Famous Shoes Didn't Know About Ike Or High School Bands

I love my navigation system. It has no faults. I even named it---Famous Shoes---after the Indian scout/tracker who guided Gus and Woodrow across the Texas plains in Larry McMurtry's books. He was named Famous Shoes as he never rode a horse. He always walked ahead, tracking Indian enemies, watering holes, and the best route to take.

I admired McMurtry's Famous Shoes and I admire my Famous Shoes. He has only let me down once in the California central farm land about dusk. Brooke and I missed the turn to access I-5 coming through a small town (the sign was missing). We ended deep into farmland, rice paddies, fruit orchards, and fields of grain.

Famous Shoes has been a blessing many times, especially in Dallas, where I spend a lot of work time, visiting home health agencies and their patients. If I miss the turn, he will tell me to turn around at the next street....but more often, he just sets his little brain to working and finds me an alternate route. I love him.

Today, I was early arriving at the agency---an oddity, I know, especially in rush hour traffic. I decided to find a Starbucks and get some coffee to go. I "commanded" FS to find a point of interest....typed in Starbucks, and bless his heart, he asked did I want directions to the nearest one---of course! It was a little over 1.5 miles going north into downtown. So we were on our way. As I neared the south side of the convention center, I realized there was a huge stall of cars ahead and only the left lane was getting through. It wasn't too long before I saw the jam.....about 15 tour buses all queued up to pick up people staying at the convention center to take them home to South Texas.

It was difficult to maneuver, so I just plugged in the agency address and let FS lead the way. Only problem was the downtown one-way streets--FS knew about them, but he and I were not counting on roadblocks for a parade of high school bands downtown on a Monday morning during rush hour.

I could feel his frustration with me when I couldn't get over into the correct lane and he had to re-plot the route several times.

I got to the agency about an hour later.

Ike and Texas Weather

Hurricane Ike caused LOTS of damage and heartache here in Texas; but as a result, the weather here in North Texas has been fabulous for the last three days and is expected to continue through the coming weekend. Upon arising each morning, the temperature has been cool--in the 50's! And one could not ask for clearer, bluer skies. There was a full moon on Monday night also.

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love cool crisp mornings and the warmth of the sun during cool breezes. The State Fair is soon and of course, there's Friday night high school football everywhere. Soon, weekends will be spent in jeans and flannel shirts. I am looking forward to sitting on the patio or raking leaves while burning pinon wood in the chiminea. I like to drink coffee outside in the morning before the sun comes up---the neighborhood is quiet and peaceful.

Callie will be one on 10/03 and Ruth and Chad have planned a great celebration for their little "pumpkin." The holiday season is approaching and while I'm sure we will be lost the first Thanksgiving and Christmas without Clu Flu, I am looking forward to Callie's first Thanksgiving dinner that she can eat and her first awareness of Christmas--gazing at the Christmas tree and opening her presents. Brooke and Luna will be home from Oregon for about 10 days during Christmas.

There are many blessings in this family and I love them all very much.

Palin Paradox

While I am always impressed by women who achieve success and promote the common good, I am always equally annoyed that these women are placed into notoriety and a special category for being an anomaly due to their gender. They can do it all! Raise a family, earn an income, lead the masses, and look good while doing it ALL. It is expected that men will be successful and leaders.

It is a sad account of our times that Sarah Palin has risen to be a media darling and a dark horse in this 2008 political arena. There has been an undeniable shift from focusing on party and candidate platforms to spotlighting Palin as the answer to all that ails us, or, depending on point of view, reason for all that ails us.

Who is Sarah Palin? She has a family---that in itself is a challenge, she is strong in her religious beliefs, she is popular in her home state of Alaska, and she has an image and presence that "is a breath of fresh air" to us all...but I propose that she is a deflection....a distraction...a scapegoat.

With all that she has going for her, the hurdles she has overcome, the massive responsibilities she has strapped to her back, she is still the absolute wrong reason to vote for a particular presidential candidate. Has she sold her soul to the GOP devil? Has she taken on the crusade to fix all our woes?

I am saddened and disappointed in her that she agreed to be the "wag the dog" poster child for solid American solutions in our time. With her as the second-in-command leader of our nation, only two things can happen. She will be cast aside after the election when the real meat of issues are at stake; only to be brought out to raise the collective spirit of the people when things appear dire. A really good speechwriter and a spin doctor can produce a really good cheerleader! Perhaps she will be counted on to lift foreign attitudes towards the U. S. and strike a blow for all Americans because it is believed that she can do the right thing. Do we really think that she can deter the the very grounded, money-motivated, self-interest group that we know as the Republican Party?

Because she accepted the call to become the running mate of John McCain regardless of the differences in their stances and her relative anonymity here on the Mainland, the Republican Party has once again succeeded in making the 2008 presidential election more about them and less about our great country and the citizens of the United States of America.

Oh, s___!! I'm in deep doo-doo, now!

Took the Commander to the dealer Friday morning to have the sunroof leak repaired (again) before Hurricane (now tropical storm) Ike dumps rain here in N Texas. Had to get a rental car for the day.

On my way to work, I was driving on the freeway, had to change lanes to prepare to exit. I signaled "right", maintained my speed of 6o mph while changing lanes, watching all the while what was going on behind me. In the rear-view, I caught a glimpse of a Ford F-350, on my tail and and making his way around me in the same lane. He swerved left and I had to swerve to the right...and there was a car in that lane... no collision, but I was fairly irate. As the truck came around me, I just glared ahead and showed them a particular finger on my left had..(it wasn't my ring finger).

I continued down the freeway in the right lane and exited about a half mile later. As I got in the left turn lane to drive across the overpass, I came up behind Mr. F-350. As we sat there waiting for the traffic light to change, I noticed that he opened his car door ("Oh, s___, I'm in deep doo-doo now"). He hopped down from the cab (truck was super-high) and came toward me...now I had not honked, made rude gestures, flashed lights or anything resembling road-rage while sitting behind him at the light---HONEST! As he approached me, he raised his left hand in a wave, had a big sheepish grin on his face, and hollered, "I'm SO sorry!"...turned around and climbed back up into the cab of his truck. Needless to say, I was relieved. I still believe he was not paying attention...maybe his passenger told him, "Dude, you're gonna kill us all!" But I was very impressed that he was apologetic. I gave him a smile and a thumbs up....he was a pretty nice guy!

White Knuckles and the Virgin Mary

It's curious that Brooke and I are posting opposite outlooks on the very same subject on the same day! As I drove in traffic for 2 HOURS this morning to get to Forest Lane/635, I noticed that my jaws were clenched and as well, my hands were gripped tightly to the top of the steering wheel.

Brooke mentioned serenity----my title is "white knuckles." Most days, it is a challenge to "drive friendly"----one may begin the drive to work or home in a great mood---then it only takes about three a__holes to wreck your day and endanger about forty people at the same time.

I won't go into the details, but it is recklessness and downright rudeness that can cause so many problems----like Brooke stated, her options were to honk at the errant pedestrian and make a rude gesture, or shrug it off and make the pedestrian feel that all's well that ends well. Brooke was rewarded with a peace sign.

Just this week, I have been cut off numerous times, not allowed to change lanes, even with a turn signal ahead of time. Intersections have been blocked preventing cars from crossing and people talk on cell phones and don't signal when changing lanes or turning.

What does the Virgin Mary have to do with commuting snafu's? I listen to a certain radio station while in the car to stay abreast of traffic delays throughout the Metroplex. While driving about 3 mph heading west on 635 this afternoon, I heard the report that an Arlington woman visualized the Virgin Mary on a rotten grape--green or red????.....dunno. But she plans to freeze the grape, sell it on ebay and give the proceeds to her Baptist church----that's the only Christian thing to do!

Four things for Shannon

Four places I go over and over:
work
Ruth & Chad's house to see Callie
Quik Trip for gasoline
nowhere

Four places I'd rather be:
New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico

Four beaches I have visited:
Virginia Beach
South Padre Island
some beach in Florida
can't remember any others (not a beach freak)

Four things I have for breakfast:
black coffee
sausage on a piece of bread
peanut butter crackers/diet Coke
banana

Four animals I like best:
Katie
Lexie
Luna
Irish setters

Four people I am tagging to do this:
Ruth
Brooke
Shannon----but they have all been tagged already! I really don't know others who blog