Can You Eat a Half Gallon of Ice Cream in One Sitting?

WARNING: This is NOT a healthy blog post, but this is an entertaining one. July is National Ice Cream Month and it has been since 1984 when it was declared so by President Ronald Reagan.  National Ice Cream Day is Sunday, July 20th.  Rumor has it that George Washington was the President of the United States who loved ice cream the most and his favorite flavor was vanilla.

The Appalachian Trail is 2,190 miles and it usually takes about six months of walking to complete it, going from Georgia to Maine.  Only about 25% of  the 3,000 hikers who start the walk complete the trip which takes them through thirteen different states.  The good news is that the average weight loss is around 25 pounds, but what about the ice cream?

Half way through the journey of five million steps is the small town of Gardners, Pennsylvania.  At the Pine Grove Furnace General Store, they have had a contest that has been going on for around four decades.  They call it, "The Half Gallon Challenge." You don't just eat the 2,500 calories, but the real challenge is eating it quickly.

One dairy farmer who managed to accomplish this feat, said, "I don't think anybody should be doing this, it's not healthy." He said the experience was, "Pure misery." The record at this store for eating a half gallon of ice cream is-less than FOUR MINUTES!  I would have liked to see that.  About fifty people have finished the ice cream this year and they get a wooden spoon and their picture goes on a store bulletin board.

The next time you open a half gallon of ice cream, ask yourself, could I eat this whole thing in one sitting? 

Training Odin in his New Backyard

 

I know, it's a terrible picture, but it is reality.  Would I want someone taking a picture of me doing this? Let me think about answering that question. Training our dog Odin in a new backyard was not the easiest thing to do. He loved our backyard in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Below is a picture of the pond and the fountain in Myrtle Beach which he loved.  Each morning Odin would walk outside just to see if the fountain was still there.  He would sit on the porch and watch the water or lay in the grass in the sunshine. The second picture here is Odin thinking about whether he should come inside, which he usually did.

Our new house in Colorado had a backyard just like our neighbor behind us.  The dirt, weeds, and no fence prevented Odin from going out there for a couple weeks.  I didn't want to go out there either.  He would sit inside and look out the window, probably looking for the fountain and the water.

The above picture shows part of the patio we put in and the turf which makes me feel like I should get my golf club, if I had one.  We started taking Odin outside on a leash since there was no fence on two sides and one of them had a big hole with water in it.  He would have liked the water.

One day my wife wasn't home and I took him outside and he laid in the grass.  I figured I'd take the leash off and sit there and watch him.  He was fine for five minutes or so until it was time to go in.  He started running everywhere, the neighbor's yard, the house next door that wasn't built, and he was moving faster than I was.  I finally coaxed him inside and decided I would never do that again.  My wife will read about this, because I didn't want to tell her after it happened.  There is no video of me chasing him as far as I know.

The backyard is getting there.  We have to try to keep Odin out of the dirt, since we don't have rocks and flowers or plants yet. We have a fence put in, we have a couple chairs ordered, we just got a table, and we're working on getting something to cover the patio to save us from the sun.  Oh, and let's not forget a doggie door that we will have to train Odin to go in and out of again.

Below are the pictures and this is what Odin sees each morning.  We may even get a little water fountain, but it will be much smaller than the one in Myrtle Beach.

America's Greatest Gift?

 

It is Independence Day, July 4, 2025 and we are celebrating the 249th birthday of The United States of America.  When you think of things that represent our country, one of them has to be The Statue of Liberty, which was a gift from the people of France.  

The story of The Statue of Liberty is one of inspiration, determination, and of course liberty and freedom.  Below are some things you may not know about Lady Liberty and it's twenty year journey to New York:

1. The original inspiration was from a French legal scholar, Edourard-Rene Lefebvre.  He was came up with the idea after the American Civil War ended and slavery was defeated.  He wanted to give a gift to The United States to celebrate the concept of liberty.

2. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was the 31-year-old sculptor that was asked to visit The United States to get support for the project.  As he entered New York Harbor, he was inspired to immediately draw a picture of a robed woman raising a torch and he wrote, "Liberty Enlightening The World."

3. Bartholdi modeled Lady Liberty after his mom, Charlotte.

4. Many years of waiting took place before it was agreed that France would fund the statue and the pedestal would be funded by America.

5. One of the sculptors who worked with Bartholdi was Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who built the Eiffel Tower.

6. Financial problems in financing Lady Liberty was so significant that France had a lottery that raised the remaining $400,000 and the statue was presented in Paris on July 4, 1884, 161 years ago.

7. In America, $100,000 was raised by New York World publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, who put pictures of people who donated in his newspaper.

8. The statue was taken apart and put into 214 boxes and sent across the ocean and then reassembled over fifteen months in New York.

9. President Grover Cleveland dedicated The Statue of Liberty on October 28, 1886 in front of hundreds of millions of people in New York Harbor.  His remarks ended with, "A stream of light shall pierce the darkness of ignorance and oppression, until liberty enlightens the world."

A few more random and interesting statistics: When it was built, The Statue of Liberty was the tallest structure ever built and it weighed 450,000 pounds.  Lady Liberty wears an 879 shoe and it is struck by lightening an average of 600 times a year. I'm pretty certain you did not know that.

MY MOST MEMORABLE RIDER COMMENTS IN JUNE

When she lived in Zimbabwe,  Africa she had a bill that was worth a trillion dollars, "When I was eleven years old, I was a trillionaire and I bought a candy bar with it." (It still has little value)

He: "Even the geese are nicer in Colorado than Indiana.  I had several in Indiana attack me-they are crazy and angry."

The future nurse said, "If you're not helping people, you're not living."

She: "I have one more Super Bowl ring than Jerry Jones. (Owner of the Dallas Cowboys) I inherited two of them from my mom and aunt who worked in scouting with Gil Brandt." (Legendary Cowboy scouting director)

He: "My family was renting a really nice house here for $5,500 a month.  You could fit thirty cars in the driveway." (I saw the picture, it was a compound, not a house)

Getting into my car he didn't say anything for a minute and then said something no one has ever said, "Sorry, my mouth was full of cupcake."

She: "Here's the best quote-Jerry Jones is an asshole." (He's not well-liked)

Couple: "We live on Kodiak Island on the south coast of Alaska and our retirement home is in Hawaii."

Talking about eating some of the wedding cake from our family wedding, he said, "I ate the cake with chopsticks, you can eat a lot of things with chopsticks."

She: "Growing up my family always called me Barbara Walters because I asked so many questions."

She: "I just came back from Las Vegas and saw three concerts, because I love music. I saw Janet Jackson, Donny Osmond, and Coldplay."

He: "Embrace the good-you can change the outcome."

He: "When I got out of the military and we were going to get married I only had one shirt and one pair of pants." She: "That's why you kept asking me to go shopping."

She: "I learned how to drive when I was eight or nine years old driving a tractor over 80 acres."

He: "When they approved pot here, (Colorado), rents went up over 100%. They put the money into real estate."

He: "I'm doing some private security for Deion Sanders which is pretty cool."

He: "I was in advertising for a Dutch computer firm and they asked me if I would sell computers for them.  I half jokingly said I would if they doubled my salary. They did and I sold computers for ten years."

He: "I proposed to my wife on stage during a Widespread Panic concert at Red Rocks." (In Colorado)

Only in this country a few years, the man from Vietnam said, "I love everything about America."

MORE RIDER COMMENTS

The 25 year-old guy who served a couple years in the military, said, "I feel like I've lived a whole life."

She: "The benefits of having a dog far outweigh the inconveniences."

He: "When I was in my twenties I washed windows in skyscrapers for ten years.  I wasn't scared to do it, but I would be now." (In his fifties)

She: "My dog's name is Wazee."

He works for Meow Wolf which is an immersive art museum.  He said, "The owner picked those two names out of a hat and that's how he got the name."

Leaving Colorado after three years to go back to New Mexico where she has a number of nieces and nephews, the young woman said, "I'm ready to be that Auntie."

"I think the mountains here help connect people and it decompresses you."

Having moved to Brighton, CO six months ago, she said, "It's small, but it has everything you need.'

She: "Some of the casinos in Colorado have hot tubs on the rooftops."

He: "We're here from Canada for the 'Street Fighting' video tournament."

From Colorado: "I went to Oregon recently and the air was cooler than here, it was great."

From Texas: "It's like a breath of fresh air here in Colorado."

NEWEST BILL

Special thanks to the young man from the United Kingdom who gave me the below bill from Indonesia.  It is my 66th country to be represented in my car and my first bill from Colorado.  The bill is worth only twelve cents here, really.

AND FROM FRANCE

The two Frenchmen were vacationing through the western states and wanted a picture with me.  They sent it to me and said, "Thanks for the sunny side. Best regards." I replied, "Merci beaucoup." I sent them the picture hanging in my car and said, "You're the only Frenchmen who can say they were in an Uber in the USA and you're still there."

"WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT LIVING IN COLORADO?"

"I'm much more active here-it's been a great blessing."

"I like the nature and secondly the people."

"The mountains in Colorado are mesmerizing."

"It rains more here than it used to."

UNIQUE OCCUPATIONS

Safety Manager for Coca-Cola

Geologist from South Africa

Formerly in the film industry, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada

Manager of a mushroom grove

Former high-rise window washer for 10 years in Denver

Physical Therapist in France

Sports Videographer from the UK who travels the world

Retired Special Forces twenty years for the Army

Private security man for Deion Sanders

COMMENTS ABOUT ME AND MY CAR

Just before getting out of my car, she said, "I'm almost about to cry."

"It was great to be in the coolest Uber in the country."

The young woman was at a loss for words about my car, "It's like...wow!

"This is gorgeous."

"You are a beautiful person."

"This is the best Uber ride ever."

She: "I decided to take this flight back home to Arizona because I had a bad night last, thank you so much for this ride."

"This is like traveling the globe."

"You are an incredible person."

"This is amazing."

First Uber ride: "This was very enjoyable."

The woman from South Africa said, "This was a brilliant journey."

"I've never seen anything like this.'

"Would you ever sell all of this money?"

"I enjoyed the ride."

"You are very kind."

"I love this."

 "I really enjoyed talking with you."

"You are great, it is so amazing."

"I like what you've done with this."

"Thanks for the great Canadian story."

"Your next book should be about retirement."

MY FAVORITE RIDERS IN JUNE

THE INSPIRING FUTURE NURSE

She lives in Alaska and after majoring in journalism she had a successful career in fundraising. She is in her early 50's and she's going back to school to be a nurse, but that's only part of her inspiring story.  About ten years ago or so, she contracted a serious virus from her daughter. The doctors had great difficultly diagnosing her illness and she was in a coma for six months.  She got exceptional care from her nurses, which inspired her. Her illness had a 50% fatality rate and she credits one of the nurses for saving her life.  After a full year of suffering with this virus she was able to completely recover.  I know she's going to be an outstanding nurse and I wish her the very best. I've had a lot of great things said in my car and she had one of the very best comments-"If you're not helping people, you're not living."

SHE HAS TWO SUPER BOWL RINGS!

I did drive her in May on my first day of driving in Colorado, but it would be impossible not to include her. She spent thirteen years working for The Dallas Cowboys and she was very outspoken and a lot of fun talk to.  She was an executive with the Cowboys and she was very clear on how much she disliked the owner, Jerry Jones. (He's not well-liked)  She said, "Jerry Jones is an asshole. I have one more Super Bowl ring than Jerry Jones. I inherited two of them from my mom and aunt who worked in scouting with Gil Brandt." She was surprised I knew Gil Brandt, but he was one of the first NFL people to make scouting very sophisticated and he was great at it.  She lives in the same town I'm in and I hope to drive her again.

THEY LOVE COSTA RICA

The couple from Colorado were returning from another visit to Costa Rica and generously gave me these two bills from Costa Rica.  I already have a beautiful $500 bill which is worth $10 here and these two are worth $4 and $2.  This is the back of both bills, absolutely magnificent.

A TRILLIONAIRE!

It was a very enjoyable ride with a young woman who was heading back home to Arizona.  She's getting an advanced degree in business management in Colorado and has only been in our country for around six years.  Her home country is Zimbabwe in Africa.  She told me that when she was 11 years old she a trillion dollar bill and she bought a candy bar with it.  When she got out of the car she told me that she decided to take the flight home after having a bad night and she was very happy that I drove her to the airport. With her big smile and infectious laugh, I was very happy I was able to drive her.

THE GAMBLER

I did not pick-up Kenny Rogers. (He's been dead for five years) But, my passenger did know the song and the words to the big hit song in 1978, "The Gambler." My passenger missed the bus going to the "Monarch Casino," which was about twenty-five minutes up a mountain near Golden, Colorado.  It was a beautiful Sunday morning and it was an easy ride with very enjoyable conversation.  He works in a warehouse and his hobby is gambling in casinos and he's very good at it. 

He was only going for 3-4 hours since he had the day off and had a goal set on what he was going to make.  It's been a hobby of his for three years and I had the impression he's made it a pretty substantial part-time job.  He's played other games, but his best game is craps where you throw the dice and you bet against other players.  Looking around my money museum he said, "I think it's good luck to be around all this money." 

On the way down the mountain I stopped a gas station to use the bathroom.  I pulled up at the gas pumps and I felt I was playing the slots-look at the numbers on the pumps! Do you think they raised them because of the casinos? I've been paying under $3.00 so I did not buy gas there.

THE LUCK OF THE IRISH

 

You have heard the phrase before, but where does it come from? In the 19th century, when Irish people struck gold it was said that they were lucky, because no one at the time believed that Irish people could be successful through intelligence or skill.  However, this is a story of Irish luck that happened due to intelligence and skill and some real luck.

An Irish woman, Imelda Collins, decided to raffle off her two bedroom house after reading about another woman who raffled off her apartment.  Her goal was to sell 150,000 tickets at five British pounds which would generate one million dollars. She bought the house, which is on 1.75 acres, for $150,000 only three years ago.  Her goal was to move to Italy. 

She sold almost 207,000 tickets for $1.4 million dollars after spending $25,000 to market the raffle. She said, "I don't want to say that I believe in miracles, but I always try and give it a go to see what happens. I'm over the moon." She has a few other expenses to pay now, but she made a very nice profit and other people are contacting her on how to raffle off their house.

If you think she was thrilled, how about the winner who won by buying three tickets for $12.67?  Kathleen Spangler, pictured below holding a picture of her house, is a U.S. Marine Corps Officer. She had just moved from North Carolina to Ohio, and had her third child three weeks later at the beginning of this year.  She and her husband, also a Marine Corps Officer, were about to start an engineering program when a friend saw her name as the winner of the raffle.

She bought the three tickets online in December and forgot about it.  Someone had to win and they had also just received Irish citizenship in the hopes that sometime in the future they would own a home in Ireland where her dad's family was from and her grandmother also.  She said, "Nobody really enters these things thinking they are going to win." She had checked out houses online to buy, but she had no luck-until she had a lot of luck almost immediately after becoming an Irish citizen.  

I would wish her and her family good luck, but...

Living on the Sunny Side

In 1985, legendary singer James Brown sang his hit song, "Living in America", which appeared in the movie, Rocky 1V pictured below.  Apollo Creed entered the boxing ring with the red, white, and blue hat and jacket and James Brown in the blue gave his usual excited and enthusiastic singing and dancing.

I thought he would be perfect to introduce the new name of my blog, "Living on the Sunny Side."  I went through all the verses of his song and he did not mention sunshine once.  He mentioned a number of places in the country, but he did not mention Colorado once.  If I'm inspired in the future I might change his lyrics which would be my first soul song. I will never be able to dance like, "The Godfather of Soul." (and you are very lucky)

Since I am no longer, "Becoming a Southerner," living in Myrtle Beach, it was time to change the name of my blog. Instead of switching to "Becoming a Westerner" since I'm now living in Colorado which is considered the west, I think this is more appropriate.  But, what does it really mean?

One of my favorite quotes that I first read around forty years ago came from Napoleon Hill who said, 

"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache, comes with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit."

There is no doubt that today, yesterday, and all other times in history, there are bad, unfortunate, and awful things that happen.  They also happen to you and me too.  We have a choice in how we respond to those things and that many times is more important than what actually happened.

One example: Last spring I was hit head-on while I sat at a traffic light.  The car was going at least forty-five miles an hour according to the police. It was definitely not a good thing.  When you suddenly see the face of a driver with his eyes wide open and scared to death and he is directly in front of you-it's a really bad thing.

What were the good things? Obviously I survived and had very minor injuries.  I was two miles from home and my wife could get there quickly. Two people immediately came to my aid.  Our Subaru, probably saved my life and Subarus have been advertised as being a car that would keep you safe. That Subaru did not survive, but my wife got a brand new Subaru and we could afford it. Geico, our insurance company, was very quick and the other guys insurance company was amazing to me and gave us a settlement.

I could come up with a few others, but the important thing is your attitude when things happen.  Don't expect the worst to happen.  An hour or two ago someone posted, "Get ready for $15 a gallon gas prices." The odds of that happening are slim and none.  Thinking that way is not healthy for you or anyone around you.  

So, I'm here in Colorado and I am living on the sunny side. I am going to continue to write positive and amusing posts as I have for the past seven years.  I will also continue on my website to post a "Magnificent Monday" column each Monday as I have for the past eighteen months.

And so, another blog sets in my neighborhood, which is also your neighborhood.