Spring 2011

Spring is in the air here in the Blueridge Mountains of Virginia!

2011 off to a cold start**

My Saints won the Super Bowl last year, but have been knocked out, in the first round this year, by the Sea-Chickens of Seattle.

Looks like the Packers and the Steelers this year. Feb. 06, 2011 in Dallas TX.

Check out some of the photos that I posted on left side of the page from April 2010's SpringBreak cruise, what a great time.

See ya soon!

A fresh Start.... Writing again.....

Well, It has been nearly a year since I posted anything on this blog. You know Life just gets in the way sometimes? What a busy year! I want so much to tell you about my whereabouts and all the stuff that I have been involved in.

Keep posted.... I plan to share things with you on this blog, and catch you up with my life. Oh yeah, then we get on path with some current stuff. It is Christmas time again. I just love Christmas time. I still pretty much hate the snow, but I don't live in Florida yet...

Stay posted, we'll talk about cruises during spring break, vacations taken, Masonic & Shrine events, etc.... I plan to post pictures too. They really are worth 1000 words, and the less I type, the better it is for all of us.....

Looking back over the last 2 weeks, more snow....

Jan. 28th, 2010 - Jan. 31st, 2010 - The Kazim Shrine Circus was held at the Roanoke Civic Center- The circus comes to town every year and it is a fundraiser for the Kazim Shriners. This year was the 52nd year. We added the Thursday night, one additional show. Shriners, nationwide, hold many fundraisers and operate 22 children's hospitals for orthapedic, burns, and simular treatments. The hospitals are absolutely free of charge and open to children up to the age of 18 yrs old. The closest Shriners Hospital to Roanoke is Greenville SC, however, it does not treat burn injuries. A burned child from Roanoke will be sent to Cincinnati Ohio's Shriners Hospital.
The circus is Kazim's largest fundraiser and wouldn't you know it, it snowed again right in the middle of the long weekend of some 7 performances. I have worked every single show of the circus weekend every year for the past several years, since I became a member of Kazim. The snow arrived just after our Friday night performance and all of the roads were in very bad shape by Saturday morning, but the show must & did go on. The 3 shows for Saturday were of very low attendance. Sunday had 2 shows and we had more people at those. The last show was the best of the weekend and was a very well attended performance. The snow storm did hurt the bottom line.
I have to tell you, to work those gates and to see the smiles on all of the kids that come to see the circus just yanks at your ole' heart strings. you see all sizes, ages, and personalities. some come from families that clearly have money to bring them to the show, and some from families that had to pull together all the money from the piggy banks to get the kids there. The circus is a deal though. An adult can get two kids(With free tickets) and themselves into the circus for the $16.00 adult ticket. Thats 2 kids and an adult for $16.00. Thats fairly reasonable for 2010 entertainment.

Tues. Feb. 02, 2010 - Well it snowed again, not as much as it did over the Circus weekend, but it was enough to keep schools out on Wed.

Friday Feb o5, 2010 - Well, we awoke to another snow storm. Schools closed again, which meant the kids only went to school on Thursday for the entire week. This storm promised about a foot to ROANOKE and up to 2 feet for WASHINGTON DC & BALTIMORE MD. This storm left us with about 9 to 10 inches, and would have been more, but we also got a fair share of sleet, so that kept the snow accumulations lower.
I am so done with shoveling snow. I will consider the investment in a snow blower in the off season. This last snow was much heavier than the others, but the snow plows were able to get the streets cleared much quicker. I honestly think the Roanoke area population has gotten to the point, that anything under 12 inches is a piece of cake, when prior to this year's multiple snows, 2 inches would shut the region down. That being said, we still got folks that can't drive on a clear dry road, 70 degree and sunshine. Know any of those?

As I write this entry to my blog, it is Sunday feb. 07, 2010 and I am watching the pregame shows for the Super Bowl, which is being held in Florida. My New Orleans Saints are going up against Manning and the Indy Colts. Good luck Drew Brees! Go Who Dats! My Saints have never, ever been to the Super Bowl.

Last night I watched the Bud Shoot-out from down in Daytona. Nascar is kicking off their season down in Florida.

Baseball is getting ready to report to spring trianing down in Florida....

Have you noticed a theme?.... Heck fire, I'm going to Florida too!! Me and John Sweeney, Santa Claus, are going down for a few days. Feb. 14th - 18th, 2010.

The Provost Guard Valentine Dance is Saturday night Feb. 13th, 2010 @ the Kazim Shrine Center, downtown Roanoke. Live band," Off the Cuff ". I'll be taking my sweetheart.... That's why I'm not leaving for Florida until Sunday Morning, the 14th. I just love tulips, They are alot like me. They don't like snow either......

Check out the video of Florida, if it works!

New Orleans Saints Win! Going to the Superbowl, Who Dat!!

Way to go Saints, Who Dat? Who Dat say they gonna beat dem Saints?

The Story of Jim Dandy!!

This photo is of my grandfather, my mother's father, Everett Wickham. I do not remember him, because he died in Dec. 1966, when I was only 2 1/2 years old.

Everett is holding a crow on his thumb. The crow's name was "Jim Dandy" and he was a family pet. My mom's brothers had found him in the woods when he was a baby bird and had fallen out of a nest. They nursed him and he grew, but he thought he was part of the family. He didn't stay inside, but he found you as soon as you ventured outside.

Jim Dandy was very found of little trinkets and anything shiny. We would refer to that as "Bling" today. He would hang upside down on the clothes that were out on the line and try to steal the buttons off of clothing and even take the clothes pins. He would ride on the rim of the slop bucket as someone carried it to feed the hogs. By the time you reached the hog lot, he would have had his dinner taken care of. Jim Dandy was the family pet and was around until late one fall, about hunting season, and then just disappeared and he never came back around.

The photo above was taken at my mom's childhood home in Botetourt County, VA in the Cloverdale area.