Whew, I am a whipped puppy. I would rather take a beating than work on taxes. I know that might offend some of my CPA friends and family, but that is the honest truth!

Krl and I keep tax spreadsheet files, weekly. These files have multiple pages which are employee summaries for each week, month, quarter, and annual period. Every week when we have finished payroll, I print a summary from the combined file for that pay period and give it to Krl and she prepares the coupon and tax deposit. (Actually, we are now required to make tax deposits twice per week). When it comes to tax reporting, I usually go to the file(s) and extract the needed information. Of course then it has to be transferred to TWC's on-line system, or into our tax helper program.

I have worked four day this week on year end tax reporting. A lot of my work was preparation for W-2's and 1099's (which mailed a couple of days ago), and for the quarterly 941, quarterly TWC, and annual 940 FUTA filings.

Now I try to be exact. But sometimes close is good enough. I know yesterday when I was loading the TWC information, when I compared their summary and mine, the was a nickel difference, which was made .0014 of one cent difference in the taxes. Hey, if Ronnie Wiggins wants the full penny he just needs to tell me and I will drive it to his office! My treat!

Yesterday I was looking at the FUTA numbers before I transferred them to the form, when I found a discrepancy. $2680. I began cross checking all my files, and found another discrepancy of several thousand dollars between what my tax program showed as taxable wages for the Feds, and taxable wages for the State. (I know, luckily we don't have a State income tax, but the program is sold in all fifty States). I quickly found the discrepancy between the Fed amount and State amount and fixed it. My bad. I think I began keying information after I finished one employee, but before the program was ready for the next one.

The $2680 proved to be an all day sucker. Krl kept telling me to take a break, but I was on a mission. Every year we are required to purchase an upgrade for the tax software, and it automatically uploads the previous employee information from any prior years. The thing I like best is I don't have to re-enter all the socials and addresses for repeat employees. In my search I went through and wrote down each employee's name and the amount they earned for 2008, then I went back to my spread sheet files and began comparing. Krl came over and helped me. Nothing. After about four or five tries at finding my error, I took another route. Looking for the amount. I could get $2580, but not the extra $100. But it did give me a direction to pursue. When I returned to the spread sheet file with the $2580, the amounts matched, and I closed the file. But not before something caught my eye. I went back into the file, sure enough my eyes had caught part of the problem. The $2580 was from December 2007. For some reason when I built my new files (usually by copying the old ones and then deleting inactive employees, and all prior year wage totals) This one man failed to be deleted. I had failed to catch it until now. I am not sure if I loaded his information into the tax program or just what, but that is what I suspect. My bad again.

I am crossing my fingers this company has a three strike policy!

The $100 proved to be even more difficult to find. But in the end, I had my head in the end! There was an employee who had left a charge debt at a local convenience store at the seasonal jobsite. $100. The company paid the charge debt off, figuring that if and when this man worked for the company again, it would be deducted. He didn't work so I added it into his wages. Like a payroll advance that wasn't re-paid.

By the time I found this and filled out the report I had missed the early mail pick up at United, I had missed the mailman at our house, I had missed the late pickup at the United mail box, and I had missed the last pickup at Southern Hills. The only resort left was a drive to the downtown Post Office. For the third time in a single blog, my bad!

Good thing is, I am through with my reporting, bad thing is I will have a $100 discrepancy between the 940 and 941, which results in a .0003% mistake in the wage total reported on the 941. I decided if and when they send me an inquiry I will file an amended report. Best part is, all the taxes were paid. It is just a reporting error. (The 941 had already mailed).

In the worst news of the day, Krl told me the company has no three strike rule! But to show me her appreciation we went by the mall and she bought me the new Grisham release! Yes! I am waiting for hot water and a time frame where I can read and soak!

I told Krl that what I make, and what I charge through for leased truck employees is not enough compensation for the headache I have had. I realize that 2008 was a big year, employee numbers ballooned, and gross dollars were escalated, but my pay remained steady.

My little madman truck driver had an issue yesterday with his truck. Something in the transmission. Thankfully, he off loaded and got the truck to the farm shop where he parked it and got in one of the others. There is nothing dumb about this man, I told him what truck to get in and he told me he would prefer driving the day cab. I told him he wouldn't have his sleeper berth and he told me that was O.K., he was driving through his home town four times a day and sleeping in his bed. The change to the lighter truck will allow him two tons more payload/per trip. I am hopeful the problem with his truck is a snap ring or something simple.

But then that is not usually my luck.

I have been toying with the idea of going to Lamesa to visit my friend who is incarcerated. I could combine trips and take some tubing Rian needs returned to Lubbock. My friend informed me he has me on his visitors list, if I am ever by there. He has requested a Truck Trader Classified Newspaper. He tells me he has an old heavy equipment paper that is four years old and the pages worn out. Now that is a far piece from his other reading material (he is trying to read War and Peace).

And, in a refreshing bit, I spent part of last night with Freddy. At least in my dreams. I was the only one who could see him. I was dealing on a possible pickup trade and he was with me at the dealership. Long story short, either he didn't like what I was trading for, or he didn't like the deal because this morning my old pickup is still in the driveway! Ha! it was a fun dream. I miss him. You would have thought he could at least look at dealer cost and relay the information, maybe delete a digit from the salesman's pricing! Ha!

I have no idea why I dream of Fred and Tj. The dreams seem to be more and more frequent. But I am glad. I find great solace in my dreams of them. So far in my dreams, they have been separate. It might be a real hoot if they ever both appear in the same dream.

Have a day and a weekend! Hard to believe January is gone! Go Birds!

FATHER, thank YOU for helping me to persevere. Thank YOU for seeing me through my reports, and my errors. FATHER thank YOU for the gift of dreams, and the interaction with Fred and Terri. FATHER, YOU strengthen me.

As many of you know, Rian is an assistant Principal in Lubbock. They have the building Principal, who handles primarily administrative duties, an Assistant Principal of Academics, and then Rian, who serves as Assistant Principal for discipline. I was somewhat surprised to learn that LISD still gives "licks" or "swats", of course with the permission of the parents. It seems that at the beginning of the school year, when student files are updated with current parental contact numbers and addresses, the parent can opt for discipline to include or exclude "licks" or "swats". Rian says the majority of the parents say if my child needs or deserves "licks" or "swats", give them. To stop any rumors, Rian doesn't just beat kids in his office all day, he has other tools available like OCS, suspension, or sending them to an alternative campus.

Also, as many of you know, Rian serves as the Associate Youth Minister at Greenlawn. Paul is the full time Youth Minister, but they really have it going on with their young people there. Big numbers participating.

This last Sunday Rian had the opportunity to preach at the small church in Sundown, so he called Paul and he said seize the opportunity! As Rian was driving to Sundown he called me, as is an almost daily ritual. In the course of our conversation Rian told me, "Monday through Friday I bring the wood, and on Sunday I bring the word!"

Amen!

I received a call from one of my truck drivers last evening. Actually he is Pepa's driver, but I seem to have inherited that responsibility in day to day activities. This driver had been listening to a talk radio show about the 819 Billion dollar stimulus plan. The talk show host said if they took all the money from the Wall Street Bailout and added it to the proposed stimulus plan, and divided that total by the number of Americans that filed a tax return in 2007, it would come to a little over $70,000 for every American tax payer. Wow! The talk show hosts continued that if they really wanted to stimulate the economy they need to get the funds in the hands of the end consumers.

Amen!

Lots of talk about how the monies given to Wall Street were to free up credit, but it isn't working. Most of those receiving the funds are wanting to hold on to them to offset future losses. It's hard for the money to trickle down when some asinine executive has his finger plugging the drain!

I loved it when our new President scolded Wall Street firms for 18 Billion dollars in bonuses paid in 2008. The exact word he used was "Shameful".

Amen!

I think we are seeing a much more involved President, one that is passionate about serving. One that is willing to talk and reach across party lines. I think it is going to be a regular process if the need arises he will hop in the car and go to the "Hill".

I have worked pretty hard this week, here at the home office. I have done a lot. Yesterday I got all the W-2's and 1099's in the mail. I am sure the mailman appreciated that. He probably would have appreciated me taking them to the Post Office or going to the closest Mail Box. I have a print out I finished last night of all the employee earnings by quarter. Following the liability guidelines for FUTA, the company had not been required to file a form 940 since the first quarter of 2008. That is nice at the time, but sometimes it is difficult to find where you quit. The only thing I need to do now is transfer the information to the 940 and TWC forms, print pay vouchers and have Krl write checks.

Hey, I'm pretty proud of myself, I have one day before the regular deadline and three before this year's deadline. (Since the 31st falls on a weekend, it rolls to Monday which is the 2nd.).

I have enjoyed getting to spend some concentrated time here at home with Krl. I am sure that she could do without my asking her "where" something is at, multiple times during the day.

This weeks cold weather has really given Krl fits. I don't know if it is arthritis, or something else, but her back (car wreck and surgery in '92), her leg (spiral break in 2007), and feet and ankle (broken in 2008), have really hurt! The other night I looked and she was wrapping her feet and ankles in ace bandages.

One thing I have really enjoyed is getting to cook with Krl. When I am around we tag team our meals, although if it comes to breakfast I usually do that. Yesterday felt like an oatmeal morning, and I fix a mean oatmeal. (Don't ask me why, but I can cook oatmeal and rice and it is never dry or sticky). So we began our day with a piping hot bowl of Old Fashion Quaker Oats, cooked on the stove top, not the microwave, accompanied by dry toast!

I know the dry toast is probably a surprise for many who have dined with me at breakfast. Use to be I would walk into a restaurant and before ordering breakfast I would ask, "Do you serve biscuits?" If they did I would take a table, if not I would leave in search of another restaurant. At some of the chains, I would substitute biscuits for pancakes. To quell some rampant thoughts here, I am from the South, but I don't require gravy with my biscuits (although it is an occasional change from routine).

Krl has noticed I am either becoming very liberated or very daring. I am developing a like for dry toast. I guess I am kin to my Dad after all. For years I never understood how he could prefer toast over biscuits when both were available. I would say it is an acquired taste in my case. Krl and I have discussed how we are both changing in lots of ways. We both love pasta. We have both lamented over Dee's pasta salad at the old family business. Dee was going to give Krl her recipe, but Cancer took her before she ever did. Spaghetti, lasagna, angel hair, penne, flat, elbow. Whatever! When Krl and go to Red Lobster she goes for the crab legs and I order seafood and pasta. We find ourselves cooking with more onion and various kinds of peppers, using a wide variety of spices! Oh, and don't forget the garlic! Lots of garlic!

One thing more just to get it all on the table. I prefer a red, or marinara sauce. I am not liberated enough to go with alfredo sauce.

And finally, Brownwood ISD introduced "Coach's" replacement yesterday, Bob Shipley. It is probably a big relief to the administrators that not much will change. I feel that lots of Coach's and Bob's philosophies will be the same. Some of the Lion supporters may be disappointed there is not going to be more change. I think Brownwood will be good this coming year, and maybe the next two or three. After that, who knows? For me that was one of the things that didn't make sense for Coach to resign on a down note. This past year's 3 and 7 campaign saw a number of key injuries, which cut production on the field. However many underclassmen saw valuable playing time. Coach just told me, "It just felt like the right time".

Some of you are aware, when Coach took the top spot in Brownwood athletics, he had a daily visitor to his office. The legendary Gordon Wood. Gordon became more than a mentor to Coach. They became good friends. I can remember after Coach Wood's passing, Coach Freeman told me people looked at you crazy when you were forty something years old and you told them your best friend was an eighty+ year old retired coach! Brownwood is going to miss what Coach Freeman brought to the community off the field. Lots of facility improvements and additions that were financed through the private sector, not through the school budget or taxes. Coach Freeman and his staff spent a lot of time volunteering above and beyond the call. You have to know Coach Wood would approve.

I don't know what Coach is going to do. I am sure he has a plan in the back of his mind. One thing for sure, I have enough to worry about without worrying about him!

I guess what Coach did was act out what I have been telling Rian.

Rian has talked a lot with me this past year about wanting a bigger house on an acreage, with a shop for his pulling tractor and the other end for his catering business. I told him, there is nothing wrong with wanting nice things. The catch is not to get yourself in a position where you have to pursue the money, and not the job. I have told him that there is always going to be a job that pays more money, but that doesn't make it a better job. This past year Rian was fortunate enough to have two job proposals on the table simultaneously. One at Lubbock Christian Schools as building Principal, the other at LISD as Assistant Principal for discipline. The former was just over half pay of the latter. Rian and Erica had made a choice that if at all possible, Erica would stay home with the boys until all of them are in school, although she is the administrator of Greenlawns pre-school/head start program. They are five years away from that happening at which time they plan on her returning to the classroom. It is a no brainer that LISD pays good. Much more than the smaller surrounding school districts. Rian and Erica's first job was in Idalou and Rian said he would love to have the opportunity to return there. Even though it means less money, he thinks it would be a better job. Keep your options open.

Good luck Coach.

I would like for Wall Street executives to learn that it isn't all about money. It is about integrity, honesty, responsibility, and making good choices.

I hope your choices are good today! Have a day!

FATHER, we are truly blessed. Thank YOU for making good choices available. Help us to make them every time. May our day be filled with YOU!

I am beginning to get a little cabin fever.

I spent the majority of my day working on 1099's. These are for the subcontractors who worked for and with us this past year. Some of the numbers amaze me. Krl and I were talking about it and she asked, "Do you ever think we are on the wrong wide of this deal?"

Preliminary figures show we paid out in excess of 830,000 dollars to about a dozen subcontractors.

Wow!

We may need that bailout as much as Wall Street.

I woke yesterday, and looked out the back door. Ice, and or sleet was on the rooftops of the neighborhood, but not much was on our yard. When I walked to the front door, I could see how the sleet had drifted up on the sidewalk behind the shrubs two and a half or three inches deep. At that time no one had driven down our street and it was beautiful!

Once the sun came out, the temperature began rising swiftly. About mid-afternoon I drove to the Post Office, then downtown to pick up my supplies. Any shaded area didn't thaw very well.

I went to the storage facility to get some 1099 envelopes from the company travel trailer and it was a good thing. I had placed an electric heater in the trailer, just to prevent it from freezing. Apparently the thermostat has a wide variance because when I checked a container of water, it had slush floating on top.

I wasn't the only one checking on RV's. Several people were there, starting their motor homes, or checking propane levels.

When I returned home, Krl had begun working on some home made chicken noodle soup! The house was filled with the delicious smells of all the different spices she was using! It turned out great! I may grow feathers!

My today is going to be TWC and FUTA tax reports. Sounds like a lot of fun doesn't it?

I talked with Rian and he said his week had been hard. While Abilene schools were closed two days, Lubbock started on time Tuesday and two hours late yesterday. Rian said when he is the one making the decision about bad weather day or not, he is going to be much more compassionate. Of course he went on to say it is a hard decision, because some of his students have no heat at their homes, and if they stay at home they have no food. At least at school they have heat and a meal.

I think that there should be a law regarding child care facilities. The one thing that stuck out in my mind Tuesday and Wednesday was the number of child care facilities that were closed. What do single parents or families that both parents work do? Especially if they don't have a sympathetic boss?

Of course, bad weather days can be a lot of fun too. I can remember playing dominoes, and monopoly while eating popcorn and drinking hot chocolate when I was a child. Of course when my kids were little, even in inclimate weather we had to feed and check livestock water, so usually while we were out in the country, we would do a little sledding behind the pickup.

Of course when I was a teenager, George Parks the boys club director would come by in his panel wagon. He would have gone to a wrecking yard and "borrowed" the hood to a car. He would attach a long rope and us boys would ride on the hood!

Well, my day isn't going to start without me.

Have a day!

FATHER, thank you for the productive days I have had. I ask that YOU keep me on task. Some glad morning.... ......... . . .

You don't have to tell me to keep those home fires burning!

It's winter out there!

I hate to have to endure weather like we have had for the last twenty-four or thirty-six hours and not get any more moisture than we have, but every little bit helps!

My drivers had gotten themselves to a good location before they shut down, with one man being the exception to the rule. He had come in late Monday and it bit him on the back side. This man thinks I don't know what he is doing, but I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday.

He told me the other guys weren't going to be at the jobsite Monday morning until eight or eight-thirty. I told him someone was trying to snooker him. Sure enough, my other guys were sitting at the scales at six-thirty. They were loaded and gone before this guy even arrived. After he loaded and tarped, he made a detour to go by the bank, which by now was open to cash his check. This was what set the time and tone for his day. After he left there, he had a flat before he even got back into his regular route. By the time he got that fixed he was a half turn off from the other guys. Instead of being an hour and a half behind, he was now five and a half hours behind.

When weather began deteriorating, the other guys had been in and out of Lubbock and headed to home, this man still had miles to go. Before it was said and done, he got his second load unloaded, and drove about thirty miles before laying down.

Yesterday morning he called me wanting to know what he needed to do. I told him it is too slick to try to do anything, so just sit where you're at. Immediately he replied, "I need to be somewhere I can get something to eat and have a bathroom nearby".

Poor decision after poor decision seems to define this man. It ended up he drove another thirty miles to a town. I haven't heard from him since he did this, so I am hoping no news is good news and the short trip was uneventful.

Of course on the other hand he could be getting his story together.

The tardy driver had the audacity to call the other two drivers and tell them they were making him look bad! Come on guys, he doesn't need any help!

Krl and I stayed in for the majority of the day. I had a few errands I needed to run, and mid-afternoon, I slipped my boots and coat on. Although I needed to go downtown to pick up some supplies I had ordered (and prepaid), I went no farther than the Southern Hills Post Office. Surprisingly roads for the most part were good. It did seem like where buildings or structures funnel the wind it did increase the possibility of being icy. I went to the grocery store and back to the house.

I spent a large portion of my day researching butcher orders for pork. Rian and I have to decide how we want our pig cut up and packaged. He is wanting a lot of breakfast sausage, some pork chops and some pork roasts. I don't vary too much, but I want the ham sliced into ham steaks about an inch thick. Both of us want bacon. I finally found a website that describes what cut comes from where and gives approximate percentages of the carcass weight each area will yield.

Outside of that I did a little research for Rian and forwarded some numbers to him. If this keeps up he may need to put me on the payroll.

Rian called me yesterday and he was enroute back to his school. He had driven to Lubbock Christian Schools where he had been asked to speak at chapel. He has been taking a group of kids from Dunbar with him to Wednesday night church, and he got one of these Dunbar students to go with him and read scripture. He said it went really well. Leave it to Rian to have to drive across town on the worst driving day of the year! Thankfully, they made it to and from without a problem.

As I was beginning to exit the grocery store yesterday, a young man stepped in front of me from the self checking lanes. He was lumbering slowly toward the parking area and I couldn't very well pass him, so the sacker and I slowed to walk behind him. It was then I began checking my clothing to be sure I was dressed appropriately. This man had come to the store with his sweat bottoms on wrong side out. The tags were flapping in the breeze, the pockets hanging out. I couldn't help but laugh to myself. I know that sometimes in the past in my haste I had done the same thing!

It is being reported that the majority of the bank executives have kept their jobs. So this means that the same people that created this mess are the ones who will be responsible for turning it around. That just doesn't make sense to me.

I was pleased to hear the report that Citigroup will not take delivery on their new $50 million dollar, foreign built jet. And the attorney general for New York is subpoenaing some high ranking financial executives to inquire about huge bonuses paid the end of 2008. The reports say billions were paid to executives even as their company's were in the throws of bankruptcy awaiting bail out monies.

Accountability! I want a person. These people should be tarred and feathered and run out of town.

Well, the weather man says by noon today, the ice and freezing temperatures will be only a mere memory. I hope this is one of those times he is right.

I woke this morning seeming to have one of the episodes. I have been up about three hours, so I am tempted to slip back in the bedroom and see if I still have a spot under the electric blanket.

Stay warm, be safe and have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for being YOU.

I often map my day, as I did yesterday.

Post office, Roscoe, shop, Memama and Pepa's, St. Lawrence, Roscoe, Abilene.

Simple enough. The first part of my day was gathering mail (hopefully permits from TXDOT), license receipts (from the little S-10 at the shop), drop off Pepa's settlement, drive to Garden City and register pickup, drive to St. Lawrence, present a bill, talk with GM, talk with drivers and loader operator, pickup check, hook to last remaining travel trailer, bank, return trailer to Roscoe, return to Abilene.

From my first stop, my day was off. No permits. In fact, no mail at all. We have been running with downloaded permits from the TXDOT website, which for most troopers would be all right, but there is one DOT officer up the way that marches to his own drummer. I have always been tempted to hire an attorney to contest some of his interpretations of the law. (Like cottonseed is not an agriculture product).

On the drive to Roscoe, I began making arrangements to pickup some tarp straps with D-rings. They didn't have any made up, so I decided to detour through the branch bank and cash a money order I had received. After sitting for ten minutes, I called the teller and asked if there was a problem. "We have to verify the money order", she said. I told her, "I don't understand, because there is enough money in my account to cash that money order many times over!" Finally, I told them just send me the check back and I would stop at the main bank and cash it, and file a complaint while I was there. Instantaneously, the cash appeared!

I stopped in, picked up my tarp straps, and headed West for the shop. I walked inside, looked for the license receipt, decided it would be quicker to just write down the license plate number, started the little pickup, just for good measure, and began to exit the shop. It was then I noticed the service trailer license expires in five days. Write down that number, get in my pickup and drive to Memama and Pepa's.

Delivered settlement and visited briefly. Mainly about the weather and possible icing conditions that might make it dangerous to bring the final travel trailer home. I said my goodbyes and headed West.

I arrived at the tax assessor collector's office just prior to noon, so my business was quick and easy. $105. I didn't say painless did I. When I arrived at the jobsite, I made a quick survey before parking at the office. I knew nearly everyone would be at lunch, so I was in no hurry. When I walked into the scale area, one of the ladies who work there was weighing in two milo trucks. We exchanged greetings and the drivers and I began visiting. The two ladies in the office warmed their lunches and sat down at the conference table in the office. After twenty or thirty minutes visiting with the drivers, I took a seat at the table with the ladies. We had a good visit.

Just after one in the afternoon, I produced my bill, which was accompanied by a check for the weekly fuel. About then my seed trucks began crossing the scales. I drove to their loading area and began distributing the parts and supplies they had asked for, and we talked of the driving conditions toward Lubbock. They told me the loader operator wanted them to return to St. Lawrence for a third load (which would have been around seven or eight in the evening). I told them while the loader operator usually had a good read on the pulse of that operation, he was not the man in charge, so I made my way to the GM's office. We visited briefly, and he told me he had stopped the milo trucks from running to Lubbock because of questionable driving conditions. He continued on that he knew we were more accustomed to driving in those conditions during the season, but there was nothing pressing about delivering the seed from flat storage. In other words, it isn't worth risking, life, limb or equipment. I appreciated his view and returned to my drivers to develop a plan.

Finally I returned to the office, picked up the check, and went to hook the travel trailer to my truck. It was then I discovered that GOD didn't intend for me to take that trailer to Roscoe. The hitch and leveling bars were sitting in Roscoe with one of the other trailers.

My bad.

Oh well, I will be out there next Monday, so I will do it then. As luck would have it, the roads and driving conditions were dry and clear until I got to Westbrook and fog and drizzle became increasingly heavier as I traveled East. Leaving the travel trailer was probably a good move.

My final accomplishments for the day were to make a deposit at the bank and finalize plans for Rian and I to meet at St. Lawrence next Monday and pick up our pig that we are going to have processed. It is then I will pick up the reluctant travel trailer for the trek to Roscoe. (I have already loaded the hitch and leveling bars in my truck).

It has been a few years since I had an animal processed. Use to you would take them and leave them on "kill" days and they would slaughter and hang the carcass. Rian made some calls and we learned we have to make an appointment to bring the animal(s) in. After about an hour of coordinating schedules, we all agreed on late Monday morning next.

By the time I pulled into our driveway, my pickup was beginning to accumulate ice.

Krl and I had decided to call a chimney sweep because she and I have both been wanting a fire, but after a wind came and blew our chimney cap off we had birds visit our chimney. I was hoping yesterday wasn't a busy day for chimney sweeps but they couldn't make it here until tomorrow, weather allowing. Oh well. I bet it has been years since we have burned a fire in our fire place. Of course we haven't been around too much during winter!

I am distressed by the news reporting. More and more layoffs. Sprint, Caterpillar, GM, Corning. Big big layoffs. (I was told yesterday to expect more at Caterpillar because as of yesterday you cannot put a Cat engine in a big truck. Cat can't meet emission requirements). Then locally the newspaper reports a 28% layoff of the work force that coats the towers for the big wind generators. They say people or companies that fund the wind farms have been adversely affected by the recession and funds are limited.

Here goes that ripple affect.

I read an article early this morning that says nine out of ten of the executives with banks receiving bail out monies will retain their job. I think they are whittling on the wrong end of the stick!

I can remember in 2001, Fred brought in some work out specialists to the family business. Their forte was to develop a plan to turn a company around. Of course this was a year after our ill-fated association with the unscrupulous, unethical international company that put the family business on the ropes. (Sorry, I may not ever get over this). The workout specialists came to Fred and I and told us we needed to get rid of several people and they gave us a dollar amount they targeted for annual savings. I developed a survey sheet and asked everyone to fill it out and to evaluate their own job, their performance and how vital their job was to our company. Then I would do my own evaluation of my people, Fred did his, and we would compare the employee's to our own. It was a very interesting process. In fact, the work out company asked me for copies of the job surveys to use in their other jobs. Long story short, Fred and I didn't want to lay off anyone. Many of the employees got together and talked and we ended up doing an across the board cut in pay. From the janitor to the top, everyone took the cut. I think that was one of the most amazing things about working there, although we worked at the family business, everyone that worked there was like family.

The more I read, the more I listen, I think many companies are taking steps to maximize their positions. By this I mean I feel some are cutting workforce to create shortages to prop up price and increase earnings but they are not the villains, they point to the recession. Or that is the way they want it to be perceived.

Why is it I can't feel sorry for a company that's profits drop 40%, yet they post profits in the billions of dollars. I read reports about missing projected earnings and I wonder if we have begun to over analyze. You know at one point in time red ink was bad and black was good. It was simple. Maybe too much information is bad.

I think the people on the bottom of the pecking order probably have a better understanding of simple economics than many of the executives. Many executives talk and deal in mega-economics and they don't think twice about spending someone else's money.

Accountability!

When is enough, enough?

The rich get richer.

You heard it here first.

Weather is here this morning. 25 degrees and precipitating. No snow, just freezing rain and drizzle. I will probably stay close to the house today.

Have a safe day! Stay warm!

FATHER, thank YOU for the moisture! We pray for more. We pray for safety for those traveling. We pray for those of us being impacted by the recession. Bless us, Oh LORD!

For a Sunday, yesterday was a busy day.

Saturday night about seven-thirty, the driver living in Bangs dropped off all the trucker's envelopes so I could do billing and settlements and Krl could write checks. Being the first settlement of the year from the jobsite, I had to build new matrixes for my '09 folder, so this week took much longer than most.

Five hours later, Krl was proofing and writing checks.

I put the checks and a few other items for the drivers in my mail box and if things went according to plan, this morning they should have miraculously disappeared!

My plan is for me to make the drive to St. Lawrence, make an appearance, present a bill, and trade a fuel check for the company's check.

Sounds like a plan to me.

I watched 60 Minutes last evening and saw the segment of the show about a new drug which can hold off the effects of aging and possibly extend life one or two more decades. The two researchers who have been working on it say they are about ready for human trials. They said they don't know how effective it will be if you are in your fifties, sixties, or seventies, but if they can get in front of the bus, they believe it will do what it is billed to do.

Interesting.

The program went on to say that since the segment was recorded, the two researchers have sold their start up company to one of the pharmaceutical giants for three-quarters of a billion dollars! Krl said she bets the drug, even if it lives up to it's billing, never makes it to the shelves! She thinks drug companies are making too much money off the common ailments of ageing.

Very impressive information on the effects the medication had on diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, heart ailments. The list was long.

We can hope!

When I was reading the Vegas lines on the upcoming Superbowl, I couldn't help but be amazed at all the things a person could bet on. One of the silliest was how many times announcers will call Steeler quarterback Ben Rothlesberger Big Ben.

I haven't seen anything on the '09 edition of the Super Ads, although I have seen an article saying they will be toned down. I bet they were a harder sell this year than in past years!

Well, I am nine minutes behind my Monday! Gotta go!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for this day and the blessing it holds. I pray for safety in my travels and for our workers. I pray for precipitation. Thank YOU for YOUR love FATHER. AMAZING GRACE.

I ask myself, why would anyone would want to run for public office.

I have observed this past week, our new President taking office, and evaluations being made of his first day in office, of his first one hundred hours in office, and of course speculation on his first one hundred days in office. I even saw a lead line, "New Administration glitches". I am sure that the new President and his entire family and staff have to be totally blown away by the scrutiny they are under.

I have read countless editorials in the local papers criticizing the President's lifting the ban on funding for foreign countries that give abortions.

Truly this is a controversial subject, but it really came as no surprise and with no fanfare.

I believe that a number of our elected officials pursue office simply to serve. I feel a greater number pursue public office for personal gain, while others run to feed their egos.

I am thankful for those wanting to serve, and I have little use for the other two categories. However, to vet our system, I am in favor of term limits.

I am hopeful, for our new administration.

You know it is quite remarkable to sit back and analyze the political climates I have witnessed. I was born under a Republican administration, started school under a Democratic administration, Junior High went back to Republican through High School until about College graduation, then four years of Democrats, back to Republicans for three terms to Democrats for two, to Republicans for two terms to our newly elected Democratic President.

I have seen right wing, left wing, radical conservative, radical liberal. I have seen left move right and right move left. It is really mind boggling.

Yet I cannot believe this would not be a much different country if JFK had not been assassinated, and Robert Kennedy had lived I believe he too would have been a two term President. I wonder what might have been?

I read an article yesterday about Caroline Kennedy and her abandoned campaign to replace Hillary as a Senator from New York. The article asked, "What is next for a bruised Caroline Kennedy?" It talked of how the almost reclusive, very private woman of 51 had been abused by the press and staff of the Governor of New York, and whether or not she will attempt to pursue office again.

I hope she does.

W-2's are printed. Thank you very much. In fact I handed out the very first one last evening, the remainder will be going in the mail in the coming week. Of course these are just the employee copies as we will wait to print the copies for our records and the Social Security Administration after the grace period of the next month in case someone can prove a correction that needs to be made. Actually I did read that this year the W-2's and 1099's don't have to be in the mail until February 2.

Late yesterday Krl took some left over roast and threw together a stew. We tweaked it just a little, and she made a big pan of cornbread. Yyuummmm! It sure hit the spot!

Rian and I have exchanged e-mail over the weekend. He and I are going halves on a pig and we are trying to work things out on taking it to Post for processing. Tomorrow I am planning on being in St. Lawrence and I am going to check on the pig. Actually it was supposed to be ready the week of the eleventh, but I haven't heard from Tara or Paul.

In Rian's e-mail, he told me he had a call from Mark and Karen Davidson, some of our old neighbors from Roscoe. Rian and their son John Mark were friends growing up, even though John Mark was a few years older. Tragically, John Mark was killed in a car accident several years ago. Mark and Karen now live in Sundown and their church there uses four preachers in a rotation. For some reason the preacher scheduled for today couldn't be there and none of the other regulars could cover for him. Mark and Karen's nephew goes to church with Rian and Erica and he suggested they call Rian. They did and Rian talked with the head youth minister at Greenlawn, and he told Rian to go! I am sure it will be a good day for Rian and the Davidsons.

I have settlements to do today. The driver who came by to pick up his W-2 was actually dropping off all the paperwork for the week. He collected it all at the mill at Lubbock and on his way to Bangs, looped by my house. It is amazing how cooperative these guys can be when it involves pay!

Have a day! I am hopeful for rain later in the week.

FATHER, thank YOU for all the blessings we enjoy. Thank YOU for the elected officials who serve with their heart. I ask YOUR blessings on them and pray for their safety. FATHER, I pray for rain. For our home area, for our family and friends in Roscoe, for our friends in St. Lawrence and for those on the Gulf Coastal Plain. I ask that you pour down YOUR bless-ed rain from the skies and wet and wash this earth. I love the clean smell after a rain shower. FATHER, we are blessed.

I have to confess. I thought the Super Bowl was tomorrow. That should give you some indication of how big a fan I am.

Give me college football anytime over the prima donna millionaire league.

Really, I don't guess I am too much into sports in general. I don't watch baseball or basketball until the playoffs, even though I may read the box scores. I watch the NFL highlights and that seems to suffice.

The only time I plan my day is usually around NASCAR, although the last couple of years I haven't been as emphatic about it.

I did take a look at the odds on the Super Bowl. (Wouldn't it be neat if Tidy Bowl toilet cleaner were the title sponsor for this game. It would just be the Tidy Bowl). Across the board the odds makers have the Steelers by 7 with the over and under at 47. Don't ask me, but I am getting a feeling. I would be tempted to take the Cardinals straight up, or at least with the points, and I think I favor the under side of the points.

This feeling is a lot like a few years ago when John Elway and the Broncos won their first title. I woke on Super Bowl Sunday with a feeling and called #1 son-in-law, who knows a guy who knows a guy, and I asked him to get the line on the game. He called me back with the information and I told him to put a hundred dollars on the Broncos straight up. Of course my hundred wouldn't influence the line in Vegas. My hundred dollars stood to return $800 if the Broncos won. At half time I got a call from #1 son-in-law and he told me he thought I was crazy and going to lose anyway so he tried to protect me from myself and took the Broncos and the points which would only pay $100, and to further protect me, he had taken half my hundred dollar wager. Long story short, the Broncos won and my $800 payout shriveled to $50. Come to think of it, I never got that $50.

Why I oughta ................

Krl and I have been busy, her with bank business, me with tax reporting. I am waiting on one gentleman's info, a part-time hire of Pepa's that drove on a limited basis for the company in 2008, and when I receive this info, I will be ready to load forms and print!

One thing I do periodically is try to clean up my employee data base in this tax program. If a driver hasn't worked for the company in two years, or if the separation was not on good terms and the employee is not eligible for re-hire, I will delete them from the system. Yesterday I was doing just that. I had a Bill, Bryan, George, Sam, Jeremy, and Dave. Some of these men had died in recent years or months, others fell into the last category. The one name I couldn't bring myself to delete was Fred's.

In an odd occurrence, Freddy and I have sequential social security numbers. Mine is XXX-XX-XX89 while Fred's is XXX-XX-XX90. In the tax program it puts every entry in order by Social Security number. So, in the record grid, much like in so many things in our past, Fred and I stand side by side.

I can actually remember when Memama took us to the Post Office to get our Social Security applications. It was the old Post Office on Cypress in Roscoe (By the way I can still remember the old combination on the family mail box. This was before the Postal Service went back to keys). I was 12 years old and I was working that summer for my Grand Dad McLeod. I didn't even know I was getting paid until one Saturday evening he asked me if I had forgotten something.

I thought and thought before answering, "I don't think so."

"Did you get paid?", he asked.

"No Sir, I didn't, but I didn't know I was getting paid", I said.

He pulled a roll of bills from his pocket with a rubber band around it and pressed it in my palm. I was rich! I had never seen so much money in all my life!

Closer count revealed it was only $15 (all $1 bills), but at that time and with all my benefits (room, board, vehicle, straw hats, and sodas) it was a fortune. I decided to open a checking account at the local bank. Memama thought it would be a good idea for Fred and I to open a joint account, so we did, and every time I made a deposit, Fred did too.

You can imagine the swagger in my walk to be 12 years old and walk in an establishment and give a check! Of course a $2 expenditure would be a big one!

Oh for the good ol' days!

Rian and I began a discussion yesterday about the "recession" or as he told me he had been told, "with the Wall Street bailout, it is a controlled depression". He said instead of the crash of 1929, institutions are gradually suffering the effects of the economic crisis. The big difference being back then it was over quickly and you knew where you stood quickly. Now it appears it may be months or possibly years before the full effect is known. I think back to an article I read that was against the bailout saying the cure could be worse than the disease. In other words, let the strong survive.

Rian is an administrator in a school that is predominately minority races with the majority of these students coming from poverty level homes, many being single parent homes. Obviously Rian is concerned for his students who's family's are already struggling before the recession.

Rian asked me how does this work, how does Wall Street affect a small street in Lubbock, Texas. I told Rian that a sad fact is that the people who are least equipped to deal with an economic slow down or recession are the ones who feel it first and most deeply. Hourly laborers are instantly affected with fewer hours resulting in smaller checks. Smaller checks mean selective buying. In cases where layoffs occur, if anything is purchased on time on credit, if a payment is late or missed, the ripple moves up to multiple levels, gaining size and strength. Put enough ripples together and it get serious quickly. I'm not minimizing the hourly worker's plight, their dilemma is very real and very serious although individually they don't even show up on the radar of Wall Street.

I had a flat fixed yesterday at a friends business. We were discussing "business". I told him ours had been extremely slow and he concurred. He told me his workers in the shop had been getting 56 hours a week, but due to the slow down of traffic they were now just getting 45 hours. I did some broad figuring and that affect each employee's check about $132 a week. Multiply times eight employees, that is $1056 per week for the group or $4224 for the group for the month. Then multiply times the number of businesses and it escalates rapidly!

This is serious. I am scared. I am concerned. Even though Krl and I are postured in a positive position currently, I am leery.

Less disposable income means less money traveling through the system. Consumers make hard choices between needs and wants, elective procedures become selective, survival takes precedent over luxury.

This morning I read an article about local businesses in Abilene laying off 70 workers. All of these businesses were intertwined, but the layoffs were 25% of their work force. I learned of a business yesterday that decided to close the doors. Workers are currently working themselves out of a job as they liquidate shop tools and equipment. Even though businesses make deep cuts, and report a reduction of 25% of the work force you can bet these cuts are a much smaller percentage of the payroll.

I watch commercials for Circuit City's going out of business sale and wonder what they are spending on advertising. I believe they say all 657 stores are closing. At least there won't be some over paid executive still abusing the system.

Then I read an article about a Wall Street executive spending 1.2 million dollars to decorate his office, and I get mad all over!

Our system has tilted. Excessive salaries to CEO's, golden parachutes, retirement packages, stock options, they are all part of the problem. They could probably fire one executive and keep countless hourly workers on the job. Doesn't that make more sense?

It's just not fair.

Rian posed a question to me yesterday, "If it hurts all these people Dad, who benefits from a depression or recession?"

"The rich get richer", I replied.

When is enough, enough?

I caught a report last evening on CBS news by Bob Schieffer on President Obama's aggressive plans. I was as impressed as Mr. Schieffer. He talked of a changed Washington, that after the huge crowd in town for the inauguration, many politicians have taken notice that America wants change. Bob continued that the new President has been decisive and deliberate.

I don't know about you, but I think it is high time someone took control. You go Prez!

Enough from my soap box. Have a day and a weekend!

FATHER, lots of people are hurting, many are scared. Help us to help others. Give us YOUR reassurance that YOU care and will provide. Greater are YOU who is in me than he who is in the world!

All the rest of you can remain in bed. You have my personal guarantee that I will fiend off any attacks that might be coming from the worms.

I have collected so many worms, as in "The early bird gets the worm", that I would love to turn that responsibility over to someone else. But, for some reason I can't.

Three mornings in a row, shortly after three (Uh oh, there is that defining number again) I have awakened. Try as I might I cannot go back to sleep. I had tossed and turned so fitfully that the little houndgirls fled to Krl's side of the bed. So now, close to six in the morning, I have already read the online newspapers I usually read, I have read and responded to my e-mail, and I am trying with all my might to find something else to do besides delve into my day!

You know this might not be too bad. I could have my eight in before noon if I continue to wake so early.

My yesterday was not very productive. I spent part of the morning reviewing pay summaries for 2008. Then I began taking inventory of forms. Once I had that count I was pretty comfortable with where I was at, but decided to count the pay summaries. Much to my dismay, I did not have enough W-2 forms. Krl and I had picked up the forms in November when we made a quick jaunt to Staples in Midland. This package contained 25 forms, but I needed 39. I even went back to my computer to check and make sure all of those employees had wages in 2008. I was surprised by the number of employees we had through the year.

Just to be on the safe side, I decided to check on W-9's. It would appear we have an adequate supply of them since we only used twelve sub-contractors during 2008.

I needed to run a couple of errands, so I slipped my boots on and made my way to the garage. When I saw Krl's SUV, I remembered the left rear tire was low. Apparently we had run over a nail or something and it had a very slow leak. I returned to the house and got the keys to her ride and loaded my stuff up. As my luck would have it, my two errands were all the way across town from each other. One on East business 20, the other on West business 20. The tire shop was smack dab in the middle.

Surprisingly, the were no cars at the tire shop. Zero. Zilch. I went in and told them what I needed and immediately, the SUV was in one of the bays. They made quick work of our problem.

I continued East to my destination, went in, wrote a check and began my westward jaunt. When I arrived at my second destination it wasn't as quick as my first one, but they found my paperwork quickly.

I thought these errands had gone so well I would try to stretch my luck and pick up the needed W-2 forms. I went to my choice of the major office supply stores in town only to find they wanted me to buy software I already have, to get the forms. All I needed were the forms, yet I didn't see one single package of W-2's without software. They called it W-2 Suite. Of course the price was about double what the forms would cost by themselves, so I rebelled and left the store. Against my better judgement, I decided to go to the other major office supply in town. This store is my all time low performer for office supplies. It's name begins with the word Office and ends in the word Max, and it is rivaled for the bottom only by Office Depot in Midland.

It was no surprise to me when they didn't have what I needed.

I called Krl and asked her to call the salesman who use to call on us at the family business. She did and sure enough, they had the needed forms, without any software. So I made the drive all the way into downtown to retrieve my forms. They probably weren't as cheap as my first stop might have been if they had them, but a bird in hand is worth three in the bush.

Crazy thing was, by the time I made a stop at the grocery store and drove home I had been gone about four hours. And I wonder what happened to my day?

Krl wasn't feeling well late yesterday, so we did a tag team supper. She had called giving me two choices for supper and I threw in one more possibility. She chose my suggestion. So we cooked hamburger steaks with onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms served with brown gravy, whole kernel corn, creamed potatoes, and biscuits. It was great!

It had been a long time since I had done some of the meal preparations I did last night. Probably before we left for the seasonal work. It was fun. I find that I enjoy cooking, and when Krl and I work together we can turn out some pretty tasty dishes!

Actually, we need to take a couple of nights off from cooking to get rid of some left overs. I know we have a couple of casseroles that are probably beginning to move toward the door.

Yesterday, when I was running my errands, I noticed smoke on the Northern horizon. The longer I was out, the more intense the smoke became. Probably about three in the afternoon I received a call from Chris at NAPA. He wanted to know what road my buddy K.O. lived on because they had a big grass fire going in the general area Northeast of Hawley. I told him K.O. lives off FM 3326 and Cr 360. "Oh", he responded, "I thought it was something 26. The fire is on a 1226." I decided to call my buddy just to check. Lucky for them, the fire was a distance to the East.

The Abilene Distorter News reports this morning that the fires continued to burn into the night and had consumed 2500 to 3000 acres, 7 homes, 2 vehicles, and various other structures. Many people were trying to get their cattle from the path of these fires.

I can remember taking a course at ACU about Rural/Urban sociology and we took a field trip one night to go 'coon hunting in the Hawley area. There is an abundance of shinery, so thick you can't get through it, and of course this area is pretty sandy soil as well. Those factors in their own right would make fighting a fire in the area difficult, add in many acres of coastal hay fields and it would make for a nightmare. And that is exactly what they have experienced.

I have experienced a house fire and I can tell you it is an experience you can live without. Whatever doesn't burn,the smoke gets. Years afterward, you still can get an occasional whiff of smoke.

Well, I have delayed my day long enough. I'm going to take the plunge into it!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for a gorgeous day yesterday. I pray for rain. FATHER, for my friends and family that farm, and for relief from the dry, parched, conditions. I pray for those who battled yesterday's fires and for those who suffered loss. Help us to benevolent and sensitive to their needs.

3

three

Have you ever thought about how certain things define us, and our families?

Lately, I have spent a great amount of time thinking about our family. Not just my immediate family, my parents, my brothers, and my sisters families! I have decided our family is defined by the number three.

I have often heard tell of the recurring number "40" in the Bible, of it's significance.

For our group, that number is "3".

Numbers have always fascinated me, at least to a certain degree. I have milestones "etched" in my mind with numbers. Pepa-29, Memama-31, Jjm-48, Krl-49, Ff-51, Me-53, Ldf-53, Paf-55, Sdh-56, Sdf-58, Tjt-64, Trc-69, Jkf-75, Jpf-76, Rrf-77, Jef-78, Scf-79, Mlf-80, Jsf-80, Maf-82, Kef-82, Sah-82, Ch-85, Kf-85, St-85, Kph-86. Whew, my mind is spinning. Along about here I begin to have to really think because nieces and nephews begin mixing with grand children.

Now you might wonder with all those numbers, how did I come up with the number 3 as our family's defining number? If you take all of the intitials and count through the alphabet to see what numerical postion corresponds to them, then add all of the initial numbers and then add all the corresponding years of birth and divide the latter by the former, and multiply by the reciprocal of my birthday, you come up with the number 3.

Just kidding. It just seems like the number 3 recurs over and over again in our family. Three of us kids had three children (Me, Pat, and Coach, although I have a bonus in Trc). So far three of the children have three children (Jason, Rian, and Colby four if you throw Trc in the mix). We had three groups of three kids sharing the same school grade or class. Colby, Makai, and Joni. Merrit, Kelsi, and Steph. Chris, Kirby, and Shelb. Of course this doesn't account for if someone held their child back a year.

In other words, there was a lot of togetherness, especially when everyone lived in Roscoe! Probably too much at times. Trc did a solo act as did Jeri, Jake, Kyle, Robyn, Wee, and Rollo, while Rian and Jason did a duet. Of course as we age, any age gap narrows.

Just to put any possible question to rest, my lucky number is 4. But that is another blog.

Continuing with 3. Krl and I have seven grand children. 4 girls and 3 boys. O.K., you say, that doesn't work. But, Trc has three girls, Rian has three boys. The only single is Addison.

And at this minute, we have 3 dogs and I have three pair of clean unawares in my drawer. O.K!, enough is enough.

Krl and I have had a good time talking about the parallels of our children and nieces and nephews, but without a doubt, the most intriguing is Rian and his family, and Colby and his.

Rian has three boys, Colby has three girls. Surprisingly, their ages correspond very closely. Reid and Avery, Holt and Gracie, and Drew and Kennedy. Krl and I had opportunity at Pepa's birthday party to observe.

Colby's girls are very pretty, very polite, and very well be-haved.

Rian's boys are handsome, ornery, and little hooligans!

Krl has asked me over and over, what makes little boys and little girls so different. My only answer is the old nursery rhyme, "What are little boys made of?" Frogs, and snails, and puppy dog tails! And "What are little girls made of?" Sugar and spice and every thing nice!

Uh oh, three ingredients. There is that number is again!

I've told Krl I don't know why little boys are so rough and tumble and why little girls are prim and proper. Now I will go on the record and say boys can have their sweet moments and girls can have their shrills and shrieks.

Of course age grouping has a great deal to do with relationships, and this was true with Avery and Reid, even though they did have some cultural differences. I observed Reid come banging through the back door of Memama's house, making his way through the kitchen and its maze of people when he saw and approached his cousin Avery. Just as he was walking up he belched. Big time. "Gross", Avery said. "Nuh uh", Reid replied. And away they went to play.

Later in the day, the big boys (O.K., they aren't boys, they are men) were all standing and sitting around the back patio visiting, when Jason directed everyone's attention to the cellar door. There stood Holt, no shirt, pants piled around his ankles, peeing on the cellar door! Actually it was quite reminiscent of a Charles Beckendorf print we have hanging in our house. All of the group erupted in laughter, yet not even this distracted Holt from his "business". Colby told Rian, "Little girls don't do that!" Rian called Holt over when he was through, and Rian told him, "Good job Holtie, you didn't wet your britches!" (By the way, Holt just turned-................ 3.).

To be honest, the hooligans come by it honest. As far as what makes little boys and little girls different, I don't really know! But they are both very precious in their own right!

It was good to see the kids, our kids, nieces and nephews, cousins, grand kids, great nephews and great nieces, interact at the party. There is a tie that binds. And I am thankful for that!

For a change, yesterday I spent the day in the home office. At least until about four when I made a dash to the post office. I worked on over-axle over-gross weight tolerance permits for a couple of trucks, then I worked on payroll summaries! Today, if things go well, I will install some new tax software, and print the W-2's. That is a tall order, but I can hope!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for a good day, I was truly blessed. Thank YOU for the tie that binds, both our earthly families and our HEAVENLY family. Bless-ed be.

I regret I was not able to stay at home yesterday and watch the inauguration. I have only caught bits and pieces, but I have been told our new President stood and delivered. Today his work begins in earnest. What a huge task he must be looking at. I can only imagine how much there is to do, and such a short time to do them in. I am sure there are a lot of details that we, the general public, will never know exist in the day to day running of our government.

I would bet that our new administration feels like they just went out to dinner with a big group and have been handed the check.

Pray for them.

Happy birthday Pepa! 80 years old. Wow, if you are 80, I must be ............ . We may have to use new math.

Of course we did the big party Saturday, in fact yesterday at lunch I went there and ate and we had left over birthday 'burgers!

Saturday was a grand day, yet it was a hard day. It is on these special occasions that I seem to miss Freddy and Tj the most. I know with all the laughing and hooting and hollering, they would have been right in the middle. They would also have taken part in preparation and conducting the celebrating. I was very aware when I called for everyone to be quiet for the blessing, that it was Fred's job to do that. And I would give it back in a second if it would make him re-appear.

Probably the most difficult moment for me was taking pictures. To the best of my knowledge, this was the first time we (meaning us kids) had been asked to take pictures with Memama and or Pepa since we had lost Freddy and Terri. It was extremely difficult to muster a smile.

Of course we had to know that it crossed Memama and Pepa's minds as well.

My yesterday was a good one. Very productive. We started the new engine in the little pickup. YES! My little S-10 is ready to go on the prowl! Stay out of the fast lane! Just kidding. That little four cylinder does good to ingest the occasional bug off the grill. I have made a call to my new insurance man, my old one retired the end of 2008, and he has yet to get me a quote on pricing. So, I made a mile or two down the country roads yesterday afternoon, found that everything worked except the temperature gauge, which helped Et and I zoom in on where one last wire might plug in. Sure enough, on the bottom of the thermostat housing was a sending unit. We plugged it in, the gauge began working and the "check" engine light went off.

I realize that most people wouldn't put much time and money into a truck that is fifteen years old, but I have really missed the economy of it. I could kick myself because last year when gas got so high I could probably have cut my fuel cost in half and almost paid for the new engine. But, time constraints prohibited getting to do the R & R. I am very pleased with the job Et did. He was the lead mechanic and Rick and I got to do a lot of the time consuming stuff. Et rolled around and under and climbed all over that little truck. He really looked like a grease monkey most days! The very last detail was replacing the heater core, and that was almost too much. The book calls for removing the entire dash! Everything. Surprisingly this took only five hours before it all looked normal again.

Over the course of the entire project, I think we had one bolt left over, and I had bought one bolt and one nut. I think more than likely a short bolt was inadvertently installed in a hole that would take the longer bolt and when the longer bolt was tightened it didn't pull down correctly, resulting in my going to get a shorter length bolt. But hey, how many bolts do you take back out until you get the right one that is in the wrong place?

Funny thing last night was all the way home I kept stomping on the clutch. (And the truck I drove home is an automatic!).

The best part of the day was a call from the seasonal jobsite yesterday. The GM asked if I was interested in moving the seed from the flat storage to the mill in Lubbock! 100+ loads. I told him we would have trucks there this morning. We did a thrash getting all the trailers and trucks back together and putting them through the shop one last quick time. By the time I left the shop last night it was a little before eight. The trucks had to be in place at seven this morning. I am hopeful we get four weeks of work from this although I would settle for three.

It was really a funny occurrence. As many of you know, we had hardly turned a tap since December 19. It is kind of the nature of the beast, holidays and year end. Lots of businesses try to pull down inventory while others close down for the final week of the year. Of course this year we also had Wall Street crumble and a new incoming President. After the work did not pick up after January 5th, I had begun to get concerned.

I found myself making calls searching for loads, while I became a cheerleader for my truck drivers. Actually I guess we were cheer leading for each other. Lots of $$$$$ were flowing the wrong way and while these guys are paid a commission or percentage of each load they haul, I know they have to make a check. We have worked on nearly every piece of equipment we use! And that is where the S-10 pickup came into the mix.

My most recent pep talk had told my guys that things would pick up after our new President was elected. Yesterday morning had yielded no loads on our daily contact, but the jobsite GM called just about the time the inaugural festivities began. I was enroute to the shop when we talked of the work and when I walked into the shop I announced to our men that our new President was hardly in office and we had work!

Yippee! There were smiles all around, and it made for a really good work environment, knowing that better checks were ahead.

And I am thankful!

I talked with Pat and with E yesterday, and they both are having some medical issues. I am concerned for them both.

Hope your yesterday was good and that today is better!

FATHER, thank YOU for continuing to bless us. Thank YOU for the work. I pray for safety for our workers, I pray that we won't have any issues. FATHER, I lift up Pepa for YOUR blessings on this his birthday, and ask that YOU bless him with many more. I lift up Pat and E for YOUR gifts of healing, that YOU would cleanse their bodies and restore their health. I pray for our country and its new leadership. Guide them, and us. FATHER, I need YOU every hour, every minute, every second, every day. Abide in me!

I don't know whether to chime in with the hallelujahs or begin singing ding dong the witch is dead!

Just hours from now, history will be made, as Barack Obama will be sworn in as this country's 44th President. What a grand occasion.

I am filled with hope. I am excited.

I find myself thinking about what my grand parents reactions would have been. And I am thankful my views about race and color have been changed.

I don't know what all the comics will do for material. I suppose that will be Dumbya's legacy. The gaffs, and mis-spoken words, the wrong word use.

I suppose we have seen two extremes, how someone born in political circles can achieve the presidency and how someone has risen through the ranks to the office.

Have a day!

FATHER, I ask for YOUR blessings on our new President. I pray for his cabinet members and advisors. I pray for safety, I pray for good decisions. I pray that they will be accountable for their actions to all of us, to themselves, and to YOU. YOU bless the USA.

Well, the party made for a busy day.

Close to forty family member attended Pepa's 80th birthday party, from the local area and Plains of Texas, to East and Central Texas, to as far away as Indiana. It was a fun day!

I finally tossed in the towel and asked Rian to bring one of his big pits to cook the 'burgers and 'dogs on. He and the two bigger boys arrived about Eleven thirty.

We were running late, and arrive closer to noon. Rian was busy burning off his pit in preparation for the days cooking. Afterward he loaded the pit with mesquite firewood and we lit the fire. Shortly we loaded wieners on the upper racks, and before too long, us cooks had something to graze on.

I didn't count how many wieners we cooked, but I knew we brought forty-eight buns. Before the official start time for the party, I went inside and found thirty-six buns had been consumed with corresponding wieners! Pat made a quick trip to purchase more buns.

I do know we cooked eighty hamburger patties. I believe Krl told me sixteen buns were left from sixty, so all the attendees ate pretty well!

All of Pepa's sisters attended, although none of Memama's siblings did. All of Pepa's children's families were represented, and several boasted near 100% attendance. Close but no cigar!

Krl's and my clan probably scored lowest on this exercise as there were only five there. Not good considering all of them live within a hundred twenty-five miles of the Roscoe Hub.

Oh well.

By days end my back and hips were killing me. Too much time on my feet! We left Roscoe about seven, and my recliner was a welcome site!

If you didn't make the party it was your loss!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for a fun day!

Party, party! Pepa's birthday this afternoon!

Milestones; went to Sam's for the first time in fourteen years. Bought membership. I am still blown away by the sizes and packaging they have; went to Famous Dave's last evening for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Very impressive. Good food, good service. Our server was Famous Shannon, serving our Famous group! This was the first trip to the new local establishment, although we had visited one in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Expensive, but I prefer it over Joe Allen's.

Our sister and her husband from Indiana arrived Thursday night for Pepa's party. They had a hard first night in Texas but by last night had begun to relax.

See ya at the party! If not, have a great day!

FATHER, I ask YOUR blessings and safety for all those traveling to Pepa's party! May this day be filled with laughter, fun and memories!

Guess who is up already?

Go ahead, enjoy your sleep. I am at the watch!

Krl and I didn't put a whole lot on our weekend calendar. We wanted to go with the flow. We did however make our jaunt to get her hair cut, buy a few necessities, eat out, and get some groceries!

We went to Wal-Mart for Krl's haircut, so I got busy picking up a few items. Surprisingly, they got her right in. One thing for sure, the girl there understands english. Krl said "short" and that is what she got! It looks nice in a spike-y kind of way.

From there we went to Abuello's. Service was excellent, though the food didn't quite meet expectations. We may have been expecting too much. Isn't that sometimes the case when you have been looking forward to going to a certain restaurant? From there we drove through a local dealerships lot looking at pickups. Not that we are in the market, I was more curious than anything.

Prior to leaving for the seasonal jobsite I had found a truck on the local dealers lot that was an '07. I made an inquiry but no one seemed to know what I was talking about. However, the truck is gone now. Talk about strange, the '09's were already out, so this truck was brand new yet two years old. I put it through Kelly Bluebook and it kept telling me there was a mileage error. Oh well, it was probably the buy of the century.

I talked with Rian yesterday. They are getting new cabinet tops in their kitchen. They were supposed to be done already, but a family illness with their installer put them behind. Crazy thing was Rian took off the old counter tops, including the wood (they had tile), and he removed the sink and cook top. Tuesday evening. The man was supposed to show Wednesday but had a sick kid, then Thursday, but the man caught what his kid had, and then Friday, and he was still sick. By Saturday Rian was about fed up. He was probably a lot nicer than his Dad would have been!

Let's just say the air was cleared and the man worked Saturday and Sunday. The project is moving right along.

It needs to be done by tomorrow night because Holt is having a Polar Express Birthday party! Today is Holt's 3rd birthday and he shares this date with his Mom. Happy Birthday Holt and Erica!

Ollie got off work the other night and ran by Wal-Mart in Angelo to pick up some dog food. She said it was a quick trip in and out, and when she got in her car, the spare key she had been using wouldn't start it. So, she dug through her purse and found her keyless entry key ring, inserted that key and the car roared to life. She went home and in a short while there was someone at the door. She opened it to find a Policeman. He asked for some I.D., and she produced her license. He asked her if she had been to Wal-Mart, she replied affirmatively.

"Do you drive a black Toyota Camry", he asked.

"Yes", Ollie replied.

"It seems that you, and another person both went to Wal-Mart, the same Wal-Mart, and both of you are driving black Toyota Camry's, and somehow you switched cars", he announced.

The other people had discovered the problem, found Ollie's insurance card, returned to Wal-Mart and contacted the Police. The Police ran the registration and got Ollie's address. The other party was good enough to follow the Policeman to Ollie's house so they traded cars back.

Even trade!

In a stranger than strange note, Ollie's car is missing the Camry letters across the back and so was this other person's car.

What are the odds. I don't know about you but I might go and buy a lottery ticket if I was Ollie or the other party. Naw, with their luck they would have to share it!

Ollie's car now sports a sticker in the corner of the back window now.

Man don't these NFL play offs stink. Only one team I was cheering for (o.k. it was half hearted) won to advance to the Conference Championships. I will tell you there have been some hits though! Wow. That is a contact sport.

That may be why I went pro in something other than football!

I spent a little time in the office yesterday, then I helped Krl to stow away Christmas decorations. She has had them down and boxed, I just boxed them in a bigger box and put them in the attic. Our new tree comes with a zip bag that you store it in, in four pieces. When I was putting it in the attic it was touch and go for a while who was going to win, me or the tree! Ultimately I prevailed!

My only other weekend activity was a quick run to the post office. I hadn't been since Monday so I was due! It was packed and I had a not to make a window pickup, so obviously that means another trip to pickup the over flow.

I am hopeful our mail malady has corrected itself. When we left for the seasonal jobsite we filled out a temporary change of address card. BUT, you had to give them an ending date. I was hopeful so I filled in the blank with January 11, 2009. Problem was we got through early and returned home December 19, 2008. Our mail has been in a vicious cycle ( I would compare to a swirling toilet). Some days it was forwarded, some days it was delivered locally, so it has been a real mess.

When I left the seasonal jobsite our post person (We refer to her as the mail lady, which seems to be a play on words) reminded me we needed to do a change of address. When I went in to the post office there, a woman who use to work with me at the seasonal jobsite was the fill in Post Master. I explained what I was doing and she told me I couldn't just forward the mail to my house because I had a forward to the jobsite and it would circle and circle until one of the orders expired. So I had to forward my forwarded mail to the company mail box.

Whew! I can remember when you would just go in and tell them what was going on and it was done. Oh, for the good old days!

Have a day! See ya!

FATHER, I seem to kind of be getting loaded up here. Keep me on task. Help me to be diligent. Help me to be thorough. Help me to remember what is really important! Bless Holt and Erica on this their birthday. May they have many more!

Well, my yesterday did not get the memo about the itinerary. What I hoped for and what I got were not even vaguely alike.

Realize that we did get a lot accomplished. Just not the lot that I hoped.

The man from the axle surgeon arrived as expected, only to find the inside diameter of the axle on Pepa's trailer and the outside diameter of the new stub axle he planned to install would not work together. The outside diameter was a half inch greater than the inside diameter, so the stub would not slide into the housing.

What amazed me was this was discovered after he had cut off the old axle. He told me, we don't have to do this. I looked at the cut off spindle and then at him and said, "I would have to say you are committed!"

I had already determined a course of action and figured I could have his stub in and out of the local machine shop in a couple of hours. Instead this man tried to tell me they were building a stub specifically for this axle.

Bunk!

He spent a couple of hours prep-ing the axle housing for when the stub arrives. When it does it will take about an hour to install. Lasers will be used to align the stub with the other end.

He has assured me the repair will have a lifetime warranty, guaranteed to be aligned.

My little mad man driver worked on unit #244 yesterday. A fan sensor, fan belts, a/c belt and some headlight adjustment screws. Then he tried to shore up a fiberglass fender that has been mistreated. If things don't pick up we may get a little fiberglass resin and some webbing and take this repair a little further.

We had been trying to find a water leak on the mad man's truck. Yesterday we found it. We removed a reservoir to find a bolt holding it had barely rubbed on the upper radiator tank. Barely, but for long enough to wear a small hole. I decided to give southern engineering a try. We cleaned the area, coated a small screw with epoxy, installed the screw and epoxied over and around the screw. We made the decision that the driver would take a different truck home so the epoxy could cure properly over the weekend.

Just about the time we were finishing our day (we thought), Pepa asked if we would help him put his duals (tires and wheels) on his farm tractor. I knew that he had loaned out one of his tractors and the borrowers had removed the duals for their use and they were supposed to show this week to put them back on, but it was Friday and appeared they had been be no shows! So, my truck driver got the forklift, I hooked the service trailer to my pickup and to the North end of the barn we went. In about thirty minutes we had the duals on Pepa's 8310.

We were gathering tools and wood blocks to put them in their appropriate places when Pepa told me, "You know Brent and his people were supposed to put those on, I was really talking about my other big tractor."

I stopped and asked him, "Do you want us to put the duals on your other tractor?"

"Yes!" he replied.

I went to get the other tractor and my driver began getting the duals ready. Talk about a mess, there were eight more dual tires and wheels leaned up against the box car, some of them flat, some of them cut. It appears they have been mixed and matched, and there was no way to properly determine which ones went on each particular tractor, so finally we picked a pair that were aired up and we installed them.

It only put me an hour and a half behind when I thought I was leaving the shop. I told Krl about us putting the duals on the first tractor and then Pepa telling me he really wanted the duals on the other one and she said, "And he just let ya'll put them on?"

We both had to laugh.

Well, our party is a week away. If everyone does their part it will be easy. So just do it!

I decided we would take the day off today. I plan on taking Krl to get haircut. This means while she is getting her hair cut, I will get to pick up anything we need from Wal-Mart. I may be dumb, but I am not stupid!

We are planning a trip to the grocery store, our first big groceries since we returned from the jobsite (except for Christmas dinner). If things go well, we may try to eat out! I still have that hankering for something, I just don't know what.

I did notice Krl has a ham steak laid out to thaw. She has a big pot of Lima beans cooked already, so we may end up coming home.

Yesterday for lunch Memama fixed meatloaf that resembled chicken strips. Actually she was mixing her meatloaf and dumped in a container's contents she thought was bell pepper only to learn it was broccoli. She had to change her menu abruptly.

Yesterday morning when I left our house, I had plans of going to the jobsite to pickup one of the two remaining travel trailers. I drove down Buffalo Gap Road to check gas prices and fill up. When I pulled in I reached in my pocket to retrieve some cash only to find it was not in my pocket. I checked every pocket, knowing that the previous day I had broken a hundred dollar bill. I was and am positive I had a fifty and a five folded together. I grabbed a credit card and filled my pickup, and decided I would drive home to see if when I put my change, keys and pocket knives in my clean jeans I had forgotten the cash. No such luck! I thought back to my previous day, and the only time I was in that pocket was to get out my pocket knife inside the farm shop. I thought maybe I pulled it out too, and it was laying in the floor of the shop. Not so. When I arrived at the shop and searched for the missing money my mad man driver asked what I was doing and I told him about the money. He assured me if he had seen me drop it he would have told me.

I hate to lose money like that. I am still hopeful it will surface. If you lose it you might as well have burned it or splurged on something you didn't need. Last time something like this happened Prissy had eaten part of a bill, but enough was left to trade it in at the bank for a new bill.

Hey I can hope!

Have a weekend!

FATHER, I can understand YOUR hope that, that, which is lost will return. Praise be to YOU!

One truck is on the road, the other is still waiting. Yuk!

Of course the one truck waiting is my little wild man driver. Actually, it has probably been good for us to have to spend so much time together. We have talked about a wide range of subjects, and I have heard his version of events which occurred in past.

No question about it, this man loved Fred and misses him each and every day.

We had a radio going yesterday and the song came on, "Where were you when the towers came crashing down?" That was interesting because it is much like "Where were you when JFK was assassinated?" The major milestones are forever etched in our minds.

This driver ranks his learning of Fred's death with 911 and JFK's death. He can tell me his exact location and how he learned of each event.

We have an axle surgeon coming to the shop today. We have had one trailer sitting there since before Christmas that requires this man's attention. It is really very interesting. The is a problem with a spindle on this trailer and this man will repair it on the trailer at our location.

In the past, we were relegated to either a complete axle replacement or finding a machine shop with a lathe big enough to throw (meaning rotate) the axle or banjo housing. The latter would require building up the damaged spindle before machining it back down, or cutting off the damaged end and machining a new one and attaching it.

I'm betting this is pricey, but this is a contact I want to keep in my phone.

Well, dang the luck. I cheered for the Sooners, out of conference loyalty. However, Rian and I had a friendly wager (no money involved) on the game. Rian wanted OU and 3 1/2 points. I told him if he wanted OU, he would have to take them even. So I won the bet, but I lost.

My hopes had been for the Big Twelve to go 2-0 in the BCS.

I find myself procrastinating. I really should make a break for St. Lawrence after the axle surgeon finishes. I still have two travel trailers out there that need to come home. One is winterized and ready, the other is still connected to water and power.

Rian and his friend Robert used the trailer still connected last week for their hunting excursion. By the way, they got four deer.

Pepa asked me yesterday if I wanted to take two pickups and get both trailers. That would mean taking my truck driver with us and him driving my pickup and me driving Pepa's. (I would imagine). Of late, every time we are going to drive very far, Pepa doesn't want to drive. I think about Grandpa and how he tooled around in his little old Chevy 2, one leg and all. Of course if he stayed in regular circles (between Roscoe and Lake Brownwood) there were a lot of people who knew him and watched out for him if he had trouble.

Memama had a procedure yesterday. So far the early results look pretty good. I think what the Doctor learned will explain a lot.

My yesterday began with another trailer going into Pepa's shop. This is a trailer one of his trucks pulled through last year's off season. During the seasonal work, a tool box door had become damaged, and a spare tire and wheel had been put on the trailer. The spare wheel was a steel wheel where the original was aluminum, so we got it back on to finish the set.

A tire had been mounted on the original wheel, but is was a different size, so we had to take the tire off the spare wheel and off the original wheel and swap them out. Then we had one more wheel which didn't have a tire mounted and we did that one as well.

There is an art to working with these big tires, and I am not an artist. I watch and try to learn, but I struggle when working with them. Of course these new wheels are a breeze compared to the old split rims. My driver is pretty good with the tire irons, but yesterday morning the tires were cold and hard. Two dismounts and three mounts were sufficient for my aching back!

Rian called yesterday evening. He was frustrated with his work and questioning his choice of vocation. He had had a couple of teachers in his office, saying they were speaking for a larger group. They were frustrated with discipline problems, saying they are not seeing results from kids being sent to the office. Rian's boss sat in on the meeting, and at the conclusion told Rian "Don't let this bother you." And he voiced his support and appreciation for the job Rian is doing. The campus athletic coordinator came by and visited with Rian and they discussed Rian's day. This person was very supportive too.

I told Rian, you can't make everyone happy. A person needs to be accountable to themself, knowing that the job you do is the very best that they can do, and from there let the chips fall where they may. That is all you can ask of yourself.

Rian is honest enough to know they have a tough group of kids. I would imagine after a three week break from teaching these kids, a teacher would return and go through culture shock. I am sure they seem like hellions. One thing Rian had not told the teachers is that one disciplinary option had been unavailable since early December, although they use it as a last resort. That program had been filled.

I am beginning to hear rumors concerning Coach. I think Fox Sports Southwest had reported him going to Baylor, but I don't think there is anything to this rumor. Other rumors have him moving to a new 4-A school in the metroplex area which would get them close to Colby's family.

I have been told Kirby is through with school. Of course he had graduated from Miami last December and had transferred to Baylor for his final year of eligibility and to work on his masters degree. His senior football campaign included getting stepped on early in the season resulting in a foot fracture that bothered him him the entire season.

Well, I have rambled far and wide. Have a day and a weekend!

FATHER, thank YOU for the good days that make the bad ones more bearable. YOU are good!

I am hopeful today is the day that things go better.

One of my pet peeves is for someone to fix something or attempt to fix something, only to fail and have to do it over again. We have had some of that going on at the shop. My ADD/HD truck driver who just wears me out has been on a roll. He will tackle anything, but often times in his rush messes things up. The last two days have been indicative of this. He had replaced a carrier bearing, only to have the new part malfunction, and he replaced a wheel seal, only for it to continue to leak.

We have sent the failed carrier bearing back to the manufacturer in hopes they will warranty it. These bearings mount in rubber and support drivetrain components. This particular one, the bearing spun inside the rubber mount. I picked up another one from my supplier, who was good enough to supply me with all the paperwork for the warranty claim. My parts man stopped just short of telling me what the odds were for getting my money back. So, now I have spent another $100 to fix the truck again, and I hold on to hope the manufacturer will stand good for their product. (You know it must be nice to have a business with signs posted saying, all warranty's are by the the manufacturer and not by this establishment. Some time it would be nice to have someone go to bat for you!).

The failed wheel seal I think was totally my driver's fault. I watched him install it and replace the hub and wheel assembly on the truck, and I feel his aggressive tactics doomed the repair process. Chalk up another $40 for a new seal.

Of course this driver will expect to be compensated for his failed efforts and his re-do's.

The same driver is one of my biggest complainers. He has told me how much he needs to work, yet yesterday I talked with a gentleman who made me doubt my driver's sincerity. It seems the man I talked to, who is a load broker, had offered my driver a load Monday and my driver rejected it. I was furious. I wove a little trap and during the course of the day, my driver found himself snared and had to come clean.

Tuesday just before lunch I got a call from the afore mentioned broker and I told him I would take a round trip for Pepa's driver, but not for my man. Not for Tuesday.

When I told Pepa's driver he was a priority because he needed to roll by day's end, my driver came to me asking, "What about me?"

I told him these were the same loads he rejected Monday, that he didn't think were good enough to mention to me and besides, his truck was not ready because we have to re-fix most of what he has worked on this week!

I continued, telling this driver he was making it difficult for me to continue to look for something for him to do, when he was costing double for parts.

I guess I made an impact because he became very dedicated, and deligent in his efforts. I feel much better about his work yesterday afternoon, so I sent a step deck trailer with him, in the truck, to Lamesa to retrieve Pepa's tractor and some parts for Hag.

The proof is in the pudding. When he completes this 200 mile shakedown run we will know about the repairs.

In the mean time, I did verbally commit for him a load today. It will be a two day circle that should return him Thursday night or Friday morning. By the way, it is the same as the load he rejected Monday.

I told him a bird in hand is better than just feathers!

It turns out, what I said yesterday in my blog about "trying to wish" something to happen is exactly what he has been trying to do. He told me, the lady he has hauled for a lot in the past told him Monday, she wasn't going to have a load for him this week.

If he had told me this, he could have had two of the load circles he is leaving with today instead of one (for the week). That would have paid him around $775 for driving plus his shop time. Not a bad week for a slow week.

Isn't it true that often we are our own worst enemy?

When Krl and I talked of my yesterday and all the little melodramas, she was quite livid. The problem driver does not rate very high on her list anyhow and he has done nothing to help his case.

I am excited though. That the repairs will be good, and these two trucks can go to work. I just need some relief from these two ugly mugs!

I had a rushed lunch with Memama and Pepa yesterday. Jake was there as well. The event Pat and I have been planning is a party for Pepa's 80th birthday later this month. We selected the day, the 17th, and hopefully everything else will be much easier. He does not seem to be excited. Not even when I told him I was thinking of renting a large tent and maybe an air castle. It didn't even improve his demeanor when I told him I would see if they had an inflatable air structure that looked like a big toilet!

Just kidding! It will be fun. Immediate family, along with Memama and Pepa's siblings, and I am sure a few cousins may accompany their folks on the road. Jeanetta was planning, trying to see if she was going to fly or drive from Indiana. She will have the most hurdles to overcome to get here. It didn't help that this thing came together very quickly. (No we haven't been working on it for eighty years!). We rejected the idea of the community or church function because we didn't want it to get out of hand, size wise. I would invite those who would like to, to send Pepa a birthday card. The real birthdate is the 21st.

We entertained two possible meal options. The first was burgers, chips, and cake. Then I came up with another. I called mine the grass roots option. Red Beans, cornbread and cake! Nothing fancy about that, just down home country. We decided on the burger route! Rian is going to bring his small pit and cook the patties (hopefully early, and we will put them in a broaster roaster to warm while we do the same thing for buns in another one.) Linda and Joni are going to do the cake. Our attempt is to try to do something that is not major, where everyone can enjoy the party.

O.K.. Make a mental note to ask for a variance on the burn ban so we can light birthday candles!

Sorry, I was talking to myself!

Have a day!

FATHER, help me here. I feel a little ragged. My patience is thin. Help me to slow down, to be more compassionate and caring. I pray for safety for our drivers as they return to the roads. LORD lead me on!