The Branson Fan Page

I found an escaped prisoner the other night! I think that the...

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:16:18 -0500

I found an escaped prisoner the other night! I think that the moustache works, don’t you?

Possibly a new favorite song? This is one of the best songs that...

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:50:54 -0500

Possibly a new favorite song? This is one of the best songs that I’ve heard in quite a while, along with a few others off of the same album!

Once again,

Viva la Weezer!

Photo

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 09:06:31 -0500

Happy fathers day Dad.

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 09:05:38 -0500

Happy fathers day Dad.

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I love this commercial.

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:52:04 -0500

I love this commercial.

A Fathers Love: I try to be a good father. But compared with...

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:02:02 -0500

A Fathers Love:

I try to be a good father. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I feel ashamed.

Eighty-five times he’s pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he’s not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars—all in the same day.

Dick’s also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much—except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

“He’ll be a vegetable the rest of his life;” Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. “Put him in an Institution.”

But the Hoyts weren’t buying it. They noticed the way Rick’s eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. “No way,” Dick says he was told. “There’s nothing going on in his brain.”

“Tell him a joke,” Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? “Go Bruins!” And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, “Dad, I want To do that.”

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described “porker” who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. “Then it was me who was handicapped,” Dick says. “I was sore For two weeks.”

That day changed Rick’s life. “Dad,” he typed, “when we were running, It felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore!”

And that sentence changed Dick’s life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

“No way,” Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren’t quite a Single runner, and they weren’t quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, “Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?”

How’s a guy who never learned to swim and hadn’t ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.

Now they’ve done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don’t you Think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you’d do on your own? “No way,” he says. Dick does it purely for “the awesome feeling” he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992—only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don’t keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.

“No question about it,” Rick types. “My dad is the Father of the Century.”

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. “If you hadn’t been in such great shape,” One doctor told him, “you probably would’ve died 15 years ago.” So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other’s life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father’s Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

“The thing I’d most like,” Rick types, “is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.”

PSALM 91 1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High...

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:10:24 -0500

PSALM 91

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.

4 He shall cover you with His feathers and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day,

6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.

8 Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

10 No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

11 For He sall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.

12 In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

14 Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.

Just one moment… I need to take this call.

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:18:35 -0500

Just one moment… I need to take this call.

Watching the Wiggles and drinking milk all day can sure be...

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:12:07 -0500

Watching the Wiggles and drinking milk all day can sure be exhausting. (I’m not sure what Sadie’s excuse is?)

Pork and Beans! This has got to be one of my favorite music...

Fri, 23 May 2008 14:16:44 -0500

Pork and Beans!

This has got to be one of my favorite music videos, from one of my all time favorite bands! If you don’t watch very much You Tube, you may not “get this” video. However, if you surf You Tube as much as I do, I think that you’ll really love this!

Viva la Weezer!

What would Petey Do?

Mon, 19 May 2008 05:54:00 -0500

That’s right folks. In-case you didn’t know, the all American, faithful pup, Petey, was an American Pit Bull. During the course of WW1 and though WW2, the Pit Bull was the family dog of choice, and for good reason. Pit Bulls score an 84.3% passing rate with the American Temperament Test Society. That’s better than the popular Border Collie (a breed who scores only 79.6%), and almost a dead tie with the Golden Retriever (a breed who scores a slightly lower 84.2%) There are possibly more misconceptions about the Pit Bull than any other breed of dog. I suppose that you could place some blame on the media, but if you ask me, the reason that these dogs are so frowned upon in today’s society, is because of irresponsible Pit Bull owners, i.e Michael Vick. I can’t deny that there are some very dangerous Pit Bulls out there, but again, it all comes back to the owner. The Pit Bull is a very owner influenced dog, and when you couple that with it’s determination and unparalleled strength, you have the potential recipe for one bad animal. However, if a Pit Bull is raised in a loving but disciplined home, there are very few breeds that would make a better pet. I have absolutely no reservations about letting Grayson play freely with our Pit Bull, Sadie. She is very protective of Grayson and seems to know that he requires a more gentle approach (it’s actually very amazing.) I’d like to see the day when I can tell someone what type of dog that we own, without getting the “evil eye” from them, followed by the inevitable question, “aren’t you worried that she’ll eat your baby?” Spread the word about this wonderful dog.

~ Sadie~

Why do the waiters at Olive Garden wear such ugly ties?

Sun, 18 May 2008 14:27:09 -0500

Seriously, I would like to know.

-Are Pit Bulls naturally aggressive towards humans? While many...

Sat, 17 May 2008 18:26:40 -0500

-Are Pit Bulls naturally aggressive towards humans?

While many Pit Bulls do tend to be aggressive towards other DOGS (as are most terriers), the normal, well raised Pit Bull has NO human-aggressive tendencies! In fact, human-aggression was actually bred out of the breed. The majority of Pit Bulls are affectionate, intelligent, trainable dogs. In fact, the highest obedience trial record of all time is held by an American Pit Bull Terrier named Maddy!

This is Grayson’s “bite therapy” video....

Thu, 15 May 2008 17:56:10 -0500

This is Grayson’s “bite therapy” video. Although I’m not sure that it’s working.

Sometimes it hits too close to home. Pray for the families...

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:34:00 -0500

Sometimes it hits too close to home. Pray for the families involved.

~ In loving memory ~

Charles “Chuck” Wilson

John Smith

A man was driving to work one morning and was running very late....

Tue, 13 May 2008 09:06:00 -0500

A man was driving to work one morning and was running very late. He was paying more attention to shaving his face than the other vehicles around him. Before too long the inevitable rear end collision occurred. The two vehicles pulled to the side of the road, the man exited his vehicle and was surprised to see that the other driver was a dwarf. The dwarf said “I’m not happy!” At which point the man said “Well, which one are you?” That’s when the fight started…… Well, Grayson thought it was funny.

Grayson is practicing for his rock career, just incase his MLB...

Mon, 12 May 2008 11:34:00 -0500

Grayson is practicing for his rock career, just incase his MLB contract falls through. Either way we’re going to have to work on his shyness.

Are you a blog addict?

Mon, 12 May 2008 10:07:00 -0500

Well, as if Xanga, Facebook, Myspace and various other “blogesque” accounts that Annie and I are trying maintain weren’t enough, we’re going to attempt to take on Tumblr as well. If all goes as planned, I think that we’re going to downsize to Facebook and Tumblr only, but we’ll see