March 2009

Monday, March 23, 2009
Curt Schilling - Calling it Quits
Calling It Quits 03.23.09 at 9:37 am ET

By Curt Schilling |

“Turn out the lights, the party’s over”

I used to wait with bated breath for Don Meredith to start singing that on “Monday Night Football.” Normally, it was sweet music if the Steelers were playing.

If I could get him to sing it again, I would. This party has officially ended. After being blessed to experience 23 years of playing professional baseball in front of the world’s best fans in so many different places, it is with zero regrets that I am making my retirement official.

To say I’ve been blessed would be like calling Refrigerator Perry “a bit overweight.” The things I was allowed to experience, the people I was able to call friends, teammates, mentors, coaches and opponents, the travel, all of it, are far more than anything I ever thought possible in my lifetime.

Four World Series, three World Championships. That there are men with plaques in Cooperstown who never experienced one — and I was able to be on three teams over seven years that won it all — is another “beyond my wildest dreams” set of memories I’ll take with me.

The game always gave me far more than I ever gave it. All of those things, every single one of those memories is enveloped with fan sights and sounds for me. Without the fans, they would still be great memories, but none would be enduring and unforgettable because they infused the energy, rage, passion and “feel” of all of those times. The game was here long before I was, and will be here long after I’m gone. The only thing I hope I did was never put in question my love for the game, or my passion to be counted on when it mattered most. I did everything I could to win every time I was handed the ball.

I am and always will be more grateful than any of you could ever possibly know.

I want to offer two special thank you’s.

To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for granting me the ability to step between the lines for 23 years and compete against the best players in the world.

To my wife Shonda and my 4 children, Gehrig, Gabriella, Grant and Garrison for sacrificing their lives and allowing baseball to be mine while I played. Without their unquestioned support I would not have been able to do what I did, or enjoy the life, and I am hopefully going to live long enough to repay them as much as a Father and Husband can.

Thank you and God Bless
Curt Schilling
Posted by Michael at Monday, March 23, 2009 0 comments
Labels: Great Ballplayer -
Did you know that ----

http://stationaryheaven.com/images/wrapswans.gif
Posted by Michael at Monday, March 23, 2009 0 comments
Labels: swans mate for life?
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Trout Stream North Georgia

http://www.thefishhawk.com/Fish%20Hawk%20Images/South%20E%20Pics/Picture%20049_small.jpg
Posted by Michael at Saturday, March 21, 2009 0 comments
North Ga Trout Fishing Upper Chattahoochee

http://www.unicoioutfitters.com/graphics/chatta.jpg
Posted by Michael at Saturday, March 21, 2009 0 comments
Labels: Upper Chattahoochee River
Water Heart - ...
nice photo
probably trick photography -

Posted by Michael at Saturday, March 21, 2009 0 comments
Monday, March 16, 2009
CHILLING - Must Read
Chilling



SOMETHING OF HISTORIC PROPORTIONS IS HAPPENING....By Tim Wood

I am a student of history. Professionally.. I have written 15 books in six languages, and have studied it all my life. I think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is just a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes these exist, but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus.

Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about ten - fifteen years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.

We demand and then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people we know they can never pay back. Why?

We learn just days ago that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has 'loaned' two trillion dollars (that is $2,000,000,000,000) over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom or why or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the 700B we all argued about so strenuously just this past September. Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who asked for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of 'we the people,' who loaned our powers to our elected leaders. Apparently not.

We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy. Why? We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate.. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, and school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?

We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election, now violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it wants marriage to remain between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago? We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?

Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, social security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire government, our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and know precisely what I am talking about) the list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth. It is potentially 1929 x ten. And we are at war with an enemy we cannot name for fear of offending people of the same religion, who cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.

And now we have elected a man no one knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla, Alaska. All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not downright scary. Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders. No? Oh, of course. The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe is more important.

Mr. Obama's winning platform can be boiled down to one word: change.

Why?

I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now!

This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.

And that is only the beginning.

And I thought I would never be able to experience what the ordinary, moral German felt in the mid-1930s. In those times, the savior was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing. What they did know was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory and promises. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his 'brown shirts' would bully them into submission. And then, he was duly elected to office, a full-throttled economic crisis at hand [the Great Depression]. Slowly but surely he seized the controls of government power, department-by-department, person-by-person, bureaucracy-by-bureaucracy. The kids joined a Youth Movement in his name, where they were taught what to think. How did he get the people on his side? He did it promising jobs to the jobless, money to the moneyless, and goodies for the military-industrial complex. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe, and across the world.

He did it with a compliant media. Did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and . . .. change. And the people surely got what they voted for. (Look it up if you think I am exaggerating.)

Read your history books. Many people objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and made fun of. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930s while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though.

Don't forget that Germany was the most educated, cultured country in Europe .. It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And in less than six years 'a shorter time span than just two terms of the U.. S. presidency' it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors. All with the best of intentions, of course. The road to Hell is paved with them.

As a practical thinker, one not overly prone to emotional decisions, I have a choice: I can either believe what the objective pieces of evidence tell me (even if they make me cringe with disgust); I can believe what history is shouting to me from across the chasm of seven decades; or I can hope I am wrong by closing my eyes, having another latte, and ignoring what is transpiring around me.

Some people scoff at me, others laugh, or think I am foolish, naive, or both. Perhaps I am. But I have never been afraid to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what I believe, and why I believe it.

I pray I am wrong. I do not think I am.






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another interesting piece of information:

I did some internet research and here is just some of the massive spending proposed in the Stimulus bill:



-- $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts

-- $380 million for the Women, Infants & Children welfare program

-- $300 million in grants to combat violence against women

-- $1.2 billion to provide "youth" with summer jobs

-- $2.4 billion for "neighborhood stabilization" activities

-- $650 million for digital TV coupons

-- $150 million for the Smithsonian

-- $34 million to renovate the Dept. of Commerce headquarters

-- $500 million for improvements to the National Institute of Health facility

-- $44 million for repairs to the Dept. of Agriculture's headquarters

-- $350 million for agriculture department computers

-- $88 million to move (that's right, move) the Public Health Service into a new building.

-- $1 billion for the Census Bureau

-- $89 billion for Medicaid

-- $30 billion for COBRA extensions

-- $36 billion for expanded unemployment

-- $20 billion for food stamps

-- $850 million for Amtrak

-- $87 million for a "polar ice breaking ship" (What about the ice caps melting because of global warming?)

-- $1.7 million for the National Park Service

-- $55 million for the Historic Preservation Fund

-- $7.6 million for the Rural Advancement Program

-- $150 million for "agricultural commodity purchases"

-- $150 million for producers of livestock, farm-raised fish and honey bees

-- $160 million for paid volunteers (what is a "paid volunteer"?) at the Corporation for National and Community Service



Are we really to believe Obama that we may not be able to reverse our country's slide if he and Congress are prevented from ramming all this pork down our throats? And, by the way, what happened to Obama's pledge to end pork barrel spending?

Another interesting tidbit: Obama said that one of the reasons Congress must pass the stimulus bill, and must pass it NOW, is to end our dependence on foreign oil. What is astonishing is that he made this proclamation about energy independence less than 24 hours after his new interior secretary canceled the oil and gas leases on 77 parcels of federal land.

We are only a few weeks into this new administration and already he and his party are out of control.



Niles R. Sharif
Attorney at Law
9001 Grossmont Blvd.
La Mesa, CA 91941
Posted by Michael at Monday, March 16, 2009 0 comments
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Best Answer
POSSIBLY THE BEST ANSWER TO A STUPID QUESTION =






Katie Couric, while interviewing a Marine sniper, asked:

"What do you feel... when you shoot a Terrorist?"
The Marine shrugged and replied,

"A slight recoil."


SEMPER FI!!
Posted by Michael at Wednesday, March 11, 2009 0 comments
Sunday, March 08, 2009
i don't feel so good-
I think I'm gonna be sick-
Probably I need to get a check up-

m
Posted by Michael at Sunday, March 08, 2009 0 comments
Visiting Day at School
Daddy's Poem







Her hair was up in a pony tail,





her favorite dress tied with a bow.





Today was Daddy's Day at school,





and she couldn't wait to go.






But her mommy tried to tell her,





that she probably should stay home





Why the kids might not understand,





if she went to school alone.











But she was not afraid;





she knew just what to say.





What to tell her classmates





of why he wasn't there today.







But still her mother worried,





for her to face this day alone.





And that was why once again,





she tried to keep her daughter home.











But the little girl went to school





eager to tell them all..





About a dad she never sees





a dad who never calls.











There were daddies along the wall in back,

for everyone to meet.





Children squirming impatiently,





anxious in their seats











One by one the teacher called





a student from the class.





To introduce their daddy,





as seconds slowly passed ..











At last the teacher called her name,





every child turned to stare.





Each of them was searching,





a man who wasn't there..











'Where's her daddy at?'





She heard a boy call out.





'She probably doesn't have one,'





another student dared to shout.











And from somewhere near the back,





she heard a daddy say,





'Looks like another deadbeat dad,





too busy to waste his day.'











The words did not offend her,





as she smiled up at her Mom.





And looked back at her teacher,

who told her to go on.





And with hands behind her back,





slowly she began to speak.





And out from the mouth of a child,





came words incredibly unique.











'My Daddy couldn't be here,





because he lives so far away.





But I know he wishes he could be,





since this is such a special day.











And though you cannot meet him,





I wanted you to know.





All about my daddy,





and how much he loves me so.











He loved to tell me stories





he taught me to ride my bike.





He surprised me with pink roses,





and taught me to fly a kite.











We used to share fudge sundaes,





and ice cream in a cone.





And though you cannot see him.





I'm not standing here alone.











'Cause my daddy's always with me,





even though we are apart





I know because he told me,





he'll forever be in my heart'





With that, her little hand reached up,





and lay across her chest.





Feeling her own heartbeat,





beneath her favorite dress.











And from somewhere there

in the crowd of dads,

her mother stood in tears.





Proudly watching her daughter,





who was wise beyond her years.











For she stood up for the love





of a man not in her life.





Doing what was best for her,





doing what was right.











And when she dropped her hand back down,

staring straight into the crowd.





She finished with a voice so soft,





but its message clear and loud.











'I love my daddy very much,






he's my shining star.





And if he could, he'd be here,





but heaven's just too far.











You see he is a Marine





and died just this past year





When a roadside bomb hit his convoy





and taught Americans to fear.





But sometimes when I close my eyes,





it's like he never went away.'





And then she closed her eyes,





and saw him there that day.











And to her mother's amazement,





she witnessed with surprise.





A room full of daddies and children,





all starting to close their eyes.











Who knows what they saw before them,





who knows what they felt inside.





Perhaps for merely a second,





they saw him at her side.











'I know you're with me Daddy,'





to the silence she called out.





And what happened next made believers,





of those once filled with doubt.











Not one in that room could explain it,





for each of their eyes had been closed.





But there on the desk beside her,





was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose .











And a child was blessed,

if only for a moment,

by the love of her shining star.





And given the gift of believing,





that heaven is never too far.











They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then
an entire life to forget them.
Posted by Michael at Sunday, March 08, 2009 0 comments
Monday, March 02, 2009
Tiger Woods in DC - Lincoln Memorial Jan '09
> Tiger Woods was invited to speak at the inauguration.
But he didn't deliver the message his inviters had expected!

> Tiger Woods spoke Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington during
> "We Are One," an inauguration celebration for President-elect Barack Obama.
> Below is the text of his speech, entitled

"You'll Never Walk Alone,"
as posted on his Web site:

>
> "I grew up in a military family - and my role models
> in life were my Mom
> and Dad, Lt. Colonel Earl Woods. My dad was a Special
> Forces operator and
> many nights friends would visit our home. They represented every
> branch of the service, and every rank. In my Dad, and in those
> guests, I saw first
> hand the dedication and commitment of those who serve. They
> come from every
> walk of life. From every part of our country. Time and
> again, across
> generations, they have defended our safety in the dark of
> night and far from
> home.
> Each day -- and particularly on this historic day -- we
> honor the men and
> women in uniform who serve our country and protect our
> freedom. They travel
> to the dangerous corners of the world, and we must remember
> that for every
> person who is in uniform, there are families who wait for
> them to come home
> safely.
> I am honored that the military is such an important part,
> not just of my
> personal life, but of my professional one as well. The golf
> tournament we do
> each year here in Washington is a testament to those unsung
> heroes. I am the
> son of a man who dedicated his life to his country, family
> and the military,
> and I am a better person for it.
> In the summer of 1864, Abraham Lincoln, the man at whose
> memorial we
> stand, spoke to the 164th Ohio Regiment and said:
> 'I am greatly obliged to you, and to all who have come
> forward at the call
> of their country.'
> Just as they have stood tall for our country - we must
> always stand by and
> support the men and women in uniform and their families.
> Thank you, and it is now my pleasure to introduce the US
> Naval Glee Club."
>
> I have never been more proud of Tiger Woods than when I
> heard his 2-minute
> tribute to the military at the Inaugural Celebration in Washington DC.
> You know he was greatly pressured to be there. You know the
> liberals have been mad at him for a decade for not joining their ranks. You
> know he didn't want to be there. So instead of paying homage to Obama, he paid
> tribute to our soldiers. Not one time did Tiger mention Obama or the
> inauguration or the new administration. You know, he knew he would disappoint,
> even anger, many, many liberals. But Tiger is his own man. His old man taught
> him to be his own man. Somewhere in that cold, gray Washington sky, old
> Earl was smiling down on his son.
>
> And there will be one more crying hug waiting for Tiger
> when he passes through the Pearly Gates!
>
Posted by Michael at Monday, March 02, 2009 0 comments
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Michael
Alpharetta, Georgia, United States
Lairdcliffe,Trout Fishing (Tallulah River-Chattahoochee River), North Georgia Mountains, Camp Rainey Mtn, Scouting, Stephen's Ministry, NGTD70, Kalalau Lookout(NaPali Coast Kauai), Snorkelling in the Pacific. Slow Dancing to a nice saxophone! Music of Barbara, Rosie, Ronnie and Martha. Bette with the Bangs. Glenbrook. Movies. Tracking Down Good Old Friends.

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