Pushin' 60

May 3rd marked something of a macabre milestone in my life. It was a point at which I'd outlived my father by two years. Dad was a piece of work to be sure. I paint the mental picture of him as being 6 feet tall and looking like a 55 gallon drum on a pair of fence posts. Bird like skinny legs but with a massive upper torso that never lacked in strength. As a boy I clearly remember him tossing pumps into the back of the old Ford Ranch Wagon that would instantly cause the tailgate to drop 6 inches from the weight. (things I found later I could not even make move let alone lift!)

Dad had a wicked sense of humor but was, by nature, a fairly quiet man. With his size and strength he had no reason to be loud, obnoxious or anything other than humble. He was always in control yet rarely going to the effort to point that out to anyone who couldn't instantly figure it out on their own. Cross him and one look into those silver blue eyes.... now like to orbs of the coldest ice... let you know you'd just made a serious mistake. Like most big powerful men his gentle side generally ruled the day. Most troublemakers would just get to see him turn and walk away. I'm sure the majority never knew how lucky they were that he did. A few of dads oldest friends related tales of the few times when he had no option but conflict. He simply never lost.

Were dad alive today he'd be almost 80. His hair had been turning white since his 20's, Pearl Harbor and World War 2. When he died at 57 it was almost totally white. I'm sure his great grand children would have found him to be a gentle giant. Laughing, on the floor playing with them at their level, never too busy to devote his full attention to them. 20 years ago may have found him and his two sons riding through the countryside on their motorcycles together. I would have enjoyed that greatly. I miss you dad.


NEWS FLASH

April 11th marked a much more delightful milestone. The lovely and gracious Miss Rebecca, my companion and very significant other for many years, became my wife. (Or I became her husband.... or we both became someone else's something or other) Anyway, we got married! In trying to be somewhat romantic I thought Paris might be nice. I know she loves Sushi while I prefer good old dead red medium rare. I managed to locate a Japanese Steakhouse/Sushi bar which filled both bills nicely. SO! Two aging Americans, Paris and a Japanese joint. Sounds international as hell so far! Since I do fairly well with Italian cooking.... how about a little side trip to Italy prior to returning home? Works for me!

We got up early that Friday morning after sleeping nicely on the Japanese fare from the night before. We traded rings and the local official announced us to be man and wife. (or Wife and Man. Works for me either way) Following that we departed for Italy all nice and married and legal. We traveled Italy from end to end and were absolutely shocked to discover that it contained not ONE Italian restaurant! (Something seriously wrong with that picture) SO.... logically concluding that ANY food cooked in Italy had to be Italian just on that basis.... we settled for BBQ. Where else but Texas can a couple have such an international experience and never leave the state? Oh, as an aside, upon returning to Dallas we discovered that April 11th was my fathers birthday. Rather odd coincidence.

House wise we have managed to finish ONE more wall!!!! The enthusiasm we had early on for the remodeling project seems to had dissipated almost completely. The foundation is settling on the west side of the house so most of the interior wall work is going to crack eventually. While we'd like to have that stabilized, there is the $$$ side to consider. We simply don't have the $ to make that happen right now. Long term it's a case of dealing with the settling and cracking now then deal with the cracking again later when we can have that side of the house raised.

On the job front we're both in a transitional state right now. At my second truck driving job I discovered that I really don't function well in a micromanagement environment... particularly one which expects a driver to accomplish 19 hours of work in a 14 hour time frame. Keeping in mind that a driver can only drive for a total of 11 hours a day and work 3 additional hours for a maximum of 14..... my last trip had me leaving Arlington and driving to McAllen. (That's 10 hours right there just driving) Then it had me making deliveries to 5 stores from there to Brownsville PLUS a back haul produce pickup in Weslaco. That's pushing 20 hours real hard. I got my butt reamed for not getting it all done on schedule. A schedule that, for the record, indicated my start and stop point to be San Antonio rather than Arlington.... as if the difference in start points makes NO difference at all in being able to maintain the schedule. As with most things I really don't mind the work. Just give me something to do and then get the hell out of my face and out of my life until I'm done. IF, by chance, I need something from you... I'll track you down. If you don't hear from me assume all is well and bother someone else. I'm interviewing this coming week for an industrial maintenance position with a division of Caterpillar.

At Miss Rebecca's place the signs of eventual closing are beginning to look like the strip in Las Vegas. Every change for the past several years has been designed to piss some folks off enough that they will quit.... thus saving management from the task of firing them. Becky is the last of the true proofreaders there. The Atlanta office was completely eliminated last week and the Dallas office is not even 1/4th of the staffing level it was when she started working there. All policy changes are thought out and designed to promote attrition rather than retention. She's interviewed for another proofreader position and seems to be high up on the "A" list for hiring in the near future. It will mean a commute of almost 100 miles a day for her in the worst traffic Dallas has to offer though. Still they have already indicated that flexible hours are a real possibility so the traffic may not end up being an issue.

One final note. Remember the giant leg FUBAR several years ago? Motorcycle..... flat tire.... fire hydrant.... all that wonderful stuff. Unless I'm wearing shorts you'd never know my right leg had ever been messed up. Since fuel prices are fairly obscene a more economical means of transportation seemed to be in order. While I was looking at scooters on the internet, Miss Rebecca suggested I speak to my brother about buying his spare motorcycle.... a Suzuki M50. He was willing.... we bought it.... and 54 miles per gallon sure beats 16! Added bonus.... wind in my face and bugs in my teeth! (Free protein!!!)

Y'all take care of each other!!