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!

Happy Birthday Loyal

Today Would Have Been My Brother's Birthday.
He's Not With Us Today Because He Was Killed In An Automobile Accident This Past Summer.
Loyal Was A Wonderful Person Who Always Had a Cheerful Greeting When You Met.
Loyal Was Almost Like The Wind. You Never Knew When The Next Time You Would See Him.
I Am Grateful I Had The Opportunity To Have Been A Part Of Loyal's Life Here On Earth.
I Will Miss Him And Maybe One Day I Will See Him Again.
Today I Light A Candle In His Memory. Thanks For All The Memories Loyal. You Were A Good Friend And A Good Brother.
May You Rest In Peace.

50 Ways You Know You Are In The Danville Area

This Is My Christmas Gift To Those Readers Of My Blogs That Live In Other Parts Of The Country.
Since You Can't Be Home For Christmas Maybe I Can Bring A Little Bit Of Danville To Your Home For The Holidays.
I Just Jotted Down Some Of My Memorable Locations In The Danville Area.
I Hope You Enjoy Taking A Ride Down Memory Lane.

Merry Christmas To All Of Those Who Holds Danville In Their Hearts And Can't Be Home For Christmas.

2008 Headsup! Just A Quick Note That I Will Begin Posting Familiar Photo's Throughout The Danville Area In My Future Blogs. Stay Tuned!



1. You See The 12 Story Bresee Tower In Downtown Danville
2. You Travel Over The Thin And Narrow Parcel Of Land To Get On The Other Side
Of Lake Vermilion.
3. When You Hear People Still Call It Lakeview Hospital.
4. When You Can Alway Get Directions From People On How To Get To Where You Are
Going.

5. It's A Sure Thing It WILL Snow Sometime During The Winter Months.
6. When You See The Victory Monument At Main And Gilbert.
7. Custard Cup
8. The Veterans Hospital & Cemetary.

9. The True Reminder Of The Wildlife At Kickapoo State Park
10.The Road That Travels Over Ellsworth Park
11.Fairchild Street Subway
12.Interstate 74

13.Fair Oaks
14.Mikes Grill
15.Danville High School
16.The Sign That Says; "To Turn Left Make Three Right Turns"
17.Steak N Shake
18.The Only Time You Can See The Mill St Bridge Is In The Winter When The Leaves Are
Off The Tree's.
19.The Winding Road Of Hungry Hollow

20.The One Lane Viaduct On Winter Ave
21.Rhodes & Burford
22.American Legion
23.Georgetown Road
24.Danville Stadium
25.Prescription Shop
26.Images Of Lincoln
27.Saint James Church
28.Harrison Park Golf Course And Snow Hill
29.If You Remember St Elizabeth Hospital
30.Fishing At Horseshoe Lake Behind The Hospital.

31.Little Nugget
32.Fischer Theater
33.Vermilion River
34.Celebrity Signs For The Danville Famous
35.Vermilion County Court House
36.Route 1 Jog From Gilbert, Fairchild To Vermilion North.

37.Madison Square
38.Old A&W Rootbeer Stand
39.Danville Junior College
40 Danville Commercial News
41.Memorial Bridge
42.Vermilion County Museum
43.Springhill Cemetary
44.Labor Day Parade

45.Old Post Office
46.The Three Antenna Towers At WITY
47.The Old Public Library
48.Seeing Clyde At A Danville High Sporting Event.
49.Holiday Hills
50.Danville Care

There Is No Santa Claus??

One Christmas Eve I Sat In The Dark Watching Out The Upstairs Window Waiting To Catch A Glimpse Of Santa Making His Deliveries.
That's When My Life Shattering News Was Delivered To Me By My Brother Tuck. He Simply Told Me To Go To Bed Because There Was No Such Thing As Santa Claus. No Santa?
His Announcement Brought Both Sadness And Joy At The Same Time. I Felt Sad Because I Felt I Lost My Best Friend. However My Joy Came When I Realized My Mom Was In Fact Faithful To My Dad. It Upset Me So When I Would Hear My Mother Sing Along With The Radio As It Played The All Familiar Christmas Songs. The Only One That Bothered Me The Most Was When She Sang "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus".
Now I Understood And All Is Well.
Even Though Tuck's Intentions Were Good I Refuse To Believe Him. I Will Always Believe In Santa.

Just A Sidewalk?

Are You Kidding? Think About It. Just My Sidewalk Alone Holds Alot Of Memories.
My Sidewalk Took Me To School Each Day. I First Learned To Ride My Bike There.
That's The Place I Vowed Never To Step On A Crack For Fear In Breaking My Mothers Back!
I Can Remember Old Mr Roth Who Lived Next Door. He Hated The Grass In The Cracks Of The Sidewalk. He Would Pour Gasoline Where The Grass Was Growing And Ignite It And Let It Burn.
I Guess Maybe He Was Too Poor To Buy Grass & Weed Killer. He Would Be Out There Burning The Grass In His Cracks About Every Other Month Or So.
Over The Past 35 Years Or More I Shoveled Several Feet Of Snow From That Sidewalk.
Don't Tell Any Of The Guys But When Things Were Really Boring And I Couldn't Get Up A Game With The Neighbor Kids I Would Hop Scotch On My Sisters Chalked Squares.
A Lemonade/Koolaid Stand Once Stood In Front Of 713 On A Hot Summer Day.
It's Hard To Tell How Many Famous Footsteps Walked Accross That Slab Of Concrete Over The Years.
If Your Sidewalk Could Talk What Would It Have To Say?

100 Things About McGregor

1. I Am The Second Child Born To My Parents.
2. I Am Lefthanded.
3. I Am Red And Green Color Blind.
4. I Was Born Two Weeks Before 5-5-55.
5. I Do Not Like Citris Fruit.
6. I Love Cashews.
7. Cashews Don't Like Me.
8. President Kennedy Was Shot When I Was In The Third Grade.
9. I Am Afraid Of Heights.
10. I Grew A Beard While Serving In The Navy.
11. I Still Have My Beard.
12. I Read The Newspaper From The Back To The Front.
13. Blue Is My Favorite Color.
14. Pink Is My Least Favorite Color.
15. I Married My Childhood Sweetheart.
16. I Hit More Homeruns Than Anyone In Little League In 1967.
17. Number 4 Is My Favorite Number.
18. 666 Is My Least Favorite Number.
19. I Love Bowling, But I Bowl Righthanded.
20. I Love Rummage Sales.
21. I Enjoy Going To Auctions.
22. I Enjoy Giving To Others.
23. I Always Have A Buckeye In My Left Pocket.
24. I Once Found A Needle In A Hay Stack.
25. I Use To Deliver Newspapers.
26. I Will Be Celebrating 10 Years Of Not Smoking In April 2008.
27. I Collect Danville High School Yearbooks.
28. Dick Van Dyke Signed His Senior Photo In My 1944 Yearbook.
29. I Shook Hands With Dick Van Dyke.
30. Jerry Van Dyke Signed His Senior Photo In My 1950 Yearbook.
31. I Shook Hands With Ronald Reagan Before He Became President.
32. My Former Boss Nicknamed Me McGregor.
33. My Hair And Beard Have Gray In It.
34. I Have Epilepsy.
35. My Eyes Are Green.
36. I Had A Bicycle That Was 7 Feet Tall.
37. I Hate Cold Weather.
38. I Love Mushroom Hunting.
39. I Love To Play Euchre.
40. I Enjoy Shooting Pool.
41. I Am The Man From Nantucket.
42. I Still Remember My Childhood Telephone Number.
43. My Father Is A Retired Firefighter.
44. My Mother Collects Smiley Faces.
45. I Love The Smell Of Peanut Butter Fudge.
46. I Love Peanut Butter Fudge:)
47. I Can't Read Without Glasses.
48. I Love Ice Cream
49. I Hate Anything Sour.
50. I Hate Saurkraught.
51. I Went To School With David Crockett And Richard Burton.
52. <<< That's How Old I Am.
53. I Am Not Musically Inclined.
54. I Read The Newspaper Everyday.
55. I Am Addicted To Watching The Weather Report On Television.
56. My Favorite Movie Is First Blood.
57. I Always Wanted TO Learn How To Fly An Airplane.
58. I Am A Die Hard Cub Fan.
59. My Brother Operates Hams.
60. I Love April Fools Day.
61. I Use To Be Terrified Of Fireworks.
62. My Favorite Holiday Is The 4th Of July.
63. My Health Care Provider Is The Veterans Affairs Hospital.
64. I Was A Former Member Of The American Legion.
65. I Raised A Baboon For About Four Years.
66. I Wear A Size 10 Shoe.
67. I Weighed Between 130-135 For More Than 20 years.
68. I Was Rewarded 1.00 For Standing On My Head For A Little Over 2 Hours.
69. I Have Planted 2 Trees
70. I Have Always Wanted To See The Statue Of Liberty.
71. I Am A Brother To A Robin
72. I Believe In Santa.
73. I Have A Tattoo
74. I Use Have A CB Radio. My Handle Was Monkey Trainer.
75. I Use To Attend Franklin Grade School.
76. I Operated A Fax Machine Before They Were Sold To The General Public.
77. I Use To Videotape Weddings When Camera's Sold For Than $1,600.00.
78. My Favorite Sport Figure Is Walter Ray Williams.
79. I Have Never Been In A Building Taller Than 12 Stories.
80. My Grandfather Taught Me How To Fish.
81. My Best Friend Growing Up Was John Thurston.
82. I Hated School.
83. I Love Shrimp, Shhhh
84. I Buy A New Watch Every Year.
85. My First Job Was Frying Donuts At 4:30 In The Morning.
86. My First Car Was A Corvair Convertable.
87. I Won't Wear A Dark Colored Shirt In The Summer.
88. I Miss The Old Drive In Movies Theaters.
89. My Favorite Teacher Was Mrs. Bandy.
90. I Played In The Outfield In Little League Baseball.
91. I Like Cantalope Melon
92. I Don't Care For Football.
93. Gas Was 32.Cents A Gallon When I First Started Driving.
94. My Cousin Was My Aunts Husbands Brother In Law.
95. The Only Good Snow Is Melting Snow.
96. My Father Taught Me How To Ride A Bike.
97. I Love To Watch The Young And The Restless.
98. I Love To Watch The Reruns Of The Andy Griffith Show.
99. I Love Listening To The Oldies On The Radio.
100.I Cannot Dance,

I Have The Answer!

This Has Been "The" Question Of The Century But Nobody Has Stepped Forward With The Correct Answer.
I Happen To Have The Solution To This Unsolved Question.
I Don't Know What To Do About It Though.
I Should Get Some Compensation For It. No Differently Than The Person Who Invented The Pet Rock. He Made MIllions Of Dollars. For A Rock!
So what Do You Think? I Do Have The Answer And Have The Proof That I Do.
It Should Be Worth A Few Extra Bucks.
Q; Which Came First? The Chicken Or The Egg. So Simple.
Can't See The Forrest For All The Tree's.