A Mothers Day Message

Hi Mom. 

Happy Mother's Day...I know. I know....I don't call enough....I'm sorry....Yes, I know you like hearing from me and yes, I agree, calling you on Mother's Day is like going to church once a year on Easter.

Dave. Me, Mom and Ricky

So...how are you feeling?.....I know you don't have any pain any more and for that I'm happy. And, I know you get to see Dad everyday now. I'm sure he's enjoyin' himself and probably reading and taking naps whenever he wants to. 

I'm sure you and Ruth Dilts talk everyday now, just like you did for practically every day of your lives.  I can't believe you find new things to talk about each day.

Things are okay in Dallas, but I hear and read the landscape is changing in Dayton.....Fairview and Colonel White are now gone and they're tearing down Julienne as well. Loos is gone too but Our Lady of Mercy is still there....Shawen Acres is soon to be nothing but rubble. We did save the stained glass windows at Fairview High School  that you commented on one time. I guess I never noticed them at the time while going to school.

Dave's feeling a lot better ever since his what he likes to refer to as a heart  "incident" and Ricky finally has that little grandbaby he has always wanted and  I know he'll be a great grandpa. I know he misses Ann, but I know you are taking care of her there with you.

I still take it a day at a time and I finally went to the doctor and got a pretty good report. I finally gave up smoking after 50 some years and I kinda watch what I eat.

I'm working hard to finish my book......yes, I know some of the stories are a little embarrassing...but heck, I think people will enjoy them.

Say "Hi" to "The Jer" for me and Eddie. Eddie reminds me each day of some of the crazy things we did growing up and I know you prayed every night I would come home safe. I guess God heard your prayers. 

I miss you and think of you daily. Several of my friends have been joining you these past few years and I know you watch out for them. 

I'm stayin' out of trouble for the most part and I kinda try to be a good person like you taught me to do. 

I love you, Mom,

Tommy

Shawen Acres. a piece of history, awaits its fate...

And once again, another piece of history awaits its destruction.

True, I'm partly a sentimentalist. But that's okay. It means I have feelings and compassion.

True, I'm partly a realist. It means I accept the way things are and adjust to the situation.

True, I'm partly a pragmatist. I want what's best and practical for the people.

But where does it stop. Who finally stands up and says, "No more".

With the instant access to news sources available, I make it a point each day to read the on-line newspaper of my childhood hometown, Dayton, Ohio. The news there is not much different from news in any other Midwest town or city, nor for that matter,  no different than what I read in the Dallas papers. Crimes, successes  new openings and yes, closings all permeate the stories as I look for familiar names or places to help me have a thought or two about a period of my life that was fun and peaceful. It seems though like there are more closings than I would hope for.

Of course, schools and other buildings have a life expectancy and we shouldn't want them to live out their declining years on a respirator while we pump hundreds of thousand of dollars trying to keep them alive simply for sentimental reasons. But that doesn't mean we can't find a way to pay our respects to what they stood for, both literally and figuratively.

One of the cottages that was home to hundreds of kids

I saw yesterday that Shawen Acres, in Dayton, was soon to meet it's maker with the removal of the remaining crumbling buildings that once served as an orphanage in my neighborhood. It served that purpose for half a century and as the system found new ways to house young children through foster homes, it no longer served its intended purpose.

I grew up with several kids who called Shawen Acres their home. I practiced football on the grounds while a student at a nearby catholic school. There were good kids and not so good kids that lived there....the same as any neighborhood. And now, unless a last minute reprieve is offered to relocate one of the stucco cottages with tile roofs to possibly Carillon Park....the memories, albeit some good and some bad, will disappear with the buildings.

Another institution that will now soon be all dust and rubble, was Julienne High School and of course, if you read this blog regularly, you will know Fairview High School  met it's demise earlier this year. Thousands of students went to these schools over the years and now only their faded memories will be left. And of course, Fairview High School was where I learned to become a man.

I'm not trying to live in the past by keeping these now relics breathing at the taxpayer's expense. But, doesn't anyone in Dayton have the forethought to plan for a way for our future generations to know our past. Why do the powers that be suddenly walk into a building that has stood the test of time, but has had absolutely no care-taking provided in the last years, and expect to find something more than just crumbling waste.

Shame on you,  city fathers and mothers. Are you simply trying to erase the past because it was an uncomfortable time for you during this period?. Or are you simply unresponsive to your citizens wants and desires. Find some way to remember your past...without it you have no compass to find your future.

Finally, I have video and audio of a "Close Encounter"

First of all, I'm not twisting your arm to read this. You came here on you own volition. I only present the facts.

Next:

Yes, this is my 4th "Encounter".

No., I haven't had a drink in over a decade.

Yes,  I smoked a little doobey back in the 60's but I never got into "hard drugs".

No, I am not insane, crazy, or confused. Although I do have a fascination with head brains. If I was younger I would go back to school and become a head-brain surgeon.

Yes, I have considered doin' a self-lobotomy, but well....I just don't have all of the equipment I need yet. Also, I have on my bucket list to go visit the frozen remains of Ted Williams at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Ariz. Also I want to go see the kind of crazy rock formation, "Devil's Tower",  in Wyoming, where they filmed "Close Encounters of a 3rd Kind"

!st Encounter:

I remember it vividly, well that's not the word I used when I told my friends about it. I was only 7 at the time. But, I remember it well. My friend, "The Jer", and I were walking home after watching a sci-fi movie up at Loos School during a warm summer evening where they held Summer Recreation programs. Once or twice a year, the counselors would show a 16mm movie up against the wall and all of the kids and some parents would come and watch it. "The Jer"  and I sat in the grass in the front row and watched the movie as we occasionally made hand puppets that would appear on the wall. After the movie, we walked home, and while ambling down Wampler Avenue, we felt the presence of a giant round object hovering above us. We looked up and saw some images with giant round heads, a single eye in the front and red and green flashing lights. We then  ran like hell to our respective homes and never said another word about it. We swore each other to secrecy.  "The Jer" has since passed on, I think, so he can't really corroborate this story, but I will admit, we discussed numerous times the idea of "faking" our demise, so he could in fact stil be around.

2nd Encounter:

I don't like to discuss this much.... the basics are as follows. I was going through a rough period in my life. I was consuming a lot of alcohol. I saw an image  levitating horizontally  in a field. He had a long beard, was wearing robes and smiling.. He raised his hand as kind of a way to like maybe bless me (any catholics would interpret that as making a sign of the cross)...but instead he flashed me the peace sign and said, "Right on, brother".I just get a little leery talking any more about this.

3rd Encounter:

This was about 15 years ago. Both Pattye and I saw it. It was around 3 AM in the morning. She was the District Manager for Circulation for the Richardson, Texas area of the Dallas Morning News and we were out checking on her employees. The "Mother Ship"  hovered over us for approximately  3 minutes. It was about the size of the mother ship you may have seen in "Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind". Speaking of which, and this has absolutely NOTHING to do with my encounter last night. But last night  I was watching "Close Encounters" for the 78th time on Turner Classic Movies. (Close Encounters and Apollo 13 are 2 of my top ten movies).. Anyway, we used CB radios back then and her employees started calling and saying "Did anyone see that??...There were a lot of oohs and ahhs on the airwaves. Then we saw lights streaking across the entire sky. We turned on the radio and heard reports for the rest of the night on a "talk show " that had sightings from Oklahoma to New Mexico. The next day, there was simply a little blurb in the newspaper, "Space debris falls to earth"...Yeah right.

4th Encounter:

Last night I was suddenly awakened with the noise of unknown sources. I saw lights flashing. I heard strange sounds. And I stared at the sky for over 3 minutes...right there in my undies on a cool Spring night.... but the best part is I took video and audio. No doubt some of you nay-sayers will say it was simply a plane or a helicopter or me making something up. It doesn't matter. I saw it. I filmed it. I think....not for any special reason....I think I might  just be someone "they" are interested in.....  Please do not call me on the phone, you never know who might be listening. Emails are OK. 

Searchin' for a lost and lonely dog

Discussin' the search plans

Tia

Teamin' Up

 








I like dogs…. well, actually I love dogs… I mean, how could anyone not love a dog…the irony is I don’t have one…. I haven’t had a doggy around the house for more than 10 years because I just...well, I just still can’t get over the loss of my English Springer Spaniel, Sugar.  So, I surprised even myself when the call went out on Friday night for volunteers to help find a lost doggy, and I accepted that challenge.

I’m not even a very good finder of anything, let alone a dog. Last month I lost my partial dental plate and didn’t find it until a day later layin' in a parking lot at the Richardson library, but I’ll save that story for later. I also lost my grocery cart the other day and looked for it for over 20 minutes walkin’ up and down the aisles and giving people my “crazy stare” cuz I thought they stole it, but I'll save that story for later also.

Apparently a previously rescued greyhound had gotten loose from her foster family and had taken off for a densely wooded area in the far north part of Dallas. One might think that Dallas is strictly a heavy populated city packed with millions of people. Well, it is, but there are still many areas that lay undeveloped and are home to coyotes,  cougars ( the four legged kind) and I guess a lonely greyhound.

As I had said, the plea went out for people willing to search through the briers and brambles and a place where a rabbit wouldn't go and with rain in the forecast, it was suggested searchers dress appropriately. We gathered at the VCA Preston Park Animal Hospital at 10 A.M. and Joe Hoiles had maps and fliers to post and was explaining the situation. I asked if "Tia", the lost dog, would come to us if we found her and he highly doubted it. Regardless, the clinic was kind enough to donate leashes should we come across the greyhound.

The area we were looking and searching lies in a flood plain and I can remember from years ago what a gorgeous setting it was, with woods, and pastures and a winding creek with 30 foot high shale walls. Now there were homes on each side of the creek though it still was rugged.

Since I was smart enough to wear my tall rubber boots and "dressed accordingly" I offered to search the creek bed for any sign of Tia. I knew any snakes were still hibernatin' despite the warmer weather we have been havin' but I dang sure didn't want to surprise any bobcat or anything I couldn't outrun.

There were about 20 volunteers, all shapes, sizes and ages. Some dressed appropriately, some not. I did meet a charming lady, a Susie McQuade, who, along with her husband John, are the founding members of the Greyhound Adoption League of Texas. The world needs more people like Susie, who has a compassion for animals that I have rarely seen.

I haven't walked as much as I did today, in a long, long time...and it wasn't a nice leisurely walk either. I got tangled up so many times in the bramble and got scratched and snagged and poked and stuck...but all I had on my mind was finding that doggy. It rained some, and I got wet...it was cold  but I was okay ...but that dang doggy was probably cold and wet too. I whistled for her  and I looked...and I was praying she was ok.

After a couple of hours, all of the targeted areas  had been covered and I retraced my steps looking in the creek bed for tracks, and looking under thorny bushes but to no avail.

Sometimes our prayers are not answered the way we want them answered. Sometimes we don't have the answers we seek. But I want to believe we made a gallant effort to find a lost dog. A beautiful animal who had lived a tough life before a group like Susie and her husband rescued her from the pain and suffering of dog racing.

 I think Tia may have been found by some Good Samaritan and is probably sittin' by a warm fireplace wondering what all of the commotion was about. 

For me, well, it did me good to kinda remember what it was like having the wonderful moments when Sugar and I would walk in pastures and traipse through wooded areas and she would stare into my eyes just wanting to please me. And it reminded me how there are still good people in this world who are willing to give up their Saturday mornings and search for a lonely lost dog..

A tent...a lantern and a stove

A tent, a Coleman lantern and a Coleman stove........yep, that was all you needed to go campin' back in the day...actually you didn't need the stove and I guess the lantern either...well for that matter you didn't need the tent....but who wanted to rough it........I was thinkin of those items while killin' some time before a luncheon as I was browsing through a R.E.I. store.

Don't ask me what R.E.I stands for but all I know is... it is a membership-type store,  it's got everything you need to live outside in the wilderness and you better bring a truck load of cash. It ain't cheap.

As soon as you walk in the place, you have kayaks on the right followed by mountain bikes..it seems like hundreds of them ...I kinda checked out the kayaks and it reminded me of my Stillwater days, but what kind of adventure would it be if your boat stayed afloat all of the time...they were way cool though...Next came the clothing and hiking shoe department.....I guess there could be something said for having the right hikin' boot.... I mean, you might be out there for day after day and you sure don't want any blisters....but come on, they had hiking boots for $300.00 and $400.00. They had day hiking boots and night hiking boots...I know, I know there will be one or two of you hiking aficionados who will tell me $400.00 is a good investment for a dang piece of leather....I mean let's face it Lewis and Clark hiked across the good ole U.S. of A and were probably just wearin' moccasins........they even had simulated rocks you could climb on to test out your boots 

I wandered over to the tents and sleeping bags. Now when I pitched my first tent, it was in the backyard. It was canvas, it had wooden poles, and itchy ropes and metal stakes....it smelled like...um....canvas.....and if you touched it when it was rainin' it supposedly would leak in that area..it didn't matter though..it leaked wherever there was a grommet.....we did a lot of things in that tent in the backyard....some of which ended up in a police report as a result of playin' strip poker as little Skeeter kids.......you can read about that though in my forthcoming book, "Skeeter"......I think the neighbors might have put their house up for sale after that incident.

I was amazed at the tents in R.E.I.....I mean you could compress a tent that could sleep 37 people in it down to a size of a cigar box...and it only weighed a pound or two. The sleeping bags were another story...I mean, they have what I call snuggle comfort even if the temperature got down to minus 80 degrees....trust me, I ain't going campin ANYWHERE where it gets under 50 degrees let alone a minus number...some of those bags cost as much as $700.00.

I had to hurry along cuz it was starting to get close to lunch and I did check out the packaged freeze dried food section...The had all the fixin's to feed 24 people, with a 4 course dinner..including 3 dessert choices and all you had to do was add water....amazing....I remember when a couple of us went camping down to Cumberland Lake and all we took was a can of beans...and about 4 cases of beer....and that canvas tent....we didn't play strip poker...but I do think one of us ended up naked sleepin' on a picnic table.

I guess times have changed a little bit and camping isn't quite the way it used to be....it's nice having the luxuries of home...but I thought that was why you wanted to just get away