Mushy's Brother-in-law Ron sent us some great vidoes last night from YouTube, and they got my juices flowin'.

He's got me lookin' around now, and I can't resist the urge to post some cool shit I've found. Hope you like it.

The video on this first one isn't the best, but the audio is wonderful. This is a tour I wish I'd seen. I love the Black Crowes, and what more could be said about Jimmy Page and his music? Page and the guys in the Crowes did a bang up job here. This is one of my favorite Zeppelin tunes - "Ten Years Gone". Hope you like it.



Now, as if that wasn't enough bliss for ya, here's the man himself again, and one of the greatest rock voices of all time - Jimmy Page and Paul Rogers of The Firm, doing "Midnight", live in the early 1980s. Page even busts into some Zeppelin noodlin' there for a minute. Can you recognize the riff? Enjoy.



Ok, and just because I love the hell out of it, here's an old Black Crowes video for a tune they never do live on tour any more. Pisses me off, but what can you do? The song just kills me. It's called "Sometimes Salvation". The guitar bit in the end is wonderful. You'll wanna crank this puppy, I'm tellin' ya. Enjoy.



Pfew, that was a trip. Thanks go out to Ron for gettin' me worked up tonight.

Well, it's Friday, so you all know where I'm headed later today. Dad and I will hit our regular Chinese food place, and then maybe a football game at his old high school. There's a gun show in Belton this weekend. I'll be hittin' it Saturday mornin'. A few days ago, Mom floated the idea of us goin' down to Austin to eat at Pappasito's (they haven't been in a while), so maybe we'll try that. Thing is, she just had a root canal and a new crown put in, so maybe we'll put it off a bit. We'll see how she feels.

Saturday evening I'll head up to Dallas. A friend up there has been wanting me to come up and hang out, maybe see a movie and stuff. I'll spend the night and then come home Sunday in time to pick Denise up at the Kileen airport at 9PM. She's coming back from Kentucky, where she's been visiting her kids for a few days. Yep, another full weekend. No rest for the weary.

I gave a slew of final exams Thursday afternoon and night, and then went out to watch my buddies play pool and smoke another cigar. This time it was an Ashton. Short, fat, and mild. The guys played well, for the most part, and towards the end of the night my buddy Dave and I played a few games on the side. He won two and I took the last one. Another one of the guys was chatting up the waitress, and the girls on the team were drinking shots, taking the glasses with their mouths from the others cleavage after licking the salt from one another's breasts. I tell ya, it was hard to concentrate on the game.

Thing is, both of these girls are married or connected, and their men were there playin' pool and watchin', enjoyin' the whole thing. They love to play around, but it never goes anywhere. Well, some times, to celebrate a victory, they like to flash their boobs to the other guys in their team. Every once and a while, when they're not playin' well, they draw themselves up to one of their teammates and ask for an "adjustment". That calls for reaching gently into their blouse and cupping their breasts for a few minutes. Part of me wishes I was on their team, but the drama gets pretty thick over there, so maybe I'm better off where I am. One of those girls did time in prison for something or other, and the other one is a drunk. Fun to watch, but me no touchie.

Anyway, it's late, and I need to get up early to head to school. The classes are mostly over on Ft. Hood, but I still have to get up at the butt crack of dawn and go to Florence. Well, maybe the little girls will be in their cheerleader outfits in the morning. Mmm, something to look forward to. Oh yea, it's payday tomorrow! Wweeeeallll, that perked me up. Have a great weekend folks. Cheers.

Some inspiration for your weekend.

If you can keep it together long enough, watch both of these. You'll like them.





I tell ya what, whatever problems I have, they're nothing compared to the shit that too many other folks have to deal with. What an amazing story.

Went out and played pool with Denise last night. We were supposed to watch other folks play, but the other team never showed up and forfeited a match. We got there and the place was almost empty. So I lit up an old Mac that I'd started a few weeks ago, the last time I watched them play. Excuse the crappy phone picture, but I wasn't in the mood to lug the camera.







Denise and I played a few games. She won three, and I won three, as I sipped a cold mug of Michelob Dark Lager and she her Seven & Seven. After the Mac was history I broke out a C.A.O. Churchill that I'd picked up last weekend in Salado. It turned out to be as smooth and mild as the Mac. I see why Mushy likes them.

We'll be headed to Temple to eat with dad tonight, as usual, and then Denise and I will take the old dude to another football game at his old high school. Denise wants to take my mom out for Mexican food while I take dad out for Chinese, but we haven't set it up yet. I'd love to get that sort of thing started on a regular basis, but mom loves her quiet time when I take dad out, so we may not be able to drag her out. Women of her generation feel like they have to get all dolled up when they go out, so she may not want to go to the trouble.

There's a birthday party this Saturday night at a local dive bar/pool hall we sometimes go to, for a friend of Denis' who works at the college and also runs the bar. It should be fun. They have Guinness on draft there, or I think they do, so I'll probably try it and see if it's better than the bottles. Maybe try a Black & Tan too. Hell, she can drive us home if I get to happy.

There's a Gun show in Austin this weekend, so I'll be taking Denise to her first one. It should be interesting to see how her British sensibilities hold up. She's pretty conservative politically, but being British, she's not too familiar with the gun culture. After that we'll head up to Papasito's for more of those bacon wrapped shrimp, slathered in pepper and butter/white wine sauce. I'll post pictures later, in case you're in the mood to ruin your keyboard, drivelling' all over it.

I hope your weekend is just as fun as this one looks like it's gonna be. Take care. Cheers.

Have a whole new reason to look forward to Fridays now.

Because I have more time than I need allotted to me down in Florence, teaching a 16 week class in about 18 weeks, I usually give the kids Fridays off. I show up and take roll, and then while I get caught up on other things, they ether study other things (remember, these kids are supposedly the smart ones), or they just shoot the shit. This morning was just as hilarious as last Friday.

Along with the normal banter about which one of the guys likes it up the ass, and who'd supposedly done what to whom, the cheerleaders (in uniform, of course) all somehow got into a discussion of which one of them had supposedly kissed another girl, and would they do one of those Girls Gone Wild videos. The boys were all sitting at attention, and then one of the boys, hearing them talk about kissing other girls, spoke up and said "Would you... please?" I was rollin', but mostly inside. I was busy grading exams from one of my Ft. Hood classes, and needing to get it done. These kids today! Love it.

After that was over I headed up to the office on base and found my buddy Dave looking at the web sites for Terlingua. We're all goin' to the next chili cook-off the first weekend of November, and he was scoping out the agenda for that weekend. They have live acts there each night, mostly country bands, but the live shows cam be quite fun.

We found out today that the Derailers are gonna be playing there one of the nights. They have a great sound, sort of a combination of Buck Owens, Bob Wills, and the early Beatles, if you can believe it. They're a regular in Austin, and will be playing the ACL (Austin City Limits) festival there later this month. I looked at their web site and according to their tour schedule, Terlingua is no where to be seen. Oh well, we'll see.

The trip this year should be fun. There's a rival cook-off down the road that has a much wilder reputation. I went over there briefly last year, but we got there just after the wet t-shirt and chili wrestling contests had ended. our timing will have to be better this year.

Anyway, I taught my lunch time classes, taking one bunch through the beginning of World War 2, from about 1933 to 40, and the others from about 1817 to 1828. Andy Jackson and the beginnings of the cotton economy/Industrial Revolution. Fun stuff.

Then it was home to do laundry and try to pull something out of my ass to post here. How does it smell so far?

I'll be heading over to Temple to eat with dad, and then he wants to go to a football game in Academy, his old school. I'll take Denise with me. We had plans to do stuff till the old geezer came up with this, and I have a hard time saying "no" to the man. I also need to come back by the base later and try to get mom a new sticker for her new Buick. She needs it so she can shop at the commissary on base.

Saturday evening, Denise and I will be doing to a wedding. A friend of hers from work is getting hitched, and then we'll all be getting sloshed at the big reception down the road. Sunday morning, I have to be up in Gatesville at 9AM. A few buddies and I are going to Ft. Worth to a gun show. I'll probably get a chance to give that GPS system back to Jim, if all goes well. It sure was fun to play with on that road trip to Tennessee.

So, I hope you all have a good weekend. Rest up. The pro football begins in earnest, which means cold weather will be blowing down from the north in no time. I can't wait. Take care. Cheers.

First week of early morning teaching is finally over...

and the long weekend is upon us. I've been beat all week, trying to get used to getting up at 6:30AM after a summer of laying in till 9:30 every day. Life is rough I guess (I know, I get no sympathy). Of course the job has it's perks, or rather perkies; Lots of teenage girls, bouncing around in cheerleader outfits today, the morning of their first football game. Usually they're wearing tight little tank tops and short shorts, looking like they're on the game, and a whole slew of the little wonders are in my classes. It's a good gig if you can get it. So long as I don't get caught leering I'll be OK. Then there's the hot Spanish teacher who looks like she's decided to pick up teaching after a long career in Adult films. All the boys want to take her classes, and all the guys find reason to chat her up whenever possible. Nice way to spend the morning.

I gave the kiddies the day off today. Told them to chat amongst themselves quietly while I caught up on stuff, grading exams from other classes and surfing drudge. The Drudge report is about the only interesting thing I can get on the schools computer. I have one in class that I use to take roll each day, and check inter district emails. So, of course, I use it to surf everything else that the thing allows. No blogging though. Apparently you guys are so depraved, the school won't allow the kiddies to see any of it. Of course, the kids know how to hack into the thing better than the faculty, so I doubt if the checks and balances are having the desired effect. Just keeping me from being able to waste more of the districts time.

While I was grading tests I caught bits and pieces of a few conversations. The seniors were sitting around talking about their summers, and who'd gotten laid, and with whom, and who was still striking out. It was hilarious. At one point one of the girls said that the only thing one of the other guys there had been getting was ass, and called him "Shit dick". They all busted into laughter, and so did I, which made it that much more hilarious for them. I guess very few things have changed since I was in high school, 28 years ago.

When I clicked onto Drudge, I fell onto this little tid bit...

"A new film about the real-life rape and killing of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl by U.S. soldiers who also murdered her family stunned the Venice festival, with shocking images that left some viewers in tears.

"Redacted", by U.S. director Brian De Palma, is one of at least eight American films on the war in Iraq due for release in the next few months and the first of two movies on the conflict screening in Venice's main competition.

Inspired by one of the most serious crimes committed by American soldiers in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, it is a harrowing indictment of the conflict and spares the audience no brutality to get its message across."

This is the same douche bag who painted the Vietnam war as criminal and a lot of the Vets as rapist crazies in his old film Casualties of War. Apparently he's planning to do the same thing to the Iraq war, all the soldiers who are fighting it. Typical liberal Hollywood bullshit. Some asshole who probably never saw the working end of a gun, deciding to use his "art form" to brainwash another generation of kids into thinking his way about the war. Where the hell is John Milius when you need him? He's just the next in a long line of film makers, beginning with D. W. Griffith, who feels totally justified in over dramatizing violence and making up the history, just to get his point across. Well, I do the best I can in my history classes to set people strait. It keeps me in a job, I guess.

I found out today that I'll be on the team and playing pool with the guys each Wednesday night for most of the rest of the year, beginning in a week or so. I won't have a Wednesday night class next semester ether (early October to late December), so there won't be anything to get in the way of it. Should be fun, but I'll need to practice a bit. Haven't played in a while, but it comes back to me pretty quick.

Well, tonight is the night I go get dad and we eat Chinese food, so I'll be heading that way soon. He may want to go watch the kids in Academy play football, so we'll see what happens. The rest of the evening is up for grabs, or at least unplanned at this point. You guys have a great weekend, and don't strain anything lifting all those beers and cheering for all those teams. Enjoy. Cheers.

Another Friday.

Pooped today. Was draggin' my ass and down in the dumps this mornin' after a long night of fun and early morning with no sleep. Ok, it was a good tired, well earned, and the day has been much better since then. Got wrapped around the axle early on, thinking about good friends and amazing adventures that I'll never get to have. I pissed my youth away being a fool, or a coward, and now I'm paying the price, but that's cool. Hell, I put a buck in the coke machine this afternoon and the stupid thing gave me two Dr Peppers! probably should go buy a lottery ticket.

Takin' dad to eat Chinese later, and then I'll be back here with friends, and the squeeze, and her family of wild-assed Brits, watching our friends play pool and maybe later, working a few more things out. While you're here, be sure and check out this Friday tradition. It's a great set today. Maybe post somethin' later. More pictures of the old man or somethin'. Have a great Friday, and a great weekend. Cheers.

Q&A time, and another Friday trip to Dynasty.

Recently went over to the Shrinkwrapped Scream, and read a post she wrote answering questions put to her by another blogger. Kind of a meme, but different. Her answers were great. She said if anyone was game, to speak up and send her a comment. I did, and she emailed me these questions.

My job now is to answer her questions and then pass this thing on to anyone who desires to be grilled. So, here we go. My answers are in blue. Her first question:

1) Let's begin with a little background. I know you grew up as a military brat. Did that mean your father was often absent? If so, what impact, if any, did it have upon family dynamics? Were you closer to anyone in particular there? On average, what was the longest time you stayed in one house? Did you ever get boarded? If so, did you enjoy that experience?

Holy shit! Is that all one fuckin' friggin' question? Ok, first of all, my dad was in the Air Force, so we went where he went. If he'd been in the Navy or Merchant Marine, or if he'd gone to Vietnam, we would have had long periods without him, but the way things were, he basically had a 9 to 5 job. He drove to the base in the morning and then home for dinner in the evening. We just lived in a foreign country while some of this was going on. Mom ran the house and took care of us, and dad was the bread winner. They saw it as a partnership, and it mostly worked out well.

We lived in England from 67 to 70, but the rest was in the US, in places like Nebraska, Missouri, and Texas. I was born in Bermuda, at the Kinley Air Force Base hospital, in 1960. My sister was born in England, during my families first tour there in the early '50s.

Longest time we were anywhere during dads career was maybe 3 years. Then, after he retired, we spent 18 years in Ft. Worth, living on the southwest side of town.

I guess I was closer to mom as a kid, but really, I don't remember being too close to any of them. I was a loner, in my room most of the time, in my own world. We were (my sis and I) just beginning to get the hang of living there, making friends, when we were picked up and moved to Missouri. Starting over was rough, but that was our life.

Some people deal with that by learning to be more gregarious and outwardly fun loving (sis) and some by shutting into themselves (me). Got used to living that way, and I'm only now trying to learn how to work my way out of it. No boarding schools for me, but it might have been a good thing.

2) An extension of no.1 really. What is your adult relationship like with your family? Do you all live near to each other? How did you choose to settle where you did? Are you settled, or can you see yourself living elsewhere at some point?

We've been through a lot together, the Wilson clan, and we're still a tight little unit. Sis jokes about how no one else is allowed in, trying to explain why nether of us have been able to have much of a successful social life. She left home at 19, getting away from the folks in a rage over stuff that seems stupid now, but I got along with the folks pretty well.

I was in school or working most of the time, and did my own cooking and cleaning, laundry included, but I stayed at home till I was about 30. I lived at home through college and grad school, and then got the job in March of '90, living and working on Navy ships that were deployed around the world, but all my stuff was still with Mom and Dad.

I loved the hell out of that job. Sailed or flew around the world several times, seeing a war and a lot of other eye opening things. I grew up a hell of a lot in the process. When my folks decided in the summer of '93 to move from Ft. Worth to Temple, to be close to my ailing maternal Grandmother, they moved all my stuff there too. I looked into teaching on the base here while I was between cruises, went out on one more ship, and then started teaching on Ft. Hood part time in January of '94.

Lived with the folks while I made car payments on the new Jeep (was makin' about 16 or 18 grand a year then), payin' it off as quick as I could, and then moved out in the summer of '97 to go back to school in San Marcos, to get qualified to teach more classes. Been out of their house since then, but still see them all the time. Take Dad to eat Chinese food every Friday night, and see Mom on Fridays and usually on the weekend.

After staying away for a long time, Sis has moved closer to be near the folks as they get older, and she and I are still single. I'll be here, teachin' on Ft. Hood, as long as they are alive. When they both go, It'll be a wrenching experience, breaking a connection that is basic to my existence, but I've grown pretty strong since I flew off to Naples on that first teaching job, and I know I'll make it through, with the help of good friends. Then, who knows? Think some times about selling everything and going out on the ships again. Seeing the world again. Who knows?

3) What was your first paid job? What did you see yourself doing when you first left school? What are you doing now, and what would be your dream job? Oh, one more (I can fit as many sub-questions as I like in here, we're playing by my rules now, my friend) did you ever follow in your fathers footsteps and join the military, and if not, why not?

My first paying Job? I had a job at a local Revco drug store in high school, and then one at the Seminary South Cinema in Ft. Worth. Nether lasted too long. I was a scared little puppy, and didn't deal well with crowds or anything else back then. I made some money for a while mowing lawns, and then I started getting VA money in college, from Dad's retirement pension, and that allowed me to avoid the inevitoble for a while.

Then I found out about a tour to the Soviet Union, run out of the Russian language department at UTA (I took Russian in school). My folks told me if I wanted to go, I'd have to get a job and raise the $2000 myself. I found a great job through a buddy as a security guard at an oil company named Gearhart Industries, off I-35 on the south side of Ft. Worth. Put the VA money in the bank along with most of the money that Gearhart payed me. I kept that job for years. They basically payed me to sit and study, and drive a cool old LTD around the place and jam.

Loved the midnight shift that first year. Cool nighttime temps in the Texas summers, and very few people to mess with ya. Eventually I went on that tour, and spent 5 weeks in Europe, including 2 1/2 weeks in the Soviet Union (summer of '83). When I got back, I moved to the 4-12 shift. I learned a lot about other people, and myself, in those years. Had that job till the place went under during the oil glut of the mid '80s. Still see the place every time I drive up I-35 to Ft. Worth to see friends. Lots of good memories there.

A little while later, while I was in grad school, I got a job as a night shift security guard at the Colonial Country Club. That place was a trip, I wanna tell ya. Rich people are crazy, and a huge pain in the ass. Had the keys to all the walk-ins and was there all night, mostly by myself. Perfect job for a fat hairy shut-in. I started working out at a gym while I worked there, and while I finished grad school. I lost a lot of weight and got stronger, and felt a bit better about myself, actually had a girlfriend for a while, but nothing came of it. I still mostly stayed to myself, and didn't let her get close. I missed out on a lot of fun in my 20s and 30s, because I was so painfully shy. Wish I knew the hell why, but there's no going back and fixing it.

When I got my Masters in History, I put out a lot of resumes, trying to get a job teaching History at a community college. After about a year, the folks at Central Texas College called, wanting me to fly off to Naples, Italy and get on a destroyer, the USS Thorn. Scared the piss out of me, but I did it anyway. I almost turned around and flew home half way through the trip over, but made myself do it, and ended up having a great time. I loved the hell out of that job. It changed my life. I felt real confidence for the first time. Felt like a grown-up for the first time. Think I got real respect from my father for the first time.

Today I teach History and Government for Central Texas College and Tarleton State University. I'm still officially part-time, but get all the benefits of a full time teacher, and make as much money, or more, than a full time professor. Just have to teach more classes to do it. As far as my dream job, It'd probably be the one I have now, only makin' a LOT more money and workin' a lot less. Well, ether that or playin' slide guitar in a blues band, or piano in a cat house.

And no, I never joined the military, though I did do two years in ROTC in college. If I had it to do over again, 18 again, being the man I am now, I think I'd enjoy the hell out of it. The kid I was back then though, they'd a eaten me alive. I'm a very different person now.

4) Who was your first love, how old were you, how did you meet, are you still together, and if not, why? When was the last time you saw her?

Back in England, just before we were sent home to the states, I began to come out of my shell a bit. Had a few friends, and some of them were horny as hell. I was in a strip club for a while; little kids (8 or 9 years old), goin' out in the woods and showing the others what we had. Show and tell. One girl, don't remember her name, showed us everything, and we hit it off. We crawled into a bush once or twice and rubbed asses, not knowin' what the hell we were doin'. I think If we'd stayed in England for another few years, I might have lost it in about the 5th or 6th grade. Those girls were crazy. Her mom found out about it all and I never saw her again.

Anyway, a while later, just before we left town, my heart was broken by the little girl next door. Her name was Marsha. I hung out with her for a long time and we did everything together, till one day I saw her with another girl, sitting on the grass, watching the other kids play ball. I walked up to her and tried to talk to her, but she just flat out told me that she wasn't going to play with me any more. I was stunned. I went back the house, climbed to the top of the wooden fence that separated our yards, and I cried my eyes out.

Her dad came out and asked me what was wrong, and I told him "Marsha doesn't love me any more." I was fucking destroyed. He didn't say much. Turned around and walked back in the house. My mom told me later that she suspected that her folks had told her to stop playing with me. Didn't want their little Catholic daughter getting to close to the Protestant kid next door. Shit, I didn't know one from the other, but I think I learned to stay to myself from then on. Being out there was too painful.

Believe it or not, that was it for romance. We moved to Missouri, and I went back in my shell. We moved a few more times, and I think I missed out on whatever stage of socialization that teaches you how to relate to others and be a normal human being. In stead I learned how to fake it, and got pretty good at it. Still tryin' to work my way out of all that crap today, with the help of some friends. It's the one thing I still have left to learn about being a fully human being.

Met someone recently; British, ex service wife, administrator at the college. She's a bit older, but still very well preserved. Sweet as hell, and smart. Found out tonight we have the same birthday! What the hell are the odds of that? We'll see what happens.

5) Money is no object, you have given to the charities and causes you support, what do you want to do with the rest of your life?

If I didn't have to work, and could do anything? Dude, the fish would all be in sooooo much trouble. I'd do nothing but travel the world, fishing and canoing, and seeing friends.

I'd rent one of those huge yachts and pay for all my blogger buds to sail to Alaska, or Fiji, or wherever.

I'd buy about 500 acres on the edge of a national park in northeast New Mexico and live like a king. Live simple, self-sustaining, off the grid, but very well. I'd have a place in the Hill Country of Texas too, and Alaska. Damn, I can spend imaginary money like a fool.

Seriously, I'd probably get a PhD in History just for the hell of it, and then spend the rest of my life taking care of my friends. We'd do all the stuff we ever dreamed of doing, and I'd pay the bills. What the hell else is money for?

Well, that's more crap about me than anyone ever needed to know. Question is, do YOU want to be interviewed?

Interview rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying “Interview me.”

2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.

3. You will update your blog with a post containing your answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Ok folks, who's on first?

Well, It's Friday, so you know what I'll be doing tonight. I'll take dad out to eat Chinese, visit with mom for a while, and then probably look up that new friend. New wrinkle on the old routine. It'll take some getting used to, but I think I can handle it.