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I decided to throw caution to the wind. I wandered off with trusty Pippen for a walk to our favorite spot and didn't even bother to bring a poop scooper. Hey, No one follows a bear around with a plastic bag. And where does a bear go? Where we were going. So, off we went down the two rut chasing dragons to slay and I don't know who has the better time, him or me. Us men of the backwoods are a sturdy beast and if we get threatened Pippen will bark at them. This is our Island Lake national security.....

Back at the ranch, Gracie was getting a well deserved rest after church this morning, finishing her photo blog, and lunch with Mark and Brianna (Aunt Bree) and I don't know who loves who more, me or her...

I spill things. I blame it on not seeing on my left and when I spill something on the right I try to get on the right side of it. Gracie has patients and I'm getting better. Lots of the stuff I spill has sugar in it. I imagine I have been spilling sugar in here for a long time B.G. (before Gracie). I say this because we have black ants. Want some? You can have ours. And even when we DON'T have a picnic. Help me Boomers. How do I get rid of ants probably caused by grease and sugar by products. I really dis like putting by products in a sentence when talking about us. My pretty damsel has been great and helping solve the problem I wish we didn't have. Email me....easy6747@yahoo.com....

So, anyway, Pippen and I are on our merry way and I pondered about my next printing of the Trout Falls Chronicles which will be out in a couple weeks and how I am living it right now that I am back home and in the woods. I went Trout Fishing not far from Trout Falls Creek yesterday, the actual one. This was part of my surprise to Janet. I was showing her the spot that is the most quiet, peaceful, with a trout river underneath the wood bridge my buddy Burner built. What goes around comes around and I was back to fish again with the woman I love. The surprise for her was I guess how much I wanted her to be with me and see it. I could go there alone and enjoy the river and I've done that but I would have no one to share it with. That is not as much fun, I can tell you about my ten years alone but I won't...

. I call it Beaver Creek in my book. Gracie deftly navigated the railroad grade and I lazy fished walking down to the stream and casting out into the swirrels as water finds a way downstream. Don't we all. Life is a chance, a chance to do things we once could but for whatever reason, mine being my eyesight and Cancer, we just don't get around to doing the things we really love. If we love something there is a real good chance we are making the most of each day God has given us. I prayed in silence in church this morning and thanked God for all he has done for Janet and I. Two good people trying to be obediant and faithful to others and urself and to get rewarded and with some laughs to make it all so easy and gracie......

Pippen was getting bombarded by mosquitos as we sat in the shade admiring an open meadow with knee high grass blowin in the breeze. Can you hear it? Can you feel it? I love Pippen and were getting to be pretty good buds. He listens to me most of the time and...err...come to think of it...err.....Janet doe_.....Never mind...

The Penthouse Cabin is coming sround right nicely. I was telling Mark that Gracie has this thing about cleanliness and he laughed so hard he fell over the white thingy in the yard that held water fo rthe birds. Ever wonder if the birds had the whole lake to get water, why would they need my little thingy that I don't even know the name of? I've been living pretty rustic alone which is like saying that Walden went for a walk by a pond. Gracie has dug in and so have I like I haven't in a long time and the place is looking like a home. I actually have pictures on the wall and my firstdollar on my book in a frame and that feels real good looking back on hence I come from......

I feel in the groove when the writing comes easy and the words flow like water running through the Beaver Creek in my mind. I love Chicago and can't wait to get back there. We have a home there. We love it there. Were going to spend many happy years walking the streets of that fine city. But, this is our home too. It seems to me like we have the best of two worlds. OK, it's a cliche but it really applies. I wrote the draft for this blog in my notepad sitting with Pippen not doing much but doing it all. The wind was in our face with a soft breeze and I picked some tear drop purple and yellow flowers and we headed back down the trail, hand on leash, strutting a bit with the whole world out there for us to drink out of it's hand. You thirsty Pippen? I am.......

As I approached the front deck I called for Gracie and she came out the door with a smile and a hearty welcome back and I told her we were off slaying dragons and saving the damsels in distress and I asked her, "Are there any damsels in distress here?" She said, "No, I have my man". I handed her the freshly picked flowers. I think I touched her heart. And that was the plan.....

Life is good........

Easy

Gracie and I are sitting at the kitchen table watching hummingbirds at their feeder outside the window, BlueJays and Chickadee's raiding theirs and thinking how God knew what He was doing giving all of the critters we see. The deer are finally coming in on a regular basis and even Pippen met up with a snapping turtle laying eggs on the road by the culvert yesterday. All is good at the Penthouse Cabin....

Yesterday, I went for a ride with Burner to visit my Republic kindergarten classmate Ticky, who is here from South Carolina for the summer. He is a main character in my book but I won't tell you which one which is a closely guarded secret to protect the innocent and to keep me from being smucked by an errant punch. A small town is just that.....

We met at the Black River camp which is owned by Ticky's family and where I spent many a deer season having buck fever, playing cribbage, telling tall tales, eating excellent grub and whoever shot the biggest buck got bragging rights until the next year of hunting. While standing outside swatting mosquitoes, I listened to the 'Park City boys' tell stories I couldn't help but think that one reason I haven't been able to write much is because I had been in Chicago and not in my writing environment of back home. Hmmmmm.....

Today we have a full plate of activities which includes paying for showers at the truck stop, a haircut for me, paying for the next printing of my book, and a special surprise for my sweet Gracie. I can't tell you what it is because it IS a surprise but I'm hoping she will tell you about it tomorrow. It is something that I have been planning for some time now and I'm excited waiting to see the look on her face. It's not asking her to marry me because I have already asked her....

Have a great Thursday, wear a smile, walk with confidence and be kind to all you meet......

Smiles....Easy

Hello from the north country where all the men are smart and all the woman are smarter and like to fish. First of all, thanks for your concern and prayers for my father, George. He is having some congestion in his lungs and when that clears up they will do bypass surgery on his right leg. He is going home tommorrow and will be on IV's to clear up an infection. Please continue to keep him and my Mother in your prayers. She is taking these setbacks hard.....

Quick hits on our trip and the first couple days at the Penthouse Cabin:

Janet is a great driver when she stays awake. The bruises on her shoulder from me poking her should go away in a few days. Our new car ran great and we laughed the whole trip like we were 18 and that's the way it feels to be in love again.....

We arrived here just before dark and the mosquito's were like a black cloud and picked numbers to see who would bite us first. The cabin, which I thought I had cleaned before I left needs ALOT of work to pass inspection and were working harder to whip it into shape....

No blimplie squirrels nor deer in yard. Did have a beautiful yellow finch at feeder. Hmmm? I paid them well to show up on command and they will now pay. I may cut back on their corn rations....

Went down into the 40's last night with a whipping wind. This morning Janet was up at dawn and saw one of our picture postcard sunrises. In bed, I could hear her uuu's and ahhh's. Mother nature always comes through....

New edited 'Trout Falls Chronicles' goes to printer in a couple days and in a couple weeks we will be touring Upper Michigan and getting it in stores. Anyone interested in buying a copy can email me or message me and I am selling them for $10 to boomers. It retails for $15.95. Our trip will be a heavenly vacation/work experience...

We went to the Baptist church a few miles from here and we like it alot and plan on going on a regular basis. Also we were invited to Burners family reunion and Janet will get to meet people from Republic...

Janet has handled the rough conditions with a smile and alot of class. She continues to amaze me and always has a smile. I am a lucky man...


Have a great Tuesday!! Were off to Walmart and the feed store to get some things we need to get the Penthouse Cabin into the 21st century. Be good and be kind and enjoy the summer like days, even when it's raining....

smiles.... Easy

The power of Prayer is an awesome one and I ask you to please think of my Dad who is in the VA hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is having serious circulation problems in his legs and is being given antibiotics before they try a bypass operation to help with the blood flow. He is being sent home for at least a couple weeks to see how this works before they decide the next course of action. I ask that you keep him in your prayers as our family knows that anything is possible when we pray to Him.

I hope this day is a good one for you and keep smiling and stay on the positive side of life. I am. Easy

Awakened man wrestles leopard out of his bed -

Rumor is he had picked her up in a bar the night before...


Rosie O'Donnell may never speak to Hasselbeck -

I'm hoping that Rosie never speaks at all....


KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Climbers from Japan and Nepal picked up 500 kg (about 1,000 lbs) of tins, old tents, food and medicines littered on Mt. Everest..

Talk about respecting the mountain....


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fossilized foot marks left by a big meat-eater on a lake bed in northern Spain 125 million years ago provide strong evidence that at least some dinosaurs were good swimmers, scientists said on Thursday..

I'd sure like to see the size of that swimming pool..


Residents not sure two bullets enough to stop giant lizard-

Rumor is it was treated at a local hospital and released in the custody of its Mother...


MIAMI (AFP) - A male US astronaut whose involvement in a love triangle sparked a dangerous confrontation between his two female love rivals is being cut from the US space program, NASA announced-

Rumor is he has been hired by a diaper company....


Mo. man burns books as act of protest-

Rumor is he is going to write a book about the experience...


FTSE higher as Vodafone shines-

I have no idea what this means and why I don't read the Wall Street Journal...


Lost whales halt near California bridge-

Rumor is theydidn't have any change for the toll booth...


Calif. prisons trying to reduce suicides-

Officials are thinking about imposing the death penalty on said offenders..


Keep smiling, it's not Monday. EASY

I want to tell you about a friend of mine. His name is John Gawel and he died in Vietnam in 1969 fighting with the 3rd Marine Division. We went through boot camp together in sunny San Diego the summer of 67 when the war was running rampant while back home the stirrings of discontent led to marches on Washington . We weren't exactly good buds but he took the blame for me when I broke a part on my rifle and took the grief from our drill instructor which caused him pain in more ways then one. I never understood why he did it but it was probably because I was a nervous kid still wet behind the ears and I would go on to earn my nickname of 'shaky'.....

The day we graduated we said goodbye with a handshake and I never saw him again but can never forget him ever. He was going to another duty station while I was going to basic warehousing school and on December 5, 1967, I called my parents from Japan and told them I would be staying there and not heading to the Nam. They were elated but I was despondent because Marines were born to fight and I was born to supply the 3rd Marine Division from 500 miles away. It took me over 30 years and therapy to understand we each had our place in fighting that ugly war. The guilt at times overwhelmed me. Today, I know God had a reason to keep me from combat. My job was just as important as the ones doing the actual fighting because without the supplies we were all lost...

In 1990, I visited the moving wall in Marquette, Michigan and I found John's name listed and it brought me to tears bringing back those days of my youth. I called information in Detroit and got in touch with his Mother who was real glad to hear from anyone who served with her son. This call lead to me receiving another call from John's brother who wanted to know everything I knew about John but it wasn't much. I did tell them about the act of courage he did for me and about what a nice, quiet gung ho Marine he was. It wasn't much but the family told me I was the only one that has ever called to talk about him. I found some closure in that for sure....

I called the Detroit Free Press that summer and they did a poignant story and I did it not for me but for John. I received another letter from John's Mom with an invitation to come to Detroit and see her family but the years went by the way they always do...

Finally, I did go to Detroit and I called her again and found out she had died but I did talk to John's brother again to tell him I was sorry for his loss. He told me the rest of the story which was ironic to say the least. John died in 1969 because he couldn't go to Vietnam with the rest of us until he turned 18 which he did in the summer of 1968. It must have been terrible on the family and the pain is something I will never understand nor forget. It hurts me to this day and every Memorial day the memory of John and my youth comes back in a wave of youthful emotions....

I think of this war we are fighting today and all the parents, all the brothers and sisters and all the friends who have lost family and friends in my war and the one being fought as I write these words. We can differ on our opinions of this war but we all can agree on one thing that is common to us all. Tomorrow is a day to remember those who paid the ultimate price of serving our country during a time when our government calls us to do so. We must never forget these brave soldiers. We must take time out tomorrow to grieve and to pay our respects in our own way but as one who thanks them for their courage and dedication. It is the reason why we live in freedom and not oppression that runs rampart across our world...

So, this is for you John and for your family too. May you rest in peace and please remember that we still think of you and miss you very much. Semper Fi buddy!!!!!

smiling with tears of remembrance for our brave soldiers.....

Easy

As Janet and I prepare to head up north to the Penthouse Cabin on Island Lake, I think about my time in Chicago and how different it will be going home again with my wonderful fiancée. I try to fit fiancée into as many conversations as I can while I have the advantage of knowing what it is like in Upper Michigan but for Janet I fear it will be a culture shock of a massive magnitude. She is aware I have no running water and an outhouse that I sometimes have to run to dodging critters of all sorts in the night time which is blacker then black. I have consoled her to the fact that I have a shower and hot water with a flushing toilet up the hill at JJ and Rose's camp but it is a mute point until we put plans into action. I'm sure it will test our love in ways normal people are not used accustomed to living in a city like Chicago. So......

Here are the basic rules to live by while visiting the country near my hometown of Republic which has about 700 people depending on whether the Maki clan and their 17 kids, 32 grandkids and 18 great grandkids are in town..

#1: It is useless to be in a hurry. When you get there, you will still be in Upper Michigan. I figure we are about 30 years behind city life and the pace is just a whole lot slower. We have no freeways unless you count the 3/4 of a mile stretch near St. Ignace just north of the Mackinac bridge. Relax and take in the best Mother Nature has to offer.....

#2: You cannot get lost in Upper Michigan. Every single logging road comes out somewhere and someone will be standing by the road and will be offended if you don't stop and say 'hey'. It may take awhile for him or her to tell you how to get there from here but they most likely will invite you in to have lunch or enjoy a cold lemonade or beer on their porch before they help you...

#3: Forget about shopping in a timely fashion because the people in line in front of you will discuss Aunt Mabel's gall bladder surgery or Uncle Eino's big buck he shot from 300 yards in a pine swamp. Just listen to the stories and enjoy them and you will get a feel of country life and its people....

#4: There is nothing wrong with going into the Pine Grove Tavern at 9 in the morning. The "Summer Place" restaurant only has room enough for the aformentioned Maki clan and the spillover goes to the 2 taverns which double as...say Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks. A cup of Joe is .50 and includes all refills. Do not be dismayed by the beer or mixed drink drinkers because they are probably third shift workers from the iron ore mine and your breakfast is their dinner.....

#5: Bring a smile wherever you go or just stay home. If you can't say hello and smile to everyone you will be labeled one of those city folk who carry their problems from the city to the country. No one wants to hear your problems and you will be avoided at all cost. Us country folk can smell a complainer a mile away and that is how far they will stay away from you....

#6: Never act like you know more then us. You may think you do but you don't. Don't act like some hot shot hunter or trophy fisherman. Let your actions speak for you and we will be the first to tell you how talented you are..

#7: Be who you are and not who you want us to believe you are. We sniff out frauds faster then you will sniff out a skunk killed on the highway stuck to your tires. We respect skunks because we know what they are and they don't act like beauty queens...

#8: Bragging will get you nowhere. Ok, it will get you on the *@*# list in a big hurry. It is ok to brag if you saved a life or invented a way to keep the bugs away but bragging just to boast will be like putting a bull's-eye on your forehead and most of us will be gunning for you....

#9: If you dress like the salesman from LL Bean you will be laughed at. Your not going to a fashion show, your going to the country....

#10: We will not be impressed by your fancy rifles, fancy clothes or your fancy SUV. We are impressed by bib overalls, a 10 year old pick up truck or an over and under shotgun you inherited from your grandfather. Monetary things are not important to us as much as the person behind them...

#11: Don't ask us where you can get an internet connection, a fax machine or a starbucks coffee. You will be labeled as a nerd faster then you can put one of those mosquito head nettings on....

#12: Please don't head to the nearest McDonalds or Walmart as soon as you get to your campsite. Leave the city where you left it.....

#13: Don't try to talk like us. You can't. We promise we won't try to talk you you. We don't want to.....

#14: If the shoe fits, wear it. If it doesn't, don't try to make it fit. Buy another pair....

#15: If you don't ask us what a camp is we won't ask you what a cottage is....

#16: Don't ask us why we talk funny because it is not funny.....

#17: Don't ask us where the action is because there is none. Check rule # 1....

#18: If you don't read this, I suggest you visit New York city.....

Happy Friday to all and please be careful as we head into the Memorial weekend. Enjoy your time at home or at camp and be kind to all you meet....

smiles, Easy

Janet and I were playing scrabble Saturday evening when Pippen the wonder dog decided to get into the game by bringing in a even letter word, Opossum, and depositing it on the living room floor. Janet made one of those faces like when I play a seven letter word and get 75 points and I turned to see a dead baby animal that wasn't dead at all but just acting like it. The incident sure made me feel like I was back home in the Penthouse Cabin as I tried to figure out how to get it out of our home in the city. Being quick on my feet as opposed to the opossum who wasn't in a hurry to get back into the mouth of Pippen who was quite proud of himself while he put a bib on that had pictures of animals he'd like for dinner....

Always on guard for animals in the house, it was obvious for me to grab the BBQ tongs but when I found them in the thongs drawer, I saw that the Opossum had come back to life in fear of being covered with BBQ sauce and grilled to perfection. It ran under the TV table where I cornered him like Steve Irwin the animal hunter did and it played dead again so I picked him up while Pippen was wondering why I hadn't use my mouth like he had. I carried it out the back door and passed by the grill which no doubt made the Opossum happy but Pippen chewed off his bib realizing he wasn't going to get a free meal.....

I tossed it over the back fence into the alley where it belonged and I deposited the tongs into the trash can because I could never pick up a steak that would taste like Opossum which I hear tastes like chicken. I came back inside where Janet and I laughed so hard wondering if it had really happened until we heard a scream from outside that was probably caused by the neighbors whose dog had brought it into their home. Somehow, we got back to the scrabble game where I played LMAO which Janet challenged and I lost my turn but did win the game by 112 points.....

Such is life in our home where just about anything happens and the moral of the story is that Janet will fit right in when we head north because she didn't freak out seeing wild animals in the living room, dead or alive....

Have a great Monday and I hope you get a laugh out of our life to get you going in yours this Monday Monday while I go and try to figure out how to get a robin out of Pippen's mouth with a set of tweezers.....

Smiles.....Easy

The son is 7 years old and has shown an ability to play the chello. It is not uncommon for youngsters to want to play a musical instrument but it is usually a trumpet, a saxophone or the drums. Playing an instrument that is taller then you presents many problems self evident but the dream they carry is as soft as a pillow. I know this young lad and he surprises me with his articulate manner of speaking and the way he carries himself and the cello for that matter. Janet and I were out for dinner with this family not long ago and elevator music was piped in and the young boy said, "That's a Beatles song" and he surprised me because the kids of today think it is an insect once again. The British invasion of this super group has finally faded away with time and now kids are hard pressed to even remember all four of their names. Usually they know the one that died, John Lennon, but don't know that two have died and George Harrison is the least remembered of the four. I never thought I would live long enough to have them forgotten.....

I bring up this gifted child because his Father has been standing in a line outside a school that teaches music and has been since yesterday morning hoping to get him enrolled in free classes where he can pursue his talents in the music field. Like most young couples, they don't have much extra money to send him to an expensive school and I had to laugh when I heard there had been a disturbance when one parent left a chair in their spot when they needed a break. When she retuned others had taken her spot and she complained but the Father of this child said, "I should have left a nickel on the ground to hold my spot". The Father has a great sense of humor besides the love for his son and it cracked me up too. It gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling realizing the depth of the love a parent has for his child....

It reminds me of my own love for my children who are grown men now but the memories of what I did for them comes back as easily as the experiences themselves and it makes me smile. I coached little league baseball for ten years from to-ball to hard ball because of a coach who wanted to win at the cost of the child when the child didn't know winning from losing or even how to hold bat or run the bases. At the time, I was UPS driver and worked lots of overtime but still found the time to teach them and the neighborhood kids the fundamentals and why winning is not the only reason they play. I did it because I loved my boys like any parent should and I have a deep respect for the Mother and Father of this boy who wants to play the chello...

The rest of the story is that these parents are Janet's daughter and son in law and when I heard about him standing in line last night I couldn't wait to get to the computer this morning. I laid in bed last night thinking of the problems I am having with my son by wanting to remarry. We were watching another movie, "The River Runs Through It" about the love of fly fishing a Father had with his sons and I remember how much Kris and I loved trout fishing at our favorite stream and I told Janet we would fish there next month when we head north. I said, "Maybe we will meet Kris there and everything will be the way it once was". She started crying for the rift we have now and I cried too feeling worse then worse that we are apart and I can't make it right by just telling him of my love for him. No matter how good my life is today the pain comes back like a brisk wind on a cold day to dampen the happiness and joy I feel today...

I hope you find this weekend a good one with family get-togethers or memories to remind you that parents and kids should always feel the love that is needed and wanted in this world full of misery and heartaches. Our adult lives started out like the love these two parents have for their child and the depths they will go to find the best for their child. It is the way life is supposed to be for a family that loves each other and wants the child to be all they can be......

Keep smiling.....Easy

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