to tire or to retire - that is the question

so the wife & I took a little trip to Tyler yesterday to look at roses and go to a couple of estate sales. We bought little - nothing really - it was an outing to get out of the house.

Coming back - on the loop around Athens - my right front tire exploded. I was moving at 65 mph. The car handled pretty well consider I had only 3 tires working. I moved to the right side of the road to the shoulder. It was (give or take ) 5000 degrees F. outside. Since I had had the other tire experience last month, I had a process worked out, and it did not take too long. Another Big Gulp came within 10 miles of the big bang.

Here is the bit - the entire tread came off in one big round piece. It moved inside the wheels and hung on the axle. All that was left was the wheel and about 2 inches of rubber sidewall on the in and outside of the tire. I have never seen tread come off in one piece. Of course, wrapped on the inside of the wheel, the tread messed with the ABS - automatic braking system - yellow warning light on dash.

My spare is okay so we limped home - steering wheel shaking back and forth like perhaps there was a tire balance or wheel alignment problem. In the driveway I took photos which will come at a later date. Looking at the good front left tire, I discovered wire sticking out on the inside of the tire. The outside of the tire looked just fine to me - the wire was hidden just a little bit down on the inside of the tire.

This morning we took the car into my favorite repair place Eagle Motor etc. I love this place. Always - I MEAN ALWAYS - these guys have worked for me in a 100% great way. The guy even remembers my name. And he does what needs to be done - nothing more. This time he found the ABS wire had come loose. He repaired it.....didn't sell me a new one....get this, he repaired the old one. He could have sold me the whole system, sensor -wire - and you name it. Nope, just repaired the connection. For all I know, he may simply have plugged it back in. I don't know how these things are connected - but still, he didn't sell me a whole new system. He likes my Marauder.

When was the last time you had a car fixed for $61.30? Amazing. We drove to Waxahachie and bought 2 new tires and had a front end alignment at Discount Tire. Next we drove 2 blocks down the street to National Tire & Battery where I ordered 2 new tires for the rear. He said they would be in next Wednesday. This evening (around 6) they called - the tires were in. Guess what we are doing tomorrow. Note that I have not talked about the cost of tires.


Because the Marauder used Z rated (or thereabouts) low profile tires - these tires are softer than the normal tire. The tires are rated for about 20 to 30,000 miles TOPS.


When will it all end? If it isn't one thing, it is another. The good thing -if there is one - gas at Waxahachie's Wal-mart was $3.41. Somehow, that is bitter sweet.


Pity accepted.
mtz

m

Band Problem

Read my first email regarding my Nephew Stephen's book.  It is worth the trip.

Started reading emails tonight.  There was a notice from my bank that I had a problem with my debit card.  They call this an email alert.  Not being anyone's foo -- I closed that message and went to the bank's website and signed in....there was the alert again on their website.

It seems that somebody has my debit card info and has used my debit card 4 times in Jamaica NY and there abouts.

TVM Jamaica NY  for $40  == I understand this is some type of transportation place.
3 different ones  from MTA Vending machines for $104 each    in  NY

The bank caught it and cancelled my debit card.  Now, I think that is pretty dang good.  Amazing even.   I will go down and get me a new card and will continue spending money.  But how did they get my stuff?  I only use the debit card at specific places.  But a couple of days ago I used it at a local jewelry shop run by a guy that must 485 years old.   He had a new machine and frankly didn't know how to use it right.  I had to teach him how to use his machine.  This could sound a bit phony.

The lady on the phone went throug the reasons like something on the front of my atm machine -- possibly someone at the bank is a crook -- and so forth.   I just don't know.  I get all my money back so I suppose all will be fine.

To get my money I do have to call the dispute dept. tomorrow sometime.  That should be fun.

late -- nighty night
mtz

Steven Metze

doing 2 blogs in a row - see this one, then see the other.



http://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Monologues-Steven-Metze/dp/0615496032/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1307338673&sr=8-1

My Nephew Steve has completed this book.  Looks fun to me.   Everyone needs to own one of these, now don't they???    Tell the Publisher!   I’d like to read this book on Kindle

The Zombie Monologues [Paperback]

Steven E Metze (Author)
Editorial Reviews    -----   Product Description


Dr. Clyde Marshall is the world’s first zombie psychiatrist, and he’s discovered a way to tap into the still-human subconscious thoughts of the living dead. Found here are his recovered transcripts from the Necrotizing Ambulation Disorder (NAD) Psychological Laboratory Facility “To condemn this material is to condemn the true authors, the many undead who I subjected to hours of brain scanning and verbal interviews. They are the real storytellers. I only kept the record.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product Details
Paperback: 308 pages
Publisher: Dragonfire Press (June 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0615496032
ISBN-13: 978-0615496030


Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
2 Reviews
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In Stock.    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
---------------------------------

Corsicana

Corsicana is NOT a small town - well, yes it is.  Suppose it depends upon your daffynition of a small town.  Pop.  around 30K.   That's a lot larger than  Smyer or Opydyke.  Smaller than Dallas - but a good size town on I-45 headin' south.

We take the local newspaper:  Corsicana Daily Sun.  Essentially it fills a need, a bit of local news, smattering of national, some sports, advertisements, and a calendar of coming events.  If they could find a way to consolidate those events into a smaller listing, they'd have a full extra page to focus on ME!!!

But they don't.    There were a couple of notable items in the paper yesterday.  One was the announcement of a new Baseball coach for Corsicana, some hair cut short guy named  Heath Autrey.  I am sure he is a nice guy.  sure.  What I liked were the comments he gave the paper about taking over the baseball program - which I might add is probably 4 to 6 months from now.  Their season just ended for goodness sakes. 

Tell me, does this sound like a new coach or whut?   (copied from local paper - give credit where credit due)    "We're going to get after it," Autrey said.  "I want to get to know these guys on a personal level as fast as I can.  I want to know how to push each one of their buttons.  I want them to know that I'm here for them and I want to get on the same page and try to get our system in as fast as we can.  Then go  out and  try to win Game 1."

So I ask you (2nd question)...push each button??  get after it??  same page???  All that coaches talk then  "TRY"   to win game 1.  Now I think that is a tad negative.  What happened to SHALL WIN game 1?  The local supt. like his baseball knowled & philosophy dealing with hs kids.  It quote  "He's the total package."  Man I am ready for this to happen.

==========
The other newspaper bit was a column by Dick Platt  titled Lady Gag!     He doesn't like her either.     If you want to read the full column, go to their website (Corsicana Daily Sun); bet it's there.
 In the column he named certain performers by their actual names.  I found that interesting so it is repeated below.  I know, I know - the info is probably on Google or wikifinks  - but who cares to look?

Lada Gaga -- is -- Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Cher            --  is -- Cherilyn Srkisian
Madonna    --  is -- Madonna Louise Cicone

The columnist had a couple of good lines:
1.   Did you hear about the horrific donnybrook between Cher and Madonna out in Hollywood?  It was so bad, they no longer are on a first-name basis.
2.  nope, that was it.  Just one.

but I did learn that Cher as severe dyslexic and quit school at 16.
Madonna was picked by Guinness World Records as one of the 25 most powerful women in the past century  (now that is scary)
And Time picked Gaga as one of the 100 most influential people in the world  (equally scary)

==================

one final thing:   Account Services is calling my house all the time to lower my interest rates.  Since I am on the Do Not Call Registry, I keep reporting them.  Only once have their people not hung up on me when I requested to be removed from their calling list.  Yep, the Do Not Call Registry is doing a fine - typical government organization - fine job getting these people off the phone air waves.  Stupid jerks.  Next time I am going to talk to them more - just to waste time.  Where is my Whistle?

y'all take care now
Mtz

Friday's Frolic

I am sitting here practicing my horn.  Since I was taken in by the Corsicana Swing Orchestra as its resident last chair trumpet, I have had to practice to try and stay even with the band.  There are some pretty fine musicians in this group.  So, I have to play my horn.  I like playing my horn so it its not a major issue frankly.

But my skills are down over the years.  Now I play about a page out of a method book, then, I must find something to do while the ole lips rest a moment.  Sometimes I play a video game on the puter - this  time I am writing these paragraphys.  It is all part of my great plan of survival.

On Wednesday, my wife & I drove west of town to an estate sale.  It was a 50s style house with 50s style furniture.  Really nice house.   On their washer was a stack of 6 trumpet method books.  Their copywrite dates were in the mid-50s making me think the previous own must be my general age. . . or older.  I snapped the books up for 50 cents each - a great buy for someone who needs to practice and has limited music to visit.  My favorite was the Saint-Jacome's Grand Method.  Another interesting one is the "60 Rambles For Trumpet" by Leon Lester (Philadelphia Orchestra) and adapted by Sigmund Hering (of the same) 60 short melodies pub. about 1955.  never seen that book - not a major surprise, since many music books have escape my observation.

============
Back to the Estate Sales:  this past couple of weeks we have gone to 3 estate sales.  It gets us out of the house, we learn the neighborhood better, and we can legally go through other people's stuff without being arrested.   My wife signed up on a website which sends notice of sales within 100 miles.

What I taking away from these sales, no, not items or junk, but how sad the estate sale is.  Here is a home that once had a full family living a full life.  Time moved in and now there is an empty house filled with stuff.  A stranger sits at the door taking your money as you cart prizes under your arm pit out the door.  So far we have bought 2 blankets for the dogs, an oil filter remover wrench, a lid off a broken jar, one bowl perfect for holding peanuts on the breakfast table, my music books, and not much else.  They are sad events I have decided.

Today's sale was in Kerens...5 miles over yonder way.  Gonna try to describe the place.  It was a small house, probably originally one bedroom.  The guy added on a room.  He added on a hall.  He added another room.  Down a couple of steps - a bedroom, another hall, a bath, a back porch, a side porch, a hole in the kitchen wall to the back porch, a covered shed,  a 30 ft covered area 6 1/2 ft tall leading to shed.  Two more back porches with storage, a converted garage, passage ways down the sids of the house, a front area with a jucuzi cover with plastic roof,  doors to nowhere, will stop here.  I am not sure the house had 1500 sq ft - maybe, it went everywhere, every room an inch or two up or down, concrete pour out of a wheelbarrow to make a floor - cannot explain.

Inside the house, junk everywhere.  The waterbed had a regular mattress and oxygen breathing tubes thrown about - on the bed table, a really large stack of Playboys.   Shelves were hammered on the walls.  I cannot explain any more.  He was the J P of that town for years.  Once he started building, he didn't know where or how to stop.  We were told a story about a lady who lived there with a guy who came down from Oregon - not the JP Feller, but another.  And now 2 boys inherit the place - they live hundreds of miles away.

It will take a shovel to empty that place.  My wife said to bring a bulldozer.  Considering all, the house was not dirty or smelly.  Too many old people and nobody to empty the place.  I pity my own children someday.

Many of my closest do not know that I have junk.  My junk and your junk are two different things of course.  My junk should be spelled junque because of its class.   I own maybe 3000 key rings.  Now there is something you prolly didn't know.  When my oldest daughter was in college majoring in Range and Wildlife, she became a member of the Texas Tech Plan Judgin Team.  She got to travel to Florida for a competition.  Naturally, being a good child, she brought me a present from Florida.  This is in the 1980s. 

When she gave it to me, I remember saying,  "I guess I am collecting key rings now."  It was an off the cuff remark.  From that one keyring, my pile has grown.  In this house, I have no place to display my keyrings.  They are in the garage.  I do love keyrings.  I do.

Many years prior, I was sitting in my mom's living room - Christmas, the whole family was there - my 3 little kids, BJ, etc.  It was a festival to be sure.   I made the off the cuff remark to my mom that I would like to own about 200 or 300 music boxes.  I quickly added that I did not want to acquire them one at a time - I wanted all 200 at one time.  It seemed like a request that could go ignored.  You're wrong.  I have around 300 music boxes.  It just happened.  No place in the house for them; stored in the garage getting dusty and spider ridden.  I do love music boxes.  I do.

So the question:
How long should a daily blog be?
Maybe more about collections tomorrow.
Maybe not.
It is very close to feeding time for Fritz (see yesterday's blug)

later guys
Mtz

2nd day in a row

Two days in a row - write, write, write.

I might add that if you are expecting Chaucer or Steinbeck, you have the wrong blog.

Daughter Christine came to visit over the past weekend.  Most times when she travels, her dogs come along.  They do so much love our big back yard - so much to see and smell and bark at.  Should that read:  and things at which to bark.  Doesn't really matter in this time of my life, they enjoy the trip.  She has four dogs - all rescued from one thing or another.   They are lovable.  The latest is a small long hair doxie who has a hair prob - i.e., no hair.  Long hair dogs without hair must be embarrassed.  We are hoping a vet will cure this prob.

When she comes she carries a plastic box - you buy them at Walmart - gray, about 20 or 30 gal with a snap on lid.  No big deal, it is a stupid gray plastic box.  In it:  dry dog food,  dishes, a few chew sticks of various varieties  (cute expression, various varieties) and a couple cans of wet food for the oldest dog Wesley.  He has problems chomping down on dry food.  

When Christine left for home, she forgot her box of food.  It was setting in the breakfast area under yesterday's newspapers.  She'll survive till it returns to he pad.  

My wife had a yearly doctor appt this morning at 8:15.  Frankly, I cannot understand why she elects to have appts. so early in the morning.  I always choose 10:30 to noon.  So much better.  I awoke about 7:45.  She was already gone to town.  I struggled to fall out of bed.  My little Greta was sleeping on a cushion beside the bed.  She lifted her head to look at me, then plopped right back down for more rest.  This girl is MY girl -- she takes after her daddy.

The saga continues:  I opened the bedroom door and move towards the kitchen where the boys are locked up.   As soon as it comes in view, I heard a chomping noise.  FRITZ, the Eater, has moved the plastic box 10 feet, has it on its end with the top off  and his head is buried out of sight, chomping.   Forgive me, I yelled.

The twin boys were  against the other wall doing something.  I don't know what.

I don't know who ate what.  The dry food was less - there were no chewing sticks -
Fritz was there with a can opener working on the canned dog food.  Believe me, when it comes to dog food, that boy would learn to use a can opener.

The box has been moved to another room behind a locked door.  Later in the day, Fritz's belly looked stretch tighter than a snare drum.  One final note, supper time for dogs is 5 p.m. here.  At 4:45, Fritz was pacing and barking for us to get supper on the table.  That child does love to eat.

new subj.
My wife made me a blackberry cobbler.  It was made without sugar - used the sweetner stuff in the yellow packages since the doc's have limited my sugar intake.  I cannot tell that much difference
with or w/out real sugar.  It has been about 3 years since I had a big mouth of sugar.   Back to the cobbler....good, really good.  She makes a mean peach cobbler too - her mom was the champ when it came to cooking up a fattening meal.   I do miss that lady's happy meals.

About 2 miles from the house is a far which has blackberries and other stuffs.   Each year we buy enough to last till the next year.   It is time to replenish the supply in the freezer.  Jealous?

mtz

rambling rose

has nothing to do with a rambling rose...

Today, June 1st - soon to be the 2nd.  The world is still operating and so am I.  Missed the opportunity to make fun of that guy who said the world would end.  That's okay.  He has changed the date since he undershot the first date.  Is it Oct. 21st?    What bothers me the most is that kooks like this give anti religious folks the opportunity to make fun of religion.   If you don't like religion, leave it alone.  Don't hassle the ones who enjoy it.  Sorta like homosexuals who are trying to sell their lifestyles as being normal.  Leave me alone; I will leave you alone.  Go do what you want...just quit trying to sell it to me.  Nuff.

The year - oh, make it years - is / are going by fast.  It seems like just yesterday that it was May 1st.  When I was teaching, late April and May were so busy.  And the kids just turned off their brains sometimes.  It was busy.  And when it ended, things were so quiet in the bandroom.  I was alone working on music stuff and the kids were out in the world.  This is not a pity party.  Seniors would graduate and leave.  It was like they died.  Some kid who spent every afternoon in the bandroom, graduates, leaves, and might come back sometime the next year.  

It the kid joined the armed forces, they would ALWAYS come back to the school in full uniform after basic training.  Really liked the ones in the cute little white navy outfits.  They were always so proud of the accomplishment, surviving basic training.  I never did that - I respect the fact they survived.

I was thinking today about an ex-student who will be having a birthday soon.  She graduated in 2004.  I would guess she was 18  (maybe 19) as she graduated.  It has been 7 years since she got out of school and I retired.  I am older - but, is she?  Nah, she is still 18.  She cannot be 25 yrs old.  It is mind boggling to know that my 18 yr old graduates over the years have all grown older.  Some are grand parents now.  Many are married with children.  I'd guess some are even band parents now.  I hope they give their directors a break once in a while.

I don't add to my blogs regularly enough.  I understand that good writers schedule their writing everyday.  This tells you something about my efforts.  As the day goes by, I ask:   To Essay or Not To Essay.  Not all essays have to be jewels.  It is the practice and doing that accounts for good writers finishing a project.

It is late.  Goodnight and Good Luck.
mtz