11-22-2007

I ran across a list of the 10 longest running TV shows and wanted to share them with you. I have placed an asterisk beside the ones I was fond of:

10. Knotts Landing* (1979 -93) 9. Dallas * (1978-91) 8. My Three Sons (1960 -72) 7. Law & Order (1990 - ?) 6. The Simpsons (1989 - ?) 5. Bonanza * (1959 -73) 4. Ozzie & Harriet (1952 – 66) 3. Death Valley* days (1952 – 1970) 2. Lassie (1954 – 72) 1. Gunsmoke * (1955 -75)

As a young lad growing up in the mountains of Virginia during the ‘50’s, our selection of TV programs to watch were very limited. We received one station out of Huntington, West Virginia. That was all we had. There was never an argument over what program we would watch. If you didn’t like it, you did something besides watch TV. I had a vast collection of comic books and, if it was still daylight outside, there were many options. It was always easy to round up some friends and play “Kick The Can”, or, “Tag” or, some other game we had played a gazillion times. Sometimes, less is more I think.

That darn garage door opener is still giving me problems. The opener has been installed and works quite well with me using the switch mounted on the wall, but the two remotes refuse to work. After getting my son to look at it, and then calling over my next door neighbor, I gave up and called the Sears Guy. He arrives here next Wednesday to solve the problem. If it is my fault I pay, if not, there is no charge. Guess I’d better get my wallet out.

I went to NC to visit my brother Jerry the other day. He and his wife, Patty, are doing ok. His health is about the same. He has been in a wheelchair for close to 5 years. It is always good to visit him. Our connection goes back so far that when we visit each other old memories start flowing. Both of us have changed a lot since we were kids, but in a lot of ways we are still the same. Both of us have had our ups and downs, but life has treated him more severely than me to this point. Hey, if you add up the good times and subtract the bad times we still come out winners. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

My next project will be overhauling the carburetor on my lawn tractor, affectionately known around here as “Big Red”. Big Red is a 1974 Wheel Horse. I have owned it about 10 years and, up to this point, has never given me a minute of trouble. But now, it is having trouble breathing properly. It continually wants to stop and rest and, on close inspection, has revealed that its throat is sore and needs attention. If I am unable to fix it, out comes the old wallet again and a new carburetor will probably be the cure. Can’t complain, everything wears out sooner or later, heck, look at me.

Our local high school football team (Poquoson) made it to the post season playoffs. They defeated the #1 seed last week and advance to play a team about two hours away (Brunswick). I am seriously considering heading off to the game, scheduled to start at 1:30 pm on Saturday. It has been a very long time since I attended a high school football game. I’m looking forward to it. Heck, I think I’m going !

Tomorrow, Jerilyn and I will be eating Thanksgiving Dinner with her youngest son (Mark) and his family. Her other son, Dean and his family, are spending their TG weekend visiting relatives in NC. Mark & Rachel invited my son (Rusty) and my daughter (Debby) for dinner, but they had other plans. I’m hoping to get up with them this weekend and spend some time together. Before I retired I used to look forward to the 4 day weekend during TG. Now, I have a 7 day weekend. Ain’t life great!

I had the opportunity to visit a friend the other day that I have not seen in 35 years. She is 70 now. I would not have recognized her and she did not recognize me. I walked into her home, escorted by her son, and say “Bea, do you know who I am?”. With a puzzled look, she says “no”. Now, I see my mug in the mirror every morning. I think my face is the same as it has always been, just with more etching(character lines I like to call it). Bea clearly had no clue as to my identity. “I’m Tommy Hale”, says I. She quickly corrects me, “Tommy Joe, is that you?” Unknown to her I dropped the “Joe” years ago. Seems, only mountaineers use their middle name. Folks around here never use their middle name, so I dropped mine. If someone calls me Tommy Joe, I immediately know where they are from. I also know they know more about me then they should. Anyway, Bea and I had a wonderful reunion. It is always good to see an old friend.

I hope you're enjoying whatever season it is in your part of the world. Happy Thanksgiving!

11-16-2007

Several weeks ago, we were at the Poquoson Seafood Festival and I spotted a guy in his 30’s, wearing a T-shirt, and sporting tattoos all over his body. By his side was a female companion with just as many. Years ago, the only people with tattoos were those in the military, mostly GI’s and sailors. Today, it seems as if everyone under 30 has one. Some are tastefully done, a small design around the ankles, or one on the shoulder blade. Most of these are worn by females. Our males seem to be more aggressive with theirs, almost always, wearing them in a prominent place, to be seen by all. Girls, it seems to me, wear them as body decoration. Guys, on the other hand, are making a statement. Personally, I see no harm in them, but, like anything done excessively, tattoos all over your body seems to be over the edge. Years ago I hired a young black fellow. By the end of his second week he was sporting an earring. “Randy”, I say to him, “when I hired you, you weren’t wearing an earring”. He looked at me and smiled, “I knew you wouldn’t hire me” he says. Today earrings are worn by many men and we think nothing of it. My, how times have changed.

Well, the saga of the garage door opener continues. I am almost finished with the installation that was started more than a week ago. Last week I had the Opener in place, plugged it in and pushed the button to raise the door. Nothing! Several pushes later I realized this thing wasn’t working. After a lot of analyzing, I determined the unit was not processing the electricity it received. A call was made to Sears and in a few days one of their installers came out to assess the situation. “Well”, says she, “it looks like it has been dropped, one of the boards inside is crushed”. This is when I pointed to the box and showed her that it had been returned to the store by someone else. I think that when she glanced around the garage and noticed all the Craftsman/Sears tools, she decided they did not want to lose a good customer by accusing me of dropping the unit. Plus, she could not deny the unit had been returned by someone else. The new unit is now installed and working properly. I still have to figure out how to get the two remotes working properly.

I just finished spreading lime and fertilizer on our yard. The grass seed I sowed in early September has not done well due to very little rain. We received a good dose of rain yesterday (almost an inch), so everything should be soaked in and doing what it is suppose to do (make the grass grow and be very green). It is also approaching the time of the year when I should take the boat out of the water and store it for the winter. I noticed that my friend Dick, who lives down the channel from us, removed his the other day. Whenever he removes his, I know it is time for me to do the same. I used my boat 3 times this past summer. Not much, but I plan on using it more next summer.

My Washington Redskins have not been doing well as of late and this Sunday they play the Dallas Cowboys (Dallas is my 2^nd favorite team). My son is a Cowboy fan, having been born in Dallas, and so Sunday will be an exciting day for both of us, more for him then me, I suspect. Jerilyn’s daughter-in-law, Kathy, is a Cowboy fan also. If my ‘Skins lose I am in for a lot of harassment. If they win, my strut will be very pronounced. Sports can add a lot of flavor to our lives. It gives us something we can share with friends & family. We all need, in my opinion, something or someone to “root” for. It takes us away from our daily lives and entertains us. Humans have been entertained by sporting events for hundreds of years. That is even more so today. We can watch a sporting event 24 hours a day. Athletes are some of the best paid people in America. Some of the salaries they receive are outrageous. I have to locate my envy button and turn it off.

Our local newspaper has been carrying the flap about a $12 million donation to William & Mary University being revoked by a high school chum of mine (Jim McGlothin). Seems, Jim is upset because a cross was moved from its long held position to one less conspicuous. I knew Jim quite well as a high school student and although he went to church regularly, he was not overly religious. With a little research, I was able to discern that he is probably worth in excess of $800 million. I may be wrong here, but I suspect you cannot accumulate that much moolah without doing a lot of unchristian things. So, why be concerned about a cross placement at your alma mater? I suspect it has more to do about power than the placement of the cross. I believe that once you make a commitment, you should follow through with it. If you are unhappy with something, express your disappointment, but follow through with your commitment. It is a shame that all the good that could be accomplished by a donation that size to W&M University is lost. I have seen Jim once since our high school days. He has attended a few of our reunions, but, I was always absent at those (unintentionally). Were he to ask my advice, I would suggest he renew his pledge and work with the school board to resolve his concerns, all the while understanding that his will may not prevail. But, $12 million is a big club and entitles you to be a bully I guess.

For the last few days I have had a pain in the center of my heel on my left foot. The pain last for about 30 seconds, goes away completely for 3-4 minutes and then returns. It started Wednesday morning and finally subsided this morning. It hurt whether I was standing, sitting, or sleeping. The pain was not severe, but I definitely knew it was there. I just hope it does not return. I have no idea what caused it. Maybe, I’m being punished for unspecified wrongs. If so, I hope the punishment is over.

I hope you're enjoying whatever season it is in your part of the world

11-08-2007

Last week was the first time in a long time that I failed to prepare my weekly WOW. I kept putting it off and the next things I knew the week was gone. Oh well, time to pick up and move on. My next big project is to install an automatic door opener on one of our garage doors. The door that already has an opener has been uninhabited by a vehicle for several years. Jerilyn’s Toyota Corolla was sold several years ago and our other two vehicles (Buick Riviera & Dodge Ram) are too long to fit because the steps leading into the garage from the house protrude too far. The book that came with the opener looks like a small encyclopedia. I must say, I am a little intimidated by the size of the task before me. I will keep you posted on my travails.

November is the month that I normally use to get my yearly physical and semiannual dental checkup. I always dread this month because of those two details. In addition this year my prostrate test required me to get a biopsy. To further complicate my life, my dentist found a small cavity that he insisted he could take care of without Novocain. During my checkup last year I received a flu/pneumonia shot, this year it will be flu/tetanus. Now, I know that as I get older, doctors become an important part of my life. I know they are key to the likelihood that I will live much longer and in good health. I also know that I am blessed, that others cannot afford the luxury of having annual checkups and necessary dental care. It makes me feel so small to bemoan the blessings bestowed upon me when others do without. I’ve got to work on that.

I have started converting my home videos to a digital format. Three of my oldest are in Beta Max format, so up in the attic I went to fetch my Beta Max machine, dust it off, and hook it up to my digital recorder (DVR). Lo and behold, there in front of me were my parents (both passed away almost 20 years ago). Tears streamed down my face as I watched them. I had given up on ever seeing them again (I had forgotten about the tapes). Mom’s familiar laugh, Dad’s grumblings, all brought back wonderful memories of them. There, on those tapes, were so many cherished relatives that have passed on to the other side. I think, regardless of age, we all enjoy reminiscing. My stroll down memory lane always leaves me feeling good. Our memories help sustain us and encourage us to create more memorable moments. It is strange the things we remember. The video taken of Dad a few months before he died brought back the memory of me asking him to let me take the pictures of him. He acquiesced and did whatever I asked him to do even though he wasn’t feeling very well on that particular day. I remember thinking “he knows he doesn’t have long and he is doing this so Jerry and I will have this when he passes”. I hope to do the same for my children.

My Uncle KD’s cancer has gotten worse. The chemo he has taken for the past 3 months had no effect and the size of the cancer in different places in his body has increased. His doctor has gone to a conference in New York City and hopes to come back with a new battle plan. My Cousin Jesse’s cancer battle continues and he seems to be making some progress. He has placed his battle in the hands of The Lord. I pray for both of them every day. Jerilyn’s mother (Gladys) is making some progress in her recovery from a fractured vertebra. She is still in the Health Care unit of her retirement community. We are hoping she will be able to go back to her apartment in the Independed section in 3-4 weeks. I am looking forward to visiting my brother (Jerry) and his wife (Patty) next week.

Well, I need to close this and start installing the garage door opener mentioned above. I hope you're enjoying your autumn, or whatever season it is in your part of the world

10/23/2007

This past Saturday I ran in the Mariners Museum 10K race (6.2 miles). There were about 250 runners of various ages, sizes and shapes. I finished 2^nd in my age group (65 and over). My time: 67 minutes & 18 seconds. The last time I ran the race my time was 74:05. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I came out of the woods and observed the sign at the finish line flashing 66 minutes. I turned on the afterburner and whizzed past a young woman in her 30’s I had followed for several miles. I contemplated following her to the finish line, but changed my mind and dashed to the end amid wild cheers and lots of jubilation. I glanced around furtively, looking for a TV camera or reporter but spotted none. I looked for my fans but only found one. Then I realized the 15 minute thingy was a dream I had the night before the race. Celebrity is so hard to attain.

I started work on my winter vegetable garden yesterday. Unfortunately, the only vegetable being planted is winter onions. Jerilyn and I enjoy having the green tops of onions in our salad, hence the need to keep a steady flow of them growing. I emptied our compost pile and mixed it in with our garden soil, hoping to grow them King Kong size. My plan is to plant 1.5 lbs now and after they start, plant another 1.5 lbs. If you are around us and happen to smell our breath, you will know the source of the problem. I must admit that I am not much of a gardener, often spending more creating one then the value of what we get from it at harvest time. But, if I factor in the joy I derive from the planning, seeding and great expectations, I always get more for my investment then what I spend. Most of us have known someone that could make anything grow. I have several relatives that own that skill. One, in particular, has tried to impart some of his knowledge on to me, but to no avail. Thanks for trying Jesse.

A close friend and family member enjoys cycling. She rides a gazillion miles each year and often participates in very long bike rides. The other day she was struck by a passing SUV. She went to the hospital and after careful examination, was released to go home with instructions to see an orthopedic surgeon within several days. She is banged up and bruised and has a brace on one leg, requiring her to use crutches. It appears she was struck by the mirror on the SUV. Fortunately, she will be able resume her passion for cycling before very long (being young helps you recover quickly). We are very lucky that someone we love so much was not injured severely. If we look closely at the tragedies that occur in our lives, most times we can find a blessing.

Jerilyn’s mother (Gladys) is still recovering from a fractured vertebrae. The pain has mostly subsided and she is able to get out of the bed on her own and go to the bathroom. She still complains a lot. I guess when you are 89 years old that is a constant condition. We are hoping that within 3-4 weeks she will be able to go back to her apartment within the retirement community. She is currently in the health care unit of the community. She, of course, expects Jerilyn to visit her every day. We are trying to change that, but with little success. What is so sad is that she seems to be more intent on dying then getting better. She figures that since husband Henry died (2001), life is no longer worth living. Jerilyn and I have tried to show her how many blessings she still has in life (children/grandchildren), but she will have no part of it. I sometimes wonder what she will say when The Lord says to her “Gladys, what did you do with the years I gave you after Henry died?” “Well,” says she, “I did not want to live longer than Henry and wanted you to take me also.” Says Our Lord “Gladys, it is my will, not yours, that must be done. I gave you the opportunity to do good things after Henry’s passing and you failed to do so. What is your excuse?” I have no idea what her response will be. Of course, all of us will probably have some answering to do when we get there. I’m still working on my answer.

10/16/2007

Well, our much anticipated trip to California did not happen. Jerilyn’s mother (Gladys) called us last Thursday in extreme pain. She is currently in the “Health Care” section of her retirement community with nurses always close by. Her x-rays indicate a broken vertebrae. Some type of operation is being discussed. The pain has decreased some over the last few days.

I replaced my analog cable modem last week. It worked fine, but I was notified by our cable provider (Cox) they no longer supported that type of modem, so, I purchased a digital one on e-Bay. If anyone can use it, you are welcome to it. Just supply me with the mailing address. It is a Toshiba PCX 1100U. Check with your cable provider to insure they support it.

I have a friend (Dale) that retired recently and, as retirees often do, started working part-time. Now, it seems to me at least, that he has the perfect part-time job. He works at Kings Mill Golf Course one weekend a month, gets to play the course for free and gets a free case of beer once a month. I’ll bet there’s something illegal about that job. You know the old saying “If it sounds too good to be true, etc”. I wonder what your perfect part-time job would be? Mine would be working at Ben Jerry’s Ice Cream shop one weekend a month and getting free ice cream all the time. Or, working at Starbucks and getting all the free coffee I could gulp down.

Jerilyn and I have been watching the baseball championship series on TV. I’m pulling for Boston in the American League and Colorado in the National. Jerilyn likes the Indians and wants the Arizona Diamondbacks to win in the National League. I am a very fortunate guy. I have a wife that will watch any type of ballgame. Truth be known, she wants to watch more ball games than I do. My theory? There’s a ballgame gene in each and every woman. 99.9% of the time that gene is turned off. Occasionally, by mistake, that gene gets turned on and voila! I believe a lot of problems between men and women could be avoided if her ballgame gene was turned on. I am considering asking Jerilyn to submit to a battery of test to discover which gene is responsible. What a contribution to mankind! Now if she could only find the dishwashing gene in me.

Each day I try to visit the Woot.com website and see what item they are selling for the day. I have been doing this for several years and over time have bought many things from them. Their prices always allow a good savings and their products are probably things that are not selling well. Last week I purchased a home theater product by Sound Matters called MAINstage for $125. It sells at Amazon for $400. It is one unit and sets easily on top of our 43” TV. The sound is terrific. It comes on when the TV is turned on and goes off two minutes after the TV is turned off. You can hook up an optional subwoofer to increase the already impressive sound. I am currently using my sniper program to snag one on e-Bay. TV movies just got a lot better! My Washington Redskins lost yesterday. Surround Sound did not help them any.

It has been 6 weeks since we have received any rain. All our green stuff looks so pitiful. Jerilyn has been trying to give them a bit of wetness via the water sprinkler and her trusty water bucket, but they sure need so some rain. The grass I planted in early September has been in need of some serious water. Maybe, God will send us some soon.

My Uncle KD and Cousin Jesse continue to fight their cancer. Both of them remain in good spirit and are determined to beat this dreadful invasion of their body. I plan on visiting my brother Jerry in the near future (he’s about an hour away). He has been confined to a wheelchair for several years. Sometimes, life seems to be so unfair.

10/11/2007

I ran across this article on crying in Newsweek the other day (by Gordon Marino) and found it interesting. I will quote a few selected paragraphs and then tell you my thoughts on the subject of men crying: “There is a story in Herodotus about Xerxes. The Persian king is on a plateau proudly scanning his million-man army as it marches toward Greece. Suddenly, the emperor bursts into tears and exclaims, “They will all be gone in 100 years”. “I wonder if he wasn’t a little embarrassed in front of his generals. I also wonder if the lugubrious emperor wasn’t in his 50’s.”…….”women might know this better than men….but a good cry can make for a sounder sleep.”

Now, my thoughts: I too, have noticed that I have become more sentimental as I have aged. It seems to happen a lot when I watch a sad movie or listen to a woeful story with audio books. I tear-up when I think of the health struggles that my loved ones endure. I always assumed the tears were a result of the stress I was under by worrying about those close to me. According to Mr. Marino, it has more to do with age than anything else, and I think I agree with him. I know that as a younger man I hardly ever allowed myself to cry and when I did, mostly at funerals, I tried to suppress it as soon as possible. I am still amazed at how easily tears come, but I am no longer ashamed to cry. I never saw my father cry. As a young boy growing up I cannot ever remember seeing a grown man cry. That is such a shame, for I know they experienced heartache and sadness. Come to think of it, I don’t think I have ever seen my son cry as a grown man. Hopefully, one day he too will realize that a good cry cleanses the spirit and renews our belief that, in time, things will get better.

I booted up my PC the other morning, went in to eat breakfast, and when I returned it had shutdown. I was a little puzzled because that has never happened before (I have Windows Vista). I rebooted and shortly thereafter I received a notice that my PC was shutting down due to a “CPU fan failure” and then it crashed. Well, I had to take a moment to pick up the pieces of my broken heart. Then I think, “reboot again and, maybe, everything will be ok!” I do, with the same results. I know you have heard the old adage “don’t believe everything you think.” I felt like I had an extra bowl of stupid for breakfast. Off I go to CompUSA, buy the fan and install it. After a little tinkering I was back up and running as before the crash. Until I got it back to normal, I was walking around the house like a wounded hound. I can remember as a lad, being entertained by pushing a bicycle rim around with a stick. My, how I have changed.

My son and I went fishing last Sunday. We decided to fish off the James River Pier, so we packed up our fishing gear, jumped in the truck and headed off for an afternoon of father/son quality time. We were there for 3-4 hours and did not get the first bite. That mattered little to either of us, we chatted away, catching up each other’s lives, talking sports, politics and whatever else we could think of. He will of course eventually get serious about his fishing. It is his hobby and I expect it to occupy a lot of his free time. I think he will be disappointed in my attention span when it comes to fishing. Sometimes, I believe, he looks at me and thinks, “I don’t know what your problem is, but I’ll bet it is hard to pronounce”. I need to find him a fishing buddy that likes it as much as he does.

I received my cholesterol results the other day. I was quite pleased with the results after taking Vytorin for several months. My readings:

2007 2006

Total 106 186

Good 54 35

Bad 44 130

Triglycerides 41 105

The pain I was experiencing in my hips has mostly subsided and I plan to continue the medication and discuss it with my doctor during my annual physical in November.

Well, our trip to Los Angeles will commence next Monday (10/15/07) and we will return home on Thursday (10/25/07). Jerilyn and I are looking forward to the trip and the visit with her cousin and family. I am also looking forward to visiting with a childhood friend that lives close by. I will have lot to talk about in my next missive. Hopefully, I will also have some pics to share with you. I’m hoping John & Phyl, or Brenda, can get us in for a visit with the “Governator”.

10-04-2007

The novel I completed last week titled “Home to Big Stone Gap” said that when mountain people die they are “taking a dirt nap”. Now, I was raised a stone’s throw from there and I have never heard of that. I must say, I prefer that expression more than any other I have heard. Whenever I think of it though, I do chuckle a little. Mom and Dad are buried in a crypt above ground. I guess they would be taking a “tunnel nap”? Jerilyn and I plan on being cremated. I guess we would be taking a “hot nap”, or, a “nap in a jug”? Maybe, an Urned nap? Aw, shucks! I could have all kinds of fun with this subject!

On October 1^st I celebrated 1 year of retirement. I must say it still seems a little strange not getting up every morning and going to work. Somehow, I keep feeling this gravy train is going to smash into a brick wall, but each time it plows right on thru and comes out on the other side, intact and as good as ever. Jerilyn and I were setting at the breakfast table the other morning and, as I looked out the window that gives us a panoramic view of the water, I said to her “You know, we are living the good life. Both of us are in good health, we have just about anything we want and we are free to travel and enjoy life”. I would like to say that we worked all our lives to get to this point and that we deserve it, but, I would be amiss if I failed to acknowledge our many blessing from The Lord. I know he has the power to change our life at any time. I read a sign on a church the other day that said: “The party in hell has been cancelled because of fire”. I pray each day that God does not cancel our party.

I returned from Tennessee last Sunday. I drove the pickup truck out to my son’s (Rusty) house. He is moving back to Virginia and I went out to help him and visit the rest of my family out there. I was able to spend some quality time with my three granddaughter and two great granddaughters. Other family members added to the joy of the visit. I listened to my audio books on the way out and my son kept me company on the way back. I must say it feels very good to have him close by. It has been 15 years since both my children have been so close that I could jump in the truck and be at their home within 15-20 minutes. During the ride back from his home (2 days) we talked a lot. Each of us had a captive audience. He is a good boy. I am always amazed at what floats around in that head of his.

I have been taking Vytorin for cholesterol for several months now. I started in June, stopped in July because of pain in both hip joints, then restarted it two weeks later. I had my blood test the other day and the results are not back yet. I think I am going to stop taking the medication. The hip pain is back and will not go away. I am still able to run 5 miles 3 days a week but it is a struggle. Over the last several years I have tried several “statins” and each have caused some type of pain. I plan on talking to my doctor before I quit.

Our next trip commences on October 15^th and takes us to the great state of California. Our plane lands in Los Angeles, where we will be met by two good friends (Jerilyn’s cousin Phyllis, and husband John). We have been talking about visiting them for years and we are looking forward to it with great anticipation. We will also visit a childhood friend of mine (Brenda, and husband Vyron) that I have only seen once within the last 50 years. I have never been to CA. My closest trip was to Phoenix, AZ in 1991. In 1962-63 I was stationed at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and one of the pilots there told me “I fly to the east coast and to the west coast. The prettiest women in this country are on the west coast!” I will be lookin’ to see if that is indeed a fact. We haven’t told Jerilyn’s mother of our trip yet. She frets so much when we go away that we always wait until 2-3 days before we leave. Each time we leave to go somewhere she thinks we will get killed before we return and she will be left alone with no one to look after her. She has two grandsons that would step up to the plate if needed. Somehow, she chooses to ignore that little fact. Jerilyn lives in constant fear that a reader of my weekly missive will tell her mother before we do. I have assured her that all my readers know how to keep a secret. I think I am the one most likely to let the cat out of the bag. That has almost happened several times before. The two week trip to Alaska in July 2006 comes to mind.

Thanks for reading my weekly missive.