05.06.12
This truck passed us on the way to Tyler. We took notice. We sped up to take the photo, then we reduced speed to give him a large buffer zone. Why would you have this on your bumper? What could possibly explain this message? Does having it on the bumper mean I am liable if you suddenly jump into my lane? Have you ever been driving when the unexpected happened up ahead? Years ago, I was driving to Seminary on I-20, and a light rain had fallen after a long period of hot weather. Three cars up, a vehicle lost control on the slippery surface. It did a 360. I remember honking horns, black...
Read More04.29.12
Last Saturday was glorious. I woke up and stepped outside. It was cool. I had a sudden urge to get outside and stay there for awhile. I knew it might be the last great Saturday before the punishing days of summer arrive. I got on the internet looking for things we have never done in the area. I found two. We headed first to the Jacksonville area to see Love’s Lookout and have a picnic. After that we were headed to Camp Ford, (the largest Confederate Prisoner of War Camp west of the Mississippi River) which is just north of Tyler. If we stayed at the house we would be...
Read More04.15.12
I got recruited into helping set up for DNow. It was not hard, I love our students and was excited to help. It was, in fact, easy to get me to say, “Yes,” because I was asked to join an elite task force to prepare for the group game on Saturday. I’ve been part of some lame group games in the past, so I’m super committed to high quality, engaging, outrageous games. Our goal is that kids never forget a DNow weekend. Chris asked me to help him build a giant Angry Birds game. If you don’t know, Angry Birds is a computer game, but we wanted to turn it into a real...
Read More04.08.12
I totally didn’t expect to see a beaver at the Cain Center Lake, but there it was. The size of a dog, because that is what I thought it was, two different days I saw it on the East side of the main lake. The first time I saw it, I was sure it was a dog, but it moved funny and as I approached, it waddled into the water. The second time, I walked in a stealthy manner and got within 20 feet of it before it noticed me. Then, it acted shocked, hurt and annoyed as it flung itself into the water. Submerged,all I could see was the continuous line of popping bubbles revealing its trajectory toward...
Read More04.01.12
I am a terrible mind reader. I have tried to get better, but I’m a total failure. The new dogs living in my house have confirmed my utter lack of understanding. I have no idea how to make them happy. At random times, for unknown reasons, they seem to indicate a general dissatisfaction for my behavior. Their peanut sized reasoning centers have concluded that I am the problem. I’m either too slow in doing what they want or too fast at doing what I want. They jump at the door before it’s opened and pull on the leash to go a different direction. In the middle of the night they wake me up...
Read More3.11.12
The shark drifted into my backyard. From the looks of it, the shark had traveled from the Pacific. Its electronics were exposed, its paint job flecked, and its tail was detached and hanging by a wire. Still it adopted a very creepy visage. Gusts of wind channeled by the fence made it look like it was swimming back and forth cruising the playground as if it were a reef. My first glance of it came from the back door. I was a little nervous about what I was going to find, so I thought it was a person in the backyard. What had me on edge was my new alarm system–Bear. My toddler dog likes to...
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