TV Interviews, Rainy Days, and Other Assorted Stuff

Scurrying across the rain soaked parking lot, I hollered out at my friend Pete, a local weatherman, who was catching a quick smoke while braving the cold rain.  We shook hands and chatted on our way into the TV studio.  Believe it or not, we talked about the weather and about life in general as he guided me to the sweet nectar of life, hot coffee!  He passed me off to another great friend, Ron, who led me to the newsroom where we caught up on each other’s kids as he prepared the information page for the close of our interview.

Waiting for my interview I was treated to seeing two professionals making it all happen.  Out of their normal 7 person crew, there was only three there this morning which meant they took turns resetting the cameras while the other did their segment.  The soft banter between coworkers was a joy to listen to and I was even more amused that the weather person kept reminding everyone not to show her knees because her pants were wrinkled.    The time for my interview came and it went smoothly.  Leaving the studio I was reminded of what a blessing it is to have such good friends in the media.

The news that has my part of the world in a tither is the rain.  We are 10 1/2 inches ahead of our yearly rainfall and there doesn’t look to be any relief from the rain anytime soon.  Towns are being flooded, the creeks are full and most of the lakes are nearing their maximum capacity.  One local lake is five feet above the spillway and is still taking on massive amounts of water.  This is West Texas where you never complain about rain but even now you can feel some folks are about to break the most sacred of vows and mention their desire for it to stop raining.  Yuppers, we are getting close to a bunch of folks committing blasphemy!  I just hope it quits raining for the 4th.

Slvr has posted recently of her first experience with an earthquake.  We don’t have those very often in Texas as the tornadoes scare them away, but I have to say it makes me uneasy about her safety.  I know she is grown and quite capable of taking care of herself but still, earthquakes aren’t known for being soft and fuzzy in their dealings with people.  I just hope she doesn’t have to go through any more of them.

I have a funeral to attend today.  A fellow service club member has passed away but what a full life he led.  Reading his obituary you get this sense of a person who dedicated his life to serving other people and that the sense you had about him being a gentle sweet spirit was dead on.  I know our community will miss him.

One of the fun parts of putting together a huge community event is trying to avoid offending people, especially your VIPs.  One person who has participated in the patriotic portion for years made it plain that this event was an inconvenience for him.  In fact we couldn’t get him to return phone calls until about two hours before he was to go on.  This year we decided not to bother him and went with a local radio personality and guess who has called wondering why we haven’t contacted him yet… sigh.  I think this is a classic “you can’t win” situation.  Sheesh.

Finally, I have to say I’m getting nervous about the whole thing.  Rain, VIPs, Volunteers, and all of those unknowns make it hard to sleep.  Luckily the 4th will be gone in about six days.  Whew!

Homeless Man

Homeless man with a grocer’s cart

Walking in the middle of the street.

Can’t tell the condition of your heart

Or how deep is your defeat.

Did you once hold a job of worth

Or have you always ridden the fringe?

What use to bring you mirth

And do you miss it just a tinge?

Is someone out there wondering

What became of your precious soul

But are left at night to pondering

If for you the bells have tolled.

What do you wear on a winter night

To keep away the chilled night air?

How about summer’s sweltering might,

Is it more than  you can bare?

Homeless man with a grocer’s cart

You disappear into the city

Looking for a giving heart

Which buys much more than pity.

Thursday Thirteen for June 28, 2007

Thirteen random thoughts running around in my mind at this time…

1. After chatting with my photographer brother about cameras, I realize just how ignorant I am about photography.  I wonder if I can sit next to a photo geek and absorb knowledge through osmosis.
2. Tony Blair is out.  I kind of liked ol’ Tony.
3.  Diet Coke can sure taste funny when it gets a couple of years old…
4. Looking at a list of Things To Do, I am suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed.  Nothing a long walk couldn’t fix.
5. Add another out of town trip to my already crammed schedule.  This time I get to visit Billings, Montana.  Hmm, wonder what they do in Billings besides finding the perfect sheep for a date.
6. Sat through a long meeting today to discuss the possibility of applying for a Federal grant.  Not enough time to do it right and I would much rather miss a year of funding for a better prepared and administered plan.  It wasn’t a wasted meeting though, it was rather enlightening and brought another contact and possible collaborator to light.
7. It looks like they are predicting rain for the 4th.  Sigh.
8. I enjoy seeing all of the creeks around our city running.  The water breathes life into this dry country and when it is in abundance, I think we should all be outside dancing naked in it.
9. Okay, maybe not naked, but at least in unrestrictive clothing.
10. My grandmother made the local paper here in a rather nice photograph of her doing her rehab.  Hmm, she still looks feisty at 94.
11. If  I was on death row and was about to get executed, I think I would forgo the meal and ask for coffee and pie to be served after the dastardly deed.  Then the observers could shake their heads and go, “Such a waste.  Oh look, here’s coffee and pie!  Shall we sit for a spell and enjoy this repast?”  At least this way somebody had a good time, right?
12. Have you ever noticed that cats won’t sit still for a photograph?  Have  you ever noticed cats don’t appreciate you gluing their feet to the floor so you can take a shot?
13. I wonder if worms ever get claustrophobia?

A Long but Good Day

Whew!

My SOE went well as did the Board meeting.  Better yet, the interview with a possible new director went exceptionally well too and there are two more candidates to interview so things are looking up.  I did have some “fun” moments yesterday but they soon passed.

I’ve noticed walking through the office after hours is really rather peaceful.  No noise, limited light, just soaking in the quietness after a long hectic day.  Sometimes that quick moment is a treasure all by itself.

A more interesting blog later… I promise!

Been a Bit Busy, Bucko

I have really been delinquent in my blogging as I have been a bit busy getting ready for the city’s biggest July 4th bash and getting ready for my annual regional director’s visit to look over our Standards of Operational Excellence.  Between the two of them, I am trying to get a major grant finished before I head out to a family reunion and then a seminar in Atlanta, followed by an actual vacation to Buffalo, NY where my oldest and  her husband are living at the moment.  I will try to do better…  I promise.  Really.

New Camera

Note to self:  You can only drop a camera so many times before it stops functioning.

Note to self:  The functioning capabilities of a dropped camera appear to be determined by one of three factors.

1. The hardness of the surface onto which the camera was dropped (i.e. concrete seems to raise exponentially the statistical possibility of a full malfunction of a dropped camera than say, a mattress or a feathered pillow).
2. The height from which the camera was dropped (i.e. a camera dropped from fifteen feet appears to have a smaller window of opportunity to survive than a camera dropped from one foot).
3. The distance the camera is kicked in a reflexive action as the operator tries to break the fall with his much softer top of his shoe. (i.e. if your reflexes are in high adrenaline mode, you might kick that puppy a good thirty feet onto some nice soft grass or in my case, about ten feet onto pavement.  May I add that pavement has never been and will never be considered as a soft surface suitable for catching kicked cameras).

Note to self:  The sound of grinding inside your digital camera is not an encouraging sound.  It must mean that a) all the pieces are not aligned with each other or the moons of Jupiter for that matter or b) that the camera is so beat up it is grinding its teeth in anticipation of having to produce a quality picture.  Either one is not good.

Note to self:  Buy another camera.

So guess what?  I bought another camera!  It is a thousand times better than my last one with so many more options.  I’ll never figure them all out but I have messed around with it enough to take a good picture.  Will have to try to post some new pics on this soon.

Thursday Thirteen for June 21, 2007

I’m always amazed at what songs I can find when I am in a purchasing mood for the ol’ Ipod.  Some are fairly obscure but yet, there they are.  Some are purchased because they were brought up in a discussion and reminded me of some memory from my varied past, so I buy them babies and play them loud over the car speakers so I can sing along with them, looking every bit the fool I am when it comes to singing along with the radio.  So here is my TT13 for today…

Thirteen Great Songs I’ve Purchased For My Ipod

1. Thank God and Greyhound You’re Gone (Roy Clark… I got this one for Jman.  Believe me, he can relate.)
2.  Yesterday (Roy Clark… one of the first really sad songs I can remember)
3. King of the Road (Roger Miller… hey, songs about cigarettes and pushing brooms are just hard to come by)
4. Love Hurts (Nazareth… For those moments I’m feeling sorry for myself… ha!)
5. Crying (Don MacLean… I would’ve been happy with Roy Orbison’s version too, but I just happened to be looking for Vincent at the time)
6. Hurt (Johnny Cash… Ol’ Johnny went out with a good one)
7. I Think I Love You (The Partridge Family…. yeah, who would’ve thunk it?  A song from my teenie bopping days…)
8. Aimee (Pure Prairie League… man, this song was always a good’un)
9. Fooled Around and Fell In Love (Elvin Bishop… I can remember doing a little spooticootin’ to this song back in my teenage years)
10. I’d Love You to Want Me (Lobo… another sad song from the past… it rates with Diary by Bread)
11. One Tin Soldier (The Original Caste… what a great war protest song by such a great one hit wonder)
12. Beth (Kiss… yeah, I hate to admit I’ve actually know a few of their songs… sigh)
13. The Wall (Pink Floyd… does this one really need explanation?  I think not.)

So what’s on your Ipod?

A Conversation with a Six Year Old

Taking a child to the park for the Juneteenth celebration and cookout, I had the following conversation;

How old are you?  She holds up six fingers.

Where do you go to school?  She gives me the name of a local elementary school.

Are you enjoying your summer?  She nods yes and then the conversation takes off.

“I have a loose tooth.”  Looking I can see her wiggle the tooth.  “I’ve lost three other teeth and when this one comes out it will be my second one.”  I could immediately tell this child was reaping the benefits of a public education.

“Does the Tooth Fairy visit your house?”

“Yes, last time she brought me $2 for my tooth.”

“Really?  I only got a quarter for my teeth.  Your teeth must be really valuable.”  She smiles at that and nods her head appreciatively of that fact.

“I have a boyfriend at my school.”

“A boyfriend?  You’re much too young for a boyfriend.  You shouldn’t even look at boys until you are thirty.”  She giggles at that and then presses on.

“There is a bully at my school too who beats on my boyfriend.  Do you know what I have to do?”

“I have no idea, what do you have to do?”

 ”I have to fight him.  He won’t stop beating my boyfriend so I beat him.”  I tried to explain to her that there are other methods of problem solving that are much less violent but she shrugs and says, “What can I do?”

We arrive at the park about that time and off she goes to join her friends.  I hope as she grows older she will realize her options are much broader than returning violence for violence.  Perhaps there will be a day when she tells how she had to help the bully overcome his problems… after all, what could she do?

For Dad

I  normally write something from memory but since I’ve been in the poetry mood lately, a poem…

He wasn’t perfect I guess

I know he wasn’t pure

But his life wasn’t a mess

And he always seemed so sure.

There were times he wasn’t there

When work demanded attention

But we always knew he cared

His love didn’t need mention.

He was quick with forgiving

When we had crossed the line

Giving us confidence for the living

During the darkest of times.

We raise a glass to dad

On this honorable day

‘Cause when disgrace was all we had

He has always stayed.

Love ya Pop.

My Game Is Off Tonight

Last night I worked the Teen Night as my director was off to a wedding in S.A.  The night was fairly quiet and most of the guys were working on basketball skills for the midnight basketball league.  The girls were in the computer tech room, gossiping and surfing the web so all in all, not much was going on.

A young man came from the gym and walked up to the ping pong table and picked up a paddle, looked around the room to see if anyone was up for a game.  Seeing he was getting no takers, I offered to play him and the battle was on.  We played our first game and he beat me by three.  Second game, I beat him by two.  Third game, I beat him by seven.  About that time his friend came up and says, “I can beat anybody in Ping Pong.  Whoever of you wants to be owned, you just step and let me smack you around.  Look at you, you chumps are playing like girls.”

The other young man smiled and said, “I’m trying to figure out his serve but you can have at it if you want it.”  His friend smiled big and tells me he needs to warm up and that this won’t take long.  We volley a few times and agree to play the International Rules; best 4 out of 7, games to 11, two serves intervals.

Game 1: “I’m going to blind you with my speed.  You watching now?”  He was right, he blinded me with his speed… at losing.  11-0, my game.

Game 2: “I’m getting you now, I see how you’re playing.  Now you see what I’m talking about.”  He is right, he has recovered well and is starting to get competitive.  11-8, my game.

Game 3: “Yeah baby, I’m smoking you now!  Are you ready to go down?”  He has me down 0-8 which makes my comeback to win 11-10 all that much sweeter.

Game 4: “Luck ain’t gonna save you this time.”  He is quickly down 9-0 when he drops his paddle onto the table with disgust, “My game is off tonight.”

Yeah, your game may have been off but your attitude was definitely on.  He did come back by the table five minutes later and shook hands telling me next time would be different.  He’s probably right.

I watch how react around these guys when we play as a good example of sportsmanship is important.  I will admit though, if this had been my friend Mike, I would have been letting him know that he was getting spanked and made to love it.  (Yeah Mike, the gauntlet is still laying on the ground waiting to be picked up.)