MUST'VE BEEN A SLOW NEWS DAY.

Dallas World Aquarium...the wedding venue.

1. Laurie and Benjamin have their first dance.
2. Some pretty water behind my hotel...The Fairmont.
3. Neon green skyscraper....I'm not in Pecos anymore!
4. More water behind the Fairmont.
5. My girlfriend C.J. and I Loooooove room service at the hotel!
6. Waterfall at the Aquarium.
7. A critter (sloth?) settling into his burlap hammock for the night at the aquarium.
8. My nephew Ryan and his wife.
uh----it's them twice.
Wedding cupcakes.

A WEDDING IN DALLAS.

Horrors! My photos are not in order.
1. My brother David and his darling daughter...the lovely bride, enjoy their dance.
2. Benjamin and one of his precious daughters.
3. The wedding ceremony space.
4. Cake.
5. David and his pretty wife Sherry.
6. My sister Jane and her husband Michael.
7. The bride and groom: Benjamin & Laurie.

A SKUNK RUNS THRU IT....

A skunk runs thru it...our yard that is.
2:30 a.m.....3 nights ago.
Bennie met and chased the skunk.
Score: skunk 1 point....Bennie none.
Maybe I should give the skunk only a half point since he got only a drop or 2 of stench ON the dog.
Maybe I should give Bennie a half point for scaring the hell outta the skunk.
Now, some dogs LIKE the stink of skunk....they'll roll in a dead skunk if they find one.
Super diva(o), prima donna(o) Bennie does NOT like the smell.
He brought the smell onto my bed and kept jumping off the bed and getting back up there and saying "P.U.!"
We went thru 3 dog blankets and a towel before he was satisfied and went back to sleep.
This picture is not our actual skunk...I just got it off the internet.

This other picture is of golden eagle rays off the Yucatan Peninsula. It was taken last week. They measure 7 feet across and were looking for more desirable waters....a migration sort of.

I was taking out the trash from Needleworks today and saw an empty shotgun shell on the ground next to my car...only in Pecos. Wierdos.

There was a scathing half page ad in the Monday newspaper by the new Pecos Humane Society...thought i was GOING TO ACTUALLY PUKE!!!!!!!!! It told about horrible conditions at our city animal shelter....I didn't even know it was still open. Dogs packed into cages with no food or water. They were drinking urine and eating feces because they were so hungry and thirsty.
It asked "how bad do the conditions have to be before the State or City shuts down the pound??" GOD ALMIGHTY.....HOW BASIC IS IT TO GIVE AN ANIMAL SOME F-ING WATER????????????? It takes like a few minutes.
WHERE IS OUR NEW ANIMAL SHELTER ...that we've been promised for months?
THE SHAME, SHAME, SHAME of PECOS!!!!
Someone make it stop already!!!

I won't even get into the story I want to tell about our inept police dept. and school system.
I have friends who experienced this ridiculous excuse for both agencies last week.

I'm off to Dallas tomorrow for my niece Laurie's wedding...should I come back?

Love, mary

Awwww...It's Another Nuthin' Sorta Sunday In Pecos.

George bought a new motorcycle in El Paso yesterday...it's a Buell. Even though he doesn't look like it in this photo he was SO proud and SO excited! He stopped by on his way back to Pyote to show it to us. He teaches at the West Texas State School with Gene.

Speaking of that....it's now called the "Rattlesnake High School"!

Gene had to go to training in Iraan last Monday and Tuesday and Odessa on Wednesday....that's a total of 495 miles.
He was tired and glad it is over.
AND the stupid Iraan ISD did not pay for the gas.

I worked 6 days last week.
Hope I don't have to do the same this week.
My co-worker Lucy was out of town for a couple of days.
Peggy got pneumonia at a show in Witchita Falls last weekend and had to go to the E.R. in an ambulance.
She hasn't been so well since her car accidnet 18 months ago and seems to be in denial about that.
SSshhhhhh....don't tell her I said that.

We had a big water leak that we didn't know about until the water meter reader came and notified us that the meter was spinnin' around like a tornado.
Luckily we have American Home Shield Insurance...and they sent out Carl-the-plumber to fix it. It took 4 or 5 days to get him out here since he's the only accredited plumber in town....and ALWAYS VERY BUSY!!
Our water bill was $473.00!!!! We had used 153,000 gallons of water....I FELT SOOOOOO GUILTY! Gee Wally, we could've had a couple swimming pools for that!
Double lucky that we don't have to pay all that bill!
The water Dept. is a-workin' with us on that.
It's usually $80. or $120.

For Mi Familia Only:
I loaned Grandaddy Gray's memoirs to this guy Jim Davis and he sent me the nicest note. He lives in Kermit with his Mama who is 102 years old. It says:
Dear Mary,
What a story. He mentions places ad events almost in passing that would have been one's adventure of a lifetime. Thanks for letting me read it.
Biography is what I read the most as it is a story that really happened.
My Dad had an old framed photograph of Gen. Pershing and I would like you all to have it. I'll bring it next time I'm over (when I can locate it).
Thanks again,
Jim Davis

Isn't that nice? I don't even know him really. Sib just dragged him over to our open house in July.

SO!!!
A reporter from the newspaper (Peggy McCracken) came over last Thursday and interviewed me for a "feature article"....er....uh-huh....we'll see how THAT turns out.
"WEIRDO OUT OF TOWNERS MAKE BOTTLE CAP SNAKES!!!!"
It might be out tomorrow.
The paper comes out Monday and Friday and costs a damn DOLLAR!
It's usually all of EIGHT pages.

RADIO HOTLINE:
For Sale:
WWII paratrooper survival rifle.
Box of paint ball guns and supplies- $50. (Ouch.)
Wanted:
Someone to remove a dead dog from under house. (Ick.)
Apple Decorations.

That's all folks.
Thanks for doing the bloggity thing.
love, mary

VAYA CON DIOS TO THE "VATO FROM McALLEN."

I got the sad news today that Rob Watkins passed away 8/15/08 in Seguin, Texas.
He was 53 years old.
We had not seen Rob in about 10 years but he used to be such a big part of our lives during the R-12 Cafe years...beginning in 1984.
We enjoyed seeing him play at The Center Reef in San Marcos on Sundays.
For many years in the 80's and 90's he entertained folks in the beer garden at The Grist Mill Restaurant in Gruene, Texas while they waited for a table to open up.
These pictures were taken there in June 1990.
All the tourists LOVED it when he ran thru his repertoire of T.V. show theme songs....The Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan's Island etc.

He was so talented....and so funny.
He wrote a song called "R-12 Cafe" and when I was manager there....every time I'd close up shop and lock the door....I'd put that song on and crank it up real loud while we all cleaned the cafe at the end of another busy night.
"IT'S A NICE PLACE TO GO...SO I GO THERE ALOT!"
We served him many a meal and many a bottle of Chimay Ale.
He was great pals with Kyle Kimbrough (the owner) and Mike Yates (our head cook).

We loved his songs "Vato from McAllen"....( yes, he was from there.)...and his song "Roberto Chile".
We have attended birthday parties and weddings where he played.
I remember a wedding we went to where he played an Elvis song as the couple exited the ceremony.

He brought alot of joy to people with his special brand of music.

My sympathies to his parents and brother.

M.D.P.

MINIATURE SUNDAY NEWS..

Click on this picture...make it big to read about Stetson Chapeaus.

The weather here has been cloudy and cool yesterday, today and will remain so tomorrow and Tuesday.
It's in the 70's and 80's for a high.
Of course we're loving it...but...it's strange for August...it sorta creeps me out.

We had a visit from Blue the parakeet yesterday.

UGH...our neighbors...3 doors down got roosters again...they are LOUD!
Glad we don't live right next door to them.
Luckily one of the neighbors right next to them is hard of hearing.
Damn Chicken Fighters...I DESPISE THEM!!

Gene brought home a baby pine tree from his trip to Weed, New Mexico.
He planted it in the backyard.
This morning our cat Harold was trying to sharpen his claws on it....and then was grabbing the needles etc.
BAD CAT!

Went to the grocery store this morning and my favorite cashier Frances Bryan checked me out....she's been checking groceries for 66 years.
She told me that her husband used to put WD-40 on his knees when they hurt.
I was laughing cos I thought she was kidding.
She wasn't.
He said it worked.

Gene will doing training in Odessa in Iraan this week.
Odessa is 70 miles away....Iraan is 115 miles away.
That's alot of driving and they have to pay for their own gas.
He now officially works for Iraan ISD and not TYC.
Whatever...I'm so tired of hearing about it.

Regarding wind turbines/windmills.
It's a jaw dropper to see a wind turbine blade or other part being transported down the highway. Some of the larger turbines around Big Spring reach a "hub" height of 300 ft. (at the center of the blade) with each of the blades stretching 140 ft.

M.D.P.