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!