The next time I blog on this date I will be 77 years old!!!---Take me out to the ball game

Norma and Wayne as you enter the ball park

A pano view of the game

That will be a strike!

You can sit on the grass in the sun for only $26!

As the game goes on I wonder if this gal is reading about the history of baseball???

Norma, Wayne and I went to the Twins game yesterday.  Terry was feeling a bit under the weather so she stayed at home.  It was a beautiful day for an afternoon at the park.  The Twins won 4-1 but who really cares in a spring training game?  If you look closely at picture two you can see that one can walk around the entire ball field.  I did that and it was very evident that many if not most come to the game not so much to watch but to visit, walk around and EAT!  Of course Norma and Wayne do not get to many games and they had never been to Hammond Field so they insisted they treat.  Wayne had a hot dog and beer for $14.50.  Norma and I had a soda and hot dog which cost $10.50!  A Bud Light which I never buy but I think you can get a 12 pack for about $10 on sale.  At the park 12 Bud Lights would set you back $96 at $8 a can!!!

It was a fun afternoon.  We did leave at the end of the 7th inning and had close to a half mile walk to our car.  We had NO traffic as we left.  By the way it was $10 to park as well!

I figure if you had a family of 2 adults and 4 children going to the park and each had a dog and drink that would set the family budget back $260 and that is to watch a game where the regulars may not start or if they started they may play less than half the game!  Folks, that is America!!!

Norma and Wayne (the Johnsons) packed their car and headed out about 10 this morning.  It was a fun visit from special friends.  It was a downer that Terry just was not feeling well but she did take in our outings to the Turtle Club and the Fish House.  With a stomach that was not doing well she did not order food but was part of the conversation.  The Johnsons will get back to Tampa early afternoon and then head out from there Monday for the tundra north again.  I really should not say that as the next 10 days in Minnesota will see temps in the 40s which is a real teaseing of spring however I suspect one should not expect that kind of weather from now to May.

I did play tennis this morning.  The Saturday group is a mix of 3.0 and 3.5 players.  It is certainly a fun 90 minutes.  Karl and I lost our first set 2-6 and then we changed partners.  Dave and I fell behind 2-5 but came back to win 7-6 as time expired.  

My team is down 3 players this Wednesday so there will be an opportunity for one of the players to be on the court who has not played yet.  We have 3 matches left which means we have 9 courts left.  I am hopeful of winning 5 or 6 of them.  Either way it should be fun.  We finish up on Wednesday, March 18.

Starting tomorrow we should see our temps go into the 80s agains so I am looking forward to being in the pool again.  It may be warm enough to enjoy by Monday PM.

Enough for this afternoon.  I made FP for Wayne and Norma this morning and made 2 pots so we all would have enough and of course that started the day right.  The egg bake we made was enough for breakfast Friday and Saturday so breakfast was easy.  Tomorrow I may go back to my eggs, sausage and  hash browns.

A fun day

Waiting to get on the boat shuttle for the 10 minute ride to the gulf.  The shuttle just went out to the pass leading to the gulf and turned around.  With a strong wind and temps in the mid 60s nobody was getting off.

Those delicious Stone Crabs

Norma working on getting it out of the claw.  Sorry Norma you have your mouth open but you still look cute!

Yesterday was a fun day.  Norma and Wayne arrived shortly before 1:00 and the rest of the day was spent visiting and out and about.  We had a 5:30 reservation at the Turtle Club for dinner.  Stone Crabs are a THING here during the winter season so we HAD to have a plate.  Then everyone enjoyed a dinner of assorted sea food which was delicious,
Today we venture off to Hammond Park, spring training home of the Twins.  I know we are spoiled but after the game it is another meal out at the Fish House.  The Fish House meal will not be so special BUT still very good!
Norma and Wayne will then head back to the Tampa area Saturday there have family and then on Monday head back to the cold north again.  Terry and I are so glad they took the time to come visit.

I will get back on the tennis court this morning.  I am about ready to put a prepared egg dish in the oven which will be breakfast.  I am thinking it will be about ready by the time Wayne gets up.  I will then head to the courts for a 9:00 match.  I think we need to head to the baseball game about 11:30 or so.  It is a 1:05 game with the Red Sox,  (I know it is sad but I had to look up Boston as I typed socks and thought that did not look right!).
Enough for this morning.  I am going to put the hot water on for FP, get the paper and then get that egg dish in the oven at 325.

A win, sort of!

Here it is almost 10 PM.  We had an away match today and it was sort of a win.  We lost courts 1 and 2 in matches that were not all that close.  I and Ken played court #3 and we won in a match tie breaker by a score of 10-8.  Both Ken and I had our share of bad shots but we were able to come out on top in the end.  I THINK if we were to play the same guys we would be able to come out on top to the tune of 3-6 and 3-6 in all matches.  Really we should NOT have gone to a match tie breaker.  We won the first set 6-3 but then went into a tailspin that put us in a hole 1-5.  We were able to make it 4-5 before they won 4-6.  The tie breaker was back and forth but we got the win.  I do not know what it is but I seem to like match tie breakers!  In 6 team matches I am 5-1 with 4 match tie breakers.  Luck, skill, mental toughness!!!  I do not know what it is but I would prefer to win and not go to match tie breakers.

I will not be playing today.  Norma and Wayne will be here around noon.  We may go on the boat shuttle and then have lunch at the club.  We have made reservations at the Turtle Club for 5:30 and that will make it a day.  Tomorrow Wayne has purchased tickets to the Twins-Red Boston game at 1:05.  We may have dinner at the Fish House after that.  They will leave on Saturday AM so it will be a short visit.

Friends Carmen and Ernie lost their oldest daughter Lisa a couple days ago.  She was in her 40s.  Once again it is kind of like a big kick in the stomach when that happens.  What the heck, we as adults are not supposed to bury our children.  I was able to make a card and get it off this morning.  My heart goes out to them.

It is now 7:20 AM Thursday and I am ready for the day.  A breakfast of hashbrowns, ham and eggs with of course FP has me ready!  We are expecting Norma and Wayne around noon today.  Our weather has been warm the last few days but now that company is here from Minnesota we are expecting a high of 67 today!

Life Stages---college years

This stage is certainly an interesting one and full of surprises that one should not have but when you are as "clueless" as I was about life things happen!

I enrolled at NDSU in the fall and immediately found myself in deep trouble with my classes.  I found out that my English teacher was one people tried to avoid and I found that was true.  I had gone to Fargo in late summer to register for classes and take an entrance exam.  When I received my classes I found out that I was placed in advanced algebra and chemistry.  The good part of that was I started college with 10 quarter credits before I ever cracked a book.  The BAD part was I often had NO clue what was going on in those classes.  My chemistry was at 7:30 in the morning and that alone was a test to actually get there. I did get credit for both classes but I do believe it was by the skin of my teeth.  

When I enrolled I had no major to declare but later in the year I thought to myself I would like to go into radio as many people had told me I had a voice for it.  So year 2 saw me enroll in a speech class that I thought would lead me to radio only to find out it was a speech therapy class!!! How was I to know?

Life was complicated as well.  I had gotten back together with Gail and she was in Minot so my social life consisted of writing letters!  That is not so much fun for a college student.  

Janet died during February of that year and that certainly had an impact on me and I found my attention to classes was not as it should have been.

My freshman year I got a job in the "Work-Study" federal program and was assigned to a janitor job in a dorm.  However as a sophomore I was given a job in the barley department and I loved it.  I certainly needed the money.  Often as friends went off to a movie I would take my red transistor radion and head to the greenhouse to put in hours.  My total expense for my freshman year was around $1100 and I paid my bills with the $500 Dad paid me for the summer, my work and a loan of $500.  There was little room for extra spending.  I agreed to go home after my freshman year as Dad and Mom needed help.  With the death of Ronald and Janet within 16 months life was not good on the farm.  As I have said before my Harley Sprint cycle was a life saver that summer.  

My studies floundered during my sophomore year.  My favorite class was Comparitive Religions which I found very interesting and to this day I have the Bible that was the text for that class. In all this I decided to go to the counseloring center and see if I could get any clarity for my future.  They said I should take a test and that could tell me a direction to go.  I received my results back from the written test and it was loud and clear what I should do.  I had the personality to be an UNDERTAKER!!!  Well that did not go anywhere.  

I roomed with Larry in a dorm my freshman year.  As sophomores we rented a basement apartment right across from campus and that saved money.  Instead of a food plan which tended to encourage one to gain weight I had a pretty steady diet of hot dogs in cream corn, pizza, TV dinners etc.  I am NOT saying the food was any healthier but when one had to pay for each item out of your pocket you eat less!

What little I did buy came from a catolog "Direct Buy"  I thought and still think the prices were good. That is where my red radio came from.  That is where my Mike S golf clubs came from.  AND I should NOT admit this but that is where Gail's engagement and wedding ring came from!  You have have heard of mail-order brides but mail-order rings???

By the time I started my junior year there was change in the air.  Larry and I did not rent the basement apartment again but rather we moved to live in a house with several guys.  But that was not the only change. Gail was a senior at Minot and her advisor wanted her to enroll in a graduate program majoring in Deaf Education.  When Gail said she was getting married the day after graduation her advisor did not give up.  She said if I could come to Minot and talk to her maybe she could offer me a scholarship on the undergraduate level.  So in November of 1968 I boarded the train for Minot on a Thursday afternoon.  I would talk to Gail's advisor on Friday.  Before I boarded the train to go back to Fargo on Sunday I was told IF I transferred I would get aide my senior.  To this day I am not sure why I got the scholarship.  

• I am pretty sure it was not my grades even though they had been good to very good AFTER my freshman year
• With my shyness I doubt I impressed any one at Minot
• Maybe they liked Gail so much they felt they needed to offer me something to get Gail to stay
• OR it could have been the black turtle neck shirt, the Pendleton sports jacket with the gray slacks and brown fancy slip on shoes I wore that impressed them!  Oh at that time I was pretty darn fit and trim too!

Regardless the reason, I got on the train Sunday afternoon with many thought running through my mind.  We were already looking at a June wedding.  Now did I want to transfer to a different school.  Well there was the $$ part that was very tempting.  Instead of borrowing money both of us would have our schooling paid for and spending money as well.  However it meant living in Minot in the summer, living in Devils Lake in the fall, moving back to Minot in the winter and then back to Devils Lake in the spring.  Well the short story is our 1963 Chevy Belaire became a moving van with boxes, files and papers piled high after each quarter.  Over the many years of marriage to Gail I look back and realize that year may have been the most financially safe time of our life!  A benefit of going into Deaf Education that I did not know about at the time was each year a person was in it you got 15% of your student loan cancelled.  So the $2200 I had borrowed went away by filling out papers in the spring for 7 years.  

So ended my first 3 years of college.  Instead of moving towards the profession of an undertaker I was now majoring in Deaf Education with a minor in secondary education.  Instead of graduation at NDSU I would now graduate from Minot State.  At the end of our school year I was offered a job at the school as a teacher and coach.  My salary would be a BIG $6000 as long as I taught, coached and drove bus! 

Such was my college years.  Another story is why, how and when I completed my masters degree but of course that is for another time.

Another day of rest for this body

We have today and tomorrow with warm temps and then the highs will be in the 60s for a few days.  I like the warm temps as that means our pool is good for swimming.  Too too many $$ to heat it when Mother Nature cools the air down.  So I will probably take a dip 2 or 3 times today and tomorrow and that will have to be good for a while.  I know, in my youth Lake Tewaukon was my "go to" bathtub in the summer and I am pretty sure the temp was not in the high 80s most of the time.  In fact we felt that Memorial Day was the beginning of summer and therefore the beginning of the swim season and I promise the water was cool but we did not mind.  Today it is different!!!

Stages of Life---High School and the big yellow bus

Kind of a funny thing but as I worked as a teacher and coach at the North Dakota School for the Deaf I became the bus driver for the football and basketball teams.  That bus was older than the ones at Sargent Central year before.  There was a little fan up front so during the winter one could keep the window kind of free from frost!

Much of high school was about the big yellow bus.  The miles and the hours spent in the bus maybe were close to the total time in school.  One of the towns we played was 100 miles one way but most were within 50 miles.  An estimate of miles and hours over 4 years of high school would be 48,000 miles and an entire year of 40 hour work weeks!!!  From the start of school the day after Labor Day to the end of basketball in early March it went like this.  AND in my freshman year it was spring baseball and in my senior year it was track but.

• A typical day without a game went like this.  We would see the bus drive past as it went a half mile north to pick up Ricky.  That meant we had about 4-5 minutes to get out to the mailbox as it returned.  The time would be around 7:10 as driver Ray opened the door.  IF I had a test that day it would be sit and study BUT if not it usually would be a card game on our way to Cayuga.  After we dropped off the grade school kids in Cayuga it was then on to Forman for high school.  We usually arrived at school about 9:10 or so, two hours after getting on.  
• On a none game day it was practice from 3:45 to 5:30 or so.  Then a bus would take us back to Cayuga.  From there Dad would pick me up OR if not it was a night at Grandma's house.
• On a game day let's say to Kulm it was like this.  Cayuga boys would gather in the lunch room after school to do home work and one of the lunch ladies would be there to offer us left over food from noon.  We would then get on the bus and head west.  We would stop at Cogswell and pick up guys there and then arrive in Kulm in time for the "B" game or the "9 grade" game to start at 6:30.  The varsity would start about 8:00 and we were again on the bus by 10:00.  After stops in Cogswell, Forman and Rutland we were get into Cayuga about midnight or later.  Usually for those games Dad would not be there so it would be a short walk to Grandma's house to spend the night.  

However high school was much more than bus rides and sports.  It was about band, chorus and SOME studying.  For me it was much about social life or I should actually say about my shyness as a farm boy who lived 25 miles from school.  For some odd reason I always felt like a tiny mole in a big lawn.  IF someone would pay attention to me I would grab onto it and hold tight.  When I was in a crowd I would tend to focus on one person if I could get their attention and I was comfortable with that.  I have little regrets but as I look back I think I sold myself short much of the time.  Each fall classes would vote on class officers for the year.  I was the only person who was an officer all 4 years.  Of course there was little to do but as I look back it tells something that I was not aware of at the time.  

I was in the band and not all that "into it" really.  Towards the end of my senior year the band director came in one morning and said the band would have a raise of hands to see which student could direct it for part of the morning.  They raised their hands for ME.  I am sure I did an awful job as I felt it put all eyes on me and I did not know what I was doing.  In my world today I probably would enjoy that role and ham it up a bit but I am a totally different person today than in 1965 AND I guess one would expect that!  

In sports I felt a huge responsibility and a let down as well.  As the captain of the football team I think I did an OK job but our season, mainly due to injury, was a disaster and I felt in some way it fell on my shoulders.  We did have a successful basketball season until the tournament at the end.  John and I were co-captains.  A funny thing happened each game.  We would go out onto the court and warm up and then about 10 minutes before tip off we would go back into the locker room to talk.  We would then come out in a line as the cheerleaders and crowd would cheer.  I always made sure John was at the front of the line as we came out and I always brought up the rear.  Now at times as I sit and think about things of the past I think that was reflective of my view of self as a whole.  At the time of my life I wanted to be in the background or as one could say, "in the rear".

I probably should not say a whole lot about my social life.  As I have stated being 25 miles from high school did not lend itself to much on the social scale except for school parties which did not happen all that much.  We had the homecoming dance, the snowball dance in the winter and the prom.  In my freshman year JoEllen asked me to dance at homecoming and she became my girl friend for that year.  Why?  I think because she showed an interest in me and so I was IN.  In my naive being I thought we would date all through high school and be together forever!  Well I am not sure of that but maybe.  By having a special friend it gave me an excuse to not have to be social with others!  Well guess what?  By the time we started our sophomore year JoEllen had found a more interesting friend!  What a surprise!!!  About the middle of my junior year I kind of thought I may like Gail and it seemed like maybe she liked me so there I was set for the last half of my junior year as I had a special friend.  But Gail went off to college and there I was starting my senior year and again in a social vacuum.  I was so into my "shyness" that I did not even go to the homecoming dance.  Somehow as basketball season came into being JoEllen came into the picture again.  AND I would say, again, it was mainly because she showed an interest in me and I thought wow!  I may add here that especially in my senior year Terry gave me advice on my social lack of skills.  I am NOT saying she in anyway criticised me but rather she helped me come out a little bit of my shell.  

I could not talk about high school without talking about the death of my hero, brother Ronald.  My world changed forever that Saturday morning.  I had a football game Friday night and when I returned to Cayuga Grandma was still up.  She said Ronald had been taken to a Fargo hospital and Mom and Dad had driven there.  She said I could go home in her car.  Late Saturday morning I heard our car come into the yard.  Dad got out and looked like he was lost.  Mom got out with stains of tears all over her face.  I did not have to ask as their appearances told it all.  My big brother, my mentor, my friend and my hero was gone from my life forever and little did I know how often during my life I would sit and think, "what if".  Ronald's death made a huge dent in my world and into my senior year.  I think it had a lot to do with my taking JoEllen again for a special friend for those last few months of high school.  I remember I had a silver little horse shoe thing that a person would get from a machine at the fair or where ever.  It was something Ronald had given me and it had his name on it.  I gave it to JoEllen as a keepsake!  I kind of chuckle now as I am sure, even at the time, it meant little or nothing to her.  Kind of a petty silly little high school act that sticks in one's mind.  Sometimes when I think about it I wonder when it was thrown away!

So graduation came and that was the end of my high school social ineptness for a time.  This is a sad thing to admit but I think I never came out of my social ineptness to a large degree until after marrying Terry in 2011.  I know that sounds really strange but it is true.  I could write many stories most of which would not be good reading but would get my point across about my shyness and lack of social skills.  Some of them were not so bad and some of them, to this day, I regret but.

So ended my high school days.  I would say, for the most part, they were made up of many good experiences but of course my lingering shyness and my personality often got in the way of what could have been better.  I do not know WHY but I was not excited to enter college.  It may have been because of on lack of social skills BUT back in 1965, as a young man, you had two choices.  You went on to college or you got drafted so college it was for me.  What would I major in?  I had NO idea.

Another day of rest

My 7:30 court today fell apart.  Two of the guys could not make it so I cancelled.  I also do not have a court time for tomorrow so ANOTHER day of rest.  Not sure I need it but it is what it is.
I do have some things to do before company on Thursday so I will get some of those things done today.
We have a wonderful weather day.  I did bike over to the courts just in case someone was short a player and the air was refreshing as I think the temp was in the 60s.
The first thing I need to do is cut two holes in the wall of the guest bedroom.  I mounted a TV on the wall and now need to put the cords through the wall and down so when one looks at the TV you do not see these cords hanging down.  All the cords are long enough except the plug in so maybe a short 3 foot extension cord is needed for that.

Stages of Life---4th grade--8th grade

This was a difficult time for me.  I was big for my age.  I think I may have been a head taller than most of the guys in my grade.

basketball team when I was 7th grade

In the back row 55 is 2 years older, 8, 77 and 33 are one year older

I did not know it at the time but I had to defend myself, I think, because I was from the farm and was big.  Early in 5th grade I was jumped by two 6th graders as I was getting on the bus.  I dealt with both of them on separate occasions later in the week and that pretty much put an end to harassment.

In 5th and 6th grade I dealt with being a severe stutterer.  I would say that this was maybe the most difficult thing I ever had to deal with.  Mom and Dad did all sorts of things to help, they thought.  They tried to get me to bed earlier, they tried to change the way I ate.  Really did scrambled eggs or hard boiled eggs or fried eggs make a difference???  Did going to bed at 7:00 rather than 8:30 make a difference???  Really I do not know BUT whatever it was actually made a difference.  With help from Mom, Dad and God by the time I finished 7th grade it was pretty much gone.  I would say a miracle for sure.

For some reason many in my grade and the grade above were not into school in ANY way.  That was difficult as I just did not understand that.

Cayuga high school closed as I finished 6th grade so as 7th graders and 8 graders we were the oldest. Actually that was fun.

There were several guys in the grade ahead of me that were more into mischief than school.  More than once I got involved for NO good reason but at that age one does not want to be the lone hold out so to speak.

During those years I often wanted to be one of the TOWN guys.  In the fall and in the spring I would watch out of the bus window as we drove away and all the town guys were getting ready for a ball game!

Because of my size I usually was the strongest and usually better at sports than my classmates.  I have already mentioned that I was the only one in my grade to hit a ball up to the second floor window and break it!!!

I became an avid reader while in the 7th and 8th grade.  Mrs. Odenbret said we needed to read 25 books and hand in a report on them by the end of the year.  For me, by the end of the year, I had handed in over 100 book reports.  Perhaps a big % of those were "Black Stallion" books!

It was in 7th grade that I got on the basketball court for the first time.  It was a painful learning experience.  I had a great shot as I had practiced MUCH on the farm in the hay barn and by the light post near the barn.  However the floor of the hay barn and the dirt around the basketball outdoor hoop did not lend itself well to dribbling skills!!!  Even as I played in high school I felt I did very very well with shooting, boxing out and basketball savvy BUT the dribbling part never came with polished skill!

As I look back at this stage of my life I think two things made it difficult.  First I lived 10 miles from Cayuga so much of the play time the town kids had I just was not part of.  This often made me feel like an outsider.  The second thing was how my body grew.  I just grew up so much faster than my peers.  As a freshman in high school I was 5' 11", 170 pounds and full grown.  As an 4-8 grader I just was not only bigger and stronger but for some reason my thoughts were often more mature or so it seemed to me.  I was in Boy Scouts during that time and many of the things we did just seemed so so silly.  In our adult life now I see Larry from time to time.  Once in our conversation he mentioned that in his mind he often felt that I was a man among boys.  I am sure that did NOT come across in my behavior often but in many other ways.

So in the fall of 1961 I prepared to enter high school and a whole new world.  Little did I know how much life would change.  In high school I discovered girls.  I learned that there is such a thing as studying.  I found out that there certainly were others who were serious about school and were much smarter than I.  I found out that I was not even close to the tallest player in sports. I learned that it seemed people actually liked me.  However I NEVER, in high school, came out of my shell in terms of social skills.  THAT CAME MUCH MUCH LATER IN LIFE.

Time to get to work.  My FP is gone and my breakfast sandwich of a bagel, ham, egg and cheese has given me much needed energy for the day ahead so I will sign off.

Great weather today

We had average Naples weather today.  I think the highs topped out in the high 70s.  Today, Sunday, I did not play tennis and actually I never play on Sunday.  I did play yesterday but really to have Saturday and Sunday off is a very good thing for my body.  I will not play tomorrow as 2 of the 4 guys in my court could not make it so another day off and that is fine.

Terry and I are expecting Norma and Wayne to get here on Thursday AM maybe.  We will then go to a Twins game on Friday and they will leave on Saturday.   I think we have things figured out as to what we should do when they are here.  As I have said in the past they are a special couple so we are excited for their visit.  A short writing about the first stage of my life:

Infant through Wood Lake School

What can a person remember about the first few years of life.  I, like most, can not remember much but I know I have a picture some place of my 2nd birthday.  I got birthday cakes from Mom, Aunt Bertie and cousin Arlene.  

Perhaps I could write a large part of a book about Wood Lake School.  Some of the things I think about and remember well are:

• The lunches we had that included government commondies (spell of course).  There was cheese, milk and canned peaches.  Those supplemented our bring our own lunches.
• I had ONE classmate, Dwayne Baldwin I think it was.  We had 12 students in 8 grades so I was lucky to have a classmate.  
• I was usually bored in school.  I would write my name 100's of times and then out the papers in my desk.  When the teacher required me to write my name I would wait for a time and then hand in the paper.  To this day I think that is the reason my hand writing is so so bad!
• We had great fun on the swings, the merry go round and the teeter totter.  We would play on them every recess
• In the winter we would bundle up and play in the snow
• Walking to and from school was often an adventure
• I KNOW I was not a good student at Wood Lake and I think it was because I was bored.  Who would NOT be bored having the same spelling book 1,2 and 3rd grade!
• Soft ball games were the best
• Sometimes I sit and WONDER how the teacher could have been on top of teaching grades 1-8 by herself.  Well maybe it was a job that was not possible!
• It was with much regret that we learned in the spring of 1956 that Wood Lake would close after the school year.  In the fall we would be getting on the big yellow bus and heading to Cayuga for 4th grade.  I actually remember that summer thinking about what it would be like to NOT walk to school but rather be in a HUGE school with many kids. It was a thought that I did not want to happen.  
• It took me much of the 1955-56 school year to adjust to town school.  I was in a classroom with 24 kids and to my amazement many of them seemed to be not very smart. I mean how could a paper with 100 X facts take a student 25 minutes to finish?  It took me maybe less than 5 minutes. AND some of the boys, they were NOT into school in any way.  How could that be?
• I came to the end of my 4th grade with an entirely different view of people.  Many of the kids in my grade were so different than I.  I did have some new friends.  I liked Arther who was the banker's son and I got to be friends with Larry who to this day we phone back and forth.  I also had classmates like Joe and Marvin who seemed to either be stubborn or just challenged in school ways.  I found out later that they were challenged, not stubborn.  I think neither of them finished high school and in the long term of life they did not do well.  
• It was a time of growing into a new understanding of people.  Until that time in 4th grade I thought ALL kids were like me.  Of course that was NOT the case.

So ends my first stage of life.  It was a time of change, of growth and the beginning of a major physical problem that Mom, Dad and God solved!

It is late in the day and FP is long ago history.

A cool down!

I slept until 7:00 this morning, a great day!  OK I did wake up a few times during the night BUT I think I may be caught up on sleep now.  I feel about as good as I have all week.  This may sound silly but I actually was concerned that I was in the middle of sleep deprivation.  No concerns now as I got a good night sleep for the first time in several days.
I had tennis at 9:00 today.  BUT before that I was able to get some work done.  The kitchen was a mess from the last two days so the dishwasher was loaded and started, the kitchen counters were cleared and the things from our Thursday picnic were put away.  I just had not felt like doing any of that yesterday so things were left in a BIG mess.
I did get something done yesterday that was important.  I was able to turn the grill on it's back and look at the wheels that were a mess.  Two had come off, some were bent and several screws were missing.  I was able to straighten some things out and then I went to the hardware store to get some 1/4X20 screws.  I was able to get all four wheels back on and of the 16 metal screws only one was a mess.  In that I was able to get three of the screws on and tightened with lock washers so I am sure we are good to go.  I am not certain what I will do next February for our brat/burger picnic.  I have to wheel the grill about two hundred yards or more and about 200 feet of that is on cobblestone walk.  That is hard on the grill and that is the reason the wheels got messed up.  Now I am sure they were not put on and tighten in the right way but I am still not sure how to do it next year.  Well I have an entire year to figure it out so I should be able to come up with something.

I had a really good time at tennis this morning.  The play was with "the big boys" which I have had a difficult time breaking into.  Can one imagine that???  We played 45 minutes and then we switched and the winners played and the losers played.  We also switched partners.  Dave, my partner, and I won 8 games to 2 in the first 45 minutes.  Denny and I played even up for the last 45 minutes.  It is really fun and good to play against the "big boys"!  I would say without any doubt that I belong with the "big boys" but then I am not the only judge!  I will end by saying I did not embarrass myself at all.

I have been thinking a lot about the stages of life.  I think one goes through many of them during a life time.  I would define the stages of my life in this way:

• infant through Wood Lake School (3rd grade)
• 4th grade through 8th grade
• high school
• first 3 years of college 
• Married life for the first 18 months.
• family life from John's birth through John's 8th grade
• high school years of the 4 children
• time from Cynthia's HS graduation through the end of Cynthia's college
• the first marriage in the family in 1993- the first grandchild in 2003
• the beginning of grandchildren through Gail's death in 2009
• September of 2009-March of 2011
• my marriage with Terry to now

Over the next while I will be writing about my stages.  As anyone knows life has it's ups and downs.  I will not focus and perhaps will not even write about the downs but rather focus on how God has been present in ALL stages and the many things I am thankful for.  Of course one could, if one desires, to write about the "what if" things in life but I will try to keep those things to a minimum!

For today I will be content to say I feel and think that my tiredness is gone and I am good to go forward.  Terry and I are expecting a dear friend of Terry's, Norma and husband Wayne, to arrive next Thursday and stay until Saturday AM.  Wayne has gotten tickets for a Twins game on Friday so we will go to that.  They are just such a special couple and just wonderful people so we are looking forward to their visit.  IF Terry and I can be a little bit like them at their age I will be a blessed person.

One could almost guess what I have been eating since our picnic.  Leanne made potato salad for the picnic and sent the left over home with us.  So that plus lift over burgers and brats have been my "go to" food for the last 36 hours.  Just so you know I have NOT been on the scale!!!

Time to say a breakfast of FP with some salad and a burger has me feeling GOOD.

A day late

Our food may not have been the highlight of our picnic--we were visited by a Barber Shop Quartet

Eating and listening at the same time

We had our February gathering yesterday and as usual it was a fun time.  I rolled our grill over and did burgers and brats which were a hit.  However the singing was a huge hit and done very well I should say.  Dave, who lives in a villa,  is in this quartet and they visited us and entertained with song.  It was a nice gesture and it also served as a PR for their upcoming weekend concert.  We had several people who had conflicts yesterday so instead of 35-40 people we had about 30.  That means Terry and I have a lot of meat and buns left over.  We do take donations to cover the cost and people are always generous so now we have food AND money!

With AM tennis, a 10:00 villa meeting and then getting things set up for the gathering I did not get to the computer yesterday to report that our Wednesday league tennis was VERY competitive BUT we did not end up on the winning side.  Court 1 lost 4-6 and 5-7, court 2 lost in a match tie breaker and court 3 lost in straight sets BUT the second set went to a set tie breaker.  Some days the ball just does not bounce your way!  It cut our winning streak at 5 matches but I still can not be all that unhappy.  I played court 3  has I had gotten up during the night with flu like feelings.  I still was not feeling 100% at match time so I played #3.

With 2 league matches this week, a villa party and tennis today as well as Saturday I think I am in need of some rest.  For some reason I have not been sleeping very good.  Usually I do not play on Saturday but am scheduled in tomorrow.  Some of the better guys play Saturday mornings so it is a chance to play UP.

I am not having my FP this morning.  Maybe I will save it for after 7:30 tennis.  Enough for now.

I would like to say BUT!!!

Big 6' 10" Dan and I won our match in a 10-7 tie breaker.  We lost the first set 4-6 but came back with a 6-3 win in set 2.  I would like to say I have match tie breakers figured out but that would be a lie.  I still think there is some luck, some skill and experience entered in as well.  Our pro says one needs mental toughness and perhaps I can claim that but I think that too would be not so true!  I will not argue with my match tie breakers this season and I have NO explanation for the success.  In my league I am 3-0 and in the 70+ over 3-0 as well.  I gues that comes to 6-0 in match tie breakers and I maybe should not say anything as the luck/skill may change.  Over all in the two leagues I am 7-2 so I am happy but I am not saying the odds will not even out!  Today we play a tought match and it could go either way on any of the courts.  It should be fun.  Yesterday Dan and I traded off in the first set.  If I made a good shot he would make an unforced error.  If he made a good shot I would make an unforced error!  It was satisfying to finally get it together for the win.

I was spent after out match yesterday.  I assume I will feel the same way today win or lose.  I am putting myself on court 3 this morning.  I had a miserable night last night and just do not feel up to 100% so I think court 3 is a better place for me today.  I thought about scratching myself and getting a replacement but I rode over to the courts this morning and seem to be feeling kind of OK.  The temp during our match yesterday was near 88 and today it is supposed to be 83 at court time so perhaps the weather has something to do with not feeling all that great.  Then Terry and I have the Villa picnic tomorrow with the brats and burgers on us.  It should be good but I may collapse as the party ends!!!

I do not know why but it seems I spent way too much energy on these things and then when they are finished I am spent.  Is that the way life is supposed to be?

I did have a great breakfast.  I had made 2 pounds of sausage paddies a few days ago and froze them so had one with two eggs this morning.  Maybe it will carry me to victory today!  If Ron and I win great and if Country Creek wins hats off to them.

Enough for this morning.  I did have my Kona FP and maybe, just maybe that will carry me through to a win on court 3.  Well of course I know Kona Coffee has nothing to do with playing good tennis BUT then who knows?

Good morning from the hills of North Dakota

Well I am NOT in North Dakota now but this picture is of the land about 5 miles west of where our farm used to be.  Almost makes one want to put a jacket on and take a walk in the early morning.  In case someone does not know what term people used who lived around here it simply was "The hills" and they ran west to east in North Dakota but very near the South Dakota border.  It was in the "hills' that we would head to have a picnic at Red Iron Springs.  The most enjoyable picnic I every had there was in the summer of 1966 when Larry and Patty and JoEllen and I had a picnic.  No details are necessary but it was a fun time at a very beautiful place.  There was "The Rock" in a pasture near the top of the hills and it seemed to have Indian signs carved into it.  One summer it just disappeared.  "The hills" were right behind Grandma and Grandpa Lee's farm.  Often when we would visit in the summer we would walk back into the hills.  There was an old old abandon building that we would always stop and look at.  It was right at the foot of the hills that their well for their cattle was.

Today and tomorrow will be interesting for my tennis game.  Today I will play court #2 on the 70+ team and my partner will be 6" 10" Dan Anderson.  I hope our opponent tries to lob over Dan because if they do they will find it almost impossible!  I am sure I will play Deuce and Dan will play Ad.  He, of course, has the better reach and I can move better.  I was beginning to think the captain, Al, did not like my play as I have not been paired with a guy who is a good partner.  I did win a couple of courts BUT today it will be fun to play with Dan.  We will see how we do.  

Tomorrow is really the BIG test.  Ron and I will play court #1.  Two weeks ago we played together and stunk up the court big time.  Tomorrow we play perhaps the best team in the league so it will be "show time" for sure.   Win or lose I am expecting it to be fun.  Well I say that but actually it is seldom fun to lose, right?  AND to make things even more interesting and fun tomorrow starts the second half of the season so it may tell how the rest of the season goes!

I was pretty happy when I looked at my rash this morning.  On my left hip it is not noticeable.  On my right hip there is a trace of rash but almost gone.  My right thigh rash is almost gone as well.  Now I say all that is good but when I look at those things I also realize that I MUST lose some weight!  I think the day should be gone when one can look at themselves and just say, "so what I am old now!"  Well one can say that but really Carmen eat less, exercise more and do your body good!

I looked at the weather this morning and was not all that happy to see a temp of 86 when we take to the courts.  I guess I should not complain as I see this morning Dave is at 9, Glorine is at 22, Joan is at 20 and Helen is at 41!  Son John and grandson Liam are coming out of the Boundary Waters today.  One night they had -13 but then yesterday it was all the way up to +14.  They will come out this afternoon, stay in a friends cabin and drive to St. Paul tomorrow.  Henry could not go as he had basketball.

A friend from the Twin Cities was in South Bend and sent a couple of pictures of Henry at his basketball game.  Here he is reading a speech honoring a senior on the team on senior night.  It seems that Henry and Liam have inherited the Lee side of height.  Liam has shot up and is getting tall and Henry is now 6' 3".  It is hard for me to believe that I have grandchildren who are now bigger than I.  Liam and Henry both would dwarf Great Grandpa Chic and Grandpa Ed.  Well ME too I guess!!!

Liam is #21 third from the right.  

Those guys are just getting way way too tall!  Here his team won first place in a tournament.  Liam, as an 8th grader is on the 8th grade team and Henry is on the varsity.

Enough for this morning.  I may wander over to the courts to see what is happening at 7:30.  Our match is a home match at 1:30.  Breakfast of scrambled eggs with olives and bacon in is long gone and the Kona FP is about history too so will sign off.

Happy President's Day

Kind of a "vanilla" day.  Usually I would play tennis this morning but for several reasons I did not.  We have perfect weather with temps in the mid 80s.  I have gone for a swim and will again later in the day.
I am going to bike over to the courts in a short while as the 2.5 team is playing at 1:30.  I have not seen them play this year and it is fun to watch.  I think they are having kind of a rough winter in terms of wins/losses.
It will be a short note today.  I should say that I am pretty sure that my rash is in the past.  One hip looks pretty clear and the other is close to clear so that is good.  I would like to know what in the heck causes that.
Terry and I just decided to got
to Costco at 2:00 as she has two meds to pick up.  We also have to get cheese slices for our burger & brat picnic which we will put on Thursday.  I am thinking we will have 35-40 people so it should be fun.
Enough for today.  I am off on my bike to the courts and then home again to head out with Terry at 2:00.

Another day to lie low and rest

It appears that my rash may be at an end!  I am going to not take any Benadryl today to see if that will help with the way I feel.  I really need to be well by Tuesday and Wednesday as I have tennis matches both days.  NO tennis tomorrow so will see if 3 days off makes one rusty!

SEPTEMBER 4TH, 1966

It is Sunday and the only thing I have planned is going to church with Mom, Dad and Helen.  It is my last day on the farm as I head back to college tomorrow.  It has been a very difficult summer to say the least.  When I headed to college a year ago I felt that farm life was in the past.  I was headed for new and different things and I was kind of excited for that.  However now, a year later it seems that most everything is up in the air.  

I had told Mom and Dad I would come home for the summer if I had some wheels.  After getting my Harley Sprint my life has been great, that is in terms of transportation.  Of course a motorcycle is certainly an upgrade from a 5 speed bike!  But it has been a very difficult summer.  The deaths of Ronald and Janet still hang so much over the farm.  Mom and Dad do not talk about them but there is very little joy or laughter in the house.  One of the few times I saw Dad with a smile on his face was when I gave him the keys to my cycle on Father's Day.  I did not see that smile for very long as he quickly drove down the driveway and did not come back until after dark!  

For sure I knew that Ronald's death would mean so so much to both Mom and Dad and it certainly shows in Dad a lot.  It seems that Ronald was very much in the center of Dad's life and thoughts a lot.  I would not go so far as to say Dave and I, as sons, meant nothing but there is no doubt that in Ronald's death a certain part of Dad died as well.  

Of course Janet's death is very much closer to the present as she died only 7 months ago.  Often I can see a tear on Mom's cheeks as she sits and knits or reads.  Of course that entire spirit has been in the air all summer.  

I miss Janet so much but of course not in the same way as Ronald.  I had not really thought of what the spirit of the home would be when I told Mom that I would come home for the summer.  IF I had known of course I would have still agreed to spent the summer on the farm but now, experiencing it I am ready to head back to Fargo and dive into my second year of college.  

My Harley pretty much saved the summer for me.  As often as I could I would fill up with gas and head out.  Some of the time I would ride into Cayuga and meet up with my friend Larry and we would ride.  Sometimes to no place  but just ride.  Sometimes I would head to the hills to the south and ride around the lakes there.  I did not know anybody there but just to be out, about and away from sadness was a relief for me.  I did end up connecting with Gail again and we spent some Sunday afternoons riding.  I could share about the weekend I rode to Gail's uncle Hugo's cabin in Minnesota.  My intent was to ride back Sunday afternoon but a storm came in and I felt I needed to stay and ride back Monday morning.  I later found out that Mom and Dad drove around Sunday night looking in the ditches for me!  Well they had NO phone so what was I supposed to do?

However here I was, a day away from heading back to school.  I felt very sad that Mom and Dad were in the place they were but I could not do anything to change it.  As for me I was kind of in turmoil with my place in life.  I had gotten past my freshman year with passing grades but nothing to shout about.  I had taken ROTC and gotten A's in all the classes but I was SURE the Air Force was not for me.  I thought I had a voice that would lend itself to radio and guess what.  I ended up in speech, not radio!  Larry and I had stayed in the dorm last year but this year we were going to be off campus in a basement apartment.  I was pretty sure I would be OK with money but then again not so sure.  Dad had promised me $500 for the summer and that would get me into the winter quarter but I had to earn money during the year to get through.  I was able to sign up for work in the barley department and that actually saved the year for me.  

So here I was spending the last day of summer on the farm.  My heart ached for Mom, for Dad and for Helen.  I was sure I never wanted to be a farmer but yet in my heart I knew that my growing up years had been good.  There were so many memories that I had and enjoyed yet there were so many questions I had with no answers.  I knew that I would somehow pack the things I needed on my cycle and I would head out tomorrow for Fargo not knowing really what was in store.  Well I did know that I would be rooming with Larry and that was a good thing. I was certain that living off campus would save me money and that would be a good thing.  I knew that John, Dave/Marlys and Joan/Ron were in Fargo and that was a good thing but still it seemed that my life was up in the air.  I had reconnected with Gail during the summer and I was not sure that was good.  I thought it was but still there were so many questions.   

So on September 5, Labor Day I mounted my Harley and headed back to continue my life with no real plans or goals in mind.  I had no idea that my sophomore year in college would be the beginning of a life long journey where often God seemed so close and then so far away.  

Today of course all that is history. One can look back and be thankful for the goodness of our mighty God.  He is in all things big and small.  Amen

Yes, for sure!

I went to the mirror this morning to see if my rash had gotten better.  Before I noticed the rash I noticed that my body is a bit over weight and a bit old.  Well what can one do?  Oh, I could lose weight which I have in a small way over the last few days but the old part, I guess I will just settle for being a bit on the old side and settle on being happy with it.  What the heck, would it help to be unhappy?  Regardless the red rash has now turned into a mellow brown so I take that as a good sign.  I am thinking that I am on my way to normal health again and soon.

OK I am kind of goofy when it comes to my team and how I look at it.  BUT it is fun as well.  I looked at the top 4 teams in the league as they appear to be the cream of the crop and I figured out where they are in terms of courts won per match.  I have to do that as everyone plays 9 matches for the season but we play 10.  Well I was pretty happy with my figures.  Two teams are averaging 2.25 court wins per match and two are averaging 2.2.  We are one of the 2.2 ones.  That is a huge jump from last year.  Now it is true that we are only half finished with the season and we have yet to play some of the better teams so time will tell but for now it is fun.  One never knows.  We may finish in the top 4 or we may end up below that but what the heck, enjoy the moment right?

Terry and I are looking at a pretty quiet weekend.  There is a Valentine tennis round robin thing today and we will not take that in.  I may get back into a book that I started a week ago but have not touched it the last few days.  Oh, I could do some work in the garage IF I have the energy.  However for now it is all in the "maybe" stage!

It is February 15, 1958

Dave and I wake up about the same time.  It was light enough for me to see my breathe as I exhale into the cold morning bedroom air.  With a bit of light coming through the window I could see the nails in the ceiling covered with frost.  Did I really want to get up?  It was Saturday so no school but I had a feeling that Dad had some things for us to do.  Yesterday when I forked hay out of the hay barn for the cows the supply of hay kind of told me Dad would have a job for us today.

Finally I jumped out of bed, into my pants and grabbed my shirt as I hurried downstairs.  Mom was up, as she seemed to always be, and she reminded me that she would have pancakes and venison sausage AFTER we finished milking.  Right after me Dave was downstairs as well.  With both of us milking it would not take long so off we went to the barn with steps in a new dusting of snow.  We had kept the cows in the barn over night so milking was just a matter of getting the kickers on two of the cows and then settling down to squirk the cats and milk!  Almost in record time we finished and were in the entry way of the house pouring the milk into the separator.  We would even have fresh morning cream for our pancakes.  Now life pretty much does not get any better than this.  Fresh cream and chokecherry syrup on buttermilk cakes and then a side of venison!  

I was hoping Dad would decide he needed some extra sleep BUT no dice.  Before we finished he was dressed and out of the bedroom.  AND it was no surprise that he said we needed to get TWO racks of hay today.  One was needed in the haybarn for the calves and milk cows and the other would be used for spreading hay in the barnyard for the rest of the cows.  Joan, Dave and I had our day planned out even before I could think of Lincoln Logs and card games.  With a new coating of snow maybe there would be enough to sled down the hill just behind the outhouse!

So much of our day was decided.  Dave walked to the shop to get the Ford tractor.  We hitched the hay wagon up and headed to the alfalfa field near Rollof's.  I should add that Helen was too little to help BUT she wanted to be in the picture!  The first load was brought home and we forked it into the haybarn.  We felt we had worked kind of hard so we needed a break.  You could guess that Mom knew us pretty well and had a treat for us when we got into the house.  After, maybe too long of a break, we ventured out again for the second load.  That load would stay in the hay rack and maybe last 2 or 3 days.  Each morning we would pull the hay rack out into the barnyard and fork over hay for the cows.  By noon we were done for the day but knew it would be necessary to repeat the job by mid week.  As we hurried into the house after our second load Dave and I decided we had enough of the outdoors for the day so the Touring Cards came out and we entertained ourselves with games and puzzles the rest of the day.

Time to sign off this morning.  I have one more cup of FP and that will help me settle into the couch with my book.

Maybe, just maybe

I am kind of optimistic that this darn rash is going away.  It seems that it is toned down and it is not so itchy so I have hope.  That being said still I know there is some kind of bug that I have.  I played tennis this morning and the energy just was not there.  Terry and I went to Costco for some things and when we returned home I had about a 2 hour nap.  I have been in the pool which I think is a good thing as it cools the body.

Not a whole lot to say today.  Our warm weather continues today and for the next few days for sure.  As I look at my phone we may have 80s until next Friday.  I like that as the pool is nice with those temps.

Terry and I pretty much had a low key Valentines Day.  She did surprise me with two new towels for tennis and I did give her something but no "date night" or special meal.  There was an article in the paper about a couple who have been married 71 years.  Terry and I will not make it to that!!!

I REALLY have to get going on our garage project here.  By the time we leave in May it would be nice to have the garage cleaned out and a new polish on the floor.  Maybe when this bug leaves and I feel better that will happen.

No tennis until Tuesday.  The club has a couples event tomorrow that we will not be in.  I have decided to not play on Monday as I would like this body to heal.  I will play on the 70+ team on Tuesday.  Of course one always wants to win BUT for me the big matches happen on Wednesday with my team.  We are tied for 3rd right now but have most of the good teams yet to play.  It should be fun.  It is always nice to win but to be competitive is really what makes it fun and this year we are.

Enough for now.  One can not talk about the FP as that was enjoyed early this morning so that's all!

Let's keep the good times rolling!

Just a quick note this morning.  Our team won 2 of the 3 courts to keep our string going of winning matches.  In 5 matches we have 5 wins and a court record of 11-4.  Elton and I played court 1 and fell in the first set 2-6.  We actually started out 0-4 and then played the last 4 games even so we had hope for set 2.  We redeemed ourselves in set 2 with a 6-1 win.  SO, as it often is, match tie breaker here we come.  It was perhaps the most even tie breaker I have been in.  After dropping the first point we forged ahead 2-1.  It was a see saw battle but we managed to stay ahead until we had a put away to win 10-8.  It was a strange match as I THINK we have had fun playing against this team in the past.  However their team watched our tie breaker from a court away.  When Elton and I finally won 10-8 they just got up and left without talk or without taking part in the drinks and snacks.  I have played in about 50+ team matches over the years and have NEVER had that happen.  I can come up with nothing that would have been negative except we won and they lost.  I may have to send an e-mail to their captain to ask WHY?

I am NOT playing today, will play tomorrow and then will not play again until Tuesday.  I have to figure out a way to get to feeling better and get rid of this rash.

Company is about to arrive so will sign off.

Again today

I played on the 70+ team yesterday and my partner and I went down to defeat big time.  It started ALL wrong.  I was scheduled to play on court 3 with a player I have done very well with.  Well when we got to the courts the captain had changed things and I played on court 2 with a guy that I play not so well with.  To complicate matters I am dealing with this darn angry rash and it has me not feeling all that great.  Regardless it was a defeat and our team was 0-3 for the day.  Our court 1 went down 0-6 and 0-6!!!  Court 3 did go to a match tie breaker but fell to defeat as well.

Today is a new day and my team is playing at home.  I had high hopes of winning 3 courts BUT one of my best players is not in town and with my feel not all that great I now have no such expectations but we will see.  I did keep me on court 1 but I put a court 3 pairing on court 2 and my court 2 pairing on court 3.  It may sound like I am stacking the deck by changing the pairings but I really have 5 players who can play any court.  WE will see how it goes.  I am going to tell my partner to not rush to put the ball in play as I think my energy is going to be suspect.  What the heck, it's all a game right?

I got outside this morning and got the car washed and vacuumed.  Some friends will be here tomorrow and we may go out for lunch so we need a clean car!

I still have no answer for my rash.  I am kind of keeping it at bay with anti itch cream but that does little if anything to make it go away.  Maybe time will heal.

We are back in warm temps for a while.  I got in the pool twice yesterday and it felt good.  I think at match time today it is supposed to be mid 80s.  That is a bit warm for tennis but I will not complain.

Enough for this morning.  I had eggs and bacon for breakfast and now, after a car wash, am downing the last of the FP so life is good.

One of my most embarrassing moments

It is early March of 1965.  I am kind of looking at the future rather than the present as my football and basketball days in high school are now history.  Being the captain of the football team and co-captain of the basketball team I felt kind of responsible for a year that did not go that well.  Football was an out and out disaster and basketball was OK but ended up on down note.  So here I am about ready to get out of high school and see what the world has to offer.  

I have decided to enroll at NDSU in Fargo.  For some reason college really does not sound all that fun but really I have to get out on my own.  My football coach had contacted Jamestown college as he thought I would be a player they would like but it is a teachers college and in that I am not interested in.  There is war in the air so I have to go to school or be drafted so NDSU it will be.  

But really what is on my mind more than anything is social.  I had fallen in love with Gail Saunders in the winter of 1964 but she is now off to college in Minnesota and we decided to not keep that relationship as she was in college and I still in high school.  Now my thoughts are focused on a gal who I had dated in my freshman year.  JoEllen and I are both seniors and I have no idea if this is going to last beyond our senior year but for this day in early March it is a date with JoEllen.  I had picked her up in Forman and we had gone to a movie.  As usual we sat in one of the double seats near the back of the movie theater.  I should add here that I should have known enough to avoid this situation that happen.  What happened?  Well the movie was over and of course it is too early to take her home so what does one do?  Well there are not a lot of places to go or much to do so it happens that there are kind of isolated country road that are good places to park.  Well I am not thinking so much of Dad's car which I am leary of so we end up in the country chatting and looking at the stars and.....  It is getting late so time to start the car and head home.  BUT the battery is almost dead.  There we sit in the middle of nowhere in a car that is getting chilly and a battery that just will not cooperate.  I have to choice here because we are too far from town to get to JoEllen's home and besides am I going to walk to her parents home and ask for help--no.  I see a yard light that looks about a mile away.  I look at my watch and see that it is most likely beyond the farmers bed time but what is a guy to do?  Well the only choice is to walk the mile, knock on the farmers door and ask for help.  JoEllen, after sitting in a cold car for some time sees the farmer and me coming down the road on his tractor!  We pull the car and it starts right up.  I do not remember the rest of the night but to this day it stands as one of the most embarrassing moments for me.  The end of the story is JoEllen and I did continue to date through the school year.  Gail came home in mid summer after an awful experience at a job in the Twin Cities and we started dating again.  The rest is history.  I do know that I never told Mom and Dad.

Enough.

We'll see

These pictures really do NOT do justice to the Cotear des Prairies Lodge but it does give some idea of what kind of place it is.  It has a basement and then 3 stories high.  It has a commercial kitchen and 13 bedrooms with many baths.  All the logs were harvested in North Dakota and I am pretty sure most of the material was gotten from ND.  It is truly a beautiful place.  As I have said in the past it was just a perfect place for the family to gather.  I hope the owners, the Breckers, make a go of it as it certainly is a true ND place and a great place to spend a vacation at.

Well here we are at the third day of the week and I do have a 70+ tennis match today.  I am somewhat nervous as I am still battling this rash in a big way.  I took 2 Benadryl yesterday at about 3:00, another 2 at bedtime and then I took 2 this morning.  I questioned if I should do any this morning but the tennis match is at 1:30 so I think I should be good to go.  I have been feeling not so good and do not know if that will transfer to my game?  I guess I will just have to wait and see.  Charlie and I will be on court 3 so that SHOULD be better than on court 2.  

I turned the pool heater on Monday morning as we are supposed to have temps in the mid 80s for several days.  I did get in a swim yesterday with the temp at 81 and it felt chill!  I know, what kind of wimp am I in my mature age?  

I am going to make this kind of short this morning as I am not feeling all that great.  I did manage to have eggs with sausage  and olives and then downed the FP maybe  in record time so I am hoping all that will carry me through the match this afternoon.  Win or lose I hope it does not affect me in a negative way for tomorrow.  Of course I always like to win but that is even more important to me with my team on Wednesdays than for the Tuesday team.  Enough for now.  With that Benadryl in my system I may be able to take a short nap this morning before I head to the courts to play this afternoon.

Compare!!!

Below is a Saunders family picture taken in 2020 and below that is the Saunders family picture taken in 1978. It was the occasion of Bud and Bee's 50th.  But Bud is in the back row second from the left while Bee is sitting by Johnny Saunders.   Does the picture tell of a different time???

Thanks to Dale Saunders, Gail,s cousin, I got this picture.  Of course many of the people in this picture are not with us now.  I can not say for sure but I am guessing at least 14.  One may not be able to pick out people in both pictures but at least 15 people are in both pictures.  Of course MANY have been added since 1978.  I should add that the meal after Marian's funeral was in the Cayuga hall where the old picture was taken.  The hall is still a staple of the community for funerals, weddings, holidays etc.  Of course every time I enter the hall my memory goes back to grade school basketball with saggy socks, shorts that were too big, shoes that were too old and Mr. Murrey's cigar smoke (he was our coach).  It was there I learned such basketball rules as:

• You can't stand in the lane for more than 3 seconds
• When you have the ball you can't cross the center line and then take the ball back
• boxing out on a free throw is an art that is learned
• If you move with the ball you need to dribble!
• You can't reach over the back of a smaller player  to get the ball unless you can do it without touching him
• Dribbling is a skill that takes a lot of practice
• When dribbling if you stop you can NOT start up again as that means you give up the ball
• Those black lines around the court are there for a reason, you can't have the ball and step outside of those lines.
• Of course when I starting playing BB in grade 7 I knew NOTHING about the rules of the game and I certainly did not have ANY basketball skills.  I would like to think that changed in a big way in high school, as least it did in my mind!

It looks like Cayuga did not have enough money for uniforms as pretty much everyone brought their own shorts.  Too bad one can not see the shoes.  I would not be surprised if there were some reminders of my barn chores on mine.  Not really but maybe!  I know I have posted this in the past.  There are 12 boys in the picture and 6 have died and one is in a home after an accident.  AND these are guys who would be 73-74 years old.  I am not sure people thanked or appreciated coach Murray.  He was the mail man out of Cayuga which meant he was pretty much finished with his work day by mid afternoon.  He was good enough to coach basketball and little league summer baseball.  THANKS!

Regardless I guess I kind of got carried away from the family reunion idea!  

Here we are in the start of another week.  Darn, I am battleing that darn rash which does not seem to go away.  I am not sure but I don't think it is any better today than yesterday.  I had trouble sleeping last night and the itchy skin and the red welts seem to be as prevalent as yesterday and the day before.  I do NOT want to go to Urgent Care for a third time.  NO NO NO.  

I told the guys I would not be playing tennis today and now I am wondering IF I can play team tennis tomorrow.  My team also has an important match on Wednesday so I am more than a bit concerned.  On the other hand IF a rash is my biggest concern I am pretty blessed.

Enough for this morning.  I actually enjoyed bacon and eggs with my FP so I should be good for the morning.