Jim Reeves Memorial Garden...

Passing through Carthage, Tx you might want to stop and check out the Jim Reeves Memorial Garden. I did. Jim was a country singer born near Carthage and killed in a plane crash in 1964. He was flying the plane. It is noteworthy that he took flying lessons from the same guy that trained Patsy Cline's pilot. That's kind of spooky as was my experience in the garden.

It's a beautiful approach to the garden.  A guitar sidewalk leads up to a big statue of Jim holding his guitar.  The small moon hangs over Jim's head in broad daylight? Is this an omen for me? I'll make sure to never fly a plane to my gigs. If you stop here some time check to see if the moon  always hangs there. 

A nice spray stands nearby. It's not been brought by me. Always here? A secret admirer, never sighted, always leaving something? Or maybe just an old bass player or a drummer that had to start driving a cab after his job went down in a field near Nashville that tragic day. Maybe both visit because there was a small plastic flower near the historical plaque. That looks like the work of the drummer. 

Jim liked his dog. Looks like they buried the dog by the statue.  Nice marker, nicer than folks killed in the unrest in Syria or Mali are currently getting. Probably used a Cadillac for a coffin. It is after all Nashville with nothing we can't fix in the mix.  

Jim had a top 10 hit as recent as 1980 when some studio trickery created a duet with Patsy Cline. I usually play a Jim Reeves song at a dance I play once a month. Runt sings it and it's something requested by a spectator. The guy stands in front of the band and yells "Make the World Go Away." Jim sang a song by that name and my best guess is that since we would not qualify as the best death metal band from Texas he wants to hear that old country  song.

NCD...

 In internet talk that's "New Camera Day." All the photos you have previously viewed on this blog have been made by Kodak products. I think Kodak cameras are made no more. I guess I had some throw back alliance from childhood to the Kodak moment and had great success with my Kodak digital cameras. Now I try Canon. They have a great reputation and this model has some great features that should be useful once I get them figured out. 

Figuring them out should be easy. I got one of the hardest ones figured out right away and that's how to get the camera to make a picture of it's own self. You see the results here. 

My Mother Always Tells Me This...

I like to make pictures of signs I see that stir some special meaning in my heart. This one reminded me of what my Mother always tells me, even to this very day.

She says "you behave now."

Let's Dress Country!...

Last summer I visited The Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. My last weekend off we meandered around East Texas and Louisiana and toured the Texas and Louisiana Country Music Halls of Fame. I like looking at the memorabilia, music, instruments and the clothes of famed performers. In the old days cowboy singers were pretty flashy. No torn jeans and ball caps for these guys. 

Pictured here are a few of the outfits folks wore. It was a way to set yourself apart. I like to think that once some of these fellers put on pink and sequins with a nice scarf around the neck they had an "I did not know I was going to look good in that" moment.

Like I say, always dress like you are with the band.     

What Tool is This...

 This is some kind of tool that was in my Dad's old paper mill stuff. I don't know what it is for. Some you mill hands that read here might help me out.

It has a "T" handle. Shaft from the handle is flexible wire, some more so than others. Comes in different sizes and some items have a slightly different style about them as if produced by various sources. All end in a cork screw point. 

Some "T" handles have writing on them. A quick buff from a dremal tool brush revels the words Mound St. Louis on some but not all handles. 
An internet search shows that there is a Mound company in St. Louis that makes meat processing tools. I see nothing like this item in their catalog. 

Ideas anyone? 

Happy Birthday Ali...

 It's a custom from the old country. Each year on your birthday for luck you stick your hand down to throat of a big chicken all the way into his or her stomach. Once down there make a fist cupping as much of the stomach contents as possible. Pull back out and display contents of fist to the handiest tribal elder. That's usually me.

I ponder what you have in your grasp and read your fortune. It's kind of like the I Ching and a tarot card reading all rolled into one without the occult and pagan sensibilities. No chickens are ever harmed in the process. 

What did I read for Ali? She's going to have a happy birthday! 

To Go With a Hammer...

You may have seen my hammers the other day. To go with them I have chisels. And punches. And wedges. All kinds of them. I continue with the process of making straight  the path of old tool chests. I guess I am a severe pack rat. For some reason I found many saved bent nails. Maybe I thought they could one day be used as money.

From the looks of some of these they met with other items that resisted their advances. They are bent, broken and have had their edges rolled. The beat owner of these probably said bad words. A lot of them, but only because I can guess that other more gentle methods were first tried and failed, therefore leading to the chisel. The use of a lot of bad words at least needs to be with appropriate reason. This makes them more able to resonate and reflect the moment in time when all cool was lost and all you knew failed. 

So as you examine the methods available out here don't put your money on me working on something of yours. I attempted to hook up a friend's TV yesterday but failed miserably. I don't do TV well and the device I have in my house barely qualifies to use the acronym. I usually fall asleep in it's glare.At least I don't do TV work with a chisel.  

Dirtfoot...

Here's a couple of photos from my birthday weekend bash. This is the Shreveport band Dirtfoot playing at the lounge of the casino where we stayed. They are a band whose music we have been collecting for a while and using their terms can be describe as "gypsy punk country grumble boogie."  As I am not much of a gambler our trip to the casino was just to see the band. We were afraid we would not be able to catch Dirtfoot local as they had toured last year opening for the rock act Primus and might be on to bigger better things on the national scene. 

Instrumentation is a bit unusual  Sax, guitar, banjo, bass drums and a percussionist on vibes, trash can lids sections of pipe and other general noise makers. You know the kind of stuff that drives most people crazy we like. People tell me all the time they like all kinds of music. They are lying.  

So this was kind of an all in one deal. Something we don't normally do. Stayed in the hotel, ate at the restaurants, saw the music and I did gamble on slot machines a bit. Lost $30 to the one armed bandits. Funny how I can feel guilty about that but can drop $100 at a used cd/record store and feel it's money well spent. 

Seeing the band Dirtfoot is time well spent.    

Thanks for the Birthday Wishes...

Thanks to all for the birthday wishes. I am having a very good one with activities stretched out over the last several days.

Thought I would post a picture of the present Cathy got me. It looks good in our living room and I was surprised to find that I really liked that color. Can't wait to use it. 

Thanks again. You guys are the greatest. 

Shop Local...

Well I headed over to Louisiana for a little birthday fun this weekend but before I took my discretionary cash out of State I stopped at a car wash in Garrison Tx. The old truck was dirty and being this small business was owned by my good buddy GWB I thought it would be a good idea to shop local for this fine service. 

You see the sign? That's how you find it. It did not mention that the donuts were a separate purchase. 

The "Dawg Gone" car wash. The school team is the Dawgs. 





There's those donuts. They can be had in the adjoining business. 







No friends, GWB will not wash your car. Like me you have to do it yourself. So be sure to be a good hippie. Shop local!








 

Hatchets and Hammers...

I got on an early spring cleaning kick today. Been working in the red barn hoping that my labors will turn this into some kind of musical instrument shop where if I don't make anything I at least have some room and tools to work on stuff I have. On rearranging old tool chests, some of which belonged to my Dad I turned up a bunch of hatchets and hammers. All of these are old, found or refurbished items. Don't worry, these will not be guitar tools. 

Left to right, an old ball peen. I think a ball peen is the coolest hammer. I have a small one I couldn't find for the picture, it may be packed with the tent stakes in my camping gear. Next is a found item, a modern ax that was laying in the middle of the road. A life time tool, very sharp  no problems cutting down a tree. Next two an old sledge of my Dad's and a re handled hatchet which was part of some kind of multi tool set. Little boy there is a rubber mallet. I bought this one years ago, handle wore out and I know you want to know how you wear out the handle on a rubber mallet. I can't say but I did fashion this new handle with my new jig saw today. Top hammer is my old dock hammer from the mill. The double blade ax was left laying, along with all his beer bottles, by my landlord in the yard of an old rent house. He never came back for it. I have done a bunch of chopping with this one. It's a good tool when sharp. Last but not least some kind of home made job, welded heavy metal, not brass that belonged to my Dad. For use on special occasions only when nothing else will do. 

So who's surprised I got hammer?     

So You Want to Discuss Politics at Breakfast...

I am a commie socialist. I support the President's Gun Proposal.

Anything elese you want to talk about?

I Detect a Christmas Theme...

 You saw this picture. Miguel and Morgan put together the new grill I got for Christmas.

Looking back over the pictures I was not the only one that got a new grill for Christmas. It was a real popular gift this year. 

Few More Warren Pictures...

Still sifting through the Christmas gathering pictures. I'm trying to spot trends and also keeping an eye out for any criminality or cruelty to animals which may have been capture on film. I guess the trend here is Warren's first Christmas. 

Of course all he will remember is the yelling, grabbing shoving, eating and tuba playing. Hopefully none of this will carry over to make future holidays miserable  and fearful.  






Juan says, "ok, ok Pop-Pop has stopped playing the tuba. please stop crying"

Grama shields the young from the annual great silly string massacree.

Great Outdoors...

This Photo from a few weeks ago on the lake. It's clearing after a big rain yesterday so the partly cloudy blue sky is appropriate. 

Outdoors tonight it's noisy. Here's a recording I made. Frogs are really carrying on and the sound of town moving out this way roars in the background. 
January Night Sounds

Warren Says Touchdown...

 Kind of kept up with the football this past weekend The Aggies and Texans done good.

Hear you see my grandson Warren as he signals touchdown!

People Ax Me All the Time...

People ask me stuff all the time. Most recently it's been "Mudbelly wuz you good for Christmas " or "Whut did Santy bring ya?" and other things like that and they certainly seem surprised by the answers.

Yeah I was good. They let me sit by the tree. I got this shirt. I also got and have been nice about sharing with Cathy the new grill. I heard the sound of a pork chop call my name. My Mother and brother gave me gifts.

So don't be surprised. I'm good. Real good.