All stressed out...

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

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

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

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

Fall's Glory.....

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

On ye bulldogs.....next year

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

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

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

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

Great season Bulldogs........

Thanksgiving.......

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

A Special Day......

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

Snippets....

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

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

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

Back among us......

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

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

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

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

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

Veterans Day....

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

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

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

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

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

Tidbits....

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

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

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

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

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

One Small step for mankind....

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

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

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

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

Living History....

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

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

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

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

Upload this....!

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

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

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

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

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

Tennis anyone...?

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

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

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

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

A Fair Weekend.....

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

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

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

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

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

Jim Hall.....

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

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

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

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

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

Air Sho...Day I

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

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

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

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

Air Sho.......

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

Midland...1926

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

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

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

Ben Stein....

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

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

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

Hurricane Lemonade.......

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

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