Doc Dodson Field...

Probably no person has done so much for sports..and kids in Midland over a longer period than Doc Dodson. Doc was the legendary athletic trainer at Midland High School for decades where he touched the lives of countless students and still does to this day. He touched my life early on, being my drivers education instructor when I was 13 years old and it's a privelage to be his friend today. Saturday morning, Doc was honored by having a Little League baseball field named in his honor. A memorable morning among his family and friends. Here is my photo slideshow.

Water "criminals"....beware!

I live a few houses up from "D" Street which is well traveled and also a "drainage" street for water runoff. For years there has been a daily flow of water running down the street from a neighbor's watering system and for years I have been reporting this to the zoning department of the City of Midland. I've come to know Ms. Mancha the enforcement officer, quite well.

Lest you think I'm a nitpicker about a little sprinkler water....this is not a little water; it's a lot of water. Click the picture above for a larger view and you'll see the water flowing into the distance; and it goes for another 3 blocks beyond what you can see here. Actually the water comes from high volume bubblers in a bermed planting area so the water runs rapidly and directly downhill into the street. In the mornings when the offender's system is running [which it does daily, 365 days a year] the water in "D" St. is about 4 feet wide and runs as a stream for about 6 blocks, turning onto Douglas Ave. until it finds a drain which is about a quarter of a mile from the source. In the Spring and Fall the wet street accumulates leaves and trash; in freezing winter weather it turns to solid ice, a feature that the morning's traffic of high school kids love to spin out in. Worst of all this permanent water inflicts great damage on the asphalt constantly creating numerous deep potholes. I've come close to breaking my car's suspension by driving through one of these 6 inch deep holes hidden by the water. Some years ago, an acquaintance reported that he almost broke his ankle while walking his dog; stepping into one of the water hidden cravasses. City repair crews are a constant sight on "D" Street costing who knows how much.

About 2 months ago I once again reported the problem to Ms. Mancha and today, although the wheels of government turn slowly, there was action. A friend, who knows of the problem, called to tell me that she had seen a NewsWest 9 news crew at my corner looking at the street and filming. And bless the Lord, upon pulling the story up online, there was Ms. Mancha with the news guys describing how the city intends to get tough on these types of contiuous violations. Here's the Text and video story... some of it filmed at my corner.

How are things in Iraq...?

Don't expect the President to call a news conference and give these amazing responses from Iraqis in an ABC/BBC News poll. Read the responses on the link, but 65% of Iraqis say that things are going well in their lives and 84% say security in their local area is good and not a concern. And in the area I'm familiar with, Kurdistan, I guarantee the numbers are better than this. They're building luxury condos and malls in Kirkuk and Arbil. No, the President probably won't be advertising this.

Good St. Anthony....

I have an old friend, a good Catholic girl, who taught me years ago that when you've lost something that seems gone forever, if you will say the little prayer.....

"Good St. Anthony, please come 'round
somethings lost and can't be found"

the thing lost will be reunited with you. As you may know, St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost causes.

On Monday my Mom called very distressed that she had lost her wedding ring of 63 years. She had called the Manor Park maintenance man to come to her home to help look, going so far as to take the disposal apart. All to no avail. We had been to the Celtic Fair the previous weekend, where she had tried on a few rings. My fear was that the wedding ring had come off at the Fair held in the large Midland County Horseshoe Exhibit complex, and that it was gone.

But on Monday evening I took a moment to say three "Good St. Anthony's" just in case. On Wednesday evening Mom called and the first thing I asked her was, "any sign of the ring". Her exact words were, "Oh, it's like a miracle! I happened to open my desk drawer to get an envelope and I noticed the ring under some papers".

We have no earthly idea how the ring got into the desk, but I have a clue as to how it was found.....

My Real Life Tour

I spoke with friend Michael Peterson tonight about bringing his "Real Life Tour" back to Midland this year. The video talks about what the tour is....and who Michael is. If you missed Michael last year, hopefully you can catch him soon this year.

Award Winner......

Congratulations to our friend Jeanne Cooper, who last week was given the AMEE Award by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists for "excellence in her craft and contributions to the fields of media and entertainment".

The Emmy Award winning star of The Young and The Restless is also the national spokesperson for Midland's Springboard Center. In her acceptance speech, Jeannne named The Springboard Center as one of her two chief national charities. Ms. Cooper will be in Midland on May 8th to help open the Center.

Pesky visitor..

When the doorbell rang, Daphne thought it was Art the postman. Instead it was that dumbass Mr. Potato Head again!!

First and Last....

My first rose..and hopefully the last ice!

Certified....

Consulting for and assisting with my old Infantry Division in Iraq has been an honor, a privelage, economically rewarding, more than a little interesting and hey.....it's alway nice to receive a Certificate of Appreciation.

Interesting Tidbit...

Those who have been around the Internet for 10 years or more will remember the "search engine turf wars" before Google and Yahoo became the main games in town. There were many contenders but 4 or 5 were probably dominant, including Lycos. Like modern day Yahoo, players in the search engine game were also trying to grab business by doing the whole gamut of web related business. As Google won the lead share many of the contenders evolved, or perhaps devolved, into mainly web portal and web service companies as has Lycos today. Lycos is still around and a viable company in such areas as purchasing and hosting domains.

So here's the interesting part. The founder of Lycos, Michael Mauldin is a Midland High School grad. Not only a grad, but he was the Valedictorian in 1977. Midland High, it turns out, has spawned a few noted scholars who have made good; too bad I'm not one of them.

Fifteen years.....

It was fifteen years ago today that I stopped drinking. I don't take much credit for myself, but defer the kudo's for that to a few good friends and family who never gave up hope, to AA and to the kindness of God. Though there have been some tough times, even sober, I'm grateful for every day I've been given in the last fifteen years. By all accounts I shouldn't be here today, one doctor had given me one more year to live if I didn't stop drinking.

When I think of that I think of my good friend Rufe, as I often do, who in fact did drink himself to death five years after I quit. As they say, "but for the grace of God.....there go I".

Fifteen years. That's a long time between cold beers, but frankly, given the options, I don't miss them. Thanks to all..

Build a high tech car..

There are Bubba's in Canada too! If you've never seen the Red Green Show, here's a preview with Red building his own high tech car on the cheap.

The Power of the Internet...

For me, probably the greatest miracle of the Internet has been connecting with people, both meeting new folks and connecting with friends from the past. I met one of my best friends, author Joe Galloway online in 1999. We communicate almost every day now, usually by email but also on the phone. And I have been put back in contact with a good many people whom I never would have found otherwise.

Back in June of last year I wrote an article about the passing of my old friend and outrigger canoe mentor Sam Steamboat in Hawaii. Yesterday I received this note from his daughter Samantha.

I appreciate your comments about my Dad. He certainly was proud of your crew accomplishment. He shared that particular story with us on a regular basis at home around the dinner table. I am sorry that you were not contacted with the communication of his death. I wish that I could have done more to reach all those who would have wanted to know. Please contact me so that I can get your mailing address and send you something that you might want to see.

Mahalo,
Samantha Mokuahi Moikeha,
Sam Steamboat's daughter

What a nice present to hear from a member of Sam's family after all these years. And as I reminded Samantha, I had actually met her at a number of canoe functions when she was a very young girl hanging around her Dad at the beach at Waikiki.

Paul Harvey....

I was saddened to note in Sunday's paper, the passing of Paul Harvey. He seemed like a gentleman and a gentle man too. He was also a link to my dim past.

When I was in the 6th grade at Bowie Elementary in Midland, our legendary teacher, Lucia Pearl Penney, had us listen to the Paul Harvey news each day before we went to eat at the school cafeteria. We weren't dismissed for lunch until Paul was through. This was back in the days when talking or whispering among the students was not tolerated, and so we listened with rapt attention to the radio. At any other time of the day we would have thought listening to the radio in class was a cool deal, but the length of Paul's news affected our lunch period so I think we were all anxious for Paul to wrap things up as quickly as possible.

Paul's newscast was full of pregnant pauses, so when he would come to what we percieved as the end, Paul would pause and utter those unwelcomed words......"and now.....page 2". Damn. But Paul usually had a personal interest story about some common citizen doing something uncommon at the end of the news and I think that made it all worthwhile to the sixth grade class. Something must have made a great impression on me, to remember this all so clearly all these many years later. I was in the sixth grade, many.....many years ago and Paul Harvey just quite broadcasting last year. Amazing.

And now....you know the rest of the story.