You all know that I must have too much time on my hands and that I wonder about the oddest things. Well, distance is a great thing that attracts me. And distances within Texas have always attracted me, ... have you ever driven across it?
So .... Some Texas Facts that I have collected:
If it were a country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile and Zambia.
Total area: 268,820 sq mi
Width: 773 miles
Length 790 miles
To put this is perspective, you must understand that Great Britain (the whole island … England, Scotland, and Wales) is only 84,600 sq miles (less than a 1/3 the size of Texas) and the greatest distance (from Land’s End, Cornwall to John O’Groats, Caithness) is only 601.5 miles. Better yet … it is only 529 miles from Paris, France to Prague, Czech Republic.
Saturday Morning 25 September ... I saw my 1st Christmas decorations for sale in a store yesterday and it's still 3 months out. Give me a break, the first day of Autumn was two days ago.
I am checking out the news, both national and local, on the computer and listening to TexasExileRadio (and sometimes switching to RadioFreeTexas.org). I have heard some Jimmy Buffet, Midwezt, and some Deadstring Brothers in the last few minutes, plus a cut from Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline album.
Two headlines in my "Seriously, who gives a shit" category this AM ... Lindsey Lohan freed from LA jail (AGAIN) after posting bail and Pictures (a slideshow in court, no less) show the last months of Anna Nicole Smith. Is this NEWS ??? If Lohan was a "normal" person, she'd already have served a year and would probably have a year still to do. And as to the late Ms Smith, she was an artificially enhanced Trailer Trash slut with no class, who would do anything for money and her 15 minutes of fame.
By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
The forecast for noon, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, shows a low pressure system skirts over the Great Lakes and pushes a front down the East Coast. Ample moisture from the Gulf of Mexico allows for scattered showers and thunderstorms to develop along the front. A cold front was expected to keep kicking up showers as it swept toward the East Coast. A low pressure system over the Great Lakes was forecast to continue moving eastward, and was expected to pull a cold front with it. The front was forecast to stretch from the Northeast over New England and into the Southeast. You people really have weather. According to the National Weather Service:
The forecast for Tucson is:
Sunny ... at 9:02 am it's 81°F / Feels Like 80°F. For today it's High: 102°F / Low: 73°F / Humidity: 32% (that's high for us)
The Forecast for Baltimore [cousin Dean] is:
Partly Cloudy ... at 9:42 am it's 87°F / Feels Like 89°F. For today it's High: 85°F (but .. it's 87 already?) / Low: 57°F / Humidity: 44% They're calling for rain on Monday.
The Forecast for Ft Worth [Mickey/Valdez] is:
Rain ... at 9:02 am it's 71°F / Feels Like 73°F Today - High 86°F / Low 65°F
The Forecast for Apple Valley, Mn [Sheryl] is:
Cloudy ... 9:42 am it's 50°F / Feels Like 55°F. For today it's High: 58°F / Low: 37°F / Humidity: 87%
The Forecast for Rocky Mount, NC [Jean and Les] is:
Sunny ... at 10:02 am it's 92°F / Feels Like 95°F. Today it's High: 92°F (and there already, I think it'll get hotter) / Low: 62°F Humidity: 39% They look like Arizona numbers, but they're calling for rain the next two days.
Political leanings are much the same, the First Lady did call on non-profit organizations to utilize our nation's veterans' expertise. I think that they would rather have real jobs, I mean they ALREADY volunteered.
No new jokes have come in that tickled my funny bone beyond a smirk. But got a cute VW commercial from Europe about a Muslim terrorist who tries to blow himself and car up at a sidewalk cafe, but the explosion is contained inside the VW ... small but tough is the tagline.
Today is our weekly Shuffleboard Tournament at American Legion Post 36 ... w/ Jack and Trudy (our #1 Brit), Gary and Gert, Howard and Joan, Wild Bill, McQ, Jo and whoever else shows. Commander Butch and Ms Marie are still in Waxahachie, TX until Tuesday. After shuffleboard, it's home for movies and each other. I have been really busy at the Post the last couple of days. Our printer went down and the cost of repair would have been more than the price of a new one. So, I purchased a new one, got it set up, and showed the secretary the ins and outs of the new one. I still have to go in in the next couple of days to do my Finance Officer stuff.
The UofA Wildcats play the Cal Golden Bears tonight at 1900 hrs in Tucson. My UofA Flag is hanging outside the apartment as usual. We're 3-0 going for 4-0.
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Sunday AM ... the UofA is 4-0, but the offense played badly. Most of the fans had left the stadium when we marched 77 yards down the field for the game's ONLY TD and added an extra point to win 10-9. Getting ready for the NFL all day. Will the Cowboys lose to the Texans (gawd, I hope so) and go to 0-3? Yesterday's scores had a few surprises, but the biggest was Texas losing to (our PAC 10 member) UCLA. Also ... PAC 10 school Stanford beat the hated Irish of Notre Dame. Go PAC 10 ... next year's PAC 12!
My Picks for Today: upset of the week: Falcons over the Saints / Colts over the Broncos /49er's over the Chiefs / Ravens over the Browns / Texans over the Cowboys /... other winners - Giants, Dolphins, Patriots, Bengals, Tampa Bay, Vikings, Redskins, Eagles, Seahawks, and Bears (over Hilda's team, Green Bay). Check it out, I've been pretty good so far this year.
Well, must go GAMEDAY is on.
It is Sunday morning, and it's NFL, NFL, NFL ... apart from an American Legion District 2 meeting from 1400-1500 at Post 7 (they have TV's). Hilda is dressed and ready. I am, sort of (I have on one piece of apparel ... a t-shirt). I am on the computer and watching ... what else, the NFL. Arizona's Cardinals are losing, Hilda's Packers are winning, Dean's Ravens are losing, and my (and Sheryl's) Vikings are losing, but playing pretty well.
Well, must get dressed ... Mama says so. talk to you later.
Today's birthdays (I pick out the ones I like) include:
Actor, writer and host of 'Inside the Actors Studio', James Lipton in 1926 (age 84) ... One of my favorite interview shows ever
Baseball Hall of Fame member Duke Snider in 1926 (age 84) ... great player, Tucson trivia .. we have 2 guys in Post 36 called 'Duke' Snider. It was a really popular moniker in the 50's-60's.
Singer Brook Benton in 1931 ... one of my mom's favorite blues/pop singers, "It's Just a Matter of Time, Endlessly, and Rainy Night in Georgia".
Actor Adam West (TV's Batman) in 1928 (age 82) ... he got typecast as Batman and never did much else afterwards, but then agin, he wasn't much of an actor
Actor David McCallum in 1933 (age 77) ... he played the Russian heart throb in The Man from UNCLE. His wife Jill Ireland left him for Charles Bronson. He and his current wife Katherine McCallum are active with charitable organizations that support the United States Marine Corps: Katherine's father was a Marine who served in the Battle of Iwo Jima, and her brother lost his life in the Vietnam War
Singer/songwriter Paul Williams in 1940 (age 70) ... great songwriter, he wrote a number of hits for Three Dog Night (including "An Old Fashioned Love Song", "The Family of Man", and "Out in the Country"), Helen Reddy ("You and Me Against the World"), and The Carpenters, most notably "Rainy Days and Mondays," "I Won't Last a Day Without You", and "We've Only Just Begun", which was originally a song for a Crocker National Bank television commercial featuring newlyweds. Most people probably recognize him as "Little Enos Burdette" in Smokey and the Bandit
Singer Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers in 1940 (age 70) ... I mean, really, is there anyone who doesn't know the Righteous Brothers? Or ... Bill Medley (he's the baritone, Bobby Hatfield was the tenor)
Singer Mama Cass Elliot in 1941 ... to my mind, one of the greatest voices during her era. If she had been as slim as Michelle ... she would have become a mega star.
Singer Freda Payne in 1942 (age 68) ... I really liked her song "Band of Gold", and I know that her younger sister Scherrie Payne was a member of the Supremes.
Actor Randolph Mantooth in 1945 (age 65) ... probably best known as John Gage, a paramedic, on the show "Emergency!" in the 70's.
Model and ??actress?? Twiggy, whose real name is Lesley Hornby, in 1949 (age 61) ... that makes all of us who grew up in the 60's feel really old ... right??
Country singer Trisha Yearwood in 1964 (age 46) ... good singer, but probably best known as Garth Brooks' main squeeze.
Gotta' go Ms H is looking.
1745 MST: Bret Favre LOST, Hilda's Packers WON BIG TIME, brother Mickey's Cowboys LOST, Dean's Ravens LOST, Carolina Panthers LOST, Carol Stensby's Packers WON, the Arizona Cards lost BIG TIME, my Colts are playing (the Giants) in the "Brother Bowl" as I type ... Eli vs. Peyton. There is no joy in Mudville, unless (like me) you are anti-Cowboys.
The day went reasonably well, the meeting was longer than it should have been, ... but that is the way meetings go. We are watching the NFL. But Ms Hilda wants to watch a movie in a bit. And (like Lola, whatever Hilda wants ... Hilda gets), you know that tune.
Well, brother Peyton's team killed Eli and the Giants.
Today is Thursday, Sept. 16, the 259th day of 2010 with 106 to follow. The moon is waxing and so are my ears. The morning stars are Mercury, Uranus, Jupiter and Saturn. The evening stars are Neptune, Venus and Mars. The night time stars are too numerous to mention in this short note. Only 100 days until Christmas, and the stores are putting in Christmas stuff already ... that's over three months for Gawd Sakes!
I have been hard at work on a Full Page Ad for District 2 for the Fall Conference and working up a letter for the District 2 Meeting (Sunday) begging for funds to buy the Veteran's Reps at SAVAHCS (the area Veteran's hospital here in Tucson) a new computer and printer. It's only $1400.00 and so if the other Posts help out at all, we can Git-er Done!
Today is Mexico's Independence Day ... although their War of Independence didn't actually start for about 4 more days and it didn't end until August 24, 1821, when representatives of the Spanish crown and Colonel Agustín de Iturbide (more about this dear soul later) signed the Treaty of Córdoba, which recognized Mexican independence under the terms of the Plan of Iguala. Today is just the day that a priest ... Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla ... arrived at the conclusion that a revolt against the colonial government was needed because of the events of the Peninsular War (between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars). I guess that he figured Spain would be occupied in Europe and easy pickings were to be had in old Mexico. (Father Hidalgo had already achieved some notoriety - he gambled, fornicated, had children out of wedlock and didn't believe in Hell. Most seriously, he encouraged his parishioners to illegally grow vines and olives. And yet he was a big hit with the Catholic Church ... go figure. Real cool dude.) And now, back to Colonel Iturbide. On the night of the May 18, 1822, a mass demonstration led by the Regiment of Celaya (which Iturbide had commanded during the war) and containing almost totally HIS supporters, marched through the streets and demanded that their commander-in-chief accept the throne. The following day, the congress declared Iturbide emperor of Mexico. On October 31 Iturbide dissolved Congress and replaced it with a sympathetic junta. The real beginnings of politics "south of the border style". While Iturbide’s reign lasted less than a year, it was the result of and further defined the struggle between republican and traditional ideals, not only in Mexico, but also in Europe. He was exiled to Europe, but returned To Mexico in 1824. The local legislature held a trial and sentenced Iturbide to death. He was executed by firing squad. Wish we could do that in this country. Well, that's your history lesson for today.
Yesterday was the birthday of my dear cousin Jean in N.C. and my grandson Devin in Benson. Devin is now 15 years old (and Jean is NOT), he and his older brother make me feel very old indeed.
Today's B-days include:
Department store founder James Cash Penney in 1875 ... J.C. Penney, Hilda's patron Saint
British car designer Walter Bentley in 1888 ... designer of the Bentley automobile and later an engineer with Aston Martin. Bentley placed his 2.6 L straight-6 engine under the bonnet of his Aston-Martin DB2.
This durable DOHC engine would continue in use at Aston through 1959. Bentley remained as an engineer at Aston Martin for a time, moving to Armstrong Siddeley where he designed a twin overhead cam 3 litre engine before retiring.
Entertainer Allen Funt in 1914 ... Smile, 'You're on Candid Camera'
Lauren Bacall in 1924 (age 86) ... actress and wife of Humphrey Bogart
Blues musician B.B. King in 1925 (age 85) ... B.B., the Best
Actor Peter Falk in 1927 (age 83) ... always loved this guy in films and on TV
Actor Jack Kelly in 1927 ... best known, I guess, as the OTHER Maverick brother
Not much else going on this week. I had a Legion meeting Tuesday night, a Parade Committee meeting Wednesday night and nothing on the agenda tonight. We may go get some Brats at the club, but don't know yet.
