Out And About!

I'm having "posterior lumbar interbody fusion" (PLIF) surgery in late April, so today, while I was feeling like moving, I got out and went "manly-man" shopping with my son.  

We looked at everything from clothes at Men's Warehouse to golf clubs at Dick's!  Corey bought a #3 RZB fairway wood and picked up some super cool sunglasses to wear when driving the Mustang!  A man has to look his best!

We stopped at Silo Cigars to get a little something for Bailey's Sports Grille, and that's when I spotted it!  It looked like 20mm rounds in an ammo can...on the floor of the humidor room!

On closer inspection I saw that it was a special promotion Recon Cigar display.  The owner of the shop actually brought in the ammo can as an addition attractor!  It worked!

The "round", uh the cigar, cost be $20, but I just had to have this conversation piece.  I haven't tasted the product yet, but I plan on it Sunday at a family gathering.

At Bailey's we both enjoyed the "Black Forest" sandwich; he with fries and a gallon of tea, and me with onion rings and Fat Tire.  Man, it was tasty, and the rings are awesome!

We puffed our cigars and talked, and half-watched a couple guys play pool and I took a couple of shots to merge into this HDR renditions.  I love the effect of HDR.

I got to see my granddaughters as well today.  They are so precious, and of course, the prettiest and best grandchildren ever!

I just love good times with my son.  He is special and time with him is very rare and special.

See ya!

MY OTHER FAMILY

My son's mother, Connie, and I divorced way back in '78, but over the years we've become good friends again.  Her husband and I often introduce each other to friends as "my husband-in-law"!  That sounds so much better than "my X-wife's husband", and it doesn't carry the negative connotations that normally goes along with such an introduction.

Belinda, Janet, Connie, and Judy.

Uncle James, Bill, Belinda, Brandon, and Brooke.

I'll have to admit that would probably not have happened had we not had Corey in common.  He drew us back together as his step-dad, Larry (now deceased), and I stood hanging on the chain link fence, side-by-side shouting encouragement, at his little league ball games.  Larry and I also became friends through those activities, and over time Connie and my current/last wife Judy got to know each other.

Gary finishing up the dogs, while Uncle Cecil supervises!

Judy and "Dub" (Connie's dad)

Aunt Wanda, Uncle Cecil, and Aunt Joyce!

When Larry died, Judy and I were there, at the funeral, with the rest of the family.

Truth be known, Judy and Connie's relationship has had a lot to do with us ultimately getting closer, in a friendly, almost family again, kind of way.  We now often visit to share a meal and our grandchildren, who are themselves instruments of peace and love.

Aunt Wilma and Uncle James (Belinda's parents)

Mary Lois (Dub's friend)

I like Connie now, which I had stopped doing by the end of our 10-year marriage, but now there is a "family love" for her.  She is, after all, the mother of my son, and she is also a very good person.  I can respect and love her for all that, without there being any other connection or feelings.  We are just friends with the added connection of having a son and two beautiful grandchildren in common.

Gary and Connie's backyard...made just for grand-kids!

Her family has always been special to me as well, and her mom, before she died a couple of years back, and her dad always introduced me as "my son"!  That was always a warm and mutual love her family and I shared.  That connection would have always remained had Connie and I never reconnected again.

Corey works on the slide under Brandon and Bill's supervision!

Thank God it happened though.  There is such peace in my life knowing that her family and I still have a close relationship.  I am also thankful that my son and his girls will grow up knowing us as "family" and not X's!  There will never be a need for them to feel anxious when we are together at birthday parties, like there is in other divorced situations.  We will always be just part of the family...one family, in their eyes.

Grant watches as Lily leaps into the air!

Recently I took these photos at a gathering of "family".  One of Connie's aunts, Wanda, came "home" from the Memphis area to see her sisters and their extended families.  She specifically requested to see "all the family" together, so Connie made sure that Judy and I knew to come.  It was wonderful to see her again.  Her husband, Sam, was one of my best friends.  Before he died, we did a lot of fishing and camping together.  There is still a hole in my heart from his passing, and I'll write about all that one day.

Lily aims the water cannon at herself!

Gary, as usual, gave everyone the full food selection...burgers, dogs, chicken, and chile, along with all the fixings that support whatever one choose to eat!  The food was great, which has always been a hallmark of that family.

Judy wakes Kinsley from her nap!

Connie's cousin, Belinda and her husband Bill, and I reminisced about our college days when we commuted from Harriman to UT.  It was a special time for us; they living with her parents, and Connie and me living with her's.  We had fun during the ride to and from school each day, and after school, and before studying, we played hard.  Sometimes it was badminton, horseshoes, bottle rocket fights, playing polo with croquet mallets while riding on lawnmowers, or sliding in the snow on lawn-chairs attached to water-skis!  We were always getting into something!

Bill, Belinda, Connie (Oh, you know she'll hate this shot!), and Mushy back in 1969 while at UT.

However, this past week we just stood back and watched our grandchildren as they played on the big water slide, and took pictures.  There is always some new milestone to document, like Kinsley learning to climb up into the slide without help...what a great thing that was!

I had such a great time watching them play in the backyard and being with my other family again!

VISITING COREY

Corey has been hard at it for several weeks now; I think he puts in about 10 months of work a year at Harriman High as the "guidance counselor" and scheduling classes for all the students.  He even took a few questions today from teachers during our short visit.  I know he's busy and I hate to stop and bother him, but I can't help but see his vehicle as I pass by the high school on the way home and long to see him.  So, it was today...I just had to see my boy!

We always find lots to talk about, and if there is a lull one of us brings up the girls...and today was no different with him showing me new photos on his iPhone of Lily in her new kindergarten uniform with her new short haircut.  We're not used to the short hair yet, but she does look so cute and even a little grown up with it.

They grow up so fast...It seems like just yesterday I was rocking Corey to sleep while singing "Wild Fire", or playing football in the swimming pool, or watching him win his first pinewood derby, or teaching him how to walk through the woods deer hunting.  It all goes so fast, and it's all I can do to impress upon him every time we're together to spend as much time as possible with Lily and Kinsley.  Tomorrow they will be bringing boys home and the next day gone on a honeymoon, and he'll wish a thousand times he had them back home!

We are only promised 70 or 80 years, King James Bible - The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away, and it flies by so fast, and can even be cut short...way too short.

Anyway, I had a great day and visit with my son.  I pray we both receive our full due in blessed days!

So very proud of you son!

IT'S BEEN A GOOD WEEK OF FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND BABIES!

It's been hot!  As evidenced by the car "home" panel, (note the 100 F) it has been an index of a hundred or more for what seems like weeks.  However, I did get out for a little photography this past week.  

This cornfield near one of my doctor's offices just kept calling me until I pulled over and gave in to some fun.  I have also been trying to keep up with our fast growing Surprise Lilies...they seem to change daily! (More on Flickr)

Thursday evening Judy and I again visited classmates to help plan for an upcoming SS&M Party (Social Security & Medicare) this September.  This particular group has remained close since graduating in 1964 and it takes several "gatherings/parties" to plan our normal every 5-year reunions and certain special celebrations like our turning 65 this year!

This year's "birthday party" should be a great one, poolside with the appropriate rock'n roll and country music, and tasty finger foods!  We are hoping several that have never attended will show up this year and join all the fun they've been missing. 

We all have jobs to do to prepare for the event, and I volunteered to update our contact list and send out an early email notice to get a feel for how many classmates to expect.

The music will be state-of-the-art iPod and wireless speakers, so '64 HHS class president Ronnie Thornton proved Thursday night that he had that project well in hand!

Friday afternoon was family time with most of the Dragons and Knights meeting at Aubrey's in Lenoir City to just celebrate being alive and together again.

Ron (right above) and Gary (second from right below) are planning long-haul camping trips soon, so we took this time to see each other one last time before they leave.  Neena's grandson Chandler and Lauren, Terri's boss's daughter, joined us.

Everyone has a personal favorite and mine is the peanut crusted catfish!  Judy always goes for the grilled chicken.

 




Saturday Judy and headed for Knoxville to visit Corey and "the girls"!  As I often do, I stopped by Wild Wings and picked up wings and sliders.  As I checked in with Corey before leaving, I could hear Kinsley shouting "I want hamburger daddy!  I want hamburger!"  So, Judy and I, with sliders with ketchup and pickles were soon, were on the way.

Kinsley (left) was in a great mood, as was Lily (center), and they both tried to get all of the attention.  Lily entertained us by reading, which she does extremely well, and Kinsley jabbered over her trying to win our attention over Lily.  It was so great, watching them jockey for time; Lily read and make several costume changes, while Kinsley also make quick changes and would show us all her toys!  

If you are a Facebook friend, you probably have seen my photo with the princess crown on my head.  Kinsley called it my hat and insisted I wear it the whole time!

After the wings and sliders, Judy and I spent some time up in the girl's individual bedrooms, playing games, watching them struggle into costumes (like the one at right), listening to story books as Lily continued to read, and laughed as Kinsley tried to do everything Lily did.

I'm so proud of Tia and Corey and how well they have taught the girls read, count, interact, and play nicely with each other. They really entertain themselves...all one has to do is watch and listen.  It's so much fun!

After a wrestling match with her daddy, it was soon Kinsley's nap time.  So we left soon after she went to bed, so Corey could have some down time too.  I can't wait for the next visit!                             

IT'S BEEN A BIT OF AN ODD WEEK

This week has been a mishmash of events; none of which match up in any way, shape, or form.  A bit odd, one might say.

The week's lineup of events really began Saturday when Judy left for Florida with her daughter and granddaughter, leaving me to mope about the house, washing the left over dishes, doing some laundry (so that I would have plenty of "bloomers" this week), and working on a new router I bought.

I pulled my hair out over the Asus router for three, almost full days, when I suddenly decided it wasn't worth the sleeplessness!  Routers, not purchased directly from Comcast, routinely do not sync-up with the standard Arris modem.  The Comcast modem will just not forget anything it has learned, like a MAC address of the last router connected to it, and therefore will not recognize any new modem!

Comcast don't care...unless the router belongs to them, and Asus assures a caller that if you turn of the power, remove the battery (modems that also provide telephony services contain a battery), and leave it for just 60 seconds the modem will recognize the router and everything will be coming up roses again!

Wrong...even if you leave the battery out, and unplugged the power overnight, you will find that the Arris modem has written the MAC down in pencil somewhere within its plastic body!

So...it's currently speeding its way back to Amazon as I write.

Monday was the day my little momma had to go back to her dental surgeon and dentist for one last checkup after she had her upper teeth pulled and replaced.  So, I drive her to the appointments and play with my iPad in their waiting rooms.

Everything was fine, so we go to the Cracker Barrel to eat...which was the fun part.

The previous week found me spending the night with her to make sure she didn't pass out from blood loss, and playing with my iPad into the wee hours.

About midnight mom woke up with a mouth full of blood!  She was bleeding badly, looking pale, and getting weak.  She was under strict orders not to remove her upper plate, so I couldn't tell what was going on.  She gargled with saltwater several times, but continued to bleed.

This would not have worried me have as much had she not been hospitalized just a month earlier from blood loss caused by an ulcer.  That had been a quick fix, with a pint of blood reviving her, but this was a new issue!

Finally, I said screw it, take the dentures out and let's see if we can stop the bleeding.  I remembered mom telling me that my dad had uncontrolled bleeding when his teeth were extracted back in the 70's, and she had made him clamp down on a tea bag.

So, I boiled some strong tea, soaked gauze in it, and put it in a thin line under her upper plate.  In thirty minutes the bleeding had stopped and she was asleep...leaving me to my iPad!

So now she is eating well and feeling great again.

Sunday, I spent part of Father's Day with Corey.  I met him at home and visited with his wife, Tia, and the girls, taking a couple of snaps before we left to go eat.  

We ate Wild Wings and had Maggie Moo's ice cream for dessert!  I plan to eat the leftovers tonight, with a little watermelon for dessert.

Tia's granny died over the weekend, so Monday evening was when the services were scheduled.  It was only traumatic for me because I couldn't find a decent thing to wear!  I know, sound like a woman, huh?!

I finally did find a button-up long-sleeved shirt to wear, but I had no matching tie.  I tried on my sport coat, the one I bought in 2009, and it hung on me like a GI pup tent!  It was a size 52, and apparently I'm a 42-44 now!  I had no idea I had shed that much...seriously, and I'm not even trying.

So, since it was 95 yesterday, 90 at 6PM, people seem to let it pass that I wasn't wearing at least a tie.  Thankfully, I wasn't the only one there dressed as casually!  

Corey didn't even have on a tie, but he at least had on a sport coat.  The other thing about Corey is that he sang so beautifully that I almost cried.  He is, if I may brag, super talented, and he and the fellow accompanying him on the guitar killed "My Savior's Love", published by Charles H. Gabriel in 1905.

This came just after my friend Kenny Isham delivered a touching eulogy for old friend Grace Bass (Tia's granny).  People seeing me tear up would have thought it was a traditional Baptist invitational moment, but it was really just so much pride and love for my son that had me on the jagged edge.

Then there was today, Tuesday!  I was told by my "husband-in-law" Gary yesterday that my Vietnam boots were on display at Riverfront Park.  I had given them to the American Legion here locally for a veteran's display, and they had loaned them out to a memorial artists to cast as the boots of a new memorial at the park.  The display was ready, so I went down to see what everything was all about.

I was totally taken aback by what I found (see photos)!  There were my 45 year-old jungle boots sitting on each side of an M-16, topped by a helmet in jungle cammo.  Wow, it is really nice, but the best part is that for as long as this lasts, my boots will be in public view!

I'm honored that they were used to commemorate fallen veterans, but especially our local fallen heroes.  I'm no hero, but at least I have provided a small token that will call attention to those that were/are!  Rest in peace my brothers in arms! 

Yeah, it's been a bit of an odd week, but I just spoke with Judy and everything is back in its place.  She has always been able to settle me down and help me to make some sense of this crazy world.  I can hardly wait for Saturday and her return.

DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID TO DESERVE IT, BUT...

Yep, I don't know what I ever did to deserve it, but I've certainly been blessed!  I think about that fact every time I see Katie Bug, or pick up Lily at Prewee School, see her sister Kinsley, or get a hug from my son Corey, and daughter Tracy.

If I think back on all the things I did that I'd rather stay out of the light of day, I certainly don't think I deserve what I've been given.  However, Grace is free and forgiveness only requires a little faith!  I have asked for and received both, so I suppose I'm covered, and it's a good thing!

I so look forward to the weekends when I get to see Katie Bug, home from school, and to every Monday during the normal school year when we get to pick Lily up from her prewee school, and to seeing her dad when he comes by after work to pick her up.  Those are the most special moments of my week!

Nope, I don't know why I deserve these blessings, but I sure am taking advantage of them!

There's nothing like a big tight hug from a little girl that loves and trust you.  This precious photo can't capture the true emotion filling every part of my being, but it reminds me of what I was feeling at that precise moment in time.

Hopefully they will know someday, when they pause to reflect on these photos, and will probably have children of their own by then, what this old man was feeling and how special they all were to me.

SHE COMES DOWN YELLOW MOUNTAIN

A friend of mine posted a Michael Martin Murphey tune on Facebook last evening and it brought back a rush of memories so special that I choked up and cried silently.  The song is "Wildfire".  A slow sentimental song about the ghost of a little girl and her magical horse Wildfire.  It is a tune I fine rather easy to sing, with lyrics that somehow stay in my head...probably forever.

She comes down from Yellow Mountain
On a dark, flat land she rides
On a pony she named Wildfire
With a whirlwind by her side
On a cold Nebraska night

I used to sit in the dark, rocking my son Corey, singing softly to him as he took his bottle.  It seemed to claim him and his eyes would stare up at me, and it at least appeared that he enjoyed my singing.

Today Corey is an accomplished singer who loves singing in church.  If you ride with him, he always has a stash of Christian music, and one special CD in the slot that has the song he will perform the following Sunday.  I even dig some of the Christian Rock disks he has, but mostly I just love sitting there listening to him practice his song. 

Now, I know my singing to him as a baby didn't shape his voice, 'cause he probably got that from his mother, but maybe I did put him on the road to loving music like he does.  I like to think so anyway.

I know, I have run this into the ground time after time, but I did ask God to use him because I knew how lazy I was and am.  However, I say it again just to thank God for answering my prayer for him.  He is truly a blessing to all that hear his voice.  I'm proud to be known as "Corey's Dad".

Good night son...where ever you are tonight.

ENJOYING THE SNOW - A FAMILY TRADITION

The first photo I have of Corey (at right) enjoying the snow is from 1976.  Doesn't he look comfy in that fuzzy outfit!? He has always enjoyed the white stuff and so has the family.  Corey had his whole family out in it yesterday at his Papaw Harmon's, where the whole clan used to enjoy winter snows.

Even back in the early 70's, while Corey's mom and I were living at the Harmon's, and I was attending UT, I would come home from school (UT never closes) and hit the front yard slope!  My friend Bill and I would stay out late in the light of the porch light and run the hill until we were just too pooped to climb the hill one more time.  I would then go in and struggle to keep my eyes open long enough to study.

Those were good times, with a lawn chair bolted to a pair of water skis, we would slip into supersonic speeds, traveling well over a hundred yards at times.  Some snows back in those days would stay on the ground for days, giving us extra good times.  Today, you have to sled that morning or miss out!

However, this week's 4 or 5 inches has stuck to us like a Thanksgiving feast!  I've been out in it two days now and thinking about giving up today's nap and hitting the snowy trail again!

The snowmen photo is of Lily yesterday, enjoying her first real taste of outdoor fun in the snow, and of her dad back in 1978.  Lily pulled herself up the hill more than anyone thought, even though occasionally she would simply fall down and begin eating snow!  It was a refreshing pause, one that I too remember from days gone by.  

Back in my day (that's what old folks say) my parents would say, "Don't eat that snow...it's radioactive!"  It was probably true, but I would sneak and eat 3 or 4 snowballs every time it snowed.  Yesterday, all the advice offered to Lily was, "Don't eat yellow snow!"

Corey is a competitive sports nut and always goes until he drops.  His spinning "disk" sledding feats were a dizzying affair yesterday, one that would have had me puking!  He's loved the disk since '78.  It's a shame your kids can't grow up with you and enjoy all the old times with you.  He would have been impressed with his old man, almost as much as I am of him today!

Judy and I have always taken off work when it would snow...not because we couldn't get there, but because we wanted to "play in the snow"!  People our age are still amazed, for some reason, at how much we love the snow. 

We used to get out at night and walk in the woods while it was snowing.  It's a great adventure and great fun, and you'd be amazed at how well you can see at night in the snow.  All the light available is amplified by the snow with a glow all around you.  It's also wonderful how the sound of snow coming down through the dried leaves makes you feel.  It's so comforting and relaxing!  I miss that...have to try it again soon, but the snows lately have been coming down in the wee hours of morning.  Next time one begins late in the evening...we'll be out there!

Monday, Judy and I were out down by the creek behind the house.  The creek empties into the lake and at that junction Geese nest.  We tried to get close for photos, and we did get close enough for my 300mm lens to get a few good shots before they scattered.

Judy did her first snow angel, which I still don't believe it was her first, and she was so proud of it!

So, come on, let it snow...we've still got a few good times left in us!