Stories and other stuff

Sometimes my life makes sense.  For about a minute.  But oh, that minute...... The plan was on Sunday to fire up the tractor and mow the back 40.  That plan got pushed to Monday and of course, it didn't start.  I don't know at this point if it's the new battery or last year's old starter.  Just once, I'd like for something to stay fixed, but what are you gonna do? In my case, I decided that I was wasting the day today and got the old Toro mower that I'm all of a sudden very happy I didn't trade in like I was thinking about and mowed the back 40.  It was about a foot tall in lots of spots.  The good news is that time and God's creation have eliminated the furrows from the last time I planted a garden and grass is growing where I actually want grass to grow, without having to plant it. It took a couple of hours, several times of having to re-pull start the mower, and unwinding a couple of tomato cages that aren't tomato cages anymore.  As I fi...

First off, I apologize for yesterday's post.  I was tired when I wrote it and when I read it out loud, there were some disjointed thoughts and sentences.  The jist of what my day was like was there, though so I left it. I'm not trying to win a Pulitzer. My son, when I was laying under my truck in his mom's driveway asked me this: "Why didn't you just call a tow truck and pay Rocky Mountain Tire to change the starter?" "Because I can't afford it." was the reply.  God blessed me with ability to fix things over the ability to pay for things to be fixed.  Sometimes I run out of ability and then God provides money for those eventualities.  But a starter change, despite the adventure it turned out to be, is something that's in my wheelhouse. My next project is a lawnmower.  I picked this up yesterday at the DI for another purpose.  But the thing is actually a really good lawnmower that needs a transmission.  I know how to fix this problem...

Today's story starts out with this nugget which is the only way it makes sense.  The Toyota was needed elsewhere.  The reasons for that are private. I needed a lawnmower.  Someone had a lawnmower to use for the intended purpose. I was going to pick it up Tuesday or Wednesday, but Tuesday and Wednesday had other ideas.  I was going to do it today as I was expecting the departure of said Toyota later in the day.  Thursday had other ideas.   I'm left with Chevron.  Chevron has a few issues.  Chevron is old, like me.  I didn't want to drive Chevron down to Salt Lake so I went to the DI here in Ogden and found a replacement mower for the one I was to pick up.  It's a nice mower. It fired up on the second or third pull.  The transmission doesn't work.  They're cheap to replace and I know someone else who would benefit from the fact that this particular mower has three speeds.  So I didn't want to use the mower I ...

I gave up Facebook and other social media for lent.  I'm seriously thinking about giving it up permanently.  The thing that's stopping me is that I know that, used properly, it's a great thing.  The deal is that it's tough remember the "used properly" part. I haven't read the entire Mueller report.  I will get around to it.  And when I do, I will make my judgments on it based on the facts that are presented.  Facts.  Not my opinion of the president, nor the Attorney General, who, sadly, is trying add his own 'spin' on it to make his boss look good. His boss doesn't look good. If you think he does, then read on, because I'm going to share some very a-political thoughts about the whole thing. If you read the report and you're a fan of our President, read it with the idea that a Democrat was president.  Substitute President Obama's name in there, for one.  Or pretend it's a report about Ms. Clinton.  If you'd be outra...

I'm home in the morning, barring any un-forseen incidents at the airport.  Like an oversold flight.  Delta does that a lot.  That $1200 hook might be enough to delay my return.  We'll see.  I have a turkey on the thaw for the smoker tomorrow though.  I have plans.  I miss my dog, and my cooking.  I miss the adjustable bed.  My hotel has only a shower.  My back wants desperately to be submerged in some hot water.  The hot tub here is still inop. Inop is airplane lingo for "broke". One of my former troops is ill and today the guys went to his home to lend a helping hand.  I'm sad I couldn't be there, but today has been restful.  I got to see something of Fort Worth.  I went to a little Mexican restaurant I've been wanting to try for lunch.  I went out to the stockyards area to see the historic buildings and do some trinket shopping. I wanted to bring home a bottle of whiskey but the distillery was closed toda...

I am so blessed to be here.  I mean that.  And one thing I got to do last night is to go to a Rangers game.  The stadium in Arlington is a beautiful ballpark.  It's also not going to be the ballpark for the Rangers next year.  The club is building a new ballpark with a retractable roof next door so they can better deal with the elements. I thought last night we were going to be affected by the weather.   Earlier in the week, the storms that were predicted were supposed to roll in about game time, but it became evident that there was going to be a little window before the storms rolled in. Which was just long enough for the game to be played. No kidding.  It started sprinkling on our way to the parking lot after a great game.  By the time we hit the freeway, it was softly raining.  By the time we got back to Ft. Worth, it was a full-on thunderstorm that lasted for at least an hour. Sometimes you just know you need to look to heave...

A couple of years ago, we were fortunate to get new toolboxes at work  The tops were made of pressboard but were not suitable for setting greasy aircraft parts on.  They stained easily.  Being the resourceful human beings aircraft mechanics tend to be, we quickly discovered adding a coat of paint to the tops would protect them and allow us to use the tops for other purposes. Like taking notes.  Some of the guys used whiteboard paint so dry erase markers would work.  I'm old school:  I opted for chalkboard paint. On my toolbox, you'd find these words:  The word of the day is: I change it to whatever happens to be going on in my day.  My ulterior motive is to use words that point to Jesus or that say something about my faith.  Faith can be infectious. Anyway, today's word of the day would be:  Possibly. I have been praying for someone for a long time and last night that someone said some words to me that matched something I've be...

When I rented the car a couple of weeks ago, I purchased the fill-up option.  I'm s'posssed to.  So I did.  With that, the primary goal is to return the vehicle back to the rental agency as close to empty as possible.  I'm close to there now, but thought I wasn't as close as I was.  I thought about stopping this afternoon on base to get gas, but I was just happy to be out of class so I decided against it after a quick glance at the fuel gauge as I approached the base service station. No sooner had I passed the gas station, the light on the dash came on and the display told me I was low on fuel, so I got to stop for gas on the way back to the hotel.  I forgot to close the gas door, so I had to stop and do that, which took a minute.  Traffic was it's usual self, and I got to the hotel uneventfully. As I opened the door to the hotel, I saw a man and a woman walking toward the door.  As I held the door open for them, and they walked through, the w...

Much ado in the news about sending migrants to so-called "sanctuary cities".  Much of the rhetoric right now is a political ploy to threaten those on the left who support the ideas of protecting human beings from being sent back to where they came from. Much about our immigration system is broken and I'm not going to get into the politics of this, but I'm thinking very much this morning about the human beings caught up in the middle of this and what that looks like. For whatever reasons, people come to America looking for a better life.  For whatever reasons, there are those in our country who are not wanting people to come here looking for a better life.  I try putting myself in the shoes of those wanting for and hoping for a better life.  I think of the risks.  I think of the guy from Africa I met in a class I took at the Vine Institute in Salt Lake.  I grew up poor, but I never had to leave my home with only the clothes on my back and run for my life...

Everything I have been through spiritually the last couple of weeks, well, got rolled up into a big ball of WOW! when I went to church this morning. There wasn't time for a message today at the church I went to.  Today was a day for stories.  There was a video from the mother C3 church and it was about some things they're going through, about going up a level, about not putting new wine into old skins, and that's something I can really relate to.  I won't be the same human being I was when I got here.  The isolation and solitude have given me time to spend learning about some things I needed to change in my own life.  I love encounters with God; you never leave from one the same way you were before you have it. I know the pastor of this church; not well, but I know him.  He calls me a friend of his, which made me feel pretty good.  And I told him how grateful I was to his church for the way they welcomed me and made me feel last Sunday.  A you...

It's a rainy day in the DFW metroplex.  Nice all week, rain on the weekend.  It was the same thing last weekend too.  I'm kinda cooped up (no pun intended) in the room today.  Later on, I'll be studying for next week but now I'm just kinda sitting here. I don't do alone very well, I found out.  I mean that.  I don't think I'm supposed to.  I'm reminded that at Creation the only thing God said wasn't good was that man didn't have a mate.  It's never been more vivid to me that God's observation was right.  For all the struggles I ever faced in my life, being completely alone has been one of the hardest. I finally got some sleep last night.  Sleep has been elusive.  Aside from all the stuff I have to know about airplanes, I have been going through a spiritual refresher course too.  And it's been challenging, but necessary.  I have an understanding of a lot of things that hadn't really occurred to me.  The solitude ha...

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!     2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) I wrote the other day about how I didn't prefer being called "Coop" anymore.  More and more, I really prefer using my first name.  And then, I noticed something odd about my blog.  For saying that, I never changed the name of my blog to reflect the change in me.  I took care of that today and picked a new theme for the page that will be around for the next little while. What I was left with is choosing a new name for the blog.  I could have called it a lot of things, but the thought occurred to me that, despite the valleys I've had to walk through, I have a very abundant life.  Hence the name. Abundance and affluence are two different things.  In my abundant life, I get to experience things in ways most people don't.  My walk with Jesus is very experiential.  For the times I talk about those exper...

The other day, my phone started acting up.  I notice the touch screen was getting hot in one spot.  When I was out in the sun yesterday, I was trying to keep my phone in the shade but it still got hot and shut off.  When it shut down, it was in safe mode. I tried all the tricks the interwebs recommended for resetting the phone but the phone was only ever going to be n safe mode, which means the phone apps wouldn't work but the phone kinda would. I lost all my text messages.  Fortunately, though, my phone backs up stuff to Google Drive and I still have everyone's phone numbers.  That's gonna be handy if I want to have a ride home from the aeropourto when I come home.  The text messages aren't so important though.  For all the things that life isn't, technology has made life kinda easier.  I don't have an address book at home.  Everything is in my phone.  And backed up to Google who probably knows what time I go to sleep.  By th...

I imagine this would be a fun trip if I had some people to hang out with.  The young kids in my class, well they have their own things to do (family in the area, plans, etc) and everyone's just kind of doing their own thing. There are a lot of nice restaurants here I'd like to try.  I've been to a couple but feel weird about eating dinner by myself.  I get over it, but it's not easy for me.  I was thinking for a hot minute about going to the zoo today.  It's a nice day and I haven't been to the zoo for years.  Wanna know who's at the zoo today?  Moms and young kids.  Can you say "CREEPER?" Some 54 year old guy hanging out at the tiger cage conjures up that image to me, so the zoo is off the list.  The botanical gardens was OK.  That's kind of an old people thing.  I saw my fair share of old, young, single, and moms with kids, so that wasn't creepy.  But the zoo? That screamed CREEPER to me. Six Flags sounds fun, too, bu...

I have a pussycat named Moo.  Moo just looks like a Moo.  I always thought Moo was kinda dumb.  I know she's a runt.  But being both those things, Moo has a separate gift to make up for whatever flaws I see in her.  That cat is mean as a rattlesnake to everybody but me and she has an unusually sharp set of claws.  I've been around cats my whole life.  Moo is an alley cat, through and through. Except with me.  But every now and again, the murder comes out.  If she's overstimulated, she turns into a furry killing machine.  I wonder sometimes if she doesn't think "stoopid hooman" about me.  Sometimes I put on the stupid hat, because sometimes things get to me, like stress, doubt, wonderment, and worry about things that are pretty much out of my control.  That happened to me today, lest you think that somehow I have all my eggs in the right basket, or my proverbial crap together. I'm very much a work in progress.  I ha...

Kingdom things happened on Sunday in Fort Worth and the family grew by four.  A couple, and a couple of guys gave their lives to Christ at the church I was worshiping at.  I love to see the kingdom grow, but I love the way it grew as well. I was part of an alive body of believers on Sunday morning.  The lead pastor was an acquaintance of mine that I met in Utah a few years ago.  We had dinner on a Friday night and he spoke at our event as well as his father, so I wanted to see his church.  He told me all about it and how they were getting ready to launch.  They launched.  Boy did they launch!  Today, I saw a botanical garden amphitheater change into a house of worship to the God that created said botanicals.  I have never felt more welcome at a place than I was made to feel this morning.  I mentioned how I'd met Pastor Brandon and was promptly introduced to several people and someone made a point to let the pastor know I was here....

Being by yourself all the time can get challenging.  Sometimes, I get bored. Bored caused me to flip on the TV.  The movie on TCM isn't one of my favorites.  So I started flipping channels and for some inexplicable reason, I landed on the Hallmark channel.  I watched it for about five minutes, then shaved, got in the shower, and then went downstairs for breakfast. They have Texas-shaped waffles here.  I just found that out today. As part of a day that I'm having that's gonna be weird, I glanced at the TV and there it was, right on the Hallmark channel; the car with the Oregon license plates.  You can't miss that silly tree in the middle.  The premise of this little chestnut is that the girl dated the famous athlete who broke her heart.  She got hurt bad and then she meets famous guy who is kinda hiding his identity.  He's trying to tell her who he is, but she's so hung up on the hurt of the past, she's unwilling to allow herself to be...

I was just sitting here; mostly because the weather sucks today and there's nobody to play with.  All my toys are at home and I never have appreciated the comfort and pleasure I take from knowing Buckaroo is just right there, or having one of the kitties jump up on my lap.  I miss my dog.  I miss my Katie, too.  And I know that sooner rather than later, I'll be permanently missing Bucky.  He ain't as young as he used to be, but I love that dog.  He's been such a blessing to me.  Did I mention I missed him? I've really never been alone alone until this last week.  I've chatted for a minute on the phone via messenger with a couple of people from home.  I sent one of the guys I work with some pictures because he loves this area and he's a Dallas Cowboys fan.  I see why he likes it here.  The area is really nice, but it's not summer, and six billion degrees with 100% humidity, either. It rained today.  At about nine-thirty ...

Today is beautiful.  Tomorrow, well, the guys on the Weather Channel are sounding like it's gonna be Tornadogeddon.  I do know that in the springtime, you gotta take the possibility of tornadoes seriously.  For instance, several years ago we were having dinner and drinks at a place in Oklahoma City.  Outside, the tornado sirens were wailing, and your intrepid reporter was getting a might freaked out.  A waitress noticed me scanning the room and told me that they were carefully watching the tornado (there was one) moving through Del City.  She told me it was miles away and the building had been there over a hundred years.  She said if the tornado turned toward us, we would grab our beers and calmly go to the basement. Made sense to me.  Tornado siren?  Pfffttttt...... Buutttttt...severe weather is predicted for the area tomorrow and the guys at the Weather Channel, man, they're on it.  My phone says 77 and thunderstorms.  The...