It was an ordinary day. Watching the Barnstormers play the Road Warriors with my two sons, Derek and Tad as well as my grandson Caden at Clipper Magazine Stadium. The Woods' boy's day out. The Barnstormers are Lancaster's professional baseball team and they play in the Freedom Division of the Atlantic League. The Atlantic League is divided into the Freedom and the Liberty divisions and each division has 4 teams. The Road Warriors have no home ball park and play all their games on the road. The team is necessary so that there are an even number of teams in each division. The Atlantic League is an independent league, not associated with any major league baseball team. Most all of the players have played in organized ball with quite a few of them making it to the big leagues. Many are in their declining years and just love baseball too much to give it up while others were in the low minor leagues and were cut, but hope by continuing in the independent league, they will get called back to the minors. A few days ago, the shortstop from the Barnstormers was recalled to the minor leagues and Lancaster now has a new shortstop. The manager of the team is Butch Hobson who played third base for the Boston Red Sox and eventually became their manager for three years. Other managers that have been in Lancaster were former second baseman Tommy Herr and outfielder Von Hayes. Lancaster has a beautiful stadium that can hold somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 fans. Today there are maybe 1,000. Place looks dead! And, today is Cylo's birthday. Cylo is the team mascot and looks much the same as the Phillies Phanatic, only a bright orange-red. Really neat costume and the kids love him. Matter of fact, so do the adults. People line up to have their photo taken with him and to get his autograph. As with the Phanatic, he does not speak. Well, the game started and some very young boy sang the national anthem. Great job! An hour later, as the game was dragging on and getting more boring, the dark clouds rolled in. We were sitting in a sky box. Are you impressed? Tad works for Intelligencer Printing Company and he got free tickets for us for the game. All the popcorn, chips and peanuts as well as sodas, ice tea, lemonade, and beer that you wanted for free. Almost. The beer was gone in about 10 minutes and then you had to buy your own. There were 16 people in the box and it was directly above the third base bag. Great seats. Well, when the rain came we decided that we were done for the day. Game was only in the 5th inning with the Road Warriors ahead by a few runs. We did have a good time and I managed to walk around the park for an inning taking photos, which follow. It was really a big event for the family since it was Caden's first live professional baseball game. And, he's a real fan already. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos follow.
Cylo delivering the 1st pitch on his birthday.
View from centerfield of the stadium.
View from behind homeplate of the stadium.
Barnstormer pitcher Cesar Carrillo, former major leaguer, delivering a pitch.
Barnstormer getting a hit.
Dragging the infield between innings.
An encounter in the hall with Cylo.
One of the many things that you can do at the game.
Caden enjoying himself at the game.
Stadium as we ran to the car after the rains came.
mily. Well, on our anniversary, Carol hands me a card and a GIFT. "I know we said no presents, but I just had to get you these," she said. "Besides," she continued, "you probably already know about these, since I had to charge it." She figured I saw the post on the credit card website. But, I hadn't! Was really surprised when I opened ...... 3 - 7 oz. bags of personalized M&Ms. She ordered them from the M&M website. She sent a photo of the two of us to them and they produced chocolate M&Ms with our photos on them. Four different varieties in water-
based ink that I assume was OK to eat. One featured me, one featured her, one said "June 17", and one said "44 Years". And, they were in aqua, pink, and white, the same colors as the bridesmaids dresses in our wedding. Really neat gift! She said, "I know that one bag would have been enough, but you had to buy three bags." And, each bag cost $9.99. Still not too bad for a nice gift. But, shipping and handling added $20 on to the bill. Seems they had to ship them overnight so they wouldn't melt in a hot delivery truck. Well, they're all gone now, but did take a few photos before I ate them all. Check 'em out and see if you don't agree that they were "A gift from the heart." It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
lk and a spoon to get the cake out of the cup or glass. I buy my cookies according to how well they will retain milk when I dunk them. The cheap store brand sandwich cremes are some of the best. Dunk them in a cup of milk and in no time they are ready to eat. Carol know exactly which cookies to bake for me for Christmas. Snicker Doodles and sugar cookies dunk the best, but I do make an exception for her chocolate chip cookies. They have to remain in the milk longer, but they are still my favorite. Cookies like sand tarts are useless. They don't retain any milk. But then, all you dunkards know that, right? Donuts are the same. The cake donuts work best, but I can sacrifice and dunk a Bavarian cream if I have to. And, you can also use hot tea for dunking if that is all you can find. Works just as well. I also enjoy dunking bread or crackers in my soup when I go out for a meal. Does it ever embarrass me if others see me dunking and eating my cookie or donut with a spoon? Nah! We only get to go around once in this life so enjoy it. I certainly do. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
ey shore. Hey, pizza is always a good choice and we usually have a meal at the Food Court on the Boardwalk. For the last meal we try to eat in a restaurant. This year someone suggested we eat at Luigi's which seems to be an Ocean City landmark. Place is Italian, as if you couldn't have guessed, and was opened in 1958. We pass it every year as we enter the town. Located at 9th and West streets. OK, so I Google the place on my laptop and ....... holey moley! Over 75% of the reviews were negative! Place smells like manure, sauce comes out of ajar, terrible service, wouldn't accommodate my son who has food allergies, and the most telling; Italians will be appalled - Luigi is turning in his grave. Cross that off the list!! The night before we had passed a restaurant on the boardwalk as we traveled to Wonderland at the north end of the boardwalk. The "Ocean Cafe" was locate
d at 720 Boardwalk (neat address) and was also Italian. It opened in the summer of 2009. We arrived at the restaurant at 6:00 and immediately got a table for nine. Could this be a bad sign. There were no reviews of this place on my computer, so we knew very little about it. Food was very good, plenty of it, reasonable price, attentive service, and it arrive hot and promptly. The place was very large and can accommodate quite a few people. I naturally had the cheese ravioli which I had a hard time finishing. Carol and I shared a bowl of one of the best soups ever: tomato crab bisque. Truly amazing. I will continue with - We will definitely return next year! It was great. The soup was the highlight of the meal for us. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
ow," I replied. That seems to happen quite a bit as I get older. The "Beach Club Hotel" sits right on the boardwalk and has 82 rooms, a restaurant, and a pool that you can see as you walk past on the boardwalk. It opened in 1970 as "The Sting Ray Motor Inn" (I finally broke down and called them to get the name) and was renovated in
2007 when the name was changed to it's present name. Carol and I stayed there in October of 1973. My mom and day babysat our two-year-old child Derek so that we could get away for a long weekend. We had an end room on the northern end of the 
top floor. Beautiful fall weekend!! The monarch butterflies were migrating south and we sat on the balcony and watched as they filled the air. The sun was shining brightly so we spent time on the beach and around the pool. And ..... we rode bikes on the boardwalk, as we were doing today. The memories! Oh yeah, we did a few other things, also. On July 4, 1974 our daughter Brynn was born. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos from the top are: Sting Ray Motor Inn postcard from when it first opened in the early 70s, "Beach Club" restaurant on the left, hotel rooms in front of the pool - we stayed in the top right room in 1973, view of the pool from our room.
l after she was eaten alive. Me? I watch them land on me and take off just as fast. Must be the over abundance of testosterone in my body! Since we wanted to use our outdoor space at our villa, we went searching throughout the house for anything that would repel the buggers. Found the usual citronella candles which worked minimally, but the only thing that really worked was the Off! Oh yeah, the electronic racket really worked!! Carol found it in a cabinet and wasn’t sure what it was. Had a little black button on the side of it and when she pushed it in, a small red light lit on the handle. While she was holding the button in, she touched the “net” on the top of the racket and ...... WHAT A JOLT! “It’s electrified,” she said. She carried it with her for the next two weeks when we were at the villa. Swinging at the mosquitoes with the racket really worked. You could actually see the smoke coming off the racket and smell something cooking when sh
e hit them with it. While we were in St. Martin, I read TravelTalkOnline (TTOL) ever evening to see what was going on on the island that we might be missinmg. TTOL is a travel forum where you can submit questions or help people out with answers and information. I started to read about quite a few people who had returned home and had symptoms of Dengue Fever. Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by the dengue mosquito and found in most tropical areas of the world. St. Martin would fall into that category. The disease may cause illness ranging from a mild fever to a se
Found a website called “Snopes.com” that published a letter that said to use Listerine around the area where you are sitting and even on your body. Someone else wanted to know if Mint Listerine will do the same! 
of Philipsburg and walked up and down Front Street for something to do. I happened, by mistake, to mention to her that DK Gems, which was the next store on our walk, was the favorite jewelry store of most of the members of TravelTalkOnline (TTOL), a travel forum the I read all the time. In the store we went and after the diamond necklace we purchased from the male employee, "Vicki", we now had a jeweler. Simple as that!! "Wow, I can't believe we didn't have a jeweler before now," I said to her. "Just lucky we found one you liked." I must admit that Jeff Mohnani, who is part owner with his sister Deepti and Raj and Kamal, was very interesting to talk to while Carol looked at all the jewels in the store. He is a certified Gemologist who, after mentioned that I read about him all the time on TTOL, treated us like family and allegedly gave us a great price. I must admit that I felt comfortable making a purchase from him and I'm sure he will be our jeweler in the future. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photo of LDub, Carol and Jeff in DK Gems.
at "stuff" that was part of his life. Found a 
wntown Lancaster, PA. During the years that followed World War II he went to school on the GI bill at The Ezra F. Bowman Technical School on the corner of East Chestnut Street and North Duke Streetin Lancaster. This school was founded in 1887 and offered courses in watchmaking and repairing, jewelry work, and engraving. Not sure what courses my dad took, but he did quite a bit of watch repair while working for 
. The Bowman building is still at the same corner, but is now apartments. At the time, The Hamilton Watch Company was one of the biggest an
d well known watch companies in the world. It was founded in 1892 along the Columbia Pike in Lancaster. Dad did quite a bit of work on Hamilton watches and many of the watches I found were 
ilton Electric 500. When I graduated from high school, my mom and dad presented me with a Hamilton electric watch. A top notch gift in 1962. Still have it today, but it isn't in working condition. Mom and dad had watches and clocks everywhere in their house. On the top of the 
h watches that dad's friends would give him to have repaired. At times he would work on them at home, but most times he took them to 
mantel clock. Still have it. Another year mom and dad gave Carol an antique wood mantel clock that was made by the New Haven Clock Company. Dated sometime in the mid-1980s. What do I do with all the time pieces that I find as I search the boxes of goodies? Not 
quite sure, yet. But the timeless treasures are certainly interesting to explore and wonder who might have had them in their home, in their pocket or on their wrist. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - pictures from the top are: my dad as a young watch repairman, Bowman Technical School, Westclox pocket ben, Hamilton Watch pocket watch, Hamilton Watch Company in Lancaster, a few of the watches that I found in a manila envelope, my Hamilton electric watch that I received as a graduation present in 1962, and Carol's New Haven mantel clock.
ut 9:30 AM for the hour and a half trip to Chesapeake City. We decided we would make a few stops along the way if we saw anything interesting. We traveled through Quarryville and then picked up Rt. 472S which takes you through Oxford, PA and then to Rt. 213S to Elkton, MD. Chesapeake City i
s about 5 or 6 miles south of Elkton. Got there by 11:00 AM and decided to continue south on Rt. 213 to a few other bay points. Along the way I handed Jerry a CD we all wanted to hear and I ejected the old one. As he was holding it he dropped it between the seat and the center console. You think we could find that d*#m CD. OK, when we stop we'll find it. As we were heading over the bridge at the C&D Canal I 
looked to my right and saw an immense ship coming our way. Quick made a U-turn after crossing the bridge and headed back over the bridge and to the right to what used to be Schaeffer's Canal House, r
ight on the water of the canal. Out of the car and to the water to see the ship barely make it under the bridge. Car freighter from Japan that was traveling the canal from Baltimore to somewhere
in Delaware. Neat start to our journey! And then, we climbed on to the floor of the car and finally found the CD under the BACK seat. Back over the bridge to Locust Point, MD where we vacationed years ago. Still looked the same. Onward to Kentmore Park to see other places that we had rented years before. We needed to cross the Sassafras River to reach Kentmore Park and had to wait while the drawbridge was up. One of the few times in our life that we ever had to wait. By now we are gett
ing hungry so back to Chesapeake City for lunch. Wouldn't you know it,the drawbridge was up again. Finally arrive and have an enjoyable lunch. Time for some sightseeing in Chesapeake City. Busy place today with a wedding about to take place and many tourists walking the streets. And then, here comes another immense car freighter. This one waving a USA flag a
nd heading the opposite direction. Seldom do we see ships of that magnitude, and to see two in the same day was exciting. Fun, but tiring day on the Chesapeake. More memories to share with our friends. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos from the top are: Japanese ship coming under the C&D Canal Bridge in Chesapeake City, searching for The Merrymen's CD, At last!, waiting for the drawbridge over the Sassafras River on Rt. 213 to go back down, street leading to the canal, old storefront in Chesapeake City, wedding photos along the canal, and final USA ship passing under the bridge.
but mostly junk or tourist items. T-shirts are 3 for $10, hats are $5, and the list goes on and on. One of those tent stands is our favorite in the market. Called "Secret Spot" and is run by Claudine and her husband, although we have never met her husband. They produce artistic T-shirts of the finest quality. All original designs and are hand-printed by silk-screening. Ah, that's why I'm inter
ested. I taught Graphic Arts and Photography in high school for 35 years and we did quite a bit of silk screen printing. Had a great conversation with her about the equipment that they have. They have a four-unit revolving station so they can keep perfect register when printing shirts with up to four colors on them. And they also have a dryer to help cure the ink after it is applied. Pretty much the same set-up that I had in my classroom. Well, I just love the designs and the q
uality of the shirts. And they last, and last. Carol got me started on their shirts a few years ago when she bought one and after we got home, I wished I had purchased one also. We have been making stops at Secret Spot since then and add to our collection every year. Shirts are even certified by the "local product" label. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos from the otp are: open air tent market in Marigot, Carol talking with Claudine in her stand "Secret Spot", samples of long sleeve and short sleeve shirts she has to offer, and my collection of "Secret Spot" shirts. 
ms that the same gentleman has collected the money for the last 10 years. I'm not sure how he got his nickname, but he is called the "Boat Nazi." His left arm is disabled, but doesn't keep him from blowing his whistle and collecting the money. He still pilots the boats to Pinel and barks directions the e
ntire way. "Last boat back is 4:00 PM. Don't be late or you'll have to wait until tomorrow to come back. Don't stand up or try to get off before I have the boat against the dock." Blowing the whistle the whole time!! How he does all this with one arm is amazing. Seems to really enjoy what he is doing. Knows he has the advantage over his passengers, since he controls the ferry! My kind of guy. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos from the top are: "The Boat Nazi", collection of the passage fee, boat load heading to Pinel.
net Avenue at 8:00 AM relaxing before my brother Steve and I would have to get dressed for the wedding. Steve was my best man that day. I have written about my wedding before and the fact that I swore it was at 11:00 AM when it really was at 2:00 PM at St. James Episcopal Church in downtown Lancaster, PA. Hey, I may have forgotten the time, but I have never forgotten the date! Bought my card a few weeks ago to give to my lovely wife of 44 years and even picked up a double jar of peanuts at Costco for her. Pretty neat gift, huh? We did som
e jewelry shopping during our recent visit to St. Martin for our anniversary, so the peanuts will have to fill the bill for today. Every Sunday in the Lancaster Sunday News they feature a section which lists engagements and anniversaries. Fun to see who has been married for 50 years. Used to be you had to have been married for 50 years to get your article and photo in, but with the recession, they will take any amount of years as long as you got the money to pay for it. Every now and then someone will announce their 5th or maybe 10th anniversary. Hey, that's not a milestone! Now 50, 60, 70, etc., they are milestones. When Carol and I celebrated our 25th, our kids gave us a party which wa
s really neat, but we wouldn't have thought to put it in the paper. Not 50, yet!! In six more years we will do that. And those years will come and go quickly. We need to search for a photo for the paper that makes us look really young!! Happy Anniversary, dear. Wow, how old are we?? Don't even want to think about it. Besides, we're only as old as we think we are, and I feel young today. Love, LDub. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - pixs from the top are: the bride before the wedding, getting coated with punchings from a computer machine, and waiting to leave the church to visit Carol's sick Grandmother at the hospital. Check out the Buddy Holly look-a-like glasses.