Mr Joes World

The season was the reason I survived 2009.

2010-01-22T17:33:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone; welcome back to Mr. Joes World.
A recent piece of mail from a "Secret Santa" has prompted me to look back at the past Christmas season and try to put into words my efforts to give a good holiday to my immediate family (kids and pets), plus continue to pay bills, keep the pantry stocked and cope with unexpected repairs.
Here's how it played out....
Well 2009 was a very rough year for me and was looking to end badly, but you know, I just couldn't let life get in the way of enjoying the season, and making sure the whole crew, here at Camp Run-A-Muk, enjoyed it too was my goal. Of course I needed help and that's where my family and friends came through for me.
Things were looking bleak in the beginning of December when my computer crashed and ended up being out of service for most of the month. The dollar signs kept going through my mind as I calculated the possible repair costs for that. West Marine was/is cutting hours each week, I had already taken a sizable cut in pay when I moved from one store to the other and now there was the fact that I would be getting less hours each week too. Added to my concern is the fact that my bills don't take a holiday and only increase with any late payments, I still have to keep food on the table, but I also wanted to have some extra snacks for the holidays.
Hmmm, getting hard to enjoy the holidays.

But; once I started decorating the house for Christmas, realized that my parents were there to help me out with the computer and we stayed busy at work, you can't help but feel optimistic about how things will turn out.
Christmas is all about the children, right?, well in our case, the children turn out to be Daisy, Hobie and Bella, who get much joy out of the decorations and if they get a cat nip toy or a chew bone, are as content as the kid with a new Playstation.

"Christmas is for Cats"

Take a good look at the tree photo to the right. Do you see an ornament that looks amazingly "cat like", that would be Bella the kitten or Lil B as Josh calls her. Bella and Hobie just loved the tree, especially to be underneath the low branches or in Bellas case, up in the tree. Occasional "territorial" squabbles would break out under the tree between Hobie and Bella and that would set the tree to rocking back and forth, but they never lasted long.

This photo is actually from 2008, but Hobie did the same thing in 2009, look for catnip in her stocking. Bella learned from her sister and I soon had both of them up on the rail, with their paws in the stockings.

Watching the cats get into trouble was Daisys entertainment, especially Bella, who was always into something as I first decorated and then celebrated the holiday.

The season was not without it's drama when you have teenage kids around.

Josh and Nicoles relationship was strained during the holidays and they broke up shortly afterwards.

I'm sure there were a couple of reasons for the strain, I only know what I can surmise by their day to day interactions. Not like anybody is going to tell me, even when asked. As long as things don't get out of hand, I let life play itself out. Typical teenage love, one day they are two broken hearted kids, the next day they are sitting there playing video games together. They are back together now.

Christopher and Jazmine, seem to be on again and off again as a couple, and I do notice that while Jazmine is able to enjoy being here with our family (and we certainly enjoy her being part of the family), I don't see it going the other way with Chris and her family. I have mentioned my concerns to Chris, but he is like his brother and mother, having a "need to know" attitude and in his mind, I don't need to know, how he feels about that or what the real situation is. Again, I let life play itself out.

We did have a great Christmas dinner at my sister Ginas' house in Bear Delaware. Jazmine joined Josh, Chris and I for a great day and an actual "White Christmas" with snow on the ground.

Here's the scene looking from my kitchen to the snow storm we had in December.

As for Christmas presents; I did what I could with what I had. And everyone was happy with the results. I could only spend the minimum on each boy and also have something for Nicole and Jazmine, but I did put thought into each item and they all appreciated it. I, in turn was rewarded by some great gifts from them. Both boys have limited incomes too, but the gifts they gave me, recognized my likes and tastes and that was appreciated by me.

At this point, I have to say what a great time it is for me, the boys and Nicole or Jazmine whenever we go to Gina and Johns house. For the holidays you just can't beat it. Of course their two boys Jonathan and Matt are much the same in age, likes and dislikes as my two boys. They all love Nicole and Jazmine too. Their home is beautifully decorated (especially for Christmas), warm and inviting. Like me, they have multiple pets, two dogs and two cats, I'm partial to my cats and dog, but her pets are as loving as you can get. There is a spirit of closeness and of family when we get together there.

Christmas came and went; New Years Eve was looking to be a non-event for me.The boys were going to do their own thing with their friends, I didn't have the money to do anything here for them, so it looked like an evening of painting miniatures and watching "The Twilight Zone" marathon. Which isn't a bad thing actually.

But it seems the ungreatful Colonials were stirring up trouble again and I would be needed to head a force of British and Hessian troops to the area and give them a proper thumping.

Okay, okay the real story is, my friend Dick Caldwell invited me over to join he and Les Mansir for a Miniature Wargame, titled "All the Kings Men.

The American Patriots, gather for the upcoming battle.

"Rabble Rouser" spout sayings such as "Give me liberty or Give me death!"

My Hessian gunners say "give them some round shot"

My British Regular give them some "Volley Fire"

Now that's the way to ring in the new year!

I put down the rebellion (for the time being) and it didn't cost me a Kings Schilling.

I thank Dick and his wife Judy for their (Year long) hospitality and giving us a great place to meet and play.

So now, the year 2010 is here and whew, I survived the holidays.

Money is still so very tight, bills are coming in non-stop, an increase in income is still potentially months away, but like Washingtons soldiers at Valley Forge, I know, if I can continue to endure, do the right things and "keep on the sunny side of life" things will turn out good in the end for me, the kids and pets.

Getting a money order from my secret santa, a card expressing best wishes and love, with a Wal-Mart Gift Card thrown in, from Mom and Dad and the many acts of help support and friendship I get from my family and friends bouys my hope and gives me strength.

Adios 2009, it's a new year in Mr. Joes World.

Thanks for reading.

Joe

What's Mr. Joe painting now?

2009-11-23T20:50:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone;
A big part of Miniature Wargaming and one of the most enjoyable parts for me is actually painting the miniatures to be used in various games.
I collect rule sets/books, like other people collect novels and each rule set covers a different period in history or combat in a certain element.
The only other item I collect more of, are the actual miniatures, which become the playing pieces of each game or set of rules.
World War 1 or 2, the American Revolution or Civil War, European wars of the 17, 18 or 19th Century, Brits versus Zulus, Naval warfare from the 19th century to present day or Air Combat from the First World War to present day, I have a set of rules and the miniatures needed to recreate those battles on the table top.
To cover all of these periods, you need miniatures in a variety of scales and of course a way of finding out just what that soldier, aircraft, ship or vehicle looked like.
Thankfully I have a great core of gaming buddies, who know even more about this stuff than I do and as always, I have the World Wide Web at my disposal.
My last paint project dealt with one of my favorite set of rules, named Check Your 6.

As you can see by the cover to my copy of the rule book, this deals with plane to plane combat in WWII.

So far I have painted miniature (1/300 scale) aircraft for Italy, Britan, US and Japan.

My latest group of planes are from the French (Vichy) Airforce of 1940-43.

Check Your 6 offers several scenarios or settings for pitting Vichy French aircraft against the Royal Airforce of Great Britan and the US Navy.

A little history for you. After the German defeat of France in 1940, a pro-German government was allowed to set up and run a small part of France, plus their overseas colonies. It was called the Vichy government, or "Vichy French". Part of these territories were in North Africa and the Middle East, and so eventually brought them into conflict with England and the United States, as we attempted to beat Germany and Italy and Vichy France strove to defend their territory which was in our way.

The French had some sharp looking aircraft and used some flashy colors to distinguish their craft.

trolling the internet and websites like, "Wings Pallette" and "The Miniatures Page", plus the CY6 Yahoo group got me the color and paint scheme information to accurately paint up the French D.520s.

The color scheme consists of a light grey blue for the bottom of the plane and a 3 color cammo scheme of dark blue grey/earth brown/ dark green for the top half. Plus the Vichy French "team colors" of a yellow tail and red stripes.

While I was at it, I also painted two Italian Macchi 202s, as seen below.

These were painted with a combination of Yellow Ochre and green splotches

Up next on my paint bench are some WWII British soliders in 28mm scale.

These lads will be used for a different set of rules and actually we have a real plethora of rules sets to go with. Current group favorites are "Rules of Engagement", "Nuts" or "Force on Force".

Here's some I painted about a month ago.

Now, if you are reading this (Thank You) and not one of my wargaming buddies, your probably saying. "Wow, that takes a lot of time and patience" and you would be right.

Time and Patience is what I have plenty of here in Mr. Joes World.

Thanks for visiting.

Joe

benvenuto (Welcome) Bella

2009-11-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone;
Thanks for coming back.
Well it seems that the old saying, "There's always room for one more" really does work, at least where Mr. Joes World and Camp Run-A-Muk are involved.
Back in October, Josh's girlfriend Nicole, was involved in a United Way fund raising campaign, at her work place (Nordstroms). Of course Nicole had to bid on something, cute and furry, in need of a home and so she got Bella the kitten. The next step was where to bring the cat to live and as I'm sure you all see where this is going, Nicole decided to give the kitten to Josh.

Now the last "pets" she gave Josh were fish, two fishbowls full of fish. The fact that you haven't seen any pictures of the fish may tell you how long they survived under Josh's care. And now she wants to give him a kitten...oh boy. Thankfully Nicole picked out a fiesty kitten who will tell Josh when she is hungry and is not confined to a bowl of water. I do also have to give Josh credit, who, with Nicoles coaching and supplying of cat stuff, has done a good job of taking care of Bella.

It's amazing to see how a little animal can grow and adjust so quickly to her new environment.

One day she can't make it up or down 3 steps, the next day she is running laps on the same steps.

Bella has been welcomed warmly by all but one of us here at Camp Run-A-Muk.

The boys and I love her.

Daisy thinks she's the coolest toy in town.

And Hobie???

"Leave me alone kid, you're bugging me"

Yep, Hobie is less than enthused about the new little sister. But that doesn't keep Bella from following Hobie wherever she goes.

We try to limit where Bella can go in the house in order to keep her safe, like out of the laundry room, but like I said this cat is fiesty and determined to say the least.

It will take all of us to keep an eye on the littlest edition to the crew...

even if we are busy begging for treats...

or guarding your turf...

Just remember our motto here at Camp Run-A-Muk; "A place where kids and pets run free"

Thanks for visiting Mr. Joes World

Take care;

Joe

Ciao Pepi

2009-11-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone;
Last month my Mom and Dad lost their very much loved dog named Pepi.
While Pepi was not a member of Camp Run-A-Muk down here, he sure would of fit in and as it was he gave my boys much joy when we spent time with him either in Latham, NY or at my sister Ginas house in Bear DE or even the one time he came here.
Pepi was the kind of dog that people were attracted to, especially kids.

The amount of joy he gave Mom and Dad is uncountable and it goes to show that if you do one good thing, you will be repaid, some way, some how, countless times. Pepi was brought home from a shelter by Mom about 12 years ago. She had volunteered to walk dogs at the shelter and thats where she came across this little one year old scruffy looking dog sitting by himself in a cage. Pepi was owned by an elderly woman who could not take good care of him or even get him out for walks regularly, so, unfortunately she sent him to the shelter. Fortune favored Pepi on the day mom saw him and on the one walk, she promised him a new home, if "Grandpa" (Dad) would agree. of course Dad agreed, although I don't know how much say he really did have in this, but the next day, Mom went back to the shelter and brought Pepi home and a match for the ages was made. Pepi grew with the family and has seen all of the grandkids grow over the years.
He had his own personality, as all animals do, which became a frequent topic of discussion whenever I spoke to my parents. Comparisons of his fincky eating habits were always made with his cousins; Daisy, Buster, Madison and Casey, all whom never met a snack or something edible they didn't like. Pepi was stubborn, loyal and knew exactly what he wanted. He was able to thoroughly train my parents to understand what he wanted to do, or more importantly not wanted to do.

Mom would ask him if he waned to go out to the yard...Pepi would let it be known that he would rather not.

Mom would suggest going to the park.....Pepi would practically open the car door himself:-)

The park is named "The Crossings", and is not far from them in Colonie and is a wonderful place for man or beast to walk and take in the fresh air. This was Pepis' home away from home, the place he longed to be with Mom.

Of course when Pepi and Mom weren't at the park, Pepi would always be wherever Mom and Dad were at the time and if at home, then he would be in whatever room they happened to be at that time.

If Dad was sitting in his chair by the picture window, Pepi was lying on the floor right next to him. If Mom was on the couch, Pepi was also on the couch with a part of him butted up against her.

I've noticed that with Dogs, versus Cats here.

Daisy wants to be with you and have some part of her actually touching you.

Hobie wants to be with you, but three feet away is okay with her.

Life goes on and Pepi began to show his age, little by little and then he developed a "mass" in his stomach.

The past few months saw a drop in his activities and liveliness, but never in his affection for Mom, Dad and the park. As any good pet owner would, Dad and Mom kept a watchful eye on Pepi and prepared themselves for the inevitable end. Their goal was to not let him suffer, but to give him as much time as possible to enjoy life. Thankfully for all concerned, Pepi passed on quietly in Dads bedroom, with both my parents at hand. It was an end that we should all be so lucky to have, in a place that you love, surrounded by the ones whom loved you the most.

Pepi now rests in Mom and Dads back yard.

Its a spot which the sun shines on most every day, the grass is green and air is sweet.

And the memory of Pepi lives on, as does all of the other family pets, here in Mr. Joes World.

Next post; "benvenuto Bella"

And another addition to Camp Run-A-Muk and Mr. Joes World

Thanks for reading.

My last Adirondack Adventure

2009-10-12T18:23:00.000-07:00

Hi again everyone, welcome back.
This past summer was a tough one, with my hectic work schedule and little money to do anything when I did have time. But I do have memories of summers past, especially when the boys and I would spend a week at Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. I was looking through my collection of photos and came across pictures of one morning Kayaking on Lake George, during our last trip up (2007).
In Bolton Landing, on the shores of Lake George, is the home of the Lake George Kayak Company.
They have a store located on route 9N in the heart of Bolton Landing, but their boats are on Green Island, next to the beautiful Sagamore Hotel.
I wanted to do some kind of boating on Lake George, kayaking seemed to be the simplest and cheapest way to do that, so one morning I took a ride up there to rent a kayak and get out on the water.
Now you are probably asking about my boys, Josh and Chris, and where were they.
They had no desire to go with me, having never kayaked and were in fact sound asleep back at the cabin.
Our typical morning was to get up around 8AM, go have breakfest at the breakfest restaurant where we stayed, great breakfests too I might add, and then the boys would go back to the cabin, turn on ESPN Sportscenter and fall back asleep.
I would have loved to have them with me, but I'm not one to push what I want to do on them, so I let them nap, while I experienced the lake:-)

Ready to launch....Here's a view from the boat house

A party of paddlers make their way away from the boathouse.

I would follow the same route as them and cross this channel to go under the bridge and out to the main body of the lake. I have kayaked before, but it was all on the sheltered waters of the Gunpowder River and Dundee Creek here at home. With Lake George, you are talking "Big Water" that's much deeper and larger boats.
Below here is my view of the boat house from the lake.

As I left the boat house and headed to the channel, I really enjoyed the beautiful green mountains surrounding the lake. The waters were calm and the boat moved easily through the water.
Once I got out past the bridge and into the open waters of the lake, the boat and water came alive with wave action. Now I had to concentrate on keeping the boat balanced, while watching out for the various powerboats coming to and fro.
Kayaks are more stable than a canoe (in my mind), but they still give you the feeling of going over quickly when hit by a wave, and there were lots of waves/rollers coming in on this day.

I paddled around Green Island and the Sagamore Hotel on my left, to the right and in front was the main part of the lake and the western shore of Lake George.
At times I would take a pause in paddling to sip my drink and just take in the beauty of the lake and surrounding mountains.
I thought I took photos, while out on the water, but don't see them in my computer:-(
Perhaps I was too busy trying to balance the boat to take shots.
As I went around the island, I came across one woman, reclining on her kayak, with her dog, while reading a book. I don't think Daisy would go for that.
It took me about an hour to get around the island and back to the boat house, and it was an hour well spent.
Here's a parting shot of the boat house.

When I got back to the cabin at Alpine Village Resort, the boys were out throwing a baseball around, so I was glad to see them out and about. The rest of the day was spent either in the pool or down by the beach and of course the night was left to visiting the Village of Lake George for dinner and Mini Golf.
The next day, I had the urge to get out on the water again, so I grabbed a tube and headed down to our beach and floated around the little cove we are in.
This time I had my camera ready to get some waters edge photos.
Below is from me in the tube, just off the beach at Alpine Village looking out to the lake and Tea Island.

Here's a photo of the Mini Ha Ha, as she cruised back to the Village of Lake George. I waved but don't think anyone saw me.

A closer view of the Mini Ha Ha. If you ever go to Lake George, take a one hour cruise on this boat. It's a great way to see the lake and the beautiful camps along the shore

While I was out on the water in my float tube, I came across a beautifuly colored dragonfly, that had basically gotten stuck to the water surface. I scooped it up and let it dry out on my tube while I floated around. It's wings looked like spun gold.

After awhile it took back off and then I headed back to the beach and lunch.

In the picture below, you can see the boys playing catch as I made my way back to shore.

Yep, the lazy hazy days of summer by the lake.

It doesn't get better than that.

Now days the boys and I are busier and in some ways not as connected as we were back in 2007.

Life goes on, kids grow up and life changes for all of us.

But we always have our memories of places like Lake George, Alpine Village Resort and the Lake George Kayak Company.

And the memories linger here in Mr. Joes World.

Thanks for reading.

Joe

The Camp Run-A-Muk update

2009-10-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone;

I have so many things to write about, just haven't had the time to "put fingers to keyboard" as they say nowadays.

We all know the best way to start a long journey is to put one foot ahead of the other and start walking, so here is the first step.
Camp Run-A-Muk update:

Some notes on what the boys, their girlfriends, the pets and I have been doing of late.

First off; everyone is fine and in good shape.
The place can be like Grand Central Station some times, with each of us coming and going on our own schedules. It's almost gotten to be a rare thing to have all of us at home the same time.

The one we most worried over is of course Hobie, but she seems to be recuperating and growing stronger all the time. the Vets had given her a clean bill of health and she is back to her old familiar ways now. She had us worried a few weeks ago, as you could hear her sneeze and what sounded like a cough, but maybe that was just a cold she picked up, since she isn't doing it now. I still worry about her and am keeping a watchful eye on her health.

Meanwhile her sister from another mother; Daisy is enjoying the hikes and walks we go on at the Gunpowder Falls State Park and Baltimore County Eastern Regional Park. I have to watch her food intake, as she will eat as much as I give her and more. The Vet says Daisy is overweight and so Joan (Chris and Josh's mom) has "advised me" to cut down on her intake. At least with me, Daisy gets exercise, but I know she can get really overweight if we are not careful.

At this time of year, I only have Daisy, and Christopher, on weekends.
During the week she goes home with Christopher to his moms house, where she gets very little exercise. When I do have her with me, I make the most of our time.
Here's Daisy at the Gunpowder State Park, Jerusalem Mill area.

Josh and Nicole are doing well. They have had some "ups and downs" in their relationship, but it all seems to be going well now. They are both working, Josh for a Marketing Company and Nicole for Nordstrom and as such their schedules don't always match up. Josh seems to be pretty much on his own schedule or a "work at your own pace" type of job:-) But he is working and helps me out every month with some cash to help put groceries on the table or pay bills.

Chris and Jazmine are also doing well, both are busy with school, work and sports.

Christopher is in 11th grade at Eastern Tech and Jazmine is in 12th at Mount Carmel. Chris works at Chick-Fil-A, which is a restaurant chain, specializing in southern style Chicken sandwiches. Jazmine works at "Curves" fitness spa. Chris was playing football for his third year of high school ball, but decided to concentrate on work and school instead. I didn't like him quitting but I respect his feelings and football is a sport that if you are not 100% in to it, you can get hurt. At this point in his life (16 years old) he would rather make money to save for a car.

And me?
Well besides being the chief cook and bottle washer here, I have been putting in many hours at West Marine.
This past January, my store manager went out on workmans comp, due to a knee injury suffered at work.
We all expected Tina to have an operation followed by a short recovery period and then come back. I was the Assistant Manager and so became the "Acting Manager" in her absence. Well Winter changed to Spring and the boating season took off. Things got really busy and Tina did not recuperate enough for her to come back. It fell on my shoulders to keep the herd moving north and run the store.

Here is my store during Memorial Day Weekend 2009.
We did well this past year, as a team we worked our way through a lot of challenges and kept Customer Satisfaction high.
But it didn't matter in the long run.
Things were about to change, for in July they announced that this store (Bowleys) will be closing on September 7th and a new much larger store will open next spring, in another location.

Here is my store the day it closed, September 2009. It took us just a week and a half to completely gut the store.

I am now working at another local West Marine store, just 6 miles away from here.

There is a good crew in place, they are fun to work with, but my salary, hours and "rank" have dropped to match up with their existing staff.

I will be working the upcoming Annapolis Boat Shows for West Marine, looking forward to the change in pace.

I don't know what is to become of me and a long term position at West Marine. I like the company, I love boating, but it's retail and retail is a tough job with low pay besides. The unfortunate fact is that working for West Marine does not pay all of my bills, even when I'm working 40 hours per week. I don't want to keep relying on my parents to send me money in order to help pay bills. Plus there's the fact of being in retail means I work every weekend, which means less time for not only the boys (who usually have their own weekend agendas) but for spending time with Daisy, on the trails.

So decisions will have to be made and options explored on my end.

I do still make time for wargaming and painting miniatures in the evening.

It is a great hobby that stimulates the mind, but is relaxing too. I am very lucky to have a great group of "gaming buddies" that enjoy the simple pleasure of seeing the miniature troops, tanks, ships or planes in action on the table top.

A game of "Brother Against Brother" American Civil War being played at Renaissance Games

Here is a picture of some recently painted British Regulars ready for the field of battle with the rules All The Kings Men. These stapping fellows are 54mm, which is a big difference for me, as I have painted either 10mm, 15mm or 25mm figures all of these years.

Their debut in battle will come sometime this winter.

So life goes on for myself, Josh, Nicole, Chris, Jazmine, Hobie and Daisy.

It's never dull in Mr. Joes World.

Thanks for reading.

Joe

What was lost is now found.

2009-08-08T16:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone;
We had a minor miracle, here around 10:30 pm on Friday night.
Hobie has been found!
It all started with a phone call at 10:20 pm from a man who lived in a neighborhood across from us and some streets away. He and his wife were out walking, they had seen my sign about Hobie and realized that a cat they had seen that night and the night before looked like Hobie.
He described the cat they saw and it sure sounded like Hobie, but was it really her.
I had to go and find out.
I didn't have much time, as I had to go pick up Christopher from his new job at Chick -fil -a by 11.
A short drive over to the street and I found the house of the caller. I get out and start walking along the side walk and calling Hobie.
No answer.
The man came out (Don Amend) and so I introduced myself and talked to him for a bit. I learned that he and his wife had just seen the cat they called about within the last 15 minutes.
I decided to give it another try and walk back along the sidewalk and towards my car.
A few more calls from me was finally answered by a weak "meow" back from someplace nearby one of the houses.
A few calls from me and a few answering meow cries and a black shadow detached itself from the wall of a house and came towards me and then underneath a truck in the driveway.
It looked and sounded like Hobie, so now I sat down on the driveway and talked to her.
Slowly, tentatively, she came to me and then finally, contact was made with me scratching her had and back and she rubbing against me, purring/meowing.
It was Hobie but good lord was she skinny.
Needing to get her home but not knowing if I could do it by myself I called on Josh and he came over in his car.
More sitting on someones driveway and soon she was up to him and rubbing against him.
Soon Josh had her in his lap and the decision was made for him to get in his car with he holding her while I drove. A short one minute drive and we had her in the house, safe and sound once again.
I then walked back to my car and then over to Chick-Fil-A to get Chris.
Whew; what a night!
Today, (Saturday), Josh took her to a local vets and they checked her out, gave her shots and antibiotics.
Hobie now only weighs 5 pounds and has some scratches on her, but should be good for the long run.We are taking things carefully here with Hobie.
She is still very weak and tired.
I don't think she ate much if anything for the month + 6 days she was gone.
So many things came together to bring her home, I still can't believe it.
To start with; I only put a couple of signs on that street, not really expecting Hobie to be that far in that direction.
The wonderful Amend family, who also have a Beagle, are right next to the telephone pole that has my sign and Hobie ends up practically in their yard.
The call coming to me at the right time and when I was able to react to it in a timely fashion.
My not giving up in calling for her that night and figuring it was a false alarm.
My prayers and the prayers of my family and friends.
All of these circumstances and more, combined to bring Hobie back to that familiar spot in our house.
At 6:20AM this morning, Hobie came into my bedroom and told me it was time to get up and get some breakfest.
Just like she always does.
And life goes on, a little happier now, in Mr. Joes World.
Thanks for reading.
Joe

Vanished....she is not alone

2009-08-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

Since Hobie disappeared, I started scanning my local, regional paper for Eastern Baltimore County and was struck by how many pets have gone missing in the past two weeks.
Dogs, Cats and even a grey Parrot, all are listed as lost in the paper.
One dog that was lost, right down the road is a Beagle, with the same disposition as Daisy, "friendly but timid."
Every story you read is heartbreaking and you can read the family grief in the short notices.
"Sorely missed", "Family is heartbroken", "Family is grieving".
This is a sign of what pets have become to us and what pet ownership has evolved into.
It's surely a cold comfort to me to know that I am not alone and I can only hope and pray that all lost pets will find their way home soon.
Thanks for reading;
Mr. Joe

Vanished

2009-07-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

I am heartbroken to follow up my last post back in February with the news that one of my silent partners is missing.

Hobie the cat was last seen on June 29th. As usual she was always around Daisy and I, always close by, but always keeping a "cat like" distance from the activities. She came out on the patio with Daisy and I in the evening and most likely in the night. I remember taking Daisy for a walk around 10:00 pm and then, it was bedtime. Normally, I let Daisy out one more time around 11, but I was worn out from work and so we didn't have that last time out on the patio. I can only think that if we did go out that last time, I would have found Hobie out there from the 10pm outing. She loved going out on the patio and along the edge of the lawn. She didn't like being out there with the door closed and not able to get back in, so I can only imagine her dismay when she did try to get back in.

Now Hobie has been left out before in the past ten years (3 or 4 times), but she has always been on the top of the shed or right in the yard waiting to get back in the house. The fact that she has so completely disappeared has me baffled.

I woke up Tuesday morning and almost immediately realized that my regular wake up call was not coming from Hobie. Almost every morning for the past ten years, she has been in my room when I awoke to greet me and the new day. If Daisy wasn't in bed with me, Hobie would be on top of my chest, staring intently into my face. When Daisy is around, then Hobie was along the side of my bed and meowing, so when I got up that Tuesday morning, it was strange not to have Hobie in the room, but not the first time and I fully expected to see her in the living room.

When I didn't see here downstairs, I began looking for her inside and out, and I have continued to search for her every day since.

When a pet is around you every day, you grow to expect it to be there every day, you look at certain spots in the house or the yard and expect to see that pet there doing what it has always done and I have come to realize that this is one of lifes best pleasures and comforts.

I come home from work and Hobie meets me at the door, I sit on the couch and she lays across the back of the couch right behind me, I sit at my computer here and she perches herself on the weight bench or love seat, I sit at the kitchen table to paint some miniatures and she climbs into my lap and drapes her paws over my left arm. This is what I enjoyed on a daily basis, this is what I am missing on a daily basis. I do need to add that Hobies disappearence has also caused much saddness to the boys and their girlfriends, Nicole and Jazmine.

The pleasure and comfort I got from Hobie was also shared by each of them on a daily basis.

Thankfully, I have Daisy with me for the summer. If ever there was a faithful companion, Daisy is it. Even now as I type this post, she is here with me and begging for more attention, and/or a treat. Daisy realizes that Hobie is missing and has helped me looking for Hobie, especially on the first day.

I have posted signs throughout the neighborhood, posted a notice on our community website and regularly check with my Vet and Baltimore County Shelter.

Many of my neighbors have spoken to me about Hobie and have leant me support and understanding. Many of the little kids on my block ask me about Hobie and tell me that keep looking for her. There have been several "false alarms" of Hobie sightings in the area and each one gives me a moment of hope, that she will come back to us in time.

Hope is the only thing I have right now, hope and prayers, that is.

And so, we continue our daily routines, go about living our lives and hope that one day soon, we will look at a certain place in the house and see Hobie in her typical cat pose amongst us again.

And so life goes on in Mr. Joes World.

Joe

My Silent Partners

2009-02-26T17:10:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone;
Welcome back to Mr. Joes World.

My bio on the blog states, I'm writing about the most important things in my life.

Two of the most important things in my life are also what I call my silent partners.

They are with me all the time, they keep me company, they entertain me and keep me in shape.

They are there for me through thick and thin.

Their affection and trust in me, is second to none.

What are they?

Who are they?
I'm sure you've guessed by now, it's Hobie the Cat and Daisy the Dog.

A typical pose by Hobie

Typical pose by Daisy.

Hobie came in to our lives Thanksgiving of 1998 or 1999...I'm not exactly sure at this point.

She was a stray that was missed by the SPCA when they rounded up her mother and siblings from an abandoned house, near the boys Maternal Grandmothers. Hobie was just a kitten when she followed the boys Uncle Joe and his dog Julie home, where he lived with the boys grandmother. We all went there for Thanksgiving and it was love all around at first sight and so with that, our family added a new member. I had the privelage of naming her and came up with "Hobie", which is the brandname of a catamaran sailboat I sailed up in New York.

All that was lost on you know who, but the name stuck and I can't see her being called anything else.

To say she has been a good pet is an understatement. Hobie is an indoor cat, but does go out with us in the patio or deck. She is very affectionate to people she knows, very shy to folks she doesn't know. When Nicole or Jasmine come over, or when anyone of us comes home, Hobie is right there to greet you.

Then one day, life threw a monkey wrench in to Hobies life, and for better or worse, she had herself a sister....

Dasiy answers a "roommate wanted" ad.

Ok, actually this was last April at the March for Animals around Druid Hill Park in Baltimore.

Hobie never would of placed an ad if there was any chance that a dog would answer it:-)

So...really how did we get Daisy.

Well in 2004, Christopher was really asking for a dog. Joan agreed, but believe it or not, I was the one against it.

Chris wanted either a Beagle or a Pug.

That year we went to Lake George for our family vacation and when we came back, the hunt for the right dog commenced. Not long afterwards, in fact it was in August of 2004, we came upon an ad for Beagle puppies, only $125.00, private breeder. We found out that Daisy and siblings were born on Marylands Eastern Shore, most dogs were used for hunting. But if they had extra puppies, they would sell them to us "City folk" on the Western Shore. The dogs didn't look in the best condition, but Daisy was the most attentive to us, you could tell that Chris was not about to leave without a puppy. Joan had insisted that we get a girl dog, so it looked like it was meant to be. So in August 2004, Daisy came home with us and Hobie hasn't stopped showing her who was in charge since.

Hobie enjoys the outdoors.

She can also be comfortable anywhere in the house.

Daisy has also been an outstanding pet: she is one of the most loving and calm animals you will ever meet. Always ready for a treat, walk or just to have her belly rubbed, she is very easy to please and maintain.

Daisy is the outdoors type too, especially at her favorite place, The Gunpowder Falls State Park.

But she can always get comfortable on the couch at home too.

Yep; they are quite the pair here at Camp Run-A-Muk.
Daisy is afraid of Hobie, yet fascinated by her.

Hobie is bugged by Daisy, yet....errm...tolerates her...barely.

But they do keep each other company and give all of us a good laugh on a daily basis.

And that's what life is all about here at Camp Run-A-Muk and in Mr. Joes World.

Take care., thanks for reading.

Christmas is the time for giving and it's not just me.

2008-12-28T17:02:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone;

I have always thought of myself as a "do-gooder" or a "Good Deed Doer" and have gone through life with the mantra that if you are a good person and do the right thing, especially where kids, family and animals are involved, good things will happen to you.

It hasn't always worked out that way, but I don't give up hope that no matter how bad things are now, they will get better some day. Of course if personal finance is your weakness, like it is with me, the good things in life will have a harder time finding you.

Last week, really put my mantra, as well as my finances, to the test, but I'm here to say to you all today that it does work and in unexpected ways.

What's the line from the movie Miracle on 34th street...."yes, Elizabeth, there is a Santa Claus"

And the spirit of Santa Claus, lives on in me, as well as many others, some of whom have given me a better Christmas than even I, always the optimist, expected.

"A better Christmas than expected"......I tried and think I succeeded in that with my boys and their girlfriends, this year. I also tried to give a better christmas to the woman, who was out in front of Target last Tuesday, giving out decorated candy canes for a money donation.

As I walked in to the Target at White Marsh, to pick up one video game for Josh, there was a woman out there, asking for donations to help a needy family. To anyone who gave her a dollar, she gave them a candy cane that she decorated with pipe cleaners, small bells and plastic eyes.

When I came back out, I went up to here, with a few bucks in my pocket and asked her directly, what was this for. She answered me back, just as directly, "I'll be honest with you sir, I'm trying to raise money to buy my kids christmas presents". I had already put donations of change or a buck or two in the Salvation Army kettles over the past weeks, I am struggling to get my own kids presents too, but the fact that she was out there and giving something back for your donation was something that I admired, and so I told her that I can appreciate what she is trying to do and put five dollars in her basket and took one candy cane.

So Tuesday 12/23 was my shopping day, as up until then, I didn't have the funds to do any shopping. Thanks to a check from Mom and Dad, I had enough money to get something for each kid as well as groceries to re-stock the pantry.

Things were going well, but as I gassed up my van, I started to get a nagging feeling that I had better check on my checking account. You see, I had just paid two bills on-line and meanwhile, just remembered that there were two "automatic payments" that had not gone through yet and I wasn't sure if they would go through that week or the next.

As you are probably guessing, I got home and looked at my checking account...dangerously low, those two auto deductions went through that day and the bank hadn't posted my last two bill payments.....nuts.

By the next day, my account went in the red and things were looking grim for beyond the Christmas holiday, especially because I have Christopher and Daisy for his entire Christmas vacation. But I knew that I, still had some cash left and would be getting a bit over 200 dollars from my part time job with AIM the upcoming Friday and while that would probably bring my account out of the red, there wouldn't be much left over till my next pay day which will be January 2nd.

I sat down and thought things over and realized that it was now Christmas Eve, there was nothing else that could be done till after Christmas and at least for now, it was time to enjoy the holiday with my family.

Things were dark, my future was uncertain.....but it was Christmas, and hope springs eternal.

Now for a little history lesson about terrible times and the spirit of Christmas.

You didn't think I'd let you get away without a history lesson did you?

It's December 1914, the first year of the First World War, men have been fighting and dying in the thousands and are now, starting to build trenches and face each other across a no-mans land.

Each side, British and French, versus German, vowed to wipe the other out completely.

And yet, on Christmas Eve a miracle happened that would take every General and every Politician, by suprise. Something would happen that would bring light to the darkness.

It was Christmas Eve and men on both sides, all along the Western Front, sat down in their trenches to share a meal and a drink or to sing a song and write to their homes and loved ones.

All along the German lines, small christmas trees with candles, were set up along the tops of trenches, songs like Silent Night, were sung and then answered back by British troops, who perhaps emboldened by the Christmas Trees, made overtures of a temporary truce to the Germans across the way.

One soldier walked out in to No-mans land, another soldier came from the other side and met him halfway. Soon, more came out from the trenches, tobbacco was swapped with chocolate.

Below is a drawing made by an English soldier during the truce.

A little farther down the line, French soldiers, Germany's most implacable foe, walked out into no-mans land and swapped French wine for German Sausage, photos of wives and sweethearts were passed around, German, Scot and French soldiers sat around fires drinking coffee and singing Christmas songs and at midnight, a Scottish Chaplin held Mass for soldiers from all sides, right in the center of no-mans land.

The truce didn't end then either, for with the dawning of Christmas Day, came more fellowship between the men, whom just days before were trying to kill the other. Soccer games took place there in no-mans land, addresses were traded so that men might be able to meet with each other when the war ended. Below is a photo taken on Christmas Day, of German and British soldiers gathered together.

The story of this Christam Truce would grow and survive all those Generals and Politicians who asked for a pushed for the war. It showed that no matter how bad things can be, there should always be hope in the goodness of your fellow man and the magic of the holiday.

Now I don't consider myself to be a religious person, but I've always been struck by one thing in this story....

Each side in the war, said, "God is with us" or "God is on our side", but I think during the 1914 Christmas Truce, god showed that he was on Humanities side.

Now how about a little Christmas magic for me...lol

Christmas day 2008, has us up in Delaware spending the day with my sister Ginas' family.

They live a little over an hour from us, so we spend a part of each holiday together.

Since my birthday was just a few days before, Gina and John gave me a birthday card and enclosed in the card was my age in cash, with a note for me "to spend on yourself".

Now Gina and I have exchanged birthday cards for many years, as both of our birthdays are in December (22nd and 29th), but the last few years, we haven't exchanged gifts. So this was a nice and most welcome suprise.

Christmas night, the boys, their girlfriends Nicole and Jasmine are all back at the house for our family gift giving. All four kids were happy to have some gifts from me to unwrap, even if it was just a gift card to Target or Subway:-).
Josh and Nicole gave me some very nice gifts as well as a Target gift card for $50.00.

Then I opened yet another Christmas card from my Mom and Dad (the 3rd one actually) and there was a $40.00 gift card for Wal-Mart.

Wow...I know knew, that I would have enough to keep the household pantry and laundry room, plus cat and dog food supplied for the next couple of weeks.

To go back a few days to my birthday, on Sunday night, I got a gift card from Chris and Jasmine for Borders Books, this was perfect because there was one book there that I had been wanting to get for a few months now, and with this gift card, I could do it.

The very next day, 12/22, I received as a birthday gift that exact book, from one of my closest friends, Dick Caldwell.

Dick is a wargamer like me and natually, knows what type of book would catch my eye.

Of course, there is always another book, that catches my eye at Borders, so the gift card will still come in handy.

And finally there was an even greater surprise waiting for me in my mail box when I got home from work Saturday evening and that brings us all the way back to the image of Santa's cap and "Merry Christmas" at the top of this long post.

In a simple white envelope, with no return address, except for an Albany, NY post mark, came another bright light of goodness to me.

Inside the envelope was a single sheet of white paper with the image you see on the top and a Merry Christmas just below, there was no signature or anything else to reveal to me, the name or identity of the sender.

Along with that note of Christmas wishes was a Postal Money Order for $100.00.

To you who sent this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

In this economy and with tough times all around, this money order, as well as all the other gifts I have received since last Sunday 12/22 from Friends and Family have been a godsend.

Just as the soliders gained strength and hope during that Christmas Truce of 1914, I have done the same here and now thanks to all of you.

Below is a picture of my boys and Ginas boys, plus the girlfriends of Josh, Jonathan and Christopher. Taken at Gina's house on Christmas Day.

From left to right: Jasmine, Christopher, Nicole, Josh, Matty, Jonathan and Kara.
A great group of kids, and all are key parts of Mr. Joes World.

Thanks;
Joe

Christmas at Camp Run-A-Muk

2008-12-19T16:37:00.000-08:00

Well hello everyone and welcome back to Mr. Joes World. Merry Christmas to all of you.

It's been a very tough year for me and the boys and it started off pretty close to the start of the year when I was laid off by GET Marketing on January 29th. The job market is not good, especially for a 50+ year old guy (that's me by the way) and the many, many jobs I did apply for seemed to vanish in thin air. Thankfully I had Unemployment Insurance and even more thankfully, I have a strong family that continually supported me with financial and moral support.

Back in May, I stopped by a local Boating supply retail store, aka West Marine and secured a part time position at $9.00 per hour with them. This job has been a "god send" as it is about a half mile from the house, had a great group of people to work with and allowed me to talk to customers and help customers out with all of their boating needs.

Now some of you may not know this, but I have a good bit of boating experience, having sailed since 1988 and raced on a 35 foot boat from 1994 to 1999.

I do have to say, that I have learned more about boating while working for West Marine, than I ever did out on the water.

I also picked up a part time job with a company called AIM (Alternative and Innovative Marketing) representing the Sony Digital Reader on weekends, starting in October.

This past month, I have been promoted to Assistant Store Manager with West Marine and that also includes a nice raise to $15.00 per hour and more hours.

So between the two jobs and the Bank of Dad and Mom, I've been able to keep the house and keep the pantry from being completely bare over this past year.

My Brothers and sister have been a constant source of support, with my brother Jim sending me money at two key times this year and with out me even asking for it.

That's the strength of family.

Since coming down here in 1993, and especially since I really got into a great group of guys through Miniature Wargaming, I have made very good friends whom have also given me their support and advice during this tough time in my life. Their friendship and camaraderie have carried me through many rough stretches this year.

Now the images you have been looking at are all from my home today, a place I fondly call; Camp Run-A-Muk.

Why am I posting pictures of my tree and decorations?

To show anyone who is interested enough to still be reading that......

I believe, that no matter what comes at me in life, my family, my friends and my pets are better served by me being thankful for what I have and enjoying the season and life in every way possible.

There will not be many gifts this year, but there will be a good feeling in the air at Camp Run-A-Muk and the holidays will be cheerie and bright, as the song goes.

Whether it's having dinner here with the kids, walking Daisy or playing an evening of a miniatures game with my friends, I will be happy.

And I'll do all of the above this week.

So enjoy your holidays with family and friends, be thankful for the simple pleasures in life and remember loved ones and friends, who are no longer here with us, but are still in our hearts.

From the whole gang at Camp Run-A-Muk and our part of Mr. Joes World, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Mr. Joe, Josh, Nicole, Christopher, Jasmine, Hobie and Daisy

My "Book of Days"

2008-11-07T17:57:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, where I work, (West Marine-Boating supply store), we received in our 2009 Calendars and even Christmas cards. Yes, they are pushing the season along.
One of the items we got in was a "Mariners Book of Days". It's kind of like a combination- Day Planner, Almanac and lots of nautical history and trivia information, that us old salts like to read about.
There is something about the term..."Book of Days" that I always liked, kind of sounds biblical and historical at the same time. I imagine a Book of Days, would be a good record of your life, something that would prompt old memories or thoughts of important events in ones life.
Maybe it would be a large leather bound volume, with many parchment like pages, that you could leaf through and have those days of yesteryear come streaming back to you like a rerun.

Or it could be something as pedestrian as in my case, when I received my brand new Baltimore County recycling/trash collection schedule.
One weekday morning, sitting at the kitchen table, with a cup of coffee, before I went in to work, I looked at my old Baltimore County Collection, dating back to the end of 2004. I started looking over the various dates and months and years, remembering certain events that happened in that month or this year. Then it dawned on me.....this was to be my "Book of Days"

There it started in the year 2004; Joan, I and the boys took our first family vacation at Lake George, staying at the Alpine Village resort. A place that we all loved and the boys and I would visit two more times. Later we brought our Beagle, Daisy home as a puppy. In December of 2004, I was told that I would be laid off from my job with Panasonic, a company I had worked for 12 years and loved being a part of.

Later on in the months and days of 2005, I see my last day with Panasonic and my first day with GET Marketing. Here before me were the nights I was a business traveler in New England, Virgina or North Carolina, as well as the nights I was a dad/fan on the football field for Chris and the Overlea Orangemen or at the basketball court for Josh and Eastern Tech Mavericks.

Later in November 2005; Joan tells me she is leaving.

Looking a little further on, into 2006 and I have February-Super Bowl Sunday, Joan moves out completely, yet the boys spend the night with me, so we can watch the Super Bowl and have some of their friends over.

July 2006 and the boys and I spend a week at Lake George, I remember our Horseback riding excursion that year. Where a great trail guide-College student from North Carolina and two horses-Duke and Bucky, won the boys over and showed them that there are new adventures to try in life and going horseback riding is not "Gay" as the boys wondered before it was our turn to mount up and ride.

2006 Thanksgiving; was at Gina's with Dad, Mom, Greg and his family all in attendance.

2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008...the past 4 years of my life were playing themselves out right on these non-parchment looking pages.

I remembered great trips I took for work (yes...work) out to Chicago, or up to Newport, Rhode Island or down to Virginia Beach, or Charleston, SC and even to Puerto Rico.

Welcoming in 2007 was a party here for Christopher and his friends Donny, Tommy and Alex.

I can still recall the layer of confetti and streamers all over my deck.

Josh had his Senior Prom and then graduated from E.T. High School in 2007, I can picture those days and events.
July 2007 was another week spent at Lake George and this time it was a climb up Prospect Mountain, that while it was a killer for me, it was an adventure and a feat, the boys and I accomplished together.

Later on as the year rolls by, I remember....

My first time preparing an entire Thanksgiving dinner for Josh, Chris and Josh's girfriend Nicole came in November 2007.

Christmas dinner was at Gina's for all her family and my family.

Walks with Daisy along the Gunpowder River or the Eastern Regional Park.

Then comes a bad layoff for me in January 2008 and months of frustration searching for work and anxiety for losing everything I owned.

But what also comes is my rescue in the shape of Dad and Mom, plus West Marine.

Oh and don't forget the Unemployment insurance and then another part time job for Sony.

As I put this modern book of days down and finished my coffee, a few things about my life came to light.

I have had a string of events, good and bad, high and low, that would pass for a plot line on a Soap Opera, and.....I sure am consistant in recycling and marking off those weeks.

No matter what happened in my life, that week, month or year...I always made sure the recycling made it out to the curb and I recorded it all here in my "Book of Days"

Many thanks to the Baltimore County Department of Public Works.

And that's how life goes in Mr. Joes World.

Joe

3 days at Gettysburg part 3

2008-09-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone; Sorry for the long hiatus from posting here.
Now it's time to talk about our "Ghost Tour" at Gettysburg.

On Saturday night, we all went on a tour with the "Ghosts of Gettysburg, Candlelight Walking Tours". I think we were expecting something out of the TV show, "Ghost Hunters", walking through old houses and woods in the dead of night. What we got was a much different experience, but a satisfying one at that.

We met up with our guide and about 15 other people in the parking lot of a hotel bar, around 7PM. Of course in mid-summer, it was still very much light out, the guide was dressed in period garb and carrying a lantern. The temps were in the high 80s, low 90s, so we were sweating just looking at him, but he set the mood, by starting off with a few stories about the National Cemetery near by. Here's two of the stories, as best as I recall them, On Cemetery Ridge, a Union soldier was standing next to a cannon. when a Confederate cannon ball hit him and took one of his arms off cleanly. The soldier was taken to the hospital tent, minus his arm, but he soon died from loss of blood. The Yankee soldier was buried at the National Cemetery, and what happened to his arm no one knows, but ever since then, a ghostly figure has been seen walking around the grounds, obviously looking for something on the ground in one small area. According to historians, that area was where his own gun was located when he was hit.

Another story is about a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, who died at Gettysburg.

The Gettysburg National Cemetery can be seen right from the main roads, as can many of the tombstones, belonging to soldiers who died at Gettysburg. One grave site had been the haunting spot of a Union officer, whom had been seen by many witnesses, to be standing in front of his grave site and slowly shaking his head. The caretaker did some investigating and found that the person buried there had been awarded (posthumously), the Congressional Medal of Honor, for his actions during the battle. A look at the grave stone revealed that there was no indication, that this man won the Medal of Honor. Shortly thereafter, the plaque was attached to the stone and the hauntings stopped all together .

Our tour took us through a part of the town and to the edge of the battlefield, where Picketts charge took place. As we walked, our guide would stop and tell us another story about the buildings in the area and other sightings made. We found out that the office of Ghosts of Gettysburg Candlelight Walking Tours, was a house that stood during the battle and was the used by Confederate soldiers during the battle. Of course many of the buildings were used as "Aid Stations" by both sides, lives passed in many homes.

Here's a story that happened to one of their own staff after hours in the office:
It was known or speculated by the staff of Ghosts of Gettysburg tours, that some southern soldiers still inhabited their building. They were never seen, but things were moved, noises were heard by the staff, that led them to believe, that someone still occupied the house.

One night, as one of the staff members closed up shop and turned out the lights, she remembered that she had left something behind in the office and so with a quick turn around, unlocked the door and walked into the reception area, which is in front of the building, and jumped with fright as a young confederate soldier walked into the same area from a back room. He was just as suprised as she, because he stepped back and said, "Who goes there?!"

The staff member quickly apologized and went back out the door to the street, her heart pounding in her ears.

Can ghosts really interact like this with us?

Maybe some of the time they can.

What I have read on the subject of ghosts and what Nicole had read and heard, state that some times, those who have passed away, still think they are alive and in their present situation (July 1863), in their present time and occasionally their "present time" mixes with our "present time" and you have interactions like this where the soldier thinks he is still in this house (his position) doing his duty and it's July 1863, when all of a sudden, appearing from nowhere is a person, not from his time.

So these are the stories our guide related to this as we walked toward the Gettysburg Battlefield proper. The sun was finally getting lower in the sky, evening was coming on. The photo to the right was taken about 7:40PM and is looking towards the Confederate lines along Seminary ridge. Here's some more stories, the first one relates to Union General John Reynolds, who was killed on the first day. In my earlier blogs, you saw a photo of us standing in front of the marker, on the battlefield where he fell.

The day that General Reynolds died, a messenger went to his wife and family, telling them the tragic news and ensuring them that his body would be held in honor at Gettysburg, until the wife came to pick him up. Now General Reynolds was a tall man and unfortunately no coffin could be found to fit him, so the end where his feet would be was opened so he could be laid in there, albeit with his feet sticking out. John Reynolds was laying in state in a small house in Gettysburg, a place that now allows tourists to have their picture taken in period clothing, and each day a women, dressed in black, would sit near his coffin. Fast forward to the present day, a family from out of town, gets to Gettysburg late at night and after dinner decides to walk around the town. Coming upon one small building, they look in a window and see an empty front room, but also a back room, with a coffin in the middle of the room, a corpse, whose feet are sticking out of the coffin and a women dressed in black, who gets up, walks around the casket once and sits back down. The tourists, think this is a strange, bizzare tourist display and especially as they were seeing it late at night, when everything was closed. The next day they go back to the building and ask about the scene. The front room that looked bare when they saw it at night, was furnished with everything a studio would need and the back room was closed off by a curtain. The owner of the studio promised them that there was no display the night before or since 1863, even showing them the back costume room behind the curtain. The owner then described what took place with the body of General Reynolds in that building back in 1863 and it matched exactly what the tourists had seen the night before.

To the right is our guide, doing a good job holding everyones attention as he points out some landmarks on the battlefield. That's Josh leaning against the telephone pole, with Matty, Jonathan and Christopher in front and Nicole on the far end, sitting on the curb. Near this spot, is a house that had the unfortunate distinction of being built on a site where they found numerous arm and leg bones buried. Even to this day, the homeowner has a deodorizer going in one closet, that from time to time will smell like decaying flesh.

Other than that the house is a dream:-)

To the right is looking at the Union positions along Cemetery Ridge and what was the Center of the Union line. This was the focus of General Robert E. Lees attack on the third day, what is now called Picketts Charge. Thousands of men, died on this battlefield in one day, many more died days, weeks and months later, from wounds suffered during this one part of the battle. No wonder it's haunted. Our guide was great and gave us a lot of tips on ways to sense that spirits are walking among us at Gettysburg. The smell of tobacco or cigar, when no one is smoking near you, the sudden feeling of cold or chill, as you walk along the battlefield, the sound of cannons in the distance. These are all reported at Gettysburg, by regular people who live there or are just there for a visit.

Early the next morning, Josh, Nicole and I took a ride to this battlefield, just as the sun was coming up. Jonathan was supposed to come with us, but he never answered our calls and Chris said there was no way he would get up at 5:00 AM to go find ghosts.

Here's some photos from the early morning hours, along the Emmitsburg Road.

Along Emmitsburg Road, the morning of July 20th Sunday. Through this area came over 12,000 of the souths finest soldiers from the Army of Northern Virginia and into the guns of the Union Army of the Potomac.This is looking towards the southern lines, where the 12,000 soldiers came out of the woods. It's been said, that visitors to this area have seen images of these same soldiers walking through the early morning mist.

Looking from the Emmitsburg Road, toward the Union lines. The trees were a landmark the south was aiming for. We saw no ghosts, we only heard the birds and a cow waking up, but you felt something just being there in the dawn.

This last picture is looking down the Emmitsburg Pike, the early morning dew stiff can be seen on the fence rails. Rails like this lined the same road and became a killing ground as Confederate soldiers stacked up trying to get over and through the rails. Now this picture has another part to it, that maybe, just maybe have something of the supernatual to it. If you can view this picture in a larger format and look to the left of the trees in the center left, there looks to me a human figure in the middle of the mist.

It could be and probably is a small tree, but I have looked closer and it does have a human shape to it. Could it be a soldier from North Carolina or Virginia, still making that long walk towards the Union Center, or is it a tree or bush...we'll never know till I go back there again.

A final note about our guide and what a small world it is. Nicole and Matt stayed right with him and they got some more in-depth stories from him than we did. The small world part of the story is that he lived just a few miles from where we live and he knew of my kids High School (Eastern Tech) and I think even taught there years ago.

Now, I have told you some ghost stories and gave you a better taste of the area, but I think I should give you one documented Ghost picture, even if it wasn't taken by me.

The photo to the left was taken by tourists like us, who visited the part of the battlefield named "The Devils Den". This was the scene of ferocious combat among rocks and boulders on the second day of the battle. A couple of "Ghost Hunters" visited Devils Den one summer night, took many photos of the area. But didn't see anything until they were leaving.

This photo was taken from their car, as they started to drive away. They were positive that there was nobody else around and when they stopped to check out the person standing by the road, they could not find anyone, yet this picture clearly shows someone, clad in grey, standing there watching them leave.

Is it a long lost soldier from the Army of Northern Virginia, was he in our time or were the Ghost Hunters in his, and does the war still go on for him at Gettysburg.

Thanks for reading;

Mr. Joe

Three days at Gettysburg part two

2008-07-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hi again everyone; When I last posted the group was heading back to the hotel for some R&R.

Actually; my sister Gina had studying to do, the kids went swimming, while John and I went back to the battlefield and took a whirlwind tour of the rest of the stops. Here now are photos from the battlefield stops we made.

North Carolina Memorial, looking across the battlefield to the Union lines.

North Carolina had a large number of soldiers at this battle and their units were in the thick of the fighting, suffering thousands of casualties. The field in this photo is the scene of Picketts Charge. You can see the white Union monuments across the field.

Bronze soldiers from North Carolina perpetually look and point towards their destination.

A short distance away, along Seminary Ridge is the Virginia Memorial.

This amazing structure can be clearly seen from the Union/Northern side about a mile away.General Lee sits on top his horse, Traveler, looking out on the fields he committed over 12,000 men to cross on the third day (July 3rd 1863).

The soldiers below represent the different trades and civilian status that soldiers of Virginia represented in the way. Merchant, Farmer, Teacher, Tradesman.

A Confederate Encampment, in the woods near where thousands of other Confederate Soldiers "camped" out in July of 1863.

The new statue of General James Longstreet.

After Stonewall Jackson died, Longstreet became Lee's top commander. However they had a difference of opinion on how this battle was fought.

Three days at Gettysburg, 2008 style

2008-07-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone; It's been a long time since I posted anything of note here, but a family trip to Gettysburg is plenty of reason now.

On July 18, 19 and 20th my boys (Josh 19 years old and Chris 15) and I, plus Josh's girlfriend, Nicole took a weekend trip to Gettysburg. We were joined by my sister Gina and her husband John and her two sons (Jonathan 16 yrs old and Matt, 13). I had been to Gettysburg twice before but years ago. Nobody else in our group had ever been there, so it was a real trip of discovery.

To be honest, the draw to the kids for this visit was two Ghost Tours we went on Friday and Saturday night. What they also learned was that a battle of immense proportions was fought here, highlighted by acts of bravery and heroics in conditions the kids would never want to face, as well as immense tragedy and loss. And it's only an hour and a half from here.

Major General Joshua Chamberlain says it best in the photo up above. This was taken by Nicole at the Gettysburg Visitors Center. I'll write out below, what is written in the first photo, it's almost like he knew we were coming and "ghost hunting" as well as touring the battlefield was on our itinerary.

"In great deeds something abides. On great fields something stays;

Forms change and pass, bodies disappear, but spirits linger.....

And reverent men and women from afar, and generations that...we know not of.....(are) drawn to see where...great things were suffered and done for them..."

A great place to start any visit to the battlefield, that had the kids amazed at how many people were there. "Yes kids, Mr. Joe is not the only history buff in the world":-)

Actually, lets back up to Friday night, when we got there.

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, right on Route 30 and just minutes from downtown

All the modern amenities as well as an indoor pool and jacuzzi. We made sure the 5 kids had time to enjoy that.

On Friday night, we went on a Ghost Tour train ride, along the edge of the battlefield and to an old engine house, that has been the site of paranormal activity. It was a nice, but pricey trip.

Below is the engine and a bit of the passenger cars. There was full narration by the guide as we rolled along, lots of good stories about the battle and paranormal activity.

The train pulled into the engine house and a CD was played featuring Ghost Hunter and Author; Mark Nesbitt. On the CD were tracks that featured ghostly answers to his questions.

On this tour, Josh and Nicole did not join us, as Josh had to work till 5pm and wouldn't be getting to G-Burg until 8PM. The photos below are of the train station (circa 1880s), Chris and Jonathan checking text messages or photos on a cell phone and a bit of the countryside as we rolled through it. This farm was used as a hospital during the battle.

But when we got back to the station we called Josh and he and Nicole met us for dinner. Earlier, before the train ride, the six of us walked around the heart of Gettysburg, visited a few shops and got our bearings. Gettysburg is a great small city, that's very clean, very friendly and with plenty of shopping and restaurants.

Dinner was right downtown at a place called "The Pub" and was a welcome break to the chain restaurants we normally go to. We took up two tables, with the four boys at one table and Nicole sitting with John, Gina and I. One glance at the boys table, shows another reason why we came here, the boys have such a great time together, they are always all smiles when they're together.

On Saturday, we all went to the Gettysburg Battlefield, starting with the brand new Visitors Center.

The Visitors Center is very large and very well done. We spent about an hour in there, including watching a 15 minute movie narrated by Morgan Freeman. It was well done, fast paced and kept the kids attention, while at the same time setting the framework for our tour of the actual battlefield.

Pictured below is the visitors center, and displays inside of it. Everywhere you looked there was something to see and many stirring stories of what it was like for soldiers and civilians in that battle. For the kids, this was a chance to see actual items used in the battle and found on the battlefield. Seeing an actual flag that flew in 1863 for a Union or Confederate regiment is a great history lesson.

After the visitors center we caravaned along the park roads, Gina, John and their boys in their jeep and me and my crew in the van. There are over 15 stopping points in the park, plus many more areas to pull over and look at a monument or statue.

Speaking of monuments, the shear number of them, placed by individual regiments or units or states involved is amazing. And many of them were erected in the 1880s or early 1900s, which also amazed the kids. I imagine the kids think that life was rustic and people lived in log cabins up until the 1970s. Just today (July 28th) Nicole mentioned how much she liked the various statues and the craftsmanship put into them and how good they looked for being made so long ago.

The picture below is of the 5 kids in front of the spot where Union General John Reynolds was fatally shot, while directing his troops on the first day of battle.

In the back row, from left to right, you have Christopher, Josh and Jonathan and in front you have Nicole and Matt. The second photo is myself, Josh and Chris. The parts of the battlefield we toured that Saturday morning/ mid-afternoon was the scene of the first days fighting. Pictured below are some of the sites along the tour road.
First photo is a monument erected by veterans of a Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment.

Second photo is one of two observation towers, gave us a great birdseye view of the surrounding area.Third photo here is looking down at some of the numerous monuments to regiments and other units, that fought in this part of the battle. The monuments are overwhelmingly Union, since it was a Union victory on Northern soil. But at the end of the first day that victory was the farthest thing from the yankees mind.

By 2:00 pm, we were all getting hot and hungry, so we decided to take a break and get some lunch down in Gettysburg and then head back to the hotel so the kids could get some pool time in.
Later that night, we were due for a ghost tour put on my "Ghosts of Gettysburg, Candlelight Walking Tours"

I think I'll post this for now and come back in a day or two with the next chapter of our story.

Mr. Joe

Battle of Santiago in 1/1000 scale part 2

2008-04-28T17:55:00.001-07:00

In my last post, I related about the actual battle of Santiago and our recreation on the tabletop, using 1/1000 scale Houstons Ships and the Age of Iron rules, Age of the Dreadnought, Armored Ships come of Age. There were three players and myself as the GM. None of us had played these rules before, but we are all experienced gamers. By turn 3 or 4, everyone knew what they had to do, what modifires they needed on dice rolls and where to look in the rule book. I had laminated the QRF chart that comes with it, and promptly left it buried under a bunch of papers, where it was no use to anyone.

Les Mansir (Adm. Cervera) was quickly learning that his primary guns were really no use against the American Battleships and had to wait for the range to close up. Meanwhile, the hits were starting to mount up as the American gunners found the range.
The Spanish Squadron steams out of Santiago Harbor and into to waiting arms of the Americans.

As happened in the real battle, the American commanders did not know which direction the Spanish would go when they came out. I tasked Les with generally following the route taken in 1898 by the Spanish. All movement and range was measured in centimeters, due to the large size of the ships and the large (but not large enough) table. We played on an 8' x 6' table.

In the pictures below, we first have the Vixen leading the Gloucester in to the battle.

Here is an original photo of the Armed Yacht Gloucester. She engaged both the Pluton and Furor in a furious gun duel, all the while getting caught by tall columns of shell splashes from the American Battleships.The American noose tightens, as the Spanish ships make a turn to starboard upon exiting the harbor entrance. As the range closed, the negative modifiers started changing to positive modifires and that meant trouble for the Spanish ships. By turn 6, the Cristobal Colon had some major damage and Critical Damage, which effected it's speed and turning ability. The Viscaya had also been hit.

The small ships mill about and we had a real melee. Here the Vixen and Gloucester pierce the line and intercept the Pluton and Furor, while the Brooklyn and Almirante Oquendo trade broadsides.

By turn 8, the Furor was sunk by the combined gunfire of the Armored Cruiser USS New York and the Armed Yacht Vixen. Here's an 1898 illustration of the TBD Furor being pursued.

The Booklyn pierces the Spanish line.

While the Infanta Maria Teresa puts some water between her and the Americans.

The grey pile of debris you see in the above photo is to simulate a reef, that is another obstacle to the Spanish and forces them to turn to port a bit for open water. Meanwhile I instructed Admiral Sampson (Dick Caldwell) that the Indiana had developed engine trouble and her max speed would be 10 knots instead of 15.

In the photos below, you can see how close the action was for the rest of the Spanish ships.

The BB Texas even sunk the TBD Pluton by Torpedo attack and some excellent dice rolls by Indy.

In this photo the New York nearly runs over the tiny Vixen, while the Pluton is last seen trying to get a Torpedo shot on the Texas.

"Torpedo markers are in the Water" A burning Cristobal Colon tries to keep station while the Viscaya gets a short ranged torpedo attack by the Brooklyn and the trailing Oquendo gets the "Measuring Fingers of Doom" by Commodore Schley (Indy) as he estimates the range from the Texas to the Almirante Oquendo.

The Oquendo would be sunk by gunfire from the Texas and New York on Turn 10. By the last few turns of the game 8-10, Les was so busy marking damage to his ships stat sheets that he could barely think of firing his own guns. In the rules, as a ship takes hull damage, it starts loosing speed, weaponry and turning ability.

The end came as the Infanta Maria Teresa steamed off the table and into "Game" history.

I had one more test up my sleeve for the Americans as they congratulated themselves on a wonderful victory. As happened in the real battle, an alarm went out that a Spanish Battleship was seen approaching. The USS Brooklyn hurried over to investigate and make ready for further combat. The ship was a warship and the flag had the unmistakable red bars on the flag.

I quickly quizzed Admiral Sampson and Commodore Schley as to what this ship could be. I had no miniature to put out, so I described the scene for the Americans. Adm Sampson (Dick Caldwell) quicky deduced that the flag was the red and white flag of Austria and not the red and yellow flag of Spain. Then I described the signal flags flying from my mystery ship stating "This is an Austrian Ship, Please do not fire". The Austrian ship was looking for a place to spend the night and thought Santiago looked like a good port on the charts. In real life, the Americans asked them to anchor 20 miles out to sea, but the Austrians went out 40 miles, to be sure there was no more confusion. Amazingly enough the Austrian ship was named the Maria Theresa too.

Here's a photo of that very ship. "SMS Kaisein und Konigin Maria Theresa"

In wrapping this up, I want to first say how much fun this project was to do. Doing the research of this battle and naval combat of the time, coming up with ideas for the ship status sheets, getting photos of the actual ships, all are part of the fun for me.

We play 15mm WWII every Monday night at The Arena and every Wednesday night at Renaissance Games, after a while it becomes a blur, but preparing a game like this, for a different era and type of combat, and being the GM (Game Master) was a whole new thing for me. I enjoyed this game as much as the three players did. Speaking of the 3 players; having three good friends who enjoy this as much as I do, really made for a great game.

And now, after hosting this game, both Les and Dick want to have their own fleets of 1/1000 scale ships, which means that all of these ships will be on the table top again in the near future.
Right where they belong.
Good Gaming;
Mr. Joe

The naval battle of Santiago Cuba 1898 in 1/1000 scale

2008-04-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

During the Spanish American War of 1898, there came a time when the U.S. forces were besieging the Cuban city of Santiago by land and at sea. A Spanish Squadron under the command of Admiral Cervera was anchored in the Santiago harbor. Admiral Cervera was ordered by Spain to make a breakout attempt as soon as possible, lest the four Armored Cruisers and two Torpedo Boat Destroyers were captured by the Americans. The Admiral knew a powerful American force of several Battleships and Armored Cruisers awaited him. He also knew that it was almost suicide to try. But in 1898, Honor and Dignity, held special meaning to the combatants and Admiral Cervera would do what could be done to save his fleet.
On a Sunday morning, July 3rd 1898, the Spanish Squadron consisting of Armored Cruisers: Infanta Maria Teresa, Cristobal Colon, Viscaya and Almirante Oquendo, along with Torpedo Boat Destroyers Pluton and Furor, steamed out of the Santiago Harbor and into the guns of the American fleet.
The Americans had four battleships (Oregon, Iowa, Indiana and Texas) present, as well as two Amored Cruisers (New York and Brooklyn) and two Armed Yachts, Gloucester and Vixen.

The American Navy had been humiliated by the destruction of the battleship Maine in Havana harbour, which we now know was accidental. They did not know it then and all blame landed on Spain. the American Navy was out for Spanish blood and to show the world and US population that they were ready for the world stage.

On April 21st 2008, I and a few friends attempted to recreate this battle using 1/1000 scale ships. The rules are from the Age of Iron ruleset and titled Age of the Dreadnought.
The ships are "Houston Ships" brand.
We played at The Arena game store in Eldersburg, the following photos will tell the story of our battle off the shores of Cuba.
The American ships lie in wait off the harbor entrance. In the foregrouund is the Armored Cruiser Brooklyn, followed by the older Battleship Texas and then the Iowa, Oregon and Indiana (not sure which of the three last ships is which at this point).

In the next picture, the Spanish Squadron led by the Flagship, Infanta Maria Teresa steam out of Santiago harbor, flags proudly flying, all hands at their stations

If you notice the fort on the hill, overlooking the entrance to Santiago harbor, that came from a visit by me to the life size version in Old San Juan Puerto Rico in April 2006. The name of the fort is Il Moro and it's a great place to visit. Being a wargamer, I just had to buy that miniature fort for future use and so it came to be.
A closer view of the fort as the Almirante Oquendo and two torpdeo boats sail by.

Pictures by Indy and myself.

Spanish Admiral Cervera gave a moving speech to his crews, before they went on their final cruise. I am including a copy of it here.
"Crewmen of my Squadron!
"The solemn moment of fighting has come. The sacred name of Spain and the glorious honor of her flag so demands. I want you to assist me in this rendezvous with the enemy dressed in our full-dress uniforms.
"I know my order has surprised you because of its inadequacy but its the uniform which Spanish sailors dress in the great solemnities and I do not believe that there is a more solemn time that that when a soldier is going to die for his fatherland.
"The enemy covets our old and glorious hulls. They have sent the whole power of their young navy against us so as to achieve this goal, but they will be only able to take the splinters of our ships, and they will only be able to take our sabers from us when, as corpses, we remain floating in this waters which belonged and belongs to Spain. My sons, the enemy is superior to us in strength but they are not in courage. Hoist the flag and surrender no ship. Crewmen of my squadron, up with Spain! "
Lets take a minute to meet our modern day commanders.
Our Admiral Sampson (Overall American fleet commander) was Dick Caldwell.
Mark Kochte (Indy) was Commodore Schley. The following picture shows them each studying up on their ships capabilities. Indy is the one wearing the black vest.Admiral Cervera was Les Mansir; here's a photo of Les, going over his ship stats.

As the Spanish ships come out, the lead ship Infanta Maria Teresa, fires it's forward main gun at the American ships. Golf tees serve as shell splashes. (a great idea by Dick Caldwell) The Spanish Armored Cruisers main armament consisted of a single turret fore and aft with a single 11" gun.

The Americans respond in kind with a few more shell splashes. 12" and 13" guns on the Battleships, 8" main guns on the Cruisers.

I do want to take this time to thank two internet sites, that really had great information.

The first was at http://www.spanamwar.com/

This site has all the info about this battle and the rest of the Spanish American War, you could want. I recommend it highly.

Another site is a wargaming site and where I was able to ask questions and get feedback from fellow gamers world wide, when putting this together; http://www.theminiaturespage.com/

I made the Ships Stat sheets in Power Point, with ideas from the Space Combat game "Full Thrust" and Indy. Each Ship Status sheet had the Game stats, plus real stats of a ship, plus an actual photo of that particular ship. Here are photos of the USS New York (on the left) and Spanish Armored Cruiser Viscaya (on the right) as an example.

Besides recreating the battle, I also slipped in some real issues faced by the commanders at the time. In 1898, the Americans were not exactly ready for a Spanish breakout at that time and so many of their ships had to build up steam first, and then speed. In game terms, I made the American ships have to go a couple of turns before they could be at full speed. Also, Admiral Sampson and the Cruiser New York were some miles away from the mouth of Santiago harbor when the Spanish came out. I placed the miniature New York off the table to the American right and it would be several turns before that ship could get there, so Dick was temporarily a Captain of an American battleship and taking Squadron Commands from Commodore Schley (Indy).

Another even that took place, in the very early stages of the American pursuit of the Spanish back in 1898 was that the Brooklyn, with Commdore Schley on the bridge, turned to Starboard instead of Port and this nearly caused a collision between the Brooklyn and Texas. I tasked Indy with making that happen in 1/1000 scale. The picture below shows the "Turn Template" of the Brooklyn seemingly aiming at the Texas.

Indy's a good helmsman and the two ships just missed each other. In real life, the Texas had to do an emergency reverse to avoid a collision. On the bridge of the Brooklyn, when the crew said to Commodore Schley, "Sir, watch out for the Texas", Schley (his blood was up) "Damn the Texas, let her watch out for herself."
The Infanta Maria Teresa takes the first hit, as the rest of the Spanish Squadron comes out to the open sea.

Looking a bit closer at some of the ships; Here's the Brooklyn, which unfortunately came to me in 2004/2005 without it's main gun turrets. Someday I'll get around to contacting the manufacturer and getting them.
Here's the Almirante Oquendo. My research shows this to be the color scheme of the Spanish navy then. This is one of the American Battleships (The Oregon). In real life, this ship sailed all the way from Puget Sound-Seattle in Washington State to Jupiter Inlet in Florida, a journey of 14,700 nautical miles and she did it in 67 days. Also remember that back then, ships burned coal and so that meant stopping and re-coaling along the way. Burning 10 tons of coal an hour for an average speed of 12 knots, the "black gang" had to keep the hungry fireboxes fed for two months, around the clock, using only shovels

The Armored Crusier New York. This was the flagship of the American fleet and Admiral Sampson was on board. He and the New York were on their way to meet up with the American General of ground forces, besieging Santiago when the Spanish came out. In real life, Admiral Sampson and the New York missed the battle. A very bitter pill for the Admiral, who had planned for this moment. My choice of US ship colors also comes from research I did which shows the American ships went to a wartime gray. I picked these colors as looking good for this time period. I think it's a craft paint; Pewter Grey.

Back in 1898, Squadron Commanders communicated orders such as formation by signal flags. The rules call for this type of communications between the flagship and ships of that squadron at the beginning of each turn. I then used powerpoint to come up with "Squadron Command" sheets, that Indy, Dick or Les could put down to communicate their orders to the other ships. Again, I went to the internet and The Miniatures Page for some ideas. Here's a view of some of those sheets. It added a fun factor to the game, as you had to roll dice to see if all ships understood the orders.

I think I will close and publish this post for now and come back to tell the rest of the story next week. Here's some final photos of the Spanish ships making their way out of the harbor and the poor little Pluton getting rocked by near misses.
enjoy; mr. Joe

A stroll with Daisy along the Gunpowder River

2008-03-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

One our favorite local sites to hike is the Gunpowder Falls State Park here in Maryland. The other day I took our Beagle Daisy for a hike along one of the many trails here that follow the course of the Gunpowder River as it makes it way to the Chesapeake Bay. The boys used to come here with me when they were much younger and thought a day on the trails with Mr. Joe was a fun thing to do. Now I leave that to Daisy, as to her, a walk along the trails is her "Disney World"

Here's the sign at the park entrance just off Route 1/Belair Road.
For the last couple of years, Daisy and I have always taken the same trail, out of four or five available, but as they say "Variety is the spice of life" and I wanted to see what I was missing on the other trails. As for Daisy, she is perfectly content to sniff along any trail, walk through any patch of mud or climb over every fallen log I bring her to.

Here's a view of the Gunpowder River at the beginning of the trail and as we cross the walkway on the Belair Road bridge.

As you look at this picture, we will be taking a trail on the right bank of the river, heading towards I-95 about 3 miles away. Even at this height, you can see the clarity of the water in the river.

Below is a view from that trail, looking at the river. On the other bank is another trail, while on the other side of the bridge are trails heading West. That's the direction we usually head.
And here is my scout dog Daisy, leading the way up the path.

The river is pretty shallow here, fast moving one moment with calm pools the next. Daisy and I like to stop along the way and get down to the waters edge. Here's some shots from the waters edge, showing the dual nature of this river.

Of course a hike in the Gunpowder Falls State Park is not just all water views. On the other side of the trail, you have deep forest, that is just starting to bloom with Spring. Crocus flowers dot the landscape as do interesting rock formations, many types of trees and plenty of deer and other wildlife.
The Gunpowder can run high at times, especially in the early spring, as evidenced by the drift wood balanced on top of the boulder in the middle of the river.

In the following photo, you can see the white rectangular trail marking and one of the many little watercourses/creeks that Daisy and I crossed as we hiked along. Always a good opportunity for Daisy to pad along the stream bed and take a quick sip of water.
I'm careful to only let Daisy lap up moving water and not give her time to take a long drink even at that. Although she herself never does take more than a few sips.

One neat spot to see is a section called "Pot Rocks", so named after the holes or pots worn away in the stones by centuries of swirling water. If you look at the two following photos you can see the "pots" in the rocks.

Meanwhile the woods and hills have some pretty unique rock formations themselves as you can see in the photo below.

After Daisy and I had hiked for an hour and a half, I decided to turn around and head back.

Daisy grabbed a stick from the souvenir stand and we made our way back to the parking lot.

Meanwhile I had been picking up litter in the form of bottles, cans and food wrappers as we walked along the trail and came away with a plastic bag full of disposable goodies myself.

All in all a good day for me, Daisy and Mother Nature.

Mr. Joe

10mm 1870 Prussians for Volley & Bayonet

2008-03-06T16:36:00.001-08:00

Now it's the Prussians turn in the spotlight.

If you go back a couple of posts, you'll see that I highlighted my 1870 French in 10mm for the wargame rules, Volley & Bayonet. I have been building the two opposed forces that took part in the battle of St. Privat in August of 1870. The Prussian and Saxon attacks on the French lines has been likened to Picketts Charge at Gettysburg, only this attack went on for hours, into the evening and eventually the Saxon XII Corp, turned the right flank of the French VI Corp, while the Prussian Guard units, who had been pinned down all day, sensed just enough of a let up in French fire to rush forward once more.

I went with Volley and Bayonet rules, as they seem to be fairly simple to play, but give you the feeling of large masses of troops and a feel of combat at that time. I also have "1870" rules, "They Died for Glory" rules, "Chassepot & Needlegun" rules and "Ever Victorious Armies".

All for gaming the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.

Why do I like this period; the combination of, massed units, colorful uniforms, with the dawn of modern technology and the development of new tactics, there are many areas of interest for someone interested in military history. And while the results were lopsided, most battles could very easily have gone the other way. the Franco-Prussian War, laid the foundation for the First World War, which set the stage for the Second World War.

But for now, lets have a look at my Prussian miniatures:

Here are two "big picture views of my Prussian Infantry regiments, Jager Battalions, Artillery batteries and Cavalry. These are all based in accordance with the rules "Volley & Bayonet". The large squares are 3"x 3" and each has 20 figures on it, including a leader, color bearer and drummer. For anyone not familiar with wargaming sizes, a figure that is in the scale of 10mm is a half inch tall. Down below here is a side view at the Prussian 2nd Armee, that I have done so far.

I really like the look of a massed body of troops you have with 20 10mm figs on these bases. Since the Prussians fought in a more loose order or skirmish formation, I didn't rank these boys up as much as I did the French. When I paint and base my figures, I go for not only the historical look but the feel of an army.

The next photo is a closeup of one of my regiments. You might notice one of the figures lying down on the base. When I prime and paint my figures, I use Elmers glue and attach them to a craft stick. Sometimes I use too much glue and the poor guy snaps off at the ankles as I try to pop him free. So, he becomes a casualty on the base.

Here's a side view of the same regiment.

And here is the back view....All of my figures are primed in black and then a Prussian Blue basecoat. I always matt spray my figs, but unfortunately it really darkens them up to almost black. I do the leather straps in black, the greatcoat in a lighter grey to stand out. Helmets are black with brass trim.

Now any army is not just riflemen, you need Artillery and Cavalry, you need Combined Arms. Here's my Artillery, which could be either 4 pdr or 6 pdr pieces.

The next photo is of my Cavalry; at this time most cavalry was used as Skirmish or patrols, although there were several instances of massed cavalry charges, which more often than not, went down in a shambles from disciplined infantry fire. In this photo I have my Hussars, who were armed with sabres and a carbine. In the actual battle of St. Privat, there was no French Cavalry and the Prussian Cavalry was off on the flanks trying to find an opening, so they really didn't take part in the battle.

These are my Uhlans or Lancers...the coolest looking Cavalry around. Think of the "Charge of the Light Brigade when you think of this type of unit. Prussia used their cavalry much more effectively in the scouting role. There is a story of a Prussian cavalryman, who came to a river bank, and saw what he thought was the French Army on the other side. The rider then dismounted and swam across the river to scout out the French positions and then swam, back to his horse and rode back to HQ with the information of where the French army was. That's how you scout:-)

And of course you need an Army Commander, This is Major General von Pape, Commanding General of the 1st Guards Divison.....or a close approximate.

Finally, a ground view of my troops moving into action.

enjoy;

Mr. Joe

A Lake George cruise on the Mini Ha Ha, leads to a Chipmunk rescue

2008-02-28T17:59:00.000-08:00

How did this little Chipmunk end up in our hands?

Read on and I'll tell you.

On Monday July 23rd, 2007 the boys and I met up with my brother Greg, his wife Nancy and two daughters Kayla and Lindsey for a 1 hour cruise on the steam powered Paddle Wheeler Mini Ha Ha. Greg and his family take a cruise on the Lake at least once a year, the boys and I haven't done it since about 2003. It's a nice boat ride and you get to see many of the beautiful camps and homes on Lake George.

Unfortunately; Monday turned into a cool and drizzily day, but we'd be under cover on the boat and then having a picnic at one of the pavillions in the Battleground Park on the hill after the cruise. We didn't worry about not being able to get the pavillion, as the park is usually empty, except for holidays.

As we pulled away from the pier, we got a good view of the reconstructed Ft. William Henry.

Ft. William Henry was part of the setting for the classic novel "Last of the Mohicans". The original Fort was manned by British and Colonial soliders and fell to the combined French and Indian army under General Montcalm during the French and Indian War.

The cruise takes you north along the eastern shore and then heads south, just before the Sagamore Hotel and cruises along the western shore. The boys spent time talking to Kayla and Lindsey, watching the scenery and text messaging friends on their cell phones.

The picture above shows, Josh (on his phone) Christopher and Kayla.

We did sail past where we were staying at Alpine Village Resort and Tea Island, which stands just off shore from our camp.

Here's Tea Island as we come up to it.

From what I can remember, the name comes from a little camp on the island that the orginal owners would go to for afternoon Tea.

Now there is a camp on the island, which is still privately owned.

Here's some of the owners waving to the Mini Ha Ha as we cruise by.

Christopher and I have canoed around this island from our camp, which is situated behind the island, in a bay.

Note the little inlet to Tea Island.

The picture on the right is looking back into that bay. Alpine Village can be seen in the background to the left of the large white camp.

And so now, the rest of the story and how the heck did the Chipmunk end up in our hands.

Shortly after we got back to the pier, the seven of us went up to the Battlefield Campground for an afternoon picnic. The picnic area is set in beautiful pine forest, overlooking the lake and Ft. William Henry. Amazingly, the place is almost always empty, which gives us all a chance to get our favorite picnic spot there. For as long as I can remember, my family has gone up there at least once a year for a picnic.

Here's an image from an old Post Card of Ft. George, set in the Battleground picnic area.

It's looking a lot more overgrown now, but as kids we used to climb it every year.

My own two boys have also climbed it, when they were younger.

We set up "camp" in the stone and timber pavillion, Greg had some music, we both brought snacks and drinks and Nancy brought dinner. the day was still cool and damp, but we were enjoying ourselves despite that. I took a walk to the restrooms in the picnic area, just a little way from the Pavillion. These rest rooms are bulit to resemble small cabins, I don't think they have changed since I was a child.

Luckily; they are at least cleaned regularly, so I was a bit surprised to see something in the toilet, I was going to use. After the initial shock, I realized I was looking at a baby squirrel, and only later realized that this was actually a Chipmunk. At first I felt bad that this little critter would of drowned in a toilet, but then I realized that it was still alive and was half in and half out of the water, but couldn't scale the porceline to get the rest of the way out.

I didn't relish the thought of putting my bare hands in to pull a chipmunk out of a toilet, but I certainly couldn't leave it there. I grapped a small stick and slipped it under the little thing and it immediately grabbed on to the stick. I then cupped it in my hands and went back over to the pavillion calling everyone over. The kids and Nancy took over, drying it off and wrapping it in a cloth. The poor thing started to shake, probably from hypothermia and being this close to humans. Greg, joked about making squirrel stew, while we tried to give it some peanuts to eat.

After about 10 minutes, the little chipmunk started moving around and looking no worse for wear. We set it free amongst the pine trees, where other chipmunks had been seen and without a second look back, it was gone amongst the foliage and wood.

Of all the places I have been in this world, being up there at that place and day, to help this little creature, is something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

Mr. Joe

A hike to remember up Prospect Mt, Adirondacks

2008-02-24T14:18:00.000-08:00

Last July, during our Lake George vacation, I wanted to do something with my two sons that would be a bit of adventure, show us the natural side of the Adirondacks and something that we probably wouldn't do at home. "Lets, hike up Prospect Mountain" I suggested on Wednesday.

I planned on doing it on Friday as that was our last full day there. Needless to say, the boys were not exactly jumping at the chance, but since I had given them free reign all week, they probably figured, what harm can it do.

Prospect Mountain is located on the southern edge of Lake George and Lake George Village.
It stands at just over 2,000 ft high, which is definitely not the highest peak around.
But it does have a great summit, with a "100 Mile View".

We had actually driven up Prospect Mt a few years ago, but the adventure would be hiking to the top and not as much being at the top. Now, I knew there was a marked trail leading from the Village of Lake George, I didn't realize that my idea of a marked trail and New York States idea of a marked trail would be vastly different. Comfortable in our own ignorance,we packed some Gatorades and cherries, went to the parking area and started our ascent.
Well actually, first we had to climb the steel grated walkway that went up several flights of steps and then crossed over the Northway Route 81. The first sign of trouble for me was my being out of breath (slightly) once we crossed to the other side of the walkway.

I consider myself in good shape, or at least in pretty good shape, but since my only exercise is walking Daisy, a Beagle who spends ten minutes sniffing a patch of ground, I was quickly finding out that I was not in "Hiking" shape.
The "Trail" is more like a rock filled trench, that seems to go straight up through thick forest.

Josh and Chris take the early lead hiking up Prospect Mountain.

The day became very warm and I was becoming Dehydrated and didn't know it.
One amazing feature of technology, the boys had cell phone connection all the way up and Josh kept a running text message report to his girlfriend Nicole back in Maryland.

As we climbed, with about 30 minutes in to the hike, I started to feel like I had no strength left in my legs and was out of breath, so we needed to start taking breaks along the way. I started sucking down Gatorade and eating cherries, but I was really feeling bad.
The boys started asking me if I wanted to turn around and go back, but I insisted on continuing.

Years ago, my brother Greg, his wife Nancy and two daughters Kayla and Lindsey did this very hike, and I figured, if they did it, I could do it too.

Of course Greg wasn't 50 years old like me. But I kept pressing on.

The forest all around you is beautiful. I was thinking that this was something straight out of Last of the Mohicans and the boys were thinking that the forest was something out of Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.

I needed to take more and more breaks of 10 minutes, using the time to rehydrate and look around. The boys weren't bothered by the climb at all, but of course they play a lot of sports and Christopher was in the best shape of his life.
Every break I took, they gave me advice, asked me if I wanted to turn around and patiently waited for me.

As I said earlier, what I thought a "Marked Trail" would be and what NYS thought made a Marked Trail were two different things. There was some confusion for us and at one point we came across two women, who eventually gave up and went back because it wasn't clear which way to go. We pressed on and despite making a wrong turn, were able to get back to a more proper trail farther up.

I was really lagging behind and feeling so weak and out of breath that it surprised even me.
But I don't like to quit and we all felt that we had to be getting to the top soon.

Thankfully during our hike up, you would occasionally get a wonderful, cool breeze that was a tonic to me, coming through the forest.

Finally it looked like we could see more daylight up ahead and I told the boys to scout further ahead of me and let me know if the top was near. Then I sat down on a log and tried to recuperate and get some more inner strength to go a bit further.

We had gone about an hour and fifteen minutes, now it was a test of will for me to get to the top.
I took one more break just before a steep incline through heavy brush.
I remember a young couple overtaking me and I jokingly told them, that my boys had left me to die but that the peak had to be close. But in those woods, you really couldn't tell.

This next bit was very steep and narrow, but I put every bit of energy into this last section and coming out of the trees, I am greeted by the two boys sitting on large rocks by the side of the access road. The top was visible about 50 yards further up. A tour bus went slowly by.

Josh and Chris thought we had made it to the top and were ready to go back.

"No Way" says I, first, we aren't at the top and second when we do get there, we are taking a nice long break.

The amazing thing was at this point, I was feeling revitalized and getting my energy back.

Was it the combination of gatorade and cherries, or the fact that we had basically made it up there or all of the above.

All I know is that I led the way to the summit.

And what a beautiful summit it is, with shady areas, lots of cool water to refill the canteens (or gatorade bottle), picnic tables and a rocky summit that you could stand on and feel like you climbed Everest. Despite the other tourists, getting off the tour buses behind you. lol

We Made It! And here is the view from the top.
This picture of the boys and I was taken by the couple who passed me sitting on the log. It was a beautiful day, there was a nice breeze and the water cooler water was like wine. :-)

Going back down about 40 minutes later was a killer on the knees, but we made it in half the time. I gave them high fives when we got back to the car. They thought I was still delusional. The boys had wanted to hitch a ride on a tour bus or ask someone to give us a ride, but not me. I had walked up Prospect Mountain and I was going to walk back.
Boy did the lake feel good when we got back. Although the boys opted for the pool instead.
No sense of adventure in them. lol

Oh and one more thing..my brother Greg and his family...they never made it to the top themselves. I was chasing ghosts.

Wargaming the Franco-Prussian War in 10mm-The French

2008-02-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

My favorite period to read about, collect and paint miniatures for has been the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. You have the combination of very colorful uniforms, with emerging modern weaponry, combined in large scale battles. For uniforms full of character, you can't beat the French Army, yet the "helmeted" Prussian troops are always a big draw to collectors as well.

I have had an ongoing project of building a French and Prussian army in 10mm for the rule set Volley and Bayonet.

I am using Perrin Miniatures and basing them on a 3" x 3" stand for an Infantry regiment.

With 20 figures on a stand, it really gives you the feeling of a massed body of men coming at you.

The attached photos are 10mm miniatures I painted in 2006. At that time I went with a white primer and then blue ink or red ink for the coat and trousers.

Here's a closeup of one of my Regiments.
You can see some Chaussers up front on the smaller stands.

Looking back at it now, it's probably too much of a light blue for the French of 1870. But they do look good on the table top.

Here are two of the Mitrailleuse guns. They were similar to the Gatling gun and could put out a heavy stream of bullets.

Unfortunately for the French, they were not used correctly and they didn't have a wide arc of fire, so that steady stream of bullets was very narrowly focused.

Here's more of a ground level view of my Infantry Regiments.

Now since the Franco-Prussian War had very large battles, I am going to need a lot of regiments for both sides to play one scenario for Volley and Bayonet.

I'm building the forces that took part in the Battle of St. Privat.

In that battle; the Prussian 2nd Army attacked the French VI Corp, that was in defensive positions along a ridge.

Prussian Guard units and Saxon units worked all day to try and dislodge the french from St. Privat. It wasn't until the evening and after thousands of casulties that the Saxons and then the Prussians stormed St. Privat and the exhasuted French withdrew.

Now in the next picture on the right side of the page, you see my latest Regiment painted.

Notice the colors are different on them.

After looking through the Osprey books and posting on The Miniatures Page, I used different paints and colors, to get a closer match to the uniform colors of Napoleon IIIs troops.

These were primed in grey and then I used "Thunder Blue" and highlighted with a "Blue Haze"

I like the looks of these better.
I'll put some green flock on the base over the weekend.

General de Division Tixier leads his regiments and the 1st Division on to the field of battle.

I have many rule sets for the Franco Prussian War. All of them have been great sources of information as well as inspiration

Next post...The Prussians.

Good Gaming; Mr. Joe

Wargaming The Napoleonic Wars and Franco-Prussian War

2008-02-19T21:39:00.000-08:00

I have always been interested in the FPW of 1870, more than any other period or war of the 19th Century.

But now there is a new period on the horizon for me and that is the Napoleonic Wars.

A good friend of mine-Dick Caldwell- gave me this starter force of Austrians circa 1809.
These are "old school" miniatures from Hinchliffe and Minifig 25mm. Much slimmer looking than todays miniatures. The figures you see in the first photo are Austrian Grenadiers and a 4pdr Artillery piece.

In this view you see a Regiment of Hungarian Hussars. I am attracted to the Austrian Army for a couple of reasons.
First; they usually are the underdog in most battles with the French during this time.

Second, my two boys have Hungarian heritage in them, and I thought it would be neat to teach them a little bit about this time period.

To the right with the Green jackets are my Chevauxleger Cavalry. They are very similar to the more well known Dragoon Cavalry and it seems that they were interchangable in that regard. I have named this Regiment the 4th Vincet Chevauxlegers, as that was one of the more famous and better led Regiments in the Austrian Army of 1809.

Here is my "starter" army of Austrians drawn up on the parade ground.

I am supposed to get a lot more infantry from another friend-Leslie Mansir- pretty soon.

It's great to have friends isn't it.

Of course their goal is to get someone Brave Hardy or foolish enough to field an Austrian Army for them to beat on. lol

We'll see who has the last laugh.

When I begin to collect my own Austrian force of miniatures sculpted in the last decade, I will go with Sash and Sabre, Old Glory, Foundry and The Assault Group brands. Old Glory and Sash and Sabre look to be the best value, with decent quality. I would rank Sash and Sabre better than O.G..

I posted a question on The Miniatures Page forum about what manufacturer I should go with and I got several different answers.

So; it's a very subjective decision.

Lets see what I get from Les Mansir first.

Next post will be about my 10mm Franco-Prussian War miniatures, I am collecting, painting and basing for Volley and Bayonet.

Good Gaming;

Mr. Joe

Alpine Village Resort and Lake George NY

2008-02-19T05:52:00.001-08:00

This is looking from the center of Lake George Village and just outside the Visitors Center.

At this point we are at the southend of the lake, looking east.

You can see a few of the tour boats at the pier.

Our favorite is the Steampowered paddlewheeler named Mini Ha Ha.

Another picture here is looking from our cabin at Alpine Village Resort, up to Josh and Chris playing ping-pong in front of the main lodge.

During the day, we would hang around the camp, just relaxing, swimming, floating on the lake in an innertube, playing ping-pong, basketball, or playing catch.

The cabin we were in #12 was centrally located on the site, so you had a good view of the lake and grounds.

When the boys mom went with us the first year, she loved the location.

Here's looking from the deck of our camp to the pool.

The lake is located to the right, so you can sit at the pool and look down to the lake.

One thing to mention is that none of the cabins are stand alone cabins so to speak.

They are either like a duplex or a larger unit.

You still have plenty of room, but on our first time up there, I was expecting our own "stand alone" cabin.

For instance; we were in Cabin 12 the first year and 13 the year after and then cabin 12 again last year. These are the large cabins, with two bedrooms, a full bath and kitchen, with a deck too.

Cabins 12 and 13 are attached with another unit over us.

Not bad once you get used to it, although the cabin upstairs seemed to have little children who loved to run around late at night, when we were there.

The other cabins were smaller, much more like a hotel room, with two beds, a bath, a deck and a fire place.

As you can see, the grounds are beautiful and the whole place fits well with the Adirondack Mtns.

This is looking down from the main lodge to our cabin, with the lake in the background.

We are located on the Western shore of the lake by Diamond Point.

There's a small island just off shore named Tea Island.

Christopher and I have canoed around it a couple of times.

At Alpine Village, you can use their row boat or canoe for as long as you like with just a $20.00 deposit.

And finally; Here's the beach area.

At this point, you are looking Southeast, towards the end of the lake and in the direction of the Tour Boat Pier.

Lake George is spring fed and has clear, cold water.

The bottom here is sandy for a good bit, so it's perfect for wading.

I would go out and float around on an inner tube or go snorkeling, or both.

The boys, would rather be in the pool.

People bring their boats up with them and dock them here at the pier. Kids fish off the pier too.

It's great just to be able to sit on the beach with a good book, watch the Mini Ha Ha cruise by or watch the ducks come by for a visit.

Again; having a cabin so close, it's a short walk to it for a snack or drink, the pool is very close as well and no matter what the boys are doing, they are near by too.

Lake George NY-Adirondack Mtns

2008-02-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

We have vacationed in the Lake George area several years. Where we stay is just north of the Village of Lake George, the resort is called Alpine Village.
You stay in actual log cabins with all the modern ammenities.
They have a beach on the lake and a pool.
We all love it.
The village is our favorite destination at night.
Our nightly routine was, Dinner, playing Miniature Golf, visiting the Gift shops, getting Ice cream at Ben and Jerrys and hitting the Arcades.
Recommended Golf Courses? Pirates Cove, Round the World and US, Lumberjack Pass.
We hit all the courses, competition was fierce.
For dinner; we went from the Log Jam Restaurant to Guiseppes Pizza to Marias Italian Restaurant and everything in between.
Some places were better than others, but each have their own style.
Where we stayed (Alpine Village) has a great Breakfest restuarant that we made good use of every morning. Lunch was usually a sandwich at the cabin and Dinner was down in the village.
We did have lunch one day at a place next to Ft. William Henry, overlooking the lake.
Burgers and fries with a great view.
More pics later;
Mr. Joe

Flames of War

2008-02-18T18:52:00.001-08:00

Here are some shots from various games we played of Flames of War.

The picture of the two handsome gents is of Indy and I.

Indy is my long time opponent, commanding the 21st Panzer Division.

I have a Heavy Squadron and Light Squadron for the 7th Armor-Desert Rats.

I also field Australians and Indians for North Africa.

For the Axis side, I have an Italian Infantry Company for the Pavia Division and an Armored Company for the Ariete.

The Italian army is looked down upon by many WWII gamers, but I have done well with them.

And when you beat somebody with Italians, they really feel badly:-)

Joep

"Patrol"-the game

2008-02-18T06:35:00.000-08:00

My newest "Fav Game" is "Patrol", publised by Pacific Sky Games.

"Patrol" puts you in command of a squad of 10-12 men in WWII.

Each game has you roll a D20 dice to see what type of patrol your squad will go out on.

Will it be a Mission of Mercy, a Deep Patrol or to check out the buidings on the game board.

You don't know until you roll for it on the Mission table and, better yet, your opponent doesn't know your mission until the game ends.

Of course you don't know his either.

Here are a few pics from my latest game.

I had a German squad tasked with a Deep Patrol.

I had to get at least half of my squad down the length of the table and off the far edge.

My opponent John had an American Squad and their mission was the check out at least 2/3rds of the buildings on the table.

When ever John went into a building, he would roll one die and see if there was a lost enemy soldier in their.

That did happen in one building and after a tense standoff, the GIs shot and killed the German soldier.

In "Patrol" each player rolls for Initiative during a game turn using a D20 die.

If you win the initiative roll, you get to activate one soldier or Fire Team.

If you and your opponent roll the same number on a D20, then a Random Event happens.

In our latest game, on the second turn, a Random Event came up and one of the GIs got jumpy and shot one of his own squad mates, that was in the shadows of a building.

It ended up being a Light Wound.

Later in the game another Random Event came up and this time a stray shell fell on a house my troops were sheltering behind.

Krash Boom; there goes almost half of my squad, including the Squad Leader.

That pretty much ended the game for me.

Okay; time to publish this and see what it looks like.

Joep

My Miniatures

2008-02-18T06:07:00.000-08:00

Collecting, painting and hopefully playing my wargames miniatures is an important hobby to me.

I hope to use this site to write about my experiences and post photos of my minis.

I've been gaming with miniatures since 1998, before that I was a frequent player of board games by Avalon Hill, SPI or Yaquinto.

In 1997; I met my two future Step-Sons, Josh and Christopher.

At that time, the boys were 8 and 4 years old.

I did not have kids of my own and these two boys won me over as much as their mom did.

In 1998; I was looking for something to do with the boys that combined my two hobbies.

Strategy Gaming and Model Railroading.

I didn't have room for a model RR layout and the strategy games were too difficult for them to pick up easily.

In comes Warhammer 40K (second edition) and that became the perfect fit.

The boys and I spent a lot of fun hours, painting and playing with the miniatures.

Making the terrain was also a great part of the hobby.

Christopher made a "bunker" out of dried beans and craft sticks in the First Grade.

We played 40k for about 4 years, but then the boys grew out of it.

I didn't.

Now I mostly play Historical games.

My favorites at this time are:

Flames of War

Patrol

Check Your 6

I do also play occasionally two Sci-Fi Games

AT-43

Infinity

I will try to post photos of my Wargaming Miniatures on this site.

Stay tuned.

Joe Parvana