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November 2005 Archived Notes
November
29, 2005 - Holy Cow! Happy Tuesday! Welcome back everyone! First off, sorry for the late update. Back to work after having most of
November off, and I'm a "little" busy. (I did have time to correspond with the
FM yesterday, but that's another story.) Lets just jump right in and see what's happening...
Deer Camp 2005 is officially over. What a great time! I opened camp on Thursday just after noon, and as soon as I got the cabin above
freezing, I had a beer to warm up. Nothing like an ice cold beer to take the chill out! Thursday night at the Nimrod was excellent as usual, with thanks to J and A for buying dinner. Gotta love gizzards and pickled herring! Friday's lunch at the Nimrod was good as well, and by night, camp was full, and we were well on our way.
As has been the case the last few years, deer were NOT plentiful, but it didn't stop us from spending a lot of time in the woods. A doe and two fawns wandered between the SEC-State and I before 8am, and The President saw two after lunch, but that was it for those large brown rodents. The Chief did nearly get a fire started in his stand though...
The weather was pretty much perfect with snow on the ground and cool temps, but nothing drastically cold. The snow showed that there are at least a FEW deer in our neck of the woods, but not much in the way of sightings.
We closed camp on Tuesday right after noon, and headed back home for the holiday and more hunting, but be sure to catch our yearly
newsletter for more on Deer Camp 2005!
The Thanksgiving holiday was again a good one with family and friends. I think its possible I'm getting smarter in my old age as I was able to stick to one plate at each stop which resulted in my ability to move at the end of the day. It was hard, as it was REALLY good food! The dressing turned out great again this year, but it would be hard to screw up with Dar,
U.L., and Ma Nelson supervising...
After the holiday we returned to the woods, but had little to show except for two empty shells thrown at a dizzy buck west of Denville. We were on a drive and the AG was so busy shouting DEER! DEER! DEER and BUCK! BUCK! BUCK that I think the poor thing got confused. The AG and
SEC-HSS both sent some lead his way but to no avail. At least we had some shooting...
The weather Sunday was wet, cold, and wet. The SEC-Trans and I agreed in church that its no weather for a hunter to be out in, so we called it a season. All in all, a GREAT SEASON!
One thing lacking that we all missed this year were the non-stop, off-the-wall,
non-sensical, ramblings of our SEC-W/M. Luckily, I have this update from him in sunny NZ:
Good Day from New Zealand all,
I have heard that the weather has been wonderful up there. Your temperature in Fahrenheit
is equaling that of ours in Celsius from reports. So, cold for both places. Haven't heard much of deer hunting lately. Hope all went well! I did hear that Deer Camp 2005 was a success! Nobody got hurt! I also heard of record hours spent in the woods. Congrats! It was definitely a time of year that I missed not being home for. I also want to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving!! We celebrated it here. Possibly a new tradition for the kiwis that I am staying with. We had turkey with all of the fixins. The same as at home, just much smaller quantities, then again, we were feeding 7 people not 70!! Missed seeing everyone! Hope you all had a great holiday!!
On the softball front, Tamatea is still undefeated since the American invasion. We two Yankees have played rolls in all of the wins. We are about to go on a stretch of 8 games this week. Our two normal week night games and 6 on the weekend if all goes as planned. Rumor out of the coaches office is that I will be seeing my first action on the mound this week!! They have requested that our outfield be legal to play behind the fences! This past week, our coach got mad at our pitcher for only having 8 strikeouts. I told him to have a party ready if I get 8! That might be a personal record!! Hope to have a very positive report next Sunday.
On the work front, things are well. I am now used to the metric system, just the terminology is still getting me at times!! No worries though, apparently I am a foreman and won't get laid off because I am a full carpenter! I must have them fooled!!!
I hope that the second half of deer hunting goes well for all, I am sure that Sis Mathies will again show up the rest of the male BBC members. She seems to time things out like that. At least I won't be included in Grandpa's verbal beating if that happens!! Say hi to grandma and grandpa for me if anybody sees them. If some one could get me there address that would be great.
Hope to hear from you all soon, otherwise Happy Thanksgiving!!
Cheers
Ric
Sounds like things are going well down there. I'm guessing, the SEC-W/M is already on a first name basis with the local
emergency room workers, but I suspect that there will be a few crooked buildings with his attempts at metric-english conversion. I haven't seen much on him in their local paper, the Hawkes Bay Today, but his fellow traveler did hit three homers in a game last week. I'm sure the SEC-W/M's opponents will have the same luck when he's on the mound. If you'd like his email, drop me a note and I'll get it to you...
So much going on, but no time to tell it... Oh well, it'll be in the newsletter I'm sure...
Oh yeah, The SEC-HHS celebrated his 21st year last Tuesday. I got to be the designated driver. (I have to work on that concept I think) My beautiful bride also celebrated a major milestone birthday yesterday. Wish them both a happy day when you get a chance.
The
HS BBall season is under way, hence yesterday's correspondence with the
FM. He periodically sends me his warped view of Denville HS sports, and
yesterday he sent his views on the Denville opener at Baypert. We actually
agreed on a few things... should be an interesting season...
That's about it for this week's addition. I'm very sorry November is almost over, but we have the newsletter and Fish Camp to look forward to...
Before I go, a few words of wisdom for our junior members...
"A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a great friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Wow...that was fun!" -- Unknown
How VERY true is that?
Until next time, take care...
As Red would say, “Keep your stick on the ice!”
curtamous
November
14, 2005 - Great Monday Morning!!! Welcome back everyone! Sorry I had no update last week, but I had the WHOLE WEEK OFF!!! Vacation time! It was awesome. I think that's the first full week of vacation I've ever taken that wasn't due just to a hunting trip. Did some hunting, shop work, etc. More on that later...
Hey, DEER CAMP 2005 opens THIS
THURSDAY!!! Awesome! Can't wait! Hopefully, its another great year.
(Check out this year's menu and lists here)
The President, AG, Comptroller an I were up at camp on Saturday, and we spent a lot of time in the woods scouting, upgrading deer stands, etc. It looks like they've logged out the 40 off of Moonshine, so that'll affect us a little, meaning we'll all have to hunt behind the cabin. We should have enough stands unless we have a crowd of idiots out there. We also cut out a new trail to the stands thru the
thick stuff below Miss Hill. Looks like a drunken "Native American" trail, but it should do the trick.
The Comptroller and I were only up for the day, but we had a good day and great time.
Last week I finally spent some time out in the woods bow hunting. As usual, I didn't get anything, but I did see deer out at Zumbo's ranch. At least five bucks and only as many does. It was great. I would have gotten out more except for the extreme winds on Wednesday and Sunday. I enjoyed it immensely anyway.
Probably spent more time in my shop last week than anything else. I got the entire shop sealed with the north and south walls sheeted and insulated. Ceiling is done, including the hatch, the door is done and the window is in. Looks pretty damn good, and I'm pretty proud of it. Stop by and check it out when you get a chance.
Oh yeah, the highlight of the week; new brakes in the truck. Its always something, isn't it?
Word is the SEC-W/M has arrived in the southern hemisphere. In fact, I have this update from him personally:
Hello all from New Zealand! It is absolutely gorgeous down here. The weather has been wonderful not to mention the tremendous landscape. The team that I am playing for is 2-0 since we have arrived and I have managed to get ejected from my first game over a
technicality and them slammed the opposing coach in the local paper. One team is already not a big fan of me. Over here the papers print everything.
The flight was good. As good as 29 hours between being on an airplane or in an airport can be. In
Cincinnati, we managed to get our way into the "Crown Club" at the airport. A VIP room with couches and complimentary drinks. Thanks to our good friend from Atlanta, GA Lee Peterson. We also got to see Mr. Charlie Hustle himself, Pete Rose. The highlight of the trip.
Today, got to spend the day out at the ocean. Apparently something that I will be able to every Sunday. Warm weather, but the water was about as warm as Lake Michigan in early summer.
This week is the first week of work for us. Should be interesting. We also have 2 games, one against the team that I slammed in the paper. Should be equally interesting. We also get to attend the wedding of the son of the people that we are staying with. More and more of the culture to learn. People are very friendly here. We have been welcomed into the softball club as one of there own. Which judging by the way people react to you colors and logo, is pretty
prestigious. Very highly regarded among the people of Hawke's Bay.
Until next time.
Cheers
Ric
Sounds like he's doing great, and we all wish him well. Hopefully, we'll get regular updates from him, and I'll be sure to post 'em every week. Well, every week that I do an update.
The SEC-W/M's ejection got me curious, so I did some searching on the net. Here's what I found in the Hawk's Bay Today sports section:
SOFTBALL: Rivals throw rulebook at US import
11.11.2005
Shane Hurndell
American softball import Ric Thompson was upbeat despite being ejected in his first outing on Hawke's Bay turf last night.
"That sort of garbage is Bush League softball," Tamatea utility Thompson said after his ejection during Scarfe Builders Tamatea's 5-0 win against Walmsley Contractors Dodgers at Akina Park, Hastings.
"But at the same time, that win against a previously unbeaten side was a good welcome for us. This definitely looks like a more competitive midweek league than back home," Thompson said.
One of two American imports who joined the Tamatea side last night, Thompson, was introduced as a sub in the bottom of the fifth inning and picked a walk.
However Dodgers coach Tom Makea snr pointed out that Thompson, and fellow import Kyle Van Abel, hadn't been included on the team sheet correctly and umpire Terry Whittaker had no option but to eject him.
Tamatea coach Graham Scarfe snr said there weren't enough lines on the sheet for him to include all his reserves correctly. But Makea snr said "rules were rules" and he wanted to make everyone aware of them.
"I heard a lot about Mr Makea and that wasn't the way I wanted to be introduced to him. I still can't wait to play with his sons though, as they're big drawcards in the States," Thompson said, referring to Makea snr's sons, Black Sox representatives Thomas and Fabian, who occasionally play for Tamatea as pick-up players in tournaments.
Thompson, 27, and Van Abel, 19, said they were impressed with the calibre of the young players in action last night and even more impressed with their welcome ceremony, which included a
haka.
"We're here to learn as much as we can from the world's best softballers in our off-season as well as offer Hawke's Bay players the opportunity to play in our country too," said Thompson.
He has had seven years' experience in the International Softball Congress while Van Abel has had two. After leaving snow in Wisconsin, the pair are relishing the Bay's warm weather.
Tamatea opened the scoring in the fourth inning when Luke Herrick got on base with a double and was hit home by Grant Dean. Graham Scarfe jnr and Joachim Paul both scored on an error in the fifth inning.
Jovaan Hanley thrilled the crowd with his automatic home run over the right outfield fence in the sixth inning which also saw designated runner Stu McIntosh scored on a Hayden Williams double. Tamatea pitcher Regan Manley took 15 strikeouts.
Promising Dodgers pitcher Tamihana Hokianga did well to take eight strikeouts during his four innings on the mound.
Tamatea out hit Dodgers 8-1. Despite their loss Dodgers still won the first round in the midweek competition.
Last night's curtainraiser saw Shooters Fast Pitch beat Marist 10-4. Marist out hit Fast Pitch 4-3 but their five defensive errors proved to be their downfall.
(Thanks to the Hawke's Bay Today - http://www.hbtoday.co.nz)
Bush league softball? Holy cow! Doesn't he know they take their softball seriously down there? I hope he learns to shut up or he'll end up as New Zealand shark bait. (Like he'll EVER learn to keep his mouth shut...) If you want to drop the SEC-W/M a message, feel free to do so on the guestbook or I can get you his email address...
(By the way, what the hell is a "haka"?)
Did I mention DEER CAMP 2005 is HERE!?!?! Oh boy, I'm fired up!
Week before last, I spent two days in Chicago with BO and the boys. Another typical trip. A couple meetings, get together with the boys, and a LOT of beer. Well, I only had 8 or so, but they WERE oil cans. I love Fosters... I also came back with a box of old cellphones and a used Blackberry for MadMax. The FM put out a call for some
cell phones for the boy. They are his passion, and he was fresh out. Dropped 'em off on Sunday and he was a happy camper...
Last weekend, the FDA Chair had a housewarming at his new Banana Republic domicile. Booyah was served, and it was AWESOME as always. Couldn't stay long due to other less fun commitments, but it was a good time.
On a sad note, last week, Monsignor Bob Gulig, pastor in Denmark in the 90's, passed away after a long bout with illness. The old German was a great lover of food and a
fascinating man. Fr. Bob, you'll be missed, but I'm sure you're enjoying you next assignment.
Also, The President's mother has been hospitalized for a while and isn't doing too great. Good
spirits according to The President, but a tough time finding out what's wrong. (Damn doctors! Too many crooks... but if they're buying
me hunting land, I'm all for 'em!) Keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers...
Well, if you weren't aware, its almost deer hunting season in Wisconsin. I'll be up north
Thursday thru Tuesday, so I won't be sending out an update next week. But I will be celebrating the eldest boy's 21st birthday Tuesday night when I get back, so you may want to track us down and have a cold one with us.
That's about it for today... I work today and tomorrow and then I'm back on vacation until the Monday after Thanksgiving. I LOVE
November!
But before I do, a few words of wisdom for our junior members... I got two of 'em in honor of the upcoming hunt:
"Reality is an illusion created by lack of alcohol" ~Author Unknown
"Whack 'em, stack 'em and pack 'em." ~ Ted Nugent
Deer Camp 2005, here we come!
Until next time, take care...
As Red would say, “Keep your stick on the ice!”
curtamous
Last Updated: Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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