Surviving Tough Times

At the intersection of Loop 322 and Oldham Lane in Abilene, Texas there is a cactus growing out of the middle of a Mesquite tree. I first noticed this strange sight a year ago and now I look at it and shake my head nearly every time I drive by it.

Compared to Glacier National Park, or Yosemite National Park it's not really all that amazing. But, it's still kind of a cool sight.

How does a Prickly Pear Cactus grow right in the middle of a tree?

To me, it's just an example of toughness and survival.

It takes a special kind of plant to survive in West Texas. There's not enough rain on a regular basis and the winds are brutal.

Weather wise, it can be tough times on vegetation.

Similarly, it takes a special kind of person to survive and ultimately thrive in tough times.

Let's face it, there have always been tough times.

Look at the people from the Great Depression. They hit rock bottom in 1929. Times were hard and they didn't let up for years. Then, WW II hit and hit hard. That lasted, for America, from 1941 until 1945.

So, pretty much from 1929 through 1945, there were hard times for American citizens.

A lot of people jumped out of buildings in 1929. Those that didn't and kept on keeping on became very tough.

They were tough like that cactus growing out of the middle of the tree. They were survivors.

There were many other times in America when times were tough. The Revolutionary War, the Civil War, WW I, and numerous other recessions all through our history meant hard times for many.

America today is going through a hard time. Nothing like the Great Depression, but a hard time none the less.

How about today's citizen? Are we tough? Are we survivors?

On the surface it looks like we are weenies and will crumble at the drop of a hat. But, really, I think the opposite might be true when all is said and done.

People in general are survivors.

There was a time, not so very long ago, that I thought things were too hard to continue. I thought I couldn't take another single thing happening to us or to me.

Turns out I could take it and not only take it but thrive when all is said and done.

I preferred my life to be easy, but when all is said and done, I may turn out to be like that cactus.

I'm surely not going to lay down and die in drought conditions or heavy winds.

If you think Texting and Driving is Bad

Abilene has a balloon fest every year. It's not a big deal, just a few balloons usually numbering less than 20.

That's not many balloons compared to other fests they have around the country, but Abilene is a lot easier to spell than Alburrqu, uh Albukirke, uh Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I have heard they have as many as 2500 balloons out there and we'd love to go check it out some time.

However, for small town West Texas, 15 to 20 balloons is enough for a good time.

Any more balloons floating around out there and you'd have some issues more than likely.

We didn't make it to the park in time to see them lift off, but maybe the most fun part is chasing the balloons around town trying to get the best views and attempting to figure out where they will come down.

We picked a couple of favorites and followed them mostly.

There was a ReMax Realty balloon, but we can't stand those damn crooked realtors when they are on the ground much less airborne so we paid it no attention.

The balloons were only in the air for slightly more than an hour, but it was a fun hour and we'll do it again in the morning.

Tomorrow, we will try really hard to be on time and watch them take off.

Fun morning, but I have to say that texting and driving is not a good thing. However, balloon viewing and driving is much worse.

People have no concept that there are actually other humans out and about. We are also looking at the balloons but I really don't want to wreck our car.

People would just stop abruptly in the middle of the road viewing the skies. No warnings, no flashers, no blinkers, just randomly stopping.

Part of the challenge became not only viewing the best shots of balloons, but avoiding bad drivers.

Every town's residents think they have the worst drivers, but having taken a recent vacation I am reminded that people drive poorly everywhere.

But, watch out when there's a balloon fest going on.

Balloons are fun to watch and if there's ever one near where you live and you have a chance to go, I highly recommend it.

Ella

Ella is a boxer.

Ella is a mess.

One day I had just gotten a call from work and it was Sunday. I don't really like working on Sunday if I can help it. So, I was a little put out.

I was riding in the car with Lynette and I asked her to say something funny.

She said one word, "Ella". We both instantly received pictures in our brains of Ella and all of her cuteness and character and we both laughed loudly.

If we are ever feeling a little down or blue, our word has become "Ella".

Just thinking about Ella and we can't help but smile.

First Cold Front

It's not exactly a big secret to those that know me, but I am a big fan of cool weather. I love it and I can't stand it when it's hot outside.

I grew up in far south Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley. I hated it at the time, but thinking back, I have a lot of great memories of the Valley.

But, one thing about the place, it is nearly always warm down there. If it ever freezes, they have big problems with the citrus crop.

We moved out of the Valley when I was in junior high school and I will never forget our first winter in the Great White North of Austin, Texas. :)

Yes, that is a joke, but that first winter there we had a freak ice storm which is one of my great memories of child hood. My first real experience with cold weather.

Thinking back, it was just a tiny sheet of ice and they have probably not had more than a few ice or snow storms in the nearly 40 years since.

But, it was just my luck that we happened to get ice my first year out of the valley.

Each year, I eagerly anticipate the first cool front to end the brutal heat of summer in Texas.

Tonight, in Abilene, Texas, we are supposed to have our first cold front of the year. Tomorrow is the first day of Fall and we will have our first cold front when we get up in the morning.

I can't wait.

I might even jump up and click my heels together. That is, if I could still jump up.

The first cold front and the many cold fronts to follow are one of my bigger joys.

Big Sky Country

I wasn't really aware that it rained so little in Montana. I did not do my homework before my trip and obviously I didn't even know I was going on a trip. But, it rains very little there. It snows pretty heavily, but as far as actual rain I was reading that the state wide average is 11 inches per year.
That's about as much as Midland, Texas gets which is pretty dry.

However, in spite of my love for rainy, cloudy weather it is hard to beat the skies of Montana.

As you can see from the picture above which was taken by my lovely roommate, the skies are incredibly blue.
The blue tint of the sky is only matched by the unique color of the glacier water throughout Glacier National Park.

I found myself time after time scanning the cliffs for mountain goats and scenery, and just getting distracted by the color of the sky. It was just amazing.

Montana is not for everybody. If you are into sandy beaches, bikinis or the night life of a New York or a Miami, then Montana is probably not for you.
But, if you are into incredible mountain scenery, and nature, Montana is hard to beat.

Montana is truly the Big Sky Country. I highly recommend a visit.

Things I like

I like a nice, slow stroll along a beach with my lovely friend;

I like the smell of rain;

I like the smell of fresh cut grass especially if I am not cutting it;

I like really tall trees;

I like an ice cold beer;

I like to see wildlife in their natural setting;

I like mountains, big and small;

I like a well played football game;

I like great food and the people that prepare it;

I like a good movie especially on a lazy afternoon;

I like a long, passionate kiss;

I like to create things;

I like a nice hiking trail with unlimited potential;

I like a mountain stream and a waterfall;

I like a mountain lake in the summer;

I like the first cold front of the coming winter;

Funny, but I like a lot of things and you'd think I'd be happier.

I think I'd like to work on that.

A Tree in the Desert

Many years ago I was talking to an Abilene Christian University student and he told me that his grandfather planted a lot of the trees on the ACU campus.

I was impressed with that because Abilene, Texas is basically a desert. It's not as bad as the desert pictured above, but it's pretty dry for the most part. The trees the man's grandfather planted are fairly good sized trees now and a big improvement on the other option, no trees. Without people with foresight planting trees, there would be none of any size at all in this part of the world.

I've planted a lot of trees. Not all of them lived, but most of them did and some of them are getting fairly large now. I consider that making some kind of difference in my life and the lives of people that live here many years from now.

It was my way of making a difference.

There are many ways to make a difference and I don't necessarily recommend planting a tree and leaving it at that, but if that's all you can do then that is something.

Everybody should do something to make a difference in somebody else's life. I hope before I am done with this world, there are a ton of other things that I have done to help others.

I used to have a plan that I would do something each day to help somebody else out in need. A lot of times that meant jump starting a car. Or, carrying somebodies trash out for them. Or, helping somebody in any general way. How about letting somebody in when they are trying to enter a busy highway?

I am not placing a guilt trip on the one person that might actually read this, but what if we all went out of our way to help the people we run into every day.

What if our life time goal was to help as many people in need as we can?

What kind of a difference would that make in this world? Would it be a kinder, gentler world? Would people be less grouchy? Would we learn to love our fellow man and forget about the differences between us?

Let's give it a shot.

Abilene, Texas is not as bleak as Saudi Arabia but what if that man, or somebody else, had not planted a tree?