Anybody NOT Like Ice Cream?

My Quest To Eat 62 Dairy Queen Blizzards

Okay, in all honesty, it didn't start out as a quest. It just "happened". I've always loved ice cream. From the time I was a little kid in St. Louis, Missouri and up until... well, I'll get to that later.

Who can remember on those hot, humid days in the early 1960's, visiting your Grandparents who seemed oh so old but, in fact they were only about 45 years old at the time. Anyway, we would visit on a Friday evening or a Saturday evening, long before any of us had air conditioning. And trust me, in St. Louis during the middle of July and August it could easily be 94 degree, with 95 % humidity. We would all sit in the back yard, the adults in those lawn chairs with the tightly woven nylon strands, and us kids running around waiting for the Lightning Bugs to come out, and periodically taking our turns, turning the crank on the ice cream maker. It seemed like it took forever, but boy was it worth the wait! Nothing could beat Home Made Ice Cream. And of course, everyone got brain-freeze. Sorta became a ritual... somebody always had to eat too fast and freeze their temples. But, I digress.

Flash forward forty years, to the age of 48. From those early childhood days to the age of 48, I ate ice cream like there was no tomorrow. I was a sucker for Butter Pecan. If it wasn't available, plain old Vanilla was just fine.

That summer of 2004, I decided to stop one day at a Dairy Queen, and get a medium Tropical Blizzard, minus the bananas or the pineapple (I don't remember which on came in it). I was only focused on vanilla ice cream, coconut, and the pecans. So, I drive up to the window, place my order, and pull around to the pick-up window, thank the young girl and away I went. Boy, it tasted good. No problem right? Right! The following day, I stopped again for the same blizzard, same size. And off I went. Mmm.... just as good as the last one. I did this every day for a week. And by the eighth day, when they saw my truck, my blizzard was already waiting for me. I only had to pay, and pick it up. Finally, one day the manager asked me if I would like to switch it up and try a different flavor. I thanked her, but declined. Note: I did however request extra coconut and pecans every time. This went on consistently, for 62 days in a row. Some days, I bought one, and would return within a few hours and get another, just like the previous one.

The funny thing is, I gained no extra weight during that time, as my job was semi-physical, and required a lot of walking and lifting. The not-so-funny thing is, I had a heart attack five months later. There's no scientific fact or data that indicates this was a factor, but it probably played a big part in it. Regardless, I now have a stent placed in my main artery in my heart.

Today, at the age of 53, I can relate to what it's like to be an alcoholic. All my life I could never understand how a person could NOT just drink one beer, or one cocktail and say that is all for today, or even for the rest of the week. I just couldn't understand why they got hooked. Well, now I know. Because there isn't a day that goes by that I don't crave a Blizzard with pecans and coconut. And I know if I stop and get one, it's curtains! Just like it was for Jack Lemmon, playing the role as Joe Clay, a hard drinking addict in Days of Wine and Roses.

Gosh, I miss my Blizzards.

It's official: Obama creates more czars than the Romanovs

It has finally happened. With yesterday's naming of Border Czar Alan Bersin, the Obama administration has by any reasonable reckoning passed the Romanov Dynasty in the production of czars. The Romanovs ruled Russia from 1613 with the ascension of Michael I through the abdication of Czar Nicholas II in 1917. During that time, they produced 18 czars. While it is harder to exactly count the number of Obama administration czars, with yesterday's appointment it seems fair to say it is in now certainly in excess of 18.

In addition to Bersin, we have energy czar Carol Browner, urban czar Adolfo Carrion, Jr., infotech czar Vivek Kundra, faith-based czar Joshua DuBois, health reform czar Nancy-Ann DeParle, new TARP czar Herb Allison, stimulus accountability czar Earl Devaney, non-proliferation czar Gary Samore, terrorism czar John Brennan, regulatory czar Cass Sunstein, drug czar Gil Kerlikowske, and Guantanamo closure czar Daniel Fried. We also have a host of special envoys that fall in the czar category including AfPak special envoy Richard Holbrooke, Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell, special advisor for the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia Dennis Ross, Sudan special envoy J. Scott Gration and climate special envoy Todd Stern. That's 18.

This is a very conservative estimate, however. I will allow you to pick whom you would like out of the remaining candidates. For example you could count de facto car czar Steve Rattner even though the administration went out of its way to say they weren't going to have a car czar... before he ultimately emerged as the car czar. You could count National Director of Intelligence Dennis Blair, often referred to as the intelligence czar, although you might not want to because his job has a different kind of status on the org chart. I'm not going to count Paul Volcker who was referred to as Obama's economic czar because Obama is not making much use of Volcker (at least according to reports).

But you certainly might want to count people deemed by the media to be the "cyber security czar" or the "AIDs czar" or the "green jobs czar" even if there are reasons to quibble about the designation of one or two of them. I also won't count Michelle Malkin's designation of White House science advisor John Holdren as "weather czar" because as a matter of principle I won't count anything that horrifying woman does. Nonetheless you could certainly call the talented Holdren the nation's science "czar" without stretching things.
The point is, disqualify who you may for your own list, there are still plenty of czars on the bench who will step up to make the comparison work in favor of Team Obama, if you think have lots and lots of czars is actually something in favor of Team Obama. (And to be fair: they didn't create all these slots...just a lot of them.)

Personally, I think from a purely process standpoint all this czarism is a risky business that ends up producing bureaucratic bottlenecks, tensions and inefficiency when not managed extremely carefully. For now we will give them the benefit of the doubt that they will manage it well. Though please, please guys, stop now that you are ahead, now that you are officially the most prolific czarist dynasty in history.

For the record, the czars produced by Team Romanov were: Michael I, Alexis I, Fyodor III, Ivan V, Peter the Great, Catherine I, Peter II, Anna, Elizabeth, Peter III, Ivan VI, Catherine the Great, Paul I, Alexander I, Nicholas I, Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II. For the purposes of giving the Russians an even chance against the president, I am including both the original Romanov line and the descendants of the Holstein-Gottorps, who kept the Romanov name. I am not including the regency of Sophia, although if you want, go ahead. Our team still wins. (Although, I'll admit it, it is almost as hard of tracking the Russian succession as it is the structure of our own government these days.)

Romanov Collection, General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

My first Tea Party. Proud to have gone!

MORE PICS WITH SLIDESHOW HERE!!!

My town of 60,000 decided to muster a Tea Party for Tax Day, just like the many other communities and cities, all across this country. I was extremely surprised at the turn out. It was held at the busiest intersection in town, and all four corners were packed, so much so, that the crowd of people were stretched out in eight different directions.

The neatest thing I experienced was the camaraderie. Most of the people (young and old), who gathered were there for one cause and nothing else. And, it seemed as if everyone knew everyone. Simply because we were there to demonstrate how upset we are concerning our elected representatives.And, for those not actually attending the "Party", but instead heading home from work or for whatever reason they were out, the horns and the thumbs-up signals from the drivers and passengers was amazing. Even the big rigs blasted their air horns, which drew large cheers from the crowd.

I truly believe this is going to have a huge effect, especially in a year and a half when the mid-term elections are held.

I encourage EVERYONE to make an effort to join The 9-12 Project, and get involved locally to stop the spread of Obama's march toward Socialism.

THE OBAMANISTA REGIME'S SCAMS, SCANDALS, CONTROVERSIES, LIES, DECEPTIONS AND EMBARRASSMENTS

On 13 April 2009, the Associated Press reported that despite Obama's promise to acquire a dog for their daughters from a shelter, Bo, a Portuguese Water Dog or PWD, came from a breeder linked to the Kennedy clan. The Humane Society expressed disappointed in the president's decision to not follow through with his promise.In April 2009, Obama attempted to nominate Caroline Kennedy to be the US ambassador to the Vatican. Kennedy, who is pro-abortion, was instantly rejected by the Pope. Why Obama felt the Pope would accept a pro-abortion ambassador remains a mystery.
READ MORE

The Lost Heroes of SEAL TEAM 10. And how it humbled my life two years later and even to this day.

On October 19th, 2007, I went to work just like any other day. About two hours into my shift, my life changed in a way that still affects me to this day. On that morning, the parents of Matt Axelson were at the foundry to watch the final stages of their son's monument being completed. I found them in the Patina Department. Inside the room was an almost somber (closure?) type of atmosphere. The artist, who was commissioned to sculp the piece, was overseeing the patina process making sure the proper colors and tone were being applied to the bronze sculpture. While the Mother and Father of Matt "Axe" Axelson- Donna and Corky Axelson were looking on as if it was their little boy getting his first haircut at the local barber. Axe, was of one of the men who lost his life on that terrible day in Afghanistan.

It was at that time I decided to go into the room and offer my condolences. I was cautious at first, as I did not want to intrude on this very personal time. But I introduced myself to Mrs. Axelson, and told her how proud I was of her son and the other SEAL team members who lost their lives. I also told her I was a Navy Veteran, and that i took special pride while working on her son's monument, as did every other employee who had a hand in the six month process. She reached and gave me a hug, and that's when the tears began. I again thanked her as well as her husband, and I returned to my work area.

Later that day, The Axelson's came into my department and we once again spoke, cried, and thanked each other. The next day, when the monument was to be shipped to California for the dedication, Mr. and Mrs. Axelson again came into my department and gave me a copy of Lone Survivor. And on the inside cover, she had written her thanks and gratitude for my work that was put into the sculpture.

I can promise you, this book will never leave my home, and will be handed down to each generation of my family from this day forward. Her son gave the ultimate sacrifice, and yet she was thanking me for the work I had done on a monument that was honoring her son's ultimate sacrifice. Was I humbled? Damn right!

Please visite the following websites for more information about these brave men who made the ultimate sacrifice and gave their lives for their country. And last but not least - to Marcus Luttrell, the LONE SURVIVOR, who fought valiantly against all odds and lived to tell the story and to preserve the memories of his fallen team mates.

http://www.mattaxelson.com/

http://www.cupertinoveteransmemorial.org/

The Tontine

There is a long dialogue leading up to the actual toast where Colonel Potter explains the history of the bottle and his friends from WWI. The following is the dialogue of the actual toast.

"Here's to you, boys.

To Ryan, who died in W.W.I, the war to end all wars.

To Gianelli, who died in the war after that.

To Stein, the joker of the crowd.

And to Gresky, my best friend who just passed away in Tokyo.

You were the friends of my youth.

My comrades through thick and thin and everything in between.

I loved you fellows, one and all.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Sorry it took so long to respond.

I drink to your memories."

I remember watching that episode from M*A*S*H back in the late 70s. And, I never forgot it.

Fast forward to 2006. My ship that I was stationed on while serving in the United States Navy, held its first reunion almost thirty years to the day that I got out of the navy. It was held in Cody, Wyoming. The turn out couldn't have been better. We must have had 50 guys, and their wives show up. Keep in mind, we hadn't seen each other in 30 years or more.

We all met at the local VFW, spending the next three days and nights reliving long ago memories, and boy did we have a blast. We sat in that bar at the VFW from mid afternoon the first night until closing time swapping stories, memories, and by God, the local old timers got such a kick out of hearing our stories and seeing us laughing, they kept buying us rounds. Alternating between beer and whiskey. One old boy who had to have been close to eighty years of age came over to our table and asked me if I would trade my USS Juneau ball cap for a Cody, Wyoming VFW hat. Naturally I was glad to make the trade. My Juneau cap now sits in place of the cap I was given inside the glass case with the other military paraphernalia.

Later that night while sitting at the table, I looked at the three other guys (the four of us hung around together) when on Liberty, and we worked together down in the boiler room for three and almost four full years. And after telling them the story of Colonol Potter and the Tontine, we decided to go to the liquor store the next day and buy a good bottle of Scotch, and save that bottle for the last surviving member of our group of four. And upon hearing of the the third death and final death, the surviving shipmate is to open that bottle and share it with whoever he chooses but, while telling our stories and our times while we were just kids really, out on liberty in the South Pacific islands getting drunk, and flirting with the native women. And, occassionaly getting thrown in the brig.

The USS Juneau LPD-10, was decommissioned on October 30th, 2008 in San Diego, California. The same Naval base when I first reported aboard her, on March 15, 1975.

Enjoy Your Stay

At the newest corner of the net!