in search of the miraculous

that’s the title of an old book that was a semi sort of hippy required reading deal back in the late 60’s and early 70’s.  i had a copy of the book for many years.  the book in question first appeared in 1947 and was written by p. d. ouspensky.  lots of interesting stuff in it but that book isn’t why i’m here.  i’m just borrowing the title for a bit because i’m searching for a miracle or the miraculous myself. 

long time readers know i bought a trailer here in the brittney spears memorial trailer parkin the early summer last year.  well, it’s not really that bad.  the trailer or the park.  at any rate, i’m trying to sell the place.  i wouldn’t be selling it if i hadn’t met and married the brown eyed girl, who with her arthritis problems, can’t manage the stairs here very easily.  trying to sell the place in this economy hasn’t been easy either.  some lookie loos who expect you to give stuff away.  no chance and no thanks.  and no offers.  it’s become obvious that it’s time to go in search of the miraculous.

it’s not that either of us don’t like this place.  we do.  as a matter of fact, it’s a very nice place and we do some of our entertaining here in the mobile home.  there’s easier parking than our other place and a much more spacious kitchen for us to whip stuff up and move about.  plus, it’s a good 500 square feet bigger than our other place and much newer.  but that’s just realtor mumbo jumbo and i’m drifting.

many years ago in santa fe, new mexico, the nuns of the lorreto chapel had a dilemma.  they needed a staircase in order for them to get up into the choir loft of the church.  when the church was built a staircase wasn’t included for some reason or another up into the loft.  one of those early builder oversight thingys i suppose.  ah, what can we say, mother superior, other than…oops.

the nuns had no other recourse than to pray a lot and hope for somebody or another and perhaps a miracle to come along and get the staircase built.  well, after many prayers, one afternoon this guy showed up and said he would build them their staircase.  very cool.  the nuns were very happy.  they went to bed that night with dreams of a staircase dancing in their heads.

depending upon who you are reading, when the nuns got up in the morning they had their staircase and the man was gone.  plus, the gentleman who had built the staircase hadn’t used any nails.  nary a one.  some stories recount that it took several days to build the stairs.  however, they all claim that the builder was, st joseph, and there were no nails used in it’s construction.

yeah, the dude in question was none other than the father of jesus and apparently a pretty good carpenter to boot.  ok, so not THE father but well, you know what i mean.  the nun’s prayers had been answered.  a miracle had been performed.  the staircase had been built. 

the church still stands today as well as the staircase.  the original staircase didn’t have a handrail or newel posts.  they were added later and no nails were used in their making as well.  just wood dowels.

some of you have seen these photos before but they are worth repeating here.  the lorreto chapel and the staircase. 

ok, so just what does all this mean?  in regards to my search for the miraculous?  i suppose, ever since st joseph built that staircase for the nuns he acquired the reputation for getting stuff done, building or house wise.  or maybe it came about sometime even earlier in his saintdom.  i really don’t know.  but it’s not something others and myself haven’t overlooked down through the years.  um, say what?

it seems that st joseph comes in very handy when you are trying to sell a piece of property or your house.  all that needs to be done is to bury a statue of him in the front yard and viola he works his miracle and the place sells.  something i’m indeed going to try.  and hopefully i get a minor miracle of sorts and the mobile home sells.

of course, i figure it would probably border on the sacrilegious if i were to bury the statue.  so with that in mind, the brown eyed girl’s older sister has come into play.  she’s a very religious catholic lady.  a fine thing indeed.  i gave her some money and she found us a very nice pewter statue of st joseph holding the baby jesus.  she’s coming here on monday and the three of us are going to plant the statue in the front yard under the for sale sign.

years ago one of my aunts went on a pilgrimage to lourdes, france.  as a gift, she bought me a small bottle of lourdes holy water.  the statue of st joseph will be anointed with some of that holy water before it’s buried.  a few prayers will be offered up as well. 

it’s too bad my sister-in-law can’t make it here on sunday, as it’s all saints day.  logistically for her it isn’t possible.  she’s busy with church stuff all day plus she lives way over on the west side of l.a.  all that being said, perhaps it won’t matter when the deal goes down on monday.

if st joseph comes through my sister-in-law’s church will get a very nice donation for their poor box.  as will a local catholic church’s feeding the hungry program.  at any rate, both places have already been given something this pre-thanksgiving season.  i’m by no means trying to blackmail st joseph in any way shape of form.  but, well, things are things and stuff as well.  we hope.  we pray.  we give. 

i hope my search for the miraculous comes to fruition.  hopefully, wonders will never cease.

thank you, st joseph.

jmh

2009 college football predictions week 9

another disappointing week last time around.  a semi dismal 4 for 10.  although i’m still over 50% overall with, 39 for 70, having missed week 6.  what does all this mean?  it means don’t listen to me and if you do you’re pretty stupid and deserve to lose your rent and or car payment money.  enough said.  it also means i can’t get the spell check to work anywhere so it is what it is.

rock ‘n’ roll.

10/30  w. virgina at s. florida.  w. virgina favored by 3.5 points.  i haven’t picked a wek day game in a few weeks so i figure i may as well go for this one as it is more or less toss up.  and it’s friday night.  what could be better?  take s. florida to win or get inside the spread.

10/31  cincinnati at syracuse.  cincinnati favored by 15 points.  a good way to start off the weenie day festivities.  take cincinnati to cover and win.

10/31  new mexico st at ohio st.  ohio st favored by 40 points.  just what new mexico st is doing at ohio st this time of year is perplexing at best.  but then it’s the brave new world order of college football.  oofa.  regardless, i think 40 points is too many.  take new mexico st to get inside that 40 point spread.   

10/31  indiana at iowa.  iowa favored by 17 points.  iowa continues it’s roll.  take the hawkeyes to win and cover.

10/31  mississippi at auburn.  ole miss favored by 4 points.  interesting, what?  i’m taking auburn to win or at least cover the spread.

10/31  calfornia at arizona st.  california favored by 7 points.  the pac 10 down the home stretch.  the bears seasonal ‘el foldo’ looms large.  take the sun devils to win or cover. 

10/31  georgia at florida.  florida favored by 16 points.  take georgia to win or get inside the points.

10/31  utah st at fresno st.  fresno st favored by 17 points.  my wac game of the week.  fresno st wins and or covers.

10/31  kansas st at oklahoma.  oklahoma favored by 26 points.  take the sooners and take them to win and cover.

10/31  usc at oregon.  usc favored by 4 points.  my two all time favorite teams in the match up of the weekend and maybe the year.  the rose bowl looms large in this one kids.  the usual duck home crowd craziness will be for sure ramped up to insane levels.  over the top and in your face.  and there lies the rub in my opinion.  i noticed some of the crappy play and penalties of the boise st game game from the ducks last week.  yes, the won but it looked sloppy and unorganized.  and if they can’t control the jazz at home against the trojans then they are in trouble.  sure, the trojans didn’t play all that well against the beavers last week.  the beavers got game.  this one is for the ages and a nailbiter.  the trojans are on a mission.  take them to win and cover.

there ya go.  halloween weekend picks.  leave your wallet in your pocket and nobody gets hurt.  enjoy the games and the parties.  be safe and don’t get stupid.

jmh     

the saga of denny paine, the short version

it’s been a few years but i used to work with an ex hollywood stuntman. actually, i was his boss for a time.  and for our purposes here he will be known as, denny paine.  denny paine was the name a certain government alphabet group wanted to give him way back when.  he declined their offer.  at any rate, denny is a southern california native.  though these days he’s living in arizona.  over the years i’d lost track of him. 

a few weeks ago, jwfh, and myself along with someone else were chatting away a hot afternoon in the claremont village.  the lone ranger came up in the conversation of old tv/movie cowboy stuff.  i thought of denny paine, and told the guys he was clayton moore’s double in the color movie, ‘the lone ranger’, circa 1956.  clayton’s real name was, jack.  denny paine told me that.  denny paine told me lots of stuff.

denny paine had quite a career in the movies.  he doubled for buster crabbe and lash larue, among others.  have you ever seen the movie, ‘vanishing point’?  well, he did all the stunt driving for barry newman in that great oldie.  remember the beginning of the old tv show, ‘then came bronson’?  that was him on the motorcycle.  how about, ‘chips’?  yeah, he did all the riding for larry wilcox, or john.  that is when the bike wasn’t hooked up to a trailer for close-ups.  he also did location searches for the studios when he wasn’t doing stunt work.  denny found the old virginia dare winery around these parts that was used for an old ‘combat’ tv episode.  a place i’ve written about in the past.

during korea, denny, was in the army and a member of the 25th or 26th regimental combat team, a fore runner to the green berets.  he was out front gathering intel.  while doing so he received a purple heart and bronze star.  president harry truman pinned the purple heart on him while he was in a hospital bed in tokyo.

after korea he went back to work in the hollywood industry.  i met him years after those days.  he was retired from two jobs plus the movies and was working on his third retirement check.  yeah, god bless him, he’s one of those triple dippers.  we always had a good time working together.  he was always full of great stories.  a time or two he even let me wear the buckskin jacket, guy madison or wild bill hickok of tv fame, wore in the rose parade one year.  or maybe fool around with a gold plated 100th anniversary winchester 30-30 he owned.  ah, sweet.  

i lost track of denny.  probably because he was a crazy old coot.  for example, we played a lot of golf together in those days and he ALWAYS cared a loaded pistol in his golf bag.  or on his person.  ‘you never know when you’ll need it, hombre.’  is what he used to tell me.  that in itself wasn’t so bad.  trouble was he was liable to whip it out and fire off a few rounds anytime anywhere just for the fuck of it.  yeah, denny paine. 

that hot afternoon conversation of a few weeks ago got me thinking about him.  once again.  with the help of the brown eyed girl and the internet we found him or more to the point his long time companion, miss penny.  since then i’ve spoken to him on the phone a few times.  he even sent me a photo of himself taken in 2006 in knabe, utah.  the photo was taken to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the long ago lone ranger movie shot there in 1956. 

that’s denny paine in the picture.  i’ve missed you, hombre.  i hope you still have the buckskin jacket and the 30-30.  see you soon.

jmh

the strange case of the bcs

i’ve been messing with this one for a few days now.  i’m angry.  not at what i’ve written, even though it might be hard to follow.  but then what else is new as far as my stuff goes?  no, i’m angry at college football, tv networks, congress and just about everyone else as well.    

the years first bcs computerized nonsense poll came out last weekend after the games.  we get another one after the games this week and after every other one until the season is over.  those of you that follow and love college football have many reasons to dislike the bcs poll on numerous levels.  me too.  especially after seeing boise st and cincinnati crouching just under the radar for a shot at the national championship game.  a shot i’m not real happy about.  but then i’m old and old school.

however, with my frazzled synapses and mis-firing neurons i’d forgotten all about what went down after last season or maybe even earlier.  i haven’t a clue as to an exact date.  a very sad state of affairs in both cases.  several schools, most notably utah and boise st, got the hairballs in washington dc to hold hearings on the seemingly unfair deal that is the bcs and their big money games at the end of the year.  sen orrin hatch, was the most visible and he yammered about fairness and other such dumbness.

dumbness, like giving a third tier school, such as boise st, a shot at the national title game if they went 12 and oh.  our wonderful government has nothing better to do than stick it’s collective nose into places it has no business.  college football being one of those premiere areas.  though our esteemed leader has said he’d like to see a playoff in college football.  hopefully, he will keep his and congresses nose out of the deal.  the bcs is bad enough right now without further meddling by those lame bozos.

their meddling, so far, has turned the best sport in the nation into a coed t-ball league for cry baby 5 year olds.  a league where even if you play the likes of say, u c davis or southeastern st university of chicken pluckers, and beat them.  why, by golly, you can play in the national championship game.  you went 12 and oh with your patsy schedule of third and fourth tier cupcake schools.  well done.  oofa.  

i’m sorry.  i don’t want to see it.  at all.  you can have your t-ball for whinny third tier school athletic directors and their ilk.  i don’t want to see watered down college football games.  games where everybody must play.  games where nobody really wins.  games where there are no winners. just losers like us.  

you say, ‘but, john, that isn’t happening and won’t happen.’  yeah, right.  just give them a little more time.  a little more whining.  then just wait and see.  because you can soon count on some women’s college field hockey team playing boise st, in the beloved rose bowl, for the national championship of college football.

ridiculous you say?  why he’s been at the absolut trough again.  no kids, not yet, any the ways.  i just don’t appreciate diluted college football games.  diluted to the point of political correct parity.  diluted so even, the university of middle state teachers and boys choir affiliates, gets a shot at a bowl game at the end of the college football money rainbow.  god, the horror.

sadly, i’m beginning to lose interest in college football.  oh, i’ll stick around for awhile.  but in the not so distant future i see myself voting with my feet and walking away from the game.  politicians making changes they have no business making.  there’s just too much excess money out there.  and that money along with dumb ass politicians and stupid college officials is ruining the game i used to love so very much.  it’s a part of brave new world?  no thanks.  you can have it.

so just what have the hairballs in dc done?  they got just who the hell ever of the bcs hairballs to adjust their computers to look favorably upon third tier schools ala boise st.  in all fairness, cincinnati is probably a second tier school as they have a very good medical school on the campus.  they just ain’t harvard or yale and just as well as those guys can’t compete either.

the point being, boise st, a third tier school has diddly for academics and can recruit kids that can play but then said kids are morons who could never get into an sec, big 10 or pac 10 school.  which doesn’t matter much in the academic sense.  not that the kids from michigan or usc go to class all that much.  it’s a fine line to be sure.  a line that for the sake of decent college football games that shouldn’t be crossed.  at least not while i’m still alive.  thank you.  point?  computers tweaked to nullify strength of schedule.

so just why are boise st and the bear cats sitting above usc in the bcs poll?  the sad reply from the masses is: usc lost a game and the other two haven’t.  they are undefeated.  fine.  ok, pilgrim, riddle me this: if usc were to play boise st this saturday, at boise, who would be the vegas favorite?  vegas cares only about the money.  their money.  the simple answer would be, usc.  probably by at least 14 points.  trust me, i’m sure that would be the case.  so why then is boise st and cincinnati ranked higher than usc?

yeah, i’m a usc homer and a pac 10 honk.  doesn’t matter in this regard.  he political correct crowd bought off by somebody or another to water down the game into a 5 year old coed t-ball league.  jesus.

this has been like all over the place and i suppose, maybe and hopefully, you can see my passion here.  and my point.  we are destroying a game, the only game left, that used to have some sort of meaning and purpose.  a meaning and purpose that is being watered down into nothingness.

count on this as well, a playoff mandated or brokered by the hairballs in washington, dc would be just as bad.  you would have to be certifiably insane to think otherwise.

jmh

2009 college football predictions week 8

back at it again for another round of college football insanity.  last week i went 7 for 10 and just missed doing considerably better by a point or two in a few games.  we are at way past the half way point in the season and i’m 35 for 60.  not too shabby.  remember i missed week six as i was on a road trip. 

these picks are for fun only and using any info here to actually bet on any of these games would be very very stupid on your part.  leave your wallet in your pocket and things will be just fine.

rock ‘n’ roll.

10/24  arkansas at mississippi.  mississippi favored by 5.5 points.  i’m thinking the only reason the razorbacks aren’t favored is it’s a home game for ole miss and the boys can’t believe their eyes as far as arkansas goes the past few games.  the game is not a gift like last week’s game but arkansas will win or cover the spread. 

10/24  oregon at washington.  oregon favored by 8 points.  the road back continues for the ducks.  putting on my pac 10 homer hat and predicting the ducks win and cover.  GO DUCKS!!  QUACK QUACK!! 

10/24  penn st at michigan.  penn st favored by 4.5 points.  i just can’t buy in to joe pa and the boys this year.  they lose again.  take michigan to win or cover.

10/24  iowa at michigan st.  a toss up at this point in the week.  iowa is another school that just can’t get any respect this year from the mainstream folks.  however, they have been here.  take iowa to win.    

10/24  tcu at byu.  byu favored by 2 points.  as good as tcu looked last week against boise st i’m still taking byu to win and cover.

10/24  florida at mississippi st.  florida favored by 22 points.  florida didn’t cover last week and i don’t think they will again this week.  take mississippi st to cover the spread.

10/24  texas at missouri.  texas favored by 14 points.  take missouri because they will get inside those 14 points.

10/24  oregon st at usc.  usc favored by 20.5 points.  usc didn’t cover last week against the hapless golden domers.  usc lost to oregon st last year.  oregon st still has the brothers rogers running wild.  a very hard pair to deal with.  hopefully, coach pete has figured them out.  a tough call, take usc to win and cover.  FIGHT ON!!!

10/24  boston college at notre dame.  notre dame favored by 8 points.  the two biggest catholic schools in the country duke it out.  the golden domers gave it their all last week and came up short against usc.  though they did amazingly enough cover the spread.  that not with standing take boston college to cover the spread and probably win.

10/24  boise st at hawaii.  boise st favored by 25 points.  boise st did not cover the spread last week against tcu.  they won’t cover again this week as well.  take hawaii to get inside the 25.

there you have my picks for week number 8.  the season will be over before you know it.  and the jones for college football will be back by february at the latest.  enjoy the games and don’t get stupid. 

if you like reading my take on college football stay tuned to this spot as i will have another college football blog up at the end of the week.  one you won’t want to miss. 

jmh

arizona and new mexico road trip w/ photos – october 2009

our trip to the southwest went very well.  fine scenery and company plus  some great food and drink along the way.  what could be better?  as a matter of fact, we’re already planning our next sojourn into northern arizona and southern new mexico.  long lazy stays in both places with none of the 400 mile drives and associated moving every few days.  the long drives were the killer.  trust me, 400 plus mile drives every few days are not something we want to tackle again any time soon.

all and all a fantastic trip.  great scenery leading the way.  i could boor you with the details of daily stuff with some days much better than others.  i won’t do that.  i’ll just let the photos tell the story.  we think there’s magic in a few of them.  hmm, yeah, sedona can do that.  a magical place if there ever was one.

the grand canyon has a bit of magic as well.  we saw it on one of it’s hazier days.  although it was still stunning if not exhausting.  elephant butte, new mexico.  the place where an old dam makes a lake of the rio grande. 

yes, the road still holds some magic.  we found that magic in the southwest. 

a room with a view in sedona, az.

approaching sunset sedona. az.

sunrise and another sunset in sedona, az.

the grand canyon on a hazy windy cold day.

grand canyon sunset.

manny’s buckhorn in san antonio, new mexico.  voted one of the best burger joints in the usa.  fabulous green chile cheeseburgers. 

elephant butte, new mexico.

the harvest moon over elephant, butte.

the old plaza in santa fe, new mexico.

yours truly waiting for a table at the plaza cafe santa fe, new mexico.  one of the best meals on the adventure.

 

the lorreto chapel in santa fe.  and the staircase.  a story worth looking up.

hasta la vista, sedona.  we will be back.

all photos copyrighted 2009 john hauge.

jmh

2009 college football predictions week 7

the road trip thru the southwest is over and i’m back.  for those of you that care some fairly spectacular photos of said trip will be posted up here probably by tomorrow morning.  but that’s not why i’m here.  this is all about college football the best sport in the country.

ok.  so my last picks were for week 5.  i went 6 for 10 on those games. giving me 28 for 50 overall.  nothing to get excited about but none the less not shabby either.  just remember this is for fun and betting on my so called wisdom would be insanity at best.  leave your wallet in your pocket and nobody gets hurt.  also, i go by the odds you see here.  they may change over the week but unless it’s a huge change i really don’t care, as the odds here are what i go by to determine my wins and loses. 

rock ‘n’ roll.

10/14  boise st at tulsa.  boise st favored by 10 points.  the blue turf smurf team finally gets an opponent that just might give then a good game.  too bad the ducks game was their first for both schools this year.  if it were played today we’d have a different outcome to be sure.  count on it.  but that’s water under the bridge.  what i want to know is just how boise st can be considered for a national championship when they play teams like: bowling green and u c davis.  at any rate, i’m taking tulsa to beat the spread and maybe even win.  and hopefully when the dreaded computer kicks in for the bcs rankings we see some justice here.

10/17  oklahoma at texas.  texas favored by 3.5 points.  one of the best games of the weekend.  take the sooners to cover and or win.

10/17  iowa at wisconsin.  wisconsin favored by 3 points.  i just don’t see this one at all.  sure, it’s a badger home game.  sure, they are doing well.  sure.  take the hawkeyes to cover or win.

10/17  usc at notre dame.  usc favored by 10 points.  the golden domers broke into the top 25 after last weeks win.  yawn.  they will drop out after this game.  take usc to win and cover.  one of the best going this weekend.  FIGHT ON!!!!

10/17  texas tech at nebraska.  nebraska favored by 10.5 points.  as usual i have to go with my sorta alma mater texas tech.  take the red raiders to get inside the spread at the very least and hopefully win.  also, be sure and visit: http//www.vietnam.ttu.edu/

10/17  california at ucla.  california favored by 3.5 points.  despite the bruins lose to the ducks last week i think they are doing pretty well for a team that just can’t find a quarterback.  though coach rick says he is sticking with somebody or another.  probably.  maybe.  at any rate, the bears hit the loss column early this year and if history is any example they won’t do much better the rest of the season.  if the bruins can stop best they have more than a chance to win this one.  take ucla.

10/17  arkansas at florida.  florida favored by 24.5 points.  boy howdy.  it’s a gift.  take arkansas to get inside that spread.  and it would not surprise me if they even win the game.

10/17  virginia tech at georgia tech.  virgina tech favored by 3 points.  another of those semi sorta toss ups.  take georgia tech to win or cover.

10/17  s. carolina at alabama.  bama favored by 17.  this one could be a sleeper.  no, not in that sense.  the gamecocks might maybe just have a plan.  or something.  one of the best games this week.  a bunch of points but no matter if the tide comes to play.  take bama to win and cover.  ROLL TIDE!!!

10/ 17  washington at arizona st.  arizona st favored by 7 points.  so far the southwest has been very cool by usual standards this fall.  we are even supposed to get a good dose of rain tonight and tomorrow.  but by friday back to the 90’s here in socal.  so, maybe just maybe, the huskies get a break in the weather and get another win.  take the huskies and the outside shot at cool temps on game day.  yes, i know.  i just right em.  i don’t explain em.

another fine weekend of college football coming up.  enjoy it while it lasts.  the interminable seasons of hockey and basketball are coming back.  baseball probably won’t have a world series champ by thanksgiving.  my point?  thank god for college football.

jmh