Leave it to Ben to get a picture taken with his grandparents and mom with a big BEER sign in the background.  Lord knows where they are at, but it sure does look like they are having fun.

Meanwhile, back here at the ranch, I am home alone with the dog and the cat who have no interest in even being awake.  But I guess I shouldn’t complain, it is 8:45.  Scotty is at band practice (or so he says), and I am left to figure out something to do without the direction of my wife…….something that I am not sure at my age is really allowed.

But I intend to make the best of it, especially while Ben and his grandparents are slugging down a few in the Wizard of Oz state.  I am just glad they are having a good time, or at least that they are smiling for the picture.

Good photography skills Steph!  I appreciate the picture!

Goodnight from all these wild times here my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

OKAY….let the party begin!  Amanda, Steph, and Ben are on their way to KANSAS and Scotty is never home.  Yep, that’s right…….it’s me, an 8 year old dog who sleeps 23.75 hours a day and a cat that doesn’t care for anyone other than herself!  Yep, WILD TIMES!

To prove my point, get this….it is 7:50pm and I am bored and considering just going to bed!  I know….SLOW DOWN WILD MAN.  It is like a beer commercial without the beer, girls, or anything fun.  It would be an appropriate time to confess that I had become my father but quite interestingly at 75, he is really a lot more fun than me.  I am beginning to think my wife married me because I am a good bet for an early grave, or at least bedtime.

But what can I say is, I am what I am, and I have never even ever considered the Navy.  The truth is that I do a lot of stuff within a day, and I really do not pay attention to time…..I rarely even wear a watch.  But I do get a lot done, regardless of the time.

So off to bed I go, despite all the exciting possibilities.  I often wish my life were more exciting, but what can you do.  I used to hate naps, and now I know, sleep is a good friend!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

We were not sure she would ever commit to us, but today after moving some 13 months ago into our house, Amanda finally went to the BMV and had her addressed changed to here.  We all breathed a big sigh of relief too.  She does the grocery shopping and without her we would starve to death.

But on behalf of the rest of us, I need to share our thankfulness.  I know it must have been a big commitment, I mean at least 20 minutes, and more than that, it saves the people living in our old house the confusion after she gets arrested on one of her “business” trips to Belgium.  (She says they are business, but she sure seems to enjoy their chocolate.)

The great part is that we have all of that done now.  All the cars and all the people, as well as the house…..match.  She can now vote too, instead of complain that she can’t.  The last election (last month), fortunately, was cancelled here because we live in a small town and their was nothing on the ballot.  They must have been waiting for her.

Tomorrow night, she, Steph, and Ben will head to Kansas to visit her mom.  Her license has yet to arrive, but at least the police will know where she lives.  So when they call from the pokey I can be honest…….”Sure, I know her.  She has been living here officially since yesterday.”

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well I tried to post tonight, with an idea and theme, but Blogger took me anywhere but where I needed to go.  By the time I finally arrived, not by intention but by luck, the idea had escaped me and I was stressed rather than inspired.  I really am a dinosaur.  I use computers all the time, but would be happy enough if this was just a journal beside my bed.  Technology is often the devil to me, and I really do consider myself blessed that I have (accidentally) figured this out.

But as I mentioned, the idea of what to write that I had all day is gone.  I do not remember much about it, other than I was pleased about it and thought about it a few times through the day.  Pre-stroke, I would torture myself to remember, but post-stroke I know that the odds are far than favorable.  And I have learned to just let such things go.

But how I wish I had somethings funny or clever to share tonight…..because I know I did this morning.  What I can say is that everyday cannot be a win, and I know there will be other opportunities.

So tonight I will take my lumps and just call it a day.  I have the great blessing (these blessings are killing me) of typing this next to Batman who has decided that his is the bed he is sleeping in tonight.  But at least the entertainment I will receive will be far more interesting than my lack of memory…..at least I hope so.

So my Monday is done without incident, but also without accomplishment.  It reminds me of my entire Freshman year of college, only cheaper.  I just hope Tuesday reminds me of something good!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Steph, Amanda and Ben went out for an adventure today and although I was told about it, I wasn’t invited.  It’s not anything I am upset about, because I wouldn’t have wanted to go anyway.  They went looking for clothes, which Ben thinks is cool, but I find quite torturous.

Tonight we gathered together with the congregation of St. Patrick’s for a party in which we celebrated an annual tradition, “the ornament exchange.”  It is generally a pretty fun, and funny, time as we pick ornaments in order by a preselected drawing, and then when it is your turn you can either take one off the table (they are all wrapped until the end) or take one from someone ahead of you who has already picked.  It is a blast, and we all enjoy it.

This year however, Ben played…..and he drew number 8 of 16.  He was good at the start, picking the gift he wanted, but when people tried to take it away from him he growled……like a bear.  Three or four people tried to take it from him, and he growled at all of them.  At 4, he didn’t understand the rules, nor should he been expected to.  But in the end, perhaps he was brilliant.  He indeed opened the gift he picked.  Who would want to make a 4 year old cry.

Of course it was funny at the beginning, but appalling by the end.  We had all been around kids though, so everyone was good about it.  Kaleb, who is just 1, did a little better.  But the great part was that we all enjoyed good food, drink, and fellowship.  It was a real blast.

But I started crashing at about 9:30.  I apparently just did not have it today, but I was blessed that a 4 year old has an early bedtime too.  I gave my keys to Scotty and had to head home with Ben and Amanda.  Steph started at the party and then went to see some friends.  I am guessing everyone will be home soon.

Tomorrow however, is a work day and it is fast approaching, yet not as fast as my bed.  Thank God!  I am beat, and need to call it a day!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

It has been a fantastic night.  Steph got home at 4pm for her Christmas break, and at 4:30 she, Scott, and I were on our way to pick up Ben and then meet Amanda and the rest of those in our family at Macaroni Grill (a grill is something you cook on, not put over your front teeth)to celebrate her birthday.  I am sure she was nervous, if not scared, and she had every right to be.

My family has a particularly rare strain of DNA that can take humor to a level few can understand or even appreciate.  Waiter and waitresses tend to love us because we are far from haughty and draw them into our fun.  My brother Mike brought Steph a very special gift connected to a very long gag.  It cracked us all up.  The only one missing tonight was my dad’s wife Debby who is a newscaster.  She actually interviewed President Obama at the White House yesterday morning and flew back today.  But the news didn’t stop for Steph’s birthday, she had to be on air.  That was too bad for all of us.  But I am sure however had it been MY birthday, the President could have intervened……..after all, I am married to a woman who knows the 50 States Song that RHYMES, and I am fast approaching Willard Scott telling everyone it’s my birthday.   But I digress.

So we are now all home, and I am tired but happy, not just for the great evening, but to have us all home. Steph’s break seems long as it starts but I am certain it will feel all too short.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I suppose I would be concerned, had I not been certain that this is genetics and it comes from me.  Ben got a little lecture tonight from his mom about wearing pajama shorts in the winter, and so like any thinking Tirman would do, he went and put on a jacket.  It really didn’t work, as most things don’t with her, but she married me and she will just have to live with the consequences and environments of such a decision.

Of course this has not be the strangest thing he has done tonight, and although I am prone to mention a few others I need to confess that the night is not yet done.  But I will say that Captain America just made a visit to my office with his shield hanging on the back of my old phone case that was attached to his pajama shirt, now sans jacket.  The shorts are still there, and I was given a short inservice on the merits of fighting crime…..which of course has nothing to do with Captain America.  But to me it doesn’t matter.  Criminals or Nazis, neither are welcome in my home.

The good news however is that Steph is on her way home for Christmas break and will arrive tomorrow.  we will celebrate her birthday tomorrow night, with all of us, my dad, my sister, and their exchange student Yu, pronounced “you,” and confusing every time I talk to my dad.  But it should be fun.  We will all be there and Yu will be there too…..you (not Yu) can now see how that goes.  I just though my dad was heading down hill.  I am happy to report he is not.

But for now I will go see what Captain America is up to.  My guess is a little over 3 foot.  But my life is full of bad jokes.  Tonight should be no different.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

Seventy years ago today the Japanese launched an attack upon Pearl Harbor, not just taking many American lives, but drawing our nation into World War Two.

The years that followed were some of our nation’s hardest, yet greatest.  A generation of Americans stepped up and sacrificed, not just for our great country, but for the world.  Many went off to war and never returned, giving their lives like those who did 70 years ago.

As I look at our country now I am saddened by how we have changed.  “The Greatest Generation” saw this country for what it was, a land of opportunity, possibilities, and freedom.  There was a sense of common purpose and unity that unfortunately we see now in only a few.  And this land has gone from many selfless people to a lot only concerned with self.

But on this day of remembrance, let us not forget those who have gone before us and who set, by their love of God and Country, an example for us to live our lives by.  I will not lose hope, because I believe we can be that country again.

To get there however, we need to not just remember those great men and woman who gave so much for us to get here, but we need to become them in our generation as well.

I remember those who have gone before, and I am not just thankful for them on this and every day, but I will not forget them.

May God Bless them, and may He also bless these United States of America.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

My whirlwind tour is over.  And after seeing the likes of Toledo, Detroit, Novi, East Lansing, Ann Arbor, and the ever popular Livonia, I finally arrived back in good old Edgewood, Indiana just a little after 7 tonight.  AND I will declare, just as I did last month, that THIS will be my last trip of the year……I think.

Toledo of course is in Ohio, but everything else is in Michigan…..as was the snow.  It was also cloudy the entire time in Michigan and I never knew what direction was what……that unnerved me.  But the people were marvelous, and if it were not for the restraining order, I would probably go back.  I just didn’t know there was a law against wearing a Bears’ jersey up there.  Oh well.

But what was nice was to arrive home to Batman.  He lives here you know.  And I also had the pleasure of seeing both Batcat and Batdog.  (They were both called their superhero names yet neither wore a disguise.)  Surprisingly they looked a lot like our cat Puddy and our dog Viper, but what do I know?  I have been traveling.

So the big news is that I am back to the insanity………but thankfully it is still quite insane.

After all, you’ve got to go with what you know!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+