New Years Eve was a wash

After debating all week over what to do for New Years Eve this year, the wife and I finally decided to take a trip down to Harrisburg. The festivities were said to be grand down at Strawberry Square. The plan was to hang out and see what happens, but the rain made for an early night. Fact was, we never even made it to the square. After our dinner at Red Lobster, we hooked up with carnealian and nittanybri for a drink or three. The beer was good and the conversation was even better. But, after the laughs and good times came to an untimely death, it was time to return home. An overnight stay was not planned and the weather was less than inviting.

As I sit here at home somewhat depressed about missing our event, I plan to take my frustrations out at midnight with some bottle rockets and ‘inchers’ left over from the 4th of July. What the hell, the kids aren’t here and the dog doesn’t care and the hell with the neighbors.

Don’t ask why… Drink bud dry…

Please let me be the first to call it. Saddam is not dead. He will resurface in time. Mark my words.

Boo's trying his hardest...

As some may already know, my son signed up for wrestling this year. Some say he is built for it, and weighing in at 90+ pounds at the age of seven, it would seem that Boo is. The trouble is, my son’s size has always kept him from being as fast as other kids his age. He’s the second to largest on the team. Taking this into consideration, he’s getting better. I see improvement during and after every practice. Plus, just like most first year kids in any sport, there is a learning curve to overcome. The other kids on the team all seem to love him and support him all the way. I believe this is mostly due his attitude. He’s always laughing and smiling, no matter what happens. He always has his head up, just glad to be there with his ‘friends’. Hell, during the first week of practice, a teammate took him down hard. Boo was laughing all the way, just having a blast!

Tonight was Boo’s very first match. I could tell he was just a little bit nervous, yea he wanted to get right in there and join the fun. I did not wrestle in high school and this was the first wrestling match I was to since I was in 10th grade. Sadly, I couldn’t even tell my son what to expect, I had no idea what today’s protocol was. Never the less, again my kid just fell into place, as he always seems to do. The coaching staff on his team are also very friendly and helpful, the best as far as I am concerned.

If you want to watch something totally cute and funny as hell, come to a match and watch the little ones go at it, kindergarteners weighing in at less than 40 pounds. If you look up cute in the dictionary, there is a picture of this beside it (For those of you from Alabama, a dictionary is a book).

Finally the time came. Knowing his weight would cause this, Boo ended up wrestling a 4th grader who was faster, stronger and smarter. I knew this a few days before but never told him. I didn’t want to scare him. The two boys shook hands and took to there positions. The referee blew the whistle. The other boy quickly shot at Boo’s legs.
Boo was flipped on his back, fighting to keep his shoulders off the mat. Then, in less than 30 seconds, Boo was pinned.The kid he was up against was tough. He was put in an almost unfair situation. Yet, he got up, shook the kid’s hand, and walked back to his team smiling! He had just wrestled his first match, and win or loose, THAT was really mattered, his first match! Upon exiting the mat Coach John, my favorite coach of the bunch, gave him some big high fives and some words of encouragement. Boo got his ass kicked, but he’s standing proud!

The 2006 rifle season has come to an end. This year proved to be safer in regards to accidents then years past, good news to say the least. I overheard a conversation the other day about safety with guns and hunting in general. According to this person, and others as well, the safest thing to do is outlaw guns and hunting all together. Admittedly, on a basic level, I suppose that is true. The trouble is, most hunting accidents, maybe as high as 98% of them could have been avoided just by paying attention. The reason why people get hurt or killed is because they are stupid. In fact, most hunting accidents that involved a high-powered rifle or shotgun are self-inflicted. I have been shooting guns since I was 10 and hunting since I was 12. I don’t think much about gun safety; it comes second nature to me. My father practically beat it into me when he got me my first .22 caliper rifle. Although, I am guilty of not holding the rifle quite tight enough, there by letting the scope bite me in the head (I figured I better say that before someone else does).

Obviously not everyone is as careful. That leads me to my latest and greatest stupid person story. The following was copied out of the Daily Item yesterday. I edited the names only.

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WASHINGTONVILLE — A Muncy man was still in the hospital Monday after shooting himself in the foot with a 12-gauge shotgun on Saturday.
According to Tim Conway, information education supervisor for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Mr. Stupid, 34, told officers he took the safety off his shotgun when he heard movement in the woods near the Montour Preserve at 2:43 p.m. He was in a seated position with his legs stretched out when he accidently discharged his gun, firing a 1 ounce metal ball through the top of his left foot.
Mr. Conway said Mr. Stupid placed the shotgun on his right leg with the muzzle pointing toward his left foot. Mr. Stupid told officers his glove finger got into the trigger guard, causing it to fire.
"You never take that safety off unless you're ready to shoot," Mr. Conway said. "That was a mistake that was made."
Mr. Conway said another mistake Mr. Stupid made was pointing the shotgun at his foot.
"One of the basic rules of gun safety is that you keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Don't point it at your foot, leg, or somebody else — the gun could go off," he said. "Unfortunately, he's probably going to remember that for the rest of his life. He at least lost a few toes, but I'm just guessing."
Mr. Stupid, 34, was listed in fair condition Monday at Geisinger Medical Center.
Mr. Conway said Mr. Stupid's was the first hunting accident of the year in the 13-county Northeast region.
"This has been a very safe year. There are a lot of hunters out there and anything can happen. We have been very fortunate this year," he said, adding the Northeast region generally sees between two and four hunting accidents each year.

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My guess is this guy has never actually shot a deer, possibly not his gun either, assuming it was even his. This guy all but deserved to loose a few toes. Dumbass!

One shot, one kill and one for the freezer!

You know it’s an early shot when all you see is fire in the scope after you shoot. But, early as it was, it was still a clean shot and puts some meat on the table.

It could have been a little bit bigger though…

This must be how blond jokes are made...

The kids and I were shopping at K-Mart this evening. After picking out a bunch of items I tell the kids that we’re going to lay them away until the weekend when we can sneak them into the house while Mom’s busy. My daughter quickly spoke up saying “you can’t, Lay-Away is closed.” I said “what do you mean it’s closed?” She told me that there was a sign back in the Lay-Away Department that said it was only open on Sunday, Thursdays and Saturdays. Rather than arguing with her, I simply say we have to go look for sure. On the way back there, she told me the story in more detail about a sign on the counter giving the hours, and according to her, they only had hours on those three days.

Once we got there, my daughter immediately pointed out the sign on the counter and said, and I quote: “Ya see, it says Sunday, Thursday and Saturday!” The sign read as follows:

HOURS

Sunday Thru Saturday…