Every Wednesday I send out an email reminding people of our game and trying to determine who will be missing.  My latest two volleyball poems….

One entitled:  Thursday Lunchtime Volleyball: We Know Drama

“It’s the drama of a Bill Kahler serve, as it leaves his hands and begins to curve.
Will it go over the net and stay in bounds? Or sail outside and earn team mates’ frowns?

 It’s the suspense of Brent Collins’ deep shot.  Into the corner- will it stay in or not?
Or maybe a dink will be coming instead, his intentions are quite often misread.

What happens when Josh Beardsley hits the ball hard?   The ball goes whistling and comes back charred.
Did it find the floor and register a slam?  Or continue afar to stop at the door jamb?

These mysteries, this drama is yet unplayed.  Their stories to be told yet, I am afraid.
For you to see each of these try, come join the games at the Rome Family Y.

See you on the court!”

The next week there was a BAE meeting to vote on the times for their monthly get together…..

“I rap about as well as Warren Beatty in the movie Bulworth (and he had Halle Berry to help motivate him).  So channeling my best Jay Billington Bulworth I offer the following:

You know my name is Heather and I am here to say; there’s volleyball on Thursday and I can’t play.
The big corporation has scheduled to meet, so around the conference table I must seat.

Call me Mr. Collins ‘cause I know the score, I call it real loud so it’s hard to ignore.
This Thursday I’ll be quiet, I got nothing to say. The boss says to meet and I obey.

You know the corporate people like to advise, employees should be healthy and exercise.
They preach health and wellness, a healthy lifestyle, so playing volleyball should be worthwhile.

To continue these meetings they will call for vote; and hear a loud NO! escape from my throat.
So cross your fingers, wish us luck and don’t forget to pray, so we can play volleyball on Thursday.”

Dr. John F. Dooley, III, 60, passed away suddenly on October 25, 2013. He was born on October 8, 1953, in Cooperstown, NY. Dr. John F. Dooley III satisfied his undergraduate studies at Daemen College in New York and finished both his Masters and Doctoral program at Rocky Mountain University in Utah. He held licenses in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and New York, and since his death was so sudden professionals as a wrongful death attorney New York was contacted to investigate his death. He was the only doctor of physical therapy in the regional area to be board certified by the ABPTS as a clinical electroneuromyograher. Dr. Dooley was also a member of the American Congress of Electroneuromyography, the American Physical Therapy Association, and the Tennessee and Georgia Physical Therapy Association.

Apple Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation was established in 1998 when colleagues and friends, Dr. Nicholas J Circolone and Dr. John F. Dooley III, used their combined 49 years of experience to create the first facility in Chattanooga to offer both chiropractic and physical therapy services. It happened to be one of the first rehabs near me for drugs in the entire city. John was an outstanding man in every way. He was loving and thoughtful of everybody and was the backbone of his family. He was a wonderful role model and caring person in all family & business relationships. He was very encouraging to everyone, especially in wanting them to believe in themselves and what they could accomplish. John was very athletic and participated in sports from High School until the present. His most recent accomplishments were as a participant in the Senior Olympics, winning medals in pole vaulting, racquet ball & volleyball. Dr. Dooley was loved by all of his patients who benefited from his compassionate and competent care & appreciated his encouragement toward their recovery. He was a member of Silverdale Baptist Chuch.

Preceded in death by his father, John F. Dooley, II & father-in-law, Curtis Lee Bartlett. He leaves to cherish his incredibly giving life his wife, Myra Bartlett Brown Dooley; children, Megan (David) Dooley Zahr, John F. Dooley, IV, Jared (Jennifer) Dooley, Alyssa (Greg) Dooley, Kevin (Christy) Brown, Matt (Ann) Brown, Kimberly Brown (Chuck) Stevens; grandchildren, Summer, Chance, Bailee & Gracie Brown; Kurt & Luke Stevens, and expected Olivia Jo Dooley, who all loved their Pappaw John; mother, Gloria Dooley of Schoharie, NY & mother-in-law, Grace Bartlett; brother, Glen (Jackie) Dooley, sister, Sharon (Gordon) Patrie of Palm Beach, FL & sister-in-law, Karen Bartlett Taylor; several nieces and nephews and many extended family members who loved him.

Funeral services will be held at 1 PM, Tuesday, October 29, in the funeral home chapel with Bro. Tony Walliser officiating. Burial will follow at Plowman Cemetery with John & Jared Dooley, Kevin & Matthew Brown, Chuck Stevens & Nick Circolone serving as pallbearers. Visit www.heritagefh.com to share words of comfort to the family. The family will receive friends from 4-8 PM Monday, October 28 at Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 East Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, TN 37421.

I knew John throughout my teen age years.  John was a member of my graduating class (1971) and we were on the Schoharie HS basketball and track teams together through out HS.  As young teen age boys John and his brother Glenn explored, fished, trapped and played in the same area of the Schoharie Creek as my brother and I where the creek made a big bend behind the Apple Barrel off Route 30.  During the first few summers home from college John and I joined Kieran, Tommy and others from our age group to play basketball wherever we could locate a game.  I remember driving my old Chevy II station wagon on bad tires to Cobleskill for a pickup basketball game one evening.  Kieran, John and I were all singing a popular song as loud as possible.  We got so caught up in our performance I almost drove into the bridge abutment where Route 7 crossed the Schoharie Creek.

In organizing our 40th year reunion it was difficult to locate and contact John.  We finally made contact shortly before the reunion only to find that John had recently made a trip to Schoharie and subsequently he missed our 40 year reunion.  A small group of us made plans to get together for dinner on John’s next trip to Schoharie.  We had plans for dinner which we had to cancel when Hurricane Irene struck devastating Schoharie.  We never got back together.

I remember John as a good student, a competitive sportsman and a warm friend.  My condolences go out to his family.

HP Gold concluded their season playing the 2nd of two New Hartford teams and winning 5-1.  Eric scored two goals, with Sawyer, Luke, and Josh each scoring one. This leaves the season record at 4-4.  It was a cool, windy, wet day that threatened rain, but held off.

Oct 18th we had a woodstove installed. We have been debating the pros and cons of woodstoves, pellet stoves, propane gas stoves for the past 2 years and finally committed to a small wood stove to supplement our oil fueled radiant heat.  The radiant heat is great during cold weather, even and consistent; the warm floors are great.  The wood stove is intended for the shoulder seasons and so far it looks like we will get into November without turning on our furnace.

We bought 2 cords of wood from Sandy that we picked up with my truck.  We had two cord delivered by Johnny.  Then we cut another 4 cord ourselves;  we may cut more…TBD

We have had a bat take up a hibernating position on the south side of our garage for the past two weeks.  Although it seems less than an optimal position it seems determined to stay there for the winter.

HP Gold played vs. HP Purple with HP Purple winning 5-2.  I came away with mixed feelings as Gold rotated players through positions and HP Purple kept their players in their optimal positions throughout the game.  I estimate that 6 different HP Gold players took shots on goal, while HP Purple had one shot by Thomas and the remaining shots and goals scored by Jack.

I have taken down my garden fencing, pulled out all the tomato plants and green beans.  The broccoli is about done.  We have still have brussel sprouts still coming on.   There are about 6-8 acorn squash remaining.  The yellow wax beans that I planted in August are still producing and make a nice fall vegetable.  Rick dumped 6 loads of mulched leaves onto the garden to be tilled in and used for composting. Kathryn’s canning is shown below.

The Dad’s old Homelite chainsaw (30-40 years old) finally bit the dust.  It would have required $170 of repair, so I opted for a new saw.  I bought a STIHL Farm & Ranch  chain saw.  It starts easily and has a kick-back bar to abate accidents.  Another high-tech STIHL chain saw, the MS 291 is built around one of our new fuel-saving engines with longer run times and lower emissions.  A high-performance, fuel-efficient chain saw;  great for felling, firewood cutting and storm cleanup.  Another great feature is an advanced anti-vibration system to reduce user fatigue.

Kathryn and I cut 1.6 cord of wood on Sunday evening and Monday morning using dead ash trees located just across the road. We previously bought 2 cord of wood from Sandy, which we picked up, and 2 cord from Johnny which he delivered.  We also have about 1/3 of a cord of ash from a couple of years ago.