A New Start....

It's always good to start out the new year with something brand new. One something brand new of which we are very proud is our new website at The Sibley Nature Center.

Thanks to the very hard work and creative ingenuity of web designer Eric Siegmund the website has an all new look and many more areas of interest to enthrall those of us who are interested in all aspects of our life here on the lower Llano Estacado. Of particular interest to me [I am also the moderator] is the new photo section where the public can upload their photographic images that pertain to our biosphere and those who inhabit it. Also we have added a message board so that anyone can comment on or ask questions about areas of interest to them.

The website is only one aspect of change at the Sibley Center where we have rededicated our efforts in order to become a regional learning center for both school age children and adults. In the future look for a lecture series, special speakers and events...like our new annual "living history day". I hope you'll take a peek at the website.

A Big Day....

Today is a very big day for us and a day when a special blessing was bestowed upon me. A day when life changed for the better with the addition of two special people [and a dog!] in my life.

Please view our big day card!

"Hey" Mr. Speaker.....

So I'm at the Ace Hardware this afternoon shopping for carpentry brackets when I hear a voice behind me ask, "Hi Wallace, how are you doing?" When one turns around at the Ace Hardware, one hardly expects to find the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives asking how you are. But this is Midland and one never knows who he will see, from cabinet members to first families.

Mr. Speaker, Tom Craddick, is someone I've known for decades and he and I have always hit it off for some reason. Or.....maybe that's why he has been an elected official for so long, he gets along well with everyone. I originally met him because his sister Bonnie set in front of me in "home room" for four years in high school, we sat in alphabetical order and in those days had home room every single day. Cowden, Craddick, Craig, I got to know Bonnie very well.

The Speaker was in Ace Hardware to get a key made and to buy some assorted hardware. He, like me, was dressed in his Ace Hardware attire, a sweatshirt and shorts. As we shopped we had a nice chat and I had the opportunity to thank him for the funding for our planetarium renovation which he arranged and to put a bug in his ear about several other projects I'm involved in. He was interested to know about the Chaparral raceway project [he is a good friend of Jim Hall] and also said he would check into help from UTPB with the large broadband connection we need to link the planetarium to McDonald Observatory for live shots of what they are seeing down there. I'll see the Speaker again on January 11th for our planetarium renovation announcement party.

As I said above, if your timing is right you can run into some interesting folks in Midland. As an example, we are planning a reunion for Midland and Lee High Schools this summer, for the classes that graduated in the 1960's. On the invitation list are.... the Speaker, the former Secretary of Commerce [his wife and he actually], Gen. Tommy Franks and the First Lady and her husband, what's his name.

Christmas Day.....

I'll make today's post a short and sweet synopsis of our Christmas season so far. You are busy with your family and I with mine. We hope your Christmas day is as wonderful as ours. Compared to the last two years we are in Yuletide paradise.

Two years ago we were moving Julie and preparing for our wedding to be held five days after Christmas. Last year, of course, I was lying in Cardiac Recovery.

Since Wednesday and as of almost noon today we have been to Ruidoso, New Mexico, attended late night Christmas Eve church, opened Julie, Jack's and Wallace's presents and are preparing to host my folks for their gift opening and Christmas lunch.

Julie and Jack went to see her folks newly finished home in New Mexico and her Dad and I went up on Friday. It's a lovely home located in the pines about 7,500 feet up in the Sangre de Christo Mountains. On the way up Don and I stopped at artist Peter Hurd's Ranch at San Patricio where we had a nice visit with Peter's son, Michael [at right above]and Mike was able to finally identify and give a name to a Peter Hurd seriograph that I have. While in Ruidoso Jack, Don and I played miniature golf and rode go-karts, the weather being extremely warm for the season and the mountains mostly bare of snow which nixed Jack's skiing opportunities. We also went furniture shopping.....something for the new house and a new front bench for the Bedford Dr. estate.

Julie, Jack and I drove back Saturday afternoon and after a brief respite and finishing up our gift wrapping it was off to late church where Jack had acolyte duties. Once home Jack and I listened to some rousing Doobie Brothers music and then off to bed while dreaming of sugar plums dancing in our heads. Santa also had his duties putting Jack's new bike out under the tree.

Jack, of course, was up at dawn ready for the days treat and thrilled with his new bike.....complete with "double pegs". I received very nice workout/walking outfits which I needed, a cool multiple DVD set of the early Andy Griffith TV series and a stocking full of life's essentials! Fool that I was I thought that I could buy Julie's gift last week, an IPod. There was not one to be found in Midland [except at Sam's Julie tells me now!] so she had to settle for the gift card version.

This morning we have been enjoying our gifts, cleaning up and preparing for my folks. Jack and I had the first annual "poop n' hoops" contest. The first one to make a basketball hook shot got out of the big pooper scooper duties for the day. I was a shoo-in, but Jack surprised even himself by making the first hook. I've just completed the poop patrol.

Have a great Christmas........!

We wish you the merriest of Christmases and the most Happy New Year. A time to rejoice in all that we have to be grateful for. Click on the Christmas image above for the Craig family digital holiday card.....and a short movie of the crew!

Deck the halls.....or maybe an old lady!

I decided to get an early start on my Christmas shopping, so I began today. You laugh, I usually start in earnest on the 23rd. Frankly it has gotten easier as members of my family get older and less interested in the gift than the thought involved. Gotten much easier with a Bride who is very interested in shopping and doesn't mind picking up things, especially for my nieces. I've never really developed a knack for shopping for 6 and 8 y.o. girls. She also suggests things that I can get for other family members.

Modern technology has made it much easier too. Gift cards are not too emotional but they are very handy and a card bought here at a major retailer is good at any city in the land and the recepient can chose what he likes. My parents love a Luby's card, my nephew prefers Best Buy. My Mom likes Barnes and Nobles and the bride likes Talbot's [note: for prying eyes, not this year].

The Internet has matured into a great way to shop also. I first tried to order online in 1998 and I'll have to say it was a disappointing experience. Busy webservers, poor personal contact if need be and the agony of going through the shopping basket only to have an "out of stock" appear at the end of the ordeal. Today the poorly run sites have gone out of business or been purchased by the people who know what they're doing. I surf up my gift choice and then choose to use the 800 number to make the order. My preference the last several years has been the Stockyards. A great high end meat purveyor in Chicago that has not disappointed.

But today there were a few items I needed that caused me to visit some real life stores. My Mom, who says she wants nothing, actually needs a new Boom Box. Her current model has a defective CD player. So to Best Buy I went. I picked up the gift cards for the nephew, the Boom Box and something for Jack. Though crowded the shopping and checkout was actually not too bad. But on the drive out of the parking lot it happened. One of the reasons I prefer to shop online if possible.

To my way of thinking there are two classes of drivers at Christmas time. Those who consider the season and are extra polite and their opposite, those who consider the season a time to act out their worst behavior. I ran into one of those this morning.

Driving down the main internal road of the shopping center where Best Buy is located a 60'ish woman in an Expedition [i.e. land monster] was exiting one of the side parking areas and decided that she didn't need to stop for the flow of traffic. Turning at a goodly speed into the line of cars she had the nerve to honk at me and gesticulate wildly, I could see her mouthing something. Merry Christmas, I'm sure.

I wanted to stop and ask her what the cop who gave me a speeding ticket some weeks ago said, snidely I might add. "Lady is there some kind of medical emergency that's causing you to drive this way". Or is it just the Christmas spirit. I don't and won't ever understand some people.

Blizzard.....!

Blizzard may be a little melodramatic, but we did awaken to a heavy and beautiful snowfall this morning. I like our regularly occasional snowfalls and this is the first of the season, but my initial thought was, Uh Oh! I was nervous because of several activities occuring early today. The most important of which is my Dad's

release from rehab today for which my Mom will have to drive across town.

Aha, bad son you say to make your Mom do this alone. Well, the other event occuring today is the cleaning of our carpets by "Sonny" and his Mom for which I need to be at home because the Bride is at the dentist. "Sonny" is about 68 y.o. so you do the math on how old "Mom" is. But she's a worker and they are great carpet cleaners and so cheap we almost feel like we're guilty of elder abuse for what we pay them. I would heartily recommend them and will provide their number for local residents.

{.....Time passes}

Now.....Sonny is here, alone, and is busily cleaning the carpets, the snow is tapering off and all is well at the estate. I'll be off now to check on my Dad and then possibly arrive at the office just in time for lunch. This snow is beautiful especially because it is not bitterly cold out and it should be melted and gone by tomorrow when the temperature will reach the 50's.

{Update....yet more time passes}

My Dad is safely home from rehab and when asked if the roads were any problem my Mom's answer was, "It's nothing. I used to drive in real blizzards in Missouri". As I type Sonny is loading his equipment and the carpets look immaculate! Now I hate to walk on them they look so fresh. As noted above Sonny came without Mom this time and when I asked why he said that though she hated to she had to give up work when she turned 90! And on a sad note due to poor circulation she had to have a leg amputated. She's been to rehab and is now home learning to walk on her new artifical limb.......at the age of 92. The will to go on burns brightly in some people.....

Twelve [12].......

Our little Jack, not so little anymore, is 12 today! Since he will be gone tonight we had his little family birthday party at 7:30 this morning complete with cards, cake and one present. Not that he is deprived and only received one gift, but he discovered several more yesterday and got them then. This included a new jacket for knocking around in and a spectacular flat screen video monitor capable of carrying feeds from computer, TV, DVD and PlayStation. I hope that We He enjoys it!

Several nights ago while his Mother was out at another of her "girl" Christmas parties, Jack and I had a nice bedside chat about growing up and the responsibilities involved. A heart to heart talk where I described some of the pitfalls I had encountered and the talk where I warned him that if he tried any of the things I used to do he would be grounded until he left for college. He is truly a gem and I couldn't have asked for a better step-son, I love him dearly.

In addition to his little party this morning we took him out to the newly reopened Johnnie's Bar-B-Que last night. Johnnies, as I've written before, is a Midland legend that recently caught fire and just reopened on Monday. For local folks, it has not changed a whit except that now it looks and smells clean, but this did not ruin our dining experience. The only sad part of the fire was that Johnnie lost all of the mementoes that been hung on the walls over the decades. I asked the manager if we might bring some new memories in to hang, and he said he would be most appreciatative.

Outstanding in the street......

Several years ago I decided to drive the 20 or so miles over to Stanton, Texas on a photographic tour. For as long as anyone can remember, Stanton has had a sign outside of town that says, "Stanton, home to 3000 friendly souls....and a few old soreheads". The "old sorehead" theme has grown into somewhat of a town motto and now even the quarterly antiques show is called, "Old Sorehead Trade Days." Julie was almost blown up in a big butane explosion there last year...but that tale can be found in the archives.

The Big Gold Dog decided he wanted to go to Stanton that Sunday afternoon and I'm glad he did for we had a good time walking around the main business district. And it's good to know that there are some towns left in America where a man and his dog can just stop and sit down right in the middle of the main street!

Seven [7].......

Seven [7] is the proverbial lucky number. I like the number seven [7]and I feel like it has been lucky for me too. Especially today because seven [7] was the temperature when I walked the Big Gold Dog and I was lucky to make it home without becoming a cold weather statistic.

I have the cold weather gear available to wear but frankly living in the desert climes of West Texas I have gotten used to not having to wear it. And I have been in some really serious cold weather before in Minnesota....down close to -30° but I really prefer not to endure this kind of cold anymore. But it is supposed to warm all the way up to a balmy 35° today which will seem like summer in the tropics and by Saturday a heat wave all the way to 60° is expected.

For those out of towners reading, seven [7] in Midland is really not something that is for the record books, the actual record being 11° below zero. Still seven [7] is purdy darned cool when you were wearing shorts just several days ago.

Down at the fire house....

Several months ago, at the height of my period of feeling poorly, I was shopping at one of the large local grocery stores and I started to sense that I was getting light headed. More than usual. I was near check out so I 'soldiered' through with the intent of paying and driving home to rest. This feeling had come over me before, though not so intense, but I thought I could make it.

As I neared the check out station I soon started to sense that I was about to keel over, as in pass out. It was then that I spied them, a whole crew of Midland firefighters who were also getting ready to check out. My manly sense of not being a baby and asking for help was overcome by my reluctance to end up face down on the floor so I approached them and said, "Guys, I'm not feeling too well". They agreed that I looked pretty pale and escorted me out to their fire engine where they checked my blood pressure and other vital signs of life. We agreed that I should not attempt to drive home so I called The Bride to come get me.

While we waited I had a nice conversation with the guys about one of my old friends who had just retired from the fire department, photography and the Internet. The Bride soon arrived, I thanked them profusely and we went on our way. I went back to report to my crack medical team this sad turn of events and we decided that my blood pressure medication was the culprit of my ill health. I'm now off the medication and feeling 100% more wonderful.

But today as I was driving out to our storage unit north of town I realized that I would pass directly by the fire station where my caretakers are stationed, so I decided to stop in. As luck would have it the same crew of guys was on duty when I arrived and after a moment of reflection they all recognized me. It was lunchtime and I hated to disturb them but we had a nice visit and I was able to thank them again. I have to say I had a flashback to the old "Emergency" TV show. The one where much of the action was in the fire house, where the guys would be sitting around eating until that infernal buzzer gong doohickey went off sending them on their next mission. Anyway it was good to see these guys again and hear them say that they had visited Big Gold Dog.Com where they had been interested in my photos of old Midland, they even offered to contribute some photos to the site.

Thanks again guys. The next time you see a firefighter thank him or her, you never know when you'll need them.

Pink Eye...

I've been fighting an illness most of this week. I keep seeing a purplish-pink to pure pastel pink shading over everythng I view. At first it just flashes and then it turns totally pink for long periods.

Thank goodness it's not my body nor my eyes...it's my computer screen. A not totally uncommon occurance when something starts to go on the fritz with ones computer video system. It could possibly be the graphics card, but most probably it is my trusted and wonderful 19" Swedish monitor. For the first year that I had my computer I suffered through the use of the stock 15" screen that came with the computer. Yes, this was back in the dark ages of yore...my computer is that old. I thought that the box would go first but it just keeps plugging along.

I switched to the 19" monitor after I started flying a WWII flight simulator. The squinting to see the Focke-Wolfe 190's was killing my eyes. The 19" opened up a new world especially after I coupled it with a new Diamond Viper graphics card. Great viewing and really good for doing all the photographic work that I do.

But now the end is apparently near and I can't believe it but it is hard to find a new CRT monitor. The world has gone to flatscreen LCD. I'm not opposed to flatscreen nor LCD, it works for most people. However I have a corner computer desk unit so space is not a problem and I still think that CRT's have more vivid, deep colors for photography purposes.

One day during the week I went for several hours without a pink cast to my viewing and I thought that perhaps the monitor had found a cure for itself. But, alas, the pink is back and I'm afraid things are terminal. Julie has several old monitors at her office that I can use temporarily but decisions must be made.....

By the way, the pink effect has cast a new light on playing solitaire. With a pink overcast to the screen, reds are effectively cancelled out so a game is now much harder when one can't tell hearts and diamonds apart. Try it, it's very challenging.

All stressed out...

Today was a big day. A stressful day....by design. The occasion was my "almost one year from the big operation cardiac stress test". Not to keep you in suspense, all the studying for the test that I did paid off. I passed with flying colors, flying so high that I was in the top category. Whew! The stress passed away with that diagnosis.

I have been walking without fail every day, working my way up from stumbling just up the block a week after the operation last Christmas to three fast miles a day recently. My ace cardiologist Dr. Steve Brown, besides being a fine guy, is a great cardiologist full of useful knowledge and facts. He tells me that my "exercise quotient" is very high and that being in that category, studies show that my risk of a heart attack in the next 5 years is low to nil. I asked for a guarantee a little further out, but could not get him to commit to that. But he did say, that all indications are that I'm doing well.

For those who haven't been through this proceedure it is interesting and another example of amazing technology. First a measure of heart activity is done while resting including a sonogram of the heart. It's quite interesting seeing your heart functioning on the monitor. Besides the pictures, of course, the numerous electronic leads attached are recording a continuous EKG. Next it's on to the treadmill where the speed and angle of incline increases every two minutes. The biggest problem for me was not respiratory or cardiovascular, but the fact that my legs are not used to running uphill so after twelve minutes I had to call a halt due to cramps.

Immediately upon quiting the treadmill it's back to the sonogram to get pictures of the heart in this physically active state. Dr. Brown showed me the TiVo reruns while pointing out items of interest including no blockages and extremely good muscle function [picture above]. And that was that, except I asked if I might have a Donut from the box I saw at the front desk. The answer was........NO!

Fall's Glory.....

It has been a glorious fall season in West Texas with the trees in their best autumn colors even days after Thanksgiving. The sunlight, high clouds and gentle warmth have been a true blessing. Captured last evening as the sun was just below the horizon is today's Picture of the Day. A photo rendered just a pleasant memory today as 220 mph winds have shredded most of the leaves and filled the air with dust. Well, OK, maybe not 220 mph winds, but gusts are hitting 50 mph. Good bye sweet autumn.

On ye bulldogs.....next year

The football season for the Midland High Bulldogs came, sadly, to an end this afternoon. The 'Dawgs fell to the Plano Wildcats in a disappointing 20-7 game. Disappointing because it was not the Bulldogs best game and they gave away two turnovers that resulted in Plano scores.

Still...it was a magnificent season, especially if you are a bulldog alum and remember 50+ seasons of not going to the playoffs.....at all! The 'Dawgs have now been in post season play in 3 of the last 4 seasons, having played in the state championship game several years ago. Today was a sad end for the kids and fans but being among the last 8 teams in the state playing at the end of the year is not a bad season at all.

Personally, I'll miss watching the team practicing while I walk around the track at the old Midland Memorial Stadium every afternoon. It was an up close and personal experience with them practicing only yards away and gave me the occasional opportunity to talk with some of the players and coaches. Thanksgiving evening the team practiced at 6 p.m. and as I walked I noticed two kids arrive early and begin to work out before anyone else was on the field so I stopped to chat with them. It turned out to be Baron and Brandon Batch. Baron was the key player on the team and now has the single season MHS rushing record.

Besides the obvious work ethic of being first on the field, Baron and his brother Brandon impressed me with their articlulate conversation and polite manners, "yes sir, no sir". For local fans Baron tells me that he is leaning towards playing at Texas Tech but recently he is being courted hard by Miami, Tennessee and Florida State. These facts caused much chagrin to The Bride, who is a dyed in the wool Red Raider fan.

Great season Bulldogs........

Thanksgiving.......

A day for remembering all the blessings bestowed upon us. Even in rough times we have things that we should be grateful for. We hope your day will be a great one. Here's a little card for you on Thanksgiving Day.

A Special Day......

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, an important day to show our gratitude for all that we have. But today is a very special day too. In fact, there is speculation that the 23rd of November gave rise to Thanksgiving. They say it's your birthday........ da da da.

Snippets....

A couple of quick notes just to let you know I'm still here....

Oh the irony of it all! The Texas Christian Athletic League high school football championship game between Midland's Trinity School and Pasadena South Shaver school was cancelled yesterday after fights broke out in the 2nd quarter. Apparently these were some serious scuffles as the police were called and fans from the two schools had to be led out of seperate gates. Yes, that's the Christian Athletic League!

Midland is an interesting town. On Thursday I went to the funeral of a fine lady who was the mother of one of my high school friends and a church member whom Julie called on periodically. While in the line to sign the guest book I noticed that behind me was Don Evans, recently the Secretary of Commerce. Though I don't really know Don, he is married to the sister of another high school chum, so I introduced myself and caught up on what the chum had been up to all these years. And today, as the bride and I were in line to be served at the First United Methodist Church Thanksgiving lunch, we offered to let a group of older women preceed us in the line. They thanked us and appreciated our gesture. I hope this was noticed in Washington as the group included the President's Mother-in-Law, Mrs. Welch. Acutally it is not unusual to see her at church and social events around town, but I always want to ask her, "How are George and Laura?", thankfully I never have.

Back among us......

My Mother has been an avid and active pursuer of our family's past for many decades now. Her skills in geneology have allowed us to trace our family tree back several centuries and to several European countries. She has researched both her side of the family as well as my Dads.

Doing research into my Dad's family past they have journeyed to Darmstadt Germany and found records about the family before they migrated to the U.S. in the 1870's. They have visited Scotland where she found my namesakes, in the Wallace and the Craig families. They made two trips to County Antrim, Northern Ireland where the name Craig is as common as Patel in India. From here my Dad's grandfather Craig came to America, while his brother, Sir James Craig, stayed and ended up becoming the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.

On her side of the family, the King clan, she has traced the lineage all the way back to North Carolina in the 1700's and then mapped out the family over the centuries as it moved west into Tennessee and then into Missouri. One of her great aunt's was even named Missouri Gordon to honor their arrival in that state. Over this long period of time, many family names appear in our line of descendants. One of those is Judkins, my Mother's Great, Great Grandparents.

Some years ago, she and my Dad had heard that there might be a Judkins family cemetery plot somewhere in soutwestern Tennessee and so on a trip to the area they searched for it, coming up empty. I have to add here, that for most of her geneological career she has done her research the old fashioned way, by visiting courthouses, libraries, farmhouses and by writing letters and making phone calls. Apparently she would leave her name and phone number at some of these places should anyone find any pertinent information. And apparently people do save this information.....for last week my Mom got a call from a woman in southwest Tennessee. Her family had recently purchased land in Giles Co. and had found....yes you guessed it, a cemetery deep within the woods and covered with brush.

These fine folks took the time and very great effort to clean up the grave sites and photograph the markers. One of which faintly reads "Robert B. Judkins"......my Great, Great, Great Grandfather, born 1807 in North Carolina , married in Giles Co. Tenn. in 1830 and died there in 1890. A rather amazing story, I think, highlighting a direct link to our past and probably the most gratifying experience of my Mothers long career in geneology.

Veterans Day....

Honestly, I can't remember when I've been so touched at an event for Veterans as I was on Thursday when I attended the annual Rusk Elementary salute to Vets. I admit to shedding a tear.....ok, several tears.

Rusk Elementary School has been holding this event since 1998, I found out today, but this is the first time I have attended on the advice of a friend who helps put it together. The tribute originally started out in the school auditorium as a way to honor Veterans and to teach the elementary school kids what others have sacrificed for their freedom. So successful has it been that it now must be held in the Commemorative Air Force's largest hangar...and it is packed by 100's of Veterans, their families, well wishers and over 300 kids who put on the show.

After the Veterans signed in, we were then directed to walk in front of the stage to greet the kids. I wasn't prepared for the reception. Hordes of smiling, cheering, waving kids all wanted to reach out to shake hands and offer their thanks for our service. It was especially heartfelt to those of us in the Vietnam age group who had missed this type of gratitude 30+ years ago. Bout of tears number 1.

Over an hour of good old fashioned kid generated entertainment followed based around a USO show, entertainment that had obviously taken many hours to put together and rehearse. The crowd of us "old timers" enjoyed seeing kids having a great time. After the show, each and every Vet was presented with a packet of parchment replica documents of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Gettysburg Address. But the special gift was another similar parchment document especially printed and framed for the event. A declaration from the kids to us Vets proclaiming that they would never forget our sacrifice. All the Vets were asked to stand, 100's of us, and we were each presented with this precious document, hand delivered by a child from the school. Bout of tears number 2.

This was a special day and so many thanks go out to the students and teachers who spend so much time working on the event and to sponsors such as Southwest Airlines who lend support to the endeavor. I'll remember this for a long time to come. Some images of the event can be found at: Rusk Veterans Tribute

Tidbits....

The weather could not be more perfect! In my younger days I used to welcome cold weather. Now, I relish the very perfect high 70's to lower 80's. It's great for my walk, performed religously every day now. I'm up to 3 miles some days.

Yesterday was a good day for seeing people I like to be around. First it was out to Chaparral Racing to see "the legend" himself, Jim Hall and to tell him some drilling cost numbers that we had promised him were being delayed. I also got to visit with Jim Edwards who runs Chaparral for Mr. Hall now. Edwards is one of those calm, serene type people whom I enjoy. Later in the day I had a meeting with Burr Williams of the Sibley Center along with noted web authority Eric Siegmund, two more calm and collected people who are a pleasure to be with. Eric is performing "pro bono" work on the Sibley Nature Center's dramatic new website which we hope will premier within the week. Thanks to Eric for all his hard work.

Johnny's Bar-B-Que, a Midland landmark since the 1950's was damaged by fire on Monday, but Johnny has pledged to reopen soon. Kudo's to Johnny, who is in his 80's, for not letting another old "spot" be lost.

I'm am generally feeling much better physically, which in turn enhances my mental outlook. My medical team, as well as I, suspected that the blood pressure medication I was taking was a likely culprit for my ills. I stopped taking it over a week ago and I am, as reported, doing much better.

The only sad news that I can report is that we will not be going to the 40th Anniversary of the Ia Drang Veterans being held this weekend in Washington, D.C. I've had tickets to the event for some time, but honestly, with major medical bills to be paid, home repairs awaiting and some smaller trips with the family I could not justify the expense to go the East Coast. However there is always next year and besides good friends Joe Galloway and Bruce Crandall, both major figures in the reunion, have promised to come to Midland for Memorial Day where they will be the featured speakers at the CAF observance.

One Small step for mankind....

Sometimes on the vast wasteland that is commercial television there are things that are worth watching. One of these comes Sunday evening on "60 Minutes".

My brother, whose career at NASA spanned 35 years, sent me an interesting note that he recieved from a contact at CBS News. It reads in part....

Below, as per our conversation, is a link to a short write-up about the story that 60 Minutes will be running on Neil Armstrong , the first television profile he's ever agreed to. The piece will air this Sunday ( Nov. 6, 7PM ET/PT on CBS) and offers a fascinating look at this American icon -- and a rare opportunity to hear his personal feelings about Apollo 11, his family, and the fame he shuns. As I told you, we're trying to get word out to as many people as possible who might have a particular interest in this story, so to that end, it would be great if you could post something on your website, and/or send out an email to your listserves alerting people about the piece. Further details will be posted on our website: CBS 60 Minutes the story itself will be posted there from Sunday on.

The story of the race to the moon is one that becomes more fascinating with time and the realization that even today we would have a hard time sending men to the moon safely. To have done so with the "primitive" technology of the 1960's is nothing short of phenomenal.

Living History....

Saturday was our first living history day at the Sibley Center and it came off very well. We had history reenactors from many of the old forts in West Texas including Forts Lancaster, Griffin, Concho and Chadbourne as well as groups representing the 9th Cavalry "Buffalo Soldiers" and cavalry troops of Confederate Army days. They were all dedicated volunteers and kept the crowds interested with displays, stories and firing drills.

The photo above is a three gun volley presented by the Fort Griffin battery made special for me as they invited me to join in by pulling the lanyard for several shots. We enjoyed meeting many of the participants as well as having dinner Friday with our special guest Montie Goodin from Goodnight, Texas who is restoring the panhandle home of famed cowman Charles Goodnight. Amazingly Montie's father was raised by Mr. Goodnight and later became the foreman of his ranch. Hard to believe, really, as the era of Charles Goodnight seems so long ago.

Especially interesting to me, as I spent some time getting to know them, were the Buffalo Soldiers who traveled all the way from San Antonio to participate in the event. These gentleman, years ago, had all been extras in a movie portraying black soldiers of the frontier era. They enjoyed the experience so much that they formed an organization to tell the story of black troopers of the 19th century. And they did so very well captivating both adults and children alike.

A very special thanks to Burr Williams and all the participants for staging this entertaining event. As word spreads of the fun and education we are hoping for a bigger and better showing next year.

Upload this....!

Thanks for checking in and sorry for the lack of posts, but I haven't been feeling well. It's been an ongoing thing, with flu like symptoms that had been coming on just occasionally but now are a daily occurance. My crack medical staff has been doing yeoman work to try and figure this out with tests, more tests, antibiotics and other means. Part of the problem seems to be low blood pressure so we are cutting my blood pressure med's to see if that picks me up. So far the verdict's out on that.

Of concern, of course, is the heart operation last Christmas, though since I can walk three miles a day at a good pace and actually feel better, we are hopeful that there is no cardiac link to this illness. However, just to make sure I am now fitted with an amazing cardiac monitor which is the subject of this short post.

Modern medicine is amazing and has taken great strides with the digital revolution. My monitor is about the size of a pager or pack of playing cards. It is hooked to me with two wires which plug into leads pasted to my chest which are easily changeable by me when they wear out. The monitor is constantly on but is on an hourly override cycle which provides a continuous EKG. When I feel particularly ill I punch the "record" button and the device puts the previous 15 minutes thru the current time on the hard drive for storage until I can uplink it.

After the data is stored on the device I simply call an 800 number in Dallas that is permanently manned and tell them my name and that I'm ready to send data. I then put the monitor speaker up the the phone, hit the "send" button and the data is transferred to the centers EKG machine for reading by an on staff cardiac nurse. If there is an emergency type problem they call back and if not they fax the EKG data to my cardilogist in Midland for interpretation. So far, I haven't received any emergency phone calls. This is good.

We're hoping that when the blood pressure medication is completely out of my system I'll feel better. I sure hope so.

Tennis anyone...?

I'm not going to lecture here, but I am always amazed when I hear people in Midland say that the town is a great place to live but that there is nothing to do for entertainment. As I say, I'm not going to lecture, but......where were you folks this weekend at the NCAA tennis tournament? This was big league sports entertainment but I've seen larger crowds at St. Ann's School 5th grade basketball games.

The winning players all made statements that they loved to come to Midland for this tournament because of the friendly atmosphere and great fans. I can appreciate the first comment, but frankly I was somewhat embarassed by the second as the stands at the Racquet Club were only marginally filled even for the men's finals on Sunday. And the crowd for the women's? Well except for me, their coaches and a few others interested parties the seats were all but vacant.

I was interested in the women's finals on Sunday because during my visit on Saturday I had met and befriended the Pepperdine team and their coach Gualberto Escudero. As alert readers may recall I earned my MBA from Pepperdine and so they were my hometown favorite. And they didn't disappoint as Sylvia Kosakowski won the women's singles title fairly easily beating her opponent from UCLA. Interestingly enough Coach Escudero had played at Pepperdine in the mid to late 1960's, playing in tournaments against some of the people I knew from my undergrad days at Trinity University.

It was a grand tournament, fine weather [except for a shower late Sat.] fun and if you have any interest in tennis and didn't go, then try and make it next year. Several of the kids participating made a point of thanking me for being in attendance to watch them play. And.....Coach Escudero gave me his Pepperdine tennis hat and a T-Shirt. What more could one ask?

A Fair Weekend.....

It was grand to see Dallas again. I lived there for 15 years and truthfully, have only been back three times before this last weekend. And in those three short trips I really hadn't looked around town much. We looked around this trip, and boy have things changed!

Julie had been dreaming of this trip for months because, besides visiting with her old Midland friend Sandy, we were going to the State Fair Music Hall on Sunday to see the musical, "Wicked". Guys aren't supposed to like musicals, but I liked this one a lot. Having listened to the music from the show for 3 straight months now, I had grown to like most of the tunes and so to see them performed live was a thrill. The staging of the show is impressive and honestly whenever I go to a first class live performance I'm always a little shocked that some people can be so talented. The voices of this cast are simply stunning and powerful. Though this is the broadway touring show cast, nothing was lost and there were even some extra surprises for us in the cast such as wonderful actress Carol Kane, who many will remember as Latka's girlfriend in "Taxi".

We did and saw so much in our two days in Dallas that it is hard to describe briefly, but Saturday we spent the entire day at the State Fair of Texas. We covered every inch and saw it all including the pig races, the auto show, the Pioneer Mills flour display and the burro-cart driving finals. I hadn't been to the fair in years so it was a hoot. We toured the midway and mingled with the Texas/OU football crowd and in a moment of pure irony I got to take a picture of Julie surrounded by the family of Longhorns quarterback Vince Young. Julie and Vince's grandma, mother and brother all sporting #10 UT burnt orange jerseys. Julie hates strongly dislikes the University of Texas.

And what of the picture above? To peak my interest in the trip, Julie had previewed the performance program at the fair and found that R. Lee Ermey, "The Gunney" on the History Channel's Mail Call was going to be speaking at the fair on Saturday. Not more than 5 minutes after we had entered the fair grounds I noticed someone exiting one of the exhibit hall doors. In a moment of pure coincidence it was none other that the Gunney himself. My good friend Joe Galloway had recently appeared in a segment of "Mail Call" so it was easy to introduce myself to R. Lee and we had a pleasant conversation along with a good photo op.

Though worn out, I enjoyed spending time in Dallas with my beloved seeing her friend Sandy again and meeting her new husband Marvin. Marvin grew up in Dallas and we had fun remembering some of the old places around town that are now long gone. Good trip..glad to be back.

Jim Hall.....

My cell phone rang on Monday and it was Jim Hall asking me if I'd be interested in meeting with him about a gas project my partner and I have been working on. It's not often that one gets invited to go to lunch with one of his all time idols. This is the equivalent of a football fan getting a phone call from Joe Montana.

Jim, of course, was the creator of Chaparral racing which dominated much of the sports car racing scene in the 1960's and later found acclaim on the Indy Car circuit, winning the Indy 500 in 1980. And so this morning, partner Del Sloan and I met with Jim in his offices at Chaparral Racing, which really have changed very little since their heyday. I had been down there many times before to see my friend Jim Edwards who runs the day to day affairs of Chaparral, but I had never been in Jim Hall's private office.

And I had never sat down for a couple of hours with one of racings all time legends and talked. Del and I layed out our plans for the gas project which Mr. Hall quickly grasped being an experienced engineer and oil man and then we talked in detail about Chaparral Cars. Jim, like many of us I think, likes to talk about his interests and successes with people who are knowledgeable about the subject as Del and I certainly are. At several times during our meeting I found myself having to remind myself that I was really sitting with Jim Hall asking personal questions about his experiences.

Jim volunteered several stories about how the cars were constructed and about the role that General Motors had had in assisting him including ideas on molding the brand new composite fiber bodies. I had always wondered which of his many Chaparral's he really had the most emotional attachment for. He didn't have to think long to tell me that the Chaparral 2E was his all time favorite, the reason being that it embodied all the aspects of a sports car that he was trying to achieve, and unlike the 2F, it was open cockpit. He likes the 2E so much that he and a partner are currently constructing the first, of hopefully many, reproduction 2E models which will be on the market for purchase within a year. If the gas deal works out....I'd like to own one!

Jim is an interesting, intense, smart and most importantly a very nice man. He is also very interested in participating in our gas project, so that it looks like I'll soon be able to visit with him again...!

Air Sho...Day I

It was a good day at the CAF Air Sho 2005, strange, yet good. I had good volunteer help in the form of two oil partners, an oil partner's future son-in-law, Julie's Uncle Leon and a very enjoyable high school volunteer. It was strange because, normally, we have many acts up and flying as the crowd streams in starting at around 10:30 am and today we had none in the air until

the main show started just before 2 pm. I can attribute this only to the high cost of aviation fuel keeping some of the smaller individual fliers away.

While the volunteers were driving, I got to visit at length with my friend Greg Baiano and take a good look at his newly rebuilt Huey, pictured above. Greg has purchased two of the Vietnam vintage helicopters and has gone to considerable expense in restoring them to their former glory. I'll be flying with Greg soon on one of his weekly training flights to the Crane Co. airport, a flying experience I have not had in decades. While attending a private ceremony honoring another friend, Medal of Honor recepient George O'Brien, I met up with Midland Mayor Mike Canon and had the opportunity to give him a lift so that he could see the Huey too. Unexpectedly while we were driving down the flight line we ran into an old high school classmate of his, George Johns. I had never met George in person but know him well for he is none other than the proprietor of the popular Blog, Sleepless In Midland.

More flying tomorrow, with a more promising start around noon. Hope to see you there.

Air Sho.......

It's that time of year again. Time for the CAF Air Sho! And also time for me to get back to work as the "Transportation Chairman". A high sounding title and a necessary function but actually I come far down in the pecking order of important personages. Things are a little hectic this year as some of my more regular workers have will be out of town or otherwise engaged. But I still have lot's of good help and it should be fun.

Midland...1926

The latest image of Midland's past is up on my pictures of Old Midland From Above. This photo is actually from not very far above...shot from the top of the old red stone Midland County Courthouse which is what makes this image so memorable.

I like it because, unlike the other aerials in the series, this shot gives a pigeons eye view of downtown letting us see citizens of the day going about their business. People coming and going from the buildings and even several workers perched atop an office building being newly constructed. We can see the automobiles parked and in action, which always gives a flavor of the time period to me. The building under construction, the Leggett Building, is actually the first "high rise" building in Midland. This photo was provided to me by long time native Midlander Wilbur Yeager. While talking about the photo and town of the times, Wilbur amazed me by telling me that he was actually born in the Leggett Building not long after this photo was taken. There was no real hospital in town at the time and so he came into this world in his doctor's office in the building. Wilbur's family were among the first tenants in the "new" Petroleum Building, built in 1928. They still maintain offices there today, 77 years later.

The Scharbauer Hotel, which was old and decaying when it was razed in the mid 1970's is just being built. The Scharbauer was the hub of Midland for nearly half a century and was where I attended my first dance as a teenager. I love this upclose and personal view of the town.

Ben Stein....

Ben Stein is a true renaissance man. Jack of all trades and a master of most. Scholar, author, economist, teacher, presidential speech writer, actor, Visine spokesman and game show host are but a few of the lives that Ben has led. It was a pleasure to have seen Ben in Midland last night. Ben was well received as he is a

vocal supporter of free market capitalism and a vocal critic of his neighbors in Hollywood. Ben was effusive in his praise for Midland and it's citizens, a feeling that seemed genuine as he described how the people he met here are not the typical stressed out more angry American he runs into all too often in the larger cities where he speaks.

The two underlying points that Ben made repeatedly were that 1] it is not the Jimmy Carter's and UN's of the world that bring freedom and democracy to downtrodden peoples, it is the example of a free people set in the U.S., backed up by a strong military and that 2] it is not the Bono's and Bob Geldorf's who bring prosperity to the third world, but free market economics. Points well taken. Thanks Ben.....

Hurricane Lemonade.......

As they say, you should try and make the best of things, make lemonade out of the lemons that you are dealt. And it looks as if we're going to be dealt some serious hurricanes for awhile. So we're cashing in. Rooms for rent, refugees wanted, reasonable prices for room and board. I'm going to need the income.

This afternoon we were called by Duke Energy, our natural gas buyer, and told that due to the hurricane, they would shutting their Houston processing plant down. Which in turn means a back up of natural gas supply all the way into West Texas, thus meaning that we have no gas buyer, thus meaning that we had to "shut-in" our wells. I suppose this is somewhat akin to the theory of the butterfly fluttering his wings in China and creating a tornado in Texas. The energy markets are all interrelated. My advice to you, at this moment, is this. Go right now and fill up your car's gas tank. If Duke Energy is shutting down their gas plants on the Texas coast, the gasoline refiners can't be far behind.

Old Midland Update.....

Most Bloggers spend the time on their Internet journals for personal reasons and would probably make the effort to dispense their wit, wisdom and items of interest no matter what. Still......it's nice to know that someone is out there reading the fruits of their efforts. As you know doubt recall I'm working on a website dedicated to Midland past, which features some places of interest to me personally and more so now old photos of Midland as it grew. This week I received an email from Andrew Custer in Seattle who wandered across the site and had this to add about "The 007 Room" as featured on the site.

Hello Wallace,

I grew up in Midland from ’67 to the late 80’s. Thoroughly enjoyed your photo essay on “places long gone.” During my trips to visit my father and stepmother, I still enjoy driving my wife around, pointing places out from my childhood, and telling stories. Pity her!

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that the 007 was previously called The Egyptian Room. There used to be a back room where the regulars would play dominos and cards. They still had a lot of the original Egyptian-ish paintings. Mummies, pharaohs, etc. When I heard they were shutting down, friends and I went in for a ‘lil’ drank’ and asked about them, but they were given out as keepsakes to some of the good old customers. I remember they had the tabs tallied up on a piece of poster board on the wall. Some of the amounts were in the thousands of dollars. I can’t say I didn’t recognize a few names. Also, it appeared in the movie Waltz Across Texas, which I forced my wife to watch with me a couple of weeks ago.

As for Peyton’s, I always remember on my birthdays careening over to the red and white, candy-striped packages, knowing exactly where they came from.

Enjoy your sites. Visit them regularly. Keep it up.

Andrew Custer
Seattle, WA

Thanks Andrew glad you enjoyed the visit!

On Rattlesnake Raceway....

It's not often that as an adult one gets to meet, know, and even associate with the sports legends of his youth. I'm one of the lucky ones. The legends I've gotten to know are both mechanical and human.....the Chaparral Racing machines and their creator Jim Hall and his team. When I was a teenager I thrilled to the exploits of Jim and his innovative cars. The newly created James Bond

and Jim Hall were our heroes, we wanted to be like them, dashing and sophisticated men of action.

It has been my pleasure in the last several years to get to know and become good friends with Jim Edwards, who runs Chaparral Racing and Jim Hall's Midland operations. Through Jim I've learned the inside story of the Chaparral's and more about the cars than I ever thought I'd know. Today I had the pleasure of getting to know Rattlesnake Raceway, the track where the Chaparrals were tested all those decades ago. What a thrill!

I had mentioned to Jim Edwards that I'd like to see the track and so he kindly offered to let me take my 2 mile daily walk there today...and anytime I wanted. I also wanted to inspect the track to see what would be needed to get it back in shape for high speed driving. The track is not in good shape with weeds growing through cracks in the asphalt and the small stones of the pavement coming lose. Edwards tells me that when Chaparral started testing Indy Cars on the track the condition worsened. Indy Cars sit very low to the ground and create a suction effect when run at high speeds...literally sucking the pavement apart.

I had seen pictures of Rattlesnake but was surprised at the narrowness of the track. It must have been quite a thrill running at high speeds through the mesquite! And high speeds were possible there. Jim told me that in the back "dog-leg" straight, 200 miles an hour was not out of the question. This section of the track, at the gentle curve, is seen in the photo above. It is easy to see why Jim Hall was not thrilled about full blown racing at his track.

Walking the 2 mile course by myself with only the wind whistling through the mesquite scrub was quite an experience. I could just imagine, just almost see and feel, the Chaparral 2E screaming down the long straight at 180 mph. The history associated with this track is amazing and I'm one of the few in town who has been lucky enough to see and stand upon it.

And next week it gets even better. I'm meeting with Jim Hall himself. Not, mainly, about cars but about the oil business. Who, all those years ago, would have thought that I'd be sitting down to talk business with my boyhood legendary hero.

Midland, 1928....

And now for your comparison, Midland in 1928. 1928 was a pivotal year in the growth of Midland, with the Scharbauer Hotel just nearing completion and the start of construction on The Petroleum Building, both assuring Midland's future as the hub of the Permian Basin oil business. Work on the Petroleum Building would begin later in the year on the block just to the north and across the street from the court house.

Midland, 1947.....

I'm a lover of old photos, maps and history. As you may recall over the last year or so I've started a website to chronicle some of the photographic history of our hometown, Midland, Texas.

JoJo's cafe in our office building is a hub of old time Midland oil folks and a few not so old but who also have an interest in the way Midland was in the past. While eating at JoJo's on Friday the conversation turned to old buildings and one of the participants, attorney David Lindemood, invited me up to see his collection of maps, plats and photos. He has some great ones and has kindly consented to assist me in bringing these to digital form.

Here is the first photo of David's that I've scanned. Midland, 1947 is an amazing photo showing the town as it was after WWII, just gearing up for the energy boom that followed. It shows some interesting features including the original First Baptist Church and the railroad station, thoughtlessly destroyed in the 1970's. More photos and maps from Davids' collection will be added as well as some really historic images provided by Mr. Wilbur Yeager whose family has resided in Midland from it's earliest days.

Rick Rescorla...

Who is a hero? What makes a hero?

Honestly I can't answer those questions, but I know that sometimes in our day and age the term is too loosely applied. I do know that many of the fire fighters and other emergency personnel at the World Trade Center acted in heroic fashion four years ago. True heroes, some who are with us today but many who perished in the catastrophe.

Another hero at the Trade Center that day was Rick Rescorla, a man who actually had earned hero status to many of us almost exactly four decades earlier, in Vietnam in November of 1965. A man who so exemplified what a leader should be that he was chosen to appear on the cover of the best seller, "We Were Soldiers Once.....and Young". You can read a short synopsis of his amazing life in the this tribute I posted not long after 9/11. In two months we will be attending the 40th anniversary of the battles at LZ XRay and Albany from which the book and film "We Were Soliders" were drawn. Susan Rescorla will be an honored guest and we will remember Rick, talk about Rick, wish Rick was with us still, but most importantly we will remember what kind of a man he was.

And a special thanks to the guys at Powerline who noted Rick's story here and were kind enough to publish my personal note to them [scroll down].

Leadership.......

There has been a dearth of posts here at Streams. Sorry but I've just felt dearthful. In real life I've been busy but also just rather burnt out on the news of disaster and the tasteless rancor it has created.

With the recall of FEMA head Michael Brown and his less than honest resume, a resume that was rather shallow padded or not, I have one piece of advice for future Presidents. Here it is. When filling important positions like FEMA, get a military man. A qualified General Officer, or hell, a good Colonel or Command Sergeant Major. Preferably Army or Marine Corps. Instilled in these people are the principals set forth as, Plan, Organize, Lead and Control. You don't need a bureaucrat, you need a leader.

Even Geraldo realized this. While watching the news last weekend in New Mexico we witnessed Senõr Rivera actually overcome with tears at the sight of the military moving in to take over what had been a cluster jerk. Geraldo summed it up: "The only people who can actually do something have arrived....the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard". For once, he was entirely correct.

Home from the mountain......

We're back from a short vacation to the mountains of New Mexico. Julie's folks are building a house at about 7,800 ft. in elvation in the Alto area of Ruidoso and so we accompanied them to check construction progress and to enjoy the cool mountain air and just to relax. With the day time temps reaching only into the 70's and the 50's at night we had a good break from the late summer heat of West Texas.

Besides checking with the builder, we mainly just bummed around during the days and constructed a monster crossword puzzle at night. A great way to relax. The highlight Saturday was a trip over to the Inn of the Mountain Gods the Apache Indian resort that I have not visited in over 20 years. And what change in those years. The resort is now nothing short of amazing, having grown in scope and quality since my last visit. I think that the Apache's are raking it in.

Sunday was a big race day at the horse track in Ruidoso and so we had to try our luck and just enjoy the race crowd, an interesting crowd to say the least. Somewhat a combination of a NASCAR and State Fair of Texas group but well behaved and fun to be around, except for the cowboy at the end of our row who talked non-stop for the entire 5 hours we were there. I think he used to be a woman. Julie's Dad befriended the young hispanic couple sitting next to him [from Midland no less] and the young woman helped Don plan his betting and come out ahead.

Coming back on Monday we, or rather I, had to stop at La Rinconada, which is the Ranch and gallery of artist Peter Hurd. Since I had taken three cameras on the trip I thought I had better be getting some photo shooting accomplished and my fellow travelers were kind enough to allow me this stop. The photo above is of the Hurds polo field in front of their old house, which is now the gallery.

A pleasant long weekend with family and some great vistas. Additionally we got to see the gamut in wildlife along the way including antelope between Hobbs and Artesia New Mexico, mule deer camped out right below our balacony in Alto and most interestingly several groups of wild turkey, one of which almost flew into our car while driving very high up in the mountains.

New Orleans...Update

Thanks to Jimmy Patterson of the Midland Reporter-Telegram for asking me to expound upon my thoughts about my childhood home in New Orleans. The story online can be found here at My West Texas. Also I received an email from my brother Mark who used to live in Slidell, La. and Picayune, Mississippi while Deputy Director of NASA's Stennis facility. He relates that his old home in Slidell was probably destroyed but that his antique home in Mississippi survived.

We, the Bride and I, will be in New Mexico for the Labor Day weekend to enjoy the 70 degree temps and mountain scenery. Not to sound self centered but I hope that we don't see a TV while we're gone. The news is exceedingly depressing.


New Orleans..
It's hard to fathom the magnitude of the disaster in New Orleans. Can you image every single structure in your hometown affected to some degree, large or small, by floodwaters? It is incomprehensible to me and thus very hard to watch the news reports from New Orleans.

Very hard since I spent over three years of my childhood there. We lived at 6017 Perlita St. which is pinpointed on the map above. As you will notice the house is located between two canals and just south of the lake. Our house used to flood with 1-2 inches of water covering the floor with only heavy rains as the cause. I would suspect now that it is mostly under water. The waterway to the left of our old home is the Bayou St. John where I would fish almost everyday I could. I recall having to climb a 15 or 20 ft. levee, up and down, to reach the water. The canal pictured to the right of our house had levees as well and it is one of these that failed, probably not more than a mile from 6017 Perlita.

I pray for the best for all those in distress in New Orleans.

Banner Photos....

I look at the photos in the top banner logo on this site daily. It occurs to me occasionally that perhaps some readers wonder who the folks are in the pictures. Perhaps you can't see them clearly or just don't know. So let me tell you.......

From the left the pictures are 1] Julie and me with Gen. Tommy Franks taken a year of so ago in Midland. We were presenting him with one of the photos that Joe Galloway and I sell online. 2] Me with Gen. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway at a book signing at Ft. Hood 3 years ago. Hal was played by Mel Gibson in the film "We Were Soldiers", Joe was portrayed by Barry Pepper. Hal and Joe wrote the book the movie is based upon. 3] Julie and me with Bruce Crandall and wife Arlene in Midland 2 years ago. Bruce was the helicopter pilot in "We Were Soldiers" and was played by Greg Kinnear. 4] Me with Chuck Yeager at the CAF. Chuck was, as you know, the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound. 5] Me with actor Sam Elliott in Washington D.C. 4 years ago. Sam starred in "We Were Soldiers" playing the role of SGM Plumely. 6] Julie and me with Pat Simmons, founder and lead guitarist of The Doobie Brothers. Taken in Odessa last summer. 7] Finally, me with Mike Hossack, drummer for The Doobie Brothers.

And the Picture of the Day is a breathtaking shot of a bridge over the Mississippi River near, I believe, Natchez Mississippi taken in 1964. Note the paddle wheel steamer under the bridge. Even as a young photographer I had a knack for the good shot!

Duchess.....

In mentioning my dog companions of the 1960's I would be remiss in not noting as the picture of the day, our other dog, Duchess. Duchess was our first golden retriever and the pet that gave my Dad a fondness for dogs that had not been there previously. Duchess was, like most golden's, a sweet dog and one summer she stayed at home with Dad while the rest of the family was on vacation in Missouri. Apparently she followed him around everywhere he went endearing herself to the lonely father.

We had Duchess during some of the same years as we had Frisky, mostly because my little sister, Susan, felt that since I, her older brother, had a dog that so should she. Duchess had one litter of jet black pups before she was "fixed" which must have been a big deal to me as I have a multitude of pictures of them from all angles and poses. They were extremely cute.

I remember the 4th of July that we kids were throwing "cracker balls" on the patio. Cracker balls were the little colored balls with a small amount of black powder inside that exploded when thrown against hard surfaces...like patio cement. They looked amazingly similar to Trix cereal. That's probably what Duchess thought the day she tried to eat one and had it explode in her mouth, a muffled pop. She was OK, but I don't believe that she ever ate anything off the ground again.

We had Duchess through my high school years and when I went away to college in 1967 little did I know that when I left that would be the last time I would see sweet Duchess. She developed a terminal illness and had to be released from her pain while I was away. I think even my Dad cried at her passing.

Frisky......

As I may have mentioned, my Mother was recently cleaning out the office in their home and came upon a box of my old mementoes which contained news clippings about me, letters to and from them, but mainly a treasure trove of old photos. Some of these photos I had not seen in probably 30 years, some perhaps longer.

Of special interest were photos taken on my first Kodak Brownie camera which used the old 140 type film that produced smallish, square black and white snapshots. I was 11 or 12 years old when I snapped these images of dogs past, trips to New Mexico, and the backyard on Douglas Ave. as it was when we first moved to Midland in 1960. Sometimes when I stare at these old remembrances I really almost go into a trance thinking of the way things were then. Sometimes I almost want to cry.

I will share some of these memories with you and for my Picture of the Day this Wednesday I present you with my dog and boon companion Frisky. We got Frisky when we lived in New Orleans in 1957. In those simpler times kids and dogs could and did roam freely in the extended neighborhood and so Frisky was with me everywhere. I remember riding my bike daily to the Bayou St. John with Fisky running right at my side while my friend Mike Lancaster and his dog Rex followed along.

In the 1950's dogs were let out front to roam and somehow always seemed to come home. Usually there were no problems but when I saw Frisky's picture once again after all those years I was reminded that once he did get hit by a car while out. He managed to make it home and then spent a week under my parents bed. When he came out he was fully recovered from the collision.

Frisky moved with us to Midland and seemed to love it here in West Texas, espcially after he learned to scale the cinderblock wall encircling the backyard. He could walk on the top of the wall like a trapeze artist and soon learned that if he walked all the way around the fence he could access the roof of the house. Thus, Frisky spent many a happy hour perched on the top of the house surveying his neighborhood domain.

Frisky was with us a long time, but I'm ashamed to say I can't remember exactly how long....when it was that he passed away. As I grew into my teenaged years I probably spent less and less time with him and thinking about that makes me very sad. I try to do better with my dogs as an adult.

Down at the FUMC...

Things were hopping down at the First United Methodist Church [the FUMC] this morning. By the way it's the 120th anniversary of the FUMC this year which may not seem like a long time if you live in England but in West Texas anything that's been around for 120 years is a big deal. Those Methodists ranchers were a devout lot and led the pack in setting up a church. The Presbyterian sheep herders weren't far behind.

People make a church and I had to laugh at several comments made to the person seated in front of us this morning. We were seated far to the rear in order that Julie could make an early exit in order to go home and start dinner for our parents who were coming over at noon. The older gentlemen in the next pew was by himself, but apparently he was not without a bevy of good buddies. One man passed him by, stopped, and then came back and said, "hey Bill good to see you......when did you get out of jail"? Shortly thereafter another older man strolled by and casually said to Bill, "you know you'd get a lot more out of this if you'd move to a pew near the front". Good natured banter which just struck me as humorous.....

And now a feature not seen in a long time, the "picture of the day". Or, perhaps better titled, "the picture of whenever I feel like putting a new one up". The POD can be found at: Stream Views

School Daze..... It's back to class time at St. Ann's Catholic School. Starting one day before the public schools, it does seem like the summer vacation was very short and had just started. It went quickly. Julie and Jack were off to England for two weeks right out of the chute, then Jack and I made an effort to play tennis in the mornings, followed by Jack's visit at his Dad's for two weeks and then with a little piddling around time, vacation is over. Being of the "old school" it does seem to me that ending summer vacation in the middle of August is a tad too early. Of course being "old school" means I went to an old school, one without air-conditioning which made it all but impossible to attend classes in August.

This year Jack is starting the 6th grade at St. Ann's. A time of some reflection for me, since my family moved to Midland between my 5th and 6th grade years and I started school for the first time here at Bowie Elementary which was, and still is, just down the street from my house. I have returned to the old neighborhood and so still get to see the children strolling down the same sidewalks as did I all those years ago. But Jack is a St. Ann's kid and proud of it. This year he gets more choices in his uniform attire, between red, green or blue shirts. The younger kids have to wear yellow. A choice in colors is a newly acquired status symbol for a young man growing up. And he has grown just this summer looking noticeably taller and more, dare I say, teenager like. Even my Mother mentioned his growth spurt. Tonight we will stand him up against the back of the door in his room, mark his height and compare it to last years altitude. I'm thinking the gain will be an inch or more.

I hope Jack's year in the 6th grade will be as memorable as mine, I came away with many blessings. We still talk about my teacher Ms. Lucia Pearl Penny, a professional old maid school teacher who loved her kids. In those days we said the pledge of allegiance with no qualms and the last thing we did before going to lunch was to listen to Paul Harvey News on the radio. We knew the rest of the story. I met two of my lifelong best friends that 6th grade year at Bowie Elementary and learned my love of art there too. I was on the committee charged with drawing a full length mural on the wall [OK, on paper on the wall] depicting the history of Midland. I learned perspective on the project. No, not philosophical perspective, but how to draw using perspective to correctly show distance.

Oh to be back in those simpler times. Enjoy yourself Jack!

When it rains, it....deluges!

Mid to late August in West Texas is normally the driest time of the year. The dog days where during many years one is lucky to see a cloud. It has been that way for the last 8 or so years accentuated by the drought we had been in.

I say had because as I sit here on a Sunday afternoon it has just rained almost 1.5 inches at the Bedford Dr. estate. This in the last hour or so, on top of the half an inch we had accumulated since the early morning hours. Fire crews are out rescuing inattentive drivers, the draw is overflowing and more rain is expected.

Normally I would rejoice in the deluge and the goodness it brings to the land, but the Bride and son are driving back from New Mexico in the yellow bug and I fret about their well being. At least her Dad and Mom are on the road with them in another larger vehicle, but the flat lands are notorious for flooding even in remote stretches. I pray that the Good Lord watches over them.....more later.

5:30 update: The bride just phoned and she and Jack are safely back inside the city limits of Midland. Thank you Lord, and now the rain gauge out back reads, 2.5 inches!

Miss Ellie....

Barbara Bel Geddes, Miss Ellie, is gone. Barbara died Monday at the age of 82. Miss Ellie was the only consistantly good hearted soul on "Dallas", only losing her cool when one of her family members got completely out of control...which come to think of it was at least once an episode.

Dallas was a smarmy soap opera and now days I would probably not watch something of it's ilk. But when it originally aired I was a resident of Dallas [the city not the show] and the filming occured at many locales I was very familiar with including the First International Building which was where the Ewing Oil empire was based. I was based there too. In fact the real estate company that I worked for leased the building and so, many times, we could get great viewing opportunities of the filming when the general public was excluded. I don't think I ever saw Miss Ellie [she wasn't usually invited to the Ewing offices!] but I did see J.R. [Larry Hagman] and Bobby [Patrick Duffy] and Cliff Barnes [Ken Kercheval] on many occasions when they were filming street scenes in front of the building.

I once ran into Larry Hagman at a country and western bar on the Greenville Ave. strip. The name of the bar escapes me though I remember it was at the corner of Greenville and Lovers Lane. Larry was in rare form making the rounds of the tables handing out "J.R. Bucks", fake one dollar bills with his picture in place of Washington's. Fun times though I, and I think Larry, have given up that wilder side of life. It's interesting to catch "Dallas" reruns sometimes today and remember my life in Big D in the early 80's. Miss Ellie was a part of that and Barbara Bel Geddes seemed like such a nice woman among a pack of thieves. Thanks for the memories.

Friends....update

This morning I received a personal call from the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the honorable Gordon Mansfield. Gordon and I had a very nice conversation and I could tell that Gordon is as sincere as they come about doing the right things for veterans. He promised to personally look into my case. I cannot ask for more. I hope to have the privelage of meeting Gordon at the Ia Drang reunion in Washington over the upcoming Veterans Day weekend.

Friends.....

Posting to the journal this week has been non existant due to....well, reality. Sometimes when things seem to be sailing on a smooth course, unhappy reality reaches up and just smacks you in the face.

I learned this week from Midland Memorial Hospital that the Veteran's Administration was balking at paying the extensive costs for my heart rebuild late last year. I have had no reason to doubt over the years that the Veteran's Administration would be there as my major medical provider. The reason for the "problem" is a long and involved story, but basically is rooted in the fine print of recent changes in the VA system mandated by congress. Changes designed to save money by shortchanging veterans including changes that affect the payment of "fee based" services. That is....emergency services performed outside of a VA hospital, which is what my case involves. And I have to add that I do not blame the Veteran's Administration where my care at their hospitals has always been superb. The problem is the trough swilling politicians who control the purse strings and who never miss an opportunity to raise their own salaries and benefits packages while violating promises made to veterans.

I have to say that when I learned of this "problem", it sent me into the grandest of funks. But as I've learned, one can either do little or nothing and feel sorry for himself, or one can go into action. Personally, action makes me feel a little better anyway so.....the day after learning of the "problem" I went to the VA Regional Hospital in Big Spring to learn the details for myself. The "problem", in simple terms, is a grand government Catch-22. If you have had no medical problems and haven't used the hospital services within two years, then when you do need services you are not entitled to them. In other words, in a time of VA austerity, the idea is that all registered veterans should visit the hospital once a year whether needed or not. The staff in Big Spring wanted to help but said they are locked in by "law" on this concept.

I left thinking that I would visit my congressman's office about the situation. I still might, however for the time being fate intervened. I happened to get a call from my good friend Joe Galloway in Washington. As we talked the thought occured to me that with all his conections Joe might know someone within the VA heirarchy that I might speak to. And in fact he did...the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs who just happens to be the Chief Operating Officer of the entire VA Medical System.

Joe provided the Deputy Secretary's personal office email address and I composed a respectful email letter outlining my "problem" which I sent this afternoon. I sometimes forget what "going to the top" through a personal recommendation will do for a situation. Within 30 minutes I had an email reply from the Dep. Secretary's personal assistant saying that he was out of town but that she had asked one of the senior staff members to look into my "problem". Literally 30 mintues later the staff member called me asking for all the details of the "problem" and promising all the help they could provide. Additionally Joe tells me that he has written a personal note to his friend, the Deputy Secretary.

Truthfully I was reluctant to write this narrative as the outcome of the "problem" is still in doubt and the reality is that it may not yet be solved to my liking. But, I had to say that this has reminded me that even when things look dark, if one has friends and family on his side and a willingness to take action, there is hope.

Presidential Library....

As thoughts turn to the end of the presidential term of George W. Bush, thoughts also turn to the sweepstakes involved in who gets to host his presidential library. The short list of those who the President wishes to see a proposal from have been made public. On the list is our own Midland College. The others are the city of Arlington, Southern Methodist University, the University of Dallas, Baylor University, Texas Tech University, the University of Texas System and Texas A&M.

When the rumors of who would be invited to bid first surfaced and I heard Midland College mentioned, my first thought was....."yeah right, a snowballs chance in hell". However after seeing the entire list I've moderated my view somewhat. Midland may have a chance. The one chance being if Dubya steps up and says, "I want my library in Midland". Otherwise I think we can forget it. I have to think that the selection process involves some degree of ego, the scholarly disposition of the proposed host, money [who can afford to build it] and the President's personal wishes. A strong wish could override the other factors. Dubya could simply say, "Midland is where it's going".

Now I do think that we may be ahead of some of the others on the list. I cannot see the "city" of Arlington being selected. Dubya has no real allegiance to the entertainment capital of Texas except that his former baseball team was located there. Big deal. University of Dallas.....I don't think so, small school with no connection to George. The University of Texas and Texas A&M were good choices for two former presidents but I can't see Dubya located with LBJ and I don't think he wants to follow in Dad's footsteps at A&M.

This leaves three other large universities as the front runners. The "M" in SMU is for Methodist. George and Laura belong to the Methodist Church and coupled with the fact that it is located in a major metropolitan area, one in which George lived, it may have a good chance. As does Baylor. For whatever reason Dubya has become fond of this area of Central Texas and one supposes that George and Laura will retire in Crawford, so having his library close at hand would be a plus. Texas Tech is a large school but, again, George has no connection here except that the school is in West Texas. Texas Tech is an also ran to the first two schools.

SMU and Baylor have to be the odds on favorites, with Midland leading the long shot field. I'm afraid that our remote location works against us as does the small size and depth of a two year college and the perceived trouble in raising the necessary $200 million to build the facility. But Dubya loves Midland and has strong emotional ties here so stranger things have happened.

Cool breeze........

The unusually cool weather has been the buzz of bloggers around town the last several days and I have to add one final thought, one final mention of a blessing bestowed upon us. That blessing is that the air conditioner in our home has not been on for two entire middle of the summer days. That is unheard of in West Texas.

Owning a home that has been in existance almost as long as you have is a trying experience sometimes, but with the tribulations come some decided advangtages, chief of which is to be surrounded by windows that actually open to the clean, pure and cool air outside. We have been communing with nature now since Wednesday and in the main enjoying it. It's good to hear the sound of our feathered friends as we awaken in the morning and calming to me to be able to hear the trains pass by just a little over a mile away. When all is calm late at night and one listens carefully, the click-clack of the wheels on the tracks can even be heard. Coming from a railroad family it is a balm to my soul.

We have one more night of open windows until the weather turns back to a more normal heat and we have to shut the house up once again. The two air conditioning units cooling the home will start to drown out the sound of nature and I'll have visions of dollar bills being sucked out of my wallet by the hour, but for now I'll just enjoy the quiet cool reverie.

Storm........

We had been forewarned that the weather was going to be taking a drastic change on Tuesday, so it was not surprising that when I drove back to the office after lunch I spotted a massive thundercloud over the mountains to the southwest. In West Texas we can see storms a far way distant and this one was over 125 miles away but still looking beautiful and large. It was one of those times that I wished a had carried my camera along.

Later in the afternoon as I left the office there were storms popping up in all directions and at a much closer range. It was strange, though, that with all these storms we barely had a sprinkle by the time I left to go on my 5:15 p.m. walk at Midland Memorial Stadium. The track has unobstructed views in all directions and I was struck by the thought that this looked like some of the pictures of the primordial earth I had seen in geology textbooks. The image of volcanoes spewing ash while thunderstorms streamed lightning down on the still forming earth from all quarters.

There were two massive storms, one to the southwest and the other to the east, that had torrents of rain flooding down while lightning bolts shot to groud every few seconds. Beyond these storms to the southwest I could still see the mountain storm lit a mellow golden hue in the afternoon sun. Still no rain on the Bedford estate after I arrived home. No rain until around 10 p.m. when thunder and lightning announced the arrival of the deluge to follow. There was constant thunder for almost two hours....sounding much like the artillery barrage at the seige of Khe Sanh must have been like in 1968.

I haven't checked the rain gauge, but I don't think that we got the several inches that were predicted as possible, but still a copious amount of needed rain and the temperature has dropped a good 25 degrees from yesterdays steamy heat. Quite a dramatic and beautiful display of natures glory with the added blessing of unheard of cool weather!

Connected....

The Internet is an amazing thing, sometimes allowing for almost instant connections with things that appear in one's life.

If you live in or around Midland, perhaps you read the story in the "Lifestyles" section of Sundays Midland Reporter-Telegram about the WWII veteran who has his photographs of life in post war Germany on display at the Allied War Museum in Berlin. I was interested in Mr. Carl F. McDaniel and his story because he is a long time photographer and for the historical context of his remembrances, so I followed up the newpaper story with a visit to the websites referred to in the article. While browsing through his pictures I came across a "Guestbook" for the site where I left a note commenting on how I'd found his information and what a pleasure it was to see his historical record being preserved. I thought this was the end of the story.

It wasn't. Not more than an hour later I received an email from "Mac" thanking me for my comments and expressing, it seemed to me, some degree of surprise that his story had been printed in a newspaper far distant from his Pennsylvania home. He asked if I might send him a copy of the paper for his archives....something I did this afternoon. Apparently the Associated Press picked up Mac's story and it appeared around the country.

Mac and I exchanged further emails Sunday evening and I caught a glimpse of a very interesting man. Mac is 81 years old now, but his interest in photography has not waned and he has, like many of us, learned what a good vehicle the Internet is for displaying our work. Mac does his own websites and expressed to me his interest in moving from Minolta 35mm cameras into the digital camera realm, something I hope he gets to do. For now, Mac is doing 35mm camera work and then scanning the photos for posting on his websites. Sites like the Williamsport Market Street Bridge

Laugh out Loud....

I received an inquiry this morning from blogosphere buddy Justin T. concerning residential living at the Petroleum Building in downtown Midland. I office in that building and sometimes forget just how much people who read blogs know about their authors one way or the other. I try not to post anything that I wouldn't want anyone to know, it's just a reminder to be on my best behavior.

Anywho....Justin wanted to know if there is residential living space in the Petroleum Building. It seems that Justin is a performer in the Summer Mummers and as he is exiting the Yucca Theater after performances he has seen what looks like the light from a TV screen coming from the office space above. I had to give Justin the news that, no there is no residential space in the building. I suspect he is seeing someones computer monitor reflecting light on the windows.

What interested me about Justins e-note was the link he provided with the mail. Justin is a member of The Venue a comedy improv group that is available for bookings now. Sounds like an interesting idea for your next party or group meeting. I thought I'd give Justin's group a little plug.......

Louis H. "Mike" Michaelson
1919-2005

Having been in Odessa most of the day, I hadn't had the chance to read the paper before I checked my emails this evening. I was saddened beyond words to read my Mother's short mail message telling me that Louis Michaelson had passed away on Sunday.

Louis H. "Mike" Michaelson was the head scoutmaster of my old unit, Troop 85, of the First Presbyterian Church, Midland, Texas. It's hard to imagine in this modern world how a man could have such an impact on me and most of the boys he came into contact with during those growing up years. Many men I know today owe much of what we are to Mike Michaelson and the other leaders of that troop. People like Bill Bosworth, Gene Thomas, Wilmont Hunt and my dad, Wally Craig.

The time and effort they put into our scouting education was enormous. Activities like the 50 mile hike along the old Butterfield stage route near Sheffield, visiting all the old cavalry forts like Lancaster and McKavett. Camping on the Devil's River, at Horsehead Crossing, Camp Pegasus and of course a week every summer at the splendid Davis Mountain Boy Scout Ranch. Mike Michaelson planned, organized and led one of the great treks that I've ever heard about in scouting, taking 40 boys on a Greyhound Bus from Midland up through Canada, to the New York Worlds Fair of 1964, capped off by a week at the Scout National Jamboree at Valley Forge....a monumental three week excursion. When I asked him, later in life, how he and the other adult leaders managed to stay sane during the trip he told me his secret. "After you boys went to bed, we drank a lot of Scotch".

Mike and the other leaders had grown up during the depression and had all served their country in the military during WW II, most in combat situations. The lessons they had learned during these difficult times they passed on to us scouts. The Scout oath and motto were not just slogans to them, but the way they lived their lives. They expected us to do the same. Mike Michaelson was not an easy scoutmaster to please. He expected you to do your best. His expressions are legendary and still talked about whenever Troop 85 alumni get together. "You knothead". "I didn't ask for any chit-chat". "Get moving you yardbirds"! My neighbor and fellow Troop 85 scout, Scott Davis, and I always have a laugh over these. I usually remark that I did so well in the Army Airborne because of my scout training. Scouts was tougher.

I'll miss Mike Michaelson and the thought that he is no longer around, I used to stop in and see him at his office until just a few years ago. I wish I would have stopped in one more time.

Mike is pictured above in this shaky 1962 photo I took on the 50 mile historic hike on the Butterfield Stage route. He is the man on the far left on the road in the white shirt and pack watching scouts rest. In an example of history repeating itself, I have a picture of me in the army 10 years later standing on the road with a pack while my platoon rests on the side of the road.