A quick update on Kirby. Unconfirmed sources say he has signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent. This isn't from Coach, but appears to be pretty reliable!

Go Kirby!

Thank YOU LORD! It is raining!

I have almost always enjoyed a good rain storm. I can think of nothing better than a slow gentle rain on a laid back evening or afternoon in a building with a tin roof!

Notice I said almost. There was a time when I was farming that I wanted rain, but feared it too. When we lived in Roscoe, at one point in time we had three complete sets of carpeting for our home. Turned out the county had caved an old wooden bridge in and simply filled the hole with caleche. It doesn't sound like much, but it re-routed water run-off from about two thousand acres to an area that was already suspect at best. The Army Corp of Engineers came in and did a bunch of work only to make the situation worse. The second flood was worse than the first! After a number of years and a lot of legal maneuvering accompanied by hard feelings, the situation has been resolved.

Until we have a flood of the century! (Which for some odd reason we saw two of in two years).

It doesn't help that Roscoe is built in an old buffalo wallow. Government officials say it should have been built one mile Southeast of where it is.

When Krl and I moved to Abilene, the home we selected is on a high spot. I can't really say we did this consciously. But I am glad it happened. We are located halfway up a one block long street and I would say homes to our North would have water on their roofs before we would have water inside. A half mile away is a creek that often times has caused road closings and forced us to come and go the back way, in and out on Antilley Road.

But, needless to say, I enjoy rain a lot more now than at times in the past!

The only thing that makes me not enjoy the rain are the houndgirls! Don't ask me why, but the big hounds, as they aged, became extremely fearful of thunder and lightning. They would get restless and begin whining and hiding, long before a storm had arrived. The big girls conveyed this to the little hounds, and during last nights storms Maple Syrple and Phoo Doo were submarining under the covers and shaking the whole bed.

It was a lot like putting a quarter in the vibrating bed at the motel and then woefully waiting for time to run out!

Of all our hounds, only Maple has ever been in the elements. When Rescue the Animals asked us to be a foster home for her, they told us she had been apprehended on Judge Ely Boulevard. They would have never caught her except she had her head in a paper sack with the "golden arches" printed on it. In her defense, she was distracted!

We don't know any more particulars. There was speculation she had escaped and become lost by someone traveling, or that her owner had died or possibly abandoned her. Outside of that, the experts said she belonged to a female and had been abused by a male!

I'll testify to that! She didn't like me at all. If I was barefoot in my recliner and she walked by, she would back up, just to nip at my toes! More often than not, she left me bleeding!

It is amazing, four years later, that she is my dog. Sits with me, sleeps with me, cries when I walk from the room, and announces my arrival long before my key enters the lock.

In all the years Krl and I have been together, only one hound has come into our home and not stayed. That was the Pit Bull that attacked Prissy. By the next day, Krl had found her another home!

I attended a surprise birthday party yesterday for my buddy K.O.. I was glad I went because outside of his family, attendance was a little weak. they did burgers, 'tater salad, and baked beans! Lots of laughs and fun! The big 4-0. Black balloons, a senior aide package! It was fun.

I returned to our home in time to watch the last thirty-nine laps of the NASCAR Aaron's 499. I had lost some interest because from the time I left our house and went to the party, the race went from the pre-race activites to after the "first big one" (meaning wreck), and my favorites were taken out!

The finish was exciting with Carl Edward trying to block and getting turned in front of Ryan Newman and Little "E". Edwards ended up upside down and in the catch fence while Brad Kezoloski went on to win. Edward was all right and ran to the finish line after the crash (kind of like "Talladega Nights the ballad of Ricky Bobby"). Later reports showed seven people received injuries from flying debris. The most serious was a broken jaw.

Needless to say, the rest of the race day shows seemed to concentrate on what NASCAR needs to do to keep this from happening again.

K.O. and I talked briefly about the show possibility in our area. I had run some preliminary numbers, and we weren't far off. It is interesting what his concerns were. My main advice to him is, you'd better be able to walk away from what ever the show budget is. We have done shows in the past and some have made money and some haven't. The worst pill to swallow was $11K loss.

Yikes! What was I thinking!

Well, Krl and I discussed bills last evening. We've got plenty!

I can't believe it is the end of the month. More importantly I can't believe the quarterly reports are due in three days!

Double yikes! 941 and Texas Workforce!

Piece of cake. I may even do the occupational accident insurance report that is due on the 14th.

One funny note. Krl and I, in our haste last month to get the accident insurance report and premium in the mail, had some sort of brain malfunction. I mailed the yellow envelope that comes enclosed in the bill. A week later Krl was opening her checkbook and found the employee roster, the wages, and the premium check! Some how, some way, I had mailed an empty envelope!

She called them, and they said it happens all the time!

That .42 cents should help the Postal Service out!

Enjoy the day and the rain!

FATHER, thank YOU for YOU blessing of rain. I pray YOU will bless us, our family, and our friends out West and down South with more! YOU are good!

This past week was a week of milestones.

Thursday was Ollie's birthday, she was 27. My buddy K.O. celebrated his birthday Friday turning the big 40. And today Chris celebrates #24.

Ollie celebrated her day by receiving approval for indigent care and submitting additional information for SSI.

K.O. said his day was just another day until late when D.O. and the boys took him to Chili's for a birthday celebration.

Chris is finishing a week of vacationing in Kansas City. He will return home tomorrow.

My week was another full week at the parts store. That's two in a row. That has meant Krl bore the bulk of the trucking. One thing about it, she is amassing a lot of contacts for future use.

Krl kept the trucks loaded and moving, even though one driver didn't do a whole lot of miles. It wasn't Krl's fault. I think this driver got to figuring I would add some pay to his check and only drove two hundred miles on consecutive days. That had some people looking for those loads in an uproar which means Krl was on the war path.

This one driver is proving to be a pathological liar. Thing is, he isn't a good liar. I can usually begin talking with him and pick apart his story before he comes clean. If he would do what he is supposed to do, and be straight about it, it would better. I know he is always in hot water with his wife, and I am sure in order to make peace he probably paints me and Krl as the bad guys.

Well, after a couple weeks of rumors and innuendos, I got a text message that simply said, "I am staying at odessa permian coach freeman". The had been a lot of speculation that he would go to Midland Lee. Personally, I think Permian is the best opportunity. It would appear that Mojo is cycling up and getting their "Mojo" back. I figure Gaines will be around a couple of years and then want to retire. If coach is the assistant head coach, I would think he would have a good opportunity to step up. Basically, it could kind of be what happened with W.T. in Brownwood.

I read an article this morning on the internet which said Kirb was not expected to be drafted in the NFL draft this weekend. I don't see this as bad. I have been told that Kirby has "graded" out very well in his NFL pro days, even though his collegiate career didn't produce the numbers everyone expected. I attribute the majority of this to the revolving door for offensive coordinators in Miami, as well as the change in Head Coaches. Of course his Baylor career was short lived because of a broken foot. I fully expect Kirby to sign with some team as an undrafted free agent. Best part of this is he can choose where he wants to go from the teams that are interested. The Matt Cassel story has to be a major motivator here, he didn't start one single college game and stepped in and took over when Tom Brady was injured last year and gave New England a quarterback controversy before being traded to the Chiefs.

I would still prefer to be the punter.

And, Krl hired a new lawn boy this week. His name is Bear. He is probably ten or eleven, red headed. He seems like a good kid, and he certainly tries. He and Krl have been working in the flower beds and in the front yard. I think much to his delight, he finally got to mow yesterday! He is supposed to come back today and do the back yard. He told Krl he would mow the yard for $10, front and back. Krl told him that was too cheap and agreed on $25 for mowing, weed eating and edging, any additional work will be extra. Krl and I met his Dad and told them what we would like to do is develop a relationship what was dependable (since we are gone so much) and that could exist for several years.

I probably need to do the yard work. I need the exercise and it would save a $100 per month, but we would have to find someone to do the yard when we leave, and most of the time they don't want an extra yard that late in the season for a brief period of time.

Our old yard man did our yard for four years and we prepaid him when we left for St. Lawrence and he never mowed again. Now he doesn't return our phone calls because he owes us money. Oh well. I would rather help someone like "Bear" anyhow!

I received a phone call the other day from a guy in some foreign country talking to me about my First Premier Bank Card. (This is a credit card I use for gas and copies, that only had a $250 limit). Several years ago I had requested that dollar amount limit. The card is paid in full every month, and always has been. Last year, when gas prices went sky-rocketing, I had talked with them and told them I needed to raise the limit and they said they would get it in the works. It never happened and I hadn't thought a whole lot about it until the other day. I guess I didn't keep an accurate mental accounting of how much I had used the card (or used it inadvertently) because this little rude man told me I needed to give him a check over the phone to bring my account back in lines with the terms. I asked what he was talking about and he told me I was past due and over limit. I told him maybe over limit, but certainly not past due. He got a little irate, and I did too. I told him I don't do phone checks. Finally I hung up and called Krl. Sure enough the card had been paid in full earlier in the month. Krl called the card company and they said my account was not due until May 11, 2009, but it was $6 over the limit, but with the over the limit charge, the monthly service charge, and the card protection, I owed them $282.70.

After Kl and I had talked, I called the First Premier Bank Card Customer Service and talked with Ali. "How may I help you", he asked.

I told him, "Cancel the card".

"Why, may I ask do you want to cancel the card?", Ali asked.

"Your people are rude and crude and they finally tripped the "Bull Sh_t meter", I replied. I gave Ali a play by play of what had transpired.

"Because of your excellent credit history with First Premier I have been authorized to offer to you a new First Premier Credit Card in addition to your existing account, and I will give you a $10 credit if you will accept my offer AND keep your old account open", said Ali.

"To little to late", I replied.

After a few more minutes of haggling, I ended the call and got a pair of scissors and cut up the card.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why United States based companies, outsource their customer service centers to foreign companies. Even Southwestern Bell has relocated their customer service over seas. I tried to talk to them about a problem with a fax line at work a couple of weeks ago.

And finally, Rian has begun his count down to summer. 23 full days and 2 half days until school lets out in Lubbock. It seems he has always hated this time of the school year, especially since he went into administration. He says when you get inside a month of year end, a lot of disciplinary options are no longer available and the students know it, add to this you can't suspend them with the mandatory State testing coming up because they still count against the school. Fact is, if they are on your attendance list in October, no matter if they move or what, they count against your testing in the spring.

Well, I may go meet K.O. today and meet with a potential promoter of a show. K.O. asked if I would be interested, and I told him yes.

Outside of that I am hoping for a laid back weekend!

Hope yours is too.

FATHER thank YOU for seeing me through another week. I ask YOUR blessings on Ollie, K.O. and Chris as they celebrate birthdays, may they have many more. I ask for a little pick me upper!

Eleven minutes. That is my internal timer. Eleven minutes, over and over. I watched the clock each time I turned over last night, and I sleep eleven minutes before "flipping" over. This happens repeatedly, with almost alarming accuracy!

Pat tells me Dr. Mackie has my med level for rest-less leg way to low. In fact she says her dosage is five times mine. May be. She says that this med also should have some benefit as a contributing sleep aid.

Actually, what gets uncomfortable are my shoulders. I believe these aches are residual from battles on the gridiron. Maybe arthritis is setting in. Could be rigor mortis.

My aches are one thing that make me glad that Rian wasn't so much into sports. His biggest malady right now is his foot.

I woke earlier this morning, with extreme dry mouth. A tell tale sign that I probably stripped the paint off the ceiling. The other tell tale sign was the two pups were in contact with me, meaning Krl had sought refuge on the couch or in the other bedroom.

Memama had gone to renew her drivers license recently, and she was unable to. It seems that now they cross reference your license and your Social Security number, and they must match exactly. There is a spelling difference, which dates back to Memama's birth certificate on which they mis-spelled her name. So, in order to correct the Social Security Card, she has to correct the birth certificate. Not a big order huh? She talked with the Bureau of Vital Statistics and they initially told her, she needed an affidavit from a relative, older than her testifying that she is who she says she is. Since her Mom and Dad have been gone, as well as her older sister, the pool was pretty small. She has two cousins who would meet this criteria.

Yesterday Pat called the Bureau of Vital Statistics and they told her that due to circumstances, Memama's oldest child could do an affidavit. Pat pursued it farther, explaining that Fred was gone as well. Finally they told her that I could do the affidavit. This will be the third affidavit for her in the last week! I may have a new career.

So after Memama has been working on this for almost two months, she may be fixing to become who she is.

Don't you just love bureaucracy.

For the second week in a row, I am working a modified schedule at the parts store. While Sylvia was gone last week, Chris is gone this week. Pat had asked me to work yesterday, then I will do my regular three days, and we will see if she wants me to come in Friday. I could use the money as I need to send Krl to the optometrist and the dentist.

Last week, Krl went to take her glasses off and one ear piece broke. Her glasses are frame-less, and where the ear piece connected through the lens it had a small crack. Well, it grew enough to allow the screw to escape.

As for her teeth, she is suffering from some shoddy dental work she had done a long time ago.

Well, I guess I will get my day started. Have one!

FATHER, I find myself struggling. Lift me, lift my spirits. YOU are my GOD.

My Saturday was almost what I needed, just not quite enough.

On my way in Friday, I picked up supper for Krl and I. We had our first post Wok Express melt down, because that would have been at the top of both our lists. Instead, our list was Rosa's, Fazolli's, and the China Bowl. Krl immediately crossed off the China Bowl, saying she had tried it once before while I was gone, and then with one more quick swipe Fazolli's was gone. So Rosa's is was.

I knew what Krl's two favorites were, but couldn't decide which I should get, so I got both. Needless to say, we haven't cooked all weekend!

I had slept in Saturday morning and lay in bed cat napping until about eight-forty. That is almost a record for me! When I did get up, I diced some peppers and onions, then some ham we had left over from earlier in the week. When Krl woke, I started the peppers, onions, and ham sauteing. I mixed eggs and milk and in short order we were on the way to omelets!

Krl came in and did toast.

It was a huge omelet. Probably too big. Six eggs. But is was pretty good eating. The pups got to finish it off! Krl and I were stuffed.

From there our day was kicked back. The only things I had to do was go to the Post Office before five, and to go to the grocery store.

I did begin working on truck driver settlements, downloading the reports from the Visa cards the drivers use for fuel (or are supposed to use for fuel). I have one driver who I have talked to about using the card for personal use. It appears the talks have done no good as he increased his personal usage almost double from the previous week. I don't think this driver realizes the possible legal ramifications of mis-using the card. Another problem is that he continues to deplete the available balance (it is a pre-paid card) and when he needs it, the funds are not going to be available. I have no plans at the present time to put any additional funds on this driver's card.

The other driver has been stellar in his card use. Absolutely no personal use, but when I down loaded his reports, he had already fueled for Monday. That left him a balance of $1.92. And that was after he had $800 on his card for diesel on Wednesday.

What that meant was I needed to cash a check and reload this driver's card. Add that to my Saturday list.

Krl has kept a much closer watch on the bank account, and she told me it was getting very serious. Despite her best efforts to collect some past dues, none of them had come in. As I went to the Post Office, she was checking the on-line banking. When I arrived at our mail box, I was very pleased to discover two checks, but these weren't from the accounts we had been pursuing. So, I returned home to prepare a bank deposit.

I keep a mental "balance" in my head, recording income and expenditures, so I have a general idea, while Krl is precise.

After the deposit was prepared I went back to the Post Office to put the deposit in the mail. An unexpected addition to my Saturday. Then a stop to load money on the driver's card. Also not on my errands.

Finally I was in the grocery store. Krl had prepared a lengthy list as we had not purchased major groceries in a few weeks.

When I prepare the grocery list, I mentally walk through the store and make my list accordingly. Krl doesn't do this, but in her defense when you add to a list over and over, it is impossible.

Needless to say, I caught myself back tracking. Some items were add ons, some were omissions. It seemed like my store time was lengthy. When I was prepared to check out I found a pleasant surprise, our old checker Roy was "checking" again. It has probably been three or four years since he has checked. For reasons not known to me, he had been reassigned to "sacker". I guess, due to a shortage, John needed to bring him back to the register. He is not the fastest checker (nor has he ever been), but I will wait in line for him to check me out.

Krl and I had a nice relaxed evening before she retired early, and I took in some of the "Mash" marathon on TV Land.

Krl and I have been talking about Prissy. Krl said she was laying down, trying to nap when Prissy came in and touched her. We both would swear we have heard her bark, or walk across the floor in the night. It may be a long time before we are adjusted to her loss.

In a slow Saturday, I had only six phone calls all day! One driver, Rian, Pat, Pepa, and two from Krl while I was running errands. That is almost a record.

Rian was touching base. He and Erica were going to look at a house. They seem to cycle through the house hunting about every three months. He had told me with interest rates down it was very appealing to build or upgrade. Erica had an "Upper Case" party on Friday and Rian and the boys had dropped her off, and on their way to the district track meet when they ran across the house. Rian put the boys in the back yard and did a quick walk through and decided Erica needed to see it too! Rian says he has certain thing he wants in their next house, and Erica has certain requirements. Rian went on to tell me this house scores very high.

Pat was also touching base. She actually gave me a brief report on Chris' trip. I feel sure she and I will talk this coming week. Chris decided he wanted to be anywhere but Roscoe for his birthday (which is actually next weekend). I had learned of some of the activities he was trying to line up, so every time I could I would stir the pot, trying to complicate things for his scheduling. It was a real hoot!

Today Chris' friend Mikey will fly him back home, in time for Chris ti hop int he car with Memama and his mother to go to Dr. Bowman's. After Monday morning appointments he will board a flight to Kansas City where he will spend the rest of the week.

I jokingly tole him that K.C. was the Transvestite Capitol of the world. You could see he didn't know quite how to respond. I continued on telling him that in his absence from store next week, I wouldn't blab. All I would do is tell the patrons Chris was gone to K.C., to have a procedure. Heh. Heh.

For a brief time, I thought Chris was going to cancel the trip!

I hope this week away settles Chris, but I am afraid it may only fuel his unrest.

Well, have a day.

FATHER, thank YOU for a restful weekend. I pray for Chris, for his safety, and that he would make good decisions.

I am finding that I covet my day today. Having become accustomed to a three day work week at the parts store, I want my Friday off, back!

Mentally and physically I am worn out. It has been a week, but my Wednesday was one to put on paper. Toilet paper.

I received Krl's and my tax return from our accountant at 11:34 Wednesday. Night. From there my Wednesday rapidly unraveled and carried over into my Thursday. I am in the midst of my offer in compromise, which means I must file timely, even if I don't owe any additional tax. No extensions are allowed.

Thanks to our accountant's effort, some fast driving, and some extended postal services, I made it under the wire!

But I had jet lag all day Thursday!!

It probably didn't help that I learned yesterday that I have another tough week to go next week. Sylvia was on vacation this week, and yesterday I learned that Chris has an eye doctor's appointment Monday in Dallas, and he is tyring to leave town for the remainder of the week.

Nothing like a little notice.

Originally Chris had mentioned wanting to go to Virginia to see a former classmate at the school for the blind in Little Rock. When things didn't work there, he changed destinations to Kansas City to see yet another classmate.

I am beginning to think Chris just wants to go. Any where, any place, any time.

In fact I am beginning to think Chris' twice weekly meetings simply guarantee him to go.

Yesterday, when I had learned of the scheduling change for next week, I asked Chris if he was aware I was working on a vacation calendar, and was he aware that you had to mark your vacation on a first come first serve basis, two weeks prior to the beginning of the vacation. He responded affirmatively. I then asked if he was aware he hadn't marked his desired time off. He responded, "Oh well!"

Then, in one of those moments, his Uncle told him, "You lead by example!"

This will probably take some serious sales technique.

It would appear we have had some rain over night. I woke to the rumble of thunder during the early morning hours. On a quick note, this is the first storm since we had our new windows installed. Surprisingly, they keep a lot of the sound out.

I talked with Rian yesterday and he said they had storms in Lubbock with wind, rain, and hail. They had golf ball sized hail at their house and Erica told him the hail covered the ground.

I hope you were able to avoid any damage, yet receive some moisture.

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for YOUR blessing of rain, and thank YOU for Fridays!

A tough week. I am not conditioned for the five day work week, I will admit it, I am spoiled. I have become use to my three day work week away from the house, of course when I am at the house I do work. It is just at a more leisurely pace and relaxed enviorment.

Actually work hasn't been to bad. Sylvia has been doing lots of the things I had done prior to her being hired, so it has been good to refresh my memory. Max and I spent part of the morning doing hardware, which is also Syvia's specialty. I told Max I wanted Sylvia to come back and say "You did so well without me, you don't even need me any more".

It doesn't hurt to do a reality check, once in a while.

This week has been another problem week for the trucks. Try as Krl has, she is finding few opportunities for back hauls.

She has talked with one of the end users and he says he has loads he is needing to cross, but for some reason they aren't moving. Some speculation is that the Mexican mills are doing inventory. I don't know. I do know one of the major importers of tubing on this side is down for inventory until Monday.

So, we may change directions and try to send one truck back to Houston. Time will tell.

My little hyper truck driver is back on the job. He had taken off from Friday until today, and already he is griping about his paycheck is going to be too small.

Not my problem.

I seem to be struggling with what I am doing and what I need to do. I am probably not doing either justice.

By the way I finally finished the book Good to Great. I wouldn't recommend it. It does have some points that are good, my biggest problem was that many of their great companies are either in the bailout or have been taken over, or gone bankrupt. The author tried to cover this possibility, but I thought his disclaimer, should some of the companies go from great to good, was lame. I did however like his thoughts about getting the right people on the bus, level five leaders and having a passion for what you are doing.

I was so glad to get back to some fiction reading!

Hope your week is going good.

FATHER, I could still use a lotta help here. For YOUR love!

I caught a Brady Bunch episode on television that I had never seen. It was the wedding. Kind of neat. Once again, the TV Land channel won the weekend ratings battle at our home.

To solidify their hold, programmers also had a Harrison Ford day. Coming up, they have scheduled a MASH marathon. Heh, heh. Now that is my kind of TV. Mindless.

I caught a little of the Masters. Kind of like osmosis. I didn't watch it, I had it on in the back ground. I was working at Krl's desk with my back to the screen until right at the very end. I had to go on line to get a play by play. It had to be heartbreaking for Campbell, and Perry. Of course $660K would go a long way to soothing hurt feelings.

Yep, ol' Angel had a $1.350M pay day. Not bad for someone who doesn't speak English well enough to do an interview.

Bueno.

It was a really quiet Easter Sunday. My phone rang only twice, and both times it was the same truck driver. I did a little finish work on some tax stuff and weekly payroll.

I am very frustrated with the cash flow situation of the business. You know there is a money on the books, but it is a race to see if you can collect more before the money in hand is gone. I sure don't like working like that.

I know I am fixing to get one of those calls from one driver, telling me how bad he is hurting. The other driver always calls to visit on Sunday afternoon, and after a lengthy visit, asks if I know how much his check is going to be. Both of these guys are on commission. They draw a percentage of what they do. I feel absolutely positive they have a good idea of the neighborhood their check is going to reside in.

I usually "try" to help these guys out as much as possible, but you can only do so much. One driver only had two loads last week. The other only three. One driver is at fault, taking off mid week, the other a victim of the time of the year. Not a whole lot of activity was going on.

One of our vendors must have needed the commodity we usually haul them because we got a call telling us they would have return loads, "so come on down". It got them three loads they wouldn't have received, if they hadn't called. Of course when we arrived to off load, they had no idea what the hold up was on the loads crossing the border. By Friday they had changed their tune and talk. "The two weeks leading up to Easter are the two slowest weeks of the year", they said.

I am hoping they are covered up beginning this morning.

We had made contact with a vendor we used to haul for. We were impressed with their growth since we had worked with them. Their website boasts of 500 loads shipped each month, that they are the largest importer of tubing in the U.S.. From what I have seen, they are going to have to really pick up the number of loads they have had to make the 500 number.

Each week I do a profit and loss on each company unit. Surprisingly, the P & L revealed black ink for last week. A $26 profit.

Yikes!

Krl and I had done a tag team on homemade beef enchiladas late yesterday. I really enjoy cooking with her. The enchiladas require an assembly line work ethic, so it goes much more quickly and smoothly with us both working.

Supper was yum!

But, by shortly after midnight, my belly got mad. I am beginning to wonder what is doing this, and I have my suspicions. I have always liked spicy foods, and usually they have liked me. What I suspect, is that the culprit may be Diet Coke. And that could mean a major lifestyle change if I have to eliminate it.

Don't worry, if I decide to do that I will try and give everyone a little advance notice so you can dump your Coca Cola stocks.

Actually, I have given some though to eliminating carbonated drinks. When Tj had are gastric bypass surgery, one concession her surgeon demanded was no carbonated drinks. They say that what the carbonated drink does to your body is pretty ugly. Of course Tj changed vices. After the surgery her drink of choice was a large Sonic ice tea.

I could probably do the ice tea deal, provided it is brewed. I am finding I can detect instant or tea concentrate is a minimal taste test. Yep, sun tea (or even cold brew) unsweetened would probably be my favorite.

I guess I am getting old and set in my ways, but I can tell a lot about a restaurant by the glass they use to serve their tea and the drink that is in it.

My week this week is a little different. Sylvia is off. Her daughter is in in for the week, first time in about three or four years. I think she resides in the Carolinas now.

What this means for me is I will be going in today. Dangit! I have become so used to having four day weekends it has taken some real adjusting to my brain. I don't mind it too much, and of course Pat said if need be she would come in. I just know she has to be chasing her tail. She just got home yesterday from Pflugerville. She and Hag have been helping to get Hank's home cleaned out and ready to go on the market.

So I will join the majority of the world this morning and begin my five day work week. Ugh! I have some research projects that I can get done (hopefully).

I have been able to (hopefully) set the tone for the week with the trucks on my Monday off. I guess I will see what I can do on the fly. I do know I have one problem to deal with. Last week I had visited with our only employee who is Catholic. I did this because he is a very religious man, and I wanted to respect his culture and practices. I asked first if he wanted off Good Friday. He didn't. He said he would work Friday and Saturday, but wanted off for Easter. That was understandable. We usually don't work Sunday unless we have done a weekend show and are in transit returning home. Other exceptions might include leaving late on a Sunday for a Monday delivery.

This driver also told me he needed off on Monday. His wife has been at their daughters in California for about six weeks, and she was coming in to do their taxes. So I asked this driver, "Do you want a load you can load Monday afternoon to deliver Tuesday?" He told me no, to schedule him a load for pickup Tuesday morning and a Wednesday deliver. I relayed that to Krl and she go him a Tuesday load. On Friday, when I last talked with this driver, I gave him his load number for Tuesday. "This isn't going to work", he said. "My wife won't be home until Monday night so we are going to have our taxes done Tuesday, so I can't take the load".

I almost went ballistic. Krl says it is a make it or break it deal. either he does what he had told us he needed to do, or he can hit the road. I might not be that radical, but I am not a happy camper.

If the week is beginning with that much drama, what does the rest of it hold?

Have a day and a week!

FATHER, I could sure use some help here. I seem to be muddled. I ask that YOU lift and inspire me. Please bless this week and my efforts.

Happy Easter.

My mind is muddled. I really don't want to do anything. I haven't vocalized anything, but the little pups must sense my emotional un-rest. If I am in my chair, they are in my lap, especially if I am rocking.

Every once and a while Krl and I will talk about something, but usually that something gradually comes around to the "Black dogs" and when we have finished our conversation I can usually hear Krl let go of a quiet sob.

I did get out of the house yesterday to make a quick Post Office run and to the grocery store. We talked of doing burgers, but in the end opted for pizza. Krl made a good call on the pizza since we hadn't had it in a month or so. I had picked up salad "fixins", and it was good. I guess I am from the old school that prefers the thin crust. Last nights was excellent!

I suppose one of my rude awakenings was when I was in the New York City, Newark areas for some meetings and called in a pizza. I was shocked that all the ads called for "New York Style Pizza", and every place advertised "spinach" pizza. When the delivery man arrived, I was counting out the money and every time I tilted the pizza box, he would put it back level. When he finally left and I opened the box I understood his concern. If you tilted the pizza, there was so much sauce everything would have run off the crust!

Not what this country boy was use to!

I slept pretty well last night. Crazy thing is, when I wake up I catch myself straining to hear the familiar staccato sound of Prissy moving about the room in the night. I guess my subconscious is aware of how things have changed.

I know that many consider this day to be the Holiest Day of the year. I too agree on the significance of it. My personal belief is that we should remember Christ's death and resurrection, and the hope and promise, daily.

FATHER, thank YOU for JESUS.

Things are quiet here at the house.

Krl says the little pups are mourning Prissy. Yesterday when we returned home from the veterinary, Krl came in the house while I moved Prissy's body from the SUV to my pickup. (Our Veterinary includes a "coffin" shaped box and his assistants had placed Prissy's body in it and then carried it to our SUV). Krl said the little pups went from room to room before Brandy parked under Krl's desk and cried. She said it wasn't the same cry as when I leave the house, it was much different.

I had given my buddy K.O. a call, and he was very aware of what was transpiring. By the time I arrived at their rural home he had already prepared a grave site just a few feet from where we buried Lady Rachel last May. I appreciate his help.

Krl and I re-lived a lot of the early days with the pups. They were all ears and feet when they were born! Crazy thing was, none of them ever realized they were not little tiny dogs! I can remember Krl rocking them at night, and them swimming to her to lay on her floatie in the pool!

But now, they are all re-united. They are all healthy, and they are running and jumping and playing.

But I am still sad.

I had an early morning phone call from Reid. Rian says it was Reid's idea, which is very rare because Reid doesn't talk on the phone much. Neat thing was when he was finished with me, he wanted to talk with Meme. I told him Meme was still asleep and he told me not to wake her, just have her call him when she got up.

Then Reid gave the phone to Holt. I could tell Holt was a little bent about something. He began in his rapid fire shorthand english. I could pick up a word here and there. Something about "my Momma didn't" and "the grocery store". Finally his Dad told me Holt was mad because his Momma didn't let him go to the grocery store with her. I thought I would make him feel better and asked if he was dressed and ready to go, and maybe she was making a quick trip and that was why she didn't take anyone with her. He then told me that Drew got to go. So much for me helping his feelings. Then his Dad said tell Dandy why you don't get to go to the store. A little more rapid fire english and finally his Dad said "Because Holt throws fits in the store".

I finally told Holt if he would come see his Meme and Dandy, I would take him to the store.

Since that call, I have probably talked with Rian six or seven times. I guess I am going to have to include him in my circle on my phone.

Rian had gone to his relative's and picked up the truck and trailer with his pulling tractor in it and returned to his house. He was wanting to roll out his gear ratios, so after he unloaded the tractor, Erica pulled the tractor while Rian was laying on it counting rotations of the transmission input shaft, while a neighbor made calls on the tire rotation. Much to Rian's surprise, the two gears he pulled in Priddy were the two highest in the transmission. Instead of running the tractor as a twin in what they thought was high gear, they were running it in direct (which is the lowest gear in the transmission).

After a week of calling and talking to different people, Rian heard a suggestion from one person that rang true to his needs. Pull the transmission out and turn it around. That way, it would go from having two overdrives, to having two under drives, putting him much closer to where he needs to be on his ratio. That solution puts Rian's most abundant resources front and center. Time and muscle.

I had hoped that when he pulled it apart he could just switch gear sets on the shafts and change his ratios. If this gets him close but not exactly where he wants to be, that may still come into play.

The best word I heard was Rian said as he winched the tractor into the trailer the bottom fell out and it was raining!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for the good possibility of rain. I would ask that YOU bless our family and friends in this area, Roscoe, St. Lawrence, Sinton and Bishop with YOUR blessing of rain.

Things are somber around our house.

For the last few days, Prissy has been rapidly losing ground. She has become lethargic and will stand, staring at absolutely nothing for hours on end. You can move and she never notices. Krl is positive that Prissy's body is shutting down.

I had set a goal, selfishly, for Prissy to make it to April 22. Her birthday. She would be 18.

Krl and I have talked, and yesterday she called our veterinarian, and we have a 10:30 appointment to take Prissy in and have her euthanized.

I have a lump in my throat, and a weight on my chest as I try to come to terms with this.

The pups both know something is going on, and while they had "bullied" Prissy in the last year (they really got in trouble with Krl when they tried that), they have been very affectionate and caring the last few days.

It is going to be an adjustment. We have gone from five Standard Poodles to four, to three to two to two and a miniature Poodle to two and miniature Poodle and miniature Spitz. To one and the two miniatures.

Krl has told me she already has plans for finding another Standard Poodle, when we are ready.

During Krl's and my marriage, we have had Rachel, Sadat 1, Shadow, Duchess, Sadat 2, Lady Rachel, Prissy, Brandy and Phoodoo. All but the first two and the last two were a little family within our family.

Have a day.

FATHER, bless this day and the decision Krl and I have made concerning Prissy. We thank YOU for her and the joy and comfort she has given us.

I figured I had better check in.

It has been a really busy week. Trucks, parts store, Fort Worth, two day show in Priddy. Throw in some schedule issues and you would have my week.

We seemed to have lost our rabbit's foot last week with the trucks. We had been running about 99.9% of our miles loaded prior to, but last week we were fifty percent on back hauls. I have heard all sorts of horror stories about people sending trucks to Houston, then more trucks to Houston and finally bringing them all out, empty.

We have been pulling a pretty short string. I don't know, it may just be my nature. I just won't let the trucks grow to the pavement. If we check with all our people and they don't or won't have something, we'll move the trucks.

In talking to Angelica and Pete in Laredo, it has to do with a two week slow down on the Mexican side. They say these two weeks are the holiest weeks of the year for the Catholic based faithful. A contributing factor has been the spat the Mexican truckers are having with the US government about NAFTA and trucking regulations.

On Tuesday I talked with my driver and he told me he didn't think we needed to go back to Laredo until after Easter. He wanted to go to Houston, so I commissioned Krl to get him a load. She did, and the rest of the day was spent searching for a back haul.

The other driver needed off so he could take his wife in for some out patient surgery. When I talked with him, he is ready to load in the morning. Surprisingly, Krl had calls from Laredo saying they had loads that crossed, and if we had trucks they needed them.

We may have one in the wrong place today. But we make the best call we can at the time.

I did my six month checkup wit the skin cancer doctors office Monday. They froze four or five more places and did a biopsy on one more. It could be a week or two before we have the lab work back. I saw one of the PA's, but not the one I usually see, and I sure didn't have a good feeling. She was bragging about how well the place was healing on my nose from last August. I told her that might be because it was August of 2007. It took her five minutes to finally read my chart and agree. But, she didn't read enough to learn about the places my regular PA was watching. I am sure I will get another bill from them!

The weekend was way to fast and furious. Chris and I were scheduled to leave the parts store at two-thirty to give us enough time to get one of the travel trailers we planned to take to Priddy. The store manager had left at eleven Thursday morning to go with his son to take a pickup to the body shop. What he failed to tell us was the body shop was in Abilene. Four hours later he called saying if we needed to leave, leave. He was in Maryneal. I haven't quite figured out the routing for his trip, but it was four o'clock when he finally drove up. That meant we had cancelled Chris's four o'clock appointment and had to rush to make things work for his six o'clock.

Chris and I left the house about eight Friday morning, running errands, buying supplies, and making preparations to go to Priddy. K.O. had left Thursday evening and Rian was leaving Lubbock by nine. Chris and I finally gassed the pickup and rolled out of town shortly after noon.

We made the trip with no fanfare, although we did battle the wind in every direction we went! When we arrived at Melody Oaks Ranch we found the gentleman who had booked me to announce the show, he had remembered the terms of our agreement and had us a RV hookup waiting. Chris and I set up camp and got the air conditioning going before we began walking through the pit area.

For most of the competitors, it had been a long winter! Lot of equipment, lots of "off season" work, and all these guys were ready to see the fruits of their labor.

Friday nights show went well until about half-way, then the sled had a malfunction and we had what they call a runaway. The sled didn't transfer the weight and the tractor was speeding down the track. When the sled operator realized he had a problem and began to do something about it, the flagmen realized it too and waved the red flag at the driver of the tractor. The drive chopped the throttle and the weight box raced forward on the sled rails until it slammed into the stops on the front of the sled and then rolled back down the rails to the back.

I could see the sled operator slumped in his seat and his arm swinging limply. I began calling over the public address system for someone to check on the sled operator. After about three calls, someone did and discovered he was unconscious and his head was bleeding. The weight box had hit the front of the sled so violently it had thrown the operator into the roof and windshield of the sled.

An ambulance was summoned from a near by town and I called for medical help from the crowd. Finally the sled operator regained consciousness and was complaining of severe neck pain. After what seemed like an eternity, the ambulance arrived and they began stabilizing the man. In a brief while a helicopter arrived and they care flighted the injured man to Abilene, and finally to Dallas. Turns out he had a compression fracture of the 3rd and 5th of the cervical vertebrae.

They cancelled the remainder of the Friday show, but by then it was already late.

Saturday morning brought good reports from Dallas. The sanctioning organization's board went into a meeting concerning the accident and began their investigation. By mid day the officials had determined that the show would go on!

Saturday's show was long! When we finished the touring competition, we began pulling the local stock 4 X 4's.
Forty of them to be exact. With problems and breakage, it took a long time. Chris and I arrived at our travel trailer just before three Sunday morning.

I was a whipped puppy. (And I still am).

Chris and I left Priddy about nine-thirty Sunday morning, and true to form, battled the wind all the way home. We stopped in Abilene and unloaded the trailer before taking it to Roscoe where we set it back up (in case my truck drivers need to shower or sleep). I followed Chris to the fuel pumps in his mule because he was on fumes after he and Rian used it as a support vehicle at the show. (Rian had dropped it off when he went through Roscoe in the wee hours or Sunday morning).

I did a couple more errands on that end before returning to Abilene.

Try as I might I just couldn't find my groove once I got home.

I did cheer Jeff Gordon to victory at Texas Motor speedway from my recliner!

For any of you interested, Rian's return to the track with the Texas Free for All was somewhat disappointing. Some of the assumptions made about the gearing were all wrong and when Rian took the one motor off to meet the rule requirements of the new little association, he didn't have enough horsepower to pull the gear. He didn't finish last, but he has some changes to make. Hopefully they won't require a lot of $$.

The tractor is gorgeous. He should really be proud. He joked with me that he might not run good but he intended to look good doing it!

His other tractor ran sixth in it's class. In a move I disagreed with, the association didn't pay any places or any purse for the pullers who ran Friday night prior to the accident. I suggested they run for double purse double points on Saturday, but they didn't like that either.

To see the Texas Free for All return to the track brought a flood of emotion. Friday night Memama and Pepa were there, Jason flew in from Florida (he just couldn't stand not being there) Jake and Lindsey had driven Memama and Pepa, Steve, Jani, Kirby and Kelsi drove over from Brownwood, and you just had the feeling any moment Fred and Terri would walk around the corner!

On Saturday, Edwin, Stephanie, and Shelby joined the Friday contingent. It was like a family reunion but I had to work!

Yesterday was another chapter in the family business debacle. One of the creditors form the defunct family business has persisted until they got other creditors uncomfortable. Yesterday's happenings didn't go anything close to what plan the banker had planned. We sure got a good indication of some people's true colors. One a young man who has done custom work for Pepa and another who grew up across the road. The one who grew up across the road was true to form and couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it (still).

I told Chris if either of these men walked in the store, if I sold them something it would be straight list or higher. I will eventually address both of these issues.

All I would say to these two men is "What goes around comes around. Get ready for yours!"

I haven't talked with Memama and Pepa, although I tried to contact them several times. I do know Pat was severely bent.

Krl and I are struggling with Prissy. My goal has been for her to make it to her birthday April 22. Krl says she is having serious doubts we are doing her any favor.

Well, I am going to close. I need to get my day started.

I am finally in the last chapter of the book I have been reading. It is interesting how the author tried to protect his position with " a disclaimer" (of sorts), but I don't think he had any idea what would transpire the fourth quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009. Some of his ideas I agree with, while others I think are baloney!

Have a day!

FATHER, Krl and I are both struggling with a lot right now. Give us relief, give us purpose, give us direction. We lift up Mark to YOU for YOUR gifts of healing and care. I could sure use a pick me up about now.

I'm not as young as I once was.

Whew. I find that I am not in "road shape" either.

Believe it or not, being able to sit in a vehicle and drive for hours on end does take conditioning.

It might not be physically exhausting, but it does have an effect physically and mentally.

Due to conflicting happenings, I made the Abilene/Weatherford/Tye trek, but had a detour for about an hour in Abilene, that ended with me and Memama meeting Chris and Pepa at Tye.

I had opportunity to get a haircut after dropping Chris for his first meeting, went by the Post Office, picked up Chris, took him to the Better 'Burger, back to Chris's second meeting and finally headed home.

On my way home I talked with Krl and she asked if we could pick up supper. In a rare occurrence, I didn't want what she wanted. I had been seeing advertisements for the "new" torpedos from one of the chains, so I stopped in there to get my supper, then I stopped again at the fish place to get Krl something to eat.

My experience with the torpedo was disappointing. Maybe I didn't know what to order. But, I don't think I will be trying it again.

The trucks were a problem yesterday. I don't know if it was the end of the month or what, but return loads were few and far between. Krl worked her butt off before calling me on the road to report. All of our new contacts were "loadless" too. Finally she made the call and sent the trucks North. She already had loads for tomorrow.

That is where my day had a problem.

My driver who had a problem week before last with his reloadable debit card, had another one. I had put five hundred dollars on his card for fuel. When he rolled in at the pumps, a new cashier just swiped his card, not putting in an amount, prior to turning on the pumps. What that did was remove all the cash from the card. $503 and some change. Believe me, I know a lot about the debit card transactions that has been a hard education, proper sequence is paramount. The driver got made at me, saying the cards weren't going to work, and that I hadn't put money on his and all sorts of baloney. I called the balance number and sure enough, the card reported a 0.00 balance. I called Krl and she went on line to look at transactions. The proof was on the computer screen!

My driver had left the truck stop, I called him and told him to return and talk with the manager. I detoured to a check cashing place to cash a check Krl had given me to use to reload. I really hate to use this place because even tough the company is based in Abilene, the bank we use is not, so this check cashing place considers this to be an "out of area" check.

$13 to cash a $500 check.

From there I was headed to Wal*Mart to load the money on the card. When this was completed, I called the driver to tell him and he told me the manager had discovered what he was talking about and had given him fuel and was returning the excess money to the card.

So, if you are thinking about getting a shared card or even a single cash card, her is the key. Any time you use it prior to actual transaction, give the cashier a $$$ amount to key in, or leave your license and card to swipe at the end of the transaction.

Krl reported that all the transactions had been recorded on-line so it appeared everything had settled back down.

By the way, the cashier got a up close and personal lesson from the manager of the fuel stop.

Not surprisingly, the manager there told my driver these cards are becoming very popular for what we are using them for.

I thought my day had wound up and spun out of control, flirting with disaster and gloom and doom. During the lull after the storm, I called one of our co-workers from the seasonal site.

I knew something was wrong when she told me she was at her parents home. I didn't want to ask what was wrong, but finally did. She said, "You don't know what is going on?"

"No", I replied.

She continued on, telling me that they had lost her "Pop" on Monday. "Pop" was her 93 year old grandfather. She was very close to him and she told me they had all been together on Sunday. The circumstances surrounding losing her "Pop" made losing him more difficult.

By comparison, my day paled.

Krl and I love this little family and we hurt for them. Our friend asked for prayers, so please add them to your list.

Rian and I talked last evening and he is ready and raring to go! He had been at school only a half day yesterday. His boss made him an appointment to see a chiropractor, trying to figure out why Rian is having trouble with his leg and foot. Then to the dentist, then to McAdoo. At McAdoo he met up with some friends who were giving him some performance parts that they were no longer using. They gave him two supercharger belts and some clutch floater plates along with some fuel pills. One of these friends is going to be at the show Friday night and told Rian if he had a problem, they would get it handled!

I suppose that is one of the things that is really heart warming is how much support Rian is getting from so many different people! I hope he has a successful weekend and it is safe and maintenance free!

I gotta get. I got a reprieve from Chris for a little extra time this morning to try to get a 2290 filed. It may mean a five o'clock departure tomorrow morning to go and register a truck, we will see.

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for the safe travel and for Memama's good report. We pray the tests they did yesterday will come back as good as the last ones. FATHER, I thank YOU for all the friends helping Rian. We lift up Becky and her family for YOUR comfort and care as they deal with losing Pop.