Top Ten Torture List

I read an interesting today about the detainees at Guantanamo Bay.  A few years ago, reports circulated that said the detainees were beign tortured by forcing them to listen to Metallica's "Enter Sandman."  Now, it is reported, that the prisoners are being forced to wear headphones blasting music from "Sesame Street" for days on end.

I thought about this a lot today, and I came up with a list of songs that someone could easily torture me with.

1.  Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffet
2.  American Pie - Don Mclean
3.  Any song by Garth Brooks
4.  Any song by Taylor Swift
5.  Any song sung by Jennifer Nettles as part of "Sugarland"
6.  Any song by the Beatles (note: I know I will draw criticism but I just don't like the Beatles)
7.  Most songs by Styx
8.  Any rap song
9.  Any other song by Jimmy Buffet
10. Any Justin Bieber song

I Can't Help But Wonder

This isn't what I had planned to post tonight but it's something I can't ignore.  On the way home from church tonight, as we got closer to The Compound, we could see the LMPD helicopter circling around the area below The Compound most commonly referred to as The Boat Docks.  The official name is Riverview Park.  We all three joked about them looking for us.  We travelled on and as we stopped at the intersection above The Compound, we had to wait for an EMS ambulance to come through; it was coming up from Riverview Park.  Several police cruisers were in front of us as we were waiting for EMS to turn, and we couldn't help but wonder what had happened. 

I pulled into the driveway and stopped, and watched to see if the LMPD cars went on down to Riverview Park, and they did.  And we continued to see the LMPD helicopter flying down in that area.  Once again, we couldn't help but wonder what happened.

It could have been a number of things -- most of them bad.  There could have been a fight; there could have been a horrible boating or swimming accident.  Unless there's something on the 11:00 news tonight or in the newspaper tomorrow, we'll probably never know.  But something did happen.  And it wasn't good.  We all three stopped and said a silent prayer for whoever was involved in what happened. That's about all we could do.

And Then The Rains Came

This was the scene at about noon today at our company.  The Monsoon of 2012 started at about 6:00 this morning and didn't end until after noon.  This is our receiving dock at work.  As you can clearly see, the water is up even with the floor in the Receiving Department, and it goes out over the road.  This was the same scene on the back of the building at the shipping docks.   And parts of our factory were flooded today, too.  Isn't it ironic that a pump company gets flooded.  Go figure.

Happy Memorial Day

TWIT would like to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day, or as my Grandma and Grandpa called it, Decoration Day.  As you can see from the picture, we do our part at The Compound for Decoration Day.

Link Of The Week

I'm not ashame to admit that I snore.  I can't help it - I come from a long line of snorers.  Mom and The Old Man both snore, and Grandma and Grandpa both snored, too.  So it's in my blood. But thanks to the fine folks that make Breathe Righ Strips, I don't snore as much.  Well, at least I don't think I snore as much.  And Mom says The Old Man doesn't snore as much.  So that's enough testomonials to urge you to try Breathe Right Strips if you snore.  Visit http://www.breatheright.com/Offers.aspx and you can get a free sample of two strips and once you try those, you'll be hooked.  Not only do they help with your snoring, they also open up your nasal passages and help you get a good night's sleep.  Please check out the site today and run up to your local drugstore or big store and buy a box.  They're not cheap but you can always find coupons online for them and they are well worth the price.  And if it's worth anything, Breathe Right Strips get the TWIT Seal of Approval.

File Under: WTF?

BOXFORD, Mass. -- Police say a roving group of cows crashed a small gathering in a Massachusetts town and bullied the guests for their beer.


Boxford police Lt. James Riter says he was responding to a call for loose cows on Sunday and spotted them in a front yard.

Riter says the herd high-tailed it for the backyard and then he heard screaming. He says when he ran back there he saw the cows had chased off some young adults and were drinking their beers.

Riter says the cows had knocked the beer cans over on a table and were lapping up what spilled. He says they even started rooting around the recycled cans for some extra drops.

Riter says the cows' owner and some friends herded the cows back home.

Now we know how they came up with the phrase "party till the cows come home." 

Flashback Friday

Tear the roof off the sucker!

Farewell, Rosie

TWIT and I are very sad to say goodbye to our sweet little neighbor, Rosie.  Rosie passed away on Monday at the age of 96 and a half.  I guess it wasn't coincidental that I paid tribute to her husband, Uncle Clancy, in TWIT a few days ago.  She lived in the middle house at The Compound.

The pastor that conducted her funeral today hadn't known her for very long - just a couple of years, but when he used one word to describe Rosie, he said "devoted", and that she was. She was first and foremost devoted to the Lord and her church.  She taught Sunday School for over thirty years. And I had the priviledge of sitting next to her in the choir loft in the alto section. She worked in the day care at our church for over twenty years in the infant department.  There's no telling how many babies she rocked in her lap while she worked there.  She was devoted to her family and friends, but when I think of Rosie and the word "devoted" only one thing comes to mind: when she and Uncle Clancy would go somewhere in his old white pickup truck, she wouldn't be sitting in the passenger seat; she would be sitting right next to Uncle Clancy. 

Rosie also loved to cook and bake.  She used to bake lemon squares and send a plate over to us every time she made them.  And she loved to camp and fish.  Some of my fondest memories growing up are of going to Canada with her and Uncle Clancy and going camping and fishing with them.

As we pulled into the driveway this morning after the funeral, I sat in the car for a minute before putting in the garage, just looking over at Rosie's house.  Things will never be the same here in The Compound.  But I think she and Uncle Clancy just might be riding around the streets of gold up in heaven in their old Mustang.

Quote Of The Week

Spoken by The Old Man earlier this week, and I quote:

"You don't put your business on the streets." 

File Under: WTF?

Ten grand and two sweet potatoes to kill her husband.  I just don't think there's much else I can say about this.

Happy Birthday, Cher

TWIT would like to wish one of my very favorite entertainers in the entire world, Cher, a very happy birthday today.  The icon is a young 66 years old today. I know that might be hard to accept, but yes, Cher is 66 years old today.

She's done it all, and has done her her way and with class and style. I've had the awesome opportunity to have seen her perform three times live in concert, and each concert was just awesome and so entertaining - from the costume changes to all of the sets and dancers.  She knows how to put on a show.

She also knows how to act.  When people think of Cher movies they most likely will think of "Moonstruck" or "Mask" but Cher also performed stellar roles in "Silkwood" and the HBO movie "If These Walls Could Talk." 

Happy birthday, Cher.  May you have many, many more.

Link of the Week

As I've mentioned before The Old Man loves to bake.  In fact just yesterday he was telling some friends about some fancy Red Velvet cupcakes he was going to make this week.  He's made cakes and things from scratch but most of the time he uses boxed cake mixes and jazzes them up by adding more ingredients.

I found a blog this week that follows that theme; it has recipes using - yep, you guessed it - boxed cake mixes.  Visit it at http://boxedcakemixrecipe.blogspot.com/ and get to baking! Please let me know if you tried any of the recipes and I will keep you posted and let you know what The Old Man makes.

A Tribute To Uncle Clancy

The Old Man asked if I would take a picture of this fish that hangs proudly out on our back porch wall, and I felt compelled to share the picture and the story behind it.

The fish is a Muskie, that was caught on Lake Kishkutena in Nestor Falls, Ontario.  That's about an hour northwest of International Falls, Minnesota. The fish was caught back in 1970 by our neighbor and dear friend Clarence.  We called him Uncle Clancy.

Uncle Clancy made a yearly pilgramage to Lake Kishkutena from the early 70's until his untimely death in 1989.  This trip was not for the faint of heart.  It was a twenty-four hour drive from Louisville to Nestor Falls, and the trip was usually made without stopping.  Once you arrived at Nestor Falls, a plane would fly in your gear and drop it off on a little island, and everybody would travel to the island by boat.  This was about a three hour trip.  At 3 points during the boat trip to the island, everybody would have to get out and actually lift and carry the boats over portages.  Once on the island, you would set up tents and the cooking area and that would be your home for a week until time for the plane to come back and load up your gear, and then you would once again make the three hour boat ride (including going over the portages) back to the dock.  While on the island, you had no electricity, running water, nor most importantly, a bathroom. But you made do.  I made this trip once when I was 12 years old, and even for a teenage girl, it was kinda cool.

But I digress.  Clarence caught this huge Muskie during a trip to Lake Kishkutena in the summer of 1970.  He didn't have any ice to spare to keep the fish cold until he could get back to Louisville, but he improvised.  He carefully skinned the fish, and put it in a big can of salt water, and when he got back home, he stuffed and mounted it hisself.

One of Uncle Clancy's grandsons inherited the fish, and earlier this week, he gave it to my Old Man. He had went with Uncle Clancy on probably 20 of his trips up north, and the grandson knew that Dad would be just about the only person that would appreciate the big muskie.  The Old Man had to do a little repair work on a fin, but Gorilla Glue fixed it back on and you can't even notice it was broken off.

So the big muskie hangs proudly on our back porch, as a tribute to Uncle Clancy.

Flashback Friday

Farewell, Donna Summer

It is with great sadness that tonight I say farewell to one of my all time favorite singers, the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer.  Donna lost her battle with lung cancer today at the young age of 63.

The majority of her fans did not know that she was battling cancer; she chose to keep her battle private.  That was just another example of what a class act that Donna Summer was. You never heard any scandal or drama about her. 

One of my few regrets in life is that I wasn't a young adult during the disco era in the late 70's and early 80's; I was just in high school and couldn't get into the clubs to watch the disco dancers in action.  But I lived vicariously during the disco era by watching Soul Train, American Bandstand, Midnight Special, Dance Fever, and Don Kirschner's Rock Concert.  All of these shows had the disco queen Donna Summer on their shows many times. And I also wore out my Donna Summer albums.

Donna Summer was a Christian, and I'm sure she's singing right now up in heaven.  You will be missed, the Queen of Disco.  And there will never be another to take your place.  Rest in peace, Donna Summer.

Congratulations Alfred and Willie

TWIT would like to wish a major happy anniversary to Alfred and Willie Crump.  Yesterday was their 75th Anniversary.  In a time where one out of every two marriages ends in divorce, this is a one in a million couple.  They live here in Louisville, and I would love to meet them and get a hug from them. 

When asked what their secret was to such a long marriage, they said simply it was finding satisfaction and happiness in the little things that life has to offer.  That is wise advice that would help us all - not just to make marriages work but in life in general.

Coicidentally Queen Elizabeth is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee right now.  If you ask me, I think Willie and Alfred should go on tour and visit the country like the Queen is doing.  Staying married to the same person for 75 years is more impressive to me than running a country for that long.

May God continue to bless you, Willie and Alfred.

Happy National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

TWIT would like to wish everyone a very Happy National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day.  Please take some time this evening to whip up a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies, or if you want to do like we are doing, you can get a roll or pack of the premade chocolate chip cookie dough at the grocery store and bake them.  However you decide to do it, just bake or buy some chocolate chip cookies tonight.

Game On

I'm ashamed to admit that I've been a procrastinator for a few months, and have totally did nothing with Good Shepherd Security Consulting.  But today that has all changed.  To use a worn out marketing cliche, I've pulled the trigger, and today I ordered brochures, business cards, letterhead and envelopes and even custom-made shirts for GSSC.  It's on.  I'm not slacking any longer, and am going into this with all I have. 

And earlier today, a friend called me with a very timely lead, and I've already made a call to a church that could use the help of Good Shepherd Security Consulting.  As always, I'll keep you posted.

Happy Mother's Day

TWIT would like to wish a very Happy Mother's Day to mothers everywhere.  And I would especially like to wish a very Happy Mother's Day to my Mama.

Please take some time today to call a mother - whether it's your own or someone else's - and tell them that you love them. 

Security Tip Saturday

The 'Rents and I attended a funeral this morning where we paid our last respects to our dear friend Lenora.  While we were waitng for the pall bearers to bring her casket out, I glanced up and noticed this sign hanging on a wall in the funeral home. I took a minute and spoke to one of the funeral home directors and told him I was a security consultant and that I was impressed that their funeral home had taken the time to have evacution plans and procedures. He smiled and said "You have to.  Because you never what is going to happen."

This Saturday's Security Tip is to make it a point to know how you're going to get out of someplace - be it a plane, office building, restaurant, church, or even a funeral home.  Take a moment to look around for any signs like this one that was in the funeral home.  If there aren't any signs showing evacuation routes, come up with your own route; the most direct way out would be the best way, but also figure out an indirect way out. Mr. White at the funeral home was right - you never know what is going to happen. 

As always, stay safe and be prepared.

Flashback Friday

It's hard for me to believe that one of the most awesome albums ever, "Rumours",  is 35 years old.  Yep, it was released 35 years ago, give or take a week or two.  Fleetwood Mac recorded the album during much, much turmoil - Christine and John McVie were going through a divorce, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were breaking up, and all of the band members were fighting addictions to drugs and alcohol. Yet they were able to come together and record one of the best albums in the history of recorded music.  Go figure.

Farewell, Lenora

I am very sad tonight to say farewell to a dear, sweet friend, Lenora.  She would have bee 97 on her next birthday.  She was a dear friend of ours that we grew to love during our time at Fourth Avenue Baptist and beyond. 

I'm around some basketball radicals and fanatics at work, but I would venture to say that Lenora was probably the #1 UofL fan in the world.  If anyone called her during a UofL basketball game, she didn't answer the phone.  I can sure admire that devotion.

During the time I was priviledged to spend with her in our Sunday School class at FAB, every so often Lenora would ask a question and our teacher just couldn't answer it.  Lenora would say that she was adding that question to her list of questions to ask when she got to heaven.  So I'm sure that she's had Peter, Paul, and others busy the past day answering her questions.

Mom talked to Lenora every Sunday.  Either she would call Lenora, or Lenora would call her.  And almost every Sunday, Mom said that Lenora would mention the "grand" Easter that she spent with us when we had my best friend in the world and her two children come over for Easter dinner and a very impromptu Easter egg hunt.  It in deed was a grand Easter.

This past Sunday when Lenora didn't call, and when Mom called and didn't get an answer, Mom knew something was wrong.  Lenora had fallen and broke her hip, and passed away yesterday morning. 

You will be missed, Lenora.  But I thank the Lord for the lives that you have touched - especially mine.

File Under: WTF?

The first time that I saw the mug shot of the Tanorexic Mom, I thought how much she looked like the Abominable Snowman from "Rudolph." Just saying.

Happy Drink Water Week

TWIT would like to wish everyone a Happy Drink Water Week.  Cities all across the country are celebrating Drink Water Week.  Our own Louisville Water Company is celebrating on Friday during lunchtime by giving away free reusable water bottles and water if you stop by their complex in downtown Louisville.  You can celebrate on your own by simply drinking more water. 

Do what I did today - I set a reminder in my Outlook calendar at work to fill up my 32 oz water bottle in the morning and afternoon, and hopefully I will drink said water in the bottle in between fill-ups. 

When I went to the ER 10 years ago with a severe viral infection, the doctor told me that the majority of people are dehydrated all the time because they simply don't drink enough water.  Since then I've done my best to drink a few bottles of water a day.  I urge you, faithful readers, to do the same. 

Derby 2012 Reflections

Kentucky Derby 138 is history and today is just another day for people to re-coop and re-group after a week plus of partying and festivities. 

I'm happy to report that the Old Man had the winner.  He even had ten across the board on I'll Have Another and he got back almost three hundred bucks from his bet.  Not a bad day at the office.

As for me, I'm glad that the big hoopla is over. I have a year to get ready for the next Taste of Derby Festival and the Great Steamboat Race.  I'm sure I'll be nerved up as usual when next year's events roll around.  But that's how I roll.

As for the rest, it's bittersweet.  It's pretty sad that for the past two mornings on national TV morning shows, the first story has been about the dead body found in one of the horse barns at Churchill Downs. I first heard about it yesterday morning while I was watching "Good Morning, America" while getting ready for church.  And then again this morning on GMA, it was the lead story. With this murder mystery unfolding, people will have a hard time remembering about how I'll Have Another won this year's Derby.

Link Of The Week

You might not know this about Puddin, but I collect glasses.  Any kind of glasses - glass glasses, funny plastic glasses, and last but not least shot glasses.  I'd estimate that I have about 100 shot glasses in my collection.  And I'm always on the lookout for more.  Friends that know I collect them bring them back to me from trips, and a few friends who are avid yard-salers have given me some old and unusual ones.  Like I said, I'm always on the lookout for a different and unusual shot glass.  This week, someone sent me a link to a cool site that was selling a shot glass that looks like a stainless steel shotgun shell.  Very interesting.  I just might have to buy it.  You can buy one, too, at http://www.fab.com/.  They have a lot of cool stuff there, not just shotgun shell-inspired shot glasses.  Happy shopping

Happy Derby!

TWIT would like to wish everyone a very happy Derby day.  May all of your bets earn you money.

Flashback Friday

Today is Kentucky Oaks Day at the track, and we all know that tomorrow is the big Kentucky Derby.  But today I reminisce back to when I was in elementary school and made my first visit to Churchill Downs.

I was in the third grade, and it was a day like today - the Friday before the Derby.  My neighbor and second grandmother Alice aka Muggs came to school and got me out early and took me to the track. I was all dressed up.  I had on one of my Sunday best dresses, my polished black patent leather Mary Janes and I might have even had a hat and gloves, but that part is a bit cloudy.  I just remember it was a bit cool because I was wearing one of my cool ponchos that Grandma crocheted. 

We got to the track, parked and waltzed in.  I remember thinking that we must have been like the millionaires. We got to our seats and then went back and made our first bets.  Of course I was too young so Alice had to make my bets for me, but I was old enough to be able to read a racing form and could make some decent decisions on my bets. During the year, I would keep a bank up at Alice's, and would put money in there that I'd earned from going to the grocery store for her or doing some odd jobs for them.  That was my betting money.  I also brought some of my allowance that I saved.

I wouldn't trade those days for anything.  That was an annual tradition for Alice and me.  Actually, it was more than annual.  Once during the spring and fall meets, she would come and get me out of school early and we'd head to the track, each time I'd be all decked out in my dress-up clothes, just like I was going to be on Millionaire's Row.

Which brings me to another flashback.  This time, in the mid-90's.  I'd always wanted to go to the Derby but first of all, didn't have connections to get a good seat in the stands and second, I wasn't brave enough or wild enough to spend the day in the infield.  My old friend LB knew I really wanted to go to the Derby in style, and I don't know how she did it, but somehow she got us seats up on Millionaire's Row.  I was truly decked out on that first Saturday in May that we went.  I had on a Kelly green linen suit with a pale yellow blouse and a Derby hat. It was truly a day to remember.  I got some autographs from some celebrities, and have memories that will be with me for a lifetime.  I'm eternally grateful to LB for making that happen.

It Might As Well Have Rained

The 'Rents and I were all excited tonight to have our favorite junk foods, nachos and grilled hot dogs, as we watched the TV coverage of the Derby Festival Pegasus Parade.  Let me tell you the nachos and the hot dogs were the highlights of the parade.  The TV coverage sucked.  The majority of the TV coverage was of the crowds or the streets.  I'm sorry but that's not what most of the Louisvillians watching the parade on WAVE Channel 3 wanted to see. At one point during the TV coverage, the hosts started reading off a long list of floats, bands and other participants that the coverage "missed."  That was pretty embarassing.  And people were making a big fuss over parade Grand Marshall Cyndi Lauper dropping the F Bomb while on camera.  But you couldn't prove it by us.  We were watching the entire time and sure didn't her hear say anything like that, thanks to the coverage from Wave Channel 3. 

Maybe next year's parade coverage will be back up to the high standard that WAVE3 has normally had.

Great Steamboat Race Wrap Up

In spite of a few glitches today, the almost-annual Great Steamboat Race Party on the banks of the Ohio River at Cox's Park was a success.  The main glitch was it was so windy that we couldn't light the grill and keep it lit.  So we improvised and had some of the best gas station chicken that we've ever had.  Nobody even missed hot dogs and hamburgers.

As I said it was windy all day long, so even though we couldn't grill, the wind was great to help keep us cool when the temperature hit 90 today.

It was a long, fun day, and I'm exhausted and am going to fix a cocktail to sip while I soak in the bathtub and then I'm heading to bed.

Addendum

I was outside for a few minutes after posting the previous entry, and in those few minutes I felt totally ashamed of myself.  As I'm blogging tonight about packing up my Blazer for a tailgating party tomorrow, two very precious little children are in operating rooms two-thousand miles apart, going through things nobody should have to go through.  Out in Los Angeles, my second cousin's three-year old Tucker is now in hour number eight of a long surgery to give him a new ear and to hopefully improve his hearing.  He was born with a condition called Microtia.  Microtia is a congenital deformity where the pinna (external ear) is underdeveloped (microtia). This occurs in 1 out of about 8,000–10,000 births. While it's not life-threatening, it has the potential to severely limit hearing and cause psychological distress over the physical abnormality. Basically, Tucker was born with what looks just a big ear lobe on the left side of his head.
And in downtown Louisville, our neighbor's 9 year old granddaughter Sophie just came out of emergency surgery because she suddenly developed a severe infection in her face. She woke up Sunday morning with what looked like a fat lip; her mother even joked with her about one of her little friends punching her in the mouth during a sleepover she had the night before.  As the infection spread, her face started swelling, to the point yesterday where it was about twice her normal size.  They took her to the pediatrician and he sent them on to Kosair Children's Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery. Thank the Lord the doctors caught this in time before the infection could reach her eye. 

I just texted my second cousin (Tucker's dad) and he said that he was still in surgery but things are going well, and that they hoped to have him in recovery in a couple of hours.  And I just spoke with Sophie's uncle and he said that she was in recovery and that her surgery went well. They had to put in a tube so the infection could continue to drain out, but they were pleased with the results.

Please keep these two little ones in your prayers.

Great Steamboat Race Eve

The weather is supposed (key word) to be mostly sunny and 90 tomorrow, so we're full steam ahead (pun intended) on the almost-annual Great Steamboat Race Party on the bank of the Ohio River.  Late last week I made a list things to do and things to buy, and have been checking them off one by one. The Blazer is almost packed up except for coolers and food, and just a few things need to be bought at the store tomorrow on the way to the park. So it looks like it's all coming together like it usually does. As always, I'll keep you posted and will post some pictures tomorrow evening when I get home.  Or I might try to be hi-tech tomorrow and attempt to post some on here with my new phone.  We'll see.