Oh sure....

...we're all busy. We all think we're busier than anyone else however, I'm busier than any of you....yes really! Let's just take for example all the days that have passed since I last visited this site. I had to drive all the way to Waxahachie to see my newest grand-nephew. My nephew and his beautiful wife from Boston have worked together to create a precious little fellow who has brought all kinds of joy to them, their families, and me as I watch the light in my sister's eye as she holds her first grandchild. He should be called Jack. There, I said it. Of course all that family time took away from my serious work. Next, my Dad's side of the family decided we needed to have a reunion. Good grief! We saw them just 28 years ago. That required me to drive all the way to the next county....a good 40 minute drive in rush hour traffic. All any of them had to do was drive down from Missouri, Kansas, New Mexico, and other assorted states. I don't know why they couldn't have picked something closer to my house. A whole weekend was used up visiting with people I had come close to not knowing any more. Had it not been for all their efforts I'm pretty sure I would never have seen them again because I'm just too busy to plan a trip out their way. The weekend was one of the most wonderful experiences I can remember. Why in the world would I allow myself to not see these precious souls more often. We're planning to get together again in two years. I sure hope I don't have anything going on that weekend. The following weekend Debbie and I took her Mom to Memphis, Tennessee, to see our nephew Jordan marry a beautiful young lady named Sarah. We were happy we were able to do this because we were the only family to show up on the groom's side...except of course for his mom, dad, and sister who managed to get here from China. All in all, it was a pretty lousy weekend. Not because of our nephew's wedding of course...it was 'vere nice' as they say in France. Our trip to DFW airport took about 20 minutes. We sailed through check-in and security despite my mother-in-law's metal hip, and had a leisurely hour wait at the gate for our flight. The flight to Memphis took just over an hour and I managed to squeeze in a short nap. We got our rental car without incident even though Deb was convinced I had no idea what I was doing and we began our drive to the hotel, just a short six miles from the airport. It took us over two hours to get there. My loving brother-in-law had given us step by step directions which were about as accurate as a $4 watch. I had also rented a GPS, hoping to make a quick run over to see Elvis if time permitted (which it didn't). I made the mistake of trying to use the GPS along with the written directions. I swear the lady on the GPS got mad at me more than once. If I ever hear "recalculating route" again I think I may go postal. I won't go over all the other fun stuff that happened over this long weekend except to say when we finally dragged back into DFW late Saturday night the battery in our car was dead...oh yeah, and I had to prepare for a colonoscopy the next day. So, do you see why I am so busy. I should have more time to reflect, watch the birds in the yard, feel the fresh cool air coming in from the north, and get plenty of sleep like everyone else, right?! Let me know your thoughts....and for those who have wanted to comment but can't seem to, I'm sorry. I got completely out and signed in again this morning. It just ain't that hard!! I did get up an hour earlier to do this however and it took every minute of it.

what a beautiful day....

have you ever wondered what an e-mail or text message would look like if all your fingers were one key off, either to the right or left....I just found out. my title looked like this: ejsy s nrsiyogi; fsu//// seriously...I don't look at the screen much when I type and I rarely look at the keyboard. Sometimes I look at the painting hanging over my desk of Hill Country bluebonnets painted by my baby sister, Debbie. Sometimes I watch cartoons with the grandkids if they are visiting Mammy's House. Sometimes I just close my eyes and start writing. Some of my favorite stories have come about that way. I do have to spend a lot of time editing my work but the joy of running my fingers over the keyboard as fast as I can is satisfying to say the least. I wish I could type as fast as thoughts pass through my mind. My brain, in comparison to some, is like Rhode Island compared to Texas....mine being Rhode Island of course. It doesn't take long for a thought to pass from border to border and then be gone forever. I wake up some mornings with so many story ideas I am tempted to take the day off so I can write. Sadly, by the time the world has used me for nine or ten hours I don't feel much like writing. I always think I'll get around to it tomorrow.....do you see my problem? All I meant to write was a few lines about how beautiful the day was and off I went on another tangent. I think I'm probably clinically crazy...is that a scientific term?? The day ended as so many do this time of year. The sun has a certain glow as it goes down on an autumn day. I love to sit out on the swing or on the tailgate of my truck just to enjoy watching the shadows change as the day ends. The air is crisp and clean after a summer of heat and humidity. This is the best time of year. If you disagree you are welcome to your opinion....despite how wrong you are. One more thing about this time of year and I will go back to doing what I do best...nothing. I was turning my compost pile Tuesday afternoon. No one showed up to turn it for me all summer so it didn't get turned too often. Deb assumed it was ruined. It was so good I turned parts of it twice. The mulch is so dark brown it's almost black. It's soft and smells good enough to eat. I wouldn't do that though. Along the west perimeter of the pile I dug up something small and very dead. I think it was the mole I tried to kill earlier in the summer...mission accomplished. I turned that spot again really fast. A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday at 9 a.m. Bring donuts. Take care and jsbr s hppf errlrmf@@

Happy Ten Fourth!!!

I wasn't sure so I walked all the way back into the kitchen to check the calendar and yep, I was right. Today is National Good Buddy Day....you know..."ten four good buddy"...hello? Is anyone out there?? I guess you had to be alive and conscious in the mid-seventies when CB radios enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame. Everyone had a CB antenna wagging in the air off their rear bumper. Some really creepy people had three or four antennas waving around as they drove the highways. My brother Glenn had a CB and it did make sense for him to have one. He was in the Air Force and constantly on the road. What didn't make sense was for him to create the handle "Greenie Weenie" for himself in honor of his brand new, mint green, Chevrolet Vega. He could never get anyone to respond to him on the airwaves.

Before long cell phones came along and hammered the final nail into the CB radio coffin. Cell phones back then were huge. Instead of an antenna hanging off the bumper of your car, you could now have an antenna sticking off this huge boxlike thing hanging off your shoulder. Cell phones have evolved from big and unreliable to tiny and unreliable. Everyone has a cell phone. It's mandatory...and just like the CB days, I'm the rebel. People look at me like I'm an alien when I tell them I don't own a cell phone and don't see that changing in this lifetime. This is a silly assumption because no bonafide alien would ever leave home without a cell phone hanging off his belt.

I sit in church on Sundays and if I'm not real careful my mind starts to wander. Several times I've noticed all the cell phones attached to the sides of guys passing communion. Everyone has a cell phone....EVERYONE!! It reminds me of watching cowboy shows when I was a kid and wondering why everyone was wearing a gun right in the middle of town. Of course the ladies weren't wearing guns. They carried them in their purses.

Y'all have a good day. Ten-four good buddies.