The Neil Blog:   Complaints regularly, where is it?    I had computer issues for a while.   Rectified, the Blog will be regular again.    Of course, what is there to write about?    I’m doing fine, post “moves”.   I didn’t last long in Arizona.    I wanted out of Florida after 27 years.     I have landed in Texas and I am  very pleased with where I am.      Rockport Texas, the only thing I can’t figure:   Why does the wind never stop?   The flies are no treat here either.     Annoying.    How have we not eliminated certain vermin and insects from this world?

Issues I have had to resolve:  Not for public knowledge.    One day that will change.   Book 5.   

Mom is still plugging along.    She has her challenges but she keeps things going just fine.    I am hoping that her leg is now healed and that her cough is going to go away.    She had a period about a month ago where she was more negative than usual.   She’s through that and upbeat again which is good.  

The news I had to deliver to her this week:   The passing of a longtime friend.    For my father, a colleague as well.   Dr. Virgil Grumbling.    My mother’s age it was just simply his time.    He made it a long time.     I got word from Danny.    He is now in the position I was in five and a half years back.   Adjusting to the man being gone.       Mom took it pretty well.   She told me the stories of when they first met.    Time rolls on.   That’s the Litchfield Park news.    I still look at a photo of me and Dad and I am just kind of frozen by it.    Frozen that it happened and is over and frozen that it will never happen again.     I’m fine.    We had a great time. 

The bar:  Rock Bottom.   The big news there, Bill has his struggles.   A pretty large stroke, he is still fighting.   Will he ever get back to how he was?    My other friends there, all doing well.   Paul went through the medical tests but he’s in the clear again.     Ali, the dog, in treatment for heart worms.     

No visitors.    Over a year and a half and no one has come to see me yet.  

Facebook shows me what happened in my life going back 15 years.     There was great fishing.     The facebook memories also show that it faded and fell apart.     Has things stayed the same, I would have stayed *maybe.   Honestly, the fishing problem was a small part of it.    I wanted to get away from people.    It just got too crowded.    The Arizona property was nice.   No question, there was an appeal to just 100 people in Greer.    The snow.    I could not get a grip on the snow.   Like Florida, too much changed in Arizona with just a very large population.      It didn’t work.    Like my mother said, Arizona was not for me anymore.    It was a good place to grow up but I don’t have any reason to be there now.    That’s just the way it is.      I posted about failure.    Every response said I wasn’t a failure.     Uplifting like the Blog fans, I was in a mood.    I wasn’t pleased with things that day.     The comments were nice to read.

The fishing is better here.   No question: Neither Florida nor Arizona can touch Texas fishing.

The feedback on no blogs recently:   It was actually uplifting.     There are people who actually like my writing.    Like it has always been, I don’t go halfway.    I could have been  putting out blogs with a broken computer but there were limitations.    I put things on hold.   Brian Richards, the rescuer, sent me an ipad.    It works as well as any laptop I’ve ever had.     Brian is one of the people who expressed an interest in me getting the blogs going again.     I didn’t realize he was one of the loyal readers.     They will be regular and they will get better as time goes on.    I’m struggling to pump this one out.     I am just in that rut but I will get through it.    Things will change.    I will get it back together.    I am just in that place in life and I’m battling through it.    Not an umpire anymore.     All these other changes to life.   Like I said:  I’ll get through it.    I’ll get back to normal.   

More losses in addition to Doc Grumbling.    An umpire from my era:   Dave Riley.     I never worked with him but we were in the Eastern League together and I was around him a great deal.    He called it quits.     John Hirschbeck called yesterday.    One I haven’t seen anywhere else yet.     Dan Morrison.   He was John’s era.     Dan gave me one of his jackets, near the beginning of my career.    I still have it.    I can deal.    All losses, none of them were close losses for me.   A close loss would be my mother.    Things look good for her to do fine for a long time.    She’s got the battles of an 88-year-old but she keeps going.    She’s all I’ve got.

Like said, no visitors but it doesn’t mean my friends are gone.  They are just doing their own thing.

My life:  I cook.    In Texas for getting closer to two years, I’ve only eaten out once.    I get it in my place and I make it.    Fairly healthy, it’s cheaper and I have the power of creation.    I like the things I make.    I wish I liked it less, I might be skinnier.     The heat of summer, a lot of the last grocery store order was drinks.     I can tell you, I am looking forward to the end of summer, Fall and Winter.  

The change of seasons:   University of Arizona basketball.     I am still, big into the University of Arizona.

Football.     I will likely be restarting my football pool at Rock Bottom.   Bill did all the sports stuff previously, the regulars will eat up my pool.   I believe that will grow into golf and NCAA basketball.     

My nieces:   Still good.     I saw that Sarah’s dog died unexpectedly.   

John, I assume everything is good.    The closest one to me, I haven’t seen him since I went to Houston a year and a half ago.     Cousin Cindy, she might be my first visitor.   She had to take the Dave Riley news.   He was one of the guys she met during her years photographing the Eastern League.   

Capmel.com is just fine.    Lagging with computer issues, it is up to date and just fine.    Published this blog and a new article on Catfish.    I hate catfish.   But it’s one of those topics I never covered.    There isn’t much left.   Like it or not, I’ve covered it.   

I would like to share some good news.   I’m drawing a  blank.   Simply haven’t talked to enough people to have much of any news.    My goal is to create the good news.    I’ll work on it.     Not going to complain about misuse of the English language, a total disregard for simple stuff.     I’m sure I’ll get back to it.

That is called Negative Neil stuff.     I’ve been away from it.    I have ignored a lot.    I’ve seen stuff but I have said nothing.    

Neil Taylor
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