presented A Mum In Remembrance Of Bobby. Some May Consider It Selfish. I Wanted Another Potted Mum To Plant Next To His Aunt Brenda Whom He Loved Very Much. She Was Considered His Favorite Aunt. I Got That Mum And Decided To Plant It Right Beside Brenda's Mum. Knowing It Too May Not Survive The Winter, But I Wanted To Do It For Bobby. The Photo At The Beginning Of The Blog Was A Photo I Took Yesterday. The Right Side Of This Mum Was Originally Brenda's. Oh Incidently When I Planted Bobby's Mum I Found The Memory Stone He Planted Next To Her Mum. I Asked My Mother For A Memory Stone That Was Given Away At Bobby's Funeral. I Won't Give Them Up. I Always Carry A Memory Stone Of Both Brenda And Bobby And I Always Will. I Suspect Bobby's Side To Come In Full Bloom In A Matter Of Days Or A Week. When It Does I Will Place It At The Bottom Of This Blog. It Is Something I Will Always Look Forward To Each Year. It's A Love Story That Continues Through Death. Brenda Loved Bobby Like The Son She Never Had. I Think It's Quite Appropriate The Two Mums Became One. Oh How I Miss Them Both........

Did you know that every minute you walk can extend your life by 1.5 to 2 minutes? In addition, many studies show that people who walk regularly live longer, weigh less, have lower blood pressure, and enjoy better overall health than non-walkers.

Ready to lace on your shoes? If you want to add to the amount of walking you do, just clip on a pedometer. That simple action actually increases your physical activity by over 2100 steps per day, a review that pooled data from 26 studies found.

Here’s a look at ten benefits of walking.

Walking Increases Your Lifespan

Walking more than an hour a day improves life expectancy significantly, a 2011 study showed. The researchers looked at 27,738 participants between the ages of 40 and 79 over a 13-year period. Surprisingly, their lifetime medical costs did not increase—even though they lived longer.

“An increase in walking time at the population level would bring about a tremendous change in people’s health and medical cost,” the study authors wrote.

Walking Wards Off Diabetes

Just thirty minutes of walking a day can prevent diseases such as type 2 diabetes, a 2002 study looking at both overweight and average weight men and women in a population at high risk for the disease showed.

If you already have diabetes, walking is helpful for you, too. A mile or more daily cuts your risk of death from all causes in half, according to a 2007 study.

Walking Keeps Your Mind Sharp

Walking 72 blocks a week (around six to nine miles) helps increase grey matter, which in turn lowers the risk of suffering from cognitive impairment—or trouble with concentration, memory and thought, according to a study which looked at 299 seniors over a nine-year period.

Furthermore, walking five miles per week can provide some protection to the memory and learning areas of the brains of those already suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment, and lead to a slower decline in memory loss.

Common Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease

Walking Helps Lower Blood Pressure

Walking just 30 minutes a day, three to five days a week—even when the 30 minutes are broken into three ten-minute increments—has been found to significantly lower blood pressure.

Walking is Great for Bone Health

Putting one foot in front of the other for about a mile a day led to improved bone density in post-menopausal women, and slowed the rate of bone loss from the legs, according to a 1994 study. “It takes walkers four to seven years longer to reach the point of very low bone density, study leader Dr. Krall told the New York Times.

Walking Cuts the Risk of Stroke

Walking about 12.5 miles a week or more cut the risk of stroke in half, according to a study looking at over 11,000 Harvard University alumni with an average age of 58.

Walking Improves Your Mood

If you’re feeling down in the dumps, walking is a quick and easy solution. Just thirty minutes on a treadmill reduces feelings of tension and depression, according to research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. In fact, the study found that walking lifted moods more quickly than anti-depressants did (and with fewer side effects).

And the more people walk, the better their mood and energy, says California State University Long Beach professor Robert Thayer, based on a study looking at 37 study participants over a 20-day period.

Walking Torches Calories

Just 20 minutes of walking a day will burn 7 pounds a year. The effects are even more dramatic when you add in some dietary changes as well.

23 Diet Plans Reviewed: Do They Work?

Walking Improves Insomnia

Having trouble sleeping at night? Try taking a brisk 45-minute walk in the morning five days a week, and your sleep may improve significantly, according to research from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, which looked at women from the age of 50-74. (Walking in the evening, however, sometimes has the opposite effect—so keep an eye on when you’re exercising and what your sleep patterns are.)

Walking is Good for the Heart

Women who took brisk walks for three or more hours per week reduced their risk of heart disease by 30-40 percent, according to an analysis of over 72,000 women aged 40-65, who were enrolled in the prospective Nurses’ Health Study. As I reported recently, heart attacks kill more US women than men annually. However, the benefits of walking aren’t limited to one gender. A different study showed that walking can cut the risk of coronary heart disease in half for men between the ages of 71 and 93.

The Big Picture

How Many Of Us Has Said Things We Later Regret? I'm Sure We Are All Guilty Of This A Time Or Two. In A Perfect World We All Say And Do Everything That Is Right.
In The End Does It Matter If Somebody Said Something That May Have Offended You? Either The Tone They Used Or Maybe The Way They Said It. Somewhere Down The Way That Light On Top Of Your Head Will Light Up And You Just May Get It. Hopefully Before It's Too Late.
Yes I Am Pointing My Finger At The Ones Who Are Reading This. However In The Meantime Three Fingers Are Pointing Right Back At Myself. Sometimes We Don't See Ourselves As Others See Us.
There Have Been Times I Have Reached My Boiling Point. However, In The End Does It Really Matter?
Looking At The Bigger Picture Is It Worth All The Grief By Acknowledging Your Feelings Were Hurt? We Are Not Living In A Perfect World And Not Everything In It Will Be Perfect. As We Age We Are Suppose To Get Wiser. To A Certain Degree I Would Say I Have Reached My Years I Have Grown Wiser. However There Are Other Times I Questioned Myself And Must Admit I Need Some Fine Tuning On Certain Aspects Of My Life.
No Better Time To Give Yourself A Good Swift Kick In The Butt.

Man On The Moon

As I Walked Across The Parking Lot Of Our County Market The Moon Stood Out As If It's Suppose To. Today Neil Armstrong Passed Away At The Age Of 82.
On July 20, 1969 Many Americans Were Watching Television To Capture The Image Of The First Man To Step On The Moon Surface. It Was A Wonderful And An Eventful Day. I Was 14 Years old When I Answered The Front Door Bell. It Was Mr Dill From Across The Street. He Spoke very Politely To Me And I Was Just A Kid. He Asked If My Family Was Going To Watch The Moon Landing. I Assured Him We Were. He Asked If He Could Come In And Witness It. Mr Dill Was A Very Religious Man. His Family Never Watch Television. I Can Remember It As If It Was Yesterday. Our Television Was A Simple Black And White. It Was Ok With Us.
"That's One Small Step For Man, One Giant Leap For Mankind". Those Words Were Etched Into History As Well As Our Memories.
A Mission President John F Kennedy Hope For; "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth," Kennedy had said. "No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important to the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."
Several Space Missions Since. I Have Always Believed In Exploration. I Am Pleased This Mission Happened In My Lifetime. We Are Only Living In A Speckle Of Time. Many Things Happened Before We Were Born. Many Things Will Happen After We Die.

Neil Armstrong's Family Released This Statement Today.
"Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink."

The Plant From Hell

Apparently God Had Plans For Me. Maybe He Wanted Me To Experience Hell On A Lesser Scale. For Almost Two Weeks I Had To Deal With A Severe Rash That Became Almost Unbearable. It All Came About When I Offered Help To My Daughter In The Collection Of Some Cinder Blocks. We Retrieved Them From An Area That Was Over Grown With Weeds. I Looked Over The Area Carefully Before Picking Them Up. I Always Remembered To Look For Three Leaves Which Equals Poison Ivy. Even Though A Vine-Like Vegetation Was Present Woven Through The Blocks I Chose To Ignore It Since It Did Not Have Three Leaves. Wrong Decision. My Daughter Beckie Told Me She Was A Little Itchy And Decided To Shower Shortly Afterwards. She However Was In A Separate Area In Which She Could Have Come In Contact With Poison.
Approximately Three Days Later A Rash Appeared And My Hell Became Reality. For A Few Days I Tried To Tough It Out And Ignore The Itch. It Almost Became Unbearable. I Began Putting Anti Itch Creams To Relieve The Urge To Scratch. No Signs Of Healing. I Began Putting On A Couple Different Lotions Aimed At Relieving And Healing Of Poison Ivy/Oak,Sumac, & Insect Bites. Slowly The Healing Process Began. Before That However I Would Get Comments From The General Public On The Best Way To Either Prevent Or Conquer The Poison. One Old Timer Whispered In My Ear To Pee On It. I Have Always Listened To The Older Generations Since They Tend To Have More "Home Remedies" Since They Could Not Afford The Over The Counter Drugs Available Years Ago While Growing Up. So Privately I Pee'd On Some Tissue Then Transferred It To The Rash. I Felt Like Calling Him Up To Ask Him Why He Didn't Warn Me It Would Burn Like The Dickens. It Seemed Not To Have Any Effects From It Other Than The Humiliation Of Peeing On My Arm. It Showed Signs Of Healing Yet Others Were Eager To Offer Their Home Remedy To This Dreadful Skin Poison. Another Was Gasoline Mixed With Two Cycle Oil Would Take The Rash Away Within Two Days. If You Come In Contact With It And Place This Mixture On It The Rash May Not Even Appear.
Clearly A Plant Of The Devil Testing Your Tolerance To It. I May Have Prayed Like The Devil But Only By The Grace Of God I Would Eventually Be Healed.
This Reminds Me Of A Day Many Years Ago. At My Sale A Gentleman Asked Me If I Wanted Him To Remove The Poison Ivy That Was Near A Tree I Was Standing. I Showed My Appreciated By His Offer Even Though I Was Unaware It Was There. His Wife Quickly Told Him If He Did What She Thought He Was Going To Do He Could Walk Home. He Began Grabbing It, Pulling It Away. In All The Same Motion He Would Rub It Up And Down His Arm And Around His Face. He Then Explained To Me How Indians Would Take Their Young Into The Woods And Make Them Eat Poison Ivy. Their Little Mouths Would Blister Up Both Inside And Out. However For The Rest Of Their Lives They Would Be Immune To Poison Ivy. I Would Never Go To Those Extremes. I Think From Now On I Will Just Avoid It All Together And Error On The Side Of Caution. Whenever In Doubt, If It's Poison Or Not, Treat It Like It Is. Save Yourself From The Life Of Hell And Stay Clear Of It. I Don't Wish This On My Worse Enemy. I Take That Back. Yes I Would:)

Achieve Your Maximum

Are You Where You Are Suppose To Be? Have You Reached Your Maximum For Your Life? Your Purpose, Your Meaning Of Existence. I Truly Believe We All Have Some Kind Of Calling. I Don't Want To Live My Life For Myself. I Want To Share It With Those I Love.
It's Like A Good Movie Or Book. You Want Others To Receive The Same Joy You Experienced. You Are Sharing Life. I Believe I Am Where I Am Suppose To Be In Life. Throughout The Years My Life Has Taken Some Crazy Twist And Turns. I Have Friends In My Past I Have Not Seen For Many Years. That Could Be Because Our Lives Change. Circumstances Takes Us In Different Directions. Life's Pathway Has Led Us To Different People And Different Places. I Have Wanted To Do Some Traveling But Can't Find The Time. The Other Day A Long Time Friend Of Mine Said To Me, We Need To Go Fishing. Well Yes That's What I Need To Do. I Love To Fish But I Seem To Never Find The Time. The Warmer Months Are My Most Active In Life. I Enjoy What I Do And I Hope I Can Make A Difference In Someone's Life. There Have Been Other's Who Made A Difference In My Life. The Generosity Of Others Who Give Of Themselves. Even If It's Their Time. A Listening Ear. A Word Of Advice. A Shoulder To Cry On.
A Lifetime Of Memories We Hold Close To Our Heart. I Have Seen Good Times And Bad Times. I Have Replayed Both Times In My Mind. Some Bring Me Tears While Others Bring Me Joy.
I Have No Idea Where My Path May Lead Me. I Enjoy What I Do But I Can't Do It Forever. I Don't Think You Ever Stop Creating Memories. Whatever You Do Will Be Remembered By Someone. It Would Be Nice If You Left A Good Memory.

Spittin Image

As My Grandchildren Grow I See More Of My Son Through Them. Not Just His Son Blake But His Daughter Brittney. Their Facial Features Are Remarkable. I Love Them So Much As I Do All Of My Grandchildren. Each Of Them Have Their Own Personality. I Hope They Will Always Remember Their Dad And How Much He Loved Them.

I Hate Going To The Store

Really I Do. She Has No Idea What The Inside Of The Grocery Store Looks Like. I Have Done The Shopping For Quite A Few Years Now. I Refuse To Go At The First Of The Month When All The Stores Are Jammed Packed.
Today Is An Example Of Why I Hate Stores. I Needed A Battery. The Closest Place Was A Drug Store. I Swear After Today I Will Never Step Foot In This Particular Drug Store Again.
I Walk In, Only One Counter Person Behind The Counter. Three People In Line. I Selected My Battery And Got In Line. The Cashier Informed Us We Were Standing In The Wrong Place. That Register Was Not Working. We All Shifted To The Only Working Register. This Register Was Located At The Photo Station. The Customer Was There To Pick Up her Photo's. The Person In Front Of Me Had A 5-6 Year Old Boy Who Took Her Cash Purse. She Was Chasing Him Throughout The Store. I Asked The Cashier If I Could Just Leave My Money And Leave. She Informed Me She Had To Ring It Up. I Was Hurting For Time And I Kept Checking My Watch. I Knew Once The Lady Got Her Photo's Selected The Customer In Front Of Me Could Not Stay In Line And Chase This Little Boy Around. Can You Believe This Lady Was Ooowing And Awwwing Over These Photo's. She Even Took A Couple Photo's Out Of The Envelope To Show Her Grand Daughter's Soccer Game. I Gave Her A Stern Look When She Wanted To Include Me In This Fiasco. Finally The Lady Moved On And The Customer In Front Of Me Used A Couple Colorful Words To This Child To Get Her Purse Back. I Am Going To Count To Ten, She Said. You Know What Happens When I Get To Ten. She Starts Off With One, Then Two. Before She Could Get To Three I Said Eight, Nine, Ten. The Boy Told Me I Counted Too Fast. I Told Him I Knew The Boogy Man And If He Didn't Give Her The Purse I Was Sending Him Over To His House When It Got Dark. At This Point In Time I Really Didn't Want To Be Standing In Line For This Stinking Battery. The Boy Handed Over The Purse And After All Of This It Finally Came My Turn. Well I Thought She Was About To Check Me Out. She Noticed Her Register Tape Was Jamming And She Had To Fix It Right There In Front Of Me. I Informed Her I Didn't Need A Receipt. Just Ring Me Up And I Will Be On My Way. I Need To Fix This Because It's Jamming Up Inside The Register. I Told Her One Employee Is Not Enough. Every Time I Come In Here There Is Only One Person At A Cash Register. She Looks At Me And Ask Me For My Discount Card. I Told Her I Didn't Have One. Really I Did But Wanted To Get Through This Transaction As Quickly As Possible. She Then Ask If I Wanted To Apply For A Discount Card. I Told Her No, I Just Want To Pay For My Battery. She Say's Ok, That Will Be 2.63. I Looked At Her And Told Her I Was Intending On Buying Them At The Nearest Gas Station But This Store Was Closest. I Looked At Her And Said I Changed My Mind On The Battery. You Won't See Me In Here Again. I'm Already Late For Where I Am Going And I Can Live Without The Battery. She Then Gets On Her Loud Speaker And Request The Manager For A Void. I Just Smiled As I Was Leaving.
As I Walked Out That Door I Just Kept Reminding Myself I Was Never Ever Coming Back Again. I Am Thankful Not All Of My Store Experiences Are Like This. Thank God!

Drought Of 2012

Have You Ever Seen Anything Like It? Yes I Am Referring To This Years Drought. Some Have Said It's The Worse Since 1987. Now, Those Who's Job It Is To Make These Comparison Said You Have To Go back To 1963 To Find A Season This Dry. It's Been Almost Two Months Since I Had To Use The Lawnmower. The Midwest Has Been Suffering Through These Extreme High Temperatures And Very Little Rain. I Was Young In 1963 But Not As Concerned With Drought Issues As I Am Today. The Farmers In This Area Have Pretty Much Said The Corn Crop Is Not Even Worth Harvesting. We Can Expect The Price Of Corn Products To Be High In Cost Due To The Shortages From The Midwestern States.
I Have A Tree In The Front Yard That Lost It's Leaves. It's Not Even August Yet And The Dog Days Of Summer Is In Full Force. If It Wasn't For Our Feeders I Am Not Sure If The Hummingbirds Would Still Be Around.
The Robins Have Thinned Out Considerably Because Their Food Is So Scarce. I Really Don't Like Making Predictions When It Comes To The Weather. However Our Previous Winter Was One Of The Warmest On Record. Our Spring Came Very Early. I Have A Feeling That Winter Will Be Here Before Expected. It Also May Be A Very Long Winter At That.
Of Course Only Mother Nature Can Say For Sure But The Seasons Here In The Midwest Are Way Ahead Of Itself. The Calendar May Say The End Of July, But I Have A Feeling It Is More Like The End Of August. Cities Throughout The Midwest Are Asking Residents To Conserve On Their Water Usage. The Rivers Are Drying Up And What Grass We Have Is All Brown Like The Winter Months. Those Who Have Knowledge Of Droughts Have Prepared Us By Informing That Some Tree's May Have A Lasting Effect That We May Not Even See Until Maybe Three Years Down The Road.
I Have Set A Couple Pans Of Water Out For The Birds And Squirrels. I Have Seen Deer In Places I Have Never Seen Them Before. They Are In Search For Water And Where Ever That Is They Will Be.
Hopefully We Will Get Some Relief Before It Does Any More Damage. All We Can Do At This Point Is Pray Or Do A Rain Dance. I Have Already Been Praying. Do You Have Your Dancing Shoes On?

Sounds Of Summer

When Was The Last Time You Heard One Of These? Today I Mowed Here And There. The Grass Is Not Growing, But The Weeds Are. It Took Me 5 Minutes To Mow The Church. It Normally Takes An Hour. I Have Not Mowed In More Than 6 Weeks. It Had About A Dozen Weeds Growing In The Middle Of The Yard Where There Should Only Be Grass. I Got The Weeds In My Front Yard With My Weed Eater. Not Sure If There Will Be Any Grass in 2012. I Cannot Remember A Summer Being Like This. Some Are Referring To The Year Of 1988 As Being The Most Recent Drought As Bad As This One. Ban On Burning Almost Everywhere. I Noticed A Lot Of The Robins Have Moved On. I Try To Pay As Much Attention To Nature. There Are Times I Don't Know What It Means But Sometimes It May Be Note Worthy. To Be Honest About It I Really Don't Miss Mowing. It Would Take About Three Hours Of My Day. Now I Can Do Other Things Like Maybe Take A Siesta:)

My Bucket List

I Really Never Considered A Bucket List Until Recently. Not That I Have Intentions Of Leaving Anytime Soon. However We Just Never Know When Our Number Is Called. Yes I Know Looking Back At Previous Blogs I Have Written Much About Death. That Could Be Because Death Seems To Be All Around Us. My Most Recent Experience With The Death Of My Son Bobby. Since That Time I Have Shared My Thoughts Of Death And Creating Memories. I Believe My Reason For Doing This Is Because Bobby Passed Away Without Warning. I Write What My Mind Is Thinking Of. I Consider It Good Therapy For Me. It's My Way Of Not Allowing It To Stay Bottled Up Inside.
So Back To The Topic Of Hand, The Bucket List. By The Way It's Called A Bucket List Because It's Things You Would Like To See Happen Before You "Kick The Bucket".
It May Surprise You But I Really Don't Have Much Of A List. I Have Always Led A Simple Life. I Don't Require Much To Fulfill My Life. I Don't Consider Myself A Materialistic Person. So Owning A Fancy Sports Car Doesn't Thrill Me. I Don't Dream Of Being Wealthy. Even Though Money Would Solve A Lot Of Problems When They Arise.
I Would Like To Complete My Danville High School Yearbook Collection. The Hardest Part Is Behind Me. The Early Years Of The 1900's Were The Most Difficult. Deciding Who Gets Them Is A Difficult Decision Because I Want The New Owner To Appreciate All The Time And Effort That Was Put Into It. I Have Made Myself Very Clear NOT To Separate Them. It Took Too Many Years To Gather Them Up. I Consider Myself Both Blessed And Lucky To Have Filled The Most Difficult Years.
I Would Say Bowling A Perfect Game Would Be At The Top Of My Bucket List. I Wish I Had More Years Of Bowling Experience Than What I Do. I Think My Chances Are Good And That 300 Game Will Become A Reality Some Day. I Once Knew A Man Who Began Bowling On A League After He Retired From The Railroad. He Was In His Mid 60's When He Bowled With Me. He Bowled A Perfect Game Just A Couple Years Before He Passed Away.
I Have Always Wondered What It Was Like To Be Homeless. I Want To Live On The Street For One Week Just To Know What It Is Like Not To Have Anything. I Would Like To Be The Weight I Am Suppose To Be. I Have Been Over Weight Ever Since I Quit Smoking. I Made Some Bad Decisions Which Led To My Weight Gain. As I Get Older I Find It More Difficult To Get Around With This Extra Weight.
I Suppose The Biggest Item On My Bucket List Is To Be Able To Say Goodbye To The Ones I Love Before I Depart. Often We Wish We Could Have Said The Things We Always Wanted To Say. I Am Not Scared Of Dying. I Just Want Those I Leave Behind To Be Ok. Maybe I Do Want To Win A Million Dollars In The Lottery So I Can Give It To Them. I Think It Would Give Me Good Comfort Knowing Those I Love Will Do Just Fine Without My Help.
Actually When I Do Depart This Great World Of Ours, I Will Finally Feel Complete And Whole, Knowing I Will Again See Those Who Left Before Me. I Will Then Look Forward To Seeing Those I Love Who Will Someday Join Me For Eternity.

Before

Success Photo's Are Always Inspiring When It Comes To Weight Loss. My Niece Jan Lost A Boatload Of Weight Some Years Back. She had Been The Talk Of The Family. My Dad Would Always Carry A Before And After Photo Of Her To Brag About Her Weight Loss. My Brother Is Also Campaigning To Lose 100 Pounds And More. Closer To Home Is My Beautiful Daughter Beckie. I Consider It An Invasion Of Privacy In Asking A Lady Her Age Or Her Weight. Same Goes For My Daughter.
Let's Have The Photo Speak For Itself.
Right Now Beckie Has A Full Plate In Her Life. She Is Attending Beauty School By Day And Waitressing By Night. This Is Her Plan For At Least A Year Since This Is The Length Of Her Schooling. It's Not Easy Being A Single Mom, As She Is Working Very Hard To Better Her Life For Her And Her Son AJ. If I Have My Information Correct, Once She Obtains Her Beauty License She Will Cut Hair Then Change Her Schooling And Go Into The Medical Field.
So Back Off Dudes, She Has No Play Time. Well Maybe With Her Little Man AJ. She Is Focused For A
Better Future. You Go Girl!

After:

The Tale Of Two Cities

I Just Spoke To My Brother Tuck On The Phone. He And His Wife Have Been Visiting San Diego For Little Less Than A Week. I Pretty Much Knew He Was Not Looking Forward To Tomorrow. This Will Be The Day They Return To Illinois.
After My Conversation With Him, I Sat For A Spell And Thought About How The Decisions We Make Affect Our Every Day Lives. If Money Were Never An Issue I Am Certain Many Of Us Would Be Living Life Differently. Well, Actually Wouldn't That Be The Case For All Of Us? Economics Is The Reason My Brother Lives In Illinois. After Living In California For 25 Years You Establish That As Home. His Wife Evelyn Has Always Lived In San Diego Before Moving To Illinois. Even Though She Has Said She Didn't Like San Diego, I Know Down Deep She Really Does. They Left A Daughter There. They Left Behind A Grandson. All The Friends And Family Left Behind Has To Be Very Difficult. Tuck Knew Their Lives Would Be Much Better Financially Living Off His Pension In Illinois. The Economy Of California Made Their Decision To Reside In Illinois A "No Brainer".
If Money Were Not An Issue I Would Most Likely Live My Life Differently. I Left My Heart On Nantucket Island. I Would Love To Spend The Summer Months There And Return Home For The Winter. However I Didn't Leave Behind A Lot Of People When I Was Discharged From Uncle Sam's Canoe Club.
A Very Interesting Person However And I Believe I Have Mentioned Him In One Of My Blogs. Albert Bond, A Friend I Worked With At The Commissary Store. He Was A Civilian Employee Working On The Naval base. At That Time He Was 63 Years Old. I Admired His Work Ethic Tremendously. He Taught Me How To Play Tennis. He Beat The Socks Off Me. Anyway We Formed A Good Friendship. He Was Kind Of A Grandfather Figure In My Life. I Joked Of Him Living To Be 100. He Informed Me He Had All Intentions Of Living At Least That Long Plus More. Last Time I Was In Contact With Him Was Ten Years Ago. The Day And Age Of Cell Phones We Lost Contact. The Island Has A Weekly Newspaper And There Has Never Been A Week That I Missed Reading It. If He Is Still Living He Would Be 100 Years Old.
Anyway, Back To Why I Wrote This Blog. Life Is What You Make It. There Will Always Be "What If's" In Our Lives. Tuck Has Seemed To Settle In Pretty Much Since He Moved back. He Bowls On A Couple Leagues. He Writes A Bowling Column In Our Town's Newspaper. He Was Elected To Be president On One Of Those Leagues. He Is A Stadium Announcer For Our Collegiate Level Baseball Team. He Is President Of The Amateur Radio Club. They Volunteer In A Church Soup Kitchen Monthly. He Is One Of The Best Euchre Players This Side Of The Mississippi. He Is My Partner On Monday's. I Have Almost Cloned Him. He Is Area Captain For A Weight Loss Organization Called Tops. They Both Are Election Judges. Did I Mention He Walks At Least Three Miles A Day And Lost 75 Pounds Since Moving To Illinois?
Wishing My Brother And His Wife A Safe Return To Danville. They Will Be Arriving Tomorrow Night. We Are Experiencing Record High Temps Just Awaiting Their Return. So He Tells Me Summer Is A Breeze. Winter Is The Time He Wishes For San Diego. So Actually There Is No Idling Tuck. No Moss Grows Under His Shoes. They Say Home Is Where The Heart Is. Well I Would Agree With That In Some Cases, But Not All. I Guess That's Why We Have Old Friends And New Friends. Both Of Them Have Found Friendship In People They Have Met Since Moving To Illinois. Tuck Being The Shy Person That He Is Seems To Never Have Problems Finding New Friends Or Places To Go. When He Arrived In Danville He Planted His Feet Into His New Life And Is Making The Best Of It All.
No, Danville Doesn't Boast About Having Paradise Like Weather. We Don't Boast About Having A Major League Baseball Team. We Can't Boast About Being A Drive Time Away From Swimming Pools And Movie Stars. We Can Say We Are In Cub Country. Just A Drive Away From Chicago, Or The Great Indianapolis 500 Speedway. We Can Proudly Proclaim We Experience Every Season Of The Year. Spring Represents New And Fresh. Summer Is A Fun Filled Outdoor Activity. Ice Cream And Water Melon Eating Is As Normal As Fresh Picked Strawberry And Land Of The Corn Fields. The Leaves Turn Different Colors And Remind Us Everything Changes In Time. Winter Of Course Brings Us A Season Of Rest. Hibernation In Our Tree's And Flowers. Colder Temperatures To Kill Some Nasty Germs That had Been Lingering Around The Previous Seasons. Snow To Remind Us If It Was Warmer It Would Be Rain. A Reason For Families To gather Again For Winter Festivities. Sledding And The Cancellation Of School Due To The Abundance Of Snow.
We Can Boast About Two Different Fairs Annually. We Are Proud To Have A Veterans Hospital And Have Healthcare So Close To Home. I Could Go On And On But I Think You See My Point. Life Is What You Make It. Tuck Pretty Much Proved This By Jumping Into All That He Has Since Moving To Illinois. He Is An Active Person. That's What Kind Of Person You Have To Be To Enjoy Where You Live. He Is Far More Active Than I Am And He Has Only Been Back Three Years. Actually That's Exactly How I Prefer My Life. I Am Very Satisfied.
Even Though They May Seem Sad They Left California. Their New Life Here In Illinois Can Also Have It's Rewards. Besides, What Would Danville Be Like Without Tuck In It?

A Fitting Tribute

Today Marks What Would Have Been My Son's Birthday. Not Only That, It Lands On Friday. Yes That's Right, Bobby Really Enjoyed It When His Birthday Landed On Friday The 13th. To Add More Flavor To It Today Would Have Been His 31st Birthday. 31 Turned Around Equals 13. The Final Loop To Wild And Crazy Days And Numbers.
This My Friends Brings Us To Focus On The Final Chapter. It Has Been Written And I Must Accept It. Life Moves Quickly As We All Realized On That Early December Morning. Even Though Many Of Us Have Been In Mourning For So Long The Time Has Arrived For Us To Focus On The Future. I Ask My Readers To Say A Small Prayer For Bobby's Rose Of Sharon. I Planted It One Year Ago Today. What Would Have Been His 30th Birthday. I Planted It With Love And Care. Good Rich Soil To Ensure A Healthy Growth. Only The Best For This Special Planting. It Blossomed All Summer Long. Every Time I Looked At It A New Flower Would Seem To Appear. Last Winter Was One Of The Warmest In Record Keeping. I Considered It Refreshing To Finally Have A Winter We Could Actually Enjoy In Illinois. I Did Make The Comment We May Have To Pay For It Somewhere Down The Road. Unfortunately I Was Right With Record High Temperatures As Well As Extreme Drought In Two Thirds Of The Country. It Has Been More Than Three Weeks Since I Last Mowed The Grass. The Grass Is Brown As It Looks In The Winter Months. I Like The Vacation From Mowing But Not At The Expense Of What The Lack Of Water Is Doing For The Corn Crop. Long Story Short, The Rose Of Sharon Is In Danger. I'm Not Sure When Spring Arrived In Illinois. Mother Nature Had Fooled Us On Many Occasions And I Was Not Going To Be Fooled For Another Season. Yet I Was, And Everything Began To Bloom Weeks Earlier Than Usual. As I Mowed The Grass Each Week And Seen The Rose Of Sharon With No Leaves I Became Worried. Still No Leaves And No Sign Of Life. Finally In The Month Of May A Small Sign Of Life. A Tiny Leaf Yet Still Only A Bud. I Purchased Some Plant Food To Help It Along. It Barely Clings To Life. I Was Talking To A Friend Of Mine And She Told Me I Should Put Manure On It. At That Moment Bells And Sirens Began Going Off In My Head. Years Ago When Bobby And I Spent More Than An Hour In The Woods In Search Of Mushrooms We Finally Decided None Were To Be Found. On Our Walk Back To The Truck We Had To Cross This Cow Pasture. To Both Of Our Surprise As The Sun Shined Down On The Most Beautiful 8-10 Inch Mushrooms, We Were Over Joyed. It Gave Us A Story To Tell About Our Special Hunt. Certainly I Can Go To The Farm Store And Buy It By The Bag, But Why Should I When I Can Get The Real Thing? The Real Thing From That Special Pasture That Brought Us The Best Of Luck In Our Journey Of Mushroom Hunting. At This Point I Have Nothing To Lose And I Have All The Confidence In The World That This Will Hold The Answer. Why Didn't I Think Of This Before?
I Have Sought Closure Of Some Kind So I Could Move On. I Cannot Continue Living In The Past When I Have The Entire Future In Front Of Me. Those Around Me That Have Been Hurt By This Tragic Death Have Sadness In Their Hearts. Yet They Have Been Able To Move On And Not Live In The Memory Of Times Past. The Time Has Arrived For Me To Move On. It's Like Reading A Great Book. It Has A Beginning. It's Content Holds Thrilling Moments. Yet As Each Book You Read It Has An Ending. I'm Not Throwing This Book Away. I Am Simply Putting It On A Shelf For Safe Keeping. Every Once In Awhile In My Weakest Moments I Can Read It Again To Give Me Comfort.
Life Seemed To Stop For Me That Day. A Void I Cannot Fill. Sorrow Follows Me Each And Every Day. Life Though Is For The Living. I Must For The Sake Of Others And Myself Focus On What We Have In Front Of Us. We Don't Know What Tomorrow Holds For Us. Today Is The Memory For Tomorrow. If Not For Myself I Would Like To Create Many Memories For Those Around Me. One Day They Will Be Looking Back Searching For Memories Of Yesterday. It Is My Hopes They Will Find Many Pleasant Ones That Will Bring A Smile To Their Face.
I Have 57 Years Of Memory. It All Began When I First Heard My Mothers Voice. All The Familiar Things That Followed Throughout The Years. Years On Top Of Years Of Memories. Memories Of My Loved Ones Long Departed. Still Only A Memory. If There Is A Lesson To Be Learned Here, Let It Be To Live Life To The Fullest And Leave As Many Memories Behind For Those Who Would Enjoy Them Later Down The Road. What You Do Today Is For Someone Years Later. Life Has Many Turns And Twist To It. I Would Like To Think I Left A Very Good Memory For Somebody.