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Teddie Jordan

Another good memory Burge. My grandfather on my mother's side was a lifelong farmer up in central Texas. I can remember him coming in at noon from the fields during the summer and after lunch listening to a baseball game for an hour or so if one was on. Then almost every night except Wednesday he would listen to a game. On Wednesday nights he would listen to the "fights" ( boxing matches). "The Wednesday night fights are on the air!". I've still got his old radio which is in a wooden case and about the size of one of today's microwave ovens.

Fran and I have always been Astros fans and for years before the cable channels started televising all home games we would listen to almost every game on the radio. Many nights I would be working on something out in the garage and listening and she would be listening in the house. I almost went broke replacing tubes and repairing Papa's old radio before I gave up and retired it and started listening to a modern one. But I still have it out in the garage. Now we watch the Astros almost every night.

Beau Wann, Jr.

Hey Theo, I use to love listening to baseball games and th boxing matches on the radio! Took a special announcer to bring the game or match to you!!!

On another note, sad that it is, Mrs Betsy Pendery passed away this week! She worked in the attendance office at Waltrip, retiring in 1983! She has two daughters that attended waltrip also!
Her obituary is in todays Chronicle!

I know I've mentioned this many times, but Mrs Wommack use to let us listen to the Whirld Series on the radio during class, if we were good of course! She loved sports!!! I could actually see the game in my mind, as the announcer called it! Still can!!!

Maybe I'll be back tonight, dont know for sure! Seem to be unusually tired today! Well, I did go to K rogers for cat food, and wound up with 81 dollars worth of stuff! But, entirely needed and useful stuff it is!!!

Attila the ogre...hun

Lloyd Pond

Well the Pendery family was very special to me. Adrienne was my girl friend and Mr and Mrs Pendery were like another set of parents. Mr. and Mrs. were pillars of our church at Garden Oaks Baptist and Mrs. Pendery a great Sunday School teacher to Ferrell and many of our friends. They were always friendly and hospitiable and great hosts. Mrs. Pendery was a great cook too, something I could appreciate. She will be missed by family and many friends for sure.

John Burgess Webb

delicacy

he rallied for his land's liberty

in currents;deep and wide

his haven was paris

ergo,death by chef

his legacy was left in a fog

when le quoc thuey

ate the poison frog

john aka chon

John Burgess Webb

what a beautiful morning;a real cool front came in and a little voice said "perfect".

Richard Meek '65

Good mornin' fellow Waltripians. Your luck is good today. Not only was there a touch of fall in the air but I'm baaaaaack, as DOD likes to say. I've been doing my part to keep the wheels of commerce turning. Glad to see you were able to move forward in my absence. For those of you who weren't aware of it yesterday was National Dog Day! The Chronicle suggested that you do something special for your dog such as a petticure, a massage or practice yoga with them (I'm not making this up). I discussed this with Liz and she decided that she would prefer some dog licked roast or cat dragged chicken from Beau's whirld famous diner. I think that is what most dogs would prefer.

Sir Theodore, I remember when I was a yute going to sleep listening to the Colt .45's on my transistor radio when they were playing on the West Coast. The next morning the radio would always be off. My dad always made his rounds securing the house before he turned in. I still listen to the Astros on the radio quite a bit. I really like listening to Milo Hamilton. It's amazing the man has been broadcasting baseball games almost as long as we've all been alive. They're having a birthday celebration for him this coming week. He'll be either 83 or 84. He's still an excellent announcer. Put a blue star by that career! What can you say about the Astros sweeping the Phillies 4 games at their place? Nothing but Great! Go Astros! Maybe there's hope for next year. Actually, I was listening to Matt Thomas after the game one night this week and he calculated that after the first 51 game debacle (17 & 34) that the 'stros have been playing winning ball.  If you like sports on radio the U of H broadcaster is very good on football and basketball.

Burge those are fine looking dogs you have. Dogs are a lot of fun. I enjoyed watching Liz bounce stiff legged across the yard with a flower pot on her head the other day. She was having a grand time. I'll try and remember to post a current picture of her soon.

Need to get back to work so I can buy Liz, the Rushin Setter, some dog licked roast and cat dragged chicken!

Stay calm, Carry on

Rich LH

Growing old in unavoidable,

Growing up is optional

John Burgess Webb

hey rich,they read you like a book and come up with the strangest comedy;they take delight in their antics,like i wonder if lizz knew that was funny tiping the flower pot.they are worth their salt for sure.

Kay Watters '65 (Greene)

Robby wrote on Waltrip '65 about his dog with a cute pic as well.

Robby, that is truly a sweet looking dog.....Marley, like the movie!

I emphasize with my dogs as well.  It started out when I chose to get a dog for me and grandkids.  We all went to Citizens for Pet something and got the cutest puppy instead of a large dog for protection, turned out to be a sheltie collie, identical to the collie at A&M in 1995.  Acquired a rottweiler off the road and another border collie as well.  Both the first two dogs are now gone, I nursed them as long as it was legal, both over the age of 13 yrs.  My border is over 13 yrs. now, and has numerous problems, I kept my daughter's dog and she is now over 10 yrs.

Well long story short and many thousands dollars paid out.  Old dogs aren't able to play like they used to, mine sleep a good deal, but they will always get up for me to come home to.  Nowadays people who visit me must walk up a ramp as jumping up the steps is too difficult for them.  (Built them myself) the house has been accommodated for their pleasure and safety as well...down to the vinyl flooring (rough texture so they don't slip)  It is very little we can do for the pleasure of their company. 

Richard Meek '65

Burge, the presence your dogs have is great. They look like they know the secrets of the Orient. Very stoic looking. The fawn colred one is Ping, right ? Is the red one Pong or Panda?

Beau Wann, Jr.

Burge, if I may agree with you with out the wrath of khan raining down on us, I love your critter dogs! They look like, in my mind, four legged  aristocratic SOULS! They, whoever they is, say that critters have no souls!!!! Baloney! They never looked into the loving and grateful eyes of a rescued dog and cat!!!

Rich LH, looking for some more pics of Liz! Come on brother, more pics...

Kay, you do for your critters what we do! Accomodate them for their comfort and wellbeing! Your care of your pups speaks volumes of your love and compassion! Glad to know you!!!!!!

I read in the paper, also yesterday, that it was National Dog Day, or maybe my beloved read it to me! But no matter, both pups and a couple of the cats brought it to my attention that it was a special day and I was to show them all some extra special considerations!!! Like I never do!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big Oliver says its National Cat Day every day, him and his erstwhile companions, the rest of the cat community at the Wann Cat House!!!!
Of course, I took both fric and frac out on patrol, and Jack and I sat out in the swing beside the cement pond, whilst Cooper layed at my feet! He is toooooo big to get in the swing! He gets his front feet up on the seat, and grins and drools on me! He cant seem to get his back legs to do what his front legs are doing!!!  I let the wooly mammoth, Big Oliver, out in the back, and ol jack herds him around the cement pond, constantly checking his ID, nose and tail!!!! As long as I am ever vigilant in my observance of Olie, he cant escape! But he is the only one I let out under close supervision! As big as he is, he can haul kitty buns, but has to make two trips, which allows me to catch his rotund self!!!!

Me and the librarian Cooper have been working on our reading! Believe it or not, Ol John Boy Jack, has been reading too! Thought I'd work with him some, and he's a natural! Of course, Oscar Mayer helps a great deal!

I tried running with Jack today, and, except for the running part, woulda been ok! Sometimes I have to stick my finger in the light socket to get my brain woke up...

Ok...got to close up the mountain...rest easy and remember...If you lie down with dogs, you'll stink in the morning...(from first graders at lynns school in Hearne)

DOD...attila the ogre...hun

Scotty Croom

had lunch to in heights at berryhills...w/ reagan alums...saw old friends of mine and carolyn...

Susan Howard (Bowman)

Hey Kay!  We had a dachsund, Fritz, that lived to be 16 yrs and my mom had one that she babied through 21 years!  She used to feed her boiled rice and chicken.  Dogs are wonderful companions!  When I got my mom Life Alert a couple of years ago the guy who signed her up said it was okay for her to have a little dog, but not a big one.  He said older folks tend to get tangled up and trip over bigger dogs.  Little ones get out of the way.  She now has a shitzsu who is pretty old, too.  Of course my mom is 94!  Longevity of life not only runs in our 2 legged "critters", but also our 4 legged ones!  Guess that's a good thing!

John Burgess Webb

when your dog looks up at you with "that look",they become your conscience right away.they touch a gentle part of most people,im thankful for mine.a couple of weeks ago the pup tugboat got sick and was at the vet's for three days.boy,the moping and sighing from ping and pong de box was as if they were in mourning.he had a 105 temp and i was worried but trying to cheer them up was helping me to cope with the possibility of loss.

with antibiotics and fluid he sparked up;he must have gotten something in his eyes because thats where the infection was.two days after he came home,a pit bull and his mix puppy jumped poor little tugboat and kept ratcheting his jaws on his neck while the other one helped hold him down;the extra skin on the shar pei did its job and my neighbor beat the pitbull on the head with a piece of aluminum gutter and he ran off.they picked on the little one;its too bad for that breed,they just cant stand for another dog to even look at them.they are like gangsters.old tugboat is doing fine and they play like little kids.

meteors over quebec

Teddie Jordan

All of this talk about first cars has really gotten me fired up, but last night I had a chance to get a proper car "fix". Long story short, Fran and I owned this beautiful '55 Chevy, 2 door hardtop, the blue car pictured, for about 12 years and really enjoyed cruising in it and terrorizing the 1960 area on pretty weekend afternoons. It has a souped up 350 engine and is a lot of fun to drive. It brought back many memories for Fran and I and was a lot nicer car than my other two '55's that we had back in  high school. We went on several short out of town cruises with the local classic Chevy club, and those were fun too. But after 12 years of owning it we seemed to use it less and less, partly because of the amount of time I was spending working on the ranch. And every time I would walk out into the garage and see it I would feel guilty that it wasn't being enjoyed more.

Enter my old friend Jimmy Robinson, a Garden Oaks boy and drag racing buddy of my older brother Harry. Jimmy owned a couple of '55's back in the day, and came by the house one day about 5 years ago and 

 and we went to lunch in my '55. He was smitten with the car, and I knew he would take good care of  it and that I would get visitation rights, so I sold it to him. Jimmy also owns a beautiful '38 Chevy coupe, the black car in the photo. Yesterday he called and asked if I would be willing to help him and drive the '55 to a car show held every Saturday night up in Spring. Would I???

I had a great time driving it and showing it off and talking to several old friends there. Other than "our" '55, my favorite car out of the 300 or so there was a customized 40's vintage school bus, named Bondo High, with a blown 650 horsepower big block Chevy engine and an interior to match that of any limo. Quite a piece of work. If they had school buses that cool when we went to school I would never have missed a day.

Jim Taylor

What a great ride.

Richard Meek '65

Morning fellow Waltripians. I hope everyone had a great weekend doing what makes you happy.

Burge, glad to hear that Tug is recovering. Our pets are like members of the family. So when they are ill or injured anxiety runs high. Great picture of the meteors over Quebec. Years ago when the ex and I were holidaying in the CA wine country we witnessed the best shooting star displays I have ever seen. We were staying at an inn in the Childs Valley which is adjacent to Napa. We were able to stretch out on chaise lounges and watch it for hours. It also included a display of the Milky Way that I had only seen pictures of. Viewing that kind of natural phenomenon is truly breathtaking. 

Ogre of OF, I can't provide proof that animals have souls but I'm with you I think they do. I read once that if your idea of heaven includes all your pets being with you, they'll be there. I like that idea. I've had a lot of pets of the years but it sounds like the Wanns will need a compound of their own to accommodate all the critters and people. I've got a prospect for our next lunch field trip. There was an article in yesterday's paper about a lady who moved from N.O,. here after Katrina. She has a restaurant on Jefferson(?) called Calliope that specializes in Nawlins style po' boys, gumbo, etc. It is supposed to be the real deal. What do you think? (invitation open to all) Or we could  go to Carter & Cooley Deli to make sure their quality is being maintained!

Keep On Dancing,

Rich LH

Stay Calm, Carry On

Beau Wann, Jr.

Theo...man what beautiful rides...dont know If I'm just old or warped, or both, cause the sight of a beautiful hotrod really makes my heart beat a little faster...well, I guess I am OLD and WARPED...but I do love those hotrods!!! What day is the Spring Hotrod display on??? If it is in the daytime, I could spruce up my bike and ride my arn hoss up there! Some one sent a photo and story of a 1954 Oldsmobile F88 to me, and I promptly sent it on to all whose email addresses I had. Heard nary a comment on it! Did you all get it??? It is the rarest car and most expensive care in the universe! Some couple bought it at the Barrett Jackson Auction for 3,240,000.00 dollars as in Millions!!! Dang, wish I'd a been there, I would have bid on it too...I did notice it favored the 53 corvette a tad!!!

Hey RichLH et al, the nawlins place sounds pretty good to me, as long as we can all get to visit! Or Carter and Cooley is good, Pappas etc...Just say when and where...I be there...Ladies??? Gents???? All are cordially invited, all 400 plus of us, so come on down!!!!

Did you see Allison Cook,  our restaurant critics last pic and pan last thursday??? She hated the BRC (big red cock) down on washington ave! The pics of the burger and fries looked just like the ones she loved at the Hubcap Grill! She knocked the fries down from 1 to 2 of the hubcap grill. Dont know who she gave the number one spot to, but she said Pappas were the 10th best! I'm here to tell you , Pappas fries, expecially their chili cheese fries, are much better than Hubcap grill! I wonder if she is getting monthly payments from Craig at Hubcap grill???? Well, no matter...

HISD closed the Cooley elementary or Jr High school, and the Cooley Family bought building and land from HISD! Diane told me what they were going to do with it, but I've slept since then!!!

Here is another First grader completed "old saying"; When the blind lead the blind...get out of the way!!!!!

Attila the ogre

Teddie Jordan

Cephus, the car show, officially known as Niftee 50ees, is held every Saturday night ( except rainy nights) from April through November, at the Kroger shopping center at the corner of Champions Forest Drive and Spring- Cypress Rd.. Best way to get there would be to take SH 249 out to Spring Cypress, hook and right on SC and its down about 4-5 miles at the intersection with Champions Forest. On a typical night they will have 300 to 400 hundred fine old cars. I believe it is limited to cars made  in 1969 and older. They play good ol' 50's and 60's music through a pretty good sound system all night long. Hours are from about 6:00 PM until the last car leaves. Entry is free, so it's a pretty good value!!! Go to niftee50ees.com to see some fine cars and listen to some great music (but not any better than the good stuff Jackie has on our website).

You'll see some really fine cars, and I can almost guarantee you'll see someone there that you know from somewhere in your past. At least I always seem to. This past Saturday I ran into Johnny Smith, younger brother of Tommy Smith, who went to Waltrip and married Sally Pollard from our class. Unfortunately I learned that Tommy died of a heart attack at age 51. At Black Jr. High Tommy and I and Dickey Holcomb pal'd around quite a bit, and I always liked him. He always made me laugh. Now he and Dickey are both gone. Bummer.

I can't be there this Saturday night as Fran and I are leaving town for the weekend, but if you get a chance check it out. It's a hoot.

John Burgess Webb

when i left the marine corps in 1967 i had a short list of cars i would like to have,the 66 mustang 2+2,the olds 442,the 67 malibu SS and the chevy ll 327.mary liked the 442 so we bought a maroon 67 oldsmobile 442;the SS was by far the strongest but the 442 was smooth and powerful.a beautiful car.

Robert Derrick

Beau, thanks for the info on Cooley Elementary. Class of '52, '53, '54 are posted on "GuessWho". Wayne Lake and I are about the only two that chime in on the fourm from time to time. Brian Copeland made the last reunion. Clyde Pettit made one of the first Fudds. Us kids came from all the surrounding areas and most were bused. You Oak Forest kids were a well knitted group. Glad they opened Black and Waltrip in time for us to join you.

Teddie, those pics are great. Gary Jorden and I were in his solid white '55 chevy the night we met his and my wives at the Hempstead Drive In. He is still married to Marilynn Wolfe Jorden and Kay and I got back together thru them 26 years ago after a few divorces and are still best friends living next door to eachother. (note: next door to eachother in rural Navasota is not like Oak Forest) How did you and Fran meet anyway? I always thought you two must have met right after birth.

RH, ever make the Missouri wine country. Did it many times while living in St Louis and planning to go back this fall to see the trees change. Beautiful!!!!! Some say the wine production and quality are second only to CA in the US,  but they do not allow their wine to exported. Know anything about that?

Beau Wann, Jr.

Robert??? You drink that rotgut from St Louis???? Man...Nah, just funnin ya! I'm sure that is good wine! I lost my wine pallette trying to drink the seven seas dry whilst I was in the Navy! I hung around with the brothers most everywhere, and they served up "kripple", which was thunderbird wine and koolaid. We called thunderbird, Thunderchicken! In fact, we were the ones that invented the Harvey Wallbanger! We were sittin in the Honolulu airport, on our way from somewhere, on our way to somewheres else,  tasting whatever the bartender would put down on the bar! The HW was originally called an Italian Screwdriver! Hmmm, lets see what was in that concoction...Vodka, and orange juice, and Galiano wine, yeah, thats the ticket!

We didnt drink too many mixed drinks back then, or use glasses! Just drink out of the bottle! If we had halvsees, half a bottle of this, half a bottle of that, we just poured one in the other and drank what ever reared it's ugly head!!!! Ya ever had scotch, bourbon, beer, vodka, gin mixed together, and some nasty deadly green stuff??? I still dont know what that green stuff was!!!  Oh man, my head still hurts from that one!!! Couldnt find my face for a while... 

Someone told me once, that scotch wouldnt give you a hangover...they lied!!! Went to a wedding/luau, and drank a whole bottle of jivass regal by myownself!!! Apparently, you not only get a hangover, you lose your memory, and dont remember who you are, or why you have a hangover, or if you had any fun!!!! I do remember someone kept hollaring, "put your hand on the ground, it will stop the spinning"...it didnt...I couldnt find the ground anyway!!! Even the palm tree I was hanging onto was spinning. Damn coconuts were falling on my head! Did manage to knock a hole in a couple of the coconuts, and filled em with scotch! Well, we had heard that people were drinking scotch and milk, so heck, them nuts was filled with milk...and scotch...

Probably the worst sick and hangover, was me and another guy decided we were gonna chug a lug 48 cans of schlitz malt liquor...HELLO??? Do the words idiot moron, strike a familiar sound...Lord a mighty, we put away some whiskey wine and beer back in them bad ol days...After 4 years of being a wine beer whiskey taster, I'm surprised I lived...Perhaps, that is why I dont drink today.

Thank God...

Ok, gotta go move a couple of rooms around...just cant stand it if I'm not rearranging furniture!!!

Attila the okra

John Burgess Webb

hey beau,you forgot the egg in your concoction,that makes it breakfast.cant forget our nutrition now can we?that ugly green stuff sounds like peppermint schnapps,the most hiddious liquer on the planet.

teddie,i wanted to mention that i think the blue-on-blue color scheme on your chevy is class,understated elegance.that 38 chevy makes a fine carriage...first ticket i ever got was in my brother phillips' 55 hardtop;it was a hopped-up 283 with a b/w 4-speed.it was a romper.

i want to go to one of my favorite engines: the rolls royce merlin.it not only powered the p-51 mustang but the p-38 lightening(2)and the lancaster long range bomber(british w/4 merlins)two of these v-12 engines made by packard or allason powered the 'boat/patrol torpedo';everybody should remember "p-t 109"...originally designed by RR for the british "spitfire".

Kay Watters '65 (Greene)

Hey Ms Susan, just found your earlier message on your wonderful dogs living til 20 or so!  I'm in awe!!!!  Suppose they may be smaller dogs?  Do smaller dogs live longer, anyone?  Well, my poor baby kept me up all night again, scratching and honking!  Will try a new vet today or tomorrow, neither one of us can live with this....her skin and my heart!  She just has a foul odor and whatever the vet in Bryan is doing is not working.

By the way, on my way to work today, the announcer on 1550- am said reading thru some book that we are going to be in a very cold winter this year...and supposedly the book, Almanac?, is right 85% of the time.  Anderson did not get any rain...we are burning up here, looking like Dallas! 

Teddie Jordan

Kay, yes it is a general rule for dogs, the smaller the dog the longer they live. St Bernards and Great Danes often only live to 6-8 years on average. Labs, which are my passion, have an average life span of 12 years. My last two each died just into their 13th year. I've had friends lose them at 6-8 years, and have known a few that made it 15-16 years, but 12 is the average. All we can do is love them and enjoy them while we have them.

I would definitely try something different on your dog with allergies. We had a Llahso (sp?) for years with bad allergies and steroids helped her alot, but as always caused other side effects and probably shortened her life. As always its a quantity vs. quality trade off.

Jimmie Lee Smith (Brawner)

Kay,

We have 2 Bichons we adopted around age 1 year (they are now 2.5 years)  We were told they live to be 20 years or more.  Adopting pets from a rescue organization is similar to adopting a child - they ask questions you wouldn't believe.  Since we're old, one of the questions they asked was, "If something happens to either/both of you (incapacitated/dead - not exactly the way it was worded), what provisions have you made for the pets?"  That kind of threw us, but we just said, "One of our kids will inherit them," hoping that's true. 

It's the Farmers' Almanac and yes, their predictions are pretty accurate.  I heard that report on the news this morning, too.

Regarding dog allergies, we've tried everything the vets have told us and one of ours still gets hot spots.  They both had steroid shots a month ago and we're using another "special" shampoo, and neither seem to have helped them.  We tried Benedryl tablets for a while and that didn't help - vet says they must be immune to it.  Good luck!