Friday, June 25, 2010

Flashback Friday # 93

Sha Na Na





A very warm and melodious welcome to those who have ventured here. Warm up you vocal chords and grease your hair back, because today's narrative is about the first concert I ever went to. (And no, I'm not that old.) I got to thinking about this when I heard that Sha Na Na was going to be playing at our local music & arts festival later this summer.



One of the things that our WWE neighbor, Lyle, left with us was an appreciation for music of the 50's. You could hear a bowp-bowp-bu-bowp about any time of day from his house. It was the music of his childhood that he had never outgrown.



One year, when I was in my early teens, Sir Gattabout & I heard that Sha Na Na was going to be playing at the Ohio State Fair. This was back when ALL concerts there were free (thank you former Governor Celeste for adding concert tickets as an additional cost of the fair.) We were pumped. He didn't even mind taking me along, just so he could go. (he liked the 50's music A LOT more than I did)



We got there fairly early, and there was already a large crowd there. By the time the show started, the stands were packed. Jon Bauman (aka "Bowser") greeted the large crowd with a large belch. They then proceeded to thoroughly entertain the crowd. I was a bit disappointed because one of the guys on their TV show wasn't there (Dirty Dan had been replaced with Guitar Glen)



Speaking of their TV show, It was must see TV for us every Saturday evening. It was a variety show with singing, skits, & jokes. I've always wondered what ever happened to the genre of variety shows. They used to be everywhere. We watched a lot of them: Hee Haw, The Hudson Brothers Show, Donnie & Marie, Dolly, The Carol Burnett Show, etc. I would still rather watch something like that than a reality show any day.



But I digress. We got to see real TV entertainers perform in person. So cool. We made it a point to go to at least one concert there at the state Fair every year for some time.



Who performed at the first concert you went to?

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

I Won Another Major Award

Sunday (which was also Father's Day) each of our church's dads received a gift. There were also a few select dads who received "special" gifts. Two of our ministers who have warped senses of humor (I count them as prodigies) give "fabulous prizes" to certain nominated dads. The rules are simple, once you win, you can't win another prize that year and if there is a tie, the elder gentleman wins. The question that I was nominated on was "Who is the most frugal dad, aka "cheap". The disclaimer was that this doesn't count toward grandchildren, only children.



When my wife was asked if I was cheap, she replied "Lord yes! He even had money in his wallet that molded once. (that is another story that some of you know). With that I won this "fabulous prize"



I was told to freely spend this. I was also told to pay my tithe on this. If I do, it will be with the cash I received. LOL

I didn't post this earlier because I've spent the last two day, after work, at my parents house, trying to unclog their kitchen sink. After running a 20 foot drain snake in it Monday with no luck, I resorted to cutting the line Tuesday. NASTY. NASTY. NASTY. The gray goop smelled like a hog barn and had white clumps in it. I think it was grease that had gone rancid. I'm glad that is one job that is done!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Ohio Quizzing State Finals

Yesterday, the 2010 Ohio Jr. Bible Quizzing season came to an end. Like all quizzing tournaments, there were some very good matches & a few blow-outs. By the time they day was over, the team from Toledo had been crowned as champs by going undefeated.


The team from Dublin came in second, and the team from Harrison Hills came in third.



This is a picture of the all tournament team. Each year five quizzers are honored, with two more being honored at the highest scoring quizzers of the tournament. The young man at top left in this picture was the highest scorer of the tournament. He had an average score of 108.5 points per quiz. That is pretty amazing, seeing that after you answer six questions correct, the rules state you are to be removed from the game.

I've worked as an official with the Ohio Jr. Bible Quizzing program so long that some of the kids that were quizzers are now in college or married. It is a truly great program. How can you go wrong by encouraging kids to put the Word of God in their hearts & minds?

Friday, June 18, 2010

Flashback Friday # 92



Do I have to take a bath if there's no school tomorrow?


A warm and hearty welcome to all who have stopped by. By now, I'm assuming that all schools have let out for the summer. This story tells of a true story about my cousin "Munch" and his belief that if there was no school, there should be no baths.


One day, I paid a visit to Aunt Shelly's house. Summer vacation had started. It meant time to get together with my closest bunch of cousins. When I got there, they were playing football in the front yard.


We were playing 4 on 4. You could rush the quarterback after counting one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three. It was tackle, so you could both run or pass (touch football negates the running game). During the game, we all noticed and unusual aroma.


When someone asked what it was, "Munch" laughed and said it was probably him. Since there was no school, he didn't worry about getting cleaned up. He hadn't bathed in over a week. Worse yet, he also hadn't changed clothes during the same time.


His older brothers told him he need a bath. He told them that they weren't his boss. He would bathe only when he felt like i, or when his mom made him. "Fine, be that way." he was told. During the next huddle, his brothers (on the opposing team) came up with an idea.


After running the play, one of the brothers called time out to "go to the bathroom". What wasn't known by all was that the brother had actually gone in and turned the outside faucet on. He also grabbed a bar of soap, and put it in his pocket.


When he got back, the next time "Munch" touched the ball, he was gang tackled and kept pinned to the ground. It was announced that "Munch" was going to get a bath right there in the front yard. While everyone else held him down, one brother turned on the hose and drenched him (and everyone holding him down). He was then generously lathered. They figured they would bathe him & wash his clothes at the same time. He fought like a wildcat & howled like a banshee.


Well, once he was soaped up, he was mighty difficult to hold on to. He broke free and let loose a string of expletives. He was told that they should have soaped his mouth too. He stomped off, to change out of his wet clothes.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Sad News

Many of my long time Flashback Friday readers remember "The Butcher Boys". I heard Monday of a fatal boat wreck on Alum Creek Reservoir. I heard the name of the victim, but held out hope that it wasn't the same person who I grew up with. Those of you in central Ohio know that it wasn't Doug Butcher who perished in that wreck, but I don't use real names to protect privacy. I learned today that it was the same person I grew up with. Please remember his family in your prayers.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

bizzy, bizzy, bizzy

What a busy week this has been. Each day I've gotten up at 5 AM every day so I can be at work by 6 AM (overtime, it looks good on the check, but it wears you out).

Monday was the last day of "The Boy's" school. I picked him up at 3:30 and rushed home. When I got home, I jumped through a quick shower and piled Lady Nottaguy-TYG, "The Boy" & "The Girl" (who had been picked up from the sitter's by my wife) into the car and drove 2 1/2 hours away to calling hours for my aunt. We got to bed about 11 PM that night.

Tuesday, after work, I raced home and mowed the yard. Due to recent rains, it hadn't been cut for nearly a week and a half. I was considering baling it. After that, a quick shower and off to VBS, where I was in a skit every night and helping with crowd control with the kids. It was a western theme that told the story of David if it had been set in the old west. I was Sheriff Saul.

Wednesday I went to the nursing home where my MIL lives and picked up her laundry. I then had to swing over to the babysitter and pick up "The Girl". After getting the laundry going and putting the young 'un down for a nap,I grabbed a quick shower and off to VBS. I finished the laundry and folded it after VBS let out.

Thursday I stopped by the bank after work to give my wife my check. Then I went back over to the nursing home to deliver & put away the clean laundry. A quick shower & off again to VBS.

Friday I started our laundry and I got to take a little longer of a shower after work, but had to be at VBS a little earlier to go over the final scene with some extras we had recruited. At the end of the night, we had to tear everything down and have the church back in order for Sunday.

Saturday I had to be at work again at 6AM (I miss the days of worrying about what cartoon you would watch on Saturday morning) but I only worked until 10 AM (our contract states we MUST give the company at least 8 hours overtime if they ask). When I got home, Lady Nottaguy-TYG & I went off to Amish country all by our selves. It was late when we turned in, and a thunderstorm kept Sparky the wonder dragon terrified until close to Midnight.

Today we've got church in the AM & PM (with a nap in between YAY!) Tomorrow it's up at 5 AM again to start the new week. At least we don't have VBS next week.

I will try to do better about commenting on your posts.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Flashback Friday #91




The Rat Palace


A hearty hi-ho to all those who ventured into my patch of cyberspace. Sit back, grab some popcorn & ju-ju bees and sit for a spell. Today we take a trip to the movies.


Since we lived in a small town (no stop lights, only 4-way stops), we had to go to the county seat if we wanted to go to the movie house. It was the only one in the county. It was called the Palace Theatre, but we nicknamed it "The Rat Palace".


This theatre was forever old. The seats were wooden, and folded at the slightest hint of getting up. The floor also had a sticky film from one too many Cokes being spilled on it. It looked just like the movie house sometimes shown on "Happy Days", minus the balcony. If it had a balcony, I was never in it.


The one nice thing about the Rat Palace was that it only cost $1 to get it. It was one of the "second screening" movie houses so you had to wait a while before the big blockbuster came to town. Five bucks got you & a friend in, plus you both could get cokes & popcorn or candy. Try doing that today.


We saw many of the big movies of the 70's there. We also saw many movies that probably didn't make enough profit to cover the cost of making them. Believe it or not, the largest crowd I can remember there was for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band starring Peter Frampton & The Bee Gees. It was the only movie that I paid my dollar for standing room only.


We drove by it the other day. The name has changed, but it's still standing.


Did you go to the movies alot as a kid (or teen?)

Thursday, June 10, 2010

From Sharpe Minds...

Yesterday,at work, we got a notice that one of our customer's were unhappy with some of the exhaust parts they received from us. It was a dual pipe, and there was a sharp point in the v joint (where one pipe branches to become two pipes).

A supervisor gave me a certified label that had to go on each container of those parts that we ship out in the near future. It certified that there was no (and I quote) "SHARPE POINT @ V JOINT". He told me the @ must be like that because there wasn't enough space to spell out the word "at". The phrase was one character too long for the label program on the computer.

I looked at the label and asked "How about if you just spell "sharp" correctly? "There's no "e" in sharp unless you are talking about ESPN sportscaster Shannon Sharpe.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

I'm NOT Done

My daughter, the Ogre, sent me this delightful clip of her playing in the park with her daughter, The Girl. She obviously loves to swing, and isn't quite ready to go home.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Flashback Friday #90

Beneath the linoleum






A fond hello to the faithful few who tune in every Friday to read the mundane postings of an old guy who waxes nostalgic.

In Flashback Friday #59 I mentioned that my bedroom floor began to sag under the weight of a pool table. It is never good when your floor sags. Dad realized that it had to be replaced, so I cleared everything out( a monumental task at that) and Dad got to tearing out the old floor.

The floor was covered with linoleum. It was blue with red & yellow flowers with black stems. It was very old. So was the padding underneath. We knew exactly how old the padding was, because it was dated.

The padding used was old newspapers. They were from 1945. To me it was a treasure trove of old reading. Stories of WWII (still in progress), box scores from baseball games of the '45 season, old Sunday funny pages. It was great. There was a downside to it.

The downside was, my dad wasn't the student of history that I am. To him it was just a bunch of old papers that were in the way. He wanted to toss them out immediately. I stacked them neatly in a corner. I hid the comics for future reading.

The next day, the newspapers were gone. I did still have the comics that were hidden. I read of characters that I had never heard of before. Little Iodine. The Katzenjammer Kids. Gasoline Alley. Dick Tracy. Nany & Sluggo. Comic page heroes from a bygone day. It was great.

Did you ever find anything unexpected in a very unexpected place?

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Message received

Today, the company was asking if anyone would like to volunteer for overtime Saturday. This after we have worked 10 hour days all week. I sent Lady Nottaguy-TYG a text about the possibility of working Saturday.

She texeted back "do NOT".

Message received. I didn't volunteer.