I was in Fort Worth for several days last week... felt like a month. I think I'm allergic to concrete, steel and glass so when I get into a city the size of the metroplex I have a bad reaction. I just want to see some dry grass, a couple thousand mesquite trees and the heat waves of west Texas.
Air conditioner in my truck is not working and this week we're over 100 degrees. Makes for a hot drive wherever I've got to go. I still wouldn't trade it for a brand new BMW in the metroplex.
My salary is surely laughable... there are plenty of people who make more than me and I don't mean Waltons, Buffets or Gates. Probably lots of the guys I knew in school are making more than I am. I wouldn't trade my salary for any of theirs if I had to live in a city to make it.
I love this hot, dusty corner of Texas I call home. It's not all that pretty. It's not all that comfortable or hospitable; everything here either bites, scratches or stings. It's not ever going to be "THE NEXT GREAT THING" like Vail or Jackson Hole or Park City or whatever is the next great thing. It's just the right size for me though. I can see countryside on my 5 minute drive to the airport. The people that I pass will still raise a hand off the steering wheel in greeting if I do. Almost no one thinks I'm the gardener when I park my 87 Ford pick up in front of my house.
Best of all, I've got a group of friends that don't care if I have a BMW. They don't care if I have Armani suits and ties. They aren't concerned that I don't make six figures. I wouldn't trade them for anyone in the metroplex.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Friday, June 17, 2005
after a brief intermission...
See a pattern with recent posts yet? I'll give you a hint... frequency. Now do you see it? Yep... I haven't posted in a while. Well, I'm stretching out my mental muscles and might not have my "A" game going today... here goes.
I'm learning to play guitar. Not sure how this is really going to work since I seem to be functionally tone deaf, my singing being the key indicator. Also, I'm not sure my fingers will bend the way they're supposed to and they hurt real bad right now. I've got a young college kid teaching me how to play. I think he's going to be a good teacher. I know for sure that he's a great guitarist. About halfway through the lesson he told me about his band. He and his band are playing all over the state this summer. If the others in the band are as talented as he is they'll be a great show. (This concludes the "feel good" portion of this particular blog post so if you're feeling happy and don't want to lose that gentle smile... stop reading now.)
Good job to the House of Representatives. They passed a bill that will withhold half the funding that the US gives to the UN, that enormous, parasitic, redundant, beauracratic organization... sorry, got caught up in the moment. The House bill, if passed by the Senate would withhold half the US funding until the UN proves it can handle it's business.
We all got a glimpse of the porkbarrel that is the UN when US Marines captured Saddam's multiple palaces, primarily bought with money Saddam made in the UN controlled (loosely used) Oil for Food program. Yes, Iraqi children starved while Saddam sat on his gold toilet and everyone involved in the Oil for Food oversight got rich. We have also seen the UN demonstrate it's absolute powerlessness as UN peacekeepers stood by and watched the genocide in Rwanda. The UN continues to ignore what may be classified a genocide in Sudan. They can adopt a resolution about tsunami aid and they can adopt a resolution about US preemptive military actions and they can adopt a resolution about genocide but it all boils down to, "blah, blah, blah... " and nothing more.
Tell your congressperson (see how PC I am?) what you think ought to happen with the UN and ask them to support the bill the House passed. Next step: evict the UN from that very expensive real estate we provide for them in NYC.
I'm learning to play guitar. Not sure how this is really going to work since I seem to be functionally tone deaf, my singing being the key indicator. Also, I'm not sure my fingers will bend the way they're supposed to and they hurt real bad right now. I've got a young college kid teaching me how to play. I think he's going to be a good teacher. I know for sure that he's a great guitarist. About halfway through the lesson he told me about his band. He and his band are playing all over the state this summer. If the others in the band are as talented as he is they'll be a great show. (This concludes the "feel good" portion of this particular blog post so if you're feeling happy and don't want to lose that gentle smile... stop reading now.)
Good job to the House of Representatives. They passed a bill that will withhold half the funding that the US gives to the UN, that enormous, parasitic, redundant, beauracratic organization... sorry, got caught up in the moment. The House bill, if passed by the Senate would withhold half the US funding until the UN proves it can handle it's business.
We all got a glimpse of the porkbarrel that is the UN when US Marines captured Saddam's multiple palaces, primarily bought with money Saddam made in the UN controlled (loosely used) Oil for Food program. Yes, Iraqi children starved while Saddam sat on his gold toilet and everyone involved in the Oil for Food oversight got rich. We have also seen the UN demonstrate it's absolute powerlessness as UN peacekeepers stood by and watched the genocide in Rwanda. The UN continues to ignore what may be classified a genocide in Sudan. They can adopt a resolution about tsunami aid and they can adopt a resolution about US preemptive military actions and they can adopt a resolution about genocide but it all boils down to, "blah, blah, blah... " and nothing more.
Tell your congressperson (see how PC I am?) what you think ought to happen with the UN and ask them to support the bill the House passed. Next step: evict the UN from that very expensive real estate we provide for them in NYC.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Which came first?
I had one of those moments yesterday where a dear friend thanked me for my help. He thanked me for doing something that I cannot imagine NOT doing.
As I drove away I tried to remember how we got started. Who had done the first favor for the other? Who had first given of time or money for the other? In the classic "chicken and egg" model I can't tell you which one of us made the first sacrifice.
Thank God for friends. Thank God for giving us people in our lives who we cannot imagine being without. Thank God for the inability to remember who owes and who gives and who sacrifices. Thank God for friends that I can take for granted and who take me for granted.
As I drove away I tried to remember how we got started. Who had done the first favor for the other? Who had first given of time or money for the other? In the classic "chicken and egg" model I can't tell you which one of us made the first sacrifice.
Thank God for friends. Thank God for giving us people in our lives who we cannot imagine being without. Thank God for the inability to remember who owes and who gives and who sacrifices. Thank God for friends that I can take for granted and who take me for granted.
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