We Are The Introverts

Posted on July 12, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

Over at Incidental Comics, Grant Snider has this nice comic (as well as many, many more about different aspects of human nature and the human experience)  about introverts.

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Calvin’s Final Talk With Hobbes

Posted on July 9, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

calvin_hobbes_hugging325pxI am a huge fan of “Calvin and Hobbes” and have mourned their absence of original strips since Bill Watterson retired the strip almost 20 years ago.

But I wasn’t always such a huge fan.

When the strip first debuted almost 30 years ago I was not impressed. My initial reaction was, “What a brat!”, lol, and I remember thinking, “If I had said even SOME of the things this little twerp says when I was a boy, my mom would have beaten me within an inch of my life.”

 

But every day the strip appeared in my local newspaper and eventually I found my eyes drawn to the bratty little kid and his make believe tiger. I slowly began to find myself laughing at the cultural, political and psychological commentary Watterson was making through the strip and it wasn’t long before “Calvin and Hobbes” became the first strip I would read each day when I opened up the comics section.

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Yesterday my daughter, remembering her dear old dad’s fondness for the strip, sent me this link that chronicles (unofficially) the final talk between Calvin and Hobbes, on this plane of existence, at least. I will admit to being a bit teary-eyed by the time I reached the end, because the story explores those elements of childhood that most of us seem to leave behind in our rush to adulthood.

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I don’t know who wrote this “conversation” and I can’t tell from the post because it looks like, from the “This Guy Just Changed The Way We See Calvin And Hobbes. Seriously.” line that dalaffalolz is just posting this from somewhere else. But to whomever the author might be, I tip my hat to you for the wonderful end to the story that was started so many years ago.

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“I Will Look For You…”

Posted on July 9, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

This Mother Goose and Grimm strip in today’s comics section made me laugh out loud.

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Elk In The Cataloochee Valley

Posted on July 9, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

After unexpectedly seeing a huge bull elk in Maggie Valley earlier in the day on Wednesday, June 25th and enjoying a pleasant walk around Lake Junaluska, we drove to the Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at dusk to see the nightly arrival of the elk coming out of the woods into open fields.

This exodus of the elk takes place daily at dawn and dusk and always draws a crowd of residents from the area (like us!) and tourists visiting the area (like Amber and Abby!) to watch as they make their way through the vast fields as they would feed.

Here are some photos from that early evening.

You can see the sun going down on the right side of this photo of a lone mama elk in the field as we arrived at dusk.

You can see the sun going down on the right side of this photo of a lone mama elk in the field as we arrived at dusk.

A young female elk comes out of the woods near the gravel road we all use to enter the area of the valley where the elk come to graze.

A young female elk comes out of the woods near the gravel road we all use to enter the area of the valley where the elk come to graze.

Following the GSMNP rules, I did not approach the elk and planned to stay the requisite 150 feet away using my zoom lens, but this one walked toward me as I stood very still, so I took advantage of the opportunity.

Following the GSMNP rules, I did not approach the elk and planned to stay the requisite 150 feet away using my zoom lens, but this one walked toward me as I stood very still, so I took advantage of the opportunity.

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Abby had a lot of fun watching the elk.

Abby had a lot of fun watching the elk.

As we were leaving, we caught sight of this young male elk. A park ranger told us that the female elks had chased all the bull elks out of the valley for the time being, but that will change when rutting season begins in a few weeks.

As we were leaving, we caught sight of this young male elk. A park ranger told us that the female elks had chased all the bull elks out of the valley for the time being, but that will change when rutting season begins in a few weeks.

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The Joys Of Being A Granddad

Posted on July 8, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

For one thing, you get some great handmade cards and gifts.

Last week for my birthday, my oldest granddaughter, Heather, gave me this wonderful birthday card she made herself, incorporating some of my favorite superheroes.

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It’s difficult to get the smile off my face every time I look at it!

Last month, before Amber and Abby came to visit us at Wolf’s Haven, Abby’s daycare staff had all the kids make an art project to give their dads for Father’s Day. Abby made one for me instead, but it was too fragile to pack in their suitcases for the flight up to see us when they visited a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday, I finally got to see it and something got in my eye but it’s gone now, I think. No, wait, there it is again…

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And if you had difficulty reading a 4 year old’s writing, someone was kind enough to write it out on the back.

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As the bumper sticker says; If I had known grandchildren would be so much fun I would have had them first!

 

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Walking Around Lake Junaluska

Posted on July 8, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

On Wednesday, June 25th, after we saw the unusual sight of a bull elk in Maggie Valley, we continued on to our original destination; Lake Junaluska.

Lake Junaluska is a beautiful body of water just east of Maggie Valley surrounded by historic homes, a walking area that runs all the way around the edge of the lake, and serves as the headquarters of the World Methodist Council. Don’t let that last part put you off. Other than ill-mannered “Christian” teenagers during the summer and an unsightly huge cross all year round, the majority of the lake area is charming, peaceful and enchanting.

 

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Cindy, Abby and Amber come across a flock of geese who appear to be worshipping the statue of "Malcolm", Lake Junaluska's First Swan. They were leaving offerings of defecation all over the place.

Cindy, Abby and Amber come across a flock of geese who appear to be worshipping the statue of “Malcolm”, Lake Junaluska’s First Swan. They were leaving offerings of defecation all over the place.

 

Amber and Abby relax in a gazebo on the lake's shore.

Amber and Abby relax in a gazebo on the lake’s shore.

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Kayakers on Lake Junaluska.

Kayakers on Lake Junaluska.

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Elk In Maggie Valley

Posted on July 7, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

On Wednesday, June 25th we planned to walk around Lake Junaluska and then drive up to see the elk at Cataloochee, but driving down the main highway in Maggie Valley on the way to Lake Junaluska we were alerted that a full grown bull elk had made its way into Maggie and was easily visible on some property next to the highway.

Sure enough, we soon spotted cars pulled over and people stopping to look at the elk in someone’s yard right on Soco Road, which is the main road through Maggie Valley. We parked at the Shell station parking lot and I got out my camera.

 

 

This very large bull elk was enjoying a leisurely snack in someone's front yard in Maggie Valley on Soco Road.

This very large bull elk was enjoying a leisurely snack in someone’s front yard in Maggie Valley on Soco Road.

 

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THIS is what you DON'T do, boys and girls. Elk are protected and the National Park guidelines say that you don't get any closer than 150 feet. A bull this size (about 700 pounds) could decide you're threatening his domain and charge you, causing serious injury or death. This pea-brain was lucky.

THIS is what you DON’T do, boys and girls. Elk are protected and the National Park guidelines say that you don’t get any closer than 150 feet. A bull this size (about 700 pounds) could decide you’re threatening his domain and charge you, causing serious injury or death. This pea-brain was lucky.

 

Just an absolutely beautiful and majestic creature.

Just an absolutely beautiful and majestic creature.

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Abby Arriving At Asheville Airport To Visit Us

Posted on July 6, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

This short video is from a couple of weeks ago showing Abby when she arrived at Asheville Airport to visit us at Wolf’s Haven.

It may be difficult to notice, with everything going on, but she does run to granddad first, lol.

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1960’s Batman TV Series Coming To DVD

Posted on July 5, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

batmantvlogo_black325pxI was 10 years old in January of 1966 when the Batman TV series premiered on a Wednesday night. I was already a regular reader/collector of the Batman comic books and a regular viewer of the late 1950’s Superman TV series which was airing in reruns, so to say I was excited that night would be an understatement. One of the biggest kicks was that during its first two seasons, the show aired two nights a week with the Wednesday night episode being a cliffhanger that almost always involved the Dynamic Duo’s certain death so you would tune in on Thursday night to see the conclusion.

batgirl_robin325pxThe third and final season changed to a once-a-week format, but an even bigger change was the introduction of Batgirl. To a 12 year old going on 13, this was a welcome addition.

And then, after 3 seasons, the Batman TV series was gone, cancelled due to low ratings, and I never saw it again until 21 years later.

In 1989 the first Batman movie (starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as The Joker) was released and one of the national cable stations decided to air reruns of the Batman TV series as a way to cash in on the movie hype. My own son was 13 and I wanted to share with him the wonder of what I felt when I watched the shows at the ages of 10, 11 and 12.

It was a bust, lol. The late 60’s show did not translate well to late 80’s youth and we stopped watching after a couple of episodes.

All of the above is the lead-in to the big news that Warner Brothers Home Entertainment has announced it will be releasing all 3 seasons, 120 episodes, of the original Batman TV series on DVD this November (just in time for Xmas giving!!) a little more than 45 years after the final episodes originally aired. Each episode is remastered and both Blu-ray and HD versions will be  available, all with bonus features.

Holy Stocking Stuffer, Batman!!

As a teaser, Warner Brothers released this short trailer about the DVD.

 

Check it out in November. Same Bat-Time, same Bat-Channel.

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Happy Independence Day!

Posted on July 4, 2014 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

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