Had to share!

Pile pillows around chair, grab tissue ... the cpr is the best! Just couldn't resist this!

For those that remember when we were young and able to run around with a sharp stick, play with fire and life was good.

Around age 10, my dad got me one of those little badass compound bow beginner kits. Of course, the first month I went around our land sticking arrows in anything that could be stuck by an arrow. Did you know that a 1955 40-horse Farmall tractor will take six rounds before it goes down? Tough sumbich.

That got boring, so being the 10 yr. old Dukes of Hazard fan that I was, I quickly advanced to taking strips of cut up T-shirt doused in chainsaw gas tied around the end and was sending flaming arrows all over the place. Keep in mind this was 99.999% humidity swampland so there really was not any fire danger. I'll put it this way - a set of posthole diggers and a 3 ft. hole and you had yourself a well.

One summer afternoon, I was shooting flaming arrows into a large rotten oak stump in our backyard. I looked over under the carport and saw a shiny brand new can of starting fluid (ether). The light bulb went off. I grabbed the can and set it on the stump. I thought that it would probably just spray out in a disappointing manner... Lets face it, to a 10 yr. old mouth-breather like myself, ether really doesn't "sound" flammable. So, I went back into the house and got a 1-pound can of pyrodex (black powder for muzzle loader rifles).

At this point, I set the can of ether on the stump and opened up the can of black powder. My intentions were to sprinkle a little bit around the ether can but it all sort of dumped out on me. No biggie... 1 lb. pyrodex and 16 oz. ether should make a loud pop, kind of like a firecracker you know?

You know what? Screw that. I'm going back in the house for the other can. Yes, I got a second can of pyrodex and dumped it too. Now we're cookin'.

I stepped back about 15 ft. and lit the two-stroke arrow. I drew the nock to my cheek and took aim. As I released I heard a clunk as the arrow launched from my bow. In a slow motion time frame, I turned to see my dad getting out of the truck... OH SHIT! He just got home from work. So help me it took 10 minutes for that arrow to go from my bow to the can. My dad was walking towards me in slow motion with a weird look in his eyes. I turned back towards my target just in time to see the arrow pierce the starting fluid can right at the bottom. Right through the main pile of pyrodex and into the can. Oh Shit!

When the shock wave hit it knocked me off my feet. I don't know if it was the actual compression wave that threw me back or just a reflex jerk back from 235 decibels of sound. I caught a half a millisecond glimpse of the violence during the initial explosion and I will tell you there was dust, grass, and bugs all hovering 1 ft. above the ground as far as I could see. It was like a little low to the ground layer of dust fog full of grasshoppers, spiders, and a crawfish or two. The daylight turned purple.

Let me repeat this...THE DAYLIGHT TURNED PURPLE. There was a big sweetgum tree out by the gate going into the pasture. Notice I said "was". That sum-of-a-biatch got up and ran off.

So here I am, on the ground blown completely out of my shoes with my Thundercats t-shirt shredded, my dad is on the other side of the carport having what I can only assume is a Vietnam flashback:

ECHO BRAVO CHARLIE YOUR BRINGIN' EM IN TOO CLOSE! CEASE FIRE. GODDALLMIGHTY CEASE FIRE! His hat has blown off and is 30 ft. behind him in the driveway... All windows on the north side of the house are blown out and there is a slow rolling mushroom cloud about 2000 ft over our backyard. There is a Honda 185 three-wheeler parked on the other side of the yard and the fenders are drooped down and are now touching the tires.

I wish I knew what I said to my dad at that moment. I don't know - I know I said something. I couldn't hear. I couldn't hear inside my own head. I don't think he heard me either...not that it would really matter. I don't remember much from this point on. I said something, felt a sharp pain, and then woke up later. I felt a sharp pain, blacked out, woke later.... repeat this process for an hour or so and you get the idea. I remember at one point my mom had to give me CPR so dad could beat me some more. Bring him back to life so dad can kill him again. Thanks Mom.

One thing is for sure... I never had to mow around that stump again.. Mom had been griping about that thing for years and dad never did anything about it. I stepped up to the plate and handled business.

Dad sold his muzzleloader a week or so later. And I still have some sort of bone growth abnormality either from the blast or from the beating. Or both.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, get your kids into archery. It is good discipline and will teach them skills they can use

Just passed through Ft Morgan, CO at 5am Mountain time - sitting in the lounge car wishing 6 o'clock would come so I could have some COFFEE! Sleep eluded me most of the night -- got about two hours -- lucky for me, I have a blanket and pillow along with me as it was very chilly in the car.

Last night was amazing ... We met up at Joe Banana's around 7pm ... I saw a few old friends and made some new ones ... from left to right .. front row: MikeG and RalphieBoy, back row: Jeff, Billy Pilgrim, Me (known as Deeralemap), Old Foggy, W.G. and PattyfromOz ... We had a great time signing Passports, telling George stories and anticipating the train. Queen Sarah joined us later -- as Royalty, she was allowed to be fashionable late.

I have sporadic connections and will just finish this up when it is over ...

Choo-Choo All-Aboard!!!

Just one more day and I will be off on the Amtrak Rail Trip with my fellow crazies ummmm hobby enthusiasts from Where's George!

Some of you know I register all my paper money, mark it with various stamps then spend it and wait to hear about the adventures my money goes on without me ... I haven't figured out why everyone doesn't do it -- you don't have to stamp the money, many folks just write the web site on them, and some just register and spend -- stealth Georging can be fun too. But I digress!!

I am only a small part of this trip ... it began in Emeryville, CA, went south and across country to Louisiana, then north to New York. The folks that are on the train are on their way to Chicago now ... I will be joining them Saturday night in Omaha and we will be picking up more along the way.

We have amazing folks in our group who designed T-shirts, Where'sGeorge Passports to be signed, postcards to sign and mail to those who couldn't come, postage stamps to use on the postcards, acrylic stamps to use on our bills for the trip and just so much craziness to look forward to it is hard to tell it all at once.

I know a couple of the people who will join the train but am excited about meeting the others -- plus at any stop that is longer than a couple of minutes, local folks will be coming by to greet us and say hello. Most of us have been talking on forums for a long time, some have met in person but many have not ... The youngest WG? member who is traveling with us is 16 and we go up from there .. I know I'm not the oldest at 61, so its quite a diverse group! It will be fun, regardless!

I am going to Sacramento and staying there for a week to go visit my son. Will try to get back here and tell about the trip, may even have some photos to share.

Spring is still lost!

My word ... most of my friends have lost the urge to write at the same time I did! Well, I see some are moving (although they are going places I knew nothing of) and others are traveling for work or just working or vacationing ... guess we all got busy as Winter began to give way to Spring. I think I fell out of the loop during my last trip.

I was truly planning to do some blogging and catch up with everyone when I was in CA for a month, however I had the flu for almost two weeks and was completely alone so beyond dragging myself from bed to shower I didn't do much at all. Luckily my church has live streaming of all their services and I was able to be fed the Word even though I had no eating food, help or medicine and all turned out well. It was not a fun experience, I can tell you that. Am still rather weak around the edges.

Heading out Morel hunting tomorrow ... I will be slow on the hills for sure but am looking forward to some fresh mushrooms! Still have a few dried ones from last year, but fresh just taste so much better.

Mother's Day we are heading to Boone, IA to ride their excursion train and have dinner. I am so delighted to have this opportunity -- I do love the train!

Of course, next week I will join a group of unknown friends (well, I have met two of them) on the Amtrak for a trip to CA ... I am only on from Omaha to Sacramento, but there are folks that are doing Emeryville CA to NY and back ... and many embarking and disembarking all along the way. Will be an interesting and fun trip. We plan to meet folks at some of the stops along the way to say hello, play poker and LCR on board and just have fun! I think the youngest person going (other than with parents) is 16 and the oldest has a few years on me! Will be a hoot!

Days are flying by, spring wants to be in the air, but just hasn't shown up here yet - maybe when I hit California Wednesday it will be more noticeable. I know when I am out with Scruffy each evening it is C-O-L-D to the point of wind going through my down parka and hood even with a sweatshirt and hoodie under it, I am chilled pretty darn good - not that it bothers him, he loves it!

I am in my crazy mode --working as many hours as they give me, entering and marking money to trade with other crazed folks in CA for our www.wheresgeorge.com hobby and when I am not working I am driving around to area cemeteries taking photograph's of headstones for people I don't know on www.findagrave.com ... yeah yeah I know ... ghoulish, crazy ... what can I say. I know it sounds strange, but genealogy is one of the biggest hobbies out there and these photo's do help in many cases. I will continue to do both while I spend 28 days in CA during April ... long trip.

I guess I am doing these things to keep busy and not think about all the stuff going on around me. So much that I cannot help with or do anything about for both friends and family -- guess I need to stop trying to 'be there' for everyone and just pray for His best in everything.

Wow, time flies, doesn't it? I have been to CA and back, watched it snow, watched it melt ... yes, I am that boring! California, however, was not. It is February and I haven't been around in a long time!

I spent time with an old high school pal and her family as we prayed, remembered and loved from the waiting room her mother as she went through surgery. It was successful and the hospital staff and volunteers were happy to see us file out ... laughter and game playing, I suppose, isn't the rule of thumb in a cardiac waiting area. This family is so full of love and it is hard to not share that enthusiasm when with them.

My daughter, Julia, joined me in Sacramento - well, the Navy was nice enough to send her to a class there while I was there -- and we had a great time, visiting family, shopping and going to church. She is my rock and truly the wind beneath my wings .. I only wish I could have been her and am so proud of who she has become, with no help from me .. We were able to go south for a visit at the prison with Bill -- he was SO SURPRISED! Did a complete double-take when she said hello from behind him! We had an awesome weekend of visits with him, then I drove her to Long Beach for the second half of her conferences. Sadly, I had to leave her there and drive back to Sacramento the next day, but I had a wonderful week with her. She will be going home in a few days, her hubby will soon return from sea and she will have surgery on her shoulder. Would love to be there for her, hard to rectify in my old mind that she is a grown woman with her own family and just truly doesn't need me there to help her through it.

And now it is almost a month later (Julia's surgery went very well) and I am heading back to Sacramento -- what? Yes, I am more of a snow bird than the snow birds around here lately ... I will be in CA more than IA the first five months of 2009 for various reasons. So, tomorrow (Sunday) is March already and I haven't posted a word - work, pray, study, work some more and pray a lot more ... try to prepare for the next few months of whirlwind travel by making an extra dime (it isn't working very well) and no time for myself.

Speaking of snow ... it was snowing tonight. Wednesday we did a mini road trip and it was a lovely day - sunshine, no wind, high 50's - shirtsleeve weather for Iowans... last night (Thursday) it hit zero degrees, this morning (Friday) it started snowing and has been spitting all day. Scruffy loves it and was thrilled to go for his run when it was 17 degrees at the fairgrounds. I enjoy the snow, don't mind the cold, just want it to make up its mind. Mid-day today, sun was blazing through the windows and I invited Scruffy out for a tour of his favorite trees and limbs in the yard and toddled out the door, only to come tearing back in for a coat -- lightweight jammies just don't hold up to 40mph winds at below freezing temps!

Yeah, I know, didn't say much ... just wanted to bump my page an inch ... felt so lazy!

Somehow 2009 arrived when I was sitting here working. The people who call my phone continually said and still say, Happy New Year and I refer it back to them "you as well" and such as that -- I fear this and the coming years ... we shall see.