My night has been over for a couple of hours already.

I swear, I don't know what we are going to do with our hounds. The two big houndgirls have become increasingly scared when the weather is unsettled. Fact of the matter is, we can usually tell it is going to weather long before we hear about it on television or radio. If we have a power outage, be it very brief, it is usually enough to make the cordless phone beep until it is reset. This drives the hounds up the wall.

Black Dog and Prissy are fourteen and have never spent a night outside nor have they endured a West Texas thunderstorm outside. However, this doesn't keep them from spazzing. They seek solace in different ways. Prissy always wants in one of the bathrooms and usually wraps herself around and behind the toilet (at least as well as she can). Black Dog usually hops on the bed and shakes and breathes so hard that no one can sleep.

Maple Syrple is beginning to develop this storm phobia just because she thinks she is supposed too. Thing is, she is the only one of the hounds that has ever been out on her own and suffered through things living on the street. Tonight she has gone down under. She is under the bed, snoozing with one eye and one ear to the storm. (If you are a regular reader you will remember Maple came to us from Rescue the Animals).

Phooey is young and foolish. She'll bark and growl with every rumble of thunder and crack of lightning. I have no idea why the other hounds are scared with Phooey on duty!

Even though it is a fitful night in our house, I am thankful for the rain. More and more, I am reading about water and it's pending shortage not too far down the road. Having grown up on the farm, water has always been a precious commodity. Whether it is needed for planting, or to sustain an existing crop or pasture. I know I have often watched as stock tank levels lowered before my eyes. I've hauled cow water before due to conditions and I have sold off or moved cows due to water issues.

I had opportunity to visit with the local water well man last week while I was on duty in the parts store. He was telling me about dropping water levels and how many people in an area Southwest of Roscoe are running out of water. Three sizable farming operations catch most of the blame, but many of the residents sold water rights to the City of Sweetwater who have pumped their wells extensively. I think the City Fathers may have put a band aid on when they needed to do major surgery! The three lakes that used to service the City of Sweetwater are in dire condition. Yet the city has not participated in any water projects like the Ivy reservoir.

The State Legislature is currently addressing a new water reservoir Northwest of Albany.

I have read that although it may not happen in my lifetime, during the grandbabies life times water will be in short supply even if conservation measures and new projects are put in place.

It is back to the grindstone today. I'm scheduled to work at Chris's store. I have no idea what to expect. With the rain it could be a bust or it could bustle with the weather allowing the windmill people opportunity to do maintenance. I'll tell you when it is over.

I would be remiss if I didn't make mention of the passing of one of Roscoe's icons. Allie Pearl Haney passed away Sunday at the age of eighty-four. Those of you who new Allie knew that she never met a stranger. For the last few years she had lived in the Roscoe Nursing home as she suffered with Alzheimer's. I hadn't seen her in several years but people told me she could remember thirty years ago in intricate detail but couldn't remember thirty minutes ago. Alzheimer's is a very cruel disease. During my teenage years you couldn't grow up in Roscoe without knowing Allie and indulging in a burger from the soda fountain/grill in Haney's while enjoying the jukebox. Later, Allie made her mark in the gift store and jewelry business. The store closed several years ago. I would never have guessed that Allie was eighty-four. Her husband William preceded her in death. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and a multitude of friends. My condolences to her family.

Well, we might as well get Monday over!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for YOUR precious gift of rain. I pray for healing. I pray for comfort. Oh GOD, YOU are my GOD!

My back is some better, thanks for asking!

My reporting is complete. One for another month, two until the end of the quarter. All three possibly for good.

The person who had helped out four years ago with "up front" money for the seasonal work took all the company stock in return for furnishing the funds to prevent me personally from being in default on the contract. There have been some instances where this person's values have been questionable. Prior to the 2005 season, I was contacted by the GM wanting a contract extension for an additional three years even though the contract that was running was not complete. At that time I informed the person mentioned above that I no longer was comfortable nor did I desire to continue to work with and for him after the conclusion of the 2005 season. I negotiated a sell and the prospective new owner signed the new contracts I had negotiated which began with the 2006 work. There was a significant monetary incentive for the aforementioned person to agree to the deal which he did. Basically he received compensation for an extra year with no additonal cash outlay, no risk. The prospective owner received zero, zilch, nothing! At the conclusion of the '06 season he was supposed to surrender the stock to the new owner. Five months after the conclusion of the season, this hasn't happened yet. Problem is, I cannot even get in contact with this person. The cell phone number I have goes directly to voice mail and rumors were that this man had migrated to the border or South of it. Fact is the last place I knew of him being was Eagle Pass, which was ravaged by a tornado last week. The last contact was one of his flunkies stopping by the jobsite to pick up his revenue.

So my thoughts are to cut and run. My recommendation to the new owner is to form either a new LLC or LLP or "S" corp and go forward. Best thing is that when I prepared the contract extension I made provisions for succession or survivorship and the prospective owner signed them.

I'd rather be lucky than good!

Krl went to the grocery store with me yesterday. Actually this is two Saturday's in a row. She hates grocery stores. We have taken her wheelchair and she usually rolls behind me while I push the basket. It is a lot like a convoy as we make our way through the store. It is frustrating though as I sometimes have to wait for Krl to catch up. I think if I could get her into one of those grocery baskets with the kiddie-car on the front, it would make the process simpler.

If it happens I will try to get a picture!

Krl does have a doctor appointment tomorrow. I am afraid she is setting herself up to be disappointed. She keeps vocalizing that she wants a walking ast. I don't thin it is going to happen. There will be two more weeks from tomorrow just to get to the first possible date the doctor said she might possibly have her cast removed. The last time I went with her to the doctor I understood him to say he thought we were looking at an additional month possibly more. Trc is taking her again this time because I will have already worked a half day at the parts store by her appointment!

Krl's doctor may need a doctor is he makes the wrong choice!

Speaking of pictures, "Flat" Stanley is staying with us a few days. Any former co-workers will know what I am talking about. We did it for Lrn, we did it for Ln, and now we are doing it for Kat. This is part of teaching the letter writing process that their teacher puts them through. Flat Stanley is a small cut out of a paper doll that each student colors and sends to relative or acquaintances for "Flat" to spend a week with. There is a letter asking for you to participate and what they need you to do. You document the week with pictures and a letter telling the class what "Flat" did during his visit. (They probably grade our letters!). Then we will receive another letter thanking us for participating in the exercise. Stanley has been to the farm, to the parts store, to the grocery store, to a cook out on our back porch last evening and has almost completed a roll of film.

I should have had several copies made of the pictures and letter from the first time! If any of you would like to purchase pictures of "Flat", contact me!

We had a call yesterday from Krl's oldest brother. It is very odd when we hear from him or his wife. Usually it means something is wrong. Yesterday he was just calling to say hello. We hadn't heard from him in a few months. He had knee replacement surgery and contracted an infection that ultimately necessitated the amputation of his leg just above the prosthetic knee. At the present he is still waiting for his new prosthetic leg. Krl and I both were surprised how well he is dealing with this because he has always drawn a great deal of his self worth from his athletic prowess.

I have heard numerous stories of knee replacements being miracle cures, but in this instance Krl's brother could be a poster child against them.

I had a call yesterday from K.O.. He is mesmerized by the piece of equipment we took to his house. We had kind of agreed that we both had other things to do over the weekend and that either Tuesday or Thursday we would get together and work on it. When he called yesterday he had been crawling all over it. Under, over, and all points in between. I suppose K.O. and I are a lot alike, because we like to figure out how something works. As children we both probably took lots of toys apart trying to figure out how they worked!

I'm hopeful that one more repair day will have us ready to test the piece of equipment.

Talladega is where NASCAR is today. The drivers are toying with two hundred miles an hour! The 24 is on the pole. Mikey missed the race by nine one thousandth of a second. I find myself disagreeing with NASCAR's guaranteeing the top thirty-five in points a starting position. I think it should be "run what you brung" and the fastest forty-three race. I think Mikey would have started seventeenth.

I'm ready if they ask me my opinion.

Well, I'm out of here. Have a day!

FATHER, I find myself empty inside. Fill me, with YOU!

Wow!

What a wild and woolly week. The job was very very intense for the most part. Lots and lots of research, but I think when the dust settles it will payoff and the books will show one of the best weeks in the store's history if not the absolute best! I will go out on a limb and predict this as an ongoing occurrence over the next few months and possibly years.

Chris and I stayed busy enough yesterday that we didn't get stock put up. He was working at it when I was leaving. During a brief counter lull I began separating and alphabetizing invoices and then began a bank deposit. Pat was going to Steph's for the weekend so I was trying to help out to expedite her exit. I am trying to take a little more off of her schedule. Hag had come by and wanted me to stop and visit with him before I went back to Abilene but things didn't work out. A new water pump at a place south of town was messing up and he and the water well people were down there working on it. Hag and I are going to try to do lunch one day next week.

Memama and Pepa got home yesterday afternoon. He got to stay an extra night in the hospital after his treatment. Pat and Memama both have told me the medications they give him kind of brings out the wild side. Memama had a long night Wednesday night as Pepa hardly slept. He kept telling her he was going to crawl out of that "pen" they had him in. Worst thing was when he was undergoing his last treatment, all the sudden he sat straight up, which is a no no because of the needle placements. They were very concerned he might have punctured his bladder or something worse. The doctor and nurses had serious doubts that Memama and Pat could handle him too. So, they got to stay the extra night. When I stopped by their house to check on them on my way home I told Pepa that they were disciplining him for mis-behaving.

Memama had known of Pat's plans for the weekend so late Thursday evening she insisted Pat call Hag and had him come and pick her up.

I had a very productive Thursday off work. K.O. and one of his employees offered to help me retrieve the piece of equipment I had been working on. I needed someone to help me get motivated. I had left the house about nine-thirty or ten, ran a couple of errands then headed for K.O.'s house. From there we left with his service trailer and a big truck. As a partial payment I fed our group in Sweetwater at Chicken with the Runs. We had talked about Ma Allen's but things didn't work out. It had been four years since I had eaten at CwtR (better known as Little Pablo's). It was still very good food and plenty of it!

Some of the tires and wheels had been borrowed off the equipment so we had to borrow some back. Finally about six in the afternoon we hit the road headed back to Hawley. Once we were there we discussed a plan for getting the equipment running when we discovered K.O. didn't even know where the gas tank was. I poured eleven gallons in and a half hour later we had the engine running. Not smoothly but it was running. It had been eleven years since it had been started.

At the parts store yesterday I loaded my wagon. I have fuel filters, spark plugs, spark plug wires, and I ordered a carb kit! One day this next week we will mount an offensive and try to tune up the engine. Next will be checking out air lines and electrical wiring. I was kidding Chris that he was making money by having me work at the parts store. I have an account there and pay a little on it along but don't seem to make any headway towards paying it off. It's like Lrn would be if she was working in a shoe store. I was conveying this dilemma to a friend and he was telling me when he was a newly wed, his wife took a job at the local grocery store. The employees were allowed to make tickets for items and it would be held out of their pay. After a few weeks the store owner asked my friend when he was going to pay him for his charge bill at the grocery store. My friend told him he had hoped his wife's pay would cover the charges. The store owner told him the wages would be a good start but what about the rest?

I may have to have a raise just to pay my parts bill!

The piece of equipment has a large flat surface, eight foot wide and probably eighteen feet long that rests on the ground. During the last few weeks I had noticed the signs of digging around the back portion of this area. I was wondering what kind of "guest" might be living there. I thought skunk. Pepa thought possibly a rattlesnake den. Turns out when we moved the piece of equipment we uncovered a rat's nest and a maze of tunneling. One of the inhabitants was huge. Probably four or five five inches from the ground to the top of its shoulders and it was probably two feet or slightly over from tip of nose to tip of tail! In fact it was so large that Fred's Chihuahua pups turned tail and ran! The rat was larger than them. I don't know where "Goliath" went. He disappeared in the tall grass. I am just thankful he vanished rather than attack!

I am curious how much damage the varmints did to plastic and rubber air lines and the insulation on the electrical wiring. Oh well!

One last tidbit of news. I had been asked to remain silent until after Wednesday. Rian called me to tell me that they are expecting again. He was excited. I'm not, but will be for him. I would much rather see them limit their family size and be able to afford some frills for the kids as they grow up rather than struggle to make ends meet. I've been there and it is a difficult situation. Maybe he will be a better provider. I had actually already heard that they had decided to try to have another baby a few weeks ago. Rian didn't substantiate this, but made it sound more like the immaculate conception. I did go out on a limb and told Rian they would just have another ornery bratty little boy! I can hope can't I? Late December is when their due date is.

Do you think they may be Catholic?

If they had been saving all those wet diapers they would have been dry by then!

I am undecided about my day. I have things to do, but I seem to have a crick in my back. It may be more important to rehab my back and be ready for next week.

I do have three quarterly reports to do between now and Monday. None will be be difficult, just a little time. I probably should be more worried about the end of the month at the the parts store.

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for seeing me through the week! Rest me quickly, rest me well. Bless-ed be YOUR name.

Is it Friday yet?

My week has gone nothing like it was scripted.

I have already worked my full schedule for the week at the parts store, and there are still two days in the week. I am off today (so far), but I have things to do for myself that have been sliding for a couple of weeks.

K.O. called wanting to know if I wanted him to go with me to help. I think I may take him up on that offer. I have to pickup a few items and then get myself ready to go.

I am finding I need a day off so badly that I don't want to do anything, especially if it involves a hundred mile commute. I'd like to go get a haircut, run a few other errands and just relax and not have to be anywhere for any particular reason.

This week has been really busy at the parts store. In fact we had a record day Tuesday. That was the day that Chris called telling me I could not believe the incoming inventory, and he was alone. I'm sure he felt helpless and overwhelmed. In fact even with me going in to help we didn't get all the stock put up. If we could ever have used that third person to help with the counter it would have been then. It seemed as though anytime we got busy doing something the door buzzer would go off and we would have to drop what we were doing and go wait the counter. I'm not complaining, I'm just explaining. It also seems that this week has been filled with research. Almost any moment that could be devoted to research was. Some of it was weird, a customer asking for a tractor part that the catalogue's said his tractor didn't have or need, but with my farm background, I knew it did. I finally figured that out. Yesterday's research was on jackhammers. My area of expertise seemed to be hydraulic hoses and fittings.

I'm getting to be a jack of all trades.

I'm just hoping I don't get too smart. Already I have parts numbers oozing from my head!

I just got through visiting with Memama. She said that yesterday and last night went about the same as the last time Pepa went through treatment. You can tell she is really tired. She said they gave him something to make him sleep and something for pain and it just made him bullet proof! At one point in the night he was fixing to leap over the bed rail (tall buildings were probably next). This morning she said he threw back the covers and told her he was going to wash his face and nobody, including her was going to stop him!

When we spoke he was in for radiation treatment #2 and is scheduled for #3 at two this afternoon. They should be home by the evening.

We are hopeful that the treatment will be effective and in the past at that point.

I'd better get! Have a day!

FATHER , bless this day and my efforts.

Why is it that long weeks make for short weekends?

Of course part of my weekend was spent in the attic, (I'm still hurting from the strange posture I had to use to maneuver around and work on the attic fan). Then it was probably culture shock to my body to work bent over the fender of my pickup truck replacing the blower fan motor.

Of course I have strange remedies, I got in the shower with a bottle of Gatorade and slowly decreased the temperature of the shower water. I cooled down and replenished my fluid and electrolyte levels at the same time.

I'm still mulling over the strange rules from Kathryn's softball game. Weird.

Yesterday Ollie called to talk with Krl and before it was all over Addison got on the phone and visited with Krl and I both. She sounded good. It seems that Aunt M was taking her to some sort of festival in the park. It is amazing how much difference a week makes. It was only a week ago that the hillbilly follies were raging and Ollie said she would never care for or take her hillbilly sister's child anywhere!

About one o'clock I left the house to run just a few errands. Petsmart, Wal-Mart, and finally Target. On the way there I did stop and fuel my truck for the coming week. I feel so crazy. I fueled the truck, I bought dog food, coarse ground black pepper, and antacid and only had enough left from a hundred dollar bill to buy Chris and my breakfast at the Golden Arches Dinner Club this morning!

Mid afternoon, I turned the oven on, then about four I fired the grill and seasoned some little steaks and German sausage I had purchased Saturday. Krl did the inside prep and I did the outside. It all came off together and was scrumptious. Best part is there were some left overs for lunch this week!

Seeing Michelle at Kathryn's softball game has brought our old Sunday School class back to mind. For the most part it was a small group. Lots of good memories. I can remember how empowering it was to join hands and encircle a classmate asking for our prayers. I can remember how moving it was to hear my name mentioned specifically in prayers on a regular basis. I don't know that I had ever had that occur before. Probably the biggest thing I gained from that class was the prayer process. Be specific. If I don't remember anything else, I will always remember Terry's lesson about not being able to praise GOD and curse GOD from the same mouth. One of the most enjoyable things was the class participation in the Oasis meals on Wednesday night. Who would have ever thought we had a natural salad bar manager in our midst. (If Terry is ever shown the door at ACU he has a new career path).

I will always believe that the class would have survived the turmoil which saw it disband. In fact I think it might have ended up stronger. Of course now we will never know. I suppose the best thing is that my first thoughts of the class are positive, and not negative. I still think it is ironic that the the class name was Living Jesus. Yet the class disbanded. When I reflect on WWJD, I don't think quitting was one of his options.

I missed a phone call over night from Jeanetta. She was wanting to check on Pepa's scheduled treatment this Wednesday. She has been sick herself, I think more a reaction to her medications than her physical ailment. We talked about twenty minutes or until I was losing my phone tower.

Later I called Ollie to wish her "Happy Birthday". I told her she was getting to be an old woman! She responded that if that was true I must be ancient since I'm her Dad. I told her that fact hadn't been substantiated since the DNA tests I have requested have not happened yet. I'm still thinking she may belong to the trashman or the milkman. If so, I'm gonna want a lot of child support money back!

Surprisingly, Chris and my Monday has been pretty steady. A little fabrication assembly project for a customer in the the shop, then a couple of easy sales followed by what appears to be on going research for another customer. One funny happening, Chris was trying to set me up to log in on the computer so I wouldn't log in on someone else's name and number. Somehow I have ended up showing as the sales Rep on EVERY ticket that has been generated since. I told Chris he can't stand to upset me or his star salesman will hit the door, with his customers! We have a pretty good time even though we are working. I think that goes with me anywhere I go.

I used to tell people that were leaving my employ at the trucking business that they may work in lots of other places, they may make more money, but they will NEVER work anywhere that they have more fun than we did!

I had never heard of floor mats with sideboards but we had a customer come in today requesting some. Luckily I was able to look at an old set he has and get a manufacturer and model number! So far the computer has yielded no results so we wait for a call from the chain's support.

I may go on line and find a website.

I am cautiously optimistic. I received a call Friday from my negotiator in the defunct business's tax matter and she told me she needed three things to clarify some issues with the government official in Memphis. For some odd reason the government official is saying I am shielding some farm equipment and farmland from the process. Funny thing is, there is a letter from FSA Credit to the Regional Director of the same government branch that the official in Memphis works for. It sure seems like one hand doesn't know what the other is doing. The subject matter in the letter had to do with the foreclosure and sale of the farmland and the farm equipment in 2005 and the need to vacate or circumvent a government tax lien to allow for the sale. The Regional Director approved the sale and it's criteria.

Best part is, apparently these are the only issues that need to be resolved. I am hoping that I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel and not another train coming towards me! I am hopeful that I can become a private citizen again soon!

Have a day!

FATHER, renew me daily!

What a week!

It seemed like every day I was having to make a deal with myself and trade off something I was supposed to do for something I needed to do.

The guy who works the opposite schedule of mine had some things to do and didn't come in until Thursday just before noon, so I got to put in some extra time. In fact I was looking at employee hours for the week and he had thirteen and three quarters hours for the week. Crazy thing was he wasn't the worst of the lot. There was a high school boy who worked less than two hours for the week. To be totally honest I would have to say that I doubt that the little time he did show up he did not work. This is the same person who would clock in and then go in the office to eat a snack. If you gave him a list of things to do he would pout. If he was pushing a dust mop he would be through in record time because he doesn't move anything. He told a co-worker that no-one was going to boss him. The co-worker told him either he was going to have lots of jobs or he was going to have very few. He has applied at Tractor Supply. Chris and I have visited a little about what might transpire if they call for a reference. I think we are both hopeful this doesn't happen.

Friday was a looong day. I swear it seemed as though time stood still or ran backwards. I finally left the store shortly after five. Very little traffic throughout the day. The wind generator people were very busy, farmers were in the field, and if you weren't where you were supposed to be you were probably at the regional qualifier's track meet at the school.

I got to see first hand some modern technology. Pat and Hag had a water leak under the foundation of their house. They called a company from Abilene who advertises being able to do pipe repair inside your existing pipes. Non-invasive. Trenchless. This past Monday the plumbing company began. They said it would take at least four days and the water would be cut off for the duration. It ended up taking them five days. Somehow they run a test and locate leaks (which they said Pat and Hag had more than one), then they clean and sandblast the inside of the pipes. Once it is dried they pump an epoxy looking liquid through the plumbing system. I could not believe the hoses they had strewn through the house.

Best part is, LIFE TIME warranty!

I spent Saturday doing odds and ends here at the house. I have had a new fan motor for our attic fan, but things had not worked out for me to install it and if they did, I wasn't in the mood for climbing in the attic and melting down. Yesterday I decided it had to be done. This is one of those horrible jobs where it is hot and the attic fan unit is located in an area that is too tall to stand and work on yet too low to sit and access it. You end up on your knees, stretching to reach everything. It was a welcome feeling when I adjusted the thermostat and the fan came on and began moving the hot air in the attic! As I began gathering tools and positioning them for my exit I found that my legs didn't want to cooperate. They had been bent for such an extended period that they didn't want to straighten out.

Once I got down from the attic I immediately began replacing the fan motor on my pickup. It had been an interesting week because at the very first I needed a defroster to keep the condensation off the windows and later on I needed the air conditioner.

O.K., my tasks were of necessity!

Yesterday afternoon we went to Kathryn's softball game. We hadn't been to one in several weeks. This is some sort of progressive league. In the beginning of the season a coach from the team at bat would pitch. Friday night this all began to change. The pitcher pitches and if they throw four balls, a coach from the team batting comes in to throw two pitches. Theoretically a pitcher could throw four balls and two strikes before the coach took over. The kicker is if you have four balls and no strikes you have two opportunities to hit the ball or you are out! Seems odd that you could stike out with two strikes.

It was an experience. There was a little spice too because one of the coaches from the other team and one from Kathryn's team got in to it between innings and the umpire tossed them both! Talk about a quick trigger! The expelled coaches had to leave the dug out and the stands. Their closest refuge allowed was the parking lot.

One pleasant surprise was seeing Michelle and Katherine Boyland. They came walking by during the game. Michelle and Kurt, her husband used to be in our Sunday School class. I can't believe how Katherine has grown.

Our Kathryn has been doing better and better in her softball games. Trc said she is really making good contact with the ball. It seems her biggest problem is to not sling the bat after she gets a hit. Friday night she hit one all the way to the fence, but got called out for slinging the bat!

After the ball game Krl and I went to the grocery store, then back home. Just in time for NASCAR. We opted for TV dinners. Krl and the hounds went to bed and I was watching the race and fell asleep. I woke up just in time to watch the finish. Way to go Jeff! Go 24!

I would be remiss if I didn't make note of today in history. Today the two oldest houndgirls are celebrating birthday number 14. Happy Birthday Black Dog Lady Rachel and Miss Prissy!

Tomorrow is Miss Ollie's birthday. She is older than 14. (Actually she is going to be 25.) Happy Birthday Ollie!

Have a day!

FATHER, lift me up.

For a Monday, yesterday sure was long.

I ended up doing ten hours straight at the parts store. I had actually began trying to leave about four-thirty, which would have been eight and a half, but it seemed as though we had a steady stream of customers coming in with most of them wanting some odd part. We had a late minute run on hydraulic hoses and fittings, so there was lots of looking for the correct fittings. Of course this made for a late run to what I think was a pretty good day sales wise. For the record, Chris does very well with the hydraulic hose and building replacements.

I told him Wednesday we were going to begin looking at coupler adapter kits. He told me he doesn't have a lot of call for these but I have had two customers in less than a week searching for these. When this gets difficult is when they come in wanting a fitting which may be the same size on both ends but different type threads, of course a farmer can complicate this by wanting male thread on one side and female thread on the other. Sheesh!

Yesterday Randy, the heavy equipment specialist, was in to make sales calls with Chris. I don't think they made contact with a large percentage of their targets, but by the end of the day nearly everyone in the small community knew about their attempt. They we traveling in a big one ton dually towing a large enclosed trailer. Both of these sported the popular splash paint job of yellow and purplish blue on white, and I would have to admit it is a very eye catching rig!

So far I would have to say that Randy is the brightest spot on the national company's horizon. He was mature, he was knowledgeable, and he was adept at sharing his information. This was a stark contrast to the young irresponsible reps that have been in. They don't possess the knowledge, they can't share what they don't have and all they want to do is collect their paycheck. Of course I have to be fair to them by disclosing the fact that they are really busy getting their technical school certification for parts distribution while working on their bachelor degree at University of Phoenix on-line. Duh! How the heck did they get these jobs?

I guess Chris is getting more comfortable with leaving me in the store alone. Every time he is fixing to leave I feel confident that I can handle whatever walks through the door, by the time he returns, I have been exposed and expanded to do something I hadn't done before. My first challenge was a farmer looking for a hub seal that is older than dirt. Currently hub seals are installed in the hub and a rubber or similar material provides a seal around the shaft. What this farmer had was an old seal that static mounts on the shaft and the seal material is around the perimeter of the hub. Add to this, he had no make or manufacturer, no year model and the part number was almost worn off. Try as I might, we had nothing to match and I found no documentation in the computer or any of the books. It was with a heavy (and dejected) heart that I referred him to a parts store in Sweetwater. (Later in the day this same farmer returned for other parts and I inquired about his seal search. He told me the other parts store couldn't match it either. In a small way, that was a personal victory for me.) Next oddity was a merchandise return on a charge account for credit. Sounds simple enough. It took me a couple of minutes to think it through but I did it. The next was a little more difficult. A customer wanted to pay cash for parts and on the same check pay some on his account. I began by doing a cash customer invoice for the parts the customer was buying (which was wrong), then the checkout screen wouldn't allow me to put in the extra amount above the invoice total. Chris walked in about then and took over. He went to the A/R screen and credited the entire amount to the customer's account, then he returned to the previous screen and voided the invoice I had built. This began a discussion because in my mind, the merchandise was never charged out. We should have put a sign on the door proclaiming "Pay on your account and receive free merchandise!" Finally Chris agreed, and we invoiced the parts again, but this time on the customer's charge account.

That ruined Chris's mood for about an hour.

Chris made the comment that DJ and I get "bent" about the smallest things and he doesn't understand why it is so important to go through the extra steps. I told him we don't enjoy correcting him, we do it because we are looking out for his best interest. Hey, you can't just give parts away.

Kyle Patrick made my hair gray. I wonder if working with Chris will make it turn black again. Naaaah. It will probably fall out.

The Virginia Tech massacre is tragic. The death toll this morning is 33. I don't understand what makes someone do something like that. It would be almost understandable if the anger and action was directed at one or two individuals responsible for the anger. But to open up and shoot at random targets just doesn't make sense.

I guess JFK's assassination was one of the first things I remember that just didn't make sense. I remember thinking "Why would any one do such a bad thing?" A few years later I can remember Charles Whitman in the University of Texas Tower and asking the same thing. Later we had more school shooting sprees, several by students much younger.

No doubt the majority of these were mentally ill. Some see it as a means to an end, they just don't want to go alone or are too chicken to pull the trigger themselves so they incite someone else to do it for them. Others, I think, are mean and vicious. Some think they will live in infamy.

Recently I overheard a conversation between sackers at the local grocery store. One sacker was talking about "poppin' a cap" was so cool in a video or movie. "Man, he just pulled out that gun and pointed and pulled, it was so cool! Popped a cap in that dude's head!"

I think kids now days don't have any idea. They don't associate the shooting with death or injury. They didn't grow up with westerns and war movies where people died. They didn't grow up playing cowboys and Indians. They've grown up with laser swords, stun guns, paint ball guns and such. No permanent damage from their games!

Hey. This is real.

My today is up in the air. I am waiting to see what the weather might do. I had planned on going back to the farm to work on the equipment project, but the forecast calls for showers and this job is in the outdoors. I have several to do-s here at the house but I had hoped to leave them to Thursday.

Pepa had a doctor's appointment yesterday in Lubbock. They did blood work prior to his second and final bead radiation treatment next week. The doctor told him he could opt out and do a series of the traditional radiation treatments but Pepa declined. I know this procedure wasn't very pleasant and all of us had whispered about whether or not he would return for the final treatment. I think it was to everyones relief that he told the doctor he would be back next week.

I have found the parts store is a place where if you keep your head down and just give an occasional grunt in agreement (or amazement) it will access an endless amount of conversation and information. These conversations are sometimes comical. In rare instances I may hold more information than them, but it is like the childhood party where you tell the person next to you something and they pass it on around the circle and everyone compares what the statement started out "as" and what it ended up "as". One of the traits that makes you a good listener is that even if you know more than them, you don't interject or correct their version. You just let them spin their tale and after they leave you just smile and shake your head.

I have been told that a parts store is the male equivalent to a beauty shop (for women) when it comes to gossip. I would believe it.

Ollie had called me and told me she was going to e-mail me some ad info for a potential customer. She wanted my ad copy today. I never received the info. Guess what. She has no ad copy. Go figure.

Well, I'd best get my day untracked.

Have a good one!

FATHER, don't give up on me yet!

Ollie came to visit yesterday afternoon. I feel really out of place. I am the only one in the house without a purple cast on my left foot.

Actually when Ollie called she said it was just for the day. She and Kali are on the outs. Kali and Scott have gotten a house and they were moving out of their apartment. Ollie was going to move in and complete their lease. As it turns out when Scott and Kali were moving out, Ollie was sitting there waiting to move in. Even though Ollie denies it, I can see it. If Kali moved a couch out, Ollie would move a couch in. Multiple sources have said Scott was drinking and became confrontational. It sounds as though it grew into quite the altercation. When they finally went their separate ways for Friday evening, the apartment manager changed the locks. In fact not only did they change the locks they banned Ollie and Scott from even coming on premises. Further information revealed that Ollie had paid Kali and Scott a check for the pro-rated rent for April. As it turns out, Kali and Scott had not forwarded it to the apartment manager and they had not paid their portion either. Now the manager refuses to let Ollie finish out the lease and will only let Kali and her Mother in to get Ollie's belongings as well as what is left of Kali's. So, now Kali and Scott get to pay an early termination fee as well as the next two months rent ($1200 in all). In simplest terms, Kali and Scott, as well as Ollie all got evicted.

Hillbillies!

When I talked with their Mother on the phone I renewed my demand for DNA testing. These are not my kids.

I did my usual Saturday yesterday with just a few added tasks. I went and purchased a money order to send with our 2006 tax return. It just always seems like no matter how few dependents we claim, there is always a balance to be paid. Tom, our accountant had everything ready, Krl and I just signed it, inserted the money order and mailed it in the addressed envelope he had given us. Of course I went off from the house and forgot stamps, so I chased some down and took it to the post office instead of dropping it in one of the local drop boxes. K. O. had told me they were having a safety meeting and he wanted me to remain on their active list, so I needed to attend. I went by where they had the last one I had attended and didn't locate them there, then went by where I thought he had mentioned as a possibility. For some reason when I would dial his cell phone it gave me a sound like busy circuits. Anyhow, it was good to get out and not have any where in particular to be. A little personal time!

When I did finish my errands I came home and cooked supper on the grill. Ollie ended up spending the night.

I am going to have to go back to work tomorrow because between groceries, filling my truck with gas, and sending Uncle Sam his take, I'm almost broke.

I have enjoyed Deal or No Deal since it came on air last year. I find my opinion changing about how I would play the game. I've always said I would rattle off six numbers all together and have them open the cases all at once. Then if I rejected the banker's offer I would rattle off five numbers all at together and have them open the cases all at once and so on and so forth. I would seriously have to consider the bankers offers. I have seen too many people who could have changed their lives with a substantial injection of cash become greedy and leave with almost nothing.

Last week I watched the new show that follows D or N D immediately on our NBC affiliate. "Thank God you're here", is the name of it. It is a competition between actors and actresses. They have been dressed by wardrobe and the only thing they know is they will walk through a door into a scene and the first words they hear will be "Thank God you're here". From there they have to play off the other characters in the scenes and their lines. I laughed and laughed. It is amazing how quick some of these people react. I think this week they have Jason Alexander (of Seinfeld fame) as one of their contestants.

It still remains, the one person I would love to see on there would be Robin Williams.

At work tomorrow we are supposed to have some company support specialists in to make sales calls. One is supposed to be a filter specialist and be setting up some of these new customers as fleets (making them eligible for special pricing and rebates), and another specialist is supposed to be a heavy duty application man. I am hopeful that Pat will bring in DJ as an extra so Chris and him can go make sales calls with these specialists.

The Samsung 500 is being run today in Fort Worth at the Texas Motor Speedway. I'll bet the NASCAR gang will be glad to get out of Texas. Lots of weather down there Friday and Friday night led to them cancelling qualifying and setting the field by owner points. (Sad thing is, this meant Mikey didn't even have opportunity to make the race). The wide variation in temperatures should be a major headache for crew chiefs and car setups.

I plan on firing up the grill again today. I couldn't resist some dollar ninety-nine a pound spare ribs. I do love barbecued ribs. Give me some ribs, a slice of bread and a dill pickle and I would be in hog heaven! I am trying a new sauce today.

If you come into a parts store and the counterman waiting on you has barbecue sauce on his face and hands, THAT's ME! I must've brought leftovers for lunch!

Have a day!

LORD lift me up!

I guess we have gotten our feet on the ground at Chris's store and started to take some action. Last week we ordered some specialty inventory but this week seemed like more things started being addressed.

We have been looking at different vendors for the possibility of adding or replacing some product lines. Chris has seems to have a short string with most of the chain's representatives. In the beginning I thought it might be due to immaturity on his part, but three weeks into this exercise I would have to testify that his frustrations are very real and very well founded. It seems as though there is a vicious circle that they put you into when you call with a question or a problem. The TSM is supposed to be the first link in the support chain. Chris's TSM is only two or three years older than him and is usually very quick to defer to another authority. My brief experience is that you are going to be back to him shortly. I made the statement yesterday to Chris that next time the TSM tells him to call "jobber services" he needs to tell the TSM when he receives his next pay check send half to "jobber services" and the other half to Chris!

I am preaching the merits of documenting all these occasions that "support" refuses to help and I have told Chris when we are forced to, we will go over the head of the first lines of support and get to the meat of the batting order. Fortunately, Chris has met many of these people while he was in Atlanta getting his certification.

On Thursday Chris had talked with his TSM about his battery inventory. Some of the batteries have been there since August of 2005 and do not test any good. He was asking the TSM about rotating the inventory and who's responsibility it is. Of course the TSM said, "yours". Friday morning I began crawling around the battery display, pointing out to Chris what batteries to pull from inventory. Many of these were "suggested inventory" by the previous TSM, but when their cost is "double" of others on the rack you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what will sell. The final few battery units we pulled were mis-shipments. Chris had been ordering 7212's and they kept sending 7210's. In the end we had a cart full and a dolly full of batteries that we moved to the shop and loaded on a shipping skid. We wrapped them and Chris called for a return authorization from the DC and the girl told him "We don't take batteries back!" Three more phone calls and a return call from the battery specialist didn't clarify the situation any and the big boss won't be back until Monday.

I dislike games of wit. But I can play them. I took a call from a girl at the DC telling me that we are scheduled for "Black and Red NAPA defects return on Tuesday". There's more than one way to skin a cat. I think a run down battery would qualify as a red NAPA defect.

What these jerks don't know is I have learned how to be Chicken S. from the very best, and I don't mean Chicken Salad. (This is probably the upside to having dealt with asshole bankers and unethical international business people). I've learned a trade!

I am sure that Pat gets tired of me bouncing ideas off her. It seems that every time we have opportunity it is like a brainstorming session. Two days this past week she has picked me up to make a circle and check on things. The entire time we are driving is packed with lots of ideas. I figure if one percent of them are good, we are generating such a high volume of ideas, we could become a successful think tank!

Yesterday, just about the time I was gathering my things to head home, Pat called wanting me to take a ride up to where all the happenings are going on with the wind generator farm. It is almost unbelievable. It looks like a giant prairie dog farm. You see multiple mounds of dirt, each signifying a foundation location for one generator. There is so much going on. Roads being staked out, road material being hauled in. Excavators digging the large holes, cement crews setting forms, installing rebar and specialty anchors, and cement trucks delivering and pouring cement.

I am amazed how much is being done with so few people. Come May 1 they are bringing in five hundred additional laborers. Wow!

Long story short, Pat and I took an hour and a half sight-seeing tour but we covered a lot of territory concerning the parts store.

I didn't get home last evening until about seven-thirty. I had decided I would wimp out and call for pizza delivery. When I arrived home I found Krl had made spaghetti. It took a little adjustment to my taste buds, but it was O.K..

Krl told me that before I got home the man who had tended our yard in our absence, had been by. I had already done our yard three times, I had given it some spring weed and feed and even the insecticide treatment. I am not sure exactly what my summer holds, as far as being able to set and maintain a regular schedule for doing the yard, week in and week out. On top of that, we are going to need someone to do the yard when we leave to fulfill our contractual obligations again this Fall, provided I even care.

I've been approached by two people about the possibility of full time employment, with benefits. I am trying to take all of this in. It is very delicate, very tempting, and very "worth" weighing the possibilities. One obstacle is that I do have two years left on my personal employment contract for the seasonal work in the Fall.

On the home front things remain unsettled. I don't know they will ever improve. I don't know that I care. Krl doesn't like me, I don't like her. For me it is simply a mailing address and hound care. To be honest it isn't home and hasn't been for several years. I run a delivery service and bring home a little money. For the most part she runs a laundry service/hound care and brings home more money. For the most part the cooking is split down the middle. I think for both of us it is just a convenience. She is physically crippled. I am mentally cripple.

It seems I've got lots to think about and lots of decisions to make.

One thing about it. I had never thought I would have to start over again, but over the last few years I seem to have started over so many times, in so many ways, and on so many fronts, that it doesn't even phase me anymore.

Have a day!

FATHER, throw me the life saving buoy.

Wednesday was a really good day. At Chris's store and for the store. Business is really beginning to build. It seemed like there was a steady stream of people coming in all day. I am finding that I need to do a mental adjustment before I get on the computer every day. It seems the software programmers don't necessarily call things what most people call them. Sometimes that can be really frustrating. It doesn't work when I type in a search that says, "I call it this but I don't know what you would call it!"

I am getting comfortable enough with the system and store that Chris has left me alone with it for a brief while Monday and again yesterday, although Pat was in and out. In fact, Chris was there on a limited basis yesterday afternoon. Kyle drove him to Sweetwater to check on some things and then by the eye doctor to have his glasses adjusted. Add to this a quick trip to get a signature on an invoice by the general contractor and he didn't spend a whole lot of time in the store between lunch and four thirty. It seems that the general contractor has moved their office from downtown to their lay down yard four miles from town. It looks like a small community out there. Probably four or five double wide offices and a multitude of porta-potties!

I was kidding Kyle when he and Chris were leaving to go to the general contractors. I told Kyle to tell them that he didn't have to have a "new" company pickup when they hire him. I went on to tell him to be sure they hadn't lost his application and to tell them he wants to be a supervisor! He argued with me that on his application he wrote down "labor" as the position applied for.

Working in the store I am seeing lots of people I haven't seen in years. For the most part they are very cordial and patient as I try to fill their requests. I am finding that working there is a link to the pulse of the community. If you keep quiet and listen you can learn a lot about what is happening and who is doing what. Sometimes the funniest scenario is when one of the contractors are in at the same time locals are in and neither realizes who the other is. Sometimes that is extremely funny.

For quite some time a saga has been going on concerning a gentleman a few years my junior who I grew up going to church with. This man has run cattle and farmed in the area and a few years ago ran for and was elected to public office as the precinct's county commissioner. The last year or so he has developed and mined a pit for road material which he has been marketing to the different entities in the area who are developing the wind generator farms. In fact I have been told that the new business is developing so rapidly he is not going to run for office again. I think that might be a pretty good idea because the possibility of impropriety involving conflict of interest could hinge on a very thin line. As a commissioner he hails that everything he does is with the county's and it's residents best interest at heart. One of the most important influences in a company's decision to develop a certain area is tax abatement. One of the recent developments saw the general contractor award the materials contract to someone other than the commissioner, and it now seems that said commissioner is becoming a thorn in the developer's side. Divisive boundaries between private business and public business may be beginning to blur.

Initially, talk was that the development of this latest wind farm would take three and a half years to complete, being staged in five or six stages. Store traffic tells me that the only two stages the developer has committed to so far are stages one and two. So far nothing beyond that. My biggest fear for the residents and land owners in the path of this fortunate development is that the developer will become so disenchanted with the commissioners court that they will pull out and go to other areas where they have potential developments scheduled. This would leave many who saw a silver lining holding broken dreams.

I for one will hope that the commissioner mentioned above will gain his senses and act in the best interest of his constituents or if not, that residents of his precinct will insist he do so and take whatever steps are necessary to correct the problem.

My today is filled with gathering of items I need to put the equipment together that I worked on last day off. I may have been granted a brief reprieve because the friend picking up the equipment can't come Saturday because of safety meeting.

I've seen Hag in the store both Monday and Wednesday and both times he has told me he wished I would consider helping out there permanently. I'm not sure if he means this or if he knows that it isn't do-able full time until 2009. I can see some benefit to the store having me there short term, but when prior obligations require me to leave for three or four months, would it leave the store in a lurch? I'm going to have to cipher on this.

I watched a segment with Harry Smith concerning the Don Imus situation. I think it goes without saying that it was stupid and heartless on Imus's part. It seems that it continues to snowball. Harry was interviewing an African American female about Imus's on air statement. This woman said remarks were offensive because they came from a white male, to which Harry asked if the remarks would be any less offensive coming from a black male. That wasn't a question the woman was receptive of, but she admitted it wouldn't have been as big a deal. I think regardless of who or what nationality the remarks came from, that they are offensive particularly to females first and African Americans as well.

It is a shame that when you reach the pinnacle and become front and center to the American Public you become a readily accessible target for talk show hosts or hostesses.

Well, I had better get my day going!

Hope yours is a good one!

FATHER, I pray for inner peace. I ask that YOU would make me all I should be. For YOUR love, I am thankful.

Bittersweet.

That is how I would describe my Tuesday.

I was in no major hurry to make the drive West to my Dad's farm. Actually it was my scheduled day off from helping Chris at his store, but I was needing to do some personal recognaisance on the equipment a friend is coming to pickup so I made the hour drive anyway.

Several years ago I had parked this equipment. Locked all the tool boxes save one, hid the keys and left, confident that it would be O.K.. After all it was parked at my Dad's barn with numerous tractors and other farm equipment scattered around. Add to this, that just a couple of hundred yards away is Fred's house.

Needless to say I was extremely disappointed in what I found. Someone wanted in badly enough to search for the keys and now every tool box had been opened. In fact, two tool box doors were open when I arrived. All the tires and wheels have been removed and six of them replaced (although two are extremely slick and flat). I had been asked if the tires and wheels could be borrowed from it, but I had stipulated that it needed to be put back together where it was movable. This was when things were getting extremely tight and the family business was waiting to go to trial against the lying, thieving bustards from North of the border with main offices across the big pond in Germany. (If you are driving a Mercedes, Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Freightliner, Sterling or Western Star, you are a co-conspirator with some of the most despicable excuses for human beings on the planet.) Back to the equipment. I had not left a great number of tools in this piece of equipment, however two tools had come with it and they would cost between two and three hundred dollars. Both were gone, in addition to assorted smaller hand tools, grease gun, and assorted lubricants. When I continued my assessment, I found the battery "gone". Probably the most frustrating thing I found was that someone had robbed a simple two dollar switch, but they couldn't take the minute it would require to undo two screws to unhook the wires so they cut them.

Sorry bustards.

On the other side of things I walked around the old farm. This is the old home place of my grand parents. This is where I developed my love of the land. This is a place, rich with memories.

I did a lot of reminiscing.

Several years ago the old home place was split up. Fred's house, the interior shell of which was the old farm house, sits on one part of it. Of course Fred is going down the same road that I traveled a couple of years ago and barring a miracle, I suspect that his land will be sold on the courthouse steps too. The big difference is that his home is located on his land. I know this process is not pleasant. I know the sense of helplessness. I have wondered what words of encouragement I might possibly offer, but from personal experience I realize how delicate the situation is. I would hope that if he wanted to talk he would know I am available.

It was interesting during my walk around the farm as I had flashbacks to times with my granddad. Buildings are gone, fences removed, but every where I look I can see him. I can see the farm as it was, and as it is. I remembered Hambones, the dog. Lady the horse. "Twenty-five dollars" the cat. Farm hands Pete and wife Ruth, Hill and Mineola (who raised twelve kids just down the road (that house is now gone too), Fred "T" (and Florence), Valentine and his brother Richard. I reminisced about the fort, the guest house, and of course the tree house.

I could not help but laugh to myself about Valentine. He was a small, lifelong bachelor, Hispanic lineage, who spoke in broken English and battled daily with alcohol. This incident I was reminiscing about took place a few years after my grandfather died and my Dad had taken over the farm. One particular day my Dad smelled beer on Valentine. We were setting plows on the cement slab under the canopy of six huge trees located in front of the old farm house. Valentine kept disappearing, going to the small travel trailer he lived in on the farm. This was a sure tell tale sign he was imbibing. The only thing that kept Valentine off the bottle was when he was "broke". When my Dad thought he smelled beer, he asked Valentine and Valentine had had just enough to drink that he wasn't thinking before he talked, it just kind of flowed. To say the least, his answer wasn't what my Dad deemed to be appropriate and he commenced to chew Valentine out and sent him to his trailer for the balance of the day. A little later my Dad had taken one of the plows to try it in the field, and the next plow had been placed on the slab when Valentine appeared once again. I guess Valentine didn't think us boys knew what was going on because he wanted to tell us. He began, "Your Daddy. He eat outta my ass!"

But we all knew what he meant to say.

I think that was Valentine's last day on the farm. I can remember when his relatives came with a wrecker to get his little travel trailer with a wrecker. They didn't even hook the trailer to the truck, they just hooked the cable from the wrecker around the tongue of the trailer and off they went, snaking down the road. Fred Sanford would have been proud of their resourcefulness.

Well, I'm back to the parts store today. I know some of the specialty inventory I ordered came in yesterday. I did stop by briefly on my way through town yesterday!

Have a day!

FATHER, I am thankful for memories permanently inscribed in my mind, where nothing is changed. I am thankful for YOUR faithfulness to my needs, and for YOU being the same today, tomorrow and forever.

I went to Chris's store yesterday to work. I had been putting together a new line of added inventory and it should have arrived yesterday. WRONG! Only about half of it showed up. Other parts of it should be in today but I'm not going in until tomorrow. In fact, my schedule this week is MWF. There is another guy who works TTh as he has inventory arriving on Tuesday and must put together the weekly order on Thursday. In order to avoid "over kill" I decided to try to schedule opposite his schedule.

Yesterday was the first day I felt "comfortable" working in the store. Albeit cautiously comfortable. My biggest problem still is locating inventory "in" stock and on the shelves. Usually I begin down the center aisle surveying both sides as I move slowly through. Certain sections are marked. I am pretty pleased with my grasp on the store computer. I still have brain fade on occasion and have to think my way out of a screen or series of screens. I have joked with Pat and Chris that if Norvell (the former owner of the parts store) were still alive I would feel compelled to look him up and apologize for being a difficult customer. Now that I have experienced the other side of the counter certain things are becoming evident. The first of which is that the counter person isn't asking those dumb questions, the computer requires that dumb information! The software asks certain basic questions in a very distinct deliberate order, much of which seems irrelevant to any on with a mechanical background. Pat and I were discussing this and she told me when a regular customer comes in and begins the routine, year, make, model, and then options. She tells them to hang on until she asks for each specific. For every bit of information, a particular niche wherein to enter it.

I told Pat that Chris is developing parts salesman characteristics. If he looks up a number, it is locked in his mind. I may have to walk back to the computer during a parts search just to be sure I am still looking for the right part number.

I am also realizing that in certain regards Chris is a procrastinator. Especially if it involves $$$$. He has become very disgusted with the National chain his store is a member of. In the past when he had his min/max activated for certain in store departments, when the computer would record a sale, it would adjust inventory and if an item level triggers the minimum, it would place an order for that item. Thing was, the store wouldn't receive one item into inventory for one item sold, they would receive several. In his frustration with this Chris removed the min/max on certain items, which means if he sells one of these and wants to replace it, he must manually order it in.

With all the contractors arriving and beginning to get busy in the area, it often looks like kids in a candy store. Yesterday we had four different pickups from the same contractor come into the store in rapid succession, and these people have no problem walking through the store and picking out and piling their selections on the counter. My fear is that when things begin moving quickly, it may not allow time for Chris the time to replenish his inventory for tomorrow!

If you don't have it, you can't sell it!

In fairness to Chris, I have to admit that I have seen the flaws of the computer generated ordering system. One particular item I had ordered four of, escalated to ten by the time it had arrived. I am trying to determine if this is the fault of the computer or the fault of the people pulling and shipping the order. I know I had ordered some parts for personal use last week and they have never arrived. No notice of back order, no shortage notice on inventory shipments. Yesterday during a brief lull, Chris and I placed my order again. A couple of hours later, we received a notice that read, "We regret to inform you". I went back into the computer system and looked and the part was still available from the DC (distribution center). Chris got on the phone and called them and was told every item on the above mentioned notice was in stock and available. Duh!

I had begun to put together a list of things I needed to get done, just in case something comes of the job I had applied for. While I'm not scheduled to go into the parts store today, I may go over there to do some odds and ends out at Dad's farm. I had loaned a piece of equipment to a friend and now I need to be sure it is ready to go. Problem is, several tires and wheels had been borrowed off of it and a couple never returned. The next problem is whether or not the tires and wheels that were installed in place of the ones that were borrowed are good enough to do the job.

Around the house, I had hoped to do the yard. With the weather like it is, (Thank GOD for the rain) I try to do the yard anytime I can. Today marks eight days since it was last mowed. It doesn't look bad yet, but if the weather is bad when the next opportunity presents itself it could become a jungle! The problem is that we had rain showers during the night. I think it will be late in the day, if at all, when the yard dries enough to mow.

Krl went back to the doctor yesterday. She is now sporting a new cast! Royal purple! I had to tease her about why not black or brown? They would go with more things! She doesn't have to return for three weeks and the doctor is telling her four to eight weeks more in the cast.

Normally I don't dream during my brief periods of sleep. The last couple of nights I have dreamed vivid, distinct dreams! For the time being, I am enjoying it!

Well, I had better get my day going!

Hope yours is a good one!

FATHER, please bless this day.

Brrrrrrrr.

Old man winter has a sense of humor. But I don't think it is funny!

Rain, snow, sleet, we've had it all! It is hard to believe they are predicting a low in the forties tonight and a high in the seventies tomorrow! Hey, but this is Texas!

Yesterday I was out running errands and I took a call from Rian. He was taking the boys sledding. When Rian was small we had a water sled/ski type device that we would use for sledding when it would snow and he and his sisters would ride on it for miles and miles around the backroads of the farms. In fact they would ride until their hands ached from the cold. They would be crying when they would seek refuge from the freezing temperatures inside the pickup truck.

I had told Rian about going sledding with George and the Boys Club on an old pickup hood! Rian had secured a hood yesterday to pull behind his truck. He had made a call and had his brother-in-law coming to meet them with his kiddos to participate in the festivities! When Rian called me it was snowing sideways in Abilene! Of course he isn't responsible enough to handle an event like this so I had to warn him to be careful. "I don't want any calls from the emergency room", I told him!

It was with a great deal of apprehension I answered his next call, but it was much to my relief when he told me the exercise was over with no injuries and no fatalities!

Whew!

Our washing machine has been on the blink since Friday. I had decided to take a look, just to be sure it wasn't something trivial! I had worked on it for about an hour today when I decided it needed someone with more expertise than I. I swept out from underneath where it resides (I don't know why this is so important to females but it is and Krl wanted it swept). I replaced all the screws, latches and trim and I told Krl to call a repairman. As I walked by with my hands full of tools and such, I snagged the lid and gave it a tug to close it. It slammed, and the washer began running without fail!

I'd rather be lucky than good!

I wonder if she will pay me the repair call minimum!

Hope your Easter was a good one!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for YOUR promises.

I did three days at the NAPA store. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I have still to be there to spend any substantial time with Pat. It's not like there is a lot to discuss. Mainly I have been trying to play center fielder. I range far and wide! My project the last two days was putting together some specialty inventory orders. Pat and I had discussed it in broad terms and then I went to work. Anytime your are working with brass fittings, you can tie up a butt load of money quickly. I suppose one of my biggest detriments is I spend money as if I were footing the bill. When I was totally through I had trimmed my budget to about half of what I had been given to work with and yet I had been able to expand my list of products.

For the first time I found a problem with an inventory delivery invoice. I don't know how, when, or why, but one item was left off. I find it hard to miss something as large as a battery! I know last week there was a package for a store in Floydada that had been inadvertently left at Chris's store and yet the truck driver would not pick it up and take it to the correct destination. It sat there for over a week!

It has been an interesting project, working with Chris at his store. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. Every night, Monday through Friday, a truck runs a route and drops off the store orders from the previous day. It is carefully choreographed, much like the post office only the packages are much bigger and weightier! It seems Wednesday night the man making the delivery had a 55 gallon drum to leave. He usually doesn't open the huge overhead doors, but since he had this over size item he elected to. Before it was all said and done he had a problem with the door and had to call Pat and Hag our about three in the morning. Now the door is disabled and Chris is waiting on an overhead door repairman.

We had a couple of territory representatives in the store the past week. It was interesting visiting with them. The territory sales manager looks like he is about sixteen, walked in wearing jeans and tennis shoes, shirt tail out. Not anything like what I would expect. I have no problem with the jeans or tennis shoes, but I expected a sharp simple NAPA shirt and someone a little older. It turns out he grew up in NAPA stores. His Dad owns several in the Chicago area. The surprising thing was his education. I figured he would have a degree in marketing or business but it turns out he has about the equivalent of an associate degree from a trade school. He told me he is working towards his bachelors degree at the University of Phoenix. I think he was surprised when I commented "The world largest University! University of Phoenix online!" I didn't say this snidely, I just made the comment to let him know I was aware of the university! I suppose that the biggest surprise for me was all the talk when I was going to high school about the "need" or "requirement" more and more employers had for high school diplomas! Later on this changed to College degrees. Now it would appear some companies are bucking the trend for some reasons. Could it be salary? Benefits? I don't know.

Pat and I were talking yesterday, she had come by the store briefly and I shared my lunch with her. She showed me a website that she thinks every high school student needs to visit. It lists all the jobs you could imagine and has a brief description of requirements, salary, benefits and other vital information. I shared with her a web site that lets you go in and compare your salary with others in your area to see if you are making what you should!

Man, the internet sure has made the world small.

I don't know that I am ready for this late season burst of winter! In fact, YUK! I am ready for shorts and T-shirts, sandals and flip flops. I spent about half an hour yesterday bringing plants back inside the house. Then I started meat browning for chili! If there is any good thing about the cold weather it is that I love the foods that go with it! I love chili's, stews, soups and cornbreads! Last nights effort was a quickie. I used canned pinto beans with jalapenos, rotelle, diced green chili's, picante and a multitude of accent seasoning. I got it all in the pot and cooking while Krl fixed Texas honey sweet cornbread, and then I let her season the chili. It definitely had "bite" but it was good!

I sat stew meat out to thaw last night, so at some point I'll get it on. If this cold spell continues I might even make taco soup! I've got to make a note to take inventory of cornbread mixes.

Well, keep warm. Have a good weekend! Happy Easter!

FATHER, thank YOU for a good week. Thank YOU for JESUS!

Last nights NCAA Championship game was a lot better than the score would indicate. Every time the Gators stretched their lead, the Buckeyes would make a run. As a true sign of a champion, the Gators responded each time!

If the winner were determined by sweat production, the Buckeyes would be champions. Their coach, Thad Matta, might as well jump in a pool before the game begins. I don't think I have ever seen a coach sweat more profusely. I really like this man though.

There is some speculation that his counter part might be headed to Kentucky as Tubby's replacement. Florida Coach Billy Donovan has done an outstanding job molding a "team" instead of a super star and a supporting cast. I think the starting five all averaged double figures within three points of one another.

Recently I have enjoyed watching a number of re-runs. I have enjoyed "I Love Lucy", "Mayberry", "Bonanza", "Gunsmoke", and "Green Acres" to name a few of the older ones. But on another channel I have enjoyed "Greg and Dharma", "Spin City", and others like "Tool Time".

I particularly got a kick out of the Greg and Dharma episode where they were going to have a second wedding ceremony (to satisfy Greg's Mom). Dharma was in her dress and having a totally blond moment in their apartment playing "Super Bride" when Greg walked in. Greg told her how beautiful she looked. She responded by saying, "You can see me? I thought the Groom couldn't see the Bride in her dress until the ceremony!" Later in the scene, Greg's Mother entered the room and chided Greg, "The Groom can't see the Bride in her dress!" To which Dharma told her, "That invisible Bride stuff wasn't true!"

I'm sorry, I enjoyed that though.

I had thought I might work today. Actually that was the plan until Saturday. Last time I talked with Pat she was taking Memama and Chris to the eye Doctor in Dallas. (Both Memama and Chris have had cornea transplants and this is just a regular appointment). I had asked Pat if I needed to change my schedule to go into Chris' store on Monday in his absence. She told me they would discuss what my schedule needed to be but I never heard from her again. I know she is busy and beginning last week with Pepa's procedure and going then going to Dallas, she has to have a backlog of "to do's". On top of that she is supposed to begin back at school today. (She had taken a month off to deal with a number of issues).

It's not like I can't find something to do around here. There is always a new project. Yesterday I discovered that Krl's vehicle's battery had gone dead while parked in the garage. I think the last time it was driven was Christmas Day. I was afraid the company truck (parked behind it) might be dead as well. The company truck has not been driven since the end of January. Thankfully, the company truck started and I was able to pull up until the bumpers were together and my cables just reached!

Now if I could just get the battery to hold a charge on the lawn mower. I used the backup rope pull to start it all day yesterday. I actually think the battery is going to have to be replaced, but I'm not complaining. The mower is six years old!

Ollie called me yesterday to tell me I got an "A" on my ad copy! I think they are going to throw her to the wolves. She spent time with the GM and the program director and they were sending her to get her pre-employement drug screen while they prepared her contract. Funny thing is Ollie thought she just had to sell the ads and the production crew would write them. WRONG! She is supposed to sell and write the ads! I told her the one I did was the only freebie! After that it is show me the $$$$$$$. Turns out her contract is a one-year with a non-compete clause. There are five stations that share common ownership. She seems to really be excited. When she first began school at Leveland she wanted to go into broadcast journalism. Maybe she has gone full circle! The trick is going to be to stop her on the top side of that circle, cause the bottom half is ugly!

No phone call yesterday pertaining to my job application. I know, it hasn't been that long, (2 work days). I think I am chasing that carrot! I find lots of time I have to chase a carrot to maintain my sanity! (Otherwise my direction is too broad!).

I have three monthly (or quarterly) reports to do. That should take all of an hour! Of course I never have completed the stereo in Blacksheep. But at present there are no plans for Blacksheep to go to work. It seems that the company I have worked for is at a crossroads regarding "past" ownership and "future" ownership. I had brokered a deal between the parties but 'past" hasn't done what they agreed to do! I may recommend that "future" turn around and walk away.

Well, I'm out of here!

Have a day!

I've got a pretty full day. First and foremost on the schedule is yard! Then there are a couple of more house projects. I am hoping for five hours on these. Then bring on the menial tasks!

I am hoping for a phone call this week. I applied for a job last week and rumor has it the business hiring is begging for workers. I left the position applied for as "any". It doesn't cost anything to see what is available. Scuttlebutt has it their lowest paying job pays $15 an hour! Lots of overtime is probable, workers are guaranteed fifty-four hours a week! I'm willing to bet when they get going there will be weeks that workers might have a hundred hours a week, especially when they are trying to make up for weather related delays. Shoot, I'll do anything. From forklift to truck to babysitting to dispatch, safety, compliance, payroll or tax reporting.

I think I need something different for a while!

Trc brought Krl home yesterday. A phone call would have been nice! Her return I'm sure was much to Trc and her family's relief and I know to my dismay. I had a full day of race cars and ball games planned. The kicker was I only had one thawed steak. Talk about a downer!

Ollie called yesterday wanting me to write her a thirty second ad copy to take to work this morning. She begins her new job as an advertising account manager. Her last job, which she just worked there one day, saw new management clean the entire employee roster. I almost did the sample ad copy about why people shouldn't shop at her last employers store! Ollie already has the new job, but the GM wants to spend some time with her to see how much ad training she is going to have to have. I've always thought it would be lots of fun to record the ads. Sometimes I am amazed by Fearless's (of KEAN 105.1 in Abilene) versatility. Other times I am appalled and change the station due to his repetition. Either way he is a corner stone of the market in our area.

At the seasonal jobsite the plant supervisor and the girls in the office would get a kick out it when I would catch someone going across the compound and call them up on their cell phone. (You have to hit the code to mask the number your are calling from.) I would do my very best radio voice (from PA address work in an earlier life) and I would say, "Thank You for listening to K-L-I-E 109, do you know the name of our mystery tune?" The funniest one was Roy, a former employee, he kept asking "do what?" I would repeat it and finally he said "I don't know!" I asked, "Why did you call?" and he said, "I don't know!" I would scold him and tell him "We called you! About then he realized he was the butt of the joke. Well, at lease the rest of us got a laugh out of it!

I just made a barefoot test run across the yard and it is wet! Darn the luck! I would love to get this project done early! Actually I was wanting to make sure the dumpster was out just in case the city came by early. Any more they are about as predictable as the mail man. Some days it is early some days after five. One thing about it, on Saturday, it will be shortly after noon!

Well, I had better get my day going. I can't wait to see what goes wrong!

Have a day!

FATHER, take control!

And the congregation said AMEN, while the faithful few said "Maybe next year!"

My Hoya Hoopla is ended, the Bruins Bad dream lives another year. I'm not going to make excuses. While I don't think Georgetown or UCLA played their best ball games, you have to give credit to Ohio State and Florida. This time of year, you don't have a choice, you have to step it up. No doubt, last evening the Buckeyes and the Gators were best!

I lost another hundred thousand spots in the standings. Thing is, I can't do any more damage. From here on out everyone of my picks is wrong! Man, and I could've used the million dollars!

I'm afraid Monday might not be much of a ball game. I say the Gators by a bunch.

Krl is staying with Trc. To be totally honest, I am enjoying the break. I know Trc does not have extra time in her day, and Krl the patient can be, and is, pretty demanding.
I think that this break is also a good time for Krl and I to see where we are at and where we need or want to go. I don't think either of us are very happy with the present situation. I know of very few people who don't work, volunteer, or do some other fulfilling activity when they are fifty-one years old, and it's been a tough six years since this began.

Contribution! Can you say that?

I'm getting so use to starting over it doesn't even phase me any more! It is appealing to be responsible for only me and my messes! Since Krl left the industrial supply field and the problems she encountered while working at the family business, her self esteem has suffered. This has spread to include anything from work ethic (or lack of it), to domestic activities, to her appearance. I don't believe in kicking a dog when it is down, but I don't believe in going down with the ship. If the boat you're in is taking on water, you bail water and row like the dickens for the shore! Hopefully the person in that boat with you, will assume one of those chores. If not, you'd be better off with no partner or a different one!

Remember I don't want to be the Captain, I want to be Gilligan. (Reference Pat's and my sail boat!)

I have got to go to Petsmart, my three hound girls have been eating like we're having a sale! Also I need a little Tide and some Diet Coke. I have a huge bunch of laundry as I have taken down control central (the patients couch) and am laundering all the quilts and blankets. I'm reclaiming the house! I'm kind of in the mood for a steak too!

Heh, heh. I have been enjoying a few of my favorite staples during Krl's absence. Hot dogs, chili, chips! I'm like a kid in the candy store!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for opening our eyes. I continue to lift up Pepa for healing.