Sept quickie

There is a cartoon in the paper called Pluggers.  If you read it, you will understand.  I think Pluggers are my age.  They just keep plugging away.
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One recent had a plugger cutting articles out of the paper.  This was his You tube.  I do that.  I cut little articles out and, more often, I cut out cartoons.   I have stacks of old cartoons.  They are in different stacks.  None are organized.  My children will enjoy trashing them all I am sure.
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I just wonder if anyone else does this.  That would be a question.  Nobody will answer.  That's okay.  This has been your monthly quickie.
m  

car & TU

Sure, like this is breaking news.
The FLEX is in the shop getting a new hood.  The buzzard destroyed the old hood (see previous post).  The grand total is over $1000 with me paying a hundred deductible.  I was so solid on the brakes that the bird slid under the car instead of over the top off the windshield.  It could have been worse - or worster if you are in the 3rd grade.
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We pick it up today.  Two days to fix it.  Unbelievable.  I like when a person does the job he says he will do and in a timely fashion.  I've discovered that many workers in the Corsicana area are flakes.  Maybe that is the way it is everywhere.  I don't know.
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I remembered an old stone from the days that I worked in the Univ. of TX stadium with school groups.  We installed chairbacks / seatbacks / permanent-almost  cushions with backs on the stadium for people with the money to pay.  The money is good for a school group.  You have to go to every home UT football game - and some are an inconvenience  (8 p.m. games - rain games - Thanksgiving games - even 11 a.m games are tough to make after a Friday night out-of-town high school football game).  
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We were installing chairs one Saturday.  I believe it was the Hutto HS band helping us.  They make 50 cents for chair install  and  50 cents per chair at the end of the season for the uninstall  -  or $1 a chair for the year.  We installed over 10,000 chairs.  Good money for a school group.  We were up on the 11th floor when this boy - young, probably an 8th grade or Freshman - came up to me with an ice scoop.  He said he had found this ice scoop.  What to do?
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Of course, of course, leaving it where found was not in his brain.  I didn't know where to take it.  So, I told him to take it home and give it to his Aunt Mary for Christmas.  He had this look on his face.  We moved on. Several hours later as the students left and "Johnny" and I were left alone to lock up, I saw this ice scoop on the bottom floor of the stadium resting on a ledge.  The same.  Aunt Mary must have died.
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To coin a phrase, I scooped up the scoop and took it home.  Today, 6 or 7 years later, the scoop lives happily in the freezer of my refrig scooping ice daily into my humongous tea glass.  It is a good scoop.  It has found a home.  We are friends.  We have bonded.
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Wife is in yard planting and scratching.  We have a big box of left-over day lilies to give away.  Years ago, pre-2000, my Uncle Junior mailed us a few day lilies from his back yard.  He was president of the Oklahoma Day Lily Society.  He grew day lilies in his backyard and sold them over the internet.  Beautiful garden he had.  So we prized these day lilies.  When we sold the Pflugerville house, we moved the day lilies to daughter Christine's house.  In 2008, some of them came here.
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They prospered.  Christine and BJ divided them over the weekend.  Now we have too many.  What to do?
m

buzzard bait

So
So
So
Y'know, when I was in H.S. English class writing papers, one of the big things the teacher fussed about using the two words:  And, so....  She counted off extra points if we used  "And, so" anytime.  Thus, I learned to type "thus."  And "Therefore."  
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And, so, I tell this tale.
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Last Friday, the wife and I decided to go the RV Supershow in Dallas.  Friday had special rates for Seniors.  (Notice that I capitalize Seniors).  We took our own sweet time leaving - maybe getting out of here about 9 or 9:30.
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To get to our house one has to drive down a two lane highway which eventually connects with another U.S. hwy.  It takes maybe 10 minutes to get to town.  I try to drive the speed limit plus a dab.
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We took off.  I was driving about 60.  All of a sudden off the road from the left, movement.   It was a big bird - a red headed vulture . . . perhaps the term Buzzard would fit.  From the left, the bird flew across the highway.  Normally, these big birds gain some height.  He certainly was trying.
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I hit my brakes as hard as I could.  It did not good.  The bird bounced off the front of my FLEX.  It rolled under the car and I could see it lying on the road behind.  Yes, it was a hit and run.  I felt really bad that I had not anticipated the bird faster.  Wham!  One dead bird.  One big dead bird.
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It damaged my car.  The hood has a dent larger than I would have thought possible by a bird.  The dent was the size of a large plate right on top of my hood.    Today I visited my insurance agent followed by a trip by a body shop.  The guy prodded the hood.  He said it was aluminum and would have to be completely replaced.
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I will be getting a new hood on my car plus a major strip of trim across the front.  In a half thrown out thought, the car received the nickname:  Buzzard Bait.  I think I will change it back to Ruby or Flex when the repairs are done.   With that I will leave ya.  I am anxious to see how this all works out.   No, wait, there is more.
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We drove to Dallas and made a side trip to Mesquite to visit Garden Ridge.  After a quick lunch, we headed down I-30 through Dallas to make the turn up I-35.  If you have not driven this stretch, it gets pretty fast and busy with lots and lots of idiots weaving in and out of traffic.   I stayed in the right lane hoping and praying the I-35 exit would get closer.
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Right in the middle of this with about 2 or so miles to go, my FLEX made a dinging noise.  A message flashed across the screen:  Tires low pressure.  Yes, with no way to get off the road and traffic roaring forth, Low Pressure on the Tires.  This is a new invention on my cars.  A device that measures air pressure as I drive.  That is such a great bit.  BUT NOT ON I-30 at 60 mph with no room on either side and a big white truck entering the highway.
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All turned out okay.  We made it to the show.  I carry an air compressor in the car.  All the tires looked low - these low profile tires are deceiving.  I put the air comp. on one tire and let it run.  The air went down instead of up.  I stopped that game.  When we left, my right rear tire ran on 25 lbs, the left rear on 27 lbs.   We drove to Ennis' Walmart, bought a new machine and fixed the tires.  No gas station from here to Dallas has an air compressor.  
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Moral of stone:  buy an air compressor and keep it in your car.  You never know when the dash will light up and say.  "Low Pressure."
m3

if it ain't one thing, it's another (STONES)

It seems to me that problems - major or minor - seem to travel together.  Likewise, when you are having a good day, everything seems to work out - even hitting all the traffic lights green.  It leads me to wonder if we don't cause many of our own problems by our attitudes and, you might say, we go looking for trouble.   I think that I don't.  But, then, why?
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Stone #1:  To mow my lawn, I AM RETIRED, I try to stretch it out to 3 days...sometimes 4.  First there is the hand push mower.  What a beauty it is.  Electric start, John Deere, runs like a top. Hand mow on the first day.  Second day, the riding mower:  me precious John Deere riding tractor mower.  The 3rd day rolls around, weed-eat time.  This machine is nicknamed "The Terminator." It rambles through weeds and the like with ease.  My yard is not so enormous as some folks have, but it is .85 acres of which the house takes up a portion.  I find that weed eating the front and fenced-in back yard pretty much does me in.  The next day (#4 if you are keeping count) takes care of the outlying areas and the lake front and the potential snake habitats.  I loathe that area. So, 4 days it is.
    On Tuesday, day 1, I hand mowed.  Takes about an hour to get what I want done.  On the back wall, my final couple of passes till stop time, the mower grabs a water sprinkler and pulls it out of the ground embedding the sprinkler firmly in the blade housing.  I could not pull it out and hold the mower at the proper angle.  My wife was out on her morning walk.  I sat and waited for her return. This was not bad since I moved into the air cond.  Upon return I had her stand on the handle as I climbed underneath and used a channel lock to disengage the shattered sprinkler.   Sigh.
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#2  Naturally when you have a sprinkler destroyed, it must be replaced.  I know nothing about sprinkler systems. . . still learning.  I need a book "Dummies Guide to Sprinkler Systems." I could call the installer to come fix it.  Yeah, like that will work.  I have called him 3 times about other problems and no See-Eeee...or is it See-Um?  Either, I have it figured out.  I am on my own for fixing these.  Sure, I have a year guarantee on the sprinklers, but if he won't show up, what's the 2nd choice?  Do it yourself.
      The wife and I were planning a trip to town anyway, so buying another sprinkler head was added to the list.  Back to the yard.
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#3  Destroyed part removed.  Restarted the mower.  It seems to have had another problem.   The device to raise/lower the wheels has been moved.  Later, I figure out, that this happened prior to my close encounter with the first sprinkler.  I start to finish my mowing  [ (I just love what I wrote) "I start to finish..." How cute is that?  Sometimes I think I should just hide myself, I am so cute. ]  
      The mower moved forward a few feet and sank into a hole.  Wham!  I hit the next sprinkler. This would never have happened if the wheels had not moved.  Lemme explain.  I do love my mower.  The wheels are adjustable up and down.  But, they move on their own all da time.  I am going to wire the wheel handle closed.  Too many problems. This sprinkler was not destroyed, just damaged a bit.  Moving On.  
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#4  We headed to town.  Our town trip uses U.S. Hwy 287.  They have decided to work on 287.  Sealing it and putting down gravel.   I came over a hill and there was a truck looming ahead. Traffic was stopped.  Highway dept. decided that 287 was now a one lane road with the other side having the right of way.   We sat on the hwy for a good 10 minutes waiting for our side to move.  The car line was so long it was out of sight in front and back.  Not a good morning to travel 287.
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This is becoming too long - so I'll summarize. 
1.  got part.
2.  came home and dug up sprinklerS.
3.  discovered I needed a 2 inch nipple pipe to connect sprinklers.
4.  Put it off till next day.
5.  Next day arrived.  Decided to take Marauder since it had not been driven in 2 weeks.  
6.  Took cover off car.   Climbed in.
7.   The inside rear view mirror is hanging down.  The glue has released the mirror.
8.  Drove to town.   Work on 287 has moved; but, still found me.  Sat for 10 minutes.
9.  Did necessaries in town.  I decided to take a different route home which would miss the roadwork.   Did That.   While I was in town, they moved the roadwork - sat for 10 minutes waiting.
I am not going on with this.
Fixed sprinkler - got home - have glued mirror back on - still have not finished mowing.
Tomorrow ???
m
p.s. when I first started writing this, I was uptight.  Things are better now; that was 3 days ago.

Humor from the Paper - what there is of it

To cut to the chase, drop down to the blue words.  The black words are just ranting.
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Corsicana Daily Sun - Our newspaper - just received a letter from them.  They are cutting delivery back to 3 days a week Tue, Thurs, Friday  ....  or is it Saturday? Probably T-T-S nor T-T-F.  I suppose there is a cost involved with putting out a paper, and profit must come from somewhere.  
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There is no doubt - I am not a salesman nor do I know the answer to all sale problems - but it seems to me that this paper, instead of cutting days, should figure out why they lose money the other ways.
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Example:  Are they lacking advertisements?  If that is the case, what would I do to make a change.  First thing I would do is to find a hungry / good salesman.  Surely in this day and age, there are salesmen out there who are hungry.  I love the word: "Surely." (you prolly thought I'd say hungry - nope - never love being hungry )  
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On Tuesday in addition to our regular paper, we get a free advertising paper which is nothing but advertisements.  That's it; just advertisements.  We never open it. The paper makes good fodder for my daughter's rabbit cage.
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Back to their problem.  Are they not providing good reading material for the people. Are subscriptions down?  They have a page or two of sports.   One full page of announcements - every paper looks the same.  There is one full page of religious announcements.  The paper is the same.  I read the same features daily and fluff off the remainder of the paper.  What do other papers of this caliber do?  I think there may be a need for change.  Somebody call Obama.
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Every edition has 2, maybe 3 or 4 ramblings from editors and commentators and the like (not to mention the sports page talkers).  Most columns are filled with homespun humor.  Sure they are fun to read, but are they meeting the subscriber's needs?  In today's climate we have all these things like facebook and so forth.  People can get cute stories all day long on the Net.  My wife just showed me a really cute one of a baby elephant trying to act tough.  This stuff is everywhere.
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What's the point.  Newspapers are failing and sinking many places.  They are run by people who don't know what to do to get readership up.  As a retired band director, I attended conventions and workshops - one after another - looking for ways to improve my band's product.   Do newspapers have conventions with topical subjects?  I don't know.
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 Defensive Point.  I write this blog; but, I don't know what to do to get readership up.  If I had more readers, maybe I could find a way to turn it into cash.  Controversy?  More Sex ?  More politics ?   Pictures of my grandgirls ?   Dfirty jokes?  Recipes?
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Our local paper columnist Janet Jacobs had a bit the other day on Stupidity.  I thought it was sorta cute even though I imagine she found it via email or u-tubby.  She did give credit to a couple TV stations.  I hope I am not breaking any copywrite rules by doing this.  If so - send me a cease letter.   I can cease with vigor and style.
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She wrote about this guy in Seattle on a bus listening to music on his phone.  The guy opened his eyes to see a man and a woman holding his phone.  He demanded it back, and they beat him up on the bus  (where's the driver?).  The couple ran off the bus w/ the phone and this "beat-up" feller in hot pursuit.   
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Pause here and ask yourself:  "I was just beat up by these two yokels.  Should I chase them down the street?"   Well, folks, he did.  Apparently he was quite threatening because the dame called the police for help.
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Yes, she called the police.  The police came - found beat-up guys phone on her - arrested stupid babe and her attached bum.   Now, that was stupid.  No doubt in my mind.  But wait, Janet wrote about another story:
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She tells about a 22 year old guy who stole a safe out of a pharmacy in the predawn hours - Swansboro, N. Carolina.  they said he broke in through the drive-through window - tied a rope around the safe and drove off.  It was too heavy to lift into his car, so, naturally, he just drove down the street dragging the safe - 2 miles he went before a cop stopped him.  I betcha the safe wasn't blemished.
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Janet's last stone is just an eye-roller.  A west Texas couple - don't know where - maybe in my hometown of Levelland - kept their 9 kids out of school to  be home schooled.  { My feelings on Home Schooling will wait for another day.  Boo Hiss. } This couple knew that the "Rapture" was coming just around the corner, any day now. Education wasn't needed at this time.  Let's get ready for the Rapture.  The problem was discovered when their 17 yr old daughter ran away from home and tried to enroll in school.  She couldn't tell them what grade she was in.  Call the law.
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That is really quite sad.  Ignorance seems to breed Ignorance - or stupudity.
And I stop for the night.  You guys take care.  Maybe better humor tomorrow.
m3

bit of rambling

COMPLAINT:  stupid phone rings all the time with calls from 1-800, Unknown Caller, New York, Private number - this morning an honest one from JII Teleservice --- whoever that is.  Nobody leaves a message. They just call and move on to other people who "dumb-like" answer.  They try to trick me.  The other day I had one from my own phone number - and, then, one from 2 digits off my number. Somebody MUST BE buying from these stupid folks.  Surely.  Just like the bums on the street corners asking for handouts.  If nobody would give them anything, they would go away.
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How do journalist write everyday?  I know they get paid - no writee, no payee.  Still it must be hard for a columnist to find an interesting topic each day.  My plan was to write each day; but, now I have skipped a day.  Betcha I skip more days.
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On my desk is an article which says my new car - Ford Flex - has a recall.  Ford has not told me. Get this newspaper  talk.  "The company says that because of improper installation of a chip in the axle, the half-shaft can disengage from the linkshaft."   CAN?   WILL?   What then?   "Oh, don't worry about it, your half-shaft just disengaged from your linkshaft."  Why is half-shaft hyphenated and linkshaft is not?  In today's climate we have so much to worry about.
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On the news this morning I heard a report.  Remember when the crazy guy went into a moviehouse showing Batman and shot the place up?  Aurora, Colo.?  Well, the theater was sued by the victims and the theater lost.  The judge said (paraphrase) in today's climate of mass shootings the theater should have known there was a reasonable expectation for their theater to be shot up by a crazed maniac.  Yes, the theater lost.
.   Lemme explain:  This means that ALL theaters should put on guards and weapon detectors by the front door.   Wouldn't a grocery store expect to be shot up?   Some mom & pop jewelry store should expect to be attacked.  Everyone should be, and you will be sued when it happens.  And, this frothing judge will declare that you are the bad guy.   Pay up.
     I read that BP has paid enough money to Texas that Texas Parks and Wildlife has bought a bunch of land and will build a new State Park.   I don't think this was the intent of the money that BP had to pay.  I believe it is wrong.  Nobody asked.  How long will BP be punished?   Over-kill.
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time to eat - more tomorrow - I have a couple of humor things - maybe this afternoon.
m    

sleep plus

Today is the day to step out on your back porch.  I didn't say Stay on your back porch, just step outside.  It is hot - oppressive hot.  No wind, No breeze, No movement.  Only the sound of Oscar barking at me to throw his ball.  This is THE day to step out on the back porch and record your heat memory of this summer.  Then, next winter, when you have one of those north winds blowing you off the porch, maybe you can play back this memory and remember why summer can be so tough in Texas ... and why you love spring and fall.
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In spite of what I scribed about no movement outside, today the hummingbirds are battling for dominance over our feeders.   We tried and could not count how many are here.  Those critters are so fast, it is difficult to determine which ones have been counted.   My favorite are the ruby throated ones.  That is such a pretty red.
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Today should go down in history.  A plaque should be inscribed and mounted somewhere of importance. After lunch we laid down for a nap.  I was so sleepy I couldn't hold my head up to play Candy Crush.  All of the dogs were in the house, sleeping.   Why a plack/plaque?   My wife and I both woke up completely on our own.  Not one dog started barking the entire sleep time - AND - more remarkable per chance - the phone did not ring at all.  Do you know how remarkable that is?
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I can remember Sunday afternoons after we first married and I got my first real job.  We moved into a small house in Sudan.   After ...    
           =========== COMMERCIAL BREAK   =================   
It is now 4:37 pm.  Our phone just rang: it is uh 1-800 number from "Unknown Caller" ....  our very first 1-800 call of the day ....  (don't you just love caller ID?)   Another plaque to hang please.  
           =========== END COMMERCIAL BREAK =============     
.... After lunch we might plop down on the couch or the bed or an easy chair.   More than once I was shaken awake by the sound of a car door slamming outside.  Usually it was my parents who drove up from Levelland for their Sunday afternoon out.   Now that I look back -- not then through sleep filled eyes -- that was sorta nice.   My father, being cheap and things were different back then, would NEVER had thought to call us to see if we were going to be home.  They never seemed to stay for supper - just stop in and visit.   Of course, of course, of course, this happened more frequently after Christine, their first born grandchild, entered into our world.   New parents can remember when getting a few short extra winks of sleep were glorious.
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Our first house was in Lubbock - I'll talk about that later.  We had money of our own.  It was the first time we had money.  Naturally I lusted for a better car.  I had fallen madly in love with the big Pontiac.  We drove to Lubbock a few times and looked around - I can remember looking at a big Olds.  It was okay; but I was not in love.
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One of those Sunday afternoons  - nap time - car door slam - etc.   We went out to meet and greet under the big tree in the front yard.   My father was driving a light blue 1963 Pontiac Star Chief.  It was just beautiful to me.  It seems he borrowed it from a Levelland car dealer and drove it up for us to see.  I cannot remember what we paid or how we paid  or when we paid.  All I know is that we had that beautiful blue Pontiac Star Chief and became a two car family.   
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As much as I might have fussed in my earlier life about the things my father did, this was one of his shinest hours.   In the future, I see a blog describing all the cars I have owned.  I'm sure that is one you'll long to read.
enough for now.
If I remember, next:  I will describe all the places I have lived.  That should keep your interest peeked....or is that peaked?
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mtz   #3
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A.  ( Let's go see if a fresh glass of iced tea will make the day better.)
B.  ( My wife tells me that my previous post was wrong.  She says we sat in the front seat next to Mrs. Allison our driver.)
C.  ( It is 5 o'clock.  Time to feed the dogs.  They are such good critters.)