Thursday, June 28, 2007
Don't be fooled, there's another post below....two in one day, it's amazing!
Labels: Family Guy
Well, it's been over a week since my last post...and way too much has happened. But I honestly just haven't felt like posting a blog. But now my weekly Family Guy is a day late, so you're getting that next. But first, a recap...
Most of you who will read this already know...but my wonderful, amazing, dear Aunt Debbie passed away last week late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning. She's who I shaved my head for. She was like a second mother to me, and as my uncle told me that night "She loved you like one of her sons".....we were very close. She's been fighting cancer for about 3 years now. Needless to say, it's been a very, very, very bad week. My dad and I got a call (when we're in Groesbeck, about 2 hours away from Tyler), saying she's dying and we needed to get there fast. So we made the 2 hour drive in like 1 1/2 hours. So our entire immediate family got to spend her last hours with her, and it was good for us all to do that. On the other hand, it was the worst experience of my life, watching her die right in front of me...but I wouldn't have been anywhere else that night.
Next, our youth from church were leaving this past Saturday to go to Pineywoods to youth camp, and I was supposed to be going with them. My aunt's funeral was Saturday, so I ended up just driving down to camp later that evening in my own car. So I then spent Saturday-Wednesday at Pineywoods...which was great, as always.
So, I've had very little sleep since last Wednesday...between dreams of my aunt, plywood mattresses at Pineywoods, and obnoxious Jr. High and High School boys in the dorms, you just don't sleep much. Hopefully things will be getting a little back to normal soon. Please keep me and my family in your thoughts and prayers....cause this isn't going to be easy over the long haul. I suppose we were as prepared as we could have been, but you're never prepared...ya know. Thanks guys.
B.B. King...this is a long one folks, sorry
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Last night was waaaaaay overdue. If you remember, we were supposed to go see B.B. King back in January in Tyler. But, two days before he was to perform in Tyler, he was put in the hospital in Galveston, and they cancelled a couple shows. So, they rescheduled....and last night, B.B. King came to Tyler.
This man is amazing. I mean, this dude is 81 years old, and he still has it. He has to sit in a chair to perform due to bad knees and a bad back...but if it weren't for that, he's still got the energy, spunk, charisma, crowd control and pizazz that he had when he was 30. First, B.B. King's Blues Band (his band) came out and played through two instrumental bluesy, jazzy tunes that lasted about 15-20 minutes, giving solos to pretty much each of the band members. The band consisted of a drummer, electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboards and 4 piece horn section (2 trumpets, 2 sax...and different variations). Then they brought out B.B. King. They played for about an hour and 30 minutes, making it just under a 2 hour concert total. Seriously, it was amazing. If you ever get the chance to see him, you really should. Not only is he a legend, he's a fantastic performer. He talked a lot. And it's the most intriguing thing to hear him speak of things he's been through. Segregation, women, life, old age, music, etc. He said him and his band have played in 90 countries around the world. Out of his band members with him right now, his band leader (one of the trumpet players) has been with him 28 years. Another guy (one of the sax players) was the one that introduced him when he walked out on stage...B.B. said that he has introduced him in all 90 countries that they've played in. That's crazy. He didn't say how long he's been with him though.
A little fact/trivia I found on Wikipedia...this isn't all of it, just what I found interesting...
- One of his trademarks is "Lucille", the name he has given to his guitars since the 1950s after he escaped a fire at a juke joint he was playing in. The fire was started by two men who were fighting over a woman named "Lucille". During their fight, they knocked over the bucket of burning kerosene used for heat. When King escaped the building, he realized that he had left his guitar in the burning building. He ran back inside to get it and after learning of what happened, he named his guitar "Lucille" to remind himself not to do it again.
- Boxer Sonny Liston was King's uncle.
- By his own admission, he cannot play chords very well.
- It is reported that King had sexual relationships before age 10, and went on to father seventeen children, to several different mothers.
- Over 52 years B.B. King played at least 15,000 performances.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
So, Friday afternoon...I leave Groesbeck (in my dad's truck which I'm borrowing for the weekend to move stuff), drive 1 hour 45 minutes east back to Rusk, in the pouring rain, behind numerous 18 wheelers and other slow vehicles, while I'm trying to get to my bank at home before they close so I can get my paycheck in before they close...and I made it 15 minutes before they closed. Stopped at home, rested for a few minutes, jump back in the truck and head south to Houston. After 3 hours of XM Comedy, I make it to the H-town.
Saturday evening, we venture out into downtown Houston to the world famous Benihana restaurant for Alexis' b-day and also for Father's Day. 
It doesn't matter how many times I go to a place like this, I always love it. I know the cook is pretty much gonna do the same thing every time, as far as entertaining us, but I still love it. Plus I love Japanese food...mmmmm, especially sushi. If you've never been to a hibachi grill place like this, you gotta go. And no, it's not just sushi, so if that's not your thing don't worry. Really, even if you don't like Chinese or Japanese or Asian food in general, you should still go. There's Shogun's in Tyler and Longview, so you don't even have to go all the way to Houston or Dallas. Heck, I'll even take you. That's how strongly I feel about it! Seriously, I should stop now.
Friday, June 15, 2007
More sharing from the past two days...
First of all, myself and some others with our crew drove over to Mexia (pronounced Muh-hay-uh, for those of you who don't know) to eat dinner last night at a lovely little place called The Farmhouse. It's actually a very good place to eat...food is delicious....steaks and fish/seafood are fantastic. Well, this guy was sitting at the next table down....he probably had to be about 6'2-4", probably somewhere over 300 pounds. Overalls, wife-beater, camo cap...the side buttons of the overalls were not fastened, allowing his love handles and underwear to hang out (which you can't see in the picture, thankfully). The girl sitting next to me (daughter of one of our crew, and longtime friend) and myself dubbed this man "Mr. Mexia", and thought that he should wear a sash stating his title.
Next, this is my collection of things I've found on the ground around my trailer and couple other of our people's trailers. I'm hoping my collection will grow even more...I've already got a nice little militia going.
I've got 4 army men, one car, what looks to be the chest of some superhero type action figure...and a dime. I think they're fighting over the dime right now.
Just wanted to share with everyone...I mentioned that we bought another travel trailer for me last week. Well, we pulled it over here to good ol' Groesbeck on Monday and got that sucker set up. It's not near as nice and new and fancy as my dad's....but it's ALL MINE!!! It's old school, but still nice, and I like it. It suits me. So here's a little shot of my living area...where I spend most of my time when I'm in here.
Got everything I need in here...my computer (with wi-fi, that I'm getting from a trailer 2 lots down), my TV, DVD/VCR combo (and the VCR half will absolutely never be used, what a waste), my XBOX 360 (left of TV), my Vox AC15 and a guitar (case on the right), my camera (it's in the bag sitting in the chair to the left).....it's nice and cozy. That's a couch on the right side of the picture...another 1 1/2 - 2 feet didn't make it into the photo. I sit on the couch, not the chair.
So there you have it....my home away from home. But is it really my home away from home if I spend more time here than I do at my actual home? Which one is actually home then? If I'm here 5 days out of the week, and only at home 2 days out of the week....how does that work?
Friday, June 08, 2007
You're all familiar with bahia grass. It's that lovely weed that sprouts up everywhere, takes over your yard, comes back immediately after you mow it and is impossible to get rid of. Just in case you need a reminder of what bahia grass is...here you go...
So, we're sitting around working this morning, talking about mowing (we'll get to the part about why we're talking about mowing in a minute), and my dad comes up with one of his usual hilarious quotes...
"Bahia grass...it's one of the seven plagues mentioned in Revelations."
Next story...if you don't know, I'm working out of town right now, in a lovely little town called Groesbeck...about 35-40 minutes east of Waco. It's myself, my Dad and 6 other people with our company working on this project. 5 of us are staying in a Mobile Home/RV Park in travel trailers that we pulled over, and the rest in hotels, since they don't have trailers. I'm staying in my Dad's trailer with him....but not for long, cause we just bought another little trailer for me...nothing fancy, but's it's mine!!! So anyways, two days ago the grass around the park had reached it limit for being trimmed and one of our people saw a boy pushing a lawnmower across the park. She asked him what he'd charge to mow around her lot and he said that it wasn't his mower and he'd have to see if he could use it to mow for her. So yesterday, he comes back by and tells her that he'd charge $15 to mow but he has to pay the guy $5 to borrow the mower...so she says that's fine and gives him $20. A few minutes later, a friend of the boy's shows up on a riding mower. The guy in the next trailer over (another guy working with us) gets him to mow around his lot. All of the sudden, the drama starts.....
Apparently, Mr. Lee (the guy who owns the Mobile Home/RV Park) pays a guy, Paco, to mow the park regularly...but he obviously had been slacking, seeing how the bahia grass was nearly up to our knees. Granted there was a lot of rain the week before...but still. So, out of nowhere, Paco shows up. And Paco is pissed. He sees these two boys mowing, and to him, that's a threat to his business. They're diggin in on his profit...even though they're really not...cause Mr. Lee is still paying him...right? So he comes up to the boy on the riding mower and hits him in the head with a stick. Then Paco pulls out a knife........... A KNIFE!!!!! ...... and sticks the knife in the back tire of the mower.
Then Paco proceeded to mow the rest of the park...like nothing had happened.
Just another day in the trailer park....
Thursday, June 07, 2007
So you know about the Fireballs...but here's the new pedal.
My new Catalinbread Silver Kiss....pretty, isn't it?
Monday, June 04, 2007
Ok, so I got a box in the mail today. I was expecting this box. But I was not expecting the extra stuff in it.
See, I've been selling some things on eBay...three guitar guitar pedals that have made their way out of my current setup and a couple other things. I got rid of one overdrive pedal, and have replaced it now with a new, fantastic overdrive pedal. This new, amazingly fantastic overdrive pedal came in the mail today. So I open up the USPS Priority Mail box, get the little box with the pedal out, check out the pedal and put the Priority Mail box back in the passenger seat of my car.
A couple hours later, I decide I'm going to use this box to ship one of the pedals I've sold on eBay. So I pick up the box and start to dump out the packing peanuts into the passenger seat of my car so I can repack them with the pedal I've sold. When I dump out the peanuts, with the peanuts, out fall three (3) Atomic Fireball hard candies. 
Ok, so I'm now confused and stunned and kinda happy...cause I like me some Fireballs.
Ok, so I'm now confused and stunned and kinda happy...cause I like me some Fireballs.
