I can smell it. The leather in the glove, the grass and dirt on the field, the hot dogs in the stands.

I can hear it. The roar of the crowd, the pop of the bat, the click of the spikes on the dugout steps.

I can taste it. The peanuts, the cracker jacks, the cold beer.

I can see it. The red white and blue uniforms, the red tomahawks, and proud capital A on the hats.

I can feel it. It starts down deep in my soul and gives me the jitters that let me know that spring time is here and that my team will soon be playing almost every night.

IT'S TIME FOR SOME ATLANTA BRAVES BASEBALL!!!!!!

The Braves have given me hope this spring. They have actually looked pretty good and I think that we may be better than some people are giving us credit for. If we can stay healthy, and that is a big if, we have a chance to be very competitive in a tough division. Will we overtake Philly to win the division? It's possible, but I think a wild card birth is what this team is really hoping to get. Once in the playoffs, our pitching staff will be hard to beat. So that is all I want this year. I just want a shot in the playoffs.

My prediction for the Braves this year is a season of 92 wins and 70 losses. Feel free to add your prediction in the comments section and we can look back on this in September to see how we did.

Go Bravos!!!

Thanks Ms. Judy! I now know the dirt patches were worth it!

Today is my son's 7th birthday. We celebrated over the weekend with a bowling party for several of his friends. We had a good time and some of the boys came home with us to spend the rest of the day playing with the new toys in the yard. They included a bounce back net to throw the baseball into to help you improve your fielding and a hit away system that helps you improve your hitting. The hit away is a pretty neat device that uses energy from a ball connected to two cables that wraps around a pole when the ball is moved forward. As the ball unwraps itself, you hit it again and the process starts over. As long as you are making good contact you can stand there and hit all day. That is exactly what we did. We hit all day! Reid hit until he got a blister on his hand and my back is still killing me. (well somebody had to show them how it is done) I was very surprised that the boys never asked to go inside to play video games or do something else. They just wanted to play ball. It did my heart good!

Reid also got a basketball goal to complete his sporting goods collection. He now has everything he needs for a life of outdoor fun and games. He can play baseball, golf, basketball, football, or ride his bike all without leaving his own yard. I'm jealous! I wish I was still 7 years old and could choose which sport I wanted to play today. But kids are different these days and I fear that little boys will never really know the joys that my neighborhood friends and I did as we were growing up. Ask yourself this question. When was the last time that you were riding around town and saw 10 to 12 boys playing a pick-up baseball game in the back yard? It just doesn't happen the same way today as it did in 1982.

Go back 28 years and take a drive down Lincoln Ave. Take a peek into the drive way of Judy Stone's house on a summer day. I promise you that the driveway will be littered with bicycles and the back yard full of boys choosing up teams and getting ready to do battle. Judy is the mother of Eric and Kevin and happens to own the perfect back yard for baseball. All the boys in the neighborhood gravitated to Judy's house. They age in ranges from 9 to 14. If you were 9 you better have game to play with this bunch because they showed you no mercy. This is where a young boy learned how to really play the game. Sure we all played organized ball in the local recreation league, but in Judy's back yard you had to learn how to pick fair teams, compose your own line up, make your own calls and argue them without making someone mad enough to go home, hit a curve ball or someones special pitch, speak the real baseball language and make fun of everyone on the other team (sometimes called character building). This was not just an occasional game. It was an EVERYDAY game. When I woke on a summer morning I called Kevin to see what time the game was going to start that day. We then started calling all of the neighborhood guys to give them the announced game time. Once the game started we played until you got a whistle from you father or a shout from your mother that it was supper time. The game never really ended, it was just continued until the next day. It was the same way summer after summer. I now know how lucky we were to be able to do that!!

Times are different 28 years later. Society is different. I'm not sure I would let Reid ride his bike as far as some of the kids had to ride to play in our everyday game. There are just too many bad people out there. Neighborhoods are not what they once were. People build big houses on the outskirts of town and families do not grow up together like they use to. Kids are given everything that they need to be entertained at all times. Video games, golf carts, and private swimming pools are now the norm. Families are now made up of two income households and kids can not be home all summer or have the freedom's that I had had because my mother was a school teacher. Gone is the desire to make your own fun by calling up the boys to play some ball. I wish it would all come back!

As I played ball with the boys Saturday, one of them said to me that he wanted to come over every weekend because this was fun. I had to agree with him. It was fun! As I watched them wear dirt patches in the grass in the backyard I thought of poor Ms. Judy's grass-less ball field. Eric told me a while back that the grass around home plate and the pitcher's mound took 20 years to grow back in after we were through playing in that wonderful back yard. Now I LOVE my yard and take great measures to make sure that it is groomed to perfection, but I could live with some dirt patches if Reid and the boys would just get the game back going again!

Thank you Ms. Judy! I now know the dirt patches were worth it!

I've got a buddy that I can call....

I watch the show "Pawn Stars" on the history channel. It comes on Monday nights and features a pawn shop in Vegas. It is run by a Father, son and grand-son. It is amazing at the items that come into the shop to be sold. Some are your typical items such as watches, jewelery, and guitars, but some items are truly unique and make you wonder where they came from. The son does most of the dealing with the unique items and has a vast knowledge of history about most of them, however when he gets stumped on a truly unique item he always says "I've got a buddy that I can call. He'll come down here and take a look at this item and tell us all about it."

Civil War sword- "I got a buddy"
1840 stagecoach gun- "I got a buddy"
George Washington's gold tooth- "I got a buddy"
helicopter- "I got a buddy"
Indian head totem- "I got a buddy"
rare coin- "I got a buddy"

and on and on and on......

It got me to thinking about how blessed I am to have some buddies also. I really am a very lucky person to have made friends with some great people over the years and I seem to have a friend that can do just about everything.

Need a dentist- "I got a buddy"
Need some insurance- "I got a buddy"
Need some legal advice- "I got a buddy"
Need a cell phone- "I got a buddy"
Need a car- "I got a buddy"
Need some prayer- "I got a buddy" (yes I know that I can also pray but my buddy is a pastor)
Need some timber cut- "I got a buddy or buddies"
Need your shop wired- "I got a buddy"
Need some furniture- "I got a buddy"
Need a golf cart- "I got a buddy"
Need medical attention- "I got a buddy"
Need a house built- "I got a buddy"
Need media connections- "I got a buddy"
Need windows for your house- "I got a buddy"

and on and on and on and on!!!!!

One of my buddies spoke at my wedding rehearsal dinner the night before Dana and I got married. He told a story that his father in law's father had told him. He was told that at the end of your life you will be able to count on one hand the people that have always been there for you no matter what. Those are your real friends. He described me as one of those people that would be on that one hand. That meant a great deal to me as I have always wanted to be there for my friends and I pride myself in trying to be there when my friends need me. The truth is I love helping my friends in times of need no matter how big or small. I want to be included on a lot of one hands.

Who are your buddies? Give them a call or tell them how much their friendship means to you the next time you see them. For my buddies that might read this... I thank you for being my friend and if you ever need something "You got a Buddy!"

AEKDB

Today was a Good day!!

Today was just one of those good days. It was the first day of spring and we had beautiful weather, the annual Wild Chicken Festival was held in beautiful downtown Fitzgerald, people were jumping out of airplanes all day at the airport, and the most important of all was that it was the first day of turkey season!!!

Big John (Dad for those of you who do not know) and I struck out this morning at 6:30 in pursuit of big toms. We were heading to our hunting club not knowing exactly how to hunt this year because they have recently cut the timber off a good portion of the property. We stopped to listen at our first point of attack. We heard one Gobbler and decided that we needed to move to cut the distance. Half way there we stopped to listen again. This time three gobblers sounded off and they were a little closer than we expected. We tried to get around to them without being seen, but we were in the middle of a clear cut. We got set up but the birds went the other way following hens and gobbling every other breath. We decided to move again and try our luck in the direction that the birds seemed to be heading.

As we got around to the other side we paused and listened in this small clearing in the corner of our property. The clearing had been made by the recent logging crew. We tried to strike up a gobble but had no luck. We started to ease up the hill a little to get a better view and that's when I saw him. Right in front of us was a strutting gobbler. I could see the top of his fan and his back was to us. We slipped into the row of pines next to us and tried to call him down the hill. He must have already had girlfriends with him because he paid us no attention. We again eased up the hill and sat down quickly to try and get another look at this tom. I could hear the turkey drumming in that low vibrating tone that I love to hear, but he was just out of eyesight. He eventually moved on and continued to gobble as he moved away from our position. We decided to slip out and come back latter that afternoon to set up in this same spot to see if he would travel this way again.

Since I did not see the need in me owning a brass belt buckle or a ninja sword, we cruised through the Chicken Festival pretty quickly. The kids did get to pet some goats and bunnies and got a bag of cotton candy. We headed to the airport to watch people jump out of a perfectly good airplane. They are having there own little festival out there this weekend and have been jumping since Friday morning. They are running three planes and people are here from everywhere. They have been trying to set some kind of record by having 60ish jumpers all hold hands and hook up during a free fall. So far they have not been able to link everyone up but it sure is fun to watch. It looks like pepper being sprinkled in the sky until you see all the shoots open up. Reid and Mia both liked it so we stayed for a while.

After a nap it was time to head back to the woods. Big John and I went back to the same spot and got settled in. We had been sitting for almost two hours and were about ready to give up when we heard one lone gobble. With blood pumping once more we started softly calling. In a matter of minutes Daddy saw the bird. The turkey was walking up the log road right to us and he was not alone. He had a buddy with him. I already had my Browning in position and Daddy moved to get his gun in place. The idea is to wait for both birds to get into range and take both at the same time. Daddy and I have "doubled up" three different time before. As the toms got closer I lost sight of the second bird. The first bird was well within range and stuck his head up right in my cross hairs. I pulled the trigger by instinct. One less gobbler in the world. Daddy thought I was going to wait for the second bird to clear and was not ready for my shot, but I had a feeling the other bird would not go far. I started calling to him on my mouth call and he came running back to check on his buddy. Daddy's Browning spoke and there are now two less gobblers in the world.

The tale of the tape equals one turkey with a 10.5 inch beard, 19 lbs, and nice spurs. The second turkey had a 9.5 inch beard, 19 lbs and decent spurs. Most likely a three year old and a two year old. I absolutely LOVE it!!!!

Yep! Today was a Good day! Hope the hump day boys are ready for some fine eating!

Someone should throw a flag!!

There is nothing quite like small town politics. People in a small town are usually passionate about something in one direction or the other. There is normally not many in "betweeners". Such seems to be the case in our little small town lately when the local paper reported on the city council's recommendations for the upcoming SPLOST penny that will be voted on in June. Fitzgerald has traditionally supported the SPLOST penny and has used it very wisely over the past years to fund capital projects, however I think that someone should call a penalty and throw a yellow flag at the newest idea that has been proposed.

Along with recommendations that will help pay off debt on the city's remodel of City Hall, as well as Economic Development and a new gym for the Recreation Department, the City Council allowed a recommendation to be included the would provide "artificial field turf" to the current football stadium at the cost of about $700-800 thousand. Now let me go on the record as saying that we have a wonderful football program with one of the best football coaches in the state and I understand the economic impact as well as community moral that the football team generates, but I can not see the need for artificial turf in a Double A stadium in a town that is losing jobs by the hundreds and suffering one of the worst economic climates of the past 70 years.

Other proposals to the stadium include improving the visitors side bleachers, building visitors rest rooms, and building a new building for the visiting team to dress in. I can live with that. If we do that, we will have one of the nicest stadiums in south GA for any classification. Why do we need field turf that will have to be replaced in ten years and has been proven to cause more injuries to players? Funny you should ask!

The arguments for the turf are that we can host games that ESPN might want to broadcast. When was the last time you watched a AA high school game on ESPN for a team that has one state title in 102 years of playing football? Another argument is that other folks can use the field like the soccer team and band. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the band will never see the stadium for practice during football season. The DLS has been trying to give the school the park right next to the stadium. I'm guessing that a nice little soccer complex can be built for less that $700K. But we can host concerts on a turf field!! When was that last time a big name came to Fitzgerald for a concert? We have a wonderful Grand Theater that they can perform in if they get the urge.

I know that I may seem a little upset about this proposal, and I guess I kind of am, but I am mainly concerned that this proposal will hurt the chances of the SPLOST passing. WE NEED THIS SPLOST!! It is vital to our city's well being. I WILL vote for it no matter what, but I'm scared that some people will vote against it because they do not feel that this is needed at a time when we are asking teachers to take days off without pay. If I remember right, we have football for school, not school for football.

So why not have the nicest stadium in south GA with beautiful plush God made REAL grass? I'll pick up my yellow flag if the council will just say "my bad, can we have a do over?"

The Fitzgerald Bass Classic

See this fish? We sure could have used him yesterday. Daddy and I fished in the second annual Fitzgerald Bass Classic on Saturday. It is a fund raising event for the local football booster club. First prize paid $500 for the two man team that weighed in the day's three biggest fish. Big John and I headed out at daylight to try our luck at landing three big fish. The morning started out well as two turkeys were gobbling back and forth within earshot, but turkey season does not start until next week and we were there for big bass. We were fishing in a local farm pond that has proven to be productive for me in the past, but the weather was not on our side as it kept changing from sunshine to overcast and the wind kept getting harder and harder. We fished hard! We threw everything we had at 'em! We caught a good many fish, but no lunkers. The biggest fish we had in the boat was probably 4.5 lbs. We new that was not going to cut it. With the outcome not looking very positive and the fish bites slowing, we packed it up and brought her in.

The weigh in took place at Paulk Park. We were there to hopefully see some big fish. We were not disappointed. The first man to weigh a fish put one on the scales that weighed 10.28 lbs. Got to figure he is pretty confident that he will win that big fish prize. Not! The second team to weigh in brought a 10.74 pounder along with two other lunkers that gave them a total of over 22lbs. They wound up winning the tournament and the big fish, but there were several 8 and 9 pound fish brought in and more 6 and 7 pounders than you could count. It was an awesome tournament that turned out well for the booster club. They had a total of 79 teams that participated with hopes of an even bigger event next year. I'll be ready!

I consider myself a pretty good fisherman and Daddy is not bad either, but I think we both learned one thing Saturday as we watched all of those Big Mossy Back Bass being brought in.

WE NEED A NEW FISHING HOLE!!!!

Just another hobby!

I like antique furniture. The history of old furniture and the possibilities of where it has been fascinates me. I have several pieces in my house including a buffet that belonged to my Great Grandmother, a pie safe that came out of our old Elementary school, and a desk and table that belonged to my Grandfather. But my favorite pieces are oak center tables like the one shown in this picture. They are know by several different names. Some people call them parlor tables, or fern tables, or radio tables, or spindle leg tables. They are simple little tables that do not take up much room and are quite pretty with their spindle legs and rich oak color. My folks have a couple of these tables at their house that they picked up at an auction here and there. I have always been fond of them and bought our first one for Dana several years ago for Christmas. That purchase led to my current hobby.

We needed some type of table to go between the two windows in our living room. It needed to have some height because it needed to hold a lamp. Dana had mentioned that she liked Mama's center table that she had at her house that was serving the same kind of purpose that we needed our table to do. I set out for antique stores across south GA looking for the perfect table. I went into every antique and junk store from Perry to Moultrie looking for what I wanted. I finally found my table at Sid's antiques in Moultrie, but along the journey found that I liked looking for antiques like little lost treasures. It was a rush to walk into that final store and find what I had been looking for.

My "junking" as I call it has a different kind of meaning now. I'm not out looking for finished tables for my living room. I'm out looking for tables that have been neglected or painted over. I enjoy bringing them back to life!! They are hard to find but that makes it all the more fun. I love finding a table that I can buy for $25-$45 and turning it into something that I can sell for $150-$200 with just some paint stripper and a lot of sanding. One of the prettiest tables that I have was bought at an auction for $5. It now sits at the bottom of my stairs and I would not take $500 for it because it was the first one that I ever brought back to life, and it turned out beautiful!!

I currently have one completed table for sale and one that needs one more coat of polish before it is ready to sell. That just means that I have to get out there and go junking again so that I can rebuild the inventory. Come go with me! It's fun to treasure hunt for history!!

When did Freddie turn into an old guy?

I am 37 years old as I write this. I still see myself as a kid. If it wouldn't hurt so much I would still play softball, flag football and basketball everyday. I grew up loving sports and I had my heroes just as all young boys did. Heroes are not supposed to get old. They are superhuman people who will always be the best at their game. Of course your heroes can not play the game forever, but I had never really had to watch one of my heroes in the latter part of their career until just recently. Let me explain:

Baseball- Don Mattingly- a back injury ended his career early. He was still one of the most feared hitters in the game when he had to give it up.

Football- Didn't care much for Pro football so the college guys that were my heroes were always in their prime.

Basketball- Michael Jordan- Dude could still play if he wanted to.

NASCAR- Bobby Allison- They never get too old, they just have one last wreck.

Golf- Fred Couples- - Now wait just a dang minute!!! What is Freddie doing on the SENIOR Tour?????

I was flipping through the channels this weekend when I came across Fred playing with a bunch of old guys. Then I suddenly remembered that Fred WAS an old guy now (not that 50 is old). Then it dawned on me that I was 37, not 17. When I was 17, Freddie was the man!! He still is as long as he is playing guys 50 and older. He has won two of his first 3 tournaments. I don't know why it got to me so much. I knew in the back of my mind that Freddie would be on the Champions Tour this year, but I guess I did not allow myself to move along through life with him. Don't we all want to slow down time a little and believe that our heroes will be forever young. I started thinking how hard it must have been for my Dad to watch Mickey Mantle in those last couple of years that he played when he was just a shell of his former self. Did he feel the same way I did as I sat here and watched Freddie play from the senior tees with his grey hair sticking out of his hat? I guess I can still find happiness in the fact that Freddie can still play the game at a high level, but watching him in a senior tour tournament made me feel a little sad and I'm not really sure why.

Glory days, they'll pass you by!

Jason Heyward- The Braves future??

I thought this was pretty good and shows just how excited Braves fans are about right field prospect and probable starting right fielder Jason Heyward.

From the Braves message boards-


Our Heyward who art in Atlanta,
Not hollow be thy bat.
Hit to kingdom come.
Thy gravity be undone
on Earth as it is in Turner.
Give us this day our daily runs,
and forgive us our strikeouts and errors,
as we forgive those who strikeout and error against us,
and lead us not into 3rd place,
but deliver us from mediocrity.
For thine is Hotlanta,
and the power, and the homers,
flying for ever and ever.
Amen.

The congregation is reminded to please park thy cars at least 200 feet outside of the stadium if one chooses to park behind the right field side of the stadium.

Remember today those with less heralded prospects.

Go in peace.

This little poem comes on the heels of a monster spring training homerun hit by our new Superman in Atlanta. The homer traveled an estimated 450 ft. It has been a while since Braves fans have been this excited about a player, but let's not forget this guy is just a rookie and only 20 years old. It is going to be a fun season!!!

PLAY BALL!!!!

Success Afield

I would like to recommend a small devotional book for all of my outdoor loving friends. The book is "Success Afield- Stories of a Sportsman's Life" by Joey Hancock. It is a small brown paperback devotional book that can easily fit into your deer hunting pack, your turkey vest, or your tackle box. It is full of 2 to 3 page devotions that are centered around Joey's years as an expert hunting guide, turkey calling champion, and also his personal hunting experiences. I picked up a copy of this book after I heard Joey speak at a men's conference here in Fitzgerald. I find the book meaningful because I can relate to Joey's adventures in the outdoors. He has a way of turning every hunting or fishing story into a life lesson for ruff outdoor guys like you and me. I pull the book out every spring because a great deal of his stories come from chasing Tom turkeys. Turkey hunting is such a wonderful time of the year and it is the hunting season that makes me feel closest to God. Let me explain.

1). It's spring time. The woods are coming alive with new growth on every branch.
2). You cover a lot of ground and get to see more of the woods than you do during deer season.
3). A turkey gobble will shake your insides and demand that you honor and respect this amazing creature of God
4). It is time spent with my earthly Father as Daddy and I are hunting partners and get to try and outwit the smartest of all game birds.

If you love to turkey hunt as much as I do then I strongly encourage you to pick up this book and read it every day to get ready for your time outdoors just as you would practice with your turkey calls. It will help put you in the right frame of mind to thank God for all of his blessings that he has given to you while you are out having "Success Afield".

For all of my English teachers and my Mother....

I enjoy writing. I guess Dr. Lewis and Ms. Parks brought something out in me when I was in high school because I have always enjoyed getting my thoughts down on paper. I think that I am pretty good at expressing my thoughts through words and even have two published magazine articles to my credit. Spelling however is another matter entirely. Spell check was invented for people like me. I have difficulty spelling cit, I mean CAT. So for my mother, who can spell any word any where at any time, I offer the following:

Acocdrnig to an elgnsih unviesitry sutdy the oredr of letetrs in a wrod dosen't mttaer, the olny thnig thta's iopmrantt is that the frsit and lsat ltteer of eevry word is in the crorect ptoision. The rset can be jmbueld and one is stlil able to raed the txet wiohtut dclftfuiiy.

How can you argue with an English University study? I am perfectly happy in my little miss-spelled world! Roll on spell check!!!!!!

"You ride with Outlaws, You die with Outlaws!"

Does anyone remember what a mini-series was? They were popular in the eighties and for some reason always found there way to CBS. A mini-series was a longer than normal movie that would run somewhere around 6 hours (8 hrs TV time), and would be shown over several nights. You had to be in front of your TV screen each night for the better part of the week to see the entire movie. I remember when I was in high school my Dad was watching some western mini-series and I remember watching a part or two with him but not really getting into it too much. Only later in life did I learn that I was missing the best movie ever filmed, Lonesome Dove.

Lonesome Dove is a classic western novel written by Larry McMurtry. It was brought to the big screen via mini-series. The movie runs about 6 hours long because the book is about 1,000 pages full of excellent writing that could never be condensed down to fit a two hour time slot. The book tells the tale of two retired Texas Rangers trying to make a living as live stock brokers in a small border town in South Texas, Lonesome Dove. Captain Woodrow F Call and Captain Augustus McCrae own the Hat Creek Cattle Company and employ some of their old Ranger buddies. They end up on a long cattle drive to Montana and have their adventures on the way. The book is an excellent read, but watching the movie is a pure pleasure. The cast includes Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Ricky Schroder and a truly all-star cast. One of the reasons I like watching is because Robert Duvall is hilarious as Gus and he happens to look just like my grandfather in this particular movie, but the best reason for watching is for the great lines that are in the movie that me and my friends can quote at the drop of a cowboy hat. Some of them are as follows:

"I had a job waiting tables once." "Why'd you give it up?" "I was too young and pretty. The whores wouldn't let me alone"

"Suppose you've been up all night readin' the good book"

"Good evenin' my good friends"

"Deets aint one to give up on a garment just cause it's got a little age"

"It aint dieing I'm talking about, it's livin" !"

"you're in over your head Pea"

"What you need legs for any how? You don't do nothing but sit on the porch and drink whiskey all day." "I might want to kick a pig once in a while."

"Woodrow, it's been quite a party"

If you have got a few hours to spare on a rainy day, spend it with Call, Gus, Deets, Newt, Jake, Pea, Lori, and Clare. You want regret it!

Hump Day!

Wednesdays mean different things to different people. For me it's simple. Wednesday is my day to see the boys! After the kids are dealt with and after choir practice (on most weeks)the boys gather at a pre-determined barn, shop, or shelter for eats, drinks, and conversation. It's kind of like a weekly poker night without the poker. The tradition started with Bill Bryant, owner of Bryant Golf Carts, and Gill Braddy, a local attorney. Bill and Gill are back door neighbors and would meet on Wednesday nights for some grilling in Bill's shop. I started stopping by a few years ago on my way home from choir practice to see what was cooking or see what new carts Bill was working on. The party grew as Hank Cook would also stop by and his brothers Clay and Todd as well. The list grew to Hal Wiley, Brad Dent, Will Hammond and a few non-regulars stared to show up as well. The weekly gathering now includes anywhere from 5 to 15 folks. The rules are pretty simple. You may host a hump day at your location as long as it is within golf cart riding distance of Bill's house (he made the rule). If you host, you cook! If you do not host, you still cook on occasion and have full use of Bill's barn. We have a good time visiting with each other and keep it pretty clean. We even invite the preacher when we have special treats such as oysters or fried quail. The menu can be as simple as fresh sausage and sweet corn all the way to grilled red fish and grilled tomatoes.

Bill says that we are part of the Bryant Golf Carts family and has job descriptions for most of us. They are as follows:

Hank, a local dentist, is Chairman of the Board
Gill, attorney, is in loss prevention
Clay, a local logger, is in maintenance and repair
Brad, a local Windstream sales person in on temporary leave
Trey, is in finance
Hank B. is in insurance
Hal, local verizon store owner, is in communications
Will, local health care supplier, is in first aid and safety.

It's a good group and I am glad that my wife understands my need to see the boys every now and again. I have always loved having good friends and being a good friend. I'm happy every week when Hump Day rolls around!

So go out and start your own Hump day tradition with some good friends! Got to go! The boys are waiting!!!

Blog Frog

I would like to encourage my readers to sign up for blogfrog. It is a cool way to see who has visited the site as well as help you to find other blogs that might interest you. If you visit my blog, your picture will show up as a visitor. Pretty cool stuff. Just go to http://theblogfrog.com.

Have fun!

Paper Airplanes

The book fair is in town at Reid's school this week. His Cheri took him today and let him pick out anything he wanted. He chose a book on how to make really cool paper airplanes. He also chose a shark book but that's another post for another day. The plane book has ten different airplanes to choose from ranging from 1 in difficulty to 5. We have been making planes this afternoon and they are presently soaring over the balcony down into the den at an alarming rate. Making the planes took me back to childhood days at church when the weekly Sunday school lesson would always wind up in that familiar 5 fold simple air plane that would take flight over the playground. As we all got older we learned to fold more aerodynamic planes and small gliders. Looking through Reid's book I found one of those familiar gliders and folded one up for him. It does really well, but it really needs to be turned loose outside to reach its full potential. However, I do not believe that one of these new gliders will ever surpass the "Super Glider" that I had the pleasure of owning for a very short period of time in 1985.

I was in the sixth grade at Fitzgerald Jr. High School. To pass the time at lunch, some of the guys would fold up a little glider and let it fly around catching a nice spring wind. The gliders could fly a good 50 yards across the school yard if they were folded just right. I guess we though that we were impressing the ladies. As I folded my little glider for the days festivities, I had no way of knowing that I would soon be the talk of paper airplane legend. I made sure that I was careful in my folds because I wanted to make sure that it would fly straight and true. As the lunch hour was drawing to a close I pulled out my little glider and gave her a mighty sail in the direction of Allen Guy. It had to be in the spring of the year and the March winds must have been blowing because my little glider caught some serious air and started to climb into the lower atmosphere. It cleared one of the lower buildings as we all were running after it to see how far it would go. It cleared the pecan trees in the school yard and was headed south. It next cleared the trees across the street and was headed for the high school. The last time we saw the glider it was still climbing and was lost out of sight. It was so cool!!! True Story that I'm sure no one remembers but me!

Isn't it amazing how some of the smallest things can bring us the largest memories? Allen asks me all the time how I can remember all of these things about our childhood. Truth is, I had a great childhood! I had the kind of childhood that every kid should have. I had a ball and brought some great memories of me and my friends through life with me. I hope that I never forget them. I think that is why I still try to make memories with my friends to this day.

I hope that Reid and I can catch some wind this weekend with some paper airplanes. I'm sure that I will have made all ten of them that are in the book by then. I so enjoy spending time with him and I hope that one day he will look back and have fond memories about something as simple as a paper airplane!

Soar on son! Daddy loves you!