The bet…
recovering among the ruins

“My dad can beat the snockers out of your dad, can not… can too … want to bet."

"I can ski jump farther than you, can not, can too… want to bet."
"Just try and knock that chip off my shoulder…. Can not, can too…."
But which chip and which shoulder. It’s pretty dangerous act for it’s made of plastic, not the chip but the shoulder.

"Bet you’re not going to Ecuador… 'am too… are not.”

Ok, there it was a big bet. The die was cast but then something hit me right between my eyes and it wasn’t Rosebud’s rolling pin.

I had only thought about going south to Ecuador once in my life and it was only for ten seconds and that was in 1964 to dodge the draft. First, there were many more places ahead of it on my list to visit before pushing daisies. Second, was a health problem. Years back it was in my head not wanting to get shot up in a Vietnam jungle or in some other place that would really hurt.

Also, several years back I had major human plumbing rehab and I questioned the doctors down there. Third, there was a bit of a cost. All these things said 'I shouldn’t be traveling to South American.'

Then I tripped over my own heart for something was down there, extended family.
So against “sound” judgment we made the trip, thank God. For good friends can never be replaced even though they live on the other side of the moon. So T.B. to hell with the bet you’ll get yours in the end! “Will too, will not.”

Pictured above is extended family as well to the right.

"Going on vacation? costly, friendship...priceless."

The Calendar Effect…
Looking at a calendar I know what it saz… it plainly states that its spring, bull. Then 12 months later it saz the same thing SPRING. It maybe in some parts of the world. But I have to go through this mental game annually. It’s like being a kid again and each day is December 24th. The blasted day or season never gets here. Christmas to a kid is like spring to us older folks. It never comes. Or for mothers to be… it's like their due date is 10 months off. I don’t know where you are sitting but we have 2” of snow still on the ground. Gad!

There are some things that seem like they are years off… other like they are upon you before you want them. i.e. dental appointments, April 15th tax day, a scheduled surgery, a mother in law’s visit, a 30th or 60th birthday,

I have found that if you look into a negative thing with negative feelings the outcome is more gloom and doom. So ask yourself is there anything positive about a dental appointment? The answer is no because your dentist is 70years old, has the shakes plus his glasses are as thick as a coke bottle. My friend, you have the wrong dentist. It’s time to find one of the other gender, one that trips your trigger. ..easzzzy! (or try Fred's)

As for taxes…just think of all the good your tax dollars do… (personally I thought they sent the wrong guy to the moon) As for surgery…I know it hurts, the recovery phas, but it keeps most of us on the right side of the grass.

As for visits by family members they remain fun as long as they are short and sweet. And for birthdays… with each you one should gain additional wisdom, butterfly, so said the guy in Kung Fu. It’s fun being older, sometimes traffic stops for you to hobble across the road.

Why did the old grandfather cross the road?
I don’t know I can’t remember.

The Pet Mart…

Not quite…. These cages were in the main farmer’s market in the city of Cucena. Guide Dave told us that anything you needed could be had in the place. Cuban cigars? no problem - the only problem is that our one cigar smoker, T. Brown, doesn’t like Cubans. This place wasn't your average run of the U.S.A. Mall Food Court… This place had everything most of it was…ALIVE. If they didn't have it all you had to do was just had to ask for Juan.

Oh, you wanted duck for lunch? Then off with it’s head and feathers… and that would be raw. For medium or well done add another .30 cents. These cages are the cackling equivalent of our super market meat cases.

The day before our tour bus stopped at a connivance store and the price of fuel (gas) was $1.48 Now, I don’t know if this was a standard gallon or imperial, a large Coke and I mean large was .40 cents. However, I am not going to go into other costs as we did do some gift shopping for family members and I don’t want them to know how cheap their presents were, let’s just say Rosebud went a little nuts.

I just couldn’t believe that the only draw back I saw in our entire visit was their habit of cooking pets for dinner. There were only a few loose dogs on the run and this brought back thoughts of Ken K. bless his heart.

Today's one line, "Natural beauty is enhanced by the distance from home."

Breaking the law of physics…

The question all of you have been wanting to ask but were very hesitant to ask I can answer without reservation. Which way does the water flow in toilets in the southern hemisphere? While in Ecuador and upon our return I have spent quite a bite of time on this subject, quite a bit of time. After an in depth analysis I can truthful say water not only water flows the other way but it flows up hill! Here’s proof.

The above picture is of the Tomebama River in Cuenca, Ecuador (which by the way is south of the equator) was taken after a huge morning rain fall… Too get the best possible shot and angle, I had to stand on my head while amigo Dave was holding my feet. We were well above the spot where the water was coming from, the Andes, I swear! Of course this was after walking 4 miles and after having several Pilsners along the way. Talk about water going the wrong way…

So, you still don’t believe me that water runs up hill? Then you’ll have to go down there and see for yourself. Well, you got to believe that this would make a great spot for a Colemandeal Canoe outing. (Life Jackets included, life insurance not.) Please sign the injury waiver and we will continue our adventure…

“God Damned Americans”
What were they thinking… not just B.O. and his minister but to all those “Christians” sitting in B.O.s church and not standing up to raise holy hell with their minister. What a slap in the face to ALL Americans! This includes the half million American white and blacks that fought for the Union in the Civil War to free both men’s great, great grand parents. “God Damned Americans”?

Discount the red necks, discount the KKK, discount the black panthers, discount B.O..’s mentality, forget quote racism and for once think of “our” country for after all that’s what we are, one country. We are only divided by a thin line. On one side we have hard working people of all races. On the other side are people that have their hand out thinking that they are owed a lot by the other people… in fact its us, us as in the “government”. Wrong!


It was also those “God Damned Americans” that fought and died in Europe to overcome something worst than slavery, massive genocide. So now we are looking at having a commander of our armed forces that also allows service people to be damned for their actions as well. Sad to say it’s not O.B.s complete fault that this “ petty” thing has gotten in the way of matters of real importance. After all it wan't the ice berg that sank the Titanic, it was the ship’s captain. The real question now is who do you think should be at the helm? “God Damned Americans”?

Keep your pance on...

No, this isn't a rap on the elected officals of the state of New York. This is about a leave of absence. Once again we are headed down the road. Starting tomorrow we will be pulling a Willie Nelson/John/Deb Martin deal, hitting the road for a week. We are off on an Easter egg hunt and will NOT be shopping for a new pair of pance at Crossroads Mall in Omaha, maybe golf balls that is if they have fited the bullet holes from late winter's ordeal.

Minf you, this is mid March going on late March and we still have a good 30s of snow on the ground and it was zero last night. From where I am parking my rear there is NO world warming. That's why in these parts we keep our pance on... kind' of. If this keeps up the glaciers will once again be on us...

So hang tight folks and this blog site will once again be inhabited March 25th. Ileave you with this wisdom "Be yourself - who else is better qualified."

Which way is up….

There are some place in this big old world that you can get lost in just by looking up or simply opening your eyes. The red rocks of Sedona, AZ, the northeast entrance of Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, the straights of Mackinaw, the San Juan Islands, the Andes and yes Dave, the rolling corn fields of Iowa. There’s beauty in many places and it’s up to us to see it.

Take this morning… it was very cold out side and there was a frost on all things exposed (NOT THERE). It glistened in the morning sun. I had parked my car outside the night before I looked down and there in a framed pictured was contrast. It was between my car's black tire and the white snow.

Frost glistened off the tire as well… to bad for the tire was flat. As I changed the g. d. thing swearing under my breath I thought how fortunate I was to be able to do such a task when several years back there was a time when I thought that I’d basically had had it. So even in the dead of late winter you can smell the roses if you know where they grow. Pictured is Cajas National Park - Cuenca Ecuador

today's two liner: "Feed a straving dog and he will not bite you...this is the difference between man and dog."

TOP SECERT:

This picture was taken by a secert double agent. That's right, our travel agent. For our trip to Ecuador got things mixed up... it seems that our flight home was over booked. We were bumped! I had to make a quick call to you know who to hitch a ride home on his small boat.

The only problem was all the noise (jet engines) but the food wasn't bad. It sure beats a bag of peanuts and a can of stale soda pop.

I am kidding of course... the photo is of the flight deck of the USS Abe Lincoln taken half way from Hawaii to San Diego. The three plans in the foreground are of the type son Kent flys in, AE6B's which glow in the dark.
I have a few other shots taken on the "Tiger" cruise home. I'll share with you all at a future date...

However, our flight on American Airlines was very peaceful and flying over Cuba brought back a few hairy memories about some people being p.o.ed at others bring us to the brink once again... leading us to today's one liner
"Last guys don't finish nice."

Dancing Lessons….They didn’t do any good.

So with a new hair piece, a pressed shirt, and shined shoes, I was ready for the wedding reception of the year. This would have real southern beat, real southern. I had watched Dancing with the Stars reruns for weeks and practiced in front of a mirror… I thought I could keep up with the Fryguy a.k.i. (Zorba the Greek).

Francie’s imported band started things off slow… then things got out of hand or was it the waiters with trays full of glasses of Johnnie Walker Red Label. The reality of it was that into their first set the band blew out the building's power breaker and the place was left only with candle light and Chris MacD. on the bag pipes. Just try and do a polish polka with a Scottish jig going on with two bottles of Red Label in your coat pockets, thanks Dave.

So much for 'Dancing with the Stars' cause during the the black out I lost my new hair piece. I think someone thought it was a roasted mini hairy pig and had it for breakfast. At least I kept my shirt on and that was about it. The last thing I remember was the Fryguy driving the bus home at 6 am. At least we were not the last ones to call it quits. Rolaids anyone?

Off with their heads….

I thought we were bad, our country that is. For whoever has done something of any acclaim, like crossing the Mississippi River, gets casts bronze or carved in marble on a mountain top and their heads placed in a town square or a museum.
Why?
So third graders can pass by asking their teacher, “Who is that?” and the teacher has no idea. Our teacher was Carmita a personal guide for a day tour of Cuenca, Ecuador. So come with us for a two paragraph tour of the town.

One of the first places we stoped was a square and it too had a carved head. It' was of some Spainish guy who discovered there was no way out of Eucador other than flying and this was in the late 1500's. There are more lose heads floating around Cuenca that you can count. They even have a main street with a green boulevard. On each block there is someone’s bronze head mounted, very picture'ques. But it kind of reminded me of the French Revolution.

And did you know what fits on top of those heads and most other styish folks? Panama Hats and they are not from Panama? That’s right, they all come from Ecuador! We went to the source, a hat factory and purchased a few… a few to many. Carmita explained that if the hats were actually made in Panama, they wouldn’t be Panama Hats. Only Ecuadorians hats are Panama Hats, got that Ken Smedberg? Plus a $30 hat there, costs $200 here. Hummm. Like our gas is $4.00 and rising and theirs is $1.48

Poor Camita had to put up with some real dumb questions that I kept asking her. Like..."How come so many mounted heads?" Then she told me if I asked one more she’d put me in jail… she did. Their old jail is now being converted into an art gallery/concert hall/meeting place. And the tour continued. “Did you know the town has 52 churches?” One for each day of the week.

Finally, we had a lunch break but didn’t drink the water. It was a grand day. The sun burned away the clouds we really got to see the Andes and the surroundings mountains. We then walked along the Tomebama River Park with it‘s flowering greenery and busy birds… I then thought about our snow covered driveway at home … what a terrible thought... Tour Continues.

Tourists being abnormal
It doesn’t matter where you are from… it could from the next county over - you are still considered a tourist. If you travel from Iowa to Wisconsin crossing the Dubuque bridge a total of 4 miles… you are considered a tourist. You traveled from St. Paul to Hudson, Wisconsin, a total of twenty five miles… you are still a tourist. You crossed over from Newark to Manhattan, bingo - you become a tourist.

Or like these hardy folks (above) who flew across the equator to a beautiful spot on the map... did it make them tourist? What qualifies you as a tourist... is what you packed in your bag or what you bring home with you. Here are some things that make you a real tourist.

other qualifications,
A.) Taking hundreds of pictures (like the Japanese) many out of focus capturing only half the subject matter.
B.) Asking your tour guide dozen of questions which confuses the others in your party as well as Carlos your tourist guide.
C.) Purchasing another travel case to take back home all the trinket’s of your trip including the hotel bed sheets.
D.) You bring home a stomach which acts like a Mexican Jumping Bean.
E.) All said aside, it’s the memories of friends that separate you from the 'ideal' tourist. It’s the difference from being a tourist and a guess of the country.

Pictured above are some of the charter members of the International Beer Pong Federation scoping out a site for the 2010 finals.
This tour continues tomorrow, maybe.

So after stay with our friends in Ecuador the first day it was,
“ Wipe your feet, Bud!”

Wah ha ha ha

I broke into your blog eeeheeeheeeheee

One or two of you asked that I take a break from our tour, tough!

Travel’s with Charlie…

For you literates - you know of Steinbeck’s story traveling the U.S. with his dog named Charlie. Well, in the following blogs we'll try and follow in his foot steps, the dog that is… This time the Charlie is a Hertz - a young, make that- semi young friend whom we shared a trip to Ecuador with for a special moment.

Charlie has been and is a special friend of our family and our youngest daughter. It was T.L.C. tender loving Charlie that has helped her in rather a rough road. Many of you know of the dark times she faced in 1999. But Charlie’s heart is as big as his smile. For some reason unknown to mankind their friendship has remained steadfast over the years inspite of what's been thrown at them.

Charlie is also a magnet… for some reason he’s like the pipe piper to a very special group of young people from around the country all with a joy of sharing one another’s company. So there was Charlie the officiator' at our friends daughter’s wedding making memories.

It then turned into 6 am the following morning! It was the hour when all the 'kids' finally puled the party plug at the hotel in which most of us were staying. At 2 a.m. I thought they were nuts and by 5 am I knew they were. I must be getting old(er.
But I have to admit I did enjoy the late evening/early morning racket that they all were making. What the heck it was our' kids too enjoying life something that Rosebud and I had prayed not to many years back.

The amazing thing was that 3 hours later Charlie was up sharing breakfast with us. I repeat, tough!

Over weight… the tour continued...
Not me, it was my travel bag. We did quite well on our tour avoiding this shop and that. The days passed without purchasing a lot of STUFF for the home folks… then on the last day it hit us. What about cousin Ralph and brother Waldow? Yeah, yeah, it was nick-knack time.

Even in our little tourist town we have junk shops full of Native American take home STUFF all made in China. It’s for all the Illinois and Iowa folks to purchase and place on their mantels in the heartland.

So now we have a curved Tortuga (a Galapagos Turtle) sitting along side other carved STUFF from our other trips (all made in China) not to mention shirts and hats and etc. That’s right, whole travel bags filled with STUFF. Somehow we got by customs and the airline weight scale… after all who would hassle two older grandparents hustling goods into the country? It was my metal knee that got the security people all upset with the bell and lights going off. It was time for a cavity check and not by a dentist. Continued…


Pictured above: the International Ecuadorian Bowling Team on tour.

Sorry about the last blog but…. 3/7

Never talk politics nor religion with friends or soon to be ex-friends. This was Rule One of my dad list of don’ts.

Rule two to four are as follows.

Rule 2: Never throw empty beer bottles out of a moving car window. It shows a complete disregard to the environment and besides the car following you could be the highway patrol.

Rule 3: Never, never stand up in a boat. Esp. if you have to relieve yourself enough said on this rule.

Rule 4: Always excuse yourself after you’ve had a 3rd helping of Jane’s beans. They are fantastic. However, they are what they are, dynamite,(sp) highly explosive and usually leads to an embarrassing moment. Never had Jane's beans? You have been fore warned!

Lastly, all rules are meant to be broken except for rule 3 unless someone is downwind. Wait a second that holds for rule 4 as well.

The above photo shows massive progress being made in Ecuador, South American. It’s a local commodities broker selling home grown stock and bonds. Look carefully for the lady on her cell phone is telling her "office" to short a contact of beans!

Today one line “ Try to beat the system is self-consuming.”

An old gimp,
a used car salesman,
and a girl scout with an attitude.

Where have the good people gone? I mean look at the choices that we are forced into voting for.

Gad, it a shame when you look ahead (or behind). It frightening to think that Oprah could be our next Secretary of State or Slick Willie our ambassador to Saudi Arabia - talk about back door deals… These latest choices or lack of make Herbert Humphrey and Edmund Muskie look like angles. Even Senator Scoop Jackson would be a welcome.

All these present folks are pointing fingers at one another blaming prior presidents for the mess we seem headed for. However, the real problem is that we just keep voting dozens of clowns back into congress term after term who in their first term vote themselves a pay increase rather than trying to limit their own terms in office… or having the government run on a balanced budget.
No, that would be to logical.

We seem to be worried more about “others” than ourselves - North Koreans, Afghanies and Iraqies… Ourselves being the economy, stupid. Even Slick Willie had that one right. There hasn’t been a single dialog about the real things, energy, jobs, and a sound answer to the environment. I mean real sound ideas like how are we to pay for universal health care, when it comes, and which goverment lawyers get to sue which government doctors? 'You know I don't feel well.' Then you better call your lawyer to make a doctor's appointment. Life could get a lot more complicated.


Or how are people going to drive to work when gas is at $8.00 per gallon where it should be (David's Humble opinion). Sorry I've gone overboard. Dad said never talk politics or religion with friends. Seeing I have neither this blog is safe.

Oh, Well , cheer up it’s almost spring meaning golf season or in Greg's case the real fishing season so to hell with the real meaning of life. It’s your golf score that real counts.
So who is going to win Tuesdays key primaries?
I don’t care, it’s a done deal.

Today's one liner:
"Nothing is impossible until you have to do it yourself."