Monday, July 21, 2014

Duck Tolling; Torch Clubs; Garner; Golf Danger; Scam Illegals; Lawsuits; God; VBS; Lung Cancer Award; Cowboy Movie

Overcast all day with thunderstorms threatening, so Elaine and I  were not able to go swimming. Maybe Wednesday instead.


01.  Dog show


Our 4H Dog Show was held on Monday and the newspaper has a picture of Kenna Fox, showing her dog, Finlay, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.  Such a dog is a "gundog", bred for hunting.  It looks a lot like a small Golden Retriever.  The Internet says that "they get their 'tolling' name because they can lure waterfowl within gunshot range."  (How do they do that?)  I've looked in quite a few places for a definition of "tolling", but with no luck.


02. Torch Clubs


There was an article in the Carroll County Times today about Torch Clubs.  These are groups that get together to talk about each person's favorite subjects.  One of my Toastmasters friends asked me to  join him in such a club.  He said that periodically, I would be asked to prepare a "paper" on a subject of interest to me, and deliver it to the group.  That requirement reminded me of Graduate School obligations.. something I don't want to be tied to while I am in retirement.  I would rather form a Mensa Type Group in Westminster, where members just sit around and discuss any and all subjects. I think that would be more fun. 


03.  *James Garner .. Garner #1


James Garner was an entertainer for 60 years.. imagine that.  I liked him in his TV roles: Maverick and Rockford.  Also, he was great in Support Your Local Sheriff, Victor/Victoria, and The Notebook.
More on Jim later.


04.  *James Garner .. Garner #2


Eric Garner was 43, half the age of James Garner, and at 350 pounds, probably twice as heavy.  Eric was resisting arrest when a New York policeman put him into a "chokehold" causing Eric to stop breathing and die.  More on Eric later.


05.  *James Garner .. Theme Music


It is really weird, but as I thought about Mr. Garner's death, I suddenly realized that the theme music from the Rockford Files was playing in my head.  It's doing it again! Amazing!


06.  Golf, A Dangerous Sport


One normally doesn't think that golf is dangerous; however, yesterday a Westminster, Maryland man fell out of a golf cart and had to be flown to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Unit.  I hope he is OK.


07.  Scam .. Illegals


The FBI is looking for scammers who are targeting family members of children living illegally in the U.S. Two approaches are used:


a.  The person claims to represent a charitable organization needing money to assist in reuniting illegal children with parents.


b.  They use Caller ID Spoofing.. that is, the Caller ID will show the name of a legitimate business asking for travel expense money of from $300 to several thousand dollars.


08.  *Lawsuits .. Targeting God


This one is hard to believe.. Through some kind of convoluted reasoning, Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers (Democrat) filed a lawsuit against God in 2008, accusing God, the defendant, of causing untold death and horror and threatening even more.  Ernie figured that God could be sued in  his (Ernie's) home County because He is omnipresent.  Ernie sought a permanent injunction against the Almighty.


Chambers said the lawsuit was triggered by his reflecting on a Federal suit filed against a judge who banned words such as "rape" and "victim" from a sexual assault trial. (Go figure.)


The suit was dismissed because God could not be properly notified, not having an address and Zip Code. 


09.  *Lawsuits .. Targeting God's Representatives


I don't know when this was filed:  A Romanian prisoner, "Pavel M.", a convicted murderer, filed a lawsuit against the Romanian Orthodox Church, as God's Representatives in Romania.  He claimed that the Church had failed to keep him from the devil.  He said that his baptism was a binding contract.  The suit was dismissed because the defendant (God/His Church) was neither an individual nor a company.


10.  *VBS .. Names


Elaine set me straight about Vacation Bible School names that I assumed were invented by each VBS church sponsor to lure kids to their programs.  Instead, Elaine says that Churches contact organizations that publish VBS programs that can be purchased.  These programs come with booklets and each has one of those "catchy" names, such as "Jungle Safari". 


Years ago, Elaine had a great idea to help reinvigorate sagging VBS attendance.  She suggested that it be done at night, with supper provided to the kids.  Her church members liked and adopted the idea.  It was a success.  Members donated hotdogs and other food and the VBS was very well attended.


11.  *Lung Cancer ..  Punitive Award


Forgive me if I talked about this earlier.. as an old dude, I repeat myself a lot.


A Florida jury has awarded the widow of a chain smoker who died of lung cancer, punitive damages of more than $23 billion ... that's "billion," guys!  R.J. Reynolds, the Tobacco Company that was punished, will, of course, appeal the "runaway verdict" as they say.  Anyway, even though she probably will not get this much, she originally asked for only a few million, which she may get.


====== Now, I don't want to shock you, so, do not read any further, because it is kind of naughty.








12.  Movies ..  Cowboy film


Many years ago, I used to travel to Boston from my home in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  On that trip (we didn't have all of the fast and straight highways that we have now and had to weave in and out of small towns along the way).. we had to pass a Drive In Movie (remember them?) on the top of a long hill.  They had a massive marquee that could be seen from miles away.  For a couple of weeks, the marquee advertised the cowboy movie that was playing there and which was very popular.


The name of the movie was Tall In The Saddle.. I think John Wayne was starred, but I'm not sure.  This title was emblazoned on the massive marquee using very big letters for the  Capital letters and very small letters for the other letters.  From the distance, all you could see of the marquee was:


Tall In The Saddle.   


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