Tomorrow... UGH!

Tomorrow is the dreaded day... Halloween. UGH! One of the worst days of the year!

Halloween

Halloween is only a few days away...

The Cookie Vote

I found this display at UDF quite interesting. Busken Bakery is making three types of cookies for the election season. Trump Cookies, Biden Cookies, and smiley face cookies for those who are either undecided or don't care. Notice the photo below. The only cookies remaining are Biden Cookies. In fact, TWO slots are needed to hold all the Biden Cookies. I think this says a lot!

Last Trip

This was likely the last fishing trip of the season. We were treated to a nice 5 and a half pounder as well as catching two nice cats at a time. What a great day with my Butterhead fishin' buddy!

Say what??????

Aw man! Front legs are my favorite! Why can I only get back legs?

Makes you think

Makes you think, eh?

Happy Birthday, Butterhead!

October 20, 1993. It was 27 years ago today that our Butterhead was born. Happy Birthday, Buddy! Your mom and I love you very, very much!

Graffiti gone wrong

What's it like teaching in public schools? Well, here's one indicator... The kids even misspell words on bathroom wall graffiti. Check out this photo of the boys bathroom on my floor... "The gim reeper was here". Hoo boy! That gim reeper sure is a scary one!

Breakfast cereal

 More about what it was like growing up in the 70's and 80's...

Leave a note

Remember what is was like in the old days? If you wanted to let somebody know where you had gone, or wanted to communicate with them, you left a note. A written note on a piece of paper. Nowadays that doesn't happen very much. Today we send text messages, FaceBook messages, e-mails, and video messages. 

I left my wife a nice note today, and I didn't use any of those methods. Before she woke up this morning I left her a note using a dry erase marker on the bathroom mirror. She was pleasantly surprised and I was thrilled with the unique method of communication. 

Maintaining a good marriage is hard work, and I never stop trying to find new ways to say, "I love  you!".  Today it was in the form of a dry erase marker on a mirror. 

Happy Birthday, Sis!

Happy Birthday one day late to my little sister, Cheri. It's not polite to reveal the age of a lady, so I won't. However, I will give you a hint. Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of her 39th birthday. Happy belated birthday, Cheri. And for those out there who think I forgot her real birthday yesterday... I didn't. I sent her a nice message. It just didn't make this space until today.

FAIL!

Sometimes things don't work out quite the way we intended...

Ain't it the truth!

This sums up my childhood really well!

Tuesday Tickles

These tickled me. They're not uproariously funny, but they ARE mildly amusing.

Say what?

Fill that seat!

The confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett begin tomorrow. What a difference 4 years makes.

Dancing Sandwiches

 I really want to hear more about these Dancing Sandwiches...

I miss my grandpa

 26 years ago today, my grandpa Meyer died. It was 11 days short of Michael's first birthday. He was very ill, but was bound and determined to attend Michael's first birthday party. He never made it. 

I had a very special relationship with my grandpa, and I still miss him very much. 

George M. Meyer Sr. July 16, 1916 - October 9, 1994 

The countdown begins

 I have always been a person who needs to use little psychological tricks or coping mechanisms to help me through difficult or unpleasant things in life. For example, I always use what I call the “Clock Countdown” when there are 12 days left of school before summer break. To put it simply, looking at the face of a clock helps me visualize the short time until I get a vacation. I know that sounds weird and probably doesn’t make sense. But physically seeing the numbers on the clock seems to help more than just telling myself, “12 more days, 11 more days etc…” 

 

This brings me to something I thought about recently. I only have 5 years left to teach until I retire. Depending on your perspective, 5 years can be a short time, or a very long time. For me, five years seems like a really long time, so I came up with one of my little coping mechanisms to help. Everybody knows the dynamics of a five-day work week. Monday mornings are terrible. Wednesday is hump day. Thursday feels like “we’re almost there!”. Friday is always the best day of the work week. You get the idea. So, I have decided to equate my remaining five years of teaching to a five-day work week. In essence this year is like Monday, next year is Tuesday, and my last year of teaching is Friday. If I look at this way, this school year is one quarter finished, and it is currently mid-morning on Monday. I know “Friday” will be here before I can blink, and I am glad I am in the twilight of my career. 

Really, Jane?????

 Listen everybody, I don't think COVID 19 is a hoax. I know that it is real, but I also believe the left wing is using it for political reasons. I believe they are overblowing it in order to further their political agenda. Don't believe me? Read the quote from Jane Fonda (a noted liberal) below. 

She said COVID 19 is "God's gift to the left". A gift, Jane? What a nice, caring person you are!

 She also said, 

“We are people who can help determine which way humanity goes. What a great gift, what a tremendous opportunity, we’re just so lucky, we just have to use it with every ounce of intelligence and courage and wherewithal we have,”.

Let's break that down...

1. She called it a great gift. Ladies and gentlemen, she said the Corona Virus is a great gift.

2. She called it a great opportunity. Yes, a deadly virus is a great opportunity, JANE!

3. She said "we are just so lucky". Lucky? We are lucky to have Corona Virus? Seriously?

4. She said "we (the left wing) have to use it with every ounce of intelligence and courage..." Use it for WHAT, Jane? Political gain, that's what!

How sick can the liberals get? They truly believe this horrible virus is a good thing because it might help them gain political power. They are sick! Just plain SICK!

   

More sadness

Yet another sign of the sadness that we call autumn... Yesterday I mowed my lawn for what may be one of the last few times. The grass grows slower this time of year as there is more darkness and colder temperatures. I will likely have to do it through the end of the month, but it really only needs it every couple of weeks. As you all know, I love mowing my lawn and doing yard work. It's difficult to say goodbye knowing I am in for a long, dreary winter indoors. I know, I know... seasons come and seasons go. It's a fact of life. I just really love the warm weather and all that goes with it.  

September- The month in review

I’m a few days late on this, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Last month I said I would be doing a “Month in review” at the end of each month. I will try to stay true to my word. So, without further fanfare, here goes… The month of September has been fairly uneventful. Most of my life has been dedicated to the first full month of back-to-school, in-person learning since the COVID lockdown began in March. This has kept me very busy, and it has been extra stressful because we have a new principal this year.

 The other thing that has kept me busy is my church. I am one of four deacons in our church. This means we are in charge of caring for the grounds and facilities. Recently we have been dealing with the fate of a large (and very old) farmhouse that sits on our property. We have rented the house for years, but our tenants moved out earlier this year, and we had to decide what to do with the house. It is in very poor repair, and it would have taken considerable time and money to make it livable again. After much discussion it was decided to raze the house. We are currently in the process of emptying the house and preparing it for demolition. It is scheduled to be torn down next month. Once this is done it will be a huge load off my shoulders.

 I also had to undertake the task of closing my pool for the season. It’s not terribly difficult to do, but is a bit more challenging without any help. It’s a bit time consuming, but it did get done. All of the deck furniture is stowed away for winter.

 As September ends and October begins, I watch the leaves change color, and everything begins to turn brown. There is a chill in the air and there is frost on the proverbial pumpkin. My fall depression starts to creep in as everything dies, gets colder, and the filtered sunlight doesn’t bring the brightness of spring and summer days. I haven’t been fishing in over two months. I haven’t kept up with my yard work and it is beginning to show. The busy-ness of life sadly puts yardwork on the back burner. I know this isn’t a very exciting report. There just weren’t many highlights in September. Yet another reason I’m not a big fan of fall. Not much worthy of reporting happens.

 The photo below shows sunlight hitting the trees across the road from my house. It appears the trees are half and half in leaf changing color. In reality it's just the sun.

Today's culture

Today's culture...

Foul Ball

My wonderful wife sent this photo of a summer past. Back when life was normal and baseball was played in front of fans. Here I am with the foul ball I got (Got, not caught :-). It actually hit the guy sitting behind me in the nose, and bounced to the spot where I grabbed it. Sorry, fella! You should have caught it!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy anniversary, Silence Runs Deep! Yes, folks, it was nine years ago today that I launched this little blog. On October 1st, 2011, out of an abundance of boredom, I hatched the idea of starting a blog. Little did I know it would grow into what it is today. To date I have made more than 3,600 posts and have logged more than 114,000 pageviews. Regular readers in this little corner of the blogosphere know I post something ALMOST every day. Most stuff is light, humorous, or what happens to be on my mind. Sometimes I get serious, and I even confess to letting things get a little more political lately. But for the most part it's a fun place to stop and check in to see what's going on with me and my family. Thank you for nine years, everybody. I have said it many times, but will say it again. Somebody is reading this drivel (114,000 pageviews don't lie). As long as you are reading it, I will keep posting. Thanks again for stopping by.