http://greasy.com/solitaire/index.html solitaire's Blog en-us © 03:13:50 Greasy.com All rights reserved. Mon, Sep 03:13:50 8 GMT 30 http://greasy.com/solitaire/heal_baby_heal.html It's been a week since that bulldog bit me--seems more like a month. I'm slowly healing, emphasize the word slowly. I'm still unable to do my usual work and things. No jogging and little walking. I checked the paper's TV section to see what sports are on today to keep me occupied. Holy cow! I counted 20 college football games, golf, racing, women's basketball, three baseball games, and other assorted events. It's the 20 football games that mystify me. Can that many games draw an individual ... Sat, 6 Sep 2008 13:19:22 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/corn_mazes.html It's that time of year in the Midwest. Farmers with time on their hands, money to burn, or just plain crazy, are making grand designs in their corn fields for "tourists" to walk through. Now, why would anybody in their right mind want to pay to walk in circles through a field of corn? ($8 a head I read) These are mazes, the designs of which can only be seen from a plane. You have no other view than corn as you wander hopelessly in search of the exit. I fail to see the thrill in that. I sup ... Tue, 2 Sep 2008 21:31:49 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/fangs.html How quickly the wheel turns. One day I'm on top of the world (previous post), a couple of days later I'm in the hospital emergency room! I'm about one mile into my scheduled 7 mile jog, when out of the bushes races a huge white bulldog toward me. Usually, he runs right past me, but this time he full out lunges at my groin area and sinks his fangs into my inner thigh (thankfully just missing my privates). I went down in a heap, blood gushing out. The little 6 yr old girl the dog was protect ... Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:25:49 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/top_world.html For some of us, life is not only good, it gets better. To wit: > I had a hole-in-one Aug. 26th--my second. Sweet. > I came off the waiting list and am now going to Red River Gorge KY on a Sierra Club Service Trip in 3 weeks. Psyched. > My sister from Virginia (Barbara) has been staying with me all week, and we've been having a great time. I love eating her vegan meals--I furnish the veggies, she cooks. We've been inspecting log cabins for her to build in the family farm woods. It's always ... Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:27:35 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/breezing_breeze.html I just gotta tell you, not bragging or anything, I not only completed the 5k run this morning (a goal in itself!), I won my age division and broke my personal best time by a minute (25' 10"). Yep, I'm feeling pretty perky. It was hot and very humid out there, even at 8AM. No wind, however--just a light breeze. I thought I started out too fast, but seemed to get into a smooth gait with fairly long strides. Before long, I was passing the quick starters and just kept on truckin'. My sister ro ... Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:08:53 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/losing.html Enough already. Unfortunately, it's only gonna get worse. I'm speaking of the political campaign. I watched quite a bit of the "conversations" between Pastor Rick and Obama/McCain last night (switching to the Olympics). I'm not going to comment on who said what or on the "winner/loser". Let's just say I was disgusted by the questions and answers of both candidates. This mixing of religion and politics has no business in our republic. I cringed as I listened to them both "humble" themselves ... Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:33:19 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/land_lubber.html I was invited to spend a day "on the lake" this weekend. A friend has a house up there with a boat to cruise the lake. I declined. Some people would love to take my place. I long ago decided I was not a water person. My grandparents had a lake cottage in S. Michigan. We would go up there frequently when I was a young'n. I didn't especially like fishing, and hated our slow boat tours around the lake shore. I learned to swim there, but never really enjoyed the water. What can you do besides ... Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:24:34 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/need_ac.html Let's try this post again. My first attempt was "lost"--later found on another site. I'm writing about the fact that I haven't had to turn on my central air condition(ing?)all summer. For one reason, it's been a relatively cool year, only one day at 90. Heck, even my truck AC has been inactive. But the main reason is my old farm house is surrounded by shade trees. Plus I've learned to keep the windows closed except for the basement and third floor "attic". Hot air escapes, drawing up the c ... Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:10:57 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/pills_good_health.html As many of you know, I'm sort of a health nut. I got it from my mother. (It's a shame cancer killed her.) I'm fairly thin because I watch what I eat and exercise daily. The "10 best foods for you" are eaten with regularity. That doesn't mean I don't occasionally fall off the wagon. But on the whole, I'm careful about my choices. I don't supplement my diet with vitamins because I make sure I get them with the variety of foods I eat. However, I do take several pills each day to assist or pre ... Sun, 3 Aug 2008 13:50:48 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/fine_day_rothenburg.html It was forty years ago, nearly to the day. I was hitchhiking on the Romantistrasse--a "blue" highway running North-South connecting small touristy (romantic) towns in Germany. It was a warm, sunny day. A little Volkswagen passed me by, but I ignored it until I heard a beep beep. It had stopped to give me a ride! I squeezed in next to a young girl (11-12) and her mother. I immediately said "I don't speak Deutsch". She commenced conversing in English! We exchanged information on who we were ... Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:05:12 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/ketchup_day.html If you haven't read Susan Jacoby's "The Age of American Unreason", you should. Very insightful. Barack Obama's European trip seems quite successful. Did you see the poll results of his popularity over McCain? Why isn't it the same in the U.S.? We know the answer. Besides my usual morning golf and evening jog, I've gotten a few things done this past week. I picked another gallon of berries--black, this time. Washed half my house windows. Not my favorite chore. One storm window crashed down ... Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:34:07 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/long_line.html I was listening to John McCain the other night and got to thinking: Are we going to elect another in a long line of intellectually deficient presidents? Let's look at who we've elected and neglected in the past 50 plus years. Eisenhower over Adlai Stevenson. Ike was likable ("I like Ike"), but Stevenson had smarts. It was his egghead caricature that cost him dearly. We wanted a general. JFK over Nixon was an exception, but we eventually elected Richard M. against a brainy Hubert Humphrey. ... Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:15:57 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/best.html It's been a busy week here in rural Indiana. Besides my usual yard and garden work (not to mention the house), I added a few chores--some pleasant, some not so--to my list. I finally got around to washing and waxing my truck. Not so much fun. I've started washing house windows. Really not fun. I'm also working on repairing my brick driveway. Hard on the knees. But a good chore this week was picking 27 lbs. of blueberries from a farm down the road! I love blueberries! I also picked blackber ... Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:52:04 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/interview.html The book I'm reading reminded me of a story. After teaching 7 years in "liberal" California, I decided to return to my homestate if I could find a job. The Pomona smog was horrific in the early 70's, my wife had a baby on the way, and I didn't want the baby's first inhale be filled with dirty air. Anyway, I flew back for an interview with the supt. in my hometown. I was warned about several things: wear a tie, cut my hair, shave my beard, act pious. Of course, I did none of these things. I ... Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:37:31 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/ingersolls_take.html "When I became convince that the Universe is natural--that all the ghosts and gods are myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the sense, the feeling , the joy of FREEDOM (my caps). The walls of my prison crumbled and fell, the dungeon was flooded with light, and all the bolts, and bars, and manacles became dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf, or a slave. There was for me no master in all the wide world--not even in infinite space. I was free--fre ... Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:10:05 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/simple_pleasures.html Jeri, of Elderjane fame, gave me the idea of posting 10 simple pleasures. Mine's on a daily basis. 1. Working several puzzles (Sudoku, crossword, crypto) 2. Watching bluebirds 3. Making a 10' birdie putt 4. Reading 5. Taking a 15' nap after lunch 6. Drinking a coke float (on occasion) 7. 30' on the piano 8. Enjoying a glass of red wine before supper. 9. Eating garden goodies 10. Having a daily BM (Maybe that should be #1) Extra: Watching the Cubs (if they're on). How about you? Tue, 8 Jul 2008 21:26:53 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/children--the_short_version.html Nobody really wants to hear about your children. "You either have them or you don't". But since I posted a photo of mine (with me in the middle), I thought I'd just say who they are. (Picture taken Nov., '07 in Honduras) From left to right, there's Valerie. She'll be 35 in Oct. and is an optometrist living in Tegucigalpa, Honduras with two children (married). Then Emily, age 30 in Oct., a dental hygienist in Laf. IN., married, no kids. Darin, age 25, a mortgage consultant living singly in ... Mon, 7 Jul 2008 12:44:03 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/ah_silence.html It's an age old question I'm frequently asked: "What are you doing on the 4th, or Father's Day, or your birthday, or for Christmas, etc.?" Like I have something special planned for that special day. Let me tell you. Once upon a time, not so long ago it seems, I was married, had four children, remarried, had three step children, which adds up to 7 in one household. On top of that, I taught seventh grade for 32 years with 120 savages per day assaulting my senses. In other words, I had kids u ... Fri, 4 Jul 2008 13:35:34 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/tvs_ed_ads.html If you heard a long, loud, piercing scream last night, sorry. I had just heard (or would have if I hadn't muted) the umpteenth commercial on my two most unfavorite words in the English language: erectile disfunction. I need not go into details why they are so vile to my sense of common decency. I'm just glad such ads weren't on when my children were young. How embarrassing for their father. They're just plain revolting and disgusting, and I'm no prude. There. I've gotten that off my chest. ... Tue, 1 Jul 2008 20:19:54 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/teenage_caddy.html I'm reading a bio on Bruce Edwards, a caddy for pro Tom Watson, who suffered from ALS. Interesting story (although I'm not necessarily recommending the book). But it brings back memories of my days as a golf caddy. When my parents moved to a house right across the street from a golf course, my father made me go caddy at age 12. Barely bigger than a golf bag, I began a 5 year career as a toter of all sorts of golfer paraphernalia. Despite the low pay and hard, hot work, I enjoyed my job. Lo ... Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:37:37 GMT