Doing E-Business Makes One Realize Who You Can Count On In a Short Time!

Recently I sold one of the last of my Harmony guitars through eBay to a great buyer from the Chicago area, Michael O'Gorman. Here is a copy of our correspondence:

From: Lawrence Heagle
Subject: Silvertone Has Shipped
To: michaelo1010@yahoo.com
Date: Thursday, June 26, 2008, 2:41 PM
Michael:

Just returned from Fed Ex. Your tracking number is as
follows:
045752710054684.

Larry Heagle

Larry,

Thanks so very much.

I just reread the auction--I saw the guitar and pulled the trigger very quickly and then paid for it pronto--that I failed to see the text that says the shipping calculator would not be adequate for coming up with the true cost of shipping the guitar to me.

My point is that if you took a significant hit on shipping, say seven or more dollars to ship it than the $17 something that calculator came up with, please let me know. Within reason, of course, I'd be happy to mail you a check for a few bucks to help make up for that.

I'll let you know when the guitar arrives,

Michael

Michael:

You are very considerate! But don't worry about it -- I will take the extra bit it cost -- it wasn't all that much -- not even a large pizza - besides with a name like Michael O'Gorman you've got to be a good Irish lad like me and we Irish stick together as brothers! Please do let me know when the guitar arrives!

And when you get a chance, check out my web site at www.larryheagle.com and click on "The Wood Tick" video -- Benny Hill lives on in Wisconsin!

Larry


Now, ladies and germs, contrast that with the correspondence I had today with OnField, who sell football helmet accessories online. Over a month ago I ordered two face masks to finish making up two Green Bay Packer helmets and made the mistake of contacting OnField for them instead of Frank Levenick, whom I have bought through many times before.

Check the contrast in correspondence:

-----Original Message-----
From: feedback-form@mail.zoovy.com [mailto:feedback-form@mail.zoovy.com]
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2008 1:01 PM
To: Scott Gladen
Subject: FEEDBACK: Order 2008-05-7184 : Questions on order


Sender Email: lheagle@larryheagle.com
I have had two facemasks on order since May 28 (SchuttEGOP-II) and (Schutt
ROPO-UB-DW)

I wish to cancel this order effective immediately.

Lawrence Heagle 4888 Hobbs Road
Fall Creek, WI 54742

I then went to Frank Levenick's website at "Real Stuff" and ordered the two face masks that I had waited for since May 28th with no response whatever from OnField.

I no sooner had sent out my order for the two face masks when I get the following from OnFieldl"

I am sorry, Lawrence... but the shipping terms clearly state to allow 4+
weeks for shipment. Your facemasks have been ordered and will be arriving
shortly. We do not cancel orders once the item has been ordered from the
manufacturer.


OnField Productions, Inc. (visit us at realhelmets.com)
Scott Gladen
PMB #336
501-8 Old Greenville Hwy
Clemson, SC 29631

(865) 850-2890
(201) 526-4192


Now I am between a rock and a hard place! All I really can do is write to Frank at Real Stuff and ask that he be kind enough to cancel my order. I write to him:

Frank:
I just received this message from OnField!

OnField is playing hard ball with me on this order even though it has been four weeks. I have been a good customer of yours in the past. Will you allow me to cancel the orders I just made?

Larry Heagle

Within minutes I receive this from Real Stuff:

No problem Larry. I have no idea why you would ever order anything from them in the first place, - but that's just my opinion...

After apologizing to Frank at Real Stuff I decide that this needs to be put forth in today's blog. Now, I ask you -- which of these e-businesses would you want to do business with?

You can rest assure that OnField will never hear from me again as a customer and that Real Stuff has gained a loyal customer.

I give you the example of Michael O'Gorman and Frank Levenick to let you know that there are really good people out there who are willing to go half way with you -- to give you the benefit of the doubt.

Whatever happened to "the customer is always right?"

Thank you Frank Levenick of Real Stuff! If anybody out there who reads this has the hobby of collecting and re-doing football helmets, Frank is the man you want to go to to buy the extras that you need! He is reasonably priced, delivers the goods, and is willing to cut you some slack if need be.

Steer clear of OnField. They are incredibly slow in filling orders and as I have illustrated, do not really give a shit as long as they have your money!

_______________________________________________________________

Cell Phone Popping Corn A Hoax

I received the following e mail from my friend Suzi Kittson of Wausau, Wisconsin, concerning the URL I put up recently about cell phones being ab le to pop corn:

I checked it out on Snopes, it led to a company that made Bluetooth headsets and used these catchy commercial videos. Kinda scary until you know it is fake!

http://www.cardosystems.com/pop/

Suzi


More and more the adage "Don't believe anything you hear and half of what you see" is true.

____________________________________________________________

We got together yesterday in Fall Creek at Tiit and Ann Raid's house with friends Steve Rogers and Mary Hatleberg, and Robert "One Man" Johnson and his wife Marge for roast leg of goat.

It was our first experience with goat and it was entirely delicious. Not only was the meat succulent and flavorful, but the juices were golden-hued and heavenly.

The leg of goat came from an extremely young animal and was very tender.

Ann Raid told me that the Mexican restaurant Tacos Juanita on Eau Claire's south side carries goat tacos and only on certain days a goat soup that is very addictive. From what we tasted yesterday, I can see why. We'll have to check that out.

__________________________________________________________

With all the rain we keep getting, it looks like today is another lawn mowing day, so I had best get cleaned up and get at it!

Do You Have a Cell Phone? Must See Video

http://www.koreus.com/video/telephone-portable-mais-popcorn.html


Check this out if your head has not as yet exploded.

My Letter To The School Board: Fire Klaus!

The Bill Klaus fiasco is reminiscent of our present federal administration who seem to think that they can damn well do anything they please (as long s they just claim that they "cannot recall") which makes them somehow above the law.

Now the school board membership of seven are split 3-3-1 regarding Klaus' firing. -- Mary Kneer being the one who has no opinion because, well, "she cannot recall" what went down in the board meetings.

How very embarrassing to give a quote like that to the newspaper! And she's blonde. She might have used that for an excuse as well.

Bill Klaus must be dealt with severely and fired immediately! He has damaged the reputation of Eau Claire's school system. Who knows how long it will take to recover?

I have not spoken with anyone who is not outraged with this situation. it is time for the board members to do what is morally right so that the healing may begin.

If not, the next step is a complete recall of our board of education membership.

___________________________________________________________

Harmony Guitar Collection Now Officially Gone

Today I bade farewell to the last of my Harmony guitar collection that I had hoped to keep and pass on. I really didn't want to let this one go as it is a Harmony Sovereign that was made for the Sears-Roebuck Company catalog and so the headstock carries the Sears "Silvertone" logo. That coupled with the "tobacco" sunburst makes the guitar really a bit more special as they are more difficult to locate.

I put it on eBay in the "Buy It Now" category only, and after about four days, I packed it for shipping because I knew from the response I was getting (172 hits! and 6 questions) that it was just a matter of time before it sold.

Hopefully it is going to a good home down near Chicago.

Tomorrow morning I go down to LaCrosse to the Mecca of Guitars -- Dave's Guitar -- I am picking up a Seagull 12 string guitar to keep my big old Harmony 12 (oops -- forgot! I still have that one and I am NOT selling it!!! -- I had store credit of $121 and for $84 more I am adding the Seagull to my diminishing collection.

What I am really hoping is that it will give me a creative kick in the ass to have a new instrument around.

See the guitar strap in the photo? One of the ebay questions was do they get the strap? Now I am glad I said no. I will need it for the Seagull.

Can you believe that June is nearly gone!!?

And I still don't have a fishing license. Just found oout that senior citizens license is only $7.00. I promise you I am going fishing/camping on the Jump early in July. There will be photos to prove it!

________________________________________________________________

Hey! Friends of the Forest Floor: BITE ME!

7:23 A.M. -- I'm over here early to do a call in with Jay Moore on Moose Country (106.7FM) to discuss this summer's campaign against the nefarious wood tick infestation of the month of June.

Not only will I be talking abut recent tick attacks, but I will be introducing the Larry Heagle Wood Tick Rescue Tick -- a clear plastic tube containing the following:

1 tweezers
2 band aids
2 alcohol swabs
2 matches
2 mints
Complete directions for use

Recently, I received "hate mail" from some fringe group called "Friends of the Forest Floor":

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Environmental Group Protests Treatment of Wood Ticks

The environmental group Friends of the Forest Floor is targeting Larry Heagle for promoting inhumane treatment of wood ticks. Since Heagle declared June National Wood Tick Month, the group has become concerned that he is encouraging people to bag their limit in ticks, offering them a Wood Tick Rescue Kit, and telling them how to do away with the critters. The group cites Heagle's suggestion of whacking ticks with a meat cleaver as heavy-handed and cruel.

"Wood ticks are important to the environment as a parasite link between bacteria, animals, and humans," comments the group's spokesperson. "We are already concerned about the tick's welfare. We don't need Larry Heagle inciting the public to find and destroy more ticks."

The group finds Heagle's new video on YouTube tasteless. "That video goes way too far," notes the spokesperson. "Getting naked in the woods is not a safe practice. If Larry Heagle doesn't cease his attack on wood ticks, we will boycott him and his song."

Heagle dismisses the group's concerns. "I've already picked seventy-five wood ticks off me this year, and it's only midway through wood tick month. This group needs to worry about some other friend of the forest floor, not wood ticks. My video and song give people ideas of how to check for ticks and how to get rid of them. I'm speaking from experience. After all, I am a super-charged tick magnet. Last week a tick attached itself to my t’aint region."

BUSY BODIES!

__________________________________________________

The George W Bush Presidential Library is now in the planning
stages. You'll want to be one of the first to make a contribution to
this man's unforgettable legacy.

The Library will include:


The Hurricane Katrina Room, which is still under construction.


The Alberto Gonzales Room, where nothing is remembered.


The Texas Air National Guard Room, where you'll get credit for attending
even if you don't show up.


The Walter Reed Hospital Room--admission is usually denied.


The Guantanamo Bay Room--civil rights are not in effect here.


The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room, which no one has been able to
find.


The Iraq War Room. After completing your first tour,
you will be forced to go back for a second, third, fourth, and
sometimes
fifth tours.


The Dick Cheney Room, in the famous undisclosed location, complete
with shooting gallery.


Plans also include:The K-Street Project Gift Shop- Where you can
buy (or just steal) an election.


The Airport Men's Room, where you can meet some of your favorite
Republican Senators.


Last, but not least, there will be an entire floor devoted to a 7/8
scale model of the President's ego.

To highlight the President's accomplishments, the museum will have
an electron microscope to help you locate them.

When asked, President Bush said that he didn't care so much about
the individual exhibits as long as his museum was better than his
father's.

_________________________________________________________________

Although a definite date has not yet been set, I will be releasing a comedy CD sometime in the month of July entitled: "Living On the Edge". We have been in negotiation with Bill Mitchell (Rhinelander radio station) as the location for the CD release.

Look for more detail on my site later on!

Also, work is in progress to add the Wood tick video to YouTube -- as of now it is only available on my site.

I got an interesting telephone call from a gentleman in California earlier in the week. Turns out he is a member of the lighting crew for "The Brothers Four" and really dug "The Wood Tick Song" (as well as "The Vasectomy").

The question is -- does anyone remember The Brothers Four?

Once there were green fields
kissed by the sun
Once there were valleys where rivers used to run

etc.

_____________________________________________________

Talking about temps near 90 degrees today. Sounds like a good day to hide out in the house.

June Declared Wood Tick Month -- Rightfully So!

I suppose it's al the rain and damp weather we have been having but Holy Sheissmeister are the wood ticks running rampant at your place, too? Or is it just me? Sometimes I get a little paranoid because of the Wood Tick Song that they are out to get me.

And once I find one, I spend the rest of the day with the creepie crawlies -- thinking that I can feel one moving up my neck or down my leg or God knows where! A couple of days ago, out of my frustration, I made up the following list:

Twenty Five Ways To Destroy Wood Ticks

1. Hack the little buggers with a heavy meat cleaver
2. Seal the entire tick in heavy axle grease
3. Flush the tick down the toilet screaming: “Swim, vermin, swim.”
4. Follow instructions for #3 but do #2 into bowl first!
5. Light a candle, allow wax to accumulate, drop tick in to melted wax, screaming: “Wax, vermin, wax!"
6. Multiple freezer method: using scotch tape, collect up to a dozen ticks, adhering them to the sticky side, Put in baggie. freeze!
7. Pick tick up with tweezers, light cigarette lighter and listen for distinctive “POP”!
8. Pour a shot of tequila, drop tick into liquor while doing Pee Wee Herman’s “Tequila” dance moves - light tequila afire
9. Capture and save any wood ticks that my attack you, release in appropriate locations-- i.e. neighborhood busy body’s couch, squad car of ticketing officer, etc.
10. Dip in Dippety-Doo while singing “Zippitey doo dah”
11. Independence Day Ticks: scotch tape to bottle rocket
12. Glue to fire cracker
13.Take a tick fishing: string about a dozen on a small blugill hook
14. Feed a tick to a pet gold fish or any bug eating fowl
15. Hammer and anvil method -- see how flat you really can make a tick using a heavy hammer
16. The too easy method: spray thoroughly with bug spray
17. Place tick between two magnets -- leave them for the summer
18. Tape several ticks to a red circle target, practice with shot gun (Do NOT invite Dick Cheney!)
19. Using a tweezers, remove all but one leg. release
20. Gather ticks live in a big jar all summer -- come September have a “Tick Stir Fry!
21. Roll a tick in a "funny cigarette" and share him with friends
22. After three sticks of bubble gum, add a tick, continue to chew, blow him into a bubble!
24. Tape tick to tire and "peel out"
25. Insert hypodermic needle into tick thorax and suck on wood tick until HE collapses!

I felt better for about 15 minutes before the creepie crawlies once again set in.

So I have taken it upon myself to declare the month of June as "Wood Tick Month" to raise everyone's awareness to the ever growing dangerous presence of disease carrying, blood sucking parasites.

Disease carrying, blood sucking parasites: sounds like our government, doesn't it?

_____________________________________________________________

THE HITACHI HARANGUE CONTINUES

Please, please, please DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM HITACHI ELECTRONICS! I say this for your own peace of mind and welfare.

If you have been following our long day's journey into night with these incompetents, you will know that we have been trying to get a new HD TV set from them since last March!

Here's an update: They finally had a freight service pick up the piece of junk on May 29, 2008. The final step? we are supposed to be getting a refund check from Hitachi Electronics. Here it is, nearly a month later, and they still haven't settled it with us!!!

I finally went to Sam's Club and purchased a new set with my credit card and thanks to Hitachi, I am still carrying a high balance because they haven't sent us the check.

So please remember -- if you are buying a new set to beat the digital invasion of next February, DO NOT BUY A HITACHI.
You better believe we didn't.

_______________________________________________________

George Carlin - Always One of My Personal Heroes

I woke up this morning to the sad news that one of my personal favorite comedians and a brilliant mind that spoke the truth about us all is gone as George Carlin died of a heart attack yesterday at age 71.

Carlin's material "darkened" after his wife Brenda died, but nonetheless, he always spoke the truth. I quoted him heavily in yesterday's blog. And if you go back and read it, you will find he is much more than a "dirty" comic.

I had the privelege of watching him work live at the State theatre in Eau Claire a number of years ago and I remember the reviewer being shocked by his show. But that's Eau Claire.

He will be deeply missed in these times when we need a voice of comic reason to be crying out in the wilderness. God speed, George!

Here is the MSNBC article:





SANTA MONICA, Calif. - George Carlin, the dean of counterculture comedians whose biting insights on life and language were immortalized in his “Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV” routine, died of heart failure Sunday. He was 71.

Carlin went into a Santa Monica hospital Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham.

Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. It was announced Tuesday that Carlin was being awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement

Carlin constantly pushed the envelop with his jokes, particularly with the “Seven Words” a routine called “The Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV.”

When Carlin uttered all seven at a show in Milwaukee in 1972, he was arrested for disturbing the peace. And when they were played on a New York radio station, they resulted in a Supreme Court ruling in 1978 upholding the government’s authority to sanction stations for broadcasting offensive language.

“So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I’m perversely kind of proud of,” he told The Associated Press earlier this year.

He produced 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials, three books, a couple of TV shows and appeared in several movies. Carlin hosted the first broadcast of “Saturday Night Live” and noted on his Web site that he was “loaded on cocaine all week long.”

When asked about the fallout from the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Janet Jackson’s breast-baring “wardrobe malfunction,” Carlin told the AP, “What are we, surprised?”

“There’s an idea that the human body is somehow evil and bad and there are parts of it that are especially evil and bad, and we should be ashamed. Fear, guilt and shame are built into the attitude toward sex and the body,” he said. “It’s reflected in these prohibitions and these taboos that we have.”
.
Carlin was born May 12, 1937 and grew up in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan, raised by a single mother. After dropping out of high school in the ninth grade, he joined the Air Force in 1954. He received three court-martials and numerous disciplinary punishments, according to his official Web site.

While in the Air Force he started working as an off-base disc jockey at a radio station in Shreveport, La., and after receiving a general discharge in 1957, took an announcing job at WEZE in Boston.

“Fired after three months for driving mobile news van to New York to buy pot,” his Web site says.

From there he went on to a job on the night shift as a deejay at a radio station in Forth Worth, Texas. Carlin also worked variety of temporary jobs including a carnival organist and a marketing director for a peanut brittle.

In 1960, he left with a Texas radio buddy, Jack Burns, for Hollywood to pursue a nightclub career as comedy team Burns & Carlin. He left with $300, but his first break came just months later when the duo appeared on the Tonight Show with Jack Paar. Carlin said he hoped to emulate his childhood hero, Danny Kaye, the kindly, rubber-faced comedian who ruled over the decade that Carlin grew up in — the 1950s — with a clever but gentle humor reflective of its times.

Only problem was, it didn’t work for him.

“I was doing superficial comedy entertaining people who didn’t really care: Businessmen, people in nightclubs, conservative people. And I had been doing that for the better part of 10 years when it finally dawned on me that I was in the wrong place doing the wrong things for the wrong people,” Carlin reflected recently as he prepared for his 14th HBO special, “It’s Bad For Ya.”

________________________________________________________________

Aging With George Carlin

George Carlin (Absolutely Brilliant)


George Carlin's Views on Aging:

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never
thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age,
weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them.
That is why you pay "them "

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts,
gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle
mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is
Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for
breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The
only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be
ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family,
pets,keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your
home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is
unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can
improve, get help.

9 Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the
next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the
guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every
opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Redneck Flood Survival Kit

Toilet paper - check
Bud Lite - check
Keystone ice - check
Budweiser- check
Red Dog - check
Assorted hard liquor - check
Mountain Dew for the old lady - check
Door to float the old lady and all the goodies on - check

Life for an Iowa redneck jest don' git no better'n nis. Do it?

______________________________________________________________

Never Too Old to Rock And Roll? Debatable -- Can you say "Lookin' Foolish?"

My guitar playing son Jonathan's band, Les Sans Culottes, recently featured on CNN for bringing an international flavor to Rock in America, has been touring the last two weeks.

They were in L.A., San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland, then rented a van and made the long cross country swing to play this past friday night at The Triple Rock Social Club on Cedar Avenue. Minneapolis -- thankfully within shouting distance of the freeway so that we didn't spend the night trying to find the club.

Being old and square, and believing what we are told, we arrived at 9 PM when the first band was scheduled to start. No one was in sight.

I can tell I have been away from the "scene" for some time. the youth that weRe hanging around outside the door (no smoking in a rock club -- CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?? ) -- were tatooed, grungy and did not smell of Old Spice.

I found it a bit alarming to see the sign on the door that said "No firearms allowed on the premises" but as the evening wore on, I wished I had brought mine with me -- How does that old saying go? "Isn't it amazing what you see when you don't have a gun?"

The first band -- their name has escaped me already (thankfully) was a "power trio" and having arrived early we were blessed to be able to go through their sound check which even then required heavy concentrations of cotton balls in the ear canals.

At one point, a member of the "roadie" staff had to replace a blown horn on the monitor!

Jonathan arrive early enough that we were able to able to have a lenghty visit with him between the time the sound check was over and when Jon had to head next door to cash in his meal ticket. He was in great spirits, enjoying the tour immensely, and played well that night.

I talked with him on the cell on saturday afternoon as they we wending their way to Chicago and he was still flying high with the fun of touring with his mates.

So it was Chicago last night, then on to Detroit and finally back to NYC. good to see him having so much fun doing what he loves!

My ears are starting to unplug toay.

__________________________________________________________________

Father's Day Been Beddy Beddy Good To Me!

On Father's Day, with Kim gone to Minneapolis, and one son in Brooklyn, NY, and the other in L.A., I guess you might say I pretty much had the day to myself. So I spent a lot of time browsing on the internet and made a mental note that Father's Day is, indeed, a great day to do some cyber-shopping for "old dad".

I have long been a collector of World War Two diecast aircraft, mostly from The Franklin Mint/Armour Collection in 1/48 scale; really beautifully made precise pieces, manufactured in China (where else?) but very pricey.

Some years back Aiken's Airplanes (one of my main sources) had a 50 % off sale and that was tempting enough for me to make a major purchase of a Flying Fortress B 17G . I gaze at it here every day! It is of an actual bomber "A Bit O' Lace" with precise nose art and a yellow tail. The plane weighs an incredible nine pounds and has a 28 inch wing span!

I also attempted to purchase the other major American bomber, a B-24 Liberator which was stationed out of North Africa and bombed the Ploesti oil fields of Rumania, but there was a "run" on both bombers and I didn't get my order in on time and missed getting the Liberator.

Shortly after that, I read "The Wild Blue" -- the written encounters of Senator George McGovern of South Dakota -- who piloted a Liberator in Italy, which made me want that plane even more.

Well, Sunday, I stumbled on a 50% off Father's Day special on "Flying Mule" (another one of my sites) and there she was! The Liberator I had missed out on -- along with a German Stuka bomber ("Wasser") that I had been looking for on sale for some tme -- it, too, was on half price!

The really cool part? By ordering them both, my total got me FREE shipping! And that saved a lot when one plane weighs nine pounds!!

I have a sheep skin B-3 jacket similar to the ones bomber crews wore and I remember attending a winter funeral wearing it and I was approached by an elderly gentleman who recognized the patches I had sewn on the jacket as those of a B-17 Flying Fortress Unit and he was quite vitriolic in his attack on the flying Fortress as he had been on a Liberator crew.

"Yeh", I remember him saying, " the Liberators did all the fighting and the Fortresses got all the glory!"

Later in my reading I found facts to back that opinion as there were a lot more Liberators manufactured than Forts, and they did take the brunt of combat, but because the B-17 had a reputation of taking multiple flak hits and continuing to fly, it pretty much kept the Consolidated Libs in the shadows.

Petition To Impeach Is Way Overdue! Sign It Today!

This morning, by e mail, i got the following petition:

To: Members of U.S. Congress
SUPPORT HOUSE RESOLUTION 1258, IMPEACHING GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, OF HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS

I support the passage of House Resolution 1258, introduced by Rep. Dennis Kucinich [OH], co-sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee [CA-9], Rep. Robert Wexler [FL], and Rep. Lynn Woolsey [CA], and demand hearings by the House Committee on the Judiciary regarding:

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT FOR PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

Resolved, that President George W. Bush be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate: Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against President George W. Bush for high crimes and misdemeanors.

In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has committed the following abuses of power:

In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed", has both personally and acting through his agents and subordinates, together with the Vice President, committed the following high crimes and misdemeanors.

Article I
Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq.
Article II
Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression.
Article III
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War.
Article IV
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States.
Article V
Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression.
Article VI
Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of HJRes114.
Article VII
Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.
Article VIII
Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter.
Article IX
Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor
Article X
Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes
Article XI
Establishment of Permanent U.S. Military Bases in Iraq
Article XII
Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation's Natural Resources
Article XIIII
Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other Countries
Article XIV
Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency
Article XV
Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq
Article XVI
Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors
Article XVII
Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives
Article XVIII
Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy
Article XIX
Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to "Black Sites" Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture
Article XX
Imprisoning Children
Article XXI
Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government
Article XXII
Creating Secret Laws
Article XXIII
Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act
Article XXIV
Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment
Article XXV
Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens
Article XXVI
Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements
Article XXVII
Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply
Article XXVIII
Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice
Article XXIX
Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Article XXX
Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare
Article XXXI
Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil Emergency
Article XXXII
Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change
Article XXXIII
Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.
Article XXXIV
Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001
Article XXXV
Endangering the Health of 911 First Responders

(Full text appears at: http://chun.afterdowningstreet.org/amomentoftruth.pdf)

In all of these actions and decisions, President George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and Commander in Chief, and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, President George W. Bush, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.

I therefore call on my Congressional representatives in both House and Senate to address these high crimes and misdemeanors that constitute grounds for impeachment of both George W. Bush and Richard Cheney and their removal from office.
Sincerely,

The Undersigned


View Current Signatures


Just reading through the 35 articles makes my blood boil! Please sign the petition! Just go to:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/HR1258/petition.html -- AND JUST DO IT!

HERE'S ANOTHER LATE BREAKING STORY:

WEDNESDAY 18 JUNE 2008



NEWS

Bush, Musharraf, Ahmadinejad Least Trusted Leaders
Monday 16 June 2008
»
by: Reuters


Bush, Musharraf, and Ahmadinejad are the worlds least trusted leaders according to a new poll.
(Photos: Wire Services)
Washington - US President George W. Bush is ranked only slightly above the rulers of Pakistan and Iran as one of the least-trusted leaders in the world, a survey released on Monday showed.

The survey, carried out by WorldPublicOpinion.org in 20 countries around the world, found that no national leaders inspired wide confidence outside their own countries. But Bush, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ranked at the bottom, the polling showed.

Only 23 percent of people outside the United States had "a lot or some" confidence in Bush, compared to 22 percent for Ahmadinejad and 18 percent for Musharraf.

The leaders of other countries fared little better. Only 26 percent had confidence in French President Nicolas Sarkozy, 28 percent in Chinese President Hu Jintao, 30 percent in British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and 32 percent in Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has since become prime minister.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had the highest confidence levels, at 35 percent.

"While the worldwide mistrust of George Bush has created a global leadership vacuum, no alternative leader has stepped into the breach," said Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org. "Hu Jintao and Vladimir Putin are popular among some nations, but more mistrust them than trust them."

WorldPublicOpinion.org is a project involving research centers around the world and is managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland.

The group polled 19,751 people in nations that represent 60 percent of the world's population. The survey was conducted between January 10 and May 6, with margins of error of plus or minus 2 to 4 percent.

--------

Writing by David Alexander, editing by David Storey and Philip Barbara.

_________________________________________________________

I CAN'T STAY WITH THAT KIND OF REALITY MORE THAN A HALF AN HOUR A DAY!

Recently my drummer friend, Dave Barneson, knowing of my inordinate interest in NFL football helmets, sent me this story:

Review: The 11 Coolest Helmets in Pro Football History
By MJD

Shutdown Corner is giddy to present it's list of the 11 Coolest Helmets in Professional Football History. There are no concrete qualifications for this list; it rewards the traditional and the iconic, as well as the goofy and the peculiar. Bravery in design is also rewarded. Essentially, the list was made at my own fanciful whim.
Because there's only room for so many, some great helmets were regrettably left off the list. I encourage you to list your own favorites in the comments, but if you're genuinely angry with the exclusion or placement of your favorite team's helmet, I'd rather you spent that time talking to a therapist.
After the jump, the complete list, plus honorable mentions.

The Shutdown Eleven: Coolest Helmets in Pro Football History

11. Buffalo Bills - In 1974, he was replaced with a cartoonish leaping buffalo, either because the Bills wanted something a little more lively on their helmet, or because O.J. killed him. I miss him very much. More ...
10. Edmonton Eskimos - It might be a Packers rip-off, but if you're going to rip someone off, the Packers are a pretty good target. I love the interlocking 'E's in the logo, neatly surrounded by the tight green oval. It's a clean, tidy look that has evolved very little through the years. More ...
9.San Diego - The Chargers are one of the few teams ever to incorporate a number as well as a logo. It's a bold move, and the masculinity required to pull it off was belied by the powder blue of the jerseys themselves. More ...
8.Iowa Barnstormers - The inclusion of the Iowa Barnstormers on this prestigious list can be justified with two words: Snoopy. Goggles. More ...
7.Cincinnati Bengals - The Tony the Tiger stripes are going to be a controversial selection here in the Shutdown Eleven, and I'm okay with that. Everyone I've unofficially polled has had a strong opinion on the Bengals lids; some hate them, some dig them. There's not a lot of gray area. More ...
6. The Philadelphia Stars - The logo itself looked like a graphic you might have seen during a roller derby broadcast on ESPN in 1983. More ...
5.The Dallas Cowboys - The rectangle is above being associated with any one sports team. The circle has too many universal applications to be claimed by any franchise. Nobody owns the square. But the Cowboys have taken the star, or at least the blue one, and they've made it their own. More ...
4.Houston Oilers - I think the Oilers' top-five ranking here is also helped by the fact that the helmet that replaced it is so effective at making you long for the old ones. More ...
3.Baltimore Colts, Green Bay Packers (tie) We celebrate you, Packers and Colts, for never giving into the temptation to change your helmets. I'm sure at some point in Colts history, some guy came into a board room and suggested putting a snarling cartoon horse on the Colts' helmets, and someone probably once tried to convince the Packers to put a football-toting meatpacker on the side of their helmets, but they've both resisted. And today, they're rewarded. More...
2.Tampa Bay - The Bucs discontinued this glorious creation in 1996, but it feels like it's been ten lifetimes since I've seen it. Not a day goes by that I don't wake up and miss that swashbuckling son of a gun winking at me like I just brought him breakfast in bed. More ...
1.The Pittsburgh Steelers - It's extremely unique, it's got an interesting backstory, and obviously, there's a lot of winning tradition behind it. It succeeds on every front, and is something that's kind of evolved organically out of the town itself to become a powerful and iconic sports logo. More ...


I, obviously, am not in agreement with these choices. As I look around my office at my collection, I find the three different versions of the Washington Redskins helmet. the KC Chiefs, The Oakland Raiders, The Arizona (once, long ago the Chicago) Cardinals, a Dan Marino Dolphins. I do find myself very much in agreement with the Baltimore Colts simplicity as well as the Green Bay Packers classic "G".

I am glad that the Packers , having once gone from blue and gold to what they now say is "green and gold", have stayed with what I describe our colors as - "the mustard and the spinach" -- I just think -- and of course I am prejudiced -- that the Green Bay packer uniforms are perfect!

Did you know that when The Grand Poobah (Holmgren) and Ron Wolf were in Green Bay, there was a movement afoot to change the yellow to a glitzy shiny gold? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

My number one choice is the Cleveland Browns - with absolutely no logo. I think it speaks total class and was worn by THE classiest and THE BEST running back the NFL has ever produced: Jim Brown!

______________________________________________________

A Friend's Actions Speak Louder Than Words -- Walk Quietly, Carry A Big Flash Light And a Small Tweezers

I just re-read last night's entry and realized that I must have been more tired than I realized. I left out part of my adventure with the deer crossing. so that's been corrected. I wish that all of life was like that, eh?

Today I spent a good share of it with both the riding mower and the push mower trying to re-gain actual yard from the Pampas that has taken over at 4896 Hobbs since the rains came.

Can anyone explain to me how a push mower won't start for an entire summer (after being taken in for a tune up) and then pops right off on the first pull of this summer. I don't get it!!!

Last summer I pulled that damn cord 'til I was blue in the face. I tried not choking it. I tried over choking it. I tried both within the span of eight hours. All I got for my effort was really pissed!

So I go out to the shed and there it is, laughing at me over in the dark corner where I left it in disgust last September. I think to myself: "What the hell -- I'll give it ONE chance." I pop the choke 4 times as directed and give the cord a mighty pull and booom! It springs to life like I have just used it yesterday. It's nuts!

___________________________________________

Oh! Before I forget! If you have HBO, don't miss Dana Carvey's latest HBO Special "Squatting Monkeys Never Lie". If you don't get HBO, call a friend who does and beg an opportunity. In the throes of my latest depression, he is like God's EMT's.

His take on our political scene is priceless, particularly his portrayal as the "Oracle Reagan" and his take off on Cheney's shooting the Texas lawyer in the face.

I honestly laughed until tears rolled down my face. Carvey is one of our great gifts and it has been way too long since we hve heard from him. Don't miss this one!

_________________________________________

So I am a little nervous sitting here typing away after having been wading in the tall grass all afternoon for fear of those creepy little parasites. Oh, you know the ones I'm talkin' 'bout! Let me tell you what happened to me last Friday night after my first campaign against the overgrowth.

About 10PM I am watching television up in the loft. Kim has taken off on thursday for a week with her mom and sister and I am batching it -- which means I am going to be up at odd hours -- most of the night -- soaking in the tub, reading, watching movies.

Anyway, I am watching the History channel in HD -- when suddenly I am aware of a pain emanating from a very hard to reach or see part of my ah - er -- nether regions. It is, I feel, a cross between the feeling you get from a nail scratch and some kind of bug bite and, as I say, it is located -- how can I best locate it for you -- just where the back of the inner thigh meets the turn to the groinola --or as it is sometimes referred coarsely to as the "t'aint" -- because "t'aint anus and t'aint ball sack. Is that too much information?

Well,I am all alone so my first instinct is to send out the scouting party, Mr. Hand, to check for lacerations or (God forbid)one of them damn little almost microscopic deer ticks that are running rampant with this rainy summer. Mr. Hand takes inventory (who asked?) and returns to report that there is indeed a tender area in the region heretofore described, but Mr Hand could not determine if said tenderness is being caused by a parasite as Mr. Hand could not come to grips with any such creature.

So now it's time to head down to the bath room, retrieve a mirror, and do further scouting. But that's right. Ms Wilson has taken the hand mirror (not to mention the tweezers) with her to Minneapolis.

So now, replaced right knee and all, I must become contortionist enough to get said area lit by the little bulbs around the bathroom make up mirror -- no small task for even Houdini when he was in his prime -- much less a 66 year old with a knee replacement.

After 15 minute of twisting, turning, and cursing, I manage to get the light on the nether region in question (still don't know how_) and my worst suspicions are then confirmed as I can see a very minute brown spot with a circle of redness emanating from it.

I have no tweezers so I begin, as best I can between leg spasms, to attempt to scrape at the microscopic brown "thingie" with my finger nail. This accomplishes little more than to make the rash extremely angry.

Now it's decision time. It's nearly 10:30PM on a Friday night. My choices: Go to the hospital to "emergency care", risking a big bill from our new insurance carrier, or give my good friend (god, he would HAVE to be!) Gordy Bischoff, who lives less than two miles away, a call and explain the situation and beg his mercy.

I opt for the Gordy decision and hope that he has not already gone to bed. Luckily he has company and is still up. I explain the situation.

He says not to worry. He will be over in five minutes with a flash light and a tweezers!

When Gordy first shines the light on it, he doesn't think it is a tick because it's too little -- but on further review he realizes that it is, in fact, one of the smallest he's ever seen.

Fortunately he is able to get hold of the little bugger with the tweezers and yanks him out with little trouble.

I share this with you only to give you an example of what a true friend is!

Now I GOT THE CREEPY-CRAWLIES!!!! BATH TUB TIME! DROWN THEM ALL!


____________________________________________________

Eventful Father's Day -- Not Everything Goes Well -- but Does It Ever?

It has been an event filled Father's Day. to my deep gratification, I received phone calls from both my sons -- David in Brooklyn, and Jonathan, who is currently on tour with Les Sans Culottes in Los Angeles. It was just heart warming to have them remember their old man.

I also received a wonderfully supportive e mail from Fr. John and later in the afternoon we had a good visit on the telephone, discussing many things, mainly the family reunion scheduled for the end of July, early August.

Early afternoon I organized a performance set as I worked a farm gathering of the Clark County Holstein Association near Abbotsford this evening.

Turns out I really needn't have worked that much on it as it was one of those "hell gigs" where the entire crowd talked through the entire performance. It's all right -- I got the check! Fortunately I spotted her early enough to slam on the brakes, sending all my sound equipment up against the back of my front seats. I think the fact that earlier today I had decided I was going to run at 55 mph for the entire trip to help save fuel might have saved my life or at least saved myself a lot of car damage.

Last Friday night I got in touch with my old teaching career (sort of) making 6 pizzas for 12 14 year olds at a birthday party for Adam Wendt.

Adam's dad, Ron, has done a lot of carpenter work for us over the years and through that I have gotten to know Adam quite well and he is a total joy to be around. His mom, Nancy, was a collegue of Kim's at Roosevelt School. I think Nancy told me that she has five years to go ti retirement.

I just checked the clock -- it's just past midnight -- and time for me to retire right now!

_____________________________________________________

Post Script:

Matthew Capell also called today -- from Texas. He and Dianne are back for the summer. Sure would be nice to see him!

No Country For Old Men -- Coen Brothers Do It Again

Is it mid-week already? That means summer's really here and Kim is really on vacation. We can stay up as late as we want because we can sleep as late as we want.

And with the weather the way it's been, it's rent some movies, make some popcorn, and listen to the rain and wind while we watch one or two.

Last night we watched "No Country For Old Men", directed by the Coen Brothers. The Coen Brothers have produced some of my favorite and strangest films. I can't get this one out of my mind.

One thing's certain. No way would I ever want to live in west Texas, even though I am a big Tommy Lee Jones fan (one of the movie's feature performers).

I have visited Texas twice. Once a long time ago, Kim and I went to the Padre Islands mid-winter. It was bright, sunny, and in the 70's and the ocean was beautiful.

It was the first time I got an earful of "Texas pride" from one of the locals. They are inordinately proud of their state. I'm not saying that's a sin of pride. Hell, I think most everybody thinks their home state is the best. I'm just not certain that we corner out of staters and brag on home ad nauseum.

My second trip was to spend time with Jon when he was living in Austin, having followed a woman down there so she could go to graduate school.

Again, I was struck mostly by Texas pride. The only state I know that flies a state flag larger than the national flag. I suppose my age has something to do with it as well. Rented a car at the Dallas airport and drove to Austin. Man, I hate driving in big cities. I don't even like Minneapolis/St Paul.

But I digress.

"No Country For Old Men" is not for the faint of heart. Tommy Lee Jones does his usual excellent job playing a local sheriff. In fact, all the actors are excellent.

However, the Coens outdid themselves in casting Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh, a cold blooded murderer, the Devil incarnate. His performance alone is worth the $3.50 rental.

I could go into a long discussion of murder weapons alone, but that would spoil your "fun". Rent it.

____________________________________________________

Conversation With Helmet Hut

To: Helmet Hut
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 5:10 PM
Subject: Re: Wilson Helmet

(Larry) When the Wilson helmet gets here, I will look it over and make a decision. I am leaning towards sending it out to you for the "Kilmer" treatment. I have a single bar face mask that I could send along -- retail is at $39.00 as I recall - if I send that along, would you be willing to put the number "17" in same color as stripe in the correct position on the back of the helmet for the $100?

Larry

On Jun 4, 2008, at 12:40 PM, Helmet Hut wrote: "Of course. Thanks."



(Larry) Looks to me like the helmet was originally a green color (?) Or
perhaps, as Riddell used gray, Wilson used green as the interior color?

(Helmet Hut):No this was just an impregnated plastic shell colored in green. I would assume it is not paint. This is a youth model helmet from the late 70s or very early 80s.

(Larry) The seller thinks that the helmet is of a 1960's - 70's vintage. Do
you think the face mask pictured is consistent with the period when
the Redskins wore the yellow helmet?

(Helmet Hut): No NFL player would have ever worn this mask, it is a youth mask. Now Dungard made a mask that looks like this but of course not the same.

(Larry): If not, what face mask would
you suggest? I am a big fan of Billy Kilmer - that would mean a
single bar.

(Helmet Hut): One bar would be the one for Billy but don't forget he had a wild cat sweatband that set up
where those two holes are. We have these that you can mount in. Picture enclosed

(Larry): If I remove the present mask, it would leave two holes up above --
would it be feasible to mount a "cow catcher"?

(Helmet Hut): Well cow catchers were made in the 50s and would have
never been worn by the redskins during this era.

(Larry): What would be the best way to repaint it yellow? Sand all the red
paint off?

(Helmet Hut): Never necessary to sand a complete color off, you use all the paints as a great block sanding filler.


(Larry): How much would it cost to have Helmet Hut paint it Redskin yellow --

(Helmet Hut): To do a quick paint job and a wildcat sweat band and using your decals, it would be $100.00 plus shipping. This one will be easy since no cracks, holes or work on the inside.

______________________________________________________________

See what I mean about the guys at Helmet Hut not only being very intelligent about their subject matter, but also taking the time to really take care of the customer.

So If you happen to be into the hobby of collecting and restoring football helmets, go to Helmet Hut on the web for help!

Beginning To Ponder Next (and hopefully last) Helmet Project

Once I get started with an interest, it overwhelms me, takes control of a lot of my day and time. Such is it with the collection and reconditioning of football helmets that has been driving me the past year.

Listen -- I have learned a few things over the past year. number one -- write the seller and ask a lot of questions before you bid. I have a Spalding helmet that was touted as being a 7 and 3/8 -- well, maybe in Munchkin Land! Luckily, I didn't bid very high on it and some day I will put it up for sale on eBay myself -- but with a little more truth!

I keep telling myself that this is the last time I am going to sit and gawk at the latest helmet listings, but then here I go again! The Wilson helmet pictured was described as being a 7 1/2 to 7 3/8 in size -- but did I ask if that was adult? Well, no, I didn't because I stumbled upon it just as the auction was about to close with the bid at ninety nine cents!

So I thought, what the hell??? I will put a last minute bid of $1.25 on it -- certainly someone else will outbid me -- and if they don't, well, how bad can that be?

Amazingly, I won!

It hasn't arrived yet, although i did get a note from the seller that he shipped it three days ago so I should have it by Monday.

In the mean time, I dropped my helmet gurus at Helmet Hut an e mail showing them a picture of the Wilson helmet and asked them some questions. I explained that I have long been a Billy Kilmer (of the early 1970's redskins fame) and was interested in finding out what it would cost to have them repaint the helmet yellow -- thereby saving the brand new Riddell helmet I still have left to make into a Reggie White helmet -- and here is part of the reply I got. (I still can't tell you how customer-first oriented a company they really are!) (Gonna start another entry so that I can include the photo they went through the trouble of finding and sending along!

SEE ABOVE
_________________________________________________________________

Pfizer's New Viagra Campaign --Somebody Turn Me On!

Pfizer has no shame -- as witnessed by their latest promotional device. DON'T TOUCH THAT! YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S BEEN!

"We're The Kindergartners!" -- But Not For Long

"We're the kindergartners and you know we're cool
We love to come every day to Roosevelt School
We like to read and write and count and play
And we do all that each and every day
Cuz we're the kindergartners
ba ba shu ba
We're the kindergartners
ba ba shu ba

We're the kindergartners, we're the best we can be
We know that one plus one plus one makes three
We can follow directions
We can paint and sing
Of we think really hard we can do ANYTHING
Cuz we're the kindergartners
ba ba shu ba
We're the kindergartners
ba ba shu ba
WE'RE THE KINDERGARTNERS!"

And with that, Kim's final concert as a kindergarten teacher of 32 years was underway. Kim wrote the lyrics for it and sent them out to my son David who taped a rap-type drum background for it and it never ceases to grab the audience right off the bat!

In addition to the piano player, I came in with the guitar to back the kids on a couple of their songs.

At the end of the concert they held a kindergarten graduation complete with diplomas. The highlight of the afternoon as far as I am concerned was when the principal made special note that this was Kim's final year as a teacher at Roosevelt and that she is retiring.

The entire crowd stood as one and gave her a long standing ovation. That's because the parents have seen the miracles she worked with those little souls throughout the year.

I have to admit that I lost it during the standing ovation.

So today is "carnival day" -- the last day of school with students -- and of course, it's raining, which means the activities that had been scheduled for outdoors will have to be held in the gym. Kim and the rest of the faculty will spend Friday getting their rooms "moth-balled" for the summer. In Kim's case, it will probably take most of the weekend as she has to clean out years and years of gathered materials.

But then -- her new life will begin!

___________________________________________________________

In keeping with the educational mofit, here is a recent e mail I got from the wonderful Tiit Raid:

Hello Former Teachers and soon to be Former Teachers and a Former Guidence Councelor:

On May 29 I woke up from a dream where I was back in the classroom. It seemed like it was the first day...I hear myself saying..."Everyday learn something new or add to what you already know. If not, then you're not doing your job as a student and I'm not doing my job as a teacher."

I guess after teaching for 36 years teaching is still in the 'system'...but the above is not limited to the classroom...I'm thinking that this should or could be the 'mantra' for everybody...what is life if not to experience the everyday? You can certainly learn something new or add to what you already know by just hanging out and paying attention.

I've been retired from teaching since the spring of 2002...but I still find myself thinking about it and occationally about the way I was taught. When at Mayo during our 36 day stint/ordeal/period of learning...one night I started constructing a new course...one which I'll probably never teach...in any event...if I taught again this might be the course. There would be no grading in the traditional sense...no A..B..C..D kind of bullshit...the course would be called "Observation and Intuition"...at least that's the working title. It would primarily be a coures for art students...but would be open to anyone...because good observational skills and learning how to use and trust one's intuition is not limited to the artist.

Traditional education...at least the type that I recieved from grade to graduate school seemed to train only half the brain...the linear side...the other half...the intuitive side...was never mentioned. When I started teaching I soon realized that my training in art didn't include any mention of developing observational skills...there was one teacher who mentioned it...but this was in passing so it never 'stuck' as something to be taken seriously. Years later I found a note from this class that I had scribbled on a sheet of paper..."Herman Rowan said that it takes a long time to learn how to see"...and I then I realized that that is what he was trying to teach through the drawing assignements...but...if something like this is mentioned only once on an undergraduate level it will not stick in the minds of the student.

Intuition. I didn't learn what this was until much later...I had heard of 'woman's intuition'...but that was the extent of it. Old sayings have a basis in fact...I think the reason women were associated with intuitive skills more than men is that they tended to pay more attention to what was going on...they watched the pattern of things over time more carefully than men...who tended to be busy with other things and being the 'bread winners'...so to speak...there is obviously much more here...but let's leave it at that.

From what I can tell...intuition is based on the totality of one's experience...and requires attention to one's 'inward voice'. If the experience behind that voice is false...then the intuition will be too. But...everybody has that voice...it is there from day one...then life's experiences begin to mold that voice. So...how does one develop a 'clear' inward voice?

My experience shows that clear observational skills is one way to mold or re-mold intuition...the observation of the visual world...the appearance of things...to see things as they are and not for what we think they are is one path to developing a clearer inward voice. As we being to see more accurately we will begin to think more accurately. The development of one skill 'rubs' off on other skills.

More later..perhaps...we are off to our Saturday adventures.

Tiit


______________________________________________________________

I am pleased to announce that I have re-gained a gig that I thought I had lost coming up on June 15 with the Clark County Holstein Breeders Association! I had absolutely no paying gigs for June before that!

The Larry Heagle Band will be holding forth at Carson Park this coming Saturday afternoon from 5PM - 6PM prior to the Cavaliers game. This is something that I (we) do every summer for free as I am a supporter of the Cavs and we love playing at the ball park!

____________________________________________________________

And these gems, just in from my pal Matt Capell:

Colonoscopies are no joke, but these comments during the exam were quite humorous..... A physician claimed that the following are actual comments made by his patients (predominately male) while he was performing their colonoscopies:



1. 'Take it easy, Doc. You're boldly going where no man has gone before!



2. 'Find Amelia Earhart yet?'



3. 'Can you hear me NOW?'



4. 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?'



5. 'You know, in Arkansas, we're now legally married.'



6. 'Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?'



7. 'You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out...'



8. 'Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!'



9. 'If your hand doesn't fit, you must quit! =



10. 'Hey Doc, let me know if you find my dignity.' =



11. 'You used to be an executive at Enron, didn't you?'



12. 'God, now I know why I am not gay.'



13 'How far up did you go? I now have a sore throat.'



And the best one of all..



14. 'Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head is not up there?

_____________________________________________________________

Sports Shelf Has New Member

I had no sooner sat down to start writing today's blog when I heard the clomping of booted feet on my porch here at the office. I glanced out the side window just in time to see the retreating figure of the big man with the funny brown shorts who drives the big brown truck.

I instinctively knew what he had left me! And I was right.

The guys at Helmet Hut did an incredible job with the Bart Starr restoration project. Yesterday I had gone out to buy two plastic display cases for the "Holy Grails of Helmetdom", and of course, Scheels only had one.

I will say it again. Eau Claire needs a great big sign along side of the roads leading into town that say: WELCOME TO EAU CLAIRE. WE DON'T HAVE IT, BUT WE CAN GET IT FOR YOU.

So as you can see in the picture, my Brett Favre is encased and if you look down in the lower left hand corner of the case, there is a small plaque that reads: BRETT FAVRE - #4 - QUARTERBACK GREEN BAY PACKERS 1992 - 2007 THREE TIME NFL MVP FIRST BALLOT HALL OF FAMER

I have a similar plaque for the Starr helmet but no case to attach it to!

In addition to really looking great, the fresh paint job on the "new" helmet smells like a manly perfume!

_________________________________________________________

The How To's of Using the Public Facility

I came across this "educational video" yesterday and although there is nothing within it that any male does not already know, it might be worth watching by the female of the species so that they may better understand.
.
So ladies -- WATCH AND LEARN!!

______________________________________________________________________

Logo I Have Hunted For Years Finally Captured!

I have long been fascinated with the history of almost anything -- firearms, propeller driven aircraft, the military track-driven vehicles of World War II, and most recently, the history of the development of the football helmet and subsequently the use of face masks by the professionals who wanted to end their careers with at least some of their teeth in place.

That's why my relationship with Mr. Curtis Worrell and his fellow business partner, Mr. Jim Parker, of Warsaw, Indiana, has been one of real interest and excitement for me.

Today I found yet some more background reading on Mr. Worrell and rather than hashing it out with you, if you are interested, you can find it at: www.helmethut.com/Rich%20History.html.

What got me started today was the fact that I stumbled across a chance to buy the Washington Redskin Logo that had originally been developed by the late Vince Lombardi when he decided to coach the Redskins. (As you will notice, aong with the side logos, there is a burgundy stripe and an American flag included in the set of decals.)

Vince went to a yellow helmet with a white shield , burgundy tipped feathers and an"R" in the middle, reminiscent of the Packers helmets and jerseys, trading the dark green with burgundy.

Interestingly, the Redskins only wore that uniform one year before going back to the burgundy helmets. (author's note 6/6/08): Helmet Hut wrote to inform me that the yellow helmets were used for two seasons (1970 and 1971).

This past season was the Redskins 75th Anniversary and for the occasion, Helmet Hut provided the team with the throw back yellow helmets for a home game.

It just so happens that I have a yellow helmet that I was going to make into an additional Packer helmet but now that I have found the Redskin Logo - (which has been impossible to find for nearly two years!), I will probably make it into a "Lombardi Redskin" helmet.

What got me reading about Mr. Worrell of Warsaw was that I was trying to find out what would be the correct face mask for that helmet as worn in 1970.

Turns out they were all standard gray back then -- not "color coordinated" and I think I agree with Mr. Worrell that gray looks better.

I know this is getting to be a bit sickening, but the guys at Helmet Hut are like Gods to me!

This is the week I should be getting my Bart Starr shipped back from them. I got the "Can Hardly waits!"

__________________________________________________________________


_______________________________________________________________

Geez! I Found My G's!

After all the work that Helmet Hut went through to get my TK5 painted just the way I wanted it, I came over to the office to retrieve the decals that I had ordered a long time ago while they were available through a source that is no longer producing them.

I found the small manila envelope, put it in my car, went and did some errands, parked the car in the garage, grabbed the envelope and took it into the house.

I laid the envelope's decals out on the table to be certain I had everything and THE TWO "G" decals WERE MISSING!

In a panic I must have spent an hour back at the office trying to locate them without any luck. Then this morning, I went out to get the car out of the garage to go to the baseball game and as the garage door opened -- there they were! Lying on the floor of the garage, next to the driver's side door.

Obviously when I got out of the car the night before, I had the open end of the envelope facing down and they slid out without my noticing!

DOH! What a goof ball! I am lucky to have found them without running over them!

Thought I would share a moment of ignorance with you.

______________________________________________________________

Les Sans Colottes Coming To Minneapolis, Saturday, June 20

My son Jonathan's band, Les Sans Colottes will be beginning a tour to the west coast shortly that includes a stop in Minneapolis on the way back. They will be appearing at the Triple Rock Social Club Saturday evening, June 20.

You can get all the information you need if you wish to atend the concert at the following URL:

www.triplerocksocialclub.com/shows/

Also, here is a recent press release written by my "marketeer" Liz Fischer in conjunction with June, Wood Tick Month":

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Environmental Group Protests Treatment of Wood Ticks

The environmental group Friends of the Forest Floor is targeting Larry Heagle for promoting inhumane treatment of wood ticks. With Heagle's declaration of June as National Wood Tick Month, the group is very concerned about his encouraging people to bag their limit in ticks, telling them how to do away with the critters, and offering them a Wood Tick Rescue Kit. They cite Heagle's suggestion of whacking ticks with a meat cleaver as heavy-handed and cruel.

"Wood ticks are important to the environment as a parasite link between bacteria, animals, and humans," comments the group's spokesperson. "We are already concerned about the tick's welfare. We don't need Larry Heagle inciting the public to find and destroy more ticks."

The group finds Heagle's new video on YouTube tasteless. "That video goes way too far," notes the spokesperson. "Getting naked in the woods is not a safe practice. If Larry Heagle doesn't cease his attack on wood ticks, we will boycott him and his song."

Heagle dismisses the group's concerns. "I've already picked seventy-five wood ticks off me this year, and it's only the start of wood tick month. This group needs to worry about some other friend of the forest floor, not wood ticks. My video and song give people ideas of how to check for ticks and how to get rid of them. I'm speaking from experience. After all, I am a super-charged tick magnet."

(And here all these years I thought they were saying that I was a "chick magnet")

___________________________________________________________________

Although there is no "hard evidence", rumor has it through Bill Mitchell of radio Rhinelander that several summers ago country singer Brad Paisley did some fishing in Rhinelander's excellent fishing waters.

Paisley's guide had a portable radio with him while they fished and he attests that Paisley heard Heagle's Wood Tick Song played at least once while they were fishing.

Later that summer, Paisley released his "Wood Tick Song". Coincidence?

_____________________________________________________________________

Final Harbinger of Spring Finally Arrives -- Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Sunday was the kind of day that a baseball fan would call perfect for a double header! I got a call from Wil and Judy Denson and Judy's younger brother on Saturday night and we made plans to meet at Carson park for both games.
I arrived a bit early after picking up some prescription drugs at my local drug store, got myself a foil wrapped hot dog (how come they always taste better at the ball park??) and a plastic bottle of Budweiser (no Leinenkugel's available -- APPALLING!) and found my way to a seat behind home plate. As you can see, Cavalier games do not draw the crowds that the new kids in town (The Express) draw, but damn it, they are MY team of choice, having been here a lot longer than the Express and I like the overall atmosphere of Cavalier games much better than the rowdy drunkeness that Express games have the reputation for.
My overall goal will be to get the Express to play the Cavaliers at least once a season in "exhibition" as I feel the Cavs can hold their own against the new upstarts.

As you can see from the photos, it was a beautiful day for baseball and in the first game, the Cavs beat the Lombard, Illinois team handily.

In the second game, the Lombard team retaliated late n the game to pull out a victory, but hey, it was still a great afternoon of fresh air, good baseball, and companionship in a really beautiful setting for the game!

My band is scheduled to provide music an hour before the games on Saturday, June 7 from 5PM - 6PM with David "Barney" Barneson (Brat King) on drums, Tim "Too Tall" Keilholtz on bass, Mike Richson on lead guitar, yours truly on acoustic guitar, and tom Wieseler on keyboards.

We do this purely on a voluntary basis for the love of the team and baseball and just to make the great sound of music togethe! I hope you can make it out for the game!

We will be back again on Tuesday evening, July 15 from 6:30 -7:30 for another pre-game performance.

So come on out! Baseball is back -- and with it -- so is Summer!

________________________________________________________________