Seems that the group here on tangents was the subject of an April Fools Joke. Trying to get in to add a post this afternoon, I found that the site was up for sale. Good joke. My own jokes didn’t make it to fruition today. I was unable to get a hold of the intended victims. Maybe they were avoiding calls from their father today. One never knows.

Good joke on us Admin.. 😉 But will you admit my first email did say something about it being on April 1st?

Can this family have much more excitement?

The current list (as it stands now 😉 )

1) 4th Daughter heads out for Show Choir Competition in April.
2) 4th Daughter’s High School graduation in May.
3) 3rd Daughter’s Wedding in June — Play I was in is going to regional competition 🙁 I can’t make it.
4) Family Vacation???
5) 4th Daughter Starts College in August
7) 1st Daughter’s first child due in September

OK what else is can happen? I’m not sure. With the way this year is going, I’m sure there will be something. My life tends to get more complicated, not less.

Could ‘The Lion in Winter’ Go to State competition? I would love that. It was a good part and I would like to play it again…

Weddings, Graduations, College, Birth. I can remember when that was me. It wasn’t that long ago was it.

Of course, I’m sure there will be more medical testing now that I’m 50. That will take some time won’t it. And the fun part is, I don’t know when or what those will be right now. Depends on how the tests go doesn’t it?

What is life without adventure, it looks like I have my days filled with it.

Today marks one year of my blog. More on that in the next post… 😉

I was wondering how random my thoughts have really been in the past year. I’ve written about a lot of different topics that interest me, but I’ve seem to have posted most about the things in life that are most important to me.

Family and Friends.

Posts written in times of sadness revolved around family and friends no longer in my life. Posts written in better times revolved around family and friends I share my life with now. Theater posts revolve around plays and my dear friends that I’ve met through that theater. Even posts on space and science go back to family events I’ve kept in my mind through many a year.

Just how random?

Over three hundred posts and some posts fit into more than one category, but here is a rough break down.

160 Thoughts on Life (default category could contain anything)
100+ posts on Family
50 posts on Friends
48 on the theater
42 on movies or reviews
37 on Widows and Widowers
24 on Science and Technology
10 to 20 on the remaining categories.

If we add the posts for family, friends and widow/widowers together, that is over 1/2 my post total. Yep, kind of shows were my mind is most of the time. This place is a dumping ground to clear my mind and help get thoughts back in gear. I’ve always know what is important to me, and it is good to see that my thought ‘dumps’ confirm this.
😉

I heard and read that Baseball player/hall of famer/tv announcer George Kell died. I am just a bit too young to remember his ball playing days, but I do remember him announcing the games on television.

My brother and I used to watch the ballgames on TV just and his voice gave more to the game. With Ernie Harwell on the radio, we had wonderful announcer either on TV or radio.

Just another sad day for me. Memories shared with my late brother. A voice from my past gone. Sad thoughts for me today.

It was a happy and sad time today. Our show ended and we ended the day tearing down the set. Life outside the theater can begin again. Things can be accomplished, chores done and life again resumes. There are movies to see, books to read, daughters to tend to. From daughters and their new families, marriages, graduations, starting college life goes on. My life in the theater ceases until after the fall. There will be shows, they will do it without me.

There is talk of taking our show to the OCTA regional competition this June, unfortunately, I will not be able to make it. My daughter is planing her wedding for the same weekend. Family comes first. I don’t think I would miss a wedding.

This fall, my oldest is expecting her first child. This will also take up a bit of time or more.

My youngest is finishing her final year of high school, and plans to attend college next fall. This will also take up much of my time.

Life does not stand still, life move on.

More thoughts on our show in another post. It was an event that many enjoyed but it was still too few. I’m not sure how to get the word out to more, but they missed one of the best shows I’ve been involved with.

Yesterday, on my way home from Toledo, I heard that Paul Harvey died at the age of ninety. His news broadcasts were my first foray into news of any type. I remember sitting next to my Dad at noon on Saturday to listen to Paul Harvey News. When Dad was home during the week, he would listen to those newscasts too. I would occasionally go to work with him, and he had a radio to listen there too.

When I had my first job after college, my Dad and I would share a ride to and from work. We started listen to “The Rest of the Story”. Paul Harvey was sort of a father and son bonding time. It went on for a few years. A small way to connect.

I’ve since lost my Father, but I never stopped listening to Paul Harvey when I could. Work didn’t always let me tune in during the week. Prior commitments sometimes took me away from the radio in the evening. Listening to Paul Harvey news or “The Rest of the Story” brought back many memories.

I’ve lost another connection to my past. Sad day.

What was that game?  The one I liked?  I remember what it was about, sort of.  No that wasn’t the game, but it was like that one.  I think this is it, but I don’t remember that rule.   

Ok, has that happened to you?  No?  I guess you don’t play any of the large variety of trivia/knowledge games available.  I’ve noticed that there are so many of these types of games, it is very possible to confuse which one you played last month, or even last week.

I bring this up because  my friends and I play a large number of games.   A good percentage of those games are the trivia/knowledge games.  There are some that are very fun, and other not as much.  Some even have a few of the same questions as other games, but the rules make a difference.    I think what makes the game fun is when giving the wrong answer is as much fun as getting the right answer.  

But then again the fun of games is that we get to enjoy time with others.  Ways to relax, have fun and enjoy the company of others is very important for our mental well being.  This week I have two opportunities to share time with family and friends.  I’m looking forward to it.

jamaihsh, I found some guacamole pringles….

Yesterday was a long and tiring rehearsal. New scene changes, missing actor, multiple acts run again. It was not the best rehearsal.

I was due to be with friends watching the Academy Awards last night. I wasn’t in the mood for any sort of gathering. All I wanted was food, relaxation and then sleep. I was grumpy, crabby, tired and hungry by the end of rehearsal. I was sure I wouldn’t have been the best company while watching an award show. It was actually hard skipping the party, but my body almost demanded it.

After a quick bite to eat with my daughter, we went home and I started a fire in the fireplace. For just I bit I sat down near the fire, and stared at the flames. It had a very calming influence. I went to bed early and actually missed the award show.

Today, I felt a bit bad about not showing up. My grumpy, crabby self was well relaxed and ready to go. I’m sure I would have had fun at the gathering, but I’m also sure I would have paid for it today. Sometimes, I guess, I just need to listen to what my body is telling me. Food, rest and then sleep was definitely called for.

I hope everyone had fun at the party. I had a relaxing evening after a trying afternoon.

Trying again to move pictures and other files around to help keep thing in order on my computer.  I’ve never really been much of a picture taker, but with a digital camera it is so easy just to keep clicking away.  I’m still trying to file all of my video files, but they take much longer to move around.   I may have to buy a Blu-Ray writeable drive when the cost of the media comes down.  I really don’t need to keep the videos on the hard drive, but to fit them on DVD’s almost always compresses them and they lose quality. 

Anyway I’ve been spending the evening looking at pictures, giving them better titles, and moving them to specific folders.  Then I can group these together by type of picture and keep better track of them.  I’m still trying to find pictures of our first dog,  and some other pets we’ve had.   

I’ve had some fun, a few tears and I found some pictures I thought I lost.  

So here is something I haven’t posted before.   This is a picture of me and my wife from 2001. Sure wish I knew what we were looking at.

I’ve said many times how many pets we’ve had in this house, but I haven’t really posted any pictures of them. Here is a small sampling of the many different pets that have lived here. I am missing pictures of the guinea pigs, hamsters, bird, turtles, frogs and hedgehog. If I find any I will post them.

First up, Colin. He was my wife’s “Hearing Ear Dog”. Not formally trained, but he did a very good job at alerting her to sounds in the house.

Next the rabbits, the black one was Samantha, the grey was Clover, and the brown flop ear rabbit was Freddy.

And of course some of the many chinchillas we’ve had through the years.