Good Eats

Some folks enjoy taking their automobile and driving no where in particular and finding the "down home dive" restaurant that most other drive by and not notice. In Houston on Old Spanish Trail there is a burger joint that has 1/3 pound burgers that have been smoked. I would line up on Fridays and fill the gut with beef & bun. In Beaumont a dive named Dirty Dan's had the best fried pork chops and a chicken plate that always assured left-overs or the gift to "jaw-dropped" observers. In Bryan, Texas a dive that I cannot even recall its exact location became quite the affair. A biker named Phillip took me there one day. I was skeptical at first looking at the clientele that consisted of "near-boxing" Hispanic women worn out looking black & white businessmen and some folks not to be gauged simply. The food held the customers at bay and provided a calm caloric retreat. Once in Key West Florida while walking back to the navy ship from whence I cam we found salacious solace at a small Cuban restaurant that had flavorful sandwiches and steaming soup. We sailors came back every day finding a diamond in the rough. My brother had a knack for driving that back roads of east Texas navigating the roads like slot machines looking for the barbecue joint that would pay-off in jack-pot flavor. I remember many a wonderful meal spent with him. Enjoy down home uncommercialized food.

Paper or Plastic - Cotton or Disposable

My first child was born at home with a nurse mid-wife. Velcro-cotton diapers followed with organic baby food and good intentions. Child # 2 : c-section,disposables, conventional baby food and thread-bare intentions. Both children were funneled through home schooling and their destiny remains cloaked in dark fabric.
We talk of our earthly endowments but fall silent about perceived spiritual gifts because of our limitations in communication and perception. Our limitations are "paper or plastic, sir", "hello sir?".

Guantanamo & Scooter

Guantanamo Bay is a nice place to spend Halloween. Iguanas are scarier than the Cubans on the other side of the fence. Cubans not less scarier not because of a perceived military impotence but because Cubans are beautiful people living industrial-free lives unfettered by commercialism. Human Rights lacking for these folks is in need of addressing. The human rights missing is something the people of this country must weigh for themselves. The details of how a US military base continues to operate in this country still is obscure to me.
The land is beautiful and the memories of it are wonderful. Mountains and hills against the water, lush plant life and sub-tropical temperatures thrive to the "commo-beat". Fidel's health may be flagging but let the people raise the flag that is true to the heart not to interest groups or communist strong-arming. Thanks George for freeing the criminal named "Scooter". Damn I was hired to be Scooter's cell-block guard !!!

Monopoly, Scrabble, Steeleye Span & Children

Another weekend has passed and the new week has begun. This weekend my son returned from camp where rain dampened some activities but at least the heat was no too bad. We enjoyed a Monopoly game on Saturday evening and Scrabble on Sunday morning. I watched the end of a baseball game on the television Saturday evening and did not do much else. This week will begin with a nice walk this morning. My dog ran loose this weekend product of excellent digging skills. My lawn continues its track of being named a national preserve though Bush will not risk being seen in a working class neighborhood to preside over the ceremony. Lately I have enjoyed listening to Steeleye Span as weel as Fairport Convention over Pandora Radio. Check out Pandora www.Pandora.com create a radio station based on a group you like and off you go. It will play songs by that artist and others like the artist often times fleshing out other artists that you might not have heard of. Your local Cd shop is very limiting so let Pandora do the work.

Thinking about the snow in July

I was always a creature of thinking about a lake in the middle of the dessert. Never appreciating the sand while I was there in the dessert. I used to hate summer while I lived in Texas the land of eternal air conditioning. Now I enjoy each season and the cards life deals me. Not lazy or lethargic just happier. This picture was taken from my driveway looking at my front yard back in November 06. For Winter Solstice music check out www.livingmusic.com maybe wait until Thanksgiving Holiday has passed.

Leon Hale

Do you know who Leon Hale is? Leon Hale is a columnist who writes for the Houston Chronicle. He tends to witter on about fairly normal agendas with a home-spun flavor. Leon has been writing for the newspapers on Houston for as long as I know. I had such a like for his work that I reveled in the accessibility that the Internet brought. I used to transfer to different locales with a company that I worked for and missed reading his work. The Internet filled that void. Check him out at the Houston Chronicle online, http://www.leonhale.com/ is the link. He also writes books and the books are OK too.
Leon and a buddy of his used to get in a car and drive south until they found the line where spring was on one side and winter on the other (Primavera). The trip usually involved stops for food that old men should not be eating but it was high entertainment. A talking mule appears in the column from time to time to give his view on politics and organic apples versus conventional ones. Trips to a beer joint with talkative regulars came and went and the mysterious Madame Z a fortune teller that lived on the river caught the eye sometimes.
Leon is getting up there in age so check him out before his beautiful light is dimmed.

Water, Humidity, Clouds and Rain

Here in Oklahoma the rain has fallen for 8 days straight or more. When I arrived in Oklahoma lasr spring the draught was all the "small change talk". The rain allows some folks to sleep as a hibernating bear during a dark winter. Some wander in a depressed mire only seeing the "half-empty pitcher while others revel in the cooler temperatures brought on by the cloud cover. My lawn has enjoyed the frequent watering sessions. The 4th of July is on our heels again and burgers will be flipping and corn crunching. Think of the country and its infrastructure that day -truly reflect about the positive things. Vote in the next election don't let unpopular presidents push unpopular agendas and hide in the brush of deceipt. Remember brighter days are ahead your dreams cannot be taken.