Haunted House

We went to the Tampa Palms Country Club the other evening to visit a Haunted House. The club went to a lot of expense to set up an elaborate series of rooms with all kinds of scary special effects.

It was cool, but the little kids were freaked out (as were some of the adults).

We took our neighbors daughter and she lasted about 1 minute before she started sobbing and had to make a quick retreat.

I made it all the way through (somehow).

Pistol Pete (Part 1)

When I was growing up in Pittsburgh, one of my happiest days was when my neighbors, the Malarkeys, paved their driveway and put up a basketball hoop.

I would spend day and night practicing and playing hoops. Except when the Malarkeys would have dinner (they would politely ask me to take a break).

Since, I get bored easily, it wasn't long before I started to practice trick shots. I would shoot it behind my back, off the wall, off the hill, etc. This came in handy, since one of the games we played, was called HORSE. Where a player had to match the other players shot. If they missed, they got the letter H. Whoever got to HORSE first, lost.

Anyway, I got to so good at my crazy trick shots, that I got the nickname, Pistol. (named for Pistol Pete Maravich who was famous for his unique style of basketball). The unusual part of the story was that Mr. Malarkey was a basketball coach and he was friends with Pete's father Press.

Later in my life, I learned more about Pete Maravich and his life. It is an amazing story (stay tuned).

Fast forward to 'today'.

I still practice my trick shots. Some of the guys at the YMCA comment about my crazy shots. They haven't nicknamed me Pistol yet (maybe, because they are too young to know about him).

The Big Five-O

I tried to hide the news that I was turning 50 from as many non-family members as I could, but my neighbors found out. They surprised me by 'trashing' my yard wth a bunch of 'Over the Hill' signs and ballons the night before my birthday.

I also was greeted by a faceful of silly-string from my neighbors daughter.

I have to say, it was a lot of fun and much appreciated.

It made turning 50 a day to remember.

On my actual birthday, we took our neighbor's daughter (the silly-string shooter) to the zoo. It was the first time I had been there in a while. It was cool to see the animals up close and feed them. It was a fun day.

My Steelers Super Bowl Ticket

When the Steelers defeated the Ravens this past January to reach the Super Bowl, I was thrilled. Especially since they would be playing in Tampa.

I had been to two previous Super Bowls, but I had never seen my hometown team play.

The cost of tickets for the two previous games was around $150.00.

For this game, I knew that I would be paying big bucks if I decided to go.

It wasn't until the Thursday before the game that I decided to try and get a ticket.

I found a ticket broker close to my job and visited the location at lunch.

I had several seats to choose from and I selected one that would be close to the field. Around the 30 yard line and 30 rows back.

The price was pretty steep, but I went because I knew that my father would want me to go. He had passed away two months earlier.

The cool thing was just a few days after the game, which of course, the Steelers won, I got a check in the mail from my dad's insurance company. The money he left me was the exact amount I paid for the ticket.

Pretty amazing coincidence.

Rolling Down the Mountain

When I was in High School, I made a friend with a guy who liked to do crazy pranks. I realized later that we could have killed someone.

The worst prank ("kids, don't try this") was when we took an old tire and rolled it down a hill where it would cross a busy street (where people were driving their cars).

The location was at my old elementary school. It was late in the evening. After we rolled the tire down down this steep hill, we watched to see what would happen. Sure enough, a car had to slam on it's breaks to avoid getting hit.

A minute later, we see a car speeding up the hill. We ran into the woods as fast as we could. We escaped detection. I remember thinking, I got to get new friends. This nut is going to get me sent to jail.

Cancer Walk

This past Saturday, I woke up early, stepped outside and realized the temperature had dropped into the 40's. Pretty unusual for Florida. The dogs sure liked it, but I was hoping for a warmer day.

This was the day of the 5K walk to raise money for Breast Cancer research. My company was one of the sponsors and quite a few employees signed up to participate.

I decided that a brisk walk would be a nice way to start the day. I thought all my dog walks would prepare me for the 5K.

So, my wife and I drove into the city of Tampa and made our way to the St. Pete Times Forum.

We met up with some of my co-workers and enjoyed the pre-walk festivities.

The walk started at 9:00 and was over by 10:00. Most of the walk was down Bayshore Boulevard. It was cool to be one of several thousand participants and to be part of a city-wide event. We even saw the mayor (Pam Iorio).

One thing, my legs were sore. I guess the dog walks were not much of a help for that long of a distance. But, we enjoyed it. Oh, and the weather did warm up. So, it was a great way to start the day.

Tornado Scare

A few years ago we were having a very bad storm. We were watching the news and heard of tornadoes being spotted in the Tampa Bay area. A few minutes later, the weatherman announced that a new tornado was moving down I-75 towards Tampa Palms (my neighborhood).

Since we do not have a basement, the safest place I could think of was in a hall closet (under the steps). So, I tried to get everyone into that area (it is a big size hall closet). Anyway, my wife's mom (we call her 'Gammy') was staying with us. She was more concerned with making sure some jackets that we had to pull from the closet were not getting wrinkled than getting to the safe zone. As the winds started to get stronger outside, she kept folding, and we kept telling her "hurry, come on, the tornado is coming".

It took her five minutes to get into the closet.

We had a good laugh afterward (when we finally relaxed as the storm passed).

Slow Day at the Blog

I am one of the few people with a last name that can be typed on a calculator. Assuming, you turn it upside down.

The numbers below spell DIEBOLD (upside down). Of course, the 0 has to be considered both an O and a D. Give me some slack, its a 'slow day at the blog'.

0708310

I discovered this after learning of the calculator trick that spells Shell Oil (see image above). I decided to try and spell my name and was surprised that I was able to.

VIP Access at the SuperBowl

In January of 1990, I was offered a ticket to attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans between the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos. The sister of a friend of mine was married to John Frank of the 49ers. I used my free airline tickets that I had won in a putting contest (see One Lucky Putt blog).

It was kind of last minute so I had to stay in a city north of New Orleans. I drove into New Orleans and met up with the players family (I had never met them). At first, I was nervous, because they acted like my ticket was not available. But they told me not to worry.

The next thing I know I am being escorted into the players hotel. While I was there, I was introduced to the owner of the team, Eddie Debartolo. I think that is how I got my ticket. It was a very good ticket, near the 40 yard line.

I checked out New Orleans, but since I was staying an hour away, I couldn't explore too much.

The actual game was a blowout. The 49ers won 55-10.

After the game, I was escorted into the players families waiting room where I met many of the players and partook in some food and refreshments. I actually got about 7 autographs, including Steve Young's (a hall-of-famer).

I still have the program, although, it may be on E-Bay one day.

One funny thing, the next day, in the USA Today, Jerry Rice of the 49ers was quoted as saying, the one thing he didn't like, was all the autograph requests they had at the post game celebration.

I have to admit it, I think I was the one who started the autograph barrage.

Return to Golf

I played golf with my neighbor the other day. It was the most fun I have had playing golf in a long time. The previous time I had played golf, I had played so poorly, that I considered quitting for the rest of the year. I am glad I decided to give it another try.

Even though I was under Dr's orders to rest (due to dental surgery), I decided to get some fresh air (air that felt like it was 100 degrees). So, we made our way to the golf course.

I started off OK, but then had a few problems driving the ball off the tee. My neighbor thought he saw what my problem was and gave me a few suggestions. I usually don't find golf advice to be very helpful, but this time it made a huge difference.

I went from hitting terrible tee shots to hitting the ball straight down the middle. I had a 5 hole stretch where I made 4 pars and a birdie. This was my best stretch of golf in many years.

I can't wait to play again.

Golf is FUN again!

Water Drinking Contest

One of the nice things about my job at New Homes was the Zephyrhills water that was delivered each week. We had more of those huge 5-gallon bottles than I could count. We also had the smaller hand held bottles.

We were a well hydrated group of employees.

One day, I thought I would put the water to good use. I challenged a few of the guys to a water drinking contest. I thought it would lift everyone's spirits (since, the company was sinking like me during my high school swim class).

So, after I proposed the contest, there ensued a long debate on what the rules would be, etc (some of my co-workers were a little immature).

Anyway, once all that was cleared up, Dennis, Miles, and myself began the contest.

Greg was the official judge. A job he would regret.

Within a few seconds, I had a laughing attack and proceeded to blow out my water like the seals at Sea World. Greg was the unlucky recipient of my 'stream'.

As he was ducking and getting soaked, Dennis and Miles kept chugging. I don't remember who won, but it was a fun day.

Greg took it well. He was fine after he located a roll of paper towels.

This May Sting a Little

One of my all time least favorite things to do in life is visit the dentist office.

But, I guess it's the price I have to pay for not taking care of my teeth as well as I should have. Flossing was not something I did until I developed gum disease. I also was never very thorough when I would brush my teeth. Who wants to spend all that time brushing your teeth when its time to go to bed.

So, I have the pleasure of visiting the dentist office 4 times a year for maintenance.

The other day I had an additional visit to have surgery. The surgery was to take tissue from the roof of my mouth and use that tissue to help my gum tissue get stronger. Some kind of graft.

I was treated very nicely. They have a great staff. But, I hope it's a long time before I need another surgical procedure.

One of the things I dread is when the Dr. says "This may sting a little". That is code for "This is going to be very painful". But, I survived. The tough part is that you can only have cold liquids for the first 24 hours. How many Ensures can one person drink?

Until next time ...

High School Playoffs

After not making the High School basketball team, the coach asked if I wanted to be a team manager. The manager is the kid who does all the behind the scenes stuff for the team, getting towels, water bottles, etc.

One side benefit was being able to sit next to the cheerleaders on the bus to the away games.

I was in 10th grade, but the seniors treated me well. Except when they played practical jokes on me. Like throwing all the basketballs I was trying to collect down the stairs. Our team that year, led by the Skelley twins, went undefeated in our section and we qualified for the post season playoffs.

The playoffs were held at the Civic Arena (the place the Stanley Cup Penguins still call home).

It was cool to go there and see the locker rooms and walk on the court.

My neatest memory was walking off the court as we finished our warm-ups. My nutty friends started a cheer, not for the team, but for me. Soon, hundreds of people were chanting 'Deebs, Deebs, Deebs' (my nickname back then).

I guess it was my "Rudy" moment.

Our team lost that day, but it was a great season.

It Wasn't the Aids Walk List, but ...

If you are a fan of the show Seinfeld, you may remember the episode where Jerry gets a girls phone number from a list where people had signed up to go on a walk to support Aids.

I had a similar experience. When we first moved into our home, we would be woken up every night by the sound of a barking dog. The little guy barked nonstop for hours. We could not see him because he was on the porch and there was a fence between our properties.

I couldn't figure out how to make him stop. I guess looking back, I could have done the easy thing and just knocked on the neighbors door but I found a different way ....

A few weeks later we had a knock on the door. There was an environmental group trying to get people to sign a petition to stop something (I don't remember). As they made their pitch, I happened to notice a name, address, and phone number on the list.

I had remembered the neighbors address because I had considered sending them a letter. So, when I saw the address, I mentally recorded the phone number next to it.

I now formulated a plan.

The next night, when old yappy starting his ritual yelping, I sprung into action. I picked up the phone and called the owners of the yapper. I woke them from a sound sleep, Ah, too bad.

I just said, over and over again, "Your Dog's Barking', "Your Dog's Barking". They were Spanish, but I think they got the point eventually. They did something and from then on, we never heard the dog again.

A few months later, I was walking my dog and I had a conversation with the owner (they didn't know who I was, I think). They were telling me a sad story about how their blind dog had recently passed away.

I felt bad, but then again, I was glad to be able to sleep.

Bob and Sammy

A while back, I talked about Rusty's new friend Sammy.

Bob (our Sharpei-mix) and Sammy are not friends.

One day, Sammy had gone over to say hi to Bob. I was talking to Sammy's owner when I heard a terrible sound. Bob and Sammy were having a bad fight. Michael Vick would have been proud. We tried to separate them, but it was difficult. I thought Bob was going to kill Sammy, but Sammy defended himself pretty well. Bob had a small cut on his face, but it healed quickly.

Eventually, they were separated. Sammy's owners took it all in stride. They acted nicer than I would have.

Sammy must have sniffed Bob in the wrong place. Bob is sensitive in that way. As most males are.

To this day, Sammy is afraid of Bob. He runs as fast as he can from us if Bob is around. I have to take Bob a different direction so that Rusty and Sammy can have some play time.

Remembering My Dad

Today is the first time I won't be calling my dad to wish him a "Happy Birthday" (since moving to Florida). He passed away last December.

It will be a day to remember the good times we had.

I'm glad it will take place on a Sunday.

Being in church will make things easier.

Near the end of his life, he professed his faith in Jesus for his eternal salvation.

For that, I am thankful.

Movie Review - "The Invention of Lying"

I recently saw the movie, "The Invention of Lying".

There were several things in the movie that made me think about our culture. The movie is set in a 'made-up' place where everyone tells the truth. Imagine a world where people would tell you exactly what they are feeling and you could do the same in return. People wouldn't have to pretend. Of course, hearing and telling the truth could be painful (or not).

Also, imagine a world where advertisers would tell you the truth. Just think how different that would be.

That's how this 'world' was until, the lead character invents lying. The actor is a British comedian. I have always liked the British type of humor (dry and witty).

I wish I could recommend the movie (some parts were very entertaining and funny). But, it was also a movie that had a secret agenda. It brutally attacked Christianity. It blamed God (the "Man in the Sky") for all the problems in the world. It went on and on attacking Biblical truths.

So, please don't see this movie.

Possum Has Bad Day

The other night a possum made a decision he would soon regret. He decided to visit our yard at 1:00 in the morning. Little did he know that our sharpei/retriever mix Bob has a great sense of smell.

We made the mistake of assuming the dogs had to go to the bathroom as we opened the back door.

Within seconds, Bob dashed into the backyard and attacked the unfortunate Mr. Possum. Bob has eliminated many possums over the years and has never even got a scratch. I guess possums are not as tough as they look.

Rusty, our other dog, is very kind to other animals. He used to escort the possums out of the yard.

Now, he just barks at what Bob does to them. I felt bad for any neighbors who were trying to sleep at 1:00 AM. Rusty barked nonstop until Bob finally came back in the house. I'm sure we are not the most popular neighbors at this time.

The picture above is courtesy of the vultures who invaded our yard.

Until next time ...

Celebrity Siting

This must be my week for hearing about and seeing professional wrestlers.

This past weekend, I heard a lot of stories about Hulk Hogan.

My wife and the preacher who performed a wedding ceremony that I attended both knew the "Hulkster" from Robinson High School in Tampa. In fact, the preacher talks to Hulk Hogan on a regular basis.

My wife likes to tell a story about how Hulk kicked down a door at a party she attended back in High School.

One of Hulks wrestling rivals was Dusty Rhodes, known as the 'American Dream'. The "Dream" likes to eat at Wright's Deli. My buddy Dennis and I ate there this past Monday and as we were leaving, we spotted Dusty.

It looked like he was eating for two. He had several sandwiches, soup, and dessert. But then again, he is a big guy.