Vacation

This will be my last posting for awhile. My wife and I will be leaving Thursday for San Diego where we will board Friday the Holland America's Vandaam for a cruise to Hawaii. We will be back the first of March and will be posting again then and promise to share some of our trip to Hawaii.

We were stationed there for 18 month while serving in the Marines. We are anxious to see places we didn't get to while stationed there and see what progress has done to those we remember. It will be my wife's birthday while we are at sea and with our 47th anniversary coming in June this is he celebration of both in one.

Train Table

During a visit last Thanksgiving we took our granddaughter to the toy store on Bowman Curve. With the thousands of toys they had there she only wanted to play with the wooden train set they had set up there.
So being the good grandparents we are we were on the web looking for a buy on the train set. We found it and saved a bunch on line too. But, there is always a but, we found you needed a table to set it up on. They ran from $125 to $200 dollars on line.
After looking them over I decided it was a project I could do myself much cheaper. So off the Lowe's I go. To make a long story short after $90 to $100 in materials and countless hours of work (it seems in one's garage in the dead of winter enamel takes a long time to dry) we had this huge table to haul from Little Rock to Houston. As you can see from the picture all the hours of love were worth it on Christmas Morning.

They Did It

They did it, under the cover of speed, secrecy and in the dead of night, insuring that the lobbyists of interest saw it before all of congress, then before they had a opportunity to read the introduction passed the largest spending bill in the history of the United States.

You and I will not know the extent to which our children will pay for many years. I have heard some reports that estimate this bill will cost in expanded government programs over 27trillion dollars in the next ten years. I wonder if we will ever get a full accounting of this before the bill starts arriving in the form of more and higher taxes.

This is our granddaughter this last Christmas. She was a hoot to watch as she opened her presents. If they were toys, she was ready to stop right then and check them out, but if they were clothes they were immediately tossed to her mother to move on to the next gift in hopes of more toys.

Avery is the main reason for my concern with what is going on in Washington. What do our grandchildren have to look forward to?

A growing national debt, inevitable inflation at the rate they are spending and a standard of living that will effect us all going forward with less we can provide for ourselves.

I have written all my representatives more in the last two weeks than at any time in my life.

I have heard from none of them, maybe I need to make a contribution to their election coffers to get their attention. This morning I hear Chuck Shummer saying, "The American people don't care about the pork that is in the stimulus package." I thought the Snake Oil Salesman said there was no pork in the package.

Why are we not concerned when major policies are embedded in a bill that must pass to save the world as we know it for no other reason than to try to escape the light of public scrutiny and by pas the checks and balances that our forefathers built into our system. I am at a loss to know what to do about the lack of integrity and accountability in Washington, all I know is that we will surely reap what we have sown, God help us.

Watch Cat

We purchased our current house a few years ago. At one point our contractor who shall be called Reggie as that is his first name had a little fun at the expense of PB. He thought it was funny that he could make PB angry, not realizing that PB had the memory of an elephant. If you need confirmation of that fact as my sister-in law Kathy.

At any rate Reggie returned several months later to make some repairs in our bathroom. It was mid summer and he was attired appropriately in shorts and a tee. He busied himself with the repairs and I returned to whatever it was I was doing. In about five minutes I heard a scream and panicked calls for my assistance. Upon entering the room I found Reggie standing in our whirlpool tub where he had been treed by PB who was determined to have his way with those bare legs. I had to retrieve PB, not an easy task given his state, and lock him up before Reggie would return to his task.

Several months later he had another problem to which one of Reggie's employee's was dispatched to repair. He would not enter the house until I assured him that the "attack cat" was secured and the area safe for his entry. It is comforting to know the word is out that our abode is not a safe place to enter without security.

Economy

I love to feed the hummers on our patio, they seem willing to make friends and entertain for hours in appreciation for the effort it takes to keep them supplied with nector. I wonder how long I will be able to afford to meet their needs.
One trillion minutes ago Jesus walked upon the earth. I have only walked this same earth for 67 years. Yet I have seen this economy in far worse condition that it is now. We have seen in the last five years an increase in the lack of integrity and morality in all aspects of our nation. And instead of leadership and example from Washington DC we see what has brought us to this condition. We have a president who preaches doom and distruction to advance his agenda and a congress that is led by a lack of basic ethics and morality.
I have continually contacted my representatives and our new president to halt the current path we are on and restore honesty. Yet they are determineed to listen only to themselves and the failed financial leaders who have brought us to where we are. I think they should get back to the basics of the Constitution in washington and concentrate on securing the "Nations Defense and Domestic tranquillity". None of which has anything to do with their personal agendas or growing government. I believe our answer is less taxes on our economy, a balanced budget in our federal and state governments and a return to God and morals all across our nation. I for one am not in favor of passing this debt they propose on to our grandchildren, we should do for them as our parents did for us and pass on a better world than they were handed. Please join me in insisting with our representatives a return to sanity and morality.

About me

Let me introduce myself and explain why I am creating a blog. I recently retire (picture at right in the gift from my crew) as manager of a college bookstore. I have had what some have called a life that is filled with many different experiences. I have worked in retail for over 25 years in one position or another, spent 11 years as an electrician at a East Texas Steel Mill, I spent 10 years in the United States Marines with tours in Vienam and Okinawa as a helecopter electrician and I am an ordained Baptist Minister having pastored 5 churches and done 3 mission trips to Brazil. I have been married to the same wonderful lady for 46 years and have one daughter and one granddaughter.

I would like to share from my different experiences, post humorous tidbits on my retirement buddies (PB, Patches and Ebony) and from time to time comment on our society and government and share anything else that comes to fast aging mind. I welcome your comments and guidance on anything I might post here.

Ebony

Ebony came to us one night while watching TV in Helena, Arkansas. I was drawn to a scratching on the sliding doors off our den. Upon turning on the light there was a clod of mud the size of my hand with two green eyes showing. She was days old and abandoned in the woods by her mother, we cleand and nursed her intending to take her to the pound when healthy as neither my wife nor myself desired to add to our personal zoo. Upon inquiring with our Vet, we learned that we were the closest thing to animal control in Helena, Arkansas. She is a real con artist that usually gets what she wants and has adopted me as her human.

Patches

This is Patches. She was obtained from the Lake Jackson Adopt a Pet Program shortly after the fire-place incident in the mistaken belief that a companion would settle him down. They have grown to the point after double didget years they barely tolerate one another. To adopt Patches we had to agree that we would never let her catch sight of man's best friend. Though she has a fear of dogs she has many of the characteristics of one (have you ever played fetch with a cat?). She has six toes on each foot and is very expressive in her facial reactions, one look and you know what is on her mind.

PB (Pea Brain)

The image in the heading is not one of our three cats, just a distant ancestor. This is PB, he came to us from a Prison Farm outside Lake Jackson, Texas. We were unable to obtain his record, though I am sure it was quite extensive even though he was just a kitten.

Never adopt a cat with rings on its tail! His first act of endearment was to open the fireplace hearth, waller in the soot and take a nap on the wife's 3 piece sectional handed down from her grandmother and recently upholstered. He is independent, cantankerous and has adopted my wife as his favorite.