Merry Christmas (or what have you.)

I hope Santa brings you everything you deserve.

33 Years Ago Today

John Lennon was killed by a disgusting little puke whose name is not fit to mention. John's legacy lives on with me, a Beatlemaniac to the end.

Pearl Harbor Day

The Cap'n salutes all who served.

Happy Birthday Kristine

Happy Birthday to my baby girl, now 23 and married. She's been a joy to us every day of her life.

Happy Birthday Uncle Georgie

On this day in 1839, George Armstrong Custer was born in New Rumley, Ohio. Garryowen in Glory.

T-Town Sites 10

Mount Rainier is visible from anywhere in Tacoma, assuming a tree or building isn't blocking your view. But the best place to see it, in my opinion, is across the flightline of McChord Field. With two miles of flat ground before the nearest tree line, you can see not only the mountain but a large swath of the Cascade Mountain Range. Rainier is a volcano about 60 miles away as the crow flies, and I hope it doesn't have any plans to blow its top any time soon.

Sofia's Birthday Bash

I posted this on Facebook but not here, curse me for a witling. Granddaughter Sofia turned three yesterday and here are a couple of shots from her party. It's hard to believe she's grown so much. We're all very proud of the princess and love her dearly.

The Tally-Ho Coach

     Another of my many model kits is the Tally-Ho Coach. The one on top, from Revell, is the original issue. The lower one, from Universal Powermasters Corporation, is the reissue. Notice the different size boxes. You'd think the one from UPC is much larger. Wrong, stable breath. They're both the same kit from the same molds. UPC was a packager who rented molds not in use by other companies to reissue various kits. If I ever build this I'll let you know what it looks like.


     A followup to yesterday's birthday notice. Linda and I went to the Muckleshoot Casino. I was losing at first so we took a break to have their lunch buffet (or boo-fay as an ex-coworker used to say). I had a very good salad followed by the worst hunk of alleged prime rib to ever disgrace a plate. I spit out the second bite and let the busser take it away with the scraps. The piece of chicken I had wasn't much better. The side dishes and desserts were fine.
     I've eaten there many times and never had a bad item so this was a bit of a shock. Luckily I had enough Player's Club credits so I didn't have to pay for the meal.
    After lunch I went back to my favorite game and ended up $131 ahead.
     I also got some nice presents from the family. Thanks, family. End of report.

Happy Birthday to Me

That's me, center, with Ron Harris (left) and Steve Stilwell. We're at Art Scott's house after a San Francisco Bouchercon. Oh, to be that weight again.

Happy Veteran's Day

A salute to my fellow vets, especially my father and uncles George and Gene.

T-Town Sites 9

     Back at the zoo, where I took my daughter and granddaughter this summer. Top photo shows one of the Asian elephants; either Suki or Hanako. Below is Sofia watching the snow leopard kitten. That kitten was on the news tonight and is twice that size already. A gorgeous animal.

Town Sites 8

This sculpture greets you as you enter the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, a few miles down the road from my house. Kids climb on this Family of Man rendering all the time, and in doing so have polished the brass to Teflon-like slipperiness. I'm amazed no one has smashed his head open yet. In the background is a stage where zoo employees give presentations of various critters. It's geared toward children and they seem to enjoy it a lot.

Happy Halloween

I'm passing out eye candy this year.

T-Town Sites 7

     How about this, a T-Town site that's actually in the city limits. In fact, this handsome mailbox is about two miles from my home. I don't know if it's commercially available or custom made, but it looks really neat along the roadside. Mine is a miniature red barn, which the yellow jackets attempt to build a nest in very summer.

T-Town Sites 6

Our last visit to the cemetery. I assume this rocket honors the Air Force members buried at Chambers Creek. I believe the rocket was created by someone with a blowtorch and scrap metal, but it looks good.

T-Town Sites 5

     Back to Chambers Creek Cemetery for a look at the Navy veterans' memorial. We had outstanding weather that day.

T-Town Sites 4

I found these two markers at Chambers Creek Cemetery and thought they were pretty neat. The top one is obviously a trucker. The lower one is either a late railroader or model train enthusiast.

T-Town Sites 3

Okay, once again this isn't in Tacoma proper, but it's close. This huge anti-aircraft gun sits in Copper Creek Cemetery, in the veteran's section. I have several other pictures from this location I thought were interesting that I'll be posting by and by.

T-Town Sites 2

The Vashon Island Ferry.

Vashon Island lies across Commencement Bay from Ruston, a small town on the north tip of Tacoma. The crossing takes about 20 minutes and brings commuters from Vashon to Tacoma and returns them home again. Our usual ferry has been undergoing maintenance, so the Chetzenoka (pictured) has been substituted. In my 34 years of living in Tacoma I've ridden the ferry twice. Once with Linda to drive around the island and enjoy its rural sites, and once I walked on with my two girls. We sailed across and sailed back, watching the vehicles unload in between.

Wedding Pictures 2

 

 

One of the few wedding photos I'm in that doesn't make me look like an ape in a tux.