Friday, December 15, 2006

Hee Hee!

Well, the week is over and perhaps the fun will begin. This week I did something I haven't done in a long time. I sat up all night and played a game. Needless to say, this old body complained all the next day. I can remember the days when I could do that for several days before I crashed and burned. Oh well, I will have to make do. Work is fine but sometimes I really have my doubts. It is really hard to fix "stupid." :)

Wild Mom: Returned from England broke and pissed of at the airlines. She managed to come home with more suitcases than she left with. She will be heading for home later tonight. Bubbles (the dog) asked for asylum so he could stay and play with all the kids.

Lady: Tired as she prepares for the Holidays. But she would make you proud.

#1: Work is fine and he is starting to look for an apartment. He is in our prayers as he establishes himself in Colorado.

#2: Job Interview was negative, so the search continues.

Star: May be coming to stay with us for a month while her hubby goes off and has fun, errr, I mean train for his new job.

Princess: Sick this week so we have stayed away from her so we wouldn't get those GERMS.

Today I heard a great example of Motherly Protection. 4 men broke into her home. She immediately runs out the back to call the police. Great idea except she left her baby laying there in the crib. Then stood outside crying because she was afraid the child would be harmed. Well, duh.

Local Politicians want to raise the gas tax some $0.50 per gallon. The reason is to improve the roads since the state won't. The other part is to force more riders to use Metro and not drive. The same day Metro announce a large fare increase and the elimination of some service. Looks like I am fixing to get hosed again and either way I will have to pay for it. I wouldn't mind a tax increase if part of the funds went to Metro to improve their service. But do you think these County Crooks will do that ... nope.

Somebody this week said the Redskins problems were caused by over-confidence. Gee, it took them 17 weeks to figure this out. Imagine how long it would take if there was a hidden problem if an obvious problem took that long!

It is amazing how the media is reporting more human interest stories in Iraq and slowing the body count stories down. The republicans asked for that for six years and now that the Democrats / Liberals are about to take over the media

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Baa Humbug

Well, another weekend draws to a close and the Monday Blahs prepare to interject themselves. What started off as a great weekend has managed to end on a crappy note. Bowling went well though it could have been better. A bright spot was the Redskins (Deadskins in disguise) finally losing the game and officially ending their inflated hopes of the playoffs. Now maybe the media will find something else to pump up into the next World Champion.

This week’s schedule:
Tuesday - Choir Practice and Wild Mom's return
Wednesday - My Work's Christmas Party
Saturday - Lady's Work Christmas Party
Sunday - Youth Bowling Awards Party, Church Christmas Play

So you can see it shall be a busy one as we approach Christmas. I hope everyone is making this a "Family" holiday and enjoying every minute of it. Oops, hope I didn’t offend anyone’s sensibilities with the thought of family time.

I wish someone would explain to me where I missed the boat on what a family truly is. If you have the answer please email me. What I see in my mind doesn't match what others around here see it as being like. What I hear does not match what they show in their actions. I almost get a sense that "Family" is just a word to banter around so others think you have something special. Family is being together instead of scheduling the family into little nooks and crannies that happen to be convenient thus keeping the illusion of belonging alive. I want to be together to share the love and the nuances of the season. You know the types of memories I mean. The ones that will be in your mind 25 years from now and still bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eyes. The memories that while you sit there and look at a picture and wonder how they ever got you to pose like that all the time forgetting the gallon of egg nog you swilled as part of the preparation for that picture. As I sit here my mind asks me "why care?" Obviously I missed the memo that changed things around and relegated everyone to being passing ships in the day and night. Speaking of ships, perhaps this is the time to forget my thoughts of a "family time" and book a cruise every year that leaves before Christmas and returns after the New Year. That would solve things because then everyone could do as they like with no obligation to feel anything else during this season of Christmas. The wife and I could then create our own memories to last a lifetime. If not, then the picture album would burst at the seams of the places we searched in a vain effort to find that elusive idea called "family."

I wonder how many more accidents will occur before some knucklehead in the State or City Government does something to stop the carnage at the highway intersection near our house. Tonight, once again for the umpteenth time there was another accident at that intersection. It seems to be a weekly affair that somewhere around that intersection someone innocent gets hurt and possibly even loses their life. I was once told that a certain number of people must die before they take action to fix the problem. Why must even 2 people die ... I was taught that everyone is worth something and their life shouldn't be wasted. If the intersection was designed wrong then fix it, don't kill people just to make it worth your time to fix it. I wonder how quickly they will change their mind when it is someone they love that is injured or killed at that intersection.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Ho Humm!

Well, the week draws to a close and Christmas gets closer. Maybe my gift this season should be "more of a scrooge." That would prove to be fun since I am such a push over. I will be in real trouble if Princess ever figures out how to wrap me around her finger. But I feel safe in the thought she probably will never figure it out. Starr came close but I wriggled free with only losing my heart to her. Next week will be interesting because of 2 Christmas parties and one Christmas program at the church. Gee, I wonder how many of the kids will show up for the Church program? Last weekend I had no one to go see "Happy Feet" with me so I guess I will go and find a "rent-a-kid" this weekend.

Work is about the same ... everyone wanting the world but not willing to learn the first thing about it. There is plenty of job security since the project list will take the rest of 2007 to complete. Maybe I should get sick with one of those 4-week colds and drag this process out. Hmmm!

Wild Mom: No updates so far. Maybe she is being held "in communicato" by the German Government for having too loud of a party in her room. I know Jenn would never do something like that.

Lady: Sure getting tired of her cross-stitch project. She is also fighting off a cold. The downside of the cross-stitch project is that it has slowed down the Christmas baking. Oh well, maybe my body could use the rest from all the goodies.

#1: Got his new cell phone and my wallet is already feeling heavier.

#2: Something big in the Business world must have happened. He has a job interview today. Or is it "Be Kind to Big Kids Day?"

Starr: Getting prettier by the day ... or at least my mind says so since we haven't seen her for a while. Hope to see her soon. Now let me see, where did that invitation sneak off too.

Princess: Still around and growing ... must be the water. Between School, work, our schedule and the Fire Station we haven't seen her a lot. We know she is there by from the ringing of her phone.

Eskimo Boy: Kind of a quiet type. They only way we know of his existence are the dirty dishes and glasses. We hope to spot him one day.

Anyone want to see pictures of Princess with her pj's torn after her fall at MacDonald's?

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Salt Mines -- Here we come!

Well, the new week stares me fully in the face. The weekend is never long enough to do what I want to do. Bowling was good. The youth team finished second. The evening team went 5-2 and should move up to 2nd or 3rd.

22 days till Christmas and not all the wish lists are in to us. Guess they don't want anything. Anyone else want the leftover presents?

Wild Mom: Doing well just running short of money. They should be getting ready to fly over to Germany soon. She only has a little over a week left.

Lady: Also wishes the weekend could be longer. She did manage to bake some cookies with M&M's in them. There goes the diet the Doctor wanted me to start.

#1: Got his new phone. He is getting a good dose of snow and cold weather. For me, give me the warm weather.

#2: Spent most of the weekend gone and when he was here he was asleep downstairs. I guess I am too much of a social person to spent that much time alone or asleep. As I have gotten older I find the family time more special and something to look forward too. I am so tired of hearing that blasted alarm clock constantly beeping. The next time I will take the baseball bat by the door and beat the crap out of it. :(

Starr: I wonder if she is ready to move again? What she needs is someone to sneak down there and check out her new guest bedroom. Plus Lady is ready to see some more wedding pictures. Will I recognize her or has her hair changed again. Doesn't matter though because we love her. :)

Princess: Nothing new. She left Friday night and returned late Sunday night, spending the whole weekend at the fire station. :(

Eskimo Boy: Had someone rearrange the rear end of his car. He is fine. He spent the weekend chatting on line.

Lew: It is amazing how a 3 year old develops an attitude. One minute he is defiant and the next so cute. Life is never boring. We just love it when he stuffs tools in his pants and runs around calling himself "Builder Bob." The walls of this house will never be the same after his efforts.

***************

All this week I listened to the local media brag about how vulnerable the Falcons were and how the Redskins would use this to start their Playoff run. The bragged how the Falcons, Giants, Phillies were prime to be beat by this surging Redskins Team (They had won 1 game). Well, after their 24-10 whipping ... I am waiting for their next attempt at bragging. Admit it. The 2006 Redskins are a losing team and look very bad in losing. What they need for 2007 is to get rid of the whole lot of them and get some people who really want to play.

Congrats to the Florida Gators. Despite the crookedness of the BCS committees, you get a chance to prove yourselfs. Playoffs are the way to go. But the Committee won't allow it because it would mean the end of the "Good ol Boy" system.

Thoughts

The old knight sat against the old tree in the courtyard watching the young squires sparring. The sun felt good on his aching legs. These brief respites felt good as he paid the price of many days in the saddle and quite a few blocked blows. It didn't take long for the squires to filter over and take a seat only to be followed by some seasoned knights. Everyone had learned that the words of this old knight were to be carefully listened too and remembered. After a bit the Captain of the Guard spoke up. "Sire, might you tell us a story and provide a few pointers?" The old knight nodded and slowly started a story.

"From my experience I have found that Brotherhood is the essence of what every squire needs. You can only go so far on your own. Why even the strongest is weak when facing the Brotherhood. You see the Brotherhood provides you knowledge of life, a base of experience no one man can assemble and companionship when you feel the loneliest. I would even believe that if you avoid the Brotherhood then your days as a Knight will be counted in days and not years." The old knight paused as if to recollect his thoughts.

The Captain looked about and from what he saw he could almost pick out the ones who would succeed and those who will possibly never see their second battle.

Saturday, December 02, 2006

In all fairness














To the light of my Life ... I love you.

I love those knees .... :)

And other times she scared me ...

Friday, December 01, 2006

Really?

Your Elf Name Is...

Flakey Mc Mini

Silent Alarm














We were unable to catch Princess when she drove the ambulance for the first time but we did manage to get a picture when she drove the Fire Engine the first time.

Kind of reminds you of Fred Flintstone and his big feet.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Juicer Up

Well, it is back to the grindstone until the next round of holidays. It is amazing how you can be caught up before the holiday and the day after the holiday you are swamped. Do they multiply while we are gone?

Thursday is "plan and sign-up for the Southern Mediterranean Cruise" night. Anyone have a good technique for making the days go faster so Nov 2007 gets here sooner? Needless to say we are excited about it and our time with Carl and Lynne.

Friday night is another Birthday dinner. Toy-Toy hits the ripe old age of 17. Maybe I ought to dunk her in no-grow stuff to stop her from growing up. I wonder if the threat of 17 birthday spanks would slow her down.

Wild Mom: Off to England. I am waiting for the call from the Queen saying that Mom is being deported while the UK is in one piece. Bubbles is doing fine. There is nothing like having two dogs lying on each side of you. Sure is tough to get frisky that way. Maybe I should send them to Princess's room.

Lady: Slowly recovering from all the cooking and baking. Work for her is the usual ... loads of fun and just enough for her day.

Star: After having so much fun in Georgia, she is settling back into the work scene and the moving scene as they get ready to move tomorrow. Sure miss her. You know, it isn't fair they have to have another life ... right when they get to be fun and you can relate too them .. They up and get married. Let's let them get married as toddlers and then get divorced when they turn 21 and then live at home. That would avoid the dirty diapers, raising them and that host of other of growing up problems. I love to hear her dream of the next goal in her life ... why? ... Because I know she will make it.

Princess: Another night of hair coloring. Remind you of any one? Now I have first hand knowledge now to enable me to judge who is harder to raise ... girls or boys. Man is that a tough call. She did provide a few laughs Tuesday night when she went to MacDonald’s wearing her mom’s shoes. Since she just quite didn’t fill them … she managed to unceremoniously fall down and plop her rear end on the floor at MacDonald’s. Was that how she split her pajama bottoms? I thought I heard her smack as she hit the floor. Oh well, who knows what really happened. But she did get her chocolate milkshake anyways.


MLB should have a rule that no juice junkie (McGwire) can be inducted into the Hall Of fame same year a REAL player is (Ripken). I have given up on MLB doing the right thing and banning the Juicer’s.

Good Job to Glenn Beck (CNN) on his expose on Terrorism … I learned a lot.

Scratch the ALL MY CHILDREN show from the list of watched shows as they make a Transgender person a leading character. What is next? Could it be a show where all the supporting characters are animals? I can see the headlines now – “New Episode – Molly the sheep raped as Tommy is unfaithful to Petunia Pork – Don’t miss this exciting episode on the daytime soap – “All My Furry Friends”

When will we get some real sports heroes? One that respects the fans and plays the game because they love to play. I am getting tired of these spoiled, over-paid, prima donnas who think they are better than anyone. That includes the player on another team who is a spoiled, over-paid, prima donna. Fine Vick such as it will get his attention … shoot, he will make that back in one quarter next week. We have tolerated this way too long and the list is getting larger. At one time only 1 player in the sport had a problem … now every team has one. Are we so starved for ratings that we now tolerate negative images as our role models? I know the Media does because that is how they make their money. Accentuate the negative because it sells.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Jeeper -- By Golly

As I sat here all fat, dumb and happy after the Holidays and writing my second post of the day, I can’t help but reflect. I wish I could find a way to really make a difference but all I seem to do is get more frustrated with the antics of some real knuckleheads. Choosing between Pumpkin Pie and Sweet Potato casserole is easier.

A friend just can’t keep the monster in his pants. He is always looking for a reason to dump the marriage and then his poor wife out of confusion makes the sad statement of “We might as well divorce if we won’t try harder to make this work.” This blockhead has the house up for sell within 24 hours. He was waiting for the door to crack open. And as for the Lady he is after, she ought to know better that if he can’t keep it under control, what makes her the one to get him to stop. Sadly, she jumps from E-harmony to a married man waiting for a reason to jump ship. How long till she will be the one wondering “If we don’t try harder … ?“

I love the people who assume that if I accept you as part of the extended family that everyone in my family must also accept or see you that way. Excuse me, but only blood and legal status makes that assumption true. Don’t get mad and grouse at me because the other person sees it differently. And shame on you for assuming too much. Boy, does the turkey go down harder when that crap comes down.

Thanksgiving, I am so thankful for a lot this year. There were sad times but the good times far outweighed everything. As I reflect over this holiday, certain friends come to mind and I only wish them the best.

-- Lady. 31 years? It seems like yesterday. Can we dance another 31?

-- Carl and Lynne. I wouldn’t trade a minute of our time together this past year. You are a friend that is priceless.

-- My Writing partner. How I miss those stories to challenge me to write more and better. I know her life is twisting more than a Texas Tornado but the dream of writing stories still survives. I am still here and hurry back. Get that old man here so I can give him a tour of “The Wall.”

-- BT, yes I do still consider him a friend. We didn’t always see eye-to-eye but we did see. Maybe one day we will cross the blades in a spar that will rivet the spectators as we once did.

-- Blue. Hurry that rig back on this side of the world, knowing you is more fun than the Roller Coaster at Kings Dominion.

-- The Kids. Matthew, Michael, Jessi, Missy, Josh, Vicky, Toy. What can I say but I am Happy and love each one of you. May be I should just refer to this crowd as MMJMJVT. Is there a limit to how long this list gets? And will the fun increase as much?

My Oh My

Democratic Agenda for Janurary 01, 2007.

U.S. Capitol

7:00 PM Opening Flag Burning Ceremony

7:15 PM Pledge of Allegiance to the U.N.

7:30 PM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

7:45 PM Non-Religious Prayer and Worship led by Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton.

8:00 PM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

8:15 PM Gay Wedding performed by Barney Frank.

8:30 PM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

8:35 PM Free Sadam rally led by Cindy Sheehan and Susan Sarandon.

9:00 PM Keynote Speech: "The proper Etiquette for Surrender" by Jacques Chirac, French President.

9:15 PM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

9:20 PM Collection to benefit the Osama Bin Laden Kidney Transplant Fund.

9:30 PM Unveiling of the Plan to free Freedom Fighters from Guantanamo Bay by Sean Penn.

9:40 PM "Why I hate the Military" - A short talk by William Jefferson Clinton

9:45 PM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

9:50 PM Dan Rather accepts the "Truth in Broadcasting Award" presented by Michael Moore.

9:55 PM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

10:00 PM Speech - "How George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld brought down the World Trade Center Towers" by Howard Dean.

10:15 PM "How to cut the Military Budget by Educating the Troops so they won't have to be Deployed to Iraq." by John Kerry.

10:30 PM Hillary Rodham Clinton nominated for Party leadership by Mohammed Ahnadinejad.

11:00 PM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

11:05 PM Al Gore reinvents the Internet Demonstration.

11:15 PM Speech - "Our Troops are War Criminals" by John Kerry.

11:45 PM Coronation of Hillary Rodham Clinton

12:00 AM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

12:05 AM Bill asks Ted to drive Hillary home.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

R-E-L-I-E-F

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. As usual we ate too much, talked till we were hoarse and watched way too many football games. But --- It was so much fun. We had 13 eaters for Thanksgiving Dinner and not much was left over. The only thing missing was all the rest of my friends but that would have been tough to pull off. This year has been a good year and worth waiting for. Yes, there were things I wish would have been different but what I did experience was great.

Time for all the kids to supply their Christmas Wish Lists. Complicating the fact is keeping the cost less than a small fortune or bankrupting me. Make the idea of coal and switches does make sense.

Wild Mom: always on the go. She loves to eat out and shop. England will never be the same after her visit. Bubbles, her dog, loves the people and animals here at the house.

Lady: All those people to cook for placed her in her happy place. No one could help as she wanted to enjoy the moment.

#1: Doing fine in Colorado. He is finding out work there is just as not-fun as here. He still keeps hoping the Jaguars will win and accomplish something but like snow … it melts and dreams vanish.

#2: Nothing new. Up all night and sleeps all days. Boot Time? Could asking for job qualify for a Christmas gift?

Star: Celebrated the Holiday in Georgia. Sure wish she could have been here but one sad law of families .. You must share with the relatives. The van survived as expected. Now it is time to get serious about moving to their new place. I wonder if we will get the address and directions. We all know about the In-Laws. Love you girl.

Princess: She managed to spend some time with us this Holiday and that was nice. But we still can't find a restaurant she likes that we will go to. Nothing seems to be her favorite but greasy wings and hamburgers. Will we ever find something so we can have dinner with her? Life goes on.

Lew: Can start looking forward to a sibling.

Jen: A little down since the Seminoles LOST to the Gators. Oh well, she will get over it or become a Gator Fan. She is looking forward to the trip to London. The only question that remains is "which will give out first -- her wishes or her money?"

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Yawn!

Well, it is back in the saddle time. The SHORT vacation is over and all went well. The party was a success and everyone talked too much as well as eating too much. I got all the sonny-do's I could get too but as usual the list is longer than the time I have. The drive down and back was long but we made it without incident. We had planned to drive over the Great Smokey Mountains but a snow storm came just before us and closed the road. So we had to back track and come around the long way, oh well, maybe next year.

We should be here through the Holidays. Nothing is planned until the end of March -- Reno! Next cruise --- Nov 2007 --- Southern Mediterranean

Back to work tomorrow. This should prove to be interesting. I have heard nothing from Job 2 so I will assume all is done there and my life's journey takes me elsewhere. Who knows where Job 1 will take us.

Wild Mom: She is a pack-a-holic. Not often I see my Cadillac trunk packed full but on the trip home I did. The last time I closed the trunk it took 5 tries to get it to latch. But we made it home without the trunk popping open or dragging bottom. Though the dragging bottom part came close. She enjoyed the party but it also was a lot of work. Good thing it only comes around every 4 years. Next stop --- England --- this will be like a reverse invasion when the Redcoats came to America in the 1700's.

Lady: Glad to be home and in her own bed. She missed many things and looks forward to getting back into the routine.

#1: Doing well in the Mountains. He still roots for Jacksonville instead of a much better team -- Bronco's. But he is young and impetuous and will come to his sense one day.

Star: Getting ready to head south for the holidays. I hope the trip is safe ... especially since she will be driving my van. No, she means more than the van. Love you.

Princess: Out running around, saw her for a little bit but she is already back with her friends.

Utah scene: Might be a girl.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Would you ever believe ...


You are The Magician


Skill, wisdom, adaptation. Craft, cunning, depending on dignity.


Eleoquent and charismatic both verbally and in writing,
you are clever, witty, inventive and persuasive.


The Magician is the male power of creation, creation by willpower and desire. In that ancient sense, it is the ability to make things so just by speaking them aloud. Reflecting this is the fact that the Magician is represented by Mercury. He represents the gift of tongues, a smooth talker, a salesman. Also clever with the slight of hand and a medicine man - either a real doctor or someone trying to sell you snake oil.


What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Sun and Fun --- The wet way

Well, we made it to Wild Mom's. It rained on us almost the whole way down but it was uneventful. The car ran fine and made the ride really nice. Why did we wait so long to get this car? For those with inquiring minds: the second job. With the long drive it left me with plenty of time to think on things and get a clearer perspective on the events of the last week. We spent Tuesday night at our usual place -- Comfort Inn in Sevierville Tn. We have been there so many times it seems like home. Almost! Tomorrow starts all the running around.

Wild Mom: She can still cook or at least tell Jennifer how too. Not too many sonny-do's, so I might get an hour free sometime this week. The house looks nice and in a lot of ways the same.

Star: Her and hubby finally got his papers so he can pursue his dreams and get on with their life. Gee, I wonder if my van has been jacked and raised yet and then painted with flowers and such. Shoot, it might come back tattooed and pierced!

Utah Scene: baby due the end of January.

I see the Anglican Church is changing its position to allow babies with severe physical handicaps and premature to be terminated in order to protect the quality of life for the parents. Even if the physical ailments aren't that bad, if the parents will suffer extreme hardship then they can have the child terminated. Were are we going? Will the elderly be next? The Article if you wish to read it.

I know that I am on the backside of the mountain of life so this is an interesting question for me. Will care be withheld from me because I am old and feeble and the health dollars should be saved for the young and ones with a longer future? This will become a bigger question as the welfare recipients grow and the welfare dollars dry up. Who is to say that baby with all those problems may not have a tremendous impact on the world. Life is precious and should be given every conceivable chance to succeed. God created that child and who are we to say "God, you did a bad job and I will terminate that life."

Don't you love the second charge against Abramnoff? He is being charged with "attempting to corrupt a government official." Come on, Congressmen for one has no need of help in corrupting themselves. Look at how many are convicted, under investigation or under indictment. They, for the most part are as crooked as they can be, the only difference between them and the prisoners is that they haven't been caught yet. Stop prosecuting Abramnoff and start prosecuting the Congressmen and Senators.

That Lady General that is yelling for Rumsfeld to be prosecuted for War Crimes should be the first one charged. She said wants Rumsfeld charged but "she was the General in charge of the Prison." She is responsible for what went on in that place. She claims she didn't know. Then that is a confession of incompetence for as the general in charge she was obligated to know everything and because of her rank she had the responsibility and authority. So general, look at your pointing finger and know it points at you -- you failed to do your job.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Leaving -- On a Jet Plane

Well, less than 12 hours till we head for the sunny warm coast of Florida ... to work my buns off. Oh well, such is the life of an older son. The “kids” have elected not to go with us. A little disappointing as we really enjoy having them along and spending the time together, but they will be the one to miss all the fun. My cough is still hanging on. It is sticking to me better than a 4 week old pair of dirty shorts. This week was short but busy. We went to a Fall Festival at some friend’s house and it was a lot of fun. Lew found the bunnies a handful to hold but he did manage to kiss the goat's ear, though his efforts to pull the goat with his rope proved fruitless. As usual we snacked too much and returned home chilled and full. Bowling was a good this weekend going 4-0 and 5-2. The youth league has only 3 weeks left before the new season starts in January. Looks like we have chosen our cruise for next year ... an 11 day southern Mediterranean (Greece and south) in November 2007. Wonder if the stops include a skinny dipping beach?

Work scene: One down and only one left. A person will take only so much and then it is adios. Which one you ask? They will get the notice tomorrow.

Wild Mom: getting ready for the invasion on Saturday. It will be good to see her again. I can use these days to get her pumped up to go to England. Who knows, maybe #1 Brother will move home in self defense.

#1: As he says ... "I am not broke anymore." He got his first check. Rory is home from Iraq safe and sound.

#2: Hmmm, Still no job and running out of games to play.

Star: Her hair is back to a black and grey combo. We did get to see her and Soldier Boy this weekend. Married life does appeal to him. We had breakfast on Saturday and taught him the finer points of Chip Beef on Toast. Anyone need some size 0 jeans? :)

Princess: What can I say without getting into trouble? Had another sleep over with 5 young ladies. Shall we say the Yorkshire Firehouse now makes routine drive-bys just to check the house out. Oh, and another promise to clean the room. Nod-Nod-Nod. School grades are tolerable, Puppy demands are up, "I love you" is frequent, Work is constant, and we still love her. Not too bad. The new blip on the radar screen is some "cute fireman". Tighten the seat belts as the roller coaster just left the station. Guess I best get the baseball bat cleaned up for the first home visit by the "cute fireman." No pole climbing in this house.

JR: Still getting use to the routines at the Davis Carnival center. He had fun when the soda bottle and mentos came out at the fall festival. It is only natural for such an effervescent personality. Maybe we should call him Bubbles instead of JR?

Utah Scene: They like it so much in Mormonville that they will remain out there till next spring and then maybe move back home.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Still A Kickin

Sorry about not writing sooner but the flu has kicked me every which way but loose and is still trying to hit a few dark corners before he gives up. My energy is like a fizzling sparkler and my motivation is like a lead sled with a boat anchor dragging behind.

Work is still the same. At one site, the mail server and the domain server went down together. It picked the day when I was there by myself. These parts of the network were controlled by the 3rd party site but my new servers and site did not go down and wound up bailing them out but I created a whole lot of work for myself. It is fun watching some people go into panic mode and won't sit down for a moment and rationally think about what is the best way to recover. I could have made better time during the recovery if they would have just backed off and trusted me to do the right thing. I really wonder if it is worth all this.

The physical last week went well, at least a lot better than Bubba's. I won't get my final grade for it until the 28th so there is more to come at some point. Bowling this weekend went well but could have been better. Hanging in 2nd in one league and 3rd in the other. Tomorrow is voting day so I will have to figure out how to handle this so I can vote and still get downtown quickly and not loose too much time given the disaster today.

Wild Mom: Getting anxious for us to get down there on the 15th. I can imagine the sonny-do list size already. I wind up working harder on my vacation than I do at work. But for some wild unexplained reason it is worth it. Only Lady and I will be going down there as all the other kids have a million excuses why they can't. I am disappointed and too tired to fight over it, and to let it mess my time up, but I also know it is their loss, a major loss. With Dad gone now, I intend to cherish what few moments I do get to spend with Wild Mom. Why do we learn this lesson too late when those moments are lost forever?

Lady: Avoiding me so she won't get sick too. She is recovering from a weekend with Lew. There is no down time or rest time with him about.

#1: Doing fine in Snowland. The new job is coming along and by now he should be working on his own and taking control of the inventory. Now I just need him to get the cell phone costs under control.

#2: Same - Same. Though he did finally go to church (the reason he quit weeks ago). Good thing is Christie is back in control of him and will smack he a few good times and hopefully re-orient him.

Princess: She had a fun time this weekend on a run to "one of Prince William County's worst accidents" in a long time. No, sorry the water buffalo didn't jack-knife and had to be cooked down with napalm. This one was real and really bad. She was tired the rest of the weekend and slept a lot. So the puppy requests tapered off for a while. We are getting close to 2 months and no major scratches on her car. Oh, that gorgeous knock out of a Lady I saw at the wedding has gone only to be replaced but a blue clad work dungaree person (Fire House clothes). I knew it was too good to be true.

Brother #1: Any more eye tests on hold till the New Year. His next big test is when Wild Mom gets there and finds out he is goofing off and she gets on his case.

I am tired and it is almost dinner time. Hug someone today if you haven't and spend some time with them as if they really mean something. The moment will be gone in a breath.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Bubba Goes to Town.

While Bubba scratched his beard he silently wondered about his health. "Ya, know it has been a while since the Doc poked me. And Buckeye, my donkey has gotten really good care from Doc E." With that thought he threw a saddle on Buckeye and headed for the Doc's office. After a long climb up the mountain he finally made it there.

Sitting there in the Doctor's office, slowly related his family history. “Drink these two bottles of water for some tests later on.” The doctor wanted health history and what he got was the family history of the Do-Nuttin's. Barely surviving the story the Doctor showed Bubba the examination room with tears still in his eyes. "Take your clothes off and put that robe on with the opening to the back." Reluctantly Bubba slipped the bib overalls off followed by his boots. Halfway through Bubba scratched his head on the table edge, "Gee, maybe iffen the boots came off first it would be easier." Once that job was done he sat down on the table only to jump almost 2 feet high. Rubbing his naked butt from the cold table he fumed, “at least Bucky got hay to lie on.”

The Doc E showed up and proceeded to do a physical examination. The first problem came when the Doc used the “cute little hammer as Bubba called it” and promptly got one of bubba’s feet between the legs. “Whoa, Bubba exclaimed in a loud voice, Bucky can’t kick that good” as the doctor wallowed on the floor in pain. After what seemed an eternity, the Doc stood back up and asked Bubba to remove the robe and stand up. As usual Bubba got the sequence all wrong … removed the robe and then stood up … resulting in a headlong fall into the opposite wall as the robe cut him off at the knees. Bubba smiled as he stood up, knowing he would recover faster than the doctor though the hole in the wall would take a little longer to fix. As the doctor explained the exam of his testicles, Bubba backed up, “you aren’t one of them guys are you?” “No, by the way do they seem sore?” Bubba grinned, “Only iffen you squeeze them too hard!” The doctor proceeded following a loud pop from his orange rubber gloves and very carefully once he saw Bubba’s clenched fist hanging at his side.

After that was done, Doc asked Bubba to turn around and spread his legs as he leaned on the table. “Whoa, there!” “That is what I do to Bessie the cow to see iffen she has a calf! I know durn well I haven’t fooled around lately with any bull.” Doc smiled, “I know.” So then where are you going to stick that orange gloved hand with long fingers? Doc again smiled, where the sun don’t shine! Bubba thought a moment before he spoke. “Then you best get moving cuz the moon is on the other side of the world and that is not where I am at.” The doctor surprised him, “Don’t worry, it will pinch a bit and you will feel some pressure.” The pinch was there but Bubba responded … hey, you just pushed that durn finger into my eye.”

Next a nurse showed up to take some blood. “You like that purple hair on Halloween?” “No, I do this all the time. Purple is my favorite color.” All the while he tried to see if she had long teeth and was a vampire since she took 3 vials full.

With that done, the nurse, Miss NoGoodBody, showed up to take him to the lab. Put your pants on and then the robe and follow me. “Can I go to the bathroom, as he was dancing a bit?” “No, later!” Once dressed they headed for the sonogram room. As he followed her he noticed the names of the rooms, Mammo 1, Mammo 2, and Mammo 3. “Are you sure we aren’t in the wrong place because only Bessie has the teats on my farm?” She smiled, “Yes we are, all the other rooms are in use.” Bubba relaxed and entered the room. Bubba felt good since he had seen one of these machines on TV. “Are there commercials?” His question fell on deaf ears as word was already getting around about Bubba After lying down on the table, the nurse greased up the sonogram wand and about half of Bubba’s exposed body. “Lie still and take a big breath and hold it as she pushed the wand down to see his gall bladder.” Whoa, Nurse, you keep pushing down that hard down there and you will get mighty wet when the hose bursts!” She lightened up a bit but he still felt it and prayed she would go faster. The nurse slowly checked his gall bladder, kidneys, prostrate, lungs and heart. By now Bubba was wiggling his feet a lot, all the while wishing she would take the shortest road home instead of the scenic route. By the end of the exam he was definitely swollen and ached to go. After a quickie towel rub down to get the grease off, they headed for the lab to take a specimen which he so eagerly wanted to give.

Standing by the door, she gave him the instructions, “fill the bottles then you can vacate yourself completely. Call me when you are done.” Bubba walked in and just stood there. On the table was 50 little bottles, he counted them to be sure, “well, she said fill them.” He struggled a lot as he tried to fill those little bottles using something with the pressure of a 6” fire hose. Needless to say, some was spilled. About a half hour later the nurse knocked, “what in the Sam Hill are you doing, are you done yet?” Bubba nodded and told her to come in. She about fainted at the sight of 50 bottles. “I am sorry I ran out and had to spread it around for all the bottles to have the same amount. The nurse shook her head and asked him to follow her to the next room.

At this door she held three wooden sticks. “I need a stool sample placed in a small jar. One jar, she emphasized.” “Well that stool over there is a great sample of a milking stool and I don’t think I can use the Popsicle sticks to break it down to fit!” The nurse groaned. “Please, I need a sample of your #2” Bubba’s eyes lit up as now knew what he must do. For the next 15 minutes he sat there holding a small cup between his legs hoping when the time is right he could catch it. To his dismay, he had the runs and combined with the grease from a previous exam, he had no chance to catch it. “Gee, that little squirt was fast as lightening, maybe next time Bessie has a calf I can use some grease to help her get the calf out faster.” Using the Popsicle sticks he managed to scrape enough off his arms to fill a cup. Walking out the door, covered in crap holding 2 dirty Popsicle sticks and an overflowing cup with Bubba chewing on the third stick was more than the nurse could bear. She screamed and dared not look into the lab room to what disaster awaited her. After a quick shower even though the smell never really washes off, they proceeded to the next exam.

Next was the eye exam. The nurse explained what to do. “Read the smallest line you can see.” Bubba proudly beamed, “Lady Jockey 26” “what? She queried. Bubba quickly answered … “your underwear label, it was the smallest thing I saw!” She smiled … “No, the lines on that sight chart.” “Oh, and Bubba failed miserably with no letters read right. Can I do it my way?” The nurse nodded. Bubba quickly found a broom handle, stuck a tack into the end as a sight, backed down to the end of the hallway and sighted his makeshift gun and promptly read the smallest line. “Wow, 20/10” Bubba beamed, “gotta be a good squirrel hunter iffen I want to feed the family. Those critters are hard to get when they hide in the fork of a tree.”

With the last test done, Bubba went downstairs, gathered up Bucky and headed home to await his 6 month follow-up.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

OK, who spilled the beans!




Your Love Style is Agape



You are a caring, kind, and selfless partner.

Unsurprisingly, your love style is the most rare.

You are willing to sacrfice your world for your sweetie.

Except it doesn't really feel like sacrifice to you.

For you, nothing feels better than giving to the one you love.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Chug - Chug - Pop

Well, is it Summer yet? Maybe if the seasons jumped ahead it would be more fun. I wonder how someone with absolutely no concept of operating a computer would want one. The Radio America Network rebuild continues to get delayed by some really dumb service calls.

"My firefox doesn't work ... you need to reinstall it!" "Excuse me; you never had it installed according to the computer." Oh! that’s right. I was thinking of my home computer!"

"You have to find my XYZ folder in my email program for it has important files!" "I found it ... in your trash folder." "Gee, how did it get there? Did the Server crash and move the folder?"

"Where are you [8:00 am] .. Are you coming in?" "I sent you an email yesterday saying I would be out!" "Ok, but let me know when you are out!" 5 hours later .. "I found your email from Thursday .. It was hiding in my inbox."

"I am sending 50 pages to the printer .. and they won't print. I checked the printer and it was on." "Ok, try it now, I refilled the paper tray!"

"My monitor must be broke, so can I get a new one?" "What is wrong?" "It blanks out after about a minute and I have to slap the side of it to get it back on, must be a bad wire!" "Ok, reset your screen saver from 1 minute to 30 minutes."

So you can now get a brief taste of what my life goes through several hours a day. And actually, some of these same things occur at the other work site. The best is "My email is broke." from what I see it hasn't been checked since May. For some of these Einstein’s, a frontal lobotomy would be humane.

Wild Mom: Continues to get ready for the Family party. Lots of house cleaning and remodeling. Hope I recognize the place.

Lady: Continues to work and work. Lots of stuff to do. Soon she will start delegating things to the Kids and help them burn the calories off from all the junk food they eat.

#1: First day of work had 18" of snow. Gee, if he worked here that wouldn't have happened. Oh well, such are the adventures of life.

#2: The application got half filled out. Playing those games sure limit you time to live and advance yourself in the world. Perhaps he should get a job testing the new games. But that would be too much like work and the fun would be gone.

Star: Still recouping from the wedding. Working on "Thank You's" and getting all the paperwork straightened out. Married at home and a Manager at work in the same month ... go girl!

Princess: Things seem to settling into a pattern. School, School, School, School, School, Fire Dept., Work, Fire Dept. And add in the flurry of emotion as she explains it all inside of 5 minutes as she gets ready for bed. What will happen when Mr. Right shows up? The earth will rock as the human dynamo stops.

Brother #1: Health wise not good. Still a long way to go. The full extent will be known when Wild Mom gets over there.

Brother #2: I guess from the little birdie, things aren't perfect and many issues need to be resolved.

Sister: Hmmm, what can you say about someone so together and in control. :)

Utah Scene: No new news. Guess the snow storm downed the internet and phone lines.

Now I am too tired to comment on the rest of the world.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Crickets? What Crickets!

I thought I might scramble a few thoughts on this hump day. Not much has changed on the work scene. There is enough to keep me busy until the Redskins have a playoff bound team. The new backup data server is turning into a real pain trying to get a stable operating and file system on it. I am on my 6th install and each time it comes up differently. Oh well, what else did I have to do anyways.

Wild Mom: She is just planning away for the Family Christmas party in November. Looks like we will be able to even squeeze in one night at the farmer's Opry. I guess the next question is "who will pay for it?"

Lady: Slowly recovering from the wedding. But it will take a while because so much was let go during that time. But she is good at finding plenty of "honey-do's" to occupy my time.

#1: He finally landed a job in Colorado. So I guess everything is slowly coming together for him. Lady and I sure hope so for his sake.

#2: Still unemployed. There are a few BLANK job applications laying on the table, so I guess when the Blue Moon rises he will fill them out and perhaps gets hired before hell freezes over. Only time will tell.

Star: haven't heard much from her. I guess her new hubby is either testing the limits of her endurance or teaching her the art of finishing the course.

Princess: Don't get to see her much between my stuff and her school and EMT stuff. The main evidence she has been there is the pile of pudding cups. Yes, she has new new uniform and boots. She has been on two calls at the station and come back pumped up ... sure wish she was that excited about school.

Brother #1: No new information. But I know he is figuring out how to deal with Wild Mom when she gets there. There was something about a trip to Germany to visit some relative. At least it will be after Octoberfest and she shouldn't get into too much trouble.

Brother #2: Nothing new. Wild Mom is planning to spend a few days there when she passes through on the way to England.

Sister: Just helping Wild Mom pack to come up here. Gee, I wonder if there is an ulterior motive? Hmmmm!

The Utah Scene: All is quiet on the Mormon Front.

***** Side Thoughts *****

Yesterday on the local news, the weather man started off by telling us about our "deep freeze and how it would be over in a few days." Someone please refresh my memory but isn't a freezing temperature considered to be anything below 32 degrees? I looked at my car temperature guage and it said 52 degrees. Are they spoiled? What will happen when it really freezes?

Don't you just love them Redskins ... errr ... deadskins? The fans are blaming the Quarterback and the coach is saying it is his fault. The bottom line appears to be the whole team is a loser. That many over-priced prima-donnas just can't be a team in a team sport. I see this as very similar to the so-called super star olympic basketball team -- they can't play together. You can even throw in our World Cup team into this group and even add our illustrious Ryder Cup team. It seems we do great in places one person can dominate but when it comes to team play we find a way to lose badly.

Monday, October 23, 2006

A Father's Memories and Prayer

Today my little girl, well, grown daughter to be exact entered the next phase of her life. One where I step aside for a young man to become the focus of her attention. The four hour drive home gave me a lot of time to reflect on the days events and to remember my little girl's life with us. It was amazing how the on-coming headlights kept blurring up my vision and forcing me to rub my eyes.

I thought of that young lady who came to us with so many issues. No child should ever have that much turmoil in their life. A child should be smothered in love and protected not used as a pawn to soothe someone's bruised ego. Those first few weeks required us to empty all our love out to her. But amazingly we recovered quickly and were ready for the next day. Even then we saw a beautiful young lady .. the same one who was so stunning on her wedding day.

She came in like a mini tornado and it didn't take long for her to draw us in and draw all our love for her. Now, I wish we could have had her in our life sooner. For what we have experienced and felt could have been even better. She was in many ways like the energizer bunny. Everything seemed to accelerate and move at a faster pace with her around. Life with her was like a mystery novel, we never knew what would come next. Those hugs and little but constant "I love you's" changed the dynamics of our life. She perfected those little coy looks and protests of "please". Yes, she probably had me wrapped around her finger ... but who could resist her smile and pleading. I sure couldn't.

I remember that first prom. From the hair disaster just days before the prom to the young lady that walked into the living room that night looking so grown-upand lady-like. From her arrival in our life looking all tattered and hurt to the sophisticated lady waiting for her escort, I now realize that sight was just a precursor to what she would look like on October 20, 2006.

Many times I wondered if she would ever pick a winner for a boyfriend. In reality, they weren't that bad but they weren't what a father had in mind for his little girl. She deserved only the best and that quality was hard to see in some of them. But she chose the best one when it counted --- Keith. I have been impressed since I first met him. But you know, she chose him and showed me my little girl had heard a little bit of what I had said as she grew up.

The trials and tribulations of school really tried the bonds between us. It was easy to tell us what we wanted to hear but the reality of the words never matured. But even though we seldom saw eye to eye, she got a raw deal when the school quit on her and her dream of a Diploma vanished when they asked her to leave. I believe you should never give up on a child, love them and support them and you will be rewarded. I hold my daughter up that way … love her and support her and she became a beautiful bride. But this spring when she crossed the stage and received her diploma I was proud as I could be. All those words I had spoken to what I thought was a wall at that time really had taken hold and she did it on her own. My little girl was becoming a woman with a dream.

I think of the many hair colors, the black, blue, purple, green, red and those colors that were mutations of the others when the dyes didn't go right. I laugh now at the thought that every time she dyed her hair we had to repaint the bath room. Those black/blue/red/green polka dots really gave it character. But they were her attempts to define herself. This weekend her hair was beautiful and not a hint of those dyes. My little girl had finally defined who she was and I was so proud.

In her other attempt to define herself, we struggled with her tattoos and many piercings as it was so different for us but she respected our feelings and really tried to tone it down when she was around us.

My little girl is now a grown lady and someone I am proud to call my daughter. I will miss the times she needed me to be her shining Knight for now I must step aside for her new hero. My job is now complete and I am proud of the results. I had the perfect canvas to work with, a beautiful, smart and energetic woman and I thank God he entrusted me with the task and the responsibility for his most precious creation. I wish I could have had more time but I will cherish every moment I did have. I know she is still here and I will be a part of her life forever but life has changed as it is God’s will and I take on my new role as mentor and future Grandfather.

Jessi – I love you and pray for your happiness and success and wouldn’t trade these memories for all the wealth in the world.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Wedding Bells

Thursday was a long day with the drive down there followed by the last of the decorating, the reherasal and the dinner afterwards. I am glad this isn't an every day affair for I would be drained both physically and emotionally. The bed that night was most welcome to my aching bones.

The wedding on Friday was everything we hoped for ... it was beautiful yet tiring with so many things to do. From my point of view everything went as planned. The bride was stunning. There wasn't anything else that could have been done to improve how she looked.

Saturday was equally busy as we started the day getting Matthew back to the airport for his flight home. Then it was off to the Maryland Rennaisance Faire. Once again the weather was great and the events at the faire were great. We laughed, were amazed and saw many new sights. Some were worth seeing and others we could have done without. The down side was the 75 minutes it took to get out of the parking lot ... anyone say I-66 at rush hour?

Wild Mom - she is back from her camping expedition. She had a great time and managed to leave the countryside in one piece. Now it is time to plan the Family Christmas party and her trip to England.

Lady - she is exhausted and emotionally drained after the last 6 days. She was gorgeous and radiant throughout the wedding and managed to keep the tears under control. One of her highlights was dancing with her two sons, of course I sneaked a couple of dances in for myself.

#1 - back in Denver and hopefully the job interview went well on Saturday afternoon. He was his usual self so the Denver air hadn't had an effect on him yet.

#2 - Pitched in this weekend and made a difference.

Star - what can I say. She was absolutely beautiful.

Princess - Beautiful and eclipsed only by the bride. That old saying "she cleans up pretty good" would be a massive understatement. They way she looked was nothing short of "heartbreaker" and those young bucks at the wedding were mesmerized. I kept my eye on her during the dances and reminded the young bucks to keep the distance during the dance. I guess I should be happy she has no desire to dress up every day or I would be an exhausted old man with absolutely no hair trying to keep her safe from the millions of young bucks that would come to the house. I guess the grungy look has some advantages. :)

Brother #1 - the word is his eyesight is in jeopardy and may not get any better. His kidney's are still a source of worry to. The jury is still out on his job and his recovery is far from being finished.

Brother #2 - he is ok and I presume to take it that his family is ok also.

Sister - just getting ready for the next cruise -- anyone say "addicted?"

Utah Scene - no updates.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Cut the Drama for once!

Well, another week comes to a close and as usual it didn't lack for excitement. I never seemed to get caught up at work as all the brush fires kept me away from putting out the main fire. With nearly 10 1/2 months of the year gone it is time to start thinking about taxes. Where did this year go? How can I slow them down because I don't have that many left to just let slip away. Oh well, just make the best of it and grab what I can. ... slap! ... oops.

17-20 Oct - Wedding Bells in South Boston Va.
21 Oct - Ren Faire
14-20 Oct - Family Christmas Party in Florida
?? Nov - Act 2 of the Drama "Life at the Davis Compound" staring Billy Joe Jim Bob Davis

Wild Mom - away at camp so the Telephone Company is going through lay-offs resulting from the loss of capital. There was a report of some mysterious human form terrorizing the woods of Northwest Florida but Wild Mom denies any knowledge. That was after I reminded her to scrape the mud from her shoes and remove the twigs from her hair as not to get the inside of her tent dirty.

Lady - busy as usual but getting tired of the 40 hour weeks. She leaves Tuesday to go down and help Jessi get the final things ready for the wedding ... gee, 1 week to go.

#1 - No words from the land of snow and bunnies. Either he has found work and is too busy or he has run out of money and can't find a free long distance phone.

#2 - Unemployed once again. Enough said.

Lew - such a gang-buster. He loves the rocking horse and we love the fact the sound box on it died!

Star - Busy, nervous, busy, nervous as she gets ready for the big day. Gee, eloping sure looks better all the time. Finding rooms for the guests are complicated by the NASCAR race nearby this weekend. Why can't they postpone the race for a week and make our life easier? What is more important -- a wedding or those midfield antics where a race springs up?

Princess - Not much to say since she is usually in bed shortly after I get home. School comes early. By the time I get home and eat my microwave hot dinner she is snoring away in tune with the stereo. Have you ever heard anyone snore in time with rap?

#1 Brother - No updates because he is getting ready for Wild Mom to invade England and also she is away camping.

#2 Brother - Need to call him and find out how his world is spinning ... Wild Mom's directions .. and who argues with the BigFoot of NW Florida.

Sister - Not a clue ...

Utah scene - No words from Mormonville but we will hopefully see them in November when they return home from their trek across America.

********** SOAP BOX **********

Let me see, the Democrats want to know when and how much the Republicans knew of the Perverts actions and then to run them out of Congress. That is such a close knit group I would ask when and how much did the Democrats know and elect not to say anything about until it was a political advantage too? Do the pages only talk to the Republicans? No Democratic page knew of what was happening and decided not to say anything? I am sure if you look hard enough you will fine Mr. Pervert had democratic friends even though now they are hiding back in their closets.

I keep hearing how the majority party hasn't done its job so we should vote them out. Well, there are two parties in Congress and no one has done anything about Medicare, Social Security, the Budget, Giving a definition to "Marriage", or the Immigration Issue from South of the Border. So fire the whole lot of these Congress persons, both Republican and Democrat for not doing their job. We all know after the Iraqi war is finished they will appoint a hundred or so Investigative Committees to point the finger ... so let's join forces now, get the job done, and then play the blame game when American Troop's lives aren't on the line. But then again, these Congress persons are safe in their padded offices with their pages at their beck and call and besides there are more important things like ... Photo Ops and investigating drug usage in Baseball.

I heard one person ask what could be done to make schools safe again like it was for our parents. Well, for starters:

1. Allow corporal punishment and put the teachers back in charge of their classes. Make school a place of learning not a day care center for babysitting.
2. Put prayer back in school.
3. Teach them the 10 Commandments and how that affects the Laws of the land.
4. Teach them Citizenship and how to be a good neighbor instead of website design and Homosexual History.
5. Teach them Responsibility for their actions and hold them accountable instead of coping out and blaming so called abusive authority figures and the "Environment I grew up in made me do it". Quit letting excuses be the plea for avoiding personal responsibility.
6. Make a Human life worth something by stopping the killing of innocent unborn children. When someone takes a life ... refer back to #3.
7. Get rid of Liberal Judges that think they know more than what the voters want. If we vote for a law .. then don't change it. This is America and the place where the majority rules ... right ... or did I get kidnapped and hauled away to some island in never-never land. 1 hand-picked judge (buddy of an elected person) should not be allowed to throw out what 100,000 people wanted and legally voted for.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

The Weekend is Over?

Sniff ... the weekend is over and I am not ready for it to end. While it was fun this weekend, I wish it had been quieter and more of a laid back time. I am leaning strongly to make a few serious changes around the first of the year. I would like to have my personal time back and quit this run ... run ... run thing. Bowling was a positive experience this weekend with the Youth team going 4-0 this afternoon and the Sunday Night league went 7-0. Saturday we got the HD stuff setup on the new TV and the ball games sure look nice.

Wild Mom - getting ready for her Camp time and planning her trip to England. Health wise she is still getting that all straightened out. Looks like we will be down there in November and she will come back with us and then leave for England from here.

Lady - went to South Boston to see Jessi and pick up Princess's bridesmaid dress. Though it was a long trip she did have fun. Working 40 hours for her is wearing very thin and not much fun. Maybe we will just pull the plug and retire.

#1 - settling in to life in Colorado Springs. Hopefully he will find a job soon and get his life on track.

#2 - also tiring a bit of the working hours ... welcome to the world ... you only have about 45 more years to go until you retire.

Princess - The source of the wildness this weekend. Five 16-17 year olds had a sleep over on Friday night. Life will never be the same for me ... I can still hear the giggles and squeals in my ears. They were a lot of fun to listen to as they chatted. Sometimes I really had to bite my lip to keep from laughing but it was informative as to their logic and impressions of life.

Lew - Three years old now. Chucky Cheese was the party scene. Of course, the presents keep rolling in with the new hobby horse being the biggest. Oh, and plenty of puzzles to solve. He and I walked around the mall Saturday afternoon and that was an adventure. We couldn't pass a merry-go-round without at least a couple of rides. Add some food and we had an adventure.

Brother #1 - Kidney problems and the full extent of the problems are still being evaluated by the doctor. Any trip to visit Wild Mom will have to wait until 2007.

Brother #2 - No news is good news I guess.

Utah Scene - well, they are heading back to Florida to live. I guess life in mormonville just didn't pan out. Probably not enough Ren faires .. since those would be considered demonic. The journey continues ...

Monday, October 02, 2006

Chomp - Chomp

Well, this past weekend was quiet and relaxing and well worth the wait. The cabin was nice and the fireplaces and the hot tub added a great touch to make it seem cozy and warm. We did exactly what we wanted .. nothing. No TV, news, computers or traffic, all we did was relax, talk, read, and soak in the hot tub even while it rained, rode through the mountains and forests and generally forgot about the world. The dinner Saturday night at the Inn was great and something we will do again. I managed this weekend to read "The Copper Scroll" by Joel Rosenberg. It was good and makes me think of the end time and what could happen. For the most part everyone managed to do just what they wanted.

Though the weekend will generate memories, the start of the week brings frustration and the start of a "screw it attitude." Trying to be highly motivated is getting harder and harder when the ones that are supposed to know better keep getting air bubbles in their brains. Even when you work hard and help them they very quickly forget you were even there until reminded at some later time. I guess I should just start saying "no" more often. Perhaps implement a ratio of 35 No's for every Yes. January 1st looks better and better if I can put up with it that long.

Lady - all relaxed and ready for the job wars again.

Wild Mom - nothing new to report or at least nothing has been reported to the police to get back to me.

#1 - arrived in Colorado on Sunday night. The trip was uneventful just long. To bad the Jaguars lost to the Deadskins. Maybe should become a Bronco, Rockies and Nuggets fan.

#2 - Still working. Just needs to understand you can spend a dollar only once then you must get another one. Debit cards will mess you up when it comes to tracking those elusive bucks.

Star - not a good Sunday for her but we gave her a lot of virtual hugs and will make them real in a couple of weeks when she gets married. Hmmm, will that make her an old married lady? Hmmm.

Princess - the tattoo wars start again ... now it is 3 shooting stars streaking across some unmentionable place where only her and her maker should see. That is if she wears clothes that cover more than 20% of her body. School is proceeding in a satisfactory manner or at least we haven't got a phone call from the front office. Now I just need to get her to Ft. Belvoir to get some paper work down. I would have expected more of a push from her to do it since it means ... getting out of school.

Lew - he is fixing to be 3 years old ... can you imagine?

#1 Brother, #2 Brother, #1 Sister and the Utah Scene will be updated later when I hear of anything.

##########

Thank God the Baseball season is over with. No more Juicer Bonds to hear about. Though "Arrested" would be a good word.

The Nationals finished last despite Frank Robinson's best effort to motivate them. Now the owner will work his magic and set up the team for another year at the bottom. You would think a man so smart to make that much money wouldn't be so clueless in everything Baseball or be a better pick of people to help him. Thanks Frank Robinson ... you are a class act.

Gee, another Congressman who is corrupt or sexually depraved. For a group of men who are supposed to represent the best we have ... they sure find ways to be more evil than the convicts in the Federal prisons. Could we say going to prison is a step up the promotion ladder for a Congressman? Maybe Teddy (The Dunker) Kennedy can give lessons on how to get caught and get away with the crime and still appear honorable. For a group of "leaders" that can't do their job ... no budget, no social security reform, no Medicare reform, a war with no real direction, no legislation on same sex marriages, no guidance on abortion ... these people sure make up for it in graft, crime, bribery, alcohol, sex, and immorality. They will fight over the littlest attempt to change our path back to where it should be. I agree that it is time to clean house and try to reverse this downhill slide in morals and integrity. Let this be the year of "No Incumbents."

Monday, September 25, 2006

Hmmm

Well, another week starts and the wedding gets ever closer. So I will sit here with one eye on the ball game and jot down a few thoughts. On the work scene, the new job closed on a new location and it looks like April 1st is the move in date. Go figure, it conflicts with my National Bowling trip. But they all ready know which one gets the priority. Train Ride to Reno anyone? The old job is proceeding great though little headaches crop up on a regular basis. This weekend is our planned retreat to a mountain cabin where we went last year for a great time with friends. Hmmmm. Weekend bowling went ok .. it could have been better but we did have some fun.

Lady - shopping trip success as she purchased a dress and 2 pant suits. Let the modeling begin. Like me, she is looking forward to this coming weekend.

Wild Mom - doing fine. She is waiting for the test results and follow-up discussions with the doctors.

#1 - looks like this weekend is moving day as he heads for Colorado. Lots to do to get ready.

#2 - haven't seen a lot of him as he works and spends time with his friends. Wonder when the "I want to drive" questions will start?

Star - she was up here this past weekend as a good friend died in an automobile accident here last Sunday night. She also had to deal with her grandmother in Arizona passing away on the same day. So we tried to smother her with love and I drove her home on Saturday. I had to get back for El Agave! :) Of course she returned with more wedding goodies ... gee less than a month to go. But it was nice to have her here a few days. BTW - I got everything for my uniform so I can do what she wants for the wedding.

Princess - where do I start? Let me see, she ate, slept, and worked. Add some friends, a box of pudding cups, a 24 pack of soda and she is in heaven. Oh, the court papers with signatures finally showed up and made it legal. Now she can't escape .. She is stuck with us forever. Almost a month now and the car is still in one piece.

Brother #1 - add on kidney problems to the list.

Brother #2 - No words as he get another year older.

Utah Scene - must be ok as no news is good news.

############################################

How sad ... there is a Crescent Badge that Muslims can wear on the Air Force uniform. When will I get to wear a United Methodist badge on my uniform? The more I see the more I believe that our greatest enemy isn't in front of us ... the enemy is inside. The bleeding hearts will give everything we have away ... with no fight. They have fought to keep religion out of everything but now they let our enemies advertise and flaunt their religion in front of us. What is next? We all wear Middle Eastern head gear as a sign of support and surrender? We have suspended the immigration laws because we don't have the will to uphold and enforce the laws ... so now let our uniform make a religious statement. Shame on the Military leaders that allowed this.

I am glad the Baseball season has nearly come to the end. I have managed to not watch any games while Juicer Bonds continues to break honestly set records by great athletes.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Scooby Doo

Well, another week has passed and the end of the week was great. We spent all day Saturday with Jessi just chillin out. We were able to watch her pose for her bridal portraits. Two things came to mind as we watched her. First, how PREPPIE she looked. That is quite a change from the old Jessi we know. She was beautiful with only a small distraction of the sports socks with her wedding shoes. Secondly, we were amazed how well she listened and followed directions. I find that a novel concept from her. Really, spending my birthday with her was special and a day I won't forget for a long time, if ever at all.
We also saw her graduation pictures and gee, am I the handsome one? She did take some pictures while we were down there, so maybe I can get a copy and put them up here. That is the good ones I approve of!

Schedule:
Cheat River getaway (Sept 30)
Jessi's Wedding (Oct 20)
Ren Faire (Oct ??)
Family Christmas party in Florida (Nov 16)
Time to plan a cruise (Soon)

Lady - Bought her a sparkly dress so she could slink along the aisle and sparkle as she wiggles. Gee, the image of a bull in a china shop comes to mind ... it is like waving a red flag in front of my eyes.

Wild Mom - she is back to driving herself and the tests continue. Hopefully they will find out what is wrong with her. My bet is on old age and early onset geezerhooditis. :)

#1 - Still in the holding pattern for the exodus to Colorado. If they wait long enough they can do it in the snow.

#2 - not much to say excepts he works and clean the food out of the fridge by eating everything not marked or sealed up with a lock.

Star - Love you and thanks for a great day. Can we do it again?

Princess - School, Homework, Study. Hopefully this week they will finalize the guardianship since the Judge forgot to do it on the 1st of August. Gee, you know that leaves me a few days to change my mind!! Hmmmm. No, I am willing to stick it out for a long time. Though she needs to practice her wrestling style. She has won as many bedtime wrestling matches as the Redskins have won football games. For the un-informed -- 0-2-0. Gee, add in preseason and it grows to 0-6-0!! Oh, back to Princess. I need to teach her how to guard the front door so those wild and vicious kittens don't run into the house. I should point out that the baseball l bat beside the door makes a good kitten stopper except for the thud sound. Perhaps I should change her name from Princess to Puddin ... she eats that stuff by the case, particularly the chocolate variety.

Lew - he is almost 3 and parroting everything he hears. We haven't seen him a lot as our schedule has been so crazy.

Brother #1 - Nothing new.

Brother #2 - Still waiting for a return call.

Sister #1 - Is she home yet? Perhaps her getaway was so good they never came back.

Utah scene - maybe they have converted and away on mission!!

Monday, September 11, 2006

Whoosh!

Let me see. It is a new week and I don't see much change. First I was asked how the network rebuild was coming along. I replied, “Slow since I have to deal with all these printer issues. I was then told to prioritize and get the network done while the printers limped along in second place especially since they had been messing up for 2 years. Ten minutes later, I hear an anguish cry from the end of the hall about how I MUST get the printers fixed since he couldn’t print something he wanted.

We are now back into full swing on the bowling scene. The youth league is a short one ... 13 weeks ... but should be a lot of fun. I am a little disappointed in the turn out for it but all I can do is make it that much more fun for those that did turn out. It looks like every team has at least one good bowler and we don't have any three adult/1 child teams. Sunday night is going true to form, we sink to the bottom and then about mid-November we start our climb back into contention. Don't know why this happens but it has for most of the last 14 years of bowling on that league.

Wild Mom - she has tests this week on Tuesday and Thursday. I hope they get the electrodes hooked up right or she might look like the Bride of Frankenstein after they zap her. She is having a fence put up to keep that canine killer called Bubbles from terrorizing all the poor kittens nesting under her shed.

Lady - fighting off a sore back. I think a new BBQ grill and bathroom would make her feel better. She is starting to plan and scheme over our retreat to Cheat River on the 29th of September.

#1 - Getting close though the exact date is unknown. It was nice to see that he admires me so much he cut all his hair off to be just like me. :)

#2 - Gee, work doesn't seem as much even fun though payday is. I enjoy reminding him he has 40-50 more years to go. The next major milestone is getting his learners permit to be closely followed with a license.

Star - Will I get lucky and see her this weekend? Sure hope so. I wonder how many stares she would get if I walked behind her jingling my pocket change to make people think her piercing were making the noise. Of course I would be very discreet and not let anyone know I did it!

Princess - The drama play was interesting but the ending lacked something. The funny thing about a carnival is that I don't like roller coaster rides. So don't try and pull me into a waiting car. The first week of school is done and I believe all went well the first few days. The weekend job continues (for reasons I don't completely understand) but it is her choice so I have to accept it or risk the fury of Lady. Saturday had some crisis concerning hair color and after a phone call and an appointment on Sunday afternoon she is now a blonde again. Gee, I like having very short hair, there is a lot to be said for wash and wear.

#1 Brother - still recovering but no real update.

#2 Bother - School, work and a baby. Not sure what he does with all his free time.

Sister - on a trip somewhere having fun.

Utah scene - all is happy in LDS land.


No comment on the Curly W’s or the Deadskins …. 

I have a chance to go see the orioles and twins play … could it be worthwhile?

Thursday, September 07, 2006

10, 9, 8, ... Blast Off

Well, it has been a few days since my last entry. If this week keeps going like it has then my working days will come to an end very quickly. It isn’t worth the frustration and crap and they surely don’t pay me enough to deal with it. Today has been nothing but printer and mail problems and most of then have been “operator error”. Before complaining to me ... make sure the blinkin thing is turned on, or push the “send/receive” button to get your mail. If there is a problem and I am sitting at my desk, don’t call someone else at home about the problem. Get your hind end up, walk to my office, call me on my cell, or just call me on the office phone. Jeesh. There have been a few moments when I was this close --> <-- to pulling the plug and heading for the pasture. After almost a year, you would expect a few people would know when my work shift is? I love the phone call that starts with, “Hi, are you coming to work today?” This was at 8:30 am and my shift doesn’t start till 1:00 pm. Or the “The printer has been broke all day, I send it a job this morning and I MUST get the job printed soon.” Forget the fact you send an 11x14 document to the 8x10 tray and the printer was paused waiting for you to put the right paper in.

Then there are those that try and fix a computer and they don’t have the foggiest clue what they are doing. Such as “does it matter whether the hard drive or the floppy drive is the master?” “Where do I plug the cable to in order to make the hard drive the master?” “What jumpers (master/slave), you move the cable, I know that much.” “Do you have a new cable, this one is bad … one wire is discolored (the red edge signifying pin 1) and will probably short the drive out.” My fun meter has been dropping quicker than the fuel needle in a 69 Mach 1 Mustang with the gas pedal on the floor board.

Well, so much for my typical day this week at work. Even at home it continues and with half grown adult kids you would think the simplest thing could get done. Such as turn out the lights and lock the door when you go to bed. Even after I turn them off they come back on and no one did it. Poltergeist? I wake up for who knows what reason and every light is on in the kitchen, living room, hallway and the outside floods. Maybe I live in a prison compound and we need the lights to control the inmates! I surely can see it in the electric bill and the electric company employees love it at bonus time. Forget the trash being emptied every night … let’s feed the ants a midnight snack, for they have plenty of light to see what they are doing.

Maybe one day I can afford a motorized garbage can … because this manual one I have never makes it to the curb for pickup. The kitchen table is a bonanza for the sorting freaks of the world. The mail gets placed there, it is read and then put back into the pile, then add the next days and it starts over. I must sort it into piles 4 times a week only to see it all mixed up again. It must be either too heavy, junk, or too much of a mental challenge to put it away. Then they have the stomach to complain about it getting wet when the cat knocks over the half empty glass of whatever. It also amazes me how we can have 6 cases of canned soda, 2 pictures of tea and I go get a drink and there is NO Tea. My how every one disclaims drinking it as evidenced by the number of empty cans that were unable to be put into the recycle bin for the non-existent trip to the curb. I must be blinded by the light and didn’t see them, who knows.

The list goes on but I will remain civil, keep this PG and not really say what is wrong! Besides, I need to get busy and work to pay the electric bill.

Lady – getting tired also but she is smiling as she has a new futon and is eyeing a new grill now. Is this the start of the puppy, hamster, and car cycle in its new form?

Wild Mom – initial word on the MRI isn’t encouraging but it is best to wait until the doctor reviews it and decides what is next. She sold a purse from her web site, the sad part is someone lost their Christmas gift from her now that it has sold.

#1 – leaves in about 2 weeks. Retraction from last post … he doesn’t sit around playing games all the time as I stated. Just 4-6 hours a day or when ever I see him … which ever comes first.

#2 – still working and gone the rest of the time.

Star – miss you and hope to see you soon.

Princess – School is priority 1.

No updates from Brother #1, Brother #2, Sister #1 or the Utah Scene.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Oliver T. Shagnasty

This has been an interesting week. Quite exciting for the work but quite tiring on the old body. Job #2 is a lot of fun with some of the management decisions made at Job #1 really suck in my opinion. But then again I don’t have the power to change them so I just have to grin and bear it. But believe me; their armor is a bit more tarnished. Lady and Princess went to Lynchburg to shop with Star. Sure wish I could have gone and saw my #1 daughter but someone had to work to pay for that shopping trip.

Lady - Busy, Busy, Busy. Got her dress for Star's wedding but still needs shoes. We both are looking forward to our little excursion to Cheat River the end of this month.

Wild Mom - She is whacking all those poor pine trees down as a precaution before they fall on the house during the next big storm. She goes to the doctor next week for a series of tests. She could just pay me the dollars and I would tell her what is wrong with her. :) !!!

#1 - still waiting. Now that his friend's mom is doing better they might make some plans. I wish I could sit there all day and play video games but then again ... that would be pretty boring.

#2 - Still working and getting use to the routine. Eat, sleep, goof off and then work.

Star - Miss you young lady, I wanted to go but had to stay behind. You continue to make us proud and only want the absolute best for you. Besides, I need to get to the base and get my uniform ordered and all the stuff put on it. How special are you? I will wait and tell you in person ... words won't convey how much.

Princess - Seeing how she likes tattoos’ perhaps I can help her out and accomplish something at the same time. I will have them tattoo "School is #1 Priority" on the inside of her eye lids so she can be reminded all night long. We could tattoo "Be a kid, stop working" on her forehead so she could read it as she puts her makeup on as she prepares for work. You lose the ability to effectively whine and complain if you put aside or nit picks any suggestions. Do we love her? Absolutely. Do we agree on some of her choices? Nope. Only a few days until school starts!!! :)

Lew - Growing though we haven't seen him a lot lately. We really have to watch what we saw because he is going through a phase of saying anything he hears, no matter how appropriate it is for the moment or location.

#1 Brother - not much to report. Rehab, discussions with his employer about the future, and life in general.

#2 Brother - leave it at "No Comment."

Utah Scene - No reports, so we assume the best and hope for the best.

Looks Like A Match

You Are 37% Impulsive

You're a pretty stable and serious person. You don't take things lightly.
This doesn't mean you can't have fun - you just have fun responsibly.
You definitely have a spontaneous side, but you only let loose when it's appropriate.