My explanation to you.

I guess I owe all of my friends and fans an explanation about why I didn't participate in this years winter Olympics.

 Having grown up in a winter sports state such as Texas, I felt it would be unfair to other competitors who didn't have the same training facilities or equipment. My skills were honed on the Cemetery Road at I-20 overpass. My siblings and the Hughes gang are witnesses to my prowess on the snow. A cardboard box, a seed scoop with the handle broken off, or even a real snow disk were tools of our sport. Of course the most brilliant idea of all belonged to Jimmy Wilson Smith and I when we removed the rudders from a pair of water skies. We didn't have a half pipe, we had a quarter pipe. My sledding expertise came on an old car hood behind whatever vehicle George was driving at that time.  George was the Boys Club leader and always knew how to have fun.

But in all honesty, they needed to have an all around competition before I would compete. Besides, I didn't look good in the suit. Now you know the rest of the story.


Golly, I feel much better having gotten that off my chest.  Thank you for understanding!


Yesterday, I woke early and drove to Abilene to attend church at Southern Hills.  Mark Phillips, the interim pulpit minister is in the middle of a series on grace.  Crazy thing is I have always wanted to hear a series on this.  His visual aids shows a bird sitting outside an open bird cage, while mentally over the years I have wanted this series, my title was "And grace will set you free".  So I suppose we say the same thing, just in different ways.


It was another packed service, due to the single church service at the campus followed by Bar Church at Memories Bar.


I sat along the back wall, in temporary seating. 


Near the conclusion of the service Ricky Pruitt the teen minister since 2008 announced his resignation at the request of the elders.  He said simply that the elders wanted someone else to lead the teen ministry forward.  There was nothing that he had done, no impropriety, the elders just wanted a change.


This makes five ministers that have left Southern Hills.  I am beginning to have serious questions about what is going on.  I figure part of it is money.  I haven't seen any stewardship reports but by going from two services to a single has to mean a tremendous reduction in attendance and that in turn means less dollars.  The budget deficit must be large (or have been large at the end of 2013).


I didn't know Ricky Pruitt well.  I doubt he could tell you my name.  But I thought he was a really neat guy that has the heart of a servant.  I hate to see him and his family treated like this.  However, you have to assume GOD has bigger plans than Southern Hills for him.


Up to that point it had been a really good service.  That announcement kind of ruined it for me.


After church I had a Sam's wish list from Frances, the housekeeper, so I went and bought cleaning supplies along with a few things for the farm shop.


By 11:35, I was in my seat at the movie.  $6 to get in, $9.75 for a large popcorn and a large diet coke.  By the time the 12:15 movie started, I was out of popcorn.  I saw the Monuments Men.  I thought it was excellent!


After the movie I had planned on moving to Chili's or some other "sports" bar type place to watch the Daytona 500.  I was very disappointed to learn that they had a six hour rain delay.  After a snack and a couple of beverages, I headed to Home Depot to pickup supplies for the boat project.


All of you know I despise Home Depot and prefer to shop at Lowe's but I had a gift card from a return I had made at Home Depot and I wanted to use it before I "loosed" it.


Fiberglass Resin, fiberglass hardner, fiberglass cloth and fiberglass mat.  I even got super glue to re-do the gasket on Memama's dishwasher and to repair the hitch on Noble's toy tractor.


After a phenomenal weather week for working on the boat this past week, today is too cool to do fiberglass work, and it may not be any better until later in the week.   Another cold front is due in later tonight.


On a positive note, I got home in time to watch the Daytona 500.  While I am not a Dale Junior fan, it was a very good race.  By the time the race was over and I came in the office and did a little computer work, it was midnight.  By the time I finished my reading it was one in the morning.


For the Merrit cheering section, she had a good weekend.  I think in two nights she made about $164 in tips.  I am still hopeful she can put her rent together to settle that situation.  She has to come up with February and March rent plus her landlords fee he paid at the Justice of the Peace.  ($116).  I think two months rent is $950.  When I returned her car I gave her $150 to go toward rent, she had gone to some rent assistance place and they gave her $100 while another gave her $300.  It she put all her money toward rent she would be short $352 right now without anything else to go to gas, food, or utilities.


Her car was a little above half a tank of gas when we left her car.  I had filled it before we left to go to San Angelo.  Last Thursday morning she had driven it and said it kept dying.  I told her to take it and have a fuel filter put on it.  She took it to a mechanic her Mother and Doug used  and the mechanic and I talked.  We were in agreement that it probably wasn't too  major a problem, if it wasn't the fuel filter, maybe it was a stopped up catalytic converter.  This mechanic was going to put the car on the diagnostic computer but found his machine just would fit year models back to 1996.


The mechanic began pulling spark plug wires and tubes and found that in the 80 miles from Roscoe to San Angelo three of the tubes were completely full of engine oil and oil was present in the other three cylinders plug tubes.  They called me and told me they wanted to put new wires and tubes and seals in it.  I asked how much and he said $71 for parts.  I figured twice that much for labor so I told him to go ahead.


Friday Merrit went by and tested her car, said it ran great and the man said she could take it and just bring him a check.  I asked her to send me a text picture of the invoice so I could make the check out to the shop.  $498.07.


Yikes!  The guys almost needed to pick me up off the floor,  That puts this total car repair at over a thousand bucks.  More than this car is worth.  Maybe she should insure it, because I would sure hate to spend that kind of money and her wreck it.


Hopefully it will be dependable transportation for her and little britches.


I even splurged and ordered new rear outer door handles for both doors so she can reach in and out with Noble.  I don't think either of the rear exterior door handles have worked since she has  had the car.


The tumbler assembly is not in the driver door, so when we have these other handles put on I may have them look to see if the lock assembly has dropped down in the door.  That would be the best case scenario because the door key and the ignition key would be the same.  Then that would just leave the rear window latch needing to be repaired to lock.


Heck yeah.  Merrit may have something worth stealing now.  Lock that puppy up!


Have a week!


FATHER, thank YOU for a restful weekend.  I pray for a smooth week.  I lift up Ricky Pruitt and his family for YOUR gifts of wisdom and guidance.  YOU are good.