Me

Super Cat

2011-09-21T23:53:00.000-07:00

Petie was home from school and decided that we needed a cat so she and Sharon went down to the SPCA to look at the kittens. The favorite was, of course, a little female calico. They asked me to go before they made the final adoption. I was never that fond of cats, but agreed. We all went down to the SPCA and we were allowed to be in a room with the three kittens they had left from a litter. The female calico, a male grey tabby with a white chest and white paws, and a male yellow tabby. Don't really know why, but I told them that they really should get two so the transition would be a easier. The calico was, of course, the main player and I chose the grey tabby over the yellow tabby. The two cats would always stay at our house.

The decision was made so the SPCA neutered the two before releasing them for adoption. That is their policy. Sharon brought the two little balls of fluff home in a box with air holes. We didn't know they already had names so I got to choose the names. I wanted to call the calico "Buttons" and the gray tabby "Beau"...you know, Buttons and Beau. Buttons name got changed to Missy over the years. They made the transition remarkable well. Kittens are really a joy to watch. Chasing a ball and falling all over their self to try to get a grasp. They get such joy from a scarp piece of paper on the floor. The SPCA sent along some antibiotics in case they got kennel cough from the neutering surgery, which of course both came down with. Both kittens were OK after a couple of days.

Sharon and I were laying in the bed, probably watching a ball game, maybe a week or two later. Kittens exert so much energy playing and then crash to sleep. Both little guys were playing hard. Buttons would lay in ambush at the foot of the bed waiting for Beau to come looking for her. I couldn't see them, but could tell they both launched a mock attack and would see both popped above the bed. When both had exhausted their reserve of energy, Beau jumped up on the bed. I didn't know what he was staring at, but it appeared to be my shoulders. He walked over to where he was looking and curled up in the crook of my arm next to my chest and went to sleep. That was it. The little guy completely stole my heart. He chose me and he would be my cat. I had several pet names for "Beau", "Little Guy", "Beauby". "Beau Kitty"and "Mr Bo-Jangles", but mostly just "Beau".

Beau recognized his name when I said it. I think that is unusual for a cat to know their name, but Beau did. I know that to be true because I could be talking and he paid no attention but when I said Beau he looked at me. Beau would sleep in my bed and if I was watching TV he would lay between my knees and ankles putting his head in the crook of the back of my knees with his paws on the other leg. He would put pressure with his paws on my right leg, forcing his heard deeper under my leg and I would pet his bunny soft fur. That would never change over the fourteen years we had together.

The plan was to keep both cats as house cats only. That would have been fine with Buttons, now called Missy, but not Beau. He saw there was a whole world outside and he wanted to explore it. He insisted. So I let them out into our enclosed atrium. One gate had enough room for them to slip under so I stuffed some carpet under it to keep them in the atrium. However, there is a large crape Myrtle growing over the roof in the atrium. Beaus discovered by climbing it, he could get on the roof. Missy took a lot longer to do this. She got really mad at Beau for going up there and swatted as well as scolded him when he came down. She was taking on a role as his mother rather than his sister. She was probably a little jealous that she was, as of then, unable to climb the Crape Myrtle, a skill she too would soon learn. When they were on the roof, I would go out and call Beau. He would stick his little head over the side of the roof looking at me, but not come down. He was observing what was going on in the outside world. Beau quickly found out there was another tree close to the roof on the outside of the house. Beau was loose and Missy would soon follow. I removed the carpet so they could go in and out as they pleased. The atrium because their sanctuary.

Beaus was still young, but it wasn't long before he marked and claimed the territory of our yard, the yards on either side of us as well as the two yards across the street. That was his to control as a male and would later fight to defend it. Hard to believe that skinny little male, never weighing over 15 pounds, was actually a silent, fierce warrior. He controlled his territory until the end and won most battles. Beau was small, but very quick and very fast. He developed a tactic that served him well and allowed him to inflict damage on his larger, more powerful challengers. Beau would never make a sound when he was getting ready for a cat fight or while in combat. He had a move that dazzled his opponents. He could jump straight up, very high. He used this tactic after initial contact and would come down on his opponents back, dig in all four sets of claws on the opponents back and bit them around the neck. I saw him use this tactic twice, and before I could get there to break it up, his opponent had already taken flight. The other cats would growl and cry trying to intimidate Beau, but he would never made a sound. When Beau was an aging pride male of 13, a very large, dirty white Tom from a couple of blocks away was testing the perimeter of Beau's marked territory. Beau would watch the Tom test his boundary from our front yard, watching his every move. Beau didn't move or make a sound. The next morning, there was white fur all over our front yard. I pick up Beau and checked out his white chest very carefully looking for wounds, claw cuts or punctures. Didn't see a thing. I guess that Old Guy won another one. I have never saw that big, dirty white Tom again.

Early this spring, Beau was really feeling bad. He still wanted to go out but just slept in the bushes in the front yard. I was setting in the swing with Beau sleeping in the bushes. My next door neighbor was walking his dog on a leash and he stopped with the dog to talk to me for a minute. He had a large, boxer mix dog. I told him to hold tight on to leash because Beau was in the bushes about 10 yard behind me, and was sick. In a couple of minutes, I heard this loud, deep throat growl from behind me.
Beau never made a sound before or during his cat fights. The neighbor said we, meaning he and his dog, needed to get out of there. I looked around and the noise was coming from Beau. I had never heard that sound in fourteen years. Beau had come out of the bushes and was slowly but steadily walking straight at that dog. He was not bluffing and was not going to stop. The growl was not meant to intimidate but rather to show his intention. I am going to tear you a new one if you don't get out of my yard. He was totally fearless. When they quickly walked away, Beau ran to the edge of our lot and watched until the dog was two house away before returning to his sleeping spot in the bushes. That big dog could have snapped Beau in half. The Little Guy was the ultimate warrior. I don't know whether he wanted that dog out of his front yard or he was protecting me. I had never seen him do this when other dogs came through our front yard. I occasionally walk down a couple of houses to talk to some neighbors. I would be walking, and you know that sense you have that someone is behind you. I would stop and look back and there would be Ol' Beau slow trailing me. I guess he was hiding in the bushes and wanted to know where I was going.

I always went out late before I went to bed to call Beau to see if he wanted in for the night. Some nights he would and some he wanted to stay out. Many times after I called his name, I would see his little white paws and chest in the distance as he came running at full speed to me. It was night and his mostly gray coat would make it almost impossible to see him without the white markings. Even though Beau was a fighter, he never once put out his claws when I picked him up, put him in the pet taxi or took him out of the cage at the vet's office. He never bit me. He hated going to the vet. It traumatized him and he would be mad at me for a couple of days. Even the last day when I picked him up to put him in the cage and took him out in the execution chamber, he would not put out his claws or claw me.

Like I said, Beau had not been feeling well for about six months. He still went out at night and often during the day, but he mostly just slept. A neighbor looked after the cats when we went on vacation in July. He had looked after the cats other times when we would be gone for more than 3 days, but we had never been gone for more than a week. When we came home the other times, Beau would scold me for about 5 minutes when we came in. This time was different. He just looked at me and then went over to eat the tuna that had been left for him that morning. I couldn't believe how bad he looked. I don't think he ate the entire 3 weeks we were gone. I picked him up to pet him and he was nothing but bones. He now wanted to eat every 2 to 3 hours. I feed him about 6 times a day. He would wake me up at night wanting food. I was hoping he would add some weight by eating so much, but he didn't. He no longer wanted to go outside.

I took Beau to the vet dreading what he was going to tell me. I was told Beau had a growth on his thyroid, a heart murmur and and had serious renal problems. The vet said he though that Beau probably had very high blood pressure forcing blood through his kidneys and that was the only thing helping him make urine. Beau only weighed a little over 5 pounds despite being fed 6 times a day for a month.I packed up the little guy to take him home dreading what I was going to have to do.

The last six months when Beau was sick, he still jumped in my chair while I was watching TV. However, he did not stretch and look totally relaxed as he had the rest of his life. He would just lay there for a little while before jumping down and crouching on the rug. He would jump in bed with me, but again jumped out after a short time. The last night I had my little buddy, Beau lay between my knees and ankles completely relaxed, just like he used to when I was watching TV. He jumped into bed with me and lay by my side all night. I put my arm around what was left of his tiny body. Taking Beau down to be put to sleep is one of the hardest thing I have ever done. I wanted to take him home so bad but knew I couldn't. Beaus gone now and I miss that little guy so much. I hope that time will ease the tears and waves of sadness, but it is not happening very fast. I still look out in the atrium when I pass, looking for my kitty's face knowing it will not ever be there again. His sister has also not stopped looking for her life long companion. She too still misses him. I also feel a lot of guilt. Beau completely trusted me and I killed him. The only difference between me and Judas is thirty pieces of silver. I wanted so desperately to carry Beau back home. I had made a appointment days earlier and had canceled. Did I do the right thing? That haunts me.

I really miss you little guy. I play this in endless loops sometimes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAkhyks0uRs

The Good Ol' Days!

2011-04-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

The latest AARP newspaper had a short piece telling it's readers not to act old, even though they are. The following points were what AARP considered most typical of a senior acting old. (1) Do not always talk about any chronic illness you have or any aches and pains. (2). Do not talk about the "good old days" as a main topic of a lot of your conversations. (3). Do not talk, or act depressed, about the death of a loved one or friend after 3 months.

I do not understand number 3 and do not see how you cannot talk about your deceased spouse if you survive them. When you are old and lose a spouse, the survivor, more often than not, also passes away within a year. I am writing this one off as pure bull. I can see number one. While a health problem YOU have is very important to you, it is not to anyone you are talking to and they cannot do anything about it. That leaves number 2, so I got to thinking, were the good old days better than today, and if so how?

I WOULD much rather grow up when I did rather than today. The pace of living was much slower and there were a lot fewer people. The population in 1950 was 150 million. I don't understand one major change in the national dialog about world population. There was a lot of discussion in the 50's and 60's about the need to control the world's population. Now, when the population has doubled, there is not any discussion about the problem. There is little doubt that we are stressing the planet's resources to feed the people now on earth. Crowding makes people edgy and angry, especially while driving. I don't think it was as dangerous for a child as it is today. Were there fewer child predators, percentage wise, in the good ol' days? I don't know. Maybe it wasn't as common because the occurrences were not covered by the media. I know I had a lot more freedom then the children do today. When I was Joelle's age, I was wondering off by myself down the railroad track picking up stray dogs. I doubt if Mom even knew where I was half the time. Now, Joelle is closely watched when she just crosses the street to play at a neighbor's house. I panic if either girl is ever out of my sight line. Drugs were not a problem through the mid 60's. I was never ever exposed to illegal prescription drugs and never knew anyone who ever took them. The Viet Nam war brought the drugs home with the returning soldiers. I guess it was bound to happen anyway. Another major change is the ethics of conducting business. There were always some crooks, but deceitful business practice is the norm today. You shouldn't conduct any business transaction, like cell phone service or cable TV service without a lawyer. The deceit is intentional and widespread.

We didn't have TV or electronic games, I cannot say I missed it. Food was a lot different. Meals were mostly prepared from what was grown seasonal and and grown nearby with the exception of citrus. We didn't use any pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers in our gardens. Vegetables were canned in the summer and eaten in the winter. There were no shopping malls and you went downtown to buy everything. Parking was not a problem. My Texas drivers' license number was less that 275,000 when I got it at 14. I had a commerical license when I was 16. There are now two zeros in front of my number. Erwin didn't even have a grocery super market, but we did have one in Kingsport and in Longview. The biggest negative I can think of was the war in Viet Nam. I was not very aware of the Korean war because I was too young and not effected. We did have the cold war. I cannot ever remember being very worried about it even though there were several buildings downtown that were designated as atomic fallout shelters. We had drills in school to get under our desk in case of atomic attack. Air raid warning test were conducted every Friday at noon. I often wondered, what if they attacked at noon? No one ever paid any attention to those siren blast that lasted a couple of minutes. It became white noise. We had a saying, better red than dead.

I do not think that the 40's, 50's and 60's were a great time to grow if you were female or Afro American. The only jobs for women were school teachers, nurses, secretaries or store clerks. The education and job opportunities for an Afro American were even more limited in the south. I cannot say about the rest of the country. Medical Science has been the area of biggest improvement. Penicillin was discovered during the second world war. Before the discovery of antibiotics, I believe that pneumonia was the biggest killer, not heart attacks or cancer. No joint replacement for arthritics, no drugs for high blood pressure or cholesterol. I believe that insulin shots were the only thing available for diabetics. Medical technology has come a long way, now if we could just decide that it should be available for all people regardless of income, age or existing medical conditions. In other words, health care is a requirement, not a privilege. This brings me to another big change from the "good Ol' Days" and the present. For the most part, people had empathy for other people that needed help. I believe that almost every county in East Tennessee had a "poor farm". That's the origin of the phrase of "I am going to end up on the poor farm". People who had nothing could move to a community farm, work as much as they were able and would be provided with meals and a place to sleep. I guess the reason people had more empathy was we had just come out of the great depression that destroyed the lives of about 25% of the population. Everyone knew some family that needed help to just survive. I believe that this country lost empathy starting with the post war baby boomers....the "Me" generation.

Another big change I can see is religion and religious values. I think just as many, maybe more, people were religious then, but they didn't get in your face about it, be judgemental, and use it as a politically tool. There was a little in the early 60's when they tried to use Kennedy's Catholic religion against him during the presidential race. Today, religious issues are a wedge issues used to determine elections. I wish someone would explain to me how recognizing civil unions is a threat to my marriage of 44 years. I don't see it. I do see the injustice of denying people of the sane sex who have lived together the legal rights needed for medical decisions.

I believe that the extended families were much closer back in the good ol' days. They were closer because they all lived near one another. I guess we started the trend in the 50's when we moved to Texas. In some ways, I regret that we moved away. We had no family in Texas and I am sure I could have used some help after my Dad died in 1956.

I maintain that I would rather grow up when I did that grown up in today's environment. The reasons are my childhood memories of roaming the railroad tracks, spending all summer at Uncle Ober's and Aunt Mary's farm and the cool summer nights and holidays in Erwin with all my Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents. I also think we like to think of the good old days because we were young, nothing hurt and when you got sick, you got well. So, I think that youth and health is what makes the old days good.

I am sure that when my grandchildren grow old, they will think of the early 2000's as the good old days. Your youth is what I think makes those long lost days good.

Precious moments

2010-11-16T22:14:00.000-08:00

I guess that when you get older, you learn to appreciate little moments that you might never have again. I think I had one of those moments today.

Sharon fell and broke her foot...technically her toe, but the bone is actually in her foot. I have been trying to cut down on her walking, much to her very vocal disagreement, so she can heal. I have really enjoyed the little things....very little, that I have been able to pitch in and do. Today, I told Sharon that I would walk into the school to pick up Lil' Lisie and Sharon could wait in the car. She, of course, disagreed. She countered with Elise is a funny child, she may have a fit if it is not Nanna that picks her up. She said she didn't think Petie had told Elise that Poppa, not Nanna, would get her today. I told her that she would be in the car, 15 yards away, if the situation got out of hand. I know that Lisie would prefer Sharon to me, but come on, she knows who I am. This went back and forth for about thirty minutes, but I wore her down and she agreed.

We pulled up to the school and parked, about 15 yard to 20 yards from Lisie's classroom. I got out and went into the school. Amazingly, I was able to successfully check out Lisie on the computer....I had checked her in the day before. I had repeated instructions from Sharon how to accomplish this very difficult three step procedure. Successful completion of step one, enter her number code, now on to step two. Enter the password, step 2 completed, I clicked "finish" and I was through. I went to the door of the classroom and looked through the window to make sure I had the right classroom. Lil' Lisie saw me through the window in the door and then, with the biggest smile, pointed at me and told her teacher, "that's my Poppa". The teacher smiled at me through the window before I went in. She knew me from the day before when I had dropped Lil' Lisie off in the same classroom and released her to the same teacher. Lil' Lisie excitedly wanted her backpack, which I retrieved from the same shelf I had put it in the day before. She then proceeded to put in ten, counted them off, leaves into her backpack relaying the story behind her precious cache. I noticed three boys still seated at a table toward the back of the room and heard one of them say, "that's her grandpa".

We walked hand in hand to the car where we greeted a relieved Nanna that I had accomplished this very difficult task. I wouldn't have traded that smile and "That's my Poppa" greeting for the world.

These are the precious moments you learn to appreciate. They may never happen again.

Of anvils and coke bottles

2010-02-12T23:16:00.000-08:00

I am sure you have heard the old joke about locking a person in a room with an anvil and a coke bottle. When the door was unlocked, the coke bottle was fine but the anvil was torn to bits. That person was me today.

Joelle's school was having a day where the children brought a loved one to their school to show them around. Petie had to look after Lil' Lisie, Chris had to work and Sharon could not get up and function at 7:30 in the morning. So Joelle called in the "B" team. I was going to get to go with her. Got a haircut, shaved put on some decent pants and was at Petie's house at 7:10. We got to the school at about 7:30 and Joelle showed me around her room. I was really impressed with the neat set up with three student desk set arrangement and a reading room.Then Joelle took me to the cafeteria. I thought she wanted a muffin and a cup of water so I got a cup of coffee. Turns out she didn't want a muffin and neither did I so I was stuck with the cup of coffee and we left to go back to her room. The cafeteria exit door was a heavy steel door with the wind blowing against it. Two boys were there first and were having a hard time opening the door I had a Valentine card Joelle had drawn for her Mother and Daddy, my cane, and the cup of coffee in my right hand and I leaned over to open the door with my left hand. Bad choice. I spilled some coffee on my hand and one of the boys. Luckily the coffee was hot, but not scalding. Joelle told me I spilled coffee on him. I was mortified. I had some napkins so I dabbed it off as quickly as possible.

When we got back to the room, Joelle told me I should go, it was time for school to start. I messed up my big chance. There is no room on the "A" team for bumbling old fool. I tore the heck out of that anvil.

Wish upon a star!

2009-12-10T12:59:00.000-08:00

Today is December 10, 2009. I picked up Elise from tumbling and as I put her in the car I noticed an eyelash on her cheek. Not knowing if she had ever made an eyelash wish, I decided to give it a go; I told her I had her eyelash between my fingers and if she made a wish and chose the correct finger her wish would come true. I held my fingers before her and said, "which one my thumb or my finger", she pointed to the finger and that is exactly where the lash was. Then I said, "what did you wish for". She thought long and hard and then with a big smile she said, "a train". The remarkable thing to me is that is what she asked for from Santa or at least from her Mom for Christmas. (Chris and Petie this is for later use. I mean, brilliant #2, she must really want a train asking and wishing.) Love Nana

RIP Jack

2009-08-23T22:17:00.000-07:00

I was driving home yesterday and something in the curb gutter in front of my house caught my attention. I had a sinking feeling when I saw it. When I got out and went over for a closer look, my suspicions were confirmed. It was my antenna Ball. I have had that Jack In The Box antenna ball for over 10 years. The mouth, eyes and nose were long gone so the only thing left was the round Styrofoam ball and the yellow hat. It was like an old friend and I could always spot my truck by the antenna ball that no one else would ever have.

I told Sharon about my tragedy. She said "poor little fellow, we should bury him". The ball was on longer round because someone had run over it. I tenderly put it back on my antenna but he was a goner. It no longer looked like a Jack In The Box antenna ball missing a couple of parts. It looked like a piece of Styrofoam just jammed on the antenna.

Sharon loves Jack In The Box antenna balls. I believe she has all the special edition balls in a collection. She looked in her collection and found she had two "Party On Jacks", I believe from 2002 New Years time period. She gave one to me. The new ball is very fancy and I am sure he will lose details much faster that my old tradition Jack In The Box. So Far, my truck has not rejected the transplant ball. The next couple of days are critical as to whether my truck accepts or rejects the transplant. I will just have to get used to the "Party On Jack". I doubt it will last 150,000 miles like my old Jack In The Box ball.

I do not accept change very well.

Bad week for utilities

2009-08-15T00:30:00.000-07:00

I am really down on corporations in the electric business. Their money, in my opinion, is chiefly responsible for the deregulation of electricity. I know it was not the consumer who wanted electric rates that were 40% higher than than the neighboring states. I do not understand why Democrats running for state office do not make this an issue. I know that I can no longer votes for a Republican for any state office.

But I regress. Earlier this week, Sharon came home and said there was a group of door to door salesmen in the neighborhood. It was almost time to go to Lubys, which would make it about 4:30. We were almost ready to go when the doorbell rang. I saw this group of four or five people standing on the front porch. I open the door and went outside closing the door behind me. I saw a "Reliant Energy" patch on their shirt. The hair on the back of my neck immediately bristled. The head guy started his rehearsed spill when I stopped him by saying there was no way I was ever going to do business with Reliant Energy if I had a choice. He asked me why and I told him. I thought I was pretty clear but he came back with "we have a 12 cent rate". I could have told him I could get a 10 cent rate by just going on the Internet but I wanted to end the conversation and go to Lubys, so I said "I don't care if you have a 3 cent rate, I will never again do business with Reliant if I have a choice". I walked in the house without giving them a chance to reply and shut the door. Off to Lubys.

I received my gas bill today, Center Point Energy. I knew it was incorrect by 100 cubic feet. Went out to make sure, sure enough, too high by 100 CF. So I called and got customer service. After about 10 minutes of answering questions, you know, phone number, address etc. The person than told me my personal information was incomplete and would I like her to record my social security number and date of birth. In my best imitation of "The Band" in their song "The Weight" all I said was "NO".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmRDM7GyJXE

It could always be worse!

2009-08-09T00:02:00.000-07:00

I was talking to my old friend tonight and we somehow wandered back to our college days at Texas. He was talking about how bad a student he was and how he just barely graduated with a 1.01 on a 3 point system. He was talking about how he had bombed a couple of courses and it made me think about the most extreme insult I have ever heard of from a professor on an exam.

I believe the course was Biology...not a course you would normally take to improve your grade point average. I was going for a beer with this person who was a little upset. I didn't ask her why, but then she showed me her graded exam. The grade was a 7. How do you come up with a 7 out of a possible 100? I do not know how the professor arrived at that grade, but she showed me some of his comments on her answers. Words like "ridiculous" and "is this even relevant to the question". Every answer had some comment like the ones I remember. Needless to say she failed the course. The professor must have been making some kind of statement. I know that I got my share of "F's" in my second semester of my freshman year. That was because I did not go to class after the first week. I also got a "F" which is anything below a 60. I never received a numerical grade in single digits. That fact makes you wonder why.

I think everyone show be aware of this story. No matter how badly you do in any course, just remember the girl that received a 7 on a quiz. I guess it could have been worse, she could have been graded with a 5 or 6. I don't know if this made my friend feel better about his college career, but it could have been worse. I also wonder how he came so close to not even graduating, he was never on ScoPro like I was after my freshman year. If he had not made two "B's" and a "C" in his last semester...he just took 9 hours, he could not have graduated. I guess the early shock of being on ScoPro made an impact on me.

2009-05-25T22:33:00.001-07:00

Sharon and I watched "Changling" this weekend. Pretty good movie about a rough subject matter. I thought the performance by the bad guy was outstanding and I hope he got nominated for an award as a supporting actor. I also thought the older kid from Canada also deserved acknowledgement for his performance.

There was a line in the movie by Christine Collins where she told the shrink "F**k you and the horse you rode in on". The movie setting was in the late 20's and early 30's. That was a line that was popular when I was in High school. The expression made it for at least 30 years, I don't know if Petie or Joey were aware of the saying or not. I just shorted it and simply said "And the horse you rode in on". Every one knew the full expression. I am sure I always used in it jokingly, probably just on my friends. I have only been in one fight in my life...I believe I have stated this in an earlier blog.

The only other saying that apparently has survived the test of time is "cool". Or at least I have heard Joey use it. Probably a few of the others have survived, but I would not know it.

Lisie knows!

2009-02-22T23:59:00.000-08:00

I came back from the MACAC today and Joelle was watching TV. I realized that we were out of cashew nuts that I try and keep for Joelle and Lisie. My latest disease has stopped my daily, almost, trips to the grocery store. I started thinking about Lisie's last couple of trips.

The first was a couple of weeks ago when I had plenty of cashews on hand. When I heard her coming to the front door I went to get her some cashews and gave them to her in a small cup. She polished those off and stated she wanted "more". I was happy to give them to her. She noticed that the mother lode was not in her cup, but rather in the can that was on the kitchen counter. When Petie was ready to go, and getting Lisie ready to go, Lisie ran into the kitchen and came back to get her shoes on, clutching the can of cashews tightly to her chest. She was taking them home.

This week, I was out of nuts, again, because I have not been to the store. Sharon put some Teddy Grahams in a small cup for Lisie's snack. This is after I made Lisie mad when I said no when I saw her put something in her mouth. Turned out it was an old cashew that was on the window next to Sharon's Chair. I am not sure she has forgiven me yet. After Sharon put Lisie's shoes on to go home, she again ran into the kitchen and came back with the box of Teddy Grahams. Both times there were still a few in her snack cup, but she knows where the mother lode is and she is claiming it as her prize.

25 boring things

2009-02-03T01:10:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't think I can come up with 25 things about myself that would not put everyone to sleep, but here goes.

1. My Favorite book from an entrainment perspective is probably "Catcher in the Rye" from my formative years and Jurassic Park in my "golden years". One of the most informative books I have read is "The Great War for Civilization". I highly recommend it for people who have only seen the middle east from the view point of American journalism.

2. I love trees! I don't see how anyone could doubt that there is a God if they have ever seen a giant redwood or a sequoia. The greatest tragedy in American forestry was the extinction of the American Chestnut. The last one died out in the 30's.

3. I must not be a person that easily makes close associations with people. I have not made any friends since college, I have acquaintances, but not close friends. My two best friends have passed away. Hap died of lung cancer in his early forties and Danny died in 1999. I still miss Danny terribly. I used to call him at least 5 times a w eek and the conversations would go on for hours. We laughed, talked about the 'Horns and discussed what was going on, both the good and the bad. I think AT&T dropped three points the day Danny died. Interestingly, Hap and Danny were my best friends but I was not their best friend.

4. Sharon was my first love at the ripe old age of 25. I was lucky enough to have met and married the only girl who would have put up with my sorry butt for over 40 years.

5. The most relaxing sound to me are cows baying and a train whistle, both at night. Earlier blogs explain why.

6. I have always been a conservationist or environmentalist. Not to the extent of Joey and Petie, but extreme in my age group. I was writing letters, with little or no response, in my early twenties. I guess that some of that rubbed off on Petie and Joey. I am sure that the yearly camping trips during their early years also helped form their views.

7. I loved to play sports when I was younger. I now say, you know, I played a lot of sports when I was younger, but I wasn't very good. I hated organized football. Those two a days before school started were terrible. I am amazed more high school football player do not die in Texas. Back in my day, you were not allowed to drink water, even in the extreme heat. The coaches were making us tough.

8. One of the things I miss most is the wind in your face after you have been running for more than a hour. I wish track had been more of a sport when I was in high school. I believe I could have been a good middle distance runner if I had worked at it and didn't smoke.

9. I never could dance a lick. I didn't understand why. I guess I just did not have any rhythm.

10. I like a wide variety of music. I used to really like county music but I do not like what it has evolved into. Give me Hank Williams, Ray Price and Patsy Cline. You can have these new guys, they suck.

11. My childhood heroes were Ted Williams and Don Drysdale. I could tell you the line up of every major league team and come within 3 or 4 points of their batting average when I was younger. Now, I couldn't even tell you who plays for the Houston Astros. I completely lost interest in major league baseball in the 70's when utility infielders made over $100,000 dollars. The last pro basketball game I watched from tip off to buzzer had Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain as opposing centers. However, I still like pro football, but not as much as college football.

12. I was a computer programmer for 35 years and never learned to type. That is the main reason for so many typos and it is embarrassing.

13. Hate the phrases "How fun is that?" and "How are we doing". "How are we doing" is a phrase used by a lot of nurses. I take it like they are talking down to me as a child. I'll bet my IQ is a least 20 points higher than theirs and they are talking down to me. I usually respond by saying "I cannot speak for you". I also do not like it when a doctor introduces himself as "I am Doctor Smith". I have on several occasions replied " I am computer programmer Stultz".

14. The dumbest thing I have ever done happened while I was in high school. One weekend during the summer, I went with Glenn King to visit his girl friend, Robbin. We drove from Longview to Queen City, or something like that, Arkansas. Glenn, Robbin, another girl and I dove out of town to where a bridge crossed a river. There was a board, like a two by twelve on a very high cliff overlooking the river. The girls dared Glenn and me to dive off. Glenn refused but I had to be "macho". I climbed the cliff and dove off the board into the river. I now shudder to think of what might have happened.

15. The longest, loneliest night I have ever spent was in the CICS unit of the LDS hospital in Salt Lake City. As Homer Simpson said, "The longest, loneliest night, so far".

16. I am not a lucky person. That does not mean I am unlucky. Lucky people win the lottery, win free stuff, get that big break by sheer chance. Unlucky people just get dumped on financially, medically and politically. There is a 1 in 100,00 chance you will die during open heart surgery. That 1 in 100,000 is unlucky. I used to play the weekly football pools. It didn't cost a lot, usually just a buck, After 10 years of never winning a pot, I just quit. When I was in college, I went to a bingo game at the country club with Danny and Emily. Dollar a card. The last game was blackout worth $1,000. With 5 numbers to go, I needed one number to win. It went from 5 numbers to 4 to 3 to 2 to 1. No winners They kept calling 5 more numbers before someone won the vastly reduced pot. I really could have used that grand. I was working three different jobs in Austin trying to hang on.

17. I consider myself a failure in the game of life. In my high school class, there is a CEO of a major corporation, a law graduate who has been featured in Newsweek as the most influential American in Taiwan, many very successful and wealthy lawyers, many PHDs. I was on a peer with the most successful grade wise and better than most of the others that have gather a lot of wealth. I do not feel I am a failure from my standpoint....I have everything I want. I have a beautiful, loving wife, two children with a wonderful value system and are generally good, intelligent honest citizens. I don't even worry anymore about Joey now that he is 40. I quit worrying about Petie after her 16th year was over. I am lucky to have three healthy, beautiful intelligent grandchildren. I have everything I want and would live same if I had 20 times my current net worth. I feel that I have let Sharon, Joey and Petie down though by not being able to guarantee their financial future.

18. I have a trait that I keep trying to change. I expect everyone I have a financial dealings with to treat me the same as I would treat them. Hasn't worked out very well.

19, My Favorite Sitcon is WKRP. It was short lived and I watch any reruns if I find them. I do not re watch movies.

20. I changed political parties after 2003. I had voted Republican all my life but George W. Busk changed all that. I started looking into the issues instead of listening to slogans and platitudes, I studied executive orders and legislation and figured out that the republican base consisted of Corporate executive management, wall street movers and shakers, the wealthy, radical religious right, the ignorant and the uniformed. I hope I was uninformed and not ignorant. I am now yellow dog democrat and consider my self very educated on the real issues.

21. I am a lot more religious that my church attendance and language would indicate.

22. I talk very pessimistically but deep down I am really an optimist.

23. One of my favorite things is to do something with my children and grandchildren. It just doesn't get any better than that.

24. I have said that if a doc ever says, "sorry pete, your terminal", I am going out a buy a pack of Salem Longs and a six pack of Coors light and finish them both in one setting.

25. I love my life.

26. Sharon insisted that I include one more "dumbest things" I bought a motorcycle in my early 30's. It was a Yamaha 350. Not too much on the top end but could get from 0 to 50 in a screaming heartbeat. Sharon and I took a weekend trip one spring....went to Fulshear, on to Orchard and back. Not too much traffic back then so it was pleseant. There was one problem. You don't turn the wheel when you want to turn left or right at speed, you lean in the direction you want to go. Therein was the problem, I would lean right to turn right but sharon leaned left trying to stay straight up. We were all over the road. That was our one and only trip. I dropped the bike in the neighborhood, hit some gravel during a turn, which is biker slang for I had a wreck. The muffler came down across my calf and fried it. I still have a back mark on my left knee where I ground some gravel into my leg on impact. I just prayed that my son or daughter would never get on one of those things...they are very dangerous. I hope Petie and Joey forbid their children to ever get on one of those death traps.

I wanted it here rather than facebook....I have my reasons.

They do hear you!

2009-01-09T20:23:00.000-08:00

The "experts" say that you need to be careful what you say around children. They are right. When you are talking and they are playing, it appears that children are locked into their world and not really paying attention to the muffled conversations going on in the room. They do hear everything and are paying attention.

As most folks know, Petie and Chris have a remodeling project going on that has tried their patience and sanity. The various people coming in, carpenters, tile setters, plumbers, electricians and painters come and go and have had their house torn up for a couple of months. These "workers" come and go on a daily basis, but not everyday. I have heard Petie talk about which "workers" were there today and which "workers" would be there tomorrow, if they were lucky. I imagine that this has also been a frequent topic of conversation between Petie and Chris every evening during their routine of dinner and bedtime for the girls.

I dropped by yesterday to check on the progress and see my granddaughters. A couple of painters were painting the new shelves located near the doorway separating the den from the hall that leads to the bedrooms and the playroom. Lil’ Lisie was supposed to be taking her afternoon nap but was fretting. Probably because of the noise in the den. Finally Petie said it was OK for Sharon to go in and let her get up. So, Lisie comes into the den and I receive my usual greeting. When she sees me for the first time, she silently looks at me, gives me a big smile and points her finger at me. Kinda like her way of saying, "I see you, glad you’re here". I am not high enough on the pecking order to receive her best greeting. Lisie’s best greeting is loudly saying your name while running full speed toward you to give you a big hug. Truthfully, I have not earned that high degree of respect from her.

She then used her hand trick on Sharon and led he off to the toy room. Lisie’s hand trick is to reach out and get you to hold her little hand. Then she leads you off to do what she wants you to do. Nobody can resist the hand trick. How could you possibly refuse that little hand and that big smile? I believe that Petie has previously bogged about the hand trick. Anyway, as she led Sharon off to the toy room, they had to pass by the two painters working near the hall door. Lisie uttered something as she approached the painters before she and Sharon disappeared into the hall. Lisie has to check the entire house every 10 minutes or so to keep track of everyone. She came back to make sure Petie and I were still at out stations and to bring me a toy to play with, I heard her again utter something as she approach the painters. This time I was sure she said "watch out workies" as she approached the painters. Sure enough, every time she left the room or came back into the room, she said "watch out workies" as she approached the painters.

Children do hear everything you say.

Men with guns

2008-08-04T04:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I am lonely and bored. All my girls are gone, so I should try to document another of my "top 10 stories". I guess I should consolidate all three of my dealing with people who have guns.

(1).

I don't remember what year it was, probably the summer of 1962. I was in Austin going to summer school and trying to earn enough money to survive. I found a job working the graveyard shift at a Jack Ritter service station. I had two day jobs, one grading papers and another cleaning tables and washing dishes at the Steak and Stein. The only problem was, it was pretty far away from the campus. The service station was on Ben White blvd, east of I-35. Most of you know it as highway 71 now. Back then, there was not another structure around. I ran the graveyard shift alone, and after about 10:00 PM, there was very little business, sometime hours between customers. Part of my job was to mop down the driveway to keep the oil drippings washed off. I usually started the process about 2:00 AM. I had just mopped down the driveway with a very soapy mixture when a man came out from behind the station. He had a pillow case over his head with eye holes cut out and a shotgun trained on me. The shotgun looked as big as a bazooka. He force me inside the station with the shotgun pressed into the small of my back. I gave him the contents of the cash register, probably about $30.00 and he took my billfold which had, at the most, $2.00. I was trying to function even though I was gripped with fear. I volunteered to rip the phone off the wall so I couldn't phone the police when he left. I did it, but it didn't work.

He then forced me out of the station and across the field behind the station. I just knew he was going to shoot me when we got away from the station and the highway. However, when we we several hundred yards away from the station, he told me to take off running. I started running and had the presence of mind to run in a zigzag expecting to be shot any minute. I kept running west to I-35 until I came to the IRS building, where I called the Sheriff's department. This area was not in the Austin City limits in 1962. The sheriff came, picked me up and took me back to the station. They took down my statement about what happened and took me back to my apartment.

Several days later, someone from the sheriff's department started coming by daily to ask me more questions and brought pictures of a lot of black men. I repeated, he had a pillow case over his head, how can I identify anyone without seeing his face. Then, someone came by to get me and took me to the sheriff's office for more questions. He told me he wanted me to again tell him what had happened; he typed it and told me he wanted me to sign it. I did. He then said he was going to check out every detail, and if anything in my statement did not check out exactly, "the monkey was going to be on my back"...his exact words. He then told me wanted me to take a lie detector test. I finally realized what was happening. I was now really scared. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know anyone in town, I couldn't call Mom, she had just recovered from a nervous breakdown. I went to a Catholic Church near the campus....I don't know why, maybe because I had gone to a Catholic school in Kingsport until the fourth grade. I talked to a priest and related my story asking what I should do. He told me that he was sure everything would be OK and dismissed me. I guess I should not have expected anything more based on my horrible experience with the Catholic school in Kingsport.

I then had an idea, I had taken Business Law the previous year and went to talk to my professor, Mr. Purser. He listened to my story and told me he wanted to go with me when I took the lie dictator test. When he showed up with me to take the test, I could see the Sheriff, who was giving me a hard time, didn't like it. I took the lie dictator test, and failed...according to the test result analysis. Mr. Purser told me not to sign anything or talk to them anymore without him. I could tell he believed me even faced with the results of the lie dictator test. The sheriff got off my back. I did not have anymore contact or harassment after Mr. Purser was on my side. A couple of weeks later, I got a bill from Texaco. I had a Texaco credit card in my billfold. I had canceled the credit card, but got a bill for over $200.00, a LOT of money in those days. There were charges for car repairs, a set of tires, a new battery and a lot of gas. All in all, about 30 or more credit charges. The statements came with credit slips in those days. Of the more than 30 charges, one had a license plate recorded in the place where the station attendant was supposed to put the car license number. It was for $1.58 worth of gas. The tires, battery and car repairs did not have the license number recorded. I took the credit card charges to the sheriff and gave them to him. I called about a couple of weeks later and asked what was happening. He informed me they picked up the guy the day after I gave him the credit slips and the guy confessed almost immediately. No apology for what they had put me though, not even the courtesy of letting me know that I had been completely cleared of any wrongdoing..

The injustice of the events even spilled over into my academics. I was taken an accounting course, my major, and my academic advisor was teaching the course. I made the highest grade in the class on the 1st quiz, the 3rd quiz and the final. I made a 37 on the 2nd quiz, which was right in the middle of this mess. I went to talk to my professor/advisor. I even had a newspaper clipping backing up my story about why I had bombed the 2nd quiz. He told me not to worry about that test grade. However, when the final grades were posted, he gave me a B.

(2).

The year was 1957, my first year of high school. I was selected to become a member of the Key Club, which was a honor in Longview High. All new member were subject to initiation in the spring. It was kinda brutal, although nothing compared to Hell Week fraternity initiation in College. The were neat things, like having to hold the two leads of a "telephone" to get repeated electrical shocks. Another of the neat things they did was to get you to spread atom bomb in your shorts. Atom bomb was the very strong ointment used to treat muscle strains. It was very strong and very painful in your shorts. At the completion of the initiation, four of us, who had just completed the ordeal, jumped into a car and drove to the lake. The lake was out of town and no one lived in the area we went to. We went to a place where a bridge crossed a narrow part of the lake. We all jumped off the bridge into the water, buck naked, to wash off the atom bomb It was late spring. After a refreshing dip, we all got out, got dressed and got back into the car. I was in the back seat behind the driver. Suddenly, a car pulled up right behind us and the next thing I knew, there was a cocked pistol pressed against my temple though the open window.. It completely froze me, the first time I had ever had a gun pointed at me. We were told to get out of the car, get on the ground, face down. I don't know how long we were forced to be in this position, but we all told him what we were doing there and why. We were not on private property, we were on on a public road. Sure it was late, probably about midnight, but I now realize what a complete abuse of power that was. The guy was an off duty police officer. There was no mistaken that we were all very young, not drunk and not a danger to anyone or anything.

(3),

The year was 1958, my junior year in high school. There was not a lot to do in Longview in the 50's. One weekend, three car loads of us decided to drive to an old airport off highway 80, just east of Longview, The airport was closed and, we thought, deserted. You could easily get to the runway, there was no gate or anything to keep you off the airstrip. The three car loads of us drove onto the airstrip and started racing up and down, trying to do spins or anything else we had seen in the movies. I head a loud "bang" followed by several more bangs no one in the car I was in could indentify the sounds. Suddenly, one of the cars sped off the airstrip and almost had a wreck by pulling onto highway 80 in front of another car. We followed while still hearing "bangs". All three cars headed to the Malt Shop, which was the only hang out in Longview. When we got there, the driver of the car that had first sped off got out of his car and motioned us over to his car. He was visible shaken. He took us the rear of his car and showed us two bullet holes though his trunk. The bullets had penetrated his trunk but did not go though the back seat where two people were setting. Thank goodness the cars in those day had a very thick metal body. I am sure that today, the bullets would have gone though the car body as well as the back seat.

Well, those are my top ten stories about being held up, kidnapped, shot at and having a gun pressed to my temple. I laugh when I hear someone tell me what they would do if this or that happened. From my experience, you cannot tell what you will do when something unexpected happens in the flash of an eye. The only thing I know, is that extreme fear takes over. I hope I never see the business end of a loaded weapon again. I also understand the attempt to curtail the power of law enforcement using weapons. If I have had these experiences with law enforcement, how many others had had similar experiences and how many have not survived? How many people are in prison that have not done anything wrong? Some people should not be given absolute power over other people. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be black or hispanic in those days. The temptation to abuse this power is too great. This also applies to our countries abuse of military power. An example of this abuse of power is Haditha, Iraq. Of the 8 soldiers charged with the murder of 24 innocent people, 7 have so far been totally cleared of any wrongdoing. I'll bet there are literally thousand of Iraqis who have been killed for no reason. I know that 10's of thousand have been put in prison without charges are are only guilty of being Iraqi.

A top ten story

2008-07-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

Chris has referred to Sharon & my trip to New England as a top 10 story, or one that he has heard many times. So, I thought, why not repeat it.

I was at a week long conference in Boston during mid October in the early 80's. These "conferences" were really just a way of rewarding us rather than giving us a good salary increase. Our family vacations had always been to the rocky mountain region so this was my first trip to New England. I had always heard about the fall colors in New England, so I called Sharon and asked if she would like to come up Friday morning, we could rent a car and just drive for a couple of days.

The road trip didn't start out well, we were told to drive to chocolate factory, catch the freeway and drive north. We drove until we spotted the chocolate factory but couldn't seem to get it or the freeway...we kinda circled the factory several times before stopping and getting new directions. We finally made it to the Interstate and in a couple of hours we were in New Hampshire. The trees were beautiful. Sharon said it looked like a quilt. We kept driving and were soon in Vermont. Late afternoon, we started trying to find a motel or hotel for the night. This was before cell phones, so we reverted to the old method of stopping at a motel, asking for a room and if they didn't have one, where is the nearest motel where we could find a room. They all kinda laughed and told us we were in the middle of peak fall colors, every room had been booked for months. we kept driving wondering what we were going to do, sleep in the car?

We passed a building that had a sign, "Romey Inn Depot" We stopped and asked if they had a room...looking around we knew they probably didn't because the entire building was under construction. They were converting the Romey Depot into a bed and breakfast. We were delighted to hear that they had finished one room and they would rent it to us. They also told us the construction workers were staying in the other unfinished rooms because of the remote location. Relieved, we paid in advance and drove off to find some place to eat.

We returned just after dusk and went up to our room on the 2nd floor. It was not fancy, but clean and the bed was comfortable. We had just drowsed off when all hell broke loose. The workers were having a drunken brawl. We heard glass breaking, shouting, cursing and it even sounded as if furniture was being splintered. Periodically, we would hear people running up the stairs, past our room and on to the third floor. Then they would run back down the stairs to the party area on the first floor...always right past our door. I looked out our window for an escape route...there was none. I took the strap off my camera in case I needed some form of a weapon in case our door came crashing in. Then we heard "I'm going to kill you"...someone running up the stairs with someone chasing, then back down. Sometime later, we heard a car start and I looked out the window to see the car speed off. Another car than sped off after the first car. Thankfully, everything got quite, it was after 4:00 AM. At first light, Sharon and I crept down the stairs to get out of there. We went past what was to be the lobby and someone was sweeping up broken beer bottles. We didn't speak, just got out of there.

We had a very early start so we still headed north. We made it to southern Maine before turning back south toward Boston. We were still young enough that the two or three hours of sleep let us truly enjoy the coastal scenery of northern New England. We had a very good lobster roll in what was probably in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Because of the "No Vacancy" we had experienced the night before, we started looking for a room very early, just after noon. Same thing at motel after motel, this is the peak season, no rooms available. We got back to Boston around dusk. We thought that would be our best bet. Same thing in Boston. Several motel told us the best bet would be to drive several hundred miles west and hope to find something there. We were now very tired. Sharon said we might as well go to the airport and try to get on a "red eye" as standby. They still had "red eyes" in those days. If worse came to worse, we could always sleep at the airport and get a flight out the next day. That would be better than sleeping in the car.

We were the last two passengers called to board an Eastern flight for Houston. The route to Houston was not exactly "as the crow flies". We made a mail stop in Columbus, Ohio. We finally got to Houston around 4:00 or 5:00 AM, totally exhausted. We were so tired, we could not even make it home. We stayed at a Holiday Inn at the airport

All in all, it was worth it. We saw some beautiful fall colors, some very old New England structures, including the Romey Inn Depot.

Bruisednbleedin

2008-07-10T02:18:00.000-07:00

I guess most folks know that I love trains. My dream, since childhood, was to have a really nice model train layout. That dream will never happen. I used to have a lot of model train magazines with pictures of layouts from various hobby enthusiasts. I remember one that modeled a yard from the late 1880's. The name of the town in the layout was bruisednbleedin. I was reminded of that name today.

Sharon and I took Joelle for her usual Wednesday dinner at Lubys. When we got to Petie's and Chris's house, Petie and Lil' Lisie were outside to greet us. I open the gate to give Lisie a kiss and a hug when I gasped. Lisie looked like she had been in a fight with Leroy Brown. She had cuts and bruises all over, and I mean all over. Her face, arms and legs had cuts and bruises everywhere...hence bruisednbleedin. When we went inside it was clear why she had all this injuries. She was everywhere and everywhere fast. She narrowly missed running into the door, furniture and anything that wasn't padded. Petie said in one of her blogs that Lisie had no sense of proportions. That means a two inch step is the same as a 3 foot step to her. I hope she understands the difference soon.

I finally told Sharon we had to leave in hopes that Lisie would slow down a little. Lisie was blowing us kisses as we were leaving. I remember Chris and I laughing that in high school, Lisie would be the girl on the back of a motorcycle without a helment. I hope not. It is amazing how two girls with the same gene pool can be so different.

Sleep over

2008-06-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

I went to the MACAC a little after noon on Saturday. I saw something on the neighbors driveway as I came home. Then I saw Sharon watering our neighbors flowers, they are gone to Colombia for a couple of weeks. As I got out of the car, Joelle came running yelling "Poppy". It was Joelle's overnight bag and a swim noddle I had spotted on the driveway After I greeted Joelle and Sharon, I told Sharon I would hook up a water hose so she didn't have to water using a one gallon water pail. They went into the house, it was hot. I hooked up the water hose and water for about 15 minutes before going into the house. Joelle's bag was in the entryway. Joelle was "sleeping over" for the first time in a long while. She seemed so excited which I didn't fully understand, it is not unusual for Joelle to be over at our house, but I guess she doesn't spend the night anymore like she used to.

As I said, her bag was in the entry and she was busy taking one item at a time to the back. I asked her where she wanted to sleep. Her "room" is closed much of the time to keep the cats out so I have shut the air conditioner vent. She informed me that she was sleeping in the big bed with Nana. That was cool because now I didn't have to get a ladder to open the vent in "Joelle's Room". Dinner was the usual, Luby's with Joelle getting her usual fare. I told her that we were going to let her rent a movie since she has been intrigued by the movie rentals from a vending machine at McDonalds. We went to Krogers in the outskirts of a thunder shower. Third time this week we have just missed a good rain by a couple of miles. I got the movie vending machine started, looking longingly at the advertised movies "3:10 to Yuma" and "Rendition", I selected "Childrens" as the category of movies to rent. It didn't take long. Joelle spotted "Barbie, Mariposa". I couldn't wait.

We turned on the TV when we got home. I noticed the Olympic women gymnastics was on. Joelle decided she wanted to watch that Saturday evening and watch the Barbie movie as she ate break feast Sunday morning. She showed me the "Hello Kitty" waffle maker on the kitchen cabinet. So, We watched gymnastics. Sharon was going to bake a batch of cookies as a special treat for Joelle. I don't know why Sharon couldn't ready the package, but I heard her ask Joelle to read her the instructions. My 40 years plus wife was asking my five year old granddaughter to read her the baking instructions! I heard Joelle say, "1. Separate 2. Bake 3. Enjoy." I went into the kitchen laughing. However, those were exactly the instructions on the package. I found, in very small print the oven temperature and baking length instructions. Joelle started getting ready for bed about 8:30, Nana too. I, of course, stayed up front to watch TV. Joelle gave me a good night kiss and reminded me NOT to make noise and wake them up. I agreed not to.

I was watching TV, when at about 9:30, I heard giggling and laughter coming from the back bedroom. It sounded like a couple of teenage girls having a slumber party, not Joelle and Nana. They were both asleep by 10:00.

I awoke at my usual time on Sunday, the crack of noon. The girls had eaten their waffles and were ready to go to our pool. The pool wasn't crowded so we had plenty of room to splash. Joelle had a Disney Princess doll, a boggie board and a noodle. She would kick back and forth using either the noodle board or the boggie board while telling me to teach the doll to swim. Joelle could really make a lot of progress kicking and she could usually touch the bottom. She also would jump into the pool just a few inches from me so I could catch her, but again, she could touch the bottom. We were at the pool about an hour before it was time to go. Sharon got a call from Petie telling us that Lisie wanted Joelle so we packed up and left. Lisie really did want Joelle. Sharon and stayed for just a couple of minutes before leaving, Lisie and Joelle having their usual romp around the house.

That's life in the fast lane! However, I think I can speak for Sharon, Joelle and Myself, a good time was had by all!

Out of the mouths of babes

2008-06-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

Today was Thursday, Library day with Joelle. I rolled up to "Cheers" at 2:10 PM. I call Petie and Chris's house "Cheers" because of some lyrics from the old sitcom "Cheers". This is the part of the theme song I base it on:

Sometimes you want to go
where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came. You wanna be
where you can see, our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows Your name.

Today was special, Lil' Lisie Bear had finished her nap, so Petie and Lisie could go too. We arrived at the library, got two tickets to see the show (one for Joelle and one for Lisie) and had time for Joelle to read a couple of books, Petie was trying to read to Lisie, but she just wanted to motor. Joelle finished one book and most of another, despite being pestered by two girls who wanted her books.

The show was dumb, in my opinion, but Joelle said she liked it. It was some woman singing about an opera singing dog or something like that. Lisie was motoring the entire time. She always has the most beautiful smile. She came over to me several times and I was so proud that everyone noticed what beautiful grandchildren I have. Petie and Lisie were in and out of the room a couple of times and Joelle always looks around several times to make sure I am still there. She knows I am very protective of her, but she doesn't know I would not dare leave her in the room because there is more than one way out. She may check a couple of times to make sure I am still there, but I almost never take my eyes off of her so I know she is still in her place.

Joelle read two books after the show but still wanted to read more. Lisie was ready to go. Petie made the great suggestion of checking out the books so Joelle could read them at home. We would be back within two weeks to return the books. A thunder shower was in progress when we left and I almost dove on the curb in front of the library for a quick boarding because of the lightning.

Traffic was not bad yet, so we got back home fairly quickly. Joelle and Lisie were both snacking on Lisie's pop corn when Lisie climbed onto my lap for a short time. Joelle told me that Lisie wanted to go with us because she loves me. Wow, what a compliment! I told Joelle that I loved Lisie and her very much too. Joelle than told me I was the best Poppy she ever knew. I know I am the ONLY Poppy she has ever known, but I have never had a better gift than that. I also know that I am not at the same level as Nana, but she has earned her place in the lofty heights of admiration. However, she dearly loves what she has done to accomplish those metals.

I love it Cheers.

Summer is heating up!

2008-06-14T04:55:00.001-07:00

Well, summer is really here. This is probably going to be a bad one weather wise. I'll bet we haven't had an inch of rain since March. However, the good thing about summer is the weekly trip to the library with Joelle. I really had fun with her last year and an looking forward to this years weekly trips.

Thursday was the first library trip. I picked up Joelle and took off for the Spring Branch Library. However, I notice that this year, the journey to the library was different. Joelle read the entire way. We had such interesting talks last year and I am really going to miss that part of our outing. That had been one of the few times that we were together without anyone else involved. Oh well, there is always the library itself.

We got to the library, and Joelle grabbed two books from the shelf and we sat down. Last year, Joelle wanted me to read the books to her, even though she really knew every word. She just wasn't sure that she would know every word and she was afraid she would be embarrassed if she came across a word she didn't know. She read two books while we waited for the shirt painting class to open. The class was limited to twenty people, so we got our ticket before Joelle read her books. The lady in front of us got 7 tickets even though she only had one child with her. She told the ticket person the others were coming.

The shirt painting class finally opened and we went into the room. We brought a plain tee shirt with us as instructed. At least two thirds of the children didn't bring a blank tee shirt but were given one by the library. There were 3 children who had not arrived soon enough to get one of the 20 tickets, and were wait listed to see if all of the lady's group would arrive. They did not and all of the wait listed children we given a place in the class.

The class started and Joelle and I were seated at a table with a cup of water and about 6 different kinds of brushes. The class leader had jars of paint and each child stood in line to get colors of paint on a paper plate. Joelle got white, yellow, green, brown, blue and her favorite color, purple. There were stencils on a table so I picked up a frog, a horse, stars, and trees. Most of the children were using stencils. Joelle did not want to use them, instead she wanted to paint her own design on the tee shirt. She started out painting a house with white walls and a yellow roof. She then drew a chimney and put in a door. After adding a sidewalk, she painted grass. Then she really started getting creative. She added a variety of modern art designs around the house. When she finished, she had created, in my biased opinion, the best looking tee shirt in the room. Several of the other mothers also told her so. I was intrigued by what the boy across from Joelle drew on his shirt. He drew a tank with smoke coming out of the barrel, a man with a gun and another man, between the tank and the gunman, laying on his back face up. The face was colored brownish red. Looks like Blackwater has a future recruit.

I told Joelle we had time for her to read a couple of books before we had to head home. She selected three books. we sat down and she read all three books. She wanted to read another but I told her we had to leave. It was already 4:15 and I knew traffic would be getting bad soon. The trip home was mostly silent. Joelle was reading. I really miss the conversational part of our outing, but really enjoyed watching my Little Princess growth in her creative side.

We got back to Petie's house and went in. Lil' Lisie Bear was puttering about, she had been asleep when we left. You could tell Lisie made a mental note that Joelle had come in with me, which means that Joelle had been out with me and Lisie had not. Lisie immediately began bring me toys so I could play. Later, as she pass by, I picked her up to give her a big hug. To my surprise, she hugged me back and lingered for at least 30 seconds. She just put her little head on me and snuggled. That was so special.

I am so glad summer break is here.

Pete's Tattoo Parlor and Storm Door Company

2008-05-11T16:23:00.000-07:00

A neighbor 4 doors east of us has had signs in their yard for more than a week. The first sign appeared by their mailbox almost two weeks ago. It was hard to read driving by because it was yellow printing on a red background. However, they soon had two additional signs in their yard that clearly read "Massage Therapy, Call Tony (XXX) XXX-XXXX. I was discussing this with another neighbor, who like myself, has had more that his share of letters from the community association deed restrictions committee. His letters, like mine, had been for the most trivial things. A couple of weeds growing in our driveway, a tree branch hanging, in their opinion, too low, mailbox had some rust spots......etc.

I told Dan that when my yard swing broke, I had a letter in three days telling me to fix the swing or face legal proceedings. We looked up the street and saw the signs were still all over his yard. This was a clear violation on two counts. No yard signs except political signs, not more than 30 days before an election and not more than 1 day after an election. The second was you cannot run a business from your residence.

I had an idea. I was going to make me a yard sign at the risk of getting a deed restriction letter the next day. This morning I made a sign. "Tattoos and Storm Doors, Call Pete, (281) Tatoos". The phone number does not have enough digits so I would not be bothering anyone.

Sure enough, the "Massage Therapy" signs were down this afternoon. I just took my sign down. Pete's Tattoo Parlor and Storm Door Company is now closed.

Ode to Sarah

2008-05-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to call my Aunt Sarah for about a week. I usually call her about two times a year, but it's been over a year since I talked to her. She would be about 93 now, I recall she was about a year younger than Mom. The number didn't work, just a busy signal. Sarah didn't get or receive many calls. She had moved out of her house a little over a year ago and moved into an apartment....I didn't ask her if it was assisted living or not.

I sensed that something was wrong. I looked up my cousin Grant's wife, Erma, on the Internet. I have never called them before or after Grant's death. I asked Erma about Sarah. She said Sarah died about two weeks ago. She told me Sarah had moved to an apartment and that one of her nieces had moved into Sarah's house. I told her that was not right. Sarah had sold her house to her neighbor and that her neighbor's daughter's family had moved into the house. Erma then started asking me about the various things Sarah had in her house, pieces of furniture etc. I responded that I thought that Grant had taken those things years ago.

Sarah was the hardest working person I have ever know. On Sarah and Claude's farm, Sarah did all the work. I am talking totally running the dairy farm and getting the workers needed to plant and harvest the tobacco. You could see her every morning and evening going out to the barn to do the milking...first by hand than by machine. She wore high rubber wading boots for the cow manure. Sarah was a very nice loving person. Mom and the other Martin's, except Claude, never liked Sarah. Didn't think she was good enough to marry a Martin. If I had my say, there was not a Martin good enough to marry Sarah. Claude was like my old friend Hap, he never worked a day in his life. Claude was drafted into the Army in WW II. He was in North Africa when my Grandfather Martin got his congressman to get the Army to send Claude home to help on the farm. Think my Grandfather Martin didn't have some political pull in Greene county Tennessee.

Sarah was the last of my kin on my mother's side of the family. She had a niece that I am sure handled her final affairs. I have never met her thanks to the Martin's attitude toward Sarah. I would like to call her and tell her just how much I though of Sarah. I loved Sarah. It was a love that developed after my first return visit to Tennessee after Joey was born. I wish that I had gotten to know her earlier and without prejudice.

Sarah, May you rest in peace with God.

Do these guys hear what they are saying?

2008-03-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

I cleaned a little in my messy garage Sunday. Besides a little junk, I had two old car batteries. You shouldn't keep old batteries, they really can explode. I don't know the science behind a battery, but I do know it has sulfuric acid, lead and copper plates. These are all very salvageable commodities, but could pose an explosive hazard. I put the batteries in the back of my truck to recycle today.

After a very tiring swim at the MACAC, I stopped by AutoZone on the way home. I asked the clerk if they took old batteries. I was told yes if you had a receipt showing you had bought a new battery at AutoZone. I asked why, don't you actually make money by recycling car batteries? He said they only took Auto Zone batteries. I wasn't buying his bull so I said that if my car had a Sears battery and I bought an Auto Zone battery they would take it rather than charging me a "core charge" or refund me the "core charge" when I brought back the Sears battery. He said it messed up their inventory of batteries on hand if they bought old batteries; however, they would do me a favor and take the old battery off my hands. Still not buying his bull, I said thanks and left for Walmart.

The bull got a lot deeper at Walmart. I asked if they bought old batteries to recycle. They said no, but they would refund me my "core charge" if I had a receipt. The last "core charge" I paid was $3.00 last year when copper was half the price it is today. I suspect the same is true for sulfuric acid and lead. He said that he would do me a favor and take the old battery off my hands. I said wouldn't that be screwing me twice if I lost my receipt and they took my old battery for nothing and made at least $3.00 on it? Frustrated, I left the batteries. I was on my way to the house, when I had an idea. I knew I was right about these stores selling old batteries to scrap yards, so I drove to Westheimer Recycling. I asked the guy there if they bought old car batteries. He said yes, we pay $3.00 each for old car batteries. Mad as hell, I drove back to Walmart and told the guy I wanted my two car batteries back.

I didn't tell him I could sell them up the street for $6.00, which I did after I left. He went on to tell me that they had to pay $1.50 each for someone to haul off their old batteries. Now I know Walmart is no fool. They are clever enough to cut off most of their employee hours at 39 per week so they can be classified as part time and thus, pay they no benefits. The guy then went on to say that Walmart was having to lock up all their old batteries because people we stealing them by the hundreds when they we just stacked outside. I asked him why Walmart cared if these old batteries were stolen, wasn't that saving WalMart $1.50 a battery? I also asked if they had to pay $1.50 to haul off the old batteries, why did they want a deposit until the old battery was returned?

He had no answer.

Hog Heaven

2008-02-25T22:51:00.000-08:00

I received a phone call from my neighbor in Wimberley last week. He told me that the feral pigs, that have become a major pest in the area, had paid me a visit. I was told that they hit my yard just below the cliff near his ramp. Sharon and would have to wait to go and look at the extent of the damage because of Meg and Danny's wedding. We were not in a hurry because we didn't want to see any damage to beautiful yard we had worked so hard on. Sharon and I had taken grass plugs to plant. It took us nearly a year of this labor intensive landscaping. I went up almost every week to water trying to get the grass established. It took almost 10 years before the total yard, down by the river, was completely covered. We have lost sections over the last 5 years due to both drought and debris left from flood that were not cleaned up in a timely manner, but it didn't look too bad and usually recovered within a year.

We got to Wimberley about 5:30 PM friday but didn't go directly to our property. We were not ready yet. We ate at Marco's and finally got to our property about dusk. I looked down at the yard below the cliff. I was horrified. It was not just a strip of yard near the neighbor's property, it went almost all the way across our entire property. I didn't want to go down at that point so we went into our apartment for the night. The next morning with full light, the damage was more than what we had seen in the fading light the evening before. Our yard looked as if it had been plowed. When I went down to look closely, it was still worse. The pigs usually skim off the sod to eat what is right under the mat, usually no more than a couple of inches. Not so in my case. What the pigs found good to eat was much deeper. They had rooted up at least 6 to 10 inches of soil. There were pecan tree roots sticking up. Dead pad of grass was everywhere. It was too rough to even drive my lawn tractor across. I worked all day, from 9:00 to 4:30, and had about a 10 foot by 10 foot section level, cleared of dead grass clumps, but without a single blade of live grass. It was too much for me to do. I literally cried a short bust after dinner. I was worn out, hurting all over and realized that my old butt just couldn't function anymore. I could not fix the yard without help.

I think I have found a neighbor that will bring in a piece of heavy equipment to level the yard as best he can. It will be full of dead sod so we cannot start the grass plugging process right away. It will take years to recover. On the way back to Houston, Sharon and I realized that losing our beautiful yard wasn't as devastating as we first though. That just wasn't as important as a lot of other things in our lives. We have fairly good health for our age, our daughter survived a very scary health crisis. I have finally stopped worrying about my son....I think he may have finally joined the real world...although I am still worried about his sugar consumption. We have three beautiful grandchildren,

Today, I went to the pool and exercised. When I was through at the MAC, I drove to Petie's house. I don't usually do that, but I needed a fix. I just walked in the back door....I have warned Petie to keep it locked. I was greeted with the three biggest smiles I could have possible received. Joelle asked her usual question, "Poppy, why did you come here?' It was not a question like I really don't want you here, she just wanted to know if there were any specifics. She was glad to see me, you could see it in her big beautiful smile. Lil' Lisie Bear was all smiles when she saw me and kept coming by my chair for hugs and kisses...she even gave me a kiss. Petie was content with her two happy girls and busy with the laundry...just being a good Mom. She had brought out her easter egg cup collection that had Joelle's total attention. She stopped her laundy chores to read Lil' Lisie Bear a book. Joelle was later singing in the play room, Lisie was now laughing and pulling DVD'd out of the cabinet and Petie and I were content. That's what is important, not a yard that you can show off as something beautiful you own. Anybody can buy and maintain a piece of property. A family that is happy and loves you cannot be bought. That is Hog Heaven.

What a line of bull

2008-02-21T00:34:00.000-08:00

I have started watching the grocery store ads to see if there are any bargains in fruits, fish or beef. I look for bargains in beef since I have started grilling using my cheap charcoal grill. I believe that meat cooked over charcoal has much better flavor than cooking with propane grills. I usually throw in a piece of pecan on the coals to give the meat some smoke flavor. The important point here is that Sharon agrees.

Last week, Kroger had Angus sirloin steaks, choice grade, advertised for $4.99 a pound. I thought that sounded like a pretty good price for choice beef. I have decided that select is too tough and that I shouldn't eat prime because of my cholesterol problem, so I look for choice. I stopped by Kroger's and went to the meat department. The regular butcher wasn't there but there was a guy in an apron behind the counter. I saw the sirloin in the meat case at the advertised price, but the label only said it was Angus beef. I asked him to help me pick out the best piece of meat since he should have a lot more knowledge that me in that area. He selected a piece and began wrapping it when I asked him, "now that is choice isn't it?". He replied "no, it's Angus." I said, I didn't ask you the breed of cow, I asked you about the grade of the meat. He went on to tell me that Angus was a grade and the federal meat inspectors in the packing plant would specific that cow as Angus and another cow a select, thus the grade. This is totally contrary to my understanding. I am pretty sure that the inspectors look at the beef AFTER it has been butchered and label it as select, choice or prime depending on the amount of marbling in the meat. The amount of marbling is the best indicator of how tender a piece of meat will be.

Well, I didn't want to tell him he was an idiot and should not be allowed behind the counter. I guess I could have softened it a bit by saying, " don't take this the wrong way, but your a moron". So after a minute of carefully selecting my words, I told him that I spent a lot of time on My Aunt and Uncle's farm as a child. We had both dairy and beef cattle. I have been with my Uncle to several cattle auctions. I never heard of one select cow being auctioned off, nor did I know of any farmer who had a herd of select cows.

I did, however, buy the steaks and leave.

You make me feel special!

2008-02-17T18:19:00.000-08:00

I picked up Joelle from Meg and Danny's wedding rehearsal. Her bedtime is about 7:30 so she couldn't stay for the rehearsal dinner and all the toasts. Joelle and I always have very interesting conversations when we are driving by ourselves. Interesting for me because I am amazed how a five year Princess can ask such deep questions. Somehow, I said something about Christianity, probably relating to Danny and Meg's wedding. She asked what Christian meant. I tried to explain how the Christian religions meant that we were taught to follow the examples set by Jesus Christ, thus the term Christian. I went on to say there were different denominations, like Methodist, Lutheran and Catholic, but they were all based on the teaching of Jesus Christ. I told her there were other religions like Muslims and Hindus that were not based on the teachings of Jesus, as well as the Jewish religion.

She was quite for a minute and than asked, "how old are you Poppy?". I told her that I was 66, soon to be 67. She was quite for another minute and then said, you will probably live to be a 101, and that's a long time. Joelle has a way of making me feel special. I cannot express just how good it make me fell when Joelle spots me when I and not with her. She yells "Poppy" and starts running toward me. It is the inflection in her voice when she yells "Poppy". It is not like "Poppy, what are you doing here?", or "Poppy, are you lost?". It is like "Poppy, I am sooooooo glad to see you!"

Grandchildren make you fell so special. There are not many benefits associated with getting old, but grandchildren is the best one I have found.

Zippidy Do Dah

2008-02-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

My oh my what a wonderful week!

WOW, what an experience. Sharon and I are so lucky that our daughter and son-in-law let us tag along. What a wonderful time we had sharing the magic with our 5 year and 1 year old granddaughter. Every day was a new experience. Joelle has grown up so much in two years. She had no fear of the haunted mansion and was not afraid to try anything. We were blessed with 5 days of beautiful weather, cool mornings and warm afternoons. I was lucky to be with Disney vets. Petie and Chris would take all our Disney pass and run to get "fast passes" for hard to get rides. Petie did an amazing job of researching and planning all the details. I will follow with a blog on Miss Disney, Sharon.

I was amazed when Joelle said she wanted to go into the haunted mansion and Jumbo with Poppy. That made me fell so special. I wanted her to go on Big Thunder Mountain with me but she was not tall enough. Big Thunder Mountain is the only roller coaster ride I like because it isn't a high roller coaster with a lot of quick ups and downs, just a lot a sharp banked curves. I told Joelle that they changed the name to Little Thunder Mountain because I tamed it during my ride. I told her that they might call me on the cell phone if it got out of control again after they found out my grandfather was a mountain railroad engineer. I guess that was OK to tell her that. I was even given the chance to be a hero to Joelle. A guy started and ad hoc game while we were at EPCOT. This guy suddenly appeared on the pathway with some bottles half full of sand and some rubber hoops. He said if you could toss the hoop onto the bottle from about 15 feet, you would win a prize. Joelle was frantically throwing the rings without much luck. So I tried, I used to play washers. On my second try, I got a ringer and won Joelle a Tinker Bell pin, the kind you put on the Disney sashes. When the man said we had our first winner, Joelle looked around and saw it was me. She had the biggest smile.

I was great watching Lil' Lisie Bear on It's a Small World ride. It was amazing watching her as she seem to see everything that was going on. She would look to the right, than to the left and even noticed the action going on toward the ceiling. It is wonderful watching her mind working at full speed.

The Dinners were all special. Joelle still loves the Disney Characters and Disney princesses and got all their autographs. Lil' Lise Bear loved them too. She was dressed as the cutest Tinker Belle you have ever seen. She kept grabbing the noses of the characters. One of the dinners was with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the step-mother and her half sisters. It was really entertaining. When Price Charming came to our table, he knelt and asked Joelle where she was from. For the first time I have ever seen, Joelle was speechless. She finally muttered Houston. Prince Charming had totally charmed Joelle.

There was so much going on every day, I cannot type or spell that much. My summary covered it all. Some of my random observations are:

* at least 99% of the people were pleasant and considerate despite the crowded environment. I have found that crowds usually brings out the worst in people.

* LSU tee shirt, jackets and hats outnumber 2 to 1 ever other school combined. We found out that Louisiana had a school holiday that week for Mardi Gras.

* Worst tee shirt label: "FBI, Armed Followers of Jesus". I thought this was a total contradiction of terms.

* Disney runs a first class operation.

* I saw no evidence of an economic downturn. Every theme park was packed with people spending lots of money.

Travel Log Salt Lake City to Houston

2008-01-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

Return from Salt Lake City

01/03:

* Left Salt Lake City for Houston. The weather in Salt Lake City determined that we would leave today. The temperature was going to be above freezing for the first time since we arrived...no new snow. We have enjoyed the brief time in the snow. Sharon and I had a snowball fight. It was too cold to make a snowman or a snow angle.

* Price, UT the trip up the canyon was not as hairy as when we came down. No snow on the road. We could clearly see footprints in the snow by the road of large deer, It might be elk if they are in the area.. A couple were roadkill. I don't know if there are buzzards this far north, but ravens were feeding on the smaller roadkill. We saw a lot of ravens.

* Moab, UT there is still a little snow, but not as much as when we came up. No snow or ice on the road.

* Cortez, Co the streets are totally clear of snow. We have seen a lot of police today. We saw none when we came up a little over a week ago. I guess the improved road conditions have made it safe for them to come out and collect revenue. We saw cowboys rounding up cows to feed them. They grow a lot alfalfa here,

*ShipRock Pass moving Indians. Car was cut out like a convertible with furniture sticking out of the top, sides and end. Saw a sign that said "Parent teacher pow wow".

* Gallup, NM The snow is almost totally gone. We see only traces of it on the hills. Strange, we suddenly miss the snow. We decide to eat dinner and decide if we will try to Make Albuquerque or Sorocco. Sharon spots a Cracker Barrel. Both Sharon and I discover that we are both very tired. I start to eat my salad and bite my tongue very badly. I get up to go to the restroom and spit out a mouth full of blood...I had bitten all the way through my tongue. After another mouth full of blood, I get very sick and fell like I am about tho pass out. I have to lay down on the floor of the Cracker Barrel and Sharon puts cold packs on my head and neck. How embarrassing, but I don't care. Finally, get up, eat and look for the Days Inn on historic Route 66. They have fixed the heat in the room and I pack the side of my mouth with a paper towel to stop the bleeding. I still spit out some more blood when I woke up in the middle of the night, but it wasn't bad.

01/04:

* Got back on the road at 5:30 AM. We got to Albuquerque at 8:00 AM. Traffic really was not too bad. Headed south along the Rio Grande. Lots of pecan groves.

* Sorocco This was about the same place where we got the blizzards on the way up. Just as a parting gift, we encountered some sleet. It wasn't bad and I believe the temperature was above freezing..

*El Paso, TX The weather is totally different now. Not too windy and temperatures in the mid 50's. I remember how depressing it was to hit El Paso from our camping days. When you are going east on I-10 and get into Texas, you see mile post 1. You know that your exit is mile post 754. You shift in the seat, let out a sigh.... you're going to be there for a while.

* Fort Stockton, TX it's time to eat. Sharon spots an IHOP. We love breakfast for dinner. They must have a very good cook because both Sharon and my meals was really good and very cheap.

* Sonora, TX Sharon decides she has had it. I want to go on and stay in Wimberley. Sharon wins by a vote of 2 to 1. I believe everyone else staying at the Days Inn are deer ambushers. When we get up to leave, there is a big ass diesel truck parked about 6 inches from our car in a no parking area. Good ol' boys always know that rules don't apply to them. The office is full of good ol' boys with their cute little camouflage outfits. I wonder how they would like it if we shipped their butts to Iraq. Yes, they would have overwhelming firepower, but their is a slight chance their prey will get them. No chance of that happening when they are in their deer blinds waiting for the deer to come feed on the corn they have been leaving out for months.

San Antonio, TX very foggy in OL' San Antonio. Got lost for a little bit. I should know how to get through but it's been a while. Going to be warn today. I've shed my vest and my sweat shirt. Very comfortable in just a tee shirt. Wish it was convenient to change my sweat pants for shorts.

MP 754 Houston, TX WE MADE IT!

Travel Log- Houston to Salt Lake City

2008-01-06T21:25:00.000-08:00

Trip to Salt Lake City

12/26:

* Left Houston for Wimberley. We were going to spend the night in Wimberley and leave from there for Utah on 12/27. Pete forgot to bring the key. Ate dinner and hoped our neighbors would be home when we got back...they have a key to our house. After dinner, found out our Wimberley neighbors were out of town.

* Headed toward Utah tonight because we forgot the key to Wimberley.

* Stopped in Ozona at a Super 8 Motel, the only vacancy in town. Truck stop motel. Asked for a non smoking room. Found out it was a "no smoking room" if you didn't smoke. It was a "smoking room" if you smoked.

12/27:

* Got back on the road at 7:00 AM. Watched the morning weather before we left, said that a winter storm was in the Colorado Rockies heading to the northeast. If true, we should not be effected.

* Big wind mill farm near Bakersfield. Looks like hundreds of them. Must be generating a lot of electricity judging from the size of the power lines taking the juice away.

* Weather is terrible. Very cold with strong gusty headwinds.

* Passed our old camping ground just east of Fort Stockton. It's a KOA now but I believe it was called the Country Campground when we used to stay there. It was a good, clean campground that was cool enough to sleep late at night even in August. We must have stayed there 6 or 7 times.

* A lot of dead deer along the interstate. One was a mule deer near Fort Stockton.

* Huge dairy farms on I-10 10 miles into New Mexico. Poor cows. Must be thousands of cows crammed into small dirt pens. Cows had to stick their heads through a feeding trough to eat hay. Had to lay down in poop and urine.

* Sharon drove through two blizzards 170 miles north of Las Cruces just before Albuquerque. In the 2nd blizzard, we counted 6 wrecks and the cars were flipped on their backs in 5 of the wrecks. Followed a snow plow dropping sand on the road to get out of the mess.

* Stopped for gas in Albuquerque. Went to applebees for dinner. Pete could not find his billfold as we were getting out of the car at Applebees. Speed back to the gas station in a hopeless situation. Sharon went in to see if anyone turned in a billfold...good luck there. Found the billfold in the floorboard of the back seat before sheer panic set in. Disaster No.2 averted.

* Headed to Gallup to spend the night. Traffic on I-40 came to a complete stop about 10 miles west of Albuquerque. An 18 wheeler had flipped over on it's back in the west bound lanes. After about an hour at a complete stop, moving again. We were stopped on the interstate right in front of a Lacuna Pueblo Indian casino. We could have played the slots for a hour.

* Stayed at at the Days Inn motel in Gallup on historic Route 66. The famous highway now only exist in towns. I guess I-40 replaced it. There used to be a TV series where two guys just traveled Route 66 in a Corvette. There were lyrics in a song that said "Get your kicks on Route 66".

* Weather was awful...very cold and windy. Out motel room was cold. Pete called at 11:00 wanting some more blankets or something. Gave us an electric space heater. Thank goodness.

12/28:

* Got up and had a nice breakfast at the motel. Talked with other guests about how cold it was last night. Everyone else said it was very cold in their room. Glad we had that space heater. There was ice everywhere. Had to be careful not to slip. On to Sock Yake City.

* Headed north today. We immediately entered the Navajo reservation.

* Naschetti Elementary school had a Christmas fire dance. The Indians have somehow missed out in the prosperity the rest of America has enjoyed. They live in shacks and old, run down mobile homes. I wonder why the Habit for Humanity doesn't help out some of these people. 2 trillion for the war in Iraq and not a dime for these people.

* ShipRock NM. You can really see the outline of a schooner in the huge rock formation that just rises out of the semi arid landscape. We have been this way before but I couldn't see the ship until now. The weather is still cold and windy. There is snow but not on the roads. It is really pretty. The river in ShipRock is mostly frozen

*Cortez, Colorado A lot more snow. The shoulders and center of the road is snow, ice and slush. I am driving and really nervous. Sharon and I notice all the tracks of animals in the fresh snow by the road. They are everywhere. In some places, it seemed as if a whole herds of animals were walking about. Were they walking to road for warmth?

* Monticello, UT Has become VERY cold and windy. The streets had just been snowplowed. The sides of the road had the snow piled up and the middle of the streets was full of snow. Sharon had to use the restroom so I filled the gas tank up. I was so cold that I thought I couldn't even stay out long enough to fill the tank.

* Moab, UT the amount of snow varied between Monticello and Moab. The higher the elevation, more snow. The road conditions improved about 25 miles north of Monticello. There was snow away from the road, but not on the road. I felt better about the driving conditions as we got closer to Moab. Moab is a happening place now. It has turned into a real tourist haven. Raft trips on the Colorado River. Scenic Bus trips, scuttle service taking you up a mountain so you can coast down on a bike. The town is just full of old, restored buildings. Looked like a neat, expensive place for a vacation. It was not this way 25 years ago when we traveled thru the town.

* Price, UT is about 85 miles south of Salt lake city. The city is covered with more snow than we have seen. The streets have been recently snow plowed but looked very hairy. I am going 10 miles under the speed limit. Others no. We have about 55 miles down a canyon to get to I-15 to Salt Lake City. Snow, ice and slush all over the road. Utah drivers seem not to care so I slow down even further in passing lanes to let them go around. The road is lined with black flag on either side to let you know where to drive when it is totally covered with snow. Soldiers summit is over 7,000 feet, I have to make it to lower elevation and less snow. With about 10 miles left to get out of the canyon, it starts to snow again. Utah drivers whiz past. Sharon thinks they are hurrying to get out of the canyon before the snow get heavy. I speed up to.

* I-15 We made it out of the canyon. No snow, the roads are clear. On to Sock Yake City.

* Mimi's Sharon and I decide to stop and eat dinner at Mimi's. We didn't want to pop in on Joey and Maria needing to eat something. I was real disappointed to discover that Mimi's no longer gives you a small loaf of carrot raisin bread, just two pieces.You can never go home again.

* Joey and Maria's WE MADE IT.

Christmas, don't be late!

2007-12-20T23:55:00.000-08:00

This is shaping up to be the best Christmas ever! I believe that the excitement Joelle is feeling has spilled over. She was so excited at Luby's on Wednesday. Later that night I put together a cute toy for Lil' Lisie Bear. I had to play with it for a bit. I think she will really like it. Putting together the toy reminded me of the last thing I put together on Christmas Eve. It was a bike for Petie when she was 11 or 12. It was from Santa. I guess that was the end of Santa for my children. Sharon got lucky. She bought Playskool toys. So far, she tells me that Playskool products are not involved in the massive toy recalls.

I am so glad I got to go to Joelle's school today for her Christmas Pageant. Those children put on an incredible show. You could just feel the excitement in the room from Joelle and her classmates. She was a beautiful angel.

I also think that the excitement is getting to see my new grandson. I feel like the kid in the Disney commercial, "I'm too excited to sleep". Arnold, of Arnold and the chipmunks, said it best, "Christmas, don't be late!

Praise the Lord, I see the light!

2007-12-14T22:50:00.000-08:00

Got a letter today from the Neptune Society. I had no idea what the Neptune Society was and I usually just toss that kind of Mail without even opening it. However, for some reason, I open it, slow mail day. The letter detailed the service they provided, cremation, and wondered if I wanted to plan for their services now and pay ahead of time. Wow, when I turned 50, I started getting letters from AARP wanting me to join. I thought it was a little early, because technically, I shouldn't be eligible until I was 55. It wasn't long until I really was eligible to join AARP. Is this new solicitation a harbinger of something right around the corner?

Dustin Hoffman was the guest of the Tonight Show sometime in late 2006. During the small talk with Jay Leno, Dustin was talking about where he was in life and said he could now see the light at the end of the tunnel. When Jay asked him what he was talking about, Dustin explained. When he was thirty, statically, he hadn't even lived half of his life. When he was 40, there was a good chance he had more than half of his life left. When he was 50, it was still possible he was only half way home. But now, in his mid 60's, he could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I have to laugh when I remember my 40th birthday party at Transco. The people in the department really had a neat surprise birthday party for me, Gag gifts and Bob Kelly's famous carrot cake. Bob would bake a cake for the party, but he had another he put away for me to take home. Bob Kelley makes the best carrot cake I have ever tasted. Anyway, during a lull in the party I found myself with this one guy that I didn't really associate with nor did we work on the same business functions. I guess he felt like he had to make some small talk, I really didn't. He said, "so your 40, do you realize that's more than half your life". I just looked at him not knowing how to respond.

Maybe it's true, but I am really having a blast. I have always been a crack of nooner rather than a crack of dawner. A full day for me is getting up, hopefully in the late morning, or at least before noon; have a cup of coffee or two with Sharon while she watches the Today Show. I then watch 15 minutes of Amy Goodman on Democracy Now. I head to the MACAC for my exercise...I hope three days a week. During the school year, I watch some cartoons with Joellle for a hour or so on Monday and Wednesday, then off to Luby's for dinner. Back home to watch TV until midnight. Get on the computer for a hour or so, try to get my cat in before going to bed. If I get the cat in, I have to wake up, if I am not still awake, to let the cat out between 5 and 6 AM. Now that's a full day. I am really enjoying my retirement. I love not having to be somewhere every day at some particular time. There is also something very nice about retirement. You have quality time with your spouse again. I'll bet Sharon doesn't feel the same about always having me under foot. She has always said that I am just like Pig Pen in the comics. Dirt just seems to follow me around.

Praise the Lord, I see the light.

Dog Days

2007-08-15T23:02:00.000-07:00

It's the middle of August and summer is over. Back in my day, summer wasn't over until Labor Day...no more. Joey's summer employment is over because he is getting ready for his last fall semester. Joelle has some art class left before her fall semester starts. I will not be a part of that team because it involves going inside the loop. It's scary enough crossing beltway 8.

I am not ready for summer to end...it was a great summer. Summer started on June 9Th with a great family vacation in Wimberley. We had good rain before June 9Th, so the river was up. I really enjoyed tubing again. This was the first time in 4 years you really tube on the Blanco. Of course, it has rained a lot since, and the river has stayed high all summer. As a matter of fact, the Blanco has been higher than the June 15Th level until now. Up until the past week, it has also been a cool summer because of all the rain. Another of the summer highlights has been the weekly library trip with Joelle. She will never be this age again.

Joelle has changed so much this summer. She now reads, she now plays games and she has been nothing but a blessing. Joelle is a beautiful child, but I pity the person that tries to put a dumb blond label on her. I guarantee you, there is lot going on behind those big blue eyes. You can just see the cogs spinning when you are with her and she has more energy than atomic fission. She also now sings. I enjoyed her singing Amazing Grace on our last library trip. It's hard to believe that in 4 short years, it will be lisie changing this much over a short 3 month span. You need to enjoy every minute of their childhood, because it's over before you know it. I look at Lisie and think, that was Joelle yesterday.

I also found out this summer I was going to have my third grandchild. I regret that I will not see these changes in him because of the distance problem. That's one of the problems with today's society. Everyone is too mobile. The family unit used to stay close together. That changed during my lifetime, actually during my childhood. It was really great having all those aunts and uncles, as well as grandparents so close together. That also changed when I was ten. I missed all those relatives being so close.

Those days are gone forever and so is the summer of 2007. As Petie knows, I am a little sad,

Sound Logic

2007-07-18T13:30:00.001-07:00

I don't understand the reasoning of some people. My old college roommate has retired to Las Vegas. He moved there about ten years ago. Now he wants the city to install policies to discourage any more people from moving to the area because of the looming water shortage. He uses almost 100 times the water Sharon and I use every month except during January and February. His bill is only 10 times what I pay. I don't know about the logic of now that I have mine, nobody else can have any. He wants to keep his access to abundant, cheap water.

Same thing about this Iraq war. He is more angry about the war then I am. He is really spitting bullets and has been irate since the spring of 2004, but voted for Bozo. In 2006 he voted for Ensign rather than the democrat Carter for the Nevada senate seat. Isn't that a sign of mental illness? Doing the same thing over again and expecting different results. Just wait until his Republican friend pass laws deregulating public water systems. I am not enjoying the deregulation of Houston's electrical supply near as much as the companies supplying the electricity are.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

2007-07-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Got my cell phone bill a couple of days ago and wanted to pay it right away before I forgot about it. I used to go on line to pay the bill by charging it to my credit card. That changed a couple of months ago. Sprint put in a new web computer system. I believe it to be more secure that the Department of Defense's computer system. I have not been successful in logging on yet. I would try to sign on but always received the a message saying I didn't know what I was doing. Then I took the path to create a new user name/password. Sprint would send me a text message to my cell with my temporary user name/password. They never worked. Got charged for the text messages, my bill that month had a text message charge and I don't do that, so I assume it was for them texting me.

I noticed the bill carried to reference to free cell phone help. *2 for Customer Service and *3 to pay your bill. I eagerly typed in *3, pressed TALK and waited. I got that sound. The sound your never want to get when you dial and the voice message "You have dialed an invalid number, please try again". I did. Same results. Three times. Same results. So I dialed *2 and went through all the trees to get to the option, PAY YOUR BILL. Then the voice message came, "we have put in a new system for bill payment. Please hang up and dial *3". I guess I will have to continue to go to the nearest Sprint store to pay my cell phone bill. I refuse to mail a check in this day and age. Petie and Chris have convinced me that is not the way to go.

I know that I am older than the hills, but this is typical customer service now. I will not ever use ATT again for anything if I have any other choice because of the cell phone and satellite TV customer service I received from them. It didn't use to be that way. I was responsible for all the gas transmission computer systems when I worked for Transco. If I have installed those types of crap systems, I would have been fired, and I should have been fired. I believe some heads should roll when these companies subject their customers to this outrage, I'll bet I cannot cancel my contract with Sprint due these problems. So how can they cancel their customers contracts for using custer service too much? I think I know why the had to contact customer servise so many times. To get a workable solution.

Day at the library

2007-06-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

I am glad to be included as part of the team Petie has put together to keep Joelle busy this summer. I got to take her to the library today. I hope this is my task for the summer. Petie said it was a library party but didn’t elaborate. Joelle and I arrived at the library and went in, not really knowing what to expect. I thought we were supposed to read so we started looking for books.

I noticed a little girl looking at Joelle as we searched for a book to Joelle’s liking. I couldn’t help but notice that the girl, who was probably seven or eight, was dressed like a teenager. She had designer type flared bottom jeans, a stylish top, dangling ear rings, hair styled like a teenager, carried a purse and had orange tinted sun glasses perched in her hair. The girl kept looking a Joelle when she thought I wouldn’t notice. I was thinking, "yes, she is pettier than you".

I finally determined that the "party" was in a side room in the library. It turned out to be rather nice. First, the children got cookies, goldfish crackers, chips and punch. A magician then performed a pretty good routine. Next came face painting, balloon animals, pirate hats made from newspaper and fishing for stickers. The main actions were face painting and balloon animals made to order. Again, I noticed the chic girl was not really into the side shows. She was following some older boys around talking to them in whatever line they were in. What I really wanted to do was tell her mother that her little girl needed to be a little girl, childhood doesn’t last very long. Children need to enjoy those short, innocent years.

It was time to check out our books and go. I had three books Joelle picked out and Petie had a couple of books on hold which we picked up. Joelle said we need to pick up some books on what sounded like "attaway". I asked her to repeat what books she wanted and she used Sharon's tactic when speaking to someone who doesn't speak English. She repeated what she said, only louder. We went to information desk where I hoped the clerk could help me. Joelle repeated, loudly, her patience already worn thin. she wanted to find books about "attaway". Finally it hit me, she meant I_T_A_L_Y. Petie had mentioned she and Joelle were going to study Italy next week. The clerk took us to the Italy section and asked Joelle if I was her grandfather. She replied "yes, but I call him Poppy". That made it all worthwhile.

Rolling boxcars

2007-05-01T02:21:00.000-07:00

Past another milestone. I rolled boxcars this year. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. When you’re 40, you can say that you might have half of your life left. At 50, with a little luck you can still have a good 30 years. I guess you’re supposed to possess some wisdom with all these years of experience. Maybe some of my experiences support my position of our military in Iraq. We have all seen the crimes committed in Haditha and Abu Ghraib. I understand how these inhuman events take place because of my experiences.

Our military is all volunteer. In that respect, the military attracts many of the same type of people who become police officers. A soldier and a policeman are put in situations where they have absolute power over other human beings. That is a power that many people cannot possess without abuse. I have been the victim of that abuse on several occasions. I was not mean or looked for trouble, only had one fight in my life which I tried my best to get out of. I don’t believe I was a bad kid, never got into any trouble with the law with the minor exceptions I hope to detail.

I was working as a painter’s helper and attending Kilgore College at night in the summer of 1961. I don’t remember the course, but I was probably taking six hours Of electives trying to make up for my lost freshman year. I was only twenty, but I bought a bottle of beer after the last final and drove back to Longview. Everyone hung out at the Malt Shop, a drive in similar to Sonic. I got out of the car with the beer and went over to where some of my old high school friends were hanging. Wayne Brown told me a cop was in the bunch of cars, so I bent down and threw the beer under the car and the car next to it. The bottle probably slid onto the grass at the edge of the parking area. Sure enough, the cop came over and arrested me. He told me he wanted the beer. I told him I didn’t know where it was, which was kinda true. He then took me down to police station where I was taken into a room where his Sargent was seated. The sarge was asking me where I got the beer etc. Of course, I told him someone bought it for me but I would not tell him the person’s name. When I questioned why my "crime" was getting so much attention, he told me to shut up or he was going to come across the desk and beat me. I shut up. The next day, I had to go to court. I pleaded not guilty because I thought they had to have some proof and I knew they didn’t have the bottle of beer. The case was tried later that day. I saw the arresting officer come into the courtroom with an empty beer can. When I saw that the police were going to lie about the evidence, I decided to plead guilty. The judge berated me and told me I just needed to tell the truth. I thought, how ironic. I was supposed to tell the truth but not the police. The arresting officer did take the time to tell me he was sorry as we left the courtroom. He was sorry, but still willing to lie under oath.

I arrived in Houston to start my first post graduate job in the summer of 1966. I was dating a girl that had just graduated from SFA. We double dated with a guy that was a friend of hers, I really didn’t know him. We had dinner, went to a movie and then ended up at a pub. We had a pitcher of beer just before closing, which was midnight in those days. The guy’s apartment was just a block away from the pub, so we got the pitcher to go and left for his apartment. A police cruiser squealed to a stop, lights flashing as we got out of our car to go into the apartment building. This was Saturday night at midnight. In about five minutes, there were 5 police cars at the scene. They had my date and I separated from the other couple as the cops were discussing what they wanted to do. I casually said to my date, you would think all these cops would have something better to do on a Saturday night in Houston. I didn’t know it, but a cop was behind me. He slammed me onto the hood of his car and brought his nightstick up hard under my chin. He yelled "you don’t like it!" I shut up. We were taken to jail and charged with illegal consumption. We were all over 21, which must have upset them. In other words, we were charged with drinking the beer out of the pitcher as we were walking across the street to his apartment. We were lucky to have enough bail money on us or we would have had to spend the night in jail. I didn't contest the charge. I didn't know what the police might do if I contested the charge.

I was 21 and working the graveyard shift at an all night service station in Austin. I thought it was a good job because I could work from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM and still take six hours in summer school at Texas. I probably made 50 cents an hour. I didn’t have a car, so I had to hitch hike there and back which was a little problem, The station had little business after midnight, and the only chore was to mop down the driveway, usually about 2:00 AM. I could study the rest of the time between Midnight and 8:00 AM. One night while I was mopping the driveway, a guy came around the side of the building with a shotgun. He had a pillowcase with eye slits over his head. After I gave him the little bit of money in the cash register and my wallet, which must have had all of a dollar. He then told me to start walking across the overgrown field behind the station…. pushing me along with the shotgun in my back. When we came to the top of a slight hill, he told me to start running to his left. He was probably parked on a little road that was to his right and ran perpendicular to Ben White Blvd, where the Jack Ritter service station was located. I thought he was going to shoot me in the back so I did all the zigzag moves I had seen in the John Wayne WW II movies. The next couple of weeks, the police made several trips to question me with photos to identify. The guy had a hood on. How could I identify him? Finally, a detective asked me to come downtown to be questioned. It hit me….I was a suspect. He scheduled me to take a lie detector test and told me that the monkey was going to be on my back…his words. I was taking B Law in summer school and asked my professor, Mr. Purser, what to do. He volunteered to go with for the lie detector test. I could tell the detective was not pleased to see the attorney. I failed the lie detector test on all questions relating to the robbery. The only question I passed was whether my wallet was taken in the robbery. Mr. Purser’s fee was a pack of Salem Longs. Anyway, the police got off my back, probably because I had a lawyer. Two months later, I got a bill from Texaco for about $200. The guy had been using my Texaco credit card, which was in the wallet. In those days, a copy of the receipts was enclosed in the monthly bill. One receipt had a license plate number. The receipt was for a $1.25 worth of gas. He had charged tires battery and car repairs. No license plate number on any of these big charges. I gave the billing packet to the detective. I called him a month later and they had the guy and he confessed to the robbery. I was really glad my name was totally cleared. I told Mr. Purser.

Well, that is some of what a boxcar’s worth of experience has taught me. I wonder just how few Iraqi hearts and minds our military has won over. My bet is not many unless some dollars are involved. You don’t need a boxcar’s worth of experience to reach this conclusion. Just look at the TV reporting. The one scene you see over and over is soldiers kicking in a door before storming in with weapons ready. Some people should not possess absolute power over other human beings, or even animals. I'll bet there are many, many more incidents of abuse by our military then the ones reported. The pentagon probably only admits to the ones where there is undeniable proof of the crime.

Keep them in their place!

2007-02-23T23:24:00.001-08:00

I love Wednesdays. As I have stated before, Sharon picks up Joelle after school, stops by McDonalds for a happy meal, drives to our house where I have already tuned in to Blues Clues. Another classic took place Wednesday, two weeks ago.

Joelle was eating her happy meal while watching Blues Clues. I was sitting in my chair watching the TV with her. Sharon was in the kitchen getting something to eat, when she yelled out a very loud "Oh no, shoot"! First, I guess I should say the Sharon and Petie both have the same habit. They will scream very loudly and you rush in expecting to see blood rushing from a gash inflicted by a knife, scissor or some other dangerous implement; requiring a rapid trip to the emergency room. However, when you get to them, they have either dropped a piece some milk on the floor or something else not worth even a sigh, let alone a blood curdling scream. Any way, Joelle rushed into the kitchen, asking "what happened"? Sharon explained she had spilled some garlic butter on the floor. She went on to explain that I had put the butter, left over from pizza, in the fridge and she had meant to throw it away earlier. Joelle ran back into the living room where I was sitting, Blues Clues still on the TV. Moose A Moose is my favorite. She stopped, glared at me, hands on hips, and said "it’s your fault Poppy"!

Joelle has already learned that she has to help Nana keep me in line.

Rock On Chicks!

2007-02-11T23:23:00.000-08:00

Totally awesome that the Dixie Chicks sweep the grammys. I only caught the last award, but I would have loved to see the look on Toby Keith's face. Maybe this country is finally waking up to recognize the courage they exhibited to speak their convictions. We could have used that conviction from some of our elected officials in 2002.

Silly me…I just read the above paragraph. The rhetoric is already starting about Iran as if we learned nothing from Iraq. Robert Fisk, my favorite journalist, said journalism is dead in America and I think he is right. Journalism in this country consists of writers printing what government officials want printed. Our war correspondents are all embedded with the troops. What do you think their perspective will be when they write their article? Do you think it might just be what the Pentagon wants printed? Bozo’s administration and the pentagon has zero credibility, yet their policies keep ending up in print or on TV as if we should now believe it.

The Dixie chicks showed courage that I didn’t have in 2002. I did not believe that Iraq possessed the WMD that Bozo said they had; I have a witness to that fact. I was convinced that I was right after I watched Collin Powell’s dog and pony show in the UN before the rest of the world. A vile of powered sugar and an artist rendition of what Iraq’s mobile labs might look like! That was all he had. I did nothing except get mad and changed from a life long Republican to a Democrat. That showed no courage.

I know this is not the venue to express political views, but I couldn’t help myself after watching the Sunday morning talk shows. I get very irritated when I hear some right wing nut job talk about how the Muslims need to learn to love their children as much as we do. My favorite Robert Fisk line is that people in the Middle East would love to have some freedom, and the freedom they want the most is freedom from us.

Rainy days and wednesdays

2007-01-11T06:26:00.000-08:00

Wednesday means that Sharon, Nana, picks up Joelle from school around noon. The trip to our house, where I will have the TV tuned in to "Blue’s Clues", includes a stop at Mickey D's for Joelle’s happy meal, chickey nuggets, apple slices, chocky milk and the treasure that comes with the meal. Yesterday was business as usual. Nana verbalized her order into McDonald's remote intercom and the voice asked, "boy or girl"? Nana replied girl; On to the pay window, then to the pickup window.

We have learned to check the contents of the package at McDonalds, not when we get home. Sharon checked the box. Chicken McNuggets, check; apple splices and not fries, check; special treasure, big "X". The treasure was for a BOY. Joelle was agitated. Nana said "no problem", we will go back through the dive thru and get the proper treasure. Back to the intercom, Nana tells the hidden person that she got a toy for a boy, not a girl. Joelle had run out of patience. With disgust in her voice, she yelled to the intercom, "My name is Joelle"!. Needless to say, the first thing I heard when they walked in was the heinous error of the people at McDonalds.

Last Train to Erwin

2006-12-29T00:44:00.000-08:00

The Christmas season always reminds me of the last trip our family took together from Longview to Erwin. Like I said earlier, Erwin has got to be one of the prettiest towns in America. Snuggled in a valley almost completely surrounded by the Smokey Mountains, technically, the Smokeys are only in the national park area. The town was almost in a time warp from 1956 until 1973, the next time I would visit Erwin. It was not until the mid 1980’s that Erwin became a modern town…a McDonalds and a small shopping mall. The biggest crime, however, was replacing the old limestone courthouse and building a new, soulless, glass and steel box. They did leave the monument to the "Erwin Seven". Erwin is still a small town, but in the 40’s, it had a population of less than 10,000. In World War II, there were seven US airmen, all from Erwin, from different planes captured and were in the same German prison camp, thus the "Erwin Seven".

But, back to the last train ride from Longview, Texas to Erwin, Tennessee. It was almost Christmas, December 21, 1956 to be exact, when we boarded the Missouri Pacific "Eagle" in Longview. This year was the 50th anniversary of that journey. It was after dark when the train left the station in Longview. We had already eaten, so we were in a sleeper car. The Eagle was a typical passenger train of that era, coaches, dinning car, baggage car and at night, sleepers. I really miss that mode of travel. It is still popular to take the train in Europe and they still have sleepers. Sleeping on a train is a sure cure for insomnia. The beds are narrow and short, but so was I in 1956. I was about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighted about 170 pounds. A railroad car sways slowly from side to side as in goes down the track. The sway is not from centrifugal force going around a curve. The sway is caused by the rail going down on one side of the track. This is caused by the ballast being washed away a little under the tie. If the erosion is severe, there could be a derailment. There is also a rhythm of clicks as the wheels pass over the expansion gapes in the rail. These two things amount to about the same thing as being a baby in a crib being rocked by a loving parent. It was a very good nights sleep, probably helped along by exhaustion. The next morning, we went to the dinning car for breakfast, where we would also have lunch and dinner. We spent the day in the coach just looking out at the bleak winter landscape, It was about a 24-hour trip by train. If you went by car, it was a good two-day trip, usually spending the night in a motel in Birmingham, Alabama.

We had to switch cars and roardnames somewhere in Tennessee, probably Memphis. The MoPac didn’t go through Johnson City, Tennessee, which is about 11 miles from Erwin. I expect we probably changed to the Southern Railroad because I know they had an interchange with the Clinchfield Railroad in Johnson City. We rolled into Johnson City after dark on December 22nd. There were, of course, relatives waiting on the platform for us. My aunts and uncles gather around Mom and my two cousins, Bobbie and Lynn, were busy chatting and giggling with Toni, my sister. I was the oldest of the grandchildren and my sister and Lynn were 11. I believe Bobie was 10. I was the only male grandchild of a surprising small group of grandchildren. My granddaddy Stultz only had 6 grandchildren even though he had 8 children…4 girls and 4 boys. I was kinda being ignore by the group on the train platform, probably because I was 15, to young for the adult group and too old, and the wrong gender, for the younger group. That was OK, I had an important job to do. I keep looking back at the baggage car, which was my only concern. I keep starring until I saw 4 porters open the baggage car doors, remove the casket, place it on a cart and rolled it into the station. I could go now; Daddy had gotten off the train.

I remember very vividly the days leading up to the funeral. I can still see faces and remember conversations in Granddaddy's house, even though I was not directly involved in any of them. I guess it was probably because of that damn age thing again. I guess nobody knew how to approach me, as a child, or as an adult, so they didn't. The funeral and burial was probably on the 26th, but maybe it was on the 27th. I know it was not on the 23rd or the 24th because I went out for a "run", actually, I went out a lot for "runs" while we were there. I was still playing basketball. My "run" was out the door to the funeral home where I would just sit quitely in the room with the open casket. I remember that it was cold and raining the day of the Erwin funeral and burial. It was a Shriner’s funeral. Dad also had a service in Longview before we left. The memory of the events that transpired from the day Daddy died, in the early morning on December 20, 1956, until he was buried, are vivid and forever burned into my mind; but I have no recollection of what happened after that for a period of al least 6 months. I don’t know how or when we returned to Longview. I do hope that I got a hug from Grandmother and Granddaddy, because I would never see them again. Granddaddy died the following year and Grandmother passed away in 1969. I also don’t know if it was the suddenness of my Dad’s death, or my age, but I have never gotten over that horrible event. It is as real today, 50 years later, as it was in 1956. It's like there is a VCR in my head and somebody probably presses "rewind" and "Play" every year around Christmas.

Maybe my Christmas memory of 1956 is one the reason that I always get sick around Christmas time. This year, and many many other years, I have a horrible cold or the flu. Last year I had emergency surgery and was in the hospital on Christmas day. It is hard to believe that it has been 50 years and my Dad would be 100 if he were still alive. I have so many things to be thankful for, I saw my two children graduate from college and get married. I have a wonderful granddaughter and soon to have another. I am so glad for the bonus time I have had to witness these wonderful events with Sharon. Next year will be our 40th anniversary. My Dad and Mom only had 16 anniversaries.

Coming out of the fog!

2006-09-15T04:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I survived the latest surgery. I don't understand how women just sail right through these things.

I sure helps having a precious granddaughter in the recovery process. We had Joelle over on Wednesday. I was still in the immediate process of recovering from the trauma of the surgery. I had taken a pain pill and was in a light slumber during the afternoon. I was slightly aware of Joelle coming into the room to check on me and heard Joelle and Nana in the front of the house doing an art project. When I fully awoke, I had an art project on my bed from Joelle, She had made me a get well card.

The Card was an 8 x 11 sheet of stiff colored paper with cut out objects glued to the main sheet. The main title was "poppy's surgery", the next line was "Get Well". The next line read "Love: Dear Joelle" with a heart drawn after her name. Then each object glued to the card was labeled. The round sharped object was labeled "Blood". The big square was labeled "Obow" and the smaller square was labeled "other Knee". The triangle was labeled "hose"...I have to wear white surgerical hose for a month to help prevent blood clots. Then there was a big rectrangle labeled "bottom". Sharon lettered the card, but the words were, verbetum, Joelle's.

Granddaughters are the best medicine.

Every man a king!

2006-08-30T00:53:00.000-07:00

Today was great! I do not exactly live in the fast lane, but as I think about the events of the day, I realize how very lucky I am. First, Sharon and I dropped off some old computer equipment at the city recycling barn on Westbelt. We were on the way downtown to do some business at the court house. No, I was not posting bond on some criminal charges. After we got home, I took the latest possum I trapped to the bayou, about 3 miles from my house, to release. I hope I haven't caught the same possum 4 different times. When I got back, Sharon told me we were going to have dinner with our girls, Petie and Joelle, because Chris was out of town. So I was going to have dinner with MY girls, Sharon, Petie and Joelle!

Sharon then left to go shopping and I got "old Smokey" out to mow the yard. As usual, I was dripping wet when I finish. I usually wait until the heat of the day before mowing the yard and today was no exception. It's more of a challenge that way. After a gallon of water, literally, and a cool bath, it was almost time for dinner. We went over to Pettie's house so we could drive together to Jason's Deli. Joelle loves booths with a view, so she got us one by the front windows. Then she exclaimed "there's a tiny dancer!". Sure enough, a mother with her daughter in dance attire was walking in. Joelle already loves her music and likes Elton John. I call her my tiny dancer when she's off to dance class with pink tights, a bun and a knit bun cover. She looks so precious. Joelle was in a very good mood at dinner. She was really smiling the entire time. When I tried to tease her about all the food she doesn't like, she gave it right back to me smiling. She usually gets mad at me and says "stop teasing Poppy".

How lucky am I! I live two miles from Petie, Joelle and Chris. I get to see my daughter and granddaughter 3 or 4 times a week. I feel sorry for the dads that don't have a daughter or grandfathers that don't have a granddaughter. Ol' Huey P. Long must have had the ones with daughters and granddaughters in mind when he got the idea for his slogan "every man a king" I left off "a chicken in every pot".

Back off Nana!

2006-08-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Nana and Joelle were out shopping. An elderly man started talking to Nana about her precious granddaughter. He then started telling Nana about his grandchildren, Joelle patiently standing by. Then Joelle could stand it not longer, she asked, "Nana, is he a stranger?" Apparently, Joelle thinks that what is good for the goose is good for the ducks!

Poor Nana, everbody assumes that joelle is her granddaughter. I am thinking about hiring someone to ask her if Joelle is her daughter. The last laugh will probably be on me though. Someone soon will ask her if that cripple, fat old man with her is her father.

I may be slow, but I don't get much done!

2006-08-28T23:56:00.000-07:00

was trying to clean up the backyard today because it may be a while until I am able to do much. I filled two 42 gallon contractor trash bag with debris. While I was doing the backyard cleaning, Joelle came over. I stayed outside to putt some wax on my truck so all the dents would be shinny. Sharon came out and asked if I would go get Joelle a happy meal. I said OK but I needed to sit down about five minutes. My cloths were wringing wet because of high humidity and I am very over weight, Sharon said that would be OK because Joelle wouldn't notice.

When I got back with the Happy meal, I walked into the house and Joelle showed me the cute bookmark she made me, Then, without hesitation she asked, "What took you so long Poppy?" Apparently Nana was wrong. Joelle has a built in clock about how long certain task should take.

The last straw at lubys

2006-08-27T01:11:00.000-07:00

Went to Luby's tonight for dinner. Nana, Joelle and I got there about 4:45 and were ready for Joelle to "pop" some broccoli. However, Luby's did not have any broccoli tonight. I do not ever remember Luby's NOT having broccoli. Since that is the only vegetable Joelle will eat, we were disappointed, to put it mildly. Then, when we got to the drink area, no chocolate milk. They did solve this problem when they found some in the back.

We haven't been happy with Luby's for some time. They were out of butter for three days a couple of weeks ago. When I asked the manager if Lubys was no longer going to provide butter, he acted as if I was an idiot for even asking. However, this has been their tactic when they are dropping a product.

Anyway, we sat down, unloaded our trays and got a straw from Jose for Joelle's chocolate milk. Thinking about the no Broccoli and almost no chocolate milk, Sharon said this could be the last straw. Joelle looked at her almost in tears and said, how will I be able to drink my chocolate milk. She had taken Nana's statement as the "last straw" literally. We explained to her that "last straw" was just a saying and did not mean that Lubys would no longer have drinking straws.

"Old Smokey" rides again!

2006-07-28T02:43:00.000-07:00

My lawn mower is an old two stroke LawnBoy. When I say old, it's at least 20 years old and for the first 5 years, it mowed 7 yards a week. I don't know how old that makes it in lawn mower years. Since it's a two stroke, I have to mix oil in the gas. The recommended mixture is 32:1, so I mix 4 ozs in a gallon of gas. I really mix 4 ozs to .95 gallons of gas to make it run a little rich. It is cheaper to buy spark plugs than lawn mowers, but that makes it smoke a little more than normal. Because of it's age, it really smokes a lot more than it did in it's younger years. Due to the exhaust fumes, Petie and Chris call my lawn mower "Old Smokey".

I really dread when "Old Smokey" goes to that big repair shop in the sky. It's a perfect mower for me and my yard. "Old Smokey" is very light, very maneuverable and not self propelled, it is a push mower. LawnBoy no longer makes the two strokers so I cannot replace "old Smokey". I have been manually stopping it because the kill switch lever was stuck. The carburetor is also leaking a little so you have to shut off the gas supply after mowing or all the gas will leak out. In case someone needs to use "Old Smokey" to mow the yard when I am sidelined for about a month after hip replacement, I decided I needed to at least fix the mower shut off mechanism. So I took off the gas tank to get to the part that shorts out to the block to kill the engine. I cleaned it off good with WD40...no improvement. Sharon saw what I was doing and told me the problem was in the cable at the pushing handle. Of course she was right. When I put it back together it didn't run right but the kill switch did work. It was barely running at idle speed. I was really worried about "old Smokey". Was this the end? I was starting to tear up. Today, I went to several repair shops to ask about getting "old Smokey's" carburetor overhauled. I know the gas leak it due to an aging gasket in the carburetor. I went to Watson's repair first and they told me $50.00 plus parts and they could get to it in 4 to 6 weeks. So I went to another shop on Hwy 6. They must have had a 100 mowers in the shop to be repaired or had been repaired. The guy told me I had probably just put the governor in a bind when I put it back together. So I took off the parts and reinstalled. "Old Smokey" appears to be running at pre kill switch problem speed. I will find out next Tuesday. I will probably get the carburetor overhauled after the mowing season to try and get another decade out of her. I know she uses three times as much gas as she used to, and that probably accounts for the excess exhaust fumes. The end for mowers is when you no longer have good compresson when you pull the starting cord, otherwise, they can always be fixed.

There is a special bond between me and "old Smokey". We are both way past our prime and don't function too well anymore. I have replaced all four of her well worn out wheels. But "Old Smokey" wants to get out there one more time to give it a go, knowing all too well the scrap heap is just around the next problem.

In Joelle's dog house!

2006-06-14T00:17:00.000-07:00

I usually wear the same thing everyday until Sharon grabs it to be washed. I have a favorite shirt I wear when it's hot, it's a thin, gray tee shirt. I found out that Joelle has a very sensitive nose, and would not sit in my lap when I had the shirt on even if it was freshly washed. Evidently, if something happens once, like the shirt having perspiration odor, that shirt is forever taboo. I had it on last week when Joelle was over, and even though it was freshly washed, she would not sit in my lap.

Today, I made sure that I put on a clean, not gray, shirt before she came over. Immediately, I asked her to smell the shirt. She smiled and said it smelled like coffee. I don't know how it smelled like coffee, or whether that was a good or bad smell to her, but no lap sitting again today. When it was time to go home, Joelle said she didn't want me to go with her and Nana. When I asked why, she told me I sang badly and too loud. I though she liked it when Nana and I sang along to Elton John's "Sad Songs". I know that I do not sing very well, but I thought Joelle liked it. I have a long way to go to get out of Joelle's dog house....speaking of pets.

Life in the slow lane

2006-06-12T01:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight was a little more normal after an eventful week. We all went to Luby's. I was hoping to see Joelle "popping broccoli" and eating luby fish. The troops were still showing signs of the weeks events.

Petie was feeling sick and had black eyed peas and two servings of mashed potatoes on her veggie plate. Chris had a veggie plate but Petie noticed he had a fancy mashed potato dish so he gave it to her. Nana got a veggie platter but got one of her veggies for me. Nana is in her 8th day of relentless coughing 24 hours a day. She refuses to go to the doctor saying they can't do anything for her. Don't understand how she knows this, but it's fruitless to argue. I just hope she is better by the time I have hip surgery or they will not let her in the hospital...maybe that's her plan. Joelle and I were the only two with an entree...I had broiled fish.

It was gratifying to see Joelle eat a good meal because of her recent throw up illness. She "popped broccoli" and we all clapped. After she was finished, she came around to me so she could show me her "tan line". She is really proud of it.

I was good to be back to normal; however, I guess we looked like a MASH unit to the other patrons. Petie had evening sickness, Nana couldn't talk and was coughing and then there was Ol' Peg Leg Pete.

What is going on?

2006-06-10T03:33:00.000-07:00

I must admit that I am confused about what is going on in the conflict between Palestine and Israel. I keep reading that Mahmoud Abbas is calling for this and that and is making these demands and those demands. I thought Hamas was in control of the Palestinian government. Why is Abbas still in control? He is Fatah, not Hamas.

So much for Bush's democracy on the march and how people wanting to live in democracy and freedom have a friend in America. Apparently, that is only true if we approve of who is democratically elected. I am sure that the Sunni's feel very good about our position that all they have to do is to join the political process rather than pursuing a conformational approach. Look at how well that has worked for the Palestinians. Hamas had stopped their militant actions 16 months ago and, instead, joined the political process. Worked out well for them didn't it.

I also don't understand how Israel can legally withhold money they collected in taxes for the Palestinians. It isn't aid, it's the Palestinian's money. I guess that the surgeries of 2005 have left me with only a couple of brain cells left. I guess after August, I will only have one functioning brain cell.

Great joke, I thought

2006-06-05T18:24:00.000-07:00

Saw a great stand up joke routine. I'll try to put it into words only.

The Guy was on stage talking about Sadam using chemical weapons on the Kurds. He then stated, you know where he got those chemical weapons don't you. Of course, everyone knew that we sold Sadam the chemical weapons. Then, He said we were selling weapons and intelligence to Iraq and Iran during their conflict. He said, I wonder how that worked?. He went into a his joke routine.

He took a couple of steps to his left and said. "here is a gun, put it in your pocket". Meaning we were selling weapons to Iraq. He then turned to his right and took about 4 steps and said, "he has gun in his pocket". Then he turn again to his left a took four steps in that direction and said "he knows about the gun".

Gimme that ol' time religion!

2006-05-27T00:21:00.000-07:00

I almost never sing hymns in church, I just kinda mutter along. The main reason is that I cannot carry a tune in a bucket. However, I love to hear Sharon sing. I think she has a beautiful voice and I get much more from the hymns listening to her than from me having to concentrate to keep up. There are certain hymns where she really gets with it. She says that it's the hymns played in a particular note. Seems like it's C flat or something like that. I am tone deaf so I wouldn't know the difference. I do not know what makes us remember certain events from our childhood and not remember others. I guess that my preference of religious music stems from my childhood.

The only thing I can remember about the First Baptist Church in Kingsport, Tennessee is, I believe, it was big and located on a cul-d-sac(? I have spelled this so bad that SpellCheck just put up a big question mark. Of course, I remember a lot about the First Baptist church in Longview. It was big, very big. I bet the First Baptist Church in Longview now owns about half of the downtown area. I also remember that when Mom, Toni and I went off to church, I was always late and had to put my socks and shoes on in the car and my shirt was unbuttoned. I got dressed on the drive to church.

When I was on one of my many visits to Uncle Ober's and Aunt Mary's farm, we always went to a Methodist Church, it was just down the gravel road, around the bend and up the hill. The church was wood framed with a thin, tall wooden steeple. Seems like it was always freshly painted white. The windows were open in the summer and one pot belly wood burning stove provided heat in the winter. Uncle Ober wore overalls with a white shirt to church. The overalls and shirt were always freshly washed and ironed. Other than his shoes, that was the only difference between what he wore every day to work on the farm to milk the cows and hoe the tobacco. As a group, I don't believe I have heard any choir that sounded as good as the congregation of farmers in that old Methodist Church in Greene county Tennessee. I guess that's why I love the old hymns. Everyone sang, and I mean everyone. Some folks were on tune and most folks were not. Together, they made the sounds of Sunday morning with their East Tennessee twang that I loved. I guess it was not they were the best sounding choir I have ever heard, but they were the most sincere. I went up to the that old, little church the last time I was in Greene County and stood outside as my mind wandered back to the late '40's. The church was still freshly painted white. If I closed my eyes I could Imagine "The Old Rugged Cross" being sung inside the church, escaping through the steeple, and echoing across those green hills.

After Joey and Maria's wedding in Wimberley, I went with a friend to the Cypress Creek Church. I believe the church is Pentecostal. I had never heard of the songs they were singing. Evidently, no one else did either because they keeping flashing the words across a two big tv screens. Seems like every song had about two lines of lyrics they kept repeating about 100 times. I was not impressed. I believe that the myths used by the political right to gain control of most of our state governments and our federal government is that Religion is under attack in America. From my observations, religion is doing quite well. Take a look at most of the big elegant churches all around you. Most of the Evangelical ministers generate such a large cash flow they start their own colleges. Look at Jim & Tammy Baker's retreat in North Carolina! Pat Robertson was going to build a 35 acre theme park in Israel until one of his numerous stupid remarks got the project canceled. I have seen a lot of extravagant Churches here and during my trip to Europe. I prefer the smaller, plainer churches. Of all the churches I have attended or seen, the most beautiful church I can remember is that white, wood frame church in Greene county Tennessee. I guess that is why I am comfortable with our church in Houston. No, it's not plain or wood frame, but it is not extravagant. It is also small by today's standards. You can hear and see our pastor from your pew without the aid of TV screens and a surround sound audio system. Christ The Servant Lutheran Church make me feel like I am an important to the church, not just a face in a nameless sea of faces. I go there for the sermon and the solitude, not the glitter and the flash I find in most other churches.

A couple of years ago, we had an organist, I believe his name was Marshall. Marshall would play hymns on the organ while people were coming in before the service started. I once asked him to play "In The Garden". That is one of my favorites and it is not in the Lutheran hymnal. Marshall told me he could tell my background because it was an old Baptist and Methodist hymn. Anyway, from that day on, he would always play it for me if he spotted me coming in. I've told Sharon that it is one of the two songs I want played at my funeral. The other is "I'll Fly Away". I believe that is a black gospel song, but I am not sure of the origin. I like "Amazing Grace" too, but everyone has that played at their funeral. I guess that Sharon can hold my funeral in a closet because I don't think there will be many people there.

Chicks are back!

2006-05-24T04:32:00.000-07:00

Just ordered the Dixie Chicks new CD from Amazon. Just for the heck of it, I also ordered their other two CD's.

Just my way of giving the old one finger salute to the mentally challenged country music profession and Bozo.

I'll sleep better now! This must be an election year!

2006-05-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

I feel reassured now about our current congress. They are finally addressing one of the most pressing issue our country is facing. We may finally get a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

I have been soooooooo worried about that. I do not feel secure about my 39 year marriage without that constitutional amendment. Can you image the chaos the might result without it. Anarchy could take over unless congress acts quickly. Pat Roberts can now continue to stonewall the senate investigation into the lies and half truths that convinced congress and the American public that we must invade Iraq before they attack us and to "bring justice to them" for their part in 911. We could not wait for "the smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud". Speaking of Condy, she was on one of the Sunday morning talk shows and failed to mention that. Instead, she said that we invaded Iraq to bring democracy and freedom to the region. Guess I must have missed that in 2002 and early 2003. On a much more serious note, Bozo and the first lady said that Iraq had now turned the corner and that millions now have a path to live in freedom. I hope they don't remember that Bozo said that the reason we were attacked on 911 was because "they hated our freedom". Gotta give him credit though, he said it with a straight face.

Across the fields and thru the woods.

2006-05-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

My Uncle Frank had many stories about his younger years growing up in Erwin. He had a very good friend he called Popeye. I asked him how he got the nickname, Frank said it was because he liked to fight. Any way, one night Frank, Fred, Popeye and some other friends had been out partying. Probably had been to Limestone Cove because that was the nearest place we you could legally buy alcohol. Frank and Fred were in one car and Popeye was driving another car with other friends

This had to be in the early 40's or right after the war. Erwin is located in the mountainous part of Tennessee so the roads then were very curvy. Franks was in the lead going back home to Erwin when he lost his breaks. He went off the road and through a fence. Luckily it was a pasture and not off the side of the road into a creek or off a cliff. He was able to steer his car up a hill and finally came to a stop. He said he got out of the car a little bit shaken and up drove Popeye right behind him. Popeye stuck his head out the window and with a puzzled look on his face asked, "where are we going?".

RC Colas and Moon Pies

2006-05-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

There are other memories of my childhood on Uncle Ober's and Aunt Mary's farm. I mentioned the highlight of everyday was going to get the cows for the evening milking with Bobbie Jean. There was also a weekly event that I looked forward to. Every Wednesday, we all went to the store to get the few household items that they needed. This was more of a social event than a shopping event though.

So every Wednesday evening, after the evening milking and dinner, we piled into Uncle Ober's car and went to the store. It was great. Other than church, it was one of the few chances to socialize with the neighbors. The men played checkers and horseshoes, the women gossiped and kids played caroms. There was never any alcohol, only soft drinks and yes, moon pies. I returned one summer after we had moved to Texas. Of course, I wanted to spend some time at Uncle Ober's and Aunt Mary's farm. They still went to the store on Wednesday night. But It had changed. Uncle Ober went to a different store because they had electricy and thus a TV. I couldn't believe it. No checkers or horseshoes, no caroms and no gossiping. Everyone was sitting around the TV watching wrestling. The saddest part of this change was there was little socializing anymore, just exchanging pleasantries when the arrived, find a seat and watch a wrestling match.

FRIGHTENED PICK LESS

2006-05-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

I like to relate to Joelle stories about her mother's childhood. Joelle was going through a particular time of habitual nose picking, so I told her about the time that Petie quit picking her nose.

We had a carpool of four children to go to gymnastics once a week. In 1980 seat belts were not required let alone child safety seats, so you see, we could carpool easily. As we made our stop for the last child on the route, out he comes with his mother right behind; this was typical, except as she got closer to the car it was a pretty scary sight. The children, who were standing on the floorboard sat straight back on the seat, eyes glued to the woman. I have to say she looked liked something out of a horror movie. She had an operation for a deviated septum. Her face was swollen, eyes black, and even bloody cotton still coming out of her nose. I can't imagine why she came out unless it was for sympathy.

The boy hopped in and we left. There was dead silence in a usually noisy car. After about five minutes, Petie said, "I tell you what, I'm not going to pick my nose again." ss

Frank and Fred

2006-05-16T02:56:00.000-07:00

Thought I had better document a classical Erwin story before it is forgotten. My Dad's family lived in Erwin, Tennessee. My Dad's parents had 4 boys and 4 girls, the youngest were twins, Frank and Fred. From the stories I have heard, Frank and Fred were, let's just say, spirited. They were never in serious trouble for anything that was criminal, but when there was mischief in Erwin, Frank and Fred were the usual suspects.

There was an atomic energy research center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Erwin. The time frame for this story is either just before WW II or right after we entered the war. The next door neighbor to my Grandparents had applied for a job at Oak Ridge, and the FBI did a routine check on anyone that was going to work there. That included asking the neighbors what was, I am sure, very basic questions.

Two FBI agents knocked on my Grandparent's door to inquire about their neighbor. My grandfather was, of course, working so my Grandmother answered the door. You have to picture my Grandmother. She was probably all of 90 pounds, wore glasses, always had her hair in a bun and always had an apron on. Anyway, when she answered the door, the two men identified themselves as FBI agents. My grandmother almost fainted as she gasped, "what have the twins done now?".

Joelle at Disney World

2006-05-16T01:27:00.000-07:00

On our trip to Disney World, we had lunch at some restaurant...don't remember which one....that featured Winnie the Pooh characters as the main attraction. Every so often, the characters, eeyore, piglet and tigger would have a parade around the room and the children were supposed to join in. The first time, Joelle was a little reluctant but did join the parade. She was having a little trouble keeping up but managed by grabbing and holding on to eeyore's tail.

The characters then went around the room stopping at tables and signing autograph books. Piglet stopped by our table and Joelle LOVED piglet. She gave him the biggest hug and later informed us that "He was soft". Before we left, another parade started. Joelle was late getting into the parade and was trailing the group by quite a bit as they went around the corner and temporily out of sight. When the group came back into view, Joelle had not only caught up, she was in front holding piglet's hand with the biggest smile you have ever seen. The parade was then going from our section of the restaurant to another section and the children were supposed to stay in their section. Joelle was not about to let go of piglet. She went skipping along, holding piglets hand into the other section. A parade worker was trying to get Joelle to let go of piglet and stay in our section, but Joelle was having none of it. She keeping holding on to piglet with one hand and swatting off the guy trying to make her let go with the other hand. Chris then went into the other section to retrieve Joelle after the parade was over.

When steam was king on the Clinchfield!

2006-05-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

Well, guess I can now bore you with why I find train whistles soothing. As I said earlier, I spent most of my summers during the late 40's at Uncle Ober's and Aunt Mary's farm in Greene county, Tennessee. However, from my birth until we moved to Longview, Texas, I lived in Kingsport, Tennessee. My Dad had a dual engineering degree from Georgia Tech and worked at Tennessee Eastman. We lived in Edgewood Village, literally a company housing project owned by Eastman. Yes, we had indoor plumbing, electricity and a coal fired heater. The chemical plant was maybe a couple of hundred yards to the west. It was close enough that I walked to the plant for the Saturday morning Horse Krickers Club. That was Eastman employee's children movie club, where I saw Song of the South, The Wizard of Oz, along with every Roy Roger, Lash Laroo(?) and Hop-along Cassidy movie ever made. Daddy could walk to work too, weather permitting. The tracks of the Clinchfield Railroad were less than a 100 yards east of our house with nothing but our backyard between the house and the tracks. The Clinchfield was a very short railroad, running about 270 miles from the coal mines in western Virginia and Eastern Kentucky to the terminals in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Erwin, Tennessee was almost exactly halfway between the two and was the headquarters of the Clinchfield. Erwin is about 20 to 25 miles south of Kingsport.

My Grandfather was an engineer for the Clinchfield so he regularly drove his train right by our house. He had seniority, so he was an engineer on freight trains rather than the coal trains. That's important because freight train had priority over coal trains and got the right of way at meets....which means the coal trains had to pull into sidings and wait for the freight train to pass. Passenger trains, of course, had priority over both freight and coal trains. Anyway, the trips for freight trains were faster than coal trains and commanded a higher status symbol. The way a shift worked on the Clinchfield was one day you would leave Erwin, take a string of emptys north to the coal fields or take loaded hoppers south to Spartenburg. If you were hauling freight, you took your cars to interchanges with the B&O, C&O, Southern and other road names. You would then lay over and the next day take a train back to Erwin. The worst jobs went to the most junior engineers who would be gone for a week at a time and do switching duties at the coal fields. Switching meant that you took empty hoppers to the mines and picked up loaded hoppers to build trains for the trip south thru Erwin to the utility plants.

When my grandfather would power his train past our house, he would always blink his lights, ring the bell and blow the whistle. The whistle of steam engines had a lot of character, not so with diesels. The reason is that a burst of steam was used to blow the whistle of a steam engine but diesels have electric horns. I believe. So the engineer can vary the whistle sound by the length of time and volume of the steam he releases to blow the whistle. I don't know this to be a fact, but I'll bet that an engineer of a steam engine could be be identified by the sounds of his whistle. There is nothing like the sound of a distant steam engine's whistle cutting through the night air. I was too young to remember, but Mom told me that once my grandfather stopped his train at our house to unload my first big bed. He thought it was time for me to get out of that baby bed.

The railroad tracks also served as a constant source of amusement when I was growing up. I bet you didn't know that the best tasting strawberries in the world grow wild along the tracks of the Clinchfield. Sometimes I would go on an excursion down the tracks and return with a stray dog; I was hoping Mom would let me keep it. Never did get to keep one of those strays. There was a tunnel about a quarter of a mile south, toward Erwin, from our house. Just beyond the tunnel was a trestle that crossed the Holston River. You could see a long way north toward the Kingsport yards because the roadbed was straight, but south, through the tunnel and just beyond the rivers trestle toward Erwin, the tracks made a sharp bend around a hill so you couldn't see very far. In Texas, that hill would be called a mountain. Trains always traveled faster going north past our house than going south because the upgrade was north to south at that point on the mainline. So, before crossing the trestle, you had to put your ear to the rail to make sure that a train was not coming around that sharp bend.. There was no walkway on the trestle so you had to walk right in the middle of the tracks stepping from tie to tie. You would not want to be halfway across the trestle and see a train coming around that sharp turn. I'll bet everyone that ever lived by railroad tracks has put a penny on the tracks and retrieved the flatten, larger penny after the train has run over it.

There was a problem living next to railroads in the 40's. There were a lot of hobos that used the railroads for free travel and free lodging in empty box cars. I guess that Hobos were about the same as homeless people living on the streets today. I believe there was a bigger criminal element among Hobos than homeless people though. Our house in Edgewood Village was the last house in the project, and beyond our house was an old farm, and there was a small wooded area just southeast of our house, between the old farm and the railroad tracks. We would play and build lingtoos(?) in the woods , I guess to play cowboys and Indians. The Hobos would use these crude shelters to stay in at night. Mom had a scare one night from someone she later thought was probably a hobo. Daddy worked the night shift and got off work sometime after 11:00 PM. Mom heard a noise one night and turned on the porch light, which was unusual, just before opening the door; thinking it was Daddy coming home. There was no one there when she open the door, but she saw footprints in the snow. After that, she borrowed Granddaddy's derringer, went out every night at about 8:00 PM and fired two shots. She just wanted anybody along the tracks to know she had a gun. I don't believe Mom was afraid of the devil himself at that point in her life. That really changed as she got older. Probably had something to do with someone being gunned down on their front porch across the street from her in Longview. I am beginning to understand that change now that I am getting up there; I couldn't outrun a glacier now due to the total deterioration of my abused joints. I no longer have erotic dreams, just dream what it was like to run, get that runner's high and feel the wind in my face. Don't get me wrong, I realize just how lucky I really am. I don't have to look very far to find someone a whole lot worse off than I am. My problems are just an inconvenience.

Well, that about covers why I find the cry of a train whistle at night so peaceful. Late at night or early in the morning, depending on your sleeping habits, the noise of Houston dies down a little and I can hear a Diesel's horn pierce the night air, I love that sound. While a diesel doesn't have the character or the mournful wail of a steam engine, My mind can still picture my grandfather, his head sticking out the side of a coal black steam engine, taking a sting of cars down the Clinchfield mainline as he pulls the cord to release steam into the whistle chamber and making the array of sounds that only he can make. I really miss the days of steam. I would love to see, just one more time, steam units straining, blowing smoke and hissing steam, pulling a sting of loaded hoppers up the grade, thru the tunnel before disappearing around that sharp turn just beyond the Holston River trestle. The last thing you saw before it disappeared was the red caboose dulled by layers of coal soot. The Clinchfield is no more. It is now part of the CSX system. There are only a few road names that have survived the railroad consolidation. Railroads have become a a minor player in transportation. The reason is not too hard to understand. Railroads have to maintain their road beds out own their own pockets, while taxpayers bear the major burden of maintaining the highway structure for the trucking industry. Yea, I know that trucks pay highway use taxes, but their taxes don't even come close to paying for the wear and tear that trucks do to our highway system. Just think, one train from LA to Houston or New York can carry the freight of a hundred or more trucks and use a fraction of the fossil fuel. I, for one, would not miss these trucks on I-10.

I guess that I could make one more post about Erwin, Tennessee in the late 40's, and about the neatest family in that neck of the woods.

There isn't "country" anymore

2006-05-12T23:30:00.000-07:00

Sometime in the 70's, I was talking to my Mom about a little place I had in rural Washington county, Texas. I told her that I slept in the bed of my pickup. She told me to be careful, I replied that it was OK because it was in the country. She replied. "there isn't any country anymore" How right she was.

Country was where I spent my summers in rural NE Tennessee during the late 1940's. I know the door to Uncle Ober's and Aunt Mary's farm house was never locked. There was no running water, indoor plumbing, phone or electricity. The gravel road that ran in front of the house carried very few vehicles. The milk truck came by daily to pick up the milk kept cool in the spring house next to the road. Other than that, maybe one or two cars a day passed by, that's it. Nothing after dark.

I can still hear Uncle Ober yelling at his team as he prepared the fields for planting. "Get up there Kate", "Come On John". Kate and John were the two draft horses he used for his farming. He didn't have a tractor. I really felt big the summer Uncle Ober let me drive Ol' Kate and John from the fields with a load of corn to unload in the corn shed. I realize now that Ol' Kate and John would probably have made trip even if no one had the reins, they didn't need me. The major event every day for me was when Bobbie Jean and I went to get the cows for milking. I never wore shoes, so I had to manage my steps to the bigger flat rocks because the smaller pebbles hurt my feet. You also had to be careful not to step in a cow paddy because it oozed up between your toes. Would have been easier if I had put on shoes, but not near as challenging. Also a tip about easing the pain of getting bull nettle strings on your feet and legs...Pee on it. The acid in urine neuteralizes the sting. The fences along the way were oak split rail with one stone wall that served to separate the east back pasture. Never asked who built that stone fence or when it was built, wish I had now.

To me, the most tranquil sounds in the world are cows baying at night and the night wail of a train whistle. Of course, the train whistles that are embedded in my soul are the mournful cries of a steam engine. Diesel's cannot come close to the character of a steam engine. Why the mournful cry of a steam engine is peaceful to me will be the subject of a future post. There is no doubt why I love the sound of cows baying at night. It takes me back to those cool summer nights in NE Tennessee.

Made a trip back to NE Tennessee a few years ago. Wanted to show my daughter and son-in-law my roots. There is no more country. The roads were paved, electricity, phone and indoor plumbing in every home. The split rail fences were gone, replace by steel posts and barbed wire. The most striking change though, the trees were gone. I visited my grandfather's farm, not in the family anymore, and you could see the Smokey Mountains while sitting on the front porch. You couldn't see them in my childhood days because of all the tall trees, I was somewhat shorter too. I miss the tall trees. My grandfather's main house is now a historical home in Greene county Tennessee. The family that owns the entire 500 acre farm are decendants of one of my granfather's sharecroppers. She proudly showed us the house and how she had "restored" it. I didn't tell her, but thay had butchered it. They lowered the 10 foot ceilings to 8 feet and in doing so, got rid of the main feature of the house, the big, red oval stained glass window above the front door. Also put vinyl siding over the original clapboard siding. The woman's brother couldn't assist in showing the house because he is in prison. He was in the courtroom where his wife was testifying against him in a civil suite. He shot her dead while she was in the witness box. I don't think he had much of a chance in the murder charges against him.

Mom, as usual, you were right. There is no more country.

Story about the center of my universe

2006-05-12T22:28:00.000-07:00

To the few people who know me, let alone like me...they will probably hold my funeral in a closet.....know that I think my granddaughter, Joelle, hung the moon.

Today, I got up as usual at the crack of noon. Looked around for my wife and found a note that stated "have phone, will travel". Meant she was out shopping and had the cell phone. I tried to call three times. I keep telling Sharon, Nana, that having the cell phone does no good if you don't have the durn thing turned on. Well, I called Petie, my daughter, because if anyone knows where Sharon is, Petie does. She had no idea where Nana was. Petie asked Joelle if she wanted to talk to "pawpy", that's the way the lil' darlin' pronounces "poppy", that's me. She asked me what I was doing and I told her that I was looking for "Nana" because I didn't know where she was. Joelle than said, "Pawpy" do you want me to come over to be your Nana until she comes home? Joelle is just a little over 3 1/2 years old....she is amazing.

By the way, if you can relate to the phrase "have phone, will travel", you're getting up there in years too.

introduction

2006-05-12T22:12:00.000-07:00

Well, wasn't sure whether to name this blog "me" or "ramblings of an old man". My daughter and son-in-law said that I probably could remember "me" and could spell it most of the time, so "me" it is.

Now to give you some idea about the age of this "old man", let me just say that before I was a teenager, there were civil war vets still alive. That was plural, vets, not vet. I believe the last civil war vet died during my teenage years.