Friday, June 22, 2007

Friday Fun

It’s a wonderful, great, and surely fun Friday. I am ready to get this day over with and to get home and have some fun. That’s what I need and that is what is going to happen. I really love my Fridays. I am surely going to have a great weekend.

Today a buddy of mine will take my wife out to lunch. She hooked him up with a free airline ticket and then helped him with some travel plans. So he will take us out to lunch. That will be nice.

I am up to 15,500 words on my screenplay. I got a little off on my count yesterday in my journal. At any rate I am doing nicely on the whole deal. I need to get up to around 17,ooo words after the weekend. I have more writing to do and that will slow me down on the screenplay a bit. I like the screenplay format. I am going to have to write another when I finish this one. I might do a stage play of some sort. We will see.

Work is going to get a whole lot busier in the next couple of weeks if things hold true to form. We got four jobs just yesterday. So we are looking up. I am ready for that.

We had more rain yesterday. That is always good. It was not much, but it stayed cloudy for a second day in a row. That helps cool it down and then we don’t get all the evaporation of the water.

That’s it. I will post this and move on to other things. I will check in later!!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Thursday Trappings

I was resting really well in my bed last night and this morning when the alarm rang. Yes, the alarm rang! I usually beat the alarm, but not this morning. Then I lay back down and slept more. So I am a bit late, but that’s OK. I can make up the time at some point.

Besides, I get to work at 7 and I can really get there at 8. So I will just be a little later than normal. That will make the day seem shorter if I got to work later.

We had rain all day yesterday. I did not check my rain guage, but we had some very hard rain for a bit and then it got slow and steady. We had lightning, wind, thunder and heavy rain for a bit. My garden surely enjoyed it.

Suzie, on the other hand, did not. Our baby girl was not herself last night. I think she may have been scared of all of the inclement weather. She is fine this morning. She slept well. She must have been stressed out.

I went to a small meeting last night sponsored by the magazine. We looked at a short presentation on identity theft as it relates to some things concerning what we do with our writing. Also, I got another assignment. We need some quick turnaround on this one. It’s just about the Spurs and winning the championship.

I have to go. It’s getting later and I need to get some things done. More later!!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Wednesday Warpath

We are at Hump Day. That is a good deal. I love it as the week goes on. I am ready for the weekend already, but I have to get through a few days of doing some other stuff first. As I always say, by about 3 pm this afternoon I will be able to see some light at the end of the weekly work tunnel.

It’s not going to be cool anytime soon. LOL! We are in that summer pattern and it’s just hot. And somewhat dry. We still need some rain to fall, but at regular intervals. We have had plenty rain already. It needs to continue to fall every now and then. We were so dry for so long it has affected many things long term.

I am up to 13,500 words on my screenplay. I am coming along well. The story is coming along well. It’s cute and fun to write. I am on pace to make the 20,000 word mark and have a great story to boot.

Work is a bit worrisome right now.We are not that busy. We need jobs. And much more than we have been getting. I am sure it will all bust loose before too long. We need some work.

That’s all for now. I will write more later. I need to write a few more things here and then head on to work. More later!!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Tuesday Trappings

We are here at a lovely Tuesday morning in south central Texas. The morning has started out well for me and my babies. My wife is a little shaky this morning. The poor old girl woke up and asked me why I was writing at 1 o’clock in the morning. I informed her it was 4:30! My poor baby lost some sleep. She will be fine. She can sleep another hour and a half or so. She will be OK.

Monday was Ok; for a Monday!! I did a lot at work and I was happy with the day. I wrote a lot. I made sure I had some fun. So, for a Monday, it was just fine.

Today will be even better. I will get to work and do some great things again. I just feel like it’s going to be a great day. We’ll get some new jobs. We’ll begin to get very busy again and then it will be a nice day.

12,500! That’s my word count on my screenplay. It’s coming along nicely also. I really enjoy writing like that. I am going to have to try writing a serious one after this one. I like the format and style to have to do it in. If anyone has any suggestions for a story please let me know.

We have settled into a summer weather pattern now. It will be about 75° this morning with a high in the low 90’s. We have a slight and it’s subject to have a pop up shower at any time.

The tropics have been quiet so far. There has not been much activity. I really feel we are going to have a hurricane in the Gulf this year that comes our way. I just have that feeling. We will see.

That’s it for this morning. I have a great day ahead of me. I am ready to go and get it started. More later!!

Monday, June 18, 2007

MONDAY MAYHEM

Here we are back at another bad Monday. I just hate them. I need another day off. I need to be able to stay home all the time. LOL. I guess I need to continue to work on my writing and little by little it will happen. I just don’t like Monday’s. The feeling of getting to work on Monday morning is not a good one. Sometimes I just sit in my truck not really wanting to go in. But eventually I do and I usually have a pretty good day. That is what I will do today.

My wife’s birthday was Saturday and it was not a good one for her. She got all down and depressed early on Saturday morning about several things; mainly stuff about her family. We went several places and got her some things, but she was not happy. We did go out and eat a nice meal. So it was not that bad a day. Yesterday we had a much nicer time. We went out again and did some fun things.

My wife needs to be happier and she is working on that. She has a plan and is working on it. I think she will do fine and it will all be great in the end. It will involve several remedies and steps, but she is up to it. I think she knows it’s time to move on from some things and begin to live again.

We had rain on Friday and Saturday nights. That was nice. My garden really loved it. I have many tomatoes on my bushes. My butter beans and pole beans are doing nicely. I have tons of hot peppers on my plants. My strawberries are doing nicely. The whole garden is doing great. I am happy and it will continue to grow and prosper. We are getting just enough rain to keep it looking great.

I am up to 11,400 words on my screenplay. That is good. I have to take some time off to write some stuff for the magazine and that put me behind. I figure to get to around 12,000 words by the end of the day. In the four days left this week I want to get to 15,000 words. Over the weekend I will write a thousand and get to 16,000. That will put me at the 24th. For the four days next week I want to get up to at least 18,000 words. That will get me to the 28th. Over the last two days I will need to write 2,000 words. I know I will beat these estimates, but I want to make sure I am at least on track to make the limit even if I have other things to write.

That’s all. I have to go. I have to write other things and then get me and my babies ready for the day. More later!!

Friday, June 15, 2007

Finally Friday; Finally Finished (NBA); Friday Focus

It finally here, Friday. And all the good things that go with it. Mainly it’s the last day of the day and I have the weekend staring at me. I love my weekends. I am ready for it. I am ready to get this day over with and to begin my few days off. It’s my wife’s birthday this week so we have some plans and big happenings to have fun.

Has there ever been a more boring NBA Finals? The last two games were close and were not even exciting. I told everyone that when Cleveland won the East, with LeBron holding the trophy up and wearing the “champions” T-shirt, that they had cashed in their chips. They forgot they had to play another series. This whole deal was woeful. It’s almost embarassing to be a part of the deal. I have not been a big NBA fan, but I am from San Antonio so you want to see your local team do good. These games were just awful. I was a lukewarm fan of the game. Now, I am pretty sure I’ll be no fan of the game.

I sent my last article to the magazine yesterday. Now, it will just be time to get paid in a week or so. I love getting my check. I love the extra money. It shows that I am progressing toward my goal of being a writer. Of course, they wouldn’t have to pay me at all and I’d still write, but it’s nice to know I am being recognized for my work. I will keep it up.

It’s been hot and dry as I mentioned earlier in the week. I watered my garden on Wednesday. If we don’t have any rain I will have to do so again this weekend. The whole garden looks great. I just have to make sure it continues to do as well as it can. I also have to start thinking of a fall garden. That’s next on my list. I will order some seeds and get that started in the next month or so.

It’s time to go. I need to get my day started and get it over with so I can start to have fun. More later!!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Thursday Thoughts

I slept a little longer than normal last night. So I am a bit rushed for time. I will make this fast and furious.

One of our toilets does not flush. Yet, it does not overflow when we flush it. It all happened in the middle of the night so I was not really away, but something is going on. I used the plunger and it did no good. I’ll see how it goes for a bit this morning and then we will see.

Game 4 of the NBA Finals is tonight. How boring is this one going to be? I want to see some excitement in the games. I think we can all remember the days with Magic Johnson and the Lakers playing the Celtics with Larry Bird. That’s what I want to see.

It will be hot again. I can write that until about November now. Ha Ha!!

I’ll send my last article to Miss Fernandez at the magazine this morning. I am having some fun. I hope she likes this one. I am ready to see my work in print.

I have got to go and get ready for work after doing my animal stuff. More later!!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Wednesday Warpath; Excruciating NBA Finals; More

We are now at Hump Day. I know around 3 pm today I will be able to see just a little light at the end of the tunnel. It will just a speck of round daylight a long ways off. That’s good though.

Yesterday at work was OK. We are getting busier and that’s nice. It gets a bit hectic when that starts to happen. I had a fair day. It could have been better. I won’t go into details. I don’t have time.

It hot and dry again. The weather is typical for this time of year. The low yesterday was around 74°. The high was like 93°. That’s pretty warm. We don’t have much chances for rain, but a small shower could pop up every now and then.

Are the NBA Finals boring or what? The warm-ups before the game are more exciting than the game. The Spurs will sweep the championship series and lose points in the public’s eye for being real champions. Cleveland is more than a farce. These guys can’t do anything. They had 50 points at the end of the 3rd quarter! I know winning championships is what counts, but you have to show some flair in winning the big ones to be called a real champ. The Spurs are not showing much in the deal. They are showing they can beat Cleveland and that’s just not saying much! People are not going to watch boring. This finals series is going to hurt the NBA, big time.

I wrote well last night. I have finished my organic wine article and gotten through the rough draft of an aritcle on Fernando Botero. I will send the organic wine piece this morning and read over the other article tonight and send it tomorrow. I am doing well on that writing. I have not written on my screenplay. I will need to catch up on that soon. I don’t have the time right now.

That’s it. I have to go and do some more productive things. More later!!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Tuesday Trappings; Dad’s Birthday; Tidbits

Ok, so Monday was not too bad, but it was hectic. I made it though. Now, we are at Tuesday morning and I am up and writing. I had a good nights sleep except for one thing. I kept thinking today was going to be Wednesday. I don’t know why. I think I will be fine though.

It’s my Dad’s birthday today. He’s 107! Well, OK, he’s 76. He’s still in good shape and gets around well. He drives well, but he can’t drive in Houston or a big city such as that. He still works down at our ranch. He’s active in civic organizations and such. So he’s doing well. He pays attention to all the news and sports along with having a lifelong interest in the weather. Happy Birthday, Dad! I love you!!

I wrote like mad last night. I actually finished my organic wine article which I did not think I’d be able to do. I will not send it just yet. I want to spend some time re-reading it before I send it in. I have another article to do for Amuze. So I am having a great time doing that.

NBA Finals Game 3 tonight!! The Cavaliers are at home! Maybe they can keep the game within striking distance tonight. We’ll see. If they are going to do anything this would be the time. I don’t expect much from them. I could be wrong though.

I have to go. I have to write a few more things in other places. I will begin my new article tonight so I won’t have much time to write until tomorrow morning. More later!!

Monday, June 11, 2007

Another Bad Monday; NBA Finals Game 2; More Rooster News

It’s another bad work Monday. I just hate those Monday’s. The worse feeling of all is when you get to the building and realize you have all week to work. I will be fine. It’s just a temporary thing and it gets better quickly.

It will be hot. We can all be sure that will happen. It’s getting a little dry. We have not had any rain for a week or so and it’s been hot so you know it will be dry. The normal pattern for this time of year has set in. The lows will be in the lower to mid-70’s and the highs near 90 to the low 90’s.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are just a farce. I knew that. They were behind by 29 points in the game last night. It took a 22-4 run just to make the score respectable at the end. I am tell everyone again. They did all the wanted to do when they got to the finals. That was the end of them. This is not a good finals for people to watch.

I had a great garden day yesterday. I did a lot of stuff in the yard and garden. I mowed grass first. That needed to be done. Then I had to clean up in a few areas where limbs had fallen and such. I fertilized with Media HastaGro and Superthrive. They make a great combination. I made more trellises for my plants to climb on and I add some string to help them climb also. The garden is looking great. I picked more beans. I have small butter beans on my plants. I have some fairly nice size tomatoes. I have strawberries. All in all the whole garden looks great. I will keep it up.

I did not write much this weekend. Actually I did not write at all. I answered some e-mails and such, but no writing in my journal or on my articles. So I have to get busy today. I will do that. I did my research for my articles though. Actually, I may have done a little too much research on my organic wine piece. I drank just about a whole bottle of wine yesterday afternoon. I got a little tipsy. That’s why I did not write last night.

I have to go right now to write a few things. I will make sure I have a great day whether it is a Monday or no. More later!!

Friday, June 08, 2007

Friday Frolic; NBA Finals Game 1, etc

It’s finally Friday and I am pretty happy although I will have to work Saturday all day. It’s my crew Saturday where I will have to go in and take care of the crews. That’s fine though. I will be up for it.

I am looking forward to 5 pm today even if I have to work tomorrow. It will be a great feeling to get my weekend started. My night tonight will have to be pretty tame though. I will write some and go to bed early, after we go out to eat. So that won’t be too bad.

I did meet with Miss Fernandez yesterday. It was a good meeting. One of my articles is already written and she liked it. A second article I will redo and have much fun doing it. I will keep my journal updated.

I had mentioned this earlier and my wife laughed last night while watching Game 1 of the NBA Finals. After beating Detroit this past weekend many pictures showed LeBron James holding up a trophy with a shirt that said “Champions”. Well, that was “Champions” of the Eastern Division. I told my wife they are forgetting they had one more series to go.

Last night they proved they had forgotten about trying to win the big one. Cleveland did what they wanted to accomplish when they won the Eastern Conference. At the end of the third quarter last night they had 49 points. You are not going to be in many games by having 49 points at the end of the third quarter in the NbA. LeBron scored 14 in the whole game.

The series that’s supposed to be one everyone wants to see started out as a big dud. That was one of the most boring games you will ever watch. It will have to get better for me to watch. It won’t matter though.Cleveland won all they wanted to win last weekend.

That’s all for now. It will be hot today. No, it’s not global warming! It’s just late spring in south central Texas. More later!!

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Thursday Trials

It’s Thursday. I am still on my early week. It’s fun to go in early and get started. It just makes for a very long day. When I get there at this time of year the sun is not up yet, but it’s getting some daylight. It’s fun to sit outside and watch it get more and more light.

I will have to journey at lunch to meet with Miss Fernandez at Amuze Magazine. I have two articles this month and I imagine she wants changes. Of course, the last time she called and wanted to meet she gave me another article to write. We will see. I just have a feeling she wants some changes on what I have sent in. Maybe I am wrong. We will see.

We are busier at work. That makes for a better day. I prefer to be busy when it’s all over.

I guess there will be more banter today on the immigration bill. That’s a tough deal. We need to allow some people to come into the country. But they have to come legally, not illegally. I don’t have much faith in our politicians to come up with a good, comprehensive plan for this deal. We will see.

I have to go. I have to write more on my screenplay. I am up to 7600 words at this point. I am coming along nicely. I will write more later!!

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Wednesday Warpath

Today is the anniversary of D-Day. What a fitting title to the writing of the day as “Wednesday Warpath”. If the left, liberals, Democrats and big media in the country today had been around at the outset of D-Day and all the horrific happenings of that day and period in general I fear we would be speaking German or Japanese right now. They are so cowardly it is amazing.

The following is a small story from twenty years ago or so. It sums it nicely the kind of men who took up the battle for us back then, just as we have great men and women taking up the battle for us today. The only think different back then was the whole country supported and fought the war. Today, we have our left in this country opposing the war for political gain. It has cost many lives and will continue to cause American lives to be lost as they give aid and comfort to our enemy.

“HELL”

As we were sitting in my bar room once, a young lady walked in with a pad, pen, and tape recorder in her hand. I was tending bar while my usual crowd of card players and patrons milled about doing their regular stuff.
“Hi,”, the young lady said as she bellied up to the bar. “I am going around the country looking for stories from World War II for a book I am researching. I stop in places like this and gather stories from people who fought in the war. Do you have any men who took part in the war?”
“Yes, ma’am, we do,” I told her. “We have quite an array of gentlemen who fought in the war. I don’t know how many will want to talk about it, but you are free to ask any questions you may have as long as you don’t bother my card games too much.”
The lady agreed and set out to find someone to give her some information on the big war. She talked to several guys who I did not think were the best representatives to dish out stories about the war. I was not about to question their patriotism, but I just had never heard that these guys were in the thick of things during the war. As I sat shaking my head after listening to these couple of guys the young author came back to me and asked if I had a problem. I told her I did not think those guys were the best sources of war stories.
About this time an older gentlemen by the name of Mr. Mickey was about to deal the cards for the next hand. I knew he had been in the war and had fought at D-Day. I told her if she wanted a good story she should ask him. He heard the exchange between us, but kept right on dealing.
He never looked up as he dealt, but told the young lady, “Come sit down by me honey and I will make one statement for you that you can use in your book if you like.” As he finished dealing the cards he pulled a chair from the corner and motioned the girl to come and sit down. She walked over with her pad and recorder. The room got very quiet. Every eye and ear in the room was trained on Mr. Mickey, a man of very few words but plenty integrity.
This is what Mr. Mickey had to say. “I am going to say this and we will talk no more of the war. On the morning of the invasion I was on one of those troops transports. We were huddled down in the belly of those things waiting for the front gates to drop so we could rush the shore. When the front gates of the carrier dropped my feet were some of the first ones to hit the water and then the shore. What came after that was pure chaos, horror, and terror all rolled up into one. If I die and go to HELL it won’t be much worse than what I endured that day,”
With that statement Mr. Mickey turned to the young lady and asked her if that was good enough. She nodded her head, happy with that statement. Mr. Mickey turned back to face the card game and asked, “Who needs cards?”

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Tuesday Trappings

Monday’s in the books and gone. It was a pretty good day. I had a good day writing and work was not too bad, but also not too good. I was trying to finish a job and send it out, but the survey crew had some points that were wrong that had to be fixed. So I guess that job will go out today and make another one I was working on late. So be it.

I am doing well on my screenplay. I did not mention that yesterday morning. I have written 5,024 words up to this point. So I am 24% complete on the first, really rough draft after 4 days. I will write a few words this morning and then more tonight.

We had a hot, but sunny day yesterday. There were some clouds though. Today we will see more of the same. We are in that summer time pattern here in south central Texas. The environmentalists and whacked-out global warming religion crowd will call it “global warming”. In south central Texas we just call it summer.

My wife had a pretty good day yesterday. She was off and rested up big time. She needs a summer without our niece to catch up and rest up. This will do her good. She needs to take it easy and rest after work each night. Then she can begin to do some things over the weekend and next week. She needs rest.

This will be all. I have other things to write this morning. I will try to write more tonight or at lunch in my computer journal. I have to write on the screenplay first. More later!!

Monday, June 04, 2007

Oh Yeah, It’s Monday

Last Monday was a great Monday. This Monday is not so great. I have to go to work! That’s not so bad. It’s also my early week and I love going early. This could be a long week because it’s also my scheduled Saturday to work. We’ll see how it all goes.

We had some rain last night. There was bad rain in the area, but we escpaed the most serious part of the weather. We were in need of some rain as the garden was beginning to dry out along with the rest of the area. So the rain was welcome. The bad weather moved just to the north of San Antonio.

The garden looks nice. I have small tomatoes on my plants. I picked more beans yesterday. I have small peppers on all my peppers plants. My butter beans have flowers. My herbs are growing nicely. It’s a great looking garden at this point. My Morning glories are just glorious. They are inching up the trellis putting on a grand display of beauty. I love them.

My wife will be off today. She had a big weekend and will stay home and take it easy today. She needs to sleep. She needs to rest. She will have time to catch up now.

Our niece is in Mississippi. She can spend the summer with her biological family and see how it’s like to live with them. This is not the best thing in the world for her. It’s also not the worst. Her mother is willing to let her stay for the summer which is not bad. Maybe her mother is ready to step up and do some good for the child. We will see in the long run. I hope the child has fun and has a great summer.

That’s all. I will run now. I have much to do before I leave for work. I have to be there around 6 am which is fine. I can do that. I just want to make sure I give myself time to do that. More later!!

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Sometimes I Wonder

What are the Cavaliers thinking?
Several years ago there was a commercial on TV that sums up the Cleveland Cavaliers. The ad went something like this. A group of weekend warrior softball players, the Beavers I think, took the field. The first batter comes up and hits a ground ball that’s fielded cleanly by an infielder and thrown to first to record an out. At this point the celebration begins! It’s just the first out of the game. They have much more work to do.

So you can see where I am going with this. The picture I saw on the Internet this morning showed LeBron James with a shirt that said “champions” and a trophy held above his head.

They have just about handed the real title to the San Antonio Spurs. The Cavaliers won their championship last night. Someone needs to remind them to be the real champions they have one more series to go. I think they began their celebration a little too early.

Who invited those guys and why did they get to host a regional?
I am talking about the San Diego State baseball team coached by former Major Leaguer Tony Gwynn. This team was ranked high all year; in the Top Ten. I did some griping about that. And it turns out I was right. This bunch of dummies lost out in two games at an NCAA baseball regional on their home field. Who ranked them so high?

Look, this is like one of those things where the Dixie Chicks won a music award. They did not win the award for their music. They won the award for their politics. This was the same deal. San Diego State did not get to this dance on their own merits. They made their way all season because of their coach and who he was!

There’s more but I will quit here.
Politics, Politics, Politics; Some of My Views

You elected them

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070603/ap_on_go_co/congress_pet_projects;_ylt=AvOQTpeSMK1aOfbydEuHVDvMWM0

The headline on this story reads: Democrats hid pet projects from voters! Yes, you elected them. You thought the GOP was bad and look at what you have done for us. Now, stick to the topic of my writing if you want to comment. No “yes, but” comments on this. I have given you the argument the Republicans were bad. It’s just that the Democrats are much worse. They campaigned on no more pork or earmarks. And you fell for it hook line and sinker! I did not fall for it. I am much too smart. I have way too much common sense. Look at yourself in the mirror if you voted this bunch in! What do you see? I see a sucker at best. I can’t write what I really think of you. Ha Ha!!

Democrats have a tough time with agenda
This was another article that I won’t look up. The Democrats don’t have an agenda. Their agenda was whining, bitching, moaning and complaining until they got elected. Think of it this way; all of you who support the left, liberals, Democrats and such in this country go into your work in the morning and do on your job as the Democrats did in trying to get ahead. You want to get ahead at work don’t you? You know you do. Go around the office, jobsite, or wherever you work and use the same tactic to further your agenda so to speak. Bitch, whine, moan, complain and blame everyone but yourself and see where you wind up before too long!

News reporters are bottom of the barrel scum (I’m being kind)
The reporter or reporterette stands outside of the White House. You can see the building in the background. And to a person they give us the same news each and every day. The words “an embarrassment for the White House” are uttered almost without fail each time. The thing that is embarassing about the whole deal are the correspondents covering the news. I would never give the news they way these commie, pinko, faggots do. I’d never make a foreign entity look like the better player in the deal. I just wouldn’t. But then I am patriotic American. Most of our media people are decidedly anti-American. Just listen to them give the news.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Screenplay Started; Work; Garden and Watering; Tidbits

It’s a wonderful Saturday here in south central Texas. It’s a bit warm, 84° at present. We do have some humidity. That’s just south Texas in June though. It is not too bad out, but some hot days are coming.

I did start my screenplay last night. I am over 10% of the way to making the 20,000 word mark. I will have to write more than that to finish my story though. It’s a good, cute little story that I think has some great potential. I will write this first very rough draft and we can go from there.

I went to work for a bit this morning. I have not done that in quite a while. We don’t have the volume of work that we used to, but we do have work. My boss had left early yesterday and did not tell my much so I had to do a few things on my own. I can do that. I have the ability to take charge if I have to. I don’t always have the go ahead. We all have to be Alexander Haig every now and then. I just wanted to make sure my guys working we doing OK. I hate to send them out and then not take care of them. So that’s what I did this morning.

I have been in the garden a bit watering and fooling with my plants. We did not have any rain this week so I decided to water today. I am going to give the whole garden a good soaking. It needs that. I have my plants doing pretty well. They are not all doing well so I will keep up this watering schedule as long as I need to. I want to at least have my garden hang on through the brutal summer months so it can pick up again in the fall.

My wife, niece and a couple of the niece’s little friends are at Fiesta Texas today. They are having a great time I am sure. They will be worn out when they get home, but it will have been worth it.

The niece leaves for Mississippi tomorrow. She is going to stay all summer. My wife needs the break, big time. She needs time to recover and get back on track. The niece must think my wife is a nail because all she does is hammer her. Going back to Mississippi is not the best thing for the girl, but we are not going to stand in the way of her spending time with her mother. She needs to do this and we will allow it.

That’s all I have time for. I need to write a few other things and then move on to some more productive stuff. I am having a great Saturday and I know it will continue. More later!!

Friday, June 01, 2007

Friday Footsteps

Today is the first of June. I am beginning another month of writing. I love to start new months. I began last month on a good note and I will do the same this month. I have plenty to write about this morning so I got up early to get started. That is always a good thing.

Last night was a “blue moon” here in south central Texas. A blue moon is the second full moon in a month. They are not very rare, but they are rare enough. Hence the saying “once in a blue moon”. They occur on average once every 36 months. The blue moon in our region was in May. In some parts of the world the moon is not full until today so their blue moon will be in June. If you want to hear a good song about a blue moon listen to Nanci Griffith’s “Once In A Very Blue Moon”. It’s one of my all-time favorite songs.


Work will be hectic today. I have much to do. I am not in the mood to work a whole ton of hours on a Friday. I imagine I will just have to go in for a bit tomorrow. I have not done that in many months, but I might have to go tomorrow to catch up on a few things. I have some jobs due in the next few days. We might not meet all the deadlines, but we will see. I have to do my best to make some things happen. I will try to get them all done.

I have not started on the project yet, but this month is the ScriptFrenzy writing contest. You have one month to write a screenplay or stageplay. I am going to do it. It’s a daunting task with all the other things I plan to write about, but I am going to do it. I will probably start tonight after work. I have a great story in mind. It will be about my animals so it would be a cartoon-type movie. My present babies are going to be bringing the ashes of their dearly departed sisters, Annabelle and Dottie, back to Louisiana. They plan to make sure their ashes reside at our old place that those babies loved so much. It will be a cute, sometimes funny, heart-warming little story. I think I can do a good job of it. I have never written a screenplay before, but so what. I can do this. I am going to do it. I will do it well.

So, I better get to doing some of the stuff I am planning on doing for the day. I will try to write more later. I need to write plenty of different things over the weekend and do some stuff in the yard. I will be busy. I will write. I will garden. It’s just going to take a orderly process to do all I need and want to do. I may have to write it all down so I can stay on course during the whole time. That won’t be hard. It will just be something I’ll have to stay on top of. I will keep this journal and all my blogs informed of my progress. More later!!

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Thursday Topics

It just seems like today should be Friday for some reason. That is not good. Tomorrow will feel like I am working on a Saturday and I will get all discombobulated. I will be fine. I just feel like it should be Friday.

The graduation ceremony went fine yesterday. I told my niece when she got her certificate to give it to my big man Charlie. I told her he was sitting by the door. He would run home with it. In case there was a recount or something the diploma would already be home. Hey, possession is 9/10’s of the law isn’t it?

We are nearing a full moon. This full moom will be a Blue Moon. I will write more about this one later. I love full moons. I don’t act any more weird during a full moon than normal, but I love to go out and look at the lit up landscape on full moon nights. I prefer them in winter when the air is crisp and cold.

My dogs are with me this morning, but no cats. The cats are milling about waiting for breakfast. Our newest puppy, Suzie Q., decided to play with a frog outside in the middle of the night. I had let her go to use the bathroom when she spied this pretty big frog. She put him down pretty quick after she got a good taste of him. I will have to find him this morning and hide him from her some kind of way. We will see if he is still around.

I am not really feeling like going in to work. I just think I would be better staying at home. I also know I need to play bills and be a good employee.So I will head on to work and do my usual great job. I will try to write more later!!

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Thanks Mom and Dad!

It was the spring of 1975. I was 17 and a senior in high school. I was going places. I was big time. I had the world by the tail. You all remember those days.

I came home from school one day and my Mom and Dad were standing in the hall. They were looking in their master bedroom and then my room which was right next to their’s. I watched for a minute as they looked in their room. Then they walked a few steps and looked in mine. They weren’t saying much they were just looking.

I walked down the hall and asked what they were doing. My Mom gave me some story about the color scheme not being right and matching. I had no reason to think anything was up other than a new coat of paint in one of the rooms. I never saw them looking any more that spring or summer. A new coat of paint was never applied either. So I pretty much forgot about what I had seen.

On the day I was leaving for college my Mom and Dad were pretty upset, or at least I thought they were. I was pretty upset too. I had packed my car and I was getting ready to head off on my own. I was going to make, and leave, my mark on the world. I also knew I had old Mom and Dad to fall back on if need be. Well, at least that’s what I thought. As I got in my car I rolled the window down. My Mom and Dad were both standing their looking at me.

My Dad looked a little forelorn and asked, “So this is it son. Do you think you are ever going to come back home?”
I was a bit sad, but I knew I had to reply saying, “No Dad. This is probably it. I might come back for a short visit every now and then, but it won’t be too often.”
A big smile crossed both my Mom and Dad’s face. My Mom turned to my Dad and said, “Good. We can finally tear out that wall between our bedroom and his and instead of a master bedroom we will have a master suite.”As I drove off I thought I could see them getting the tools out to knock down the wall!! Thanks Mom and Dad!
She Made It!; Other Tidbits!!

Our niece, who we have custody of, will graduate to middle school today. She had to find out if she had passed the math part of the TAKS test and she did. We are so very proud of her. This is a child who has been abandoned by her parents for the most part, yet she is finding ways to hang on and do a little better all the time. She is moving on to the 6th Grade. We are all happy.

She will go and spend the summer with her mother in Mississippi. This is probably not the best thing in the big picture. But we are not going to keep the child from her mother and half-siblings in Mississippi. The poor old girl needs some closure, or at least to find out what her mom is all about. Maybe seeing the difference between the way they live and we live will open her eyes to what she has in Texas. We’ll see.

We are not as busy at work as we should be. And that is not good. This is the time of year we are normally busy and getting busier. So we need to get more work some kind of way. I am a bit worried about the whole deal. We usually break out of slumps like this fairly easily. I just like to see plenty work coming in and it is not.

I have gotten back in touch with a lady that needs help with several writing projects. I hope we can do some business. I am up for doing stuff like that. I sent my two articles to Amuze yesterday. I am ready to write more and more. We will see how this works out.

I will end this and move on to other things. I want to have some fun today and will be so proud when my niece gets her diploma handed to her. More later!!

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Some Nutty Political Stuff

Cindy Sheehan Giving It Up

The old girl is giving up on being the face of the anti-war, anti-American front. A quote from her, "However, when I started to hold the Democratic Party to the same standards that I held the Republican party, support for my cause started to erode……". You know why? I have been blogging about this for a long, long time and have really been saying this since last year's elections. If you bought into the liberal, left, big media, Democrat camp you just went wrong. They are much worse than the Republicans. Yet, they were handed power and even leftist loonies like Sheehan can see that now. It's time for American to stand up and realize they have been played by the left, not the right!

Sheehan says she rather live under Hugo Chavez. But she was leaving Texas and heading to California. See, she's not serious. Why didn't she leave Texas and head for Caracas. I will buy the ticket. I bet many others will help out. She's just one big liar, cheat, no-count big mouth bi…. that found her 15 minutes in the limelight. She's of no use to anyone anymore; not even the LEFT!!

"Smelly" Putin: Europe A "Powder Keg"

He said that right after Russia launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple independent warheads. He had said that deployment of a U.S. missile shield in Europe would turn the continent into "a powder keg"! Is that a self-fulfilling prophecy or what. The guy is nuts. He is exactly the reason Europe needs a missile shield. Or he needs a missile fired at his head.

Assad, and the "ASS" part is the operative part of that word, wins re-election in Syria

He got 97% of the vote. I think that was a bit of an upset to me. I just though him being the only idiot on the ballot he'd get 100%. Can you imagine what would have happened if he had opposition? I can't stand to look at the worthless swine. The media treats this like it's a "news" story. Of course, it doesn't take much to sucker our media in. The news story say he has modernized Syria. That means they have faster camels now! Is this story BS or what?
MAn Old Bad Tuesday! Back To Work!!; My Take On A Few Things

That’s correct. It’s an old bad Tuesday this week. I was off yesterday, but that did not make much difference on how I felt to start the week this week. Tuesday has just taken the place of Monday. I don’t imagine I thought I’d wake up to be a ball of fire about getting to work today. I will be fine in a bit though. It’s just hard to wake up and get going.

My babies are not worried about waking up at all right now. Casey is on the mattress she always sleeps on sleeping away. Charlie is on the floor snoring. Suzie Q. is burrowed under the pillows on the futon enjoying her rest. Their cat brother, Pierre’, is curled up on the mattress with Casey. Sam is sleeping on a towel in the bathroom. B.W. is in the living room on the back of the sofa resting. The outside cat, Mr.Whisker’s, is milling around I am sure waiting on his breakfast.

It will be partly cloudy today with seasonable temps. The low this morning will be in the upper 60’s. The highs will be in the lower 80’s. We should have partly cloudy skies. That will be the pattern all week, but we will have more sun later in the week. Our chances for rain are around 30% each day.

Marquise Hill, a former LSU and present New England Patriot, drowned in Lake Pontchartrain over the weekend. He was involved in a jet ski accident. He was not wearing a life preserver nor a location device. Any time you are on the water like that you need both of those things. He lost his life by being stupid. Put your life vest on at least.

The Miss Universe pageant was held last night. I was riveted to the TV. Well, not exactly, but I did catch some of the action and read about some of it. Miss Sweden dropped out because the pageant demeans women. Now how old is that knucklehead? Do you think this was her first pageant? I bet she has been in them since she was about 4 years old. Is she just realizing this? What an idiot!! The crowd booed Miss USA because of their perception we are mean to illegal immigrant. I wish there was a way we could hang all those dummies. Keep your people in your county. The key word here is “illegal”. They don’t belong here. There’s probably more. I bet the winner is going to speak out against hunger and poverty in the world or something along those lines. It’s all one big waste of time.

I have to get my articles to the magazine today. I promised them today and they are going today. I think they are pretty good. I will read over them one more time and make sure I have them like I want them and send them off.

So I will do that now. I have to get going. I need to get to work early to get some crews headed off to work. They have a long drive today and a lot of work to do. I will write more later.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Memorial Day; Pay Tribute To Our Fallen!

Today is Memorial Day. So we all need to remember our fallen soldiers, of all our wars, that made the greatest sacrifice a man, or woman, can make. America is the freest and bravest of all nations. We fight for what is just and right. We have given mankind all over the globe hope with our presence. Make no mistake about it; our soldiers, men and women, will fight for the cause of freedom, not only for us, but for any people who yearn for it.

This will be a great day. It’s a great Monday for me. Right now, I’d usually be sitting in front of a computer screen messing up someboyd’s survey. Today will be a day off. I have much to do and have had a pretty good day already.

We have some sun this morning. Our chances of rain have gone way down. All the rain is now to our east. The forecasters had predicted rain all through the weekend. We had some rain Saturday night, but then we have had no more. Some areas got plenty. They are having flooding problems in those areas. We will have normal temps for the next week to 10-days. The lows will be in the upper 60’s and the highs will be in the mid-80’s. We’ll have a lot of clouds early in the week and more sun later in the week into the weekend.

I am still working on the second article for the magazine. I have to finish it today. I don’t think that will be hard. I just need to get motivated to do so. I promised it to the editors tomorrow so I will get that done. I guess I better start working on that and not worry about this. More later!!

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Drought!; Not Anymore!!

We had 3.5” of rain here in south central Texas last night. That will push our rainfall total for the year past the 21” mark. So I am officially declaring the drought over. This announcement comes from the Rooster Institute of Meteorlogical Studies. This is some very welcome news for the region which has been so dry for a few years now.

Back in 2002, near the 4th of July, we had record rains. The rainfall total for my neighborhood was 20” over a four day period. That’s about 2/3 of the average yearly rainfall for the area. Since that time rain has been sparodic and most of the time not plentiful enough. But now that has changed.

The Edwards Aquifer will reach 680’ in the next day or two. That is 30’ above mandatory conservation measures. It will be hard to have enough dry weather during the summer to get the aquifer level down to 650’ and the mandatory conservation measures. So the rain has done the aquifer good also.

Of course, the yard and garden loves the precipitation. That is key also. My garden looks great this year. I may have a few more problems with weeds, but I will take that problem anyday instead of not having enough water. The garden is off to a good start and will have a better chance of staying healthy if we can continue to get rain.

There will be some brutally hot days coming up. We normally have temps close to 100° for long stretches and a few days during the summer get over 100%. We can also have extended periods with little or no rain. We will have to see how all that plays out during this summer.

We will take what we have gotten up to this point. The rainfall totals are adequate. The aquifer is doing fine. The yard and garden is looking great. Lets hope it stays that way.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Let’s Get This Great Weekend Started

It actually started yesterday around 4:30 PM when I jumped in my truck to come home. That was a great feeling. I wanted to get off to a good start and we did.

I picked up my niece at her after school daycare. We went to Taco Bell\KFC to get something to eat. Then we played in the video arcade for a bit. I love those games also. I am big on Galaga and Pinball. We came home to clean up a bit before the wife got home. I played on the Internet some, but did not blog. My wife got home around 10:30. We talked for a bit. She had to tell me about her trip, a debriefing, before we went to bed. I had a great rest and am now ready to get started.

There will be much to do. I won’t dwell on that right now. I will just write about it after I am done. I will go out and check on my garden first thing. We have had so much rain this year and it’s doing the garden good. I just want to see how it looks this fine morning.

I have to write. I am beginning my writing with this wiring here. I hope to do so many more times over the weekend. I want to have a great writing weekend in all the writing I do. Have I put the word writing in this paragraph enough.

OK, so here goes. I am going to get started on a wonderful day and weekend. I will make sure it all goes well. More later!!

Friday, May 25, 2007

Finally Friday

It seems like it took Friday a long time to get here. I have had a great week though. It just seems like a long week. It is Friday though and I love my Friday’s.

At 5 pm today I will be a very happy guy. I will be ready to come home and have some fun. I hope no one is driving slow in front of me on the way home. I might have to run over them.

My wife is still in California. She is having a big old time out there. She’s doing some “California living” as my Grandfahter used to say. That meant anyone living kind of high or fast. So my wife is doing some real California living. I will have to blog about that and my Grandfather at some point.

We had some rain last night and we have a big chance of rain today, tonight and tomorrow. A front is close to the area and trying to push through. They are not very strong at this time of year. They don’t change the temperature much, but they can wreak havoc with rain and storms. The temps will be in the mid 60’s for lows and in the upper 70’s for highs the next few days. That is not too bad.

I will have to write over the weekend. I am planning on doing plenty of it. I have to finish my first article, just minor changes and write the second one for the magazine. I plan to write plenty to my friends. I plan blog a lot. I plan to write a few of my short stories.

This will be a three-day weekend. I just love not having to work on a Monday. I love my Sunday nights when I don’t have to get up and go to work on Monday. I am really looking forward to all of it.

That’s all for now. I have to get up and get going. I have starving animals. I have to get ready for work. I have to make sure the niece is ready for school. More later!!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

A Pastoral Scene!

A long time ago I got in a pretty bad car wreck. I had numerous injuries that were pretty life threatening. I stayed in the hospital for a couple of weeks. In the melee I had broken my jaw and had to have it wired shut. That is a tough deal. Well, the day finally came to take the wires out of my mouth. I had been looking forward to the day it would happen, but I also realized there is probably no easy way to get wires out of your head without hurting you a little bit. So I just assumed they knocked you out and when you woke up the deal was over.

I had made my appointment early. I wanted to get it over with. I went in to the oral surgeon’s office. A nice nurse grabbed me and told me she was going to lead me around and show me all the examination rooms in the office. I found this a bit odd and asked why she would do that. The nurse explained to me that since getting these wires pulled out was a bit traumatizing the rooms were set up to make you as much at ease as possible. She told me all the rooms had “pastoral” scenes painted on the wall and all had a big window with trees, birds, frogs and such you could watch. The whole experience was based on “pastoral” type deals to ease your mind.

Well, my mind was not impressed. I told her I did not think any type of pastoral scene was going to help me out. She asked me what I thought I needed to get through the ordeal. I looked straight at her and told her, “Just knock me out! When I wake up I want it to be all over. I don’t want pastoral scenes.”
Thursday Tune-Up

I am tuning up for the weekend. That is what today will be. I can always make Friday. Plus tomorrow is a Friday before a three-day weekend. So I will tune-up for my weekend today. I am going to enjoy and extra day off. That will be nice.

The wife is on business trip. She gets to do this pretty often. And it’s pretty nice for her. She’s going to California for a few days. Of course, she flies first class. She says at the best hotels and eats at the best restaurants. So that’s not bad for here. Of course, she is very good at what she does. I know she will have a good time and get some work done.

The weather will be more of the same for the area. We will have the low 70’s this morning. It will be near 80° this afternoon. Then we do the same again tomorrow. We will have this pattern for a bit although the lows might dip into the upper 60’s. We will have a 30-40% chance of rain the whole time. So we are stuck in this pattern for a bit.

I have not been doing too well on my writing. I have been answering some messages from some new friends. Over the weekend I will finish my articles and get them off. I will try to write a few new things as I will have an extra day off. So this will be a great writing weekend.

That’s all for now. I need to try and write much more later today and over the weekend. I will keep my journal posted.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

This Chance Meeting Brought Back Some Sad Memories


He was a first baseman. A very good first baseman I might add. He was a very solid hitter; nearly .400 in college. He was smart, funny, articulate and a big man on campus; maybe THE big man on campus. He was attending an elite university a long way from home. Minor league baseball was definitely a possibility with the Major Leagues a farther reach. This young guy was my cousin and a wonderful person along with being a great athlete. It all did not matter.

On the way home from school at the end of the spring semester, while about halfway home and sitting at a red light, a loaded cement truck tipped over and fell on my cousin’s car. It crushed him and killed him instantly. A great life snuffed out on the most bizarre event.

I cried big time on this one. It was one of the cries where I had to go out in my back yard and gather my dogs. We sat in the corner of the yard and I cried. I cried because of all the potential that had just gone to waste. My dogs hung close with me all day that day. They knew I was upset.

A chance meeting today brought it all back. That’s why I am a bit sad, actually very sad right now.

At work I walked into our print room. There were three ladies there. They were from a staffing agency that had sent a van driver to work for us for a couple of months. They were in the area and just stopped by to check on their driver. It was lunch and no one was around who could help them. They said they’d wait until the print room supervisor got back from lunch which was only a few minutes away. So they introduced themselves to me. Two were full time employees of the agency. The third lady was a young girl who was working for the summer as an intern.

I introduced myself and the young lady smiled right away. This is the conversation we had and the one that brought back the sad memories.

Young lady: You are from Louisiana aren’t you?
Me: Yes, I am.
Young lady: I can tell from your accent. (at this point a big tear came down from both her eyes)
Me: I figured that. (at this point I noticed a broach she had with the letters of the college my cousin had gone to)
Young lady: I had a good friend who I went to school with from Louisiana who was killed a few years ago.
Me: Was his name (and I told her my cousin’s name)
Young lady: Oh, my God! How did you know that?
Me: The young guy was my cousin. His death was a real tragedy.
Young lady: He was such a wonderful person. I miss him so much.
Me: We all do!

I felt very bad all day. The things this young guy could have accomplished if he had lived were unlimited. But we don’t know how many days we have on Earth. So live all them as full as you can. You never know when you number might be up. All I know is that I was sad when it was happened. I was sad when I talked to this young lady. And I am sad right now. Enough said.
Wednesday Warpath

Well, I got up a little earlier today than yesterday. So at least I have time to write some. I hate oversleeping, but I do that at times. I guess sometimes you need more rest than you think. I get up plenty early so I did not have any trouble getting to work early. I am always at work for 7 instead of 8.

We had to bring my baby dog, Suzie, to the vet yesterday. She was scratching a lot over the past few days. It’s just a food allergy. So we will buy her some good food to help out with that. She is a big girl now. She weighs 64 pounds. She’s not fat, she’s just tall. She lived at the vet clinic for 10 weeks before we adopted her, after two people adopted her and brought her back. So she is a favorite of the staff. They really love my Suzie.And my Suzie loves them. She thinks she owns the place. She remembers the people there. She is a good baby.

I did not do too well on my writing last night. I spent time answering e-mail and message and such. I did not want to get too far behind on all of that. It’s important to do that also. I will have to do better on my writing today. I will try to write at lunch and make sure I get some words down for my journal and the blogs.

It just seems it ought to be later in the week and later in the month to me. I guess I got discombobulated somewhere along the way. I am going to have to catch up to the week and month at some point I would imagine.

At work we are getting the summer interns. That’s nice. I like to see all the young people getting some experience and doing some good work. Of course, there will be some nice young ladies in the mix I am sure. I will have to get to know them. Ha Ha!!

Ok, that’s it. I will go. I have to try and write some things of substance for my blogs and journal. I am just writing stuff down that’s pretty general in nature. While that is important, I really need to write better. More later!!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Tuesday Trappings

The bed sure felt good last night. I slept in about an hour more than normal. I leave myself plenty of time so I will have to make this short and catch up later. I had a good night, but I guess I wanted to sleep.

We had a nice shower last night. That really will help the garden. It rained yesterday and last night. So we are getting plenty rain. For the past few years we have had big deficits when it came to rain. The garden loves it. The yard loves it. The aquifer loves it. So I love it also.

Today is Tuesday. I know I will have a good day. I just need to get it started and take it a bit at a time. I iwll have much to do at work and not enough time to do it all. That’s just that way that is though. I have to work on my second article for the magazine. I got some information on the stuff last night and will begin to write it today. So I am well on my way to do well with that.

Ok, so I have no more time. I am late and need to catch up. More later!
Don’t Make Me Have To Come Back!

Louisiana, late 60’s and early’s 70’s, was a time of radical change. Schools were finally being integrated. Uncertainty was the norm for all children, black and white. While many white students left the public schools altogether quite a few stayed. My brother and I were public school men all the way except for two years when my brother was going to be bussed to a school far away. During this time my Dad sent him to the closest school possible, a private school. My Dad did not believe in busing, or private schools, but he chose the lesser of two evils.

When it was time for my brother to come back to the local public school, the whole system was in disarray. As the busing calmed down teachers were moved. It was a chaotic time. The locals schools were suddenly inahabited by new teachers and students. No one was really familiar with each other or what was going on.

My brother was in the eighth at this point. He was a straight-A student who rarely made a “B” on anything. His teacher was new at the school having been moved from one of the segregated schools in the area. The first test my brother took was a Louisiana History test. Naturally, he made a 100 on the test. The teacher promptly told him he had cheated and gave him a “0”. My brother brought this test paper home and showed it to my Mother. My Dad was working off for a week at a time at the time.

Well, my Dad came home. He was not happy. A trip to the school did not do much good. The principal, who knew our family and how great a student my brother was, sided with the teacher. My Dad did not say anything. He told my brother to let him know when the next test was. The next test was the following week. So my Dad went to work, but came back home to be there for when the test was being given. He called the school and announced he would be present for the test. The principal called the local police. The chief himself came, but only to observe. He knew my Dad was a fair man and just wanted to make things right.

After discussing the deal with the teacher and principal it was decided my brother would be given his test where he could not cheat. My Dad pulled his desk in the middle of the hall. The local policeman sat out in the hall with my brother to make sure he did not cheat. The test was given. My brother sat in the hall and took his test. After the test was over my Dad made sure it was graded right away. What did my brother make? Well, he made a 100, of course.

My Dad was not very happy. As a matter of fact he was so livid the local policeman had to remind him he’d take him in if he had to. My Dad thought about that for a second. I really think he was thinking of making a stand and getting it all out in the open with the local news and all. He decided not to do that though. The principal and the teacher were both standing in the hall as my Daddy began to leave. As he was passing by them he stopped and told them both, “Don’t make me have to come back!” He had gotten his point across.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Pretty Good Weekend, But Back To Work

It was a very nice weekend, but it’s back to work today. I will be fine. I just hate Monday’s. The worse feeling is when you drive up to work on Monday morning. When you step out of your vehicle you realize you have all week to work. I am looking forward to next week or the end of this week when we will have a three-day weekend.

I had a devil of a time writing one of the articles for the magazine. It’s about driving in the city, or hitting the road, with energy saving vehicles, or hybrids. There is a lot of information on the cars, but a lot of it is conflicting. Also it was hard to get good hard facts on how many cars or in the city and how far they drive each day. I mined it all out, but it was not easy. You can’t call a salesman or a car dealership and ask about hybrid cars. They inflate the mileage figures by a lot. I have it done though. Now, I need to start on the second article which will be much easier. It will be about organic wine and spirits.

The weather was beautiful this week. We had some sun and clouds, but it was not too hot. It will warm up for the early part of the week and stay seasonable for the week. We will have some chances of rain.

My garden is fine. I will have some squash to pick soon. I have more green beans coming and some new plants that are looking great. I have flowers on some of my tomatoes. My peppers are picking up also. I have some hot peppers that are doing great. I added to my trellis for my Morning glories. They are doing superb. My lima beans are growing like crazy, but I don’t see any limas. The cowpeas are doing nicely also. The garden is looking Ok. I have to keep up with it as best as I can.

That’s it for this Monday morning. I will have a busy day today. I may try to write some more tonight, but I have the article to work on. I will see what goes on. More later!!

Sunday, May 20, 2007

My Commentary On Some Of The News

Israel strikes home of hamas lawmaker

I would be much happier if the headline had read they struck at the home of “every” hamas lawmaker. Look, all these Palestinians are no good. Israel needs to wipe them off the face of the earth and be done with them. That’s what they have vowed to do Israel.

Democrats are well.....really stupid

They want a “no-confidence” vote on Alberto Gonzales. Before they seek one on him they better try to get themselves right. They actually trail the President in approval numbers. I think the Congress, led by the Democrats, have already been given a vote of no-confidence. And for all you Democratic dummies and idiots this is not Europe or some place where they have a parliamentary government. We don’t do votes of no-confidence here. So get your head out of yours butts and govern like you were elected to do! By the way, I just held a vote and Arlen Specter has been voted the second dumbest guy on the planet and the third mostly ugly man on the planet.

Now, that’s a spokesperson...and cheers to the White House

The White House called Jimmy Carter “increasingly irrelevant” today. Can you hit a nail on the head any more solid? Carter was irrelevant when they elected him President. He has spent most of the past 30 years proving how stupid he actually is. I say let him speak. That’s because as long as he is on this planet all of you can honestly say you are not the dumbest person on it.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Fantastic Friday!

Yes, it’s Fantastic Friday! I love Friday’s. This one is going to be really great. First of all it’s payday!! I will be able to get some extra money and hopefully enjoy a few extra things this weekend. I am looking forward to quitting time this afternoon. I just can’t wait.

The weekend will be busy. I have to get to work on some writing along with some yard and garden work. The plan is to get started fairly early tomorrow. I will do some writing first. Then I will get in my garden. They yard work is not the most important thing to do, but it will get done also. I will do some writing and then get outside. I will alternate doing that all day long for the most part. I will almost certainly barbecue something tomorrow for dinner. I am just waiting to see what the wife thinks. I plan on enjoying my weekend big time.

Tonight may be a night where I go drink a beer or two. I will just have to see. I know my best drinking buddy is not available tonight. He has his son and will bring him to the Spurs game. His son just cramps my style too often! I had several people mention going out to get a beer or two. I will see what they say. I don’t want to stay long. I just want to get out and have a bit of for a short while. I will see what I can drum up. I have a nice, young lady who might want to go and get a few drinks and talk. That is my Number One option, but she has to get in touch with me and then we will see. It’s nothing bad. She just wants to talk. We are friends.

I will try to get some good rest tonight, but I want to sleep some and wake up some. I wake up and check things out on the Internet and then write a bit. Then I go back to bed. I might even go outside and take a walk with my dogs. I will do plenty of things tonight and it will be fun.

I am getting in the mood, or market, for a small, portable telepscope. Meade makes a 4.5” “goto” model telescope that is fancy and small. It only closts $300. So that might be something I can buy soon. I really want to get back in involved with my astronomy hobby on a big time scale. I have kind of feel off the wagon in the deal.

The nice lady who wrote to me about the articles did not get back in touch yesterday. I really want to hear from her soon. I think it would be something that would be great for both of us. I think she will get back in touch soon. I am ready to hear from her.

That’s all for the beginning of this Fantastic Friday. I am ready for a great day and then an even greater weekend. More later!!

Thursday, May 17, 2007

My Take On Some News\Political Type Things

Will of the people?

That will of the people thing is getting confusing to me. The Senate voted 67-29 to reject defunding the Iraq War. I thought all these votes were going to be slam dunks for the Democrats. The only bills they have passed in the whole deal have been so full of pork it's been silly. Maybe this is the will of the people!

Think the President's Ratings are low?

President Bush's approval rating is 33%. The Congress that the left claims was overwhelmingly elected is lower than that. It's like 29%. So someone explain to me why the media and left in general think the Democrats are doing so well. They are awful. And that's not according to me and Rush Limbaugh (well, Lumbard, if you are Al Sharpton). That's according to the news media who do the polls.

Think Big Oil is Bad? Try Big Food!!

Grocery prices are rising at their highest rate in years. This is not good. We are all going to starve before too long because we won't be able to buy food. Big Oil is not that bad. It's Big Food that has me worried.

Witnesses say he was there!

Michael Vick has tried to feign any responsilbility on, well….anything he's pretty much done wrong. He says he was never at the house where some dogfighting activity occurred. Some witnesses say that's not so. I don't think Vick has the ability or the desire to tell the truth. Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank is a real "girly" man. He's more no count than Vick. Show some guts man!!
Tenacious Thursday

I don’t know where I pulled the name for this blog from. I just feel like today is going to be that kind of day. I have much to do at work. I have much to do around home. I just think it’s going to be a “tenacious” day. I will try to make it as “non-tenacious” as I can. We will see.

I have some news that might be pretty good for my writing. I met a lady who needs some help with writing something for the local paper and the local business journal. I have sent her my writing credentials. I hope she is serious about this and gets back to me. I am holding out some high hopes in this deal. I want to help out and I want to get some exposure at the same time. So this might be a pretty good deal for both of us. I will keep my journal posted. I would love to get into write a few things on the side just like this might be.

We had some rain early yesterday morning. That made it a little more humid during the day, but it was good for the garden. I like that. We will have the same weather pattern over the next few days, but it will be just a little cooler.

I have to end this now and get going. I stayed in bed a little longer than I should have this morning and now I am pressed for time. I will post this and move on to better things. More later!!

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Wednesday Warpath

It is Hump Day, the middle of the week. By around 3 pm break at work today I will be able to see a little speck of light at the end of the work week. I will enjoy getting home and doing my usual Wednesday night stuff. It will be a great day followed by a wonderful evening at home.

Last night we went to an art show at the niece’s elementary school. The children showed of their wares. Even though was a Grade 1-5 show I was impressed by these children. My niece made a mask and it was great. She is artistic. She has a gift. We are going to really have to cultivate that in her.

My squash are looking great. I even have some flowers on my tomatoes. So things are looking pretty good in the garden. My Morning glories are really starting to climb up my homemade trellis.

The Suns got the raw end of the deal in the suspension thing. I am like the owner of the Suns; the Spurs did all the dirty work and now the Suns have to pay. Let me tell you something about that game. In the second quarter Tim Duncan came off the bench. It’s on video if you care to find it. It’s in print if you care to read about it. The NBA said since there was no altercation they would not suspend him. How crazy is that? You leave the bench during an altercation and that is bad. I could understand that if this were being done fairly. But you leave the bench after a regular play..........for no reason other than to get up to do whatever they guy was going to do. That’s where a suspension should be given. Go figure. I’d be mad if I were the Suns.

It will be warm and we’ll have a few more clouds today than we have been having. The temps won’t be quite as bad. So this will be a great day. There is a slight chance of rain.

I am going now. I will write more later.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Tuesday Trappings

That old bad Monday is gone. It was not a really bad day. Things moved along smoothly and I got a lot done with my writing. So it was a good day.

It was hot yesterday. The high almost reached 90°. Right now we have 66° and clear skies. We’ll see clouds and sun today with a high in the mid-80’s. So that is not too bad.

My squash plants finally have a few squash on them. I am seeing four or give. By the weekend I might be able to pick several of them. I have several dishes in mind when they are ready. I love to pick things from my garden.

Yesterday I started another little Moleskine book. That just excites me. I like finishing a book also. They are part of me. I carry one everywhere I go. I jot down stories, happenings and such. I don’t ever see me not using one. Everyone should have at least one.

I tried to watch some of the Spurs-Suns game last night. I quit after starting, but I caught the end of the game. I saw when Robert Horry knocked Steve Nash into the scorer’s table. Well, I guess you better call body-checked him into the scorer’s table. I don’t like Steve Nash. Let me say that right off the bat. But the Spurs are some dirty players. Horry’s act, Bowen is just dirty all the time and some of the other things they do. I can’t pull for that. Just play the game. I don’t see the Suns doing all that stuff. I am not impressed with the Spurs at all. They are not doing right.

That’s all for today. I will write more later. I think I have some function to go to at school for my niece tonight. I don’t like going to these things but sometimes you have to. I might have to write more at lunch if I can write as much tonight. More later!!

Monday, May 14, 2007

Tongue-in-Cheek Look At Some News

John Edwards is an idiot!

The guy worked for Fortress Investment Group. They are one of the big players in the subprime market that is getting so much air time nowdays. These companies are taking advantage of the "Second America" that Edwards always champions. Yet, he worked for the people who were taking advantage of the people he champions. This guy is just rotten, wrong and in general a commie, pinko, well….you all know the last word. Edwards says he knows nothing about all of this. You know, I can believe that! He knows nothing about nothing in my book.

U.S. cancer survival rates much higher than rest of world


And much higher than countries with socialized medicine. Yet, the Democrats want to showcase this socialist medicine as part of their agenda. People you are being duped by these clowns.

Howard Dean's Web experts helping out in '08 campaigns

Yeah, that's why Dean is President right now. He did wonders with the Internet in '04!!

Gas Prices Hit New Record At The Pump

That's music to my ears. I am pretty sure my energy company stock is going to go up. Why not invest in the stock instead of bitching about the high prices?
Start Of Another Week

It’s another bad old Monday and the start of another week. I am almost glad the weekend is over though. My wife was in a very, very, very bad mood yesterday. She woke up in a bad mood and for her that’s it, and well for everyone else it is too. She is not going to change her mood once she gets that way until maybe she sleeps and wakes up differently. So it was not a good day. My wife made sure it wasn’t.

We start another work week. I really don’t know what we have up for the week. I think we have some new jobs to work on. Our bosses have a big meeting this morning and I am sure some new work will get passed out. So that’s nice. We are getting busier all the time and that keeps things nice.

I will have to come up with a few ideas for my article writing for the magazine. The editor knows we have to continually change and get better. I will talk with a couple of people who are experts in what I want to write about and see how it goes from there. We are going to try to maybe target a few clubs for each issue and some signature drinks that they have. This will be fun. I’ll get to do some “research” and have some fun while doing it. I think this will work out nicely.

Our days are getting longer and warmer. It will be nearly 90° for highs in the first part of the week. The lows will be near 70°. It will be cooler toward the end of the week. Of course, when the temps start getting close to 90° there’s always a chance of rain. We have some chance but not much until later in the week.

I will close on that note. I will try to write more at lunch and then again tonight. I want to try and have a great writing day and week. I did not write last night like I wanted because I was aggravated with my wife so I just went to bed. More later!!

Sunday, May 13, 2007

What Do You Do Your First Day In Heaven?

I wrote this several days ago, but have been too sad to put it up!

(I know before I write this that someone is going to comment and tell me there are no dogs in Heaven. I will then ask if there are cats. Then I will be told that there are no animals in Heaven. Well, I want to say right now that I don't think that's true. If God created a Heaven and is not going to allow our babies in I can honestly say that a lot of us probably won't want to go anyway. So that's my standard answer. If my babies ain't going I ain't going either. Heaven is supposed to be perfect. Our little animals have to be there.)

I can imagine my Dottie is having a ball, literally. I am sure she busted into Heaven liked she owned the place. St. Peter was happy to see her. He had a bunch of tennis balls waiting for her. Dottie's sister, Annabelle, who passed on at the beginning of the year, was there waiting on her. They had a big reunion. Dottie went to check on her bed and the environs she'd be staying in. I'd think it was a pretty big area to run around in and have fun. She'd want a place to sleep that was kind of dark and cool in the summer and actually the winter also. She might even ask for a Taliban cave for the coldest of days. But then I would imagine all the days in Heaven are perfect.

After being satisfied of the sleeping arrangment, Dottie would have taken off for the kitchen. She would have checked out all of the place and made sure the food was up to snuff. They would have had to show her the Marro Bones. She was big on them. After the kitchen inspection, Dottie would have gone out to the ball field. She will be the next big star in Heaven. I can see her now; shagging pop flys with Mickey, Ted and all the other greats. She played catch with St. Peter first.

I suspect after all that excitement she would have taken a nap. After that first nap I am sure she woke up hungry and barked at the kitchen door.

My baby is gone, but she is not forgotten. She will never be forgotten. I am sure she will be happy in her new home. I know I am happy for her. She will be missed. She will always be loved. I love you Dottie. I miss you so much already.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

She’s Gone

In her prime she could catch flyballs. I could throw a tennis ball as high as I could. My Dalmatian dog, Dottie, would snatch it, run it back to me and head on back for another throw. She was great at wormburners also. Those are the kinds of balls that skid along the ground, burning the back of the worms in the ground. She once made a Wille Mays over the head catch. Yes, my Dottie was a great player.

Deaf from birth, Dottie compensated for that defect by honing other skills to make up for it. I don’t know if being deaf ever hurt her. I don’t think she would have listened if she could have heard. Dottie has an extraordinary ability to smell things. She also had an uncanny ability to know when you were around even if she had not seen you. She was an amazing dog.

Dottie had diabetes for the last four years of her life. On the end the insulin quit working. Her blood sugar rose to heights off the scale. For the four years though my wife and I gave her two shots per day and she did fine. We did well also. Dottie has lost most of her eyesight by the end. That did not slow her down much. She had the yard and streets we walked on mapped out pretty well. Rarely did she miss a turn or forget to step up for a curb.

I really don’t want to write too much about it all right now. I will do so more over the weekend. I just want to go to bed now and rest. I need to close my eyes and remember my baby in her heyday. I will get on with living and the healing tomorrow.
Poor Old Dottie; This Hurts, But It Might Be The Day

I have not written about his because it has just been too painful. I have to write about it this morning though. We will have to bring my Dalmatian, Dottie, to the vet. She is just not doing well. The poor old girl just has a plethora of problems and I am afraid they have all caught up to her. This might be her last day. I will let the vet look at her and we might have to make the decision to put her down. I am not going to let her suffer or let her live a life that is too degraded from what she can normally live. I love her and I am not going to let her suffer.

Dottie has never been able to hear. She’s got diabetes and has lost a lot of her eyesight. She was doing good until a few days ago. I just think she is going down pretty fast. She has been drinking plenty of water. She just does not want to eat well. I think her kidneys are failing. So it does not look good for the old girl. She is 12. We have been taking very good care of her. If it’s her time then we are going to do what is right and let her go.

This is tough. Dottie was our first dog baby. She has been a wonderful animal over the years. It is so hard to let them go. I have gotten so attached and love her so much. I will not let her suffer though.

So, it’s time to go. I have to to and check on the old girl. Pray for her if you don’t mind. She might need to go to doggie heaven soon. More later!!

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

That Bed Sure Felt Good This Morning

I could have slept a lot longer this morning. As a matter of fact, if a starving cat had not jumped on me I still might be sleeping. I will write this in a hurry and then have to get going. I don’t have much time.

I did not write much last night. I am sending off some stories to Writer’s Relief. They review them and maybe I can get lucky and have them sent on to some agents and such. They are three short stories that will give someone an idea of how and what I write. Maybe I will get luck and get some exposure in the deal. I need and want some.

It will still be warm and a bit muggy. We had a nice breeze yesterday. The temps will range from 74° to the mid-80’s with just a very slight chance of rain.

I will go sign the copyrights to my latest articles at lunch and then get a check. Drinks are on me Friday. If anyone wants a drink just let me know.

I have to run. I have a lot to and a short time to do it. More later!!

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Is This Going Around...................?

A few years back my Dad need bypass surgery to repair 5 blockages near his heart. Even though this is major surgery it is not as rough as it once was. If fact, it is now pretty commonplace in the country and probably the industrialized nations of the world. My Dad did well and has recovered nicely.

After his surgery has was lying in his hospital bed once day. His doctor was going to be off that day. Some other doctor was going to come around and check on my Dad.

This new doctor came in the room and introduced himself. He looked at my Dad’s charts and seemed quite pleased. Dad was really doing well. The doctor asked my Dad a few questions. He was steadily writing on the chart as my Dad talked. All of a sudden the doctor stopped and looked down at my Dad.

He asked my Dad, “Are you from Morganza?”
My Dad answered, “Yes, I am. Why do you ask that?”
“Do you know Karl Dorman?”, the doctor aksed.
“Why yes,” my Dad retorted, “He’s my next door neighbor.”
“Well, he’s in here for the same thing you are. Is this going around the neighborhood or something?”
Tuesday Thoughts and Commentary

Monday was not that bad a day. It was also not that good a day. But it was one that I could live with. So we will move on to Tuesday now. I will call my Tuesday writing the title above. I think I need a title for each day of the week. That’s what I might do for my regular and normal journal entry.

Tomorrow at lunch I will go and sign the copyrights for my articles for this month’s edition of Amuze. That is always fun. First of all, after the signing I get a little check which is my drinking money. I will have two articles in this month’s edition. I love to see my name in print. I love to see my work in print. It’s just so much fun. Don’t tell the editor, but she really would not have to pay me at all to write what I do. I’d pay her. The magazine is getting better all the time. I just hope I can continue to contribute in my small way for a long, long time.

It will be warm and humid today. The whole week looks like that. I really enjoy nice weather with plenty of sun. We just won’t see much sun for the week. That will be fine though. I can live with that.

My trellis I built for my Morning glories over the weekend is already doing it’s job. The plants are beginning to climb up it. This will form a nice screen and really a fence by the middle of the summer or so. I need to expand it and make sure I continue to do things like that in my garden. Otherwise, the garden is looking fine. My squash are not doing the best. I have many, many blooms, but no squash. I need to figure out what is going on there.

We are having a “debt” counseling lunch tomorrow at work! I wonder if they are going to teach us to get into debt or get out of debt at the thing.

I have time for no more writing. I have to go and feed my starving herd of animals and then move on to getting ready for work, real early work. We broke the record for survery crews working for us yesterday. We had 29 crews which is the most we have ever had. That means things are good. Bye for now.

Monday, May 07, 2007

You Guessed It; Another Bad Monday

It it another bad Monday after a pretty good weekend.These Monday’s come way too fast. When do I get one off. It will be in a few weeks won’t it. I can’t wait.

The sun came out briefly for about half an hour yesterday afternoon. That was around 5 pm. After being depressed all weekend because I did not see any sun the sun comes out that late, too late to do much, and I get depressed because of that. We won’t see a whole lot of sun for the week. By the weekend we’ll see some if the weather people are correct. We have some chances for rain this week also.

It’s my early week at work. I will open up at 6. I love to do that. I like getting to work early and getting things ready for our survey crews. I will also have to stay later this afternoon. I like to do that also. The extra time spent at work is not fun, but when I get the check in a couple of Fridays it will be fun. So I will go and do my job and have fun while doing it.

I missed work Friday to stay home with my niece. She was sick and really did not feel well all weekend. My wife does not feel well right now. She is not going to go to work today. She needs to stay home and rest. She needs a day just to be here when there is some peace and quiet. She has eight nurses to take care of her, 4 cats and 4 dogs. They are all great when you are sick.They really take care of you.

I want to try to get this week off with some good writing. I’ll write now in this journal and then a few more things elsewhere. I am going to try to get a good writing going at lunch. That will be nice. And then I will grab some time to do so tonight. That is the plan and it will happen. More later!!

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Mr. Sarkozy, The Winner; miss royal, THE LOSER!!

France voted today to turn to the right a bit by electing Nicolas Sarkozy to be president. I don’t know how much of a turn to the right this will be, but it will be pretty significant. A “conservative” in France is probably still a bit to the left of a conservative here in the U.S.. It does give me hope that France may be moving into a more mainstream government.

One thing France can not stand is more Socialism. It has just about killed them. They were dying a slow death. Mr. Chirac, a conservative in name only, steered the country on a path that made things worse. Sarkozy says he is going to undo some things and go in the opposite direction as Mr. Chirac. That remains to be seen. He does have a bunch of legislators to deal with.

France’s 35 hour work week will come under scrutiny. It should. The country has a high rate of unemployment. Output from workers is declining. It’s just not too good for their economy. Mr. Sarkozy might be the man for that job.

Of course, the poor will fuss and do as they normally do. But they would do that no matter who would have won. Their love affair with Royal would not have been long-lived because she could not have possibly given them all they wanted. So I don’t think France is going to be too worried about that segment of their society. That bunch needs to produce more.

This was all interesting to watch. It remains to be seen how much Mr. Sarkozy can do. I think he might be the man for the job. There will be some pain. There will be some tough times for the French. Can they stand the heat in that kitchen? That is the big question. If they can they will be just fine. If they can’t they are in for some tougher times.
A Fine Sunday Morning

(for all you former and still present writingup.com bloggers; the site is down again)

Yes, it is a fine Sunday morning. I have been up for a bit, but I was up and down several times last night. Most people couldn’t rest like that, but I love it. I went to bed around 9 and woke up several times to check out things on the Internet. I wrote a little bit. I went out with my dogs around 3am. That’s the life for me. I need to do something to make sure I can live it all the time. That’s on me. I need to get on the ball and make it happen.

Yesterday was a nice day. We had clouds all day and that put a damper on my fun. I am solar-powered. I stole that line from a friend, but it’s so true of me. I got out in the garden. Are any of you tired of hearing about my garden? I won’t ever tire of writing about it. So I will give a brief report on the state of my garden.

I made several trellises (or should that be “trelli”) yesterday. One is for my Morning glories that are needing to climb. I made a nice, natural looking trellis for them to climb on. Well, the trellis is natural in general. It’s made of bamboo and string. I also planted some more pole beans seeds and made a trellis for those also. I love to make little structures like that for my garden. I don’t buy those ready made un-natural things to put in my garden.

I planted more cowpeas. The ones that I had planted earlier are doing just fine. They are looking great. My tomatoes are looking good. The cold weather affected them, but I think they will do fine in the long run. They are looking fine. My squash have plenty of flowers, but no fruit yet. Go figure. I will pick more of the green beans today. The butter beans are looking fine. The lima beans are doing nicely also. My basil is not looking good.The cold got to it. I will have strawberries, or at least a few in a week or so. My hot peppers need to be picked. I have some on them. My cilantro will be clipped today. I need to make some pico!

I also raked and picked up some debris to add to the compost pile. Compost piles are so much fun to me! Everyone should like compost piles. I have four around my yard. They are the key to growing more soil and making your garden more productive. So all of you need to get to making some soil.

That’s enough about the garden. I will move on to some other things.

Street Sense won the Kentucky Derby with Calvin Borel riding. At one point, early in this race, Street Sense was second to last. He finished with a great kick and won fairly easily. Borel is from St. Martinville, LA. Louisiana might not be known for a lot of good things, but they have produced some wonderful jockeys.

All the horses, and they are still babies, made the journey around the track without incident. I don’t want to see another Barbaro type thing. An interesting fact is that many Arab sheiks and such come to Kentucky to buy horses, but don’t race them here. They bring them back to the Middle East and race them. One of the reasons why is they don’t generally race the horses over there at such a young age. They wait until they are older.

The Queen was there. The Queen of England that is. She looked pretty good and seemed to enjoy the race. It’s always good to have the queen here.

I could write a lot more, but it’s time to prepare breakfast. I am a pretty good day. Today we are going to have sweet rolls, sausage, hash browns and scrambled eggs. I will write more later.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

I Hate Drive-Thru Lines

Ok, so this morning I wake up happy. I had a great night. I slept well. I got up seveal times to jump on the Internet to see how things were going. I had my dogs sleep with me. Oh, it was just a wonderful slumber. I get up and I decide to go get some breakfast. I get my wife’s order and my niece’s and I head off. I drive up in the drive-thru line and I ......well, I know I am in trouble already.

In front of me is a very large SUV. It is filled with kids. Mom, that’s a soccer mom, is taking the whole pee-wee soccer team to get something to eat and going through the drive-thru. I know I am in trouble the minute she drives up to the order microphone. She begins to talk. She looks at the machine with the microphone. Then her head turns swiftly back to the kids in the back. They are all hollering at one time. She’s hollering at them. They are hollering back. Her head turns back to the mic. She blurts out one thing she wants. Her head turns back to the back of the vehicle. The kids are hollering. She’s hollering. All the while I am sitting back just watching this spectacle.

I am thinking to myself. The people working in the fast food place make minimum wage. Their employers are forced by the federal government to pay them that. Most are not worth that much. What do you think the chances are the soccer mom’s order is going to be correct. Mom couldn’t tell you what she ordered after it was all over anyway. I am just sitting and listening.

Mom hollers out more instructions. She keeps changing the order. The person taking the order is asking questions trying to get the order correct. The soccer mom keeps hollering into the mike and then turning to the back of the SUV to find out what the kids want. This goes on for a few mintues. Finally it seems the ordeal is over. The order, or orders, have been placed. All is quiet. Mom begins to drive forward. I begin to drive forward to finally get my order in. But wait, mom drives forward about five feet and slams the vehicle in reverse. She needs to get back to the order window. She’s not finished yet. I give some ground.

The mike that takes the orders must get activated when a car drives up the correct way. If you back in it must not know you are there. Soccer mom sits for a few seconds. Then she begins hollering for someone to pick up. No one seems to be home. Finally someone opens the mike and ask if they could take “your” order. The lady spouts out more stuff. She never says she’s the same person who just ordered. The order is taken and she drives away.

Now, it’s my turn. I explain what went on. I don’t think the person taking the orders is worried about that. I drive up to the window to pay. It’s pretty early so only one window is operating. You pay and get your order at the same window. Mom is trying to pay. Orders begin coming out of the window. Mom is handing the bags out and kids are hollering again. Of course, the orders are not correct. The kids are hollering. Mom is hollering at the people working. The manager is at the window trying to sort things out. Mom’s debit card did not go through. She’s looking for cash now. Kids are hollering their orders are not correct. I figure my meal will be cold by the time I pick it up. The manager tells the mom to pull forward and they can sort things out.

I drive up to the window. I ask if they understood what I said about the lady backing up at the drive-thru order window. I was told that yes they did. I am handed my order. I get a kids meal with orange juice along with some kind of toy!! I hand it back and tell them that order is for the SUV in front of me. They finally run down my order. It’s correct.

Meanwhile, mom is still hunting for cash. I holler at the manager and ask how much money the lady needs. She needs $4 the guy tells him. I drive up close and he comes up to my truck. I hand him a $5 bill. He looks relieved. Kids are still hollering. Orders are still being corrected. I drive off to go back home with my order. I keep looking back to see when the SUV will drive off. When I turn to go down my street it’s still parked. Maybe I should go back now, it’s been several hours, and see if she ever got it all straight.

I hate drive-thru lines!!