A Rant or Two

• For days after a blown call at a football game all the news was about a flag being picked up. It was pervasive. It was on television news and on my Internet news browsers and radio. In one commute I heard about it from 3 different radio stations. Now (01/28/2015) the controversy is the underinflated footballs. Good grief. So, America after solving all her problems has decided she can worry about footballs with a little too little air in them?!
• Underinflated wasn't a word? Well, it is now.
• A headline earlier regarding Bowe Bergdahl said to the effect, From Prisoner to Deserter? This was in regards to the possibility he will face desertion charges after he abandoned his post leading to his capture by the Taliban. Anyway, the assumption wrapped in the question is wrong as he went from deserter to prisoner.
• This commercial that was yanked after some sort of outrage or somethin' is proof we have lost not only our minds but also our sense of humor. Also, it proves we're happy to let the ninnies run the world.
• Morons- people who text while driving. There is no safe way to do it.
• OK, I'm better. Thanks for being here for me.

Thursday's Thoughts

Found in Town creek lying just like this- waiting to cripple somebody. A connected thought: I found this within 5 feet of where my friends girlfriend found an arrowhead. Another connected thought: you never notice how trashy your favorite outdoor places are until you make an active effort to watch for the garbage and carry some out. Then it seems sad, pointless and overwhelming.

• Stairway To Heaven was playing on the radio yesterday (01/03/2015) and I heard it for the first time in years. I sang along and used hand gestures to express the lyrics. The high falsetto parts were even attempted. FG laughed. I was surprised at how much of the lyrics I remembered as in really- I cannot even guess the last time I heard it.
• She says we're done. No, not because of my awful singing- just in general.

  

  My thrill seeker daughter

• During the trailers at the theater yesterday I am positive one of them had the release date of 01/17/2014. That would make it a Friday of January last year or Saturday of this if they meant 2015- unlikely as movies are not released on Saturday. The name of the movie eludes me now but it looked stunningly terrible from the trailer.
• Roger Daltry was in a movie where he plays a bank robber. I had to look it up but it was called McVicar and wasn't awful.
• FG's dumb cat has a strange loyalty toward me even though i hate his guts. FG says to me, He is gay for you and You're  his boyfriend.

  

  Another one of FG's tattoo designs for me

• Last night after gassing up the econo box we call Bullit I pulled around by a bunch of hot rodders/street racers/miscreants hanging at the car wash and putting the car in neutral as we slowly rolled by I revved the engine- zoom, zooooom, zoOOoooOOom as their mouths hung open in disbelief and they said, What the...!? We were still laughing halfway across town. I thought I was going to hyperventilate. I was seeing spots and my diaphragm was spasmodic.
• Maybe you had to be there.

  

  This is a fork on the seat of my truck. You're welcome.

• If money were no object- I won that proverbial lottery or whatever, my dwelling would be awesome of course but not ridiculous. However, the wall separating the garage from the house would be glass so I could see all my cool cars and motorcycles.
• Now all I have to do is sit here and rock back and forth wanting all that money.

  

  A drive by shooting: this place has always gotten on my nerves- it isn't on a corner! ARRRRRRRH- you can't do that!

  
  

  

  Another : looks like there was a gun show on the Wise County _________ Grounds Nov. 22nd & 23rd. Good to know somebody is standing up to Obama and his liberal agenda.

  
  

  

  Otra: I haven't been to Casa Torres since they built the new building

  
  

  

  Autere: I love Decatur's library building and was always proud of it. It would be a pleasant surprise if it doesn't (or hasn't in the past) leaked like a pasta strainer.

  
  

  

  Anutter peanut butter: These things in the middle of the road make me nervous.

  
  

  

  Andere: As wrong as it is, you know what I think when I see these signs (and always have)? Deet dah dee...

• Donna Douglas as died. I was reading about her at 4 o'clock in  the morning before the announcement was made- she wasn't dead and the article wasn't about her death. How random and wild is that? I do not know the last time she crossed my mind.
• Does the apostrophe in o'clock connote, of the clock?

Wednesday's Digressions

David at MWSP does an admirable job keeping everybody's attention during his presentations

Look, something shiny!

Look at the pretty deer...

Interesting visual for how quickly a person can get lost by not staying put- by moving for a short peiod of time the search area can very quickly expand to 16 square miles.

• My children  did the Kid's Wilderness Survival course at Mineral Wells State Park today (11/16/2014). What a fun, simple time while learning some really good information. It mostly centers around what to do if they're separated from their grown ups. I just realized: I wonder if any kid has survived a situation because of the class? I guess a better question, although harder to quantify would be- how many situations have been prevented?
• They built the fire up this morning from the coals and were mighty proud.
• I had the foresight to jack two small space heaters (now banned) from work and brought a heavy extension cord to run them in the tent. I was mighty proud and we all were mightily warmed. 
• I slept like a baby.
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  So they blindfolded everybody and we led them out. After arriving at a point we spun them around and challenged them to point the way back from whence we came. 12 different kids pointed 12 different directions- interesting.

• We had El Paseo for lunch Saturday and McDonald's for breakfast this morning. 
• My motto: Camping is not a contest to see who suffers the most.
• The McDonald's in Mineral Wells is fancy. We call it McBistro.
• Wow, the lake is down. It made me ask, What would it take to refill it- an epic two week rain or multiple years of very good rains? 
• I wish they would dredge it out while it is low.
• A culvert had been installed since the last time I was there. It was literally the shoddiest workmanship I have ever seen in earthen construction. A funny thing about dirt work: a house could be built with poorer quality materials and shoddy-ish workmanship and the owners may never know. It may take years for problems to present (if ever) but if an earthen structure looks bad and doesn't show good quality workmanship it may not last through the first good rain.
  

Lake Murray State Park After Action Report

Cabins are nice for being nearly 100 years old.

• When I asked about an exhibit of not visible ornate box turtles the otherwise very competent interpreter said, They're in a tupor so they're kind of hiding out under the leaves.. Animals may be go into torpor or may be in a torpid state but tupor?
  
  
  

  

  Honk!

  
  

  

  See, its an egg made of birds...

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Not as out of place as he seems- grizzlies did live in Oklahoma in olden times.

  
  

  

  The nature center was built in 2013

• The wind atop Tucker Tower was awe inspiring. It was literally breathtaking, as in when you faced the wind just right it could be hard to breathe. Really- I may be over exaggerating but I kind of think if it were a little more powerful it would have been dangerous.

  

  View from Tucker Tower. Here is where I'll ride out the impending apocalypse.

  
  

  

  The cool thing about the 30s was everybody got to look like gangsters

  
  

  

  A nice detail to a doorway was this stone awning

  
  
  
• There is a campground in the park called Ski Jump. I couldn't get an answer for why it is so named.
• Lake Murray Meteorite was found during the construction of the lake. Although it has been sawed in half it weighed 600 pounds when first found. It is composed of iron and nickel.
• Sometime in the long ago past I recall reading that the CCC planted millions of trees and thought that figure heart warming. An exhibit at the park put the number at 3 billion. Whoa.
• You cannot believe how clear the water is in the lake.
  
• They rent boats and personal watercraft there. If you don't know this already, here is your unsolicited life lesson for the day: Be very careful about renting a watercraft of any type- anywhere. Some very shady people are attracted to that business (or become shady at some point).
• The cabins have everything you could possibly need- yep including cable. Groupon has a half off deal until I think March.
• Prairie Kitchen is really phoning it in these days.
  
• I  saw a bald eagle in the the wild there for the first time in my life.  As we approached Tucker Tower some random guy asked us, What are you looking for? Of course my mind went for the metaphysical and I was preparing smart Alec responses like, world peace, my inner center, true love, nirvana... when he said, The bald eagle is over here, I can show you. 
• All kidding aside, I knew it would be cool to see a wild bald eagle. I had no idea it would basically be in my top 10 list of amazing things I've experienced.
• America We Stand As One. Murica!

Monday's Missives

Persimmons. I take a lot of pics of persimmons don't I? They capture my attention for some reason.

Mmmmm, let me see here- about some nice fish or a crawdad this morning...

Creepy cactus bugs being all creepy and buggie.

Turd roller be rollin'.

• Those skinny leg suits with the 2 sizes too small jackets models are wearing look about as ridiculous as the black NFL football players hair weaves. In 20 years will people make fun of them both or be too terrified of looking like they hate black and gay people?
• FG and her dumb cat were lying by and on me on the couch earlier- wallowing all over me as we say. As I was thinking about how dumb he is and how much I hated his guts he looked at me and said, Meow! He then reached his paw out at me and touched my belly and laid his head against my arm and dozed off. FG then hugged my other arm and said, You are soooo snuggly. This is nice.
• Will I miss all that when it is over?
• Built To Kill: what we're watching (01/11/2015).

  

  What The?! What hit that car- a boat?

  
  

  

  At a local business. The funny thing is- this is the second time I've seen a vehicle stuck up on that rock.
• I just (01/12/2015) got back from visiting a friend in a physical therapy rehab facility. If I'm lying- I'm dying, she is in the same room- same bed that one of my last hospice patients croaked in. She is across the hall from a famous person's relative I cared for and when we turned down that hall I was sure we were going to take a right and be in that room. Nope- we took a left into the room of death (the famous person's relative didn't die while under my care).
• Just don't tell her please- it would freak her out.

  

  Have I shown you this pic before? Murica!

  
  

  

  A pen I carried during The War.

• One of those weird things that I can't forget: Some people with lymphoma will experience pain at the site(s) of their affected lymph nodes. The number of patients is low (probably less than 30%) but of those, the pain may be excruciating and exquisite (meaning it will be bad,  happen every time and with as little as one drink). A funny thing about the way those little tidbits work is, it would be worthless [and ridiculous] to use a shot of tequila for a part of a battery of tests but if a patient tells a doctor or nurse their armpit hurts after a random shot or glass of wine- that ought to get some attention.

  

  Found in the bottom of a box in my storage. Murica!

• Things I learned about my self and others during a long period of abstinence: In regards to the opposite sex- if you want more sex than you ever had in your life apparently let it be known you don't want to have sex until you're married. Not that it happened every day but multiple women begged me to have the seks with them. When it came to my understanding of myself one woman was good with no sex although we spent lots of time together. Thoughtlessly, I would walk out of a restroom in my underwear to change to go swimming or go out. There was a mutual attraction so it isn't like I totally disrespected her and looked at her as if she had the perceived sex appeal of a houseplant or whatever but I didn't think anybody could get that worked up over me. She said to the effect, No sex is fine- for now if that is what you want but you can't keep strolling around here in your underwear- it drives me nuts and I get all worked up and you know it and it isn't right.
  
• Today (01/19/2015) as I drove down 183 toward Mineral Wells I saw a  goober from from Roger Williams check traffic to his left and right with his hand shading his eyes from the glare of the sun. He did this apparently without realizing his having to do this meant drivers would be similarly affected.  He stepped in front of me right when the glare hit me the worst and I only caught him out of the corner of my eye- and I mean barely. I slammed on my brakes and steered away from him while honking the horn. He waved with a goofy passive-aggressive grin and kept walking. 
• Keep it cute homes. 
• You are literally only alive because I'm such a good driver and you were nearly dead because you are oblivious.
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  In front of an antique store in Mineral Wells.

• Once you know somebody with a dementia such as Alzheimer's you can pick others out of a crowd similarly affected- even by looking at a picture. They just have that look.

Adios Texas I'm Heading North- To Oklahoma As It Were and As I Do

Here is what I'm jamming to. Have a nice weekend. Now, where is my green card...?

I'm bored with it all.

 The last thing he said before becoming comatose. He would die 9 days later. Winston Churchill, statesman, d. January 24, 1965

George Washington Was

                           America's first white President. Your mind is now blown. 

• 
  

Maybe The Creator Of This Missed The Point Or Maybe The Rest Of The World Has

Wednesday's Digressions

Yes! I don't know what we're voting for but you gotta admire the simplicity.

• Yesterday (01/09/2015) as I turned from Berry down to 35 to head North I saw a cel phone fly off a ___________ truck and land on the road. I couldn't jump out and nab it without getting myself or others killed so I caught up to him on 35 to give him a heads up. He was soooo stoned or drunk he was oblivious and I couldn't get his attention. His eyes were glowing and he had the stupidest grin on his face I have ever seen.
• Here, is what I imagined him jamming to as he floated along.

  

  Objects in the mirror...
• The good stylist at Pro Cuts left and those that remain do terrible work and are oddly surly. Wooten's on Saturday gets busy so I take Mini Me to Knockouts Haircuts For Men. Although I don't partake, they offer you a beer as soon as you sit down and treat you like a king and he gets a good haircut and gets to control the cable remote to a personal TV while hot chicks make a fuss over him.
• I remember when haircuts were $2.50. It cost me 25 bucks get out of KHFM today.
• Jimmy Wooten gave me the last haircut I'll ever get.
• Red gave me the first although for some reason Bert McClain became the barber we used most often. Red's hands always smelled clean.
  
  

  

  The sign to the reader's left is only true in certain cases. The one to our right varies from patently false to highly arguable (and situation dependent at best).

• Pop Tarts don't have enough filling. Is it like a drug- they cut it down to keep you coming back for more?
• I am drinking coffee in the evening for the first time in a while. When I was in college I had a cup of coffee and a big bowl of ice cream nearly every night after work. I weighed a 150 pounds and slept like a baby.
  
  
  
  

  

  Good, cheap tacos were to be had here at one time. It looks like it is closed now. No mas taquitos amigo.

• When a patient says, I'm going to be honest with you... I know I am about to be treated to some amazing lies. Well, OK- half truths at least.
• If you've never drunk orange juice with pizza you should give it a try sometime. All the cool kids are doing it.
• If you loved me like you say you do you would by this for me/us.

  

  I was a 17 year old lad when I signed up here at the armory in Decatur Texas. It was an artillery unit then. Was it Alpha or Bravo Battery? I think it was A Battery. It was 2/131 Field Artillery Regiment. We went off roading in a M151A2 Jeep with the recruiter the night before we signed. After we signed we watched pron on a reel to reel projector in a classroom while we ate chicken. One time the CO made a big to do about guys eating chow there instead of going out.  Coincidentally, a KP failed to wash Bippy powder out of the pans well. Consequently, 100 guys got sick and they had to shut down for the weekend. Being outlaws me and a couple other miscreants had signed the meal roster and went out to eat. We came back 30 minutes late and then hid out in the motor pool and Quonset hut. Later we were found by a Staff Sergeant who was pale and sweating. It went like this: Where the %$^&# have you #**&^%rs been? We were out cleaning the motor pool- you told us to do it this morning. No you weren't. I've been looking for you for the past hour! Uh, oh- some Sergeant came out and had us move some stuff around in the Quonset hut. Oh, well everybody is getting sick after chow- are you guys OK? The CO is thinking about shutting us down. he replied. We all feel bad. We were on our way in to tell you. we replied as we held our bellies for effect.