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D-League

80.6°F here with a cloudy and stormy day. I hope the bad weather avoids my area.

When I was Mayor, we have an F1 hit my little town. The Federal government is serious about tornados and they bust their ass to help. I was at work and I heard the "cows" going off. By the time I came out of the safe room at city hall my cell phone was ringing with the government wanting to hang on as I went to investigate the storm.

Jessie, my Police Commissioner, and I stayed on the phone with the feds for about 45 minutes and basically passed along all the information we could see where we could get to. One road we wanted to go down had a 150-year-old red oak tree laying across it. We called the fire department and they got the road open in about 30 minutes. One business was gone down to the poured slab of concrete. A few houses lost part of their roofs. It was strange because one damaged house was Jessie’s. He was missing a good chunk of his roof.
It is amazing what nature can do in a matter of minutes or seconds. The energy produced is off the chart.
 
Yesterday my wife and I finalized our pre-funeral arrangements and paid in full. One less worry for those we will someday leave behind. Our minds are settled and at peace. We will rest for eternity a few feet from my 3rd g-grandfather who was buried there in 1853. His is the first grave in what is now Pinellas County, Florida. It was Hillsborough when he died. The area of his grave is the Pioneer Section and we got the last two lots available. You have to be a direct descendant of a Pioneer to be buried there. My forefathers arrived there in 1830. Total wilderness in those days. I think getting this done while you still have good health and mind is one of the best things you can do for a family. Too many people do it when they are in shock or grieving and end up spending twice what they should. It is amazing how much money you can spend or waste on a funeral. Mind boggling.

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Sawnee Cat, it is none of my business, but some of my ancestors are Taylor. James Madison, Zack Taylor, the Harrison's and Tyler were all in the Virginia Taylor family.

I already have my stone.
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Sawnee Cat, it is none of my business, but some of my ancestors are Taylor. James Madison, Zack Taylor, the Harrison's and Tyler were all in the Virginia Taylor family.

I already have my stone.
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That is a beautiful marker Bert. Just beautiful

I have traced the Taylors in my bloodline to Georgia and hit a dead end in the late 1700's. They migrated from South Georgia to Florida in the 1820's to Brooksville, Florida to raise cotton. In the 1830's they settled in what is now Clearwater, Florida raising cotton and cattle. Once the railroad came they switched to citrus because the fruit could be shipped without spoilage. You didn't have to worry about that with cotton. They continued to raise cattle and also went into the fruit packing business. This is one of their labels they placed on orange crates when they shipped them up North

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Anybody else smoke at this age? I smoked from about 6th grade until after HS. My mom would whip me if she caught me. Remember when that was not a jailable offence? My dad would give us cigarettes. He died of emphysema, breathing out of an oxygen tank. He smoked a couple of cans of Prince Albert a day. I never knew him to smoke a ready-made cigarette. He finally quit at about age 60. Too late.Died at 67.

I looked about like the kid in the car at that age. Weighed 135 at HS graduation.

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I never did get into smoking. When I was about 8 years old one of my cousins gave me some corn silks to smoke and I got so sick I could not eat roasting ears for 5 years. Can you image that. No corn on the cob when the plate was passed around. Another thing that may have cured me was rabbit tobacco. This was a weed found down South that grew wild in cow pastures. It looked like cured tobacco and boys loved to smoke it. I tried it and regretted it to this day.

When I went into the army they handed out a free carton of cigarettes. Winston, Camel or Salem. I got one and gave it to my buddy who was a smoker. I went through the army and never picked up the habit which was rare in the 1960's. As a student at UK you could get all of the free samples you wanted on campus. All the major brands had 4 pack samples at the student center and you pickup as many as you wanted, free.
 
I never did get into smoking. When I was about 8 years old one of my cousins gave me some corn silks to smoke and I got so sick I could not eat roasting ears for 5 years. Can you image that. No corn on the cob when the plate was passed around. Another thing that may have cured me was rabbit tobacco. This was a weed found down South that grew wild in cow pastures. It looked like cured tobacco and boys loved to smoke it. I tried it and regretted it to this day.

When I went into the army they handed out a free carton of cigarettes. Winston, Camel or Salem. I got one and gave it to my buddy who was a smoker. I went through the army and never picked up the habit which was rare in the 1960's. As a student at UK you could get all of the free samples you wanted on campus. All the major brands had 4 pack samples at the student center and you pickup as many as you wanted, free.

Good on you. For the record, corn on the cob is "rosun yers."
 
Yesterday my wife and I finalized our pre-funeral arrangements and paid in full. One less worry for those we will someday leave behind. Our minds are settled and at peace. We will rest for eternity a few feet from my 3rd g-grandfather who was buried there in 1853. His is the first grave in what is now Pinellas County, Florida. It was Hillsborough when he died. The area of his grave is the Pioneer Section and we got the last two lots available. You have to be a direct descendant of a Pioneer to be buried there. My forefathers arrived there in 1830. Total wilderness in those days. I think getting this done while you still have good health and mind is one of the best things you can do for a family. Too many people do it when they are in shock or grieving and end up spending twice what they should. It is amazing how much money you can spend or waste on a funeral. Mind boggling.

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I'm a bit of a pragmatist. Dust to dust and all that. I have requested cremation the moment I am declared dead. Less than a thousand bucks I think. A memorial service at home just for family here if they wish. When I go silent on here you'll know I'm gone - but, through faith in a Saviour who died for me to take away the sting of death, to a far better place. I'm approaching 76, so the offramp is just a few years ahead at best. I do not fear or dread the thought of death. As we believers say, going home.

Oh, almost forgot. My coffin.

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I'm a bit of a pragmatist. Dust to dust and all that. I have requested cremation the moment I am declared dead. Less than a thousand bucks I think. A memorial service at home just for family here if they wish. When I go silent on here you'll know I'm gone - but, through faith, to a far better place.
Ashes to ashes dust to dust. You are being very practical and I admire that. This is why we wanted to pre arrange things. If you leave it open people left behind think they are doing the right thing and go overboard. You can spend a fortune and for what? Our memorial service will be very simple. I bought the cheapest coffin available but could have spent $30,000 on that alone. $30,000 for a casket that will be in a vault and covered with dirt. Doesn't make sense to me.
 
Ashes to ashes dust to dust. You are being very practical and I admire that. This is why we wanted to pre arrange things. If you leave it open people left behind think they are doing the right thing and go overboard. You can spend a fortune and for what? Our memorial service will be very simple. I bought the cheapest coffin available but could have spent $30,000 on that alone. $30,000 for a casket that will be in a vault and covered with dirt. Doesn't make sense to me.
My wife and I will be cremated, just like my grandson. I have everything paid for except the cremation and the chapel. Our wills are written based on 50/50 between the two kids.

I don't even know if I want a memorial service as the funerals and memorial services that I go to are over the top. Two weeks ago I went to my brother-in-laws funeral. He was a good guy but he loved whiskey, but at the funeral he was a saint who never took a sip. God bless he and I drank a boat load of crap together.

I hope the wife and kids will have a little memorial service to celebrate Bert and tell the truth about me. I am a pretty good guy but I love my whisky and a good party. I don't think that God is going to hold that against me.
 
Ashes to ashes dust to dust. You are being very practical and I admire that. This is why we wanted to pre arrange things. If you leave it open people left behind think they are doing the right thing and go overboard. You can spend a fortune and for what? Our memorial service will be very simple. I bought the cheapest coffin available but could have spent $30,000 on that alone. $30,000 for a casket that will be in a vault and covered with dirt. Doesn't make sense to me.

I was my brother's caregiver a couple of years before his death in '07 (in Palmetto, FL). He and his wife already had their place in a mausoleum in KY. When she died, I made him select his own coffin at the same time. He was financially well off but a notorious tightwad so I let him choose what he wanted since it was his money paying for it..
 
My wife and I will be cremated, just like my grandson. I have everything paid for except the cremation and the chapel. Our wills are written based on 50/50 between the two kids.

I don't even know if I want a memorial service as the funerals and memorial services that I go to are over the top. Two weeks ago I went to my brother-in-laws funeral. He was a good guy but he loved whiskey, but at the funeral he was a saint who never took a sip. God bless he and I drank a boat load of crap together.

I hope the wife and kids will have a little memorial service to celebrate Bert and tell the truth about me. I am a pretty good guy but I love my whisky and a good party. I don't think that God is going to hold that against me.

I always thought funerals should be relatively short affairs. Most are there only out of respect for the deceased and their family - not to hear a sermon (but they know they are going to hear one anyway). I've preached at my share of funerals. No problem when it was someone from my church who I knew to be a believer, but awkward when it was someone everyone knew had no use for religion. I never "preached them into Heaven." I just reminded people that this event lay ahead for all present and to therefore be prepared to stand before God and tell Him why they should be allowed admittance into His eternal home.
 
I never did get into smoking. When I was about 8 years old one of my cousins gave me some corn silks to smoke and I got so sick I could not eat roasting ears for 5 years. Can you image that. No corn on the cob when the plate was passed around. Another thing that may have cured me was rabbit tobacco. This was a weed found down South that grew wild in cow pastures. It looked like cured tobacco and boys loved to smoke it. I tried it and regretted it to this day.

When I went into the army they handed out a free carton of cigarettes. Winston, Camel or Salem. I got one and gave it to my buddy who was a smoker. I went through the army and never picked up the habit which was rare in the 1960's. As a student at UK you could get all of the free samples you wanted on campus. All the major brands had 4 pack samples at the student center and you pickup as many as you wanted, free.

In boot camp, I used to trade the ones in the C rations for the chicklets, or chocolate bar.
 
I have never smoked pot. I don't even know what it smells like. They scared the crap out us back in the 50s concerning drugs. I don't think I missed much.
You may have forgotten; my experience with pot was in college. I tried to smoke a joint and it killed me. I never got to the second inhaled puff. Same with rabbit tobacco. So rabbit tobacco is as harsh as pot.
 
76.8°F and mainly clouded.

Sherry and I had a wonderful time with our friend Ymmot. The conversation flowed easily. I now have another bottle of good bourbon complements of Ymmot.

That is true friendship and priceless as we go through life. .

Bert and Sherry's is well worth the price of admission.

Been busy for two days working on the porch. I'm beat down after today. We're supposed to work on it again tomorrow. If we can.

Rained on us for nearly the whole day. Should get the carpet laid tomorrow and get the screen on.
 
Keep in mind. Some will tell you its low on Freon and it just happens over time...THATS BULLSHIT...Freon is low ONLY because of a leak or it was not properly charged ...Freon never just gets low. The game there is the customer says ok on it being low, they top it off usually because it's cheaper than the actual repair..IE 2 pounds cost anywhere from 200.00 to 300.00 for R22 versus an additional cost for the repair..(funny it only cost about 18.00 a pound for them to buy) then hope they get the future call back to "top it off"again or repair as they should have done the first time they were there. Now some repairmen will be honest up front but the Freon gets low over time is the classic rip off
The first place was the one that hooked our AC unit back up when we moved. After they hooked up it back up (they let it run a bit), my wife told them it was getting that cold. They told her that it wouldn't take any more Freon, and that they would have to come back another day. That night it froze up. I just think they were trying to get another service call out of us, when it should have been done that day.
 
You may have forgotten; my experience with pot was in college. I tried to smoke a joint and it killed me. I never got to the second inhaled puff. Same with rabbit tobacco. So rabbit tobacco is as harsh as pot.
I have never been around pot or any hard drugs. It was not around when I was in college and I wasn't around it in the army. I was married and just wanted to do my time and get on with a career. Fooling around with drugs was not for me. So rabbit tobacco is my smoking experience and that lasted about as long as Pat stayed in the Army.
 
Rabbit tobacco? FCC.
FCC, it is a herb that was very common when I was a boy and grows wild in pastures, woods, etc. It was an old home remedy people used for colds and chest congestion, etc. Of course being a boy my buddies tried to smoke it which was really common in those days. Someone told me that you can actually buy it online. I don't know but I've been told. If you run across a weed or plant that looks a little like this it is rabbit tobacco.

Another name for it used by the old timers was Life Everlasting


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Good morning D League

It is going to be a warm today, much like yesterday and tomorrow will be no different. We are in a pattern now where the weather is constant with temps in the 70's to lows 90's. No rain. But that is about to change in June when Hurricane Season kicks off. We will get in a pattern of heavy thunderstorms and heavy afternoon rains. You can set your clock for 4:00 PM and enjoy a nice afternoon shower and lightning storm about every day. Then after a half hour or so it will clear up as if it never happened. We need the rain.

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Good morning D. Good night for the Cats last night. Nick and EJ, along with Sestina, is a more than functional front court. It allows the Cats to defend, but still keeps the attacks focused on those very talented wings and guards. This may be more the kind of team that Cal prefers than any in quite a while - if ever, at Kentucky. He always uses what he has, and so has taken advantage of interior scoring combinations like PJ and Reid. But I think he'd rather slash at the basket and take open shots from the perimeter.

I hope it is a good day for all. My wife and I are getting the band back together - son home from Lexington, daughter home from College Park, daughter SIL and granddaughter on the way from Kansas City for a little college graduation celebration for my second daughter.
 
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I don't think anyone smoked rabbit tobacco because they particularly wanted to. Kids did it when they had no access to real tobacco. The problem with smoking corn silk, other than it not tasting like tobacco, was that it flamed up when you took a big puff.
My cousin was big into smoking corn silk and he would use a newspaper to roll it. He was in the outhouse once and like you said it flamed up, singed his eyebrows and part of his hair and when he dropped it it caught some papers on fire and burned a portion of the inside of the outhouse. Grandpa was really upset.
 
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