A NEW ADVENTURE

Well starting jan.30,2009 I will oficially retire. I have looked forward to this day for at least the last twenty years. Actually at 16 I was planing to retire at 55. Things didn't quiet turn out as I planed, but that's life.

I have all kinds of plans for things to do. Spend more time with my five grandchildren for starters. Also spend more time with my wife. We may get tired of each other after a while, but the one thing retirement gives you is all the time you need to make up and get along better. I think things will be a lot better between us after I retire. I will be able to help her a lot more with things around the house.

I have plans to take the grandkids fishing, I think it would be a lot of fun. That's another thing I plan to have in retirement lots of fun!

I'll be able to work in my yard when I want to not just because the grass is a foot tall!
Time, time time I am going to enjoy every minute.

I know I sound like a crazy old man, maybe it because I am! I will be able to take my time to complete projects that I could not do in one evening or one weekend.

Thanks for reading the ramblings of this old man. Just remember that you are just as old as you feel, and I feel pretty good!
I'll have more updates on my fun with all in future blogs. Have a nice life!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Lets all take a moment at the end of this year to remember the good things and to try to forget the unpleasant things that have happened to us in 2008. Some of you might say, I don't have any good things. Well I say that is just bunk! If you are able to read this blog then you must have realitive good eyesight, and believe me that alone is a good thing with a capital "G".

As for me I was blessed with another beautiful grandchild. She is such a blessing to have around with all her smiles. The other four are a blessings too. I could mention here some of the unpleasant things that my two grandsons have put me through this year but I won't.

All my girls are in releative good health, a few bumps in the road this year, but as they, whoever they are say, What doesn't kill you will make you stronger. Two of my grils probally think they are certanly strong enough by now!

My wonderful wife, who deserves better than the likes of me, is in good health for the health she is in. I know that doesn't make much sense, but for her age and the Arthrits, she can still get around fairly well, and I love her for that.

My own health is in pretty good shape right now thanks be to God! I hope it stays this way all next year too.With His blessings I'm sure it will.

Sad to say that a couple of my friends have cancer and for one of them the outlook is pretty grim, the other one starts chemo treatments in Jan. Please keep them in your prayers.

All in all this has been a fairly good year for me and my family, my wife would probally not agree with me here, she is a semi-pessimist while I am an optimist.

I hope the very very best in 2009 for all who may read this blog. At times the road of life may be full of curves and a few bumps for you and your families, but if it was allways stright and smooth what fun would that be!

God bless our troops and keep them safe and secure, AND BRING THEM HOME in 2009, well, at least start bringing them home.

LET'S ALL HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Well it's that time of year again. The time of "Good Will To Men", yea right. Try telling that to the young man in Illinois who was killed by the mob trying to get into a Wal-mart. Or to the everyday people in Afganistan or Iraq or any other of the warring countries. But I am not going to let them get me down, and niether should you! Have yourself a Merry little Christmas any way you can. There are things going on in this world that you and I have no control over. As for me I am going to go ride a sled with my Grandchildren.

Sorry about the way I started this blog. Things just seem to bother me more now than when I was younger. Not to be preachy, but Christmas is not all about toys and shopping. Let's remember the reason for the season. Maybe not for all religions, but it sure is for mine,what little I have.

So as I said before Have yourself a merry little Christmas, and always remember that there is someone somewhere that will always love you even when it's not Christmas.

Oh! by the way I still want a lot of presents!!!

GROUCHY OLD MEN

In defense of grouchy old men I say it's not that we are grouchy but that we have lived long enough to have had every young punk in about any store or resturant piss us off in one way or the other and we aren't going to take it anymore!

When some youg person, say, in there teens get angry in one of these locations. They usually say that they are being unrully or the are on drugs or maybe they are "just having a bad day". HARUMPH!

When a person in there twentys or thirtys has the same reaction. They will say, what may I do to resolve this problem for you?

But you just let and old man or woman complain and they say you are getting senile or just plain crazy or that you are just plain grouchy!

As I said before we aren't going to take this crap anymore. We demand respect and by golly we deserve it, if only because we have put up with you young wipper snappers long enough!

Go ahead call me a grouch, just remember who you call when something goes wrong in your life, Grandpa or Grandma!!!! Have a good day. HARUMPH!

LIVE LIKE A THREE OR FOUR YEAR OLD

Ever notice how three or four year olds never worry about tomorrow? They just go around all day and usually get upset when they have to go to bed. I believe that the reason for this could be that they don't yet understand the concept of tomorrow. If you let one of them stay up, they will play till they just fall over and go to sleep. When they wake up they start right off playing again.
Would it not be nice if we could all live like that. I don't mean sherk all your responbilities, just live like there is no tomorrow. Do what you can today and let the rest take care of it's self. I have been trying this latley and it seem to be working. I get along better with some people and can tolerate a lot of others better.
I'll be the first to admit that living like this is not easy sometimes, but those times are when you really have to work hard.
Did you ever notice how some cancer patients suddenly start living like there was no tomorrow? In some of their cases there might not be. (don't worry I'm not one of them)Wonder why they had to get cancer to open their eyes to this new way of life?
I'm going to do my best to have an outlook on life like that of a three or four year old. Call me silly or childish, or just a stupid old man, I don't care, you ole poopyhead! Now wasn't that a nice laugh? See it does work!
It has taken me 61 years to realize this, that life is to short to be so serious! If you don't have any three or four year olds to share your life with like I do, go to a park or playground and just watch them play for alwhile. Introduce yourself to their parents so they won't think you are a pervert or anything! Tell them what you are doing, they may still think you are crazy but at least maybe you won't be arrested!
My three and four year olds are my Grandchildren. They all live like the world is a great place, (which it is) Oh I know about hunger, wars homelessness, and all the other things wrong. I say, do what you can to chane those things, and go on living. Constant worry about these things will not change them one bit.
Ask any four year old about the starving people in the world and they will tell you to send them food. A simple and good answer. But as adults we try to save everyone everywhere at the same time and it gets to be to much and sooner or later we just forget about them. Do what you can with what you have is all that should be expected of anyone.
Never lose hope. The people in England during WWII never lost hope even though the were living the nightmare of the blitzkreig. Admitedley they probally weren't living like four year olds, but they were living like there was no tommorrow, because at any instant for them there might not be.
Please understand I don't advocate shirking all responsibilities. I just wish people would lighten up just a little. When was the last time you saw something funny or enlighting from ANY type news source. All the stories are about death, destruction war,murder or some other disaster. I agree that these stories are important, but what about the good things going on in the world. I'll be surprised if they just report the Olympics just as fun and games and not turn it into some political agenda against China.
Live and let live, live like there is no tomorrow, live for today, don't sweat the small stuff. Enough for now, sorry to be so long winded, LIVE LIKE A FOUR YEAR OLD.

FIVE REASONS FOR RETIREMENT

Well it finally happened, I got another new Grandbaby! She is absolutely georgeous!

Her birth brings the total to five Grandkids, and let me tell you they are all GRAND!

I might be a little prejudice but I have five of the best looking Grandkids on
earth.They are all beautiful in there own way.

Maddie is starting to look like a young lady now that she is ten. Some of her Questions are getting harder to answer.

Isaac is growing into a fine young man who is now five. He is a smart little guy with questions of his own, like why do we have to do this or that.

Noah who is four, he lives next door to me and loves to go for a ride in my truck he says we are "trucking men" His questions are usually where are we four or five times each car ride. The other day I had to explain what made thunder and lighting to him so he wouldn't be so afraid.

Sophie is just a sweety in all she does. She is starting to get a little mouthy now that she has turned three, but when she says I love you paw-paw I just melt. She is full of questions about everthing!

Suzzanna is our newest darling, We are going to call her Suzi, after my wife. She is only three weeks old and is already trying to smile and laugh. She is beautiful and her brother and sister love her, at least for now!

I wish I was more fluent in what I say about my Grandchildren, I love them all to pieces. I hope that when I retire I get to do more with all of them, like go on hikes or picnics or just lay in the yard and watch clouds go by.

Watching these five grow is like living my younger days with my three beautiful girls, when we would play and do crazy stuff and mom would holler at us to calm down before we drove her crazy!
My wife Norma will express these same setiments if you just ask her, heck like me, you don't really have to ask, we will tell you all about our family anytime we get a chance.
We have been blessed with a wonderful and georgeous family and our love for them knows no bounds.

"IT'S ONLY"

There are two words that are getting on my nerves IT’S ONLY. I am sick and tired of advertisers trying to sell me some over priced piece of something and telling me that it’s only this or that much in price. It’s only going to be sold for some period of time. I bet you if they don’t sell enough all of a sudden the sale gets extended!

Why don’t they say this car or whatever will cost you a year or more of your pay, or with our “special” financing package you will NEVER pay it off!

It’s only $13,000.00 dollars! Compared to what?

If you make over $100,000.00 a year maybe $13,000.00 could fall in to the “it’s only” category. But few of us make that kind of money.

Back in the Sixties when a new car cost around $3000.00 you didn’t hear the “it’s only” crap because then they realized that it was about a years pay for a new car.

They should say “it’s only” going to put you in debt over your head for the next five or six years and then they will tell that now “it’s only” worth $300.00 or $400.00 after you have shelled out at least $20,000.00.

I wonder what the people of Hiroshima would think if we said “it’s only” one bomb.
That last sentence sounds a little rough but it drives home how stupid “it’s only” really is to me.

I get mad when people try to get me to think dumb. I do this enough on my own.

If a salesman ever says to me “it’s only” this I will probably turn to him and say Oh what the heck, “it’s only” money!

Have a great day “it’s only” going to be daylight 12 hours!