Today me and my two step-sons went fishing. We were on a 21 foot boat just off the coast of Southport NC, right outside of Bald Head Island. The weather was a little rough from the beginning but nothing I have never seen before. The boat was owned by a guy named Patrick and his mate was a young guy named Ricky.
While we were fishing the skies started getting darker and the wind picked up. We could see lightening around the Oak Island area and it was moving towards us. Finally Patrick decided we should head back in because it was getting rough, but the bad news was to get back to the landing we had to go into the storm.
Before we knew what happened it was lightning all around us, raining, the winds were gusting at least 60-70 mph, and we got pelted by hail, some of it was almost the size of golf balls.
The boat had no cabin and was an open hull. A few times it almost capsized, the wind, rain and hail was so bad we could not see 20 feet. Ricky could not even see his compass which sat on the console right in front of him. I had a jacket I put on but everyone else had shorts and tee-shirts. We put a seat cushion over our head to try to protect ourselves but the hail just hammered us. We were all trying to keep a a death grip on the cushion and were screaming in pain as we got pelted. A few times I had to empty the piles of ice that was being collected between my arm and chest. Each time we thought it was over, it started again, and each time it got worse. At one point Brandon was holding on to part of the boat and he felt a shock go through his body,. that really scared him.
Finally after what seemed to be an eternity, the skies cleared a little and we could see where we were at, so Ricky opened up the motor and we made it back to the landing. This was the worse storm I have ever been in, and I have been in a lot. Patrick told me the only other time he was this scared was when he crashed his plane in a lake many years ago.
When I got home my wife seen my back and freaked. I am covered with whelps and my hands were bleeding. I feel like I have had the crap beat out of me. Even the drink cans that were sitting on the boat looked like someone squeezed them. The hail just beat them to pieces.
 I am ready to go back  out again, but I will be sure to check the weather THOURGHLY first.

Today was not a good day. I had to put my dog Banjo to sleep. He was almost 15 years old. We noticed for the past few years he had problems getting around, but he was a tough hard headed dog, but he was also very loving. Well, this morning we were going to work and we noticed he wasn’t outside of his doghouse like usual, so I went to check on him and he could not even get up. I helped him up and I noticed he had no control over his bladder. He was wetting himself the whole time he was trying to move.
We gave him a nice hot bath, some pain pills and loved and petted him, but he just laid there not even trying to move. He was in serious pain. Me and Billie finally decided to put him down, it was a hard decision but it was for the best. I called the vet and they said come on in. We put Banjo in the truck (he always loved riding in the truck) and drove to the vet’s office. It was a short ride, I wished it could have been longer. Banjo usually likes to sit up and feel the wind in his face, but this time he just laid there with his head in Billie’s lap. I went into the office to tell them who I was and what I was there for and could hardly speak. I was so choked up I just knew I was going to break down right there. I paid the money and the lady said the vet would be right out. I went to the truck and me and Billie just rubbed Banjo and waited. Finally the vet came out. He did his thing and he assured us it was the right thing to do. He was very understanding. He said he never seen a dalmatian that old. Even though I know it was the right thing to do,I still felt terrible. We drove back home and picked a spot under a big oak in the back yard to bury him. It was so hard, both physically and mentally.
Even though some people may say he was just a dog, he was MY dog, my pal and my friend. I will miss the way he barked, the way he used to jump, the way he leaned on me, the way he howled at the sirens, everything about him. I will always miss and love you Banjo.

I don't understand some people. Why would anyone put their faith in the government? So far everything the government gets involved with gets screwed up. I wish people would learn to take care of themselves and quit relying on the government. Just think about it....really they are relying on other people to take care of them. Everyone wants a hand-out. They want to sit on their butts and be spoon-fed, while people around them are working for a living. They are nothing but leeches, sucking the blood out of everyone else. They hate the evil rich!...the ones who got a good education, the ones who took chances, the ones who went out and made something of themselves.......then they say "It ain't fair they have more than me", so they get the government to take away from the people who earned it and give it to the ones just sitting there......It makes me sick! AND it's always someone one else's fault. They never say "I screwed up my own life" or "I made bad choices in life".....no, no, no, it's SOCIETY'S FAULT!!!
When Obama gets elected.......we are all going to suffer. We may have to move to Russia to find freedom. Who woulda thunk it?

I am a fat pig. I love eating. I can't deny that. I am up to 196 lbs. That is heavier than when I started my AT hike. Oh well.......

Well , this past week has not been too good, not really bad, just not the way I hoped it would be. First my mp3 player crashed on me. I had about 2200 songs on it and it just stopped working, tried everything to fix it, but it was to no avail. I ordered a set of headers for my ford truck from ebay, but when I got them they were the wrong kind. I bought a new backpack, it was supposed to be a medium, but they sent a small, so I had to send it back. Last but not least, my bowling really sucked. I have a 182 average but my high game was a 174, needless to say, our team lost. Oh well.

When I left for the trail, I was 195 lbs. When I finished, I was 155. Well today I have decided to go on a diet. I am back up to 190 and I hate it. I ain't doing nothing too extreme, just gonna cut back on my eating. Not walking 15 miles each day is really catching up to me.