Picture of the flood.

Life on the River

It has come to pass, that an era of my life is soon to be over. After many years of living in the house that I have always thought of as “home” it seems the flood of 2004 has taken its toll on my parents. No, this is not where I live in fact; I never lived in this particular house as I was growing up. The last house I lived in before I struck out on my own was actually across the road. But this was the place that my father had always dreamed of. A place where he could walk to his boat dock and run his lines every morning, more time for catfishing was what retirement was all about to my dad. They bought this house shortly after I moved out and he couldn’t wait to retire to live out the promise the place brought him. This retirement was ironically curtailed by the great flood of 1998. A flood that surpassed the 500 year flood mark, it was a flood that happened so quick that all in the house was lost, save the ceiling fans. They remained and they rebuilt. Then, about the time they had the place looking better than ever, along came the canyon lake flood of 2002. This time we had prior notice so we were able to get everything out of the house. The water only got about 6” above the floor and replacing carpets and cutting out the bottom two feet of sheet rock was sufficient to repair the damage to the house. Still, the cleaning after a flood is extensive and if you have never dealt with river silt, it’s a mud that clings to everything like glue.

This year, while most people were making plans for the Thanksgiving holiday, November 22 to be exact, the dream had become a night mare. The rain had been falling for days and the river started to rise. My dad called that night and told me they were leaving for a hotel. That night the water rose to two feet in the house. Furniture was soaked, as were the beds and several dozen children’s books that my mother has so lovingly collected. The damage was not near as great as it could have been, nor was anyone hurt in that area. But the loss is still heartbreaking none the less.
Mom and Dad are temporarily holed up in a hotel, and thanks to a great family and wonderful friends Thanksgiving Day was a happy and delicious break from slogging through and scooping up mud. Soon they will decide where they will go from here, but for the next couple of weeks it’s going to be day to day. Mom has already stated that she will not move back in again at least not to stay. I’m hoping they will at least keep the house for a weekend place.

This weekend on the Guadalupe River has been both physically and emotionally taxing, a stark contrast to the usual relaxing and happy time I have when I go there. Mixed feelings are surfacing; sorrow, anger, relief and thankfulness. Yes I’m thankful, thankful that I still have two loving parents at 36 to worry about (that’s ironic after what I put them through). Thankful that only property was lost. Thankful that most of the pictures (including one of my Grandmother (who has since left us) holding my baby daughter) were able to be saved. Thankful that I have a wonderful family I grew up in and wonderful friends that I have made, that offered to leave their own Thanksgiving to help.
Thanks to everyone who offered help, was able to come help and to those who will help them to carry out their plans for the future.

P.S. Its funny how a place can mean so much to someone. I guess its because it has so many happy memories attached to it. By the way Bandit, the greatest dog in the world is buried there.

Oh my God!

Oh my God! I had originally sat down to write about the sad plight of the marine, the obvious victim of a witch hunt, but I’ll have to get to that later. I just saw something so shocking on one of the major networks that I have to comment on.

Ex-president Bill Clinton! Flipping channels I ran across an interview about the new “liebrary” (yes I spelled it correctly for this occasion). I am beside myself. This man has no shame in the least. If I had been giving the interview I would have been under the table, afraid of the lightning bolt. He had the nerve to say that he never lied to the American people about his job (implying that he is a better person than the current president). He was babbling some tripe about how the whole world gave him a standing ovation at the UN. Ok …. Ok …. Folks, the “whole world” Willy is talking about is the UN …. Of course they would give him a standing ovation; this is the most corrupt organization on the planet. An organization that gets rich off of Sadam’s “oil for torture” program. …. Of course they would recognize him as one of their own. Jeeze! Willy fits right in … shoot, he could be their King. No…… did I just hear him say that he brought morality to the white house? … Can’t watch any more …. My head will explode.

It just amazes me that someone could lie like that and sleep at night. I would think him the anti-Christ if he wasn’t all ready married to her. So … I’m thinking maybe we should send Billy in to negotiate with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. We really can’t lose here. If he is able to talk them down, we can just give him a Twinkie and put up with his ego until he has another heart attack. If it doesn’t go so well … well I’ll still sleep just fine.


Now ... back to reality. There is a travesty of justice occurring, and the media is having a field day with it. Our cruel, hateful, baby eating marines are running amok in Iraqi and actually killing … yes killing … poor, kind hearted, puppy faced insurgents. (and yes, this is sarcasm for any of you whose light bulbs aren’t so bright} Bullshit!!! What a bunch of arm chair quarter backs! This is outrageous that our brave young men and women are subject to the inquisition for doing exactly what we have trained and sent them to do.
Maybe the embedded reports are far too real for the feint of heart to stomach. War is hell! And I’ve got news for you people, the marine is right. These aren’t warm fuzzes we’re fighting there; they are murderous, cowardice, psychopaths. Religious fanatical zealots that believe they only get to heaven if they die taking the lives of infidels. Wake up people. We are the infidels. There have all ready been instances where marines have lost their lives trying to help wounded insurgents. Not that they were shot by other insurgents, no, the one that they are trying to help blew them up. These people are bugs. If that wounded terrorist could, he would happily blow himself up, the marines up, and if he had access to them, he would gladly blow your family … your children …. Up. The reason he doesn’t have the access is because brave young men and women (like this marine) have the courage to go to god forsaken places like Iraq and take the fight to the terrorist. So for our sake and theirs, Support our troops. It goes deeper than just saying it, and if you don’t have the stomach to watch, while you sit in your comfortable easy chair, then go and show me how you can do it better, and quit whining about the terrorists rights. Way I see it; it was a clear case of self defense. Call it preventative maintenance.

Well after five long months we finally have a verdict. Scot Peterson is GUILTY as charged. Personal foul, fifteen yards, double homicide, the referees converge and watch the replay. Folks this could carry the death penalty. The kick is up and it’s good!

Ok the angel on my shoulder is telling me I’m wrong for trivializing capitol punishment and a murder trial by using a football sketch. Sorry, but I don’t see what’s taking so long.
If you haven’t figured it out yet …. Yes, I’m all for the death penalty. Pull the switch; push the plunger, what ever it takes. If you can’t find a volunteer, my number is in the phone book.

You see, I don’t buy in to the argument that death is not a deterrent to crime. Even if you could convince me that it’s not (don’t even try … it won’t work) I know for a fact that it will put a stop to that one person’s deviant activities. They will not be “paroled for good behavior” we don’t have to worry about them breaking out of prison, and we (the honest tax payer and generally good citizen) don’t have to pay to feed and house them for the rest of their undeserved lives.

Any more arguments? I thought so. Yes, every once in a while, we’ll get a truly innocent person. Well that is a harsh reality. But really, how many on death row don’t deserve to be there? I believe that the justice system errors to the side of the guilty more often than to the innocent. Most federal prisoners have better living conditions than most soldiers do, and have far more rights. But, since I am drawing a comparison to the military, I’ve got to say “in a war on crime there are going to be some casualties.” It’s just a matter of how can we minimize collateral damage, and how far are we willing to go to protect our families.

I’m not advocating a lynch party here, but if you murder and your convicted you should pay the ultimate price, not for vengeance but for the safety of the rest of society.

I just get tired of hearing how it’s not the criminal’s fault, or how it’s not fair because the policeman might have stuttered when he read them their rights.
My six year old already has a pretty good grasp on what’s right and what’s wrong and even though she doesn’t always make the right choices, I can see on her face, and in her eyes that there is a struggle going on inside even though she doesn’t know she’s caught yet. So, no matter whether criminals know and chose not to acknowledge it or they don’t have that moral compass that guides the rest of us, they obviously can’t function within a normal society and need to be surgically removed.
All life is precious, but when vicious predators slaughter sheep they have earned their extermination.

Veterans Day

Gee, it’s been a while since I’ve posted. Well, even though plenty has happened since I last wrote I’ve been too busy and too emotionally exhausted (after the elections) to delve into coherent thought, much less write it down. So, first things first.

We won! We won! We won!

Ok, so I know that this is childish gloating, but it would be a lot worse coming from the other side if they had come out on top. (Snicker, it’ll never happen)
Second, “ ding dong the witch is dead! Arafat is gone! No kind words here. They didn’t call him the “father of terrorism” for being a nice guy. I’m still not quite sure how you buy a Nobel Peace Prize but obviously it’s for sale. Jacques Chirac may make him out to be a hero (consider the source) but some of us haven’t forgotten … i.e.: Munich, skyjacking, and “the Don King of suicide bombers”. This guy deserves a special place in Hell, where he can have some wurst, and a brot with Adolph. Good Riddance to bad Rubbish.

So it’s two down (Sadam, Arafat) and 1, no 2, no well, still a whole crap load of bad guys to go. Well it takes some time but be assured, if you’re an evil despot or backer of terror and murder … we’re coming for you! You cant hide and you can run but you will only die tired. Our young men and women in the U.S. Military are the finest, most professional and most lethal fighting force this planet has ever seen. God bless ‘em!

Last but not least, today is Veterans Day. A time to give a huge “Thank You!” to all who have had the guts to stand up and serve. We can never thank them enough for making America what is today, and keeping us safe at home.

Hug a vet. … They are the reason you don’t have to pay homage to a king, speak German or Japanese, or write in Cyrillic. Remember Freedom is not free. It was paid for in blood … the blood of soldiers.