47 with clouds in my coffee (decaf)

Well, I managed to live long enough to hit 47. Honestly, this is nothing short of a miracle. I once saw a movie where one actor asked the other if he would prefer the coroner see his body and remark about how perfectly it had been taken care of or if he'd rather live life without all of his worries he had about taking care of himself. The actor said he didn't know and referred the question back to the first actor who replied, "Shit, i want the coroner to take one look at me and say, this son of a bitch had one hell of a good time getting to here".

There was something about this logic that sang to my Viking soul like a crash from Thor's hammer!!! I think my exact words at that moment were, "Absolutely".

Toward that end, i was giving myself the once over in the mirror after my shower tonight and could barely recognize the man in the mirror. (No it's not the lack of hair, i've been good with that since before it was gone) I was simply acknowledging the aches and pains that seem to be chronic at this point and naturally the changes in my appearance. Being fat doesn't bother me too much as i still get around alright and it hasn't seemed to limit me. Though, i got this way within two years after i had heat stroke in '95. I knew going in, the medication would put weight on me, but not being medicated was not an option. I did notice i have developed Jowls. I could have done without that. My tattoos still look good and aren't all blurred out. I'm really glad i shopped tattooists before i got them. The artist makes the difference. I've always had heavy eyelids and bags under my eyes. Some day i'm sure i'll have to have the lids trimmed back so i can see, but that's a ways off. My hands and neck and their bone loss?? Well, the hands still work, but the neck is getting to be really bothersome. It sounds like a maraca when i shake my head. I guess my only real complaint i have is my eyes. I've always loved the color i was given (bloodshot), but i'm not a fan of this arms length seeing thing. sure i have two different pair of glasses, but i'm too much like the librarian i knew as a younger man. Hers were on a string around her neck and she'd put them on and take them off constantly. It annoyed me when she did it and now i'm doing it. I guess the important thing is, i can still see.

All in all i'd say i have a lot in common with an old chevy truck. I may look like hell, but i still run fine. Remember to live everyday as though it were your last and enjoy it.

Till i speak with you again, Peace be with you,

Dave

Perfect intro

The angry smell of sex, hairspray, and an acrid shot of perfume swirled about him like a swarm of bees. Even the half eaten bison burger, a test product some food hawker left her, added its voice to the ensemble and they were all saying the same thing. She'll never stay for good. Which wasn't all that bad, was it? Did he want her to stay? If only she weren't such a contemptible pain in the ass. It's like the whole Buster thing.

Why do you call me Buster, he'd say, instead of Coyote like everyone else? She'd answer back with something like, Look Buster, it's not my fault your parents were mental irregular. If you want to be called Coyote, that's your cross to bear. One thing though, i don't lie down with dogs. You got that? Unfortunately, every couple of weeks he didn't mind being Buster for a few hours. It was a wonderfully warm diversion from the everyday loneliness that accompanies a person that doesn't enjoy where they are, but has nowhere else to be. Then again, circumstance was closing in on him. The where he is and the where he should be were nothing more than two trails on the same path headed for an intersection. The problem was further complicated by the intersection being collocated with a cliff and three women, each of whom there to exact their pounds of flesh.

It wasn't good enough that one was a shotgun toting, tequila drinker, with no impulse control or that another was a county judge, with a lifetime of unresolved anger and yelled so much she kept the town virtually bird free. Clearly, that was too easy. So, why not include a nurse, with a predilection for pain, that showed signs of harboring a death wish.

Many times he'd thought, just how the hell did i get here. The short answer would be by bus, but the longer one, the real story of how Perfect became perfect is a much longer tale.

This time Wednesday: Alicia's Burrito!!!

For those of you who don't know, in my home town, there is a hole in the wall eatery called Alicia's Burrito. The place has a drive up window and seats about 25 if you're friendly. This place has the best food. I'm partial to the jalapeno cheese burgers and let me tell you; they cut their own fries with the peel on and fry them until they are brown. I mean brown! I could make a meal out of the fries alone, but why when the burgers are so good.

I was heading home to Alpine, because my mother was supposed to have back surgery. However, as is the case with people over a couple hundred years old, her blood sugar went kaflooey (it's an industry term) and her surgery has been put on hold. In the interim, i bought a car and a half.

As some of you know, i am a rabid fan of the aerodynamically challenged Isuzu Trooper. I have one that is a '91 and have been driving it for ten years and i LOVE her. Well, with two boys approaching driving test age i put out feelers and low and behold guess what was hiding out in Alpine. That's it, you guessed it. A 1990 Isuzu Trooper, only this one is white and it came with a parts car that is also a 1990 trooper that is purple. The white one is lovely, so i'm told. I haven't seen it yet. The purple one is rough. The doors are gone and the windows are out of it and the grill and hood are missing, along with the top half of the engine. One thing though, the inside of the trooper is filled with trooper parts. From what i have been told there are doors, windows, a grille, a hood, and various other parts. Are you thinking what i am thinking?? Probably not. If i get there and the vast majority of the parts are there i'm going to put it back together. The purple one even has a manual transmission (mad desire for one of those). So, i guess i'll know what i have to work with in the next 48 hours.

I must apologize for the typing tonight. This keyboard is about four years old and has gone through the dishwasher about a zillion times and the keys don't go down and up right anymore. I'm getting a new one tomorrow, but i felt like writing tonight, so please forgive any Grammatical malfeasance.

Lastly, i have been working on a USB charger to recharge my sons phone while he is on those long football bus rides. I did a fair amount of research on this one and consulted my Uncle the electronics Guru and whiz bang. A part here, a battery there, add in a couple of LED's and shazam, phone charger. I charged my samsung and donna's blackberry one one battery pack charge. I think that's good enough for a boy on a football trip. Now i'm going to upgrade it so that i can charge the battery pack without removing the batteries. That will be something. The next thing i'll make will be an interface to go from my laptop to my radio so that i can play with sending digital messages out there and see who picks them up. BUT FIRST,,,,, To Alicia's!!!!!!!!!!!

Until i speak with you again, enjoy the day and peace be with you, Dave

Viva Memphis Turkey Rub

I am posting this for Mother T ( Who definitely seems to be my number one fan) because she missed it the last time i posted it. Then again, i'm not sure if i posted it here or if it was on the now defunct Yahoo 360. I have something in the order of 500 posts there that are gone forever and this could very well be one of those.

So without further delay, This one if for you Mother T:

Viva Memphis Turkey Rub

Ingredients:

1C Brown Sugar (the darker the better)

3T Kosher Salt

2T Chili Powder

1T Jalapeno Powder*

1t. Cayenne Powder

1t. Celery Salt

2T My Home Seasoning or some type of Cajun Seasoning

2T Thyme

1T Rubbed Sage

Combine the sugar, salt, and spices. (There is a difference between spices and herbs) and mix well with your fingers. You have got to get this mixture, at this point, well integrated. Now add the herbs and continue mixing. As you get it better mixed the stickiness should ease up a bit and not stick to your fingers quite so much. Then comes the important part!!! YOU HAVE GOT TO TASTE IT!!! It should be sweet and then the heat should show up almost like an after thought.

You want the heat from the peppers to be a bit on the hot side. Cooking and the meat will mellow this out a bit. Make sure the sweetness hits you right away and that there is a delay between that and the heat in the back of your throat. I'f it isn't quite sweet enough a little salt sometimes does the trick. Now for the * on the Jalapeno powder. I dehydrate my own Jalapenos and mill them up. Some times you can find it at the store, but really any hotter pepper powder will work, even if you can find some chipotle powder, if not just use a bit more cayenne. Remember that cayenne's are four times hotter than jalapenos so i'd divide the amount needed by four and go by taste after that.

I use it as a rub mostly, put it on your bird. Let it sweat for 10 to 15 minutes and add some more. This works well on anything with feathers and not bad at all on pork. The thyme works with beef, but the sage really doesn't. So, if you want to adjust this for beef, substitute corriander seed, or rosemary, or plain old black pepper instead of sage. It's really up to you.

The other thing this seasoning works on, well that i use it on is to shake it onto sandwiches, salads, and even pop corn.

I sure hope you find this worth the wait,

Until i speak to you guys again, Peace be With You, D

Krail destruction began as planned in 2012

For a very long time i have been collecting and nurturing barriers in my life. This isn't anything different than what we all do in some form or another, but in my case, I've been reluctant to clear any of them away. In recent years it has become apparent that i have accumulated enough of them that my life has entered a de facto pause. Hence causing my life to become tacit and i am anything but that. So, as is not my usual custom, i resolved to rid myself of as many of those things holding me back physically and emotionally as i am able to in good conscience.

For the last week i have been kicking elephants out of the living room like a mad man. Some of them were no brainers. Simple things I'd been stepping over for years. Yet others have been emotionally draining because i don't remember what life was like before they were erected and even now it's hard to envision what life will be like without them. I have a few left to clean out but the major ones have been dealt with and if i could take care of those, what's left shouldn't be a problem.

Last year i wrote about 18 entry's. That averages out to one every twenty three days. If i am barely scratching out those few lines, can i still claim to be a writer?? At present, i have five novels and a kitchen guide in various stages of completion. Unfortunately, they are in the same state of completion they have been in for the last decade. I haven't published in twelve years. I have lost my voice and my passion for those things i love and a years worth of reflection as to the why on the current state of affairs has led to this rampant clean-up. I'm mad. I'm sad. I let this happen and I'm the only one that is going to be able to reclaim my mission in life. It hurts. It's sad. I have talked to the principles involved in this and have come to a consensus on things. It doesn't make it easier, but it is no longer hidden away. It is out there and it is the way it has to be.

I am undoubtedly going to be doing some things this year that may seem a bit strange or disturbing to some of you. Please, know that these things are all part of a larger agenda and my cheese hasn't slid completely off of my cracker. To the contrary, I'm simply attempting to put the cheese back in the center.

Till i speak with you again, be well and Peace be with you, D

A thought before 2012

I haven't penned anything in a while. I know this is not news, but it reminds me of my shortcomings in the management of my journal. It's been just over a month since Thanksgiving and my last entry. I have sat down a couple of times to write something, but each time, i do, i seem to be drawn away to deal with some mundane parental thing. You know, if i weren't here to settle which one of the boys was better at Madden Football or to decide which of the boys has the right to the remote control at any particular moment the sky would fall. Naturally, the one with the right to the remote is the one wanting to watch whichever show is less annoying to me. It's good to be the King!!!

I joke about these things, but any parent will tell you this is the price of having kids. This last month hasn't been completely wasted on my refereeing job. I completed something i have had on my list for about thirty years. I got my Amateur Radio License.

This journey began sometime back in the 1980's. Wait, Wait, Wait... First things first. Everyone, please meet my Aunt and Uncle. Most people sing the praises of their parents and the impact they have on our lives, but my circumstances have always seemed to be broader than that. I have had the great fortune to be raised by a few men, each of whom are uniquely different than the others and a few women who are equally as unique in their own right.

These two are one of only two couples on that short list. My Aunt, Jackie, taught me, if you talk to a child in a voice soft enough to make a child work to listen, the end result will be far more favorable than the one you get by yelling loud enough to blow their hair back. I got that nugget in April of '76 and it has served me well. My Uncle, Rick, well he's just different. It's a good different, but different nonetheless. Those few of you subscribed here that know him know what i'm talking about. He really is a great man and i forgot how much i missed talking with him. Don't get me wrong, I could talk to my Aunt till the cows come home, but I'll write about her another day. Today, Rick is germane due to the nature of this entry.

Way back in the '80's, i did a little work for my Uncle from time to time. Much of this work involved installing mobile radios. One time in particular, i was installing a car stereo or some speakers or something of that nature in this car he had at the time and i broke the windshield. I was mortified. I just knew he was going to kill me. Pardon the dramatics, but i was all of about fifteen or sixteen as best i can remember. Nervously, i went and told him what i had done and i waited for the world to end. He asked me if i did it on purpose and i assured him i did not and that's when my view of the world changed a little. He said, "It happens and that's what insurance is for." If i live to be a hundred, I'll never forget that.

So anyway, back to my post. He has been an Amateur Radio Operator for about a thousand years. I think Marconi invented the damn thing on Friday and on Saturday my Uncle was reading a book, interviewing Marconi, building an antenna, and attending a radio club meeting all at the same time. Most people would claim he's a multi-tasker, but I'm here to tell you he is not. Multi-tasking is flawed thinking in that you can't bounce from project to project and expect to give your very best to all of your projects. He just naturally thinks in multiple channels. You might think of it the same way a drummer can play several drums at the same time, well in his case insert whatever it is he's doing in place of each of those drums. All effort all the time. Yes, I'm a huge fan of my Uncle and you should be too. hahaha At any rate, way back then in the 80's i wanted to become a Ham Radio Operator. I started to do it, but girls got in the way. I mean, my priorities lay elsewhere. Please, pardon the pun.

About two months ago, my youngest asked me if it were difficult to become a Ham Radio Operator and i told him i didn't think it were any more difficult than anything else one might pursue in this life. So, i told him if he wanted to get his license i would too.

To shorten this part of the story a tad, my Uncle sent us the book and we studied it together whenever possible and we went to a study session put on by the Amateur Radio Club here in Amarillo in December. Well, he didn't pass, but i told him not to worry i had thirty years worth of life on him and that he'd get it. So, he continues to study and i couldn't be prouder of him. In the meantime, I'm getting familiar with the radio my Uncle sent to me and even participated in a local radio network this week.

Now to put a totally selfish and somewhat romantic cap on this story. Once my license was granted i purposely stayed off the air until i could make radio contact with my Uncle ensuring he would be my first contact. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I liked the symmetry of it. So, with a little help of the Internet and a radio repeater site i made my first radio contact and it was with my Uncle. Truly a moment to cherish is one in which a plan comes together. Now, for those of you who don't always notice when God drops in to say hello, this next part is for you. While i was talking to Rick on the radio, he told me my Aunt Jackie was also by her radio several miles away and she was my second contact. You see, after all that planning and scheming, i not only satisfied my own personal goal but received the added bonus of talking to my Aunt as well. Truly one of those moments in my life i will cherish forever. I love you both.

To all of my friends and followers, let this be proof to you that you should never stop learning new things. Learning is a lifelong process by which, if you stop reaching, you'll stop achieving.

Learn something new in 2012. In the meantime, my hope is for each of you to have the very best of what you deserve.

Until i post again, Peace be with you, 88 Dave KF5NXY

Dead Bird Walking

I have been told i shouldn't apologize when i don't feel well. Then again since when have i ever taken advice that made sense.

Sorry gang, but i just haven't felt well lately and my writing has suffered. My neck and my feet are engaged in trench warfare and i'm caught in "no man's land".

You know it's funny, as people age and their natural hormone production ebbs, one of the side effects of this is bone loss. The thing is, when you are thirty and you lose natural hormone production, you don't see yourself as being old so you won't have that problem; Or so i thought. So for the last fifteen or so years my body has been leaching away the bones in my neck and feet and some days it just doesn't pay to plan anything requiring physical activity. Typing tends to be physical exertion on those days. Alas, i'll muddle through as i have no plans to stop being who i am any time soon.

I have some housekeeping to address. The Sisters' Quilts (Bra Quilts) are on!!!

For some reason i'm feeling a little more pressure to "get it right" than i normally do. In the long run of things, i'm sure of one thing. It will be as i have made it and it will be from that sliver of ice i call a heart. I'm going to do it. To date, i have received about eighty bras in all shapes and sizes. (Conditions too....LOL) I have a ball park number i am targeting before i even get out the rotary cutter and that is five hundred. I'm not exactly sure what the pattern will be, but i'm leaning toward something simple. Watercolor, scrappy, scales, i'm just not sure, but to get the most coverage out of them, the pieces will be small and small pieces lend themselves to these types.

As for the picture above, i took that on the way to the store a couple weeks ago. My poor phone doesn't do justice to the colors of the leaves. They really were pretty and it was nice seeing all the colors from green to that red before brown color all in one stand of trees.

We had some family in for Thanksgiving. It was nice to see the Brother-in -Law and his Girlie Girl. She makes me laugh. I was blessed with three days of football (pure sarcasm i assure you), but Rocky taught me how to make Menudo. That is one of those things that was on my bucket list of foods i wanted to master. Now i have a much better idea of the process and it won't take me long to have that one notched in my wooden spoon.

As for the Thanksgiving meal i cooked a turkey. Big shock huh... I was sneaky about it this time. Years ago i made a seasoning blend specifically for turkey. Many of you have that recipe and know what i'm talking about. Well this year i got to thinking about how to cook it and something got me to giggling. I know how my rotisserie treats turkey and i know the ingredients in my

seasoning and i knew a bird cooked under those conditions would look disgusting. So i cut the wing tips off and cut the skin at the end of the drum sticks and scraped up the bone an inch or so knowing full well as the skin dried out it would shrink up about that far. Okay, so one of the ingredients in the seasoning is brown sugar. We all know what happens to sugars exposed to high heat for long periods of time. They burn and turn black.

I got a few faces like, holy hell did you have to kill it?? I think one of the boys asked if it would puff smoke when i cut it like the one in Christmas Vacation.

You know i cut it up and placed it in the bowl and that's the last i saw of it. I know someone snacked on some leftovers on Friday, but there wasn't any when i went to make me a sandwich. I know, i ended up putting some leftover pulled pork on the bread i had already fixed.

It may have looked horrifying on the outside, but i knew what was on the inside. Dave 1 everyone else 0

I know for Christmas this year i'm going to get a rib loin and make prime rib. Probably about a ten pound one because that makes excellent sandwiches the next day. Though i do still have eight racks of lamb in the freezer, i think i can wait until Easter for that.

If you love to cook as much as i do then how can you not be festive this time of year.

May all of your dinners be banquets and every dish a master piece and until i write you again;

May Peace be with You, D