Well, my yesterday didn't turn out any where close to where I thought it was headed.

I did a lot of soul searching yesterday morning, without any clear defining answers emerging. I had made a phone call to our attorney and scheduled an appointment later in the day.

One of the things I detest doing on my day off is driving. Anywhere! But with the battle regarding the long-time seasonal work, I felt it was worth it.

Over the fifteen years I have worked there I have developed many friendships that far exceed the scope of the work. While it has its frustrating moments, it has also held more than its share of fulfilling ones.

If it weren't for the people of the small community, I would probably walk away without a second thought.

When I made my appointment, I didn't know which one of the three lawyers I would see. I have worked with all of them. The father and two sons. The family has a prestigious group of diplomas, including the University of Texas, St. Mary's, Boston College, and Duke. The mother of the family is a University Professor.

Probably the most impressive thing about this group is core values. They have been passed down and shared. More than anything, this group believes and fights for justice.

I've always said the father of the group was born way too late. He is hot headed and spirited, known for exotic boots and his handle-bar mustache, He would probably fit much better with Judge Roy Bean. He believes in preserving nature as his law offices reflect. The entire landscape is filled with what at a quick look would be thought to be over-grown weeds and grasses. That assessment would be wrong. All of this is natural vegetation to this area. There isn't a bunch of messing with nature. The plant life relies predominately on nature for water. Amazingly, the natural vegetation has beckoned a flurry of natural fawna.

When I walked in, the receptionist greeted me, and asked my name. I responded and she had a quizzical look on her face. "Who were you seeing", she asked. I told her I didn't know. She asked me to take a seat and quickly left the room, beginning a walk that would take her through three offices, finding an attorney free to see me.

I ended up seeing the elder statesman of the klan. And that was fine with me. I quickly explained the situation and un-packed my documents, handing them over the desk. He positioned his reading glasses and began reading. After a while, he sat back and asked, "Is this man your friend?"

"No. Not even remotely", I responded.

He told me, "From what I have seen that is very true. You were right to consult legal counsel to review this document, and believe me you needed an attorney. It would have been a wreck if you had signed this document."

He began picking the document apart, while on a legal pad he was constructing a letter to the GM, inquiring and requesting changes. He did tell me according to the contract we were entitled to help construct and negotiate the contents therein.

I did confess to our attorney that we were struggling with committing to the seasonal work because of some the surrounding cast.

He told me, we were fixing to learn a lot about "intent" when we get a response to our requests. If the GM makes the changes, he might be O.K., if he refuses we probably need to cut bait and run!

And I felt better about it all.

Not only do I call this man our attorney, I consider him a friend. And I thank him for that.

Almost three months ago. I talked with the software inventor who built the program the family business used. Compared to what I use now, his product was a Cadillac, with a capital K. My description to others was "Pour the data in the top hole and it runs out of all the appropriate bullet holes. One time in, and it filters everywhere, billing, payroll, truck settlements, receivables. Everywhere!"

Back in the nineties, it was extremely expensive. While it had come down, three months ago, Krl and I toyed with the idea of buying it. They set up a three month payout, and you didn't get the product until you completed payment. If you were late or defaulted, you forfeited any monies paid. As it turned out while we were leaning towards thanking them but declining, a number of things happened that caused us to miss the purchase window.

Once again, someone greater than us took control. Thank YOU LORD!

During our conversations with this software guru three months ago, I had made some inquiries about possibilities. While he thought I was a little off the wall, he was intrigued. I had asked about the possibility of their program, available from anywhere that had internet access, hosted by the software company.

Yesterday I received a phone call from this software man. I could tell he was excited. It turned out my idea is now a reality. It is not available with all the added bells and whistles, but the basic model is available, with a twelve month commitment, a reasonable down payment, and monthly licensing fees of $111 per month. the licensing fee provides for any and all updates and support.

In addition they also came out with a model to be installed on the customer's hardware that is even cheaper. They call it the budget model.

I should have insisted for some percentage! It was my idea!

Turns out, hosted version has a limited number of spaces, they do all the backups, and many of the modules that are "space hogs" aren't available. Storage capacity is a concern.

Since our conversation, Krl and I have talked, and I have e-mailed a couple more questions to Dan the man in software!

My life could become so much simpler!

And I am a simple kind of a guy!

I want to also confess, I got absolutely none of my scheduled Friday tasks done.

Today, I am attending the "big" McLeod Reunion, taking place at Southern Hills CoC gymnasium. This is the remnant of my Grandad McLeod's family. There were eleven brothers and sisters. Amazingly, I will be in the younger half of the group because most of the attendees will be getting quite old. It seems fewer and fewer of the young family members choose to attend.

I have been guilty of this as well. There have been times I have been in town when the reunion took place and I didn't attend.

I guess I have become more mellow. Several things have happened that have altered my values. Of course losing Fred and TJ would be monumental, but I also lost a cousin who had chastised me before her death. There were three of us cousins at ACU at the same time. My cousin took charge of the reunion, only a short time before her death and she had challenged me and our cousin from Stephenville to attend. I think the only one I have missed since then was two years ago when TJ died, the reunion was right on the heels of her funeral.

Memama's two surviving sisters, and her brother are coming to the reunion. This will be Robbie's first family outing since Uncle Jesse died. Wade and Judy are stopping by to pick her up in Brownwood. Betsy and Scottie are driving in from Fort Worth. Afterwards they are all going to Memama's to spend the night and go to church Sunday. While this use to be a couple of times a year occurrence, with Uncle Jesse's mobility issues the last few years, it had become more and more infrequent.

So I have framed my day!

Have a good weekend!

FATHER, thank YOU for your peace and calm. Forgive me when I fizz. YOU strengthen me.