tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19642113526807198602024-03-05T21:32:27.144-08:00Old Man In My HouseLife In My Second Half CenturyI'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-53502059691938530452013-03-17T20:42:00.001-07:002013-03-17T21:17:50.366-07:00Ghost Busters We're Not<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMXn2fxMT74Or2eMY__6wjaub_UpfXdeXKbFI8k9hpXgu1PO1UWok6Z5dEXnUBuvg2m6qy4WfGSmlzfsLmVmhaPjeDpkFQt5XJEwhnfi-StFGBJHF6v3WgCcIkeopzgJqSiuSsEUXzQ18/s1600/IMG_1641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMXn2fxMT74Or2eMY__6wjaub_UpfXdeXKbFI8k9hpXgu1PO1UWok6Z5dEXnUBuvg2m6qy4WfGSmlzfsLmVmhaPjeDpkFQt5XJEwhnfi-StFGBJHF6v3WgCcIkeopzgJqSiuSsEUXzQ18/s320/IMG_1641.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“You put us in a hotel that is HAUNTED?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Thirty minutes after booking the room for our
overnighter in <a href="http://www.ci.sedalia.mo.us/" target="_blank">Sedalia</a>, I discovered that the hotel of my choice, the glorious
<a href="http://www.hotelbothwell.com/" target="_blank">Hotel Bothwell</a> in downtown Sedalia, had been featured on one of those <a href="http://www.paranormalquest.net/HauntedHistory,BothwellHotel.html" target="_blank">hauntedhotel shows</a>. Kelly and I decided not to tell the girls, but I wondered if maybe
that’s why a small suite at the Bothwell cost no more than a standard room at the
Best Western.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">They found out when their cheerleader
friends at the fairgrounds asked where they were sleeping that night. “We can’t
stay there, we can’t stay there, we're hungry, we can't stay there” they shouted all the way across town. “Look,”
I said in my best now-girls-let’s-be-reasonable voice, “all the so-called
paranormal activity only happens on the third floor. There are seven floors, so
the chances of us getting a room on the third floor are slim.”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvQo72opBykYUhyphenhyphenTOCnzLbq0dpfVW3kLWQV_ly-qAZHvMcwx2689nb_aPT_gFw-PBtQmxE17xD_ECICLv4dN9R-uwJohyphenhyphenDk4x9Lam3X_gD1cTomwdFjt15FAeWrOWku8sbbrVigstaGc/s1600/IMG_1661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvQo72opBykYUhyphenhyphenTOCnzLbq0dpfVW3kLWQV_ly-qAZHvMcwx2689nb_aPT_gFw-PBtQmxE17xD_ECICLv4dN9R-uwJohyphenhyphenDk4x9Lam3X_gD1cTomwdFjt15FAeWrOWku8sbbrVigstaGc/s320/IMG_1661.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.deniablydomestic.com/" target="_blank">Kelly</a> and the girls checked in while I got the rest of
our luggage, and I heard familiar screams and nervous laughter as I walked in.
Kelly held up our room key, clearly marked 320. “We’re doomed,” one of the
girls moaned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">It was a tense ride up the
elevator. The girls didn’t notice the fabulous lobby, with the crystal chandelier,
the brilliant polished wood and the gleaming brass, the lovely fabrics on the
chairs and walls. It was stunning.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCp5sss1ep2hXeM-_5Xg9cfgQiGf_nxfN-_a_uLupriU-WsPF66uDXvo0-Y1GaFk8AHSDGjOGu3Syhs9lbRUGpggob2Rmu8XOwotfOSsamB-QAQHsmLElAkOdlisqvHFGf0Ik_1uBtcLk/s1600/IMG_1654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCp5sss1ep2hXeM-_5Xg9cfgQiGf_nxfN-_a_uLupriU-WsPF66uDXvo0-Y1GaFk8AHSDGjOGu3Syhs9lbRUGpggob2Rmu8XOwotfOSsamB-QAQHsmLElAkOdlisqvHFGf0Ik_1uBtcLk/s320/IMG_1654.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">They jumped at every step, every shadowy doorway, every
corner. They balked entering the room, holding each other and screeching. They
went to the bathroom with the door open.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">It took hours for them to
settle down as their imaginations took hold of them. Of course, Kelly and I
didn’t help, scratching on their door, turning out lights, making sudden “what’s
that” sounds and “buwawhahaaaa” laughs.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyPhmZySGHMFXLsrWVc_3L0-bezCRNlN3aohNs0UpVcCJK80K6exx7fFYexNIH-eSf-Ij3Htj-wKv_knI8CEmd3N6fRQMJnqtRM0_RspllMJirWJleyieFG1Pqzq_KOH9SRQSVQsaJNRw/s1600/IMG_1613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyPhmZySGHMFXLsrWVc_3L0-bezCRNlN3aohNs0UpVcCJK80K6exx7fFYexNIH-eSf-Ij3Htj-wKv_knI8CEmd3N6fRQMJnqtRM0_RspllMJirWJleyieFG1Pqzq_KOH9SRQSVQsaJNRw/s320/IMG_1613.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">It
was actually a lot of fun, for at least two of us. Apparently the ghosts are
accused of stealing small trinkets during the night, so Kelly and I tempted
them with her cheer pin. It was still there when we awoke, so perhaps the
spirits had the weekend off.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij05QROXfpTufHdKKDVuy0mT4boJTg3QX5eNPOuSiRric4k6DVph_naeHCRxusTrM9c053ciuBfna9d-OLLkPk1erqOpUe29wa3LgjJXZfiCyDpLg26XrRWf_raGz3RClSlfTZfsG7qlo/s1600/IMG_1657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij05QROXfpTufHdKKDVuy0mT4boJTg3QX5eNPOuSiRric4k6DVph_naeHCRxusTrM9c053ciuBfna9d-OLLkPk1erqOpUe29wa3LgjJXZfiCyDpLg26XrRWf_raGz3RClSlfTZfsG7qlo/s320/IMG_1657.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Haunted
or not, I love these old grand hotels with their aging luxury. They are like
scenes from movies, romantic old movies. They are packed with history, and the
Bothwell, built in 1927, is no exception. Like all these old places, famous
people visited often, including <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/harrystruman" target="_blank">Harry Truman</a> and <a href="http://www.scottjoplin.org/biography.htm" target="_blank">Scott Joplin</a>. And now, our girls.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTIWL5zTwJQuAkcTYzTSGvKBEej8zew1id479OHw_w-TDROWCoVdPqhPk2OGBmJS1gSsGIefmdG837WguEAgMx5Kd2fuWCX1DyqoG3XHHLVy_Tc7vCztCT6AfLBq2a56kqGypKlzCtrE/s1600/IMG_1650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTIWL5zTwJQuAkcTYzTSGvKBEej8zew1id479OHw_w-TDROWCoVdPqhPk2OGBmJS1gSsGIefmdG837WguEAgMx5Kd2fuWCX1DyqoG3XHHLVy_Tc7vCztCT6AfLBq2a56kqGypKlzCtrE/s320/IMG_1650.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">We
are going back again, but next time, sans children. The ghosts will have to decide for themselves. The girls won't be there to scare them off....</span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-69643912518628021022013-02-24T17:20:00.000-08:002013-02-24T17:25:37.992-08:00And Aubrey Is Their Names<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Like me, <a href="http://oldmaninmyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/08/who-doesnt-name-daughters-after-everly.html" target="_blank">Aubrey</a> has two middle names. Anne, from her
mother, and <a href="http://oldmaninmyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/08/who-doesnt-name-daughters-after-everly.html" target="_blank">Everly</a> from, of course, the <a href="http://everlybrothers.net/" target="_blank">Everly Brothers</a>. Her last name comes
from me, at least until she marries. She knows all of that. What she doesn’t
know is how her first name was chosen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Partly, it is from the
</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwdTcoUHfkw" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bread song</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, as she thinks, but mostly it comes from this guy. His name is
Aubrey, and I really liked his name.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">When I was playing basketball, Aubrey was one of the
guys who used to come. He was an excellent and generous basketball player, not
afraid to take the shot, but unlike most of the guys, he wasn’t afraid to pass
or to set a pick or to play defense. That always made him fun to play with, but
mostly I liked him because he was a genuinely nice guy. A nice enough guy that
I named a child after him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Nearly 15 years later, I bumped in to Aubrey the other night
at the store. I knew I recognized him, but couldn’t place him. Work somewhere?
One of the colleges? Oh, I know. Basketball. I introduced myself, and he
remembered right away. He was taken aback when I told him about his namesake,
visibly moved. “Well, that is a real honor,” he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">If he knew my Aubrey, he
would know exactly how true that is.</span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-69056341587488546662013-01-30T05:30:00.000-08:002013-01-30T05:30:02.525-08:00Turns Out Cheer Season And Duck Season Aren't As Similar As One Might Think<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Libby is in the thick of cheer season, with basketball
games at school and regional competitions with her competitive squad nearly
every weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">You would not believe the
people who go to these things. They are all, um, enthusiastic, and involved,
and LOUD and there are a LOT of them. They participate, man, and cheer for
their cheerleaders.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">My
<a href="http://oldmaninmyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/03/normal.html" target="_blank">views on cheerleaders</a> at sporting events are pretty well known, at least among
the half dozen people who read this blog, but I’m all for these competitive
teams. The girls – mostly girls, there are some boys – are in pretty good shape
and do some impressive stunts.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLNMP6X2Vj_qqJ_mOop7ipu6Ennz-p7R30ZLkU1ROZgt84wYDr9F1VaunMLETYtUGc7JXmodt_BmgsNj1qrhyM6b9gMgNlaW0Y2vw57NoqMA2FRpRM05qlaitnKNQHvf5ldEditAAYYU4/s1600/flyers1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLNMP6X2Vj_qqJ_mOop7ipu6Ennz-p7R30ZLkU1ROZgt84wYDr9F1VaunMLETYtUGc7JXmodt_BmgsNj1qrhyM6b9gMgNlaW0Y2vw57NoqMA2FRpRM05qlaitnKNQHvf5ldEditAAYYU4/s320/flyers1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For
example, look at how high these flyers are. The ugly backdrop makes it hard to
see them, but they are way up there.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfOz1K9AAiPfSkM9dMgwSuAKs8nPEbYgKOy4ciiU1CVMzf5WSIqpJW2S19UbiYDYYNBpnlTdlbVf6pY_N9_URX8Tq-NRundxwEriAih_EF5jf8HJjsczqfyH0FkTWaTrFFW5W_hWAgNU/s1600/Libby+scorpion+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfOz1K9AAiPfSkM9dMgwSuAKs8nPEbYgKOy4ciiU1CVMzf5WSIqpJW2S19UbiYDYYNBpnlTdlbVf6pY_N9_URX8Tq-NRundxwEriAih_EF5jf8HJjsczqfyH0FkTWaTrFFW5W_hWAgNU/s320/Libby+scorpion+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Libby
is very good and getting better. I’m proud of her. She doesn’t know it, but with
her hair done up for cheer, with the big bows, I think she looks like <a href="http://julienewmar.com/" target="_blank">Julie Newmar</a>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrK5ZUPACDGh56RpgFLIBEu9fKpRE08WhYi3NiLEg7CnCfUwTk1oGrbIexvC4GMKOq4m461UDy1aghziXTa0pkwGnGn1414ceQbrgTINqcvacACoHApCg_hXPKrfuWGnz49PTD0njHY44/s1600/IMG_1120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrK5ZUPACDGh56RpgFLIBEu9fKpRE08WhYi3NiLEg7CnCfUwTk1oGrbIexvC4GMKOq4m461UDy1aghziXTa0pkwGnGn1414ceQbrgTINqcvacACoHApCg_hXPKrfuWGnz49PTD0njHY44/s320/IMG_1120.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Competitions
are long and exhausting for parents, but rewarding. The music is awful. And loud.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsbYsZncQceXExaNBnWVdjAHuJfy-e17ayY5AHCk25bbcL0G89EN_52TdQEFXATe0UgTik7rN9FHtDInCs5rr4DTLbfuRxUi0P3kcOrJnViIjYZxL-pyT3ZdiDt-nOKDsmQ2Zoqm4zBs/s1600/Libby+bow+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsbYsZncQceXExaNBnWVdjAHuJfy-e17ayY5AHCk25bbcL0G89EN_52TdQEFXATe0UgTik7rN9FHtDInCs5rr4DTLbfuRxUi0P3kcOrJnViIjYZxL-pyT3ZdiDt-nOKDsmQ2Zoqm4zBs/s320/Libby+bow+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">As
Kelly says, “the bigger the cheer bow, the better the cheer mom.”</span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-62264782030671641992013-01-29T08:16:00.002-08:002013-01-29T08:16:51.972-08:00Oh Brothers! Six Boys, A Dad And One Tired Mother<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZgmiU6AGm3XcD2hkZtOvHoIkFonWFIcjCGcb35HtrfQp53jBffRhcFlKwt6jMHoytwhE0pa_Qhy3R4WFh0F5eU4zFTaQ63VSExiXITvYxjymda7MIPuElaSkCASZPBqhQcuytUmyTeg/s1600/IMG_0993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZgmiU6AGm3XcD2hkZtOvHoIkFonWFIcjCGcb35HtrfQp53jBffRhcFlKwt6jMHoytwhE0pa_Qhy3R4WFh0F5eU4zFTaQ63VSExiXITvYxjymda7MIPuElaSkCASZPBqhQcuytUmyTeg/s320/IMG_0993.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">My mom asked that her six sons get together. She didn’t
say, no one said, you know, one last time, or before it’s too late. She just
asked that we come because she wanted to see us, so we made a plan. Some flew
in, some drove in, some already live there, but the six of us spent parts of
four days together for the first time in a long time. Someone said it had been
eight years, someone said it had been longer, but that’s just the kind of thing
some people say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWGPCYdVDgaakcmn4dkEIliExdiNVquEtQHgCBbc5WFmxzFEtoiZ_EaluhNQkI0Ude0tzklz8Y5w7cJa_bU9NW5btjUAoVqdMHLDC777P5RihYoPjLUY88hzktYxKyJ-71VgHBoZlI5M/s1600/IMG_0987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWGPCYdVDgaakcmn4dkEIliExdiNVquEtQHgCBbc5WFmxzFEtoiZ_EaluhNQkI0Ude0tzklz8Y5w7cJa_bU9NW5btjUAoVqdMHLDC777P5RihYoPjLUY88hzktYxKyJ-71VgHBoZlI5M/s320/IMG_0987.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">My children were worried that something was wrong with
grandpa, and I’m not sure I convinced them otherwise. That thought crossed my
mind, too, but actually dad seemed healthier, stronger, more alert than he’s
been in years. That’s due to how well my mother takes care of him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I have a photo from the last time the six of us were
together. We look about the same, I guess. There’s just less hair and about 200
pounds more of us. There’s been some divorces and some marriages, some children
and some grandchildren. There have been several moves, many career changes, and
a lot of ups and downs in all the ways life can change. The one thing that
remains, though, the one constant, is that we still make each other laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The highlight of our time
together was all the stories. Jeff called them lies, and there was some
exaggeration, sure, but mostly it was a lot of “remember that time….” And we do
remember the time. We don’t all remember it the same ways, but remember it we
do: the time Doodle broke my teeth, the time I stabbed the knife into Gary Jo's foot, the time Jeff cracked Gary Jo upside the head with a baseball bat, the games and fights with neighbors, all the stuff kids do.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6C4JDnGyR8DMYUuZNm_JS46-uKDwRGhZmLssegunuVn9DUk232FFEMjgBIq1e5dq_C_YtlfakkJcHKHdUSZnvvpZ0vvly8RFYhPM06iUFPFUVNE0Pd2FCVLPt75E62inQmRcbOMQksv4/s1600/IMG_0915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6C4JDnGyR8DMYUuZNm_JS46-uKDwRGhZmLssegunuVn9DUk232FFEMjgBIq1e5dq_C_YtlfakkJcHKHdUSZnvvpZ0vvly8RFYhPM06iUFPFUVNE0Pd2FCVLPt75E62inQmRcbOMQksv4/s320/IMG_0915.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">My
brothers still love TV sports, so there was lots of football and hockey and a
little golf. I don’t follow sports anymore, and found the broadcasts dull and uninspired,
but it was nice just sitting with them. Of course, we watched on big screen TVs
with those recorders that let you skip commercials. When we were boys, if the
football Cardinals were at home, we had to go outside and physically turn the antennae,
pointing it in the general direction of Cape Girardeau. If it was overcast, the
reception was poor, but it improved when one of us actually touched the antennae
pole. So we took turns standing out there in the cold, so the others could get
the snowy images of our favorite team. What a difference.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRW1szW4ciuZ5UGpr4osvXhT1cPqJ7A2kZKdmbgszRUxtKGDKIfgM0t-w0cGPGru3gsGT1KEYdCs_dlgkLRMfPKdJ7B5mF7lWAh0O2UA0EbSX29sadi6WekZ4TbHg3looPVsdi0Sjr2PI/s1600/IMG_0916.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="48" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRW1szW4ciuZ5UGpr4osvXhT1cPqJ7A2kZKdmbgszRUxtKGDKIfgM0t-w0cGPGru3gsGT1KEYdCs_dlgkLRMfPKdJ7B5mF7lWAh0O2UA0EbSX29sadi6WekZ4TbHg3looPVsdi0Sjr2PI/s320/IMG_0916.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I
stayed with my brother Jeff and his new wife, Bridget, who took excellent care
of us and fed us well. At Gary Jo’s, he showed us his baseball Cardinals room,
stuffed with hundreds and hundreds of St. Louis souvenirs from the past 50
years. His basement is wall-to-wall Beatles stuff, everything you can imagine,
from dolls to lunch boxes to pins to posters, again, hundreds and hundreds of
really cool and rare things.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmxr1fahFd1gPaCC1xHIJBx2OcQHo-MYbTYbxYYFZhItu2J2U5pzWfHNfzrKZqdZGh3j8S7-OXBHylKZerz-rs4loeuRVtFRMksw6kBFktCD6DPAhmnMIbb-lSCw6hFJpWsu6Er20lLM/s1600/IMG_0962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmxr1fahFd1gPaCC1xHIJBx2OcQHo-MYbTYbxYYFZhItu2J2U5pzWfHNfzrKZqdZGh3j8S7-OXBHylKZerz-rs4loeuRVtFRMksw6kBFktCD6DPAhmnMIbb-lSCw6hFJpWsu6Er20lLM/s320/IMG_0962.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Doodle is still everyone’s favorite, wherever we went,
and if you look at the photos on Facebook, most of the comments are for or
about Doodle. I knew I should have learned to tap dance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">We said we would all get
together a couple summers from now, and I hope we do.</span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-19982658769050433652013-01-09T09:41:00.000-08:002013-01-29T09:43:04.088-08:00And Baby Makes Half A Dozen, So Far....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvUiJu90qsNTc9lgGA4HeRT4TaWWW2WZck9sNYHvDAZOdvObpDJ7A9Dp_GpVHnd144RUXGbKZE1OW60ZHM3mlV39JaukZrJe1vI_FNbn2bAGnYVOCshD7C2fIZ8NICGa-zn7690mPjmyM/s1600/IMG_0827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvUiJu90qsNTc9lgGA4HeRT4TaWWW2WZck9sNYHvDAZOdvObpDJ7A9Dp_GpVHnd144RUXGbKZE1OW60ZHM3mlV39JaukZrJe1vI_FNbn2bAGnYVOCshD7C2fIZ8NICGa-zn7690mPjmyM/s320/IMG_0827.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Our daughter Carrie had a healthy little boy this
morning, our <a href="http://oldmaninmyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/10/and-baby-makes-five-with-sixth-not-far.html" target="_blank">sixth grandchild</a>, but the first boy born into the family in 30
years. My second child, Brad, has been surrounded by girls for those three decades, but
seems to have thrived on it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">As for me, having grown up the second oldest of six brothers, with
no sisters, it has been a wonderful adventure having so many daughters and
granddaughters, but we are all excited about this baby boy. His name is Nico.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx9xVxhCdhqhrftc7c35Qido0WT5otMBuBMt4iGtsuai04qwZEp_kpudnoWVaXBd3vfQXjd2gQ6uflQcAx9LPV2AMJZ6vK7ou0YTYAViHnQKnyT0aA8bziQNJ5C_QAEzYKneGGyy0rt_s/s1600/IMG_0830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx9xVxhCdhqhrftc7c35Qido0WT5otMBuBMt4iGtsuai04qwZEp_kpudnoWVaXBd3vfQXjd2gQ6uflQcAx9LPV2AMJZ6vK7ou0YTYAViHnQKnyT0aA8bziQNJ5C_QAEzYKneGGyy0rt_s/s320/IMG_0830.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Here are some photos I’ve received this week of the other grandchildren, six and counting. Am I lucky or what?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIlRQP7L_rGVHZWdBSglPAYHA1eJbb_72bVJye32Lk8_KKTFZBN2phZYnqCkBw0Flu8odzcAq2QQXaep9Zzdej8GXhcYAGxGb5C9vgfBvTgsCwkqFHp2AukYXNneoVeU3p-dr5RHGS1g/s1600/IMG_1007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIlRQP7L_rGVHZWdBSglPAYHA1eJbb_72bVJye32Lk8_KKTFZBN2phZYnqCkBw0Flu8odzcAq2QQXaep9Zzdej8GXhcYAGxGb5C9vgfBvTgsCwkqFHp2AukYXNneoVeU3p-dr5RHGS1g/s320/IMG_1007.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our little Sadie, just turned 2.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZYirVzJ6uo9y4GKOoqaj3IJxs2gInfd_yN5PrYI-lAPHgYWhIbxtK3kGh2zsV2kO02e34uZGAhulYEgX8vfKzxFs_eLljMwAEllf3pWTxLBfoB2cpF_pmYaA0Zd1cMtMwLVxx84HbE5A/s1600/IMG_0826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZYirVzJ6uo9y4GKOoqaj3IJxs2gInfd_yN5PrYI-lAPHgYWhIbxtK3kGh2zsV2kO02e34uZGAhulYEgX8vfKzxFs_eLljMwAEllf3pWTxLBfoB2cpF_pmYaA0Zd1cMtMwLVxx84HbE5A/s320/IMG_0826.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brianne, Aspen and Callie, three wonderful little girls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTS2BZn37yEcghW016VIsd-Vaxk_iqT4pbzM4pCrgMXIJDrr8SGo75m0a8h75GLHLJMDzVK8uEUeJ_E8EMOLi9BM5yZ_BB8icYUoytV8eGrHA7Zmm4cE2KtMKMXDmFjCH7H-zwN32BOU/s1600/IMG_0811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTS2BZn37yEcghW016VIsd-Vaxk_iqT4pbzM4pCrgMXIJDrr8SGo75m0a8h75GLHLJMDzVK8uEUeJ_E8EMOLi9BM5yZ_BB8icYUoytV8eGrHA7Zmm4cE2KtMKMXDmFjCH7H-zwN32BOU/s320/IMG_0811.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Lucy, getting so big.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-41488153442743022792012-12-30T20:38:00.000-08:002012-12-30T21:01:43.210-08:00Is Kelly Lucky Or What (Especially At Christmas)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">We were married on New Year’s Day, a Monday, a new
beginning in many ways. Since then, I’ve described myself as the <a href="http://www.deniablydomestic.com/2009/12/love-letter-to-kelly-for-christmas.html" target="_blank">luckiest man on earth</a>, and that remains true.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I am lucky to have <a href="http://www.deniablydomestic.com/2012/12/just-look-at-what-i-have-to-put-up-with.html" target="_blank">Kelly</a>,
but here’s a modest reminder of how lucky she is to have me, a man who likes having someone to do things for.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFgHZ3nW9eDSpuZEyB9fMKijhfFACCkjiwQITKjgVGay3Vhajwmi_ge04bIO9KL9m_LeRD92nX7K7ZfK2LJBdzvc-1Kw_8GXlJEzjAxsh6zsVMyF_pAVz1O_6WxsF-lzRaVWTV6dDcjw/s1600/IMG_0461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFgHZ3nW9eDSpuZEyB9fMKijhfFACCkjiwQITKjgVGay3Vhajwmi_ge04bIO9KL9m_LeRD92nX7K7ZfK2LJBdzvc-1Kw_8GXlJEzjAxsh6zsVMyF_pAVz1O_6WxsF-lzRaVWTV6dDcjw/s320/IMG_0461.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">One night, after a long day of shopping the flea
markets, she set up this lovely display of her plates on our bedroom wall. She
was unhappy to leave “a hole” where one more plate should go, but she was
nearly falling over for want of sleep. I’ve lived with her long enough to know
that once she gets to that point, she is useless for anything but sleep. As I
tucked her in, she whispered, “If you loved me you would put up one more plate….”
And then she was out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I figured it couldn’t be
that hard. Kelly had put up 11 plates already, and only broke two, so I could probably
manage. But she was out of plates, and out of the wire racks to hang one with.
So I did the next best thing, what any man in love would do to prove his
devotion. I went downstairs to the cupboard and found the exactly right shaped
and patterned paper plate to fill in for the time being, until we could make
another trip to the thrift stores.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVYXr3TefE1RbCDi1oGRBZY369cU8hIUsPH8v07i-Av3_DF7xjWnfKB68voo-IopdzB3KuUKCcBQu0Rh7oJ3MP-cBfaouP0nUQqqXtX9-BwwbDogijBqtrHebMdu70dyjzgzDNNn3fC6k/s1600/IMG_0460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVYXr3TefE1RbCDi1oGRBZY369cU8hIUsPH8v07i-Av3_DF7xjWnfKB68voo-IopdzB3KuUKCcBQu0Rh7oJ3MP-cBfaouP0nUQqqXtX9-BwwbDogijBqtrHebMdu70dyjzgzDNNn3fC6k/s320/IMG_0460.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">When
Kelly awoke the next morning, she noticed the plate first thing, and showered
me with affection. She was so excited, so pleased, that she took photos to
share with her friends in <a href="http://www.deniablydomestic.com/2012/12/just-look-at-what-i-have-to-put-up-with.html" target="_blank">Blogland</a>. She is still so happy with my act of
kindness, these many months later, that she refuses my offer to put up a real
plate in place of the paper one. She's sentimental that way.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3RP79hxrgeTc-EIeecu0ib7iQZEnuaug5eaODzuyNk881u7x5cwnDduOp7phOtuHIZpTqhMc5j2nP4aSI4Ez5YcbvXaZaVewsIgMWR3ee0M4TpxT0Qi0ppRDzldMystXJ9uTxiJ77sWg/s1600/IMG_0446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3RP79hxrgeTc-EIeecu0ib7iQZEnuaug5eaODzuyNk881u7x5cwnDduOp7phOtuHIZpTqhMc5j2nP4aSI4Ez5YcbvXaZaVewsIgMWR3ee0M4TpxT0Qi0ppRDzldMystXJ9uTxiJ77sWg/s320/IMG_0446.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">While
installing Christmas decorations a few weeks ago, we found a small pink tree
that our daughter Carrie left behind. With her permission, I set it up for
Kelly in our sitting room, because I know she loves pink Christmas trees and I
know how much she loves the twinkle lights. Few things bring Kelly as much joy
as sock monkeys, so I thought “what better for this little tree than her
favorite sock monkey,” this pink little guy with the big smile. Kelly<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>came in and saw the tree, then saw the toy on
top, and she squealed with delight. More kisses came my way, I’ll tell you
that.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMGNcx__-ve1Lj1-5HQIuFn-y_t-cnwVuXxxcbGHQtDbJSDV8jvjCLfHZT8FQ4zNB_pY0EFOLXA1zIi6m4s5LAhdwMj0AXYfIXFCZGpU3BdinoMi3ztQKB_yWPaDVhZK6s46gE1qhzIU/s1600/IMG_0504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMGNcx__-ve1Lj1-5HQIuFn-y_t-cnwVuXxxcbGHQtDbJSDV8jvjCLfHZT8FQ4zNB_pY0EFOLXA1zIi6m4s5LAhdwMj0AXYfIXFCZGpU3BdinoMi3ztQKB_yWPaDVhZK6s46gE1qhzIU/s320/IMG_0504.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Kelly’s
new favorite place to sit is right under this tree, with the monkey man watching. While there has been talk
of having to take down all the trees and decorations in the rest of the house
here in a couple of days, she has not mentioned taking down the pink tree. It
just means too much to her. She's sentimental that way.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUwzxayf-ES-C5sXR4sDLz1jz5axwt4WPpM00zP5zDiLaAM-VAUNO0uZexsQMyC9ex_jfRDk4KiokfSsUA37UV5sqguKflA2bA2XvfXfuAwhHL8M5E0mH8i2lcEyhfd7bVZbTxa4cRYg/s1600/IMG_0476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUwzxayf-ES-C5sXR4sDLz1jz5axwt4WPpM00zP5zDiLaAM-VAUNO0uZexsQMyC9ex_jfRDk4KiokfSsUA37UV5sqguKflA2bA2XvfXfuAwhHL8M5E0mH8i2lcEyhfd7bVZbTxa4cRYg/s320/IMG_0476.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">On
the porch, we have a white tree, another flea market find, which Kelly says she
has always wanted. The ornaments are all pretty, but they are plastic, because
they are exposed to the sun and wind and rain. The topper on this tree, a
colorful keepsake from one of our many trips to Wendy’s, a family favorite, has
become a tradition for us, and a reminder of what really matters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">This disposable
display is highlighted by a used paper cup. The neighbors might call it trash, but to us
it represents the true meaning of holiday celebrations. Ultimately, everything
we have is disposable, and all the gifts and foods and trappings of Christmas
mean little. Some people may have a perfect <a href="http://oldmaninmyhouse.blogspot.com/search?q=martha+stewart" target="_blank">Martha Stewart</a> magazine-cover Christmas, but neglect
each other. What matters, what really lasts, is our family, each person, each
individual. The love and kindness that we share, the bonds we form that will
never be broken, that is what Christmas really means, and the humble little
tree on our humble little porch helps us to never forget.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKvleoN_JYed-1YpRun6WXEQ4aArmqtW5OuWwmZjyIS1-T8U9wEIi1dxgTMiSgEF7d7SlGusoJIf5HZEn7EkROFsZDRe9Vb6nrL12GmlhSXzFlqbXAyw7z_3Sq0VR5Rac-SPOiTuxvCyE/s1600/IMG_0477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKvleoN_JYed-1YpRun6WXEQ4aArmqtW5OuWwmZjyIS1-T8U9wEIi1dxgTMiSgEF7d7SlGusoJIf5HZEn7EkROFsZDRe9Vb6nrL12GmlhSXzFlqbXAyw7z_3Sq0VR5Rac-SPOiTuxvCyE/s320/IMG_0477.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Here,
Aubrey shows that she has learned the lesson, too. Awwww….</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9qdEA2ed6YGOTdGE2g5hH9Ta6nJ0wpxg8X3N54mRCqt2HM65fsSyIpVsjH4J1bZRxFtIbReNZRhOR1jW3I5bu25G67pCMuhor6C6xLb-zvvz2jMwU-Do8j2smZIbcyLYKJVJOluGdaU/s1600/IMG_0574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9qdEA2ed6YGOTdGE2g5hH9Ta6nJ0wpxg8X3N54mRCqt2HM65fsSyIpVsjH4J1bZRxFtIbReNZRhOR1jW3I5bu25G67pCMuhor6C6xLb-zvvz2jMwU-Do8j2smZIbcyLYKJVJOluGdaU/s320/IMG_0574.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">So
I ask you. Is Kelly lucky or what?</span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-13716153657825701492012-12-30T12:26:00.000-08:002012-12-30T12:26:40.004-08:00Enough Already With The Ancient Christmas Carols<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/rJcJbVBwREc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">One drudgery of Christmas season – which, as you know,
is much, much too long, starting in mid-October – is the tired old Christmas
carols the stores insist on playing. Perhaps they assume it makes people more, what,
festive, to hear those sleigh bells in the snow, but mostly it just annoys
people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">We need some new Christmas music, not just more tedious
remakes by whatever singers happen to be popular today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Every year I try to buy one or two Christmas CDs, or
downloads the past two years, hopeful that the new recordings will make a
difference, but generally they do not. This year was
an exception, as I came across some pretty good music, and added two songs to
my favorites list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">First was <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007IE7OZ0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=26poulat-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007IE7OZ0"><em>Christmas Cello</em></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=26poulat-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B007IE7OZ0" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> by <a href="http://www.stevensharpnelson.com/" target="_blank">Steven Sharp Nelson</a>, aka
one of <a href="http://thepianoguys.com/" target="_blank">The Piano Guys</a>. The entire set is wonderful, perfect for decorating the
tree, as we did (at least one of our trees), or for just having as background
while reading, or talking, or doing dishes. My favorite is <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Gifts" target="_blank">Simple Gifts</a></em>, which is simply
beautiful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Next was <em><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DZ3EU/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=26poulat-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0000DZ3EU">Christmas Island</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=26poulat-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0000DZ3EU" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />" target="_blank">Christmas Island</a></em> by the one and only <a href="http://leonredbone.com/fr_home.cfm" target="_blank">LeonRedbone</a>. The title track is excellent, but my favorite, barely beating out <em>That
Old Christmas Moon</em>, is <em>Christmas Ball Blues</em>. Great for dancing in the kitchen with
the one you love, and if you ender up under the mistletoe, even better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">So here’s my updated list
of <strong>Five Favorite Christmas Songs</strong>, with a tie for the bottom spot:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><ol>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJcJbVBwREc" target="_blank">Merry Christmas Baby</a></em>, Elvis Presley (another great one for dancing in the kitchen, when the kids aren’t home)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg86S79YFOI" target="_blank">You’re All I Want For Christmas</a></em>, Brook Benton</span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEoRlZF9NJ0" target="_blank">Baby, It’s Cold Outside</a></em>, Brian Setzer and Ann-Margret (although the Ann-Margret Al Hirt version is much more sensual)<br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u1UPPG8mPg" target="_blank">Christmas Ball Blues</a></em>, Leon Redbone</span></div>
</li>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTtZdJ3UXuM" target="_blank">Christmas Wish</a></em>, She & Him<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Gifts/dp/B007IE7PPE/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1356897427&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=simple+gifts+steven+sharp+nelson" target="_blank">Simple Gifts</a></em>, Steven Sharp Nelson</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">What are your favorites?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<ol>
</ol>
I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-75026838709413990122012-12-23T09:20:00.000-08:002012-12-23T09:20:43.824-08:00White Christmas Is A Scam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YQiQ_xveATTLVxHMz-w1g7hCwQxlxNdLBhKMbBUCmQ-Dz8siHfCp2CzW2jXkyE0bIMXPBaeBJ5bbY2Ey-ZJvPiEJg6OC7GLFBu5eXKXQexSPHD6PGXVV0OgKjSs8v7QoHDWTvqi1_A0/s1600/white+christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YQiQ_xveATTLVxHMz-w1g7hCwQxlxNdLBhKMbBUCmQ-Dz8siHfCp2CzW2jXkyE0bIMXPBaeBJ5bbY2Ey-ZJvPiEJg6OC7GLFBu5eXKXQexSPHD6PGXVV0OgKjSs8v7QoHDWTvqi1_A0/s320/white+christmas.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">WARNING! FRAUD ALERT! If you are about to snuggle up in
front of the DVD player to watch <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/white-christmas/" target="_blank">WhiteChristmas</a></i>, be warned that it is not a Christmas movie. Except for the
opening minutes where Bing Crosby sings the song, and then, of course, the
closing minutes where the women in those beautiful red robes join in the
singing, there is no mention of Christmas. None. The plot has nothing to do
with Christmas. The story line is not about Christmas. Except for one brief
mention of doing their show on Christmas Eve, <strong>NO ONE SAYS A WORD ABOUT
CHRISTMAS</strong> in the entire movie. It’s a scam. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">These movies are more about Christmas than <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">White Christmas</i> because they mention
Christmas or have more Christmas decorations in them: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Die Hard </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lethal Weapon </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dirty Harry </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gremlins </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trading Places </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goodfellas
</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When Harry Met Sally </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Edward Scissorhands </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Brazil </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Batman Returns </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Godfather</i>
for Pete’s sake. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Or even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Life Of Brian</i>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’m not saying <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">White Christmas</i> is not a good movie. I’m
just asking you to not be fooled. Watch Crosby sing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">White Christmas</i> on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJSUT8Inl14" target="_blank">YouTube</a> if you must, but then go watch a real
Christmas movie, like Steve Martin in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mixed-Nuts-Steve-Martin/dp/B00005QT9O" target="_blank">Mixed Nuts</a></i>. You’ll thank me for it. Ho ho ho.</span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-28211155172253296682012-12-17T14:38:00.001-08:002012-12-17T14:38:50.123-08:00Another Christmas Tree For My Brother's Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-OHsKK90V37ES4iR5S4HHm2rbeKHfl_d5xU5jiXusb33hDovvOBOG_1KoPilVkJxizzHFU1cKQQHwYkigRRPI8GfwJBcz_Pl69Liqq9IedJuIr-04_WlsXAQW4uwVtkJKFbZATojUHA/s1600/IMG_0425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-OHsKK90V37ES4iR5S4HHm2rbeKHfl_d5xU5jiXusb33hDovvOBOG_1KoPilVkJxizzHFU1cKQQHwYkigRRPI8GfwJBcz_Pl69Liqq9IedJuIr-04_WlsXAQW4uwVtkJKFbZATojUHA/s320/IMG_0425.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Today is my older brother’s birthday, which has many
fond memories because December 17 was the day our mother finally let us put up
the Christmas tree. It never crossed my mind that Gary Jo <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>might have thought he was cheated, having a
birthday so close to, you know, the BIG holiday, and having his party
overshadowed by trimming the tree. If it bothered him, I never knew it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Nor would I have cared, because getting the tree and
decorating it was a BIG deal at our house, and we waited for it for months.
Four of the six of us shared one big room, half of our basement, and we used to
count down the last 65 days until Christmas. And before that, we would count
down the days until October 22, when we could start counting down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">As the 17th approached, one of us would get to ride along
with dad to Heck’s IGA, where they had a rack of bundled trees leaning up
against the building every year. Dad would carefully check each one to get the
one that seemed just right, and he always did get it right. We never had a bad
tree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">One year, when I was 12, dad let me pick the tree, and
it was a thrilling and terrible responsibility. He never minded the mess of
needles and sap. He loved the smell and the texture. Our decorations were
simple: bright red and blue and green and white and yellow lights as big as his
thumb, hand-glittered glass ornaments, and 20 boxes of tensel, placed carefully
and evenly, one strand at a time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Every tree we had growing
up was fabulous, but no matter how fabulous, my mom had them down and out on
the trash heap by noon, December 26.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejok8yODTkqkd7z6De22F5SIR4gRRMo-3qA7Xs5_LK6IYTIMzwO1wNWR8JHzwbd7E0ymBgjRUFH6cr62Eg27U7Pw05mLnShe3_Kw6p-T0dt_WFBCMQlGzk-PxE7FjnHLSKj2PijwTnao/s1600/IMG_0468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejok8yODTkqkd7z6De22F5SIR4gRRMo-3qA7Xs5_LK6IYTIMzwO1wNWR8JHzwbd7E0ymBgjRUFH6cr62Eg27U7Pw05mLnShe3_Kw6p-T0dt_WFBCMQlGzk-PxE7FjnHLSKj2PijwTnao/s320/IMG_0468.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Now,
on the other hand, we feel bad taking any of our seven trees down before
February, and I admit there was at least one year it was still up on April Fool’s
Day. This year, so far, anyway, we have a white tree on the porch, the big green tree in the living room, another white tree in the dinning room, a silver tree in the baking kitchen, a pink tree in our bedroom, a mulit-colored tree in Libby's room and another silver one in Aubrey's room. The other green tree, we gave to Lydia for her new house. That's normal. Right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span> </div>
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<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-20451956848936545232012-12-08T11:19:00.000-08:002012-12-08T19:34:31.126-08:00Lennon? Pearl Harbor? What Does What We Remember Mean?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0tOXbHilOQDIshXBh0bf5DWVYuNTHwCO9Cd9t9_8HL_DEJpWdmYJWUQorMRk2i5veK3KZxmOJU5aRwZVNeqEoehn-rNdu7SHbykB6Wsb1QKpLEdlz-7LSAWAb31Ykbogz7hEa7yQ5SgE/s1600/john-lennon-shot-echo-1980-460-279268875.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0tOXbHilOQDIshXBh0bf5DWVYuNTHwCO9Cd9t9_8HL_DEJpWdmYJWUQorMRk2i5veK3KZxmOJU5aRwZVNeqEoehn-rNdu7SHbykB6Wsb1QKpLEdlz-7LSAWAb31Ykbogz7hEa7yQ5SgE/s320/john-lennon-shot-echo-1980-460-279268875.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve remembered for a week or so that today, December
8, is the anniversary of <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/8/newsid_2536000/2536321.stm" target="_blank">John Lennon’s</a> murder in 1980.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Yesterday, it wasn’t until I
saw part of a newscast that I remembered December 7, 1941, and the horrors at
<a href="http://life.time.com/history/pearl-harbor-photos-from-the-pacific-and-the-home-front-1941-1942/" target="_blank">Pearl Harbor</a>. December 7, of course.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUFNWu3xQBFLireDIDjl3YCIUbPbT8t_1hMBvg-EVCGxByF4nTTEIzVm6Ew9P0zssgbJ2PhB7D7xUqCX_Qqiyr7-UkBqJe2TBhk-dFTgGW8HF1Ll1z2e_W8Y_Y7Wm_yfJrPg73gtUGAI/s1600/pearl-harbor-the-gettysburg-times-1941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUFNWu3xQBFLireDIDjl3YCIUbPbT8t_1hMBvg-EVCGxByF4nTTEIzVm6Ew9P0zssgbJ2PhB7D7xUqCX_Qqiyr7-UkBqJe2TBhk-dFTgGW8HF1Ll1z2e_W8Y_Y7Wm_yfJrPg73gtUGAI/s400/pearl-harbor-the-gettysburg-times-1941.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">My children, at least the two still at home, were
unaware of the significance of either date. “Why should we know that?” one of
them said. Right now, they are in our bedroom with Kelly discussing the most
important date they have, <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html" target="_blank">December 21, 2012</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I wonder how much that is a sign of some generational
difference in cultural literacy, or whether that’s just representative of our
insensitivity and absence of gratitude. Am I the only one to either lack or
have such a distorted historical consciousness?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I apologize to veterans and
their families everywhere, especially those who served in WWII. And to John Lennon
fans, I still feel your pain. As for December 21, I guess we’ll just have to
see, but I suspect it will be an even bigger dud than <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2000_problem" target="_blank">Y2K</a>. Just in case, though, I'm postponing any Christmas shopping or trips to the mall until the 22nd....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">___</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;">Images of front pages from <a href="http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/liverpoolecho/jun2011/1/8/john-lennon-shot-echo-1980-460-279268875.jpg" target="_blank">here </a>and <a href="http://yesteryearsnews.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/pearl-harbor-the-gettysburg-times-1941.jpg" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-59047722998029156852012-12-03T10:21:00.000-08:002012-12-03T10:23:47.461-08:00You Gotta Love A Good Movie, Which Is Why I Don’t Love The Breaking Dawn Saga<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316226424/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0316226424&linkCode=as2&tag=26poulat-20" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0316226424&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=26poulat-20" width="132" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Last year, the girls dragged me out in the middle of the
night for the opening of the new people turning into dogs movie, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1651323/" target="_blank"><em>Breaking Wind</em></a>.
No, wait, that’s not right. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1673434/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank"><em>Breaking Dawn</em></a>. Sorry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This year, Grace saw it with college friends, and Libby was
out of town with her dad, so Aubrey and I went to see <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1673434/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank"><em>Dogs Into People, Part 2</em></a>,
just the two of us. This one was a better movie than the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1324999/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2" target="_blank">Part 1</a>, but that’s
like saying shooting yourself in the foot is better than shooting yourself in
both feet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">When
Libby came back, it turned out that she hadn’t seen the movie, like I thought
she said she would, so she and Aubrey and I went back to the theater. Only
Aubrey was excited about a second viewing. It was fun being with the girls,
especially going out for <a href="http://krispykreme.com/home" target="_blank">doughnuts</a> after, but I’m glad this is the last of the
<a href="http://www.twilightmovies.org/" target="_blank">Twilight</a> movies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span> </div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LAIH4A/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005LAIH4A&linkCode=as2&tag=26poulat-20" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005LAIH4A&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=26poulat-20" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In the past two years, I’ve seen <em>Breaking Dawn
1</em>, <em>Breaking Dawn 2</em> twice, and <a href="http://www.theloraxmovie.com/index.php" target="_blank"><em>The Lorax</em></a> (read about it <a href="http://oldmaninmyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/03/laughter-is-inner-jogging.html" target="_blank">here</a>). So I’m not a big movie goer. Perhaps
the reason is that the movies just don’t move me like they used to.</span></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=26poulat-20&l=as2&o=1&a=6304604556" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<a href="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=6304604556&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=26poulat-20" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=6304604556&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=26poulat-20" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Years ago, I went with a buddy to see one of the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089927/" target="_blank">Rocky</a>
movies, where Stalone fought the Russian. We were the last two people seated,
back row, middle. The movie progressed like all the other Rocky movies, and
everyone was caught up in the excitement when Rocky began his inevitable
comeback. But no one more so than my friend, who, when Rocky finally delivered
the telling blow, leaped to his feet, shook his fist at the screen and
screamed, “Take that, you Commie fag.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">You
gotta love a good movie.</span></div>
I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-88429210491676837272012-12-02T18:36:00.000-08:002012-12-03T11:50:44.522-08:00In Honor Of Zig Ziglar’s Passing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0785289194/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0785289194&linkCode=as2&tag=26poulat-20" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0785289194&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=26poulat-20" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.ziglar.com/" target="_blank">Zig Ziglar</a> passed away last week, at age 86. He was one
of the best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">My first exposure to motivational books on tape was <a href="http://www.ziglar.com/shop/product_info.php/cPath/21/products_id/57" target="_blank">Zig Ziglar</a>. At age 18, I applied to a want ad that said “Christians Wanted,” and
ended up selling cookware across the state with a bunch of boys from one of the
local Baptist colleges. While I sometimes doubted the level of their Christian
devotion on the road, there was no questioning the quality of their listening
material. I enjoyed Ziglar’s humor and humility, and what he said sounded good to
me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I have lots of favorites among Ziglar’s many stories,
but there’s only one I shared with my students every semester. During the lesson
on language and word choice, I’d run through this exercise, swiped from Ziglar.
You take this simple sentence:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><em>I did not say your wife was ugly</em>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Then you change the meaning of the sentence just by
which word you emphasize. Try it yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
did not say your wife was ugly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I did <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">not</span></b>
say your wife was ugly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I did not <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">say</span></b>
your wife was ugly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I did not say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">your</span></b>
wife was ugly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I did not say your <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">wife</span></b>
was ugly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I did not say your wife was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">ugly</span></b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">For speech students, it’s an effective illustration. What
makes it memorable for me, though, is that as I would work through the list,
changing the emphasis on each repeat of the sentence, I couldn’t help but
assume a distinct southern accent, like Ziglar’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">So Zig, now I guess we’ll see you at the top….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=26poulat-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0785289194" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-8655088807370253532012-11-29T03:30:00.000-08:002012-11-29T03:30:04.057-08:00Somehow My Plan Is Askew - What Would Bill Murray Do?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Z8GZYW/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000Z8GZYW&linkCode=as2&tag=26poulat-20" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B000Z8GZYW&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=26poulat-20" width="140" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s so easy to take everyday things for
granted: family and friends, cars, refrigeration, grocery stores, indoor
plumbing. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Remember <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Murray" target="_blank">Bill Murray</a> in <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/" target="_blank">Groundhog Day</a></em>? He has this remarkable
experience where he awakes to the same day, day after day. It makes him
miserable and he goes through a seemingly endless repetition of gloomy days, a
one-day season of doom. Eventually, he comes up with a plan to improve himself
– he learns piano, for example – and to help people in the small town. And, of
course, to woo <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000510/" target="_blank">Andie MacDowell</a> (lucky boy). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">It isn't until he realizes that he is only happy serving others, living
for others, that he is able to break through the mundane routine of his
day-to-day existence. The value of his life becomes obvious to him only after
he recognizes the value in life around him.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jfMMN38LqWnWvk3QiOocFsHmTkIcVl0NVy7adzxYTd8BHhAFz-dsUaV5tl7mJeNVGkMi0byGFub_STdm00CiGdDtbS-A6z6HqK9ykHcaz70A2ikMpjnW_bLE-6z0vun7OOrU4kLsAxQ/s1600/groundhog+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jfMMN38LqWnWvk3QiOocFsHmTkIcVl0NVy7adzxYTd8BHhAFz-dsUaV5tl7mJeNVGkMi0byGFub_STdm00CiGdDtbS-A6z6HqK9ykHcaz70A2ikMpjnW_bLE-6z0vun7OOrU4kLsAxQ/s320/groundhog+day.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While <a href="http://www.johnlennon.com/videos/beautiful-boy" target="_blank">John Lennon</a> may have been right singing
that “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans,” life is
too valuable and too short to not have a plan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000195/" target="_blank">Bill Murray</a> eventually discovered, a good
plan includes goals for making money and for giving it away. A good plan
includes time for family and for fun. A good plan includes good health habits,
diet and exercise, and mental stimulation. A good plan includes other people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">As Andie MacDowell says to Murray, “You couldn’t have planned a day like
this,” remember his response, “Well, you can. But it takes an awful lot of
work.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span> </div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I need to work on my plan.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span> </div>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=26poulat-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000Z8GZYW" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-88038650050202718932012-11-27T13:22:00.001-08:002012-11-27T13:22:38.374-08:00I Have No Accordion, Thanks To My Dad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUbTT4bTN0r0XzN3IV5L6Ya5iLE3LgzKGXkBmgXsab0eK-e-X2Bh_RcCIQEEVTeDGj6CdQadDElBqDBVAlVF5YeONf6md5Q52G3mf4BSdUwGjv980bTz5NDpp4Nnvv62cAZBMvseRTxLA/s1600/accordion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUbTT4bTN0r0XzN3IV5L6Ya5iLE3LgzKGXkBmgXsab0eK-e-X2Bh_RcCIQEEVTeDGj6CdQadDElBqDBVAlVF5YeONf6md5Q52G3mf4BSdUwGjv980bTz5NDpp4Nnvv62cAZBMvseRTxLA/s320/accordion.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">You would think that one way to have peace in your home
is to not have an accordion, but it didn’t work out that way for us. My
grandmother, my dad’s mom, loved her accordion, and like most things she did,
she played with gusto. This was a woman who, following a divorce, could not
find work, so she dressed herself as a man and worked for more than a year as a
lumberjack before her gender was discovered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Before she died, my
grandmother gave her beautiful, old accordion to my dad. Her desire was
that one of his sons would learn to play.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY4-Lj_t6antorU8pBc5K5bZ3NnWzoBLf82p1hPb_clnP4aqmYcTzALHhtHrrJF8n-E2HMTBYMg_lA6g5UVtWXeJePSl22S243MmnIg1MuQQL3Jl7YTMcdTZnbu-OiltXslYETnw35qtI/s1600/DSCN9615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY4-Lj_t6antorU8pBc5K5bZ3NnWzoBLf82p1hPb_clnP4aqmYcTzALHhtHrrJF8n-E2HMTBYMg_lA6g5UVtWXeJePSl22S243MmnIg1MuQQL3Jl7YTMcdTZnbu-OiltXslYETnw35qtI/s320/DSCN9615.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A few years later, my dad, to raise money for church, donated a number of things from our house,
including his mother’s accordion. It was one of his only mementoes of her life,
and it sold for a small portion of its value. I remember my mom being angry
about it, but I was impressed by his choice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t suppose there is a way to measure the loss in
anyone’s life from not being able to play the accordion. Neither do I suppose
there is a way to measure the blessing of having a good father, a man who keeps
his word, and shows that doing what is right takes more than words.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thanks, dad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">_____</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Check out the accordion photo <a href="http://elderly.com/vintage/items/160U-430.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-67145774198747298962012-11-25T16:43:00.000-08:002012-11-25T16:43:06.635-08:00Kelly Is Going To Kill Me When She Wakes Up In The Morning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQK-C6a8Q9sDTu4iFNbShy0_gH1zgmz5iINUFbscOvMaLmDVbtCwm2oRXVuQB0-snl4WsL_0RUzklyME7p2DQFWGXYOBjZ7PPJDtdgpmN3XLaAoQl-F2VtiERGVxcrcO4nDdkwBqgK6s/s1600/IMG_0399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQK-C6a8Q9sDTu4iFNbShy0_gH1zgmz5iINUFbscOvMaLmDVbtCwm2oRXVuQB0-snl4WsL_0RUzklyME7p2DQFWGXYOBjZ7PPJDtdgpmN3XLaAoQl-F2VtiERGVxcrcO4nDdkwBqgK6s/s320/IMG_0399.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I couldn't help myself, her pie is that good.</span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-48443497782964444172012-11-24T07:00:00.001-08:002012-11-25T19:14:24.871-08:00Walmart: The True Meaning Behind Thanksgiving<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">We didn’t shop on Thanksgiving, not wanting to be
responsible for anyone having to work who would rather be home with family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Nor did we shop on Black Friday, or Moron Day, as I like to call it, not wanting to be out
with the crazy people, like those who stood in line with more than 500 other,
um, shoppers, waiting to get into <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=2255956&camp=ppc:431482228&affcode=1482228&searchdef=2194806&k_clickid=07614a3f-4cf8-3e68-6b7f-0000528fcc0e&002=2194806&006=16045203046&007=Search&008=&009=e&012=toys'r'us&021=15900280843" target="_blank">Toys R Us</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7P7zgeraSK90pjDXSnKuapERfJ7gz7XYqDmJlFqUBPcwvtWXgzyFGt1yzzqTXnRkKdYQYXt3LK3XZ2nEeI6imaQPRdPO8UZaR1AieZvhSV0Y3C3xXvzd6gZ5de1YIVF1nhVnhg_-G5Dc/s1600/black-friday-lines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7P7zgeraSK90pjDXSnKuapERfJ7gz7XYqDmJlFqUBPcwvtWXgzyFGt1yzzqTXnRkKdYQYXt3LK3XZ2nEeI6imaQPRdPO8UZaR1AieZvhSV0Y3C3xXvzd6gZ5de1YIVF1nhVnhg_-G5Dc/s320/black-friday-lines.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">But we did shop for groceries on Wednesday, thick in
the swarm of last-minute <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>food buyers
looking for that last treat or two to top off their Turkey Day celebration. For
us, grocery shopping almost always means <a href="http://www.walmart.com/" target="_blank">Walmart</a>. Here are some thoughts on my
time in the store.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Those handful of people complaining so loudly that Walmart
was out of big turkeys by 3 pm on Wednesday really don’t have anything to gripe
about. It’s not like they didn’t know Thanksgiving was coming up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">You can buy turkey seasoning
that comes with a hypodermic needle and syringe that lets you inject the stuff
(ha ha) right into the bird. Doesn’t that seem wrong, somehow?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qKLK8XoI7k3zt-FQBCbq2XjqBUm0JEybXYftESmab8XT-G1HdC1XbRZmPiXM1fYplHnKTqtnUBOGTrJHQYfv5pz9haOSXL8JUqn4wHcinb7t04rdgc6kJGCfyj2up6l89tq0FfDOBo0/s1600/walmart+freezers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qKLK8XoI7k3zt-FQBCbq2XjqBUm0JEybXYftESmab8XT-G1HdC1XbRZmPiXM1fYplHnKTqtnUBOGTrJHQYfv5pz9haOSXL8JUqn4wHcinb7t04rdgc6kJGCfyj2up6l89tq0FfDOBo0/s320/walmart+freezers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">All of the frozen desert bins were hit hard, with lots
of empty shelf space and very few of the really good pies left. Across the
aisle, the so-called healthy frozen dinners-<em><a href="http://www.eatyourbest.com/" target="_blank">Smart Ones</a></em>, <em><a href="http://www.healthychoice.com/low-calorie-meals-menu" target="_blank">Healthy Choice</a></em>-had not
been touched. Throughout the frozen entre section, most still looked fully
stocked, except for the turkey dinners, which were mostly gone, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I made the assumption that
anyone eating a frozen TV turkey dinner was likely alone for Thanksgiving. Is
that a fair conclusion? It made me sad that so many people had nowhere better
to go for the holiday than to the freezer for a <a href="http://www.stouffers.com/" target="_blank">Stouffer’s</a> dinner.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljusDYvOZrN3tvWTMUyoWBDcwdGnH9_UOi8yvFCAwuB_I-0cfG0uOEBYchdxtUh5yraoyKBSv0MUmpCWK0hgsX15nbdvUdpAmMtDSXViTD0AvfCyb_8rHrzldhF5UhtZQzqWybyNCJQE/s1600/turkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljusDYvOZrN3tvWTMUyoWBDcwdGnH9_UOi8yvFCAwuB_I-0cfG0uOEBYchdxtUh5yraoyKBSv0MUmpCWK0hgsX15nbdvUdpAmMtDSXViTD0AvfCyb_8rHrzldhF5UhtZQzqWybyNCJQE/s320/turkey.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Even
turkey pot pies were nearly sold out, not just the <a href="http://www.mariecallenders.com/" target="_blank">Marie Callender’s</a>, which are
pretty good, but also the 88-cent <a href="http://www.conagrafoods.com/consumer/brands/getBrand.do?page=banquet" target="_blank">Banquet</a> pies. That really made me sad and
kinda lonely as I pictured some elderly woman all on her own, again, or some
college freshman, far from home and all by himself for the first time.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOtqkjtRvNeZEmk4mDNaxBDIO7MAG7jytGiW-t9CyZ0iTFiM37MfPvY1i-RxOiY0xqSAFxv2FwyLSBQOh1vhGZOno43QqJBC8UOgUmhQXl5DD9g9YjRyMfaRknKJ-5MHTVU_pHJpuLVY/s1600/banquet+pot+pie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOtqkjtRvNeZEmk4mDNaxBDIO7MAG7jytGiW-t9CyZ0iTFiM37MfPvY1i-RxOiY0xqSAFxv2FwyLSBQOh1vhGZOno43QqJBC8UOgUmhQXl5DD9g9YjRyMfaRknKJ-5MHTVU_pHJpuLVY/s1600/banquet+pot+pie.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Then I realized that I was wrong. They may have been
alone, but at least they had something. Even a cheap pot pie alone is better
than nothing. It wasn’t that many years ago, alone in an empty duplex in some strange
town, that all I had for Thanksgiving was generic grape jelly and a long, long
weekend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’m thankful that has
changed, and wish everyone had it as good as I do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">____</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Images swiped from <a href="http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/e3/57/black-friday-lines.jpg" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://wvir.images.worldnow.com/images/13396344_BG1.jpg" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/01/38/00/44/0001380044790_500X500.jpg" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51X8FinZrPL.01._SR300,300_.jpg" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljusDYvOZrN3tvWTMUyoWBDcwdGnH9_UOi8yvFCAwuB_I-0cfG0uOEBYchdxtUh5yraoyKBSv0MUmpCWK0hgsX15nbdvUdpAmMtDSXViTD0AvfCyb_8rHrzldhF5UhtZQzqWybyNCJQE/s1600/turkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-41191935128476504782012-11-19T02:00:00.000-08:002012-11-19T14:55:42.096-08:00Great Book Idea, Yours For The Taking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJprhq3Ww3yVzV0AXrB_NB2c9Y1IHt29QcVlrLcj8F4QjkTzWQB84inl8PvOT3lee9srGRxlLABRSoA6NcDPV9kYq5PGookS-thW-DXINZcqKh2E7bQ0HRZiZ0Q0D8Yqk5dGJvpfBs-4c/s1600/golf+book+idea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJprhq3Ww3yVzV0AXrB_NB2c9Y1IHt29QcVlrLcj8F4QjkTzWQB84inl8PvOT3lee9srGRxlLABRSoA6NcDPV9kYq5PGookS-thW-DXINZcqKh2E7bQ0HRZiZ0Q0D8Yqk5dGJvpfBs-4c/s320/golf+book+idea.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I have this great idea for a book. You know how some books are about houses that are built over ancient grave yards, and the spirits
rise to haunt the poor people who live there now? You know how some houses,
like ours, are built on property that belonged to an orphanage that burned down
100 years ago and three children died, and they sometimes wander the attic and stairs at
night?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Those kind of books seem to do well, especially when
they are made into movies, and the author gets a check for half a million
dollars. So here’s an idea you can take, straight to the bank.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A young couple moves into an old house that was built
on an ancient golf course. Yeah, a golf course. And the house is haunted by two
bad golfers who don’t get along and a caddy who died there long ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I would write the book, but I just don’t know enough about
golf. I mean, I thought a <a href="http://golf.about.com/cs/2003seniortour/g/bldef_mulligan.htm" target="_blank">Mulligan</a> was when you put whiskey in your coffee, for
Pete’s sake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">But if you know golf, maybe
you’re the one to tell the story. Let me know how it turns out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">____</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo swiped from <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Reading_Golf_Course.jpg" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-82935522689039806282012-11-18T19:13:00.000-08:002012-11-18T19:13:03.739-08:00Wiper Blades Ain’t The Half Of It, Apparently<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmyBE2z3TdfHCSwZIhM3hyphenhyphennvb4j69W4_gQovWnKFpZNxJzhbztPhlP7oEgY6eZn9HJiNLKhoaCs63mcGT2uJiQ77n5ZZvmz5gF77NZYj3N1oPU4_I4mTxrBCiTeVOdsv9-MmxNeKB_YQ/s1600/IMG_3441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmyBE2z3TdfHCSwZIhM3hyphenhyphennvb4j69W4_gQovWnKFpZNxJzhbztPhlP7oEgY6eZn9HJiNLKhoaCs63mcGT2uJiQ77n5ZZvmz5gF77NZYj3N1oPU4_I4mTxrBCiTeVOdsv9-MmxNeKB_YQ/s320/IMG_3441.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Someone
spent quite some time this weekend trying to persuade me that I was pretty much
inept at everything, not just minor auto repairs. As hard as it was to hear,
trying to produce enough evidence to prove otherwise was harder still.</span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-79780904057582785002012-11-12T06:23:00.001-08:002012-11-12T06:23:11.408-08:00When Did I Become So Inept?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxF73f9LsOhvGbOhY3t2CfC7YPlprHec3K8GElUh1Iv8taIB-s5Iz_sxUCSHey9m4qELs_U2pgCuuPka6lccYBJ_5ep9y2Fa0vsNodAcPSgGWo52cAVPbRhMeaZW85GsYc1KJadulM_s/s1600/DSCN8650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxF73f9LsOhvGbOhY3t2CfC7YPlprHec3K8GElUh1Iv8taIB-s5Iz_sxUCSHey9m4qELs_U2pgCuuPka6lccYBJ_5ep9y2Fa0vsNodAcPSgGWo52cAVPbRhMeaZW85GsYc1KJadulM_s/s320/DSCN8650.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I used to be able to look at something and pretty much
figure out how it worked or how to put it together, at least by following the
instructions. I used to <em>write</em> instruction manuals, for Pete’s sake.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">But I was nearly defeated this morning by the windshield
wiper on <a href="http://www.deniablydomestic.com/" target="_blank">Kelly’s</a> car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5Wk6TmJC1FRGhKK2r_Ddy95BlaW7j508ccAcoyWbeKpGX0a7mUFF41pAOFGEAy6rRznUjXncyyKlRrNArJ6t6wz8eNlW6DCQb0iAM3fjDvuvpJBwlhKHd7ehtf7-W3GvNbE7oiBa-ls/s1600/DSCN8653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5Wk6TmJC1FRGhKK2r_Ddy95BlaW7j508ccAcoyWbeKpGX0a7mUFF41pAOFGEAy6rRznUjXncyyKlRrNArJ6t6wz8eNlW6DCQb0iAM3fjDvuvpJBwlhKHd7ehtf7-W3GvNbE7oiBa-ls/s320/DSCN8653.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">It says “Easy To Install” right on the package. It says
“From package to windshield in minutes.” I guess that’s true, literally, but
instead of taking one or two minutes as is implied, it took nearly 20 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The parts are black on
black, the interlocking pieces are small, and the print is tiny, but that
shouldn’t have been a deal breaker. What’s worse, I nearly didn’t make it that
far. The hard plastic package took far longer to open than I care to admit.</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrQ4-kbQxo3rxzrXAwxIHcOfdRX2oOWI_C76zl_iiAFMUqXhevET6vGD6C3oB6mtP2RKJIa5APxBK2QGW1PT2ew9iQdCVxNiv5GxZWRQgVLHi5WOizms_tpjLt04bTXrwdJFJXxvQHDg/s1600/DSCN8654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrQ4-kbQxo3rxzrXAwxIHcOfdRX2oOWI_C76zl_iiAFMUqXhevET6vGD6C3oB6mtP2RKJIa5APxBK2QGW1PT2ew9iQdCVxNiv5GxZWRQgVLHi5WOizms_tpjLt04bTXrwdJFJXxvQHDg/s320/DSCN8654.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I guess my easy FLIP and SLIDE days are over....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">At
last, the blade is installed, but <a href="http://www.deniablydomestic.com/" target="_blank">Kelly</a> is taking her chances. I only guarantee
my wiper work in sunny weather.</span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-87179304353618774072012-11-06T06:27:00.002-08:002012-11-06T06:30:34.935-08:00Presidential Issue 5: Don’t Tell Us Who Won Before The Polls Close<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaaA-6vo9OkZofmDABtlsfOTlOPzFyuSkesNTHlKNtPyboH5OyjXA3QBIQUDPloHh79kPOHp7NkitFjTua4_5l1-3v30OuM9uHClphSa2IKzxkDmTQZZFsmEQFaKLknqx9NWFaul0oDnk/s1600/Vote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaaA-6vo9OkZofmDABtlsfOTlOPzFyuSkesNTHlKNtPyboH5OyjXA3QBIQUDPloHh79kPOHp7NkitFjTua4_5l1-3v30OuM9uHClphSa2IKzxkDmTQZZFsmEQFaKLknqx9NWFaul0oDnk/s320/Vote.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I just read, again, how the media uses exit polls and
computer models and divining rods and palm lines and tea leafs and previous results to <a href="http://t.news.msn.com/politics/counting-votes-how-do-the-media-figure-out-who-wins" target="_blank">project election winners</a> long before everyone gets a chance to cast their ballot. I
wish they wouldn’t do that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s too late this time, but I say <a href="http://oldmaninmyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/08/give-me-president-that-makes-difference.html" target="_blank">let’s elect a president</a> who will <a href="http://oldmaninmyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/10/presidential-issue-4-holiday.html" target="_blank">make a difference</a>, who will stop it. Let them gather their voodoo numbers but make them
keep it to themselves until after the last person votes. Except, of course, for
people in Hawaii. I mean, who wants to wait <em>that</em> long. And California, like it’s
any surprise what they will do there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, I’m off to cancel my wife’s vote….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-25178489154889991532012-11-04T12:30:00.000-08:002012-11-04T12:30:47.336-08:00Amy G: Sorry We Missed You In The Bass Pro Marathon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVzOJLsnMuOxAHaboF7094YvqBDKVy5Ho8_O1eVh3BgwE2Mu9pW8NxvvDfqvlD1BwIVYrF0vsdOLoUJ7aCfyWN6510-PgM78kSoGMxj2HWWrGWCbkbhy6T6QGkBsjLiqaJ14Bv9wtBWpA/s1600/DSCN8461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVzOJLsnMuOxAHaboF7094YvqBDKVy5Ho8_O1eVh3BgwE2Mu9pW8NxvvDfqvlD1BwIVYrF0vsdOLoUJ7aCfyWN6510-PgM78kSoGMxj2HWWrGWCbkbhy6T6QGkBsjLiqaJ14Bv9wtBWpA/s320/DSCN8461.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">One
of my best students, one of <a href="http://www.deniablydomestic.com/" target="_blank">Ms. Anthony’s</a> favorite students, ran by our house
today in the <a href="http://www.basspro.com/" target="_blank">Bass Pro Shops</a> <a href="http://www.marathonguide.com/races/racedetails.cfm?MIDD=2749111106" target="_blank">Marathon</a>. We missed seeing her, probably because
she was a front runner, and by the time we made it out to the sidewalk to
cheer everyone on, they had been passing by for a while.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUY27uuNB-DlRHhHlkvMFEs3nCUygJHmrsH9TPwEdFWFbkkCw3GrLdEBb3_ze2Hu1_7nHKpRCsOg817VWjxZ2wOUSQwTJeCRETL1gLEtu0BI_Zdq1fcDExvAaVQVfP3nbpKZRwvPlTyCs/s1600/DSCN8482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUY27uuNB-DlRHhHlkvMFEs3nCUygJHmrsH9TPwEdFWFbkkCw3GrLdEBb3_ze2Hu1_7nHKpRCsOg817VWjxZ2wOUSQwTJeCRETL1gLEtu0BI_Zdq1fcDExvAaVQVfP3nbpKZRwvPlTyCs/s320/DSCN8482.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Neighbors
clapped and cheered with each passing runner, which was fun. Many of the
runners seemed to appreciate the applause, with a quick nod or wave, but just
as many could only breathe heavily. We are just short of the 16-mile marker, so
we felt sorry for them, knowing they still had 10 miles to go.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiww7q__a0I4Cdaz_TTic2mjzgs0r1zevmrHMZLf46_op9l3DtzezRi47MuzyG6kVx8tFzJPZ338snH55UQct0J7Zau-bBrfVDW5BRlf5oJTO6rPHJe07kVAdi7ujPz_xkHXeBWWDafHs/s1600/DSCN8455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiww7q__a0I4Cdaz_TTic2mjzgs0r1zevmrHMZLf46_op9l3DtzezRi47MuzyG6kVx8tFzJPZ338snH55UQct0J7Zau-bBrfVDW5BRlf5oJTO6rPHJe07kVAdi7ujPz_xkHXeBWWDafHs/s320/DSCN8455.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Getting up early to make this sign was hard, too." <br />That made me laugh, but I'm not sure what the runners thought.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A surprising number of the runners were not, um, fit,
shall we say. But there they were, running, so you have to admire and respect
that. It made me think that I could do it, too, you know, start slowly, running
a bit today, a bit farther tomorrow, a bit more the day after that. Then, by
next November, there I’d be, flying by the house, waving at everyone, my first marathon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">So, I went in right away,
and ate chocolate pie until the feeling passed.</span></div>
<br />
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-42214713833588806652012-11-01T08:08:00.001-07:002012-11-01T08:08:40.696-07:00Say Trick Or Treat, Say Thank You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvPzxVWlNIRmwKxWJLhKGt31TVXLlsXG7U-mvfq0UY_4ZW_eEyqKsftOwo9RgHgXJ7V9JGKaarsQfyqnssJGWDrkiYMd_1OOVYhyXXXOVSHcmROpZZmMXYVO8wCZ31q9caTdWjarpdbs/s1600/DSCN8374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvPzxVWlNIRmwKxWJLhKGt31TVXLlsXG7U-mvfq0UY_4ZW_eEyqKsftOwo9RgHgXJ7V9JGKaarsQfyqnssJGWDrkiYMd_1OOVYhyXXXOVSHcmROpZZmMXYVO8wCZ31q9caTdWjarpdbs/s320/DSCN8374.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
first time I took a child out trick or treating on Halloween, <em>Thriller</em> was the
top album, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><em>ET</em> was the big movie, and Commodore
64 was the hot, new computer. John Belushi and Grace Kelly were both alive, and
the Cardinals had just won the World Series. I’ve done it and loved it every
year since, rain or shine, warm or cold, one kid or seven.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-J22p_GlniOSPutGtNSDjD2CI4eVDVh5411jEqDngbRYgjGjim2eIIjyTJXRvJ7d6vgW734A8fch8CCsWUrva7RJ8C_Xyqhw3RDG2KJv6OBsac9xCIR3uQCPqfYlJBxZTKNLs61GhFs/s1600/DSCN8382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-J22p_GlniOSPutGtNSDjD2CI4eVDVh5411jEqDngbRYgjGjim2eIIjyTJXRvJ7d6vgW734A8fch8CCsWUrva7RJ8C_Xyqhw3RDG2KJv6OBsac9xCIR3uQCPqfYlJBxZTKNLs61GhFs/s320/DSCN8382.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I
thought I would miss it last night, not going out with a costumed kiddie, but
we had too much fun to notice. I missed the kids, yes, a lot, and I miss the
grandkids, but I didn’t miss carrying the toddlers and wheeling them in the
stroller and worrying about traffic and standing on the sidewalk and reminding
them to say “trick or treat” and “thank you.” I enjoyed all that, and am
grateful for all those years of fun, and I miss the kids – did I mention that?
- but I didn’t miss it. I watched the parents as they came to our door, and I
have to say it is fun from the front, too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.deniablydomestic.com/" target="_blank">Kelly</a>
and I were thrilled watching the wide-eyed little ones walk up, the pirates and
soldiers and princesses and witches and super heroes, that one kid dressed up
like a police call box, so happy, so excited, so filled with wonder at what was
happening.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">We
live in a neighborhood that dresses up for Halloween. People come from all over
town, even from nearby towns, to see it all, to be part of it. We usually have
around 1,200 goblins come to our door. That may seem like a typo, but it’s
not. From 4:30 to 9:30 last night, we gave away 44 pounds of candy. It is common
to have 20 or more children lined up on our sidewalk, hour after hour, and the fun doesn’t stop.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6GUShNpnUyHXjkR0XGafhxZG8fHNzRlJiK43WZ6Ha5Bf9zQpgojwNFjtTNMpvf6p0lxDRmf76BmNGzPY_go9VbrtSmoSipFGB6GtBZ6K0yQ8HLHhuqY9pNqR7FaYavo4zsFLEUctkes/s1600/DSCN8333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6GUShNpnUyHXjkR0XGafhxZG8fHNzRlJiK43WZ6Ha5Bf9zQpgojwNFjtTNMpvf6p0lxDRmf76BmNGzPY_go9VbrtSmoSipFGB6GtBZ6K0yQ8HLHhuqY9pNqR7FaYavo4zsFLEUctkes/s320/DSCN8333.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Kelly always puts out a nice spread for the friends who come over before the door-to-door action. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bhWgUgCuhqDE0_WxnLaWZpNTwOr4Wqnm_Rd9YA5bXdgAGfLLsmIRTDvAtYqZSRiwQr2RjM7ohcVVulYACA0LvNWrXGQWKPZjOnKWAPR-7qnWlonAOSQuHKrpSpH1fV3HgEFXAwiUekM/s1600/DSCN8334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bhWgUgCuhqDE0_WxnLaWZpNTwOr4Wqnm_Rd9YA5bXdgAGfLLsmIRTDvAtYqZSRiwQr2RjM7ohcVVulYACA0LvNWrXGQWKPZjOnKWAPR-7qnWlonAOSQuHKrpSpH1fV3HgEFXAwiUekM/s320/DSCN8334.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">She always decorates inside the house, subtle touches of holiday made personal for and to our family. I like that about her.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJo33YPWLAL1ksRFqC6-ujWVSv2SRO-Fii9Uzel23RfkfH5OO9ERzv78JW1ePXHvEdhCw5f6GGZhZ1dj4AIfSCY0V_gP_4bP7aQmJLSugdXgDNTNK3KcjBAsy5oJhqiNr8q20Gxx6L_c/s1600/DSCN8337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJo33YPWLAL1ksRFqC6-ujWVSv2SRO-Fii9Uzel23RfkfH5OO9ERzv78JW1ePXHvEdhCw5f6GGZhZ1dj4AIfSCY0V_gP_4bP7aQmJLSugdXgDNTNK3KcjBAsy5oJhqiNr8q20Gxx6L_c/s320/DSCN8337.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">It doesn't look like much, 44 pounds of candy, but it sure was popular. Some people in the neighborhood give out full-sized Snickers bars. We aren't one of those families. But we have tableclothes for every holiday, every occassion. I like that.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Imu-MoT0kX8HBaX1uT7RrufhA9Ierfj0gUEKsyTTu5TCbXz0bEWMlXksuAJ3iEka9uSyy1OI9hOVK-cmwy3Se8Uw1sMnsWFzsgCR7wnzsz6Rs5silHB4vVJny9s83D8RJhoEvpy4hsk/s1600/DSCN8371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Imu-MoT0kX8HBaX1uT7RrufhA9Ierfj0gUEKsyTTu5TCbXz0bEWMlXksuAJ3iEka9uSyy1OI9hOVK-cmwy3Se8Uw1sMnsWFzsgCR7wnzsz6Rs5silHB4vVJny9s83D8RJhoEvpy4hsk/s320/DSCN8371.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I decorate the outside of the house, based on a photo Kelly found in one of her many holiday magazines.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKsvP9pMl0PdRv_HLy8g-y0Vj_9SqHwkYpVK8ZF55w7SNwhs0JHqVM9uYrDYr412To7scCKzq0O5wZfI8uQwTZ6VWbw-ztPd86gXjcM1IKaZFYYBJXedAH4axjeMYGgKrginYkXE0WHs/s1600/DSCN8377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKsvP9pMl0PdRv_HLy8g-y0Vj_9SqHwkYpVK8ZF55w7SNwhs0JHqVM9uYrDYr412To7scCKzq0O5wZfI8uQwTZ6VWbw-ztPd86gXjcM1IKaZFYYBJXedAH4axjeMYGgKrginYkXE0WHs/s320/DSCN8377.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The calm before the stampede: the Purple English Teacher waiting to pass out the goodies. She said "great costume" and "happy Halloween" so much last night that she woke up hoarse.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-J22p_GlniOSPutGtNSDjD2CI4eVDVh5411jEqDngbRYgjGjim2eIIjyTJXRvJ7d6vgW734A8fch8CCsWUrva7RJ8C_Xyqhw3RDG2KJv6OBsac9xCIR3uQCPqfYlJBxZTKNLs61GhFs/s1600/DSCN8382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq6yCsvp9CWsyCbElUet3GHB2oKBhCT-LtxIqpBqtS51YtgcO9x6HZ2elqFkQ4KDp1mcTcIDPDmPY5a4B-bhyphenhypheni_NdTWqD-elTwkG41LU1-fjdMPC8fXjN7CaulDqe8SU8bfmObMK2hM6I/s1600/DSCN8393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq6yCsvp9CWsyCbElUet3GHB2oKBhCT-LtxIqpBqtS51YtgcO9x6HZ2elqFkQ4KDp1mcTcIDPDmPY5a4B-bhyphenhypheni_NdTWqD-elTwkG41LU1-fjdMPC8fXjN7CaulDqe8SU8bfmObMK2hM6I/s320/DSCN8393.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Part of the queue. It is like this at every house, up and down the street. Fun, fun, fun.</span></span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFkH1OEawP8hsAgoPIODy3V9CAruSSQMN60GL31hLcyISEpU67wmIYH2MfO9K4xPCj_qfqhyphenhyphen9shfWc_p2UTVljAnF8SprloQfXIWsbI_bQM0l0RMWzAlbdhW8WIMnJI5zhZZzj6WHzuc/s1600/DSCN8412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0F-MzuSfTa5anrJ_YddX6ezM5iJVJWQTf12HM3T_wYBX9fw_0k3GPWuHvk0DFhWZkGQhyphenhyphenuK4wX5rtDMNQItcY-9oeH0Mw0LwAlLkhfN0DHvjZpEkvqPaaX7FJvamteOHlfixonRPaC_4/s1600/DSCN8405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0F-MzuSfTa5anrJ_YddX6ezM5iJVJWQTf12HM3T_wYBX9fw_0k3GPWuHvk0DFhWZkGQhyphenhyphenuK4wX5rtDMNQItcY-9oeH0Mw0LwAlLkhfN0DHvjZpEkvqPaaX7FJvamteOHlfixonRPaC_4/s320/DSCN8405.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">One of the parents said that she got married in our house, 26 years ago. We invited her in, with part of her her large family, and she seemed very pleased. We took pictures of her behind our stair rail, just as she stood back in 1986. That was cool.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbYqC-X4zcg6zzBiW9cADAap1SKh_quQRNMDiCQVzkXlGfQkGVQS1szLQ2E5upgS6mxbcOx22xUaEkf3npjsuVcMkvHxzw9Fp3XkzqqDDwV28xFjRLXM7tKFgsOfuIvishf-8dGNmS3M/s1600/DSCN8411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbYqC-X4zcg6zzBiW9cADAap1SKh_quQRNMDiCQVzkXlGfQkGVQS1szLQ2E5upgS6mxbcOx22xUaEkf3npjsuVcMkvHxzw9Fp3XkzqqDDwV28xFjRLXM7tKFgsOfuIvishf-8dGNmS3M/s320/DSCN8411.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Our windows always get a lot of attention, and a lot of favorable comments, another idea from one of Kelly's holiday magazines. One woman said she has a photo of our house on her Facebook opening page. That seems weird.</span></span></div>
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<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-26534801558794115572012-10-31T07:34:00.001-07:002012-11-01T08:13:37.814-07:00You Gotta Love Halloween, Even Though The Grandkiddies And Most Of The Kids Are A Thousand Miles Away<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilszPlaD9PkK59RFbxUX516CqUaDA6phz3aLERfV05ckcEPRVq2Wd1xzK_xCl-4FcDFH0NfnOyzcLc2U3-iKLZvdVrYiS9LPD1A76ieGyq5hTFc0snhWOi0elNDSy_j8RhS43KPPWXo5A/s1600/IMG_0133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilszPlaD9PkK59RFbxUX516CqUaDA6phz3aLERfV05ckcEPRVq2Wd1xzK_xCl-4FcDFH0NfnOyzcLc2U3-iKLZvdVrYiS9LPD1A76ieGyq5hTFc0snhWOi0elNDSy_j8RhS43KPPWXo5A/s320/IMG_0133.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love Halloween, and some of the girls have had a chance to celebrate earlier in the week. Here are photos, starting with Brianne and Callie (I think, anyway), dressed up for a pre-holiday party. Everyone was thrillered. Ha ha....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lucy got two costumes, both adorable, a baterina and Hello Kitty, only cuter. <a href="http://www.deniablydomestic.com/2011/09/lu-lu-is-2.html" target="_blank">Kelly</a> made this one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Baby Aspen in her Halloween jammies. Let's hope she is more alert tonight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This just in: our little Sadie, cute as can be. She reminds me of that old saying, "I can't wait until tomorrow, because you get cuter every day." Am I right? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, here's me with my very own Purple English Teacher, heading off to class. Of course, she gets cuter every day, too. Woo hoo!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Am I lucky or what. Everybody have a fun, safe night.</span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-13676039291319510612012-10-29T18:26:00.001-07:002012-10-29T18:27:59.644-07:00Except For The Taste And Texture, I Like Bananas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">No, I’m lying. I don’t like bananas. They are gross and
disgusting and offensive to my tastes and senses. But I eat them. I don’t eat
them from April through October because <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/06/07/mosquito-bites.aspx" target="_blank">banana eaters attract mosquitoes</a>, but I
eat them. In fact, I ate one just now, because I believe bananas are good for
me. At least I believed that until about 20 minutes ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Here’s why I thought
bananas were healthy:</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Four times the <strong>protein</strong> of an apple, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Energy</strong>: Two bananas provide enough for a strenuous 90-minute workout. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Depression</strong> and <strong>SAD</strong>: Contain tryptophan, a protein that converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier, and limits Seasonal Affective Disorder.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>PMS</strong>: Vitamin B6 regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Anemia</strong>: High in iron to stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Blood Pressure</strong>: High in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Brain Power</strong>: Potassium-packed fruit makes students more alert.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Constipation</strong>: High in fiber to help restore normal bowel action.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Heartburn</strong>: Natural antacid effect for soothing relief.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Nerves</strong>: High in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><strong>Strokes</strong>: Bananas can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40 percent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">It turns out this information, this eRumor, available <a href="http://www.gourmetnut.com/natural-bananas.html" target="_blank">widely online</a>,
is unsubstantiated, which means it is mostly wishful thinking, probably written
by an enterprising greengrocer somewhere. At least that’s what
<a href="http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/b/bananabenefits.htm" target="_blank">TruthorFiction</a> says:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://truthorfiction.com/">TruthOrfiction.com</a> checked with one of the biggest
distributors of bananas, the <a href="http://www.chiquita.com/Home.aspx" target="_blank">Chiquita Banana Company</a>. A spokesperson told us
that bananas are a wholesome, nutritious food and a good source of important
vitamins, minerals, and macro nutrients including vitamin C, potassium, vitamin
B6, and dietary fiber. He said that although he would like to say that
everything in the eRumor is true, he is not able to and added that much of the
email is based on assumption.<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">So you know what that
means. No more bananas for me. Yipee!</span></div>
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<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964211352680719860.post-83785460966699289412012-10-28T19:09:00.001-07:002012-10-28T19:09:11.507-07:00Red And Yellow And Orange, Oh My<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">We live in a fabulous neighborhood, filled with old
homes and old trees and, well, old people. The streets are especially beautiful
during these brief days in October when leafs first turn from green to red and
yellow and orange.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.deniablydomestic.com/2012/01/johns-ill-advised-attempt-to-make-kelly.html" target="_blank">Kelly</a> and I got a rare hour together one afternoon last
week, so we made a photo expedition through our streets. I haven’t been on a
lot of photo expeditions, but the ones where you get to hold hands are the
best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">You can see some of the
photos Kelly took <a href="http://www.deniablydomestic.com/2012/10/worry-for-nothing.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and some I took two years ago right about <a href="http://www.deniablydomestic.com/2010/11/fine-walk-in-neighborhood.html" target="_blank">here</a>. We live in a fabulous neighborhood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">If
you live in a place where the leafs have not all fallen or turned brown, take
an hour, take someone’s hand and take a walk. And take your camera.</span></div>
<br />I'm Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637972629193722377noreply@blogger.com4