OK; now this is spring! Hello and welcome back to the Scheu Family Blog. This time out, we have a special Spring double header edition entry. Baseball held its Opening Day, though the Reds started badly. Birds are out and making nests where they shouldn’t – like the wreath on your front porch that was forgotten when you took down other Christmas stuff months ago. And the kids are out playing on the ball diamonds…yep, it feels a whole lot more like spring now. However, despite the lovely weather that eventually would see us get up in to the 80s, it has also been one of deep sadness as well. Dad had back surgery, but is recovering well and staying with Rob & Sharon…or at least he was, but I’ll get to that. Earlier this week, we heard the very sad news that a very old friend of the family, Doc Linville, passed away. And then to top it off, this weekend Dad called me from Houston and said he was on his way home to be with Sharon because Dan had suffered a major heart attack.
On Monday it was actually in the 60’s. What a difference a week makes. Abby had track and then softball and then dance. No wonder she has been so grumpy here lately. After the mandated rest period, she has wasted no time getting right back in to the swing of doing too many things at once again. Matt had a good workout with his buddy Big Daddy and iced his knee for hours that night, as he continues to build his strength and conditioning for next year.
It was in the 70s on Tuesday! It was the warmest day of the New Year so far. Abby was in early for Student Council and then late for track. She is doing high jump despite all the back pain she experiences daily. Luke stayed late for art club and then had baseball practice with the all-star team. Matt again worked out and iced his knee, as he continues to push himself to get back in to competition shape. Ann took back the computers I fixed for her friends and picked up pictures of Matt’s Caribbean Cruise during Spring Break. There are some really good pictures of some really special memories for him and his good friends…
Bu again had track on Wednesday night. Poor Matt slept all night long. He was asleep when I got home and he didn’t come out of that bed till morning. It was American Idol night and Caleb & Jessica did not disappoint. Although Caleb didn’t do a Sabbath or Deep Purple song, he did take on The Queen of Soul and did great – along with a duet with Jessica, doing the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks classic, “Stop Dragging my Heart Around.???
It rained all night, overnight, and then all day on Thursday. Abby had track but softball was cancelled so the ladies went tanning and then on to dance, as they prep for the final few times before competition begins next week!! Matt slept most of the night again. Caleb & Jessica were safe on AI and Ann’s fave, Sam, got the judges’ only save for the year…after this week someone goes home each week for the next 7 weeks.
By the time it finally stopped raining on Friday, we had flooding everywhere. Abby had softball cancelled so she went tanning after track. Ann went painting with Shawna as they continue prepping for After-Prom. Luke went with Drew & Angie to the Y to work out. As I was picking up pizzas for dinner that night, I got a call from Angie that Bryan was having chest pains and was headed to the hospital. I met them at the ER and took the boys back to our house for dinner. Thankfully Bryan started feeling better and did not require any treatment. Drew spent the night and those boys had a great time, playing outside and inside, basketball and football, Hot Wheels and X-box. In fact, they didn’t sleep except for maybe an hour or so… And there were lots of goodies in the newspaper this week, including Abby’s induction into the National Jr Honor Society and more of the outstanding coverage of the basketball team’s journey to the top. This is how it is supposed to be – more like the newspaper I was used to seeing when I was in high school up in LaPorte. The Herald Argus always had great local sports coverage, including pictures, stats and interviews. I hope to come across those in the next box of goodies I pulled in from the garage….
Ann was up early and out the door on Saturday with Angie as they headed over to the Cincy airport to do scrapbooking all day and night. Although it was cold and damp to start the day, it warmed up nicely. The kids played outside and even got me out there for a while. Bryan had me to draft our team since he was at a soccer game. The boys had me pick up their buddy from just a few houses down from us – Oakley. We went out to eat at El Reparo and then came home to take naps…but not before Abby practiced driving the van around the neighborhood a few times. Luke ended up going with Drew & Bryan to practice pitching and they played baseball until they collapsed. I brought Luke home later in the early evening and he instantly fell asleep on the couch. Bryan and Drew came over to watch the Final 4 games – the Kentucky game was a thriller! Drew instantly fell asleep next to Luke on the couch. Abby fell asleep in her room and Matt went to watch the games with Uncle Jamie…so Bryan & I got to enjoy the game in peace with a little Sailor Jerry. I was glad he was feeling better and was cool to spend time with him, unstressed .
We were up early to do weekly household chores on Sunday. Luke had baseball practice and then Abby had softball practice – both out at the ball diamonds. Afterwards, we stayed later so Bu could participate in a short scrimmage against a younger but more experienced team. We have a long way to go yet… Ab & I came home to a warm supper of homemade chicken nuggets and angel hair pasta. The NASCAR race got postponed due to rain. The Reds started off 2-5 to begin the season poorly. And Mickey Rooney died. I will always remember him as doing the voice of Santa on Bass & Rankin stop motion short film from the early 70s called “Here Comes Santa Claus.???
On Monday, Abby returned to track. Softball was again cancelled but she did attend dance. Unfortunately their uniforms will not be available in time and so they have begun making plans to compensate for at least the first competition.
Abby was tired but made it up early for Student Council. The van is in desperate need of attention and I finally broke down and called Acra’s to get it in the shop. Abby had track after school, of course. Luke had baseball practice. He and I did pitching practice at the ball diamonds where it was a little rainy. We then met up with most of the new league team at Bryan’s new building where we worked on the basics. Afterwards, Bryan worked 1:1 with Luke’s pitching.
Abby had a mock track meet on Wednesday afternoon. After track, she headed to softball while Luke & I played several games of basketball. We’ve had the goal down at the end of the driveway for about a month now, playing in the street. Matt played Halo with Blake and Ann was with the docs at a business dinner. It was American Idol night, so we had a quick dinner of Taco Bell before Caleb sang Journey’s, “Faithfully??? and Jessica wore the same pair of Vans that I have in my closet. While catching up on Facebook, I found out the news that my old next door neighbor, Doc Linville had passed away. Bev & Doc lived next to Mom & I in Lafayette on Shortridge St. Their boys, Mike & Dave were much older than me but always took time out of their day to play baseball or football or basketball with me. It was because of them that I originally got interested in sports. The boys moved to Texas years ago but Bev & Doc kept in touch through the years. I remember a long time ago, Doc & I were playing in the backyard and I got excited and accidentally kicked him in the balls. It dropped him to his knees and I freaked out and ran away. Mom asked me what had happened and made me go next door and apologize. I sat on their back porch and did not apologize. He came out and asked me if I was OK and that he was fine. I told him I was too scared to apologize and he said there was no reason to apologize because it was an accident. So we went inside and he let me go upstairs and play with his collection of really big fire trucks. I remember Doc & Bev play euchre and pinochle for hours. I remember them listening to the scanner for hours on end. Also, the dogs finally got a well-needed haircut. Although we couldn’t get them groomed the way we wanted, we did get them shaved-down, so at least they’ll be cooler. Hopefully we can get them in to the groomers to give them their “official??? breed cuts again…wow, what a difference…and it must’ve helped their hunting skills, as it didn’t take long for them to catch a rabbit in our backyard – poor bunny.
Abby had another busy day on Thursday. After a full day of classes for our little scholar, she had track, softball and a pair of dance classes. Luke had baseball practice – his first outdoor one with our league team, the Marlins. Steven Colbert, one of our Daily Show alumni, was named the replacement for David Letterman on the Late Show when he retires next year. Although it wasn’t aired live (that I could find, anyhow), the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted the class of 2014. Inductees included the original lineup of KISS (who did NOT perform – what a shame…) Brian Epstein (the Beatle’s manager) and Nirvana – the main ones that mattered to me, but there were several other deserving pop-rock artists as well such as Hall & Oates, Cat Stevens, Linda Ronstadt, Peter Gabriel, Springsteen’s back band – the E Street Band that also got in. However, there are still many bands deserving that have long been overlooked such as: Deep Purple, Chicago, Jethro Tull, Journey, Iron Maiden, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Def Leppard, Yes, T Rex, Cheap Trick and The Cars.
On Friday, Abby had track and then softball and then a softball scrimmage/ practice game. She played right field with another girl and batted last. She was 1-2 with a single. She took 2nd on an over throw, stole 3rd on a wild pitch and stole home on a passed ball. She did not have any balls hit to her in right field. She did not get a chance to play 1st base during the scrimmage. We have several social media pictures this time out, including: the birds nest on our front door; Matt & Hayes working out; Abby & Devin; Kathy at the Fieldhouse in Indy; Sandy at the station with the back-to-back 3A state basketball championship starting line-up; Ann & Angie scrapping; John & June’s first great-granddaughter; Rick & Lynn enjoying Hawaii again; my fave supermodel is also a rocking athlete; my favorite comic strip; Letterman after announcing his retirement in about a year’s time; Greensburg back in the day,; Barney’s wife, Steph and their eldest child; Allen in Cali this week; my man, Caleb from AI; we saw Sibling Day come and go (here you see Barney & Steph’s 3 kids); Bu & Duke in their “ultimate selfie???; Rob in a late nite photo to his niece; pictures from this year’s class of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; Gordon’s cool car at the Texas track (A&M Aggies); and the great Mickey Rooney.
I talked to Dad early on Saturday morning. He was in – of all places – Houston, TX…and he told me that Uncle Dan had suffered a major heart attack. I guess it isn’t very good news…not that this type of news ever has a good side. He apparently had a couple smaller ones previously, but now he is staring down a complete blockage. They are hoping that he will gain strength for a couple days and then get him in to surgery on Monday or Tuesday of next week. They transferred him to Indy from Kokomo this morning. Dad said he was, “headed home??? to meet up with Sharon and family at the hospital. He bought a one way ticket and wasn’t sure what his plans were…but that he would see us at some point. Meanwhile Ann was off with Shawna, painting scenes for After-Prom. Luke, Abby & I went shopping so Bu could do her two school projects. Luke & I cleaned out the van (which is now riding like a dream after getting new tires, new front-end suspension, a new turn signal switch and new brakes) and the SUV. We checked fluids on all the vehicles and added oil to 2 out of 4 as well as ATF in the old truck. She ran like a dream for me this week. I miss driving a truck every day. Next, Luke and I cleaned out the shed and part of the garage, as well as making some general repairs to the shed door and structure. Abby and I got a new plug and air filter for the mower and changed the oil and gas in it. It started on the very first pull! :0) I also got the blower up and going. The trimmer, though, would not stay running. If I remember correctly, I was having issues with it last fall so I called and made an appointment with Herbert’s to get it tuned up. Meanwhile the girls started prepping for tomorrow’s big day. After sleeping in late and then napping till noon, I was up most of the night doing weekly household chores while watching the taped NASCAR race from Darlington – the track too tough to tame. It was a great race that saw Jeff run up at the front all night long and was able to bring home a great race car, just outside of the Top 5 again to retain the lead in the championship cup points.
We were up at the ass-crack of dawn on Sunday. Abby was prepping for her first dance competition. It was still dark when we headed north to the far side of Indianapolis to Pike High School for the Star Systems Talent dance competition. What a beautiful Performing Arts Center they have! It was the first of only two this year for Bu and her teammates. She was slated to go on first and then a few dances later she will go again, not leaving much room for costume changes nor last-minute practice. First up she had tap and WOW! Did they come out ready to go! They did so well that they earned a first place platinum!!! They qualified for Regionals and placed fifth overall! In her 2nd dance, her jazz dance earned a high gold (2nd best). We have lots of pictures and a couple videos to share…but that will be next time. Next, we wasted some time in Target, ate lunch at Olive Garden and went to visit Uncle Dan, Aunt Sharon and Dad. Uncle Dan looked pretty good for a man that was nearly dead a day or so ago. He is very lucky to be where he is at this time. We wish him the best and hope the doctors can work a miracle on him. He has some big life changes and challenges ahead of him. We had a nice visit and even got to see Uncle Vird and Nate, Steph & the girls. We headed back to town after stopping for some McDonald’s for dinner. Way to go, Bu!!
Next up is our Waybac section, which features several fun pictures from the 70’s to 00’s. Leading off, we start out in 1979. First we go west to California at Disneyland in March. Grandmaw Connie & Aunt Lou flew out to LAX to see us and see the sites for a week or two. Look at how thin we all were! Then we have my cousin, Ms. Emily in June (I think this is a chair in Aunt Norma’s front room) as well as Dad’s new car (it was actually Grandpaw Brown’s old car!) in October (Olds Ninety-Eight with a 402 cu. in. V-8 monster under the hood!) – in the background, you can see a little of our home in Temple City; Robby at 8 days old in November with Mom in our kitchen on N. Soreno Dr and the Mom with Rob on his Baptism day in December. Next we move on to 1980: Cathy’s graduation in June with the two sisters – Connie & Norma (and the back of Emily’s head) – so good to see this picture of these two – at Norma & Ralph’s garage; then Dad & Rob in LaPorte at our first house – the big on Kenwood St on Lilly Lake in July (note Rob’s head in the latter pic – during the day, Rob & I were playing outside and I was pushing him in his stroller. I let him roll down the hill, down a step and we did that a couple times. Then I thought it would be cool for him to go down the stair and down the curb in to the street, like we did on our bikes (Mike & I)…only it was too big and the stroller flipped and he landed face-first. I panicked and ran inside and couldn’t say anything but ‘Robby…Robby!!??? I was in so much trouble… then we go to Lafayette to Grandmaw & Grandpaw’s house where Great Grandpa Morgan was celebrating our birthdays with us in October; then they came to see us in LP on Kenwood for Thanksgiving (that room behind us would eventually become my room). Next we have Rob at the new house – on Rockwood St in the summer of ’83. That is the old garage. I painted it that summer – it took me a month of scraping and painting. The next year, Dad would have it torn down and the big 2-car garage went up with a basketball goal. Next we have Mom on Christmas morning, Rob the day after Christmas, our new TV we got for Christmas and Rob seeing Santa at the Moose – all in December of 1984. Then we have Grandpaw, Rob & Peanuts taking a nap on Granpdaw’s birthday in July of 1985; Rob and Dad fishing with Rob’s first pole in July of ’85; The Morgan family reunion with Mary Hoagland’s husband, Chet Black and Merle Rousch (I don’t recognize any of them) in August 1985; then Dad’s new car (again, I think this was originally Grandpaw Brown’s car) in the late 80’s, I think; Rob in 1986 – possibly in Disney World?; Rob & I’s cake in the 80’s; Mom and her high school buddies in the 90’s; then back up to LaPorte in that new garage for my college graduation from FC in June of ’91 with Aunt Lou, Bev Linville and the Rood sisters, Laura Stoewer, Robby and friends in the back lot; then we fast forward to Christmas in 2002 with matt & Bu in Greensburg; then down to Treasure Island for Week 19 including Mom’s favorite view – off the balcony of 405 and her dear friend Jackie in May 2003; Nathan being awarded for something on the Kokomo force in approximately 2003; Christmas with Dad & I in 2005; and finally Rob & Sharon on Aquaholic in Lake Michigan – circa 2005.
Next up is our video section which features one new family video and a few from around the internet.
That does it for this week’s edition of the Scheu Family Blog. Thanks for keeping up with us this time out and we’ll catch up with you again next time. Until then, have a good one. We sure miss ya, Mom.
Later, Scheu