This is what I caught in the house today…

I guess it freaks me out because I think of these at the same time:

Normally something that is as ugly as a camel spider would just die instantly because it is ugly. However, when the pictures of the camel spiders in Iraq were sent out, I did some research. The picture with the soldiers actually has 2 of them and the size is an optical illusion: The camera is close (is he crazy?). The one that I captured tonight was about 1 inch long. I let him go in the front yard. I’m Galt the wife was not home. The last time that there was a scary creature in the house I was TDY. Shane sucked it up with the vacuum. That vacuum was waiting for me on the back porch when I cam back from TDY 2 weeks later.

It must have been a slow day for sports and obviously I was very bored. ESPN had on the Nathan’s Competetive Eating Championships.

Sonya Thomas is a competitive eater. On July 4th this year she ate 37 hotdogs in 12 mins. Below is an exerpt from her bio.

Sonya Thomas “The Blackwidow” Alexandria, VA Age: 37 Weight: 105 Armour Vienna Sausage: 8.31 pounds Armour Vienna Sausage /Lowe’s Motor Speedway Charlotte / 10 Minutes/ May 28, 2005 Asparagus: 5.75 pounds Tempura Deep Fried Aspargus Spears/ Stockton Asparagus Fest / 10 minutes/ Apr. 24, 2004 Baked Beans, Long Course: 8.4 Pounds Baked Beans/ 84 Lumber / 2 minutes 47 seconds/ Aug. 7, 2004 Cheesecake: 11 pounds Downtown Atlantic Cheesecake / 9 minutes/ Sept. 26, 2004

To see the complete list, go here

I made this blog so that I could just go on and on about anything, even get a little goofy. People who know me from coaching and sports call me “Mr. Intensity”. I don’t know how I got that name, I have only made a few 5 year olds runs laps, and only had about 20-30 six and seven year olds do push ups for looking at me funny. I’m not always intense. I hope it comes out here.

I have used the page so far to serve as kind of a family home page to keep people up to date with what is happening at my house and to share some pictures. I am still going to do this, but I am also going to write some stories and link to other places and comment. I am having a good time writting, and it doesn’t take much time. I wish that everyone would sign my guestbook so I know who is comming here. Also, I will take requests. I am going to put some Woody Acres pictures up when I get some. I started to write about Woody Acres a little while ago. I will do it here. If I can find my first entry in the Woody Acres log, I will put it here.

The picture that I posted was taken at work on Halloween 2003. I have let my hair grow out, but I only have a pre-mullet, not the full blown one shown here.

In the spirit of the picture: Cut the Mullet by Wesley Willis

The top picture was taken at MGM studios in Florida. Anthony had to be Anakin (left). Thankfully, Matthew did not have a problem with being Obi Wan. It seems that the picture is showing what they will look like when they are older. It’s kinda cool. The computer took their faces and put them over the ones of Anakin and Obi Wan. The computer then matched the skin tones. I think this turned out great. It was not cheap, but I think it was worth the money. I also posted a picture of Matthew and Anthony taken at Disney’s Animal kingdom a day later.

My mom asked me to post a photo of Anthony and of myself. She thinks that we are clones. I don’t know. For a while the only thing he would eat is Mac and cheese, he loves Star Wars. He has a warped sense of humor. It seems that all he is missing the cool aid mustache.

Chris came over today with the twins. He wanted to give Mia some piece so that she could get some work done. First we tried the San Pedro House. We got about 100 yards when it started to rain. I had never been to the San Pedro House. Since it rained, I still don’t feel like I was there. During the time that we were there, there were a whole bunch of gold finches. They were going nuts over the thistle. The trails were muddy, so we decided to do something else. I suggested that since it rained we might check out Carr Canyon. When there is enough rain there, there is a waterfall. So I have been told, I have never seen it. When we got there it was dry: no waterfall. We decided to drive to the top. My brilliant chauffeur did not check the gas gauge before the trip. We did not have any gas. We had to stop about 90%of the way up. I got a few good pictures.

I have known Norm now for about 2 years. I met him at Wendy’s by walking up to him and talking. He was wearing a Marine Corps cover (hat) and I had noticed his purple heart license plates. Later, I met Norm again through the Marine Corps League. We are both charter members of the Wild West Detachment in Tombstone, Arizona. Norm sent me an e-mail with a link to a site where another Marine had written a few things about Norm. I learned alot about Norm from what this other Marine posted (update: Marc Singer the film producer is not a Marine. He is working on a film about Marines. I have copied the information below.

Stolen from www.marcsinger.info:

This weekend was July 4th and I got invited to the house of a Gunny Sergeant who was having a big party. While there I was lucky enough to meet someone who just blew my mind. Standing in the garage at the end of a converted bar, I saw a friendly looking old man wearing a beaten up USMC t-shirt and a cap on his head that read ‘KOREA / VIETNAM VETERAN’. I approached him and introduced myself. He smiled and told me his name was Norman Sponcey, but that everyone called him Sergeant Major. He was 77 years old and had been retired from the Marine Corps for well over 20 years. There was something about this guy that you just couldn’t help but like and I took to him instantly. I offered him a beer, but within a second our host was pouring a round of whiskey shots for everyone within range. He called out to the Sgt. Major and held up a glass. The Sgt. Major looked at me, smiled and we downed the first of many shots.

For the next six hours I felt like a little kid who had just learnt to speak. I just couldn’t stop and asked the man question after question, he answered every one of them frankly and honestly. In Korea he was an Infantry Marine with Baker (B) Company, 1st Battalion 5th Marines. They called themselves ‘Baker’s Bandits’. He had been a part of all four landings in Korea, including taking the infamous ‘Red Beach’ at Inchon. His Company then went on to fight in the battle to liberate Seoul, and then onto the battle of the ‘Chosin Reservoir’, one of the coldest and bloodiest fights in US Marine Corps history. Although he was still in great shape, you could see he had taken his fair share of hits. There was one scar in particular across his stomach that stood out and I asked him where he got it. He told me it was in Korea, that in one of the fights there were so many enemy soldiers coming at them in wave after wave, that ammunition ran short and it came down to using the bayonet. Norman and a Korean soldier had managed to bayonet one another at exactly the same time and he described to me how he had looked the other man in the eye as he pulled the trigger on his M1 rifle. The Korean died and the Sergeant Major lived to fight another day.

He then went on to serve three tours of duty in Vietnam. At one time, his patrol was captured behind enemy lines and taken prisoner. Two days later he led a rebellion that overran and killed all the guards surrounding them, allowing his patrol to escape into the jungle and back to the safety of their base.

These were just two of probably a hundred different battle stories that I sat and listened to him tell me over the course of the afternoon, and I thought by the end of it that I could have made a movie on this man’s experiences alone. He never said a word about his own acts of courage, just about those who stood beside him. It wasn’t until later on that I learnt about his medals… The Sgt. Major had won three Bronze Stars with Combat ‘V’ for his bravery under fire and three Purple Hearts from his wounds sustained in battle.

The next day I got home and looked up some of the events that he had talked about on the Internet. I found a website that literally tracked his Companies movements throughout the Korean War. It was humbling to read the website, and I felt privileged to have had the chance to sit with this man, and for him to talk as freely and as honestly as he did to me. He was the real deal, a true warrior, and someone that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

I thought I would post about music. I have a very strange taste in music. I not only think that music should entertain, but it also should make you laugh. Most of the time humor is at the expense of being musical. I am going to post some links to MP3 that anyone with a decent conncection can listen to.

First is my brother Band, they do not fall into the class of music that I listen to that will make you laugh. These guys rock: Universal Slim and the Blues Kangaroos.
Note: The link does not work with firefox.

click to enlarge picture

Go to the Website or click below. File sizes are 3-4 megabites. (as much as an hour on dial-up)

Fly off the Handle
Diane
Talk to your Daughter
Curve
Midnight Hour
Oreo Cookie Blues
Toredown

These files can be downloaded by right clicking and selecting “save as”.

You can go to my brother’s wesite for a more detailed history of the band.

This one has listed who is in the picture. If it wasn’t labled, then I would have swore that the first one on the left is Grandpa R and not Bob R.

Here is another picture from the pile that I have. I will post some more soon, but it will take a few days: I have to scan them in. Remember, if you would like hard copies of these let me know and I can make arrangements. Someone please list who is in the pictures.