How men and women access their drive up ATM

A LITTLE SOMETHING FUNNY~ How men and women access their drive up ATM.

MALE PROCEDURE: 1. Drive up to the cash machine. 2. Put down your car window. 3. Insert card into machine and enter PIN. 4. Enter amount of cash required and withdraw. 5. Retrieve card, cash and receipt. 6. Put window up. 7. Drive off.

FEMALE PROCEDURE: 1. Drive up to cash machine. 2. Reverse and back up the required amount to align car window with the machine. 3. Set parking brake, put the window down. 4. Find handbag, remove all contents on to passenger seat to locate card. 5. Tell person on cell phone you will call them back and hang up. 6. Attempt to insert card into machine. 7. Open car door to allow easier access to machine due to its excessive distance from the car. 8. Insert card. 9. Re-insert card the right way. 10. Dig through handbag to find diary with your PIN written on the inside back page. 11. Enter PIN. 12. Press cancel and re-enter correct PIN. 13. Enter amount of cash required. 14. Check makeup in rear view mirror. 15. Retrieve cash and receipt. 16. Empty handbag again to locate wallet and place cash inside. 17. Write debit amount in check register and place receipt in back of checkbook. 18. Re-check makeup. 19. Drive forward 2 feet. 20. Reverse back to cash machine. 21. Retrieve card. 22. Re-empty hand bag, locate card holder, and place card into the slot provided. 23. Give dirty look to irate male driver waiting behind you. 24. Restart stalled engine and pull off. 25. Redial person on cell phone. 26. Drive for 2 to 3 miles. 27. Release Parking Brake.

Dogs don't die; they just sleep in your heart!

This Guy Nails It!

Having recently lost my best friend, Abby, of 13 years, I can certainly relate to this.  Not sure who wrote it, but it hits the nail on the head!

My Abby
"The Best Dog in the World"

Some of you, particularly those who think they have recently lost a dog to “death”, don’t really understand this. I’ve had no desire to explain, but won’t be around forever and must.

Dogs never die. They don’t know how to. They get tired, and very old, and their bones hurt. Of course they don’t die. If they did they would not want to always go for a walk, even long after their old bones say:” No, no, not a good idea. Let’s not go for a walk.” Nope, dogs always want to go for a walk. They might get one step before their aging tendons collapse them into a heap on the floor, but that’s what dogs are. They walk.

It’s not that they dislike your company. On the contrary, a walk with you is all there is. Their boss, and the cacaphonic symphony of odor that the world is. Cat poop, another dog’s mark, a rotting chicken bone ( exultation), and you. That’s what makes their world perfect, and in a perfect world death has no place.

However, dogs get very very sleepy. That’s the thing, you see. They don’t teach you that at the fancy university where they explain about quarks, gluons, and Keynesian economics. They know so much they forget that dogs never die. It’s a shame, really. Dogs have so much to offer and people just talk a lot.

When you think your dog has died, it has just fallen asleep in your heart. And by the way, it is wagging it’s tail madly, you see, and that’s why your chest hurts so much and you cry all the time. Who would not cry with a happy dog wagging its tail in their chest. Ouch! Wap wap wap wap wap, that hurts. But they only wag when they wake up. That’s when they say: “Thanks Boss! Thanks for a warm place to sleep and always next to your heart, the best place.”

When they first fall asleep, they wake up all the time, and that’s why, of course, you cry all the time. Wap, wap, wap. After a while they sleep more. (remember, a dog while is not a human while. You take your dog for walk, it’s a day full of adventure in an hour. Then you come home and it’s a week, well one of your days, but a week, really, before the dog gets another walk. No WONDER they love walks.)

Anyway, like I was saying, they fall asleep in your heart, and when they wake up, they wag their tail. After a few dog years, they sleep for longer naps, and you would too. They were a GOOD DOG all their life, and you both know it. It gets tiring being a good dog all the time, particularly when you get old and your bones hurt and you fall on your face and don’t want to go outside to pee when it is raining but do anyway, because you are a good dog. So understand, after they have been sleeping in your heart, they will sleep longer and longer.

But don’t get fooled. They are not “dead.” There’s no such thing, really. They are sleeping in your heart, and they will wake up, usually when you’re not expecting it. It’s just who they are.

I feel sorry for people who don’t have dogs sleeping in their heart. You’ve missed so much. Excuse me, I have to go cry now.

Leadership Crises of Obama

David Letterman: 

“Take a look at this: gas under $3 a gallon, Unemployment under 6%, Stock market breaking records every day. No wonder the guy is so unpopular.”

The day before the 2014 Mid Term Elections, there were a lot of political posting going on the internet.  The above post was offered up by one of my "Blue Friends" who will remain nameless in this blog.  In my anticipation of a Republican blowout, I answered the question of "why is this guy so unpopular?"  I think that I pretty much nailed it, as witnessed by the Democrats being neutered in the election.  So, if you are one of those who are in denial, about why Obama and the Democrats are in the predicament that they find themselves in, please read on...

It couldn't be because Obama’s list of leadership crises are formidable?  Like the botched rollout of the healthcare website?  Could it be that Americans now understand that the “Affordable Healthcare Act” is not affordable, and in fact mandates less care for a higher price and it still leaves the country with 30 Million Americans without healthcare?  Are they upset about long waits and horrible care at Veterans Administration hospitals?  Or, possibly Edward Snowden’s disclosures of the NSA secrets?  Surly, not the pileup of foreign children along the southern border of the US, right?  Do you think that Average Americans remember the nearly $1B economic bailout that resulted in no bailout to the shrinking Middle Class Americans?   Or better yet, the billions wasted to promote solar energy only to have those solar companies go bottoms up!  …and what about the lack of action on the Keystone Pipeline, a “no brainer” which everyone agrees would provide 20,000 high paying union jobs, and help reduce our reliance on foreign oil?  Is it possible that Americans asking why he has stood idly by as Iran gets a nuclear weapon and Islamist terrorists marauder across Syria and Iraq beheading foreigners, including Americans?  Is the voting public mad that the President of the US did nothing as the Ebola virus arrived in the United States?   Could any of these situations strike a disgruntled note to the public … Benghazi, Fast-n-Furious and Lois Lerner of the IRS?  Maybe it is the feeling that the Whitehouse Press Secretary and the Attorney General continue to throw roadblocks in the way of the truth?

Gas and the stock market are driven mostly by the international economy.  Unemployment...for most of Obama’s 6 years was at 8% and only recently to 6%.  America has not seen this continued high unemployment numbers since Jimmy Carter was President.  Oh, did I mention the unprecedented number of those who have totally given up on the idea of finding a job...not counted in the 6%!  One more...Obamacare’s  broken promise to “keep your healthcare plan and keep your doctor.”  Obamacare is the one single issue impacting job growth and economic expansion in our country!  …and it needs to be fixed quickly!

Maybe Americans now realize that Obama has a jaded worldview of the greatness of America, and that he is incompetent and a rank armature, who has failed to lead all Americans.

Faithful Freind

Today we lost our "Faithful Friend,"  her name was Abby.  For 13 years, ever since she was 6 weeks old, she has been a regular member of our family.  Together we have been though thick & thin and all she ever wanted to be was close to me, or any other human being in my absence.  

I would tell her every single day that, "You are the best dog in the world!"  ...and she was!  She could speak & understand perfect English.  Abby loved to have you pay attention to her.  Pats on the back, rub her belly, talk to her and, well, love her unconditionally.  

A few years ago, before she lost her eyesight to cataracts, she would play fetch forever as long as you could stand it.  When the popcorn maker came out, watch out.  She wanted to enjoy it too.  Throw her a kernel and she hardly ever let it land on the floor before nabbing it out of the air.  Last week was our last time to have popcorn together; she would use her "hunting skills" with her nose to track down the popcorn conveniently placed for her to get. 

Abby also could tell time.  She knew when it was time to get up, eat, for us to go to work, for our dog walker to come and take her to the dog park everyday.  She knew when to ask to go out for that short walk before coming to bed. In the mornings is when she really expressed herself and her ability to tell time.  Many times coming to my side of the bed, standing 6 inches from my face...and bark!  Not a little, "hey, think you want to get up?"  No, not Abby.  It was a kind of bark like, "Get your ass out of bed, NOW, and take me out.  It is time...You've been sleeping all night already!"  Only Abby could get away with that and have Heidi & I laugh so early in the morning!

Most of her adult life, Abby would sleep on the bed between us.  73 pounds of pure love and sometimes she would even scoot up and place her head on our pillows.  Who says, "threes a crowd, anyway?"  We would wake up, depending on which direction her face was turned, breathing hot air in your face and she would be looking at you with those dark brown eyes, almost to say, "Gee I love the fact that you guys decided to live in my house with me and share my things!"

Now Abby was "our baby."  You see, I brought 2 boys to the relationship, as I had full custody of my sons.  Heidi & I thought we might try to have at least 1 child together. Well, nature has different ideas sometimes, so when we understood that another human being was not coming from us, my Wife decided that she wanted to nurturer a different kind of God's living things.  Thus, Abby.

Abby blessed us with 12 full breed English Labrador Retrievers; when she was 2 years old. Chocolates and Black Labs but no yellow ones!  What a time that was and we were excited as Grandparents to witness the process and to share the love of Labs with 12 other loving families, who made homes for the pups.

Don't get me wrong...Abby was not always the "perfect dog!"  There was a time when she was "hell on wheels."  If we didn't have her on a leash, that nose went straight to the ground, her hunting instincts kicked in and her hearing went blank to any verbal commands to, "Stop...Come Here Now!"  

There was that annual July 4th canoe trip down the Au Sable River when, against all objections from her husband, parents and kids, Heidi insisted that it was the year for Abby to experience the "annual family ritual."  Yes, it was a disaster as Abby would not stay still enough to keep from rocking the canoe and tipping us over.  Needless to say, we didn't take her canoeing ever again!  Enough said about that!

We look back on that and laugh, now...but, "a lot of water had to pass over the dam," pun intended!

Eventually Abby settled down.  After coming to Arizona 6 years ago, she learned to walk by our side, without a leash.  Was much calmer and less rambunctious. Simply to be close to us at every opportunity.  To love and be loved.  After all, we live in an active retirement community so Abby learned to "take it easy and enjoy every minute of it."  And, she fit right in.  Everyone called her a "sweetheart."  She got along with people and other dogs, big and small alike.  She never really grew out of being the "greeter" as she thought every person and every dog she came in contact with was there to see her.  

Abby was met with a peaceful end of a full loving life.  We already miss her and the house is very quiet.  Coming home; we can't help ourselves to look for her, somehow expecting her to magically be there.  She is there in our memories and in our heart.  

So, to our Faithful Friend Abby, this is not goodbye forever, it's so long for a while, and let's plan to meet at the Rainbow Bridge.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....  Author unknown...

On the Pontoon 2014

Our 2nd annual pontoon trip on Lake Powell, Utah 2014
Enjoy!!!

The Valley of the Sun....ah...er...Rain!

Remembering J.P. McCarthy

Remembering the "Great voice of the Great Lakes" ... J. P. McCarthy.

For over 35 years he was the morning personality of  clear channel "WJR Radio 76 Detroit."

He had the #1 rated radio program every year he was the morning man in Detroit.  If you were somebody in Detroit or Michigan; you wanted to be interviewed by JP.  Talk about contacts...his black book of "Who's Who" contacts was enormous!

In July of 1995 he was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a condition that frequently develops into leukemia.

McCarthy continued to host his show for a short time, but he became more absent, until he left the air completely at the end of July. His plight became public, and soon bone marrow drives were held all over the Detroit area where thousands of people took tests in hope that their bone marrow would help McCarthy recover. In August, McCarthy flew to New York City where he was supposed to meet with doctors at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, but his illness had become so severe that he was admitted.

His voice was silenced on this day 19 years ago, J.P. McCarthy died of pneumonia in his sleep on the afternoon of August 16, 1995, with his entire family at his bedside. He was 62.  Michigan Radio has never been the same since.

This video is a tribute to the late and great "Voice" of J.P. McCarthy...

Bob Dyer...A Mentor of Mine

So, life can pass us by pretty quickly.

Seems like it was only yesterday, (well maybe 2 lives ago, if I really stop to think of it), that I was a Sales Representative  for WKNX Radio in Saginaw, Michigan.  During my short couple of years there; the station was sold from Lake Huron Broadcasting to RadioCom, Ldt and longtime WKNX on air personality Bob Dyer became part owner of the station with Dana MacVey.  Bob Dyer was named Vice President and General Manager of WKNX Radio, and me...Sales Manager.  

We actually experienced cultural shock in the broadcasting industry.  That is because we went from being the corporate flagship station (even though we were in the smallest market of the group which had radio stations in major markets) to being the largest station of a group of smaller markets!  

And the new owners didn't have the marketing capital that Lake Huron Broadcasting had!  This to say the least.  

But on to my story...Bob took me under his wing, as if I were his own son.  At the time I was young, single and fresh out of college.  Plenty of radio broadcasting experience under my belt for my age, and some business moxy to boot.  

This was in the days before cell phones were small enough to put in your hip pocket.  Pagers were only for doctors and other professionals and if you were successful, you might have a mobil  radio phone permanently installed in your car with a rotary dial.  (Usually you had to pick up the hand set and talk to the mobil operator to make a call.)

Each morning we would have coffee and team sales meeting with all our station sales reps and off we would all go.  Like most sales reps, I had a pretty regular route of advertisers to call on.  Maybe even hide out if things were slow!  

Bob would start calling around to all the places I could possibly be on any given day...when he found out where I was he would leave a message, "Meet me at the station by 11:30, going to have lunch at Treasure Island with Dick Fabian and the GM (or other big wig )" of the latest advertiser we were trying to snag.

We had a standing reservation a couple days a week for the same large booth at Treasure Island, an upscale restaurant on the Saginaw River.  The booth could accommodate up to 8 people comfortably.  Fabian was aslo a WKNX Alumi & local tv personality.  Treasure Island honored him with a lunch sandwich in his name.

I first met Dick Fabian and his boss, John Keenan at Parker, Willox, Fairchild & Campbell, one of the largest advertising agencies outside of Detroit.  This was the company my Dad was using for each of the companies he was running.  My Dad set up a meeting with John Keenan and Fabian tagged along to the meeting.  After talking with them for a few minutes, Dick & John mentioned that I could be a good candidate for a sales position at WKNX. Dick set up an appointment on the spot, I went over to the station and got hired that afternoon.  Needless to say Fabian had some pull and Bob Dyer told me to, "stick with me, and you can't loose!"

I was barely 22 years old and thought I had caught the proverbial "tiger by the tail."

Well, that was back in the day, when 2 martini lunches were a common business expense.  Or, in our case, as many Beef Eater Gin Martini's (extra dry), as one can drink from 11:45 am 'til somewhere between 1:30 & 2:30 in the afternoon + lunch.  Beef Eater Gin Martini's were Bob's favorite.  Me,my standard bearer drink was Bourbon Manhattans (at first, but the later the lunch went; I would change it up to bourbon & soda).  I still had to get Bob back to the station and myself home to the apartment for much needed sleep in order to go at it again the next day.  Of course, being a young single guy, frequently I did not make it directly home, but would team up at "hot spots" around Saginaw, to mingle with single girls and  friends for the competitive sport of "who can tell the best lie!"  I didn't get a lot of sleep in those days and Bob seemed to encourage that kind of behavior!  For him, I think he saw it as we view "networking" today.

Bob would tell me, "Hand your business card out to everyone and tell them to keep it.  It will be worth a lot of money someday, 'cause you will be famous!"  OK, that really never happened, although I ended up being pretty well known in my hometown, after being elected the youngest elected official in my county at 31 years old and ultimately was the youngest Mayor there.  (It took about 17 years for my record to be broken.)

I only spent a couple of years at WKNX, but it did prepare me for many things to follow in my varied career.  Early on, Bob stayed in touch with me and seemed to follow me through my political years, but then we drifted away and lost touch with one another, aside from an occasional bump into someone who knows someone who knew me or Bob.  And then through them we would share a message or a "Bob said to say Hi and hopes you are doing well," kind of thing.

I had some brief contact with Dana MacVey over the years, and he always said that Bob would always ask how I was doing when we would bump into each other.  Dana would tell me that Bob would speak highly of me over the years since those days at WKNX.

So, I was surprised to find out that Bob Dyer had passed from this world nearly 1 year ago.  Still meeting and greeting people and entertaining those around him.  Bob was more than just a personality...he was a genuine human being.  Caring about and for people around him.

R.I.P. Bob Dyer...and thank you for providing a lifetime of memories.
My life has been truly enriched for having known you.

A life remembered: Saginaw radio icon Bob Dyer among first in nation to air The Beatles, had record longevity at WKNX

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SAGINAW, MI — For a whole generation of

After 50 years at WKNX-AM, 1250, Bob Dyer still had an ear for radio, tuned to one of his listeners during his early morning broadcast at the Frankenmuth station in 2003. (File | MLive.com)

By Sue White | For MLive.com 

on August 20, 2013 at 12:00 PM, updated August 20, 2013 at 12:34 PMMichigan baby boomers, Bob Dyer was a cultural icon.
Dyer, a WKNX-AM, 1210, disc jockey, was one of the first in the country to introduce The Beatles to the airwaves. And with Dick Fabian, he brought the music home, hosting dances throughout the region with performers including Simon and Garfunkel.
Dyer, who with Fabian was recently named to the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends’ Hall of Fame, died Sunday morning. He was 85.
“Bob was very special to me,” said Fabian, who came to WKNX from Lansing because he loved the Beatles. “He welcomed me in, and we became instant friends. We were more than business partners; we had a lot of respect for each other.”
Born in Toledo, Ohio, Dyer came to Saginaw in 1950, back when Little Jimmy Dickens’ Down Home Boys was the house band in the second-floor WKNX studios on South Washington near Federal.
“Studio A had chairs where people could come in and watch our bands perform,” Dyer told The Saginaw News in 2004. “We would do remotes, too, live shows from the Home Dairy restaurant and Ravenna Gardens, where we broadcast performers like Tommy Dorsey live.”
While others came and went, Dyer stuck around for 55 years, earning the national distinction of the longest continuous run at a single radio station. His work also landed him in the Michigan Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2003.
In 1953, WKNX launched Saginaw’s first television station, Channel 57, and Dyer became the Robin Hood-styled Pixie on its children’s programming.
Then came the British invasion and live shows at the Y-A-Go-Go in Saginaw, Battle of the Bands at Bay City’s Roll-Air and teen dances in Sebewaing.
“We knocked everyone else out of the market,” Dyer told The Saginaw News in 2000. “The bosses were afraid that we would lose our adult listeners, but they loved the Beatles as much as the teens did. We were No. 1 in the market for eight straight years.”
In the years that followed, the station moved around, first to Saginaw Township and later to Frankenmuth. Dyer dabbled in ownership for a few years and became involved in sales. And the format changed with new owners, from “Music of Your Life” to classic rock ‘n’ roll.
“Dad had a love for radio and music,” said his son, James Dyer of Saginaw Township. “I grew up at the stations, going with him from a young age.

View full sizeRadio personality Bob Dyer of WKNX, 306 Genesee, Frankenmuth, sits in the radio station's computerized studio in this 1998 photograph. Dyer, a veteran of the industry, was part of a radio and television exhibit at the Michigan Historical Museum in Lansing.Jeff Schrier | MLive.com file

“Folks don’t realize the magnitude of the broadcast business at that time. My dad did a lot for the community, and he didn’t ask for anything in return.”
Dyer didn’t see the handwriting on the wall, his son said, and that proved his downfall. Without any other interests, he didn’t have anything to do when Channel 5, WNEM, bought the station in 2004 and converted it to a news-and-talk format. In May 2013, WNEM gave the station to Ave Maria Communications, which soon will broadcast Catholic programming.
“I was able to introduce Dad to the Upper Peninsula, and he loved it up there,” James Dyer said. “He’d head up north and go fishing.”
In recent years, Dyer resided at HealthSource, “and I’d visit him every week,” said A.D. McGregor, with his wife Shirley a volunteer at the residential health center in Saginaw Township.
“We’d talk for 30, 45 minutes about how he was a master of ceremonies when the circus came to the old Saginaw Auditorium and about the old studio on South Washington.”
McGregor would leave a little bag of Oreos on Dyer’s nightstand when he got the chance.
“A lot of the people at HealthSource didn’t realize what a famous man Bob Dyer was. He was a big asset to Saginaw, and he was as much a gentleman there as he was in radio. It was a reward just being with him.”
Dyer leaves his wife, Mary; his daughter, Rebecca Boyd; his son, James and Lita Dyer; and grandchildren Ian and Emilyann.

A Wetter Side of Arizona

It is not always a "dry heat" in Phoenix.  And this time of year (mid July to Mid September) it can go from bright hot to a steam bath in no time.  But, this is the price we pay for not having to shovel any "sunshine" during the winter!  I found this Phoenix Monsoon Facts and thought I would share it with the rest of you.

Arizona Monsoon

Phoenix Monsoon Facts

By Judy Hedding

Monsoon skies in Arizona

© Judy HeddinDuring the monsoon, or summer thunderstorm season, Arizona experiences more severe weather than many other states. On rare occasion, a severe storm may spawn a tornado. More often, high winds, dust and severe downpours resulting in flash floods are common monsoon occurrences.

Prior to 2008 the Phoenix area monsoon was considered to have started when there were three consecutive days when the dew point averaged 55 degrees or higher. In 2008 the National

Weather Service decided to take the guesswork out of monsoon start and end dates. After all, monsoon is a season, and most people should not be concerned with whether or not a particular dust storm was defined as monsoon storm or not. Beginning in 2008, June 15 was established as the first day of monsoon, and September 30 will be the last day. Now we can be more concerned with monsoon safety and less concerned with definitions.

More About Phoenix Monsoon

Meteorologists still track and report dewpoints and study monsoon weather patterns. Here are some technical monsoon facts for our area. The facts relate to dewpoint and the meteorological definition of monsoon and not the date on the calendar.

• The average starting date of the monsoon in Phoenix is July 7.
• The average ending date of the monsoon is September 13.
• The earliest start date for the monsoon was June 16, 1925.
• The latest start date for the monsoon was July 25, 1987.
• The average date of the first break in the monsoon is August 16.
• The average total number of monsoon days (where a monsoon day is considered one with an average dewpoint of 55 degrees or higher) is 56.
• The greatest number of monsoon days was 99, recorded in 1984.
• The fewest number of monsoon days was 27, recorded in 1962.
• The greatest number of consecutive monsoon days was 72, from June 25 through September 4, 1984. This was also the greatest number of consecutive days with dew points of 60 degrees or higher.
• In Phoenix, normal rainfall during July, August and September is 2.65 inches.
• The wettest monsoon occurred in 1984 when we had 9.38 inches of rain.
• The driest monsoon occurred in 1924 with only 0.35 inches.

The facts above were obtained from the National Weather Service, Phoenix Weather Forecast Office.

©2014 About.com. All rights reserved
.

Main Street

My good friend, Doug Edwards, sent me this great little video driving down Main Street in my home town of Owosso, Michigan.  He shot this on a beautiful summer day in July.  Now, the speed limit is 25 mph and it looks like Doug is speeding?  Well, in his defense, the video has been digitally sped up.  Many changes over the past few years, but overall it looks pretty good on this video.

Please take the 30 seconds to view.

...thanks Doug for the viedo!

What, Me Worry???

The great thing about living in a "Senior Community" is the influence from all the activity available;  as if you are retired, even if you are still working like my Wife and I do.  We  thoroughly enjoy the recreational amenities in Sun City.

One of our past times is working in clay.  For me it is clay sculpture.  Currently I am working on a couple of masks for the upcoming Masked Themed Juried Show, to be held early next year.    Many are making Mardi Gras, Southwest or Azteck type of creations.  For me, I'm going in a different direction.  OK, so that is not a surprise to most of you who know me!

Kiss Me!

Kiss Me is designed as free standing bookcase art.  The face is the focal point.  The effect is a face appearing out of fabric or appearing out of a rock.  Simple and fresh.  After high firing the piece will get a patina treatment of acrylic media (paint and ink).

My second approach as something a bit different also.   This one is Alfred E. Neuman.  I have to say here that this could be one of the most unusual mask at the show.   Hopefully it will bring a smile to the faces of many, and bring back memories of their younger formative years!

Judges for the show, are primarily "potters,"  and seem to have a difficult time with higher artistic clay art, like sculpture and hand building.  From what I have seen, they tend to drift toward more traditional clay art and basic hand building techniques.  "Simple things for simple minds," I always say!

Alfred E. Neuman
What, me worry?

Alfred E. Nueman will probably sit flat on a clay base for display. 

For those who do not know Alfred E Nueman, he  is the fictitious mascot and cover boy of Mad magazine.  Since his debut in Mad, Neuman's likeness, distinguished by jug ears, a missing front tooth, and one eye lower than the other has graced the cover of all but a handful of the magazine's 500 issues.

I am contemplating having a clay strap on the piece.  As on Kiss Me, the same finish treatment will be applied after high firing.  But, "What, me worry?"  It is about the uniqueness and the fun of getting your hands dirty and digging deep in the clay.

AZ Coyotes...New Name New Logo (kinda)

Arizona Coyotes NHL Hockey
New logo for an "all-inclusive" Arizona

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Phoenix Coyotes are about to become the Arizona Coyotes.

The name change will coincide with the NHL draft tomorrow (Friday June 27, 2014), when the Coyotes will pick 12th overall.

The franchise has been known as the Phoenix Coyotes since it was relocated from Winnipeg in 1996, but the new ownership group wanted the name to be all-inclusive for the state of Arizona.

IceArizona purchased the team last summer after it had been operated by the NHL for four years.

Team Mascot - Howler

The Coyotes' uniforms have a new shoulder patch and the lettering in the team logo will change for the 2014-15 season.

© 2014 The Associated Press

Reprint from the Miami Herald

June 23, 2014

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/23/4196587/phoenix-coyotes-changing-name.html#storylink=cpy

What's in a Name?

The U.S. Patent Office has ruled that the name of the NFL Team, Washington Redskins, is "disparaging of Native Americans" and federal trademarks for the name have to be canceled.

Daniel Snyder, the owner of the the Redskins, has refused to change the team’s name, citing tradition in light of growing pressure from Barack Obama, the entire Democrat side of the US Senate, every “bleeding heart liberal” and even the NAACP.

Pun intended; the NAACP is not in the position of calling the pot “black!”

Founded Feb. 12. 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization. Its more than half-million members and supporters throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, campaigning for equal opportunity and conducting voter mobilization.

Not to take away from the good work that the NAACP has done in the name of “civil rights,” but really, times have changed.  Our social consciousness, demeanor, attitudes and beliefs have changed.  I think we can all agree on this.

Why must the Washington Redskins succumb to the intimidation of the likes of Senator Harry Reid and a Federal Bureaucratic Agency who has injected itself in a public policy debate for purely political purposes?  All while nobody has questioned the NAACP for continuing to refer to non-caucasians has “colored people.”  

I believe many more people would be offended by being referred to as “colored people” than those who are offended with NFL’s Washington Football Team using the name “redskins.”  

I do not see the US Patent Office taking away the Trademark issued to the NAACP because they use a term, which in today’s language, is offensive.  I do not hear an outcry from Harry Reid for them to change their name to come current with social norms.  ...and we won’t either!  

Look these are business decisions.  Not government mandated policy on groups, people and organizations that one particular political persuasion uses against their opponents.  

Let the free marketplace help the Washington Redskins make their decisions on this.  Afterall, a loss of sponsors, advertisers, small ticket sales, player discussions and local community support (or lack there of) is how it should work.  

Politicians, bureaucrats and lobbyists have no place engaging in this discussion.  Unless, of course, they really believe in the concept of elimination of “offensive” names.  I would then expect Harry Reid will be making a similar speech in the US Senate demanding the NAACP change it’s name.

When that day does come, expect the NAACP to push back with the defense that there is a “long history associated with the name along with the education and civil rights associated with it.”  

Gee...that is the same argument that Daniel Snyder is using!  ...just say’n!

Evidence Tampering - It's Da Ja Vu all over again!

By Dana Blanton Published June 24, 2014 

FoxNews.com

The consensus is: it’s no accident. More than three-quarters of voters -- 76 percent -- think the emails missing from the account of Lois Lerner, the ex-IRS official at the center of the scandal over targeting of conservative groups, were deliberately destroyed.

That’s according to a new Fox News poll.

That suspicion is shared across party lines, albeit to varying degrees. An overwhelming 90 percent of Republicans think the emails were intentionally destroyed, as do 74 percent of independents and 63 percent of Democrats.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE POLL RESULTS:  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2014/06/24/fox-news-polls-iraq-obama-leadership-irs-emails/

Overall, just 12 percent of voters believe the emails were destroyed accidentally. Another 12 percent are unsure.

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held part two of its hearing entitled, “IRS Obstruction: Lois Lerner’s Missing Emails,” Tuesday morning.

This latest wrinkle in the IRS targeting of certain groups, including hundreds with “Tea Party” in their name, has increased voter interest in Congress investigating the matter.

Some 74 percent of voters now say lawmakers should investigate the IRS “until someone is held accountable,” up from 67 percent who felt that way in April. That includes 66 percent of Democrats.

This is one of several scandals President Obama claims he first learned about from the news media. (Others include Fast & Furious and the Veterans Affairs wait-list scandal.) The new poll finds less than a third of voters believe that he actually found out about such scandals from the media (31 percent). Almost twice as many don’t believe that could truly be the case (60 percent).

Most Republicans (73 percent) and independents (68 percent) find it unbelievable that Obama learned about the scandals from the news. Among Democrats, views split: 42 percent believe Obama and 44 percent don’t buy it.

The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 1,018 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from June 21-23, 2014. The full poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

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