12 years later

 So, in about 2012, I had enough of the sod farm, it was killing me. I found my way to a local truck driving job, delivering packaging to potato warehouses. I have been there 10 years now. It is a good company to work for.

In April of 2021, as I was driving along Interstate 84 in Idaho, there was a cloud of dust moving from a field and up onto the interstate, I slowed considerably, watching the trucks in front of me which they went through it with no problem. At 35 mph, I entered the dust, when I entered the cloud I realized it was anything but a cloud, trash and debris was spinning in circles, almost instantly I was hit by a twister like a freight train which promptly knocked my truck on its side. Thank the lord I had nearly stopped, so damage was minimal with no injuries. It did however total my semi. What a bummer it was nearly new.

Winter time

It has been a long time since my last blog. it was a long summer. Sod sales were good to us this year, which made for some long days, But.... Now I get to take care of all the things I couldn't get done in the summer. Most of it is under the snow though. I didn't even get the Hoses put away. I looked out the window this morning to see a Sprinkler sticking up out of the snow. Looked kinda funny. Now to find the other 5. I probly better leave the hoses, I'll just break them trying to roll them up, so they are better off under the snow. Now I am trying to get my Snowmobile running. The Battery is Bad, the Key is Missing, I broke the Pull rope, and then I broke the hood hinges. whew! that was not a very productive hour. It will take several hours and too much money to fix! I'll have to ride Christophers machine I guess.

My Brother Sgt 1st class Garth Newell

I have to tell the World of my Respect for my Little Brother. He is a true Giant among men, with respect for his fellow man, as well as his God,and Savior Jesus Christ. Garth is a Sargent in the Army, He has Six boys under the age of 16, served 2 tours in Iraq, and has a wonderful wife.
I want to share an excerpt from the Fort Lewis Newspaper article about Armed Forces Night at Safeco Field for the Seattle Mariners game on April 17th 2010.


[ Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine and Coast Guard members took their turns with ceremonial first pitches. Sergeant 1st Class Garth Newell of 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade threw a fast ball to Mariner relief pitcher Sean White, an experience neither will likely forget.

Newell, a linguist who speaks Dutch, Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese, will soon take the first sergeant job in a consolidated rear-detachment company until the brigade returns from Iraq in the fall.

White’s eyes widened when the ball loudly smacked his glove, and the crowd roared in reaction to Newell’s throwing heat instead of what is normally a polite toss.

“I guess I threw it harder than I intended to, because I heard everybody cheer,” Newell said.

Born and raised in McCleary, west of Olympia, Newell is widely known among his fellow 201st BfSB Soldiers as a diehard Mariners fan. He didn’t hesitate when his command sergeant major offered him the opportunity to throw a pitch at Safeco.

Muscle memory took over for the 1989 Elma High School graduate — the year Griffey Jr. broke into the league with the Mariners, he pointed out. Newell predominately played catcher in school, but pitched a little, also. Performing on a Major League field so close to home, he brought a large cheering section from home: His mother, Annette Curran, his wife Julie and their six boys, Kesley, 15, Dallin, 14, Josiah, 11, Elijah, 10, Ammon, 7, and Nathaniel, 5, all applauded from Section 116, Row 20 along the first-base line.

Josiah shows the most interest in baseball, his father said.

“He’s a pitcher, and a good one, on an Elma Little League team,” Newell said.

The only mild disappointment was that Newell didn’t meet his heroes, Griffey or retired catcher, Dan Wilson. He brought a ball signed by the entire Newell family to the game just in case, but gave it to White, instead.

Otherwise, the combat veteran couldn’t stop grinning Saturday evening.

“I expected to be more nervous, but once I got out there, I wasn’t,” Newell said. “I was like ‘Wow, this is pretty cool.’”]


Very Cool indeed. Garth has the envy of all 8 of his Brothers, as well as a number of his nephews.
I Salute you Garth, I could only hope to be Half the man You have become. Few men can come out of combat with their wits intact. I believe You has conquered that feat.

Garth as well as all 8 of my Brothers and my 3 Sisters mean the world to me. I wish they were closer than 800 miles away so I could have them all in my everyday life. Family is Everything. Cherish it while you have it! Don't let little things get in the way! and LIVE! LAUGH! LOVE!

Christmas Lights

Wow, I can't believe it's Christmas time again, Wreaths, Trees, Fudge, more Fudge, packages, and Chhristmas Lights, UHHGGG..... I really hate lights.... I used to put lights up all over the place, you know the more the better???? Well, slowly over the years, fighting burned out bulbs, bad fuses, and broken wires, I have developed a strong desire to cut up every string of lights I own with a pair of wire cutters. Don't get me wrong, I still love to look at the lights, and can appreciate the hard work, Frustration, blood and tears that go into decorating a house and yard. Just don't get me involved, or ask me to help, cause you might end up with a pile of loose lights on the ground.
I may in the future, put up lights again as I once did, but for now the frustration has won out, and the house is almost dark.(except for the 3 sets left on the house from last year that only half work). So If somebody wants to see my house all lit up, they are more than welcome to come over, and put up some lights, I'ld even make a sign giving them credit for the display.......
What a wonderful time of year!! Merry Christmas!!!

Here are a couple memories with Ginger

Our Precious Puppy

Ginger, Our Princess Dog.
in September of 2003, we acquired,(much to MaryLyns Disapproval) a Cute little red puppy. Of Course I brought her home anyway. We grew fond of our little puppy, and gave way to her becoming a "House Dog". Soon she became one of the children,and gave her whatever she begged for. Of course she got fat, the vet told us not to feed her table scraps, but we did. We limited her treats to Dog treats, Pancakes,(she loved those)and waffles. she could smell them cooking from the pasture and would come running. She knew when it was time to pick up Chris from school, and would wait at the door until it was opened, and then get in the car before you could get the door open all the way. On Aug 3rd 2009, we took her to the vet, cause she acted like she had a cold, and the vet did a series of tests and discovered she was suffering from Kidney Failure. Devastated, we put her in the hospital. We were told not to get our hopes up, but how do you not, she's part of the family. There was a chance she could come out of it. Late the next day, after more blood tests, the Doctor dropped the bomb. No improvement.
How could this be. She was only 6,we wanted more time with her.
We took her home with us to have more time. The vet gave her a shot so her last few days would be a little more comfortable.
During those last couple of days, We cried, Held her and Cried. I built her a special box to rest in, while Chris Prepared the ground for the box. On Saturday morning, August 8Th 2009 at 9:00 am Ginger Died. We laid her to rest in her favorite spot in the yard, which was under the big pine tree at the corner of the pasture. From there she could watch the neighbors, Make sure the Horses were in the pasture, chase the squirrels and cats, catch the birds, and warn us of anyone moving within a 1/2 mile. She loved to tree Raccoons and was rewarded on several occasions. She loved to watch the sunrise, she would sit on the driveway and soak up the rays as it came up over the hills. she always wanted to ride in the car, and didn't care where or how far, just so she could ride.
All the things she did that annoyed us, is what we miss. But most of all, We miss her unconditional love for us. It is a privilege to have her as part of our family, and can hardly wait to see her again.
We Love You, GINGER BOB

"The Treadmill"

So, I've got to Exercise, I approached the treadmill, Slowly,cause who knows what's groing on that thing, I've had it for 'bout 7 years and have used it very little. It's been collecting stuff ever since. Do you know how many clothes that thing can hold? you would be amazed.
O.K. the clothes are now gone, that took some time, and it's dusted off, I mean washed. It took a while to remember how to unfold the stupid thing, once that was done, i was ready to get on it.
I inserted the safety key, No Power, I checked the plug, the cord, the fuse, the outlet, and everything else I could think of, and just when I was ready to get a Hammer and Screwdriver, I noticed a power switch in a place there shouldn't be any power. I turned it on.... I was sitting on the deck, it started up and threw me off. yeah I admit it, that wasn't very bright. Stupid Treadmill. Now I'm ready, I start to set up the preloaded programs, Mountain trail, No not that one, Desert Trail, Not that one either, Canyon Run, Definately Not. So I picked the manual setting, It shows an oval on the screen, and you pick your own speeds and incline. I pushed start, It will start at 1 mph. I wondered if I could handle that kind of speed. well after about oh... 2 seconds, I realized I walk faster than that going to the Fridge, so I sped it up to 2 1/2 mph, that felt like a good warm up speed to me. Well after about 30 seconds that was getting too easy, so I raised the deck up to a 5% grade, Now I was working out good. I walked for what I was sure to be a half hour and started slowing to cool down when my wife says, "are you stopping already?" "Yes, the doctor said to get in 30 Minutes,and I don't want to get burned out on my first day" and she said "Yes but you've only been going for 5 minutes" I shut it off.
The next day I decided I needed to find something to make the time go faster. No t.v. near, just a blank wall and a Fish tank next to it, so I grabbed a book, Have you ever tried reading and walking on a treadmill at the same time? Well let me just say it requires hanging on to something stationary, and reding glasses. I got the hang of that, and was getting my exercise,and doing some reading too!, I read a couple of chapters, and my wife came in the room, " How long are you going to walk on that thing?", "The doctor said to go 30 minutes" I said, So she says,"well you've been on it for 45 minutes, You'ld better stop before you get burned out." I shut it off and took a shower.