Auld Lang Syne

‎6 rented DVD's? Check. Table spread with good food and special once a year recipes? Check. Supply of rum for Peggy's Pina Coladas? Check. Michelob Ultra iced down? Check. Bottle of Asti Spurmante for midnight toasting? Check. Spending another New Years Eve alone with my soulmate and wife of nearly 33 years: Priceless! ‎

My wish to you all for a very safe and Happy New Year.

Bring it on, '11!

Here We Go Again!

Well, last month America went to the polls and voted for a change in Congress. For the first time in two years the Republicans gained control of Congress once again.

It was announced today that nationwide gas prices have reached a two year high.

Coincidence?

Uh, nope, don't believe it is.

This is the change America voted for and is now getting what she voted for.

How quickly a nation forgets.

How quickly will your wallet forget next time?

Where will it end?

And you thought the recession was going to end?

Think again.

It's going to start heading the other way at anytime now.

How's that for change, folks?


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


And I'd like to add the following on to this post for those who sometimes wonder how much gas prices have fluctuated over the years. Check out these amazing stats:

Decade Average Price(per gallon)
1950 - 1959 $0.19 to $0.26
1960 - 1969 $0.31 to $0.35
1970 - 1979 $0.36 to a little less than $1
1980 - 1989 About $1
1990 - 1999 About $1.10
2000 - 2009 $1.65 to $4

Wonderful Day

This has been a most wonderful Christmas this year. With all of our family get togethers out of the way before Christmas this year, Peggy and I were able to kick back, just the two of us, and have a wonderful and quiet Christmas here at home for just the two of us.

We started off our day with coffee and opening of our gifts to each other, and followed that with a champagne breakfast. We had lunch mid afternoon and watched Ben Hur and are now just taking it easy and going thru our Christmas gifts and figuring a few of them out.

Not sure what the evening will bring, but I'm sure we'll work a Christmas movie in this evening and have something to eat later on.

What a truly wonderful day this has been, and I hope that all whose eyes read these words have had a wonderful Christmas as well.

Merry Christmas To All

For all of you, my Faithful Few, and those of you who might just happen by, my wish for you on this blessed day of promise, is the same as it always is:

True and total peace on earth.

Am I an idealist?

Probably, but what better way to be one?

I hope the day comes for us all someday, when man no longer kills man and people, regardless of race, creed or heritage can walk this planet of ours in complete and total peace.

Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas and the beginnings of a wonderful and peaceful and prosperous new year for all.

God bless us everyone.

Winding Down

Christmas mailing season at the Post Office is coming to an end, and it has been a busy one, an eventful one and a tiring one.

All in all, it's one I'm thankful for and one I'm thankfully seeing come to that end. Since Christmas falls on Saturday which is my day off each week, my holiday will be Friday, Chrismas Eve. I don't get many Christmas Eve's off, and it's nice to know that this year I'll be able to do just that.

This years season has been a trying one, due to less help at work and the problems I've been having with my neck and shoulder. I haven't been getting a great deal of sleep because of all the pain I've been in, but I've gotten thru it. My therapy sessions have caused some tension with our work schedule, especially since one of our sub clerks has been off this week due to pneumonia. Trust me, I would rather have been putting up with the rush at work than to have had to have gone to these PT sessions, but hopefully they are working. Next week I start two sessions a week instead of just the one I've been going to the last few weeks.

Then the big question: Will Christmas number 32 at the post office be my last one?

Hard to tell right now, but to be honest about it, I hope so. As much as I love my job and as much as my customers and the service I give them mean to me, there are other things that mean a lot to me as well, and I'm thinking maybe it's time for this fat old bald fart to be handing the reins over to someone else's capable hands and for me to hit that time clock for the last time in 2011.

And if I do decide to hang it up next year, when will that be? Also not certain about that, but it would be nice to work a few more months and get used to the idea that retirement is going to be a good thing.

I only hope that when I do leave the post office that someone misses me, even if it's just a little. After all, when you spend over half your life working somewhere and doing it with love and dedication like I've tried to do over the years, you do hope someone will notice your absence when you're gone.

So, I guess the answers to these and more questions will avail themselves sometime during 2011.

In the meantime, God bless you all and thanks for allowing me to serve you once again this Christmas season.

Peace!

Is History Repeating Itself?

I went to my first physical therapy session yesterday down in Greenwood with my former therapist Todd Verity, who hasn't aged a bit since 2001.

I left with my right shoulder taped, in an effort to relieve the pressure on the rotator cuff, that seems to be causing me the most pain, even though the x-rays show my shoulder to be okay.

We are NOT yet treating the C-6 vertabrae.

As I sit here, uncomfortable as hell with this tape on that will stay on thru Monday evening, I have to wonder, is this crap starting all over again on the right side?

To say I'm a bit bummed is a gross understatement, folks.

C 6

First of all, this is NOT an x ray of mine, but it is one similar, and it shows what is actually wrong with me, and NOT my right shoulder. I have a compressed C6 disk, which is causing nerve pain and a weakening on my right side. This disk houses the nerves for the right wrist, thumb pinky and legs. When the nerve is captured by a compressed disk, it causes extreme pain on the right side, radiating from the neck, into the shoulder and down into the bicep.

After visiting with my orthopaedic surgeon yesterday and being examined, x-rayed and tested, the results are that my right shoulder is in great shape, but the C6 is in bad need of help. So, beginning next week, I will start physical therapy and traction at home to relieve the pressure on the disk and open that area up around it so as to free up the nerves.

This means, no surgery, about a month and a half of therapy and traction, and the doc says I should be as good as new, or at least as good as someone my age should be. So, a few more sleep deprived nights and a few more weeks of severe pain and this should start getting better.

Pretty nice early Christmas present, I must say!

Gone On by Marvin Sease

Great tribute song I caught today on BB King's Bluesville on XM...check it out. So many great singers, gone but not forgotten.

Pain

Pain.

It not only hurts, but it plays with your psyche as well.

It robs you of sleep, which warps your thinking.

You feel like you'd do almost anything to be rid of it.

Sometimes, some people do just that.

Others, like myself, try to be patient and look at it from all sides and decide which way to handle it.

There's a lot at stake, when you stop and consider all the courses of action you could take.

The one that seems to be the most logical is the one that tends to hold the greatest risks.

Pain, such a fickle bitch she is.

I so want her out of my life.

Five? Not Really, No!

So, Nascar is touting their five time in a row champion Jimmie Johnson and heralding him as someone who has never done what he has done in Nascar and trying to compare him to Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and other drivers who have won multiple championships in the sport.

Hardly a fair thing to do when you consider Johnson is winning under an entirely different system of scoring and awarding a championship. And of course, Nascar, infamous for changing rules and regulations as they go along and who they pertain to, are actually talking about tweaking this scoring system yet again next year.

I would imagine that will be done in an effort to aid Johnson towards a sixth championship as well.

Last Sunday, when points leader Denny Hamlin got into trouble early, it seemed the golden boy of Nascar, aka Johnson, would sail on to his 5th championship.


But then, unbelievably, Kevin Harvick, the forgotten driver in third place, came on strong, had a great pit stop, and took off out of the pits, not only in the lead, but picking up five bonus points for leading a lap. That is, until Nascar intervenes and accuses Harvick of speeding into the pits. Speeding into the pits, right behind Martin Truex. Close enough to Truex that on the highways it would be considered tailgating.

Yet Truex wasn't charged with speeding.

Hmmmm!

Kind of like the weekend before when Johnson's crew got caught with shortened wheel lugs to give them an advantage taking off lug nuts during pit stops. Caught, but not penalized.

Another hmmmmmm!

So, when Johnson is awarded his fifth championship and the media asks Nascar about both the speeding penalty against Harvick and its circumstances and Johnson's attempt at cheating again, Nascar refused to answer questions relating to both.

I've contended for several years now that Nascar would not be content until they killed the goose that laid the golden egg.

Last Sunday they not only took off its head but they began plucking the feathers off it as well.

They lost me as a fan, proabably forever.

They lost a lot of people I talked to this week as fans too.

I have a feeling they lost a lot of fans this past Sunday.

Might also explain the lack of sell out races anymore and thousands and thousands of empty seats you see at the tracks each weekend.

So, was it worth it to "fix" another championship for the arrogant Johnson and his lying and cheating crew chief?

I'm curious to see how many more sponsors pull out of Nascar in 2011.

I mean seriously, why would you sponsor a car driven by anyone other than Johnson when it's pretty much a sure thing Nascar will do all they can to give him another one next year?

Why purchase tickets for races when you already know what the outcome will be in November of 2011?

Again, Nascar, was it worth it?

Lost

The road ahead is not clear
Shadows block the way
Uncertainty is unrelenting
And answers fail to reveal themselves.
A pause
A thought
A tear in the eye
A shake of the head
Yet the mind stays cloudy
The fog continues to thicken
And the only answer that seems certain
Is the ultimate and final move
In this losing game.
How much longer,
How much more,
Why won't it stop?
The wheels keep spinning
In the wrong direction
And I have no map.

Time Might Be Running Out

Ten and a half years ago I underwent a slap repair surgery on my left shoulder. It was probably some of the most intense pain I have ever endured, but I've never regretted having it done because it relieved me of so much pain and allowed me to once again sleep at night.

For months, prior to surgery, I went to physical therapy for both shoulders, and, when I finally made the decision to have the surgery on the left shoulder, the surgeon told me it would be just a matter of time before the right one would have to be done as well. I remember asking him at the time how long he thought I might be able to go before it got bad enough to have to go thru the procedure and he told me about ten years.

Well, it's been ten and a half years since the other one was done, and now, unfortunately, the right one is exhibiting the same symptoms as the left one did before. Pain most of the time, loud poppings when I move it a certain way, which probably means its coming out of the socket at times, and I'm having increasing trouble sleeping at night.

I seem to be going thru a tough time right now, but I remain optimistic that everything is going to be okay. I have the equipment here at home to put myself on physical therapy for a while and see if that helps. I know what exercises I need to do and I pretty much know how much further I can go before I have to breakdown and go see the surgeon once again.

Thing is, I don't want to have to go thru another surgery. I don't have enough time built up at work to be able to take off to have the surgery, and I sure don't have enough funds in reserve to pay all the bills associated with having it done.

I guess we'll go a day at a time and see what I can do to keep from having to have another surgery at this point in my life.

Veterans Day, 2010

Up at 5AM this morning and on the road at 6:30AM and headed down to Nashville, Indiana for a trip to our favorite little coffee shop called The Daily Grind. We don't get a chance to go down there very often, so when we take our October vacation and again on Veterans Day each year, we make the trip down to visit with the owner, Hal and his wife, whose name escapes me right now, and chow down on a breakfast of Espresso Eggs, a Daily Grind original. Add to that, for me, a Sledgehammer, which is a cup of dark roast coffee with a shot of Espresso poured in, and whatever exotic concoction Peggy is in the mood for, and we are set for the day on a terrific caffeine rush.

Normally this Veterans Day trip is a cool one, but by the time we walked out of the Grind a little after 9 this morning, it was shirt sleeve weather the rest of the day.

A stop over in Edinburgh at the Prime Outlet Mall, another stop in Shelbyville at Wal-Mart, and a trip back home by 1:30 or so. After our cruise and a light lunch, we took to the yard for some much needed finishing up touches with mowing, raking and mulching. A couple of hours of working together and the yard looks pretty darn good.

Our intentions were to go ahead and put up our outside Christmas lights on a mid 70s day, but fatigue set in, the Sledgehammer wore off and we made a big pot of chili together and put some tunes on the Bose for the evening. We will probably top our Veterans Day evening off with a nice long soak in the hottub.

All in all, a very nice Veterans Day, shared with someone very special indeed.

And, might I add, even though I am a pacifist, I do thank our veterans for all they do and for the sacrifices they make serving and protecting our great nation. I may not agree with the orders they have to follow, but I thank them nonetheless for their unselfish duties they fulfill to protect each and every one of us.

Happy Veterans Day to you all.

Love This!

Something so simple says so very much, and I just have to post this for that reason and that reason alone.

Indwelling

Cast me down
Perpetuate the pain,
Inflict with your staff of
Unrighteousness
Scores and scabs and injuries
As you smile your foreboding smile.

The fire in your eyes
Burns as a deep orb,
Revealing
The wicked desires that inhabit
Your festering soul.

Evil words and prejudice
Are released from the macabre
Regions
No one dares to peer into
And the sinister laugh of glee
Rips from you
And pierces those in the night
Unable to hide from your Obnoxious
Presence.

You are vile
You are cancerous
You are vicious
Thru and thru.

You remain smug as from you is released
An ugly embellishment,
Born from the souls
Of trolls long thought to be dead.

In the distance,
A baby cries.

I Approve This Positive Message

I look at the election this year in a totally different way than I have before.

As always, I try and figure out who the best candidate is for the job and give them my vote. I'm probably about as middle of the road as you can get and that usually ends up with me voting a split ticket. Not very often have I ever voted a straight party ticket.

Like a lot of registered voters this year, I'm pretty much sick of all the "politicians" who are running most forms of our government, whether it be on a national, state or local level. Partisan politics is more and more rampant than ever, and the negative campaiging being done by so many of the politicians at all levels truly sickens me beyond words.

This year, as in past years, I voted early. I do this for a couple of reasons. One is to avoid having to get up early on election day and stand outside the polls before they open in Indiana's unpredictable weather. The other reason is so I can turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to all the corrupt political adverstising.

I have taken special note this year and have taken tabs on all the negative ads and which party has run the most. Since I started doing this I have to say that the most negative ads I have seen myself have been from the Republicans, with the Democrats running a close second.

I have yet to see one negative ad by the Liberterian party.

Not one.

I hear a lot of people saying they never vote for a Liberterian, regardless of their qualifications, because voting for them is the waste of a vote.

I totally disagree with that statement.

Your vote is your vote and it is a statement of how you feel and who you would like to see running our government at all levels. Regardless if that person running wins or not, if you feel that they are the best candidate for the job, then that person deserves your vote.

That vote is not wasted when you do that.

To me, the only votes being wasted are the ones that aren't being cast.

Think of that when you go to vote, or if you're thinking about not voting.

I not only voted, but I took that thought with me and remembered it while casting my vote this year.

Don't waste your vote.

Cast it and cast it for who you think will truly represent you the best and keep your best interests in mind.

Get out and vote, Faithful Few!

Blood Sweat & Tears - And when I die

Got this one running thru my head so I guess it's time to purge it out and share it with you all.

Now What?

Got results back today on my latest bloodwork a couple of days ago.

Good news, my uric acid levels are back to normal, so the new meds are working.

The bad news, my blood and hemoglobin levels are low again, which could range from any number of causes. Right now, I've been given new restrictions on what I can put in my body, and we'll check the blood again in January 2011, and see what transpires at that time.

I went thru the thoughts today of having another colonoscopy and endoscopy, but for right now, we're going to see if diet changes help.

If not, well, we'll see what happens then.

So much for thinking about retiring.

Hell, I can't retire, I couldn't afford all the medical tests I might be having next year.

As Mr Potter told George Bailey on Christmas Eve: "George, you're worth more dead than alive."

Hmmmm, food for thought, maybe?

Reality Returns Tomorrow

Once again another October vacation has come and once again it is drawing to an end. The weather was totally awesome, wonderful temperatures most of the time, and we got a half inch of rain on Wednesday this past week, which was needed very badly.

We took several day trips, two overnighters, had several great meals and shared some good drinks. We saw beautiful fall colors, spent much quality time together and discussed plans for our future.

Tomorrow reality returns and with it the responsibilities of both of our jobs. I'm sure it will take us both a couple of days to become acclimated again, but no doubt we will fall back into the natural swing of things without too much trouble.

I can only hope when retirement finally does arrive (still haven't made up mind as of this writing) we can find as much enjoyment in it as we did the past couple of weeks. Other than a couple of hours when Peggy went to town to do a little shopping, we spent the entire past 17 days together.

I thank God for the time we had off the past two weeks and I also thank Him for the great jobs both of us have to return to tomorrow.

I also thank Him in advance for showing me what direction to go as I seriously contemplate retirement.

Colors Alive Down By The River

Up before the crack of dawn, on the road before the sun started to rise, and about and hour and half later, we arrived at our destination, Clifty Falls State Park in Madison, IN, down by the Ohio River.

All I can say is that after a wonderful filling breakfast and some tasty hot coffee, this was the scene that we were met with out in the woods. The talented and artistic finger of God has painted a truly beautiful picture for all to see, and it should brighten even more in the days to come.

I can't imagine what the colors would have been had we had more rain this year.

What a great way to start your Tuesday!

Rebuilt and Reopened

In a blog I posted a little over two years ago, I showed pictures of the Moscow Covered Bridge after a tornado destroyed it and left it lying in ruin in the Flatrock River.

A week ago, Peggy and I took a drive down to Moscow, a few weeks after the bridge was reopened. It was the first time I had been down to Moscow in years, and thankfully, I never actually saw the bridge after the tornado had done its deed.

I am so glad to see the bridge has been rebuilt very close to the way the Kennedy Brothers originally built it all those many years ago, and it is indeed a beautiful sight to behold.

The bridge once again spans the Flatrock at a length of 335 feet.

If you get a chance, take a drive down to Moscow and see the beautiful job they have done restoring and rebuilding, with not one dime spent out of the taxpayers' pockets.

The Dry Continues

Field fires once again today kept our county's firemen busy. The scanner was busy this afternoon with one fire a mere couple of miles away as the crow flies.

Lack of rain and extremely dry condtions, coupled with low humidity and windy conditions are dictating the National Weather Service to issue a red flag warning for tomorrow once again.

A county wide burn ban has been in effect since last month, and with little rain forecast for the next week, I don't see conditions getting much better.

Hope the good Lord blesses us with a good soaking rain soon.

Makes me wonder how much water is actually in my well.

Ponderings

The usual color of fall is missing this year.

Our lack of rain, no doubt, has caused this to happen.

I'm not saying we haven't any fall colors this year, because we do.

I do notice, however, that a lot of trees are simply drying up and losing their leaves without much of the magic that usually accompanies this.

This week we shall venture out and travel a few hours to other parts of Indiana and see it the same is true there as well.

Although it doesn't appear that this is going to be as colorful a fall as in years past, it still remains my favorite time of year.

Now, if we could just pass by winter and head into spring...

28 North "The Shine"

Take a moment and check these guys out!

Awesome sound!

28 North

Thursday night was one of those musical nights you won't soon forget.

Peggy and myself accompanied another couple up to Indy's famous Slippery Noodle Inn for a night of good company, good food, good drinks and good blues. We had three out of the four, and some of the best live rock I've heard in a while.

Taking the stage at 9PM this past Thirsty Thursday evening was Pittsburgh band 28 North, who proceeded to play their brand of bluesy rock. You can't really call it blues, and you really can't call it plain old rock, because frankly, it combined the two.

Sitting up front like I love to do, we got a chance to visit with the band on their breaks, and we also got to buy a couple of band t-shirts and three of their CD's. I'm already hoping they make it back to Indy in the near future because I would love the chance to get to see them again.

Check them out if you get a chance. These four young men really know how to rock it!

Sybaris, October 5, 2010

Fall of the year awakens the majority of me. This year again is no exception. For maybe the tenth time, my darling wife of nearly 33 years and I ventured once again to Sybaris in Indianapolis, which has been voted the number one romantic getaway in the country. We are so lucky to have this little piece of Heaven so close to home.

The pictures I have posted here are of our suite. Yep, all our own. The pool, the steambath, the hottub, all ours and no one elses. All in our suite, which is its own building. Killer stereo system so naturally I bring music from home and have it playing non-stop the whole time we are there.

After a delicious steak dinner at Longhorn a few short blocks away, we cast aside our pressures from everyday life and experience a romantic getaway like no other.

Is it cheap, no! Is it worth every dime we spend on it, ABSOLUTELY!!!

It Rained, It Really Rained!!!

After nearly two months of near drought conditions and the driest August on record for Indiana, the skies opened for a short while yesterday and blessed us with three tenths of an inch of rain. It was a blessing, indeed.

On our first day of vacation, Peggy and I made the trip to Shelbyville and purchased the necessary items to make a pot of chili. With temps staying in the 50's yesterday and clouds and rain, it hit the spot, to say the least.

My good friend Rick came over and installed two sensor floodlights for us, which should really come in handy this winter when we arrive home after dark. He's a really great friend and knows a lot more about that kind of stuff than I do.

Two weeks of vacation now lies ahead, and Peggy and I should be spending a lot of quality time together over the next fifteen days.

Lord, but I love the fall and spending it with my wife!

I'm a very lucky man, for sure!

Diney's Movin' On

On Friday, September 24th, my co-window clerk for the past six years worked her last day beside me at the Rushville Post Office. Diana Rose, aka Diney, became the victim of the economic times our nation is enduring and became "excessed" out of her full time job at our office and reassigned as a CSBCS machine operator at the Columbus, Indiana mail processing facility.

Good news has prevailed, however, and before Diney reported for her first shift on midnights at the facility, she was detailed to become officer in charge at the Carthage Post Office, which is six miles north of where I live. Although the assignment is indefinite, I'm hoping with her work ethic that she will end up becoming Postmaster at Carthage sometime in the future. She would be absolutely perfect for the job.

It was emotional in our office Friday as we gathered to say goodbye to Diney and to wish her well. A few of us shared stories of her and talked about how much has happened in her life over the past sixteen years that she has worked at our office all together.

She has raised three children and seen them all graduate high school, she has become a grandmother not once, but twice, she has lost her first husband to a massive coronary and she has remarried to a great guy who has made a wonderful addition to her life.

After she came back from lunch Friday, a co worker of ours, Al Baker, gave her a final farewell gift and shrink wrapped her van. Yeah, the whole van, folks. In our office we do tend to joke around and such, and this was Al's final practical joke on Diney, which she didn't discover had happened until after she clocked out and headed out the back door.

Diney, we all love you and we all miss you already, and will for a long time to come. Best wishes as you move on up in your postal career.

Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah

Such a great talent, such a great songwriter. Hope you take a few moments and watch this amazing performance by this awesome singer-songwriter.

Golden Years?

Went in for routine bloodwork at the family doc's last week and had my usual joking around session with the doctor. Because of meds I take, I have to go in every 3 months or so and have bloodwork done to make sure the liver and kidneys are okay, and while so far most things have gone well, last Thursday led to some interesting findings.

I got a call from his nurse Friday and found out that once again, my hemoglobin count is down. This seems to run a cycle every 6 to 8 months or so, and apparently, once again the cycle is in the negative realm.

That wasn't the big find, however.

I also found out that I have high amount of uric acid in my blood, which can lead to all kinds of wonderful things, like kidney stones(a phobia of mine) and also gout. Considering the pain my feet have been in since May of this year, I would say that yes indeed, I do have gout.

So, with a new script to try and lower those levels in my blood, and a new script for arthritis, I hopefully am on the mending road once again.

Ah, the benefits of getting older.

Hover

Confusion, for some
An epitaph.
For others
An occasional and wayward
Feeling.

For me,
A constant.

Lack of understanding
Not knowing
And never finding out why.

Laughing without much effort,
Without true reason,
Failing to comprehend this
As my reward.

How many more years?
How many more tears?
How many more occasions
To feel the anger and the questions
Which forever go unanswered?

Is this my reward?

Huh?

And without any word of warning at all, life goes on.

Home Made Gun Powder

This one really needs no explanation, other than maybe two words:

Dumb ass!

Fall Vacation Approacheth

As I write this, approximately three and half weeks are between me and my fall vacation, which is my favorite vacation of the year. There are several reasons why I love this vacation the most.

Number one, it's my favorite season of the year, and it never lasts long enough.

Number two, it's a two week vacation.

Number three, my much better half and I become pretty much inseparable during this two week time off from work.

We will be spending one night at Sybaris, and if there are any of my Faithful Few out there who don't know what Sybaris is, let's just say it has been voted the most romantic getaway in the United States.

Each suite is its own building. Depending on which suite you get, there are different things in the different types of suites. The one we love to stay in, which is the Paradise Swimming Pool Suite, we have our own killer stereo system, his and her sinks, a kitchenette, full bath with bidet, our own hottub, steam room and swimming pool, which is heated to 94 degrees.

That pool has a waterfall over it, the suite comes with a bottle of champagne on ice sitting next to the huge king size bed and two glasses, twin terry cloth robes on the bed and a telephone that only calls the front desk. It is a total escape from reality, which I think every couple needs to do every once in a while, and Peggy and I usually take this special trip each October.

If you would like to see more of this remarkable place, check it out at www.sybaris.com. You won't believe such a place exists just an hour or so away from us.

I'm also hoping to take us both to the Slippery Noodle for a night of good food, good music and great live blues. If Peggy enjoys it enough that first week, we'll probably go back the second week as well.

We will be doing some mini day trips around the state to visit some of our favorite fall places, but most of all, we will be sharing this entire time together.

Now, if the next three and a half weeks will just get by quickly and those two weeks of vacation take their time going by.

Also this year, Peggy and I will be discussing my future with the Post Office and if indeed I will retire before this year ends. I hope the good Lord shows me a way to make this happen, because even though my job still means the world to me, I truly think there are things happening in my life right now that are telling me it's probably time to bring this career of mine to an end.

So, come on calendar, and let's get to October already, PLEASE???

Summer of '42

One of my favorite movies from the early 70's is Summer of '42. I'm staying up late watching it, simply because I love everything about this movie. The time, the theme and the innocence.

Such a great movie, some really cool lines, and a surprise you never see coming until it happens. The narration in the movie, especially at the end is totally unforgettable.

I remember seeing this movie for the first time 39 years ago and the effect it had on me. Watching it tonight seems no different than the first time.

What a great movie.

If you've never seen it, make it a point to.

"For each thing we take with us in this life, there is something we must leave behind."

Indeed!

Dueling Banjos Deliverance

For some very laughable reasons, this song just seems very appropriate right now.

Oh, and don't forget to turn off the jukebox to the right or you'll be hearing two songs at the same time!!

Not The End Of A Season, But The Beginning Of A New One

So many people look at Labor Day weekend as the end of summer and become quite melancholy over it. I don't look at it as a sad time at all, but as the beginning of the Fall season, which to me, is a reason to celebrate.

Autumn is mine and Peggy's favorite season of the year, and with the bright sunny days with their cooler temperatures, it's a time to get out and enjoy without being miserable from the heat.

As we go into Labor Day weekend, we go into it knowing we will be spending three days of quality time together, doing things we enjoy doing together. We are preparing to go outside and get some work done that got put off this hot summer season, mainly due to our involvement with the Summer Concert Series.

This weekend we will be power washing our fence, getting some yardwork done, grilling out, sharing a few drinks around the firepit and simply enjoying each other's company. We will watch the Nascar race Sunday night, something we enjoy watching together, and we will be sharing a bottle of almond champagne as we do so, followed by some tender moments of relaxation in the hottub.

Temps in the 70's should make this even more enjoyable, but most of all, we will be spending this time together, and sharing all these moments, both the work and the play, with each other.

What better way to end the summer?

And what better picture to head this entry with than a picture from our first concert of the season at Riverside with my good friend Rick?

Enjoy the weekend, Faithful Few, and enjoy some quality time with your loved ones as we usher in the greatest season of weather of the year.

Happy Labor Day, and Happy Autumn to you all!

Looking

I look back over my shoulder
and all I see are a million yesterdays.
I look ahead and all I see are the dreams of a million tomorrows.
Standing right in front of me is today
and all I need to get thru it.

How damned lucky can I be?

When The Music's Over...

...turn out the lights.


Last night, the 2010 Summer Concert Series at Riverside Park came to an end with a great closing show, 650 North opening for the Devonshires.

650 North opened with a fresh set of new and inspiring alternative rock, with a really great cover of the Cyndi Lauper classic Time After Time, and a show that is not the type of show we normally put on at the park. It was a great set and gave me quite an appreciation for the band.

The Devonshires took the stage and performed two different sets, one of 60's hits covering various artists, and came back and did a second set featuring 70's hits. They enjoyed themselves enough that they played an additional hour past their scheduled ending time. What a show, what great music, and what a great end to one of our best seasons of music yet.

The 2010 Live By The Levee series is now in the history books, and the stage will not play host to any concerts now until the 2011 season start next May. It's a mixed feeling as this season comes to an end.

I'm tired, Peggy is tired, matter of fact, I think all of our board and our group of volunteers are happy this season has come to an end. Record high temps really cut into our attendance figures for the season, but still, all in all, we had a great turnout at all the shows.

We provided a great variety of music to our community and beyond, thanks to the generous contributions and sponsorship dollars of many businesses and individuals in our region. Many thanks to them all, for without them, this series of concerts would never be possible.

The month of September begins the several months long job of planning the next season in the Live By The Levee series. Choosing genres, choosing bands, choosing dates and trying to secure the needed funds all starts now. It's a long road with a lot of work to come along with it, but in the end, as you stand and look at the crowd of people enjoying the live performances and the music, it is indeed a labor of love.

Yes, I'm glad we have pulled the final curtain on the 2010 series, but in just a matter of weeks I will already be wishing it was 2011 and the Live By The Levee series was starting up again.

And just think, in nine more months it will be. So much to do in those nine months.

Hating This Day

I guess we all have days we dread, days we wish we didn't have to face, days we would just like to forget.

This is one of those days for me.

I won't go into reasons, I won't say what the day is, but let's just say this day each year for the past several years gets me down, makes me blue, and makes me reflect on aspects of my life that I simply wonder about.

I see so much selfishness in this day, so much bitterness, and so much anger.

I try not to let this day bother me, but it does.

I turned this matter over to the Lord several years ago and I let him deal with it for me, most of the time.

But not today.

Today the Lord lets me deal with it as best I can.

Today I'm not doing the best job of dealing with it.

Thank God it will be over in a little over five hours from right now.

Yep, August 26th really sucks.

Slippery Noodle, August 12, 2010

Last Thursday evening, my friend John and I travelled up to the Circle City and spent the evening at the Slippery Noodle Inn, famous for its atmosphere and live blues seven nights a week.

We were fortunate enough on this particular Thursday evening to get to watch and listen to the Grady Champion Revue. Grady and company rocked the Noodle for four hours with their awesome Mississippi blues sound. After the show was over, lead guitar player Chris Gill took our picture with Grady, along with a few others who attended the show.

Sure hope I get a chance to see them again sometime.

A Closed Door

Sometimes when the door is closed
The best thing to do
Is assume it is locked
And don't knock,
Because even if the door is answered
The one who opens it
Doesn't really want you to come in
But isn't sure how
To let you know.

Doors are usually closed for a reason
And the longer they remain closed
The longer the one on the inside
Wishes it to remain
Closed.

Doors are there that are open
And others are closed
But not locked.
Honor the doors that are closed
And let them remain that way
For if you were truly welcome
On the inside
The door would be open.

Soulmate

The journeys I have taken,
The trails that I have walked.
Looking back at the mistakes I have made along the way,
I see the one remaining constant
That has ALWAYS been there,
Even when I didn't realize it
Or was too confused to understand.
Excuses I have made,
Words I have put into God's mouth,
Lies that I have convinced myself were true,
Yet thru it all,
She has always been there,
Waiting
Loving
Respecting
And never pressuring me,
Just letting me find my way on my own.
I hope I can be forgiven for those crazy times
And idiotic choices I made,
When all along the one true decision
I made nearly 33 years ago was indeed the right one.
No lies,
No deception,
One remaining constant.

Soulmate.

STILL The Hottest Band In The World!

After 37 years together, KISS continues to rock the world with their high energy and special effect concerts.

August 9th, 2010 proved to be no exception. In front of a crowd of over 16,000, KISS put on an absolutely great performance at the Grandstand Stage at the Indiana State Fair. Opening for them was a group that is signed to Gene Simmons record label, The Envy. A totally great opening act that got the crowd pumped for the greatest rock and roll show anywhere. The lead singer of The Envy told the crowd that his group, which haled from Canada, had never played to a crowd that big. The band was awesome!

KISS took the stage shortly thereafter and rocked the crowd with their one of a kind rock show for a little over two hours. They didn't fail to excite the fired up crowd, and the show was exceptional, as they always are.

Last night simply reinforced exactly why I have now been to a total of 18 KISS concerts. And yeah, I promise you, should they come back another time in our area, you can bet I'll be there once again, too!

Something Rare

For anyone who really knows me, they know it is indeed my thing to take a vacation in late winter, a week in May for Indy 500 practice, and a two week vacation in October. Rarely do I take a vacation any other time of year.

This year, though, I decided to take a week off in August, knowing that the Indiana State Fair is held at that time.

That vacation begins tomorrow evening after work.

On Monday, August 9, I will be attending my 18th KISS concert at the fair. It will be the first time KISS has ever played the State Fair. Weather forecast is for partly sunny skies and temps in the 90's. Yeah, hot as hell, but dry. Looking forward to it.

I'm also toying with the idea of going to the Slippery Noodle in Indy one night and catch some live blues.

My much better half unfortunately will not be joining me on this vacation, since she will be working the majority of the week.

I'm simply looking forward to getting away from work with all the crap that is going on there right now. I NEED to get away for a few days and this vacation should present me with some much needed r and r.

And then, when that vacation is over next weekend, I will start looking forward to my two week vacation in October with my wonderful wife.

Ah, such is life, vacation mixed in amongst the responsibilities of life.

Sound Check Shots

Shots of Skyla Burrell and her band during sound check this past Saturday, July 24, 2010. The moment they began their sound check I felt a rush of excitement go thru me as I realized that after nearly a year of planning, my favorite blues band was going to be on the stage at Riverside Park's Amphitheater in Rushville.

Live By The Levee, July 24th, 2010

On July 24th, 2010, what started off as a friendship on Facebook became a highlight in my life when The Skyla Burrell Band performed live on stage at Riverside Park's Amphitheater in Rushville.

A little over a year ago, Skyla and I became friends on Facebook. After finding out that she and her band were going to be performing at the legendary Slippery Noodle in Indianapolis last October, I did some jockeying around with my work schedule and took off work and went to see the band perform.

To say I was rocked on my ass would be an understatement as this foursome absolutely OWNED the Noodle that night. Their four hours on the stage seemed like an hour. All original tunes, dynamic dual lead guitar playing and soulful, sultry voiced Skyla totally rocked the house.

We had been trying to book them for a show at Riverside and after seeing them perform that night, I absolutely became obsessed to seeing them perform on our stage at Riverside. I've been helping put on concerts with the Riverside Park Organizing Committee since 2007, and I believe I was anticipating this show more than any other I had ever helped with.

After their show last night, I can honestly tell you they provided some truly brave folks who faced temps in the 90s and some horribly high humidity some of the best rocking blues I have ever been witness to. It was only a two hour show, but they packed so much high energy and talent into that two hours it was an unforgettable night of blues.

After the show was over and during their teardown and our teardown of the stage, which I mostly took the night off from, they spent a good long while visiting and hanging out with us, making the evening even more memorable.

If you ever get a chance to see this amazing group of musicians perform, do it! They deliver 150% of themselves to their shows and they are totally great people to spend time with. I would call them a total class act, for sure.

They are not only great musicians and great people, but they are wonderful friends and I consider them a part of the "family."

As they got ready to on stage last night, I walked over to wish Skyla a great evening and when she got ready to hug me, I told her I was a pretty sweat mess, to which she replied,"I will be too very shortly. Besides, what's a little sweat amongst family?"

Indeed, what is?

Thanks to Skyla, Mark, EZ and Christine for a night of blues I will never, ever forget!