14 Years?

One day last week after running errands, I stopped at Chic-Fil-A for a sandwich. After I had my food, I noticed a young man walking across the parking lot carrying what appeared to be everything he owned. He had a large,fat garbage bag, a computer case & a guitar. I pulled over & asked if he was hungry. He was & I went back through the line & got his lunch. When he walked over,as I always do, I asked him what he was doing out there.  He told me he'd been homeless for 14 years. He really didn't go into much detail but said he's been all over the country hitchhiking. 

He appeared to be in his 30s, with dark hair & a beard. He probably needed a shower but he wasn't filthy. He was well spoken & grateful for lunch. And he then asked for a ride to a Starbucks, for wi-fi if I was guessing. He said he understood if I said no & I did say no. I'll buy anyone a meal but I'm basically not all that trusting.  

His name is George. I pray he's safe.

But I've been thinking a lot about the situation. I'm such a homebody & cannot imagine living on the street. And I'm fully blessed so that probably won't happen. I cannot imagine not having my own space. I mean, 14 years is a choice. 

I even talked to my neighbor who runs a non-profit ministry & she said she finally had to turn adults away because she figured out they don't want a hand up, just a hand out. And it was making her jaded. And I hate that because she loves what she does. 

Amarillo on Mother's Day

Best Mom Ever.

I knew Mother's Day was coming up & it's been 22 years since I lost mine so I never look forward to the day. I decided as a distraction I'd do a day trip to Amarillo to watch their minor league baseball team play an afternoon game. And then spend the night at a hotel, one of my favorite things to do.

I headed out Sunday morning knowing I'd be a little early--it's a 2 hour drive. However, when I hit the Hale County line, they'd decided to put out every cone they owned. They'd closed alternate sides of the road closing til I was out of Hale County. The road was not torn up. There were no workers. I think the cones were there to annoy us. On my way back yesterday all the cones were in the median. I'll never understand that process. 

Then I decided to stop at Happy,TX, The Town Without a Frown. I just drove through. It was church time & they all looked full. The main thing I noticed was the smell. We are talking feed lots galore. Pee-You!  The smell of 🐄💩 or 💰 depending on your perspective. 

I got to Amarillo about 1130 & I was not exactly sure where I was going & thought I'd pull into a convenience store to put into my GPS but going through town I oddly didn't see one. I knew it was downtown so I kept driving til I saw an exit to a President's name. That means downtown Amarillo. I luckily chose the right one & stopped at a store & then looked up & the stadium was right there. As a person who is chronically lost, I was shocked! 

I possibly illegally parked in a lot across from the stadium but I wasn't the only one. And my car was there at the end of the game. Yay.

The team is called the Sod Poodles. That's the swanky guys.  The poor ones are prairie dogs.

They were playing the Tulsa Drillers.

First thing I noticed is my seat was in the sun. And the sun was hot. I sat there a little while but then moved up to a seat in the shade that I'd have to give up when the seat holder came. But they never did.  Finally in the last inning I was cold so went down to the front row to warm up.  I'm glad I moved because I would have looked like a boiled lobster if I hadn't. Even now, I'm a light pink.

I'd thought of getting stadium food for lunch but after paying $9 for a cup of tea & seeing the prices of everything else, I decided I could wait. There were several families who saw little of the game between the concessions & bathrooms. I was shocked that they could afford to take a family out at those prices. Yep, I'm cheap.

An afternoon of baseball is always a good thing & the "Soddies" won 6-1.

Then my hotel was about 3 blocks away. It was an old high rise building that was converted into a Marriot. It had a beautiful lobby & my room was on the 9th floor. Great room, comfy bed, I felt totally safe. 

The only picture I took was of their mail slot. My old work building had one too that the post office stopped servicing years before but I loved it!  The hotel one had a padlock, ours had just an old key slot.

Across the street was a building built by Santa Fe Railroad in 1928 & was sold to Potter County for city offices. But the sign is still on top & it's beautiful.

After checking in I went to Buc-ee's!  The beauty of the store is hard to explain. It's huge. It has tons of gas pumps. Store is clean, the bathrooms are spotless. They have gifts & snacks,clothing & a hot food bar. In Buc-ee's you can buy moccasins,jerky & cake balls! I saw a sign about hiring...$20 an hour. Well paid staff keeps a nice store. I only bought snacks. I've been in several of their stores if there is one in town, I'm going.

After, I was hungry & didn't want fast food & didn't see a go in place on the road I was on so I went to Cracker Barrel.  My favorite there is chicken & dumplings. Their's is ALMOST as good as my mom's.  I thought about her the entire meal. I was sitting alone, but I wasn't alone.  

I was tempted to get their Sunday special, chicken pot pie. But, while I don't normally count calories, the pot pie was 960 calories, the chicken & dumplings was 360 so I made the better choice. And it was darn good.

On the way home, I had pancakes & bacon at a country restaurant called Youngbloods. Also, darn good.

I'm trying really hard to get out more & see other people but it's hard to always be alone. I'm used to it at home for sure & there are places I'd rather go alone but sometimes I want to see other people. I need to see others. And it's hard to eat alone but I'm forcing myself to do it because there are times when I really crave restaurant food. I always feel like I would be judged but I truly know I'm not. I just need to make it normal. 

Near Disaster Lunch

 Well lunch was good but also an adventure. Not good or bad...just there.

Menu:

Smoked Sausage

Carrots

Green Beans with onion, bacon, a tiny bit of brown sugar. 

I just sliced the sausage down the middle so it would open up naturally with grease, I mean juices. 😀  I put it on parchment paper on my small baking sheet, the one I use for practically everything. And put it under the broiler. It was in there about 5 minutes & I looked at it & it was smoking & the paper was turning black. I pulled it out before there was a fire. But the smoke alarm did go off. I got it off 1st time though.

Meanwhile, back at the stove top, the green beans,bacon,onion, butter combo got just a little overdone as I was dealing with the smoke alarm.

My carrots did not realize anything was going on & were just  boiling away, minding their own business.

The beans were a little charred but not completely burned. Carrots are a favorite so they are always good. Sausage was perfect.

Lesson learned: Don't cook greasy things on parchment paper under the broiler. 🔥🚒

New Car Road Trip

 Back in November I bought a new Nissan Rogue & decided I needed a road trip.  I didn't have anywhere in particular so I decided I'd go to Rotan where my granddad was buried in the Grady cemetery.  His name was Lon & he died in a fire in 1924. My dad was 10, 2nd oldest. Uncle Raymond was 12 & there were 4 kids under them. For some reason, my granny always said she never wanted to go to Rotan again so after being a widow for 61 years, when she passed she was buried in Spur in our family plot. It always bothered me that my granddad was buried alone. 

The cemetery is just is quite away out in the country. Grady had been a community but like too many it has dried up. No one has maintained the cemetery since 1993. It is covered with weeds. I did find his grave & he had family buried around him including his dad & both of his wives, both named Martha. My granny went by Annie but her 1st name was Martha too. I left a flower on his grave.

When I was leaving & closing the large gate, a guest of wind caught it & it flew back & knocked me on my bohine. I wasn't hurt at all but it did knock the wind out of me. I was sitting up against a tire & a man stopped to make sure I was ok.  Just a little red faced.😊

After leaving the cemetery, I went through Rotan, a town that's not much. I finally stopped at a convenience store called the "Hop In" with a bunny on their sign. Poor store had seen better days. I went inside to get tea & got my ice & tried machine & got nada. I asked the clerk if I was doing something wrong because it wouldn't work. She said, "We have tea?". Not a good sign. I bought water.

Next stop was Aspermont, a nice & clean little town.  I had seen on Facebook that the Headquarters General Store. That was the reason I chose the date & the route. It was  pretty impressive for a town that size & lots of stuff. Kinda hard to believe they can make a go of it. Aspermont is pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

Next stop, Jayton.

I graduated from Jayton High School 50 years ago this year. Fifty.Years.Ago  I've been through the town just a few times in all of those years. My dad passed away in the nursing home there. He'd been in there just a few days so I was there 2 times around that time. This is also a clean little town with nothing going on there too. I took the pictures & it's obvious that the town revolves around the school & sports. This sign oddly only shows 2 state championships but they also won some while I was in school. I can't remember how many.  And this year they won a state in boys basketball too. Basically, the school & teams are all they have. It's a rich school but a sad little town.

Last stop: Spur

I was born in Spur. When Mom & Daddy left the ranch, they moved into town, well technically across the street from town. They are now buried there, in our family area, along with my 2 sisters, 2 aunts, 3 uncles & 2  cousins. I try to get down a couple of times a year to take flowers for Mother's Day & Mom's birthday, both in May & to put out Christmas flowers. Only the girls get flowers.  There is space for me & for my nephew Steve but no way would I be buried. I've already paid for cremation when it's time.

Nothing left in Spur for me now except graves & memories. 💔

Then coming home, I come back on the Crosbyton highway.  There was a car broken down on the side of the highway & At first I thought it was an older woman & no one was stopping so I cut back around to check. I'm useless when it comes to car stuff but I wanted to make sure they could call for help. It was instead a young couple from Post with a baby. They had just bought their car & were going to parents house for a visit. They had called the dealership but they could not take all 3 of them so they were worried about what to do. But a man was coming from Dickens to help. So I came home. And I kicked myself for not offering to take mom & baby home to Post so dad could take care of things. 

It was an emotional day for me & I was not thinking clearly. I was exhausted & covered with all kinds of thoughts. It took me the next day to recover. 

I'm glad I went but am not sure I ever need to do this particular trip again.

Bellamy Brothers

And last night, continuing my own concert tour...

At the historic Cactus Theater it was Bellamy Brothers time! I had seen them one other time in the old Lubbock Coliseum, better known as the Bubble.  They had actually been the opening act for the Oak Ridge Boys, many years ago. Funny, I just now remembered that I'd seen them before as I'm writing this. Weird.

Howard & David have been performing for 45 years according to their introduction announcement. They are just good old boys making good old music. And they still sounded perfect. They sang for an hour & a half & covered every song of theirs I'd ever heard. I love their music!! 😍  The evening was delightful.

They had an opening guy named Robert Sullivan who is with an Odessa band called Westbound Hearts. The entire band was there & supposed to perform but they could not all fit on the stage with all of BB gear.  Robert looks about 21 & had a great voice, covering a 90s "classic" country, probably my favorite time for country. If he & his band get to do their own show soon, I'll go to that.

Howard & David Bellamy

Little River Band & Three Dog Night

Last week, I went to the Buddy Holly Hall to see 2 of my favorite bands from the 70s bands. LRB was on it's 50th anniversary tour & the Dogs have been touring since 1968! There are no original members of course in LRB & 1 original Dog there since the beginning.  Both have young energetic bands behind them to keep the music going on & on.

LRB had good voices & they knew all the words to the songs but it was not quite the same.  I wonder sometimes why they choose to go with a legendary band name & music catalog instead of doing their own thing. We oldies want to hear the familiar songs of the band. They did a couple of their own songs too but the response was lukewarm because we were there to see LRB.

Three Dog Night's original member Danny Hutton is about 85 & still has a strong voice & his younger back ups were really good. The sound was great, good pace, amazing lighting. I hoped that LRB's lighting guy was paying attention. It was an tight show, like you'd expect from a band that had been performing for 57 years. I'd seen them in Vegas a long time ago & they pretty much sounded the same. 

I was almost in the rafters & my eyesight is not great so my sight & my pictures were not great. It was not a cheap show...I'm surprised I forked out that much money for a seat where I couldn't see that well. I mean, look at all those empty floor seats. 

But I enjoyed it!! 

Little River Band

Three Dog Night

They are a size 6.

 I have lost weight since September, about 16 pounds & I've gotten smaller. I have been wearing size 8 jeans, even 16 pounds heavier & they were getting a little droopy so I ordered a size 6 & they fit!!  Happy Dance.

Not sure I have ever been a size 6 as an adult, maybe not even when I was 6.  At 80 pounds heavier, I wore size 20 jeans.

I have to brag on my blog because I cannot brag to my best friend because she lectures me over & over about being to thin & I don't want to hear it.  And for the record I am not too thin. I could still survive 40 days in the desert.

Les Miserables

 

Sunday afternoon, I went to the Buddy Holly Center to see the Broadway Touring Company of Les Miserables. The musical is based on the book of the same name written by Victor Hugo in 1862. It's the story of a man who was sent to jail for breaking a window & stealing food for his family & about rebels in the French Revolution. It's also a story of redemption.

I saw it several years in the old Lubbock Colosseum & I was mesmorized, mainly because they sang the entire show.  I also saw it in Graham,TX, my friend Jimmy's hometown. He's a professional singer & he played Jean Valjean.  So this was the 3rd time I'd gotten to enjoy it. 

The singers were incredible & the production was amazing. 

There is a scene where Inspector Javert is committing suicide after Valjean, his mortal enemy, saves his life. The scene on stage is a murky sky & a drop down bridge wall. He jumps over & screen behind it moves down to simulate him jumping in the water. It was very impressive.

My friend Linda's new foster pups

 I love their names.

 

Former Friend

Alexandra & Belle

I worked with a woman named Donna at Southwestern Bell/SBC/AT&T for about 20 years. We got set in a support role & worked well together. We became friends.  Actually she got a friend...I can't exactly say the same for me. 

I was there for her pregnancy & then for her bought with breast cancer. I ended up going back to regular desk & she was promoted. 

Looking back, we had very little in common. She is married to Danny & has a son, in his 40s now. I have none of those things.  And Donna's only life was her family. It was all she talked about. 

She is also one of the most selfish people I've ever known. She did nothing she did not want to do. When I went to her house in the metroplex, she'd decided what we were going to do & she was not about to make a change. A couple of times I told her I wanted to do something else & she absolutely refused. We watched the TV shows she wanted to watch (Rachel Maddow for stupid sake) or the movie she wanted to see. Her house was always freezing. Not asking for heat but a throw would have been nice. I took to taking my own. And I'd have to take it to bed with me too. They didn't care one ounce. Plus she kept the nastiest house ever. I swear there was a roach in her dining room that was there the year before when I was there.

I'd be mortified if someone was uncomfortable in my home.

A couple of years ago, Donna had knee surgery & was having issues.  I called every few days to check on her. She finally told me that I didn't need to call so often. If she needed me, she'd call me.  So I never called again & she didn't call me. It's been 2 years since I talked to her. 

I had already blocked her from Facebook but she felt the need to message me questioning my post. She wanted to know why I was following a brewery--my cousin's business. And she tried to take me to task when I posted about Dr Fauci being a fraud. She loved him. I told her we'd have to agree to disagree. I'm sure she was not pleased.

Donna & Danny were obnoxious, dyed in the wool Democrats & we definitely have different political views. But we never really discussed it.  But after the election this year, Danny wrote an asshole post on Facebook about losing the election & how he was cleaning out all his friends who did not agree with him. He burned a whole lot of bridges. 

So last week I got a note from Donna. She told me they were moving to be close to their son. She also said I was her dearest friend for 40 years & it was too bad that politics came between us. I had assumed that was the big issue but we did not discuss politics. And I have always been able to care about people even if they didn't agree with me on every thing. But I'm an adult, so there's that. I have to say the note made me angry. I shredded the note. And the only picture I had of the 2 of us. And I put the family cookbook she'd given me in the donation box. Did I mention I was angry?

The only thing I kept from her were 2 Boyds Bears years ago with 2 women on the phone...Alexandra & Belle. I'm confident I can still love them in spite of where they came from. 

 

 

 

Air Supply

I went to the Buddy Holly Center to watch the band Air Supply.  Lubbock was the 1st stop on their 50th anniversary tour. I've loved their music for all those years.  Basically, they are geezers, like me.

I've seen them 2x before...once at the Orleans in Vegas in 2015 & then at the local fair in maybe 2018. They put on a good show.

Neither of their voices are what they used to be but I'd hate to admit what I've lost as I've gotten older. Falsetto guy Russell still sounds good but partner Graham has lost most of his voice. However, G plays a mean guitar.  

They also had a young band behind them...one particular guitar player played "tortured" like he was in a hard rock band instead of a geezer band. It was humorous.

Russell had overdone the hair dye & the make up & was dressed in plain shirt, leather pants with studs & tassels & black shoes (or boots...couldn't tell) with rhinestones.  Graham looked normal.

My favorite song is 'Two Less Lonely People' ...because I relate to it:

I was down, my dreams were wearin' thin
When you're lost, where do you begin?
My heart always seemed to drift from day to day
Looking for the love that never came my way

Graham Russell

Russell Hitchcock

2025 Books

 

Books 2025

1. Hot Property             Mike Lupica  (Spenser)

2. Butcher Boys            Chris Gill

3. Perfect Alibi              Sheldon Siegel

4. Dark Purpose            Mary Stone

5. Influencing Justice    Kirkland & Hall

6. The Lawyer               John Ellsworth 

7. Felony Murder Rule  Sheldon Siegel

8. The Sublet                 Greer Hendricks

9. The Wife Between Us  Greer Hendricks &                                               Sarah Pekkanen

10. The Ascent                 Adam Plantinga