Guud Nuuz!!!

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Eldest son, Dean, is boots on the ground in Omaha, Nebraska tonight.

This is post #2998, and counting up to 3,000 strikeouts before we call it a career, btw.

He called his Mama.  He was trying to get his car started.  He parked it in a rented garage when he left for Afghanistan a while back, but it won't crank.  It's probably just as well.  An Airman just back in the US after deployment probably just needs to walk, or take a cab for at least the first day or two (if you know what I mean).

And, I think you do.

Thanks to all y'all for your prayers, and concern.

I appreciate it more than you can know.

One back.

One to go.

Just a little news from my war boys...

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Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada...

This is post #2997, and counting up to 3,000 strikeouts before we call it a career, btw.

Got some news from the boys in Afghanistan.


My Soldier, #3 son, is doing well.  His Reserve Unit (704th Engineer Co.) has been in country for almost a month now, and their deployment is going well.  We're able to communicate with him every few days either on Satellite Phone, Facebook, or Skype.

This is a photo that someone posted on the Unit's Facebook Support page.  This was before their departure from Ft. Bliss.  That's Phil on the right (front), sporting his standard "dookie-eatin' grin."  I know he's thinking that he wished he was carrying the big gun.  (He's always suffered from weapon envy).


His Unit has enough missions behind them now (Route Clearance) to know where they are.  And, the consensus is that they're well prepared for the job.

Man, they grow up fast, don't they??? 

Fortunately, he hasn't had any Medic work to do on his troops.  He has treated several Afghan citizens (vehicle accidents, etc.), but to this point, his troops have all been fine.  Thank God.

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In other news, my Airman (eldest son) will be wrapping up his current deployment in about a month.  He's attached to the 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron.  This will probably be his last deployment.  

He wanted to change jobs, due to changing needs in the USAF.  He likes his linguist/cryptology gig, but the times they are a'changin'.  He applied for the new USAF Cyber Command, and was accepted!  Great news!  He'll be stationed permanently (hopefully) at Lackland (fingers crossed).  He'll be much closer, so we can visit him, and make his life miserable again!

Well, that's about it.  I just wanted to give a little update, and to thank you all once again for your love, support, and prayers for my warriors.  

It means a lot.

Let's see if we can make it to 3,000 strikeouts...

...by using old work.

Maybe we can actually hit 3,000, (if we dig deep enough in to the archives).

A Facebook post by a friend sparked a memory of an old post I did.

I thought it was worth posting again.

Willie.

I AM Papaw...

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Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada..

I frightened myself this afternoon.  I happened to look at my rapidly aging self in the bafroom mirror, and saw my Papaw (Daddy's Daddy) staring back at me.

Now...this is nothing new to y'all that have tormented y'all's selves by boarding this particular Titanic for very long.  But, I really did have another light bulb minute.  I looked at myself, and once again was reminded of how hard geneticals are to fight.  

And, that really ain't a bad thing, I guess.

I saw Papaw in the mirror.

Again.

But this time, it had more to do with how aging has made my face more resemble his.  Heck, I know I've got a lot of his mannerisms, and (not bragging)  his wry sense of humor.  And, I have become accustomed to The Mrs. calling me "Papaw" when I say some expression, or half-giggle like he did.

Anyway...I took a pitcher of myself with my phancy iPhone for proof.

See...

I've got a big old cheek crease right down the left side of my face.  Papaw had that.  And, I swear, that cheek crease has gotten at least 1/2" longer since the last time I noticed it.  

Not fibbin'...  It's growing longer, and longer, and longer, and even more well defined.  Heck, that sucker might reach my left nipple in a few years.

But, I regress.

Papaw had a cheek crease that got longer, and longer, too.  Here is an old pitcher of him when he was still a relatively young man.

See!  He's got a cheek crease!!!  (BTW...for y'all old-time ArkLaTex readers, that is Larry Robinson Studios signature in the bottom right corner...you'll remember).

As he got older, the cheek crease got more well defined, and longer, and such.

See, the cheek crease is more well defined.  And longer.  (That's my beloved Munnie in the pitcher with him.  I miss them both every day).

I was showing my first photo up there to The Mrs. a few minutes ago, and she said, "Please don't post that on anything."  I replied by telling her my story of how I am Papaw.  She kinda' softened up when I showed her the last photo.  "Yep!  The nose...the hairline...but your ears are not quite as big as his were, but the cheek crease is a dead giveaway (she loved him, too)."   Honestly, my first photo doesn't really show it, but the cheek crease on the right side of my face only comes down to the side of my lip.  On the left side, the cheek crease comes WAY down below my lip.

Closing in on my left nipple...

Our conversation ended something like this...

Me:  I look just exactly like Papaw.  Except for the fact that he was 6' 4", and I'm 5' 9", I am him.  And, he was a fine looking man.

The Mrs:   Ummm...he was a very nice man.

Me:  Sigh... 

I AM Papaw!!!

I just pray that I don't drive like he did as he aged.  The stories are legion, but for a man that made his living for almost 40 years, driving a truck for ArkLa Gas...well, his later years were not his best behind the wheel.

 

Halloweems!

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Okay, if you've been hanging out around this pitiful Titanic for very long, you know that I DO NOT LIKE ME NO HALLOWEEMS!

I GETS SCARRED WITH ALL THEM HAINTS SNEAKIN' AROUND THE HOOD!!!

But, Great Nephew Tucker (who The Mrs. keeps care of 3 or 4 days a week) is all geared up, and not too scary!

He's goin' as a duck.

Sure hope his Mama puts some britches on him, and keeps him clear of lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, though...

So anyway....BOO!

A rerun...and an interesting story behind it...

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Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada...

I almost NEVER check my "comments awaiting moderation," but since I'm taking a REAL DAY OFF for a change, I decided to clean up all the comprutuhs, and looked at it.

Seems that there was a comment awaiting moderation from a relative of mine.  I've never met her.  But, she is related by marriage to my beloved Great Grandmother, "Granny Laura," who lived to be 104.  (I had her until I was 34 years old...such a blessing, and I miss her every day).

Anyway, she very kindly asked me for info about where Granny Laura, and her husband, Ross Gilmore Newland were buried, as she is working on a family history of the Farque fambly.  (I g-mailed her the info that she was looking for, and a few extra things about the fambly that she might find interesting).

MAN!  How cool is the internext????  Evidently she found this pile of failure through a The Gooble Search, due to the fact that I have often posted about my beloved Great Grandmother (this picture that I took of her when she was about 90 is my desktop background, btw...)

So, it got me to searching this here Titanic of a blog for stuff I might have wrote about Granny Laura, and her chirrens, grandchirrens, and great grandchirrens.

Man...I came across a bunch of stuff!

There was a great bunch of stuff, but ONE really struck me.  It was an ancient post I did about an e-mail I got from one of her sons, my now departed Great Uncle Earl.  Actually, the post is about my reply to him.

This is it.

It also reminded me that Granny Laura's birthday is coming up real soon, too.


Man, I miss her every day. That's all.

On turning 53 years of age.

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Today is my birthday.  I wish to thank all of y'all that took time out of your busy lives to wish me a happy one.  I really mean it.  I've had a bunch of texts, e-mails, and phone calls expressing good wishes.

Y'all are the bomb.

It was great!

Woke up at 0400.

Hit the snooze button only once.

Got out of bed at 0415, and tinkled.

Started the coffee pot.

Went up to the office and answered some electronic mail for Daddy's business until 0430 when the coffee pot finished.

Drank my first cup, did some billing for Daddy's business until 0450.

Ran like a scalded dog to the bathroom, and took a dump at 0451 (approximately).  Coffee works me like that.

Poured the second (and last cup of the day...don't want to get no fibronoids from too much caffeeeeen) at 0459.  Answered some personal g-mails, and looked at some online news, and blog posts.

0525 got dressed, & washed my face & combed my hair...and stumbled down the stairs to meet the day... (catch that one, and winz you a prize). 

Hit the clock at my day job at 0555 HRS.

Worked there until 1430 HRS...made my way home.

Started working on my own biz at 1500 HRS...did that until 1730.

At 1800 HRS, I ate a fabulous grilled cheese sammich (made with home-made onion bread & pepperjack cheese), and The Kroger Sour Cream & Onion Rippled 'Tater Chips.

I swear...life could not be any better at 53 than it was at 52!  

Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

Good health...good wife...job I love...loving parents, and younguns all still with me...and good friends, like y'all.

Lou ain't got nothin' on me!

Tucker Time!

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As y'all know, The Mrs. keeps care of our Great Nephew, Tucker, several days a week.  But...due to our "Vacation," and other circumstances, he hasn't been around Andy's Place much the last couple of weeks.


But, he was today.


Seems that The Mrs. decided to use her ONE DAY with Tucker to try to educate him on some of the finer things in life.  You know...culture him up!


When I got home from my day job, I found that she'd been giving him piano lessons (she's a good piano player, and should really sit down and do it more, but that's another story).

It ain't exactly Ferrante & Teicher.  But, it sounded good to my tired old ears.





I think the kid has a future.


And, I also discovered that she had taught him the fine art of putting a wicker trash basket on his head!  

CULTURE is important for chirrens in they learnin' years!

Always remember, and don't never forget that!  Just sayin'...

The voice you hear in the video is Tucker's Mama, not The Mrs.  

(DANGIT ANDY!!! Remember to turn your dang phancy new iPhone sideways to make a video if you plan to download it on to The YouTube...sigh.)

Report from the 3rd annual Nerd Convention in Boston...

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PAX East was held Easter Weekend in Boston.  This article tries to kinda explain it.


As y'all know, my #2 son is a HUGE video game buff.  And most especially the old stuff.


Two years ago, he traveled from Columbus stinkin' Ohio (where he was living at the time) to Boston for the first PAX East Nerd Convention.  In the competition, he got screwed from being the bestest, biggest Nerd by a power outage.  He was miles ahead in the final showdown when the power failed.


After power was restored, he and his partner had lost their mojo, and the other pair came back strong in the replay (it had to be replayed...there is no way to recreate the play of a video game...he was almost through Super Mario, and the other guys were still back on Frogger when the lights went out in Beantown).


Last year at the Nerd Convention, #2 son again lost in the finals.  No excuses...just came up against a bigger Nerd.


So...how did #2 son fare this Easter Weekend in Boston?


He lost in the second round!


Age is catching up with him.  


The young punks gots the dextrous skilz & stamina that those old guys nearing 30 are losing.


It wasn't too tough a pill to swallow for him, though.  He's working full-time, and trying to finish college after being out for several years.  So, he understands that the youngsters have a lot more time to sharpen & "train."

Solidarity in mourning.

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Yesterday morning I was at work, and saw something that was so dang impressive that I just had to take a shot of it with my phone camera.

I was looking toward Barksdale Air Force Base, and saw a fighter jet climbing at a nearly 90 degree angle.  That is always so dang impressive!  Every time I see something like that, I'm reminded of "High Flight."


I had NO IDEA why I wanted the shot, or what I would ever use it for.


I just wanted it.

But, today I find a use for it.  Sadly.

I mourn in solidarity.

I sat down and pounded out a post.

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It was a post about how otherwise kind, caring, hard working, upstanding people can be extremely wrong, and cruel.


The Mrs. went through something yesterday that really hurt her.  It didn't hurt her for herself.  No, it hurt her for a family member she has always cared about, and has always been able to identify with.


As I listened to the episode unfold on her end of the telephone, my extremely long fuse burned at a lightning pace.  

It made me curse.  

Out loud.


I won't tell you the words that came out of my mouth, but her eyes got big, and she said, "Yeah...it really is!"


Regardless, she was able to give comfort, and assurance of her love and concern through it all to a really good guy that we both care about.


I deleted the post.  The details are not important.


Junk like this reminds me to not let myself fall in the trap of "assuming" things to be true, just because the source is someone I've got respect for.  Even very good people can be wrong. 


And, cruel.

Tucker is coming along!

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Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada...


It's been a while since I showed y'all anything about Great Nephew Tucker that The Mrs. keeps care of several days a week.


So, it's ABOUT TIME, IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF!


The boy is really coming along.  Y'all might remember that a while back, I was harassing him big time, trying to make him walk.  I laughed like crazy when he threw a shoe, and cried like a little baby!  I still go back and look at that video when I need a good laugh!


But, no more...







I guess I'll have to come up with some new, and creative ways to tease him, and make him cry. I'll figure it out.


And, the boy can just ride the livin' snot out of a rocking horse, too!


Editorial note: The adult voice you hear in the video is Big Sis (his Grandma). She has a very nice voice, and does not usually talk baby talk in normal circumstances...only when she is messing with her ever exploding gaggle of grandchirren.  She made this video with her phancy new iPhone, and g-mailed it to me. Something got lost in the quality, but it's still just as cute as all get-out!




Yep! Tucker's coming along quite well. He needs a haircut, though.


Maybe I'll work on that when he comes to stay on Monday. (Y'all just keep that between us, okay?)

I once visited The Grand Canyon.

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Stunning place it is!  Truly takes your breath away!


If you've never stood on the rim and viewed it with your own two eyes, no photo, or written description can really 'splain the magnificence of it.


It was in April of 1981 that we headed out West, hooked up with some great friends living in ABQ, and took a "road trip" to remember.


Dean (#1 Son) was 7 months old.  Let me give you young parents a tip...don't take a 7 month old on a long trip if you can help it.


Seriously.


Don't!!!


But, we did.  And, we lived to tell the story.


Now...


NYUK!  


For those of y'all that do not believe that I was once a massive tub o' lard, married to a hot, sexy chick...

Nyuk!  And, that was before I got REALLY fat!!! 

(Yep!  That really is me at age 21).

Oh, yeah!  The sexy chick at The Grand Canyon!

Yeah...I've been going through years of files, digital photos, and scanned photos trying to clean out all the old junk that I really don't want to keep.  


I think I'll hang on to these...


(BTW...50 extra blog points to the first person that can name which sports team I WAS a fan of back in them days.  There's a clue in the pitchers).

The boyzzzz came for dinner tonight.

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So, it's kind of a "deal" between The Mrs., and her boyz.  They've got a regular date night on Thursday.  #2 son is off work, and has no classes late on Thursday.  #3 son is free nights.  And, the young man that lived with us for several years (not our biological son...but refers to The Mrs. as "Mom") is off work on Thursday night, too.

The only one of her boyz that can't make it is #1 son.  He is out of country, so it's pretty well out of the question.


So, they all gather up here at Andy's Place for some home cooking at the table they love the best on Thursday nights.  

#4 son really looks forward to having his "big brothers" back at the table, and immediately rushes to the kitchen when he hears the side door open.  His eyes light up, and he easily falls in line with all the hee-hawing foolishness of former years.


He misses them being around.  It's evident.

I can't really say that I miss having all the boys here all the time.  But, I can say that I do enjoy Thursday night...a reminder of the goofy funniness of living in what The Mrs. always termed "a boy's dormitory."


The Mrs. is the champ!  She stretches her brain, and culinary skills to figure out (or create) something new, and delicious for her boyz almost every Thursday night.  


There are rarely leftovers.  


So, while we were in the midst of uproarious hilarity, #2 son laid this one on me.


"Dad, did you hear about the blind guy at Walmart?  This blind guy walked in to the Walmart on Airline Drive.  He grabbed his seeing-eye dog by the tail, and started swinging him around over his head!  People started screaming, and the manager came running.  He tackled the blind guy, and the Assistant Manager held the poor dog until he could get his balance.  The Manager finally picked the blind guy up, and asked him, 'What in the world do you think you're doing?'.  

The blind guy seems puzzled, and says, 'WHAT?  I was just having a look around!' "


(Okay...so it's not as funny in the telling as it was in the hearing.  But trust me, it was funny.  It was one of those "ya' had to be there" deals).

My youngest Great Nephew!

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I have showed y'all pictures of Tucker.


But, this one ain't him.






Nope!  


This 'un is a Texan!

My nephew and his wife gave him kind of a pansy name.


Oliver.  (But, that's just his front name).

They kinda' redeemed themselves by calling his middle name "Grant," after The Mrs.' Uncle Grant, who was one tough Okie cattle rancher.

Ain't that the cutest thing you've seen lately?

Hey...when you "got nuthin'," resort to kid pictures.  That's what I always say.

Today my employer paid me to hep out Mom & Dad!

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I think I mentioned in a previous post about how just amazing it is to a guy that has always worked for himself to actually get paid by an employer to not show up for work.


Yep!  That is one of the perks of actually working for "the man."


The good folks that write my paycheck provide many "holidays," and it is incumbent upon me to take them.  So, after taking two of them last week, and having FOUR DAYS STRAIGHT OFF FROM WORK, I took my "New Years Day" holiday today.  (Which will give me three days straight off this week.  I swear, it's gonna make me soft.  I just know it will).


Anyway, I left the house this morning NOT heading to my place of employment.  Nope!  I headed up north of Shreveport to Mom & Dad's house along with my fantastic Brother-in-Law (Big Sis' husband) to install an under-counter dishwasher for Mom & Dad.  It's a looooooooooong story, but the old kitchen in their house on Caddo Lake had always had a portable dishwasher that was hooked up to the old Washing Machine connection (folks used to have the Washing Machine in the kitchen if they could afford one).  


The old portable crapped out long ago, and Mom & Dad have been hand-washing dishes for a good long while.  Mom decided that she wanted to build in a dishwasher instead.  So...Mom & Dad have been waiting around a looooooooooooong time for their son and Son-in-Law to get around to installing the dishwasher they bought way back.  


Well...today was that day.  I had scheduled my "holiday" for today...so BIL and I cut out the cabinet, ran a hot water supply, re-fixed the drainage, and tapped in to electricity to operate their new machine.


Only took 5 1/2 hours, and ONE (count it...ONE) trip to the small town hardware store about 12 miles north of Mom & Dad's place.  I swear...I was really impressed with the small town hardware store.  It is run by a young guy (probably in his 30s).  It was his Dad's store (and probably his Papaw's, too...but I didn't ask).  


I told the cat what we were trying to accomplish.  I had done one really good thing before heading up there...I took a picture with my iPhone of the set-up under the sink.  The young man that runs the store started asking me what size drain I had, and I said, "Hey!  I took a pitcher!"  I pulled out my iPhone, accessed the photo and handed it to him.


The guy got a dookie-eatin' grin on his face as he took my iPhone...spread the picture with his fingers...pulled everything off the shelf we would need...enlarged the picture further, and showed me exactly where I'd need to cut in to the drain to install the tailpiece...and said, "I just love this.  If everybody would bring me an iPhone picture of their problem, my life would be so much easier."


Then Dad told the guy that he wanted to buy a water shut-off key, too, seeing as he didn't have one handy, and we might need to cut the water off to the whole house (plus, EVERYBODY needs one of those around justin case).  The guy disappeared in to the back, brought one out...rang the whole deal up...


$36.


Really.


$36.


I sure hope that guy can stay in business.  The folks of North Caddo Parish need a good guy like that around.  Trust me...they do.


Anyway...mission accomplished.


I'm gonna be real sore tomorrow (when my regular days off start).  Been rolling around on the linoleum, and twisted in odd positions, up and down, up and down, etc.


But, it got did.


Mom was happy.  Dad was, too.


Life is good.

Ever had a day that started off EXTREMELY BAD, and went downhill from there?

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Yeah...me, too.

But, I have learned that bad days don't last, or wear on you unless you let them do it to you.


The jury is out on this one.


Naw...just kidding.  Even with all the suck that my early confrontation with 1/5/12 brought (and the jury really IS out on the early suckage of the day), it was all good.  

I got to stretch myself physically/mentally/emotionally/whatever.

I'm thinking that MUST be good for me!  Surely, it MUST!


And, I got to see a beloved FRIEND that I haven't seen in a coon's age...got a hug around the neck from her, and somewhat caught up.


Somewhat.  Not nearly enough.


Man...

Tucker is ONE YEARS OLD TODAY!!!

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Yep, Great Nephew, Tucker, turns the calendar on his first year on this very day.


I've shown y'all pictures of him, and videos of him and all...


But, in a previous V-logg, I casually mentioned that I might try to scare the livin' crap out of him, and make him cry with my fancy new Twist-a-Light that The Mrs. Santa brought me for Christmas.


(I just love screwing around with animals and small children...it's a character flaw, I know...)


So, I put my Twist-a-Light around my head in standard alien looking fashion, and took to the job.


So, how did it come out?


(I apologize for the shaky camera deal...I was crawling on my belly like a reptile with a Twist-a-Light wrapped around my head, and an iPhone in my hand.  I did my best.)




I just love that boy!  I think if I did it in a really dark room when he was already kinda' scared, I'd have got him to scream real loud, and dookie his pants.

I just couldn't get the room dark enough!


Crud...

See, what I was trying to do was capture Tucker's "first steps" on my phancy new iPhone video camera...

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Hey y'all!  Merry Christmas, ho ho ho, and all that...


I have told y'all about Tucker, my little great nephew that The Mrs. keeps care of four days a week.  The boy is almost one year old, and I KNOW that he can walk.  I mean, the boy can stand straight up from butt-sitting, but he just won't walk.


So, me, The Mrs., and #3 son were trying to force him to walk!


Now, as I've noted, Tucker is the sweetest, best-natured little cat we've ever had around here at Andy's Place.  He rarely ever cries...he's lovable & huggable...and a pilferer extraordinaire!  

A real boy.


But, as we discovered, he does NOT want to walk just yet.  After several tries holding his hand and letting go, he finally made it clear that he had NO PLANS to walk, and needed some Aunt Pam love, instead.


Y'all enjoy!  I mean, what could be better to watch on Christmas Eve than a video of a crying baby?


Answer me that!

I'm not mad anymore.

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Nope!

Naw, I had a good long visit with the old friend that took a dumptruck of dookie on the head yesterday.  We spoke last night, and again this morning.

Truth is, I think I was madder about the deal than he was.  So, I conclude that if he's gonna let it roll off, so should I.

Truth is, the person that did the shitty thing isn't worth staying angry over. 

Like The Mrs. says, "Anger is like drinking poison, and expecting the other person to die."

So, I win!