Not Just A Buckeye

Years Ago I Was Once Told That If I Would Carry A Buckeye In My Left Pocket I Would Never Go Broke. I Thought What The Heck, What Do I Have To Lose?
So For Many Years I Carried A Buckeye In My Left Pocket. I Guess Since That Time I Never Actually Been Broke. However I Have Come Close To It On Many Occasions. It's Never Got Me Rich But Of Course That Was Never Promised.
With Christmas In The Air You Can't Help From Being Overwhelmed With Memories Of Years Past. This Brings Me Back To The Buckeye.
My Sister Brenda Who Passed Away On The 4Th Of July Was Well Known For Her Buckeye Candies. It Was A Chocolate Ball Filled With Peanut Butter. Being A Big Fan Of Both Ingredients, They Were The Greatest!
I Can't Bring Myself To Ever Eat Another Buckeye. In My Mind Her Buckeye's Are Heavenly, And No Other Could Ever Measure Up.
I No Longer Carry A Buckeye. Instead I Carry A Memory Stone In My Pocket. The Memory Stone Was Given To Me In Remembrance Of My Sister Brenda. I Won't Leave Home Without It.
Thank You Brenda For The Everlasting Christmas Memory I Will Hold Dear To My Heart.

I Realize It Has Not Been That Long Since I Wrote My Latest Blog. However I Am Concerned With My Readership. I Thought I Had Some Followers Because I Would Get A Comment Or Two Every Once In Awhile About A Topic I Had Written About. Not One Call, Not Even A Raised Eye Brow.
In My Latest Post Before This One I Wanted To Be Sure I Didn't Alarm Anyone To The Point They Would Come Knocking On My Door. I Did However Expect Someone, Anyone To Question The Validity Of The Blog.
Yes I Will Admit The Blog "Gonna Gump It" Was A Fraudulent Entry.
My Reason For Doing This Was Because Of The New Television Program "What Would You Do?" It's Apparent It Was Not A Success. Nobody Contacted Me. I Even Mentioned Something To The Mrs About What I Was Writing In Case Somebody Became Concerned And Contacted Her To Check If I Was Experiencing A Mid Life Crisis. Nothing.
The New Television Show Places Just Ordinary People Into Awkward Circumstances Just To See How They Would React To The Situation. My Gump Post Was As Close As I Could Get To See How People Would React To What I Had Written Without Giving It Away That It Was Actually Not Real. So In Reality, I'm Not Going Anywhere.
I Have Come To This Conclusion. I Have A Very Low Readership On My Blogs. People That Did Read It Was Not Concerned About What I Do With My Life.
In A Nutshell, I Will Continue To Write For Myself. This Particular Blog Was Written Because I Wanted To Know What You Would Do After Reading A Disturbing Entry On My Blog. I Even Put The Initials(WWYD) As A Tip, But Nobody Took The Bait. Did Anyone Care?
So Much For My Test. Now Back To Writing My Blogs About What I Want To Write About.
Have A Wonderful Day.

Gonna Gump It

As A Child Growing Up I Found Myself Starved For Adventure. I Was Seeking A Part Of Life On The Other Side Of The Rainbow. I Always Wanted To Know What Was There.
I Ran Away As A Young Child Because I Craved Adventure. It Wasn't Because I Was Unhappy With My Family.
There Have Been Days When I Would Day Dream Of Jumping On A Freight Train And Ride It For Miles. Wherever It Took Me Would Be Where I Ended Up.
I Have Reached A Moment In My Life Where I Want To Know What Life Is Like In Other Places. It Feels Like I Have Been Smothering Myself Not Knowing What Life Has To Offer Me. I Only Know What Life I Have Lived For The Past 55 Years. I'm Not So Sure I Want To Continue Down The Same Path.
What I Do Know Is I Intend To Make Some Changes In My Life. Every Day I Can Read It In The Newspaper Or Watch On Television Where People My Age Have Passed On And Maybe I Will Read About 3-4 Inch Obituary Of A Full Life Of Events Or Happenings. On The Flip Side You Have A Middle Aged Man Who Has Years Of Accomplishments And Are Living Life To The Fullest. Well Educated, Wealthy And Socially Accepted Pillar Of The Community.(WWYD)
I'm Lost And I Need To Find Myself. I Have Given This Much Thought And Have Come To A Decision. I Have Reached That Fork In The Road. This Fork Offers Me An Opportunity To Take A Different Road.
I Intend In The Beginning Of The New Year To Begin Walking. I Will Walk Until I Quit Walking. Maybe Someday I Will Find What I Have Been Searching For. If Not, I Will Be Able To Say I Took That Step. Sometimes People Fear The Unknown. Not Me.
With Not A Care In The World I Will Walk. Life Will Take Me Where I Am Suppose To Be. At This Point In Time I Have No Idea Where That Is.
I Promises At Least One More Blog Before I Walk. Don't Be Sad For Me. This Is A Time For You To Be Happy That I Have Found The Courage To Find Myself.
Some People Ignore Their Urge To Find Their Self Worth. I'm Content. Excitement For My Journey.

My Blogs Are My Blogs...

Apparently My Blog Followers Are A Much Larger Group Than I Realized. I Have Never Received A Negative Response To Any Of My Topics. I Believe The Reason For This Is Because I Try To Maintain A Positive Look At The Things I Blog About.
Let Me Make One Thing Perfectly Clear. If You Don't Read Your Name In My Blog It's Not That I Don't Love You. It's Not That I'm Not Thinking About You. It's Probably Because I Just Haven't Gotten Around To You Yet.
If You Go Through My Blogs You Will See Dates Trigger Topics Of My Blogs. If It's December 25th I Would Most Likely Write About A Memorable Christmas In Years Past.
If It's February 14th Most Likely I Would Write About A Valentines Day That I Expierenced One Day. If It's The Day Before Valentines Day I May Be Saying Happy Birthday To My Beautiful Grand Daughter.
This Blog Space Belongs To Me. I Write About Things That Are On My Mind At That Moment. If You Don't See Your Name Mentioned In My Blog Maybe That's A Good Thing. Well...Not Really, Because I Think Most Of My Readers Know I Try To Stay Upbeat In What I Write. It Would Be Considered Rare If You Read Something In My Blog That Would Be Chewing Somebody Out About Something. Maybe I Should Change My Ways And Start Griping About What's Going On In This World. Maybe One Of The Reasons I Don't Is Because If That's What You Are Looking For Then All You Have To Do Is Buy A Newspaper.
So In A Nutshell, If You Don't Like What I Blog About I Suggest You Not Read What I Write.
I'm Not Into The Gossip Stuff, So Most Likely You Won't Read Any Of That Here. I'm Sure There Are Blogs That Offer Back Yard Gossip. When You Finish Reading Mine I Would Like To See You Smile. Ok, I Am Finished.
Now You Can Smile....

Trip To The 60's

Hot Dr Pepper? I Knew It Was Popular, But Hot?
It Must Be An Age Thing, But The 1960's Were The Best Years Of My Life.
Recently A Friend Of Mine Sent Me Some Photo's I Did Not Even Know Existed. Now If You Are One Of Those People Who Squirms When Someone Get's The Old Photo Album Out To Show You Their Trip To Buskirk, This Blog May Not Be Too Interesting For You.

Since These Photo's Are Not Dated I Will Try To Guess This Photo Was Taken When I Was Either 11 Or 12 Years Old. So In 60's Terms That Would Make It Either 1966 Or 1967.

Now I Believe This Photo Was Taken In 1968 Or 69. From Left To Right Is Clyde Weaver, Tuck Miller, Yours Truly, And Lastly Robin Miller.

My Sister Channa. Must Think She's A Ballerina. I Bet This Is The First Time She Knew This Photo Existed.

Now This Is What A 60's Mom Looked Like. Yours Truly, My Mother Shirley Ann, But Friends Call Her Sam.

Ahh Ha! Me Again In Another Photo I Never Knew Existed.
I Love Old Photo's Of People I Know. The Only Photo's In This Era Of My Life Was When I Played Baseball. Now If I Am Wrong My Mother(Sam) Would Be The First To Tell Me.
I Think It's Called The Family Plan, But My Mother(Sam) Tried To Stay As Current As She Could With The Olan Mills Photo Studio. My Mother(Sam) Likes To Recall The Day Of Or The Day Before A Family Photo Was Booked. My Sister Channa Tried To Trim Her Bangs And They Ended Up Too Short. With Her Hand Covering Her Forehead She Asks Mom(Sam) How Long It Takes Hair To Grow. The Very Same Day I Decided To Get A Crew Cut. I Guess Just To Be Different. Yes I Know It Took Me A Few Years To Find My Place In Society. Hehe!!
Long Story Short. When Was The Last Time You Got Those Old Photo's Out? Corresponding With This Friend Who Was So Kind To Share These Photo's With Me, Agreed When I Told Him How Disappointing It Is When The Photographer Is Missing From The Photo's. People Need To Take More Interest When It Comes To Capturing Kodak Moments.

What Are You Waiting For? Go Fishing For Those Old Photo's And Reminisce From The Good Ol Days. For Me? It Was The 60's. For You?

Happy Thanksgiving

This Photo Came To Me Through A Friend. His Father Was An Amateur Photographer. He Has Been Going Through Negatives Of Photo's Taken Back In The 1960's.
I Chose This Photo To Be On My Thanksgiving Blog Because My Sister Who Passed Away In July Was Always Wishing The Ones She Loved A Happy Anything. Whether It's Your Birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving Or Whatever, You Were Almost Always Guaranteed A Call Wishing You The Very Best.
I Find It Difficult Wishing Someone A Happy Anything If They Lost Someone Special This Year. I Do Find Comfort In Knowing My Sister Brenda Is In A Place Where She No Longer Experiences Pain. For This Alone I Give Thanks.

Project S.W.A.N.

Friday November 26th(Black Friday) The Robin Hood Foundation Of Danville Will Be Conducting It's Second Annual Blanket Drive. This Years Location Will Be In K Mart Parking Lot.
We Encourage People To Donate New Or Gently Used Blankets To Be Distributed To Low Income Families In Danville.
We Feel Every Bed Should Have A Blanket. By Doing So Allows You To Lower Down The Thermostat At Night Saving You Money While You Sleep.
A Couple Weeks Back I Received A Telephone Call From A Teacher At Liberty Elementary.
She Asked Me For Permission To Copy The Flyer's I Had Printed Up By The Commercial News. She Wanted Her Children To Take Them Home To Their Parents.
I Was Delighted With Her Idea And Told Her Yes By All Means Have Them Copied. After Giving That Some More Thought I Decided To Call Her Back And Informed Her She Could Share This With Other Classrooms If She Desired.
This Year Being The Second I Had Learned A Few Things I Lacked As Far As Advertisement And Added A Little More This Year To Get The Word Out To The Community. I'm Sure Next Year I Will Add Even More Idea's That I Didn't Think Of This Year Or Last. Let's Get Beyond This One First.
In This Mornings Commercial News An Article Was Written About This Third Grade Class Who Created Three Blankets Together As A Group. Their Teacher Wanted To Involve Them In A Community Project That Would Benefit Others Who Are Less Fortunate.
Words Below Are Words From The Article In Today's Commercial News.

Liberty Elementary School students have spent the past week preparing a big, warm hug.

Two classrooms recently completed homemade blankets that will be donated to an area blanket drive and the whole school has collected more than 600 canned goods that will go into Thanksgiving baskets for needy residents.

“I wanted to help people be warm,” said third-grader Hailey Krynski. “People should have blankets when it gets cold outside.”

Teacher Susie Willard came up with the class project after learning about Friday’s blanket collection, which is called Project Swan — Stay Warm at Night Project and is hosted by the Robin Hood Foundation of Danville.
Collection organizers are asking for new or “gently used” blankets and will host a drop-off event beginning at 6 a.m. Friday in the Kmart parking lot, 2721 N. Vermilion St.

“In social studies, they’re learning about what makes a community,” Willard said. “I asked them and they wanted to volunteer their time to make something that could be enjoyed by others.”

The class enlisted the help of Nikki Boyer’s third-grade class and within a week the two had created two new blankets to donate.

“It’s very simple to make,” said Willard, “and they had a good time doing it. They were excited that they were able to make it themselves.”

The blankets are comprised of two pieces of material placed on top of one another. They are “stitched” together by students with cloth “ties.”

Fourth-grade teacher Cheri Duensing said the blanket project, and the collection effort, have been teaching opportunities as well.

“It teaches them about cooperation and it teaches them the importance of giving back,” she said. “It shows them, ‘Your world is bigger than just you,’ and that every little bit helps.”
Third-grader Alonzo Chavira said the Thanksgiving projects led him to think more about others’ needs.

“It’s sad that some people can’t afford a blanket or get out of their apartment to buy one,” he said. “I’m glad we helped them.

Ok, This Is Me Again. After Reading This Wonderful Article I Just Had To Respond To These Youngsters. Today Was The Last Day Of School Before Thanksgiving. I Called Susie Willard The Teacher I Initially Spoke With And Asked Her If I Could Thank The Children Personally. She Was Delighted With The Idea And Invited Me To Come Right After Lunch.
I Thanked Each Child For Their Participation In This Project. I Reminded Them That Every Bed Should Have A Blanket On It. Staying Warm At Night Can Save You Money By Turning The Heat Down While You Were Sleeping. I Reminded Them They Together Worked As A Group To Help Others Who Could Not Afford To Go Out And Buy Blankets For Their Bed.
Their Beautiful Smiles Warmed My Heart Today. I Left That School Today Knowing Our Future Will Be Ok As Long As We Have People In It Like Those Teachers and The Students At Liberty Elementary School.
Friday's Forecast Will Be A Cold One In Temperatures But In Spite Of It All The Cause And The Mission Is Worth It.
It Will Be An Event I Will Look Forward To Every Single Black Friday. Let It Be A Tradition Of Giving And Warmth And Love.

Chance Meetings

Call It Fate Or Chance Meetings. Whatever You Call It, It Became Responsible To Change The Course Of History. A Train Delay Could Be The Difference In Whether You Are Involved In That Horrible Collision A Mile Up The Road. You Missed That Flight Out Of Chicago And Have To Wait An Additional Four Hours For The Next Flight Out. Only To Find Out That Plane Had Crashed, Had You Been On Board.
Tune It To A More Positive Chance Meetings Or Fate. Most Of Us Would Not Be Who We Are If It Were Not For Fate.
I Have Mentioned It Before That My Father Had Met My Mother In A Restaurant He Ordinarily Did Not Patronize. I Met My Wife In Sunday School When We Were Only 12. Her Cousin Attended Our Church Every Sunday And She Invited Her Cousin That Special Sunday Giving Me That "Chance Meeting". Otherwise We May Have Never Met, Fell In Love And Have Children.
I'm Sure Many Of You Can Recall Many Fate Happenings In Your Lives. If It Weren't For This Or That, Things May Not Be As They Are Today.
Think About It....

I Hate Meeces To Pieces

Yep, It's Fall And Getting Cold Outside. The Little Critters Who Crave Warmth Are Searching For It. We Were Prepared For This So We Set Out De Con To Rid Ourselves Of Any Mice That Would Want To Enter Our Residence.
In Years Past We Got A Different Brand That Would Kill The Mouse But Would Dry Up The Mouse Which Would Eliminate The Smell Of The Decaying Varmant.
Why Is It When Mice Choose Their Final Resting Place They End Up In A Place You Cannot Find Them? You Can Smell Them But Can't Reach Them To Remove The Carcass. It Seems To Me The Refrigerator Is A Popular Location. Mrs Mac And I Tipped The Fridge Back So I Could Find It. No Luck. We Tipped It Forward With No Luck. We Managed To Vacuum It Thoroughly But Still Failed To Remove It.
Finally We Gave Up And Decided To Buy One Of Those Oder Fresheners To Cover Up The Smell.
From Now On I Think The Old Fashioned Contraption Called A Mouse Trap Will Be Best Suited For Us.

I Know Who Santa Is

Don't You Just Love This Photo?
Some Kids Melt Into The Lap Of Santa. Other's However Are Terrified By Just The Mere Sight Of The Man In The Red Suit.
Danville's Christmas Parade Is Approaching And My Brother Tuck Is The Santa. Being Santa Is A Tradition With Him. He Does Parties Where Parents Want Him To Make An Appearance For Their Children.
He Begins Growing His Beard Out In August Allowing It To Grow Long Enough For The Little Ones To Tug On To Make Sure It's For Real.
However, Not To Confuse Anyone About The Real Reason For The Season Of Christ Birth, Tuck Manages To Remind Those Who May Forget.
Santa, Mac Has Been A Very Good Boy This Year....Hint.?..