September 2009 – Random Connections

Move Over Lizard Man- Bigfoot’s in Town

September 29, 2009 Tom No Comments

Weirdness

South Carolina’s most famous cryptid is the Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp in Lee County. With the first reported sighting in 1988, the Lizard Man has since become an unofficial mascot of the Lowcountry swamp lands. However, the Lizard Man isn’t the only mythical critter inhabiting the remote areas of our state. I was … Read More “Move Over Lizard Man- Bigfoot’s in Town” »

Bearing the Pall

September 27, 2009 Tom No Comments

Miscellaneous, Uncategorized

“What do you think they’ll have?”

“I think you could guess just as easily as I could”

fried chicken
sliced ham
green beans
macaroni & cheese
corn
biscuits
potato salad
deviled eggs
congealed salad – multiple varieties, but at least one green and one pink
banana pudding

And, yes, my sister and I nailed it. The menu was exactly as predicted. And it was comforting and tasty – just as funeral food is meant to be.

But, backing up a bit…

Thursday evening I got a call from my father that my Uncle Raymond Johnson passed away after a prolonged illness. Uncle Raymond was 93, and was a quiet, peaceful man who lived his entire life in the town of Calhoun Falls. Uncle Raymond had married my father’s oldest sister, Mary, who had passed away several years ago. They had one son, Sherwin, who still lives in the area. The funeral was Saturday, so I picked up my sister, Glynda. then my parents for the drive down to Calhoun Falls.

Scouting the Tyger

September 21, 2009 Tom 3 Comments

Paddling

Our friends from Lowcountry Unfiltered wanted to do an Upstate River this fall. Since I’m the only one in the area that regularly paddles with them, I was tasked with finding a suitable trip. I had scouted the put-in and take-out points on a section of the Tyger River that flows through Sumter National Forest, and thought it might make a good trip. Today Bob Donnan and I scouted the section to see if it would, indeed, be a good paddle. Long story short – it wasn’t. However, it was a good day on the river, and that is always better than a day doing just about anything else.

I had my doubts about this trip. It had been raining all weekend, and when I got up Sunday morning there were flash flood warnings for Oconee County. However, I had the boats and gear already loaded onto the truck, and a phone call to Bob reported that they hadn’t received much rain. We decided to head on down to the river and check out conditions before committing to the trip.

I met Bob at our rendezvous point and we drove to the put-in at the Rose Hill Boat Ramp. Both of us remarked that this area seems “ancient”. There is very little development, and it seems remote. Sumter National Forest covers most of the region, and large hunt clubs have bought up huge tracts of land. The area seems almost mystical, as if just about anything beyond the realm of reality could happen.

Judging a Book by its Cover – The Lost Symbol

September 16, 2009 Tom 1 Comment

Entertainment

OK, I know I shouldn’t be writing about Dan Brown’s latest book, The Lost Symbol, before I finish reading it, but…

Brown’s latest adventure with Harvard Symbologist (and just what the heck is that?) Robert Langdon hit the bookstores today. Laura had pre-ordered it, so at precisely 12:01 am Pacific (3:01 am our time) the book was dumped onto our Kindle Readers without having to make a trip to the book store. I’ve just finished the first several chapters, and I think I’ve read enough to make at least a few observations.

1. Dan Brown can’t write

LDHS Class of 1979 Reunion

September 14, 2009 Tom No Comments

Miscellaneous

This past weekend Laura and I attended the 30th reunion of my high school graduating class. It was the first time that I had seen many of these folks since we had graduated. It was great re-connecting with these folks.

About 100 people attended the event – that number including both alumni and spouses. You could pick out the non-alumni spouses very easily. They were usually the ones sitting in a corner off to a side, while the rest of us laughed and caught up.

New Addition to the Family

September 13, 2009 Tom 3 Comments

Miscellaneous

Our cat Misty now has a new friend. Yesterday we adopted a little yellow fluff ball of a kitten, seven weeks old. This kitten was from a litter of four, and is one of the friendliest kittens we’ve ever encountered. On the way home it curled up in Laura’s lap and wanted its chin rubbed. … Read More “New Addition to the Family” »

“I Liked the Book Better”

September 11, 2009 Tom 1 Comment

Entertainment

That’s what one often hears after seeing a movie. I’m not so sure that it’s always the case, though. In some cases the movie makes a much better story.

Lately I’ve been reading lots of books that have been made into movies – Carl Sagan’s Contact, Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Harry Bates’ The Day the Earth Stood Still, and James Dickey’s Deliverance, among many others. Obviously, some screenplays do a much better job of taking the novel to the big screen than others. Deliverance, the movie, stuck very close to the novel. I, Robot, while an enjoyable movie, could only claim to be inspired by, or produced in the spirit of Asimov’s original.

As I’ve been reading these I’m struck by the choices that producers and screenwriters make in taking a novel to the big screen. I’m sure someone skilled in writing screenplays would be able to produce a better list, but these are a few of the more common changes I spot…

Read More ““I Liked the Book Better”” »

Furman Opens with a “Thriller”

September 6, 2009 Tom 1 Comment

Entertainment

The Furman Paladins had their home opener against the Presbyterian College Blue Hose yesterday. The game was about what we expected – a blowout with Furman winning 45-21. Even so, PC had some real bright spots, and pulled off some amazing plays. The score doesn’t really reflect the level of play that they brought to … Read More “Furman Opens with a “Thriller”” »

Lake Fairfield Paddlefest

September 6, 2009 Tom 2 Comments

Paddling

My nephew, Chip, helped design all of the websites for Confluence Water Sports, which includes Perception Kayaks, Dagger Kayaks, Wilderness Systems Kayaks, Mad River Canoes, Harmony, and a bunch of other brand names. As such, he had an early heads up that Confluence was having it’s first ever public sale at it’s corporate headquarters at the old Perception plant in Easley. Demos and seconds were going to be offered at ridiculously low prices. So on Friday Chip and several of his work buddies headed over and bought a boatload of …well, boats. The most convenient place to try all of this out was at our little lake, so this weekend we held the first ever Lake Fairfield Paddlefest.

Late Friday afternoon the flotilla arrived – a total of six kayaks of various types to add to the five I already have in the back yard. Chip, his wife Anna, and two of his work colleagues, Ed and Chris, were there to give the boats a trial run.

Read More “Lake Fairfield Paddlefest” »

Friday Freaks – A Collection of Weirdos

September 4, 2009 Tom No Comments

Weirdness

In my RSS reader I’ve got a category called “Weirdness.” I’ve noticed a particular genre of website that I’ve been adding to that category lately. These blogs consist of single humorous image per post, usually associated with a specific theme. I think one of the first of these was the LOLCats website (which I could … Read More “Friday Freaks – A Collection of Weirdos” »