Senior Olympian Sprinter

Ten more days and it is 2015.  If you have any 2014 goals to finish, you better hustle it up and finish. Linda and and I are basically done with work this year.  I have a monthly report and expenses to file next week and the year is done for me. Overall, 2014 was an OK year at work, no big projects or successes, just a lot of little things that kept me going.  The kitchen project is winding down, but I need to get some plumbing done to get it finished. Linda and I will be visiting family for the Holidays, so it will not be that restful, but we will get to see everyone and catch up on the latest.    We also have tickets to the Music City bowl which is December 30.  We could not resist getting tickets to the game, two predominantly Catholic communities coming to Nashville for a mid week afternoon game.  There will be beer flowing and foaming up and down Broadway.  It should be a real spectacle, and we will be in the middle.   T...

The pantry project is crawling to a close.  I did get the door hung so the space is basically ready to use.   The floor went down last weekend and I need to do the mop board and the door transitions.  But it is taking shape.   Final trim paint will be needed, but that is pretty easy duty there.  Generally, there is a build up to the Holiday season, a natural rhythm that evolves over the years to let you know Santa is really going to find you again.  This season, the entire Christmas clock is way off  and it just does not feel like Santa is in the picture.  Why asks the curious??  I still believe in Santa, so that cannot be the deal.   This year, the season started off badly during Thanksgiving and it will not recover until we get to Chicago and see our babies.   The typical holiday season rhythm is Thanksgiving,  a deer hunt the next week in Ohio, shopping, decoration, baking, see the f...

My wife wanted me to 'remind' everyone of this age difference.   23 years is the difference between my age and the next oldest player in the alumni basketball game I played in Saturday night.  I was back in Coshocton County, Ohio for my sister's funeral and needed some fun time.   It had been a very long week and quite draining mentally and physically.  I needed to have something to take my head to a different place  and the alumni game seemed to be way to get there.   Every year, the River View High School basketball programs has a preview event and this includes an alumni basketball game and this year it also included a small ceremony to honor the 1975 AA State Champion Basketball team,   which I happened to be a member. Since I was not going to be in the area due to work commitments, I gave little thought to getting into the alumni game.  Before I left home I threw in some bball wear, just in case I could get in the game....

Events the last couple of weeks have demonstrated to me that life is precious and you must make the best of your current situation.  My younger sister died last Monday at age 52.  My Father died ten years ago and that was sort of expected and the family was prepared as best as it could.   He had been disabled from an industrial accident when I was 6 years old.  He spent the rest of his life in a hospital or extended care facility, unable to walk or talk.  He succumbed finally to pneumonia.  Jill died as result of cancer.  We learned of the cancer about a year and half ago and she battled hard to the end, but there was more cancer everyday and her body eventually was overcome. The end came very very quickly.  She only quit work less than a month ago. Everytime a family member that is that close to you is gone, a really big hole is left in your life.  The hole is painful and will remain forever, nothing can take its place, not...

Linda helped me celebrate my 58th birthday this week.   The actual birth date was on Monday the 17th, but I managed to milk the event into a several day event.   We went to see Daughtry do a show at the Ryman on the 16th,  and he was a lot of fun.  His voice is  unique and they put on a good show. He has recorded several commercial pop hits in the last 10 years and did them all.   He spent time between songs talking about the music and trying to connect to the audience and they seemed to have a great time.  Fun show.. On Monday the 17th, Linda got us a hotel room at the Union Station in downtown Nashville.  Union Station is a railroad depot/ hotel that was built over a 100 years ago and it is a gorgeous old building.  The stone building is still in great shape, with great service, and they have a very interesting restaurant where we had complimentary breakfast he next day. The central hall is really s...

Flying home today we had an oil leak of some sort in St Louis on the SWA plane I had just loaded.    We had boarded the plane and were basically ready to hit the switch and leave for Nashville.    There was an eerie lack of activity from the crew after we loaded,   and then some pounding underneath the plane—and shortly thereafter the announcement to deplane.   There was on oil spot that someone had noticed on the tarmac.      I will give the people from the Midwest a huge amount of credit, no moaning, groaning, bitching and the expected outbursts you could expect as we unloaded.     Midwesterners take this crap is stride.   We got up,   grabbed our stuff and shuffled off the plane.      In the Eastern US, where everyone is infinitely more important, the reaction would have been chaos and some uproar.    Not the Midwest.   The Midwest  gets over looked on the news constan...

Literally, all over the map.    Linda and I drove to Green Bay, WI about 10 days ago for my oldest daughter's wedding.   We stayed in Merrillville, IN on the way up to split up the trip.  Linda's new knee gets stiff if we do not stop regularly and move about.  The next day we stopped at Betty's place-- the bride elect-- and dropped off some dining room furniture and discussed any last minute details for the big event on Saturday.    Then it was on to Green Bay.     While in Green Bay we stayed at one of Linda's cousins house while she was out of town.   The house is gorgeous with a lot of bedrooms and space to sleep 10 people if needed.   I liked the Viking appliances and we got to try some of them out.  The dishwasher is SILENT ! and the cook top with griddle is to die for, really nice stuff in this house.  It was a real gift to use, because it was a ...