IT'S ALWAYS LOADED WITH FRIED ONIONS

I was at first encouraged by a pink sunrise through the trees but it was soon gone and the day remained cloudy.  A short drive into and around Bayfield for Pheebs and I.  Home again I busied myself on the end of my snow shovel clearing out a couple inches of new fallen snow.  

WE SURE HAVE A LOT OF SNOW AND IT JUST KEEPS ON COMING

RIGHT NOW THE SNOW IS LIGHT AND FLUFFY BUT WHEN TEMPS GO ABOVE FREEZING ALL THOSE SNOWFLAKES WILL TURN TO DROPS OF WATER AND THERE IS GOING TO BE A LOT OF WEIGHT ON AREA ROOFS

HEY THERE'S MY GOOD NEIGHBOR FRANK DOING OUR DRIVEWAY TODAY

Shortly after noon slipped up to the Walmart Pharmacy and picked up some meds for a friend who was unable to get there today.  Before returning home I slipped through the A&W drive-thru and picked up a 'Double Buddy Burger'.  It's always loaded with fried onions.

I WAS STARTLED WHEN A FREIGHT TRAIN WENT WHOOSHING THROUGH THE RAIL CROSSING AHEAD OF ME THIS AFTERNOON ON ORCHARD LINE

On the way home I dropped off the meds.  Roads were snow-packed but the visibility was good.  Not snowing, and no icy cold winds.  Not much going on this afternoon.  Did some cleaning and a load of laundry.  All is good, just counting the days to warmer weather:)) 

 'HEY DAD, WHY IS ALL THIS SNOW IN OUR BACK YARD??

 STARING AT THE SNOW AND WISHING IT WOULD GO AWAY

Al's Music Box:)) Rise is an instrumental written by Andy Armer and Randy 'Badazz' Alpert, first recorded in 1979 by trumpeter Herb Alpert. The A&R representative at A&M Records, Chip Cohen, knew Randy Alpert was into funk and disco music. He asked Randy to rework Tijuana Brass hits as funk tracks.  Herb Alpert recalls, "I think we started by playing ‘A Taste of Honey’ or ‘Tijuana Taxi'. And it just felt like the wrong approach. I didn’t feel comfortable playing that way."  As Alpert and Armer were working on Cohen's assignment, they decided to write an original song for Herb as well. The result was "Rise". “Rise” was originally recorded as an uptempo dance number, however, while recording the master at A&M studios, the drummer on the session, Steve Schaeffer, strongly suggested that Herb and Randy try slowing the tempo down to 100bpm.  It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in October of that year and remained in the top position for two weeks. Herb Alpert thus became the first artist to reach the top of the Hot 100 with a vocal performance ("This Guy's in love With You" 1968) as well as an instrumental performance. "Rise" was also successful on other charts, peaking at number four on the R&B chart, number 17 on the disco chart and spending one week atop the adult contemporary chart. The recording also received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instruemental Performance. Songwriters Armer and Alpert were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition.  "Rise" has been frequently requested as a sample by various artists. Randy Alpert declined most of them. When he heard the tape of Notorious B.I.G. rapping over "Rise" he was wildly enthusiastic about it and immediately approved the sample. He later gave Bell Biv DeVoe permission to sample the song, because he was a fan of the group. He declined to let The Sopranos use the song during a scene where someone was being beaten. Alpert also refused to let Pfizer use "Rise" in a campaign for Viagra which would have relied on the double entendre implied by the song's title.  In October 2016 the "Rise Remix EP" was released on the Herb Alpert Presents label. It has seven selections with six remixes as well as the original track.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( It is pouring rain in the flood plain of the Mississippi Valley, and the rising river begins to threaten all manner of private homes, including that of the local Rabbi.  With water coming into the ground floor, a rowboat with police comes by, and the officer shouts, "Rabbi, let us evacuate you! The water level is getting dangerous."  The Rabbi replies, "No thank you, I am a righteous man, who trusts in the Almighty, and I am confident he will deliver me." Three hours go by, and the rains intensify, at which point the Rabbi has been forced up to the second floor of his house.A second police rowboat comes by, and the officer shouts, "Rabbi, let us evacuate you! The water level is getting dangerous."  The Rabbi replies, "No thank you, I am a righteous man, who trusts in the Almighty, and I am confident he will deliver me."  The rain does not stop, and the Rabbi is forced up onto the roof of his house. A helicopter flies over, and the officer shouts down, "Rabbi, grab the rope and we'll pull you up! You're in terrible danger!"  The Rabbi replies, "No thank you, I am a righteous man, who trusts in the Almighty, and I am confident he will deliver me."  The deluge continues, and the Rabbi is swept off the roof, carried away in the current and drowns. He goes up to heaven, and at the Pearly Gates, he is admitted and comes before the Divine Presence.  The Rabbi asks, "Dear Lord, I don't understand. I've been a righteous observant person my whole life, and depended on you to save me in my hour of need. Where were you?"  And the Lord answered, "I sent two boats and a helicopter, what more do you want?"

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- I came home from work this evening and said to my wife, "Are we having salad for dinner?"  "Yes we are, how did you know?" she asked.  I replied, "Because I can't hear the smoke alarm."

- Teacher: If there are seven flies and I hit one with a ruler, how many are left?  Little Johnny: Just the squashed one.

- I gave my father $100 and said, “Buy yourself something that will make your life easier.”  So he went out and bought a present for my mother.

- My wife was getting annoyed that I kept leaving freezer door open and it kept on defrosting.  We have since split up, it’s all water under the fridge.

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kellys Corner

 MORNING WALK IN THE KOFA MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA

 RELAXING ON THE PORCH AT OUR CONGRESS ARIZONA HOME

 AT COUNCIL ROCKS IN THE DRAGOON MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA

Al's Art Gallery

I SO MUCH MISS THOSE GREAT DAYS

ON THE WAY TO PICK UP MY GOOD BUDDY RICHARD THIS MORNING

Another in a series of mighty fine late October days.  The weather 22 years ago today certainly wasn't like this.  It was the final day for us in the old farmhouse at the old Weenie Roast Ranch near Fullarton Ontario. We had lived there for over 7 years.  It was a cold and dark rain-soaked night when we left our old haunt and moved the last load of stuff to where we now live in the Bayfield Pines Community near Bayfield Ontario.  It was Halloween night 2002 and the weather had played a 'trick' on us but it sure was a 'treat' that cold, and dark night to move into our warm cozy little place right here under the tall swaying Pine trees:))  

 FIERY SUMAC LEAVES

Coffee and muffins time for Richard and me so I picked him up this morning and off we went to cruise a few roads we hadn't been on for a while.  Always nice to change up the scenery from time to time and especially so now that we still have some gorgeous Autumn colors left in the countryside. 

 WE WERE SURPRISED BY A GOLFCART LOAD OF SCARY PARK CHARACTERS THIS AFTERNOON

 THE COMMUNITY SPIRIT IN OUR PARK IS VERY MUCH ALIVE AND WELL:))

I BORROWED THIS PHOTO FROM ANOTHER PARK RESIDENT

Kelly and I headed down to the south end of our Park this afternoon for a walk in the hardwood forest located there.  This is an area we often walked with our dogs in the earlier years of living here.  Sometimes we would make our way down a steep hundred-foot forested embankment to the Bayfield River far below.  But, that was years ago when we were younger and could do things like that on the spur of the moment without even having to worry about anything like getting back up the embankment again.  Actually, we had a purpose for being in that forest today.  We were looking for something we didn't find.  A bench.  Oh well, it was just great to be outside doing something we so much enjoyed doing in our RVing years.  We loved looking for things like old western Ghost Towns, (Charleston) lost gravesites, (Johnny Ringo and some Confederate soldiers) historical markers, old mines, Crested Saguaro Cactus, hidden trails, natural water tanks in the Kofa Mountains, the hard-to-find Mary Kidder ranch and old Fort Rucker in the Chiricahua Mountains, and Cochise's council rocks in Arizona's Dragoon Mountains.  We found the dump site for the old army Camp Furlong in Columbus New Mexico, Marshall South's homestead atop Ghost Mountain in California's Blair valley, and his gravesite in Julian California.  The endless list goes on and on and it was always one of our favorite things to do.  Get ourselves up in the morning and head out the door early to go places and find and do things we had never seen or done before.  I so much miss those great days............   

 WE DROVE SUBIE UP INTO THE HARDWOOD FOREST

 YOU CAN SEE IT WASA VERY WINDY AFTERNOON

 AN OLD FARM GATE IN THE WOODS

HEADING BACK TO THE CAR

 MAKING OUR WAY BACK OUT OF THE FOREST

Al's Music Box:)) Ghost Riders In The Sky by Geoff Castelucci is a cowboy-styled country/western song written in 1948 by American songwriter Stan Jones.  The song tells a folk tale of a cowboy who has a vision of red-eyed, steel-hooved cattle thundering across the sky, being chased by the spirits of damned cowboys. One warns him that if he does not change his ways, he will be doomed to join them, forever "trying to catch the Devil's herd across these endless skies".  Stan Jones stated that he had been told the story when he was 12 years old by an old Native American who resided northeast of the Douglas Arizona border town, a few miles behind D Hill, north of Agua Prieta. Sonora. The Native Americans, possibly Apache, who lived within Cochise County, believed that when souls vacate their physical bodies, they reside as spirits in the sky, resembling ghost riders. He related this story to Wayne Hester, a boyhood friend (later owner of the Douglas Cable Company). As both boys were looking at the clouds, Stan shared what the old Native American had told him, looking in amazement as the cloudy shapes were identified as the "ghost riders" that years later, would be transposed into lyrics.............Here is an instrumental version of the same song played on a steel guitar.  Ghost Riders.  And of course, the version I grew up with....Frankie Laines version of Ghost Riders In The Sky.  And, because it's Halloween, here is Bobby (Boris) Pickett and the Crypt Kicker Five with The Monster Mash.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A car was involved in an accident on the street. As expected a large crowd gathered. A newspaper reporter, anxious to get his story could not get near the car.  Being a clever sort, he started shouting loudly, "Let me through! Let me through! I am the son of the victim."  The crowd made way for him.  Lying in front of the car was a donkey.

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[1] Regular naps prevent old age, especially if you take them while driving.

[2] Having one child makes you a parent; having two makes you a referee.

[3] Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right and the other is the husband!

[4] I believe we should all pay our taxes with a smile. I tried – but they wanted cash.

[5] A child's greatest period of growth is the month after you've purchased new school uniforms.

[6] Don't feel bad. A lot of people have no talent.

[7] Don't marry the person you want to live with, marry the one you cannot live without, but whatever you do, you'll regret it later.

[8] You can't buy love, but you pay heavily for it.

[9] Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.

[10] Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.

[11] Marriage is give and take. You'd better give it to her or she'll take it.

[12] My wife and I always compromise. I admit I'm wrong and she agrees with me.

[13] Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others.

[14] Ladies first. Pretty ladies sooner.

[15] A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.

[16] You're getting old when you enjoy remembering things more than doing them.

[17] It doesn't matter how often a married man changes his job, he still ends up with the same boss.

[18] Real friends are the ones who survive transitions between address books.

[19] Saving is the best thing. Especially when your parents have done it for you.

[20] Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something

[21] They call our language the mother tongue because the father seldom gets to speak!

[22] Man: Is there any way for long life?
Dr: Get married.
Man: Will it help?
Dr: No, but then the thought of long life will never come.

[23] Why do couples hold hands during their wedding? It's a formality just like two boxers touching gloves before the fight begins!

[24] Wife: Darling today is our anniversary, what should we do?
Husband: Let us stand in silence for 2 minutes.

[25] There is only one perfect child in the world and every mother has it.

[26] There is only one perfect wife in the world and every neighbor has it!

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