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 |   On a daily basis... things that bump around in my head and make me go... hummm! |
My new blog:
This is not just a collections of personal musing but it is a place where I can vent. Talking about daily events on the local, state, and national scene is my way of letting off steam so I don't come home and kick the dog! We are all the Captain of our own "Ship of Fools." We go where the current of the times take us and we do what we must to be able to sleep at night. Now this Captain will speak his mind about that current and about the ocean on which we each sail....... ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** {image: ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** PLEASE MAIL ME YOUR VOTE FOR BLOGGER OF THE MONTH OF AUGUST. This is a shot of Me and Mel at our wedding. We were married in a simple ceremony on a deck overlooking Lake Livingston. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I am so proud of my new Siggy which was made by the very talented vivacious   . Thank you so very much for all the effort that went into this.** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** This was taken from the wall in the Blogville Post Office. If you see this fugitive, please do not approach, he is armed and stupid. Contact the Blogville sheriff's office at once, then take cover! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** } ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Yeah, Texans are different. This blog entry was inspired by one of Scarlett 's entries where she told of her son's friend who was visiting in the United States and found himself in the Great State of Texas (can I have an amen). Now it would seem that this weary traveler was quite excited to be here and to finally meet a "real Texan". I had to laugh. What is this thing people have about Texas, for that matter, what is it Texans have about Texas? Yeah, Texans are proud. You ask someone from Ohio where they are from and they don't proudly proclaim "From the Great State of Ohio" and expect any big interest about their state. Texans, on the other hand will tell you with pride, not only that they hail from Texas, but will specify WHICH part of Texas....it makes a difference, don't ask why. A lot of the mystique that has built up around Texas is, I am sure, due to Hollywood and their treatment of the western movie. Quite a few generations have grown up with this "Wild West" view of Texas. People from other places, when they hear "Texas", automatically think: Cowboys, Indians, Cattle drives and Shoot-outs. Is it any wonder that, when faced with a guy wearing jeans and a cowboy hat and boots, folks are kind of disappointed not to see a Colt .45 slung to his hip. Even though Hollywood had a lot to do with the mystique of the Texan, it is the Texan, himself that has added to the legend over the years. I mean, we really do seem to be cut from a bit different mold than most guys. I talk here about guys because after fifty-seven years of life, I have learned not to even try to explain women, Texan or not. Even though the traits I speak of still hold true to Texans, it is more often found in the older generation and not this younger one. The kids in Texas today seem hell-bent on chucking the old ways and being like their counter-parts around the world. What traits? You ask. Well glad you asked.... 1. Texans are hardheaded and independent to a fault. You can ask a Texan to do something but God help you if you tell him he has to do it. Case in point: Ever since they passed a law saying we HAVE to wear our seatbelts I took great pride in sitting on mine. The very idea of the damn government TELLING me I had to wear it was abhorrent. Nothing anyone could say would change my mind. I KNEW it was best to wear it. I KNEW that wearing the belt could save my life....but damnit they TOLD me and that just would not fly. Then along came Mel. She took in the situation, listened to me rant against the dang government trying to tell me what to do, then she calmly said: "Sweetie, could you wear it for me? I just can't stand to think you might get hurt in a wreck". I started wearing the dang seat-belt that day and I haven't missed a day since. My mother, bless her heart, laughed at this and told me that she was glad I had finally found a girl worth her salt and she could now rest easy knowing Mel had me well in hand. GAWD! 2. Texans are polite to a fault. We were brought up to say "Yes Ma'am and Yes Sir" and to always show respect to our elders. A Texan will tip his hat to a lady and hold the door for her and he will chastise anyone who won't. Being polite carries over to other men as well as the women-folk. It takes a lot to get a Texan to raise his voice in public when arguing with another man. If he does get to that point and begins to yell, look out; he is also ready to fight. 3. A Texans are flirts. We can't help ourselves, it is genetically encoded in us to flirt with the opposite sex. If any of you ladies out there ever come to Texas, don't be surprised when you are routinely addressed as: "Darling" or "Honey" or even "Sweetie". We mean nothing by it, we just can't help ourselves. And it is not just the men. I am addressed in this same manner each and every day by women from 18 to 80 years of age. They mean nothing by it, its just the way they talk. It has happened more than once.... Some cute little twenty-something girl comes sashaying into the store, gives me that side-long glance and a smile and says: "Hi, sweetie!" I usually grab my chest and exclaim: "OH! Don't hurt an old man, I can't stand the excitement!" They never fail to laugh and tell whoever they are with: "Isn't he just the cutest thing you ever saw!" 4. Texas comes from the Indian word Tejas, meaning "Friend" and to a Texan friendship is almost a holy thing. Friendship rates just below family in order of importance and in some parts of Texas...usually the rural areas, away from the big cities... a man's handshake is still as binding as a contract. 5. And the last trait that sometimes stands Texans apart is their Independence. Its not just our attitude, its the fact that of all the states in the United States, Texas is the only one who had it put in writing, when they joined the union that at any time Texas felt the need to do so, they could leave the United States and go back to being a Sovereign Nation, on their own. In fact, that issue comes up for a vote every few years....so far we have remained a part of the U.S. but that's not to say we always will. People who know this fact wonder at our amount of freedom and I think that freedom of choice shows in our demeanor. Now there is my list of Five things about Texas and Texans. I hope it has shed a little light on what strange creatures we are. But, there is one other thing that sets us apart from the rest of the country and CC has touched upon it a number of times. WE TALK REAL SLOW! No matter where I travel, in any other part of the country, as soon as I say anything at all: PEOPLE STOP AND STARE. I see this look come on their faces as they realize they just heard a real Texas accent. Then, invariably, they ask me to repeat what I just said. The first time this happened to me I thought I had happened upon a town of deaf people but no, they just wanted to hear that drawl again. If any of their friends or relatives are nearby they will yell at them to come over and listen to it too. Yeah...we're different...we talk slow! That's okay, as long as we can think fast. |
| I took the day off from blogging yesterday just to clear my head and absorb everything I had read in the way of comments to my last blog entry. Now those of you who have followed my blog for any length of time know that I rarely vent on a personal level in my blog but Friday it just came boiling out of me. For that I apologize. But, I am glad I did because even though I KNEW before that day that I had friends here, I never realized just how many and just how kind and supportive they are. It also made me realize that almost everyone who writes has times of depression and self doubt and it helps to know I am not the only one. As for Friday, well as I told a few of you privately, my dad had a saying he liked to use for times like that..."Some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you". Well, Friday the bear got me but I'm okay now and I promise to keep my bear fights outta the blog from now on... you folks got enough to deal with just reading me and CC's fussing! To those of you who commented wonderful words of encouragment and to those of you who sent the beautiful C-Notes and two great Merit Badges, I just want to say....thank you. You are all very special to me and you each fill a space in my heart which I reserve for true friends. Now I think I will end this and have only a short entry today (SHADDUP CC!). Tomorrow, I promise, it will be business as usual. |
| I have tried four times to write a blog entry today and each time I have ended up deleting what I had written. I am doing nothing but hitting a brick wall. You know what I keep thinking? I think I am a coward. I really believe I am afraid to get published. I have had my short story collection ready to send to a publisher for months and I still haven't done it. I keep putting it off. I have come to the conclussion that I am frightened that people will read my stories and discover that I am not a writer after all. They will find out that I am a pretender...a wannabe. Not to mention how mad people will be after spending money to buy the book only to find out there is nothing of worth in it. I use to think I had some small talent for blogging but not long ago I discovered I wasn't very good at that either. I have to wonder if it would not be better to forget about publishing and just tell people, when they ask that "Oh yes, I'm WORKING on something for the publisher". That way I will not have to face the rejection. Are there any others out there who have suddenly lost their nerve about getting published? Am I the only person here who has been impersonating a writer? I seem to be covered in a strange feeling of discontent today; one of those "What the F**K am I doing" days. Maybe it will pass. Maybe I can get myself back on track. I don't really know. I am sorry to subject you all to such a damn whining entry and I promise not to do it again even if it means a lot of "black" days in the future. Tell you what I am going to do though, when I send this. I am going to go into my portfolio and work on the folder entitled "Stories for Publication". I had almost all of them marked "For My eyes only" and I am going to make them public again....I might as well because it don't look like anyone else will be seeing them any time soon. |
| Another late work day for me today so here I am trying to pound out some simblance of blog entry. This morning the first blog I read was by Cassie Reynolds  and she has inspired this entry. She wrote about her first encounter with the computer at work back in 1985.Has it been a mere twenty years? Good lord, where has the time gone? I read her entry and I started trying to remember a time when I lived life without this infernal box. It was surprisingly hard to remember a time when I didn't routinely check my email. As a writer I can remember slaving over a typewriter, pounding out a story....then doing it all over again with re-writes, then doing it all over again when I made a typo (could not send in anything marked with white-out). After about ten total re-writes I would finally get a copy without a mistake then off it would go in snail-mail to whatever magazine I had chosen. Then the wait. Sometimes I would wait two or three months to get my cherished rejection letter. Well thanks to the computer re-writes have become a breeze (well nearly). The spell-check is the most used program on my computer and the ability to shift sentances or whole paragraphs around is invaluable. Now I get a story ready in a fraction of the time it use to take me. Now I can shoot off submissions via email and don't have to wait more than a day or two for my rejection slips...ahh, life is good! But, all of this aside, you know what I love the most about this computer age? My Friends. Back in 1985 my circle of friends was constricted to maybe a half dozen people who I worked closely with every day. Today I am proud to tell people that I have friends in almost every state in the US and in three or four different countries around the world. This is the biggest impact the computer has made in my life; It has brought me all of you and I am richer for it. |
| Good morning my friends. It is Wednesday and that means I go to work a bit later than usual. I decided to do a little blog entry this morning so that all I would have to do when I come home, tonight is read all the really GOOD bloggers and not worry about writing an entry. You know, as writers we sometimes fall into the trap of taking ourselves too serious. Personally I like to make fun of myself at times, its okay to laugh at ourselves, in fact it is downright theraupatic. So, with this in mind, I added a new item to my portfolio this morning. It is a poem! I will be the first person to tell you that I am no poet. That is what makes this particular "poem" so special to me...LOL! A little backstory here: I wrote this beast a few years ago for another online site. My intention was to make fun of the classic Epic Poems such as the Iliad and the Odyssey. I also needed to poke a little fun at a particular food item famous in Austrilia called Vegimite....by all accounts it is a foul tasting concoction that will peel paint off a wall. Anyway....I wrote this poem and it was very successful, it proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was NOT A POET and at the same time it was funny...I like that. So now, if you feel like having a chuckle at my expence, please hop on over and give this poor thing a read. Oh and don't throw things at me, its supposed to be funny!
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| A young man came to see me today at work. His name is Marcus Bailey. He is 19 years old and he is also my youngest son's best friend. Since the age of four, these two boys have been joined at the hip... best buds and co-conspiritors in many a miss-adventure. I almost didn't recognize the boy when he walked into the store today; it had been a year since I had seen him. Marcus had always been tall and kind of gawky and clumsy so I did a double take today when this deep voice called out to me: "Hiya Mr. McClain". I turned around and saw this six foot, three inch, broad shouldered and muscled young man standing there smiling at me...it was the smile that I recognized first. A year ago Marcus had joined the Army. He had asked for my opinion before joining and I gave him my blessings. I had urged him, at the time, to be sure and try to get into some field that might keep him more or less safe considering the war. So, of course, Marcus did just what most kids his age have done for untold years...he ignored me. He graduated in the top five precent of his class in RANGER school and got his jump wings....he is now serving in the 82nd airborne! He came to see me today to tell me goodbye. He is about to be deployed to Iraq. This tender hearted, gawky kid who ate as many meals at my table as he did his own was going off to war. Yeah, I know he had grown and was now a very formidable phyical specimen of manhood, but somehow all I could see was the "kid". We visited for awhile and he asked me if I had any advise since I was the only one he knew who had actually "been there". I told him, as seriously as I could: "When you have to GO, then go hard, go fast and go low. Never hesitate to shoot; hesitation will kill you. Always vary your routine when in a rear area, never go to the mess hall the same way two days in a row, that sort of thing." As I talked I could see this big grin on his face. "What?" I asked him. He laughed out loud and told me: "Nothing sir, you just sound like my sergeant, he told me the same thing." "Then by God listen to him!" I growled. We talked a few more minutes then he had to head out and I watched him walk away with a cold fear in the pit of my stomache. This boy was just like one of my own sons and he was about to go in harm's way. The rational part of my brain argued that he was better trained and better equiped, not to mention in better shape than I was when I went at his age. That really didn't help. I kept seeing this clumsy kid who tripped over his own feet when he ran...I kept seeing a child. I realized something as Marcus left the store.... Wars should be fought by middle-aged men, not the flower of a generation. It is the old men who START the wars, we should be made to fight them and let the kids grow up in peace.... like all kids should. This boy...no this man, will be in my thoughts until he comes home safe and sound...please put him in your's too. Trust me, he is a great kid. |
| Well today, whither you like it or not, you get two entries from me. This morning I was rushed and I just wanted to draw attention to the blogger's contest winners and what a wonderful job Nada and Forever did. I didn't have time to get to the main topic for today. So, now I will talk about what has been uppermost in my mind all day. Today is Mel's birthday! Now normally I would be hitting the stores and shopping like crazy to get her something special for her special day but this year she has nixed that idea. Because of recent large expenditures, she has laid down the law and demanded that I get her no presents for her birthday. Okay......... Well Roses, Belgium chocolate and a card arn't really "presents" now are they. But, I wanted her to have more..... I promised not to buy her presents, I didn't promise not to run my mouth in here!! So, I have decided to try to put into words what this woman means to me. To simply say: "I love her", just doesn't cut it... its so much more than that. I have never known a woman who was as intellegent, independent or who had such a caring heart. To say that she had been hurt in the past was putting it mildly. While still in her twenties, Mel found herself alone and with a small child. What did she do? In typical "Mel" fashion, she devoted the next twenty three years to single-handedly raising her son. She put her own life on hold and she did a hell of a job raising him too. It was not until after Richard was grown and on his own that she began once again to socialize and build a life of her own...then she met me. I have to put that day down as the luckiest day of my life. What this woman sees in me, I will never know but I am damn glad she saw something because her love has saved my life...literally. I never knew there was any woman with her capacity for love and loyality. There are days when all I have to do is look into her eyes and I fall in love with her all over again. She has this quiet air of bottomless love for me that sometimes just shines from her soft, blue eyes and when I catch a glimpse of it my heart almost breaks from loving her. I heard a song on the radio today as I drove home and I would like to share the lyrics with you...they say what I have feebily been attempting to say here in my blog.... Maybe this will make more sense. This song is dedicated to my baby...Mel, I love you, darling...HAPPY BIRTHDAY! WE'RE IN HEAVEN Baby you're all that I want. When you're lying here in my arms I'm finding it hard to believe We're in heaven. And love is all that I need And I found it there in your heart. It isn't too hard to see We're in heaven. Now, nothing could change what you mean to me. There's a lot that I could say But just hold me now, Cause our love will light the way. Baby you're all that I want. When you're lying here in my arms I'm finding it hard to believe We're in heaven. And love is all that I need And I found it there in your heart. It isn't too hard to see We're in heaven. Now our dreams are coming true. Through the good times and the bad I'll be standing there by you. (We’re in heaven.) And love is all that I need And I found it there in your heart. It isn't too hard to see We're in heaven. |
| Thought I would make a small entry this morning before heading off to work. I want to take this opportunity to publicly congratulate the winners of Nada and Forever's contest for Bloggers. The judging was top notch and all those who placed well deserved the honor. From First place to the honorable mentions...you all wrote great entries. Thank you again, Nada and Forever for bringing us a contest just for Bloggers...you did good ladies. Now, unfortunately, I must go off to the "day job" and take care of business...LOL! |
| I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank windac and pencilsoverpens for the lovely C-notes they both sent me for Father's Day. That was very sweet and thoughtful of both of you kind ladies and I do appreciate it so very much. Yesterday was nice and my daughter, Melissa, brought me a surprise....she had swung by my son's house and brought him with her! It was great seeing both my kids. I may be biased, but they are great kids and I am so very proud of them. We went out to eat at our favorite restaruant...all six of us, Me and Mel, Melissa and her fiance Jason and his 13 year old daughter Paula and my son, Patrick. Afterwards we came back to the house and spent a few hours just sitting and talking...now that was the nicest part of the visit. They didn't get back on the road until after nine o'clock last night. Jason had to go to work at 11 p.m. last night and Patrick had to be at work even earlier this morning than I did. So, I got to bed later than normal last night but it was well worth it to get to see my kids. Today my kids from Washington have been calling and talking so all in all, I have had a wonderful Father's day. The only thing that would make this day absolutely perfect is if I could sit down once more, just for a day, with my own dad and talk to him again. I hope all the fathers out there had as good a day as I have had...hell I didn't even mind working today. |
| Well I lived through Friday and my "Socializing" lesson that Mel insisted upon. Now Saturday is here. After yesterday's long list of adventures I was looking forward to doing absolutely nothing today. I was gonna just kick back, read here on WDC, watch a little TV and maybe lay in bed and read...ahh, life can be good sometimes! That was the plan. Then I get a phone call last night just before I dove beneath the covers. It was my youngest daughter, she wanted to know if I had any plans for the next day. Oh lordy, I knew what was coming....we were getting visitors! Didn't I see enough people yesterday, was I not going to be allowed to vegetate even one day? Apparently not. It would seem that, because Sunday is Father's day and I work on Sunday, my little sweetie had decided that she would drive up from Houston for a visit with dear ole dad. She informed me that she would be coming in around one or two o'clock in the afternoon and she would be accompanied by her fiancé and his daughter. Now don't get me wrong, I love my baby girl to death and I do love seeing her at every opportunity but lord....I wanted to do nothing today! I know, I know, I am being selfish but hell, I'm old, I get to be selfish sometimes don't I? I should be happy that she wants to spend time with the ole man, I guess. After all, I only have two of my five kids living in the same state with me anymore. Melissa and Patrick, my middle son are the only two left who live in Texas, the rest of the brood have migrated to the Pacific Northwest and we can only visit via the internet and phone. Patrick won't be able to make the trip here today because he is working all weekend but that's okay because he and I talk about three or four times a week on the phone. Upon further consideration, this might be okay after all. I think I will play the "what did ya get me for fathers day" card on her. I know my babygirl, guilt will assail her and she will spring for a nice dinner at that new Italian restaurant in town. This might turn out pretty good after all! Now before I end this whine session I would like to urge all of you out there who are fifty or over to enter windac new contest:
Okay, I know this is a sorry excuse for a blog entry today but what can I say....I was rushed! Now it is about to come a storm and I am rushing again to get this posted so.....BYE FOR NOW! |
| Good morning folks! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday. I am coming to you today BETWEEN outtings. Yup, that's right, I have been up for hours...ON MY DAY OFF and I have just been as busy as a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest. Mel decided (funny how that works)that today was a good day to get up early and take Sherman and Rocky on their first real outting to town. She said it was time for the two babies to begin to be "socialized", to get use to walking on a leash and being around strangers. In other words I had to get up at the crack of dawn to take two dogs TO SCHOOL! Good Lord! You got to understand, folks, I was not raised in the "Dog Whisperer" mode when it comes to dogs. I have never looked at dogs like they were part of my family. Well, thanks to my sweetie, I am there now. I am one with the idea that a dog can be more than a working tool (hunting, herding, ect.). So now I got one grown dog and two adolescents, both of which now need to go to school. Well we went. We took them to the local park and walked around the local public pool with them also. Something else you have to understand here... these two pups have personalities that are poles apart. Rocky, my GSD, is very shy and introverted. He wants to be with me and Mel and that's it; when other people come around he wants to hide. Sherman, on the other hand, is a raging extrovert. He LOVES people. When we pulled up in the Parking lot of the public park, he heard children yelling and laughing and splashing in the pool and he about tore the door of the car off trying to get to them. Rocky got down in the floor-board and hid. When we got them out of the car Sherman was straining at his leash, trying to bound ahead and reach the kids. All he could see was all those hands that were just made to pet him! Rocky glued himself to my leg and when I nudged him away he tried to walk BETWEEN Mel's legs. This is gonna take some work. We will have to get Rocky over his shyness and we will have to really work hard to teach Sherman not to LICK PEOPLE TO DEATH! And that, my friends was how I spent my morning...on the first outting. Now I am enjoying a late breakfast and a small rest before the second outting. What's happening on the second trip? Glad you asked. Mel has also decided that it was time for ME TO GET SOCIALIZED! Now she wants me to accompany her as she makes her rounds, paying our monthly bills, shopping for groceries and whatever else she can think up to TEACH me to be around people without biting. Personally, I am with Rocky on this whole topic...GAWD! She did say she was going to give me a treat for doing all this; she is going to let me buy her dinner! What a gal! |
| WDC is a wonderful site dedicated to writers who want to hone their skills, to make themselves a better writer, in the hopes of one day being able to publish their work. It is also a great place for people who just enjoy READING good stories and essays. One of the skills many of us have to work on is developing a thick skin. Having a thick skin is a must for anyone who ever hopes to be a writer. Think about it; what other profession requires you to pour so much of your heart and soul into a finished product then put it "out there" for all the world to judge? If we, as writers, are unable to take criticism or just a differing of opinion then how can we ever be hopeful of any sucess at our craft. Yet, knowing all of this, I see everyday here on the blog page an inability by some to take even the mildest of criticism. Some are unable to cope with even a differing of opinion in their "comments" section. What on earth will these people do when they send out their stories and have them ripped apart by editors who do not agree with them? I may not agree with you and I may think you are full of bull, but by God you have a right to your opinion and since we have our blogs set up to accept comments then we better have the courage to accept those comments which disagree with us. I ran across an example of this on the blog page this morning. It bothers me that some of us can not seem to accept a difference of opinion without going totally overboard in our reaction. To be honest, the comment that illicted such unwarrented ire was quite innocent. In fact, it was more an attempt at levity than anything else and should have been merely laughed off. Instead the blogger promised to come back, later, with an "attack" entry to put the commenter in their place....how childish. I really do hope that the blogger in question is able to overcome their sensitivity and become more tolerant of people who think differently from them. As I said, as writers we must have thick skins and we must also be able to be tolerant of others if we ever hope to have any sucess at our chosen field. To be honest, I am including myself when I talk of learning to be tolerant. I have had to learn to be more accepting of others also. I have had to thicken my own skin and learn not to attack everyone who does not agree with what I write....lord knows there is a bunch of them out there. I have found that by learning to accept other opinions without making a big issue everytime someone disagrees with me, I have become a better writer. I have learned some restraint and I no longer have the urge to attack anyone who dares to disagree...that's a good thing, as Martha would say. I try to read blogs every day of people with whom I strongly disagree with. To only read those people who hold the same opinions as me would be a form of censorship. We as writers need to be aware of all sides, not just our own. Sorry to have made such a negative entry today, but this is what was on my mind and after all, my blog is called "Random Thoughts"....so these were my thoughts this morning. |
| Many bloggers here on WDC have written lately about Nostalgia. I personally did a piece a couple of days ago about the year, 1968 and I guess that could be considered a bit of nostalgia. After reading the entries of Forever, vivacious and Mavis Moog I am moved to write another entry about the same subject even though I could never come close to the level of expertise these three great writers exhibited. To me, nostalgia is a wonderful thing. I live with the memory of long ago days constantly. When I am standing at the door, greeting folks in the here and now, my mind is almost always casting back....remembering...long ago days. In this way the hours flow by and I am only marginally aware of where I actually am and what I am doing, then the day ends and I can go home. What kind of things do I think about? Well the subject of my memories vary from day to day and even from hour to hour. It really depends upon which ghost of the past calls out to me: "Remember when...." You see, that is what I believe nostalgia and memories are really...ghosts from our past, unwilling to be forgotten, that bubble up to the forefront of our minds at the most unlooked for times. Maybe that is a form of immortality..."Forget me not", for only when a person or a place forgotten, are they really dead. Today a picture so clear and concise in its detail flooded my mind, it was almost as if I were there.... A soft, lush, green carpet of new grass covered the river bottom meadow. I was laying at the base of a giant live oak tree, my head resting in the lap of a beautiful girl with short, brown hair and soft brown eyes. I lay there with a blade of sweet grass between my lips, staring up at the cobalt sky as fleecy, white clouds scuttled past, pushed by a gentle wind. I remember thinking, as I lay there and felt her hand as she absently stroked my hair, that I wished this moment could last forever and knowing even as I thought it, that of course it could not. That was a wonderful day. I was sixteen and invulnerable, I would live forever! Two short years later I learned just how vulnerable I really was. But that is another memory....not for today. What triggered that memory? I saw that same girl today. She walked into the store with her two granddaughters, one of which, a teenager, was the spitting image of her grandmother at that age. She recognized me right away and she smiled, stopped and shook my hand. She introduced me to her grandkids and, as we talked she was joined by her husband, a really nice guy, and she introduced him as well. They were doing well, he was about to retire and they were planning on moving back into the area where their kids still lived. It was very nice to see her again and to catch up on all that had happened to her since that day in the river bottom. I am so very glad she has had a good life and raised a wonderful family. But, most of all I am glad she came into my store today and triggered that memory....it was nice to visit that past once again and feel again what it was like to be sixteen and on top of the world. Yeah....nostalgia, memories, are a good thing....most of the time. |
| It is possible that I have set myself a task too great for my meager talents. I suggested yesterday, while the air was full of flying chicken feathers and bimbos, that I would come into my blog today and try to explain just what was going on for those who came to the distrubance a little late. Now, as I sit here, I am not really sure any of this goofiness can be explained in a manner in which a SANE person could understand.....but I will try. To begin with, the Chicken part of this sad tale is fairly straight forward and easy to explain. Last week partyof5dj happened to use a chicken in a very funny entry in which he was discussing his father-in-law's apparent ADD. You must read this entry to get some backgroun..."Invalid Entry"  Now only a few days later someone happened, in all innocence, to mention Olivia Newton John in their blog and in a comment to that blog ccstring fell completely off the deep end, telling everyone that Olivia was his fist love (what a name for his hand). Well along comes Party and mentions, innocently again, that far from being the dream girl of CC, Ms. Newton-John was, in fact HIS DREAM GIRL! (Again, what's the odds of two guys naming thier hand the same name) Anyway....this lead to name calling back and forth between the two loony bloggers and quickly esclated to all out war! Here is an example of the fiercely intellegent salvos that have been exchanged so far: "GET AWAY FROM OLIVIA, SHE IS ALL MINE!" "IS NOT!" "IS TO!" "NOT!" "TO!" "DOUBLE NOT!!" "TRIPLE TO!!!" Well, as you can see, it went downhill fast with these two. Then, just yesterday, I believe, zwisis brought out the ultimate in big guns and suggested that both of these guys may, in fact, be more enamoured with poultry than with the varity of "dream-girls" they kept talking about. Well that signaled all out finger pointed and accusations from both sides as they feverishly tried to deny the appearance of suspicious chicken feathers in both their blogs! The pictures Forever posted were great and you can see these in CC's blog:"Invalid Entry" .From there, the legend of the chicken has grown by leaps and bounds. Now, not only is the term: "Oh look, there goes a chicken" used in many blogs to denote a straying from the point of the blog, but now chickens are popping up in pictures of many blogs: please see,"Invalid Entry" in Cassie Reynolds 's blog.So there you have it....do you see the big picture now? Are you, too ready to join in on the fun? As the battle stands today, we have two bloggers who may, or may not be having carnal knowledge of poultry while swearing their hearts belong to Olivia Newton John, Shinia Twain and Brittnay Murphy....I know, I know...way too many hands! So, pick a side and fire a salvo....all combatants welcome. Me, well I am gonna stand over here out of the way. I just saw what CC wrote in his blog for today and there could be a killing when Partydude reads the entry...my God, he put Foghorn Leghorn's face on Brittany Murphy's body and a bunch of eggs under her as if she had laid them.....this could get ugly......FAST! |
| For those of you who find themselves at loose ends waiting for the next round in the "Chicken-Plucking, Don't Steal my Bimbo" wars, I thought we might take a trip with Prof. Peabody in his "Way Back" machine. You see I found this little pamphlet for sale today at Wal-Mart, its called: Pages of Time and it takes a certain year in each pamphlet and gives you info on all kinds of stuff. Average Income, price of gas, who won an oscar...names of songs that were big that year; the thing is full of interesting and nostalgic information. I bought the one for 1968 and here are some of the interesting thing I found in it. TOP SONGS OF 1968 1. Light My Fire---The Doors 2.The Dock of the Bay---Otis Redding 3. I Heard it Through the Grapevine---Marvin Gaye 4.Mrs. Robinson---Simon and Garfunkle 5.Little Green Apples---Roger Miller Academy Award Winners 1. Best Picture---OLIVER 2. Best Actor---Cliff Robertson in CHARLY 3.Best Actress (tie)---Katharine Hepburn in THE LION IN WINTER and Barbara Streisand in FUNNY GIRL. Sports News (U.S.) 1. SuperBowl Champion---Green Bay Packers 2. World Series winner---Detroit Tigers 3. U.S. Open (Golf)---Lee Trevino 4. NBA Basketball Champs---Boston Celtics 5.Indianapolis 500---Bobby Unser (152.882MPH) Prices and Income 1968 (U.S.) 1. Average Income---$7,844.00 2. New Car (average)---$2,822.00 3. New House(average)---$14,975.00 4. Loaf of Bread---.22 cents 5. Gallon of Gas---.34 cents 6. Gallon of Milk---$1.21 7. Minimum Wage---$1.60 Oh and for any of you who have tried to mail a letter lately, this little tidbit. One of the Headlines in papers in the year, 1968: POSTAGE RAISED TO .06 CENTS! I don't know about the rest of you but I love looking back at stuff like this. I remember working for minium wage back in '69 and having a wife that stayed at home (most of the wives stayed at home back then) and we made it okay....not rich by any means but we didn't miss any meals either. Okay...thats my trip to the past in the "Way Back" machine. I hoped you enjoyed the glimpse of the past and please watch your step as you disembark...there may be chicken poo on the floor from the two knuckleheads who will remain nameless. |
| I had all intentions of doing a blog early today..I really did. I'm not sure what happened, where did the time go? Maybe it was because I was so busy all day...NOT! If the truth be known I have been totally uninspired all day. I have done nothing more than watch tv and answer some really good blogs. Four or five times I started to do my own blog....but nothing came. I really could find nothing to write about today. I rejected doing a serious political blog...who needs the headache and for the life of me I could not come up with anything funny to write about..... So what is left? Maybe I could just write about the news of what's happening around Blogville. Let's see...Well for those of you who are just now reading blogs you might be interested to know that our own Scarlett is back from vacation and she has already left us a list of five. I am sure everyone is looking forward to her vacation pictures and her dance lessons...she has picked up "The Hokey-Pokey" while away.Breaking news on the war front....Yes, I said "War Front". It seems that ccstring is up to his old tricks. He has launched a vicious, surprise attack upon partyof5dj. Yes, its true; CC has thrown his entire arenal of wit and snappy patter at poor Partydude. I wonder if Party has even noticed that he is under attack? Also on the war front: It seems that CC has managed to drag yet another member of the Fowl Family into the mud of one of his mis-adventures...this time it is the lowly chicken which will have to live down the infamy of being included in a Farce. To follow all this you must really click on CC's blog...have your advil handy. Let's see, what else is going on...well Nada has shown us some of her hubby's art work today and made the rest of us guys feel totally inadquate. The man is really TALENTED...go check it out.As usual, zwisis has kept us well informed. Today she shared with us the results of the Top Fifty Celeberty Animals...the winner may surprise you....check that out also. As of this writing, we have not heard from partyof5dj's blog...this one should be interesting..LOL! Just another day in Blogville...I swear, I really do think we could make these characters here into a movie, something here everyday to make you laugh, to make you think and sometimes to make you cry. Its been fun to read and follow the adventures all day today...good way to spend a day off if you ask me. |
| I had to smile when I read partyof5dj's blog. Of course, that is nothing new, the man always makes me smile or just downright laugh out loud. This particular entry though delt with how active he and his family was during June, July and August. Now that is just alien to me. It just points up the differences between the residents of different states or regions of this big, beautiful country. Of course PartyDude the rest of the citizens of the great state of Montana get out and are active during the summer months....because the dang state is FROZEN THE OTHER NINE MONTHS! They welcome the sun...they luxuriate in its unaccustomed warmth. They have the almost primal urge to go out and cavort in the warm rays which have melted the local ice pack for a short time. Here in Texas its just a tad different. We have a short period of time, usually between November and March, when the temperature dips below the level normally needed to boil water. During this time it is us Texans who suddenly stagger out of our hermetically sealed homes, away from the safety of our air-conditioners and begin to seek outdoor activities. Oh there has been a few recorded instances of people here who have tempted fate and ventured out during July or August. You have probably seen reports of these folks on your local news: "MAN AND WIFE BURST INTO FLAME WHILE ON A PICNIC IN TEXAS". Here in Texas our "winter" usually consists of a total of five days when the temperature dips below 30 degrees. I do remember one really harsh winter when we had about three hours of temps below 25. No kidding, the local radio station put out extreme weather warnings. Oh look, there goes the chicken and CC is still chasing it. Sorry, I was talking about summer, not winter....well this doesn't mean there is no outdoor activity here during June and July, we just have to time our outings. Anything that might draw us out of our homes and away from air conditioning is done either early in the morning or late in the evenings. So while Party and his family is out there playing in the melting permafrost I will be sitting here, directly in front of my air-conditioner, with a fan blowing on my backside and smiling at such an alien activity as walking outdoors during summer. Post a picture for me Party just so I can remember what "outside" looks like in June! |
| I noticed a couple of things today when I opened up my blog. First of all this is my 423rd entry, my oh my, where did the year go? The second thing I noticed was that sometime over the past two days my views have gone over the 20,000 mark...now that amazes me to no end. Of course the majority of those views was probably CC clicking on here to see if I had written anything else nasty about him....silly boy. Now all this leads me to wonder...could I have possibly chosen another venue and managed to write so very much? If you average the entries at 500 words per entry that is over two hundred thousand words and trust me, many, many of those entries were way over 500 words. I do tend to get long winded. So what have I accomplished with my blog, to date? 1. As mentioned before, I have amassed a fairly impressive sized tome if all the entries are strung together. 2. I have given the reader a sort of insight into one very plain and simple life. 3. I have managed to hone my somewhat limited skills at writing comedy and satirical essays. 4. By putting my thoughts, random as they may be, into words I have also gained some understanding of what makes me tick..now that's scary. 5. Last, and certainly not least....I have made friends. This is by far the most important thing I have accomplished...to me anyway. No other genre, not books, not poetry, not short stories would have ever afforded me the opportunity to meet and get to know so many wonderful people and be able to call them "Friend". I am richer for that than any person who has ever had a best seller. So, any of you out there who merely read blogs but have not done one yet...please consider this list of five. There are five good reasons up there for you to do your own blog. For those of you who are already blogging...WELL KEEP IT UP! You folks have given me more enjoyment and reading fun than you will ever know. You have educated me and you have changed the way I see the world....that is the power of each of your blogs. I am so very glad that over a year ago I said: "Hum...I wonder if I can do that blog thing?" So let me just close by saying: Hey, Cassie, Forever, TeflonMike, Jessie, Nada, Rasputin, Scarlett, April, PLannerDan, CC (gawd), Schip, Mel, Wind, Kare, Sultry, LK, Galinago, L.Gale, SusanL, Kev, Pastvoices, Pwilli, Gyspy, PartyDude,Vivacious, Chalaedra,Pencils, SS, Highwind, Charles the C.....and I have probably left out someone....YOU HAVE ALL BROUGHT LIGHT TO MY DAYS WITH YOUR BLOGS AND YOUR WRITING.....THANK YOU. |
| Over the years, in the fullness of time, I have grown. What has amazed me is that the growth did not stop when I reached adulthood no, it continued onward. In fact, most of my growth has come in the past 20 years I believe. I grew to phyical adulthood in a time of blacks and whites. There was no grays, everything was seen in a simplier light then....totally wrong but simple. While still in my teens I learned how cheap life was, how it could be taken almost as an after-thought. When I was in my Twenties I was wild and crazy....everything was done in extremes. Actually the "everything" I speak of was simply Work and Play. When I worked I threw my whole being into the job. No hours were too long, no work too hard...I WAS WORKING! Its what men do, after all...they work and they play. My play was in the form of partying....I partied hardy as they use to say. Looking back on it now I think I could have been labeled a "Fuctioning Drunk". Every weekend and many week nights would find me prowling the bars...drinking and fighting...it really made no difference to me which, either would work. Oh I had a built in excuse...I drank to forget, I drank to numb the pain...whatever, they were just that..excuses. I really believe now in retrospect, that I had grown to hate women. Oh I would never put it in those words at the time, but now, looking back...yeah, I think I did. I had excuses for that too but, that's just what they were...excuses. Then, six months or so after my 40th birthday I just shut down. I stopped. I went to work and came home...that's it. No partying no socializing of any kind and certainly no more women. My home became my haven and my prison. Little did I know that all this time...growth was taking place. I got on the internet and I began meeting people...many vastly different from me and they began to teach me about "Grays". All these different people from all around the world began to teach me that someone could be totally different from me, hold different beliefs and still be good people. I soaked up the lessons. Then a miracle happened...I met Mel and I discovered that there was such a thing as a "good woman". She opened my heart to even more growth and acceptance of others. Now here I am, on the downside of 50 and looking back today. What do I see? I see a guy who has continued to grow, to expand his mind and his heart...with a little help from his friends. I see a guy who can now recoginze when he was wrong about a subject or a person and accept that without a lot of drama. I see a man who isn't finished growing...and somehow that is uplifting. It makes me feel young, somehow. You people out there on the "Net" have been a big part in my continued growth and I love you all for it. Everyday I observe any number of teens or 20somethings who are so sure of themselves and their beliefs, who are unwilling to see any side to an argument but their own...they have the world figured out. I have to smile. They don't know it, but if they are lucky, their growth hasn't even started yet. ************************** Okay, sorry for the heavy subject today and to make it up to you I would like to leave you with a little joke...Man I wish I had said this..... This really ugly, fat woman, dressed in dirty pants and a bulging, stained tank-top came into a Wal-Mart store, dragging two equally dirty, ugly kids behind her. As she walked throught the automatic doors, the Greeter looks at her and said: "Oh wow, those kids must be twins!" To which the woman snappes: "Hell no, they ain't twins. One is five and the other one is nine years old. What's wrong with you, are you blind?" "No ma'mam," The door greeter shot back. "I just couldn't believe you got laid twice!" Hey! Don't blame me. A lady who works at my store brought that to me....she got it as an email!  |
| I have another question for you all today..... When did the pharmaceutical companies take over the Television airways? It seems to me that I just woke up one morning and it had happened. If you don't believe me just turn on the TV and watch the ads between the shows....a good 80% of them are for different drugs. Gone are the days when you went to the doctor and he would give you whatever you needed to make you well. Nowadays the pharmaceutical companies have cut out the doctor by going directly to the public to hark their wares. You see those slick ads on the tube and you just KNOW that whatever the drug is that they are pushing will be JUST WHAT YOU NEED! Maybe its just me, but I am a bit uneasy with this turn of events. Maybe they started doing it because they discovered that doctors, in many cases were prescribing cheaper meds that did the same as the company's high priced drugs...maybe that was what motivated them to get into the advertising business. For whatever reason, this proliforation of Medicine ads on TV does have its comical side. Have you ever watched the ads...usually with beautiful people, even the old ones are beautiful, for god's sake....These folks are portrayed as having all their problems solved just by taking this particular drug and you see that their life is wonderful...then...at the end of the ad, this voice-over begins to list all the POSSIBLE side-effects of the miracle drug. The dang list will cover every thing from partial blindness to abnormal swelling and even includes death at times! I particularily love the one for the drug, Cialas which happens to be for Erectile Dsyfunction...at the end of the slick ad comes this dang voice listing all the side effects of the drug and at the end, real quick and in a lower pitched voice, they say: "And if you experience an erection that lasts MORE than four hours, go to the doctor." ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! Doctor, hell! I'm gonna be chasing Mel around the bedroom, yelling "WHO'S YOUR DADDY NOW!" Hell I can tell you right now that last line probably did more to sell their product than the whole slick presentation that came before it....beautiful actors included. Along the lines of "disclaimers" have any of you caught the one for Ambin...the sleeping pill? One of the major side effects, they tell you, of taking this medicine is DROWSINESS!! WELL DUH! I thought that is why you took the Meds in the first place. I swear to God, sometimes you can get more entertainment out of watching commercials than you can watching the dang shows! |
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Congrats on 500 entries, and we are all looking forward to the sequel.