Good morning GH. It has just passed 8:30 AM in "The City," and the current temperature is 55 degrees as we head for a sunny high of 79. No precipitation in the forecast or on Sugar the Weather Dog's personal radar until tomorrow at the earliest. That means that it should be a good day for a long walk with Sugar and for some serious deck sitting.

Mary says, and I think she is right, that Sugar can't expect to go to the "Bone Zone" each time we go out on the deck. Sometimes, well all the time, Sugar can be so cute in her needy way, that she can be hard to resist. Adam once said that Sugar has me wrapped around her paw. He's right.

So today, more music, more reading, more watering, and more work for Mary. I may have to do some highlighting if Mary gets the pages printed out for her new project. I don't mind that, as it is just adult coloring.

I was remembering myriad things from my past as I was reminiscing about the last 40 years. One event or incident came to mind from high school. Like many young men in that time period, you had two choices in high school. There was the college track and the work track. Fully 86% of my graduating class at least started college, that was what nearly everybody did. I started, but it took me years to finish. Along the way I had many careers or occupations. I'll talk more about those at a later time.

One period of time sticks out in my high school career. As someone who had never seriously considered college, I took numerous industrial arts classes. Not surprising considering my personal history and my dad's occupation and skill set.

So, I took metals, power mechanics, woods, etc. My personal favorite teacher was a man named Ed Wichman. He came from a working class family and his father had a welding/fabrication shop. It was logical for Mr. Wichman to go to college and get a degree in industrial arts education, the first one in his family to attend college. But, what stands out for me was another teacher in the industrial arts department, Mr. Etherton. The kids somewhere along the way had nicknamed him "Pipe." Some say it was because he walked so erect, some because he was a pipe smoker. I don't know, but I do know this.

During my years in high school, the bane of Mr. Etherton's existence was a kid named Haynes. I used to think that Haynes spent his days trying to think of ways to try Mr. Ehterton's patience. Haynes could roll up next to a VW Beetle and 15 minute later, he and his "crew" could drive away with the entire engine from that car. But I digress.

Haynes was most famous for spreading motor oil on the floor of the power mechanics shop. Kids used to run down the hall to the classroom, throw open the door and swing into the room and slide into their desks. It was around a slight corner, and Haynes decided that if they were gong to slide in, he would help them. So, just inside the door, he poured about 1/2 qt. of motor oil. As the late kids came around the corner and hit that oil, they slammed into the wall that was just inside the door. Funny, but as I look back, it was very dangerous.

Haynes also wired the spark plug testing machine output cord to the doorknob between the adjoining classrooms. Some kids would cheat and come from one room to another to escape the teacher's attention. Very high voltage, but very low amperage. Not dangerous I guess, but you would know that you had grabbed that knob. Unfortunately, Mr. Wichman had been next door conferring with Mr. Etherton, and grabbed the knob to get from the woods classroom to the power mechanics room for his next class. I think you can guess what happened. Mr. Wichman got the shock of his life, burst into the classroom and pulled the power cord for the tester from the wall, devastating that machine for the rest of the semester.

A final note on Haynes. One day, he did something to tick off Mr. Etherton. So, in his inimitable style Mr. Etherton intoned, "Haynes, the trouble with you, is that nobody stuck their foot up your a-- when you were five years old." Never one to be outdone, Haynes said the following, "Pipe, the trouble with you is that somebody did stick their foot up your a-- when you were five years old, and it's still there." At that point, Haynes bolted from the room as Mr. Etherton, shouted after him, "Haynes, get back here!" Of course, he never came back, but I have to assume that Mr. Etherton caught up to him later.

My only contribution to the Haynes saga was that Haynes was using all of those misappropriated VW parts to build a dune buggy. He also learned that the golf course behind my house had just the right kind of pipe to use for a frame for his buggy. So, he and his cronies came by late one night and picked up what they needed. My other contribution was my ability to use the TIG welder in the metals room. I could weld the shortened parts that Haynes needed so clean and smooth that they looked factory made. Oh well, that's enough about Haynes and high school for now.

No sports, today, I was just too long winded. Ciao.