Month: September 2008

  • DC(five11nation) and CzarnyEffingKruk "Tagged me" on these 15 or 16 things

     

     

         15 or 16 Things Most People Don't Know about Me

        

         Had to think about this one for a couple of days, finally decided to go ahead and do it. Thanks for the tag, Guys!!

         1.My Space photos.jpg I was born in Dec,1947 in the little river town of Ironton,Oh. But, I have lived my entire life, with the exception of my 4 years in the Air Force, in the beautiful Bluegrass State of Kentucky.

          And I bleed Blue! That's no joke. I have followed the Wildcats since the early 50's. Some of the greatest high's in my life have been watching the Cats win another NCAAB National Championship, and have suffered the lowest of lows when they go out in the first round of March Madness, like last year.

         UK also has a football team worthy of being called "The Wildcats" now, too. And I am really lovin' watching them play!

         2. I had learned to read by age 4 and entered 1st grade at age 5. I quickly became an avid reader and was a straight A student until the end of my sophomore year in high school. In the following summer I got my drivers license, bought my first car(a 1952 Chevy Coupe), started dating Sue Robinette, and discovered the"Wild,Wacky,Wonderful world of Beer"!

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         Combined, they easily put an end to that straight A nonsense! Took me 3 more years to graduate in 1966, but I was enjoying the highschool days (and nights)!

         3.I have been an avid hunter most of my life, also. I started around age 9, going rabbit hunting with my Dad. I think back now and realize I only enjoyed it when I was a child because that was the only time my father paid any positive attention to me. Nuff said about him. He changed as he grew old and was a wonderful grandfather to my children. He's gone now and I miss him.

          I continued to hunt as an adult because I loved being out there in the woods and fields with a good dog and a friend or two, and a few times with my son. I don't think Matt(my son)really liked it and I didn't push it. I understood.

          I stopped hunting in the winter of 88, I believe. I was bowhunting for deer near Blaine,Ky and the pre-dawn light found me at the top of a ridge, standing under a small oak near a fenceline. I could hear something working its way up the hill, and nocked an arrow. A large doe stepped out in the open near the fence not 30 feet away. I slowly pulled that broadhead to full draw and raised the bow. As the fingertips of my right hand touched that familiar spot at the corner of my mouth, the bowsight was pinpointed on her chest. She stood at the fence for a few seconds, but I was looking at the silvery coat of frost on her back and watching the breath stream out of her nostrils. It was a beautiful sight as those first rays of sunlight broke across the hills. I could not release that shaft. As I lowered the bow she bolted, and went back the way she had came. I walked back out to my truck, never to go hunting again.

        S&W's 002 But, I still have a love of firearms, and have a nice little collection. I'm also licensed to carry concealed deadly weapons in 38 states, and pretty much anywhere I go, one of these two guys is with me.

         4.After finally graduating, I managed to get a job at one of the better places to work around here at that time, Armco Steel! I was a Union man! I intended to work there for a couple of years, save as much as I could, and eventually enroll at UK. I actually wanted to be a teacher at one time.

          But, Uncle Sam had other plans for me. Got my draft notice on Nov 20 1966. Ran, not walked, to the recruiter and joined the Air Force the next morning! Left for Basic Training at Lackland AFB the next day. *thumbs nose at draft board*

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         5.After my 4 years in the Air Force I returned to Kentucky, and the job at Armco. And I absolutely hated it! I've regretted the decision not to re-enlist ever since!

         6.My Space pics 043.jpg Then one night,(May 22, 1971 to be exact) while out barhopping with a friend, I met this beautiful, petite, green eyed, raven haired girl! We seemed to hit it off pretty well that night, so the next weekend I asked her out. She said yes, so I took her to Carter Caves State Park to a folk music festival. Ran in to my brother who was camped there with a friend. That meant they had a tent.Hmmmm. Made love to that girl for the first time in a borrowed tent! She called me the next weekend to see if I wanted to go to a hibachi party at a friends house. Sure, I said. Later that evening we snuck into their bedroom and "borrowed" their waterbed!

          Sometime during the next week, she asked if I could help her move some furniture into this little house she had rented, and not being totally retarded, I agreed to give her a hand. Spent that night with her in her new little house, and have been with her every night since. Made her my wife on July 20th 1971.

          Best decision I ever made!

    m_e9675c0ae41d64b3f9612e5d639d5aa7.jpg We recently celebrated our 37th anniversary!

     

          7.Talking about decisions though, it wasn't long after that I made the worst one of my life. We had been married for three weeks and wanted to have a party to celebrate our "anniversary". I laid off work that evening (called in sick),and we had a big party! Around 2:30 that night, the party was still going strong, and for some reason, Karen and I decided to go for a motorcycle ride.

    My Space photos 012.jpg So, I fired up my 66 Triumph Bonneville TT and off we went. Don't remember where we were going or why. We had no idea it would be well over a year before I would come home again. Our whole life changed that night.

         As I came out of a long curve at around 50 mph, I saw the wrecker parked halfway out in the road with no lights on just a split second before we hit it. Since she was behind me, the impact threw Karen about 200 feet down the road, breaking her right leg and fracturing her skull. Did I mention she was pregnant? I, on the other hand, went nowhere. I had tried to lay the bike down, so I missed the boom sticking out the back, but hit the heavy bumper with the right side of my body. I absorbed the full force of that hit, and almost every bone on the right side of my body was broken. I, and the bike, wound up right in front of the wrecker. I remember landing on my back and the bike falling over away from me. I wasn't feeling anything, I was totaly numb, but something was laying on my face making it hard to breath. I managed to pick it up with my broken hands to see what is was. It was my right foot. My right leg was between the bike engine and bumper at impact and was crushed. My foot was still attached, but from mid thigh to ankle my leg was broken in so many places you could tie it in a knot.

          I was in intensive care for a month, another 3 months in the hospital in a pelvic sling(my pelvis was split by the gas tank, and the gas tank was split open by my pelvis), and then spent the next eight months in a body cast. My Mom and Dad had a hospital bed put in a small room downstairs at their house, so we spent the bodycast time there.

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          8. Moving on. Karen healed in time, but my leg didn't. That was the start of over 13 surgeries in the next 18 years. Lost my job at Armco, they would only hold it for 5 years, and at that time I was still in casts and on crutches. Started my own business in 1976 to try and make a living. Stayed at it for the next 13 years, all the while going back to hospitals for some type of surgery trying to get the leg to heal. They tried rebreaking and resetting, steel screws and plates, taking them out again, bone grafts, vein grafts to improve circulation, but the bones wouldn't heal, and were starting to decay.

          9.Finally, in 1989, in desperation I checked myself into the VA hospital in Lexington. They decided on something a little radical. They removed all the dead bone and the front of my shin itself. The skin and muscle on the front of my shin was all scar tissue, and had very little blood flow thru it. They then grafted bone from my hips, both lat muscles from my back, veins from my left leg, and skin from both upper thighs to rebuild the whole thing.

          It worked. Finally I could walk normally with no pain. Have had no problems with it since. Thank you, VA!

         But, I have scars in places that most people don't even realize they have places.

          10.Following that, I had had enough of trying to make ends meet working for myself. Sold out to my partner, and went to work for my friend Jack Baldwin at the new tank wash they were getting ready to open. That was in Feb. 1990, and I'm still here. I'm currently in charge of production and maintenance and I'll be here til they run me off, or I retire, whichever comes first.

          Enough of my history, here's a few about me.

          11. I am a pretty pugnacious person. I don't back down from anything or anyone. Gotten me in trouble more than once.

          12. My personality has been described as "gruff" by many, and my sense of humor as "caustic" by many more!

          13. If I call you "friend" in real life, you would be hard put to find a better one. I will be on your side, right or wrong. We'll talk about the right or wrong later, but while the shit is going down, I've got your back!

          14. We're all human and make mistakes. If you make an honest mistake with me, I'm quick to forgive.

           If you wrong me with intent to do harm, you have an enemy for life! Don't ever turn your back on me, I never forget and I never forgive.

          15. Like my good friend Dan, I love Jack Daniels! Unlike Dan, I have Jack over every now and then to rehash old times!

          16. I have a fondness for beer. Who the Hell am I kiddin'? I love beer! It is my daily bread!!

     

           Now, everyone that reads this probably knows more about me than people that have known me personally for 30 years! If you took the time to read it all, thank you!

            Time to tag!

            First, I tag five11nation, cause he tagged me first!

            Next would be my daughter Carly.

            And my son Matt.

            The rest, in no particular order are, Gloria, Keith, Angel, Hazlea, Ruby, Bill, Beth, Kathi, Cindy, Sandra, Chris, and MrsHammett!

     

     

     

           

  • Kentucky easily handles Hilltoppers 41-3

     

     

    Tony Dixon ran for two touchdowns and Kentucky ruined Western Kentucky’s first visit to Commonwealth Stadium in a 41-3 victory on Saturday.

    Derrick Locke added a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for the Wildcats (4-0), who will enter Southeastern Conference play unbeaten for the second straight year.

    Just don’t confuse unbeaten for unbeatable.

     

     

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    Kentucky's Alfonso Smith runs for a touchdown during the second half of their NCAA college football game against Western Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008. Kentucky won the game 41-3

     

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    Jeremy Jarmon #99 of the Kentucky Widcats sacks K.J. Black #5 of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers during the game at Commonwealth Stadium.

     

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    DeMoreo Ford #8 of the Kentucky Widcats runs with the ball while defended by Preston King #68 of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

     

    The road gets much tougher for Kentucky next week when the Wildcats travel to Alabama.

    Alabama’s impressive performance against Georgia jumped the Tide six spots in the polls. Alabama hasn’t been ranked this high since it was No. 2 for the first eight polls of the 1993 season.

     

     

  • Do Guns Kill People?

     

     

    No!

     

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    Guns are no more responsible for gun deaths

     

     

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     than spoons can be held responsible

     

     

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    for making Rosie O'Donnell fat.

     

    The fault lies with the user, not with the tool!

     

     

  • New Poster for the Breakroom

     

    !cid_4CBF4BFE6B544FA085B1E0CB1945A10F@D1VDRPB1

    2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMPARISON TALKING POINTS

    ISSUE

    JOHN McCAIN

    BARACK OBAMA

    Favors new drilling offshore US

    Yes

    No

    Will appoint judges who interpret the law not make it

    Yes

    No


    Served in the US Armed Forces

    Yes

    No

    Amount of time served in the US Senate

    22 YEARS

    173 DAYS

    Will institute a socialized national health care plan

    No

    Yes

    Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy

    No

    Yes

    Would pull troops out of Iraq immediately

    No

    Yes

    Supports gun ownership rights

    Yes

    No

    Supports homosexual marriage

    No

    Yes

    Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase

    No

    Yes

    Voted against making English the official language

    No

    Yes

    Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegals

    No

    Yes

    CAPITAL GAINS TAX

    MCCAIN

    0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.

    OBAMA

    28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)

    DIVIDEND TAX

    MCCAIN

    15% (no change)

    OBAMA

    39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.')

    INCOME TAX

    MCCAIN

    (no changes)

    Single making 30K - tax $4,500
    Single making 50K - tax $12,500
    Single making 75K - tax $18,750
    Married making 60K- tax $9,000
    Married making 75K - tax $18,750
    Married making 125K - tax $31,250

    OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)

    Single making 30K - tax $8,400
    Single making 50K - tax $14,000
    Single making 75K - tax $23,250
    Married making 60K - tax $16,800
    Married making 75K - tax $21,000
    Married making 125K - tax $38,750
    Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!

    INHERITANCE TAX

    MCCAIN

    - 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)

    OBAMA

    Restore the inheritance tax

    Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.

    NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA

    New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already) New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least....New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Clapton IS God

     

     

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    "In a career that spans more than forty years, Eric Clapton has secured his place in the rock 'n' roll history books as one of the most influential singer-songwriter-guitarists of all time. From his rise to fame with the Yardbirds to his solo career, the rock icon is a 16-time Grammy winner and the only triple-inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of both the Yardbirds and Cream, and as a solo artist."

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    The phrase was spray-painted by an admirer on a wall in an Islington Underground station in the autumn of 1967.

    Still rings true to me!

    I was stationed at Offutt AFB in Omaha, Ne in 1968, and two friends and I drove to Des Moines,Ia in a freak snowstorm in mid-October to catch Cream's farewell tour. Been almost 40 years now and I've never been to any other event that even came close to overwhelming me the way I was blown away that night!

    It was all I had dreamed of and more!

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    Will never forget Ginger Baker's 20+ minute drum solo on "Toad", after which his legs cramped up and he had to be helped off the stage!

    It was the end of an era.

    But Clapton plays on.

    Thru all the problems.

    He is still the "best" that there will "ever" be!

     

    And from Timepieces Vol.2, Here's a little something for a friend in Oklahoma!

     

     

     

     

  • Little Kaitlyn Maher was Sent Home

     

     

    Kaitlyn's last performance on America's Got Talent----This year!

    I have a feeling she'll be back.

    She didn't make the final 5, but I didn't think she would.

    Just a little too young.

    But here is a non-show video of her singing the National Anthem, and baby, that ain't easy! I've seen many top rated talents screw this song up!

    She is truely an American Sweetheart!!

     

     

  • Two Favorite Doors

     

     

    I didn't take very many pictures of doors this past year for Angi, but then I got started pretty late.

    Of those I did take, these are my two favorites.

     

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    A side door to the Episcopal Church here in Russell,Ky

     

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    The freight doors at the Train Depot in Ironton,Oh

     

    Wonder what she's planning for this year?

     

     

  • Choices to be made

     

     

    WinterWonderland

     

    Winter's sneaking in on frostbitten feet

    Not looking forward to turning on heat

    Surely it seems my gas bill's outrageous

    And on every front price gouging's contagious

     

    Starting to hate these either/or choices

    That are nagging at me in mean little voices

    Why do these needs have to compete

    Do I stay warm......buy beer......or eat?

     

     

     

  • Best act ever on America's Got Talent!

     

     

    She's probably not going to win, but she has more charm, appeal,and talent than anyone else on the show!

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I actually get tears in my eyes watching and listening to this child!

    For some reason, I always think of  MooncatBlue's daughter when I see her.

     

     

  • Given a chance to meet and talk to any 3 artists (dead or living), who would you choose?

     

     

    A slightly diverse group, I would think.

     

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    1- Stevie Ray Vaughn

     

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    2- Joseph Conrad

     

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    3- Vincent Van Gogh, if he could only hear me.

     



       

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