Peace and Quiet on the Pond

Saturday was to have been a quiet day. A few weeks ago I mentioned to a neighbor that I had some timber from a couple of trees affected by the ice storm of December that I was going to burn. He said he was going to rent a chipper to take care of quite a few trees he had on his property and that I could add mine to his. Saturday turned out to be the day.

About 9:00 I had gone outside to get the paper and noticed his SUV in his driveway with the chipper in tow behind it. By 10:00 his wife, son, the son’s friend and he had the chipper in place and started it up. I was still reading the paper when Debbie, who had noticed the noise and activity, encouraged me to get our timber over there before it was too late. I knew their pile of trees was going to take a while. But she insisted I get ours over there. Well, I had not even finished all my coffee but I know when to shut up so I got up and put on some work clothing, got my work gloves and went to work.

I spent 10 or15 minutes getting my pile of lumber to their chipper but felt guilty about just dumping mine and leaving. So three hours later we had reduced the huge pile of timber to a very small pile of wood chips. The hum and growl of the chipper brought several other neighbors running with some limbs of their own to add. I somehow resented them although I had done the same.

At 2:00 I sat down at our kitchen bar and ate some lunch. After lunch I noticed the rocks needed the weeds whacked. So the whirr of the weed whacker was heard for another hour. Shortly after that the neighbors' yard crew showed up and mowed and trimmed two entire yards in less time than it took me to weed whack. (see my blog of 03-19-2008)

Finally quiet and peaceful. Then Maverick reminded me I had promised to take him to the Tulsa Talon’s Arena Football game Saturday night. So, I cleaned up and it was off to Tulsa for a noisy indoor football game.

Sunday afternoon was beautiful but I did not get outside to enjoy it. I stayed in where it was quiet.

At The Roadhouse Do As The Roadies Do

Last night Maverick had a baseball game at 6:30. The Outlaws won and are now 2-1 in season play. Maverick went 2 for 3 at bat and played left field, right field and an inning at 1^st base. I had to meet Debbie and Maverick at the park because of game time and by the end of the game we were all hungry.

We made our way to a place where we had eaten on two other occasions - Logan's Roadhouse. On those occasions we were there at lunch time and right when they opened (11am) and we were one of the first customers with the place mostly to ourselves. By the time we arrived last night it was 8pm and the place was hopping. While we waited to be seated a man offered us a tin bucket of peanuts and we joined all the others waiting for a table in cracking them and throwing the hulls on the floor. The floor looked like the floor of a barn. They were very tasty and Maverick and I ate enough I could have gone on home without eating dinner but Debbie insisted on staying.

When we got inside and to a booth I begin to notice the place was noisy because every time Maverick or Debbie said something I saw their lips move but only heard the clanging of plates and the hum people yelling and talking loudly. Every now and then a young lady would yell something I could not understand and one section of the place would yell, “Yee haw!” We soon figured out it had something to do with a free dinner or someone’s birthday. By the 3^rd or 4^th time I knew what to do and joined in and yelled with them, "Yee Haw!!" Debbie and Maverick were embarrassed but I found it to be a stress reliever.

When the waitress (Amie) took our order Maverick told her he wanted Macaroni and cheese. When she brought the plates out he had a “roadie” which is a small hamburger. She said that is what he had ordered and she had repeated it to us. I apologized and told her I had only been reading lips for 10 minutes. She brought the correct serving and said something I could not understand as her head was turned and I could not read her lips. Our dinners were very tasty, Debbie had a chicken salad and I had the meatloaf. I will have it for lunch again today because for some reason I filled up quickly. Debbie said it was because of all the peanuts. You think?!

When the tab was presented to me I noticed coffee was 2.09 a cup. I quickly asked for another refill after making sure they were free. She forgot to bring us containers to take our leftovers home. Normally I would just give a friendly wave trying to get her attention but by this time I was in the groove of the place. When I spotted her I cupped my hands over my mouth and said loudly, “Amie!” I think I might try this at the next place we eat as this worked and she came right over.

Debbie was embarrassed by that behavior of mine. But when in Rome…

Maverick is Batting 1.000

The Oklahoma Outlaws (8 and under team) had their first game last night. We put it on the other team 17 to 0. Of course the team was a team of six-year-olds who were playing for their first year but it was a win so we are celebrating! Last year Maverick’s team won only 2 games all year.

Maverick had 2 at bats. His first hit was a homerun and he had a single his second time up. The second hit was just as good as his first but the coach had begun to hold them up at 1^st base to give more guys a chance to hit.

The weather was more like football weather with game time temperature in the upper 50's. Everyone was wrapped up in blankets in the stands and Maverick was in 2 and 3 layers of clothing. But the night was great! We have another game scheduled for Thursday and a tournament this weekend. The season has begun!

Spring Thunderstorms

I like thunderstorms. Okay I said it. It is not the politically correct thing to say these days.

Radar Education
Television stations spend thousands of dollars to convince us thunderstorms are dangerous. We have 4 network affiliates in Tulsa. Each one of them have doppler radar that has a name just for them. Double Doppler and Doppler 8000 are two names. Are we to believe doppler makes a specific model for every station? One station has WARN radar (Wide Area Radar Network). Just the name places fear into the hearts of the weather wary such as Debbie. These same stations have tornado trackers, weather watchers, 24 hour coverage of precipitation and temperatures along with weekend area festivals schedules (for something to do on slow weather days). Before Doppler people predicted weather by the cows, flies, and aching bones. My brother-in-law, Pat, can predict the weather by the pain in his knee from an old motorcycle crash injury. I trust him more than doppler radar. I just need to get him to move from Broken Arrow to Skiatook for greater accuracy.

Storm Preparation
If it is daytime when Spring storms roll across the pond I take pictures and sit on the porch to feel the breeze and smell the rain. Meanwhile Debbie and Maverick are packing important papers, snacks, pillows, radios and flashlights and heading to the "safe room." The safe room is a walk-in closet in Maverick's room with concrete walls and a steel door. Boxes must be removed before we can all get into the closet and one hopes that before we climb in all have time to use mouthwash.

When storms roll in at night I like to listen to the thunder and rain. Did I mention sleep? I like to sleep too. Last night storms came through. The thunder had wakened Maverick so I climbed into bed with him. I had just dozed off to the rhythm of the rain when I felt something being laid on my leg. It was Debbie emptying the safe room floor of its contents. She seemed perturbed that I could sleep through the thunder and rain. I did not have time to worry about it and drifted right back to sleep.

Thunderstorm Season
It is going to be a bad season for storms and I don't need a doppler radar to figure that out. I know it by watching Debbie. She has emptied the safe room twice already this year and it is only March 18th.

Spring Break and Maverick Gets Up When?!

I am an early riser no matter the day of the week, vacation or work day. So, on our Spring Break week I was looking forward to some time to browse the internet for news and to ponder some the meaning to life.

At 5:30 I heard a voice coming from the proximity of Maverick's bedroom.
"Grandpa, what time is it?"
"5:30. Go back to sleep."
"Tell me when it is 6:00."
"Why?"
"That's when I get up."
"You are on Spring Break. Go back to sleep."

It was quiet...I thought he had obeyed me and gone back to sleep.
"Grandpa, what time is it now?"
"5:35, Maverick, if you are not sleepy just get up."
He did!

We have watched JIMMY NEUTRON, FAIRLY ODD PARENTS, and he is playing THRILLVILLE on his Playstation 2. Luckily, I can watch him play while I work on this laptop.

It is 7:30. I predict he will be "bored" by 8:00. But I have a plan. I have math homework prepared for him to stay "brushed up" on his skills. When I suggest that it will buy me a few more hours.

I'll take your suggestions too! Please leave a comment.

Spring Break

It is Spring Break on the Skiatook school calendar and Spring arrives Thursday, March 20^th. The weather on the pond this week has been like Spring with some nice sun and warm temperatures –we reached 72 degrees today. When it gets that warm in March in Oklahoma, you know what that means – thunderstorms. It happened tonight. We had some rain and quite a lightening display as we looked out the back windows. And it will be more seasonal weather tomorrow as it gets a little cooler.

When I was a kid we did not have Spring Break. We were off on Good Friday but it was a holiday and we knew why we had it off. By the time my kids were in school they had Spring Break – a whole week! On our day off as a child we played outside with our friends or went to visit relatives. People who do Spring Break right these days take out a second mortgage and go to Disney World, skiing in Aspen, or tanning in Mexico. In the 1990's Amber went skiing in New Mexico with her youth group from church which set us back about $600 (and they stayed at one of the church member’s cabin!). To be able to send her we saved money by eating beans and cornbread and sharing bathwater (Debbie always insisted on going first).

Maverick got today off from school (teacher’s conferences) and then has all next week off too. I am taking the week off from work to spend with him (I told the people at work we are flying to New York to take in the theater – hey you gotta try and keep up an image). The weather is expected to be raining Monday and Tuesday so we will be having fun watching it out the back window. In this state we could have a snowstorm by Thursday. Oh, we will try to go bowl a few lanes and go into Skiatook a couple of times for donuts. It will be an exciting Spring Break for us and I am sure we will have some fun together.

But I have a suggestion for the school board: For those of us who have to stay in the state for Spring Break could you move the week to a warmer month – say.. early June?

Baseball and Fundraising

It is baseball season! I love baseball. Maverick is on a really neat team with a couple of first rate coaches. Expenses to the kids and their parents are minimal because of some sponsorships they have arranged. But it costs money to be in tournaments and to be in a league. It is important to have fundraising events to be able to do everything the team wants to do. And so our team is doing that.

This year's event is selling raffle tickets for a 2008 Chevrolet HHR vehicle. http://www.chevrolet.com/hhr/ Tickets are $5 a chance and 100% of the proceeds goes to the team. Now that is pretty cool. And I suspect ones odds of winning are much better than in playing the lottery. I am not writing this to get you to buy. This is a happy blog. So read on!

Tonight, Maverick's other grandparents dropped by for a visit. They love Maverick. They love him so much they bought $100 worth of tickets. That touched my heart. I have always liked Jack and Diane for several reasons that I don't have time to go into here. Every time they stop by they bring Maverick a gift. Tonight it was a gift to me in a real way. So I have idea for our piece of this continuing fundraising program: I am inviting them back over next week!

Bad Guys In Washington, DC

On our way to school the other morning we met a Skiatook police car running fast with lights flashing and siren blaring. As he roared past us I said a little prayer. A minister mentioned once in a sermon that anytime he heard a siren he said a prayer for the policemen, firemen. and/or ambulance driver and the people they were speeding to help - because someone was in a crisis. I thought that was a good idea and began the practice myself.

As the sight and sound of the police vehicle faded Maverick began our conversation:
"Grandpa, are there bad guys in Skiatook?"
"Yeah, there are, Maverick, but not too many, I hope!"
"Not as many as in Tulsa?"
"Right."
"Do they call them criminals?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Are there any bad guys in Washington DC?"
"Yes. You know what they're called?"
"What?"
"Congress."

He didn't get it.

I Love A Bedtime Story

We have read to Maverick most every night since he has lived with us. Many of the books we first read to him were the same ones we read to his mother when she was young. Of course, we have added others and one of my sisters, Sandra, gave us some she had read to her boys and her grandson, Tyler. Because of all the reading, Maverick really does enjoy books. There are times Maverick will fall to sleep in the middle of a reading. Sometimes, the book is so good I finish reading it after he is asleep!

Kids do grow up and learn to read better and better. For a while, we have had him read some to us. A page here and there. He has been reading a page from his devotional book each night since Christmas. And these last few weeks he has had to read chapters at a time for his homework. The last few nights I have had him read them to me for the bedtime story. Tonight he was reading a book of one of his favorite characters, Junie B. Jones. Check out the book series here: http://www.kidsreads.com/series/series-junie.asp If you have 6 to 8-year-old children or grandchildren they will love this spunky girl's adventures.

As Maverick was reading I must have dozed off as I was awakened with an elbow in the side. He needed help in pronouncing a word and seemed to be a little upset that I had fallen asleep. I explained it was not an intended offense - he had actually done that a few times himself - and I never woke him up when that happened. The use of a little guilt trip helped get me off the hook and appease him. He really can read very well for the most part. So I have made an executive decision.

I am going to teach him to use the dictionary so he does not have to wake me up next time.

Baseball Season Begins for High School

Skiatook's High School baseball team (Jr Varsity and Varsity) began their season today. Scrimmages past they now move into the games that count. The 1st game was here in town at the diamond on the school campus. They played against Debbie's Alma mater - Nathan Hale (class of '75) in Tulsa. It was a warm and sunny day so Maverick, Debbie and I decided to take in the game. I sunburned the top of my head and only had my hat off for about an hour! It was windy but a good game and a winning experience with the home team Bulldogs defeating the Rangers 8 - 7.

Maverick was VERY interested in going to the game. He watched intently for 3 innings before we needed popcorn, chips and a soda. By the 4th inning he saw one of his baseball teammates, Noah, and went down a couple of rows on the bleachers to sit with him. By the 4th inning both boys had moved from the bleachers to the grassy area.

Yes, it was spring-like weather and John Fogerty's "Centerfield" was blaring from the speakers. It was baseball! What was Maverick doing out on the grassy area? Playing football

Friday Morning at the Donut Shop

Donut Day
On Fridays Maverick and I make a stop at the Daylight Donuts shop in Skiatook. I don't know if they're this busy every day but I do know they are packed on Fridays! I love the sausage rolls - especially when they are still warm! Maverick likes them too but loves the sugary stuff best of all. We usually share the different flavors while greeting folks we know as they rush in and out. We see some of his school friends, neighbors, and local business owners. It is quite the hub of the town from 7 to 7:30 on Friday mornings.

Here's your Sign
(with a tip of the hat to comedian Bill Engvall)
This morning while we were sitting enjoying our rolls and watching the folks in line I overheard a couple of men talking - they obviously knew each other. Their conversation started out like this:
"Hey, How you doin'?"
"Okay. You?"
"Alright. You here for donuts?"
I had to chuckle out loud and almost spewed my coffee! And have been grinning all day from that question. I never heard what the other fellow answered but I had several responses rattling around in my head all day! You have any? Leave a comment.

All You Need Is A Ball (for a kid)

Maverick (my 8 year old grandson) has many dreams and wants. Many of us have tried to accomodate those desires. Both sets of grandparents, his parents, aunts, uncles; all of us have spoiled him rotten. He truly is appreciative of the toys he owns. Playstation, Gameboy, Leapster, MP3 player, DVD player and TV. He does take care of them and keeps them put up nicely for the most part and plays them from time to time as well.

But his favorite toys? Balls. He likes football, baseball, basketball, soccer. In our living room this morning there are several of these. It drives his granny crazy when he and I pass the football across the room. We use soft nerf footballs and baseballs to play in the house. But the point here is - they had these kind of toys when I was a boy. And today they are still pretty inexpensive toys compared to all the electronics.

If it is true all you ever needed to know you learned in kindergarten, as the popular book touted a few years ago, then here is more proof. A simple ball keeps an 8 year old boy happy.

As for this 51 year old boy? Well, I could use some additional tunes in my IPOD.

For Everything There Is A Time

For a few years my cousin Dennis has been posting his thoughts here on Blogspot (http://kscowboy.blogspot.com/). He has some humorous insites into current events, family life and...well...coffee.

Recently I have upgraded to a new PC and have decided to try this myself to try and balance some of the sanity (or lack thereof) in his posts. So if there is a time for everything I guess this is my time to begin blogging.

I live up on on Skiatook Lake with my wife (Debbie - age unknown) and grandson (Maverick -8) where we enjoy the view and some escape from the rat race. Our jobs are in Tulsa which is only a 30 minute drive.

Postings should be brief since I am a man of few words.

The Almands (Dad's sister and her husband) visited the Clantons (my parents) yesterday evening. Here is a quick video I took while they were visiting at Dad and Mom's place in Tulsa. Sandra (one of my two sisters) and her husband and a grandson joined us too.

So, my pondering has begun. See you around the pond.