For many years we've wanted a cabin of our own in the mountains. My folks have a couple of cabins in the Pecos widerness, one of which I helped build when I was 19 and have always been told it would be mine one day. While I have always liked the cabins in the widerness Kay Ellen has always wanted a cabin in Glorieta on the ground of the Glorieta Baptist Assembly.
Both of us have attended conferences at Glorieta in our childhood and as young adults. Kay Ellen was even the pianist for a week during one of the conferences. We have many fond memories. The grounds are gated with controlled access. There are many recreational opportunities. It is easily accessible year round and is just off Interstate 25, 15 miles east of Santa Fe. And, it is simply a beautiful place to visit with well tended gardens and both the mountains and Santa Fe close by.
While we've always wanted a cabin, buying one was a problem. The prices were very high and you had to pay cash. No liens are allowed on any of the properties. This summer Dallas Baptist University decided to sell their cabin and was doing so at a very attractive price. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a kitchen, large living room, carport, and a 40 foot long covered porch with rocking chairs and a great view. While we were very interested, we didn't have the money. My Dad solved that by loaning us the money with no lien on the property. Thanks, Dad!
The cabin came with all the furniture including a new leather couch and chair, beds with all the sheets, pillows, blankets, etc, a fully equipped kitchen, central heat and air, carport, piano, 4 rocking chairs, TV, and a game/dining table. It is really great! One of the bathrooms has 2 showers and 2 toilet cubicles while another has a single toilet with a separate shower and bathtub. It had been configured to sleep 14, primarily in bunks. We've changed the configuration to sleep 10. Bunk beds sleep 4 in one room, a queen size bed sleeps 2 in another, and in the large master bedroom is a king size bed and set of bunk beds at the other end for the grandkids.
We are loooking forward to using it often and renting it to friends and DBU faculty and staff. If you are interested in renting it let us know.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Grandkids, aren't they great!
Grandkids are great. Nothing warms my heart more than one of my grandkids saying "Papa". Whatever follows is just icing on the cake.
Yesterday I was pulling Abby and Tessa in the wagon. When Abby was younger the phrase to get me to run was "Go Papa, go!" So, she was saying "go Papa, go." I tried telling her Papa was too old and it was too hot for me to run, so she told Tessa to say it. Tessa looks up at me, smiles and says"Go Papa, go." What else could I do? I started runnning. They happily continued calling "Go Papa, go" for a block or so until I had to quit running. Abby's little mischievous eyes and Tessa's sweet little smile were simply too much for me. Their wish was my command.
And then there is little Claire bear. I love it when she comes up to me and says, "Papa may I have some gum?" Of course, I give her some gum, but first we have to play a game. I shake the gum in my hands, close both fists, cross my hands and put them out for her to choose a hand. We continue this until she picks the right hand. While we were on vacation Jack brought the kids over to water the plants and let Mikey out. Claire asked for some gum and Jack got it from the drawer. He tried to hand it to Claire but she said "No, you have to cross your hands like Papa." Priceless.
Every Sunday morning I have donut holes ready in a cup for Grant and Claire. They come by our department and get the doughnuts. Of course they don't simply get the doughnuts. They always say "thank you Papa" and give me a hug. Today Claire brought both Kay and me a card. On mine she had written "I love you. Claire." Grant is always very shy but I love it when he smiles at me. There are also times when I can tell he wants to play and want me to tickle him. It is so much fun. It was also great when we went to the mountains last week and found the flowers that Tessa and Claire had picked and the notes Grant had written to us. We kept them as the centerpiece on the dining table while we were there.
Abby, oh sweet Abby. There are so many Abby stories. I need to write a post made up simply of Abby stories and sayings. "You have to share." "That's the deal. Take it or leave it." Those are the punch lines of a couple of my favorites, but the best is any time she says "Papa" even when it's followed with a request like take us swimming or to get a snowcone or something.
Ben is special, too. We've bonded quite a bit more over the last 3 years with Highlander football. I went to a lot of his practices and every game exept maybe one. I scheduled my business trips around his football games and went to all 3 of his football banquets. I can't remember the particular event but there was one time when he told his mom that he didn't care as much if his mom or dad were there but wanted to make sure I could come. Of course, I was there. I couldn't disappoint him.
Grandkids are so much fun. I love to play with them. I love to watch them play. I'm happy when they're happy and hurt when they are sad. I have 5 and hope to add a couple of more with Ben and Cindy in the next few years. Each one is a special joy with more to come. I love you Ben, Abby, Grant, Claire, Tessa, and the others to come!
Yesterday I was pulling Abby and Tessa in the wagon. When Abby was younger the phrase to get me to run was "Go Papa, go!" So, she was saying "go Papa, go." I tried telling her Papa was too old and it was too hot for me to run, so she told Tessa to say it. Tessa looks up at me, smiles and says"Go Papa, go." What else could I do? I started runnning. They happily continued calling "Go Papa, go" for a block or so until I had to quit running. Abby's little mischievous eyes and Tessa's sweet little smile were simply too much for me. Their wish was my command.
And then there is little Claire bear. I love it when she comes up to me and says, "Papa may I have some gum?" Of course, I give her some gum, but first we have to play a game. I shake the gum in my hands, close both fists, cross my hands and put them out for her to choose a hand. We continue this until she picks the right hand. While we were on vacation Jack brought the kids over to water the plants and let Mikey out. Claire asked for some gum and Jack got it from the drawer. He tried to hand it to Claire but she said "No, you have to cross your hands like Papa." Priceless.
Every Sunday morning I have donut holes ready in a cup for Grant and Claire. They come by our department and get the doughnuts. Of course they don't simply get the doughnuts. They always say "thank you Papa" and give me a hug. Today Claire brought both Kay and me a card. On mine she had written "I love you. Claire." Grant is always very shy but I love it when he smiles at me. There are also times when I can tell he wants to play and want me to tickle him. It is so much fun. It was also great when we went to the mountains last week and found the flowers that Tessa and Claire had picked and the notes Grant had written to us. We kept them as the centerpiece on the dining table while we were there.
Abby, oh sweet Abby. There are so many Abby stories. I need to write a post made up simply of Abby stories and sayings. "You have to share." "That's the deal. Take it or leave it." Those are the punch lines of a couple of my favorites, but the best is any time she says "Papa" even when it's followed with a request like take us swimming or to get a snowcone or something.
Ben is special, too. We've bonded quite a bit more over the last 3 years with Highlander football. I went to a lot of his practices and every game exept maybe one. I scheduled my business trips around his football games and went to all 3 of his football banquets. I can't remember the particular event but there was one time when he told his mom that he didn't care as much if his mom or dad were there but wanted to make sure I could come. Of course, I was there. I couldn't disappoint him.
Grandkids are so much fun. I love to play with them. I love to watch them play. I'm happy when they're happy and hurt when they are sad. I have 5 and hope to add a couple of more with Ben and Cindy in the next few years. Each one is a special joy with more to come. I love you Ben, Abby, Grant, Claire, Tessa, and the others to come!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Bathroom Humor
Kay Ellen says that I will laugh at any story, joke, or whatever that includes bathroom smells, noises, etc. There is one particular book that I re-read often, probably once a year, that has a chapter in it describing a guy on a submarine with terrible gas and bowel functions and the reaction to him by the other sailors. I laugh uncontrollably every time I read it. Tears stream down my face, I am laughing so hard. Mom always knows "it's that book again." So, with that in mind I thought I'd share some of my favorite bathroom humor stories involving the kids.
We were on vacation at Disneyworld and had driven back to the room to rest a little bit. After lying down for 30 minutes or so KLN says, "I'm so glad we came back to the room. I have my second wind." To which 10-yr old Jack responds, "I did mine in the car."
This isn't bathroom humor, but on the same trip, we were driving through Forida in our blue Chevy station wagon. Florida has a law that 4 and under kids had to be in a child's seat which we didn't have. We had the back seat down and a large area for the kids to crawl around in. We told Ben that if a policeman was driving by he had to lie down so no one would see him. They kids were all playing a board game or something and looking down when I saw a police car approaching. "Duck, duck, a police car," I called out. Ben pops up his head, looking around and asks, "Where, where!" Jack promptly puts both hands on his head and shoves him down.
On another vacation we were driving through Tennessee headed to Washington, DC, Philly, and New York. We stopped at a truck stop to get gas and go to the bathroom. The men's bathroom was on the 2nd floor and, as we walked up the stairs, we saw 2 great big truckers at the top of the stairs going into the restroom. When we got upstairs we saw that it was a 2-hole facility and these 2 guys had deposited themselves on the porcelain thrones. The area with the commodes were actually on a raised area so it gave it even more an imprssion of a throne. As we were waiting for our turn thesed 2 guys began grunting and moaning and grunting some more. It was almost as if they were having a contest to see who could grunt the loudest. Ben, Jack, and I looked a one another and started laughing. No way were we going tostay here and go into those stalls when the guys got finished. We were laughing so hard we almost fell down the stairs.
We had gone to the movies at the Parks Mall and stopped in the restroom before the movie. We thought we were the only ones in there. Jack and I went to the only 2 urinals and 4 or 5-year old Ben went to one of the stalls. A few moments later we heard a loud, ripping fart coming from the stalls. "Ben, is that you?", I asked. "Un unh," he replied. Jack looked own and saw another set of feet in the stalls and we all burst out laughing. We quickly left so that the guy wouldn't see us and we wouldn't see him.
One Saturday morning KLN and I were still sleeping, it was still dark outside, and the hallway was dark. Jack and Ben were coming down the hall to see us but knew they were not allowed to turn on the lights and wake us up too much. Jack came down the hall first and was already in our room when we heard 3-4 year-old Ben wail, "There's something squishy in the hall!" I got up, turned on the light in the hallway, and saw Ben standing with one foot up in the air with a piece of dog doo-doo stuck to his heel. KLN and I still laugh about Ben's "squishy" comment.
Earlier in my post I used the word "fart", a word Jack was not allowed to say when he was younger. There was a popular TV show that we would watch called "Hart to Hart". One night Jack repeated what I'm sure he'd heard me say before, "It's time for Fart to Fart." KLN was indignant and sent him to his room. I felt badly for him. Jack remembers it well becasue he brings it up to us whenever Ben or Abby say something like that now.
One last story, this one involving KLN. We were on a Youth Choir Tour in some little town in Georgia on a Sunday morning. They had a large women's restroom on the main floor and a very small one in the basement. Someone had really stunk up the place! Whew, it was bad! This proper southern lady in her deep southern accent turned to KLN and said, "Ooh, it's very unpleasant in here." Whenever we go somewhere and it stinks we will repeat to one another, "It's very unpleasant in here."
That's all for today. I'll try to write a few more stories on my lunch breaks in the future.
We were on vacation at Disneyworld and had driven back to the room to rest a little bit. After lying down for 30 minutes or so KLN says, "I'm so glad we came back to the room. I have my second wind." To which 10-yr old Jack responds, "I did mine in the car."
This isn't bathroom humor, but on the same trip, we were driving through Forida in our blue Chevy station wagon. Florida has a law that 4 and under kids had to be in a child's seat which we didn't have. We had the back seat down and a large area for the kids to crawl around in. We told Ben that if a policeman was driving by he had to lie down so no one would see him. They kids were all playing a board game or something and looking down when I saw a police car approaching. "Duck, duck, a police car," I called out. Ben pops up his head, looking around and asks, "Where, where!" Jack promptly puts both hands on his head and shoves him down.
On another vacation we were driving through Tennessee headed to Washington, DC, Philly, and New York. We stopped at a truck stop to get gas and go to the bathroom. The men's bathroom was on the 2nd floor and, as we walked up the stairs, we saw 2 great big truckers at the top of the stairs going into the restroom. When we got upstairs we saw that it was a 2-hole facility and these 2 guys had deposited themselves on the porcelain thrones. The area with the commodes were actually on a raised area so it gave it even more an imprssion of a throne. As we were waiting for our turn thesed 2 guys began grunting and moaning and grunting some more. It was almost as if they were having a contest to see who could grunt the loudest. Ben, Jack, and I looked a one another and started laughing. No way were we going tostay here and go into those stalls when the guys got finished. We were laughing so hard we almost fell down the stairs.
We had gone to the movies at the Parks Mall and stopped in the restroom before the movie. We thought we were the only ones in there. Jack and I went to the only 2 urinals and 4 or 5-year old Ben went to one of the stalls. A few moments later we heard a loud, ripping fart coming from the stalls. "Ben, is that you?", I asked. "Un unh," he replied. Jack looked own and saw another set of feet in the stalls and we all burst out laughing. We quickly left so that the guy wouldn't see us and we wouldn't see him.
One Saturday morning KLN and I were still sleeping, it was still dark outside, and the hallway was dark. Jack and Ben were coming down the hall to see us but knew they were not allowed to turn on the lights and wake us up too much. Jack came down the hall first and was already in our room when we heard 3-4 year-old Ben wail, "There's something squishy in the hall!" I got up, turned on the light in the hallway, and saw Ben standing with one foot up in the air with a piece of dog doo-doo stuck to his heel. KLN and I still laugh about Ben's "squishy" comment.
Earlier in my post I used the word "fart", a word Jack was not allowed to say when he was younger. There was a popular TV show that we would watch called "Hart to Hart". One night Jack repeated what I'm sure he'd heard me say before, "It's time for Fart to Fart." KLN was indignant and sent him to his room. I felt badly for him. Jack remembers it well becasue he brings it up to us whenever Ben or Abby say something like that now.
One last story, this one involving KLN. We were on a Youth Choir Tour in some little town in Georgia on a Sunday morning. They had a large women's restroom on the main floor and a very small one in the basement. Someone had really stunk up the place! Whew, it was bad! This proper southern lady in her deep southern accent turned to KLN and said, "Ooh, it's very unpleasant in here." Whenever we go somewhere and it stinks we will repeat to one another, "It's very unpleasant in here."
That's all for today. I'll try to write a few more stories on my lunch breaks in the future.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
2008 Recap
Well, after 4 stories in January 08, I stopped posting. Why? Because I had a major change in my job situation.
In January, my boss Don Turner came to me and said, "As you know, the Company isn't growing the way we had planned. Credit is hard to find, the move-ins have lost their value, and we're giving you the one-year notice called for in your contract." So, I would continue to work for a month or so and then sit at home and collect a year's severance.
I didn't like the prospect of being without a job for a year, even if I was going to be paid. Tejas Broadcasting had been tring to get Sunburst to let me be their Controller as well as the Sunburst Controller for the past year, but they couldn't agree on a division of my salary. Tejas thought I made too much. They wanted and need half or more of my time but they didn't wnat to pay half my salary. The owners of Tejas also owned a portion of Sunburst.
With the news from Don, I gave Tejas a call to see if we could work something out. I agreed to less overall money, agreed to convert to an accounting system housed in the Tejas corporate offices, work out of Fort Worth several days a week, and waive the year's severance. I really thought I would be able to get everything done for both Sunburst and Tejas in 4 days and cut back my work week accordingly. It hasn't worked out that way, but I'm not complaining.
It's been a fun and very busy year. The Tejas stations were in Amarillo and Corpus Christi and were essentially the same stations that I worked with at Rodriguez/Amigo. There was a lot to clean up and catch up with their books, but it was fun. Some of the same people still worked at the stations that I'd worked with 6-7 years earlier, so that was good. The drive to Fort Worth is far more pleasant than the drive to Dallas and I can work from my home almost as if I was working in the Fort Worth office. The only thing is I can't print checks and a lot of accounting reports from anywhere but the Fort Worth office.
All the work kept me from posting, but I'll resume soon, I hope.
In January, my boss Don Turner came to me and said, "As you know, the Company isn't growing the way we had planned. Credit is hard to find, the move-ins have lost their value, and we're giving you the one-year notice called for in your contract." So, I would continue to work for a month or so and then sit at home and collect a year's severance.
I didn't like the prospect of being without a job for a year, even if I was going to be paid. Tejas Broadcasting had been tring to get Sunburst to let me be their Controller as well as the Sunburst Controller for the past year, but they couldn't agree on a division of my salary. Tejas thought I made too much. They wanted and need half or more of my time but they didn't wnat to pay half my salary. The owners of Tejas also owned a portion of Sunburst.
With the news from Don, I gave Tejas a call to see if we could work something out. I agreed to less overall money, agreed to convert to an accounting system housed in the Tejas corporate offices, work out of Fort Worth several days a week, and waive the year's severance. I really thought I would be able to get everything done for both Sunburst and Tejas in 4 days and cut back my work week accordingly. It hasn't worked out that way, but I'm not complaining.
It's been a fun and very busy year. The Tejas stations were in Amarillo and Corpus Christi and were essentially the same stations that I worked with at Rodriguez/Amigo. There was a lot to clean up and catch up with their books, but it was fun. Some of the same people still worked at the stations that I'd worked with 6-7 years earlier, so that was good. The drive to Fort Worth is far more pleasant than the drive to Dallas and I can work from my home almost as if I was working in the Fort Worth office. The only thing is I can't print checks and a lot of accounting reports from anywhere but the Fort Worth office.
All the work kept me from posting, but I'll resume soon, I hope.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Youth Choir Tours - First Tour
Some time back Jean Cagle said I ought to write a blog on our youth choir tours. At her request here's an atempt at that. Some of the early ones may run together, so there may be some problems with accuracy, at least pertaining to what year it was.
Although youth choir existed prior to Don Roe becoming our minister of music, it really wasn't well attended until he came. Where there may have been 10 or 12 before, now there were 30. The summer after 9th grade, we took our first choir tour and used the church bus. It was really basically a school bus painted white and it drank oil like crazy. Don Roe drove the bus and that in itself is another story.
Most of the older kids didn't go on the tour, they had summer jobs. I think the only two seniors to go were Pam Vandiver and Carol Brewster. It was good that Pam went because she could be the entire soprano section by herself. I think she went to college at Indiana on a music scholarship and became a big basketball fan. Bobby Knight was the coach and there were winning championships. Anyway, I digress. The older kids, especially the boys, didn't go on the tour and that left the younger guys my age as the oldest group of boys. The tour was to Oklahoma and Kansas.
We were all assigned different duties on the bus. Jerry McKinney, Mike Manire, and Gary were the oil gang. There job was to lug a 5-gallon can of oil from the back of the bus to the front of the refill the engine oil that had leaked or burned away. You got to the engine by lifting a cover insude the bus by the driver. It wasn't outside. Don would holler at the oil gang to get ready and while the bus was still running they would lift the cover off the engine. Then, as we topped a hill Don would shut off the engine and we'd coast downhill. The oil gang would open the oil cap on the engine and start pouring in oil. They did this several times during the trip and would also have to add oil when we stopped for gas.
I was on the gas pumping crew and, I think, on the baggage crew. The gas crew would fill the tank when we stopped for gas and clean the windshield. The baggage crew would load and unload the luggage. There was also a cleanup crew to keep the bus clean and a crew to pass out programs at our concerts. After the concerts we would always have a fun and fellowship time.
My group had a bottle band. Different kinds of bottles were partially filled with water to create a particular note when you blew on them. Most folks played 2 or 3 bottles. I had a big gallon ceramic jug that played the bass note. It looked like a moonshiner's jug so I will always come in late and acting like I was drunk from drinking too much from the jug. Some of the people at the Kansas air force base whre we played were offended by my playing drunk. Drunkedness was a real problem on the base and they didn't think it was proper for me to make fun of it. Anyway, we played a couple of songs and were really pretty good. The finale of the fellowship program was always The Grasshopper Opera. You heard it at my birthday party. On tour that year, I think, Pam played the soprano part, Mrs. Faris did the alto, Don was the tenor, and Al Remette was the bass. They always played like the tenor didn't show up and they had to recruit someone from the audience. Don was the "recruit" and acted like a complete hayseed hillbilly, not a difficult part for him to play. Carol Brewster was the accompanist.
Some things I remember from the tour were that I roomed with Mark Strickland. I was little as a 9th grader but he was itty bitty as a 7th grader. He was always asking me questions about girls. We stopped in Oklahoma City at the amusement park to spend one day. In the parking lot was a brand new cadillac convertible all immaculate and shiny with the top down on the gravel parking lot. Mark and I went over to look at it. As we were looking at it a black guy came up from behind us and said, "Go ahead and put your hands inside the car." We hesitated but he said, "It's OK, it's my car." So, we put our hands in on the steering wheel and the seats. As soon as we stuck our hands inside the car the horn started blasting and the lights started flashing. The guy quickly came over and turned it off. I remember him saying he lived in Chicago and a car without an alarm system would be spare parts in minutes if you didn't have an alarm system.
On the way home I spent a lot of time with Betty Brewster in the back of the bus. Johnny Roe was with Jean Osburn (Cagle). We stopped at a watermelon field somewhere around the Oklahoma border and Denton. Everyone paid a dollar to go into the field and bust open a watermelon or two or three and eat the heart of the melon right there in the field. We had no spoons or forks or towels, so our hands got real messy while we were doing that. Johnny and Jean decided to go back to the bus and, in doing so, Jean cut her leg on the barbed-wire fence. It was bleeding so everyone had to get out of the field and onto the bus. We took Jean to the emergency room at the Denton hospital before we went home. She got a few stitches and was fine but we had to wait around for an hour or two while it was getting done.
All in all, choir tour was a blast and everyone wanted to go again the next year. Kids still got summer jobs but they made sure they could get off for tour. It was a big boost to attendance.
Although youth choir existed prior to Don Roe becoming our minister of music, it really wasn't well attended until he came. Where there may have been 10 or 12 before, now there were 30. The summer after 9th grade, we took our first choir tour and used the church bus. It was really basically a school bus painted white and it drank oil like crazy. Don Roe drove the bus and that in itself is another story.
Most of the older kids didn't go on the tour, they had summer jobs. I think the only two seniors to go were Pam Vandiver and Carol Brewster. It was good that Pam went because she could be the entire soprano section by herself. I think she went to college at Indiana on a music scholarship and became a big basketball fan. Bobby Knight was the coach and there were winning championships. Anyway, I digress. The older kids, especially the boys, didn't go on the tour and that left the younger guys my age as the oldest group of boys. The tour was to Oklahoma and Kansas.
We were all assigned different duties on the bus. Jerry McKinney, Mike Manire, and Gary were the oil gang. There job was to lug a 5-gallon can of oil from the back of the bus to the front of the refill the engine oil that had leaked or burned away. You got to the engine by lifting a cover insude the bus by the driver. It wasn't outside. Don would holler at the oil gang to get ready and while the bus was still running they would lift the cover off the engine. Then, as we topped a hill Don would shut off the engine and we'd coast downhill. The oil gang would open the oil cap on the engine and start pouring in oil. They did this several times during the trip and would also have to add oil when we stopped for gas.
I was on the gas pumping crew and, I think, on the baggage crew. The gas crew would fill the tank when we stopped for gas and clean the windshield. The baggage crew would load and unload the luggage. There was also a cleanup crew to keep the bus clean and a crew to pass out programs at our concerts. After the concerts we would always have a fun and fellowship time.
My group had a bottle band. Different kinds of bottles were partially filled with water to create a particular note when you blew on them. Most folks played 2 or 3 bottles. I had a big gallon ceramic jug that played the bass note. It looked like a moonshiner's jug so I will always come in late and acting like I was drunk from drinking too much from the jug. Some of the people at the Kansas air force base whre we played were offended by my playing drunk. Drunkedness was a real problem on the base and they didn't think it was proper for me to make fun of it. Anyway, we played a couple of songs and were really pretty good. The finale of the fellowship program was always The Grasshopper Opera. You heard it at my birthday party. On tour that year, I think, Pam played the soprano part, Mrs. Faris did the alto, Don was the tenor, and Al Remette was the bass. They always played like the tenor didn't show up and they had to recruit someone from the audience. Don was the "recruit" and acted like a complete hayseed hillbilly, not a difficult part for him to play. Carol Brewster was the accompanist.
Some things I remember from the tour were that I roomed with Mark Strickland. I was little as a 9th grader but he was itty bitty as a 7th grader. He was always asking me questions about girls. We stopped in Oklahoma City at the amusement park to spend one day. In the parking lot was a brand new cadillac convertible all immaculate and shiny with the top down on the gravel parking lot. Mark and I went over to look at it. As we were looking at it a black guy came up from behind us and said, "Go ahead and put your hands inside the car." We hesitated but he said, "It's OK, it's my car." So, we put our hands in on the steering wheel and the seats. As soon as we stuck our hands inside the car the horn started blasting and the lights started flashing. The guy quickly came over and turned it off. I remember him saying he lived in Chicago and a car without an alarm system would be spare parts in minutes if you didn't have an alarm system.
On the way home I spent a lot of time with Betty Brewster in the back of the bus. Johnny Roe was with Jean Osburn (Cagle). We stopped at a watermelon field somewhere around the Oklahoma border and Denton. Everyone paid a dollar to go into the field and bust open a watermelon or two or three and eat the heart of the melon right there in the field. We had no spoons or forks or towels, so our hands got real messy while we were doing that. Johnny and Jean decided to go back to the bus and, in doing so, Jean cut her leg on the barbed-wire fence. It was bleeding so everyone had to get out of the field and onto the bus. We took Jean to the emergency room at the Denton hospital before we went home. She got a few stitches and was fine but we had to wait around for an hour or two while it was getting done.
All in all, choir tour was a blast and everyone wanted to go again the next year. Kids still got summer jobs but they made sure they could get off for tour. It was a big boost to attendance.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Our first apartment
Our first apartment was in the Komohana Apartments on West Division Street directly across from the C-J. It was a one bedroom apartment that faced out onto Border Street (now UTA Blvd). It cost $130 a month and included paid utilities.
I was making $2.00 an hour, $80 a week gross and about $65 net of taxes. Kay Ellen had her UTA job and was teaching piano from our apartment. She made as much as I did, possibly more. We had one car, a yellow 4-door Ford Custom that my parents had given me before we got married. Fortunately, they also paid my car insurance as a wedding present for the remainder of that year.
The last semester we registered for classes, I had to close the savings account I had started as a small child and withdraw all the money to pay for my tuition. I think it was $120.
While we were at the Komohana's we got a little black daschund puppy. We named him Blackjack. Blackjack and I would go over to the Swift Elementary (now UTA Nursing school) building basketball court and I would shoot baskets as he ran around on the asphalt court. We also rolled down the hill and basically had a good time.
I almost killed Blackjack one night when we got home from going out to eat and to a movie with Gary and Carolyn. We had just bought a brand new hide-a-bed couch. At dinner Carolyn told us how a puppy she knew had chewed up a new couch. When we got home the fabric was ripped up on one of the arms. I threw Blackjack across the room and yelled at him, grabbed him, stuffed his nose into the torn couch, and threw him again. In later months he also tore up the carpet in front of the glass sliding doors waiting for us to come home. We got our deposit back only because they had promised us new carpet and hadn't put it in yet.
We stayed in the Komohana's 6 months before moving to a "higher caliber" 2-bedroom apartment at the corner of Mitchell and Cooper. Those apartments were later condemned and torn down. UTA rebuilt student aprtment housing there. We were there a year before getting our first house on Briarwood, where Granny and Daddy Don are now.
Jessica and Cindy, I hope these last 2 posts tell you a little of what you wanted to know about how Kay and I met and our first year or so of marriage. If not, I'll try to elaborate in a later post.
I was making $2.00 an hour, $80 a week gross and about $65 net of taxes. Kay Ellen had her UTA job and was teaching piano from our apartment. She made as much as I did, possibly more. We had one car, a yellow 4-door Ford Custom that my parents had given me before we got married. Fortunately, they also paid my car insurance as a wedding present for the remainder of that year.
The last semester we registered for classes, I had to close the savings account I had started as a small child and withdraw all the money to pay for my tuition. I think it was $120.
While we were at the Komohana's we got a little black daschund puppy. We named him Blackjack. Blackjack and I would go over to the Swift Elementary (now UTA Nursing school) building basketball court and I would shoot baskets as he ran around on the asphalt court. We also rolled down the hill and basically had a good time.
I almost killed Blackjack one night when we got home from going out to eat and to a movie with Gary and Carolyn. We had just bought a brand new hide-a-bed couch. At dinner Carolyn told us how a puppy she knew had chewed up a new couch. When we got home the fabric was ripped up on one of the arms. I threw Blackjack across the room and yelled at him, grabbed him, stuffed his nose into the torn couch, and threw him again. In later months he also tore up the carpet in front of the glass sliding doors waiting for us to come home. We got our deposit back only because they had promised us new carpet and hadn't put it in yet.
We stayed in the Komohana's 6 months before moving to a "higher caliber" 2-bedroom apartment at the corner of Mitchell and Cooper. Those apartments were later condemned and torn down. UTA rebuilt student aprtment housing there. We were there a year before getting our first house on Briarwood, where Granny and Daddy Don are now.
Jessica and Cindy, I hope these last 2 posts tell you a little of what you wanted to know about how Kay and I met and our first year or so of marriage. If not, I'll try to elaborate in a later post.
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