Veni, Vidi, Vici ... 2007

Hard to believe another year gone! I've got my resolutions mulling as we speak.

Its been a while since I've blogged but thats because I've been on vacation for 2 and a half weeks now! Tomoorrw is my last day off :-( Its been a good vacation, a great Christmas and the happy new year feast tonight will cap it off. So regular blogging will now resume.

This year another one of my 'kids' turned 18. 3 of the 5 are now officially adults with 2 of them over 21! That makes me feel old :-(

2007 college football was amazing this year. The top ten shuffle was just incredile to watch each week. But the Tigers have the magic this year and they will take to Ohio State for a national title!

2007 baseball was the absolute pits. Steriods finally was spoken and you know its everywhere. Plus baseball continues to be polarized between the haves and the have nots.

2007 NFL football has been fun with the Cowboys success. But what a crushing blow for my Saints. In an irony, a replay of the 2006 NFC championship was played out between the Saints and Bears as the last game of their seasons. Neither made the playoffs. The Patriots story would be a great one except they were discovere to be cheaters.

We are off to drop the boy at Grandma's before new years festivities begin.

Have a happy new year! Here is to 2008!

Christmas Vacation

Tomorrow starts my Christmas vacation!! After work today I don't return until Jan 3. We have a use it or loose it policy here so who am I to argue? Kind of strange though because the kids are in school all this week. So I'll be at home sometimes when nobody else is there! Thats a first. Maybe I'll sneak out and work on my golf game. Or keep working on the annual jigsaw puzzle. Or maybe do some last minute Christmas shopping. Who knows, the point is I don't have to worry about it, I'm on vacation!

One bad thing about this year is that my family has changed so the Christmas festivities will not be the same. Usually my brothers would come to town and we would camp out at Mom's house enjoying each others company. But brother #1 moved to big D over the summer. Since he is in town and not out of town he pretty much has to work everyday. He will be at Mom's on Christmas day only :-( And brother #2 got married over the summer so he is spending Christmas with the wife's family this year in Wisconsin. I will still hit Mom's a few days but it will be sans bros this year, thats kind of a bummer.

I must say though that I have a lot to be thankful for. And I'm glad to have the time off at Christmas for family and to reflect on Christ. Him saving me is the only gift I really need. And as I sit at home that is what I will be thinking about.

Merry Christmas Yall!

Welcome to the 2007 Holiday Edition of Getting to Know Your Friends! You know the drill. Don’t be a scrooge! Fill it out, pass it on, blah blah blah. I would love to hear your answers.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Chocolate for sure, I'm not a big fan of Egg Nog.

2. Does Santa wrap the presents or just sit them under the tree?

Santa always leaves a gift unwrapped under the tree and fills the stockings too!

3. Colored or white lights?

Colored and blinking!

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

No, never have.

5. When do you put your decorations up?

In years past it was always on the weekend of my daughter's birthday, Dec. 11 (Happy Birthday Amanda!) but she is away at college now so its some time in the mid December range. And this year it hasn't occurred yet, doh!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?

My Mom has always made the most awesome pumpkin bread at Christmas. Loaves will be devoured!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?

As little kids we used to go to Grandma's and Paw Paw's for Christmas Diner. All the cousins would show up as well. Then all the kids would open up presents. Great fun, good times.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

I can't remember.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

No, never, no matter how hard the kids beg!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

The tree is wrapped in colored lights and then garland. This garland is old, my Mom bought it in 1964! But its a tradition to put it on. Then we cover the tree with all of our ornament collection. The collection is a mixture of kid made ornaments from growing up, ornaments I made as a kid, hallmark ornaments of little critters, German birds and mushrooms, and all kinds of various items collected through the years.

11. Snow: Love it or hate it?

Hate it. After a few short years in Ohio I'm done with snow. An 85 degree Christmas would be ideal.

12. Can you ice skate?

I have ice skated once in my life. It was on a girl scout trip with my daughter. Although I did make it around the rink a couple of times it wasn't pretty.... Once was enough.


13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

Probably the Saints sweatshirt and navel orange I got the Christmas of 5th grade.

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?

Not having to work, spending time with the family, and all that good food!

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?

Previously mentioned pumpkin bread.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

The number game. Every year Joan makes up a code scheme and uses it to create a number for each kid. Every present then has a number on it so nobody knows what present is for what person. Then on Christmas morning Joan tells them how to calculate their number. Nothing better than watching those sleepy minds trying to crank up the gears so they can get to their presents!

17. What is on top of your tree?


A cheesy clear plastic star that we tie wrap a singe light to the back of. Yet another tradition.


18. Which do you like best giving or receiving?

Definitely giving, especially to the kids.


19. What is your favorite Christmas song?

My most favorite are from the Brave Combo Christmas album. So have to go with the Santa's Polka.

20. Do you like candy canes?

Oh yes, love peppermint.

21. What is your favorite Christmas movie?

Its our tradition to watch the Muppet Christmas Carroll ever year so that is definitely a favorite if not THE favorite.

A Christmas Story and the National Lampoon Holiday Family Vacation are right up there too!

Romney

I used to wonder why Kennedy being elected as a Catholic was such a big deal. But now that a Mormon is a front runner I can sense the same feelings. Romney isn't my guy but lets say the leading front runner that was my guy turned out to be Mormon. So all his views on issues aligned with mine and would be my perfect choice. Would I still vote for him knowing he is Mormon? I wouldn't.

I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Jimmy V

I just watched the replay of Jimmy V accepting the Athur Ashe award at the ESPY '93. Can't believe he has been gone for 15 years now.

So if you haven't seen it in a while its worth the 10 minutes.

Louisiana State University - SEC Champions 2007!



Way to go Tigers! An 11-2 record with some great victories against Florida, Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee in the championship game. And only two losses, both to SEC teams and both in 3OT. What exciting football to watch!

Congratulations to the Bayou Bengals!!

Munchen

My buisness trip to Munich, Germany has finished and I fly home tomorrow. Its a beautiful city and is very alive. Munich's origins is a settlement of Monk's. And these monks had to fast so in order to sustain themselves they basically invented beer! So Munich is the Monk city world famous for its beer and annual Octoberfest.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

The glockenspiel. It comes alive everyday at 11:30... It is in the steeple of the town hall.

Beer and food at the hofbrauhaus. Brats, viener snitzel, spatzel, potato salad, yum yum!

Hanging out with the Lowenbrau Lion

The Smart car

LSU Football

The loss to Arkansas still hurts. Last game of the season, just have to run the table, Arkansas is in BR, McFadden has been cold lately, no problem.... Granted LSU didn't play the best game but in this case it seems it was play calling, not player performace. Flynn and Hester delivered some amazing numbers for them. But where was the multiback running game? Why was Flynn throwing 47 passes to begin with? The pass attack resulted in time of possession being heavily in Arkansas favor. So with that the defense was worn down by the Arkansas running attack. By the time the overtime started McFadden and crew were punching through the LSU line at will. And why would LSU call a passing play for the final 2 point conversion after Hester has delivered those everytime? Miles should have just gone for the 2 point conversion on the last regular time touchdown given what the Arkansas run totals and time of possesion looked like. Oh well, easy for me to second guess but to much was at stake to not focus on play calling to LSU's strengths.

3OTs and its done. No chance to get to a National Championship. What's worse is Ohio State will probably weasel their way back into it.

Will LSU win the SEC championship after such a defeat? Not sure, this was a huge loss.

Will Miles start talking to Michigan now? I wouldn't doubt it...

Some how 10-2 just isn't satisfying when it ends this way.

Live Music Alert

After lamenting so much on my live music drought it seems I'm making up for it in the final months of the year.

This week I went to the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas to see Zappa Plays Zappa. This is Dweezil Zappa with an amazing band playing his Dad's tunes. I saw Frank many times back in the day so the nostaglia was a draw. He was one of a kind and love or hate him he always gave you and Dweezil is a pretty amazing guitar player in his own right.

Dweezil didn't disappoint. The show was kind of wierd (as it should be I guess) in that they played video of Frank on a big screen for 3 songs while the band played along. The band was really good and played a lot of great Frank tunes (without video).

The other reason to go was to see my brother's work place. He is a sound man for a local company. Many of his gigs are running sound at the Palladium. So he gave me the grand tour, showed me all of his audio toys and introduced me to his buddies. Honestly that was the best part of the whole evening. Since he moved here last summer I figured I'd see him a lot. Unfortunately he is always working! So it was great to hang out with my big brother in his world.


"There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life. " - FZ

This is an amazing picture. This was taken recently by the Japanese lunar probe. But it so struck me with the lifeless moon in the forground and the Earth hanging out there in the great expanse of the void. While many admire the beauty of creation I can't help realize that I am a mear spec upon the face of that blue ball which itself is a spec in universe. It is only by the wonders of God that I am significant! And for those without Him how hopeless it must be.

Jumbo Lump

Crabs!! Oh yeah, I'm cooking up crabs this weekend. Dave did it last weekend and it was so much fund its time to do it again!

Another activity is going be reviewing our new years eve resolutions. These were scribbled down at midnight last New Years and not looked at since! Ouch. There will be a mini concert with Joan and Count Barbara playing "This Land is your Land" as a duet on the guitars. That fulfills one resolution!

The Going Gets Tough

LSU is poised to run to the BCS big show. But lately they are their own worst enemy. Ole Miss on the road will be tough, no doubt.

And now the rumors are swirling that after Ohio State beats Michigan again Carr will announce his retirement. Which brings back up Les Miles as the obvious successor. His contract says it will cost him $1.25M to go to Michigan. But he is a Bo boy all the way and there is no doubt thats the job he wants (why else would have have a Michigan clause?).

Time for the Tigers to be tough, focus and get the job done.

Jim

Alabama is in the Rear View Mirror

The big show down with Saban is history and Tiger's prevailed. They tried to give it away in the middle of the game when Flynn decided he liked throwing to crimson shirts instead of his own. Three interceptions and a couple of more near misses. Not suprising that Alabama played well, it was their home turf and they are an excellent program.

Hester gave the game ball to Les Miles telling him that Saban may have recruited him but Coach Miles believed in him.

BC lost which was part of what was needed. LSU needs to really focus now and close out strong. The remainder of the regular season schedule is well within their grasp. But Ole Miss gave Florida a run and Arkansas is on the road. No need to even discuss the SEC championship now...

You got to love these games though, incredible footbal.


P.S. I did pick the Pats to win but was really cheering for the Colts. But can anybody really stop the Pats?

Sox's baby


Greenberg called it, shall we say it together?

S-W-E-E-P


Red sox nation!!

The Change

Its that time of year. The weather is changing and we have had our first cold snap this week. They days are short, its dark before 7. Soon the daylight savings time will shift back (Nov. 4). This week people in the house have been sick.

Everyone in my house knows that I will assend into my winter funk pretty soon. Winter is my mortal enemy. And as the last bit of decent weather tries to hold out I'll stay in denial as much as possible. But soon, soon I will spiral downward into that wintery depression....

Maybe its time to write my lament psalm :-(

Auburn down, next stop Alabama

Another incredible prime time game for LSU. Auburn played exceptionally well. Lester was running all over the place and Cox was executing well. The LSU defense wasn't as intimidating as usual. LSU receivers couldn't catch very well, thats frustrating. Finally Doucet is back and he has got to return to the full impact player he is. I've go to say the Perrilloux thing really didn't work well this game like it has early on. An excellent game for Flynn, when his is 100% you can't beat him. The killer running back squad was all of that. Hester just never fails to step it up in the 4th quarter.

But what really bothered me was the exiting conclusion. Yes, it was an amazing touchdown! But what they heck was Les thinking?!? That play could have easily cost the Tigers the game. Calculated risk is necessary, just plain going for it isn't the kind of long distance football I like to see. I'm not complaining but I hope this doesn't catch up to Les later this season...

All in all an excellent victory. Puts LSU at #3 in the BCS and poised to inch up if OSU or BC stumble. No reason LSU shouldn't run the table to the SEC championship. Alabama is a threat at their home but I think LSU will take care Saban and crew.

And how about those Commodores!!

Can't wait for next week in the SEC...

Geaux Tigers!

Work Trophy

Yesterday I got a work trophy. Most of the time we get a lunch or a shirt. But you know it was a big one when you get the trophy! Seems kind of weird to get a work trophy doesn't it? You can see in the picture that it has been prominently placed on my work trophy shelf.

(of course the cynic in me wonders why the trophy shows up on the same day i'm asked to take the satisfaction survey!)

MYSAYMOTO

Thats the name of the employee survey that we are asked to take every year. This survey is suppose to take my inputs to help management assess whats going on and make things better. But lets face it, these things are totally bogus and everyone knows it. When we are told they are watching the percentages of responses by department then you know somebody has a goal to meet....

So like a good little boy I have my say. "Do you think senior mangement is heading in the right direction", "Do you always put quality first above schedule and cost", "Do you think your future is secure".... blah blah blah.

I like my job and I'm not complaining about it. But its hard not be jaded at times when the dumb questions are asked and no one really wants to hear the answer.

LSU... still #1

Yes, they lost. But look at the schedules, how OSU could claim #1 is rediculous. LSU goes into a top 20 ranked SEC team's home field and loses in 3OT. Kentucky was fired up and they proved that they are top calibur. I don't think anybody could have beat them Saturday.

And LSU gets that loss after coming off of playing top ranked Florida, South Carolina and Virginia Tech. And has to now face the 3 As: Auburn, Arkansas and Alabama. And a not to shaby Ole Miss in the mix as well.

Don't talk to me about Ohio State. The first half of their schedule was lopsided in their favor with no top 20s. Anybody can beat Kent St., Akron, Northwestern, ... I think the BCS machine is total garbage.

'nuff said. Geaux Tigers.

State Fair of Texas

Its fair time once again. I haven't been to a state fair in years. My son has never been to one. And for some reason he was very excited to go. He just kept talking about going to the fair. So last Wednesday the wife took him to see big Tex. I talked to him on the phone after he had been there a while and he was super excited! He was talking 90mph about seeing 2 headed snakes, the human cannoball, eating corny dogs, etc. Good times! I think I need a trip to the fair...

Bill Gates

So everyone has been a Bill Gates basher. But at least his heart has turned to using some of that wealth and power to help those around the world most in need:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21212128/site/newsweek/page/0/

Live Music Revisted

A while back a had a little pity party about not getting to see live music anymore.

My first line of attack was to go see some of the Lewisville free live shows, especially Brave Combo on Oct. 2. Well on Oct. 3 I remembered about that show :-( ug, tough being old.

But the irony was that I ended up hitting the Granda two weeks in a row.

First show was Dumpstaphunk. This is a New Orleans band that includes two Neville's from Nawlin's first family of music. Good, funky stuff. And words of wisdom, if something is getting you down, holding you back or ruining your mood just put it in the dumpsta. Crowd was very light and balcony was closed. So no crowd feeling, that was good. Denton's own Snarky Puppy opened, that was cool too.

Second show was jamband extrodinare Umphrey's McGee. They delivered amazing mind blowing jams. They aren't quite moe. but they do have a unique and impressive sound. Plus they brought an amazing light show to go with. Cool stuff.

Kind of wore out the kitchen passes though so back to hibernation for a while... but it was o-so-sweet. Thanks you!

#1 LSU 28
#9 Florida 24

WOW, that was some exciting football.... Florida came prepared as I knew they would. LSU's 2 missed field goals, stack of penalties and a turn over plagued the Tigers from shutting down Tebow and company. But in the end a Florida turnover changes everything. LSU pulls it out by chewing up the clock and driving for a do or die touchdown. Les earned his street cred today with some bold calls.

And USC lost!!

Geaux Tigers!

My White Board

Ah, the white board in my office... it is the center of many discussions throughout the day. I couldn't live without it! Click on it for the close up view. Talk about your free form media.

1965 (last in the series)

Amanda's Grandmother:

In the early 60's all in the military were aware of Viet Nam. In 1965 it became a personal reality. My husband left for his first tour of duty in Viet Nam 1965. His entire squadron went. Most of the wives and children stayed put as this was only supposed to be a 3 month rotation. We were all afraid but we had each other to rely on. Not being alone in the situation was the important thing. We all knew that we had each other and that we would do anything for each other. The rotation turned into 6 months, then the guys came home for a short time and then were sent back again. Family and friends were the only thing that kept you going during those days. The war was on TV nightly but none of us could watch it. We spent hours making tape recordings of ourselves and our children talking to our husbands. We did not have the luxury of e-mail. There was a lot of unrest in the USA at that time because of Viet Nam and some of it was directed at the spouses that were left behind. We had some support from the military but nothing like they have today. Family was not the primary concern then - It was the military man's job and he was expected to do it and his wife was expected to support his way of life and stay home and take care of home and children. And we did it and without all the whining you hear today.

The death of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were the next moments to be marked in ones life forever. By now Americans could only wonder what would happen next or who would be assonated next. It was such a sad and unsettled time. "How could things go so wrong" seem to be the question that everyone asked.

We were living in Germany from 1966 to 1970. We missed a great deal of the rioting in the USA. Though we heard about it on the Armed Forces Radio and Television stations and were concerned, we were so far away that we felt a bit removed from the whole thing. We were living in Europe on a military base with a peer group that was compatible in so many ways. There were a few demonstrations in and around the base but nothing that ever worried us. We lived our day-to-day lives doing normal things. The husbands were always gone a great deal of the time, so once again it was the wives staying home taking care of home and children and doing things in support of the husbands. It was a good life and when we get together with old Air Force friends there is not one amongst us that does not remember it as being a good life. It was a different time when women did not have careers except the career of being mother, sometimes father, child care provider, and a volunteer at whatever interested you.

We moved many times through the years and have had a wonderful life. There were hard times of course but on the whole what an interesting life it has been.

- Grandma
Amanda's Grandfather:

In the late sixties, my Grandfather was an officer in the air force. He spent 440 days in Viet Nam fighting communism. He was stationed at Danag and later at Bien Hoa Air Bases. He had two tours of duty, one temporary and one more permanent change of station. He left Bien Hoa in July of 1965 and returned to Bien Hoa in November 1966. In September 1966 he was reassigned to Bitburg, Germany. He picked up his wife and sons, my grandmother, father, and uncle, and arrived in Germany in October 1966-far far away from Viet Nam. He believes that war is not pretty, it is hard work and very dangerous, but he understood the goals and agreed with them.

My Grandfather believed that Martin Luther King Jr. pushed the envelope, and that he was aggressive in his Non-Violence campaign. There were people who hated him, and one of them killed him. He watched Neil Armstrong land on the moon from the Bitburg Officers Club in Germany. He listened to radio reports on it in English and watched it on Germany TV. My Grandpa felt positive about the draft. He was nearly drafted but volunteered and became an officer. He thought he would do 4 years as an officer in the USAF and get out. He retired from the USAF 26 years later as a full Colonel. It was a good career choice for him. He was not involved in any protests during this time because he was in the military and loving it.

1960

Amanda's Grandmother:

In 1962 during the Cuban Missile crisis I was pregnant. I was very afraid that I would not live to see my baby, though that was probably not a rational thought. But it was a very tense time and I think that was the first time I was old enough to really realize the consequences of war on a personal level.

The day JFK was killed will always be one of those days in my life that I can tell you exactly what I was doing at the moment I heard the news. The first president I had every voted for was JFK. And now he was dead. I was in Rantoul, Ill. feeding my baby lunch. And when the news was first announced I thought that I had misheard the announcer. But now it was fact and for the next several days all we did was watch the events on TV. It was so shocking. No one could believe that this had happened in the USA. It was a wake up call for everyone.

Segregation was in the midst of becoming a reality. My husband and I were living in Illinois as he was in the Air Force. This was the first time I had been out of the South and saw blacks and whites living together and sharing everything. I thought it strange but adapted to the change with no problem and for the first time in my life had a black friend. I had never disliked blacks, I had just never had the opportunity to socialize with any. So a new way of life was begun.

-Grandma

Amanda's Grandfather:

In 1963, when Kennedy got shot, my grandfather was a new 2nd Lieutenant in the USAF who was on his lunch brake. He thought it was fine that blacks could vote because where he grew up blacks could always vote due to Huey Long. My Grandpa remembers the March on Washington and he was impressed by Martin Luther King’s speech but unimpressed by the March. He was all for the space program back then. For fun, my grandpa liked to stay home with his family. He didn’t watch American Bandstand, but he knew what it was. He, however, did watch Ed Sullivan. Unlike most people, the Beatles did not impress my grandfather. He was interested by the Warren Commission. Hale Boggs, then Democratic leader of the US House of Representatives was on it. Hale Boggs was married to his cousin, Lindy Boggs, and Hale Boggs’ sister was married to his father’s business partner. My grandfather the Warren Commission did its job of investigating Kennedy’s assassination. He believed they got it right the first time, but the American people have been hoodwinked into believing Kennedy’s death was a conspiracy. He believes that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy and that he acted alone.

1955

Amanda's Grandmother:

We were one of the first families in New Roads, Louisiana to have a television. The only station (yes there was only one) we could receive was from New Orleans, Louisiana. We had to have a 40 to 50 foot antenna to receive a picture. Most days the picture was very snowy. My father wanted television so that he could watch the boxing matches that were on once a week. My favorite show was a children's show called Mr. Jingles. It was very simple compared to the children’s' TV shows of today.

I went to a very small high school with only twenty-four students in my graduating class. We had sock hops and swim parties and what we called teen age parties. That meant one of our friends was having a party at his or her home. Rock and roll had just come on the scene and the first rock and roll record I bought was Bill Haley and the Comets singing Rock Around the Clock.

Schools were still segregated. The only black people I knew were the ones that worked for my family or my friends family. We still all accepted this way of life mainly because it was the only way of life we had ever know. My parents had mixed feelings about segregation, which I did not know until later as this was not something that was talked about at school or at home. In retrospect it was a simple life during a simple time. I guess we all lived in our small little world in this small town and were insulated from what was going on around us.

There was a lake in New Roads, and we grew up swimming, boating, going to the movie, going to friends or relatives homes and hanging out at the Dairy Queen and Casa Loma which were the two teen hangouts. Once we had driver’s licenses we would pick up our friends and cruise the downtown street of New Roads. This street was only about 4 blocks long with a loop turn around on each end. We could do this for hours and then go to the Dairy Queen for a Cherry Coke and a Chili Dog. In 1959 we all graduated from high school and went in our different directions. It was off to college for most of us and we thought we were so grown up then.

-Grandma


Amanda's Grandfather:

My grandpa remembers how different early TV was from today. It was snowy, the receivers were vacuum tubes that burned out and had to be replaced, TV repairmen made house calls to fix your set, and TV was in black and white. He also remembers polio. It struck without warning or reason, and he knew someone who had gotten it. The boy spent a year in the iron lung, and he walked with braces and had tremendous shoulders from the strengthening exercises he did. He believes that the Polio Vaccine was a God send for mankind. His family went to the movies often, and then, popcorn and soft drinks were only a nickel and movie tickets were only a quarter. He didn’t really like drive-ins, though, because they were hot, humid and uncomfortable. He remembers that Sputnik started a space race that the US won by putting a man on the moon. He noticed that with the Cold War being over and with the decline of fear, people were less inclined to formal religion. In 1958, my grandfather was a student at LSU, and he remembers segregation well. There were no black football players on the team. He had also attended segregated schools prior to college, but never really thought much of it until later. He enjoyed listening to Rhythm and Blues and Rock and Roll. His family watched TV together, went to ballgames together, and went to church together.

AP Top 25
1. LSU (33) 5-0 1,593
2. USC (32) 4-0 1,591
3. California 5-0 1,475
4. Ohio State 5-0 1,420
5. Wisconsin 5-0 1,271
6. South Florida 4-0 1,203
7. Boston College 5-0 1,172
8. Kentucky 5-0 1,143
9. Florida 4-1 1,031
10. Oklahoma 4-1 992
11. South Carolina 4-1 900
12. Georgia 4-1 885
13. West Virginia 4-1 861
14. Oregon 4-1 837
15. Virginia Tech 4-1 639
16. Hawaii 5-0 586
17. Missouri 4-0 561
18. Arizona State 5-0 497
19. Texas 4-1 449
20. Cincinnati 5-0 377
21. Rutgers 3-1 299
22. Clemson 4-1 265
23. Purdue 5-0 218
24. Kansas State 3-1 214
25. Nebraska 4-1 198

When my daughter was in school she had to interview my parents about what they remembered in certain years. I found these on the computer today and figured I would share them. Short memories from her Grandparents, interesting how times have changed.

1950

Amanda's Grandmother:

In 1950 I was in the 4th grade. I grew up in Louisiana so the schools were segregated. As a child I thought this was the norm as I had never known anything else.

I was a tomboy as most of my friends were. The "neighborhood gang" spent many hours playing cowboys and Indians. We also formed a club and we all belonged. You had to be a neighborhood kid to belong and guests were not allowed. The club consisted of boys and girls and anything that went on at the club meetings was supposed to be secret - even from your parents. We had secret codes, handshakes, etc.

We were a family of four, but had a large extended family. We had large family gatherings often so we were very close to all of our relatives. Many good times and of course all family gatherings meant lots of good food and treats for the children.

-(Grandma)

Amanda's Grandfather:

In the early 1950’s, my grandfather was in his preteen years. He remembers seeing hundreds of headlines about the Korean War in newspapers, and he remembers the ending of the war in a stalemate at the 38th Parallel. When MacArhtur was fired, my grandpa believed that he deserved it because he defied the president. He lived in New Roads, Louisiana in a house that by 1954 had a brand new garage complete with a hot water heater that had its own thermostat and was self controlled. The kitchen stove was gas and had to be hand lit. New Roads had 2 schools, a public one and a private one, that went from first to twelfth grade. For fun, my grandfather would play games with friends. They didn’t have TV yet. His family believed that separate but equal did not work and that it was not equal.

Fall

Summer is officially over :-( That is the worst feeling for me. Fall means winter is coming and I'm definately not a winter person.

Signs of the changing season....
... the pool isn't used anymore even though it still hot
... Allergies are kicking in full
... days are getting shorter, baseball practice is done by 7:30. A month ago it ended at 8:30.
... Football is in full swing. Cowboys are on top again, my Saints are on bottom again. LSU is poised for greatness
... Baseball is heading into the post season, always exciting. And free Rangers tickets this week are everywhere (we went Sunday and are going tomorrow).
... the pumpkins are delivered to the Flower Mound pumpkin patches
... School for the kids is starting to get into the grind
... Classes are going at the church (I'm doing Old Testament Review)
... People at work are starting to figure out how to burn off the built up vacation time that has to be taken or lost by Dec. 31.
... New season TV shows are starting. The Office has our attention.
... The weekly golf twilight group has disbanded for the year
... The year is now 3/4 gone and 2008 is almost upon us, 2008! Yikes

what else?

Immigrants

The picture you see is an immagrant from Europe. This Mediterranean Gecko is an introduced species to the US. His most liked habitat is on walls with lights on them in urban areas.

When I moved in my house years ago I did not have Mediterranean Geckos. A couple of years ago I spotted one once in a while in the garage. This year they have expoloded and my house is crawling with them. The front porch light is on the brick wall next to the door. On any given night there are about 5 of these critters under neath it. There are also tiny little offspring all over and have taken to getting in the house. Its this part about getting into the house that is not good. The sudden population growth scares me too.

A little gecko here and there I can take. But these guys are multiplying like crazy and taking over the place! So I've had to resort to extermination with the fly swatter. After several weeks of taking the big ones out there is no noticable sign of the gecko population being reduced! Yikes!

Doesn't it seem bizare that a European lizard who thrives in the suburbs has found his way to Flower Mound, TX? And even worse is now taking over my house! I know they are little harmless lizards but I'm afraid I may have to turn to professionals.

You

Happy Birthday my sweet.

You do so much for all of us and you get so little.

So thank you for all you do,

enjoy your special day,

and know that I'm thinking of you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

911

I was driving to work. At that time we all had two way pagers. My pager went off and it was from Ony. He said a plane had hit the world trade center. I remember thinking that was odd in this day and age. But I was thinking a terrible accident had happened. It never dawned on me that it was on purpose.

Then I got a second page 15 min later. A second plane had hit the other tower...

Everyone at work is gathered and talking. People are watching the internet and video. Everyone is calling home. Its just utter shock. No one can believe its happening. No work will be done. I called home too, I just couldn't believe it. And I was scared. Nobody knew what was going to happen next. I don't think I have every been scared like that in my entire life.

Thats is true terrorism.

Road trips

Just got back from the second road trip over the last 2 weekends. 2200 miles total, ug.

Last weekend we were in Louisiana for the traditional Labor day weekend visit. Fishing, badmitten, hanging out on the pier, eating, laying on the hammock, and pretty much just family time. All the kids but one made it so it was almost perfect.

This weekend we went to Nashville (sans kids). Joan's little brother was getting married. So the Lesters gathered for the festivity. Joan and I left Flower Mound at 5am Friday morning so we could be there for the rehersal diner that night. 700 miles and 10 hours later we made it. Had a little down time then off to the diner.

The next day was the wedding at the Hermitage. We had time to kill earlier in the day so we headed downtown. Joan is a Vanderbilt alum so she really wanted to go so see the 'dores play the crimson tide but we couldn't really squeeze that in. We did go down to the statium and bought the kids Vandy shirts. The game was sold out with 40,000 tickets sold and 25,000 of them to 'bama-ites. It was a sea of red everywhere we went. So instead of seeing Vandy and Bama we went to see Joan's nephew's football game. He is in 6th grade. It was fun to watch, the feel of football is in the air everywhere!

The wedding was great and reception followed. All the usual wedding traditions were completed. Then we returned to Joan's dad's house. We were in time to watch a lot of the LSU game. That was a blow out pretty much (yes, LSU!!) so watched Auburn instead. Southern Florida was really putting the hurt on the other tigers. The field goal misses were tough to see but thats college football. Tough loss for Auburn. I didn't know Southern Florida was the nation's 9th largest university....

Sunday morning we got up and left Nashville at 7am to get back home.

Exhausted but good to be home. Now watching the Cowboys Giants game. Its definately football season.

LSU 45 Miss State 0

Thats 1-0 for the Tigers. Miss State put up a good battle in the first half showing the SEC is tough top to bottom. LSU has some things to work on before next week against #9 VT. That will be the first real test of the #2 ranking, a make or break game.

So it begins...

College football!!

LSU at Mississippi State tonight at 7 on ESPN.

Geaux Tigers!!

Finally got around to watching some of the Austin City Limits shows the DVR has captured:

Modest Mouse / Guided by Voices
Franz Ferdinand / What Made Milwaukee Famous
Ryan Adams / Tift Merritt
James Blunt / James McMurtry
Blues Traveler / Cafe Tacuba
Death Cab for Cutie / My Morning Jacket
The Raconteurs / Cat Power
Corinne Bailey Rae / KT Tunstall

Very nice, all good music! You got to love ACL.

We Won't Get Fooled Again

I've meet a only a few male friends in my life that I would say I had a deep connection with. In fact there are three, Phil, Ken and Todd. I'm not sure why there haven't been more. I suppose this is something that isn't too uncommon with men. Lots of acquaintances but few true connections. Seriously this is something I wish I could change but don't see it changing anytime soon...

Anybody who knows me knows that one of the few things I hate is Ohio. Mainly its the victim of circumstance but you know its hard to get excited about corn fields and pig farms.

In the summer of 1981, I moved to Beavercreek, Ohio. This was another move courtesy of the Air Force. Only two years before I had moved from California to Phoenix. Warm climates for a warm blooded southern boy. But Ohio had no similarities. What was significant about this move though was that in 1981, I would start my senior year of high school. Beavercreek High School would be my third high school. Think about moving during high school. Then think about moving during high school AGAIN for your SENIOR year?!?!

After a few waits at the bus stop in the dark in sub freezing temps I noticed a '69 blue chevelle rumbling by the bus stop on the way to school. Turns out this was a kid living down the street who was also a senior. He had lived in the neighborhood all his life. His parents had divorced a couple of years before and he lived in the house with his mom. He was an only child. The divorce had been rough on him and similar to me he was a teen caught in a situation that tweaks the angst beyond what should be. Todd and I would become inseparable for the next 2 years.

The chevelle had transmission problems so getting to school was always an adventure but anything beat the bus.

Escaping the parking lot at lunch to go to Burger Chef was a daily chess game. Beavercreek H.S. was a closed campus and the vice principal was sure to be lurking. Burger Chef, or Burger Death as we called it, was just down the road a mile. You could get cheap burgers there and they had a salad bar like setup to fix your burger. So you took a 99 cent burger and piled it up with a ton of fixings.

John Bryant park outside of town had a rock gorge in it. Todd and I learned to repel in that gorge. We had a friend Obee that knew how. First time I walked off the cliff backwards I was petrified but exhilarated! I busted my glasses on that first trip though :-( Slipped on a rock and they fell off of my face to the bottom of the gorge.

More rocks and rock climbing was found an hour south of town. Old Man's Cave was an awesome gorge and huge cave. We would spend an entire day there playing in nature.

You find out that ever town in the Midwest has two things. The first is suicide hill. Suicide hill was the death defying hill in town, in this case in Dayton, that we would ride tubes down piled high with people. By the time you got to the bottom there would be people strewn from top to bottom and everyone was bumped, bruised and grinning ear to ear.

The second thing is the 100+ lane bowling alley. The second I despise is bowling. I got roped into playing the winter season. 36 weeks of bowling while the world is gray, cold and dark. Its not fun but there isn't anything else to do.

Todd taught me that full service gas is worth the extra money. We would drive up to the Sonoco when it was well below freezing. Pull up to the full service and crack the window 1/4 of inch, yell out $10 worth please and slip the $10 through the crack to the poor kid pumping your gas in the cold.

Todd showed me the tunnels under Wright State University. This is a college in North East Dayton (Fairborn actually) near Wright Patterson Air Force Base. It is a decent size campus with numerous large buildings like any college. But these buildings are all interconnected by tunnels. The tunnels are wide, 15 feet, are ramped for wheel chairs (no stairs) and have smooth polished floors. This was how people moved between buildings when it was really cold or snowy out. But the tunnels were open 24 hours. And I having lived in California only a few years before had skateboards. We would spend all night long skateboarding the tunnels when no one else was around.

Todd and I went to the Who farewell concert in Louisville, KY. That was a road trip. The Who would continue to have farewell tours that are still going on to this day :-O We went to lot of shows at Cinci, Columbus, Cleveland and Dayton. Once we mail ordered for Yes tickets for Columbus the day the offering opened. The money order was return rejected. We called the radio station and complained. Turned out the main DJ answered our call and he gave us 2 seats on the bus the radio station was taking to Toledo to see the tour. Tickets were amazing.

Todd and I rode the Beast at King's Island when it had just opened. It was the biggest coaster in the world at the time.

And we talked a lot about technology. Todd was set on becoming an electrical engineer before I met him. He showed me the world of engineering. He and I could go deep in math, science, and technology. He was committed to going to Ohio Institute of Technology in Columbus. I would end up following him there.

Todd and I started at OIT in the summer of '82. We were freshman roommates. Within a week we had our first RA write up. Todd had gotten a new Hitachi integrated amp and Cerwin Vega speakers. The inaugural blasting was the Who, "We Don't Get Fooled Again". It was at 11, we were jamming, Daltrey was screaming. We found out a little later that the RA was pounding on our door for at least the last half of the song and we never heard it!! Welcome to college.

Todd and I moved from the dorm to an apartment the next semester. This brought on two more roommates we had met first semester. As people dropped roommates consolidated. Me, Todd, Scott from Detroit, and Faren from upper Michigan holed up on the east side of Columbus.

Todd got us all into fish. Tropical fish. That semester we had 5 tanks going including lots of cichlids and even a piranha tank. Todd was always getting into new stuff.

That semester Todd's Dad died unexpectedly. It changed him, he took it hard. Not unexpected. At the end of that semester we all went home for the break. When we came back Todd had moved out. The roommates knew about it before the end of the last semester, but Todd couldn't tell me.

Todd enrolled in Wright State, he would eventually graduate from there in Electrical Engineering. We saw each other ever now and then after that. But it was done. I graduated in '85 and moved to Tucson, AZ to thaw out. I haven't seen Todd since.

There were a lot of mad cap adventures in that 2 years. We were tight. Maybe by then the moves had conditioned me to find these connections of a few years and then move on. Maybe that's just the way life is.

Smells Like Teen Spirit

In 1973, my parents were going out one night. They had gotten the usual babysitter. She was a teenage girl from down the street. We lived in Hampton, Virginia at the time. The folks were going out to see a movie, maybe M*A*S*H or the Exorcist or the Godfather.

The babysitter arrived as usual and my brother and I were eating TV diners. This was a big thing back then. A complete diner in a foil tray that you just pop out of a box and into the oven. It always had one corner covered in foil that the veggies were under and it had chocolate pudding in the middle top. Potato something or other was on the top right and the main dish was something like Salisbury steak (hamburger in gravy). The pudding usually was pretty nasty, baked hard on top. And who eats veggies as a kid when the babysitter is over? Peas and carrots, yuck. (For the record none of my kids have ever had a TV diner)

The after diner activity was typically some sort of TV. And TV back then was very different then it is today. You had 4 stations to choose from, ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS. That's it buddy! Well actually you could get a couple of more maybe if you put the TV on the UHF setting and then turn the outer dial in a hunt for a station in the snow. These stations were important for Star Trek reruns. On top of this limited selection there was no remote either, you had a dial with 2 - 13 on it and you got up and dialed in your stations! A 100 stations with nothing on was yet to come.

So prime time TV was a big deal, 3 stations effectively to chose from. PBS was only good for the Electric Company and that wasn't prime time that I can remember. So this particular night the babysitter is excited because Elvis is going to be on TV tonight. It was to be live via satellite from Hawaii, wow! Here we are 15 years past the king's prime, 5 years past the comeback special and yet Elvis commands 1/3 of the nation's TV watching at prime time. I was 9, my brother 11 and we watched the king of rock and roll come out. He had the white full body suit with cape. Black hair and sideburns. We knew about Elvis, who didn't. Everyone knew Hound Dog. Me and my brother used to sing that song and do the Elvis. Anyway, we watched Elvis from Hawaii. We saw the ladies oo and aa just like our babysitter. And we watched American lore and legend live via satellite.

I wonder why we knew so much about Elvis then. Our parents did get into Elvis when they were teenagers in the 50s but they weren't Elvis fanatics now. Our family didn't even own any Elvis records. I think its because Elvis as an icon touched the entire country at a crossroads of ages. He was from poor southern roots, Mississippi, with a mix of southern gospel, Robert Johnson and pure energy of youth. He cut across white and black but he was white. Something Ray Charles and Chuck Berry could not be. And most of all he flaunted it. His pelvis spoke volumes and brought out the teenage lust, angst, rebellion and freedom. And Elvis single handedly put it on the map. It pails to us now, all these years later with a totally different perspective of shock. And Elvis' bad demise and subsequent mockery doesn't help. But in the day he was the king of rock and roll and you could feel it when you watched.

John Lennon said there would have been no Beatles without Elvis Presley. Bono was changed by watching Elvis' '68 comeback special at the age of 8. Endless musicians who transformed the 50s rock to today's music talk of their first record being an Elvis record. And those that followed were influenced by those influenced by Elvis.

I was born in 1964... technically a baby boomer by the last year and a gen x by the first year. Born way after Elvis' heyday, heck born after JFK went down and during the year the Beatles arrived. So a tweener I suppose. I own only one Elvis record, his Christmas record that is part of the Christmas album collection I get out once a year. My generation ranges across the rock of the late sixties to the hard rock 70s and was part of the launch of MTV (graduated high school in 82) and into the 90s.

But I know Elvis and he is the king of rock and roll forever. "You ain't nothing but a hound dog, rockin' all the time...."

Live Music

I love live music. Every show I go to I savor. And I would go often if I could. One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to see at least one live show per quarter this year. Hmm, well I'm 0-2. I was going to go see moe. in 1Q and subdudes in 2Q... missed them. Hopefully I will score this quarter and I do have a plan but more on that later.

You see the problem is nobody my age wants to see live music anymore. They don't want to go all the way downtown to Deep Ellum or Lower Greenville. And they don't want to stay out late. Doing this is a huge commitment and they really just don't care a lot about seeing live music. To each their own.

Dallas has even answered this to some degree by building a big fancy House of Blues in the new shwanky part of Dallas life. There is a band there every night practically. Sad but true, I have not been their yet.

About the only way I've really been able to satisfy the need in recent years is to run away to festivals. The wife and I used to go to the New Orleans Jazz Fest . Great festival, all types of music, and food to die for. But Katrina put that on hold. I ran away to Bonnaroo for a few years but the one and only person who would go with me said he had had enough. So the nearest festival to escape to is the ACL . A friend and I went down for this a couple of years ago. But since then it keeps getting scheduled on his daughter's birthday. Its a conspiracy I tell you!

What are you going to do? If you can't get anyone to join you then your beat. And beat I am I suppose. So I've moved to the middle aged man's social activity which is golf. But that is a whole different story.

So here you go, the answer. If you haven't seen any live music lately, don't want to stay out late and don't want to spend any money I have just the thing. And if all goes well I'll be there at least once! The city of Lewisville hosts the summer musical series. They put on FREE shows in the EARLY evening. In the old days it was put on at the vista ridge amphitheater (and Memories catered, remember them?). Now its split into two series, summer and fall . Summer is still at Vista Ridge but fall is at the new town hall lawn. And the fall series will start up next month. Its FREE and music is from 6:30 to 8:30, you'll be home before bed time. Go see some live music!!! Heck they will have Brave Combo there, everybody loves them so take your family and just go. I will be there getting my live music craving satisfied for the year!



And along these lines RIP Elvis, 30 years gone today :-( The king of rock and roll forever and what a live show that would have been.

God's Creation

Daughter number 3 has decided she wants to go off to college in Colorado. This is somewhat strange in that we had never taken her there. She really has never been around mountains. But this has been a strong draw for her in picking a college (nevermind the academics!). And she has been insistant about it. Its almost like Richard Dryfus in Close Encounters...

A couple of weeks ago she went off to Durango with a freind's family. When she came back she pretty much had confirmed her desire to be in the mountains.


So it makes me wonder why? Why would she be so insistant on this?

Some of it I'm sure is just leaving the nest. If your parents have always done certain things then you naturally want to go off in a different direction and set your own way. She isn't the adventurous type though so I would have never expected this from her. But I'm suprised by her everyday as she is changing into an adult before my eyes.


But still its a mystery why she is being drawn to the mountains so strongly. I can only assume this is her calling and that God is directing her there. And that she is awed and inspired by God's creation in such a beautiful place. And therefore she may not know exactly herself why but just knows that its what she must do.

Jerome John 'Jerry' Garcia
Aug 1, 1942 - Aug 9, 1995

"There's no way to measure his greatness or magnitude as a person or as a player. I don't think eulogizing will do him justice. He was that great - much more than a superb musician with an uncanny ear and dexterity. He is the very spirit personified of whatever is muddy river country at its core and screams up into the spheres. He really had no equal. To me he wasn't only a musician and friend, he was more like a big brother who taught and showed me more than he'll ever know. There are a lot of spaces and advances between the Carter Family, Buddy Holly and, say, Ornette Coleman, a lot of universes, but he filled them all without being a member of any school. His playing was moody, awesome, sophisticated, hypnotic and subtle. There's no way to convey the loss. It just digs down really deep." - Bob Dylan

Violated

Today started off really great. Our church has been without a senior pastor for almost a year now and today a new candidate was speaking! He is someone with a lot of available materials to review so we have been listening and getting excited all week.

Headed out a 8:45 for the usual morning service. Parked in the usual parking spot, a bit out there, 2 spots over from my teaching compadre. Went into the service and the place was packed. This kind of made the wife a bit angry. Fair weather church goers coming out of the woodwork. We couldn't even sit in our usual spot. But that ill feeling didn't last long. The candidate delivered an awesome service that left us feeling very up. He was great and the and we really hope he makes our church his home.

Hung out after service in the cafe, discused what classes we would take this fall. Then headed downstairs to teach the kids during second service (me 5th grade boys, the wife 2nd graders). Finish up and time to go home.

Headed out to the car and the compadre is sitting there in his car waiting for us. I don't see it but the wife spots it right off. We get closer and I see it. The rear passenger window of my car is smashed in. The wife's purse that was tucked under the seat is gone :-( We are very upset.

Walk around in a daze for a bit then call the cops. There is glass all over the interior of the car so we brushed off the seats. Panic for a moment thinking the house key is in the purse along with the address on the drivers license. Did they head to the house? Also the car key to the kids car was in there, did they go to steal the car? The neighbor comes out of church so we tell him to watch the house when he gets back and call us if he sees something.

Finally head home. Called the credit card company. The robbers bought a big screen TV at Walmart and a $100 gift card at Appleby's on the discover card. Shut that off. Put a stop payment on the checks that were left in the checkbook. Cops come by and take pictures then go off to Walmart and Appleby's Realized later that the house key was not in the purse (whew).
We probably won't hear anymore about this from the cops. The wife will have to get a new lisence. We will have to get the glass man to come out and fix the window. The credit card company will take care of the charges. We lost about $60 in cash and another $60 on a gift card for the home school store to by the kids' books. We will spend the week kicking ourselves for being complacent and cursing the robber for having put us through this. Most of all we feel violated. Intruded on in our car while at church.

Coincidence of these two events? I think not. A wake up call, a reminder, that we must depend on Him. And from this he will make our ashes the oil of joy.

Interns

Next week is the last week for my summer interns. They gave their final presentations today summarizing all that they had learned over the summer. I've had a lot of interns over the years and they always impress me. They come in not knowing that they know a lot. They leave knowing more than they knew. The interns are always fast learners and have tremendous talent. Its satifying to be an old guy and help and watch these junior engineers develop. They eagerly await every bit of time given to them, they thrive on the learning, and they are inspired by the creation happening all around them. This is the first time these future engineers get to see the translation from engineering school to actually being an engineer. All are very appreciative. Each one gives me praises for all that they have done over the summer. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to be their mentor. So next week is the sad goodbyes. But both sides will know that these engineers have been set on the path to the future.

Happy Birthday, Jer (Aug 1)

These are the days between for a deadhead. Jerry Garcia was born on Aug. 1, 1942 and died on Aug. 9, 1995. All know him as the leader of the Grateful Dead and a 60s icon. He certainly was that but also so much more.


From a music perspective Jerry played selflessly. He loved to play. For 30 years he led the Dead through music alone. There were over 2600 dead shows documented and add 1000s of Jerry's side project shows to go with. And his sound both on the strings and the vocals is uniquely Jerry. His music stands as its own and its shear volume is overwhelming. Thirty years of endless touring with a mantra to never use set lists, never play any night the same as any other night, to improvise, explore, and to play the songs rooted in Americana. Jerry was the focus, the center, the heart and soul of those thousands of hours we deadheads relish now only on tape. And the tribe is big and is a culture all unto itself. It was Jerry who said once the notes were played they (the fans) could have them when asked about audience taping. Despite what the industry said the dead built a legion of followers and a fortune on their music by first giving it away for free. (hear that RIAA?)


Jerry was more than just the lead guitar and vocalist for the Grateful Dead. He also produced and played on many other artists albums and always had side projects of his own. He played bluegrass, folk, jazz, soul, blues, funk, and good ol' rock and roll. Many don't know that he played the banjo on the highest selling bluegrass album of all time (Old and In the Way). To listen to Jerry was to discover music.

He was also an exceptional artist that many know by his ties. And who doesn't love Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia!

Jerry was the headlight on the North bound train, walked by the black muddy river, traveled so many roads, always had a a touch of the blues, a birdsong, and he was a friend of mine...

The long and strange trip officially ended on August 9, 1995, but the notes left behind will keep Jerry alive. Not fade away.

Check out some free music from the vault: http://dead.net/features/tapers-section

'Fee Bill'

Thats the term LSU uses when its time to pay again. And daughter #2, Amanda Grace, called me from BR this week to let me know the Fee Bill for fall had arrived :-(

These aren't cheap of course! I remember reading when she was little about how I had to start saving for her college education early because the cost of education would be out of the roof when she went. Well I didn't have to many nickels to save back then so I figured I would worry about that another day. Eventually I did manage to start a college fund and save up for her. When she graduated from Marcus in 2005 I had a whopping $3,ooo!!!! Lets just say that is pathetic, you know what I mean if you have a kid in college...

Somehow by the grace of God I have managed to pay these fee bills without borrowing a dime so far. Many things lined up to make it possible that I wouldn't have ever imaged. Its by no means easy, in fact, its down right painful making the fee bills go away each semester. But I'm happy to be able to do it and I'm happy to do it for her.

Like any parent I worried about her going off to college. But Amanda dived and has blossomed at LSU. She has great grades, works on campus, and has made great friends and roommates. College is a molding and transforming experience in many ways and I'm so happy to see how she is growing there. I'm proud of what she has accomplished.

So here is to the junior year of my pre-vet LSU Tiger daughter! Bring on those fee bills, the investment is worth every penny!

P.S. If you have little kids start saving for the college now! Everything you read about the cost of sending a kid to college is all true....

From Somewhere

My parents both grew up in a very small town called New Roads, Louisiana in Pointe Coupee Parish. This is near Baton Rouge and sits on an oxbow lake that used to be a part of the Mississippi River. Even today this town looks like its stuck in the 1950s. Things move very slow in New Roads and most things just don't change. My Dad's family has a plantation there that has been in the family since before the civil war.

As a kid I moved around a lot since my Dad was in the Air Force. But we were from New Roads. We lived there for a while when I was in elementary school but even when we lived elsewhere it was always home. And during the summers when we were away we would head back to New Roads.

Of course, the place to stay was Grandma and Grandpa Gremillion's house. Days were spent down on the lot, a camp my Grandpa bought on False River. The lot is where the fishing happened. Cleaning fish was just something you did! And fish fries were the best. Grandma and Aunt Helen would make the special mustard based corn meal breading to fry in. Plus you got lots of hush puppies. All the Gremillion cousin's were there. There was lots of swimming, jumping off of the pier, boating and water skiing.

Dad's parents lived on the 'river'. Visits to Grandma and Paw Paw Morrison's house on False River was good fun. This was across from the backery so fresh donuts would be had by all. The snowball stand was just down the road too! And Grandma kept those small coke bottles in the closet down the hall. Chris and I would then head down to the river and check out the crawfish towers and play on the pier.

Some days we would head to Gretchen street. This is were all the first cousin's lived (14 of them total). Often we would play kick the can until late at night.

And the fancy diners were at the original Ralph and Kacoo's before it even thought about becoming a chain.

New Roads remains strong roots for me. I could go on and on about so much of the place. These are my memories and traditions.

The thing I wonder is what my kids will think about when somebody asks them where are they from? They are a product of the burbs. My wife and I are from different places and we have moved here after moving around ourselves. Our parents gew up in small town America. Our generation has moved around to where the work is. And now our kids have these extended roots but not deep roots. Some gravitate to our past roots and some of the kids want to chart their own course into unknown places. I guess they would just say they are from Flo Mo...

Work....

Work seems to go through a continual change. I'm sure its because I'm getting older but its all a changing work place in the U.S. these days. Ten years ago we did everything right here in Fort Worth, design to manufacture. Now a days we design in 5 locations across the world including the UK, 3 locations in the US and China. And we manufacture in China, Malaysia or Mexico, no manufacturing in the U.S, period.

On top of going global we are also shrinking. Attrition is eating us up and hiring is not allowed in the U.S. You see we are premium engineers here and only low cost engineers are hired. They live in Beijing, Hangzhou or Shanghai.

And in addition my industry is technology. So what used to be a concentrated effort and a couple of years to produce go anywhere communication devices has now turned into a fast turn of a brand new technology for high speed data anywhere!

All of that translates to being extremely busy at work. From the moment I walk in the door to the moment I walk out I'm literally using every single minute to accomplish many tasks that have to be done right now!

I don't know why I'm telling you this. It just seems amazing me at this time how surreal the whole situation is becoming. And looking ahead to the next 5 years is beyond anything I can even image. In the next few years when your enjoying your WiMAX, LTE and UMB, I'll be cranking out the next technological revolution with the last 2.3 premium engineers left in America.

Carpooling

I've been driving to work 35 miles each way for 13 years. That's about 220,000 miles! And I did it all by myself. Most of that time the price of gas was under $1 a gallon (remember that). Since my wallet wasn't really impacted I wasn't thinking about green Earth or greenbacks.

Now that gas is approaching $3 a gallon I've succumbed to the carpool. I broke down and committed to restrictions on my freedom to come and go. I've had to give up the freedom to drive my car all alone 70 miles a day any time I want :-(

They guy I car pool with lives maybe 2 miles from me and he has been driving the same 70 miles a day. And he committed to giving up his right as an American to drive unrestricted anytime, anywhere as well.

But you know what, I wish I would have done this a long time ago. Its nice to only have to drive every other week. Its nice to have someone to talk to. And it's cost saving and earth friendly.

MLB Stadium # 7

Some recent discussion came up on Brent's blog about 10 things you always wanted to do. One of his was getting to every MLB park for at least one game. This used to be a big dream of mine as Joan can confirm. But like all things has slipped by the way side over time. After a recent trip and aquiring number 7 maybe the excitment is back! I can't do it in one long summer road trip like Brent wants to but maybe I'll get to at least half of them in my life time.

Visited so far:

1. Dodger Stadium - this was my first, seeing the penguin

2. Angel Stadium - just down the road, more so cal baseball

3. Arlington Ballpark - the Rangers old stadium, probably shouldn't count on this list!

4. Fenway Park - this was a dream come true to visit the big green monster

5. Wrigley Field - another dream come true to visit the friendly confines

6. The Ballpark at Arlington - the Rangers new, and very cool stadium

and now

7. Camden Yards - I got to see the Orioles beat the Yankees with Clemmons pitching!

P.S. As a side note I did have some sad misses.... the old Tiger Stadium even though i visited Detroit many times in college and the old Komisky stadium in Chicago despite being in Chicago several times as well :-( Maybe I better get to New York and visit Shea and Yankee stadiums before the wrecking ball.

Words of wisdom from Brave Combo:

Do Something Different

---

Don't believe anyone.
Don't read your mail.
Make light of every word you hear.
Turn off your radio. Quit your job.
Do something different. Disappear.
Do something different. Disappear.

Think like a child. Laugh at cocaine.
Never ever ever do what's proper again.
Understand everyone crystal-clear.
Rid yourself of fashion. Disappear.
Remove yourself from fashion. Disappear.

Reverse your morality. Listen to bands
That play only music you can't stand.
Forget how to worry. Enjoy your fears.
Stop your life insurance and Disappear.
Stop your life insurance and Disappear.

DC

Ventured to DC a couple of weeks ago for work. Fortunately I did have time to go down to the mall and revisit all of the monuments.

Its amazing these idealic men who lived in a pretty harsh time were able to accomplish what they did. Today's United States seems very far removed from those beginnings.

For a citizen it is awe inspiring to stand in the presence of these men and makes one proud to be an American. While at the same time its heartbreaking to walk the walls of the war's fallen and know that more fall every day.

Thomas .... we hold these truths to be self evident

and Abe ... Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

And my generation's legacy... the wall. After walking the Vietnam (and Korean) wall you only wonder what the Iraq wall will look like and what its legacy will be.

Camera phone

A sampling of what has built up over time in the camera phone:

Joan and Amanda - two beautiful people!

New Years 07

Coal train - these cross my path on the way to work

The crawfish that got a way. This guy is sitting at the bottom of my pool!

Another brutal day in the lab - life at the mother company!

The Prince

A full rainbow!

My old office

Snow in Texas!

"The bean" - Cloud Gate, Chicago - with the son standing in front

T Rex! (at the Smithsonian)

Abe

There you have it! Aren't camera phones fun!