Month: August 2008

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No Comments are coming

I often wonder if anyone is even reading this blog that I have taken to writing every now and then, I’m not even receiving any Spam, amazing as that sounds.

I know  I haven’t spent as much time as I intended to, but life does have a way of keeping one busier than they would like at times. I guess I need to get off my duff and start doing a bit more here and there. The weather is changing, the Holidays are approaching faster than I would like to see, but is inevitable, and with it comes all the nasty cold that will require a nice warm fireplace going full blast in the house.

The collecting of firewood seems to be the next major concern and chore that needs tending to it seems.

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The 2008 Olympics are here

So many topics to talk about concerning the events that are taking place in China, while hosting the 2008 Olympics this year. I usually enjoy watching the Olympics and have had opportunities to attend some of the games in the past, but never have actually made it to any of them.

This particular location that they picked for hosting the games, in China, has had it’s ups and downs, and it is the first time that I haven’t kicked myself in the rear for not making more of an effort to personally attend this most exciting and interesting event.

The air quality in China is a major issue and I can really feel for the participants that are having to deal with such a problem as not being able to breath properly while trying to perform the best that they have ever had to, in order to take home a medal. It has been a real eye opener for the rest of the world, and maybe now something will be done to make China a better place to live and breath in the future.

I wish them all the luck in the world, and I hope that the US can kick some butt and bring home a good amount of medals for us to rant and rave about, until the next Olympic games are held.

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The visiting of family grave sites

Yesterday was such a nice day for a change, the heat has been most unpleasant as of late, keeping most people inside and in the air conditioning of their homes or businesses, so having a nice for a change was a pleasant change of pace, and required some time of outdoor activity to enjoy it all in.

The wife has been wanting to visit the cemetery that most of her people are laid to rest in, I can’t blame her, it is good to go and pay your respects from time to time, good for the soul. So we went ahead and spent a good portion of yesterday’s afternoon doing just that.

We were pleasantly surprised to see how well maintained the graves were, last time the place was a mess and my wife was very upset about it, enough to call and complain upon her return home from her last visit. Upon our arrival we noticed a man on one of the John Deere lawnmowers, was busy mowing the grass to a bristly green stubble that tickled our kneecaps when we knelt at each grave site.

The granite markers all looked good, their blue-gray color still as peaceful and strong as the day they were placed in the earth. The stones feeling cool and smooth as you trace your fingers over them and feeling each letter and number that is etched in each person’s headstone, telling the names and dates of the deceased.

I’m glad to say that the wife held up pretty good through out the whole time, as we wondered from grave site to grave site, after grave site, her only regret was not bringing enough flowers to put on each and every grave of all of her relatives that we found. I promised that we would be more prepared at out next visit, which hopefully won’t be for another year or two, or three…..

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Gone Fishing

I’ve been out fishing for the past week with an old friend from my high school days. We packed up our camping gear and went deep into the hills of Cherokee Canyon in southern Virginia, to our old fishing hole, which to our surprise looks pretty much the same as it did some thirty years ago when we used to go there as kids. Needless to say, for a mans vacation geared towards relaxation it was a huge success.

Although the fishing itself was not as big a boom for our collective freezers, we did manage to come away with some forty or fifty good sized fish. We caught a few trout, some spot, sunfish and both small mouth and bigmouth bass.  Nothing of record breaking size, but we were pleased just the same. We had our best luck on the fourth day there when the bass starting biting. We got rained on quite a bit but it was more fun than a hindrance of any sort. As a matter of fact, except for the one time the tent fell in during a downpour and soaked us to the bone, it was a very relaxing experience.

We spent most the evenings dining on our days catch and reminiscing about the old days. On my return home my wonderful wife told me I smelled like a fish market on a hot day! But she was happy that I’d had a good time. She herself had a wonderful week as well from what she’d told me and mentioned that next time she would like to accompany us along with a couple of her friends she Iearned also enjoy fishing, although they prefer fly fishing above other styles. One of her friends even offered to teach me how to tie flies. Looks like the next fishing trip is going to be a real hoot, I just hope the girls don’t show us fellows up to bad when it comes to fly rod fishing.