Monday's Missives

That is a long way down, isn't it dad? Yes, it is. Please be careful I said with my heart in my throat when I turned to see him looking into that yawning chasm of death instead of walking right behind me like I thought he was.

Life In The Balance

Hey, want a nice bottle of urine some arrogant rock climber left behind?

Amtrac drive sprocket

Guy being towed was having a bad day but was good humored about it

Gama Goat. I have driven untold miles in various examples of this weird old utility vehicle.  It was a 6 wheel drive and would float with a swim kit mounted. You can mount an infinite number trailers to each other making it look like a giant centipede. It had a 3 cylinder Cummins? diesel mounted right behind the driver that was loud as thunder. It would literally make you want to vomit to drive one for a couple of hours at highway speed- with  hearing protectors on. It will be on my short list for my dream shopping spree when my ship comes in.

When I put something made of meat and tube shaped in my mouth called Lil Chub... well, lets just assume that will never happen.

The rare and elusive Canada goose

Wall of legends of Mineral Wells State Park

Shadows

I imagined this elder gentleman helping the Hispanic man rig his fishing gear up as being somebody who without any malice whatsoever would pronounce Mexican as Messican.

I asked the concession operator what his number one seller was in this after hours bait machine. Butterfinger bars was his surprise answer. I correctly guessed number 2 as being Mtn Dew. He said the machine cost 8 thousand dollars. 

Her name was Dixie according to the calls of the people she abandoned with glee to come explore near us. Another light colored Lab was named Cracker. They were comical and smart - kinda in the job description of Labs I suppose.

This says I'm right here

Ancient Indian pottery shard

• The madness that is Afghanistan
• I like Walmart, good prices,quality merchandise and local assability." From a comments section on Walmart. "Assability"? Huh?!
• A couple of days ago I saw woman driving erratically and 5 mph under the speed limit in the passing lane. As I and the other 10 people she had stacked up behind her for miles passed her she looked up, took a look around and with a grin on her face looked back down to her phone and resumed texting. That same afternoon I saw a guy sharpening his pocket knife while driving and talking on a Bluetooth headset.
• Tomorrows planned trip to Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch may be postponed due to thunderstorms.
• I had that very rare headache yesterday. It caused me to be nauseated and light sensitive. Even more rare for me- it forced me to leave work early.
• Barry mentioned once being known for having quick reflexes. On the same day I had the same observation scheduled to post on myself. When I saw his I took mine down so I wouldn't look like a copycat. That is a weird coincidence though for such a random thought isn't it? Anyway, yes I'm known for the same thing by people I'm around. I'll catch papers in mid air that somebody drops or a coffee cup a waitress drops etc. A few days ago a nurse missed the counter with her coffee cup as she tried to place it on the counter I was standing near. Reflexively, my foot went out catching the cup in midair, then in almost the same motion my foot went down to ease it to the floor. My nursing buddy said,"How did you do that? That isn't right- nobody should know how to do that." It's just another one of my superpowers.
• All my dreams were just a jumble of randomocity last night.
• Relationship pro tip: If your significant other wants some space be the second person in the history of the world to give it to them. Don't try to take control of the situation and find out whats going on or try to get physical to let them know what they're missing or whatever- let them go.
• It seems ignorant at least and maybe slightly racist for TV shows to subtitle a persons dialogue when they speak perfect English but with an accent that may be strong to Western ears.

Wednesdays Digressions

See, clean, plentiful water IS sexy and way more interesting than hi speed rail, space travel and other daydreamy stuff!

• Bea Arthur has died at 86 and Farrah Fawcett's publicist has been denying for weeks she is at deaths door.
• Even the legends don't live forever.
• Where were you when Dana Plato died?
• I was in my little house in the country. The glass fell from my hand. I began to weep.
• Well the first sentence is true.
• Foi Gras has been banned in California in legislation that takes effect 2012. I don't know which is more ridiculous- eating or banning the stuff. Yes, I know what it is and how it's made.
• Another thing that gets me: animals are still being killed and in some cases pushed to extinction for their body parts magical or supposed medicinal value- absolutely ridiculous. Good grief- it's 2009 AD not BC.
• Susan Boyles has shaved her mustache.
• My children were on their grandparents ranch for the weekend. Good for us all I know but, I missed them.
• They were riding horses about as soon as they walked.
• Ask them what they did this weekend and they will say,"Worked cattle with my grandad."
• You'll picture them sitting on a fence rail or in a pickup for a little while watching cows walk by as they're processed.
• They de-horn and castrate bulls, give vaccinations and brand all the animals.
• My teenage son came in covered in blood, mud, doo-doo and animal hair. He saved a horn to mount on a knife blade.
• He stunk to high heaven.
• So proud.
• The show Bones is always good and they often knock an episode out of the park.
• The show Fringe is usually OK but, they can also kill- occasionally.
• The shows Arrested Development and The Office? Just always very good- every episode, never tumultuous though.
• We are going the other way in proposed infrastructure development. As I've said in the past- bridges are falling into rivers with people on them, entire regions were without water because of a drought recently, our electrical grid can't compete with anything more than a perfect spring day without threatening to collapse but, we're talking about going to the moon and Mars?
• Crazy
• Insane
• Irresponsible
• Now the President is going to push for a fast tracked multi gazillion, patrillion, quadrillion dollar high speed coast to coast rail system? The same system that I can assure you will be a government subsidized nightmare from groundbreaking- 'til death do us part.
• Let's make sure we have drinking water first. Gigantic reservoirs of the stuff that break multiple records in multiple categories of The Guinness Book, that can be seen from space, that our children and grandchildren will play in, bathe with, drink and sell to countries that didn't have the foresight to take care of something so basic and get fantastically rich. Is that too much to ask? Or just not sexy enough?

Public Service Announcement

Just one reason we need a safe, plentiful and renewable water supply. I'd cast a vote quicker for someone assuring me of these simple and essential things over some moon base and Mars mission daydreamer any day, for any office . But, I'm in the minority, more and larger lakes with dams that provide power and are built to last generations just don't inspire the awe of throwing trillions of dollars away- so a handful of people can accomplish some dream they've had since winning a science fair in third grade and so some scientists can wow us with some new kind of velcro and dehydrated food that came out of The Space Program.

I weep for the species

Fridays Dispatch

• A prediction: In our lifetimes wars will be fought over drinking water rights-in our hemisphere (as in Mexico). It will start as more or less riots then it will become a civil war.
• This will shock us and get our attention more than the wars there'll be over water in Africa and the Middle East.
• We'll still feel insulated because it's over there
• My baby boy just got back from the doc. The place on his head is just a hemangioma- a birthmark that arises after birth. It has it's own blood supply so when he scratches it off, his bed looks like a crime scene photo from one of those tawdry old, true crime magazines.
  
• He only scratches it off in his sleep.
• Saw a Ribbon Snake in the yard while watering Wednesday. I tried to catch him to relocate him to some place safer-he failed to see the humor and bit at me ( he was too small to really get me) like a rabid Cobra.
• I have no idea how many times I've been bitten by snakes.
• Last weekend my house was full of life during a shower for a girl pregnant with twins-a boy and a girl. The boy died the other night in the womb. The mom said,"Save Zac for my girl, she'll need a good boy to protect her, he's beautiful and smart and I only hear good things about him.
• A boat of any real size laid up on dry land catches my interest, a huge ship fascinates me,wonder why?
• Justin Timberlakes solo stuff is amazing. I may gush over it partially because I'm surprised at just how good it is but, it's mostly because it is that awesome.
• Another prediction: 30 years from now he'll be constantly compared to Frank Sinatra.