Our upcoming reclamation project

To paraphrase Merle: If We Make it to November...



...we're gonna clean House.

And the Senate, too!

Great Lakes are dangerous

This past week a Cessna 206 carrying a cancer patient and his wife, their Michigan doctor and another man, lost power over Lake Michigan and plunged into the water enroute to the Mayo Clinic.  Four perished, but the pilot of the airplane was rescued.  In the flight's final minutes/moments, the doctor was able to write a goodbye note to survivors, and tuck it into his medical bag.

Nearly 34 years ago, on another Great Lake, Superior, the "Mighty Fitz" freighter, SS Edmund Fitzgerald, hit by a rogue wave in a November gale, sank and broke in two, carrying 29 sailors to their final rest.  The tragic tale was immortalized by Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot in 1976, arguably the foremost Top-40 music hit about a maritime disaster.

On Sunday, August 1, you can hear Wreck of the Emund Fitzgerald, and other Lightfoot classics, Carefree Highway, For Lovin' Me, Early Mornin' Rain, Sundown, on the KERA/13 telecast of Live In Reno, 7:00p.

Tune in, eh?

Sharing is caring

From River Legacy Park last Saturday.  It.  Was.  Hot.

Thankfully, someone had left behind a jug of ice water and some Dixie cups.  Thank you, kind stranger.

Odds-n-ends

Sometimes you end up with snippets of ideas.  In my [ADHD] case, most of the time.

• Did you know S&H Greenstamps are still around?  They're now called Greenpoints.  When I was a kid, my mother used to fill the little booklets with those and yellow Top Value stamps.

• I ran into three old acquaintances/friends at the grocery store the other night, and ended up in an extended conversation with one.  He asked if I knew he'd moved out to Paradise (about 40 miles away).  I said I thought he'd moved, but didn't know where, and asked whereabouts in Paradise he was staying.  (OK, I didn't really say "staying".)  He replied that it was actually Cottondale, if I knew where that was.  I said, "Yeah, on 2123."  He gave me some additional directions, and in turn, I noted three landmarks that would be on the way to his house, within a few hundred yards.  I think he thought I was psychic, or psycho, as in all the years we've known each other we have never had occasion to discuss Wise County.  My last picture of buzzards was about a mile or two from his house.

• Speaking of buzzards, I observed a new roost of them today, about a dozen strong, between the country club and 114 on 2123.  No, I didn't take any pictures today.

• I am a big fan of Dos Chiles in Bowie. Great food, great service.  I haven't eaten at the ones in Boyd or Bridgeport.
• In Wichita Falls, I highly recommend the China Star buffet, on the west side of 287, between Maurine and Old Iowa Park Highway.  But I think my favorite is still The Great Wall buffet on Saginaw Boulevard.
• Rounding out my dining picks this week: Raymond's B-B-Q in Bridgeport.  As much as I like Spring Creek, Raymond's hot buttered rolls put theirs to shame.
• This next I stole from the WBAP morning show a few days ago.  Hal Jay asked if anyone knew that the kid who played banjo in Deliverance grew up to be Vice-President.  I got a good chuckle from that.

And, after he grew his, or someone's, hair out...

•  Despite taking three books (Robert Fulghum What on Earth Have I Done; Ted Fishman China Inc; and Bob Newhart's autobiography) on an overnight trip, I instead watched Cash Cab, Mythbusters, and Dirty Jobs on the hotel TV.  So much for high ideals.

Government crushes free enterprise

The idea for this was sent by my friend Todd the Blogger.

It seems a northern California homeless man carped the diem by breaking into a defunct bar, and, starting with a single six-pack of beer, reinvested his earnings into more inventory, to the point where he was able to serve about 30 patrons a day, for about four days, before being arrested.



Of course, authorities take a dim view of such activity, and can cite numerous reasons, a few even valid, why this is a bad thing.  Still, this guy has pluck.

Donald Trump should hire him as an Apprentice.

Who should be President

While I don't know what his position on the Eagles might be, I do know that this is the man who should be the next President of the United States of America.



Thanks to Denney Crane for posting this.

For Clueless in...

Well, ain't it a shame that our short little memories

Never seem to learn the message of history.

We keep makin' the same mistakes over and over and over and over again

And then we wonder why we're in the shape we're in.

Frail grasp on the big picture, light fading and the fog is getting thicker

It's a frail grasp on the big picture, dark ages.

You my love-drunk friend, all that red wine and candlelight,

Soulful conversations that go on until the dawn.

How many times can you tell your story?

How many hangovers can you endure just to get some snuggling done?

You're living in a hollow dream.

You don't have the slightest notion what long-term love is all about.

All your romantic liasons don't deal with eternal questions like

Who left the cap off the freaking toothpaste?  Whose turn to take the garbage out?

Frail grasp on the big picture, light fading and the fog is getting thicker.

It's a frail grasp on the big picture.

- Henley/Frey (excerpted)

There is Hope

News this week of Coppell's Mayor's suicide after killing her adult daughter caused me to briefly consider pointing out that Coppell is next to Grapevine, but the horrible tragedy of the situation made me think better of it.  Other bloggers may ponder the cause and posthumously psychoanalyze the actions, but I'm not sure comprehension is possible.  The best I can offer is a prayer for these women.

Of course, there is still weirdness that, while also tragic, is terribly stupid.  Like the Dallas man who, hoping to gain an edge in a child-custody situation, asked his homeboy to shoot him, and he would claim his baby-momma new old man done it.  Unfortunately, this well conceived plan went awry, as the homeboy's aim was not so good, and instead of a grazing wound, he sustained a fatal one. 

But I pray for the stupid also, inasmuch as many of my best plans have been also, in retrospect, less than brilliant.  And I suppose, snarkiness aside, it's maybe only grace that separates my stupidity from the kind that makes catchy headlines.

As I said, I pray for these.  As well as myself.

There is Hope, and I know His name.

Where can I buy these?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is after me!

Ought to tie a set of them onto Dew's truck with an Estes rocket parachute to make them launch out when he gets to about 30 mph!  Man, that'd be fun to watch...

Edit: Since Chupacabra says these aren't available, I figured the next best thing would be to go to Christal's and get three of their "inflatables" with "I ♥ Dew" tattoos & tramp stamps, filled with helium, with otherwise the same setup.  Still funny...

More NVTS, in Grapevine (again)

Recently I re-posted a report about a cretin in Grapevine who thought it would be cool to have his 13-month young son take a hit off of his marijuana smoking bong, while the baby momma sat by and watched.

Well, just to reassure you there's no shortage of idiots out there, a 22 year old Fort Worth boy-man is in the Grapevine jail for shoving his girlfriend's five year old son into Highway 121 traffic.  This, after telling the child: "Mommy is about to go to sleep and not wake up. I'm about to make Mommy go to sleep."

By the grace of God, the child was not injured, and the mother was also able to escape her nutcase boyfriend. 
 
People are getting crazier.

And a sign of the times

Many news outlets tell us the recession is "turning the corner".  I hope they're right.  But from my vantage point (I talk to a lot of business owners and managers in several north Texas counties) just as likely is that it's merely driving around the block again.

In the counties west and northwest of the Metroplex, I hear reports that the oil patch is coming back. But the businesses who rely on the oilfield workers, as opposed to supplying oilfield services, say that the workers are being very cautious with their earnings.  I see lots of boarded up businesses - some were poorly conceived from the beginning (too little financial or intellectual capital, some just 'hobbies'), but many others were once viable going concerns.

A beautiful estate, or an upscale housing subdivision? I don't know.  To the left and right of the driveways, there are about half a dozen stone columns about 30' apart, presumably later to be connected with wrought iron fencing.  But there's nothing, as far as I could tell, beyond the entry feature.

A casualty of the economy?  Gas prices?  Tightening credit standards?  A Mel Gibson rant on Facebook?  Who knows?

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

It wasn't the 'Jesus is Lord' that got my attention so much - after all, I'm cool with that.

So far, so good.  But it's the writing on the gate that puzzled me.

(You may have to enlargenate to read it)

Did he write that or did she?

Overpimping your ride...

The other side of this vehicle is about 4" taller.  Apparently the driver's side suspension or maybe a tie-rod or ball joint gave out. 

Suddenly, it don't look so pimped no mo'.

Capernaum in Texas

As I drive around, I usually have a pad of paper to scribble down fleeting thoughts, as well as my camera, on the chance that something interesting for the blog might appear.

Wednesday, just such an opportunity arose.  North of Weatherford, I saw the following sculpture, not exactly the thing you see in the front yards of suburbia.  My curiosity piqued, I had to photograph it.  Moreover, I noticed a sign nearby, something about Capernaum, and I thought it might be related (thus the pad of paper, the better to Google it later).

So, anyway, apparently there's a whole reproduction first century village nearby, the brainchild of Tammy Lane and Theresa Davidson, where Christian film-makers can make movies.

Jesus and cherubim

Apparently, the facility is also used for weddings, anniversaries, team building and other types of get-togethers, though probably not bachelor parties.

http://weatherforddemocrat.com/faces/x546447288/Capernaum-in-Texas

http://www.tammylaneproductions.com/images-new/location/slide-show/capernaum/capernaum..html

¿Más El Guapos?

Lucky Day: "In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face. For some, shyness might be their El Guapo. For others, a lack of education might be their El Guapo. For us, El Guapo is a big, dangerous man who wants to kill us. But as sure as my name is Lucky Day, the people of Santa Poco can conquer their own personal El Guapo, who also happens to be the actual  El Guapo!"

So this would be a whole mess, nay, a plethora, of El Guapos?

Playing the victim

What kind of love have you got?

You should be home, but you’re not.

A room full of noise and dangerous boys

Still makes you thirsty and hot.

I heard about you and that man.

There’s just one thing I don’t understand.

You say he’s a liar and he put out your fire.

How come you still got his gun in your hand?

Victim of love, I see a broken heart

You got your stories to tell.

Victim of love, it’s such an easy part

And you know how to play it so well.

- Don Felder/Don Henley/Glenn Frey

So well. Or not.