Wacky Death #890

This really is a strange death. The lady's name was strange. oop, I mean... Strange. Jennifer Strange to be exact. She was participating in a contest to see who could drink the most water without going number 1. Problem is she suffered from accute water intoxication and died.

Very very odd, or should I say Strange.

Wacky Death #456

How would you like to have some of your entrails pulled out of your body through your rectum? You wouldn't? Well, I'm sure 6 year-old Abigail Taylor didn't want it to happen either, but it did.


Abigail Taylor - sad victim of a bizarre accident

It seems she sat on a drain in her neighborhood pool and it sucked so hard on her little body that a good portion of her intestines were sucked out. Also damaged beyond repair was her liver and pancreas. I can't even begin to imagine how horrifying it must have been for her. I am so sorry for her and her family.

It takes the cake for one of the most bizarre deaths I've ever heard of.

Zombie Movies

I love them zombie flix! I now present Mike's top 10 ZOMBIE FLIX!

01. "The Walking Dead" the TV series
02. 28 Days Later
03. 28 Weeks Later
04. Dawn of the Dead (2004 Remake)
05. Dawn of the Dead (original)
06. Night of the Living Dead (remake)
07. Resident Evil
08. The Crazies (remake)
09. Shaun of the Dead
10. Zombieland (?)

John Cleese on Threat Levels in Europe (Funny)

ALERTS TO TERROR THREATS IN 2011 EUROPE: BY JOHN CLEESE (former member of Monty Python)

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get the Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France’s white flag factory, effectively paralysing the country's military capability.

Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbour" and "Lose."

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be right, Mate." Two more escalation levels remain: "Crikey! I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend!" and "The barbie's cancelled." So far, no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.

John Cleese - British writer, actor and very tall person

Nick Lowe

Nick Lowe is great! He is a gentleman of extreme talent, at playing several instruments, producing, and writing songs, and performing. A true triple threat! He gets better with age! Here he is in his 1980's heyday!

Alice Cooper

I dig Alice Cooper. He is a cool dude. He is a true original. Very unlike any other before him, but often imitated since. He is still going strong! Here is Alice Cooper in character: 

 Here is Alice Cooper (Vincent Furnier), regular joe:

His theatrical personae is quite entertaining. It is intended to shock in an over-the-top way the horror genre. In real life he is an avid golfer, a part time actor, a restauranteur, a philanthropist, and believe it or not a professing Christian. He is also VERY successful. He has had 11 top 40 hit songs, including 3 top 10's, and his albums have sold millions all over the world.

Last Meal Requests by Notable People

Prior to execution the condemned are given their last meal. Any reasonable request is honored, if possible. Here are some people's last meal requests.

Adolf Eichmann declined a special meal, preferring a bottle of Carmel, a dry red Israeli wine. He drank about half of it.
Aileen Wuornos declined a special meal, but had a hamburger and other snack food from the prison's canteen. Later, she drank a cup of coffee.
Allen Lee Davis: 350-pound "Tiny" Davis had one lobster tail, fried potatoes, a half-pound of fried shrimp, six ounces of fried clams, half a loaf of garlic bread, and 32 ounces of A&W root beer.
Andrey Chikatilo: porridge with a small piece of beef.
Ángel Nieves Díaz declined a special meal. He was served the regular prison meal for that day, but declined that as well.
Barton Kay Kirkham: Pizzas and ice cream, "because you get cheese, meat and everything in one meal. Not so much fuss."
Bruno Richard Hauptmann: Celery, olives, chicken, French fries, buttered peas, cherries, and a slice of cake.
Charles Peace: A hearty breakfast of eggs and a huge amount of (very salty) bacon.
Clarence Ray Allen: Buffalo steak, Kentucky Fried Chicken, sugar-free pecan pie and sugar-free black walnut ice cream.
Danny Rolling: Lobster tail, butterfly shrimp, baked potato, strawberry cheesecake, and sweet tea.
Dennis Wayne Bagwell: Medium rare steak with A1 Steak Sauce, fried chicken breasts and thighs, BBQ ribs, French fries, onion rings, bacon, scrambled eggs with onions, fried potatoes with onions, sliced tomatoes, salad with ranch dressing, two hamburgers, peach pie, milk, coffee, and iced tea with real sugar.
Desmond Keith Carter declined a special meal, but had two cheeseburgers, a steak sub, and two Cokes from the prison canteen, for which he paid $4.20 from his prison account.
Dobie Gillis Williams: Twelve candy bars and some ice cream.
Donald Snyder gained over 150 pounds in an unsuccessful bid to be unable to fit in the electric chair. He requested pork chops and eggs "and plenty of 'em!".
Edward Hartman: A Greek salad, linguini with white clam sauce, cheese cake with cherry topping, garlic bread, and a Coke.
Eric Wrinkles: Prime rib, a "loaded" baked potato, pork chops with steak fries, rolls and two salads with ranch dressing, served three days before execution because Indiana State Prison found that condemned inmates tend to lose their appetite near the end.
Francis Crowley: Steak and onions, french fries, apple pie, ice cream and melted ice cream.
Gary Gilmore: A hamburger, hard-boiled eggs, a baked potato, a few cups of coffee, and three shots of contraband Jack Daniel's whiskey.
Gary Lee Davis: Chocolate and vanilla ice cream cups, shared with the prison superintendent and a manager.
Gary M. Heidnik had two slices of a cheese pizza and two cups of black coffee.
Gordon Fawcett Hambly, who suffered from indigestion, a lobster salad.
Henry Martinez Porter: Flour tortillas, T-bone steak, refried beans, tossed salad, jalapeño peppers, ice cream, and chocolate cake.
Ignacio Cuevas, perpetrator of the 1974 Huntsville Prison Siege - Chicken dumplings, steamed rice, sliced bread, black-eyes peas, and iced tea.
James Edward Smith requested a lump of dirt, which was denied. He settled for a small cup of yogurt.
Joan of Arc: Holy communion.
John Albert Taylor: Pizzas "with everything."
John Allen Muhammad: Chicken with red sauce and several cakes.
John David Duty: A double cheeseburger with mayonnaise, a foot-long hot dog with cheese, mustard and extra onions, a cherry limeade, and a large banana shake.
John Wayne Gacy: A dozen deep-fried shrimp, a bucket of original recipe chicken from KFC, French fries, and a pound of strawberries.
Joseph Mitchell Parsons: Three Burger King Whoppers, two large orders of fries, a chocolate shake, chocolate chip ice cream, and a package of grape Hubba Bubba bubblegum, to be shared with his brother and a cousin.
Judd Gray: Chicken soup, chicken, mashed potatoes, celery, stuffed olives and ice cream.
Karl Eugene Chamberlain: A variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, lunch meat, deviled eggs, six fried cheese-stuffed jalapeños, a chef salad with ranch dressing, onion rings, french fries, a cheeseburger, two fried chicken breasts, barbecue pork rolls, an omelet, milk, and orange juice.
Karla Faye Tucker: Banana, peach, and garden salad with ranch dressing.
Keith Zettlemoyer: Two cheeseburgers, fries, chocolate pudding and chocolate milk.
Lowell Lee Andrews: Two fried chickens with sides of mashed potatoes, green beans and Pie a La Mode.
Lynda Lyon Block declined a special meal, and spent her final night reading the Bible and listening to an oldies radio station.
Mark Dean Schwab: Fried eggs (over easy), bacon, sausage links, hash browns, buttered toast, and a quart of chocolate milk.
Martha Beck: Fried chicken, fried potatoes and salad.
Michael Bruce Ross (of Connecticut) declined a special meal, but dined on the regular prison meal of the day: turkey à la king with rice, mixed vegetables, white bread, fruit, and a beverage.
Murl Daniels: Orange juice, grape juice, fried chicken, fried oysters, chili, potatoes, Limburger cheese, bread and butter, vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, chocolate cake and coffee.
Perry Smith and Richard Hickock: Shrimp, French fries, garlic bread, ice cream, and strawberries with whipped cream.
Odell Barnes: "Justice, Equality, World Peace."
Peter Kürten: Wiener schnitzel, fried potatoes and a bottle of white wine. He requested seconds and received it.
Philip Workman: He declined a special meal for himself, but he asked for a large vegetarian pizza to be given to a homeless person in Nashville, Tennessee. This request was denied by the prison, but carried out by others across the country.
Rainey Bethea: Fried chicken, pork chops, mashed potatoes, pickled cucumbers, cornbread, lemon pie, and ice cream.
Ricky Ray Rector: Steak, fried chicken, cherry Kool-Aid, and a pecan pie — which he did not eat, because he said he was saving it for later.
Robert Alton Harris: A 21-piece bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, two large Domino's Pizzas (no anchovies), ice cream, a bag of jelly beans, a six-pack of Pepsi, and a pack of Camel cigarettes.
Ronald Clark O'Bryan's last meal request consisted of a T-bone steak (medium to well done), french fries with ketchup, whole kernel corn, sweet peas, a lettuce and tomato salad with egg and French dressing, iced tea, sweetener, saltines, Boston cream pie, and rolls.
Ronnie Lee Gardner: Lobster tail, steak, apple pie, vanilla ice cream, 7-Up, and watching The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
Ruth Snyder: Chicken Parmisan with alfredo pasta, ice cream, 2 milkshakes, a burger from Carl's Jr, and a 12-pack of grape soda.
Saddam Hussein: The Times states that "he refused their offers of cigarettes and a last meal of chicken." Other sources state a variety of meal options.
Stephen Wayne Anderson: Two grilled cheese sandwiches, one pint of cottage cheese, a hominy/corn mixture, one piece of peach pie, one pint of chocolate chip ice cream, and radishes.
Ted Bundy declined a special meal, so he was given the traditional steak (medium-rare), eggs (over-easy), hash browns, toast, milk, coffee, juice, butter, and jelly.
Teresa Lewis: Two fried chicken breasts, sweet peas with butter, a Dr. Pepper and German chocolate cake for dessert.
Timothy McVeigh: Two pints of mint chocolate-chip ice cream.
Velma Barfield declined a special meal, having a bag of Cheez Doodles and a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola instead.
Victor Feguer requested a single olive with the pit still in.
Wesley Baker: Breaded fish, pasta marinara, green beans, orange fruit punch, bread, and milk (this was what was on the prison menu that day).
William Bonin: Two pepperoni and sausage pizzas, three servings of chocolate ice cream, and three six-packs of Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

(Snagged from Wikipedia)

The Amazing Echidna

Have you ever heard of an echidna?

No?

Well, here are some fun facts...

1. They have spiny tongues which help catch their prey.
2. They can live up to 50 years.
3. One of only two known species of egg-laying mammals (the platypus is the other).
4. They are excellent borrowers. But don't ask for it back.
5. They mostly eat ants, termites and sometimes kittens.
6. Named after a monster in Greek mythology.
7. Their bodies are covered with thick spines like a Porky-Pine.
8. It curls into a spiny ball when threatened, which makes them easier to kill.
9. Their rear feet point backwards, stupid things.
10. The males have a 4 headed penis, naughty naughty.
11. They are lousy company in bed.
12. They enjoy dark ambient music.
13. They taste like chicken.
14. Can be used to clean tough floor stains.
15. They explode when hit directly with a 50 caliber round.

Awesome.

Mike Walk ca. 1980

 

Here I am. Mike Walk. This photo was taken at Jackson Middle School sometime around 1980 or so. Notice my #11 shirt. Notice my baleful gaze. It says "Don't mess with me, Jack!"

Astor to Philip's Right Eye

One of my favorite stories (I find it rather hilarious) is found in an old book called "Ridpath's History of the World" by John Clark Ridpath (1901). He tells of how King Philip II of Macedon (father to Alexander the Great) lost his right eye.

"During the siege of Methone, King Philip of Macedon had the misfortune of losing his right eye. While the king was standing some distance away from the castle, an arrow flew from the rampart and straight into his right eye. When the arrow was inspected it had a note attached to it which read "Astor to Philip's right eye." Further investigation revealed the whole story. It seems an archer named "Astor" had recently volunteered his services to King Philip, who rejected his offer. Astor, it seems, had told Philip that his skill with a bow was so great, he was able to kill a bird in flight. The king, thinking this was just false bragadoccio, rejected Astor with the remark "Well, well... I shall make use of you when I go to war with the starlings." Following this rejection, Astor had joined the Methoneans and shot the arrow which validated his skill in an unforgettable way." [paraphrased]



Whether the story is true or not I don't know. What I do know is, this Astor fellow really made his point (pardon the pun).

By the way, forensic scientists who decided to accurately recreate Philip's face came up with this:

Looks kinda like Richard Dreyfuss with a messed-up right eye (presumably the result of the efforts of Astor, the disgruntled archer).

Allergy Update!

I feel better. My sore throat is gone. Just have a bit of chest and nasal congestion. Other than that... hunky dory!

Wacky Death: # 879

Jerome Irving Rodale, an American pioneer of organic farming, died of a heart attack while being interviewed on the Dick Cavett Show in 1971. During the intervew Rodale was seen to close his eyes and slump down into his seat. Cavett quipped "Are we boring you, Mr. Rodale?", before realizing the man was stone dead. The show with Mr. Rodale's death was never broadcast.

Rasputin (The Monk)

Rasputin! He was a very odd fellow. He held the Romanov family in his mystical yet greasy grip. Although he often looked like he could really use a shower, he apparently had a certain charisma that endeared him to the Tzarina (The Tzar's wife). Not only that he was reported to have "powers" that could "heal".

The Tzar in question was the doomed "last Tzar" Nicholas Romanov II (the one who ultimately was gunned down along with his whole family). Anyway, those loyal to the Czar and Mother Russia had decided to get rid of Rasputin for the welfare of the Romanov royal family. Little did they know it would turn out to be harder than they thought.

A group of conspirators met and hatched a plan. On December 16-17 at 12:30 a.m. the killers, along with Rasputin, met in a cozy little basement dining room in the Yusupov palace. There, poisoned pastries and wine awaited the mad mystic. After first refusing, he decided to eat up, and ate enough cyanide to kill ten men. Two hours later, he was showing no ill effects.

Time to go with plan B. It was decided, after the shock and awe of his seeming imperviousness to lethal poison, that perhaps shooting him would be quick, fast, and easy. So, a guy named Prince Felix Yusupov (one of the conspirators) came in and shot Rasputin in the chest. After a while they decided he was dead, and ready to be dumped into the nearby Malaya Nevka river. Though they figured they better wait for a while til it got later, you know, to avoid being seen.

When Felix went down to look at the body, he was surprised that it was actually still warm. He was also surprised to see Rasptin's eyes begin to open and shut. Then he was REALLY surprised when Rasputin got to his feet and lunged at his assailant! Yep, he was still alive! The other conspirators rushed down to the basement to see that Rasputin had escaped into the courtyard, running for his life.

What followed next was another assault. During it, Rasputin was:

Shot in the back. (he was still crawling)
Shot in the head. (he was still crawling)
kicked repeatedly in the head. (he was finally still)

Then the conspirators dragged Rasputin's seemingly lifeless body back into the palace. There it was noticed that, yep, he was STILL ALIVE. So, they savagely beat him in the head with a dumbell. Rasputin, the mad monk, sat there, propped in a chair, a gory mess. Convinced he'd expire any second along the way, they decided to go ahead and dump his body in the pre-planned spot (off the Great Petrovsky Bridge). Rasputin's blood splattered carcass was wrapped in aheavy cloth and wound up tight in rope. He was trundled off in a car trunk to the river side. There the conspirators heaved his body into the icey Malaya Nevka River. Unfortunately they hadn't weighed the body down. They watched a moment as the huge hellish bundle just, more or less, floated away.

They figured they got away with it, but a few days later his body was recovered from the frigid waters of the Malaya Nevka River. Investigators soon rounded up all those responsible.

The conspirators ultimately got off with slaps on the wrist, but rasputin's killing was not popular with the masses. It was seen as another abuse of power by an out of control aristocracy.

Czar Nicholas later abdicated, then was slaughtered, and then the Marxists took over control of Russia. The rest, as they say, is history.

One more thing. Rasputin's body, when it was found, was frozen in a way that revealed that he had managed to free his arms and was attempting to untie himself before he died.

After being poisoned, shot three times, and bludgeoned, his official cause of death was listed as drowning.

Click here for a post-mortem picture of him

A Camping Nightmare

This would definately be my camping nightmare!!!

William Arnold Walk

Here are a couple pictures of my Dad's dad. He was known as Arnold, though his full name was William Arnold Walk. Later he was known primarily as Bill. He was a lifelong military man and served during both world wars.




This is (L to R) William A. Walk, Ara Walk, and Stewart Walk.

Dad's Stories: Memories

Hello children. Just before going to bed...I thought I'd put something together for you to look at and enjoy. As you know, I spent a majority of my military assignment as Fort Sheridan, Ill., 5th Army. Your mother and me lived off base in a small community just outside the main gate.

This is obviously an old shot of the fort, but I worked in the small addition just to the right of the entrance that ran under the tower...on the ground floor. More than once I had to climb the stairs to the top of the tower to check our transmission equipment.

During World War II, I discovered that they had a radio station control room and one adjoining larger studio, in the tower. It's sound proofing material was still on the walls. I would often go up there and ruminate about how they would put radio shows on the air and wish I'd been there at the time. That would have been handled by the AFRN...Armed Forces Radio Network.

It was a beautiful army base and sat right on the Lake Michigan shoreline. The fort had a private beach for army personnel that your mother and myself would frequent. In the winter it got cold as Alaska and large mounds of ice would form on the rocks along the shoreline, as the big waves crashed against it. Lake Michigan, is a huge lake and all you could see was water as you looked out.



The first car that we owned was a little Nash Rambler convertible. We had it financed at the bank where your mother worked in Evanston, Ill. It looked very similar to this car (shown below) of the same make and close to the same year...except ours was black and didn't have whitewall tires.
It's the car that the muffler fell off while we were driving it back from the used car lot to Highland Park, where we lived at the time. After much arguing and debating...the used car place put another muffler on the car for half price. I didn't have the money to properly maintain the little car or repair a bad leak that developed in the radiator. So, I wrote home and borrowed $400.00 from Granddaddy and bought an old Packard. As you can imagine, he never asked for the money to be repaid. Money was in short supply for us, but we didn't want to constantly bother our families for help. Right before payday, things got really desperate, but we always made it through.

Our next car was a Packard...similar to this one.


Ours was a four door and once again the color was black. This is the car that we drove back to Texas in...after I got out of the army. We were pulling a U-Haul trailer and it's a wonder that it made it back to Meridian.

I'm sure these difficult times...made Kathy and me very close and very dependant on each other. Your mom never fussed at me because I didn't make enough money or the times when we didn't have much to eat.

I vividly remember an incident right before my army payday, where we had three dollars and needed food. Our plans were to pick out some cheap wieners, buns and a can of beans. However, when it came time to check out, the wieners were priced wrong, and were top of the line. So, your mom had to give the buns back and just get the wieners and beans for supper. Your mother, who had gone into the store to shop, while I stayed in the car with Johnny, came out of the store, got in the car and started crying. I asked, "What's wrong babe?" She said, "I messed up and bought the most expensive wieners, so I didn't have enough money for hot dog buns." I patted her hand and told her that was all right, it could have happened to anyone, especially us! She quickly got over it and we finally decided that the whole thing was not only ludicrous, but very funny -- to be that broke and eating the most expensive wieners you could buy. For years afterward, when we were shopping at the grocery store, I would tell your mom, "Now babe, don't get the most expensive wieners they have, we still can't afford them.

Those were the days. Through out our marriage things were usually tight for us financially, but we always had enough to get by on and along with lots of love in the family...we made it just fine. Your mother was a magician at coming up with good meals...when money was short. She was the best wife a man could have. I want you guys to always remember the good times and the abundance of love in our family. Remember too, all those wonderful Christmas mornings and dinners. Love in our family, was something that was never in short supply.

It's blesses me tremendously when I get with you children and just sit back and look at you and see what a wonderful job your mother did in raising you. Each of you children turned out to be wonderful, husbands, wives and great parents. I'm so very proud of you and always will be. In a sense, as long as I have you...I still have your mother...because you are the product of our love and a very unique and wonderful marriage. I love you all very much, Daddy.

Dad's Stories: Ball Lightning!

When I was young boy, the family was in the living room of our house at 607 Bosque Blvd., listening to a radio program. All of a sudden, the hair on our arms stood up and we experienced a very odd sensation. We all sat where we were, totally bewildered by the phenomena. Suddenly and without any warning...a hazy ball of fire, about the size of a person's head entered through an open window facing the north. While the family sat in stunned silence, with eyes the size of hen eggs, the electrical sphere moved rapidly across the room and exited out a bedroom window on the north side of the house.

After it left the room, we became very animated and excitedly moved around the room all talking at once. "What was that," someone blurted out. My daddy said, "It was ball lightening!" In my confused state of mind, I thought I had just seen the Holy Ghost move through our living room. No one was hurt by the incident, but I guarantee you that we never again had family "radio" time during a severe thunderstorm.

I'm sure my face looked something like this:


From then on, whenever it commenced to lightening and thunder, my mother would immediately say, "Turn off the radio! (later the TV). For years, if there was a forecast of thunderstorm activity, day or night...my mother would go all around the house unplugging anything that was connected to an outside antenna.

I saw one other instance of "ball lightening" in action. As a teenager, one of my hobbies was listening to shortwave radio, I usually had a long wire antenna strung from the top of our house, out to our garage. My mom was convinced that one day it would draw a lightening strike that would burn down our home. One night during a terrible thunderstorm and following a loud "crack" of thunder, I observe a nebulus ball of fire run down the antenna wire and dissipate near the garage. After this particular incident, I purchased a "lightening protector" device for my antenna, that would immediately send to ground any direct lightening strikes which might hit my shortwave antenna.

In my entire life, I've never seen such violent thunderstorm activity as we used to have in Meridian, Texas. It was unbelievable, really.

Mike Walk for President!

President Obama has shown us that an unqualified man CAN ascend to the office of president. Therefore, I have decided to run for president in 2012. That will give me a while to get my stuff together. I obviously think I am the best man for the job, and look forward to a spirited campaign. I would like to thank all those who have worked so tirelessly to get me where I am today. Here's to America! The best nation on Earth!

Homo Erectus

It tears me up when scientists try to sculpt and depict our "ancestors".

Looks pretty close.

I'm gonna say that if he looked like the image at left, "Homo Erectus" was just a man.

Retro Outer Space Books

I have always enjoyed old outer space book. During that period from the 30's to just before we landed on Mars (Viking) in 1976, everything was still possible. As we began landing on planets and satellites, it became more and more aparent that there was no other life in our solar system. With each discovery, the fantasies died. But not in our imaginations! So now we can look back at the wide-eyed wonder and speculation, when anything was possible. Here is a great blog that collects info on all these books. Awesome stuff!

http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/

My Wife Izzy

My lovely wife Izzy. We have been married for 5 years!

Yesterday we cleaned the Garage!!!

Dad's garage needed cleaning. So we did it. We spent ALL day (11:50 a.m. to 8:15 p.m.) cleaning that sucker! It looks great! Here are some pics of the event!

Here is the way the garage looked before. Junk piled high.



The yard after the garage disgorged its contents...


Here is the way it looked after our day long effort.



Randy did yeoman's service!












Here is the U-Haul filled with junk and garbage!



Here is (L to R) Randy, John, and Mike... the cleaning crew.



On Monday, John and Randy will empty the U-Haul at the local landfill!

Over and out!

** UPDATE **

According to John, the junk and trash in the U-Haul weighed 1.21 tons!!!!

Got hit with allergies. Again.

Time for a bit of the ol' Bronchitis. Great. I guess one can't live their entire life without ever getting sick. It's gonna happen. So it's my turn again. Stuffy nose, altered voice, scratchy throat, chest congestion, cough... like I said... great.

Wacky Death: # 67

Once upon a time there was a dude named Paul Gauci. He was always a handy kinda guy. The kind of guy who would take the time out of his busy life to weld a bulky little piece of metal he had found, onto a pipe he had laying around, in order to make a homemade mallet. That's just what he did on October 1st, 1981. There was a problem with this though. The piece of metal he found was an old undetinated World War II "butterfly bomb". You can guess what happened when he tried to test out his new handiwork. Yep. Funeral time.

Reason to be THANKFUL: #657

I am so glad i don't suffer from Lutz-Lewandowsky epidermodysplasia verruciformis. This is an extremely rare autosomal recessive genetic hereditary skin disorder associated with a high risk of carcinoma of the skin. It is characterized by abnormal susceptibility to human papillomaviruses of the skin. The resulting uncontrolled HPV infections result in the growth of scaly macules and papules, particularly on the hands and feet.

To put it in layman's terms... you turn into a "tree".

CLICK HERE if you want to see someone with the disease. Warning: It's pretty disturbing

I really am thankful I do not have this condition. It must be terrible. I can't even imagine how awful it must be to even wake up every day. I think if this was me, suicide would definately be an option I would consider.

Thanks be to God for my many blessings.

What Does God Mean to Famous People

I found a website that asks celebrities about God. Their answers are interesting. 

The question is... What does God mean to you? 

Answers:  

 "Joy. Unconditional love. Perfection. I Can't describe it, that's how strong it is. That's how strong that essence... it's an essence." Goldie Hawn 

 "I always thought that God was 100% of the energy of man. That if we were to use 100% of our brain power, we might at that moment be able to see God." Henry "the Fonz" Winkler 

"My belief system is a melting pot of everything I've studied. So, you know, Buddha, Mohammed, Jesus, Allah... they're all important in my world." Patric Swayze 

 "I believe in a divine presence, a goodness. I try to be as good as possible. I believe in prayer, but I don't have anything formal that I do." Mike Myers 

 "God is in everything. I believe in... I'm a, you know... to me, my god is nature. The incredible intensity and organization of nature." Harrison Ford 

 "I believe." Larry Miller 

 "God is life to me. God is what you would call love, the essence of love is God, meaning that I have to love myself, I have to love my surroundings, God made everybody, so he made everybody for a purpose, I don't get into worrying about what other people do, I have to do what I need to do to keep the commandments that God would want me to keep." Evander Holyfield 

 "God is everything to me. Without God I am nothing. I couldn't exist without him, and I keep him in everything I do." Snoop Dogg 

 "God is good." Denzel Washington 

 "What? Who? I think God means a lot to everyone. I hate to get into religious philosophical discussions because that may take a few hours." Clint Eastwood 

 "Well, he created me...(laughter)" Mel Gibson 

 "When you are born Catholic, you have to have a relationship with God." David Hasselhoff 

 "God's in my life every day. Even now, this very second." Eddie Murphy 

 "She has a great sense of humor." Billy Zane

 Interesting.

Deadly Hippos! (no it isn't a band)

People think of Hippos like this:


Awwww isn't he cute? Yes. Yes it is. But it is very far from the truth about hippos. They are, in fact, one of the deadliest animals on the face of the planet.

Tell me, does this look cute to you?


Those bottom teeth are about as big around as a man's forearm, and are RAZOR sharp. What's more, they are strong enough to pierce practically anything. To a hippo, plunging one or both of those teeth through your chest (or any other part of your body) is as easy as a swish of their tail. Keep in mind that these teeth are coated with bacteria which is fast acting poison when introduced into your bloodstream, and also keep in mind that hippo attacks usually happen in water, and you can start to see just how deadly they can be.

In addition to sharp teeth, they also are themselves massive animals. They weigh up to 2 tons (4,000 lbs), and have been known to get up into the 8,000 to 9,000 lb. range. They are surprisingly fleet-footed and fast on land, but they spend the majority of their lives in the water, where their bouyancy makes them extremely agile. They can slip up under a boat and never give a clue as to their intentions until the boat is exploded upwards out of the water, breaking into a hundred pieces. Then, when you are in the water... look out. This is when they have you where they want you. They are notoriously aggressive, and attacks on humans is very common. Especially if said human has foolishly wandered into an area where young hippos are. Adult hippos will defend their young viciously, no matter the aggressor.

The Zulus held hippos to be the bravest animal they knew. Even braver than the lion!

So when you see a hippo at the zoo, remember... it may look like a big dumb oaf (which I guess it is), but it could also kill you without thinking twice about it.

Fun Facts:
-Hippopotamus is greek and means: River Horse
-Hippos are close relatives to pigs.
-They have webbed toes.
-Hippos use their tails to scatter feces around. This marks their territory.
-They are the 3rd largest land animal after elephants and rhinos.
-baby hippos can nurse under water.
-hundreds of hippos are shot each year in controlled killings.
-Hippo meat is reportedly quite delicious.
-Hippos tusks are ivory.

Dad's Stories: Bicycle Trip To Pilot Knob

BICYCLE TRIP TO PILOT KNOB. (written 5/2011)

In the early fifties bicycles were very popular. Every boy I knew and hung out with had a bicycle. We would ride them all over town and often take a rather long journey (to us) out in the country. About the longest trip my brother Bill and I made by bicycle was to Pilot Knob. This is the highest point in Bosque county. Pilot Knob is a hill 2½ miles east of Meridian in central Bosque County. It lies in a portion of the Grand Prairies generally characterized by rolling prairie with locally steep limestone slopes. Vegetation consists primarily of oak, juniper, grasses, chaparral, and cacti growing in deep to shallow stony clay and clay loam soils. We did this by bike as a challenge to our chums in Meridian. It was a favorite spot back in the early days for young people to ride by buggy and then spread a picnic and enjoy the scenic view. Few, if any, ever attempted to bicycle their way up the long incline to the very top.

As I recall this was my brother's idea. It was in the early fifties. After a restless night, we got up early one summer morning packed some sandwiches along with fruit and water then peddled off from our house with a great amount of enthusiasm and youthful anticipation.

Our plan was to ride our bikes to the top of Pilot Knob and then find a nice spot to picnic. Billy was on his bicycle Bluebird and I was on my faithful Western Auto Flyer, Red Bird. We'd been to Pilot Knob by car, but had forgotten that the entire trip was mostly up-hill. It took us quite awhile to reach the bottom of the Knob taking short rests now and then. When we finally reached our destination, we looked up the steep bit of roadway and had second thoughts about the practicality of pumping our bikes all the way to the top.

After a brief rest we started the climb. At the steepest part of the climb we'd zig zag back and forth on the narrow and precipitous road (an old Indian tactic for going up steep hills) slowly snaking our way upwards. We failed to realize that in so doing we were making the climb twice as long. At about halfway, much to our chagrin we had to take a short rest. We finally made it to the top feeling exhilarated and rather heady by our remarkable accomplishment. The view from the top of Pilot Knob is beautiful as you can see much of Bosque county.

We also brought a pair of binoculars and spent a considerable time inspecting and enjoying the surrounding countryside...trying to guess who owned the various farms and ranches we could see. I also had a small pocket telescope (I'd purchased at Riley's 5&10 store) that served me well in such instances.

We decided on a nice spot to eat our sandwiches and rest up for the trip home. At that particular time we discovered that the long trip back was overlooked when originally planning our adventure. Riding down the long slope to the bottom was not going to be a problem...but the rest of the trip back was going to be rough peddling and neither of us looked forward to it. Finally, we commenced our journey home. During our trip to the Knob we chatted a lot which included encouraging each other to hang tough and keep pumping. On the trip back we didn't talk much and had second thoughts about making it all the way back to our house.

At one point we considered stopping at a farmhouse and calling our mom to come get us. However, with a great amount of grit and determination we continued our ride home.

When we got home we excitedly shared our adventure with our Grandparents. Who seemed quite impressed with our feat, but questioned our reason for doing such a thing. Grandaddy said he'd been happy to drive us to the top of Pilot Knob. Our mother, as I recall was rather nonplussed over our triumph.


The remainder of the day we laid around trying to recuperate. That night...I suffered from leg cramps and woke Billy up while moaning in my bed and rubbing my legs. He turned on his bed lamp, got out of bed and went downstairs to get the Bengay, then returned and helped me massage by legs.

All hard fought victories come at a price and certain amount of pain and it appeared that I was the victim of laying everything I had on the table. Billy was older and stronger than me, but the only way you'd got me off my bike before reaching our destination was to shoot me.

All in all it was a very special day in my teenage life. We enthusiastically shared our achievement with our chums and they were duly impressed with what we'd accomplished. I don't recall anyone else having made the bike trip to Pilot Knob and back home. Possibly, our sharing details of the physically taxing adventure overwhelmed their desire to replicate it. Bill and me were close buddies and spent a lot of time together doing many interesting and fun things.

Next time, I'll share about building my boat in Future Farmers of America shop class and some of the adventures we shared on the Bosque river in the boat. Believe it or not...I never gave the boat a name...but it served us well until a Bosque river flood destroyed it.

The OTHER world trade center attack!

Most people have forgotten the first attack on the World Trade Centers since it has been over shadowed by the horrific events of 9/11/01. But the first terrorist attack on the twin towers was horrible too. 7 innocent people lost their lives that day.

Devastation below ground. Here is what the parking garage underneath the World Trade Center looked like after the bomb went off.


Here are some interesting facts about the 1993 Twin Tower Bombing...

1. 1,042 thousand people were injured, mostly from smoke inhalation and/or during the evacuation.

2. A granite memorial fountain (shown below) honoring the victims of the bombing was built. On it were the names of the 7 victims, and a message which read: "On February 26, 1993, a bomb set by terrorists exploded below this site. This horrible act of violence killed innocent people, injured thousands, and made victims of us all." The fountain was destroyed with the rest of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks, however, amazingly, a fragment from the 1993 bombing memorial with the text "John D", from bombing victim John DiGiovanni (shown below), was actually recovered and is being used as the centerpiece of a new memorial honoring the victims of both the 1993 and 2001 attacks.

The 1993 Tower Bombing memorial before it was destroyed on 9/11.


The only fragment of the 1993 memorial recovered from the Twin Tower rubble.


3. Lessons learned on that day resulted in new and improved security measures and evacuation procedures which were in place on 9/11. Fortunately, this significantly reduced the number of killed and injured.

4. In 2006 the New York and New Jersy Port Authority was sued by the victims of the bombing and the court found that the Port Authority, not the terrorist plotters, was legally responsible for damages. That's right, amazingly, the court attributed the majority of the blame to the Port Authority(!). Representatives for the the Port Authority appealed the decision but the ruling was upheld.

5. While combing through the devastated wreckage investigators found a VIN and some other labeled parts of a vehicle, which turned out to be a Ryder rental truck. More investigating led to the identity of those who plotted the bombing. Had the VIN not been found, there is no guarantee that the terrorist plotter's identities would have been discovered.

6. The United Nations headquarters was the original target that day. Due to heavy security, that plan was abandoned and it was decided to bomb the World Trade Center instead.

Bob Dylan!

There is nothing particularly earthshaking that I could add to whatever has been written or said about Bob Dylan. He is a great lyricist, great tune-maker, he's very prolific, and is a warm and engaging vocalist. He is smart, funny (in a dry, intellectual sort of way), and sincere. He has always conducted himself with dignity and forthrightness. Of course he isn't perfect, as no one is, but for a man who has been literally worshipped by millions around the world, he is surprisingly centered. His music is NOTORIOUS for passing through phases. This often creates a rather bumpy ride for his fans, but generally, whatever he digs turns out to be very enjoyable for us too. 

 1961-1962 He arrived as a hardcore folk revivalist. 

He was a follower of Woody Guthrie. Guthrie was the influential and semi-famous folk troubador, best known for writing "This Land Is Your Land". Bob also liked to revive "lost" rural music a la Pete Seeger. This was an esspecially important thing for him. To breathe new life into old songs was his forte. Bob even effected a Guthrie-esque singing voice. Representative songs: "Talkin' New York", "Song For Woody", "House Of The Rising Sun".

1962-1963 Next Bob Dylan was seen as a "protest singer" 

 

This was a label he never attached to himself. He thought of himself more as one who chronicles significant events. Never actually protesting so much as presenting. It was up to the listener to decide. The seriousness of much of his music, and the conviction with which he sang it, gave rise to the perception of an artist with a cause. Dylan's only real cause was honesty. Representative songs: "Blowin' In The Wind", "It's Alright Ma", "The Times They Are A-Changin'" 

1964-1966 Bob reinvents himself as a rock icon.  

 When Bob "went electric" it sent shockwaves through the music world. He was pigeon-holed into the folk genre which meant you used a guitar and harmonica, and that was it. Being backed up by a loud full rock band caused many folkies to see him as a sell-out. Dylan always held true to one thing... his vision. Several outtakes from 1962 had plenty of drums and guitars ("Mixed Up Confusion" for instance). Dylan left the "protest singer" baggage behind forever. Representative songs: "Subterranean Homesick Blues", "Like a Rolling Stone" 

 1967-1975 Bob gets down to the roots.

 

After being laid up because of a motorcycle crash, Bob took some time off from the music biz. During this time, interest in him diminished somewhat, but most importantly, it created a tangible break from all the weird stuff Bob had to endure from 1962-1966: The labeling, the battles over artistic freedom versus catering to a segment, and being a lightning rod for controversy. During this phase Bob dabbled heavily in country (even adopting a brief country croon style of singing) and made music that was rooted in basic American rock n roll. When he played acoustic it was spare and folky, but could never be confused with "protest" music. Representative songs: "Lay Lady lay" (country croon voice), "If Not For You", "Tangled Up In Blue" 

 1975-1979 Bob's music expands and becomes bombastic.  

 This phase is when Bob started experimenting with his sound. In the studio there were horns, sax, backup singers, and a prominent violin. The Rolling Thunder tour in 1975-76 became a famous tour remembered for wild reinvention and the free-flowing creativity involved. Who can forget Bob in white face paint? 

   

Representative songs: "Mozambique", "Changing Of The Guards" 

1980-1982 Bob becomes a Christian artist.  

 For a while Bob even refused to play his older material. Realizing this was not a good idea, he bagan to slowly return much of his famous 60's material back into his setlists. While much of his Christian music is indeed excellent, and played with much passion, it proved to be fairly unpopular with the masses. Many Christians didn't embrace him and his music, fearing it was yet another of his brief phases, and non-Christian fans were alienated by his preachy and stubborn attitude. Luckily, he eventually got out of this phase (although it is widely reported that he is still very much a believer). Representative songs: "Precious Angel", "Saved", "Jokerman" 

1984-1987 The Dylan Dark ages. He had lost his way a bit.

 

 

Though this phase is generally regarded as a sort of three year "lost weekend", he sang on the fundraising all-star blockbuster "We Are The World", was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, and toured with Tom Petty. So, not bad for treading water. Representative songs: "Drifting Too Far From Shore", "Silvio" 

 1988-1997 Bob returns to form, more or less.

.  

He had some serious hits (Traveling Wilbery's, "Oh Mercy", "Time Out Of Mind") and some misses ("Under the Red Sky", a near death experience). This phase finds him back to his creative self, releasing some of his best and most commercially enjoyable material ever. He played a concert on MTV and played for the Pope as well. Representative songs: "Everything Is Broken", "Not Dark Yet" 

 2000-2010 Bob as roots-rock elder statesman. 

 

 Each CD is as good and solid as the last. Each one is drenched with good ol' rootsy rock. Sometimes bluesy, sometimes spare, always jivey and cool, with good lyrics and good tunes. Representative songs: "High Water", "Thunder on the Mountain", "Beyond Here Lies Nothing" He has been on tour steadily since 1988 and shows no signs of stopping. Although his voice has been reduced to a croaking warble, he still manages to convey the eclectic humor and sincerity he has always been known for. He even recorded a Christmas album.