It is finished.

Complete. Todo. No more. No mas.

86,974 bales. 3008 mote bales. I don't have the figures on seed. But it is quiet.

We went to town last evening. We had dinner with some of our co-workers. Krl and I got there at five, our guests began arriving about five-fifteen. Krl and I headed back to St. Lawrence about seven thirty-four. Our guests remained until after nine. We laughed. We relaxed. We unwound. We ate. It was a good evening!

This morning has been spent loading forklifts, fuel tank, and getting ready for the final loading of supplies. Hopefully I will get to it later in the day. L.M. is ready to finish his year. We lack one trailer with equipment and three travel trailers. The forecast is not good. Snow. But there is no rush.

FATHER, thank you for the tremendous season we enjoyed. We have been blessed. I am thankful for the work, for the safety, for the bountiful crop. All of it is linked directly back to you. I pray for those needing your healing. Physically, emotionally, spiritually, fill our needs LORD. YOU are good!

We should have taken a couple of days off to rest up so we could enjoy finishing the the season!

ARRRRGGGHHHH! And the beat goes on (or in our case the hum). It is almost like watching paint dry. Try as we might the season is closing at its own pace. Anything we do to accelerate it seems to have the opposite affect. We are all so spazzed that we couldn't grab our butts with both hands and a road map! (Now that is spazzed).

I have been up since shortly after midnight monitoring progress. I began phasing trucks out late in the day and right now the final seed truck is loading. It is a catch twenty-two, if I bring too many trucks back there won't be loads for them all so I want to get it like Mama Bear's porridge, just right! I really don't mind if the last truck goes out light as long as I get him gone. On the other end it is somewhat easier as I can continue to cycle bale trucks and trailers as we move forklifts and supplies home. We did begin to drop trailers at the yard during the night, trying to push down the numbers.

Krl and I put in a long day doing bookwork. We finally just quit. We don't lack much but we were both getting very short and irritable. To add to the high anxiety, the hourly people are leaving and they want pay, bonus, and W-2. I had told them checks would be ready by noon but one of them (who finished his final shift last evening) planned to leave during the night. So, stop what you are doing, close out that program, put in the payroll and figure and print, pull up the incentive and figure and print. Luckily the W-2's are printed, but not in envelopes. I think Krl and I may have to have a day just for us to regroup!

We have reservations for this evening in Midland. Kind of a last supper celebratory outing. It has been a long exercise, frustrating at times, rewarding at times. I think all of us can take pride in being participants when years down the road our season is compared in the record book. Of course as they say, records are made to be broken. Lord willing we will all meet back here in six or seven months and attempt to do just that.

FATHER, I am thankful for all YOUR blessings, I am thankful for YOUR love, YOUR mercy, YOUR grace. I am thankful for YOUR watch and care through this season. I ask YOUR continued guidance as Krl and I close the books and reports. Help us to be patient, help us to be thorough and accurate. I continue to lift up Hag, B., Lillie, Rene, Carol, Michelle, Aimee, Rusty and Kim's baby, Jennifer, and those injured in the Highland accident. I ask YOUR healing for them all. I pray for spiritual healing for those searching for YOU. I ask for healing of the hearts and minds of those having special needs. I continue to ask for YOUR guidance in our parenting issue. YOU are GOD our FATHER, who was and is and forever will be, how great YOU are!

This is the day that the LORD has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Out here in the bad lands our days go from seven in the morning to seven in the morning. None of that midnight stuff for us. This is going to be a glorious day! This is going to be a day when all expectations come to be. This is going to be a day that is filled with joy, fringed with sadness and topped with contentment. This is the day we have looked to for quite some time. Today we will complete our work. Sometime just after midnight we will quiet this big monster until next season. It will be a done deal! Stick a fork in it (it should be well done by now). Through the dedication and hard work of many, forged by the help of GOD, it will be finished!

We are well over eighty-five thousand bales. Needless to say, a record for here! This is the longest season since the building of the new plant in 1994. The plant has performed very admirably. At times the weather even cooperated. Over a period of time we developed our teams and endured rough patches to finally arrive at the end. For this I am thankful.

At times this little operation boggles my mind. Until it is time to do quarterly or yearly summaries you don't realize how many people it takes to pull this job off. One contractor has had fourteen people here this year, the gin has had forty-six in the plant, two in the supply store, thirteen in module trucks, four in their office, and under my supervision I have had fifty-one people through the season. Not numbers that will alter the federal or state unemployment numbers but surprising to say the least.

Krl and I have worked pretty hard getting our reporting done. We are about three quarters through. A good day today and it will be in the books. Two of the girls in the office with their spouses, along with the plant superintendent and his wife, are meeting Krl and I in Midland Sunday evening to enjoy a meal at Abuello's. This is kind of our core group. I help them, they help me, whatever needs to be done it is a team effort. Initially they had invited Krl and I to a Super Bowl party Sunday week but hopefully we will be long gone! I guess this outing will be closure for the season but it also may mark the last time this particular group is in tact. Due to some problems with their supervisor, the girls in the office are certainly open to new employment opportunities. While I hope they are successful in whatever they choose to do it would be sad to lose them.

Krl and I are battling with ourselves. We have a parenting issue that we don't quite know how to address. What do you do when you can see what is going on but your child can't or is not willing to admit it and the child is not a child but a young adult (above legal age). I had hoped we were beyond all this but apparently we are not.

FATHER, I am filled with emotion, relief, joy, elation, and yet other issues make my heart heavy. Thank YOU for allowing me to give it all to YOU to fix. Thank YOU for the tremendous work we have had here. We can see the end and I ask YOUR blessings to get us there. FATHER be with Krl and I as we try to figure out what we need to do as parents. Guide us, direct us. We ask YOUR intervention in this matter. I pray for those needing YOUR healing. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. Surround us, fill us, lift us. I will rejoice in YOUR day!

It was a Thursday. It was a good day. I could get used to this!

Krl and I got a good beginning on the paper mountain that has been looking us in the face. I suppose this is one of the more frustrating times concerning our jobs. The paperwork doesn't just happen, someone somewhere is busting butt to get it done.

We have loaded about sixty to seventy percent of our data. I suppose I am pleasantly surprised that we have not encountered more problems than we have. From forty-nine requests for tax payer identification there appears to be only one short timer who failed to return all the information. I will attempt to contact him today. I am not overly concerned because it is no skin off my teeth. I figure this worker would be getting anything he paid in back, but oh well.

I am impressed with the new software we acquired. It is simple, it is quick, and it is accessible. When Krl loaded it on our computer it linked up and did an update check immediately and then we got busy. This is so much better than what I have used previously! Things may fall into place so quickly that we might get home earlier than we anticipated! ( I actually had it penciled in my mind that we probably wouldn't even untrack from here until Tuesday, this way we could devote the entire day Monday to the end of year/end of quarter reporting). I love it when performance exceeds expectations.

Everyone is pumped out here. The employees are happy, the farmers are happy, the contractors are happy and everyone is ready to put this baby to bed! About the only sobering thing is concern for the GM's health. The latest development has seen the doctors put him on oxygen. They have diagnosed him as having emphysema, add to this the fact that he is asthmatic, diabetic, has high blood pressure and battles a weight problem and he is a walking risk. The working conditions here at the compound are not conducive to good health. A huge cloud of dust and cotton lint hover over the entire acreage. The GM has been on the job here for thirty-four years and he is still not wanting to give it up. He has probably held his position here longer than any GM at any cooperative in the state. While we are concerned, we will hope for and expect the best for him.

FATHER I thank YOU for getting me to this point. I find myself getting excited about completion of this job and wondering what you have in store for me next. It has been a season of records. A season of new beginnings. But first and foremost it has been a blessed season and I thank YOU for this. I continue to ask that you bless us with productivity and safety for all concerned. Help me to maintain focus as we bring the season to a close. FATHER, I pray for Hag, for Lillie, for B, for Rene', for Carol, for Michelle, for Aimee, for Rusty and Kim's unborn baby, for Jennifer, for those injured in the Highland accident. I lift them up for YOUR healing, both physically and emotionally. I pray for those of us needing spiritual healing, surround us with you, fill us with YOUR spirit. I pray for our spiritual family and for our leaders. I bow down to YOUR majesty.

Tremendous day yesterday. Now let me qualify that!

The plant did not perform well. After the Plant Superintendent returned with the new motor and installed it, the plant ran sixty-two bales until the new motor burned up. The company from which we had purchased the motor dispatched an electrician with a new motor but we lost eight hours of production. But that is O.K..

Krl and I got to go to town! We had several things on the to do list but the most pressing was the tax forms which have to go out by Monday. It would be much simpler to let Abilene do this but the time frame will not allow it this year. Add to this the year end 941's and 940 reports, multiply by the TWC report, divide by the end of season settlements, and subtract having to do the seasonal incentive bonuses and it is going to be a busy busy week! But that is O.K..

Another task to do was to return a DVD player to the store. Krl had been wanting to get a set up for the trailer and a few weeks ago she upgraded our entire entertainment group. Of course she had Marvin's approval although she could have used the "easier to beg forgiveness" line. It wasn't a lot of money. Anyway, we were going to move the old television with the built in VCR to the bedroom and put a larger television, VCR, and DVD in the entertainment center in the living area. The way the built-in cabinet is, this is a major operation. I scanned the owners manuals quickly (for all three new components) and configured the set-up in my mind. Finally I put it all together and began testing. Direct TV, check. VCR, check. DVD, no check. Try as I might I could not get the thing to work. I used input one, I pulled the television out and used input two, I hooked to the VCR, I hooked it to the Direct TV receiver and through all this the best I could do was get audio but no video. I broke the testosterone code and got the instructions back out and read and re-read them. Finally I blamed it on the equipment. Now I had to diagnose the television to be sure it was properly programmed and it was. Right channel. Everything just like the picture in the book. So I boxed the DVD player up and carried it back to the store. Krl and I laughed on our way in the store as I quipped "who was good cop" and "who was bad cop", to my surprise there was no hassle and we were in and out quickly. After this we went to On the Border (for our first time here) and chowed down. It was good, the service was excellent. Krl even ordered guacamole live. They brought out the avocados, tomatoes, onions, silantro, and peppers and prepared it right before our eyes. We then pointed the SUV toward our home away from home. I had work to do. I needed to gut the entertainment center and begin anew. But that is O.K..

When we arrived at the compound the plant was singing and everything was cycling as it should. I made the office as they had a inbound pick-up that no one had informed me of but we got it handled. I returned to the trailer anxious to install the new equipment. (I think I wanted to make sure I was not technology challenged). After a brief while we had it up and going and it was time for the test. I slipped Friday Night Lights in the DVD and hit the remote............ sound...........and picture! Oh joy! I even found myself pulling for Mojo! But that is O.K..

I found I was quickly becoming ready for the land of slumber but we forged on to the finish of the movie. I don't know if I will ever get caught up on my rest. Finally we slid between the sheets and once again I slept the sleep of a baby. But that is O.K..

FATHER, thank YOU, I needed that! What a tremendous day YOU blessed me with. I don't know why I ever doubt. YOU meet my every need. I continue to pray for those needing YOUR physical healing. I pray for those in spiritual need. I pray for those suffering loss. I ask YOUR peace, YOUR comfort for them all. YOU are my everything...... and that is O.K..

Take number 2! I had completed one of the most inspirational, earth shattering blogs ever and the blog demon devoured it! Try as I might it is gone, lost in cyberspace forever!

I slept like a rock! No call outs, no problems for my guys! I can vaguely remember Krl telling me to breathe through my nose not my mouth so you can sympathize with her because no doubt, I stripped the paint from the walls all night! My "cotton mouth" this morning reaffirms this!

Currently the plant is down. The huge motor on the module feeder threw in the towel. This is the second time this season. It may be that this particular application is under powered. The night ginner told me they went down just before five this morning and the Plant Superintendent left about five-thirty with the burned up motor headed to Automated Controls in Lamesa to exchange it. If they don't have it there then it will be on to Lubbock.

We are all so antsy to complete this season. It is almost like we are being tested by the problems we are experiencing as the season draws to a close. A few of us are trying to put together a small entourage to go to town for a celebratory outing Sunday afternoon or Sunday evening. Current expectations are for us to still finish up late Saturday.

Late yesterday I caught a ride with L.M. on a bale truck and went to town to pick up the company SUV. It is running like a top. It is amazing how by them removing dollars from the company funds, it improves vehicle performance. Nothing that money can't fix! Yeah, right!

For those of you interested, here is the information for Rian's students family who lost all their possessions in a house fire last week. They are in need of everything, clothes, furniture, bedding, pots, pans, towels........ everything. Rian is still trying to get something set up for those who might prefer to send money to a supervisory account to help them out. Here is the info for this family. It is a single parent family, the Mom and two sons (junior high age). The mom needs size 16, size large shirts. Angel requires 42 waist 32 length, XXL shirts. Roman is 34 waist 32 length, XL shirts. They also need socks and unawares. Anything would be appreciated.

Good news from the Highland Church. The last youth injured in the accident arrived home late yesterday. It has to be good medicine just to be home. The driver remains hospitalized in Lubbock and needs to remain in our thoughts and prayers. A lot of physical and mental healing remains for this entire group and their extended families. At the present time we do not understand the "why" of this tragic accident but at some future time God will reveal everything to us. It sounds like quite a gathering took place Sunday night at Highland. Two hundred youths from various churches met at Highland to pray for those injured, for Brody's family and for the entire Highland family. This group was comprised of many denominations, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopals, and others ................. all Christians. A common bond. I think my 2004 Highland highlight was from a summer message by Mike for unity and Charles Mattis leading a unity prayer, to cross the boundaries of denominations and be one in Christ. Bind us together!

FATHER, I need YOUR boost today. I am physically exhausted and my spirit begs. I surrender it all to YOU. I pray for Hag, for Lillie, for Rene', for Carol, for Michelle, for Aimee, for Rusty and Kim's unborn baby, for Jennifer, LORD I ask YOUR healing for them all. I continue to lift up those injured in the Highland accident, I ask YOUR healing and comfort for them, heal their hurts, heal their hearts and minds. I ask YOUR continued comfort for Brody's family. Fill their void with YOUR love and grace. I pray for those needing spiritual healing. I pray for our leaders. All to Jesus I surrender.

Whew! I have just arrived in my trailer. What a Monday. I cannot wait for Tuesd..... ... . ... Ooh crap! My Tuesday caught what my Monday had!

Murphy was an optimist!

The day began with a frenzy of activity. Trucks were running slightly behind but no major problem. Then Chapo came to the office looking for the Plant Super. After several exchanges of texmex or spantex I had picked up enough to know that we had a fan go out in the gin. This is one of the mammoth fans that moves the cotton through the plant and it had grenaded! There were holes in pipe, holes in the housing, the shaft was bent and when the crew tore it down, they found that a fan vane had detached and every remaining blade was cracked. We are so lucky no one was walking through the fan room when this fan turned loose.

While the gin was replacing the fan Krl and I decided to go to town, make the bank, the post office and drop the company SUV at the dealership for repairs. After all these errands we made several stops attempting to purchase W-2's and 1099's but couldn't find enough of or everything we need. Finally we decided to head back to the compound and try tomorrow in Midland. We picked up just a few items and began the drive to our home away from home. Just south of Big Spring I met one of the bale trucks and he called me on the phone and told me his truck was overheating and he was afraid it had thrown the fan belts. I told him to stop and check and I reversed directions to follow up. The driver was right, the belts were gone. We engineered a fix to get us the four or five miles to a shop and slowly we made our way there. Just a few days ago this shop had put fanbelts on this same truck. Long story short, they got it going about three hours and $120 later. Krl and I made our way back to the gin and she went in the trailer and I finished delivering pay settlements for equipment and drivers. I glanced down and saw my truck was low on fuel and decided to go to the fuel pumps and fill up, just in case someone called me out during the night. When I completed fueling I got in and turned the ignition and heard click, click, pfzzzzt. Close inspection revealed that the battery post had broken off the battery. Luckily one of the gin patrons happened by and he towed me back to the yard. I had called ahead and the farm store had set me a battery out. Turns out, the patron and store manager drank beer and watched as I swapped out the battery. I then had some catching up to do because shift change had already occurred. I made my rounds and headed for my trailer. Krl and I both were feeling nauseous after eating in town and we finally decided on showers and soup. Finally I headed for bed only to be awakened with a barrage of phone calls. The truck with the belt problem was having the same problem again just miles from the compound. The driver circled back and while the belts were still there they had been damaged. Sometime after midnight Juan and I headed for Big Spring to pick up belts. We made the almost two hour round trip and then got busy removing the fan and installing and adjusting the belts. Of course this would be a Cummins engine which is a pain to put fan belts on. It now appears to me that the shop that had done the work on this truck had used a narrow belt. When Juan left shortly before four I could not see any reason for these belts to not work. I made my rounds and came back to the trailer for sleep attempt number 2.
I am ready!

FATHER, bless this day, already it needs a lot of help! For YOUR love I am thankful!

I need to go home. I need to be close to people, churches, businesses. I guess I need to know that it is all still there.

I had an interesting conversation with two of the girls in the office. It was kind of like a game of twenty questions.

How many grocery stores are located within five miles of your house? Counting convenience stores or not? How far to the nearest dry cleaner? How far to the nearest restaurant? How far to the nearest mall? Mall mall or strip mall? How far to the nearest church? How far to the nearest library? City or University, main or branch? And the list went on and on.

They cannot fathom how accessible everything is. I cannot fathom how I have done without it! I will admit it, I am spoiled. I am pampered. I may even be a city slicker! Oh well, sticks and stone may break my bones but names will never hurt me (so there!). We talk of chain stores. They think we have everything we would ever need (I just have to steer them away from MC and talking about Barnes and Noble), I tell them we have an HOV lane for the fifteen minute rush hour! Ha.

It took Krl and I quite a few trips to town to learn the art of grocery shopping and the hour commute. We got home on several occasions with the tube of breakfast sausage swelled up, from with-in. Ruined. Most people out here carry a cooler in their vehicle full time just for the grocery commute. Bagging frozen food or chilled food together is essential.

I grew up living a mile outside the city limits. It was a perfect distance (at that time) for a parent. Close enough if you really want to do something and just far enough away if you didn't really want to. I am thankful we didn't have the soccer and basketball youth leagues! Band, baseball and football taxed the system pretty well, these were electives. Church and school were required!

FATHER I am thankful that it takes all kinds. I am thankful that we all fit in different places. I am thankful for the blessings YOU rain down on each and everyone of us. Thank YOU. I continue to lift up Hag, Lillie, Rene', Carol, Michelle, Aimee, Rusty and Kim's unborn child, Jennifer, and all those recovering from injuries in the Highland accident. I ask YOUR healing, YOUR comfort for them all. I continue to pray for those dealing with loss, fill the void with YOUR love and grace. I pray for R2D2 and all of us stumbling and searching, surround us with YOU. I pray for our spiritual family, I pray for our leaders. You are GOD.

We passed eighty thousand bales early yesterday.

Everyone is in a tremendous mood. Eager anticipation is the order of the day as the end looms nearer and nearer. Speculation is we will clear the module yards either late on Saturday the twenty-ninth or in the early hours of Sunday the thirtieth. The plant Super would like to keep both crews for three or four days to do the heavy cleaning but it appears that all the seasonal help is loading belongings and pointing their vehicles toward the road. Its is going to look like a mass exodus when the plant coasts to a stop. Many of these guys are even saying "Just mail my check".

Production had been off for the past week but last evening we began a big run of really good cotton. It put the crew over their bogey for the twenty-four hour period. My truckers had become a little bored and complacent, just muddling through the days. It had not been a problem to keep up because of the lower production. Needless to say they did not anticipate the good run yesterday and into last evening.

I spent part of my morning visiting with the GM and Plant Superintendent about the new machinery they have recently ordered. The board of Directors voted to spend about three-hundred-fifty thousand dollars to up grade their module feeder and to install new drying/cleaning equipment. The co-op here is one of the healthier cooperatives in the state and this year marks the final payment on their high capacity plant. The large crop year with the vast weather extremes brought out what improvements needed to be made to keep the plant on the leading edge of the industry.

FATHER I continue to ask YOU to carry me through. I pray for continued safety and continued productivity. I pray for those needing YOUR healing. I pray for those needing YOUR presence. Fill us with YOUR goodness.

Nasty day! The wind is swirling and cotton lint and gin dust are everywhere! It has been weeks and weeks since we have had this type day. Maybe it will be the last of its kind this season.

Lots of weird things going on out here. Most of them involve communication technology. You can be mid conversation and lose your cell phone call and move into another. All the sudden you are talking to a total stranger. Add to this the fact that I came in to my desk this morning (about three thirty) and the computer was rattling like it was processing data, only thing was I had turned it off last evening, the screen was dark until I hit enter and it came up with my shortcut screen and the modem connection flashing back and forth. I don't know what is going on. Maybe Michael Dell is looking over my shoulder. Either that or I have had someone access my computer after hours or someone has scheduled activity. Hhhmmmmm.

The powers that be think we have eight days left. I am ready. Hopefully we will have some weather that will allow me to begin palletizing some of our parts and supplies. If things work as the Plant Superintendent thinks, we should complete the season some time after midnight January 30. I do not anticipate being in any big hurry to get it all moved to its appropriate home. I am thinking that one forklift may get to go to the shop in Midland, it may get to spend the six month off season there, especially if Marvin can get a deal made to buy another one. Maybe I can get a reduced shop rate if they can work on it on their own time frame. If not I will take it home and put it in the garage and do it myself. We are entertaining the possibility of changing forklift makes again. Initially we used Komatsu, they have been a very durable, reliable piece of equipment but is priced at the top end, then we made the change to Hyster, which was a good machine priced on the lower end, but we did have some recurring problems the four years we ran them and service has to come from Lubbock. We received a quote on a new Toyota and while it is a good looking machine it has priced itself with the Komatsu and basically out of the possibilities. Enter Tailift (Tai-lift). Preliminary talks reveal a very similar machine, a company that is looking to establish itself in the market and a dealer that is breaking through (and is also located in Midland). My forklift operators do want me to find out if they must wear ties (or tais) when they operate the Tailift machines.

Krl and I are well on our way to completing this weeks settlements. We need to get solid on the w-2's and 1099's. We have the info gathered but we still have no forms to print them on. Its going to be a busy week at the office. Krl has spent part of her time reviewing settlements for this season and she ran across a few instances where the computer did not deduct deductions, it added them on, so we have basically two more settlements to reclaim the dollars that were paid out in error. In fairness to the computer, it did do the other way too. She found one settlement that it deducted a fuel discount when it should have paid it out. I suppose we live and learn, and I am still learning about how some of these programs work and how some formulas will not delete or change. The alarming thing is that Krl and I both should have caught the mistakes and didn't. Thankfully we did find them before Marvin did and hopefully we can collect the monies before he returns. You know the old adage, "It is easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission", we may have to use a variation in this instance.

Krl and I are so tired of our menu out here. I really appreciate the meals she fixes but we are so ready for something different. Night before last she fixed my all time favorite, baked barbeque chicken! Yum! This is something that I grew up with and all the grandbabies request it when they sleep over at Meme's and Dandy's. Last evening I grilled shish Kabobs. Beef cubes, onion wedges, bell pepper wedges, whole fresh mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini slices placed on skewers and grilled to perfection, served on a bed of rice! It was good, and we even had enough leftovers for lunch today. We may have to do the IHOP thing and have breakfast for dinner today, I did notice in the refridgerator that our chickens have started laying again (because the carton is full).

Rian has a student whose family lost their home and all their possessions late last week in a house fire in Lubbock. Thankfully injuries were minor, but everything was lost. Rian is supposed to be finding out how many family members and their sizes. He was going to talk with the Greenlawn benevolence center as well. If you are interested in donating clothes, furniture or money contact me or Rian. They need everything, socks, undies, jeans, shoes, shirts. beds,bedding, kitchen stuff......everything! Currently the family is being housed in a motel until alternate housing can be secured. Rian is hoping they can remain in the current school zone.

A quick told you so to certain people. ACU announced their new coach and it is not Coach Freeman or Coach Warren. I am still looking into the scuttlebutt about Gary Gaines (the new Odessa AD) and Odessa Permian courting Coach Freeman, but I don't expect anything to happen there. If Coach was going to make a move it probably would have been last year with Midland Lee. The only other possibility was that while Steve was not interested in the ACU position, if Steve Warren had made the move to ACU the AHS job would have been pretty attractive. Now all of this is a moot point! Play ball! All you realtors put your cards back in your pockets!

FATHER I am running on fumes! Deliver me to the end. I continue to ask for renewal. I pray for those needing YOUR gift of healing. I pray for those needing spiritual healing. I ask that YOU fill those needs. I continue to ask YOUR healing for the Highland group that suffered injuries in their accident. I ask for rapid recovery and comfort for all of them. I continue to ask YOUR comfort for Brody's family. Let YOUR glory fill the earth as we declare this is the day, YOU have made.

Happy Birthday Dad. He is seventy-six today. What a ride, I think of everything he has experienced in his lifetime, everything he has accomplished, and it is pretty awesome. The last few years have had some rough patches, nothing of Dad's doing, although ultimately it did affect him. Thankfully he enjoys good health. Here's wishing you many more!

The land where time stood still! I think that is where Krl and I are residing. It just seems like everything is moving at a snail's pace. Seven-hundred-fifty modules to go. We had one additional module tagged in yesterday afternoon. A few of the wet spots are drying out. Maybe, just maybe, the farmers can complete their harvest and we can wrap this booger up!

Krl and I are trying to figure out what we want to do when we are through here. At the top of our list is to go eat at Red Lobster, Joe's Crab Shack, Rockfish or something similar, maybe all the previous. Call me crazy but I am craving seafood and pasta! Rian would like to see his Dad so we probably should go to Lubbock and see Reid and Reid's dad could see me, we could do the Rockfish deal or Joe's or Red Lobster before we return to Abilene. I have a feeling when we do get home we may never leave for a very long time.

I am needing to do some prep work. Marvin has charged me with the task of getting out W-2's and 1099's. I can't believe it is right around the corner. Actually this is going to be simpler in some way because most of the recipients should still be around. If I can get to town I need to pick up the laser jet forms and either buy an omni form program or possibly get Rick to scan the forms and send me the disc. It would sure make it simple. In Abilene I have a makeshift program to do this. While we made do last year it wasn't the most fun thing to work with.

Friday. Hourly payroll. Settlements. I have things to do before I play, and things to do before I play. That Marvin is a slave driver! It must be nice to stay clean, stay at home, enjoy the benefits and accept the credit while not having to labor. Oh well, they say it is lonely at the top. (You lucky dog you!).

FATHER, I am tired. My soul hurts. My spirit is crashing. Physically I am exhausted. I ask for renewal. Lift me, fill me, as only YOU can. I surrender it all to YOU, everything! I pray for Hag, for Lillie, for Rene', for Carol, for Michelle, for Aimee, for Rusty and Kim's unborn baby, for Jennifer. I ask that YOU bless them with YOUR healing. I ask YOUR blessings on S & P as they have once again been disappointed. I pray for R2D2, for all those hurting and lost. I continue to pray for the Highland group injured in the accident, heal them quickly, comfort them and their families. I continue to pray for Brody's family, comfort them and surround them with YOUR love and grace. I pray for our spiritual family, for our leaders. Bless their efforts to do YOUR work. Send YOUR angels LORD!

Indian summer! I can't believe this weather for January! I am hoping it will hold for another week. My biggest fear has been the January and February weather, should we still be working out here. Over the last few years it seems like January and February are the worst months for driving conditions. If we can dodge this bullet it will be a big plus!

What a waste. Forty million dollars for a second time inauguration. He says it is a signal of solidarity. I believe it is a signal, but what it signals is about the man, not the country. I still cannot believe the poor choice of candidates we had.

I happened to hear a portion of the hoopla leading up to the ceremony and it was mentioned that the first incumbent President to ever campaign was Teddy Roosevelt. Prior to that it was thought that any incumbent who campaigned was not worthy to hold the office of President.

Eight hundred thirty-two modules and decreasing. We are forging on. Once again we find that we are working ourselves out of a job! It is the nature of the beast. While our season has been long, many of the other cotton gins are looking at ginning until April and I have even heard of one gin that will gin until May.

I am thankful for the work, for the opportunity. FATHER, I am thankful for the good reports from the injured Highland group. I continue to ask YOUR blessings and comfort for them and their families. I continue to ask that YOU comfort Brody's family. I pray for the others that need YOUR healing. I pray for those needing spiritual renewal. Surround us, fill us.

Progress. We are making progress. Step by step, inch by inch. We will actually be able to visually confirm this. Until yesterday the only indication of progress was a slowly retreating stack of module tags as these modules are transported from the fields to the gin yard. Suddenly the tags are gone! The module trucks are parked. At this time all the remaining cotton is sitting on the three gin yards. 18.66 shifts worth of cotton sits on the yards, ten days. This is contingent on the gin running well. We expect to complete the cotton on the yards and then to have a small amount of cotton come in as it is harvested from low lying areas which have remained too wet. The carrot is dangling in front of us as we make our way toward the end.

For months as one module was picked up from the yard to go into the gin, it was replaced on the yard almost instantly. At one point in time we were behind almost four thousand modules, almost forty-eight thousand bales. This has been an exercise in patience and discipline. It has been a good run, a record run, and I am thankful for the work opportunity.

I am beginning to think about plans for breaking camp. I am cautiously optimistic that we can get this done in a calm and collected three weeks time. There is leased equipment to be returned, equipment to send to the shop for repair, winterization of the travel trailers, gathering of tools, fuel card retrieval, incentive pay for the hourly employees, all the above to be completed before I pitch Marvin the keys! Then, only six months until we do it all over again.

The word on the Highland youths hospitalized at Cook's Childrens Hospital in Fort Worth is good. Mike Cope posted an update on his blog yesterday evening. We join in the joy with their extended families. I have not seen a current update on the driver who is hospitalized in Lubbock.

Funeral services are this afternoon for Brody Bourland. Our hearts go out to his family.

FATHER, I thank YOU for the blessing I enjoy. I continue to ask for safety and productivity as we progress toward completion of this work. I pray that YOU will temper me, help me to be patient. FATHER, I thank YOU for the good reports on the Highland youths. I pray for continued progress. I pray for the driver, still hospitalized in Lubbock. I pray for rapid and complete recovery for all those injured. I ask YOUR blessings and comfort for Brody's family. Fill their void with YOUR peace and love. FATHER, I pray for Hag, for Lillie, for Rene', for Carol, for Michelle, for Aimee, for Rusty and Kim's unborn baby, for Jennifer. I ask for YOUR gift of healing for them all. I pray for R2D2 and all of us lost and stumbling, heal our hearts and spirits. I pray for our spiritual family, for our church leaders, I ask YOUR blessings on them all. This is the day YOU have made!

My nerves are raw. It is kind of like swimming in the lake and being attacked by a school of fish, everyone wants a piece!

If I worked in a doughnut factory I would be the glaze man. The one who covers the imperfections, that makes everything alright, smooths everything over, sugar coats things.

I am tired.

I am tired of people who are satisfied with sub par performance. I am tired of people who have a problem and want it to be fixed. I am tired of people who break equipment and leave it for me to find and for me to repair or replace. I am tired of intervening for others shortfalls. I need to be fixed!

Emotions continue to boil. It seems as thought the Sunday accident involving the Highland group has caused the pot to boil over a little. Maybe this reinforces the frailty of life, maybe it makes our day to day goings and doings insignificant. Maybe it shows just how distorted our priorities are.

FATHER I continue to lift up those injured in the accident. Heal them, make them whole. I pray for the family of Brody. I ask for comfort for all the parents and families. FATHER I pray for renewal. I ask that YOU energize me, boost me, carry me. I pray for others with health issues, I ask YOUR gift of healing for them. I pray for all of us with spiritual issues, heal our hearts. Come into our hearts LORD JESUS.

I am heavy hearted this morning, yet I know what I feel is only a small part of what others are feeling. Tragedy struck our church family yesterday. A small convoy of vehicles loaded with youth from Highland CoC were traveling home from Winterfest in the metroplex. One of the vehicles, a suburban with the driver and seven youths, apparently drifted into the median and over corrected, resulting in the vehicle over-turning. All passengers were wearing seat belts. One youth, Brody Bourland, was pronounced dead at the scene, three others were life flighted to the metroplex where they are stable, the remaining youth were treated at an Abilene Hospital, the driver was transported to Covenant Hospital in Lubbock.

Krl and I had gone to town for a little R & R and to pick up a few supplies. Just as we returned to the jobsite we received a call from our son in Lubbock. At the evening services of Greenlawn CoC they announced that a vehicle from Highland in Abilene had overturned and there was one known fatality. Greenlawn had experienced their own tragedy a few years back when their church bus filled with youths was involved in an accident and there were multiple fatalities. As I understand it, the Greenlawn youth minister at the time of their accident was making his way to Abilene late Sunday to help the church cope, and one of the youth who was on the ill-fated Greenlawn trip was making his way there as well. Krl began trying to contact Trc in Abilene, to check on granddaughters who sometimes participate in Highland activities. When Krl finally made contact with Trc, we were devastated to learn of Brody's death. Here the circle draws in, Lauren, our oldest granddaughter, has been going with Taylor, Brody's older brother, for a couple of years. We had on a few occasions had contact with Taylor's siblings. Our hearts go out to Taylor and his family in their loss.

I had a college professor who when asked a difficult question would pull a tattered and torn notebook from his pocket and write down the question while making the statement "When I meet Jesus I will ask him". I find myself struggling with questions now.

Why do the good die young?

Why does GOD allow, pain, suffering, disease, injury, and yes even death. Why allow it at all, but especially for the young and pure in heart.

FATHER, thank YOU for allowing us to know Brody. We are saddened with this loss. We don't understand so much of what goes on in this YOUR world. FATHER we know YOUR plan is unfolding as YOU intend. We pray for understanding, for peace, for acceptance of YOUR will. FATHER, we pray for Brody's family, we ask for comfort on their behalf. We pray for all of those injured in this accident, especially the three that were taken to the metroplex, we pray for the driver. FATHER we ask YOUR divine intervention for each one of these precious lives. Heal them, make them whole, return them to their loved ones. We pray for the families. FATHER I am thankful that YOU are a powerful and all seeing and all knowing GOD, it must be a hard job. There is so much we can't see and so much that doesn't make sense at this time. FATHER I ask YOUR healing for all those in need of YOUR healing, both spiritually and physically. Fill us with YOU. Surround us with YOUR presence, let us bask in YOUR love, YOUR mercy, YOUR grace.

It is quiet on the work front this morning. I made myself stay in bed until seven and they shut the plant down just as I got up. Maintenance Sunday! Yes! The night crew will come back in at one to do scheduled maintenance and hopefully the plant will come back on line around seven this evening. I have to confess, I have not even been outside my trailer this morning. Actually I have not even opened the window blinds. It is quiet, it is peaceful, it is a small slice of heaven in a tormented world.

Two weeks, fourteen days, 336 hours, 20,160 minutes, 1,209,600 seconds, one-half of a month, 1/26th of a year. That is the average estimate until we shut the plant down for lack of cotton. Everyone is looking to that day for a multitude of reasons. Home, family, weddings, quincineta, new work, rest, renewal, just to mention a few. As for me, all the above! Actually I would have to add Christmas. We have our Christmas scheduled for February 12. Votes are being tabulated for the menu.

Even though we had a rough patch in the past week, the week seemed to end on a positive note. The day was not trouble free but it was not anything that we were not numb enough to deal with. Sick truck drivers, truck problems, thankfully today was a scheduled down day. By tonight we will have an alternate plan in place if necessary repairs have not been made.

Krl is still snoozing. She has been battling the flu. Ever since we had that horrible wind it seems as though sinuses have been irritated. She has just taken it a step farther. She tells me that she is here for the duration. She doesn't want to go home without me going home too. Even the hounds seem to have resigned themselves to life on the frontier.

FATHER, thank YOU for the time off. I pray that YOU will renew me, mentally, physically, spiritually. Rest me quickly. I ask for patience, and tolerance to get me to completion of this exercise. I lift up Hag, Lillie, Rene', Carol, Michelle, Aimee, Rusty and Kim's unborn baby, and Jennifer for YOUR gift of healing. I ask for YOU to comfort them and their families. Thank you for the blessing you pour upon us, for the highs and the lows. Help us to learn each lesson as YOU intend for us to. Help us to be YOUR humble servants. Restore unto us the joy of our salvation. I pray for R2D2 and all of us in need of YOU. I pray for our spiritual family, our leaders, for YOUR will to be done.

You know it is going to happen, you just hope that you can orchestrate the timing. WRONG!

I was busy doing computer work, hourly payroll and trying to get a head start on truck and driver settlements, when a knock came on my door. I opened the door and Julio told me in texican (or spantex, if you prefer) he had a problema with the forklift. Hidraawlik, cety, la pipa, it all meant the same to me. Trouble. I came to a stopping point and hopped in my truck hoping for the best. When I arrived it was as bad as it could be. One of the multi-stage mast's hydraulic hoses was leaking oil. This hose is an engineering nightmare. It zags, it zigs, up, down, front, back, you have to be double jointed and psychic to take it off and replace it. I decided to be patient. We have done this before, no reason to rush. An hour and a half later I had the bad hose in my truck and made my way to the farm store to have one fabricated. While I was there I decided if it took that long just to get to it, I probably should go ahead and replace the other half of the set. So I requisitioned another. When I finally began cleaning tools and putting them away, I had been working on it for five hours. The coop farm store has high quality products, the hoses I replaced were single braid while the new hoses are double wire braid. The only problem was that the new hoses were slightly larger than the standard equipment. It was a fight from start to finish! When I had just been done a brief while I noticed Julio had parked the primary machine and gone to the back up, when I went to investigate, I found the new larger hoses had broken the edge from some plastic spools which guide and protect the hoses. I was able to adapt a pair of John Deere stripper parts and got the machine ready to go again. As I was getting ready to go to bed last evening there was another knock. Delfino told me he had a problem with his primary forklift, the hoses were bubbling (weird) and he was going to run the back up machine but he thought it might need a fuel filter. By this time I was sick and tired of messing with forklifts and I told him do his best. I slept with one ear tuned to the door. Finally about five this morning, I slipped out of bed and made my way out of the trailer to check on Delfino. I arrived to find the backup machine stranded in the middle of the loading area and Delfino back on the primary machine (with its bubbling hoses). The bubbling hoses needed only have the slack taken out and clamps re-tightened, then another plastic spool had lost a guiding edge so I reversed it so the hoses would remain on and I took my pliers and broke the one remaining edge of the guide off and it began working properly. Delfino shook his head in amazement that it was such a simple fix. When I directed my attention to the backup machine I found an inline screen that was totally plugged with dirt, grime,and lint. Once I cleaned it up I started the machine and drove it back to its parking place. I did get busy though, I found a fuel filter for the backup and went ahead and installed it, and I have ordered new spools from the OEM for the primary machine. I know, this has been a lot of detail to say I had a crappy day!

Oh well, it was due! After all tomorrow is another day! The remainder of the day will be dedicated to settlements! Tomorrow is a maintenance Sunday and we are hoping to get to go to town. We are getting soooo antsy. We will make it, it is just going to take some discipline.

FATHER, thank YOU for seeing me through yesterday. I am thankful YOU allowed me options to make the repairs so we could continue. I pray for mental, physical and spiritual renewal. Strengthen and guide me. I pray for those needing YOUR healing, I pray for those needing to find YOU. YOU are the power, and all glory is YOURS!

Regular readers are aware that the plant is setting new records on a daily basis, minute by minute. We surpassed seventy-thousand bales during the night Tuesday, January 11. Estimates are for another fifteen to seventeen thousand bales. When we get to eighty-five thousand bales we will have ginned 42,500,000 pounds of lint cotton for processing into clothes, towel, sheets and other items. I came across a National Cotton Council release the other day and thought it would be interesting to include it in my blog with products for a single bale and extension for 85,000 bales. The extensions are if every bale were made into the stated product.

Women's products, 1 bale yield- 85,000 bale yield

Handkerchiefs, 21,960- 1,866,600,000

dresses, 274- 23,290,000
bras, 6,460- 549,100,000
panties, 6,436- 555,560,000
jeans, 249- 21,165,000
skirts, 409- 34,765,000
socks, 4,321- 367,285,000
blouses, 773- 65,705,000
sweaters, 379- 32,215,000
nightgowns, 780- 66,300,000
slacks, 415- 35,275,000
shorts, 733- 62,305,000

Men's products,
handkerchiefs, 8,437- 709,495,000
dress shirts, 765- 65,025,000
sport shirts, 906- 77,010,000
work shirts, 543- 46,155,000
boxer shorts, 2,104- 178,840,000
briefs, 2,419- 205,615,000
sleeveless undershirts, 1,943- 165,155,000
t-shirts, 1,217- 103,445,000
slacks, 484- 41,140,000
work trousers, 374- 57,290,000
work gloves, 1,918- 163,030,000
socks, 3,557- 302,345,000
jeans, 215- 18,275,000

home items
diapers, 3,085- 262,225,000
sheets, 249- 21,165,000
pillow cases, 1,256- 106,760,000
terry bath towels, 690- 58,650,000

$100 bills, 313,600- 26,656,000,000

From one five hundred pound bale a farmer will realize approximately $300.00. 85,000 bales will generate $24,500,000. The middle man is greedy!

The American Farmer, nobody does it better!

Everyone is becoming blah out here. Numb, lethargic. Most of the seasonal help is becoming anxious to go home. With the exception of the three day break at Christmas, most of these guys have been on site! The office is no different. To liven things up we have started a pool trying to predict the day the plant is turned off due to lack of cotton. This is not when we are through, there is speculation we will clear the yard and then a small amount of cotton will be harvested from areas that have remained too wet to complete, then we will start the plant again and finish up. Actually, the Plant Super and I began this last week and then we included the girls in the office and just yesterday the General Manager finally asked what all the sticky notes with names and dates were? (We have them on the backside of the customer counter). Turns out he thought it was funny and he made his official guess and had his sticky note posted. Five dollar entree fee, winner take all, must not surpass date, closest without surpassing wins, must not be present to win (yeah, right!). Before the GM submitted his guess he had all the office resources working on it. He pulled up past history, module lists, average per module, divided, multiplied, factored, speculated, spoofed and then he finally guessed. When the GM made his guess he also raised his estimate on the number of bales he expects to gin. 90,000. Wow!

Praise GOD from whom all blessings flow! FATHER, thank YOU for the productive season. I pray for continued safety as we take it to completion. I continue to petition your intervention of behalf of all those needed YOUR healing. Bless them, comfort them, heal them. I pray for spiritual healing for all of us in need. I pray for the victims of the disasters and for the relief efforts for them. I pray for our spiritual family and for our leaders. Fill us with YOUR goodness!

And the wind generator companies smiled!

Yesterday was evidence of West Texas' largest resource, wind. I don't know about where you were, but out here it was bad! The morning had started with just a slight breeze, enough to cause us to hope that forecasters were wrong, but after lunch it changed directions and turned up the velocity! You could barely see across the compound. Sand, cotton, trash! I tried to limit my outside activities and at one point I ended up in the RV. Krl was much like a seasoned veteran as the trailer would rock back and forth, shuddering from the gail force winds, and the trailer is on stabilizers! I finally sat on the couch with black dog and we finished a reading a book.

Late in the day I stood at the kitchen window watching as the powerful winds began to lose strength and it was at this time I began to think about how the hurricane, tsunami, and mud slide victims must have felt. Helpless. That is the only word I can come up with. I have lived through my home flooding (twice), I have experienced fire (twice). I know how men will do crazy things trying to preserve and protect possessions. I can only imagine the speed, the magnitude, the fear that these residents experienced. No time to gather prized pictures or heirlooms, the salvage list must have become short quickly. Preserve life, your family, your own. Flee. Wind, water, mud, gaining, destroying, consuming. Sheer force!

I think how my concerns, my priorities, pale in comparison. I am ashamed. I am selfish, self centered.

FATHER, I ask YOUR forgiveness when I focus inward and not outward. I ask YOUR forgiveness when I become petty and small. Help me to become more compassionate, more concerned, for all those around. FATHER, YOU are majestic, YOUR nature is powerful. I know YOU hurt when we hurt, YOU are all seeing, all knowing. I pray for all the victims of the recent disasters. I pray for the relief workers and their efforts. I lift up Hag, Lillie, Rene', Carol, Michelle, Aimee, Rusty and Kim's unborn baby, and Jennifer, for YOUR gift of healing. I pray for spiritual healing for me, for R2D2, for all those in need. I pray for our spiritual family, our leaders, and their efforts to spread Jesus. I stand in awe of YOU.

Tuesday was one of those muddle through days. It wasn't spectacular but we made it work! Krl and I did make a late jaunt to town. We had been needing to go to pick up a few supplies and had been procrastinating. After hearing the weather forecast, we decided to get it done and then we could stay close to work and the trailer even if the weather turns bad.

We finally braved Wal-Mart for the first time since before Christmas. It was still busy. I have been told that the Midland location is the number one store in sales for this giant retailer! This consumer would certainly believe it! In fact plans are in place for another Midland supercenter in the coming year. We made quick work of our supplies and began trying to decide where we wanted to eat. We felt like we deserved a reward for making the trip. We finally decided to do the Outback deal. We had never been in town when it was open or was not covered up. While we enjoyed the down time, we have been able to mark Outback off our to do list! It was O.K. but I still believe my favorite eating establishment is home! ha! Krl did bring enough of her meal home to feed us for a meal or two.

As with most trips there had to be a crisis. On the way home we turned from the major thoroughfare onto a less traveled road and I decided to click on the bright lights so we could scour the road for wayward deer. Therein was the problem. When I clicked on the brights it became totally dark. Try as I might I could not get the brights or the dims to stay on. Apparently the dimmer switch has gone out on the company SUV. Might have to pursue some warranty here! I did find that I could manually hold the lever in a certain position and we could have brights (while I was elated I don't think the two or three vehicles we met shared this feeling). We made it back with out further incident, missing shift change by a scant twenty minutes. Thankfully the crew coming on shift was my old faithful crew and they were there with bells on!

FATHER, I thank YOU for all that YOU do in my life. I ask for YOUR continued presence. I continue to ask YOUR healing for all those in need. I ask for physical health for those near and dear that I petition YOU for daily. I ask for spiritual healing and renewal for myself, for R2D2 and for all those lost and needing YOU. I pray for the victims of all the disasters of the past year. I ask YOUR comfort for them all. I pray for the relief efforts on their behalf. I pray for our spiritual leaders, for our spiritual family, for YOUR will to be done. Into my heart!

Yesterday was a day full of life questions, why? Like why do you receive paperwork on the day it is due to be returned? Why does this always happen after the last possible chance to mail said paperwork?

I am done, stick a fork in me! My brain is fried! My head has been hidden in my drawers so long that visions of fruit of the loom dance in my vision! Yesterday was not a fun day. Try as I might it just wouldn't come together. My first indication of impending doom was shortly after I left the house. I had a driver come in handing me a list of everything wrong with the trailer he was dropping. Most of it was electrical so I began tracing the problems. Finally I bit the bullet and did a double throw down and opened it up and quickly found the first problem. Try as I might, it was as though I was swimming in molasses. I slowly, very slowly made the repair and moved on to the next one. Finally, I arrived at the last problem on the list, also a lighting problem. I took my time tracing wires, splicing and matching color codes and was ready to put the light back on when I realized I routed the wires through the screw holes. Back up and try again. Next thing was the paperwork that arrived Saturday, due back in Pennsylvania, on the same Saturday. It was an employee roster for the accident policy (in lieu of workers comp) , which needed additions, deletions and premium computation. I retrieved last month's report which had all the pertinent information, made the coverage changes, gave them to Marvin for his approval and signature, then I folded and sealed them for mailing, only to find the premium check lying under the envelope. Missed the one mailing opportunity at the compound, requiring a trip to the nearest mailing receptacle a half hour away! Then, just when I thought my day might be retrievable, I made my way by the bale loading dock only to be flagged down by Julio to tell me of one trailer with a flat. There is no after hour flat service out here, so you have to be prepared to go an hour in any direction to secure these services. My dilemma was no truck to move the trailer with and trying to slow down the air loss to allow the needed travel time. Finally Charles, who has worked with me ten years, arrived with his truck and we discussed the problem. The trailer was already loaded so we hooked up and moved it across the compound to where air is available. By this time the tire had "broken loose" from the wheel and when I began airing it, Plan A, air escaped at an equal rate. Plan B, I retrieved a can of ether along with a long fire lighter and sprayed a generous amount of ether inside the tire bead and then ignited it! Whoom! The controlled explosion set the beads of the tire on the wheel and I began airing it. Just as we were approaching the desired air pressure we heard a leak. Investigation revealed a nail which had entered at an odd angle, I took pliers and a screw driver trying to move the nail to a position where air loss was less. Needless to say, we were not making progress with Plan C. Enter plan D, we removed the air hose from the tire, removed the valve core and let all the pressure escape from inside the tire and then I rolled the dice! I retrieved a small tube of super glue, filled the nail hole, let it set, did it again, and again, and then I sprayed it down with ether and ignited it and repeated the whole process again. After a few minutes, Charles replaced the valve core and attached the air hose and surprisingly our make shift efforts held! Charles left with the trailer and either it continued to hold or it got him to a better locale for repairs. First item of business today is to buy me a new tube of Super Glue. When you are having a day that just won't stay in a groove, super glue will make it stick!

It would appear the completion date lies between January 27 (my guess), January 30 (the plant super's guess), and February 5 (the GM's guess). I am kind of getting antsy! While the work has been a blessing I find myself growing weary of the isolation, the dust, and the wear and tear on equipment and other bodies. I long for house, home, civilization!

FATHER, thanks for the save yesterday and all the other days when I try to do it on my own. I am thankful that YOU are faithful to fill my needs! I continue to ask YOUR presence, YOUR influence in this day. I lift up Hag, Lillie, Rene', Carol, Michelle, Aimee, Rusty and Kim's unborn baby, and Jennifer. I ask YOUR healing for them all. I pray for spiritual healing, for me, for R2D2 and so many others who need YOU. FATHER it seems like every day there are more and more natural disasters. I pray for all those affected by these and ask YOUR comfort for them and I ask YOUR blessings on the relief efforts. I surrender all!

Tremendous day yesterday, productivity wise! I was able to get lots done and it should reflect on a more laid back Sunday. Today is not a maintenance Sunday but we might make a quick trip to the city anyway! It would appear that everything is in place that would allow us to relax for a brief while.

We went to the local community center yesterday for the County Livestock Show and Premium Auction. It was more of a hob-knob trip. The food was so so and the auction was like watching paint dry.

Actually the most entertaining part of the trip to the livestock show was watching the kids. From toddlers to High Schoolers, there were a ton of kids there. The thing that made this more interesting was Mike Cope's recent blog about teenage breast implants. The environment out here is so protected. Kind of like stepping back in time. The competition for this weekend was not about personal appearance but with animals they had raised and prepared to show. These kids are more like brothers and sisters than friends. Maybe this is a key, to develop bonds and extended family that becomes "the" peer group, "the" trend setters, that we develop leaders instead of followers. I know from our oldest granddaughter that today it is a constant battle to fit in. You can voice negative comments about clothes and styles and her response is "everyone is wearing it". Reminds me of growing up and telling my mom "everyone is doing it" and her asking "if they all jumped off a bridge would you jump too"! Oh what a tangled web we weave.

FATHER, thank YOU for the blessed day yesterday. I thank YOU for allowing me to get things done. FATHER I would ask that YOU instill in us YOUR goodness, YOUR will and that we will let JESUS be our peer group. Help us to show this to our children and grandchildren, and to all we come in contact with. I pray for those in need of YOUR healing. I pray for those needing YOUR presence. Bind us together, LORD!

I am dragging my feet about making my first circle of the compound today. One of the sub-contractors (which I reluctantly say is my brother) cannot think past the end of his nose. In fact last evening I called him repeatedly until I finally received a return call. I was expressing concern that he had made a drastic mistake with his personnel because he had drivers driving the day shift that were supposed to be coming on for the night shift. He had a night truck that he told a driver to take and run the day and then he had the audacity to tell the night driver, waiting for his truck, that the driver was doing all this on his own. We had endured a tough day Friday because of a night miscue. I am not in the mood to go into the weekend doing the same thing. Add to this my idiot brothers choosing to hang up mid conversation and I see two things on the horizon. (1) I am circling another contractor to come in, and (2) I think a "rude" penalty deduction on my brother's settlement is in order. I think about a $1000.00 should get his attention. There are also prior business dealings that are not settled. Needless to say I am not in the mood for baloney! Lock and load!

Today is the county livestock show. Usually we are back in Abilene so we don't get to attend. I believe we have made it one time in eleven years. The company donates to their premium sale each year so we have complimentary tickets to the festivities and meal. If things go well we plan to be there by noon.

It is supposed to be almost summer like temperatures today. I can't believe the broad range we are experiencing. My workers look like they carry their wardrobe closet with them.

FATHER, thank YOU for this day and the blessings it holds. I pray for YOUR peace, YOUR wisdom, YOUR guidance, as I make my way through it. I pray for those needing YOUR healing, both physically and spiritually. Help us to become leaders and not followers. Surround me with YOU.

Today I am suffering from ADD. I cannot make myself get on track and see things through. Luckily I am ahead of the curve this week. The only pressing thing is for me to get the hourly payroll figured. I may let Marvin do it!

My day got a quick start. A call before seven told me things had not gone well. One bale driver doing multiple night loads did not show, the other night bale driver became ill and quit after two. No calls or messages on my phone telling me of these developments until this morning. Damage control. There was one silver lining. The computer recording the bale weights as they exited the plant became hung up on one weight and had sixteen bales weighing identical weights of 526. The night ginner caught it but just not at the beginning. The plant superintendent began investigating and found there were seven bales that had not been re-weighed. As chance would have it, the trailer with the culprit bales was still on the yard as it was next to go out. So Frankie and I and informed Julio what needed to be done and he unloaded and transported the seven bales back inside for weighing.

I sure am battling the blues. I don't really know why. Things have gone relatively well this week. I guess I am just running out of gas. Each day past New Years Day has been a new adventure. The longest I had ever been out here was New Years Eve. Short estimates are calling for twenty more days, long estimates are calling for thirty to thirty-two. Either way we will be here until the end. Rian brought it to my attention that once we get done and move back to home base it will only be about six months until we have to begin moving back to the job site.

I had an interesting conversation yesterday. It seems there is a work opening in South Texas that would compliment the work out here. Time frame it would fit really well. I just hate South Texas in the summer time!

FATHER I thank YOU for the blessings YOU bless me with. I thank YOU for the opportunities YOU make available to me. I ask that YOU continue to guide my life, my work, where YOU want me to be. Use me. I pray for Hag, Lillie, Rene', Carol, Michelle, Aimee, Rusty and Kim's baby, and Jennifer. Bless them with YOUR healing and comfort. I pray for R2D2 and all those looking for answers. I pray for the victims of the disasters, for the relief efforts. I pray for our spiritual family, for our leaders. Purer in heart, help me to be.

Peaks and valleys, highs and lows!

FATHER I pray for mental, physical and spiritual renewal today. Boost me. Energize me. Fill me with YOUR spirit.

Tuesday was top notch all the way around! Early on I had my doubts but the day rallied and pulled it together. The whip cream and cherry came late in the day, oh what a topper! I had been receiving e-mails from one of my blog faithful wanting to place a wager on the USC/OU game. In the beginning I just ignored it all but finally I asked for an unreal number of points and multiplied his amount by five times. Surprisingly, my terms were accepted and all the sudden I had money on the team I didn't even like! Long story short, I came into some money last evening. I am going shopping! What to buy what to buy!

Krl usually doesn't watch bowl games. When she learned of the friendly wager she was intrigued enough to sit with me. She would let out an evil little laugh everytime USC would score and she made regular announcements with the point spread figured in. Thankfully, I am a more gracious winner (Being a gracious winner is much easier than being a gracious loser) than Krl because by half time she was cheering me on to "call him, call him"! We didn't even finish watching the game, we went to bed with visions of shopping dancing in our heads! (Take that, you know who!). USC Trojans, OU R bad!

Actually, before anyone thinks poorly of me, let me make this statement. Krl and I have decided on an organization to donate to for the relief efforts of the quake and tsunami. My ill gotten gains will be matched and multiplied and forwarded to this relief organization. Anyone looking for an organization to donate to might consider Healing Hands, it is a CoC affiliated distribution network.

I am moved by the actions world wide of people taking action to raise money for the disaster victims. I have always like Sandra Bullock, but I like her even more when she donates a million dollars (as she did after 911) to the victims funds.

It was difficult for us to determine which charitable group we wanted to work through. In our instant news society (thanks Oprah, Dateline, 60 Minutes) we hear of the waste so many of these organizations have. Top heavy groups taking more for administration than passing through to victims. Dis-qualifying victims for various reasons. I am sure there is some fraud concerning need, but I would rather err to the good than err to the bad. It is a difficult job.

Krl and I went to town yesterday afternoon. The hound boys and girl had consumed all their food and their designated brand is not available in any of the close by towns so we made the trip to Midland and Petsmart. Things worked out tremendously! I had trucks cycling in and out, everyone seems to be over the holiday itch, and it allowed Krl and I five hours to roam, indulge, and improve ourselves. My proudest achievement of the day is my haircut! Krl got one too, she even made a quick stop in Dillards and got a couple of church outfits (how could we lose our bet if we are buying church clothes on Tuesday! Just kidding LORD!). We even stopped in at Chili's. I have a confession to make. For a long long time I had seen the advertisements for Chili's "Blossom" and for Outback's "Bloomin' onion", but we had never indulged until yesterday! I have never been a Chili's fan but this appetizer sure helps their image in my mind! Now Krl has been trying to figure out how they cut their onions. Personally I believe part of the lure is that someone else prepared it! Needless to say, our trip to town was very good R & R! At some point in time we need to meet up with cousins residing in the "Tall City".

Thanks FATHER, we needed that! I continue to thank YOU for the blessings YOU rain down on us. YOU are good. I lift up Hag, Lillie, Rene', Carol, Michelle, Aimee, for Delaney, for Rusty and Kim"s baby, for Jennifer (and her newborn baby) as they start to treat Jennifer's cancer, I ask YOUR miracle of healing for all of these. I pray for peace and comfort for them and their families. I pray for R2D2, for all those lost and needing YOU. I pray for our spiritual family and their efforts to spread JESUS. I pray for the victims of the natural disasters, I pray for the relief workers, I pray for each individual that has contributed whether monetarily or physically. Bless them all. I thank YOU for YOUR love, YOUR mercy, YOUR grace!

My Monday was busy. Nothing major, just little time consuming oodies. My biggest problem came late in the day and it was not even mine, I was just a good Samaritan. I was in the back of the farm store when Gilbert drove up and started taking parts off his Kenworth. Gilbert is one of my hard chargers and with him out of the lineup it could mean trouble, capital "T". It seems he could smell diesel in the cab and it had gotten bad enough for him to chase it down. Turns out he had a fuel line which attaches to the back of the cylinder head and it had ridden too many miles on top of the bell housing and given up the ghost and worn through. My contribution was moral support and passing tools up and looking for specialty tools in the compound. Finally, Gilbert started piecing things back together and we finished the work by flashlight. In the beginning it looked like a long way to get there but Gilbert's experience at the Freightliner/Kenworth dealerships sure paid off.

I returned to the trailer to find a very agitated woman. It turns out one of the bale trucks had brought a large envelope back from the other end and Krl started reading its contents. It contained about a ream of paper from a law firm. Just when you think you have stepped away and started to move from the past it seems they try to reel you back in and make any progress you have made disappear. I share Krl's frustration. It would be so easy to become mad and vindictive but I hope I am beyond that. It almost seems like the good of many is being sacrificed for the benefit of few. I know I need to find an attorney to look over these papers. The note on the outside said to sign and return immediately. I think if all the signatures required are obtained it will require a deluxe job by a snake oil salesman. Thing is, it would appear that this is very similar to what was signed about thanksgiving but the changes I do see are not acceptable. It would have also been very nice to have received a little heads up.

FATHER, help me out here. I ask YOU to take control, of this situation, of me. I pray for those in need of YOUR presence in their lives. Let YOUR glory fill them and the earth!

The new year came out of the blocks slow and steady but is now gaining momentum!

We did driver settlements, equipment lease settlements, some payables, loaded a hundred bales, shipped two hundred bales, all the previous on a down maintenance day! The big difference between a work day and a maintenance day is a maintenance day is controlled caos. We got forklifts serviced and greased, radiators blown out, the gin crew did a hard day of repairs and hopefully everyone is prepared to go two more weeks until we get to do it all again! The plant came back up in the early part of the evening.

Krl and I didn't go anywhere. I had gotten up early yesterday and got behind the computer. By the time she got up I had almost everything ready to print. When it was all off the printer I left to go do things in other areas of the compound and she got busy proofing and putting together checks and settlements. About one-thirty I started making my way back to the trailer. When I got back inside Krl and I had a quick conversation and decided the only good reason for going to town would be for both of us to get haircuts (as we are looking like Shaggy and Scooby). This was not luring enough as we could only envision what Walmart, Regis, and the other chain salons would be like. So if anyone gets by a hair cutting joint, please pick up two and box them and send them to us. You will be compensated generously!

We ended up grilling our supper and watching the telly!

I laid in bed early this morning, listening to the hustle and bustle outside, to Krl's rhythmic breathing along with the hound boys and hound girls accompaniment, and I consider myself blessed. This has been a different year for me out here. This is the first year that Krl and I have had concentrated time. It used to be two or three weeks was the total time Krl would spend here so this year has been a real treat! It has been some concentrated time of renewal and bonding. If I can keep her locked in the trailer for a few weeks more I know I can convince her I am not an idiot! (Just kidding about the locked up part, not the idiot part though). For several years Krl and I worked together and shared an office. We think a lot alike and I believe I had really missed working with her. Some people say their work time away is what makes their home life better. I think when Krl and I work together we become closer. I don't know, we just get on a wave length and connect. I am thankful for her and her help.

FATHER, I give this day back to YOU. Use me in it. I pray for safety, I pray for productivity, for all my workers and contractors. I continue to pray for the relief efforts for all those affected by the disasters. I pray for healing for Hag, for Lillie, for Rene', for Carol, for Michelle, for Aimee, for Rusty and Kim's baby, for Jennifer, for Delaney. I ask YOUR care and comfort for them all. I pray for those of us who need spiritual healing. For R2D2, for me, for all of us lost and stumbling. Surround us with YOU. I pray for our spiritual family and their efforts. We bow down.

WoooWee! I am tarred!

I am beginning to remember why this is a seasonal thing and not year round! My mental capacities are diminishing and I feel I need a jolt of Geritol! Surely if I had iron rich blood I could continue on! Red Bull would give me wings, AMP would charge me up. All artificial. It must be wonderful to be in advertising and live in an idealistic world! Liars!

The New Year entered very quietly out here. Work as usual. The biggest difference was lack of patrons coming by to drink coffee. The Co-op saved a fortune in coffee yesterday! Ha! To the best of my recollection only three patrons showed up yesterday morning. Many of the guys brought the new year in and by the time they were percolating, bowl games were coming on. Bowl games, the Aggies in particular, probably account for the lack of traffic. Most of the populous out here are Aggies and when they perform as they did (or didn't) yesterday, the Aggie faithful maintain a low profile to produce as small a target as possible for the TT alumni! Krl and I didn't do anything in particular! We maintained tradition and had blackeyed peas in hopes of a prosperous year! I could live on cornbread and blackeyed peas for a while!

I did hear a new one yesterday, that you are supposed to eat blackeyed peas and cabbage to insure a prosperous and happy new year! That is a new one for me.

Ollie came by for a brief visit yesterday. She had to get back to Lubbock for festivities and to take care of her hounds. She has been named Rookie of the Year for Remax Lubbock!

Today is a maintenance Sunday. Shut down at seven. Frank says they have lots to do. We need to service forklifts. It will probably be a long full day, hopefully we will be up by seven tonight. I had a steady stream of truckers coming to my trailer asking me to phase them in at midnight Sunday night. I told them they all couldn't come in at the same time. Most of them are very anxious for some down time to recharge.

FATHER, bless this day. Rest us well and rest us fast. Renew us spiritually, physically, mentally. Make us new. I ask your healing for all those is need. Bless the people experiencing loss from the disasters. All things work together for good.

I missed yesterday. I mean I missed blogging yesterday, I can only wish I had missed yesterday.

20-0-4. What did the 0 stand for? Oh my gosh! I can't really say that 2004 was a bad year. It was a year of transition for us. Actually 2004 will probably go down as a monumental year in self discovery, new doors opened, old doors closed but ultimately we survived it all. We are resilient I suppose. Now hard choices have to be made as we enter the new year and choose a specific direction.

The last day of the year was a busy day here. The hourly payroll had to go out, I needed to get the quarterly payroll tax deposit made so the matching portion could be used as an '04 deduction, then we had to catch up on the billings for the week because already truck and driver settlements are due out Monday. It goes without saying that most of my day was behind this laptop. Luckily my people performed very well with little supervision.

We are working straight through the New Year Holiday. No time off for celebrating, we are dedicated professionals out here. Now the local natives had celebratory activities down at "The Hall". They have a dance club out here and the club in conjunction with the Knights of Columbus did the New Year's dance. They had a band out of Lubbock called "R U Redy". It is a family activity culminated with the coming in of the new year and breakfast burritos served by the KoC. We didn't make the mile or so trek to the festivities, in fact by the time 05 arrived I had put in a considerable amount of time studying my eyelids!

FATHER, thank YOU for all the blessings of the past year. I ask YOUR blessing on the New Year. I pray for the victims of the disasters, for the families, for the relief workers. Bless the people and the efforts on their behalf. I pray for those needing YOUR gift of healing, for Hag, Lillie, Rene', Carol, Michelle, Aimee, Rusty and Kim's baby, for Kristy's sister-in-law, for Delaney and her family. I pray for spiritual healing for all of us that are lost and stumbling, for me, for R2D2, for those the world over. Help us to turn it all over to YOU. I pray for our spiritual family. I pray for the efforts spreading YOUR kingdom. FATHER, we love YOU, we worship and adore YOU!