Outdoors (part duex) - It's called a DOG park

Weather is still fantastic. It is almost criminal not to be outside enjoying this.

Took the dog to the new dog park yesterday. It is a brand new dog park built down in the bottom land near the Brazos River. Nice big park but still needs some more work. The ground must have been saturated last week because it looks like a herd of elephants had roamed through the area. Not a lot of grass next to the pond and the pond was very muddy. The grass needs to grow a bit more to make it less of mud pit. Of course, the dogs didn’t care. Grayson thought it was just like going to the play ground to meet all sorts of new friends. Young dogs, old dogs, fat dogs, tiny dogs, hairy dogs, slobbery dogs. Dogs with their own bones/balls to fetch. Dogs who loved to swim. Dogs who loved to chase each other. I played with a pair of Huskies who seemed to be enjoying the cooler weather. One girl brought a tiny Corgi named Bo. And by tiny, I mean this dog couldn’t have been more than 4 pounds soaking wet. My dog’s head was bigger that this entire dog. Of course all of the big dogs (including mine) were fascinated by this new “toy” and were checking her out. Funny sit to see three big dogs sniffing out this small, but undaunted Corgi. In spite of his diminutive stature, Bo held his own against his bigger brethren. All in all, the dogs seemed to enjoy the freedom of the open park and the new sights/sounds/smells. On our way out of the park, as Gray & I passed through the gate, I noted a young couple bringing in their dog. What caught my attention was the girl was carrying (ISYN) a ferret! I did one of those classic double takes. A ferret? Who brings a ferret to a dog park? I almost turned around to see if this was going to turn into a YouTube moment but had to head on home. If the pack was interested in a tiny Corgi, I was curious to see what hilarity would ensue with a ferret.

Outdoors

Must get out.

For those of y'all north of the Red River or east of LA (Louisiana), south Texas weather is sometimes a unique experience. One day it will be 99+ degrees & 95% humidity and you will be camped out in the a/c, but by the afternoon, you are putting on a jacket. Normally, the temps crawl up into the 90's around May and don't come back down until October. The last week, we've had some serious storms roll through the area and the temps have dropped dramatically ushering in the fall season. Yesterday, the clouds finally broke and it is now crystal clear and ~58 degrees and should hold this way until some time next week. Beautiful hunting weather. We typically don't have this kind of weather but once or twice a year. I actually drove home to/from work with all windows down enjoying the fall afternoon (hard to do in traffic). I intend to take advantage of this situation and max out my outdoor activities. My plans are to work in the yard, trim up some bushes, work on the Mustang, and will take Gray to the new dog park in our town that just opened up last weekend.

I hope everybody has a great weekend!

Life's short. Enjoy it while you can...

Friday Follies

Another week in the bag.

Two weeks down on the new system and everyone is starting to get comfortable with the changes (translation: less whining/complaints). Perhaps they are now comfortable with the new system and are begining to grasp the improvements that will make life easier/better. It's that or they just got tired of complaining to me (or I've stopped listening to them). We've actually been making progress every day. Would have liked to go live with a perfect system, but we didn't have an army of programmers to fix everything and we wanted to implement this before we all retired. So we chose to cast off with a few holes/leaks and a couple of rolls of duct tape. Life's more fun when you have challenges ahead of you.



Oh, yea. Forgot to post this up on my way out of town on last Friday.


You can blame terri for this picture.

And, no that is not mold on my tongue

(was enjoying a blue lolipop from the vet)

Reunions...

are for old people. Wait, I think I be one.

Such a innocent looking bunch...

Hard to believe it has been 30 years. Just got back this afternoon from our reunion. We really had a really good time. The weather finally turned cooler (~59 degrees)down here and it was damp/drizzley for most of the football game. Spent some time roaming around campus trying to remember where we had classes and just griping on how many new buildings have gone up since we left. We got to see a whole bunch of people at the reception and meetings, many of which I did not recongnize. The good news is that most of the guys from my outfit made it to this year's gig so we were able to spend a lot of time trying to remember the old war stories. Most of the formal meetings/gatherings were more of a trying to remember somebody's name or where they've been over the last 30 years or how many kids (or wives) they've had. One of my guys lives in town and we all met at his house Saturday after the game and spent about 6 hours reliving the glory days.

Man, what studs...

Now, I know that many people may not like or go to reunions because they tend to be dry and boring filled with old farts trying to relive their youth. Most of the participation at these reunions comes from the people who were in the corps and some of these guys have yet to grow up. I consider myself lucky in that a lot of the guys in my outfit still communicate with each other. Out of the 16 young, cocky, hot heads that survived the freshman year, we graduated 13 guys (some took longer than 4 years) and 9 showed up this weekend (two from out of state) for this shindig. I spend 4+ intense years with these guys and we formed as bond that still exists today. It is funny to sit with these guys 30 years later and try to remember all of the crap we did when were were young and invincible (& stupid). Looking back, I am surprised we made it out alive. Interesting to break bread with guys I used to get drunk with or fight with or study with. Most of these guys are bit older, a bit grayer, a bit heavier, have less hair, and have 2-3 kids (plus 2 grandkids) that are our age when were we were in college. I asked my old roommate if he would let his daugher date a guy like he was back in our days (did not get an answer). It was heartening to see that most of the guys were still married/hitched to the same partner that they knew in college (all of the wives know each other from back then). Everybody has kids, everybody is doing well, everyone is in good health.

After all the votes are in, I'd have to say that a good time had by all.

Addendum: As typical with any football game weekend, accomodations were sparse and not cheap. I was able to find a room at the local LaQuinta across from campus that served us well. The interesting point about this factoid is that this is the exact same hotel that my wife and I stayed in after we got married and before we headed out on our honeymoon. Pretty good shape for a 30+ year old hotel, but then again, I don't recall too much of the decor the last time we stayed there...

Back to the stone age

Off to my 30 year college reunion.

Get to see a bunch of old farts reminisce about the good old days back in the 70's. Back when there was:

• Only one Star Wars movie
• The first gas crisis
• Smokey & The Bandit
• CB Radios
• Disco
• Billy Beer
• Sony Walkmans
• Three Mile Island
• Pink Floyd - "The Wall"
• Gloria Gainer - "I Will Survive"
• The Eagles - "Hotel California"
• First Cell Phones
• Happy Days
• Charlies Angels
• MASH
• Space Invaders
• Transalaskan Pipe Line opens
• The King Dies
• Roots

All of a sudden, I feel old.

Health food

My nephew was in Dallas last weekend watching my team lose in the new Cowboys temple.

While there, he partook in the annual tradition of cheesy carnival games, car displays, and animal exposition (aka Texas State Fair). Somewhere along the way, he & his buddy got hungry for some good, nutritious health food.

Fried Butter...Mmmmmm.

What's your cause?

Kids. Pets. Family. School. Charity. Church. Political. Social. Spiritual.

We all have causes.

Whether it is supporting your local firefighters or the police or the church or a specific foundation for a disease or the local animal shelter or a political group or your kid's school or a soccer/baseball team or the food bank or the local , people sometimes find causes they believe in and get behind to support. I have supported many causes over my life for different reasons, some more than others. Some I support with a check while others I have donated time and sweat equity to help out.

A few (but not all) of the ones I've supported over my life:

• The American Cancer Society - something that touches many people


• The Prostate Cancer Foundation - I'm a unwilling member of this club


• Save the Ta-Tas - for a coworker and close friend


• The Boy Scouts of America - for my son and many others


• The American Diabetes Association - for a great woman who rides long distances


• The Leukemia Society - for several friends and a neighbor


• The Epilepsy Foundation - personal reasons/experience


• Elves & More - my annual tradition during the X-Mas holidays


• SPCA - we got Shadow from them


• The Humane Society - they've gone to the dogs


• Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue (GBGRR) - Grayson is the outcome of this group


• United Methodist Church - longtime member


• The USO - for the men & women who put their lives on the line for me


• Wreaths Across America - in remembrance for those who made the ultimate sacrifice


• the Elkins High School Marching Band - worth sticking around for halftime


• March of Dimes - been a supporter for many years


• The Century Club - to support my Alma mater

Now, please do not mistake me as some sort of pariah or saint. I am not rich, but I tend to support things that are near & dear to my heart. I have not been able to support a lot of groups or causes because I have limited funds and time, but I try to lend my support where I can. I am a big supporter of the BSA both financially and spiritually. I have spent many summer vacations on the trail or in camp in support of their efforts to educate and train young adults. I am a firm believer in their objectives and support their mission whenever I can. One of the paybacks has been wth my son earning his Eagle Scout rank. Some people give money, some give their time while others dedicate their lives to causes that they believe in. Everybody has their reasons for supporting their own cause/effort.

What's your cause?