Update on the Travelers

Mom and Dad called last to let us know they made it to Albuquerque the first night and are planning on staying the next two nights in Laughlin where they will be visiting our Aunt Gin tomorrow.
Kelly

Smelly Dog

While on vacation Mom and Dad have left their dog Lizzie with us. Lizzie would prefer to stay with Rachel but Rachel can not have pets where she lives. We already have a dog Lady, a yellow lab, that stays in our backyard. The last time Lizzie stayed with us she started a fight with Lady. Since Lizzie is a small cocker her chances of winning are slim. So I have decided to keep Lizzie in the house and take her for frequent bathroom breaks. Lizzie is also staying in the house because of her nervous problem. I do not know what is wrong with her but if she is in a strange situation she just shakes all over. She seems to be doing well with us this time. I just don’t know how long we can take her smell! Even after Mom gives her a bath she has this rotten odor! Mom thinks it is her breath but that is just part of it. Tara came over today and could not even eat when Lizzie was close to her because of the smell. We may have to go find some doggie perfume!

vacation time

This is my last post for a couple of weeks. We're off to California. While I'm gone my two daughters, Rachel and Kelly, will guest blog. Be sure to check in and see what they have to say.

yesteryear

I went to Shawnee yesterday to attend the funeral of my aunt. While I was there I went by the house where my grandparents use to live. I had not been there in 45 years. Here's a picture of how it looked circa 1948, and how it looks now. It looks like the wooden porch has been replaced by a smaller, concrete one.

homecoming

Yesterday was Homecoming for my grand daughter Tara's high school. She was senior maid to the Homecoming Queen.

what I'm reading now

This is an excellent book, written in a very readable style. I think the first paragraph says it best: "We live in an era of unprecedented bullshit production. The more polite among you might call it poppycock or balderdash or claptrap, but the concept remains the same, and the same coursing stream of crapulence washes over us all, filling your eyes and ears and thoughts with cliches, euphemisms, evasion, and fabulations. Never in the history of mankind have so may people uttered statements that they know to be untrue. Presidents, priests, politicians, lawyers, reporters, corporate executives, and countless others have taken to saying not what they actually believe, but what they want others to believe--not what is, but what works."

quote of the day

There's nothing so revolting to the young as the sight of their elders at play.
--Peter Ustenov in The Sundowners

flint ridge

My friend Roger Barber took me for a tour of the Flint Ridge community where he has purchased some property. We took a boat out on this lake. As you can see, this is beautiful country.

quote of the day

The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.
--Albert Ellis

the little trouble maker

My 2-1/2 year old grandson, Hunter got in trouble today. He hit another boy in his pre-school class and when his teacher tried to remonstrate with him, he hit her too. At home later, his mommy asked him if he told his teacher he was sorry. He replied, "Me not sorry". That little ruffian! He takes after his grandma.

more volunteer work

I'm tired. Dorothy and I just got home from the Arkansas Baptist Assembly where we we're helping with the Katrina evacuees. We worked the computers searching the internet data bases for missing relatives of the evacuees. We also drove around the camp on an all terrain vehicle delivering messages to the residents. It was just like delivering the mail, except I drove and Dorothy hopped out and delivered the messages. Some of the kids kept hitching rides on the back. They said they needed to go somewhere, but I think they just wanted to ride. Just 11 more days and the camp will be empty. All the people who haven't relocated or found jobs in this area will be sent back to Ft. Chafee where the facilities are better suited to cold weather.

quote of the day

It is far easier to conquer others than to conquer oneself, because the former can be attained by recourse to outside means, while the latter can be achieved only with one's own mind.
--Mahatma Gandhi

lunch room duty

At the school cafeteria yesterday my job was to provide napkins to children when they raised their hands and to open milk cartons and other food packages that were just too unmanageable for the kids. Some of them were unmanageable for me. Some of the kids raised their hands just to tattle on others. Very interesting:

A little girl in tears: " That girl says she's not my friend anymore"
Me: "Oh, I'm sure she's still your friend. Aren't you?"
Other little girl: "No, I'm not!"

Well, I see other hands, so to move along:

Little girl: "Those boys are being gross."
Me to little boys: "Are you being gross?"
Little boys: "No, we burped two times and said excuse me both times."
Me: "Oh, well, that's all right then."

Another hand up across the way:

Little girl: "That boy tooted and didn't say excuse me"
Little boy: "She's lying! I did say excuse me".

Watch D.O.G.S.

Today I went to Marley's school and worked as a Watch D.O.G. This is an organization of fathers (and grandfathers) that come to school and project a positive male presence. We patrol the hallways and school grounds on the look out for something or someone who doesn't belong. We also help at recess, in the lunch room, and in class. Today I helped some kids with their alphabet and numbers using flash cards. I read stories also. I was also able to eat lunch with Marley.

one year of blogging

Today marks the first year of the blog's existence. Here is one of my first posts:

What am I doing writing a blog?! If I keep writing every day I'll bare my soul. People will know who I am at my core. Do I want that? And there's the danger that the things I think of as words of wisdom, astute observations, and amusing anecdotes may be perceived by my readers as just mental belly-button lint. I guess time will tell.

I'm still asking myself that question. People blog for different reasons; some to express their political views, some to rant about one condition of their life or another. Me, I just share photos of my everyday life, the grandkids, a poem every now and again. Pretty bland stuff. After 60 years on this planet I'm still trying to find my way, my niche in the universe; and this is just a record of that search.