Sgt. Lou

Yesterday I started my younger art class. I have four kids who are totally new to art and two who are still beginners from last year along with three girls who have been with me for a few years. It was a full class to say the least. This year I have James who is 13 years old and is over 6 feet tall and probably weighs 250. I am not always good at guessing weight, but I would think I am guessing on the low end of the weight scale for James. He is a big boy. Next to him sat a 14-year-old who is not five feet tall yet and certainly does not weigh over 100lbs. Life is interesting that way. All the young artists worked well, and it was a fairly easy day. Several of the mothers warned me that their kids might "act up", "be goofey" during art class and to be sure and tell on them if they did. When they were saying these things, I am sure I had that funny look on my face – the one where I want to comment, but I am not sure what to say because I might say too much. Do they not know who I am? Do they think I won’t deal with their kids right then and there?

In my public school teaching days, I realized that all teachers had different levels of tolerance for misbehavior. Some teachers allowed absolutely no monkey business or talk from students. Others let their students run amok. I think I am kind of in between somewhere. I really like kids, and I like a little fun in the classroom, but I run a pretty tight ship. When I began teaching years ago, my dad did not think I was mean enough or had a "mean look" to be respected. (I am sure my brothers could have told him different.) My mom always said I was her easy-going child, but she knew I would fight if pushed. Maybe I don’t really want to fight; I don’t really like controversy, but will definitely stand up to a challenge. While teaching public school, I developed a look and attitude and voice that demanded respect. It is sort of a hard shell. Sometimes I feel myself slide back into that attitude, and you know, I don’t really like it. I don’t want to have to discipline someone else’s child. I don’t want to have to be hard. Would I do it if I thought it was necessary? In a heart beat!

My own kids often call me "the sergeant". It could be they call me that for several reasons. I have a habit of repeating what Toby says to do (barking out orders). I once remarked that I would like to be a social director on a cruise ship. Bo snickered and said, "You mean drill sergeant! You WILL play volleyball, and you WILL like it!" He continued on with his making fun of me, but I won’t go into all of it. He sometimes calls me "the border-collie" because I want to herd people – direct them. My favorite Peanuts cartoon was Lucy saying, "I am not bossy; my ideas are just better." This bossiness, drill sergeant thing is something I have tried to ease off of. I like to think I have mellowed somewhat – maybe grown a little in this area of my life. Yet, do you think I would let a few homeschooled art kids give me a hard time? I snort at the thought (and cringe a little too).

A Hero

Years ago, I heard some "expert" on a talk show say that you should not read to your daughters stories like Cinderella, Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty. These fairy tales would make your daughter really believe a white knight would come riding into her life and sweep her off of her feet. Yet, what young lady does not dream of a knight in shining armor coming to her rescue and living happily ever after? You don’t have to have read fairy tales to get this message. You can watch movies, read books, or listen to music. Romance is the big seller. One of my favorite songs is on the sound track to "Bandits" and "Shrek 2". I am not sure of the name of it, but it says something like, " I need a hero. He has to be strong and he has to be fast and he has to be fresh from the fight…He has to be larger than life". Have we taught our daughters to want a "hero"?

Maybe the question should be "What do we (parents) want for our daughters?" As for Toby and me, we have taught our daughter to wait on the Lord – that in His timing He will bring a young man into her life. This young man will have to be a godly young man; one who is willing to lay down his life for his wife as Christ did for the church. This young man will have to be someone whom Jesse will be willing to be obedient (submit) to, therefore he will have to be a leader – leading his family to in God’s ways. He will have to be a provider allowing Jesse to be a homemaker and mother. He will have to love her with a 1 Cor. 13 kind of love that is patient, and kind and not selfish. Are there young men out there like who fit the requirements? Are we all waiting on a hero?

There have been some lessons at church recently directed to the young men on walking more godly and answering the calling of God. It was brought up that the young women of our fellowship seem to really "get it" when it comes to choosing to walk godly, but for some reason many of the young men just don’t understand. The world seems to have easier ways, and our young men seem to fall away pretty fast.

I will tell you now, we are holding out for a hero. We want a young man who will go into the battle for his wife and family. We have raised our daughter to be a courageous wife. She will need a hero to walk with her equally yoked.

Yesterday, Jesse and I saw a pick-up truck with tinted windows and all sorts of bumper stickers. One sticker said, "Don’t laugh, your daughter might be in here." Another sticker said, "Drink till she is cute, but leave before the wedding." I remarked to Jesse that this guy might as well get a sticker that says, "I like my women just a little on the trashy side." Jesse said (in her very blunt way of speaking) that he should get a sticker that says, "I am a colossal ass." That’s my girl!

BRB

I am headed to WF this morning. Dad has an oncologist appointment at 10:00. I will post later today.

August

Last night I sent out an email saying you should read Michael Yon’s blog. He is a reporter in Mosul, and he is right in the thick of things. In the past he has told about Deuce Four – the unit he is with and their heroic deeds especially LTC Kurilla. It is easy to read that Michael is very impressed and loves the guys he works with – Kurilla is like a super hero. Several days ago he briefly told that LTC K. had been shot three times. Yesterday he told the whole story. It is up-close and personal. It is a must read.

On a lighter note…Maybe I should say hotter note. It is hot here in OK. Yesterday the weatherman said the day would be "mild and muggy". What’s up with that? Why not just go ahead and say "hot and humid"? Maybe because the temperature was only 99 (not quite 100) that he thought "mild" was a good word. The heat index was more like 106. Today the small amount of wind we will get, will be from the south – great. That means it will be even hotter. There is the possibility that it will rain this weekend and cool down into the upper 90’s.

Truly, it has not been a bad summer, but I just get so tired of August and the heat. When we lived in NM, I would get so tired of the cold and the snow. February was the month of madness for me. I would tell my husband not to let me make any major decisions in Feb. because I was just not a sane person. The snow would start in October – by Halloween there was snow on the ground. The snow stayed until April. Sometimes, it would still snow in May and even June. The skiing in March is so wonderful that I did not mind March so much, and you could feel spring in the air. Feb. was just a month to get over the hump.

Now in OK, the month of madness is August. By August I am just tired of the heat. I know there will be more heat in September, but you can begin to feel fall, and that makes September okay. I am ready for the fall. I need to be able to go for a walk during the day – not at daybreak or dusk. I am ready for the summer critters (bugs) to die. Don’t let me make any major decisions.

I just keep telling myself, "You are not wearing full body armor and being shot at. Suck it up!"

New Angel

Yesterday I mentioned joining Soldiers' Angels. Well, I got my soldier's name and address. Now I can send him letters and packages. He included a request for an IPOD because they spend a lot of time on convoys and there is no intertainment. He said that many of his men have IPODs and that he would like to have one too. The Soldiers' Angel group sent a note saying that if I needed help getting an IPOD, that they would assist. If any of my blog readers want to help, you know where I live. Of Course, Jesse was reading over my shoulder when I got my soldier. When she read the request for an IPOD, she said, "I want one too!" Yeah right! Get a job!

Tidbits

Today I signed up to be part of Soldiers’ Angels. I have seen this organization mentioned in lots of blogs. They seem to be a group that does much good in support of our troops. They do all sorts of things from raising money for families of wounded soldiers to writing letters and sending care packages to soldiers. Since I have been ranting and raving on how we need to support our military, I thought this would be a start. It seems like so little, but it is something.

I started teaching my art classes yesterday after taking the summer off. I have been doing this for several years now. It started about six years ago when a mom came to me and asked if I would teach her daughter art. I said sure, and began teaching Sarah in my home. I cannot explain how much fun and what a blessing my time with Sarah has been. There have been many wonderful times – great joy. There have been times when we have laughed until we had tears running down our cheeks. I would love to tell you about some of them, but you just had to be there.

From my one student, Sarah, a few more girls joined us. After a while there were five girls crowded around my kitchen table every Thursday to do art. It has been a wonderful time of shared laughter, private jokes, lots of art, and even music.

Then other mothers started asking me to teach their daughters. I agreed to do this on Tuesdays. The first Tuesday, about 12 girls showed up. Oh my gosh! We eventually had to divide up into two groups that came every other Tuesday. I have been teaching these younger girls for about 4 years. One year we painted nine huge wall paintings. I had paintings all down the hall, in the kitchen, and on the table with the whole crew of art girls everywhere painting. We had music blaring, girls were singing, and slinging paint. I loved it, and the paintings turned out great.

My older girls, the first group, has changed over the years. Many of the girls have married; some have had babies including my own daughter-in-law. Some are still with me. But it has been a time that I have wanted to guard against interruption or distraction. It is a time to get together and just enjoy each other. It has been a very treasured time for me. I am not sure how this year will go. I have about 25 kids total now including several boys. I have lots of beginners this year too. But the biggest change is that Sarah is getting married. Knowing Sarah, she will still come to art, but I dread the day that she does not come. I rejoice with her on her upcoming wedding and her wonderful future, and yet I cry. Maybe it is my hormones.

Pete, this is just for you. Last night we were watching the History Channel, which was showing a documentary on Desert Storm. As it neared 10:00, I started getting ready for bed and prodding Jesse and Toby to do the same. Jesse said, "Wait! I have to see how the war ends."

Questions

The other day I posted a blog that was titled "The Big Question". As I started the blog, I had a big question in mind, but as I wrote, I got sidetracked and never got to the point and question that I had intended. No one noticed or commented. I am not sure what that says about me or my readers, but I thought I would try to stay on track today. Pete, this is a serious posting.

I had CNN going on TV the other night while I was working on supper. There was some reporter saying that he thought the tide was turning in the American people’s support for the war in Iraq. He was saying that more and more people were NOT supporting the war, and he gave some very low percentage that did not support the war, but said that percentage was growing. About the time I said, "What a bunch of crap", Toby came in and said, "That is Bob Costa, the sports announcer." I thought, " why am I listening to a sports announcer tell me his opinion of the war – why are they even interviewing him?" Then on our local ABC channel last night, which I have little or no respect for their reporting, they had an opinion poll on "Can President Bush rally support for the war?" Then it showed that 61% of local folks said "no" – keep in mind that this is not a very scientific poll. It made me wonder. Are you kidding? In an Army town in conservative OK people do not support their soldiers??!! What is going on here? Is all of this coming from the Cindy Sheehan thing? Do any reporters read real military news/blogs? Has anyone heard of Michael Yon and his reports? Where is the positive reporting?

Every day I sit down with my coffee cup and I read military blogs from guys in Iraq who tell amazing stories of heroes. They tell of the good going on in Iraq. They also tell heart-wrenching stories of the fallen soldiers. They give realistic views on how long this will take, but they are committed to seeing it through – that it is a worthy cause. Today on www.soldierlife.com, who is home now, says he would go back, that he cannot imagine not serving. There are many others that I could tell about and share their stories, but you can find these and read for yourselves.
Maybe I have lots of Big Questions, but I just cannot understand why the main media does not report these things. If they only report "if it bleeds it leads" stuff, how can they say they are unbiased?

Now, here is some of Lou’s Logic. I don’t want to argue about WHY we are in Iraq (although I could), but I do want to ask a bigger question and maybe make a point. Our military is in Iraq fighting insurgents that are from all over the Middle East (better there than here). They are training the Iraq military and police to stand and take over the job (takes time and effort). If we pull out now, what would happen to the Iraq people now? Would Arab insurgents take over? Would the country be tossed into chaos? Would we just have to turn around and go back in to Iraq to save the people from tyranny again? Would all that we have done up till now be undone, counted for nothing. Would all whom have given their lives for freedom in Iraq have died for nothing? How can anyone argue that we should pull out now? So then, is the next argument that we need an exit plan? Sure, lets give the enemy a date and plan for when we are leaving. That way, they can just wait us out.

I feel very sorry for Cindy Sheehan. I can imagine after the first battles of the Civil War there were some mothers thinking, "You know, I don’t care about the South and slavery; I just want my son back." In fact, President Lincoln nearly lost his second election because not everyone was for the war. But there must have been some people with more insight, deeper commitment who could see what needed to be done so that all were free. Why does our mass media not see that?

That Girl Again

Jesse’s car is a Scion. They are basically built and sold by Toyota. Hers is a white TC, which is a sporty little four-cylinder coup. We got the five speed with a sunroof. It is just pretty cool. She has been able to drive it all week and show her friends (when she can get it away from Toby). Once again there was no haggling for it – you pay the price listed which was a good price. We have not heard from the Toyota dealership about the key they lost, but then who needs a valet key when you have two keys anyway.

Jesse and I took the TC to Lawton on Saturday to do some shopping. She has a job interview today with Halliburton (more on that in a minute). We were looking for some outfit to interview in that would make her look professional and grown up. We picked up a brown suit (top and skirt), a pair of black pants, and a top at Ross. Then we headed to the mall, but we were starving and getting grumpy, so we decided to eat at Garfields.

I am going to backtrack a minute and tell you about a luncheon we had several years ago at Olive Garden. It happened to be Halloween and our waiter was dressed as a devil of some sort. He was quite taken with Jesse, and he hung out at the table saying rather silly things and trying to make a good impression. He even brought her a flower (pulled from one of the arrangements) and told her she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen (something to that effect). When he brought our meal, he said "bon appetit". He started to leave, but turned and said, "That means good eating in French." We all burst out laughing when he left. Some impression he made – did he think we were stupid? Bon appetit has become the key word for whenever we have a waiter who is flirting with Jesse or being particularly annoying.

Now we go back to Garfields. The waiter asked if he could interest us in a Pepsi product or an iced-tea. Jesse said she would have a Dr. Pepper. He misunderstood her, and said they did not have Dr. Pib, but only had Dr. Pepper. She misunderstood him and thought they did not have Dr. Pepper. I finally said, "Stop it! You two are saying the same thing!" We all laughed at the misunderstandings and got our drinks and order. He was particularly attentive during our meal coming around very often. Then at one point he asked if he could get Jesse another "Dr. Pib". We smiled knowing he was joking, but then he said, "That is known as a ‘call back’ when someone refers to a previous joke. You see I do stand up comedy." Jesse and smiled and nodded. When he left our table, Jesse and I burst out laughing – saying bon appetit.

As for the interview, this is something we have prayed about. For those of you who know us, you know that we have raised Jesse to be a homemaker. We have always thought an education is important and have let Jesse continue with hers. She has done custom house plans for people the last several years while going to school to get her associate degree. Although she has worked toward a Bachelor’s degree, that does not seem to be the right thing at the present time. Having a job outside the home seemed to be a good thing for her right now. Knowing her heart, knowing that someday she still wants to be a wife and mother (to a bunch of boys and have a swimming pool to be wild in), we have let her apply for this drafting position with Halliburton. We think the interview process will be good for her and the job too – if she gets it.

While shopping, we found a black blazer to go with the black pants bought earlier. We found some different tops to make everything look professional, yet feminine. She was bare footed while trying on the brown suit. It looked very nice on her (a bit dull), but her skinned knee took away from the "grown up" look. She said she would just explain in her interview that she skinned her knee going down the slide at the water park. "You go much faster on your knees!" Later when we got home she modeled her new clothes for Toby to see what she should actually wear for the interview. The black pants and blazer were very nice. Then she came out in the brown suit with some very high heels. Oops! She definitely looked grown up. Toby said, "Wear the black pants."

The Big Question

Since my son set me up with this blog site, I have enjoyed writing my blogs - simple as they are. Even more than writing, I love reading other blogs - specifically, military blogs. At first, I just randomly went from one blog to another. Let me tell you, there is some prett strange stuff out there. Eventually, I found my way to some military blogs and then through those blogs, I found some more military blogs. I have a whole list of favorites that I check on each day. Some of these guys are beginning to come home from Iraq now. I am very happy for them - glad that they are safe, but I will miss them. They give a much more accurate picture of what is happening in Iraq than the mass media.

Last year I read "American Soldier" by Gen. Tommy Franks. I loved the book. Then I found the he was doing a book signing at the WalMart in Lawton. I figured that it would be so neat to meet him and get his autograph. Toby and Jesse went with me thinking they would do some shopping while I got my autograph. We got there about 30 minutes early, and there was already a line down the back of Walmart, down the side, and out to the garden area. I got in line at this point. The line went on to snake around the garden area and then out the gate and down the sidewalk. Once the line started moving, it moved fairly fast. It took about an hour for me to get face to face with Tommy Franks and his wife, Cathy. You would think that I had all of that time to plan what I wanted to say, but I didn't think to do that. When I finally got in front of him, I suddenly realized that all that I had wanted to say would sound stupid. I had read his book, I felt like I knew him personally, and I wanted to speak to him that way. But he did not know me from Adam. There were people there guarding Mr. Franks and moving the line quickly and Toby was waiting for me - too much pressure. I said something that I am sure Mr. Franks found odd, but I did manage to tell Cathy she was my hero too and got her autograph.

That is how I feel about the soldiers whose blogs I read. I feel I know them personally, but they don't know me. I would like to tell them how much I appreciate them, give them a hug...They would probably think I am some sort of dememted old lady stalking them. So I will just keep reading them, enjoying them, and praying for them. They will never know me, but I hope they feel the prayers.

Global Warming Warning

I am no scientist, but I just don’t understand this global warming thing. It seems when some part of the world is having a heat wave, global warming becomes a hot topic (pun intended). Here in OK, we are having a rather mild summer. In fact, with all the rain of the past few days, Jesse has stuck two cars in the driveway (which does not have rock yet). Last year we also had a pretty mild summer with some unusual but wonderful rains. Jesse and I spent a large part of the summer either on the lawn mower mowing or in the tractor plowing. We have had some warm days this year, but that is normal for OK. Overall, this summer has been great. I can remember summers when the heat was just unbearable. Wichita Falls would get hottest spot in the nation several times a summer. In 1980, I drove my Mom from Dallas to WF. We got to WF at 5:00 PM, and it was 115 degrees. We decided to just keep on going to New Mexico. Here is my question: If the world is thousands of years old, and we have only been keeping accurate records for a few hundred years, how do we know the temperatures are getting warmer? How do they show global warming? With what do they compare things to?

Hang in there, Mr. President, don’t sign any treaties concerning global warming. Here is where I feel like Gilda Radner on SNL – someone will correct my scientific views and make me look stupid, and I will say, "Oh. Never mind."

Fall Too Soon

While working on this house, there was almost no TV watching, but that was okay since everything was pretty much reruns in May and June. Once we moved in, there was still no TV for several weeks. Finally we got a dish and lots of channels to watch. It has taken me a while to get use to TV again, and I am learning my way around the new system. Toby was reluctant to get so many channels saying that I would be watching Matlock, Magnum PI, and Murder She Wrote all day long. I do love a mystery (and Tom Sellock), but I have refrained from daytime TV and too many reruns. Then a couple of weeks ago I found a show on TNT called The Closer. It is a pretty good mystery show, and I like the actress who plays the lead. It happens to be on Monday nights. So why am I blogging and not watching my show? Hmmm, could it be that pre-season football has started. I just think it wrong, wrong, wrong to have football come so early.

When we lived in the mountains, there was a feeling that would overcome me in August. It was a brief feeling of fall approaching – just a cool breeze and the smell of fall. The feeling would send me into a panic that summer had gone by much too fast, that I needed to have more summer. I should explain. Normally, I love the change of seasons and fall is a great time in the mountains. But when you work your buns off in a resort town through the summer, you just don’t get to enjoy the mountains like all the tourist do. That feeling of fall coming was depressing.
That is how I feel about football in August. I am just not ready to give up my newfound TV shows. I need to see some more movies and mysteries. Maybe I need a TV for the bedroom.

I will post more about August later.

Home Again

The girl got home yesterday morning at 6:30 after driving all night with her friends. She was tired and had a cold. She went straight to bed. Later in the day when she perked up a bit, we were finally able to communicate somewhat with her. By bedtime, she was in our room talking our heads off. Her digital pictures of SC were great. The beach scenes were colorful and fun. She took lots of boat shots and pictures of friends they met on the scuba adventure, and they seemed to meet everyone on the boat (I am sure they were the life of the party). The actual underwater pictures will have to be developed before we see them.

As the day went on, we got more stories out of her, but we had to see Lindsay to get the good stories. She just has a way of telling stories. Apparently, there were some barracudas swimming with them on the scuba adventure. The water was murky, and the barracudas were a surprise causing Lindsay to scream. While waiting on their ride, they tried eating oysters on the half shell at a funky little cafe. They had to get the waiter to explain how to eat them, but they were not impressed with the oysters (the waiter, they liked). I am sure I will get more stories eventually, and I am sure there are some stories that I will never get. Those stories are only shared with your best friend on your grand adventure. That's okay; I was young once, too.

Fast Talkers

As I posted the other day, we bought Jesse a new car. We bought this car at a dealership in Grapevine near DFW. The whole car buying experience was okay, but there are some things that you have to wonder about. Are big-city folks just so different from us country folk that there are often misunderstandings? Or are big-city folk just blockheads?

The actual buying of the car was great – it was one price, and we agreed to that price when we said we would take the car. That probably saved us much time and effort and the pain of the usual haggling. The young salesman, Mike, showed us around the dealership and went over the driver’s manual and paperwork with us while our car was being "readied" for the "big presentation". The finance man also spent much time going over things. When we finally got to the "big presentation", there were several salesmen standing around including, Mike, the sales manager, and some other manager. We were told to look the car over, inspect it, and see if there was anything wrong. Well, the car looked great, but it had an obvious scratch on the front bumper something anyone washing the car would have seen. We did not get bent out of shape over this because in our country-bumpkin way, we assumed that the dealership would treat us right and fix any problems. Now the dealership guys all acted like "Oh my gosh! How did that get there?" when they had just spent over an hour "reading" the car. You would have to have been blind not to see the scratch. Then they launched into their "we WILL take care of this" speeches. Well, of course you will – what choice do you have? Through all of the fast talk, we finally established that we would leave the car at the dealership, leaving a key so they would have the next week to "make right" the problem.

On Tuesday, when Toby called to see how things were going on fixing the problem, he got a bit of a run around – as if they had forgotten who we were, why the car was there, and what they were suppose to be doing. Most disturbing is that they did not have the key to the car. Two big questions arise at this point; what did they do with the key, and why did they not call us immediately. After some discussion, it was decided that the car would be ready by Thursday night and that we would drive back to Dallas to pick it up. When we got there on Thursday night, there was much discussion with Mike and the manager as to what happen to the key. Mike actually told us that the key had been put in an envelope with the words "paint/Monday" on it, but the key inside the envelope turned out to be a Solaris key – not the key to our car. He also told us that the car had been "pushed" around the dealership to be worked on after getting into the car with some sort of odd key. Hmmm, sounds fishy! But Hey! Just make it right. Once again there was much talk about how they would "make things right and "make us a new key" and "make it all up to us for our inconvenience". We were not upset, because we just expect people to do the right thing. In fact, we were amazed that we had to hear all of this talk.

We finally drove out of the dealership with the new car, but in our minds, both Toby and I were thinking, "These guys are shysters. For all of their talk about doing the right thing and take care of us, they have continued to do the wrong thing." What are the chances they will get the key made for us, and make up for the inconvenience, and do all of this without us having to call them and pester them about it? This story will be continued.

Communication

After reading Hurl's blog ( camelspider.typead.com ) I thought of something funny that happened a few years ago while we were in Italy. We were staying in a home that had a washing machine, but no dryer. In Italy, they seem to hang their clothes out on a clothesline. You see spiderwebs of clotheslines and clothes through out the towns of Italy. Jesse and I were excited to have the washer, but we needed a clothesline. I got out my Italian/English dictionary and looked up the word "rope" so that we could go to the store and purchase a rope to use. It was a simple word that made perfect sense to me, and I was sure I could remember it because it was so easy. I assured Jesse that I knew the right word, and we set off for the store. Once we got there things did not go as planned. I told the clerk that we needed a "ropa". She did not understand. No matter how loud or slowly I said the word, she still did not understand. Then we resorted to hand gestures and charades. This worked, and we bought a rope and clothes pins. When we got home, I grabbed the dictionary to see where I had gone wrong. The word I should have used was "corda" not "ropa" - close, but no cigar. Jesse laughed till she was sick and has never let me forget my mistake. She still will say "ropa" anytime I make some silly mistake with words. She is merciless.

Decorating Advice and Stuff

Sometimes there are people you meet for the first time, and you think that you must have known them all of your life. You feel so comfortable and so at ease with them. You just have a great time because they laugh at all the things you laugh at. That is how Toby and I felt when we met Greg and Sondra while in the Metro area. We had a great time visiting with them and my brother’s family. They are the kind of people you want to see again and again. I am glad my brother brought us all together.

Last night we got a message from Jesse. We missed her call while we were out taking a walk, but she informed us that she was having a great time. She was taking scuba lessons last night in hopes of going scuba diving today. They had played some miniature golf, and it has been raining. That is all I know – maybe I will hear more tonight. She will have a good time no matter what.

A friend of ours wrote and sent pictures of his future home in Alaska. The pictures were wonderful – made me long for the mountains (especially since it is August in OK). He is buying a condo that is not finished yet, and therefore, gets to pick out flooring, paint, etc. He asked for decorating advice. He does not really need it, and I am sure he has already taken care of it, but it made me think of what advice I would give.

Choose carpet that is fairly light (not white) because dark carpet makes you feel like you live in a cave. Also, it shows dirt and stuff almost as much as white carpet. Choose carpet with a little color to it so that when you drop things, they blend in somewhat – makes for less vacuuming. We once lived in a house with some 70’s shag. It had all sorts of colors like green, orange, yellow, etc. It really was not bad carpet, but if you dropped anything, you might not find it for days. I was afraid to put the baby down in the floor – afraid we might not find her for awhile. Although if she did get lost, she could have lived for days on food we had dropped and not found. Also, I like ceramic tile. You just can’t go wrong. Tile is very hard to destroy (although when you drop something breakable on tile, the object will be destroyed. I am still finding parts of a cereal bowl Jes dropped while unpacking). Tile takes mud and abuse well. It is easy to clean. Saltillo tile is the best since it has all sorts of defects like puppy feet imprints, unevenness, different colors – all of which make it difficult to see dirt so you spend less time sweeping and mopping. Other ceramic tile is good too which is what we have now through out my house. We once had a house with white linoleum tile stuff. I spent way too much time sweeping and mopping since it showed everything spilled or dropped. I would much rather spend time living life rather than cleaning especially if I lived someplace like Alaska. Personally, I like white walls (well, maybe a little color) and lots of paintings on the wall. Add color with throw pillows, nic-nacs, and of course, paintings. I love lots of windows and light, but you need plenty of inside wall space to hang lots of pictures. If anyone needs any pictures, just let me know. I have a few in storage. Here is my basic philosophy on decorating – keep it simple – enjoy life.

The Car

Saturday morning we took off for the Metroplex. We had several things on our "todo" list; the main thing was to put Jes and Lindsay on a plane to Myrtle Beach, SC. Just know up front that having those two in a car, together, all day was wild. Toby and I were highly entertained from the moment we picked up Lindsay to the moment we dropped them both off at the airport.

We took the back roads to Texas or as Toby calls it, "The Bridge to Nowhere" because Toby loves to drive the winding road (perfect for motorcycles). The girls did a great impression of him as a race car driver hugging the curves, wheels screaming…We had lunch at a place called Dieter Brother’s on Hwy 82. It has great barbecue if you ever happen to be in the area. Then we started stopping at different car dealerships as we got in to the big city. Nothing was too impressive, although we were pretty sold on a Toyota Corolla - if we found the right one. At one dealership, the sales man’s last name was Butt. Do you think the girls had some fun with that?
We did eventually end up buying Jesse a car. I won’t say what kind of car, yet, leaving that to show and tell her friends when she gets home from the beach. Before we found the right car, we had a very nice, quiet salesman doing his best to make a sale, but we felt the same as before. Nothing had really caught our attention and was "just right". Then the sales manager came over. He introduced us to a different salesman – one who was young, and good-looking and as crazy as the girls. He showed us the great car (one like he owned himself). It was the perfect car for Jesse. She loved it, and we bought it. I don’t believe I have ever laughed so hard while buying a car. The girls had the whole car dealership watching and waiting on us to get the car. The young salesman was right in there with them. It was a good experience. Jesse said her stomach did not hurt this time (at the thought of buying a car).

Now some people might think that Jesse is quite the princess for getting such a car, but this is something we have thought about for a while. Jesse is not a kid who just got her license. She is a responsible 23-year-old who has proven herself over and over. She has been a big help building our house, working on the farm, learning to be a homemaker and being obedient to us. She has done well in school making a 4.0. She does well in all that she takes on. This will be a car that she will be safe in and enjoy – something she can (someday) take to her marriage, and it will be a help. I want to point out that our son is, also, all of that and more. He has met all of our expectations and done great. We have truly been blessed with children who have a soft heart, who have been obedient to us and to God. I am thankful for Bo and Sara. When you have children like this, you can help them out knowing that it won’t be squandered or wasteful. Just as our Father wants to bless us when we do good, we want to bless our children when they are a blessing to us.

Old Fogey

Since the pace has now slowed on working on the house, things have sure gotten dull. No one has fallen off any ladders, mashed any thumbs, set any pastures on fire, or had a chance to really be smart alecky all week. The good news is that my body may be recovering from the overload of work of the last several months. The bad news is that now I am gaining weight. You can’t keep eating like a construction worker once the construction stops. My right arm is still having problems at the elbow and the gripper. Simple things like taking the laundry out of the washer is a pain. Now then I have a crick in my neck making turning my head difficult. That would not be so bad, but I also have a rash of some sort or bug bite on that same side of my neck that is pretty painful. I feel like I am just falling apart this morning. I woke up stiff and sore, and I have not done any work to cause this. It is just old age. I may have to go see Dr. Patty about the rash.

Tomorrow we take Jesse and Lindsay to the airport and send them on their grand adventure to Myrtle Beach. Just being around the two of them is a grand adventure for most of us. At the lake yesterday, they rented a canoe and took Riley and Coltin (the boys Lindsay babysits) out on the lake. Apparently they had a misunderstanding on how to man the canoe. As they headed for a small island in the lake, Lindsay told Jesse, "Right side". Jesse did not understand. Lindsay could not figure out how anyone could not understand, "right side", but Jesse thinks like no one else. She thought "right side" of the island not of the canoe. So they had an argument. The best part is five year old Riley saying, "You can just let me out here."

I would love to be going to Myrtle Beach with the two of them – not so that I can watch over them, but so that I can just watch the show that they put on. Life is a grand adventure for them. Years ago in a discussion with Lindsay’s mom on what we wanted in husbands for our girls, we both had many of the same things in mind for them. One of those things was a husband who would love the joy in our daughters and not try to squelch that joy. One thing is for sure, whoever marries these two will never have a dull moment.

From the Front

Here is a copy and paste of an email from my cousin in Iraq. He ask for prayer for specific people, but I did not copy that thinking maybe I should not include names. Just be in prayer him:

Family and Friend!

Just back from a few nights down at another company’s base. 30 minutes after I left their base got hit with mortars! HA! No one was hurt. I just called the army captain down there that I work with and he thought it was hilarious. I told him I was a peace grenade! While down there I went to an Iraqi army staff meeting and patrolled with an Iraqi patrol in a town closer to Baghdad. They did a great job. I saw so many beautiful children and they all run up to you asking for chocolates and of course they want your watch or your sunglasses. I could just have easily been in Yemen. Same filth, same trash piles and dilapidated vehicles and homes. Mangy dogs run around everywhere and kids are crawling around in trash. I saw one retarded child sitting in a court yard by himself just kind of rolling around on the ground…tragic. The locals complained of no water. One boy told me that he is the only male in his house and that he has no money or food. Of course I wanted to stop the patrol, call our logisitics shop and have them deliver 5000 MREs to the town, but that would only stop the bleeding. Anyway, what a great experience. The only bad thing was that I completed sweated through my cammies….my trousers would not have been wetter if I’d have jumped into the pool!

Life is good. I’m thankful to be out and about. One Iraqi soldier was injured today when I improvised explosive device (IED) hit their vehicle. He wasn’t hurt too badly. I went and visited him in the hospital. He was in good spirits. I think, much like in the US armed forces, getting injured is somewhat of a badge of honor…although sadly the Iraqi Army doesn’t have a purple heart medal. I hearty handshake and maybe double rations is all he’ll get.

All is well dear ones. The mail is awesome! My 1stSgt and clerks give me so much grief about all the mail I get. They said I’ve received more mail than anyone in the company so far! The church sent me 4 bundles of those Support our Troops postcards. I’m going to read one each time to my Marines before we go on a mission…just so they know we’re supported back home.

Please pray for the Marines I travel with. The convoy I go with is called the battalion’s Combat Trains. It truly is a mix of cooks, bakers and candle stick makers. The only infantry folks are me and two lance corporals. SSgt Dale, a motor-transport Marine is the convoy commander. He was here last summer and has a little bit of a “the way we did it last time” mentality which I’m violently opposed to, so we’ve done the man dance a few times….with all rounds going to Capt Lively. We’ll be good, just need to continue to refine our procedures.

War Movies

Last night we sat down to watch a movie that I had recently bought on the cheap rack at WalMart. The movie was "Thin Red Line" with a Who’s Who of actors. I thought it would be a good movie – it was not. At least as far as we watched without being bored to death waiting on a plot of some sort. It was suppose to be a WWII movie, but the military men were all being portrayed as cowards or worse. We turned it off and watched "Always" – one of my favorite movies.

A recent "World" magazine article reviewed the new FX tv show called "Over There" about the Iraq war. It did not give it a very good review of the show. It did have some interesting things to say about war movies. It pointed out that most war shows are not made until after the war is over – not while it is going on. There were some WWII movies made during the actual war, but they are now considered propaganda movies because they were made to keep up the morale on the home front (something that "over There" does not do apparently). The article also pointed out the change in war movies over the years. War movies made five decades ago present GIs fighting for a cause that gave meaning and value to their sacrifices – soldiers were heroes and causes worth fighting for. After Vietnam, all movies about war changed. "The soldier was portrayed as an existential hero, struggling – and often failing – to keep his humanity in a world of senseless violence…In more recent war movies, patriotism is a joke, leaders are corrupt, and idealism is a foolish illusion." Personally, I can think of some war movies made recently that I do like - "We Were Soldiers", "Saving Private Ryan", and "Band of Brothers". Maybe I liked these movies because they portrayed the GIs as heros, who although they were scared, they fought for their country, and their brothers next to them in battle. The rest of the article pointed out that although "Over There" is suppose to be non-political according to its writer, Steven Bocho, it has underlying tones putting down our military men and the war in Iraq. Here is another quote from the "World" article, "But to portray a war without any of its ideals is to portray that war as meaningless. If the reasons for the war are just "politics," if war is nothing more than a struggle for survival, who could support it?"

If "Over There" does not support the war in Iraq, what does it really do? I thought the "World" article very interesting and will be glad to send it to anyone who would like to read the whole thing.

Teasers

My day in WF went well. First Mom and I took Dad to the oncologist. My little brother joined us there for the appointment. While in the waiting room (do they still call them that?) Mom said that maybe Dad had "Plurasie" since he has been having chest pains. I teased Mom about the word "plurasie" – was is really a word, was it an East Texas word, did she make it up, was she sure how to say it…When my brother arrived, he joined in the teasing. He said he thought the word meant "the plural form of another word" saying "I think that is the ‘pluralsie’ of that word." We went on and on making Mom probably a little irritated with us, but teasing is what we do best. Of course, Mom was very smug when the doctor explained that pluritis is an inflammation of the lining of the lungs. Then we were very smug when she explained that the "old way" to say it was how Mom was saying it. As it turns out, Dad does not have pluritis, he has two broken ribs from one of his falls.

Last week while in WF, Pete and I got tickled at some silly thing. We were laughing together, teasing each other while Mom was, once again, irritated with us. We have always maintained that we were a family of teasers picking on who ever opens themselves up for a good teasing (usually our baby sister). After thinking about it, maybe this teasing trait is more pronounced in the middle children of our family, or maybe the middle children are just better at it (after all we are smarter and better looking than the others). One thing I do know is that whenever I get with my little brother, I have a great time. There is a reason we have those lines around our eyes – it is from laughing and enjoying life.

Later

I am headed to WF today to check on my parents. I will try to post a blog later today.