New Residence

I Still Haven't Packed My Things For The Big Move. Billie Asked Me Why I Haven't Packed. I Have No Idea. I Asked Her If She Thought I Wasn't Moving With Her?
I Will Most Likely Pack Tomorrow Night Since We Are Moving On Monday.
Downsizing Is What She Wanted And Now She Must Decide On What She Has Room For And What Must Go. Keep In Mind This Lady I Am Married To Had A Full Size Room Just For Storage. She Also Had A Walk In Closet. Get The Picture?
Me? I Can Survive On The Most Simplest Worldly Possessions.
What Will My New Neighbors Be Like. Will They Be As Friendly As The Baumgarts, Dills And Clapps? Will They Bring Us A Pie?
I Will Be Taking Two Days Off Just For The Move. Unfortunately We Chose To Move At The Most Demanding Period Of Time For My Summer Gig. Oh Well, I'm Sure It Will All Work Out And Life Is Grand...
How Long Will It Be before We Feel Like It's Home? How Can I Get Past The Idea Of Strangers Living In My Home?
Never Mind The Fact That This House Will Feel More Like A Short Vacation Away From Home. After The Vacation Is Over I Pray I Will Be Home. They Say Home Is Where The Heart Is. I Hope The Heart Will Be There By Then....

The Finality Of It All....

A Sold Sign Was Placed In The Yard This Afternoon. I Imagine The Neighbors Are More Shocked Than What We Are. It Has Been Quite A Few Years Since Anyone Has Moved Off The Block. Change Is In The Making For Not Just Us But The Neighborhood As Well.
I Can Say Our Neighbors Here At 713 Have Been Good. We All Pretty Much Stay In Our Own Space But Are Just A Stone Throw Away From Getting Help If Needed. A Friendly Wave To One Another Is Enough Security When We Leave Our Homes For The Evening Or For A Few Days Getaway.
Living Next Door To A Plumber Is Security As Well. I Can Say I Am Proud Of This Neighborhood. Our Concern For Flossie When The Church She Attended Was Bombed One Sunday Morning Sending Shock Waves Throughout The Community. We Were There And She Knew It.
Most Recently When I Befriended Terry From Across The Street. It All Started On A Forum On The Internet. I Believe It Was The Old Commercial News Forum. I Tried To Keep A Low Profile When It Came To The Internet. Terry Had mentioned He Knew Where I Lived. I Considered My Territory Sacred When It Came To Privacy Of The Homestead.
I Asked The Most Obvious Question On How He Could Know My Location. It's Kind Of Hard Not To Figure It Out When Your Name Is Spelled Out On The Big Horse Drawn Buggy In The Front Yard. For Those Who Choose To Be More Formal, A 'Buckboard'.
Terry And I Have Been Friends Ever Since. We Bowl Together And Enjoy One Another. Terry Expressed To Me From His Heart When He Called Me One Night And Confessed He Was Having A Difficult Time Dealing With Me Moving Away. From That Moment On I Knew I Had A Friend For Life.
After I Got Home Last Night From The Sale I Confessed To Billie What I Miss Most Upon My Arrival Every Sale Night. My Old Faithful Friend Mr Bear Could Hear The Squeaking Of My Trailer I Pulled Behind Me. It Has A Distinct Sound That Mr Bear Would Hear Once A Week. On A Hot Summer Night Mr Bear Would Greet Me With His All Familiar Bark Telling Everyone At The Miller Household I Had Returned After A Very Long Day On Logan. I Won't Be Bringing The Trailer Here At 713 Anymore But I Will Always Remember The Greeting I Received From My Loving Canine Friend.
I Have Been So Overwhelmed With Memories Of The Past 50 Years. Nearly Every Thought I Have Can Be Tied To 713. My Upbringing, My Brothers And My Sisters. Mom's Green Volkswagen Beetle And Our Beloved Pet Romeo.
Franklin School, The Baumgarts, Mr Roth And Mrs Jacobs. Mrs Towell, The Ruggles, And Sally/ Bill Mosier. Trust 348 And Where They REALLY Wanted To Build The Village Mall.
I Would Have To Say That The Mid 60's Was Farmost The Most Memorable, And Each Memory Is Almost Always Linked To 713.
Yes, A Grown Man Will Probably Cry A Thousand Tears This Coming Week. Let Each Tear Represent A Memory That Will Last A Lifetime.
God Bless 713.........

While I Was Mowing Grass........

Most Of Us In The Midwest Have Been Mowing Grass On A Weekly Basis. As A Matter Of Fact I Always Mow Weekly. I Mow At Three Different Locations Here In Danville. I Could Have Made Mowing Easier By Getting A Riding Mower. I Decided Against It Because I need The Exercise. I Have Lost 14 Pounds Since April 1st And I Hope To Lose Another 30.
As I Mowed The Back Yard This Afternoon I Thought Of The Many Times I Have Mowed This Yard Over The Years. I Mowed This Grass Since I Was A Teenager Living At Home With My Parents. Soon The Grass At 713 Will Be Mowed By Someone Other Than A Miller Family Member.
Of course I Done Alot Of Reminiscing As I Mowed Today For The Very Last Time. As I Mowed The Small Mound Of Earth That Covered Mr Bear I Remembered Fondly Of The Tomato Snatching Caper He Partook During The Summer Months. After Watching Billie Pick The Biggest And Juiciest Tomato His Time Came After Billie Would Return To The House. I Cannot Remember How Many Times I Have Drove Up As Mr Bear Would Be Carrying A Ripe Tomato To His Favorite Shady Spot Under The Elm Tree. I Would Sort Of Scold Him For Doing It But Half Laugh About It Because I Had Never Seen A Dog Eat Tomatoes. Mr Bear Was One Of Those Kind Of Dogs You Never Forget. He Is Buried Under That Shady Elm Tree.
Brandy Came To Me In A Dream Last Night. I Have No Idea As To Why. I Shared This Brief Dream With Billie This Afternoon. Nothing Special About The Dream Other Than What I Remembered About Her While We Shared Our Lives Together. Maybe Those Memories Are Flooding My Mind As The Days Grow Closer To Leaving 713.
After Brandy Died Billie Purchased A Beautiful Little Outfit To Be Buried In. It Was A Tearful Goodbye That Day.
Buffy Was A Pekingese That Belonged To Billie. Billie And Buffy Had A Special Relationship. Buffy Had Broken Her Neck Jumping Out Of Bed.
I Became Flooded By Emotions As I Recalled All The Loving Pets That Shared Their Lives With Us While We Lived Here At 713.
When I Shut The Mower Down I Looked Around The Yard And Said "Thank You". Thank You For All The Great Memories That Will Last My Lifetime. They Are My Memories And Mine Alone. Some Day Those Memories Will Be A Part Of One Of My Stories To A Friend Or Grandchild Or Anybody Who Cares To Listen To An Old Man Talk About The Bygone Days At 713.

Truth Or..........Not

Tonight I Introduce To You A Brainstorm Idea That May....Or May Not Increase My Interest In Blogging. As Most Of You Are Aware I Don't Blog As Often As Some Do. Why? I Have No Idea Why. Yes I Am A Busy Person In The Summer Months. However I Find Time To Play Euchre Or Surf The Net. Ok, I Will Try To Discipline Myself Into Blogging More But I Will Need Your Cooperation. Here's My Idea....
I Will Tell A Story. Now My Story Could Be True Or It Could Be A Bunch Of Baloney. I Welcome You Write In The Comment Area Whether You Believe My Story Is TRUE Or NOT.
I Will Reveal The Correct Answer One Week From The Day The Story Was Created.
My Reason For Doing This Is Because I Enjoy Telling Stories. I Also Need A Reason To Participate More Often In Blogging. I Have Had People Ask Me When I'm Going To Create Another Blog? I Say....I Don't know.
I Have A Feeling This May Go Over Real Well But The Other Times I Had A Feeling...It Was Just Gas:)
Ok, First Story Begins Tonight. You Can Read My Story Then Reply With Your Answer Right Then Or Decide To Read It A Hundred Times And Give Me Your Answer The Day The Answer Will Be Revealed. Today's Story Answer Will Be Revealed 1 Week From Today.
Then Again I May Decide To Write Another Story This Coming Wednesday. The Answer For That Story Will Be Revealed One Week From Wednesday.


Clowns
I Am Terrified Of Clowns. My Fear Of Clowns Is Called Coulrophobia. Go Ahead And Do A Google Search For Verification If You Like. I Have Hesitated In Telling Others Because I Always Thought It To Be Silly. I Shared This Fear Of Mine Recently To A Friend And Was Informed He Too Has Coulrophobia.
Have Any Of You See Me At A Circus? The Paint Or Makeup Can Disfigure Your Human Features And Confuse You With The True Identity Of That Person. As A Child I Can Remember Trembling In Fear If I Was Near A Clown. Today As An Adult I Have Been Known To Sweat Profusably If A Clown Gets Anywhere Close To Me.
There Are So Many Different Types Of Phobia's And I Happen To Have More Than One Phobia. I'll Be More Than Happy To Share Them With You In One Of My Future Story's.
A Clown Can Easily Take Advantage Of His Image. I Have Known Them To Rob Banks Then Remove The Clown Makeup And Suit And It Would Be Very Difficult To Apprehend Him Due To His Quick Changing Ability. Don't Forget About John Wayne Gacy Being A Clown Too.
Do I Or Do I Not Have Coulrophobia?

One Week And Your Answer Will Be Due.
What Will My Next Story Be?

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....