The Reunion

The three amigas and the band

The trip to Kerrville for the Friends of the Forty's and Fifties WFHS reunion was both good and bad. For the most part, seeing old friends of Dad's was wonderful. It had been twenty years since my dad had started the Friends of the Forty's reunions in Red River. Toby and I had our little cafe at that time, and it was headquarters for the reunion. It was at those first reunions when I got to know so many of Forty's classmates. Guy and Jeannie Hill were there for those first reunions with their big video camera. They filmed the reunions and made a scrapbook of pictures and letters. This weekend, Guy gave me the scrapbook and the videos to keep and to eventually write the story of the FOF's.

There were times at this reunion that were sad. So many people came up and told me how much they missed my dad. Many had little stories about Dad, but most just loved him and wanted to tell me so. Several times, someone told me that not only did Dad start the FOF reunions, he actually held little reunions back in the 50's. His dad (my grandfather) ran the clubhouse at Weeks Park Golf Course. Dad would hire a band, use the club house, sell tickets, and have a Christmas Dance for his old high school buddies. Yep, my dad loved those people, and I loved seeing them, too.

There were lots of little funny incidents that went on this last weekend. How could things not be funny when you room with two 75 year old ladies - both sassy and classy? Charlene W. went with us and roomed with us. She was just great. She has been good friends with Yvonne S. for years, and I was good friends with Yvonne's daughter, Sandra and her cousin, Anny (I have blogged stories about Anny and her husband, Bear). Mom is now good friends with both ladies and has done some traveling with them. I call them the three amigas.

There was a mixer held on Friday night and a dance held on Saturday night. At the dance, there was a band called Sentimental Journey that dresses in WWII uniforms and plays swing music. The dance was wonderful. My brother and his new girlfriend joined us at the dance. Craig danced with all the old ladies at our table and made quite the impression. Catherine, who is lovely, smart and friendly, made just as big an impression. People actually came by our table to tell Mom how much they enjoyed her family and what a great family we were. We just like to have fun.

Today is a busy day with laundry and getting back into the swing of things. Plus, I will be attending a funeral. One of my good friends' mom died a few days ago. Therein is the sad/bad in all of this. Our parents and their friends are getting old and many are dieing. I will tell some individual stories later when I have more time. All in all, it was a good trip.

Painting of the Week

I have a dozen photos that look similar to this picture. When we drove from Rome to Florence, I made Toby get off the Autostrada and drive us around the countryside so that I could take pictures. This picture actually came from the Internet as did last weeks painting. I encourage my students to constantly be on the look-out for scenes that they would like to paint and keep folders of such pictures. I have several folders, books and magazines for them to look through when they are low on ideas.

I'm off to Kerrville to day - like a herd of turtles in a bowl of peanut butter. But I plan on making like a bread truck and hauling buns soon. Don't you just love funny sayings? After church last night, I was visiting with my friend Sherry. I told her about Jesse's soldier who misread an email and will no longer write to Jesse. Considering his foul language, it is not such a bad thing, but Sherry offered this bit of funny advice. "He should make a bridge and get over it." Then she said, " But it sounds like he burned his bridge." Oh well, I guess Jesse will just have to put on her big girl panties and deal with it.

See you on Sunday.

Odds and Ends

Today is my little brother’s birthday. He is 44 years old. Happy birthday Pete! I remember when Mom brought you home from the hospital. In all my five year old knowledge, I said, “That is not our baby. That is a Chinese baby.”

We had some stormy weather here yesterday, but most of it went west of us. We got a good rain, which is always nice. The sun came out in the afternoon, and Toby was able to go for a ride on his new bike.

I only had a few art students. While at art two of the girls decided to make plans to get together after art. Although they were still here at my house, they left long before art was over. They made lots of phone calls to mothers trying to get permission to do what they wanted to do. When they thought they had it all arranged, they realized that they had not taken into consideration the third girl at art – the one whose mother had brought them – the one their mother was supposed to take home. In fact, they were not really very considerate at all. If there had been lots of girls at art, then two girls making plans would not be so noticeable. But when there are only three girls and one is completely left out…well, I found it very inconsiderate. So, I turned to little Stephie and said, “Hey, you want to go to a party with me?” Stephie started laughing and said, “Sure!” I told the other girls, that I would take Steph home. She really was a good sport. The other girls are not really so bad; they are just immature sometimes and maybe a little thoughtless. I think I will talk to the girls about making their after-art-plans before they come to art.

A year ago last Christmas, I blogged about an 82nd Airborne paratrooper showing up at our house to see Jesse. Travis was just home from Afganistan and wanted to find some fun friends. He hung out with Jes and her friends over the Christmas holidays. He deployed to Iraq a few months later. He came home, and he is back in Iraq now. After Monday’s news about losing nine troopers from the 82nd Airborne, I called his mom to check up on him. She said that he had gotten a cell phone and called home to let everyone know that he was okay. It was a unit attached to his, and not his unit. He did not know, yet, who exactally had been killed or wounded. My heart goes out to the parents and fellow troopers of those soldiers.

Tomorrow, I am picking up Mom, and we are going to Kerrville, TX, for the big Wichita Falls High School Friends of the Forty’s reunion. It is actually my dad’s reunion, but after 50 years of marriage, it might as well be Mom’s reunion. It may be hard for her this year without Dad, but it will be good too. I have been to this reunion several times in the past, and it is always fun. Kerrville is a beautiful town. The hotel is great. There will be a big dance to a band called Sentimental Journey – they dress in WWII uniforms and play big band swing music. The Friends of the Forty’s crowd is shrinking so the reunion now includes people from the Fifty’s. They might have to add some rock and roll music soon. My brother and his girlfriend are supposed to be there for the dance. I am looking forward to seeing them and all the old crowd, too.

Here is something interesting that happened on our vacation to the Hill Country. While we were dancing at the Broken Spoke on Saturday night, Willem Dafoe came in. He did not get far into the building before people swarmed him for pictures and autographs. He seemed to take it quite well. I felt sorry for the man – not being able to just come into a place and have a beer and a dance. We did not take a picture or get an autograph, but just smiled from afar. He is much shorter than I thought.

I will post in the morning, but I will not be able to blog again until I get back – another long time without my computer – yikes.

Jim's Latest Email

Here is the latest update from my Marine cousin, Major Jim. I was planning on posting it today. After reading Lt. Col. Patrick's blog, Jim's letter was confirmed. Good things are happening in Iraq - progress is being made.

Back in October 2006, on my very first day here in Ramadi, I conducted a dismounted patrol with some Iraqi soldiers and some US soldiers from the transition team that my team replaced. The patrol started at 0830 in the morning. There were no people on the streets and we moved quickly across intersections and did not stay on the streets more than 2-3 minutes before moving into a building or a courtyard. During the pre-patrol brief we were advised that the sniper threat had been increasing recently...exactly what you want to hear when starting a daytime patrol! The Iraqi Army patrol leader took us to a small municipal complex that included a small children’s clinic and the old Iraqi police station. The clinic was closed and there was no sign of Iraqi police at the station. Our inspection of the clinic revealed that many of the supplies were missing – apparently taken by insurgents to treat their wounded. The Iraqi police station was completely rubbled from months of insurgent attacks.

Out patrol moved by the municipal area and continued on an adjacent street when suddenly sniper rounds snapped over our heads. I found myself almost frozen...not because of fear but because I simply could not believe that 30 minutes into my very first patrol in Ramadi I was getting shot at. I looked at my counterpart and said, “Wow, it’s going to be a long year.” Three hours after that patrol the Iraqi outpost I had started that morning patrol from was attacked by a suicide vehicle bomb and soon after I found myself in a three hour firefight as insurgents used the vehicle bomb to initiate an attack. At that point I wasn’t worried about the rest of the year any more...I was pretty much focused on the rest of the day!!!

When my team arrived here in October insurgents had freedom of movement in our area and they attacked us at will throughout our area of operations. There were no friendly sheiks or tribes and there were no Iraqi police stations or police. Our convoys were attacked daily, our bases were mortared daily and we could not conduct patrols during the day without guaranteed attacks from some very skilled insurgent snipers. Civilians would not talk to us - those who did were often tortured or killed by insurgents. Within my first 30 days here, the Iraqi Army battalion I am advising had over 30 casualties, including 5 killed. The Ma’Laab district of Ramadi was a dangerous place with little hope and even less security.

It is now springtime here in Ramadi and appropriately enough, things are looking up. After six months of some tough combat operations, fighting to get to know the people and search for local leaders, we now control our area. My Iraqi Army battalion runs close to 30 patrols a day, ten of them partnered with Iraqi police. There are close to 10 large civil affairs projects including sewage repair, rubble removal, school clean up, street repair and work on the electric grid. All of these projects are providing jobs for local Iraqis. Food convoys, unheard of for the last six months because of poor security, now come in every couple of days. The civilians have restarted their soccer league and our efforts to enforce the curfew usually end up getting kids off the streets from their nightly volleyball games.
We now have dozens of friendly sheiks and tribes. Tomorrow we will hold district council elections in the Ma’Laab district. My Iraqi Army battalion now has its own battlespace and continues to prove its ability to conduct independent operations. Colonel Ali, my advisee, was recently praised by the mayor of Ramadi for his efforts at building security and starting the reconstruction effort in his area. Just today one of the city council members invited me to his house for dinner. People now dare to hope things will return to normal. I cannot speak for all of Ramadi, and certainly not for the entire country, but in the Ma’Laab district of Ramadi, we’re winning...actually, the Iraqi people are winning and it’s exciting to be a part of.

Back to that clinic from my first patrol back in October: I visited that clinic again today and it was packed. I counted close to 20 women and probably 30-40 small children and infants coming and going. The supplies in the clinic were sent there by the Iraqi Ministry of Health on a convoy provided by the Iraqi Army and Colonel Ali. That police station is still in ruins, but that’s o.k. There’s a new police station and 50 Iraqi police that are patrolling the streets. There are also close to 200 men who have signed up to join the police force and we’ll start training them next week. The best part is, I walked freely around the area today. I waved at children and greeted a few men that I recognize from a nearby neighborhood...all that, and no sniper fire!

Classic Photo

I realize this picture is old and grainy, but isn't it cool? This is a picture of my friends, Beverly and Johnny who will be celebrating their 38th anniversary on Wednesday. The picture hangs on the wall of their son and daughter-in-law's dinning room. They have four grown children and 12 grandchildren. They are a close-knit family that everyone should envy. This summer there will be lots of volleyball parties at their home with lots of kids running around and a good time had by all. When I see this picture, I think how far we all have come in life and how cool we once were. But this stage of life with kids and grandkids is just pretty cool too.

Life with the Stooges

A funny thing happened yesterday as we were leaving for church. We were walking out the door when I thought of one more little thing to entertain GBN1 in church. I wanted to grab a few colored pencils - they are perfect for GBN1 – she can color without making a mess and pencils do not taste as good as crayolas. There is a filing cabinet near the front door which contains much of my art supplies. Because I am not a neat freak, the top of the cabinet has lots of containers of paint brushes, pencils, pastels, colored pencils and various other piles of stuff. As I reached up and grabbed the can of colored pencils (keep in mind that I am a short person) I heard something fall between the cabinet and the wall. For just a split second I thought, “Great, I knocked something off – I’ll get it later.” Then I heard a “Pssssst” that did not bode well. My next thought was that it was probably my aerosol can of fixative – toxic, but clear and fairly harmless. Then, like one of the Three Stooges, I pulled the cabinet and looked behind it. I was instantly covered in black spray paint. Like an oil gusher, a can of black spray paint was spewing its guts. Of course, I screamed and Toby came running to see what the commotion was. I grabbed him in time to keep him from looking directly into the line of fire and ruining his Sunday clothes as I had just ruined my pretty yellow sweater (although it would have been funny if he had done the same thing that I had just done – two stooges are funnier than one). As the gusher began to subside, we were able to cover the can somewhat, but black paint was everywhere. It seems that when the can fell, it struck the corner of some framing glass that was stored between the cabinet and the wall. The glass broke and the can was punctured. Black paint covered the floor, wall, filing cabinet, and some of my art supplies. Fortunately, we were able to get the paint off of my ceramic tile – the grout was a bit more difficult. The wall and front door will have to be repainted. My clothes were ruined and my new tennis shoes were speckled. The clean up process was not fun. It took some effort to scrub the paint off our bodies. Toby’s hands were black from gathering up the can and other stuff covered in paint. Turpentine is a great exfoliate – takes the paint and skin right off. It took a while for me to calm down from the excitement. Since there was no real harm done, I had to laugh at how silly I must have looked when the paint hit me – like a stooge. Of course, we were late for church and had to sit on the front row.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

These are two of the B-25's that we saw in San Marcos. That is me standing by the Zero. Keep in mind that these were taken with a cheap throw-away camera.

Painting of the Week

On our way through Ft. Worth, Toby made a wrong turn (he was on the inside lane again) and ended up in downtown Ft. Worth, which was not really so bad. We turned on Main St. and headed for the Stockyards. It was probably a Freudian slip, because we ended up at Joe T. Garcia's for dinner and margaritas on the patio. It may be my favorite place to eat in the world. I did not have a camera, but I did have my new journal/drawing pad. I managed to sketch some of the patio - wishing to capture the color, but only had a pencil. If you are ever in Ft. Worth, Joe T's is a must. It is just the best atmosphere, food and margaritas. I am not sure I captured the beauty of the patio, but hopefully, you get the idea of the atmosphere.

The Vacation Continues

Monday morning my brother went to work leaving Toby and I on our own. I like practicing for our empty nest days. Toby had some work to do before we could continue our journey and said his work would take him a couple of hours. First he took me to breakfast at the Magnolia Cafe on SoCo, which was another funky place to eat. Once again, I had the "Love migas" - eggs with tomato, green peppers, onions, cheese and tortillas - scrambled in butter. Then Toby took me to a book store on 6th and Lamar to find something for me to read while he worked. It was a good bookstore reminding me of days in Albuquerque at Page One. I found a good book and a real bargain on a journal/drawing book. I was content while Toby worked.

In the Austin newspaper, I read that the San Marcos Confederate Air force was celebrating the Doolittle Raid by displaying some restored B25 bombers. When Toby finished his work, we took off for San Marcos to see the air planes. Also, since San Marcos was our old college stomping grounds, we thought we would kick around and see the old sights. The college has changed much since we were there 29 years ago. We lived in the married housing near the river across from campus. Only a few of the "cell blocks" are still there. The campus has grown so much it was almost unrecognizable, but we found our way over to Grins (great place for burgers and beer) for a "neither here nor there" burger - some things don't change. We reminisced about the good ole days at Grins and other places in SM. We visited the SM airport to see the planes. I loved seeing the restored bombers and other WWII planes. We had to take pictures with a throw-away camera (I will try to get them on a disk soon so that I can share them). We did a small amount of shopping at the outlet mall and then headed for Houston.

We got into Houston late. Toby did most of the driving on this vacation, of which I am grateful, but it did make for some exciting times, a little stress, and a few arguments. His instinct was to get on the freeways and zip over to the inside lanes and speed. That was fine and dandy except we were never in the right lane at the right time to get off of the freeway. Several times he decided to get off the freeway to take an alternative route and miss traffic only to be stuck in major traffic jams. I told him, “Your instincts stink.” He fired me from being the navigator. What all of this boils down to is that Houston traffic sucks and you could not pay me enough to live there.

The highlight of our Houston stay was my day at the Fine Arts Museum of Houston. Toby dropped me off at 11:00 AM and picked me up later in the evening. I picked up my audio device and slowly made my way through the Metropolitan Art works savoring each piece. I love Impressionists art, so seeing Monet, Manet, Degas, Cezanne, Matisse, etc, was wonderful. I think one of my favorites was the Pissarro. Of course, Van Gogh’s “Cypresses” was impressive. The man may have had lots of problems, but putting paint on canvas was not one of them. Another favorite was Jules Bastien-Lepage’s “Joan of Arc” which was 8’x9’ – just wow! I also liked Bonnard for his choice in subjects, light style, and color. I could go on and on. I bought lots of postcards of the paintings from the Metropolitan Museum since it you cannot photograph the paintings. I did take photos of the MFAH paintings, which was allowed. I will see if I can post some later.

There are lots more to tell of my vacation, but I will post some pictures now and get my day going.

Painting of the Week

Fire up the airplane for this one. This painting is a little different in that it is an acrylic on 5x7 canvas. Oil would have been nice, but it just takes so long to dry.

The surprise birthday party that I went to yesterday was indeed a surprise. The guest of honor arrived before the guests not knowing about the party, but was pleased as her friends showed up to honor her with a party. The food was excellent and the fellowship even better. Although it took up a large portion of my day, it was well worth the time.

Now, I need to get moving to get us packed to leave this afternoon for Austin area. My nephew won his semi-final soccer game yesterday and will be playing Saturday for the state championship. Jesse and Lindsay decided they just could not miss the party and are now coming to Austin with us. I am glad they are coming with us, but it presents new problems of who will take care of my zoo while I am gone. And it makes a little more work for me today. But hey, it will be a good time in the Hill Country. All of my immediate family will be there. I may can blog from Toby's laptop while I am in Houston, but maybe not. We will just have to wait and see. I have my ticket to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston - Yeha.

Thoughts

I am a little slow in posting today. Tomorrow afternoon we will leave for Round Rock, and I have lots to do to get ready for the trip. Today, I have been invited to lunch with some ladies for a surprise birthday party. There are several things I need to do for the party since it is a potluck luncheon. It is not that I have so much to do; it is that all of it takes thought. I have become a list maker out of necessity - and still, I will forget something. I sometimes wonder how I ever got myself and two kids ready for work and school (daycare and such) all before 8:00 AM every morning. I could teach six classes with thirty kids in each class and keep them busy for 45 minutes with great lesson plans. How did I load up four horses and all the rodeo gear, four kids and all their gear and get them to 4H events? Not to mention all the times I loaded up kids and ski equipment for ski races. I was known as the "mom who brought everything" that someone else might need. Yep, I was a really hip and together mom. Now days, I let my grandbaby beat me to the restroom at church and lock herself in while I stand there knocking on the door and her saying, "I do it myself." I stand in the middle of Wal-Mart wondering why the heck did I come here. Yep, the old gray mare ain't what she used to be.

This morning the cat moved her kittens to the clothes dryer.

Cat Philosophy

Felina and her kittens are doing well. It won't be long before they start moving around and keeping us entertained. Who could not love those little faces? Don't worry - I will give them away when the time comes - no problem.

I have been bringing home cats since I was a little girl. I brought one to Toby while we were dating. It was a test of sorts to see how he would react. It was not important that he love cats; it was important that he loved me enough to let me have the things I loved. He did well.

Hill Country Vacation

There is a wonderful blown glass display at the Oklahoma City Art Museum. My students were very impressed with the glass, although I took them to the museum to see the paintings. The glass was lots of fun. You know how l love to visit art museums.

Next week, Toby has to be in Houston on the 17th. That means I can go along and visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston (rubbing hands together in anticipation). Buck posted info on the museum and their Masterpieces of French Painting from the Metropolitan Museum of Art that is on display until May 6. On the way to Houston, we will hopefully spend some time in Round Rock - my nephew has made it to the state soccer tournament. They play in RR on Thursday. If they win, they play in the final game on Saturday. Since my older brother lives in Austin, it may be a family reunion in Austin this weekend. While we are in the area, Toby and I may have to drive over to San Marcos, our old stomping grounds. We lived there in the late 70's while Toby was finishing college. Bo was born there. Although much has changed, it still has some of the same restaurants and hangouts. We may have to stop in Wimberly to see Toby's nephew and new great-niece. There are lots of people and places to see, and I look forward to just getting away from the farm. The Hill Country in the springtime is great.

Bright Lights

This picture shows how we push GBN1 in her cozy car. I have a video, but I may need lessons on how to post a video. Notice that GBN1 has her legs hanging out the sides of her car. Cozy Cars do not have a place to put your feet - kids are suppose to walk the car. Since speed is the name of the game, the feet must be out of the way. The steering wheel does not actually work, and the wheels are loosey-goosey. It can be a wild ride.

I also chose this picture because it shows the pasture behind our house. We have new neighbors moving in soon. They are getting ready to move a double-wide onto their property. A few days ago, the electric lines were put in - coming off of our pole. The electricians must have thought it slightly closer to come from our property rather than the road, although I bet the road was almost as close. Notice the third pole has a light on it. This is a security light that seems to stay on all night. Now why in the heck do people need to keep a light on all night long - especially one that shines in our bedroom windows? I can see the need for a light when you get home at night or need something in the dark, but all night long - crazy. I kind of like the dark when trying to sleep. Besides, we live in the country where a person should be able to enjoy the stars and sky at night. Move to the city if you like night lights. We had a neighbor in NM who had one of these lights and refused to turn it off when asked nicely by another neighbor across the valley. Said light was mysteriously shot out one night. Made me laugh and gave me evil ideas.

Easter Weekend

Although it was a cold weekend, it was a fun weekend. Saturday, Jes, Toby and I went to OK City to do some shopping. It was a clear day, but pretty chilly. Toby bought a new Kawasaki KLR 650 that he had read about in the classifieds. It was just what he wanted and at the right price. He was quite excited by his new bike, but it was way too cold for him to ride his new bike home. We loaded it into the back of the truck to get it home. Of course, since he spent money on a new motorcycle, he had to be really good to us girls and treat us to a great lunch and put up with us while we shopped for shoes and clothes. He treated himself to a few new shirts, too. We also stopped at the farm store and picked up some Easter ducks for GBN1. We presented the ducks to her on Sunday after church. She loved them, but was a little rough with them. Jesse had to referee. Our daughter-in-law was a little surprised that we bought ducks. My son said, "Didn't you get ducks for Easter when you were little?" If she was surprised at ducks, just wait until we buy GBN1 a goat. We also gave GBN1 a basket of cascarones (Easter eggs filled with confetti). Bess did not grasp the idea of hitting others with them and cracked them on her own head instead. Pretty silly. We played outside for a few minutes giving Bess rides in her cozy car while the boys played with their toy. A good time was had by all.

Painting of the Week

One of my students brought a picture of poppies in a vase. Several of the other students chose to paint them, too. Everyone's painting is different. The background on my watercolor is all yellow, but I could not get the photo to look exactly like my painting. The light yellow just faded out completely, and the dark yellow stood out more than it does in reality. Odd.

I am headed to WF to see Mom today.

MOH Ceremony

My Uncle Bob sent a disk of photos from his visit to Washington and Bruce Crandall's MOH ceremony. This picture was taken at the Whitehouse - from l to r: Aunt Carolyn, Bruce, his wife, and Uncle Bob.

Uncle Bob said that seeing his friend, Bruce get the MOH was an honor that he never thought he would see in his lifetime. Not only was the ceremony at the Whitehouse impressive, the next day there was a ceremony at the Pentagon that UB said was awesome. I will post more pics from the Pentagon later.

I am really glad that UB was able to attend the ceremony. "Too Tall To Fly" Ed Freeman was not able to make the ceremony due to the snow storm at the time. Ed received his MOH years ago, but for some reason Bruce's was held up in Congress. Bruce is a sweet humble man, a man who loves his wife and family, a true hero. He well deserved the MOH.

A funny story to go along with the disk of photos: As soon as I got the disk, I popped it into my computer and looked through the pics. Right off the bat, I started recognizing people that we met while attending the Ia Drang Veteran's reunions several years ago. Today, as I was picking out a photo to share, I could not come up with one couple's names. I had it yesterday, but was drawing a blank today. I went and asked Jesse if she could remember the name of the couple at the reunion that bought our dinner. Jesse thought for a minute and said, "Wasn't his name something like Dale?" I told her that "Dale" was not right - not even close. She was no help. A few minutes later as I looked through more photos, their names popped into my brain. I hollered to Jes, "Their names were Chip and Vicki." She started laughing. She had thought his name was Dale, but it was Chip. Chip and Dale - pretty funny.

News Flash

This morning when Felina, the cat, came in, she told me that she was going to have her kittens soon. I asked her what she wanted me to do about it. She seemed to need help. She wanted me to get her a box and put it in the closet and keep that darn dog away. So, I found an old boot box, put an old towel in it, and put it on Toby's side of the closet. Felina was pleased with her box. I went to Jesse's room and computer as to not bother the cat. But she came in and let me know she wanted me near by. I sat with her for a while reading my book and talking to her from time to time. She was restless and obviously in pain, but was comforted by my presence. After a while, I decided this could take a long time - I don't know nuthin' about birthin' no kittens. Using groceries as and excuse, I left the house taking the dog with me thinking this was the best I could do for her. I guess it turned out fine, because she had six lovely kittens, all well and nursing when I came home. They are yellow-white, and pale gray. Two are tail-less. Felina is quite proud and purring contentedly. I would post a picture, but someone has run off with the camera. Tomorrow I will have pictures.

Another American Beauty

It has been awhile since since I have posted a picture of my daughter-in-law, but since Buck mentioned that I have lots of beautiful friends and relatives, I thought I would show-off some more. My son is looking a bit silly here, but hey, he is my son. Notice GBN1 in the background.

The other day I asked Toby how to download the Easy Share photo software onto my new computer so that I did not have to use Jesse's computer to post pictures. He told me to ask Jesse. I told him I'd rather eat dirt. And I figured it out for myself. Since most of the pictures are on Jesse's computer right now, I am still using her puter. Hopefully, I will not have to use her's so much in the future. I am tired of running back and forth between our computers when I need different things.

I have also been doing some blog surfing again and have found some pretty interesting sites. One new milblog is Desert Flier It is not for the weak of stomach, because he is a flight/trauma nurse in Ramadi. Sometimes his stories are sad, but he seems to have a sense of humor. He also had a link to a fellow trauma nurse, who posted some videos of what they do at their hospital. Once again, be warned that they are graphic.

Reading about male nurses in the military reminded me of a funny story (comic relief). Years ago in Red River, we were going to Bull of the Woods with another couple ( longtime good friends Steve and Janetta) for a little socializing and dancing. As we walked into the bar, an older lady squealed when she saw Steve, hugged him, and started talking non-stop (keep in mind RR is a resort town, and you never know who you will run into). We all hung back watching and waiting as Steve visited with the lady who turned out to be the mother of one of his old high school buddies. The lady was quite excited to see Steve and would not even let him get a word in as she told about her son, whom Steve had not seen since school. At one point, she said, "And now my son is a male nurse! How does that grab you?" Without batting an eye, Steve answered, "Like a hairy hand in the dark." The lady never paid any attention to what he had said, but the rest of us looked at each other and burst out laughing.

SSS

Because the weather is warming up and the grass is greening up, it is now Skin-So-Soft season. The no-see’ems are coming out. Those are the ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, and other critters that bite your flesh and make life miserable (the few things I hate about OK). I discovered SSS years ago from my farrier (yep the guy who shoes horses). He used SSS in a combo with fly repellent to spray on horses to keep the flies from bothering him and the horses while he was shoeing. If I were ever to be a contestant on “Survivor”, the one thing I would take with me to the island would be SSS, because I cannot stand the no-see’ems . SSS is the greatest invention since the wheel. SSS repels bugs and keeps your skin soft. I think you can even get it with a sun screen. Amazing!

When I first started using SSS, there seemed to be something familiar about the smell. I couldn’t place where I had smelled the scent before, but it was somehow comforting. I loved it immediately. Then one day while telling my mother about SSS, she said, “Oh, your grandmother loved that stuff. She used it all of the time.” Aha! So that was it. That was the reason I recognized the scent of SSS. The smell was taking me back to days spent at my grandmother’s house. My grandmother sold Avon and always had lots of fun perfume bottles and cream jars. But it was the smell of SSS that reminded me of her.

My brother and I called her “Mama” because she did not want to be called grandmother. I guess it was because she was a fairly young grandmother when my brother and I came along. The later grandkids called her grandma. Her name was Essie May. She was a little German/American Indian woman with dark hair and blue-green eyes. She is probably the reason I am short and round. She was amazingly strong for a woman and vivacious. Pink was her favorite color. We have so much in common that is scares me. Yet, I am much like my father. The two of them did not get along at all – both bossy.

Mama would plan these fantastic excursions whenever we came to visit. She liked to take us to the Dallas Zoo and Fair Park. She would carry an old Coca-cola metal ice chest, a homemade quilt, and huge baskets of food on these outings. One time while we were at the Zoo, she made everyone climb up this hill because it would be the best place for our picnic. Everything was toted up the hill including my brother and me. When it came time to leave, Mama grabbed up the metal ice chest, the quilt, the food, and had me under one arm and my brother under the other arm. I remember my very soft-spoken grandfather saying, “Do you have it all, Essie?” She giggled knowing that he was making fun of her.

Sometimes, I find myself doing the same thing. Whenever we are gathering up items, whether it is groceries, tools, suitcases, etc, I tend to grab everything I can possibly carry. Toby will say, “Do you have it all, Essie?” It is a reminder that I do not have to carry or do it all by myself. It is also a reminder of my Mama - just like the smell of SSS.

Pictures Galore

These are pictures from this last weekend when the girls went to Dallas for the Dallas FC vs. Brazil soccer game. The girls stayed with my cousin Pam, who is way cool and lots of fun. That is her in the old truck that belongs to her husband. The girls got a big kick out of driving the truck to Starbucks. Jesse said it was "three on the tree!" Hmm, that brings back lots of memories. In high school my grandfather gave me his old truck - it was a 63' Chevy, three on the tree, and a heck of a lot of fun. The girls had a blast at Pam's, and they liked the soccer game, too. Hey Buck, girls on a vehicle - just like our parent's old photos.

Great Weekend

After such a stormy week, the weekend was just beautiful. We got so much rain on Friday that our pond was way up and spilling over the spill-way. Jesse took pictures. I will have to move over to her computer to post some pictures - later. It was much too wet to do any work around here. We took a "farmer's day" on Saturday and went to WF to drop off Mom's tax return and pick up Toby's suit. We made a trip to Sam's Club and went by to see my little brother. Sunday, we invited my Bo and Sara to lunch along with her parents (Inpassing). Being friends with the in-laws is just pretty cool. I wonder how GBN1 feels when she has all her grandparents under one roof. Toby cooked fajitas on the grill, although it was pretty muddy around the house. It sure will be nice when Jesse gets her patchwork patio finished. I did not get to visit much with Inpassing, because our neighbors showed up to get their horses that we have been boarding this winter. Our neighbors are nice people, but different. I think of them as Yankees. They moved here from Florida about four years ago, bought all sorts of animals (donkeys, min. horses, lamas, big horses...) and then last fall they decided to move back to Florida. After about 6 months in FL, they decided OK was the place to be. Anyway, we had to help them catch their ill-mannered horses, and it took away from my visiting time.

My cousin sent this link to the WPO that has a quote from his son, Major Jim, my Marine cousin. The article is interesting too. Last week my Uncle Bob sent an article from Jerry Hogan who is a retired Army LTC writing for some paper in the Dallas area. I wish I could just give you a link, but that is not what my uncle sent. So, I will copy and paste the article here. Then I will move to Jesse's computer and post some fun pictures.

A Sad Day in Our Nations Capital


The Military View
by
Jerry Hogan

“Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs that should be arrested, exiled, or hanged.”

These are the words of one of our greatest wartime Presidents, Abraham Lincoln. And today, a hundred and forty years later, if he were here, he would probably say the same thing. Let me talk about two separate recent congressional actions that would give credence to such a pronouncement.

The first has got to be the recent “scandal” surrounding Walter Reed Medical facility in Washington, DC. For those of you who have missed this issue, two reporters from the Washington Post visited this first class medical treatment center and found one of the older buildings in need of repair. Now granted, they were right on the money in saying that Building 18 needed repair, but they did NOT comment on the fact that requests for funds to do this had been submitted and delayed for over three years due to “bureaucratic bickering and legal squabbles that led to staff shortages and a hospital in disarray just as the number of severely wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan were rising rapidly.”
As reported by the Associated Press on March 19, “Medical care was not directly affected, but needed repairs went undone as the nonmedical staff shrank from almost three hundred to less that fifty in the last year and hospital officials were unable to find enough skilled replacements.”

Two reasons seem obvious to anyone familiar with the military as to why this problem developed. The first is money and the budgeting process. Because of the Department of Defense policy to move to more contractor personnel to replace service men and women doing housekeeping and facilities type work in the military, Walter Reed was in the process of trying to get a $120 million contact approved through the Pentagon, the contractor, and the Congress for facilities maintenance of the Medical Center. The process started in 2003. The contract was finally through the bureaucratic nightmare in 2006 and the contract was awarded in November, 2006. Further delays caused by the Army and Congress prevented work from starting by the contractor until February 4, 2007. One month later the “scandal” started.

The second reason is just as important. In 2005, the Congress approved the Base Realignment and Closure report of the Department of Defense. This report looks at all of the bases currently in the inventory and recommends realignment and closure of some bases for “economy” reasons. Makes sense as some bases, over time, have ceased to be needed for current demands. It is, however, some what unusual to be closing bases, especially major hospital treatment centers, in the middle of a war, but that’s another story. What is important here, the Congress decided that Walter Reed should be closed as a facility and officially placed this Medical Treatment Hospital on the Base Closure list for 2011. Thus ever since 2005, all of the people at Walter Reed, military and civilian, know their jobs are going away in 2011. For the military, this is not an issue as they will be transferred to other facilities and will continue in their present type of work. For the civilians, however, they have no guarantees they will be offered another job, where that job might be, who their new boss might be, etc. No wonder 250 of the maintenance personnel left and could not be replaced and no wonder some of the maintenance was sub standard.

When the “scandal” surfaced, the Congress demanded an investigation to determine how our service men and women could be treated so badly. (Never once did anyone, anywhere, ever say the treatment of our wounded warriors was anything but outstanding; just that some of the out patients were billeted in facilities needing maintenance.) The Secretary of the Army has been forced to resign; the Commanding General of the Hospital has been fired, his replacement was replaced after a day and a Presidential commission, headed by Bob Dole and Donna Shalala is currently running around the country to see how “pervasive the problem is.”

Where was the leadership of the Congress willing to stand up and tell this story of Walter Reed when it hit the newspapers??

The second example is even worse. Where are our spineless politicians, both Republican and Democrat, who lack the courage, fortitude, and character to see the difficult tasks through as we, the United States, fight this International War on Terror? A war where our enemy has openly proclaimed their objective of imposing radical, conservative Islamic Law on all countries with Muslim majorities and enslaving the rest of the world. An enemy that believes it is their holy duty to convert, enslave, or kill the rest of the people in the world. An enemy that has attacked our home land and killed aver 3000 of our citizens. An enemy that has stated; “We have a strategy drawn up for the destruction of Anglo-Saxton civilization. The goal of the Jihad is world domination; a global Islamic State under radical Islamic Law.”

How in the world can these politicians believe that voting and announcing a withdrawal date can have any positive effect on the out come of the war? Even the most inexperienced military strategist can quickly see that a definite date to stop the war and go home leaves all sorts of good options for the enemy, not the least is simply doing nothing until we leave and then start the war again without the expertise of the United States involved. What a horrible day in our Nations Capital when this vote was taken and approved in both the House and the Senate. Where is Abe Lincoln when we need him?

Support of our troops is important. Hanging yellow ribbons on cars and meeting returning service men and women at the airport is positive, but what they really need is the support of our government, our elected leaders, us, and our President. They do have the President’s support; they have my support; and they have the support of a lot of other people whose sons and daughters are fighting in this war. How about the rest of you? How many have written to their Congressman or Senator telling them what you believe? How many really believe it is important that you do so? It is, believe it or not. Votes count, and politicians listen to voters.

Washington seems to be in another world right now where “politics” rules the day. At the same time, we have an enemy that has vowed to impose their brutal Islamic dictatorship on all of us. I, for one, am not ready for that and I do support our troops. My elected officials here from me often. How about you?

Jerry Hogan is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel who lives in Heath, TX. If you have a friend or relative in the service, Active, Reserve, or National Guard, and would like to see them highlighted in this column, please contact Jerry at 214-394-4033 or jerryhogan@sbcglobal.net