Highway Cleanup

It was that time again... Our mile of adopted highway was due a cleanup. Last Thursday was the chosen day for us to put on our prisoner-type clothing, arm ourselves with garbage bags and head to the ditches. Here are some shots of my friends(top to bottom), Misty, Tia, & Kelley.

Gas Prices

Meet Phyllis

This is Phyllis. She is a Bromeliad. She came to live in my office a week ago. She looks lovely in here, but being a tropical plant, the conditions are not suitable for her survival. So...this afternoon she will make her way home with me to take up residence on my patio.

Easter Weekend

Wes and Joy and their three children came to visit me this past weekend. On Friday, we went to Silver Dollar City and spent several hours riding the rides and viewing the sights. Saturday was fun-filled as well with going shopping at the outlet malls, playing mini-golf, going to IMAX, and also seeing the Hamner Barber Variety Show where we purchased the stylish new glasses seen in the photos. It was a wonderful weekend!

Easter Bunny Name

Easter Bunny Name Your Easter Bunny Name is Fuzzy Fluffypaws Get Your Easter Bunny Name at Quizopolis.com

My name turned out to be Fuzzy Fluffypaws...

The Master Is at Work

I recently came across the following illustration. Thought it would be good to share.

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.
The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it"
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

An Honest Day's Work...

This week has been one of those weeks. I won't go into detail, but it has been very stressful at my place of employment. Almost everything that could go wrong, has. It could be worse. My friend, Kelley, sent the following story to me. I hope you enjoy reading it.

The story below points out a couple things. First, just when you think things can not get worst, they do. Second, there are a lot of circumstances situations in life which make you ask, was it only by chance.

"An honest Day's Work, Pays Off"

The USS Astoria (C-34)
was the first U.S. cruiser to engage the Japanese during the Battle of Savo Island, a night action fought 8-9 August 1942.
Although she scored two hits on the Imperial flagship Chokai, the Astoria was badly damaged and sank shortly after noon, 9 August.

About 0200 hours a young midwesterner, Signalman 3rd Class Elgin Staples, was swept overboard by the blast when the Astoria's number one eight-inch gun turret exploded. Wounded in both legs by shrapnel and in semi-shock, he was kept afloat by a narrow life belt that he managed to activate with a simple trigger mechanism.

At around 0600 hours, Staples was rescued by a passing destroyer and returned to the Astoria, whose captain was attempting to save the cruiser by beaching her. The effort failed, and Staples, still wearing the same life belt, found himself back in the water. It was lunchtime. Picked up again, this time by the USS President Jackson (AP-37), he was one of 500 survivors of the battle who were evacuated to Noumea.

On board the transport Staples, for the first time, closely examined the life belt that had served him so well. It had been manufactured by Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio, and bore a registration number.

Given home leave, Staples told his story and asked his mother, who worked for Firestone, about the purpose of the number on the belt. She replied that the company insisted on personal responsibility for the war effort, and that the number was unique and assigned to only one inspector.
Staples remembered everything about the lifebelt, and quoted the number.
It was his mother's personal code and affixed to every item she was responsible for approving.

SOURCE: Commander Eric J. Berryman, U.S. Naval Reserve, Proceedings, U.S.
Naval Institute, vol. 15/6/1036 (June 1989), P. 48.

Immutable Laws of the Natural Universe

Immutable Laws of the Natural Universe

Law of Mechanical Repair: After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch or you'll need to use the bathroom.
Law of the Workshop: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.
Law of Probability: The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.
Law of the Telephone: If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.
Law of the Alibi: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.
Variation Law: If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now.
Law of the Bath: When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.
Law of the Result: When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.
Law of Bio mechanics: The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach of one's "scratching fingers."
Law of the Theatre: At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.
Law of Coffee: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.
Murphy's Law of Lockers: If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.
Law of Rugs/Carpets: The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.
Law of Location: No matter where you go, there you are.
Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
Brown's Law of ladies shoes: If the shoe fits, it's ugly.
Wilson's Law: As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.

Thanks Annette!

A Visit to Titanic

Yesterday, a few co-workers and I visited the brand new Titanic museum here in Branson. It is awesome!

Florida Biker with His Babe

I thought this was funny. Thanks Misty!

Blogging...

I'm bored with blogging. It has lost its excitement. What should I do?

Weekend Update

It was scary here over the weekend. We had severe thunderstorms and the power was out Fri night. On Sat, it was a beautiful day...sunshine. 75 degrees. until the afternoon....
I had fallen asleep on the sofa, when suddenly, I was awakened to the sound of my front door being banged on. It was my friend, Stacey. There she stood, hair all mussed, clothes unkempt, clutching her Pomeranian. She was scared. Tornadoes, rain, hail, high winds were all headed our way. She had come to hide out at my apt since it is farther down the hill from hers and is also on the first level.
anyway...
The rain came, the hail stoned, the wind shook... but the apt building stood firm. (We lost all power shortly after. It was out for a couple hours.) The hail completely covered the ground until it looked as if it had snowed.(see photos) The temperature dropped from 75 to 58 in thirty minutes or less. The county had to call out the snow plows to clear the roads. The rain was so forceful that it was coming in around the seal on my front door. I found out later that an F2 tornado touched down on the other side of town doing damage to many buildings.
It has been a wild and crazy weekend.

Gospel pianist Anthony Burger dies at 44

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Gospel music pianist Anthony Burger, who played for the popular Gaither Homecoming shows and earned Dove Award nominations for his albums of instrumental music, collapsed and died of a suspected heart attack during a show. He was 44. He died Wednesday while performing on a Gaither Homecoming cruise, out of Miami. Burger, who lived near Nashville in Brentwood, Tenn., but toured internationally, including performances in Canada, released many albums and videos of his piano music. His records included renditions of Old Time Religion and Hallelujah Chorus alongside secular classics like Debussy’s Clair de Lune.

How well do you know me?

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President's Day

History of the Holiday
The original version of the holiday was in commemoration of George Washington's birthday in 1796 (the last full year of his presidency). Washington, according to the calendar that has been used since at least the mid-18th century, was born on February 22, 1732. According to the old style calendar in use back then, however, he was born on February 11. At least in 1796, many Americans celebrated his birthday on the 22nd while others marked the occasion on the 11th instead. By the early 19th century, Washington's Birthday had taken firm root in the American experience as a bona fide national holiday. Its traditions included Birthnight Balls in various regions, speeches and receptions given by prominent public figures, and a lot of revelry in taverns throughout the land. Then along came Abraham Lincoln, another revered president and fellow February baby (born on the 12th of the month). The first formal observance of his birthday took place in 1865, the year after his assassination, when both houses of Congress gathered for a memorial address. While Lincoln's Birthday did not become a federal holiday like George Washington's, it did become a legal holiday in several states. In 1968, legislation (HR 15951) was enacted that affected several federal holidays. One of these was Washington's Birthday, the observation of which was shifted to the third Monday in February each year whether or not it fell on the 22nd. This act, which took effect in 1971, was designed to simplify the yearly calendar of holidays and give federal employees some standard three-day weekends in the process. Apparently, while the holiday in February is still officially known as Washington's Birthday (at least according to the Office of Personnel Management), it has become popularly (and, perhaps in some cases at the state level, legally) known as "President's Day." This has made the third Monday in February a day for honoring both Washington and Lincoln, as well as all the other men who have served as president.

Valentines Day

Today at work we had a contest, and I won second place. My prize was this crazy monkey, dressed in red, silk pants, who swing his hips and sings "I'm Too Sexy for My Shirt".

The Titanic Comes to Branson!

Go here for more information www.titanicbranson.com

You Know You're From Missouri...

Things I've learned from living in Missouri.
Possums sleep in the middle of the road with their feet in the air.
There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 live in Missouri.
There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 live in Missouri, plus a couple no one's seen before.
Unknown critters love to dig holes under tomato plants.
Raccoons will test your crop of melons and let you know when they are ripe.
If it grows, it sticks --if it crawls; it bites.
A tractor is NOT an all-terrain vehicle. They do get stuck.
Onced and Twiced are words.
It is not a shopping cart, it is a buggy.
People actually grow and eat okra.
"Fixinto" is one word.
There ain't no such thing as "lunch". There's only dinner and then there's supper.
Sweet Tea is appropriate for all meals... and you start drinking it when you're 2.
Backwards and forwards means I know everything about you.
"Jeet?" is actually a phrase meaning "Did you eat?"
You don't have to wear a watch because it doesn't matter what time it is. You work until you're done or it's too dark to see.
More about Missourians.... You know you're from Missouri if:
1. You measure distance in minutes.
2. You've had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the > same day.
3. You know what a mule is.
4. You see a car running in the parking lot at the store with no one in it, no matter what time of the year.
5. You use "fix" as a verb. Example: I am fixin to go to the store.
6. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect or animal. 7. You install security lights on your house and garage .... and leave both of them unlocked.
8. You carry jumper cables in your car ... for your OWN car.
9. You know what "cow tipping" is.
10. You only own four spices: salt, pepper, B B Q and ketchup.
11. The local papers cover national and international news on one page but requires 6 pages for local gossip and sports.
12. You think that the first day of deer season and the first day of trout fishing are national holidays.
13. You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit "a little warm." 1
4. You know all four seasons: Almost summer -- Summer -- Still summer --, and Christmas. 15. You know whether another Missourian is from east, west, or middle Missouri as soon as they open their mouth, or by the barbecue they eat.
16. Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite pass time (known as "goin wal-martin" or off to "Wally World.")
17. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good pinto-bean weather.
18. Fried Catfish is the other white meat.
19. You know what the phrase "Hunkered Down" means.
20. You understand these jokes and forward them to your friends from MO and those who just wish they were. "A true friend is someone who thinks you're a good egg even though he knows you are slightly cracked

Public Relations Tour

Yesterday, my co-workers and I went on a public relations tour of area hotels and resorts that we use. We also had lunch at McFarlain's restaurant. We had a great time!

Christmas 2005 Update

Well friends, it has been awhile since I have posted anything on here. I guess I had a lost interest or just got too busy over the holidays. anyway...
My last day of work for 2005 was December 17. That weekend I drove to KS and spent a few days with friends there. As always, we had a great time. Sun morning, Dec 19, we awakened to a fresh new blanket of snow on the ground. It just made everything seem a little more like Christmas. On Dec 22, I made my way through the winding roads of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas to middle TN to visit my parents and other family members. I had a pleasant 8 1/2 hour trip and arrived that afternoon. My nephews and niece were excited to see me and couldn't wait to show me everything new that had taken place since my last visit. One of those new things was a passal of puppies. They were already several weeks old, had their eyes open and were running around. The mother of these puppies, however, is part devil, I think. She is a beagle/rat terrior mix, with a hint of demon. Vicious. Evil. Hostile. I don't think she could have really hurt us too badly since we armed ourselves with a rake, broom, and a stick before making our way to the kennel. As we approached ever so cautiously, the mother tried to attack, but in vain. As I tried to keep her snarling jowls at bay, Darren and Missy discovered one of the puppies lying lifeless away from the group. My mom was there and took the puppy inside to try to bring it back to life. After a couple of days, Lazarus, as I call him, was up and running around, playing with the rug in the kitchen and just being a normal puppy again. It's amazing how quickly he recovered from the grip of death. He has become a favorite at the homeplace and I'm sure will be around as part of the family for years to come.
I had a great visit while in TN. It was wonderful being with all the family for Christmas once more. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and an awesome New Year!