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?