Like I stated earlier, it's been 20 years since I graced Fort Sill with my presence. Well, it sure looks like nothing has changed. Oh, they're doing all kind of new construction on post but, Lawton still looks like Lawton. As we were flying into the airport here I looked out the window and thought I was back in Iraq. Yeeesh.
Nehemiah 8:10
Cooking: A roast on the pit.
Packing: I leave tomorrow for Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The last time I was there it was 1989. I saw Batman (Michael Keeton/Tim Burton) opening night in "downtown" Lawton while I was there. I can only wonder how much it has changed.
Tonight we're going to the high school to see Michael's performance in Cinderella Waltz.
I'll be posting from Fort Sill/Lawton throughout the rest of the week.
Hebrews 3:12-13
First up at 1030hrs this fine morning I met with Dr. Jew (pronounced Joe). He poked and prodded and then asked me when I would like to be cut open. Well, not in those words, exactly. So, on the 13th of April I will be having surgery to repair a ventral hernia (and if my Pops would ever go to the friggin' doctor, he too could enjoy event). Then it was off to get the pre-op EKG, bloodwork and X-rays. After that, I walked over to the hospital to check in with admissions and sign some more dang forms.
What-A-Burger for lunch.
Back to the clinic to visit with Dr. Ditzler at 1330hrs. He poked and prodded and then asked if I would like pills, a shot or surgery to fix the pain in my left shoulder. "Gimmee the shot." SONUVA#!+@*, $H!+, D@%%!+ to H&!! That friggin' hurt. As I walked out my response was, "Next time gimme the pills." Oh, I guess I should tell you what the diagnosis was. It isn't a rotator-cuff, thank the Lord; it's Arthritis. When the steroid shot eventually wears off I then have the choice of another shot, pills or surgery. I think at that point I'll take the surgery and just get it fixed for good.
After that I went over to the Leon River Bridge in Belton, took some pics and then zipped over to pick up CW from school. We are now home. I'm typing this and he's doing homework.
John 16:33
Got a double today.
However, we lost today and are out of the pre-season tournament.
Philippians 2:14-15
Little League has started and CW is on the Rams team. Now, Rams... I guess we got stuck with that because all the cool kids got all the Major League team names (as well as some Minor League teams; I saw an Express team as well as a Hooks team), go figure.
Anyway, the tournament started Saturday and we had a double-header. The Rams lost the first game but won the second and advanced. Today we also had a win and have advanced again. Gametime is 1800 tomorrow.
Psalm 101:1-3
Now has a blog. You can access it from the main page or click here.
Jeremiah 33:3
Yesterday I attended the dedication of the 3d ACR Memorial Wall. There was quite a crowd; former troopers, civilians, generals, retirees and so on. There was a small group of troopers in Class A's instead of their ACU's. At first I couldn't figure out why. When the speeches and ceremony were over I realized why. The troopers in their Class A's were friends of those who had made the ultimate sacrifice and they were there to meet/comfort/talk to the family members of those who were being honored.
The regiment had invited those families who had lost a soldier during our deployment and when they had received an RSVP the deceased soldiers' buddies were informed and asked if they wanted to speak with their buddies families.
At one point, after the ceremony, I noticed a family standing in front of the centerpiece, the one with the map of Iraq. A soldier, in Class A's, was showing them where they had been stationed and where their son/husband/brother/nephew/uncle had been killed. It was at this point that I had to look away.
God bless and keep our soldiers and their families.
Ephesians 6:10-17
Click the "Spring Break" link on the Family page and then go to the Courthouse and Theater pages for new ones there too.
2 Corinthians 10:5
I know what you're thinking. "Why hasn't Stu updated his blog the past few days?" Well, it wasn't for lack of trying. The innarweb has been out here at the hotel since Friday afternoon sometime.
Friday- We got a late start but ended up in Lubbock by early afternoon. We went to the Silent Wings Museum (a museum dedicated to the gliders and glider pilots of WWII).
After that it was lunch at the Triple J Chophouse and Brew Company. Good food, good beer. Then it was off to the Buddy Holly Center and Museum. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed in the exhibit halls. Michael was a bit frustrated by that fact. Then we drove back to Canyon and rested our (read "my") weary feet.
Saturday- First stop: Walmart. "Huh, walmart?" Yes, Walmart... to buy spray paint. Because our second stop was the Cadillac Ranch. So we painted 4 cans worth of spray paint on just about each car there. This is the one attraction that literaly changes by the minute. You can spray something, move to the next car and then move back to the one you just did and someone else has gone over what you just did. So, after painting and picture taking we had to go back to the hotel because someone forgot the NPS Passport books.
Back on the road, we headed to Fritch. But stopped on the way to see the Ozymandias Legs.
North of Fritch is Lake Meredith and South of Fritch is Alibates National Monument. Lunch was picked up at Dairy Queen. The boys ate on the way back to Alibates and then Tab and I ate while waiting for the Park Ranger to arrive for our guided tour of the Flint Quarries. Once we got to the top, my feet were starting to swell up. Soooo, a nice-gingerly-walk back down and it was time for Tab to drop off a copy of Free Texas with the ranger to see about their carrying it at the gift/book store.
From there it was back to Amarillo and to the Panhandle Plains War Memorial and to Walmart. I had to get out of my boots so, I bought some flip-flops. We then drove down Route 66 a bit. We took some pictures and visited Seven Brothers Mercantile. It should have been called "Seven Brothers If-You-Can't-Find-It-Here-You-Won't-Find-It-Anywhere Junk Store." Geez, that place was hard to move around in. If Moiless Fontenot owned a store... it would have been this place. From there it was over to the Big Texan Steak Ranch, "home of the 72oz steak." I had high hopes. The place is famous, it looks really cool and the homemade bleu cheese dressing was awesome. I ordered the 36oz ribeye. I was not impressed. More to the point I was very, very unimpressed. I had to ask for A1... Unimpressed. The A1 was either watered down or some sort of homemade knockoff. Still unimpressed. I left there with a bad taste in my mouth, figuratively and literaly. Back to the hotel.
Sunday- Hey look! We've got internet. We're packing up and getting ready to head back to Nolanville. We should be home sometime between 1700-1900hrs. Depending of course upon how many stops we make.
Hebrews 1:14
The first appearance by a sitting president on "The Tonight Show" may well end up being the last.
President Obama, in his taping with Jay Leno Thursday afternoon, attempted to yuk it up with the funnyman, and ended up insulting the disabled.
Towards the end of his approximately 40-minute appearance, the president talked about how he's gotten better at bowling and has been practicing in the White House bowling alley.
He bowled a 129, the president said.
"That's very good, Mr. President," Leno said sarcastically.
It's "like the Special Olympics or something," the president said.
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Hey! Here's an idea!! Let's insult kids with disabilities!
What a friggin idiot. One more reason to absolutely hate this jackass of a president. As God is my witness, I simply cannot fathom how he was elected.
We woke up this morning to VERY cloudy skies. As in no blue. At all. So, we headed to the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum. Cool exhibits, confusing layout.
After that it was up to Amarillo to try and find a polarizering filter for my camera. No such luck. However I did find a spare battery.
From there, back to the hotel to download pictures and recharge batteries.
We then headed to Palo Duro Canyon. Wow! This is one colorful and beautiful canyon. By the way; it's the 2nd largest canyon in the US. Guess which one's the first.
We took a 7 mile hike through the canyon and up to the top of the "Lighthouse." My feet, back, shoulders, knees and thighs are screaming at me right now.
Back to the hotel, shower and off to the Kabuki Romanza Steakhouse.
And now, it's 2230hrs and we're watching Star Trek: TOS.
Mark 11:24-25
0735-
Tab: "Stu, wake up. What time do you want to leave?"
Me: "Eight o'clock."
Tab: "It's after seven thirty."
Me: "Nine o'clock."
0930ish-
On the road, headed to Amarillo.
1030ish-
Stopped in Lampasas to eat brunch at Storm's.
1800ish-
We checked into our hotel in Canyon. We were going to go to Amarillo tonight and eat at this really cool Japanese Steakhouse but Tab sprouted a major headache and she's down for the count right now.
So we're ordering in.
Ephesians 6:10-11
It'll give you roughly 4 seconds to read each one. Enjoy.
Nehemiah 1:9
The party went well.
And today we took Laura wheelin' with us.
For more Jeep pics, go to the Jeep page.
Philippians 4:19-20
I woke up this morning around 0400hrs. At 0500hrs I rolled out of bed, got dressed and headed to the kitchen on the deck.
I got a fire started in the pit and began work on the meat. Two briskets, one pork loin about the size of my leg cut into 1/3's and a whole, not a half, but a whole pork butt. The pork butt was prepared using some Tony's Injectable Marinade as well as a dry rub.
Between baby-sitting the pit and keeping the dogs out of everything, it's been a busy morning.
Folks should start arriving around 1600hrs. Pics to follow.
Isaiah 61:1
This is from John Nolte's blog:
What to resent more? The fact that they’re raping my childhood or that they’re forcing me to use the term, “raping my childhood?”
Here you have these larger-than-life, legendary characters to work with and what are they doing? Making the Starship Enterprise look like a casting session for “High School Musical: The Pouty Prom.”
The original “Star Trek” is iconic and timeless because of the characters. Yes, there was some great storytelling involved, but the best stories always involved the characters — those actors in those roles and the warm, real, complicated relationship that existed between them. No operatic nonsense, no hyper-effects, and no WB Channel-ing can tart its way through that.
And they’re messing with the mythology. In the first trailer, looking for Emo thrills, young Kirk expertly handles a sports car. But if you remember the episode, “A Piece of the Action,” Kirk can’t drive. (This matters) And how do you do Kirk without William Shatner? Shatner is Kirk. Kirk is Shatner. Why not just ask someone to do Rooster Cogburn or Will Kane or Jim Rockford or Fred Sanford? Not to take anything away from the creators, writers or directors, but iconic characters are the creation of the actor. And there’s a reason Shatner’s a legend. There’s a reason he’s been in four hit television shows, written a number of best sellers, and won two Emmys. He’s an honest to goodness star, and the people who laugh at him are generally those whose careers haven’t lasted a quarter as long as his.
To end on a positive note, I see Bruce Greenwood’s been cast as Christopher Pike. Greenwood’s a marvelous and under-appreciated actor.
Other than that, I got nothing.
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I completely agree with what John says.
On a different note I got my brand-spankin'-new National Geographic Photography Backpack today. Check it out.
Pretty friggin' sweet, huh?
Job 19:25
I just got my dream camera; the Sony a700. I've wanted this for the past 2 or 3 years. The $1600 price tag has been the only deterrant. Well I just got it for $700. Awesome. Until Sony built the a900 it was the best DSLR on the market. So, now it's the 2nd best but I can live with that (the a900 is $2995).
I had to condense this picture quite a bit to get it on here. The original file size was 9mb, it's now 78kb. So, you can imagine what the original looks like.
Psalm 90:12
