The Tour...

Last week, a blur now, was spent with Michael Peterson and his Real Life Tour, sponsored by the US Army. What a blast getting to know Michael, his band members, tour group and of course some great folks from the Army. The purpose of the tour was for Michael to speak to teenagers about making the right choices in life. And speak he did to over 2,000 kids at six schools, to large teen groups at churchs and other place kids gather. We had lunch one day at El Burrito with six kids from Midland High. When lunch was over we dropped them off in the tour bus at the front door to MHS...greatly improving their social status. Besides being a great singer/songwriter, Michael is a quality guy.

If you missed the finale concert on Saturday night..you missed something special, including guest performer and Sony recording artist Colt Prather. Here's Colt in action....

Michael Peterson....

Some months ago, through old Army contacts, I was asked to help bring Country and Western artist Michael Peterson and his Real Life Tour to Midland. The tour is sponsored, in part, by the Army and is aimed at reaching teenagers with ways to take responsibility and make correct decisions.

I've spent the last three days with Michael and he is the real deal. I don't know that I've ever heard a more effective speaker and one who has a knack of gettng his message across to kids through music, laughter and with his own personal story. We have already had several engagments and today, Friday, he is speaking at Lee Freshman High School, Goddard and Abell Junior Highs in Midland and tonight we travel to Lamesa and the high school there.

And......Michael is a great musician, songwriter and C&W star. Named "CMA newcomer of the year" in 1997 he quickly had five hits in the country charts top 10 and one reached #1. I've heard Michael this week playing accoustically at his speaking engagements. I can't wait to hear him plugged in with his entire band Saturday night. For a little extra fun, Michael has an amazing "illusionist" couple, Ridgeway and Johnson. I've seen a little of what they can do, all I can say is "damn, how did they do that". Kristen is also ranked as one of the top escape artists in the world. Worth seeing.

Michael will be in concert Saturday at 7 p.m. at Midland's Horseshoe, but will be meeting fans and signing autographs from 5 p.m. till the show starts. You should try and come. I'm telling you.....he is really good! Take a look.....

You won't be forgotten....

Faithful readers will recall that last year at this time friends Scott Davis, Terry Johnson and I [along with a lot of help!] staged what we called The West Texas Troop Salute at Rockhounds Stadium. Organized in only 2 months time, the event exceeded our wildest expectations with over 4,000 people showing their gratitude and support for our troops. We had intended to repeat the Troop Salute this year.

But, after a great deal of heartfelt consideration, we decided that the same event might not draw the crowd it did last year, the old "we've seen that" syndrome, which we understand. And we wanted to do something a little more directly appreciative for some troops needing a lot of support.

So...this year we are doing "Hero Appreciation Day" at the rehab unit of Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. The rehab unit is where the most severely wounded troops spend months..even years getting their bodies, minds and spirits healed. We want to give them a break from the hard work of healing by hosting a barbecue on the lawn at the hospital.

What started out as a simple plan to take a "BBQ trailer" down and cook some hot dogs ourselves has turned into a large, but worthwhile, undertaking. And the support, as usual, is phenomenal. Luckily, last year I had met the Chief of Staff of US ArmyNorth at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio and he has been a major boost on the ground there helping us to put this together. He has the Army volunteering tent canopies, chairs, tables and man power. What started as a dog cookout now has Rudy's Famous Barbecue catering the event for what we think will be between 3-400 patients and their families, guests, VIP's and just plain folks.

Support and offers of assistance are coming from all over. Larry Gatlin is on board and this week we were contacted by C&W recording artist Roger Creager...he'll be there. The Lucky Tomblin Band signed on today. A shuttle astronaut I met in Midland last month is flying in from Canada for the event. A major radio station in San Antonio is live broadcasting the proceedings. CBS7 in Odessa is sending a news crew, Borden's is donating all the ice cream we can eat and the list goes on...

Last month my phone rang...."hi this is Connie Nelson, I'm Willie Nelson's ex wife, I heard what you're doing and I'd like to help. I can serve, clean up...whatever". Well Connie is helping now....a lot. I talk to her several times a day. She's still in the music business, knows everyone and is working on several more entertainers. And, of course, she called Willie. Willie is now a major sponsor and started off by sending 300 of his new CD's and 300 special "Willie Bandannas".

Rudy's Barbecue is giving us a large first class barbecue for 400 people at cost, but they have to pay for their overhead so there still was a chunk of change to cover. I told Connie we were looking for a sponsor for the meal, she said don't worry. She called me back an hour later and told me she had a friend who was interested in helping and to email the Rudy's contract to her. I did, and this morning I received a call from one of the family member/owners of a major western wear company. Five minutes later, deal done, the entire meal picked up by Cavender's Boots.

We will have some name entertainment, VIP's, and other notables attending, but the main goal of the whole affair is to have a crowd there to let these troops know how much we appreciate their sacrifices for us and that we won't let them be forgotten. So, if you can be in San Antonio on May 21st we'd love to have you, we kick off the festivities at 6 pm. The link above is our press release.......

I Like Maps...

I've always liked and been interested in maps. I also love PBS' Antiques Roadshow. Tonight the two converged. I've seen some interesting things on AR over the years that are somewhat related to some of the things I own, like the Whistler lithograph that was appraised last year. Thanks to my grandparents I have a Whistler lithograph.

But tonight a 19th century world atlas appeared that was very much like the 1800's atlas that I too possess, once again thanks to my art and book collecting grandfather. The atlas on AR was an 1836 version, mine is a 1852 and German, but the maps in both are hand painted lithographs, both complete and in very good condition and appear quite similar.

Even though I would expect mine to sell at somewhat of a discount to this American version, I was somewhat pleasantly surprised by the appraised value. Take a look at the AR Atlas Appraisal.

The Lost Jimmy Tapes...

It's amazing what shows up and where. Somehow on Spike.Com I ran into the uncut version of an interview with Jimmy Patterson at the MRT and My West Texas done with me right after the passing of The Big Gold Dog. I'm glad to find it saved; it sure brought back some memories.

Another Passing....

The size of my already small family became ever smaller yesterday with the passing of my Mom's older sister. My aunt Kay was a remarkable woman who overcame profound deafness, as a result of a childhood illness, to become a charming Navy wife, a caring mother and grandmother and a professional artist. She read lips so well and spoke so clearly that often we forgot she had almost no hearing. With the vagaries of modern life we saw too little of her, but her kindness and love of family will keep her in our hearts forever...

Native Plant Sale...

We'll be having a large native plant sale/fundraiser at the Sibley Nature Center this Saturday, April 5th. We have a large selection of shrubs, ornamentals, grasses and trees that do well in strong sun with low maintenance and water needs. The sale starts at 9 a.m. We expect that the plants will go quickly.....get there early. Our greenhouse is behind the Sibley Center on E. Wadley, adjacent to Hogan Park [the dog park entrance]. See you there....

Bitter as wormwood...

"For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps lay hold of hell".
Proverbs 5:3-5

This passage was quoted by Cal Thomas in his column today. I just love it......"bitter as wormwood". That's great....and from Scripture too!

Spanky...

From the "Captured Moments" hall of fame, Spanky and Our Gang. For some unknown reason I always really liked this song. Now it brings back memories of driving my college roommates car around San Antonio. My roommate and his brother both had brand new 1968 Buick Gran Sports courtesy of their rich grandfather. Luckily my roommate was very generous with it's use. He had loads of 8 track tapes too. Spanky being one.

Elaine "Spanky" McFarland later took over Mama Cass' role in the Mama's and Papa's after Mama Cass' unfortunate cheese sandwich demise. Spanky is still around and sounds great.

Long lost kin......?

Regular readers and friends might look at the photos above and say, "Cute, more pictures of D. Daphne Dog". I don't blame you...but this isn't D. Daphne.

Over the last several years I've gotten linked up informally with other dog owners/lovers in an email network that tries to find homes for needy dogs and the photos above and others came to me this morning. I really couldn't believe my eyes. This dog in need is a clone of D. Daphne Dog. I have never seen two dogs look so much alike....especially dogs of mixed breeds. The coloring, markings, the ears, the size and build, the slight upward curl to the tail are all identical.

From what I know, D. Daphne was found, along with other littermates, abandoned along a highway when she was a puppy. My first conclusion was that this dog in need certainly had to be one of her siblings. But, a reply from the caretaker of this dog informed me that he is only one year old. So much for the littermate theory.....but they have to have come from the same source somewhere not to long ago. My Mom has been hinting about a dog, and she loves D. Daphne, perhaps she'd like her clone?

Reunion '08

Do you know the whereabouts of anyone in the Midland High or Lee High classes of '67 and '68? Send them here..... big doings this summer.

Soccer Season....

The sports folks at Midland High seem to want me busy. I started out last year doing the MHS football website and photos. Earlier in the year I picked up the Lady Dawgs basketball assignment and this week was hired to do the MHS boys soccer coverage. I enjoy helping out the old alma mater, meeting new people and it's nice to get paid for doing something so enjoyable.
MHS Dawgs Soccer

Sibley Center Groundbreaking...

On Tuesday we held the ceremonial groundbreaking for our Million Dollar expansion at the Sibley Nature Center. Thanks to all those who worked hard and/or contributed to make this addition a reality. A special thanks to Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick who thought enough of our plans to work for us in obtaining a matching grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

And now, "Groundbreaking, The Movie"

2001: A Time Odyssey....

Tonight, Turner Classic Movies aired "2001: A Space Odyssey". I've seen this many times over the years and I still like watching the first hour or so, the rest rather drags on after you've seen it so many times and the ending is a tad too '60s psychedelic for me. But what got to me tonight was the realization that this film was made 40 years ago. 40 years! Damn!

I suppose what is so brain fuddling about this is that "2001" still has a modern feel for a film made in 1968. The space ships look like they could have been designed last year as do all the computer screens that control the Saturn probe. I'm sure that the filmmakers thought that quite possibly, we'd be going to Saturn in 2001, 33 years after the film was made and that computers would be thinking entities competing with humans for control.

We've made some progress in this direction but fall woefully short in both of these areas. We landed men on the moon one year after "2001" came out but all we've done since 1972 is have humans circle the planet. The face recognition, reasoning powers and conversation synthesis of anything like the HAL 9000 may be another 40 years away.

Priceless....

Spending all morning flying in a Huey with the doors open, shooting pictures ....two of my favorite things in one. Getting paid to do so........Priceless!

Groundbreaking....

The Springboard Center groundbreaking ceremonies, luncheon and celebrity events were a great success, highly entertaining and very touching. Thanks to all those who made it possible; especially the staff and talent at CBS7 and The Young and the Restless! Here are some photos of the day.

Ya'll Come.....!

The Springboard Center is a community based not for profit substance abuse counseling center. We have been operating out of cramped rented quarters downtown since 1999. As a board member I'm pleased to say that with more than generous financial support from the community we've raised about half of the $3 million+ cost of our new medical detox and treatment facility. And we're ready for the groundbreaking this Friday, snow or not!

The public is invited.....which means you! Our special guests will be soap opera diva Ms. Jeanne Cooper of The Young and the Restless, along with Josh O'Connell, producer of this long running CBS daytime drama. Other cast members in attendance is a distinct possibility. Ms. Cooper is our national spokesperson and Josh has told us that he is looking for ways to incorporate The Springboard Center into the Y&R storyline.

The Springboard Center facility is a long needed resource in Midland offering medical detox and substance abuse treatment to every member of the community no matter of their financial situation or ability to pay. There is no such facility in the area currently.

The groundbreaking will be at 11 a.m. this Friday at our site on Corporate Dr. off of N. Big Spring St., behind the First National Bank branch. Thankfully I ordered a tent....and today I asked them to throw in a heater. Please come say hell-o to Ms. Cooper, she's a captivating, caring and very sweet lady. Her Young and Restless fame not withstanding, I'm equally impressed that she has appeared in many of my favorite old time TV classics like Perry Mason and films like The Kansas City Bombers.

Photo Op's.....

One of the secrets of photography, I've learned, is just to keep plugging away, let people know of your interest and show them your work. Some interesting upcoming opportunities generated this way:

‡While in Boerne last weekend I met some very caring folks who run a weekend camp for severly handicapped kids. They asked if I'd be interested in coming down soon and photographing one of their weekends for use in presentation materials. A privelage!

‡This Friday, The Springboard Center will have the groundbreaking for our new $4 million facility. Attending will be our national spokesperson Jeanne Cooper, star of the CBS soap The Young and the Restless. Associate producer Josh O'Connell, having seen my shots of Ms. Cooper on a previous visit, has asked me to generate a portfolio that they can use in their national promotion of Ms. Cooper's involvement.

‡The best! Last fall I sent some photo samples to my alma mater, Trinity University, as a preliminary to entry in their alumni art show. Today I received a letter from Trinity asking me to be one of several "event" photographers documenting the visit of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair who will speak at Trinity in March. An honor!

Honor Flight.....

In my army career, and during the last several years in Midland, I have 100's of hours flying in helicopters; parachuting out of some of them too. I'm one of those whacko's who really loves flying in them with the doors open at low altitude. Except when getting shot at, it's great fun to me. But I don't think I've ever had as much fun, pleasure really, as I did today while flying in a Huey with my good friend Bruce Crandall. His face lit up like a kid at Christmas when he took over the controls of Gregg Baiano's huey.

Bruce was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery while flying a Huey almost exactly like the restored Vietnam era model we were in today for three hours. Though he has briefly flown a few helicopters since his army days he basically stopped flying Hueys after a serious crash in 1968. Today he flew us all the way back from Iraan, Texas...a 45 minute flight. Like riding a bike, you just never forget how.

Several days ago when my friend Gregg heard that Bruce was in town, he said he would deem it a great honor if Bruce would take a flight in one of Gregg's three restored Hueys. So, today that's what we did, flying to Iraan to eat one of the best barbeque lunches I've had in Texas. Along with us was the new director of the Commmemorative Air Force, a fomer Army chopper pilot himself and Bruce's son Donovan who flew up from Houston today just for the event. Also I had called my friend Jose, the news director at CBS7 News, to see if they might like to send a reporter along. Jose called me back to say that no, he didn't want to send a reporter, he was going along himself and bringing their dirctor of photography to film the trip. So, next Monday, I understand, look for our trip and interviews with Bruce on the news at 6 and 10. And if you are in Iraan, try the barbeque joint, it's better than anything in Midland.

Online interview with Jimmy Patterson [click on icon at right]

Visitations....

It's odd sometimes how things work in life.

It seems like seeing old friends suddenly comes in a torrent. As the New Year approached I was invited to Boerne, Texas to be the guest of my good friends Gen. Tom and Toni Hill. Tom was a fraternity brother and I met Toni my freshman year at Trinity University also. I lived with Tom and Toni for four months when we all were in the army at Ft. Benning and after 40 years they are like family to me. Since our last visit together in 2003, we had a lot to catch up on. And with their extended families, their big gold dog and my Daphne in their large country home, it was a great time for us after a somewhat downsized Christmas.

On New Years Eve several other fraternity brothers who live in San Antonio came out for the day as well as my old high school classmate Bonnie who I haven't seen in decades. Laughter and remembrances were non stop while my friend, the other Pancho, and I took photos. It was tough to leave.

And so today I was pleasantly surprised when I received a phone call from two other dear friends, Bruce and Arlene Crandall. As you may recall Bruce is a recent Medal of Honor recepient, a ceremony I was honored to attend at the White House last February. Bruce and Arlene have been on a whirlwind appearance schedule since then, but are slowing down to spend three days in Midland. I think, perhaps, the invitation from my friend Gregg Baiano to spend two days flying in his restored Huey helicopters may have swayed Bruce to take this break from his rapid paced schedule. More fun will now, undoubtedly, ensue!