You can call her "Prez".

Fer sure fer sure. Thas juz junior high stuff. Like, O.K., so what?

I can imagine what the conversations are like at Trc's (Tracy's) house. Her two oldest girls are very competitive even though separated by four years. Lrn (Lauren), the oldest, is currently a junior at AHS, she formerly excelled in track before being given an ultimatum. Track or cheerleading. Make a choice. You can't do both. (A choice I thought was very unfair and one that a Coach had no business in forcing). So, Lrn is a cheerleader, recently selected again, making her a second year squad member as a senior for the coming school year. (I would love to set it up for a food establishment to offer her the senior discount! She would die off!).

Ln (Ellen) will be an eighth grader next year at Lincoln. She participates in cross country, volleyball, basketball, track as well as choir. As she matures she is refining her interests. Several ankle injuries in cross country and three concussions in basketball are enough to make a person rethink and regroup. Recently Ellen decided to add another direction.

Politics. Ln decided to run for office. Not just any office, she decided to run for Student Council President. How could she lose? This is a gorgeous girl with her Meme's grey eyes, a bubbly personality, a very good student, and her first goals for when she grows up were to be a doctor and a gospel singer! (Yeah, I know. This politics deal is the only drawback to a stellar reputation!).

With a diverse group of friends helping, Ln put together her campaign. I loved her primary slogan. Vote for excELLENce! I thought that was neat. She had a formidable foe in a young man named Pedro who also did a good job campaigning using the Napoleon Dynamite character Pedro, who was running for class president in the flick.

Friday, was the day for final speeches and the election. Friday afternoon the results were announced and Ln won! This is a girl with an agenda. A mover and a shaker. Congratulations!

I suppose Ln has thrown down the gauntlet. Lrn may be forced to make a run for homecoming queen! Now that would be a house filled with royalty and powerful chief executives!

By the way Ln, can Meme and Dandy still call you Ln?

I spent the majority of my day doing what should have been a simple task. I had two fire extinguishers that I had collected from company trucks that needed to be re-charged. In the phone book there were several business advertising fire safety and fire extinguishers. Funny thing though, no one was at any of the addresses of these businesses. So either business is so good they take Friday's off or business is so bad they all had to get day jobs! One local number connected you to a Dallas office. I sure hope we don't have an emergency.

Final task for the week saw BS 2 return to the yard. Krl went with me to pick it up late in the afternoon. I'm slowly working myself out of another job. If I could get all the parts I could probably be done next week.

About ten days ago I sent a large packet of paperwork to a gentleman in Lubbock. This man was recommended by my attorney to handle some delicate negotiations. When I first visited with this man he didn't seem to share my sense of urgency. Friday he called telling me he had finally had time to review the paperwork and after reviewing it he didn't think he had time to dedicate to dealing with it. "I'm going to refer you to a friend", he stated matter of factly. I asked where this friend was located and he told me "Levelland". I was trying to be diplomatic and courteous in declining, so I told him I preferred finding someone else who was located closer to Abilene. It seemed as I was slipping from the hook he became determined to keep me on line. "Maybe I can squeeze it in my schedule", he said. Last thing he told me was to send a retainer and we'd do a note for the balance of his fee. A little research proved that the fee he quoted was more than double what he had done the exact same thing for, for my parents one year earlier. I debated with myself most of the day and I will admit the more I thought about it the more furious I became. If I am going to pay double I certainly expect more than "being squeezed" into his schedule. Come Monday this man can expect his retainer but instead will receive a letter of inquiry of fees "for services rendered" and termination of representation.

Krl and I had talked about having two of our neighbors over for supper. I thought it was still up for discussion but it seems that today is the day. No big deal, but I could have already started getting groceries if I had known yesterday. Steve and Jeanie have lived all around the world during his military career but have ended up in Abilene. He is making a second career of food services management. Krl and I plan on doing a back yard barbecue. Steaks and sausage. Texas cuisine. I sure hope Maria is working at the butcher block, she always gets me what I need. After that stop I will have to go to United down the street to get german sausage because I prefer "Earl Campbell" sausage (I didn't realize he was german). Actually I may do a little Earl Campbell sausage and a little St. Lawrence sausage, just to accent the rib-eyes. Throw in some baked 'taters, warm up some Bush beans, a little Texas toast and chase it all down with cold brew ice tea and a freezer of homemade ice cream. Krl sees Jeanie pretty regular but it seems I only see Steve passing in the street. Its been a year since we have gotten together but with our messed up schedule that's no surprise.

Well, I've got things to do before today's storms.

Be the real deal!

FATHER, YOUR love lifts me daily.