YOUNG TORBECK . . . ISN'T!

My baseball buddy Steve looked like this when I first met him.

I'm surprised his back lasted with all the toting of that big old Auricon camera. But in time the cameras grew smaller. This is one of the few times I remember Steve wearing a tie.

Before he became Baseball Steve he was beer drinkin' Steve. That may have been why he was such a lousy pool player.

He's the guy in the corner trying to figure out which one of those balls is the cue ball.

Probably because of my huge influence on Steve, he grew a beard.

Looks happy doesn't he? He kept the hirsute look for many years before he finally shaved it off one day. It doesn't look like it made him happy.

I have tried to get him to grow it back over the years.

So far his wife Debbie has had more influence over him than I have.

But I'm glad to say that he has regained his sense of humor. Maybe it was that duet with Jimi Hendrix in Seattle.

Whatever it was, the irrespressible Steve Torbeck smile is back again.

A couple of months ago, I celebrated a big birthday and here's how Steve showed up for it.

Still a whack-oh! 

He's celebrating his 66th birthday today but he told me on the phone last night he still won't stop the Old Taylor lines.

Oh well. After 40-some years, I still love yuh, buddy. Have a great birthday.

AN EVENING MEDITATION

Another week is nearing its end and the sky is darkening with the setting sun lighting some clouds.

The wind has quieted and the wind chimes are still and silent for a change.

A tiny hummingbird stops by for one last drink, only his tail visible from this angle.

Soon the arms of darkness will wrap around the land and all will be quiet.

Except for these two idiots.

Sigh.

Perfection is difficult to attain.

die Freitag Funnies

So, all of you German students out there will understand the title of today's post translates to . . . the Friday Funnies!

And after that historical and educational post about General Lew Wallace yesterday, that means it's time to lower the level.  Here goes!

Here's a t-shirt for my pal up in Montana who blogs as Should Fish More, when he's not fly fishing.

To those of you who hate puns, that one is my last.

O.K. So I lied. But that pun really is my last one. (This week.) They give me a certain . . . feeling. I can't really define it. Or can I?

Or maybe it's . . .

What the hell was this sign painter thinking?

Maybe an acronym for Shut Off The Power??? At any rate, he must have been embarrassed.

What I don't like about hikes:

Actually, what I don't like about camping:

Yesterday I was reading other people's blogs and ran across one by the proprietor of Cranky Old Man who was complaining about his new hummingbird feeder that goes completely empty overnight. The hummers that come to our feeder scold and scold if anyone is sitting out in the immediate area. I don't speak hummingbird. A squirrel, now, he would just tell you when he has a complaint.

Isn't he polite? Unlike me, I'm afraid.

Oh well. I've got to go take a shower. For some reason my cat doesn't seem to like it when I do that.

And that's all, my friends. Thanks to all of my contributors (and theft victims), have a fantastic weekend and always keep laughing.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

This time we're going real far back. This is a photo of Lew Wallace of Indiana.

According to Wikipedia, he was a lawyer, author, politician, diplomat and a Union general in the Civil War. He and General Ulysses S. Grant had a longtime disagreement over whether he had followed orders at the battle of Shiloh. Wallace later resigned from the Army and became a major general in the Mexican army. After his service there he was appointed governor of the New Mexico Territory and later served as U.S. minister to the Ottoman Empire in Turkey. When the Spanish-American war broke out, Wallace offered to raise a force of troops which he would command but he was turned down by the War Office. He then went to a local recruiter and tried to enlist as a private but again was rejected, probably due to his age. He was 71 at the time.

During his time in New Mexico Wallace dealt with Billy the Kid in an attempt to have him renounce his outlaw ways. He offered him a full pardon if Billy would testify in a murder trial. The Kid took the deal and testified but the local district attorney refused to recognize the deal and set him free. Billy then escaped and continued his life of crime until he was shot by Pat Garrett.

Wallace retired to his home in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and wrote until his death in 1905. His most famous of many published books was Ben Hur.

Now, why, you might ask, am I posting about Lew Wallace? Because of a newspaper clipping my wife found in family papers of her ancestors on her mother's side. You may have to expand it to make out the words.

That newspaper clipping is 154 years old and was folded into a piece of paper with the handwriting of Judy's grandmother saying: "Please notice this clipping. This is our own Lew Wallace who wrote Ben Hur."  The family had arrived in Indiana in the early 1800's and probably knew Wallace personally.

So there you have it. A Throwback Thursday and a history lesson all rolled into one. It is sometimes amazing what one can learn from one's own family history.

TUESDAY TRAVELS

The leaning tower of Taylor (and Kansas).

DINNER

You want to know why I refer to my Judy as She Who Must Be Obeyed?

Because she can turn out stuff like this on the grill.

That's a tri-tip roast and sliced sweet potatoes.

Oh, yeah, baby!

Not shown are some peppers and onions and zucchini that were also done on the grill.

Here's how it all came onto the plates.

Delicious!

I think she deserved a Tony for this performance.

SUNDAY SENTINEL

BOOKIN'

This was a scene I encountered a week ago at a familiar location.

The folks at my local library were trying to clean out their overload of books by offering many of them for sale at bargain prices in a used book sale. The books were displayed just outside the front entrance of the library and local bibliophiles were having a great time perusing the collection and searching for good deals.

I had to prowl the piles of written material myself having had a lifelong love of books. Regular readers here may remember that SWMBO and I owned and ran a bookstore called BOOKENDS here for 7 years.

I was tempted numerous times by some of the titles but then I remembered our bookshelves at home with so many volumes waiting to be read.

And then SWMBO, noticing what I was doing, reminded me of the normally closed cabinet with the cookbooks!

By the time I got around to taking this picture, our curious big black cat, Blackwell, had discovered a new niche to be explored. I didn't notice him in there until I was editing the pictures.

Having taken this inventory, I am glad I refrained from buying any more books at the library book sale.

Sort of.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

It is time to tickle your fancies, to grapple with your funny bones, to amuse your senses of humor. 

It's time for the Friday Funnies!

Proceed!

A bit of explanation for the closing cat pictures this week. We had a visit recently from our friend Diane and her "rustic" dog, Rags. Our big cat, Blackwell, was not intimidated.

Rags, while curious, seemed somewhat confused.

Once the visit was over and Elvis, I mean Rags, had left the premises Blackwell spent some time with his crystal ball, trying to figure out what next indignity he would be forced to deal with.

That's it, folks. Thanks to my contributors (and theft victims), have a fantastic weekend and always remember to keep laughing!