Just Halloween Today :(

Today is Halloween. That's okay. Halloween was always a fun time growing up. All the negative stuff about this day we hear about today just wasn't as prevalent to me back then. Anyway . . . There isn't any other "day" today that is good to celebrate. Sooooo I will just take some candy to Youth group tonight and say "Happy Halloween" to you all. Kind of boring:(

Amazing Ending

Thanks to Lori for today's video!

I Hate Being Sick - But Then, Who Likes It?

Yesterday I got a big needle in the left glut for the infection in my tonsil. I Still can't talk today and I am very tired. Probably no one cares. And that's okay.

Yaacov Yisrael Interview on WGRC

Just got a phone call from WGRC that they are going to air an interview with Yaacov Yisrael on Friday as a segment of their "The Matter at Hand" program from 11 AM - 12 Noon. You can listen to WGRC by clicking here.

Weird Al Celebrates Bologna Day?

Happy "National Bologna Day"!

Yaacov Israel Visits

I got to hang out with Yaacov Yisrael for a while last evening. "Cov" is a former Penn State football player and currently plays for the Pittsburgh River Rats of the American Indoor Football Association. He came to football practice last night and spoke to the Jr. high and Varsity players for a while and then we spent some time at Cruiser's Cafe talking over supper. It was very enjoyable.

Yaacov and his wife Jill (a former Penn State field hockey player) will be a our church Sunday evening. It should be good - tailgating at 5 PM and then Sports trivia, the Yisrael's and Pastor Paul will end then evening.

What You Can Learn While Walking - Meteors and Oleo

I am considering beginning another blog about my daily walks with my mother, her cousin George and added this morning my sister, Melanie. More about that later.

Today's walk was very informative and enjoyable. Early on in the walk George told us about the meteor shower that was in its peak over October 21. Throughout the walk we were able to see a good number of meteors streak across the sky. I never would have been able to see it if I had been sleeping and not walking. Chalk one up for getting up to walk.

The second new thing was about Oleo. Oleo is what a lot of people around the Mahantango call margarine. George related a story about oleo and told us that oleo is actually a clear substance. He said at one time you had to "explode" a yellow dye into the oleo and kneed it to make the oleo look yellow like butter. George talked about how they enjoyed this process when he was growing up. I had a harder time than usually finding information about oleo or "oleomargarine" on the Internet. Wikipedia came through again. It seems that oleo was cheaper than butter and the dairy industry fought to keep it off the shelves by trying to keep the oleo industry from coloring their product. See the entire article here. Also, check out the funny video I posted about "You Can't Believe It's Not Butter" in April.

Hey, Wednesday is Nation Bologna Day. We will be having Bologna at my youth group this week. Does anyone have any good ways to serve or good dips for bologna. Let me know.

"Line Slashers" - The Way To Go

If you are going to go to Scare Mare with a group of 25 or more, use their "Line Slasher" program. It is worth the extra dollar or two. We were in and out within an hour! One year we waited almost 6 hours to get in and out. Granted, it was good quality time spent with teens. But, quite boring.

We had a reservation at 8:45 PM but got there about 8:20 PM. We were done and walking back to our hotel by 9:15 PM! Incredible! They do a nice job and have over 30,000 people go through their event in three weekends. But, the fastest way is to go through line slashers.

The most fun part of the night is watching the girls scream. I have to admit I jump every now and then. But the girls make the night.

Scare Mare and Logan's Roadhouse

Our 6 hour trip to Lynchburg, VA went very well. We Toured the Liberty University campus ate at Logan's Roadhouse and then went through Scare Mare. I am here at the hotel while everyone else went for some ice cream. I get enough ice cream at Cruisers and I was up at 5 AM this morning and just wanted to relax.

I wanted to give my opinion of Logan's Roadhouse. I was a little disappointed? We were there last year and it was fun and the food was good. This year, it was all business and, truthfully, I wasn't too impressed with my steak. The taste was okay, but the cut left something to be desired. I am allowing the less than spectacular service because of the number of people we had (21) and the time we arrived (5:45 PM). However, the steak . . . well, I don't understand.

This doesn't mean I won't go back. The atmosphere was good and the teens loved throwing peanut shells on the floor . . . but you can do that elsewhere. I don't like to be negative, but, well, it was just an okay experience today.

Scare Mare, Liberty University and Teenagers. . . A Good Combination

We are taking about 20 people to Lynchburg, VA Saturday and Sunday. We are planning to take a quick tour of Liberty University, eat and then go through "Scare Mare" on Saturday and then go to Thomas Road Baptist Church on Sunday Morning before coming home. Much fun . . . I hope.

What You Learn While Walking

This morning I got up at 5:55 AM, drove to my parents place and walked with my mother and her neighbor. It was the second day in a row that I walked before 7 AM. I missed my partners yesterday because I got up late. We walked for about 35 minutes and my mother and neighbor talked almost the entire time - not that I minded. I did learn about the "blackouts" during the war, that you can loose weight inside your body as well as outside and that Burnham and Newton are planning to merge. The latter is from the local paper. It seems that at the end of walk, George, my mother's neighbor, gets the paper out of the box and reads the headlines each morning. It really was quite enjoyable this morning. In the future, I plan to WALK to my parents place - it isn't that far, for those of you who don't know that. But today, I got up late, so I drove. This new activity is designed to get me a little more active. I really need to do this for my health. And having someone to walk with makes the whole thing easier.

Happy "Wear Something Gaudy Day"

Wednesday is "Wear Something Gaudy Day"

Tomorrow is "Wear Something Gaudy Day"! What will you wear?



According to www.holidayinsights.com the origins of this day date back to my era:

"The roots of this day go back to the hit 1970's television comedy show "Three's Company". Larry Dallas (played by Richard Kline), one of the characters on the show, declared a Wear Something Gaudy Day."

If you are looking for a gift for the day, I found this site. I am not sure I really endorse it. Use your own judgement.

SNL Does the Muppets!

Thanks to Mike Lavato (great name) for this. The muppets meet Saturday Night Live!

Air Bag Are For Our Safety

I don't know if this is real or not, but it is funny!

Angel Food Cake Day

According to HolidayInsights.com, today is "Angel Food Cake Day"! Sounds like my kind of holiday! So enjoy angel food cake ALL day.

Call the Police . . . They Stole My Cannabis! Again!

Found this at http://www.boston.com/.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand --A middle-aged New Zealand woman rang police to report a theft of cannabis plants she had been growing at her North Island home, local media reported. The crying woman told a constable at the police station in the city of Napier the plant theft was the fourth from her property in as many years. The 45-year-old woman, who was not named, lamented someone had again sneaked on to her property at night to steal her three carefully nurtured marijuana plants.
"I am a good person. I am sick of these low-lifes stealing my things," the woman told a police communications officer.
Senior Sergeant Mal Lochrie told local media Friday that the officer found it hard to stop smiling as the women gave details of the theft over the phone.
A community constable who visited her to take details of the theft had also warned her that her horticultural pursuits could have legal consequences, Lochrie said.
Police decided no action would be taken against the gardener, he said.

In the Beginning . . . of Youth MInistry

I wanted to post something more substantual today, but this is what you are getting. . .

The King of Kong - My Short Review

Last Night I had the opportunity, if you want to call it that, to see the documentary "The King of Kong - A Fistful of Quarters" at the Campus Theater (I could make a post about the 66 year old art deco theater, but I won't) in Lewisburg, PA. I am not much for documenataries but this one was quite good. It had acutally been suggested to me by a friend who had seen it at the Austin, TX film festival.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters follows a middle school science teacher as he battles a hot sauce mogul for the Guinness World Record on the arcade classic Donkey Kong.

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called it "Roaringly Funny". I wouldn't go that far. It was humorous at times. But not roaringly funny. I did laugh out loud a couple of times. I had too. Some of these characters were funny. And remember, this was a documentary, with real people, not actors.

As with most documentaries, at least in my opinion, they show a bit too much. The entire thing could have been about 15 - 20 minutes shorter without losing anything at all.

In all, I was really glad I went and I think you would be too.

Richfields Version of the Cockpit Camera

The Richfield Raceway began racing again for the year in the Family Life Center on Monday nights. They have started a website - www.richfieldracers.com. Last night Aaron taped the video camera to his car and ran it around the track. Kinda cool. Check it out.

That's What That Was

I was at my parents house this morning. My mother has recovered from proceedures to have her eyesight corrected. This has been great for her and actually a bit comical for me. I love the fact that she can see better now. I am not sure my father does. He remarked how much busier he will be fixing and cleaning now that she can see all the little problems around the house. This morning she was cleaning the "junk drawer" in the kitchen. I heard her say, "Oh, that's what that thing is!" When I question her about what she meant, she relayed that over the past months, when she wasn't sure what something was because she couldn't see it correctly, she put it in the drawer. I can be amused at this because my mother is somewhat amused. I know that it isn't a funny matter, generally. I do love my mother and I am please with her new awareness.