CHURCH "BALL" AT IT'S BEST!

Church "Ball" at it's best!

Back in the 70’s I was asked to coach our ward’s Varsity basketball team.
Not being much of a basketball player I felt a little inadequate at the challenge.

I called a practice and 5 guys showed up…one of them was about 5’ 5” and weighed
Somewhere over 200 lbs. but he was even much slower than you’d think he could be.
I asked if anyone had a friend of the appropriate age that was not playing high school basketball but could be helpful. A young man showed up the next week that was deadly shooting from the corners. The starting five were pretty good.

Our first game was a blowout...I pulled guys out one at a time and left the chubby guy in for the whole second half trying to slow the game down but we won 65 to 4. I was getting pretty impressed with this tiny squad…we finished the season with one loss..by one point.

We qualified for a spot in the area championships. Our first game was to be played at 1pm on a Saturday so I told the guys to show up at noon…they did…our little band of players looked kinda silly with the other teams all being 12 man units. Sadly, I was given the wrong time…we were to start at noon…so we lost by a forfeit.

I called the guys around me and was hoping that they would understand…they said that they wouldn’t kill me…and that it was “No big deal” (Right!!) The opposing team’s coach and their captain came over to us and asked if we could play them a scrimmage… they had talked the refs into working the scrimmage.

When they walked away I asked the guys if they were up to it and they said sure lets just have some fun….when the scrimmage was over the other team had only scored 10 points… we hit a little over 50. Both teams were high fiving each other…it was kinda fun to see the sportsmanship. While we were packing up to leave the other team came over to us…. their Captain said that they had just had a meeting and that we showed that they didn’t belong there and they were pulling out of the tournament… the directors said that if they did… we could continue on….what a thrill to watch this kinda sportsmanship from these young men showing true “Christian” love for their brothers.

We took second place losing to the same team that had earlier beaten us…by one point again….made more painful by the other team’s coach being a young man that I had known when I first joined the church. Both of our teams went to the “Regional Championships”. They lost early in the tournament…we were in the Championship game… playing a very good team and were down by 20 points…close to the end of the game our team Captain called time out and the guys said that I needed to stop trying to slow the game down, I was trying to help them not die of exhaustion....they said that they were alright and to please let them RUN.

I told them to go for it…they did. We tied the game with a second to spare…went into overtime and won it by about 10 points. What a fun time I had with those 6 guys that would never give up.

IRENE'S NEW "ADVENTURE"!

IRENE'S NEW "ADVENTURE"!

Here is wishing you the "BEST" in your new job...
I know that you'll do just fine as you do "NEW" things.

FEELIN' THE "LOVE".

FEELIN' THE "LOVE".

There are times that we go through that show how much this family supports one another....this little incident that I found myself in is just one more time that illustrates how close this family is.

From our family "Nurse", Heather, to Jack and Curt steppin' in to give me a blessing... and the support of Diane, Sheri, Jack, Cathy, and Curt...along with my best "FRIEND" in this world, Irene...and with the prayers of the whole family, I saw once again the strength and power that there is in this family.

A lotta love and a whole lot of chuckles from each of you guys kept the experience in perspective ....as I dealt with getting back on my feet today and to attempt to find the work that I need to find. Keep the prayers coming for the "Work Thing"...

I so dearly love each and every one of you....Thank You ALL!!

NOW I'M REALLY FEELIN' OLD!!

NOW I'M REALLY FEELIN' OLD!!

Because of the downturn of the economy my business has dropped to new "LOWS".

I have sought work in other sign shops but don't have the skills that are required for the new technologies. I have also tried to find work in the retail field with Home Depot/Lowes etc. in their paint departments.....I don't know if age has anything to do with them showing no interest but I wouldn't be too shocked if that was the case.

Dotti sent this photo of "Tweety" to me and I think that I can see my problem a little more clearly.... it's quite a reality check, and sadly, he is a year or two younger than I am!

Ohhhhhhh...Woe is me!!!

WILL WORK FOR FOOD!!

WILL WORK FOR FOOD!!

I guess it’s about time that I update my “BLOG”….so here goes.

It appears as though our President and the “Media” are making a bad situation worse by all of the negativity being used to advance the notion that we must spend a fortune to “Right” the economy.

This is having the effect of everyone being afraid of spending money to buy new vehicles….all of my clients seem to have that mindset and so I find my work load dried up.

I have been exploring finding work doing something new. There's not much out there and I don’t have much to offer anyone. (Doesn't seem to be much of a need for an old curmudgeon.)

I guess I could put my skills to good use and make myself a sign…”Will Work For Food!!”

I think that these are the times in one’s life when we just need to rise to the occasion.

Pray for your Mother and your Dad.....O.K.!!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

Happy Valentines

day To all my

"SWEETHEARTS"!!

Especially my best

friend Irene...

Your Da BEST!!

My "Valentine" pulled out all the stops and

prepared a "Special" dinner last night.

We enjoyed some of the stuffed cubesteak

with steamed asparagus and seasoned

potatos....yummmm.

She also had the dining area lit up witha string of red Christmas lights.

What a "Sweetheart"!!

ARIZONA CARDINALS

ARIZONA CARDINALS

Yesterday was the Super Bowl featuring two teams that I am not big fans of....but one of the most exciting games that I ever saw. Had it not been for so many penalties and one errant throw, the Cardinals would have won the game. They dun good.

Thanx to Jack and Heather for good company, great food and a GREAT screen to watch the game on.

Now on a more serious note...GO DIAMONDBACKS!!

Oh..Woe is ME!!

Oh..Woe is ME!!

Irene said that I should post...so here goes...I got some allergy thing goin' on and my nose is runnin' like a goose with the squirts!! There ya go, Darlin.

OK, I'm confused....Irene tells me, "Enough talk, you've used up your quota of words today."

HMMMM.....no words????....but her favorite movies and TV shows are the ones that the people do NOTHIN' but sit around and talk and talk and talk...lottsa cryin' and it's Ok if these people sing or dance! No blowing up things, killing the bad guys or folks runnin' around in their undies...what's with wimmin??

"SITTIN' IN THIS LONELY ROOM".

Signworks, Cotati, CA

“SITTIN’ IN THIS LONELY ROOM.”

I went to lunch yesterday with Gary Fire and in our conversation an experience that we shared came up. It was sad to relive it and he asked me why it wasn’t written about on my “Blog”. Good question, my friend….well here it is…..

Back in 1984 I was working for Gamefield Concepts, I had organized the screenprint operation so the company didn’t feel the need to keep me on any longer. There was no other work to be had in the Santa Rosa area at the time, so I started a little signshop in Cotati.

It was taking longer to get established than we had money for, so we decided to pack up Irene and the younger girls and have them go “Visit” Grandma in Utah. Watching my lil’ family board that train was heartbreaking but necessary. Jack Alan and I stayed on in Cotati, Jack stayed with a friend for awhile and I stayed in the shop and in my van.

One night, a few months after Irene and the kids left, a cold rainstorm hit the area. Around 9pm one night, I was sittin’ in the little shop with the rain coming down so hard that the power went out in all of that area. I was playing the guitar and started writing a song….the saddest blues song ever written…when a car pulled up outside the shop. I heard someone sloshing through the huge puddle outside the door and then the sliding door being opened, a bolt of lightning lit up the shop and there stood Gary.

He pulled up a chair and just sat there with me in the dark for what seemed like about 10 minutes, then he told me that he had just talked with Sandy and she told him that she was never going to come back to him. (She had moved out and he was staying in Santa Rosa while he was training for a new job.) So there we sat, two of the loneliest fellas in the Republic of California, Del Norte…. in that “Cold dark room” with no heat….no families and no lights....on one of the rainiest nights in the history of the world….or so it seemed. I had already written most of the song “Sittin’ in this cold dark room”, before Gary got there and so I enlisted him and his broken down spirit and we put the final touches on the song.

A month or so later I went back to Identity Services and sent Irene some money to get a ticket to Reno. I drove to Reno and we got a motel right on the river running through the city. The sound of the rushing water is still vivid in my ol’ memory banks. When I took her to the airport to go back to her lil’ones she cried…it was hard to say goodbye again and watch her get on the plane. Shortly after this though, I was able to bring her and the girls back home….so our lil’ family got back together….Gary wasn’t able to do the same but started a new “Adventure”, meeting Sunni, marrying her and putting his 4 kids and her 6 kids together.

About 16 years ago I recorded that song on a CD with the “ROADHOUSE KINGS”.
We had a CD release party at Waldo’s BBQ and the girls were there…I explained how the song came about and sang it…the girls were in tears hearing the song and remembering our separation. Life can throw real challenges at us….. but the strength that we have as a family seems to carry us through them for our good and only makes us appreciate each other more.

2009!!

2009!!

I can't believe that it's already 2009...hope that it's a better year than 2008 with my work. (2008 was a rough one for this old guy and his bride.) Hopefully the government will quit trying to "Help the economy", I fear that both of the parties are gonna continue hurting us.

Had a nice time at Curt and Cathy's house last night...fun snacks and got a chance to bring in the New Year finally winning a game of "Hearts"...we missed Larry's presence at the table!!

The most fun of the night was watching the faces of the grandchildren unwrapping their "Gifts". they had no clue that "White elephant" gifts are not meant to be real gifts and their disappointment was hilarious!!

I WISH EVERYONE A GREAT NEW YEAR!!