The message forum is an ongoing dialogue between our classmates. There are no items, topics, subtopics, etc.

Forums work when people participate - so don't be bashful! Click the "Post Response" button to add your entry to the forum and then click "Submit".

Beau Wann, Jr.

Good Sunday evening mine fine waltripines, friends all...Thanks Jennie for the headsup on the eye care. My mom has Macular degeneration...she has the one that cant be corrected...almost blind now...she loves bright colored flowers, and pretty much anything bright colored...she says she can see the colors, but cant recognize just exactly what it is without a magniifying glass...she also loves postcards...sooooo, whenever I see those disappearing delights from the past, I buy a handful and send them to my mom...and she always calls and thanks me...I found a plethora of postcards on my sojourn to DC and back...probably spent a small fortune in stamps and postcards, and gas just trying to locate a mailbox, and or a post office.

Whats up with that???? where have all the post offices gone, and mail boxes???? Nary a one on "Main Street USA" ...gone like the fireflies and grandparents that gave you a shiny fifty cent piece...now, WE are the grandparents, and a fifty cent piece doesnt mean much, nor buy much...such a shame..

"Oh beautiful, for spacious skys, for amber waves of grain.
For purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain...America America..."

Sound familiar??? That very song popped into my usually empty congested head, when I saw the grain fields in the heartland on my trip to DC...we were riding through the mountains early morn, round 8...The sun was cresting over a "purple mountain"...(they really are purple) when a bright ray shone into the valley on the southside of the road...seems that there are rolling hills tucked inside the mountains...how neat is that???
Anyway, the one field was almost on fire with the suns rays..."amber waves of grain" best describes it...from that moment on, the only tune in my head, besides the steady rumble from my pipes, was "America The Beautiful"...been singing it ever since...

What a beautiful country we have...and I have only witnessed a very small part of it...wouldnt it be great to take a glider trip coast to coast, border to border???? no noise, just the swooshing of the rushing air past the cockpit...

Jennie, you sawr the BEATLES???? How cool...Keep that ticket, might be worth something on the ANTIQUE ROADSHOW...

Missed Church again today...but for a good cause...babysitting one of Gods Angels...Cooper...He had surgery on Friday...minor surgery to remove a cyst and some dogwarts...(well, why not. They have hogwarts dont they)
plus, they cleaned his teeth...seems our attempt at brushing his teeth was not the best...The doc said he would be dopey when we took him home...(why were they changing his name?)...I said, "how can we tell when it wears off, he normally is dopey"...ah yes, one of the seven dwarfs...dopey...Anyway, he is doing fine and resting comfortably...but, thats how he always does...so, I guess nothing new...I did sleep out on the couch with him since Friday. Didnt want him to wake up and not know where he was...there again, thats generally his usual self...everyday, a new day...sounds like me...

We had a work day at church on Saturday, so I took him along...we were cleaning the sanctuary, polishing the pews...need em looking their best for the usual 30 suspects on Sunday...Usual half dozen loyal parishoners showed up for workday...not nearly enough...you think we could get EXTREME MAKEOVER to visit us???? Nah, probably not...but thats ok, worked with them before, and it wasnt the best of experiences...
Ol Cooper was just drifting around, following me...I think that ol boy loves me...GOOD, cause I love him!!!

I want to thank the good folks, again,  that sent the grits to me last year...I wont mention who they are lest I embarass them, but they know...dont know why I was surprised, you kind of expect the best from these good folks, and they always come through...anyway, since they took the time to send the grits to me, I thought I'd give em a chance even though they were the 5 minute grits, and not the 20 minute kind...lo and behold, when you read the destructions, and ACTUALLY follow them, voila, you get wonderful grits...thanks again anonymous couple...Just about finished off the whole 5 pounds...gonna order somemore from them...

These are the folks I idolized and tried to emulate back in my boyhood days...looking back, most everyone in our class fit that profile, of role model,  was worthy of being called "a baird man" (or woman)...just watched that movie...again...for the millionth time...best part is the "tango" and the ending...who was that beautiful girl Al Pacino danced the tango with???? Oh my, fell in love...again...

Time to go...got to get my blankie and pillow out and sleep with Cooper...been keeping a close eye on him so he doesnt tear his stitches open...we have an E collar for him, but it is so cumbersome, and he hasnt a clue why he is being tortured in such a way...besides he cant clear off the coffee table, and knock over lamps and such if he isnt wearing it...lord a mighty, that boy when he gets to lumbering around the house with that E collar on, "bull in a china shop" comes directly to mind...plus he scoops up a non willing cat or two whilst he is lumbering...

Keep the sun at your six and ride boldly ride...and stay healthy...
Your frien and brother...Beaucephus the DOD

Wayne Lake

I hope this note finds you all well.

Lloyd, I think I have back yard envy as I have only song birds up here in the North country. We had a red fox last year but I think a car got him and now we have way too many chipmunks and squirrels as a result.

Beau, how many fingers am I holding up? Ride on brother, we live through you vicariously.

Teddie/Jackie/Rich/Paige/Jan/Burge/everybody else that contributes regularly, you keep doing what you doin’.

Speaking of railroads, our townhouse in MN is only a block away from a major BNSF East-West rail line (Eastbound coal and lignite from Wyoming and Westbound cars from Detroit) that traverses just North of Lake Minnetonka about 10 or 12 times a day. As the weather is so mild in the summer, we keep the place open most of the time and although there are many cars carrying heavy stuff, we are not bothered with the noise, maybe we just got used to it and they don’t blow the horn between 10pm and 7 am.    

Speakin’ of nostalgia, here are some lines, verses etc from books and movies that are my favorites from years gone by, not necessarily in any order of preference……..

 “He stopped loving her today”, George Jones

“Angel flying too close to the ground”, Willie

“Verna, that boy is not right”, Tuna Texas (original version)

John 3:16

“Now my hands are on the wheel of something that’s real and I know I’m goin’ home.” Willie

“I see a fine boat, I get a lump in my throat, I say some day, I will.” Jimmy Buffet (I am fond of boats)

Don’t the girls all get prettier at closing time, Mickey Gilley

Setting sails, telling tales and fishin’ for whales, Willie (I love fishin and Willie)

“Roll another one my friend, just like the other one” ? (from a past life)

“The road goes on forever, and the party never ends,” Robert Earl Keen

“We all live in a yellow submarine,’ Ringo Starr

All my Exes live in Texas and that’s why I hang my hat in Tennessee, George Strait

“Give peace a chance,” John Lennon

“If you’ve the money honey, I’ve got the time”, Willie and original by Hank Williams, I think

Go ahead, make my day."Harry Callahan by Clint Eastwood in Sudden Impact

"You talkin' to me? Travis Bickle by Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver

"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." Don Vito Coreleon by Marlon Brando in Godfather I

"What we've got here is failure to communicate” Captain by Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke

"I love the smell of napalm in the morning."Lt.  Col Bill Kilgore by Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now (my take on it Ain’t nothing like a boat ride early in the morning, wtl)

Like herding cats (I swear, I think I came up with this one)

"You're gonna need a bigger boat." Martin Brodie by Roy Snieder in Jaws

Hey Gringo! Jou a pretty good shot, jou put a hole in me.  Mexican Bandit in Road to Delgado with Paul Newman

Your gonna have to serve somebody andThe times, they are a changin’, Bob Dylan

“I hate rude behavior in a man, I won’t tolerate it.” Cap’t Woodrow Call by Tommy Lee Jones in Lonesome Dove (may all time favorite movie)

If a gnat dove into your pool of knowledge, it would break it’s neck. Carey Grant to Audry Hepburn?

 “They have us surrounded, the poor bastards”  Medic and “Artillery takes all the joy out of life”, PFC Webster   Easy Company, 506^th Regiment, 101^st Airborne- Band of Brothers (the best non-fiction book I’ve ever read)

You’ll never get out of this life alive, Hank Williams

You can’t fix stupid, Blue Collar Comedian

Déjà vu all over again, Yogi Bera, Yankee Catcher

Ask not what your country can do for your but what you can do for your country, JFK although he may not have coined the phrase

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it ?

I'll have what she's having." Customer by Estelle Reiner (mother of Rob) in When Harry met Sally

"Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates You never know what you're gonna get."and Stupid is as stupid does, Forest Gump vy Tom  Hanks

"Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinking badges! Gold Hat by Alfonso Bedoyain in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

And finally, Who’s on first? Dexter by Bud Abbott in The Naughty Ninties

Stay cool.

From Lake Wobegone,

wtl

Richard Meek '65

Top of the afternoon Waltripians. Wayne's post from Lake Woebegone propmpts me to recommend a book if any of you need a good one to read. I'm just getting into it , about 75 pages. The book is Unprecedented Power by Steven Fenburg. The book is a biography of Jesse Jones. I hear Mr. Fenburg discuss his book which prompted me to buy it. It is kind of interesting that a man who from the Depression of the 30s through WWII was the second most powerful man in the country, second only to FDR, has sort of slipped from the historical consciousness. Jesse Jones started out as a poor kid with an 8th grade education. He worked his way up in the world to being a multi-millionaire. He headed the Reconstruction Finance Corpoaraion first for Herbert Hoover then for FDR. Initially the RCF was established to help get teh nations economy moving. It helped solve other problems also and was ultimately transfformed in getting the country ready for war and supplying material throughout the war. As an example when the Japanese took over the sources of rubber it left us without any. Jones brought together a cooperative effort between government, universities and industries and synthetic rubber was developed in 18 mos. Right out on the Houston Ship Chanel. Another example of how Jones continues to help build Houston is Houston Endowment. He and his established it in 1937 with the primary purpose of helping to educate the children of Texas. He funded it with $7M and made other contributions after that. My Rotary Club has been judging the Houston Endowments Scholarships since 1958. In that time span there have been 11,000 scholarships awarded and $93M given away. The endowment stands at $1.5B.

It is fascinating reading. Get a copy and learn something about a local icon, who was one of the major movers and shakers that built Houston . When Jesse Jones came to Houston it was smaller than Beaumont and Galveston. Beaumont is the same size it was 60 years ago, about 100K. Galveston is about 50K. Something to ponder.

Keep on Dancing,

Rich LH

Teddie Jordan

Wayne it's always good to hear from you and I enjoyed your list. You said not necessarily in any order but the first two songs/artists you listed are definitely in my top few. And you and I have the same favorite all time movie too, no real surprise.

And I even enjoyed your snarky close, advising us all to stay cool. We in Texas aint doing so good at that right now, but then I guess you knew that didn't you? But it's not all bad living in the tropics as my ten year old grandson James and son in law Curt and I managed to catch a three man limit of trout  by 8:00 AM Saturday morning in Nueces bay and get off of the water before it got really hot. And we all enjoyed dining on them that evening too.

Take care and enjoy the rest of your summer.

Lloyd Pond

Thanks to a kind neighbor, we picked several pounds of homegrown tomatos yesterday!

all shapes and sizes and varieties. She made a wonderful small garden in her front yard along side the driveway. And there are peppers, squash. as well. I don't have the thumb for a vegetable garden, if it comes up in the compost and survive, that is the extent of my garden. Right now, I found a wild tomatillo that I am trying to nurse along. so far there are just some small Japanese lanterns hang there but that is a long way from salsa. Along the sidewalk that I walk down to the library, I discovered a vine that has bright red fruit about the size of cherry tomatoes,  Looks good enough to eat but I think I will pass. Ferrell like flowers rayher than vegetables and she makes our yard beautiful! She points and directs and I dig the hole where she wanats to plant something. She got a mimosa last week...folks around here do not want those "trash trees" but she loves them.

Ferrell and I saw the Beatles...didn't/couldn't hear them. stood on folding chairs to try and see. Tuesday  radio show each week at noon is called "Off the Beatle Path" I always enjoy listening to that show.

Basketball players were so smart! I say that because they know and understand the rules! I would get the ball and immediately the ref would blw the whistle and take the ball away from me, never did understand what the whistle were for. Tehn when I tried to play in colleg, I found out that the whistle was to protect you. There were no refs in those pick up games and the games became more like hockey ..so that didn't last long.

After that, I tried handball and squash. Got pretty good and then in a tournament was eliminated my a guy who could serve exactly where I could not return the serve. Most time I did not even touch the ball!

Love old memories and the old days course, todays kids are so unlucky to not be shaped in the same ways as we were.

Beau Wann, Jr.

Good morrow all yall...

Hey Scotty and Lola, wear your life vests, and bring some O the rain witcha...OK?
But above all BE CAREFUL...
Hey Jennie, sorry about your friend Nancy...Hard to say good bye sometimes...to old friends...family...and the olden days...
"Jenny kissed me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in.
Time, you thief! who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in.
Say I'm weary, say I'm sad:
Say that health and wealth have missed me:
Say I'm growing old, but add--
                                      Jenny Kissed me!"
(Leigh Hunt)
from an old poem thats around here somewhere...probably in one O my many boxes as we remodel...

I watched the old Houston Buffs at their old  Busch stadium, generally with the "knothole" gang...you could look through the outfield fence through the knotholes and watch...sometimes when I had a quarter, I could get a seat inside...but only a couple O times...isnt it funny how an old memory gets distorted and you think you were at every game...bet I got to see Dick Landis play a time or two...Prayers for you Jennie and for Nancys family...

     Yea WTL...loved your best of sayings...probably all my favorites as well...
One in particular was the "mexican bandit" you quoted from "HOMBRE" with Paul Newman and Richard Boone...and the man that played the mexican bandit...Frank Alvin Silvera...
What led to the line you quoted was the scene before...when Franks character went up the hill to have a "palaver or talk" with Paul Newmans character...When the "palaver" was over, Newmans character says to Frank..."I have one question for you"   "how you gonna get back down that hill?" then newmans character shoots Frank and that leads up to the line you quoted...I loved that part...

Frank Silvera was a great character actor...I thought he should have gotten more recognition from that film than just a supporting character actor...he was great in almost everything he was in, which included...
NEW YORK NEW YORK 1977...GUNS OF THE MAGNIFICENT 7 1969...THE STALKING MOON 1968
PERILOUS VOYAGE 1976...THE APPALOOSA 1966,  Just to name a few...

He was born in Kingston, Jamaica, July 21, 1914 and died June 11, 1970 from electrocution, working on something around the home...
I know tis trivial, but I love the so called obscure...everyone remembers Paul Newman etc...I thought Mr Silvera played his part with such realism and humor...ah yes, but thats just me...

I had asked before who was the MOST BEAUTIFUL young lady that danced with Al Pacino in "SCENT OF A WOMAN"...I looked her up, and she is Gabrielle Anwar from England...and that part, got her noticed and a plethora of jobs from then on...her latest project is BURN NOTICE, which I dont watch...ever now and again I will tune in, with the sound off, just to see her face...still beautiful...

Cooper is in my face at the moment, so gotta see what he wants...painters are here powerwashing the house, so cant let the boys in the back yard...gotta harness em up and take em out...

"I"ll be back"....hey WTL, how bout that one...I know, there are so many you cant think of em all, but you did an amazing job...keep it up, and hey, howbout bring some snow to us???? You owe us anyway...
so with further adieu..."I'LL BE BACK"...

Beaucephus DOD

Wayne Lake

Yea Beau, I missed that one, I knew it was Hombre but I did not edit my work wery well. Paul Newman used a Winchester 1876 lever action rifle and here is a picture of the Mexican bandit with the great lines.  

Beau Wann, Jr.

Frank sure played his role with aplomb...kept laughing even though he had been wounded etc...thanks for that photo...was gonna go through my video library to see if I had Hombre...jmaybe watch it again...I quit watching any movie that I havent seen because I spend too much time reading the closed captioning and dont get to watch the movie...so any old ones I know, I generally know the dialog...I watch those...like LONESOME DOVE...I also like OPEN RANGE...The gunfight in that was rated one of the best gunfight scenes...17 minutes long...

Here's another "yogi-ism" "90 percent of baseball is 50 percent mental"

nap time...

OH hey Lloyd, tried my hand at hand ball...the one and only time I played was at A&M back in the late 50's early 60's with my brother in laws brother. We were bout 15 and would catch the greyhound bus up on 18th and old hempstead hwy. All you had to do was flag one down, and give em 4 or 6 dollars U.S. and voila, you was a whirld traveler...or at least from Houston to College Station.

My sister and her husband had an apartment somewhere in CS whilst he was finishing his masters. We would visit for a weekend and roam around the campus. Well once we got to play in the "HANDBALL COURTS" , which resembled a large chicken coop, and was not airconditioned...it had small doors you crawled through and seemed to be dark...no lights??? dont rremember that. Anyway, that ball HURT. I think we had a pair of WHITE MULE work gloves...I use the left and he used the right...I could barely do anything right handed and I am right handed...left handed???? Lorda mighty, looked like my left arm was possessed, swinging wildly...whenever I DID manage to hit the ball, which by the way was made out of steel, IT HURT LIKE HELL...(I didnt know steel could bounce like that) got hit in the head a couple O times also too...well, that didnt hurt so bad...yeah right!!!

This was a sport  that folks did willingly???? for fun???? ARE YOU CRAZY???? No air conditioning, no lights, no fun...
Never tried squash, cept maybe zuccini or yellow crookneck with onion...and pepper...yum...
Why do they call it squash???? what do you squash???? the ball??? it does use a ball doesnt it? Or maybe a bird like in badminton???? Why is it called badminton???? Oh lord, so many questions, so little time...

Nap time...

John Burgess Webb

great lines wayne,i have a dvd of "hombre" and watch it from time to time.richard boone played the quinticential bad man in that movie;he was a 'natural' in those roles,even in 'palidin' he could cut like a knife.i watched "rebel without a cause" the other night on tcm and fell in love with nataly wood again;what a beauty.she played roles later in her career that were dynamite;anybody remember "this property is condemed" with robert redford? serious acting,they earned thier money back in those days.hollywood eats people alive but a whole lot of serious art came out of that little town within a crazy city.the 'crash,boom,bang stuff' they put out today is a sham compared to what the early days produced.i dont go see movies anymore;not worth the time or money in my opinion.the new movies seem mindless,hyperbolic or like thinly veiled political pablum.some documentories are worthwhile;hollywood needs to regain its soul but they sell tickets so thats the name of the game.mabe ive missed something;wouldnt be  the first time.

i wasnt a hugh beatle fan but i thought  some of thier music was good;i always liked "yesterday" and "blackbird".there are others like"taxman" that i enjoyed but they were 'pop' even when they were 'phychedelic'. the genre is eclectic, worthy of a disertation;even masters could get lost in that labyrinth.thats why laws were passed controlling phychedelic agents in 1965."too hot to handle". the music still lives and those who enjoyed it,still do.its a matter of personal taste.im fortunate in that i enjoy all kinds of music.i enjoy "carmen" as well as "axis-bold as love".im a lucky man.

Scotty Croom

we left tampa area mon. pm...drove to talLAHASSE mon. nite...will be ikn biloxi until fri....home fri.

Teddie Jordan

Beau, 10-4 on Open Range being the best movie Western gunfight. We're in Lake Charles for a couple of days and Fran and daughter Lisa are down in the casino getting their slot machine fix and I'm watching it now on TV.

Robert Duval, Annette Benning, Kevin Costner, good actors all.

Beau Wann, Jr.

Ted, I second that emotion...I loved that movie...the scenery aint bad either neither eyether neyether...
The gunfight in the MAGNIFICENT 7 is a good one...OH, and another movie that has some excellent footage and lines,
TOMBSTONE...with Kurt Russell and Sam Elliot, and Val Kilmer...I thought Val Kilmer shoulda got an academy award for his portrayal of Doc Holliday..."I;m your huckleberry" is about as cool a response as I have ever heard...sorta John Wayne, Steve McQueen type response...

The camera angles and closeups on Val Kilmer were just perfect...the director and the cameraman, and the editor should have gotten at least an honorable mention...but noooooooooo....Oh well, they didnt ask me. But if they had, I woulda set em straight for sure...Also too, the makeup artist...how did they disguise Kurt Russels
DIMPLES???? I dont think Wyatt Earp had dimples...I know THA KING, ELVIS didnt have dimples...Kurt played that role well also...but, thats just me...

I think I like just a bout any movie that Robert Duval makes...his first was the character BOO RADLEY in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD...and Gregory Peck...well, that goes without saying...one of the finest all time actors in my humble opinion...In fact, saw a movie just the other night with GP in it called "Blue Plain"...never heard of it before...sort of a strange movie for Peck, but still worthy of a viewing...Another good one was 12 OCLOCK HIGH with GP....I think they made an hour long tv weekly drama starring Robert Stack, but dont quote me...I know he was in the UNTOUCHABLES...

Come to think of it, maybe he was in the original 12 oclock high movie...my mind is a terrible think, methinks...

Another great performance, writing, and directing by one person was Billy Bob Thornton in SLINGBLADE...I wonder if he got any recognition for that one...accolades etc...well, he got mine...
Also too, his portrayal of Davey Corckett in the latest ALAMO pictures...I'm not sure of the exact line, but when he was playing his fiddle with the mexican drummers and trumpeteers, when it was finished, he said..."sometimes a little harmony is a good thing..." or something to that effect...I'll have to watch that one again...

Scotty yall be ever careful now, you hear!!!

Ok, gotta walk the boys, they are both in my face and drooling all over the keyboard here...
Keep the sun at your six...and "ride boldly ride, the shade replied, if you seek for Eldorado"...

your frien and brother...Beaucephus

Lloyd Pond

How many of you have heard this story?

"I'm just am trying to get a bus ticket to go home..."

We heard it last night after we came out of the Tex Mex place. it really was a sad story with many trageries. So we drove to the bus station

Who knows if the story was true..It was a hot bad day to be stranded

I hope that all of you are staying cool I'll bet that Beau's Poo; and Spa would feel good onthese 100 plus days

Scotty Croom

lola and i got back to katy this pm...long trip... almost have car emptied

Beau Wann, Jr.

I saw an obituary for Donna Bell yesterday...she passed away friday week ago??? She had polio as a child...always had a smile on her face. I can still see her as if it was yesterday, walking down the hallway at Waltrip...I think she was class of 67...she and my former wife, are friends, which brings me to another sad note...Dolly Browne Arnold,  my first wife, and mother of our sons, is in Memorial City ICU and not expected to make it past a couple of hours, days at the most.  We, her sons and Diane and I and her Husband Bob and all her friends and they are many, have been holding vigil in the ICU waiting room since she had been admitted early this week...

she was diagnosed with lung cancer,  a couple years ago, and beat that, or so they thought...it has now reared it's ugly head in the form of 6 brain tumors...she is on life support, but is still fighting...she is cognizant of her surroundings, and mostly coherent...she has visited with her best friends, and once again, they are numerous...
One lung has pneumonia, and the other has a massive blood clot....If they can get the pneumonia undercontrol, then she has a fighting chance...SHE IS A ROCK AND A FIGHTER...

Our sons, Billy and Kevin are of course devastated, and have remained by her side since the inception of the crisis...except for the small amount of time to take care personal bidness etc...

Taylor, our Grandson, is in Colorado for a one month camp...he and the head counselor have been alerted that he may be recalled to houston, should the worst be realized...he is in a remote area, about five hours from denver and or colorado springs, which is unreachable because of the wild fires...there is an airport about 2 hours away at gypsum, that has commuter flights to denver...fortunately we are friends withsome good folks that live in colorado, that just happen to be on their way to Gypsum, and one of them is a Colorado State Trooper...

He and his co workers will see to it that Taylor gets to Gypsum and on the next plane smokin...tickets have already been obtained,,,

Taylor did get to visit with his grandmother, Mimi, as he calls her, by skype or somesuch miracle of technology...He also went up to one of the mountains that has a bell tower, to pray and to make a video for Dolly...he filmed the mountains and valleys surrounding the summit he was on, while professing his love for his grandmother and thanking her for being such a wonderful grandmother...What an absolutely amazingly wonderful young man he is...

you cannot watch the video and keep a dry eye...I wish I could share it with you all, but I wouldnt want to break his confidence and trust...although, I doubt it would embarass him or make him uncomfortable, after all, he did send it to us to share with Dolly...well, anyway just thought I'd share this with the people I love the most...You...Thanks for being such  great and understanding friends...

Your fien and brother...Me 

Post Script: Father Mike from Saint Jeromes has been in to see Dolly and family yesterday...Last rites have not been administered...yet...

John Burgess Webb

loss,pain and sadness is the same for all who suffer it.it seems that the timing of our birth has left us in a field of it.

Beau Wann, Jr.

Amen Brother Burge...Amen...

It is done....The unsinkable Dolly Browne has now entered Heavens Gate...she passed this life 4:45 PM Today, Sunday 1st of July...All her family and friends were at her side when she left this life...Our Grandson Taylor, left Young Life Camp,  by escort, for Denver yesterday afternoon at 1 and arrived at the hospital at 11 pm...They sat and talked and laughed and hugged and Dolly never seemed so vibrant...almost like she had turned the corner and was getting better, a miracle shot, if you will....that shot was her grandson...just what she was waiting on and needed...after she fell asleep, she started slipping away, still on life support...

They say, a person that has a lot of friends is wealthy...Dolly was probably the wealthiest woman on earth...

I wont bore you any longer...I know "all yall" know the drill, having had more than one experience of loss of a loved one, given our age...

Life is too short not to enjoy it...love life...love your family...love your friends...love yourself...love God...

From the Wann Family to our Waltrip Family...Bless you all... 

Beau Wann, Jr.

Good Morrow Mine fine waltripines.
Couldnt sleep, there's a real shocker. I thought I'd sleep, being in the exhausted state that I was. Now I'm just exhausted and hungry.

Got lots O rain this weekend...hope everyone that wanted it got some too. My beloved and I treated ourselves to some anniversary presents...NEW FURNITURE... We had new floors installed in the living room and dining room, hereinafter known as the living room and library. We havent had new furniture in a long time. Cats are very hard on furniture new or otherwise. But, in our old age wisdom, we have created a "no critters" zone with the two rooms. In fact, WE dont even go in there. I open up the doors and look in, and just marvel at how nice it is...then shut the door and go sit with the critters. I am sure a strange bird eh what! I guess you could say we have our "secret garden" so to speak.

You ever buy something, and just marvel at it? I guess we'll get use to it all right. Nice to have something new for a change. Kinda like new shoes! How many of youse youtes, and I want to see a show of hands, love having new shoes???? "one, four, seventy five, two hundred fifty seven, four hundred eighty five..." ok, then it's unanimous...we all like new shoes, or boots, or sandals, and even new tires...they count as new shoes, sort of...I remember getting two new pair of shoes a year in my DuBarry days...one pair of Keds or PF Flyers or Chuck Taylor All Star Converse tennis shoes, and one pair of dress shoes, either Thom Macann (sp) or Paul Parrot, or Buster Brown...those were "Sunday-go-to-meeting shoes"...Always got the Keds, or PF Flyers right before School started, along with new stinky and stiff blue jeans...I liked the smell of them, but they sure were oderiferous were'nt they...And always got the new "dress shoes" the Saturday before Easter...

We also got new book binders that had a smell of their own...Big Chief tablets...I wonder if they still make those...havent seen em in a long time...I am so glad I lived through all the simple times...Having everything, makes nothing special...having so little, made everything special...Oh, I dont mean we were poverty stricken, like so many others in this life were, and are today, but we made do with the simple things...didnt need Iphones, computers, video games or even TV...just give me an old spoon and some dirt and even a toy car with just three wheels, and I could build a city...a crooked stick as a "shootin arn", and we could keep the bad guys at bay...

Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy, the Lone Ranger, Superman, Batman...I have been those superheroes at least once, or twice in mine youte...

Just sawr an add for the Texas Cafeteria, at Shepherd and 24th street...Breakfast for 1.85, lunch 4.95...not bad eh what? Now their talking about "back to school sales"... WHAT???? Summer just started didnt it???     I always hated when the "back to school" sales started. At least back then, in our neanderthal days, they waited till mid August, didnt they?
Now, when that last school bell rings for the spring semester, they are already talking about "BACK TO SCHOOL"....kind of like Christmas...some start that in September...Of course for Christmas I need all the reminders I can get...It always sneaks up on me every year...Maybe if they would have it on the same day every year, I could remember it, but this moving it around every year like they do...

Just a dang nut I am...Guess I'll make a cup O joe for meself...already got the critters stirred up wanting breakfast...come to think of it, I would like to have breakfast...but that wouldnt be fair to my beloved, waking her up before she is due to get up,  with the smell of fresh coffee and bacon or sausage...oh man, when I was a care free youte, the smell of real perking coffee and bacon would waft from the kitchen, out to my backporch room and literally pick me up out of bed and deposit me at the dining room table, fork in hand and sleep in eyes...I wish everyone had as good of memories from their youte as do I...

Speaking of my beloved, Diane was a real trooper and rock this past week and weekend throughout the vigil for Dolly...if she wasnt comforting Billy and Kevin, she was hugging our grandchildren, or Bob, Dollys husband, or other family member and friends, and there were many...I hugged so many people this past week to last a lifetime....Nah, you never get too many hugs...but man, some folks do pour on the eau du toillete stinky water dont they? My beard smelled like everything from Old Spice, (my favorite), to Chloe, to whatever else is out there...

Thats one thing I had to get use to, going from a Non hugging family, to one that hugs all the time...I kind of like the latter, dont you? Ok, gonna have to find something to eat before I swoon...now there's a woid you dont hear very often...swoon...
"Yall come back now ya heah, and I'll keep the light on for you"...
Your frien and brother...Me

Post Script: Hey Scotty and Lola, glad you made it back safe and sound...
Burge, glad youre still there...I know I've asked you before, but is the "TWO STATES CAFE"  still there???

Beau Wann, Jr.

Hey there ! ! ! ! Guess everyone is gone for the summer...Hmmmm got the whole forum to myself...well shucky darn, that aint no good...I got my whole house to myself, and all I got to talk to is any one of 6 cats or two dogs, and none of them carry on a very stimulating conversation...or I could go outside and talk to the painters...NOT...dont speak their language, and wouldnt matter anyway, cause sounds like everyone is speaking a foreign language...ears have gotten more worserer...gonna have em retested next thursday and my aids tweaked...If that dont woik, I'm just gonna hang a sign on me that says..."I AM DEAF. DONT TALK TO ME UNLESS YOU HAND ME 20 DOLLARS U.S., THEN I WILL PRETEND I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SAYING, AND AGREE WITH YOU"

Yeaaaa....Diane gets the rest of the week off starting tomorrow...Now I can get something done...I quit trying to move furniture by myself...I just tear stuff up now days when I do...

Our land line (standard home phone) is acting up, and AT&T keeps calling us and telling us it is fixed...I say it isnt, and then they say they will have it fixed the next day by 7pm...then they call, and say it is fixed, and I say it isnt, and round and round we go...been dealing with them for a week, and have never talked to a live body yet...aint modern warfare wonderful...The  onliest thing getting through, is data...I guess thats something eh!

Well, when all yall get back off vacation, GET ON THE FORUM, and tell us how much fun you had...

Hey NANNOOK OF THE NORTH WTL...YOU ICE FITCHING???? Polar bear tippin??? Dancin with the Inuits????

Meanwhile, I will "keep a stiff upper lip", "keep the home fries burning", etc...

Me, unless thats you...then it's you when your me...

Richard Meek '65

Howdy  Yall. DOD just so you don't feel all alone, I am at the office toiling away in the free enterprise system. We're closing our office at 1:00 for the holiday. I'm anxious to get home to play with my new toy. I bought a chipper shredder to chip and shred leaves and small limbs. You know about guys and tools. Seldom do we see any that we don't think we should have. Everyone will be getting bags of mulch this Christmas! Wooo Doggies we're talking about fuuuuun now! Just so you don't have to worry about me having toooo much fun I'll be back here at the insurance store on Thursday. As you all know I'm keeping company with this high maintenance woman, Paige. She keeps hinting that it sure would be fun if she were flying again (she has a pilot's license, scaaaary). I just keep saying it doesn't make any sense to have a plane to go between College Station and Houston. Interspersed with trips to Buda. She's still high maintenance even without a plane. Got to keep the cash flowing.

I see on the internet that Andy Griffith passed away. He sure provided a lot of entertainment for a lot of folks over the years.  RIP Mr. Griffith! I can still get tickled thinking about some of the scenes from two of his movies, No Time For Seargents and Onionhead.

Yall just have a grand 4th of July and make it a safe one too! See you folks at Fudds next Tuesday if the good Lord's willin and the crick don't rise!

Rich

Wayne Lake

Beaucephus,

I am suffering in the heat the same as you guys up here in the so called North land. I checked NOAA Weather and it says it will be 100 F here on Independence Day and only 91 F in League City – Go figure. I crewed on small racing sailboat on Sunday and about had heat exhaustion.  The dew point is a bit lower up here so the lows and humidity are lower than along the gulf coast but hot is still hot.  We will grill some brats (it’s a Minnesota thing) and watch the fireworks on the lake anyway – heat or no heat.

There were a couple of interesting articles in the WSJ today regarding the flag. Evidently, citizens flying the flag in front of their home is a relatively recent event as for the first 100 – 150 years or so in the USA, only government and military establishments flew flags.   Another article was about the probable inception of the combination of stars and stripes as historians have found a powder horn as early as 1776 owned by a colonial named Barnabus Webb (any kin Burge ?) with the two together and they think this is where the idea originated and we thought it was Betsey Ross all along. The articles also mentioned the general wealth of early Americans (planters like ol’ George W), the influence of women and how no one wanted the burden of excessive federal taxes – how insightful these leaders were. History is great – if only I could remember more of it.

Speaking of history, we are planning a trip to Mesa Verde Nat’l  Park this October to see the ruins of the Cliff Dwellers – it’s interesting but they don’t know much about those folks. We are also gonna’ check out the balloon fest in Albuquerque after digging  around Palo Duro Canyon and Adobe Walls where the last great Indian wars were fought with the Comanche and Kiowa.

Speaking of Independence Day, several years ago I was working in England a lot and I knew I was hosting a meeting on the 4th before I traveled from the US so I brought all sorts of red, white and blue table decorations, bunting and banners and decorated the conference room before all my English attendees arrived. I thought it was amusing and they reminded me that the 4^th of July was the English equivalent of our Thanksgiving Day being glad to get rid of us!     

Happy Fourth of July to Everyone.

From Lake Wobegone, Stay cool,

wtl, the snarkey one..........................         

Beau Wann, Jr.

Hey Rich the LH, I know of a DC3 for sale...probably get it for a steal...That is a great plane...a dinosaur, but some are still flying, even after almost 75 years of service...I think it's the least you could do for your intended...why just think, you and the pretty pirate pilot paige, flying around the country, picking up the class of 64 so they can attend Fudds night...why, gee golly whiz, that shore is mity neighborly of yall...man, what a couple O good eggs youse and the lovely Paige is am are...

Hey ol Mr Snarkey...100 GREDEES, IN MINNNNAAAASOOOOTA???? Global warning fer shure...(I just had to put an H in sure)
Liked your London story...how cool was that...flapped them unflappable brits eh what???
You crewed a sailboat? On lake minnitonka??? I crewed the polaris in the cement pond at the head waters to the okeefenokee swamp...

Glad you and Rich jumped on the forum...I know Jackie is out of town in Kansas...with toto??? Did she click the heels on her ruby red shoes to get there, or just hitch aride on an aeroplane???? from the aerodrome???

Phone line is fixed...had to send a tech, live body, out to our dumble abode...I could a fixed it, I still have some of my tools, but I just wanted to talk to whoever they sent out...I talked to him so much, he fixed it in a hurry and hauled buns...thats how you get stuff done...

Painters are here...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...I will be so glad when they are through...they are painting the doors, and got to prop em open, of course airconditioning the neighborhood...got all the critters, 6 cats and two dogs in our bedroom...havent hoid any noise from there...hope jack didnt eat the cats...

we didnt do squat for 4th of july...just moved furniture around the bedroom, all day...of course it isnt that simple...you have to move stuff off of stuff to move the stuff you want...but before that, you have to move other stuff from the spots you want to move the stuff you REALLY WANT TO MOVE, so you can get other stuff out of the way...what a mess...finally got er done...gonna have to move it all again, out, when we get new floors...gonna be wonderful, when we finally get er done, but what a mess till then...

Stay cool..."all yall"

Jackie Crowe (Finch)

BroBeau, so sorry to hear that Dolly passed away.  Please give your sons and grandkids my condolences.  I knew from our last talk at Fudd's that her condition was grave, but we never give up hope.

My father-in-law (Newell Finch) also passed away this weekend, Saturday, June 30 in the evening in Rosenberg.  I'm still close to him and my mother-in-law even though I've been divorced from my ex for over 25 years.  

Sad times for all --

Good news, I'm in Kansas with my two grandsons and we're all having a wonderful time.  Saw some beautiful fireworks last night and been to the splash park!  Time is going by fast since I flew in on Saturday - always a happy moment, but leaving them is tough!  Been so busy this is my first time on forum and great hearing from so many - but again sad to hear your news.

Lola and Scotty glad you got home safely.  Wayne, I need to add your songs (many of my favorites, too) to my new song list I'm still working on.

Gotta go for now and play with the boys.  Wish I could retire!  I'm working on it!

Hugs to all from HOT  Kansas!  

Jackie

Teddie Jordan

What's the matter, does everybody have mid summer lockjaw right now? I'm sitting in a deer blind about 20 feet in the air watching the wildlife and a beautiful south Texas sunset. Hot as hell but also pretty cool.

Beau Wann, Jr.

Hey Jackie, thanks, condolences about your Father-in-law...have a great time in Kansas...waiting for your return to OZ...Hey Teddie, love watching that wildlife and sunrises and sunsets...

Been trying to help my sons cope with the loss of their mom...Kevin and his daughter Haley went on a cruise Saturday and will return Thursday...Billy went fishing after the services for the weekend...time heals all...or so we hear...

Laid Dolly to rest Friday...Standing room only at the chapel...she had thousands of friends, and most of em came to the services...she has two mentally challenged brothers, one about 60 and the other 70...they are about 3 and 5 in their minds...Diane and I and several other of Dollys close friends stayed with them at the chapel and graveside and reception...They were very emotional, as you can well expect, but they did very well, considering the trauma of losing their loving sister...their sister has taken care of them almos their whole life...Billy and Kevin vowed to continue that care...Dollys mom had MS from the age of 22 till she died in 73...Dolly assumed a role of heavy responsiblility at a very young age...Her Dad, helped found the MHMR (mental health mental retardation foundation) and her family was the poster family for the MS foundation...May she rest in peace...Pretty sure she is now showing the angels how to make chicken and dumplins and chicken spaghetti and how to clean house...she was a master at everything she did...

Back to home remodeling...oh boy...painters are through...gotta add shutters, and new floors for rest of house...anyone need some excercise, I have a plethora of things to move...I will furnish breakfast and or lunch...

Hey Rich the LH, found a couple O planes for the pretty pilot paige and youse...

Here's a cute little fixer upper...driven by a little ol lady only on Sunday, to church...I feel with you superior intellect and knowledge of how things woik, you can have er purring in no time, and the plane woiking too...

This one you can probably pick up for a steal...good gas mileage, oil mileage etc....probably just use two of the 4 motors to save fuel...it can carry a few folks plus crew...

Here is a cute little number, comes with a chauffer...dont know where youse and Missy Pretty Pilot Paige sit..