My Week

So I got this big orange note on my recycle bin to sort my recyclables a few months ago. So Wednesday, I put out the blue bin and alongside was my wheel barrel full of plastic sacks (store size) full of aluminum cans. The pickup guy looked at me and said "I got to open all these bags". I said "what do you expect me to do?".  I also put out my leaf bags and tied up the big frons from my Cana but the tied up frons were not picked up.  I guess I have to tie a bag around the bundle.

Wednesday evening my sons were watching the video I had rented of the Three Stooges.  It doesn't have to be returned until Sunday.  I was hoping they would like the remake of the old shows that I had grown up with.

Thursday I had double duty after work.  I went to the Mayor's veterans reception at the American Legion 809.  Then I went to a meeting of the Catholic War Veterans.  Joan wanted to switch positions back between adjutant and historian with me since she was still doing the mailings.  Fine with me.  If it were not for these two back to back meetings, I could have also opted to go to the VFW membership appreciation night.  Oh well, I figure 2 back to back events over 1 all evening event was the best spread.

Friday evening I went to see MASH at the Hoogland Theater of the Arts.  I enjoyed the performance.  I had a chuckle how the actresses wore the women's flight cap backward.

Saturday I slept in a little and then about 10:30 I rode the motorcycle over to the County Market for a shift for the VFW poppies from 11 to 1.   Then at noon...a bell ringer came and we decided to wrap up for the noise and the competition was too great.  Besides, Chatham has its own VFW post and the shift before us had a run in with them and a bit of a snub.

Saturday evening I joined the PGR  at the Nelson Ice rink for the opening ceremony to the hockey game.  Between the National Guard, PGR and the Lincoln Challenge students, we unfurled a giant flag over the ice.  We practiced rolling and unrolling this big flag twice outside in a lot but never over the ice rink.  Fortunately, nobody slipped and fell.  Gosh it was real cool.

Sunday I went to Mass wearing my Catholic War Veterans uniform.  I was also a Eucharistic Minister and did the choir side but forgot to hold off for the one playing.  Opps.  Father fixed that.  The key to the tabernacle had a little tassel that broke and father forgot to present the host for the home bound.  Father did have the veterans rise for a special blessing and pins were passed out with a flag and a cross.

After Mass I got much needed gas in my tank and a few goodies at Meijer.  I returned and high winds had taken down my flag and it was laying in the drive way.  I changed for the American Legion Post Veterans Day Ceremony which I was asked to be in the honor guard.  When I got there, the VFW had sent their members to be part of the honor guard too.  I told Les that I would yield to them so I sat down.  Then I got recalled to carry the rifle after all.  The winds brought the ceremony indoors instead of on the Chatham Square.  One of the scouts that was holding the American Flag fell.  Apparently he was not faint but asthmatic. That stopped the ceremony for awhile.  Many rushed to help and then when the boy was reseated, we carried on with a nice ceremony.  After the ceremony, I picked up my sons and we went to get our free meal at Applebees.   I missed the ceremony over at Camp Butler National Cemetery.  Just too rushed.  A big tree went down there.

 The wind began to change to rain.   That really made the 5PM retreat ceremony at the DAV pretty ... shall I say, expedited.  Then my sons and I went to Chili's for our free Veterans Day dinner.  I had a wonderful quesadilla .   The brick floor there was recently polished and very difficult to walk on.  In fact I'd rather be unfurling a flag over slippery ice rink than that polished floor.

I was off on Monday for Veterans Day observance and had a free lunch at the Texas Roadhouse with my sons.  In the evening we went for a portrait for our church directory.  I wore my Catholic War Veterans uniform for the publicity of our organization.  I'll post that later like maybe in Jan or Feb.
Then I went to our Civil War Ball dance practice.   Oh My God!  We learned a new dance that I was the last of the inactive couples to become active at the end and didn't know the routine.

On the way to dance practice, I noticed a motorcycle parked by the bridge on Lake Springfield seemingly abandoned.  It was dark.  It was still there on the way home so I called police.  They knew it had been there for three days.  It was still there on my way to work so I stopped and took a picture.  Just then a cop showed up and seemed to put a ticket on it.  It looked abandoned.  It was parked near the bridge where trucks sometimes park to go fishing.  My fear was that the cycle may have been stolen or the owner in distress.

I updated our VFW website with the Veterans Day activities.
http://vfwwebcom.org/il/post755/