My New Kindle and Other Christmas stuff

Well – I made it through another Christmas. Some time in my life I hope to learn that I do not need to eat all day long every holiday.
We did have a great time all the kids and grandkids are always great to see. I have a few new books to read and a Kindle reader. If the statistics I have read are correct then I and 999,999 others got a Kindle for Christmas. Oh Yea, well how many of them got this book also, Fur, Fortune, and Empire by Eric Dolin?
All in all is was a great Christmas.

Christmas and Sledding

Christmas is over and I am sitting in my recliner playing with my brand new Kindle. All four kids and all seven grandkids made it. BUT as always there had to be a mishap and this one was a dozy. Our four year old granddaughter broke her leg sledding. It was our second day on the hill (yesterday) she is a tough little kid but when she said she needed to go to the doctor we knew it was hurting. Now it is all cast up (hip to foot) and in about eight weeks she will be as good as new. Thank God for grandkids, good doctors and quick healing for four year olds.

Snow and Retirement

15 inches and still snowing--sure glad we finished up our Christmas shopping yesterday. And today is our anniversary, 42 and counting. One and a half years to retirement - not sure if I want to quit or not.

Man Shopping

Well I need to go shopping one more time. I really do not like shopping--except on-line. I really hope that someday I will be able to do all my shopping on line.
I do like being good old Santa to my grand kids. My favorite part--The trip to the North Pole.

Thinking About Home and Wild Bill Hickok

The legend of Wild Bill Hickok began just outside my hometown at a place called Rock Creek station. (Southeast Nebraska) It was here that Wild Bill, by his own account, killed single handedly, nine members of a blood thirsty, cut throat McCanles Gang. Dime novels of the day led to it being called the greatest one man gunfight in American history. A battle Hickok survived with eleven bullet wounds.
What a story – how much of it is true –probably not much.
• Hickok became famous later and the facts changed after he became bigger than life. History forgot that he was charged with murder and released after a trial lasting a few minutes.
• Also his nickname changed from Duck Bill to Wild Bill, likely at his insistence, maybe at the point of a pistol if you insisted on calling him Duck Bill
• There never was a McCanles gang although David McCanles himself was a bully and not liked or missed by many.
• People who saw Hickok soon after the battle reported he had no wounds after the fight.
Anyway, so goes the tight line separating truth from fiction in the old west. Wild Bill went on to become a legend throughout the west. Including right here in Wyoming where he spent some time.

Love This Time of Year

I love this time of year, the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone seems happy; people greet each other, kind of like the old days, so many people smiling and lots of people spending money on others. Wish it could last all year—but not the cold.

If this all sounds a bit sentimental, I’m and old guy and we old guys get sentimental this time of year. Well I’m off to by some presents for my grandkids.

Pearl Harbor Day

We should all remember this day in history. December 7, 1941.
My wife and I visited Pearl Harbor three years ago and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Every American should be lucky enough to some day visit.
When I was in college I had a history professor who told us that when he was a kid he thought he would never watch a parade without old men proudly walking by in their Union and Confederate uniforms. When I was a kid I watched so many old solders marching in their World War One and World War Two uniforms waving to us kids. I hope that there’re not all gone before all of us remember to say thanks. And not just to them but to all who served and are serving now.

Snow

Tomorrow is December; Christmas is just around the corner. We got 20 inches of snow this month and November is usually not a big snow month. Looks like we will have a very nice white Christmas this year.
I am in the process of inventing some kind of new snow blower one that will blow the snow back in the street after the city pushes it into my driveway every few hours.

HAPPY tHANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving was created to give thanks. After saying grace -thanks for the food- most of us forget about what we are thankful for.

Maybe it's about time we started spreading our thanks out a little more.

This is and old joke but since I am old and a long time school teacher I still like to tell it –every Thanksgiving

Asked to write a composition entitled, "What I'm thankful for on Thanksgiving," a student wrote, "I am thankful that I'm not a turkey."

Funny

Wyoming weather

Wow, no joke, temps in the 30s last night and 86 today--wonderful.

The Old Stomping Grounds

Took two weeks to travel through parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and at last back home again in Wyoming and cool weather. My wife grew up in Texas and Oklahoma so we saw a bunch of her old stomping grounds. (Not sure the next generation will say stomping grounds but I still like the way it sounds. Great time but it is always great to be back home no matter where your stomping grounds are.
-N-

And I Didn't Have to Make This Up!

Strange things are about. We left our back sliding door open a few inches to let air circulate through the house last night. It’s finally warm here. Our back yard is fenced and gated and we thought impenetrable to intruders and large puppies, but we found out differently. We were awakened in the middle of the night, okay it was five AM but it was Saturday and we like to sleep in on Saturday. A large black dog (we do not own one or know anyone with one) was drinking noisily from the toilet. (YUM) He was scared and only too happy to be led outside. I opened the back gate and he was off. Within a minute he was around to our back yard again trying to jump through the opening in our fence where our garbage cans set. I moved the cans a little closer together and he could not or would not jump in again. He made some rather deep tracks through my raised bed garden but no other damage. Looked like a very young, maybe only a few months, Newfoundland Retriever. Sure was a good looking pup, someone must have paid a bunch for him.

Snow in May?

Snow yesterday - I think I am going to have to move down off this mountain. Living at 7200 feet is great in the summer,not so much now. We built a huge snowman, snowfort and a small replica of the North Pole in our back yard -- not really but it did snow. I love snow but not in May.

Mothers Day

Thank God for Mom’s – I had a great one. And my wife, (I might be a little prejudice here, is the greatest mom anywhere) just ask our four great kids. Me I just wander around through life and she keeps me on some sort of a course. To mothers everywhere this old cowboy salutes you—good job.

Me and the NFL Draft

Well the NFL Draft is over for another year. Another year of me setting by the phone waiting for the call so that I can get my NFL career going, but once again, no call.
My last year of playing college football was--now let me think about it for a few minutes--was -- 42 years ago. Do you think they are not going to call?

Spring and Root Beer

The tall stranger bellied up to the counter and watched as the patrons lowered their heads and shuffled away. A wry smile turned the corners of his mouth into his drooping mustache. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a weathered dollar bill, unfolded it and placed it on the counter. He didn’t have to say a word—they all knew and they all watched.

The bar-keep reached slowly, after first making eye contact he couldn’t hold, under the counter and pulled out a clean mug, filled it, and carefully sat the still foaming mug in front of the tall stranger with the big thirst. Then he turned again reaching low, a glint of metal showed in his right hand. His hand came up quickly, but not too fast and placed a large scoop of vanilla ice cream into the glass.

The stranger nodded, pulled the paper end from his straw and shot the barkeep with the paper in the center of his chest. The patrons fell silent and moved farther from the action as the tall stranger took a long cool drink. Man-oh-man how the stranger loved the first Monday of spring—Root Beer floats, only a buck every Monday until June 1st.

Five minutes later it was all over, as fast as it had started. The glass was empty, the stranger smiled and wiped the dripping root beer flavored ice cream from his mustache with the back of his straw paper shooting hand. He stepped back as the other patrons held their breath—what would happen next.

He turned walked three steps, pushed open the glass door and walked once again into the stifling mid-day heat. Inside the patrons let out a collective sigh and ordered floats all around.

Daylight Savings Time

Well guess what? Its daylight savings time again. I lost an hour of sleep and I can feel it. I know so many people who say they love the daylight and look forward to the change each year. Not me, I say if you want more day light get up earlier, something else I will not do. Only four things that I can think of for needing more daylight:
1. The government wants it
2. Golfers like it
3. Darkness is bad
4. Old guys have something to grumble about
Hey—three of those reasons aren’t bad.

Birthday

Snowed on my birthday. I had hoped for sunshine for a sunny guy like me.

My 5 Minutes of Fame

Can’t believe the Olympics are over and I am once again watching American Idol. Every year I say I will not watch and then I do. Next year they have asked me to be a guest judge but I needed to turn them down because fame does not become me. It could have been my big break but I decided to wait a few more years for my big break. Maybe I will judge Ice dancing in the next winter games.

Spring is in the Air

Spring is in the air. All of our snow melted the last few hours with temperatures in the seventies. I hear birds singing outside my open windows. CRAP—must have dozed off for a while. Looked out and snow still covers the back yard and the birds singing were on television. Think I will go back to sleep or maybe to McDonalds, I’m hungry. I hate daytime nightmares. Daymares?

How to Beat the Snow

More snow coming tomorrow and the weekend. I went out and shoveled this morning and will use my snow blower later this afternoon. We don’t have any snow to shovel or blow from the walks but I like to stay ahead. If I have this figured correctly I am two up on the snow. I never was much good at math or psychology but I do belief that should mean that the next two snows will not fall on my walks or drive. I tried something similar this summer but it didn’t work. I mowed the lawn in the morning, again in the afternoon and once again that evening. Then we left for a three week vacation. When we got home the grass was nearly knee high. The lawn looked like no one had mowed it for two or three weeks. I know that couldn’t be it—maybe I used too much fertilizer. I’ll watch it closer this year.
-N-

Playing on a Day Off

Got up this morning and didn’t want to go to work – again. So I stayed home and played video games, ate popsicles and built a snow fort. Or that is what I would have done if I were 12 again, instead of fifty years past. So what do we old guys do for fun? Play video games eat popsicles and build snow forts, except now we do it with our grandkids.

Lots of Stuff on a Cold Day

Thoughts from a wandering mind on a cold day
We have so much snow in Wyoming this winter the government is thinking about turning the globe sideways and call us the North Pole.
Looks like football season is almost over—for the non-fans—finally over
Another BCS game for another mythical championship
Another round of pro play-offs to see if the oldest man in America can take his Vikings to a championship
Can’t wait for Baseball season—not really a fan but baseball brings warm weather.
Global warming is still avoiding Wyoming, many days below zero in December and it is never our coldest month
I am still working on my retirement plans—need to figure a way to come up with another $5,000 a month and I’m out of here
Rumor mill says the economy is on the rebound, some think the government is getting us out of the recession, others think the government got us there in the first place