Goodbye, 2008

Well again we suffered thru another rockin New Year's Eve with Dick Clark. I like him but he must have had a stroke as he sounded like some old drunk. Obviously not his fault but why is he on my TV. Next the Jonas Brothers performed? They were awful. I hope it was the cold weather. Times Square in New York City had 1 million freezing people. The Temp. there was 19 degrees. Well the ball dropped I got my New Year's Kiss and then we resumed out regularly scheduled programing. My first task of 2009 was to flip thru the channels as if they would be different. Nope sam ol ----. A Jackie Gleeson Honeymooners marathon was on, and a Hooters swimsuit competition featuring the winner Sarah Hoots (is that her real name?). I went back to my usual football game that takes a year to play and the all-time Packers drilled the all-time Lions 41-28. Too many long passes by these guys. Bobby Layne passed for 289 yards and Bart Starr 317. Well its 2009, what'll we do now ?

TOP STORIES OF 08

Like most good news services we are going to report our top new stories in 08. However these are only those I deem important. Also this is my 10th post this month which is my most prolific month since July. Ok here we go.
1.Austin Joseph Tidrow is born. It was election day November 4 @ 1:52pm weighing in at 8lbs 15oz. Today at the Doctors office he weighed in at 14lbs 4oz. Keep going AJ.
2.Shawn Tidrow marries Tiffany Blackford on 9-22- at 5:17pm. The wonderful thing is They are blissfully happy. Further this full blown wedding was put together in 1 week. Even Rev. Davis was amazed.
3.Michael Douglas Tidrow Graduates HS Finally he made it. He graduated and went on to college at Ivy Tech majoring in Criminal Justice. He is also a Crew Leader at Penn Station.Way to go Boy.
4Susan fall at Kroger and breaks knee. This causes a 4-6 week healing process and a forced Knee replacement from which she is still recuperating. For further information please consult our attorney.
5.Ron Tidrow turns 60. Thats right born in 1948 to 2008 means on 8/28 I turned 60. I am old, slow, stinky, and grumpy. Ha.
6.Memphis Here I discovered Casinos, Shiloh, Abe Lincoln's birthplace and maybe most importantly Sonic drive ins.
7.Dice comes to la casa Mike adopts and 9 week old kitty this summer and named her Dice cause she is white with black spots. And now she still runs away from the big bad dogs.
8.I lose my 800th game I have been in this draft league for the seasons 1944 thru 1952. Over those years I have managed to lose 800 games. Draw your own conclusions.
9.Shawn wins ffl 2 The first season was 07 which Mike won. This year Shawn wins. Fantasy Football League runner up 2x,... yep lil ol me.
10.Gas prices fall to under $1.50 The economy fell apart this year which is bad, but the silver lining was that gasoline prices which at one point were over $4.00 per gallon have now fallen to less that $1.50 which is great since I may very will have 5 cars soon. Got 4 now.
Okay there they are.

MEMOIR 44

The day after Christmas was a day to go visit Tom and Patti for some war. Tom has a back pack full of WWII game. Its called Memoir 44 and is much like my Battle Cry which is a Civil War game. They have pieces like infantry, armour, and artillery. I am but a novice geek but tonight it was a fight to the finish. Everytime you wipe out an opponets unit you get points and 7 wins the game. This particular battle took place at Kursk. We battled tooth and nail until I lucked out and won 7-5 Russians over Nazis. Meanwhile the ladies played Christmas music on their piano. We topped that off with a special about LSTs. Then watched "A Bridge To Far".
I finished the night off with 4 cheesburgers and onion chips from White Castle. A superior night. Pat is at Disney World unitl next Friday. All is well now. Rumor has it the van is being auctioned next week. Shawn and I are playing for the fantasy championship this Sunday. Its my second trip to the game. I am happy just to be there. I finally got all my Christmas haul put away. Found a shot glass from ST Louis Budweiser Brewery. Don't know where it came from.

Christmas 2008 all done

Well, it took weeks to set up, days to wrap, hours to cook and in minutes it was done. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Jonathan seemed to most happy with his gifts. He got an mp3 player that he couldn't stop grinning about. Austin got a swing, teddy bear, and baby monitor. He was cute in his Santa outfit. Taylor looked grownup. Patti seemed to enjoy seeing everyone. Lynn autographed multiple copies of her first and second books. I got 1. baseball clock 2.To the Last Man by Jeff Shaara3.Pencils with my name of them4.Civil War armchair reader5.Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull6.1001 things everyone should know about the Civil War.7Play Station game CivilWar secret mission 8. extra large laptop desk 9 Reel Baseball by Les Krantz 10 Dr.Schols full massage cushion. 10 Som 11. Colts direct TV clicker 12. So you don't want to go to church anymore 13 microwave pasta cooker 14 Mikes old ipod and a gift card for itunes. I think thats it but Aunt Maryland and Patrick are yet to come. Wow did I mention I like to get stuff. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Central Park 150yrs old

This coming Monday marks the 150th anniversary of the Greensward plan’s adoption. It actually wasn't finished until 1873. It is one of the places I wouldn;t mind visiting. Another one Yankee Stadium is being torn down. Oh well I don't travel well anyway. Christmas is getting dangerously close. Must be time to strike up the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I thought we were going to have a quiet Christmas but we counted yesterday and about 16 alleged humans in attendance. And that doesn't include all the ghosts of Christmas past like Lucky who will be hanging around. I like Christmas, I like getting stuff, and giving stuff, but all those people at once is difficult because its so hard to give each one the proper attention they deserve. Oh you know what I mean, Maybe I've got a little Scrooge in me. Anywho there is lots to like, did I mention getting stuff, food, candy, loudness, babies, humor, and getting stuff. Pat called yesterday and they are at Disney World. He was wowed by a personal Lightsabre machine that allows you to design your own Sword. He also ate dinner at "The Hoopty Do Review" which sounds like a dinner theatre that is about Americana. They sat front center and I guess Vanessa was in awe of the dancers. She loved it, and Daddy taught her to clapp. Now shes in for a lifetime of putting her hands together for lots of lame shit. Oops I started to sound like Tom then, sorry. Speaking of my sister Jennifer she is in Md visiting Quinn and his daughter Jenna. Her other son Cory is a home and helping out the Hamilton Southeastern Wrestling team. If you remember he was a state finalist in wrestling, and he is working with a new heavyweight in their stable. By the way I like getting stuff. Susan let me out Saturday night and I got my big three. When I go shopping I get to buy 3 things usually ballcards, a hat, and a book or magazine. I just heard Mike say Ginger is like a no fun dog. Maybe I'll try out my singing fish.

I LIKE POCKET WATCHES

My Granpa "Ernest Sr." liked pocket watches, and I have developed a fondness for the Watch with a fob. I bought one years ago with an eagle on it, then a baseball scene, later Mike got me a silver one, I am not sure if I have one with a train on it. Of course my favorite one is the one at right. I don't carry it but I think its cool. Way cool. I also don't particularly like stuff on my wrist. Since I was a kid I always had what my dad called thick wrists. He thought they were good for hitting a baseball ( which was true), but I thought they were good for something else, eh like um holding onto a cane. Won't I look stylish with my cane, my pocketwatch, and one of my 200 hats. Kinda puttin on the ritz, cracker maybe. By the bye you never have enough watches or underwear. I just finished a book by Clive Cussler named The Chase, which is a murder mystery set in 1906. Can't help loving historical fiction. Now back to Herman Goering. I don't know I just like reacing in my pocket and grabbing my watch!

ONE LOST CHILD

You have heard the maxim that it takes a village to raise on child. Well we failed on this one. I have seen a few lost children. I call them children because at their young age they know nothing of the world, life, or how to get along. Sadly this one chose to leave school before his education was complete. To borrow from my favorite movie he was not yet a jedi and was seduced by the dark side of the force. By that I mean those pleasurable activities that take our young people away from us. They then follow a path of destruction rather than construction(of their lives). What fate awaits this lost child I do not know. but most likely it wont be pretty. I know of one case that took a lost one to jail, youth home, lockup, and a poor future. He would be the first to tell you that he pulled himself out by his boot straps and it was damn hard. This new lost child may not be so lucky. I truly hope he is, and I know that his Grandpa hopes he will. It makes me very sad to see a child wasted more so than almost any other thing because its so tragic and unchangable. I hope this child can fix it.

BASEBALL DIGEST ONLINE

Google Books now has issues of Baseball Digest available for reading online, all free of charge. It appears a few issues from the 1940's are available, and practically all issues from 1950 through 2007 are there. Great quality for scanned images!

This is the message I got from one of my draft league buds and frankly it made my day. I have a small collection of BBD and I read it everywhere I am on the go, on the John, and in the car. I immediately selected an October 1952 issue (see pic) found an article reprinted from the Cleveland Plain Dealer by Gordon Cobbledick "Satch is a Natch for the Hall of Fame."So now I am going to be reading on line a lot as I love BBD. Further Saturday @9pm on ESPNHD is a program about the greatest football game ever played. It contains some colorized shots of the game never before seen. The game of course is 1958 Championship game Colts vs Giants. Players will also be giving their comments, like Pat Sumerall and Ray Berry. Well as John Bench says "Catch you later".

WISH LIST

Well its that time of year again. Usually I've made out a list that contains books, cds, dvds,cards and clothes. But not this year. Those things are on the shelf. First off let me remind me that I am sitting in one expensive Christmas chair. Second It will be an SOM xmas as Football, hockey and especially all-time franchise sets are already in Santas Sleigh. Just imagine Sid Luckman or George Blanda at QB. Gale Sayers and Walter Payton at RBs, with Harlon Hill, Johnny Morris and Mike Ditka at TE. Wow! Plus Bronko Nagurski, and Rick Caseras backing up at RB. Wow,Wow, Wzuby. Anyway thats not all. I still pine for a Play Station 2 game Civil War Secret Mission, and maybe a phone although Mrs Klaus has frowned at that idea. Well as if that wern't enough there is an outside chance that a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country might be coming our way. First know it originally was the property of Suzane Tidrows grandpa and was in She and Pats driveway until a drunk neighbor plowed into it.Her Papaw had willed it to her but the Insurance company insists on taking it. They then give it to an auction house who sells it for what ever it can get. The catch is that only dealers can bid on this nice car. We test drove it 2 days before they took posession of it. Well leave it to Shawn to find a remedy. He called Stanfield Auto in Greenfield. We have bought a couple of cars from them. They agreed to bid on it for us when it comes up for auction adding only a little for costs. The only strings are when it comes up for auction we don't know and what it goes for. Stanfield knows our top dollar and doesn't think it will get that high. I do not want to jinx it but lets keep our fingers crossed. Tim is back in Indy and starts to work at Blockbuster tomorrow. He has already talked to Ivy Tech ( where Mike and Devin go) about going back to school. He is currently staying with Pat, where he recently cooked Turkey meatloaf for dinner Monday night, yech. Austin was at Riley Hospital yesterday and they said he does not have a hole in his heart like previously thought but the tissue there is very thin and must be watched. Well if your still breathin se ya for Christmas.

THANKSGIVING DAY...DEC 8TH

Well this is called theme day. I decided that today 8 dec 08 is going to be Thanksgiving Day. To replicate that day Mike paraded around in his shorts. Then I had my Thanksgiving Day meal Turkey,Dressing, mixed vegies, and Cherry desert compliments of Healthy Choice. Next I love what used to be called bluebird pies which are a single pie about 3" diameter in a tin pan. I found a Pumpkin pie version and added ice cream. My bevridge of choice was non caffene diet coke. It was truly thanksgiving feast and only 280 calories for the dinner and 280 for the pie. So what happens after the meal, well football. Madden 09 sponsors this portion of out day. Mike now finished with his parade joins to play Detroit at Chicago. Soldier Field is the home for this years Turkey day game. Detroit jumps out to a 21-10 lead in the first quarter. By halftime Chicago comes back to lead 38-21. In the 3rd Mike leaves to check something out on his computer and I get the defense. Now I am below a novice kinda like a dork but I am smart enough to let well enough alone. I call my defence and put the controller on my stomach. Brian Urlacher intercepts a John Kitna pass and returns it for a TD. Mike returns laughing out loud take over da Bears win 58-40. The highlight is a glitch. For a long spell in the 4th quarter a second football lays idle on the field and Mike and laugh out loud for a long time as it appears the refree has squatted there and hatched this prize. Finally to simulate the big shopping day after Thanksgiving I order SOM football (particularly the oldtimers set) and hockey (with a sale purchase of 05-6 cards). Looks like a Strato Xmas.

INDIANA WANTS ME

Well somewhere near Billings Mt. one cold, tired, lonely man drives the main roads. He is trying to outrun a snowstorm. He is trying to outrun his life. For the last 6 years he has been trying to hold things together but no more. She turned on him, like a panther in the night hissing her warning "go away, far away." He tried to reason with her, but reason wasn't what she wanted. Her family simply stopped talking to her and turned their heads in shame. She didn't care. He wanted to rescue her but she was too far across the point of no return. She banished him away, so now he comes back toward the state where he has friends and family. He faced down his demon and stood his ground, nobly and valiantly. Now he has no home, and no desire for more. There are more questions than answers more grief than hope. The one thread of goodnes lies in the family and extended family he has in Indiana. They want him, they like him, they do not judge him. They offer him a place in the dark night of his life, hoping to give him the chance to get stronger, and better.