These past few days have been interesting to say the least.  Between family health problems, life alterations and my desktop crashing, I was bewildered and had no idea how I would manage.  Moosegal is a lot more than a web site to me, it’s my refuge.  Times when I just can’t seem to settle down, I come to moosegal, play here in moosedroppings or just work in the main site.  After my desktop computer failed to work, I worried about how I would get the marsh ready for the big anniversary celebration.   I took my computer to a local fellow whom did an assessment and he informed me I would be looking at anywhere from  $140.00 and up.  This isn’t in my present budget and probably wouldn’t be obtainable for a while.  I really had no idea what I would do.

Leaving the computer shop, I went into town an decided to pick up my mail.  Only two things were in my post office box, a bill and a parcel card.   I wasn’t sure if the parcel was the one snail had posted to my last week but he had me so curious as to the mysterious moosegal anniversary gift so I didn’t waste time getting into the lobby to see what it was.  I handed my card to the teller and she brought my parcel to me.  Having read the top of the box “Happy Anniversary Moosegal.com” there was no way I was going to wait to get home to find out what was in side.  You have no idea just how excited I was when I found out what was inside the box.  Snailrider is and has always been my magical super hero … always riding in to my rescue.  I don’t believe in luck but how do you explain a computer dying one day and a laptop showing up the next. That’s right, snailrider sent me a laptop and the timing was truly amazing.  (Thank you Snailrider)

I know I poke at snailrider often on my web site but that’s just part of our history.  Snailrider and I have known each other since 2004.  August 2006, snailrider gave me a very precious gift, moosegal.com.   Since that time, we have spent many hours online together, our relationship has evolved and flourished.  I have enjoyed the past few years with him in my life and I look foreword to the many more ahead. As for my second  year  anniversary celebration, thanks to snailrider … the celebration activities will go on.

Quick reminder … keep an eye on moosegal from August 25 till the 30th.  I have plans to keep the site busy and I hope you will enjoy the activities.

Oh I know this is a sore subject for a lot of people, but there comes a time when something just has to be said. We are in times of a recession. People are going to suffer due to lack of employment, and jobs that are available don’t pay enough to support a family, there is also the aging population that can not do certain types of work.

As I surf the net, I have noticed is a lot of banners and such for aid to third world countries. Normally I would just ignore it and move on, but the truth is, there are people in our own country, doing without. We have children that don’t have the food for healthy diet. Sure, in some cases, it’s because they come from a single parent home, but that isn’t the fault of the child. The fact that it takes two parents working to provide the simple things for a child should be appalling enough, yet society is willing to overlook that aspect.

Wake up people, you are helping strangers and overlooking your own people. We should focus on our own country, then our continent, and finally after we have made our land a better place, we can help those across the world.

Normally, I am charitable. I would like to see everyone in the world with nice, strong homes, clean water and food for their belly, but I am seeing malnourished children in the community where I live. I see the elderly, and disabled living in dwellings that are unsafe and unhealthy. I know the employment statistics for this area and the cities surrounding it. I know there is limited help for those that really need it. Why do so many refuse to see what is going on in their own communities, their own backyards and their own country?

Come on people .. leave a comment. Tell your opinion. Here is a link to some charities .. tell me about all the good they do in your community. charity link

Come kick back at the marsh,
maybe you watch a movie or listen to music.

Departure

It was a warm saturday morning. I had awoke at four so that I could get my vehicle packed and be on the road for five. Only having had just a little over two hours sleep, I was nervous and still pumped about the trip. Being pumped and nervous helped to keep me alert and on guard for any small critters on the road, which allowed me to keep our meeting this time.

Driving To The Meeting Point

The trip was long but I had made many stops along the way. At every stop, for safety sake, I would talk to the waitress and tell her where I was heading, the route I was taking and about the purpose of the trip. I admit, I was afraid of meeting snailrider. Sure we have been net friends for four great years, but it doesn’t mean that I actually knew him, or that he didn’t pose any danger to me. Also as a precaution, I called home at each stop, making a save point in case I should go missing on the trip, it would narrow down the start point for any search by the law enforcement. I am glad to say, there was no problems along the way and all the people I had encountered were wonderful.

Arrival and Wait

I arrived about two hours early. I was happy I did as it allowed me to drink several cups of coffee, surf the net, comb my hair and make myself somewhat presentable. As the time passed and it was getting down to the last few minutes, I began watching the clock, watching the door, playing with my keys, smiling at the waitress, while fighting back the urge to run. Just as I was about to surrender to my fears and run, snailrider walked in. I watched him scan the restaurant and although it seemed like still the perfect opportunity to run, I decided to address him, letting him know I was the one sitting at the coffee bar near the exit door.

The Greeting

Well now, this was a very awkward moment for me. Snail has the perfect poker face, you can’t tell if he is impressed or disappointed, which meant I didn’t know if I should give him a hug or offer a hand. Well, I am moosie, I got away with a few words like, “take a seat”. I didn’t know if I was blushing, I just was beside myself. I hadn’t even thought about trying to work something out in my mind for that moment, and I was very lost. Snail did save the day, he asked for a hug. Deep inside I was so relieved.

Our Time Together

I think we had a really great time. I know I enjoyed myself. Snail is such a wonderful person, very funny, kind, generous and attractive. We went to a light house, dodged waves as they crashed against the platform, watched movies, and the list goes on. Snail also showered me with a lot of gifts (thank you snail). Being the sweet, loving and concerned snail, he presented me with a special hat to keep me safe during moose season (picture coming soon). I’ll be honest, I don’t feel we had enough time together. I am hoping that maybe he might consider another trip in October. I would like to work it out for a longer stay as I so enjoyed being around him and I really want to get to know him better.

Our Farewell

It was ticking down to the last few seconds. Snail cleaned up the campsite, I put some stuff away in my vehicle and finally it was time for him to leave. We hugged, agreed to leave a message for each other as we reached our destination, said good bye and and I watched him drive off into the sunset.

Comment to Snail

Snail, I can’t wait to see your post about our trip. I would love to know if you were as nervous as I was, if you also enjoyed yourself and if you are interested in doing this again. Blog it babe!!!

The day had started out with the normal disorganization, hustle and bustle and just plain crazy. There were many last minute things to be done but, food and bottles of water was tucked into the ice cooler and everyone was busy trying to get done. The fireworks were not to start for many hours, although a trip into the city always entailed some shopping, a picnic, and if there was any time left, we had friends in that area that we would love to visit. After getting everything packed and ready to go, it was time for the feeding of our feathered and furry friends, the locking up of the house and the engaging of the bear beamers (motion lights). All was done and we started the trip as there was going to be a long day ahead.

The Search
I had planned to meet snailrider for the very first time the next day, so I wanted to purchase a nice outfit. There was a particular store I usually would shop at for nice clothing and great prices. Just as I approached the store front, I noticed there was no stock in the store, they had close up. Shaking my head, I turned around and left. I drove to the department store on the east end of the city. This wasn’t no small department store but a well known, large corporate store that any normal person would expect to have a certain amount of stock and inventory. Well as it turned out, they had stock but very limited and nothing nice in my size (must be a popular size). Everything was either too big or too small, but nothing close tthat I could have made work. Back out the door and I drove further down the road till I hit the store known for great prices and not the best of quality. To my surprise, not only did I find something very appealing, the quality seemed to have improved and I made my purchase.

The Picnic
With all the shopping out of the way, belly’s rumbling and only a little over an hour away before the fireworks were to start, it was time to eat. Like always the park was beautiful. There was many trees around and just a short distance away from the picnic table, was the large flower bed full of so many plants and so many colors, it was like a seduction to my eyes. A small smile appeared on my face as I watched the flowers wave ever so slightly in the breeze. After all the running around, I welcomed the rest and just being down at the waters edge, surrounded by nature and the colors from the flowers, gave me a peaceful feeling. I gave a sigh of relief as I took the first swallow from my Tim Hortons coffee and then I ate in peace.

The Fireworks
There is something special about the Sault Michigan fireworks when you view them from the Canadian side. Before they start, first you get to watch the many backyard fireworks, appreciated by the people lined up for the event. This pre show only adds to the excitement of the main event and even though it’s on a smaller scale, the display is just as colorful as the fireworks to come. The parade of border patrol boats with their flashing lights, adds to the whole experience.

On the first launch of the fireworks, the crowd always give a big round of applause. I often wonder if the spectators from across the water can hear the cheer from their Canadian neighbors. As the launching continues, I made certain to glance at the reflection on the water from time to time. The white fireworks reflected a heavenly path across the water, and the red fireworks cast such a glow, that I could only describe it as a scarlet bridge that seemed to connect the two countries.

The grande finale was magnificent. Like always, Sault Michigan had provided an excellent display, and all that attended was happy to have been there. Regardless of the traffic and the craziness of the day, it was all worth it.

The Turning Point
It had been a struggle to get out of the city and to head back home. As I drove, I talked to my young co-pilot and the older one that had his head poking from between the seats. We chatted about my pending trip that was less than 6 hours away from happening. I was quite excited about meeting snailrider and of course as we neared home, I began a mental note of the things left to pack. I was very alert but it was dark and I really didn’t expect anything bad to happen in that little distance to my driveway.

Eyes on the road, headlight were on low beam, but there it was. Just a little to the right of my lane was a porcupine and in the worst place possible. I could not swerve to the left to miss it and it was too far to the right. If I had swerved right, I would have hit the soft shoulder of the road and that would have been a very bad thing. I had no other choice but to keep it from my right tires, so I tried to center it. My tires are fine but my exhaust is totaled. It removed everything from the catalytic converter back. I have never seen such damage done by a little critter as the twisting and breakage of the metal from my tailpipe and muffler.

My co pilot from the passenger seat did provide the memory of a life time. I can still hear his famous words, “I think you better pull over, there is sparks flying out the back.” Just typing that, I’m giggling about it. I can only imagine what he was thinking as he seen the array of sparks through the passenger side mirror.

My Trip To See Snailrider
Well, I was hoping to be sitting with snailrider right now but as it turns out, I am at home. Snail and I have been working on a special project and this trip would have been a large step forward to making things happen. Even if I had been able to locate a used exhaust system by daylight, it would have taken some time to put it on. I would still have needed to change and shower, add the six hours of travel, it would have been late before we would have rendezvoused.

I do owe the snail an apology as I called him very early in the morning and I may have woken him up. The good thing, we have rescheduled the trip and hope it all goes off with out any more problems.

To the porcupine family, I am very sorry about your loss. Considering the amount of damage and the nice little price tag for repairs, I am now on the cheering section of your predators … go bobcats!!!

Lessons Learned
1. Smart people that plan things out well, know enough to shop at Kohl’s or Macy’s weeks before the day they are to make a trip.
2. Never plan two major events back to back. Allow a few days to pass between each on so that if there is any problems that arise from one event, you have a few days to recover before the next.
3. Drive slowly and carry a big stick. If you see a stupid critter on the road, get out and hit him in the head. Stupid critter can cause damage, the don’t deserve a second chance to be stupid.

I do hope you have enjoyed reading this little log of events. All information within this posting is true. I can not say that there was no critters injured or killed but I can say … it deserved a more painful way to go. For you travelers, drive safe, arrive alive and beware of stupid wildlife.

Click here to visit the marsh

Feed Shark

Funny how some of the smallest creature can be the most greedy. I just love the furry woodland creature and I have taken to feeding them. The squirrels and rabbits are always happy for a hand out and when their feed is gone, they return back to their place in the wild. There is yet another furry little creature that seems to know there is always more food inside my house and it’s their full intent to get it all. If you guessed it’s the guy in the picture, you’re right.

This little guy and the rest of his family come to my door all day long. It’s very hard to say no when they stand on their feet and beg for food like a puppy begging for a bone.

I hand feed these little critters and sometimes I end up stuck in a bent over position and my hands are so swollen and red from the blood running into them, I can’t even get my fingers to close, but it’s worth it.

I will be adding more pictures to my photo gallery this year. I hope you will pop in and take a look at them as I try very hard to find special things in nature that are visually appealing. I will be adding this little guy and his brother to my gallery soon.

Hope you enjoyed seeing this picture and reading about my little buddy. If you have any critters that need some food and a little TLC, extend them a helping hand. They love people to interact and deep inside, it’s very rewarding.

******

I would like to thank my sponsors. Another moosegal.com anniversary is rolling around and they will be sponsoring me for another year. Please pay them a vist and leave them a thank you.

Click here to visit the marsh

This is a recap of the original article I had posted previously on Paul Newman.

On January 26, 1925, in Shaker Heights Ohio, a Hollywood sex symbol was born. Paul Leonard Newman, son of Arthur and Theresa Newman, grew up in Shaker Heights, graduated from high school, was a short term student of Ohio University at Athens and served in the navy during World War II. After returning from war, he received an athletic scholarship to Kenyon College In Gambier Ohio. Although he started out as an athlete, he ended up majoring in drama and graduated with a English BA in 1949.

In 1950 he had managed to meet, marry and have a child with actress Jackie Witte. Together the two of them created their first son Scott in the same year. In that very same year, Paul’s father passed away leaving him half owner of the family sporting good store. Although the store would have offered stability in his life for him and his family, Paul chose to sell his half to his brother and move to New Haven, Connecticut.

In 1952, not long after the move he and his wife now had two daughters, Stephanie and Susan. Paul still had not started his career as an actor and the pressure was on for him to make his leap into fame. Luckily the time did come during one of his trips to New York, where he was hired to play a recurring part in The Aldrich Family. This set things in motion for him and he moved his family to New York. Right after the move, he was accepted at the well known Actors Studio where he studied The Method, under Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan.

Within a year of studying at the Actors Studio, Paul won his first Theater World Award and was also discovered by
Warner Brothers. This lead him to Hollywood but that was a total failure and after only one film he returned to New York with his family. New York’s television industry was very good to him, but he did end up returning to Hollywood where again he had to face another flop. Finally by the age of 31, his Hollywood luck had changed and he landed the role of Rocky Graziano in, Somebody Up There Likes Me.

Finally hitting success in his career, his marriage to Jackie Witte came to an end. During the filming of The Long Hot Summer, he and his co star Joanne Woodward had become involved. Only one year after his divorce from Jackie, he and Joanne would wed. Joanne and Paul went on to create a family of thier own with three daughters.

For many years, Paul Newman starred with many big name performers. The screen treated him well and so did his marriage. Unfortunately in 1978, Paul’s lost his first born and only son to drug overdose. Having set up the Scott Newman Foundation, the loss to his son was very traumatic and may have caused his career to slow down for a few years.

In 1981, Paul once again manage to dazzle his fans and continued to do so till he announced his retirement on May 25, 2007.

Although moosegal is ageless on the web, I’d like to state that a certain family member of mine is a very big Paul Newman fan. I can still remember how excited she was to ship us kids off to bed so she could watch a Paul Newman movie in peace without any disruption. I often would creep back down the steps when I heard her take off to get a snack. I hid behind the old rocking chair and watch the movie with her until I couldn’t stay awake any longer and fell asleep. Subsequently, I too became a Paul Newman fan and I wish him well in the remaining years.

Paul Newman Movies

Update: This week it was reported that Paul Newman was battling cancer. This man has done so very much for humanity, he’s been so very generous. Paul, I wish you only the best and I hope you are able to overcome the cancer.

note: Over a year ago, Newman’s a company founded by Paul Newman, had generously donated over US$220 million. This man has been a God send so lets send some prayers out for him and his family.

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It’s funny how a good scare can really shake up one’s world.  I think if you reflect on your life, you will find that there were periods where you were sitting still, life was passing you by and you did nothing to change it.  Well, I have been stagnant for quite some time now, unhappy and doing nothing about it.  I have a new lease on life.  I refuse to sit idle and let life pass me by while I pout and cry about how unhappy I am.

Summer is here, and the fun is just beginning.   If you are considering looking for some excitement, check my sponsors link.

go kart ally 

There will be some changes to moosegal.  There will be less clutter on the first page, I am doing away with the featured page, I will be reducing my affiliates and my shopping page will only feature a few stores but display more items.

Sorry if this is an inconvenience and if I should discontinue something you enjoyed and used regularly, feel free to contact me and I will see what I can do.

Sincerely,

moosie

By now, most of you have figured out that I am under the weather a lot. Well, last week I had a very important appointment regarding some test results. It was a very interesting doctors visit and waiting in the lounge/waiting room was an experience of it’s own.

Arriving at the doctors office about twenty minutes earlier, I had settled down in a chair central to the office. Although I was facing the television, I could see and hear all the happenings around me.

Across from me, there was a man, approximately mid thirties and he had his son that seemed to be eight or ten years old. He appeared to be a single father, and you could see how much he loved and adored his son just by the way he interacted with him. I watched them for a few minutes as it’s not often that a father openly displays his feelings in public. Just before he was called into the office, he telephoned someone to come and pick up his son so that the boy would not be sitting unattended amongst strangers. Several minutes after he had hung up, the secretary had called him in. A few more minutes had passed and a woman arrived to pick up the boy. After the father poked his head around the corner to identify the woman, he allowed his son to follow her out of the office building and he returned to the examining room where he had been waiting for the doctor to enter.

I knew I had still more time to wait before my appointment and continued to gaze at the television. A man just a few seats down from me was complaining about the long wait. He had arrived after most of the people in the waiting area but felt his time was more important than the rest of us. He approached the office secretary and very rudely demanded he see the doctor as he was not going to wait any longer. The poor young secretary did take him in to one of the examination rooms which did anger many of the people waiting already. The majority felt sorry for the young secretary and everyone else was just upset that the guy had been such a jerk.

I continued to wait quietly, gazing at the television and hoping to keep my mind occupied with what I was watching, rather then the purpose of my visit. Time seemed to pass slowly and I found myself more in tune with the going ons’ in the office than with the program on the television. Although the secretary is behind a wall and glass enclosure, I could hear her as she was speaking on the telephone. She had made a call to a patient that was scheduled for surgery in the next few days. Explaining to him that he was being bumped down and that there was a man that had cancer and it was urgent, she expressed her apologies to the patient and promised to call him back with a new date for his surgery.

Funny, the office room had become very quiet during that conversation on the phone between the secretary and the patient. Many people had a very sad look on their face and like myself, some wondered if it was the rude man and if they is why he felt he should have had priority. It wasn’t till a few more minutes had passed and the single father was back out in the main office talking to the secretary. His conversation with her answered the question most of us had been pondering . With emotion in check, this loving single father gracefully accepted the card with the information about when and where he was to have his surgery. He also signed the papers while making casual conversation with the young secretary and then he left.

Many of us sat in the waiting room, our minds and emotions working us over. My heart went out to the father as I don’t know how he would manage to face his son, knowing just how serious his condition was and not allowing it to show to his son. As I scanned the faces of other people in the room, I could see they too harbored the same emotions as I did and also some had fear that they too would be given the same results.

After another ten minutes of waiting, the very rude man emerged from one of the other examining office. Entering the waiting area, once again he was loud and still complaining about the wait he had earlier. The general feeling of the room was annoyed and wanting the jerk to just shut up and leave. Two minutes of him spouting off, he did finally leave and we all went back to our own thoughts.

I waited another hour before getting in to see the over worked and very tired specialist. We exchanged a few pleasantries, I had commented about how tired he was and suggested he take the weekend and go away. With that out of the way, it was time for me to get my verdict … did I have cancer. Again, I was very fortunate. I had enlarging of tissue, raised areas that looked like tumors …. another unexplained condition that seemed to pose no danger. It was like playing another forced round of russian roulette and again, the bullet was not in the chamber. They symptoms I am experiencing are very uncomfortable but it’s not cancer so I can learn to live with them.

We have been hearing about cancer research for many years. Often on the news, they announce new treatments and possible cures for different cancers. I would like to know where are these treatments, why aren’t they using them and when are the research companies going to come out with the cure for all cancer? We have donated tons of dollars to cancer research, when will we finally see the outcome of all that cash?

To those of you, waiting to hear the results of test, I wish you luck. To the rude and obnoxious people that hate to wait, do us all a favor and just shut up. We all have to wait and some will walk out with an unpleasant verdict that may result in death. Everyone has loved ones on this earth and most people don’t want to die. If you have to wait, deal with it like an adult and get in line.