I have always heard the story of the man who's dog was so ugly he shaved its butt and made it walk backwards!

With that said, Krl and I spent a portion of our maintenance Sunday in Midland. We saw some kiddos with really weird and strange haircuts. Obviously some of these parents out here have really ugly kids!

Krl and I went back to the Cattle Baron. Once again we were not disappointed. We caught ourselves bemoaning the fact that we could only have one more maintenance Sunday in which to go there. Oh well, we'll survive. It may take Ronnie Ingles or Lytle Land & Cattle Company or Perrini's, but we will find a replacement.

Today we arrived at the restaurant late. It was about a quarter to two. The crowd was gone and it was really nice to walk in and be seated and served. The closest table to us was a long table of eight or ten people, black and white. Often times I find it educational and inspirational to, on occasion, eavesdrop on conversations.

Today I realized I am not an emotional person. I don't show emotion very well either. Well, let me back up and qualify that. The only emotion I can express openly is when I am upset or displeased with someone. (I can almost hear the people sitting back down, I bet the earth shook on its axis as people jumped up). There was a large black woman who spent the entire meal perched on the edge of her chair as she actively participated in the lively conversation of her table. At one point she was telling of her worship earlier in the day. You would have had to be there but she said she wasn't sure what the preacher said because she was, with a clap of the hands as they extended upward, all caught up singing and praising Jesus. I thought for a moment she was going to burst out with a couple of verses of "Oh Happy Day". This woman was hyped up, she was on fire for Jesus! And I found myself jealous that she could openly show so much emotion!

What's the deal? I don't know, but it should probably be checked out.

The plant came up about eight o'clock tonight. That's better than the last few maintenance days.
Be the real deal.

FATHER, Thank YOU for meeting our every need. Move us. Fill us. Use us.

The early bird gets the worm.

This entire week I have tried to be extremely disciplined. At every juncture I have done computer work in hopes of having an easier weekend of settlement preparations. Yesterday I generated the hourly payroll and almost immediately went into seed truck settlements. By last evening Krl was proofing and found only one mistake.

Early this morning I began doing bale truck and bale driver settlements. Whew, I would imagine all these guys are bald because they change hats (and trucks) almost every load. This was a nightmare because I had several drivers drive for multiple truck owners. One truck had five (5) drivers! Yuk! But it is all water under the bridge now. I am done. Once again Krl is proofing settlements and writing checks. With luck we will be done by late afternoon! Yippee!

Yesterday we celebrated the office manager's birthday. She was caught totally by surprise. We had a huge cake, dips, chips, cheeseball, crackers and grapes. The was a large contingency that "grazed" all day long. I went into the office about seven in the morning, setting it all up, and last evening about six Krl and I were cleaning things up. What little cake was left went to the night crew inside the plant.

Ollie, the youngest daughter, is supposed to come out here to do some work. Krl is going to use her on some data entry and I may use her on a forklift. She was actually trying to come out Thursday and got to Sterling City before she was stopped for erratic driving. The troopers put her out of service. They thought she was suffering from diabetic shock. They made her park until her Mom could pick her up. Krl and I were in Midland when all this was going on. It probably didn't help but her medical doctor in 'Angelo was closed down Monday by authorities and she had been out of some of her meds since Friday. She went to a new doctor Friday and got a new Rx script. She called wanting money for her meds. "Wire it". Krl told her the nearest place was an hour away and then she called back and gave Krl a website where she could use her credit card and wire the money from the comfort of our trailer. I told Krl I wasn't comfortable with this and to just call the pharmacy and pay for it. As it turns out, her mother had already paid for the meds so we will just repay her. Not quite the foundation you build trust on. I am still trying to put my finger on what is bothering me.

E.T., the seed truck driver who's three month old grandson was found dead Thursday morning, made a trip yesterday. Apparently authorities are conducting an autopsy, but preliminary opinions point to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). We are still unclear as to when and what the plans are but the body was to be returned to the family this morning. Right now there are several drivers who are stretching themselves pretty thin in order to give E.T. the flexibility to do what he needs to and feels like doing.

Sunday is a maintenance Sunday. Double yippee! If we can get the paperwork out of the way today we will be footloose and fancy free! Hello Cattle Baron! I can hear a steak calling my name! Thursday we did all our supplies shopping except for three items so we are in good shape. Houston, all systems are go!

Later today I am going to try to expand myself. All the components have finally arrived. We are going "wireless" network. I am going to try to get the new laptop up first and if all things go well we will expand it to include the other two computers and both printers. Actually I am considering moving up to a much better grade printer when we do this. Probably the savings on paper alone would have paid for it because our current printer often has a big appetite for paper and will take multiple sheets at a time (of course it has to smear ink on all of them and render them useless). Basically what we are going to is a full "T" bandwidth which will be a real improvement over the old dialup. I will notify all of my address book if and when I am confident enough to take the other system down.

A fellow blogger passed from this world Wednesday night. She had been battling melanoma. She demonstrated immense faith and total trust. Her obit was in the Friday Reporter-News, her name was Kerri Lane. It began with "this is a testament of the life of ....... . It is worth reading either in the archives on line or by going back and looking in your paper. I had included this young woman in my prayer list, I wish I had known her.

Be the real deal.

FATHER I am sad, I am heavy hearted. FATHER I pray for those sad and hurting with grief. I pray for E.T. and his family and for Kerri's family. FATHER you are all seeing and all knowing but sometimes it is difficult for us to understand how and why things happen. Strengthen our faith. Give these the comfort they search for. I pray for Krl and her healing and renewal. I pray for Adam and his men. I ask for their safety. I lift up Memama, Pepa, Hag, Bets, Jess, Douglas, Jack, Frances, Lillie, Aimee, B, Dr. Mackie, Jeanine, and Hope for YOUR care and healing. I pray for others who are suffering loss. I pray for those of us who stumble while attempting to follow YOU. Forgive us. I pray for our spiritual family and our leaders. I pray for the efforts being made to expand YOUR kingdom. I pray for Richard, Anastacia, James and Terah. Keep them from the lure of the world, keep them true to YOU. I pray for our prayer partners Jenavene and Susan, that we rejoice in all the good things YOU have blessed us with. I pray for our time spent with Ollie, that it would be productive. FATHER help us to know that each day we live is our testament, may that testament reflect YOU in us.

A soft pidder patter greeted me this morning as I made preparations to exit my trailer.

Rain!

Yesterday a patron and I had a conversation about how perfect the crop year had been. Timely rains, effective pest management, a pre-harvest rain to firm up the soil and then dry (almost to the extreme) conditions throughout the harvest until now. God could not have scripted a more perfect scenario!

I don't suppose there is any group which operates more on faith than those involved in agriculture. They are constantly dependent on God's creation of nature and how it cycles.

Lately there had been more and more talk of the need for moisture. Everyone's favorite question was "When will it rain?" My favorite response was "We're one day closer!"

This brief interlude of moisture is not expected to amount to any significant accumulation. It will settle the dust, but more than that it will soothe the feelings of the men and women who are dependent on it and the fruits it will bring.

It is a "faith-healer" rain shower. Those whose faith had begun to waiver will be steadied!

Condolences to E.T., one of our seed haulers, whose three-month old grandson died this morning.

FATHER, thank YOU for YOUR blessing of rain. Thank YOU for its calming, soothing cadence. FATHER I pray for E.T. and his family as they hurt and mourn their loss. I ask YOUR comfort and care for them.

Let YOUR glory fill the earth!

On a few occaisions Krl and I have passed by a church with the following sign:
The Church for the Positive Believer.

Hmmmm. I'm still thinking on that one.

Recently I read a blog in which its author proclaimed he was through catering to "church hoppers". I suppose that means he is going to continue to do what he has done in the past because obviously whatever he is catering with, isn't working.

Keep on keeping on.

Another blog spoke of a man who told a minister to keep his sermons "in the real world". The minister stated that most lessons quarrel with "the real world", but what makes the man think the minister should defer to the man's "real world", but the minister should move them to a new world.

I think the "moving" should be left to the big man upstairs.

I for one wouldn't want the responsibility of moving anyone to a particular belief. Maybe direct or point, or expose.

It has sure been a Monday on the job front.

GOD took JBCjr home today. It is probably a blessing in disquise. He will be missed.

And I am sad.

I am drained.

I think I have been wound tighter than a drum the last few days. Friday was the day from you know where. Saturday was better but Saturday night ended up being a long night in some ways and a very short night in others.

Friday morning was when I was drowning in cotton. We had an entire night's run plus the current day's production to deal with. It wasn't pretty. Lots of people hear how far you are behind but they never think about having to maintain shipments as they stack behind the backlog. Catching up is extremely difficult.

On Friday morning I had made my early morning round and returned to my trailer to use the land line (the low humidity and high static is killing cell phone coverage out here). I was making some calls building some fire under people, basically trying to get things moving.

Krl's new glasses had arrived at the optometrist's outlet but they were closing at noon. Hourly payroll needed to be generated, so our day was filling up quickly. Krl got 'round and ready and we made the mad dash to town, ran our errands and returned to the compound. I did a quick drive through before going to my trailer and picking up my laptop and heading in the office.

When I walked in the office I found that my co-workers had been waiting all day long. They had planned a surprise birthday party for me. Cake, coffee, cookies, candies, grapes. It was scrumptious. They all told me how hard it was not to dig in!

My on the ground employees had joined together and purchased a cake for me as well, so Friday night we were surrounded with left over cake. Saturday morning I took one of them in for the early morning coffee drinkers and later in the day combined what was left of it with the other cake and took it into the plant for the guys. Food doesn't survive very long in there!

Once again they are running the Great American Race, the Daytona 500, in honor of my birthday. I hope to have the major portion of my weekend work completed by the time it comes on the tube! By the way, I will take Jeff Gordon with Jimmy Johnson as an alternate.

I had calls from Kali, Ollie and Pat on Saturday with birthday greetings and just moments ago I had a call from Jeanetta wishing the same. She says it is 10 degrees in Indianapolis and they had returned early from a trip to Kentucky because of the pending ice and snow.

I guess I'd better hop to it. Be the real deal!

FATHER, thank YOU for all the blessing YOU pour down on us. I continue to ask for Krl's healing and renewal. I pray for safety for Adam and his men in Iraq. I lift up Memama, Pepa, Hag, Bets, Jess, Frances, Douglas, Jack, Lillie, Aimee, Ashlyn Kate, B., Dr. Mackie, Jeanine, K.C., JBCjr, Hope, and Kristy and her baby. I ask YOUR care and YOUR miracles of healing for them. I pray for those hurting and filled with grief. I ask YOUR comfort for them. I pray for those of us who are struggling to follow YOU. I pray for our spiritual family and our leaders. I pray for the efforts being made to expand YOUR kingdom. I pray for Richard, Anastacia, James and Terah. That they would accept YOU as the truth and the light and as their salvation. That they would be secure knowing that if YOU are on their side who shall they fear. I pray for our prayer partners Jenavene and Susan, that we would purify ourselves with YOUR truth having been born again not of perishable seed but imperishable, YOUR living and enduring word. Amen.

I am trying to defuse, distract myself.

It's not working.

We are going to try to run both ends of this operation from this end. I figure it is going to really be frustrating. Fred was invited to participate in a weekend "walk" at Butman this weekend.

Last evening we were in the most absolute best shape we could have been in. Not one complete load was on site, four trucks were at the ready. I went to sleep a happy camper.

When I made the turn to the dock this morning I was greeted with a "full house". Cotton and more cotton. Three loaded trailers, two complete loads on the ground and a third in progress. One driver had not shown up all night long. No call, nothing. This is the same driver I had talked with earlier in the week.

Now it is my turn. My plan is to move him into a filler position where we will use him only when needed. I'm not going to call him or anything. I'm just going to shove him out of the way. What's good for the goose ............

Winter has arrived out here. It is chilly. Chances are we will dodge the precip but the cool temperature and breeze are quite an adjustment. I am the keeper of the fire. I haven't figured out what is going on but if you turn the heater on it works perfectly until it reaches temperature and turns off. Then when it attempts to come back on the fan will come on and you can hear it trying to light but a solenoid or something is malfunctioning and the gas doesn't turn on. After three attempts it is supposed to shut the fan off but it doesn't, so you have a chilly room that the thermostat is telling itself the heater is working when it is cold air being circulated. This is where I enter. Much like the keeper of the fire, I hop up and turn the thermostat off and let it set three minutes and turn it back on and get everything warm and toasty. Best part of my job is I don't have to run outside to get a log!

Krl and I got new spectacles. Mine came in two days ago. Her's came in yesterday. I am supposed to take her in to Big Spring to get her's today. I also hope to go by and renew my driver's license today as well.

My glasses are not like anything I have had before. They are smaller and light weight. Transition lenses with anti-glare. It is unbelievable how crisp and sharp everything is for a short while. It appears that my left eye has been the dominate eye the last few years. After a couple of hours (in which my eyes dupe it out) my left eye kicks back letting my right eye take over. It is driving me batty. I hope to talk with the eye doctor when I take Krl in.

Krl and I continue to look at the 21st. We are eagerly anticipating but cautiously keeping our heads below the radar. It is difficult for me to sit back and take advise from counsel "no news is good news".

Be the real deal.

FATHER I need a really big dose of YOU in my day.

I think I have entered the zombie stage. We have been here so long that I am numb (and probably dumb).

The last few days we have experienced some problems with the plant. 115,000 bales and weaknesses will surface. Sunday night we thought we were ready to bring the plant back on line when a problem was discovered that required parts to be brought in from the OEM in Lubbock. It was after midnight before the plant came on line.

Monday was spent trying to find our rabbit's foot. It seems everytime we go down for scheduled maintenance it takes us several days to find that comfort zone.

Tuesday was a disastrous morning. I made my rounds and when I arrived at the bale dock I found three loaded trailers and two loads stacked on the ground. I immediately looked at the sign-out log to see which drivers had been in and out. The drivers are not privy to all my information. I have the forklift operators fillings out a time log so I know exactly when a truck entered and when he left. Immediately I zeroed in on a driver who was off last week and the situation was much improved. Before I left the dock this driver drove up and wanted to visit. I think he feels he is so dynamic that he can pour a line of baloney on you and you can't separate it quickly enough to know which end is up. I was pretty blunt. He admitted that he had laid down for two and a half hours during the night. I converted that to one and a quarter loads sitting at my dock. I continued on and told him that last week when he was off things flowed much better. I don't think he ever realized that I told him he was the weak link in the chain. Oh well. I am hopeful we have a replacement in the wings.

It took all day Tuesday and two extra trucks to catch us up.

Pepa was out early on the "black V". Later in the day he and Jack (a family friend) came out in Blacksheep 22, one of the new acquisitions, on a shake down trip. On the second load I had called to see where he was and he told me "halfway there". Turns out he hadn't even left his home. We had a mote fire in the plant and the crew was having a big problem getting all the fire out of the pipe work. As it turned out, Juan arrived just minutes before Pepa and there was only one load waiting. Luckily I had a load of motes ready and sent them in on 22.

Late last night I received a call informing me that the salesman had made a mistake on the lienholder on the title application. "But it's not a big deal, you can straighten it out when the title comes back". I don't think so. I told the salesman that either he could pick up the truck or we would return it to his lot sometime today. It really miffed me that he thought it was our problem. I guess he realized I was serious because this morning at eight-thirty-five he called and informed me that he was able to catch the erroneous paperwork at the county tax-assessor collector's office and they were going to re-do it.

I don't know about you but "ballpark" is not close enough in my job. I expect more from people I do business with.

A couple of family notes. Two cousins are currently undergoing and or recuperating from treatment for cancer. Frances in Tempe and Jack in Amarillo. Being isolated out here I only found out of this yesterday. Please add them to you prayer list.

Be the real deal!

FATHER, bless me with patience. Temper me. Help me to be slow to speak and slow to anger. I pray for Krl's healing and renewal. I pray for safety for Adam and his men in Iraq. I lift up Memama, Pepa, Hag, Bets, Jess, Lillie, Aimee, Ashlyn Kate, Frances, Jack, Dr. Mackie, Jeanine, JBCjr, K.C. , Hope, and Kristy and her baby for YOUR miracles of healing and care. I pray for those sad and heavy hearted with grief, I ask YOUR comfort for them. I pray for those of us who stumble while trying to follow YOU, I pray for focus and resolve. I pray for our spiritual family and our leaders. I pray for the efforts being made to expand YOUR kingdom. I pray for Richard, Anastacia, James, and Terah. That they would desire to be sinless but confident that they are redeemed by JESUS. I pray for our prayer partners Jenavene and Susan, knowing that great is YOUR love for us that we should be called children of GOD. Greater is HE who is in me than he who is in the world!

As horrible as the night was, the day was that good and more!

Krl and I laugh. If I pick a line at the bank, the grocery store, Wal-Mart, wherever, you can bet there will be upteen price checks, requests for additional identification, whatever. People that have not even arrived at the store as I enter the check out lane will be home watching television and eating ice cream before I exit the store. It is a gift.

This gift seems to be expanding its scope. If I try to do anything special, the effort will end as a total wreck.

That was last evening. Krl and I had a couple of small steaks we had purchased. "Perfect for the grill" the package proclaimed! Krl had baked potatoes in and was planning on doing the steaks on the stove top when I volunteered to do them on the grill. The wind quieted just before shift change and I lit the fire to burn the grates off as I left the yard to make my rounds. Finally about seven-thirty I returned, took my steel wire brush and cleaned the grates, reduced the flame and put the steaks on. It was a little nippy but I persevered and remained outside tending our main course. Finally I deemed it "done enuff" and placed it on a platter, turned the gas off and made my way in the trailer. One I sat the platter down I removed my shoes and began to get comfortable when the telephone rang. Charles, my main man was on the line reporting a trailer wheel bearing failure just north of Garden City (23 miles from the compound). I told him to find a place to get off the road and into the ditch and I would be there with "dollie plates" to drop the trailer. When I arrived, the truck was still on the shoulder of the road. Charles was not comfortable with the incline between the highway and the bottom of the ditch. I took a quick survey and got in the truck and made a quick arc and down and into the ditch we went with no fanfare. We unhooked the trailer and returned to the complex to pick up another trailer. By the time I returned to the house and ate a portion of our meal, it was 11:00pm. Throw in a little time to get out of the work clothes and unwind and you were talking midnight. The best laid plans of mice and men ..........

About three-thirty this morning there was a knock on the window of the trailer and we had another trucker in the plant with a problem. It was quickly dispensed with and I returned to bed. Then just before six I made my way from the bedroom to my desk and found a flashing light on the answering machine. Another driver had had a problem and his truck was dead in the water, so to speak. However, by the time I called him he had hitched a ride in another truck and was on his way home, with the keys to the problem truck.

If there was a stroke of luck it would be the fact that only a mile separated the trailer with the failed wheel bearing and the truck that had the problem.

Roscoe was sending the service truck and personnel to make repairs or to get the problem equipment home to their shop. Another stroke of luck.

Just about noon, Krl and I left to go to town. We were fresh out of ideas on where to eat. I threw out some options and Krl deflected the decision making back to me. As we were going around Midland I took an exit and drove all the way through town to the Claydesta Center and the Cattle Baron Restaurant.

We ate like, well, cattle barons! That was without a doubt the most absolute excellent meal we have had the joy of partaking of since we came out here six months ago. The appetizers were appetizing, the entrees were top knotch, the salad bar was huge and varied and fresh, and the service was outstanding! Pricing was premium, although I have paid much more for much less.

We made one stop for pleasure, three stops for supplies and began to make our way home when my cell phone toned and Pepa told me he was on his way to our trailer at the compound. Things worked much better than his last trek out here as we were heading back and shortly after he arrived we did too. Turns out he and Memama were taking a Sunday drive and were taking the long way to San Angelo, through St. Lawrence. We had a good visit. They had brought our Christmas (we had sent theirs in earlier). Homemade candies, some funds, and my grandfather's pocket knife. Over the last few years Memama has been gradually passing all of my grandfather's possessions to me. I guess she knows with how special our relationship was his belongings will be equally special. Krl is wanting to build a case to display all of my acquisitions from the last few years.

One of my stops was Office Depot. I have a "ten key" that I have always used with my old laptop but my new lap top doesn't have the same port. It seems that everything is going USB ports. I began my search and first found an adaptor for $25. Then as I was making my way down various isles a gentleman asked me if I was finding everything. I told him what I was looking for (the 10 key) and we made our way three isles over. He had two choices, wired and wireless. $20 and $25 dollars. Technology really amazes me. Of course since the new laptop already sports so much wireless hardware and software, it is easy to know which one I purchased. My new laptop is going to look like a wireless antennae cluster!

The truckers used the "blitzkrieg" method today. They all arrived at the same time and we shipped all our loads almost instantaneously. The plant maintenance is moving very slowly. The Super says 10pm. Some of the nearly half million dollars worth of equipment installed since last year is giving up the ghost. Frank was not a happy camper. It seems the manufacturers only want to build something durable enough for it to get out of warranty.

I guess if I had to rate my crews, the one just going to nights would be my "A" team. They have been with me the longest and understand our mission and how to reach it. If the truckers perform it should be a blissful two weeks before we do maintenance Sunday again and flip the shifts.

Be the real deal!

FATHER, thank YOU for the extremes YOU let us experience. Thank YOU for making the good experiences outweigh the bad. I pray for those near and dear in need of your blessings. I pray for our students and our prayer partners. The glory is YOURs, praise be to YOUR name.

Tomorrow is a maintenance Sunday. I cannot wait. We did our heavier maintenance yesterday to free up our Sunday to do what we want to do!

Actually we are thinking about a quick trip to Lubbock to look at some trucks. I have had some conversations with people up there and there are several trucks I think would be possibilities. We will have to see how Krl's and my pulse is beating come morning.

I tried to do a small portion of our settlements each day this past week. It really paid off because I sat down yesterday and completed all the Monday settlements! Yea! Now I am going to get to do some other projects that need some attention.

We have had another rash of mechanical problems with trucks this week. Early in the week Lupe was down two days with a wheel bearing. Later in the week E.T. went down with a pinion bearing out.

Pepa came out with a new acquisition and made a trip to Lubbock with motes. This is an older truck which has been a possibility for almost a year. They put a set of batteries on it, had to put a clutch in it and two tires. The truck had been setting up for about six or seven months. Pepa had a little tough luck with the winds getting up while he was on his way to Lubbock. The trailer he was dragging has a conestoga tarping system and the wind got under the tarp and riddled it. Add to this a rub getting in the warehouse and he left the trailer in Lubbock for some repairs.

We are cycling through some driver changes. Charles, my main stay is getting better everyday. It is unbelievable how quickly and quietly he come and goes. I guess that is because he has such a good understanding of what the job is and how to achieve it. While many of the drivers have had the wrong influence on others this year I can already see some positive results from Charles being on the job.

Pepa has been on a truck deal for me in Abilene. He made an offer on two (at the pricing I had I was only interested in one) but with his offering price I would probably take two. Late yesterday the salesman came back with a counter. $2500 separates us. I just took a call from Pepa and we agreed on numbers for him to counter their counter. I think I prefer the research to the haggling over price.

We lost our first "on the ground" employee last evening. Paco had been on probation for several weeks. He has a real problem with showing up on time and often he is influenced by his uncle and may twist off instead of coming to work. I had given him an ultimatum and told him it was his choice. If he decided not to come to work it was the same as deciding to quit because attendance is required.

Julio is cycling out for his planned trip to Mexico. All these developments together would mean Rogelio is on his shift alone so I moved Manuel to Rogelio's shift.

Julio is scheduled for eight days in Mexico but I think he will be back for my birthday because he would hate to miss a party.

Frank, Becky and Kristy gave me my birthday present a week early. A bottle of Azul Tequila with citrus liquer and a bottle of margarita mixer (azul of course). I told them they were encouraging me to put on my birthday suit and twist off! I may save this gift for the end of season celebration. (By the way Krl is discouraging me and telling me that my birthday suit is still at the dry cleaners).

Pepa and I had a long conversation this morning. It is the first time we have talked of the family business and its demise, hindsight, speculation and just getting on with life. Surprisingly I find that it continues to be difficult to talk about. Lots of emotion is still there. Lot of deception, poor people choices, and too high expectations of others to be honest and honorable in their dealings.

I've got a long way to go to heal.

I would like to mention a family friend that is very ill. J.B. Cooper Jr. is in the Hospice at Abilene. This past fall he was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. My sources tell me the disease is progressing very rapidly and that his time is quickly fading. My sources also tell me that it is a very horrible and painful death. I ask your prayers for him and his wife and daughters. J.B. has been a strong civic leader and a very strong influence in Roscoe and the surrounding area. These developments have made me sad and reflective of our association.

Be the real deal.

FATHER, there are lots of open wounds, I would ask that you heal them and get us past this. Help us to learn from our mistakes and help us to always be honorable and honest in our dealings. I pray for Krl's healing and renewal. I pray for Adam and his men, keep them safe. I pray for Memama, Pepa, Hag, Bets, Jess, Lillie, Aimee, B., Ashlyn Kate, Dr. Mackie, Jeanine, K.C., Hope, Kristy and her baby and JBCjr. I lift them to YOU for YOUR miracles of healing and care. I pray for those sad with grief and ask YOUR comfort for them. I pray for those of us who are struggling to follow YOU. I pray for our spiritual family and our leaders. I pray for the efforts being made to expand YOUR kingdom. I pray for Richard, Anastacia, James and Terah. That they would be faithful to YOU and YOUR ability to direct their lives and to bless them. I pray for our prayer partners Jenavene and Susan. That we would persevere and maintain hope. FATHER, my hope is built on nothing less than YOU.

Sometimes I really wonder about whether or not it is all worth it.

Today marks 135 consecutive days away from home for me, 133 for Krl. Current projections call for 49 more days before the mass exodus begins. I am figuring on a week to move everything home. I plan on keeping one "on the ground" employee as well as one truck driver to assist in moving everything.

Have you ever done business with someone or a company that constantly misled or mis-stated the situation? Earlier this year I decided to not deal with one person who would promise the world if it got you off the telephone. I had tried to deal directly with his boss but recently this person has been in-accessible and on occasion was no more truthful than his employee. I had been given another contact to deal with but Monday evening and Tuesday morning proved he may be the worst of the lot. Birds of a feather flock together.

I find that I am strung tighter than a ukelele. Thankfully, I continue to receive phone calls with offers of help, many of which are proven commodities. I am currently studying options. One option would eliminate two trucks (one of which left Monday and I will not allow the truck or the driver back regardless of the need or availability) which are mediocre runners at best, and replace them with one truck with a driver who can get it done. Best part of this problem is with the current options it is multiple choice.

I have determined who the problem driver is on the bale haul. One thing about it, if you put enough heat on the drivers one of them will crack and sing like a canary! This is exactly what happened yesterday and either the problem will be corrected today or the options come into play again.

Krl made the statement last night "Do you ever get tired of being mean?"

I told her I get tired of having to be hard with people. The nature of the beast is to the point where employees take kindness for weakness and often they try to exploit that possibility. Many of my current employees and contacts do not understand anything unless it is extremely blunt and to the point.

I have decided that options are better than being wound up. I could have called and dressed down the contact which dropped the ball Monday evening and Tuesday morning, but I decided that he isn't worth it! Maybe, just maybe if I hit his boss in the pocketbook his boss can get the point across.

I feel the 2006 edition of a stupid tax coming on! .......................... And the winner is ........

We are to the point that we are looking beyond March 29th. Plans are being made to send equipment to the shop between now and season's end. There are plans to retire some equipment and re-assign it to other less strenuous areas of the owner's businesses. I've been given the responsibility to look into possible equipment acquisitions over the next few days, weeks and months. With that said, you can bet that I have been spending lots of time on the telephone and computer chasing down leads. Some possibilities and one of my men on the ground are in Abilene, another possibility is in Lubbock, one long shot possibility is the acquisition of a company that is in Chapter 11 re-organization.

Be the real deal!

FATHER, reign in me. Steady me. Anchor me. I feel as though I am on the edge of a great precipice. Pull me from the edge. I pray for Krl and ask for her healing and care. I ask for safety for Adam and his men in Iraq. I pray for Memama, Pepa, Hag, Bets, Jess, Lillie, Trc, Ashlyn Kate, B., Dr. Mackie, Jeanine, K.C., Hope and for Kristy and her baby. I pray for their health. I ask comfort for those who are sad and hurting from loss. I pray for those of us who stumble trying to follow YOUR way. I pray for our spiritual family and our leaders. I pray for the efforts to expand YOUR kingdom. I pray for Richard, Anastacia, James, and Terah, that they would set their sights and their values not on this world but on what comes after. I pray for our prayer partners Jenavene and Susan, that we would not delight in evil, but rejoice in truth. Let YOUR light shine through me.

I took some time for myself this morning, recreation. Activity of the day, a farm auction. It was entertaining. I had several items on my horizon, some sold for within a few dollars of what new would sell for, other items were way way over priced! To put it in a nutshell, I kept my hands in my pockets for the most part.

I have always looked at auctions through different glasses. What are the circumstances, were they retiring? Were they forced out?

I have always had a problem buying a "bargain" at someone else's expense.

Krl tells me I could sell manure back to the cow! She often scolds me that I have never explored that possibility. I have fond memories of going to cattle auctions when I was young. I had the privilege of selling show animals in premium sales from Abilene to Houston. I have been through a truck auction. I have been through an excess farm equipment auction, and I have been sold out on the court house steps. Seems to me the only man who comes out on top is the auctioneer!

Most years I run the family reunion auction. This is a very mild version of most auctions. Very low pressure, but I will stick it to one of the aunts or uncles if I catch them napping. "What are ya gonna give????????????" "All in all said all done, sold!" Make 'em pay attention, do dollar increments until it gets moving and you see several hands go up in unison, then hit 'em at five dollars each! It's all in fun and it is to benefit the reunion fund after all. Usually there are some sore people and I have been known to go to the bookkeeper afterwards and pay for something I sold to someone else.

The cotton ginning continues to go well. We will be crowding 110,000 bales by morning. 48,000 more to go. Frank is now telling me that we are on track for March 29th! Thank YOU JESUS!
Of course everyday the odds are in favor of a major breakdown, but so far we have dodged the bullet. Frank always throws it up how little faith we have in the preparations he and his crew have done in the plant.

We are beginning to get frayed around the edges. Everyone, I mean everyone is getting stressed! We lost one member of the gin crew because he just spazzed out. He had a fit and quit, then came back wanting his job but by then he had been replaced. He had been with the gin for sixteen months and was on track to become a year round employee. Adios Gordo! It would appear all the supervisors are as fed up as I am! While we are trying to be patient, if someone needs replacing and gives us an opening, "so long".

The GM admitted himself to the hospital Sunday night. Respiratory problems. The doctor also says he has gained way to much weight in the last two months. Hopefully they will do a full battery of tests. Prognosis is a three day stay.

We received notification today that we have been approved for DSL service. In the past they had wanted a two year commitment. Now they have agreed to do a month by month which suits us much better because we are usually here five to six months of the year. Over the next few days we hope to be making the transition. Addressees in our address book will get notification when we make the swap because it will involve a new e-mail addie! Best part is we won't be sharing a line with our telephone.

I just received my new quarterly "wall of prayer" guide. This has been some "quiet time" for me. We have four teens that were assigned, we don't know them and the odds are not that we ever will. We committed to pray for them through their high school years. Neat thing is, they requested to be added to those wanting prayers. We also have prayer partners who we may or may not know. There are daily scriptures for our teens and for our partners in our guide.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. It's getting tough out here.

Be the real deal.

FATHER, we are so weak, we are so needy. Thank YOU for seeing to our needs. FATHER I pray that we might be fair and just. Patient and kind. Help us to make good decisions. I ask for safety and YOUR care for Adam and his men. Surround them with YOUR angels. I pray for Krl, that YOU would heal her and keep her well. I pray for Memama, Pepa, Hag, Bets, Jess, Trc, Lillie, Aimee, Ashlyn Kate, Dr. Mackie, Jeanine, Hope, B., and K.C.. I pray for those sad and heavy hearted with grief. I pray for those of us who struggle to follow YOU. I pray for our spiritual family and our leaders, I pray for the efforts to expand YOUR kingdom. I pray for Richard, Anastacia, James and Terah. That their values would not be of this world but of YOUR world. I pray for our prayer partners Jenavene and Susan. That we would not be self serving, or keeping score. Praise be to YOUR name.

Super Sunday. Big deal.

While my heart would love to see the Seahawks victorious, my brain says Steelers. No doubt though, the best two teams are playing.

My initial pick early in the year was Indianapolis. I would like to see Peyton, Edgerin, Dominic and company win the Super Bowl. While they have been successful to a degree they just can't get over the hump in the big ones. Now rumors abound that the nucleus of that team may be breaking up.

We will continue to do our do out here. More ginning. We are in the 105K neighborhood. One more week and all the modules will have been transported from the field to the gin yards. Surprisingly we have only lost nineteen modules so far. These had been tagged in, ten were over tags (the husband and wife both tagged them) while the remaining nine were moved to a competing plant in hopes they could be ginned more quickly.

For the first time in a couple of weeks we are back at full strength with the seed trucks. Gilbert returned with their new truck (to replace the one damaged in Adan's accident) Thursday night. We were changed to the plant two facility in Lubbock, both plants are filling up and they are doing their best to manage the way the mills fill. Many gins are beginning to get through making it possible for some realignment. While we have enjoyed in and out times at the mill that have bordered on twenty to thirty minutes at plant one, the stories I had heard about plant two were "horror stories". Up to two and a half hours inside the plant to unload! Talk about a nightmare. I am still tweaking on my trucks. I think I could send two home and replace them with one good one and things would flow. During the day I have over kill, at night we run nip and tuck as drivers hide out to sleep.

My bale trucks continue to struggle. I have one driver who has told me all year that he didn't need this job. His performance reflects his commitment. He has taken off over three weeks during the season, refuses to be a team player and thinks he is immune to instruction. The last week he was off we had a fill in driver and things ran smoother and we moved the most loads of any team on a truck so far this season. I have been working in the wings for a replacement. To be honest I probably should have already done it but due to some personal developments for this individual I have hesitated. Luckily, Friday he called and gave me his notice effective as soon as I can replace him. Hallelujah!

My other bale trucks continue to be mediocre. Hit and miss. Fair to middling. I think they are as good as they are going to be.

The floater truck which has been running one to two loads daily. This driver is through. He is reporting to "camp" early. It seems he is supposed to begin serving thirty months as a guest of the Federal corrections system later this month.

My silver lining is that my old stand by trucker is ready to return to work. He and his wife were out here to visit two weeks ago and this past week he told me he feels he is ready to "work" his way back in shape. Give me another Hallelujah!

I have fixed lunch for our people today. All-right. Let me be totally honest. I was visiting with the president of the livestock association and he was telling me about a 4-H fundraiser today. The local 4-H is going to California later this year. They have been preparing the meal all night long. Bar-b-que chickens and all the trimmings. It all comes in a large brown bag! I am supposed to pick them up shortly before noon. (O.K., I confess I got one for Krl and I too so we wouldn't have to cook on Super Sunday).

Krl and I are both struggling to maintain our mental outlook. Believe me it is getting more and more difficult. While the plant has performed very well through the season, of late it has been phenomenal. Frank, the plant Superintendent told me the other day that he now believes our days we bought on the calendar are out of the money. In fact he now believes that we have moved out of early April for completion to late March. March 30 to be exact. Six days does not seem like much but it makes a large difference to our psyche.

Talked with Pat yesterday. It had been over a month since we last visited. It is unbelievable how much catching up there is!

Be the real deal!

FATHER, I ask that YOU be with Krl and I, see us through this exercise. Help us to stay focused. I pray for Adam and his men. keep them safe. I pray for Memama, Pepa, Hag, Bets, Jess, Trc, Lillie, Aimee, Ashlyn Kate, Dr. Mackie, Jeanine, K.C., Hope, and Kristy and her baby. I ask for YOUR healing and care for them. I ask comfort for those who are sad with grief. I pray for those of us who struggle to follow YOU. I pray for our spiritual family and our leaders. I pray for the efforts being made to expand YOUR kingdom. I pray for Richard, Anastacia, James and Terah as well as for our prayer partners Jenavene and Susan. Bless-ed be YOUR name.