Good bye Friend!

I read this morning that Bully XIX (also named "Tonka") - MSU's mascot from 2001 to 2009 was humanely euthanized yesterday following a long battle with health problems. Everyone who is a member of the MSU family knows/knew of Tonka, but since I worked here at the MSU Vet School I was fortunate enough to see him on a frequent basis. One of my favorite memories is of coming into work one morning at the same time as Tonka and his owner. His owner was talking to someone else and Tonka just followed me into the elevator. I was almost to the third floor when I realized he (alone) was with me. I petted and rubbed his head as I pushed the button to take us back down to his (now frantic) owner - who had missed him and had no idea where he had gone. We had a good laugh about it (then & many times following) about me and my "elevator buddy". Bye Tonka!
Friday, my new boss is scheduled to start working. (July 1st is first day of state's new fiscal year). Laurel will be the third person in the Library Director position since I have been here at the CVM Library. She seems like a nice person, but no-one really knows what a person is like until you actually spend some time around them. I'm gonna give her a chance though and hope things work out.
Everyone have a great day!

Father's Day Card

My granddaughter (Amber - who knows I'm a "Doctor Who" fan) gave me this card yesterday for Father's Day. Isn't it COOL! You can't buy anything like this. Just thought I'd share.
Everyone have a great day!

Father's Day

Well, as this coming Sunday (June 19th) is Father's Day - I've been taking a little time to reflect. I had two (male) people that had a huge impact on making me the person I am today. One was obviously my father and the other was my mother's father (who everyone in the family called "Big Daddy" - pic is of Big Daddy on his 97th birthday with Mama Jenny & a group from MSU.). My Dad's father passed away just a couple of months after I was born (due to lung cancer) so I never really knew him. My father passed away in 1991 (also due to lung cancer) and Big Daddy passed away in 2003 at age 97. As the oldest male in my family now (without being morbid) I often think of those who have gone before. I really miss both of them but sometimes I can almost hear or feel them around. I've read that as long as memories of someone survive - that person is alive. And I like to think (as I move through various aspects of my life) that they are there with me.
My children are all adults now with lives of their own and I hope that they too will keep my dad and Big Daddy alive in their memories. I, myself, hope to be around long enough to be a nuisance to them for many, many years. :-)
Everyone have a great day!

Again! Seriously! Come on People!!!

Well, I am more than just a bit aggravated with our friends across the pond. It seems that after Dr. Who (read it here) returns for its split 6th season run (I believe in July for 7 episodes) that it will not be back as a series. No Doctor in 2012 and a limited mini-series in 2013 for the show's 50th anniversary. With such a grand history - you would think they would treat the old guy better. If I'm honest though, my gut feeling this season was that they were getting ready to do this. With the new intro which seemed to emphasize the Doctor as Amy's friend & all the old villians reappearing in rapdi succesion - I felt the show might be coming to an end. So sad.
Everyone have a great day!

Mebbee Next Year........

Well, this past weekend MSU's baseball team took #2 national seed Florida to a 3rd and deciding game but came up on the short end of an 8-6 score in game 3. The weekend was not without excitment though. On Saturday, State was on the short end of a 3-2 score going into the bottom of the 9th inning, and Nick Vickerson hit a walk-off 2 run homer to extend the series to Sunday. Even though my Dawgs didn't make it to the College World Series this year - Well - HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL. Maybe next year.
Now everyone that knows me - knows I am a HUGE football fan. This coming 2011 season DKW will have to put up w/me and football on Fridays (Starkville High), Saturdays (MSU) and Sundays/Mondays (NFL on TV) - not to mention Thursday nights because my grandson will be playing on the Jr. High (7th/8th grade) team. So after December/January there is usually a bit of a football break. WELLLLL - Hold on jest a cotton-pickin' second there pardner - - It was announced today that Tupelo will once again have an Indoor Football team beginning in February 2012. Tupelo has been announced as one of the expansion cities for the Ultimate Indoor Football League. The team name, schedule, etc. won't be announced until later in the year. This will actually be the third time a professional indoor team will be in Tupelo and I did attend games of the previous two teams. From 2005-08, there was the Tupelo Fireants and in 2009-10, there was the Mississippi Mudcats. Whatever this team is named I want to attend a couple of games.
Everyone Have a great day!

Ramblin' - Ramblin' - Ramblin'

Ok - My last entry talked about the wreck - so I'm not going there again.
I talked with Kim Vickers (roofer) this morning before I left for work. He said that they would probably be finished with it around lunch time. If you'd like to see it (as of yesterday) - take a look at my sweetie's blog. She's been following it at home. And say hi to Stumpy, too! (Wearing the cowboy hat). :-)
Tomorrow MSU's Diamond Dogs will be in Gainesville playing the U. of F. Gators in that (best 2 outta 3) NCAA Super-Regional. State will be huge under-dogs. Read Rick Cleveland's article in yesterday's Jackson paper - I think he said it best. Just keep in mind - Sometimes dogs bite and these dogs seem to be peaking at the right time. So at 11 AM (CST) tomorrow I will be cautiously optomistic and listen to the broadcast online as I cheer on my Dogs. GO STATE!
Saturday I plan to do some yard work (weed whacking, pruning, etc) in the morning - before it gets too hot - if it don't rain. (Don't expect it to - only a 30% chance for the next 3 days - & on Sunday drops to 10%). In the afternoon - I think I might go fishing - or not. I'll decide that Saturday afternoon. I actually wouldn't mind a little rain - be a good chance to work on the canes/walking sticks I have in progress and listen to it on my new tin roof. I think that would be kind of cool. I'll try to post some pics next week on the stuff I'm working on - and a couple of the pieces I've finished.
Everyone have a great day!

Happy Anniversary?????? - Maybe Not.

Okay - I was reminded yesterday that Saturday (June 11th) will be the first anniversary of the motorcycle wreck - that came closer than I want to think about - that could have claimed my life. I am very happy (obviously) that it didn't and that I am still here to talk about it. To this day I have no memory of the wreck, the week or so leading up to the wreck and the 6 to 8 weeks following the wreck. All I know comes second-hand from those family and friends who were around during my recovery. Rather than rehash everything - here is a link to my first entry after the wreck. Its a real eye-opener for me to go back and read entries that I wrote - but don't remember. So, on Saturday, if you feel so inclined - raise your glass and give thanks that I'm still here. At least a while longer.
Everyone Have a Great Day.

Busy - but Enjoyable Weekend

With the start of the Summer term here at MSU I am still trying to get paperwork done on my student workers (which the library depends on). The hold-up is the financial aid office getting their "green sheets" done (for gov't "work study" funds). Since the semester has started and I'm still waiting on paperwork I had to work the 8 hour 2-10 PM shift yesterday (Sunday 6/5).
But let me backtrack a bit - On Friday Mississippi State was to play Southern Mississippi in the NCAA Baseball Atlanta Regional. State was the 3 seed and Southern Miss the 2 seed. It was a very close game but MSU won 3-0 and went to the winner's bracket - On Saturday they played #4 seed Austin Peay whohad defeated #1 seed Georgia Tech on Friday. State jumped out front early and won 8-3. At this point, they were the only undefeated team left in the regional and Southern Miss had been eliminated by Georgia Tech. So Sunday afternoon(2 PM cst), Georgia Tech and Austin Peay played an elimination game with the winner to play State that evening (at 6 PM cst). Georgia Tech earned that honor. I was at work and was able to listen to the entire game - since we had very few patrons come in. State jumped out early - 1 run in the first, 2 in the 2nd and 3 in the 3rd. Georgia Tech did score late and made things interesting in the 9th inning but State held on and won 7-3. On a side note - Nick Routt (MSU's pitcher) threw State's very first complete game of the year! As the Atlanta Regional champions they won the right to go to Gainesville, Florida, this coming weekend and play #2 National Seed, Florida Gators. Win or lose - I still love my dogs and for a team picked to finish dead-last in the SEC West (in pre-season polls) - they have already achieved much. GO DOGS!
Not to leave it out - but Saturday - I spent much of the day mowing my 5+ acres. Man - it got hot. The high that day reached 99 degrees. I ended up take a break for an hour and a half during the hotest part. Took a shower to cool down and had a couple of popsicles and lots more water. Staying hydrated in that heat is definited a priority and my sweetie makes sure I keep this in mind. I will say that my tan is starting to look really good though. Anyway - that's the weekend that was.
Everyone have a great day!