The weekend.

Took dad to get his hair cut Friday afternoon. Got him down to Peggy's place in Salado by 4:45. She treated him like a king and did a really great job on the both of us. Then she turned around and didn't charge dad for the cut. Said not to tell him. Our little secret. Next time we go I'll try to remember to take the camera in there and get a few good shots. I guess I was too concerned with getting him there on time and getting him past all the curbs, stairs and stuff, his legs not being in great shape these days. We made an appointment to come back in 6 weeks.

After that we went over to Dynasty and had the same big feed we always have. It wasn't as crowded Friday night but the food was just as good. After Spending a while there at the house with Mom, talking some stuff out with her, getting a dose of her wisdom, I went off to meet up with Denise and a few of her friends at their house out by Stillhouse Hollow. That was a fun time too.

Saturday, Denise and I woke up slowly, as is our habit on the weekend. We were set to go to a St. Paddy's... Oops, I mean St. Patty's Day Party at the home of a friend of ours. We cooked some good snacks to take over. Denise did her normal pizza roll and I experimented with the dough to see about making a large version of my Kolache that I could then cut into slices. It worked perfectly.

Again, sorry, no pictures, but here's what I did. I took a frozen loaf of bread dough out of the freezer and let it thaw over night. Rolled it out flat like a square pizza dough and covered it with honey mustard. Then sprinkled on an 8 oz. bag of shredded swiss cheese. I sliced up and spread on the same kind of sandwich ham that I use in the kolaches and then sprinkled on garlic salt, pepper, and a few other spices. It's like you're makin' a pizza. Then I rolled the whole thing up into a fat tube and pinched off the ends to seal it. Finally I stabbed it about 8 or 10 times so the steam will rise out of it, and then spread on a mixture of butter, garlic, pepper and oregano, and put it in the oven at 375 for about 35 to 40 minutes. It normally would have been 30 but both pizza rolls were in the oven at the same time.

While it was baking I got a frantic call from mom. I dread those calls, never knowing if it might be THE call. Turns out dad was stuck out on the swing in the back yard, unable to get himself out of it. His legs have been weaker than usual the last few days, and mom can't lift him, so she asked if I was free. Normally she has to call 911 and the local fire department comes and picks him up off the floor, or whatever. Mom hates doin' that though, as you might imagine. I told her not to worry, that I'd be right over. 20 to 25 minutes later I was hoisting dad up out of the swing and tellin' mom it was no big deal, to call whenever she needed me.

By the time I got home again Denise had taken our pizza rolls out of the oven and cut them up. We gathered all our contraband together and headed for the party. It was a great time. Denise made a big bowl of her Southern Comfort Punch. Both it and our food hit it off well at the gathering. It was a two cigar night out there on the porch by the pool, sippin' punch and listenin' to hilarious stories about the old days in Killeen, as well as one guys tales about flyin' helicopters in Vietnam. You know I loved listenin' to all that.

Sunday was another slow wake-up. Didn't roll out of the sack till about 3PM. I was determined to take a few shots at the archery range that's set up where Dad and I hit golf balls, but the wind was blowin' too much and the targets kept blowin down, so I decided to wait for another day. Denise and I went over to Las Casas Mexican food Restaurant and sat down in their screened-in porch area for dinner. Denise had their famous "White Wings" and I had a huge friggin' burrito. After my two Sierra Nevada's and her one big, top shelf strawberry margarita, plus the food of course, we headed over to see the folks.

We chatted with mom and sipped a few glasses of Chateaus Monet while I checked the paper for movie times. At one point Dad hobbled in to join us and sat down in a chair there in the living room. He eventually got around, as he usually does, to talking about how old he is. I always have to remind him it's really 85 years, and not more. He always wants to say 89 or 90. I said something humorous about how he'd been a pain in my ass for at least 40 some odd years and he flashed a look of acknowledgment in my direction. I could tell he was thinking it was mutual.

I got up from the couch and slowly walked over toward him, looking at him. As I leaned down in front of him he said "Now, be careful." He started to squirm. I told him "I'm gonna kiss ya", and he smiled and said "Oh, OK." I looked over at Denise after all that and saw that tears were welling up in her eyes. It wasn't long before dad had gotten up to use the restroom and mom had gone to the kitchen, leaving Denise and I alone in the living room so I could briefly, silently cry without ether of them seeing it. You know, it tears me up to see my father this way, but that's life.

After that visit Denise and I went to see The Bank Job at the local mall. EXCELLENT FLICK! I can't say enough about it. You all need to go see it if you have the chance. Wonderful movie. Here's the trailer.



Take my word, you'll love it.

Started reading The Road last night as Denise slept. It's written by the same guy who wrote No Country For Old Men, and it's also soon to be a movie, set to be released in 2008, with Charlize Theron, Viggo Mortensen and Robert Duvall. Love this guys work. I think I've read everything he's written. Check him out.

Well, Denise is off to work this morning, but I've got the week off. It's Spring Break, so I'm chillin', waitin' on a buddy to come by at about 10AM. We're off to Peacock Archery in Belton. I'm gonna get all my beat up old arrows refletched and renocked and show my buddy this outdoor range I found. It's rainin' so we may just shoot at Peacock. Anyway, it's casual. No worries.

You guys have a relaxing week, and we'll chat again. Cheers.

Where all little Leprechauns go to die...

You know, the pot at the end of the... You get it. Have a great St. Patties day everyone! We'll be going to a party Saturday night with the same crew from work and town that we usually get together with. There'll be booze and finger snacks all around. It should be fun.

For the other side of your brain, here's a little interesting history to munch on while you enjoy a brew or two over the weekend. Not that many Americans know about the San Patricios.

It's Friday again, so you know where I'll be tonight. I'll head over to get dad early today because we're both gonna go get our hair cut by my cousin Peggy in Salado. It should be a fun time, givin' dad a chance to tell stories and see his niece. Maybe her husband will show up, knowin' dad's gonna be there. I should be able to get some fun shots to post for Monday.

Then we'll head over to the Chinese place for another big feed. Then it's over to see mom for a while. You know, same old Friday. Maybe she'll bust out the Chateaus Monet for me, but usually that gets saved for times when I bring the little woman. We'll see.

Then I'll give Denise a call. She's going out to eat tonight with some old friends who live out by Stillhouse Hollow Lake, between here and Belton. I'll call her when I get away from the old folks and she'll give me directions to get to their house. I'll bring a bottle of nice wine, and we'll have some fun.

So, you guys have a great time, and we'll get back together on the other side of things. Cheers.

Holy shit, it actually snowed!

Well, we got a dusting of light snow over night. It came down after we hit the sack at midnight or 1 AM, but it sure was purdy when I opened the garage door this mornin'.



I scraped what little ice had accumulated off Denise's windows and got the car started and warmed up for her while I put the garbage can out on the street to get picked up. Friday ritual that.

I took this shot of the sunrise as I jetted off to the stop-n-rob to get my regular breakfast of corn dogs and Dew. The sun had come out and warmed the temps up to about 45 degrees, melting all the snow away, by the time I drove home from Florence at 10 AM. It was nice while it lasted.

I got a report and a picture from Dave Thursday concerning my new M-1 carbine. He found a picture on the CMPs web site that he says is the spitting image of my gun. Check it out.



Dave's been putterin' around with it, cleanin' much of the cosmoline off of it, but he says it still needs a LOT of work. Dave said I'd probably need to just hit it with a wire brush or somethin'. If anyone has any ideas about gettin' that shit off, I'd appreciate it.

It's apparently got a pretty new, lighter colored wooden stock with a darker hand guard, just as you see above. He says the metal and wood are in great shape, and he's identified the origins of many of the component parts.

He says the barrel and action are Winchester, the operating slide was made by IBM, and the Trigger housing is made by National Cash Register. Based on the serial number he thinks it was manufactured in late 1943. The mix match of parts comes from the soldiers mixing up the interchangeable parts when they disassembled and cleaned the guns in the field.

In the war, no one took the care to keep the original parts together in each gun, so virtually all the guns you'd get today are in this sort of condition. Another story tells me that the parts got mixed up in the armories after the war when the guns were taken apart, refurbished, and then set aside in storage so they could be distributed to our various allies or clients during the years from then to now.

This particular rifle is one of a large batch that was just returned to us from Italy. If the Italians has taken it out of the cosmoline and used it they would have stamped it with the letters F.A.T. (no clue what that stands for - an acronym signifying their ownership and certification of the rifle). How funny would it be if ol' Fat got himself a carbine with "FAT" stamped on the butt? This one apparently has no such stamp. Dave thinks that means it was given to the Italians many years ago and has been sitting in their armory since then, untouched.

I told him I didn't really mind some wear and tear on the stock, and don't really care about the mix match of parts. To me, it speaks of the history of the gun. The cool thing about havin' it is thinkin' about where the gun has been and who may have used it in one conflict or another. If only it could talk, what a story it would tell.

I told him so long as it shoots nice I don't really care what it looks like. Then he said "Oh, it shoots great. I put three rounds through it this mornin'." I looked up at him and said "YOU BASTARD!", and we both laughed our asses off.

He told me he was thinkin' "Do I wanna wait till Sunday to see how this thing shoots? Naaaa!" He didn't even wait and let me pull the trigger first on my own gun! Well hell, let that be his reward for being such a great friend and getting me such cool toys through his connections with the CMP.

As I told you before, Mom and Denise are going to get their palms read today at about 3 PM. The whole thing cracks me up. She'll pay so much for a palm reading, and then the cost goes up. A little more for a crystal ball, and then a chunk more for the tarot cards. I feel like tellin' her if she has a huge desire to throw her money away, throw it at me. What a bunch of ridiculous bullshit!

Anyway, while they get their rocks off with the hokus pokus, I'll be across town gettin' my tires balanced and rotated. It's way overdue. Then, weather permitting, while the ladies go out to eat somewhere else, Dad and I will hit golf balls and eat Chinese food.

Maybe then Denise and I will hook back up and see a flick. We'd both still like to see the new Rambo movie, which I think is still playin' at the local multiplex. Someone out at work told Denise it was great. He'd seen it twice. I tell ya, I LOVED the first Rambo, and the third when he's in Afghanistan, but I'm not sire if I want to see Stallone stumbling around in that stringy hair again. He should have gone in the direction of Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. Bald, with some cool hill tribe tattoos or somethin'. Now THAT would have been cool.

Well, you guys stay warm and have a great weekend. We'll chat again soon. Cheers.

Friday stuff.

First of all, I read this morning that Prince Harry has been in Afghanistan, tryin' his damnest to be a regular soldier and cast off some of the crap associated with bein' a "Royal". The Drudge Report outed him after he was there for a while, and now he's being flown home and told not to visit his normal pubs and clubs for fear of some Muslim wacko with a bomb who might want to get him for serving in the war. Shades of Mountbatten being blown up by the Provos back in the '80s.



I tell ya, I have a HUGE amount of respect for his desire to shake off the privilege and go through what every other soldier has had to go through, and it sucks that he's not being allowed to finish it. I mean, I know why they want to protect him, but still, here's a royal with a pair. Why not let him scratch 'em?

While I was looking at that story I found something else in the British news. If you like Stephen Fry, check this out and enjoy.

Anyway, you guys remember that student I told you about a few weeks ago. I’d just started a new semester and an older soldier came to me after class when everyone else had left the room and told me he’d been in special ed classes all his life and was gonna try to do as well as he could in his first college class. Well, he made a 104 on his first exam (out of a possible 110). I tell ya, I love this job. That guy’s gonna be fine. I can see the confidence growin’ in him now. He’s gonna go far.

I’ve got another interesting dude in one of my evening government classes. This guys is another older soldier. He says he’s been a cop (MP) for 25 years and “he’s tired of being on Jerry Springer all the time”, having to deal with bizarre domestic situations, and he wants to get a college degree so he can get a better job. I see this all the time too.

Lots of older soldiers start to take college classes just before they get out, wanting to get better jobs in the civilian world. Most of the time they are like both of these guys… they haven’t been in school since high school and they may have some worries about how well they’re gonna do.

Anyway, we were talking about the Bill of Rights last night. When we got to the criminal procedure amendments (4^th to 8^th) this guy started to contribute some fascinating and hilarious stuff from his real life experience as a cop. He gave us some real life details about things like the Exclusionary Rule and the Miranda Rule. We found out during the discussion of all that that he’s a member of the motorcycle guard (I think they’re called the Patriot Guard) that goes to funerals to protect grieving families from protesters who show up at funerals to celebrate the deaths of soldiers who have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

He deals with that issue both as an MP, dealing with protesters who try to get permits to demonstrate on the base, and as a guard at the funerals. He insinuated that the only thing keeping these protesters alive is the police showing up to stand between the protesters and the bikers. One student didn’t understand what he meant by that, which opened an opportunity for me to bust out with something I saw on a t-shirt once… Some people are alive only because it’s illegal to kill them. We only made it through the 5^th amendment last night, so we’ll have more fun Tuesday night with the rest. Again, I love this job.

I went by the Hospitality office yesterday after getting out of my lunchtime classes and ended up getting drafted to go bowling today. They had a CTC charity bowl at a local place, Bowlarama, and the Ft. Hood campus team was needing one player. One of their guys had to drop out needing to get some sort of school business done. So I cut out of my 11:30 class early, tellin' the kids I had to go bowlin' (you know that brought about a laugh - I assured them it was an official CTC function), jetted over to the lanes, donned those special shoes and tried to keep it between the gutters.

I broke 100 in each of the three games, scoring about a 375 in all. Thing is, there was free beer being distributed, paid for by my boss, and he kept toppin' off my glass. There's no tellin' how much I drank (Coors Light), but I was really feelin' it by the end of the third game. Denise came by and watch after work and was givin' me looks, but I drove home OK. She tried to get her office to set up a team for the tournament but no one wanted to play.

I was supposed to head over to Temple to get Dad tonight, but apparently he's had a bad day. My sister called during the bowling tourney to tell me that he'd gotten lost out at the VA and wandered around for hours today before someone found him and got him back to my mom. He goes there to work out in a supervised program a few times a week. I guess he's gotten so loopy that he shouldn't be left to wander by himself. As a result of all that both Mom and Dad are too tired to do anything today, so maybe we'll get together tomorrow.

If everything is OK tomorrow, I'll head over there and we’ll hit a bucket of balls and then belly up to the buffet one more time. Mom forgot to make the appointment with the psychic for today, so she now says she’d gonna call today and schedule one for next week. When all the hocus pocus goes down, I’ll be sure and keep you fully informed. Maybe the lady will come across with some hot stock tips. Fingers crossed. Denise and I will probably head over to BJs again, and then maybe take in another movie. We both want to see The Other Boleyn Girl. Just checked though and No Country For Old Men is finally in our theater, since winning the awards. I read the book and have been dyin' to see it, so maybe we will.

This weekend could prove to be interesting. The annual Wilson family reunion is Sunday. I’ll be going over to get dad as usual, but this time Denise is gonna go with us. I told her I wanted her to come. Most of those people probably think I’m queer, having never seen me with a girlfriend before, so it’ll be fun to see the look on their faces. Should be fun.

Anyway, see ya later. Have a great weekend. Cheers.

Well, it's Friday again, so you know where this is goin'.

Today's my day to get out of work early (like 1:30), and head to the house to screw around for a bit on the computer. You know, the endless battle to keep up with all your multiple blog posts during the week. By the way, what the hell? Don't you friggin' people have jobs? Shut up Mushy, Bruno, Pat, Lin, Guy, Myron, etc. I know, I know. Friggin' rainbow coalition there.

Then, after relaxing for a few hours, I'll head over to get Dad and eat a few more plates of that good Chinese food. Today though I'm gonna change things up a bit. I'm gonna head over about an hour early (at about 4:30) and take the old dude back over to that drivin' range. He always loves it, and I'll enjoy givin' him the good time. We'll hit a medium sized bucket of balls and then, after workin' up an even bigger appetite, we'll head over to the big feed. I'll belly up to the buffet and scare those nice Chinese folks into thinkin' I'm gonna eat 'em out of house and home.

After that I'll take him home and spend some time visitin' with Mom. I don't get to spend the kind of time I used to spend with her ever since my social life materialized about 8 months ago. I'll sit and chat with mom, and maybe partake of a few little glasses of something or other. I'lll try to remember to take some of her dishes back so maybe she can cook some more good food and have leftovers for me to exchange later this week. Best restaurant in Temple, but you've heard that before.

This Saturday could turn out to be very interesting. Denise has another appointment to get her hooves filed (manicure and pedicure at a place in Temple), and then after that she's gonna take my mom to visit a local psychic at a place there off I-35. Surprised the shit out of me to hear my mom get all excited tellin' us the other week that she was dyin' to go and get a reading. She's driven past the place many times and I guess the temptation has been workin' on her.

She believes in all that stuff, as does my sister, but for some reason I don't think she wants my sister to take her. She probably thinks sis will hog all the time and be a pain in the ass. She's known my sister for upwards of 53 years, so it's likely she's got something there. I've only known my sister for a little over 47 years and I KNOW she's a pain in my ass. God bless her, I love her to death, but damn!

Mom originally told us a few weeks ago that she was gonna get her housekeeper (Miss Hellen, deeply trusted and loved, like part of the family) to take her, but it didn't come to pass. When Denise and I went over there after dinner last Saturday I asked her if she'd gone. She said no. Then, after a few sips of some after-dinner liquor she got excited and asked Denise if she'd take her. Denise was surprised and very flattered, and said she would. I was floored, but immediately put the thing together with the trip to the beauty shop and a plan came together.

The plan is for Denise to get out of her hoof scrapin' (two-and-a half hours of it!) at about 4:00 and then she and mom will head over to the spook. You may be wondering where I'll be as the stars are read and the hokus pokus is under way. Well, I saw a sign on the highway today sayin' there was gonna be a gun show in Belton this weekend. Between that, and maybe a trip to the humidor in Salado, and maybe another trip to the drivin' range with dad, I'll be fully occupied, thank you very much.

I'd kinda like to watch these sweet ladies get serviced (I'm kinky that way), but I don't believe in any of that stupid psychic shit, so I know they won't want me there harshin' their mellow. I'll be over at the Bell county expo center fondling implements of destruction, and maybe acquiring some. I need some .30 rounds for the new Winchester M-1 Carbine that's on it's merry way from the CMP. Wohooo!

After all that excitement, the plan ends with Denise and I heading over to sample the goods at BJs again. I'm DYIN' to try their deep dish pizza and some of their exotic sounding appetizers. Of course, I'll be swilling down a few new brews. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. After that... we're thinkin' of takin' in a late movie. It'll be a long day, but a fun day.

Anyway, I'm not sure if you guys could muster up a better time than were gonna have, but you need to go out this weekend and try. See ya later. Cheers.

Well, it's Friday, so you know what's up.

But first, I got a wild hair yesterday and decided to shave off about 10 or 15 years.



Still fat, but a little less hairy. And still a bastard. Ask my students. They took their first exams this last week, one class at 7:30 PM on Valentines Day! Hell, I gave a test on Christmas once.

Shocked the shit out of Denise. She stared at me and giggled for a good while. The kids in Florence this morning thought it was hilarious. They've known me for two years and never seen my face. I've yet to go out to the base, but I'm sure they'll make a big deal out of it. Shit, it grows back. No biggie.

One person that'll get a HUGE kick out of the new me will be dad. He's always hated facial hair. He'll thank me for shaving the beard and then want to know when the rest is going. Not sure why folks in his generation were such friggin' Nazis when it came to facial hair, and long hair in general, but there's no changin' the old dude now. Mom'll love it too.

We didn't get to go out to eat at our regular place last Friday because I was comin' down with what later turned out to be Bronchitis. Well, I'm mostly over it now, so the plan is to head over there this afternoon and do it up right.

Y'all be sure and keep Mushy's bro Ron in your thoughts. He goes under the knife as we speak. Good luck to he and Neena. I know everything is gonna turn out right.

There's a three day weekend ahead, and a Mardi Gras party Saturday night to go to. Should be fun. Well, I'm off to class. You guys have a great weekend and we'll talk later. Cheers.

Found a bumper sticker on base the other day.

Every once and a while I see something out there that cracks me up.

OK, so he's really not a Muslim, but it's funny anyway. And these guys are just friggin' hilarious. Here's their take on "Super Tuesday", and voting in general.



Brilliant! Well, it's Friday, so you know what's up. I'd normally be headin' over to get dad later and we'd scare the buffet folks again. They see me comin' and think I'll eat them out of house and home. They just keep refillin' my tea, tryin' to fill me up. To be truthful, the trip always seems to end too soon, as if we've just gotten there and then I find myself going out to get the car and take us home. Today though, I've come down with a cold; stuffed head and a scratchy throat, and I can't risk giving it to the old folks. So I'll go to work (don't mind spreadin' it there), which is just 4 hours of classes, and then I'll come home and let Denise pamper me all weekend.

There's a gun show in Ft. Worth this weekend, but I don't think we're going. My buddy Jim is out of town, working in Virginia. There's no use goin' up there if we can't get together. Bein' puny and havin' very little money to play with cinches it. Might as well just stay home and have a restful weekend. Heal up. Maybe get some yard work done if I feel better... Haaaahahahahaha! Yea, right. That's likely. Anyway, you guys stay warm, have a great weekend, and we'll get back together and solve all the worlds problems next week. Cheers.

Friday night was a good time.

I think dad's getting a little tired of the camera, do you think?



He's in mid protest here. I was gigglin' like a fool. I guess I could be more surreptitious, but this camera takes better pictures with the flash on.



Denise is still very difficult to photograph. The witness protection program has rules about that, apparently.



Same shit, different day. Good stuff. It was dry and a bit bland for a few weeks there, but they must have got themselves a new cook, or slapped around the old one, because it's wonderful now. Look at the size of those shrimp. Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm.



After dinner we took dad home and mom broke out the Bailey's again. We had a little tipple and they told Denise a few stories about old times. I asked mom where she got these beautiful little glasses and she said they were picked up on their first tour of duty in England, back in the mid-'50s. A few have been broken in all the moves since then, but these were still in tact. Nice stuff. There are treasures from all over the world in that house.



Mom's mind is still clear as a bell, so she did most of the talking, and then dad would grunt his agreement from time to time. They make a good team, the two of them. Christmas will be their 57th wedding anniversary. Amazing to me that they've made it this long, and they're still goin' strong.



She got wistful at times, thinking of all the different places and people they'd known. We all needed a refill in time, and the bottle was in danger of being emptied. We'll just have to replace it for the next time we get together. I'll get her a few so she has a stockpile. Can't have too much of the stuff.



So, You know were goin' to the game Sunday. We have a room at the Hyatt in Dallas for tonight, and detailed instructions from Dave (Chili cookout guy - the season ticket holder we got these tickets from) on how to get to the best parking place and back out again, avoiding all the crowd and crap on Sunday. It should be a fun time. I'll take lots of pictures, so let's hope the Cowboys show up ready to play. The weather looks like it's gonna be nice for the game, in the '50s, so the drive up late tonight shouldn't be trouble. We're going to a party tonight before we head north, so we'll be on the road late.

Well, you guys have a great weekend, and I'll see ya on the other end. Cheers.

Friday feed is on... Again.

But first, some other stuff. You remember I'm in a pool league? We play pool every Wednesday night. I suck usually, but I guess I'm getting better. I used to loose all the time but lately it only about half the time. Anyway, I look at it like this. It's an evening out and an chance to drink beer and smoke cigars with some fun folks, so who gives a fuck if I win? Of course, if I start winnin' more often... I'm gonna be a HUGE asshole about it. Well, I dunno. We'll see.



I mean, I WANT to win, but I've decided to put my mind at ease with it and try to remember that old sayin'... It's really about how you play the game. I try to have fun and be a gentleman, and as I've relaxed things seem to be improving. Probably a life lesson in there somewhere.

Anyway, the other thing has to do with all those left over cigar stubs we all accumulate. Friggin' things cost enough that I practically need a roach to finish smokin' 'em. So I've decided to try an experiment. I have a pipe-tomahawk on the book stand in the living room (I posted a picture of it a while back). I'm cutting up all the little nubs and puttin' 'em in a zip lock with a sponge, and I'm gonna see if I can smoke this stuff in that hatchet. Click on these to check this stuff out up close.



I'll figure somethin' out. Should be an interesting blend of flavors, with all the Mac's and Ashton's I've been buyin' cheap, mixed with a few even cheaper and robust Taino's and others. If the tomahawk doesn't work I'll get a new stem for my Calumet (peace pipe). Did I ever show you a shot of that thing? Made it a while back. Anyway, I'll tell ya if it works out.

While I was out in the garage at the work bench I decided to take a few shots to post. More random stuff, like Bruno posts. Of course, my stuff isn't as cool as his friggin' blast furnace in his shop, or whatever, but it's me.



Lots of crap I picked up and won't throw away. It all means something to me.



For instance, this picture was cut out of an old calender from a few years ago. Love it. It's called Mothers Under The Skin, by Charles M. Russel, drawn (pen and ink) in 1900. That quote is the one my Jean Giraudoux that I have posted on the right side of the margin of the blog. I found it in a book by P. J. O'Rourke a long time ago and fell in love with it. The western art is another love of mine. I'll post more pics of some of the stuff I've collected some other day.



Here's another shot of the work bench, cluttered with crap, as usual. You can see knife projects (materials for handles, like the mule deer antler), and pecans that someone gave me a while back, and my dad's old putter. I need to replace the handle on it. He showed me how to do that a long time ago. Easy peasy.

So, Denise is comin' over in a bit and we'll head to Temple and get dad for the big feed. You guys take care and I'll see ya later. Cheers.

A few Fridays ago...

I took my dad to eat Chinese food and then we went out to Academy and we watched the Bees play their last game of the year. It was a blowout.



The Bees were playing Troy, another little town from up North a bit, off I-35. The Trojans were also playing their last game of the year. They came out like gangbusters, and started intercepting passes and running for touchdowns, and before we knew it poor little Academy was down by almost 30 points to nothing.

Dad can't handle too many stairs, so we have to take seats right there in front. People are walking to and fro and kids are always messin' around. Kind of a pain in the ass. There are usually all these little kids hangin' on the railing and gettin' yelled at by their folks for doin' it.



This one kid was just screamin' for me to take his picture.

I'm always amazed at how obvious it is, with these kids getting this early education about the games, and the social life surrounding the games, that kids in these little towns grow up the way they do. The girls gather in front of the cheerleaders, looking on in wonder, while the boys are focused on the games, learning everything they can, and looking to avoid their parents and have a good time. It's a window into the world that I missed out on somehow. Who knows why. It doesn't matter any more. Now I get to be here and take part, and enjoy it with dad. I love to watch it all go on in front of me, like a passion play. It fascinates me.



It's like readin' one of Mushy's old posts about growin' up in Harriman in the '50s. Only it's happenin' right here in front of me. It makes me wonder about the world these kids are gonna have to live in when they get to be my age. Scares me a little, but then I think every generation thinks that.



Anyway, Academy played like they'd already given up, and the Trojans were just too much for them. By half-time, the score was 40 to 0, with the Bees humbled on their own field. The teams ran off to the field house at the half, and the school bands came out. It turned out that they put on a better show than the football players.



The band from Troy came out first, and they put on an amazing show. The cheerleaders formed a line at one point and started doin' the... Well, what the hell do you call it? Watch this and you'll see. There's no sound, so don't hurt yourself tryin' to turn your speakers up.



After that the Academy band came out and put on a great show of their own. At one point they brought out The Freshmen and Sophomore band members to stand with the Juniors and graduating Seniors, and they all played together. It was cool.



Dad and I had a good time. The weather was warm, so dad didn't get too chilled.



We stayed until a little bit past half-time, and watched the Bees come running out again to try to get something started in the second half. But it was to no avail. I think they ended up loosing by something like 64 to nothing. Sad. Well, maybe next year.

Dad and I will head out to eat Chinese again tonight, even though the fridge is busting with Turkey Day leftovers. Tradition dammit! The Chinese food last Friday night was in rare form... Really good, so I'm lookin' forward to it. There are still high school playoff football games going on, but I'm not sure who or where. Also, we've had a "Blue Norther" blow in for Thanksgiving, so I doubt I'll be takin' the old dude out anyway. Hell, I don't want to be sittin' out there in the cold ether.

Meanwhile, my Friday is gonna start early. I'm headin' out this mornin' to take a day trip back down to Fredericksburg with my buddy Dave (Civil War reenactor dude in the earlier post). A local author of western novels named Elmer Kelton is going to be down there today signing books at one of the cooler book stores. He wrote one a while back that was made into a TNT movie starring Tommy Lee Jones, Sissy Spacek, and a slew of other great actors. It's called "The Good Old Boys". Maybe you've seen it? Anyway, it's great, and he's great, and I'm gonna get him to sign my copy of that book.

Dave and I will have lunch somewhere before the book signing. I might even get him to help me eat some more of those beer battered, fried mushrooms while I try another foreign beer at the Auslander. Then, after everything is done, I'm gonna take my buddy for his first trip to Enchanted Rock. He teaches Geology up here, and he knows all about the place, but he's never been up on the dome. We'll climb it, but we're not stayin'. I'll drive back up here in the afternon, go get dad, and we'll go over and work that buffet at Dynasty. It'll be a long day, but it'll be fun.

Well, you guys enjoy your Fridays off and your leftovers (always better the second time around), and I'll see ya over the weekend. There's a big gun show in Dallas this weekend, but I may just decide to lay around and vegetate. We'll see. And there's a blogger from Tennessee driving through this area this weekend on his way South. We may hook up, if everything works out. I'll tell ya all about it, whatever happens. Cheers.

Friday stuff, and some cool pictures.

Takin' a little break from the series of Terlingua posts to talk about what's been goin' on this week, and then some normal Friday crud.

The last three Terlingua posts covered gettin' there and settin' up camp, so the next one will probably deal with drinkin' and eatin', the live bands each night, and goin' to see DOM. Eventually there'll be another one dealin' with my brief visit to the other chili cook-off down the road, and seein' the hoochie mamas. Guys, hold it together. It won't be long now. Thing is, I haven't had time to cull out and fix all those pictures yet, so it'll have to wait a bit. Plus, I've got Chinese food with Dad, Friday night football, and then two days and nights at Enchanted Rock and Fredericksburg this weekend to take pictures of. God knows when we'll get a chance to go over those pictures, but you'll see them too. Next week some time, I promise you.

First off, last Tuesday night I wrapped up the lectures and reviewed both my 4:45 and 7:30 evening Government classes for their first exams, which they took Thursday night. I took the opportunity of the exams to try to ketch up on a few blogs. I've found that the way this semester is going, as ridiculously busy as I am, I have more time there at work to read blogs and post things than I do at home. I went home Thursday for the hour that I have between my afternoon classes and these evening classes and just had enough time to fix a few pictures and upload them so I could later ad this text on the computer in class. Rat race, I wanna tell ya.

Here's a picture from the Razor of my desk last Tuesday night when my 7:30 class was getting their review. Those folks didn't want to miss anything. Cracked me up, so I took a picture. I tell ya, I should get a cut from the PX or Best Buy for all the recorders I've sold in the last thirteen years.

I've never had an issue with students recording my lecture. I know some teachers do, but I couldn't care a less. Whatever the kids need to do to succeed, without cheating, is cool with me. Hell, people have been recording me for so long now, there should be sets of tapes out there for sale. you can see a few older mini cassette recorders there, but now these little digital recorders hold something like two hundred hours worth of recordings, which is more than a semesters worth of class time. The newest thing is for students to bring their laptops in and take notes that way. I had a soldier bring one in once, pull up the screen, flip it over and down like a notebook and start writing notes on the screen with a stylus. The technology mazes me. Had a girl video record me once with her laptop. I told her if any of it ended up on YouTube she'd be in trouble. Hell, I'd a laughed my ass off if it had. It'd be hilarious. Anyway, I thought the picture was funny. You could smell the panic in the air.

I was zippin' down 195 Wednesday morning to get to my morning classes in Florence, wolfin' down what's become my regular breakfast these days (two corn dogs and a diet Mtn. Dew), when I pulled over and got a few cool sunrise shots. The weather has been cool and cloudy this week, so it made for interesting effects. They turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.

This one is probably my favorite. Wednesday night was pool night. Denise and I met up after work at about 7pm and headed over to the hall, but along the way me made a few stops. I had to gas up the wheels at Wall Mart, and I wanted to stop at a cool liquor store near there to see if they had any of that German Vodka I told you about maybe three posts ago. They didn't, but they took down my number and said they'd see if they could order it. I'll go over to the Class-Six on base Friday afternoon and see if they have it. I'll hunt it down one way or the other. Shit was GOOD.

I lost to a better player Wednesday night, but had a good time and enjoyed myself anyway. I've developed an "I don't really give a shit" attitude about it all, refusing to care if I win or lose, and just enjoying the company, the relaxing time, a good cigar or two, and a few mugs of good spirits. It's a nice break in the middle of the week. I had a good time. Hell, lets face it, I got soused. I hadn't eaten anything that day (that is, after the two corn dogs at the butt crack of dawn), so those three big mugs of Amber Bock went strait to my head. I gave my keys to Denise and she drove us home. Of course, she'd had three or four Seven & Seven's, so I don't really know who was more loaded. After we got to my place I nuked some leftover Shepherd's Pie that she'd cooked the night before, and the buzz went away in no time. Good to go.

Here's a similar sunset view from Thursday morning, also heading South on 195. It's not as spectacular, but I like it. Denise woke me up that morning with cards and a few presents, surprisin' the hell out of me. Thursday was our birthday. We share the same day, eight years apart. Cool eh? Handy as hell too. After classes in Florence I went home in a hurry and cooked her some of the little treats I like to make, baking ham and cheese and hot honey mustard in rolled up garlic croissants. She loves 'em. I went to the local grocery store and got cards, flowers and some chocolate truffles, and took it all over to her office on the way to my lunch time classes. She liked it. I got to the base and was about 5 minutes late to class, but it was well worth it to see the look on her face. She makes me feel good, almost like a real grownup for the first time in my life, and has enriched my life in ways that I once thought I'd never be able to experience. Happy birthday baby.

When I was zippin', and I do mean zippin', over to the campus on base after seein' Denise, I rolled up on a really cool birthday surprise. I had to stop and get a few pictures, even if it meant I was gonna be even later to work.

This is the "tank" version of the Stryker armored vehicle. I've seen pictures of these things on the web, but I'd never seen one in real life. It was chained down to a flat bed and was there by the side of the road, in a part of the base where vehicles are prepped for transport by train or truck. It has the body of the Stryker armored car, which some of you have probably seen in pictures from Iraq, and a turret with a 105 mm gun. It's supposed to provide us with the capacity to inject rapid deployment forces into a hot spot somewhere with enough firepower to go up against the sort of armor you see the average local 3rd world forces toting around... You know, like a T-55. It doesn't have the armor to go up against a T-55 head on, but it's supposed to hold the ground till they can plink the fuzzies with smart bombs or fly in some M-1s. Anyway, that was the last idea I heard. Hell, so far as I know, they may have canned it and be sending it here to set it up in one of the museums. I'll keep ya posted.

So, after my 7:30 class finished their exam, I called Denise and we headed out to a nice dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. When we got there, Denise asked me if I'd gotten the same card on purpose. I was surprised and puzzled. It turns out she'd gotten my birthday card at Wal Mart last Monday. When she woke me up at about 6:30 and shoved presents and cards at me, I'd given the card a cursory look in the fog of waking up. Four hours later, when I went to HEB in a mad dash to find something good but not too sappy, I managed to find the exact same card. What the hell are the odds of that? We had a good laugh about it. The burgers and rolls were great. I had two tall Killian's, and Denise had a Lager Shandy. We laughed a lot, and had a great time.

After dinner, we went to a local book store to browse magazines and ended up wandering into the isle filled with sex manuals. I was leafin' through them and thinkin' out loud, sayin' things like, "Baby, all these people are skinny. Where the hell are the sex books for fat old bastards?" She almost wet herself. After that we went to the grocery store for batteries and booze, and then we went back over to my place and shared the aforementioned booze and a slice of chocolate cake. Mom had picked up the cake and dropped it and a few cards off at my house in afternoon, while I was in class. It was a fun evening.

Today I taught my five regular daily classes and then visited with some friends for a bit. After that I went to the Class-Six on base, but they didn't have that brand of Vodka. I put in a request to see if they can order it. We'll see. Now I'm relaxing for a few hours at home before I head over to get dad and take him to do our normal Friday stuff. He missed it when I was in Terlingua last week, so he's really rarin' to go. It'll be fun to hang with him again tonight.

Saturday morning, Denise and I will head South to camp out for two nights at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, near the beautiful town of Fredericksburg. I have some friends who go there every year at about this time. It's always fun, and a bit more civilized than Terlingua. They have showers and all the amenities of modern life right there on site. Denise should have a much easier time. I'll be right at home. This time she won't have to wear my floppy hat to hide her morning hair. It's a strange experience, waking up and seeing Rod Stewart's '70s perm on the pillow next to me. Unsettling.

Anyway, they have showers, flush toilets, and electric outlets for the curling iron right across the road from the camp sites, so she should be set up nicely. We'll probably drive down to eat in Fredericksburg at least one night, and stroll the main street there. It's very pretty little German town, with a Lutheran cathedral and lots of cool shops and places to enjoy adult beverages. I'll take pictures, but then you knew that, didn't you?

Well, take care and enjoy your weekend. I know I'll enjoy mine. Cheers.

Best laid plans.

Classes are chuggin' along as usual. Semester's about a quarter done, and the first exams are comin' up. I can smell the fear. Smells like, victory. I'm up to the early 1700s in one class and the late 1800s in the other. The Government classes are mired in official sounding crud, with me trying to explain the executive branch to one class and the Federal constitution to another. I have three separate government classes getting the same lecture two or three times each week. By the time I'm giving it to the third class, it's starting to get shorter and more cut and dry. Those folks just sit there, take notes and stare back at me, but then the next class is full of cut ups and jokers who wake me up and make the time enjoyable. Try explaining something like the electoral college to a class full of older students who think it all sounds vaguely sinister and corrupt. I end up injecting enough history into the course so things like that are easier to understand. I do my best.

Denise and I will be headin' over to Temple to get dad in a few hours. We'll eat dinner and then sit through about half the Academy/Rogers game. After that we'll head over to a local sporting goods store and see if there's anything she needs for the upcoming trip to Terlingua. I've got enough gear to fit out a squad of troops, but you never know. They may have come up with something new and cool that we'll just have to have. It's all about the gear.

The annual chili cook-off, booze up and freak show down near Big Bend is coming up next weekend. Several of us will be heading down Wednesday and Thursday to take part, and then coming back Sunday.



This is a picture of the wilder cook-off down the road. We'll be visiting this camp, but not camping there. It's nuts over there, with chili wrestling contests and all sorts of fun. Like I said, we'll be visiting... but not trying to sleep there. I don't think anyone sleeps there.

I told my students on the base to take Thursday and Friday off and got Florence to get me a sub for those days. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Denise had word last week that her boss wanted her to come in on the Sunday, along with a slew of other folks, so we thought she was going to have to miss the trip. It went back and forth all last week, but she got a few other people to come in and decided to take the bull by the horns and go. She may ketch hell when she gets back on Monday, but again, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

I was hoping to be able to relax on Saturday, sleep in and take it easy for once. Then I went to the office on base to renew my stickers last Tuesday night and found out that my driving privileges on the base has been revoked. Shocked the shit out of me. Found out that they'd been revoked three months ago when I was nabbed goin' 45 in a 25 after class one night. They've got a speed trap out there where the speed limit goes from 40 to 25 and then to 35 again in the space of about two blocks. It's not a school zone. Something about the soldiers crossing the street from their living quarters. Guess they don't know they're not supposed to walk out in the street without lookin' both ways. Anyway, in order to get my new stickers I've got to spend all day Saturday listenin' to some asshole talk about driver safety. So, think kindly of me as you relax and enjoy yourselves tomorrow afternoon. Toss one back for me.

Sunday is my sisters 53rd birthday. The folks will be driving her over that evening so we can all take her to the Outback Steak House and let her drown her sorrows in booze and a Bloomin' Onion. Before that, a few of us will head out to the class 6 on base to load up on adult beverages for the trip to Terlingua. The dinner will be fun. She usually chugs a Bloody Mary or three when we go. They'll soften the blow as she slips deeper into the winter of her dotage. Siblings.

Well, I hope your weekends are all good. Cheers.

It's been a busy week, and it's gonna be another full weekend.

I started 6 new classes on base this week. I start out in the morning, the butt crack of dawn, with 2 classes back to back at the high school (8 to 10am). Those are 16 week classes and they're about half over. This week I started 3 separate hour long daily classes from 11:30 to 2:30 every day, and 3 evening classes - M/W night from 4:45 to 7pm and T/Th night from 4:45 to 7 and then 7:30 to 10pm. In all, about 220 students taking US History and Government. One word... POOPED. One more online class starts Monday, but that's easy money.

This evening I'll be doing the usual, Friday night Chinese food and high school football with Dad. Here's a video to put us in the right mood to chow down on the buffet line at Dynasty.

Mmmmeow, I can just taste the generals chicken now.

Denise and I are taking a trip to Ft. Worth Saturday afternoon. We'll try to get there in time to have dinner, get stuffed on brochette shrimp and spicy queso dip and start to get liqueured up at Pappasito's (yep, they have one in Ft. Worth too). Then we'll head over to Billy Bob's on the North side of town and sit through a concert by the venerable Peter Frampton. We've got center seats, six rows back. Should be cool. After that we'll be gettin' a hotel room and spendin' the night in town.

Sunday morning we'll rise early and meet up with my buddy Jim, wolf down some breakfast burritos, pack a cooler and go sit in the sun and watch an Air Show all afternoon at Alliance Airport, North of Ft. Worth. We'll see the Blue Angels and all the works. Should be cool.

I'll try to get home at a decent hour Sunday so I can rest up for another week. You guys have a great weekend. I'll try to get some cool pictures and maybe post them Sunday night. Cheers.

Shorthand, 'cause I ain't got the time to be pretty.

Feds visited me last Wednesday, wanting info on a former student who was tryin' to get a security clearance. Dude was pleasant, but I couldn't stop starin' at those clip on shades he had flipped up on his glasses. What the hell? Guy in question took my class in 05 and made a C. Other than that, I had no recollection. I have about 150 students going through my classes every 8 weeks, so 05 was way too long ago for me to remember anything. I'm sure he'll get cleared. He'll be working in the CIA soon, I'm sure.

My garage door went tits up on me last Wednesday, just as the feds left. The big spring thingy snapped like a twig. Still need to get that fixed.

Lost my pool match Wednesday night, but it was close. The guys game came together at the last minute and he beat me like a step child. I lost one game by sinking my last ball, the 8 ball, and the cue ball, all at the same time. Try doin' that again. I won the next game, but then this guy turned into a ninja on me and left me in the dust. Ah well, next week.

Thursday I had lunch with the folks at the Stagecoach inn in Salado. I think it's overrated, but the folks love it. Home cookin'. Here's a merge of the front of the place.



Mushy sent me this program to do these sorts of shots, and it took us days to get it workin', but now I'm mergin' everything in sight. Here's a merge of the front of Pappasito's in Austin.



Well, it's Friday, so you know what's on the schedule for tonight. It's the night for me to go to Salado and get a haircut - once every 6 to 8 weeks. Then there'll be Chinese food with Dad, followed by a high school football game, and more frustration on my part as I try to get decent pictures. Denise will take Mom to the mall in Temple and eat at some cafeteria there that I've never tried.

Girls night out and boys night out, followed by lazy laying in till about noon Saturday. No clue what's on the plan for tomorrow. I need to spend about two days catching up on reading blogs, and I really need to get this friggin' garage door fixed. SUCKS not being able to punch the button and come and go, as if from the Bat Cave. Really putting a bummer on my scene.

Friday feed is on.

Well, it's Friday, so you know what I'll be doin' pretty soon. Denise and I will go over and get dad and take him to eat, and then probably to another high school football game in Academy. I think I may have figured something out with the camera, so we'll see if I can get any decent shots.

I was just about to start class this afternoon when one student brought me a hand written note. This is not unusual. They sometimes want me to know why it is that they are having to get up and leave class early, or something. This student has epilepsy, and has occasional trouble, so I originally thought it might be something related to that.

She and her soldier husband are both in the class. He's about to be sent back to Iraq, and is always having to cut class due to some crud or other related to the preparations for the deployment. She sits in class tapping away on a lap top, typing her notes, usually taking notes for the both of them. They both get good grades, and give me no trouble, so I was puzzled when she handed me this note with a big smile on her face.

I opened it and this is what it said. It's a quote from Abraham Lincoln...

"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale, and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hung."

I looked up at her and we both smiled a huge smile of recognition.

You see, we are in the middle of the Civil War in her class. This quote refers back to the time when Lincoln lashed out at Northern Democrats for being opposed to the continuation of the war and trying to organize draft resistance. They had been against fighting the Civil War from the beginning, and had taken to clipping the copper head of Liberty from a penny and clipping it to their lapels. They became known as "Copperheads", from doing that. Of course, that's also a nasty little snake.

Their major constituency were recent urban immigrant populations, like the Irish, in the slums of Northern cities. They told their constituents that if the slaves were freed, that southern Blacks would come north and take their jobs away from them. They helped instigate some of the worst riots in the nations history in 1863, when the first draft calls went out. Lincoln went as far as to deport one of their leaders to the South, saying "If he likes the Confederates so much, let him go live with them". Their platform in the 1864 presidential race said that if they won, they'd negotiate a settlement to the war. They didn't win though, and Lincoln's victory spelled the end for the Southern cause.

No thanks to those asshole congressmen.

I'll see about posting more pictures from the base over the weekend. Took some interesting ones today. Denise and I are going to a party Saturday night for some folks from school, and then I'm going up to Dallas Sunday to a big gun show with some of the guys. My gunsmith has emailed me to tell me that my AKS-74 is almost ready, and the CMP has emailed my buddy Dave to say that my Garand is almost ready to send. So, I'll be bustin' out with cool new toys in no time.

Well, you guys have fun this weekend too. Cheers.

Went out and watched to pool players again last night.

I'm told now that I'll start playing in two weeks. I told them that I'll be in Austin at a concert that night, so we'll have to work something out. Priorities.

Anyway, Denise and I went to the US Club in Killeen to watch the games, and cheer on our friends, and this time I took the good camera. Mushy gave me such a scolding last time I posted crappy phone camera shots, I figured I was obliged.

Thing is, folks around here don't necessarily take kindly to havin' their picture taken in a pool hall. The guy in the blue hat told me, jokingly, that he couldn't have his picture taken. He owes child support.

I sneaked a few decent shots of Denise, but soon she realized what I was doing and began to frustrate my efforts.

I think she may be in the witness protection program or something. I'll have to quiz her later.

As we watched the games and talked to the folks, I was finishing off one cigar from the last evening, and starting another, and downed three mugs of Michelob Dark Lager. That stuff was stout, and beat the hell out of that Guinness I drank the other night. I was feelin' good, so Denise drove us home after.

She's gonna join me today when I head over to Temple to take dad out to eat. I'll stop in Salado first to get my once-every-six-to-eight-weeks haircut, and she'll get to meet my cousin Peggy. That'll be a hoot. Then maybe my sister will join us to take dad to eat. Maybe mom too. Anyway, it should be a nice evening.

Well, I'm off to class. I have to run through Teddy Roosevelt's era in one class and finish up to 1789 and review in the other. Falling off a log type stuff, all up here in my head. Love the hell out of T.R. . He's one of the folks in history that I'd love to meet and spend time with. Him and Ben Franklin. Anyway, I hope your weekends are calm and lazy. Cheers.

Went by the old local Chinese place again for lunch on Thursday.

The generals chicken and rice were excellent as usual. Had a long day Thursday, mopin' around. Long day of classes, ending too late for me to be able to join my friends to watch them play pool after. Joined them just in time for a late breakfast at Denny's at about 11pm. Good drunk food. Excellent time. Saved half my ham and egg melt for breakfast again this morning. It's good, I wanna tell ya.

The cooks I hang with are serving up a BBQ lunch at the campus on base this afternoon, but I usually don't get to partake. They always plan these things for lunch time (imagine) so the administrators can gather and eat. Of course, this is when I teach my classes, along with the other instructors, so very few of us will be there. I'll probably sneak a rib or two before I have to jet.

It's time to get a haircut. My cousin in Salado cuts my hair, and this time I'll be taking dad to my regular, once every 6 or 8 week trip to the barbershop. We'll both get a trim. It's a fun little reunion, catching up on family. We'll both get a visit this time. Then we'll head up to Temple for our regular feed. They'll meet dad at the door, and have him situated and be getting his dinner by the time I park the car and get in there. It's always a good time. Then we'll head back to the folks house and I'll give mom a squeeze.

I've become busy with friends lately, last three weeks or so, including a lot of time spent with my new lady friend. But she's out of town till next week, off with her family visiting her kids and grandkids in Kentucky, so I'll be chilling around the house this weekend, and maybe going to Gatesville to shoot that Enfield I picked up so long ago. That's if it doesn't rain. I also have to work on a new online class that is about to start, checking out the class layout to make sure the students can figure it out. Need to make out a new final exam for another class that is ending this Monday. All in all, sounds like a busy time. What ya wanna bet I end up on the couch, snoozin' through most of it?

Oh, and if you're not a regular visitor around these parts, be sure and check out Mushy's Friday blues post. It's always a good jam.

Anyway, have a great weekend. Cheers.

Well, it's Friday again, or was, and you know what that means.

Dad and I made out regular trip to the Chinese place, and the food proved to be better than usual. I must have driven up just as the right batch of Gen. Tso's was whipped up in the back. I took a few lame shots with the camera phone, but nether came out too well. Here's dad, back lit by the set of windows they always put us next to.



I'll have to remember to sit on the other side of him next time. I feel too self conscious to take the real camera and start taking pictures of my dinner plate and stuff, flashes going off, and everyone thinking I'm some kinda tourist. So the camera phone will have to do. Did I say that the General Tso's was amazing?



Just look at the size of those shrimp, and that egg roll was to die for. The plate looks deceptively small in this shot, but take my word for it, it was a generous helping. One plate like this and I'm approaching maximum density.

The folks at the restaurant have gotten used to seeing us come in at about the same time every Friday. They know what dad likes to eat and zip into the kitchen and cook him a fresh batch. They usually have him situated and the red sauce on the table by the time I park the car (I let him out in front of the place). I tip the hell outa them, so they appreciate our business, and I think they like the sight of this old guy and his huge son coming in every Friday for a guys night out. We both eat the same thing every time. When you know what you like, why screw around? I usually pile up the shrimp fried rice and Gen. Tso's on the first plate, and then experiment with the second. Here's an old shot, from a few months ago (just figured out how to get the pictures of this phone).



That's steak on the left, fresh off the grill, and more Gen. Tso's and corn covered in pepper. I tell ya, they really know what they're doing at this place. After dad finishes his fried shrimp and ice cream, we usually ether go over and visit one of his cousins who lives over by the restaurant, or we go hit golf balls, or we just head home. This time we went over to Academy so that I could fondle the fishing tackle.

I left dad in the golf section and wandered through the many isles of fishing rods a lures, longing for the trip I'd be on to Canada right now if the fuckers out at work hadn't rescheduled our break to late July. The other guys are still going up to Gananoque, but I'll be here, waiting for the local creeks and lakes to relax a bit after our recent deluge. No fun fishing at flood stage.

After that we went back to the folks house and I returned all the pictures I've been scanning in the last few weeks. Mom and I went through the rest of their pictures, looking them over. Some treasures in there. I found this shot of me holding our last Pug, Rascal (the little guy I talked about in the earlier post), and almost burst into tears.



Man, I miss this little dude. I brought this other batch home so I can go through them and scan the ones I want to have here on the hard drive. Turns out this is probably the best batch, containing the choice shots from back in the day. Here's a great shot showing how long I've been a music lover.



My sister and I in Bermuda, where I was born, listening to something scintillating. Dig that concentration. And here's proof that dad and I have been hanging out for a long time.



Mom came home one day in Bermuda and found dad and one of his Sargent's giving me my very first haircut.



God, he looks elated. His boy was taking his first step toward manhood - his first buzz cut. He was getting rid of the long curly locks that my mom had loved so much. Remember having to sit on that board that they put across the arms of the barber chair? Man, who'd a thought that I'd have fond memories of that?

Well, there'll be more where these came from later. It's gonna be a lazy weekend here. Hope yours if fun. Have a great time and I'll see ya later.