Boise Officiating!

So, I am here at work, listening to Obama and his GIVE-GIVE-GIVE-GIVE speech, and getting more upset that I and others like me are gonna pay for all of the lazy people of all sexes, shapes, colors, nationality and so on.....AHHHHHH!

Anyway, I am leaving at 2pm to head to Boise....I forgot that there is a 1 hour time loss going up there! So, on Saturday night, I will actually gain 2 hours (if I do not change any of my clocks! HA!

I am really stoked about getting back on the ice.......Lisa is happy too, cause she knows how much I miss it.

So I am sitting here doing some paperwork, counting down the hours.......I just have to remember that I loose an hour when I get into Oregon........

Meet The Candidates Night!

So, since this will be the first election I have voted in here in Nevada, I went to the Grass Valley Community Center (the little center down the street from my house) for Meet The Candidates Night.

There were about a dozen cars there when I drove up.

As I walked in, I forgot that I had my Glock on my side, so I decided to go back to the truck and put it away.

As I approached the front door, I noticed a lot of mature adults....(Yes, I am being politically correct, yes, me!).....

My first thought was, how do I always end up with the old people?????

As I go into the center, the first thing I notice, FOOD! They had a very nice spread of cheese and crackers, cookies and other snacks!!!! But, being as I have never been to one of these here, I forwent the food........I grabbed an agenda and found a seat in the hallway (yes, they used the hallway) at the back.

As soon as I sat down, the lady two rows up said "HEY! Your the new guy, arnt you?!" With that, all the old people turned around to look. I said "depends on your definition of NEW GUY"....She said "your the newest registered voter in our precinct and I remember you from the primaries"...I told her that would then be me, THE NEW GUY.....

Why???????? Why do I have to be the center of attention at this stuff?????? But then again, I do like it sometimes.

So, they read the minutes of last meeting, had a few discussions about "Water Rights", "sub-divisions", roads, and then, the big topic of the night, the school board!

Then, it was time for the candidates to speak.....They started with the Judges.....Here in Nevada, judges are elected, not appointed. What did I take from the candidates for District Judge? They are PRO 2nd Amendment, they are ANTI ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, one has history with the legal system via his family.

One person asked them about their view of the 2nd Amendment and actually said, I am not making this up............."I am glad to hear your support, because I am a bitter bible holding gun holding American........"

To which the one candidate replied "We here in the west have different views than those in the east....We carry our guns with us everywhere we go, we use them to defend ourselves, feed ourselves and for recreation". "People in the east just do not understand".

I WAS READY TO VOTE FOR THAT GUY RIGHT THEN!!

Should have just kept my Glock on my side!

As mentioned, the big topic was about a BOND for the school board. There is a bond for the schools that is expected to expire in 2011. The concern was where that money was going after it sunsets.

After about forty-five minutes, the board members finally stated what everyone already knew.....The money does not get refunded back to the tax payers in a tax cut, it goes into the county general fund and continues to tax the residents.

All the school board wants is to keep that bond from setting on the school board. With all the cuts and all this year by the state.

After they said that, the residents were more forgiving....Honesty is all it took.....

With that, a few more comments were made and the meeting adjourned...

I made a "b" line for the cookies and a water.....Grabbed some pamphlets and was on my way. A older man asked me on the way out the door if I learned anything....I told him yes, and that I now have a clear vision of who I want to vote for in this county...

Oh, and I got home just in time to watch a re-run of Two and a Half Men!

Its about time!!!!!!!!!!

As most know, I am a USA Hockey Ice Hockey Official.

To look at me, you would never guess, just like the wife of one of my co-workers said last night "really, you referee hockey?", "We would love to see that!".

Well, I finally found a referee association, be it in Boise, but I found one that had people I could talk to!

BTW, when I left Cleveland, I flew back to Vegas......On that Saturday, was the USA Hockey Officials Seminar! So, I had my equipment with me to take the class!

So, no after talking to a few of the officials in Boise, I am going up there next weekend to officiate a womens hockey tournament!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I AM SO STOKED!!!!!

I have been off the ice since two weeks before I left to come to the "Muck".

So, wish me luck, cause I know I will look like a beginner!

Wedding Part 3......

So, now we are on our way......

As is the case in the east, its raining!!!!!!!!!!!

We follow my family into Pittsburgh........Being a lifelong Clevelander, its so hard to keep from making comments about all that yellow and black......AHHHH!

Anyway, we get to the wedding.

I go to the back to see Charli, and as I guess with any wedding, the place is a mad house!

I exchange pleasentries (sp) with Wendy, and I make my way to find Charli.....There is this guy in a powder blue suit with a radio microphone in his ear.....He is moving around quickly, and barking out instructions.....Hmm, I think....A male wedding planner.......Could be, why not? I make a mental note, and go to the back to have a few pictures with my daughter and her mother.....

I return to the front and sit down with Lisa....I explain to her what I saw in the "wedding planner"...I laughed.....

I then start making jokes about everything from the flowers to the humidity to the clothes people are wearing.....I think Lisa was scared to laugh, cause she kept knudging me....

I will say, they had this really neat REAL pipe organ in this church!

So, some music starts playing, and out from the back comes the male wedding planner, followed by the Groom and his Groomsmen........I make a joke about the male wedding planner leading them out.....He stops in front of the alter and the groom and part all turn towards the friends and realitives in the church....

Then Charli makes her appearance! She looked beautiful....

Well, the male wedding planner starts speaking, and thats when I realize, HE IS NOT THE WEDDING PLANNER, HE IS THE MINISTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I laugh, Charli's step dad turns and gives me a "hairy eyeball"!

So, the minister is doing his thing, and then he starts talking about how marriage has a lot of baggage (BOY DO I KNOW THAT!).....He talks about the positive baggage and the negitive....then he trys to draw an analogy to packing for a cruise.....He says "If you forget to pack something that you will need on the cruise, once you get out to see, that is it, you just do not have it".....I leaned over to Lisa and said "Bullshit, have you ever seen the concessions on one of those cruise ships? They have everything!". To which, several people whom I thought could not hear me, turned and looked......

Again, the ceremony was beautiful! I really enjoyed it......

Keeping with my "happy go lucky" attitude, when the minister presented Mr. and Mrs. Craig Foster for the first time, I rubbed my hands together in a creepy Boris Karloff way and said to Lisa "My duties are finally complete!". Of course, I was only joking, cause in my head, even though I have had two failed marriages, and became a total "whinny ass creme puff" with someone I thought cared about me, I know that my daughter will call on me for honest advice about her life ahead. And of course, I will always be honest with her, SHE DESERVES IT!

So, after MANY pictures, off to the reception!

We arrive, and there is my family, in the corner, having drinks and snacks! We immediatly join in!

After a short period, we move to the reception area.....We find a cozy table for 6 along the wall, kinda out of the way and the MEN head for the bar!

If I could remember all of the jokes, I would post them, but it is impossible....We laughed, we cried (Well, at least I did, I was laughing so hard!)......We think we even met Dee Schneider!

Charli looked beat at the end, and after she and Craig left, and we played on the dance floor a little, we too left.....

What a day!

Charli's Wedding, Part 2.......

So, I get to Maryland.....It rained the entire time I was back east....

On Friday, we go to On Target, to shoot the 44 and the Glock! Lisa had a great time, as did I, but her arm started after about 50 rounds....

I also learned another thing I do not now like about Maryland....The guy at the range said that if I have loaded magazines on my person, not in the weapon, that Maryland considers that a deadly weapon! OH PLEASE! Only if I either throw the bullets or the magazine at the perp. NEVER AGAIN WILL I LIVE IN THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF MARYLAND!!!

The wedding is on Saturday, so we try and go to bed early....NOT!!!

We try and get up early, NOT!!! We finally got on the road about 8:30.....We were hungry, so we stopped at the Waffle House in Hagerstown......Boy, did I forget how "hick" Hagerstown is....I thought for sure I would run into someone I knew, but thankfully, that did not happen!

So, I need to back up just a little.....Lisa's brother gave her a "Tom Tom" GPS device. So, we programed it for the hotel that my sisters decided to get us in, and away we went......

Okay, so we get on the road. Becky had left a message on my phone while we were in one of those areas with no cell service......They had arrived....

So, following directions, we get off in Pittsburgh......Follow the directions. At this point, there is no airport in the urban area we are in.....

We drive around for what seemed like hours.....See some things we probably should not have, but I was not worried, cause I had protection in the car.....

We finally found the place, 20 miles south of where "Tom Tom" told us....

We get into the room, and the reunion had begun!

I was talking up a storm, Matt and Ward were telling great jokes, all the while, everyone was getting dressed.....I thought this a little funny, but did not think anything of it....

Then the phone rings.....Its Wendy, Charli's mom.....No hello, how you doing? No hey, how you doing? The first words out............Are you coming to your daughters wedding?

I said of course, we just arrived in town, and the wedding does not start till 7. (It was about 3pm at this point).........I hear this, "the wedding is at 5 dumb ass!". Now, I am used to that, cause Wendy and I have a pretty good sense of humor......I look at my family, notice agian that they are all dressed and just about ready to go, and who feels like the odd man out? ME!

SO, we start getting ready, and off to the wedding we go....Ward in the lead......

Charli's Wedding Part 1 of Many!

Okay, left Nv for the Mid-West a couple days before my daughters wedding.

Left work at 3p for Vegas. Drove through the "High Desert" for about six hours, pulling Pearl on the trailer.....Arrived in Beatty, Nv.

Had dinner with my boss and one of the Fire Specialists from Battle Mt. What a ball.......

Arrived in Vegas at about 1am, flight is at 7:40 am.....

I needed a few toiletries (sp) so I stopped at a Super Wal-Mart....(One of about 50, no lie, in the Vegas area)....Got what I needed, and left for the Motel 6 on Dean Martin Blvd.......

Checked in at the desk, and confirmed with the counter person that I could leave Pearl and my truck there till I came back.....She said I was good to go, and I went back to the truck.....

I figured that I would get a couple hours of sleep in the Rodeo until it was time to go to the airport........HA!

First, there were the sirens from the police cars, then the sirens from the ambulances and fire engines (which of course I do not mind!)..The drunks yelling, the couples fighting.......Then, the hookers!!!!

They were coming and going and making so much noise, I do not think I slept at all......

So, I get up, go to the counter and ask the employee if she had a number for a cab......She said yes, wrote it down for me and I left.........Now, there was a cab there a few minutes before, but between the loudmouth ass that got into it and the hooker screaming at him, I missed the phone number.....

So....I call......The dispatcher says there is one of her cabs there already...I told her he left....She said, no he is their....I told her to call him to come back....She hung up.....AHHHH!

So, I pack my guns into the "TSP Approved" aircraft carry case, pack the ammunition......Do a walk around of the trailer, making sure Pearl is locked down, and I find an empty box of rubbers.......Got to love Vegas!

Okay, the cab comes back......The loudmouth gets out, and screams at the hooker that is getting into the cab. She then gets out, and points at me.....Now, I have not said a word to her.........The driver hollers "you call for a cab", I say yes, and the next adventure begins....

So, I load up into the cab.....We start towards the airport.....The driver asks me if I noticed the hooker. Duh! He said he took her "John" to MGM......the "John" asked him to wait.....He came back out with a "guy", and they do a "Coke" deal in the back of the cab......Its about this time I realize that I left my Day Runner along with my tickets in the truck......A quick u-turn in front of Excalibur, and we are on our way back.......The driver is telling me that he does not mind that they did the "deal" in the back of the cab, but the "John" decided he was only gonna give the driver a 50 cent tip....He said he "jewed" up to $5.......I was just shaking my head......

So, I get to LAS (Airport Code for the Airport in Vegas).......I head to the Southwest counter.....The idiot at the line asked if I had to check bags.....Now, I am pulling a suitcase on wheels, with another bag on top of it, and carrying a backpack......DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He then asks if I have already checked in online....I said yes....He said to go to the counter.....Remember, this is at 5am........

The girl at the counter asks if I had signed in on the computer behind me....I said no, the "Doorman" said to come straight here.....She said I needed to sign in on the computer......I smiled, and said, no problem......

So I did.....As my name popped up on her computer, she called my name....REMARKABLE....

So, I throw the big bag on the holder, and announce to her that I have weapons that need to be checked......Without blinking an eye, she says okay! We do the TSP paperwork, I show her my unloaded guns, gives me my paperwork and 10 minutes after TSP inspects my bags with the guns, I am on my way to the gate! I love Nevada!

I would like to thank the "Towel Heads" that flew the planes into the Pentagon/World Trade Center and Pennsylvania for the high food and drink prices in the airports! $8.79 + tax for a breakfast meal at Burger King!!!!!!!!!!!!! The same meal at your regular BK is $2.89 + tax......Hmmmmmm

The flight to Chicago was uneventful, cause I slept the whole way, and listened to my 24.5 hours of music on my Ipod.....

So, (Becky will like this) when we take off from Chicago, we cross the lake, then fly over some land....When I sit by the window, I really like to try and identify land features (oh, and I love to watch the planes that cross over and under us while we fly....(You would be so suprised if you knew how close other aircraft are when you are flying.....Lets just say, most of the time you can read the names on the side of the aircraft.)

As we pass over land, I see we are along the Indiana Turnpike.....I know this, cause there next it is Notre Dame Stadium.......

then we pass over Lake Erie.....I see Toledo, Perry Nuc plant and other stuff as we get closer to Cleveland....As we approach "The Mistake on the Lake" as so many of my "non-Ohio" friends call it, I notice that there seems to be a lot more condos along Rt 2 than when I lived here....Hmm..

Since I was a kid, and we lived in Elyria/Lorain/Sheffield Lake and Avon, I knew the traffic patterns of aircraft going into and out of Hopkins........So as we travel over Brook Park and Parma (I love that name, Parma!), I notice the familure looking houses that all look the same, and the empty Ford/Chevy/Dodge plant parking lots........Boy, times must really be tough in C-Town, but I will write more on that later.....

As we land, I see the HUGE NASA hanger at Hopkins and I now know, I am home......!!!

Now to baggage claim.....I was really impressed at how quickly our luggage was onto the belts...My guns arrived with me, so off to explore NE Ohio........

After scaring the rental car attendent to death when I pulled out my Glock 23 and loaded it,
I travel quickly via I-480 past all the familure landmarks of my youth....Cranking WMMS as I go......I stop at Southeast Harley for a quick look around, then I do my normal drive through Northfield/Macedonia......My, each time I go back, I just shake my head.....

So, a few weeks before my trip, I get the catalog from a cycle accessory dealer in NE Ohio.....They are near Burton.....I forgot about the Amish.....For my friends and family from PA, they are like the Menonites, but different......That is all I am gonna say....So I traveled through Amish country and stopped at a couple of Amish Farms....

But wait, I am a little hungry, so I stop at a Giant/Eagle......The sign said they had a deli.......Well, the deli was not what I wanted, but when I turned around, there it was! Standing there all proud, displaying her wares in my face like the hooker in Vegas! THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY TAILGATE PARTY STAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I started humming the fight song, declaring to the sales lady "I have died and gone to heaven!!"

I purchase my OSU Chips, shot glasses, red plastic cups with the OSU logo and leave...I had forgot that I was hungry!

So, I stop at a Subway, get a sandwhich and start on my long journey to MD!

So I am taking back roads until I get to PA......I figure I would get on the PA turnpike after I cross over.......So, I am cruising along, minding my own business, and I approach a toll both......As I continue to find change to through into the basket, I hear this drill sgt like voice scream out "HEY, DO YOU KNOW HOW FAST YOU WERE GOING?" I look, and in the lane next to me, is a PA State Police officer....Dumbfounded, I say, no, why? "YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU ARE DOING! SLOW DOWN AND PAY ATTENTION!!!" I said, "okay", and he sped away....

Welcome back to the east!

I finally arrived at my sweeties house in Pasadena, Md, in the rain (something I had not seen since the snow in May)........I am going to bed, so the stories will continue later........