If I get out of here alive

July 4th 1975 I was laying in a hospital bed at Crawford W Long on Peachtree Street Atlanta,Georgia.

I was having tests run on me trying to figure out what was going on in my body.Falling daily now and getting weaker.

Least I had a good view right on one of the busiest streets downtown Atlanta.

23 years old and I had just about convinced myself my life was over.The neurologist was having the test done on me.A human pin cushion I felt like with needles stuck in every part of my body hooked up to an oscilloscope.What seemed like every few hours nurses would come in taking huge doses of blood from me.Down to the OR a muscle biopsy was done.

From a Sunday to Friday I was there.All alone with plenty of time to ponder and think things over.

From my window I could see the sales lot of a Pontiac dealer.I got this big idea and that idea was if I get out of this alive I'm going to buy me a brand new Firebird Trans Am.

Black and blue and sore I left the hospital.

Back to LaGrange.

September of 1976 comes around and the new cars are out.Shopping around I found out that the insurance on a Trans Am for a 23 year old was ridiculous.So I settled for a 76 Formula 400 Firebird.They where just like the Trans Ams sorta.Golden rod yellow with an orange stripe across the top and down the sides.Black interior with a 8 track tape player.For those who don't know what 8 track players are don't ask .It looked liked a bumble bee someone told me.I never drove it to work but drove an old 1946 Dodge pickup which is another story it's self.

So tomorrow is another July 4th.This is a story of one of mine in the past.

Stolen watermelons

Watermelon time of the year.Red meat yellow meat watermelons,sweet and delicious.The 4th of July is coming up and I'm not sure of this but it would be my guess that more watermelon is ate on that day than any other.I only know the names of two types of watermelons,Stone Mountain and Moon and Stars.Yellow meat watermelon are always a treat because we never had them often.As a little boy I remember Grandpa Haynes walking his field in disgust at the small size of his watermelons he grew that year.Daddy always said a stolen watermelon chilled in a cold creek was the best on a hard day of farming on a hot blistering Alabama day.Right now I think a stolen or store bought watermelon would hit the spot.

Y2K

The year 2000 at the stroke of midnight,Y2K, the world was to change.Some even thought it would end.Computers would stop working,planes falling from the sky,ATM’s wouldn’t work.We would be thrown back into the dark ages with everyone trying to survive eating our food rations that where stored up for th

at day.No more TV,power companies would leave us in the dark,no more Walmart.It would be almost like day one,a new beginning for the world.I was looking out the window,me and Sam, my cat as we listened to the New Year being counted in on TV.At the stroke of midnight,the year 2000,I watched fireworks from my window over downtown LaGrange.For a fleeting instance I thought what if the experts where right,this could be the end of the world as we know it.But as you know and remember all was well,nothing happened,we lived to talk of it.All I really know is I had a case of this a case of that of canned food left to eat and enough candles to light an airport runway.You know.Why take a chance.It could have happened.

It has started

It's that time again.Politics has started.Promises of this and that.A chicken in every pot.I feel your pain,sure you do Mr/Ms politician.I'm not a Democrat,Republician or anything else for that matter.If I had to describe myself it would be Independent.My Daddy always said us poor folks had to vote Democrat.Now the only time us Po folks are thought of is when we go to the polls.Now it's party over the people.Don't worry about the citizens,what the party needs is what is important.I think that is the way they think.I always say it doesn't matter who is in the White House long as they don't starve us to death or get us blown up.

Don't call them pop

Mustard sandwhiches.I have nothing else to write about so food is the subject this evening.Take a couple slices of white loaf bread and a bottle of yellow mustard and you have a good meal.Another quick delicacy is mayo on vanilla wafers.Ranch dressing goes good with just about anything try it on soda crackers.Sure this isn't a well balanced 7 course meal it's just good snacking food when you are lazy and want something quick to nibble on.Microwave grits with lots of butter,salt and pepper.Heart attack special but so good.I always said a single man will never starve as long as grits and a microwave where close by.Fried baloney sanwhiches,fritos and Dr Pepper.That is a good wholesome hearty meal.I read where a man out in Texas was bottling the old fashion Dr Peppers in bottles using the original formula.Extra sugar in them.Any soft drink,Coke,Pepsi,7 Up on and on taste better in bottles it seems.Call them cokes,sodas but please dont call them pop.Well it's 7:24pm on Friday June 29 2012 on a hot Georgia evening with the temp over 100 degrees right now and I have gotten my need to write out of my system for another day.Oh by the way please excuse any misspellings because my spellchecker wont work.

It is hot

Talk about hot it is.That is the big conversation starter for the past few days.Temps over 100 degrees F are in the forecast and the 4th of July is coming up next week.Folks will be out BBQing and on the lakes and beaches.Maybe there is something called global warming.No winter here to speak of this year and now this extreme.One thing I have noticed the humidty is low,if it had been in the 90% range with these temps it would be dangerous.Back in the 1990's there was a heat wave in Chicago and a thousand or more people died because most where elderly and I guess no AC.They kept their windows closed because of the fear of someone breaking in on them I heard.I just hope this is not the start of another year like that.

Call me crazy

Ok call me crazy.Call me what you want.I seen something this morning that I can't really explain.Laying here in bed looking out the big window out of the west not to high in the sky I seen it.It was silver.Not all that big.Moving along at a pretty good clip.Now this is where it gets strange.I swear it looked liked it was revolving.Not to steady,wobbling in the sky.I got to thinking this must be a bird flapping it's wings.But the thing was silver,metalic looking.Really it looked like those flying saucers that you see in the old scfi movies from the 1950's.Maybe it was just wishful thinking but I did see something that off hand I can't explain.I half way hope/wish it wasn't a bird.

No worry list

Hot and dry is what the weather is today.Wind is blowing steady but no chance of rain in the forecast.There is a tropical storm out in the Gulf of Mexico that will bring heavy rain to Florida but none is expected here.It's one of those things that is on the no worry list because nothing can be done about it.There are lots of things that should be on the no worry list.Can't be change so why waste our time worrying.Easier said than done.Least that is my situation.No telling how much time in my life has been wasted just worrying and it was for no good.Didn't change a thing.Wish I could just live for the day and not worry about tomorrow.Things real or perceived.I should know better because the Bible said not to.Lord Jesus give me strength to deal with my faults.

6/24/1952

Sixty years ago 6/24/1952 I came into this world.It was on a Tuesday morning.Never would I guessed that it would pass so quick.Like everyone there have been good times and bad.If I was to be honest the good has outweighed the bad.All things considered it has been a pretty good run.

Have mercy

Have mercy on people.In fact I think we all could use some.People are out of jobs.Losing their homes.Living on the street.Going hungry.Most of us are just one paycheck away from joining them.No one should go hungry in this big world and this richly blessed country.All that is wasted could be put to better use.I know this is just my opinion and everyone has one.I read in the Bible that we should help the hungry and homeless and the sick and those that can't help themselves.I won't be a hypocrite,I'm not doing my share to help.People are hurting and way things look it could get worse before better.

God had Georgia on his mind

Tomorrow evening around 8pm summer starts.My favorite season right up there with fall of the year.The smell of Formosa and Magnolia blooms on a warm tropical summers night here in the South is something you never forget.Sounds of crickets and bull frogs and the singing of Mocking birds to lull you into a deep relaxing night of sleep.Fireflies lightning up the night sky on a star filled Georgia night.God surely had Georgia in the summer time on his mind when he created the world.

You called me Hoss Fly

Another Fathers day is almost here.It has been a long time Daddy since you left.Janurary 9th 1992,a Thursday about 10am.Now you seem so young to me only 67 at the time not much older than I am now.Not ashamed to say I was a Daddy's boy.Where you went I was your shadow.When I was just a kid to me you could do anything.You called me Hoss Fly till the day you died.I almost waited to late to tell you I love you,but it wasn't something I had to say,I think you knew that.

I'm a crooked man

I am a crooked man.Let me explain.I tilt a little bit to the right.That is the way it feels anyway.Maybe it's my imagination.Laying in bed I notice it more.Straighting myself up in no time I'm right back tilted to the right.Lately people have noticed it also so it must be true.Looking at a photo of me taken recently it is plain,tilted or crooked is the word.Has the Earth shifted a little bit on it's axis or is it me?Back in 2004 when that big tidal wave hit in Asia,the one where hundreds of thousands of people died,the Earth shifted a few degrees on it's axis.The North Pole moved a few feet,boundaries of countries changed.Time was slowed down a few what ever micro seconds at atomic clocks around the world.So either that has happen again,Earth has shifted a little bit to the right or I have on my on.

You have your opinion

I'm here looking out the big window.The sun is in the west still burning hot and bright.My day is winding down and that suits me fine.I must say this has been a pretty good week for me.Excellent food all week.Someone told me once that food was one of life's pleasures and at the time it didn't mean much but now I understand.The best meal for this week was Thursday.Lunch.Someone,a dear friend surprised me with a country fried steak sandwich and large order of golden brown just fried to perfection onion rings from DJ's.A meal like that will lift your spirts.Someone told me once I talk to much about food.Come to think of it that same person said I just plain talk to much haha.While on that subject that person also said I was a heartless so and so(use your imagination here)but to them I said that wasn't true I did have a heart because I seen it on a sonogram once,there it was just a beating away.So the moral of this story is I think every thing is up for discussion and you have your opinion and so do I.

Tear jerkers

I just watched something that got me teary eyed.About a guy proposing to his girlfriend.I'm turning into a old woman I think because it doesn't take much for me to start getting weepy these days.If it's a sign of weakness so be it.Those Publix grocery store commericals are the biggest tear jerkers around.The one where the brother says he wont miss his sister when she leaves for college really got to me.The holiday commericals they have oh boy will melt your heart.Doesn't take much to get me going but think what you want it's ok with me.

Sisters

Three Smith sisters.Left to right Lema,Ada(my Mom)and Pauline.My Cousin Doris sent this the other day.It was the first time I had seen it.Doris said it looks like it was taken at Memorial day at the old school house at Bethel some years ago.Doris made the comment it must have been back during the days when big glasses where the fashion.

Dots and dashes

Back when I was a young man around 1975 before pc's and cell phones the number one hobby was amateur radio or as some call it ham radio.Number one to me anyway.A few years earlier I was introduced to it at what was called Troup Tech then.Going through a two year course in Electronic Technology one of the instructors was a ham and the school had a radio and tri bander on the roof.I was hooked from the start.Listening to those chirpping and beeping signals and voices from around the world really made an influence on me.All my free time was spent studying morse code.It got to the point I was even hearing dots and dashes in my sleep.1975 I took my novice test and in the mail received my callsign of wn4pfg.The N meaning I was an novice with limted bands and other restrictions.I loved the hobby and spent hours on the radio makings friends around the world using international morse code that hams used.Later before the novice license expired I took my general class test in Atlanta at the field engineers office.I passed and was assigned the callsign of wa4pfg which I still hold till this day. 37 years now I have been hamming.Now I'm called an old timer.Still even though I'm not very active on the radio the passion for those dots and dashes still is in my blood.

Old red truck

One of these days I am going to write about Daddy's old truck.I have pictures and will add them to the story.

1984 Ford F150 it was called an Explorer back then.Red with a silver top.Georgia Bulldog colors.Silver stripe down the side.

It was the only new vehicle he ever bought.His retirement truck he called it.He had this thing about money.He liked spending it and Momma didn't.Many a time he would tell me no need for your Momma to know how much this cost.Best I can remember she did not say anything about his new truck.

When he died in 1992 the truck only had 27,000 miles on it.He only drove it to work.Maybe to Macon a few times or the big farmers market in Atlanta.

The first time it was washed I did it.Leave it with me Daddy I will wash it.He fell for it. I just wanted to drive around a bit in his new truck.

This is true.Every time I drove the truck to Alabama something would happen to it.Once it caught on fire with me.Leaves down in the cowl of the truck burst into flames.Made it home but it would not crank so had it pulled in.Water pump went out on one trip.Transmission on another trip.Brakes went out after leaving Roanoke.

Someone said maybe the ole truck was trying to keep me in Alabama.

The day Momma died at hospice I was leaving and the old truck refused to crank same on the day of her funeral,would not crank.

Might have been it's way of mourning.

I wrecked the truck twice.First time it was totaled by insurance company.I told them I wanted the truck fixed and they did.

I had it painted solid red and talk about pretty that old truck turned heads.More than once a pretty woman would come up to me and say nice truck !

After the second wreck which by the way none my fault the old truck never did drive quite right but that was ok.It was Daddy's and that was all that mattered.

Oh I almost forgot the moral of the story.

What ever happened to me when driving that old truck it always got me home.Kinda like Daddy and the old truck where watching out for me.

That is what I like to think anyway.

Nothing to fear

A story I have to share.I have a friend who has done so much for me spiritually.He told me this story today and it needs to be retold.His niece is going through some rough times with her children and other family members.Last Friday he told me she had tried to end her life.She parked her car on a deserted dirt road in a neighboring county and took a bottle of pills .Leaning her car seat all the way back in the recline position she must have went into a coma I guess or maybe worse.The next thing she remembers was waking up on another more traveled road still with the car seat in the recline position where she was found by someone and taken to the hospital.How she ended up on that different road she can't explain.Yesterday she called my friend and told him rest of the story.She had went to Heaven and seen her Father who had passed away last year.He was in the prime of life and everything was good and perfect with him.He told her it was not time for her to be here.She had to go back.Also she met her grandchild who died as a baby and held the child.She met someone who she said was God.If he told her anything she didn't say.When my friend told me of this I had tears in my eyes.With out any doubt I know God is real and Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.We have nothing to fear.

29

Life through the big window.I enjoy looking out the big window here in my room.From it I can watch the world pass by.Busy highway 29 is in front of me and the big trucks are up and down the highway 24/7.Motorcycles are sure popular now it seems.Daily the roar of them get my attention.Fire trucks,ambulances and police cars also get my curiosity up when they pass at full speed with lights and sirens blasting.Across the road there is a patch of trees of different types and a haven for birds and my favorite ones to watch are the hawks.I see Oaks,Pine and Formosa trees with their pink blooms and sweet smell on summer nights.Seems I have always been near enough of 29 to hear the whine of the big trucks tires and the shifting of gears.Many a summer night early in the morn just laying in bed listening to the sounds of night have been a comfort to my ears and soul.From Florida to Maryland highway 29 runs 1036 miles.I bet every mile has a tale to be told.

Doozie of a day

Is there a full moon tonight?It has been one of those days.People are in a bad mood,agitated and getting on my nerves.Not really but it wouldn't take much to get me in that frame of mind.I'm so glad to be in here in my room looking out the big window.A time to relax and reflect on things of the day.I am so blessed and this is why.I just finished my snack of potato chips (thank you Ms Jessica)and I have a stash of cinnamon hard candy.But the big thing I'm thankful for is as I was getting into bed my laptop fell and hit the floor.But would you believe it still is working,no busted screen or big chips broken on the case,looks and works perfect.So a doozie of a day,just hoping the night goes smoother.

This means something

Bridge over troubled waters.I have a fear.Why I cant explain.I do not like bridges especially ones over water.Seems I remember as a child traveling over a super high bridge some where at sometime.Maybe it was just a dream or could it be I had a bad experience on a bridge in another life if there is such a thing.Bridges over water are like a roller coaster ride for me.I read of bridges falling.Being hit by ships.People and cars into the water.I think about that every time a bridge is crossed.Like the guy said in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind making a mountain out of his mashed potatoes this means something.

New fangle way

Here I sit in front of a blank sheet of paper pen in hand and nothing to write about.Well sorta.These days does anyone use paper and pen for any thing.Really I can't even read my own hand writing I'm so out of practice.The computer screen and keyboard have replaced a lot of skills we grew up with.As kids we practiced our penmanship to perfection.Now mine looks like chicken scratch.That is progress I guess.But I'm not complaining.I sure like writing this new fangle way using a computer.

Info

Scroll all the way down to bottom of page,click on older post,that will take you to all of the posts.Also click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Be more animal like

This has been on my mind lately.I watch the birds at the bird feeder and lessons could be learned from them.A male bird was taking care of his mate by bringing her seeds from the feeder.She was sitting on top of the post just a chattering as her mate worked gathering seeds.I have read that some birds have only one mate throughout life.They even mourn when the other passes away.Elephants do the same I think.I know certain breeds of ducks do this and maybe other animals do also.If only us humans would be more animal like in this respect.

I apologize

I'm sorry for being so bright eyed and bushy tailed this early in the morning but I feel good today.Just thankful for being here and having another chance at life.Had my breakfast and some good company to get the day started.Sky is sunny and the birds are fussing at the bird feeder.It's Memorial Day and most likely a hot one.Someone said this morning that they seen the temp on a downtown thermometer and it was 98 degrees yesterday.Again I apologize for being in such a good mood.My wish for you today is happiness and peace.

Dope money

Dope money.It was used to buy off the dope wagon.Maybe I should explain.Only old timers will know what I'm talking about.Years ago in the cotton mills where Momma and Daddy worked there was a snack wagon that was pushed through the mill selling Cokes,chips,crackers etc.In the beginning Cokes,CoColas where made with a little bit of the drug cocaine in them.So people gave them the name dope.The name just stuck.So in the mill people would carry dope money(snack money)to buy things off the dope wagon(snack wagon).

Snakes and pecans

Wow.94 degrees as I write this.Summer is still about a month away and it's so hot.Maybe there is something to that global warming thing.Winter skipped Georgia this year.Sure there where a few cold days but for the most part a mild season.I hear it will be a big year for creepy crawlies,snakes .The early warm weather has them on the move and they have a bad attitude.Someone said once that snakes and pecans have something in common.Every few years you have a bumper crop of both.Tales of snakes getting into your house please shoot me on the spot.Snakes are ok at a distance,where I can see them but if I think one is close by out of sight that is a bit scary.There are only 4 types of venomous snakes native to Georgia,rattlers,copperheads,cotton mouths and the coral snake.One way to tell if a snake is venomous is look them in the eyes.If the eyes are round don't worry about them.I'm not getting that close to check out their eyes myself.

Troubling times

I almost made a mistake.There for a few minutes this morning I was getting political and started to write about something I really have no knowledge of.I will stick to things understood by me and not go down that road.All I will say is God must be ashamed of what is going on in the world.Once he had enough of it and started the world all over again.He must have patience not to do it again.These are troubling times.

Damper on things

This brings back memories of good times.That is me front row 2nd from right in the red coat.I was 13 and everything was fresh and brand new.One of the girls in this photo I had my first date with.Well sorta.We went to the show to see the movie Flipper.Me,her and her 2 brothers.That did put a damper on things.I counted 4 girls in this photo that one time or another I had crushes on.

Good and bad

The temp hit 90 today according to my unofficial thermometer.I was inside all day so cool and comfy it was to me.Yes a day wasted for me not a thing was done.I did get a phone call from my oldest friend Terry C or Top Cat today.It was nice talking with my old friend.So much has changed in both our lives over the years.The years bring good and bad for us all.Not much can be done to change somethings.I think everyone has things that given a second chance they would do different or better.I know that is true for me.Maybe I would have listened a bit closer.Been a little more sympathetic to other people.I would have tried seeing things from their view point.Now I wouldn't let my pride get in the way of relationships.Someone told me once pride cometh before the fall.Stubborn and hard headed use to be me.I have learned from mistakes.A better person all of this has made me.Least I hope.

Dog gone

Dog climbs fence.Dog runs off.Dog is crazy.Dog bites neighbor.Cops come see me.Dog catcher come see me.Dog catcher takes dog .Dog in dog poky for 10 days.Dog catcher writes me a $100 citation.I go to court November 2nd.I pay fine.I not like poky.Dog gone

Earthquakes,floods and bean burritos

Someone said something today that got me thinking.Sweets before bed time gave them nightmares.That jogged my memory back to a few years ago.Back in the early 1990's I was living alone and really cooking wasn't my favorite thing to do.Not so much not liking to cook but the clean up that followed.When I used a dish,pot or bowl soon as I was finished it was washed.So being a single person a lot of frozen quick meals where always in the freezer.Many nights before bed I popped a couple of bean burritos in the oven for my midnight snack.I always noticed one thing.When ever I had bean burritos for that last meal I would dream,not just blah blah dreams but mine were vivid kaleidoscopes of things going on.Often I would dream of earthquakes and floods.The ground would open up and I could see it swallow up people,buildings etc.Same thing with floods,tidal waves.I figured out I wasn't being prophetic,it was just those bean burritos not agreeing with me.

Someone special

The tall man being Baptized is my Grandpa Haynes.Lee Anderson Haynes.I only knew him for a short time but quickly I learned to love him.Even at 3 years of age I knew he was a

special person.In his younger years the story goes that Grandpa was a bootlegger/moonshiner in the wilds of Alabama in what is now called the Talledega National Forest.Stories of him coming home on a wagon with croker sacks of money have been told.Another story is that one night he came home and had been shot in the mouth.A few days later while at the breakfast table the bullet fell out I'm told.How and why he had been shot I never heard.A farmer in his later years.I remember he had a small farm with cows,hogs,chickens and an old mule named Grey John.He never met a stranger I've heard always joking and teasing people.One person he didn't like and why I don't know was President Roosevelt.Peaches and cream sitting around the breakfast table I fondly remember.Sitting on the back porch with him and my aunts and uncles hearing him talk while Grandma Haynes churned butter is a memory that is so precious to me.I never had the pleasure of meeting Grandpa Smith he died when my Mom was just 5 years old.Grandpa Haynes always made me feel special and to me he was special.

All things considered

I can't sleep so I will write.My brain is in high gear tonight running at warp speed.There are times I just have the need to put something into words.Nothing in particular is bothering me so that's not the problem.All sorts of things are being thought about.A little sadness has crept into the picture and it's not me that's the focus of it.The feeling of fear and anxiety someone else is going through is on my mind tonight.I don't know them well at all just a speaking acquaintance but what they are going through must be terrifying.All things considered I am lucky.Why things have to be this way is not understood at times.Truly I believe God is in control and everything is His will.A purpose for everything even if it's not understood or the results are not what we want.I don't question God's reasoning He is in charge.I read in the Bible that one day everything will be understood.

Things that just don't sound right

Strange things.Laying here in bed looking out the big window I see in the royal blue sky the crescent moon and the bright light of the planet Venus.Today thoughts of strange things that have happened here in LaGrange/Troup County Georgia have been on my mind.Things that just don't sound right.Years ago a man committed suicide.Least that is what the corner said but the strange thing the gun supposedly used was never found.There was a little riff between Police and the corner over that one.And this one is just not only strange but just plain off the wall a man with a 357 magnum pistol here shot down an Army helicopter flying over him back in the 70's.Seems he shot through the underside of the helicopter hitting the pilot forcing a crash landing.Then there is the story of the light in the woods.Up Highway 27 near the Troup/Heard county line at Blueberry Hill out in the woods people started seeing a light in the trees.I was a little kid at that time and my folks loaded up the old 55 Pontiac Cheftain station wagon with my cousins and off we went looking for the light on a dark summer night.Parking on side of the road there was quite a crowd there also to view this phenomena.Well as luck would be nothing was seen but we did have the pleasure of meeting a man who said he was the keeper of the light and it had asked him for a drink of water please.Least the light or what ever was polite.

Chattahoochee

The Chattahoochee river.I remember seeing the river so low that you could walk across it on the rocks.I've seen it over run it's banks and flood West Point ,Georgia back in the 1960's.The river runs about 430 miles and you can float on it from Columbus ,Ga to the Gulf of Mexico.The name Chattahoochee is an Indian name meaning flowering rocks.The Indians also cursed the river saying it would take many a man's life.My Uncle Arnold had a cabin on the river and as a little boy Daddy,Arnold and me spent the night there once.It was a one room rustic cabin built high up on rocks because it was only a few feet from the river bank.I was introduced to that delicacy called fried frog legs that night.Watching them dance around the frying pan I choose to have a hot dog instead.Back in the 1970's the river was dammed up here creating Lake West Point.It was for flood control.The Army Corps of Engineers over see the dam.You can still drive up Highway 27 to Franklin,Ga and still see the river run free.And yes the Indians where good at their curse on the Chattahoochee.Since the river was dammed up nearly a hundred or more people have lost their lives here on it.

Embarrassing condition

Senior moments.Sheesh I have had two episodes lately.The latest was today I forgot where my hat was and as you probably guessed it was already on my head.The other day I was listening to music on the computer and for some reason I noticed nothing was being heard.I checked the volume on the computer settings but every thing looked good.Desperate I was thinking of running a complete diagnostic check.Then crazy me noticed by chance that the reason nothing was being heard was that I had taken off my headphones.Seems I'm not alone.Telling others about this little episode of senior moments they admitted they also suffer from this embarrassing condition.

That place,you know

Boy I feel queasy.Hate this feeling.Lunch did not look great to me.For supper I just ate a baked potato.I did load it up with butter,sour cream,salt and pepper.It is so hot today.Muggy.AC is on but still hot in here.Maybe a steady cooling rain would make me feel better least cool things off some.Enough on that subject.What I had planned on writing about was a day or so ago someone made the comment that I sounded like I was from you know up there,yep that place,the North.Rest assured I'm not.Born and raised right here in LaGrange,Ga America's greatest little city,the place of elms and roses.You know maybe it's possible I do sound a little like you know,that place,the North.I have a honest excuse for it.For almost seven years I lived in the same house with you know ,people from,yep that place,the North.Yes we did have a communication problem in the beginning but it worked it's way out.I started talking like them,you know,people from,yep the North and they adapted well and sound like born Southerners now.I have to be on guard not to slip into my old way of talking,saying words like winder(window)doe(door)flo(floor)cheer(chair).Yep,if you had told me that I would end up talking like,you know,that place,yep the North,I would have told youse guys that youse was wrong in a NY miniute.

Let your fingers do the walking

Everything in one box.That is what my computer is to me.A way to communicate with people with email or instant messenger,no need for newspapers printed on paper anymore they are read online.Who needs a TV.I listen to everything that's on radio with the computer these days.We are truly in the digital age.I remember back in the 1970's hearing about something called email.How could that be I wondered.Now people even date by computer,shop online,is there a need for stores anymore.I heard of a thing called video phone years ago it never caught on but today I guess that cams on computers has taken that to another level.Do your banking and pay your bills online.No need for a stamp or automobile now.Let your fingers do the walking like the old yellow page commercial use to say.The computer has changed our life style.I just hope it's for the best.

You almost won

Congratulations you almost won.I got that letter once.A store downtown LaGrange was giving away a bike for Christmas.I registered and really forgot all about it.A letter came in the mail for me.Noticing who it was from my memory was jogged and thinking to myself this is good news.With childish excitement the letter was opened.I won a bike kept running through my mind.Well you know how it goes.The letter was informing me I almost won the bike.Still to this day often I think of that little disappointment in life.

Everything has a purpose

Rainy day here in West Central Georgia.It's ok with me kinda suits me today.Even with the dark clouds and rain the little solar powered butterfly in the window is happy and just dances up a storm.Got to be a moral to that and maybe in a minute it will come to me.Birds sitting on power lines seem to be enjoying the rain.It's not hard rain just a little more steady than a drizzle.Everything has a purpose and this rain is needed.Folks with gardens are happy with all the rain of the past few days I bet.I should be also cause I have tomatoes in the waiting from people who have gardens.White loaf bread,mayo,sliced home grown tangy tomato,salt and pepper.Tomato sandwich.So simple and hard to mess up and delicious.

Closest thing to Gods love

It's a rainy night in Georgia.Back in bed after a long day just looking out the big window watching traffic on Highway 29.Supper was excellent.Country fried steak,scalloped potatoes,green beans,cucumber salad and apple pie with hot coffee to round it out.Tomorrow is Mothers Day 2012.Thoughts of Momma have flashed into my head off and on all day.I keep remembering when as a little boy how on Saturdays we would go shopping downtown,she would always have her hair done and afterwards we would eat at the Plantation on Bull Street or at the soda fountain at Holmes Drug Store on Main.Or the time when I was sick with some type of virus and she got down on the bathroom floor with me,holding me,crying with me as I threw up.Momma I guess was the only person I'm 100% sure of that loved me.That was something never doubted and guess taken for granted.Someone said once that a Mothers love is the closest thing to Gods love that we will ever have here on earth.So true.

My name is

All my life it seems people have had trouble pronouncing my name.Most of the time when I'm asked what my name is I just spell it.My name is Haynes.Most call or spell it Hays,Haines or Hanes.The y is silent so guess it is a easy name to mispronounce.Never have I took offense by being called the wrong name and rarely do I correct anyone when it's mispronounced.Why the name is spelled like it is I have no idea.So just call me anything I answer to many names.

Fun on $1.25

Fun on $1.25.Every week that was my allowance or mad money as Momma called it.It was for chores I did around the house.I would take that $1.25 and go to Buy Wise Drug's in Newnan,Georgia where I lived as a kid and buy a model car,the kind that where 1/24 scale plastic that you had to put togather.AMC,Revell where the most popular brands to buy.Testors glue and paint where the only items needed for assembly.It took patience and a steady hand putting those models togather but it was such an enjoyment.If I had been smart they would have been saved.

Creepy crawler

I have no idea what to write about.No earth shattering news to report.Everything is just so so lately.Well that's not quite right.I think,maybe it was,yes I'm sure I seen a little baby creepy crawler the other day at the rock water fountain.A snake.Lizards are over populated at the water fountain but this snake is a first for me.Brown,tiny, I first mistaken it for a worm.But it crawled like a snake and best I could tell it had a tongue that flickered in and out.It crawled or squirmed right towards me.Never did I feel threaten by little no shoulders.Now as I'm writing this I have this thought.Where there is a baby creepy crawler there must be a Momma creepy crawler.So on my next outing to the wilds of the water fountain my eyes will be keen on the lookout for more creepy crawlers.

Strange goings on

Strange goings on on Highway 219 north between Troup and Heard Country.Looking on the internet as far back as 1938 people where noticing things out of the normal.Lights in the sky,things in the sky.I remember a story about a family's car being invaded by a strange light inside with them.The road has a stretch of land that is nothing but swamp.I have to admit it must be a spooky place at night in dead darkness.Not many homes on that road that I remember.I read that years ago maybe in the 1950's a military helicopter crashed in that neck of the woods.I personally remember back in the 1990's a military jet exploded killing the pilot while supposedly chasing some type of aircraft in the area.Least that is what witnesses said I can't prove or disapprove any of this.I know for a fact once when driving back down 219 from Heard County up in the sky I seen a silver round object moving at a fast clip. Wasn't like any plane I ever seen before.Strange thing was I watched an object just like it hovering above downtown LaGrange a few days before.So maybe nothing strange is going on but there sure are lots that hasn't been explained about Highway 219.

Adapt

Adapt to the situation.Be like chameleon lizard.Life gives you lemons............One's outlook on life can be your own.Make it good or make bad.Your choice be happy or miserable.I'm not saying everything that happens you have to like but the way it's handled can be controlled.Just try looking at the good in every thing not only the bad.Believe me that makes life more bearable and interesting.

Hell on earth

Never have I worried much about myself.Seems I have done alot of worrying but it was always about others.Lately I have this fear.Momma wasn't much older than me when she started having memory problems.Alzheimer's or dementia was the final diagnosis.Lord I have prayed don't let me end up that way.It is one of the saddest things in the world to lose your mind I think.That thought is stuck in the back of my brain.I see people with dementia daily.Their constant walking or repeated questions over and over and it breaks my heart.These once most likely vibrant people reduced to not more than a shell of a the person they use to be.I know how their families feel.Mental anguish has to be hell on earth.

Danger Will Robinson

Well we had some excitement this evening at the old home place.It was around 8pm when Wille and me had our Braves baseball game interrupted by the sound of sirens.They stopped close by Willie I said.He seen them first,firemen running into the building,and there was smoke.Fire alarms blasting and strobe lights flashing we where whisked away to a safer spot.It was the fastest wheelchair ride I ever had.Least this time I was still dressed and not like during the tornado warning and off to the hall we went waiting the all clear signal.Seems an electrical outlet in a room had caught fire being the culprit for our evening excitement and the idea for this story.All is good,everyone safe,and now I'm snug in bed writing this story.As the robot from lost in space always said danger Will Robinson danger!

A milestone

A milestone.As I write this after just waking up,my eyes still fuzzy it's a milestone of sorts.I noticed in the stats for this blog it is post number 402.I started this blog about 2 years ago not knowing what would become of it.I found out that it's an enjoyment putting into words how things are going for me.Therapy maybe you could call it.I just hope others enjoy reading it as I do writing it.The stats show what post are being read most,what country people are from but rest assured it doesn't show who's reading it so your privacy is well protected.People from the United States are the biggest readers of this blog but here is a shocker for me in second place is Russia with the most readers.Now I say this with honesty and sincerity thank you all who read and take an interest in my blog.I hope you have as much fun reading it as I do putting into words little snippets of my life.

Just shoot me

Just shoot me.My wisdom tooth is acting up and it's painful.I still have my lower wisdom teeth and they act up at times.My jaw is so sore just eating is a hassle.The ear ache is the worst part.There is an old saying that half your life is over when wisdom teeth are pulled.Two at 18 where pulled so I should be dead already,at 36 so just another old saying that doesn't mean anything.This to will pass in a few days but have mercy on me.Just shoot me.

I had to laugh

I just lost my work.Pushed the wrong button.Dang hate that when it happens.I will start over.I smell honeysuckle and I like it.Fire flys will be peppering the night sky around June.I'm just laying here listening to 80's music watching traffic on busy Highway 29 out the big window.A hot day and the AC was turned on and whew a muggy night also.The planet Venus will be visible soon and it will be shining bright.Twilight now.Someone asked me a few minutes ago if I was ok.Sure I said.She gave me that smile and look My Dad would when he knew I wasn't being honest.Look me in the eyes he would say and I would spill the beans every time.I had to laugh.

Sweet talking

Sweet talking for food.Once I was pretty good at it. When I was living alone and doing my own cooking I would plan out these big meals.By the time I had the cornbread and big white butterbeans or pintos cooked that will be enough I said.Never was a full course meal cooked.Here comes in the sweet talking part.I found out that women like for men to eat(that is the only thing I really know about women) and it didn't take much convincing to get them to bring a cake,meatloaf or salmon and biscuits if ya acted pitiful enough.I wasn't to proud to act pitiful for a good home cooked meatloaf.I think cooking or baking one as some call it isn't all that hard.It's just getting my hands all gooey mixing it up that killed the need for it.Anyway I have been sweet talking again and have put my order in for some home cooked big white butterbeans and some greasy cornbread.Don't forget the onion please.

Worlds top killer

The most dangerous creature in the world.It kills more humans than any other.Nope it's not the lion.Not poisonous snakes.Not a shark.We all have had encounters with this killer before in our life.Bet you have even been attacked by a few.Can you name this creature?Ok a hint.In the summer time they are noticed more.They fly.They are aggravating pest.Ok give up?Mosquitoes.Yep those blood sucking skeeters.They kill more humans than any other creature with the virus they carry.

I never picked cotton

I have been blessed enough to never pick cotton.Fact is I've only seen 1 cotton field in my life and it was a small one that looked liked someone just grew it for looks.Different story for my parents and their generation.I know Momma talked of King Cotton can't remember if Daddy did.Momma said cotton was their cash crop.They had a working farm back up in the country.The whole family worked in the fields from the smallest on up.The cotton crop was sold and the cash from it was used to buy what ever they didn't grow.The Government payed them not to grow cotton at one time I guess because the market was flooded with it and prices where low.My generation is so spoiled most of us didn't have to grow what we ate.Farmers I hear are a dying breed of people because of the economy and big corporations buying up small farms.Like someone once said at your next meal thank a farmer for the food we are going to eat.

BBQ

Fresh cut grass.One of my favorite aromas.It's right up there with the smell of wood smoke and BBQ.Just riding past a BBQ joint smelling that wood smoke is enough to make my mouth water.BBQ is an acquired taste I have heard.I acquired my taste for it in the 1960's.Melears BBQ in Union City,Ga.One of those all you can eat places.I never could get past 1 plate that was enough for me.Shredded pork BBQed to perfection,toast, Brunswick stew,sweet pickles and Wise potato chips.And those glasses of sweet tea.They where huge the size of what I can't describe.Me and Mom could not help but to giggle at the size of those glasses first time we ate there.Every time we passed Melears I had to stop.Someone told me that they had closed their doors.That's a shame a great place to eat and full of memories.

Fanner 44's

I seen this on the Internet and it brought back memories.I had a pair of these when I was a kid.They are Fanner 44's with holsters.The unique thing about these cap pistols where they had plastic bullets that looked like the real thing and they would shoot just like real shells.They were heavy just like a real pistol and extra good quality of workmanship for a toy.Stupid me I traded them for a Monopoly game after years of having them.The point of this story is how things have changed from the 50's till now.Back then little boys had play guns and army and cowboys was a a way to have fun.There was always a good guy and a bad guy in our games.Now in this age parents shy away from letting their kids be kids and use their imagination.

Found my t shirt

I found my t shirt.I like cornbread and buttermilk.Sometimes I almost crave buttermilk and cornbread.My mouth waters thinking about cornbread and buttermilk.Us po folks down here in Georgia where raised on cornbread and buttermilk.Big pan of cornbread cooked(baked)for dinner(lunch) and what was left you had for supper(dinner)with buttermilk or what we call sweetmilk.Most folks just use buttermilk for cooking but to me a tall cold glass of refreshing buttermilk just hits the spot on a hot humid Georgia day.I know some who say they gag at the thought of drinking buttermilk.Maybe drinking buttermilk is an acquired taste like BBQ.So sit back my friend prop your feet up and have a big bowl of cornbread and buttermilk with me.Enjoy!

Dark Shadows

They are making a movie out of a favorite TV show of mine.Dark Shadows.When I was a schoolboy each day I would rush home to watch that show.Yes I was hooked on a soap opera.But it was a different type of soap opera not the kissy kiss mushy type that Ladies like.It was about vampires,ghost and all sorts of other creepy going ons.When the wind was howling the other night my mind flashed back to that time.I thought of cold windy weather in my bedroom with the gas heater on sitting in my chair watching a black and white TV.The ice cream truck would come around about dark each day and one of my favorite meals was bought off it.Hot dog and potato chips and a coke in a cup with lots of ice.The smell of the propane that truck cooked with came back to me.Funny how memories stay with us and a certain whatever brings them all back.Generally they are all good memories.

Pretty birds

What to write about.I have no idea.I could write about the bird feeder out side the bedroom window.It is a pleasure just watching those little birds fly and flutter around the feeder.I have seen turtledoves and cardinals both male and female on the feeder.Never seen them eat the birdseed they just seem to be using the post as a resting spot during their daily travels.Small birds I think they are some type of finches use the feeder mostly.They are brown which I guess are the female and the males must be the ones with red heads and chest.Lately a small bird that is light gray with a black head has shown up.Very pretty.They all are and a relaxing way to spend spare time watching them feed.

The big 60

I was surprised and delighted this morning by a dear friend.A birthday card and balloon wishing me happy birthday on the big 60.The card was signed by the members of the Church I belong to.There is one teeny weeny small problem.Right day but a few months early.But that is no problem.I will just celebrate my big 60 birthday everyday for a couple of months.

Go fly a kite

The wind did howl yesterday here in west central Ga.Great day for kite flying if ya had one.Gust around 30mph.It has been years since I flew a kite.Kites where 10 cents at the store plus what ever a roll of string cost and tail made from scrap cloth and you had fun that would keep you busy for hours.Do kids still fly kites I wonder because it has been years since I've seen one in the sky.March was always called kite flying season.Windy days where almost always guaranteed.I wonder if kite flying is another thing that has been replaced by all the new fangled things kids have to keep them busy these days.

Time is now

I had a thought this morning.Every once in a while that happens.Laying here before sunrise looking out the window at the still dark sky it hit me.I thought it must be awful and almost in a way cruel to live to be old I mean very very old like 100 or more.I thought about all your family who would have passed on leaving you behind to mourn them.Friends you never would see or talk with again.My Uncle Eugene once said that death is man's best friend. At the time I didn't think much about it but he might be right.Without family and friends life must be a hard lonesome road to hoe.Maybe it is time this very day to tell those you love how much you do.Time to clear up problems with people you have differences with.Live your life in love loving everyone and stop all the strife in your life.No one is guaranteed of seeing the sun set today so live it to the best of your abilities.Don't wait till that last breath wishing you had done this or said that. So in closing,if you are having a problem with someone don't dally go now,pick up that phone tell them how much they mean to you.

Hooked

On the radio.It has been a habit of mine since my early years.Seems at Christmas or my birthday for a present I always got a transistor radio.Listening to baseball games or the fights was popular and fun.My teen years where spent at night listening to WLS in Chicago to music.On my bike,don't laugh and yes I was a nerd,to the handle bars a transistor radio was taped so I had music on the go.I might add that on my bike balloons where tied to the spokes ,sounded like a motorcycle,yep not only was I an nerd but a geek also.Then later on as I got older and working a radio was always company at work.Talk shows I got hooked on.Jim White in St Louis.I listened to him every night.Radio preachers .Jimmy Swaggert,Lester Rolof.For the past few years I have been hooked on Coast to Coast AM.Art Bell.No more tiny transistor radios now it's all high tech.Satellite radio and streaming audio from radio stations on the Internet with crystal clear no fading reception.

Do you remember?

Things about LaGrange do you remember when?Remember when the fountain on the square had colored water.The Spinning Wheel dairy on Main and their neon sign.LaGrange Theater on Main.The drive in on Airport Road.Hanson's and The Big Oak and Little Oak.When Officer Don and the Popeye Club came to town.The pig pen.A man named John F. Kennedy came to town.Those plastic flutes we learned to play in school and the big concert every year at the auditorium.Dancing around the May Pole.Hillside movie theater.The pool.On Callaway's birthday the mill ponds where opened for fishing and the workers got the day off.Commerce Avenue was 2 lanes.Roses department store.The Chicken Treat on Commerce.Those 3 wheel Harleys the police used.Christmas tree at City County Hospital.The Bargain Basement.Buster Brown shoes.Sliding down the hill on a snowy day at the monument.Taps on your shoes.The Beacon.When there was no traffic light at the hospital.The funeral homes had ambulances.Day McDonalds opened on Commerce.Burger Chef.These are just a few that come to mind and I wish you would leave comments on those that you remember!

Yearn for the old days

Years ago TV was called your window on the world.Television shrunk the world and made it smaller.Before TV Momma said they where told of an invention like radio but you could see it.I am a child of the TV age.Saturday mornings as a kid I would be up bright and early before anyone else sitting on the floor in my PJ's with a bowl of cornflakes watching the Indian test pattern waiting for another day of broadcast excellence.Programs like My Friend Flicka,Sky King,Hop Along Cassidy on and on.Saturday nights at 10 pm standing in front of the TV with my cap pistol and holster on I would try my best to out draw Matt Dillion.Sunday night was the best.After a long day of Church,those great Sunday dinners and visiting kinfolks time to settle down.My favorite programs would come on.My Favorite Martian,Disney's Wonderful World of Color and Bonanza.Back in those days,late 50's things where so much simpler.One TV in the house and it was black and white.Families watched it togather instead of like now where everyone has a TV with cable and 500 channels in their own room.Now in my old age I can honestly say TV doesn't interest me much anymore.Maybe I yearn for the old days the way it was.

Gary goes fishing

This is my friend Gary.He went fishing Monday for the first time ever.Now Gary is hooked on fishing just like he hooked this fish.He told me today of his plans and that plan is buying a rod and reel and all the fishing gear needed of his very own.There is one catch,Gary still refuses to put the worm on his own hook.

Checkers chili dogs and a bag of chips

Today was better.Spirits are lifted.Spent most of the day outside but in the shade not sun.I just turn red and start peeling off because I burn easy. Made it back to bed and feels good just stretching out and relaxing.Looking out the big window next to my bed I see dark clouds and the wind is acting up so guess maybe a thunder boomer is possible.So as this is being written all is good with me and wish all the world could say the same.What could make it a perfect evening would be maybe a couple of Checkers chili dogs and a bag of potato chips.See doesn't take much to please me.

Could be worse

Oh boy what a day.Could be worse I know.For some reason I don't know why I'm feeling sad.Maybe it was the rainy weather who knows.I will go sit in the sun tomorrow that always seems to help.Quiet meditation and fresh air just time to think.Time to air out the old brain.Just remember love everyone your enemies the most.Treat people like you want to be treated.The golden rule.Like Annie sings about the sun will come out tomorrow.

Long lost twins?

The woman on the left is Cathy Baker of He Haw fame.She was the lady who introduced everyone.Now the woman on the right is my Mom.People that knew Momma when she was a kid said these two women could pass as twins.I can see the resemblance but I will let you make up your own mind.

Home grown maters

Home grown tomatoes.These store bought maters have no taste but homegrown maters are something to wish for.Take loaf bread,mayo,salt and pepper slice a mater and you have some delicious simple eating.People have started their gardens and I ain't to proud to beg and have asked already for some handouts when the maters get ready.This story started out about Lewis Grizzard Great American.Looking on the Internet for photos of him I seen this pic of the maters and well the story just took another direction.I miss reading Lewis Grizzard's little stories in the Atlanta Journal every day.I have read a few of his books,really they where Mom's she loved his stories like me.Titles like"don't bend over in the garden granny cause them taters have eyes"and Elivs is dead and I don't feel well myself".He was born up the road from here in Moreland,Ga. just a small spot in the road.He often talked of his failed marriages and his beloved dog Catfish.Once in an Atlanta cafe he heard some people at the next table laugh and complain about food,people and everything else from the South.Turning around this is what he told them"If Ya Don't Like Dixie!Delta Is Ready When You Are!"Well said Lewis Grizzard Great American.Like someone told me once nothing last forever but his stories will.

Nightmare

It was a nightmare.Shortly after my Mom died I was dreaming.It was hot summer time August.I dreamed I was at the graveyard but I could not find Momma's and Daddy's grave.I searched all over to the point of exhaustion.I was panicking.Running where I don't remember I ended up at some type of house.In the house there where people,men in suits.Who they where I know not.They led me into a room,a dark room.Then I seen it! Two caskets.Smiling,pointing towards the closed caskets they started to open one.I freaked out and ran away.I did not want to see.Then I woke up shaking I was freezing so cold that I had to go outside and stand in the sun just to warm up.I told someone about this nightmare and they said it meant that my folks where not there,their souls had moved on.

Something stupid

One night back at the old home place I did something really stupid.I'm always doing something not to bright but this was something else.Laying in bed half asleep I heard some type of commotion outside.It was someone walking down the street just a cussing.Who he was fussing with I didn't see.A car slowly drove pass him and stopped in front of the house next door.The guy walking really picked up his fussing and cussing then and stated making all kinds of threats to the folks in the car.Then it happened.Just as the guy walking made it in front of the house 3 guys jumped out of the car and started shooting.Their guns where blazing fire and with each shot they jumped into the air like it was a cartoon,animated it was all in slow motion.The guy walking then ran,where I have no idea and disappeared.Now this is the stupid part.I just stood there in the door and didn't even think to duck,run or get out of the way.The shots had to come my direction but where they landed is a mystery.The guy walking was not shot,the house wasn't hit,I wasn't either.Where did the bullets go I have wondered.Either the shots where blanks or God was watching over us all that night.

Sign of the times

This must be the Easter cold snap just a week late.Past few mornings it has been cool and the days not as warm.The wind was howling the other night and you know what I liked hearing it and watching the trees sway with the wind.I will be honest weather,stormy weather has never bothered me.Back in 95 when Hurricane Opal came through LaGrange the wind was howling,trees breaking and power poles snapping like tooth picks and I just rolled over in bed and went to sleep.LaGrange has had a earthquake in the past few years strong enough to knock pictures off walls I heard but me yep was sleeping right through it.I have always enjoyed watching a good thunderstorm with that vivid lighting and thunder so loud it shakes the house.When I was working alone at the water plant storms where not so much fun.The river pump would almost every time knock off and that meant bells and lights flashing at the plant.One person on a shift all alone trying to run up and down 3 flights of stairs turning switches,switching pumps,bells ringing it did get hectic for a few minutes.Then outside at 100 foot water towers turning valves with lightning popping all around you at times it was a bit scary I will say.The weather has changed everyone will agree on that.Sign of the times I think.It has always been a much talked about subject but still in this year of 2012 there is not much that can be done about it.

Pondering

Things to ponder.I have some free time and a way to spend it is needed.So I will ponder.To those not familiar with ponder it means to think.Another form of day dreaming.Or maybe just a way to waste time.I ponder a lot.Always been a good ponderer.I read once that normal people we only use a small part of our brains.Something like 10% or less.Just ponder what we could do if the other 90% was put to use.I think the brain is really just a living electrical generator. Seen where electrodes where hooked to a mans brain and the electrical energy from it was used to power a toy train.Sometimes I wish the brain had an off on switch.Times I have been dead tired but the brain was running full speed.That makes sleeping hard sometimes.Yep the brain is nothing but a super computer.At times they need to be rebooted so they will work right.See I am pondering.I'm good at it.

Kelly Clarkson - The Trouble With Love Is