The Great Golf Ball Mystery

It all happened about 15 years ago. It was during the time we were building our current house. Our other house sold so quickly that we ended up completing the rental period of the buyers of our house.

One evening we received a call that was from a friend of our youngest daughter. (She was in her senior year in high school, and we were living out of the school district. She commuted in accordance to the existing policy.) Back to the phone call--the caller advised us of a pending storm and that there would probably be large sized hail. We thanked the caller and thought nothing more about it.

The next morning Maryann looked out the front window and saw these white orbs on the lawn. Upon closer examination, we discovered there were a bunch of golf balls. They were marked with ID's from the golf course at Ft. Leavenworth. There were approximately two buckets of golf balls on the lawn.

We laughed a lot about that, collected them and returned them to the golf course. I suppose I could have just taken them out to the driving range and hit them, but I didn't. The pro was appreciative of their return.

I think our daughter did figure out who did the "dirty" deed. While we couldn't chastise the guys, we did get a good laugh out of it.


#226

Senior Golf Rule Changes

Golf Rule Book Changes 2006
(only applies to Seniors)

Rule 1.a.5 ~ A ball sliced or hooked into the rough shall be lifted and placed on the fairway at a point equal to the distance it carried or rolled into the rough with no penalty. The senior should not be penalized for uncontrollable mechanical phenomena.

Rule 2.d.6 (B) ~ A ball hitting a tree shall be deemed not to have hit the tree. This is simply bad luck and luck has no place in a scientific game. The player must estimate the distance the ball would have traveled if it had not hit the tree and play the ball from there.

Rule 3.b.3 (g) ~ There shall be no such thing as a lost ball. The missing ball is on or near the course and will eventually be found and pocketed by someone else, making it a stolen ball. The player is not to compound the felony by charging himself with a penalty.

Rule 4.c.7 (h) ~ If a putt passes over a hole without dropping, it is deemed to have dropped. The law of gravity supersedes the law of golf.

Rule 5. ~ Putts that stop close enough to the cup that they could be blown in, may be blown in. This does not apply to balls more than three inches from the hole. No one wants to make a travesty of the game.

Rule 6.a.9 (k) ~ There is no penalty for so-called "out of bounds." If penny-pinching golf club owners bought sufficient land, this would not occur. The golfer deserves an apology, not a penalty.

Rule 7.g.15 (z) ~ There is no penalty for a ball in a water hazard, as golf balls should float. That they do not is a technical problem that manufacturers have to correct. Senior Golfers should not be punished for manufacturer's shortcomings.

Rule 8.k.9 (s) ~ Advertisements claim that golf scores can be improved by purchasing new clubs, balls, shoes, etc. Since this is financially impractical for the average Senior Golfer, 1/2 a stroke per hole may be subtracted for using old equipment.


Please advise all your senior friends of these important rule changes


#225

Very Impressive Picture

If you don't think our military pilots earn their pay ... you need to take a look at this picture ... and then look again and realize what you're seeing ...


This photo was taken by a soldier in Afghanistan of a helo rescue mission. The pilot is a PA Guard guy who flies EMS choppers in civilian life. Now how many people on the planet you reckon could set the ass end of a chopper down on the roof top of a shack on a steep mountain cliff and hold it there while soldiers load wounded men in the rear??? If this does not impress you ... nothing ever will. Gives me the chills and a serious case of the vertigo ... I can't even imagine having the nerve ... much less the talent and ability ... God Bless our military!!!!!


#225

Medicating your cat

For those of you who have cats, you will be well advised to go to this site for specific instructions on administering pills. However, I must advise you that this site is not for the faint of heart. If you are inured to blood and gore then go ahead to the site. You should have some tissues handy to wipe the tears from your face.

One more caveat, DO NOT let your cat(s) read this site.

Reflecting on Reflections

BronxBT raised the following questions. I thought it might be interesting to post some contemplative thoughts about them.

... reflections have this amazing quality about them. you can see yourself, the world around you or maybe just what's behind you. isn't that the point?

In a word yes.

not to get too deep on you, but isn't the point of reflecting essentially to take a long hard look at what's looking back at you?

In a word yes.

who really does this?

I suspect many folks don't.

do people really sit back and take full account of their lives?

I suspect many folks don't.

who really does this?

You and I may be the only two in the universe.

do people really sit back and take full account of their lives?

I suspect many folks don't.

how did you get to where you are today?

That one is even easier than the previous questions. I made a lot of choices. Periodically, I think about how fortunate I have been to arrive at this place in my life. I look back and see many of the seemingly impulsive choices that I have made. The consequences weren't always what I had thought they might be. But, then, I didn't give much thought to consequences much of the time.

are you happy?

More than I probably deserve. However, it is my choice to be happy or not. I find being happy makes my life even more meaningful. How else could I look at blogs, like fuzzychadsrule and not laugh. Being positive, optimistic and happy allows me to discover the blessings in even the darkest moments. They are there and worth the search for them.

do you have the ones around you that mean the most?

Yes, even those who have transitioned to their next lives are with me. With the advent of the internet (Thanks Al G.) I am able to be around more people who mean a lot to me. For an idea of whom they might be just look at the other spots to visit at the right.

In my real estate classes, I also cross paths with many wonderful folks who add immeasurably to my life.

Thanks -b for the opportunity to ponder life's persistent questions.

Mother of the Year

A mama tiger lost her babies. To treat her depression, the zookeepers dressed little piglets as tigers for her to mother. These pictures are something else . . . ENJOY.

Shannon's Help

What you see here is the result of the work Shannon and I did to replace the shower curtain rod in the "guest" bathroom. I could not have done it without her most able assistance and sugggestions on how best to do the job. It was also her idea to get this style of rod. It was very easy to install with her help.

The comedy of Errors

Shannon's visit was wonderful. She has had an opportunity to visit some of her knitting friends, and high school friend as well as spend time with her mother and me.

Friday, August 11th we went out to dinner as planned. It was a birthday celebration for Maryann and for our neighbor across the corner. Gale and George are great friends and we have fun times with them. Evidence of that can be seen here.

Gale made arrangements to go to a place called the Yard House in Kansas City, KS. The place was packed. There main claim to fame is the variety of beers they serve that are on tap. They also have a modest food menu. We waited the obligatory time to be seated. Our server, Adam, was a delightful young man who understood the meaning of serving others and caring about those he served. We ordered the first round of beer and then perused the menu deciding on our fare for the evening.

We each placed our order and Shannon ordered a lettuce wedge salad along with a sandwich. So far so good, but then thngs got interesting and down right hilarious. The first order to be delivered (by someone other than Adam) was Shannon's salad and my sandwich. Oops. First act of the comedy. Adam stopped by to see how things were going and discovered the situation. He checked and discovered that somehow the orders were placed in some wierd order. He promised to look into it.

Next his supervisor, Robin, stopped by to apologise for the error and offered to comp dessert for us all. Maryann suggested another round of drinks, and they were forthcoming.

The George and Gale got their meals. I was about finished with mine when Shannon's sandwich appeared. After another five minutes or more Maryan's meal arrived. Robin came back to apoligise again. We all had a good laugh. It is amazing how a couple of beers can tickle the funny bone.

The next fiasco was Shannon's discovery of a hair in the second half of her sandwich. She let Adam know about it and he was apologetic and offered to get her another sandwich. She declined indicating she was full. Shortly thereafter Robin reappeared and apologised again. This time she learned about the hair and said that for all of the difficulties she would comp Shannon's meal and apply a 10% discount to our bill.

We had arranged with Adam to split the bills which he agreed to do. The bills came. George and I proffered our credit cards. When they came back we signed them and it was then that I deccided to look at what I was paying for. I discovered that George and Gale's meals were on my tab, and he had ours. Ours was a few dollars less than his. Robin showed up again and we let her know about this error. She immediately offered to take them back and correct them. We vociferously calilmed that it was not necessary. Who knows how that might have been screwed up.

At that point we also let her know about the birthdays we were celebrating. She then offered them a special cheese cake for the celebration. We declined. We were ready to leave and our sides were splitting with the gaiety of it all. The other diners must have thought we were drunk, crazy or both.

It was a fun evening in spite of or maybe because of the comedy of errors.

I cannot verbally relate this without laughing. We just might have to go back and see how the next meal goes.

Shannon & the Del Sol

How do you add class to a classy sporty car?

Add a beautiful and Classy driver.

Good choice, don't you think?

An Interesting Question...

... Is there fraud here about the reporting in Lebanon?

Something to ponder.

What a Surprise!

Back in late June, Shannon, our youngest decided that she would like to visit her mother. Mom's birthday would be the perfect time, and a surprise visit would be great. All of this scheming between us took place prior to learning of Maryann's trip to the hospital. After learning of that, there was no way to keep Shannon away.

For the next month and a half there was a flurry emails between us. I told no one until a few days before her arrival. It seems that after the flight plans were made, Maryann had an appointment scheduled to see her surgeon for a follow-up. What to do? Hospital, or airport? A very dear friend of Shannon came to the rescue. Zoe took off a day from work to give Shannon a ride from the airport to our home.

With that happening I had to alert a neighbor about it. If she saw a strange person entering our home while we were gone, she might call the police. So I let her in on the plan and swore her to secrecy. When I explained the birthday aspect of the visit, Gale exclaimed her birthday was the day before Maryann's. So now, we are going to have a wonderful birthday dinner outing with the five of us. It is going to be a blast. Gale did stop by last evening to meet Shannon and for a glass of wine. We then took Shannon out for dinner.

That dinner was special too. An old high school classmate is the executive chef at Pierpont's Restaurant at Union Station in Kansas City, MO. Maryann and I had eaten there several times before and told Patrick we would bring Shannon in whenever she returned. It was a delightful time.

Now back to the surprise part. Maryann and I went to the doctor's appointment, and then did some errands. When we returned home I entered the house first and held the door for Maryann. I wasn't sure quite where Shannon would be, but I knew it would be close to the door from the garage. Sure enough, she had set up the ironing board and was ironing a skirt. Maryann walked in, saw a tall person in the kitchen, realized who it was and all but shouted, "Oh my God!!!" It was priceless. Needless to say, very gentle hugs were shared.

It was a great surprise and a wonderful day. Shannon's visit will be for a week thanks to a very understanding and compassionate boss.

It seems only right to put in a small plug for Clogs-N-More, the store where Shannon works. If you have ever thought about clogs this is a good place to shop. The choice is yours.

Serve well! Care about those you serve! Share the love in your heart.

JURY DUTY SCAM:

This has been verified on Snopes.com and by the FBI. Please pass this on to your friends, family, and associates. It is spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call. Most of us take those summons for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of scam has surfaced.

Fall for it and your identity could be stolen, reports CBS.

In this con, someone calls pretending to be a court official who threateningly says a warrant has been issued for your arrest because you didn't show up for jury duty. The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Sometimes they even ask for credit card numbers. Give out any of this information and bingo! Your identity just got stolen.

The scam has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma, Illinois, and Colorado. This scam is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they're with the court system. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.

THE WAR

I received the following information in an email from a friend. I thought it would be interesting to post it here for others to comment. Everything in italics are from the original author of the email that has been forwarded to many others.


Please take the time to read the attached essay by Dr. Chong. It is without a doubt the most articulate and convincing writing I have read regarding the War in Iraq.

If you have any doubts please open your mind to his essay and give a fair evaluation.

I had no idea who Dr. Chong is or the source of these thoughts... so when I received them, I almost deleted them - as well-written as they are. But then I did a "Google search" on the Doctor and found him to be a retired Air Force Surgeon of all things and past Commander of Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio. So he is real, is connected to Veterans affairs in California, and these are his thoughts. They are worth reading and thinking about!(the same Google search will direct you to some of his other thought-provoking writings.)

Subject: Muslims, terrorist and the USA. A different spin on Iraq war.

This WAR is for REAL! Dr. Vernon Chong, Major General, USAF, Retired

Tuesday, July 12, 2005
To get out of a difficulty, one usually must go through it. Our country is now facing the most serious threat to its existence, as we know it, that we have faced in your lifetime and mine (which includes WWII).

The deadly seriousness is greatly compounded by the fact that there are very few of us who think we can possibly lose this war and even fewer who realize what losing really means.

First, let's examine a few basics:

1. When did the threat to us start?
Many will say September 11, 2001. The answer as far as the United State is concerned is 1979, 22 years prior to September 2001, with the following attacks on us:

* Iran Embassy Hostages, 1979;
* Beirut, Lebanon Embassy 1983;
* Beirut, Lebanon Marine Barracks 1983;
* Lockerbie, Scotland Pan-Am flight to New York 1988;
* First New York World Trade Center attack 1993;
* Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Khobar Towers Military complex 1996;
* Nairobi, Kenya US Embassy 1998;
* Dares Salaam, Tanzania US Embassy 1998;
* Aden, Yemen USS Cole 2000;
* New York World Trade Center 2001;
* Pentagon 2001.

(Note that during the period from 1981 to 2001 there were 7,581 terrorist
attacks worldwide).

2. Why were we attacked?

Envy of our position, our success, and our freedoms. The attacks happened during the administrations of Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton and Bush 2. We cannot fault either the Republicans or Democrats as there were no provocations by any of the presidents or their immediate predecessors, Presidents Ford or Carter.

3. Who were the attackers?
In each case, the attacks on the US were carried out by Muslims.

4. What is the Muslim population of the World? 25%.

5. Isn't the Muslim Religion peaceful?
Hopefully, but that is really not material. There is no doubt that the predominately Christian population of Germany was peaceful, but under the dictatorial leadership of Hitler (who was also Christian), that made no difference. You either went along with the administration or you were eliminated. There were 5 to 6 million Christians killed by the Nazis for political reasons (including 7,000 Polish priests see this site ) in addition to the six million Jews they murdered.

Although Hitler kept the world focused on the Jews, he had no hesitancy about killing anyone who got in his way of exterminating the Jews or of taking over the world - German, Christian or any others.

Same with the Muslim terrorists. They focus the world on the US, but kill all in the way -- their own people or the Spanish, French or anyone else. The point here is that just like the peaceful Germans were of no protection to anyone from the Nazis, no matter how many peaceful Muslims there may be, they are no protection for us from the terrorist Muslim leaders and what they are fanatically bent on doing -- by their own pronouncements -- killing all of us "infidels." I don't blame the peaceful Muslims. What would you do if the choice was shut up or die?

6. So who are we at war with?

There is no way we can honestly respond that it is anyone other than the Muslim terrorists. Trying to be politically correct and avoid verbalizing this conclusion can well be fatal. There is no way to win if you don't clearly recognize and articulate who you are fighting.

So with that background, now to the two major questions:

1. Can we lose this war?

2. What does losing really mean?

If we are to win, we must clearly answer these two pivotal questions

We can definitely lose this war, and as anomalous as it may sound, the major reason we can lose is that so many of us simply do not fathom the answer to the second question - What does losing mean?

It would appear that a great many of us think that losing the war means hanging our heads, bringing the troops home and going on about our business, like post Vietnam. This is as far from the truth as one can get.

What losing really means is:

We would no longer be the premier country in the world. The attacks will not subside, but rather will steadily increase. Remember, they want us dead, not just quiet. If they had just wanted us quiet, they would not have produced an increasing series of attacks against us, over the past 18 years. The plan was clearly, for terrorist to attack us, until we were neutered and submissive to them.

We would of course have no future support from other nations, for fear of reprisals and for the reason that they would see, we are impotent and cannot help them.

They will pick off the other non-Muslim nations, one at a time. It will be increasingly easier for them. They already hold Spain hostage. It doesn't matter whether it was right or wrong for Spain to withdraw its troops from Iraq. Spain did it because the Muslim terrorists bombed their train and told them to withdraw the troops. Anything else they want Spain to do will be done. Spain is finished.

The next will probably be France. Our one hope on France is that they might see the light and realize that if we don't win, they are finished too, in that they can't resist the Muslim terrorists without us. However, it may already be too late for France. France is already 20% Muslim and fading fast!

If we lose the war, our production, income, exports and way of life will all vanish as we know it. After losing, who would trade or deal with us, if they were threatened by the Muslims. If we can't stop the Muslims, how could anyone else?

The Muslims fully know what is riding on this war, and therefore are completely committed to winning, at any cost. We better know it too and be likewise committed to winning at any cost.

Why do I go on at such lengths about the results of losing? Simple. Until we recognize the costs of losing, we cannot unite and really put 100% of our thoughts and efforts into winning. And it is going to take that 100% effort to win.

So, how can we lose the war?

Again, the answer is simple. We can lose the war by "imploding." That is, defeating ourselves by refusing to recognize the enemy and their purpose, and really digging in and lending full support to the war effort If we are united, there is no way that we can lose. If we continue to be divided, there is no way that we can win!

Let me give you a few examples of how we simply don't comprehend the life and death seriousness of this situation.

President Bush selects Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation. Although all of the terrorist attacks were committed by Muslim men between 17 and 40 years of age, Secretary Mineta refuses to allow profiling. Does that sound like we are taking this thing seriously? This is war! For the duration, we are going to have to give up some of the civil rights we have become accustomed to. We had better be prepared to lose some of our civil rights temporarily or we will most certainly lose all of them permanently.

And don't worry that it is a slippery slope. We gave up plenty of civil rights during WWII, and immediately restored them after the victory and in fact added many more since then.

Do I blame President Bush or President Clinton before him?

No, I blame us for blithely assuming we can maintain all of our Political Correctness, and all of our civil rights during this conflict and have a clean, lawful, honorable war. None of those words apply to war. Get them out of your head.

Some have gone so far in their criticism of the war and/or the Administration that it almost seems they would literally like to see us lose. I hasten to add that this isn't because they are disloyal. It is because they just don't recognize what losing means. Nevertheless, that conduct gives the impression to the enemy that we are divided and weakening. It concerns our friends, and it does great damage to our cause.

Of more recent vintage, the uproar fueled by the politicians and media regarding the treatment of some prisoners of war, perhaps exemplifies best what I am saying. We have recently had an issue, involving the treatment of a few Muslim prisoners of war, by a small group of our military police. These are the type prisoners who just a few months ago were throwing their own people off buildings, cutting off their hands, cutting out their tongues and otherwise murdering their own people just for disagreeing with Saddam Hussein.

And just a few years ago these same type prisoners chemically killed 400,000 of their own people for the same reason. They are also the same type of enemy fighters, who recently were burning Americans, and dragging their charred corpses through the streets of Iraq.

And still more recently, the same type of enemy that was and is providing videos to all news sources internationally, of the beheading of American prisoners they held.

Compare this with some of our press and politicians, who for several days have thought and talked about nothing else but the "humiliating" of some Muslim prisoners -- not burning them, not dragging their charred corpses through the streets, not beheading them, but "humiliating" them


Can this be for real?

The politicians and pundits have even talked of impeachment of the Secretary of Defense. If this doesn't show the complete lack of comprehension and understanding of the seriousness of the enemy we are fighting, the life and death struggle we are in and the disastrous results of losing this war, nothing can.

To bring our country to a virtual political standstill over this prisoner issue makes us look like Nero playing his fiddle as Rome burned -- totally oblivious to what is going on in the real world. Neither we, nor any other country, can survive this internal strife. Again I say, this does not mean that some of our politicians or media people are disloyal. It simply means that they are absolutely oblivious to the magnitude, of the situation we are in and into which the Muslim terrorists have been pushing us, for many years.

Remember, the Muslim terrorists stated goal is to kill all infidels! That translates into ALL non-Muslims -- not just in the United State, but throughout the world.

We are the last bastion of defense.

We have been criticized for many years as being 'arrogant' That charge is valid in at least one respect. We are arrogant in that we believe that we are so good, powerful and smart, that we can win the hearts and minds of all those who attack us, and that with both hands tied behind our back, we can defeat anything bad in the world!

We can't!

If we don't recognize this, our nation as we know it will not survive, and no other free country in the world will survive if we are defeated.

And finally, name any Muslim countries throughout the world that allow freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, equal rights for anyone -- let alone everyone, equal status or any status for women, or that have been productive in one single way that contributes to the good of the world.

This has been a long way of saying that we must be united on this war or we will be equated in the history books to the self-inflicted fall of the Roman Empire . If, that is, the Muslim leaders will allow history books to be written or read.

If we don't win this war right now, keep a close eye on how the Muslims take over France in the next 5 years or less. They will continue to increase the Muslim population of France and continue to encroach little by little, on the established French traditions. The French will be fighting among themselves, over what should or should not be done, which will continue to weaken them and keep them from any united resolve. Doesn't that sound eerily familiar?

Democracies don't have their freedoms taken away from them by some external military force. Instead, they give their freedoms away, politically correct piece by politically correct piece.

And they are giving those freedoms away to those who have shown, worldwide that they abhor freedom and will not apply it to you or even to themselves, once they are in power.

They have universally shown that when they have taken over, they then start brutally killing each other over who will be the few who control the masses. Will we ever stop hearing from the politically correct, about the "peaceful Muslims"?

I close on a hopeful note, by repeating what I said above. If we are united, there is no way that we can lose. I hope now after the election, the factions in our country will begin to focus on the critical situation we are in, and will unite to save our country. It is your future we are talking about! Do whatever you can to preserve it.

After reading the above, we all must do this not only for ourselves, but our children, our grandchildren, our country and the world

Whether Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal and that include the Politicians and media of our country and the free world!

Please forward this to any you feel may want, or NEED to read it. Our "leaders" in Congress ought to read it, too. There are those that find fault with our country, but it is obvious to anyone who truly thinks through this, that we must UNITE!

If you would like to see who this fellow is go to this Air Force web sight and look him up.

So you think you know me?

The Contessa Vanille made me do this. lol

If you read this, please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me.

It can be anything you want - good or bad - BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE.

When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people DON'T ACTUALLY remember about you.