Master Will, Anne and Jake

Master Will and family together at the Madison Aboriteum. A very beautiful spot, well done and many, many Hostas all over the place. A nice Pogoda is in place too. We enjoyed a half hour walk through several paths. We did not do the whole place but it is well done.

We are Back . . .

Got back yesterday, drove in from Springfield, MO. We stayed in a Drurry Inn, found it to me nice, comfortable and convient. It had a free hot breakfast too. Our room was on the first floor, adjacent to the exit and handicapped parking spot. So next morning it was a straight shot out to the freeway.

At lunch in McAlester, OK, brought back old memories. I was having fun pointing out the various hotels we had stayed in and the eating places we dined at. All just a memory now, a short trip down memory lane.

We blew through Durant and then on to Sherman, TX. Traffic picked up considerably to McKenney. We jump off onto 380 and headed West to Denton, got on I-35W and headed South, skipped over to I-820, whizzed on to I-30 heading to Weatherford. We got home about 3:30, the place looked good to us.

Got the mail, picked up the newspaper and felt like we were at home again.

What a trip.

We Are Here

We are having a greqt time playing with Will. He seems to like us right off the bat. No hesitation on his part. Even through Jake said he is begining to get shy around people.

Gearing Up to Go. . .

The Mountaineer is packed, well sort of packed. Still need to load the clothes, ice chest (shipping Pumpkin Bread and other goodies north), and a few other things. Got enough clothes to go to Alaska and back.

We will launch in the AM, already talking about breakfast at the Cracker Barrel in Denton, over to McKinney, pick 75 North, across the Red River and keep going north on Oklahoma 69 through McAlester on to Joplin, MO. Through Springfield on to Rolla for an overnight stay. Then through the bottom of St Louis over the mighty Mississippi on to Springfield, IL (Land of Lincoln), the dash to the Wisconsin State line and short trip to Madison. We will be there Thursday night in time to baby sit (the primary objective of the trip, ya know).

Carrying a bit of furniture, pictures and stuff. Now that Anne and Jake have a house, Mama is determine to get some stuff up there. Of course, Anne and Jake will accept just about anything to populate their big house on Keyes Street.

Speaking of Keyes Street, it has got to be about blocks to the Wisconsin football stadium. It should be interesting when there are home games. Like can you get in or out of your driveway? Or will you rent the space to some fan. Not like LSU where there is tons of space to park but the university rents it to you for unbelievable money - I mean a lot of money.

Well we will have been there and back here before that happens.

See ya around . . .

Fritz is back. . .

Yes, Fritz, the mini-dragon, is back. We had not seen him for several days and opined that he had moved on to better feeding grounds. We were wrong, he indeed had ranged further than the patio, down the side walk toward the Walker's house, perhaps as far as the side of the house. He still lives in the wood pile.

He has pretty much cleaned out all the bugs that were inhabiting the patio and its environs. No cricket left un-eaten, so to speak. All the June bugs clean up and any errant moth, we look out.

Sometimes we have to look for his "deposits." He exspells the bug shells and a tiny bit of white poop. So you see this inch long deposit about 3/16s to a 1/4 inch in diameter and about an inch long anchored by a tiny bit of white. That's his droppings.

Of late in my walks, where I keep my eyes down I have found other Fritzes in the areas, or could be other Fritzinas. We sometimes find deposits close to the air conditioner compressor on the North side - could be Fritz far range or a competitor of the same family. I did discover some distance away at the entrance to Crown Valley subdivision Fritz like deposits indicating they have a Fritz too.

I sometimes wonder if Fritz is Patches incarnated. Patches was the Walker's Shitzu puppy that glommed on to us. Spent house on our patio, slept in our chairs and got treats from us all the time. But being a loyal dog, he would run at the call of the Walker's to go in late at night. Fritz like Patches habituates on our patio.

Is there a relation?

Star Telegram Says . . .

Today's Star Telegram had a blurb on LSU as one of their count down stories. The count down of course is the preseason ranking. They had LSU at number 10 - not bad for a Texas newspaper.

They did not even mention Chad Jones but did mention Ciron Black. A lot of words about the new defense coaches. A brief comment about the quarterbacks, Jefferson coming out on top so to speak.

It was not original, just something they have shipped in by the parent company. So they have to put it in the paper. Must have made the local sports editor chock having to publish it. I mean they can really do it up Big 12 and Mountain West, even Arkansas but not LSU. They seem to choke when one says LSU to them at all.

So, so far the preseason rankings have been 8, 13, 10 - all about right to me. Some have Ole Miss ahead of LSU, some behind, also about right.

The season is getting closer. . .

More LSU Football

Sports Illustrated (SI) came out with their preseason top twenty. It had Ole Miss at 6th and LSU at 13th. That sure will really fire them up down on the bayou. I agree that Ole Miss has a good coach and a good team, but other polls have them behind LSU. Makes you wonder what's SI know that nobody else knows?

They also have Georgia Tech at 12, one slot ahead of LSU. Something aint right McGee, LSU stomped GT into the ground in the Peach Bowl (oops the Chick-Fil-A Bowl). LSU was one of the inauguration teams at that bowl and has never lost that bowl. It has been there six times so far.

It is all preseason, so it is just a guess on SI's part. But it will rankle the folks down on the Bayou since the Coaches Poll has LSU as number 8 ahead of Ole Miss (at number 9) but well behind Alabama.

Florida still riding on top. Gonna be a great season.

The Kennedy Clan

Eunice Shriver's demise and another of the Kennedy clan passes on. Her daughter, married to Arnold carries on the torch for her. He husband, Sargent Shriver is locked up in his mind by Alzheimer's disease. Sad state of affairs. They, she and her husband, did great things for the nation and not once did they mention politics. Of course, they were liberal but they were also very private people and did not tread on other's domains.

Ted will be next. Already suffering from a malignant brain tumor, and rarely sits in the Senate anymore. He is on the verge of passing too. Also liberal but probably will go down in history for Chappaquiddick and the minimum wage laws. He spoke a lot but never got much accomplished. You may say he "sat in the Senate." I am sure he was a behind the scenes power broker but he never achieved much in the Senate. Even his education efforts took cooperation from the Republican side of the Senate. He will die in office.

John F. Kennedy was President. He was a capable man of good judgement. He did things for the economy but did lead us into Viet Nam. Of course, Johnson carried us on into the depths of Viet Nam. JFK cut taxes too, the Democrats never ever want to mention that and the Republicans throw it in their faces all the time.

Robert Kennedy remains an enigma. Possibly he could have been president too but Sirhan Sirhan took care of that. Sad that it had to end that way. He did put Hoffa away and did much for Martin Luther King. Good things but his life ended like his older brother's, in assassination.

Their father was Ambassador to Great Britain. But also known for his shady past - rum running during prohibition. Their mother, Rose, was a true champion, could that have been where all the talent came from, don't know.

The end is near, a dynasty passing on into history. The second generation does not show the same promise. Young JFK, Jr, "John John" flew himself into death, ego overriding good judgement. Other Kennedy descendants reside in jail. Maria Shriver is a good one married to Arnold, a liberal Republican and Governor of California. Caroline tried to get herself appointed as a Senator, did not work.

Football is in the Air . . .

LSU has started practice. Lots of blogging going on. Players getting back into shape and team drills underway. The papers are full of information mostly about not much of anything. Gotta play a game first to see how things are going to shape up.

The Tigers are picked to finish second in the SEC West but already one preseason poll has picked them as number 8. They have picked Ole Miss to be higher. We will see. Miss State and Auburn do not represent a big threat. On the other hand Bama, Arkansas and Ole Miss do represent big threats.

Even Vanderbilt represents more of a threat than Miss State, never know what lurks around in Nashville these days. Tennessee is an unknown with a new coach (fellow with a big mouth but that seems to be what they like - Fat Phil had a big mouth but he was also a good coach). Again, Auburn is an unknown, new coach with the old one lingering around in the wings (Tuberville).

Bama is always a threat. Because of Nick Saban, the atmosphere is toxic. They will have a good team but that means nothing between the two teams. Florida is an emotional challenge. Tebow is not liked very much though is well respected. He can be shut down but you never know what Urban Meyer will pull out of his hat. Those will be very emotional games.

Georgia always has a very competitive team. South Carolina has a great coach in Steve Spurrier and you never know what he can pull out of the box either. Kentucky is also an unknown, they have been coming on strong lately. And Vandy has been a terrific team. These teams along with Florida and Tennessee represent the SEC East.

Hard to wait for the season to start.

Fritz, The Minature Dragon

Well maybe not a dragon but he is a lizard. Fritz now likes to sit on the edge of the sofa looking out over the back yard. Since his best hunting site is the back door, it makes sense. It is next to the back door so it gives him a scouting place to watch for prey.

I watched him reconnoiter the patio, checked the door to the bed room then scooted back to the chase lounge area. He lives in the wood pile behind the chase lounge, so I thought that's where he was headed.

But no, he stopped, looked at the chase lounge, leaped up on the wheel and climbed up on top. New resting spot over looking the yard again. I figure he seeks those vantage points to watch for crickets, his favorite food.

He does tolerate us. Checks us out but has decided we are okay. We leave him alone and that suits him to a tee. He knows its his domain, not ours, we just live here.

Could he be Patches reincarnated? Hummmm. I wonder.

Summer Recess

Congress is going home on their summer recess. Already we have seen on the news where tax revolters are challenging local political rallies of Democratic personalities. Arlen Spector got his, and the senator from Missouri got hers. The message is going out, the people do not want to pay for this crap.

Already the Democrats making the TV show rounds are speaking of a middle class tax hike. Obama is now caught between a rock and hard place. He promised no taxes on anybody making less that $250,000. Looks like they have to renege if they want their free medical care (I should not say free because you and your children will pay for it for a long long time). The money has to come from somewhere.

The people seem to be fed up. Almost a trillion dollars spent on recovery and we got nothing for it. Job loss has continued past the 9% on to 10.5%. I guess that is just a big oops by the administration. What we have is public ownership (that's called "nationalization" by the rest of the world) of two of the big three automakers, a couple of insurance companies and a lot of loans. And in the case of Chrysler, they have used up the seven of so billion dollar loan and then went bankrupt - no pay back there either. Poof, the money is gone. US owns 34% of Chrysler and 60% plus of General Motors. Only Ford had the vision to get ready for the downfall of the economy and is now capturing market share at the expense of GM and Chrysler.

I don't think they know what they are doing with the exception of marching toward socialism as fast as they can go. Fortunately the President preposes and Congress disposes. Good old checks and balances going on.

Do we have revisitation of the Clintons and their attempt to nationalize medicine? I fear this change is not for the good. Medical rationing is coming. Cap and Trade is nothing but an energy tax, it will cost the little guys an arm and leg.

Wake up, people!