I remember seeing Kate Smith many times on TV while growing up. And many folks think this song should be our National Anthem – I just might agree.
Nobody sings God Bless America like Kate…
Archive for May, 2008
Folks I Miss…
May 30, 20082000 HITS!
May 18, 2008In its’ fifth month of operation, Scott’s Corner has racked up an impressive 2000 hits. I think that’s pretty good for what is basically a personal blog. Many thanks to all of the regular readers. I’m able to track various things like how many hits the blog receives each day or which posts get the most queries etc. so I thought you might be interested in some stats.
The busiest day on Scott’s Corner occurred on Monday, April 7 when the blog received 74 visits. The post that day was the one on Larry Finch and the ‘73 Tigers. Memphis was in the men’s NCAA basketball championship and there was a great deal of excitement surrounding the team. Folks like myself remembered earlier days when the Memphis Tigers were at the top of their game.
Many folks end up here after doing a google or yahoo search on a specific topic which leads them right to a specific post. Here are the top 2 through 10 ranked posts based on searches that folks have done.
That’s 2 through 10, but what about number 1? Well, there is one topic that has brought more folks to my blog than any other. The resulting post from March 5 has received a whopping 98 views to date! Would any of my regular readers care to guess what it was? Click here to find out.
Currently Reading
May 12, 2008
High Exposure
An Enduring Passion For Everest And Unforgiving Places
David Breashears
Climber, mountaineer, and now legendary film maker. This is David Breashears’ life story from the skinny kid who didn’t fit in, to the man who has reached the top of the world five times. Along the way he has become one of the greatest adventure film makers ever. An amazing story.
Who Let The Dogs Out!
May 7, 2008
Yesterday about 1:15pm, I got a call at work, “The dogs have gotten out and I can’t find Samson!” I’ve written here before about my life for the past twenty years living with Jack Russell Terriers. And in case anyone wonders, Jack Russells are born hunters. They are curious, tenacious, single minded little hunting machines. Their lives are not complete without something, usually a varmint of some sort, to worry, badger or spar with. And it’s not the first time my dogs have managed to get outside the fence. This time made all the more troubling because Samson is virtually blind. Having lived with glaucoma for a number of years, Samson has had one eye removed and the remaining eye is severely limited. So I excused myself from work and rushed home to mount the search and rescue operation.
Stories of Jack Russells are legendary and I’ve heard many over the years. Like the one about the terrier that was hit by a car and presumed dead; so much so, that the family dug a hole and buried their friend in the back yard. Well, apparently the little fellow was only stunned because sometime during the night, the dog dug himself out of his grave and the next morning greeted his astonished owners at the back door. Then there was the story I heard about a pack of terriers that lived on a plantation in South Africa. Every morning before the humans went outside, the pack was released and promptly cleared the grounds of any cobras that might be around. Once the cobras were dispatched by the darting and dodging terriers, the people were safe to step outside. And I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve heard someone say, “you know, the number one killer of Jack Russell Terriers is cars.” I have only lost one terrier over the years due to an accident. And it was my own fault. Axl, a big tan and white smooth coated terrier found a spot under a gate and got inside the horse paddock. As he ran after a galloping horse, Axl was stepped on. He ran a few more steps and laid down. A few minutes later he was gone. Broken back I suspect. I know terriers will be terriers, but I hate knowing that I lost one because I had not properly secured the dog yard.
By the time I got home, over an hour had passed and there was still no sign of Samson. It’s hard to imagine that a blind dog could go far. A search around the grounds and a quick drive through the nearby subdivision yielded no results. So I put on my knee high rubber boots and a long sleeve shirt and headed off into the woods. My property is fairly wooded and a creek runs along the south eastern edge. In fact the creek is the property line. The creek however is at the bottom of a steep gully. This time of year the sides of the gully are alive with poison ivy, Virginia creeper, vines, thorns and new sapling trees. Along with the towering pines and oaks, the woods are quite uninviting. After a few minutes of carefully walking through this jungle and calling Samson’s name I came to a clearing which seemed to form a little bit of a trail. I followed this “trail” all the way down to the creek. Suddenly, I heard a rustling in the underbrush. I looked and there he was, nose to the ground, tail in the air, muddy and wet. I’m sure he wondered what all the fuss was about. I gathered my buddy under an arm and hiked back up the gully.
So, you think you want to get a Jack Russell Terrier? They have quite the personality. They are cute, smart and a few have made pretty good TV stars over the last several years. They can even become something of a lap dog or couch potato intent on living the good life. But don’t let all of that fool you. For when adventure calls, the Jack Russell Terrier will not hesitate to answer, and you’ll spend much of your time and energy protecting your Jack Russell – from himself!
Spring, Birds etc.
May 5, 2008Greetings to all on this beautiful spring day, made all the better because I happen to be off from work today! I’ve certainly enjoyed obvserving the springtime birds this year and just the other day spotted my first scarlet tanager up high in the trees in my back yard. I’ve added a link over in the sidebar under the “outdoors” heading to the Cornell Labs bird guide. It’s a great resource of information and provides all of the vital statistics on many familiar birds all in one place. Be sure to check it out.
On my hike up Stone Mountain this past Saturday I happened to meet a fellow who had been to Mt. Rainier in Washington. He had climbed with the Rainier Mountaineering outfit that I’ve been investigating. A link to Rainier Mountaineering (RMI) is in the sidebar as well. On his trip, they had to turn back because of weather. Not because it was too cold, but because it was too warm. The snow was too soft to support them. Naturally, I had a bunch of questions for him. I hope to run into him again. It really got me fired up.
So now, I think I’ll enjoy the fresh air and sunshine with a little 4 mile trail run. Later – sl
Slim Rhodes And The Gang
May 1, 2008Every once in awhile, I’ll post a photo that I happen to come across in the big box of old photos that lives inside my closet. This one is pretty interesting. The group is Slim Rhodes And His Mountaineers. My mother used to listen to them back in the 50’s on the radio from Memphis. She actually knew the steel guitar player on the far right. It’s none other than John Hughey. Hughey went on to play with Conway Twitty for many years and became one of the most recorded session players in Nashville. You might also recognize Speck Rhodes sitting on the upright bass. Speck later became a regular in Porter Wagoner’s band and appeared on the TV show that Porter had for 20 years. Left to right is Slim, Dot, Dusty and the aforementioned Speck Rhodes. On guitar is Pee Wee Suggs and once again, John Hughey on steel guitar.
