Elton John last night!

Last night at the JQH Arena, here in little ol' Springfield, Missouri, Elton John and his band played for close to three hours to a sold out crowd. That guy has had a lot of hit songs over the years. It was a very good show, and a fun night! I've never been a huge Elton John fan, but I like several of his songs. This was pretty much a once in a lifetime chance to see a living legend in popular music. Not something I could easily pass up. The show was well worth the hours I spent in the ticket line at JQH, the morning they went on sale. I don't mind doing stuff like that, and I love going to concerts. We had some great seats, with a grand view of everything going on... not only on stage, but pretty much all across the arena. It's been a couple of years since we've been to a big concert, and one of the most peculiar moments of the show happened when the house lights went down. As the first notes of Funeral For a Friend filled the darkened auditorium and the crowd erupted in cheers, the only thing you could see were hundreds of little cell phone lights in motion all across the arena. My first thought was that they looked like lightening bugs out in a field. It was actually pretty neat looking.

Now, obviously Elton John is a piano player, but I have to admit that his playing surprised me... he's very good, and very versitile; from honkey tonk, to blues, classical and straight-up rock & roll. He still has some fire in him as a performer, that's for sure. His voice is a little heavier than it used to be, and he can't hit the high notes like he used to, but that really didn't detract from the performance. The percussionist sang several of the falsetto parts, and there were four stellar backup singers that came onstage for certain songs... mainly on his new material.

The band was excellent. It was good to see Nigel Olssen and guitarist Davey Johnstone still playing with Elton. Those two have been with him (off & on) since the early 70s. Nigel is a unique drummer, and he really looks like he is enjoying himself up there. Heck... why wouldn't he!?

The night began, as I said earlier, with Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, and ended with Crocodile Rock. He came back, spent a few minutes signing autographs at the front of the stage (pretty cool) and then closed the night with Your Song for the encore. During the course of the evening they played (these are just the ones I can remember, in no particular order) The Bitch Is Back, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, Someone Saved My Life Tonight, I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, Daniel, Take Me To The Pilot, Madman Across The Water, Levon, Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man, Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, Candle In The Wind, Goodbye Yellowbrick Road, and Bennie And The Jets... I know I must be leaving some out. Plus probably a half dozen from his latest album. Some of the new ones were pretty good. It was a very enjoyable evening with my wonderful wife Pam... Pam's sister Debbie and her husband Tracey, and our good friend Susan and her fiance' David.

On the news, they were saying that at the end of the concert, a man fell almost 20 feet from the upper level seats down to the concrete floor! This happened in section OO, which was right next to where we were. We never heard or saw a thing. Very odd. The guy is in the hospital recovering.

the boys...

On a warm Spring day... not long ago. That's Gabriel, the goofy one... and Zeke, the old man. Zeke is fading from our lives. It won't be long before we have to say goodby to him, after almost 14 years. He's a good boy.

Cody's South... tonight!

Sock Monkey will be rockin' it up at Cody's South this evening, starting at around 8:30. Great food and fun music. I really can't think of a better way to spend a Friday night in Springding! I know I will be there.

Scenes of early Springtime on the Finley

Wake Robin and May Apple on the floodplain.

Grapevines. This time of year you can cut one of these and the sap will flow like a garden hose.

The Finley River in Christian County, at Ozark, along the Bluff Springs Trail

While at work these past few months, I have been coming out to the Finley to walk on my lunch hour. These trails are located south of the Recreational Center in Ozark. It's a welcome break from sitting at a computer all morning. This gravel bar has called my name many times, and almost convinced me just as often that all I really needed to do that day was linger there at the water's edge a little bit longer, and look for neat rocks, listen to the river flowing by, and enjoy the sounds of the crows in a nearby sycamore tree. I usually wait till the last possible moment, then head back to the car. Nature does not play fair!

smile

Sometimes you just get tired of things rattling around in your brain. War, the economy, layoffs & foreclosures, earthquakes & devastation, will Lindsay Lohan have to go back to jail??!!....

and then a little thing like this comes along. Just a funny little thing.

I was talking with a friend at work this morning, and she kept looking down at her coffee cup. She finally motioned me over and said "look at this". This is what was drawing her attention away from the riveting conversation we were having.

You see these kinds of pictures on TV and on the web occasionally, and I just figured they are either Photo-shopped or one in a million. I guess not. I thought it was kinda cool!

Yes, I know... trivial, but sometimes when you are in the middle of writing the narrative for an environmental impact report, it's the little things that really matter. ;) Hmmmmm maybe that cup of coffee knows something we don't. Well... OK, I guess I better get back to that environmental report. Break's over!

venn diagram

excuse me... um, we want your oil, so we're going to have to kill you now.

Welp folks... we're at it again.
They call it Operation Odyssey Dawn. You know it's straight-up when they give it some cool sounding name. The headlines read: U.S. Launches Military Strikes in Libya. Doesn't really surprise me nearly as much as it simply makes me sad. Can't we ... just once... keep our damn American nose out of the business of others. And it seems that the people of the United States are powerless... we have no say in this, apparently. It just makes me grind my teeth.

I understand that the U.S. has had a serious, long-standing beef with Gaddafi, but here's a thought. Call me crazy, but how 'bout we wrap up those other two wars (dang... I almost forgot about those!) we are involved in, before we start another one. Oh I know... this one isn't a war... it's just a little "military action". Just doing our part to help out. Right. Whatever you want to call it. Oh yea, they're calling it Operation Odyssey Dawn... that's right.

You know, when I started this blog, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't get tangled in politics here. It just wears me down, and frankly serves no positive purpose in the long run... except to provide me a place to vent. I'm thankful for the current administration, although I have been far from satisfied with Obama's performance on many issues. Yet, these past couple of years my taste for any serious political debate has faded into the Texas skyline . Frankly, I was just sick & tired of it after the eight years we spent under the G.W. Bush administration. So it really hasn't been much of an effort to leave political rants out of this space. But sometimes I see things that just make me so frustrated, that I feel the need to at least say something about it. This is one of those rare moments. And it is also another time when I am wondering... what is Obama doing!? ugh! enough.

wow... what a week.

No writing this past week. But I promise I will get to it shortly... been busy, that's all. I've got a lot of things bouncing around in my mind, and I know there's a lot to talk about, but I don't know if I'm ready to sit down quite yet and churn it out. Maybe pictures would be good. Simple. Hopefully this evening.

It's about that time...

Even though the temperature got down into the mid 20s last night; the sweet, distant sound of spring peepers and wester chorus frogs... and these little darlings that popped up in our back yard a few days ago, let us know that Springtime is coming. Nice. Winter is far from done with us, but at least I know that it has been handed it's walking papers. You've got about 30 days, Old Man Winter.

Watch out Pepe'

When I got to work this morning and opened the front door I was greeted by a very familiar scent... an odor, some might say. It was the unmistakable essence of skunk... not outside, but inside the office! It wasn't strong enough for me to suspect that Pepe' Le Pew had taken a short-cut through our end of the building last night, but it was pretty clear that he had been close. Probably trolling for that petite femme skunk (or poor little black kitty that accidently walked under a freshly painted fence... it happens) that he noticed earlier in the evening, behind our office.

"Hellllooooo babeee... Yoooo hoooo... come now my sweet, do not hide from zeee love, do no run away, zeee night it is young."

Spring is in the air, and the skunks are thick. Anytime it gets above freezing around here this time of year, the skunks get that ol' feelin'. We catch a whiff of them around the house almost every night, and we can always count on Gabriel to let loose with a crazed barrage of barking if one gets too close. Thanks buddy... you saved us again. Last night when I was taking the trash out, I opened the front door cautiously and rattled the trash bag ahead of me, just in case one of them happened to be lurking in the bushs. Thankfully there weren't any. This time.

But sadly, the drive to find that darling femme skunk must also make them oblivious to cars. On my drive home from work this afternoon, along Highway 65 (between Ozark and Springfield) I counted at least 10 skunks on the side of the road. After passing the second one, I closed my vents and put the air on re-circulate. They have a lot of character, even in death.

So here's to you Pepe'... have fun, but let's be careful out there.

The blizzard of 2011

Hmmmm... no, not the Dairy Queen kind of Blizzard...

This is all that's left in our front yard from The Great Blizzard of 2011 (that's what we are calling it now, by the way. It was a hefty snowstorm, but I'm pretty sure that the folks living in northern Minnesota or upstate New York would get a good chuckle out of that description).

A prior engagement?....

Yesterday, along with 14 other honored recipients, President Obama presented former President George H.W. Bush the Medal of Freedom at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. Those set to receive the Medal this year were notified in November of 2010... November of 2010. According to news reports son George W. Bush could not attend the ceremony, due to a prior engagement. You know, maybe it's just me, but if I had an 86 year old father who was receiving the Medal of Freedom, I think I might just rearrange my schedule to fit it in. But then again, what do I know...
"Oh dang, daddy... I've got a dentist appointment that morning. Sorry 'bout that. I'll catch you next time, I promise."

More snow... seriously. Enough already.

This isn't northern Iowa.
Here's a shot of the MoDOT Road Conditions Map, taken at 9:00 this morning. The purple roads are covered with snow, and the blue roads are partly covered. I'm sitting here at my computer at work (on break... don't worry) watching it come down. It's fairly fine, light snow, but it does add up after a while. I would guess we have a little over an inch... inch & a half maybe, here in Ozark. It started early this morning, pre-dawn and is supposed to continue most of the day, with an eventual total of anywhere from 2 to 64 inches. No wait... it says 4 inches. The way it looks now, I would be surprised if we get 4 inches. But then again, I kinda scoffed at the "blizzard" warnings we were getting last week. And that didn't turn out so good (ha). Oh well... not much we can do about it. YEA!!!! more snow! That's the spirit. Ugh. At this rate, Pam may not get out of school till June. ;) Oh... and just for an added kick, it's 10 degrees out there. 10.

Her journey is over...

Patricia, Pam and Clara at the house in West Plains
Patricia, Clara and Debbie in Maui, Hawaii
Clara (left), with her sister Bertha and two of their brothers on the family farm near White Church, Missouri
Pam's mother, Clara Smith, passed away this morning. She would have been 95 this coming March. Alzheimers is a cruel disease... but it's good to know that she is free now. This has been a long time coming, so it wasn't anything that was sudden or unexpected, but it's still a sad and difficult thing when it finally happens. Good bye Clara, thank you for being a part of my life all these years. I miss you. We all do.

After-image

Here it comes...

Image from the National Weather Service site (NOAA) from around 2:00am February 1, 2011 showing the mass of weather streaming up from Texas and Oklahoma into southwest Missouri. It's 27 degrees with light rain & sleet.

8:00am Tuesday update: I haven't bothered to measure it, but it looks like we have gotten about an inch to an inch and a half of sleet so far, and it's still coming down. Apparently that's just the base for what is coming later today. Debbie texted Pam at a little before 4:00 to say that they couldn't go any further (they were at Vinita and their windshield wipers kept freezing up and they couldn't see). They will wait there till daylight to try to make it the rest of the way here. Yuck. Our office is closed today, thankfully, and schools all over the area have called off classes. I'll be surprised if they even have school Thursday or Friday, as much snow as they are calling for, and the bitterly cold temperatures coming. It's starting out to be onehellofa week. Oh... and Pam just announced that the snow has arrived. Oh yeah... there it is. Pretty (ugh).

Oh JOY!

Sometimes it's just so hard to choose. A wonderful, sunny 78 degrees and sand between our toes... or this
Well... the National Weather Service site pretty much says it all, as you can see. Our winter storm is on its way. If it's going to do it, it may as well be a doozie. None of this messin' around with a half inch of snow. Lets go for a foot! What the heck.

Monday evening (January 31st) weather update: we are now under a blizzard warning. Snow totals have been ramped up a bit, also. They are talking a foot to 15 inches just to our north... probably as close as Bolivar & Stockton Lake. High winds, very cold temps for the next few days. I'm still a bit skeptical about the snow totals, but who knows... They are saying that the snow really isn't going to kick in till early tomorrow morning, but we could see sleet and freezing rain after midnight. It's 10:30 now, it's drizzling, and the temperature is standing at 32 degrees. Tomorrow morning at 6:30, I don't want there to be any doubt as to whether or not I should even bother pulling the car out of the garage. Somehow, though, I don't think that's going to happen. Pam is over at the Manor with her mom... so she has to be out in this awful weather, dangit. And Debbie and Tracy are driving up from Durant tonight, right along the storm track.

The ravens and the lion...

Early Sunday morning... maybe 4:00 or so, I woke up from a dream. There was a fragment of it that was very intriguing to me, and so I made a point to remember it before I fell back to sleep. When I got up that morning, I wrote down the images that I had retained from it.

I was the observer of a small drama unfolding before me. I was in a desert-like place... (fairly barren and sandy, as much of it as I could see) and I was watching two ravens standing next to a burrow in the ground, which was maybe 10 inches across. They were waiting for small birds to come out of the hole, so they could eat them. Two robin-sized birds came out and perched themselves at the edge of the hole, across from the ravens, facing away from them. One of the ravens began to taunt the robins... and was jabbing them with its beak and pulling at their feathers. Just being a bully. At that point, a lion (yes... a regular, big lion) emerged from the hole, and started to walk away. I was wondering why he didn't do something about the ravens, but then he turned around and looked at me, and told me, without speaking "this is not my fight... and this isn't my concern". And then he was gone. A small sparrow hopped out of the burrow, and one of the ravens snatched it up in his beak and swallowed it whole. Then I woke up.

Friday Night At Cody's South...

Our band Sock Monkey will be playing at Cody's South this Friday night (January 21, 2011). Cody's is located in the Steeplechase Center at 1440 East Republic Road, Springfield. We will be kicking it off at around 8:00 or 8:15. Cody's has really good burgers & fries... come in for supper and stay for Sock Monkey! You'll have a great time... I promise.
And no... we don't have a new live recording coming out soon on cassette, that's just a cool looking promo that Rus put together. However, we will be going into the studio here in the next couple of weeks to record a few tunes! I can't wait! As soon as they are mixed down, we will post them on our website. Stay tuned... there's a lot coming up this year for Sock Monkey!

Snowy day in the Ozarks

This is the wintry view from my office window here in Ozark this morning. Most people are moving slow down 3rd Street today. It's one of those days when I think I would rather be home puttering around the house and sipping a cup of hot cocoa. Oh well...
In Springfield the snow didn't start falling till sometime overnight. When I got up at around 5:45 there was maybe an inch on the ground, but it has fallen steadily since then. They have quite a bit more to our north. Schools are closed all over the Ozarks today. It is pretty.

A really good night

Compared to some people, I really haven't been to that many concerts. As I've mentioned before, when I was younger, the opportunities to see any touring rock shows were few and far between. But over the years, I have had the good fortune to be present for a few really amazing concert experiences. And one of the coolest of those came on June 19th, 1985. I was backstage at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, for a stellar evening of blues with Albert King, BB King and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

In the mid '80s when we were living in Colorado Springs, our band had a road manager named Jerry Pope. We met Jerry several years earlier while playing at the Sheraton in Bossier City, Louisiana, and became friends. Jerry was a good guy... a big, laid back, former pro football player, who cultivated friendships with a number musicians and managers and support personnel in the music business, mainly in the South. One of those friendships was with a lady who was "dating" the legendary blues guitarist BB King. I don't know all of the details of their relationship, but from what I can recall, BB King leased his tour busses from her, and she and BB were "very close". She knew that Jerry Pope was living in Colorado at the time, and let him know that she could get backstage passes for him, for the upcoming show at Red Rocks. He asked if the guys in our band could go also. She said no problem.
On the afternoon of the show, Ron Wesley & I, along with our good friend Jon Kennedy and his buddy Kelly Winters, piled into Jon's car and headed for Denver. We followed Jerry in his car to the hotel where BB King was staying. A few minutes after pulling into the hotel parking lot, Jerry appeared with the passes and said... "BB is just about to leave for the show... we have to follow his limo to the venue so we can park backstage. If you lose him, you're on your own". As soon as the limo pulled out, it was like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride... trying to keep up with BB's car in 75 MPH traffic across south Denver, to Morrison, about 30 miles to the west. When we arrived at Red Rocks we were directed to the backstage parking area where the tour busses park. Albert King was almost to the end of his set when we made our way to the backstage area, stage right. Being in the midst of all that was like a dream come true. I loved every minute of it! The only thing that would have made it better, is if we had been there to play. Looking out at that huge crowd from the edge of the stage was absolutely thrilling. BB King put on a great show that night, and afterwards, I got to meet the man. I shook his hand and told him how honored I was to meet him. He was just as he had always appeared to be... patient and gracious, and larger than life.

And then came Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble...

I stood in the wings of the stage and watched as he ripped through two hours of blistering rocked-up blues. Texas Flood... Love Struck Baby... Pride and Joy... Look At Little Sister... Change It... and stunning versions of Hendrix' Little Wing and Voodoo Chile (Slight Return). You have to be kind of a musical equipment geek to appreciate this part, but his guitar tech was set up right next to where we were, stage right, and I can remember looking at him at one point in the show and he was tuning one of Stevie's guitars. Not just any guitar... this was #1, The First Wife, Stevie's famous, beat up old sunburst Strat. And I thought to myself, this can't be real, here I am standing less than 4 feet from this legendary guitar, and I look to the stage, and Stevie turns around to his Marshall stacks and kicks the plexiglass sound screens to one side so he could hear himself better, I'm guessing. And it is loud. Yup, this is real. The whole night was just amazing. When the show was over, and the crowd was filtering out of the stands, and the roadies had begun to pack everything away, I walked cautionsly out onto the stage, behind Chris Layton's drumset and stood there for a moment taking in the sight. That was a good night. A very good night.

Concerts

Thanksgiving day we were at my brother's house, and we started talking about all the concerts we have been to over the years... the first one, our favorites. It was fun hearing about all of those memorable shows.

The first concert I can recall going to was Buddy Rich and his Big Band, playing at (of all places) Cabool, Missouri High School. I'm pretty sure it was in the winter of 1972-73; my first year of junior high band. It was actually a pretty big deal to be able to see such a huge name performer so close to home, in rural southern Missouri. From what I can remember of it, it was an excellent concert. The band was the best of the best in the contemporary jazz world, and Buddy, of course, just brought the house down with his drumming. I'm glad that I got the opportunity to hear him play live, but honestly, as a drummer, he was on another planet. Jazz and swing is great, but Rock 'n Roll was the music that I wanted to be a part of!

Living in West Plains, Missouri, we didn't get very many chances to see touring bands. You had to travel at least 100 miles, to Springfield, or Little Rock, Memphis, Kansas City or St. Louis. That just didn't come along very often. But I got my first chance in the summer of 1974, when I was 15 years old. In early June of that year they started showing ads on the Springfield TV stations for the Winter Holiday Jam, with headliners Rick Derringer and the Edgar Winter Group. I was a fan of Edgar Winter, and had their latest album They Only Come Out At Night, and Rick Derringer's All American Boy, so I was excited to know they would be playing in Southwest Missouri! I felt like the time was right to ask Mom & Dad if I could go. They said yes.
My good friend Greg Lowe asked his grandparents, who lived in Springfield, to get tickets for us. I can just imagine Greg's grandma Lipscomb walking into Kaleidoscope (back then it was a record store and head shop) and asking for two tickets to the big rock & roll show coming to town.
When the day arrived, July 6th, Dad drove Greg and I up to Springfield. He dropped us off at the entrance to the fairgrounds, with a stern warning, I'm sure, to behave ourselves, and instructions on where and when to meet him, once the show was over. The concert was held at the Fairgrounds Motor Speedway, on the north side of the city. Walking through those gates, wading through the crowds of young people everywhere and seeing that huge stage for the first time was an awesome experience. The sights and sounds (and aromas) of that day will always be fondly remembered. The show began with a local R&B/funk horn band called Granny's Bathwater, followed by the band Poco. Poco put on a good, rousing performance. The band included bass player Timothy B. Schmit, who would go on to join the Eagles a few year later. I remember their closing number... the pedal steel player, Rusty Young, had his pedal steel down on its side at the edge of this 20 foot high stage, just playing the fool out of it. It sounded like a distorted, crazy slide guitar solo. It was good. Then Came the headliner, The Edgar Winter Group. They opened the show with Free Ride, and went from there playing most of the tunes off of their last two albums, including Frankenstein... Edgar yelled to the audience "are you ready for the monster?!" In the middle of the show, Rick Derringer did about 30 minutes worth of material from his various albums, also. It was a very good "first" concert, and quite an eye-opening experience.
In the two photos above, I've got my ticket stub from the concert... and the print copy is from the December 6th, 1973 edition of Rolling Stone Magazine, announcing the kick-off of the Edgar Winter Group's tour in support of the album They Only Come Out At Night.

Resolve

RESOLVE
verb - To come to a definite or earnest decision about; determine (to do something).
noun - A resolution or determination made, as to follow some course of action. Firmness of purpose or intent.

That beautiful painting, or piece of hand-thrown pottery you own... the one you discovered while strolling among the vendors at an art fair, the one that stood out among all the other pieces, was made by someone who could no longer deny their need to create. They chose to embrace the artist in them selves. It would seem that some have been doing it their entire life. It didn't occur to them to even question whether it was the right path. It was like choosing whether to breathe or not (at least early in their careers). I envy those people. For many musicians, dancers, sculptors, painters, photographers, and so forth, their art is their identity.
And then there is the other type... like me. I have an artistic drive, and a very real need to create. But unlike those who have made their art their life, I have always taken a much more conservative approach. Other than the years that I played my drums for a living, my artistic endeavors have been made in baby steps... uncertain of my abilities, and always mindful of reality and my responsibilities. Though often admired or even envied, pursuing a career in the arts is not what most would consider to be a "stable" way of life; and I think you could probably get 9 out of 10 working artists to agree with you on that. The only reason the last one was a holdout was because sales on her Etsy site were particularly good that week (ha).

I think what I really need, is someone to just give me a big shove right off this safe rock I've been perched on for so long.

That was something I wrote just a couple of months ago, in a post I titled Nudge. It was about finding inspiration in other peoples' art, and the need to actually make time to explore my own creativity. Give it it's due. I don't normally make New Year's Resolutions. I have found over the years that they really don't have much substance. But I am actually going to give it a try this year. We never know what tomorrow will bring; that is a given, so the best we can do is set our plans in motion and hope that fate is on our side. I have resolved that I will take this coming year and use every opportunity to honestly and earnestly explore my artistic talents. I realize that the only one who can shove me off of my safe rock, is me. I'll never know unless I try, so this year I am going to focus on my creativity, and see what comes of it. I especially enjoy making pottery, and painting in acrylics. That's where my focus will be, for now.
I think I'm ready to leap off of that rock. But carefully... I don't want to twist my ankle.

A walk in the sugar forest

The Enchanted PeePs Christmas Tree Forest!
Too... much... SUGAR.

Funny side note. Pam's sister, Debbie, has a little grandson who has been visiting us for the last couple of day... cute kid. Anyway, Debbie got these Christmas tree PeePs for him and gave him one. He didn't want it, so Pam split it in two and figured the dogs would enjoy a special sweet treat (we give them pancakes occasionally). When she gave the PeeP to them, they didn't know what to make of it. This can't be food. They spit it out!... Zeke, our older dog, went back and tried again, and just couldn't bring himself to actually eat it. Gabriel, our goofy white lab mix, finally decided he was going to give it his best shot, and eventually chewed them up and swallowed them, but Pam said he looked like he was kind of having a tough time of it most of the way. I will probably toss the rest of them into the composting bin in the garden, but I'm wondering if the bacteria will even have anything to do with them. Kinda like McDonald's french fries, or a Twinkie. They don't decompose. Scary.

OK... let's wrap it up here people!

The scene: our kitchen this morning at approximately 6:10. I am sitting at the table, half asleep, eating a bowl of cereal... getting ready to leave the house for work. Pam breezes in (I'm pretty sure she's been up since 5:00, at least, and has probably already done step-aerobics and a half hour of yoga... hmmmmm)

Pam: "I think I'm going to take the tree down today".
Del: "really?... today?... well, OK."
I tell you, that woman doesn't mess around. But actually, that may not be such a bad idea. I had already made plans to take the outside Christmas lights down this coming weekend, weather permitting... even the (no longer) ice-encased lights wrapped around the tree in the front yard.
Last year, I think I ended up taking down the last of the outside decorations in March... maybe May?... I know it was a month that starts with 'M'. Hey, sometimes you just don't want that special feeling of the holidays to end. But I must admit that it was time for the lighted snowflakes on the garage to go once our big Bradford Pear tree next to the driveway started to bloom and leaf out. So maybe January 1st is as good a day as any to get that taken care of. But I'm pretty sure that when I get home this afternoon, the Christmas tree will be back in the box, ready to seal and store away for another year. That's alright, just because the tree has been packed away, doesn't mean Christmas is over. I think there's still some spiked eggnog in the frig. Cheers! On to 2011!

Christmastime!

The top picture was taken at Granny & Papaw's house in Thayer... probably 1966 or '67. That's my sister Donna at left, with our cousin Angela in her lap, and her brother David, below. I'm next over, then my sister Diane and big brother, Dan.
The bottom picture is Me and Smokey at our house in West Plains... sometime in the late 1960s. I always thought that this picture was taken on Christmas morning, but my big sister thinks it is from Christmas Eve. And she's probably right (of course... who would debate the wisdom of their older siblings?) So anyway, the reasoning being; normally on Christmas morning we didn't get to see the tree or presents until it was time to open them. We four kids were confined to our bedrooms and a long hallway leading to the living room. Mom & Dad would hang a sheet or something across the hallway, so we couldn't see the tree or the gifts that Santa had left us. It was torture, but we loved it... it just built the excitement. They would intentionally take their time... drink a cup of coffee and maybe have a little something to eat, and all the time we were back there giggling and running back & forth from our bedrooms to the end of the hallway. No peeking! Finally they would say "alright... you can come on in!" and it was controlled crazy time in the house for the next half hour. Dad would sit on the floor, and we would all pick our spot and wait for him to slide our presents across the floor to us. In a matter of minutes, the entire living room was occupied with piles of colorful, shredded wrapping paper. And Smokey loved Christmas almost as much a we did, because she got to play in the paper. What good memories.

I'm Dreaming of a...

Icy Christmas? No... that's not how the song goes. We woke up this fine morning of Chritmas Eve to a thin coating of ice; just enough to make the roads questionable. Fortunately the temperature is hovering right at freezing, so as the day progresses I'm sure the temperature will climb just enough to melt most of this. They are calling for a wintery mix all day... a cold rain, ice, sleet, and eventually snow. As it looks now, I don't think it's going to be much. However, once the sun goes down this evening all of that will freeze again. Yuck.
Generally speaking, I don't really like winter. I prefer sunny days and temperatures in the upper 80s to low 90s. However, from time to time, I don't mind a good snowstorm as long as I'm not looking at it through the windshield of a car. But around here, it seems that ice has become a frequent visitor in winter, largely in the form of sleet... and freezing rain. That's the stuff that brings down entire tree tops, causes electrical blackouts that can last for hours or even weeks, and turns streets and parking lots into skating rinks. Not good. Nope, don't much care for winter. But that's just part of living where we do. At least we aren't in Iowa, or Michigan... or Buffalo, New York, where they measure their snowfalls in the feet.
I just hope everyone has safe travels these next few days. Fortunately, I think the only place we've got to go today is to the grocery store... one more time. Or maybe two. Here's wishing everyone a safe and Happy Christmas... Hanukkah... Kwanzaa... whatever celebration you embrace this season,

and a healthy, joyous and hopefully even prosperous 2011!!! Peace.

Home Made Tamales!

My good friend (and co-worker) Leslie just gave me two big Christmas gift bags full of her delicious home made tamales... plus her salsa and some festive chips. I've been waiting a whole year for these! They are goooood. That washed-out picture I took doesn't do them justice. Thank you Leslie! Feliz Navidad.

I don't know if George Bailey is going to get his Christmas miracle this time...

I heard on the news a couple of nights ago that the beautifully restored Gillioz Theater in downtown Springfield is under foreclosure. At the stroke of midnight on December 31st, the Gillioz will belong to the bank. The wonderful folks at Guaranty Bank saw fit to pull the rug out from under the theater, and the adjoining Netters Building, just as they were getting their feet under them. The Gillioz, which is owned by the Springfield Landmarks Preservation Trust, was actually operating in the black for the first time since the massive restoration and reopening several years ago. They took a decaying downtown landmark and breathed new life into it. The last I heard, some 70,000 dollars had been donated by the fine folks of Springfield, to stave off foreclosure, but unfortunately, that falls far short of the minimum 1/2 million they will need to keep the doors open. It seems that Mr. Potter is alive and well and has controlling stock in Guaranty Bank this Christmas season. As Mr. Potter said... "George, you're worth more dead than alive". It's a shame that the board of directors of the bank that holds the note (many of whom live right here in Springfield) would allow this to go through. With them, it seems that there is no concern or consideration for the greater benefit to the community in allowing the Gillioz to remain open. The arts be damned... this is about the bottom line. Sad indeed.

She's Run Aground Captain!... abandon ship!!! no wait...

Gather 'round children and let ol' Captain Kevin tell the tale of that fateful night at the helm of the Showboat Branson Belle. "I remember it like it was yesterday (in fact, it was yesterday)... the lake, she was angry that afternoon when we hoisted anchor and set off on the dinner cruise. We were well on our way as the sun was setting, and a bitter, cold, north wind blew hard against her hull. The happy passengers, dressed in their holiday cheer, were unaware of the tragedy that was unfolding before them. Then, without warning, a great shudder raked across the Belle like a shiver from the icy hand of the Reaper Himself. The great Showboat, with some 600 souls aboard, had lost power to the main thrusters, and against howling winds, she began to drift dangerously toward the rocky coatline of Tablerock Lake. Anxious minutes passed with my nose pressed against the cold glass of the Pilot Room; my eyes straining against the encroaching darkness. The black coastline was looming close. White waves crashed again the mightly craft as she learched to a halt with a groan. She's run aground Captain!!! All hands on deck!! May day! Mayday I bellowed into the radio. A reassuring reply crackled across the speaker... "Copy that Showboat... where is your location?" God only knows.... God only knows".
Captain Kevin drew a heavy breath and stared into the distance. It was going to be a long night.

Dreams are funny, aren't they?

This morning I had an unusual dream... as if most dreams are normal (ha)
Anyway, I was in a very large, old college class room or lab, and the ceiling is like two stories high... just a huge room. And I'm there with David Letterman. There were some things going on at the beginning of it that I can't clearly recall, but everything sort of came to a focal point once I realized that the room was filling up with water. At first I thought it was some kind of a Letterman gag... a stunt for his show, but Dave was as surprised as I was. Before we knew it, the room was completely filled with water! We are both swimming around (under water) and in a little bit of a panic. I happened to have a small bottle of air with a hose attached to it, and I drained that in just a few seconds, but it gave me enough time to see that Dave was up in the corner, with his head above water. I surfaced right next to him just as my last breath was giving out. Our heads were touching the ceiling, it was so close. I was concerned that the water would keep rising, but it didn't, so we treaded water there for a minute or so, not talking... just quietly pondering the unusual situation we are in. Moments later the level of the water began to slowly drop, but I was still looking for a way to get us back down. I saw a large chisel sitting on a desk below, and swam down to get it. I smashed a couple of the windows, and I could see that the water was flowing out. And then I woke up. Bizarre. I wonder if David Letterman had a similar dream last night? Now that would be an interesting twist. I should give him a call.

Turkey Trot!

Pam & I, my son-in-law Brett and my sister Donna got together on this very cold Thanksgiving morning to do the KC/Sprint Turkey Trot and fun run 5K in Kansas City. Did I mention it was cold. But after we started walking we warmed up. Patricia was signed up for it also, but just wasn't feeling up to it that morning, dang it!
Pam and Donna set their pace, and Brett & I set ours. Probably about 200 or 300 yards behind Pam & Donna, as best I can figure it; because after the first mile, we didn't see them again till the finish line (ha). It became apparent that we were going to be left behind when they started power-walking and weaving in and around the slower clumps of people. It was a fun event, and that afternoon at my brother's house I didn't feel quite as guilty about having that extra plate of turkey and sweet potatoes.