Food For Thought

Ok, this may be the best Carrot Cake I have ever ate. My sister-in-law has a gift when it comes to desserts, and you all know who I am talking about.



Maybe she will put the Recipe in a comment.







By the way, she is also very good at making egg rolls.






Honey, I am doing fine here.


She is also really great at working with chocolate, but it never lasts very long.

October 31st Every Year.

I think Halloween is my favorite holiday. I do not know why. Maybe it is the time of the year when I can scare my wife without fear of retribution. No, that can’t be it, I still receive the retribution. Maybe it’s because I can still hear a story in my head that my evil sister, let’s call her “Pam”, used to tell me…...

When my parents would go out for the evening, which thankfully was not very often, they would leave me with Pam. She would entertain me with stories. (Man, I wish there had been cable when I was young.) The one story that sticks in my mind even today is of the mass murderer that lived in Wisconsin. (We lived way to close to Wisconsin.) She would describe in great detail, to this impressionable 7 year old, how this evil man would take his curved blade knife, cut into people’s attics, wait until they were asleep, then kill them, strip their skin, and make lamp shades out of them. The story would always have a long pause where she would ask “Did you hear that noise?” Of course I heard the noise in the attic, and at seven, I was 100% sure that by morning I would be a “lamp shade”. Great! No sleep for me. My parents always wondered why I was so happy to see them.

Maybe this story will give insight to my family why I like scaring people. Thanks Pam, you made Halloween real for me, and I look forward to it every year.

By the way, I got the last laugh several times. (Future postings) But, I still have problems turning on a lamp at night, and I still hear noises in the attic.

Golfing vs Fishing

Now that I am living in Minnesota, two of my favorite activities, golfing and fishing, are coming to an end for the season. Snow will be falling, the lakes will freeze over, and the greens will be covered. What am I going to do? I do not like to fish on the Ice, and indoor golf does not seem right. Honey, think I need a vacation. What is really bad is the real winter has not started.

House Votes to Extend Hate Crime Law to Cover Gays

Is not every crime a "hate" crime? If a crime is committed against you, the justice should be the same no matter who you are, black or white, female or male, straight or gay. Are we saying that a crime against a straight person is not just as bad as one committed against a gay person? Does anyone else think we have lost our common sense in this country?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/08/congress-expected-extend-hate-crime-law-cover-gays/

On Fishing

If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles.
-Doug Larson


I think it's time for me to get out, because at the moment I'm only thinking about fishing 21 hours a day, and they're the waking moments. And even when I close my eyes I'm thinking about it.
-Rex Hunt


The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.
-John Buchan


There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.
-Steven Wright



Larry, my friend, these quotes are for you. I hope one day in the future we can meet up to go fishing again. Never have I fished with someone who would share so much without giving up any of his secrets. ("Electric Chicken" and "Smelly Jelly") Keep the pictures coming.

By the way, I think we did cross the line a time or two, and "stand on the shore like idiots". Funny also that you are standing on the shore.

Perry

$871 Billion vs $900 Billion

Ok, How stupid do they think we are? A $29 Billion difference. Has there ever been a government program that has come in for less than projected. And after hearing from my older sister about all of the issues she has had dealing with the government on my fathers behalf, do we really want a government in charge of running our health care?

I am sorry but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi I do not trust you. Does anyone else think she looks like the "Wicked Witch" from the Wizard of OZ?

PHR


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/20/house-receives-preliminary-cbo-estimates-health-care-reform/?test=latestnews

The White House vs. Fox News.

I do not know about the rest of you, but the fact that the "White House" would spend so much time "worrying" about what Fox News reports worries me. I feel that if there is nothing to hide they should have nothing to worry about, but the fact they are going out of their way to attack Fox News, we all need to question how long we are going to have the freedoms we hold dear.

I am personally grateful that someone is publicly questioning everything the government does.

Go Get Them Fox!

Who Said?

“History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap. To keep the peace, we and our allies must be strong enough to convince any potential aggressor that war could bring no benefit, only disaster.”


“You and I know and do not believe that life is so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery. If nothing is worth dying for, when did this begin...? ...Should Moses have told the children of Israel to live in slavery under the pharaohs? Should Christ have refused the cross? Should the patriots of Concord Bridge have thrown down their guns and refused to fire the shot heard 'round the world?"


“The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would steal them away.”


“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”


“Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”


In my eighty years, I prefer to call that the forty-first anniversary of my thirty ninth birthday, I've seen what men can do for each other and do to each other, I've seen war and peace, feast and famine, depression and prosperity, sickness and health. I've seen the depth of suffering and the peaks of triumph and I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph and that there is purpose and worth to each and every life."


-Ronald Reagan


Ronald Reagan was the first President I was old enough to vote for. I saw the dark days of Jimmy Carter. I hope and pray we have a similar visionary step up to lead us out of the dark days of Barack Obama.

Who Said?

“Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.”

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”


“In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.”
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
“My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

-John Fitzgerald Kennedy





Anyone have any thoughts about how he would feel about the United States of America today?

Children...The Perfect Play Toy.

Having a child is a great thing. They look up to you like a hero, at least until they know better. As they grow, I believe, they go through four different phases.

Phase One: “You are my Hero” Phase
This phase lasts from the time they are born, until they are 10 or 11 years old. You can do no wrong. They look up to you. You know everything that can be known in the universe, at least in their mind. This is the phase you can train them to become a “Minnie Me”. With the reward of candy they can be trained to do just about anything a Labrador Retriever will do, just not as fast.

Example #1
I trained my daughter to hide in the dirty laundry until my wife came in the room and then say her name in a scary voice. Somehow I managed to be the one to get into trouble for this little stunt which was fully my child’s idea. Oh, the injustice.

Example #2
I could also make my daughter cry on command. I could drop my wife at the door of a store, and then tell my daughter, as we drove away, that we needed a new mommy. My daughter would think I was joking until I began pointing out different potential “mommies” as they came out of the store. Tears would begin to well up in her eyes until her one and only mother would exit the building and I would pick her up all smiles. That wonderful daughter of mine never let on about our game until the one day that “mommy” dropped off the grandmother, and my daughter spit out “Mom, I think we need a new Grandmother.” My wife, thinking of how horrible a statement her child had just made, began to scold her, and under the pressure she stated, “Dad says the same thing when you go in the store”. Needless to say my cell phone rang, and some how I again got in trouble for something my child had done. I am beginning to change my opinion on how great it is to have a child, now as I write these thoughts.

Phase Two: “You are embarrassing me” Phase.
This phase starts right after the “Hero Phase” and the end has yet to be determined. (She has not reached the next phase yet.) In this phase everything you do is embarrassing to the child. They live with the fear that you are going to do something dumb. Needless to say, my daughter lives in constant fear of my stupidity. She knows I am going to do something at sometime in the future, and she does her best to make sure that she does anything she can to keep it to a minimum. I, on the other hand, purposely go out of my way to do stupid stuff just to drive the women in my life “nuts”.

Example #1
Surely you have all seen the movie “Hitch”. Well, unfortunately for my daughter, I have seen it also, and needless to say I can do most of the dances that Kevin James does on the “big screen”. Now that is not the embarrassing part…that comes when I offer to teach her friends the same moves. I am talking all of her friends, be they girls or boys. I have also been known to “break a move” or hip when I hear a good song. By the way, Walmart does occasionally play good music in their stores. Need I say more?

Example #2
I also have been known to sing occasionally. Most, I repeat most, of the time it is in the car with only wife and daughter present. Still, when I hear my favorite tune of the day, I may break into singing no matter where I am at, and my daughter is well aware of this fact, and tries her best to distract me. Did I mention that “Sexy Back” by Justin Timberlake is one of my favorites? I can hear it in my head right now. “I am bringing Sexy Back….” Just seems to fit me, and when I “bust a move” and sing…Watch out!

Phase Three and Four: “Yet to be determined.”
I assume there has to be a 3 and 4, if not I am going to continue to be an embarrassment to my daughter. Hold on!!!!!!!! I was just thinking, maybe there is no Phase Two, and I am just an embarrassment? No, that can’t be, “I’m bringing Sexy Back! Yah!”

Marriage and a Friend

They say marriages are made in Heaven. But so is thunder and lightning.
-- Clint Eastwood

Married couples who love each other tell each other a thousand things without talking.
-- Chinese Proverb

Successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
-- German Greer

A good wife always forgives her husband when she's wrong.
-- Milton Berle



Being married a quarter of a century to the same woman (also known as Angel and Saint), I feel gives me the right to offer some suggestions on marriage. So here we go…

First, when you choose your mate you need to make sure you are friends first.

My wife and I started out as two young people in the same youth group at church. I can say at the age of 15 we did not see “eye to eye” on very many things including what a hot hunk of man I was. So we dated off and on (more off than on) until we were both out of college. After college I was finally able to make her realized what a hot hunk of man candy I was/am. She fell immediately in love with me, so I asked her to marry me. She said “yes” without hesitation, and begged me to take her to the preacher the following year because she could not wait any longer than that to become my bride.

So what did we learn from this love story….the “friends thing” is crap. The attraction gets you to the alter, the “friends thing” keeps you together and makes you thankful everyday that you have someone in your life that knows you better and love you more than you ever thought anyone could. They are the person that misses you when you are gone, and hugs you tight when you are together.

Second, you had better learn to laugh.

You are going to have some very trying times in a marriage. So you need to make sure you have a sense of humor. I believe my wife will confirm that I do have a sense of humor and at times maybe too much. Believe me when I say, there are going to be two types of tears in a marriage Sad and Happy. You need to make sure that the balance tips to the happy side more than the sad. Understand, no matter the situation you control how you approach it.

Finally, communicate with each other.

Unlike my wife, I am no mind reader, and I do not get clues very well either. At times it takes a bat to make me understand. I would offer up the idea of verbal communication. Tell each other what you think, feel, or hope, and guys when she tells you …nod and say “yes, I fully agree”, unless the question is “Does this make my butt look big?” then just walk away very fast.

In conclusion, you can see from above I have no clue about what makes a marriage successful and happy. It takes work and common bonds. Stick with it and prepare for the ride of your life.


A good marriage is like a casserole, only those responsible for it really know what goes in it.
--anonymous

Soul-mates are people who bring out the best in you. They are not perfect but are always perfect for you.
--Author Unknown

Mom's Advice

I wanted to touch on advice my mother used to tell me when I was a little boy. She always said “Make sure that you have clean underwear on when you go out, in case you get into an accident.”



Now reflecting back on this advice I always considered it sound. Yes, I did have the thought that if I was in an “accident” I would more than likely soil what had previously been clean. I also doubted that the nurses or doctor would pay much attention to the condition of my underwear if I was actually in need of their services from an “accident”.



So why did my mother have the concern over the condition of my underwear? After 47 year I have come up with the most plausible answer. She was not concerned with my embarrassment, she was concerned with hers. Just think for a minute, a loving mother sending her son to school with “skid marks”, does she not love him? What would people say if they found out? “She does not care about her child, look at the dirty underwear.” “What kind of mother is she?” “Oh! The humanity!”



So, my child, this might explain why your mom and I are so concerned with your “underwear”, or even your hair and make-up. We may be concerned with the reflection on us as parents, more than on you, or maybe we just want you to have clean underwear on.



Mom, just to let you know I still put on clean underwear every day, and sometimes a couple of times a day. Don’t ask, at least I started with a clean pair.

Snow?

I have a new philosophy. I'm only going to dread one day at a time. - Charles M. Schulz