Happy Birthday Dad !

Today is my father's birthday. He was born in Alabama in 1911, married my mother in 1938, raised three children and passed away at age 76. I never met anyone who didn't like my Dad. He was one of the guys, yet women seemed to like him, as well.

Dad insisted on respect for family and instilled the basics in us at an early age. Yes sir, no sir, yes ma'am, no ma'am, please and thank you were a requirement. Respect for my mom was a commandment and woe be unto he or she that made the mistake of disrespect. I only got two or three whippings in my time, but I can tell you what they were for and why, to this day, I will never do them again.

Lake Okeechobee - 1972 - Day One

My favorite story about my dad was the time he and mom went to Lake Okeechobee for some fishing and relaxation. We would speak by phone every night and I'd always asked him about the fishing.

Each night, it was the same story, no one was catching anything. Then he would say, "But, I told them all, 'You just wait 'til my son comes up this weekend. We'll catch bass, I guarantee it!.'"I'm thinking to myself, "Lord, I'm gonna need a favor."

Saturday morning, we headed out to a spot that always produced for me in the past and I let Dad take the first cast. The lure hit the water and a two pound bass nailed it. Instead of casting myself, I helped Dad boat his bass and put it on the stringer.

By the time, I had put the bass on the stringer and tied it to the boat, Dad had another bass on. Again, I netted the yearling bass, put it on the stringer, reached for my rod and "Boom!", Dad had another bass on.

Lake Okeechobee - 1972 - Day Two

After Dad's sixth bass was on the stringer and he was bringing in number seven, I reached for my rod and made a cast. Dad said, "Aren't you going to net the bass for me?" I said, "Hell, no! Boat it yourself! I'm going to cast and get me one before you catch all of them!" Dad just laughed.

Needless to say, when we got back to camp, Dad made sure he paraded out the catch in front of everyone he knew. We got twenty-two bass on the first day and twenty-one on day two. Note the pictures of each day and you can see I wore a crew neck t-shirt on one day and a V-neck the other. Dad was prouder than a peacock and I was happy to be there and see Mom and Dad have a good trip.....

The News As I See It: Israel and Hamas both fired on one another during the five-hour humanitarian period yesterday, the U.N. secretary general said both sides "mostly respected" the cease-fire. That's like leaving the house without pants and saying you're "mostly dressed."

The U.S. - Mexico border crisis continues. A new poll shows the majority of Americans disapprove of how Obama is dealing with immigration. Of course, those numbers could change if he lets more people into America.

The polar vortex is causing the Midwest to experience fall-like temperatures. I can't tell if climate change is still a problem or if God just put the Earth on "Shuffle."

They want to allow Obama to be able to instantly interrupt TV broadcasts whenever there's breaking news. Obama said, "And I mean real breaking news, not that CNN crap."

Germany has now won four World Cup soccer championships. They are still O-2 in world wars, though.

The world is in turmoil. Israel and Hamas are fighting with each other, The border is overrun with illegal aliens from Central America. So, other than rhetoric and fund raising, what does Obama do?

WASHINGTON -- On Monday, Obama will sign an executive order banning workplace discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers of federal contractors and the federal government.

The executive order has two components: It prohibits federal contractors from discriminating against employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity -- a move that affects 24,000 companies employing roughly 28 million workers, or about one-fifth of the nation's workforce -- and it explicitly bans discrimination against federal employees based on their gender identity.

Way to go Barry! Your leadership is reaching a new low!

This Date In History: 64; A great fire began that ultimately destroyed most of Rome. The emperor Nero blamed it on Christians and began the first Roman persecution of them.

1925; The first volume of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf was published. 1936; The Spanish Civil War began. 1947; President Harry S. Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act.

1976; 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci earned the first perfect score, a ten, at the Olympics and went on to score six more tens and win three gold medals. 1999; New York Yankee David Cone pitched the 16th perfect game in baseball history.

Picture Of The Day: Another Obama democrat.....

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) Pot delivery services has tripled in the last three years because more states are easing their marijuana laws. The first person who combines that with a pizza delivery service will be our country's first trillionaire. 2) If monogamy is sex with only one person, what is origami? 3) Honk if you love Jesus and text while driving if you want to meet him. 4) If we are what we eat, then I'm easy, fast, and cheap. 5) The difference between Congress and a federal prison is that one is filled with liars, thieves, tax evaders and threats to society. The other is for housing prisoners.....and that's five !

Today's Horoscope: Cancer - July 18th: Less than a year will go by before you realize that the love you are currently experiencing is unlikely to ever be shared by your mate. All is not lost, however, as they will break their toe in a skiing accident.

Birthdays: My Dad in heaven - Happy Birthday 1911, Robert Hooke physicist, mathematician and inventor 1635, William Thackeray, novelist 1811, Jessamyn West, novelist 1902, S. I. Hayakawa, scholar, former U.S. Senator 1906, Nelson Mandela, South African political leader 1918, John Glenn, astronaut 1921, Dick Button, figure skater 1929, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, poet 1933.

The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar And Grill: A man was walking down the road and saw his Afghanistan neighbor, Abdul, standing on his second floor apartment balcony shaking a carpet. He shouted up to him, "What's wrong, Abdul? Won't it start?"

A man enters a Roman Catholic Church confessional booth in Washington, D.C. He says to the priest, "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. Last night, I beat up an Obama supporter who was insulting an old woman for her political views."

The Priest replied, "My son, I'm here to forgive your sins, not to discuss your community service."
 

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: A young mother paying a visit to a doctor friend and his wife made no attempt to restrain her five-year-old son, who was ransacking an adjoining room.

Finally, an extra loud clatter of bottles did prompt her to say, "I hope you don't mind Johnny being in there." The doctor calmly, "No, he'll quiet down when he gets to the poisons."

A man walks into the dentist's office and after the dentist examines him, the dentist says, "That tooth has to come out. I'm going to give you a shot of Novocain and I'll be back in a few minutes."

The man grabs the dentist's arm, "No way! I hate needles. I'm not having any shot!" The dentist says, "Okay, we'll have to go with the gas." The man replies, "Absolutely not! It makes me very sick for a couple of days. I'm not having gas."

So the dentist steps out and comes back with a glass of water, "Here, take this pill." The man asks, "What is it?" The dentist replies, "Viagra."

The man looks surprised. He asks, "Will that kill the pain?" The dentist replies, "No, but it will give you something to hang on to while I pull your tooth!"

That's it for today, my little Pez dispensers. Remember, many chose the path less traveled, but most of them are mainly just lost. Today's a good day to head over to AREA 51 for happy hour. Then again, every day is a good day to go to happy hour!

Have a great weekend and more on Monday.

Stay Tuned !