3-24-2008

The following quote is very true:
“Your Mother is always with you. She’s the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she’s the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she’s the cool hand on your brow when you’re not well.

Your mother lives inside your laughter and she’s crystallized in every tear drop. She’s the place you came from, your first home; and she’s the map you follow with every step you take. She’s your first love and your first heartbreak and nothing on earth can separate you…..not time, not space, not even death!”

My mother passed away 20 years ago this month. My brother and I think about her most every day and though she has been gone all these many years, we still miss her smile, deep black eyes and wonderful outlook on life.

Our trip to Myrtle Beach two weeks ago was a welcomed vacation from our everyday routine. Our friends, Don & Louise , went with us and we enjoyed their company. They visit MB often and served as our guide. We attended several shows, walked the beach and the girls did some shopping. Our motel, unknown to us, did not have Wi-Fi (internet connection) and rendered our laptops practically useless. I basically used mine to upload photos and make entries in my daily diary. Fun was had by all. Louise carries the label of “tour director”. She planned our trip and makes the necessary arrangements. It is nice to have “take charge” people in your life.

I am currently working on a hose reel that rewinds the hose by using water pressure when I am finished. I purchased it about 5 years ago and it has worked to perfection up until this spring. So, being the adventurous sort, I started removing the screws that hold it together (30 or more) and tried to diagnose the problem. So far, I have gone thru this process twice without success. It’s almost impossible to replace the rubber parts because of the odd shapes. It’s probably time to pull out the book that came with it and see if I can order the necessary parts. Odds are this thing is headed for the city dump. A negative attitude never helps.

Jerilyn and I attended our church’s sunrise service yesterday. How wonderful it was to get up early and celebrate this wonderful tradition. As our minister talked about Christ’s return from death, the sun arose on the horizon and all was well for us on that special day. We attended an Easter show on Saturday evening that included our next door neighbor (Mary Beth) in the choir. As our luck would have it, the choir director stood directly in our line of sight and it was difficult to see her while she sang. I was, however, able to pick out her voice. She sings so well.

I plan on going over to NC this week and visit my brother Jerry. Mary has decided to go with me and that makes the trip more meaningful. It gives me an opportunity to spend time with my adopted sister, as well as with my brother and his wife Patty. We will make a day of it, stopping to eat on the way home, and enjoying good conversation on the way over and back. I fear spending time with her will come to a rapid close as the youth baseball season starts. Over the past 40+ years, she and KD were impossible to get in touch with from April to August and without KD she will be a mighty busy woman. I know how much she enjoys it and I wish her well.

For the past few weeks I have been busy trying to broadcast my wireless internet signal to my next door neighbor so he can stop using his 56k phone modem. Well, the signal repeater finally arrived and, with a little fiddlin’ here and there, my efforts were rewarded with success. His access is not quite as fast as mine, but many times faster than what he was using. It makes me feel good when I can help make someone’s life a little more pleasant.

Well, spring has officially arrived! I mowed my grass for the first time this year and it will continue until late October. The temperatures are starting to go higher and flowers are blooming everywhere. A lot of trees are showing buds and the birds seem to be very happy that spring is apparently here. I am glad that winter is over and I’m looking forward to spending a lot more time outside. I always feel renewed when spring arrives. We have a trip planned to PA in a couple of weeks and are looking forward to it. We are also planning on visiting my folks back home on the way back. It’s always a pleasure to go back to Buchanan County, VA and see what’s going on at Garden Creek (my hometown). There are so many people there that I love.

Retirement--1 Year To Go

This will be an unusual year for me. It is my final year before retirement. I did not expect it to arrive so soon, although, a lot of my friends and relatives close to my age have been retired for several years now.

Strangely, I find that I have become more reflective and ponder over years long gone,while contemplating about my final day of work on January 30, 2007.

I still remember reporting for my very first day of work as an adult. The day is July 1, 1959. Recently graduated from high school and recently married, I boarded a bus in front of Forrest Ratliff's Grocery Store (Oakwood, VA) and waved goodbye to family & friends and headed for the US Air Force Induction Center in Roanoke,VA.

I watched, intently, as places moved swiftly by outside that bus window. We traveled past Red Jacket, Marvin, Richlands and Claypool Hill. The bus broke down in Tazwell for a couple of hours, but, was soon brought back to life, and I continued my trek away from my youth. The next day I was in Basic Training at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, TX (what an experience!).

I ended my Air Force career four years later (1963) and went to work for Newport News Shipbuilding. On retirement I will have 43 years of service with them.

And so, here I am 47 years later, watching the months go by as I contemplate what I will do with the rest of my life.

The Impact of TV on Our Daily Lives

I guess only time will tell about the impact TV has on all of us. My guess is, that as we get older, we will look back and wonder where all our time went. I have read that studies show a lot of Americans watch 4-6 hours per day. What a mind-numbing experience that must be. Some days, I probably spend that much time on my PC, but that requires a lot of input from me. TV requires nothing in return, other then watching their constant string of commercials.

I estimate my TV viewing time as between 8-10 hours per week. Personally, I would rather spend that time on my PC, but to promote harmony in the family, TV fare has become the norm as family time together in the evenings after work. I often wonder what I should be doing that I'm not doing. Should I be reading? Exercising? Going for long walks? The answer is probably yes to all of those questions. Should I go back to college? Restart my quest to play the guitar skillfully? Yes, Yes. So, why am I procrastinating? Maybe, I think there is an endless supply of days and I have yet to come to grips with the inevitability of the Endgame.

What is the endgame? Believing in God requires me to assume that when I die (as a christian), I will ascend into heaven to be with our Saviour. If I do not believe in a Superior Being, then, the Endgame involves getting as much enjoyment out of this life (without hurting others) as I can, looking at the scoreboard to see if I did well and then checking out, hopefully, without regrets.

I have never had trouble believing in God. Unfortunately, I have never had a problem believing in some degree of evolution. How can that be? Well, I believe that God made all creatures in a more primative form, knowing that they would evolve into whatever form was needed for the environment they lived in. So, I don't completely subscribe to the evolution (fish to human theory), but, I do believe that all surviving species on this earth have changed and adapted to, sometimes ruinous, environments. The "Big Bang" theory? "Black Holes"? I can't grasp those theories yet. Maybe before the endgame, eh?

I watched some of the Elvis Thing on TV the other night. This guy goes from 168 lbs in 1969 to 350 lbs in 8 years (just guessing-I have never seen an estimate of his weight at death, but I did see him in person a few months before he died.). How in the world is that possible? Could this lend support to the "Big Bang", "Black Hole" theories?

Rascal on Iraq & BRAC

Iraq is a disaster! A steady stream of dead and wounded Americans are returning to our shores every day and yet there is no public outcry. What will it take to awaken the outrage that must reside in our hearts over what is happening to our young people in Iraq. The US Army says it is having trouble getting recruits (duh?). I wonder if we could get George's two daughters to enlist. After all, if Poppy is right, wouldn't they want to lend a hand for the cause? Can you picture it as they approach their dad & mom with their decision to enlist. I think George, privately, would do everything in his power to convince them not to join, just as you or I would do with our children. No doubt about it, this is George W. Bush's war. He knows it, his wife knows it and so do his children. I wonder, if he were not able to convince them, what special treatment would they receive? Would they wind up in Iraq or Afghanistan? I doubt it!

History has been critical of the American generals in WWI saying they seldom visited the front lines, while the generals from our allies were there often. In Iraq, everyplace is the front line, so our generals are constantly in danger. I think history will credit our troops with extreme bravery, but rate our war preparation & strategic planning as poor. This blame has to be Rumsfeld's and Richard Meyers & his gang (Joint Chiefs of Staff).

George Bush received bad advice from Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld,Tenet and the JCS. Only Tenet was fired. Rice was promoted and Cheney & Rumsfeld continue to serve as before. In my opinion, all four should have been fired and the JCS should be reprimanded.

BRAC (Base Realignment And Closing) - Well, as we all expected, the news is bad. In my state, a lot of cities are wondering what they are going to do with the loss of jobs and the real estate left by the closings. As an employee in the defense industry, I know that I have to be prepared for these things. There were two major BRAC's in the 90's and a lot of the areas have recovered and put the closed bases to good use. My hope is that the money saved will be used productively and the people displaced, aided in their quest for new jobs/training.

As you can tell, I worry too much. Guess I need to bring up%2