Back to blogging.

Well, we are back from our trip to Peg & Steve's for Thanksgiving. They are such wonderful hosts. We were joined by Tom, Tonya and family for a great traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings. We ate in great abundance and loved it.
Peg took time out of her preparations to take the whole gang 'Geo caching'. We were very successful in finding all the hidden treasures. The children seemed to get a kick out of the search. I know I did.
The weather was great, but cold, and the deck was the place to be on the night before Thanksgiving.
Our ride up there and back were, thankfully, uneventful. We had a wonderful time and it was so nice to spend time with Tom and his family. I am looking forward to the Christmas holiday.
Love to all.

Oh What a Wonderful Weekend

I'm not sure how to express this blog because I'm sure I can't include all that was part of my desire. As we celebrated my wife's 75th birthday, it could not have gone any better. The two desires I had was that it would be an event she long remember and cherish. Second I wanted it to be a complete surprise. I think we accomplished bot goals.
It was originally my idea, but I knew I needed a whole lot of help, and boy I got it. It is so wonderful to have such an amazing family that showed so much love in their efforts to pull this stunt off. I can't express my thanks for all the family who took charge and worked so hard for Nancy. When it all came together it was perfect. The hall, the food, the cake, the decorations, the music, the planning and most especially all the wonderful family and friends who came from all over to help us celebrate.
Today, when I returned from taking our Yankee guests to the airport, I said, "And how was your weekend, Mrs. Towhey?" Her response was, Absolutely wonderful, just not long enough." I agree with her.
I want to thank all of you who were a part of this event.
Thanks
Love.

First to report

Well, I guess I'll be the first to report on the wonderful weekend in the mountains. Bill drove us up to Pigeon Forge without using interstate highways and it was a lovely ride. We came through Gatlinburg and made a few stops including lunch. When we got to Pigeon Forge, we had some time to kill and stopped at an Atlanta Bread Company for a snack and Wi-Fi. It turned out to be the meeting place and we met the rest of our family before going to the cabin.
Now that cabin was something else. It sat on the side of the mountain and provided really great views. The cabin was absolutely beautiful. It was a genuine log cabin done in classy rustic. More classy than rustic. With 8 bedrooms and a ton of sleeper sofas Washington could have housed the Revolutionary army and had room left over. The interior was beautiful knotty pine down to the tables. There was so much to do in the game room that I didn't even mind being house bound due to rain on Saturday. I did, however, mind getting beaten 3 straight time on the Air Hockey table and then 3 straight games of 8 Ball on the pool table by my daughter in law Deb. I gracefully declined a request to play 'Foosball'. (I'm so embarrassed)
The Williams family packed us all with great food all weekend long. I had to abandon my diet for the stay, but the food was wonderful.
Nan & I had a really great time, and it was good to spend some time with the Williams clan. We were happy that Kelly & Josh were there, we don't get to see enough of them. Bryan & Katie were there with Miss Maddy who just charmed everyone. April's brother had their baby there, Emma, who is just 6 months older than Maddy and was busy making friends with everybody.
The drive home was quiet and thankfully uneventful because the weather had cleared. I know I just hit some of the high sopts, but all in all it was a great weekend.

Good read

First off, I'm very happy to be writing this blog and not having a surgeon snipping at my insides. Thank you all those great folks who remembered me in their prayers. I'm still doing a whole bunch of medical stuff to satisfy all the requirements of all the doctors that I have been working with.
The real reason for this blog is to let you in on a great read I just finished. It is a book Peg & Steve gave me called "soul Survivor". It is a true story about a little boy who had 'previous life recall. night mares. The story really gets going good when the Mom & Dad start to research the fragments of information the boy reveals. I saw the family on 'Good Morning America' and was fascinated by them. The Dad is a real stickler for proving it to be bunk and winds up paying honor and homage to some very brave WWII vets that prove the veracity of the child's nightmares. I highly recommend this book as a good read.
Love.

What a great weekend!!

The much traveled military family arrived on Friday afternoon. Katie, Bryan and little Maddy found their way to Stone mountain and were warmly received
I couldn't believe how much Maddy had grown. She cooed and babbled her way into our hearts in the first three minutes sh was here. She was crawling and climbing all over the house. I'm sure she was happy to out of the restraints of the car seat. we had dinner at a local restaurant and she was good as gold.
On Saturday we went to the Georgia Aquarium where she delighted in talking to the fish and trying to grab them. She was such a well behaved little 10 month old. Of course I had a great time on two counts, watching this little child enjoy the sights of such a variety of colors and the fact that the Aquarium is one of my favorite places to visit.
As much fun as Saturday was, Sunday was even better. After charming everyone at Holy Cross, Maddy met so many more of her family. Four of the boys and their families came to visit. (We missed Peg & Tom very much.) It is always such a great time when the family gathers. I like to just sit back and watch them enjoy each other and the little charmer. And charm she did.
Thanks to the family for a great weekend. There was a little talk about my upcoming surgery, but I'm g;ad it was not the topic of discussion. It's going to happen and we are going to make the most of it.
Love.

A Book I read

I just finished a really good book. The title is "Good Day, The Paul Harvey Story". It is a very well written biography of the famous voice Paul Harvey. It looks at all the various phases of his life and his character
It is very well researched, documented and presented. I, like so many millions of others, have always liked to listen to Paul Harvey and this book tells me why. He and his wife were such radio pioneers and did so much to form news and comment shows so early in the history of radio.
This is a book that I very much recommend. If you like biographies, you will love this book. Thank you Sue for the gift.
Love.

What the heck you been doing?

As everyone says, it's been a while since I blogged. For the most part, I have been trying this old brain of mine to focus on some dialog for a few short skits. I have been honored to be asked to participate in a fund raiser for the Sclerderma Foundation. My very talented daughter in law and her family wanted to put a fund raiser on to honor their sister Kathleen Basile. It was a day long event on Friday July 31st. In the afternoon there was a golf tournament (I was not asked to play for very obvious reasons). In the evening there was a dinner and entertainment with entertainment, auctions, door prizes, and a grant prize raffle.
I along with some very talented friends from Holly Cross theater ministry, put on some of the evenings entertainment. It was so much fun to be performing with these wonderful people who all have the attitude that they will do what ever is asked from them to help with the cause. we did several numbers from some of the Broadway show that Holy Cross had put on. Gale Goodman Played accompaniment for the singers and her hubby, Bruce took care of the sound requirements. Dennis Nelson did "If I Were a Rich Man". Sarah Mason did "Hello Harry(Dolly)" along with a group of male backup singers. Christina Kravits and a group of female backup singers did "I' Going To Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair". Jim Walsh and the male singers did "You Gotta Have Heart" to round out the show. Jim Basile was the Master of Ceremonies while portrayed the "Oldest Living Bus Boy in Captivity" and introduced the numbers.
Their goal for the days events was $15,000, and the last number I heard was in excess of $20,000 and the money was still coming in. It was a great success for a great cause. The Basile handled the whole thing and did an outstanding job.
Now, I know the question is coming to your mind, "What were you doing all that time?" This old mind of mine takes forever to memorize just a few simple lines. I am the first to admit that age is taking it's roll on my memory capacities. Remembering lines are hard for me, but the rewards of working with such wonderful people more that compensates for the memory loss.
I hope the people that attended to events had as good a time as I had participating.

Wonderful weekend!

I am sorry that I was not first to blog about our July 4th weekend in South Carolina. Peg's blog did a great job in describing the activities, I c an only add that I can't remember a better weekend anywhere.The food was abundant and tasted great. When I got on the scale at home it said "One of you will have to get off." Steve cooked his heart out and we could not stop eating. We gabbed and talked ate and drank and just about wore the house out.
It was so much fun to be relaxed with so many of the family. I don't think anyone stopped smiling until it was time to go. The steaks were great, the ribs were just right and even the potato salad was wonderful. The fireworks show was so much better that the sparklers and helicopters I used to provide my family.
The deck was out of this world. The weather was wonderful and I could have lived on that deck all the time. Steve did a marvelous job. It's big and shady and very comfortable.
I can't thank Steve & Peg for their most generous hospitality. It truly was a wonderful long weekend.
Love

An Addendum and More

My last blog was about our trip to Helen and to 'Babyland General'. I was reminded by Peg that I had forgotten a very unusual sight. While we were shopping at the Ingle's Supermarket in Cleveland, in the produce department I spotted a lady in a wheel chair who was evidently blind because she had a 'seeing eye' pony. The pony had a harness just like a seeing eye dog with a handle and all. She was holding on to the handle and being led by the pony. Now that is something you don't see everyday. But wait..... there is more! While we were in a shop that sold beautiful 'Dresden China', I noticed that the lady running the shop spoke with a German accent. Not being bashful, I asked if she was in fact from Germany. She confirmed that she was. I asked what part of Germany she was from, because I was stationed in a little town called Goeppingen. Her eyes widened and said that is the town she had lived in. Small world isn't it? I was there in 1951 & 1952, She left there in 1954. She had married a G. I.. I forgot to ask her who she married. It might well have been somebody I knew because ours has the only unit in that little town.
And now on to the present. My Father's Day was a big success. I either heard from or saw all of my children. I even had the pleasure of dinner with Jim & Sue on Monday evening.
Then came my Birthday. Another round of calls and visits from the children. I once again had the pleasure of a lovely dinner with Mike, Michelle & the girls at one of my favorite restaurants.
All in all, this summer, so far has been nothing but a real good time. So now I'll stop writing because my mind is going soft again. I know I forgot a lot and will hear from my Children. Love.

A little late!

It's been a week since we returned from our trip to Helen, so I thought I better blog and fill you all in on the trip. I picked the ladies (Betty & Elanor) at the airport and we set out straight away for Helen. Thanks to the GPS, we made it there with no problem. We were a little disappointed that there were two flight of steps to get to our unit. This rural location in the mountains should have tipped me off, but the catalog never mentioned steps.Always the gentleman, I told the ladies to I would bring the four suitcases up. I made it in two trips, but was completely winded. It was at this point while I was sitting and trying o catch my breath, When Bill called. He seemed concerned that I was having a heart attack, he was close. The unit was comfortable, was not a luxury operation we have been getting at other resorts. There were several wall switches that did nothing. I'm pretty sure they originally did something. The living area seemed a little crowded so we decided to rearrange the furniture. This stuff was too big and too heavy to move. I mean even the coffee table wouldn't budge.
Helen has a General Store, but not a supermarket. We were sure that the General Store Was just a for show, tourist place. We drove into Cleveland, the next little town and stocked up on groceries. We also had to go to church In Cleveland.
We spent the week seeing the sights. Peg called to let us know that she would like to visit, of course we welcomed her with open arms. She spent one night with us on the sofa (we couldn't move the coffee table to open the sleeper sofa). We did some of the little town with her the next day and 'Baby Land General' to marvel at the birth of a Cabbage Patch Baby. Her visit was a very welcome interlude.
One of the days we visited the General Store and were pleasantly surprised to find it was really a very nice little market with fresh meat and produce. The prices were very much in line with the supermarket. They even made fresh sandwiches at the deli counter. We tried them for lunch one day and they were very good.
During the week, we visited several local wineries for some wine tasting I think the ladies really enjoyed that. Of course we had to buy some of the product.
All in all, it was a very good week and very restful for El. The Friday to Friday thing is what we like, but this was a tough year to find a spot.
Hope I don't take so long to blog next time.
Love.

Happy Memorial Day

I'm not going to apologize for not blogging, I'm just a dull old man. Nothing noteworthy seem to happen in my life.
Yesterday was the exception. Most of the day was dull or partially sunny until Nancy & I started to leave the house around 4:30 PM. We were headed to the new Gwinnett Stadium for a G-Braves game. The tickets were a Mother's Day gift from Dennis & Doreen. By the time we got there the rain had ceased. The handicap parking put us about 50 feet from the stadium entrance. As we approached, a young lady asked if we wanted a wheel chair. Much to my surprise Nancy agreed. She was wheeled right to the top of the aisle. Every one we encountered told us to enjoy ourselves. Even the usher who showed us to our seats said "Enjoy the game." I commented that I guess I better enjoy it since everyone told me to. He said. "It's mandatory sir."
The young lady with the wheelchair came by and took our names and told us any time we were ready to leave, to tell the usher and she would be back to get us.
The sun was bright and the breeze warm for most of the game, unfortunately the Indians were beating the G-Braves. I got a call from Tom that Jessa and Ben were also at the park. the stopped by to see us. Our seats were really great, we were right at the "on deck circle on the 3rd base side.
Unfortunately about the bottom of the 6th inning the clouds got dark and the wind picked up. The young wheel chair lady stopped by to tell us some severe weather was coming our way and anytime we wished to leave, she would come and get us. Mid 7th inning we decided to leave. The usher call for the wheel chair and out we went. She took us right to our car. as soon as we started out of the parking lot the rain started.
Just to sum it all up, we could not have had a more pleasant experience. It is a beautiful facility and the staff could not have been more gracious.
Until something else happens, that's it for now.

Time rolls on.

As everyone says, not much new here. Just wanted to blog since it has been a while. I have enjoyed reading others blog very much. I am really having a good time on 'Facebook', even I don't understand what is happening.
Last week, while the children were on spring break, Tom's family and I went to the High Museum to see the exhibit " The First Emperor's Terracotta Army". What a great exhibit, very impressive. While we were there, for less money than it would have cost for all of our admissions, we became members of the museum. This means we can go to all the exhibits free and bring guests. Pretty cool.
I did have a mower adventure this weekend. Even though we are still decorating the rooms we had painted, the weather was good on Friday and the grass was getting out of control. I got the front yard cut and shut the mower off while I attended to some other chores. When I got back on the mower, not only would it not start, but it sounded like the battery was completely dead. I tried to jump start it, but it did no good. I removed the battery and took it to the shop that services mowers. They charge it and tested and said it was 'good to go'. I put the battery in and it acted just the same. I felt the battery cable and it was really hot. I was sure I had a dead short in the electrical system. Dennis came over on Saturday morning with a trailer and we went back to the shop. As I explained the problem to the mechanic, He asked to look at the mower himself. Dennis was ready to get the thing off the trailer. The man raised the hood and shook the fly wheel back and forth. He said it's fixed. Seems the starter was hung up on the fly wheel. We brought the tractor home and, much to my consternation, I had to cut the back yard.

Happy Easter everyon.

I have really been enjoying all the blogs on this net. I know it has been some time since I blogged so, since tomorrow being Easter I thought I would take this media to wish all of you a very happy and blessed Easter.
And I thought I would share some memories of Easter in my youth. I know this tale will strike some of you as really odd, but trust me this is the way it was.
Of course when we awoke on Easter morning, my brother and I ( My sister was not born yet)would hunt down all the hidden dyed eggs in our house. Believe me it was always a spirited competition. We were never allowed to eat any of the eggs before church. We lived, at that time in a two story row house on Arizona Street.
After church we changed clothes and too some of our Easter Eggs out side and participated in an annual ritual. We would stand in the middle of the street an holler "Epper". This was the challenge call for a one on one battle of the eggs. If someone responded to the call we would square off. The person that answered the call would hold one of his dyed eggs tightly in his fist with just the end showing. The challenger would then take one of his eggs and crack it down on the held egg. One of the egg shells would crack, this was the looser. He had to forfeit his egg to the winner. There were all types of theories as the how to grasp the egg to ensure victory. Of course none of these meant a darn thing. It all had to do with the hardness of the shell. There were always guys that found ways of cheating so you had to check the other guys egg. One kid had a China egg and he suffered a severe trouncing when we caught him. There was always the wise guy that brought out a raw egg that would cover your hand and your egg with yoke when he came down on your egg and hand.
These thoughts came flooding back to me today as I thought of writing a blog for Easter. I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane.
Love.

Happy April Fools day!!!

Today is a very favorite one to me. As a youth I was prone to participate in some sort of foolishness on this special day. It has always been a fun day for me. It's not that I haven't had jokes played on me, on the contrary, I have been the but of some good pranks.
The greatest Aprils Fools prank was perpetrated by my son Tom. He knew that it was my habit to read the newspaper while I ate breakfast, even though the paper was delivered in the afternoon. I would ignore it so that I might enjoy it with breakfast. He had saved the paper for a whole year and on April 1st he replaced the real paper with the year old edition. I never caught on and read it from front to back. I really got angry that the Braves were still paying a lousy pitcher that we had dumped a long time before.
I even mentioned to Nancy that a new store was opening up in our area. She argued that that store had been there for a long time. This sort of thing went along for several days, and Tom thought I was angry with him because I never mentioned about the prank. Nancy finally showed me that I had read a year old paper. What a classic gag. You gotta love it.
This year I don't think there will be any high jinks on this day, but one never knows.
Later this afternoon I will will be participating in a fund raiser at the Gwinnett Senior center. It's called "Sit For A While". It is to raise money to fight hyperactivity in seniors. It really looks like it will be a lot of fun if we can keep all the participants awake.
That's about it for now.
Love.

Taaa Daaa!

Well yesterday I spent running around in semi-circles. While on the phone with Tom, I found the kitchen phone was cutting out. I had to stand in one spot to continue the conversation. It seems that the cord was bad right at the handset. A real quick looh made me thing the cord was molded into the handset. This made sense to me because it was a cheap phone. So, I went to Best Buys and got the shock of my life. They don't carry phones with a cord anymore. So, I bought a cordless phone that could be wall mounted. Now this seems like a reasonable solution, but the problem was that this type of phone requires an electrical supply. We have one nearby, but the cord looks messy going around a corner and across the wall. I re-examined the old phone and found that I had made a mistake and the cord to the handset was a standard cord and could be easily replaced. I walked around to the store, but had to settle for a white cord to put on the black phone. The old phone is now back where it belongs.
We decided that the new phone could replace the phone in the den. I am now programing all the frequently called numbers into it. It is a little complex. The difficult part will come when I have to show Nancy how to use this feature. (Now that will be complex.)
But the really big Taaa Daaa moment came when my car radio arrived, I put it in and it plays like a brand new one. Taaa Daaa! I am, however having some problem getting it snapped in place. I need someone with a little more strength than I posses.
Thats about it for now.
Love.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Well here it is St. Patrick's Day and the sun is shining, who could ask for anything more. Well, I could for one. I just called about my car radio and another one is on the way. The new tracking #, for those of you who like following these things, is 1z0y58740368056419. It has gotten as far as Atlanta and should be here tomorrow or the next day.
As you know, I have gotten on Facebook. It is very interesting and I am able to hear from so many people I don't get to talk to on a regular basis. I'm having fun just stumbling around and finding things. There are still a lot of things that I don't understand and when I try them, I never know what has happened. Things like the 'Pink Ribbon' thing and the shot challenge.
Nancy & I were scheduled to visit the Aurora Theater last Sunday, but after church, she didn't feel good. I called the box office to see if we could change our date. I got the sales managers voice mail and left a message requesting the change. I didn't get a call back and on Monday, I got my usual E-Mail thanking us for attending. Of course I sent a curt reply expressing my displeasure in hearing form them. Today they called and we are scheduled to go next Sunday. All things have worked out.
I guess that's it for now.

The Sage Continues!!!

Eureka!!! The UPS truck arrived this afternoon and brought my car radio. Boy was I happy. This thing has been on a national tour with UPS. I pulled my old radio out and slapped that sucker right in the car. You guessed it, at first it worked, then when I tried to change the station I got nothing. Nada! Naught! The CD player wouldn’t even take a disk. I was not happy. The thing sounded like there was no antenna attached. I double checked all the connections but no luck.
I called the supplier and they asked me if I had the ‘code’. Of course I didn’t. She said she would check and call me back. In a little while she called back and gave me a V I N number. She says to call any Mercury dealer, give them the V I N number and they would give me the ‘code’ for that radio. I called and they passed me from the Parts department to the service department. The man there said that Mercury radios don’t need a ‘code’, they are all plug & play, only some foreign cars require a ‘code’. He said I could come in and “talk” to their radio man face to face.
I called the supplier back and told them this information and that I was not happy. They said to send the radio back and they would send me another one.
Soooo. Here I am back to square one but with some money invested in a cat and mouse game of chicken,
On a different topic, Tom went to the job bid for Captains this morning and got a firehouse that he thought would be gone by the time he got to bid. He is one happy fireman right now. Look for a blog from him, I know he will want to share the news.
I have somehow lost Tom on my Google Reader list and don’t how to get him back. Help someone.
Love.

Frustratung!!!

This is my fourth try at posting this blog. for some unknown reason, this site refuses to let me post photos pertaining to the content. So I'll just go ahead and rattle on.
First off, we went to the groundbreaking at St. John Newman's new church. It was a real good affair and we were all proud of young Jim who helped out by manning (or is it boying) a shovel along side the Bishop. To add to the grandeur, there were a whole flock of Knights there, Dennis included. There was singing, praying and sprinkling all over the place. I have some really nice pictures to show you, but this site won't let me. Sorry.
We then joined the younger Towhey family For salad and pizza in Tucker. Boy was that good stuff. Many of the family were there and a whole lot of laughs.
Then on Thursday, we went to the Capri Restaurant to celebrate Sue's birthday. I had one of the evening specials "Chicken followed by a long Italian word" that included sausage, peppers and onions. It was so good.
Thursday was also the day my radio for my car was to arrive. You guessed it, it didn't show. Friday morning I went onto the UPS web site to track it. It had traveled from Oregon to Arkansas and left there for Nashville. If you want to have some fun, Go to the UPS web site and track this # 1z7165300350277106. This is a very well traveled package.
Today we are getting ready to celebrate Dennis' birthday with dinner to include Mike, Michelle and the children.
I guess that will do it for this blog.
Love.

Every body says it... but really mean it!!!!

I know it’s been a long time since I blogged. (See I told you) I really have no excuse, other than laziness. It’s not like things haven’t been happening in my life, but every time I think about writing and that’s as far as I ever seem to get, I get the feeling that you all already know about the incident.

Like the great food at the Killian Hall breakfast brunch. I’m sure I have bored enough of you in person to then turn around and bore you on a blog.

Or, the loss of Kathleen Basile, which you all were a part of. That is one that I would have had a hard time writing about. Then Peg did such a great job on her blog that I don’t feel I could compare adequately.

Or my slip and fall on some ice when I got a cut over my left eye. That seemed like the shot heard around the world. I think everybody knew about it before I got my bloody head up off the sidewalk. As you all know, my wound has healed nicely and I am back to my old sassy self. It was really quite minor even though It bled rather profusely.

But now, I am in the middle of the big car radio fiasco. My car radio has been acting up for some time now and I decided to see about getting it fixed. I stopped at a local shop that claims to be a mobile audio repair shop and they said they said they only sell new equipment. They said the radio was a dealer only item (you know how I hate car dealers). They said if I had replacement they would install it for $45. Tom found a junk yard out his way that carried a large stock of radios. I went out there and picked up one for $100. I joked that I wondered if they installed them. The guy tells me that they don’t but they are a snap to swap out. He showed my the 4 holes in the front panel and said I should get “radio pins” at an auto parts store. On the way home I stopped and got a set of “radio pins” and you can’t believe how easy it is to get the old radio out. You insert these pins in the holes and move them outward and the radio slips right out. I got my old radio out, unplugged the 3 connectors and the antenna. The new (to me) radio, however had only 1 socket on the back. So, I returned the radio and tried several other junk yards, with the same results, no proper match. I got on the internet and found a site that is associate with junk yards all over the country and put in a request for my radio. I only got 1 response, so I ordered it. It cost a bit more, but the would ship it UPS. I have not, as yet received my radio, so I called to inquire. They claim there was “an event” with my address and gave me the tracking number. I went on line and found that it was shipped to Oregon, due to “an event” in the address. I sent them an E-Mail and just today got a response that it is scheduled for delivery on Thursday. We’ll see.

Last Friday Kelly and I visited a friend who runs a commercial sound recording studio and lab. Jeff was really nice in explaining sound and how he controls and captures it. He showed us a commercial for a local TV station he just finished. The trip was a real success.

Well that’s about all that I can recall you how bad my mind is) since my last blog, so I’ll just say I promise to blog more often and keep you up to date On the radio situation.

Love.