We all went to see the "Trail of Lights" last night. It's a beautiful light display at a semi rural setting that is part of the Denver area Botanical Gardens. It was cold-no wind-but we enjoyed walking the trails.
When we are all gone and leave Stooie, the dachshund, at home, D & K just leave him in a closed room listening to public radio. I don't know if it improves his intellect but it does keep him quiet.

Yesterday the son David, the daughter Keri, the S-in-L Eric and I drove from Denver to Cheyenne to visit my 93 year old mother. David dazzled her with pictures he had downloaded on his laptop but the highlight was when he showed her some of the things that his I-phone could do. Each new app brought a smile and a shake of her head at the wonderment of cell phone technology. It was both a treat and a learning experience for her. Keri and Eric both have Droids but mom had already seen too much for one day.
D-in-L Kelsey's folks were in town after surviving the perils of air travel in the lower Midwest with the latest storm. We went out to dinner and had a wonderful time visiting. Bob, the attorney, had to be in court today so they headed back to Wyoming after dinner.
You know it's been cold in Denver when you see people ice fishing on Chatfield Reservoir.

We celebrated Christmas last night. Eric flew in Sunday night and D & K arrived from their first stop in Kansas around supper time. The Christmas season for them suffered a setback when her grandfather died last week.
We opened presents (even Stooie the dog got a couple) and kidded each other as families do. This is the second Christmas season in a row that we have all been together.
We may make a quick trip to Cheyenne today to visit my mother. She'll be thrilled.
Got a Redneck calendar as a present so those who enjoy some Redneck dailies, there will be more this year.

Finally made it to Denver around 10:30 PM. I-25 was closed from Douglas to the state line with Colorado. When they finally opened the highway to Cheyenne, the worst roads were from Casper to Douglas which had been open all day. The roads from Douglas south which had been closed were dry with very little wind and blowing snow. Who knows?

All sing"
"Grandma got run over by a reindeer..."
In a cartoon in Friday's USA Today, the grandson is hauling grandma to the hospital but a couple of insurance agents are debating whether the new health bill would cover grandma in a reindeer collision. Who was at fault?
"If life were fair the horse would get to ride half the time."

MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone.

It's snowing here.

Christmas is almost here but I haven't heard one of my favorite Christmas carols yet.
Let's all sing:
"Grandma got run over by a reindeer...."

Read in the local newspaper court report that one of the son's high school acquaintances was picked up for DWUI and no insurance. A person doesn't find that kind of info on Facebook.
Now that we're a couple of days into Winter, I enjoy watching the Weather Channel give the sunrise and sunset times each day-how each day expands by a couple of minutes. I especially enjoy it in January and February.
From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if...You've ever shot a partridge out of a pear tree."

Today the Christmas card began flowing in after a slow start. Most member of my side of the family must either be dead or in poor health as I have heard from so few of them.

I can't believe a Senator from Nebraska (You know why there is wind in Wyoming and Colorado-Nebraska sucks.) had to be bribed to get the health bill passed. It passed on a strict party vote and the Senate Majority Leader called it a nonpartisan vote. The Republicans have done nothing on health care except impede playing politics for the 2010 elections. A pox and worse on both their houses.
I'm still pumped up after Wyoming's win over Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday.

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if ...Your gun club has a BYOB policy."
That sounds like a bunch of Wyoming guys going camping to hunt elk.

Spent yesterday afternoon watching the Wyoming Cowboys beat Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque. It went two overtimes and into the prime time slot on ESPN reserved for the next bowl game. I kept watching for Neighbor Brad, who was at the game.
Is it just me or do Christmas cards and letters seem to be later and lagging this year? Are people just cutting back or mailing later or is technology influencing the Christmas card business? I read a blog this morning that would have made a great Christmas letter. Are people just staying up with their friends through blogs and Facebook? We reveal most of our happening on Facebook and depending on the number of friends and the friends' friends, it can spread like water on a table. We'll know by New Year's.

Went out to dinner (nothing fancy) last night with some old friends whom we hadn't seen for months. It was good to reminisce about kids, etc. They are planning to spend a chunk of the winter in Hawaii. I can't decide whether I'm envious or not. I really enjoy the ski season.
This afternoon I plan to camp out in front of the TV set watching the Wyoming Cowboys play Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl.
From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if...You've ever taken an inner tube up a ski lift."

Found out yesterday that daughter and S-I-L's twins are going to be boys. They unfortunately won't have the benefit of an older sister to boss them around and shape them up. Every boy needs that-right/ Sonny?
The funniest cartoons of the week have been Doonesbury's claiming that Tiger Woods has so many mistresses they are unionizing.
From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if... You've ever gift wrapped a tire."

Got my first batch of Christmas cards written and mailed today. I feel righteous.
Drank coffee (hot chocolate for me)with my homies this morning. They were talking about a small cafe called "Plows" which wasn't too far away from where we congregate on Thursday mornings. I decided to drive by just to see what it looked like. I then decided to got in and have lunch. It's what I call a "throwback" restaurant-8 stools and 7 or 8 tables and frequented by locals as the waitresses knew most by first name. Smoking is allowed but fortunately the only one smoking was one of the waitresses. The place was packed. I ordered 1/3 pound cheeseburger. The guy next to me was painting (yes painting) a picture of a coffee cup and a piece of cherry pie. The pie looked so good I ordered a cherry pie ala mode. They had already run out of cherry pie and this was 11:30 in the morning. The burger was juicy and the fries just the way I like them. The entire building looks smaller than a contemporary master bedroom. The parking is also limited. I think I'll go back some time for a piece cherry ala mode.

Went to the car wash this afternoon. Temp was 38 and so was the wind speed. I was the only one at the wash so I got right through and got a little extra attention from the guys manning the hoses. Went to the bank. Got right in at the drive-thru. Usually there's line and I go inside. Not today. Since the wife is going to hear the Casper Children's Chorale later this afternoon, I decided to stop at Subway. I was the only customer there. The wind keeps people inside or at home.
On the way home the traffic light went out at the corner of a busy highway, a street that goes to a junior high (school was just letting out at the time) and a grocery store that houses a post office branch. Tis the season-usually the Wyoming way of doing things is to play "chicken" when these circumstances occur. Not today. Each driver treated the corner as if it were a 4-way stop and things proceeded with no fender bender nor the casting of the middle finger to show one's rights had been infringed upon. The holidays just bring out the best in people.

I thought it was apropos with all the cold, crummy weather we've had that one of the Netflix I received last week was Ice Road Truckers about hauling oil field equipment above the Arctic Circle.
Just as I was contemplating taking my car and wash away some of the dirt and salt, it started snowing again.
From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if...Your Christmas yard decorations are visible from space."
We've got a couple of those folks locally.

Today is one of my favorite days of the year-The Wyoming Cowboy/Cowgirl Shootout at the Casper Events Center. I've been running the scoreboard for this event since 1982. The Cowgirls will play Dakota State, which shouldn't be much of a game. In the recent past they have played teams like Texas Tech and Kansas State in Casper. The Cowboys will play the Univ. of Northern Colorado, who may whip the Cowboys. In the past we have had teams like Ohio State, Penn State, Gonzaga, Texas Tech twice (once with Bobby Knight) but it is getting harder to bring in quality teams.
For my work I get two complimentary tickets which I give away, parking in the VIP lot behind the Center, a free meal or two, and best of all a front row seat at midcourt. Life is good.

Got my H1N1 flu shot today. No lines. I wore a long sleeved shirt, however, and found out that anyone over 50 had to have a shot rather than the nasal mist dosage. I asked what they did for women who also had on long sleeves. They said they just take them around the corner.

Picked up my skis after having them tuned. I'm ready for the slopes although I usually take my rock skis the first couple of times.
Gas is now under $2.2o a gallon but I'm not going anywhere.

From one of my birthday cards:
"You might be a Redneck if...You've ever unclogged a sink with a shotgun."

The internet through Bresnan.net was out all over town for about three hours this morning. On Thursdays I drink coffee (hot chocolate for me) with my homies. I'm among the youngest. One of the guys was asking about the internet being down because his wife was going crazy because she couldn't get on Facebook. The lady has to be in her mid-seventies-and I felt guilty about being on Facebook at my age.
Checked the SPAM box on my laptop this morning-19 SPAMs and 18 were for Viagra and its ilk.

From the calendar-a couple of my favorites:
"You might be a Redneck if...You're older than your stepmom.
or
....You've head-butted a slot machine."

How cold is it? I went to get a bottle of water from the garage. It was frozen solid. That's a first. The gas line on my snow blower froze Sunday night. The wife was visiting her mother in southwestern Minnesota and is still snowed in although she was thinking about trying to leave this afternoon. I-80 between Rawlins and Cheyenne is closed so they are detouring traffic through Casper to Cheyenne. That's only a 300 mile detour. I don't know how but my USA Today keeps arriving each morning from Denver. It's not even officially winter yet.

I should have written about this yesterday-December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day. President Roosevelt described it as a "day that shall live in infamy." We spent the next four years at war. My dad served in the South Pacific. Hawaii at that time was an American Territory, not an American state. I consider 9/11 just as bad, if not worse. It was an attack on American soil. Over seven years later we are still at war with no relief in sight.
I enjoy political cartoons. Yesterday's was a bumper sticker parody of "My daughter and my money go to (name a college)." The bumper sticker on the back of the cartoon auto read "My kids and my $$$ all go to AFGHANISTAN."
Today's political cartoon shows a crowd lined up outside an unemployment office. An announcement in the background is blaring "Attention please...the president's job creation program just opened up 30,000 new positions in Afghanistan..."
American businesses spend a fortune at this time of year with TV and newspaper ads and at times on direct mailings. I got a direct mailing postcard from J.C. Penney informing me that I could save an "extra 20%-one day only! Sunday, December 6." The only problem is that I didn't the postcard until one day later, December 7th.

There's a group of people trying to get a new political party on the ballot in Wyoming. Originally the U.S. Taxpayers party the current Constitution Party has goals of "restoring the Founding Fathers' vision of a limited federal government based on biblical foundations." Does this mean they won't drive on U.S. highways, take a government job or take social security or unemployment benefits if they lose their government jobs? The state chairman, a social worker (most social workers receive some sort of government compensation I think), says she got involved with the Constitutional Party out of a conviction that "world will soon see the second coming of Jesus." However, she doesn't define "soon." She also believes "....we are looking at a one-world government and socialists taking over our government." She has a few other thought not worth mentioning.
Actually I think it's a credit to the U.S. that we are a nation that allows divergent thought such as this. If you are wondering why there is such a high success rate getting people to send money to Nigeria or to televangelists, you may have your answer with the Constitution Party.

It's overcast and snowing again. I don't mind the snow as the local ski area is due to open next weekend and I would like to see as many runs as possible open. If it's just one or two, one takes his/her life in his/her hands with all the snow boarders.
What I don't like is the overcast and gloom. I need to see the sun. I need to see the mountain. I'm suffering from a conflict of interest. Maybe I'll take the skis in tomorrow and get them tuned. I'll feel better doing that.
Time to fire up the snow blower.

The athletic club where I work out daily also is the place where a lot of firemen/EMT's work out at the same time. Often I can hear their radios as they monitor goings-on in Casper. When they get a call, a siren goes off in their radios and they run for the doors. They keep their fireman garb just outside the door. I've watched them several times. They are dressed and in their truck under way in less than two minutes. That's one of the reasons I like to work out at the time I do because there are so many people with EMT training there. Once a member collapsed while riding the stationary bike. He had so many people helping him and there was an ambulance there within 15 minutes and on its way to the hospital. I figure if I go down, I want that kind of attention. Today they got another call and they were up to par. Probably less than two minutes.

Got a second Christmas card today. I've got to get going on our Christmas letter.

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if...You think Christan Dior is a TV evangelist."

Watched a great football game last night between Oregon and Oregon State. I was rooting for State because my cousin Barbara went there. Didn't happen.

My wife has complained about this for years. I also get annoyed that magazines have perfume and cologne strips inserted with the supposed scent. This week's Sports Illustrated contains a cologne strip that I can only describe as "Hint of Outhouse."

Got our first Christmas card today. It may jump start me to start on our Christmas letter-but not today.

Temps are hovering around zero overnight and it has snowed the last two nights. Thank goodness for electric blankets and snow blowers.

Only four SPAMs for Viagra today and one for air fare reduction. The travel industry is catching up.

Seen on the back of a T-shirt:
"I ran out of sick days so I called in dead."

TIS THE SEASON: I cleaned out the SPAM box of my email on my laptop yesterday. I haven't done that for about a month. There were well over a hundred emails that my program recognized as SPAM. At least 90% plus were ads for Viagra and what I assume are similar prescriptions. Most of the dates were since Thanksgiving indicating that the Christmas season is big for Viagra sales and would make an interesting Christmas gift for one's parents or older acquaintances. I did spot one clue as to why I was receiving so many offers by checking to see to whom the email was addressed. We all had one common word in our email addresses and so we received each other's offers. Ah, American (foreign?) enterprise.
Fired up the snow blower this morning as we received our first snow since late October.
From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if...You think calamari is treatable with antibiotics."

A new round of H1N1 flu vaccine clinics was announced. Unfortunately I'm too old to for the targeted age group. I guess I don't mind as there are younger people who are more at risk than me.
I visited my friend at the hospice this afternoon. His cancer is in remission and he now is going to be transferred to a facility for physical therapy to learn to walk. He said they brought him to the hospice to die but now he is recovering. We get Christmas presents in strange ways.

Went to the Athletic Club to work out this morning. After not having been there for eight days, my body paid a terrible price. With skiing coming up, however, I have to make an effort to get into decent shape so I don't have a heart attack or hurt myself falling down.
We had a wonderful week in Cheyenne with my mother, Denver with our daughter, and finally in Jackson Hole with the son, daughter-in-law and her family. No regrets.

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if...Half of your phone bill is American Idol votes."

The son and I went shopping at the ski shops at Teton Village at Jackson Hole yesterday morning. He put it best when he said he was suffering from sticker shock. Skis starting around $1,000 and up while new ski jackets went all the way up to $1,500 for what seemed like a ski shell. It's becoming the new Aspen.
We didn't stop by the Dick Cheney resident in near-by Wilson to see if the Cheneys were spending the Thanksgiving holiday in Jackson Hole. The rest of the group went to town to shop and see the lighting of the antlers at the town square. I stayed at the hotel and watched FB and slept.
Ate at Bubba's last night. If a person eats at only one restaurant in Jackson Hole, it has to be Bubba's. Second choice would be the Mangy Moose in the Village.

Thankful that I'm such a good law-abiding citizen when it comes to the speed limit. I've seen more HP this weekend with speeders pulled over to the side. Just lucky I guess.
Also thankful it was so clear when we drove into the valley at Jackson Hole and the view of the Tetons was incredible. The valley at Jackson Hole and the Tetons provide a beautiful panorama second to none.
D and K's flight from the Twin Cities was on time and Kelsey's folks and brother made it from Green River. Michelle and Bob prepared (the word doesn't do credit to the meal) a Thanksgiving feast. I probably gained 5 pounds but enjoyed it. The accommodations at our hotel are nice. Plan to do some shopping and just looking around.
Happy Black Friday!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING,everyone!

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if....You've ever served Thanksgiving dinner on a Ping-Pong table."

Thankful my daughter who is expecting twins in April is doing well and her pregnancy is apparently progressing well.

Thankful I was near a Verizon store when my cell phone started doing strange things. It took the lady less a minute to fix it.

BUMPER STICKER promoting the 10K BolderBoulder run in Boulder, Colorado (almost 6,000 feet in elevation:
"Sea Level is for sissies"

Thankful I'm not in Congress and have to listen to phony debates until Christmas. It's politics at its ugliest. A pox on both their houses. Does any of them on either side of the aisle care about the best interests of their constituents. NOT-it's all for the party and 2010 elections.

Thankful I didn't bet on the Denver Broncos and Wyoming Cowboys last weekend.

Thanksgiving week:
Thanks for Hi Def TV.
Thanks for having more than one TV so I can watch football when the wife wants to watch a quilting show on PBS.

This is the end of American Education Week. I am proud to have been a teacher, married to another teacher, the father of a teacher. I also am the father of a son who has taken advantage of his education at the higher level. I am also proud to have a daughter-in-law and a son-in-law who are products of public education and have both graduated from college.
Despite all our challenges, problems and intrusions the USA successfully provides more educational opportunities and options than any other country of which I am aware.
Great job, educators.

School Daze

This morning (about 7:40) I was driving through a residential area at the 30 mph speed limit. All of a sudden a red Explorer zoomed up behind and tailgated me for a block. I finally pulled over and she went zooming by. A girl of what looked like junior high age was in the passenger seat. I assume it was a mother taking her daughter to a junior high (they start at 8:00) and then going to work.
Around 8:50 I was coming back on the belt road on a portion that is only two lane and I doing about 60 which is the posted speed limit. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a red SUV from the right coming to an intersection at a high rate of speed. For some reason I decided to slow down and put on the brakes. The lady driving the SUV didn't look at me, didn't slow down, ran a stop sign and pulled in front of me. Fortunately we missed each other. There were two cars behind me and I think they had also slowed down or we could have had a four car wreck. She sped up and pulled away from me but a mile or so down the highway where the belt road is now four lane, she had to stop for a red light. As I pulled up next to her, I could see two small children is car seats and another child in the passenger seat who appeared to be elementary school age. I can only assume the lady was running late for school (most of the elementary schools start at 9:00) and wanted to get her child to school on time. She almost didn't make it and almost took several of us with her. No, she wasn't on a cell phone.
I can just see and hear the feedback if I had hit the car of the poor lady just trying to get her child to school on time.

I watched the last 20 minutes of Sarah Palin's interview with Oprah. SP came across as being defensive and not really Presidential material. When Oprah asked if SP were getting a talk show, she changed the topic. Don't worry about old Caribou Barbie, however; she is going to make millions on her book, speaking engagements, and who knows, a talk show.

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if...You think you're a fashion designer because you cut the arms off your T-shirt."

Just finished reading the 16th book in paperback of the Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell. Scarpetta is a forensic pathology who uses her training to solve crimes. I'm learning more than I ever wanted to know about pathology but I find the stories enjoyable. I like mystery novels because I always try to outguess the authors but don't succeed too often. I more or less read the Scarpetta series in chronological order which was good because the author often refers back to old cases and plots and keeps the same characters. There's a new Scarpetta novel out in hardback but I'm too cheap to pay that price so I'll wait for the paperback.
I'm finding that there are several good female mystery writers. I think I subconsciously avoided mysteries if the author was female. Now that I've had an attitude adjustment, I've found a new source of books I enjoy reading for fun.

When I got up around 6:30 yesterday morning, the temperature was 54 degrees. I wore sandals and a short sleeved T-shirt and no coat all day. Last night it snowed 2 inches. Be prepared-it's fall.

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if... You keep a can of Raid on your kitchen table."

The execution of John Allen Muhammad had a small personal connection to me. The victim of his random sniper spree on the golf course in Arizona was a high school classmate of mine. Jerry was one of the nicest kids in our class. I looked up his picture in our senior annual. It was right below mine. Muhammad did what he did for extortion-not for any cause. I'm not a vengeful person but I hope John Allen Muhammad's soul rots in hell.

Did battle again this morning with the gas company. It took about 45 minutes and calls to the gas company and my bank that had already paid the bill electronically to get the thing settled-I hope. They gave every customer a new account number which left my payment in cyberspace. I hope it's settled. I've already complained about them once to the Public Service Commission in Cheyenne. Neighbor Dave has already forced two meetings with the gas company and the PSC and has invited me to attend a third if he doesn't get a satisfactory settlement. I hate doing business with utilities. All they do is screw up your credit rating. The gas company's billing and accounts receivable address is in Dallas, Texas. Do you suppose that means anything?

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if... your TV is on 24/7."

Now that the House has passed their Health Reform Bill of 2000 pages, maybe some genius could condense it down to a page or two so most of us can understand it. That should be worth a Nobel Peace Prize or at least the one for Economics. I don't think it has a chance in the Senate, however.

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if.... All your daughters have appeared in a 'Girls Gone Wild' video."

Yesterday I went to my dentist to have a filling replaced. When I'm in the chair with my mouth wide open while he's drilling or putting in the new filling, he wants to talk politics-at least his view on things some of which were much different from mine. With a drill in my mouth I really didn't want to express our differences even if I could. Old Wyoming saying-"Never argue with a man who has a drill in your mouth." I escaped with a new filling and a sense of relief that I kept my cool (and a sore jaw and a headache).

Questionable bumper sticker
GOD BLESS JOHN WAYNE
My question is what did John Wayne do to merit blessings from above? In his roles he played a cowboy who killed a million Indians or a GI who killed a million Japanese. I think there's a commandment somewhere in there about killing.

I'm happy the World Series is over. After the Twins and Rockies were eliminated I never watched another inning. I'm tired of the Yankees just buying players.
In my younger days I would have listened to or watched every inning I could-no more.
No wonder FB is the new National Pastime.

I think I encountered something as dangerous as talking on a cell phone or texting while driving. I had an approaching female driver in a big SUV start to swerve into my lane as she was using an emery board on and looking down at her finger nails. It's dangerous out there I tell you.
MIXED SIGNALS: In yesterday's blog I wrote about kid at Arby's saying grace while wearing a HOOTERS T-shirt. I keep wondering what was that kid really praying for?
I took a couple of vacuum cleaners and some toys down to Poverty Resistance which is supposed to be a store for the poor and/or low income. As I was leaving a lady in a brand new Jeep parked in front of me. In her rear window was a caricature of the kid whizzing on OBAMA. Below the window was a metal cross attached to the back. She then went shopping at Poverty Resistance, a shop which I don't believe was intended for someone of her income. She should have been donating not buying.

You can tell when the fall weather is nice (as it is today) by the number of cars at the car wash. I was lucky to get in and out quickly because cars and trucks were backed up almost to the street waiting to get in as I left.
On the way home, since it was almost noon, I decided to stop at Arby's. As I was sitting eating, two high school kids came in and sat near me. Before they ate they bowed their heads, folded their hands and said grace. The irony of it is one of the boys was wearing a HOOTERS T-shirt.

We almost had a "typical" Halloween of trick or treaters which in the last three years means no one shows up a our door. Then at 8:30 we had a carload of 7 or 8 kids show up at the door. I had been conducting numerous samplings of "treats" to insure their quality (all good and tasty) so it was a good thing we didn't get any more or we would had to buy some treats from them.

Thing are getting back to normal. Got the back issues of USA Today and a ton of mail.
I proved my volleyball theory yesterday. The taller team won but unfortunately it wasn't the team for whom I was rooting.

The Interstate to Cheyenne is closed so no USA Today for the second day.
I think I may go to the State Volleyball Tournament at the Events Center. I don't know that much about volleyball but my contention is the taller team usually wins. I played frat volleyball at UW. We had several players from the UW varsity basketball team. We usually kicked butt.

HARDSHIP-No USA Today this morning.
Drank hot chocolate with my homies this morning. A couple of them are big Nebraska fans (one even had on a Nebraska a shirt) so I wore my Iowa State cap. We did discuss the ISU-Nebraska FB game last Saturday. When I mentioned I used my snow blower this morning, that didn't get much approval. In this part of the world, it's a badge of honor to go as far into winter as possible without using one's snow blower. I decided to wuss it anyway.
Not much mail today. The teacher daughter has another snow day in Denver. I guess I'll spend my afternoon in my man cave watching Netflixs and reading. Life is tough.
I did make a mercy run to Taco Bell to pick up a Crunch Wrap and some Cheesy Beef Burritos just in case the storm returns.

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if ... Your neighborhood watch group keeps a lookout for police."

SNOWBOUND-not really but with the current weather I really don't want to go any place. We only have a couple of inches in Casper and the wind isn't that bad but everything east of and south of us is in trouble.
The teacher daughter in Denver got a snow day. Chain laws are in effect over Colorado. No travel is advised out of Cheyenne. My brother got smart and went to Arizona last Saturday. He was planning to leave tomorrow.
The good news for me. If I'm staying home I need certain basics. The USA Today made it this morning and I was expecting two NetFlix I really wanted to watch and they arrived in today's mail. Good work by the USPS. I can survive at least two day on them. Also my Sport Illustrated came today and I have four novels to read. I'm set-unless something goes wrong with the house.
We only had an inch of snow on the ground at noon so I made my first salvo on the snow with a shovel and not the snow blower which is in the garage and ready to go as back-up. I am prepared although I may have to go to Taco Bell tomorrow as I am out of burritos.

I am finally acknowledging that fall is here. I got the snow blower out of the shed, fired it up, and put it in the garage. This is in anticipation of our first big snow storm. I also didn't wear sandals today. I talked to my brother in Arizona and the temp was in the 80's.
Read in the paper yesterday that some of the ranchers in Montana are unhappy that hunters haven't shot enough wolves.

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if.....You're running a tab at a bait shop.

BUMPER STICKER:
PETA
Proudly Eating Tasty Animals

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if...Your nose is bleeding in your engagement photo."

Went to the matinee this afternoon (Couples Retreat-I don't recommend it). About 15 minutes into the movie, the first cough come. I instantly thought "Does that person have Swine Flu?" After that with every cough or throat clearing, I began to worry if that person is contagious-no matter how close to me? I think I have a clear case of "Swine Flu paranoia." It's going to be a long fall until I get my flu shot. I know I can't move into my basement 24-7.

GOOD-any day Nebraska loses a football game
BETTER-Any day Iowa State wins a football game
PRICELESS-Iowa State beats Nebraska
BETTER YET-in Lincoln

Fixed the vent on the dryer today. An engineer probably wouldn't like the looks but it works. Hey, I was a language major.

Took the Subaru to the car wash this morning. They have to like me because it isn't muddy (from hunting trips) and sits low so toweling is easy. I didn't have any problems getting into the wash this time (See Monday's blog) except the pick-up behind me jumped over of the wash path guide and it took a few minutes to get him back in the right spot so the line was stopped with my front windshield soaped.

After that I stopped at the Golden Arches for a "senior drink." A much older than me senior crowded in front of me and ordered two "ice creams." I wondered about that since he was alone but figured his wife was in the car. The server gave him two ice cream cones. He protested he had to drive west of town and could she put them in cups which she did finally. He asked if she were going to throw the cones away and she said yes. I, being the thoughtful person that I am, said I'll buy one-which I did. The other senior asked again if she were going to throw the remaining cone away. She said yes and he then picked it up and ate the cone.
Life is exciting-we just don't know it.

The Broncos won-the only bright spot in an otherwise miserable day. After the game the outside vent on the dryer wasn't working so I managed to ruin it trying to fix the problem. Hire it done is now my motto. It's cheaper.
It's snowing right now. I'm getting itchy to hit the slopes especially after my ski lesson at the city dump (see previous blog).

It's Monday

This morning I hauled (2 trips) 28 bags of leaves and grass plus on long branch to the city compost pile. No line and I finished the first trip in great time. On the second trip people were lined up to go through the landfill office to dump trash and recyclable items. While I was on the second trip, I parked next to a guy I knew but didn't think he knew me (Bob Hardesty). We started talking and the subject turned to skiing. He's a part-time ski instructor at the local area. He asked me what my skiing ability is and I stupidly said "intermediate" rather than "advanced intermediate." He decided that right then and there he had to give me a ski lesson. So in the middle of the city dump we are simulating turns and weight shifts, etc. He also gave me the history of the local ski area over the last 60 years. I remained calm and polite. He thought he remembered me as he should have as I lived next-door to him for three years (I really didn't want to tell him that). I may now hold the Guinness world's record for ski lessons at a city dump.
I decided to wash the van. When I pulled in and started vacuuming, I was the only one at the car wash. By the time I finished vacuuming there was a line of muddy pick-up ahead of me (hunting season started and the hunters were getting their trucks cleaned before they go back out next weekend). When it was finally my turn the computer number assigned to me wouldn't work so they had to figure out how to assign a different number so I could get the van washed.
It was now passed noon so I stopped at Burger King (you know "Have it your way") and ordered a Whopper Jr. with no onions. The cashier must have thought I said "extra onions" because that's what I got. No one hates onions more than me but I finally got most of them scraped off rather than send it back as it was the noon hour and the orders were backed up.
I'm staying home the rest of the day. Go Broncos but I wouldn't bet on you with the day I've had so far.
It it Monday! Right?

Today the Peanuts cartoon was about Linus' hobby of collecting leaves and putting them inside the pages of a book. I enjoyed the topic as falling leaves consumed a good part of my Friday and Saturday. We don't get the color varieties that New England and the Midwest get and with the early snow, there was even less color but not fewer leaves.
Friday was beautiful, no-wind, fall day. I started raking leaves around 9:30 and when I finished after 2:00, I had 19 bags of leaves. Saturday was the same. I ran the mower over the lawn and got most of the survivors. That brought me up to 21. Saturday night the wind blew and the yard is full of leaves that dared to stay on the trees until I had mowed. That's OK because, with luck I'll live to rake again. That's the game that some of us retirees play-it's us against the leaves. Tomorrow I take the 21 bags plus 5 more from an earlier raking to the city compost pile. Feeling green.

Yesterday the Missouri group trying to buy the St. Louis Rams threw Rush Limbaugh under the bus after several folks from the NFL told the potential buyers that if Rush were part of the group, "forget it!" In other words Rush got flushed.
Rush's comeback is that this is a liberal conspiracy to crush conservatism in America. Right, Rush (pun intended).

from the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if.....The best paid job you ever had was jury duty."

I think it's interesting that football people and columnists are starting to choose sides in the controversy over whether Rush Limbaugh should be allowed to become a part owner of an NFL team.
The last time folks were choosing sides on Rush in print was when one of the following bumper stickers was displayed on a vehicle:
RUSH IS RIGHT or FLUSH RUSH.
I would have probably pick the latter.

Time to put the baseball stuff away as I have NO interest in the remaining teams. I was lucky I didn't find a broom from neighbor Brad at my front door as the Yankees swept the Twins.

Watching the Broncos-New England (Boston) throwback uniforms (both ugly although Denver had the ugliest uniforms ever) in the 50th anniversary of the first game in the AFL, one of the first things that happens in the first quarter is the referee goes to the replay tent to check a play challenge by Denver. If it's a true throwback game, why not do away with instant replay for the game. The refs didn't have that tool 50 years ago.

Delusional Bumper Sticker:

"Wyoming-Heaven is a local call"

How do you suppose this driver can pass a sobriety test?

Everyone is copying the Twins Homer Hankies. We still have two from the two World Series in the 80's which the Twins won. Now everyone has a towel or something to wave.

I read that Rush Limbaugh is part of a group that wants to buy the NFL St. Louis Rams team. Would they become the St. Louis Ditto Heads and can you imagine what logo would be? Maybe a dunce cap?

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if .....You've been ejected from bingo."

After almost 12 innings of baseball yesterday, I was exhausted. It's a good thing I own more than one Twins shirt.
I'll have to pace myself today with both the Rockies and Twins playing.

Got my Twins shirt and Homer Hankies ready to go.

It was interesting to see all the pink displayed during NFL games this weekend as part of "Breast Cancer Awareness Month (Not 'Breast Awareness Month' as one announcer described it)."

I've got my Vikings shirt on and I've been wearing my Vikings cap (Christmas present) and I'm ready for some football.

A great day

It's the last day of the regular baseball season and the Twins are tied for first place and the Rockies are in the playoffs. I may not have to put away my Twin's gear and I already have my ROCTOBER shirt waiting.
The Broncos are hosting the Cowboys and I have my Vikings shirt ready for tomorrow's Vike's-Packs game at the dome.
The weather here is crummy so I won't have any guilt in watching football and baseball on the tube this afternoon and tomorrow evening. Life is good.

Bumper sticker on the back bumper of a Prius:
"Hummers Are Bummers"

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if......Both you and your wife wore ponytails on your wedding day."

I was just getting off the treadmill at the Athletic Club when it was announced that 2016 summer Olympics would be held in Rio de Janeiro. I guess I was rooting for Chicago but then I began to wonder if Chicago had lost the bid but was really the winner. It reminded me of when I ran for the school board and lost but less than a year later I realized how lucky I had been. The present board just keeps creating more unnecessary messes for itself.
But back to the Olympics: Rio, with almost a caste system between the poor and the wealthy, will have to pony up around 10 billion dollars by early estimates. The venues and housing are just part of the problem. The Olympics can't be run like Beijing's, which is a repressive communist country where monies could be diverted to wherever the country wanted and the consequences of the games to Chinese citizens was never a concern.
Security will be a big issue. Even Athens, which is sort of a democratic junta, spent billions on just that item. Would Americans be willing to give up their way of life for the honor of hosting athletes from around the world. Interesting-in recent polls only 47% of Chicago's residents favored being the Olympic host verses almost 87% in Rio.
Price: Yes, it would put a lot of people to work but the payback is way in the future.
I guess I wonder: Did Chicago lose or just dodge a bullet?

Bumper sticker on the back of a pick-up obviously owned by a person who either plays or enjoys hearing the bagpipes:
"Pipers do it with Amazing Grace"

Using available resources

One of the biggest financial wastes in this country is the funding of institutes. We have institutes on the economy, the war, politics, big government, little government and almost any other facet of our lives here in the USA. These institutes costs big bucks and the hired guns are expected to spiel the crap that the financiers want to be spieled.
What we overlook is the most prevalent wide-spread problem-solving institute in America. It is the "Cheap Coffee for Senior Citizens Institute" and can be found between the hours of 6:30 and 11:00 each weekday morning (excluding weekends and holidays) at almost any McDonald's in America. The participants who gather each morning belong to the "What they really ought to do if they had any brains..." school of logic. If something crucial or dramatic has occurred in the past 24 hours, this group of high level thinkers will have found the solution by next morning and passed on their wisdom to the bevy of listeners who also gather for inexpensive coffee.
My father belonged to one these institutes but dad was a listener and passed on the problem-solving of others. It also serves as a social occasion so it's really a "two-fer." Why do we waste monies on over-educated effete intellectuals when there are so many outlets coming to similar conclusions. We need to tap this resource. Remember: Coffee is a small price to pay for a mind.

This is from a story in yesterday's USA Today.
The president of New York University makes more than $1.3 million; Columbia U. over$1.3 million; Univ. of Pennsylvania over $1.2 million; Yale over $1.2 million; and Southern Cal over $1.1 million. The chief investment officer at Yale makes over $4.3 million and several professors in medical schools make between $2 and $4 million per year.
The Southern Cal football coach makes over $4.3 million and the basketball coach at Duke earns over $3.7 million. Something is wrong. Universities and colleges are out begging for money, cutting staff and entire departments-tuition isn't going down. It isn't just private industry that pays a lot for leadership at the top and for sports.

Bumper sticker on the back of an aging sedan:
"I HAVE A PERFECT BODY
but it's in the trunk and beginning to smell"

There is a downtown restaurant in Casper called Sanford's. It has a restaurant liquor license which in Wyoming means that the minimum balance ration of food to liquor sales must be 60/40. Last week Sanfords all of a sudden is selling penny beers and dollar drinks. The owner claims he is just helping people so they can dine out due to the economic downturn. He says it has nothing to do with the ratio. Right. Why would I ever suspect an American entrepreneur of doing anything suspicious. Witness the high ethical standards of the banking and insurance industries when they just had to pay out large bonuses using government monies so they could keep their sometimes overpriced executives. It's just the American way of doing business honestly. How could I ever suspect an ulterior motive?

I'm not that old

Yesterday at the UW-UNLV FB game in Laramie, I did something I never thought I would do. I rode the golf cart for the handicapped and seniors from the second level down to the main level. I left the game with a minute or so to go. The cart was getting ready to take a couple down. I asked if I could go down with them and the driver said sure. It's faster to take the cart and I was trying to avoid as much post-game traffic as possible. I did beat most of the crowd and had a smooth getaway. That's my story and I'm sticking with it. I'm not that old!

Siren Sam

Siren Sam is alive and well and making his/her presence known. With the reduction in revenues for most government agencies, it appears the law enforcement community has taken it upon itself to pump up funds for governmental spending at state and local levels. On the highways I have never seen so many highway patrol cars with speed offender pulled off to the side (It appears that a majority have out-of-state license plates). I've even seen cars pulled over in Colorado which was a rarity. Their favorite spot seems to be in the median where cars come over a rise and are headed downward picking up speed. Crafty devils.
At the local level, the grey fuzz can be seen hiding in alleys and have an affinity for work zones. With all the street and road construction with moisture and colder weather coming on, the number of construction zones is at its zenith-besides the fines double (two bucks for the price of one).
Yesterday I saw the most brazen speed enforcement of all-they were using an unmarked pick-up (in Wyoming no less). Is nothing sacred???
FIGHT FAIR, MAN!!!!

No more homonym blogs.

Had the swamp cooler winterized yesterday. This is the equivalent of putting the snow blower away in the spring. It's supposed to be in the 80's by the weekend.

Drank coffee with my homies. Small crowd as it's hunting season.

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if.....Your working television sits on top of your non-working television."
Or
"...... You've ever forced people to take your homegrown squash."

Riting inn homonyms

When eye tot English, I used two teach uh unit on homonyms (similar pronunciation; different spelling/meaning). Two-day aye thought I wood try too rite ah blog inn Homonyms.
Thee wife is still on Nova Scotia time and we all most eight breakfast together. As hour table is small, I red the paper be four taking my tern to eat. Things knead too get back two normal soon.
My to favorite base ball teems, the Rockies and Twins, one last knight. Their playing well rite now.
My brother called. Wee are planning two attend thee UW-UNLV foot ball game on Saturday. Will meat at the ticket booth and than will half lunch at thee Cowboy Joe tent.
I thought the spell checker wood go crazy, butt it only questioned three words.
Happy Homonym Day.

First Fall Day

Today is the first day of fall. Technically yesterday was still summer and we got about 6 to 12 inches of snow on Casper Mountain so we can claim we had snow this summer.
Sunday night about 30 minutes before the wife's plane landed, there was a hail storm with winds reported at about 90 mph by the weather bureau. Since the weather bureau is at the airport and I was right there, I don't think they were too far off. I thought the windows in the terminal were going to blow in. I also thought they would have to run a snowplow up the runway to clear the 3 inches of hail.

I don't think a single one of my preferences won an Emmy.

The phone, TV, and Internet were off from 9:30 to 1:30 today. It's amazing how much I miss them when they're off. Remember my definition of "roughing it" used to be a black and white TV. Now it's no high def.

Where are the caregivers?

I have a question for our leaders (?) in Washington, D.C., the land of the assbackward. If we put 30-40 million more on health insurance, who will be the care providers for them? It would appear that the med schools, dental schools, nursing schools, etc., need to be annually putting an additional 500-1,000 MD's, dentists, nurses, physician's assistants, and nurse practitioners into the health fields. Since most of those colleges and universities that supply heath care providers are crammed right now, where will the additions spaces and monies come from. Most the the health care proposals I am following fail to address this issue. It's the "cart before the horse" or "assbackwards" way of doing things. We need to expand med schools, etc., before we drop more clients on the health community.

Emmys

TV Emmys will be give tonight. Here are my choices to win:

DRAMA SERIES: House
COMEDY SERIES: 30 Rock
BEST ACTRESS DRAMA:Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)
BEST ACTOR DRAMA:Hugh Laurie (House)
BEST ACTRESS COMEDY:Tina Fey (30 Rock)
BEST ACTOR COMEDY: No Choice
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS DRAMA: Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR DRAMA: William Shatner (Boston Legal)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS COMEDY: No Choice
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR COMEDY: Neil Patrick Harris (How I met your Mother)

Note: I won't be watching the Emmys. I'll just read about it in the paper.

The Wyoming Way

From: Bar Stool Mountain Myth
"Wyoming has never been a state to let science or fact get in the way of culture, custom, and wishful thinking. Our 1880-era political system is based on one cow, one vote premise, and change comes hard."

What the ranchers refuse to acknowledge is without the minerals industry Wyoming would be poorer than most third world countries. Ol Slow Poke

Amigos

I watched GLEE last night. I didn't like it as well as I did the first two episodes. They're ignoring some pretty good story lines. I like the cheerleader sponsor character.

I visited my friend Luciano, who is in the hospice with bone cancer. Alberta, his wife, was there. He also had two other visitors but they soon left. The three of us (we've known each other for over forty years) visited and reminisced. A former governor, who later had become the US Ambassador to Ireland, and his wife had visited. Their daughter had gone to Spain one summer with Luciano and Alberta. She showed me some of the cards he had received. The general theme was "we appreciate what you did for our kids when you had them in Spanish class and the writer(s) were happy they had settled in Casper." This is what teaching is all about.

Got my new driver's license in the mail today. I'm good for another four years. Watch out other drivers!

Home alone

The wife is out of the country for 8 days. What kind of changes does this mean for me?
1. I can load the dishwasher any way I want.
2. I can read the paper and not have to share sections-especially the Sunday paper.
3. I don't have to hang up my jackets, etc.
4. I can leave things on the counter and they will still be there.
5. I can use the computer any time I wish.
6. I can leave the toilet seat up.

But in the end........I still miss the woman who mumbles "Good Morning" to me each day.

The truth

Bumper Sticker on the back of a pick-up

"DON'T ACT STUPID
WE HAVE POLITICIAN FOR THAT"

This bumper sticker is dedicated to Rep Joe Wilson (R-SC) who loudly challenged the President's veracity during the health care speech last week. Way to go, Joe-making a bumper sticker come true.

Ruined, I tell ya

After a summer and a couple of weekends this fall of watching baseball and football I find that I can't stand to watch sports on anything less than a 30 inch, high definition TV. I tried to watch the Bears-Packers last night on a smaller screen and I couldn't hack it. My saying used to be that my definition of roughing it was a black and white TV. Now roughing it is less than a minimum of 30 inches in HD.

OD'ing on FB

Saturday I made a token effort to pick up leaves. Then I barricaded myself in the house to watch FB. I started with Iowa-Iowa State-a bummer so I took a shower. In the afternoon I switched back between Wyoming-Texas and Michigan-Notre Dame. Wyoming had one good half and then the roof fell in. Michigan defeated the Irish and that made me happy. After watching the news I tuned in on Ohio State-So Cal game. I'm not a big time Big 10 rooter. I liked Purdue when the former Wyoming coach went there (Joe moved back to Wyoming when he retired.). S-I-L Eric is from Ohio and likes the Buckeyes. I fell asleep at the end of game and had to watch a replay on Sports Center. I never did get the St. Olaf score.
Today I put on my Vikings jersey and switched between Vikes-Browns and Broncos-Bengals. Fortunately I saw both Peterson's long run for the Vikes and the miracle catch at the end of the Broncos game.
Do I watch the Packers-Bears tonight or do something constructive? Adult decisions are tough.

Ghosts are leaving the house

I got up at 4:00 a.m. to drive the wife to the airport to catch the first leg of her flights to Halifax, NS. That's about 2 and 1/2 hours earlier than I usually rise and shine. There were a couple of flights leaving within about 20 minutes of each other so there was quite a crowd trying to clear security. There were around 15 members of the Casper Ghosts baseball team there. Their season ended last night and they are anxious to get out of Dodge. I visited with some of the host families while I waited for the wife to clear security.
As long as I was up, I decided to make my first attack on the leaves that are beginning to turn and fall. For some reason I take umbrage about leaves being on my grass. Last year I hauled over 30 bags of leaves to the city compost pile last fall. I'm so green.
The big news item in Wyoming all week is the University of Texas is playing football at the University of Wyoming. I had a chance to go but passed because I would be tired and run off the road either going or coming home. The biggest concern is how badly will Texas beat us. We'll know tonight.
I plan to spend a lot of time in front of the TV (Little Thunder) and watch FB starting with Iowa State-Iowa and ending with something late in the evening.

I'm feelin' lucky

I had my annual physical yesterday. For a person of my age and size I'm in pretty good health.
But yesterday I learned that a friend and fellow teacher was in the hospice with cancer. I visited him for about 45 minutes this morning. He told me they brought him there to die but his wife convinced him to think about his family and fight it. He's off treatments and feeling better. We talked about our families and other matters. I kept a chess board in my office and Luciano would come down and play during his lunch hour. He usually beat me. He reminded me of the time we were so engrossed in chess that I finally asked him if he had a class at this time. He did and ran out of my office. He was a stickler for students being on time.
Many friends have stopped by. There is a banner on the wall signed by former students and friends. He has a large picture of his family on another wall and I think that is part of his inspiration to live. They usually feed the patients anything they want but his wife took all his sweets away from him and checks his diet.
I will miss my friend but I'm glad I got to spend this morning with him and hope we have some more mornings together.

Masochism

I renewed my Casper Ghosts season ticket for next year. For my early sign-up I received an autographed baseball with the signatures of this year's players who have been in last place almost every day of the season (I don't think it will be valuable in the next few years). Why? There was a guy who was sitting next to my group who have had tickets together for years. He remarked that we didn't often enjoy the games but we sure do have fun. I guess it gets me out of the house so the wife can have some quiet, keeps me out of Bingo parlors, and gives me something that's not too serious to complain about. For the price of a ticket, a person just can't beat that. I am going to stay home tonight and watch GLEE.

I added a new friend and posted three comments this week on Facebook. I am now spending almost 5 minutes a day looking at the site. Am I becoming addicted?

For some reason I like this one.
From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if......Your family tree is a tumbleweed."

Politics are getting slimier

I'm tired of politics based on party affiliation with no concern for the public but just following party policy. A pox on both parties of Congress. I wish we would adopt a unicameral system like the Nebraska legislature (did I just write something nice about Nebraska?) has. A voter casts a ballot for the person-not the party. I like this the more I think about it.

Added the Ole niece as a friend on Facebook. I'm starting to get gregarious.
Also-good luck to the nephew who started law school this fall.

I looked for Stooey on the Doggie Care Cam this weekend but didn't see him.

Go Rockies! The Casper Ghosts are dead in the water. I plan to go to three of the last four games, however.

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if.... You think being a wine connoisseur means buying a bigger box."

Odds & ends

Because my other Alma Mater, Colorado State, beat the Univ. of Colorado in FB yesterday, I am wearing my CSU T-shirt today. I will even wear it to the Ghosts' game tonight which is a dangerous thing in Wyoming. The bad news UW plays Colorado in two weeks right after the Texas game. Maybe Iowa State will beat the Buffs this year.
Niece Julie officially becomes an Ole today after the welcoming ceremonies. Make sure your checks don't bounce, parents.
I'm still holding with 5 friends on Facebook. I don't want to rush into things.
Just a lazy day planned for Labor Day since I don't labor anymore.

Season opener

Drove to Laramie yesterday for the UW-Weber State (Utah) FB game. I just enjoy the solitary drive and seeing people when I get there. I met my brother and we headed to the Tailgate Park and lunch at the Cowboy Joe Club tent (we're members). Ate lunch with the Colorado Comet and Blondie.
Game was OK-Wyoming won, got a sunburn, left in the fourth quarter with Wyoming up 22points and they gave up 2 touchdown before I could get the radio on the game. Listened to ESPN on the way back. BYU beat the Okies which is one of the few times I would consider rooting for the boys from behind the Zion Curtain.
I'll probably go down for a couple more games if the weather holds.

Happy birthday, daughter-in-law.

Redneck bumper sticker of the day on a Yukon parked in a handicapped spot in Casper:
"Welcome to Wyoming
Assume everyone is armed"
Makes one proud, doesn't it?

Just following orders

If you are following the wolf hunt story (a couple of blogs ago), you know that the first wolf kill reported in Idaho was by a realtor. If you listen to the radio or watch TV and hear or see some of the recent real estate ads, they advise a person to contact a realtor. The phone numbers and email addresses for folks in real estate, are easy to get. Several of the wolf lovers are now calling or emailing this particular realtor to tell him what a jerk he is for having shot a wolf. The guy is going out of his mind with negative communiques; however, people are just doing what they were told-"Call a Realtor."

Road trip

Neighbor Dave came over the other morning and asked if I were interested in a road trip. I asked when and where and he replied Denver on Thursday to watch the Rockies and Mets in an afternoon game. After securing permission from the wife, the road trip was on.
I won't say Dave has a lead foot but we left around 7:30 from our houses (I estimate it's about 280 miles to Coors Field), gassed up in Cheyenne, parked the car across the street from Coors Field, and ate lunch at Jackson's across the street from the stadium by a little after 11:30.
Our seats were in the Club Section (near where Marcie Glasser got us tickets, Keri). The ride in the elevator was nice and the uncrowded escalator after the game was also a perk. I called the Colorado Comet as I usually do from a ball park but he wasn't home. I'll see him Saturday.
The game, however, was terrible. The Rox got creamed 8-3. The Rockies did hit 3 homeruns including one by Ian Stewart, a former Casper player.
We got out of the main part of game traffic around 4:45, gassed up in Cheyenne to check mileage, ate in Wheatland (Dave had an Arnie Palmer-see previous blog) and arrived in Dave's driveway at 8:45. He did complain about only getting 31.6 MPG in his Toyota but the air con was on most of the way.
We agreed to do it again some time.

Cheers

I was reading USA Today about golfer Arnie Palmer and his signature drink which also the wife's favorite. An Arnie Palmer is half ice tea-half lemonade. I decided the Ol Slow Poke needed a signature drink. The Ol Slow Poke is 2/3 orange juice-1/3 lemonade.

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if....You think going formal means driving a black pickup truck."

Big bad wolf-part II

If you thought the Red Riding Hood caper was bad for wolves, you should see what's in their future. Since their reintroduction in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, ranchers have complained about stock losses. Recently wolves went off the endangered species list and now wolf hunting season begins today in Idaho and in a couple of weeks in Montana. Idaho hunters may harvest (?) 220 wolves this fall. The odds for wolves aren't good because over 9,000 wolf licenses were sold in Idaho alone. They weren't concerned about ranchers and livestock; the wolves went after elk and other game animals and that infuriated the hunters.
Wolves came off the endangered species list when it was estimated that their population had exceeded by 10 times the desired number. It just shows that too much sex can be bad for wolves of all kinds-human and animal.

Semi-tough

The following bumper sticker attempts to give the impression that all persons (particularly males) in Wyoming are mentally strong:
"Cowboy up or go stay in the pick-up"
Notice the type of vehicle.

HOUSE has now tied THE CLOSER as my favorite TV series. I like to outguess the writers and figure the plot outcome but these two always fool me.

From the Calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if.....You've ever had a riding mower repossessed."

It's getting feisty already

I saw an interesting T-shirt on a kid at the Casper Ghosts game last night. It was a Minnesota Vikings shirt in the Vikings' purple and yellow. On the front was a caricature of a boy clad in a Vikings' jersey with the name Farve on the front taking a whiz on a piece of cheese-representing the Packer cheeseheads.
That Monday night game in October should bring out some nasty feelings in both states. Go Vikes! We've got too many pseudo-Packer fans here already.

St. O is a clandestine aggie school

I have to give credit to my wife, a former Ole herself, for finding this article in relish, a some time supplement to the local CS-T. The article title-"The New School Lunch."
It's about STOGRO (St. Olaf Garden Research and Organic Works), which is a student-run, on-campus farm that supplies local organic ingredients to the college cafeteria.One student is described as a St. Olaf student-farmer. Founded in 2005 STOGROW is a self-sustaining business that rents farmland from the college. Bon Appetit, which provides meals to students, buys all produce the farm can provide. It's all organic. Some students say they can tell the difference. The only livestock are the rabbits and other varmints, who sample the crops.
The boy and the daughter-in-law never mentioned it when they were there through 2006 and 2007 respectively. At least niece Julie, an incoming freshman and Iowa farm lass, will benefit from STOGRO. I suppose there are other farm kids at St. O so there should be plenty of applicants for any student work-studies programs at the farm. On the other hand, maybe some are trying to get away from the farm.
Anyway, it's an interesting article especially for folks with St. O connections.
The relish email is relishmag.com. Bon appetit!

Good stock tip

I ran into a high school classmate yesterday. She was with her husband who graduated a couple year before us from the same high school. We were talking about our 50 year HS reunion next summer. They has gone to his 50th last summer and were talking about all the people with hearing problems. They changed their reunion site from a more formal site to a picnic area with shelters just as we had done for our kids' rehearsal dinners. They said it made it so much easier to move around and visit.
I bring this up as the number of people who are retired or nearing retirement and who often suffer hearing losses to differing degrees is growing at a terrific pace.
The point of all this-Buy Hearing Aid stock! As the boomers retire, the demand will be incredible. We now have digital hearing aids. The next great leap in hearing aids will make its investors rich. You heard it hear (intentional misspelling) first-pun intended.

Eyes and ears

I renewed my driver's license this morning. I aced the eye test as I was able to read the smallest line on the eye chart on three different charts. At my age a person always has doubts.

Stopped at a Taco Bell afterwards to celebrate. I received a senior discount without asking. I arrived just as the high school students were coming in for lunch. I listened to several groups talk about the classes and teachers (several of whom I know) and which ones are tough and which ones are easy. I guess after 38 years in the business I still like hearing students' perspectives on life, etc., and best of all I could hear them.

From the calendar:
You might be a Redneck if....you have more "kills" with your truck than with your gun.

My Kennedy memories

The first and only time I ever saw Ted Kennedy was at the State Democratic Convention held in my hometown of Thermopolis, Wyoming. It was April 1960, my senior year of high school, and my senior Social Studies was let out for the afternoon to go to the convention. Ted Kennedy was there working the delegates for his brother, Senator John Kennedy. Hubert Humphrey, along with several other prominent Democrats, was there also campaigning for delegate votes. Ted Kennedy must have done a pretty good job because at the National Democratic Convention Wyoming delegates put John Kennedy over the top and he won the Presidential election that fall.
I don't know if it was a payback to the 1960 delegates but President John Kennedy spoke at the Field House on the University of Wyoming campus, which ironically was my senior year of college, before a crowd estimated to be 12,000-15,000 of us in attendance. Another irony-Dick Cheney was a student at UW at that time. The date was October, 1963 and President Kennedy was assassinated approximately one month later.

Why did I do that?

I joined Facebook a couple of days ago. I almost felt like a predator shopping for young girls until I saw the sign-up page and my birth year was far from the bottom. So far it's immediate family and I don't know how soon I will try to branch out. Why did I do it-did I spot a trend or am I just a common lemming?

Saw a great bumper sticker but if I could ever get it-which I probably can't-to whom would I give it. Here's the problem: Here is the sticker found on the back of a pic-up (what else is there in Wyoming?) Real women don't date Yankee fans. If I could ever obtain one would I give it to Neighbor Brad, a strong Yankee fan or to Neighbor Dave, staunch Red Sox supporter? I guess it would look better on Dave's SUV.

Every village has one

This is a letter to the editor in today's paper. The title: Don't ban lead bullets".
A couple of small portions: (The bold comments are mine.)"....Your paper sided with evironmentalists that (sic) are seeking to ban lead bullets from the Jackson area."
We have spent more than three decades getting the lead out of gasoline and paint.
"This is another biased, emotional attempt to ban hunting water fowl steel-shot years ago, the controversial release of wolves and the protection of preditors (switching topics).
"There are good, manufactured bullets that are lead-free but they are more expensive. (Wallet over Environment) You can bet, liberal scientists subjected waterfowl and raptors to excessive amounts of lead to get the emotional, hazardous effect of lead poisoning (This guy wouldn't trust Einstein).And finally: "The majority population of Teton County (Jackson Hole and the area below Yellowstone Park) would be happy if everyone was a vegetarian, rode stylish bicycles, and believe the real world should resemble 'Narnia'".(This is location profiling-interesting because that area of the state contains one of the largest minority populations in Wyoming in order to serve the tourist industry-but why confuse the writer with facts.)
Every village has one-meet CJD, Cheyenne's village idiot.

Enlightenment

After reading about the tornado that went through south Minneapolis, I admitted to my ignorance of and insensitivity to tornadoes and, therefore, I watched the movie Twister last night. In doing so I may become a bit paranoid whenever the wind comes up which is quite often in Wyoming. Maybe I would be better off knowing less.

My daughter writes that this fall is the tenth anniversary of her student teaching in New Zealand. To celebrate the occasion I wore my Sydney Olympics 2000 T-shirt which she brought me as a souvenir of her South Pacific adventures.

Letters to the CS-T today:
4 on Universal Health Care
1 on Special Olympics
1 on religion

Letters to the editor

After sports my favorite section in newspapers and magazines is the Letters to the Editor. In the CS-T the writers continually write about hunting and gun issues. Right now "Universal Health Care" is drawing a lot of ink but the most heavily debated topic is organized religion. It's a case of the "nonbelievers against the conservative Christians" or the "agnostics vs the bible thumpers."
Here's a letter to the editor in the latest U.S. News & World Report. The main idea of the letter is there is dignity with the folks who get their hands dirty at their jobs.
Title: Mud, Sweat and Fields "....I remember a football game between an upper-class, private school and a university with a large agricultural department. Some had a sign that read:"Culture over agriculture." A letter to the editor came out shortly after the incident that said, "Without agriculture, there is no culture.".......
I truly enjoy differing viewpoints the letters provide.
PS I also check the obituary column to make sure my name isn't there (bad joke).

Wise shopper

Yesterday I went to the grocery store and picked up five items. Four were on sale and the fifth was free. The Colorado Comet will be so proud of me.

I don't need my Redneck calendar for this one. I can't make this stuff up. If Jeff Foxworthy is looking for more material, he just needs to spend a little time here.
BUMPER STICKER seen on a pick-up parked in front of a gun shop in Casper:
Republican please-We can't all be on be on welfare.

How do they do it?

When I work out on a treadmill at the athletic club each morning, there are four TVs going at the same time. The irony is most ads are always so similar. I also watch the news over the lunch hour. I realize that the people most likely to be watching TV at these times of day are the elderly, the retired (not necessarily the same), and the unemployed. These ads are mostly quick fixes for back taxes, reducing debts to creditors and credit card companies, home loans that are too good to pass up, and devices and medications for senior citizens at almost unbelievable prices, and finally reverse home mortgages. They also push buying gold. One of their spokesman is, I think, a convicted Watergate criminal. How can they deliver all these promises and goods? Are they for real or do advertisers have no shame? Do the networks investigate what they put on their channels? It just makes me wonder. I guess I have too much time on my hands.

BUMPER STICKER
Yes, it's my truck.
No, I won't help you move.

Just wondering

I wonder what President Obama's grade is for the second 100 days. I think I gave him a B- for the first 100 but I couldn't go that high now.

Broom follow-up
Earlier Neighbor Dave gave Neighbor Brad a broom after Dave's Red Sox swept Brad's Yankees. A couple weeks ago Brad's Yankees swept Dave's Red Sox. Did Brad give Dave a broom in celebration/retaliation? You bet your sweet behind he did. Dave says it's not all bad though. The broom he gave Brad was an old crummy one; the broom Brad gave Dave was brand new. Dave figures he came out better in the long run. It all depends on one's perspective.

G,B, & U.

BAD-Plan A After having dug out some ski clothing as preparation for a Ghost double header on a very cool Sunday afternoon, I received a phone call informing me that the games had been cancelled due to wet fields.
GOOD-Plan B I read, did a couple chores, watched TV and played on the computer.
GOOD-My new favorite TV show is The Closer.
EVEN BETTER-This is the 5th season for The Closer so I have episodes from the first 4 seasons to watch on Netflix.

From the calendar
August 15-16 "You might be a Redneck if... It takes more than a minute to read the bumper stickers on your truck.

Old soldiers never die

Back in my fraternity days old soldiers was a nickname for bottles/cans of beer. It was said that no beer would grow so old that one would not drink it. Yesterday I poured out a few bottles of Bud Light to recycle the bottles. The born-on date was May 2, 2008. I guess some old soldiers do die.

The Ghosts were rained out yesterday so they will be playing a double header beginning at 2:00. It appears I will be spending quite a bit of time at the old ball park today. A fan's gotta do what a fan's gotta do.

Odds & ends

At times a young lady comes and sits with the people who have the seats in front of me at the Ghosts' game. She's very cute and very pleasant. I found out last night that she is "Miss Wyoming" and won "Miss Congeniality at the pageant.
The Obamas chose one of the coldest days this summer to visit Yellowstone. It was also the last of three free weekends in the park.
Part of the CNN news this morning was from the Iowa State Fair. I didn't see any of the relatives.
Also off the ark: Newsweek Magazine for sneaking in a double issue in August.

You're off the ark

With the threat of rain this weekend, I felt the need to revise the ark's passenger list.
The following will be denied passage:
1. The two doves or pigeons who coo @ 6:00 every morning.
2. The two dogs that start barking round 7:00 each morning.
3. Dick and Liz Cheney, father and daughter, who won't shut up and go away.
4. The NY Yankees for trying to buy a pennant every year.
5. The clown who shoots off fireworks most nights around 10:00.
6. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid for horrific leadership.
7. The Congress for trying to pass a half-rectal health bill to meet the President's deadline rather than writing a bill that is more for the common good than the political good.
8. Rush, Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Glen Beck and Dr. Laura-can you imagine this bunch breeding?
9. Birthers
Welcome aboard!
1. G.W. Bush for staying out of sight since 1-20-09.
2. The Colorado Rockies

At the laundromat

Yesterday I took some rugs to the laundromat. We ruined a washing machine washing them at home. If the laundromat could speak, it could tell some interesting stories. One side of the area is cooler than the other due to the placement of the air con vent. On the cool side (the temp was in the high 80's-low 90's outside) someone, in absencia had tied up about 7 or 8 of the large washing machine and disappeared. Two ladies were there with small children and they were loud and running around. What else can kids do at a laundromat? One kid ran out the door and was moving in front and around vehicles while his mother was chasing him all over the parking lot. I saw myself as a witness if a car struck him as he ran from behind a vehicle. Luckily she finally caught up to him. After washing the rugs on the warm side, I found the last open drier on the cool side. This was a mistake. A woman came back with two of the most obnoxious girls, probably aged 3 & 5. She was sorting clothes from about 5 or 6 driers. The younger girl pushed a laundry cart around running into machines and patrons. The mother yelled at her constantly while she just kept sorting, however. Finally she finished but she was still yelling at the girls and talking on her cell phone as she left the building. If there had been champagne on the premise, a lot would have been consumed by the remainder of us. The rugs finally dried and I had survived another visit to the laundromat. I prefer going there after school starts. Actually, it's not bad and usually it's older folks and college students studying. During my bachelor days I would read and correct papers but now it's an adventure. I'm glad we have a washer and drier at home. I'm too old to go more than two or three times a year.

From the calendar:
August 6-"You might be a Redneck if..... You wash your Chevy and discover it's a Ford."
August 10-"You might be a Redneck if.......There's at least one cuss word on your answering machine greeting."

The road to ol' Cheyenne

Yesterday I drove by myself to Cheyenne to visit my mother. Unusually when the wife and I travel, we either talk or listen to CDs. Today I listened to ESPN on 3 different stations-Casper, some place in So. Dakota, and Laramie. I also discover that Guernsey, WY (pop. 1147 has a limited range "Golden Oldies" FM station. I even listened to Rush Limbaugh-for five minutes. Saw a lot of Harleys and trailers loaded with Harleys going home from Sturgis. Followed an oversized load (an understatement) through a construction zone. He took out several cones and the trail pilot car and I dodged orange objects for a mile or so until it pulled off at the next exit. Just wished I'd had Stooey with me and we could have done an abbreviated version of Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley."
PS My mother is doing well for someone her age.

From the calendar-I don't know why I like this one so well.
August 7: "You might be a Redneck if...... You've tried to convert a DVD movie to Betamax."

Bumper sticker follow-up

This morning there was a van from another county in northwestern Wyoming parked in front of the same house as yesterday's sticker. This car's bumper sticker read "Write In Ron Paul." Paul ran as a libertarian.
The neighborhood is going backwards.

Welcome to Wyoming?

BUMPER STICKER on the back of an American-made pick-up (what else) registered in Park County Wyoming, which borders Yellowstone Park. The reintroduction of wolves was a very unpopular move with folks in this part of the world-especially ranchers who graze their livestock on federal land which makes up a good chunk of southern Montana and most of Wyoming.
"Welcome to Wyoming
Now take a wolf and go home"
Not exactly a friendly greeting especially with the Obamas visiting Yellowstone at the end of the week.

Revenge

I stopped by as I was driving home this morning to visit Neighbor Brad. He was wearing his NY Yankees shirt. He's a ardent Yankee fan (putting it mildly) and the two of us flew to Baltimore two or three years ago for a Yankees-Orioles series. His back still isn't doing too well but he was excited that the Yankees had won two straight from the Boston Red Sox, the favorite team of Neighbor Dave. He wants the Yankees to win today (which they did) and tomorrow to sweep the series so he can return the broom (indicating sweep) which Dave had given him when the Red Sox won the first 8 games of the season against the Yankees. Funny-neither of us has seen Dave the last couple of days. Nah, there couldn't be a connection.

You can tell

You can tell the Wyoming economy is starting to slow when someone is always trying to sell you something whether you need it or not. Try buying any appliance and you have to fight your way out the door if you refuse the extended warrenty contract.
Today we had a guy from the gas company come out to inspect our furnace. We got a flier in the mail advertising a special if done at this time of year so I called yesterday. After inspecting and making a few adjustments he remarked how well I had maintained it over the years and what good shape it is in. Since the furnace is between 15 and 20 years old he did try and sell us a new one. He also recommended central air conditioning attached to the new furnace, of course. This spring after telling me the swamp cooler was still in good shape, the company that services it twice a year tried to sell me a new one. The next guy (same company) who came out didn't mention it. More people must be working on commissions rather than straight salaries.

From the calendar:
July 23-"You might be a Redneck if ....You've ever used your only phone call in jail to check the status of a NASCAR event."
and
July 31 "....Neigbors stay indoors when you walk your dogs."

The perils of test results

The results of last spring's spring testing came back yesterday and of course the local media is trying to make a story out of it.
I spent 32 years in the testing game. What never get explained when interpreting results from each school is the demographics of each school. These questions need to be asked: What is the average income of the school population; two parent families, level of parents' education; individual rooms; Internet access, etc.? Our kids attended one of the school in the higher economic areas of Casper along with positive demographics. The school's results were good. The school I worked in was above the district average results because we also enjoyed very positive demographics. By themselves numbers are numbers. It's the influences that make the results meaningful. What to do with them becomes the challenge.
With federal education funding rewarding high test scores, a good share of the monies won't go where they could do the most good. We need remediation programs as well as enrichment activities to be funded but they shouldn't be tied to testing.

The Casper Ghosts are tied for first place in second half of the season with a record of 2-1. I know it's early but this the only time this season first place and the Ghosts could be used together.

Frost/Nixon

Watched the DVD of the movie Frost/Nixon . It was these interviews that did more to define the persona of President Nixon than any other medium. These were the days of David Susskind, Dick Cabot, William F. Buckley, Phil Donahue and of course, David Frost. This was before Oprah, Jerry Springer and other wannabe quality talk show hosts. Meet the Press and Face the Nation were strong network programs but the independents such as the five mentioned above were the epitome of quality talk shows.

Sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll:
This is a quote I like from this week's Newsweek magazine:
"If you remember the 60's, you probably weren't there."

Nosing around

Yesterday I went for my annual visit to my dermatologist (my wife has nicknamed him "Doom & Gloom"). Several years ago I had a cancer removed from about half way up one of my nostrils.It's unusual to find cancer inside the nose and the odds are that the person likes to fish while on or in water. I don't fish and that threw him for a while. He finally decided that it was the reflection off the snow when I ski. He likes to have me come in when he has some residents from the UW Casper residency program making rounds with him. Yesterday there was only one resident but she acknowledged that it is a rare place to find a cancer. Everything was all right and I don't have to go in for another year. I guess my claim to fame is I sometimes have a group of doctors standing around to look up my nose. Hey, it could have been bowel cancer.
I finished off the day by watching Fever Pitch, which is one of my favorite baseball movies. It's about the year the Boston Red Sox finally win a World Series. My favorite scene is when Drew Barrymore is working on her laptop and gets hit with a foul ball and everyone goes after the foul and pays no attention to her although she has a concussion. They just make movies like that anymore-sigh.

It's already getting ugly

NASTIEST POLITICAL BUMPER STICKER OF THE DAY:
Spotted in the back window of a pick-up (what else?) registered in a mineral rich county in northeastern Wyoming where else?). This county has more wealth than most third-world countries. The background is in red, white, and blue with wavy stripes of the flag:
"Don't blame me. I voted for the American." It's a shame we have people in this country who either don't know or don't acknowledge that Hawaii is a state.

The Casper Ghosts won yesterday to finish 12-24 for the first half of the season. They had to have a big finish last week to do that well.

Give it a rest

If I never see or hear another story on Michael Jackson, it will be too soon. Let the man die.

From the calendar: One of my favorites
July 24-"You might be a Redneck if.... You've come back from the dump with more than you took."

I like this one too:
July 29-"You might be a Redneck if.....You've ever decorated a birthday cake with a caulk gun."

Blog hits

One of the features of this blog site I enjoy is seeing the places where my blog is attracting hits. I know the persons at most locales but several I wonder about. Last week I had a hit from some place in India. I don't believe I know anyone there and I've never been there.
The hit I really enjoyed seeing was from Auckland, New Zealand. I was in Auckland in July on the day that John Walker of Auckland won the metric mile at the 1976 Olympic games in Montreal. We had just flown in from Tahiti and it was like going from summer to late fall or winter (southern hemisphere). Auckland is a large city but you could have fired a canon down any street and not hit any moving thing, not even a wooly. After the race horns blared in the streets. We watched part of the closing ceremonies in a pub on our way to Wellington. Kathy, our friend Mike, and I went into a pub, had a beer, and watched the telly. We kept getting strange stares. Apparently women (the Sheilas) don't go into pubs. I guess they wrote us off as Americans because they served us but kept one eye on us in case we did something else strange. Here's at you, mate, in Auckland. Return if you wish.

The polls are still open. Thanks to everyone who has voted to either save the Whales or the Cowboys. Current totals:
Whales 3
Cowboys 0

OK one from the calendar.
July 28 "You might be a Redneck if.... Your answering machine greeting begins 'If yer callin about the money I owe you....."

What is going on?

The high temp in Casper yesterday was 60. It wasn't much better in Denver. The high temperature in Seattle was 100; Portland about the same; those people don't even have air conditioning. What's happening? Is it global warming or nuclear testing in the atmosphere? Very peculiar.
This week a group of British scientists reported that tanning spas are as dangerous as smoking. This is a chance to cut back on skin cancers and other forms of the disease by banning tanning beds. An alternative is to tax them as highly as cigarettes with the excise tax going to a federal health plan and discouraging indoor tanners at the same time.
Since the Ghosts were rained out yesterday, the only score I have to report is:
WHALES 2
COWBOYS 0 or is it nil?
From the calendar-one of my top ten favorites:
July 21-"You might be a Redneck if....Your neighbors chipped in for your vasectomy."

Whales vs Cowboys

Since I posted about the bumper sticker I saw yesterday, I've given quite a bit of thought to its content-saving whales or cowboys. After due consideration I'm reminded that I've never had a whale pass me going 80-85 pulling a swaying horse trailer. I've had a cowboy/girl do that several times. I've never had a whale approach me going way too fast while pulling a horse trailer on a freshly oiled highway with small sealing rocks and pitting or cracking my windshield. That too has happened to me-too often. I've never seen a whale driving a gas-guzzling pick-up at least ten miles over the speed limit trying to pass me and almost running into an approaching vehicle. In Wyoming I've had several cowpersons do that. Right now I'm favoring saving the whales.
The Ghosts were ahead 4-0 when I left in the top of the 7th. They lost 8-5. I,m starting to get discouraged. Several of the Ghosts were working out at my health club this morning. I didn't ask what happened.
More calendar:
July 18-19 "You might be a Redneck if... "You're smoking in your driver's license photo."

Blah day

Rained last night and early this morning. Ruined my desire to do yard work. Went to the dentist (no problemas) which ruined my desire to do anything. Watched an episode of Ice Road Truckers which inspired me to go to the Ghosts game (I don't see the connection either but I went). Ghosts were ahead 4-0 when I left in the 7th.

BUMPER STICKER OF THE DAY on the back of a horse trailer:
"The hell with whales, save the cowboy"

From the calendar:
"You might be a Redneck if....You've ever been trapped in a crossfire at a family reunion."

Set in our sitting ways

Took the van to an auto hospital today to get some paint scratches repaired-nothing serious. Since it involves paint, the vehicle will be in the shop for two or three days. This means the wife and I must share a car; namely her Subaru, which tends to be a bit small for me. The problem isn't the sharing; it's the seat, steering wheel, mirrors, air conditioning, etc., adjustments made each time there is a change of driver. My old van had seat memory which was nice when switching drivers. Neither of our present vehicles has this feature. I shouldn't be such a whiner, but some things are just tough.
PREDICTION: Sarah Palin will become an overpaid, sometimes "political consultant" for Fox News and will make more money than she was making as governor. I wouldn't be surprised if the deal is already done.
From the calendar:
July 11/12 "You might be a Redneck if.....All of your kids are named after Dallas Cowboy football players."

Up, Up, but no way

6:00 Advertised launch time for second day of Casper balloon fest. No balloons. 6:25 See a couple of balloon go up and then go back down-NO WIND. Can you imagine Casper with no wind.
6:30 A couple more balloons go up. This time there is a slight drift toward the west. This is bad news for both balloonists and chase crews because the balloons are drifting toward the airport and there is nothing but trees, residences, and industry between their present locations and the airport. A few years ago a balloon went down in the parking lot of an apartment complex while another flirted with trees and the river when there was a western drift. If you think birds can cause problems for planes, think about what a hot air balloon could do. Ideal is a slow drift to the east.
6:58 Check the "Local on the 8's" on the weather channel. Winds reported as calm (these reports come from the weather bureau at the airport.).
7:15 Several more balloons in the air but not going anywhere. Most come down. 7:25 There is a slight drift to the east. I watch a balloon go down on what I assume is the local municipal golf course. Several golfers and a few grazing antelope may take umbrage at this.
7:40 No balloons in the sky.

CRIME NEWS: A guy on the "FBI 10 most wanted list" is captured in the Big Horn Mountains northwest of Casper. He was employed as a sheepherder. Talk about illegals in the work force.

Balloons

PICTURESQUE: This weekend is the annual Casper Balloon Fest. They headquarter out of a park about 2 to 3 blocks from our house. They were supposed to launch at 6:00 this morning but I think they were running late. Anyway I watched them rise above the tree line in the front of our house (north) and flow southeast toward the mountain. I watched from our backyard looking east. The rising sun made the silhouettes look spectacular. I know it's not as large as similar events in Iowa and Albuquerque and even the one we watched a couple of years ago in Littleton. Still it's a great way to greet the morning.
PATHETIC: I read that another evangelist by the alias of "Alamo" was convicted of transporting young girls across state lines to engage in sex. His defense-God wanted and commanded him to do this. This is just another example of deeds done in the name of God that I'm sure God wouldn't condone.
Calendar:
July 8th: "You might be a Redneck if......You've ever shot a deer from inside your house."

Death of a favorite icon

SAD: This week I learned of the death of the Taco Bell chihuahua. He (actually was a she) was one of my favorite fast-food establishment's speakers (Want Taco Bell?). I miss those commercials. I actually bought one of the stuffed animals and we still have it.
PATHETIC: The Casper Ghosts are now 8-18.
My daughter out blogged me today. The wedding procession is one of the funniest things I've seen on the Internet.
From the calendar:
July 7 "You might be a Redneck if ......... Your home and automobile are both on blocks."

Hogwarts and health insurance

Went to see Harry Potter yesterday. I won't review it as people are either a HP fan or they're not. I also have been reading everything I can about the proposals for National Health Insurance plans. From what I've read and heard, even Harry and the rest of the Hogwarts couldn't perform enough magic to make any of these ideas work. It's time to step back and do things right rather than pushing through another program as complicated as Bush's Part D drug plan for senior citizens.
Drank coffee (hot chocolate for me) with the homies this morning. One guy said he knew he was dead when he woke up this morning. When asked how he knew he was dead, he replied that he didn't hurt any place so he must have died. When you're older, you'll understand.

Poll

I received a phone call today. The pollster wanted to know if I favor "President Obama's nominating someone to the Supreme Court who favors 'strong traditional family values'?" I asked what that meant and the the only acceptable reply could be "Yes, No, or repeat the question." When I didn't answer the question, the call ended. Wonder who's doing that polling?
From the calendar:
June 12 "You might be a Redneck if.....You've tampered with a bar clock during happy hour."

Black 14

Just finished a book about one of the least positive occurrences in Univ. of Wyoming history. The worst was the Matthew Shepherd killing, but this one also made UW look bad. This is the 40th anniversary of that happening.
In the fall of 1969 the 14 black players on the UW football team went to the head UW football coach and asked to wear black armbands at the next football game which was against Brigham Young Univ. BYU is a Mormon supported university and at that time they wouldn't allow blacks to become priests in the church. This is a big deal for Mormons. Rather than listen to the players the coach took them to the field house and told them they were off the team. The national media and civil rights groups had a field day with that one and it was years before the FB team recovered. Since then the head of the Mormon church had a revelation (as they often do under pressure) and blacks can now hold the position of priests.
The book just confirms what we all knew and that is the coach was a jerk and the situation could have been handled so much better. Another problem is that most of the people who had inside knowledge are now dead or wouldn't comment. Those who commented didn't know much more than I already knew. The black players who were interviewed still claim the problem was the coach and not the university but that didn't matter for years.
Don't buy the book. The best thing is someone loaned me his copy which was given to him.
From the calendar: "You might be a redneck if......Your wife's fur coat has bullet holes in it."

July 20, 1969

We were in Fort Collins, Colorado. We had been married about 6 weeks and we were attending summer school. We lived in an apartment complex on the west edge of the Colorado State Univ. campus. There was a combination washing area/recreation center with a black and white TV. I don't think we owned a TV at that time so I watched, along with several other students, in the rec area. At first I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I remember when President Kennedy proclaimed space as the next frontier. I watched as President Nixon hailed the NASA accomplishments. Most of us couldn't express the pride we felt on that day. In the next forty years, we have taken space exploration for granted and consider it expensive. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next forty years.
1969 was a good year: I got married, finished my Master's Degree, and man walked on the moon.

Jim & Stooey- Ice Road Truckers

(My imagination got the best of me... and Photoshop.
Love, The Daughter)