Our Thanksgiving Holiday

Now some of you might find this picture funny and some of might not and that's okay. When I first came across this picture I enjoyed it but never thought I would actually see the real thing.

We spent Thanksgiving in New Mexico with our son Michael and his family and had a great time. While there I met Michael's father in law and low and behold he took a picture of his boat with him in it setting in their swimming pool. (Brandie if you read this please show it to Randy.) I about cracked up 'cause this was too real. If he had said he caught a fish while doing that I really would have raised my eyebrows!

New Mexico is a different place. They live in Albuquerque and I must say I was surprised at how cold it was. Grass is a premium apparently 'cause there is little of it. We went to the golf course to hit a few golf balls and to see if old Dad here could handle the pain. My back and legs did all right but the heart gave me problems for a couple of days. We ate too much; Brandie is a good cook but does not appreciate my zeal for junk food. (I think) On our way home we visited the 4 corners monument and was not impressed at all. We were charged $3.00 each to look at a concrete slab and take a picture of it. Nothing else was there. All in all I don't think I would like living there too much. I am used to green mountains, clear lakes and lots of animals to see.

Oh lordy I am late for picking up my wife at work. Got to go.

Amber how was your latest visit to the Mother Ship?

Andy Rooney I Love You!!

As I have mentioned in the past I don't get too caught up with political items but the following was sent to me by my cousin and I thought it was priceless. It states my feelings quite well.

Andy Rooney

So much truth in this...Andy Rooney said on "60 Minutes" a few weeks back: I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America; and see what happens... Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.

Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, that is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts! ARE YOU LISTENING MARTHA BURKE?

I have the right "NOT" to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off.

When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling, it is the Law of Probability.

I believe that if you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American citizen, you should have to speak English!My father and grandfather didn't die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours. I think the police should have every right to shoot your sorry ass if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word "freeze" or "stop" in English, see the above lines.

I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store, or any other business.

We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to their interpretations.

I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor. I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That doesn't stop you from watching them.

I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that's better, and put your name on the building.

It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid; and smack their little behinds when necessary, and say "NO!"

I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that new lip ring heals. I don't want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me French fries!

I am sick of "Political Correctness." I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa; so how can they be "African-Americans"? Besides, Africa is a continent. I don't go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was from Europe. I am proud to be from America and nowhere else.

And if you don't like my point of view, tough... THEN DON'T PASS IT ON!!

The Medicare and Social Security Issue

This is about how my pot at the end of the rainbow looks. I have a saying that the Lord never gives you more than you can handle. I have never had much money so now I know how the Lord views my ability to handle it.

Today has been one of those days. Social Security and Medicare have collaborated and come up with the ultimate plan to help senior citizens or those on disability. Right!!!

I have been on Social Security disability since 1997 and while it is not letting me get rich by any means, it has been helping us get by. Each year they have a cost of living raise which is not much but it does help. However, the Medicare premiums have risen to the point that we actually lose money each month. Last year the overall cost of living raise less the Medicare premium cost us $35.00 a month. This year it will cost us another $35 - $40 a month. In addition the new insurance for drugs will cost us more than we have had to pay also. It seems that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I would love to have a job but the physical disabilities prevent that from happening. I cannot imagine how those who are older than me are surviving.

I normally do not criticize our government leaders but this time they have slipped a bit. There is no way a rich politician can appreciate what the poor people are going through. They have never been there and have no empathy for the situation. I wish the government had used some of us who are on the short end of the stick in developing Social Security and Medicare changes.

Medicare is getting to be a joke. That is about all I can say about that. (Forest Gump)
Enough said!!

It has been a wee bit cold the past two days. I hope when we go to New Mexico it will be a bit warmer. I sure am looking forward to visiting with my son and his family and bugging my daughter in law. I hope New Mexico has some fishing spots cause I sure would like to go fishing down there.

I have always wondered if anyone actually reads these things or even views them. It would be nice to have a counter to see how many hits the site gets. I have read some of the other blogs that people have posted and I don't know why people have to be so disgusting. Who cares what their sex habits are? Those who cannot even write without cursing and using gross language must have been raised in some interesting surroundings. Pigs come to mind and that is an insult to the pig.

Enough said for today.

My daughter Katherine (Kate)

This is a picture of my daughter Kate and her children when they came to visit us in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Now when she was named at birth her name was Katherine but having trouble with all the letters and keeping them straight she shortened her name to Kate so she could handle it better. She knows when it is her father calling her place of business because I always ask for Katherine which lets her know it is me.

Now Katherine is one of those people who will take molehills and make mountains out of them. This isn't so bad most of the time but at other times it will get her in a bit of trouble. She also has a tendency to get excited over the smallest details and become agitated about them. So I nicknamed her "Huff and Puff". Whenever she would get going strong I would start going around the room going, "Toot, toot." Then I would puff like a locomotive.

Katherine gets on her soap box every now and then and at times it has caused great merriment in our home. One year my boys and I went out rabbit hunting. Before we left she raked us over the coals about killing "Thumper" and how she hated eating anything that cute and cuddly. While hunting we managed to get six rabbits to bring home for a meal. Instead of cooking them up right away Mom put them in the freezer for another time.

My wife is an excellent cook as witnessed by my saggin body. This day, unbeknown to Katherine, Mom took the rabbits out, cooked them up, and then made a pot of creamed noodles to which she added the rabbit meat. We all watched as the meal was dished out. Katerine took a good portion and began eating while making a comment to her mother how good it was. I could not help myself. I started thumping my foot on the floor like a rabbit would. I thought my boys would die from laughter. Katherine looked at us and asked what was the matter. "Nothing," was the innocent reply. She downed that plate and asked for more. I asked her if she liked it and she said she really did. While eating her second plate I started scratching my ear like a rabbit would. The boys were laughing so hard they could not eat. Again she asked us what was so funny and we denied everything and anything. She downed her second plate and asked for more commenting again to her mother what a delicious meal it was. As she was eating her third portion I started twitching my nose, as best I could, like a rabbit. The boys were just rolling now and slow as she is Katherine realized something was not right here. Looking at her plate and then back at me she literally yelled, "Is this rabbit meat?" By now even Mom was laughing and no one could keep a straight face. Realizing what she was eating Katherine yelled again, "I don't like rabbit meat. You guys killed some rabbits!!!" Well duh!

Over the years we still have a good laugh reminding Katherine about how she hated eating rabbit. She is a good person though. Hard working, hot tempered, willing to help anyone and still huffs and puffs at times. She has had a hard life having lived with an abusive husband until she could take no more, trying to raise 4 children on her own, so what does the knothead do? She remarried a man with six children of his own and now she has 10 children. That would be enough to drive me to the looney bin.

I love each of my kids and they have been an honor to me. Sure they make mistakes like we all do but they are hard workers, loyal, and willing to help those in need. Now that I am an old man they can help my needs by helping me get a new motor for my boat. Hmmmmm, wrong kind of need I guess.

It doesn't pay to be greedy

As a young man I lived to go hunting. I shot my first buck deer when I was 12 years old and by the time I had graduated from high school I had 104 deer by my count. Our area was loaded with deer and they were a real problem in the winter when they would come and do so much destruction to the local ranchers hay stacks. Back then there weren't nearly as many people to contend with either.

For some reason, pride I guess is the best one to use, I kept record of how many shots it took me to bring down my animal. My average was 1.5 shots per kill. I don't know if this is a good average but I did not see very many animals suffer due to my poor shooting. Actually I feel fairly good about this average considering that the rifle I was using was an open sighted 30-30 carbine.

About being greedy though. I went to the mountain one particular day when it was cold, but so pretty. The snow was about waist deep in the powder so the climbing was not the easiest thing to do. As I was about half way up the mountain I spotted a large doe going up the mountain in front of me. With her were two yearlings that looked mighty tasty. As I got closer for a better shot I lay down in the snow to steady my hands since I was puffing like an old steam engine. I thought that the young doe looked the best so I shot at her and doggone it, I missed. She took off running while the other two just stood there and looked at me.

The young buck was not a clear shot so I pulled down on the older doe. Got her!!! She tumbled down the mountain a little bit and I went up to her to finish the job of cleaning the entrails and prepared to take her back down. As I was doing this the young buck came back to take a look and stupid me, I shot him too. I finished my work on the large animal, gave her a mighty shove down the mountain and proceeded to go to the buck. When I finished my work with him I dragged him down to where the old doe had landed and prepared to take them both home.

I noticed that something did not look right with the old doe as she lay there but the snow had covered her somewhat and I could not tell immediately what was wrong. To my surprise I found the young doe, that one I had shot at and missed, lying right on top of her. It was dead as could be. I looked very carefully but could not find any bullet holes in her. Darndest thing I have ever seen.

This is where the greedy part comes in. When one is trying to maneuver in waist deep powder snow, even when going down a mountain, it is extremely hard going. Throw in three deer on top of that and you have the makings for exhaustive work. When I got the animals home I took particular care in skinning the young doe to see where it had been shot. There were no bullet holes in her anywhere. She must have died from fright is the only thing I can think of.

As a follow-up to my story when I would go hunting I would only take 5 bullets with me. I figured if I was such a poor shot that I could not do better than that then I should not be hunting at all. I had a friend that believed in spraying the mountain with bullets with the hope that an animal would run into one of them. That is not good marksmanship, that is stupidity.

There might be some who will read this story and think me cruel to animals. If you could have ssen the winter kill these deer suffered in those mountains you would know what cruelty to animals really is. We used every bit of the meat and was grateful to have it. As I have mentioned in a story before I don't hunt anymore. I love to go to the woods and mountains now and see the animals up close and personal.

Do you like to play games on the computer?

No, this is not where I go fishing. I think this is my brother-in-law Ron back in SC.

I am not a game playing person. I find them boring and a total waste of time. However, someone introduced me to pogo.com which has many, many games and I got hooked on one of them. Word Whomp. This is a game where you have 21/2 minutes to make as many words out of six letters as possible. The more words the higher the score. Now just what does this accomplish? Absolutely nothing. So why do I play the stupid game? I guess it is because it keeps my mind active and, believe it or not, helps your intellect grow. Some of the words the site lists I have never heard of and it causes me to look them up in the dictionary. So if you find yourself bored with nothing to do look at this web site to kill your time.

Now I mention this with some cause for alarm. People like my friend Amber or my daughter Katie will get all frustrated playing a game like this because anything over three letters causes them great problems.

I am keeping this short today. Sometimes my stories seem to get lengthy, hence boring.
Have a nice day everyone.

My little fishing buddy. 

My other fishing buddies. 

Oh yes, this one was a nice one. 

My little fishing buddy 

My encounter with a very large bear

When I was 17 or 18 years old I spent the summer working in beautiful Island Park, Idaho as a lumberjack. I am taking a lot of license by calling myself a lumberjack but we did cut down trees, trim them, skid them out and load them for the sawmill. It was hard work but enjoyable. Due to the distance from town to where we worked we decided to stay in a tent. Talk about the life. The we I am referring to is my friend Garl Winger and myself. The boss had his trailer back there but hardly ever stayed in it. How could one not enjoy a peaceful mountain setting, animals of various kinds all over the place and just the two of us most of the time. Frankly I don't know how we survived since we had to eat our own cooking.
We had put in a particularly hard day and quit a little bit earlier than normal. The boss had left for a couple of days so there was just the two of us doing our thing. We walked down the hill and back to camp when what to our suprise; bears had been having a great deal of fun tearing up the place. Our food was scattered all over the ground, our gear was pawed over and tossed around, they had just had a great time. We muttered and sputtered and cleaned up the mess, arranged camped into some sort of normalcy and then settled down to relax.
Now I was not a fisherman at that time. However there was a small stream about 4 ft. wide that ran past the camp and we had been told that there were indeed fish in it. Garl wanted to clean his rifle. (We kept rifles there for protection) I decided I was going fishing. I picked up the pole, found some worms and proceeded to fish away in the stream. I always wore a baseball cap and usually with it pulled down to shade my eyes. This day not only did I have it pulled down but I had my head down concentrating on fishing. Low and behold I caught a fish. Now it was not a big fish and I should not have even kept it. I would say it was 3 - 4 inches long, but it was mine.
I had the fish on a line while I kept trying for another fish. I was really concentrating now when all of a sudden I heard, "Whoof." I looked up and standing on the other side of that 3 - 4 ft. stream was the largest bear I had ever seen. I now realize that at that close range even a chipmunk would have looked large. I stood perfectly still and we just looked at each other. I hollered to Garl, "Garl, there is a bear out here!" No answer. I started to back up very slowly not wanting to run and cause myself more grief. The bear just matched me step for step. I hollered again at Garl, "Garl, there is a bear out here!" I think my voice was a little louder that time cause at least Garl answered me. "You lying pup. There ain't no bear out there." That miserable @#$%&*. I slowly placed the fishing pole against a tree behind me. You have to realize of course that I was still holding my prize 3 - 4 inch fish. "Garl," I screamed this time. "There is a @#$%&**&%$#@ bear out here!!! This time Garl realized I was serious for he came running out of the tent, rifle in hand to see what really was going on. Of course this spooked the bear who ran up the hill about 50 yards and then stopped to take a look at this new development. Garl, who was an excellent marksman, shot the bear in the ear and it dropped right where it was.
As we were skinning it out and taking care of things Garl pointed out something to me that I had not known before. When a bear is skinned and lying there it looks almost like a fat human being lying on the ground. Kind of freaky actually. While we were skinning out the bear I looked down the hill and there standing on a log about 60 or 70 yards away was another bear just watching us. That is another story for another day. The bear we had turned out to have a head span of about 13 inches which is not small at all. We hung the hide in a tree and had he of stood on his hind legs he would have towered over me big time.
Now here is an interesting side note. During all this I did not get scared once. I actually was quite calm and collected, outside the screaming part that is. We had a good laugh about it and went back to being lumberjacks which will make for another story. A sad part to this summer of fun and high jinks; my friend Garl got killed from a falling tree later that fall.
I don't hunt anymore. I have no desire to shoot animals because I would rather see them in the wild when I am visiting it. Does that mean I am anti-hunting? Absolutely not. There is a reason for hunting and hunting seasons and it is, for the most part, a good program. I just lost my interest over the years. That is all for this time.

It is nice to have friends

I have a friend that lives in Colorado. Due to privacy issues I will just call her Amber and leave it at that. I met Amber when she was a roommate with my daughter and for the life of me I don't know why our family took a liking to her. When Amber was quite young she was abducted by aliens and taken to the mother ship where they studied her then threw her back like a fisherman would a bad fish. This had a very traumatic affect on Amber's life. I mean it is bad enough many of the earthlings have a hard time dealing with her but to be thrown back by aliens is almost inconceivable. Each night we offer a prayer for Amber hoping she will someday return to normalcy. The last time I saw her it was quite conclusive that normalcy was not going to be part of her life. I am just glad we decided to be her friends so the poor girl would not go through life totally friendless. Amber we love you. Oh, I almost forgot. When Amber looked at my blog page and seen the design on it she immediately started crying for she thought it was pictures of her long lost family from outer space.
Friends have not been and easy thing for me and I often would wonder why. What was wrong with me that people did not like me? I had a hard time dating girls in high school. I think I was considered a dork or something. I had crushes on the best looking girls of course but they would not give me the time of day. Lucky for me I met my wife in one of her weak moments and she married me. My wife is a beautiful woman and the best thing that ever happened to me. I consider her to be my very best friend.
Maybe my hearing has something to do with not having many friends. It is so embarrassing to try and have a conversation with someone and I keep saying what, what, what. Now I turn to my wife and ask, "What did they say?" I don't like going to movies because I keep saying to my wife, "What did they say?" Thank goodness for closed captioning on the television. I can enjoy a movie, sports event or other programs without any sound. In a way I like it cause it drives my kids crazy. My son will get so frustrated when I watch a ball game with no sound. I keep telling him I don't need sound to know what is going on beside that I can't stand most of the announcers.
Oh yeah, back to friendship. I am one who believes you can never get enough friends. For the life of me I can not figure out why good looking women think you are hitting on them just because you smile and say hello. I am a happily married man and have no illusions of cheating on my wife but I do like to tease and joke with others. Now where all this is going I have no idea. Today has been a busy day for me and my mind is not focusing. Amber would say it never focuses but what does she know; she thinks aliens are on the earth.
Guess that is all for today. I have a genealogy lesson to study and TV programs to watch.

I like trucks!!!

I like trucks. What more can I say than that. There is something about a big diesel rig that appeals to me. As I drive down the highway I am constantly admiring the rigs I see and the raw beauty of them.
Many years ago I wanted to be a truck driver. The thought of life on the highway, seeing new country, meeting new friends and being by myself with my truck was so appealing. After several years of experiencing some of my dreams I now have a slightly different outlook. Yes, I still love trucks. Yes, I still like seeing the country, (mind you I did not say NEW country), and yes, I have met many people whom I would call my friends that I would not have previously met. However, it is not all it seems. Life can get very lonely on the highway especially when your family is a thousand miles away having problems that you are helpless to deal with. The part that was hard for me also was going to new towns all the time and trying to find my pickup or drop off sites. A dedicated route with dedicated material that I don't have to handle would be just fine.
I was thinking last night of some of my more humorous times. There was the time I was driving across southern Idaho around 1:00am. Naturally at that time of morning you don't watch too closely for the "Bears" that might be out because they should be hibernating anyway. I passed an eastbound truck, grabbed my cb mike and hollered, "How is it looking behind you?" That is trucker talk for asking, "Are there any bears on the road." "Nope, green as far as one can see," came the reply. That lying pup. I didn't drive more than a quarter of a mile when who should be setting in the median but two bears. I, of course, might have been traveling a little fast 'cause their lights came on immediately. You know what lights I am talking about. The ones no one wants to see in their rearview mirror. I instantly grabbed my cb mike and said, "What are you guys doing out here? The other driver just told me you were no where around." There was a pause then one of the officers came back, "He lied." Well they had me and I knew it. I guess they were in a good mood that night because all he said to me after that was, "You're going a little fast so slow it down a touch." Their lights turned off and I proceeded down the road thanking my lucky stars for IHP officers being such nice guys.
One problem truck drivers encounter is becoming sleepy. I does not matter if you just got up from a good nights rest, after so many miles of steady droning from an engine running at about 1900 rpms you get sleepy. A bunch of us were talking about that very thing one night as we traveled in a makeshift convoy. There were a variety of ways discussed on how to keep awake, good looking girls in mini-skirts being the best. One of the drivers came on the radio and said he knew of a sure fire way to stay awake that he had learned some time back. Take a cup of coffee, put a teaspoon of catsup in it, stir it up real good and drink it down; you will stay awake. We digested this for a couple of seconds when someone asked how that could possibly work. The driver replied, "I did it and I was so sick for the next 400 miles that I couldn't go to sleep!" I don't recommend using that method for staying awake.
Another "Bear" story and I will quit for today. I was heading for Boise, Idaho early one morning when I came upon a string of cars in the right hand lane going about 55 mph. This was back in the days when 55 was the maximum limit. Of course I was in a hurry and was not about to follow that bunch of slow pokes so into the left lane I went with the petal to the metal. Silly me. I should have known there was a reason those cars were all going so slow. Who was leading the parade but good old "Smokey Bear". Well, crap he had me again. The only thing I could think to do was grab that good old cb mike and holler, (Idaho Smokeys monitor the cb so I knew he was on the air), "How fast are you going?" He replied, "I am going 55 mph." "Damn," I said. "My speedometer must be broken." I knew I was doing about 65 mph. "Yeah", he drawled back, "I think you might be telling a fib too!" Then he laughed, pulled off at the next exit and mentioned something about being more careful. I wiped my brow, pulled over into the right hand lane and counted my lucky stars again. I am sure another one was missing.
The point to these tales? I don't know if there really is one. Obey the speed limit and you won't get in trouble I guess. Be nice to the smokeys and sometimes they will be nice to you. They are just like the rest of us; working a job that they love and doing the best they can.
Have a nice day.

A little bit about where I come from

Not feeling too well today. I think my heart is giving me problems and I don't have the insurance to check it out. Oh well!!
Have you ever thought about where you were born, raised and the good times had there? I was born in a small town located at the base of the Teton mountains and the scenery was exquisite. As I would visit the mountains, which I did almost every chance I got, it was nothing to see deer, fox, an occasional bobcat, bear and a variety of smaller animals. It was one of my greater pleasures to saddle the horse, take the dog and a lunch and just go up to one of my favorite spots, let the horse graze while the dog and I just enjoyed laying in the green mountain grass and being lazy. The water was so clear and there was no fear of drinkng it. I could look down on the valley below viewing the ranches and farms and the patchwork the farmers made as they planted and grew their crops. The Teton river wandered through the center of the valley and it was a setting worthy of a poets lines.
It is now many years later and I have not been in that valley for a long, long time. I went back for a visit and hardly recognized the place. Where farms and ranches were there are now houses and and houses and houses. As I walked down the main street of town very little was recognizable it had changed so much. The area where the Blackfoot and Crow had one of their major battles was now littered with houses. No longer could one ride a horse across the land and find arrowheads like we could as kids. No longer could one ride a horse across the land because so much of it has now been posted "No Tespassing". The canyon where the horse, dog and I spent so much time is now littered with tents, cars and trash.
I am one who believes in progress. However it is sad that sometimes progress destroys a beauty that can never be replaced. I am sure that the reason many people have moved to this beautiful valley is because of its beauty. I wonder if they now realize that too many enjoying a beautiful thing suddenly destroyed the beauty they initially witnessed. I remember a lady coming to our valley and just gushing about how pretty it was, how backwoods it seemed and how more relaxed the people were. Then she made the statement that blew me away. "I just wish you had a K-Mart here." No offense to K-Mart or any other big box store, but the reason we were the way we were is because we liked our life style and the absence of these enterprises.
As we go through life I hope that as we visit places of beauty that we remember why we think they are beautiful and try to keep them that way. Progress can not be stopped nor can we fault anyone for wanting to live where it is beautiful. However picking up ones trash and properly disposing of it, honoring landowners wishes and showing respect for something that is not ours will go a long ways to letting us enjoy the beauties around us.
If anyone reads my thoughts and would like to comment please do so. The one thing about blogging is you wonder if anyone reads what you write and do they really care what you write.

The Beginning of Blogging

Having never done this before I am somewhat apprehensive about doing it the right way. The purpose of this Blog is for me to share stories of my past, encourage others to share their stories as well, whether they be family members or non-family members. I will also be sharing some of my opinions about current activities in the world, nation or local but I want to emphasise these are just MY opinions and nothing more.

I probably will be talking about what a perfect family I have (ha, ha), frustrations I experience as a senior citizen who feels there are still many productive years left in the ol bod and we will see how this blog thing goes. I do not profess to be an expert writer, I am an uneducated man who just writes as I talk so, please, no critics.

Since I am very tired right now I will not add much more today. My health is not the best and some activities tire me out more than others. I just retrieved my boat from my son in law and did some lifting that should not have been done and now I am hurting.
I hope to encourage two way conversations about life experiences, raising children, hobbies, childhood experiences and the like. I believe one never gets enough friends and hope to gain many more as time progresses.