Tale of the turkey

Turkey no more

Never to fly again

Turkey now in a can

Never again to fly

Turkey go bye bye

Car hit turkey it did splatter

Turkey now served on a platter

So Ms J

What can you say

The turkey

Wasn't his lucky day

Deja Vu

I had the strongest feeling of having been here done that before this morning.It felt like a blanket being tossed over me.It was a weird feeling.Often in our lives we have that odd feeling of reliving a moment in our life.Deja Vu.It doesn't happen very often to me but at times that feeling will get my attention.I can't say that reincarnation is real or not but tales of people knowing their past life's are well known.Often a vision of a tall Oak tree will pop into my head.It must be summer time because the tree is loaded with leaves and it looks so inviting on a hot day just to rest under it's shade.I have this strong feeling that there is a grave under that tree.My grave. Where I was buried during the Civil War.I even know the town it's located in.Roanoke,Alabama.Maybe these things are glimpses of the past or something else,what I don't know.

OCD

Once you called me OCD

At the time it didn't matter to me

So I like things in order

Every thing had to be so so

Not just scattered about the floor

Neat as a pin

Now tell me whats wrong with that?

By the way hang up your hat

Do as you want as you like

Because I see different don't tell me take a hike

Don't tell me whats wrong whats right

I can figure it out at times I'm bright

So as this comes to an end

I will try to mend and bend

Really cant you be just my friend

Strange

This is getting weird

I have this need to rhyme

Even though it's strange at times

I try controlling my urge

But out of my system I must purge

Whats going on I wonder

Maybe I should stop now

Before a blunder

Killing time

When it rains

Some have pain

Ain't things strange

Chickens grown on the range

Are they better than ones on the plains

Questions I have

Why do folks behave bad

That hot dog last night was the best I've had

Guess it's all true

So guess no need to be blue

Now this is getting silly

I had a cousin named Billy

Just killing time here

Nothing better to do

So my friend what about you?

Ode to the hot dog

A poem for the hot dog

I will write it for my blog

No I wasn't a hog

Some can eat many

One for me was plenty

Bought by Ms R

Brought to my room by Ms C

Microwaved by Ms B

Oh so good it hit the spot

Just right for me it was hot

Hot dog in a bun

Such simple fun

Thank you Ms R

Thank you Ms C

Thank you Ms B

I would write more

But rhyming is a chore

And I'm short of time

But the hot dog was fine

A day in the life

A day for me.Around 5 am the nurse comes around checking if we are still kicking.No really that is when we get our first finger pricking of the day checking our sugar level and if we need some insulin or if our sugar has dropped and we need something to bring it up.I get my best sleep from then till around 7 am when the CNA of the day comes in seeing if we need anything.They are our Angels we depend on them so much.I do for just about everything.Around 8 am our well least my favorite meal of the day,breakfast.I choose to have grits,scrambled eggs,bacon with biscuit or pancakes or french toast.2 cups of coffee,black,no sugar for me and OJ rounds it out.I'm a late riser and usually have my lunch here in my room.Lunch can vary and is ok most of the time.Lately my favorite and most desired lunch is a country fried steak sandwich with battered fried okra a strange combo but really good.Tea,sweet tea of course and iced,coffee and a soda if you want with a desert of some type and that is lunch.There are sorts of things to do if you choose.Something every day.A trip or just a party celebrating a special day,birthday or holiday.I will admit my favorite are things like chili day,dip day with those margaritas,non alcoholic of course.The other day we had fried green tomatoes as a snack grown right here in the garden with a biscuit and I think homemade fig preserves.By this time if I'm going to get up I do.A lot of days for me just laying here looking out the window watching the goings on is enough for me.I know most would be bored out of their gord by now but really it suits my personality.Around 5 pm supper arrives and like lunch it can vary.My favorite is the meatloaf,cornbread,with collards.If I'm up around or a bit after 7 pm when the next shift of Nurses and CNA's check in I'm ready for the bed where I can relax.Till I fall asleep I try to be creative and write some.So there you have it my friend,a day in the life of me at TFH.

Another day

Oh boy.Stormy day.Rainy night in Georgia.Rain it did.Wind blew yes.Hail peppered cars yep.Power was lost for an hour.A tree down was the culprit I heard.The emergency generator came on and there was light but not in the rooms here at TFH.Right at supper time all this took place.Now back in my room after a good hot shower relaxing and listening to some old Beatles music.So another day of excellence is coming to an end.

Time

Days are long

Nights are longer

Time does drag

Time goes fast

It's the beginning

Or is it the end

Why I did it

Why I did it.The plunge was taken.A drastic move on my part.I shaved my beard.A moustache and goatee is all that's left.The reasons for shaving are.My roomies are having a hard time sleeping because I reminded them of Charles Manson.Some unknown person or persons shaved it off while I was sleeping.I committed a crime and this is my disguise.I noticed myself in the mirror yesterday and gee I looked like Grizzly Adams.But the number one reason I shaved is a mistake was made while trimming it so I had to do something.So take your choice why I shaved.I would go with the last reason.

Redneck being poetic

I'm a redneck

Yes it's true

Nascar is ok

Does that make you blue?

But keep your snuff and backy

That stuff will make you wacky

I like me grits

That is just pure bliss

Taters and cornbread with pink eye peas

Sure better than being stung by bees

I say CoCola you say Pop

I can eat BBQ till I drop

I sit in a cheer

And I sleep on the flo

Make sure when you leave to shut the doe

Sitting by the winder I watch you drive

Boy it gives me hives

The sky is blue

That we know as true

Yes I'm a redneck it's confirmed

Tell the truth now

How about you?

Poodles and Abe Lincoln

Big fluffy white clouds moving from the east to the west.Guess they are coming from the Atlantic Ocean.Making faces out of the clouds is a way to past time for me.Animals mostly dogs are easily seen.Poodles are abundant for some reason.Abe Lincoln is another image in the clouds noticed alot.What it all means who knows.Maybe it's just something to write about on a slow moving hot summer Saturday.Maybe it's a cover for what I'm really feeling.

Harleys in the rain

The sun is shining.It's thundering.We have rain.The hummingbirds are fluttering around their feeder.Friday 13th.I'm looking out the big window watching traffic on 29 as I wait on supper.You know,for some reason those guys on the big loud Harleys don't look so cool in the rain.Maybe I'm jealous of them.It seems like so much fun riding with the wind in your face.Like it was when I was a kid on my bicycle but with all that horsepower.

.

Booooo!

Booooo! Enjoy your Friday the 13th.Maybe this is why I have been dreaming of little black kitty cats.They have always had a special place in my heart.

Those brown eyes and that smile

It must be true.I have heard that when we get older we take enjoyment in thinking of the past.

I sure do because lately I've been doing a lot of it.Today and on a few other occasions I get a wif of my favorite cologne as a young teenager.English Leather.It takes me back to another time.Almost a flashback of things I felt and did back then.

It takes me back to High School and a girl.Her name was Mary Alice.I was so shy,awful shy.We never had any classes to gather and my only connection with her was the hallways during class changing and the lunch room.

Just shared glimpses.Those brown eyes and that smile I can see now.Once she spoke to me saying hi.I can remember stuttering and stammering out the words hi back to her.Often I have wondered what if.What if I had been brave enough and not so shy.

So after all these years I still think of those days of passing by Mary Alice in the hall.If only I could live my life over.

Another breathing human being

I just read where a woman kept her dead husband in the house so she would not be alone.She just wanted someone to talk to and watch TV with her.I have been lonely in my life at times and it can be miserable.Like a song says just because I'm alone doesn't mean I'm lonely.At times I enjoy the peace and quiet and solitude of just being by myself.Then again it sure is nice being around people for that fellowship we all need.To connect with another breathing human being..

Make her mad Daddy

My Daddy was what you called a sewing machine mechanic at the mill.There was one woman who was never satisfied with the way her machine run.Daddy would work on it but she was never pleased.She would bless Daddy out,putting it mild,but later on she would be remorseful.Never would she apologize to Daddy but instead she would bake a cake and tell him to give Johnny(me) this cake.So to make a long story short every so often I would say Daddy we need cake time to make her mad again.

Hawk

Hawk in sky

Hawk flying high

Hawk is free

Hawk I want to be

Made by elves

Everyone has a dream or fantasy.

Some dream of money,love or fame.Mine is a bit more simpler and down to earth.

I think.

Here goes,my deepest darkest desire of my heart.

I like cookies.Chocolate chip cookies the hard kind.Dunk them in my coffee or buttermilk and talk of something good.

Daily the Keebler cookie truck passes by my window.Keebler you remember are the cookies made by elves.

My fantasy is this.The cookie truck stops on the road in front of me.The driver gets out looks up the road then down the road and looks in my direction waves and smiles.

He walks to the back of the big cookie truck and opens it up.Again he looks around seeing if he is being noticed and waves at me again.Inside the truck he disappears and shortly returns.

In his hands I see it.

A case of Keebler made by elves chocolate chip cookies just made for dunking.He points to me and then runs to the big bush by the roadside.

There Mr cookie man leaves his prize.A whole case of Keebler chocolate chip cookies just for me.

Now I just need someone to run down to the big bush by the road and claim my prize.I will gladly share with you.

Just wait till the Mr coffee truck passes and leaves us some Folgers original roast coffee.

Like magic

Nighttime can be the worse time it seems.I'm talking about pain.What ever the reason and I'm sure there is one, pain or any kind of sickness is worse at night when you are trying to sleep.Blessed is me because pain has skipped me for most of my life till recently.My feet.They hurt.It feels like my heels are digging into the bed and they must be because I have rubbed spots on them.And my ankles are the same way.It is not the worst pain but when trying to sleep it's just enough to keep me awake.Here at the home,Twin Fountains, the wound nurse has me wearing these boots that are helping alot.They are big elephant feet looking things that wrap around your feet like a big comfy pillow.Before I was wearing what I called my Herman Munster boots.They where also like braces for keeping my legs straight.If you have ever stepped into a red ant nest you know what my pain is like.Being a diabetic I have to be careful with my feet.Wounds don't heal good sometimes and that can lead to big problems.So this would be a good research problem for the scientists out there maybe they can figure out why pain is worse at night.Let the sun rise and like magic the pain disappears.

I want a ride !

New video offers a remarkable space trip for those grounded by reality

Tales from the big window

Tales from the big window.Not much is going on which is ok with me.Lazy day I just stayed in bed.Thursday around midnight a thunder boomer woke me up with some of the hardest rain I've seen lately.Sheets of rain and the road was like a little pond and cars where causing rooster tails pushing the water out of the way.It was a fast and hard rain and most likely won't help peoples gardens.What we need is a slow soaking all day rain.The thunder and lighting was nice.The 4th was a good day.BBQ,baked beans and watermelon.Can you say (I Ate To Much).Later round dark I watched the fireworks from the big window.All said and done I really can't complain.

The thrown away

A rainy day,white lines on the edge of the road flying by.Windshield wipers moving to a beat that hypnotizes.This feeling of sadness and no hope comes over me.For an instant I felt like the dog who was no longer wanted being left on the side of the road.Once loved and now confused, scared, all alone.How sad for the unloved,unwanted, thrown away of the world.

Chester Cheetos

Chester Cheetos is a friend of mine

I have him over all the time

Cheesy and crunchy oh so good

Chester is welcome to my hood

My friend Ms J brings him by

Even when I'm sleeping he stops in and says hi

Cheesy and crunchy oh so good

Chester is welcome to my hood

Gnarls Barkley - Crazy LYRICS

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.