IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!....Give me a cig!!!

NOT!
Though I would love to have a cigarette, I won't have one at this time...check back later. Quitting smoking, in a nutshell, SUCKS! It is a very perverse and cruel habit to break. Actually, in many circles, it is now considered an addiction. Amen to that. Quitting makes you look back and wonder WTF did you start anyway!! I honestly can't remember WHY I ever started smoking. I think i had my first 'puff' when I was around 14. Then, i remember finding a pack of my oldest brother's Pall Mall (filterless) in the car, so I took them. I remember smoking enough of them that I was sick. Thiswould have been when I was 15, because he had just gotten out of the Navy. From that point on, I can't remember exactly how the sequence of events went. You must realize, this all took place almost 40 years ago. I did start chewing tobacco when I was 13 or 14 because I was earning money baling hay. The chewing tobacco helped keep your mouth hydrated and captured the chaff from the hay...or so i was told. And i began with my first love, cigars, at 14. Fortunately, as I matured, I acquired a taste for the better cigars...still have that love of them...but, I can't smoke them. I can't do anything that may have nicotine in it, because it could trigger a return to those damned cigarettes.

I am trying to ensure that this is my last time to quit smoking. Keep the faith and hide the cigs!



Look at what I found. Below you will find my first attempts at starting this silly-assed blog. I thought I'd lost them in cyber space. from the looks of them, I should have lost them and all the others in cyber space. Y'all do realize that the time you're taking to read this verbal crap, is lost time y'all never get back.
Well, here they are...have fun:


"Someone commented that I didn't have anything written in my blog. Well, duh....I signed up for this just so i could comment on other blogs. Little did I know i didn't need to." 11June2008


"I now know people who blog. They say it helps them cope with what in happening in their worlds. I don't really give a damn about coping, I just want to better accept what is happening in mine." 28May2008




Do you see the fear on the face of that person in the pic. That is me within the first days of basic training, in our fine U.S.Army. Do you realize, I signed the paper twice...so I got to stay for 6 years!!! Epitome of dumbass! But, i did have fun. That pic is what April 1974 looked like, on my face. I left Ohio where cigs were 35 cents a pack and got sent to South Carolina, where they were 14 cents a pack. And people wonder why we smoked then....it was cheap! Of course gasoline was only 33 cents a gallon, and in Hillsboro, Ohio they would have gas wars and you could get it for 18 cents a gallon...sometimes. How's that for dating/aging myself! The bowling alley at Ft Jackson, or maybe it was Ft Leonard Wood, you could get 16oz cup of Schlitz for 25 cents or Budweiser for 35 cents. We found that if you bought the Schlitz and put a little salt in it, it would taste better...the art of drinking cheap! I look at the army as my stepping off into the world, because it forever changed me. Someday, maybe i'll blog about that.

Now quit reading this shit and get back to your own effective life...or at least act like you got a life....sheesh!

Take care and enjoy life!

Wednesday Wanderings

My work week is more than halfway over...YAY!!! Well, my work week at my "paying" job. Then there is the little matter of my non-paying job at HunnyDew Lists, Inc. Yes, THAT job. I work four, ten hour days Monday through Thursday, so i can have more time to get HunnyDews done at at Froggy Oak Acres at the end of Morning Wood Lane. I do this in the summer because it is dangerous to have two teenage boys alone at home for very long, and this year, I thought it prudent to have one less trip into town, due to gas prices. Well, this has proven...let's see....STUPID!....because I usually come into town anyway to get supplies, etc. But, I have to admit, it is very nice to have one less day to put up with the crap(?) at my paying job.

Now I have to remember WHY I started this...............oh yeah. Working 4-10's (four, ten hour days) is more tiring than I give it credit. And this week the boys are at camp, so we (read that as I, but I'm trying to be maritally blissful and 'fair') are trying to get one of the boy's room painted. They were to clean it and pack things up before they left...HA! Someday I'll learn...someday. So, last night was spent "cleaning" the room. OMG, the places a kid can stash trash...and NOT in a trash can. Is it sport to see how many freakin candy wrappers can be stashed behind the dresser? WTF, is there reasoning behind having still folded CLEAN laundry in the dirty laundry hamper??? And again I digress. I was just trying to explain to myself, why I feel so tired...I sometimes forget and just assume it's because I am getting old...which i am....I understand that. But I used to be able to do 6, 12 hour days. I know, and yes, it did take that long to feed and clean up after the dinosaurs. So, tonight my plan is to finish the cleaning, and then mask and paint the room. I'm hoping 2-3 hours and maybe a six pack (oh yeah, it will be Pepsi....NOT!) That reminds me of the time many years ago, in the house before this one. All four boys were still living at home (damn, that is long ago and far away), and were of the "early bedtime" age. After putting all the boys to bed, d'wife and i were going to paint the living room. We had already prepped it, so it was just a matter of the actual painting. Oh, and we were to be fueled by a 12 pack of beer. We finally finished that room in the wee hours of the morning and proceeded to go to bed. The next morning, it was pointed out to us, by a couple of the young gentlemen, that there seemed to be stripes on one of the walls..........yep, you guessed it. it was the last wall painted, after the last beers from the 12 pack. Oh well....nobody noticed the overrun spots on the ceiling, from the roller.

So, enough ranting for today, I'm tired. At 4:00 this afternoon, my work week at the paying job will be 75% over...YAY! God only knows when my work week at Froggy Oak Acres at the end of Morning Wood Lane will EVER be over. If y'all are bored...come on over this weekend......looks like it's going to be a sod laying weekend.

Have a good'un

Father's Day..............pfffffffffffffft

Ain't Father's Day a hell of a thing. I am still trying to figure it out. This was probably one of the nicer/easier Father's Days I've had. I had two sons that were miles away from home. The two left at home stated at dinner last night, when their mother asked what they were going to do for me for Father's Day, their responses (almost in unison) was, "stay the hell away from him". The day started off strange enough, because #2 son (who was in TN for the Bonnaroo Musical Festival) called me at 5:30AM. He thought he was being cute...he knows I get up pretty early anyway, so he was being sort of safe, too. Son #1 (birth placement) called some time after lunch...exactly when, I'm not sure because I was sweating my ass off in 95 degree weather planting rose bushes for d'wife ( the real bread-winning dad). He was still at the lake...probaly trying to sober up. Sons #3 and #4 did pretty much stay away from the old "asshole" for most of the day.

Normally on a Father's Day, I am either signing off on a restaurant check or, I am busting my ass making a meal (which I sort of enjoy, though). In my life, I have had a 1 year reprieve from the various rigors of Father's Day. 1982, my father had passed away (died) the month before, and my first son wouldn't be here for another 8 months. Just an 'aside', for the diatribe I am typing. Our sons have never had a grandfather..nada, none, no grandpa...ever. If there is one thing I wish I could have given my sons, it is a grandfather...sometimes, just as important as a father...not quite, but almost. D'wife's father had passed away over a year before I met her. Finally recognized as a casualty of war...yes, the other stupid assed war...Vietnam. He succombed to lukeamia after serving two tours and being exposed to Agent Orange.
(the spelling sucks...live with it)

On to more pleasant subjects...It has been requested to blog about my sons. I do not have the typing fortitude to achieve this in one sitting. Therefore, I'll try to give an overview of my favorite clowns (heroes).

In the picture,that I think got uploaded, from left to right, it is #2, #1, #4, #3. If you don't remember, from previous post, #3 and #4 are twins...yep, they really are. This picture is from Father's Day 2007. I think. Ah hell...sometime last summer. Any way...#1 is the "Inkman" he has numerous tattoos and he is proud of the fact that his first one was applied at Venice Beach, California. A huge ass tat on his back that says "MADE IN AMERICA"...yes, all caps about 3 inches tall. And how the hell does he know his mom and I weren't in Canada or Mexico, when he was "made". Hell, he was an oops anyway. He was our first, our "I'll fight your ass to decide how he is going to be raised" child. Oh yeah, lots of those discussions. He is now 25 and bartends and has a girlfriend and is contemplating trying to overcome all the obstacles he caused, to get back into college.

Son #2 (the s.o.b. that called at 5:30 this morning) is what we lovingly call..."if we'd had a blonde ditzy daughter, it would be him" son. He has a heart as huge as an ocean sunset. He was a state ranked wrestler in high school. He works with special needs kids that are both physically and mentally "challenged"...where the fuck did he come from? He too has a girlfriend, that also works with special needs kids...a pattern in progress? He turns 22 this month. He was the one that first got stuck with me as Mr Mom since birth. Poor bugger. He too is trying to get back into college.

Son #3 is one half of a set of twins. His younger brother is younger by 8 minutes, and he uses that fact ...a lot. He is the brooding artist. The semi-gentle giant. An outstanding artist with pencil sketching. His nickname (given by me) is Bubba...no way could I have four sons in Oklahoma and not have a Bubba. He will be 16 next month.

Son #4...our talking encyclopedia. Yes, I think he has a photographic memory. The worst thing about that is he WILL NOT shut up. After numerous "son, STFU's"...I have resorted to loving 'taps' on the head. Still doesn't work, but I feel better. We once gave him the book "Guinness Book of World Records"...yep...heard about it for MONTHS afterwards. We have learned.

That is the bird's eye view of 'wok-spring'. It is an ever evolving mess. But, dammit, it is MY mess. I am proud, ashamed, flustered, tired, and most of all...loved. No matter how bad any of us are at showing it, we know we love each other. Even if dad is an old fart and an asshole...and even if all four sons will answer to "butthead"...we love each other. I can't ask for more. Well, I could ask for more, but hell folks...this is pretty damned good.

As an after thought, I thought I should say that my sons have been my reason for living and going forward for the last 25+ years. They have been my biggest heartbreak and my greatest joy. They have been my angst and cause of immense pain. But they have also been my shining light and my solace in desperate times. So, y'all have an excellent father's day...I'm sure d'wife has enjoyed hers. She got her damned 3 rose bushes and 8 other plants put in the ground, while watching the 'old fart' do it for her. They were purchased with Mother's Day's gift certificates...I guess that is justice.

Enjoy the moment, it is fleeting.

Help!...I am at a loss...no news there!

It has been noted that I should write more. Some people just have no lives or they are gluttons for punishment or they are just f*****g with me. I think it's the latter. I will try to write more. About what, I have no freakin idea. That is where everyone that may read this comes in. Give me ideas. Go ahead, I dare you. I will not divulge names or locations unless permission is granted. I have a few ideas, but I won't say until I receive others...some may match. Give me any subject, and I will do my silly assed best to butcher it. Send questions, tell me to give up blogging (please!), send me naked pictures if you're a female (no one noticed that subliminal message did you?)ANYTHING!

So you may know a little more...I live in the country, on five acres, with the card hand I was dealt, minus two of the jokers (thank God!) We have two dogs. I have a tractor that is used for thinning/culling the woods that our house is built in. IF the damned trees don't kill me, in a few years, the place ought to look great. The house was brand new when we bought it (no, we didn't have it built...that could be a blog there...hmmm). I grew up (well, progressed through the younger years..grew up is a stretch) in a midwestern state and have been a farmhand, machinist, mechanic, soldier, heavy equipment operator, oil field worker, bartender, insurance salesman, and numerous other 'jobs'. My late father always did say I couldn't hold a job.
I have been half way around the world, and lived in quite a few places. I do have a college degree, and how that happened is an anomaly, believe me.

Okay, I'm tired of typing. Y'all have your assignments, should you choose to accept them (fkn nuts if you do)...best of luck....wait, I'm the one that is going to have to do the writing.....DAMN!


take care

This will fry my tattered brain...got cigs?

OK...I tried to write in this f!@#$%^&* blog yesterday and it went into cyberland never to be seen again. Oh well, that's me and computers. I was trying to explain, yesterday, why I even have a blog. But thanks to the binary electronics, it's gone.

The title is what it is because I have quit smoking...again. Today is 234 days. The longest I have quit since tricky-Dick Nixon was president....yeah, that long ago. When there were cigarette machines everywhere and you could buy a pack for 35 cents. But did you know they still have cigarette machines in New Orleans? I was there last month meeting some folks I met on-line through a quit smoking website. Damn, do I take tangents or what! Hopefully, this is the LAST time I'll need to quit smoking...that can be read as I do not want to smoke again.

I have this blog because I thought I needed to, to have access to another blog I had an interest in because this said blog was about an obscure place where I spent one year of my life.

http://lojwaanimals.blogspot.com/

The above is the blog. If you have ended up here at my blog, please take a moment to check out the blog above. It is a little interesting. It was a five month tour for most servicemen, but due to ex-marital (which is a story that's not) concerns, I stayed for a year. Ask me about it sometime, maybe I'll blog more on it.

In all honesty, this could be the only entry to this blog. I type with two, maybe three fingers. Thus, speed is not capable with my typing. I am also a 'slut typer'.....you know...hunt-n-pecker...
Yes, I know, terrible play on words. Besides the ineptitude of typing, I don't think there is much worth hearing/reading about this person. I'm just living life the best I can and trying to do the best I can with the hand I've been dealt. And some prankster of an omnipresent supreme being has a hell of a deck, because if you noticed anything in my profile it should have been the fact I have four sons (4 jokers) and one queen (d'wife). Try playing poker with a deck like that.

Well, maybe this won't fry my brain after all. And i don't need a cig, so things are good. If you had the misfortune of reading all of this, feel free to leave a comment, critque, bitch, whatever...maybe I'll read it.

Enjoy the moment. it's fleeting.