Bruce Beck's Blog

It's time for snow to go

2010-02-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

I can't remember if the snow has ever lasted this long in the 30 years I've lived in Amarillo. Usually, it snow and three or four days later it's gone. This year the temperatures have been low and the sun has been obscured by clouds, so the Texas Panhandle version of the frozen tundra has yet to melt.
Usually, after a snowfall, we have a week of warm weather, teasing us that spring is right around the corner. We're now coming up on the latter part of February and there's no sign of the traditional warm week. Will everyone have to escape town during spring break to get the snow to melt? Is this the beginning of climate change in the Panhandle? Will we have to wait for spring break to get some warm weather into the area?
I hope this is just an abiration and that the normally warm February will return next year.
No more snow!

OK, time for the snow to melt

2010-02-01T11:48:00.000-08:00

One of the great benefits to living in Amarillo is that when it snows, it rarely lasts for more than three days. That way you get your opportunity for some snow and winter weather -- if that's what floats your boat -- and then it goes away.
One healthy snowfall a year is plenty. Actaully, I could probably live well enough without any snowfall at all. I don't really need four seasons: Three is OK; two's nice; one is near impossible here. Even when I lived in Hawai'i, the second season -- what we'd call winter, called for us to hose down the sidewalk every couple of days unless it rained in the morning. If that happened, we'd just have to sweep the water into the gutter.
So now we're waiting for the temperature to rise up high enough to melt the snow before it gets too dirty. Ick. Dirty snow or dirty slush makes for really, really dirty cars and you'd have to wait for a bit until you can wash the car. Just think: In just a little while it'll be spring and all of this will have faded to become just a memory.

Back home again

2010-01-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

My wife Tanya got back last night from a 4-day trip to San Diego and a teacher's conference. It was her first time in California and she wanted to see what it was all about. She kept on the go throughout all the free time she was able to wrest from the conference. She did see quite a bit and couldn't wait to get home to share what she saw.
I was glad she got home safe, sound and on time. Even though it was only four days, I missed Tanya. I didn't do anything special while she was gone; there was nothing I really wanted to do without her.
At then end of the week we'll celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary, a record for me because my previous high was only six years. A dozen years might not sound like much to the longer-married in the area, but it went by so quickly for me. I'm impressed. I'm also thankful I've been able to celebrate two anniversaries since I was diagnosed with cancer, so each one is impressive to me. I hope to have many more.

Alone again, unnaturally

2010-01-25T11:48:00.000-08:00

It's been a few days since my wife Tanya took off for a workshop in San Diego. The night before she left she was like the Iron Chef, making dishes in the crockpot and in the oven to be frozen and thawed at the proper time. She made three dishes, afraid I won't eat properly while she's gone. She's worried that my eight-pound weight loss would continue if left on my own.
I tried to tell her not to worry -- for her to take the time away as a caretaker's respite. In addition, there was some leftover spaghetti I had made. So I feel I've got plenty of food, so much so that there will most likely be left over when Tanya returns.
I also had planned to make manicotti and tuna casserole while she was gone. Tanya doesn't like either dish, so the only time I make it is when she's not going to be home for dinner, which isn't very often.
She also had our network of friends checking up on me to make sure I don't sleep too much and that I'm eating. The last time something like that happened I caught pneumonia and was hospitalized at M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, resulting in an 11-day stay instead of the three we were supposed to take. I really don't want to do that again -- ever.
So I'll eat when I'm supposed to; nap within reason and when Tanya comes home, she'll be happy that I didn't screw up.

Mixed emotions on Sunday

2010-01-18T10:47:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was a day of mixed emotions for the football fan in me. My wife Tanya hates the time of year between September and February because she loses her husband for nearly six months of Sundays.
I really thought the Cowboys could take the Vikings, or at least make it a good game. It was neither. I've had a dislike for the Vikings ever since I lived up in Minnesota. The Vikings would beat up their division rivals but lose when it counted -- the champion games or the Super Bowls. They were like the neighborhood bully who would strut along his block, but once he got outside his territory, he'd get his butt kicked.
I've been a long-suffering Jets fan ever since they joined the old American Football League. I watched the game with no expectations other than maybe they could stay close and make the dream of a victory a little closer to reality. I was beside myself when they actually won.
I'd like to see the Jets beat the Colts and the Saints beat the Vikings. I may get one wish out of two. Two for two would be too much to ask for.

What do you do when you feel like crap?

2010-01-12T10:09:00.000-08:00

For the last four days I've felt like crap. Let's call a spade a spade.
I can barely muster the energy to type in my own name (and I've misspelled it more than once today). What do you do when you're not 100 percent? Do you call in sick, only to have that day's work added to your daily duties? Or do you try to tough it out and go into work, only to realize you're not at your most creative?
I'm usually in the latter group. I don't think weariness is contagious and I'd better snap out of it before Thursday, my deadline day. Maybe I can become instantly brilliant in one day and turn my ordinary prose into masterpieces of the written word. Don't laugh too loudly, it could happen.

Fightin' Felines

2010-01-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

This morning I was rudely awakened by vicious feline fighting sounds. I was not very inclined to get out of bed to find out who was involved, but I figured it out when Gracie, the alpha female, retreated to my side of the bed and Al, the whiner, was advancing slowly upon her.
I yelled, "Al," which was enough to stop him momentarily. But after a minute or two I heard hissing and knew they were back at it. I rose up on my elbow and hollered, "Al!" He retreated to another part of the house and began loudly whining as if to say, "Why do you always blame me?"
Well, Al, it seems whenever there's a serious disagreement among the three of y'all, you're involved. Gracie rarely moves from her perch on the back of the couch, so for her to be driven from it, it must have been something serious. I still don't know and I don't care, but it messed with the last precious hours of Monday morning sleep, which started my week off just dandy.

Medical results cause stress beforehand

2010-01-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

I'm a little on the stressed side today. In less than an hour I'm due to sit before my oncologist and he's going to pronounce the results of a P.E.T. scan I took Tuesday. Good news will mean the cancer hasn't started to spread again. Bad news, I guess, will be anything else.
It's the waiting that's stressing me out. My mind is a total blank. I have no questions to pin him down with and I can see myself just nodding like a bobble-headed doll,; not really listening and definitely not comprehending what he's saying.
Luckily, my wife Tanya will be there, and she's got a butt load of questions that will keep him hopping and explaining for quite a while.
Once we leave, Tanya will dissect the visit and, as long as it's not a really bad visit, I'll be grateful just to lie back on the bed and have the cats crawl over me. That should take the focus off me for a while until they step on some tender bits that'll bring me back to Earth.
We'll just have to see.

The best of intentions

2010-01-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

My wife Tanya has every intention of getting up at 5 a.m. to get to work early and get ahead of the game. Tanya's alarm clock has a snooze switch that her arm is just long enough to reach without rising out of a dead sleep for. My problem is once an alarm is set off, I'm generally awake.
Lately I've been getting up, eating breakfast and going back to bed again. I can get at least a solid hour's nap before having to rouse myself, shower and dress for work. Don't have to worry about.
breakfast.This has worked well for the most part of this week, except I could really use a nap around lunchtime. I'm not at my sharpest. I have to repeat things, which should make reading on Wednesdays an intersting experience.
Or I could just join Tanya in tapping the snooze button four or five times until she gets up semi-permanently and I can go back to sleep until she leaves for work and it's now my turn to rise and shine.

Sure glad I'm not a teacher

2010-01-04T09:18:00.000-08:00

My wife Tanya just finished her Christmas break. Those who think it's a two-week vacation should think again. The first week was relatively relaxing, but by the second week she was staying up until 2 and 3 in the morning catching up on grading papers, posting grades and planning lessons for this first week of the spring semester. She spent both all day the last Saturday and Sunday of the Christmas break up at school, getting ready, and still stayed up awfully late doing more paperwork.
I don't quite call that a break, do you?

Teaching an old dog new tricks

2009-12-30T10:04:00.001-08:00

I just got through with an interview with Greg Cunningham, the public information officer for the Department of Family and Child Protective Services. I had preconceived notions about what it was all about. In the public eye, CPS is the bad agency, whether children are taken away from the home or remain with the family and something later goes awry.
In a calm, rational conversation, where all I wanted was the facts, I got more than I bargained for. For example, Cunningham said all the agency does is investigate and make recommendations to a judge. The judge is the person who makes the determination that a child is in danger or not. FCPS doesn't go into court alone, Cunningham told me. Court-Appointed Special Advocates are also involved. The top priority of both agencies is the safety of the children.
How can anyone argue with that?
The full conversation with Cunningham and some caseworkers is still a couple of weeks away from being published, but when it is, I hope a lot of people will take the time to watch out for children in their neighborhoods and understand that FCPS can't be everywhere at all times. It is the responsibility of neighbors to get involved. A phone call won't get a struggling family in trouble, but it may help keep the children safe.

What if I were distracted too?

2009-12-29T09:54:00.000-08:00

Lately, there's been a hue and cry over people driving and texting or driving and using their cell phones. Experts have said any distraction is dangerous.
I don't make calls on my cell phone while driving, but I do answer calls. A pedestrian was lucky the other day that I wasn't distracted by a cell phone call. This woman not only was jaywalking -- something Amarillo Police Department is trying to discourage -- but she was talking on her cellphone, walking slowly and not paying attention to me bearing down on her.
I should have given her a blast of my horn, but I find people who use their horn as a form of expression annoying, so I braked until the clueless one passed me by.
All I could do is shake my head and worry what she'd be like behind the wheel.

It could be worse

2009-12-24T07:55:00.000-08:00

There's a really good reason we live in Texas: Driving in any kind of inclement weather is a challenge for Amarillo drivers. Driving to work today you'd think we were trying to navigate in a blizzard. Cars were spinning out, losing traction, not being able to get through intersections easily.
Of course, each of those occurrences happened in front of me. Peole who've moved here from up north continue to be amazed at the lack of snow-driving skills. Give 'em a little while and they'll be in the same situation.
There's another good reason people from up north disparage our lack of driving skills; Up there, once it starts to snow, no one sees the bare ground for months, so you'd better get used to it. Here, if the snow lasts for more than three days, it's a winter disaster.
Lucky we live in amarillo.

Did'ya ever notice?

2009-12-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

Is there a law on the books that says a motorist can't pass a police vehicle, no matter how slow the law-enforecement vehicle is traveling? I think it's funny because I set my cruise control exactly on the speed limit, and if I pass a cop, so be it. But I see so many motorists falling behind the cop car and refusing to even think about passing.
If I were a policeman, I think I'd jack with drivers by slowing way down and challenge them to pass me by.
I'm such a fun guy sometimes.

No dignity left

2009-12-16T09:46:00.000-08:00

I shouldn't have complained. I don't normally get stomache aches, but lately I've had them more and more often. I mentioned this to oncologist Dr. Milan Patel, who said one word, "Endoscopy." When I consulted with Dr. Amit Trehan, he added another word, "colonoscopy." He said he'd perform both at the same time, so I spent Tuesday on a gurney at Amarillo Endoscopy Center.
Why do nurses, when they come get you, always ask, "how are you?" I hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast the morning before and nothing to drink since midnight. I'm facing two procedures at either end of my body. How am I feeling? "hungry, thirsty and cranky."
I'm good at cranky.
They made me get naked and put on a paper gown. I had a hard time tying the top, but there was a piece of material that I fashioned into a belt. I may be cranky, but I'm stylish.
Then they wheeled me into their "holding area," what we civilians call a "hallway." I laid there, looking up at the ceiling, and noticed a fire extinguisher in the ceilnig right above me. I thought, "if they have a fire while I'm lying here that sets off that extinguisher, I'm going to be even more cranky than usual."
There was no fire and they wheeled me into the operating room without incident.
Minutes later, to me, I was back in recovery and my wife Tanya was there to drive me home. I wanted to drink -- just about anything -- and sleep. My stomache rumbled, but I couldn't decide if it was from hunger or the procedures. Either way, I didn't feel like food just then. I probably lost a little weight, but it's not a weight-loss program I'd recommend.

inconvenient fire alarm

2009-12-11T10:59:00.000-08:00

I've got to give credit to the employees of the Globe-News. This morning the fire alarm went off. Usually, we're alerted in advance that we're going to have a fire drill some time on a specific day. When the alarm went off this morning, no one hesitated or looked to Executive Editor Dawn Dressler for some sign this was a mistake. Most of us grabbed our coats and filed out according to drill procedure. Some didn't take their coats, figuring we'd be called back while leaving the building.
Well, it didn't work out that way. Some kind of industrial dust had set off the alarms so we were oytside, mostly freezing, until those who do that kind of thing found the source of the problem and let us come back into the building. Of course, there was some of your typical jawing about the alarm going off when it's so cold, but fire or other emergencies don't check the weather forecast before igniting. The employees did well, though not necesarily silently.

sure is cold for Amarillo

2009-12-09T07:36:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, 9 degrees is cold. That's the temperature reported when I left the house this morning. The National Weather Service reported 6 degrees, but who lives out at the airport? The good thing is, the temperature is expected to rise into the lower 30s. That's why I fled Minnesota.
I remember a solid week where the mercury didn't get above zero for the high! When it finally broke into the plus column, it was among the lead stories on the local news. It used to get so cold that my breath would freeze on my moustache, making it painful to talk or smile. Once I got inside, it would start to defrost, leaving a puddle on my desk.
Once it started snowing, sometimes as early as September, you wouldn't see the bare ground until March -- then you wouldn't see the sun until the end of April. It was a miserable existence.
I knew of people who would only work from September or October until March. They would load up on car batteries and go around, offering, for a fee, to jump-start batteries that were too weak to overcome the frigid weather. These were wealthy folks who only needed to work for about six months a year.
I'm so glad to live in Amarillo now, "cold" or not.

technology competes with memories

2009-12-07T10:12:00.000-08:00

The media today marks the 68th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into World War II. When I lived there in the early 1970s the newspapers sometimes would recreate the front page of the paper at the time. Much of the papers would be taken up with reminiscences of the people who survived.
This year, I went to the Web site of the Honolulu Adverstiser newspaper and there were a few stories of the observances at Pearl Harbor, attracting about 2,000 people for a moment of silence at the exact moment the attack began.
Competing with this most solemn of occasions was the news that the North Shore waves, which are at its highest in the winter, might hit 50 feet, the highest in 40 years. The newspaper has a live video stream from the North Shore. When I lived there, it was the radio that would tell us when experts expected the highest waves and we would flock to the North Shore to watch 30-footers crash onto the beach.
Back in the day it was a social event, in addition to a scientific phenomenon, so it was get out of bed or miss out. With today's technology, you don't even have to get out of bed to see the big waves.

The grass is always greener syndrome

2009-12-04T14:42:00.000-08:00

The Tiger Woods tabloid sensation got me wondering about men in general. Here is a guy who married a Swedish model. Models, by their very nature, are usually gorgeous and Tiger's wife is no exception.
He has all but come out and admitted he has had affairs with at least one and maybe more women since he's been married. He's got a former model waiting for him at home and he dallies with at least one waitress. What was he thinking? Was he even thinking, period?
Is it a case of the grass is greener on the other side of the fence? Is it a case of, she's here and my wife isn't? If he's that lonely on the road, take his wife along. He knows which tournaments he's going to play in and when they are. He can get the lowest airfare rates for his wife and kids. It's not like he's hurting for the money.
What's with him, and others in the public eye who can't wait until they're home with their wives?

Stress was unnecessary -- for a change

2009-12-03T07:32:00.000-08:00

I jsut flew in from Houston and boy, are my arms tired! I know, it's a lame joke and was probably considered lame when it was first uttered by a comedian years and years ago.
I had my quarterly appointment at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston at the beginning of the week and we've been fortunate to connect with the Houston Ground and Air Angels to get us there and back home at no cost to us. But with private planes, the pilots are reluctant to fly in inclimate weather. The weather in Dallas wasn't looking promising and Houston was forecast to expect rain. So we had to quickly change plans and fly commerical. Good thing -- when we took off it was snowing in Amarillo.
Let me tell you: Even though it was 50 degrees in Houston, it poured and poured, and the 6 mph wind felt like 30 up here. It just cut through us like a knife. It was miserable and the forecast was for more of the same on the day we were scheduled to fly back. We didn't have a plan B. No money will do that to you. Stress will also keep you up at night. After 10 hours of waiting for testing at Anderson, always a thrill and a half, I laid awake for 4 hours before dozing for an hour and a half. Then I was awake until 4:30 before dozing off again. The wake-up call at 7:30 a.m. ended the nighttime misery but then I had to go through the day dragging my tail.
On Tuesday night, my wife Tanya was worried we'd be stranded in Houston when the leader of the Houston Air Angels called and said, "everything's a go" for the next day. It was still pouring and I thought the hotel swimming pool was going to overflow.
We awoke Wednesday to sunny skies but the forecast for Amarillo was snow or at least sleet. But the sky was beautifully clear when we landed.
We worried for nothing, but it sure did take a lot out of us. I don't recommend it. But thank God for the Houston Ground and Air Angels. I think they worry more about us than we do.

Stupid or muy macho?

2009-11-27T07:46:00.000-08:00

I know it was supposed to be 70 degrees on Friday, but before 9 a.m. it was still in the upper 30s. There I was, bundled in a coat with my back to the wind as I filled up my car with gasoline. I don't know what drew my attention to the Braum's next door, but I looked over to see a man, probably my age or older, walking in for breakfast, wearing a T-shirt and shorts.
He's either one tough guy; a guy who doesn't want to change clothes as it gets warmer; or someone too dumb to realize that 38 degrees is considered chilly and one should dress appropriately.
Maybe I'm just cranky because I had to work Friday and he, obviously, didn't.

If I only had a brain

2009-11-20T08:58:00.000-08:00

It's 11 a.m. Friday and I'm nervously watching the clock. At 12:45 they're going to do an MRI on my brain -- or the space where the brain is supposed to be. I expressed to my oncologist that I've been having some issues with my balance. I haven't fallen, other than normal clumsiness -- like not lifting my foot high enough to clear the curb. But I have caught myself weaving, etc., without the benefit of alcohol.
There are just too many hospital shows on TV where the docs order MRIs and they find something potentially fatal and they put the patient through all kinds of hoops and tests. Of course, they save the patient more often than not, but the patient looks like hell. I've already looked like hell all last year so I'd prefer not to do it again.
I'm also hoping that they don't find anything untoward from the MRI. And I hope they do confirm that I do have a brain, contrary to a lot of popular opinion!

Who are the dumber drivers?

2009-11-19T12:43:00.000-08:00

It never really occurred to me that there's a difference in drivers heading downtown in the morning and drivers fleeing downtown at 5.
Of the two categories, I think drivers heading to work in the morning are dumber, or more aggressive, or a combination.
I tend to get up to highway speed, move to the center lane, and put on the cruise control. That way cars can get on or off the freeway or pass me by without too much stress. But this morning a car got on my tail, seemingly pissed off that I had the nerve to be driving only 60 mph in a 55 zone. When we went into the curve near downtown he blew by me in the righthand lane. I was obviously the cause of him being late for a meeting involving millions of dollars -- none of which would be coming my way. When I got to the traffic light at 11th, guess who was stopped right in front of me?
Drivers on the way home are a little more mellow. Maybe they're tired; maybe they know what's waiting for them at home and they're not in as big a hurry to get home as they were to get to work.
Priorities for some people are a little skewed, don't you think?

How big is an idjit?

2009-11-17T13:37:00.000-08:00

My daughter April woke me from my post-chemotherapy nap today. "Do you hear that?" she asked. I concentrated and could hear a high-pitched, constant tone.She was concerned, so we searched the house to see if we could find its source before forming a plan of action.
I went into the bathroom and tripped the emergency switch. It had no effect. While I was switching on and off light switches, April went to other parts of the housse to search out the sound.
When she went to the bedroom door she said, "It's not as loud here." I was still in the bathroom and said, "It seems stronger in here." When April got to the bathroom entrance, she said she thought it stronger there. At the entrance I looked high for its source; April took the low road. That's where she found the source of the high-pitched tone.
When I finish my IV chemotherapy every other Tuesday, they hook up a portable pump to me in a fanny pack-type carrier. The pump dispenses about 2 teaspoonsful per hour of medication over about 46 hours. I've been told by my oncology team that if the tube pinches, an alarm will go off.
An alarm, to me, is a heart-stopping screeching, not a subtle, high-pitched tone that follows you around the house until you fix the pinch and reset the pump.
Some things you have to learn from experience. Sometimes you feel as if you've learned a valuable piece of information; other times you feel like an idiot. This time for me it was a two-fer.

Amarillo's loss

2009-11-16T11:47:00.000-08:00

I found out today that Betty Swann of Betty Swann Ministries, who took a simple idea -- pick up pennies discarded on the street -- and collect enough to feed hungry people in Africa. Her Pennies From Heaven project has feed thousands of children. It's a project that's subtitled "Feeding the World on What America Throws Away." And its simplicity captured the imagination of Amarillo schoolchildren, who have held penny drives to help Betty's ministry. She tried to bring the project back home to the USA, concentating on a Native American reservation, but the money she's been able to collect goes a lot longer in Third World countries than in the U.S., no matter how hard she tried.
Betty's now expanded her ministry into villages in Pakistan and even made a foray into the country's capital city, Islamabad. While this is probably her most-dangerous attempt to feed the hungry, it's also her bravest.
Why I titled this blog "Amarillo's loss" is that, in addition to the news of her expansion into Pakistan, she let us know that she and her husband Bill will soon be leaving Amarillo for a 1-2 year relocation to New York. Bill's a veterinarian here and has titled the move an "extended leave of absence." So, not are we losing Betty, we're also losing one of the more compassionate vets I've met since becoming a cat owner four times over.
I hope they come back inside that two-year period. We need both of them back in Amarillo to continue the good works they perform here.

I feel really bad but enough is enough

2009-11-10T12:03:00.000-08:00

I am sorry all those soldiers were killed in the recent Fort Hood shooting, but while waiting for President Obama to finish meeting with family members of the victims and start the memorial service Tuesday afternoon, CNN reporters just kept babbling and babbling, oftentimes repeating what another reporter had just said, just to fill the silence.
I know that the newscasters have to fill audio time until any real news begins and I image it's hard to talk continuously for long minutes at a time when there's nothing new to report but it's getting to the point that Wolf Blitzer and his colleagues are parodying themselves.
I was almost finally getting to a point when I was tuning them out when one of the reporters called the shooting victims "heroes." I'm sorry if I offend anyone, but just being in the military does not make one a hero. From what I understand, the only real hero in this episode is Kimberly Munley, the female police officer who shot Maj. Nidal Hasan in an exchange of gunfire.

It's coming and we can't stop it!

2009-11-09T12:58:00.001-08:00

My wife Tanya and I went to Wal-Mart on Sunday to buy groceries. If you looked in our refrigerator or the cupboards at the house, you would've thought you'd stumbled across a family of vegans -- vegans on diets, no less. It was really, really time to buy groceries.
I love Wal-Mart; Tanya, not so much. As we maneuvered the grocery cart up and down the aisles, following the grocery list almost to the letter, Taya asked me, seemingly out of the blue, "What do you want for Christmas?"
It was 74 degrees outside and Christmas was the last thing on my mind; I'm still recovering from Halloween. As I paused to think of an answer, I realized why Tanya had thrown out the question: Christmas music was being played ever so subtly on the store's P.A. system. It's too early to be thinking of Christmas, I thought, until I remembered that the first week of November has come and gone and December is bearing down on us like a runaway freight train.
My normal answer for Christmas gifts is "books and music," but since I got an MP3 player last year and loaded more than 2,000 songs onto it, music is probably out of equation this year.
Actually, we didn't really think we'd be having this question-and-answer session at all, because, based on our oncologist's prognosis, I was lucky to have lived past last Christmas.
Tanya loves Christmas. But she prefers to give rather than receive, so I'd better get a list started because Christmas is going to be here before long. No pressure.

Change your habits from time to time

2009-11-05T08:09:00.000-08:00

I usually take I-27 to work every day because it's convenient. But the other day I came into downtown via I-40 because I was at BSA first thing in the morning. For a couple of years the Krispy Kreme store had been boarded up after its foray intro Amarillo wasn't up to their satandards. Now it's a pile of rubble as a hotel was built directly behind it.
When it first opened, people in Amarillo couldn't get enough of the famed, hot Krispy Kreme glazed donoughts. I remember seeing the drive-through lane snake all the way around the building and out onto the frontage road one Saturday morning.
I was less than impressed with Krispy Kreme. I know, it's blasphemy to say that, but I like a little heavier doughnut than what Krispy Kreme offered.
I was sad, though, when they closed. I think competition is good for businesses, keeps their employees and management sharp. But I've alway preferred Donut Stop and I wonder if it was hometown loyalty to Donut Stop that cause the demise of Krispy Kreme in Amarillo or if people agreed with me that Donut Stop makes a superior product.

passwords are making me crazy

2009-10-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

One would think that if one came up with a password that is unique and that couldn't possibly be hacked into, it would be easy to remember forever. But no: The Globe-News requires us to change our e-mail password every three months or so, so now that's different from all the other password-protected online functions. When I first joined a credit union, I used my office long-distance code as my password. Now, our long-distance carrier required a different password, so the original is obsolete. Security personeel recommend you not write down your password lest it fall into unsavory hands. But if you don't, you'll have problems getting into your e-mail, your online baqnking, your facebook account, your blog account, etc.
And some sites give you three chances to remember your password. If you can't do it in three attempts, it blocks your access.
There's enough in this world to make me crazy; the Internet doesn't have to add to the process.

Sorry for the offense

2009-10-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been taken to task by a couple of bloggers, but mostly by Doug Douglas, who goes by the blog name GMac. While a lot of what he had to say to counter my rants about the screaming heads on TV is honest disagreement, I was wounded when he said I was rude not to respond to his posting. My mother raised me better than that.
Mr. Douglas, I apologize for not responding quicker. Posting a daily blog is part of my assignment but sometimes times gets away from me. Oftentimes I say what I have to say and get out of it. Sometimes what I write would come under the "who cares?" category.
Another blogger, deedarlin, asked me to please stay out of the political debate. It was short, to the point, and very effective.
I will try to stay away from politics. I can't promise I'll stay away completely, because sometimes I hear something that just makes me want to rant.
To all who have responded to my blogs, thanks for reading, and, if the spirit moves you, write to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Are my expectations too high?

2009-10-26T07:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've been here but I've got an excuse: my wife Tanya has been hospitalized after gall bladder surgery. The operation went well, but the after-effects kept her vomiting and unable to keep any food down, which meant she had to be hooked up to an IV so her body could get essential nutrients. She wouldn't allow me to stay the night, so every day she was hospitalized I had to hunt for a parking space.
Now, Baptist St. Anthony's Health System is a non-smoking campus. I applaud them for that, but I wonder if the campus also includes the parking lot and garage? In my long walks from the front door to where I parked my car, I followed the Tobacco Road: the walkways are littered with cigarette butts -- and the occasional wad of gum -- but mostly butts.
If you know you're going to visit someone at BSA, I think you should have the respect not to smoke well beforehand. You might not be smoking in the hospital, but your clothes reek of cigarette smoke and by flicking your butts onto the ground, you're giving the image of an inconsiderate slob.

Crybabies or business as usual?

2009-10-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

The media's screaming right-wing fringe is crying foul lately. Before I get to what's got their tighty whities in a wad I need to ask a question: Why do the talking heads of talk TV and talk radio feel the need to raise their voices to the verge of foaming-at-the-mouth spittle projection?
Do they really believe that raising their decible levels will convert fence-sitters or the truly undecided so they will pressure their elected representatives in Congress to vote the right way on issues like health-care reform and the continuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq?
I would like to see a reasoned debate on the issues, with neither side taking cheap shots, questioning the opposition's loyalty or honesty.
I would also like both sides to actually read the legislation before them -- read it themselves; really read it --and not take someone else's word for what's in the legislation. Anything less than that is lazy legislating that deserves a swift boot out of the halls of Congress.
I know, I sound like Pollyanna and expect those governing us to do the right thing for our country. But I don't think that's too much to ask for. If our elected officials don't want to do the work they were elected to do, they should get out of Washington or Austin, Santa Fe or Sacramento and then get a real job -- not as a lobbyist but a real, 8-hours-a-day, 40 hours a week job. I doesn't look like that's the way things are heading,
Too bad.
Meabwhile, back to what the screaming heads are screaming at this news cycle: in essense, the other side is being mean to them. When Ronald Reagan was in the Oval Office, the left wing barely voiced criticism of the popular Gipper; they were almost apologetic for bringing up policy issues they disagreed with. The Left was so meek the country and the right wing understood it to be the proper way to run the government. And with the election of George H.W. Bush, many of those policies continued in one form or another. H.W. was Gipper Mild, but Gipper just the same.
But when the country had the utter gaul to elect Bill Clinton, the right wingnuts came out screaming even before the inauguration, trying to unseat his presidency even before he had a chance to take the oath of office. Clinton had his personal faults -- too many not to be embarrassed while in office -- but the right wing used his moral failings as an excuse to rip his policies. The budget surplus must have made them crazier than they akready are. It must have sent the right wingers to hit the hard stuff when Clinton got re-elected.
Clinton did many good things for the country and parts of the world. If the Republicans hadn't busted a gut getting him impeached, who knows what this country could haver accomplished?
The eight years of George W. Bush proved to every schoolchild that the Founding Fathers had it right when they formulated the Constitution: The country and its institutions are stronger than any one man occupying the White House. The right wingnuts were able to get the country thinking that any criticism of a wartime president -- even if he did start the wars himself -- was unpatriotic.
Well, now we have another wartime preswdient, but it's OK to criticize him this time because he's a Democrat. But with the left wing finally discovering its backbone enough to push back, it's the GOP that's whining and crying foul. If the Republicans really have new ideas and new plans to improve the country, let them unveil them in a dignified manner. Oh, but that would marginalize their screaming heads on TV and talk radio.
On second thought, that would be good for the country, and calm and quiet will descend upon D.C.

More lack of civility

2009-10-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

The American public is getting worse and worse when it comes to civility. Conversation, by it's very definition, is the exchange of ideas between at least two people. It is not the shouting down of opposing opinions by some dunderhead. Talk radio and TV are major culprites of this type of discourse.
I've noticed it a lot in the Globe-News office because I sit opposite Features Editor Margaret Myers and hear her side of telephone conversations. In the two-and-a-half years of her reign, I have yet to hear her complete a sentence without being overridden by her callers. The same is true of many of News Editor David Warren's phone calls.
If any one of us sticks to our guns and tries to complete a sentence or an idea, talking over the interrupter, we're accused of being combative or rude.
Didn't your parents teach you how to be polite? Did you forget about your upbringing once you became legal adults?
Let's start a Keep America Polite grass roots effort!

No civility; no pride

2009-10-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

What has happened to the America most of us grew up in? There used to be a time when Americans were proud of our countrymen. Now, it seems to me, that if some are on the short end of an election, it's open season on vicious criticism and mockery.
I was surprised as anyone when I heard that President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. I think it's too early in his presidency to say he's the most deserving of the honor, but an international panel picked him over 205 other nominees. Maybe it's wishful thinking on the part of the Nobel committee that Obama will follow through on his promises. The committee was not composed of American Democrats, so American Republicans can't cry foul.
Michael Steele, Republican National committee chairman, opened his mouth without engaging his brain when he said the Nobel Peace Prize "shows how meaningless a once honorable and respected award had become."
How about a little pride that an American won the prize for his efforts to try and change the international debate and undo what the last eight years has done to American prestige?
If you can't add something constructive to the debate, Mr. Steele, keep your ridiculously partisan mouth shut.

It's a sad day

2009-09-30T06:57:00.000-07:00

There are a few things that make me sadder than to see a restaurant close. Now, I may not have ever stepped through the doors of an eatery that closes down, but it still makes me sad that there wasn't enough support to keep it open.
The same thing with some organizations. I found out today that the Harmonica Organization of Texas has disbanded. If you listen closely to a lot of music from the '60s, you'll hear someone playing the harmonica. Some blues musicians insist on having a harmonica player in their backup band, if not as a lead instrument.
I have a harmonica and on occasion I pull it out and wail away -- to the dismay of my cats.
Maybe harmonica players are an independent bunch and don't need an organization. But it still makes me sad to see an organization go under for lack of support.

Deadlines are made to be observed!

2009-09-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

I hate it when an organization is so disorganized that everyone thinks someone else has notified the newspaper of their event, only to find out no one has. Or else someone volunteers to be the publicity chair and doesn't know what deadlines mean so they forget about it until it's too late.
I hate to tell nonprofit groups that their notice won't get in Our Town because they've missed deadline by sometimes five days.
I'm not feeling particularly strict today, so I'm giving the Bushland Choir Booster Club and the Buddy Walk folks a one-time only break. While their notices won't be in Our Town, where they should be, maybe people will read this and give them a hand. The Buddy Walk to benefit the Panhandle Down Syndrome Guild is 10 a.m. Saturday at Sam Houston Park. Information: 806-670-1568 or 806-382-2326.
The Bushland High School Choir's “Deepen the Arts” night will begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the high school auditorium. Chili dog dinner and desserts will be in advance of the program beginning at 7:15 p.m. The choir will sing all '80s songs. Cost is $5.
See, I do have a heart.

Gotcha!

2009-09-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

I just watched aone of those screaming-heads segments on the news discussing proposals from President Obama and the Education Scretary that pushed forward an idea that one of the ways U.S. kids can catch up with the education of much of the world's children is for a longer school day.
The TV host ranted against a pro-longer day guest that he doesn't want to have to wait until 6 or 7 at night to have dinner with his kids to be able to see them.
In the course of the ranting and raving, the TV host admitted that he worked until 9 p.m., so he doesn't see his kids for dinner NOW, so what does it matter if kids stay at school a couple of extra hours, as long as the extra teaching time is spent actually teaching.
I'm getting fed up with the TV and radio foamers-at-the-mouth trying to work up the populace into a lather over proposals and other ideas the president is offering.
The status quo isn't working. Why not try some new ideas. They may just work. How about that!?!

kicking my butt

2009-09-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

This has been a heck of a week so far. On Monday, my wife Tanya had to have an outpatient procedure that we still don't have difinitve results on yet. Then Tuesday and today I had chemotherapy. Though it seemed as if I slept through it both days, I came home wiped out. But I was able to stagger to the computer and work from home. I'm finished now and going to crash again.

Calling a spade a spade

2009-09-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

U.S. manufacturers are so wary about being sued over the misuse of their products that just about everything made in this country carries a warning label in an attempt to protect themselves from idiots.
Things like a warning on coffee: "Warning: contents are hot." Or the label on a steam iron: "Warning: Do not use product while wearing apparel to be pressed."
Just today I read a warning label on a bottle of Goo Gone, the all-purpose stain remover that finally calls it like it is: "Common sense warning: Keep out of reach of children."
Common sense?
The manufacturer of Goo Gone seems to be playing to the egos of Americans, thinking anyone reading their warning believes it's the other guy who has no common sense; it couldn't possibly be aimed at them.
I applaud the makers of Goo Gone. Now, if common sense were only to spread like an epidemic, we'd be a smarter country.

Keep drunks off the road

2009-09-17T10:06:00.002-07:00

Just past midnight, we and our neighbors were drawn outside when we heard series of crash-type noises and a car pealing out. What we found was a car had taken the turn onto our street too wide, took out a neighbor's mailbox, missed the one of our next door neighbor, wiped out ours and our neighbor's mailboxes, ended up on his lawn, reverserved gear, spun his wheels, which tore up Roger's lawn, sped through his trees, sideswiping and damaging one, drove across our lawn to get to the streeet and sped off.
Luckily for us, no one was injured and Amarillo Police located the perps in our neighborhood: the driver was cited for DUI and his passenger for public intox. His insurance company responded quickly and they're going to pay for all the damages.
If you're going to drink heavily, stay home and do it. And stay out of my yard.

Mini me just a shadow of my former self

2009-09-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

On Monday I underwent a bone scan to see if my cancer has spread or, hopefully, eradicated. It's been in the lumbar bones and I'm curious to see if more than a year of chemotherapy has done any good.
I was injected with a contrasting agent yesterday afternoon and told to return to the nuclear medicine lab later that day. And, by the way, they said, drink 64 oz. of fluids before you come back. That's a lot of liquid. When I went back, I went to the restroom because this was going to be a 25-minute ordeal of no motion. Once the scanner passed my chest heading south, I looked over at the machine's monitor to see what I look like without skin, muscle or organs. Pretty skinny, I'd say.
But there was a bright blob on the screen. The technician said it was my bladder, and I must go empty it again because the brightness of the image might hide something they need to see. I didn't have the need, but gave it a try for the tech's sake.
I was able to accomodate him and, when he scanned my pelvic area again, the bladder image was smaller and less bright.
I may know results of the bone scan by Thursday. We're praying for good news.

Passwords are a pain

2009-09-11T11:09:00.000-07:00

How many different things in our lives require passwords? I try to keep the same password for all my accounts, but sometimes it doesn't work. The password to access my e-mail at the Globe-News has to be changed every 90 days. Facebook requires another; My home e-mail is another.
When I was in school I had to remember my locker combination.
Just too many letters and numbers to remember. My wife tanya doesn't even bother remembering telephone numbers. She just adds them to her cell phone and voila! I'm more old-fashioned: I have some numbers saved on my cell phone, but I have a telephone directory filled with scraps of paper that have phone numbers. Sometimes I have names connected to the numbers and some are just mystery numbers I have no idea who they belong to, and I'm not calling to find out who they are, lest they confirm that I'm an idiot.May daughter April can't stand it if there's a number on our caller ID and the person didn't leave a message. She'll call the mystery number, only to find out was a wrong number dialed or a telemarketer who hung up when they got our electronic greeting on the answering machine.
There are just too many ways to get confused over modern communications these days.

Thinking about ACEs

2009-09-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

The Achievement through Commitment to Education scholarship program, offered to Caprock and Palo Duro high school students, virtually pays for a college education if the students meet three relatively easy requirements: 95 percent attendance for all four years of high school; at least an 80 grade-point average; and proper behavior.
This year, ACE has expanded into the Tascosa Cluster. In the past, administrators started talking up ACE in the middle schools, but the habits, like coming to school and on time, have to be ingrained earlier, so the elementary schools in the clusters have started focusing on the ACE requirements.
Because I talk to teachers so often -- and my wife is an elementary school teacher -- I've come to the conclusion that parents are a big problem for at-risk students. If the parents don't get their kids up, dressed and out the door to get to school on time, the kids often don't have the incentive to do it themselves. If parents, many of whom dropped out before receiving their high school diplomas, don't make their kids' education a priority, how do we expect to break the chain of poverty and an under-educated workforce?
What's the answer? Who knows? You can't force parents to do the right thing by their children and you can't shame them.
I guess all you can do is pound it into their heads over and over, at every opportunity. Maybe reinforce the necessity of a college education on the kids themselves. "Do you want to live the way your parents are living? Don't you want to do better?"
It breaks my heart to see students who are bright and willing to learn but their parents can't be bothered to get out of bed to get them to school on time.

Times have changed

2009-09-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

I was standing in line at a home-provement warehouse this weekend and, after looking at all the little things they hand up near the check-out lanes, I noticed the customer in front of me had a comb-over and a small ponytail. I think it should be one or the other.
When I was younger and had much, much more hair, we never thought long hair would ever go out of style. I thought that if I started going balde, I'd let my hair grow and look like Benjamin Franklin. Times have changed: I have my bald spot but you can see ears, so the Ben Franklin look went by the way side.
It's interesting how fashion is stronger than the rebels who thought they were going to change it for the better.

Another ad that makes me cringe

2009-09-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

Stupidity in the media and advertising really irks me.
Yesterday on TV I saw an ad for eyeglasses that offered "$75 off a complete set of glasses." It got me to wondering: What's involved in a complete set of eyeglasses? One would think eyeglasses come as a complete set: two lenses and a frame. Should we not assume this?
Does any vision center offer partial sets? Do you get more of a discount if you only have one eye and only need one lens?
Was the copywriter stupid or just wordy? If he or she left off the word "complete" would it not mean the same thing? Doesn't anyone read these things before letting them on the air?

Morning drive

2009-09-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

It's hard enough driving east in the morning on Amarillo Boulevard in the medical center area heading into the rising sun, but with the sun in your eyes, not quite sure where you're going and traffic on your tail makes for an interesting morning.
I had slowed down when I got near my destination, but still shot past it while leading a conga line of vehicles doing 40 mph down the boulevard. I switched to the lefthand lane looking for one of those turn-around lanes that sneak up on you. I finally found one nearly to Bell Street, turned around and drove much slower heading west. There's not as much traffic going west on the boulevard as there is going east, so I could get away with it.
I found one of the turn lanes right where it needed to be, turned into the medical complex and spent time looking for building No. 2, which a resonable person would think would be next to or across from building No. 1. It isn't, unless you turn the correct way. But they don't have signs indicating which way is correct until you bear right and there it is, bigger'n Dallas, building No. 24.
That's why I allow extra time if I'm running an errand in an unfamiliar part of town.

Out of the loop

2009-09-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

My wife Tanya and I were only gone four days last week but you'd think we'd been gone for a year. I'd like to say we were on vacation. I'd also like to say we're filthy rich, but both statements would be lies. We went to Houston for those days because that's where M.D. Anderson's cancer hospital is. We went for a CT scan to see the progress of my cancer. I think i may be the only person who likes the taste of the barium shakes.
When we got home Wednesday there were stacks of newspapers and mail to sort through. I still haven't touched the newspapers. I have to put them in order so I can follow the progress of what was happening while we were gone. We've heard bits and pieces about fatal accidents and other goings-on, but we need to read the newspaper to get to the heart of the stories. It'll take a while to get back into the swing of things but we should be caught up by the end of the weekend.
Have to follow the exploits of Jeremy from "Zits ," now that he has his driver's license.

Did you miss me?

2009-09-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, y'all. I'm at MD Anderson Cancer Center is Houston and they had me scheduled for a CT scan at 7:30 a.m., which meant no food or drink after midnight. Then I found out the prep work for the scan started at 7:30 and the scan was scheduled for 12:20. So we raced to the cafeteria for breakfast and back again before 12:20.
Naturally, nothing except drinking their barium shake was on time.
It took just a short while for the actual test. We got back to the hotel and took a power nap, which only made us groggy for the rest of the day until we crashed that evening.
We'll be back in Amarillo on Wednesday.
See ya then!

Driving awareness during the school year

2009-08-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

Driving habits have to change starting in late August if you want to get to work on time. If you normally take the back roads or the major arteries, you have to be prepared to drive 20 mph for stretches of the roads that are marked as school zones. While it's a pain if you're late, I'm glad to say a majority of Amarillo drivers come closer to meeting that 20 mph limit.
I ran into another driving change this morning. I had to drop off my daughtr April at Amarillo College and was in the righthand lane heading north. When the traffic signal turned red, April jumped out of the car to head to her math lab. But then I was stuck in the righthand lane while tens of cars ahead of me slowed to turn into the campus parking areas.
Glancing into my rear-view mirror, I saw the lefthand lane was clear for as far as the eye could see, so I swerved into the lane and it was clear sailing all the way downtown.
You live and you learn, but you have to re-learn it every fall semester.

Toot'n Totum bike run

2009-08-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

Toot'n Totum will have its second annual donation motorcycle run to benefit the United Way of Amarillo & Canyon. Registration begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at Amarillo National Bank's downtown "Heart" parking lot and the bikes will head out at 11 a.m.
Entry fee is $15 per person; $20 for double riders, which includes one poker hand per person. A 3 p.m. cookout is scheduled for after the bikes return. Information: 373-4351 ext. 180.

How much for a used fighter jet?

2009-08-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

I received an e-mail today from the Air Force with a photo of Amarilloan Chad Wright on duty in Afghanistan. It was a pretty straight forward press release, talking more about the F-16 and the air-to-air missile Wright was helping to load onto the jet than about Wright.
What was weird to me was down toward the bottom of the e-mail was the message "check out our products online" and gave an online address.
Can I buy an F-16 online? An air-to-air missile? Would the cash for clunkers deal apply? Can I use a PayPal account or do they accept Visa or Mastercard?
When I went to the site, though, they were only selling photos and dvds. Talk about disappointment.

First day of school

2009-08-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

Today's the first day of school for many districts around amarillo. My wife Tanya teaches second grade and for the past few weeks has been getting her room prepared to welcome her kids. She spent 8 hours both Saturday and Sunday at the school, decorating bulletin boards and organizing the classroom so it'll be an inviting environment.
Even this morning she was stressing out over how she could've decorated the classroom better and what she still wants to do.
If it were me, it would be the basics:Here's a desk, here are your books, now learn.
I guess that's why I'm not a teacher and why Tanya's such a great one.

Facebook is driving me crazy

2009-08-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

Everyone here at the Globe-News is supposed to be on Facebook as a community outreach. Obviously I'm not used to all the features of the site, because my colleague, Danh Hoang, said I had 32 friends requests waiting, sometimes for weeks.
I thought they were my friends but I guess you have to confirm each one first. So now I'm up to date, but there's still too much information possibilities on the Facebook homepage.
It'll take a while, but I'll get there. Be patient.

Falling apart, piece by piece

2009-08-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought I'd have a two-week reprieve from doctors, they found blood in my urine, so I'm off to the urologist to find out what the heck is going on. It's probably an infection. I've had them before since last June.
I counted up the number of doctors I've seen since being diagnosed with cancer, and Dr. Patel makes it a dozen. When I beat this cancer, the medical community will go into recession and it'll be all my fault.

I need to calm down

2009-08-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had chemtherapy for the first time in two weeks and my blood pressure was higher than the doctor was comfortable with, so he prescribed high-blood pressure medication. I didn't have high blood pressure until I was hospitalized last year and they told me I have cancer. Of course my blood pressure was high. It didn't lower it any when the nurses burst into my hospital room at 3 a.m. to take it.
I don't know why my blood pressure was high yesterday, but today it was bck to normal and I haven't filled the prescription yet. if they would just increase my prescription of Valium, not only would my blood pressure drop, I'd be in a much calmer frame of mind that would keep me from wanting to throttle the driver of the SUV who was on a cell phone and reaching over the back seat to attend to her child when the traffic light turned green.

Comic book caper

2009-08-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

Some people get waaaay too involved in their hobbies.
I read in Sunday's Amarillo Globe-News that a Dallas comic book collector was so upset that Archie proposed to Veronica that he sold his rare first issue.
Sure, he got more than $38,000 for a comic book that probably sold for 25 cents or less 67 years ago, but c'mon now. If he sold it for the money I can understand, but to give it up over a story arc is a little on the fanatical side.
I guess that's why they're called fans. Just keep them away from me.

Welcome on Friday

2009-08-17T11:15:00.001-07:00

My friend Betty Swann, who's trying to feed the hungry of the world one penny at a time, sent me an annoucement that was too late for Our Town.
James Maina, the administrator of Joseph Wambugu’s ministry who heads up the Fatherhood Ministry for Africa, will be in Amarillo this week. A backyard ice cream and dessert welcome for Maina will be at 7:15 p.m. Friday at the home of Dave and Kim Clark, 3701 Lynette. Bring your favorite dessert to help welcome a man who is trying to make a difference in Africa in conjunction with Betty's Wise Women Conferences. Betty said mosquito spray will be provided.

A day of caring

2009-08-14T10:56:00.001-07:00

The United Way of Amarillo & Canyon's annual Day of Caring is one of those events that is inspiring to me, that so many people take time out of their day to help the community. Sure, some may do it on the clock; some to get out of work, but it doesn't matter -- their efforts are improving the town.
In reporting on these altruistic folks, I find myself in the way -- a lot. Much of my efforts involve getting out of the way.
Today I had to dodge wheelbarrows of mulch, rows of carefully constructed balls of seed, mud and manure, and an acre of soggy Globe-News pages to help keep the moisture in.
See, even the Globe-News got involved in this year's Day of Caring.

Call a spade a spade

2009-08-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

Some electronic media reported University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino "slept" with a woman on a restaurant table. Now, we all know what they meant, but alert TV news readers or producers should have been smart enough to see how idiotic that phrase sounded under the circumstances.
The Associated Press, and therefore the Globe-News, didn't succumb to euphemisms in its reporting of the scandal.
The next time something like this happens, and you know it will, the media should re-read what it's reporting and play it straight, unless the perpetrator actually wakes up face down in a plate of pasta primavera.

Am I missing something?

2009-08-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

Is technology passing me by?
Last night I watched a commercial that boasted “Now you can order your Pizza Hut pizza right from your iPhone."
Heck, I 've been doing that for years with my simple, low-tech phone. I pick up the receiver, dial the telephone number and give my order to whomever picks up the phone. And if I'm patient enough, they'll even deliver it to my door.
What’s the big deal?

Remember flyswatters?

2009-08-11T09:42:00.001-07:00

My column next week chronicles my skirmish with a fly in the house. I said I got the flyswatter out of the garage and waited to do battle.
After I finished the column, I went to walmart.com, target.com and bedbathandbeyond.com to see if (a) they offered handheld flyswatters for sale; and (b) how much they are these days.
At the three Web sites I typed "flyswatter" in the search box. In all three cases, there were no matches found, except one that offered an electric flyswatter.
I must be old-fashioned. Not only do I use an old handheld flyswatter, I also use a manual toothbrush.
I should pack them up for safekeeping. They may be worth money some day as antiques.

Monday -- another day closer to payday

2009-08-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

On the one hand, Mondays are payback for the excesses of the weekend. On the other hand, four fingers and a thumb.
I look for forward to Mondays, generally, because (a) I'm one sick individual; and (b) I see the proof pages of the Our Town section that will print overnight and be delivered Wednesday.
I like to see the proofs because I want to see how close my vision of the section is to the reality of what's going to press.
Today, however, was not a fun day for the proofs. Some things didn't play out as I envisioned them, leaving blank spots I had to fill. If I had extra stories or photos, this wouldn't be a problem, but I spent the morning scrambling for stories and photos that weren't planned for Wednesday and instantly making them Wednesday worthy.
Once we get everything in place, we start all over again for next week. Kind of like a gerbil on a spinning wheel.

Thank you all so much

2009-08-07T09:06:00.001-07:00

I want to take this time to thank all of you who have sent messages of condolences over the death of Tiger, the largest of our Feline Foursome. I never really thought of him as the leader of the pack. That honor I thought belonged to Gracie, the alpha female who ran the quartet.
But since Tiger died, the other three wander aimlessly, knowing something isn't quite right around the house.
Sometimes Gracie follows me wherever I go. She's just about on my heals and I have accidentally stepped on her tail when I didn't know she was behind me. Al and Teddy are clingy and compete for who's going to get in closer.
I never thought of myself of the alpha cat, or the leader of the Fearless Feline Foursome. I don't mind it too much, but if they start wanting to groom me, we'll have to put a stop to that.

another haiku of sorts

2009-08-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

Blurry eyes in the morning
Read the words over and over
Late night takes its toll

A haiku, but not really

2009-08-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

A crack in the coffee pot
No caffeine for me today
I nap.

The roads less travelled

2009-08-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

Do you always take the same route to work every day? Normally, so do I but this morning I had to drop off the water bill at City Hall. Many people, when they think of downtown, think of a vast desert of parking lots (that you're usually not allowed to use) and buildings.
But if you slow down just a little, take a different route to work and look around, I think you'll be surprised how much greenery is downtown. The banks landscape their drive-throughs; the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts' trees are filling in nicely; the churches are also working harder beautifying their parking lots.
One of the nicest spots downtown, I think, is the space between City Hall and the Civic Center. They've given the green areas gently rolling hills and the sound and sight of the bubbling fountain competes aurally with the semi-tractor trailers heading north.
Taking a different path from time to time uncovers a different Amarillo than what you're used to.

Got to keep the beard

2009-07-31T09:06:00.000-07:00

I toyed with the idea of shaving my beard a while back and my wife Tanya told me not to toy with the idea anymore.
I 've had a beard since 1976 and shaved in off once on a whim in the 1980s, but as the last of the hair fell from my face, I realized the mistake I had made -- I looked just like my father, and he had no chin either!
Luckily, it didn't take too long before the whiskers started looking like a beard again. I never gave it another thought until I mentioned it to Tanya. So now I will never think about shaving it off again. I need to know where my chin is.
.

That's why!

2009-07-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

My colleague Danh Hoang said this morning, "Your head looks smaller; why is that?" I was thrilled to tell him that for the first time in about a year I went and had my hair cut.
That probably isn't a big deal to anybody but me. A year ago I feared the chemtotherapy and radiation would cause my hair to fall out and it was one thing that bothered me.
Talk about vanity.
When the drugs didn't cause my hair to fall out, my wife Tanya told me I looked scruffy and I should get my hair cut.
I've been going to Deanna Hawkin's Elliott's Headhunters for more than 20 years and wasn't going to change that. What I didn't expect to happen is that after she cut my hair a year ago my hair stopped growing.
But today it was finally time to get it cut again.
So now I'm neatly shorn and that should make Tanya happier.

WeeeWiii

2009-07-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

My wife Tanya recently bought WiiFit, a program for the Wii gaming system that some people who already had it said it gives a pretty good workout. Tanya's been looking for a workout she can ease into because lifting weights doesn't appeal to her.
Lifting weights also don't appeal to my oncologist. Stretching and walking are fine for me if I feel up to it, he said, but no weightlifting. In my mind I want to lift weights but I also want to get better, so the weights sit in the garage until that time comes.
I've been getting my exercise watching Tanya follow the Wii aerobic section. I tried it once and gave up at about the 10-minute mark. It's harder than it looks and it wiped me out for two straight days.
Another thing that's harder than it looks is the yoga and balance areas. You have to focus on keeping a spot within a certain area and the system analyzes your center of balance. I struggle with my balance so I figured this could be good for me. But after the session the Wii shows how I struggle with each my left and right foot. It looks to me as if my granddaughter Tegan had taken a crayon to the TV screen and scribbled.
It showed me I need to work on my balance before I can think of anything else.

2009-07-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Tiger, the largest of the Ferocious Feline Foursome, has something the matter with his liver and we're living on pins and needles until we find out what's the matter. He spent two days hiding under our bed, and I thought he was merely hiding from our granddaughter Tegan.
But Sunday night after we went to bed our daughter April knocked on the bedroom door and said Tiger was urinating blood.
We took him to the small animal emergency clinic, where he got a couple of injections and we were told if he wasn't a whole lot better Monday, to take him to our regular vet. That was the plan when I cam home from work and Tiger was crying from underneath the bed. I got him out from under the bed and into the car for the trip to the vet. He checked him out, and said Tiger was extremely dehydrated and he needed to stay overnight while they ran tests.
So we're waiting for the results. Tiger's down to 12 pounds from a high of 16. His siblings can feel something is amiss in the household and are quiet as church mice. It's very odd around the house. We're hoping things with Tiger aren't as bad as they can be.

I want it!

2009-07-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

There's a car driving around Amarillo and I want it.
I have no idea what make or model it is, but the closest description I can come up with is metallic, glow-in-the-dark Pepto Bismol pink. I have a fear of losing my car in the parking lot of the mall, Wal-Mart, etc., wandering up and down the aisles looking for my silver Corolla that looks like every other silver and/or white car in the parking lot. Years ago, when I had a yellow Dodge Colt, I could always find it.
When the Colt's age forced me into a newer car,I switched to a light blue Colt, which someone tried to steal from in front of the Globe-News building. After that Colt celebrated its 10th birthday with me, I switched to a navy blue Saturn. No one tried to steal it but people started running into me, saying they didn’t see me.
When it was time to switch, again after almost 10 years, I wanted something LOUD; something people could see from blocks away; something I could find in the parking lot. The car companies, though, wouldn't cooperate, so I ended up with the silver Corolla. I guess you really can’t always get what you want.

Grrrrr

2009-07-24T06:58:00.000-07:00

I should know better than write my blog as soon as I come into the office in the morning because usually the subject is people and their motor vehicles. Today's subject is no different.
Folks, there's a lever usually on the left side of the steering column. If you flick it down, the left-hand turn signal comes on; flick it up and the right-hand signal comes on. Why is this so hard to comprehend?
Some people use their directional signal to warn drivers behind them that they are moving over into your lane....now! Others, who obviously didn't fall alseep during driver's ed class, use it as a warning that they'll be moving over once they think it's safe.
Today I followed a Volvo that changed lanes whenever I did to ensure he was always in front of me. No matter when I changed lanes, so would he.
When I was able to shake loose of him I had to deal with a pickup pulling a trailer. He was a little worse than the Volvo driver: He changed lanes at will, trusting that I'd slam on my brakes to allow him to move into my lane without having to use his turn signal.
So now I'm cranky and am all for improving mass transit -- and order these drivers to take the bus!

Got them, fanny pack blues

2009-07-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

As part of my chemotherapy regimen, I have to wear a fanny-pack looking pump that disperses about 2 teapoons of this drug per hour for about 46 hours. You never know what you assume until there's a new element added to your life -- like a fanny pack that you can't get wet. I 've had to learn to wash my hair with one hand, stick my head under the water, all the while standing outside the shower stall. I have to be careful about washing other parts of my body, one-handed, while keeping the fanny pack hanging from a hanger on the shower door.
I noticed yesterday that there's an area of the floor right around the shower that seems cleaner than all the rest of the bathroom floor.
As I progress with my cancer treatment, I learn new tricks of the trade, but I sure do like it when I can take a complete shower, using both hands and getting every part of me wet at the same time. Sometimes it's the simple things you miss the most.

When is enough too much?

2009-07-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

I enjoy listening to the rock band AC/DC almost as much as their most hardcore fans. But I found out I have a limit. I neglected to select the "Shuffle Songs" option when I dozed off Saturday afternoon with my MP3 running, so the player went with the order in which I recorded my music -- in this case, AC/DC was up. Even in the twilight of my napping, I realized something was amiss when AC/DC followed AC/DC over and over again. I didn't know it at the time, but I had to shut it off when the 22nd AC/DC song started playing.
My nap was interrupted and I later found out I have recorded 29 AC/DC songs on my MP3. But I have to remember to select "Shuffle Songs" from now on to mix AC/DC in with my other selections.
It was a rockin' lesson to learn.

Got some time to spare?

2009-07-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

E-mail is great for meeting people who have stories to tell.
I recently "met" Mary Beth Waters, who has been honored for making up her "love packets" to comfort children who are in crisis situations.
She's done this for three years, primarily on her own with occasionally volunteer help. She now faces a grat challenge -- make up 300 love packets by July 31 for the children of troops being deployed -- in addition to the packets she regularly makes up for local agencies.
I think Mary Beth may need some help. If God has put it on your heart to help, give her a call at 356-8720.

School begins in l;ittle more than a monh

2009-07-15T07:22:00.000-07:00

Last night on TV I saw the first back-to-school commercial. Sure, it was for laptop computers, a large expense for any family, but still...there's more than a month of summer vacation left for students.
When I was a youngster, the back-to-school commercials spelled impending doom for our young bits of freedom. A pall descended over us, even though we knew it was coming about the same time every year. And every year we hoped that maybe aliens from outer space would invade the Earth and they'd have to cancel school so we could take up arms to repel the alien invaders.
Once I got to be a teenager, I realized no aliens were going to invade the planet before school started. But by then I discovered a whole new skill that moderated having to go to school -- cutting classes.
I honed my skills to a fine point until I was finally caught. But by that time I figured out different ways to cut classes. This skill followed me through college, where I bet I would've gotten a better education if I were actually in the classroom rather than just reading the textbook.

Don't mess with Natural Law

2009-07-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

Why is it one can go to the doctor's office dressed in clothes you'd wear working out in the backyard and they're so careful; but the one time you show up in dress clothes, including a freshly starched white shirt, because you're going from the doctor's office straight to work and that's when they drip blood or blood products?

Where has the summer gone?

2009-07-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

Wal-Mart and probably other retailers have started putting out school supplies and lists provided by the schools, which means Aug. 24 is just around the corner. Maybe by having chidren start to think earlier about going back to school, they may retain a little more of what they were taught in the spring seemster of 2009.Maybe not, but if it works, we may be seeing school supplies starting to show up earlier and earlier -- kind of like Christms season creep, only for educators.
Of course, no matter how loudly children may whine about having to think about going back to school, I think educators can whine louder and longer.
Some may not get any vacation whatsoever, with summer school starting three days after the end of the school year, continuing education classes and workshops, and preparations to make their classrooms a more inviting learnng environment. And this year teachers are required to be in their classrooms two weeks before the start of school.
Who said teachers get the whole summer off?

Hand-held technology a danger for everyone

2009-07-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

The iPod 3G is an amazing piece of technology. The commericals make it attractive to people who can't read, use a dictionary or a telephone book. It's got so many features that when one is driving and scrolling through all the iPod offerings, I think it's distracting to the driver. Most motorists in Amarillo have a hard time just driving. Every time I see someone using one of these hand-held miracles I see the odds rising of them being in an accident with me.
Though I rant about all these idiot drivers, I can identify.
Recently I had my MP3 playing and didn't recognize the song or artist. I glanced down once at the player, but the type was too small for me to see, so I picked up the iPod and waited for the information to scroll up in little, tiny letters.
I found myself drifting out of the driving lane while I waited for the answer to my question. Even though I got the answer to my question, I recognize how easy it is to get into an accident with all this hand-held technology at my fingertips, and I vow not to me allowed to be a slave to Apple.

"Ick" in the morning

2009-07-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

I hate hearing the sounds of upchucking, especially in the middle of the night. The four cats -- the Fearless Feline foursome -- must think it's funny to wretch and then sit there, waiting for one of us to get out of bed in the dark and step in it on our way to the bathroom.
Yeah, it's funny if you have four legs or if you've got only two legs but remembered to avoid the upchuck zone.
If I'm semi-awake, I'll toss a paper towel over the location of the mound of vomit as a reminder to clearn it up when I am fully awake. The cats, meanwhile, nose their way under the paper towel to see what they've missed.
The paper towel locator method works for me because by that time the vomit has cooled off off enough to remove a lot of the early-morning "ick" factor.

Up every three hours overnight=crankiness

2009-07-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

I'm a little cranky today, on the eve of the Fourth of July. Late last night one of our smoke detectors went off, a piercing alarm that refused to be ignored. I staggered out of bed and went to where we keep batteries.
We had one 9-volt battery left, so I changed the detector I thought was the noisy culprit and went back to bed. About three hours later the alarm went off again. I knew the Lifecycle exercise bike uses a 9-volt battery for its display, so I cannibalized it to change out the battery in the detector I now thought was keeping me awake.
Just in case I was wrong, I pulled the ladder out of the garage and removed the 9-volt battery from the scale we have. I was prepared, but I started at the slightest noise for the rest of the night.
I must have gotten the right one, but if one or two have run out of power, the others can't be too far behind and I don't want to be up in the middle of the night, three-quarters of the way asleep climbing a ladder to replace a battery. My wife Tanya is out getting packets of batteries and we're going to change them all.
I want to sleep straight through tonight. And falling off a ladder probably wouldn't help my sleep pattern.

How many doctors are too many?

2009-07-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

I've got a new oncologist charged with the challenge of keeping me alive for as long as possible. But it seems that my records aren't in order, so we're going to start from square 1, which starts tomorrow. I'm going to have a biopsy at noon, but they don't want me eating or drinking anything after midnight.
Just knowing that I can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight makes me want to do both tomorrow morning. I'm thinking I may get up at 11:30 tonight and have something to eat. I know it's probably all in my head and I know I won't starve to death before the procedure, but I'm going to feel that way anyway.
I hope they just go ahead and knock me out to take what they need. I'm not much for a local anesthetic. Knock my butt out!
Then it'll be almost a week before we'll find out what he found and then we'll formulate a plan of action. In reality, he'll form the plan and we'll agree to it. I see new medications in my future. And I'm betting dollars to doughnuts that whatever he prescribes, it won't taste good.
I'm all for bubblegum-flavored chemotherapy drugs.
But as long as it works, I'll put up with whatever he gives me. I'd like to be around for a long while.

2009-06-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

The other night I had my MP3 player trying to ull me to sleep. I’ve got it on Shuffle because I always want to be surprised what the next song will be.
But that night I was listening to Climax Blues Band and at the end the MC was trying to get the crowd fired up for an encore.
For nearly a solid minute the show's MC exhorted the crowd to give it up for the band. But when the band finally came back onstage for the encore, my MP3 kicked in to the next song , which was Dan Fogelberg.
It was so jarring to go from rock 'n' roll to Fogelberg's soothing brand of pop that my eyes flew open and I was wide awake. It took a while for me to get the combination of Fogelberg and the Climnax Blues Band out of my mind so I could sleep.
Beware the Shuffle capability of MP3 -- you never know what you're going to get.

Enough already!

2009-06-29T09:01:00.000-07:00

As I write this, we are in Day 5 memorializing the life and death of Michael Jackson, the self-styled King of Pop, who hasn't put out any new music in years. Whatever's been released has been greatest-hits packages. For almost a solid week we've been subjected to every little blurb from the family, friends, and people who came into contact with Jackson in the past, no matter how fleeting or incidental.
About 45 years ago, John F. Kennedy, the president of the United States, was assassinated. The president ws gunned down on a Friday and was buried that Monday. The TV stations broadcast non-stop Kennedy for 3 days, but the minute the president was laid to rest , then it was back to business as usual for the TV networks.
It angers me that at least one TV network every day has some new or re-hashed news about Jackson's death, but a president who was murdered only warranted three days.

Black wardrobe vs. white cat: What was I thinking?

2009-06-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

Today's rant is more a warning and public service announcement.
When you roughhouse with a white cat while wearing black, your clothing won’t be black for very long.
And a cat can roughhouse for a lot a lot longer than a human. Teddy, one for the Fearless Feline Foursome, saw me kneeling in front of the stereo and figured it was time to play. He either didn't see the notebook and pen I had or he didn't care. I tried pushing him off the paper but his demand for attention would not be denied. So I wrestled with him for a while, thinking he would tire or get bored.
But no.
While he was wrestling , he also let loose with his white fur. We had to stop wrestling when his rear claws came out and scratched my arm. The doctors want me to avoid scrapes and scratches as much as possible. I tried explaining this to Teddy -- I talk to the cats -- but he kept coming at me until I had to bark "no" in a no-nonsense voice before he got the hint.
I later found him lying on my pillow, shedding hard to beat the band. His revenge was sweet but I had a sticky roller.
Score one for me.

What good are dictionaries?

2009-06-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

Will someone please tell me what good are dictionaries when you need to know how to spell a word? Most times I know the first few letters but then have to run my eyes down the page or pages looking for the word.
Veterinarian is one of those words that flummox me. I can't wimp out and just use the word "vet" because that connotates someone who's served in the military. So I go to “vet” and begin my search from there.
It takes a while but I eventually get to the correct spelling. But what if it's a harder or more involved word that uses "y"s for "i"s and other odd combintions? How are we supposed to teach our kids how to use a dictionary when the book falls short of our needs?
Sure, they could go to the Internet and Google it, but our kids have to know how to access various forms of information gathering.
And that includes dictionaries -- flws and all.

Hair today; gone tomorrow

2009-06-24T08:53:00.004-07:00

A sure sign that I'm improving in my fight against cancer is my wife last night told me I needed a haircut.
A year ago I expected chemotherapy to render me bald but I was lucky enough to keep my hair. But at that time I was shaggy to begin with and after about three months my wife said, "You need a haircut."
Since September my hair hasn't fallen out, but it also hasn't grown. Lately, my wife has taken little scissors and trimmed around my ears but yesterday she said it was time for a full-blown, professional haircut because it's starting to grow again -- slowly, but it's a start.
I'm happy to comply with her request, eventually. She'll put her foot down when she can't stand it anymore and then I'll visit Deanna, my hair stylist for more than 25 years. "Hair stylist" sounds pretentious, doesn't it? I have no style, really. Deanna cuts my hair, I'm happy; my wife's happy and it'll be nearly another year before I have to do it again.

A thought or two on pharmaceuticals

2009-06-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Why can't pharmaceutical companies make their drugs taste good? They do it for kids so the technology is in place. Why do medications have to taste like, well, like medicine?
Two of the drugs I take daily are so incredibly nasty tasting.
I take megestol acetate to stimulate my appetite. The dosage is basically half a shot glass of this vile-tasting, thick liquid. If anything, it kills my appetite for a while. No wonder I've dropped 14 pounds in two weeks.
I also have to take 0.6 mg of tincture of opium. Let me tell you, 0.6 mg is more than enough. It's purpose is to keep the food I've eaten stay inside. I take it four times a day and each time after swallowing it my whole body shudders.
I don't think there's any need to make adult medications taste this awful. Let's revert back to kid-dom and demand more pleasant-tasting meds, like bubblegum or cherry flavored.
How hard can it be?

Shoot or not to shoot

2009-06-22T10:02:00.001-07:00

I’m surprised more police officers aren’t involved in more shootings.
If Amarillo and Canyon police officers are like the ones on TV, they have to chase a suspect and keep shouting “Stop, police” and never shoot. APD policy states an officer can fire his or her weapon only if they determine there’s probable cause that he or someone else is in danger of serious bodily harm or death.
I'd want to shoot to keep a suspect from getting away but that's not allowed by APD, CPD or any cop on TV, it seems.
When I was on guard duty in the Marine Corps, we were told to shout “halt” three times before locking and loading. If the intruder didn’t stop by the third halt we were authorized to fire a warning shot in the air and then level our weapon. I never did, but I could have.

Amarillo loses a class act

2009-06-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

I saw in today's paper that Jim Holston died. Jim, a hospice advocate among tons of other activities he felt passionate about, taught me by example how to be classy in the face of terminal illness.
When Jim was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he jumped into informing men about the disease. He was at an interview I was doing concerning Amarillo College and Hospice Care of the Southwest and afterward he handed me an article he had copied about prostate cancer.
It got me to thinking about my own health. But I marveled at Jim's good humor and matter-of-fact attitude toward his own death.
When I was diagnosed with cancer he was an inspiration to me. If Jim ever felt sorry for himself, he kept to to himself. I often think of Jim when I feel a pity party start to form and nip it in the bud.
Jim Holston was the perfect example of someone who lived with cancer, not someone dying of it.

2009-06-18T07:48:00.000-07:00

I’ve been living in Amarillo too long to remember what a real traffic jam is like.
The highway work on I-27 is really annoying me with the traffic backup. But it's nothing compared to the ones I got caught in Dallas or Minneapolis. When I lived up in the Twin Cities, natives told me there were two seasons: winter and road repair. And with the less-than-ideal weather in the upper Midwest pretty much all the time, the road construction made driving really dangerous.
I remember a time driving through a construction zone on a rain-slickened highway when the car in front of me went into a spin. I hit my brakes and followed suit, smashing into the guard rail and spinning 180 degrees so I was facing oncoming traffic. The drivers were nice enough to stop across three lanes so I could turn around and head in the right direction.
I guess we shouldn’t complain too much about the I-27 work and the traffic tie-up it causes, but we will anyway.

Rain, rain, come and go away

2009-06-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

Sunday’s rainfall was unevenly spread out across the city.
I was on the east side of town when the skies opened up and dumped buckets of rain and then hail. Visibility was mostly zero for minutes until the intensity died down.
You don’t often see rainfall like that in Amarilo.
Meanwhile, on the southwest side of town, a gentle rain fell on-and-off for most of the day. I’d like to say I would’ve liked to have had the intense storm over our house, but the water pouring off the roof would've destroyed our flower beds, and I’ve got enough trouble keeping as many plants alive as I can as it is.

CSI: Amarillo?

2009-06-16T08:07:00.001-07:00

What a way to start the day: Whenever I'm sniffling, my wife Tanya tells me to just get up and blow my nose. Well, I was sniffling this morniong and could hear her in my mind. I grabbed a tissue and blew. It seems I developed a bloody nose and it spattered on the shirt I was going to wear today.
I changed shirts but lef the bloody one on the sink.
I hope I get home today before Tanya or she'll think the bathroom is a CSI crime scene. I also hope the bloood comes out. I've been trying to cull my wardrobe because I have too many shirts, but I really don't think this is the way to do it.

Speed limit thoughts

2009-06-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

Why do I get angry when a car blows by me on the freeway and I’m doing the speed limit?
It’s a good thing I don’t carry a handgun: I’d enforce the speed limit and clean up the gene pool at the same time.
And why do people get angry when they get caught speeding? They should think of all the times they didn't get caught.

Cats cause rule breaking

2009-06-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

The rule in our marriage is “last one out of bed makes it up.”
My wife Tanya’s a school teacher and leaves way earlier than I even wake up, so I’m charged with making up the bed.
The problem arises when three of the Fearless Feline Foursome take over Tanya’s side of the bed after she leaves.
I get up and make up only my half of the bed as long as the trio is occupying the other half. Many times I’ll try to make up Tanya’s side, but the cats won’t move, so I leave it as is.
A problem occurs when Tanya comes home. By that time, the cats have abandoned the bed for the couch, so it looks like I’ve only made up my side of the bed and purposely left Tanya’s side rumpled and unmade.
It's not my fault --- blame the cats. Hey, that's not a bad strategy for everything.

Inspiration for dinner

2009-06-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night my wife Tanya and I attended an american cancer Society dinner for cancer survivors and their caregivers in advance of Friday's Relay for Life.
On the 16th it'll be a year since the doctors told us I have cancer. The dinner recognized those who are surviving the disease.
One woman is a 29-year survivor; there were many in the 15-20 year bracket. It gives me inspiration and hope that though there's no cure, that I can survive for a number of years like all those people last night.

Dreams never make sense

2009-06-09T08:01:00.000-07:00

I had a bad dream the other night. My wife Tanya and I were returning our granddaughter Tegan to her mother's house, but the house was the one I grew up in in New York. But before the doorbell could be answered, a black SUV (how about about a nice jade green?) pulled into the driveway, lured Tegan to the door, and someone inside snatched her and drove away calmly. We were yelling “no, no” to Tegan, but in reql life you know that never works.
What could it mean? I woke up feeling uncomfortable and eyed SUVs suspiciously on the way in to work.

2009-06-08T07:48:00.001-07:00

A flight of imagination: Petco sells "Superworms" in addition to other worms like red wigglers.
I guess they cross-breed them with pirranha or pit bulls so when you cast your line, the Superworms go looking for the fish, drags them to shore and beats them to death for you.

Stirring up memories

2009-06-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

I was listening to a Stevie Ray Vaughan song recently that contained the lyrics, “I like my coffee in the morning and my tea at night.”
It reminded me: that’s how my folks always did it when we were youngsters.
My dad would have coffee in the morning and I remembered the coffee-flavored goodbye kiss he’d give us as he left for work.
At night, we’d go to bed and my parents would have tea. Sometimes, if they were particularly sneaky, they’d order in a late-night pizza to go with their tea.
We kids would find the tell-tale empty pizza box the next morning and be really mad. They get pizza; we get fish sticks.
We couldn’t wait to get older and be parents so we could have pizza at any time we wanted.

2009-06-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

Years ago, when I was a Hastings manager, CEO John Marmaduke made the comment that if I sat on my hands I couldn’t talk.
I grew up around Italians and Jews, and I guess the habit of gesturing wildly just rubbed off on me.
As an experiment, I sat on my hands during a conversation. I could talk, but it was very slowly and there were a lot of pauses.
I guess John was right.