yea, though i walk...

if one were to judge the world by the chaos reported on the nightly news, it would be easy to get the idea that evil and all it's minions are in charge. 

luckily, that is not the case.  the news is all about sensationalism.  the good things that happen around the world every day don't get reported because they aren't sufficiently sensational.

if reported at all, the single item of good news is the last in the broadcast.  i can only assume that's to leave us with a good taste in our mouths after hearing all that's wrong in the world on a particular day.

i choose to believe the good people of the world greatly out number the bad.  among the good are our  friends the l.s, who live in san antonio these days.  m. and j. practically raised our two younger kids, doing for them as if they were their own. we discussed making them guardians of c. and k. if ever an item of bad news on a particular night was about the wife and i being no longer among you. 

their goodness continues.  today, we received a delivery of flowers from m. j. and j.,  an expression of their constant caring. reading on this blog (i'm guessing) about me losing two aunties in two days triggered this latest token of their love. 

i thank them so much for their very kind remembrance of  two of the grand dames of the mc. clan.

as long as their are still people like the l. family around, the world will never succumb to darkness.  a world of light and goodness will ever prevail.  i truly believe that.  i hope you do too.  aio

the circle of life...

i knew before we left for cincy that one my aunties, dad's sister l., had suffered a stroke and was not expected to live.  it was with something of  a heavy heart that we made the trip, planned months ago. while we were there we received a call informing us that l. had passed. not unexpected, but in that same call we learned that another of his sisters, c., had died the very next day. again not totally unexpected, as she had not been doing well of late. 

to receive the news of 2 dear aunties' passing, one day apart, takes one's breath away just a bit.  i'm 63, so you can figure that dad's sisters (all the brothers passed long ago)  are well up in years.  the same story is true for mom's side of the family.

none of us will make it out of this world alive.  still the prospect of losing those close to you is a sad one.

i can't say for sure if it is their generation, or if it is just my family, but my recollection of exchanging hugs and "i love yous", as i grew up are few.  that doesn't mean there wasn't affection, i just don't recall it being expressed  out loud and in so many words.

the prospect that these dear aunties, on both sides, may not be with us too much longer makes me sad.  with the passing of l. and c., i have promised myself i'd sit down with pen and paper with intention of sending them each a token of my affections and fondest memories. i have to do it now,  before i've waited too long.

it's true i could just pick up the phone, but not unlike many, speaking "i love yous" out loud is hard for me.  for me the written word allows me an eloquence i somehow lack when attempting to express my feelings aloud.

that, and the fact that once that phone call is ended, there is no trace of the words of affection outside what may well be a failing memory. 

on that note, i'll close,  i have 6 notes to aunties to write, and 3 to cousins who just lost their mom. aio

home again, home again...

                                                                                    

i'm beginning to think the key to getting rain in these parts is for us to leave town.  while we were in california, little a-town had a nice rain, something like 2.5 inches.

we got back from cincy last night late.  this morning we find that the front yard is littered with leaves and limbs and in the back yard the cannas and the ever-grow has been shredded.  a search online reveals that on thursday a strong storm dumped 3.5 inches of rain around the southwest part of town, with generalized flooding. coulter street was closed, i-40 shut down due to flooding of the underpasses.  palo duro canyon received grapefruit sized hail.  yikes.

what an unusual summer it has been.  everything green, deep into august, as far south as austin and as far west as albuquerque.  my sister reported the cotton on our dry land farm south of lubbock "is waist high and heavy with bolls".

it's tri-state fair week.  historically it rains a lot during the fair.  tradition is holding true with the storm this past thursday and there's a 40% chance for rain again tomorrow. go figure.

it makes me wonder what might happen when we go out of town again in a few weeks.  i guess we'll have to wait and see.  aio

texas downs the red raiders...

when texas went up 14-0, early in the first quarter, i was thinking, "this could be a very long night".  the raiders tied the game at 14 all just before half-time, and i had hope.

false hope, as it turns out.  texas has work still to do, i think, but i was fairly impressed by emerging tech defence.  i saw really good stuff from the d side of the ball. 

i do have one question for coach.  what the hell have you done to the tech offense. i get a balanced attack, i do.  in the tuberville version, i'm seeing a lack of offensive spark from years past.  is taylor potts the problem?  is it time to give sheffield a shot at qb?

texas won the game, a loss is a loss, but i choose to see good things down the road. with a new emphasis on the d side of the ball, my raiders will be fine.  that is if coach can be smart enough to find the spark for the o side again.  aio   

coming up to our trip, i had a picture in my mind of past summer visits to visit b.'s family. the temps can be uncomfortable because the humidity is typically high. running in such conditions is anything but enjoyable.  with the hills thrown in, a daily jog can be quite taxing.

so far on this trip the weather has been quite enjoyable.  yesterday was overcast with a bit of "panhandle like" wind thrown in.  in all, a great day for running, but the hills are still there to make for a quite a challenge for this flatland slogger.

in the backyard here on mallard drive stands a couple of river birch trees.  their limbs remind me some of the weeping willow.  the leaves are round, not long, narrow and thin like the willow. yesterday, saw some storms about. in the afternoon i went upstairs for a bit.  outside the window i could see the wind worrying the birch trees, their lithesome limbs flailing away in protest. thankfully, i got my run in before the wind took a page from it's panhandle cousin.

it's been a very relaxing visit.  i'm grateful to be welcomed into m. and p.'s home.  it's always a good time when i can bring the wife back here to cincinnatti, to reconnect with family and friends. cincy feels like home to me too. aio

ohio...

oh, the marvel of modern travel.  today finds us in ohio, here to visit with the wife's kin folk.  a trip, which by car would take us the better part of three days, accomplished in a matter of hours.

you've heard me comment here on the lack of rain in little a'town.  it seems the texas panhandle is not the only part of the country that could use a healthy sprinkling from time to time. around these parts, the trees are dropping leaves and the color is changing, three or four weeks early by report.  there's a different look here.  there's trees.  so many trees, it's necessary to cut them down to make space for houses and farms.  what a novel concept.  but when i'm here i often comment "you can't see anything for the trees".  i miss our beautiful sunsets, when i'm here.  

there's a feel of fall in the air. this morning is cool, the humidity is not too bad today.  i think i'll go for a run.  up hill and down dale, that's another thing different about ohio. aio  

dallas' fading star

                                                                                 

superbowl XLV will be played in the new cowboys stadium.  jerry jones' dream is for his team, "america's team, the dallas cowboys to play in the superbowl, in the new cowboys palace.

two words for you jerry baby. "ain't happenin'!" it's a nice enough dream, it might even be my dream, but what i've seen from the 'boys so far makes me worry they might not win another game this season. 

they will of course, at least i hope so.

there is one major problem with the cowboys.  what is that you ask?  "jerry jones", i say!  in my mind he needs to take a step back, he needs to stop being so omnipresent.  his hovering is stifling his team.  he's blocking their sun and without sun and a bit of breathing room, a team, coaches and players cannot grow.

of course, jerry jones will never read this and even if he did he would likely dismiss it without a thought.  that's because the cowboys for him is a platform made to order for promoting, what else-- jerry jones.  sure he wants his team to win but obviously not enough to do what, at least in my mind, in necessary to make that happen.

nope, jerry jones  is not gonna take a step away from the team's day to day coaching and practicing, not even it if is the best thing for our cowboys-- and that makes me sad. 

cowboys 2010-11 record-- 8-8, if they get their act together. if not.... aio