Texas drivers

Maybe it's the wide open spaces of Texas, but from my observation Texans drive very fast. Even when they are in Arkansas (why would any out of state driver break the law).

They drive fast but they know how to merge in traffic. Most will speed up to get in front of my truck if there is room or slow to merge behind me. Arkansas drivers (for the most part) will wait until they are on the merge lane to look and decide what to do. I have few choices, I can move over (if I could I would have already done so), or slam on my brakes as I can't speed up in a hurry, or keep my speed and hope they don't dart out in front of me doing 50mph. Then they give me "that look" like it is my fault.

The safe way to merge is to look while you are on the "on ramp" and pick an opening in the traffic that suits you best. Either speed up or slow down to blend in.

I used to drive at speeds that would put a Texan to shame but for years I have found traveling at or slightly below the speed limit (I rarely drive 70mph in my personal vehicle and my big truck is governed to 67mph and the cruise control limit is 62mph) is my preferred style.

One of the best articles on driving slower is here.

The Smart Car

I have always had a fascination with small cars and I was aware of the Smart Car before I went to France last year and knew they were all over Europe and especially the large cities.

Mirco Cars appears in Europe after WWII but proved not to be practical enough for every day use and the small cars replaced them.

Everyone remembers the Volkswagen "Bug", but there were other very popular makes in the late 50's and early 60's. In California the most popular ones included Hillman, Vauxhall, Simca, Renault, Morris Minor, and Austin American. Used models could be bought for $25-$100.

Most wore out long before they should because Americans drove them 60mph or faster, when they were designed more for speeds of 45mph. They would run fast but they just would not hold up.

Along come the "Bug" and it really didn't have enough power to tear itself apart. The valve train was designed so it could not be over rev'd and therefor became the standard for small cars.






The Smart Car is almost a Micro car. While I am sure you have seen news on the car, I thought I would show to one in traffic on the Champs Elysees
in Paris that I took last spring.











Click on the picture to get a true perspective on its size. Almost all the Smart Cars in Paris (as most cars) were diesel.

I could see myself driving one,












but I seriously lust for one of these little diesel panel trucks.

Spring fever

My favorite flower is the daffodil. When I see them growing in the wild, they mark "springtime" for me.

Every spring I develop a case of wanderlust. Not just a passing fancy but a severe case that really hits hard and I have trouble not quitting my job and pulling up stakes and traveling. I'm not talking about a trip but a whole new address.

This year the urge is stronger because I know I could actually do it. Maybe that is also the reason that makes it more bearable. The unattainable always has more attraction.

Well, it will pass in a couple of weeks as it does every year. I have taken hitchhiking trips, bus trips, car trips, camping trips, motorcycle trips, moved to the coast or back, and even a trip to France to help with the wanderlust. I think traveling is in my DNA., my dad had it and my brothers suffered from it.

I long for the days of traveling Route 66 when it was "The Mother Road". Boy do I remember the sites, sounds and smells of that grand old highway. My family traveled it so often my dad said we could stop and borrow coffee because they knew we would be back through within a few months. A 1941 Reo flatbed truck started our trips to California.

Guess I will drag out my copy of "The Grapes of Wrath" and do a little reading.

The Sunday Drive

The Sunday Drive is a term often given for any drive that is just for pleasure. It is one of life's simple pleasures. In the spring and fall, there is nothing that can compare to driving around slowly with the windows down and taking in the sights, sounds, and smells (also one of the main reasons for owning a motorcycle) of the countryside.

Back in the day (before I had a/c in my cars), finding a tree shaded road just before sunset was sheer joy.

With gas prices almost assured of reaching $4 a gallon and diesel almost there, my "Sunday Drives" no longer seem a viable option. We try to drive as little as possible to keep our fuel costs down. We still take an occasional short drive but always incorporate it with a trip to the store.

If I fuel both my trucks the price tag now exceeds $150. While I live about 13 miles from work, we have several drivers that live over 50 miles and one young man with small children that drives over 70 miles, ouch!

If there is one thing that can put us in a depression (we are already in a recession), it is fuel prices. The price of fuel drives up the price of every thing we buy. Diesel prices really compound this as trucks deliver all our goods.

So the next time someone driving too slow (like driving the speed limit) for you, just remember they might be doing so to save a little gas and you might want to consider doing the same.

Snow = money

When we receive snow (or it is even mentioned) in Arkansas, people go crazy. They buy all the "milk and bread" in the stores (it is a known fact that in Arkansas people can't survive 2 days without milk and bread).

Most of the state received snow this week with some getting up to 18 inches but here in Little Rock we received about 2 to 4 inches.












My brother-in-law (about an hour away) sent pictures of their 10 inches of snow. This was taken on their patio by the pool.

Snow means extra work in the milk business. From just extra milk on my loads, to extra drops from my trailer, to extra loads.

Extra milk on the trailer doesn't pay extra, extra drops pay a small amount, and extra loads play very well. This week I had extra drops, extra small runs and working on my off days.

Thank you "Mr. Snow Man"















The B-I-L (the one that looks like crap)
The Snow Man (the cute one)
The niece ( "a real honey" [must take after her mother] and 18 today)

Ratings

From the seat of my truck I have a nice view inside the vehicles that pass. Though the years I have watched the "little movies" (only recorded in my mind) that appear in my drivers door window.

These little clips can last a few seconds to just a quick blink, depending on how fast the vehicle is passed by. City stop and go traffic can produce longer versions of these little movies. Just like the movies at the theater, mine can be rated as G, PG13, R, X, and even XXX.

After dark when I see a vehicle with the interior light on, I usually see someone eating, reading, or selecting a compact disc.

All this looking is just not voyeurism but also a safety issue, as a car passes the air disturbance caused by my large truck can suck the passing car toward my truck ( that's my story and I am sticking to it).

Wednesday night as I was driving from from Texarkana, I noticed a car approaching and as it reached my side window, the interior light came on. The car contained two college aged girls and the the passenger put on a little show for me, I was obligated to look (can you imagine the years of therapy she would have to endure if she couldn't get an old trucker to look) and after a few seconds they both waved and off they went after turning off their interior light.

So, how did I rate the show? Differently a "D" and quite possibly "DD's", hehe.

March Book Review

"Pretty Boy Floyd", by Larry McMurty (of "Lonesome Dove" fame) and Diana Ossana.





The true facts of any famous person will always be disputed and the life and times of Charley "Pretty Boy" Floyd has many that can not to proven and this novel is written with the known facts, innuendos, and a certain amount of artistic license.

One fact is certain, times were hard in depression era Oklahoma. The novel conjours up the "Joad" family in "Grapes of Wrath". Charley helps enough poor people with food and tore up land mortgages at banks that his was often refereed as the "Robin Hood Bandit".

Pretty Boy Floyd had a wife and a son, a steady girl friend, plus an older woman (lover and mentor in his criminal live), and George Birdwell (his partner in crime).

Charley and George robbed so many banks in Oklahoma that the bank insurance rated doubled in a year.

This a not a book for the prudish but I found it a very intriguing read. After reading the book, I checked out some of the other facts and legends of Floyd online as I knew very little about him before I read the book.

Not much happening

I know it has been a nearly a month since my last update but not much is happening to write about.

My weight is steady at 222lbs.

My schedule has changed and I am no longer driving to Texarkana on Mondays (I still go on Wednesdays and Fridays) and my Mondays are filled with "what-ever" they need me to run.

I have read several entertaining books with month ( have you ever seen TV as crappy as it is right now?).

If you have cable or satellite tv, are you watching "Mad Money" hosted by Jim Cramer? I highly recommend it. It is on CNBC or channel 208 if you have "Dish Network". He pulls no punches when talking about the stock market and his picks are great. I like the "lightning round" where people call in and ask about a stock they are interested in. You can also check him out on the internet.

Watching any financial business show will keep you thinking about your financial future and as with anything, "the more it is on your mind the more you want to follow through on those thoughts".

I will be back over the weekend with my monthly book report about a colorful and infamous man of the 1930's. No, not Al Capone.

Poor Baby

222 lbs.

I have caught the "crud" from getting wet Thursday (or DW gave it to me). I wish I had the day off but Saturday is one of my longer days.
The weather here has really been crazy, winter one day and spring like the next. Hell, I might as well get of the computer. When you start talking about the weather, you know you have nothing to say.

Sir Alex

Several years ago we lived on a short dead gravel road by a small AG&F lake. Our neighbor owned "free range" chickens and one of his roosters would wake us up in the morning by crowing.

It was rather funny, if we were already up when he came over, he would just walk around the yard. If we were not up he would crow until we started moving around and making noise or just yell at him.

We named him "LUTHER" and made a game out of him coming over to wake us.

We how have a new "fowl friend", he is a Guinea and I have named him "Sir Alex". He stands by the tires on the Dodge truck all day and he "fusses" when we drive it. Nice to have him around as he will eat any ticks in the neighborhood, now if I could get him to eat ants. Could there be an Aardvark in my future?

222lbs.

One pound gain for the week.

The El Dorado Promise

Hearing grumbling about $3 a gallon gasoline. That is not the case with the El Dorado, Arkansas school students. El Dorado is the home of Murphy Oil Corp. so naturally it provides a large number of high paying jobs in the area, but that is not what has the students excited.

The El Dorado Promise is sponsored by Murphy Oil and it guaranties that every graduating senior ( read the story for the facts) at El Dorado High School that wants to attend a college or university will have their tuition and fees paid in full.

The tuition money is capped by the highest tuition charged in Arkansas but can be used at any school in any state up to the Arkansas cap.

The best students usually receive scholarships at most schools but this program covers any student that gets admitted to a college or university.

A student from a poor family will now know he or she CAN attend a college or university. Students will try harder through their school years because they know there will be a big payoff for them.

If this story doesn't make you feel good about America, I don't know what will.

See ya down the road

I met another backpacker this week but he was not what I would consider your usual (if there is such a thing) vagabond.

He had his backpack off and taking a break near our yard on hwy82 west of Texarkana, Tx. He asked that I not take any pictures and we had a short chat.

He was eager to talk but was hesitant to give real details. He appeared to be in his late 40's or early 50's. When I asked where he was from he just answered "all over" and then his destination was "just heading down the road".

His clothes were clean and he was clean shaven and his back pack looked fairly new.















His setup was similar to the one above and he was carrying a tent and ground pad. He appeared to be equipped for backpack traveling.

I just wondered if he was "running away" and had not made it far enough from home to give any personal information. Maybe he was just wanting to leave for awhile or perhaps attempting to make a fresh start down the road. Maybe he was just off for a weekend (it was Friday afternoon) hike, but it was one of you coldest (in the low 30's) days this year.

He was very intriguing but I just could not get him to open up. I would like to meet him a month or two down the road and hear his story.

Same-o same-o

221 lbs. and holding.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul

"Robbing Peter to pay Paul" is generally referring to taking money from one bill to pay another.

My "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" has to do with my job and my health. The harder my job (loading trucks, not the driving part) the more my heart rate rises and therefor the stronger my heart becomes and that in turns lowers my blood pressure, but the harder I work the more damage I do to my knees.

For years I have used a hook to just drag the stacks of milk. We stack milk crates five or six high and the stacks can vary greatly in the overall weight. I will use gallons of milk as an example: 4 gallons to the case, 8.5 lbs. per gallon= to approx 35 lbs. when you add in the weight of the case. Now a 5 high stack is about 175 lbs. or 6 high is 210 lbs. While your body is not carrying the 200 lbs., the weight is transferred to your knees.

The average stack is dragged about 50 feet multiplied by the number of stacks in the load (70 stacks in a really small load to over 200 stacks in a large one) and one starts to see that it can be quite a workout. A milkman's knees really take a beating but his heart is better for it.

Dragging the milk is faster than rolling the stacks on a two wheel dolly.

With a hook, you just hook the bottom case (while using the other hand to grab the top case to steady the stack), drag the stack (walking backward) and when you get it where you want it just sling it in place.

With the dolly, you have to pull the stack forward enough to tilt it backward so the dolly will go under it, then you have to turn the stack and dolly around and push it where it needs to be (you could walk backwards with it but you have to turn around when you get to the destination anyway), when the stack is where you want it you have to lean the stack forward to pull the dolly out, now you have to push the stack forward into its place tight against the rest of the stacks.

Walking with the stack on a dolly or dragging the stack takes about the same time as "walking is walking", but the extra steps with the dolly adds up. The real difference is the amount of energy between the two. One uses less energy but takes longer.

My knees are not what they used to be so I have been using a dolly for several months ( I am paid by the run so time is not a factor to the dairy). While helping my knees, my heart is not getting the workout several times a week that it needs.

My blood pressure has always been about 117/ 70 . By not exercising my heart my blood pressure is all the way to 147/83 on the high side and 142/76 on other days.

I think a trip to the doctor is close at hand.

221 lbs

One half pound is not much but at least I'm headed in the right direction again. I was a little surprised I hadn't gained this week ( I will let it go at that).

My blood sugar is fine @106, but my blood pressure is still a little high @ 136/76. I need to get back on by bicycle but I just can't seem to get motivated.

My disposition is much improved and I am starting to enjoy my job again.

Fan-Tastic

Actually that is the brand name of the vent fans in the ceiling of our rv. Fan-Tastic fans are the standard by which all other fans are judged.

For my non rv readers I will explain their use. They work the way "attic fans" work in an ordinary home. All rvs have a vent fan in the bathroom to pull the steam from the shower.






Most are just a small single speed fan in the 14"x14" opening the will not do a great job. The vent is cranked open and the fan automatically starts turning.







Our Fan-Tastic vent fan in the bathroom is full size to the opening and has 3 speeds plus "off". Select any of the 3 speeds and open the vent and the fan starts or you can place the switch to off and open it without the fan running (more on that later).










All controls are manual. I can reach them but the short one of the family has to use a pair of kitchen tongs to open it by placing the tongs on the black star shaped knob and turning it.









We ordered an automatic fan for the kitchen vent (the stove also has a vent-a-hood). It has a "rain sensor" that will automatically close it if it rains and it will reopen when the sensor dries.













This fan is controlled thermostatically by this wall unit (it can also be manually operated). In "auto" mode you can set the desired "temp and humidity" and the fan will open and run on high until it is reached. In "manual" mode the fan opens and runs on low until you choose to turn it off.

When using the kitchen fan, you can open a window or a door to receive a nice breeze. When the awning is out you can draw in the cool breeze it creates. Also you can just open the bathroom vent with the fan turned off to receive a breeze if you want to keep the doors and windows closed.

These are 12volt fans so they can be used (rvs have 12 batteries attached) even when you are not hooked to regular 120 volt power.

These fans are very powerful and really move a lot of air inside a rv. Roughing it in an rv with the comforts of a attic fan.

Putnam Hitch

Back in August when I bought my 2006 Dodge 2500 diesel truck, I knew I wanted to install a better trailer hitch.

The stock hitch was not heavy enough ( I didn't want to max it out) for our 32ft travel trailer. After doing some research I decided on this hitch. The Putnam 25211 is rated at 16000 pounds when used with a weight distribution system.













The hitch arrived with part of the nuts, bolts, and washers missing (the box had a hole in it). The first thing was rounding up the missing parts before starting.


























These are the nuts, washers, and bolts needed to install the hitch. Also these pipe bushings were needed. Only 2 bushings are needed for my truck. A Dodge 1500 requires the other two.














This is the hitch and the 2 mounting plates.














The two mounting brackets are installed with 4 bolts per side. Depending on your truck (longbed or short), you use the front or rear holes.

I now turned my attention to my truck .














First I removed the spare tire and unclipped the wiring harness for the lights.













The receiver part of the stock hitch ( also serves as on additional rear frame crossmember so only the receiver part is cut off) has to be removed. This picture also shows the part of the original hitch that the new hitch ties to.














I torched it off and then cleaned it a little after this picture was taken. The rest of the stock hitch is left in place because the new Putnam hitch ties into it.














These 2 bumper bolts (one on each side with the tab attached) need to be removed.














Push the clips that hold down the plastic in the bumper upward and it reveals the holes that will tie the two hitches together. This is the part of the original hitch where a regular trailer ball is attached.















These are the bolts that are used.

I used a floor jack to lift the new hitch in place and then reused the 2 bolts I had removed earlier (pipe spacers were already built in on the 3/4 top truck). One additional bolt per side is added to the provided holes.














The front holes on both the hitch and frame are elongated.














These bolts, washers ( I added and additional washer inside and out to beef it up) and bushing are used. The bushing fit inside the frame to keep it from collapsing.














After every thing was in place I started tightening all the bolts.














Starting with the 2 bolts that tie the two hitches together. After everything is tight, I plastic z-tied the wiring harness snug.














Here you can see both hitches tied together. My R265/17 spare tire fit but not sure if a larger tire would.














The finished product looks great and I now have all the hitch I need. It took about 3 hours but I really took my time and that included rounding up the missing parts. Without a floor jack or a helper, the hitch would be difficult to hold in place to start the bolts. This thing is very heavy.

How I came to have my name

My mom lived around Sparkman, Arkansas as a girl. She would tell stories about the dances that everyone attended. Often they would last all night long and it was quite common to wear out the soles of a new pair of shoes in one night. Inexpensive shoes and wooden dance floors with sawdust to makes them slippery had a lot to do with this.

These were not dances at fancy "dance halls", but were often in the homes of the musicians with people dancing in the parlor , kitchen, and even the front and back porches.

This was the days of the Model T Ford and every man wore a hat. When a man arrived at a dance and part of the brim of his hat was missing, it could mean only one thing. He had used part of his hat brim to line the clutch of his Model T.

One of the musical families of the Sparkman area where my mom attended dances was the Brown family. Their son and two daughters would later form the country music trio Jim Ed, Maxine and Bonnie known simply as "The Browns".







They had several hits in the mid 50's and Jim Ed went on to a very nice solo career before forming a duo with Helen Cornelius.







One of their aunts was Magee Brown and she married a local boy named Sam. The rigors of touring was hard on Bonnie as she had married and had young children. When Sam died in the late 50's, Bonnie asked her Aunt Magee to be her nanny.

Dang Squire, I thought his was a post about your name.

Well the Aunt Magee and Uncle Sam that Jim Ed, Maxine and Bonnie knew was known to me as Uncle Sam and Aunt Magee. Uncle Sam was my dad's brother.

"And now you know the rest of the story".

Heck you really didn't think my name was Squire, did you?

On a side note: My weight remains at 221.5 pds.

A new year

The new year started with me having a better outlook and a renewed quest to accomplish all the things that need to be in place before I retire. Retirement for me means , "not having to take a cut in pay".

I am not one to make resolutions for a new year but I would like to make a few changes in the coming year. Besides trying to eat better, I need to get my eyes checked (a first for me), and have all the tests an "old man" should have.

My new extra heavy duty (16000pd) hitch has arrived for my truck and I look forward to installing it and having one less thing on my "to due list".

Also this year I would like to sell our motorhome and Flintstone (my Pontiac Fiero), neither is being used and taking up space in our driveway.

One more thing that is high on my list is to again seek out people to talk to as I have been very lax in that department for the last couple of months.

I hope everyone has a safe and productive year.

January Book Review

For a couple of years I have been reading a blog about a female taxi cab driver in New York City. I have not linked to her before because I try to keep this blog family friendly and she is not afraid of the "f" work. I enjoy her blog very much and when she wrote a book, I knew that I wanted it for Christmas. Zac (who told me about the blog) gave it to me and I dove right in and read it cover to cover.

"HACK, How I stopped worrying about what to do with my life and started driving a yellow cab." by Melissa Plaut.




She tells about getting her "hack licence" and her adventures in the cab as one of the few female New York City cab drivers. She is college educated and took this job because she was not handling the office politics of the corporate world very well.

Drop by her blog and start at the beginning for insight into her book.

Snowbirds

On Thursday after Christmas, I started seeing more rv's heading south and on Friday I decided to count them to see just how many I was actually seeing.

"Snowbirds" are people from the colder parts of the US and Canada that head for warmer parts in the winter. From the looks of it two things came into play for the high number of rvs I counted on I-30. The snowstorms in the mid and northwest had lightened enough for people to hit the road and Christmas with the grandkids was now over.

Most traveling rvers are on the road by 9am and stop for the night before dark. About 10 am on Friday morning I was heading east on I-30 and counted rvs for 50 miles.

I was afraid I might lose count from long periods of no rvs but boy was I wrong. In those 50 miles I counted 66 rvs. Most were large 5th wheels pulled by 3/4 and 1 ton diesel trucks. Second on the list were class A motorhomes with a few travel trailers and 2 c-class units in the mix.

Most were probably heading for south Texas and other parts of the Southwest. Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona attract large numbers of rvers and several return to the same location year after year.

For my non rv readers, "Google" Quartzsite or Slab City to gain a glimpse into some of the more adventurous.

Moral Victory

Another week that my weight stayed at 221.5 pds. With the holidays I should feel fortunate I haven't gained more. Over this week maybe ALL the sweets will be gone and I can get back with the program.

Wrong Way!

My weigh in this week was another disappointment. I gained a pound and my weight is now 222.5 pds.

Too may Xmas parties ( another excuse, I see a pattern developing here! Blame everything except me ).

On a brighter note. Zac is home for the holidays. Nice to not have him half way around the world this year.

A new year is just around the corner and hopefully there will be progress made on some of things I would like to accomplish in the new year.

Corny Car

Why are we feeding corn (ethanol) to our cars. Most of that ethanol is corn based. One estimate is it takes 1 gallon of fuel (gas or diesel) to produce 1.8 gallons of corn based ethanol. Not to mention ethanol delivers less mpg.

In the process, we lose valuable corn production that should be used for our food supply. A nice "catch 22", corn prices are rising and more land is being farmed for corn that takes away from other grain farming. Corn and wheat production are needed to keep our food prices from skyrocketing. Don't just think of higher bread prices but all our foods (beef is fattened on corn) are ultimately going to rise.

"Grow our gasoline" sounds great if we do not look past the surface of the issue. I for one would rather know I can get food at the market even if I have to walk there.

Your mileage may vary.........haven't I heard that before?

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Week three weigh-in.

The GOOD,
my way too tight jeans are now a comfortable fit, my sugar levels are lower (about 100) , and my blood pressure in coming down (129/72), but need to be lower.

The BAD,
my weigh is the same as last week (221.5pds). !#!$#$%, Christmas cookies.

The Ugly,
my depression and disposition is only marginally better, but still better.

It has been a year

It is hard to believe it had been a year since I wrote about my new truck . I have been the only one to drive the truck, but it is not the only truck I have driven in the past year.

On 4 or 5 occasions I have used another truck so it could be swapped out during the run or just used a bob truck for a small delivery. I also have taken three weeks in vacation, so I guess that leaves about 48 weeks of driving my truck. I have racked up 77,500 miles on it.

That is not a lot of miles by trucker standards but I also have to off load my truck when I arrive at my destination. Also as I have mentioned before, I am home every night.

This truck should still be in great shape when I retire. It has been a pleasure driving it this past year and I look forward to a couple more years.

High school football

I mean good old American football. Don't get me started on soccer or the metric system and this whole "one world" thing. America is the greatest country in the world BECAUSE we are different than the rest of the world.

Our ancestors came to America to make a NEW life. They learned to speak English and the ways of their new country. They did not just relocate to America and try to change it into their old country. I thought I told you not to get me started!

Football is the glue that holds small towns together. People go to the ALL games even if they have no child on the team. People take pride in never missing a game. Most can tell you the score from important (aren't they all) games for years.

In my school years I went to six (2 in California and 4 in Arkansas) different schools and attended Bearden, Arkansas twice. Although I graduated from Gurdon High School, I attended Bearden more years than any other school.

Bearden is a small town of about 1800. Like most small town it is wasting away. Even thou it has annexed more property into the city limits the population has decreased by 400 since the 60's.

Bearden and Mt. Ida played for the state championship on Saturday. Both had made one trip to the state finals in the distant pass but never had won.

I listened to the game on the radio and it was the type game one would expect from 2 undefeated teams. Mt. Ida won with a 22 yard FG with 5 seconds left on the clock.

Bearden did not win but the Mt. Ida victory brought tears of joy to my eyes. No, I was not cheering against my old school.

They announced that the attendance was over 5800. That is a larger number than the total population of both towns together.

The tears came from the fact that not only did the head coach of Mt. Ida play for Mt. Ida (from 1990-1992) but his entire coaching staff are from Mt. Ida. In the post game interview you could feel the hometown pride of a small town boy reaching the top in front of his hometown.

Bearden and Mt. Ida played for the state championship on Saturday. Both had made one trip to the state finals in the distant pass but never had won.

I listened to the game on the radio and it was the type game one would expect from 2 undefeated teams. Mt. Ida won with a 22 yard FG with 5 seconds left on the clock.

Bearden did not win but the Mt. Ida victory brought tears of joy to my eyes. No, I was not cheering against my old school.

They announced that the attendance was over 5800. That is a larger number than the total population of both towns together.

The tears came from the fact that not only did the head coach of Mt. Ida play for Mt. Ida (from 1990-1992) but his entire coaching staff are from Mt. Ida. In the post game interview you could feel the hometown pride of a small town boy reaching the top in front of his hometown.

The Twinkie Affect

A while back I mentioned I was having some problems because I was letting my stomach rule my life. When I said I was on the wrong side of 220 pounds, I should have told the real truth. I weighted in at 229.5 pounds.

I weigh at work just as I dress for work. Jeans, work shirt, steel toed boots, and pockets full of keys. I dress the same everyday ( except for the shorts I wear in warm weather).

After Thanksgiving I decided to get healthy again. I was wearing 36 inch jeans that were way to tight. I then decided to start eating right and let my weight slip back a little. The near term I am looking for 200 pounds and then I want to settle in about 185 pounds.

This is not "vanity pounds" but pounds that effect my health. I will not be loosing 75 pounds in 12 weeks as I did when I was diagnosed with diabetes as I became anemic and my blood pressure bottomed out at 71/48. This time I will just eat the things I should and eat more than I did the first time. The first time I basically had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and my evening meal amounted to about as much food as is in a tv dinner. 4oz. meat (mostly chicken), two very small servings of veggies (less than 1/2 cup) and a small salad. I did this while still putting in 14 hour days.

After the first week my weight was 225.5 pounds and today it was 221.5 pounds. I will weigh every Friday and post it here. It will keep me motivated and with Christmas coming I need all the help I can get.

I will leave you with this:
If girls with big boobs work at HOOTERS, does that mean one-legged girls work at IHOP?

December Book Review

With my December book review, I would like to remind everyone about PaperBack Swap .

I now have 45 credits,159 books listed (only my books I am willing to part with, hehe), I have received 67 books and have mailed 111 books. As you can see, I have been taking advantage of this site. They also swap audio books and now are swapping DVD's. Nice to sit home and order a book when you see one mentioned that catches your fancy. Another feature I like is the fact that when ordering a book you can have it sent to any address.

Now on to the book review.





" A Walk in the Woods", by Bill Bryson.

Subtitled, "Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail".

Bill and his overweight hiking partner, Steven Katz, set out to hike the Appalachian Trail. The "Trail" runs about 2100 miles from Maine to Georgia.

The books is more more than their attempt to walk the trail but is a lesson on the history of the trail as well as a lesson tree, plants, wildlife, how the topography was formed, with a splash of humor and human relationships thrown in.

Although they did not walk the full length of the trail, the book is really more about "discovery" than a walk of 2100 miles.

His account of Centralia, Pa. is very chilling and something that I had forgotten about.

At just 230 pages it makes for a short but entertaining read.