About 5 years ago I started having conversations about a shoe business with my neighbor Bil, selling Rockport shoes to Hy-Vee Stores. We offer low prices for Birko balance, Birko sport, Birko motion, and Blue heeled arch supports at our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com. We also talked about offering a discount program to large corporations, universities, and hospitals that they could offer their employees as a benefit for them. We had limited sucess trying to sell multiple pairs of Rockports to Hy-Vee store employees. We decided to try to find someone to build a website for us and I found Dave McEvoy who said he could build us a website and built a Yahoo store www.lionfootweardirect.com for us. Bill’s mother told him about these new hot selling plastic shoes called Crocs and we soon had them in our store and then up on our website. Eventually Bill went to work for them. We were the first Croc dealer in Iowa. They started selling really well in the store and on the internet. Crocs put Brown’s Shoe Fit on as a retailer and this put a big dent in our sales. Crocs continued to sell well on our website but it wasn’t long until Crocs started having back order problems and that was not good for business. Bill and I did a Croc show at a nursing organization meeting in Des Moines, Iowa and Chicago, Il. Nurses loved these light weight funny looking comfortable plastic looking shoes with holes in them. We added other shoe lines to our website but Crocs were still our biggest seller. Soon everybody and their brother was selling Croc look-a-likes everywhere. As time went on the Croc Company started making more demands on their dealers and toward the last of our relationship they demanded that we purchase at least $10,000 a year to remain a Croc dealer. The Croc business was good while it lasted but we have moved on by offering Free Shipping for Dansko shoes, Dansko women’s Professional, Dansko men’s Cutter, Rockport men’s Encounter, Rockport men’s Dressport 2, Super Birki, Sandro Moscoloni, Birkenstock chef shoes, and Nautilus 1641 safety shoes at our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com.

Well- here it is New Years Eve day December 31, 2009 and I am thinking about some of the band jobs I played on New Years Eve in the past. If you need more support for your feet, check out our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com where we offer Birko balance, Birko sport, Birko motion and Blue heeled arch supports. When I was playing drums for Bobby Hankin’s band we played every New Years at Janesville ballroom in Janesville, Iowa. I noticed a lot of people showed up for New Year’s dances I had never seen before at Janesville Ballroom. The last New Years Eve dance we played at Janesville we had over 1,000 people attend and most of them were drunk. This continued through the years as I played dances on New Years Eve I would see people I had never seen before or after. I have heard it said many times that New Years Eve is amateur night. I have played drums with different bands over the years and I got paid double the amount I usually got paid for playing. I played drums with Del Anderson’s band on New Years Eve at Essex Legion Club many years ago. When it came time to end the night a drunk man asked Del, who was also very drunk, what it would take for us to play another 1/2 hour. We talked it over and said we would play another 1/2 hour for $50.00 per man. Del thought we should do it for free and was mad about us asking for more money. The drunk guy had asked us how much we wanted to play another 1/2 hour not if we would play for free. I played a holiday party for the Beef Packers management in Tarkio, Mo. with Del’s band and the people at the party got extremely intoxicated and so did Del. When Del went to get paid the man told Del he didn’t remember a band playing and acted like he was not going it pay Del. Del blew up and I thought for a while there might be a fight but the guy paid him and we loaded up and left. The streets in Tarkio were very icy but this did not stop Del from driving like a maniac as he was still mad about the way they had treated him after the band job. Del was way too nutty for me and this was the last time I played in his band. I have not played with a band for over 20 years but I have started playing drums for the praise band at our church. My wife and I are going to the country club for dinner tonight to celebrate New Years but we will be in bed asleep before midnight. I want to wish all our customers and friends a Happy New Year and let’s hope 2010 is a better year than 2009 was. We are going to spend New Years day watching football and we are going to enjoy a turkey breast and have chocolate cake for dessert. Start the New Year out right and get Free Shipping for Dansko shoes, Dansko women’s Professional, Dansko men’s Cutter, Rockport men’s Encounter, Rockport women’s World Tour Classic, Ultimate Protein, Super Birki, Birkenstock chef shoes, and Sandro Moscoloni at our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com.

A-Basin is my favorite ski area in Colorado. It has been over 20 years since I skied there. Arapaho Basin is the highest mountain in Summit County and it is a blast to ski down. A-Basin does not have any condos built around it. You really get a feeling of wonder skiing there and you feel like you are part of the mountain. I preferred skiing the bottom part of the basin and you can ski straight down to the bottom without making any turns. When you ski fast enough to be on the edge of falling that you know if you fell you might get hurt is when it is the most fun and exciting. The trail off to the right of the main hill is fun and scenic to ski and when you make the turn at the end of the trail you shoot straight down to bottom to where you get back on the lift. We were staying in Silverthorne, Co. in July when a freak snow storm hit Summit County and they opened A-Basin for skiing so my son, Adam, and I headed to A-Basin for an afternoon of skiing. I was coming down near the bottom of the hill when I hit some slush and I started to fall. Instead of just letting myself fall I tried to catch myself and ended up hurting my lower back. My lower back has never been the same since I fell. Well, here it is December 30, 2009 and we are getting another inch of snow. Our house and bushes are covered with snow and looks like the house that belonged to Dr. Zhivago in the movie by the same name. Watching that movie makes you feel cold even if you not. My wife and I both wear Yaktrax on our feet so we don’t fall on the icy sidewalks. We are glad we have a Ford Explorer to get around town in.The snow will all go away sometime but it will be awhile. Check out our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com where we offer Free Shipping for Dansko shoes, Dansko women’s Professional, Dansko men’s Cutter, Super Birki, Rockport Dressport 2, Rockport men’s Encounter, and Rockport women’s World Tour Classic.

I had learned to ski at Mt. Crescent, an icy hill about 20 miles north of Omaha, NE. Our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com was not offering Birko balance, Birko sport, Birko motion, and Blue heeled arch supports at that time. I always dreamed about taking our family on a ski trip to Colorado. My wife and twin daughters had no interest in skiing down a mountain but my son, Adam, who was about 13 years old did. In January of 1984 our family flew from Omaha, NE to Denver, Colorado, to begin our Colorado skiing adventure. We rented a Suburu station wagon and headed west out of Denver to Silverthorne, Colo. where we had reservations to stay in a condo at Wildernest Resort. The next morning Adam and I stopped at a ski outfitter in Silverthorne and rented the ski equipment we would use during our stay in Colorado. I decided we would head for Copper Mountain to ski there for the day. Copper Mountain belonged to the Ute and Arapaho indians who hunted and fished there. In 1971 Chuck Lewis bought 280 acres of what was to become Copper Mountain Ski Area that has grown to is present day size of 280 acres. Adam and I got on the ski lift and headed up the mountain and when we arrived at the end of the lift we pushed off the chair. Unfortunately, Adam fell while trying to get off the ski lift. The ski lift attendents were not too happy about this turn of events and pulled him out of the way so that other people could exit the lift. We started out skiing down the mountain and I was surprised at how steep the hill was. Adam could not stay upright and continued to fall down. He got so discouraged that he started walking down the hill carrying his skis and poles until the ski patrol came along and loaded him onto a sled for the ride to the bottom of the mountain. I think that when he fell getting off the lift it kind of threw him for a loop and he could not seem to recover from it. We went over to the bunny hill for a while but this hill was too easy. We got back on the ski lift and headed back up the mountain and this time he did not fall getting off the lift and we took our time making slow turns as we made our way down the mountain. Adam did fall a couple of times but kept at it until we made it to the bottom. We made more runs up and down Copper Mountain until we were too tired to continue so we headed back to the condo at Wildernest. Later that day I took Linda and the twins to Breckenridge, Colorado to shop and they enjoyed our time there. If you don’t ski, Colorado can be a rather desolate place to stay. The resort had a hot tub for guests and I enjoyed soaking my aching muscles in it. We had a rather harrowing experience on our trip back to Denver. When we entered the Eisenhower Tunnel the sun was shining and when we came out the east side we ran into a blizzard! I was taking my time driving down the steep hill when I looked to my right and saw a women passing me on the shoulder. I couldn’t believe this was happening but it was. We were all happy when we made it back to the Denver airport for our flight back to Omaha, NE. We are offering good prices on Dansko shoes, Dansko women’s Professional, Dansko men’s Cutter, Rockport men’s Encounter, Rockport women’s World Tour Classic, Rockport Dressport 2, Sandro Moscoloni, Nautilus 1621 safety shoes, Super Birki, and Birkenstock chef shoes at www.lionfootweardirect.com.

Seeing all the snow that has accumulated in our town this 29th day of December reminds me of how I learned to snow ski at Mt. Crescent, Iowa, a ski area 20 miles north of Omaha, NE. I never would have dreamed we would have an online internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com offering Birko balance, Birko sport, Birko motion, and Blue heeled arch supports that help you with support for your feet. Back in the late 80′s my friend Mike said we should go skiing at Mt. Crescent and soon Mike and I and two other friends headed to Mt. Crescent to try to ski. I had not been on snow skis since I was a boy growing up in northeast Iowa. We had a pair of skis and would ski down the short terrace in our back yard. At the lodge at Mt. Crescent we rented skis and poles and headed out to the lifts. Mt. Crescent had a pole lift and rope to pull you up to the top of the hill. I had a hard time getting the hang of it but after a few falls I started skiing down the hill without falling. Learning how to make turns really helps you learn how to ski. If you can ski at Mt. Crescent you can ski almost anywhere. Mt. Crescent’s hill is very icy because a lot of the snow is manmade with snow making machines and the thaw freeze cycle leaves the hill icy. They have a trail south of the main hill and it is a very scenic run. Mike and my friends, who had never skied before, were soon skiing down the hill without falling. We spent the afternoon and on into the evening skiing Mt. Crescent as they provided lights for night skiing. We had a great time at Mt. Crescent and we all said that we would be back again soon. I talked to a customer and friend named Dick about a trip to ski at Mt. Crescent and he said he would like to give it a try so Dick and I headed up to Mt. Crescent for an afternoon of skiing. When we got there Dick took one look at the hill and would not get out of the car. I talked and talked to try and get him to give it a try but he refused. I was disappointed but I could not say much as Dick was a good customer. I have been on several trips to Colorado skiing but I will never forget learning to ski at Mt. Crescent. If you are looking for a good deal on brand name footwear like Dansko shoes, Dansko women’s Professional, Dansko men’s Cutter, Rockport men’s Encounter, Rockport Dressport 2, Sandro Moscoloni, Ultimate Protein, Super Birki, Birkenstock chef shoes, and Nautilus 1621 safety shoes at our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com.

I have spent 46 years living in Red Oak, here in southwest Iowa. If you need some extra support for you feet check out our Birko balance, Birko sport, Birko motion, and Blue heeled arch supports at our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com. I have traveled to and bypassed Glenwood, Iowa many times over the years. I have had customers and continue to serve the Glenwood area. I always get a mystical feeling when driving the old road from Glenwood through the Loess Hills to Council Bluffs, Iowa. When driving from Glenwood on 275 going north you wind around through the bluffs for several miles and then coming down a hill the valley opens up to this big sky plains where you can see buildings located in downtown Omaha, NE. Glenwood is located in the Loess Hills about 20 miles south of Council Bluffs and 30 miles west of Red Oak. Indians inhabited this area for hundreds of years before the Mormons arrived. I am sure the Indians liked Keg Creek for water and many earth lodges have been excavated in and around Glenwood. There is an earth lodge and museum on the east edge of Glenwood on old Hwy 34. The Missouri River ran a few miles west of Glenwood that is now part of the old flood plains for the Missouri. Indian artifacts were found that looked the same as those of the Hopi Indians and other ancient tribes that lived in New Mexico. They found earth lodges where Glenwood Resource Center is now located and when they built the clover leaf intersection on Hwy 34 south of town. People from the Smithsonian Institute have conducted digs in and around Glenwood. I was making a water system sales call on a couple that lived in the Loess Hills west of Glenwood and the man that owned the home had a small stone pipe that an Indian had carved that had a man with one hand over his mouth and the other over his stomach on the front of the pipe. The man told me he would not sell it for any amount of money. For centuries man has followed the rivers and lived in the area that is now Glenwood.The Mormons were the first white people to live there in 1848 and they called the town Coonsville. A grain mill was located there. When the Mormons left, new settlers moved in and they changed the name to Glenwood. An orphans home was established there after the civil War. The Glenwood Resource Center is located there now. There have been some problems at the Glenwood Resource Center but somehow they continue on. Glenwood was known for their apple orchards that were lost to blight and had to be destroyed. Glenwood was the home of the John Birch Society, a very right wing organization. There is another area south of Glenwood called Green Holler where people used to live in caves and shacks located in the bluffs. A lot of people have moved from Omaha and Council Bluffs because they want to send their kids to a small town school. There has been a building boom around Glenwood. Some of the new homes are spectacular and some are quite modest, including mobile homes. We have had some success with our water systems sales in this area because most people have their own private well and need water treatment. Because Glenwood is so close to Council Bluffs and Omaha we have a lot of competition there. Glenwood will continue to grow in the future but I feel some how its still belongs to the Indians. I hope you will check out our online shoe store www.lionfootweardirect.com where we offer Dansko shoes, Dansko women’s Professional, Dansko men’s Cutter, Rockport men’s Encounter, Rockport Dressport 2, Sandro Moscoloni, Ultimate Protein, Nautilus 1621, and Rockport women’s World Tour Classic.

In 1989 we had a contract with D&L Mfg. here in Red Oak, Iowa to clean their plant and offices. This was a long time before we offered Birko balance, Birko sport, Birko motion and Blue heeled arch supports on our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com. One of our responsibilities was painting the yellow safety lines on the plant floor. Steve, the plant manager, had purchased a paint machine and he showed us how to use it. I found out right away that this paint machine could plug up and it would take hours to take it apart and clean it. I found out that a local man, Denny, had a line painting service and he had two paint machines so if one plugged up he had a spare he could use to finish the job. I made a deal with Denny to paint the yellow lines on D&L’s plant floor. The Saturday arrived for the line painting job and we had plans to attend my wife’s nephew’s wedding in Omaha that afternoon. We arranged for Denny and I to meet with Steve and his assistant Susan and we walked through the plant so he could show us what yellow lines he wanted painted. I noticed Steve seemed a little edgy and irritable but my painter Denny seemed oblivious to Steve’s bad mood and as we were making our way out of the plant Denny asked if they had any paint thinner. Steve’s assistant Susan said they were not allowed to have any paint thinner in the plant because of some chemical audit. Steve’s face started to change from white to red and then green as he blew up! He started ranting and raving saying that if we could not get the job done he would get somebody from Omaha to do it and he and Susan stomped off in a huff. Denny looked at me and said “I don’t have to take this crap – I’m out of here!” I started talking real fast and told Denny that he was working for me, not Steve, and thanked him for helping me out. Denny calmed down and fired up his paint machine and painted the plant floor lines. I never brought it up to Steve about his bad behavior but I wish I would have. We went on to attend my wife’s nephew’s wedding in Omaha. Looking for a deal on high quality footwear? Check out our Dansko shoes, Dansko women’s Professional, Dansko men’s Cutter, Rockport men’s Encounter, Rockport Allander, Super Birki, Ultimate Protein, Sandro Moscoloni, and Birkenstock chef shoes at our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com.

On December 24th, 2009 Christmas Eve day began with an icy rain that turned into snow as the day went along. We offer low prices for Birko balance, Birko sport, Birko motion, and Blue heeled arch supports at our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com. We left our office about 10:30 and stopped at the grocery store to pick up some items for our Christmas Day feast. We kept listening to the local radio station to hear if our church the First United Methodist Church of Red Oak, Ia was going to cancel the 5:00 pm Christmas Eve services. Every church in town cancelled their Chrismas Eve service but not our church. It was snowing when we left for church and we probably would not have gone if I wasn’t playing drums with the Praise Band. About 80 people showed up for the service and Pastor Fred said he would never cancel services since he lived next door to the church. The Praise Band was short only one singer and we performed “Little Drummer Boy” and “Mary Did You Know?” Pastor Fred read the story of Jesus’s birth and we lit candles and sang “Silent Night” and then headed home in the snow storm. We woke up Christmas Day to a foot of new snow on the ground. Linda baked and frosted a pan of Pillsbury Grands cinnamon rolls and we enjoyed them with a glass of egg nog. Linda and I opened our presents and then we began preparing the 2.5lb. ham loaf we were having for Christmas dinner. Linda made the sauce and I stirred the meat. I put the ham loaf in the pan and put it in the oven to bake for three hours. We basted the meat every 30 minutes, putting a delicious glaze on the ham loaf. Linda prepared mashed potatos and gravy, peas and mushrooms to go with our feast. The dinner rolls with plum jelly were the perfect addition to our spread. We started eating about 2 pm in the afternoon. We had hoped our son and his wife would come for dinner but found out later that they were snowed in and Adam’s wife Jenny had the flu. Linda and I enjoyed this wonderful banquet and, of course, I ate too much and was uncomfortable the rest of the day. This did not stop me from having more ham loaf for supper.The ham loaf had a wonderful glaze on it and was our best ham loaf ever! The snow removal man showed up to push the snow out of our driveway, but the sidewalk crew did not show up until after 1:00pm on Saturday. Saturday we had our Christmas with our twin daughters Amy and Carrie and their girls Trinity, Karley and Alexa. We had Christmas with our son Adam on Sunday but without his wife Jenny since she still had the flu. Well- we did survive Christmas and I am glad I am back at the office working on this blog. The new year 2010, will show up here Thursday night at midnight and I will be glad to see the end of 2009. We wish all our customers and friends a Happy and prosperous New Year! If you are looking for a good deal on high quality footwear like Dansko shoes, Rockport men’s Encounter, Dansko women’s Professional, Super Birki, Dansko men’s Cutter, Nautilus 1621, Sandro Moscoloni, Ultimate Protein, and Rockport Dressport 2 check out www.lionfootweardirect.com.

I am sitting here in my office on 4th Street in Red Oak, Iowa on the 23rd of December 2009 waiting for Christmas to arrive Friday. If you need support for your feet check out our Birko balance, Chidren’s Birko balance, Birko sport, Birko motion, and Blue heeled arch supports at www.lionfootweardirect.com. It has been raining here all day and the forecast is for snow starting tomorrow and into Friday, Christmas
Day with a total of up to a foot of new snow. Looks like we are going to have a white Christmas here in Red Oak, Iowa. I am not sorry to see the end of the year 2009. The economy has been rough this past year. We suffered some personal losses in 2009. We saw two local manufacturing plants, Traco Windows and Red Oak Die Cast close their doors in Red Oak, IA in 2009. Parker Hannifin, our largest factory, layed off employees and let some employees go for good. Their business, manufacturing hydraulic hose has picked up and they have transferred work from some of their other plants. Our business, Lion Water Service, delivers 5gal bottles of Deep Rock Water and we lease water coolers to businesses and homeowners in Red Oak, Essex, Shenandoah, Clarinda, Stanton, Villisca and Corning, Iowa. Lion Water Service is an Ecowater Systems dealer installing water systems in homes and commercial accounts. The Deep Rock and Ecowater businesses have both been slow. People have put off having service done and are not too interested in buying anything. It was really disappointing to see senators like Ben Nelson from Nebraska get special deals for Nebraska just because he is on the committee for health care and we don’t have anyone from Iowa on it. How unfair it is for these senators to help their states to our money! I sure hope these special perks are overturned. We had 8 years of Bush and his cronies helping themselves to our money and getting rich people special tax deals. It seems like the Dems like to spend our money too. People need to stand up for what is right and get rid of these professional parasites! I am worried about what is going to happen to Medicare in this new health bill and I can’t find out any info about what is being proposed. I hope 2010 is a turn round year for our country and we can get people back to work. I know we have changes coming up in our business and life in 2010. “He is the reason for the season” Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! If you are looking for good prices for brand name footwear check out our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com where we offer Dansko men’s Cutter, Dansko Professional, Rockport men’s Encounter, Rockport men’s Dressport 2, Super Birki, Birkenstock chef shoes, Nautilus 1621, and Sandro Moscoloni.

My wife and I attended my 40th class reunion in July of 2001 at the Sportsman’s Club in Oelwein, Iowa. This is before we opened our online shoe business offering Birko balance, Birko sport, Birko motion, and Blue heeled arch supports. We have had other reunions in the past but it had been a while since the last one. It was fun seeing my class mates and talking about old times. Oelwein, Iowa has gone through some hard times due to the Chicago Great Western Railroad closing their offices and shops and moving back to Chicago. Donnelson Corp, an oil filter manufacturer in Oelwein closed their doors. Rath Packing closed and John Deere cut a lot jobs and this hurt people that work there and lived in Oelwein. There used to be a bus lines in Oelwein that ran back and forth to Waterloo taking people to work in Waterloo. Oelwein was a prosperous town in those days. After attending my class reunion we headed east towards our next destination, Galena, Ill. We stopped at Backbone State Park south of Strawberry Point so I could show my wife the devil’s backbone. We saw a couple of people rappelling down the cliffs in the park and we spent some time enjoying this most wonderful park in northeast Iowa. We left the park and got on Hwy 20 south of Manchester and headed east through Dubuque driving about 20 miles east to Galena, Il where we had reservations at Eagle Run Resort just east of town. Eagle Run is a first class resort that features 3 golf courses with the best links. I played golf on two of the courses including The General. Our room at Eagle Ridge was very nice and the food was good. We spent time in Galena looking around and visiting museums and taking in the sights. We took a tour on a trolley bus around Galena and learned a lot of history about Galena, Il from the tour guide. 85% of all buildings in Galena are on the National Register of Historic Buildings. It is like a walk back in time when you spend time in Galena, IL. The area where Galena is located was left untouched by the glaciers, leaving scenic hills and valleys around Galena. The Sac Fox Indians were the first to mine lead here and lead mines became a big industry for Galena. Galena was named after the technical name for sulfide of lead. The John Dowing House was built in downtown Galena in 1826 and is still there today open to visitors. The Galena Gazette started publishing the local newpaper in 1826 and Galena got its charter as a city in 1841. Because of access to the Mississippi by the Galena River the town became a busy port and had up to 15 steamboats docked in Galena. Ulysses S. Grant came to Galena in 1860 to work in his father’s leather store. The building that the Grants had their business in is still there. After the Civil War the city of Galena donated a wonderful home on Bouthiller St. to Grant and his family and it is open to the public for tours. The Grants were not in Galena for very long before Grant moved on to become our President. It was a fun trip but soon we were speeding down Hyw 20 headed back to southwest Iowa. Our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com has a lot of good deals on Dansko shoes, Rockport men’s Encounter, Super Birki, Rockport Dressport 2, Dansko men’s Cutter, Nautilus 1621 safety shoes, Sandro Moscoloni, Birkenstock chef shoes, and Ultimate Protein.