Guess Who's Turning 50 on April 30th?

If you see Doug, wish him the Big 5-0! Group gift of cutlery, anyone?

Bill's Excellent Adventure

• Bill T. has lived to tell the tale of his weekend stay at the Bavarian Inn. (The Inn was reportedly lovely, and Bill raved about the curried chicken salad on the Sunday buffet). However, he went canoeing, sharing the canoe with his son's father-n-law. (The mothers-in-law got to gamble at Charlestown instead). Everything was going well until the wind picked up, sending waves into the canoe. Bill said it looked like the river was flowing upstream! His rowing partner took a faceful of water and had to stop rowing, which brought the canoe around. Bill knew they were going to capsize. It was scary because he couldn't touch bottom, and his life preserver didn't have the bottom strap to prevent it from floating in his face. So Bill was trying to hold onto the canoe, keep breathing with the life preserver around his face and neck, and make it to shore. He became calm once his feet could touch the bottom. They got to shore, called the canoe rental folks for a ride and called it a day. Bill said when the canoe folks came to paddle home, the wind had died down and the river was smooth again. What's with these trips that suddenly make you face life and death? Glad you are OK!

• New blog readers in: Lisbon, Portugal; Warsaw, Poland; Liverpool, England; Paris, France; Bangkok, Thailand; Rome, Italy; Naples, Italy; Salisbury, MD; Hartford, CN; Fresno, CA; Littleton, CO; Harrisburg, PA; Boise, ID; Princeton, NJ; Fallstown, MD; Plainfield, IL; Ft. Drum, NY; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Dublin, Ireland; Nashport, OH; Stillwater, MN; Kemp Mill, MD; Pasadena, MD; and the District of Columbia. It doesn't matter how you land on the blog or how long you linger....I count your pin in the map! Isn't it curious how many people stumble across our blog? Imagine how many visitors we might get if I wrote anything of importance! (And no, Glenn, I am not going to write about politics, still think you should write a political blog)

Spaghetti Dinner May 4th

Jeff will serve spaghetti instead of pancakes

• There will be a spaghetti dinner on Sunday, May 4th, from 4 to 8 pm at St. John's Church at the intersection of Wilkens Avenue and S. Rolling Road. The cost is $5 per person, $15 per family. The event includes a silent auction. One of the items up for grabs is to have four men at your disposal. Jeff will be one of the men; Jean and Gladys plan to win this and have two men apiece! Jeff must mean it when he said he would do anything for the Scouts!

• This morning it seemed as if the gang were divided into two tables. Doug said there was a line drawn down the middle that couldn't be crossed. Luckily, my side had restroom access!

• Bill W's wife, Barbara, remains in intensive care. Please keep her in your thoughts. We found out that the Hershey man, while still hospitalized, is also hanging in there. In a really strange twist of fate, when Harold returned to work there was a proposal for him to consult with the Derry Fire Department, which serves the town of Hershey, PA. The proposal was written before our eventful evening. Weird, huh?

• I will be at Sam's tomorrow between 8-9 if anyone has old electonics, computers, etc. to recycle. I am taking them to Towson for another Scout troop fundraiser.

• Five Oaks Community sale is also tomorrow morning, tables are $20.

• Have a great weekend!

Dolly Parton's Backwoods Barbie Concert and The Meaning of Life

Scent of cherry blossoms in 75 degree weather

Tulips everywhere

At the Hershey Gardens

Tulips at the Hershey Hotel

Did you ever have a 24-hour period that had such emotion packed into it that it seemed so much more than a single day? Well, yesterday was such a day. Harold and I were looking forward to an overnight trip to Hershey to see Dolly Parton perform. The trip was rescheduled from March 4th, our actual anniversary, after Dolly injured her back.

Anyway, Harold had a liver biopsy last week to check his liver status since it has been five years since he was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis. We got the news that the preliminary findings were good, no additional damage to his liver. Yeah!

Then Harold went to the dermatologist yesterday morning to have a wart removed from his arm. Surprise! The doctor felt certain it was actually squamous cell carcinoma, although biopsy results are needed to confirm the diagnosis. The lesion was as large as a dime and the doctor removed it, hopefully all of it. Harold has to return in three weeks to have several other suspicious lesions removed from his hands. The cancer is probably the result of sun exposure with his fair skin combined with his compromised immune system. If the cancer was caught early enough and it hasn't spread, the prognosis is excellent. It is curable in 90-95 % of all cases. Still, any cancer is always scary.

So off to Hershey we went....it was truly a magnificant spring day. We had a lovely meal at the cafe in the Hershey Hotel, a nap, then off to the Hershey Theater to see Dolly. The show was sold out, and there was a long line of people waiting to enter. Harold got in line and I went ahead to get the tickets at the will-call window. Didn't get too far when I saw a man light a cigarette, inhale, and fall over backward. When I saw his eyes roll back, I ran back 20 yards to get Harold. By the time we got back to the man, he was still lying there and no one was actually helping. So Harold started CPR. It was only 5-6 minutes until the ambulance arrived, but it seemed much longer. When the EMT's arrived, they used the defibrillator once and the man regained consciousness. He asked Harold what had happened, then said he thought he would get up and go home. Harold told him he would need to get checked out at the hospital first. Luckily the excellent Hershey Medical Center was only a few miles away. My lasting image was of the trash left on the pavement from the emergency treatment, along with the man's cigarettes and lighter. We never learned his name, but we hope he continues to do well - and maybe gives up smoking. Two and a half years ago, a stranger performed CPR on my Dad and saved his life. Hopefully, Harold paid the favor forward in Hershey.

Finally we are at the concert, and Dolly announced that the man was OK. Good news! She put on a great show, sang for over 2 hours, and played about 15 different instruments. She has also written several thousand songs in her lifetime. Dolly told some good jokes. She thanked us for spending money to come see her, because she needed the cash. Said it takes a lot of money to look that cheap. Dolly said that she injured her back after sleeping on her stomach on a memory-foam mattress. Her husband rolled into the hole she left, and she hurt herself pulling him out! Lastly, she said someone asked her if she would ever run for President. She declined on the basis that there have already been too many boobs in the White House.

So it was a very eventful day, the kind that reminds you to make the most of every day you are given. Having the opportunity to help save someone else's life forces you to stop taking your own blessings for granted.

How The Germans Handle Speeders

Our friend, Tom, in Las Vegas, submitted this video called German ingenuity.

Earth Day 2008

I went to Home Depot after work. Our old lawn mower is broken, the grass is higher than an elephant's eye, so I decided to buy an electric mower in the spirit of Earth Day. While I was looking at mowers, someone crashed their cart into mine on purpose. Of course it was Don, no doubt dreaming of power tools, diggers and earth movers. Don said an electric mower is an old lady mower, I guess the shoe fits. It is quiet and it starts every time with the push of a switch. Anyway, the mower works great, just as long as I don't run over the electric cord! I don't know what Don bought.....he was looking to repair a swing set.

Bill W's wife, Barbara, is back in the ICU. Please keep them in your thoughts.

Check Out Hampden, Hon

Baltimore's own John Waters opens his second musical, Cry-Baby, on Broadway this week. In honor of all things Baltimore, we visited Hampden this weekend. If you haven't been lately, it's full of hometown kitsch and curiosities.

Beautiful spring blossoms

Earth Day is tomorrow, so think green

Does your bank have a flower arbor?

Crab magnets,"Holy" water bottles, make-up and more

Eat at the Cafe Hon

Where else can you buy shoes AND chocolate?

Reminder: Community Yard Sale Saturday

There will be a community yard sale sponsored by Five Oaks Swim Club on Saturday, April 26th. Table space goes for $20. Don has posted a flyer on Sam's bulletin board for more info.

Reminder: This Saturday Recycle Electronics

I don't know about the rest of you, but we have more than one old computer and stereo stored in the basement. I am so glad to have an opportunity to get rid of them safely and with a tax deduction to boot! Thanks to Pat R. fo finding this info for us. I'll be at Sam's from 8-9 am on Saturday if you want to drive out your electronics for you.

Date: Saturday, April 26, 2008
Location: Immaculate Conception Parish
Organizer: Immaculate Conception Parish, Boy Scout Troop 750, CDM Inc.
Contact name: Mike Fannon
Contact email: mike@cdmecycling.com
Contact address: 200 Ware AvenueTowson, MD 21204 http://www.immaculateconception.net/parish/directions.htm

Description: ONE DAY ONLY (Rain or shine)
This event will be hosted by Immaculate Conception Parish at 200 Ware Avenue in Towson, MD 21204
Boy Scout Troop 750 is organizing and operating this event.
Computer Donation Management (CDM) is the licensed Maryland recycling company performing the electronics reuse/recycling work. (website is at www.cdmecycling.com )

Background: computers contain hazardous but valuable materials and should be donated for reuse, dropped off at the county landfill or a recycling company, or picked up as a special bulk item with a waste hauler for a fee.

Cost: CPU's, speakers, fax machines, scanners, printers, keyboards, stereos, cell phones, mice & microwaves accepted free of charge!

$10 contribution for monitors requested; Sorry, no TVs are accepted during these collections.
The event supports a youth service project/fund raiser; tax deductible donation receipts provided.

Tax Donation: all donations support a non-profit youth service project and fund raiser.
Donation receipts will be provided for tax deduction purposes. (consult an accountant for more info)Additional information can be provided by sending an email to mike@cdmecycling.com or by calling 410-525-1400.

Directions to Immaculate Conception parish can be found at the following website: http://www.immaculateconception.net/parish/directions.htm

Memory and Disposal: erasure of data prior to donation will provide additional peace of mind, but all hard drives are either erased in compliance with the Dept of Defense 5220.22-M disk sanitizing standard or are physically destroyed during recycling operations. Collected materials are handled in an environmentally and socially responsible manner with virtually no material being land filled.

Please try to dispose of your packaging and cardboard with your normal recycling pickup program as much as possible. Thank You!

Free Movies and TV Online

Dorothy, Sue and Debbie on spring break

Alicia recommends these two sites for viewing free

TV shows and movies on your computer.

www.hulu.com - All sorts of tv and movies. Shows are directly played on hulu.

www.veoh.com- Mainly tv shows but quite a selection also all free. Shows are linked to where they may be found on the web

Just Another Rainy Sunday

Try the new onion biali!

Mike remains neutral as the presiding judge.

Pat laughs at the absurdity of it all.

Patty and Doug discuss real estate.

We laughed so much, we scared away the other customers!

Hey, Sam's now has a reader off the coast of West Africa.......just need readers in South America and Antartica and all seven continents will be represented! Welcome to new readers in Lisbon, Portugal; Peterborough, England; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Los Angeles, CA; Glendale, AZ; Tallahassee, FL; Austin, TX; Tulsa, OK; Richmond, VA; Lakeville, MN; Villa Park, IL; Norwood, MA; Cambridge, MA; Old Bridge, NJ; Wilmington, DE; Pasadena, MD; Champaign, IL; St. Louis, MO; Orlando, FL; Houston, TX; Dallas, TX; New Orleans, LA; Silver Spring, MD; and Germantown, MD.


Crazy conversations todays about pronunciation. Don feels that he should be able to pronounce words any way he pleases, "zink" for "sink", for example. Dr. Mike attempted to correct his pronunciation, which just made Don determined to say things his way. Don unearthed a mysterious column of CEment (or ceMENT) under his back porch, who put it there, why? Who cares?


Under other curiosities, Don's neighbor has shoved an empty container of MiracleGro on the sawed-off branch of her apple tree. And Don would like his ashes spread in many of his favorite places, including the floor at Sam's. (We vetoed sprinking his ashes on our food) I figured he would just be swept up and eventually taken to the dump, Since Don also likes to go to the dump, it should work out just fine.


Laura came in, she has joined a kickball league. Alicia showed up too, even after celebrating with the pirates at the harbor last night. And last weekend, Gladys and Jack celebrated the 2nd birthday of their great-granddaughter, Ava. And I am enjoying Katelyn's visit very much! Hope Bill is having fun this weekend at the Bavarian Inn. Patty said she thought of Bill when she heard another friend call her husband "---hole". :)

Boys and Their Toys

Jean reports that everytime she leaves the house on her own, Paul dashes out and purchases some new gadget. His latest purchase was a paint sprayer, the project......a chain link fence. When Jean came home, not only was the fence green, so was Paul, his clothes, his shoes, the wisteria, everything! But did he have fun? I hope so!

Paul's green shoes - the original clothes were tossed

The green fence, the green wisteria vine

Taste of Catonsville

The 12th Annual Taste of Catonsville will be held Monday night, April 21st, at Rolling Road Golf Club starting at 5:30 pm. Tickets are $30 in advance, $40 at the door. They can be purchased online at http://www.catonsville.org/. Sam's Bagels will be there!


Saw Allison and friends at the steel drum concert, it was a great show. Also nice to see former principal, Mr. Tomback, back at CHS. The kids at CHS are lucky to have a music teacher like Jim Wharton who creates opportunities for them to perform with guest artists and composers.

Here's a job you may never have thought about....Billy Sheeder, steel drum tuner. with Katelyn

Scott talked about his recent experience at Oriole Park. He had great seats, just 4 rows behind home plate, and the Orioles won. His only complaint was about the food. He had bought hotdogs outside of the park before the game, but by the 5th inning he was hungry. Scott said he asked his stomach, "Do you really need to eat?", thinking about the high cost of ballpark food. And his stomach answered, "Yes, I do". So he first went to buy nachos and cheese, but it turned out that the machine had not heated the cheese, and it was too cold. Then he went to buy a $5 soft pretzel, saying he would take any flavor as long as it was warm. The first pretzel was too hard, so Scott wound up with a buttered pretzel, but it was just OK. He plunked down $5 for a soda that was just right. Does anyone else notice the similarity? Don't you expect the next line to be "And the three bears came back to their seats and Scott ran out of the stadium"?

Hersheypark Visit

If you want more information about Andy Narell and to hear his music, check out his website at http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/narell_andy/artist.jhtml. Then you can hear him live in concert Thursday night at Catonsvile High School performing with the steel drum band.

Spent the first weekend in April at Hersheypark. Hershey sports a new arena called Giant Stadium, and the Milton Hershey School campus for disadvantaged students continues to grow. We also saw the St. Petersburg Ballet perform at the gorgeous Hershey Theater. If you go, be sure to visit Chocolate World and take the Trolley Tour of the town. Also, if you get a chance to try the new Hershey Meltaway Center Bliss chocolates, we loved them! Just wanted to share how much roller coasters have changed over the years.

Sarah (age 12) waits to blast off - 0 to 80 mph in seconds

Here's the original Comet wooden coaster - the only coaster at Hershey when I was 12

New Farhenheit coaster- the steepest vertical drop in the entire USA- opens the end of May

Sarah and Rosa with Peppermint Pattie

Pancake Breakfast with the Scouts

Sam's was well-represented at the Scouts' breakfast.

There will be a spaghetti dinner in the near future too if you missed the pancakes.

Don't forget, the Catonsville Steel Drum Band performs at the high school this Thursday night with Andy Narell, international composer and performer. Tickets are only $8!

Dana and Chef Jeff

The Foster Family

Sue, Jeff and Harold

Jack, Gladys and Tony

Glenn, Zack and Max

Popcorn and Bagels

Scott's daughter sells popcorn for her team.

Scott delivers Fisher's popcorn from OC. Yummy!

Doug uses Dima's sturdy bread knife on Don. Bystanders cheered!

Dima served samples of new whole wheat, multigrain, and blueberry bagels. They were delicious. Some were enjoyed with popcorn as a side.

Welcome new blog readers from around the world. And as Glenn says, can you believe all of these people have nothing better to do with their time?

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Manila, Phillipines; New Delhi, India; Islamabad, Pakistan; Istanbul, Turkey; Ionnina, Greece; the Netherlands; Zurich, Switzerland; Vienna, Austria; Berlin, Germany; Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Athens, Greece; Sacramento, CA; Cambridge, MA; Boulder, CO; Norwood, MA; Cincinatti, OH; Dayton, OH; Minneapolis, MN; Chester, SC; Ft. Worth, TX; Albuquerque, NM; San Antonio, TX; Langhorne, PA; Nashville, TN; Fairbanks, AK; Bedminster, NJ; San Luis Opispo, CA; Gautier, MI; Jacksonville, FL; Astoria, NY; Alpharetta, GA; Fleetwood, PA; and Bowie, MD.

Top 35 Oxymorons

(Submitted by Pat R.)

OK, Doug, an oymoron is a combination of contradictory or incongruous words.

35. State worker
34. Legally drunk
33. Exact estimate
32. Act naturally
31. Found missing
30. Resident alien
29. Genuine imitation
28. Airline food
27. Good grief
26. Government organization
25. Sanitary landfill
24. Alone together
23. Small crowd
22. Business ethics
21. Soft rock
20. Butt Head
19. Military Intelligence
18. Sweet sorrow
17. Rural Metro (ambulance service)
16. "Now, then ..."
15. Passive aggression
14. Clearly misunderstood
13. Peace force
12. Extinct Life
11. Plastic glasses
10. Terribly pleased
9. Computer security
8. Political science
7. Tight slacks
6. Definite maybe
5. Pretty ugly
4. Rap music
3. Working vacation
2. Religious tolerance
1. Microsoft Works

Counter-clockwise

Happy Birthday to Patty! Patty celebrated her birthday yesterday by going to the horse races at Charlestown. This sparked a discussion on why horse races are always run counter-clockwise. Paul shared that once he bet on a horse that turned the wrong way out of the gate, ran clockwise and crossed the finish line first. Unfortunately, he didn't win since the horse was running in the wrong direction. This made Don and Bill T. wonder if horses run in the opposite direction in Australia because they had heard that toilets flow in the opposite direction below the equator. (I know, I didn't get the connection either).

This discussion made me wonder whether toilets really do flush in the opposite direction in Australia. I learned that the swirling effect (the Coriolis force) will be swamped out by the shape of the toilet or if the jets encourage a "contrary" swirl. Turns out Australian toilets have two different flush selections and that most send water down the sides of the toilet bowl simultaneously so no swirl direction can be observed. However, if you just take a big funnel with a small hole, fill it up with water, let the water go still, then unplug the hole and let it drain out, you will get the Coriolis force and it will be clockwise "down-under" Australia, counter-clockwise here in North America. See the video in the post below.

Back to the horse racing..... turns out races are run counter-clockwise only in the U.S. and Canada. In the UK, France, Hong Kong and Australia horseraces run clockwise. Auto races in the UK also do, but am not sure about races in other countries that also drive on the right side of the road (France) as in the U.S. The reason why baseball players run the bases counter clockwise along with NASCAR, INDY, horse racing, dogs, running counter clockwise etc., has a lot to do with the American Revolution. Early Americans hated the British so much they wanted to do almost eveything opposite to their rules. (Politics again!)

For NASCAR, it more likely due to the rotation of the earth. In the Northern hemisphere, racing counterclockwise pulls the front nose of the car down. In the Southern hemisphere, cars racing counterclockwise cannot reach the same speed as the car wants to lift.

So Happy Birthday, Patty! Aren't you sorry that you ever mentioned going to the races and started all this?

Australian Toilet Flushing - TRUTH EXPOSED!

Humor to 100 %

Here is your reminder that life is full of simple pleasures. Have a great day!