This vacation was so greatly anticipated, and my lovely bride definitely deserves some time off after completing her dissertation proposal defense last week. She is just a few short months away from becoming Dr. Sherron Franks-Meeks, and I am so proud of her. But for now she needs a break. So do I. So finally Friday arrives, my lovely bride had to work half a day, and I slept half a day, having worked the night before and getting off work at 0600. So I went to bed as my wife left the house for work. She returned a little after noon, and we quickly packed our luggage. Well fairly quickly cause I had to take a shower then pack. My lovely bride had packed while I was in the shower so that she could poke fun at me when I got out, because it took me longer to pack. It did not really take me longer to pack, just seemed that way because I could not simply wear my birthday suit on this trip. I had to get dressed, shave, take meds, etc., all the while listening to her telling me it was time to go, she was ready to go.
After finally getting packed and leaving our home, we drove into Midland for some Bush's chicken. Now, Midland was of course in the opposite direction from that which we wanted to travel, but when my lovely bride wants food, we get it. Due to certain conditions, she is not always able to eat. We then headed out of town and hit Interstate 20, eastbound and running. But the mood was a little subdued as we drove. The deaths of so many students and teachers in Florida was heavy on our hearts and minds. Although we discussed what we thought might have been some motivating factors in this shooting, the bottom line was this young man made a conscious and premeditated decision to kill his fellow students. One thing that struck both of us as different about this particular shooter was that he did not seem so interested in dying , or even being hurt. The last couple shootings ended with the deaths of the shooters, either at the hands of the police, civilians who confronted the suspect, or due to self-inflicted wounds. I have to say that I am glad I cannot truly understand any shooter's motivation, and I also believe that the day I do "understand" a mass-murderer's motivation, I will sell my guns and seek medical assistance.
The somber mood faded, and my lovely bride and I were able to move on to more cheerful topics. And we took a route across Texas, from west to east, that we do not usually take. Texas Hwy 153 splits off from Texas Highway 70 about seven miles south of Sweetwater. There we turned more or less east as we headed for the cities of Wingate and Winter, then on to Coleman. On the way, we enjoyed the scenery listened to some older songs on the radio (the B-52's, Culture Club, Tears for Fears, etc.) and the mood definitely lightened. I could not help but hark back to the early 80's, when Child B was only about three years old. "Love Shack" by the B-52's came on, and I remembered how, at the appropriate point in the song, Child B would begin singing loudly "Bang Bang on the door, Baby...Bang Bang on the door!" Of course Child B sang the line as "Bang Bang ont de doe." Such great memories! But that led to the not-so-great memory that Child B also loved a show about a certain purple dinosaur whose name I REFUSE TO WRITE in this blog. GAAAAGGGG!!
At Brownwood it was time to stop for gas. I thought it would simply be a matter of inserting the card, pumping gas, and proceeding on our way, destination Eddy. BUT...but...there were two ladies and two of the cutest little girls selling GIRL SCOUT COOKIES. Yes, now you see that I was in trouble. I am certain we have purchased well over $300 worth of girl scout cookies since mid-January! So today, I got off rather lightly, having to spend only $20 this time around. One of the little girls was apparently a "special needs" girl, but the other young girl scout had taken her under wing and helped her pick out the cookies I ordered. The "special girl" had such a winning little smile, it was obvious she was loved and cared for by all those around her. What a great uplift from the somber beginning of our road trip.
Oh yeah, we saw a little Highway (Patrol) Justice handed out. Just outside of Wingate, a certain black Camaro kept trying to pass slower vehicles, although we were nearly to Winters by the time the driver found a satisfactory location to pass a box truck that was only travelling at about 75 mph. The Camaro went around the truck and accelerated, but did not complete the pass before entering a no-passing zone. Luckily no one was approaching from the other direction. The Camaro was soon out of sight and almost forgotten. BUT...as we drove into the city limit of Winters, we saw said Camaro stopped on the shoulder with a trooper Tahoe behind him. Justice! Actually, I thought, from the officer's stance and mannerisms, that he was probably not issuing a citation. We changed lanes and waved a friendly wave at the Camaro driver as we passed.
The remainder of the drive was basically uneventful, other than once my wife in her mind calculated that I had made a dangerous pass because we were headed up a long-sloping hill, with plenty of room before the no-passing zone, I went around the slower vehicle and continued on my way. My lovely bride was quiet for a few moments then explained that I passed while going UPHILL. Well, I also passed in a marked PASSING ZONE and completed the pass BEFORE the NO PASSING ZONE went into effect. But her mood improved when she saw numerous deer in the bushes just of the right shoulder of the road. And she had Salt and Vinegar Pringles to munch on, as well. So, life was pretty good once again. And we made it to Sister's house all in one piece and not the least upset with each other.
Umm...I wonder how long that will last. LOL!
Really the both of us are so looking forward to these few days together, away from the town and the job. Yes, I know this installment is pretty mundane, but I am getting old enough that one of my sayings is that "Mundanity is a GOOD THING, uh, taken in moderation, of course!"
As we move further into our vacation, I look with much anticipation toward seeing again the relatives in Angleton that we love so much but so rarely get to visit. But even as we anticipate this pleasure, we still in our hearts pray for those in Florida and the relatives scattered elsewhere who have lost so much in such a senseless act. The dead, both children and adults, are not suffering anymore, and in fact it is those who are left behind who must mourn and try to go on in the face of such incalculable loss.
May the Good Shepherd continue to hold and comfort those left behind today,
And may God Bless this land of ours
After finally getting packed and leaving our home, we drove into Midland for some Bush's chicken. Now, Midland was of course in the opposite direction from that which we wanted to travel, but when my lovely bride wants food, we get it. Due to certain conditions, she is not always able to eat. We then headed out of town and hit Interstate 20, eastbound and running. But the mood was a little subdued as we drove. The deaths of so many students and teachers in Florida was heavy on our hearts and minds. Although we discussed what we thought might have been some motivating factors in this shooting, the bottom line was this young man made a conscious and premeditated decision to kill his fellow students. One thing that struck both of us as different about this particular shooter was that he did not seem so interested in dying , or even being hurt. The last couple shootings ended with the deaths of the shooters, either at the hands of the police, civilians who confronted the suspect, or due to self-inflicted wounds. I have to say that I am glad I cannot truly understand any shooter's motivation, and I also believe that the day I do "understand" a mass-murderer's motivation, I will sell my guns and seek medical assistance.
The somber mood faded, and my lovely bride and I were able to move on to more cheerful topics. And we took a route across Texas, from west to east, that we do not usually take. Texas Hwy 153 splits off from Texas Highway 70 about seven miles south of Sweetwater. There we turned more or less east as we headed for the cities of Wingate and Winter, then on to Coleman. On the way, we enjoyed the scenery listened to some older songs on the radio (the B-52's, Culture Club, Tears for Fears, etc.) and the mood definitely lightened. I could not help but hark back to the early 80's, when Child B was only about three years old. "Love Shack" by the B-52's came on, and I remembered how, at the appropriate point in the song, Child B would begin singing loudly "Bang Bang on the door, Baby...Bang Bang on the door!" Of course Child B sang the line as "Bang Bang ont de doe." Such great memories! But that led to the not-so-great memory that Child B also loved a show about a certain purple dinosaur whose name I REFUSE TO WRITE in this blog. GAAAAGGGG!!
At Brownwood it was time to stop for gas. I thought it would simply be a matter of inserting the card, pumping gas, and proceeding on our way, destination Eddy. BUT...but...there were two ladies and two of the cutest little girls selling GIRL SCOUT COOKIES. Yes, now you see that I was in trouble. I am certain we have purchased well over $300 worth of girl scout cookies since mid-January! So today, I got off rather lightly, having to spend only $20 this time around. One of the little girls was apparently a "special needs" girl, but the other young girl scout had taken her under wing and helped her pick out the cookies I ordered. The "special girl" had such a winning little smile, it was obvious she was loved and cared for by all those around her. What a great uplift from the somber beginning of our road trip.
Oh yeah, we saw a little Highway (Patrol) Justice handed out. Just outside of Wingate, a certain black Camaro kept trying to pass slower vehicles, although we were nearly to Winters by the time the driver found a satisfactory location to pass a box truck that was only travelling at about 75 mph. The Camaro went around the truck and accelerated, but did not complete the pass before entering a no-passing zone. Luckily no one was approaching from the other direction. The Camaro was soon out of sight and almost forgotten. BUT...as we drove into the city limit of Winters, we saw said Camaro stopped on the shoulder with a trooper Tahoe behind him. Justice! Actually, I thought, from the officer's stance and mannerisms, that he was probably not issuing a citation. We changed lanes and waved a friendly wave at the Camaro driver as we passed.
The remainder of the drive was basically uneventful, other than once my wife in her mind calculated that I had made a dangerous pass because we were headed up a long-sloping hill, with plenty of room before the no-passing zone, I went around the slower vehicle and continued on my way. My lovely bride was quiet for a few moments then explained that I passed while going UPHILL. Well, I also passed in a marked PASSING ZONE and completed the pass BEFORE the NO PASSING ZONE went into effect. But her mood improved when she saw numerous deer in the bushes just of the right shoulder of the road. And she had Salt and Vinegar Pringles to munch on, as well. So, life was pretty good once again. And we made it to Sister's house all in one piece and not the least upset with each other.
Umm...I wonder how long that will last. LOL!
Really the both of us are so looking forward to these few days together, away from the town and the job. Yes, I know this installment is pretty mundane, but I am getting old enough that one of my sayings is that "Mundanity is a GOOD THING, uh, taken in moderation, of course!"
As we move further into our vacation, I look with much anticipation toward seeing again the relatives in Angleton that we love so much but so rarely get to visit. But even as we anticipate this pleasure, we still in our hearts pray for those in Florida and the relatives scattered elsewhere who have lost so much in such a senseless act. The dead, both children and adults, are not suffering anymore, and in fact it is those who are left behind who must mourn and try to go on in the face of such incalculable loss.
May the Good Shepherd continue to hold and comfort those left behind today,
And may God Bless this land of ours
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