Stephen's Journal

6:38pm: Thought for the day
When God gives you lemons



You find a new god!

8:16am: Wonder when he will see this
This is for Sean. It's a performance of Korobushka, the song where Boris the Blade's theme comes from. If you listen to the lute solo about 1:08 in, you can really hear it. You can also hear the Tetris theme if you listen. All I can say is I want one of those huge triangle shaped bass.

8:12am: A vacancy has opened
The people down stairs moved out. Baby daddy moved out a month or so ago. Smoker girl's sister moved in for a bit. I came home Friday and couldn't part in either of our spots because they had them lined with cars loaded with stuff. They said they were moving out for good. GOod luck to them. I didn't even know any of their names (hence the nicknames).

10:04am: Busy nights
This week has left me with very few free nights.

Wednesday - PSR like usual. 2 more weeks left!!

Thursday - 4th and 5th grade musical. They did a program about tall tales. The plot was Paul Bunyan looking for Babe who is lost. Turns out that Pecos Bill kidnapped him and help him for ransom. John Henry and Johnny Appleseed make appearances also. The kids did a better job in the evening performace. You could hear the dialouge better, which included a lot of funny jokes.

Friday - Trivia night! Dan Combs sponsered our teacher team for the Chamber of Commerce trivia. There were 25 tables and we won again! Peggy's husband is amazing, and Ree was in good form also. Nobody at our table won any attendance prizes. One table around us had 4 out of their 8 people win. I did win the centerpiece of the table though. I sat on the chair that had the special mark on the bottom. I got a small flashlight, a pad of paper, a flower of some sort (that went to Sarah) and a coupon good for a cleaning at Redfields. Redfields (the collision center in town) donated their space for the contest. It was a great time, and another great win. Maybe we should take this show on the road.

Saturday - WW2 weekend at JB. That was great as usual. No big fires this time. The following I need to write down before I forget. A guy was selling military style rations there. We got the scoop on the lettering system for rations.

"A" rations - Food meant for serving in a mess hall. It needs to be refrigerated and prepared. Eggs, milk, and meat are examples "A" rations.

"B" rations - Like "A" rations, but do not need to be refrigerated.

"C" rations - These were the combat rations. You got 2 cans per meal. One had a meat product in it, and the other had veggies/breads. No preperation needed, just open the can and eat.

"D" rations - These were for emergancies only. It was a chocolate type bar full of oats and other energy packed ingredients. They were unsweetened to make sure soldiers didn't eat them until needed.

"K" ration - Named after the doctor who designed them. The problem with "C" rations was that you needed 6 bulky cans a day to feed yourself. If you went into a new area and wouldn't be in contact with the rest of the army for a couple of days, you would need to carry 12 or even 18 cans with you. This doctor took high energy, small foods and packaged them into a small box. All 3 meals fit into a box about the size of a Cracker Jacks box (in fact Cracker Jacks made them during the war). Everything was individually packaged, so you could spread it out amoung varios pockets.


Also, I thought yesterday was our quarterly visit to see my aunt. After we went to JB for the reenactment, dad and I did lunch. We got back to the house and dad asked me what I wanted to do. It was then I realized that the visit wasn't this weekend. This date was our first choice for the visit since I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone. We couldn't get in, so I will have to go up in 2 more weeks. So we had the afternoon to spend together.

Tonight, I am looking forward to relaxing and being in bed by 9:00.

12:48pm: Two new experiences
Flat tire on Monday. Nothing new here. Except that it was donut that went flat. I damaged my rim earlier this year and a new one was $300 from the dealer. I was hoping for my tax refund to come in to fix that. Alas, it didn't. So Obaba gave Sarah and I a ride to work. At work, Margaret suggested I contact a salvage yard and see if they had the part. We found one outside of Park Hills and lo and behold they had one! I ended up buying two (tires included) for less than 1 rim at the dealer. Car fixed that day! I would have never thought about going to a salvage yard on my own. As soon as we got home I called Margaret to thank her for her idea.


Friday morning there was an earthquake around 4:37 in the morning. I slept right through it. A glass and book fell off the windowsill. That was the only indication. I didn't know anything until I was listening to the radio in the shower. Many people at school said they felt it. I guess I sleep heavily.

Speaking of sleeping, I have napped 3 or so hours Thursday and Friday. Not sure what the issue is.

11:06am: Wow, lot's going on
Where to start?

1) I doubt I will be back at my school next year. Everything is getting mixed up. 1 or 2 teachers will probably be at their same grade level next year. The principal isn't sure about my grade yet, but she is thinking 3rd. That is lower than I want to go. I have a contract, but I doubt I will sign it.

2) Everything is crazy at school. Rumors are flying, teachers were accused of spreading them. On the fridge right now in our VFD (Verbal Fridge Dialouge) it reads Catch 88. This is way more complicated than a Catch 22

* Teachers don't want to sign a contract until they know what grade they will teach
* The principal won't tell us what grade we teach until after contracts are in
* Parents don't want to register for next year until they know who the teacher will be
* Principal won't assign grades until numbers are in
* Principal fell and broke 2 ribs on Tuesday. This happened to another principal in the past. She did not return for the rest of the year and 2 teachers had to be principal. Could our current principal make all these changes and then not return?
* Nobody is quite sure where these changes are coming from. Principal says it's coming from her, other people are saying that the pastor told them specifically it was his decision.

3) Non school related: Joe's mother got her transplant surgery!! So far things seems to be going well. I need to call up there today and talk to them.

4) Been playing a lot of Puzzle Pirates lately. I've had good success at battle navigation. The past couple of nights the crew has been out and doing well on pillages.

5) Dad was down last weekend. We went to the Space Museum in Bonne Terre. You can check out their website at http://www.space-mo.org/

6) George Robertson, a relative retired from his job. Dad went to the party last weekend.

7) Another relative is getting married this weekend. Ryan and Stephanie have been together for several years. I hope everything goes well.


If I think of more, I'll edit it and add more.

3:41pm: Uncle George
Technically, he was my great-uncle. He passed away last week. This is the obit from the Carmi Times


George Herman Schanzle of Carmi, Illinois passed this world on Saturday, March 29, 2008, the 92nd anniversary of his birth on March 29, 1916.

He was born in Carmi, the son of Charles Herman and Josephine (Bohleber) Schanzle.

George is the former President of the White County Bank of Carmi (now Integra, Carmi) for over 50 years and has only recently retired from active participation in the bank.

Mr. Schanzle was a state and community leader in Illinois. He was elected President of the Illinois Elks Association, was appointed by the Illinois Governor as Illinois Commissioner of Banks and Trusts in 1972, was Vice President of the Illinois Banker's Association and an officer for many years, and attained the distinction of being awarded the coveted American Boy Scout Silver Beaver Award, the highest adult honor awarded by the Boy Scouts for those who dedicate hundreds of volunteer hours to the furtherance of the Boy Scout mission.

Mr. Schanzle was chosen as the Carmi Man of the Year in 1963 for his great service to the community and its growth. He was a longtime elected member of the Carmi School Board and the Carmi Township Hospital Board, and the Carmi Police Commission. He was a 60-year member of the Carmi Kiwanis, a 60-year member of the Carmi American Legion, a 60-year member of the VFW and a 60-year member of the Carmi Elks, where he served as Exalted Ruler, Secretary and Treasurer.

Mr. Schanzle was married to Mary Louise Winter of St. Louis, Mo. in 1942, just before he entered the Army Air Force in World War II. He was stationed at Thorpe Abbots in England during World War II in the "Bloody 100th" Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Corps as a sergeant.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Louise "Marian" Schanzle of Carmi; two sons, James R. Schanzle and his wife Maria Lynn of Carmi, and Robert W. Schanzle and his wife Sandra of Chatham, Ill.; two daughters, Ellen J. Schanzle-Haskins and her husband, Thomas of Springfield, Ill., and Julia A. Johnson and her husband Burl of Mountain City, Tenn.; a daughter-in-law, Sally Schanzle of Mt. Carmel, Ill.; a sister, Irene Todd of Corpus Christi, Texas; nine grandchildren, James R. Schanzle Jr., Jennifer E. Earls, Mary L. Stack, Carolyn M. Schanzle, Elizabeth A. Schanzle, Karen Schanzle, Cindy Schanzle, Meagan Musgrave and Jason Schanzle; and seven great-grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his parents and son, Dr. Charles G. Schanzle.

Visitation is from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, March 31, 2008, at Cook Funeral Chapel in Carmi, with a prayer service at 7 p.m. Funeral is at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at St. Polycarp Catholic Church in Carmi, with burial in St. Polycarp Cemetery in Carmi.

Memorials may be made to either the Illinois Elks Crippled Children's Foundation or the Alzheimer's Association and will be accepted at Cook Funeral Chapel in Carmi.


Here is Dad's narrative on the funeral.

Eddie Schanzle called me Saturday night and wanted to carpool down to Carmi for the funeral. He and I both worked part of Monday, March 31st. He was running late because of rain all the way from Peoria to St. Louis. We left St. Louis a little after 3pm. No rain on this drive but we saw the results of previous rains. The Kaskaskia River and numerous smaller creeks were out of their banks along Interstate 64. Several miles before our exit at Mill Shoals, the Skillet Fork River was out of its banks and flooding all the farm land. The wind was making small waves that lapped against the highway right of way. We got off the interstate and both sides of U.S 45 had water covering the fields as far as you could see. The oil pumpers and storage tanks were partially under water. The cornfield stubble that floated was accumulating in large masses along the side of the highway. We heard later that U.S. 45 was closed earlier in the week because of the water.

We arrived at the funeral home just before 6m. George looked very good, in fact better than when I saw him at Franklin’s funeral. He wasn’t wearing a bow tie! He had a rosary between his hands and right above those was a red plaid driving hat on his stomach. His casket was made of Cherry wood and very pretty. There were a lot of flowers with some from the Elks and the bank. I had sent a spray of flower, yellow and pink daises, I think, and some other purple type of flower. The sash read Dear Uncle. They were very pretty and went to the grave site the next day.

All the cousins were there. I got to meet Julie’s husband, Burl Johnson. He is a little shorter that Julie but big around like a bear. A very nice person with an Appalachian accent. Julie looks about the same but has many lines on her face which makes her look older. Two of Chuck’s daughters, Mary and Caroline were there. I believe one had a spouse and I think both had children. There were a lot of children and I don’t know who they all belonged to. I think Sally, Chuck’s second wife, was there but I didn’t talk with her. I did get to meet Jim’s son, Ricky. He is married with two children, a boy and a girl. He is a career Navy man in law enforcement like the Military Police in the army. He just finished duty at Guantanamo bay, Cuba and is being reassigned up near Chicago.

After the wake we were invited back to George and Marion’s house for some refreshments. Marion has 24 hour care providers. She is bedridden and doesn’t communicate at all. The care providers seem very nice. I know our cousins really appreciate what they do for Marion.

It started raining before we left the funeral home. We sat out under the covered porch behind the house, watching the lighting and hearing the thunder. It rained hard all evening. We shared a lot of memories of both Grandma’s house and our visits to Carmi. It is unfortunate due to the circumstances but really enjoyed the visit.

Eddie and I drove back to Grayville in the rain. We had a motel room there. The Little Wabash River is out of its banks. Parts of East Carmi are under water. Some streets off the highway were closed. I couldn’t see much in the dark but got a better look the next morning. Thank God the rain had stopped during the night. I saw a coyote just south of the interstate the next morning going back to Carmi. No gun though! His luck.

Celia (Giltnan) and her husband Joe came from St. Louis for the funeral. I had met him at our Mom’s funeral but forgot. The Mass was very nice and well attended. Father talked about Uncle George and the family based on the official records of the church. After Communion, Judge Henry Lewis gave a nice Eulogy. He lived just down 4th street from George and Marion. He spoke well of George professionally and personally esp. with all his church and community involvement.

At the end of the graveside service, Jim had a Scottish Bagpiper in Authentic garb play “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes. It was very nice.

After the service, the church had lunch for us at the hall. I talked with Eileen, Chuck’s first wife. She and her husband were there from Murphysboro, IL. She said she recognized me in church. I was surprised after all these years!

There was an old fellow whose last name was Pierce. I know he is a relative, just don’t know how. He was born the same year as George but several months later. He had a small album of pictures taken in the 30’s of George and various other relatives. When he found out who I was, he said that our Mom took a lot of the pictures. I wasn’t really surprised since Mom did take a lot of pictures at the reunions and other family gatherings.

I think I am about done. I have enclosed a copy of the funeral program and a prayer card.

8:51am: All clear again
After the holy week flooding, things simmered down for a bit. Thursday night we had tornado sirens go off. Nothing too close. Potosi got bad storms (seems like that area just attracts the tornados) and there some bad ones south of us. Later we got the all clear from the George Orwell 1984 voice over the loudspeakers. We are quite close to one, but you could hear others in town also. This provided a neat echo effect as the sound from the further ones reached us a little later.

First week back after Easter was good. We gave out report cards on Thursday. We're now in the 4th quarter. I shudder at that thought. There is so much we haven't covered this year. Contracts go out on Tuesday. Ree emphasized the fact that she doesn't like that we get contracts on April Fool's Day. At our last faculty meeting we got the notion that nothing was certain as far as who would be back, or even what grades we would be teaching. She said she would be meeting with us to discuss plans next year. This was supposed to happen before we got our contracts. That leaves Monday for that to happen. Many teachers said they wouldn't sign until they found out where they would be placed.

So time will tell. I think there could be a lot of turbulance on the horizon. So now I'll just enjoy the quiet down time.

9:52am: Random fact of the day
If you were born on July 15th, 1976 you will hit the 1 billion second mark in your life sometime during today.


Know anybody celebrating their billionth second today?

8:05am: Been meaning to post this for a little while
Looking back through my archive, I have no posts on this day. So on this date in 2009 I have something to read:)

I'm sure you have been hearing those commercials for HD radio that consist of a regular radio leaving messages on the owner's answering machine. For me, these commercials have the opposite effect. Instead of wanting to buy an HD radio, I want to keep the regular radio. I feel sorry for the radio in the ad. It sounds so sad and depressed.

11:07am: Lonely Easter
Today is Easter Sunday, and I have nothing going on at all. Sarah is working today. I just called my sister and they are busy hanging a new television on the wall. Later they are going to his grandma's house for Easter. I think dad is going there also.

The river levels are back to normal. Flooding down here wasn't too much of an issue. The bad stuff was north and south of us.


Otherwise, there isn't really any news down here to report.

7:08am: We chose poorly
Yesterday Sarah and I went to get her name changed since she got her divorce. Sarah gave me a choice of going to the DMV or the Social Security Office first. I picked the DMV. Bad choice. They told us we needed to go to the Social Security Office first. It's not even in town, it's in Park Hills. We arrived there and we were too late.

I just realized that I really don't have any plans for Easter this Sunday. I don't think I'm going up to see dad or Kristina. I wonder if they're getting together. I had yesterday and today off. I got a server from eBay for a sweet price. All I'm missing is a hard drive, but I've secured one of those from a guy that also does SETI. I'm hoping it arrives Saturday.

Started playing Puzzle Pirates again a little bit. Sarah signed up for a paid account again. I don't think I will.


Below is the line is that caught me ear and helped me to find the Ludo song "Love me dead" (Which if you haven't checked out yet, you should!)

You're a parasitic, psycho, filthy creature finger-bangin' my heart

Finger-bangin' my heart? That brings about interesting images

5:23pm: Great song!
Check out "Love me dead" by Ludo. They are from St. Louis (at least 60% of them). Youtube video can be found here

3:51pm: Rite of spring
Today, dad came down and we headed down to watch the Missouri Whitewater Championships. The weather was supposed to be crummy, so we packed rain gear just in case. It never did rain. In fact, by noon, the sun was peeking out.

Attendance was low this year. The water level was just right to run. They can't run in too much water or in too little water. They switched things up a little bit. Gate 16 was an upstream one and placed behind gate 17. So after the rapids on "Big drop", you had to veer to the right, pass 16 and paddle through it. Then you had to paddle upstream a little more, turn and go through 17 downstream. They had quite a few people flip while trying to do that.

As always, it was a great time. We walked close to 3 miles all together. I am quite tired and a nap may be in order soon.

4:03pm: Starting to feel old
My first class at Holy Child will be graduating HS this May!! I was poking around, and saw that one of my former students won the Archbishop May Service Award. They award it to one student from each of the Catholic High Schools. It should be no suprise that Stacey won it. She was one of my most kind hearted people I've ever taught.

10:59am: This made me laugh
I occasionly read the customers_suck community. I've been thinking about joining it, but with 20-30 entries a day, my friends list would be backlogged. I like logging on every once in a while and just reading a few. This one made me laugh



Also, this was about 11pm, and definitely more a wtf than a suck. We'd closed about an hour and a half ago, so I'm out taking the rubbish down. A guy comes to me and says
“Are you closed?”
“Yeah, we are”
“I just want a bottle of water”
“There’s a convenience store about a minute walk to the left”
“It’s just a bottle of water”
“Sorry, I can’t do anything because I don’t have a register”
“I’ll give you $5. Right in your pocket”
“I’m sorry, I can’t”
“Not even if I blow you?”
“Not even if you gave me a lap dance dressed as Xena”
He stands there silently and it takes about 5 seconds for him to register what I've said.
“Why would I dress up as Xena?”

1:24pm: Down to a dozen again
The student I had join my class around the end of 1st quarter is now leaving. Maybe I should say, she has already left. I was out Monday, apparently she was there that day. Tuesday was snow day, and she didn't show the rest of the week.

The principal called to let me know on Thursday night. According to her, the mom said it wasn't anything on our part that lead to the decision. There has been a pattern on this prior. She was homeschooled before she came to us, and apparently will be home schooled again afterwards. I know of at least one other school that she was in for a short period of time and then removed again.

I waited until the end of the day to tell my kids. They were obviously upset. She was well liked in the classroom (well at least by the girls, it is kind of hard to say with the boys). I just hope everything turns out all right in the end for her.

You can't help but feel a little responsible for it. I'm wondering what more could I have done?\

Monday I return, back to a dozen kids officially.

9:39am: Never been this bad
Today is our 8th snow day of the school year. Actually, it's the 8th snow day of this year. They have all been in 2008. I got the call last night. It was sleeting at the time. It is snowing right now. Who knows what tomorrow holds. If the snows stops at a reasonable time during the day, we'll probably be back in school tomorrow.

3:56pm: Hanging with the weatherman
We got back from the TMBG concert in Columbia a few hours ago. We arrived about noon on a pretty uneventful trip up (minus the polar bear crossing sign) on 68. We hung out with Jen and Andrew, went to Shakespeare's for pizza and played some cards. We left their house about 630 for the concert, thinking the doors opened at 7. We found out along the way, that they opened at 8.

We arrived, and waited in line. We were next to an older (40s) couple named Alan and Claire (although we didn't find out their names until we got inside. We chatted with them for the entire time (which helped to pass the time). Alan is a meteorologist in Joplin, Mo. You can check out a pic and bio of him here . Upon entering, we got right in front of the stage. Our tickets said balcony, but nobody was checking to see where we went. We set up right in front of where Linnell would be playing.

Oppenheimer came out first. They wished shiiko a happy birthday and dedicated "Breakfast in NYC" to her. The giants came on and put on a great show as usual. Marty Beller wasn't on the drums. He hasn't been on this most recent tour. We think it is because he had a baby in January. Frank Vilardi played drums. From the looks of his site, he is a professional drummer who plays with several bands.

Highlights of the Giant's show

* Linnell started on this tangent about Return to Planet of the Apes. He was talking about something near the ending and I yelled out "Don't ruin it!" He assured us that he wasn't ruining the ending. I hope they put the show on MP3, I want to hear myself

* They played "How can I sing like a girl", which I have never heard live before.

* I got a setlist!! I'll get it scanned later and post it up. Unfortunately, nobody stayed around afterwards to sign it. I also had Linnell's coffee cup for about a minute before I decided to throw it away.

* The Dan Miller Istanbul intro was interrupted by drum playing. Linnell and the rest then started in, which ruined the solo.

* Flansburgh (speaking about Dan Miller's guitar playing) - "I thought you were going to run out of fingers on that last song!"

* During "Why does the sun shine", the nuclear reactions of the sun were caused by estrogen, estrogen and estrogen. Nothing specific was listed as being a gas on the sun.

* Confetti cannon was early in the show, during Dr. Worm

* They messed up the intro for "Boss of Me", and then quickly restarted.

* During the Alphabet of Nations, Flansburgh was telling Linnell "you suck", echoed 40 million times.

* "Maybe I'll know" was done on the keyboard this time instead of the accordion. During a few songs both Dan Miller and Linnell were playing keyboards.

* A snare drum broke during the concert. After the song, Flans turned about and asked "Is it a major fucked up or little fucked up?" Right at that moment a replacement was being put on stage. Flans told us the old drum was good enough for Cleveland, Madison and Omaha, but not good enough for Columbia!


After the concert, we sat outside on a bench near the tour bus for a while. A couple from Springfield who were right next to us at the concert stuck around also. The girl went up to the bus and asked if she could get a picture. Linnell said no. A few minutes later he came off the bus with someone else and got into a minivan and they drove off. Before the concert, we were discussing with Alan how Linnell never signs autographs. He must have some kind of escape pod. We found it, it was a minivan.

Overall, another great show. I couldn't think of a better gift for Sarah for her birthday.

9:00pm: Most random ass thing!!!
I just got an IM on aol. I will let it speak for itself:

20:59] VarnishedSalmon: I do believe, good sir or madam, that you have misspelled "nigger" in your most recent post.

8:52pm: Fact that may amuse only me
I have found the listings of 67 Rich or Richard Heads in the US.

I use to have one come into Office Max back in the day. And yes, he signed his checks that way.

Looks like he either moved to O'Fallon or Weldon Springs. I remember him living much closer to Crestwood.

7:34pm: Over the hump
This week has been a long one. Makes me wonder how I did 5 days weeks all the time. Today was the long day with PSR. Tomorrow will be short and sweet. 2 planning periods, a DARE class and a belated Valentine's Day party. Once I get past Friday, a 3 day weekend awaits me.

Sunday, Sarah and I will head to Columbia for a TMBG concert at the Blue Note. Oppenheimer will be opening again, so that will kick much ass also. We'll be staying with Jen and Andrew that night and heading back Monday. It should be another great concert. They should play more places within several hours drive of Farmington.

10:51am: Scary as it may seem, I was within 1 mile of Paris Hilton yesterday. She was at Macy's in SoCo mall promoting her new fragrance.

Trivia last night rocked. We had 86 out of 100 correct for 1st place out of 35 tables. Below are 1 question from each category. DO NOT CHEAT AND LOOK!! Answers will be posted tomorrow (if I remember to). Feel free to post a reply with your answer(s).

Category 1: How many

According to Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?

Category 2: Also known as

Who is Caryn Johnson better known as?

Category 3: Sports

Since President Taft started the tradition of throwing out the first pitch at a ballgame, who is the only president that didn't throw out a first pitch at least once during the tenure as president?

Category 4: Current Events

The NASA messenger probe recently passed by and took detailed pictures of what planet?

Category 5: Dance Craze

Who invented the dance move known as the "moonwalk"?

Category 6: Technology

How many megabytes are in a gigabyte?

Category 7: Women in politics

Which country had the first elected female president?

Category 8: Sink or float

Will a number 3 can of Crisco sink or float?

Category 9: Missourians you should know

He started a small chain of stores called "Golden Rule". He eventually became the last surviving partner, and in 1913, changed the name of the stores.

Category 10: Movies with the name of a person in the title

In the 1994 movie, Forrest Gump, what is Jenny's maiden name?

6:04pm: Return of baby daddy!
He came for the big screen t.v. Sounds like things are really over down there.


On another note, I went and saw my dad today. We had breakfast, played some PGA golf, and then headed to Alton. Now, it should be noted that we don't have great luck with cemetaries. We have trouble finding where people are buried. Today was no exception. We were looking for my Uncle Frank (technically, my dad's uncle). We had a map detailing where he was buried. Yet, we could not find him. There was a funeral going on in that area, and they had an area set up for a funeral. We thought that the setup might have covered his stone. The head cemetary honcho was there so we checked in with him. He confirmed our map was correct, but there was no stone placed for him. Dad is not sure why, and he is going to investigate. After that, we ate at Fast Eddies. We came back to STL and I headed back home.

Right now, I'm about to head out to trivia night at school!

5:18pm: Bye bye bady daddy?
On Wednesday, I got back from PSR and saw baby daddy with his truck pulled in backwards. He was putting stuff into the bed. I didn't think much of it at the time. I got upstairs, and Sarah said BD and Smoker Girl really got into it while I was away. BD left a short time later and we haven't seem him since.