My Seafood Feast

Living in a small town in the middle of Nebraska has a few benefits, but if you have ever lived someplace with a few more things to offer you can find yourself shall we say hungry for something else. Well, that is exactly the problem, I am hungry for some decent food! In my town, you can get a great steak but outside of that unless Pizza Hut is your idea of fine dining you are out of luck. So my little vacation to Las Vegas was a big thrill for me in several ways. Yes, I got to visit with family, but the chance to eat some good food was what kept me awake for the 18 or so hours it took to drive. 

Las Vegas may be in the middle of the desert but they go to great lengths to accommodate millions of visitors with anything they want and that includes some great food. I ate large quantities of great food in several fine restaurants and even a couple of fast food joints that are not available in my area. The highlight of my eating binge was the night my stepson Dave and nephew Kevin took me out for seafood! 

Raw fresh oysters are a favorite of mine and Dave had found out which casino the "Oyster Man" was working at, so off we went. This casino was having a seafood buffet that included fresh oysters, crab, shrimp, several types of fish and other assorted seafood selections. I was in heaven and quickly filled a plate and ran back to my seat to enjoy. At the table next to us was a nice couple who seemed as thrilled as I was at the selection of goodies. On my second trip to the buffet, I was standing next to the man from that table as we both were deciding where to start next. This man was a foot taller than me and was easily twice my size, he commented that he would try and leave a little food for me. I took this as a challenge and told him I thought I could keep up with him. This got him to laughing so hard that I was able to get a head start on the oysters before he noticed I was gone. When he got back to his table he was so busy laughing and pointing me out to his wife that I was able to finish and get back to the buffet for visit number three just ahead of him. I managed to match his plate for plate for some time, but to be honest he was piling more stuff on his plate than I was. After many visits to the buffet, I had eaten all that I could handle and went over to acknowledge my defeat to the big man. He was working on a large plate of crab legs and was very entertained by my effort. He told me I was a worthy opponent but better luck next time. Yes I was defeated, but full and happy, and there WILL be a next time.

The Great And Mighty Hoover

The Great And Mighty Hoover died Friday afternoon (September 21, 2001).

His tremendous spirit and that wonderful heart of his were just no match for joint problems and cancer.

Hoover and I shared and celebrated the same birthday of December 5th, this December would have been his 9th birthday.

When my wife and I hug, Hoover would stand up on his hind legs and join in, he always wanted to be included.

My wife gets out of bed earlier than I do and as soon as she left the bedroom, Hoover would come in, get on the bed and lay his head next to mine on the pillow. He never woke me up, he just would lay down like he was human with his head on the pillow and sleep next to me.

Hoover was not very tall and so to pet him or rub his head you needed to squat down. If you did this he would lower his head and press the top of his head into your chest and then lean into it. This became known as a Hoover hug. Once while we were at the doctor's for a vaccination shot I was trying to comfort him and get him to calm down so the Doc could give him a shot. I asked Hoover to give me a Hoover hug so that I might have better control of him. The doctor asked what that was and when I explained and Hoover demonstrated, the poor doctor got so tickled at this he was unable to proceed for several minutes.

A few years ago my sister, with her husband and two small children came to visit. This was the first time Hoover had met any of these people but he wasted no time in making friends. He never does. My nephew was just a toddler at the time and he and Hoover stood pretty much eye to eye in height. Justin was standing in front of Hoover munching on some snacks when he held out a snack and gently put it in Hoover's mouth. We all watched in wonder as Justin then just as easily reached in and took it back. Hoover never moved, he just calmly accepted whatever his new friend wanted to do.

Hoover loved everyone he ever met, with the possible exception of a couple of salesmen at work. Everywhere we went he was always on the lookout for someone new to visit with. When he went to work with me he would go around and say hello to everyone he could find before crawling under the desk to sleep on my feet. If we went to the park he would gladly welcome groups of small children rubbing and patting him for as long as they wanted. I never saw a child who was afraid to come right up and start petting. His entire being radiated warmth and love to the point that even small children knew they had nothing to fear and so they would run right over and pet the little puppy. They always called him a puppy, he looked like a puppy his whole life.

Hoover loved to play with anyone that was willing but he did have a favorite playmate. My buddy Marty worked with me in Alabama when we first got Hoover and they hit it off from the first day they met. When it comes to a just plain love of life and hearts the size of their bodies, Marty and Hoover are made from the same mold. Hoover and Marty played hard, so hard you thought they were going to hurt each other but they never did. When we moved to Nebraska, Marty and his wife moved with us. While Marty and I were busy building a TV station, Hoover would go to work with us every day and always had his favorite playmate handy. I know that a couple years later when Marty returned to Alabama, Hoover took it as hard as I did. We both had to make do without our favorite buddy.

He loved to go for a ride and it did not matter where we went, across the country or just to the office, the passenger seat of my truck was Hoover's seat. I could not tell you how many miles that Hoover traveled with me but to say it was thousands. Many more than you would expect of one truck or one dog.

Hoover loved to go for a walk so much that if I simply opened the drawer where his leash was kept it would result it what has come to be known as the "happy dance of joy". Once the "happy dance of joy" has begun there is no other option but to take him for a walk, whether that was your plan or not.

Hoover has his own chair. Some dogs have a doggy bed, Hoover has a recliner. When Hoover came to live with us the furniture from our previous home would not fit in our new house. One of the recliners was put in the second bedroom that I used as an office next to my desk. Hoover would sleep in this chair next to me while I worked and the chair has remained his ever since.

I can not explain the bond that I had with Hoover or how I knew what he needed or how he knew what I needed. We just understood each other.

My heart is broken.

Butterfly Rest Stop

We have all heard plenty of bad news & seen countless horrible images in the past few days. I would guess that like myself you could use a little happy news, so today I would like to share with you a happy little event that happened in my very own yard. 

Sunday afternoon I walked out of my back door to the sight of hundreds of monarch butterflies fluttering about and covering the trees in my backyard. It was a truly wonderful sight to see. These beautiful creatures had apparently selected my yard as a rest stop on their southern migration.

To me, there is nothing more delicate or graceful than a butterfly, kind of like flying flower petals. Groups of them covered sections of trees in clumps like orange leaves on a branch. The rest fluttered about from plant to plant around the yard. My visitors only stayed a couple of hours before moving on but I certainly enjoyed the visit. I am hoping this means that my house has been added to the butterfly travel guide and that I can expect more visits in the future.

A Trip To The Park

It cooled off a little the past couple of days and it was pretty nice this evening so I thought the dogs would like a trip to the park. I opened the drawer where we keep the leashes and before I could pick up the first one, the Hoover & Ted Happy Dance Of Joy had started. Bouncing, jumping, yelping, dancing on their hind legs, racing to the door and back, wiggling and doing everything except stand still long enough to put the leash on. This goofy dog pre-walk celebration goes on every single time we go out and would be entertaining if I wasn't the one trying to hook a leash to their collars. 

Ten minutes later we were finally out the door and headed toward the park. When we got to the park I looked around to verify that we had the place to ourselves and I let go of the leash. This is my favorite part of our visits to the park because both dogs have to find out what other dogs have been there since their last visit. They rush off, noses to the ground, running in some random pattern following every scent. To me it looks like a kind of fast paced furry vacuum cleaner dance. It was still pretty hot outside so after they had run around a while we headed back home where they emptied the water bowl before flopping down on the kitchen floor to rest. 

A half hour later I had cooled off, the dogs were snoozing, the house was quiet, everything was fine, then as I was looking for a battery in the junk drawer I opened the wrong one. You guessed it, the Happy Dance Of Joy drawer. :)

Kool-Aid Days Part 2

Yesterday I was telling you about the little town I live in having a celebration in honor of being the birthplace of Kool-Aid. In my rambling I forgot one important piece of information. We send out e-mail to people living in forty or so countries and only a few of them sell Kool-Aid. So many of the nice people who received my little babble fest had no idea what I was talking about or why I thought it was mildly amusing that my town was throwing a Kool-Aid party. First of all, thank you to those of you who kindly pointed out this error on my part, and I do mean kindly! If I am to ramble on about some goofy drink, I should have been nice enough to explain what the heck Kool-Aid is. So, lets correct that error right now.

In 1927, Mr. Edwin Perkins invented a flavored powder that when you mix with some sugar and water you get a nice pitcher full of fruit flavored drink. He created several flavors of his product and proceeded to sell the powder in pre measured packets from his home and through mail order. It was from these humble beginnings that the product known as Kool-Aid was born. With it's low cost and the fact that it is so easy to mix that a child could make it, Kool-Aid has become a staple of many American families. For children the added bonus is that if you chugged a glass just right it will stain the area above you lips the color of whatever flavor you are drinking, giving you a nice colored mustache, or Kool-Aid smile. So there you have it, Kool-Aid is nothing more than a inexpensive fruit flavored powdered drink mix popular with children and those still young at heart. Since I was so careless as to babble on about our Kool-Aid Festival and then not explain what Kool-Aid was I hope to redeem myself by offering to those who live someplace where Kool-Aid is not available a sample. If you would like, you can send me your mailing address at hooverdog at hooverdog.com and I will mail you a free packet of Kool-Aid. 

Kool-Aid Days

Every town does their best to celebrate some event or special date by throwing a big city wide party. New Years Eve, 4th of July, Mardi Gras, or maybe it's a wine festival or even a garlic festival. Well those kind of parties my be fine for your town, but around here we wait with great anticipation for Kool-Aid Days! That's right - Kool-Aid Days. Starting today, three days of fun, frolicking and all the Kool-Aid you can drink!

Hastings, Neb. - The birthplace of Kool-Aid is hoping to become a tourist hot spot by holding it's third annual Kool-Aid festival. 3 days of fun including the largest Kool-Aid stand in the world where you can purchase a commemorative mug or bring your own glass and get free Kool-Aid all day. Whoo boy, I don't know about you but that sounds like a party to me. You know I'm not gonna slow down until I have sampled every flavor they got. I may even get a little wild and make some Popsicles!

Yes its not exactly Times Square on New Years but it is something to do and when it's really hot and humid outside, I guess wandering around down town drinking Kool-Aid is better than nothing. I do love the little facts you can pick up at these events, stuff like. More than 563 million gallons of KOOL-AID® are consumed each year, with more than 225 million gallons in the summer. In other words, 17 gallons of KOOL-AID® are consumed every second during the summer season! That is a lot of colored water folks.

So I'm gonna dig out a big mug and grab a bowl for Hoover and my weekend plans are set. I will let you know on Monday which flavor Hoover likes best.