SCOUTING

Some pictures from tonight's celebration of Harrison earning his Eagle. Here are a few pictures taken by some of the leaders.

CANOEING

The boys joined their troop for a short canoeing excursion to Lake Murray. Here are a couple of pictures.

JUSTIFIED

Without a doubt, I consider JUSTIFIED the best television series I have ever watched. And I've seen a few. Although I might love FIREFLY the most, JUSTIFIED was actually the best-written, best-acted program I have experienced; surely there are fans of others, say OZ, THE SOPRANOS, THE WIRE, or DEADWOOD who might dispute my assertion, but for my money I support this drama, based upon short stories and novels by one of my favorite authors, Elmore Leonard. Timothy Olyphant absolutely nailed Raylan Givens, the wise-cracking, serious, fast-draw U.S. marshal sent back from a stint in Miami (in which he is cleared of a justified, but questioned, shooting of a local mobster) to clean up his home state of Kentucky (mostly Harlan County). He is forced to deal with many Appalachian ghosts and still-active criminals from his past, including his father Arlo (Raymond J. Barry), an ex wife, and many friends and acquaintances. Almost every actor in this show was wonderful. No long-running episodic show can do well without a witty, smart, sympathetic villain; in this case the role is the scheming Boyd Crowder, masterfully and delightfully played by Walton Goggins (simply excellent, and I loved his occasional turns as a transsexual on SONS OF ANARCHY too), with whom Raylan has a long-standing association going back to when they mined for coal as boys. They share a female interest in Ava Crowder (Joelle Carter), the ultimate survivor. I should note here that JUSTIFIED had probably the best roles for strong women top to bottom than any other series I can recall. My favorite character was Raylan's boss Art Mullen (Nick Searcy), but I also liked his coworkers, ex sniper Tim Gutterson (Jacob Pitts) and earnest Rachel Brooks (Erica Tazel). Another long-running adversary and survivor was the sun-tanning, trailer-living Wynn Duffy (Jere Burns). I can't simply list the parade of wonderful characters (good and bad) who graced the program, but I would be remiss if I didn't note the wonderful performance in season of Margo Martindale as Mags Bennett. Add the recurring performances of the hilarious wanna be deputy Constable Bob (Patton Oswald) who actually delivers. I simply can't do justice to the many actors who showed up for only a few episodes, but the casting director needs to get a huge bonus. I can't recall even a single bad performance or show; even the best shows usually have dead periods, but not so in this one. I will very much miss them all.

TRUMPKU

I'm sad Carter's sick,
but it is Trump's brain that is
filled with cancer?

TRUMP SELFIE

The Donald came by and left me this selfie:

OA ORDEAL/FELLOWSHIP

Herewith a few pictures from the weekend's Order of the Arrow activities. Chimo became an Arrowman, while Joey advanced to Brotherhood status (signifies by red bars on either end of the red arrow on his white sash).

OA TIDDS

Herewith picture of my Order of the Arrow boys, Chimo and Joey enjoying breakfast this morning at Camp Barstow on Lake Murray. I am off to pick them up. They look like they had a nice time. School starts tomorrow.

ARROWMEN

Ordeal is over,
Now I have two Arrowmen,
I'm a proud father.

MIDNIGHT STAR

You could feel the anticipation. The crowd, larger than I have ever seen at Findlay Park, positively thrummed. They grooved to ever part of the pre-concert dj jams. And when Midnight Star finally stepped on the stage, it was a little more of an hour of almost nonstop hits. And I didn't know they wrote "Rock Steady," "Meeting in the Ladies' Room" and "Love Shoulda Brought You Home." And there was almost no one (except for me) sitting when they ended the concert with "No Parking on the Dance Floor." What a concert, the best of the summer. I hope the attendance at these concerts convinces the local leaders to adopt this plan in the future, cause people showed up in huge numbers. You know the purveyors made money. It was a great summer of music.

NEWEST MEMBER

Chimo this weekend completed his ordeal and is now the newest Scout from Troop 324 to join the ranks of the Order of the Arrow, in the hundredth celebration of the organization. Now both the Tidd boys are Arrowmen. I am so proud.

ULTIMATE JOEY

Joey was a member of the NOAC Three-peat national championship Ultimate Frisbee team at Michigan State University this past week. I couldn't be prouder or happier for him, for his three teammates from 324 (Jared, Jacob, and JZ), for Muskogee Lodge 221 from South Carolina. I'm just about ready to pick him up tonight from the return bus trip. Herewith some pictures.

HAIGOTKU BABE

Silky black tresses,
with her long slinky dresses,
and seductive voice.

[For Cher]

WHERE'S JOEY?

I know this picture of the Muskogee contingent is small, but I can pick out my son in seconds, and even at this distance it looks like he is having a good time and participating.

MORE NOAC

Some additional photos of Joey as part of the 324 contingent as they prepare to board their charter bus for the trip to Michigan. Joey is even smiling in one.

And, from a picture taken at their dinner stop in Georgia, though dark, you can see Joey standing in line. Conveniently a yellow marker on ground is practically pointing right at him.

NOAC BOUND

Joey left this afternoon to attend the Centennial anniversary of the Order of the Arrow NOAC conference at Michigan State University. Fourteen hour trip by bus. Something like 15000 members will be present, and I understand that figure could easily have been doubled. Herewith a picture of the boy in his new uniform.