Mom and dad were opposites....

...in every way I can think of. She would have been 88 this Saturday. He never saw 60.
She was a saint who had two special-needs sons, out of four, started a new job at 40...and walked across a cemetery every morning to catch a city bus to get there. He was the only person I have seen who could turn up a half-pint of whiskey and not make a face. Anybody would be hard-pressed to say something good about my dad, but I wish he was still here. Family transcends behavior. Family means..."sit here on the couch with me". Be busting out proud of your family so that nobody would dare say anything negative about them to your face.

motorcycles

I remember back in the day (20 yrs ago) when I would watch my son wheelie his motorcycle up and down the street. Ten minutes ago, I watched him doing the exact same thing...on a little bitty motorcycle...only this time he flipped over backwards and rolled in the street....no helmet. I think he is getting a little too old for this, and I know I am. Those were the good ol' days...let's leave them there.

Histoplasmosis...

is a lung infection caused by a fungus. It is usually caught by breathing dry, dusty air that is contaminated by bird or rodent droppings, such as attic crawl spaces and caves. You can die from it if untreated, and it can involve other organs. Symptoms are...a general ill feeling, chest pains/discomfort and a dry cough.
Antifungal medications are available.

New music for December

This song came out at a perfect time for us, about 21 years ago. "I could have missed the pain, but I'd had to miss the dance." Many are living this song today. You know I know. Show some bravery...there will be a dance at some point.

A tragedy.

A man has died from exposure after being trapped upside down in a Utah cave. Rescuers have decided to seal the cave with the body still trapped, so as to not put anybody else at risk. Back in the day, I loved crawling around in little wild Arkansas caves. I remember being on my stomach in a wide passageway that narrowed down, top to bottom, so that my boots had to be splayed out like a duck instead of the soles vertical. That's a good time to turn around.

Another time, my redneck rope ladder broke and dropped me and a friend into a pit cave, requiring us to be lifted out by park rangers. That got our picture on the Harrison newspaper front page. I heard our "equipment" was shown to some Harrison area school kids as a perfect example of what not to do. I'm always glad to help out.

It's okay to be a little skeptical.

A. Remember how they taught us the iceberg ripped a gash in the Titanic ? It didn't. The rivets popped like they were plastic because they weren't tested or appropriate for frigid water. The hull plates just separated. Go figure.

B. Remember all those shaggy buffalo herds roaming the wild, wild West? Nope. Bison.

C. Remember how the early polar explorers would occasionally go nuts and sometimes die from the extreme white-out conditions and long isolation ? Nope. Turns out it was lead-poisoning from their soldered-up metal food containers.

D. Everybody knows the Pilgrims first came ashore at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, and had a wonderful first Thanksgiving buffet with the indigenous people serving. Nope. The initial landing was where Provincetown would later be. The first contact with the locals was awkward, where they felt compelled to shoot arrows from a distance and received hot musket balls for their trouble. The nearby Plymouth area was discovered to have better dirt and to be more tourist-friendly overall.

F. What's next ? Somebody gonna tell me we didn't walk on the moon and there's no such thing as a chupacabra ?

Heard a story today.

Two friends on sports bikes (crotch rockets) were riding in the Hot Springs Village area. Rider A was an expert rider who could wheelie anytime at any speed. Rider B wished he was that kind of rider. On a long uphill straight stretch, Rider A pops one and goes through all the gears.....up the hill and out of sight...impressing Rider B......and also impressing an elderly driver in a van sitting at a stop sign. The van driver then pulled out onto the highway...and Rider B is no longer with us. Later that afternoon, Rider A was selected by local law enforcement to deliver the news in person to the new widow, leaving nothing out.

I think it was Robin Williams who said, "dying is like being told your table is ready, and you didn't even know you were in line."

a roach....

I killed a roach in my office this morning. Actually, I have been directed by office management (the wife) not to call it a roach...but a palmetto bug. I hear those things can fly, but ours don't. Turns out.....only poor people have roaches.... middle-class people have palmetto bugs...and rich people don't have bugs. We have rich friends in Fayetteville whose subdivision doesn't even allow bugs outside. Life is good.

This job situation.

Our hearts & prayers go out to everyone unemployed & underemployed. This is a test, not just on the checkbook, but on our core belief in ourself. One possibility that is worth looking at while you wait for that dream job to call....is self-employment. You can go it alone or partner with someone NOT like you, but someone with skills that are complimentary to yours. If you can sell, find a geeky numbers person. If you are that geeky numbers person, you better find someone who can sell something. He or she is looking for you.

A few possibilities....housepainter (in & out), housecleaner (it's hard work but pays good), yard layout,design & maintenance, fastfood delivery (I'm talking about McDonalds, KFC, all of them),caterer/party planner, pickup & delivery of tools & material for the thousands of independent roofers, siding guys and construction guys working today. Look at HireMeNow.com.

Make your lifestyle match your income...not the other way around.

One final thought. When you hit the streets everyday, decide that you will do what you say...this will set you apart. Your honesty and disposition will be tested. You have to see yourself serving Someone bigger than yourself..representing Someone bigger than yourself.

Handicapped parking....

Is there a number that regular citizens can call when we see healthy people get out of a car parked in a handicapped spot...and walk into a store with no apparent handicap ? That ain't right. It's a gutsy thing to do...but people who do this must have been raised to feel SOOOO special and entitled to whatever they can snag in life.

I didn't think of this, but I approve of it's cynical tone.

Our newest Health Care bill...was written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it...passed by a Congress who, having not read it, exempted themselves from it...will be signed by a president who also hasn't read it, and who still smokes...where funding comes from a Treasury Chief who couldn't work Turbotax...overseen by an overweight surgeon general...and financed by a country that's nearly broke. This is a no-brainer...what could possibly go wrong ?

One year anniversary

Sunday, Oct 18, is the one year anniversary of the worse day of my life. A kid in a green pickup turned in front of my wife and I on our motorcycle. I honestly don't know how or why he did it. It was like watching a movie in slow motion...with no sound...no pain...no memory of being in the air or landing in the street. I remember the ambulance ride. I pray for the people inside every ambulance when I see the lights or hear the sirens. There is some serious pain going on inside those things.

I'm very thankful to be alive...to be walking...to be working.

I haven't been able to man-up, as they say, and get back on one. Maybe I should celebrate the day by taking a short ride on somebodys motorcycle. It would make a good story.

A design idea...

This afternoon, after telling my grandson about how Captain Sully landed that airplane in a river, I remembered that one of the engines had sheared off at touchdown. That probably explains why the craft floated long enough to get everybody off the wings. Maybe they should engineer a pin in the engine mounts that can be screwed out at the touch of a button, if the pilot is fully committed to a water landing or a wheels-up landing of any kind. The first contact with the landing surface would slide the engines back in their mounting slots until free of the plane. It seems to me that a hot, heavy engine; full of spinning blades and sparks, needs to be as far away from people and fuel-heavy wings as possible.

Arkansas lottery

Who knew Arkansans were walking around with a million bucks in pocket change, just looking for something shiny ? More amazing....who knew they would belly up to the bar every day...and spend $5 mil the first five days ? Where was that money going before last week ?

I'm just sayin....

...Rep Joe Wilson needs to learn some manners. That was rude.

...Kanye West needs to work on his impulse control. That was stupid.

...Serena Williams needs some Anger Management. That will be expensive. ($85K)

New music.....

Thanks to a kickin' I.T. dept, we have new music this month. The late great Robert Palmer puts into words what most husbands are thinking.

Did I mention that the writer of this song MUST have met Rita somewhere along the way ?

Birthmonth....

...celebration is 'bout done. sigh...sniff. Bang your head to my background music while you can. Next month, we will be more mature and current and appropriate.
No, forget about it...that would be boring.

Work hard, play hard, pray hard. If you miss, go after the rebound...if you mess up...say "I messed up"...and quit doing that.

If the thought pops into your head that you love somebody, go ahead and tell them now. Things spoken to a casket don't count.

S U C C E S S

To be a success, you need...

...an opportunity...a turn at bat...a chance to deliver something of value. Don't waste it. View it as an ice cream cone....eat it up.

...some training. This is how the guy who writes the checks gets what he wants. Beware the boss who doesn't have a clue.

...some natural aptitude for the work...people skills, tool skills, natural curiosity.

...passion. This can come from many directions. When you feel it, ride it like the horse that it is. I like the kind that comes from being fired by somebody. This isn't just any old horse, this is a racehorse. We should thank people who fire us because they just handed us something that we can't succeed without. A smart boss knows how to develop people and earn loyalty. A boss who only knows how to throw people away, is constantly creating his own competition...like an army selling weapons to the enemy.

...some humility. Wear it like a company ID around your neck. It helps people relax when they are around your greatness.

Be blessed, have a fun-filled day and a safe one.

Gov't Managed Healthcare

The US Postal Service is losing $7B a year. It seems they have no skills when it comes to managing changes in customer demand and work load....like a real company in the real world must have. Compared to the challenges of delivering public healthcare, delivering mail seems low tech. Can this same group of bureaucrats POSSIBLY succeed in meeting the health needs of our citizens ?

Stayin Alive

Puleeeeease go to youtube and search the Bee Gees "Stayin Alive". One of the top 5 best songs ever written. Get this song in your head and you can tackle the world.

automatic self-correction

I love cool rainy mornings. It clears the brain.

Most of life is self-correcting. (maybe all, but I'm not sure). People get drunk and fall down...drive too fast and get a ticket....sneak around and get put to the curb. Why do we spend so much effort trying to FIX people, when the natural consequences do a much better job? When we gripe, threaten and bribe our loved ones to live by our standards, it wastes their time and our energy. Let them learn in their own way.

What about when the "consequence" seems out-of-whack huge and the "bad behavior" seems to be a tiny little mistake ? Let's tackle that one after another hour-long walk in the rain.

Be blessed. HAFFDAASO.

up there in Cambridge

I'm sure liking me some Bill Cosby after he weighed in on the situation where the nervous cop arrested the black Harvard professor for being a little too slow and a little too verbal about breaking out some ID. Bill was slow to speak and thoughtful about each word in the interview (with CNN I think). He seemed PRESIDENTIAL to me. We need that from our leaders.

I was standing in a foyer one day long ago....when a cop appeared at the front door...having received a 911 call from a hidden alarm panel in the house. I was there with the homeowner on a phoneline trouble call. The cop stared a hole through me, then did the same to the homeowner. It was very obvious that he meant business and every answer & movement from either of us had better be the correct one. I'm just saying....this is a dangerous world....and there are times to not show your arse.

The dash.

It's not how you spend your cash, but how you spend your dash. You know the dash, right ?.....the one between your birth date and your expiration date. Check out www.thedashmovie.com.

feeling bored ?

Wanna cheer yourself up ? Search Brian Regan on youtube. His funny way of looking at everyday things stays with me all day. Some of his clips are bootlegs with bad audio, but most are good quality. I wonder if he has a DVD.

Michael Jackson has passed away???...unbelievable. Very sad.

some things are off-limits.....

Some goofball doctored a photo of Sarah Palin holding her yr old son Trig....with a man's face photoshopped on the baby. This is a special needs Downs Syndrome baby. I had two little brothers similar to Trig...one lived 6 months & the other lived 14 yrs. I know how special these kids are and what a blessing they are to their families....and they really aren't fair-game when someone wants to make a point. I predict a huge apology being typed right now.

First blog....this could be fun.

I've been asking my daughter to set me up a blog site, and she finally did....just to shut me up. I see things happen all around that I want to sound off about. Of course, I have writers block at the moment...oh well.



Give me some time to warm up to this.......I will try to make it worth your time.