P51 Mustang!

Yep. That what is was, a P51 Mustang, or maybe a F86, ore maybe the new B-58 Hustler.

It was Christmas eve, the magical night before. 

The older kids went to midnight mass with mom, we stayed home and if we were lucky we got to open one present, a little one, to help stave off the hunger.

Shake the present, enough noise and you knew it was a model airplane, take a couple of hours to assemble and then it would be night time and Christmas was just hours away.

Christmas is for the kids, my kids, now my grandkids, but that magical moment just before, I miss it. . .

Merry Christmas all

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

Crap, I hate Technology 

Using science and electronics to screw up my life, stuff I can do without any help.

I am fighting off a cold, Started up Sunday morning with a runny nose, progressed to a sore throat with a dry cough by Monday noon. Left work early to self-medicate. 

So last night it’s off to bed early with a dose of Alka-Seltzer and NyQuil. Ah, the sleep with no dreams. 

Alarm goes off at 4:45 and I just lay there, So hard to get up for work. Almost nobody in the office. I lay there till 5:45 and it’s like, Crap I m going to be late if I don’t get a move on.

So I hit the head, quick shower and get dress. Running late, grab my phone and wonder why the backup alarms hadn’t gone off. 

Maybe it’s dead, power it up and nope not dead, just 4:05 in the morning.

Damn electronic alarm clock by the bed got set to Pacific Time zone.

I hate Technology, at least I won’t be late for work.

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

Whoa, whoa, Mr Telephone. . . .

Three years!  World was turned upside down. Three years to the day tomorrow, Dr Evans had the results of the needle biopsy.

Cancer, the big C, the death sentence, the life changing event;  I was pragmatic about it, I mean what the hell what could I do.  I could fight Damnit!

I figured the Docs had my back I just needed to get on board with the program. Dr Evans referred me over to Texas Oncology where I teamed up with the good doctors Dr Derrick Nguyen,(Chemo),  and Dr. Ilahi,(Radiation).  These two set about to save my sorry carcass in spite of my self..

It’s been three years, My new radiation oncologist, Dr Lee informed me last week that by being in remission, symptom free for three years I have a 99% chance of not having Charlie return.

I think about the journey, and am humbled by those that stood by me and supported me in the fight.  Some may not have realized what they did, but I recognized support when I got it. The kind word, the fact you cared, it helped me fight the battles.

I was blessed with some true friends whose support was instrumental n helping me get through it, Ron, Brandon, Laynette, Josh, April, Marvin, Ron, Ben, Ms Dee next door and countless others. I survived and you helped heal me.

This Christmas is one not shadowed by fear and doubt, but one of thankfulness.  I have been given the greatest gift of all, health and good friends.

Merry Christmas to all, thanks again for all the support you provided and remember I now stand ready to fight the bastard charlie, wherever, and in whoever he appears.

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

Grass Be Gone In Action

I told you I was going to tell you about the guinea pigs, and I am.

Four legged, hyper active, furry little lawn mowers.  And you thought they were children’s pets.

These things can eat their weight in all things green or if necessary anything they can get their teeth around.

Friend of mine bought a half dozen or so to see if they could control the grass in some of his aviaries.  He raises some high dollar exotic birds. Exotic not erotic, get you brain out of the gutter.

Anyway, the grass lets snakes hide from the birds and then that snake can sneak in to the nest and steal eggs, or worst case,snack on some young fledglings.

But I digress, anyway he bought a few and threw them in one of the pens. Wow talk about efficient they cleaned that grass up. All of it, roots included. We talking West Texas dry dirt, bare, grass begone in action.

So it was a choice between feed them or move them to another cage. Move em, just watch so that they don’t destroy the savanna in the next location.

One thing about Guinea pigs, they dumb, you can catch em easy. So Gary grabs up the twenty three pigs and transfers them to site number two.

Now I never said you were dumb, the guinea pigs are dumb, and yes the 6 or so are now twenty plus, and in only a few weeks.

These things are worse than rabbits. Looks like their little lives involve eating everything in sight, making little pellets and making more guinea pigs.

Gary now has over a hundred, well over a hundred.  Did you know a round bale of hay that would last a cow over a month disappears in less time under the attack of a 100 plus guinea pigs.

But they are good to eat, national dish of Peru,  I kid you not, a lot like preparing a rabbit, smoke ‘em, deep fry ‘em, BBQ, it’s all good.

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

And roll they have.  My apologies to all those that followed the blog,  I got better, am still getting better, and the need to vent passed.

But it’s not all fun and games, struggles against chemo brain(or is it old age?) and the fact my priorities changed.

Was amazed to find it’s been two years. But what a ride.  My weight has made an astounding comeback, I’m up to 210-215, dang it, those 34x30 jeans are getting dadgum tight.

In the past two years charlie has attacked the wife of a good friend, my mom, a brother and the mom of faithful minion Ron.  Three out of four held their own, but my mom’s was found way too late to do any good.

So now I’m back at work looking to get retired so as I can live the good life.  I took up the sport of competitive marksmanship again, that was one of my bucket list items I decided to do while sick. Made the great expedition to Colorado to fish and plan to do it again this year.

And I am going to try to keep blogging, after all, what would you do with the free time between facebook games?

Next post I'll tell you all about the guinea pigs