Story Telling

You never know when an opportunity will come along to connect with your children. I am usually pretty good at reaching out, especially to Ben and Grider. I look for ways to connect and parent with them. Life gives us all times we can share and help. Sometimes, however, great opportunities come when you least expect them. I really connected Sunday while the boys and I were picking blackberries.
The blackberries we were picking were the edible type, not communication devices. We were actually skipping youth at church and enjoying what may be the last cool weekend day before October. As we looked for and picked the berries, I began telling them stories. I shared with them then experiences I had growing up on the farm and since we were there, I could show them places that action had occurred.
I love telling stories. If you don't tell me to shut up I will go on and on when I am on a roll. I was on a roll Sunday. I told these freshmen in high school, (at least for another week,) stories for over an hour. Finally I knew I had to stop so we could get home in time to watch the Simpsons. I had a captive audience and took advantage.
The real surprise came Monday morning. As I drive them to school I always ask if they had a good weekend and what was their favorite part. Last weekend was full of good things for the boys. When it came time for Grider to share his favorite part he said picking berries and listening to Pop's stories. I could have wept.

Going to the Dogs

Sometimes I can't believe how my life has changed! Things I did while growing up now seem impossible, and things I thought were crazy just a few years ago now seem normal. The best example is the way I baby my dogs.
Let it be said quickly that no one loves dogs more than I. I had great dogs growing up and always expected to be a dog owner. Even as a young man I considered my dogs to be friends and partners. I used them hunting and worked livestock with them. Even more important they were companions, and companions that rarely talked back or yelled at me. I treated them well, for then, and gave them more love than I gave most people. The last times I have cried have been over then loss of dogs. I am getting misty just thinking of that.
Even though I love dogs, I would have never given much thought to spoiling them. My dogs stayed outside and hoped they never got bad sick. My grandfather was a pragmatic person. If it costs much more to cure a dog than a bullet- he would find a new dog. He never took a dog to the vet, and the only time my father did was to keep all his family from revolt. The irony is that the dogs that we took to the vet usually died anyway.
Yesterday my dog Trixie had a bad foot. She was limping around the house all day, (something none of my father's dogs would do. First they weren't allowed inside the house, second was a limp could mean time for a puppy to appear.) I checked her paw out and could find no cut or obstruction, but it was red. I gave her part of an aspirin to relieve her discomfort. Last night she slept in bed with Joy and myself, (she didn't feel good and her kennel is too small.) Topping off the evening was that Joy held her paw all night so Trixie would not lick it.
Was is this world coming to. Joy won't hold my hand all night, even if I did have the bad habit of licking it. Now not only do I let dogs stay in the house, they sleep in our bed! Sometimes I wonder- who trained who?

Am I a Techie?

  I am a fairly old fashioned type of guy. I tell stories of yesteryear, have a great grasp of history and cultural geography, and do not really understand computers. That said, I also tweet, use facebook, have a myspace page,(but I don't use it,) and several blogs. So I ask myself; Self-am I a techie?
  The answer is easy. No. I am not a techie, I just like toys. Come to think of it, all my tech toys have been gifts from my wife. My XM radio, my tivo, my iphone, even my PC were gifts from Joy. Therefore... Joy is a closet techie!
  While writing this piece I completed the title and then the thing mysteriously posted and then froze. That answered the question.
 

Old Sci- Fi

This morning I watched some old Sci-Fi. No, it was not reruns of Shantner-Nimoy Star Trek. It was War Games, (would you like to play a game?) Yes, I invested a few minutes watching a 30 + year old computer movie, and caused me to ask some questions.
Why did Matthew Broderick quit playing misguided youths (Ferris Bueller) and start playing Leo Bloom in a Mel Brooks Broadway? Obviously he captured teenage angst as well as anyone, and did not need tats or piercings to do it. Oh, that's right. He grew up. I think we all learned this lesson.
What ever happened to that superstar talent Dabney Coleman? He was VERY hot there for a while and now was fallen off the map. Is he doing dinner theatre in Peoria? My theory is that he is still in acting. I believe he has shaved his head and changed his name and teamed up with Oprah and the folks at Harpo. Yes, Dabney is now Dr. Phil.
The movie is now so lame it is funny. I use more technology to write and post this blog than the government used to safeguard the nation in that movie. It was made many moons ago, and all 30 year old movies do not age as well as...Blazing Saddles, (when on a Brooks roll- go with it.)
Saturday mornings- good times.

So Now What?

Son Ben wants to be a writer like his Pop. I take that as a huge compliment. I like writing and entertaining so I try to encourage him. The rub is that his writing and mine are not similar, no his writing and mine are almost polar opposites. I write in a folksy way and tell stories of the past. Ben likes Sci Fi and writes about future.
A few weeks ago he started writing a novel, ( he is 14 and is working on a novel! ) He had compiled a bunch of ideas through the years, had written them down and now he wants to organize them in the form of a Sci-Fi novel.
His thoughts may not be similar to mine, but he has good ideas. The best part is that he works on his "project" a lot while he is at Pops. He has much more self discipline than I ever thought of. He is looking forward to summer so he can spend weeks at a stretch with Pop and can really get some work done.
I do read his stuff, and even though it is not my cup of tea, he does some things well. I will help him try to get it published, and I figure that even after rewrites he should have a finished manuscript by the fall. He could pitch it for years and still be ahead of the game.
Maybe his story will strike a nerve in his peer group. He may even sell more books than his Pop. Even if he doesn't, the fact that he wants to be a writer like his Pop makes me feel wanted and loved.

Tribute to Dad

In today's Lufkin Daily News a contributing writer wrote a piece on Dad. Jim Moore was a student and was one of Dad's tennis players. Dad was a great tennis coach. During his tenure at Lufkin High School the goals were not winning district, that was a given, but doing well in region and state. Now in a Lufkin team gets past the first few rounds in district they get headlines.
Jim also talked about Dad as a science teacher. Dad liked to coach tennis, but he loved science,(still does.) I have had many of his former students tell me how he encouraged them and challenged them. He taught two (2) Westinghouse scholars. To my knowledge, they were the only two LHS has ever produced. What makes this a little more impressive is he only taught science for less than a decade.
I also am a contributor for the Lufkin Daily News, but I seldom write nice things about Dad. He is usually the comic foil for the bad things that can happen in life. I do this because he has a great sense of humor and doesn't mind the press. I am very glad former students do write about how Dad touched their lives. He has touched mine as well. Lets face it; the things he did he did very well. No one can touch him as a tennis coach or a science teacher. These are documented facts. The truth is that the best thing he ever did was be my Dad.

Discipline

I usually do not show much discipline in my life. I tend to live day to day, not worrying much and caring less. This should be obvious because my blog has not been updated since January. This doesn't mean that things do nort happen that should cause concern. In the past few months I have lost my job, my benifits have been held up, and my parents are still getting older. The resulting financial and emotional stains have been tough on me and my family. I like to work and I enjoy selling, but my organizational skills have really hindered my employment search. I needed help.
That help has arrived in a different form. Joy and I have been participateing in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at the church. Joy is so fired up that she is causing me to be on board and has budgeted our household. Now, not only do I have specific written limits and boundaries with money, I also have had to make time budgets as well. So far so good.
I am not promoteing this course per se, but the discipline it has brought to my life has been needed. Stay tune to see if it continues to work. Following my update schedule I should update again around Thanksgiving.

New Year

I understand this is the 21st day of the new year and this is my first update. I do not have a lot of self discipline so it is not unusual for me to put things "off" for a few days, weeks, months, or even years.
That being said, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
There, I have updated. Now I can get down to serious things like worrying about things I can't control.

The Two Thanksgivings

This may sound like the title of a Sci-Fi holiday, but it is how I spent last week. It is an interesting sociological study, when people come together as one- how do we handle holidays? To make it real interesting- have the two people be blending families. Now you have my world.
Strange thing about this Thanksgiving- the two holidays did not involve my side of our family.
Thursday, (real Thanksgiving,) was spent in Cushing with Joy's mother. Eventually Adam and Tashina and Patrick showed up, but it was basically just the three of us. Mommo Rie can't see anymore and had been having trouble with her hearing last week, so I cooked.
This is really nothing new, I like to cook. Joy does not, and since she does other things well, I do the cooking. I made the holiday staples; potato casserole, stuffing, salad, and cooked brownies. I bought a smoked turkey breast and Mom made me a sweet potato pie, we were in business. all went well. We even got back in time to see the "horns dominate the aggies. Life is good!
Friday I found out that one of Joys sisters was going to Cushing on Saturday, and was bringing some of her family. Once again I made stuffing, brownies, and potato casserole. I had a problem with the potatoes. Brookshire Bros. was out of hash browns so I had to use some frozen hash browns I had at the house. Since there would be many people on Saturday- I made a double batch.
The Saturday Thanksgiving went well also, except my casserole was bad- it did not taste good. Luckily Joys sister made some as well, so the meal was saved. Leftovers, however, were not. At least the dogs get to eat Thanksgiving leftovers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Lufkin to you. (More to come.)

Finally- More Rain

  Finally, we are getting some rain. While this puts a crimp on my sales calls and stump grinding, it does fill up ponds and creeks so my cows can drink. I am that weirdo that looks up at a partly cloudy sky and says "oh boy-it looks like rain!"
To further illustrate how dry it has been, I almost broke my neck Friday. Now I have your attention,("how is he going to tie no rain into neck breaking?") Fair question. Here is the bad answer.
  I was wrapping things up last week before Joy and I left for Austin. We had not gone all fall. I was missing 'Horn home games and she was missing Patrick. We even decided to skip the Panther game so we could get there at a decent hour. One of my final stops that day was at my parents house. Dad is home and doing better. I was there to pick up some books that I was going to sell in Austin.
Even though Dad is feeling better, he still does not go walking around outside. He asked when was the last time I saw the cows, and that would have been when I penned and sold some the week before. I told him I would go check on them. I went down to the "home place", where they usually hand out, but they were no where to be found. I began to walk up towards Dads and whistled.
  Our cows respond to whistling. They are called to feed time this way and it really help to find them when they bawl at the sound of the food whistle. I heard them answer and realized they were up at Dad's. In order to get to his house I had to cross Hottle Creek. Hottle may not be a major waterway, but it is a perennial stream, (it always has water.) There are crossings where animals, man included, usually cross. I started down the creek bank at one of these crossings and slipped. I landed right in the middle of the creek bed and heard my neck crack. I knew I had broken my neck and also knew Joy would be mad at me for ruining our trip. I slowly moved my arms to see if I could get to my cell phone, (although I could never explain to Joy where I was.) Then I slowly got up. I was not paralyzed at all, only muddy and sore!
  What does this have to do with rain? I landed in the middle of a creek and only got muddy! I almost broke my neck when I should have almost drowned. That is why I am glad for the rain.

Where Am I?

I can't believe it has been a week since I last posted on this forum. I haven't been super busy, I am not creatively drained, and my life has not been boring. Time seems to pass by, whether we want it to or not.
My friend David (of 365 Daves fame,) is finding out how tough it is to post every day. For those who are not "in the know," 365 Daves is a blog where David puts his,(use your favorite adjective here,) mug in photos of current events. There is a link to the left. Check it out, it is usually very funny.
I never tried to post daily, even while doing "Spikes World." Calm down. No, I am not bringing "Spikes World" back. Why? First, It was a web comic that was not well drawn. Second, even though I only updated every weekday, it was a pain to keep up to date. Not because it took a long time to draw, (obviously it did not,) but because there are some days that I had to force time to upload the work. That was not fun.
I may do another post this week-or maybe not. I just depends on how I feel. That feels great!
( By the way, you can still visit Spikes World even though it is not being updated. http://spikes-world.blogspot.com/ . )

Is God Funny?

I have always been a comedian. Actually, I have never been paid to make people laugh, so that makes me an amateur comic. I like to laugh and enjoy situations when people around me are laughing as well. I have a strong since of humor. It may be a little different, but it is strong.
I have always said that God has a since of humor, and I am betting my life on it. God could not make someone like me and not chuckle. The problem is-where in the Bible does it say say has a since of humor? The closest thing is Balaam's talking donkey. Sure, the commentaries say this is a comedy, but when you read the story the only thing light hearted is the donkey talking. Different-sure, but it is not a side splitter.
What I turn to is the passage in Genesis that tells us God made man is His image. Therefore; I know that God is Chris Rock. Why have we as people of faith dumped humor in our religious text. This may sound a little stereotypical, but aren't the Jews (God's people,) what we think of when we think of comics? Their famous humor did not make it into the Old Testament.
So, I have a thought. Surely there must have been a book of teaching that showed a strong form of humor, (made in God's image-remember?) I have a thought that this (these) books were left out, probably by priests with no since of humor. I now have a new project to write on- uncovering the ancient text of Moses's joke book.

Writers Block

I like to consider myself to be a writer. I have not had international praise for my writing, but my mother likes it and I enjoy writing. I have a very active imagination. I rarely am at a loss for things to write about or imagine. Since I claim to be a writer-an artist, this is a good thing.

Now my son Ben wants to write as well. Believe me, he has an imagination. He is very creative, (I would like to take credit for that, but his imagination is different than mine.) Now, as I listen to his thoughts and stories, I have become a critic. I am not harsh (usually) in my criticism. I try to steer him in the right directions and keep him on track.

Here is the problem. Am I the one off track? By trying to focus Ben on things I think are important or entertaining, am I giving him wrong directions. As I stated earlier, the world has not exactly rallied behind my style and proclaimed me the new great American writer.

Am I blocking my child from greatness?

Back to Normal

Now I am confused. Somehow, my posting panel changed . I could not spell check, download videos, or do many things I sometimes do. Now I can. Coincidence- or conspiracy?

I couldn't say it better Debbie.

What Happened?

What has happened to my blog? I had written out this long explanation what I did over the weekend, I went to spellcheck, and It's gone.  I blame Bender.

This is very confusing, and I don't like it! 

Good Morning?

What a morning I have already had.  I awoke very early this morning because I was hot. I kicked off my little quilt that I use at night, and eventually realized my fan wasn't working. This meant either it had broken during the night- or the power was out. I also noticed the ceiling fan wasn't blowing and our alarm clock wasn't lighting up. Either everything decided to break at once or we had no electricity.
  I tried to sleep through the situation, and hope Joy didn't wake up. Neither happened. After Joy was awake, I got up to do the nature deal, and noticed the lights were out over the whole neighborhood. Joy insisited that I call the power company and make a report.
  This meant I had to find a light, (where did I put those flashlights after Ike?) and look up the phone number. Cell phones are wonderfull, and I used mine as a flashlight and then dialed out on it.
  Trixie, (my bird dog,) became frightened by this ordeal and was crying in her house. If I was to let her out, I had to take her for a walk so she could do the "nature" thing as well. Trixie is a very nice dog and did her thing. She would not go back in her house afterwards, so I let her in our bed.
  Finally the power did come back. The A/C started again and my fan started moving air. I went back to sleep. All this happened before 2:00AM.

Why Ask Why

It's a bad morning when you start with a full e-mail box. I check my e-mail a couple of times a day, and I never have more than a dozen e-mails, and most of those are junk. This morning I go to hotmail and I had 166 messages.
  To some that sounds normal, to me that meant spam. Sure enough, someone was spaming a google group of mine. Luckily, I had put that group on moderation, so the entire group did not get the spam. I deleted the 150 junk messages and did the proper paperwork with google to try to get the spammers banned. (Is it okay to call that paperwork?)
  After spending precious time on my Wednesday morning cleaning up after this selfish and thoughtless spammer, I asked myself why would people act this way? Do the spammers really make enough money to justify this? I fgure that everyone is like me, when they see this herd of junk emails, they would NEVER even consider buying what is being advertised.
  Maybe they are being paid by the e-mail sent. Then their customers have to know why sales are down even when advetiseing is up.
  I will go about my business today. I will check on my Dad and visit customers. Hopefully I have learned something from this experience. Why ask why?
 

Sunday

I'm home. I'm happy. I'm rested.

I had a great week in Dallas, but it feels good to be home. The game was great. I got to hang out and visit with some of my best friends, and I tried a new beer. Shiner Black is Muy Bien!

Of course it was nice that the 'Horns came through for me as well

Saturday Morning

So, this is becoming an addiction. I am in Dallas and I am at the hotel computer updateing my blog. I was afraid it might come to this.
Had a great time last night. Had supper with some of my best friends. We talked about old times. Joy is always amazed that I did so many stupid things and survived. God's grace is powerful.
Getting ready to go to the Fair Grounds for the Texas/OU football game. Of course, the game is on TV. Look for me, I will be the one in the crowd wearing orange.