Click Here to See the Blog of Doris Hollenbach Meneses - The Former Tamaqua Doris Hollenbach

Doris updated her web page today - so go take a look. Doris has lived in Homestead south of Miami for over 35 years.

Florida State Barely Beat Troy State University of Alabama

If Saturday night was any indication of what FSU's football season is going to be like - we are in for some very rough sledding.

Our day went like this - we got up at 9 AM and took the van over to our favorite tailgating spot. We set up the canopy and then George and I rode back home 2 miles on my new scooter. Then at 4 PM we all piled into the Jetta - stopped by Pizza Hut to pick up our 2 free pizzas and drove to the game. We sat around until 5:30 PM - watching Notre Dame beat Penn State on our little white TV and then walked across the street to the stadium. Heavy overcast gray clouds encouraged us to carry our ponchos - but no rain fell all night. When we got to the ticket area - plenty of tickets were being held in the air.

Once again - Nancy hit her spot and someone handed her tickets on the 50 yard line - row 46 - free. I guess the terrorists are not mad at FSU - because no one was checking our bags and pockets for drinks or bombs.

All night long - FSU was looking for a way to give this game to Troy State. Sometimes you like making the ESPN highlights even if you have the worst loss in Bowden history. FSU was losing the whole game and finally scored 2 touchdowns in the last 7 minutes to win. FSU managed less than 50 yards running. Two interceptions prevented the disaster that would have riveted everyone to the TV screen after this non-televised game. It is good that the nation did not see this lackluster performance after only 4 days of rest from beating Miami. Right new FSU is averaging 25 running yards a game.

At the ending bell - we walked back to the car - Keith went to a party with his friends - and the spoiled FSU masses tomahawk chopped their way home. A short ride and 20 minutes later - had us home watching the highlights on ESPN.

Pictures - Tailgate party with Curt - George - Joel - Keith - Nancy - me. The little TV on the Jetta hood kept us in touch with the Penn State dabacle. Go Noles. Go Nits. Also 2 pictures from our 50 yard line seats.

FSU Plays Troy State Saturday Night

Game starts at 6PM for the first of 8 home games this year at Doak Campbell Stadium.

It will be interesting getting tickets this year. The State of Florida passed a new law saying you can buy or sell sports tickets at whatever price the market will bear.

FSU will be playing with just 4 days rest after beating Miami in the Orange Bowl on Monday night. That game had the largest audience in television history. This year's big home games are Boston College - Clemson - and Florida.

2007 Vespa LX150

Today we bought a new motorscooter. It is a 2007 Vespa LX150. It is dark blue - Tamaqua blue - with a tan seat. We bought it at Florida Motorsports right here in town on Capital Circle NE.

You may recall that we sold our two other scooters using www.craigslist.org. This new scooter has 12 horsepower compared to the 8 horsepower that the Vino 125 had. It also has a roomier seat and foot steps for two middle age adults. It has a 4 stroke engine - with electric start. It gets near 100 miles per gallon.

This scooter easily does 60mph - but Nancy and I are comfortable going 30mph. 99% of the time we will use it in town. Nancy likes having a scooter because there are so many cars on campus and so few parking spots. The scooter parking spots are almost always empty. We also like to use the scooter to go to football games. We get around traffic - also they let us park in the VIP parking lots for free.

Nancy seems to be more concerned with capturing her flowers in the photo than the scooter.

Side note - orginally this morning I had cut a deal for one that was plum color with a tan seat - because I thought it was close to Florida State maroon and gold. When Keith and Nancy went to dealership to pick up the scooter - they quickly switched the deal to dark blue with a tan seat. I am glad they did.

Crikey Cracker

Guest Suite / Workshop / Barn is Complete

Click on the title to see more pictures.

I guess this is what old retired guys do. Nancy calls it my cave - I call it my barn. Hopefully - friends will come to visit and and call it home.

Keith, Nancy, and I worked very hard to complete the barn. Our neighbor and builder - Bill Gwynn and his crew did a splendid job. They get our highest recommendation. They did what we wanted - stayed on schedule - and provided no surprises on price. The craftsmen were perfect gentlemen - no loud music or bad language. Their craftsmanship skills were excellent.

Boring details of the barn -

Harry did the design work
Bill Richardson did the architectural drawings
Soil test borings had to be done
Tons of permits and inspections were done by the city
Hurricane code required tons of steel straps and 150 mph windows
A concrete and steel foundation was engineered.
Walls we made with 2 x 6 studs
3/4 plywood was used for exterior walls - roof - floor
One piece trusses were manufactured to support roof and floor
Roof joists are 2 x 8 lumber
Insulation is liquid styrofoam that expands when applied
Insulation is 6 inches in the wall and 8 inches in the roof
Outside walls are covered with 1/2 inch concrete hardiboard
The pocket doors are custom made and have tempered glass windows
The balconies have 4 inch thick concrete floors
The sewage system drains into a sewer easement manhole on our property by the lake
There are 10 electrical circuits
A 20 gallon water heater provide hot water instantly
Mahogany laminate flooring upstairs is 1/2 inch thick
The bathroom vent exits downward thru the roof soffit
Harry did all the electrical work
Keith and Harry installed the floor
Keith and Nancy did the inside painting
Wesley and Mayfair Head painted the exterior
Gary Moran did an excellent job digging for 300 feet of sewer line
The City of Tallahassee was a joy to work with for permits - inspections - and especially hooking up the sewer pipe.

This Guy - Noah - Took a Picture of Himself Everyday for 6 Years

Click on title to see it.

Who's the Wild Man Now?

Florida State 13
Miami 10

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin Killed

The Associated Press
Monday, September 4, 2006; 2:55 AM

BRISBANE, Australia -- Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and environmentalist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray during a diving expedition. He was 44.

Irwin was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Queensland state when he was stung, Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site.

Click Headline for Full Story

Chuck Shuck Still sitting in Spain on the Way to Iraq

Hi everyone......I am once again sitting in the airport in Spain awaiting my flight to Iraq.......We now have a new plane so hopefully everything goes as planned this time......Gabe and I are doing well, but so ready to get to work and earn our keep.....please continue to pray for all soldiers and dogs (Gabe especially) and I will send an updated email as soon as I can with an address etc.......until next time, stay safe and take care

Chuck

Note - Chuck was one of my students in 7th grade in Lansford PA about 18 years ago. He is starting his 3rd tour of duty in Iraq with his bomb sniffing dog - Gabe. For the past 6 months - Chuck has been training in Texas. Chuck is a "coal cracker" too - just like me.

Hard Coal: Last of the Bootleg Miners

On Friday, September 1st - the documentary "Hard Coal: Last of the Bootleg Miners" premiered in Mahanoy City - 10 miles north of Tamaqua PA.

The film tells the story of the last 12 surviving hard coal bootleg coal mines.

Although our country is running short of fuel - and Pennsylvania has a 400 year supply of Anthracite - efforts are being made to curtail mining it. Presently - a coal to oil industry is being developed in Schuylkill County. If properly done - coal could be the solution to our country's energy needs.

These pictures were taken from the production of that film. You can see a preview of the film by clicking on the title - Hard Coal - in the headline above.

FSU Volleyball Runs Record to 4-0

The Seminoles beat South Alabama this morning at 10AM - 3-0.

October Visit Back Home to Northeast Pennsylvania and Northeast USA

Nancy is attending a conference in Rhode Island in October. So we thought it would be an excellent time to visit Drew and Robin in Syracuse and our friends and family in Tamaqua.

We will fly into Providence - visit Martha's Vineyard - then drive to Syracuse and Tamaqua - then fly back home.

Connect the names to the pictures - Providence - Syracuse - Tamaqua - Martha's Vineyard

Harry is Scooterless

We sold our scooters. You may recall that last week I sold our 2004 Vespa 50 scooter. Well yesterday I also sold the 2005 Yamaha Vino 125. This does not mean we will be scooterless long. We are in the market for a 2007 Vespa LX150.

This picture was not taken on the steps of our new guest house. That is the Florida Supreme Court in the background. You recall that court - it is the one where Jeb Bush fixed the election for brother George. Boy - he really did us a big favor.

The picture was taken in September of 2004 - when we bought the scooter. Since then - Nancy and I put 2300 miles on it. In that picture - Harry was sporting 225 pounds of flabby gut. I would like to say that two years of scooter riding has Harry under 200 pounds now - but it had more to do with refraining from drinking sugared soda and constructing our barn.

We sold both scooters using craigslist.org. It is a free service that allows you to post classified ads and pictures. We have gotten a lot of response.

Please note - the only reason I sold the scooters is because Nancy gave me permission to buy a new one.

Click on "Harry is Scooterless" to see the advertisement that sold the Yamaha Scooter.

Out with the Old - In with the New

We bought a new dining set. It is solid oak made completely of full one inch planks. The set includes the table and six high back chairs. It also includes two table extension leaves.

After with brought the dining set home - we sold our solid pine dining set including the hutch on Craigs list. It sold immediately.

Picture 1 is the old set and hutch.
Picture 2 is the new set.

The buyer and seller of the sets with remain anonymous.

Man Does Play About Father Damien on Molokai

Click on the title for the full story.

Father Damien served the patients at the "leprosy prison" called Kalaupaupau on Molokai. A one-man play was written and performed in the National Park where the patient's were kept and some still live.

Nancy and I visited this site last summer. To get there we had to ride mules down a 2000 foot high cliff - zig zagging for 3 miles to get there - and of course 3 miles back up.

FSU Volleyball Beat Stetson 3 games to 0

The Florida State girls team - full of freshman - ran their record to 3-0 - shutting out Stetson University. FSU plays again tomorrow morning at 10AM.