Tor's Place (Book) http://www.Writing.Com/main/books.php/item_id/1461602/action/archive Today is July 15, 2011 and it marks my last day as a paying member of Writing.com. I doubt if there are many here any more that even remembers me since I have not been active in at least three years but there was a time when I blogged here regularily. In my time here I did two complete blogs and was half way through this one when I left and I had a mod...[Read Full Post] Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:04:16 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/728710 For those of you who have never heard of Tor, I am just a guy who use to blog here a long time ago. I'm nobody special, but I knew some very special people here. It seems like forever since I last visited this place where I once played daily. I remember when we all were trying for "Blue Months" by writing everyday and now I see I have mana...[Read Full Post] Thu, 27 May 2010 10:59:34 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/697466 It occurred to me, as I swapped emails with Partyof5, that even though it has been almost a year since I had blogged on this site, there may be one or two people who still remembered me and might be wondering where I had gotten off to. This past year has been one of upheavel for me climaxed by the loss of our son, Richard who was a pilot in the Ar...[Read Full Post] Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:41:55 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/689114 Yes, its true, some doctors should be deep fried in chicken fat while still breathing....but that's just my opinion you understand. As you can probably deduce by the title and the opening sentence, the dance of the doctors goes on. Indeed, not only does it continue, but it has now gone from a stately waltz, to something akin to a Russian Folk Dan...[Read Full Post] Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:12:24 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/669077 Yesterday afternoon; Sept. 10, 2009, I received a phone call from my best friend, [Link To User ccstring] . I think there may be a few of you left around here who remember CC. He was and is one of the most talented, funny, writers that has ever been on this site. Now getting a phone call from CC is not something that is unusual for me as we normally...[Read Full Post] Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:28:26 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/667334 Hello, my name is Tor and I use to blog in here on a daily basis. There may be one or two of you in here who remember me, after all it has been about two months since I did a blog and we all know that two months can equal "forever" in Cyberland. Anyway, here I am. A very dear friend of mine said that this place was like a touchstone, a place t...[Read Full Post] Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:27:30 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/664849 Alrighty then.....let's have another try at this shall we! I would like to expand a bit on the entry I made yesterday so if you didn't bother to read it yesterday....go on...I'll wait on you.... ARE YOU DONE YET? Geeze. Okay...are you back now? Well as you can see by that last entry, I was having what I have come to refer to since...[Read Full Post] Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:05:37 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/657459 Ever since my stroke, and the time I was forced to miss from work, we have been behind on all our bills. Oh not a lot at first, but it continues to get worse each month. I make enough money to live and pay the bills under normal circumstances, but not enough to catch up after an illness. So as I said, each month we find ourselves falling a little fur...[Read Full Post] Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:48:26 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/657349 The month is almost over and my goals are almost met so I figured I could spare the time to put an entry in here. So, for the three or four people who may or may not stumble in here, this is what is going on in my world. My book is almost ready for the publisher. I have maybe four more chapters to work over and two more that I want to add to the endin...[Read Full Post] Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:07:49 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/656358 June has arrived and summer is upon us. This is a time of renewal, when the Earth grows green and comes alive after a long winter season. Thus it is with people sometimes, that we go through periods of winter in which we accomplish little, then we have a "Summer" season marked by bursts of activity and we accomplish our goals. So it is with me...[Read Full Post] Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:50:41 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/653186 When I first considered writing this entry, I played about with different titles, all of which were a take off on some of my favorite War movies. Some of my choices were: 1. A Goat Too Far 2.Goat Burger Hill 3.The Longest Goat 4.Saving Pvt. Goat 5. The Great Goat Escape. thought about doing the entire entry in screenplay format...kinda ...[Read Full Post] Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:42:42 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/652588 More and more this bible verse comes to me. I think that it is telling me something I had somehow forgotten along the way. Whether you believe in God or believe in the Bible, these words hold meaning for all of us, I believe. The trick is knowing WHEN that time has come. There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every ...[Read Full Post] Sun, 31 May 2009 12:12:22 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/652450 I just got off the phone with [Link To User debiwharton] . She was calling to let me know that her beloved mother in law and her best friend, had passed away early this morning. Debi asked me to give you all the news. Please keep Debi and Eric in your thoughts and prayers as they go about making the funeral arrangements. The dear lady was eighty-fiv...[Read Full Post] Sat, 30 May 2009 09:38:13 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/652312 One morning 3 Southern good old boys and 3 new yorkers were in a ticket line at the birmingham train station heading to atlanta for a big football game. The 3 northerners each bought a ticket and watched as the 3 good ole boys from the South bought just one ticket among them. "how are the 3 of you going to travel on one 1 ticket?" asked on...[Read Full Post] Fri, 29 May 2009 16:33:41 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/652218 Some men would absolutely love the idea of their wives taking off for a few weeks and traveling across the country without them. They would throw a party, have a blast, live it up....me, not so much. I am not ashamed to admit that my wife is my life and without her here this house, this planet, just isn't the same. I do not hesitate to admit that, without this ...[Read Full Post] Thu, 28 May 2009 09:53:20 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/652009 There are phrases, sentences, snippet's of conversation, that define our lives, that serve as watersheds of each age in which we pass through, from birth to death. These are a few that tell a story of a life. "Ready or not, here I come!" "Red rover, red rover, let Mikey come over." "You're too young, you...[Read Full Post] Wed, 27 May 2009 08:17:00 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/651827 "Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out." Anton Chekhov "But now I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth. " Umberto Eco "Every man dies. Not every ...[Read Full Post] Tue, 26 May 2009 19:42:09 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/651750 Nov. 23, 1783...The Treaty of Paris. Dec. 24, 1814....Treaty of Ghent. Feb. 2, 1848,,,,Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo April 9, 1865,,,Lee surrenders to Grant April 11, 1899..Protocol of Peace between Spain and America June 28,1919...Treaty of Versailles Aug. 15, 1945....Japan surrenders ending WW2 July 27,...[Read Full Post] Mon, 25 May 2009 15:26:32 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/651568 I thought today I would tell you a story about one of the people I grew up with back in Buzzard Neck, Texas. Kenny Frank Childress. Now ole Kenny Frank, or "Chicken" as some of us called him on account of his initials, was a rare sort in the town of Buzzard Neck; he was an intellectual, owning to the fact that his momma and daddy had insisted ...[Read Full Post] Sun, 24 May 2009 14:37:06 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/651427 Have you ever wondered why we do what we do? No, I don't mean what we do in the real world, but rather what we do with the computer. Think about it a minute if you will. Here we are, all members of a "Writing Site" and doing a blog....why do we put so much of our time and effort into writing a blog? What about all the other "stuff&...[Read Full Post] Sat, 23 May 2009 14:11:20 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/651269 I had occasion, the other day to read a little of the writings of Thomas Paine. The work I was looking over was The American Crisis, published in 1776 and I have to say that his words ring as true today as they did two hundred and thirty-three years ago. One phrase in particular struck me deeply as I read. What we attain too cheap, we esteem too...[Read Full Post] Fri, 22 May 2009 19:26:05 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/651149 The house is quiet this morning...too quiet. I am alone here at my computer desk while the dogs play outside, the caged birds call from the front porch and the goats and horses graze on the tender foliage in their pastures. Too quiet. This morning, about eight o'clock, I kissed my wife goodbye and she left with Rick and Evie, my SIL to travel ...[Read Full Post] Tue, 19 May 2009 12:42:01 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/650594 Throughout history the horse has enjoyed a special relationship with man. It was the horse that allowed man to become mobile and to cover larger distances and haul loads with them. It was the horse that re-invented warfare and armies in ancient times. More importantly though, from the very beginning, the horse had a certain rapport with humans which ...[Read Full Post] Mon, 18 May 2009 12:51:10 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/650428 It is six fifteen in the morning and my good buddy Dan and his lovely wife Linda are on the road heading Southwest....hopefully. The knucklehead called Mel yesterday early in the day and told her he was either just entering Missouri, or Montana...he wasn't sure but at least they both started with an "M". They did, however make it to Missouri....a couple...[Read Full Post] Sun, 17 May 2009 07:48:02 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/650230 This is my first full eight hour day back at work. Dan and Linda will be arriving in Poplar Bluff about three this afternoon and will meet up with Mel to tour Almosta Ranch and visit until I get home about eight thirty tonight. Should be an interesting and very full day. Sat, 16 May 2009 10:22:24 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/650079 As I wrote that fun little entry yesterday a few of the "facts" that I listed seemed a bit off to me. This was, of course, a cute email I had received and not anything of my own making. So I spent most of the rest of the day checking out that list of little known facts that made up a part of the entry. I would like to say that I was surprised by the result...[Read Full Post] Mon, 11 May 2009 16:59:06 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/649231 In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have 'the rule of thumb' ------------------------------------------- Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden'...and thus the word GO...[Read Full Post] Sun, 10 May 2009 10:16:57 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/649039 Yesterday a man I consider a friend posted a blog entry in which he announced his intention of taking a hiatus from WDC before finally leaving the site this summer. One reason he gave for his moving on was that Blogville had become "Stagnant". I read and re-read the entry a few times and each time I came to the same conclusion...the word &#34...[Read Full Post] Sat, 09 May 2009 12:49:15 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/648926 Ten thirty-five in the morning and I have just retreated from my front porch after watching a storm of gigantic proportions blow across the western sky. The storm is upon us now; the rain falling sideways in thick sheets. Lightening flashes and the thunder rolls over our heads like close-by artillery fire from God's cannon. As I watched the storm...[Read Full Post] Fri, 08 May 2009 12:49:26 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/648778 How To Install A Home Security System In The South 1. Go to a second-hand store and buy a pair of men's used size 14-16 work boots. 2. Place them on your front porch, along with a copy of Guns and Ammo Magazine. 3. Put a few giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazines. 4. Leave a note on your door that reads: Hey Bubba, Me, B...[Read Full Post] Thu, 07 May 2009 10:02:31 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/648599 Everything that needs to be said in my blog today has already been said and much better than I could do it too. My dear wife, Melinda pretty much caught everyone up on life on Almosta Ranch and what's going on with me and her, and the family, in her entry: [Link to Book Entry #648457]. I would just like to add my own heartfelt THANK YOU to the anony...[Read Full Post] Wed, 06 May 2009 18:51:02 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/648500 I have always considered myself a lucky man. The two main influences in my life was my father and my uncle Frank and between them, these two brothers shared with me the wealth of knowledge and experience they had acquired throughout their lives. Now their favorite method of teaching these lessons was the use of pithy old sayings which had been passed...[Read Full Post] Mon, 04 May 2009 11:03:26 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/648139 For your reading enjoyment today I bring you a cautionary tale about a boy, a man, and their Donkey. There is a lesson here that you might want to remember in everyday life. It also holds true for those of us who try to blog. I hope each of you at least get a chuckle from it An old man, a boy & a donkey were going to town. The b...[Read Full Post] Sun, 03 May 2009 17:42:38 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/648020 I have been sitting on my back porch watching the rain. It has been raining for two days now and it suddenly came to me...even the rain here is different. You see, in Texas most of the time, we would have quick, violent, spring and summer storms. They would hit with little forewarning and dump three and sometimes, six inches of rain on the parched land in an hour&#...[Read Full Post] Sat, 02 May 2009 15:42:20 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/647862 I noticed, this morning, that my blog has just passed the 9,000 views mark and has moved up near the top of page three on the Most Viewed list. Normally this would bring me some sense of accomplishment but then I made the mistake of reading a few blogs. In a blog I have never read before, I ran across this little gem of a description: "gun-slin...[Read Full Post] Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:51:53 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/647568 I want to take a moment and personally thank each and every person who commented on my last entry. That entry was an attempt...poor though it might have been....to engage bloggers in open, honest, and polite, discussion of issues facing all of us right now. I must say that both sides in the discussion were very well represented and by bloggers who kn...[Read Full Post] Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:54:05 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/647419 A week or so ago it was reported that a NATO ship had stopped pirates in the middle of a hijacking attempt and captured a number of the bad guys. They then had to turn the pirates loose because they had no POLICY concerning the arrest of pirates on the high seas. I am surprised that nothing much was made of this....am I the only person who thinks this...[Read Full Post] Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:10:28 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/647238 So much bad news on the television these days, so much gloom and doom, so much unremitting hopelessness; is it any wonder that we have moments of desperation followed by days of confusion. Television news is not the only one to blame either as one might think. A few channels I use to swear by have jumped on the bandwagon with a vengeance. There was a ...[Read Full Post] Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:07:34 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/647081 Not your lucky day....I'm making two entries. Well, the other entry was just a "Yada, yada" about what's going on with me and this one is my serious type blog entry. Picture entry one as the "Potatoes" and this one the "Meat" if you will. For those of you who read my blog a few days ago, you will remember me writing abo...[Read Full Post] Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:38:28 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/646862 I had my doctor's appointment yesterday; a follow-up to evaluate my progress. As a result of that, I am off for ANOTHER week. The doctor was not satisfied with my rate of recovery and decided that I was not yet fit to return to work. This completely sucks. On a brighter note, Almosta Ranch is getting some much needed TLC in the form of my son who ...[Read Full Post] Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:27:34 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/646825 The Internet is a wonderful thing, is it not. It is so much more than just a innocent little tool used for the gathering of information and that, dear reader is where the problem arises. This magic box we have sitting on our desks is like a teleporting machine. It can take us into worlds we have never imagined and show us sights we have only dreamed of s...[Read Full Post] Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:15:32 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/646611 What is a person but the sum total of his actions. That thought came to me yesterday as I walked around Almosta Ranch with my son; telling him of all our hopes and dreams we had for this place. I spoke of the fencing we needed to do and the barn we needed to raise. I wove a picture of horses grazing in one pasture and a few cows in another one. I told hi...[Read Full Post] Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:49:01 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/646453 I have been seriously considering the suggestions some of you have made about putting some of the stories of my childhood into book form. I had already started a project some time ago: [Link To Item #1009400] that I had planned on just printing out and saving for the generations of my family not yet born. Now I may incorporate them into a group of st...[Read Full Post] Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:48:25 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/646247 If there was one thing my father loved doing more than anything else, it was messing with his kid's minds, he was a master at it. As is so often the case when my own life seems in turmoil and I question what I am to do next, I find myself remembering him. Maybe I am just trying to channel his ghost and glean what I can from his wisdom, who knows....[Read Full Post] Sun, 19 Apr 2009 10:21:12 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/645887 What is a father's responsibility to his child? That is a question that has burned in my brain for a couple of days now. By modern day standards, I was and am, a hard father, not as hard as my own father, but hard nonetheless. I always believed that it is a father's responsibility to raise his children up teaching them discipline and a work e...[Read Full Post] Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:17:40 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/645803 I really hate this "Brain Fog" I find myself suffering from now. Because of it I Just lost my blog entry. *Sigh* Oh well, the entry was about Ms. Susan Boyle and her performance on Britain's Got Talent the other night. [Link: 'http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/16/susan-boyle-britains-got-talent'] Just go to that...[Read Full Post] Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:34:25 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/645638 Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, I am back now from my little hospital experience. I would like to express my deep thanks to those of you who have called and checked on me and Mel, and for those of you who have filled my inbox with well wishes and expressions of love and concern...You people are just the very best and I am forever in your debt for your thoug...[Read Full Post] Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:28:21 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/645535 Hey everyone... this is Mel again. Just wanted to let you know that David is home. He is doing great, just tired and exhausted from spending the night in a busy small town hospital. His doctor decided that he didn't need to be transferred to the Bluff as all his symptoms caused by the semi-mini stroke had gone away. Dr. Mansoor said that the ...[Read Full Post] Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:45:25 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/645399 This is Mel. It is 10:30 and I just got home from the hospital. David is doing good. I know this because he is mad at me for making him go to the doctor this afternoon. I should have dragged him in last night, but he refused to go. They think he had a TIA... which is a mini stroke that usually corrects itself. They have done several test th...[Read Full Post] Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:59:21 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/645292 Forgive a personal entry today...I try not to do many of these but today I felt it necessary. First of all, I need to apologize to those bloggers whose blog I usually comment to for not doing comments yesterday. I went to work late yesterday but was forced to come home before the end of my shift due to health concerns. As usual, my blood pressure was hig...[Read Full Post] Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:22:34 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/645209 In the true spirit of Media Overstatement, TV talking heads are now referring to the rescue of Capt. Phillips from armed pirates as: "Mission Impossible." People, when you have four armed pirates in a twenty-eight foot lifeboat against TWO American destroyers and a SEAL unit it should be referred to as "Mission Inevitable", or "Mission DUH"...[Read Full Post] Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:46:57 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/645061 I believe that writers are given a gift from God. That gift is a finite number of words that we can use to create verbal pictures on a paper canvas. We arrange and rearrange those words to fit the landscape we want to produce for others to read but, in the end, those words are used up. That is where I find myself of late; rattling an empty barrel where m...[Read Full Post] Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:21:32 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/644916 I am proud of the fact that I am NOT eco-friendly....hell, I'm not even friendly. I am sick to death of all these New Age, Proto-Hippies and Limousine Liberals screaming at me from the TV, magazines, and my computer to GO GREEN! Do I look like a freaking frog to you? The only green I want to increase is the vanishing green in my wallet. I got a ne...[Read Full Post] Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:16:27 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/644347 "Outrage is mounting over North Korea's launching of a missile last night which flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific."....Network News this morning. Oh grow up! Here is what happened; A sovereign nation fired a missile up in the air and it landed in the ocean. They have just as much right to play with their toys as we do; they aren&#3...[Read Full Post] Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:00:24 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/643894 It doesn't happen often but today is one of those days...this is a second blog entry. What brought about this second entry? Easy....Binghamton, New York and the shooting there is what brought on a second entry. Fourteen dead and four wounded was the last count I heard and as always with things like this, I am struck by how random and needless this wh...[Read Full Post] Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:04:20 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/643676 For some people six o'clock in the morning is a lovely time of day. If, for instance, you happen to be a vampire, you have made your day and now you are relaxing with a hot cup of blood before retiring to your crypt to sleep. If on the other hand, you are a normal human being who didn't get off work until late and didn't go to bed until after midnight....t...[Read Full Post] Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:00:19 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/643601 I know how my buddies Ken, Eric, and CC love to poke fun at Southerners, though to be truthful, Eric has to do it quietly to keep from Debie hearing him and pounding the crap outta him. I decided today to beat them to the punch and post these little examples of how "Special" we are down here in the South. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did t...[Read Full Post] Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:36:28 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/643441 As I type this I have to wonder...when will it end? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, another half-starved, abandoned and freezing baby puppy..no more than three months old...has won the great Animal Lottery. This lucky dog drew the winning numbers in the lottery by collapsing in the middle of the road and being found by my Sister-in-Law yesterday. You guess...[Read Full Post] Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:56:26 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/643116 I have some questions for you. You may choose to answer them in the comments section, or you may just answer them to yourselves and keep your answers private....it matters only that you answer. If you had the choice of living 25 years miserable, or 10 years completely happy....which would you choose? For me, I would choose the ten happy years every...[Read Full Post] Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:12:08 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/642791 For those of you out there who read the previous entry and felt sorry for poor Debi....please, save your sympathy. You see on Tuesday she got reinforcements. [Link To User ccstring] showed up. Now there are probably four or five of you who read CC's slanderous account of the meeting, well I am here to set the record straight. Yes, I did call CC to check on h...[Read Full Post] Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:46:27 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/642355 Veni, vidi, vici ! Well, okay, maybe I didn't conquer but two out of three ain't bad. I Came, I Saw.....I tried to run but Mel stopped me. I knew I was in trouble the minute that big metal bird landed on the foreign soil Pennsylvania, deep in the heart of Yankee Land. We were unceremoniously dumped into a concourse teeming with rabid Yankees. ...[Read Full Post] Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:27:52 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/642006 Shhhh, keep it quiet will you. I'm sitting in a hotel lobby waiting for the shuttle bus that will take us to the airport. Don't say a word to Debi....we gonna sneak up on her. Now all I got to do is slip by airport security....wish me luck. Oh yeah....day four is dawning and still no cigarettes....[Read Full Post] Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:49:59 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/641775 It is now Day-3 without tobacco or tobacco products. This is mind boggling in and of itself since, in other times when I have tried to stop smoking, I never made it past Hour-3. So, I see this as a large leap forward. This is not to say that the last three days have been all smooth going...not at all. But, then we are talking about me and since when ha...[Read Full Post] Sun, 22 Mar 2009 10:50:52 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/641651 I'm a simple kind of guy; my wants and needs are few and I am extremely easy to please. I rarely ask for anything special when a shopping trip is planned and usually have no interest in what is brought back to the house. But yesterday was different, damnit all, yesterday I had some expectations of getting a particular product. You would think that sh...[Read Full Post] Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:58:36 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/641463 Thirteen companies receiving federal bail-out money owe more than a hundred million dollars in back taxes. The IRS has announced plans on going after a large group of millionaires who are collecting substitutes meant to go to struggling farmers.....millionaire farmers? Damn, who knew. Congress just received their AUTOMATIC cost of living raise. Cost o...[Read Full Post] Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:38:19 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/641191 I just took my pill. Now did that sound like a topic of conversation an old man would come up with? Yeah, that's what I thought too....oh well. The pill I took was my Chantex....my magic potent....my way out of the smoking jungle. Friday, March 20th is the target day, the first day I go totally smokeless. God I hope they Internet access in the co...[Read Full Post] Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:34:49 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/640940 If you are like me, you don't mind paying for a good read. I mean, if I get a chance to read a book or an article from someone who is a master of their genre, I don't mind paying at all. The pleasure I get from reading a finely crafted piece of writing far outweighs the price of admission. So why can't it be the same way with blogs? We all...[Read Full Post] Sun, 15 Mar 2009 10:55:35 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/640501 I got some questions.....anybody got the answers? You have to understand...I am a 19th century man who had the great misfortune to be born in the 20th century and I have been stuck there...forget the 21st century. Now, having said that, let me get right to my questions and you can begin to educate this old fossil. 1. What the hell is 3G? I think that is the term...[Read Full Post] Sat, 14 Mar 2009 10:07:57 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/640387 A very simple entry today; merely a sharing of news about what's happening with me. Today I got my prescription of Chantix filled. I was asked to choose a day I was going to quit smoking then begin to take the medicine one week BEFORE that date. My date is March 20th, 2009. So, I will start the medicine TODAY. I have smoked cigarettes since I w...[Read Full Post] Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:12:18 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/640217 It was shortly after midnight, a hot August night in the year of our Lord, 1900. Five silent men rode their horses through the woods toward their destination. Their way was lit sporadically by flashes of lightning and warm sheets of rain fell upon the men and heir horses. Five silent men...grim faced, their mouths set in angry lines whose faces, when...[Read Full Post] Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:25:30 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/640129 Today was a milestone of sorts for me. Before I left for home, my asst. Manager called me to his office and, with little or no fanfare, handed me the coveted Gray and White name badge with:"10 Years of Dedicated Service" written across the bottom, under my name. Along with the new and different colored name badge, he also handed me one large Cert...[Read Full Post] Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:43:26 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/639969 Okay, enough is enough. I have spent the last two hours staring at the screen and arguing with myself. A large part of my wants to do another political sort of blog entry, but another part wants nothing to do with that crap for a day.... Guess which side won! Have you ever tried to give someone advice only to have it backfire? I am reminded of my...[Read Full Post] Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:50:56 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/639741 When you're number one there is only one direction left to go. History teaches us that being "The most powerful nation on Earth" is a transient title at best and power diminishes almost as quickly as it accumulates.....so it is with America. Any who doubt this need only to look at ancient Rome or Athens. How about the Egyptians or the Assyri...[Read Full Post] Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:55:11 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/639549 Okay, it's official....I HATE DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME! A funny thing happened to me last night....I went to bed and lost an hour. Have you seen my hour? I looked for it everywhere and the damned thing just ain't here. I plan on going to bed as soon as I get off work in a last ditch effort to find my lost hour...wish me luck. Have you ever wonde...[Read Full Post] Sun, 08 Mar 2009 08:54:53 EDT http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/639389 "Don't you think it's time to bring Baby back in the house? It is almost dark outside, you know." "No, I had planned on leaving her out all night with the rest of the goats; it's time she learned she is a goat, not a human." "WHAT? You can't be serious, she's just a baby and it's COLD out there! She needs...[Read Full Post] Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:08:07 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/639264 Have you ever been so happy that it took your breath away? Were you sure that if, in the single most happiest of moments, you died, your life would have been absolutely perfect? But you didn't die though did you. No, instead your life flowed on. Have you ever been so full of rage and fear that you were sure you would die from the intense explosion...[Read Full Post] Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:24:34 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/639033 I have mentioned before...just in passing...about my trip to Houston in February, during that time I was without a computer. Well I guess it is time to tell you that little story. Way back in '06, the day after Thanksgiving and what we at Walmart call: Blitz Day an episode took place which I am still dealing with today. Most of you know about Blit...[Read Full Post] Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:28:41 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/638781 My damned son has done it to me again! I am speaking of Patrick, the son who lives in Houston and whose wedding I attended a few months ago. The boy is forever delighting in getting his old man sucked into these dang books that seem to have no end....he knows how I hate that. The first time Patrick did this was about ten or twelve years ago when he ca...[Read Full Post] Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:35:46 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/638608 The Democrats, those paragons of virtue in Washington, have struck again. It comes to light now that a part of their spending bill will go to build a railroad direct line from Disneyland to a brothel in Las Vegas...The Moonlight Bunny Ranch. You gotta love those guys. This particular "project" was put into the bill by the most honorable Harry ...[Read Full Post] Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:58:39 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/638412 I want to take a moment to thank everyone who commented to my last entry. Your comments really helped this stressed out dad to cope with the crap....Thank you all. A funny thing happened on the way home from work last night.....I DIDN'T MAKE IT!! Instead of arriving safe and secure at my domicile and relaxing in the loving arms of my s...[Read Full Post] Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:17:15 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/638259 Real life...you know....that stuff we deal with between bouts on the computer can be a bitch sometimes. An example of that bitchiness: Last week I had the opportunity to travel back to Texas. I am the chief witness for Walmart in a civil suit brought by one of our customers at my old store. The man is trying to milk a quarter of a million from the store....[Read Full Post] Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:33:12 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/638109 My first inclination, upon sitting once more in front of a computer, was to call this entry "The Lost Month". After all I have never, in three blogs and four years, ever gone this long without doing a blog. We all know that Internet time is different from real time; a month of silence around here is tantamount to death and burial in the real worl...[Read Full Post] Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:15:17 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/637970 Well I have made it once again to a computer so I guess it is time to dust off this old blog and see if I can come up with something mildly interesting to say. I was all set to write chapter two of the Great Ice Storm story but I got to thinking: that story is so "Yesterday's news", so I decided to switch gears and discuss, instead, a great l...[Read Full Post] Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:48:52 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/635084 I want to take a moment to thank all of you readers and friends who have sent well wishes and concerns to Mel and me. I have been in sporadic contact with a few of you via phone and your love and caring has meant the world to both of us here. I want to apologize in advance to those of you whose blog I normally visit. It will be quite some time before I have more t...[Read Full Post] Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:38:34 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/634061 A blogging question, if you would permit..."Should a blogger do an entry late at night when most of his readers have already gone about their business or should he wait until the morning? Well you're right; nobody gives a damn so I might as well write one now anyway. Speaking of not giving a damn....that's me and it's all because of th...[Read Full Post] Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:15:32 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/631987 This morning I was given a reminder of one of the constant truths in my life: God is the ultimate Jester. I arose from my slumber this morning and even as my feet hit the floor, I knew I had a real winner for a blog topic today. So I did my morning chores, grabbed a steaming mug of coffee and took my seat at the computer all set to dazzle my readers ...[Read Full Post] Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:40:59 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/631263 "Politics is just Show Business for ugly people." Never has that been more true than on this day. I typed the above and paused.....ten thousand thoughts bouncing around in my head. What came to the surface just now though is that I am and have been for years...a man of two minds. Folks, let no one get the wrong idea, I love my c...[Read Full Post] Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:11:38 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/630866 Do you ever climb up in the attic or down in the basement, wherever you store your old stuff, and sit and go through stuff you have written long ago? I am guilty of doing that in here from time to time. This old house in Blogville has a basement that is just chock full of old writings, like snapshots of my creativity along with pictures of those who s...[Read Full Post] Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:59:55 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/630656 Over the past few years I have received many email inquiries from new bloggers and new members asking for advice. They all wanted tips on how to make their blogs a success. The fact that they asked me about this stuff showed how desperate they were....What the hell do I know. Be that as it may, I always try to give them honest and, I hope, helpful ad...[Read Full Post] Sat, 17 Jan 2009 12:36:52 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/630228 This morning at about seven a.m. I called my brother, Mongo. It went something like this: RING, RING Mongo: "Hello." Me: "It's me, I got some bad news for you." Mongo: Worried voice...early morning calls are never good. "What's wrong David?" Me: angry voice "I just wanted you to be t...[Read Full Post] Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:53:18 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/629985 Okay, so I cheated and I bumped up last nights entry. Well I felt bad about that....for about ten seconds and I decided to give you an example of someone else's humor since mine is a tad gross. Enjoy. A vacationer was out West and was visiting one of our National Parks. There was a sign at the entrance that read"WARNING THIS IS...[Read Full Post] Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:12:05 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/629628 I started not to write this entry tonight because every time I write an entry this late, the views suck and the comments are few, and then I have to bump it up the next day and THAT ticks some folks off cause it's like cheating, but you know what...I don't care because I am in a foul mood, I'm sick and I am back to my irascible self again. ...[Read Full Post] Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:47:24 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/629521 Thank all of you who left such kind comments to my last entry. I have followed the advice of many of you and I have made that entry into a static item in my port.... [Link To Item #1514888] Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:27:10 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/629159 I would like to do something just a little different with my blog entry today. I would like to take a trip to the kingdom of "What If", in the land of "Could of Been". As many of you who follow this blog know, My sweet wife, Mel was born and raised in Michigan while I was born and grew up in Texas. Like many couples who meet late i...[Read Full Post] Sun, 11 Jan 2009 12:18:24 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/629045 Electricity is a stimulus. If electrodes are attached to a dead body and electricity is coursed through that body, it will be stimulated; it will jump and jerk, the arms will wave, the legs will jerk.....but the body is still dead. Congress debates a Trillion dollar stimulus package for the country. It will make the body jump, the arms wave and the le...[Read Full Post] Fri, 09 Jan 2009 09:57:35 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/628717 I feel like a little change of pace this morning so what about a little humor. Laughing never hurt anyone did it. Let's lighten up and smile this morning and maybe forget, for a moment, all the garbage happening in the world. A man calls home to his wife and says, "Honey I have been Asked to go fishing at a big lake up in Canada with my boss And several o...[Read Full Post] Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:24:30 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/628509 Stoicism is not all it's cracked up to be. The label has been hurled at me on more than one occasion not in the form of a compliment, but more like a curse. I stand guilty as charged, I guess. I learned years ago to keep my emotions in check, to wall them up and not let them out...it's my survival technique. The thing is, very few people under...[Read Full Post] Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:33:00 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/628334 Every day, without fail, I cruise around Blogville reading the offerings of old friends and of people I have never read before. It is always interesting, and sometimes it is educational. Sometimes, however I am left shaking my head and wondering..."What the hell were they thinking?" I ran across one a few days ago and the thing that jumped out...[Read Full Post] Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:39:07 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/627955 As my good buddy, [Link To User ehwharton] pointed out in his latest blog, California is going broke. My immediate overwhelming response to that statement is: "So, what's your point." If California is going broke, whose fault is that? I am told that California has the sixth largest economy in the world...the world, not the country. I...[Read Full Post] Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:07:11 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/627407 The first day of the new year dawned bright and cold here in the Heartland. The wild birds were singing their natural Cantata at the top of their voices until I yelled at Mel to just throw them some more damned seed and shut them up! Damned birds! So how is this day, this year, any different from what has come before it? It isn't any different...n...[Read Full Post] Thu, 01 Jan 2009 13:33:34 EST http://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/627247