Saying Farewell To An Old Friend

It May Seem Strange To Some But To Others They Can Understand The Anguish I Have Been Facing And The Finality Of Saying Goodbye.
It Has Hosted A Birth, Weddings, A Fire, The First Day Of School As Well As The Last. Family Reunions And Neighborhood Basketball Games.
The Year Was 1956. Harvey And Shirley Miller Purchased Their First Home Across The Street From Franklin School. Little Did They Know That More Than 50 Years Later It Would Continue To Be The Miller Household Commonly Known As 713 Franklin Street.
Three Young Boys Would Share What Seemed Like A Lifetime Of Memories While One Little Girl This Was Really A Home She Had Always Known.
If The Walls Could Talk They Would Tell Of The Tears Of Joy And The Tears Of Sadness.
The Size Of The Family Would Soon Grow And The Need For Additional Space Would Be Obvious. Living In A Home Full Of Foster Children Soon Became The Norm. Some Foster Children Would Come And Go But Three Of Them Would Also Call This Home.
The Year Was 1967 And It Would Become One Of The Most Memorable Years Of My Life.
The Family Room Addition Was Being Built On The Back Of The House And This Year In Baseball Starring Your Truly When I Became Homerun Champ In Danville For Little League A. It Was Also When I Met My Lifetime Companion Billie Jo. Yes For Those Who Can Do The Math It Puts Me At The Ripe Old Age Of 12. It Wasn't Until Ten Years Later We Discovered One Another And Made Our Lifetime Commitment.
In 1971 My Brother Tuck Enlisted In The Navy And Hung In The Front Window Was A Lone Blue Star Fixed On A Banner Representing The Home Of A Soldier. Two Years Later Another Star Was Added When I Joined The Navy.
Franklin Grade School Was Torn Down And Replaced By A Seven Story, 100 Unit Senior Citizen Complex. Slowly The Neighborhood Began To Change.
Pappy's Gas Station And Mel's IGA Closed Down. Burger Chef Is Now Shroeders And Weiner King Is Now Weiner Works. Ice Cream You Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream. The Canopy Ice Cream Transpired Into The Dairy Queen But Now Is A Car Wash. I Guess Maybe Saying Goodbye To Arnholt Bakery For The Last Times Was The Hardest.
Yet at 5:00 In The Evening You Can Still Enjoy The Musical Bells Coming From St James Church.
Gone Are All The Neighborhood Kids Who Use To Play Baseball, Football And Ditch On Our Bicycles. The Rodriguez's And Baumgart's Moved Away Taking Poochy Along With Them. Too Many Changes To The Neighborhood To Mention Them All.
Ofcourse 713 Is Not What It Looked Like When I grew Up In The 60's and 70's. We Modified It To Our Liking And Made Changes That Met Our Lifestyle In The New Millennium. If I Close My Eyes I Can Remember Things As They Once Were.
I'm Having A Difficult Time Dealing With Selling 713 And Moving On. The House Is Just Too Big For Just The Two Of Us. We Raised Our Family And It's That Time In Our Lives We Need To Downsize. The Heat Bill Should Be Less Because We Are Moving Into A Smaller House. Did You Notice I Didn't Say Home? 713 Will Always Be Considered Home In My Heart For Evermore.
Moving Day Is Fast Approaching. After We Are All Moved Out I Will Visit Each Room And Close My Eyes And Allow My Memory To Recall All The Happy Moments I Had And Shared In The 39 Years I Had The Pleasure In Living Here. I Will Walk Out The Door And Take Those Memories With Me And Hold Them Dear To My Heart.
The Best Years Of My Life Somehow Always Came Back To My Roots at 713.
We Leave Behind Our Beloved Pets That Are Buried In Various Locations. A Crimson King Maple Tree Which Just Recently Turned Nine Years Old And Was Planted On The Birth Of Our First Grandchild.
So In The Final Chapter All I Can Say Is, 713...Thanks For The Memories, I Will Miss You Dearly. I Will Be The Last One To Turn The Light Off On My Way To The Next Chapter In Life. No Looking Back.......Just Call Me Mac..........

For Today I Am Constipated So We Shall Celebrate!

Remember The Old Saying, I Love It But It Hates Me! That's The Way It Is With Me And Cashews. I Just Love Them But I Sure Do Pay The Price When I Eat Them! Knock On Wood That There Are Not Too Many Food That Have An Adverse Effect On Me. At First I Thought It Was Because I Was Buying A Generic Brand Of Cashews. No Such Luck. There's No Better Nut Than Planters And They Too Gave Me "Fits".
Last Weekend I developed A Sore Throat. With The Grandkids Running Around With Runny Noses From Time To Time I Figured They Passed Something On To Their Pappy. I Tried To Ignore It But It Got To The Point Where I Couldn't Any Longer. I Finally Decided To Go To The VA Hospital So They Could Fix Whatever It Was That Ailed Me. They Gave Me Some Medicine And Told Me This Should Take Care Of It.
My Sore Throat Went Away In A Couple Of Days. However I Am Constipated For The First Time In My Life. Horay And Hot Digity Dog! I Told Billie I Am Going To Walgreens And Buy Me Some Cashews. She Hollered At Me As I Was Walking Out The Door. You Will Be Sorry! I Told Her, I HOPE SO!!

Wanna See My Butt?

I Considered It An Honor To Show Anyone And Everyone My Butt. I Was So Proud Of It I Even Asked My Mother Once If She Wanted To See It. It's Not Like She Hasn't Seen It Before But It's Been Awhile. Hahaha!!
Ok, I Led You All Along For Awhile And It's Been Fun "But" The Butt I Have Been Referring To Is My Last Cigarette Butt.
Ten Years Ago Next Month(April) I Smoked My Last Cigarette. I Had Saved My Last Cigarette Butt And Taped It To The Bathroom Mirror To Remind Me Of The Dirty, Filthy, Nasty Habit I Once Engaged In. It Really Doesn't Seem Like It's Been Ten Years But It Has.
Since That Day Of Quitting There Are Times I Would Enjoy Smoking A Cigarette Again. Firstly, Let Me Tell You I Quit Smoking For Financial Reasons. Secondly, If I Never Had To Worry About Paying The High Cost For Cigarettes I Would Most Likely Smoke Again. I Really Did Enjoy The Feeling That Nicotine Gave Me When I Smoked. It Had It's Calming Effect Which Relieved All The Stress Life Had To Offer.
Today I Can't Stand The Smell Of Smoke. There Are Days It Makes Me Want To Vomit.
Bille Jo Continue's Her Battle To Quit But She Has Not Won The War Just Yet.
I Have Friends And Relatives Who Smoke. I Had Promised Myself When I Quit Smoking I Would Not Become The Great Crusader And Proclaim The Rest Of The World Should Quit As Well.
There Was A Point In Time When I Boycotted A Donut Shop Because They Didn't Allow Smoking. I Looked At It As Descrimination Against Me. It Made Me Feel My Money Wasn't Of The Same Value As That Of A Non Smoker.
Today As A Non Smoker I Do Understand Why That Man Banished Smoking In His Business.
I Hated Then What It Was Doing To My Wallet. I Cannot Imagine Today With Cigarettes Costing More Than 4.00 A Pack The Impact It Would Have On Me Financially.
Looking Back I Consider Myself Lucky That I Was Able To Quit. I Don't Think I Could Quit Again. It Was One Of The Hardest Things I Have Ever Had To Do.
I Still Have Alot Of People I Am Associated With That Do Smoke. I Don't Really Care To Be Around It Anymore. I Was Happy When The State No Longer Allowed Smoking In Public Buildings Anymore. Now If I Was Still A Smoker I Most Likely Would Not Like This New Law At All.
I Gained Atleast 50 Pounds That I Can't Seem To Shed Away. I Took Up Sucking On Peppermint Candy Which Was Fat Free So I Figured It Was Ideal For Me. Wrong!
Each Mint Was 50 Calories And I Was Addicted To Them For Atleast Two Years Or More Until I Was Able To Finally Get Away From Them.
So There You Have It Folks. I Just Wanted To Share This Upcoming Milestone With Those Who Care. If You Are Wanting To Quit Smoking I Recommend The Nicotine Patch. That's What Worked For Me But To Each His Own.
Have A Wonderful Easter!

Why Don't I Blog More?

So Why Don't I Blog More Often? I Really Don't Have A Real Good Reason. As Most Of You Know I Hate The Winter Months And This Winter Has Been A Real Cuel Winter.
The Calender Says March But Where I Live It Still Feels Like February. The Extended Forcast For The Danville Area Shows A 60 Degree Day And Some Others With 50 Degree's.
I Have Spotted A Few Robins Already. Our Dairy Queen Just Recently Opened. We Have A Couple Other Seasonal Ice Cream Parlor's That Should Be Opening Soon.
In The Meantime Here I Sit Waiting For The Departure Of Old Man Winter.
I Will Begin My Outside Daily Walks When The Weather Finally Changes. I Have Been Walking 2 Miles At The Village Mall 2-3 Times A Week.
The First Week Of April I Begin My Summer Gig And That's My True Test. I'm Out In The Woods Searching For Mushrooms. I Get In And Out Of My Truck And Feel Every Pound I Have Gained Over The Winter Months.
So To Answer My Question Of Why I Don't Blog More Often. I'm In A Rut. I'm In A Horrible Rut. My Primary Focus Has Been The Start Of Warmer Temps. I Can't Seem To Think Of Anything Other Than SPRING!
Ok Let Me Say This. I Will Try Harder To Find A Topic For Discussion. I Can Be A Creative Person When I Wanna Be.
Maybe My Walk This Week Or The Spring Training Game I Watch Will Put Me Just A Little Closer The SPRING!
I Will Eventually Snap Out Of This! I Will Eventually Snap Out Of This! I Will Eventually Snap Out Of This! I Will Eventually Snap Out Of This! I Will Eventually Snap Out Of This! I Will Eventually Snap Out Of This! I Will Eventually Snap Out Of This!
Get Out The Straightjacket!

I Cast My Vote On A Democratic Ballot

It Wasn't My First Time I Voted Democratic But It Was The First Time I Voted On A Democratic Ballot In A Primary.
It Was About A Year Ago When I Was Fed Up With How Our Country Was Being Led. I Decided To Change My Party Affiliation. To My Surprise The State Of Illinois No Longer Requires It's Voters To Declare Party Affiliation. This Was A Relief To Me Because I No Longer Wanted To Be A Part Of This Horrible War In Iraq.
I Always Try To Keep My Blogs Upbeat And Positive As Much As Possible. This Blog Will Not Be Any Different.
To Simplify Things I Have Watched As Many Debates That I Could And Have Come To The Conclusion That All The Republican Candidates Support The Troop Presence And Will Continue If Elected.
I Know Candidates Like To Say What The Voter Wants To Hear. I Am Very Much Against This War And I Want Our Boys To Come Home.
So Did I Vote For The First Woman Candidate Or Did I Vote For The First African American Candidate?
When It Come To The War Both Candidates Want Our Troops To Come Home And Promised Set Time Tables For That To Take Place.


No Matter Who Gets The Nod At The Democratic Convention I Will Support That Candidate As Long As They Agree To Leave Iraq.
Yes There Are Other Things We Need To Be Concerned About. The Slumping Economy As Well As Our Dependence On Foreign Oil Is At The Top Of The List For So Many. The Environment And What We Plan To Do To Protect The Earth For Our Children And Grandchildren.
All Of These Topics Are And Should Be Addressed And Dealt With. There Is Plenty Of Time To Do This, But For The Moment I Say "Bring Our Soldiers Home"!
My Vote Goes To;.........

Capture That Moment

I'm Sure There Are Some Who Have Had Moments In Their Lives When They Stop And Realize That Moments Like This Won't Be Around Much Longer.
You Think It Could Be A Getting Older Kind Of Thing? That Very Well May Be, But There Is Alot Of Truth In It Whether It Happens To You Or Not.
Not Everything Will Be The Same Tomorrow, A Year From Tomorrow And Especially 10 Years From Tomorrow.
As You Live A Moment You Realize There Won't Be Too Many More Like It Again.
For Example, I Am Fortunate To Have Both My Parents Alive. It Gives Me Great Pleasure In Being Able To Interact With Them In Settings We All Receive Pleasure In.
Presently I Bowl On The Senior Citizen Bowling League. I Am One Of The Youngest Bowlers There And Thats Fine Because I Intend On Bowling On That League For As Long As My Health Allows It. Anyway It's Great To Have Both My Parents Bowl On The Same League. We All Share Our Love For Bowling And Have For Several Years Now. As A Matter Of Fact The Three Of Us Will Be Heading To Indianapolis To Watch The Pro Bowlers Qualify For That Weeks Title Match. We Always Look Forward To This Special Outing Each Year.
We Meet Once A Week To Play The Game Of Euchre. My Friend Of Many Years "Chris" And I Travel To Westville Where My Parents Live To Play Three Hours Of The Best Card Game In The Midwest.
Yet Then Again There Are Moments In Time That I Would Be Serving The Memories Of Those Younger Than Myself. My Grandchildren For Example.
As An Adult I Can Remember Times When I Was A Child And The Times I Shares With My Grandfather. He Was The First One To Take Me Fishing You Know.
I Know That Someday My Children And My Grandchildren Will Someday Look Back At The Special Moments In Time They Had With Their Pappy.
I Would Have To Say One Of The Cruelest Thing About Life Is Death. There Are Times I Wish Things Would Always Stay The Same.
I Have Found Myself Get Teary Eyed After Watching A Tearjerker Movie Because It May Trigger A Memory In A Place In My Own Life That Was Also Touching.
So Whether I Am The One Who Is Clinging On To The Memory, Or Creating The News Ones For Those That Come After Me, I Know How Special They Are.
So As We All Live Our Everyday Life, We Are Making Memories Not Just For Ourselves, But For Others As Well.
So I Have Made A Promise To Myself. Each Night I Will Thank God For Giving Me That Day. I Will Also Thank Him For The Memories Of That Day, Be It For Me Or A Special Memory For Someone Else. Knowing That 50 Years From Now My Child Or Grandchild Will Be Cherishing The Memories Of Years Gone By. Some Of Us Know It As The "Kodak Moment" Because Kodak Wants Us To. Hahaha!!
I Hope I Live Up To That Memory And Let It Be A Fond One At That!

Just Call Me Mac....

Happy Groundhog Day!

For Some It Gives Hope And To Others It's A Bunch Of Hogwash!
To Me It's A Bunch Of Hogwash! Spring Will Arrive When Mother Nature Says It Will.
I Don't Beleive In Any Of Those Wivestales Having To Do With Weather.
We Have A Lady Weather Forcaster For Our Area Who Each Year For Many Many Years Have Passed On The Groundhog Forcast Of Whether Or Not He See's His Shadow. If So There Could Be Six More Weeks Of Winter.

Ok, How About The Persimmon Seeds? Say What?
I Never Have Seen A Persimmon Seed And Couldn"t Pick One Out Of A Bushel Of Assorted Fruit, If That Is What A Persimmon Is.
Anyway This Lady Weather Forcaster I Spoke Of Encourages Viewers To Send The Seed Of The Persimmon To The Television Station And She Will Inspect The Seed And Read The Forcast For The Upcoming Winter.
If The Seed Is Spoon-Shaped, Lots Of Heavy, Wet Snow Is Forecasted.
If The Seed Is Fork-Shaped, Powdery Light Snow And A Mild Winter Is Predicted.
If The Seed Is Knife-Shaped, Bitter Icy Cutting Winds For Next Few Months Will Occur.

Ok, Lets Move On To The Woolly Worm. Once Again This Same Lady Forcaster Encourages Viewers To Send Her Woolly Worms To The Television Station By A Certain Date So She Can Properly Read The Color Of It's Fur. She Can Again Give Yet Another Prediction To The Approaching Winter. They Have Some Secret Formula They Use, “They Look At The Ratio Of The Brown To Black Fur, Thickness Of The Fur, Size, Weight, Etc.
Let's Not Forget About Hooty Hoot Day! People Gather In Groups And Holler Out "Hooty Hoot, Hooty Hoot! This Is Suppose To Scare Away Old Man Winter! Hahaha!!

How About When It Rains On Easter? Bahhh! Just Another Myth In My Opinion. It Has Always Been Said That If It Rains On Easter It Will Rain For The Next Six Sundays. Wrong! I Have Made It A Point To Keep Track Of All These So-Called Signs Of What To Expect From The Approaching Weather. None Of The Above Have Proven To Be Anything Other Than A Playful Game To Humor Us.
I'm Just A Young Pup So There May Be Other Nature Predictions That I Have Not Mentioned Here.
So Mark It On Your Calenders Folks, March 15th Will Be The End Of The Six Weeks According To The Groundhog. I'm Quite Sure I Will Be Out And About Long Before That Enjoying The Spring-Like Temps.
In The Meantime I Continue To Hibernate And Looking Forward To Spring. April 1st To Be Exact.
Just Call Me Mac.........

Growing Up With Channel 3

WCIA Channel 3 Can Be Considered My Extended Family. I Have Been Watching These Professionals For As Long As I Can Remember.

Remember Him?

This Is Mr Roberts The WCIA Weather Man Since The Early 1950's. His First Name Was Wyndham, But Apparently He Did Not Like It And Preferred To Be Know As "Mr. Roberts".
That He Was Until His Death In 1985.
Growing Up With Names Like Tom Schoendinist, Ed Kelly, Paul Davis, & Dave Shaul Can Pretty Much Tell People You Are Over errr.....40?
If You Are Fortunate Enough To Never Miss A Broadcast Then You Can Be A Part Of The Saying Of Good Bye To Someone Who Has Been In Your Home For So Many Years.
I Have Viewed A Number Of Farewells Of Fellow Newscasters Where They Would Show Previous Broadcasts And Their Hairstyles Of Yesteryear Or The Clothes They Wore Were Somewhat Out Of Date.
However Not Always Do We Have The Opportunity To View These Tearful Goodbye's.

Ofcourse It Was Just A Career Move For Michael Marsh And Taking Him Back To His Roots Of New Orleans. Just The Same, Michael As Well As All The Others Come Into Our Homes Day In And Day Out.
Remember When Michael Marsh And Jennifer Roscoe Had The Bet Going Over The Game Of LA State And The Fighting Illini? The Loser Of The Bet Would Have To Sing The Other's School Song And It Ended Up With Jennifer Singing To Michael But She Sang The Song Of The Fighting Illini As Well. Bless Her Heart.
The Wonderful Love Story That Brought Two News Journalist Together In That Of Marta Carreira And Jerry Slabe.
Gabrielle Martin Was Another Household Fixture Who Left Broadcasting All Together Yet Staying In The Champaign Area And Working At Carle Hospital.
Dan Roan Was Channel 3 Sports Broadcaster For Seven Years But Is Now Known Worldwide
By Being The Top Dog For WGN Sports.http://wgntv.trb.com/news/wgntv-roan-danbio,0,7042096.story?coll=wgntv-home-nav

Chris Widlic, Another Familiar Face With WCIA Sports Left With Very Little Public Knowledge.
http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1626772&nav=menu35_18_1



Let's Not Forget One Of Our Area's Favorites, Trisha Whitkanack. The Viewers Watched This Young Lady Grow In Both Journalism And Life. She Announced She Was Getting Married, Then She Would Give Birth To Her First Child.
http://www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1921351
Her Sendoff Was Both Tearful And Joyful At The Same Time.
Switching To Weather, John Valenziana Was Judy Fraser's Sidekick For Many Years. He Also Left Broadcasting And Began Selling Real Estate.
http://www.southhavenhomes.com/JohnV.htm
WCIA Channel 3's Most Well Known As Well As Most Loved Is Judy Fraser. You Never Know Where Judy Has Been Today. She Loves To Go To Schools To Teach Young Children About Weather Concerns As Well As Weather Education.
She Is Well Known Over Illiana For Her Willy Worm And Persimmon Seed Predictions For The Winter Months. OfCourse We Can't Forget Her Hooty Hoot Day That Is Suppose To Scare Away Old Man Winter.
http://illinoishomepage.net/content/fulltext/?sid=0719f36ae0341efdc24596def99555f9&cid=90

I Guess To Be Honest About It I Am Addicted To The Channel 3 News. I Have Watched It My Whole Life And Will Continue To Watch It For As Long As I Can.
They Bring The News Into My Home Every Day Of The Week.
Unfortunatly They Are Actually Channel 4 According To My Cable Company But That's A Completely Different Blog Topic Down The Road.

Are You Having A Bad Day?

We All Have Them! It's Perfectly Normal To Have A Bad Day Every Once In Awhile.


Ok, Not Such A Good Day For The Cat. However, A Wonderful Day For The Bird!
I Love Photo's. Pictures Capture A Moment. What You See In That Particular Photo Can Trigger A Memory Or Simply Give You A Different Perspective From What It Actually Means.
Who Says It Means Anything? What Do You Consider Humor?

I Think That Photo Is Funny!
So What's My Point? My Point Is A Photo's Meaning Is In The Eye Of The Beholder.
Earlier This Evening I Was Brousing Through My Most Recent Blogs. When I Came Up On The Blog About "Which Came First" The Chicken Or The Egg?
Go Back And Look If You Want To. For Those Of You Who Think I'm A Dirty Old Man All I Have To Say Is Bless You!!
Let Me First Tell You A Little About My Character. I Like To Laugh And I Enjoy Watching People Laugh.
After I Bursted Into Laughter I Instant Messaged My Brother Tuck To Ask Him About That Particular Photo. He Told Me He Saw It For What It Was And That Was The Egg Was Humping The Chicken!
Ok, For Those Who Know Me Best Know I Am Not Always Going In The Politically Correct Direction. I Am Who I Am And If You Don't Like It Then Stay Clear Of Me And Life Will Be Much Better For The Both Of Us.
I'm Not Going To Sit And Wonder If This Particular Photo Or Topic Will Be Appropriate For My Mother To See.

See What I Mean?
If I Offended Anyone By What I Have Written I Will Say That I Am Sorry. I Will Now Suggest For You Not To Read Any Further Blogs Of Mine.
I Never Know From One Blog To Another What The Topic May Be. I Can Promise You However It Will Be Written From My Soul.
One Of My New Years Resolutions Were To Blog More. Now Before You Get Excited I Also Want To Lose 40 Pounds, Win The Lottery And Jump Out Of A Perfectly Good Operating Airplane!
Honestly, I Will Try To Blog More Now That Winter Is Here. I Have Lots Of Thoughts But Sometimes It Takes Me Days To Put It Into Words.





Need I Say More? Have A Wonderful Day!

It's Just A Card Game

Just A Card Game? Are You Kidding Me?
Euchre In The Midwest Is Like A Religion. It's A Way Of Life. If You Go Without Playing For Awhile You Begin To Have What They Call Euchrewithdrawalitis.
For Those Who Have No Idea What I Am Even Talking About All I Can Tell You Is You Have Not Lived Your Life To The Fullest Until You Learned The Game Of Euchre.
To Be Quite Honest Euchre In Considered A Midwestern Card Game. Not sure Why That Is But Other Regions Have Never Even Heard Of The Game.
Anyway I Will Not Even Attempt To Explain How The Game Is Played Because In My Opinion It's One Of The Most Difficult Card Games To Teach Because Alot Of It Is Based On Strategy. You Must Have The Ability To Learn How To Read The Cards.
The Game Is Played With Partners. Usually A Total Of Four People With Partners Sitting Across The Table From One Another.
I Have Been Playing This Game For More Than 30 Years. My Parents Have Been Playing This Game Long Before I Was A Twinkle In My Daddy's Eye. As A Matter Of Fact My Father Never Heard Of This Game Until He Married My Mother.
Today My Father In My Opinion Is One Of The Finest Euchre Players Of All Times.
My Friend Chris Clapp Has Been My Partner In Euchre For More Than Three Years Now.
Each Sunday Afternoon Is Reserved For Our Euchre Games. To Put It In A More Humorous Way Chris And I Call It Our Weekly Euchre Lesson.
My Mother And Father Are Our Opponents. It Is Always Considered A Challenge Each Time The Four Of Us Set Down And Declare War Of Cards For Three Long Treacherous Hours. We All Set Our Love For One Another Aside Until The Last Card Is Played And A Weekly Winner Is Declared.
The Past Two Years, 2005 And 2006 Have Been Victorious For Chris And I.
However This Past Year, 2007 Belongs To Both My Father And Mother. They Richly Deserve The Honor Of Wearing The Euchre Crown For The Entire Year Of 2008.
I Do However Proclaim They Will Be Challenged Yet For Another Year And Not To Let Their Guard Down For Even A Second. Have No Mercy On Us Because This Time Next Year We Will Reclaim That Crown And Wear It Proudly!