I’ve been gone a while; 2 weeks ago today I sat on the back porch here at the lake, yes I’m back, and wrote a goofy little thing about having a second or third cup of coffee.  After that the wheels just quit spinning and for the first time since I have been doing this Random Thoughts thing I had no idea what my next post would talk about or if there would even be a next post.

If I were a real writer I think it would be called writer’s block, since I am just an old blogger maybe vapor lock would be more descriptive.  After we read this we may still not know what the next one is about but at least we know there is another one.

The last two weeks have been kind of slow and quiet, in fact last week was one of those kind that usually results in one of those “from the heart” in depth analysis kind of post.  Honestly I considered it and I will probably still do one of those from time to time but not just because I had a little bit of a bad week.  We all have bad weeks and if things get a little too quiet and lonely at home maybe I need to get out and make a little noise; don’t read too much into that.  I’m not talking about the kind of noise I made 40 or 50 years ago; something between that and sitting at home pounding on a keyboard.

For the record I know I have a writing habit and have no plans to quit.  Maybe that will give me the incentive to get off my butt and go find some interesting things to do just so I can share them with you and I won’t have to quit writing.

I’m not sure what that was all about but I think I feel better.  Keep me in your prayers and consider a donation to the cancer research organization of your choice.

Good Night and God Bless.

Dave

I could be fishing or cutting grass or a million other things, but I’m not.
I am kicked back having a second or is it a third cup of coffee? Everyone needs a quiet place to sort their random thoughts; this is mine.
I did this one with my phone. Technology is amazing.
I hope your day is good.

If their dad would have been good at what he did my girls might have kicked dirt and made memories at places like Cheyenne, Calgary, Pendleton, Houston, Denver, The Cow Palace and maybe even the NFR.

Because he was mediocre, and that may be stretching it a bit, they got to kick dirt and make memories and friends in Waurika, Greensburg, Hill City, Pratt, Yates Center, Hennessey, Carnegie, Okeene and Dodge City.

I’m not talking about my day job; I was probably just mediocre at it too but we’re gonna reminisce and rodeo a little bit tonight.

The rodeos held at the places in paragraph one are on everyone’s list of the best of the best.  The ones I dreamed of standing on the announcer’s stand with a microphone in my hand.  Those places in paragraph two are on the list of places I actually stood on the announcer’s stand with that microphone in my hand.

If I had been good the girls wouldn’t know about the world’s largest hand dug well in Greensburg or that huge ball of string; I think it is somewhere in Kansas.  They wouldn’t have that “god awful” motel in Paola, Ks to gage all others by. They wouldn’t know about that all night greasy spoon at Braman, Ok.

Some of those summer weekends were spent with the Lazy J (Sharon, Ks); Circle A (Guthrie, Ok) Flying (I think) W (Blanchard, Ok), Hy-Acres (Mulhall, Ok) and Carpenter Rodeo from Clearwater, Ks.  Their families became like our family.  We knew barrel racers and calf ropers and bull riders and bull doggers that seemed like family.

We knew clowns named, Jeff, Randy, Rex, George, Raymond and a bunch more. We knew bucking bulls named Popeye, Honker, V05 and Frankenstein to name a few.

The summer of 1977 may be the best “family time” we ever had, I know it is at the top of my list and it was at or near the top of Sharyl’s.  The girls still have fond memories of that summer.  We drove a lot of miles, met a lot of people, had a lot of fun and we did it together.

By the summer of ’78 Sharyl’s career was sprouting wings and my day job included airports and suitcases.  It took me a few more years to accept it but it was time to say good-bye to rodeo.

For the past couple years I have been scanning our old family pictures.  It not only preserves them for the girls and for future generations it sends me down memory lane.  This week I scanned some from ’77.  The quality isn’t good; they were taken with one of those Instamatic 110 cameras. Sharyl isn’t in any of them; it was her camera.  If it is OK I will share a few of them. You can see how we rolled.

We saw a lot of parades. I usually had to announce them at no additional cost.

Participated in a few of the parades.  Dodge City with the Lazy J

Almost showtime. Makin’ sure the arena is right

Lookin’ good and double checking the arena

Always fun. Tom Ward Guthrie , Oklahoma.

I sure wish those Leisure Suits would make a comeback.

A good friend, a good horse and a mud puddle. It just don’t get any better

Sharyl’s bestie from the Lazy J. Hope the golden years are good to you, Rosemary

You had to be there. Hill City, Kansas with the Lazy J. Frank was always good for a laugh

A good hat, 2 pretty girls and a dog named Blue. Nothing else needed. Runnin with the Circle A in this one.

Two of the best, kept the Lazy J running and made things easy for the guy on the right

Sometimes you get a little dirty. That’s OK if you’re having fun.

Gotta start em young if they’re gonna make a hand

Cute couple. Runnin with the Circle A here.

You’re gonna be trouble if you don’t leave little sister alone.

Just killin’ time

Dodge City, probably as close to the big time as i ever got.

I am out of pictures but I have one funny story to share. There is always an abundance of aluminum cans around a rodeo arena (imagine that). Some of the Circle A crew helped the girls get started in the recycling business. For about three consecutive weekends when we got home all the extra space in my equipment trailer was filled with cans; it sure smelled good in there.  We found time to take the cans to market; Lori and I unloaded them and gathered the cash.  The payoff was $8.50 when we got back to the truck I gave Lori the $5.00; I kept the $3.50 and gave Dava $5.00 out of my pocket.  I’ll do the math the deal cost me $1.50.  The next weekend the Circle A crew asked about the can business. Dava told them we had sold the cans but dad kept some of the money.  They never forgot.

Please consider a donation to the cancer research organization of your choice.  Keep me in your prayers.

Good Night and God Bless.

Dave

Photo by Lori Russell

Sometimes a picture just grabs you.  This one did me.  I think it was the look of sheer joy.  Nothing posed or planned, just a big old happy hug.

Allow me to introduce the huggers. My favorite (only) grand daughter, Rylie, is facing the camera; her friend, Meredith, has her arm extended with the sign. The smile is real, Rylie’s mom is a photographer so she knows how to smile for the camera but she can’t fake that smile, it is from deep inside, one I haven’t seen in a long time. It may have been raining but not on their little parade.

The hug is probably the world standard for conveying feelings.  Those hugs range from the casual, just a little more personal than a handshake, to on rare occasion the extreme as you see in the picture.  They are popular at family gatherings; I think some of the old aunts have a competition to see who can hug the most people.  Sharyl’s family had a lot of huggers.

I think we all face those times when we need to offer words of sympathy or compassionate support and the right words just aren’t there or they hang on the lump in your throat; a simple heartfelt hug is an excellent alternative.

What should have been Rylie’s fun years, her high school days were filled with way too many of those kinds of hugs.  The hugs were many the smile was usually there but it was forced, it wasn’t the smile I see in the picture.

Her faith, toughness and a group of dear and loyal friends, yes Meredith was there for the hugs of sympathy and compassion, have helped her arrive at the next phase of her life.

She is a new student at the University of Oklahoma.  The picture was taken at the end of Rush week as she joined her new Sorority sisters for the first time.  Meredith is one of those sisters.

That was taken yesterday.  The feet were back on the ground this morning as she continued to get settled in the dorm, get class schedules and the other hundred things college freshmen need to do.

Rylie is a lot of things; naïve isn’t one of them.  She knows the road will still have bumps but she is excited and anxious to see what’s around the next bend.  She and I are confident she can handle whatever is around that bend.

I have seen a lot of hugs in my life. I have participated in some and have even initiated a few.  I don’t remember the second best hug I have ever seen but the one pictured stands alone as my all time favorite.

Love you Ry, I’m very proud to be the guy you call PawPaw.

Please say a prayer for me for obvious reasons and remember Rylie as she starts the next chapter.

Good Night and God Bless.

Dave

I think each generation likes to talk about “the good old days”.  I think the older we get “the better we were” and “the better our things and the times were”.  I can only speak for Dave but when I really analyze the good old days and the new days, I almost always prefer the good new days.

I started a love affair with the American automobile long before I could legally drive and I think that affair will last until long after the girls have confiscated my keys.  The cars I love to remember and talk about are the big heavy “you got some metal around you” go fast gas-guzzlers from the fabulous fifties.  You know, the ones that didn’t have air conditioning; the ones that required a trip to the local service station for a lube job every thousand miles and oil change every 2.000.  Did I mention the tune up every 15,000?  Those are the ones I like to talk about but I think I prefer the comfort, reliability and maintenance schedule of those rolling off the assembly lines today.

When I was a kid the air conditioning repairman never came to our house.  I think it was because we didn’t have an air conditioner.  When I was about ten we got a small box fan.  We didn’t even have indoor plumbing.  That one is a no brainer, I’ll take the “good new days” housing over the “good old days”.

A hamburger cost about a quarter and a gallon of gas about that same amount.  I was making about a buck an hour.  Considering today’s wages, it is close, but I believe the nod goes to the good new days.

There are exceptions.

When was the last time you shopped for light bulbs?

Was that just a little bit confusing?

Back in the good old days you just needed to know if you wanted 40, 60, 75 or 100-watt bulbs.  I started to say you just needed to know what watt, but I thought that sounded kind of funny.  This is a quick out of focus pic of one side of the light bulb aisle at Wal Mart.  I didn’t want to take time to focus for fear of being labeled one of those weirdos shopping at Wal Mart.  The big home improvement stores have an even larger selection.

The popular choices are incandescent, CFL or LED.  You might even want to step outside the lines and get a halogen or a Vu1 ESL, whatever that is.  If you are replacing a 100-watt incandescent with a CFL get a 26-watt or maybe you want the 20-watt LED.  That 20-watt LED should last 22 years, I think it cost $27.95; I didn’t need one of those.

Here are three of the many charts I found via Google to simplify, yeah right, the decision making process.

If I am shopping for light bulbs please let me return to “the good old days”.

Please say a little prayer for me. Thanks for reading the stuff that makes it to your side of the keyboard.

Good Night and God Bless.

Dave

Today I turned the final page on another chapter of “The Life and Times of Sharyl and Dave”.  It was a short chapter, yet it was filled with memories and bounced off both sides of a wide emotional band.

After Sharyl was diagnosed with cancer she didn’t have much of a bucket list; about the only thing on it was the desire to see one more sunrise.  When something appeared on that list I tried to make it happen.

In the spring of ’11 she wanted to watch Cale and Conner play a little baseball.  By this time her illness had progressed to the point a 2-hour car ride was a struggle on a good day.  The guys were playing ball twelve hours away in Hanceville, Alabama.

The only logical way to get her there was in a Motor Home.  Yes, you can rent the things but you need to know when you plan to leave.  “When Sharyl feels like riding and the guys have a game” doesn’t work with the rental guys.  We decided to buy a used RV and try to make that trip and maybe with a little luck there could be other trips.

The search for one that fit our needs is probably worthy of it’s own post but I won’t go there.  I did most of my shopping on line.  I found exactly what we had in mind; the thing was in Nocona, Texas.

Sharyl gathered her strength, got tough and we made a Sunday drive to Texas.  She enjoyed visiting with the owners and the fact that WE made the decision to buy it made us feel good.  We made big plans on the way home.  She was exhausted when we got home but it was a very good day by the standards in place at the time.  I went back a couple days later and brought it home, if I ever do one of these on “planes, trains and motor homes” I will include that day.

Shortly after we brought it home we decided calling it “the motor home” or “the RV” was too much trouble so we gave it a name.  We decided to call him (I think anything with a name should be gendered) Kodi; simply a short form of the brand Kodiak.  We all got onboard; I don’t remember him being referred to afterward as anything but Kodi.

On March 30th (I think) after much planning, stewing and worrying on my part we pointed Kodi toward Alabama.  Lori went with us.  Sharyl didn’t know about the stewing and worrying, she considered it just another run and she thought Lori was only going to see the guys.

In the old blog I tried to make it sound like it was just another day so I didn’t upset her.  She read some of those.  Here are links to the posts I did while we were there and when we got home. http://ourmom.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/on-the-road/  http://ourmom.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/made-a-round-trip/

Lori didn’t ride home with us.  We only stopped one time between Hanceville and our lake place.  I had been driving about 8 hours and had about 3 to go.  She was as serious as could be when she said, “if you are tired I’ll drive for a while”.  I lived with one tough cookie for 46 years.

That was the only long run we got to make.  We took Kodi to the lake a couple times and we did a few local trips

Kodi spent the next couple years sitting in his designated parking spot at our house.  I would do an occasional “around the block” run and the routine maintenance things; but mostly he just sat there.

The things I seem to have problems dealing with are the things we got or did because of the cancer.  Kodi was one of those things.  I didn’t try to sell him in ’12 but I didn’t seriously consider using him.  To use a cliché “I just didn’t want to deal with it.”

Sometime late this afternoon Kodi should have crossed the Red river on his way to his new home in Waco, Texas.  Sharyl would have enjoyed visiting with the new owners; I think he found a good home.  I didn’t tell them his name was Kodi.

To Kodi:  A very serious and from the heart Thank you and Good-Bye.

To You:  Thanks for listening.  Good Night and God Bless.

Dave

Hey, don’t go away.  It is till the same senile old man; I just decided it was time for a new look.

More of the thoughts I share are coming from the top of my head and fewer from the bottom of my heart.  I think that is what I had in mind when I started writing again.  I believe we call that progress.

There are still some things in the bottom of the heart; I just haven’t figured out how to wrap them up and get them on the other side of the old keyboard.  I know there will be some of that kind from time to time.  Hopefully the majority of them will be of the lighthearted or goofy variety.

I hope some of the “top of my head” stuff is something you enjoy reading.   Over the past 4 plus years I have developed a writing habit.  I don’t like to admit it but I like to do this, however I think I could and would break the habit in a heartbeat if I thought no one was reading.

I decided to go with a more relaxed look to support the shift in writing style.

The photo is one I took at my lake place.  I have watched the old sun disappear many times from that vantage point.  I have always found it interesting that sometimes the sun seems to take a long time to set from the point it is in the pic and other times it just suddenly slips away.

I also used the sunset pic because I think it is an excellent portrayal of where I am in life.  Seventy-one years behind me.  Something fewer than 71 remains.  I think it will be one of those slow and enjoyable sunsets.

I better change direction or I will need to put the old format back up.

I hope you like the new look; feel free to comment either way.  I am going to make another change. I think it will be transparent. If I screw things up I may disappear for a day or two but I will be back.

Thanks for running down the road with me and please keep me in your prayers.

Good Night and God Bless.

Dave

The practice of sharing recipes on Facebook seems to be increasing in popularity.  . If I didn’t hide some of those things I think I could rename the site recipesareus.com or something like that.  I think it should be a rule that you must try the recipe prior to sharing it on Facebook.

I am learning to cook so I read some of the things, I’m not keeping score but I believe desserts top the list, followed by casseroles, then crock-pot somethings.  I don’t make desserts for a couple reasons.  I am trying to lose weight and I don’t know the difference between blending and folding and cutting etc.  The casseroles usually have more than four ingredients and more than four steps in the instructions, four is about my limit of understanding and they aren’t real practical for a family of one.  I run out of appetite way before I run out of casserole.  My crock-pot repertoire is pretty well established and I have the same leftover problem as with the casseroles.

Some of the dessert recipes are tempting especially if one of the ingredients is oleo.  That is a pretty good indicator that the thing has stood the test of time.

When was the last time you tried to find some oleo on your grocer’s shelf?  I checked mine.  It wasn’t on aisle 5, 7 or 9; it wasn’t in the dairy case.  They didn’t have anything called oleo.

I think I should insert a quick disclaimer.

 My facts for the rest of this post come from two sources, the top of my head and the Internet.  The reliability of both is a little shaky.

If I were to ask my granddaughter about oleo, she would probably respond with “oley who” or “oley what?”  My great grandmother might have a similar response.

The product and the name originated in France in the 1800s, oleo is actually short for oleomargarine however it didn’t become a household word here in the USA until WWII.  Butter was kind of scarce and expensive; oleo became the popular alternative.

I think the name, oleo, had about a four-generation run.  My grandma probably preferred butter even if she had to churn it but she knew about oleo and used it.  To my mom it was a kitchen staple and occupied icebox, and later, refrigerator space along side the butter.  Yes she always had both.

My girls knew about oleo because my mom always asked, “do you want butter or oleo”.  They wanted butter because they didn’t know what this oleo stuff was.  They sometimes commented, “Granny Pearl’s butter tasted funny.”  The difference, Granny Pearl called oleo, oleo and she called butter, butter; we didn’t have any butter but we called our oleo, butter.

My earliest memory of oleo is watching my mom stir in the little packet of orange stuff, which came with it, to make it yellow like butter.  I wondered why you couldn’t buy it already yellow. I found my answer on the Internet.  The dairy industry used their influence.  It was illegal to deceive the public, if it wasn’t butter it couldn’t look like butter.

As my generation matured, I think “butter” replaced “oleo” or “margarine” as the generic or common name for Parkay, Country Crock or a multitude of other brand names and butter became known as “real butter”.

I shop for groceries at about four different places; I will continue to look for something called oleo.  If I find it I will attempt to make one of those desserts pictured on Facebook.

Do I have too much time on my hands?  Probably

Should I focus on some of my real problems?  Definitely

Should I do blog posts about insignificant things like oleo???

Good Night and God Bless.

Dave

I know it’s too early for Good Night.  I wrote this last night and couldn’t decide whether to “post it” or “pitch it”.  

I’m back, with nothing serious on my mind.  Did I hear a sigh of relief?

I am sure you have all heard the saying “Jack of all trades and master of none”.  If we change it just a little to “Jack of several trades and master of none” I think I qualify.  I know the master of none fits.

Over the years I have learned to do a lot of things.  Most of it was out of necessity usually for economic reasons.  Some of it was to satisfy my curiosity and some of it just kind of happened.

Two of those things are fixing broke carburetors (carbs) and smoking meat.  I learned about carbs many years ago out of necessity.  I learned about smoking meat very recently because I was curious.

My dad was a pretty good old “shade tree” mechanic; the only problem he was a man of few words.  By listening carefully and watching I learned what a carb was supposed to do and how it was supposed to do it.  A You Tube video would have been nice.

Over the years I honed my skills and had some success with things like AFBs, Qaudrajets or the 3 Rochester 2Gs on my 57 Olds.  I used to put the pieces from all three of those in one pile clean reassemble, adjust and go give it a test run at about 140 mph.  I even messed with those strange 3-barrel deals the early Hondas used.

As technology has advanced, fuel injection has almost made carbs obsolete.  Unfortunately my boats are old and still have carburetors.

About three or four years ago the kids gave me an electric smoker for Christmas.  It was after Sharyl and I were confined because of her illness.  I had never wanted a smoker, it turned out to be one of the best gifts I ever received.

I had time to do my homework, I had the little book that came with the smoker and I had Google.  I used various combinations of the stuff I read.  I screwed up some pretty good cuts of meat, but through trial, error and imagination I figured out how to put some pretty good brisket, bologna, ribs, pulled pork and chicken legs on the table.  I don’t plan to open a rib joint or take my show on the road it just goes on the bottom of my jack-of-all-trades list and provides an alternative to grilling burgers.

Pictured are my smokers, yes there are two of them.  The kids bought me #1; I thought I needed more capacity so I added #2.  There is a new model available.  It is about the size of #2 but it has more “bells and whistles” I really like some of them.

A couple weeks ago I talked about bringing the old bass boat home for some much-needed TLC.  One of the things needing some help was (you guessed it) the carburetor.It has one Rochester 2G; the old Olds had 3 like this.  I have provided a picture with some scribbling depicting what is supposed to happen, gas in, air in, and they enter the engine as a mixture.  It is kind of simple if it works but sometimes they can be a little finicky.

How did smokers and carbs wind up in the same blog?

In a routine conversation with one of the girls I talked about my lack of success with the carb repair.  I also mentioned the “bells and whistles” laden smoker I had seen.  Coincidently the smoker and a new carb cost are almost identical.  She said, “If you could fix the carb you could use your carb money and buy the smoker.”  She didn’t intend it as a challenge; I took it as one.

I guess I am not as good at fixing carbs as I once was.  I have spent way too many hours doing, undoing and redoing the thing.  I runs pretty good but this is a boat, not horseshoes or hand grenades, close don’t count.

I have a tracking number on the new one.  It is on a brown truck probably somewhere between Albuquerque and Amarillo.  It should be at my house Tuesday.

I didn’t need the dang smoker anyway.  I could go ahead and buy the thing but I have my pride.  I really do like some of those new features.

Please keep me in your prayers.

Good Night and God Bless.

Dave

I came here tonight and last night and the night before to write about carbs and smokers.  The smokers have nothing to do with tobacco and the carbs aren’t found in what I eat.

I have been writing long enough to know I am not talented enough to write about carbs and smokers when something else occupies my thoughts.

I will share those thoughts.

This week is the halfway point between the 1^st and 2^nd anniversary of Sharyl’s death; it has been a little more emotional than I expected.

It seems like forever; it seems like yeterday.  I love you Babe, I miss you everyday.

For a long time following January 22, 2012 the 22^nd day of each month was difficult.  I think just gradually and without fanfare that got better; thankfully the 22^nd became just another day.  Sure some days are better than others but the 22^nd is no longer part of the equation.

I have managed to work through some issues and convince myself “life goes on”. I really am beginning to enjoy life again.  Unfortunately the hurt also goes on, the frequency has decreased but at times it is still very severe, this week has been one of those times.  Is it coincidence or is it because it has been a year and a half?  It really doesn’t matter; it still hurts.

I am probably directly responsible for some of that hurt.  I had ignored a big drawer full of x-rays, Pet scans, med schedules and some Dr. reports for too long.  I emptied that drawer this week.  I made a big mistake.  I should not have read any of it.  I should have just shredded it.  I didn’t need to experience that again.

Sharyl and I bought a small RV in ’11 hoping she could enjoy getting out a little bit.  We made one long run and a few local ones in it.  It served its purpose.  I haven’t wanted to use it since I have been alone, but I really haven’t pursued trying to sell it.  Kind of like the drawer full of stuff in the previous paragraph; it was time.  It is still mine, but it is now, sitting on a consignment lot in Moore, for sale.

When I pulled out of the drive I was flooded with the bittersweet memories of that very well planned and difficult trip to Alabama a couple years ago.  We didn’t talk about it but I think we both knew it was the last long run we would make.

If I live another 30 years each January 22^nd will always be a very private and emotional day. Maybe next July 22^nd will be just another hot and dusty summer day or if we are lucky a cool and rainy summer day.

Thanks for listening, now that I got that off my chest I think I feel like talking about carbs and smokers; probably not tonight.

Please say a prayer for me.

Good Night and God Bless.

Dave