Halloween at "The Office".

Every office dwelling employee was faced with a huge choice this morning...to dress up, or not to dress up.

All over America today Zombies are answering phones at credit card calling centers, Witches are serving burgers at the local "greasy spoon", Fairy Godmothers are completing transactions at banks, and Mr. Incredible look alikes are performing accounting tasks, with their masks on...all in the name of Halloween.


I saw a report that Americans will spend over $6 billion on Halloween crap.


As you can tell from that statement, I dressed like myself today...to the hilt...The North Face khaki pants, a Gramicci t-shirt and a thermal long sleeve under it. I tend to laugh at grown adults dressed up like vampires while at work.


Don't get me wrong, I'm not some killjoy, but I find it ridiculous. I don't dress like a Shepard at Christmas or like a bunny at Easter. I just don't understand the motive. If you are going to a Halloween party, go ahead drive across town to your friend's house with your gorilla suit on, that's funny, but at work???


I think the Senate should enact a law prohibiting anyone over the age of 13 from wearing a costume all day on Halloween...but by all means go to the local bar tonight and get toasted while wearing your pirate outfit...if St. Patrick's day is "Amateur's night" at the bar scene, then Halloween is "Immature's night" at the bar scene.


But who am I to judge...I have to leave work early to get Darth Vader, and his sidekick, the 2 foot 5 inch turtle to the local "Trunk and Treat" before Wednesday night kid's church starts!

(Disclaimer: If you dressed up today at work the author apologizes...to your co-workers on your behalf.)

Bloggers United.

I have an idealist friend, who is saving the environment by himself and unknowingly making me feel guilty about it. He is actually the reason I considered starting a blog. So you have him to blame. If you want to check it out Minus Car is the blog spot...here is the story.

Last Wednesday, after hunting with the 3 pastors Dave, Sam and Brian, Dave and I headed to Nutty's North in S.F. to catch one of my favorite bands, mewithoutYou.

I was introduced to mewithoutYou via FuseTV's segement "Not On the Radio" about 2 years ago. The lead singer talked about his involvement in "The Simple Way" a community in Kennsington, PA.

They played a couple videos and I was hooked...I can't really describe their sound, besides poetic, screamo, and heavy. They don't fit into a genera, which pleases me.

The concert was good, a little short, but as Dave pointed out, the band was extremely tight and was worth the $0 I paid for the comp ticket...thanks Dave.

We all enjoyed the show, and Dave snapped a picture of the Bloggers United with the drummer from mewithoutYou...I'm on the right, Minus Car on the left, sweaty, hairy drummer in the middle.

Good times.

Maxim the Cattle Rustler...and the Upland Bird Hunter

Last week Maxim was begging to go pheasant hunting with my father-in-law and I, so on Tuesday I brought him along.

We got over to Papa Raymond's around 10 a.m. and they were working heifers..."preg checking" them. Now if you have never seen this firsthand, you are not going to appreciate this, but when he say the Vet stick his hand in, and heard the cow beller...it was an eyeful for a 5 year old. After about 10 minutes of watching, he was ready to go outside and play. I was happy he was getting farm educated.

We grabbed some food and around noon we headed to the field. We hunted corn and river bottom. Maxim walked the entire day, just blocking during the corn hunt so we didn't lose him! We figure he walked about 3 miles in switch grass, stubble fields and sloughs. He never once complained and carried a corn stalk gun for most of the time.

He was a trooper. I either ruined him for ever going out hunting again or he is now addicted.

After we cleaned the birds, which he stayed away from and called it "scary", Papa Raymond wanted us to help move some cow/calf pairs to a different field. Maxim and I took the 4 mile 4-wheeler ride to the field and jumped in the truck with Papa...a little safer in the truck.

We started pushing cattle, and he was very excited, imitating Papa by yelling at the cows out the truck window. The best part was when we encouraged an old heifer to "get along" by smacking her with the cattle guard of the truck, and Maxim's eyes got big again and he said, "Papa we crashed into that cow!" He fell asleep before we got to the field and didn't wake up for 4 hours!

That was a day I will remember for a long time...the exact reason we moved back to the lake!

After we got back to the farm, Brecken was getting in the way of the ladies painting in the house, so we went for a 4-wheeler ride across some of the same roads me and my cousin Eric used to tear up with go-carts, motorcycles and 3-wheelers. We found Eric and my Uncle Jim combining corn, and hitched a ride for a few rounds...Brecken was overwhelmed.

We got home right before dark, ate and slept very well that night.

Another Dog Story

Last week was spent mostly in the great outdoors of South Dakota chasing pheasants. My dogs, Annie, 11 year old German Shorthair Pointer and Lily, 5 year old English Pointer, accompanied me through just about every field. They were tired by Wednesday when we rumbled into Bridgewater, South Dakota to hunt with some friends from Sioux Falls and Minnesota.

The day was great, birds were good and the 4 dogs we had were working good. The last field of the day I was going to leave my 2 bird dogs in the kennel, but when I noticed the beautiful full section of CRP I couldn't walk away from the Expedition with thier whining...I knew they would get at least 4 days of nothing but kennel rest after that run.

They had plenty of water, but half way through the field, Lily collapsed. She started seizing and her eyes were dilated, I thought for sure I would bury her in that field. We reacted pretty good according to the vet I talked to. We carried her out, got her to a truck, cooled her down with water and fed her a can of dog food.

3 hours later she was back to normal, or as normal as a dog would be after 5 days of hunting. I was having severe concerns about walking through the door and telling Maxim and Steph Lily was gone. Thanks to Rima for running a half mile with a gallon of water and a bowl and Jim J. for getting us to the "buffet" in a hurry.

Lily loves her food, but that day she didn't get enough.

40,000 more miles!

I filled up with gas tonight and looked at the odometer on my Subaru Outback...159,998!

On the way home I will turn it into the 160K's.

My goal is to get it to 200K. Subaru Outbacks are known to run forever...this is a '97 and gives me little trouble for the age and miles on the car.

I have a love/hate relationship with this car...I love the fact that most people expect that I would drive a SUV or a pick-up. Then they see me in a crossover vehicle...which is what guys call their station wagons.

I will honk the horn when I hit 160K for all those of you that care.

Use it or lose it...

I got an e-mail from HR the other day...(that's Human Resources for those of you not in the corporate world...or "Human Racehorses" for those of you working at the Coborn's Bakery...no-lie one time we ordered 3 dozen donuts at the office and they asked for a name, we told them to put Human Resources on the name...next day we pick them up, and right there at the top...Name: HUMAN RACEHORSES That one is framed and in our office.)

Back to the story...e-mail from HR telling me I have to use a bunch of vacation or I will lose it, as I can only carry over a week and a half. So I took some time off to hunt. They call it "use it or lose it month" around here, because everyone is trying to cram in some vacations that we haven't had time to use in the summer when most normal people take vacations.

I generated several blog stories in the last 4 days...I did USE my vacation time. So I will be filling you in in the next few days.

Here is a rundown of Blogs to come:

Another Dog Story.
Maxim the cattle rustler.
Maxim the upland bird hunter.
Brecken the combiner.
mewithoutYou...Bloggers United.
36 hours in bed without cable TV.
Skipper is Barbie's little sister...

Lost Dog...finally found...Another epic story by: Tom Glanzer

The following is a quote from the movie Billy Madison starring Adam Sandler.

SCENE - Kindergarten teacher Miss Lippy just finished reading a book about a little boy who lost his dog. (some words have been changed or removed to protect the innocent)

BILLY - Whoa whoa whoa, Miss Lippy. The part of the story I don't like is that the little boy gave up looking for Happy after an hour. He didn't put posters up or anything, he just sat on the porch like a goon and waited. That little boy's gotta think 'You got a pet. You got a responsibility.' If your dog is lost you don't look for an hour then call it quits. You get your butt out there and you find that dog!!!"

I felt like Billy Madison last night.

Around 6pm Maxim, Brecken and I put on our rain gear and went outside to enjoy some fresh air, big puddles, strong winds and driving rains...sounds like fun, right, and extremely good parenting.

The dogs had been couped up in the kennel for 2 days because of the rain, rain, rain and more rain for the last 5 days, so we decided to let them out. I put Lilly's "hearing aid" on and let them rip...they had tons of energy and were happy to stretch their legs.

As the boys and I splashed in puddles, Annie and Lilly did what hunting dogs do. After 20 minutes of fun, I put the boys in the house for Steph to clean up for supper and I called the dogs to the kennel. Lilly came right away...Annie, my 11 year old German Shorthair Pointer didn't.

I walked to the places around the yard where she likes to sniff around and called for her, but nothing. After about 45 minutes I went into the house and ate, only to go right back outside.

I think I walked about a 1.5 miles and drove about 8 miles looking for her in rain, wind and darkness. The whole time thinking this was the end of the Annie-era.

Annie is actually Steph's dog from before we were married, Steph's dad trained it and fed it for the first year of it's life...so Annie still likes Roger better than me...in fact, if we hunt together, Annie hunts in front of Roger, not me.

Annie is the dog that I will judge all of my dogs by. She is a tireless birddog and has given me some of the greatest hunting stories ever...just ask my dad about pheasant-roping on the somewhat frozen James River.

Annie slept with Steph and I for 4 years...right there either in bed or at the foot of the bed. There are times now that I feel bad about not having her in the house, because she knows how good things are "living with the humans". Annie even has her own song, "Anna-bella". Ask Steph to sing it for you. I guess you could say Annie was our dog-child...I think a lot of new married couples have them, the dog they treat like a king.

With all those years of faithfulness tucked under her collar, there was no way I was going to let her weather the cold, wet, rainy night alone...besides 100's of years ago dogs never slept outside...right?

I called our neighbors who are Deputy Sheriffs and asked if they would look for Annie on their way home...did I mention they are dog lovers? I thought we were going to have a Blackhawk Helicopter commissioned from Gov. Rounds to assist in the search and rescue effort! Our neighbors rock!

So I hiked, drove, walked along the shore, road lines, ditches, fell down steps, jacked my elbow and knee up...but still...nothing. She didn't answer to the whistle, and I saw nothing with the flashlight, and I was mad.

I had basically given up, and was walking back to the house 3.5 hours she had been gone, it was dark, damp and dreary...I kept wondering how I would find her, dead or alive.

I was a city block away from the house...and knew I would feel guilty all night in a warm bed, while she was injured, stuck or just plain confused out in the elements. I blew my whistle one last time...tweet, tweet, tweet....I heard a little rustle and pointed my head-lamp in the direction I heard it come from...there was Annie!

I gave her a great big hug and carried her for a couple steps, she looked at me like, "you can put me down now." I have no idea what she was doing or where she had been, I was just happy to see her. Kind of like the prodigal son coming home...

I got her in the garage, dried her off and gave her a whole can of Lamb & Rice dog food that is always a special treat. Steph came out to see her, and scolded her a little bit for making us worry.

Annie had an adventure last night, although I am not quite sure what or where it was, and so did I.

Hunting season opens tomorrow, and I will be hunting with both dogs.

The pane of rain...

Snapped this at my desk this morning.

5th straight day of rain...feel like I am back in Juneau.

Ray of Hope...ESPN did it again.

If you thought yesterday's post was a moving story, this will take you another step further.

Remarkable story ESPN did on the guy who was the North Carolina Tarheels mascot...note the tabs at the bottom of the pages...Life, Death, Rebirth.

READ THE STORY HERE.

ESPN tear jerker story.

ESPN did a great story about a former football player from a high school in Michigan...read it here........

Nobel Prize Update.....

OSLO, Norway - Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Friday, and the former vice president used the attention to warn that global warming is "the greatest challenge we've ever faced."

World leaders, President Bush among them, congratulated the winners, while skeptics of man's contribution to warming criticized the choice of Gore.

Gore in a statement said he was " deeply honored ... We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity."

Ummm, hey Al do you think you can use a little less energy at your own home now...I am happy you won a Nobel Prize for being the "Best Spoonfed Narrator/Talent Of A Documentary That You Did None Of The Research On", but I challenge you to practice what you preach.

Also if after this honor, the Democrats encourage you to run for President...DO IT! I am pretty sure if we have a "Billary" Clinton Whitehouse, global warming would be the least of our problems.

October-wake-fest.

OK I'll admit it...wakeboard season is over. I thought I would get one more October session, but it isn't looking promising...I'll have to wait until May now!

So to tide me and the crew over here is the pictures from our end of the season session...October 1st at Wall Lake...it was us and a guy in a little fishing boat. Water was cold, but refreshing.

Enjoy.

DAVE D. (AKA: BLUETOOTH)

DAVE WITH A FATTY TAILGRAB WAKE JUMP...MUCH AMPLITUDE

T-RAV IN HIS WIFE'S SHIRT...FUNNY THING IS...I HAVE THE SAME SHIRT.

T-RAV...TINDY GRAB ON THE WAKE TO WAKE

T-RAV BIG HEELSIDE HUCK

THE AUTHOR---TOESIDE 180...CHECK OUT THE COLORS IN THE BACKGROUND!

HEELSIDE INDY GRAB WAKEJUMP...MORE BEAUTY BACKGROUND...BLUETOOTH WAS WORKING THE CAMERA QUITE WELL HERE.

FAILED BACKROLL ATTEMPT, SO THANKFUL THAT WATER IS SOMEWHAT SOFT AT 23MPH

GOOD BYE SUMMER...HELLO PHEASANTS, HOCKEY AND SNOWBOARDS!

School Pictures!

Here you go Grandma and Grandpa D.

Couldn't resist putting Maxim's first school pic on the blog.
I should scan some of my School Picture Originals...there are some classics.

Brent S. Guest Blogger.

Frequent commenter, guest blogger, and all-around great cousin Brent S. brings this little video from the YouTube vault.

Pretty funny, and so true. I was Mr. Mom this weekend as Steph was in Minnesota, and I am pretty sure that I said some of these things 100 times this weekend.

The Cubs...3 and out.

Sometimes I wish my parents wouldn't have had cable TV when I was a kid...because I would be like most South Dakota kids and like a normal and successful baseball team like the Twins, Red Sox or the Yankees.

You see my love/hate affair with the Cubbies started one summer when I was 10 or so. I was free most afternoons at that age and so were the Cubs games on TV. WGN-TV is to blame for my love of the Cubs. Harey Carey, Steve Stone doing the broadcast...although I don't remember what year Stoney came on, that was one of the best tag teams ever for baseball. Even when Harey was drunk.

I have followed the Cubs all the while, from the Dawson Years, to the Bartman Incident...to this year's run for the World Series, I even plan my afternoon workout around the Cubs schedule so I can watch them while I'm on the treadmill or lifting.

But the Cubs can kill a person, they worked their tail off the 2nd half of the season to make the playoffs, only to go 3 and out to that storied franchise from Arizona.

I guess it is part of being a Cubs fan, you just know that it's not gonna work out...I really thought this was going to be the year of the Cubbies, 2007...it's too bad it didn't work out.

Like any Cubs fan has said, "There is always next year."

The Spill Canvas

One band that my wife and I can agree on during road trips is a group of Sioux Falls guys called The Spill Canvas.

I think at one point their first CD "Sunsets and Car Crashes" stayed in our Yukon for at least 8 or 9 months. They are talented and I love the fact that they are from S.D. They released a new CD yesterday...you can read about it here.

Their MySpace page is here if you want to listen to a few tracks.

Part of me wants them to make it big, and part of me wants them to stay that pure indy band from Sioux Falls not so much the corporate music machine. I guess I can always say, "Yeah, I liked these guys way back in 2004."

Anyway...good music, unless your in your 60's.

Flute Loop.

On Sunday afternoon, the family was hanging around the house, and I started playing the drums on Maxim's tummy.

I asked him what instrument he was going to play when he grows up, and without missing a beat he says, "The flute!"

Now this will make Aunt Sally (who's birthday is Friday) very happy, as she was like the state champion flute player one month in Canada, but for a dad who wants his son to grow up to be a man, this is rough.

I instantly think of rock band Jethro Tull's lead singer/flute player Ian Anderson. You might remember the song "Aqualung".

Also the hip hop group Jurassic 5 has a song called "JAYOU -Flute Loop" which is on heavy rotation on my MP3 player...so I decided the flute can be pretty rockin'. I'm good with my older, creative, artistic son playing the flute...it's cool.

Then I ran across this video...the Knight Rider theme song played with a flute, and the guy is beatboxing while he is playing the flute.

The first time I watched this video I thought the other guy was doing the beatbox, but it is the flute player...super cool.

Aunt Sally we may need to borrow your flute.