building

I love building things. It's fun to be able to create things out of nothing and I get a huge feeling of accomplishment when I have built something with my own hands.

Which explains why I like to write as well.

I also came to the conclusion tonight that I hope one million people read my blogs. Or, I hope that maybe three people happen to read what I write.
But, regardless of who reads or doesn't read, I am going to write anyway because I love this.

I write because it's fun and this gives me the excuse I was looking for to write.

Lighthouses

My fabulous female friend loved lighthouses before I did. It was her addiction that got me interested in them. But, interest in them I am.

Obviously, they were built to warn sailors of danger.

There are a number of really beautiful lighthouses and a lot more of them than I would have suspected. The more I became interested in learning about them the more I discovered just how many of them were out there and I love the history that goes along with each of them.

The lighthouse above is located on Block Island an incredibly beautiful body of land just off the coast of Rhode Island. .

Sometimes, life can have it's own lighthouses which warn us of looming danger, of hazards that lie in wait.

Sometimes, life doesn't have lighthouses. Hazards can blind side us.

My life was a shipwreck of sorts. As captain of my ship, I either missed the lighthouse or ignored it and crashed upon the rocks.

But, I survived that crash.

Tonight, my entire body feels like a shipwreck. I've been sick and work has been hard and stressful. But, it's all manageable and I feel like things are on the right track and I firmly believe that hard work always pays off in the long run.

Hard work will enable me to take my fantastically fabulous female friend to see as many of them as she wants in the future.

Tomorrow we go to DFW to see our wonderful Tara and Adelaide before they jump on a plane for Australia.

Not sure what I will be writing about then.

The Aspen

I met the Aspen when I was 27 years old and my life has never been the same.

I'll never forget the first time I met her. She was 7 years old and I had recently started dating her mother.
She came storming down the stairs rushing past her much calmer older sister, Tara, wanting to show me every one of her stuffed animals. I was happy to give them a good looking over much to her delight.
She was bouncing off the wall with energy and I was instantly amazed at how much she looked like her mom. I soon learned that she had her own very distinct personality and character.

Since that first meeting we have been pretty tight.

Also on that day I brought my own special touch to her life, I added a The to the front of her name and have called her The Aspen to this very day.

Some time in the next couple of years I adopted Tara and Aspen and it's almost as if I have been in their lives forever.

She is a very special person and I actually feel sorry for those that don't know her.

Thing is I am a very immature person and proud of it. I come from a long line of immature people and I'm ok with that. Aspen, however, is not and never really has been immature.
Which brings up the question of who raised who. From my point of view, I learned so much more from Aspen than she ever learned from me and she did wonders to mature me in ways I didn't think possible.
I'm a long term project.
I began learning from the Aspen when she was 7 and I am still learning to this day.

The Aspen excells at relationships. In other circumstances, she could be a relationship coach if such a position actually exists.
She's also an artist and very gifted in many creative ways.
Sweet and loving, she is also very encouraging to others.
Possibly the best thing among many other good things about Aspen is her great love of family, whether we actually deserve it or not.
She kind of reminds one of a puppy, full of love no matter what you have done or said wrong. She yearns to make things right which is something I can totally relate to. I like to fix things, she likes to fix people. Great thing about that is, people need fixing.
Especially me.

Do you get the idea that I kind of like the Aspen?

On Sunday, the Aspen is loading up the moving van and heading to South Carolina with her husband Jeff. If I didn't like the guy I wouldn't approve.
It's hard to not like a guy that introduces you to golf.
Not only have we got our oldest daughter and her beautiful little baby girl to Australia, but now the Aspen will join them in living far, far away.
They are taking with them the greatest dogs the world has known so far, Duke and Ella.

We are excited for them, but don't think even for a minute that we aren't going to miss them.

Aspen's Mom is pretty torn up over it.
Not I, because I am tough and very mature for my age. Yes, I am lying, but I am excited about the potential each of them face in South Carolina. I am happy for them regardless of what I am feeling inside and I know they will do well.
Who knows, some day we might even move back East ourselves looking for a place that rains and is cooler.

The Aspen is one special person, but hopefully you have figured that out for yourself by now.


Soon I will write about Tara and Tyler.

current events

Really quiet around the house these days.

All my girls are gone. Just me and my main girl and that'll do. However, right now it's a little quiet and lonely around here.

Going to get worse.

Littlest girl is heading back to Australia soon and it's been fun to have her around for a while. I knew it was only temporary, but really enjoyed her company. Of course, I am really biased but I am really fond of her and think she's the best.

I am very proud of our Tara for having the courage to pick up and move across the planet. That being said, it sure makes it hard on us to see them as much as we would like.

Our Aspen leaving just multiplies the feelings.
I'm losing my golf partner and my granddogs all in one big move.
But, I am proud of them for living the dream.

Tyler is left alone in Austin. I'm sure he'll be fine and I look for him to do something soon. Not sure what exactly, but something cool.


Speaking of golf, I really stink at it. But, I sure love playing.
I need to start playing out here in West Texas and I know I am in for a shock at the quality of the courses, but golf is golf.



A butt kicking is a butt kicking. I got my butt kicked not that long ago and I don't like losing. I promise I will be back stronger than ever. I don't want revenge. I don't want others to hurt, I just want back what was taken, mostly my dignity and pride.
Chances are I won't be getting back all that is lost, but I aim to try.
The plan hasn't been worked out just yet.

I am really tired, but I'm enjoying life as best as I can at the moment. The work is pretty hard and I am not as fast as I used to be, but I am better in some ways.
Just gets a little stressful thinking about all the work to be done and not being able to do it as quickly as before. Just wish I could have that same energy that I once had.


That's all for now, but tomorrow I think I am going to write about Aspen, dogs, and a song.

Cherokee Fiddle and Travolta

I don't have a thing in the world against John Travolta.

I just wonder why twice in the history of this great nation did a movie that he starred in change our culture dramatically.

This country was sailing along minding it's own business when, BOOM, out of the blue we got hit with this Saturday Night Fever movie that turned the USA into a bunch of disco dancing robots. Can't believe how many people I actually saw wearing a suit similar to what Travolta wore in this movie, just like in the picture above.

Disco became all the rage and hundreds of thousands of young Americans blindly followed their leader, Mr Travolta.

Disco clubs popped up on almost every corner kind of like Starbucks more recently.

Sad thing is, the movie is hardly watchable. It was horrible. At least that was my opinion of it.

Should anyone that lived in that era have been surprised when Travolta came out in a new movie called Urban Cowboy which completely altered the country once more?

It was almost a relief in some ways to people like me, but almost over night the entire nation changed from white suits and disco lights to cowboy hats and boots.

Cowboy bars like Gilley's in Houston and Billy Bob's in Fort Worth, Texas were the new hot spots and the discos were dead.

Everybody was putting aside those disco moves and learning the two step. Hundreds of thousands of Americans now wanted to be a cowboy.

OK, I am going to admit that I bought boots, too. But, I never made the crossover completely. I do know some that did and never came back.

The movie Urban Cowboy could have been even worse than Saturday Night Fever, although I am not sure since I couldn't make myself sit through it.

I am a fan of all kinds of music and some good country music came out of this time period. One of my favorites was Cherokee Fiddle by Johnny Lee.

I am not going to get into any deep meanings or why a Cherokee was living in Oklahoma. Nor, will I get into the Trail of Tears or any of the native American's treatment by our government.

I just like the song and the fiddle. Nothing much more than that.

Moon River

Even though I can't sing at all, music is such a big part of my life. A few of my blogs will be about some of my favorite songs and what they mean to me personally.

Hope you can stand it and make it through.

Moon River has long been one of my favorite songs even though I sorta consider myself a bit of a rocker. I do have my mellow side, too. And, maybe, just maybe, a romantic side.

Other than just being a beautiful song, this catches on with the free bird theme. My favorite line of the song may be "Two drifters off to see the world" and there's not much of a more free thing than being a drifter.

Not that I am aimless, or unemployed, but a drifter has little responsibility and plenty of time on his or her hands.

But, also, there are two people involved here. Forget Audrey Hepburn, I have my own favorite girl.

She also happens to want to see the world and have a lot of freedom on her hands. That was one of our favorite things about each other when we met, a desire to explore and see the world.

We've seen some and have had some fun, but unfortunately have been tied down with work and other things. We both want to find that end of the rainbow and that ever elusive pot of gold.

Huckleberry is also mentioned. Moon River being wider than a mile reminds me of Tom and Huck and the mighty Mississippi River. Nothing like rafting along on a river with no shoes on your feet and the only place to be is where the river takes you.

Moon River is a dream maker. It's also a heart breaker.

Let's face it, we all have our dreams and have also had our hearts broken. Even though we have a dream of going places and seeing things, we know we've had our hearts broken many, many times. As long as there is life, and death, there is the breaking of hearts. Yet, it doesn't stop us from pursuing.

Never going to stop yearning to drift and see the world.

Freebird

Freebird. Always in me has been a yearning for freedom as I am sure is true of most people. Sure, by most standards we are free in America but I mean a true freedom. A freedom of taxation, of responsibility, of work, of having to be at a certain place at a certain time with nobody other than my favorite lady friend telling me what to do.

Don't get me wrong. I don't like paying taxes, but gladly enjoy what this country provides for me. I am very responsible and take care of business. Work can be fun and I do it as often as I can.

But, all things being equal I'd rather just be free of those things.

I was almost there. Oh, it was so close.

Then, disaster, disaster, disaster.

Now, I am picking up the pieces and starting over. I'd like to think it's not my fault, that I was taken advantage of. But, when all is said and done I am taking full responsibility.

But, someday......

Someday I will know that true freedom I write about now. Sitting by a rocky seashore with not a worry in the world watching the waves crash upon the rocks. Just loving the sight of a good sized boat struggling to find it's way across the deep, alluring sea.

Or, sitting on the side of a mountain looking over a beautiful valley with not a thought other than just how incredibly beautiful it is.

Now, that is a freedom that keeps me going and hanging on in spite of disaster.

If there is breath still in my body, I will long for it.

These blogs will be about freedom. But, I plan on writing every day about music, movies, food, travel and maybe a few other things.

If you don't like going deep then expect not to enjoy. :)