Wrigley Field....

It's That Time Of Year Again! Baseball Season Is Upon Us Once Again. For Me That Means The Chicago Cubs And Wrigley Field. If You Have Never Heard Of Wrigley Field You Are Either Very Very Young Or Live On Another Planet.
The Cubs Begin Their Season The Day After Tomorrow(Monday)In Houston. It Will Be Another Week Before The Cubs Come Home To The Friendly Confines Of Wrigley.
They Play Three Games In Houston Before They Go To Milwaukee To Play The Brewers.
It's Been Awhile Since I Have Been To Wrigley. Next Year My Brother Tuck Will Be Living In Danville And I Am Certain A Trip To Wrigley Will Be On His Agenda. I Would Enjoy Taking My Father Once More. He Is Getting Older And He Loves The Cubs Just As Much As I Do. It's Only Right For Him To Return To Wrigley Atleast Once More.
I Think I Have Traveled To The Windy City About A Half Dozen Times To Watch The Cubs Play. A Couple Times When I Was A Snot Nosed Kid And The Rest Was When I Was Old Enough To Go By Myself. I Never Went Alone Because Wrigley Was So Special You Just Had To Share The Experience With Somebody.
Wrigley Field Is Rich With History. The Wall Of Ivy To The Old Fashioned Scoreboard.
It's Not The House That Ruth Built, But Babe Did Play There. In Fact So Did Many Other Well Known Players Of The Game In Baseball's Past.
I Will Always Have Fond Memories Of Wrigley. The Bleacher Bums, To The Fans That Throw The Homerun Balls From The Apposing Team Back Onto The Ballfield. The Wind That Would Blow In From Lake Michigan And It Would Freeze Your Tootsies Off. On The Other Hand If It Was Blowing Out, Homeruns Would Be Bountiful!
There's No Place On Earth Like Wrigley Field. If You Haven't Been There I Hope One Day You Will Have The Opportunity To Go.
Cub Fans From Around The World Were Praying The Cubs Would Win The World Series Last Year On The Cubs 100th Anniversary. Now That We Have 100 Years Behind Us, Maybe This Will Be The Year Of The Cub.
In Any Event All I Can Say Is GO CUBS!!

Growing Up Playing Ping Pong

I Remember The Day As If It Was Yesterday. It Was A Fold Up Type Of Table That Had Wheels On The Bottom Side To Manuvere Wherever You Wanted To Play The Game.
My Father Must Have Been A Very Patient Man To Teach His Three Young Sons And Daughter How To Play Ping Pong.
I Would Say We Were Considered Very Good Players. I Played In PE Class At School And Nobody Could Beat Me. I Sure Do Miss The Game. It Has Been So Many Years Since I Played A Game.
One Thing I Appreciate The Most Was My Father Never Gave Me A Game. You Know How Some People Let Someone Win A Game To Give Them Confidence? Ofcourse Nobody Wanted To Lose All The Time. My Two Brothers And Myself Played All The Time And I Would Have To Admit We Were Pretty Much At The Same Level Of Play. So Ofcourse We Won Some And Lost Some. However When It Came To Dad He Told Me One Day That If I Were To Ever Beat Him I Would Earn It. My Father Was A Very Good Player. I Believe He Was Pretty Much The Best At The Firehouse.
I Knew Someday I Would Eventually Beat My Father At Ping Pong. I Was 22 Years Old Before I Beat Him At The Downtown Fire Station. I Knew It Wasn't A Gimmee, And That I Had Earned The Honor Of Finally Meeting His Challenge. I'm Glad He Raised Me With Those Principles. If You Want It Bad Enough You Must Work For It. Nobody Is Going To Hand You Anything Unless You Earn It. It May Have Taken Me 22 Years To Accomplish Beating Him On The Ping Pong Table. It Wasn't The Win That Matters The Most To Me. It Was The Fact That I Worked At It Long And Hard Enough To Earn It. The Day I Earned That Game, My Father Shook My Hand In Defeat. I Beat Him Maybe A Couple Times After That But It Wasn't As Important Than The Lesson I Learned From It.
It Never Was About Ping Pong Afterall.

Mac Bowls A 600 Series In Bowling!!

I Just Love That Headline! Wishful Thinking On My Part I Guess! I Am In My 4th Consecutive Year In Bowling. I Started Bowling On A League Back In 1976. I Bowled Just 1 Year Then Quit. I Bowled The Entire Season Using A House Ball And Rented Shoes. It Wasn't Until 1984 When I Began Getting Real Serious About Bowling. I Bought My First Ball At K Mart. I Bowled For About Three Years Then Quit. A Little More Than Ten Years Later I Joined The Senior Citizen League.
When I Joined The Senior League I Was The Youngest Member On Board. The League Lowered Their Age Restriction From 55 To 50 In Order To Get More Bowlers.
First Off, Don't Get The Idea In Your Mind A Bunch Of Old Folks With Walkers And Canes Throwing 5 Pound Balls Hoping It Makes It To The Pins Before It Stops. There Happen To Be Some Very Good Bowlers. First Bowler That Comes To Mind Is Stan The Man. I Call Him Stan The Man Because He Is The Man. He Is A Very Talented Bowler That Has Held The Mens High Game And Series For As Long As I Have Been A Member.
You Have Big Bob. As Big Bob Stands There Staring Down Those Pins, You Could See Those Poor Pins Shivering In Fright. All Ten Of Those Pins Recognizes This Man Who Throws The Ball 100 Miles Per Hour Down The Lane. Even Though This Gentle Giant Bowls Each Week In Unbearable Pain At Times, His Love For The Sport Is Greater.
Sammy Who Retired For Health Concerns. With Her Fibro Condition She Knew Every Day May Be A Challenge For Her. Yet She Has Come Out Of Retirement To Finish Out The Season For Our Beloved Mr Magoo(Ralph).
You Have Terry Who Everybody Loves. We Had A Scare A Couple Years Ago When He Was Diagnosed With Cancer. He Was Able To Beat The Cancer And Now We Have Our Wonderful Friend Bowling With Us Again.
I Saved The Best For Last. My Father. We All Thought His Bowling Career Was Over Just A Few Weeks Ago. His Hip Has Been Giving Him Fits And Everything Medically Has Been Done With The Exception Of Surgery.
He And My Mother Have Been Bowling On This League Ten Years Or More. He Use To Have A Respectable Average Throughout His Career Of Bowling. Because Of His Hip Ailment He Has Not Been Able To Bowl His Potential. I Know How Frustrating That Can Be. You Can Love A Sport So Much But Because Of Health Concerns Are Unable To Enjoy It Fully.
I Pray His Hip Condition Will Get Better Over The Summer Months. We Have My Brother Tuck Joining The League Next Season After He Retires And Moves Back To Illinois From California. Hopefully We Can All Three Bowl Together On The Same Team.
Alot Depends On Whether Or Not My Father Is Physically Able To Continue. We Have Bowlers On This League Who Are In Their 80's. We Have Bowlers Who Have Had Knee Replacement. We Even Had A Blind Bowler, God Rest His Soul. Oh Charlie Boone Had Very Poor Vision But His Love For The Game Brought Him To The Alleys Every Thursday Afternoon.
There Are Only Three Weeks Left In This Season. I Am Running Out Of Time If I Intend To Bowl My 600 Series For The Very First Time In My Life. I Have Come Close Several Times But Never Mastered It. I'm Going To The Bowling Alley Tomorrow With The Intentions Of Bowling That First 600 Series. Tomorrow's Match Play In My Opinion Is The Most Important For Our Team This Year. Our Team Is Not In Contention This Year So All We Can Be Are Spoilers. There Is Only One Half A Point Separating First And Second Place Team. We Can Make A Big Difference If We Do Well.
If The Next Blog Doesn't Have The Headline Mac Bowls His First 600 Series, Remember One Thing Is For Sure. All Five Members Of The Keenagers Know What Is At Stake. Wish Us Well!
We Want To Win All The Games And I Want To Bowl A 600 Series. That Is No April Fool!

American Idol

I Never Miss A Show. I'm Hooked On American Idol! How About You Guys?
Every Year I Have My Favorite Singers And Usually I Am Pretty Much On Mark. I Have Been Perfect In Scoring As Far As Picking The Next American Idol. If You Haven't Watched The Show, It's Never Too Late.
Every Tuesday And Wednesday Night I Am Right In Front Of The TV Enjoying All The Beautiful Voices.
This Year Is Going To Be A Tough One. Here Is My Prediction 9 Weeks Before The Next American Idol Is Chosen.
The 2009 American Idol Will Be....Danny Gokey
2.Allison Iraheta
3.Adam Lambert
4.Lil Rounds
5.Anoop Desai
6.Matt Giraud
7.Kris Allen
8.Scott MacIntyre
9.Megan Joy

So In Other Words The Next Person I Believe To Exit Will Be Megan Joy. I Don't Base My Choices On Anything Other Than A True Ear For Talent.
For Those Who Have No Idea What I Am Talking About Tune In On Fox Network Tuesday Night, And See For Yourself! If My Predictions Are Wrong, Remember I Am Only Human.
In My Opinion...The Next American Idol....

Thank You......

How Hard Is That For You To Say? Is It Me Or Do You Find Those Words Being Used Less Frequently Nowadays? Why Is That?
I Was Taught By My Parents At A Very Young Age To Always Say Please And Thank You. In Addition I Was Taught How To Respect My Elders By Calling Them Sir Or Mam, Mr. Or Mrs.
I Go To The Grocery Store And Spend Alot Of Money. During The Transaction I Was Handed My Receipt And Was Told Here's My Change? Here's My Change? What Happened To Thank You?
To Be Honest About It It's My Opinion This New Generation Of Young People Don't Have The Words Thank You In Their Vocabulary. Before You Think I Am Picking On Young People, Please Think Again. If I Were To Have A Transaction With An Older Cashier I Would Most Likely Be Told Thank You. I Think Most Would Agree With That Assessment.
Both My Children Were Raised As I Was Raised.
Ok, Thanks Guys For Allowing Me To Let Off Steam.
Now, That Photo Of The Dog? If You Find Any Puppies Of That Breed Will You Please Get In Touch With Me? Thank You......

The Sullivan Brothers

George, Francis, Joseph, Madison & Albert Sullivan Were Killed While Serving On The Light Cruiser USS Juneau. All Five Brothers Enlisted In The Navy Shortly After Pearl Harbor Was Bombed By The Country Of Japan.
These Boys Grew Up Together In Waterloo Iowa.
Feel Free To Google Their Name And You Will Get All The Information You Would Want On These Fighting Brothers. They Were All Good Catholic Boys Fathered By A Conductor On The Illinois Central Railroad. Their Mother Was A Protective And Loving Person.
Never Again Would The US Government Allow Brothers To Serve On The Same Ship Since The Sullivan Brothers Gave Their Lives For This Great Country Of Ours.
Ok, No Need To Thank Me For The History Lesson. You Know How It Is After You Watch A Tear Jerking Movie Or Read A Wonderful Novel. You Want To Share It With People You Care About.
Now You Can Ask My Brother Since We Were Both Sailors Back In The Day. Me A Sailor? Ask Tuck If I Was In The Navy. He Will Tell You I Had A Two Year Vacation On The Island Of Paradise. You Think There Is A Little Jealousy There?
Back To The Sullivan Brothers. Seriously, They Paid The Ultimate Price Because They Did Everything Together. God Bless Your Souls...Anchors Away My Boy..Anchors Away.

It's Not Just A Pumpkin Pie

No, It's Not The Pie. I Have Had Alot Of Slices Of Pumpkin Pie In My Lifetime. This Pie Is Not Your Normal Piece Of Pumpkin Pie.
Terry, My Former Neighbor And Bowling Friend Made A Pie And Brought It Down To The Bowling Alley This Afternoon. Why? Because He's A Nice Guy No Matter What Carol Says About Him.
See This All Started When He Told Me He Missed Me Being His Neighbor. It's Nice To Be Missed But It's Not The End Of Our Friendship. We Bowl Every Thursday From August Through April And Have The Past Four Years. Terry Told Me He Was Going To Bake Me A Pie. I Said That Was Cool. He Called Me A Few Nights Later And Told Me I Have Some Good News And I Have Some Bad News. The Good News Is I Baked Us A Couple Pumpkin Pies. The Bad News Is I Burnt Yours. Hehe,Hahaha,Hehehe!
From That Point On Anytime He Would Call Me Or Instant Message Me I Would Call Him Pumpkin. After A Couple Weeks Of This He Instant Messaged Me And Made Me A Deal. He Said I Will Bake You A Pumpkin Pie And Bring It Down To The Bowling Alley If You Promised Not To Call Me Pumpkin Again. I Said Ok, You Gotta A Deal.
Guess What I Ate At The Bowling Alley This Afternoon? If You Guessed Pumpkin Pie You Are Correct. I Tried To Share With Others While I Was Down There But Ended Up Bringing Some Home. Ohhh, I Have Some Ice Cream. I Don't Ever Remember Having Pumpkin Pie Alamode. I'll Give It A Try And Report Back To You And Let You Know How Good It Was.

Danny Boy

Oh Danny Boy, The Pipes, The Pipes Are Calling.
From Glenn To Glenn And Down The Mountain Side.
The Summer´s Gone, And All The Flowers Are Dying.
´Tis You, ´Tis You Must Go, And I Must Bide.

But Come Ye Back When Summer´s In The Meadow.
Or When The Valley´s Hushed And White With Snow.
´Tis I´ll Be There In Sunshine Or In Shadow
Oh Danny Boy, Oh Danny Boy, I Love You So.

And If You Come, When All The Flowers Are Dying
And I Am Dead, As Dead I Well May Be.
You´ll Come And Find The Place Where I Am Lying.
And Kneel And Say An "Ave" For Me.

And I Shall Hear, Tho´ Soft You Tread Above Me
And All My Dreams Will Warm And Sweeter Be.
If You´ll Not Fail To Tell Me That You Love Me
I´ll Simply Sleep In Peace Until You Come To Me.
I´ll Simply Sleep In Peace Until You Come To Me.

Down That Golden Road

What Comes To Mind When You Hear Those Words? Everyone Seems To Have A Different Interpretation For Different Phrases.
Try To Imagine For A Moment The Most Serine Place You Have Ever Been. A Place Within Your Comfort Zone. A Place You Can Sit Back And Think About All The Wonderful Times You Shared With A Loved One. Whether It Be Last Year Or 50 Years Ago, A Speckle In Time Is All It Was.
Eternity Is Just That. Forever.
We As Human Beings Living In A Time That Was Used By Others Before Us. A Place That Will Someday Be Used By Those Who Will Come After Us.
I Can Remember As A Child The Oldest Living Person That I Knew Was My Great Grandfather. Through A Childs Eyes You See Things Differently. I Will Never Forget The Day He Passed Away. My Grandpa Was Big And Strong But That Day He Cried. The Only Day I Ever Saw Him Cry. I Placed My Hand Into His And Not A Word Was Spoken.
He Picked Me Up Into His Strong Arms And Kissed Me On The Cheek And He Told Me He Loved Me. I Never Knew My Grandfather To Share His Lovingness In A Physical Way.
Even Though I Was Raised In A Loving Home The Words I Love You Were Hardly Spoken. However, I Was Taught To Show Your Love In What You Did For Others. That's An Expression Of Love. Bake A Pie, Prepare A Meal. Send Cards Or Flowers. Plant A Tree.
When Someone Loses A Loved One It's Difficult Sometimes To Find The Right Words To Comfort The One Who Suffered The Loss. Ofcourse Shortly After The Loss Both Family And Friends Are In Abundance. The Time Afterwards, The True Emptiness Begins To Become Relavant.
So Where Do You Find Your Inner Peace? On The Fishing Bank? Do You Go Out And Buy A Book And Sink Your Mind Into The Depth Of It?
I Find My Inner Peace Through A Child. A Childs Eyes Are The Innocense Of Being. A Child Does Not See As We See. They Only Know For What They Have Been Taught. Their Innocense Shines Through From What They Don't Know Or Have Not Been Shown. Because Of Their Assumption Some Strange Or Funny Things Can Result From It.

If You Have A Friend Or Loved One That Is Hurting Because Of A Loss, Try To Fill That Void With Something New Or Fresh. I Have Always Thought By Planting A Tree Or Shrub Could Serve As A Silent Reminder Or Reflection Of The Times Spent With That Person You Miss Here On Earth.
With Times Like This I Am Reminded By, To Everything There Is A Season.
To Everything-A Season, And A Time To Every Delight Under The Heavens:
A Time To Be Born And A Time To Die. A Time To Plant, A Time To Pluck The Planted.
A Time To Slay, And A Time To Heal. A Time To Break Down, And A Time To Build Up.
A Time To Cry, And A Time To Laugh. A Time To Mourn, And A Time To Dance.
A Time To Seek, And A Time To Destroy. A Time To Keep, And A Time To Throw Away.
A Time To Rend, And A Time To Sew. A Time To Be Silent, And A Time To Speak.
A Time To Love, And A Time To Hate. A Time Of War, And A Time For Peace.
May God Bless And Keep You Forever More.

March Madness

Ohhh You Think This Blog Is About Basketball Eh? Wrong!
The March Madness I Am Referring To Is The Transition From Winter Into Spring.
Last Week I Reported My First Sighting Of A Robin. We Have Flowers Sprouting From The Ground. Call It Spring Fever Or Cabin Fever, Whichever, I Am More Than Ready For Spring To Finally Arrive. I Should Have Put The Car Into The Garage Because I Had To Scrape Frost Off The Windows Early This Morning So I Could Take My Grandson To School. I Hate Frost And I Hate Snow. I Also Hate Cold Weather And Anything Closely Related To Old Man Winter. I Have Always Been A Summer Person And It Couldn't Get Here Any Sooner For Me!
The Spring Tease We Had In Danville Last Week Was Just Terrible. The High For Tuesday Through Yesterday Was In The Mid 30's. Atleast The Temperature Got Into The 40's Today!
Soon I Will Be In The Woods Searching For Mushrooms And Mowing Grass And Getting Things Ready With My Truck. I Am More Than Ready!