Wow, the Stanford women's basketball team looked tough last evening. Post player Jayne Appel scored 46 points in just over 30 minutes of playing time. If she had taken on Iowa State by herself she would have lost 53 to 46. With her teammates help, they scored 74.

I didn't do a women's tournament bracket.

Well, my Monday was busy. When I finally got away from the house, the morning was almost gone.

I have been driving the vehicle I repossessed, trying to decide what work it might need and also whether or not I might want to sell the little pickup instead of it. I was at Tye when I passed one of the drug task force cars that usually camp out between Merkel and Trent. I had the cruise control on and was cruising. For about twelve miles this car followed me, then the reds and blues began their rotation. I pulled over, and this "officer" gingerly approached the vehicle. I had rolled down the window, but was watching as he walked up to the back of the vehicle and looked into the cargo area, then he came along side looking in the back seat, and finally he cautiously peered around the door post and greeted me.

I know he had to be disappointed to find a "grey haired middle fifties aged man" driving the vehicle. He began by telling me "The license tags on this vehicle don't match the vehicle." (I'm sorry Officer, this was the only color available!).

I reached down the other side of the console and produced a set of tags that had been sent to me, and I gave them to him.

"Is this your car?", he asked.

"Yes and no", I replied, and I began telling him the tale of the Black Ford Explorer.

He took the tags, along with my license and insurance, and told me, "Wait in the vehicle while I run some checks on you and the vehicle."

About twenty minutes later, he finally came back to the Explorer. He said, "The tags on this vehicle belong on a 1975 Cadillac registered to a person named Villereal in San Angelo, Texas." And in his next breath he said, "Outside of some traffic offenses, you have no record."

I couldn't tell if that was a question or a statement.

He would have been really surprised if I had told him in my younger years I had 45's, 33 LP's, and even a 78 Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas record!

After that I had 4 track and 8 track tapes, then cassettes and now I even own a few CD's.

So much for his Police work!

In a parting comment, he advised me to get the new tags on the vehicle, but if I didn't, "Don't do anything stupid if you get stopped again or you might end up getting shot".

Now who is looking stupid!

As soon as I got to the parts store, I changed the plates on the Explorer.

Then I ran by Memama and Pepa's house before going to the farm shop to pick up Rian's cast iron weights. I swapped vehicles and got into the big company pickup and hooked up the company service trailer. There were sixteen of these weights, still bolted together, but sitting on a pallet. I took the farm forklift and loaded them on the trailer. I took them to the parts store and off loaded them and separated them.

I told Chris, we would paint them in our spare time over the next couple of days!

Chris was thrilled to have his first official crew person duty.

I made some copies in the office, before heading back to Abilene and the home office. Our agreement with one of our vendors is that we fax them the paperwork on Monday for Wednesday pay, and the Monday clock was ticking. I also needed to get another vendor's bill "in the mail". So, by the time I went by the house and did some quick office work, it was ten 'til five when I walked in the Post Office.

From there it was three errands. Albertson's, Petsmart and Abby's.

When I had unloaded the supplies, I began supper preparation. Krl and I had agreed I would grill some 'burgers. I had purchased some ground sirloin, so I hand pressed two patties. These monsters were a whopping half pound each, of prime, uncooked, ground sirloin! I cooked them slowly, taking special care when turning them the first time (so they wouldn't break up). I had seasoned them heavily, and near the end of the cooking cycle, I dabbed a little barbecue sauce on them before finally turning them a final time and putting a slice of cheese on top.

Krl toasted the buns, and had prepped lettuce and tomatoes. It was delicious!

Fact is I wish I had another one for breakfast.

As I cooked last evening, I talked with Pat. She was taking Memama to see her eye doctors in Dallas. That is where Memama had her cornea transplants a few years ago and then she recently had more surgery. Their plan had been to leave Roscoe at three, make the drive and spend the night at the Radisson. It was after six when we spoke and they were going around Abilene, having decided to eat at Cracker Barrel before completing their drive to Dallas.

As I have often stated, Pat serves as the family medical revue officer. Since she is a licensed RN she can walk the walk and talk the talk. It has been a true blessing that she is able to go and talk with Memama and Pepa's doctors.

Pat "goes" more than any one I know. Constantly. Recently I have tried to lighten her load by letting Chris ride to Abilene with me for his meetings twice a week.

Yesterday the plans became complicated as Steph (Pat's daughter) called and told her she was having some issues, and needed Pat to come to Palestine to help with Chloe, and to provide a little support as Steph goes in for some tests and procedures Wednesday.

So, what that means is this. I am driving to Weatherford or Fort Worth this morning to retrieve Memama and return her home (after her doctors visit). This will allow Pat to "redirect" herself to Palestine to Steph's! (I know Pat didn't want to go see Chloe, but someone needed to! Ha! Actually I can't remember who I had talked with but they said it was about time for Pat to make the trek to Chloe's house this week, but whoever it was was prophetic!).

Then on Friday Pat will meet Hag in Pflugerville at Hank's house. Hag's brother is meeting them there and they are trying to get the house ready to go on the market.

So, if you want on Pat's calendar, you had better be looking at least a week down the road!

So, I will go Abilene-Weatherford/Fort Worth, back to Roscoe, back to Abilene with Chris for a 4 o'clock appointment. pick him up at 5, take him to Larry's Better 'Burger, then back for a 6 o'clock appointment. From there I will go home. Jake is picking Chris up from there at 8.

I can reminisce growing up, that we would go to Sweetwater once a week and Abilene maybe once every two or three months. Now we don't even think twice about putting down the miles! (I think back to a weekend one-day jaunt that on my day off I drove 459 miles departing my house and returning by dark!). I have lived in Abilene for twenty-two years, and if I drove to Roscoe an average of five days a week, I would have driven 572,000 miles on that 50 mile strip of blacktop. I think in that time span we have had twelve vehicles. (Counting the three we have now plus my company truck).

I think we are spoiled rotten. I don't think I am ready for the transporter room and "beam me up".

Heh, I can't help but compare our busy lives with life on the "Ponderosa" or "Gunsmoke" on the TV Land channel.

Have a day!

FATHER, help us not to get caught up in the goings on of our lives. I lift up Memama and Steph for YOUR miracle of healing. I ask for good reports, and for safe travel. I lift praises to YOUR name!

Conficker.

That is the "worm" that is out there. Experts say it is set to take action April 1 (a favorite date with the people who do this kind of thing).

Microsoft has offered a $250K reward for turning in whoever has authored this current generation virus.

For me, the amazing thing is, if someone is smart enough to do this, why don't they use this intelligence for something good.

They say the effects of this threat are not known. It could wipe hard drives, or it could take control of personal computers and download sensitive information.

Well, my pick for the NCAA men's basketball tournament will have to buy a ticket. Rick and the Cardinals let me down. For me, the big surprise is the margin of Sunday's games. While I hoped for the Sooners of Oklahoma, I had bailed on them with my Sunday picks. NC looked pretty tough while Coach Izzo's team seems to be on a mission.

The TAM women were sent packing too. Still that was a pretty good showing.

Kentucky gave Coach Gillespie his walking papers after only two seasons.

I guess what I am trying to say, is, it is a competitive game out there. Lots of parity. And there are coaches depending on young men and women for their successes.

Krl and I spent Sunday working on billing and driver settlements. I watched a little roundball, flipping back and forth from NASCAR to basketball.

I am finding I enjoy watching the Women's NCAA tourney as much or more than their counterparts. The women seem to play with a lot more emotion!

I am sometimes awed by the women's talent, but please understand I grew up in the age of girl's basketball being six on six, half court. Guards and forwards. Organizers thought girls were to fragile to play full court. Obviously they didn't know Mary Ann W.. The half-court game added a very interesting aspect to the game.

Now we see women dunking, and their ability to dribble and pass the ball is phenomenal!

In the morning I will point my week toward next weekend. I have to drive to Roscoe to deliver ET's check (he is coming through on his way toward Post, where he is loading). Then I guess the "Dad" in me will take over. I plan on going to the farm shop to get weights for Rian's pull tractor. I plan on taking them to the NAPA store and separating them (there are twenty of them bolted together), then knocking the dirt off and spray painting them. Hopefully, Rian can stop by Friday and Max can load the weights in Rian's trailer with a forklift.

Rian hasn't asked me to do this. I know he is busy though. He has obligations every night this week and the little details are eating his sack lunch. I haven't talked with him since about noon Sunday. He had just returned from a weekend youth retreat. He took five boys from his school with the church group. After evening church services he was planning on building braided fuel lines. Then he will have to be sure everything seals. Methanol is pretty volatile and burns so clean and clear you will feel the fire before you see it.

I have mixed feelings about next weekends show. I have always enjoyed announcing. I use to tease that if it made a lot of noise and went fast, I was interested. However, I am very protective of my weekends.

I try to schedule my week to allow me to go on the weekends, but with the trucks and a Monday pay day for drivers, it is difficult. My current schedule is home office Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday is at the parts store, then Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. I say "off" facetiously! Weekends usually are consumed with remains from the week.

Use to be if I was traveling for some promotion company, my Friday was spent "in transit". If I had done a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday show, either I was traveling into the night or on Monday.

As it has turned out, this schedule also works if I am doing weight transfer rental for shows. It allows a full day for travel to, and a full day for travel from. The biggest difference is I am not on an airplane or in an airport, I am in a big truck!

Hopefully, the trucks will be set by Thursday. The way the rotation looks is they will off load Friday and reload for Monday delivery! The way the trucks run is a really big six day week followed by a five day week, but less revenue. This week will be a short one, but loading Friday for Monday delivery is setting things up for the following week.

Chris is going to spend Thursday night with Krl and I and when we come home from the parts store we will have one of the company travel trailers in tow. The deal I made with Gayle is for two nights announcing for a fee and a RV hookup for the weekend.

Rian has been working on the living quarters in the trailer that L.O. and K.O. have loaned him, but he won't have his shower in by next weekend. That just means the travel trailer will play a little larger role. Rian's bud Kyle Brown was suppose to go as a crew member but one of their coaches was cut loose and that means the remaining three are having to take up the slack. Last week they gave Kyle his schedule for this week and it didn't include going with Rian on his trip. I bet Kyle is not happy because he has put in some late nights helping Rian. Rian had told me he was going to let Kyle drive Free 1, but now that won't happen. So Chris has been elevated from spectator to crew member!

We'll make it work.

Of course nothing is simple. Next Sunday is Greenlawn's 50th Anniversary Celebration so Rian has to drive back to Lubbock Saturday night. It seems all their ministers have been told, "No exceptions".

Well, I may try to get a nap before morning.

Have a day!

Be still, oh my soul!

Lately, Krl and I have been constantly putting plants outside, only to bring them back in with each threatening cold spell. Needless to say, it has been a constant process.

When I returned home Friday from running errands, I began the "incoming" process. I was surprised at the conditions of the various plants. Plants that had been suffering inside, had begun to flourish, while plants that flourished in the house were suffering outside.

Probably the two plants that had really come around outside were Krl's Aloevera plant and her Boston Ferns. It seems none of them like the dry conditions inside that central heat seems to bring. Another plant that "took off" outside was Krl's ivy.

Late yesterday I was looking at the plants and already I could see differences. The Aloevera seems to be in shock, a little pale and not standing quite as erect. The ferns are so, so. They haven't been inside long enough to show their suffering. Probably the "most improved" was Krl's wandering Jew. Already I could see branches and starts responding to the warmth of the house and the artificial light.

It amazes me how the plants all respond to different stimuli. Some would forego the natural sunlight and cool nights for artificial light and the warmth inside, while others are just the opposite.

It seems the one thing they all agree on is rain water. They all respond more favorably to natural rain water more than tap water.

One note I would make, some of these plants Krl has taken care of since before she and I got together.

Even our houndgirls can't agree on the cool weather. The pups are full of spit and vinegar, running about and playing. Prissy, the matriarch, is stove up and limping around.

They don't even agree on the fireplace. The pups don't like the cracklin' fire and are scared of it. Last night Prissy circled about three foot in front of it before laying down to bask in it's warmth.

Odd isn't it?

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for the miracle of YOUR nature, that all YOUR creations bring different and important things to YOUR world. And thanks for sharing YOUR world with us.

I made myself stay in bed this morning. As per usual, a little before four, I rolled over and looked at the clock. Maple Syrple jumped down, ready for me to grab my glasses and exit the bedroom. She was disappointed when I laid back down.

Worst part was, the activity made Prissy want to get up. She began her trademark "grrbark", then the two little pups got in to it in a scramble for better sleeping spots.

It was fitful from then until I finally got up at a little past seven.

Last evening, I watched the NCAA men's basketball tournament. I knew I wouldn't be happy with the outcome because two teams I like were competing against each other. But, I did much better with my picks last night than Thursday. So for now, I am six of eight in the second chance "pick 'em".

I looked and there are a large number who are perfect at 8 of 8. My rank is 29,000 something.

I expect Louisville to take it all, but man did Oklahoma look good. I picked the Sooners to exit Sunday courtesy of NC.

ET, one of my drivers, really hustled down in Laredo yesterday. He ended up finding us two loads to get the guys back home. One load got the driver who lives in Bangs home with the load to final out in Early, Texas. The other truck loaded for Ballinger but can't unload until Monday. Still that is better than deadheading 400+ miles.

The guys already have loads waiting for them to begin the next week.

The cash flow situation improved with the arrival of one check. Surprisingly, it wasn't the one I expected. The company that is usually good pay, is lagging behind for some reason. I feel confident all the billing was in order so I don't know what their hold up might be.

I'll take another trip to the Post Office later today.

Later today I have to make the trip to Roscoe to pick up driver envelopes. For some reason regardless of when they get them to me, they expect their checks on Monday!

I visited yesterday with "Coach". I feel like this next week he will probably be making a decision of what he is going to do. I haven't seen it but Pat said after she saw their lake place, "Coach" needs to go into the building business. She said he has quite a gift of seeing something and then making it come to fruition.

While "Coach" resigned his position, he remains employed until July 1 at Brownwood unless he requests a release. Last weekends Bluebonnet relays was his last "hurrah" in his duties though.

I don't know if I am going to be able to handle Chris's excitement over next weekend. He already has his plans made! His Momma said he told her she wouldn't see him from Thursday until the following Monday!

I let a little air out of his balloon yesterday when I told him we wouldn't be leaving until sometime Friday. My six month check up for skin cancer recurrence is scheduled for Friday morning. I am probably more like ten months, but my doctor had heart surgery and is only now resuming his practice. It didn't take him long to regroup. Of course he was thrilled when I told him if he wanted to figure out a way to load his four wheeler, we would take it!

Well, I had better get my day to catching up.

Have a great weekend!

FATHER thank YOU for the restful night, for the productive week. Greater are YOU who is in me, than he who is in the world.

With only one glitch, the trucks had been moving methodically from pick up to delivery, day in and day out. Until today. We seem to have lost our rabbit's foot. The trucks called in very early from Laredo, empty. We had hit the mother lode with a freight forwarder, and would unload and reload without even moving. Until today.

So, I have load searches going as I type. So far, nothing to get excited about, but I am planning an exit strategy for loads to get the drivers back on this end for the weekend. I can get them part way home before they would have to put it in the wind and deadhead.

We are still hopeful that our regular circle will get some freight forwarded across the border before end of day.

My drivers were hoping we could put this last leg of their week together. It would be the best weeks they have had so far.

I am somewhat disappointed in our shippers last week. We signed up for quick pay with one, agreeing to a 1% discount for two day settlement. The other major shipper had paid in six days from the mailing of our invoice to receiving their check. Today is eight days since I mailed it.

I hate money!

Cash flow is f l o w i n g l i k e m o l a s s e s!

I talked with Rian this morning and he said it was cold in Lubbock! 32 degrees and that was supposed to be their high for the day. They were predicting snow with accumulations of 1 to 3 inches. Already they had drizzle and Rian reported the roads were slick.

Rian has gone from "be prepared" and being ready to go to Priddy to beginning to fizz! He says he is nervous, but confident. He says he has never been scared of his tractor, even when it was a twin blown. He has had it at a metal shop, having some diamond plate aluminum broken and fitted. This was the last major project. He also had them move his steering location up. This may have caused him another problem. He says that it changed his steering geometry and is causing difficulty in turning. So, now he has to change the geometry under the diamond plate.

He is telling me he has obligations every day from now until next Friday when he leaves for Priddy, leaving him limited time to address any of these small problems.

Well, I had better run my load searches. At some point I am going to bring in some wood for the fire place. This may well be the last chance of the year to burn a fire!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for all the blessings YOU pour down on us. Thank YOU for our successes, help us to learn from our failures and difficulties. YOU are in control!

What are the odds?

You would live in a small city of 100,00+, which has five Post Offices (including Universities), that you would go to the Post Office you use, which has thousands of mail boxes, park in the parking lot, a car pull in beside you, exit your vehicle, hold the door open for the person that parked beside you, follow this person toward your mail box, and discover not only were you positioned side by side in the parking lot, but side by side in mail boxes!

It is almost scary!

All the stars had to be perfectly aligned.

Why I oughta . . . .......... bought a lottery ticket!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for all YOUR blessings. We ask for YOUR blessing of rain. You are faithful to meet our needs!

I have caught bits and pieces of Congressional hearings concerning the bailout. Mr. Bernanke and Mr. Geithner have been under a lot of fire. I am appalled at the hostility and disrespect the Congressmen and women have for these men.

That is a lot like being mad at the fireman who put out the fire, for the fire.

Some critics say Bernanke and the Federal Reserve should have had a better sense of the economy "tanking". To this I would agree.

I think we may see a lot of criminal charges for CFO's who probably did some creative accounting prior to the truth being made known. One thing for sure, this mess hasn't happened overnight. It has been festering for quite some time.

I think Secretary Geithner is a smart man who is bailing water with a teaspoon.

I just saw a sound bite of President Obama, saying his intent is to be "persistent". I don't doubt this. I like his quick decisiveness. I really think he is trying to lead.

I am continuing to read my book. I know, since when has a book taken me three weeks to read. This book isn't my normal read. Normally I will read close to a hundred pages each sitting, with this book, sometimes I will read only two or three.

I'm not saying it isn't a good book. My real problem is with some of the companies the author is holding up as "Great" are companies mired in the midst of the bailout, or have been taken over or filed bankruptcy.

Currently I am in the middle of a section about finding something you can be the best at, and how you have to be passionate about it. Makes sense to me.

Yesterday Rian spoke at LCHS Chapel. He talked about spring cleaning and related that to cleansing and putting one's heart and life in order. It sounded like it was good. He seems to have a real talent for "connecting" with his students.

Hump day! Man this week, month and year are flying by!

Have a good one!

FATHER, thank YOU for this day and the blessings it holds. I lift up Pepa and Pat to YOU for YOUR gifts of healing and care. FATHER, help me to be passionate about YOU.

I am beginning to see some things happening in our area that tell me the recession has arrived. Yesterday I went into a national chain for some supplies. When I walked in I was greeted with a portable marquee announcing new hours. They now open at nine.

When Krl and I worked at the family business, we did a lot of shopping at this store. The reason was, they opened at seven in the morning. Then they did an hour change (that the local manager told us didn't fit this store but nationally it was supposed to save like a kazillion dollars). They moved opening to eight on week days, but also moved Sunday from noon to eight.

I know, go figure.

Krl and I are finding one thing we are in need of is a copy machine. If we have a small copy job, we can use the copy mode on the fax. But, we are finding more and more, when we are making billing copies, the fax is slow, low quality and expensive.

Yesterday I needed to copy eighteen pages. Friday, Krl copied a comparable number of copies for a different vendor. Usually, I go to Kinkos, yesterday I went to Office Depot. Neither have been good experiences.

Use to be the people at Office Depot were it's most valuable asset. Now you can wait in line fifteen minutes while one register is open and three employees are gathered, visiting mid-store.

Krl had given me a $10 off coupon on a fifty dollar purchase. I needed some printer ink and decided to get some fax supplies too, in order to make the fifty dollar threshold. The way I looked at it, with ten dollars off, either an ink or toner were going to be half price with my coupon. Turned out when I got to the checkout, they rang my copying separate from my supplies, then the cashier didn't take my coupon card, saying it wasn't good for ink or toner. When I told Krl, she took the coupon and her reading glasses and read to me from the back. It was good for what I bought!

I oughta ......... . . . . ...!

My favorite is Staples in Midland.

From there I went to the Post Office. It seems I am sending a lot of over-sized envelopes lately. Use to be I would use the four pages to a stamp rule of thumb, but now they have a size coefficient. It is doesn't go through their sizer, it has to mail as a flat package. No wonder the Post Office loses money.

On the P.O. subject, I saw this morning where one out of every four Postal employees will be offered early retirement, and they are still looking at trimming one day from Postal deliveries.

And of course, they are already telling us that 44 cents is not enough for first class.

Krl talked with a company yesterday that is quickly becoming one of our largest and best. They had a note on the load confirmation faxes listing pay options. When Krl talked with them they told her they would pay from faxes in two days for a 1% discount. Otherwise it was thirty day pay. I can handle that!

One of our biggest problems this time of year is cash flow. The trucks do the work, we are out the fuel and maintenance, the drivers are paid weekly and by the time the paperwork is in, some loads have been done a week previous. Add to that the thirty days, and you can have a lot of money out, very quickly. Even with $2 diesel the fuel can eat your lunch.

I'll take the two day pay and give up 1%.

I guess I admitted to myself that gas was about as low as it is going to get. I filled the Explorer, then I filled the S-10, then I decided to get Krl's Expedition out (it hadn't been out of the garage since Pepa's Birthday partyin January) and I filled it with gas. My final fill was the gas can for the mower.

I guess we are going to take the lawn duty back. Our old lawn guy hasn't returned our calls and Saturday his daughter and son mowed one of the five yards they do in our neighborhood. I am curious what is going on. Krl prepaid him for four weeks (or four mow-ings) when we went to the seasonal jobsite, and he didn't mow again after we left. He may want to take the money and run.

We could probably use the exercise.

I booked my first show yesterday. Announcing only. Hey, that is the lowest in put, highest return show I do. I can grab my brief case and little cooler and go! I don't know why people try it, but this man's last negotiating tool was the question, "Does that price include a PA system?"

"Uhhhmm. Nope!", I replied.

I could see me going through the airport a few years ago with speakers, amplifier, and microphones in tow!

I thought I was doing the dude pretty right, I am driving and I didn't charge him mileage or motel.

Actually, I will drive and take one of the travel trailers. I am going to take Chris with me. I think he needs a wholesome activity outside of Roscoe. It will also allow Rian and his buddy Kyle a base camp. They are taking one of the eighteen wheelers, and the trailer has built in living quarters up front. It is kind of crude, but it works. I figure throw in a bottle of propane, my turkey fryer burner, my big cast iron skillet, and a barbecue pit and we can have a mans weekend! I'll probably throw in a couple of lawn chairs.

I've never gone to this place, but it has always sounded like it would be a fun weekend. They call it Melody Ranch. I'll have to give a post show report!

It is supposed to be a weekend filled with activities. Rian will be participating in the hot classes tractor pulling competition, but he had also toyed with the idea of entering their cook-off contest. The also are going to have antiques during the day and each night they finish the day with a star studded concert and dance.

I wonder if I could pull some strings and be a cook off judge too?

Another phone bit the dust yesterday. For the last few days my flip phone had developed a creak when you flipped it open. Late yesterday I flipped it open and ended up with a phone half in each hand!

I went to Alltel and the girl was very nice. I called in a claim on insurance and they approved it. Initially the representative told me my phone was no long available, but they discovered they had three of them. Thank goodness!

The man who helped me after the claim was good. He was able to transfer all my numbers, although he cautioned me I might need to cull some. I had 331 numbers in my phone book. Probably the worst thing was he couldn't transfer my photos. I wasn't even aware, but my old (and new) phone had memory card capabilities. They had a card on sale for $19 (a regular $39 value) so I bought one.

I hadn't been in a cell phone store lately, but good golly has there been a rush of technologies! The greeter told me to just wait another couple of months and I would be wowed again!

I would love one of the touch screen phones, but don't know how durable they would be. My work atmosphere is usually very abrasive (lots of dust and dirt).

One thing that really interested me are the laptop wireless connectors. My buddy K.O. has a new laptop that came with this feature. It is pretty neat!

Makes me wonder what we'll see next!

Hey, have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for all the blessing I enjoy. Thank YOU for the good reports on Pepa, and I pray the improvements will be long term gains. FATHER I pray for YOUR blessing of rain, for our area and out friends and family down South and out West. YOU are good.

Well, it was a short night. I dozed off sitting in my chair, and woke about two this morning. I decided to move to the bedroom, but once I got vertical, I got a really bad case of heartburn. After laying there about an hour and a half I decided to get up. So, let's get this Monday over with!

I talked with Pepa yesterday and he was still doing pretty well. I think some of the best medicine for him was to get home.

Pat and I had been going by and getting their mail, but neither of us ever thought to check their phone messages. As it turned out, they had several including one from Pepa's Doctor in Brownwood following up on Pepa's visit to the cardiologist. Since they got home so late Friday, they will begin their week returning lots of the calls to businesses who were closed for the weekend.

I just caught a segment of the CBS Morning show with Harry Smith interviewing the CEO of Ford. Ford is one of the bright spots they will be featuring this week. The CEO was telling Harry about their company was prepared if the economy does not rebound by the last half of this year, and he talked about the products they produce and what goals they have as a company. They are intent on continuing to improve quality and economy.

In a parting question, Harry asked the CEO what kind of grade he would give the Obama administration. He responded by saying he would give a very high grade because they acted quickly and decisively.

While I was laying in bed, I got tickled at the two little houndgirls. Brandy is the seasoned veteran and positions herself at "arms length" away. Phoo Doo is usually pressed right against Krl or myself and will follow your hand, if you move, trying to get some petting or cuddling. Brandy is always right there, and if I read down and pat her she will usually respond with a loud snore or snort. I guess Brandy knew I was having a fitful night because she moved up by me, and began doctoring a scrape on my arm. I repeatedly told her no la la, and she finally jumped to the floor and I watched her disappear under the edge of the bed. Shortly after that I got up and came to the office.

I have come to grips with the fact that I am not going to win the million dollars with my NCAA bracket. I think I am 38 of 48, but I did enter the second chance bracket. According to ESPN I did better than the President. He was 19 and 13 for the first round.

Well, I had better get my day going. I have already tried to call truck drivers this morning but so far haven't made contact.

Have a day!

FATHER, bless this day!

Oh what a week!

I am very tired. Things seem to have been spinning along at a very high rate of speed. The good I cannot take credit for, the bad is probably my bad.

Of course things were complicated by Pepa being in the hospital. That adds at least one hour to my day plus a couple of extra phone calls. Usually I will call in the morning and then again some time during the day before going by the hospital on my way from the parts store to home.

Tuesday evening Chris and I had a list of things to do. He was adding to his trap drum set and wanted to go by and pick up two new drums and two or three cymbals more. I think that gives him seven drums and five cymbals. More than enough to make a lot of noise.

The music store was supposed to have everything ready. We would just stop by, Chris would pay and they would load the drums and equipment up. It didn't transpire that way. The guy hadn't even began an invoice. We were there about forty-five minutes, which made Chris have to decide between stopping at the hospital or going to the Better Burger. The Better Burger edged Pepa.

Then I dropped Chris at his meeting and I returned to Hendrick's to transfer the drums to Chris's Mom's vehicle and to go up and check on Pepa. Pat came to the parking lot where I had parked next to her vehicle and we made the transfer and returned to Pepa's room. Linda and Joni were there too, so Pepa was feeling pretty special.

Besides the fluid build up, the Doctors found his kidney function was poor. His came back at 4 point something, and they said at 5 you are in kidney failure and doing dialysis. Immediately they began changing medications, trying to take a load off the kidneys. Pat scolded them and told them it was very important they come clean on their Aleeve, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen intake because those are all very hard on the kidneys.

To get Chris out of trouble, I will report that he and Pat returned to the hospital after his meeting.

Wednesday was parts store again. Back by the hospital, and home.

While I was at the hospital I got a call from a truck driver who thought he had blown an air to air hose. (This is on the turbocharger charged air circuit). It was after six and I told him to check with Freightliner in San Angelo, hoping they have extended hours like Abilene does. They didn't. He called an after hours number and while he waited for a call back, removed some hoses from the turbo. Turned out, he had a broken shaft in the turbo. (A turbo has two fans, in opposing directions on opposite ends of a common shaft. The exhaust turns the fan blade on the exhaust side, speeding exhaust gases away from the engine while the common shaft is turning the other fan on the other end which is rushing or pressuring air (boost) into the motor, resulting in increased horsepower.)

This is one of those deals where I am beginning to think of flipping this truck. Between the $3000 it took to get a sticker, $700 for brakes, $4000 for transmission, $$$$ for tires, and now this, it sure is looking like a money pit.

As luck would have it, no one had a turbo, in Abilene or Angelo. I did some figuring and decided I would make a flying trip from the parts store to Angelo, pick up the driver and return to Roscoe and put him in Pepa's truck. From there he would return to Angelo and pickup his trailer and load, and get on his way to Laredo.

I think Tuesday night I was on the phone until ten something and Wednesday after my usual stop at the hospital I was on the phone until near midnight. Both nights it was after nine when I got home. (Tuesday night after the hospital I returned to Larry's Better Burger to pick up supper for Krl and I, and I ended up working the phone for almost an hour. They were very busy!)

Thursday was parts store where we are preparing to put new fixtures on one wall. Sylvia decided it was important to strip the floors. Crazy thing was it seemed as soon as Max vocalized a time frame, she picked the same time frame to strip and wax.

I seem to get it from both sides.

I know it will look nice once the floors are done and the new fixtures are in.

Chris and I had to make a jaunt to the janitorial supply to pick up more stripper, stripper pads and wax. We returned to the store briefly before leaving for Abilene. We stopped by the hospital where we found Jake and Lindsey visiting, on their way home from Bossier City.

While we were there a church friend stopped in to check on Memama and Pepa.

After a brief visit, I told Chris we needed to make a track if he was going to eat at the Burger. Once in the vehicle, Chris confided to me he was thinking about stepping it up a notch, to a double meat burger. I told him I didn't think he was man enough! We went in the back and I told Clayton (who works the grill) what Chris wanted. Double meat cheeseburger, mustard and onions only! When Clayton delivered it to the back, Chris was eyeballing it like a sly fox as he prepared his assault.

The helpless burger was no match for Chris.

I dropped him off and sped toward home.

Friday I wanted to sleep in, but I knew I had responsibilities. Two trucks were off loading in Sweetwater and I had load information for both of them, plus I needed to take our driver to San Angelo to pick up his truck from the shop. We made a quick trip, parted with some serious money and returned to Roscoe. The driver seems to think his truck is running better than ever!

After a couple of stops, I turned east toward Abilene. I had decided Friday morning to drive the vehicle we recently repossessed. Ironically, it was a trip back to its previous stomping grounds of San Angelo. I was pleasantly surprised, with just a couple of repairs I think it will be ready to list for sale!

I will admit it has crossed my mind to sell the S-10 and keep the Explorer.

When I got home, I had an hour and a half to try to get an invoice out to one of our Shippers. This company is very quick to pay, and I figured if I got the multiple load invoice out yesterday, we might have a check by Thursday. It was a thrash, but when I walked in the Post Office I had ten minutes to spare!

Whew!

From there I went to the hospital to check on the patient and his faithful sidekick Tonto. When I walked in, Tonto was sacking their belongings. They were waiting on discharge to pick them up. It seems the lung doctor didn't require keeping Pepa and his kidney function had lowered to 1.8 (target is 1.5) so they were releasing Pepa. After about an hour and a surprise visit by one of Memama's cousins (I had seen Barbara Sue at the nurses station and told Memama I thought it was her, so Memama went down to see.) we were still waiting when Rian arrived. He had driven down from Lubbock to pick up his tractor pull engine and stopped by to check on Memama and Pepa. Finally, the discharge nurse came in with her wheel chair and cart. Memama had been looking for her car keys and finally decided they were gone. She gave me her valet key and began telling me where her car was.

"Go down to the front and to the statue. I am parked where that statue is looking, about a half mile in front of it."

I decide I might need help, so Rian went with me. The discharge nurse had told me where they would meet us. Rian and I went out the front of the hospital, and across from the statue was a string of handicapped parking space. We walked all the way to the building next door. No car!
We decided to begin a broad sweep of the parking lot. After a brief search, we located the car. It was right where Memama said it was, if the statue is looking out his ear! Finally, Memama and Pepa exited the building, we got them loaded up and on their way!

I told Memama when we found her car it was locked and running! She hesitated a moment before she decided I was teasing.

From there, Rian and I drove to the Better Burger. Rian got a couple of hot dogs while I picked up supper for Krl and I. Rian left to go to his friends, and I raced across town with supper. It was sure nice to get home!

The week that was.

On a good note, the trucks have moved well. We seem to have zeroed in on a Central Rolling Plains, Southern Plains area to Laredo, running loaded both ways, sometimes deadheading zero miles before reloading! It has been great.

Krl has been getting her feet wet looking for loads and load planning and it has sure helped me, especially when I am at the parts store.

I am hopeful things will continue working well.

Have a weekend! I am!

FATHER, thank YOU for getting us through the week. Thank YOU for the good reports and improvements in Pepa's health. Thank YOU for the work for the trucks. YOU are my GOD!

Busy Monday.

Biggest news, Doctors admitted Pepa to the hospital last evening. He has been complaining of "no wind". He went to Dr. Byrd last Thursday and he wanted him to go see Dr. Blackwood. They determined his lungs were "wet". The PA, told Pepa he wants him in for a couple of days to do a tune up.

O.K., Pat called me and said Pepa is in room 6720 at Hendricks. I talked with Memama and she said they had a so so night. They started Pepa on some diuretic IV's. The PA seems to be more concerned with kidney function at this point. I know they didn't want to hit him too hard with the lasix and put them into shock. At this point it appear this will be a three day stay.

My yesterday was so nutty. It seemed I ran from one side to the other of Abilene. When I got home I was exhausted. I told Krl I am wearing so many hats I am wearing my hair out and I am not wearing any hat well!

The trucks seem to have found a groove. One guy is running like I knew he would. The other guy is not holding up to muster. He was supposed to be in Laredo at eight this morning and when I called him at eight he was in Uvalde. Problem is I had him a return load waiting.

Krl is more optimistic than I, she has already called me this morning and tells me she has taken a load for him to load in the morning in Sweetwater.

I am beginning to understand what Fred meant when he would tell me he was fixing to have a come to Jesus meeting with a driver.

Rian and Erica made it home from Colorado.

He has a schedule filled for his Spring Break!

I went to the airport yesterday to see Jason's family off to Florida again. I saw Ms. Dakota and she is a chunk! She wasn't in a very good mood when I saw her. I told them I didn't think she wanted to go back to Florida!

I am getting a filled schedule of to do things in Abilene this afternoon. Chris is going to his meeting and he has his own agenda, then we have a store agenda, then we have a customer agenda. We should have left yesterday!

Have a day!

For YOUR love FATHER, I am thankful!

Am I an idiot or are other people idiots?

Yesterday I went to pick up a share pack cash card. I had briefly written about this a week or so ago. It is marketed by Wal*Mart and administered by GE Financial. What I have been looking for is a cash card I could reload remotely, that truck drivers could take on the road to make fuel purchases.

For the most part, truck drivers are O.K., but some of them are poor money managers and if you give them cash, it blends with their own money and all the sudden they need fuel and have no money! Add to this, the possibility that a weeks worth of fuel is over a thousand dollars and you can be talking a major miscue if a wallet is lost or the driver is mugged.

With the cash card, if it is lost, the funds can be recovered. You can get a paper statement for card use, and it can be used any where you can use a Visa debit card.

When I went to purchase the card, I stood in line for about twenty minutes. During this time, I read both covers of the closed package. You can put up to a $1500 on the card and balance can be checked and more money loaded from countless locations around the nation.

I decided I would load $1000 on the card. When it was my turn the girl rang the card up. $6. "How much would you like to load on the card?", she asked. "$1000", I replied. She punched in the numbers and told me, "You can only put $500 paying cash, you can put $1000 if you are cashing a check."

I said, "I didn't see that anywhere on the card packet." The customer service representative, grabbed my packet, broke the seal and said, "It says it right here on page one!"

"Excuse me, but I don't usually open something before I buy it", I said. I gave her the $500 cash and she completed the transaction. As I turned away from the register I took one parting shot! "You know Wal*Mart might want to rethink their packaging of these cards because that is false advertising!" I walked away as she was relieving the next person of their money!

I may do so more checking on prepaid cards, but for the mean time, I will use this one.

I got home and tried to go online. I prefer seeing a form rather than listening on the phone. I really wanted to put the cards in the company name. After numerous attempts, I decided to make the dreaded call.

What I got was an automated phone system. "Key in or speak each letter of your name", the computer said. We went through name, address, identification, cell phone, pins, passwords and a bunch of other baloney. Finally the primary card was completed. It asked if I wanted a second card at no charge? (Duh, I paid double price for a share pack because I had $6 instead of $3). "Yes" I responded. "What name do you want on the second card?", the computer asked. I used the company name. "Please spell the first name", the computer asked. I did. It read the name back. "Is this correct?", it asked. "Correct", I responded. I could tell the "correct" answer confused the computer. After a moment, it asked me to please answer yes or no. Heh, heh. I answered "Yes.". Please spell the second name. I did, and the computer said, "Please repeat it". I did, and it asked me to repeat it again and again. Finally the computer said, "I'm sorry, I am having a problem understanding your spelling. You need to go to our website to get your second card."

I went on line, but couldn't open any links, so I got a number for customer service and called it. At first it was the same irritating voice of the computer, but I short circuited it and it passed me to a customer service representative. All I can tell you is they were in a foreign country. Probably India. Horrible English. Poor skills. She told me I would have to go on line to do the second card. I told her their website sucked. She told me I couldn't do it by phone for 48 hours because I had concluded the first call. I told her, "Only because your system told me to!"

Finally I asked her, "Is it going to be a pain every time I load or use this card?" She assured me it wasn't, but then what does she know! You have no idea how tempting it was to use the computer line and say "I'm sorry, I am having trouble understanding you!"

I hope President Obama tries to reward companies that keep jobs in the U.S..

I think I am going to try to figure out what companies I do business with that are asking for bailout, that have foreign service centers. Then I am going to decide how vital it is to do business with them.

While I was in Wal*Mart I picked up squash, mushrooms, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes and a couple of other items. Krl and I had discussed what we were cooking for supper most of the day. We finally agreed on chicken in a bag. We put two chicken breasts, sliced bell pepper, sliced onion, sliced yellow squash, a tub of cherry tomatoes, and a tub of sliced mushrooms into a foil bag. Krl seasoned it while I mixed a concoction of picante, soy, terriaki, Worcestershire, corn starch, a little sugar and just a touch of butter. I poured the sauce over the contents of the bag and folded the bag shut, repeatedly. I took it out and placed it on the grill. I did thirty minutes and turned it over, then thirty minutes and turned it over, then sixteen and sixteen. Krl had prepared rice pilaf and egg rolls. It was very different. The chicken was so tender it would shred as you stirred your vegetables!

I know I said yesterday if I was re-incarnated I wanted to be Hispanic. Today I might prefer to be oriental! (Then I would be extremely smart and could cook oriental cuisine.)

We did meet with the guy who sold I.D. #2 (idiot daughter number 2) the car. He was a very nice guy. He had his wife and two friends with him. We spent a little time with him, and he told us of his experience with I.D.#2. He told us she had a hard luck story (of course) and that he did what he did as a favor, that he really wasn't supposed to do it, but felt if it would help I.D. #2 out. He said when she called him to tell him she got the insurance money from me, she asked him if he could spot her a couple hundred dollars. He said he told her yes, and when she came by she gave him $1700. He said "Huh?" He knew she was getting $2219, and $200 from that was $2019. What I.D. #2 had done was spot herself $519.

Not what she told me, and not what she had told him. This man told me that when this situation stretched on for a month, it put him in a situation that he couldn't pay all his bills. Actually what had happened was I.D. #2 had promised to pay him the original outstanding balance on the car which was $281 when she got her insurance check for the value over what she owed me on the Honda she wrecked. She was expecting a windfall of six to eight hundred dollars. So, what she owed this salesman was $800 after she had helped herself to the $519 dollar loan. She still contends to Krl and me and the salesman that she never got her check. Baloney!

I think the thing that bothers me the most is that she does what she does with total disregard for what it does to others.

Krl tells me she can already hear if she talks with I.D. #2's mother. "It's not her fault, she can't help it, it is an illness. She is suicidal! Out of her medications." (We got the bill yesterday for I.D. #2's last months meds which is the last month we will ever pay for).

I am to the point I might donate a bullet!

One thing for sure, it makes our estate planning a lot easier. Three out already, leaving only one contestant!

I am fixing to get my bath and drive the cash card and some cash to my truck driver in Lamesa. He could route through here and make things simpler, but he is being a pain. I promised Leonard if I got close I would stop by and visit, so I guess I will go by there.

There went my Sunday!

Part of my weekend work got moved to Monday. Drivers were mailing their paperwork to me, cut it didn't make it here, so I guess that will be a Monday project. Already I am picking up some parts from the parts store to deliver tomorrow and Chris will need to call in some more oil. I already have a couple of cases to drop off at the parts store.

Have a day!

FATHER, I lift YOUR name in praise. I thank YOU for all the blessing we enjoy. I pray for safe travel. YOURS is the glory!

Quick update!

The Roscoe Plowboys defeated the Plains Cowboys for the Texas Class A Division 1 State Championship in over time!

Way to go!

It has been thirty something years since I wore the purple and white of RHS, but today my hair stood on the back of my neck and I got a big lump in my throat as the final seconds ticked off the clock. I guess with the exception of Track State Titles and The One Act Play, this is the only other Title. The football team has played in the Championship game two or three times, and the girls basketball team has been to the State Tournament twice and played for the Title (last week) once.

Plowboy Pride!

It is kind of an odd twist because most people would have expected this group to excel in football.

As most of you know, I read a lot. In addition to this, I am usually open to learning new things and new ways and opportunities.

On Thursday, Memama and Pepa had doctor appointments scheduled in Brownwood. She had told Jake and I (The regulars at their lunch table) that she would have lunch in the oven before she left. Thursday morning, I received a call from Pepa and he said the power was out at their house and lunch wouldn't be ready. I wasn't worried. It doesn't hurt me to skip a meal now and again. But, I find I do enjoy a break from the store. I decided I would go to their house at lunch and read the newspaper and relax and maybe fix a sandwich.

When I arrived, the power had been restored. In the refrigerator I found the left over birthday lunch from Sunday (steaks and bakes). So I put some on a plate to microwave. I read the newspaper and ate my meal.

Just as I finished, Jake drove up and came in and started him a plate warming. While he ate, we visited briefly and then cleaned up and left.

When I returned to the parts store, Sylvia asked me if I ate. I told her what I did and she said, "I brought some bean burritos for you. They are on the desk in the office."

Late in the day I went into the office and opened the foil and removed a burrito. I didn't want to insult Sylvia and her cooking I have sampled has been superb! I offered the other workers a burrito, but everyone declined. As usual, it was excellent.

I was trying to determine exactly what different tastes I was experiencing. This was just a plain bean burrito, not loaded with cheese or picante, but it was quite tasty.

I asked Sylvia how she fixed them and she told me the flour tortillas were hers, and she re-fried the beans herself.

Years ago, we had a Mexican National who worked for us (read wetback) named Guillmo. We spent a lot of time in his small apartment with him trying to teach me how to make flour tortillas. Actually I got pretty good at it. I think I could be even better now because I could buy masa and not have to mix it. My big problem was, I couldn't duplicate the tortillas at home. I finally too "Willie" (the wetback) to my home to let him see what I was doing wrong. We walked in and he looked at my electric stove and began scolding me. "You can't cook Mexican food on an electric stove. You have to have gas to regulate the heat better!"

Maybe one these days I will have a gas stove top. But for now I will just buy the tortillas.

Back to Sylvia. She told me she cooks the beans, and then she chops some bacon and fries it in a skillet. Then she drains some of the grease, adds the beans and fries them in the bacon grease. As they are getting done she mashes them with a fork and to regulate moistness she will add either beans (if it is too wet) or more bacon grease (if it is to dry). Whatever she is doing she is doing right!

I brought the burritos home and Krl agrees, they are excellent.

If I come back in this world I want to be Hispanic. (Then I would be fluent in Spanish and be able to cook Mexican cuisine!

It is strange sometimes, how things that are very relevant to situations in my life, appear out of no where. Yesterday I wrote about the vehicle dilemma with idiot daughter #2. Most of the day we talked with the man who sold her the car, and by days end we had a deal. He had the car in his possession, and he will deliver it to us today at an undisclosed location. He will give us the title and a statement of facts, signed and witnessed.

I guess investing another $520 on top of the initial $2219 is better than losing the initial investment. He says we can recoup our money. We will see.

I.d.#2 had told Krl she had to pay for insurance on the car, but when Sergio picked it up she told him "Drive carefully, there is no insurance on it".

Once again, she would rather lie to us than tell the truth. I have decided she is a con-artist, alcoholic, druggie, who will stop at nothing to attain her short term goals.

It is a good thing her goals are short term, because I think it is only a short time before she becomes a ward of the State.

In a weird occurrence. I ran across an article on the internet that addressed "How to handle requests from friends and families who are experiencing difficulties in the economic downturn".

I realize they were talking about people who have lots more than us, wealthy millionaires and billionaires. But on a smaller scale, the shoe still fits. One of these men had received requests in December totalling half a million dollars. The following month it escalated to one and a half million dollars! He enlisted the help of some financial counselors.

When he first became wealthy, this man tried to spread the wealth in a one time fix for all this family and friends. He paid off all their debt and gifted them money. Some of them were smart, and nothing changed in their lives. Others quit their jobs and began living above their means. The second group were the ones who returned, asking for help again. This time, with the counselors help, each individual help request was handled on its on merit. None of the second time requests were granted.

All of them had been deemed "irresponsible". To gift additional moneys would only enable them.

Homes that had been mortgage free, were heavily leveraged, credit cards maxed out (again), and lavish lifestyles were the norm.

For the most part, these second requesters found gainful employment, and salvaged their situations.

Give a man a fish and he eats a meal. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.

There are no free rides.

We are not wealthy. We are struggling. We are blessed. We have seen good times, we have seen bad times. We are survivors.

Rian and Erica are on a weekend get away with two other couples. They have gone to Colorado Springs. The boys are with Erica's Mom and Dad. They should return Monday night, then Rian will have to get on task with his pulling project! (They are out for Spring Break next week!).

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU. YOU are faithful to meet our needs. FATHER, help us as we work through this latest dilemma. Help us to learn from the lies, and hurt, and deception. For I know WHOM we have believe-ed.

For the second month in a row, we have a Friday the thirteenth. What's the deal?

We'll have until November before the next one.

Actually, if you have one in February, any year except leap year, you will have one in March. The key is February's perfect four weeks (twenty-eight days).

I'm not very superstitious. I can remember driving my Grand Dad around and if a black cat crossed the street he would insist we turn our hats around backward! Of course growing up, we heard the seven years bad luck for breaking a mirror.

You don't hear many old wives tales about superstitions now days.

Well, the 'boys are going to win the Class A Division 1 State Basketball Championship tomorrow morning. There you have it. I said it.

Heh. That game pits the Roscoe Plowboys against the Plains Cowboys. At the parts store we listened to Roscoe's semi final game yesterday. I joked with the other workers that I had torn loyalties. I grew up a Plowboy, but back in the early 80's we expanded the farming operation to Plains, Texas. If memory serves me correct, Plain's most outstanding asset was the Allsup's Dinner club. I suppose that is why I still try NOT to stop at an Allsup's today. I have tried everything they make in their deli!

Good luck Plowboys!

And finally, Krl had a call from idiot daughter #2 yesterday. I.d.#2 told Krl the guy she bought her new vehicle from was threatening to come get it if she didn't finish paying him for it. I didn't like the sound of that because if he still has the title, I stand to lose the $2219 dollars of insurance money I loaned her, for the balance of what she owes (which was supposed to be a couple of hundred dollars). Krl talked to the guy who sold her the vehicle and he is really mad at I.d.#2. He said he bought her story hook, line, and sinker and it had him in a bind. He went on to tell Krl that I.d.#2 did not give him the $2219, she had been paying him along. $100 here, $200 there, $400 being the largest payment she has made.

Krl talked with I.d#2 and she can't even keep her lies straight. Krl said it sounded like she was throwing a big party at Brad's house. I.d.#2 said she didn't pay all the money to the car guy because she needed to pay for insurance. Her step Dad said she hasn't paid insurance since December (the last car payment she made was January). What I.d.#2 forgot was she had told Krl that Brad gave her the money to get insurance. It sounds like she is on the take from any and all sides.

I told Krl that I would almost be willing to tell I.d.#2 if she can figure out how to pay the guy the last remaining money, I would walk away from the $2219 with certain concessions. #1 being that I never want to see or hear from her again and that she change her name. (She does that quite often as she has many aliases).

But, on the other hand I can't reward her for her sins. So, I will probably tell the guy that sold her the car, if he will pick up the car and deliver it to Abilene, I will give him the balance of his money when he hands over the title and the keys.

I think I.d.#2 has been binge-ing for the last couple of weeks. I will sure be glad when the law locks her up. Last week her Mother said she had gone to Buffalo Wild Wings, hooked up with a guy and gone to another club and then he took her home. The next morning she was calling needing a ride to her car.

Prior to that she was taking her prescriptions we had filled for her like they were candy.

I am beginning to think there isn't a vice she doesn't have.

I'm kicking the habit. I won't help her again.

Have a day! I am, I am off.

FATHER, thank YOU for YOUR blessing of rain. I ask for safe travel for Rian and Erica as they travel with friends. FATHER, I need reassurance again, that you are in control. That things are turning out as YOU intend. FATHER, put I.d.#2 in the situation she needs to be in to get her life straightened out. YOU strengthen me!

I'm not set in my ways, I just have preferences.

Make that strong preferences.

Some things never seem to change. Growing up, we had Borden's milk. In fact we had a milk man who drove to the house twice a week. Big old glass milk bottles. I am sure with five of us kids, we drank a lot of milk. The milk man I remember was named Joe. Fred and I were regulars waiting in the front yard for Joe to drive up. Then we would jump in the truck with him and drive the thirty or forty yards around the house to the back. It was a common occurrence for us to encourage Joe to slip a quart of chocolate milk in his delivery basket and then we would do our best sell job on Mom to let us have it. Sometimes she did and sometimes she didn't. I figure it had a lot to do with finances that particular week. I'm sure if we were lucky, each of us probably got one glass of chocolate milk.

But it was a treat. It probably ranked right up there with a six pack of Coca-Cola Mom would splurge on. Each of us had a bottle with one of those snap on lids that had the ring that slipped over the bottle neck. The lid insured freshness and also allowed each of us to identify our bottle of drink. I could stretch a bottle of Coke for days!

Krl and I talked the other day about coke bottles. I don't know how many times Fred and I sold Coke bottles to Shield's Grocery. Mr. Shields had a small storage and he would show us where he wanted the bottles and show us where bottle crates were and leave us to "work". I can remember .02 cents initially and thought we would become rich when they went to a nickel! Finding a coke bottle was like finding a treasure. Mr. Shields would come back when we were through and tabulate our windfall! I can't remember him ever disagreeing with our count.

Looking back, I realize that Shield's Grocery was a magical place. There you could almost get anything you might want or need. We kept a close eye on "cigar boxes" (yes kids, at one time the only way you could get them was to be present when the last cigar was sold) hoping we would be lucky enough to take one home. A cigar box was high on the priority list of "must have" items for school.

And of course, Shield's Grocery sold the illusive Indian moccasins. ( I know Mom, I just can't let go of it!).

The Floridians are supposed to be in. Spring Break. Yep, some people can't get it right. Most people go to Florida or Mexico. Our family members living in Florida, go to Texas. It will be interesting to see if Dakota has grown that much or if it is trick photography! They haven't been home since early January.

I talked with the seasonal jobsite yesterday. Hopefully we smoothed out a few more details of the seasonal work. I am hoping to finish a contract today and send it to them. If we have covered all the bases, it should be a simple formality and they will sign it and send a copy back to me. In yesterday's talks it seemed the GM was more cordial than last week.

If they have a problem with any of the wording, I suppose we will have to re-draft it.

Wasn't the rain great! I have no idea what accumulations we have had, not much I am sure, but I am encouraged that it can still rain! The newspaper said it would hardly make a dent in the drought.

Hey, anything helps.

Memama and I were talking yesterday and she made the comment that she sure wished the rain would cut loose. Then she immediately backed up and said "I'm sure GOD gets frustrated that we aren't satisfied."

I bet he does too.

Have a day! Stay warm, and count your blessings!

FATHER, thank YOU for YOUR blessing of rain. I pray for a productive day. I pray for safe travel. FATHER thank YOU for all YOU have blessed us with.

Wild and woolly lately. Sorry for the absence of posts.

I have been wearing two hats, parts store and trucker/dispatcher. I might add I am wearing neither too well. Krl has tried to step in today and look for loads, but it seems we are one call too late and the loads are already gone.

I subscribed to a load board and it tells you what date and time a load has been posted. A while ago, I was watching as the board updated and there was a load posted that minute, showing zero calls asking about it. I called and the load was gone. Crazy!

I have been reading a couple of books Rian had given me Christmas. One is Running With Giants, a book about what Old Testament Heroes want you to know. It was interesting.

The second book is Good to Great. It is looking at companies and comparing what differences were that made one go on too become great, while the other lagged behind. I am having a problem with some of the read because some of the companies have, since this book was published, been in the middle of take-overs, bankruptcy, and or Wall Street bail outs.

If the author knew then what I know now might possibly want to change a few things.

It has been a crisp lovely West Texas day. Light steady rain in the midst of falling temperatures.

We have to bring in all Krl's plants tonight.

Hope you had a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for YOUR blessing of rain.

Today I became the oldest brother.

Today, I am one day older than Fred was when he died. It is a title I have never wanted and would gladly give back if it were possible.

Hats off to Rian. He lost another three pounds. He is now two pounds away from his first goal.

You might want to check this site out, www.grantoneday.org . I ran across it the other day and was intrigued. It is NOT a free service, it costs $1.99. It is a grant writing service/software for government grants. They say as part of the economic stimulus plan there is a tremendous amount of grant money available for anything from economic relief, to business start up. Some of their customers report anywhere from $5,000 to $12,000. One reported they received a grant to pay off their home, another received $100,00o to start up a business. (Krl and I are requesting individual and business grants).

I hear about stuff like this all the time, so I figured what they hey!

If it works for you, remember me!

This new time has me so messed up. I finally get adjusted enough to "function", and they mess with me again. I honestly believe my day has about sixteen hours in it, but my week has nine days instead of seven.

I know, it is crazy, but then maybe I am too.

Coach had applied for the coaching vacancy at Odessa Permian. Last week we had talked, and he told me he thought they were going a different direction. This morning the Odessa American reports that Gary Gaines, the athletic director from Lubbock ISD is returning to coach the Panthers. Of course he has coached there before, winning a state championship. The television series Friday Night Lights is a spin off from his previous tenure at Permian. Gaines was the Ector County ISD Athletic Director who hired Darren Allman (who Gaines is replacing).

I guess they are hoping to return to their past glory.

Parts store today. I have already been scanning loads for trucks. They are in the metroplex area. I would really like to get them split up. Having two trucks running together is difficult to find loads for. What are the odds there would be more than one load to a given location?

I talked with Rian yesterday. His pulling tractor goes to the graphics shop today. He was pretty bent yesterday because the graphics place had still not sent him "art work" for his approval. His man was off and the guy working (who Rian has a problem with) told Rian they didn't want to bother the man on his day off. Rian told him, "You can give me a thousand reasons why you can't do something, but all I am asking is for one reason you can do what I am asking."

I guess that is his administration training talking.

Hey, have a day!

FATHER, please bless my day. Help me to be productive, and to stay on task.

I detest this time change.

I know, I will adjust, but what idiot bureaucrat dreamed up this crazy notion. I have read that the savings is in electrical consumption. The only thing I am seeing is that I use more lights in the morning.

I can remember my grandfather's refusal to "honor" daylight saving time.

I believe that daylight saving time is what put the drive in movies out of business. I have never been a fan of late night movies.

We spent a laid back Sunday yesterday. About the time NASCAR began, I dragged in a box from the garage. While we were at the seasonal jobsite, we had purchased a new gas grill, but we had never assembled it. I opened the box and began reading the instructions. Approximate assembly time? Thirty minutes.

Baloney!

If you assembled them all day every day, maybe an hour for each. I know I possess some mechanical skills, and there was not way I could do it in thirty minutes.

Funniest thing was we were one screw short. Krl crawled around the floor with a flash light looking, but no screw. She finally gave up and went to the "junk drawer" in the kitchen to see if we might have a suitable screw. I was finishing up the assembly when I lifted the legs off the floor to pivot the pit. Each leg has a concave "cap" to keep it from sinking in soft soil. Somehow, at some point, I had trapped the missing screw under the leg cap.

So, I take all those things I said about not being able to count, back!

We got the pit out in time to try it out.

We cooked ham steak and a brisket half.

I have to be honest, Rian and Erica had a gas grill from H, E, double L experience Friday night. His grill was eight years old. They had friends coming over, and they were going to cook ham steaks. Rian lit the pit to let it burn off, and busied himself in their storage building. He could hear Reid schooling his two younger brothers. "We aren't supposed to go close to the grill when it is burning because it is too dangerous, and let me tell you, that is a big fire!"

Rian turned and looked, and his pit was blazing, almost to the eve of the back porch! He sent the boys in the house and called for Erica. He had his leather gloves on and attempted to turn the burner valves off, only to discover the knobs melting off the pit. He discovered the big fire had burned the propane hose in to. He had a runaway fire fueled by unregulated propane. He got a water hose and began spraying it on the propane tank. Just as he was about to tell Erica to call Lubbock's Fire Department, he hit the fire just right to momentarily knock it down where he could turn the tank valve off.

He confessed to me it got really exciting!

And, yesterday Mike Cope announced his resignation as pulpit minister at Highland. Eighteen years he has served. He is joining "Heartbeat" with Landon Saunders. Although Krl and I had stopped attending Highland, he was always a draw. He is very dynamic, and I wish him well. Luckily, Abilene will still be home to Mike and his family. I believe he begins his work with Heartbeat July 1.

Part of my day has been spent checking on trucks, trying to get them gone. We have LOADS today. I have been trying to figure out the dynamics of purchasing fuel for them when they are on the road. I'm not being negative about the two guys we are trying to keep working, but I would prefer not to give them cash for the fuel for a week. I am trying Wal*Mart Debit Visa cards, that have been designed for college students and parents. There are two cards, the driver will have one and I will have one. I can load money on the card, and they can spend it anywhere Visa is take. It will go down as a cash advance until they turn in cash tickets. There is also the possibility that we could load their pay on the cards too. If you do more than $800 per month, they waive the monthly charges. $800 per week per truck would be a cheap fuel week. If I am looking at it right and there are no hidden charges, this could be cheaper than some of the industry fuel cards.

We'll see.

Hope your day was a good one!

FATHER, thank YOU for the work. I pray YOU will help us find our niche. We pray that more work will be found. Lead us!

I am tuckered out.

For yesterday to be a day off it sure was a lot of work.

I left the house about normal time, stopped by Memama's and Pepa's to wish her a happy birthday (#78) but when I went into their house "not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse". I left her a note and went on to the parts store.

Rian had called asking if we had a couple more things for his pull tractor. I made short work of his request and hit the road. Destination Lamesa, Texas.

I hooked up with some one (identity unknown) just West of Snyder and we "sped" westward. We ran right on the edge of the computer chips on our vehicles. Needless to say, it was a quick trip across Borden County.

My truck driver from Lamesa told me how to get to the Smith Unit, but his instructions proved to be wrong, so after one miscue I finally found the right road.

The trip to the Smith unit was a new experience for me. One I didn't particularly enjoy, but my friend Leonard had asked if I would come and see him.

When I arrived, I drove to a check point where I as asked to get out of the vehicle, and to present a picture Id. The guard recorded all the information from my pickup, and inspected the interior. Finally he asked me to open the engine compartment and he did a quick inspection and told me to go on.

Thankfully, there was no one behind me, and I told him, "This is my first visit here, could you tell me where to go?"

He directed me to visitor parking and pointed out the "sallyport" I would have to enter through. He further instructed me to empty my pockets except for change, and to take a single key and my picture Id and proceed.

When I entered the small building, there was a line of people. Being a rookie, I was trying to take in as much as I could.

Finally, it was my turn and the guard asked me what the number of the inmate I was visiting was. "1379417", I replied.

"Kite-ten", she replied.

I said, "Kitten".

The guard laughed and said he had told her "Kite-ten".

We shared a laugh and I told her if I was incarcerated I wouldn't want anyone to think I was Kitten. The guard asked me if I had emptied my pockets of any items. "No cell phone, no tobacco, no paper money?", she asked. Her final inquiry was if I had no more than twenty dollars on change and was the change in a bag.

Finally she directed me out the door, through a gate and up a sidewalk to a visitation center. There I had to empty my pockets, remove my belt and boots and they ran a wand and then patted me down. Then I was told to put the items back in my pockets, and to put my belt and boots on. Then I went to a counter and gave them my picture Id and key and they signed me in and put my Id and key in a drawer.

From there I was directed into a waiting room. Through a glass and door opening I could see inmates sitting at tables visiting with family member. It didn't take me long to realize what the change was for. I could hardly believe the pricing. I don't know who has the vending business, but either a vendor or the state is making a killing. $3 for a microwaveable hot dog. $2.75 for a cold sandwich. $2.50 for a microwaveable burrito. $1 sodas.

I felt I was ill prepared when they called out "Kitten". I was directed to station #6. On the other side of the glass partition sat Leonard. No mustache, closely shaved, buzz cut. I picked up the phone and told him "White is not your color". He began by apologizing for being there, but thanking me for coming.

We talked briefly before I asked him if we were on a time limit. "Yes", he replied, "about a two hour limit".

I was somewhat shocked, expecting it to be fifteen or thirty minutes. What ever would we talk about for two hours?

Much to my surprise, when the guard gave Leonard a five minute signal, we were still talking quickly. We wound it down quickly and I promised to try to get back before too long.

I began back tracking through security, returning to my vehicle and replacing all the contents of my pockets before driving back to the check point. Once again, I had to get out and open the engine hood for inspection. To be honest, it was with a sigh of relief I turned on the highway.

One thing, it seems that since I was not family, we were restricted to visiting over the phone. The area I observed inmates and family was for just that.

It was good, but it was bad to see Leonard, especially in that situation.

From there I headed North toward Lubbock. I had six missed calls during my time "in the slammer", so I was driving and talking. Rian called me and asked me to come to their house to eat blt's for lunch. I did, but with one diversion. I stopped in their local grocery store and went to the bakery where I bought a cake. I know those little boys like cake, especially Holt!

When I was walking up the sidewalk, the two bigger boys ran to meet me!

Holt was almost as glad to see me as he was to see the cake!

We ate, and shared chips while visiting, and Rian gave me a quick run down of his day to that point. Two guys had prep'ed and painted his tractor this past week and he had been replacing the fenders and wheels, so we could load it to go to the graphics shop for wrapping.

The tractor looked good. Rian and I unloaded and hooked up one of the three batteries to the winch. Shortly, Rian told me to run the control and we began loading the tractor. This project was quickly finished and we parked the truck and returned to Rian's house.

Once we arrived there we began separating "pig". We've got a lot of pork. Before we knew it, we had filled the big chest. (Rian had loaned me a 96 quart one because he thought my two 48 quart ones wouldn't hold it all). Surprisingly, all my meat fit in the one big cooler. (Let's see 48+48=96).

During this time the boys had been waking from naps so I got to spend some time with them. Reid was riding a scooter or shooting hoops. Holt was busy, climbing and running. Drew was still asleep so Erica woke him about four thirty so I could seem him awake. He is such a chunk and such a happy baby!

When I went to leave I asked Holt if he wanted to go to Abilene and he said yes. It wouldn't have take much encouragement for him to load up. But, his Dad talked him out of it!

By the time I got home I had been 454 miles according to my trip meter.

The last part of my drive I talked with Memama to wish her a happy birthday.

Pat had called me, telling me it I was up to it, they were cooking steaks and bakes for Sunday lunch to celebrate Memama's birthday. We will see.

Lastly, I returned a call to a guy who I went to college with. He actually started with Fred and had only recently learned of Fred's passing. He was offering his condolences and wanting to know what happened. By the time I got off the phone it was nine in the evening.

By then Krl had gone to bed, but had colossal cheeseburger on the stove!

And, why is it when we change to daylight savings time I have less time.

Have a day!

FATHER, thank you for safe travel, for expanding my boundaries, for getting to see Rian's family.

2. Two. Dos. Twins. Quate.

Most mornings when I am leaving the neighborhood, school bound students are congregating at designated locations along the way, waiting for their school bus.

At one intersection, middle school, and elementary school students are gathered. One thing that has been quite easy to see, are two sets of twins which catch the bus at that location. One set of middle school age, the other elementary age.

Twins have always intrigued me. I have always heard and read about the special bond and extra sensory communicative skills, twins possess.

I guess I would love to have been a twin (and left handed, but that is another story).

The only twins I have been around were the Smith girls. They look a lot alike but you can tell them apart. Lots of time on talent shows you hear talk about family harmony. That is very true of the Smith girls because they can sure sing!

The middle school twins I see on my way through the neighborhood appear to be identical. In fact they remind me some of the Smiths. Already they are as tall or taller and wear their hair long and straight. These twins dress alike, everyday. In fact I don't think I have seen them ever dress differently.

The elementary twins are also girls and appear to be identical. They however, do not dress alike. One is very independent, while the other appears to be a Mommie's girl. Usually one is way ahead of the other on the way to the bus stop while the second lags behind, walking with their Mother (who looks like she should be in Junior High).

I have been around one set of triplets in my life. A college roommate, and a childhood friend, ended up marrying two thirds of this group. It is still funny because you can mention triplets and San Saba, Texas and anyone who has any ties to San Saba know you are talking about the Bailey girls. Crazy thing was, there was a younger sister who could pass as one of the triplets!

Special bonds.

Good luck to the Plowgirls. They are in new territory today as they play for the State Championship.

And on a sad note. A friend passed away Thursday. Apparently from a heart attack, efforts to revive him just couldn't keep him here. This man had been in the parts store a few days ago talking about a lot of things, but one thing you could tell he took great joy in was his family. He was planning a trip to see three grand children graduate in three days, in two different states and three different locations. Now his travel plans are made easier. He will be at all three. My condolences to his family. We share in his loss.

Today, I am delivering some parts to Rian in Lubbock. Pull tractor parts. I am going through Lamesa, stopping to see Leonard, and then on to Lubbock. Last thing is to pick up the pork and bring home the bacon!

With that, have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for special bonds.

Congratulations Roscoe Plowgirls!

They won their State semi-final game yesterday in Austin and will play Saturday morning for the Championship against Sudan. Go purple!

I heard from the seasonal jobsite yesterday.

I am very frustrated with the entire process. They want you to jump through hoops and then in the end it doesn't matter what you propose.

They offered a contract for the bales. They want changes in the proposal, a paragraph deleted here a paragraph there.

They intend to take control of the dispatch of the seed trucks. Which would take a load off me and would lighten up the number of employees I have to carry at the seasonal jobsite.

Actually the new proposal would make my life a breeze.

The thing that bothers me is how they prefaced their response. "In order to be fair" to you and to Greg we are going to leave the burrs with Greg and the bales with you.

To be fair? I am the only one losing anything in this deal.

I probably wouldn't have a problem with it if they hadn't used that phrase.

I am really getting the feeling the GM is not above board.

When we talked yesterday, I told him like my proposal said, "This proposal is submitted in its entirety not to be parted or separated".

Duh!

I told them I would think about it.

We have another issue going on, apparently involving Ollie. Krl noticed some charges on her bank statement and called our banker. Some purchases were made and paid electronically using Krl's routing and account number. The bank has reversed the charges and is back tracking the IP address. This is very serious, because it involves a Federal entity (a National Bank), and would involved internet fraud. Our banker asked if we wanted her to pursue it and we said yes. She said the minimum penalty is ten years in prison.

The entire thing makes me ill.

I am going in late to the parts store today. I owe Chris five hours from Tuesday so I told him I would get even today.

This afternoon I will probably try to put the jobsite freezer in the garage. I might make a quick trip to Lamesa and then to Lubbock Saturday. If I do I am bring home the "bacon".

Have a day!

FATHER, I could use a little help here. I find myself becoming mired.

My prediction of soundly sleeping Tuesday right was right on. I slept like a rock!

In fact, I fell asleep in my chair prior to eight in the evening. About four I woke and moved to the bed. Wednesday morning I woke about twenty-five minutes before seven.

I had to hustle to make it to work at the parts store.

My Tuesday was good. The meeting went well. I arrived at the seasonal jobsite, about seven-twenty Tuesday morning. The meeting was to start at eight. I went in to the lobby area and was warmly greeted by several patrons, the plant Superintendent, Roy, the GM, and the burr contractor and one of his drivers. It felt good to be on familiar ground. Just after eight, a couple of guys walked in and the GM escorted them directly into the Board room. I was told they are the burr contractor from the Westside Gin in San Angelo.

By the time I was taken back it was ten. I was the last of the potential contractors. The delay gave me opportunity to "visit" with Greg, the current burr contractor who I had been told asked for and received permission to bid on the hauling I have done for the last fourteen years. His story is that he didn't ask, he was asked to. I was a little unsettled by his mannerisms during this conversation. It seemed he just wasn't comfortable. Experts say that his body language might question his honesty.

I felt really good about the presentation. I feel I left it all on the table and whatever happens, I can live with. I had very few questions from board members, so I believe I covered all the bases. I know I was the only one who had prepared presentation folders for each individual board member. I think Krl's and my preparation knocked it over the fence.

The board had a couple more guys to meet with about possibly adding machinery to the plant, and the board President told me they would be in contact with me.

I know some of my bid carried a shock factor because when I presented the burr bid, pencils and calculators became quite busy!

Memama and Pepa had a busy day on Lubbock. Preliminary reports are good on his follow up.

Pat and Hag are "sat" out. They spent the entire day at the Court House to see about the "Foreclosure" sale by the old family business creditor. The "recovery specialists" for the old creditor never showed.

I had several patrons at the parts store tell me that Coach had been hired as the new Head Coach at Odessa Permian. On my way home I decided to call him. He told me those reports were erroneous. He was an applicant, but they had not made a selection.

If he wants it I hope he gets it!

Odessa sure is an ugly town.

Today Memama has three appointments with her vision doctors. Actually two are with eye doctors, the third one is with a blood doctor. (Hematologist.?) Pat and Pepa went with her.

Back to he parts store today, then I will work part of Friday to pay back hours I missed Tuesday.

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for the safe travel and for the great day Tuesday. YOU are good.

Sleep is illusive.

But oh, tonight, I'm going to sleep soundly.

I woke and looked at the clock, 1 AM.. Flip, flop, flip, flop. I finally just got up.

The presentation is sitting by the front door. Folders are prepared. I have serviced the little truck and it is ready for a road trip.

Actually the little truck is probably the only question mark for my day. This will be the longest road trip the little truck has made since we put the new engine in. Thankfully, its oil consumption seems to have curtailed. Today will tell the tale. I know I drive a little harder than ET does.

I have known as I was preparing my game plan for the board meeting this morning, I didn't need to be around anyone. I didn't want or need the distraction.

Last Friday I sent ET to Fort Worth with a check to pick up the transmission for the big truck. I told him, be sure and get everything we need to put the transmission in. I even called him and reinforced this.

Yesterday morning, I received a call from ET telling me what was on our old transmission (that we exchanged) that we needed to put on the new unit. It was all I could do to keep from coming unglued. I placed a call to the re-builder in Fort Worth as well as an e-mail.

I talked with Pepa a couple of times, and he seemed to think I was a little testy. And I probably was.

After lunch I went to the Post Office to mail three large flats. One to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (W-2's and W-3), one to Austin (1099's and 1096), and one to my friend Leonard in Lamesa. After that I drove across town and picked up some parts I had ordered a couple of weeks ago. While I was on that side of town I decided to check just to be sure the first shop that looked at the transmission didn't inadvertently keep the missing parts. They didn't.

Afterwards, I ran across the street to the storage facility to check the heater and get some things out of the company travel trailer. Then back to the house.

Once I arrived, I called the transmission shop in Fort Worth again, finally I got hold of the salesman. He told me he had sent all our pieces. I asked him to check and he discovered the missing fittings. He is shipping them to us today.

ET still says it is not the right transmission. My question is why didn't he say this while he was in Fort Worth?

Today is going to be a strange day. I will be on the road within an hour, headed to St. Lawrence. Memama and Pepa will leave Roscoe about eight, headed to Lubbock for a check up with Dr. Mark. Pat and Steve will probably spend half their day at the court house, monitoring the proceedings there.

I still haven't figured everything out that is going on there. An old creditor from the defunct family business, who was #2 or #3 lien holder on some real estate is selling their position. Crazy thing is, this liability was discharge in bankruptcy. Craziest thing is, they are selling my farm that the first lien holder sold back in 04 or 05. In an even stranger event, they have told the attorney who has represented all of us, that whoever buys their lien will control the property. I still haven't figured that one out. What is really misleading is in the court house where the sale is posted, there is no mention that they are selling the second or third position. Someone could win the auction and end up without a hunk of money or the property. Worst thing is, things like this usually upset the #1 lien holder, making them very uncomfortable.

I still am wondering if our attorney got snookered or if this other bunch is full of bluster. This other group calls themselves "recovery specialists". I think they are crooks!

If they do what they say they are going to do, I don't want to be a first lien holder, I would rather be at the back of the line, and still take control.

On a high note. Rian called and said he had been to Post and picked up the pigs. 394lbs.. He was so excited. He said when they were bringing it out, they would say this box is filled with bacon, sausage, chops, ham steaks, pork roasts and so on. I am excited too! Neatest thing is I bought the pigs, he paid the processing and we are $7 apart on investment.

The last part of my day was spent in the garage. I hauled one load of stuff to the storage building and dumpster. I guess I was working of some nervous energy.

Finally, we sat down to a wonderful supper of pot roast with potatoes, carrots, and biscuits. Wonderful.

Have a day!

FATHER, we've already talked about my day. I just want you to know, I'm glad YOU are in control.