BY MICHAEL P. SCHENK

So weeding seems to be a lasting plague this year with so much rain and more rain that seems to be ongoing. And as much as I do not enjoy this whole chore, what is more concerning is how many times I have to pull at a weed before I get a grip. It seems I am, at times, pulling up to three or more times and maybe injecting some less-than-proper language at this situation. Over and over, I harvest buckets of weeds. I wish the local deer population would lend more of hand to our yard work. Maybe they could be trained, but probably only in my dreams. After the last storm with mini ponds of water in our yard, the whole herd was enjoying the new mess in our yard, eating walnut leaves and drinking from the Mother Nature-made pond.

Well lucky us, we chose to stay on our boat overnight on Wednesday when the 30-to-60 mph winds attacked Catawba. What a night that was without much sleep and the Gilligan’s Island theme song playing over and over again, much to the chagrin of my wife. Anyway, so much for a great idea I had.

I know there are many CPAP users out there, and if you are a full mask user like I am you have to wonder, is there not a better way? Do I have to look like a scuba diver to get a decent night’s sleep? What a great way to spend my golden years with a breathing mask that covers half of my face. Is it just me? Can there be another choice?

Lastly, I wonder has my head grown and this is why I seem to continually bump it like a 5-year-old? I think, or guess, the problem is something else, but I have an excuse maybe.

Songs that are in the rolodex in my head this time are the 60’s Detroit Tigers song, “Go get ‘em Tigers” and the refrain “world series bound and picking up steam.” Could be the year, and you know what, I still have the album from the 1968 team. I was just a kid, but I remember that season and going with my dad to the old Tiger Stadium.

See you around Ottawa County.