The Kingston Trio...

The Kingston Trio was a hit group a little before my musical day, but they are considered one of the most influential sounds that shaped the coming rock n' roll years. Their sound evolved into "folk pop" which guided such stars as Peter, Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, The Byrds and The Mama's and Papa's. It was a pleaure to see and hear them up close and personal. Above, "Scotch and Soda" which is the most played Juke Box song of all times.

Good bye, city life.......

If you have ever heard the theme songs to Green Acres or The Addams Family...and not been able to get them out of your head, you have Vic Mizzy to thank.

Green acres is the place for me.
Farm livin' is the life for me.
Land spreadin' out so far and wide

Sad to note that Vic passed away this week.

Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.
You are my wife.
Good bye, city life.
Green Acres we are there.

Jim Hall | Chaparrals honored...

In 1995 Jim Hall took a chance on a young Brazilian driver named Gil de Ferran, offering him a drivers spot with Chaparral Racing's Indy Car team. The rest as they say is history with Gil later winning the Indy 500 and the Indy Car Series championship twice, albeit with other teams. Gil has never forgotten Jim's confidence in him and so this past weekend when Gil finally retired from active racing he asked Jim to be at Laguna Seca for his final American Lemans Series race. We sent two Chaparrals along with Jim and he tells me they were the hit of the weekend. By the way.....Gil won the race! The video above is Gil and Jim Hall driving a parade lap around Laguna Seca. Gil is driving the Chaparral 2, while Jim is driving the Chaparral 2E.

Running into old friends...

Random meetings of old acquaintances is one of life's little joys. For the last 5 years at the annual Racquet Club NCAA Invitational Tournament, I've been a supporter of my old grad school, Pepperdine University and their women's tennis team. In between our matches I happened to be at the main stadium court watching a match involving Texas A&M and I noticed their coach, who looked fairly familiar, but at first I couldn't be sure.

Then it dawned on me that the coach was Bobby McKinley, who I had known at Trinity University. I hadn't seen Bob since an alunmi weekend long ago. Bob is now the Asst. Coach of Tennis for A&M, but is a tennis legend in his own right.

Bobby was a four-time All-American and was a team captain for our Trinity team which won the 1972 NCAA Championships. He was later the Coach at Trinity and the NCAA Coach of the Year in 1977. He was the No. 1-ranked Junior Tennis Player in the United States at one time. He reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon in 1973, reached the doubles semifinals at the U.S. Open in 1972 and was part of the No. 2-ranked men's doubles team in the USA in 1972. At the time of his retirement, McKinley was ranked No. 50 in singles on the ATP Tour. His brother, Chuck McKinley, won the Wimbledon Men's Championship in 1963.

Glalmour Shots...

Always nice to see your photo on the cover of a website with worldwide importance.....with credit! Miss Texas Webshots

Thoughts on dogs | Revisited

I was at my "other" house last night watering and I always make sure I water the spot where two of my Golden Retrievers are buried. This gets my thinking about those wonderful dogs and friends. And reminded me of an article I wrote in 2004 while the Big Gold Dog was still very much alive, which I like...here it is again.

---------------------------
"Researchers have recently proven that people who talk to their dogs are cutting-edge communicators, not just a bunch of eccentrics."

Thanks for that, I'm glad to know I'm not just a kook, a complete kook that is. A new German study cited here says that most dogs understand language at a rate the scientists said was equivalent to that of a 3-year-old child...or an ape or dolphin. I'd prefer to communicate with an ape or dolphin more than with most 3 year olds, but that's another story.

I've always known that dogs have an innate ability to understand, and I've always talked to them. I guess that's why I love dogs so much and we've always gotten along. I've only been bitten by one dog in my life....my brother's French poodle. The reason for the bite is quite obvious; he didn't understand what I was saying.

My Golden Retreivers have been amazing in their grasp of the English language however. Ranger, my dear comrade of the late 80's and 90's had quite a range of vocabulary. When I would say "Duck" [as in a waterfowl] he would immediately look up and start searching the sky for a stray gaggle of mallards. He was a retreiver yes, but I had never ever taken him duck hunting nor been around lakes with ducks. Where he got that trait I don't know, genetics maybe. And we had to spell out C-A-T, for if we uttered "CAT" he was at the front door barking furiously for 20 minutes. The same with "SQUIRREL", only this would send him out the back door trying to climb the mulberry tree. If we were, by chance, to utter the word "BATH" in his presence he would slowly start to slink away and if we made a move in his direction he would shift from "slink" to "haul ass" in a nanosecond.

Ranger was also adept in automotive language. Like most Golden Retreivers he relished being in the family bed. My mean and evil Ex Wife did not relish nor allow a 95 lb. dog in the bed. So whenever she would leave in the morning, into bed he would hop. If I came home first drving my Blazer, he would still be in full repose. However if the mean evil EX came home in her Volvo he was out of the linen in a flash. He knew the sound of a Swedish engine better than most humans I know.

The present Big Gold Dog, Tres, is less communicative than Ranger but in a way, smarter about his understanding of language. Tres knows all the words, but he also has me figured out. His dog notes on me read something like:

-Owner: soft touch, easy, pushover; don't have to do a thing he says.
-Important words to respond to: "Chow", "Ride", "Walk", "Treat". Ingore all else.

Actually Tres is more of a talker than a good listener. Thankfully for us, he's the only dog I've ever had that will tell you precisely when he needs to go out and do his duty so we never worry about him. He will go to the back door and utter one single muffled "woof". That's it..."woof", I need to go. If by chance we don't resond quickly enough, there is a second and very loud "Bark". We know then he really has to go. The same procedure applies when he wants to come back in.

Daphne is another matter entirely. Daphne is an Abyssinian Squirrelhound....aka "Mutt". Mutt's are genetically smarter than most other dogs since they most typically are the strays of the world and have had to fend for themselves over the eons. Daphne is as smart as they come, and like a precocious child is generally a wise ass when it comes to language. She understands everything we say, but does not comply with anything we wish, unless she wants to do it. She learned "sit", "lie down" and "roll over", I'm told, after only one or two training sessions. She knows not to dig, bark at squirrels and to stay out of the flower beds. Her reaction to a command to do, or not do, any of these is to run out of leash range and smirk. A very perturbing and frustrating trait in a dog. And when it comes time to scold her with the old favorite "Bad Dog!"....well she just looks the other way like we are talking to some imaginary other dog.

Ranger: good listener.
Tres: good talker.
Daphne: poor communication skills all around.

LeMans winner in Midland

I've been keeping it rather low profile, as some details are still being worked out, but my new job is as Managing Director of Chaparral Partners. Chaparral Partners is a new entity we are forming to market and develop the cars and history of Chaparral Racing in addition to some exciting things we're working on that for now need to be unnamed. A dream job for me, whose idol as a kid was Jim Hall.

We will be working directly with the Petroleum Museum and it's Chaparral Gallery on most projects. And one of the first is just too cool. Starting around the 1st of next April we will have on loan from the Henry Ford Museum, the Ford GT40 Mark IV, above, which won LeMans in 1967*. Cool enough, but the car was owned by Carroll Shelby and driven to victory by two of racing's biggest legends, Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt. Having a good contact in Dan Gurney's personal assistant, I've asked her to put this event on his calendar...and through other contacts we hope to have both Shelby and Foyt attend also. Nothing guaranteed, but we're hopeful. If it works out....a world class racing event on March 26th, the target for our exhibit kickoff gala.

*It was on the winners podium at this race, that Dan Gurney became the first driver, ever, to spray the crowd with the winners champagne instead of drinking it. A tradition continued in every motor sport today.

Woodstock: Peace, Love and Music.

Woodstock was in full swing on this date. One of the best and most memorable performances was by Joe Cocker. I have to say I'm glad to know that Joe is alive and well today, living in Colorado. As he appears in this video, he looks like he was one of those guys who was not going to survive the excesses of the 60's.

Birthday Remembered...

Today is my Dad's birthday. He would have been 86 years old. For most of his life he was active, interesting and loved sports. I like to remember him that way....especially with golf clubs.

Woodstock | Jimi Hendrix

To Me, probably no performer says Woodstock more than Jimi Hendrix, a guitar genius. Today, people think of Jimi as typifying the Hippie drug culture. Drugs yes, they killed him, but few people know that Hendix had served in the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division and was a fairly partiotic guy.

Wind Power....

As I have watched whole areas of West Texas become overwhelmed with wind farms, I've wondered, in point of fact, just how well these are working as a potential solution to future energy problems. Wind turbines are widely "touted" by those putting them up as the basic building block in our Green future. But those putting these monsters up atop scenic mesas are also hoping to cash in on our green future. So, has anyone done factual studies on their viability?

In Australia they have and have come up with some interesting findings about the true value of wind farms.... Wind farms downunder

Woodstock | Plus 40

In two weeks, it will be the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. Hard to believe. The Summer of Peace and Love not withstanding, it was a seminal event with some of the world's best rock musicians. Fitting that it occured in 1969, because to me, this was the year that the original and classic rock n' roll ended. In the 70's and afterward it was different, losing it's free spirited, hard driving enthusiasm to commercialism which ended up, temporarily, ending music as we know it with.....Disco. I'll be playing clips of some other classic performances in coming days. But above, probably my favorite....Santana. Rock on...!

The Eagle has landed.....

It's hard to believe that it's been 40 years since Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on another cosmic body.....the Moon. Hard to believe that from Alan Shepard's first 15 minute ride into space in 1961, we developed the technology to send men to land on the moon just 8 years later.

If you weren't old enough to have been around in the 1960's to witness the "space race" culminating in the "moon shot", it was an amazing time. The venture into space was the cutting edge of technology, at a time when new technology wasn't a daily part of life. We are technology jaded today. Then, with only three broadcast TV channels, most of the population was glued to the family TV watching this all unfold. The astronauts were tops on the hero list.

As has been noted in recent times, the computers that guided the Apollo 11 spacecraft had less computing power than today's small personal cellphones. Watching and listening as Neil Armstrong overrode the computer to land the Eagle moon lander by his own piloting skills has to be one of the most thrilling moments of TV history. In total, twenty-four American astronauts have traveled to the Moon, with twelve walking on its surface. The lunar landings occurred over a short 3 year period, the last coming in December of 1972. Quite frankly the technological task of getting us to the moon in 2009 would be a daunting prospect. To do it in 1969 was nothing short of phenomenal.

The photo above is a shot I took with an old camera of the TV screen on July 20th 1969, with Neil Armstrong already on the lunar surface [right] and Buzz Aldrin climbing down the Eagle's ladder to join Armstrong. One of my prize possessions, courtesy of my brother at NASA is a personally autographed copy of Gene Cernans' great book, "Last Man on the Moon". Gene was the last man to have trod on the lunar surface.

Chaparral 2J | The Sucker Car

Yesterday, we ran the historic Chaparral 2J, "the sucker car" for it's semi-annual mainentance laps. One of the most historic and innovative racing cars ever built, the 2J always draws a big crowd, even some folks driving from Austin for the event. We run all the Chaparrals during a years time. If you want to be put on our mailing list to be notified when we are running the Chaparrals at The Petroleum Museum, let me know! The video above was shot in 2005 at Laguna Seca Raceway in California, when the Chaparrals were the featured cars at the Rolex Vintage Car event, the largest in the USA.

McNamara....

Probably you saw or read that Robert Strange McNamara died today...and yes his middle name was Strange. His passing is sad in a historical way, and for his family, but most of us of the Vietnam era who served in the military have fairly strong feelings about the man who directed and shaped the war.

Despite President Kennedy's and Johnson's philosophical leadership, McNamara, as Secretary of Defense, was the chief architect of how the war was fought. And for a good deal of the war it was poorly served by his leadership. It was the accountant and statistician McNamara who after the battles in the Ia Drang Valley where my friends fought, came up with the concept of the "body count" as a measure of how we were doing. After the battle at LZ Xray McNamara decided that if we could keep on killing the enemy in much greater numbers than they were killing our soldiers, the North Vietnamese could not sustain the war. In the end the North Vietnamese lost numbers some put close to three million soldiers and civilians, the U.S. lost close to 59,000 troops....and still we were defeated. While being interviewing for the book We Were Soldiers Once and Young, General Giap, the military commander of North Vietnamese forces, told General Hal Moore that North Vietnam would have been willing to endure three times the casualties that they did and would have fought for 20 years more if it meant winning the war.

Perhaps our disdain for McNamara stems from his lofty Ivy League "I'm obviously right, so let's stick to the business plan" attitude, which reduced our brother soldiers to statistical highlights making it seem OK to lose 100 Americans if only they killed 500 Viet Cong as they were dying. It was obvious to the troops dying in the mud that he certainly wasn't right about much nor had the willingness to change strategies or listen to the commanders in the field. And certainly his mea culpa book in 1995, admitting that early in the war he knew he was wrong but did nothing to change the outcome, has left his place in history with Vietnam Vets on the dung heap.

Added as it appeared, my friend Joe Galloway's comments on McNamara

4th of July | Midland

Happy Independence Day!
Photo slideshow of the 4th in Midland

The naked lamp is lit..

Perhaps you read the bizarre story about the airline passenger who suddenly felt the need to strip naked and lay in his seat thusly, causing the flight to land in Albuquerque. Obviously this poor fellow had some break with reality, but on some plane trips in the past I can almost identify with him. One such trip in 1988 comes to mind.

The wife, at the time, and I had been at my family's home on Torch Lake, Michigan an hour north of Traverse City. To return home we had to catch a commuter flight from Traverse City to either Detroit or Chicago. On this trip we changed planes in Detroit which required about a 2 hour wait in the airport. We boarded the American Airlines flight to Dallas, taxied out to wait our turn in line to take off at which point all hell broke loose in the unfriendly skies as a huge group of thunderstorms started letting loose over the airport. They went on.....and on, until the captain informed us that this might go on for awhile and so to save fuel he needed to shut the engines down and with all the gates full we were going to stay put on the taxiway.

So there we sat for the next 3 hours in the darkness, with only some emergency lighting on in the cabin. And with no engines powering the ventilation systems we sat in the stifling humid still air. The crew strongly suggested that we not leave our seats and being in the window seat I could not stretch my 6'2" frame out at all. To make matters worse, I had on my favorite lizard skin cowboy boots, which were only good for about 6 hours of comfort before they started feeling like beaver traps on my feet. Being the sort who likes to move around often, my only option was to squirm around which irritated the wife to no end.

Which brings me back to the naked guy in the paper today. I think that probably I was only minutes away from a claustrophobia attack, which is what could have happened to this guy. If I could have gotten out of my window seat I would have surely stripped off those lizard skin boots and may not have stopped there.

Kim Miller | Midland talent

Kim Miller was a classmate of my sister's at Midland High. Their class is having a reunion this week and I ran across Kim's entry on their website. Kim lives in Wimberely, as does my friend Connie Nelson who is still involved in the music business. I hope to put them together....

Preview more of Kim's music at Kim Miller.Com

Father's Day: Gone but never forgotten..

My Dad.....and Mom with me

Photographic legacy...

I'm daily being reminded of where my photographic interest, and whatever talent I have, came from. My Dad. After my Dad passed away I took possession of his photo archive; thousands of color slides, which he took from the late 1940's until the early 1990's. My goal is to put as many of them as I can into digital format to not only preserve them but also to give copies to my brother and sister.

I have about 20 slide carousals full, as well as a photo file box with many 100's of loose slides. I was helped along by my Mom, who some years ago made a good effort at organizing the carousals into topics roughly by the years in which they were taken and/or by subject. So I have many from the 40's and 50's of Mom and Dad's families, me and my siblings as small kids, trips taken over the decades [including to the original Disneyland not long after it opened], scout photos and memorable events. I have to admit that reviewing all these photos is a very poignant experience. Seeing family members [including dogs] long gone, remembering trips taken and reliving good times is a joyful yet very melancholy experience.

I really need to acquire a good slide scanner, but as I was reviewing the slide carousals shown on our original family slide screen, the thought occured to me that I might be able to photograph the slides with my digital camera. The old fashion slide screen provides excellent luminosity and the results have been mostly good.

The photo above is one. The shot taken by my Dad is of his mother, out rowing at our house in Michigan. She's probably close to 80 years old when the photo was taken in the late 70's. She was quite a woman. My Dad was in our vintage Old Town canoe, a beautiful creation of wood and canvas.

How hot is it.....?

How hot is it.....? Well in West Texas terms it's not that bad. It's been close to 100° every day for several days, but that's not too bad comparatively. In 1994 I lived through the hottest day on record here, 119°, that's hot. It's just that our daily weather is turning into those kinda' days that are like living on Mars. No clouds most of the day, so the sun is "on" with no breaks. We have had some thunderstorms build up in the afternoons, late in the afternoon, but these are just an irritant. As anyone who has lived in Midland knows, there is a phenomenon peculiar in these parts, that a storm, no matter how big will suddenly veer, or split, or just stop before it gets into the City of Midland. Weathermen friends confirm this. So......lot's of storms and rain around, none on our yards.

It's the kinda' hot now that starts to bug man and dog. I know when this starts because of D. Daphne Dog. Usually when I say the magic words, "out back" or "ride", she's on her feet like her legs were spring loaded. Now, with D. Daphne laying under the air conditioning vent the king of words, "ride", illicits that kind of look that says, "if you make me I'll go, otherwise I'm fine right here". That's kinda' the way I feel too.

Le Mans..

Jim Hall | Del Sloan
The 24 hours of Le Mans being run today is the premier sports car event in the world...in my opinion. Cars of all makes, models and capabilities running a grueling and long track for 24 hours. I'll be watching during the day....and night with special interest this year. My old friend and business partner Del Sloan is there.

I had some business with racing legend Jim Hall this week and Del accompanied me to my visit at Chaparral Racing to lend a hand in the oil business talk. But the highlight of the visit was hearing Jim talk about his career at Le Mans, especially the 1963 season when Jim teamed with another racing superstar, Dan Gurney, to drive Le Mans. Hearing some of the inside stories about those "golden days" of sports car racing from one of the legends of the era is magic!

A Good List....

By Regina Brett, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. Yield.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey
is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

June 6th 1944 | D-Day

Thank you for your sacrifice for our freedom....

Dogs in cars...

Many of you may remember the old photo website, "The Mirror Project", a great website that killed itself because it got so popular that it became too much work for it's creator. It's premise was to submit photos of yourself in reflective surfaces. I spent several years submitting over a 100 photos and I miss it. The photos chronicled my life for those good years.

So now I occasionally chronicle the life of D. Daphne Dog in a British based web vehicle called, "Dogs in Cars". You can guess the premise of this effort I suspect. If you're a dog lover you'll enjoy looking around.
Here's one of Daphne
And a recent one....

Firing up a Chaparral...

Too wet to drive the Chaparral 2E, but it sounds good, we try to run again on Friday, 29 May. The guy in the shorts and black shirt looks familiar :>]

Memorial Day

C.W. Craig, 1923-2006
45th Infantry Division: Italy, France
WWII 1943-1946

Springboard Center Grand Opening

Video of The Springboard Center grand opening [thanks to Jimmy Patterson]

Irish ancestral serendipity.....

Craig family home, Castlecatt, Country Antrim, Northern Ireland

A month ago I wrote that I found out the name of the small town in Northern Ireland where my Dad's grandfather emigrated from, Castlecatt, and that I had just Googled up names there and found the Craig Cottage B&B and that I had written the owner Rosemary seeing if she could help me learn a few things about my family.

Well Rosemary has sure come through, referring me to her older uncle, Robert and his friend Nevin Taggert. Nevin, I've learned, in many emails is rather the local historian, and I get the feeling he's helped many Irish expatriate families get in touch with their pasts. Amazingly it turns out that Robert's wife, Margaret, quite possibly is a distant cousin; not from the Craig family but from the Wallace side of my family [from whence is derived my first name]. That side of our family name stopped with my Great/Great Grandmother Ellen Wallace who married Robert Howard Craig on 18 August 1859 in the First Presbyterian Church in Bushmills, County Antrim [something that Nevin found out for me]. Margaret Thompson's old family name is Wallace and Nevin tells me he thinks all the Wallace's in the area are from one family.

I've enjoyed meeting such great people far away and people whose sense of family and history runs deep. Nevin has gone so far as to visit several places around Castlecatt that he knows are related to my family history, taking photos for me. Like the photo above which he took yesterday. The yellow house was my Great/Great Uncle Samuel Craig's home, my Dad's grandfather's brother Sam who built the home about 1900. Nevin also sent a photo of Margaret wearing the Wallace family ring inherited from her grandmother. Amazing.

Keni Thomas | Ranger, musician, good guy...

My friend Keni Thomas at the Houston Rodeo.

Fallen Heroes..

Late last year, Mayor Wes Perry asked me to help him think of meaningful ways the City of Midland could honor our local/area soldiers who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan. We've done several small things, but we were looking for something more permanent.

We were mulling over several ideas when serendipity intervened. Several months ago my friend Connie Nelson called to say that through her country music contacts, she had a professional portrait artist friend in Nashville, Corey Frizzell, who wanted to honor our fallen soldiers by doing portraits of them to present to their families. Connie asked me if I had any ideas to assist Corey in getting his "Fallen Heroes" project off the ground. And boy did I!

After consulting with Wes and other city officials I asked Corey if he would be willing to render portraits of all eleven area service members who have given their lives for America, to be placed in a prominent public memorial. As you watch the video clip, below, of Corey presenting his first portrait last week, know that soon he will be working on our Permian Basin Fallen Heroes. Corey is noted for his works of country music stars, including his famous uncles Lefty and David Frizzell.

Corey's story can be seen here as he presents his first portrait to the mother of a fallen Marine. Corey presents portrait

Machine.......heal thyself!

Now this is strange.....but true.

A week or so ago, I reported that I had injured my back while lifting my lawnmower out of the trunk of my car. Dumb idea, but thanks to the Midland High sports trainers, my back is much better. I had taken the mower to our other family home to touch up the grass there until we can find a suitable yard guy.

What I didn't report was that after all the effort to get the mower to the other house....I couldn't get it started. I had just used it at my home a week before, but when I tried to start it at the other house, the pull cord would not budge an inch. I tried gently nudging it out and I tried furious jerking...no movement at all; which is when I packed it up, came home and injured my back getting it out of the car.

The mower is about 9 years old, but I keep it in good shape so I was befuddled as to this sudden malfunction. My first thought was that perhaps the motor had seized up, but it was working fine when I shut it off the previous week. The second, and more logical thought, was that the starter cord had become entangled inside the mower, something I thought I might try fixing myself, although my confidence in this was shaken when my friend CJ, the air conditioning guy, told me he tried this once and that there is a very strong spring inside the cord assembly that nearly took his hand off when he had tried this same repair years ago.

But, early this morning I thought I'd at least get it out, take the cover off and see what I could manage to see. The mower has been inside the tool shed untouched since I painfully put it there last week. Before I disassembled anything, I thought I might just give the cord a tug to remind myself of the problem.....when I did, it pulled smartly out and the mower started right up as if there had never been any problem at all, so I proceeded to mow the yard.

Now in medical and psychological illnesses I've heard of spontaneous remission, but I never had any idea that a machine could heal itself. I'm still really perplexed, but as my neighbor said, and I had thought aleady, just be grateful. And I am.

Easy to be hard......

Weird dream spawns eclectic memories......

Blogging anniversary...or two

The remembrance of my anniversary into blogging is not a high priority, but I should note it I suppose, if not a little late. Officially Streams came into being on March 9th 2002 with these sage remarks. Before that, however, my official entry using actual blogging technology came about in an earlier effort entitled, "Pedro's Dreamland" starting on June 18th, 2001.

And, even before I found "Blogger" and started using their ready made technology I had been producing a similarly formatted effort called "The Adventures of Pedro" which premiered on March 20, 2001. I produced this daily using photos and short stories of my dull daily life, using a new hand produced html page each and every day. Obviously this was some effort, so when I found that the newly introduced "Blogger" could do the same thing, the technology intrigued me and I starting using it. The old "Adventures of Pedro" are still up and can be seen here [all links at bottom]. These completely fabricated stories which started as a joke were, really, some of my best work and I actually had quite a following of readers.

What started out in 2001 as complete fun and moronic entertainment got lost, for awhile, in becoming too serious as blogging grew into a national pasttime and I had the mistaken impression that people really cared what I had to say on the deep issues of the day. So now, and maybe this is why I'm still around when others have tired of the effort; I post items that interest me, only when......I have items that interest me. I don't worry about putting up something everyday nor care much about entering into the fray of big stories. And generally I am more diligent about my daily photos at Eclectic Photography. But for those who occasionally still wander in after 8 years of blogging.....thanks.

Older....but not too damn much wiser

Here's a helpful hint for those of around my age...over 35. Don't try and pick up a lawn mower and put it into the trunk of your car.

I'm looking after my folks vacant house a few blocks away which includes keeping the yard up. For the last two years we've had a young guy doing it, but seeing greener pastures and larger yard jobs, he let us go. I have a temporary yard guy, but he only comes occasionally, so early Tuesday morning I thought I'd take my lawn mower over and clean things up a bit. Since it's only blocks away I don't mind setting my mower in the trunk for the short trip. I had done this once before.....after Tuesday I won't do it again.

I got the mower in and out at the other house and back into the car with not much problem. The mower is moderately heavy but nothing a He-Man can't handle, the problem is that it's unwieldy. Back at my house, as I was lowering it to the ground I was hit with PAIN. I'm used to some pain, but this was PAIN, the kind where you see bright lights and feel sick and about to faint kinda' PAIN. Lower back PAIN. The kind of pain that mostly paralyzes you and I had visions of the neighbors having to carry me in.

But I finally limped inside, took a bottle of Aleve and somehow got changed and went to a meeting. I found that if I stood up, straight up, I was able to function. So I stood up most all day and then went to photograph a baseball game that night. All the standing and moving, I suppose, loosening things up where I felt a little better by then and at bed time.

Here's my second tip. When you sleep all night on an injured back, don't try and jump out of bed in the morning. I tried.....and almost cried the PAIN was so bad, the back having tightened up again overnight. Luckily, with my sports connections at Midland High, I am able to avail myself of the Bulldog's professional training staff and equipment, which is what I did Wednesday morning along with a call to the world's best trainer, Doc Dodson. The trainers gave me a going over and recommended some helpful tips, especially about sleeping. I just love a pillow between my knees all night. But today it's somewhat better if I mind what I'm doing like not bending over, turning quickly or sitting crooked. I'm trying to teach D. Daphne Dog how to tie my shoes.

500 Wins...

Congratulations to Midland High School baseball coach Barry Russell on achieving his 500th career coaching win last week. A big accomplishment considering, at Midland High, it includes 11 consecutive playoff appearances, 10 straight seasons with 23 or more wins-- including owning all or part of the District Championships in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006. The Bulldogs were the Texas State 5-A Champions in 2001 and state semi-finalists in 2006.

On Wednesday night Coach Russell was honored with a dinner by players, fans and the baseball booster club....cake and all! Photo Slideshow..

Heritage explained.....

And now I know of the genes responsible for my fondness for the military......and whiskey!!

Over decades, my Mom did extensive genealogical work on her family and my Dads, all without the Internet. She called people all over the states and wrote to people in Europe. Her family went back to North Carolina in the early 1700's, getting her in the DAR. My Dad's came from Germany on his Mom's side, and from Northern Ireland, after migrating from Scotland, on his father's side. His Grandad's name was Robert Howard Craig. They actually went to N. Ireland twice and met some distant relatives.

Recently she gave me a lot of her work which included the Obit of my Great Grand Uncle, Sir James Craig M.D. who became the President of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland. He was also a knight...always nice to have one knight in the family. It listed his birthplace as Castlecatt, County Antrim, thusly telllng me where my Great Grandfather came from. I knew we came from County Antrim but not the exact village. It is about 3 miles from Bushmills....and we know what they make there. Thus my obvious love of whiskey, though I haven't had a dram in 15 years.

So, with the Internet I decided to see what I could find out about Craig's in Castlecatt and Bushmills. Finding no official town websites I ended up writing to a couple of B&B's in the area figuring they'd be nice people....and they were. One actually owns The Craig Cottage B&B right up the road from Bushmills. She tells me that there are still Craigs galore in the area. Another lady who owns the Primrose Inn in Castlecatt sent me a lead on the war memorial to the WWI dead from Bushmills listing several Craigs...and a Wallace. My Great Grandfather married a Wallace from around Bushmills. And so now we know where my name, Wallace Howard Craig, came from....my Great Grandparents, Robert Howard Craig, and wife Ellen Wallace

These are the WWI dead, sharing my family names, from the Memorial to the 12th Royal Irish Rifles, a central County Antrim unit raised for the war. Look at the dates of death for the first three.....all the same day at the battle of the Somme.

CRAIG, Rifleman, SAMUEL, 1712. 12th Bn. Royal Irish Rifles. Co. Antrim 1st July 1916. XI. M. 5.
CRAIG, Rifleman, ALEXANDER, 614. 12th Bn. Royal Irish Rifles. Co. Antrim 1st July 1916. Pier and Face 15 A and 15 B
WALLACE, Rifleman, ALEXANDER, 19242. 12th Bn. Royal Irish Rifles. 1st July 1916. Age 26. Husband of Amy Wallace, of 5, Gilmore St., Ballymena, Co. Antrim. Pier and Face 15 A and 15 B
CRAIG, Lance Corporal, JAMES, 47837. 12th Bn. Royal Irish Rifles. Co. Antrim 11th April 1918. Panel 138 to 140 and 162 to 162A and 163A

Here's an interesting website detailing the history of the 12th Royal Irish Rifles ........

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.

Life in Dogville..

This didn't win any Academy Awards, but it should have. Like "Best Dog in a Dramatic Role". From the 1930 "Dogville" serials.

Google Maps...360

I've always loved maps and aerial photos, so I go to Google Maps frequently to look and see what I can find in the way of interesting aerial views. I've looked at my old house in Dallas before, at 6266 Town Hill Lane, for there are usually updated, clearer photos on each visit.

But tonight when I went there, I was blown away. Not only by the fact that my old home has been torn down [burned?], and a new structure is under construction, but by the fact that now Google Maps allows me a ground level view of the whole street. By using my mouse, I found that I could switch from the standard aerial view, to a street level 360 degree movable panoramic view. It's simply astounding! Click on the photo above for a larger view....and if you have some familiar place to look at in Dallas give this a try! Or go to Google Maps, type in 6266 Town Hill Ln, Dallas, TX enter "search" and then use the pop up box to go to the "street view" shot. You can move the little yellow "man" in the lower right box to move around the street. Too cool.

And I have to say, that from the ground, except for the trees being larger, the street and homes look remarkably the same as when I left it almost 18 years ago. The tree next to the "porta potty" is a big magnolia tree that stood outside the guest room window of the old house. 18 years...where does the time go!

Later, update: I found that Midland Texas has been video mapped too, showing a wintery 360 degree view around 1207 Bedford Midland Texas.

Where are the frogs.....?

I'm not an alarmist, nor a believer in quack science but sometimes you have to listen to the evidence and be very concerned. While global warming gets all the media attention, there are probably more pressing issues. Tonight I attended a live webcast lecture by noted biologist Tyrone Hayes which we at the Sibley Nature Center sponsored with The University of Texas. Dr. Hayes is a noted amphibian researcher, who was hired as a consultant to the Swiss chemical company Syngenta to verify that it's fertilizer component atrazine was not a problem to the environment. What he found was quite the opposite.

It turns out that frogs, like the canaries in the old coal mine, are good predictors for health issues in humans. And what he noted is that frogs species all over the world are dying off and mutating at an alarming rate. As he noted, there are many causes, but his involvement with the chemical company showed that pesticide runoff from agricultural lands was one of the leading causes. And atrazine is one of the worst offenders as it does not easily naturally decompose.

As he noted. Atrazine has been totally banned in Europe, even in Switzerland home of atrazine. Angola, with it's decades long history of civil war induced death and violence, has banned atrazine as too dangerous to use! One part per billion in water has been shown to be life threatening to frogs...in the USA we use 80 million pounds a year. Dangerous levels of atrazine are now commonly found in natural rain water in heavily agricultural areas of the US midwest.

Poor frogs......poor humans, atrazine travels up the food chain to what we eat, and it is now commonly found in most water sources. The hormonal actions from atrazine which causes mutation and abnormal sex changes in frogs are the same ones that cause breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.

Dr Hayes has been noted in National Geographic and you can read more here about the story of his findings. Or read his website, to learn more.

Friends drop in....

Good friends Bruce and Arlene Crandall stop in Midland on their way back from the inauguration and annual Medal of Honor Ball in Washington. The very same function in the news for it's "non-attendee", the new president. Bruce is a Vietnam Medal of Honor recepient.

Bruce and Arlene travel across the country in a rather large RV and used to park their wheeled home in my driveway when they would stop in to visit. On one occasion some years ago, they deposited almost the entire load of the vehicle's hydraulic fluid on my driveway...and on the next visit Bruce adeptly knocked part of my brick wall down while parking. So...feeling some remorse, on their recent visits they've stayed at the RV campgrounds near the Interstate and the Warfield Truck Stop. Being worn out from their long RV drive from Dallas, they asked if I could drive out to meet them for some fine dining at the Truck Stop; a high end truck stop with some decent food and "interesting" dining companions. But, being outside the city limits they still allow the dining partons to smoke where ever they wish.....which being truckers is everywhere. I have forgotten what a foul experience dining ala smoke is!

Homecoming welcome..

It was an amazing event, seeing 30,000 of your townsfolk out for a singular event....the homecoming celebration for George and Laura Bush. Truly magical and best said by me in some of my photos taken from one of the best seats in the house thanks to a "White House Press Pool" pass!
Bush Homecoming Slideshow

Presidential Event..

If you are planning on attending the welcome home for President Bush next Tuesday, just a quick reminder. Please leave your ammunition and mace at home.

[from ticket reverse side]

Basketball......!

Three full days of basketball at the Byron Johnston Tournament in Midland, yielded great results. The MHS Lady Dawgs won the tournament and the MHS men's team were runner's up behind a very good Midland Lee team. Lot's of fun, good crowds and I got to see a lot of folks I hadn't seen in quite awhile. And as always interesting photos.

Lady Dawgs Photos
Bulldog Men's Photos

Thanks....CBS7

Christmas For OUR Troops, our organization sending gift boxes to our troops overseas, relies heavily on volunteers and donations. To get large numbers of volunteers and donated items, we have to rely on good media coverage. Probably no media source has been more helpful in the last years as has CBS7, going so far as to send a news crew to San Antonio last May to cover our event at Brooke Army Medical Center.

So it didn't surprise me at all when earlier this week my friend, CBS7 anchor, Catherine Collins called saying they wanted to do a follow up story about the troops receiving our packages. And so the next day we taped a spot which aired on Christmas Day.

So thanks and Merry Christmas to Catherine, Jose, Eddie, Jordan, Beau, Stephanie and all the other folks at CBS7 who help us out!

Remembering my Dad...

My Dad has been gone a little over two years now, the last day of November to be exact. I, of course, thought about the event on that day this year but sometimes, with other events happening at that time, it seems so sad that I'd rather not mention it in public. But tonight for some odd reason I was looking back over old posts on "Streams" and came across what I had written about him on Father's Day of 2002. It is still appropriate even now with him gone......

I'm making meat loaf, for Fathers Day with My Dad, Mom and xxxxx.

I am blessed that my Dad is still here, and living with my Mom only 4 blocks away...in the house I mostly grew up in. My Dad, a child of the "depression", worked from age 12 to help support his family because that's just what people did and he didn't consider himself special, but his Mom and Sister did.

My Dad, the soldier, left for WWII and didn't come home for 3 years. His best Army buddy was killed right beside him on their first day of combat in Italy. My Dad who endured many months of hard combat, and was evacuated only after his feet had frozen in the Vosge Mountains of France. My Dad who came home, and didn't talk about it all for the next 50 years, because it was too hard, and because as an American it was simply his duty to perform.....and that's what everyone did, so he didn't consider himself special. But we do.

My Dad who really worked way too hard to send three sometimes ungrateful kids to the best colleges while forgoing things he had dreamed of all his life. I only suspect this because he never mentioned it and didn't consider himself special....but we do.

My Dad who watched a son descend into the hellish pit of alcohol, but never had a harsh word, only good advice. And had the patience to wait years for this advise to sink in and didn't consider himself special......but I do.

My Dad who has always been there for everyone in the whole family, put everyone else first and always did the very best he could because that's what Dad's do and didn't consider himself special........but we do!!

Letters from Iraq....

Mailed just one week ago, amazingly enough, our gift boxes to Our Troops overseas are starting to arrive! We've received emails of thanks all day long from Iraq. The note below from a contact made through the 25th Infantry Divsion says it all....

Dear Friends,
It is hard to describe the feeling of warmth I have felt the whole day from deep inside. Your packages arrived at our Medical Facility here in COB Speicher today.

As our Soldiers started coming in, our Mail detail urged everyone to pick up their boxes. You should have seen the look of sheer pleasure in our kid's eyes when they saw the big boxes with their names on them. Their broad smiles, the way they wrapped their arms around the packages and showed to each other in amazement the good things you sent us made me realize how young and impressionable they still are.

I want you to know that your extraordinary act of kindness to our brave kids was well received and cannot be thanked enough.

People like you are the reason why we fight with pride. We fight for patriots like you. We fight for those who love and remember their young Troops who serve all around the world.

It has been a good busy day of work in this strange, troubled land. Seeing the progress made by those who go outside the wire risking their lives for a better Iraq and peace in America gives me hope for the future. In many ways you have been here side by side with us. You have reached out and touched our hearts. My prayers tonight will be for you and your loved ones to receive all the blessings you deserve.

May God keep you and your families in his loving hands. Thank you, dear friends. Thank you for giving our Troops a very Merry Christmas.

v/r,

Miguel Benzor-Anaya
CAPT, MS
25th Infantry Division

Smart or Stoopid....?

Hey, I've been trying to tell you!! Take the test yourself

Mission complete....

Over 100 volunteers packed 1,285 Christmas gift boxes for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan today. A truly amazing group of people for whom I have the highest respect and admiration. Special kudos go to a great group of kids, the Midland High cheerleaders, who came over after school, got right to work and quickly packed over 100 boxes. This in addition to making Christmas For OUR Troops their official non-profit organization and donating the proceeds from their poster sales to our cause. And not an insignificant amount either! Thanks to all. Here are a few images from the day. CFOT Photos

Santa's final push.

A quick reminder that this Wednesday, Dec 3rd, we will be packing Christmas gift boxes to be sent to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have a warehouse full of donated items to be packed into almost 1,300 boxes, so we can use a lot of help! If you would like to come for all afternoon, or just an hour or so, we'd love to have you. Santa's elves will be working at the Fellowship Hall of the First Presbyterian Church on W. Texas Ave. in Midland starting at about 1 p.m. on Wed.

Here are some photos of last years workers and also some from a couple of the recepients. CFOT photos

Big Gold Dog....

I like to watch this every now and then...and it still brings a tear to my eye thinking about another Big Gold Dog.

I'm honored.....!

I didn't think I knew much about stamps, but apparently I do. And I didn't know I'd been honored, but apparently I have. At least the Federated Philatelic Clubs of Southern California appreciate my efforts......whatever they were. Thank you so much for the Exemplary Service Award

Upcoming: The Paula Nelson Band

Under the category of "here's something else to do in Midland". On Saturday December 6th, at 10p.m., The Paula Nelson Band will be at Kroc's in Midland. Paula and her band are hot commodities in Austin and around Texas and the USA. They play a mix of Texas rock, blues and hot country. Paula is the daughter of my friend Connie Nelson......her Dad is Willie. Connie at right in photo, Paula on the left and daughter Amy in the middle.

Just a dog.....

A letter by an anonymous author and sent by a friend.....

Just a dog...

From time to time people tell me to "lighten up, it's just a dog" or "that's a lot of money for just a dog". They don't understand the distance traveled, time spent, or costs involved for "just a dog". Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog". Many hours have passed with my only company being "just a dog" and not once have I felt slighted. Some of my saddest moments were brought about by "just a dog". In those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog" provided purpose and comfort to overcome the day.

If you too, think that it's "just a dog" you will probably understand phrases like "it's just a friend", "just a sunrise" or "just a promise". "Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust and pure unbridled joy. Because of "just a dog" I will rise early, take long walks, and look longily to the future.

For me, and folks like me, it's not "just a dog". It's the embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. "Just a dog" brings out what is good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday people can understand that it's not "just a dog". It's the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a man or woman".

So the next time you hear someone say it's "just a dog", smile because they "just don't understand".

Open House Success...!

Our open house at The Springboard Center was a great success. The Mayor, the president of Midland Memorial Hospital, two district judges and 100's of patrons and supporters were in attendance. Guests had a chance to hear what the center and it's programs will mean for Midland and the surrounding areas and to tour the facility which will be officially opening in February 2009. As always, our friend and national spokesperson Jeanne Cooper of The Young and the Restless provided a great treat and and inspirational words.

Here's a photo slideshow of the afternoon: Springboard Open House and take a video walk thru of the new facility! Video Tour

Kiva....a great idea

Some time ago I ran into Kiva and wrote that I found this vehicle to make micro loans to individuals in 3rd world countries to be absolutely the highest and best use of the Internet. I still feel that way. After chunking in some money I invested in a woman, Sharifa Said Seif, and her hopes of expanding her clothing business in Dar es Salaam. Fast foward nine months and the loan was paid back in full. The idea of Kiva is to keep "rolling" your invested dollars into new loans as they are repaid.

Yesterday, on Veteran's Day, I thought that a good way to remember some of my past was to help someone in Southeast Asia. So my credit balance went to Savy Ek a woman on the Mekong River in Cambodia. Mrs. Ek is a silk weaver and needed some funds to buy materials to help her business grow.

The amount of money we might spend, without a thought, on a nice dinner out is a near fortune to someone in the poorer regions of the world. Kiva is a great way to help someone else up!

Kablooey!!

As a kid I always liked blowing stuff up with firecrackers. Today was the ultimate blow up, the implosion of the old Midland Savings Building. Here are my shots from the media viewing area on the 3rd floor terrace of the Hilton Hotel.

Open House........Ya'll come!

The Springboard Center, our home grown non-profit substance abuse treatment center will be having an open house this Friday to show off our new and nearly completed 11,500 square foot facility. We'll have a light Mexican food buffet and you can meet our national spokesperson Jeanne Cooper of The Young and The Restless, the newest Emmy Award winner for best actress in a daytime drama.

Things kick-off at Noon at the Center which is located at 200 Corporate Dr., off N. Big Spring Street behind the 1st National Bank branch. Here's our MRT Ad with info. Hope you can make it.....!

From Sir Charles...

"Poor people have been voting for Democrats for the last fifty years....and they are still poor."

-Charles Barkely-

Christmas For OUR Troops...

Our Christmas For OUR Troops program is once again swinging into high gear. For the past four years we have sent Christmas gift boxes to our troops serving us in harms way in Iraq and Afghanistan. At first the idea was to send a few boxes of neccesities and goodies to some of the troops we knew were overseas, sending probably 40 or 50 boxes the first year. Last year we sent over 600 boxes and this year the plan is to send over 1,000!

The support from individuals, businesses and churches has been overwhelming! People donate items, large and small, they donate services, money and most importantly their time and efforts! This year we have a whole new group of people in New Mexico who are gathering gifts and providing locations for others to drop off their donations. But....we can always use more help, items for our troops and yes sometimes money. Last year the postage bill for sending our boxes exceeded $12,000! So, if you can help in anyway, please look over our website linked above. We are a registered 503 [c] non profit corporation....and every dime goes towards showing our troops they are not forgotten.

And for a reminder of why we do this....read the few of many, many letters we have recieved back from our grateful servicemembers.

Doyle Dykes...

It was another of those nights when I wonder where all the folks in Midland were....the one's who complain about the lack of things to do in town. Guitar virtuoso Doyle Dykes played before 75-80 folks at the First Presbyterian Church. In fairness it was a Sunday night and I suppose since Doyle was appearing at 1st Presby, more secular folks might have had the impression that this was a religous event. Doyle does have a great spiritual message in his music, which is why the church brought him to town, but Doyle played mainly what he's known for....hot lick country guitar! Doyle has played on stage with Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Duane Eddy, Peter Frampton, John Fogerty, Vince Gill, and has been a regular on the Grand Ol' Opry. He is also the national spokesperson for Taylor Guitars and Rivera Amps.

A small crowd, but a great chance to talk with a musical genius!

Mission Accomplished.....

For the last week I have been intending to add an update concerning the success of the 25th Divisions visit to Midland. Luckily, in Sunday's Midland Reporter-Telegram, Mella McEwen has done a good job of summarizing the trip. I had a great time in the week with the 25th Division soldiers and the feedback from them on their experience was very positive. I'll be seeing them again soon. And a big thanks to the Midland oil community for their support and assistance. Here's Mella's take on the trip.....

Soldiers visit Midland for tips on protecting Iraqi oil facilities
by Mella McEwen
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Published: Sunday, October 5, 2008 3:14 AM CDT

Before heading to northern Iraq later this fall, eight members of the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division -- who have previously been to both Iraq and Afghanistan -- detoured to Midland to learn about the oil and gas industry. "Our goal was to get a broad overview of the oil industry and better prepare ourselves for going to Iraq," said Lieutenant Colonel Nancy Blacker, adding that another goal was to identify experts who could assist their efforts once they are in Iraq, experts they can call or e-mail after they arrive in Iraq.

The division's 'mentor,' retired four-star General James T. Hill, contacted his close friend Wallace Craig of Midland for help preparing the division to oversee oil operations in Iraq. "When they first contacted me, I envisioned they were more worried about how to secure the equipment, but their main focus is on putting Iraqis back to work, increasing production and growing the economy," he said.

Craig -- who was in the division in the mid-1970s -- said Hill, a close friend and fraternity brother, had asked him to go to Iraq, but he told Hill the soldiers would be better served coming to Midland, visiting actual facilities and talking with industry representatives. "I said they needed to look at getting many involved because the industry is so segmented," he said.

He then enlisted Midland College's Petroleum Professional Development Center to set up three days of training for the soldiers. The first day was a full-day classroom seminar, "Overview of the Oil and Gas Industry" presented by T.E. Gill at the PPDC building in downtown Midland, followed by an update on global markets, sales and prices at Wachovia Securities.

The second day involved a field trip, touring a Pioneer Natural Resources well site, pipeline operations at Plains All American tank farm and control center and compressor systems at Exterran. At the Plains tank farm, Craig said, the soldiers saw how a large-scale storage facility operates and how it is vulnerable. "They needed to know what the red flags were and what the red flags look like," he said.

Lt. Col. Blacker said the group got a good understanding from both the classroom presentation and the trip to actual sites "to see what the equipment looks like and what right looks like."

The second day concluded at the Petroleum Museum with a panel discussion involving experts in various segments of the industry. Nick Taylor, president of Mexco Energy, was among the panelists talking with the soldiers. "What they were most concerned with was creating jobs, boosting the economy and getting people involved," Taylor observed. He said one thing that amazed him was learning that the Iraqis have now buried their pipelines and encased them in concrete. Better securing the pipelines, he said, will let the Iraqis focus on economic development. Participants discussed suggestions such as holding a trade show similar to the upcoming Permian Basin International Oil Show.

"We directed them towards adding revenue, increasing production, recovering gas that's now being flared, capturing the vapors from production facilities," said Taylor. "We talked about generating facilities, using portable generators -- engines or turbines, those microturbines. Some of them thought that might not be feasible at this point but they were glad to hear our ideas. "We also talked about fertilizer, chemicals, value-added products," he continued.

Taylor noted that, since his days in the army, the military has broadened its concerns from combat to dealing with civilian-military affairs, which he found encouraging.

Craig said there is a benefit to Midlanders from the soldiers' visit in that contacts were made "so that when things improve, there will be opportunities in Iraq, especially for service companies. The potential in Iraq is huge. It has the second largest reserves after Saudi Arabia. That region is going to be a major energy center and it needs revitalization and it needs people who know how to revitalize it."

Lt. Col. Blacker said her group "really appreciate being here and welcomed with open arms."

The Army arrives..

After several months of work in the planning stages, my army consulting job got down to business today with the arrival of a number of command and staff officers from the 25th Infantry Division who have come to Midland to learn the basics of the oil business. The 25th Division will be deploying to the oil rich regions of Iraq in the very near future.

On Tuesday we will be having a full day of instruction in oil production systems at the Petroleum Professional Development Center. Wednesday morning will find us touring oil field production and transportation field sites followed by an afternoon panel discussion and question/answer session at the Petroleum Museum. Thursday we will be visiting the Alon/Fina Refinery in Big Spring before the 25th group departs that evening.

Tonight, with the help of The Petroleum Museum, I hosted a welcoming reception attended by many oil business legends who have helped me in putting the seminar together including Mayor Wes Perry, Arlen Edgar and T.B. O'Brien, who was responsible for extinquishing the oil fires in Kuwait after the first Gulf War.

It's an honor to be able to assist my old division as they prepare to deploy to Iraq....and once again I'm amazed at the quality of people we have serving in our armed forces. Like Major Kuhl, from the 25th Division's legal office. Major Kuhl recently graduated with honors with a masters degree in law from the University of Virginia. She could name her ticket in the corporate legal world, but chooses to serve her country. Enough said.

Two Years......

It was two years ago yesterday that Tres, The Big Gold Dog, passed away peacefully at home. Much has happened since then but it seems like only yesterday that he was here.....and at the same time, a lifetime ago. I think of him every day.

A trip east....?

Life really is interesting and sometimes really interesting things just appear out of the blue.

For the last year I've been trying to make arrangements on my own to go to Afghanistan to do photography. I had lined up media crendials and the paper work to become an "embedded" photographer with the army. The problem was securing transportation. To pay for travel out of pocket is extremely expensive and my efforts at securing a ride over on a military aircraft have not panned out...

So it was with a great deal of serendipity that a call came from an old friend several months ago offering me a paid trip with the army, not to Afghanistan but to Iraq. The friend is a recently retired senior army general who now consults for and advises the army. He told me that an infantry division would be deploying to the oil rich sectors of Iraq in January and that they wanted someone on board who knew the oil business...and the army. My name was suggested. Talks ensued in which I told commanders that I'm not really an expert in any one area, but my strong suit is knowing a lot of people who are so why don't we put together a consulting team of many experts from the differing areas of the oil business. The idea was well received.

So after a call received today, I guess I'm officially a US Army consultant for Iraq. The consultant who is hiring other consultants. We will be hosting, in Midland, a large group of the divisions staff officers and commanders for an "oil business 101" seminar after which we will be on call as the situation dictates in Northern Iraq. Trips over are likely, hopefully very short trips.

Interesting to boot in that the division I'm working with, is the very same one I served in all those years ago.

Gone West...

Ed, "Too Tall" Freeman was one of the four Medal of Honor recepients from the battle at LZ Xray portrayed in the film, We Were Soldiers. Today, I received the following sad news from someone who knew him best.

folks:
please be advised that an american hero crossed the river this morning bound for Fiddlers Green:
Maj. Ed (Too Tall to Fly) Freeman (Medal of Honor, Ia Drang Valley) died in a Boise hospital where he had been in intensive care and on life support for a number of days.
Ed was great company in a foxhole or a watering hole, and a great loyal friend of everyone who ever spent time around him.
Ed's best friend for only about 60 years, Bruce (Old Snake) Crandall, and Bruce's wife Arlene spent time with Ed saying their goodbyes--and continuing their long-running argument over which of them was the Second Best Pilot in the World-- last week.
Bruce told Ed that to prove he was the BPITW Bruce would get a chopper for the burial and sling-load Ed's coffin right into the grave.
We all mourn the loss of one of the Cavalry's two best pilots in the world.
Details of funeral home, funeral arrangements etc. are below.
Garry Owen!
Joe Galloway

Sad News....

I remember the sadness at the passing of The Big Gold Dog like it was yesterday. Now....I can share that feeling with Janie and her family on the loss of their dear friend and companion, Zoie.
Sounding Forth....with sadness

Birthday...

Today is my Dad's birthday, he would have been 85 years old. Having spent so many years watching his health decline, I like to look at many of the old photos like the one above to remind me of what a great and active life he had. I miss him immensely.....