MICHAEL & MUSINGS

You Want to Dance? - Zorba

2010-07-06T23:39:00.000-04:00

My Friend - Bucky Patrick

2010-07-06T22:33:00.005-04:00

We worked together as Professional Scouters from 1979 to 84 in the NORTHEAST GEORGIA COUNCIL, ATHENS GA - Bucky ( Walter Edwin Patrick ) Served CHATTAHOOCHEE District and I served Piedmont District. - Bucky went on to serve in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and then on to Columbia, South Carolina . I went to Miami So Florida Council. South Florida and back to Atlanta until 1992.
He and Ruth now live in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Neil Young 1971 HEART OF GOLD

2010-06-21T12:52:00.002-04:00

Live from 1971. Neil digs around in his pockets trying to find the right harp and then plays a new song...Heart of Gold.

My Father's Eyes

2010-06-21T12:40:00.001-04:00

Eric Clapton
MY FATHER'S EYES

Sailing down behind the sun,
Waiting for my prince to come.
Praying for the healing rain
To restore my soul again.

Just a toerag on the run.
How did I get here?
What have I done?
When will all my hopes arise?
How will I know him?
When I look in my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.
When I look in my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.

Then the light begins to shine
And I hear those ancient lullabies.
And as I watch this seedling grow,
Feel my heart start to overflow.

Where do I find the words to say?
How do I teach him?
What do we play?
Bit by bit, I've realized
That's when I need them,
That's when I need my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.
That's when I need my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.

Then the jagged edge appears
Through the distant clouds of tears.
I'm like a bridge that was washed away;
My foundations were made of clay.

As my soul slides down to die.
How could I lose him?
What did I try?
Bit by bit, I've realized
That he was here with me;
I looked into my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.
I looked into my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.

My father's eyes.
My father's eyes.
I looked into my father's eyes.
My father's eyes.

Happy Father's Day - 2010

2010-06-21T12:30:00.000-04:00

Thought I'd share this with anyone who finds this !!

Happy Father's Day 2010

2010-06-21T12:17:00.002-04:00

The following was posted on my facebook yesterday ! Thought I'd share with whoever finds this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJxV_ObpO2k

R I P USMC R. LEE ERMEY

2010-06-11T00:06:00.003-04:00

Subject Gunnery Sergeant Hartman aka R. Lee Ermey

RIP R. Lee Ermey, 1944-2010

It's with a heavy heart that I find myself writing this about someone I've admired for many years. Ever since "Full Metal Jacket", R. Lee Ermey emboded the image of a hard-ass Marine for most of us. He was a person whose personal life was as interesting as the characters he portrayed. Serving in the Marines from 1961-1972 as a staff seargent, he was later given the honorary rank of gunnery seargent because of his ongoing support of military personnel everywhere, and because of his gritty portrayal of Gunny Hartmann.
He had a decorated career before being medically retired in 1972 because of the numerous injuries he sustained in his years of service.

Ermey succumbed to complications associated with pneuomonia at 3:14 AM at his home in San Diego . His nearly sixty film appearances will continue to inspire and cement his legacy for many years to come.
Give 'em hell, Gunny!

Are you a WORDSMITH or a Word Buff

2010-06-10T13:11:00.001-04:00

Word Buff

Most people know of a word buff, but they just found this very interesting...

Did you know:

* That the words "race car" spelled backward still spells "race car".

* That "eat" is the only word that if you take the 1st letter and move
it to the last, it spells its past tense "ate".

* And Have you noticed that if you rearrange the letters in "illegal immigrants", and add just a few more letters, it spells out: "Go home you f*****ng, free-loading, benefit grabbing, kid-producing, violent, non-English speaking assholes and take those other hairy-faced, sandal wearing, bomb making, goat loving, rag-headed, raggedy ass Muslim bastards with you."

How weird is that????

Will Zachary Allen 2010

2010-06-07T18:56:00.003-04:00

Great Oldies TV and Stuff

2010-05-22T12:45:00.001-04:00

http://xoteria.com/OLDIESTV.html

Baby Hummingbird Rescued

2010-05-10T14:38:00.001-04:00

Yogi Berra - In His Own Words

2010-04-26T13:58:00.000-04:00

MASTERS Augusta 2010 " Lefty "

2010-04-19T09:59:00.001-04:00

Mickelson's win a victory for women
By Rick Reilly
ESPN.com
Archive

Phil Mickelson won his third green jacket but having his wife, Amy, by his side means more to him.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- It's not often women win the Masters, but they did Sunday.

Actually, Phil Mickelson won, but for millions of women around the country, it must feel like a lipstick-sized victory. Mickelson, in case you forgot, is the guy who stayed true to his wife. He's the guy who's been missing tournaments the last 11 months while he flies her back and forth to a breast cancer specialist in Houston. He's the guy who didn't need reminding that women are not disposable.

Mani-pedis for everybody!

Also winning Sunday: karma, which proved to be alive and well. And guys who never had a temper in the first place. And endings that make you wipe your tears on the couch pillows.

Mickelson is the guy whose heavy head on the bed pillow lately wasn't self-inflicted. Both his wife, Amy, and his mother, Mary, have breast cancer. Usually, those two are at every tournament he's in, but for the last year they've been fighting, resting, and fighting again at home. And Mickelson has gone back to his rented homes alone.

So when Amy turned up on the 18th green Sunday at Augusta National for the first time in 11 months and Mickelson practically fell into her outstretched arms, you wanted to hug somebody yourself. Mickelson hugged and cried. And his wife hugged and cried. And his coach and his caddy hugged and cried. And 10 minutes later, the caddy was still crying.

So when Amy turned up on the 18th green Sunday for the first time in 11 months and Mickelson practically fell into her outstretched arms, you wanted to hug somebody yourself.

"This is way beyond golf," said caddy Jim "Bones" Mackay, who's been with Mickelson for 19 years. "This is about a guy who loves his wife. This is about a guy who had a really hard year. Twenty years from now, nothing will compare with this. This is his greatest win, by far. Because of Amy, because of his mom, everything. God bless all those women that go through what Amy and Phil's mom have gone through. Because I've seen it and it ain't easy."

"Of all the majors I've been involved in," said Mickelson's coach, Butch Harmon, "be they with Tiger, Phil, anybody, this is the most emotional by far. This year has been a big, big strain on him. His game has suffered. What he really wanted was to be home with his family."

You figured a guy who came into this Masters having played only seven tournaments this year -- and never placing better than eighth in any of them -- would have a snowball's chance. But something melted in him when his wife and three kids showed up for the first time in nearly a year on Tuesday.

"He just had this peace to him that I haven't seen in awhile," said Bones.

Amy was still hurting, so she wasn't able to come to the golf course, but it was close enough. Each morning, Mickelson would take his oldest, Sophie, to a local coffee shop and play chess for an hour. At night, the whole brood would watch dumb movies. Mickelson came through that door each night after work like it was Christmas morning. You don't know how dispiriting it is to come home after a long day to a strange, empty house. Come to think of it, maybe Tiger knows.

"It's been tough," Mickelson said. "The meds that she's been taking have been very difficult and she didn't feel well and she doesn't have energy and she's not just up for a lot. But to have her here, man …"

[+] EnlargeAP Photo/Chris O'Meara
Amy Mickelson attended a golf tournament for the first time since last year's Players Championship.

Amy Mickelson is the kind of walking rainbow that could put a smile on a mortician's face, so when she showed up, everything started looking up. The golf gods started raining favors down on Mickelson's curly hair. On Saturday, golf balls started going into tiny little cups from great distances. Sunday, it got even better:

At 9: ball hits tree, bounces back into fairway. Par.

At 10: ball hits tree, bounces back into playable territory. Par.

At 11: ball hits fan, bounces into short, happy grass. Par.

"Got an assist there," Mickelson said.

Did the guy say anything?

"Ouch?" Mickelson guessed.

The big lefty took it from there.

At 12: looked into his "book of reads" for the 20-foot putt -- the green-studying book that Bones and he spent "days and days" putting together on a trip this year to Augusta -- and buried it. Birdie.

At 13: pulled off the most audacious, swashbuckling shot of his life at 13 -- from the right woods, off pine straw, through two trees (4 feet apart), over Rae's Creek, from 207 yards, to 3 feet. Two-putt birdie.

At 15: smashed an 8-iron from 205 yards -- yes, 8-iron to 15 feet for a 2-putt birdie.

Suddenly, the guy who'd spent a career being eaten alive by Woods had left him 5 shots behind. It was only a matter of lag for par, lag for par, 10-foot birdie and get the Kleenex ready.

"I saw Amy just before I putted," Mickelson said. "That was so great. I mean, I didn't know if she would be there. To walk off the green and share that with her is just very, very emotional. We'll remember this the rest of our lives."

Contrast that with Woods, who spent the week reverting to form -- acerbic answers, sprayed swear words, and curt interviews. He finished fourth, which shows that the golf game is very close. The personality makeover, though, looks like it needs some work.

Soon enough, though, Woods will win tournaments like this, pass Nicklaus, and order will be restored in the universe. But for this one Sunday in a flower-stuffed pocket of Georgia, the good husband, the good son, the good man actually got rewarded.

AARP - Disappointing - Letter to AARP

2010-04-01T08:32:00.000-04:00

SNOPES : CORRECTLY ATTRIBUTED

I find this very interesting reading, so let's keep it going if you agree. It only takes a few days on the Internet and this will have reached 75% of the public in the U.S.A. Seniors need to stand up for what is right, not what the politicians want or big Corporations want.

The disillusionment on the Internet is becoming increasingly repetitive - the country's backbone is waking up. Will they listen? Or do we have to embrace the radicals she mentions?

This was sent to Mr. Rand who is the Executive Director of AARP.

THIS LADY NOT ONLY HAS A GRASP OF 'THE SITUATION' BUT AN INCREDIBLE COMMAND OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE!

Dear Mr. Rand,

Recently you sent us a letter encouraging us to renew our lapsed membership in AARP by the requested date. I know it is not what you were looking for, but this is the most honest response I can give you. Our gap in coverage is merely a microscopic symptom of the real problem, a deepening lack of faith.

While we have proudly maintained our membership for several years and have long admired the AARP goals and principles, regrettably, we can no longer endorse it's abdication of our values. Your letter specifically stated that we can count on AARP to speak up for our rights, yet the voice we hear is not ours. Your offer of being kept up to date on important issues through DIVIDED WE FAIL presents neither an impartial view nor the one we have come to embrace. We do believe that when two parties agree all the time on everything presented to them, one is probably not necessary. But, when the opinions and long term goals are diametrically opposed, the divorce is imminent. This is the philosophy which spawned our 200 years of government.

Once upon a time, we looked forward to being part of the senior demographic. We also looked to AARP to provide certain benefits and give our voice a power we could not possibly hope to achieve on our own. AARP gave us a sense of belonging which we no longer enjoy. The Socialist politics practiced by the Obama administration and empowered by AARP serves only to raise the blood pressure my medical insurance strives to contain. Clearly a conflict of interest there!

We do not understand the AARP posture, feel greatly betrayed by the guiding forces that we expected to map out our senior years and leave your ranks with a great sense of regret. We mitigate that disappointment with the relief of knowing that we are not contributing to the problem anymore by renewing our membership. There are numerous other organizations which offer discounts without threatening our way of life or offending our sensibilities.

This Presidential Administration scares the living daylights out of us. Not just for ourselves, but for our proud and bloodstained heritage. But even more importantly for our children and grandchildren. Washington has rendered Soylent Green a prophetic cautionary tale rather than a nonfiction scare tactic. I have never in my life endorsed any militant or radical groups, yet now I find myself listening to them. I don't have to agree with them to appreciate the fear which birthed their existence. Their borderline insanity presents little more than a balance to the voice of the Socialist mindset in power. Perhaps I became American by a great stroke of luck in some cosmic uterine lottery, but in my adulthood I CHOOSE to embrace it and nurture the freedoms it represents as well as the responsibilities it requires.

Your website generously offers us the opportunity to receive all communication in Spanish. ARE YOU KIDDING??? Someone has broken into our 'house', invaded our home without our invitation or consent. The President has insisted we keep the perpetrator in comfort and learn the perp language so we can communicate our reluctant welcome to them.

I DON'T choose to welcome them.

I DON'T choose to support them.

I DON'T choose to educate them.

I DON'T choose to medicate them, pay for their food or clothing.

American home invaders get arrested.

Please explain to me why foreign lawbreakers can enjoy privileges on American soil that Americans do not get?

Why do some immigrants have to play the game to be welcomed and others only have to break & enter to be welcomed?

We travel for a living. Walt hauls horses all over this great country, averaging over 10,000 miles a month when he is out there. He meets more people than a politician on caffeine overdose. Of all the many good folks he enjoyed on this last 10,000 miles, this trip yielded only ONE supporter of the current administration. One of us is out of touch with mainstream America . Since our poll is conducted without funding, I have more faith in it than one which is power driven.

We have decided to forward this to everyone on our mailing list, and will encourage them to do the same. With several hundred in my address book, I have every faith that the eventual exponential factor will make a credible statement to you.

I am disappointed as hell.

I am scared as hell.

I am MAD as hell, and I'm NOT gonna take it anymore!

Walt & Cyndy
Miller Farms Equine Transport

End Women's Suffrage Petition - Sad - Very Sad

2010-03-25T23:56:00.000-04:00

Rep Thadeus McKotter - Michigan ( R )

2010-03-25T09:20:00.001-04:00

TEXT of REMARKS

Rep. Thaddeus McCotter’s remarks concerning the passage of Obamacare:

So this is what change looks like. If he were here, Mr. Speaker, in this time of momentous national distress, I would remind the President of the United States that he is not the leader of a party or an ideology; he is the leader of our country—one founded, not to emulate others, but to inspire the world.

As families lose their jobs, their homes, and their dreams for their children; as our troops fight and sacrifice in foreign fields for our liberty and security, President Obama’s obsessive-compulsive pursuit of an abominable government takeover of health care has defied the public’s objections, despoiled this, “The People’s House,” and further alienated Americans from their representative government.

As President Obama’s campaign mantra of “hope and change” has degenerated into “tax and hate,” reputable surveys prior to this vote report: the public overwhelmingly thinks that the U.S. Government is broken. Only 21 percent of the public thinks it is being governed with its consent. Only 26 percent of the public trusts the Federal Government most of the time or always; 56 percent of Americans think the Federal Government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedom of ordinary citizens; 70 percent believe the government and big business typically work together in ways that hurt consumers and investors; and 71 percent of Americans think the Federal Government is a special interest.

In the wake of this health care debate’s despicable, dysfunctional process and product, it is clear: The most dangerous special interest is Big Government and President Obama is its lobbyist.

In contrast to Americans’ faith in themselves, every major piece of legislation proffered by the President and his Democratic Congress expands and empowers Big Government at the expense of the people. Possessed of a smug, cynical, patronizing view of Americans as dependents desiring State benefits, this arrogant administration and its enablers have defied the American people and bi-partisan opposition in Congress to unilaterally jam through a trillion-dollar government takeover of health care.

Why? For so many Americans, the answer is that this President and his Democratic Congress think they are smarter than you; want to run your life; and want to make government your ruler, not your servant.

Such hubris threatens not only our health care system but it tears the social fabric and political contract of our Nation. Instead of working for a more perfect Union, the President’s ideological obstinacy exacerbated the disorder and divisions within our Nation, and wrought a crisis of consent—one that puts America’s exceptional experiment in human freedom and self-government on the precipice of implosion.

To do so the President has the power, but not the right. Thus he has merely scored a Pyrrhic victory over the American people. Ultimately, his government-run medicine scheme will be repealed and replaced with free- market, patient-centered wellness, because America’s strength and salvation remains her free people, not a person.

And this November, America’s sovereign citizens will remind the President and his Democratic Congress that We the People do not work for government; the government works for us.

No, the President and his Democratic Congress will not break us beneath Big Government. Devoted to our freedom and a more perfect Union, we will keep the faith, trust the public, calm the times, and heal our country.

HIGHLANDS GRILL - Kennesaw

2010-03-18T11:45:00.000-04:00

Rep Paul Ryan - ( R - WI ) Health Care Reform

2010-02-25T19:36:00.001-05:00

YOU MUST HEAR THIS
Nutshell and Bottom Line Info

Rep. Paul Ryan ( R - Wisconsin )

2010-02-25T19:27:00.001-05:00

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) opening statement at the Markup of the FY 2010 Budget

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LET ME SEE IF I GOT THIS RIGHT

2010-02-24T10:55:00.002-05:00

LET ME SEE IF I GOT THIS RIGHT.

IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR.
IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY.
IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT.
IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE JAILED.
IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN.
IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED.
IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT.
IF YOU CROSS THE U.S. BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET
 A JOB,
 A DRIVERS LICENSE,
 SOCIAL SECURITY CARD,
 WELFARE,
 FOOD STAMPS,
 CREDIT CARDS,
 SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE,
 FREE EDUCATION,
 FREE HEALTH CARE,
 A LOBBYIST IN WASHINGTON
 BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE
 THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR COUNTRY'S FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON'T GET ENOUGH RESPECT
 AND, IN MANY INSTANCES, YOU CAN VOTE.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HAD A FIRM GRASP ON THE SITUATION.

Bobwhite Quail Habitat blog

2010-02-21T09:52:00.000-05:00

http://www.morequail.blogspot.com/

BILL ALLENS' THE UNFORGETTABLES

2010-02-18T00:45:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, November 25, 2009The Unforgettables and Other True FablesOrder Your Copy by December 31!

Everyone who cares deeply about pointing dogs, upland game and field trials will want copies of Bill Allen’s The Unforgettables and Other True Fables.

The collection includes the original seven Unforgettable, five later showpieces, and work never before publicly published, penned by the writer who competed in and wrote of trials in four decades, and for the American Field during the 50’s, 60’s and 70’a—a period regarded by many as the premiere years for Field Trials held on wild upland game in North America.

The Unforgettables deliver a panoramic and hilarious taste of untold yarns from Saskatchewan and Manitoba to Georgia’s live oaks, Texas’ pecan groves, Mississippi’s vast river bottoms, Illinois’ Egypt, Indiana’s Dunes and the Blue Ridge.

Allen has been called “the incomparable reporter” by his editor, Bernard Matthys. Collier Smith once said “you can smell the horse sweat and almost hear a hassling dog” when you read Bill Allen.

Funny, touching, revealing as well as daring, the prose in this volume has a style and flavor that truly cannot be imitated and never surpassed in its love and respect for what Allen calls “the forgotten little dog, so often eclipsed by human egos”.

In this volume, the author leans heavily on the feeble efforts of men to match the heroics of their canine charges. He lays bare his own ineptitude and “learning curve” along with accurate accounts of his own errors alongside the triumphs of his friends.

A fond critic once said of Allen reporting a trial that “if there was no appreciable drama, he would craft one for the report that rivaled Shakespeare, Chekhov and Arthur Miller....”

In this volume, there is mostly farce and hilarity and no dark matching of conflicting adversaries. Like Walt Kelly’s Pogo, Allen has seen the circus and it is us.

_____________________________________________________________________

A sure to be highly collectible first edition of The Unforgettables is being offered at Presale by the publisher, Strideaway. To reserve your copy, please fill out the PDF ORDER FORM available in the right hand column of this page and send it, along with payment, to the address indicated.

Or you can also order the book online using our Secure PayPal Shopping Cart by clicking on the box that reads ORDER ONLINE. (This option will be available in a few days.)

$24.95 plus $4.95 (priority shipping)

This is a limited edition printing. PRESALE orders will be available through December 31. The book will ship in January.

History Lesson - ( Sort of ? )

2010-02-17T12:36:00.000-05:00

For those that don't know about history ... Here is a condensed version:

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.

The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:

1. Liberals, and
2. Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so early humans were content to stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed and they flourished.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to BBQ at night to eat with their beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement.

Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly BBQ's and doing the sewing, fetching, juggling, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.

Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women and are referred to girlie-men. Noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of redistributing the meat and beer that conservatives provided to those that did not care to help.

Over the years conservatives were symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant, because an elephant is wise, remembers the past, and rarely makes the same mistake twice. After years of character observation, Liberals are symbolized by the jackass because, well, need we elaborate?

Modern liberals add lime to their beer, but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare. Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, unemployed artists, group therapists, and actors detached from real life are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer or bourbon, mostly Bud, Miller, or anything distilled from Tennessee or Kentucky. They eat red meat red and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen,medical doctors, police officers, engineers, corporate executives, athletes, members of the military, airline pilots and generally anyone who works productively and contributes to the economy. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America . They sheepishly crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get more for nothing.

Here ends today's lesson in world history:

It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to angrily respond to the above before forwarding it.

A Conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other true believers and to more liberals just to piss them off.

And there you have it…Let your next action reveal your true self.

SANTANA - MOONDANCE - Transcendance

2010-02-07T04:58:00.000-05:00

Harry Truman

2010-02-04T20:00:00.001-05:00

Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made as many, or more important decisions regarding our nation's history as any of the other 42 Presidents preceding him. However,a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.

The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence Missouri. His wife had inherited the house from her mother and father and other than their years in the White House, they lived their entire lives there.

When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.

After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was no Secret Service following them.

When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, "You don't want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale."

Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, "I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise."

As president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food.

Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale. (sic. Illinois)

Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, "My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!

I say dig him up and clone him!!

Virtual Wall - Georgia

2010-02-04T09:17:00.002-05:00

http://www.virtualwall.org/istate/istatga.htm

Few of us were not touched by the death of a person in our community during the Viet Nam War.

Here is a "Virtual" Vietnam Wall, locating every fatal casualty on the wall, by state and home town. Lick on the URL. Then click on state, then town, county of city. Sometimes there is an image. Always a brief Biography.WONDERFUL !

Click here: Vietnam War casualties from Georgia

Bill Allen - The Unforgettables and Other True Fables

2010-01-29T11:09:00.001-05:00

SAG - 2010

2010-01-24T15:33:00.002-05:00

PART ONE

PART TWO

BETTY WHITE JAN 23 2010

2010-01-24T15:20:00.001-05:00

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Robert " Bob" L. Howard - RIP

2010-01-22T09:03:00.004-05:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34579550#34579550

Brian Williams Marks Passing of Most Decorated Modern War Hero,
Colonel Robert Howard

By Brad Wilmouth (Bio | Archive)

On Wednesday’s NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams took a moment to remember Vietnam War veteran, retired Colonel Robert Howard, who was awarded many honors for his heroic service, including the Medal of Honor, eight Purple Hearts, four Bronze Stars, and two Dinstinguished Service Crosses. Williams began his tribute: "We have a brief special word tonight about a very special man whose story you should know about, in part because his story will be told for generations to come. Robert Howard might have been the toughest American alive while he was among us. Bob was the only man ever to be nominated for the Medal of Honor three times for three separate acts of staggering heroism in combat."

After recounting some of the honors bestowed upon Colonel Howard, Williams related: "It's believed Bob Howard was the most heavily-decorated American veteran of the modern era, period."

The NBC anchor further recounted: "In one 54-month period he was wounded 14 times. He served five tours of duty in Vietnam. And in recent years, he loved his trips to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit the men and women in uniform and in the fight there."

Williams concluded: "That old expression, ‘They don't make them like him anymore,’ well, they don't. Bob Howard died today. He was 70 years old. Cancer did what the enemy never could do. It got him and brought him down. He leaves behind three children, several grandchildren, a lot of us who were proud to be his friend. In addition, Bob Howard leaves behind a grateful nation."

Below is a complete transcript of the piece by Williams from the Wednesday, December 23, NBC Nightly News:

BRIAN WILLIAMS: We have a brief special word tonight about a very special man whose story you should know about, in part because his story will be told for generations to come. Robert Howard might have been the toughest American alive while he was among us. Bob was the only man ever to be nominated for the Medal of Honor three times for three separate acts of staggering heroism in combat. But you can only receive one Medal of Honor per lifetime, and so that's what he got in 1971 from President Nixon. That's not all he got, though. He received eight Purple Hearts, eight of them. There were Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars, two Distinguished Service Crosses. It's believed Bob Howard was the most heavily-decorated American veteran of the modern era, period.

He was a proud product of Alabama, and he let you know it. He was a Green Beret, Special Forces. While technically he fought in the Vietnam War, he fought in Laos and Cambodia and all kinds of other places where we were once told U.S. forces weren't fighting at the time. In one 54-month period he was wounded 14 times. He served five tours of duty in Vietnam. And in recent years, he loved his trips to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit the men and women in uniform and in the fight there.

Bob had two master's degrees, but for the most part he was a soldier with only one employer. When he retired from service back in 2006, as a full colonel, he'd been an employee of the US government in all for 50 years. That old expression, "They don't make them like him anymore," well, they don't. Bob Howard died today. He was 70 years old. Cancer did what the enemy never could do. It got him and brought him down. He leaves behind three children, several grandchildren, a lot of us who were proud to be his friend. In addition, Bob Howard leaves behind a grateful nation.

—Brad Wilmouth is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2009/12/25/brian-williams-marks-passing-most-decorated-modern-war-hero-colonel-r#ixzz0dLntcpEz

BILL ALLEN - Cato Depot 1/20/ 2010

2010-01-21T21:11:00.001-05:00

Cato's Depot
catodepot.blogspot.com

Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Free At Last !!! The People's Seat....

As a young journalist and speech writer, I was in the midst of the earliest temporizing around the issue of segregation and voting rights in the south.

I sat with my friend Hughes Spalding Jr., on the platform when his Harvard roommate John F. Kennedy announced his presidential candidacy in historic Warm Springs, Georgia in 1960.

Thus, it was with pride that I sobbed audibly and welcomed the tears that ran down my cheeks when Dr. King spoke that day in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

Then, MLK was assassinated and a nightmare unfolded. The worst of it was the imprisonment of 14% of the population of the United States on a political plantation of hatred, fear, envy and dissimulated demagogy.

Dr. King cried “Free at Last !!!”

But, despite the fact that mainly Christians stood with Dr. King and conservatives like Charlton Heston walked across the Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama in defiance with him, the lunatic Left in this country has skillfully equated reason and traditionalism with “racism” to the extent that truly great minds like Dr. Thomas Sowell and Dr. Walter Williams are called “Uncle Toms” by ignorant sheeple.

Such has been the case in many precincts. In Massachusetts, for instance, where the vapid, puppet-like, maundering wastrel younger brother of JFK took the US senate seat he vacated, and was returned for 40 years, for love of Jack Kennedy.

Few remember that a great African American Edward Brooke, was subsequently elected to the senate in 1966. He was a Republican and served for two terms.

On Tuesday, January 19, the second Historic “Tea Party” was held in the Bay State, and the “Scott Heard Around The World” became the first Republican senator there since Brooke.

Scott Brown won the election with four words, when he corrected the vacuous and notorious air head David Gergen, who referred to the prize as “Ted Kennedy’s seat”.

“It’s The People’s Seat”, Scott Brown said.

And that was , for all purposes, the end of the campaign.

The people put their seal on Scott Brown’s statement, and wile maybe 30 % of America’s electorate missed it, and its significance, the thrill quicken the hearts of millions, and not just in Massachusetts.

There is very little outside of vicious thuggery and fraud that the Marxists and Left ideologues can do between now and November, but grumble and mutter about Tea Parties.

The handy word “racist” is tattered and trash. Massachusetts is where the farmers took up arms and chased the redcoats from bloody Breed;’a Hill.

Massachusetts is where the Abolition Movement began.

Massachusetts is where the Civil Rights movement found its most charismatic white Christian leadership, its funding and white martyrs.

And, Massachusetts shouts for all the world to hear today:

“Free at Last, Oh Great God ! Free at last !”
Posted by Bill Allen at 11:50 AM

Actual Craig's List AD

2010-01-15T14:03:00.002-05:00

This is too funny not to pass on...enjoy
AN ACTUAL CRAIG'S LIST PERSONALS AD

To the Guy Who Tried to Mug Me in Downtown Savannah night before last.
Date: 2009-05-27, 1 :43 a.m. E.S.T.

I was the guy wearing the black Burberry jacket that you demanded that I hand over, shortly after you pulled the knife on me and my girlfriend, threatening our lives. You also asked for my girlfriend's purse and earrings. I can only hope that you somehow come across this rather important message.

First, I'd like to apologize for your embarrassment; I didn't expect you to actually crap in your pants when I drew my pistol after you took my jacket.. The even ing was not that cold, and I was wearing the jacket for a reason.. My girlfriend had just bought me that Kimber Model 1911 ....45 ACP pistol for my birthday, and we had picked up a shoulder holster for it that very evening. Obviously you agree that it is a very intimidating weapon when pointed at your head ... isn't it?!

I know it probably wasn't fun walking back to wherever you'd come from with that brown sludge in your pants. I'm sure it was even worse walking bare-footed since I made you leave your shoes, cell phone, and wallet with me. [That prevented you from calling or running to your buddies to come help mug us again].

After I called your mother or "Momma" as you had her listed in your cell, I explained the entire episode of what you'd done. Then I went and filled up my gas tank as well as those of four other people in the gas station, -- on your credit card. The guy with the big motor home took 150 gallons and was extremely grateful!
I gave your shoes to a homeless guy outside Vinnie Van Go Go's, along with all the cash in your wallet. [That made his day!]

I then threw your wallet into the big pink "pimp mobile" that was parked at the curb .... after I broke the windshield and side window and keyed the entire driver's side of the car.

Later, I called a bunch of phone sex numbers from your cell phone. Ma Bell just now shut down the line, although I only used the phone for a little over a day now, so what 's going on with that? Earlier, I managed to get in two threatening phone calls to the DA's office and one to the FBI, while mentioning President Obama as my possible target.

The FBI guy seemed really intense and we had a nice long chat (I guess while he traced your number etc.).

In a way, perhaps I should apologize for not killing you .... but I feel this type of retribution is a far more appropriate punishment for your threatened crime. I wish you well as you try to sort through some of these rather immediate pressing issues, and can only hope that you have the opportunity to reflect upon, and perhaps reconsider, the career path you've chosen to pursue in life..

Remember, next time you might not be so lucky.
Have a good day!

Thoughtfully yours,
Alex

New Found Pictures RETRO

2010-01-15T13:37:00.002-05:00

KATIE and KRISTIE

AVATAR - self ????

2010-01-15T13:34:00.002-05:00

I an trying to get a correct caricature.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!

2010 - November 2

2010-01-11T13:02:00.001-05:00

Old Fogeys

2010-01-07T11:03:00.003-05:00

OLD FOGEY PRIDE

I'm passing this on as I did not want to be the only old FOGEY receiving it. Actually, it's not a bad thing to be called, as you will see.

Old FOGEYs are easy to spot at sporting events; during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner, Old Fogeys remove their caps and stand at attention and sing without embarrassment. They know the words and believe in them.

Old Fogeys remember World War II, Pearl Harbor, GuadalCanal, Normandy and Hitler. They remember the Atomic Age, the Korean War, The Cold War , the Jet Age and the Moon Landing. They remember the 50 plus Peacekeeping Missions from 1945 to 2005, not to mention Vietnam.

If you bump into an Old Fogey on the sidewalk he will apologize.

If you pass an Old Fogey on the street, he will nod or tip his cap to a lady.

Old Fogeys trust strangers and are courtly to women.

Old Fogeys hold the door for the next person and always, when walking, make certain the lady is on the inside for protection.

Old Fogeys get embarrassed if someone curses in front of women and children and they don't like any filth or dirty language on TV or in movies.

Old Fogeys have moral courage and personal integrity.

Old Fogeys seldom brag unless it's about their children or grandchildren.

It's the Old Fogeys who know our great country is protected, not by politicians, but by the young men and women in the military serving their country.

This country needs Old Fogeys with their work ethic, sense of responsibility, pride in their country and decent values.

We need them now more than ever.

Thank God for Old Fogeys!

Pass this on to all the Old Fogeys you know.

I was taught to respect my elders. It's just getting harder to find them..

The Allen Family 1955

2010-01-03T16:19:00.002-05:00

Just for You - Ringo

2009-12-30T09:14:00.001-05:00

You come on like a dream, peaches and cream,
Lips like strawberry wine.
You're sixteen, you're beautiful and you're mine. (mine, all mine)

You're all ribbons and curls, ooh, what a girl,
Eyes that sparkle and shine.
You're sixteen, you're beautiful and you're mine.
(mine, all mine, mine, mine)

You're my baby, you're my pet,
We fell in love on the night we met.
You touched my hand, my heart went pop,
Ooh, when we kissed, i could not stop.

You walked out of my dreams, into my arms,
Now you're my angel divine.
You're sixteen, you're beautiful, and you're mine.

You're my baby, you're my pet,
We fell in love on the night we met.
You touched my hand, my heart went pop,
Ooh, when we kissed, i could not stop.

You walked out of my dreams, into my car,
Now you're my angel divine.
You're sixteen, you're beautiful, and you're mine.

You're sixteen, you're beautiful, and you're mine.

You're sixteen, you're beautiful, and you're mine.

All mine, all mine, all mine.

All mine, all mine, all mine.

All mine, all mine, all mine, all mine, but i do.

You are mine!

EVIAN ROLLER BABIES

2009-12-21T20:42:00.000-05:00

ROLLER BABIES -

2009-12-21T20:38:00.001-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQcVllWpwGs

Worlds Funniest Commercial

2009-12-20T00:11:00.001-05:00

DAVE CLARK 5 -

2009-12-19T00:06:00.000-05:00

JIMMY VALVANO ESPY AWARDS 1993

2009-12-09T16:10:00.000-05:00

See this Movie - IF YOU DARE

2009-12-08T15:57:00.002-05:00

EVERYBODY'S FINE

I recommend this movie!
Not many will see it, because it is painfully true.
Great Acting by Lead Actor DeNiro -

Paul McCartney ( want to ) "Come Home "

2009-12-08T15:44:00.000-05:00

object width="425" height="344">

Ferris Buehler "" Twist & Shout""

2009-12-07T13:19:00.001-05:00

Interesting Visual

2009-12-01T08:43:00.000-05:00

http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html

Bobby Vinton

2009-11-27T23:16:00.001-05:00

I love how your eyes close whenever you kiss me
And when I'm away from you I love how you miss me
I love the way you always treat me tenderly
But, darling, most of all I love how you love me.(love how you love me)

I love how your heart beats whenever I hold you
I love how you think of me without being told to
I love the way your touch is always heavenly
But, darling, most of all I love how you love me (love how you love me)

[Spoken]
I love how your eyes close whenever you kiss me
And when I'm away from you I love how you miss me
I love the way your touch is always heavenly
But, darling, most of all I love how you love me (love how you love me)

I love how you hug me (love how you hug me)
I love how you squeeze me, tease me, please me
Love how you love me
I love how you love me.

Teach Me to Dance

2009-11-23T10:05:00.002-05:00

The Beatles 1964 I SAW HER STANDING THERE

2009-11-22T15:58:00.001-05:00

LIBERTY BELL FOR FALLEN VETERANS

2009-11-18T15:47:00.001-05:00

ARCADE FIRE - WAKE UP

2009-11-16T11:33:00.002-05:00

this is placed here for MY SON WILL ALLEN -
He put me onto this AWESOME MUSIC

VETERANS DAY - NOV 11 2009 Message

2009-11-15T12:41:00.005-05:00

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

On November 11th each year we honor all our past and present Veterans. Please remeber that with out the dedication and sacrifice of the members of our Armed Forces we would not have the the freedoms that we have today.----- Original Message -----
From:
Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2009 2:31 PM
Subject: Old Veterans

Too Important --

Lest we forget as time moves them away from us…

Old Veterans

SOON TO BE GONE By Capt. Steven Ellison MD

A MILITARY DOCTOR

This should be required reading in every school and college in our country. This Captain, an Army doctor, deserves a medal himself for putting this together. If you choose not to pass it on, fine, but I think you will want to, after you read it.

I am a doctor specializing in the Emergency Departments of the only two military Level One-Trauma Centers, both in San Antonio , TX and they care for civilian Emergencies as well as military personnel. San Antonio has the largest military retiree population in the world living here. As a military doctor, I work long hours and the pay is less than glamorous. One tends to become jaded by the long hours, lack of sleep, food, family contact and the endless parade of human suffering passing before you. The arrival of another ambulance does not mean more pay, only more work.

Most often, it is a victim from a motor vehicle crash.

Often it is a person of dubious character who has been shot or stabbed. With our large military retiree population, it is often a nursing home patient. Even with my enlisted service and minimal combat experience in Panama , I have caught myself groaning when the ambulance brought in yet another sick, elderly person from one of the local retirement centers that cater to military retirees. I had not stopped to think of what citizens of this age group represented.

I saw 'Saving Private Ryan.' I was touched deeply. Not so much by the carnage, but by the sacrifices of so many. I was touched most by the scene of the elderly survivor at the graveside, asking his wife if he'd been a good man. I realized that I had seen these same men and women coming through my Emergency Dept. and had not realized what magnificent sacrifices they had made. The things they did for me and everyone else that has lived on this planet since the end of that conflict are priceless.

Situation permitting, I now try to ask my patients about their experiences. They would never bring up the subject without the inquiry. I have been privileged to an amazing array of experiences, recounted in the brief minutes allowed in an Emergency Dept. encounter. These experiences have revealed the incredible individuals I have had the honor of serving in a medical capacity, many on their last admission to the hospital.

There was a frail, elderly woman who reassured my young enlisted medic, trying to start an IV line in her arm. She remained calm and poised, despite her illness and the multiple needle-sticks into her fragile veins. She was what we call a 'hard stick.' As the medic made another attempt, I noticed a number tattooed across her forearm. I touched it with one finger and looked into her eyes. She simply said, ' Auschwitz .' Many of later generations would have loudly and openly berated the young medic in his many attempts. How different was the response from this person who'd seen unspeakable suffering.

Also, there was this long retired Colonel, who as a young officer had parachuted from his burning plane over a Pacific Island held by the Japanese. Now an octogenarian, he had a minor cut on his head from a fall at his home where he lived alone. His CT scan and suturing had been delayed until after midnight by the usual parade of high priority ambulance patients. Still spry for his age, he asked to use the phone to call a taxi, to take him home, then he realized his ambulance had brought him without his wallet. He asked if he could use the phone to make a long distance call to his daughter who lived 7 miles away. With great pride we told him that he could not, as he'd done enough for his country an d the least we could do was get him a taxi home, even if we had to pay for it ourselves. My only regret was that my shift wouldn't end for several hours, and I couldn't drive him myself.

I was there the night M/Sgt Roy Benavidez came through the Emergency Dept. for the last time. He was very sick. I was not the doctor taking care of him, but I walked to his bedside and took his hand. I said nothing. He was so sick, he didn't know I was there. I'd read his Congressional Medal of Honor citation and wanted to shake his hand. He died a few days later.

The gentleman who served with Merrill's Marauders,

the survivor of the Bataan Death March,

the survivor of Omaha Beach,

the 101 year old World War I veteran.

The former POW held in frozen North Korea,

The former Special Forces medic - now with non-operable liver cancer,

the former Viet Nam Corps Commander.

I remember these citizens.

I may still groan when yet another ambulance comes in, but now I am much more aware

I have seen a Congress who would turn their back on these individuals who've sacrificed so much to protect our liberty. I see later generations that seem to be totally engrossed in abusing these same liberties, won with such sacrifice.

It has become my personal endeavor to make the nurses and young enlisted medics aware of these amazing individuals when I encounter them in our Emergency Dept. Their response to these particular citizens has made me think that perhaps all is not lost in the next generation.

My experiences have solidified my belief that we are losing an incredible generation, and this nation knows not what it is losing. Our uncaring government and ungrateful civilian populace should all take note. We should all remember that we must 'Earn this.'

Written By CAPT. Stephen R. Ellison, M.D. US Army
If it weren't for the United States military,
there'd be NO United States of America

VETERANS DAY - NOV 11 2009 MessageESSAGE

2009-11-15T12:41:00.001-05:00

Contacts
To:

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

On November 11th each year we honor all our past and present Veterans. Please remeber that with out the dedication and sacrifice of the members of our Armed Forces we would not have the the freedoms that we have today.
----- Original Message -----
From:
Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2009 2:31 PM
Subject: Old Veterans

Too Important --

Lest we forget as time moves them away from us…

Old Veterans

SOON TO BE GONE By Capt. Steven Ellison MD

A MILITARY DOCTOR

This should be required reading in every school and college in our country. This Captain, an Army doctor, deserves a medal himself for putting this together. If you choose not to pass it on, fine, but I think you will want to, after you read it.

I am a doctor specializing in the Emergency Departments of the only two military Level One-Trauma Centers, both in San Antonio , TX and they care for civilian Emergencies as well as military personnel. San Antonio has the largest military retiree population in the world living here. As a military doctor, I work long hours and the pay is less than glamorous. One tends to become jaded by the long hours, lack of sleep, food, family contact and the endless parade of human suffering passing before you. The arrival of another ambulance does not mean more pay, only more work.

Most often, it is a victim from a motor vehicle crash.

Often it is a person of dubious character who has been shot or stabbed. With our large military retiree population, it is often a nursing home patient. Even with my enlisted service and minimal combat experience in Panama , I have caught myself groaning when the ambulance brought in yet another sick, elderly person from one of the local retirement centers that cater to military retirees. I had not stopped to think of what citizens of this age group represented.

I saw 'Saving Private Ryan.' I was touched deeply. Not so much by the carnage, but by the sacrifices of so many. I was touched most by the scene of the elderly survivor at the graveside, asking his wife if he'd been a good man. I realized that I had seen these same men and women coming through my Emergency Dept. and had not realized what magnificent sacrifices they had made. The things they did for me and everyone else that has lived on this planet since the end of that conflict are priceless.

Situation permitting, I now try to ask my patients about their experiences. They would never bring up the subject without the inquiry. I have been privileged to an amazing array of experiences, recounted in the brief minutes allowed in an Emergency Dept. encounter. These experiences have revealed the incredible individuals I have had the honor of serving in a medical capacity, many on their last admission to the hospital.

There was a frail, elderly woman who reassured my young enlisted medic, trying to start an IV line in her arm. She remained calm and poised, despite her illness and the multiple needle-sticks into her fragile veins. She was what we call a 'hard stick.' As the medic made another attempt, I noticed a number tattooed across her forearm. I touched it with one finger and looked into her eyes. She simply said, ' Auschwitz .' Many of later generations would have loudly and openly berated the young medic in his many attempts. How different was the response from this person who'd seen unspeakable suffering.

Also, there was this long retired Colonel, who as a young officer had parachuted from his burning plane over a Pacific Island held by the Japanese. Now an octogenarian, he had a minor cut on his head from a fall at his home where he lived alone. His CT scan and suturing had been delayed until after midnight by the usual parade of high priority ambulance patients. Still spry for his age, he asked to use the phone to call a taxi, to take him home, then he realized his ambulance had brought him without his wallet. He asked if he could use the phone to make a long distance call to his daughter who lived 7 miles away. With great pride we told him that he could not, as he'd done enough for his country an d the least we could do was get him a taxi home, even if we had to pay for it ourselves. My only regret was that my shift wouldn't end for several hours, and I couldn't drive him myself.

I was there the night M/Sgt Roy Benavidez came through the Emergency Dept. for the last time. He was very sick. I was not the doctor taking care of him, but I walked to his bedside and took his hand. I said nothing. He was so sick, he didn't know I was there. I'd read his Congressional Medal of Honor citation and wanted to shake his hand. He died a few days later.

The gentleman who served with Merrill's Marauders,

the survivor of the Bataan Death March,

the survivor of Omaha Beach,

the 101 year old World War I veteran.

The former POW held in frozen North Korea,

The former Special Forces medic - now with non-operable liver cancer,

the former Viet Nam Corps Commander.

I remember these citizens.

I may still groan when yet another ambulance comes in, but now I am much more aware of what an honor it is to serve these particular men and women.

I have seen a Congress who would turn their back on these individuals who've sacrificed so much to protect our liberty. I see later generations that seem to be totally engrossed in abusing these same liberties, won with such sacrifice.

It has become my personal endeavor to make the nurses and young enlisted medics aware of these amazing individuals when I encounter them in our Emergency Dept. Their response to these particular citizens has made me think that perhaps all is not lost in the next generation.

My experiences have solidified my belief that we are losing an incredible generation, and this nation knows not what it is losing. Our uncaring government and ungrateful civilian populace should all take note. We should all remember that we must 'Earn this.'

Written By CAPT. Stephen R. Ellison, M.D. US Army
If it weren't for the United States military,
there'd be NO United States of America

Happy Birthday Marines

2009-11-11T14:37:00.002-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Bicfc9dp0

Happy Birthday Marines

2009-11-11T14:37:00.000-05:00

George Harrison

2009-10-28T05:17:00.003-04:00

I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it need sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps

I don't know why nobody told you
how to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
they bought and sold you

I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps

I don't know how you were diverted
you were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
no one alerted you

I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at you all
Still my guitar gently weeps

( I look from the wings at the play you are staging
While my guitar gently weeps
As I'm sitting here doing nothing but aging
Still my guitar gently weeps ) - from original harrison version

Oh, oh, oh
oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNBEiyGwGRc

A Summer Song

2009-10-18T02:43:00.001-04:00

Act 1 Scene !

2009-10-14T23:42:00.001-04:00

Nice Music - 1980

2009-10-14T13:59:00.000-04:00

OUTSIDERS - Time Won't Let Me

2009-10-08T00:50:00.000-04:00

Wonderful World

2009-10-07T11:13:00.002-04:00

from the 50s - history

2009-10-07T10:46:00.002-04:00

Milk And Cookies

2009-10-07T09:58:00.000-04:00

Advice - Good Advice from Jimmy Stewart

2009-09-26T12:20:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf5SDKcfFkU

JOHN STOCKTON - # 12 JAZZ

2009-09-13T01:33:00.000-04:00

Mike Shrieve - Santana Aug 69 Woodstock

2009-08-30T01:12:00.001-04:00

From CATO's Depot - Bill Allen Aug 2009

2009-08-29T23:37:00.000-04:00

Friday, August 28, 2009
Prescient Policeman ?

Tonight, it has been difficult to grasp real things.

First within a few hours I heard of the deaths of two people close to me. I was able to digest those with some aplomb.

Then, I saw a VERY unsettling video posted on YouTube of a protest at Reston, VA outside Democrat Congressman Jim Moran’s “townhall” meeting.

A man was carrying a poster opposing “Obamacare”.

A policeman started hassling him, ordering him to “put down” the placard, or else he would be arrested for “tresspass”. They exchanged questions and the policeman got VERY agitated and threatening.

The protester asked, plaintively, “Isn’t this America ? ”

“No !” the policeman announced, “It aint no more…
Okay ??? !”

I have played it four times. Is this cop a prophet ? He IS of pro-Obama persuasion, apparently.

Does he know a secret the rest of us have not been told yet ? Or is he just a prescient seer ?

See the video at: http://tinyurl.com/ly6t2g
Posted by Bill Allen at 11:30 PM 0 comments

This will UPSET you -

2009-08-29T22:56:00.004-04:00

Is This America?

This video was taken on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at Rep. Jim Moran's (D-VA) Town Hall meeting on Obama Deathcare (Howard Dean was there too) held at South Lakes High School in Reston, VA.

Many people were left outside when the school filled to capacity. School security officer Wesley Cheeks, Jr. did not like my anti-Obamacare poster.

When I said to Officer Cheeks, "This used to be America!" his response was: "It ain't no more, OK?"

Milton Freidman - on Phil Donahue

2009-08-28T01:35:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p31-xQ2Rrz4

TOWN HALL - Washington State

2009-08-25T07:59:00.002-04:00

I, David William Hedrick, a member of the silent majority, decided that I was not going to be silent anymore. So, I let U.S. Congressman Brian Baird have it. I was one questioner out of 38, that was called at random from an audience that started at 3,000 earlier in the evening. Not expecting to be called on, I quickly scratched what I wanted to say on a borrowed piece of paper and with a pen that I borrowed from someone else in the audience minutes before I spoke. So much for the planned talking points of the right wing conspiracy.
Category: News & Politics

Tommy Johnson - Boogie Woogie - Night Train

2009-08-22T21:58:00.001-04:00

Boogie Woogie -

Night Train -

STRIDEAWAY - Bill Allen - Odyssey Series and Prairie Blues

2009-08-18T00:02:00.004-04:00

Saturday, March 21, 2009
Bird Dog
Odyssey
Bill Allen ©2009. All rights reserved.

Back to part-time attendance at field trials, covering them for a daily newspaper, I began to do some grouse hunting in the Nantahala and Chattahoochee National Forests in north Georgia and North Carolina.

Very few people of my immediate acquaintance did this in those days, and it was the last hunting I ever did that was bloodthirsty by nature.

Since two birds in a day’s hunting by two men was a bonanza to celebrate, I did the population no damage.

But I did learn two things. The grouse you hear drumming and that you see pecking around the logging roads left by the Ritter Lumber Co., at the turn of that OTHER century, are not the same ones that we hunted in season.

Those birds that aped my Buff Orpington pet hens were seeking cohabitation or were drunk on fermented grapes.

Never did I own a dog that “quit” in the hunt. But I had one good setter that just lost interest when the third bird he pointed flew ‘way down the cove almost to the creek for the third time.

Looking back on my brisk but close hunting Nemo brittany, I must say that some dogs are just temperamentally equipped to learn grouse hunting and some are not.

How the Texas Traveler, son of ol’ Jimmy, the Texas Ranger won the 1947 Grand National Grouse Championship, is a testament to the fact that Jack Harper’s great dog DID bring brains back to one pointer line.

Grouse hunting takes more brains than I had in those days. What I learned in those mountains is that, hunting ruffed grouse, you must have a truly gifted dog. Use of wind direction, whirling messages in the steep coves, caution in the rhododendron “slicks” are all necessary. And, a bell that stops its noisome trill. Definitely not something a dog or a man can learn in brief exposure.

Continue reading "Bird Dog Odyssey V"

Posted by Strideaway in Bill Allen, Memoirs at 06:55
Monday, March 2, 2009
Bird Dog Odyssey IV
Bill Allen©2009. All rights reserved.

We left me in my usual state of quandary in those days, caught between Guy Stancil who was thoroughly convinced one could selectively breed a dog that would want to stay in front of a horse galley and Buddy Williamson, who believed that malleability could be selectively bred, but that his fine hand was necessary to “make” a class bird dog.

My next years, stretching from 1948 to 1976, never completely settled that argument in my mind, for I saw many dogs who would not cast behind a gallery. But in the nature/nurture argument of the ages, I never wandered far from the natural view.

Immediately following the above recorded colloquy, I followed these men and others, to the feet of folks who seemed to be sorcerers in disguise. Ches Harris was a giant from Alabama by way of Big Cabin, Oklahoma. Herman Smith was short of stature, huge of heart, a former market hunter from the Virginia Blue Ridge. John S. Gates, who kenneled at Philema, near Albany, Georgia, was originally an Alabamian, now embedded in the Plantation wonderland of southeast Georgia. George Crangle, a New Yorker and a grouse hunter, was now located in Burke County, Georgia, near Waynesboro. A Hoosier, E.A. “Red” Weddle, worked around Dublin, Georgia.

These men had dogs that literally hunted ahead, many times out of sight until they struck scent and located game. In a phrase of those days, they “ran off...but not QUITE!!!”

Continue reading "Bird Dog Odyssey IV"

Posted by Strideaway in Bill Allen, Memoirs at 16:07
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Bird Dog Odyssey III
Bill Allen©2009. All rights reserved.
(Author’s Note: Our two prior installments were presented in “third person” because much of the material was objective and common to at least the two youths, if not, indeed’ general knowledge collected by many in similar circumstances. The remainder of the Odyssey is much more subjective, personal and grist for debate. Therefore, I have chosen to retreat into a comfortable mythic “first person” style. I can DO that since I am doing the composing. And my comfort is extremely important.)

World War II was over, and strange changes had occurred by 1949 in Georgia and in quail hunting.

In the first place, it was widely and wildly rumored that some fools in south Hall County, angry at nocturnal fox hunters releasing more foxes in the area, had trapped several grey fox, infected them with distemper, (omnipresent in those days) and released them, willy-nilly.

Whether or not this was true, there was a steep diminution of foxes in the Piedmont area I knew.

But...and here I had my first intimation of the “Bounties are Bunk” standard of which I have since been a stalwart bearer...the quail were gone, too.

Most of the fox’s prey were enemies of the upland game bird also. It was all out of kilter. Then, there came the fields of crimson clover and the planting of myriad pine trees. Pastures went all the way into the woods, eliminating “edge”. There was no cotton, and very little corn.

Most of the quail we found were close to the barns, outbuildings and houses. And their “crops” held less seed and more insects.

Now, we put the dogs in the trunk and went from site to site, “spot-hunting”. In cold weather, they had time to gnaw the wires and we got warned for not having brake lights.

We moved out of the Hills, toward the coastal plain, and we heard about an organized hunting competition called “field trials”. My mixed group of hunting partners were not interested, but I was.

An early influence was a former big track race car enthusiast and Studebaker dealer named Guy Stancil. He had some young pointers he ran in trials. He introduced me to a bachelor gravel-and-rock hustler named R.J. “Buddy Williamson, who lived on what I called “PlumNelly Creek” because it was plumb out of my county (Gwinett) and nearly out of Fulton (Atlanta). He had some good hunting area within his reach on Sopalding Drive.

Guy and Buddy began instructions in field trial dogs, and that magical phrase of Bill Brown’s, “You can have more fun with a live quail than you can with a dead one...”

Next, I subscribed to the American Field magazine.

Continue reading "Bird Dog Odyssey III"

Posted by Strideaway in Bill Allen, Memoirs at 13:26
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Bird Dog Odyssey II

Bill Allen©2009. Al rights reserved.

Before they parted company, not to hunt together again, Bill and James picked up some hunting habits that were not all bad.

They carried extra socks and fatback in cat head biscuits that would keep well and stick to the ribs, thighs and calves. They carried a slip collar and a short lead in case they needed to “correct” a dog.

On one hunt, Bill took a swipe at the skull of a third party’s pointer bitch running in front of Monk on point. It was in THIS exercise that he learned that a pointer’s occiput is tougher than Circassian walnut gunstocks. His weapon was splintered at the tang by the blow; the bitch did not blink; her owner was excluded from the hunt, and James did some shooting on the way home, allowing Bill two singles.

Consulting with their elders, they learned that a flaring temper has no home in a hunting party. Monk was withdrawn and Bill, disarmed and dogless, spent hours soaking rawhide, punching it with an awl and lacing it around the splintered, separated stock. There was some trimming to do—of rawhide and splinters, but when it dried, the gun was shootable. Barely.

But Bill had to sell a lot of Saturday Evening Post magazines to pay for a new stock. It was NOT Circassian walnut, and had no cheekpiece either.

One of the first things they learned was to never strike a dog with any limbs of one’s own body, bare. Too “personal”. They were reduced to using hunting caps when they were beltless. Both the youths wore overalls with many pockets. Before they went away to college, they both learned that Carhartts turned briars best.

And they were instructed to never assume that because they got all their own correction in the general area of their backsides, they were NOT to direct DOWN on a dog, or strike him on his back. Better correction was achieved by holding the dog up by the collar and..even with a hunting cap or leash...fan UP at the chest.

They never had a dog or a puppy cringe or melt or “go down” on point. The dogs these young men were raised with only crouched when they hit rich scent suddenly or birds flushed in their faces and they crouched and rose. That was where Uncle Pat and Jack were somewhat different...even estranged...from other meat hunters in the area.

They ingrained in the boys, the attitude that quail just tasted better when the dog had something called “class”.

Class was more than standing tall, though. The gait of the dog had to show genuine happiness. Monk got demerits for nosing around on the ground while the setter bitch, Kate was praised for her high-headed, sifting of even the deadest air. It was a sign, the tutors said, that her scenting acuity was “higher on the scale.”

What scale?

Uncle Pat had his own theory about that. He used what he called the “sound cycle” scale to explain it. Today, he might be enthused to use the entire electromagnetic scale.

The human voice, he said, was limited, unless you were dealing with opera singers like Caruso and Madame Galli Curci, or with Al Jolson and Ethel Merman. They had a different, richer scale. More cycles that 6,000 I think he said.

But we can HEAR them.

Then, comes radio, which is in the double digit thousands of cycles, and we need radio sets to decipher the waves. Even higher in cycles, were the short wave broadcasts that Wendell Power got of Hitler and the British Broadcasting Company. Very special, different decoders, called short wave receivers were used to unravel THOSE waves.

He said scent was the same and that man just cannot “smell” the scent of a rabbit or a coon or a possum or a quail...all of which left what he called “beads” and what we know is a sort of effluvium, peculiar to each specie.

Some dogs decipher scent at a lower threshold than other dogs, and do so under different weather conditions and in different cover.

Sensitivity to meager traces of a specific game bird scent also was a mark of elevated “class” the boys learned.

Kate used her olfactory acuity by thrusting her nose into the upwind like a magic wand and locating coveys from as far away as the width of a football field on some days. Monk plodded, his nose close to the cover. He never missed a running single. He could, at times, cut them off, his claim to fame: never flushing a bird.

And, as James went to Annapolis and to the Pacific, and their partnership was sundered, Bill was led to other partners and tutors to delve deeper into these mysteries of “class”.

Posted by Strideaway in Bill Allen, Memoirs at 12:49
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Bird Dog Odyssey I
Bill Allen©2009, All rights reserved

Red clay crenelated with upthrust ice scrunched underfoot.

Thistles bobbed and broom sedge waved gallantly in the chill northwest wind from the pond.

The punkin-eyed setter and the jug-headed old pointer emptied out and trembled in the early rosy light of a clear January denim sky as the two boys began their first unchaperoned quail hunt together.

The setter, “Jack” was Bill’s. The pointer, “Monk” was a joint project, with fellow feather-fin-and-fur chaser James.

These two throwbacks to 1880 were pledged to a pre-World War II regimen of restricted shooting...at quail, mostly. They were shooters from their earliest days in the woods, beginning with Daisy BB guns and guilty of stubborn destruction of songbirds for too long.

Then, Bill’s Uncle Pat and James’ Dad, Jack opened the secret door of upland bird hunting and that most seductive of all esoterics, the pointing dogs.

Youngsters, whatever else they do, are vulnerable in the area of “secrets”. So, despite the fact James had winged a barn pigeon in flight with a 22 rifle and finished it with a second shot, both young men succumbed to the mystery of the amazing dogs that located bunched up “coveys” of plump Bob Whites with the majesty of an untaken step.

Years later, James, who became an Admiral, confessed his .22 was loaded with rat-shot that scattered like a shotshell when he downed the pigeon. Even so, he was the better shot, always.

These two were never allowed to take the dog for granted. They were guided by their mentors to check the wind and the “glass” as their guides called the barometers on their porches, for threatening “lows”.

Without effort, they just drifted into wood wisdom without realizing it, but about directing and correcting the pointing dogs, they were instructed more by the dogs than by any heavy-handed adult.

So, by the time they set out on that January morning when Jack pointed in the edge of a sedge field, Monk honored with a back, and they each took a cock bird, the two were “boys” in the field no longer. They took two more singles located by Monk and went on toward the Little Mill looking for another bevy.

What morphed these two typically bloodthirsty children into restrained “sportsmen” who chose not to wipe out a covey of quail? It was a sentence Uncle Pat Greer picked up from reading the American Field, words from the great William F. Brown:

“You can have a lot more fun with a live quail than with a dead one...”

So the world took a couple of turns or so, and Bill, who did NOT become an admiral—or much of anything else important —went to work for Bill Brown as a “reporter” for the FIELD.

The pressing theme here is that when a youngster sees and feels the mystery of the pointing dog, and marches to all the myriad nuances of training and presenting a field trial performance, he is never a bloodthirsty killer again.

Field Trialers in the 21st century need to take ownership of this truth and sketch recruitment strategies accordingly.

Posted by Strideaway in Bill Allen, Memoirs at 16:02

Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Prairie Blues
Bill Allen© 1957.
All rights reserved.

You're rolling in at sunset with a truck of restless dogs
And the whistling wind comes, sounding rather scary.
Unlock and open camp, then light the lanterns and the stove.
And we'll face another summer on the prairie.

Tomorrow we will cull them. And you'll say your string’s the worst,
But, of course, it’s far from extraordinary.
Some mornings on the check-cord and some hunting of young chicks,
And they’ll carry all their days the mark of “Prairie.”

You'll wrench an arm—and bounce—when your brainless nag departs
After dropping you kerplunk—(you were unwary)
A skunk gets you from one side and a porcupine the other
If you dismount haplessly upon the prairie.

Your best dogs point them, too, and there's little you can do
To correct their “varmint finds”—unnecessary.
If hail and twisters lay and you find the birds today,
You may still get something done out on the prairie.

The summer speeds away and you feel you've come to naught.
Then your dogs show form that’s due next January.
When the money trials come up, you don’t place a single pup,
So you fold your camp and vow to shun the prairie.

But, dreaming, longing nightly for the blue flax fields in bloom,
When your Junetime state-side life is sedentary,
You’ll jam the truck with gear and set your wheels for northern roads,
Toward the hopes, dreams—and mirages—of the prairie.

Posted by Strideaway in Bill Allen,
Poetry Corner at 09:31
(Page 1 of 1, totaling 6 entries)

What Is That ????

2009-08-11T07:53:00.003-04:00

My Red Tailed Hawk

2009-08-10T22:53:00.002-04:00

A. Lincoln - A Message for US

2009-08-08T11:34:00.002-04:00

Chevy Ads / Billboards

2009-08-08T09:29:00.003-04:00

Old Soldiers Day Parade 08/01/2009

2009-08-02T03:09:00.002-04:00

Video of Song

2009-07-31T23:13:00.001-04:00

TEN COMMANDMENTS According to OBAMA Administration

2009-07-31T09:10:00.001-04:00

2009 The Patriot Update. Feel free to circulate this article, but please give credit and link to The Patriot Update!
Click here for the Online Version.
[townhallmesasge@townhallmail.com]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After observing Obama on the campaign trail and during his first six months in office, we have concluded that our President lives and governs according to his own set of “Ten Commandments.” They’re certainly NOT the Ten Commandments you learned in Sunday School. In fact, many are the direct opposite! To prove that our conclusions are correct, you will find a link to source documentation for each commandment on the Patriot Update web site. (Check out our t-shirt version below!)

I. Thou shalt have no God in America, except for me. For we are no longer a Christian nation and, after all, I am the chosen One. (And like God, I do not have a birth certificate.) SOURCE

II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, unless it is my face carved on Mt. Rushmore. SOURCE

III. Thou shalt not utter my middle name in vain (or in public). Only I can say Barack Hussein Obama. SOURCE

IV. Remember tax day, April 15th, to keep it holy. SOURCE

V. Honour thy father and thy mother until they are too old and sick to care for. They will cost our public-funded health-care system too much money. SOURCE

VI. Thou shalt not kill, unless you have an unwanted, unborn baby. For it would be an abomination to punish your daughter with a baby. SOURCE

VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery if you are conservative or a Republican. Liberals and Democrats are hereby forgiven for all of their infidelity and immorality, but the careers of conservatives will be forever destroyed. SOURCE

VIII. Thou shalt not steal, until you've been elected to public office. Only then is it acceptable to take money from hard-working, successful citizens and give it to those who do not work, illegal immigrants, or those who do not have the motivation to better their own lives. SOURCE

IX. Thou shalt not discriminate against thy neighbor unless they are conservative, Caucasian, or Christian. SOURCE

X. Thou shalt not covet because it is simply unnecessary. I will place such a heavy tax burden on those that have achieved the American Dream that, by the end of my term as President, nobody will have any wealth or material goods left for you to covet. SOURCE

2ND Ammendment

2009-07-29T22:47:00.001-04:00

A Butler, Missouri, car dealer named
Mark Mueller is giving away an AK-47 with every new truck
he sells, and this
CNN reporter throws every liberal cliche at him in her
interview. Doesn't
faze him for an instant! If you're for gun
rights, you'll enjoy this
video. A few seconds of it appeared on Fox, but the
good stuff is here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNmi-bBhWG8

Summer Champions "Benchwarmers"

2009-07-24T18:41:00.001-04:00

WE THE PEOPLE - Thomas Paine

2009-07-23T07:30:00.003-04:00

BOB BASSO -
Bob Basso author of "Common Sense" plays the role of Thomas Paine to ignite the fire of change in America. Patriotism and Pride for America lead Thomas Paine to help take back America!

A COUPLE OF OLD TOMS

2009-07-19T05:39:00.004-04:00

Borrowed from RICH LERNER - The Golf Channell -
July, 18,3009 - after third round at TURNBERRY

A Couple of Old Toms

Tom Watson credits his performance this week in large part to unseen spiritual forces. Oxford defines spirit as a person’s mind or soul as distinct from their body, a person’s mood. A ghost.

Like the other Old Tom, Old Tom Morris.

In C.B. McDonald’s prized book, “Scotland’s Gift,” he writes of Old Tom Morris in prose that could just as easily apply to this Old Tom, “that he was always equable in temper, always courteous, much beloved by everyone.’

Old Tom once said, and this too could apply to today’s Old Tom, who like many his age in living a full life has wrestled with and overcome some personal difficulties:

"Had it not been for golf I’m not sure that at this day I’d be living; I’ve had my troubles and my trials as if the very soul had gone out of me.

But there’s nothing like a good golf match to clear your brain of that kind of thing and with the help of God and golf I’ve gotten through somehow or other."

Watson loves these links as deeply as Morris surely did.

What would you do with the love of a lifetime, if you knew that your time was limited?

You’d savor every moment. Accept what is, and not be quick to judge. Be grateful for the good health. Float with the wind. You might, to use Watson’s phrase, hold hands with the old gal and go for a walk.

You might let go, try not to explain the unexplainable, how a nearly 60-year-old man might very well win the Open Championship.

You might just let the spirit carry you.

Aha ! Dickens Lives !!

2009-07-18T23:45:00.003-04:00

From the BLOG of BILL ALLEN 07/18/2009

People do not know what they do not know!

Saturday, July 18, 2009
Aha ! Dickens Lives !

One of the strangest episodes in my life occurred during a strategy session involving approaching a politician.

To one of the very closest friends and mentors I ever had, I suggested, brightly:

“We might be able to get some real inside track in Washington if we can get Senator (Bob) Graham interested....He’s Phil Graham’s half-brother, you know...the late husband of The Washington Post publisher, Kay Graham....”

“THAT’S NOT SO, “ was the immediate reply.

Well, I KNEW it was so, having delved into the lives of the half brothers through my interest in old “Cap” Graham, the Miami wheeler-dealer who sired them. Phil was born, however in South Dakota, Bob on Miami.

My friend was a bright professional man, an innovator and a risk taker. But he did not know what he did not know.

This country is at the mercy of people just like that right now.

The Great Charles Dickens, in “Little Dorrit”, caused quite a row in Parliament when he set up these people in the Department of Circumlocution.

They were all specialists in HOW NOT TO DO IT. (Finding out how to do it would have put them out of business.) And none of them know what they do not know.

Sound familiar ?
Posted by Bill Allen at 12:59 AM

NOTE back-up Reference just to prove the old buzzard KNOWS what he's talking about:

Ernest R. "Cap" Graham (born in Croswell, Michigan, 1886, died in Florida, 1957) was a political figure in Florida, having served as a member of the Florida Senate from 1937 to 1944, when he unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Florida in 1943-44. As a senator, Graham lobbied in Tallahassee and Washington D.C. to bring benefits to Miami-Dade County. He proposed the creation of a public university in the county, and although his efforts were unsuccessful during his lifetime, they eventually led to the establishment of Florida International University. The student union at Florida International University is named in honor of Graham, named the Graham Center. In 1948, Graham unsuccessfully sought election to the Dade County Commission. Other than his involvement in politics, Graham worked as a mining engineer in South Dakota and farmer in Florida.

Graham married Florence Morris, originally of Lincoln Nebraska and later of South Dakota. Their children were Mary Graham (born in 1913), Philip Graham (born in 1915), who later became husband of Katharine Graham and publisher of the Washington Post, and Bill Graham (born in 1924). In 1934, Florence (known as "Floss") died of cancer, and in 1936, Graham married Hilda Simmons, a schoolteacher. They had one child, the future Florida Governor and United States Senator Bob Graham. [1]

WATSON in Lead after Three Rounds Turnberry, Scotland

2009-07-18T23:15:00.007-04:00

This picture BERLOW is from 1977 OPEN CHAMPIONSIP = jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson --
Watson won in one of the greatest matches of all time on this course in
Ayrshire, Scotland TURNBERRY .

By the way, Bill Allen , my Dad, played this course once and broke 90 !!!!

TURNBERRY, Scotland -- Tom Watson took three practice swings without a club in his hand, then looked toward the green and pictured the shot he needed to play.

Standing on the edge of the fairway, a marshal who had seen Watson work his magic at Turnberry for three decades whispered in his thick brogue, lost in time as he watched a 59-year-old champion leading the British Open.

"What are you going to do, Tom?" he said. "Cut a wee 7-iron in there? Throw an 8-iron into the air?"

Then, shaking his head with a smile, the marshal added, "Fantastic story, aye?"

Watson is turning this British Open into a fairy tale.

[+] EnlargeAndrew Redington/Getty Images
In a repeat of the British Open's throwback theme, Tom Watson shot a 1-over 71 Saturday to stay out front entering the final round at blustery Turnberry.
Even as he slipped out of the lead Saturday in the testing breeze off the Firth of Clyde, Watson didn't blink except to hold back the occasional tears. He is close enough to the claret jug to believe he can win again.

A 30-foot birdie putt on the 16th gave him a share of the lead.

Then came a hybrid 2-iron that took a bounce to the left and onto the green, setting up another birdie.

When he walked up the 18th fairway, his name atop the massive yellow leaderboard, Watson had a 1-over 71 for a one-shot lead, leaving him 18 holes away from becoming the oldest major champion in history.

Can this really happen?

Even Watson wasn't sure early in the week. Now, those doubts have morphed into determination.

"The first day here, 'Yeah, let the old geezer have his day in the sun,' " Watson said. "The second day you said, 'Well, that's OK.' And now today, you kind of perk up your ears and say, 'This old geezer might have a chance to win the tournament.' I don't know what's going to happen, but I do know one thing. I feel good about what I did today. I feel good about my game plan."

"And who knows?" he said. "It might happen."

He's even got the attention of Jack Nicklaus, whom Watson beat at Turnberry in the famous "Duel in the Sun" in 1977. Nicklaus, who rarely watches golf on television, saw most of the third round from his home in south Florida.

"I had some tears in my eyes," Nicklaus said. "I just really hope he wins."

Watson wouldn't give details of this mysterious "game plan," only that he has figured out how many bogeys he can afford to make, and how many birdies he will need to make up for any mistakes.

"So far, it's going well," he said.

The plan has put him at 4-under 206, one shot better than Mathew Goggin of Australia and Ross Fisher, who isn't even sure he will make it to the tee Sunday. His wife is expecting their first child, and Fisher said his priority is to be in England for the birth.

British Open Leaderboard
1. Watson (-4)
T-2. Goggin (-3)
T-2. Fisher (-3)
T-4. Westwood (-2)
T-4. Goosen (-2)

• Complete scores

Fisher, who birdied two of his last three holes for a 70, was fifth at the U.S. Open last month, his best finish in a major. Imagine if he had been told that only a 59-year-old man would stand between him and the claret jug.

"Probably would have laughed," Fisher said. "I mean, it's incredible."

Watson will be playing in the final group with Goggin, a 35-year-old who hasn't won in 10 years -- and that was on the Nationwide Tour. Until Saturday, when his 69 was among only five scores under par, his greatest moment in the British Open came in 2003 at Royal St. George's when he was paired with Watson in the third round.

"He's such a great player and such a great champion, especially at the British Open," Goggin said. "And it was also shocking just how good he was. I mean, it was ridiculous. I'm thinking, 'He's getting on in years and not playing so much, and he's just smashing it around this golf course.' I was really impressed."

A year ago, 53-year-old Greg Norman had a two-shot lead going into the final round at Royal Birkdale and couldn't hold on.

Watson has much more experience with eight majors, five of them on links courses.

He also has much more company.

Lee Westwood (70) joined Fisher as the only players at par or better all three rounds at Turnberry, escaping with a bogey on the final hole to finish at 2-under 208 with two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, who had a 71.

Another U.S. Open champion, Jim Furyk, made only two bogeys in his round of 70 and was at 1-under 209 with Stewart Cink (71).

British Open Live Blog
With another golf major under way, it must be time for Jason Sobel's Live Blog. Our blogger extraordinaire, on site, opines on all things British Open this week.
• Jason Sobel's Live Blog

Steve Marino is still in the mix, somehow.

Tied for the lead with Watson going into the third round, he dropped five shots on his first five holes, rallied to get back into contention, then lost a ball on the par-3 15th to make triple bogey and three-putted at No. 16 for double bogey. He birdied his last two holes of this roller-coaster round and shot 76 to fall five shots behind.

Marino was in the group at 1-over 211 that included Masters champion Angel Cabrera, while another shot back was John Daly (72). Among those too far back to contend is Padraig Harrington, whose hopes of a third straight claret jug ended with a 76.

This is Watson's turf, the guy who put Turnberry on the map by winning that wondrous duel with Nicklaus. A victory truly would belong to the game's ages.

The oldest major champion was Julius Boros, who was 48 when he won the 1968 PGA Championship. The oldest player to win a regular tour event, America or Europe, was Sam Snead at 52 in the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open.

The scope of what's at stake seems lost on Watson. He felt no nerves when he walked to the first tee to warm applause amid sunshine and a cool, coastal breeze. He avoided an early collapse by twice making par. From a pot bunker in the third fairway, he blasted out and hit 7-iron to 8 feet. From a greenside bunker on the fifth hole, he hit out to 15 feet and made that one, too.

The wind was the toughest of its kind, playing across the fairways, making it difficult to keep the ball in the short grass. Watson ran into trouble during a seven-hole stretch that began at No. 9, dropping three shots to fall out of the lead.

He managed to find two more birdies, the roars getting louder with each one.

Then came another long salute as he walked toward the 18th green. Watson blinked back tears, especially when caddie Neil Oxman, a friend from Philadelphia, mentioned that Bruce Edwards was surely watching. Edwards, who was Watson's longtime caddie, died of Lou Gehrig's disease five years ago.

Watson nearly thrilled the gallery again with a 60-foot putt that trickled to a stop a foot short of the hole. He waited for Marino to finish, tapped in, and then turned and toasted the crowd.

Someone asked him later if he had pinched himself.

"I don't need to," Watson said, flashing that gap-tooth smile. "I'm awake."

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

Ayrshire, Scotland - TURNBERRY Links

2009-07-18T22:58:00.003-04:00

Brotherly Love

2009-07-02T00:17:00.003-04:00

John & Andrew Allen - John's Welcome Home at the Airport - Atlanta
Drawn by REMINGTON VETETO from photo taken by Michael Allen , Father

Engagement Weekend & Party Pictures 6/20/2009

2009-06-23T21:03:00.004-04:00

Just Copy and Paste the following URL in new Browser Window!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=3&aid=2143365&id=46206593#/album.php?page=1&aid=2143365&id=46206593

Father's Day Card from John & Steph

2009-06-23T19:58:00.003-04:00

Boys and Girls

2009-06-22T07:04:00.005-04:00

Engagement Weekend - Asheville, NC

2009-06-21T10:17:00.003-04:00

Love and Truth over my Desk

2009-06-21T03:13:00.002-04:00

Andrew and Friend Alexis

2009-06-21T03:07:00.005-04:00

Happy Father's Day to Me

2009-06-21T02:49:00.006-04:00

Charlie Rich - a bit country, but a good one

2009-05-02T10:45:00.001-04:00

GIBRAN "The Prophet" pg 17 Chap 4

2009-04-28T23:21:00.002-04:00

Children

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."

And he said: Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Something Beautiful and Lasting

2009-04-28T23:19:00.001-04:00

I Believe

2009-04-28T23:04:00.002-04:00

SOME VERY POWERFUL THOUGHTS....

A Birth Certificate shows that we were born...
A Death Certificate shows that we died...
Pictures show that we lived!
Have a seat . . .. Relax . . . And read On ===>

I Believe

That just because two people argue,
It doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't arg=

ue, It doesn't mean they do love each other.

I Believe...
That we don't have to change friends if We understand that friends change.

I Believe...
That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in
a while and you must forgive them for that.

I Believe.
That you can do something in an instant That will give you heartache for life.

I Believe...

That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I Believe...
That you should always leave loved ones with Loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe...
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe...

That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe...
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe...
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be
done, regardless of the consequences.

I Believe...
That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I Believe...
That my best friend and I, can do anything, or nothing and have the best
time.

I Believe...
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you When you're down, will be
the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe...
That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, But that doesn't
give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe...
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had And
what you've learned from them...and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe...
That it isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others. Sometimes, you have
to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe...
That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your
grief.

I Believe...
That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, But,
we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe...
That you shouldn't be so eager to find Out a secret. It could change your
life Forever.

I Believe...
Two people can look at the exact same Thing and see something totally
different different.

I Believe...
That your life can be changed in a matter of Hours by people who don't
even know you.

I Believe...
That even when you think you have no more to give, when A friend cries out
to you - you will find the strength to help.=20

I Believe...
That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I Believe...
That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

Curt Schilling - Calling it Quits

2009-03-23T21:18:00.001-04:00

Calling It Quits 03.23.09 at 9:37 am ET

By Curt Schilling |

“Turn out the lights, the party’s over”

I used to wait with bated breath for Don Meredith to start singing that on “Monday Night Football.” Normally, it was sweet music if the Steelers were playing.

If I could get him to sing it again, I would. This party has officially ended. After being blessed to experience 23 years of playing professional baseball in front of the world’s best fans in so many different places, it is with zero regrets that I am making my retirement official.

To say I’ve been blessed would be like calling Refrigerator Perry “a bit overweight.” The things I was allowed to experience, the people I was able to call friends, teammates, mentors, coaches and opponents, the travel, all of it, are far more than anything I ever thought possible in my lifetime.

Four World Series, three World Championships. That there are men with plaques in Cooperstown who never experienced one — and I was able to be on three teams over seven years that won it all — is another “beyond my wildest dreams” set of memories I’ll take with me.

The game always gave me far more than I ever gave it. All of those things, every single one of those memories is enveloped with fan sights and sounds for me. Without the fans, they would still be great memories, but none would be enduring and unforgettable because they infused the energy, rage, passion and “feel” of all of those times. The game was here long before I was, and will be here long after I’m gone. The only thing I hope I did was never put in question my love for the game, or my passion to be counted on when it mattered most. I did everything I could to win every time I was handed the ball.

I am and always will be more grateful than any of you could ever possibly know.

I want to offer two special thank you’s.

To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for granting me the ability to step between the lines for 23 years and compete against the best players in the world.

To my wife Shonda and my 4 children, Gehrig, Gabriella, Grant and Garrison for sacrificing their lives and allowing baseball to be mine while I played. Without their unquestioned support I would not have been able to do what I did, or enjoy the life, and I am hopefully going to live long enough to repay them as much as a Father and Husband can.

Thank you and God Bless
Curt Schilling