Sometimes I even surprise myself.....

A couple of years ago I wrote about doin' something stupid when I fell on my butt after being too lazy to go get a step ladder when I was doing some painting and my homemade "ladder" crashed.
I had taken a bucket and turned it upside down and then put another bucket on top of that one and turned it upside down and had an instant ladder. Well, duh...it crashed and I got banged up a little.

I promised then...."no more dumbass things"...I'm getting too old to be breaking any bones or gettin' all stitched up or spraining any muscles. Well, until today.

I was on a pool call to a house I had been to previously. The customer has a automatic gate that closes off the driveway from the alley. The remote control with a touchpad is mounted on the outside of the gate and I had the combination to open it. There is no other way to open or close the gate unless you are in one of the cars with a remote control....

OK...have it pictured in your head-brain?

I saw when I got there that the garage door was also open. So .after I pulled my truck in the driveway, I went back outside the gate and pushed the code to close the gate. I did a high jump over the safety beam so as not to cause the gate to stop from closing. I thought that was pretty brilliant....and besides, I had done it before. The reason I had closed the gate after I pulled my truck in was because the homeowner had recently lost a dog that had gotten out and was killed in a construction accident across the street. And, his second dog has a doggy door that goes into the garage and the driveway. I saw the garage door was open and didn't want the dog to get loose.



The homeowner came out and we visited and I had explained what I had done and he was very thankful for me being that considerate. He told me he had to leave and put the dog back in the house, closed the garage door since he had parked in front and left.

Then it dawned on me...Hell, I was trapped inside. The gate was closed. The touchpad was on the outside. AND, for any of you who follow this blog, you know I lost all of my phone contacts 2 weeks ago and I didn't have this homeowners number.

Well crap, I looked around and he has a ten foot high fence all around the back. And then I spot what might be the answer. I saw a homemade ladder made out of two 2x4s with boards nailed across them for steps. You'll see ladders like this around new home construction sites when workers need a fast ladder and can make them with the available materials.

This dang thing was covered in ants and it looked rotten. But one does what one has to do.

It was long enough as I placed it up against the fence. Carefully climbed to the top. Placed my butt on the top of the fence and pulled the ladder up and put it on the other side. The ladder didn't break, neither did I. I went over and then keyed in the code, opened the gate and and gave myself a pat-on-the back. And, picked off a few ants.

Not bad for some 68 year old man, who knew how to think through the problem!

Some words that inspired me 50 years ago today....

I'm not sure if it was a revelation or an epiphany or perhaps neither. But today, on June 1, 2017 I was contacted by my older brother, who also happens to be a regular reader of this blog, and he asked me the following question.

"Are you aware what happened 50 years ago today?"....Well, no, actually I didn't. I did know it was kind of a neat time in my life ,1967. I was getting ready to go back to college for another year of debauchery. Staying out late. Drinkin'. Listening to music. Mostly "The Beatles".

Dave said, "Well, I just heard on the evening news that the song by the Beatles called, "A Day In The Life" happens to have the name of your blog in the lyrics."

Well, yeah, that's where I got the name almost 13 years ago when I started this blog. And even before that I used it for a column I used to write for a semi-underground newspaper off-base when I was in the U.S. Air Force. I used the pseudo-name Mot Rednek for the byline(if anyone can see the similarity there) just in case anyone on the base saw the column. Dave had never heard the lyrics. I was kind of surprised.

I loved the lyrics then, and I love them now. Although too often people think the name of the song is "I read the news today, oh boy"

I guess I realized Dave was already out of college and he was pursuing his career in the Air Force so maybe rock and roll wasn't his thing. It was mine for sure.

Anyway, "A Day In The Life" was released 50 years ago today. That's my story and I'm stickin to it.

And in a few hours from now "I'm gonna jump out of my bed and drag a comb across my head".

Rock on!

Always ask before you answer....

I have a new friend...someone I met thru my pool business...who not only makes me laugh as we share our stories but also has quite a varied background like myself.

Bill J. grew up in McKinney, Texas just north of where I live which is just north of Dallas. His mother is an attorney and his father, who passed away when Bill was quite young, was also an attorney and later a judge in Texas. Good roots, good people. Bill is married to a OB-GYN and together they have a house full of younguns' as Bill might describe them. And, oddly enough, he has relatives in Dayton, Ohio where I grew up.

Bill is just one of those people who you're immediately drawn to. His deep Texas accent warms you right away and his down home speech might fool you into thinking he is just a good ole' country boy. Well, he's that for sure but he's also a lot more. He's witty, intelligent and very astute at figuring out people. Again, humbly, a lot like me. I guess that's why I like him.

Although the family has now moved to the big city (only about 20 miles south) Bill maintains his cattle ranch up in McKinney. From what I gather he has a variety of stock from cows, bulls and hogs. I really don't know exactly I guess but I'm learning more as we visit.

Yesterday he mentioned he has two cows that were about to domino and he would have to get up to the ranch and check on them.. Now, I'm familiar with the word "domino", since it is often used when pregnant women are ready to deliver. I doubt Bill's wife uses the word in her practice, but this is just Bill's way of telling his stories.

My immediate reaction was, "Wow. hey I'd like to go up there with you and check out the ranch."

Bill said, "Why don't you come up during AI?"

I thought,"Man, AI, gosh this guy is really up with technology. Artificial Intelligence on a ranch."

I asked, "How do you use AI at the ranch, Bill?"

He smiled, again knowing he had me, ""Well, we use it to get the cows pregnant You can help if you want."

I thought...."Yikes, that kind of AI. Artificial Insemination."

I laughed and said, "Well, sure....um do I help the bull get ready or the cow?. and then I said. "NEVERMIND"...maybe I'll just take pictures!"

I tell ya, I love this guy, he's going to be giving me stories to write about for a long, long time.