Cowboy Blues

Ever had one of those days where you just felt like you were in a place that you just didn't want to be?

Well not me! I'm right here and having the time of my life.

And I certainly hope you are too...................

F*CK ME

Well, my daughter just got on a plane to go get married in Las Vegas.

My little princess is getting married and she’s having a baby - and as excited as I am about the baby (which is a boy, by the way!), my heart is broken.

If I wasn’t madly in love with the woman of my dreams I’m pretty sure that I would curl up in a ball for a year and start over later.

I feel deep down in my soul that this is just wrong.

But it’s not my life, is it? It’s hers to do as she pleases and as a parent, all I’m left with is the knowledge that I have to love her and to try to guide her on this journey.

Did I mention that my heart is broken?

I have no idea what the future holds for her, but it’s not a warm and fuzzy feeling for me.

I have never ever been concerned for me or my future. I was always uniquely qualified for life. Not sure why, but it’s been that way for longer than I can remember.

When I think back on all the uncertainties in life, it was never my uncertainty, it was my uncertainty in others that was my only cause for concern.

I lived my own life in my own way. Which sometimes got me into trouble – but at least it was my trouble and I dealt with it.

This is something different.

I really and truly don’t have to be in charge. I don’t need or want that – but as I examine this situation, it seems like because I’m not in charge, I’m worried.

Which makes me either a hypocrite or a liar. I don’t feel like that, but the evidence suggests otherwise.

So pray for Kelly and Tommy. Pray that enlightenment and reality won’t be the anvil that I anticipate it to be for them.

Or at least for her.

I'm going to cry now.

Peace

Cowboys and Infernos

Well, this Saturday was supposed to be my Cowboy Action Shooting premier - but I've got too many things on my plate so I'll postpone that until next month. I went last Saturday to the range and fired 500 rounds of 45 caliber Long Colt ammunition through the cowboy guns. And I know this is mostly a boy-thing, but OMG, that is very cool. To draw a pistol and fire at steel targets that fall down when you hit them. The noise, the smoke, The feel and smell of the leather - or quite simply, the dreams of every little boy that got up early on Saturday to watch Roy Rogers.............

Maybe it will be a little cooler by next month!

For those of you not down here in the sunny south, it's been the month from HELL.

Literally.

The heat index has been bouncing between 107 and 118. It's been so hot that you can't breathe. As I drive around and see people that have jobs like mowing yards, my heart just breaks.

I used to do that. I worked on a landscaping crew while in college and there is absolutely no escape from the heat when you're playing in the dirt.

People don't even want to get in their pools because the water is too hot to give relief.

I have no idea if global warming is real or if it's just voodoo stuff - but I can tell you that it is hotter than hell.

So I've got a college fraternity reunion this weekend. We've rented out a swanky clubhouse and will commence eating, drinking and having fun around lunchtime. There is a golf tournament in the morning that I, again, won't be participating in because my back just won't let me...........yet.

Actually, the truth is, the I probably won't ever get to do that again. Which would be fine and dandy with my fine and dandy wife!!! Yea, she's not a golf fan due to circumstances not discussed here.

My job for the reunion, as it is everywhere I go, is to cook. But it's just too hot to do that right now so I went to a bbq place that a friend of mine owns and got him to smoke me 100 half chickens with all the fixin's. So all I need to do is get all the "stuff" that goes with it - which is no big deal.

Later that evening, it's my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary dinner - so I'll get to visit with many out of state cousins and toast those two remarkable people who have been so very good to me.

Still have no idea what kind of gift to get people that have everything and I'll welcome any suggestions that any of you have.

My beautiful wife is having a time at work. It's their busy season for paperwork and she has been spending late nights working and bringing work home and being exhausted when she finally gets finished.

And I'm missing her.

But it should be over soon so I can have my baby back. Hummm, there's a song in there, isn't there?

So that's all the news that is news.

Hope your day just rocks.

Peace.

Daily Wisdom

Some people cause happiness wherever they go; other, whenever they go.

-Oscar Wilde

Jerusalem Offensive

Looks like we're having another OFFENSIVE in Iraq.

Personally, I find the whole thing offensive. I just can't really and truly see a good outcome in any of this. And I wonder, wonder, wonder how we got to this point.

We're now officially losing all the wonderful progress we made in Afghanistan. As soon as we pull out from our moronic "rules of engagement" we will find that we have alienated all those people that we "liberated" from oppression. The Taliban or it's iteration will be back in charge in no time at all. And you can quote me on that.

And only the Good Lord knows what will be left in Iraq.

Why couldn't George see the wisdom of the advice from his commanders and split that country up into seperate ethnic regions and at least give those people a chance to survive? What is it about us that makes us so righteous to think that unless it is our way that it is the wrong way?

Makes me sick.

Anyway, I was listening to Steve Earle last night. Again, one of our true troubadours, sing about Jerusalem:

I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good
The death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on the TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothin' anyone could do or say

And I almost listened to him
Yea, I almost lost my mind
Then I regained my senses again
And looked into my heart to find

That I believe that one fine day, all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

Well maybe I'm just dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday School
But somewhere along the way I strayed and never looked back again
But I still find some comfort now and then

Then the storm come rumblin' in
And I can't lay me down
And the drums are drummin' again
And I can't stand the sound

But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb
Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem

And there'll be no barricades then
There'll be no wires or walls
And we can wash the blood from our hands
And all this hatred from our souls

And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem......................


The definition of a troubadour is one that speaks truth that makes one think. King David was the first one. Check out the honesty of the Psalms if you're confused.

It is our duty to speak out. We can't bury our heads in the sand. We have to stand up and say something. We have to vote. We have to express our feelings. That and only that is what brings us true freedom.

I worry for our country when people are afraid to cry out. The late, great Karl Rove is going, going gone - which may be a bright spot in all this. He was the one that devised the ruthless strategy of taking everyone with an opposing voice and smearing them so badly that no one wanted to say anything - even if they were right.

I pray that whoever is next elected to the presidency will come with the determination to put things right - no matter what the cost. To bring honor and dignity back to the perception of America throughout the world. To allow us to be true leaders instead of bullies that shove our points of view down the throats of our allies and our enemies with equal vigor.

So that's all my political ravings for today.

Peace.

Tuesdays Are For Smilin'

As I sit here listening to "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" by Traffic, I am feeling a bit happy to be alive.

So I thought I would pass along two jokes I heard this morning............

Exhibit One:

Bambi was sitting in her US Government Class. The Professor asked Bambi if she knew what Roe vs. Wade was about.

Bambi pondered the question and finally said "wasn't that the decision that George Washington had to make before he crossed the Deleware?"

Exhibit Two:

A Mexican, an Iraqi and a biker are in a bar.

When the Mexican finishes his beer, he throws the glass in the air and pulls his revolver and shoots the glass in mid air. He says "In Mexico, our glasses are so cheap that we don't need to drink from the same one twice".

The Iraqi was impressed, so he finishes his beer and throws his glass in the air while pulling his AK47 from under his coat and obliterates the glass with a burst of machine gun fire. He says, "In Iraq we have so much sand to make glass that we don't need to drink from the same one twice either".

The biker was watching all of this just as cool as a cucumber. He picks up his beer and finishes it in one gulp, throws his glass in the air, pulls out his gun from his jacket and shoots the Mexican and Iraqi. Catching the glass and settling back in at the bar while asking the bartender for a refill, he says "In America we have so many illegal Mexicans and Arabs that we don't have to drink with the same ones twice".

So that's it - now it's time to vote for your favorite!

Peace be wicha

The Road DOES Go On Forever

After my last post, it was requested that I tell about a bike trip.

That would be great, but since my daughter’s impregnator totaled my motorcycle – I don’t have any.

But that does bring up the point that I have so missed riding my motorcycle. First it was the back surgery and then the WRECK. It’s been months since I’ve ridden and I feel as if I have lost part of my body.

I miss striking out across our great country on a grand adventure. But even more than that, I miss having my lady hanging on to me as we twist and curve in the open air.

It doesn’t get much better than that for me.

I did so much on my bike that seems crazy to me now – but it was fun.

Like the time I tried to drive to Los Angeles without stopping. Made it to Deming, NM before I almost died. I guess the LA thing was a little ambitious. Hattiesburg, MS to Deming, NM is 1248 miles, which seems far – but nothing is like the section through Texas – Orange, TX to El Paso, TX on Interstate 10 is 839 miles.

Talk about the Road Going On Forever…………………

Then there was the time I was riding back from a meeting in Monterey, CA – otherwise known as the most beautiful place in the world. I loved riding up the Pacific Coast Highway from LA to Monterey. The vistas were beautiful if you could get over dodging the rock slides which are a little scary on motorcycles!

I rode back down California on the farm roads that go through the most majestic farmland I have ever seen. Got down to Bakersfield mid-afternoon and struck out across the Mojave Desert. This was June 1, 2000. It was 131 degrees. I had on all my leather.

I thought I was going to DIE.

It was so hot that my bike was making horrible sounds. It got so hot that it stretched out my clutch cable so that I had no clutch. I coasted off the Interstate to the only gas stop in the desert where I paid $4 per gallon for gas and paid $3 for a glass of sweet tea. There was a sign that said “Please do not complain to our employees about the prices – It is very expensive to operate a business in the desert and if you are truly dissatisfied there is another stop 90 West of here and 120 miles East.

Point well taken by me.

I stayed in the shade of the lone tree there until my bike cooled down enough to start and use the clutch.

Then in two hours I was in Kingman, AZ at 6000 feet above sea level and it was so cold as night fell that I thought I was going to die again for the opposite reason. The oxygen was so thin that after I stopped for a burger, I couldn’t get my bike started again.

I wanted to cry because I was so tired – but I pushed onward after finally getting it going using the choke.

I could tell you about stopping on the side of the interstate in Texas and getting off my bike to stretch my legs and a big trucks breaks locked up and it almost swept me and my bike off into oblivion.

Or the time in Houston when I had to put my foot on the bumper of a car to keep it from running over me in a thunderstorm.

Or about the tornados I have seen as I went through Oklahoma.

It’s a big world out there and being on a big motorcycle traveling through it with no thought for a plan is a wonderful way of finding out who you are and what you believe.

And I miss that.

I have decided to wait until I get a few things taken care of before I start again on the motorcycling. I told myself to wait until the first of the year to make any decisions.

So wait I will.

And in the meantime, I will live and love and enjoy all the fruits that have come my way.

I will dream of riding off into the sunset yet again – but not alone anymore. I don’t have to go anywhere alone as long as I live.

And that is so cool.

Peace

Train, Train Go Away

Oh to be a blooger with not enough time……………..

But at least, as I read the ones I read each day I realize that I’m not alone!!!

I do count on this for an outlet for me. As some close to me tell me, I say TOO MUCH at times, but I’m just an open book kind of guy……..

So with no grand theme in mind, here it goes for today.

Last week, I went to Chicago and took the train for the first time here in America. It’s funny, I’ve traveled by train all over Europe in my backpacking youth but never too Amtrak anywhere.

It was very interesting. But if I do it again, I’ll have to have the rare FULL bedroom instead of the roomette and I’ll have to go somewhere romantic like through the Rocky Mountains or somewhere out west. Going through the heartland of America beside Interstate 55 through all the farm country was not the most inspiring vistas I have ever seen.

Now I will tell you that the food was magnificent. Really, really magnificent.

We got on the train at 1:45 and pulled out in a horrendous thunderstorm (which made me happy not to be flying!). We hung out in our roomette, which had two large seats that faced each other with about 2’ of room for our legs. It was fairly comfortable for that purpose. It wasn’t so bad for the mile low club either!

Then when it was time to eat at 6pm we went to the dining car. Linen table cloths, good wine and the whole deal. Our choices for dinner included braised lamb shanks, beef tenderloin in a benaise sauce, roasted chicken with rice pilaf, bbq ribs and the special of the day, which I got, country fried steak and mashed potatoes. I was very impressed with dinner. They brought a desert of some kind of chocolate thing that made me sexually aroused. It was that good.

So then it was back to the room. After MORE reading, it was time to make up the beds which consisted of pushing the chairs together for the “big” bed for me and pulling down the bunk for my love which was so small it had straps to clip her in so she wouldn’t fall out.

Now this roomette was 6’6” long and 3’6” wide. Seemed smaller………

So I attempted to sleep. The train stopped at every town from New Orleans to Chicago and blew the whistle at all RR crossings which are apparently constant. I slept not a wink. Not a damn wink.

I finally got up around 4am to walk around and go to the observation car to watch the sun rise. That was at least cool. Then I took my love some coffee and we went to breakfast at 6am.

Again the food was good. I had a western omelet with hash browns and she had a delicious cheese and spinach quiche.

We finally got to Chicago at 9am – right on time!

Then we exited into the largest train station I’ve ever seen. Union Station in Chicago must have had a bazillion people getting there from all the different commuter trains and other assorted subway cars depositing people downtown to go to work.

After being cooped up on the train, we decided to walk to the hotel – had no idea where it was so it was an adventure, which is one of my favorite things. We finally found it after a mile or so of walking (with luggage) in the 90-degree heat and 100% humidity.

We stayed at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago, which as I learned, is the oldest continually operated hotel in the United States. It was very, very nice. All marble and fancy. But I didn’t care – all I wanted was a bed. And I found it! It was nice for a nap. A long, great nap.

So after more calisthenics we went out to explore the pub scene, which is very rich in Chicago.

It was a good day, it ended with the reason I went to Chicago which was a formal dinner – which was once again excellent. Then it was off to bed and up at 6 to go to the airport for the blessedly short flight of an hour and a half back home. No more train. I could not have faced another 19-hour train ride.

I pity those folks that are afraid to fly and take the train everywhere.

But it was a good trip and I’m glad I did it.

Don’t you always hate coming back to work after you’ve been off for a few days? My desk was very crowded. But alas, that’s the price you pay to play!

So for now, that’s all the news that was news.

I hope you and yours are good. If not, change something!

Peace.