Friday, December 30, 2005

My last 2005 workday blog

Okay, here it is: the final workday blog for 2005.

Hurrah!

Less than five hours until I'm through working for this year. Another hurrah. As I look back on the year that soon will be, as if that makes sense, there was good...and bad.

The good first, of course. I am still alive and kicking! I have learned many new things this year, including how to do web pages, along with starting up Heavener Online, a web page that has caught on with a lot of former grads and people of Heavener. I have a bunch of new friends and wrote two books online, and also got better as a photographer. Plus, all my family is still also alive and kicking.

Now, the bad. I didn't do some of the things I want to do this year, which seems to be a trend. I am basically in the same position as I was last year, same job, etc. Also, didn't lose weight or take care of the old Craigman body like I should. Now, I'm having to take medication for my blood sugar and blood pressure. Also lost my dog, Harley, in September. That one hurt.

I have some resolutions that will be featured on Jan. 1. I'm still working on figuring them out. I need to make them ones that can be accomplished, not just pipe dreams.

I do hope that Heavener Online continues to grow and more people get hooked on it. The web site has hit a nerve with a lot of people. I can't put in as much time as I would like, but it is fun to work on.

In other fronts: my college bowl picks are stinking. Now 8-5 after losing both games lost night. Chose Georgia Tech and Oregon to win. Utah embarrassed Georgia Tech while Oklahoma upset an Oregon team that had only lost to USC.

My reign as bowl picking champion is coming to an end. Oh well, I believe it is good to share the wealth, although this year is just for fun.

I watched a little of the first game yesterday and caught all of the OU game, even though it didn't end until around 11 p.m. Yes, that is way past my bedtime. I figured OU was going to lose until the interception at the end. All I could think of was that it was going to be a repeat of the Texas Tech game. Some of the calls by the officials resembled that game.

Enough for now.

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Call before you dig!

Okay, I’m about to get hacked.

For the second time in two weeks, our internet is down. Same song, second verse. Somebody forgot to call before digging and sliced the phone line.

This is a major pain.

Weather has been really nice the last few days. Almost springlike, to be accurate, complete with the wind.

We went to Warehouse Willy’s in Poteau last night and ate with my parents. Really nice. I live next to my brother but that was the first time I have seen him in months.

We’re brothers but so much different. Almost like we’re two separate people. Oh yeah, we are. Guess that’s why. In some ways, he’s brilliant. In others, he is a little different. Definitely not a people person. I’m not as much of a people person as I used to be. I blame that on working with the public for way too long.

A big chunk of ear wax just plopped out of my ear and landed on the desk. Wonder why ear wax exists? Doesn’t seem to serve any purpose other than to stop up ears and fall out at bad times. Haven’t ever had to go to the doctor to remove ear wax, but hear it is painful.

Guess I got lucky there.

The wife let our puppy, Bailey, sleep with us last night. She did pretty good, I guess. She went to sleep and didn’t bother me. I always wake up a couple of times during the night. My lack of snoring must have bothered her and she would turn and look at me.

Woke up once and she (Bailey, not my wife) had her butt right in my face. Glad she wasn’t gassy (both the dog and since I’m mentioning it, the wife also).

I’ve been trying to figure out for years the way to start something that will make me filthy rich. The plan is to get it up and running, then sell it to some foolish investor for enough money that I can fart off for the rest of my life, or at least until the money runs out.

Main problem is figuring out what to do. So many people can touch a pile of poop and turn it into gold. Unfortunately, I must not have the Midas touch. Either that, or my refusal to touch poop might have something to do with it.

I’ve got several things on the side that does pretty well, including rental properties, my web site and photography work. Sadly, none of them do well enough to make me rich.

I know it will have to be something via the internet that will draw in thousands of people a day. I refuse to do porn, so that isn’t an option. It needs to have something that a lot of people will be interested in that hasn’t been done before.

That is where I am currently stuck. So far, I have been thinking too small. Need to enlarge my thinking. Here are my strengths: writing, photography, sports and surfing the internet. I looked in the want ads for a job with the following job skills: Looking for person who likes to surf the internet, answer his emails and willing to be paid lots of money. All those positions must be filled.

My weaknesses are: lack of time, money, energy and brilliance. So, I will welcome any suggestions. Heavener Online does okay and I’m fortunate enough to have some good supporters, but I’m dealing with a limited amount of people. Need to multiply that by thousands.

When I posted my books on the internet, I thought that would attract a lot more attention than it has. The first one The Old Man’s Request got a good reception and a lot of readers. The next one, One for the Ages, didn’t do so well. It was a sports book and I guess most guys have something better to do. Either that, or they thought it sucked.

I’m writing another one now, but it’s so silly and crude that I haven’t posted the link for the general public. Just gave it to a few people who also go for silly stuff.

All it would take is for one of the books to hit it big. I sent The Old Man’s Request off to one literary agent to see if they would be interested in representing the book. Within a week, I got a response back from a dadgum intern. Denied!

So far, I am 0-2 in seeking literary agents.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

If only...

If I could, I would make a lot of changes. Yep, I'd get stuff straightened out. No, this is not a New Year's resolution blog. That comes later. These are just some of the things I would like to change.

1. I wish our brain was more like a computer. With a computer, if you have a file you don't need, all you do is delete it and empty the trash bin. Wouldn't it be cool if you could do that with your brain?

Just think of all the free space you could clear up. Starting off, I would wipe clean the words from all songs I don't like. I'll hear some crappy song on the radio and remember the words the rest of the day. That to me is wasting precious hard drive space.

Have a bad memory, like a date with a crazed chick? Trash it. Seen something really disgusting like your brother with his mouth full of smokey turkey and dressing? Not exactly a Kodak moment, eh? Delete it.

You would have to be careful and not delete all your mistakes, just leave enough so the mistake wouldn't be repeated. It would also be good if you had access to other people's hard drives so if you got souced at the New Year's Eve party and told your boss what you really thought of him or her, that could be erased before getting back to the office and canned.

2. I think the aging process needs changed. A person comes into the world as a baby and is basically useless for many years. Near the end of a person's life, same thing. I wish a person could constantly continue getting better until their death, which would come for most people at the prime of their life. But at say 90, not 30.

3. Rap music could be banned. Black rap is bad enough. White rappers would have to go back to being trashmen or whatever.

4. Women would realize that guys DO not want clothes for Christmas. Yes, I know you are trying to be logical and efficient. We want fun stuff for Christmas. Not clothes, unless we specifically ask for them. If we don't ask for that splendid shirt/tie combo, don't buy it. We'll have a yucky feeling from then on. It'll be like oh yeah, that's the shirt and tie I got instead of Madden 2006.

5. Four day work weeks. No, not 10 hours for four days. Eight hours, four days a week. Same pay, of course. Face it, most people aren't worth crap on Mondays or Fridays. Just let them stay home. Same thing with extra hours. After a certain time, productivity goes down. People get bored and want to do something else.

6. Ties would be outlawed. At some point in history, men stopped wearing those silly overcoats all the time and many got rid of the top hats. I think it is time that ties should go the same way. After all, women aren't required to wear them.

7. Everybody be given mulligans. In golf, sometimes a kind partner will allow you to have a mulligan when your first tee shot doesn't dribble past the women's tee. I think life should be the same way. At first, I had thought about maybe three per life. But upon further reflection, it would be nice to have one every month. Had a messy marriage? "Yes Pat, I'd like to take a mulligan on the marriage please!" "Why sure," Pat would answer. "Vanna, let's give him a mulligan." Unlike my cell phone minutes, they would roll over every month if not used.

8. If you go watch a movie and it sucks (or you get mad about being forced to watch all the advertisements prior to the movie), you get your money back. You get something from Wally World and it bites, you get your money back. What bugs me are the misleading previews. You think you're going to see a certain movie, and it turns out to be something entirely different. Or all the funny parts are on the preview. Then, you get your money back.

9. You can tell your wife that you don't want to watch that sappy chick flick for the seventh time without hurting her feelings. Yes, I know, this is a stretch. But by gosh, it is my wishes!

10. Last, but not least, my cable reception was decent. Fox is so bad that it's like watching television from the 60s.

That's it. Not asking for much, eh?

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Back to work I go...

Ugh. After a glorious three-day weekend, I must return to work today. Ugh, again.

We had a good time for the most part. On Sunday, went to the mother-in-law's house for lunch. The weather cleared up enough that we were able to have an excellent football game in the backyard. Just me and the young ones.

Sometimes my studliness even amazes me. Other times, I realize the days of studliness have sadly passed (if they ever existed). I can still bring the old gun out of retirement and zipped a few passes through the air. Didn't always know where they were going, but that just added to the excitement.

Got drug to the store yesterday morning. I'd heard about all these excellent bargains so joined the wife on a trip to Wally World. I oughta sue the weenies. The only things that were on sale were crap like lotions, perfumes, Christmas wrappings and all that. No games, electronics or anything that might be considered halfway useful.

The wife stocked up on Christmas stuff. She was almost giddy about the money that we saved. Technically, I don't consider this a saving until we actually have to spend the money, which in my thinking wouldn't have been until next December. Yep, just when I thought we were getting a break from Christmas spending, it comes back.

The weather was rather nice for Dec. 26 in the Heavtown. Got outside with the camera for a while and roamed, one of my favorite activities. Read a little and then took off on another exciting adventure. We went back to my mother-in-law's!

Talk about exciting. We were going to take the aunt and uncle back to the airport and then go watch The Family Stone. Due to my excellent driving, we got to the airport early and decided to check out the theater. We were going to watch the 5:30 showing, but were fortunate enough to get in at the 4:10 showing.

Actually, it was supposed to be the 4:10 showing. The pre-movie crap didn't start until 4:25. I was appalled! Actually, just a little hacked. Then we got to watch about 20 minutes of ads and previews.

It bothers me every time that I go to the theater and have to watch ads for crap like Coke, cell phones and Bod. Speaking of Bod, I don't remember giving them permission to film me for their ads and certainly didn't receive any income.

Surely the theaters receive some sort of kickback for forcing us to watch ads when we paid money to see a movie. Why doesn't they reduce the ticket price? It's a scam!

Because of my outrage, I am going to boycott movies for the rest of the week! That will teach them. I urge you to do the same. Don't go watch Narnia, King Kong (who doesn't have a dong), Fun with Dick and Jane or any of the other shows!

We must fight back! Actually, I wasn't going to watch any movies for the rest of the week, but it sounded better as a form of protest instead of my sitting at home on my shapely rear (no oxymoron there!) watching college football bowl games.

Forgot to add that I finished up Band of Brothers. Most excellent if I do say so myself, which I did. Actually, I wrote it instead of saying it. But still an excellent series.

I must leave you now.

Monday, December 26, 2005

'Twas the morning after Christmas

'Twas the morning after Christmas
by renowned poet CRAIG HALL

(With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore, the original author!)

'Twas the morning after Christmas
as I walk through the house;
Nobody's awake, aside from the barking dogs;
The Christmas tree looks lonely
as all the presents have been taken away.

There's a huge mess by the front door
yes, I wish St. Nicholas was here
to help carry the trash out to the road
so I don't freeze my shapely rear.

It takes me six trips to remove
all the wrapping paper and boxes
my wife stacked in front of the door.
Yes, this is a day that the trashmen
will dread for the rest of the year.

Our kitchen is a mess
despite my wife's best efforts.
The fridge is stocked with leftovers
we shall be eating until the flowers bloom.

My checking account is drained
can somebody give me a loan?
I've had stomach pains for two days
gimme some Pepto please!
I need relief from my eating ways.

The man gave me a day off today
one that I sorely need to recover
from the football game I foolishly played.
You're too old, they all say!
I refuse to listen, of course
and tend to forget I am no longer eighteen.

The stores are all having sales today!
Hurrah, I say, and hope to pass
but that depends on what my wife shall say.
There are gifts to exchange and half off
a lot of crap we really do not need.

Oh Visa, Master Card, Discover too!
Please lower your rates and don't charge
us poor, broke souls late fees
so we don't have to go bankrupt!

Back to work tomorrow, oh what a pain!
But for today at least, I am free.
Christmas is such a special time...
I'm just glad it's only once a year.

Sunday, December 25, 2005

The Official Christmas Blog

I have survived the annual exchange of Christmas presents at the Hall household.

Yes, I did get clothes. They were nice clothes, but still clothes. I shall refrain from making comments other than to point out that I received two ties! It's like I was being mocked! They know I dislike wearing ties, but they were waving it in my face.

Hopefully, my look did not reveal the true horror I was feeling inside.

I do like gifts and feel fortunate that we had a good Christmas. Could have done without the attire, though, especially the ties.

Got the Band of Brothers, the HBO series based on the book by Stephen Ambrose. Watched it for about five hours last night. This is so good, about the best thing I've seen done for television or cable.

I don't believe I have ever seen any World War II movie that was more realistic than this. When the guys are bunkered down in their fox holes in Bastogne, you can feel the pain. A little too graphic on wounds, but it's not trying to make war seem to be some high adventure, like so many movies do.

This morning, I actually slept until 6:45. That's good for me. My body tried to wake up earlier but I overruled it. We are going to my mother-in-law's house in a little while. My wife wants to go early and stay late, so I'll probably make separate travel arrangements. I'd much rather waste a lot of money on gas over spending the whole day away.

We aren't eating until 11. Everybody else is rushing around, getting ready. I am playing the delay game, writing this fine blog you are reading. I'll show up at roughly 10:50 or so, gotta give a little gap just in case of bad traffic, train.
It will be a madhouse. Everybody is nice, just too many people and noise for the old Craigman. Dang weather is wet and cold, which might mean no outdoor football games! Crappola! I was hoping the weather would be nice and I could play quarterback for both teams and show off the golden arm that holds the Heavener High School game, season and career record for interceptions thrown.

Yep, you didn't realize I was such a success, eh? I threw five interceptions in a game my junior year against Hartshorne. Three of them to the same little Indian guy! You know, you have to work pretty hard to hold school records and I'm proud of it. I should have a plaque or something.

The rest of the family is actually discussing clothing choices. Tee hee. I'll give that a lot of thought, like until I see whatever is clean.

Must go. Have a Merry Christmas.

Saturday, December 24, 2005

The Official Christmas Eve Blog

And a Happy Christmas Eve to everybody.

I must make an admission to start off this blog. I am a big enough man (yes, some would say too large) to admit when wrong.

I have been dreading having company spend the night for the last few days and expressed those opinions on this blog. Okay. No need to dread. They were well behaved and we had a good time.

Here's the scoop: They got here yesterday morning, but of course their luggage was still in Houston. They had to wait from 9 yesterday morning until 1:45 yesterday afternoon to get their luggage.

And didn't even get a Happy Meal as a gesture of whoever they flew on as an apology. They were at the household when I got home. They are from California, so that is reason enough to be a little worried. I had met her before and she was okay. Their two sons were also okay. And yes, the uncle was a good guy

Felt a little sorry for them. They had to leave last night at around midnight (PCT) so they had not slept much. We went out to eat at the Southern Belle. Got there early, around 5:30 or so, but the catfishers had already flocked the joint and we had to wait to be seated.

Food was good. I refuse to eat bottom dwellers and went for the charbroiled burger. Good, as always, but not as good as the world famous Craig burgers.

After we ate, the women went to Wally World. We drove around and showed him Heavener. After the five minute tour, we came home and luckily found a football game to watch. There was an exciting duel to see who could fall asleep first.

Sheri's uncle won, but kept waking back up. We hung out and watched football! I got to go to bed when I was tired so I never even got grump. Only got in trouble once. I thought they had gone to bed, so that was when I made like Flash and zipped into the bedroom. Apparently they came back in to tell me good night and there was no Craigman!

The wife expressed her disappointment in that, but overall, everything went really good.

I woke up at like 5:30 this morning. Ugh. Maybe tomorrow or the next day I will actually get some decent sleep.

We'll be opening the presents here in a little while. So I'll report back later on how I fared. Just hope there weren't any clothes.

Friday, December 23, 2005

Santa has cometh and goneth

I survived my annual visit as Santa Claus this morning.

Every year, I wind up doing this. It is a good way to get out of work for a while, at least usually, but when i agree to do it, I forget how hot and itchy the stupid costume is to wear. Then, while wearing it, I tell myself that I will never be this dumb again.

I am that dumb again, of course. Had a lot of people come in, but few kids. All the old women coming in were wanting to sit in my lap and whisper sweet nothings in my ear, but I wouldn't let them.

That was a joke, by the way.

One of the kids that visited Santa was a little Hispanic one, about eight years old. He didn't seem all that keen on the whole Santa deal.

"Where's your big, fat belly?" he asked.

"Santa's been watching his carbs," I said, like the little guy even has a clue what a carb is. I'm not all that sure myself.

"You been dieting?"

I wanted to say I was wormy, like some people said I was last year. Instead, I just nodded my head. I got him to sit on my lap but don't have a clue what he asked for. In fact, I don't have a clue what any of the kids wanted for Christmas. I'd be a terrible Santa. Plus, it would be past my bedtime.

Anyway, I gave him a Candy Cane and while walking away, he asked, "Does your wife bite you on the neck?"

I had to think about this for a second. The real wife doesn't and as far as I know Mrs. Claus doesn't give hickeys.

"No, she doesn't," I said.

"Mrs. Claus has turned into a vampire," he said.

Okay. After that, I got bored and came into my office to check email and return a few phone messages. I looked up and a little girl was looking at old Santa with a strange look on her face. One that almost seemed to be saying, "What the crap is Santa doing surfing the net?"

Or something like that. I came back out in the lobby and got her to sit on the leg. After she bailed, I decided it was time for Santa to retire since he was hungry and we had some barbeque sandwiches in the break room that were calling to me.

I changed and started scarfing down a sandwich when Dusty, the guy who works with me, came back and asked if I had quit for the day. "Uh, yeah," I said, "why?"

He informed me that his daughters were getting ready to come see Santa. I switched back into the Santa suit and waited for them. The oldest girl is five or six or seven, and was eyeing me carefully.

She came over and said, "you're not Santa! You're Craig!"

Busted, I was. I did what any normal adult would do. I lied. Craig had gone home for lunch. She was not buying it with your money. So her little sisters got on old Santa's lap and took pictures. When the oldest daughter wasn't looking, I snuck off into the bathroom and performed a quick change act. I snuck out the back door and circled around to the front.

When I walked in, she looked up at me like I was a ghost or something. She twirled her head around, looking for Santa, but this thoroughly confused her. I walked up and said hello and if she had seen Santa.

She was totally confused after that. Yes!

Sheri, her aunt and uncle are stranded in Fort Smith. I know you will find this hard to believe, but their luggage got lost. So they landed approximately 9:45 this morning, but their luggage wasn't going to get to Fort Smith until 1:45 this afternoon.

Now just how hard is it to keep up with a couple of bags? Maybe this will tire them out and they'll want to retire early so I can get to sleep. Somehow I doubt that will happen.

Enough for now. I must be going.

The eve of Christmas Eve

Ugh. Had a scary thought this morning. Our visitors are from California. Just having somebody from California is a concern, but then I remembered the time factor. They are two hours behind us!

That means they'll want to stay up even later! Not good! Then, I fear the jet lag factor. Crappola. The wife informed me yesterday that she was going shopping with her aunt this evening and I could show her uncle the sights.

Sights? In Heavener? That'll take about five minutes. He'll probably be amazed though, coming from a big city. I'll make a quick run out to Cedar Lake and then circle back through Hontubby to show him the shacks on the side of the hill.

I figure they'll want to play some silly board game. I don't really like playing board games, mainly because I suck at them and don't like to lose to anybody, especially my wife, who should be on the pro board game circuit. I did kick her tail in Yahtzee the other night. But I was a good winner.

After I ran around the house and told everybody, I taunted her for several minutes until she started crying. Just kidding. I didn't act that way. I was just glad the game was over and I could go to bed.

My parents came over last night for a while to do our Christmas. It was good. It got better later as everybody split for Wal-Mart at 8:45 p.m.!!!!

I had the house to myself until I was asleep. Didn't do anything other than read, but it was still nice to actually have a quiet house.

Another puppy went bye bye yesterday. Now down to two girls. I'd hate to be a dog, especially a mother dog. I'm sure Daisy starts looking around and wonders where the chuppy male is? He was just here earlier, now he's gone. Four of them have disappeared in that fashion.

Must be hard on her, but she has yet to complain. One of the remaining girls goes up and down the steps like she's a champion. It's the little one that we named Bailey. The one the boys named Gracie will climb up the steps, but isn't much on going down.

I'm playing Santa Claus in a little over an hour. I tend to do this every year. Sometime between actually doing it and agreeing to be Santa, I forget how uncomfortable the suit is, along with the fake beard.

I'll probably sweat off five pounds. Maybe that will keep the customers away this afternoon. We're doing a Dirty Santa deal today at lunch. We'll eat some bbq from KP's and then do the gift thing.

It's sad to admit this, but I don't have a clue what I'm giving away. Anyway, have a good day.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Consider me humbled

My daughter is in seventh grade, 12-years old.

Two weeks ago, she took the ACT. She came to visit last night and brought along the results of her test. She scored a 17 on it. A 17! in the seventh grade.

Needless to say, but I will anyway so I'll have something to start off this blog with, that's the same score I made as a senior.

Ugh. I'm happy with her, but like the title says, I am humbled. I do have a defense though! I was not overwhelmed by making a 17 on my ACT and could care less back then. All you had to get was a 17 to qualify for college and I wasn't even sure I wanted to go to college.

I also took the test on a Saturday morning at 8 after playing an away football game the night before. I got roughly four hours of sleep and felt like crap. I blew through the test so I could get out of there, much like I did with most of my school work.

From what I recall, the math part killed me. Anything with algebra and advanced math was beyond my grasp. I didn't care for math then and still don't. I never have used calculus or geometry in my adult life and don't plan on starting.

I have a calculator that does really well in figuring stuff that goes beyond the number of fingers I have on my hand.

I scored really well on the English part of the test, and history, if that was even part of it. I also stunk in science. I was satisfied, though, never expecting some 25 years later for my 12-year old daughter to tie me on her first attempt.

She has no clue about tying me and I plan to keep it that way. I look back on school and wish I had applied myself more. For the most part, I coasted. That continued through college as my declared major was journalism but I spent more time having fun than I did studying.

I did okay at junior college, but struggled mightily at OSU. I was easily swayed by my friends. If they wanted to go out for a night on the town, I was game, even if there was a test coming up the next day.

In journalism, I did pretty good. If the class interested me, I was fine. If it was boring, I stunk.

One class that surprised me was statistics. Several people who were good students had trouble with statistics. I found it interesting and the teacher kept me interested and I got an "A". Prior to that point, I wasn't really sure that OSU gave out "A's".

Some of my friends got them, but I was skeptical. I would have done better to work for a few years first. But I messed up. Now, I would love to go back to school and know things would be different.

Not that I can, of course.

Anyway, that was probably boring. I have an admission: I really don't feel like working this week. We have been a lot busier than we should, not that it is a surprise. We seldom have the chance to coast any more. It does make the day and week go by fast.

Pardon me, for skipping around, but I have several thoughts filling my gourd. We're having company tomorrow.

My wife's aunt and uncle are coming to stay with us tomorrow. I've met her before. My wife says he wants to get to know me. Those are scary words. I'm sure things will be fine, but I don't much care for overnight visitors. It's like you are required to entertain. If people visit for only a short time, I can deal with that. But an extended visit goes beyond my entertainment capacity, plus, they might expect me to stay up past my bed time.

I've never really liked spending the night with friends, or having them stay with me. When I hit a certain point, I'm ready to hit the sack. It's like somebody switches my off button.

I generally try not to be rude. No, really. I am kind and considerate. At least until I get tired. Then I turn into a lion and tend to growl.

Our puppy crop has dwindled. Down to three now and the last male is being sold today, leaving us with two females. Naturally, they are a little on the wild side. They're good dogs, but are like whirlwinds. The males were all calm and collected. Not the girls. We decided on names for them: Bailey and Gracie. Usually, it is after you name a puppy that somebody wants to buy them, at least that's what happened with the male puppies.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

A Christmas Blog

Ahoy, ye faithful. As my gift to you loyal readers, I give you a Christmas blog.

This is in lieu of presents, of course.

Speaking of presents, next year I believe I will change my Christmas philosophy. Instead of burdening myself with the costs and worries of giving gifts, I shall give my love and friendship instead.

I mean, really, what more could a person ask for from me? Is that not the greatest gift that I can give? No? A big-screen television with a built in TiVO would be better, you say? Shame!

Going along with this thinking, I will not be bothered if friends and family forego giving me presents. I like presents as much as the next person, but if I'm not giving them out, I certainly don't expect any.

Also, I shall bypass any family activities that involve lots of people gathering together and talking rather loud. I will let my family join in activities like this, but I shall abstain and stay home eating Oreos and pumpkin pie. I will let them bring me a big plate loaded down with mashed potatoes, smoked turkey and ham, along with my other favorites.

Just think what this would do to a person's stress level? I'd probably be able to skip my blood pressure medicine for a whole month without the worries of gift buying and family activities. I also believe staying away from Christmas parties in general would be a good resolution. As I mentioned a few days ago, this just isn't my cup of tea.

I don't do large crowds well, or enjoy them. I believe this will help me enjoy the true meaning of Christmas, something I believe is typically lost in today's era. Plus, it will help with the old pocketbook.

Some people might say that I already give my love and friendship. Uh, yeah? What's your point? Are you saying I'm just wanting to be cheap? That I don't want to fight the holiday crowds? That family gatherings are a pain in the posterior?

That might be the driving point behind all this. Will it work? Probably not. What would the wife say? She would have a cow, as would the chitlins.

So I know this won't work, but a man can dream, can't he? It's not like I dislike Christmas. Some of my fondest memories are of Christmas. But now it is easy to see why there is so much depression and stress on people as they go through what should be a joyous time.

UPDATED ENTRY: I forgot to mention this earlier, but it goes in well with Christmas. I never complain, but hate to get clothes for Christmas. That seems like a major ripoff. But I'll get some and act like it's the best present I've gotten in years.

Sometimes, I can be a good actor. Then again, it might be that I just try and keep this goofy look on my face the whole time. Some people say I have a goofy look on my face all the time.

It is my belief that presents should be cool stuff. I can get clothes any time during the year. I should get guy toys and tools for presents. I especially like camera toys, but know that won't happen. Money is also good, along with gift cards.

A few Christmas quotes for your entertainment pleasure:

"Roses are reddish
Violets are bluish
If it weren't for Christmas
We'd all be Jewish"
--Benny Hill (almost caught myself typing in Hinn instead of Hill)

"The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannon have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. This wasn't for any religious reasons. They couldn't find three wise men and a virgin."
--Jay Leno

And last, but not least:

"Oh look, yet another Christmas TV special! How touching to have the meaning of Christmas brought to us by cola, fast food, and beer...Who'd have ever guessed that product consumption, popular entertainment and spirituality would mix so harmoniously?"
--Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

12-21-05

It's kind of yucky weather outside. Cold and damp, but a warm front is supposed to be rolling in.

Several people have asked how I keep up with all the stuff I have going on with work, Heavener Online, etc., so I decided to give you a glimpse into a typical day.

During the work week, I always get up at 5 a.m. Yes, I know, it's pretty early. But that's the only time I can get stuff done without much interruption.

First thing I do is get some caffeine into the system as it is 5 a.m. Then, I make the trek down the driveway to get the morning edition of the Southwest-Times Record out of Fort Smith. I'd rather have the Tulsa paper, but it costs about twice as much.

While nature is calling, I'll skim through the paper and see if anything interesting is going on. I start at sports and skip all things Arkansas, hoping for some decent coverage of Oklahoma stuff. Usually, I am disappointed as like most things in Fort Smith, they want the attention and money coming out of eastern Oklahoma, but don't want to bother keeping us up to date on a lot of stuff we care about. The paper is much better than the television stations out of Fort Smith, especially the sports.

After that, I arrive in the office and turn the computer on. If I am working on something, I have to find out where my wife put in while she cleaned the office. I check and answer emails, of which I usually have a lot.

I do my morning Heavener Online stuff. Sometimes there's a lot of stuff to do. Other times, I have to find something to at least have one new thing per day.

Then, I'll either work on some pictures or write a chapter in the newest book I am writing. It is rather silly, but fun to write. I'll try and do the blog if I have time. If not, I try and crank it out sometime during the day.

This usually takes me up to 7 a.m. I wake the kids and wife up, which is sometimes a challenge, then go outside and feed our pack of dogs. We still have the four puppies, Daisy and Buddy, along with Gabby and Maggie.

If it is Monday, I also haul the trash out. It's amazing that we can fill up three trash cans every week, but I seldom get a break.

I follow this excitement up by taking a shower. Yes, the Craigman showers every day! Complete with shampoo for my few hairs left and a lot of soap. I'll get dressed, yes, the Craigman also believes in wearing clothes. If it's October through April, I'll waste a few minutes complaining about being forced to wear ties to work, not that it does any good.

Next up is breakfast, the most important meal of the day! I'll have a bowl of cheerios and either a piece of toast, banana or maybe even some biscuits. I have to take my medicine for blood sugar and blood pressure, and also pop a few vitamins. This is swigged down courtesy of a small glass of orange juice.

I also go through the paper again, checking out the news and other sections. After that, it is time to go to work. I'll usually take the youngest son to school and fight the madness that is the middle school traffic jam and arrive to work a little before 8.

The first hour is the best one of the day. I'll check the insufficient list and bounce a few checks. I know, it's hard to believe but some of our customers do write checks when funds are not available.

I'll check email again and try to catch up on any work that is left over from the previous day. The phone starts ringing around 8:30 and seldom stops. We open the doors at 9 and the flood of people arrive.

I spend a lot of time talking to customers either in person or on the phone. During breaks, I'll check my email and also try to work on whatever else needs to be done. That includes trying to get hold of past-due customers and clean up some loans where something was messed up.

That goes on until 11:30, when it's time for more nourishment. I usually go home to eat with my wife. We'll do whatever for the next hour and then go back to work. Sometimes, I get a break and take the work to Poteau or have a meeting. The other times it's the same old stuff, talking to customers, etc.

At times, I feel like a guidance counseller, both for financial and others. I get to hear a lot of stuff that really isn't part of my job. If a couple is having troubles, I'll hear about that along with what little Johnny has been doing.

We close at 4 and I leave sometime around there. If the weather is nice, I try to get outside and take some pictures and play with the dogs. If not, I work on the computer or play video games. Yes, it is sad that a 42-year old man plays video games. But I enjoy them.

Sometimes we go to the store or to Fort Smith. Mostly, we watch a movie or just hang out. I'm not much of a television watcher, aside from sports, and don't enjoy most the crud on television these days. I do watch HGTV, Discovery, TLC and The History Channel, but not much else.

I try to get to bed around 10 or so. I read a little and go to sleep to get my beauty rest, something I need more of. Both the sleep and the beauty part. Then, it's the same thing with only a slight variation the following day.

Now you know more than you ever hoped to find out about my day.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

12-20-05

Our internet was knocked out from around noon yesterday until late in the evening. Apparently a phone line was cut somewhere between Stigler and Keota.

People, that just isn't right! In this age where communications are so vital, it takes 10 hours to repair a line? Demand justice and answers. Call Bush, the governor, or whoever. This is the second time over the last few months this has happened.

Until some disaster like this happens, people don't realize how vital something is. We use the internet at work for several things, other than games. We pull credit, do email, check the values on autos and do lien searches on collateral.

Because of suffering and damages, I would settle for one of those money cards the government gives out in times of disaster. Maybe a thousand bucks would settle me down. Along with one of those thousands of RV's the government bought that is now parked in Arkansas.

The temperature outside is 33 degrees. It feels much warmer, but there is snow falling. A light snow, but still a little white stuff here and there. We continue to be in a serious drought and could use whatever precipitation we can get.

Glanced at the Fort Smith paper this morning before writing this. Saw the Southside High School is trying to build an indoor practice facility for $600,000. This comes, of course, after Northside High School announced plans to do the same thing earlier this year.

Now, I am all for athletics. But with the problems all schools are facing these days, it might be better to improve facilities and increase the pay of teachers, not build some practice facility for football just because others have one.

We used to have an indoor practice facility for football when the weather was really bad. It was the gym. Last time I checked, both schools in Fort Smith have gyms.

As many of you know, my reign on the school board is coming to an end. I told the administrators a couple of weeks ago that I had decided to let somebody else get complaining phone calls for a while. Then, it was in the Ledger last week so it is official.

Since I am now a lame duck school board president, I feel like it is necessary to try and build some legacy to tell people in the future that this was done while I chaired the school board. We have the new storm shelter, but that isn't enough!

How about a new domed facility for football and basketball. We could also have graduations, concerts and other big deals so it wouldn't just be for football. It would probably cost in excess of $5 million, but I know everybody would be willing to have their property taxes thousands of dollars each year so they can attend sporting events and be comfortable.

I even have a name for it: The Halladome. Cool, eh? See, there are Holidomes at Holiday Inn's, but this would be rather unique. We could build it big enough to hold the county tournament in and people wouldn't be crammed together like they were sardines and sweat several pounds off.

Just an idea. I am forming a study group to evaluate the costs. If you want to contribute a lot of money, just let me know.

Also noticed that an official from Mexico (the foreign secretary) said it is "stupid" and "underhanded" for the United States to build a fence between our two countries. I can understand his anger. If the criminals could escape our country by simply crossing a river to escape justice and never return again, I would be upset if somebody shut this off.

Not many of our people want to slip off in Mexico though. We have a lot of good and honest Hispanics that cross over, but not all of them are exactly the cream of the crop.

Last night, the wife, youngest son, a friend and I went to watch King Kong. Excellent movie. Special effects are awesome. This was done by Peter Jackson, the same guy that did the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

A little long at just over three hours and boring for a while until Kong makes his grand appearance, but still an excellent movie. The only thing that really bothered me, other than keeping me up past my bedtime, was worrying if this was actually King of Queen Kong.

The title says King Kong, but he appeared to be lacking any certain male body parts. That might be because if it is appropriate to the rest of his body, it might be rather noticeable and the director didn't want to distract the viewers.

Then again, that might be why there isn't any Queen Kong or Little Kongs running around. Still, an excellent movie. Kind of makes you hate the people for what they do to the King at the end when all he wants to do is spend time with his honey.

He only bit the head off one person and the guy was trying to shoot him. Plus, he would be excellent defense in case any T-Rex's tried to damage our country. I guess he would be a good deterrant to stopping illegal aliens from crossing the Rio Grande.

Enough for now. I must go.

Monday, December 19, 2005

12-19-05

Ugh, it's Monday. It's such a damper, going from the weekend to the work week. Mondays are usually bad, but hopefully we are close enough to Christmas that people will be more concerned with shopping instead of visiting us.

Aside from getting a couple of things for the kids to give the wife, I am officially finished shopping! Gimme a golf clap, people!

With five shopping days left! I didn't even get a gift card, either. I think I messed up on a couple of gifts, according to my sources, but that is why the stores have the return desk.

I still haven't gotten all that excited about Christmas. I miss the way you felt as a child, the excitement of opening gifts and being with the family. Perhaps it's just another hint that I'm getting old.

I still like a lot of things about Christmas, of course, including the giving of gifts and seeing the smiles when they receive something they like. I'd like to get the kids a gag gift just to watch their reaction, but I imagine the wife would exercise her veto powers over that.

There needs to be some way to take the stress out of Christmas. It should be a time of celebration and joy, not all the hustle and bustle. We had planned on having a nice and somewhat simple Christmas at the mother-in-law's house, but that was before a good majority of her relatives decided to visit.

Now, it's going to be a madhouse. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough to sneak outside. I don't have anything against my wife's kinfolk. Most of them are really nice. I just have a quota as far as screaming people in a house, and know this will go beyond my limits.

I know two things: One, the food will be good; Two, I'll get questioned as far as financing by somebody.

I'm used to this, of course. It's hard to escape from it. After all, people call me at home all the time and say things like, "Say Craig, you are looking especially svelte! I was just wondering, what would the payments be on fifty thousand for ten years or so?"

Okay, I must admit, that isn't exactly what they say. It is usually a different amount and years. I know this will surprise people, but my brain does not have a financial calculator inside. Some would question if my brain actually has a memory disc along with a calculator.

People, I don't know what the payments would be at home. I'm sorry. I do not carry a calculator around with me. That would be far geekier than I choose to be. If I am home and want to figure out payments would be, I go to the internet and do some research.

That isn't as bad as total strangers calling me at home to try and get approved for a loan to buy some junker that costs $5,000 and won't book out for that, but it's a really good vehicle and they would like to add the tag, taxes, insurance and the boy's birthday bash in with the loan.

What do I do in this situation? I refer them to my buddy, old Swiftwater. Not really. Just tell them to call the bank during WORK HOURS.

We have a lot of good customers who never cause any problems. Others aren't so great. Back in the old SNB days, for some reason another bank did something that irritated me. So for a couple of weeks, every credit challenged person who entered the door looking for finance was told to go to that bank and talk to a particular loan officer.

"That's the kind of loans they like," we'd say. It was all done for fun, until we got the report showing liens and titles filed and we saw the names of several people we had referred.

Anyway, enough for now. I must start my Monday.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

12-18-05

I'm not part of the television show Survivor, but consider myself to be one.

After all, I have survived two trips to Wal-Mart in two days, the bank's Christmas card and seven years of marriage.

Today was our seventh anniversary. Doesn't seem more than 10. Just kidding. Actually, it doesn't even seem to be ten. I had got her a present earlier so I could get mine last month, so went with the card today. She was happy, which is always good.

Usually, she isn't all that crazy with my choice of cards, as I usually go with the silly ones, but for this one, I went with the gushy kind similar to the ones she always gets me.

I know you're probably getting tired of hearing about bathroom tales at Wally World, but I must share one. We went by the store after church. I was needing to tee tee, so I went to the bathroom. While standing at the urinal doing my business, a guy came into the next stall.

Apparently, his plumbing was working right. Something to do with the on and off valve. I guess he wondered why the water wasn't turned on and said, "Man, I hate these prostate problems!"

Never seen the guy before in my life. No "How do you do?" or any other comment, just get to hear about him having prostate problems.

Guy was about my age, I guess, not that I examined him all that close. That's against the male rules in the bathrooms, especially while wee weeing.

"Sorrry to hear that," I said. Like, there was something else to say. I hope that was sympathetic enough. I've had a little bout with prostate problems myself and yes, they aren't much fun. But the only stranger who I let know about my problem was the doctor. It turned out much worse for me: I had surgery.

I think I wound up getting one of those plumber snakes rodded up my you know what. Cleared out the blockage, or whatever the problem was. Charged almost as much as a plumber, also.

We had our Christmas Party for the bank last night at Fianna Hills in Fort Smith. Overall, it was okay, better than most. I have discovered that since I have given up hitting the old beer, that I really don't care for social outings all that much.

A lot of people felt the same way. Nobody at my table even had a beer. We were all waiting for the opportunity to leave and return home. The main meal was some fancy name for roast. Mine was cooked. Others looked like the butcher just threw a slab of meat on the table. A little red and bloody.

They also had some kind of fancy chicken crap. I wouldn't touch that with somebody else's tongue. Also had potatoes that were covered up with some mystery sauce. Being a picky eater, I bypassed those two entrees.

We held up the line waiting for the rolls. I'm a bread man and made everybody in my line wait until they delivered the goods.

They had a little trivia contest to name television theme songs. I nailed the first one in record time. It was the theme from Star Trek. People were amazed at my brilliance in knowing useless trivia like this. I think they were just jealous that I won a $50 gift certificate!

The next contest was Seinfield. I knew that, also, but wanted to let somebody else win as that is the kind of giving person that I am.

Had a DJ and everything. Nobody got out on the dance floor until they played Amazing by Lonestar. After that, it seemed to break the dancing block and a lot of people started making their way to the dance floor. But not me. I don't dance anymore. Probably because I don't drink anymore.

If people are going to make fun of me, they are going to have to come up with some other reason other than my silly white guy dancing routine.

We got out around 9:30 or so, not too bad. Stayed up until 11 or so and then got up at 5:30 this morning. Ugh. I did finish up a project that needed to be done, so that was good.

Must go. Until next time, I bid you farewell.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

12-17-05

My wife calls it cleaning up. I say it's hiding my stuff.

It's like a cleaning tornado hits the house every day, usually after the kids and I leave. I can be sure I left something on the desk or on the table, but when I look for it, the item is gone.

Now, I appreciate her efforts. She is a cleaning maniac. I'm not. I am better now than I used to be. That seemed to change a little after we got married, for some reason.

She doesn't really care for my cleaning habits. I usually leave the office desk a mess, along with any other place that I have posted my posterior. Actually, I know where things are, at least until my wife hides them.

She also isn't all that fond with some of my clothing choices, that tend to lean toward the sloppy side. We'll be going out to the store, to eat or wherever, and she'll see what I'm wearing. Her nose tends to crinkle up a bit.

"Are you going to wear that?" she asks, a pretty good signal that I should change. Actually, I don't consider my choice of clothing sloppy. She usually dresses up and I dress down. I have to dress up for work four days of week (Friday is casual day, thank goodness!) and when I get home, I prefer wearing jeans and whatever shirt is closest.

I'm rather fond of wearing tee-shirts with an old long-sleeve button-up shirt over it, unbuttoned, of course. That's usually good for a sneer, especially if we are going out.

I would never question what she is wearing. Heck, if I did that, it would delay leaving a good thirty minutes. First, it would hurt her feelings. Then, she would have to change clothes several times again. Plus, that outfit might have to be replaced and that would hit us in the old pocketbook.

A few weeks ago, I messed up. We were going somewhere and I asked, "when are you going to be ready?"

A harmless comment. I meant as far as stepping out the door. She took it as questioning her choice of clothing, I guess. A lesson learned.

We'll have to do the shopping deal today. Boo. But even that can't damper the old spirits. It's Saturday. I am rather fond of Saturdays, of course. No work! Actually, there is usually some work going on, but my boss changes.

Scanned through the newspaper this morning. Wal-Mart is getting blistered for a seminar called "Why Market to Gay America?" That was rather silly, even worse than some of the seminars I have attended over the years.

I really look forward to seeing ads showing guys holding hands or women kissing each other. As far as I am concerned, the only group that is singled out for discrimination in America are the working white male, married, with a slight gut and hair challenged.

What's the man done for me lately? Nada.

I noticed there is a lot of controvery about rebuilding New Orleans. President Bush has promised bigger and better levees, but can't say it will hold off another 5-star hurricane. Uh, isn't this just throwing money away? For a fraction of the billions of dollars, Heavener could be totally revved up. Personally, I think this would be a much better use of money.

I don't have anything against the people of New Orleans. But if Decker Lake flooded the town or a tornado blew through and wiped everything off the face of the earth, would there be an outcry?

Not that anybody would listen to.

Saw that the United Blood Service in Fort Smith is out of Type O blood. Not positive, but I'm pretty sure that is my blood type so I can use that as an excuse about being extra careful. Doubt it will get me out of shopping, though.

Friday, December 16, 2005

12-16-05 Part II


There are several reasons why I really don't care for winter any more. First off, I don't like the cold.

It's getting to the point where I am miserable while outside, if the temperatures drop down below 40 or so.

Plus, I don't like getting all bundled up. Then, there's the whole Christmas shopping thing that I have railed about for way too long.

Another reason I don't care for the cold weather is because it's hard to find the bugs and flowers that I enjoy taking pictures of so much.

I have some new extension tubes to get better macro pictures, but have barely got to use them. This weekend, I went hunting for things to photograph and the best I could do was this dog tick I plucked off my dog, Gabby.

I know, you always wanted to get an up close and personal picture of a dog tick. I sure did. But I was experimenting and this was about all I could come up with after the snow from last week. This picture was taken right before I tested the tick's swimming abilities in the pond. Sadly, it failed badly and sunk like a rock.

That'll teach it to stick its suckers in my dog, by gosh!

Here's another picture I took with the lens. Hopefully, you will like this one better.

This is the insides of the yellow dandelions that grow in the yard that are such a booger to get rid of. I stacked two different extension tubes together to get this image, and had to get about a half inch away.

I really like the detail in it, something that fascinates me with macro photography. I know, this is much better than the dog tick.

Currently, I have a macro lens (50 mm) and then have a 25 x Extension tube and a set of three Kenko tubes. When I stack them all together, this is what I get.

Sometime, I am going to have to spring for a different flash to take better macro pictures. They are around $400 and right now, that is on my dream list, along with a lot of other camera goodies.

Here is another macro I took the same day I took the picture of the inside of the dandelion. These flowers are smaller than a coin and the yellow deals in them are not much bigger than needles.

I liked this one also. Really liked the detail, just wished the white in the background wasn't so bright but that was where the sun was shining. I dulled it a little, but this was as much as I could dampen it.

My wife came in a few minutes ago and saw the picture of the dogtick. She didn't think that was a very good use of my camera or time. The nerve!

She's watching Christmas With The Kranks in the other room. We saw that movie at the theater last year. It was bad then and just as bad when I tried to watch it earlier. Lasted long enough to plow down some popcorn, then snuck off.

I read the book Skipping Christmas by John Grisham, which the movie is based on. The book was excellent. The movie reeked of badness.

Looks like I'm going to have to break down tomorrow and shop. I need some ideas! Please forward them my way.

12-16-05

Alarm! As I went outside this morning to get the newspaper, wearing only socks, a tee-shirt and some sweats, felt a minor twinge in the old throat, like a cold was coming on.

That just can't happen. I can't get ill with a weekend coming up. Now, if it was early in the week, that wouldn't be bad. But not today! Maybe it was a false alarm or my body warning me that if I didn't start bundling up before getting the newspaper, I would pay the price.

We have a long driveway. The newspaper guy used to actually bring the paper up the driveway and throw it down near the garage, in the flowers or under a parked vehicle. Now, they put one of those silly boxes out on the road and I actually have to walk down and get it. One neighbor says my driveway looks like an airplane runway.

He even hung a stick with a piece of cloth out in the yard one day to accurately judge the wind. I didn't catch on for several days. I figured it was something one of the kids did. Rather clever, I must say.

I believe that Fridays should come with a nickname. Wednesdays are Hump Days. So from now on, I believe Fridays should be called something dramatic like "The Eve of Weekend!" I think would be kind of cool.

Fridays are one of my favorite days, right behind Saturday and Sunday. We get to wear jeans to work instead of the silly slacks and ties. I, personally, believe ties should be outlawed, but that's another subject and I'm trying not to wander.

Plus, sometimes work isn't as hectic on Fridays. The only really bad thing about Fridays is we usually have a meeting to over past-due customers at the main bank. This usually results in a few head shakes from the higher ups, the old what were you thinking when you loaned HIM (or her) some of the bank's money.

Must've been done on a Friday or Monday. Those days my work productivity is not exactly at its peak, you know. Some people might offer it isn't all that great on the three middle days either.

I am rather fond of having two days off in a row. Back in the old days, when I was a true journalist and actually worked at a newspaper in Denison, Texas, my work schedule was rather foul. I got off two days a week, but they were Sunday and Wednesday. No weekends!

Plus, I usually had to work on Friday evenings and always on Saturday until approximately midnight. Yes, that bit badly. Then, during the week we would come in at 7:30 as in the morning, and work until 4 or 5, unless we had a game to cover. Then we would bail at noon and come back later to go to some exotic location like Bells, Texas, to cover a football, basketball or baseball game.

A lot of times, I wouldn't get home until late and then would have to follow the same routine again the next time. Yes, my sleep schedule was rather messed up. I blame that for the frequent naps I took back then. I also tended to knock back a few at times and that really didn't help matters a great deal.

So I really feel good about this whole weekend thing now, especially the ones where I don't actually have to do much. I'm afraid there will be some shopping on the agenda on Saturday, but not much I can do about that and still keep the hairs on my back.

We have our Christmas party Saturday night. It is actually nice, but not exactly my cup of tea. We're having it at Fianna Hills in Fort Smith. Last year, we visited the Holiday Inn, also in Fort Smith, and the food was rather lame. Hopefully this year, the food will be better, but I have my worries as instead of saying roast beef and chicken, it's some fancy name only a chef would come up with.

Enough for now.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

12-15-05 (Part II)

The earlier blog was cut short because of work. I know, I need to get my priorities in order.

I was going to mention what we tried to do last night. Notice, that is tried to do. We sat down to watch one of my favorite Christmas movies It's a Wonderful Life, the old Jimmy Stewart classic.

We watch this every year prior to Christmas, have for some time. We got about half way through before my wife got hung up on the phone and I decided it was time to sleep. I tend to go to sleep early and get up early, way too early according to my wife. But that's the time I do the writing, photography work and mess with Heavener Online and the emails.

I always felt sorry for old George Bailey. He always sacrificed for everybody else. After all, he nearly froze his ear off saving his little brother in the ice, then the drunk druggist whacked him up side the head. Then, he kept having to stay and work at the Building and Loan business his father started and Old Man Potter wanted to shut down.

George wanted to see the world and go to college. He never got to do any because he had to help out after high school and save money to travel and for school. Then, right before he was leaving for school, his father died and Potter the Poothead would have closed the family business and tossed George's goofy uncle out on the pavement.

Finally, Harry was supposed to come home and take over, but he got married so George was stuck in Bedford Falls. He falls in love with some younger chick, has babies (actually, she had the babies), bought a rotting house and went on with life.

But then the goofy uncle ruins things and sends poor George off on a drunk. He finds out what would have happened to Bedford Falls if he had never been born, thanks to an angel wanting to get his wings, then gets back home and everybody celebrates.

The only disturbing thing about the movie is watching everybody do the Charleston. I am grateful for many things, including the fact that I never did this dance. Seriously, that could be some serious blackmail material.

The wife and I are celebrating our anniversary. Come Sunday, we will have been married seven years. I think I accidentally wrote the other day it was our eighth anniversary. Actually, it just seems that way. Ha ha! Just kidding.

Since we're going to be tied up Friday and Saturday, along with Sunday, the wife and I decided to go out and eat. Luckily, I've already given her a present. Still haven't gotten a card, along with Christmas presents (dang the luck). We went to eat at Outback in Fort Smith, one of my favorite places to eat.

We each had the sirloin, the 9-ounce variety, plus the baked potato (which tasted like dried rubber, or what I imagine dried rubber would taste like). This followed the appetizer of kookaburra wings (actually Buffalo wings but the Aussies must not be able to say that word), salad and some excellent bread.

Overall, very good night and meal. What made it even better was we didn't have to go shopping! As we neared the Rogers exit off I-540, traffic was backed up a good half a mile. Luckily, most people were turning toward Central Mall and I deftly drove the wife's Mustang in and out of traffic to arrive at the restauraunt.

She doesn't trust my driving at night. Actually, I don't trust my driving at night, either. The old eyes just don't handle quite like they did in my younger days. This isn't all that bad. Usually, I can talk her into driving and I'm out like a rock.

I must go. Goodbye.

12-15-05

Wow, only 10 days until Christmas.

I haven't bought any presents. Am I stressed? Uh, no. Do I dread shopping? Uh, yes. I should get my certain only a gift card. That would be my choice, but I would probably pay for it for about the rest of my life.

I know, it's bad, but I hate to shop, especially for women's stuff.

Just checked out the Ledger and I made the front page for not filing for the school board. It said I had been on the board about six years. Uh, make that five or so. Everything else is correct.

The headline reads: Board Seat Still Open In Heavener. Then, the first paragraph reads: Craig Hall did not file to seek re-election to his seat on the Heavener School Board and neither did anyone else.

I'm sure everybody was really quaking at the thought of running against me. Yeah, and I'd like to sell some ocean front property in the greater Stapp-Zoe community also. I figure most people don't like getting calls all the time any more than I do.

For the most part, I have enjoyed being on the school board. I have served with some good people and everything has gone pretty smoothly, except for a couple of incidents. Some people wanted to string me up at the nearest big tree, but I managed to slip away.

I get quite a few calls, as can be expected. Some are good, others not all that great. Everybody thinks it's a big deal and we can snap our fingers and things happen, but that also isn't the truth.

We had a big brouha (I know, that probably isn't spelled right, but I really don't have time to do a search for it, although I probably could have in the time it took to write this explanation) during the last months of our previous superintendent.

But now, things are fairly smooth for the most part. We have a good superintendent and staff. Sure, there are some problems, but nothing too bad.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

12-14-05

Strange weather out today. A little warmer that it has been and it rained a little last night.

Didn't make the basketball game last night. Was toasted. Tired and not feeling all that great. Both the boys and girls won over Panama. It was the first win for our boys and the new coach, Scott Gregory, so that is good.

The girls won again, now 4-1 on the season. They have a chance to be very good, this year and the next several years. Their only loss was at Savanna, which has only lost one home game in some seven years.

This blog is now advertised on the links for Heavener Online, thanks to a suggestion from a loyal reader. I really didn't know if there would be so much interest in it, but apparently some people do kill a little time reading my thoughts and observations.

There are some good things going on around the old Heavtown. The old F&M building that was painted purple and gold and hacked a lot of people off, has been painted and looks really good. The new owners have a little store downstairs and are also remodeling the top.

Also, the old State National Bank building, the one that was closed in 1968 and was recently the general store, is undergoing renovation. They plan to pretty much totally remodel the building and use the downstairs for a business that will be announced at a later date.

As many of you know, we still have four puppies that are living on our back porch. They still aren't big enough to make it up and down the steps, so walking on the backporch is like going through a minefield until either my wife or I break out the snow shovel and scoop the stuff up.

If that isn't bad enough, we have another dog, Gabby, who runs free. She is a really good dog, but sometimes comes up with some interesting artifacts. Last week, she brought a deer skin home from who knows where. She was rather proud of it. It didn't really look all that great in our yard and I was afraid the game ranger might see it, but we have escaped so far.

This morning, my wife asked what Gabby had...now. I had just been outside to feed her and didn't see anything. But she had caught a rabbit and was scarfing down on it. I'm sure she will want to keep the skin and play with it. That is something I refuse to play fetch with.

Currently, we have four puppies, their parents Buddy and Daisy, Gabby and Maggie. She's a 12-year old beagle and bird dog mix. Maggie was the mother of Harley, who passed away in September.

She's been with me through thick and thin and gone through three moves. Maggie isn't all that fond of the cold and I'm worried that without Harley to help keep her warm, she might have a tough go this winter, but so far she is getting along fine.

Back during her younger days, she was like a dog Houdini. It was impossible to keep her pinned up. She has been a great dog.

Saw something a little odd this morning while navigating through the madness which is the middle school kid dropoff. I was behind a truck with a bumpersticker that said "I'm a (insert a 5-letter word that is used to describe a female dog)! Is that bad?"

Well, I'd say it could be. It isn't something I would really want on one of our cars. She was also dropping off a little kid. I'd hate to explain that bumper sticker to a little one. I only have one that came with the truck. It says "Yeah, it's got a hemi!"

Yes, and it likes to suck the old petrol rather fast, also. I drove by a gas station on the work today and saw my old Blazer and fondly recalled the days of better gas mileage and a better ride.

Well, I must go. Thanks for reading if you managed to make it all the way through.

Monday, December 12, 2005

12-12-05 (the sequel)


I used to read constantly back during my single days. Ever since I got married, it has gotten difficult to both read and find a book that captures my attention.

The Da Vinci Code was the last really good book I read until coming across the book Paranoia by Joseph Finder.

This is easily the best book I have read in years, a mixture of spy stuff and corporate espionage. When I read the blurbs about the book, it sounded okay, but I ventured in based on a recommendation from my father.

This is a definite page turner. If you are looking for a good read, this would be a good bet. Suspense plus interesting characters and story. He also wrote the book High Crimes that was made into a movie starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman.

12-12-05

I have yet to feel the Christmas spirit!

And only 13 more days to find it. It just doesn't seem like December and Christmas time, even though we did have some snow last week.

It's rather sad. Every year, it gets harder to get excited about Christmas, as far as the gift giving and gathering together with families. I can see why so many people are depressed. Me? No depression over Christmas, just not looking forward to it.

We've had our tree up since around Thanksgiving, but I rarely pay attention to it. It's a nice tree, one of those that spin around. It just doesn't have the real smell. Somebody needs to market fake Christmas trees with the smell of a real one.

Wish I was smart enough to figure out to do that. Always looking for some scheme to become filthy rich.

We watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe on Saturday night. Didn't get rained on inside the theater this time, thank goodness. Was a good flick, excellent special effects although the lion seems to switch sizes at times. Sometimes it is massive, other times seems to be normal sized.

Kinda like my appetite. Lost three pounds without trying last week. Then I tried to be careful the latter part of the week and through the weekend and put the weight back on. What a booger, eh?

The weekend was rather boring. On Friday night, went out to eat at the Belle, which was bloated with people thanks to their all-you-can-throw catfish dinner. I'm not a big bottom-dweller eater so I went with some charred meat on a bun with some fries tossed in. My oldest son took it easy on the catfish.

Then, on Saturday, hung out at the homestead until it was time to go watch the movie. Heavener had its Christmas parade that day but I missed it. Yesterday, hit church up twice and inbetween had to visit Wal Mart. Ugh.

As usual, nature called while at Wal Mart. Numero uno plus one, to be exact. I hate using the restroom there, although some of the writing on the wall can be interesting at times. I followed this old man into the rest room. He bypassed the urinal and hit the regular person stall, leaving me with the handicapped stall. Then, all he did was wee wee. What a log!

So I went about doing my business. As I was doing the transaction, another old man came into the stall next to me. It took him a good three to four minutes to drop anchor and begin his transaction. I hope I never get that slow.

After finishing up, I exited the stall and expected to see some guy in a wheelchair glaring at me, but the coast was clear, thank goodness.

It was a short stop at Wal Mart. I huffed and puffed enough to speed up the shopping and we were able to escape.

Came home and our new deck was about finished. We did sell another puppy yesterday. Now down to four. It was one of my favorites, a little male we called Jack. All the puppies were good, but he was at the top of the list.

After getting home, I went in search of bugs and little stuff to take pictures of, but could only find a dogtick that I plucked off my dog, Gabby. I have yet to decide if a picture of a dogtick is worthy of being published. Turned out rather good. You can see all the little claws and stuff. After serving as my photo subject, it was rewarded by getting thrown into the pond.

Sadly, the dogtick must have missed swimming lessons and he sunk like a rock. I was thinking a fish might get him, but they must be slumbering.

Enough for today.

Friday, December 09, 2005

12-9-05

Roads have cleared but it is still icy and cold. Was 6 degrees this morning, one of the colder mornings I can remember. It's a good thing the wind wasn't blowing or it would have been miserable.

It's strange. In the summer, you always wish for colder weather and in the winter, you long for warmer weather.

Right now, I would almost be willing to go back to mowing. Fall and spring just don't last long enough most of the time.

This is one that makes me feel a little old. I've been in my current profession for sixteen years. That's longer than I went to public schools. Aargh!

Been married eight years as of next Sunday. I've watched my wife's sons go from little boys to almost adults. Key word is almost. Sometimes they are very mature. Other times, they are still kids. Something they have in common with me, I guess.

It's actually supposed to get over freezing later today. Still hasn't hit it yet. Feel sorry for our dogs, especially the puppies. They don't know what to think about this white stuff.

We actually don't have anything special this weekend. Need a weekend like that after making the Branson trip last week. I'm sure the wife and family will want to do anything, I just hope it does not involve shopping.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

12-8-05

We got our first taste of winter last night. It snowed some and mixed with ice. Got about one or two inches. Roads are still covered with ice.

I still stand by my comment yesterday that the weather has changed. Last year, it only snowed once, right before Christmas so we did have a white Christmas, only the second one I can remember.

Back when I was a kid, we got about a foot one Christmas. Don't remember the year, but sometime in the mid-70s.

I almost have the pics ready from the basketball game Tuesday night. I switched to recording the images to RAW this year instead of JPEG. Takes a lot longer as you have to basically process each image, but gives off a lot better picture. I failed to turn the flash on for the start of the boys game and halftime, but was still able to salvage the image, which I couldn't have done if I was shooting JPEG.

I was late getting to the game as we had to run up to Fort Smith. Only took half of the girl's game and didn't get many good pictures as the game was a blowout.

It's much easier to get pictures from the boys as they drive to the basket a lot more. No award winners, but some decent shots for the first basketball game of the year. I used my 28-105 mm, the same one that I used last year.

The next game, I am going to try my 70-200 mm lens just for fun. Because of the lens, it will be a little harder to get the action under the basket, but should be able to get a little sharper images.

Told the superintendent and a few others that I was not going to run for school board. I've been on it for about 4 1/2 years and a little tired of all the calls. Last year, things were in an uproar and I about stepped down, but hung in there. Now, things are smooth and it is time for somebody else to fill in.

I have always tried to do what is best for the school overall. Some of my decisions weren't popular, but it was what I thought was best for everybody, not just a select few.

There are quite a few cars and trucks going by on the highway. We have had a few customers. This is always the case when the weather is bad. People have to get out to test their manhood or something, although there are a lot of women out and I doubt that is what they are testing.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

12-7-05

Sixty-four years ago, in a day described as one that will live in infamy, our forces at Pearl Harbor were attacked by the Japanese.

One of the saddest days in the history of our country. Haven't seen much in the news about it today. Seems like it has to be a 50th anniversary or 75th anymore to see much.

We lost a lot of people that day. So if you see a vet today or know somebody who lost somebody on this date so many years ago, give them thanks.

We're having a guy put a deck on the front of our house, complete with a roof. Our house was put in what used to be a pasture, facing toward the west. We have planted some trees but they are still not big enough to give any shade so in the summer, that part of the house gets rather toasty.

The new porch will provide a lot of shade and I look forward to hanging out on it when the weather gets nice. I'm thinking about running cable out there so I can watch television, but I doubt the wife would be all that crazy with that idea.

We should have put the house closer to the road. Then I could sit out there and wave at the traffic coming by and holler rude comments to the ones who drive by going way too fast.

When we first moved in, the city had to run a line across the road for the sewer. For a couple of years, there was a bump on the road and would cause the cars and trucks to bounce to bounce, a real good speed bump. The OK Food and logging trucks were a lot of fun to watch hit it.

Went to the first home basketball game last night. Our girls are going to be good, even though they only have two sophomores. The boys are struggling. We have more height than in years, but had too many turnovers and the shooting was bad, until the end.

I got some good shots, but not as many as I would like. I attribute it to first-game jitters.

We're supposed to get an inch of snow this evening. Awful cold and clear out right now, but the bad stuff is supposed to hit this evening. I can't get as excited about snow as I once did. Mainly because I don't get off work like we used to get a break from school when it snowed.

Plus, it's just not as much fun to play in. I don't care what anybody says, the weather is changing. We used to get several good snows a year. Now, if we get one, that's something. The last bad winter storm was in 2000, an ice storm right around Christmas that was a booger. We could stand on our back porch (yes, now we have twins!) and hear the Pine trees behind our house snap from the ice. It sounded like shotguns going off.

I still haven't cleared up all the damage, something my wife has been prone to point out.

Get to visit the dentist today! Hurrah! It might just be a cleaning, but it will still hurt. My wife made the appointment for me. Remind me to thank her.

Adios.

12-7-05

Sixty-four years ago, in a day described as one that will live in infamy, our forces at Pearl Harbor were attacked by the Japanese.

One of the saddest days in the history of our country. Haven't seen much in the news about it today. Seems like it has to be a 50th anniversary or 75th anymore to see much.

We lost a lot of people that day. So if you see a vet today or know somebody who lost somebody on this date so many years ago, give them thanks.

We're having a guy put a deck on the front of our house, complete with a roof. Our house was put in what used to be a pasture, facing toward the west. We have planted some trees but they are still not big enough to give any shade so in the summer, that part of the house gets rather toasty.

The new porch will provide a lot of shade and I look forward to hanging out on it when the weather gets nice. I'm thinking about running cable out there so I can watch television, but I doubt the wife would be all that crazy with that idea.

We should have put the house closer to the road. Then I could sit out there and wave at the traffic coming by and holler rude comments to the ones who drive by going way too fast.

When we first moved in, the city had to run a line across the road for the sewer. For a couple of years, there was a bump on the road and would cause the cars and trucks to bounce to bounce, a real good speed bump. The OK Food and logging trucks were a lot of fun to watch hit it.

Went to the first home basketball game last night. Our girls are going to be good, even though they only have two sophomores. The boys are struggling. We have more height than in years, but had too many turnovers and the shooting was bad, until the end.

I got some good shots, but not as many as I would like. I attribute it to first-game jitters.

We're supposed to get an inch of snow this evening. Awful cold and clear out right now, but the bad stuff is supposed to hit this evening. I can't get as excited about snow as I once did. Mainly because I don't get off work like we used to get a break from school when it snowed.

Plus, it's just not as much fun to play in. I don't care what anybody says, the weather is changing. We used to get several good snows a year. Now, if we get one, that's something. The last bad winter storm was in 2000, an ice storm right around Christmas that was a booger. We could stand on our back porch (yes, now we have twins!) and hear the Pine trees behind our house snap from the ice. It sounded like shotguns going off.

I still haven't cleared up all the damage, something my wife has been prone to point out.

Get to visit the dentist today! Hurrah! It might just be a cleaning, but it will still hurt. My wife made the appointment for me. Remind me to thank her.

Adios.

12-7-05

Sixty-four years ago, in a day described as one that will live in infamy, our forces at Pearl Harbor were attacked by the Japanese.

One of the saddest days in the history of our country. Haven't seen much in the news about it today. Seems like it has to be a 50th anniversary or 75th anymore to see much.

We lost a lot of people that day. So if you see a vet today or know somebody who lost somebody on this date so many years ago, give them thanks.

We're having a guy put a deck on the front of our house, complete with a roof. Our house was put in what used to be a pasture, facing toward the west. We have planted some trees but they are still not big enough to give any shade so in the summer, that part of the house gets rather toasty.

The new porch will provide a lot of shade and I look forward to hanging out on it when the weather gets nice. I'm thinking about running cable out there so I can watch television, but I doubt the wife would be all that crazy with that idea.

We should have put the house closer to the road. Then I could sit out there and wave at the traffic coming by and holler rude comments to the ones who drive by going way too fast.

When we first moved in, the city had to run a line across the road for the sewer. For a couple of years, there was a bump on the road and would cause the cars and trucks to bounce to bounce, a real good speed bump. The OK Food and logging trucks were a lot of fun to watch hit it.

Went to the first home basketball game last night. Our girls are going to be good, even though they only have two sophomores. The boys are struggling. We have more height than in years, but had too many turnovers and the shooting was bad, until the end.

I got some good shots, but not as many as I would like. I attribute it to first-game jitters.

We're supposed to get an inch of snow this evening. Awful cold and clear out right now, but the bad stuff is supposed to hit this evening. I can't get as excited about snow as I once did. Mainly because I don't get off work like we used to get a break from school when it snowed.

Plus, it's just not as much fun to play in. I don't care what anybody says, the weather is changing. We used to get several good snows a year. Now, if we get one, that's something. The last bad winter storm was in 2000, an ice storm right around Christmas that was a booger. We could stand on our back porch (yes, now we have twins!) and hear the Pine trees behind our house snap from the ice. It sounded like shotguns going off.

I still haven't cleared up all the damage, something my wife has been prone to point out.

Get to visit the dentist today! Hurrah! It might just be a cleaning, but it will still hurt. My wife made the appointment for me. Remind me to thank her.

Adios.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

12-6-05

Finally get to shoot a basketball game tonight. I really like football, but basketball is a lot better, as far as taking pictures is concerned.

Heavener plays Mansfield at home tonight, the first game here this year. Christmas is less than 20 days away and I haven't bought anything yet. I used to always wait and shop on the 23rd or 24th, back in my single days. As a married person, it has been necessary to change my ways, not that I like it.

I have found that all the stuff my wife wants is usually gone if I wait too long. So far, she hasn't dropped any hints. I know if I just go out and buy stuff I think is cool, it won't be the right thing.

She takes care of shopping for the kids, which is good. I am the world's worst shopper. I absolutely hate it. I try to speed-shop, which doesn't work out that well. I know about what to spend and then find a few things to buy. Usually, that meets with the "Oh" look when a person gets something they really didn't want.

I have practiced my gift receiving to the point nobody can tell whether it was something I really want or an item that will be put away, never to resurface.

I've only hinted at a couple of things this year. The boys are pretty good about telling my wife to buy this or that. It's usually something they want. Pretty cool trick. I need to work on buying my wife stuff that she would like, but I could also use.

Might get her a DVD player for the bedroom. Notice, that is something we could both use! I shy away from buying her clothes. Learned that lesson the first time I bought her something and it was way too big. She gave me the old "do I look that big?" look.

So clothes are out. Perfume is always a good choice. I even know what kind she likes. I also have to be careful on buying books and movies. I'll usually buy something she already has, sometimes it's even a gift I've already bought her.

I have made the mistake of giving her the same anniversary card two years in a row before. She's good at remembering stuff like that. I could get the same card from 10 different people and not even notice.

I'm also a little bad about getting cards for the special occasions. Our anniversary is coming up later in December. (I actually remember the date!) Already got her the gift, since I already have mine, but will need to get a card. My cards used to be the humorous ones, until I realized that wasn't what she was looking to get. Now I tend to get her the kinds of fluffy cards that are romantic.

Works for me and makes her happy.

Monday, December 05, 2005

12-5-05

We survived our Branson trip. Went up early Saturday morning then came back that evening. Traffic was a booger and there were too many people at Silver Dollar City, but everybody had fun.

After getting to Branson, we stopped at ate at Fuddrucker's, one of my favorite restauraunts. Had a massive slab of meat on home-cooked buns. Most excellent, I do say so.

Don't know about you, but there are some things going on as far as Christmas that are really bothering me. So many groups try to take Christmas out of Christmas, which really makes no sense.

Now, they say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". I know, they are trying not to offend some people, but they are offending me. The reason for the celebration is because it is Christmas.

Target will not allow anything mentioning Christmas in their stores and their employees are encouraged to say "Happy Holidays", instead of "Merry Christmas". All the signs in the store folow the same route.

The store also won't allow the Salvation Army to ring the bells outside the store. This is a major fundraiser for the organization, which does so much good for so many people. It feeds and clothes so many people who need a helping hand, but won't do jack to help the organization.

But the store goes out of its way to help gay and lesbian groups. That isn't right. If they want to help the gays and lesbians, that is their right. But I don't understand why they feel this is okay while helping the Salvation Army and making any reference to Christmas is not okay.

I got an email this morning from a friend talking about this. At the end, it said Target was a French-owned company. I have no idea if this is true or not. There are no Target stores around here, but even if there was one and the prices were much better, I wouldn't buy anything from them.

Our little town is fortunate that every year, the KCS brings a train to town with excellent decorations and does make large contributions to the Salvation Army, along with gifts to local children. Huge crowds turn out. This is funded by contributions from employees and vendors.

One thing that bugs me is it is not the KCS Christmas Express. It is the Holiday Express. If I lived in an area with a lot of Jewish residents and there was something special for them called the Hanukka Express, I wouldn't be offended. Just like I never will be offended if I see a store alluding to Happy Hanukka, right next to a Merry Christmas greeting.

Another item I received this morning. It was concerning Jane Fonda being called one of the 100 greatest women of the last 100 years. The writer of the message is at the bottom. This is the text message I received:

Jane Fonda is being honored as one of the "100 Women of the Century" by Barbara Walters.

Unfortunately, many have forgotten and still countless others have never known how Ms.Fonda betrayed not only the idea of our country, but specific men who served and sacrificedduring Vietnam.

The first part of this is from an F-4E pilot

The pilot's name is Jerry Driscoll, a River Rat.

In 1968, the former Commandant of the USAF Survival School was a POW in Ho Lo Prison the "Hanoi Hilton."

Dragged from a stinking cesspit of a cell, cleaned, fed, and dressed in clean PJ's, he was ordered to describe for a visiting American"Peace Activist" the "lenient and humanetreatment" he'd received.

He spat at Ms. Fonda, was clubbed, and was dragged away. During the subsequent beating, he fell forward on to the camp Commandant's feet, which sent that officer berserk.

In 1978, the Air Force Colonel still suffered from double vision (which permanently ended hisflying career) from the Commandant's frenzied application of a wooden baton.

From 1963-65, Col. Larry Carrigan was in the47FW/DO (F-4E's). He spent 6 years in the"Hanoi Hilton", the first three of which his family only knew he was "missing in action". His wife lived on faith that he was still alive. His group, too, got the cleaned-up, fed and clothed routine in preparation for a "peace delegation" visit. They, however, had time and devised a plan toget word to the world that they were alive and still survived. Each man secreted a tiny piece of paper, with his Social Security Number on it, in the palm of his hand.

When paraded before Ms. Fonda and a cameraman, she walked the line, shaking each man's hand and asking little encouraging snippets like: "Aren't you sorry you bombed babies?" and "Are you grateful for the humane treatment from your benevolent captors?"Believing this HAD to be an act, they each palmed her their sliver of paper. She took them all without missing a beat. At the end of the line and once the camera stopped rolling, to the shocked disbelief of the POWs, she turned to the officer in charge and handed him all the little pieces of paper.

Three men died from the subsequent beatings. Colonel Carrigan was almost number four but he survived, which is the only reason we know of her actions that day.

I was a civilian economic development advisor in Vietnam, and was captured by the North Vietnamese communists in South Vietnam in1968, and held prisoner for over 5 years.

I spent 27 months in solitary confinement; one year in a cage in Cambodia; and one year in a "black box" in Hanoi. My North Vietnamese captors deliberately poisoned and murdered a female missionary, a nurse in a leprosarium in Ban me Thuot, SouthVietnam, whom I buried in the jungle near theCambodia border. At one time, I weighed only about 90 lbs. (My normal weight is 170 lbs.)

We were Jane Fonda's "war criminals."

When Jane Fonda was in Hanoi , I was asked by the camp communist political officer if I would be willing to meet with her.

I said yes, for I wanted to tell her about the real treatment we POWs received... and how different it was from the treatment purported bythe North Vietnamese, and parroted by her as" humane and lenient."

Because of this, I spent three days on a rocky floor on my knees, with my arms outstretched with a large steel weights placed on my hands, and beaten with a bamboo cane.

I had the opportunity to meet with Jane Fonda soon after I was released. I asked her if she would be willing to debate me on TV. She never did answer me.

These first-hand experiences do not exemplify someone who should be honored as part of "100 Years of Great Women." Lest we forget..." 100 Years of Great Women"should never include a traitor whose hands arecovered with the blood of so many patriots.

There are few things I have strong visceral reactions to, but Hanoi Jane's participation inblatant treason, is one of them. Please take the time to forward to as many people as you possibly can.It will eventually end up on her computer and she needs to know that we will never forget. RONALD D. SAMPSON, CMSgt, USAF 716 Maintenance Squadron, Chief of Maintenance DSN: 875-6431 COMM: 883-6343.