Once upon a time in a far away northern land called Muldoon, there dwelled a princess by the name of "Tinker Belle". Although, she was not a princess by ordainment, many considered her royalty for the mere fact that she would send countless hours in her castle "tinkering". Tinkering was her primary source of entertainment even though she had her own "court jester". But in his place she boggled thru out the day, stopping only along enough to munch down a box of cookies that she would borrow from the munchkins that also dwelled within the kingdom of the castle. "Tinker" would "dinker" throughout the day and night, always "dinkering" with her magical screen. As she worked, she would hum a simple little song, "I am Tinker and I love to Dinker all the live long day". She even considered changing her royal name to "Dinker Belle" but to be a "Dinker" you had to possess additional skills and then she would turn into a "Dunker". These decisions troubled her, because she had to think and did not want to be known as a "Thinker" so "Tinker" stayed as "Tinker" and not a "Dinker". It is told that a evil spirit cast a spell on "Tinker" because "Tinker" was not devoting enough time "dinkering" with her castle and kingdom. The "Court Jester" recognized the symptoms of the spell, but what was he to do, he possessed no magical charm to dispel the swell of the spell.
The story goes that the spell cast upon "Tinker" by the spirit was an evil collaboration to take over the power and strength of the "Grand Poopah" who was loved and admired by all that knew him. Under the cover of darkness, when the castle was quiet, "Tinker" begin "tinkering" and "dinkering" with the royal writings of the "Grand Poopah". The power of the "Grand Poopah" was indeed much stronger than "Tinker" realized and it was quickly discovered that her "tinkering" and "dinkering" was being monitored by the minute from the secret castle of the "Grand Poopah" "Tinker" knew that if her "Tinkering" was discovered, she would be banish from the kingdom of the "fire pit". She also knew that her collaboration with the evil spirit and the "court jester" would fail as he would plead his innocence in order to retain his seat at the kingdom of the "fire pit". Knowing that she was being discovered, "Tinker" decided that she would try to cover her fairy dusting by trying to mislead the Grand Poopah. Again, the Grand Poopah was monitoring her thoughts and knew that the little fairy "Tinker Belle" had fallen to the depths of untruthfulness where there is no recover except self proclamation that she had indeed done wrong. Having the power, he cast a spell upon the good, turned bad fairy, by the name of "Tinker". Today, this spell still exists on "Tinker Belle" and only when "Tinker Belle" tells all in the Kingdom of her tinkering and dinkering with his scrolls, she will remain in the body and soul of:

The story behind Hyperbole Trivia Pursuit Tertius Decimus deserves the full story of the events that surround this picture. The answer to the questions will be found within the text. The year was 1959, my family operated the Silver King Lodge restaurant which was located across the road from the present Anchor Angler. It was a complete family operation open 24 / 7, with various members of the family working shifts. I worked the evening shift as a waiter. Although, we were not paid, my father assured myself and my brother Don at the end of the season he would buy us a truck. Don was old enough to have a license, but I had just graduated from Junior High School in Homer. That fall, we returned to our small horse ranch, east of Montrose. Although, Don and I had our mind set on a cool looking pick-up, Dad was true to his word and bought us a truck! We did go on one double date with the truck, but it wasn't really that cool in the eyes of the girls when we drove into their yards and later to the drive-in theatre. Not having a license, I never drove the truck and of course, Dad did not have a stock truck to haul horses, so he got the most use out of it and Don got to use it occasionally. The picture in the previous posting was taken in January 1960, when it was stuck in our driveway. About February, needing a little spending money and mad that I had a truck of no use to me, I made a comment at the dinner table I was going to sell my share. My father paid me fifty dollars cash money!
In April, it was decided that a vast fortune could be made in Alaska by purchasing Shetland Ponies in Colorado for $5.00 to $10.00 a piece and taking them to Alaska. Making a few trips to the stock sales, my father and brother Tad purchased ten of the finest Shetland Ponies that they could find. The latter part of April, it was decided that Tad, Don and I would truck the horses to Alaska in our Ford truck and the rest of the family would follow a couple of weeks behind. A cab over rack was put over the top of the cab, which carried all of our camping gear, saddles, and one rick shaw since two of the ponies were trained to the harness. Getting out of school early,the three of us headed to Alaska, typically driving from 200 to 300 miles a day before we would have to stop and unload the ponies so they could rest. We had traveled about 60 miles out of Montrose and the first mechanical problem occurred on the truck. A small spring broke that pushed the gas pedal back up when the driver took his foot off the pedal. A minor problem, but with a string attached to the gas pedal, we continued the trip. Being the smallest, I had to set in the middle and Tad did all the driving. It was my job to pull the string up whenever he took his foot off the pedal so there was no napping, but he assured me that as soon as we got into Salt Lake City we would have it fixed. The truck was sold 5 / 6 years later and you still had to pull up on a string to retract the gas pedal. Somewhere, between Salt Lake City and the Canadian border, the drivers door latch broke and kept flying open, the remedy to this was easy. Tie a rope from the passenger door handle, across the seat to the drivers door, thus the first seat belts were invented. Again, when the truck was sold, the old door rope was still being used! We were on a constant search when it came time to stop for the day for a town with a sale barn or stock yard, so we would have a place to corral the ponies and pitch our tent. This became a problem the further we got on our trip because once we were on the Alcan Highway, there were no stock yards. We could normally find a bank that we could back into and unload the horses. One particular place we chose, we found our bank, backed in and unloaded, but then Tad got the truck stuck. The next morning a passing truck pulled us out of the mud hole but we had no way to load the ponies. Typical of Don being more of brawn than brains, came up with the concept as to how to get us out of this situation. He figured that if Tad and I got into the truck with the halter rope that he could lift the front of the pony into the truck until his front feet were in the truck and then he would lift up the hind end and the pony would go into the truck. We loaded all ten ponies in that manner.
Finally arriving in Anchor Point, we settled into the cabin on the river which would later be developed into the first tackle shop. The Peterson "homestead" which is the present Slide Hole Campground had a fenced pasture, that bordered on what is now the Steelhead Campground. We were able to use the pasture for the ponies. When the rest of the family arrived from Colorado we arranged with the Aprils to install a pony riding ring in front of the motel, which is the current Anchor River Inn. Each morning, we would hitch one of the ponies to the rick saw and tie the others head to tail and go up the hill to our pony ride business. Needless to say, it was not a booming business and we soon gave up that concept.
That fall, we arranged our annual moose hunt, Dad, Tad, myself and our good friend Howard Myhill. Knowing horses, Dad and Tad figured out if we boned out the meat,the ten ponies could pack out a moose, especially a small moose. With the pack string in tow, we went to the head waters of the Anchor River, it was quite a sight seeing our pack string move through the tall grass, you could not see the horses for the height of the grass. As things will happen, that is the year that I got my trophy bull moose. Dad looked at the size of the moose and quickly decided that we had more moose than horse power, a tractor was hired to haul out the meat ending the concept of using the ponies as pack animals. With winter coming on, the thought of feeding ponies all winter was not a good idea, especially since they had not generated enough money to off set the expense. The handwriting was on the wall, that it was not conceivable that they would ever make money. The ponies were sold off individually to people in the Homer area, most of them remaining in the area for several years before passing away. To the best of our knowledge, we had accomplished one thing, we had trucked the first load of Shetland Ponies over the Alcan Highway. Previous to this, Tad and Don had also trucked a load of mules and horses over the highway, with about the same results. The attached picture is of Tad with one of the registered ponies in front of the smoke house east of Homer.

Today is my birthday, I was born at Dutch Harbor, Alaska on March 30, 2002. My mothers name was Nibiru's Molly and my father was Readventure's Artful Dodger, they still live at Dutch Harbor. My real name is Dutch Harbor Dutchman, but my friends call me "Dutch". In the event you are wondering, I am a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. The reason that our names are so long is that for our breed, traditionally the name of the kennel in which we were born is also included within our names. I left my mother and joined my "buddy" on May 18, 2002. The picture of me as a pup was taken the day that he picked me up at the airport in Anchorage, this was my first introduction to the Kenai River. The second picture was taken of me two years later in the same spot. I and my "buddy" have had a great four years, always together and have learned so much from one another. We have been good for one another, we each often wonder which one of us trained the other.

Although, Shana may be mowing her lawn, our lawn is still a few days away before Terry can once again run behind the mower, a best guess estimate, about two feet of snow. Although, we are starting to see a few gravel spots showing in the driveway, I wonder if the "frost boil" is going to appear in the middle of the driveway once again. Remember that one which my children were going to haul in material and fix for me! Oh well, I guess your mother will not mind pushing my truck through this boil one more year. It appears that there is a massive "cookie sales" campaign waging throughout the state this year, everywhere I look I see signs advertising cookies. Seeing this, I sat down and gave it some serious contemplation as to how all of these cookies could be sold one single lot. Why waste time and energy attempting to squeeze $4.00 from people who really do not want any cookies but cannot say "no" to a cute little girl or sexy "Cookie Mom". Heidi, if you follow my sage advice I can make you the "Cookie Mom Of The Year" in Anchorage. Next year, you will need to contract of fifty foot van to haul cookies instead of relying on your Chevy. The concept is simple, prior to ordering your cookies you pre-sale them. The predominant market that I have identified for you is the veterans. In January, you approach the Veterans of Foreign Wars or the American Legion and asked to purchase all of your cookies. When those cookies arrive, you dress your troops in their uniforms, give them each one small American flag to carry and you deliver your cookies, free of charge, to the Veterans Hospital where each patient will receive one or two boxes of cookies compliments of the VFW or American Legion. If those patriotic organizations do not want to fund the entire thing, you then turn to the corporate world and get donations from these large companies! Erica, you can also do the same thing only on a smaller scale. You can also go to these organizations or from cash contributions from local businesses, but you deliver your cookies to the Senior Citizen Centers in Homer, Anchor Point, and Ninilchik. It would really solve your problem of getting these cookies sold in a timely fashion, competition and filling your freezers full of cookies! Not only could you boost your cookie sales easier than fighting with other leaders in the middle of Fred Meyers, but you could also write it off as a project for the troop. See, I do come up with some good ideas, I do not spend all of my time thinking up trivial prattle.

Good Day To All: It is time to play once again, the results from Duodecimus may be found in the comment section for that particular round. This round is going to be more difficult but quite a story:
(1) What Is The Make Of This Truck?
(2) Where Was The Picture Taken?
(3) What Was This Truck Used For?

A few mind boggling thoughts have entered my thoughts over the past couple of days while analyzing the daily news. The years leading up to 9 / 11 our surveillance forces, intelligence centers as well as our enforcement officers were prohibited by law from entering Mosques to determine terrorists activities. In Iraq and Afghanistan, our military troops have been curtailed from also entering a Mosque even when they are receiving direct fire from these sacred halls. Consequently, with a few isolated cases, they have become a haven for the terrorists to hold and defy the coalition troops.
Considering the sensitivity of our houses of worship, it has come to mind that perhaps the country of Mexico should be held accountable for their aggressive action and should be held accountable. They should be forced to pay retribution, with interest compounded daily for their trespassers onto sacred grounds and killing everyone within that sanctuary. In addition, retribution should also be made for the taking of the lives of several historic members of our society, names that emblazon our history. They deprived us of the contributions that these individuals could have made to our society. The sanctuary being the little adobe brick church called the Alamo, the hero's we lost during that invasion included the names of Jim Bowie, Davy Crocket, and a host of Texan's whom now have cities named after them in their memory. Roughly figuring, this retribution would exceed their national gross product and force them into bankruptcy. The only recourse to collection would be to foreclose on them, absorb them as part of our nation and the immigration problem would be resolved. Just a thought to ponder!

Welcome to Game Duodecimus. The results of Game Undecimus may be viewed in the comment section for that posting. Today's game should go fast without any hints. The questions are simple but must be answered completely:
(1) Who is this picture of?
(2) Where was the picture taken?

On a daily basis, our men and women of our armed forces continue to fight the War on Terrorism". I pledge my support to them as I do the Commander In Chief, regardless of political views and party affiliation, he is having to make the tough decisions, the least that we can do is give him our support. The days following 9/11 our country came together like it has not done since World War II and the attack on Pearl Harbor. We were united, however, I had concern that as time slipped by that those harrowing scenes on 9/11 would fade from memories. Unfortunately, I was correct. Instead, we have members of our own congressional delegation, community leaders, Hollywood actors and actresses downgrading decisions and making public statements on conditions that they have no knowledge nor have the need to know. When combat troops are deployed, one man is in charge and that is the Commander In Chief. He deserves as much of our support as the troops in the field. Having went through several Presidents from John F. Kennedy through Ronald Reagan while serving in the Navy, I would have been proud to serve under his leadership. When the troops are home, the facts are known it is only then that these actions should be discussed and brought before investigative committees. History has a way of setting the field, The U.S.S. Maine was attacked in Havana Harbor. Immediate action was taken against Spain and they were defeated in the Spanish American War. Pearl Harbor was attacked, several thousand sailors lost their lives and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was nearly destroyed, immediate retaliatory action was initiated and Japan was defeated in World War II. The U.S.S. Mattox was attacked by North Vietnam gunboats on the high seas, the Vietnam War escalated immediately. In each of these cases, a Naval vessel was attacked, a naval ship is soveign territory. The U.S.S. Cole was anchored in the harbor, attacked by terrorists which resulted in the loss of thirty five sailors. Our Commander In Chief, took immediate counter measures and launched one missile with no target. Then continued his day as normal. I think of that decision and wonder to myself, if we would have had a tough decision maker as our President, could we have avoided 9/11 and perhaps our troops would be home from Afganistan and Iraq today. Instead, I see us forgetting what 9/11 meant to us on that day, instead, our country is evolving back into the mentality of the Vietnam War era, when our military personnel were not recognized, spat on and made to feel that their mission was wrong. When our naval ships came back from long deployments to the Western Pacific, as they passed under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, gallon cans of paint were dropped onto their decks from the protestors standing on that same bridge. The day is coming that we will see this same type of mentality once again, as it is the same type of leadership that is fueling this resentment today. The next time, you see a military person on the street or having a cup of coffee, stop and visit with them for just a second and then ask them what they think of their Commander In Chief. He has their support because they know he will make the tough, hard, decisions that are needed, regardless of the popular public opinions, he will make the decision and that is all we can ask.

Welcome to Round Undecimus, the results of Round Decimus may be found in the comment section for that round. This picture is of three individuals, it is up to you to correctly answer the following questions:
(1) Who are each of these little people?
(2) Who's house is in the background?

This not a round of Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit Game as there is no category to fit this picture! Who, What, When, Where, and Why?

As I set here, the laughter and shrill screams of children can be heard outside my window as they sled down the snow berms surrounding our home. Only in Alaska can you sled in the spring. I am surprised that "Butch" has not yet discovered the slopes going into "Hole In The Wall". As they play in the snow, it has given me the opportunity to review several randomly selected blog sites that I have visited this week. Although, I do not profess to be an credited blog critic, I do enjoy logical and thoughtful exchange of ideas and opinions balanced with respect for literary significance, relevance, and mentally stimulating. Unfortunately, in those sites that I have reviewed I was not able to find any of these qualities. Although, one particular site was well balanced, superbly written and provided the reader with thought provoking historical information. Unfortunately those individuals that responded to this site in the comment section failed to appreciate nor comprehend the importance that the author was penning. Comments posted were inconsistent, inadequate and did not take advantage of the quality of this site. Consequently, the remaining sites that I visited lacked thought provoking concepts and was filled with trivial prattle. Comparing those sites, I found the leading conversation to be focused on ladies under garments, in particular the bra. Although, some reference were made to ladies undershorts in the comments sections. The "Bra" was the number one topic conversation this week based on my random sampling. The second most discussed topic was Girl Scout cookies, a topic that could be discussed at the entrance to any store during this time of the year. The third most discussed item was "spring", although this occasion occurs once a year it was felt by those on these sites that it should be discussed in greater detail than merely looking at a calendar and say "gee, today is the first day of spring". One particular site that I visited consumed a vast number of bytes to post pictures of "coffee beans and birds", although "cute" I could see no relevant reason for posting them since each of the pictures were not interpreted correctly by themselves nor the person who supposedly guessed the correct answer to the trivial question. With the exception of the first site that I referred to, based on my review I found that the remaining sites provided no social, educational, or economic value whatsoever. Perhaps, a second review of these sites this next week will provide me with a better outlook as to their validity.

A great turnout for Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit IX, a lot of research, history and wonderful memories for me. Today's game is going to be much easier, I would expect the first one to post a comment to be the winner. Everyone should be able to get into this genre. As a side note, JD is also hosting some great general "trivial" pictures on his blog site. The trivial questions for today are:
(1) Where was this picture taken?
(2) When was this picture taken?
(3) Did anyone you know live in the area when this picture was taken?

Following the aerial attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Imperial Navy on December 7th, 1941 the President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt wanted to send a message to Japan that they were also vulnerable to an aerial attack. Colonel Jimmy Doolittle was tasked to transform the Army B-25 Bombers to where they could be launched from the deck of an aircraft carrier. (This was highlighted in the movie Pearl Harbor which was released last year with a reference to Shangri-La). The U.S.S. Hornet was tasked with the mission of transporting these aircraft to within striking distance of the mainland of Japan. Although the mission was successful, little damage was done to Japan. This attack was instrumental in raising the morale of Americans and when the President was questioned by news reporters where those American aircraft came from, he replied "From Shangri-La, I guess" the mystical utopia of James Hilton in his book "Lost Horizon". When the U.S.S. Hornet was damaged in an aerial attack, a new carrier was built by public donations to replace the Hornet and was named the U.S.S. Shangri-La (CV38).
The U.S.S. Shangri-La (CVA-38)served in both the Pacific and Atlantic Fleet with combat duty being performed in World War II, Korean Conflict, and Vietnam War. The U.S.S. Shangri-La was the first ship that I served on, going onboard as a Seaman Apprentice.
The attached picture is of me standing "wheel watch" on the bridge of the Shangri-La. Being that I was only 19, I thought it was neat that I was entrusted to steer this large ship over the vastness of our oceans. What you do not see, is the number of eyes that kept watch over me, especially during flight operations, it was amazing how excited everyone would get when you did not mind your helm and got just one little degree off course!
I served on the Shangri-La from May 1964 through September 1967. Your mother walked the decks of the ship with me on many occasions during her visits. During my tenure onboard the Shangri-La, we made two (nine month) cruises to the Mediterranean, one North Atlantic sortie and hundreds of trips into the Caribbean Sea including in port time in Cuba. Mediterranean cruises consisted of visiting Spain, France, Gibraltar, Italy, Sicily, Malta, Greece, Lebanon and Turkey. When your mother and I married, the Shangri-La was in drydock in Philadelphia undergoing a major overhaul. We lived there from February to May, when repairs were completed we returned to our homeport in Mayport , Florida. When reporting onboard the carrier, I met and worked for the man that would be my mentor throughout my Navy career, he was an example that all could do well to follow.
Although, we had several incidents at sea during my tenure onboard the Shangri-La, it was on August 27th, 1965 that one of the worse occurred. I had just been relieved as the helmsman on the bridge by the mid (midnight to 4:00 a.m.) watch section. Settling into my bunk, the General Quarters alarm went off at 1:15 a.m. Instinctively we knew it was no drill as we went to our battle stations. As normal, we had been streaming in formation with our plane guard vessels surrounding us. It was decided that these vessels would re-position themselves, the destroyer U.S.S. Perry (DD-883) was ordered to move from her starboard position to take up a port position. She was to cross our bow, however, they made an error in their navigation and speed, striking us broadside, above the waterline and just aft of the starboard bow. Her bow went through our hull, although we had a large gaping hole and taking on water, the U.S.S. Perry squared off her bow. There were no injuries on the Shangri-La, since she hit us in the focscle area and not within an area where there was a berthing compartment. On the Perry, there were two injuries, one officer was rescued, however, due to the damage the second sailor was not rescued for seventeen hours, passing away about an hour after his rescue. With substantial damage, we limped back into port at Naples, Italy. We were the first carrier to ever tie up inside a harbor there. When visiting the Mediterranean ports, we would always anchor out and take boats to shore. Repair crews went to work and within a couple of weeks, we had a temporary cofferdam constructed to cover the hole in our hull. Leaving Naples, we limped back to Mayport and later to the shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia for complete repairs to the damage. Those were adventuresome years for me, I loved it and have never regretted those days. I left the Shangri-La as a Boatswain Mate 2nd class, reenlisting for assignment to Adak, Alaska. Upon my departure, I would have liked the command to present me with a ships plaque, however, I did not receive one. On my last night onboard, I went up to the Flag Bridge, every combat vessel flies a Commission Pennant, a small strip of the U.S. Flag consisting of white stars on a blue field and one red and white stripe. It is the only flag authorized to fly above the U.S. flag. I lowered the Commission Pennant, rolled it up, placed it in my pocket and departed the ship, essentially de-commissioning the U.S.S. Shangri-La. Today, that Commission Pennant is displayed in my office at the tackle shop. In later years, the Shangri-La was decommissioned for the final time in Philadelphia shipyards and placed in the mothball fleet. She was my first ship, will always be my favorite ship as well as being a historic element in naval history. She was eventually sold for scrap metal to Taiwan. The U.S.S. Midway was decommissioned and made into a museum, they offered the sailors of the Shangri-La space aboard the Midway for a small museum in commemoration of her service. This core group approached the shipyard in Taiwan to see if they would donate or sell the stern name plate off the Shangri-La so they could place it in the museum. Although they chose not to donate this piece of metal with a name which meant nothing to them, they offered to sell it back at a price tag of $100,000. Thus the history of the Shangri-La came to a close on an island that she defended during World War II.

A new category for you to consider in the 9th Round of Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit. This historic aircraft carrier served in three theatres of combat as part of the Pacific Fleet. She launched air strikes in World War II, Korean Conflict and again during the Vietnam War. Unknowingly, President Roosevelt named this ship during a press conference prior to the time the ship was built. Her original construction cost was not through Congressional or Department of War funding. The original cost was through public donations and contributions. She was the first naval vessel that I was assigned, serving onboard from May 1964 to October 1967. She was the last of the wooden deck carriers. She was classified as a fast attack carrier, although not arriving on station until the last year of the war, she was credited with 50 enemy planes destroyed in the air; 134 planes destroyed on the ground; 22 ships sunk; 65 ships damaged with only 32 U.S. Navy personnel being lost. She recorded 14,247 carrier landings during her on station period. She was nicknamed the Tokyo Express. The question for you is:
(1) What is the name of this Carrier?
(2) While I was assigned, where was our homeport?
(3) Where is she now?

The picture that was featured in Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit VIII was a picture of your grandfather, Henry Laverne "Vern" Harrington. The picture was taken when he was six months old. The picture was made into an actual postcard, the only writing on the card was his name and age, but in very elegant writing. I would suspect that it was your great grandmothers writing. He was born on August 13, 1912 in Benedict, Nebraska. His father was Henry Philo "Ten" Harrington and his mother was Ella Belle Baker Harrington. They were your great grandparents and were married on February 8, 1911. I have made several attempts to find out why my grandfather had the nickname of "Ten", I was not aware of it until after my parents passed away. To date, I have found no one that knows why he had that particular nickname. Your great grandfather Henry Philo Harrington was also born in Benedict, Nebraska on April 24, 1874 and passed away on June 16, 1944. Your great grandmother, Ella Belle Harrington was also born in Benedict, Nebraska on June 2, 1885 and passed away on June 30, 1939. My father was the oldest in the family, having two bothers and two sisters (Esther, Virginia, Rolland (passed away at the age of 5) and Ronald) none of which are now surviving. The double barrel Parker Brothers shotgun that my father gave to me prior to his passing belonged to his father, Henry Philo Harrington. Your grandfather passed away in Montrose, Colorado on September 9, 1990. By coincidence, your great grandmothers each shared the same first name, Ella. Some day, I may be able to document all of the information that I have gathered, until such time I would suggest that you clip and print because I assure you that there will come a time in your life, you will seek this same information pertaining to your "roots".

I just want everyone to remember that you heard it here first, just a couple of days ago, SPRING is here and no more snow plowing. Will have to push some slush around but the snow season is history. What a beautiful day it is, not a cloud in the sky, sun is shining brightly and it is even warm. The great thing is that it is turning daylight at 5:30 a.m. and ending at 8:30 p.m. - love it! Unlike JD who enjoys laying in the middle of the living room floor and flipping coffee beans in the air and catching them in his mouth, I took my coffee in a liquid form on the deck this morning! The first time that I have been able to enjoy a good cup of coffee while sitting outside without first putting on my "long handles", carharts and parka since this past September. Now if the "little lady" would just shovel out the storage shed door so she could get to the deck chairs, hate sitting on the steps or hot tub cover. Going to miss watching her shovel the decks, it was always so entertaining, but soon it will be time for her to start mowing the lawns. I always enjoy that from under the protection of my favorite shade tree - especially when she runs over one of toys that belong to Dutch, she can develop "potty mouth" when the occasion arises! Prior to the mowing season, hopefully she will find the time to de-decorate the Christmas trees in the yard, coil up a half mile of extension cords, and find our "blow" up Santa who deflated and seems to have disappeared under the snow. As a word of caution to all who plan to visit this "spring", she made a comment that this coming Memorial Day weekend would be a great time to paint the house since all the kids will be here to help. She figured out that if she has to do it herself, it will take a week to ten days to complete the project, if I help her by moving the ladder for her! I did not say anything but I do not see how she can expect me to help paint the house and still have time to go fishing. I have a lot of priorities this spring already without taking on the responsibility of moving a ladder. With guests arriving in the "Hole in the Wall", it is going to take some time to rig all of the little surprises that will await them! Time sure goes by fast when you are blogging, I just noticed that it is almost time for my noon nap and I have not had my snack yet. Got to go!

Results from Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit VII are now available in the comment section for that picture. Today's picture is definitely one that you will want to print on high gloss paper and save, best to my knowledge it is the only one in existence. The proud parents, had the picture made into a "post card", most likely "ten" of them! The questions for the day is:
(1) Who is this baby?
(2) Date of the picture?
Good Luck!!!!

Spring has arrived in Alaska. Looking out my window on this first day of spring, I see the tops of my miniature rose bushes just peeking out from the blanket of three feet of snow. We lost sight of the fence posts around the lawn following my last snow plowing and from the pictures that I took yesterday of the campers in the "Hole In the Wall" you will have to agree that it will be awhile before we enjoy spring. I will have to concede whoever developed the philosophy that spring comes to Alaska on March 20th needs to re-consider the lunar and solar alignment, he / she got this one all wrong!
As we learned last year after the error of digging the hole for the outhouse, that water and sand will flow down hill. As soon as I can get into the campground, I will tie the campers off to the trees to insure that they are securely anchored. The water level should be high enough that they will end up in the campgrounds within the state parks - at least you will have the first campers in the recreational area and your carpets will be washed. It is going to be ugly but since Heath and Shane each have a boat, we should still be able to use the area on opening weekend. All of you get outside today, shovel your sidewalks and enjoy this first day of this new season.

It is time to play once again, in an attempt to make it as simple for you as possible, I will give you two pictures that you should be able to identify very easily. As well I will also even give you a hint. The picture of this fisherman should be easy to guess as he is well known for his fishing prowness as he was taught by one of the greatest fisherman that has ever walked the banks of the river. "Have A Good Day On The Water And Good Luck With Your Fishing":
The correct questions to answer are:
(1) Who is the fisherman?
(2) Species of fish shown in picture?

The first of the season campers have arrived at the Hole In The Wall Campground, although all services are not available at this time. The backhoe is scheduled for tomorrow in an attempt to locate and dig out the fire pit and picnic table. Another beautiful day, unlike yesterday. I have not quite figured out how it could be possible but yesterday we had about two inches of snow, yet I had between 2 - 3 feet of snow to plow this morning, dependent on which way the wind was blowing yesterday. The Homer Winter King Salmon Derby is taking place today, surprisingly the Inlet laid down to where it was feasible to fish. I received an interesting email yesterday, it was from Dr. Roy Baker. I met him this summer, he was visiting Alaska and happened to be staying in Homer. He heard my radio program and telephoned me. His opening comment was "I think we could be related". He did come out to the tackle shop where we had a long visit, he is my cousin, his father would have been my great Uncle. Dr. Baker was also born in 1945. He is a Superintendent of Schools in Nebraska and still lives on the family farm. After his return to Nebraska, he sent me an unfinished manuscript that D.W. Baker had written in 1918 pertaining to the Baker family. D.W. Baker was my great grand father. In dad's diary, he mentioned working for Will Baker and Wayne Baker, receiving from $1.00 to $3.00 a day. They were brothers and Will Baker was the father to Dr. Baker. He met dad several times when Dad would go back there to visit the Harrington and Baker families. He went on to say that there are still a lot of descendents in the area and most of the old family farms are still owned by members of the Baker family. In my future travels, I hope to visit the area, see some of the things that I only heard about as a child. Retirement is going to be great!

A New Day, it is time once again to play Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit. For the results of Round 5, I would refer you to the comments section for that posting. The questions today should be very easy so you will want to ring in as quickly as possible, make sure you answer all questions completely to be seriously considered? The questions are:
(1) Who is this couple?
(2) What year was the photo taken?
(3) What is the easiest way to identify the man?
(4) Where was the picture taken?

Wishing each of you a good day. What a beautiful day it is, currently we are having gale force winds and blowing snow. I would give you a marine forecast for Cook Inlet, but from my observation post, I cannot see the inlet due to low visibility. Homer picked a mighty fine day to host the annual Winter King Salmon Derby. If you were planning to come down and join in on this festive moment, I would suggest you do something more constructive and conserve the King Salmon population.
At first light this morning, I could not help but notice that the "tinker" had been "tinkering" under the cover of darkness. I now have a "Cautionary" warning on my blog! I love it and it does sum up my personal choice of writing. There are thousands of good stories to be told out there, but if you embellish them slightly, they become great stories. If you not only embellish them but also include a little imagination, they become "classic" stories.
Prior to my departure, just a friendly reminder, if you like to plan ahead and follow the concept of the six P's, you have only 30 and 60 shopping days remaining.

The Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit IV picture was a classic. One of my favorites and there was 1.5 correct answers, however, no correct responses as to where the picture was taken. Visit the comments section for more details. Today's picture is also a classic, one that I came across a couple of years ago. This should be an easy one to provide the correct answers with this hint, the fish is a King Salmon.
(1) Who is the proud fisherman?
(2) When was the picture taken?

I was surprised to find no postings today in regards to the Day of the Irish. Wishing each of you a Very Happy Saint Patricks Day. "May you always find blue skies above your head, shamrocks beneath your feet, laughter and joy aplenty, kindness from all you meet, Good friends and kin to miss you, if ever you choose to roam, and a path that's been cleared by the angels themselves to carry you safely home"
Your grandmother Harrington was Irish, with a maiden name like Riley, could you expect anything other than a good Irish background, most likely O'Reily at one time in our past. Until just recently, I had no ancestral background pertaining to her family with the exception of her mother and father. Quite by coincidence it came to me from an unexpected source. With this information, I will be able to complete my goal. I knew, if I procrastinated long enough, good things would happen.

In this age of high technology, we spend a great deal of time looking to the future and how rapidly we can move forward in all aspects of our life. However, there will come a time in your lifetime that the past becomes as important as the future. It is only at this age that we become acutely aware that perhaps our past is as important as our presence or even the future. It is the past that has molded us into the people that we are today. The old saying "the acorn does not fall from the tree" applies in most cases.
At this particular time in your life, the quest for knowledge of your past becomes as important as your goals for the future. In this age of technology, the frame work of the family unit has spread across not only the nation but the world.
I was born at the time that the great migration commenced, prior to my birth the family units would remain in one area for the majority of their lives. I was fortunate to know my grandparents on my mothers side of the family, but never had the opportunity to know my grandparents on my fathers side. In recent years, it has become important to me to recover some of the information pertaining to my family and through time I have compiled a great deal of data. In time I will hopefully publish this information for the use of my children and their children.
Recently, while in Colorado and assisting my nephew and niece in cleaning up around my brothers home, they come across a little blue diary. This diary was unknown to me, I assume my brother came across it after my mother passed away and had retained it. They felt that I should have the diary since it was maintained by my father prior to his marriage to my mother. Unfortunately, he only maintained his writings during the years of 1933 and 1934. The majority of the daily entries pertain to the weather, since they were all farmers and accurate records were important for future crop planting. There were several entries where I learned things about my father that I did not know.
I had known that he followed the rodeo circuit at times during the summer to make extra money. This was documented in his writings, when riding in the rodeos he was paid $1.50 to ride broncs and $2.00 for each bull that he rode. One particular rodeo hired him to ride a buffalo, this was the big money pot at $3.00 per ride. What I did not know, was that he was also a boxer. As in the rodeos, they would pay him to box for public enjoyment. In these matches, he received a flat rate of $1.00 per fight. Life was much simpler back then but it was also a time that you had to do what was needed to survive. As an example his entry for January 8, 1933 reads "Fair and warm - Topsy bucked so hard that she cracked the last joint of my back. Got and rode Louis Stunkles roan colt". The following day, January 9, 1933, his journal read "Fair and warm - couldn't hardly walk. Dan took me to Doc Williams and he put the bone in place $1.50 - bought new bit and had bridle fixed". There are so many entries like this that make you fully appreciate how these times affected their lives and yet the future that they help develop for us. The last two entries that I will share with you, are dated the day prior to and the day that my father and mother got married. February 15, 1934: "Over to Riley's. Lena & I went to Hordville. Then I went to Benedict to have the car fixed. Stayed at Riley's all night." On their wedding day, February 16, 1934 he entered: "Fred (my mothers father), Lena, & me went to Council Bluffs. There I got my dog license to be married. Was married on Long View Hill, Pottawaltanie Co., Iowa by Lippett".
My point is to encourage everyone to take the time to sit down and visit with senior citizens, especially within your family, they have a wealth of experiences to share and only through you will those experiences be passed down to future generations.

Welcome back for the fourth round of Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit. By visiting the comment section of Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit III you will have the opportunity to see who the fortunate person was that was able to solve all of the questions. Today's trivial questions are simple:
(1) Who Is This Cute Couple?
(2) Where Was The Photo Taken?

It is time to play Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit once again. For the results from the last posting, I would refer you to the comments section for that posting. Once again, very disappointing! Keeping this in mind, perhaps, they are to difficult, so today's game will be much easier. To be considered for the prize for guessing correctly, you must answer each of the following questions:
(1) Who Is This?
(2) Where Was The Picture Taken?
(3) Age Of The Person?
(4) Date Of The Picture?
Good Luck With Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit

I was finally able to find my site once again, the picture has been restored once more, evidently some little "dinker" was "dinkering" with me! She is a great "dunker", just don't give her your codes! I knew all of you were anxiously awaiting the results from the latest Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit, I apologize for being late but put the blame where it belongs - on the "dinker" Sorry to report, that for the first time in the history of this feature, there were no winners. The picture is of my brother Don, who happened to have the nickname of "Duck", the picture was taken in the high country of Colorado and he is riding a mule by the name of Domino! In her comments, Heidi gave a very good definition on the differences between the species of horse, mule and donkey but the "Burro" specie stumped her. The Burro is simply another term for donkey, however, they were predominantly raised for food, thus that is where the original name of "Burrito" came from so the next time you go to Taco Bell, you might want to keep in mind that you may be eating someone's a--. My best to all!

You asked me to update you on a regular basis pertaining to the family contribution that I forwarded to Colorado for the memorial garden. The names of the four members of our family that have passed away will be placed on the memorial plaque at the base of the Colorado Blue Spruce. The ten clumps of Aspen Trees will be spread around the landscaped area. Thanks to the U.S. Postal Service tracking system which I checked today, the shipment of funds arrived at 1847 Story Lane at 1:44 p.m., Friday, March 10, 2006. The cost of shipping was less than I had expected, only cost $13.47 to ship 30 feet of coins. I have not received any acknowledgement on the receipt of the funds, I do wish I could have been there or at least had a reliable spy to relay their reaction to our generous donation. I am sure they were very pleased with our rapid response to their request. I will keep you posted as soon as I hear from them.

After a disappointing "maiden voyage" of Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit, we will make another attempt, hopefully I have made it easy enough that we will have multiple entries. As is the standard operating procedure, if you are the lucky individual to identity and answer each question, you will receive a special prize especially selected for you. You must answer each of the questions to be seriously considered. The questions are as follows:
1. Is this a horse, mule, donkey, or ass?
2. Who is the rider on this animal?
3. Where was the picture taken?
4. What was the "name" of this animal?
THANK YOU PLAYING HYPERBOLE TRIVIAL PURSUIT"

This is the first of a series called "Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit". Please feel free to make comments pertaining to the posting and make an attempt to answer the questions. The first person to correctly answer each question will be declared the winner and receive a special prize from the Prattler. In case of a tie, the first person to post the answers will be the winner:

Question #1: Who is this person?
Question #2: What was their age when this picture was taken?
Question #3: Where was this picture taken?
Question #4: If in school, what grade was he in?
Question #5: Was this person born in the hospital or a log cabin?

Good Luck With "Hyperbole Trivial Pursuit"

Over the past several days, there has been a lot of discussion pertaining to the annual cookie sales conducted by the Girl Scouts of America. First and foremost, I recommend that you support there effort. A lot of prospective purchasers buy these cookies based on the amount of cookies that they will eat. However, for those of us who eat very few cookies on an annual basis, you should keep in mind that they can also be very nice, quality, inexpensive birthday gifts, Christmas gifts and anniversary gifts. You can do all of your annual gift shopping the next time one of these little darlings rings your door bell, what a great service they provide.
Prior to the purchase of your cookies, take into consideration the history of the Girl Scout Cookie. The first cookies appeared as early as 1917, when mothers would bake cookies in their personal kitchens to help finance troop activities. The earliest mention of cookie sales took place in Muskogee, Oklahoma in December 1917.
In July 1922, the American Girl magazine published by the Girl Scout National Headquarters featured an article and recipe for cookies, the author estimated the cost of ingredients for 6 to 7 dozen cookies to be 26 to 36 cents. The cookies, she suggested could be sold by troops for 25 to 30 per dozen.
Cookies were sold annually by local councils until World War II, when sugar, flour and butter shortages led the Girl Scouts to selling calendars.
The national organization licensed local bakers to produce and package the cookies, by 1948 a total of twenty nine bakers throughout the nation were licensed to bake the Girl Scout Cookies.
It is estimated that this year, the Girl Scouts will sell around 170 million boxes of cookies. All five of the core lines are among the 15 most popular commercial cookies sold in the U.S., based on sales volumes. Thin Mints, the long time standard of the Girl Scouts still makes up 25% of all Girl Scout cookie sales and the third most popular cookie in the country. Samoas are second with 19% of the gross sales and Do-Si-Dos, Tag-Alongs and Trefoils follow in that order. Cookie sales have been unparalleled money maker, $350 million dollars will go to the Girl Scouts via cookie sales this year. Unfortunately, the annual cookies sales must also deal with the realities of today's world. Wisconsin Girl Scouts had to take people to court last year for welching on cookie payments, one customer owed more than $1,400. Scouts nationwide are banned from Internet sales, even in supervised settings it is not possible to guarantee that the person purchasing the cookies harbors no harmful intent. So, I encourage each of you to purchase as many cookies as you can afford, these young ladies deserve our loyal and loving support.
By now, you must be wondering why would I concentrate so much energy on the subject of cookies. I thank you for asking! My daughter, Heidi who is very active in the Girl Scouts and organizes the cookie sales each year for her troop published some un-documented information pertaining to this years cookie sales. She stated that she was able to load 147 cases of cookies in her "pretty white Chevrolet Silverado", when questioned about this statement she recomputed that those cases equaled out to 1,764 boxes of cookies. Taking into consideration that she is an honest person, I would have to question her math. To accomplish the task of cookie distribution of on a nation wide basis, based on her calculations it would take 96,372 white Chevy Silverados to transport all these cookies. Based on this fact alone, it would be impossible to distribute all of these cookies in time for the annual sales if we all drove Chevrolets - so stay with a good American built truck, drive a Ford as they will haul more cookies. The point to this is that Girl Scout annual cookie sales commenced the same year that Henry Ford rolled out the first standard manufactured motor vehicle, so stay with the American tradition, eat a bunch of Girl Scout Cookies while you are motoring down the beautiful and scenic highways and byways of our great nation in your Ford, it is the American Way. BUY YOUR GIRL SCOUT COOKIES TODAY.

With the passing of each day, we see a little more daylight, always an uplifting sensation after the short days of December and January. The past few days, the weather has been clear, a little warmer, and even a few sounds of spring in the air. The eagles and sea gulls are returning to the valley of the Anchor River. I know spring is on the way, I have spent the last two days taking down Christmas lights at the house and video store, the first real sign of spring. While doing this major chore, I had ample time to ponder my thoughts, "why does it take ten days to put up all of these lights but only a few hours to take them down"?
I also took the opportunity to walk out to the scenic bluff over looking the "hole in the wall campground", all was quiet and secure except for the cab over camper, it appears that the camper jacks collapsed under the extra weight of the heavy snowfall we had this winter. I am hoping that the heap of snow will not melt off before Memorial Day weekend, with a little shoveling, I think we can find the door into the camper and we will have a walk in cooler!
But while sitting on a stump, drinking my root beer and scratching Dutch's ear, I realized that our "little" campground is not fully utilized to it's fullest potential. Currently, the "Winter Games" are taking place, the "hole in the wall" is a natural place to hold great winter games. We should be utilizing it as a winter campground as well as a summer gathering place for the clans. The long driveway on the north border is a natural place for a bob sled run. If three idiots can make the run on this hill in a wagon, can you imagine the speed that you could pick up in a bob sled! The two ponds on the west border next to the highway could also be utilized. The smaller pond at the intersection would be a great, small hockey rink. The long, narrow pond would work great for a speed skating course and the mud wrestling pit could easily be converted to a curling rink. The terrain on the south slope of the area would be great for downhill skiing, we know that a wagon can not make this run in the summer, despite the "trail" that was carved into the side of the bluff. But on skis, it would be a great ride. By bringing in a front end loader, piling up snow into a ramp, we could utilize part of the bluff as a launch site for the ski jumping competition. Figure skating competition could also take place on the ponds following the hockey games. Cross country skiing and biathalon competition is easy enough to accomplish, there is 17 acres where we could make trails. We could set up the shooting range for the biathalon in front of the neighbors house to the east. The slopes on the east side of the campground is contoured perfectly for a great mogul skiing course and of course the slamon competition could take place on the down hill course. I know there are those within the clans that enjoy the more modern methods of winter sports, although rather noisy and obnoxious we could have the snow machine races on the Anchor Point Beach Road, the park rangers are never around in the winter. God only knows that we have enough dogs in the family that having a dog weight pulling contest would be so easy to accomplish. I mean, this can be an entire family and friends event, kids, adults, dogs, and even the cats! Of course, we would want to feature dog sledding races to have that realistic Alaskan flair, since none of us own a real "sled" dog, we could still harness up those dogs that we do have, turn a cat loose and I will guarantee you that we will out run any team of huskies! We may have a little trouble with Heidi's dogs, their legs are a little short but maybe we can use them as the "wheel" dogs. The winter games would also be great for "Homer" and John, they would not need to "borrow" so much ice from the tackle shop to keep their beer cold. Which brings up a point to ponder that I have often pondered, each year I go through several hundred pounds of ice to keep their beer cold. The question is, How do you borrow ice? I never saw anyone come back with a bucket of water! But,that is a different topic for a different time.

If you pick up a current copy of the Anchorage Daily News (March 9, 2006) you will discover that I have applied my artistic talents to my private collection of bras (See Previous post "Bra"). I feel that this is a special artistic talent as well as an "uplifting" experience when you allow your creative thought process develop fully into a form of art. If you to, would like to have a special, limited addition of this new art form, please do not hestitate in contacting me.

What a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, sun is up but still not a lot of warmth in it. Checked out my favorite radar site this morning, looks like those of you in the Anchorage bowl are also having similar weather. Several thoughts came to my mind this morning, the first being where is a plumber when you need one? Decided, to "dink" around with my water system yesterday, drain, replace filters and clean the hot water tank. I knew better than "dinking" with something I should not, all I had to do was wait until spring when my favorite plumber was available. But, my male ego got the best of me and besides, if my favorite plumber can do it, surely a trained monkey could also accomplish this simple task. The first problem occurred when I tried to use a pair of pliers to undo a copper fitting, copper pipe bends so easily and when it bends, it also breaks. I also learned quickly that water will always go to the lowest point, well I discovered quite quickly how fast a crawl space will fill with water from just a little one inch copper pipe. As we speak, I can still hear the sump pump that I had to rush to town and purchase pumping out the crawl space. Dutch loved it, thought he had an indoor retrieving pond. Draining the hot water heater was simple enough, but no one told me that you are suppose to shut off the power before you drain it, or you will burn out the heating elements when you drain the water. It only took $149.89 to repair that mistake. I did manage to clean it out, but again, as we speak my good wife is on her hands and knees mopping up water in the kitchen and utility room. We were able to rent a water extractor from the rental store in Homer and she has most of the living room carpet drying. Evidently, someone forgot to insure that the pressure valve was securely set and during the night, it decided to relive itself of all water pressure. All night long, I thought I was dreaming because I could hear "Dutch" playing in the water, what a surprise to find when I went into the kitchen to start the coffee. Good thing the bedroom is on the upper floor. The "little lady" was not real happy with me, she very seldom shows real anger but when I mentioned that the positive side of things was that our floors would be real clean, I saw the glimpse of anger in her eyes, just before a jar of peanut butter went flying past my ear. She is calling me to come get "Dutch" because he keeps bringing his training dummy to throw in in his little pond, don't want to let him interfere in her work, so I had best go take care of him so she can finish up the clean up. I have a busy schedule today, I want to clean the heating system. Take care and have a great day.

Since the beginning of time, mankind has been trying to define the simple word called "Love". As we all know, love is complicated and the word itself can be used to describe your emotions for many things, it is most likely one of most used word in our vocabulary to describe our emotions but it is also very often the most abused word. In my opinion, there are degrees of true love, the love that you feel for your child or grandchildren is different than that which you may feel for another person, a friend, a spouse. I am sure, we have each contemplated the word, "Love" and have our own definition. I recently heard the true meaning of love, most likely the most profound definition of love that I have witnessed. It did not come from a learned person, or a book of philosophy, but from a mechanic that has made his living tearing down engines. Not an educated man, but still a very wise man and a person that has my respect and admiration. Although, this man is legally my brother in law, he is more than that to me, he is my brother Cliff.
If you are not aware of the situation, my sister Dorothy is suffering from memory loss most likely due from some mini strokes that she had several years ago. Prior to going to Colorado for Don's memorial service, he had told me that Dorothy's condition was increasingly getting worse. Arriving in Colorado, I realized what he was telling me was fact, in comparison to the last time that I was down to visit, her condition had worsened. Every morning that I was there, Cliff and she would be the first to arrive at Don's place, we would sit and visit. She could not comprehend that we had lost Don and as well she would have trouble remembering who people were. We would sit on the couch and visit,she would ask about Don and either Cliff or I would tell her that Don had passed away and she would cry, we would unsuccessfully hold back ours. She re-lived his death many times each day, she will never complete the mourning process, because each day she experiences it as if it were yesterday. Cliff is very patient, very caring and watches over her. Despite how many times she asks the same question, Cliff patiently repeats the answer to the question, never raising his voice as if it were a normal conversation. To give you an idea of the cruelty of this disease, they were watching the Super Bowl, she picked up the phone and ask Cliff what Don's telephone number was because she wanted to know if he was watching the game. Each day, they drive out past Don's home, so Dort can see his place and make sure the flowers are o.k. even though it is still winter.
Just prior to my return to Alaska, everyone else had left to return home, I was out to visit them. Their home is the same as it has been over the past thirty years. If you can remember, when Cliff speaks, it is always slow and very deliberate, sometimes it takes forever for him to tell you something, but usually it is a funny story or a lesson to learn.
I will never forget when we bought our first Ford Supercab and camper. At that time, Colorado had a mandatory safety inspection where you had to have your vehicle checked and stickered every six months for safety. Cliff was a certified station for doing the inspection so when the truck was a year old, I took it in to him for the inspection. He checked everything, headlight alignment, windshield wipers, and finally put it on the rack to check the exhaust system and to pull the tires and check the brakes. When, he was done and my truck passed, he applied the sticker to the windshield and then turned to me and in his manner said, "You drive pretty fast don't you"? How can you answer a question like that,so I acknowledged that I did drive fast. His reply was "I can tell, because you have brand new brakes on a truck that is a year old, I don't guess you use them much"
We were sitting there in his home visiting, talking about the old days and how many guns we had traded, he remembered them all. Dort was laying on the couch and had fallen asleep, so I asked him how he was doing and if there was anything that we could do to help. With those blue eyes of his, he looked me directly in the eyes and never blinked one time, his words were: "Brother, I am not a religious man, but I believe, I don't go to church but that does not stop me from believing, when I was a young man, I had an argument with one of those preachers. I wanted to marry your sister and before he would marry us, he wanted to talk to me. He asked me if I was going to love her until death do you part. I looked at him square in the eye and said no sir, I am not! The preacher looked surprised and asked what I meant, so I told him, I am not going to love her until death parts us, I am going to love her through eternity, we will walk together hand in hand" he then looked over at Dort and after a bit, said and "By God that is what we will do, I will always be with her". That is love.

Thank you Heidi for coming to my aid and making the improvements to my page, I really appreciate the effort and it looks good! You are so creative, especially at 1:00 a.m. in the morning! I wonder where you inherited the "night person" syndrome? Just wanted you to know that I do appreciate it. Thank You. Love You

To my immediate family, just wanted to let you know that the Harrington family in Colorado is planning to established a memorial at the Mountain Ute Indian Museum in Montrose. This plan was discussed while I was in Colorado and has been approved by the museum. The memorial site will be in the form of landscaping and consist of one (1) large Colorado Blue Spruce surrounded by ten (10) clumps of Aspen Trees. A plaque will be at the site, with the names of your grandfather, grandmother, Uncle Tad and Uncle Don. Larry is coordinating the project, assisted by Mike, Jess, Donna and other family members. Although, they had not taken it into consideration when they designed the project, it should be noted that the number of Aspen Tree clumps that will be planted, including mom and dad, there was a total of ten of us in the family. Today, I am mailing the Alaskan Harrington contribution to the project since they are nearing the planting season in Colorado. Please forgive me, but I could not pass up this Golden Opportunity to revenge my honor in relation to the "Bra Caper" that I endured during my recent visit to Colorado. Our contribution was transmitted in the form of silver. I had an excessive amount of fifty cent pieces and Susan B. Anthony Dollars. Not wanting any of them to get lost in the transit, I neatly placed each silver coin on a strip of clear plastic packaging tape. To further insure the security, I then put a second strip on the opposite side so the two tapes would be surely bound together with the coins sandwiched. When you lay a line of $170.00 in fifty cent pieces one inch apart, you have a long string of coins, then when you add an additional $30.00 in one dollar coins spaced two inches apart, the strip is quite long! So you do not have to do the math, that is 370 coins! By coincidence, the two nieces that were involved in the "Bra Caper" work at the same bank. I suggested to your Uncle Larry that he take them to their bank for deposit still incased in the tape. I know, I should have not done it - but I think your Uncle Don would have appreciated it! He made me do it! Now, I just have to face the postage cost of shipping the package! What should not be forgotten, is the next time that you or your children visit Montrose, you will have one place to go to pay your respect to those we loved, they are "roots" to be proud of. My best to all.

Wishing all of you a very good morning, I do hope that it is a good day for you. Watch your local news and papers this morning, still do not know the details pertaining to the shooting that occurred at the airport in the "Little Hamlet By The Sea", but it did involved the U.S. Marshall Service attempting to arrest a federal fugitive. It just happened to occur at the same time that a large group of people, including my daughter in law and granddaughter were at the airport on their way to Italy. Although, this has not been confirmed by my oldest son, they may have driven to Anchorage to fly out. Makes one wonder, how safe is the little hamlet, since the first of the year there has been a volcano wanting to erupt, one real good earthquake and a multitude of smaller ones, one oil tanker going a ground, shooting at the airport and a dragon roaming the hillsides. All of this taking place and it is only March, appears to be a great year shaping up. I think we can blame the majority of these news items on the volcano. Since the volcano is isolated on an barren island at the mouth of Cook Inlet and void of any human influence since the beginning of time, it would be safe to assume that is was the lair of the dragon. When the volcano erupted, it also created the landslides deep inside the earth (earthquakes). The dragon was awakened. This was predicted many years ago in an old rock and roll song, do not remember the name but one of the lines was "the dragon sleeps tonight", well the dragon is no longer asleep. It is not known how many dragons are involved, however, I have seen proof on my front lawn that at least one dragon has slip the bonds of the volcano and fled to the mainland. It was most likely during his flight to locate another sanctuary that the pilot and captain onboard the tanker saw this dragon soaring on the wind currents across the inlet. They were so intent on watching the dragon, they forgot to watch where they were going and ended up on the beach. Even in my own mind, I cannot connect the dragon to the shooting, unless the fugitive from justice happened to see the dragon and mistook it for an airplane and headed to the airport to catch a quick flight out of town. The federal officials just happened to intercept him, they may have been in town to investigate the sighting of the dragon. Surely, that would be of interest to our national interest and security, after all, we cannot have a dragon roaming freely about the country side, especially around the area of the "little hamlet by the sea", a loose dragon could be detrimental to their environmental concerns. If we have major flooding this spring, the dragon is going to get the blame!
When you look at the daily news through my eyes, it is not nearly as bad as it appears.

Although a new comer to this form of communication, I have discovered one thing in particular about the links from the my daughters sites, they are predominantly female. Consequently, perhaps this is the perfect forum to discuss this uplifting issue. Since puberty, the Bra has always been interesting to me but only recently it has become an obsession to me at no fault of myself. I have always been a collector, good doubled barrel shotguns, antique fishing tackle, limited edition art prints and now a nice collection of bras. My collection most likely is larger than anyone that may happen to read this, including those women that wear them on a daily basis. I must admit, being the typical male I do not know very much about bras when it comes to sizes and styles. To make it easier for myself, I grade them by size of practical everyday items. Within my collection I have bras from the size of tea cups to one that I am sure will hold a basketball. Before, any of those that do not know me jump to conclusions, I am not some kind of weirdo that has a passion of collecting lingerie. Each of these items were given to me as a gift!
Perhaps it is best that I start at the beginning. I have this weird little niece, she is a neat person and I had a great time taking her fishing this past summer after fifteen years. One particular summer, she showed up at a family reunion, wearing a light colored sleeveless blouse and black bra. Instantly, my brother Don and myself started teasing her about her bra. She had a quick wit and decided to tease us a little by explaining to us that it was a "water bra" and had clear straps on it. The black bra become a laughing matter for the next couple of years between herself and the two of us. At Christmas of this year, she sent a Christmas present to me by messenger. It was the first gift that she had ever given me, upon opening it, it was the same "little black bra" that we had been teasing her about. Her card read, "I know how much you liked it, I thought you should have it" but attached to the bra was a second note that read "Little Brother, I just wanted you to know my cheek was on it first". On Christmas Eve day, I hesitantly put on her little black bra, just for a picture that I could use later against my brother or her since I am a sensitive new age guy. It was not known to us at that time that my brother would pass away two days after Christmas never seeing the embarrassing sacrifice that I made for him.
Returning to Colorado for his memorial service, the story of the "little black bra" preceded me. During my stay in Colorado, I pulled a great practical joke on one of my other nieces that lives in Colorado. She really was not use to my sense of humor and took it very seriously, to a point that she got in trouble with the security guards at the airport when she tried to go through security without a boarding pass to find out why I was returning to Colorado prior to the memorial service. It was only later in the evening when she discovered that she had been the focus of one of my jokes.
A few days later, I was visiting one of my other brothers at his home. I had been there about an hour when there was knock at the door, he answered the door to find no one there. I got up and went to the door because it was a distinct knock but no one was in sight. I had parked my car behind his truck and out of my sight from where I was standing. It was only when, he walked out to his truck and said "oh, my god", that I ventured further outside. There was the car, completely encased in shrink wrap, which was not bad enough, but mounted on the car was 25 bras. Each bra, had inflated balloons inside the cups. They were on the roof, hood, sides, back, windows and across the front was a big sign with the biggest bra I had ever seen, fully inflated with balloons. The sign read, "Our Uncle Stan Is The Biggest Boob Of All" in short order two of nieces came out from behind the house dying with laughter. Fortunately, they had caught up with me at my brothers, they had already talked to the motel manager where I was staying to insure he would not call the cops because they had intended to decorate the car in front of the motel. So, on my return trip to Alaska, I had 25 bras in my luggage and no idea what I would ever do with them. I have come up with a couple of good ideas and tested the concept, however, before I divulge that, I would like some input from all of you as to what useful purpose can a bra be used for other than the original intention. Before anyone else comes up with the idea, I already tested one concept, I thought since we are having a cold winter, they would make good ear muffs, well the first pair I tried did not work very well, as they had no padding and the material was to thin so it was of no help. Then I tried my special "little black water filled bra" because of the extra padding, it worked great but after wearing it for awhile while I was shoveling snow, I realized the water had frozen and I had frost bit my ears, but the doctor said that eventually the skin will look natural after the bandages come off and the dead skin sheds. So don't tell me to use them for ear muffs, I am smarter than that, now!