Easy Slide

Every Time You Visit A Park You Are Bound To See Children Swinging And Sliding. It's Delightful To Watch Them Have Fun. Those Who Knows Me Best Know I Have Been A Little Backward At Times. The Diagnosis Came As A Young Child, But They Didn't Have A Name Fot It Then. If The Teacher Were To Tell The Children To Throw The Ball In The Air And Let It Bounce, You Would See Me Bounce The Ball And Watch It Fly In The Air. It Would Be Me, The One You See Walking Up The Slide Instead Of Sliding Down. I Would Do It For The Challenge. Everybody Slides Down. I Wanted To Be Different And Challenging.
An Old Friend Of Mine Taught Me A Lot About Bowling. He Was A Left Handed Bowler. I Am Left Handed But I Don't Bowl Left Handed. His Name Was Wilbur And He Is No Longer With Us. He Never Joined A League Until After He Retired From The Railroad. Anyway He Bowled A 300 Before He Passed On. He Did Pass On Some Advice To Me Once And It Has Been On My Mind For Several Years. He Told Me Even Though I Was A Right Handed Bowler I Could Reap The Benefits Of Being A Left Handed Bowler. There Is An Advantage Of Being A Left Handed Bowler. The Bowling Ball Travels Through The Oil That Is On The Lane. It Creates Something Like A Roadway Or A Pathway Into The Pocket Of The Pins.
Yesterday I Practiced By Standing To The Far Left Of The Lane. When I Release The Ball It Would Travel On The Left Side Of The Lane. All The Bowlers On My Team And The Other Are All Right Handed Bowlers, And They Bowl On The Right Side Of The Lane. I Was A Mean Mean Man On The Bowling Alley, "Yesterday". I Decided Since I Did So Well Yesterday I Would Try To Bowl The Same Way Hoping For The Same Results. Wrong! I Found Myself Into A Few More Split Situations Than I Normally Get In When I Traditional Bowl. My Reason For Not Moving The First Sign Of Trouble Was Because The Reason My Score Was Below My Average Was Because I Was Not Converting My Spares. By Not Converting Spares Could Do As Much Damage As Finding Yourself In Split Situations.
Cut To The Chase, The Advice That Was Given To Me Was Right On. It Was Premature Of Me To Bring A New Theory Before I Practiced More. I Still Believe In The Concept Of Being The Lone Bowler On The Left Side. I Will Practice More And Come Back Again With More Skill And Confidence. Our Team Lost Every Game. I Didn't Bowl Well At All. However The Other Team Were Hot As A Firecracker. I Added Up The Scores And Instead Of The Score I Received In That Game I Put My Average Instead. Our Team Never Came Close To Beating Them. So No Harm Done Today. However Next Time My Experiencing On The Lanes Should Be Limited In The Future If It Becomes Obvious It's Not Working. Today I Found Myself Being Stubborn Because My Thoughts Were Fixated On Yesterday. The Only Problem With That Is It's Today! A Different Day. So In The Future You Will Never See Me Do It The Traditional Way Because That's The Way We All Are Suppose To Do It. I'll Take The Challenge, But Will Know Next Time To Pay Attention When It's Not Working. Lane Conditions Change All The Time. The Way The Oil Is Spread Can Make The Difference In How You Score. It Takes A Good Bowler To Know When To Move Your Feet To The Left Or To The Right. Adjustments Are Necessary In The Game Of Bowling. So It's True When They Say Practice Makes Perfect.

Grandpa Rohrer, As I Knew Him

This Is My Grandfather Clyde Rohrer. My Middle Name Is Clyde, Named After Him. He Always Seemed To Be A Joyful Person To Be Around. As A Child Growing Up My Recollection Of Him On A Personal Level Was Minimal. It Was Not Until I Was 10-11 Years Old I Showed Interest In Wanting To Learn How To Fish. Now That Was The Beginning Of A Loving Relationship With My Mother's Father. He Fished For Many Years And Most All My Uncles Fished As Well.
He Chose To Take Me To One Of His Most Favorite Fishing Holes. It Was In A River Directly Behind A Meat Packing Company. They Slaughtered Cows And Hogs There. It Is My Recolection That Some Of The Remnants Of The Carcasses Went Into This River. This Is One Very Good Reason Why Fishing There Was So Good.
He Introduced To Me The Family Recipe Of Dough Ball To Catch Carp. If You Know Anything About Carp You Know It's Not The Most Popular Fish To Eat. However If Prepared Correctly It Can Be Very Tasty. I Have On One Occasion And That Was Enough For Me. However There Were People Who Lived In Poverty That Did Eat Carp And Would Be Willing To Pay You A Little For Your Catch. It Was Primarily Catch And Release Of The Carp With My Grandpa. He Did However Fish For Catfish And He Did Take Them Home For Dinner.
He Told Me If I Could Land A Carp I Could Land Anything. They Are Considered The Most Ferocious Fighting Fish In The River Or Lake. I Caught My First Carp On The River That First Time He Took Me. He Let Me Take My Fish And The Ones He Caught Home With Me So I Could Sell Them To The Poor People. I Didn't Make Much Money Of Course But It Was Enough To By Candy Or Pop At The Corner Gas Station. I Would Haul Them Around The Neighborhood With My Father's Wheelbarrow Until I Had Them All Sold. He Later Taught Me How To Make The Family Recipe Dough Ball Made Especially For Carp. It Was Made Out Of Cornmeal. I Swore To Secrecy That I Would Never Reveal The Contents. Even Though I Did Hand This Down To My Son I Had Told Nobody Else.
I Have Many Fond Memories Of Fishing With Him As Well As My Other Uncles On My Mother's Side. The Very Last Time I Fished With Him Was Just A Week Before He Entered Into The Hospital Which Diagnosed Him Of Having Lung Cancer. It Was The River That Flowed Through Ellsworth Park. It Was Just A Coincidence That He Was Fishing At The Same Time I Decided To Go Myself. I Think We Were Both As Surprised To See Each Other That Day. It Was A Terrible Day For Fishing But Never Were You Guaranteed To Bring Home Fish. Lots Of Times It Gave You An Opportunity To Relax And Realize What Mattered Most In Life.
There Was A Moment In My Life When Things Really Didn't Matter Much To Me. I Was Depressed And Not Sure Of My Future.
He Said Something To Me That Stuck With Me Many Years Later. He Told Me No Matter How Bad Things Look Today, Someday You Will Look Back At It. He Was Right! On Many Occasions When I Was Bothered With Something And Unsure How I Would Make Things Right I Would Always Remember What Grandpa Told Me. He Had No Idea The Impact He Had On My Life. Not Just On A Young Boy Learning How To Fish. For The Years That Followed His Words Still Echoed To Me Many Years Later. As A Matter Of Fact I Also Shared With others Who Were Faced With Troubled Times His Words Of Wisdom.
I Am Thankful For The Years I Had With My Grandfather. Many Don't Have That Pleasure.
Years Past I Was Embarrassed By Having My Middle Name Being Clyde. Such An Outdated Name That Once Kids Find It Out Would Taunt You And Make Jokes About It. As An Adult I Am Often Reminded Of My Roots When I Flip Through The Pages Of My Grandmother's Diaries. Life And Times Of The Past And How Things Were Different Back Then. Yet Through The Years Moments In Times Seem To Be Fresh In Your Memory.
My Last Humorist Moments I Remember Of My Grandfather Came One Time The Summer Before He Passed Away. All The Family Got Together For A Family Reunion That Was Just His Kids And Grandkids. The Men Decided To Take Grandpa Fishing At The Lake Dam. I Reminded Them They Put No Trespassing Signs Restricting You From Fishing There. Of Course A Lot Of Fish Were Caught There By Grandpa And All His Boys Throughout The Years. My Uncle Said We Could Park The Car And Get There Through The Woods. It Would Take Us Twice As Long To Get There But Would Be Well Worth It Once We Got To That Favorite Fishing Hole. As We Tracked Through The Woods My Grandpa Became Short Winded And Decided To Sit On A Log For A Spell. I Told Them I Would Take A Look Just Outside Of The Woods To See How Much Further We Had Yet To Go. When I Returned They Were All Standing Near My Grandpa Eager To Go On. I Announced I Could See The Dam Road And We Had Just A Short Distance To Go. He Quickly Told Us He Wasn't Concerned About The Dam Road As Much As These Damn Hills. After Laughing At His Comments It Reminding Us All Of His Humor. I'm Thankful For Having Those Years With My Grandfather And The Memories He Left Behind That I Could Share. I Love You Grandpa And May You Rest In Peace.

Twelve Perfect Frames Equals 300

It's Been Awhile Since I Have Written About My Obsession With Bowling. I Presently Bowl On Three Different Leagues. If I Could Afford It I Might Bowl More Often. Bowling In The Winter Months Is My Reward For The Hard Work I Do In The Summer Months. Yes I Admit I Am Obsessed With Bowling But I Consider That A Good Thing. Some People Like To Golf Or Go Camping Or Take A Vacation.
My Biggest Problem I Have Encountered Is I Am My Biggest Critic. I Can't Leave It At The Bowling Alley Like Most Do. Once You Let Go Of That Ball It's Been Established.
I Often Remind My Brother Tuck To Ignore The Bad Frames And I Consider That Very Good Advice.
The Game Consist Of Ten Frames. If The First Five Frames Are Not Of Your Liking Don't Ignore The Fact You Still Have Five More Frames To Bowl. Always Keep In Mind Every Pin Knocked Down Counts. Games Can Be Decided By Just A Single Pin. Just A Few Weeks Ago I Had To Pick Up A Single Pin For My Team To Tie With The Other Team. Games Like This Makes You Look Back And Remember Easy Pins You Missed In Previous Frames.
My Problem Is Criticizing Myself Over Bad Frames I Bowled. After It's All Said And Done My Over All Performance Is What I Judge Myself. A Few Weeks Back I Bowled A 599 Series In A Bowling Establishment I Have Yet To Bowl Over A 600 Series. Of Course I Remember The Three Open Frames I Had That Prevented Me From Achieving The 600. I Missed The Five Pin And Nobody Misses The Five Pin.
One Of The Important Things About Team Bowling Is If You get Into A Split Situation, Always Shoot At The Most Pin Count To Help Your Team Out. You Never Know Until It's All Said And Done If That One Pin Can Make The Difference At The End Of The Game Or For The Series Total.
I Find Myself Frustrated Because I Knew I Could Have Bowled Better. If My Team Only Wins One Game I Look At The Missed Pins In My Game Instead Of Looking At The Big Picture Of A Five Person Team. It Can't Rest On The Shoulders Of One Bowler. I Am The Anchor Bowler On All The Teams I Bowl On Because Pressure Bowling Is What I Do Best.
The Good News Is That All The Teams I Bowl On Have A Very Good Chance At Finishing Well At Seasons End. I Need To Convince Myself Once I Finish That 10th Frame The Game Is Over. One Time After I Came Back Home My Wife Could Read The Frustration On My Face. She Asked Me What Was Wrong. I Told Her I Didn't Bowl Well. She Said I Thought Bowling Was Suppose To Be Fun. I Just Stood There For A Moment And Stared At Her. I Hate It When She Is Right. It's So Hard To Leave It At The Bowling Alley. I Really Do Try. I Suppose I Will Always Be So Critical Of My Performance. When I Start The Evening My Plan Is To Always Give It My Best Shot Each Time. Sometimes The End Result Is Not What I Was Expecting. I Don't Bowl To Impress Other People. I Bowl To Help My Team Win The Most Games Possible.
I Need To Let Up On Myself. Maybe I Would Bowl Even Better If I Learned To Leave It At The Bowling Alley.
I Admit My Biggest Goal Is To Bowl That Perfect Game While My Dad Is Watching. He Attends Every Thursday To Watch My Brother And I Bowl. I Know One Of These Days That Perfect Game Will Come. I Just Hope It Happens On A Thursday. He Is The One Who Taught Me At A Very Young Age To Play Your Best. If You Give It Your Best The Results Will Show It At The End.

I Have In My Possession The Diaries Of My Grandmother And Great Grandmother On My Mother's Side. In Addition I Have My Grandmother's Diary On My Father's Side. I Consider These Diaries To Be One Of My Most Prized Possessions.
I Decided After Reading Daily Entries Of My Grandmother's Life I Feel Compelled To Continue The Tradition Of Writing. Even Though I Have Enjoyed Writing For Many Years This Is As Far As I Have Taken It. I Consider It Risky To Publish Blogs On A Computer. I Have Found In Past Experiences Valued Information Lost To The Cyber World. If This Web Site That Allows You To Create Blogs To Someday Decide To No Longer Exist, The Blogs I Write And The Ones You Read Will Just Disappear. I Enjoy Writing Blogs And Sharing My Views On Various Issues.
The Diaries I Have Of My Grandmother's Are In Hard Copy. I Intend To Go Out And Purchase A Journal And Begin Writing In It Daily. I Haven't Discussed This With My Daughter. I Do However Hope She Show's Interest In Having My Journal And My Grandmother's Diaries. If Not Maybe One Of My Grandchildren Will Cherish The Words Shared In All The Daily Entries.
I Posess My Grandmother Nellie Groves Bailey's Diaries Dating Back To 1942. I Feel Cheated For Not Having The Pleasure In Getting To Know Her. The Years Between Us Were Too Many. I Try To Get To Know Her Through Her Writings, And By What I Have Been Told From Those Who Remember Her.
My Grandmother Buelah Bailey Rohrer I Did Know Well. I Have Many Fond Memories Of Her. Reading Her Daily Entries Made Me Aware The Important Things In Her Life. It Revealed God And Family Were The Most Valued, And I Got The Same Impression From My Grandma Bailey.
My Grandmother Alice Miller's Diaries Were Basically More Informative, Giving Information On Births, Weddings, Deaths Etc. Who Is It To Say What You Are Suppose To Write In A Diary Anyway? Whenever My Father Wants To Know When Something Happened He Will Ask My Mother To Look It Up In Her Diary. It Can Be A Handy Tool For Remembering Notable Events.
I Have Been Entering In Comments Made From Their Diaries Onto Facebook But To be Honest About It Some I Consider Boring. However I Do Appreciate Very Much What I Have. A Written History Of Events Whether They Are Happy Or Sad.
For Example My Great Grandmother Bailey's Son Floyd Died In WW2. His Ship Was Sunk And He Was On A Raft For Days Waiting To Be Rescued. Unfortunately He Wasn't Able To Hang On Long Enough To Survive. There Were Only Two Soldiers To Survive On His Raft. He Was Buried At Sea. She Didn't Write Too Much About Her Loss In Her Diaries. Of Course Everybody Deals With Grief Differently And In Her Case She Made Notice Of It On A Couple Different Entries.
My Grandmother Rohrer Faithfully Wrote In Her Diaries. Again Notable Things Of Importance Was Entered In. I Can Appreciate Their Words. I Can Picture My Grandmother's Sitting And Entering Whatever Is On Their Minds That Particular Day.
I Made A Promise To Myself That These Diaries And The Journal I Intend To Start Will Be Protected With All My Being. I Know Precisely What I Have And I Will Honor Them. If Not My Daughter I Will Make Sure All Of The Diaries Of Theirs And Mine Will Be Honored And Protected For Years To Come.

January Thaw

Today's Temperatures Reached 56 Degree's. For As Long As I Can Remember There Has Always Been A January Thaw. Of Course It All Depends On Your Definition Of January Thaw. I Would Say For The Midwest If Temperatures Reach 50 Degree's And Beyond You Are Experiencing A January Thaw.
I Journeyed Out For A Nice Walk This Afternoon. I Enjoyed It But Boy Were My Legs Sore When I Arrived Home. I Will Confess I Have Gained Eight Pounds Since Thanksgiving. I Need To Get That Weight Off Or I Will Have Problems The First Week Of April When I Get Started In My Truck. I Have Three Months To Get Back To Where I Was When I Last Worked On My Truck. I Must Be Cautious Of My Weight If I Want To Continue Doing What I Do In The Summer Months. Otherwise I Would Not Be So Worried About It.
I Enjoy Eating And I Hate Dieting. I Try Not To Use The Diet Word Because I Hate That Word. What I Prefer Is To Stay Active Doing What I Like Best And Watch The Weight  Come Off At The Same Time. My Goal Is To Maintain The Weight I Lost This Past Summer. So Eight Pounds Later I Must Try To Rid Myself Of This Additional Weight To Keep The Promise To Myself.
Tomorrow Promises About The Same Kind Of Weather As Today. After That It's Back To Winter Again. I Tried Walking In The Cooler Temperatures And It Went Ok, With The Exception Of Cold Air Blowing In The Front Of My Jacket. A Few Days Ago I Went Out And Bought A Scarf To Take Care Of That Problem. I Have Never Worn A Scarf Before, But On The Other Hand I Have Never Been As Passionate As I Am Today, To Maintain A Comfortable Weight So I Can Continue Doing What I Feel Is Important In My Life.
I Decided Since I Am Getting Older I Need To Reduce My Weight A Little Each Year To Make My Job Easier To Do. First Things First Though. Get This Eight Pounds Off, Maintain It, And Try To Be 10 Pounds Lighter At The Conclusion Of My Next Summer. Sounds Like A Good Plan To Me. As They Say, Better Said Than Done. I Will Keep You Posted. HOWEVER, You Must Keep Reading My Blog To Find Out What I'm Up To Next.
So Tomorrow As I Enjoy The Last Of The January Thaw I Will Continue My Walks But Just Dress A Little More Warmer While Doing It.

Channa

Happy Birthday To My Sister Channa. I Didn't Realize How Many Other People Shared Her Birthday Until I Read Her Facebook Post This Morning. I Was Able To Share My Great Grandmother And Grandmother's Thoughts Taken From Their Diaries. I Thought I Would Share Something Special For Her Since It's Her Special Day.
I Hope You Have A Wonderful Birthday Channa. I Love You!

Today We Celebrate My Father's 80th Birthday. We Had Cake At The Bowling Alley To Share With The many Friends He Has There After Bowling Several Years With The Senior Citizen League. He Doesn't Bowl Anymore But It Doesn't Stop Him From Coming Down There And Cheering On The Keenager's. Happy Birthday To You Dad.
(You Can Click On The Picture To Make It Larger)