ON THE COVER OF THE ROLLING STONE!

See the picture? Then sing along to the lyrics below....Come on...you already know the melody!
If you don't remember how it goes, you can click on the link below:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-XzGOZHYdA

It's ME....on the cover of  "TEXAS MONTHLY" !

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

WELL WE”RE BIG HAWG KILLERS
WE GOT ITCHY TRIGGERS
AND WE'RE FEARED EVERYWHERE WE GO

WE SING ABOUT SHOOTIN'
AND WE SING ABOUT THE ROOTIN'
AT TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS A SHOW

WE TAKE ALL KINDS OF AMMO
THAT MAKES US FEEL LIKE RAMBO
BUT THERE'S THRILL WE"VE NEVER KNOWN…

IT'S THE THRILL THAT WILL GET YOU
WHEN YOU GET YOUR PICTURE
ON THE COVER OF THE ROLLING STONE

I GOT A FREAKY OLD LADY
THAT LIVES IN KATY
WHO TRACKS HAWGS BY THEIR SMELL

I GOT MY BIG BUSHMASTER
FOR SHOOTIN' HAWGS IN ACTION
SENDING THEM ALL TO HELL

AND THEY KEEP GETTING BIGGER
BUT WE CAN'T GET OUR PICTURE ON
THE COVER OF THE ROLLING STONES...

CHORUS:
WANNA SEE MY PICTURE ON THE COVER
WANNA BUY FIVE COPIES FOR MY BROTHER
WANNA SEE MY SMILIN' FACE
ON THE COVER OF THE ROLLIN STONE
Hawg Killing in Texas....#11 on my Bucket List!

The Shadow Box

"Memories..."

Golden memories... 

Like the corners of my mind

Misty water-colored memories
Of the way we were....
Scattered pictures,
of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were...
Can it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time re-written every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again...
Tell me, would we? could we?
Memories...
may be beautiful and yet,
what's too painful to remember
we simply choose to forget...

So, it's the laughter
we will remember....
whenever we remember....the way we were...

The way we were....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And so, in keeping with this campy Streisand Theme Song, I was asked to build a Shadow Box to house those precious memories....
This will be an ongoing blog entry...so please bear with me as I post the trials and tribulations of building my project....  Please check back every once in awhile...just to see if I have been working on it!   LOL!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010:
How do I start?  Let's go to Hobby Lobby! Maybe they can make some suggestions...

Months ago, when picking up a piece of framed/matted artwork at Hobby Lobby, I discovered that the "framer" who worked there could build a shadowbox for me...
Since "WE" had to have a nice frame on the exterior of the box so that it would look like a work of art and since Hobby Lobby had been running a 50% discount sale on custom built wooden frames, "WE" went to compare frame depths/widths and finally settled on a couple of examples to price. 
The example sizes (frame only!) we wanted were originally priced over $900! YOWEE! Even with the 50% frame discount, museum quality glass, custom built box, hardware, magnetic hinges.catches, and labor, the price of the shadow box would cost nearly $750. Ridiculous!!!
Ramona, the framer who had helped me with the "Indy 500 Collage" I have hanging in my office, suggested that we take a look at some of the custom frames that Hobby Lobby had hanging in the 80% Discount Aisle...just past the Easter seasonal rows, back in the corner hidden behind the giant plastic palm fronds....  She said that we might be able to save a great deal if we could buy a comparable pre-built frame. So off we went on the quest..... 
LO and BEHOLD....there was the frame that we had originally picked out....hanging in the sale aisle!  We stood there amazed at the size. It was much larger than the one we had priced...
Original sticker price:  $930.  The first markdown was 50%...  The second markdown was 80% off $465....which left the frame priced at $93.  WOW... 
I went back to tell Ramona THANK YOU!!  I owe her big time!  Thank goodness I won't have to shop at every Hobby Lobby between here and Dallas to find the "right" SALE frame!

Now all I have to do is figure out how to build a box to insert into the frame. Below you can see what I have to work with....the frame by itself weighs in at 38 pounds, measurements: 48" x 48". That's a BIG box! We haven't decided on a depth yet...

Merry Christmas!

The Fisherman
This blog entry has been long in the making...since Christmas Eve actually....when I spent the afternoon in "FREEZING" weather, alongside a river bank behind a giant earthen dam fishing for catfish. What possessed me to do this I do not know...except that maybe I had never done it before....and maybe, now that I think about, NEVER AGAIN!
However, I do think it appropos to write about the excitement of that afternoon, since the evening events would be all about
“The Fisher of Men.”
 
How did I catch Fred?" 

Imagine this...
Sleet driven, 40 mph, 23 degree temperature winds blowing down over the top the dam onto our backs and into our faces.
Dark, dirty, turbulent, fast-flowing river water.... 

Frozen hands fumbling with cold steel treble hooks...wrapping shad gizzards on and around the sharp tines...Standing downwind of a 5 gallon-sized stink bait bucket of soured pig flesh...Pushing a treble hook with a stick down into the stink bait and then casting that offall into the wind onto the river, praying none of it dropped onto your face or clothes....
Eyes staring blindly at the water below, waiting...waiting...waiting...for a jerk or tug on the line...

SUDDENLY A TUG!     

ZZZZEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTT...........the line went whining up river headed to the spillway behind the big steel gates!
I knew I had a big one because I couldn't pull back on the rod as "Fred" took off with the bait. I began to crank the reel...and crank....and crank.  
Nothing was stopping the monster beneath the water! I thought I had hooked an alligator gar, but the kids told me that those things would just bite through the line....and then roll over on their side and look up at you before swimming away. Not this thing...it just kept on diving deeper and deeper, swimming harder upstream.
FINALLY, it decided to either give up or tired out. I manuevered down the embankment to the water, still cranking as I walked. When we could see how big he was as he surfaced a couple of times, we quickly scrambled to get Fred in the lifting basket to drag him out of the water before he snapped the line. TA DA!!! I thought...."What a feat!"....before I realized that I was totally exhausted.

MY PRIZE FISH!
Here I am (with not a smile, but a GRIMACE) hooking Fred with a weight gauge...barely able to hold him up...! Twenty-Two Pounds!  WOO HOO!
Pride swells as I have my photo taken with him....

Fred is still alive at this point....croaking his displeasure at being bent in half in the cooler. He flopped so hard that he popped the top off the cooler, not that we really needed it that day.
Catfish live a long time out of water. They can be transported between ponds for stocking purposes, as long as they are kept wet and cold.
I pondered Fred's demise, wondering how he would die. "Should I put him back before it would be too late?"

Fred will now be part of an upcoming fish fry. His double filet will feed at least six people. However, on writing these last few words, I have to say that there is an art to killing a fish. Some are skilled in this task, most are not. Since I did not know that art, I watched as Fred was brutally slaughtered. His blood spattering the onlookers as the implement of destruction pounded his body...over and over again.

He could have had a small slit cut into his back, just behind his head... And just like dying by lethal injection, he could have had a small wire or broom straw run down his spine, killing him painlessly and without ceremony. Had I known this, would I have saved Fred from his fate? Pondering....I ask myself this question.....

Am I the big lunker that Christ has tried to catch all these years in the sea of mankind?

What will be MY fate at the final moment?

Speed Limit Signs

Why are they soooooo important?

Speed Limit Signs are the mile markers of a man's life! Don't think so? ALLOW ME TO EXPOUND ON THIS THEORY!

I reached a millstone yesterday THE BIG 6 - 0, the speed limit for trucks at night on the Texas FM roads. For the last 30 years or so I've not made a big deal about birthdays. At times I would forget that mine was impending. When asked my age, I would defer to my ex-wife for the answer. Not able to cope with age? Nah, I don't think so. Age was just low on the Importance Scale. I think.

So is it just a number? I don't feel 60, but what does 60 feel like? I don't know because I've never been here before. Not much different than 59 the day before I"m thinking. I'm still getting used to my name followed by the number 60. Not sure how I like that - not that I have a choice. And of course I've graduated into the next insurance bracket which means life insurance-related items just ratcheted up by another leap. I got an email from my dad wishing me a happy birthday and I replied that it took me a while to get here. I got another email from one of my childhood buddies which wished me a happy birthday you old bastard. That's OK because his day is coming January 17th! Of all my old buddies, I am the oldest. They will all catch up, the first being December 5th. He has been strangely quiet. All that said, all the basics still work/function and feel ok, important things legs, brain, arms, bowels, etc. and without strain or effort which is pretty much the way I like it.

So I asked these questions....
How does one measure "60" and what do you measure against? Would this be a ruler of time against accomplishments OR would this measurement be how one feels physically against "the number?"




When do OLD GUYS recognize that they are old? When they look in the mirror, do they see how they really are OR do they only see what they used to look like? Is this like not being old until someone says, "Gee you're old"? At which point you bat them into next week.
A signpost like this answers the question! It's a mile marker for old guys who refuse to recognize that they have gone beyond the acceptable limits..Men need signposts...speed limits...to tell them how fast they are going.... They need boundary limits! But what is acceptable? What are the boundary limits? I think there's a big difference between what was acceptable for a 60 year old when my father got there vs. today. I don't feel 60 and most people you ask may tell you that I don't act 60. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I think it's all between your ears.

This guy should have gotten a BIG ticket!

Away to Bora Bora

I'll be looking for AQUA next year....

Picture me here...soaking up the sun like a sand iguana!
Jealous? Hah! I’ll send you a postcard…

A sight yet to be seen!
I'll be kicked back...sipping on a virgin...uhhh...Mai Tai that is...
Just watching the sun go down....


Nassau Blue is my ALL TIME favorite color.... Don't know what Nassau Blue looks like? Can you see it in the photos above? It's the text color I am using for this particular blog.

I don't know why I like this particular shade of aqua. Guess I have liked it since Chevrolet used it on their 1966 Model Corvette. This color IS the sound of the surf, the coastal seas, the shimmering white sands, incredible seafood, and thoughts of just laying on the beach with nothing in sight but time to waste.... Since Chevrolet first introduced this color, they changed the base to include more cobalt.

See the differences between the FIRST Nassau Blue and the SECOND...BIG DIFFERENCE IN MY BOOK!

There are many shades of aqua.... My friend David Lord used to go to Pebble Beach, CA every year to an artists show just north of Carmel. He has always talked about the beaches, the surfers and the babes. Here are a few pictures of that kind of aqua...
I am surprised David didn't commit something to canvas as a reflection of the time spent in his most favorite location....next to Maine of course....

So whether it is THIS or THAT shade of aqua...doesn't matter...
AQUA
AQUA
AQUA
AQUA
AQUA
AQUA
AQUA
AQUA

I just want to see some....
Besides...I'll be ticking one more thing off my bucket list!

Frozen in time

GLACIER GIRL.....

Yes, the "Glacier Girl" was at the airshow. What a RARE sight to see!!!

The P-38, destined to be known as “Glacier Girl,” was one of a flight of six Lightnings and two B-17 Flying Fortresses. These planes are now known as the “Lost Squadron,” which were forced to make emergency landings en route to England from America on July 15, 1942. All eight planes were left on the Greenland icecap...where inclement weather eventually buried them all beneath 270 feet of ice and snow.

Fifty years later, this single aircraft was recovered from the ice in 1992 after many years excavation. She underwent an intensive restoration process in Middlesboro, Kentucky beginning in 1993. After hundreds of thousands of man hours and millions of dollars, Glacier Girl stands now as the most perfect restoration of a World War II era warbird ever done and the most perfect P-38 Lightning in existence. Notice the ice tunnels in the photo!

This is how she looks today! We all stood in amazement as she made several fly-bys.

Glacier Girl is a Lockheed P-38F-1-LO Lightning World War II fighter plane. In 1942, the P-38 was the fastest fighter in the world, and they flew in both the Pacific and European Theaters during the war. After the war ended almost all of them were melted down for scrap metal.

Plans are to have the airplane on display at the Lost Squadron Museum in Middlesboro. It is uncertain how much it will be flown in the future, so I consider myself fortunately to have witnessed its appearance...

OLD IS WHEN ???

You are never too old to pay tribute to those who fought for our freedom...

You are old when....

1. "Getting lucky" means finding your car in the parking lot after a short trip to Wally World.
2. An "all nighter" means not having to get up to use the bathroom.
3. You don't care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don't have to go along.
4. "Getting a little action" means you don't need to take any fiber today.
5. Having your wife go bra-less because it pulls all the wrinkles out of her face.
6. Your sweetie says, "Let's go upstairs AND make love," and your answer to that is...
"Pick one; I can't do both!"

ba Dum pum... Ok folks, my stand up comedy act is now over.... but don't go home yet!

On a more serious note...and speaking of OLD....see the WW2 plane below....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I crossed an item off my "bucket list" at the "Wings Over Houston Air Show" two Saturday's ago! YES...I actually rode in a B-17 G bomber. Thrilling to say the least....
Here's a ground pounders view of my latest ride....

Pretty cool.... As my friend, Gary Schroeder, Colonel, Ret. US Airforce, would say..."It's all about lifties and thrusties..."

The B-17 Flying Fortress was an Army Air Corps heavy-duty bomber from World War II. This four-engine aircraft flew strategic bombing missions over Europe armed with .50 caliber machine guns and five thousand pounds of bombs. 13,000 B-17’s were produced over the course of the war, of which only 13 still are airworthy today. This aircraft with the 303rd bomb group flew 116 missions during World War II. Her home is at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, TX. Once the "Thunderbird" was airborne, passengers were allowed to move around the plane. The ride was like none other. There was no immediate pull back on the throttle for a g-force, face wrenching upward plunge to the upper atmosphere....but a gentle lift of both tail and wings simultaneously....a level, upward floating effect. It was, without a doubt, the best plane ride ever....

Here are few photo shots from different positions inside the aircraft. Click on the photo to enlarge for a better view!

Here we could see the view forward from the bombardier's position in the nose. The famous Norden bombsight with which you could "drop a bomb in a pickle barrel" is in the center. This is the prime view spot, 180 degrees!


Up and aft of the bombardier are the pilot and co-pilot. Here you can see the instrument panel and associated controls. Complex perhaps for the day, but basic compared to a modern aircraft. The netting is to keep us groundies out.

Right behind the pilots seats is the top turret platform. Just like "Star Wars" it pivots and rotates 360 degrees for coverage on top.

This is where I REALLY wanted to ride... in the lower ball turret, which is located immediately aft of the bomb bay. The operator would board this cage before takeoff and would have no access to the rest of the plane during flight. So, even if he wanted to escape incoming fighters, he could not get out of the cage!

The pilot, a former crop duster, informed me that in order to ride in this "special location" I had to sign a special waver... But wait, it gets better! This would be another waver on top of the FIRST waver I had to sign just to board the plane. You see, in order to ride in the lower ball turret, one must be prepared to DIE if the pilot has to emergency land the aircraft on its belly. If the landing gear fails, the pilot must first jettison the turret cage!

My guess is that the lower ball turret gunner was also the primary inspector and repairman of the landing gear!

REMEMBER: Very brave men climbed into this hole 116 times....

Hmmmm..... After thinking about signing the second waver for about a nano-second, I asked if he could possibly jettison the cage over water first?
Uh... No.....

See the tail gunners position? He had to CRAWL into it. It wouldn't be a whole lot of fun going backwards all day and having an intimate view of enemy fighters diving at you. Notice the twin barrels in the tail? You are not allowed to touch them when the plane is on the ground because the acid in your hands will etch the metal over time. Thank goodness the boys at the Lone Star Flight Museum keep them well oiled....

And last, but not least....here is how the ride looked from the air. You could see daylight in a lot of places in the plane, especially around the bomb chamber!

"BOMBS AWAY!"

Wanna go for a ride? Click here to see what it was like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHrz8URnta4

Click here to see what it was like to be a ball turret gunner:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvuChgh4fGg&feature=fvw

After I de-planed and stood in awe as the B-17 took its final fly-by, thoughts of those who served our country in this "FLYING FORTRESS" filled my mind. This final link is my salute to those heroes living and passed....and to say that I am PROUD to be an American...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvUoO9zi3kw&feature=related

One down on the "bucket list" ....
What to do, what to do...what will I do next?