Pete's BLOG-Day 26,280. Dirty last minute campaign tactics.

Today is Wednesday, October 21, 2012. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of lifting weights and 37 minutes of walking = 2.0 miles for a grand total of 64.7 miles in October. My weight was at 163.4 pounds.
QUOTE from Kevin Costner: "Failure doesn't kill you, It increases your desire to make something happen."
My THOUGHTS today. There are six days left until the 2012 election. The morning paper had an article listing some of the nasty campaign tactics being used in the last week. HERE THEY ARE:
1. Voters in Florida. Virginia and Indiana getting phone calls telling them they can vote early by phone and don't need to go to the polls.
2. Elderly voters in Broward County (Florida) who requested absentee ballots say they were visited by unknown people claiming to be authorized to collect the ballots. (Everybody knows where they will end up.)
3. In minority neighborhoods in Ohio and Wisconsin billboards were put up warning that voter fraud is a crime punishable by jail time and fines.
4. 7 million voters have received a DVD entitled, DREAMS OF MY REAL FATHER. The DVD says that Obama's father was not the one we know but a guy named Frank Marshall Davis - who was a communist agitator living in Hawaii.
It appears to me that these are all efforts by the GOP to suppress the vote for Obama. The GOP hate for Obama is so great they will stoop to any level to beat him.

Pete's BLOG-Day 26,279. Right-wing christians and Iowa judges.

Today is Tuesday, October 20, 2012. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes on the exercise ball and 27 minutes of walking = 1.5 miles for an October total of 62.7 miles. My weight stayed at 164.0 pounds.
QUOTE fron Harrison Ford: "The best thing about change is we all have big changes in our life that are more or less a second chance."
My THOUGHTS today: In 2009 the Iowa Supreme Court, by a vote of 9-0, legalized same-sex marriage. The right-wing christians in Iowa were up in arms and called the nine judges "activist judges." Under the leadership of a guy from Sioux City named Mr. Vander Platts they started a movement to remove these "activist judges" from the Supreme Court. In the 2010 election they succeeded in voting out the three judges who were up for retention. In 2012 they are out to remove a fourth judge named David Wiggins. They plan to continue in future elections until they get the other four voted off the court. I hope they fail this time and in the future. All these judges did was uphold the constitution of Iowa. The court decided that gays and lesbians are entitled to the same sort of legal recognition other Iowans have along with the same rights and privileges. I agree 100%.

What the right-wing fundamentalist believers are doing in Iowa is why I sometimes despise the christian religion in America.

Pete's BLOG-Day 26,278. I'm not alone in misery.

Today is Monday, October 29, 2012. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of lifting weights and 47 minutes of walking = 2.6 miles for an October total of 61.2 miles. My weight was 164.0 pounds.
QUOTE from Steve Jobs: "The best thing about change is things don't have to change the world to be important."

My THOUGHTS  today: The Hawks lost Saturday to Northwestern. There is much anger and misery in Hawkeyeland. However Mike Hlas, a sports writer for the Cedar Rapids Gazette, put things is perspective with today's column. His main point was that Hawkeye fans are not alone - he gave several examples of other fans across America who are also angry and suffering.
1. Auburn won the national championship two years ago. Today, Auburn is 1-7.
2. Texas is 6-2 but they are 9-13 in the BIG 12 since going to the BCS championship game in 2009.
3. Tennessee is 0-5 in the SEC and 26-32 since 2008.
4. Miami is 4-4 and only 17-16 since 2010.
5. Virginia Tech is 4-4 after winning 10 or 11 games from 2004 to 2011.

Misery supposedly loves company - I guess his words were to make HAWK fans feel better. I don't think it will make much difference!!!!!!!

HUMOR for today from George Burns: He said, "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city."

Pete's BLOG-Day 26,276-77. Hawks lose - newspapers endorse.

Yesterday was Saturday, October 27. 2012. My stats were 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes on the exercise ball and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for an October total of 58.6 miles. My weight was 163.6 pounds.
News of the day: Hawkeyes lose to the Northwestern Wildcats 28-17. (No comment from Pete.)

Today is Sunday, October 28, 2012. No sats today as I take Sunday's off.

News today: The Cedar Rapids Gazette and Des Moines Register endorsed Mitt Romney for President of the U.S. It is not my choice but "Thank God" we live in a democracy where we have a free press (thanks to the first amendment) and the press can endorse anybody they want without fear of suffering any consequences. I'm grateful I live in America.

Pete's BLOG-Day 26,375 - Hawkeye change and hope.

Today is Friday, October 26, 2012 - a cool day in the 40s and 50s. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of lifting weights and 47 minutes of walking = 2.6 miles for an October total of 56.1 miles. My weight got down to 163.6 pounds.

QUOTE from Linda Ellerbee: "The best thing about change is that it's a synonym for hope."

My THOUGHTS today: The above quote reminds me of the Hawkeye football team. From 1999 to 2011  I heard radical Hawk fans criticize Ken O'Keefe ( the offensive coordinator of the Hawks) for not being imaginative enough in calling plays. The O'Keefe haters said our opponents always knew what we were going to do because we were so predictable. Well, we got change this year when O'Keefe was hired by the Miami Dolphins as their offensive coordinator. So Ferentz hired Greg Davis, the former offensive coordinator at the University of Texas, to replace O'Keefe. All the O'Keefe haters were excited that this was the CHANGE the Hawks needed and their HOPE was that this would enable the Hawks to open up their predictable offense and change it into an UNPREDICTABLE one and then score a lot more points and, of course, win more games. WELL, the CHANGE did not equal the HOPE - we are scoring less points than last year, quarterback Vandenburg's stats are way down from last year and we are as predictable as ever, if not worse.

So, the bottom line is exactly what the quote says. = change is a synonym for hope. But, unfortunately, change does not always fulfill the hope

HUMOR for today: The other night I talked to one of the biggest O'Keefe haters I've ever known. He had complained about O'Keefe for 13 years. But the other night his words were, "Where is O'Keefe when we need him?" It was a good laugh for both of us.

Pete's BLOG-Day 26,374. The world's happiest people.

Today is Thursday, October 25, 2012 - it is turning cold today - in the 40s and 50s. My stats today: 10 minutesd of yoga, 10 minutes on the exercise ball and 46 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for an October total of 53.5 miles. My weight got down to 164 pounds.
QUOTE from Jim Abbott - the one-handed baseball pitcher: "Never allow the circumstances of your life become an excuse. People will allow you to do it. But I believe we have a personal obligation to make the most of the abilities we have."

My THOUGHTS today: I've been reading The Reader's Digest article about HAPPINESS - it is entitled "HAPPY HUNTING." What caught my attention the most was a list of the 11 happiest nations. Here they are:
1. Denmark     2. Finland     3. Norway     4. Netherlands     5. Canada     6. Switzerland     7. Sweden
8. New Zealand     9. Australia     10. Ireland     11. United States

The criteria used was - thousands of people from many countries were asked how happy they were, based on their job, health, income, and life expectancy. One thing they all have in common is they universal health care for all citizens. The U.S. is trying to get there but the election in 13 days will decide if we keep it. It Romney wins he has vowed to get rid of Obamacare.

HUMOR for today: In the mid-1970s (after the Watergate scandal) employees of a Southern California hospital referred to constipated patients as the "Enema List."

Pete's BLOG-Day 26,373. I feel good.

Today is Wednesday, Ocotber 24, 2012 - it is an unbelievable day - setting record temps of 80 degrees. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of weight lifting and 50 minutes of walking = 2. 8 miles for an October total of 51 miles. My weight was 164.4 pounds.

QUOTE from Eckhart Tolle in Guidepost Magazine: "Accept-then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. This will miraculously transform your whole life."

My THOUGHTS  today. My thought right now at 2:30 PM is that I feel good. I feel good because I accepted the day as if I had chosen it and I would work with it and not against it and then I acted. What I did was get my big clippers out of the shed and cut down or timmed the nearly 50 flowers we have planted on the east and south sides of the house. I then hauled them to the city yard waste disposal site. So I feel good for accepting the present and then acting.

HUMOR for today: Nixon was out walking along the beach at San Clemente and decided to go for a swim. He got out beyond the waves and suddenly began drowning. Three teenage boys saw Nixon is trouble so they rescued him, Nixon was so appreciative that he told the boys "I'd be willing to use my influence to help boys in any way I could. Is there anything special you want."
The first boy said "I'd like to go to West Point."  Nixon said "I can handle that."
The second boy said "I'd like to go to Annapolis."  Nixon said "I'll see to it immediately."
The third boy said "I'd liike to be buried in Arlington Cemetery." Niuxon said "That's a very strange request. Why would you want to be buried in Arlington?"
"Well," said the third guy, "when I get home and tell my father who I saved from drowning, he's gonna kill me!"

Pete's BLOG-Day 26,372. The last debate.

Today is Tuesday, October 23, 2012. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes on the esercise ball and 40 minutes of walking = 2.2 miles for an October total of 48.2 miles. My weight was 165.4 pounds.
QUOTE from Kristen Bell: "Laughing is so good for you. It legitimately burns calories and just makes you happier on a daily basis."
My THOUGHTS today. The third and final debate was last night in Boca Rotan, Florida - the topic was foreign policy. Obama definitely won the debate but the thing that sticks out in my mind is how Romney can flip-flop on about every position he has taken thus far in the campaign. He agreed with Obama on most of the positions Obama has taken on foreign affairs. So the question on my mind is if Romney and the Republicans take control of Congress which Romney will we see once he is in power. Will it be the Romney of last night or the Romney we've seen in the last year. The other thing is 17 of his 24 advisors are from the Bush-Cheney team and look at what  they did to the world and the lack of prestige the U.S. experienced in the world as a result. Romney scares me because he has no understanding of the world and his Bush-Cheney advisors are worse yet. We don't need "comboy diplomacy" anymore. I can  forsee another war in the Middle East. But you can bet that if we do that none of the sons or daughters of the decision makers (Romney and advisors) will be fighting and losing their life or limbs.
HUMOR for today. I need something to laugh at after writing the above. This is a true story.
I (a lady) was at the golf store comparing different kinds of golf balls. I was unhappy with the women's type I had been using. After browsing for several minutes, I was approached by one of the good-looking gentlemen who worked at the store. He asked if he could help me, without thinking, I looked at him and said, "I think I like playing with men's balls." I was so embarassed that I left immediately.

Pete's BLOG - Day 26,370-371 Sunday -not so wonderful.

Today is Monday, October 22, 2012 - a rainy morning. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of lifting weights and 39 minutes of walking = 2.1 miles for an October total of 46.1 miles. My weight was 166.4 pounds - ouch! - too much tailgating.

QUOTE from Reminisce Magazine: "If you want a rainbow, you have to put up with the rain."

Sunday, October 21 was not so wonderful. Penn State kicked our butt 38-14.  It is not as much fun to read the Sunday sports page when we get whupped like we did. Brad and I went to the game and stayed to the bitter end - we're true Hawkeye fans - over 75% of the crowd had already left when the game ended.  We play Northwestern next week in Evanston. We need to get our offense scoring some touchdowns. But throughout Ferentz's 13 years he has a way of coming back after a tough loss. I hope it continues.

Today is Monday, October 22, 2012. I took to the Cedar Rapids airport at 10 this morning. He is flying back to Denmark via Minneapolis, Amsterdam and Copenhagen. It takes about 22 hours.

Tonight  is the third and final debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney. Viwers are going to have to chose between the debate, the baseball game between San Francisco and St. Louis and the NFL football game between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears. So the number of viewers for the debate is most likely going to be a lot less. Go Obama.

That's all for today.

Pete's BLOG - Day 26,369. Wonderful Hawkeye Saturdays.

Today is Saturday, October 20, 2012. my stats today: 10 minutes of yoga and 52 minutes of walking = 2.8 miles for an October total of 44.0 miles. My weight was 164.8 pounds.

QUOTE from Ray Bradbury: "We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out."

MY THOUGHTS  today: Today is a Saturday in October. As I look back on my life I realize that  Saturdays in the fall have been my favorite days of the year. As a kid I remember listening (from about 1952 to 1962) to the Minnesota Gophers play football on WCCO radio from Minneapolis-St. Paul. As an adult I came to be a Hawkeye fan and have listened to and watched Hawkeye football games every Saturday since 1962. Brad and Carron have great memories of Hawkeye Saturdays while growing up on Garnavillo Street in Anamosa. Another thing about fall Saturdays is the weather is usually just right - not to hot or to cold - perfect for the game of football.

Brad and I are leaving for the 7 PM Hawk-Penn State game this afternoon. We love to tailgate. It is Bloody Mary time when we tailgate - they are so good. We buy our tickets from scalpers.

Ruth Ann is predicting a Hawkeye victory - but Brad and I are not so sure.

GO HAWKS!

Pete's BLOG-Day 26,368.

Today is Friday, October 19, 2012. My stats for today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of lifting weights and 41 minutes of walking - 2.2 miles for an October total of 41.2 miles. My weight was 164.4 pounds.

QUOTE from Steve Jobs: "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone's else's life."

My THOUGHTS today: This morning I awakened early and was thinking about the election. This thought entered my mind:  Romney would win the popular vote but Obama wouild win the electoral vote. My next thought was that if this happened how would the Republicans handle it. They berlieved it was okay in 2000 when Al Gore got over HALF A MILLION MORE VOTES than "W".  and then  the Supreme Court basically appointed him president.
I have a feeling their response would be different this time.

HUMOR for today: The person to watch in future Presidential elections will be the Nudist Party candidate. Their slogan is: We Never Keep Anything Covered up.

Pete's BLOG - Day 26,367. Presidential humor.

Today is Thursday, October 18, 2012 - a very cool and rainy day. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of exercise on the ball and 39 minutes of walking = 2.1 miles for an October total of 39 miles. My weight was 164.4 pounds.

QUOTE from Reminisce magazine. "Attitudes are worth catching. Is yours worth catching?"

It's all HUMOR today. I found these goodies in the November issue of Reader's Digest. These were all uttered by former presidents.

Lyndon Johnson: "If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read: President Can't Swim."

Barack Obama: "There are few things in life harder to find and more important to keep than love. Well, love and a birth certificate."

Jimmy Carter: "My esteem in this country has gone up substantially. It is very nice now that when people wave at me, they use all their fingers."

Bill Clinton: "I don't know whether it's the finest public housing in America or the crown jewel of the American penal system."

George W. Bush: "These stories about my intellectual capacity really get under my skin. You know, for a while I even thought my staff believed it. There on my schedule - first thing every morning - it said Intelligence Briefing.

Teddy Roosevelt: "When they call the roll in the Senate, the senators do not know whether to answer 'present' or 'not guilty.'"

Pete's BLOG - Day 26,362. Obama-Romney Debate.

Today is Wednesday, October 17, 2012. My stats: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of weight lifting and 46 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for an October total of 36.9 miles. My weight was 163.4 pounds.
QUOTE from Samuel Johnson: "Mankind have a great aversion to intellectual labor; even supposing knowledge to be easily attainable, more people would be content to be ignorant than would take a little trouble to acquire it."

My THOUGHTS today: The second debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney was last night. I was glad to see Obama come out swinging. He more than held his own and at times had Romney on the defensive. On the other hand, Romney didn't anything to hurt his stance with his Republican supporters. In other words it was not a knock-out blow by Obama but I would say he won the debate on points. I think it will help to re-energize his base.

At the present moment President Obama is 16 miles from our house. He is going to speak at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon. (I have to go right now and listen to Obama give his speech). Okay, the speech is over. The President was wound up and on a roll. He mentioned everything his administration has done in the last four years. He has done a lot for women and reproductive choices,, college expenses for students and their parents, veterans, overturning Don"t Ask Don't Tell, equal pay for equal work (Lily Ledbetter Act), over 30 continuous months of job growth, alternative energy investments, tax cuts for the middle class, rescuing General Motors and Chrysler and saving over a million jobs, suppporting Planned Parenthood, restoring the housing market, doubling the Dow Jones, Nasqaq and S & P 500, and more. He said we need to keep moving forward and not go back to the failed Bush policies that got us in this mess in the first place.
HUMOR for today. Democrats buy most of the books that have been banned somewhere. Republicans form censorship committees and read them as a group.

Pete's BLOG - Day 26,365. Second debate tonight.

Today is Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - a cool windy fall day. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes on the exercise ball and 38 minutes of walking=2.0 miles for an October total of 34.4 miles. My weight was 164 pounds.

QUOTE from Billy Boy Franklin: "If a lie is repeated often enough all the dumb jackasses in the world not only get to believe it, they even swear by it."

My THOUGHTS today: The second debate tonight between Obama and Romney should be interesting. Obama is between a rock and a hard place. He cannot be as "nice" as he was in the first debate and he cannot come across as a disrespectful smart-ass either. Romney is a good debater and he knows how to deflect about anything. This man has told more lies than any other candidate in the history of American elections. He has flip-flopped on every issue, then denies he has done so, but seems to be getting by with it. Obama has to call him on these. He basically will say anything that will get him votes even if it is the complete opposite of what he said yesterday.

It is hard to debate a person like Romney because he can support any position that is necessary at the time since he has been on every side of every issue. I'm wishing Obama the best of luck tonight and am hoping and praying that the American people will feel much different about his performance than they did on the first debate.

Yesterday, I read an article by Joe Klein in TIME. Joe said that "Obama hates the notion of launching precooked zingers in debates. In fact, he hates debates, period, with their false air of portent (a warning of coming evil; sign; omen)  and stage-managed aggression. But if he wants to be re-elected he has to put up with them."

Pete's BLOG - Days 26,362, 363, 364. Hawks win.

Saturday was October 13, 2012 - day 26,362.
Sunday was October 14, 2012 - day 26, 363.
Today is Monday, October 15, 2012 - day 26, 364.
QUOTE from William Shakespeare: "Nothing can seem foul to those that win."

My THOUGHTS today. The QUOTE sums up my feelings about the Hawkeye victory over Michigan State in double overtime on Saturday. I thought we were goners when Michigan State intercepted a pass on our first possession and went into score a touchdown. As it turned out that was their only touchdown. Our defense was up to the job and prevented them from scoring another TD. We managed to tie it up the last couple minutes at 13-13. In overtime they kicked a field goal - then we kicked a field goal to tie it 16-16. In the second overtime we got the ball first and kicked a field goal for a 19-16 lead. Then State got the ball and on a tipped ball we intercepted and that was the ball game. Happiness prevailed for the Hawkeye football players, Coach Ferentz and the other coaches and thousands of Hawkeye fans - including Brad Bungum, Ruth Ann Bungum and Pete Bungum who were watching the game at Fawn Creek Country Club.  There was nothing FOUL about this win.
On Sunday granddaughter Ellyn and her friend Nate, daughter Carron and friend Dave, and son Brad were at our house for cake and ice cream to celebrate Ellyn's 20th birthday. Ellyn will graduate from Iowa State in May with a degree in geology and environmental studies. She just found out last week that can graduate in May instead of next December. So she is a little comcerned if she has enough time to get into grad school next fall. She has to take her GRE exam and do some other paper work before she can even apply. We're all hoping that everything will work out.

Today (Monday), I took Brad to the Cedar Rapids airport so he can fly to San Francisco for his corporate meetings. He'll be back on Friday - when we go to Iowa-PennState game on Saturday.

Pete's BLOG - Day 26,361. VP Debate

Today is Friday, October 12, 2012 - a cold fall day in the 50s. My stats: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of lifting weights and 41 minutes of walking = 2.1 miles for an October total of 28.9 miles. My weight was 164.6 pounds.

QUOTE from Joseph Joubert: "The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress."

My THOUGHTS today. The VP debate last night between Vice-President Biden and challenger Paul Ryan was pretty much a toss-up. I would say neither scored a significant victory and neither one hurt his cause. Their were no major gaffes by either. Overall, most Democrats feel better on how Biden did compared to Obama's performance last week. And the Republicans have no reason to feel that Ryan hurt their cause. So it's a TOSS-UP. The quote above would be nice if it would ever happen. I don't think there was much progress last night.

In the Major League Play-offs I was happy that Baltimore and Washington won and forced the fifth and deciding game tonight. I would love to see these two teams in the World Series.

HUMOR for today: I read PICKLES every day in the comics. It is about two Senior Citizens by the name of  Earl and Opal. Today Earl is walking with Nelson, his five-year-old grandson.

Nelson" "Grandpa, do you and Gramma ever argue."

Grandpa Earl: "Argue? No, I can't say that we do. We disagree sometimes, though, and then she explains to me why she's right and I'm wrong. You might say we have one of those marriages where one person is always right and the other person is me."
                       

Pete's BLOG-Day 26,360 V.P. Debate.

Today is Thursday, October 11, 2012 - a beautiful fall day. My stats: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes on the exercise ball and 72 minutes of walking= 4.0 miles for an October total of 26.7 miles. My weight was 164.8 pounds (I'm trying to get down to 163 before Saturday because I always gain 3-4 pounds when the Hawks are playing - we play at Michigan State on Saturday.)

QUOTE from Winston Churchill: "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms which have been tried from time to time."

My THOUGHTS today: Looking forward to Brad's arrival tonight from Denmark. We have to pick him up at 5 PM at the Cedar Rapids airport. We'll golf tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Saturday we'll watch the Iowa-Michigan State game at Fawn Creek Country Club - maybe more golf on Sunday. On Monday he flies to San Francisco for his corporate meetings. Then back home on Friday and on Saturday we'll be going to the Iowa-Penn State game in Iowa City.

Today I walked for 72 minutes for a total of 4.0 miles. When I turned 62 I decided that every year on my birthday I would walk as many minutes as my age.  My birthday isn't until November 20 but it was such a great day to walk I decided to do it today instead of on my birthday - mission accomplished but it was five weeks early this year. I wonder how many years I can accomplish this on my birthday. So far, so good - I've done it now for eleven years. I wrote in my autobiography that when my days are up on this earth I would like to die of a heart attack while walking on my 96th birthday.

And the big news today is the Vice-presidential debate tonight between VP Biden and Paul Ryan. I have a feeling it is going to be an exciting one. I will comment tomorrow.

HUMOR for today: This QUOTE from H.L Menchen made me chuckle. "Under democracy, one party always  devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right."

Pete's BLOG-Day 26,359. Laughter!

Today is Wednesday, October 10, 2012 - a nice day - cool and sunny. My stats: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes on the exercise ball and 51 minutes of walking = 2.8 miles for an October total of 22.7 miles. My weight was at 165.6 pounds.

My THOUGHTS today have to do with LAUGHTER. I cannot remember seeing eight people do so much laughing in a three day time span as I did on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Lanesboro and Decorah. As a result I did some research on LAUGHTER. I got my words of wisdom about laughter from my book entitled, "If Ignorance Is Bliss, Why Aren't There More Happy People. Smart Quotes for Dumb Times."

Max Beerbohm said: "Nobody ever died from laughter."
Mark Twain said: "The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter."
Victor Borge said: "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people."
Margaret Mead said: "Laughter is man's most distinctive emotional expression. Man shares the capacity for love and hate, anger and fear, loyalty and grief, with other living creatures. But humor, which has an intellectual as well as an emotional element, belongs to man."
Micheal Pritchard said: "You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing."

Pete Bungum said: "If four Luther grads and their wives are together any length of time, and do not laugh, something has gone wrong."

FINAL WORDS ABOUT THE REUNION: My hope is that this gathering will not be our last. We're not exactly spring chickens - our ages range from 70 to 74. Our 55th reunion in five years will put us  at 75 to 79. I want to think positive so I will: Being the eight of us we're the youngest looking and most vibrant people at the reunion I'm sure we'll all make it in 2017.

Pete's BLOG-Days 26,354 -355-356-357-358. Luther Reunion.

Today is Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - it is a cold windy fall day. My stats: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes on the exercise ball and 36 minutes of walking. My weight ballooned to 166 pounds (from 162.8 pounds on Thursday) after a weekend of drinking beer and eating fatty foods in Lanesboro and Decorah.

QUOTE from Elbert Hubbard: "Friend:One who knows all about you and likes you just the same."

QUOTE from Arnold Bennett: "A true friend is one who likes you despite your achievements."

My THOUGHTS today. It was a wonderful 3 days. Ruth Ann and I drove to the Stone Mill Bed and Breakfast in Lanesboro, Minnesota on Friday, the 5th, to meet Terry and Suzanne Sorom from Wenatchee, Washington and Paul and Sharon Twedt from Huntington Beach, California. Paul and Terry and I lived together our sophomore year at Luther College in Decorah. We have remained good friends for over 50 years.. We drove to Decorah in the afternoon to attend the 50th class reunion of the Luther College class of 1962. We attended a reception at Baker Village and then at 5:30 we went to the student union for dinner. At the Union we met up with Carson and Connie Ode. At 7:30 we walked to the Center for Faith and Life for the Distinguished Service Award ceremony.  Carson was the 4th member of our family at Luther. I was called "Big Daddy" - Terry was called "Big Son" - Paul was called "Little Son" and Carson was known as the "Prodigal Son." Ruth Ann was known as "Ma." We were Big Daddy and Ma because we had gotten married after my sophomore year and we inherited this family whether we wanted them or not.

At 7:30 we walked to the Center for Faith and Life to attend the Luther Distinguished Service Award Ceremony. Ever year Luther gives a Distinguished Service Award to 7-10 alumni who have  made a difference in this world. Ma and I are proud to say that one of our three sons made it - that kid was "Big Son".  Terry (Big Son) was an eye doctor in Wenatchee, Washington for close to 30 years. He was very active in his medical organizations and the community of Wenatchee. The award to Terry was well deserved.

After the ceremony we drove back to Lanesboro and hit one of the local pubs. On Saturday we drove to Decorah again. The other three couples went to a noon luncheon and the football game while Ruth Ann  and I did some shopping and searched for a pub to watch the game. We found "Your Place" in downtown Decorah. At halftime the three couples joined us at the pub and we all watched the Iowa State - TCU game. Iowas State won and we were all happy. It was back to Lanesboro and dinner.
On Sunday morning we had breakfast together and then it was hugging and goodbye time and we all headed in different directions.

Reflections on the reunion:
I thought all eight of us were the youngest looking people at the reunion - everybody else looked old.
Luther has a fantastic campus.
I'm proud to be a graduate of Luther College.
I'm so grateful I met and made such good friends at Luther.
If laughter is good for your health then all eight of us should live a good long life - because we had a ton of laughs talking about some of our shenanigans at Luther.
My hope is that this gathering will not be the last one we'll ever have. We're not exactly spring chickens - our ages range from 70 to 75. Our 55th reunion in five years will put us at 75 to 80. Pete - you've got to think positive - just remember we were the youngest looking group of eight at the reunion - so I'm sure we'll all make it in five years.

Pete's BLOG-Day 26,353. Drinking urine breast feeding piglets

Today is Thursday, October 4, 2012. My stats: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes on the exercise ball and 43 minutes of walking = 2.4 miles for an October total of 8.5 miles. My weight was down to 162.8 pounds. I've lost 4.8 pounds since last Sunday.

QUOTE from author Kathryn Schutz: "Regret doesn't remind us that we did badly. It reminds us that we know we can do better."

What I LEARNED today.  I tuned into The National Geographic channel an hour ago and saw some things going on in this world that were a little hard to watch. The first was in Australia where some people drink their own urine (these people were not the Aborigines.) They were also using urine to unplug ears. and to tone the skin. They interviewed these people and they said that it was healthy to do so. Most medical doctors they talked to said there was no medical research to prove that  drinking urine was healthy.
The second segment was in Papua New Guinea (these people were the actual natives.) There was an old lady who was letting the "runt pigs" suck on her breasts even though she had no milk. She said, through an interpreter, that it was like a pacifier for these runts, otherwise they would die. She also chewed up food and had the runt pigs eat it from her mouth.

As the reporters said what some people do in their culture in strictly taboo and unbelievable in others. How true that is!!! It was interesting but ............!

HUMOR for today. A Texas candidate for office, speaking of his opponent, said, "That low-down scoundrel deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass - and I'm just the one to do it."

Pete's BLOG-Day 26,352. Penn. ID law blocked

Today is Wednesday, October 3, 2012. My stats: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of lifting weights and 56 minutes of walking = 3.1 miles for an October total of 6.1 miles. My weight was 163.4 pounds.

QUOTE from Bill Simmons of Lexington, Kentucky: "You never diminish yourself when you praise another."

My HAPPY THOUGHTS today. I'm happy today that a judge in Pennsylvania blocked Pennsylvania from requiring voters to show photo identification in this November's election, a decision that could influence turnout in a top electoral prize in the presidential race. His reasoning was that the process of obtaining a photo ID was too slow and there would not be sifficient time for everybody to get an ID.

However, the judge said the law could be implemented in future elections which would allow sufficient time for all voters to get their photo ID cards by 2014.

HUMOR for today: A foreigner visiting America decided to witness a joint session of Congress. After sitting in the visitors' gallery for over an hour he left and met a Washington friend.
    "Well," asked the friend, "what did you think of it?"
     "The American Congress is strange. A man gets up and speaks and says nothing. Nobody listens - then everybody disagrees with him!"

Pete's BLOG-Day 26,351. Wisdom and Stupidity

Today is Tuesday, October 2, 2012 - another beautiful fall day in the 70s. My stats: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes on the exercise ball and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for an October total of 3.5 miles. My weight was 164.6. I gained 5 pounds on Saturday while eating and drinking all day at Kinnick Stadium. I weighed 167.6 pounds on Sunday morning so I've lost 3 pounds in 2 days.

QUOTE from Sam Levenson: "It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say, and then don't say it."

My THOUGHTS  today. The QUOTE above reminds me of Mitt Romney when he said that 47% of the American people are leachers and all are going to vote for Obama regardless of what he tells them. He did not display wisdom - that was stupid.

HUMOR for today: Maybe this fits Mitt Romney. A guy named Kin Hubbard said that some fellows get credit for being conservative when they are only stupid.

Pete's BLOG-Days 26,348-49-50. Floyd comes home to Iowa City.

Saturday, day 26,348, was September 29, 2012. Paul Lewison and I left for Iowa City at 6:30 AM to watch the Hawkeye - Gopher game. We met Brad, Lene, Bret, Sam and Jack, and Rusty and Angie Russel at the our parking place at 609 Melrose at 7:45. We tailgated until 10:10 and then we all walked over to the Billion Auto motor home on the west side of Kinnick where we met Mark and Jeanie Conzemius (old Up With People buddies of Brad and Bret.) Brad and Bret bought tickets for their fathers - Thank You Brad and Bret - much appreciated. The Hawkeye offense was right on target in the first half as we had a 24-0 halftime lead. We won 31-13. Floyd of Rosedale was back home in Iowa City where he will be fattened up on good ol'  Iowa corn in the next year. We tailgated after the game until 4:30 - Paul and I were home by 5:30.
It was a special day for Brad, Bret, Sam, Jack and Mark as they got to watch the game from the Billion Auto skybox. A special treat was Brad Banks (Iowa's 2002 quarterback) was in the skybox and Brad got to talk to him one-on-one for half an hour. He also autographed the jerseys of Sam and Jack. Plus another treat was Brad, Sam and Jack were escorted down to the field  in the second quarter and got to walk around the field. The guy escorting them worked for the university.
IT WAS A GREAT DAY ESPECIALLY WHEN WE BEAT THE HATED GOPHERS. THEY WERE A LITTLE TOO COCKY WHEN THEY TALKED ABOUT HOW PHYSICAL THEY WERE. OUR OFFENSIVE LINE THEM SHOWED WHAT IF MEANS TO BE PHYSICAL.

Sunday, day 26,349, was September 30, 2012. We went to Carron's house and spent time with Ellyn who came from Ames to bring her car for Carron and Dave to have. Ellyn is going to get Dana's car, her Dad's wife. Then Brad, Dave, and I played a round of best shot. The three of us had a 36, which is par. Then Brad, Lene, Ruth Ann and I went to Scooter's Bar and Grill for supper.

Today is Monday, October 1, 2012, day 26, 350, Brad and Lene left for the Cedar Rapids airport at 9 AM. They are flying back to Denmark via Minneapolis, Amsterdam and Billund (in southern Denmark.) Mom and I are getting back to normal with no company in the house. Brad is coming back in 10 days for his corporate meetings in San Francisco. He and I will get to see the Iowa-Penn State game on Saturday, October 13.