A NEW DAY DAWNING

WATER GUSHING OUT FROM SALAMONIE DAM

It is 6:56 a.m. and 55.1 degrees out--that's not a misprint--55 degrees. Patrick and Junior are asleep in his bedroom and the house guest is asleep with cats in guest bedroom.

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY:

It is 6:30 a.m. and dark out at 53.3 degrees F. Earthdog is still in bed.

TWO YEARS AGO TODAY:

It's 5:16 a.m. and Patrick is downstairs with two people huddled under a quilt on a couch . I don't think Junior is one of them, 'cause his car is not outside, and I think one of them is Stephen, but I'm not sure...

FROM THE INBOX:

Even if this isn't true...It's good

Two California Highway Patrol Officers were running a speed trap (conducting speeding enforcement) on I-15, just north of the Marine Corps Air Station at Miramar . One of the officers was using a hand held radar device to check speeding vehicles approaching the crest of a hill. The officers were suddenly surprised when the radar gun began reading 300 miles per hour. The officer attempted to reset the radar gun, but it would not reset and then turned off. Just then a deafening roar over the treetops revealed that the radar had in fact locked on to a USMC F/A-18 Hornet which was engaged in a low flying exercise near the location. Back at the CHP Headquarters the Patrol Captain fired off a complaint to the USMC Base Commander. The reply came back in true Marine Corps style: * * * * Captain: Thank you for your letter. We can now complete the file on this aviator's flight incident report. You may be interested to know that the tactical computer in the Hornet had detected the presence of, and subsequently locked on to, your hostile radar equipment and automatically sent a jamming signal back to it, which is why it shut down. Furthermore, an Air-to-Ground missile aboard the fully armed aircraft had also automatically locked on to your equipment location. Fortunately, the Marine Pilot flying the Hornet recognized the situation for what it was, quickly responded to the missile system alert status and was able to override the automated defense system before the missile was launched to destroy the hostile radar position. The pilot also suggests you cover your mouths when cussing at them, since the video systems on these jets are very high tech. Sergeant Johnson, the officer holding the radar gun, should get his dentist to check his left rear molar. It appears the filling is loose. Also, the snap is broken on his holster. Thank you for your concern.

More later. GO GATORS