MEMORIAL WEEKEND FISHING

     Our friends Gene and Betty drove in from St. Louis to spend the holiday weekend with us. Gene is quite the fisherman as is Mel, I'm just a guy that enjoys going out and enjoying the outdoors whether I catch a fish or not. But would you believe, I baited my own hook and caught my share of fish including a 50 lb bass and a 75 lb catfish, maybe slightly exagerated.  We all caught a fair number of fish that were all released, to be caught another day.

      Gene was originally from Chicago and many years after discussing growing up in Chi town we also discovered that we were in the same Kindergarten class in Grade School. Talk about a small world. Betty and my wife Norma, went through Sunday and High School together.  Over these many years we've remained friends and either we go there or they come here depending on the occasion, if there is one.

     As we all get a little older each year it's nice to keep in touch, especially with Betty, Gene, not so much. (kidding). Have to show a disclaimer so he doesn't cry like a baby. They (St. Louis)  have never gotten over Kansas City beating them in the '85 World Series. It's been 25 years already, let it go.

    They have a split relationship when it comes to college basketball. Betty is a Jayhawk fan and Gene a Mizzou fan. If the wrong team wins, no sex. Last night we all went out to dinner and tonight we're going to the M&S grill, where none of us have been. Will let you know in a future blog if we enjoyed it. Check out a few of our fishing photos from this morning. If you can't read the captions, just click on the photo.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE 75?

       I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to write this blog but my birthday week was a bit hectic. It started for me on Monday, my birthday, when my beautiful wife took me to dinner at Sullivan's in Leawood. If you're looking for a place for a fine dining experience, give Sullivan's a try. The food and the service were excellent and the wine director, Chris Clark, couldn't do enough to make our experience memorable. (If he'd only picked up the check, I could've written more nice things).

      Now, back to the question. How do I feel being 75? Can't tell you yet, it's only been a week and I'm feeling better than I did at 70. I'm watching my diet (so is my wife), I'm excersizing almost daily and watching my sugar intake. My last Doctor's visit even made me feel better. He walked into the exam room, shook hands with me and said "You're amazing". Since he's my urologist I was just hoping he'd washed his hands since his last patient. Doc, if you're reading this I'm only kidding. He continued telling me that I haven't changed a bit in the last five years and after doing his usual poking he said that he was glad I wasn't enjoying it.  I didn't. I don't think I look too bad for my age!  Check out my RECENT photo.

   My friend Irene had a little party for me after our Wednesday night dinner at her house that was really very nice. She made sugar free brownies besides ordering a very nice birthday cake. I've got the best group of friends you can ever want.

Saturday night my wife had a family birthday party for me at The Deercreek Country Club. It's the second time we've been there recently and both times, excellent service and great food. Another nice place to hold a party.

   One of the nicest surprises and presents I received was my sister. My daughter Ilene surprised me with bringing in my sister from Chicago. Yes, I had tears when I saw her. It was so great having her join us that evening with practically our whole family. We had 24 show up and it was a wonderful evening. As you've read my previous blogs you know my feelings concerning family, family is everything.

   What more can I say. I'm the luckiest 75 year old I know. A fantastic wife,  a wonderful family and great friends. To cap off the weekend I went to a ROYALS game on Sunday with two of my grandkids and my great grandson. We had a good time even tho the ROYALS  lost.

MY POOR ROYALS

It took me long enough but I've finally accepted the fact that my KC Royals are not very good. I hear all the talk about firing the Manager, the GM and replacing everybody. It's definetly not realistic to do such a thing but when and where does it start, to make a difference. My expectations have changed so that when I watch a game, I expect them to lose but still very happy when they win.

One of the main reasons I watch is because of a few of my favorite players such as Mike Aviles, Zack Greinke, Mitch Maier, David DeJesus and Billy Butler, who all of a sudden is hitting too many grounders into double plays, but he's hitting and driving in a few of our runs. I get a little upset when people in our media complain about his defense at first base. I think he's doing  better than just OK, hey, it's only his first full year at the position.

I'm not uptight anymore, if they lose, they lose, it's just a game. A game played by high priced professional athletes that get great money for playing a game. The strike year is when I stopped buying tickets after being a season ticket holder almost since the "A's" were here. I listen or watch every single game, it's rare for me to miss one. But, now with my new attitude, I don't throw things at the TV any longer.

I grew up in Chicago as a Cubs fan and spent many afternoons sitting in the bleachers cheering for my Cubbies. Today, I just follow them but I couldn't tell you one member of their team but my son Mike and Grandson Brad are devout Cubs fans. One of the best times I had in recent years is when my son took me to Wrigley Field for my 74th Birthday last year. It had to be one of my greatest days ever. Even standing at the urinal trough in the men's room that hasn't changed in over 50 years, being pushed and shoved along with hundreds of others just for a few moments of relief trying to keep my balance so as not to fall into the ever flowing yellow river. The Cubs won that game in the bottom of the ninth and I witnessed a capacity filled stadium singing and dancing for their Cubs. What fans, unbelievable.

Walking out onto the streets of Wrigleyville was yet another eye opener. You have to see it to believe it. Maybe someday our Royals will get that kind of adoration, hopefully in my lifetime when I'm still able to jump a few inches off the ground.

Next blog: Entering the fourth quarter.

I THINK TODAY'S MOVIES ARE TOO LOUD

The other night we went to see IRON MAN 2. Talk about loud, the decibles of that film were set high enough for dogs to pick up 5 miles away. I appreciate the music that makes a movie flow and in some films with explosions and gunshots they are louder to emphasize the action taking place but this movie was always way too loud. First of all, don't go see it if you're not sure of what it is. It's a comic book made into a film, nothing more. Don't expect to walk away after seeing it with some hidden message about world peace which probably (unfortunately) will never happen in our lifetime.

I love action, mystery and musicals. Yes, musicals. I still cry whenever I watch AUGUST RUSH, one of the best on my list. MAMA MIA is a close second, couldn't stop tapping my feet through the whole thing, both the play and the movie. When I play it in my car, I find my fingers tapping on the steering wheel as I sing along. I'm sure those drivers that pull along side me think I'm some kind of nut. YENTYL was another of my favorites and when BARBRA sang PAPA, it hit home and again the tears happened. I must be a real softy, but at least it keeps the eyes from drying out.

Some of my friends that join us at the movies never complain about the sound because they just turn down their hearing aids and think everything is normal. The problem comes after the film when we try to have a conversation and have to repeat everything we say. I really shouldn't complain, IRON MAN 2 was made for a younger crowd and they don't know from loud. Whenever you're next to a car with a youngster driving, their car will actually shake from the sound vibrations within.

Yes, I'm older now but still a movie and TV buff. I believe I enjoy those forms of entertainment to close out the troubles of the world, even if it's just for a couple of hours.

Today is Mother's Day and my sister wrote a long distance letter to our deceased Mother. It follows the letter she wrote last year to our Dad, also deceased. She's a very clever writer and I'm going to try and put a link here so some of you can read it. To all of you Mothers, Happy Day.

http://www.nevertoooldtotalktech.blogspot.com/

FOOTBALL GROUP DINNER

I've spoken many times about our group of friends. One of our groups that meets regularly during the Chiefs season had our annual dinner last weekend at The Deercreek Country Club. We started the season with 19 members but two passed away during the last few months. We paid the person that had the highest total of winners during the 17 game season and the person with the lowest score. We've been doing this every year since we started the group. We all meet at a different home for every away game. Everybody brings a dish of something ie; salads, desserts anything but the main meal that the host provides.

It was a beautiful evening with great weather and a view of the golf course which included watching a wedding being held on the green grass below. There's not much else to say but everyone seemed to enjoy their food and those that purchased from the cash bar, enjoyed everything even more. The dinner was great but just being together was even greater.