Christmas Songs...........

We have a station here in Phoenix, KEZ 99.9 that is most folks home during the Christmas holiday season for listening to Christmas music. I know the day after Thanksgiving I tune my car radio to 99.9 for that reason and as with many it gets me in the holiday mood and spirit and I'm reminded each time I/we get into the car.

Now I don't know and I Googled Christmas song among other things to try and find some kind of an answer to the question: How many Christmas songs are there? I seen answers anywhere from 20,000,000 to something in the 100's and really don't know for sure but would bet it's at least in the 100's and multiple 100's at that. So why then does a station like KEZ 99.9 or any other station that plays Christmas songs during this time of the year insist on playing the same 12 songs over and over and over again and again once more?

There are for sure more that 12 Christmas songs so why must I hear Burl Ives, John Lennon, and someone got run over by a reindeer after Little drummer boy and Feliz Navidad each and every hour of the day? I know Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Bing Crosby and 50% of all country singers out there sing Christmas songs and have Christmas albums, hell Elvis has Christmas albums 50% of the Rock world too so why can't we get more of a variety? I would hate to think this too has something to do with "Christ" in Christmas and a station being politically correct, if your a atheist tune to a different station for a couple of weeks and if your a station owner...GET SOME BALLS if that's the case!

OK, all you tree hungers, progressives, socialist and politically correct folks out there that want Christ out of your Christmas I hear you...I need to put in a CD if I don't like the same 12 songs over and over again! Wait, that is a CD, the same handful of songs over and over so I need to buy more CD's if I'm doing more that just running up to the store!

The point is KEZ and other stations like that tell us that during the holidays their going to play nothing up Christmas songs and then they play the same handful over and over and not just each day but each 1/2 hour we get a repeat of the last 1/2 hour and that gets old. I'm sure some of you know exactly what I'm talking about and yes, I already wrote my e-mail to KEZ and made mention of it on their website................hey you know me!

Has anyone heard the marking dogs lately? arf arf arf, arf arf arf.............................

Is it just me or...........................

I was reading a magazine the other day and on the cover was Opie Taylor from Mayberry, you know Ron Howard. Anyway while looking at his mug on the cover and reading all his many accomplishments and he has many, the kid done well from the days of Opie. What I notice first was his strangely bread with hair going every which way and in no particular order or length, and no really what you called by any means a "full beard"! Then it struck me, the dude is bald, bald as bald can be and really he has been for a long, long, time and he's had this funky red beard if that's what you'd call it for a long time also. But in looking at Opie and his bald head I thought to myself, you know there seems to be a whole lot more bald guys it seems than ever and most of them or at least quite a few of them have some sort of facial hair. I'd venture to say the majority of bald dudes had some kind of facial hair, percentage wise I'd be willing to bet that more bald guys have facial hair than those with full heads of hair, nice comb-able hair.

So I guess the bottom line is I have a blog with a question: Do bald guys grow hair on their faces because they can't grow it on top? Is it to try and put out there............hey I can grow hair, just not on the top of my head! I can't say what I'd do if I was to go bald all of a sudden, but I don't think I'd try and make up for the lack of hair on my head and grow a scraggly beard like the one Ron Howard supports. Opie, get your beard trimmed if you must wear one.

My answer, bald guys want us all to know they can grow hair somewhere, just not were the rest of us comb ours!

Geminids meteor shower

Last night and early this morning the 14th of December 2010 I again witnessed the Geminids meteor shower from the deck behind the pool in my back yard. The Geminids meteor shower is so named because it originates from the constellation of Gemini and is one of the most consistent and active of the meteor showers. The shower consist of particles of a meteor usually about the size of a grain of sand or smaller and burning up when hitting the earths atmosphere. One of the main reasons this shower is so consistent to view is the fact that the particles travel at approximately 22 miles/second which makes them easy to spot. Whats amazing is how a particle the size of a grain of sand can glow so bright so as to be seen by the naked eye these oh so many miles away! I'm only guessing but those I seen that last the longest just might have been closer to the size of a pea or most likely a piece of minus granite.

Now most news reports and weather men I heard were telling viewers to look towards the east, but we found looking towards the big dipper which from our vantage point is in the north east was the best. Using good peripheral vision while looking toward the north-northeast I seen shooting and falling stars as we call them anywhere from my far left (NNW) to my far right which was ESE. I went out about 10:15 pm and didn't see much so went to bed and got up at 1:00 am and ended up sitting until 2:20 or so and in that little more than an hour I seen between 30 and 40 meteorites. I would say the biggest and longest were in the north and were more falling stars than shooting and those seemed to last the longest, although I did see one from NE to the West shooting across like a rocket..............very cool. There was a point when looking due north I spotted one falling and within less that 10 seconds saw four more right in the same area one right after the other, and I think that is what most folks think their going to see when looking for the first time. The key like with most things in life is patience, just being patient and relaxing and in no hurry.

I would say living here in the west and the desert of Arizona we have a great advantage in viewing these sorts of things. Like I said earlier our desert nights are dark, pitch black as they would say and that makes for easy viewing. Another big factor is the weather, I'm out there tonight sitting in a lounge chair with my bath robe on and a pair of socks! Now I'm sure if my friends and family back in the Midwest tried that tonight they might be out long enough to maybe see one falling meteorite, and that's a maybe. Yep it makes a difference if the temperature is 60 degrees at 1:00 am here in Phoenix or -2 degrees like it was in Davenport, Iowa about the same time, or Des Monies at 5 degrees or Boston at 16 degrees!
Since moving out to the far north end of Phoenix, 20 miles from the city lights the viewing of things like this have been amazing. We're in an area with minimal lighting on streets and in yards and it can be very dark and black at night here in the north Phoenix desert, just perfect for this sort of activity. I do seem to remember last year I needed a coat and blanket, this year we're a bit warmer than normal so far, usually we'd be in the upper 40's or lower 50's this time of year.

From what I've read these showers are pretty much a fall and winter occurrence so we have a bit of a wait for the next viewing, and remember the Geminids comes each year so mark your calendars for 2011................you know I was so busy watching all these shooting and falling stars from here and there that I forgot to make a wish, think I'll go back out and see if I can see one more. And maybe I'll put a telescope on my wish list for next year.

True Worth or is it Werth?

I just read where a baseball player by the name of Jason Werth who in 8 years played for 3 or 4 different teams last being the Phillie's has signed a 7 year $126 Million contract with the Washington Nationals of the American League. Good for Jason I guess, but this is one of the reasons as time goes on I'm not watching as much sports as I used to. Our Nations economy is in the tank and folks all over are loosing their homes, can't find jobs, paying higher taxes and struggling to put food on the table. In the mean time sports teams and owners are paying huge sums of cash to almost everyone and anyone who puts on a uniform and then they rip us off with the product most teams put on the field of play.

Jason Werth, it's not his fault because I'm relatively sure when he woke up yesterday he never dreamed of anything like this either. Agents taking their 10% or whatever keep this shit going and owner's can't stop it for fear of Unions and government yelling collusion! No we now have an 8 year veteran with a career batting average of .272 with 120 HR's and 727 K's making $126,000,000.00 or $18,000,000.00 a year. You can't spend that kind of money, just think the first year you go out and buy everything and anything you want and for your friends and family and now you all have everything.................oh wait, we get this again next year and for the next 7 years! He plays a game called baseball, plays a game he most likely loves or at one time did and now just try's to hang on to any team that will have him.

Don't get me wrong I say again, good for Jason and his family.................if he's married and has kids they will never have to work or want for anything ever again! He'll have the best agents, lawyers and accountants to make sure he pays as little as possible in the way of taxes so the rest of us poor saps can keep this country a float and running.

OK, I may be a little bitter sounding but I played ball as a kid and was pretty good too, but we didn't pursue it the way they do now...................hell I could go into the bread business (route salesman for a bakery) and make more money than most major leaguer's so why bother, can't say that today! Moral of this story, teach your kid to play catcher or pitch left handed and if your at all good you'll make millions someday!

Broke

Some of you know from face book or from talking to me since my birthday (11/23) about my receiving a book from my son and daughter-in-law as one of my gifts, the book entitled Broke by Glenn Beck. Wow........I can see the hair standing up on some of your necks already just hearing or reading the name Glenn Beck! Well too bad for you is all I can say about that, because I for one don't feel all that ill towards Mr. Beck that some do and I hope you continue to read why.

Did you enjoy History class while in school? Do we as a country still teach History in our schools? Is it the same History I was taught or the history of the past century and not beyond? This is something I'm not sure of and would really enjoy hearing from someone that knows the answers. I know I have scholars out there reading this, so please feel free to drop me an e-mail bringing me up to date on the schools of today.

Anyway, my point is this, Glenn Beck has become my history teacher now that I'm in my 60's and in my opinion a fine one at that. I do not watch Glenn Beck's show religiously by any means, but I do occasionally like his "History Friday" shows. I never was much of a reader and do remember some of what I was taught in my history classes but there is so much more to know and learn about our fore fathers and our Nation. Beck has me reading things like "George Washington's Sacred Fire", "Adams, Jefferson and Monroe", "The Constitution" and the "Declaration of Independence", and it helped visiting the Philadelphia area this past summer for a week or so during Independence Day celebrations.

I have an ex-son-in-law ranting about Beck being "one of the rich" extorting money from the poor somehow and on and on because I showed a picture of his book "Broke" on facebook as one of my birthday gifts. In case you haven't seen it the book cover show Glenn Beck in white T-shirt with Uncle Sam on the front all dressed in red, white and blue and pockets pulled out empty and palms up depicting the fact that our Nation is Broke! And so Glenn himself has a bewildered look on his face, palms up and pockets pulled out empty as Uncle Sam does on his T-shirt. So I get this long ass e-mail and facebook message and comment on facebook telling me that Glenn Beck wants me to think he's broke as if I should buy his book to help him get out of debt or something.....................wrong! This is a good example of looking at the pictures and not reading content, no where does he say he's broke or even talks about his financial status. I've only read the first three chapters so far and let me tell you it reads like a history book plain and simple. It's a hard read for me because it reads like a history book and I'm not sure I was expecting that when I first opened it.

Bottom line is all you history buffs out there would really enjoy the book and I'm drudging my way through it as I did in school and trying to retain a small portion of what I'm reading. For some reason if you weren't a reader growing up it even gets harder when your 64 trying to learn to do this all over again. One thing all of us must keep in mind is that our Nation is in trouble right now financially and we need jobs to get things going once more along with less spending and debt reduction. One line is seems the far left (and the book really isn't about left vs. right or Rep vs. Dem.......especially since Beck blames Bush and his admin. as much as anyone) does believe or understand is this, "When was the last time a poor person created a job?" We want to tax the wealthy and give to the poor via the government..............and the jobs the government creates are government jobs that require more tax dollars to pay those employees! Is it too hard to understand that we don't need more government jobs that we can't pay for, we need private sector jobs creating more jobs and so on................sorry, anyway the book is not about Beck or his wealth or beating down the left, it's some good history lessons so far and I plan on reading on. I'll give more book reports as I go along like it or not!

Face to Face

"This question game everyone is doing is kind of funny... If you can't ask this person the questions normally face to face then why ask them on here (face book) when they want you to? This is a prime example of what face book and texting is doing to the world, it's eliminating the whole face to face honest conversation between people....... That's kind of sad!"

The above quote came from a friend, college student, football player, pretty sharp guy and actually 2nd cousin and Senior at Emery Henry college I met for the first time this past summer. I read this and said to myself this guy has something here and he's definitely right, it's kind of sad, yes very sad.
It's probably always been easier for most to say things via a letter like a Dear John for example or over the phone and now via texting or face book or any other type of "social networking" medium. E-mail might have been the most used "question game" for a long time now until face book and my space or even twitter. I know and some of you probably know that even I have maybe said or stated things or asked questions I might hesitate to ask in a face to face meeting and yes I know that's wrong. I'm sure there are many out there who have said something in an e-mail or on face book the might not normally said in conversation and wished you could bring it back after hitting the send key! I'd also be willing to bet there have been many relationships changed, ended or put on thin ice due to a comment or question asked via a social network or e-mail that might have been otherwise suppressed.

What's next job interviews over face book or texting.......hell I'm sure that has happen already somewhere with someone. If you don't have video conferencing you may never have to see anyone face to face other than the goofy pictures we post of ourselves on these mediums. The sad side of all this is more and more folks are spending more and more time locked in a room all day doing this sort of thing and asking those tough questions they might not normally ask. How about more and more parents and their children only communicate in this manner, no that is very sad and not bringing us closer as families. When young people would rather hold conversations with their fingers on a keyboard rather than actually talking on the phone in their hands, how unperson-able we've become.

Playing Cards...........

If anyone knows me they also know that I enjoy gambling and playing poker, sometimes to a fault I must admit. But the story line behind this blog is poker and in particular Texas Hold Em, not whether I play or not.

I read this morning where this young 23 year old Canadian named Jonathan Duhamel beat out 7300 other players for the $8.9 million dollar prize! Sporting flip-flops, plaid shorts and a sweatshirt at the final table Monday night, he looked more like someone who just rolled out of bed than the guy who just won $8.9 million in the World Series of Poker. The kid was a Strawberry picker not that long ago and the computer age got him into poker, online poker, online Texas Hold Em.

Remember when a few good old boys would get together at Binion's in Las Vegas for a card game and could win up to 1 million dollars? A few professional poker players and professional gamblers played a game of cards for a trophy (bracelet) plus a cash prize taken from the $10,000 entry fee charged. Do you or did you ever stop to think with 7300 entries now days at an entry fee of $10K that's $73 million dollars someone is taking in plus TV rights from ESPN and others..............it's not a game with a few good old boys from Vegas any longer!

I personally remember being a person standing in the back round watching what at the time was big poker games in Las Vegas at Binion's and at the Golden Nugget, and now in order to fit all the players in the so called tournament is being played in the largest conventions centers of the largest hotels in Las Vegas and other places. Now the so called good players of which they add one or two each year are playing on obscure TV channels amongst themselves and starting new games so as not to allow all these online jokers a seat in the exclusive rooms with no crowds what so ever.

Now to my point of this entire blog..................Texas Hold Em, no skill involved what so ever and a game of totally luck if you have the cash to hang in until the last card. Yea, don't give me that "read" or "tell" crap and feed the rest of us that for the most part garbage of being able to pick up on "tells" the other players have to give you an edge. Sure now and then you'll be able to see by a persons nervous moves or blinks that a card helped his hand but until the dreaded "river card" hits the table it could be anyone's game to win, even the dude with a bunch of money hanging around with a 3 of diamonds and a 7 of spades. Back in the day I'm sure a pair of "pocket rockets" (aces) or "big slick" (ace and king) would win quite a few pots, but today the way everyone stays until the last dog dies to see the river or the flop the only ones you can beat with those cards are the dudes with scared money!

No not even back in the day was Texas Hold Em much of a game of skill, in my humble or not so humbler opinion, it's totally a poker game of more luck than anything...............the strategy if you decide to play a hand is to have enough money to call the other players that might raise the pot. If you got the cash in front of you the hand you hold just may be a winner. When I played with the boys back home on poker nights we played a game called "gut" now and again and that's what Hold Em takes, more money and more guts to hang around with literally shit cards until the end. Sure there is still some bluffing but I'd venture to say not near as much as there used to be when real men played poker!

Just like a whole lot of other things, technology is good but not good for everything!

Chili's resturant

Do you all have a Chili's restaurant you've patronized in your area, if so you'll know where I'm coming from if not you missing out a some pretty good food for the most part. Not just good food, but good Margarita's and Beer and a lot of rustic tile and decor to look at.
I've ate at Chili's more times that I can count, many a lunch at Chili's with co-workers and clients alike. Chili's has always been a favorite of a lot of business lunches and friends getting together for a quick bite to eat during a busy day, as well as meeting with old friends.

As most of you know my younger brother has been visiting and we've had a few lunches out at different places where he might now have dined while in Iowa, and today Chili's was one of those stops. We neither were all that hungry, but a bite thirsty so we ordered off the appetizer side of the menu and had a couple of draft beers to accompany our choices. I'm a sucker for Chili's classic nacho's which really aren't anything like your typical nacho's but cleaner and easier to eat in my opinion, so that's what I ordered. Dave just had the Queso dip and chips and it came with salsa. Now like I said it had been a while, but not that long since my last visit with the boys and I was indeed surprised that chips and salsa was no longer complimentary! Our waitress claimed to have worked there for 3 years and also claimed they had charged for them ($2.99) for at least that long....................bull puckie! Maybe me and the boys had a great waiter or waitress last time in and just gave use the chips and salsa, but I'm here to tell you we did not get charged. The waitress also added that it was due to the current recession per Chili's nationally, wow it's even hit the chips in the Mexican restaurants.

Now like I said we also had a couple of draft beers and while we were waiting for our apps we drank a draft to get started. Now as the appetizers came out my glass was just getting empty and a fresh one was needed, but as I took that last swallow I noticed the condensation dripping on my shirt. Wait a minute, how could that be since Chili's had those nice coasters to sit your drinks on, usually quite a few on each table...........................where was mine? I took a quick glance at a couple of tables around me and the same, no coasters! I asked the waitress "what gives, no coasters" to which she replied "same thing, the recession! I said you mean to tell me a Chili's trade mark has been discontinued due to the recession.............yes she said, then she said let me get you some extra napkins to set your drinks on. In what seemed like an eternity she appeared with a stack of napkins you could wipe a horse with, I mean the cost of this stack of napkins would have bought me 3 coasters.

If your like me and lot of folks I know you've swiped a coaster or two in your past trips to Chili's (their usually neat) and if your like me you'll grab a few of them and stick them in the glove box so you can take then into Chili's on your next visit.

What can I say, it's been a slow week for me and the current events and this is what I came up with. Don't tell me you all haven't been there or in some similar situation in the past. And besides as you can see the "recession" hurts in more ways than you can imagine!

Snopes...............

Something was brought to light this morning via an e-mail from an old friend. Sure who can say where the e-mail originated or from whom it originally came but the fact is it got me thinking about Snopes.
We've all no doubt heard of snopes or the website snopes.com "rumor has it" an urban legend and pretty much a majority of folks out there use snopes as gospel when it comes to finding out if an article, e-mail, quote, you name it is in fact the truth or just a misleading lie. I know early on a good friend of mine threw snopes in my face a number of times as I forwarded e-mails which snopes believes to be untrue or misleading or misconstrued in someway or another. Oh sure as it turns out a lot of those e-mails where false, wrong, misleading etc., but now I'm starting to wonder if our socialist friends have infiltrated snopes!
Some folks are now not just taking snopes word for it but doing more diligent research and finding some of what snopes spews is not always the truth either or at least slanted towards the liberal direction more often than not.
I'm sending an e-mail to a lot of my friends that will read it and asking for a more reputable website for finding out the whole truth on matters like this that come up in e-mails or conversations. At the time of this writing I'm not sure how many other sites are out there but I'm sure there must be a few so that will be a project for today (you know us retire folks don't have shit to do other than crap like this) but it's my job to keep you informed.

One last thing that has been bothering me and maybe some of you intellectuals can give me an answer via an e-mail or FB as to how and why. I'm just going to take a couple of words but we know there are many more, but why all of a sudden we're or at least the media is changing the pronunciation of words we grew up with and were taught in school. Let's take the first that comes to mine, Jaguar (jag'war') I've notice and bear with me that some commercials now call the vehicle jag'u'waaa. Did I miss something in school, is this car named for a large cat the jaguar now ending with a long waaaaaaa? Also in the news now is another one, the country of Chile (chili), we grew up with everyone pronouncing it Chili but now especially the media has to work their asses off to pronounce it "Cheeelay"and it's getting to the point there's a new one every week. My kids are too old and my grand kids are too young but it would be interesting to know if our geography teachers or literature teachers or reading teachers are in fact teaching these and other words to our children different that we were taught and why! Was my geography teach a dumb dumb, because I'm sure he taught me exactly how he was taught so we literally have had generations of children being taught wrong.........................if these folks in the media are in fact correct in telling me these miners in Cheeeelay are having a tough go of it.
Just some more of what I like to call "food for thought".

NFL or is it......No Football Left.

I about reached the end of the line with the NFL and the game they call football, it's not football anymore at least not the football anybody over the age of 30 would remember! The next step is to wear flags or just play two hand touch so no one gets a bruise or sore body part.

It's been driving me crazy for a year or so now maybe longer with all the crap players can't do or get penalized for doing these days. I see more yellow hankies being tossed around than footballs and the men in the stripped shirts get more TV time than the players or coaches or cheerleaders! The game has become a real pussy's game if you ask me. Oh sure we don't want to see players get life threatening injures but holy cow can we see someone hit or even touch an offensive player without getting flagged and penalized? Pass interference has become a complete joke, since when is an official charged with controlling the outcome of a game. This happened and almost happened a few times Sunday and Monday too! God even stepped in at the Cardinals game when with time running out an official decided to call a ticky tack pass interference to allow the Raiders to win the game with time expiring by kicking a winning field goal...................not so fast said the football gods, this kicker that can kick one from 62 yards plus and never misses from 30 to 39 yards yanked one left and the referee was foiled once more.

Tell me how a defensive player with the speeds they have today can stop on a dime when some fool in strips decides to blow his whistle, or how does a 6 foot player run straight into another 6 foot player without these big ass helmets possibly touching each other? There you go, a helmet to the head whether it's incidental or not or if it just brushes against the other face guard in passing.................helmet to helmet, personal foul 15 yards and a first down to maybe win the game or at least change the outcome in most circumstances!

And like I said, pass interference is totally bullshit nine out of ten times, are we that worried about scoring that we need to hand offenses touchdowns and new life when the ref feels like changing the game a bit. Is this right out of a "wild buffalo wings" commercial or what?

We need to play a game or two without referees, let the players police themselves and see what a real football game should look like. These young people of today would probably be horrified by the play of the likes of Butkus, or the steel curtain, or Max Magee or Howie Long, or you could go on and on and on with tough guys from the real NFL. Holy cow how many yards would Walter Payton have run for if now one could have touched him in fear of hurting him or getting penalized, how long could Johnny U stayed in the pocket and competed 100's more passes knowing no one could hit him for fear of a personal foul penalty. The game today is for rich pussy's that do drugs and drive fast cars while drinking booze, or sitting on the sidelines with a sore toe rather than playing through pain. No this is not football and don't kid yourself if you think it is, even I played flag for an Air Force team and took more hits that these fat dudes of today's game......and we drank after the game not on the way to the game.

We need to change the name in the NFL, something other that "football" for the F and let the Euro's keep the word football since they actually can hit one another!

American Idol or What a joke?

American Idol, this is one show on television I must say I don't watch and have really never cared to watch since it's inception. Oh yes I have seen a few episodes when the kids have been over and it was an American Idol night, for some reason a must see for them. I think it's a big joke because the producers, and the hundreds of thousands of dollars behind them could take anyone of 100's of contestants and turn them into recording stars the way they have the past winners. You'll never convince me that out of the thousands of contestants that handful at the end and ultimately one person that wins is and was the best of the rest! The final ten are all groomed for a recording career by the show in my opinion and besides they say that America chooses the winner via their voting................right! Now until H. DeGeneres(ate) came aboard they at least had two supposedly music industry judges and one performer doing the initial cuts and I just read where the only one left is Randy Jackson, the rest of the panel has gone on to other things.

We need two new judges so the search went on and numerous names hit the air-ways and internet and print media but most turned down this opportunity, until now. I heard today that American Idol now has their two judges to accompany Randy Jackson and Wow what the hell are they thinking? Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Jennifer Lopez joining Randy Jackson, yes I'm sure no finer talent scouts out there that wanted to make $12 million dollars for a season of Idol. That's right, $12 million dollars is what "J. Lo" will be making and I'm sure "S. Ty" is making a bunch less but still in the millions I'd bet. So all you fans out there just keep on texting each week over and over again to the tune of millions upon millions of text each show multiplied by $1.00 each text because the likes of "J. Lo" need those dollars more than you do.

I'll work on coming up with something so all you loyal fans can sent me a text and at least one of us will be having a happy ending like those on American Idol and a handful of the final contestants..................................that would be "no joke". The show will most likely be canceled after a season of this trio of clowns as judges because the viewing audience will surely drop like a rock with the departure of Simon, and you all will help "J. Lo" and "S. Ty" smile all the way to the bank!

Somthing I found very interesting to read......

I forwarded an e-mail so some of you might have already seen this, but I found this so interesting and asked the person that sent it to me if I could use it on my blog. Facts and statistic's like this really make you think about why and who is running the asylum and how and why they got to be in charge of the asylum. I found this very interesting and you might also.

This certainly will give you something to think about!!

This is the most interesting thing I've read in a long time. The sad thing about it, you can see it coming.

I have always heard about this democracy countdown..

It is interesting to see it in print.

God help us, not that we deserve it.

How Long Do We Have?

About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler,

a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh , had this to say about the fall of the Athenian

Republic some 2,000 years earlier:

"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government."

"A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves
generous gifts from the public treasury."

"From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury,

with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."

"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years"

During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. from bondage to spiritual faith;

2. from spiritual faith to great courage;

3. from courage to liberty;

4. from liberty to abundance;

5. from abundance to complacency;

6. from complacency to apathy;

7. from apathy to dependence;

8. from dependence back into bondage'

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University
School of Law, St. Paul , Minnesota
points out some interesting facts concerning the 2008 Presidential election:

Number of States won by:

Democrats: 19

Republicans: 29

Square miles of land won by:

Democrats: 580,000
Republicans: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by:

Democrats: 127 million
Republicans: 143 million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:
Democrats: 13.2

Republicans: 2.1

Professor Olson adds:

"In aggregate, the map of the territory the
Republican won was mostly the land owned by the
taxpaying citizens of this great country. Democrat
territory mostly encompassed those citizens living
in government-owned tenements and living off various
forms of government welfare... "Olson believes the
United States is somewhere between the "complacency and
apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of
democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's
population already having reached the governmental
dependency phase.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegals and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA
in fewer than five years.

If you are in favor of this, then by all means, delete this message. If you are not, then pass this along to help everyone realize just how much is at stake, knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.

WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE

Saving energy or not?

We have a highway near home we use daily to go wherever, church, store, visiting, work, you name it and we along with many others have to use "Carefree Hwy (AZ71)" many times a day and/or a week.
This is a stretch of highway going through State trust land mainly on both the north and south sides of the road, a ranch here or there and some homes a few acres off the road to both the north and south. There are streets like 12th, 16th, 24th and 36th and run into the road from the north but do not cross the road to the south. A few folks living north of the highway will use these streets to get to Carefree Hwy, and with what little traffic there is might have to wait 10 to 30 seconds after arriving at the stop sign before turning right or left onto Carefree Hwy. I said 10 to 30 seconds they might have to sit and wait to enter onto Carefree Hwy...............not 10 to 30 minutes but SECONDS!

A while back our City, DOT, or whomever decided to put up some lights at 16th and 24th street entrances onto Carefree Hwy, lights used only by those few folks turning left or right onto the highway mind you. Now folks traveling on Carefree Hwy east and west are moving at speeds of 55 mph to 65 mph most often on a posted 55 mph Hwy, and the traffic cruises right along and always has which allows those entering not to have to sit and wait more that the 10 - 30 seconds most of the time.

Now stop and think about this from an energy use perspective, you see now if a car pulls up to enter Carefree Hwy from one of these streets he/she may have to wait up to 3 to 5 minutes for the light to change all the time the engine is running burning gas. When the light does change for them the many more cars just cruising along Carefree Hwy have to brake very hard to slow down in a hurry in order to stop for these lights. These cars have to slow down from speeds of around 60 mph to a stop in seconds or decide to put it to the floor and run the yellow or fading green light...............very dangerous! OK, now that one or maybe after waiting 5 minutes there are now two cars there at the light, they proceed to make there turns while maybe a dozen cars wait for this usually one guy to enter the Hwy. Now the light turns green for what has become 12 to 15 cars now from the east and the west and they all stomp on the gas to get back up to speed and in doing so have opened all four barrels if the carburetor is that big which is the case for a lot of cowboys in their trucks. Do you get the picture, one guy gets to wait 3 to 5 minutes burning gas while dozens stop on a dime and then burn out or stomp on it burning 25 times the gas they'd have burned just cruising right along the highway and stopping for that one or two vehicles that might not even have been there if they didn't have to wait for a green light!

In my opinion these light have cost us so much in wasted energy it's pathetic and assinine, does anyone thing of these things went putting up a traffic light years sooner than it might have been needed? Maybe one or two old farts bitched about waiting a few seconds more or less one night and had the pull to get these put in.....................what a waste of time, energy and money for the City of Phoenix.

We're not all whacko's, keeping some pretty good company!

So you were thinking I'm just whacked out, sitting in a corner by myself fretting over this person called Obama and what he's doing to my country. A day doesn't go by that I don't find myself in better and better company, it's not just me friends it a very large majority of our people.............We the people!

This is an open letter from Lou Pritchett, of Procter & Gamble
Check it out here: http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/p/pritchett-obama-youscareme.htm


AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama, You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you. You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support. You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American. You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll. You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core. You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others. You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail. You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America' crowd and deliver this message abroad. You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector. You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves. You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world. You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations. You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals. You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people. You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient. You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view. You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing. Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years. Lou Pritchett; (www.loupritchett.com)

Something also I just noticed, spell check does not recognize "Obama" as a word or name.............it wants me to change it to Alabama! Go figure.

Some food for thought.

BELOW ARE LISTED ALL THE DEVELOPED NATIONS OF THE WORLD THAT OFFER BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP TO THE BABIES OF TOURISTS AND ILLEGAL ALIENS:

1. United States of America

That's right, every other modern Developed nation in the world has gotten rid of birthright citizenship policies. Yet, most of U.S. news media and politicians the last two weeks have ridiculed the comments by some other politicians that it is time for the U.S. to put an end to birthright citizenship for tourists and illegal aliens. Folks, the U.S. stands alone. There used to be all kinds of Developed countries that gave away their citizenship as freely as we do in the U.S. But one by one they all have recognized the folly of that policy.

SOME MODERN COUNTRIES THAT RECENTLY ENDED THEIR BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP POLICY

Canada was the last non-U.S. holdout. Illegal aliens stopped getting citizenship for their babies in 2009.
Australia's birthright citizenship requirements are much more stringent than those of H.R. 1868 and took effect in 2007.
New Zealand repealed in 2006
Ireland repealed in 2005
France repealed in 1993
India repealed in 1987
United Kingdom repealed in 1983
Portugal repealed in 1981

The United States is currently the laughing stock of the modern world. Only the U.S. values its citizenship so lowly as to distribute it promiscuously to the off-spring of foreign citizens visiting Disney World on tourist visa's and to foreign citizens who have violated their promises on their visitor, work and student visas to stay illegally in the country, as well as to those who sneak across our borders.

Really stop and think about this, no really stop and think about it..................is it not just asinine when you think about it? We need to take our country back from those that would have us be so liberal, socialistic and far left reaching, when will the majority rule once more?

Brother Dave

You may already know that Bev and I brought my younger Brother Dave back to Arizona with us when we returned from out 2 plus month road trip, if not let me tell you now that we did. Our reason was supposedly so he could do some painting for us and Lisa and just spend some time on vacation or R&R if you will in Arizona with our family.

Dave is 6 1/2 years younger that I am and as you might imagine growing up we didn't have too much in common other than him being my kid brother and me being the big older brother. Like when I was say 12 and in my glory in little league he was but a lad of 5 1/2 and I don't even remember Mom bringing him to our games that often. When I was 15 - 16 and getting a permit and then license to drive he would have been 9 1/2 or 10 and really not involved in the same things I'd be doing or trying. When I was 18 years old and heading to the military, USAF for four years, Dave was 11 1/2 and not even a teenager yet. Dave probably did most of his growing up, his formative years if you will while I was away for those four years. Dave would have went from 12 to 16 during my military service and from 16 to 18 while I was moving around the United States from Oklahoma to Arizona back in 1970 to late in 1971.

I really didn't get to know my brother much other than brief encounters on Sundays at the folks house or what family outings I might have attend before or after getting married. When I got married at age 25 Dave would have been 18 1/2 and chopping at the bit to get the hell out of the church and back with his friends. Don't get me wrong it's not that I didn't love by brother or see him as often as I could, we just had too many years between us to do much bonding it seems.

Now I can say after only two weeks with Dave here with us it seems I've learned so much more about him, his life and his family and friends. I'm totally enjoying sitting down and talking with him and learning more about him and his life and times. Sure Dave came out here to do some painting and help me around the place get some stuff done, but he's having a hard time taking a break. I want him to enjoy himself too and hope he stays longer than we both might have had in mind when this all started. Something I'm trying to let him know over and over is he and or we don't have to be working every day, we can take it easy now and then also. One thing that I have to stop and think about now and again while we're working it yes he's my kid brother but he is 57 years old and not a young rooster anymore either. I find myself thinking.....Dave can do it, he's by little brother and I can sit back a bit but that's no longer the case. Those years of difference we had when we both were much younger don't seem to be that big of a difference anymore, we're both older and need a rest now and then (more now than then!).

I hope to become closer and also hope we both learn a great deal more about one another during this visit, life it too short and we have so much catching up to do. I love my brother and me and my family are glad he's here with us.

Motor home clean and unload

Bev and I have finally have taken the time to unload our stuff from the motor home and give it a cleaning, the motor home that is. It's been almost a week since we arrived back home and have finally found the time to get-errr-done you might say. It was bitter sweet moving stuff back into the house from the motor home, we both enjoyed our time together in the coach so much and do wish we could go again soon.

I truly think if we wait too long this feeling might subside but I sure hope not, we still have a couple of years before Bev can retire completely and do more traveling in the coach. We've been slightly intrigued by this worker kamper program we've heard about and talked to a few folks about, it sounds like something we might enjoy. Worker kamper's are folks that work for 3 to 6 months (usually more like 3) at RV parks and resorts across the country for free space rental plus wages. Those we've talked to say it's anywhere from minimum wage to $8 to $10 an hour for both people and usually about 25 to 30 hours a week. With that your seeing different parts of the country and it's not costing but gas to get to where your going and sight seeing money while in different areas. I don't know, but at this point it sounds like something we'd enjoy for a while and keep busy at the same time.
Now I need to get the bus cleaned outside and make appointments for oil changes and some minor fix it stuff and get that darn mirror fixed (on his insurance companies dime!) before we can think about another trip. I think it will be sooner rather than later................................

Been a while since Abilene....................

Sorry to leave those of you hanging that might have been on the edge of your seats wondering.....what happen? After leaving Abilene we headed to El Paso looking for more dry ice, what a hard thing to find when you need it. The ice cream was starting to get soft and the dry ice we got in Jefferson, Texas was about gone and panic was starting to set in. At a gas stop in Plateau, Texas a truck came whizzing by and clipped my mirror on the drivers side of the coach. After about an hour of exchanging info and the bottom of my wooden cane and a small baseball bat of the truckers and a roll of duck tape we were off with a mirror that was just usable. Oh yes and one bungee cord! We searched the internet and called store after store and those few that at one time carried dry ice no longer carried it for whatever reason. Finally late in the day in El Paso Bev found a ice distributor on the internet and called them. They only delivered ice and did in fact carry dry ice so we were waiting to find out where the last truck out was and try and meet him somewhere in the city. After a bit of back and forth on the phone Bev told the gal we'd head to the plant and meet anyone if that would be possible and that's what we ended up doing. We were told to go to the back because the front would be locked up since it was after hours so we did and meet two fella's in the back. They asked how much we wanted (they came in 5 pound blocks) so I said 15 pounds and he came back with 3 blocks very solid so Dave started putting them to use. I gave the guy $20 and said keep it and thanks.................he said do you want another 5 pounds and I said no that's for you. He said wait I'll get another to which I said "free" and he said yes and ran off. Not sure, but I hope he keep the tip that was meant for him.

We ended up eating dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant in El Paso and decided to just hit the road rather than try and find someplace to park it for the night, I'm usually not in favor of night driving anymore but oh well. Early into New Mexico we caught some rain and it started to get nasty so we ended up in a truck stop and parked with the big rigs and got some sleep, but did make it most of the way through the small part of NM before we stopped. The next morning I woke about 5:30 am and showered and jumped back into the pilots seat and closed up slides with Bev still in bed and Dave dozing. The ice cream was doing great on the new dry ice, those blocks where just what the doctor ordered and had gift froze solid in no time. We pulled into Phoenix and home about noon and had a wonderful reunion with the kids and grand kids, it was good to be home but we sure had a good time on the road...............we both agree!

As it turns out we were very over zealous when making the ice cream purchase, we bought a 3 gallon tub and a couple of additional 1/2 flavors for the party. The ice cream was a huge hit but as of this writing we still have about a gallon left and two of the 1/2 gallons..............I could have gotten by with a couple of 2 or 3 half gallons and just put them in the coach freezer and save $150 in dry ice and $50 in ice cream but what the hell, Jack's only 4 years old once! By the way $1.99 a pound at Hy-Vee and $1.59 in Jefferson, Texas and at the ice plant........$1.00 a pound, the only place to buy it and a more solid block too!

The birthday party was a good reunion with friends and family, we had a good first day back and have been going ever since. Dave has settled into the spare bedroom and has already painted the other bedroom and is working on the Jack and Jill bathroom between the two, it's been good having him here with us and look forward to a few more weeks of good times together.

Our reunion at church was bitter sweet, it was good to be back in the church we enjoy so much but pastor Dwight was out of town so we wait another week to hear one of his wonderful sermons. Pastor Norman personally welcomed us back and that was very nice of him we sure do enjoy both of them and our time there. We had to rush our meeting during and after church with our good friends Fred and Ruth but will make it up soon. We hope and pray all goes well for them too!

Catcing up a bit................

Well we're parked in a KOA outside of Abilene, Texas right now and on our last leg of this two plus month adventure. We plan on being home on Saturday sometime just not sure what time at all, but probably mid-day or there a bouts.

We arrived in Jefferson, Texas Tuesday evening at cousin Walt's place, where he had things all set up for us including 30 amp service for the motor home. We sure appreciated all he had done to get things ready for our short visit, including a nice steak dinner on the BBQ and some fine salads by wife Linda.........thanks again you two! We spent that evening (after eating dinner) talking old times and having a few drinks and trying to keep cool, man was it humid. I changed t-shirts 3 times from when we arrived to bed time all were soaking wet with perspiration and very uncomfortable to be wearing. With temps at 102 degrees with 88% humidity is a killer, give me dry anytime over humidity, this summer has been as bad a summer as these folks had during the winter.............not very comfortable at all.

Wednesday we went to Walt's favorite place for breakfast and the cook was off that day and he pissed of the replacement so it took one helluva long time to get served. No biggie, just Walt being Walt and we weren't in a hurry anyway to get back into the heat of the day. We gave Dave a tour of Jefferson (quick tour) and stopped into the General Store later that day for shakes and floats! We picked up a couple of more items for the grand kids and off we went to get back into the air conditioning. We thought about running over to Shreveport and visit a couple of casino's but decided to stay home and watch TV a bit and order pizza and just talk some more.............hell we'll be lucky to make it home with any cash the way it is, no more casino's!

We've been having to run the generator while driving down the road to keep the bus air conditioner going, with Dave and Bev only one can be up front in the bus air and it gets pretty hot in the back without the generator and the bus air running, so using much more gas but trying to stay cool also.

Plan on getting a early start tomorrow, early being by maybe 8:30 or so, after breakfast that's for sure and then onto El Paso and into New Mexico for a bit. We'll most likely stay another night somewhere down the line but not sure how far we'll get, that depends on the heat and how we all feel at the time. Lunch on the road has been fun with Dave along and we'll be doing the same tomorrow, find a good road side rest area and either grill or make sandwiches and relax...hot but relaxing too. We went swimming at the KOA pool as soon as we got set up tonight, it sure was nice and refreshing............water was actually cold and it felt oh so good let me tell you, not 90 degrees like at home that's for sure. Will bring you up to date when we stop tomorrow, who know where we'll be................tune in to see and hear!

5 sentences you must read....................

These are possibly the 5 best sentences you'll ever read:
1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity, by legislating the wealth out of prosperity.
2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.
5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work, because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation.
--- REMEMBER --- IN NOVEMBER 2010, WE HAVE A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO CLEAN OUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE AND ONE-THIRD OF THE SENATE.

Some of you may have seen this already either here or there but I feel it's worth repeating and getting out to others, these are truly 5 great sentences no matter what you think politically!

RAGBRAI day 6 and 7

Day 6 was Waterloo to Manchester, Iowa, a relativly short day but the weather finally caught up with us and the team left Waterloo in the rain and road in the rain most of the day. By the time the team made it to Manchester they had been wet and cold and wet and then dried out a bit, no the best of days but to the veterans it wasn't the worst they had seen either. The shower felt good that afternoon and they were so glad Dave and Heather from the Trout Fish Hatchery we were staying at had plenty of floor space so tents weren't needed this night. We all went into Manchester for the festivities and grab a bit to eat and I must say I ate the best brisket I've ever had in my life from "Sugar Rays BBQ" stand. The music was playing with a good band and a couple of not so good bands but after a few brews it didn't sound too bad. Tomorrow would be the last days ride, Manchester to Dubuque and dipping the tires in the Mississippi river. This day was short also in being only 48 miles, but there was some elevation on the last day, including a mile plus long hill over 6% call potters hill and it took it's toll. The team said there were more than not riders now walking their bikes up this grade, but team Pokey Spokes road all the way to the top and that's means the entire team. I guess the main thing that helped most of them was the fact that those walking really cheered them on and chanted "You can make it....you can make it!" and they did. Bev and I had parked a few miles from the dip zone at Doug and Jean Cheever's place where once again our gracious host had soft drinks, beer and munchies waiting for the riders to arrive. We visited a bit with the host, the team showered and we hoped into the motor home and headed back to Des Moines.

Bev and I had stopped at an RV camp about half way between Manchester and Dubuque to dump our tanks and fill up with water in the tank, and while doing so refill the fridge with bottled water which I had extra in the Jeep we were towing. While unloading the case of bottled water from the Jeep I had to take out Brian Steen's duffel bag and yes you guessed it, I forgot to put it back in the Jeep and took off towards Dubuque and meeting the team. Brian was ready to take his shower when he asked me "do you know where my bag is?" and that's when we realized I had left it behind at the RV park we stopped at. Bev gave them a call and thank God it was still sitting on the ground and luckily it was on our way back west and to Des Moines, so we picked it up and I was very relieved needless to say.

We dropped Brian Steen and his son Nate off where we had picked them up a week earlier, said our goodbyes and headed to Marks house and a dinner that was waiting for us. Meeting Brian and Nate was a pleasure and a couple of guys I hope to see again someday. We arrive at Marks about 9:00 p.m., ate dinner and most went to bed beat after a long week of bike riding, eating weird and different foods and snacks and drinking plenty of beer along the way.

Bev and I had a wonderful time and it was indeed our pleasure to have breakfast ready and snacks and dinners when we did and plenty of beer on ice when the days ride was finished. We visited many small Iowa communities and met many folks and were treated like royalty by our host families, no wonder this is one of the premier rides in the United States each year.

Tomorrow a.m. we take the Jeep to Davenport (3 hours east) pick up my brother Dave and head back to Des Moines hook up the Jeep and head to Texas to visit cousin Walt for a Day or so. My Brother has agreed to hitch a ride and do some painting in our house and Lisa's in exchange for a few weeks at the Anderson resort and spa in Phoenix. It will be our pleasure to take care of Dave and help him to enjoy Phoenix for a few weeks in exchange for some painting of our rooms.

RAGBRAI XXXVIII is now in the books and it was good.............................................

A couple of other thoughts.....

What ever happen to the "penny postcard"? I don't care if there not a penny any longer or even 5 cents or 10 cents or whatever, just what happen to them? We Bev and I left on this two plus month motor home trip one thing our grandchildren requested was that we send them post cards as we go along, many and often. There are places you can still get a nice post card, places like historical locations or small towns and communities that are proud and want to show off their beauty or historical presence to the world. But for the most part if your not at a truck stop on an interstate highway your may just be out of luck when it comes to finding a post card.

We know that if you go into most Walgreen's in the Western United States like Arizona you'll find a section of post cards and souvenirs from and about Arizona. We had really know problems west of the Missouri river finding at least one or two places with post cards, but still not the way it used to be that's for sure! If I had one I had dozens upon dozens of stores, gas stations, novelty shops, drug stores etc. tell me they no longer carry post cards...........no longer, phased them out, did not reorder, or here "I have these two or three left". In my home state of Iowa is seems the worst, half the folks didn't know what I was talking about, I'd hear....."do you mean 3x5 index cards"? "you mean cards, try the Hallmark store" which we did in two different locations and they no longer carry post cards. The truck stops usually have a few, not a real big selection but usually we can find at least a card with a pig on it or a cow or truck or rebel flag...you know the shit I'm talking about. Yep in the truck stop their might be next to the skull caps with flames on them.................whatever happen to the "jackalope"?

One thing about post cards though is that the post office does still carry a stamp for them and right now it's a 28 cent polar bear (you know the bear Al Gore says is all but extinct even though their population grew last year....what a joke!). The sad thing is we sent the first 10 to 20 post cards with first class stamps we had 45 cents or whatever, that's another thing why don't they put how much the stamp is on it's face anymore.............sticker shock? Anyway now I have two sheets of polar bear 28 cent stamps and can't fine post cards and will end up using two 28's on regular mail and getting screwed one more time.

If you remember post cards or have a collection keep it because they are becoming a rare commodity it seems to me anyway, and I hope my grandchild save what we've been sending because they just may pay for their college when the time comes. I hear 3% of children from two parents with a masters degrees don't even go to college..................holy shit!

The rain has let up and maybe our team Pokey Spokes can find this fish hatchery we're staying at, a fish hatchery outside of Manchester, Iowa. It rained like hell from the time the team left this morning until just a few minutes ago, so I iced down some warm ones so they guys will have some cold ones!

RAGBRAI day 5

Pulled out of Charles City about 8:30 and the team pulled out as usual at 7:00 a.m. after a quick breakfast of bagels and cream cheese and fruit, coffee and juice. It was a 82 mile day for team Pokey Spokes and about 60 miles for this support team of Bev and I, and that means we arrived at our next stop (Waterloo) in just over an hour. The Mayor of Charles City bid us a good day and we thanked him for his hospitality and use of his yard, showers and electricity and off we went after locking and loading. One thing RAGBRAI has done for Bev and myself is to give us a routine in breaking camp with the motor home. There is so much to do in breaking camp that the repetition has finally made us good and efficient at getting everything done in a timely manor, including hooking up the Jeep. We've really gotten good at getting the Jeep hooked and ready to go in no time flat, as a team we are working very well with each other and learning valuable short cuts to speed up the process. Now mind you there are times and will be in the future that we won't give a shit how long it takes because we just won't be in a hurry, but from this experience we've learned how to get the job done and done fast and correct if we need it to be.

Our Waterloo host family is on vacation in Canada and have graciously let us go ahead and use there home on this stop over. Travis and Debra Young of Waterloo have a nice big house on a private golf course and have allowed to use two bathrooms down stairs and a bed and a whole lot of floor space so the team doesn't have to sleep in the tents tonight. There are T-storms back in the forecast but as has been the case due at night and not during the days ride, we hope that holds true tomorrow also.

We went in town tonight for dinner and had a good Italian meal at a place called the Brown Pot or something like that, didn't sound too Italian but fooled us for sure with some good meals. After dinner RAGBRAI had the Fab Four preforming at the main music venue near the main campground. If you read face book you know that I really enjoyed the show, these guys were very good as far as sound, looks and costumes were concerned, these guys tonight were the Beatles! I'm telling you if you ever get the chance go see them, you won't regret it.

Tomorrow we head to Manchester, Iowa and the next to last leg of the ride. Two short days of about 40 miles each and we hit the Mississippi river in Dubuque, Iowa. Tomorrow we lose Brian from Chicago, he has to be at a wedding Saturday in Chicago and must leave the ride. This was his first RAGBRIA also and he truly enjoyed it and I'm sure wished he could finish the run, but commitments are commitments as we all know. We also had Steve, Christina's boy friend join the ride today for most of a one day ride and it was good having Steve along. After breakfast Steve and Brian will head back home and the rest of the team will head to Manchester and so will Bev and I in the support vehicle. By the way, Waterloo is a larger city and I now can see why RAGBRAI trys to keep it in smaller cities, quite a few teams seem to have got lost on their ways to their camping area's and that held true for a couple of our riders, with 4 and 6 lane roads in towns this size it's hard for the cyclist and the residence to cooperate on the roadways the way they always should. The venue of all the activities was quite far from a lot of the host homes and camp sites made available and hard for those with just their bikes to get back and forth.

One of the best parts of RAGBRAI for Bev and I is when the team finally arrives at the end of the days ride, we have munchies on the table and beer on ice and we sit for 1/2 hour to an hour to hear the stories from the days ride. Things like the site of the day, the sounds of the day, and the food stops of the day all sound very interesting and make for a whole lot of laughs. The things they see and hear and do during the legs of RAGBRAI are at times the makings of book, still not sure I could do it for a week even if I were in bike riding shape, it's a big commitment to make it the entire 7 days and 400 plus miles each year.

Scrambled eggs and toast and oatmeal for those that want it, coffee as usual and then off we go!

RAGBRAI day 3 and 4

When I left you we were in Algona, since we spent last night in Clear Lake and now we're in Charles Town and leaving for Waterloo in the morning. We stay with Tom and Jan Lovell in Clear Lake yesterday, what a place and they had a second home also on the lake 4 doors down with 5 bedrooms. This was fantastic, the entire team was able to sleep in a bed and not having to pitch a tent, what a great afternoon and night we had. We had planned on sloppy joe's as I said but here again Tom and Jan we're planning a big feed, BBQ chicken and burgers a number of salads (of which this cornbread salad was a thing of beauty.......yes corn bread salad to die for) and plenty of beer and gin and tonic's..................OMG and to be sitting on a patio or down on the dock off the patio with a much needed cool breeze off the lake. Needless to say the sloppy joe's were put on hold for another day.

After showers, some laundry, and a few beers and snacks the team basically just relaxed this night and had many conversations on a vast number of topics. Tom BBQ'd and the meal was just great and they had root beer floats after wards as a treat and boy was it. Non of us went into down town for any of the festivities, just hung around the lake house and enjoyed the cool weather and breeze. We had visitors from Des Moines on this evening and night, Susan and Luara and Brynner came to visit and stayed the night also and for breakfast the next morning. This was truly above and beyond for our host and it was greatly appreciated you can bet on that, especially seeing how they were leaving after us in the morning for Minnesota and then off to Alaska, fishing, hiking and wilderness watching. This was so nice what they did for us and more so considering their schedule right after our leaving.

Their dock went out into the lake a good 50 yards and some of the team went swimming when we first arrived, the water was about 80 degrees and very refreshing. At 10:00 pm the town of Clear Lake had a fireworks show for RAGBRAI and it was top knotch, Bev and I actually went out onto the end of the dock and sat on a bench out there to watch the display, couldn't ask for better seats or weather for such an event. In the morning it was bagels and cream cheese, cheese scrambled eggs, juice, coffee and a muffin variety and off to Charles City, Iowa. This was a short day for the riders and use support vehicles, just at 40 miles so the team had time to relax and goof off on the route and stop in each little town for some kind of grub and ice cream, Bev and I went on a head as usually and got set up at our next host site.

Charles City, and the home of Jim Erb who just happens to be the mayor of Charles City. We have a nice place along the curb in from of his home under very large and shady trees. We got things set up and talked a bit to Jim (when he was around) he was in and out with all the festivities he was speaking at or organizing. The weather was just great, 81 and sunny after a early morning rain between 1:00 am and 4:00 am so this day was the best, until tomorrow when it is scheduled to be even better for the riders.

The team went into the down town area tonight after a great sloppy Joe dinner, yes we finally had the sloppy joe's and Bev did a great job in the preparation. Along with the sloppy joe's we had a cheese tray assortment some beans and I did up some shrimp on the barbie! Plenty of beer on ice when the arrived too, with nuts, chips and dip other stuff. Plenty of activities down town and a couple of good bands and lots of food boths and odds and ends to look at and or buy if you so desire. Back to the RV and tents (yep in Jim's yard with tents tonight but not all that bad) we had a couple of scoops of ice cream, a bit more conversation and off to bed for what is scheduled as a big day with 82 miles. Tomorrow we'll be heading to Waterloo and some great entertainment at their venue, like the Fab Four which is supposed to be one of if not the best Beatles knock offs ever, can't wait to see them tomorrow night.

Bev and I will back up after they pull out at 7:00 am and hit the road to Waterloo and hopefully get some laundry done, yep running out of some duds and gotta do what ya gotta do! See you then......................

RAGBRAI day two in the books!

From Storm Lake to Algona on day two, team Pokey Spokes left the RV at 7:00 am once more after a quick breakfast of blue berry pancakes and hazelnut coffee..............me I still opt for just plain coffee so I made a second pot. Bev and I pulled out after locking and loading all the gear about 8:45 and once more the support vehicle traffic was bumper to bumper for the first half hour or so and then it started thinning out a bit.

On this day two we decided to try and meet the team at what they call a "meeting town" where our routes cross, so we stopped at Pocahontas, Iowa where we ran into a number of chiefs and pocahontas' greeting the thousands upon thousands of cyclists. Shortly after arriving we ran into two of the team, Brian and Nate and had a piece of pie with them and a few pictures. After about 10 to 15 minutes they headed off and we waited approximately another 45 minutes but never ran into the rest of the team and decided to head on to Algona.

We arrived Algona around 10:30 or 11:00 I guess and met our next host Bev Cink (husband Bob was volunteering at the fairgrounds with their church cooking steaks and chops for sale. In case your wondering, yes Stewart Cink (pro golfer) is related to Bob and according to Bev Cink just sends checks each month..............NOT, but that's Bev (knowing me you knew I had to ask!)
This day was going to be our big "sloppy joe" day with all the trimmings waiting for the team, but Bev would have none of that, she had prepared a ham, turkey, salads, pasta, sweets and drinks for the 4 teams she was hosting (yes 4 teams, a total of about 21 riders. No, it's not a mansion, just a quaint little home in Algona with folks with big hearts and Bev loves to cook. A great place to park the RV and a nice soft lawn for those in tents.

Nate and Brian came in first on the century day, yes century day, when those that elect to do so can add a 20 mile loop to the assigned route that makes for a 100 mile day. Team Pokey Spokes and it's six riders all did the century loop and accomplished the 100 mile day...........way to go team! The rest of the team came in about 1 1/2 later because Brian and Nate didn't do much stopping for snacks etc. or waiting in line for Ice Cream!!!

It's now as I'm typing day 3 and the team left just after 7:00 am once more after a relaxing half hour for breakfast and coffee. Bev and I woke up at 5:30 this morning to make the team breakfast, someone mentioned seeing some breakfast burrito's yesterday (while we had pancakes) so we ran with that one this morning! I did up some of my famous canned diced spuds, seasoned of course and sauteed some peppers (red,green & yellow) and onions and combined them in the electric fry pan with the eggs. Bev prepared the table with salsa, cheese, hot sauce, coffee and all the trimmings and then warmed the tortilla's in the microwave. Needless to say team Pokey Spokes enjoyed!

Bev and I have now cleaned up and have stored everything away for our next leg into Clear Lake, Iowa, the place rock and roll died way back when. We'll be thanking our host Bev and Bob Cink shortly and hitting the road................looking forward to tonight, this will be sloppy joe night we think!

RAGBRAI day one in the books!

Well we left Des Moines Saturday about noon and arrived in Sioux City for the Start of RAGBRAI the following morning. We have host in each city we spend the night in and these host can provide anything from a yard to pitch a tent in to a bed and showers and even food at times. Our first host were Greg and Teri Grupp of Sioux City where we parked the RV on the street and they were most gracious and generous host to say the least. They provide bedrooms for the team and showers and a wonderful meal at the end of the day's festivities in what was a wild scene in down town Sioux City. Literally thousand of bikers at a 4 block long expo with all sorts of vendors and food and beer..........plenty of beer! Live music by Smash Mouth (?) who I guess is a hot band right now and besides 10,000 bikers and at least that many more locals it was quite the crowd. The weather was in rare form, very, very nice for a change and has been since Saturday morning.

We went back to Greg and Teri's place for dinner which Greg stayed behind and prepared, giant burgers on the grille, with fresh picked (that day) Iowa sweet corn.............to die for...........baked beans and Greg's special zucchini dish that was also a treat. We were treated to some rare wines and cold beers and some live music at a neighbors just a few blocks away.

The team woke up at 5:30 and Greg had breakfast ready, sausage, and pan fried eggs topped with a cream cheesed bagel then flipped when the egg was done................I will be trying this at home you can bet on it. The team was a bit off schedule and didn't pull out until just after 7:00 am, Bev and I chatted a bit with Greg, got some directions out of town and to our next stop which was Storm Lake Iowa (Buddy, Popper and Richie fame) and left about 9:30 for Storm Lake via a alternate route than the bikers take. We arrive at Storm Lake about Noon and setup at our second host Melinad Coogan, we have on street parking for the RV and tent space for the Team and showers available in her house. This spot is right in the middle of the action, right on the main street the bikes come in and the section the town shuts down for venders and entertainment. We are smack dap in the middle of everything and it's awesome. Bev and I set-up and spent most of the afternoon watching as the bikers came in to the main street. Groups of two, six, ten etc. virtually all day long until our team arrived at about 3:00 pm. The team all showered and we went the two blocks to the main food area and sampled brats, ribeye sandwiches, pork chops on a stick, and ice cream. I had a cooler of beer on ice and awaiting the team by the way and upon arriving back we drank a few beers and they relaxed before those showers. Out host Melinda plays violin in a volunteer orchestra and they had a concert in the church next door to her house at 7:00 pm so we all attended and it was actually very relaxing and most enjoyable. Now it's 9:00 pm and the Team will be getting up at 5:30 once more and I'll have coffee going and breakfast if they so desire, as of yet it's just coffee and maybe some fruit but I can do pancakes or eggs whatever so we'll see.

Day two is the century day, 100 miles for the team to Algona and it's out "sloppy joe" day so Bev and I will have sloppy joes and all the trimmings ready when they return, which I understand will be much later than the 3 o'clock time today........................Day two next blog!

I sue you, you hire me, I probably sue you again and you give me a promotion!

I don't care how you feel about Sherrod and what's been going on the past few days, but now we learn that the president fired her before CNN, FOX, O'Rielly, or anybody else said a word about it on air. CNN, not FOX played the clip and ran with it first is sounds like but yet "little Nickie" (Rahm Emanuel) has said more than once..........we'll twist this to our advantage by spearing FOX. Now whether you like FOX or not you must give some credence to the highest rated network news by far over all the other biased networks reporting what the left wants them to report on. Now for CNN to break this and play the clip first shows a hint of balls on their part, finally becoming a news organization once more rather than a showcase for the left.

But here's what I find amusing about the entire thing, here's a person that sued the government, our government, won big, and then was hired by the same government by the same arm of the government that she sued and now can potentially sue OUR government once more which could just be one of the biggest landmark law suits in history and will no doubt in my mind win! Below you will find a paragraph copied showing her law suit against we the people of the United States.

During the 1980's Sherrod along with other activists sued the USDA in order to protect the remaining black farms which are in danger of becoming shut down. The Department agreed to a compensation which was to be paid between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 1999. The event was considered as "the largest civil right settlement in history, with nearly $1 billion being paid to more than 16,000 victims." A bill was passed in 2008 to allow another 70,000 more potential claimants to qualify. Taken from Wikipedia.


Sherrod also has been accused of being communist as many in this administration are and have been associated with. Below another copied sentence from Wikipedia....

She would later return to Georgia to help the Department of Agriculture in Georgia "to help minority farmers keep their land." After finishing her education, Sherrod went to Lee county, Georgia, where she co-founded a black communal farm project known as New Communities Inc., which was modeled on kibbutzim in Israel. The 6,000-acre project was opposed by white farmers, who accused participants of being communists. A drought in the 1970's ultimately led to the project to be shut down in 1985.

All I'm saying is this gal's been around and has taken from our government and taken and now will probably be taking a lot more because SHE made a racist remark.

Another one of those days..........

Yes sir, today was another one of those not do to much days. Bev spent most her morning doing laundry here at the park while I looked for a barber to get my ears lowered a bit. She got the whole hair enchilada yesterday so today it was my turn in the chair. Punch "barber shops" into the GPS and came up with three in a 5 or 6 mile radius of the park so off I went to the first. Closed, and now a tattoo shop so on to number 2 and it was close to where GPS said but just before I drove off I seen it next to a tattoo joint. A place called Marty's Barber shop so out I went and up to the door, upon entering I could see Marty sitting in a customers chair, paper open to a page and eyes shut tight. Marty made me look skinny, had a belly that makes mine look almost normal believe that or not. Anyway my entering woke Marty up and as he scrambled up from the chair said "howdy, I usually close early on Wednesdays" and then he said "but I'll cut yours if you'd like"! I had to get back to the park to help Bev fold the laundry so into the chair I jumped! We talked about everything you could think of, Arizona, Iowa, weather, moving, Des Moines water, his son who works for the water works, fishing, NASCAR, and the Hawkeys..........a huge Hawk fan he was! This guy new every game and who played where and what bowl game they went to and he was at those games also. Let's just say after I entered he locked the door (because he closes early on Wednesday) and no interuptions were allowed until he finished each story right at 1 hour and 45 minutes later! And most of you know me, you might say we "educated each other".

The evening took us to Bev's brother place for dinner, and another fine dinner it was.....chicken grilled, salad and "grimes corn" yep we've learned the folks in Iowa and in the know eat "Grimes Corn" and I believe that from the Grimes farm too! If you know your corn on the cob it's peaches and creme corn, that's what they call it and it's mighty tasty too. Trying to figure a way to bring some home but it might not last a week in the basement of the coach. Nieces Laura and Christina were in attendance and Laura's husband John of Toad Valley golf course fame and their son Brynner and of Course brother-in-law Mark and sister-in-law Susan who cooked this dinner.

You know it's 12:45 here in Iowa and I'm tired, see you all tomorrow and hopefully it's more action packed for you.

Catching up a bit...............

Well it's been a few days now since I've added a blog entry so I'd better do some catching up. We're in Des Moines now staying at Adventureland RV park, stayed here before and it's a nice one and near most everyone we're seeing. We've got a few days until RAGBRAI (Registers annual great bike ride across Iowa) so hanging out with family on Bev's side and taking care of some business.

Before landing in Des Moines we went through the Quad Cities again and spent two days saying hi again and bye to family and friends there. Saturday a BBQ at brother Russ' place with his family and all the kids and grand kids and did some catching up, besides eating some great brats and burgers. Sunday we went to Trinity Church once more and then joined Mom and sister Nancy brother Dave's bunch at Happy Joe's for a pizza party of sorts. Ate way too much pizza but the BLT and TACO pizza seemed to be most everyone's favorites, my kids will be envying this since they both think Happy Joe's Taco Pizza it to die for! Then we spent Sunday evening and into the night with our good, very good friends Dave and Marilyn, dinner and a lot more talk and reminiscing. All in all it was a short two days but jam packed with family and friends and good times.

Monday we drove through storms and plenty of rain from Davenport to Des Moines and once again the humidity rises, this shit is out of control. One thing though, the new wiper blades worked fine and we had no more wiper trouble................I think I forgot to mention we had wiper problems along the way and had to get new ones in Knoxville, Tennessee at a Camping World.


We got all set up at Adventureland RV park and ate some dinner, skinny pork chops and the trimming and then a visit from Jill and Bob and the kids. A bit of wine, some nuts, a beer and a few sips of apple pie and before you know it's late and time for bed. Golfing with my nephews on this side of the family Tuesday at a place called Toad Valley at 8:52 or as it turns out whenever Bob gets here to pick me up. The rain held off so we got the golf in with nice cool but humid weather, it actually was a good day for golfing. Yep three duffers ( me, Bob and John) and a great golfer in Steve had a good time on the course and us duffers witnessed a very nice 71 by Steve. His putter was lights out all day and he drove the green on two par fours on way to that awesome 71. Did I mention he was pretty much straight as an arrow all day long also, what a great combinations.

Looks like tomorrow will be laundry once more and checking out a couple of RV shops to see about getting an oil change for the rest of the trip. Oh yes and a new gas door lock and set-up, someone tried to jimmy it in Davenport and got discouraged so then I had to pry it open in order to fill up later on the day. Then tomorrow evening it's a dinner at Bev's brothers place to eat and visit and see John and Laura's son for the first time, this will be a good night too I hope. We found out today that we have no riders with Bev and I in the coach for RAGBRAI so from town to town and stop to stop we'll have time to ourselves to set-up and be ready for the troops. Last we know Laura was going to ride with us but that obviously changed, so we have some more alone time with each other and that's not all bad seeing how we enjoy each others company very much.

Until next entry........................................

Peoria, Illinois

Just couldn't make it all the way in, it got late and I'm too tired to make it any farther than just outside of Peoria. Right now in a rest area getting ready to take a few hour nap or maybe more and head on into the Quads and West Lake Park tomorrow a.m. early. A couple of days in the Quad Cities and then onto Des Moines on Tuesday a.m. early also!

A couple of things I forgot to mention in the past few days blogs so let's get those taken care of right now.................Aunt Bea's is actually in Mt. Airy and that's where Andy Griffin was born and raise and Mayberry was pattered after Mt. Airy is what I'm told. Galax is a quaint little town where my neighbor Carlisle was born and raised, now I must ask him about a few things upon our return to Phoenix and the first will be: What in the same hell is "Liver Pudding"? If that's what it sounds like, that would be sick! Signs from Cana to Galax to Pipers Gap advertising "Liver Pudding" you've got to be kidding me. The Blue Ridge Parkway is very nice and spooky too, deep, deep trees lining both sides of the narrow road and dense as hell. I would have like to see more of the country side, but couldn't see the forest for the trees and low hanging clouds thick as fog.

Last item for tonight is in reference to my two ladies on this trip. Yes I've had two women on this trip and both as navigators. If you own a GPS you know that the voice can be change to a number of options and I'm partial to english speaking Samantha whom I lovingly like to call Sam. Sam is cool and gets me anywhere just not always the most direct or the way I'd go at times. Bev and Sam are at odds now and then and we've had not one but many spats now and then over Bev and Sam and who's direction I should follow. I must say I'm usually siding with Sam and that's not always the thing to do to keep a happy coach ride. The main problem with Sam is that she doesn't realize what I'm driving, towing and how much room I need to turn and the size streets I need to navigate. Sam also thinks I can turn around on a dime and with the hitch system I have backing up is usually not permitted, so me and Sam get in a bit of trouble now and again with not much sympathy from Bev...................sorry honey, but your still the best navigator I've ever had (honey being Bev don't ya know!)