A Tale

Here's the latest in the contest. This one is a little different in that the answer is not from a saying. You'll figure it out, I'm sure.

In a little town not far away lived a very small kid named Jamie who had hair the color of a fire truck. His dad owned a 1957 Ford with a special seat on the front of the car. He only drove it in parades. Jamie was so excited when it came parade time because he got to ride in the special seat made just for him! Oh, come on, surely you have heard of the story of ?????? ???? ?????? ???.

Who is going to get the big prize this time? Only time will tell.

Jed

Well, here we go again. Be the first to post the correct well-known saying and be the contest winner!

Here's a story about a man named Jed, a poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed. He had a big old dog named Duke who was a hunting dog with a bad habit. He would take off on the trail of a critter, then lose the scent of it, but continue to take Jed on a hike, ending up with Jed lost and no game for Jed to shoot for food! Old Duke would hightail it for home and hide until Jed forgot about it. One time, however, Duke was so tired that he took a nap while Jed was still coming back from yet another trip where Duke took Jed on another wild goose chase. When Jed got home, he spotted the napping dog and snuck up behind him and scared the dog so badly that he jumped up and bit Jed on the hand. Granny, who lived with him said, "I told you, Jed, it's best to let ????? ???? ?????!"

Fill in the question marks with the correct letters and post the answer. You could be the winner of the second Cliche Contest.

First Contest Winner

We have a winner in the cliche contest. The previous post was the first in a series of made-up stories that use a well-known cliche or saying and twist or change the words slightly. Brent Lavy is the winner of the first round. He won by giving the correct answer, "A waist is a terrible thing to mind", which is a twist on the saying, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste". Congratulations, BJ, you get the big prize. A new story will be on the way soon.

Saturday was the fourth annual go-kart race at our house. We had a total of 13 participants signed up. Mechanical failures on our racing kart hampered the afternoon. Shaun King won the pole in qualifying with a lap of 14.50 seconds. With the problems with the racer, the race was shortened to two laps for each person and only eight people were able to race. Regi Baker won the Nathan's Hot Dogs 200 with a two-lap time of 32.57 seconds on a slightly different track configuration from the one used for qualifying. Regi won a pack of delicious Nathan's hot dogs for her efforts. She has won this race two years in a row, having won the Minute Maid Light Lemonade 10 last year.

The Marlin Shooting Competition was won this year by Mary White. There were 13 shooters in the contest . Mary had 28 points out of a possible 30. Jason Baker was the defending champion.

In a few days, a new story will be posted in the cliche contest. If you know the answer, be the first to post it and receive the big prize of being recognized as the winner!

First of a Few

This idea could turn out to be really silly. A while back, a radio DJ did something similar to this. I think that is where I got the idea. I will be taking a cliche or a well-known saying and then making up a story that will hopefully cause you, the reader, to be able to discover the cliche to which it refers. There is a twist, however. The actual cliche will have had words rearranged, or slightly changed, causing it to appear in a humorous light. Since I don't know how else to describe this silliness, I will just begin. The first person to post the correct answer shall receive the BIG PRIZE. The big prize will consist of being named the winner.

The young lady was not what anyone would call obese. Nevertheless, every day she acted like she was too fat to appear in public. She would cause herself a lot of grief because she was so afraid that she would become ugly. She was constantly worried that she would not be able to fit into her clothes. This caused her to be unable to enjoy her life, once again proving the adage, "A ????? is a ???????? thing to ????."

There you have it. Fill in the question marks with the right letters, post your answer by quoting the cliche in quotation marks exactly right and perhaps you could be the first Big Prize winner! Hopefully, it's not too difficult. Hopefully, it's not too easy.

Happenings

What a great time we had at our house on the fourth. We had 36 people stop by for the party. Thanks to everyone who stopped by.

In just a few weeks, it will be just Mom, Dudley and me. Ally will be going away to Florida for school. We will get to see what the empty nest syndrome is all about, and I don't want to try it. But, I guess we will any way.

"Dad, stay in the car!"

BJ and Holley in the pool

Dad and Dudley after a long day of vacationing

Mary at the Garden Cafe

Yes, I went head first

"Dad, stay in the car"

Here are a few more pictures from Vacation 2008. One of the more memorable events of the trip was when BJ and I went golfing at our private resort course. We arrived at the course with me dressed in my flowers. He got out of the car, and when he saw a car approaching, he said, "Dad, stay in the car." I still think that was one of my best games of the week.

Next time I go off the bungee tower, it will be backwards. I don't like looking down 75 feet and diving head first. It was a very strange feeling.

Dudley was one worn out pup. Check out Regi's blog if you would like to see a video of Dudley swimming in the river to cool off.

I am trying to learn how to post pictures properly. Hopefully, these are OK.

That is all for now.