What's On...My Mind?

Contest to see if anyone still reads this blog.

2011-04-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

What do these three pictures have in common?

Extra credit - What cartoonist inspired this challenge?

The winner gets to feel very witty for having figured it out, but other than feeling of smugness, there is no other prize.

Public Service Announcement Throwback

2011-04-26T08:32:00.001-07:00

This is your brain.

This is Your brain on drugs.

This is your brain, (and a friend's), on drugs with ham, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms and a short stack.

And the winner is....

2011-01-03T06:34:00.001-08:00

Jan has been trying to decide what name she wants to be referred to by her grandchild. I am already Papa Steve, and that is pretty much ok with me, unless C.J. prefers something else. Zeke already calls me Papa, and I like the sound of that. Jan has been called Momma G for a while, but she seemed to think that wasn't a good grandmother name. Grandma Gohring was my grandmother on my father's side, and she was always so much older, that the name carries a kind of old woman cachet. So that was out. She toyed around with variations on Grannie. Grannie Jan, or Jannie for instance, but she did not really care for those. She doesn't really feel like a MawMaw or a Grams, so she has decided on.....

G.G.

This way she has the sound of the initials of Grandma Gohring without the other connotation previously noted. Bonus for me is a constant reminder of Maurice Chevalier.

2010-12-22T15:21:00.000-08:00

For any of my blog readers that might have missed it on Facebook, here is how a brand-new Grandpa celebrates. Chandler James Gohring was born at 11:28 Friday, December 17, weighing in at 6 lbs., 13 oz and 20 inches long. Papa Steve had a work Christmas Party that night, and was part of the entertainment.

Today's News

2010-12-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I am posting this link entirely because of the last two words of the fourth sentence. It made me smile that the author did not call the man a "Muscovite" (the proper way to refer to a person from Moscow), but rather went with "Moscow man". This prompted me to start singing "Moscow, Moscow man, I've got to be a Moscow man."

While we are on the subject of Today's News, this was in the NY Times today. To my mind it is representative of slanting the way an article is written to prove a point that just isn't there. Rep. Rangel is quoted as saying that the vote for censure was "very, very, very political", and the author states that he (Rangel) denounced the vote as partisan, and then the author points out that only 2 of 79 votes against censure were cast by Republicans. What the author (conveniently?) skips over is the basic fact that of 255 Dem votes, 170 were cast in favor of censure. Granted, 91% of Republican Reps cast a vote in favor of censure, which taken by itself seems large, but if it were really a partisan vote, doesn't it seem like the Dem votes would not have come in with 66% in favor of censure?

Here's a partisan vote. 240 Dems and 14 Reps voted "Yes", 3 Dems and 149 Reps voted "No". Now if the Rangel vote had run along those lines (actually the opposite of those, but you get my meaning), then he would have room to make his assertions, but as it is, he appears to have gotten a fair shake.

Interesting News Item You Might Have Missed.

2010-11-24T07:25:00.001-08:00

You might have missed this article, but fortunately you have me to keep you up to date on these important news events. What I found interesting was the fact that the poor woman is beating on the pipes for three weeks, day and night, and what do her neighbors do? They start a petition to get the pipe-banging to stop.

2010-11-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

Well, barring some unforeseen circumstances this weekend, it is actually going to happen. Papa Steve is going to hit 50 on Monday. A lot has happened in this last half-century. On the day I was born JFK was elected the 35th President in a close election defeating then-VP Richard Nixon. Since then we have seen the civil rights movement, the race to space, the Cuban missile crisis, the decline of communism, and the invention of the internet by Al Gore. That pretty much sums up the last 5 decades I think.

2010-11-03T09:17:00.001-07:00

Well, today is a huge day at the Gohring household. I received the following e-mail yesterday.(recreated in it's entirety for your review.)

From: Mr.Louis Mike
Sent: November 02, 2010 9:33 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: Notice

Your e-mail address have been Chosen by The 2010 SENATE HOUSE. You Have won ATM
Card Value of $1,800,000 USD in cash.

Send your Full Names
Occupation,
Addres,
Age,
Cell phone,
Fax Number,
Country,

Regards,
Mr.Louis Mike
info@globallogistics-courier.tk
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This message and its attachments are strictly confidential. If you are
not the intended recipient of this message, please immediately notify
the sender and delete it. Since its integrity cannot be guaranteed,
its content cannot involve the sender's responsibility. Any misuse,
any disclosure or publication of its content, either whole or partial,
is prohibited, exception made of formally approved use
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

So, it appears, my dear friends, that I will be quitting my job and living the sweet life with my $1.8 million ATM card, courtesy of my friends at the Senate House. You see how quickly things change once the congress is no longer controlled by the Dems? Well, here's to you losers who will still be working. Me?, I'm walking on Easy Street, although I kinda wonder why Mr. Mike is apparently located in Tokelau, but I bet that means that the money will come to me tax-free. Woo-hoo!!!

Relay for Life

2010-10-27T06:31:00.000-07:00

Through the hard work of my wife and daughter, and many of our dear friends, I am pleased to announce that we were able to raise $2,706 as a group (Jan's Fans) for the American Cancer Society in this year's Relay for Life. Way beyond our initial goal of $1,000, and representing, I think, a great success for our first time. It is a testimony to the giving nature of our friends and family, and the love that they all have for Jan, that we were able to be so successful.

Even Chet Edwards came out and put in an appearance, although I am not sure how effective this was as a campaign stop for him.

Internet Privacy

2010-10-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

The latest big technology news is the so-called privacy breach in Facebook. Apparently when you have been playing Farmville, or Mafia whatever, the people who run those games have had access to your information on Facebook, and may have sold that information to others, so that they can market to you. How much information that is seems to be hard to determine, but at least they know your name and/or e-mail address.

My father worked for a number of years for a company called Names Unlimited. Their only function was to amass lists of names and addresses of people who had previously bought things from mail-order catalogs, and to then group them by their apparent interests, location, or whatever, and then sell those lists to other people who were interested in marketing through the mail. In so doing, we all received a little more "junk" mail, but the cost of First Class postage was pretty cheap, because the US Post Office was making a mint off of all the junk mail that they carried. Well mail-order has mostly gone away, to be replaced by online shopping, and as a result the cost to mail a letter has gone up from .25 in 1990 to .46 in 2011.

I guess my point is, if you want to play the games on Facebook/Myspace/whatever for "free", then you should know that there really is nothing that is "free", there is always an angle. They aren't spending money on programming all of this stuff just so you can waste time at work, there is always an ulterior motive.

And the winner is....

2010-10-12T08:11:00.000-07:00

Here is an example of a recently settled lawsuit, where the real winner, once again, is the attorney. He wins a settlement of $610,000.00, and pockets 70% of it as his fee. I know it costs a lot of money to prepare to litigate in a case of this type, but c'mon.... $425,000, and you never even went to court?

The Book Incident

2010-10-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard, President Obama was nearly hit with a paperback book in Philadelphia. Secret Service agents have interviewed the book thrower and have dismissed him as being overly-exuberant, but looking at these pictures, the facts just aren't adding up. The angle and velocity of the book are off, I think that we might be missing a second thrower. Fortunately the alert Secret Service Agent (the one in the yellow tie in picture 1), was able to apprehend the book in question, and at the time of this writing, the book is reportedly being held and undergoing interrogation in an undisclosed Philadelphia location. Several eyewitnesses have identified the book differently. Clearly the President was unaware of how terribly close he came to a mild thump, or possibly a papercut.

For the record

2010-10-08T13:11:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow will be the 70th anniversary of John Lennon's birth. Not his 70th birthday. You cease to have birthdays when you die. If you disagree with me, then it is also the 424th birthday of Archduke Leopold V of Austria, but since he died 378 years ago, that just seems silly.

Weird News

2010-10-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it, there is a great story about a three year old girl's "princess" party here. As they say in one of my favorite movies, "Raising Arizona", "It's a crazy world - someone should sell tickets - I'd buy one".

Texas in Late September.

2010-09-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

You know that you are finally coming out of the Texas summer when you are sitting with friends, as I was on Saturday at noon, watching a youth soccer game, when someone comments about how chilly it is getting. You get in your car, and notice that the outside temperature is in the lower 80s. Riiiiiiight..., chilly. Teresa would definitely have needed a sweater.

Philosophical moment coming....., Life is just sort of like that, we get so used to things being just one certain way, then any small change happens and it seems so major. It is funny how we often perceive change, any change, as being far more traumatic and drastic than it probably really is.

But, thank goodness that the worst of the hot weather seems to be behind us now, that is change I can get behind, even if it means I feel a little chilly.

I give up.

2010-09-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

This article was posted today on MSNBC.com. I am clearly fighting a losing battle when I say that we shouldn't care what entertainers think about important issues. Granted this sort of stuff brings publicity to what is going on in Washington, but I can't help but believe that there are people out their with legitimate opinions, as well as the credentials to back up their arguments, who have been denied this same sort of access to government policy-makers. When our elected officials would rather laugh and entertain themselves than do their jobs, then there just isn't much hope. Bring on the meat dress. We are only several poor decisions away from President Flavor Flav.

Verbose loquaciousness

2010-09-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

OK, lets play a game. Make sentences using as many of the words listed as you can.

vacuous
vernacular
virulent
voluntarily
vuvuzela

Please no cheating, and as always wagering is expressly forbidden.

Dear highly overpaid entertainer(s),

2010-09-21T13:32:00.001-07:00

I know that there are literally thousands of people hanging on to your every word, and there are innumerable hangers-on and lackeys that surround you daily feeding off of you like remoras on a shark, and this utter dependence on you for sustenance has you thinking that the rest of the world must wonder what you think on a veritable panoply of topics, but please be advised, I do not. I don't care about your political views, I don't care about which particular laws you find offensive, not stringent enough, or just plain meaningless. I am sure that you have great thoughts, I imagine you fancy yourselves as deep thinkers, but when it comes down to it, your function, purpose, your raison d'etre is to sing, act, and/or entertain (period).

On tattoos and such....

2010-09-21T07:05:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine told me the other day that she was having a conversation with someone, where they mentioned that they would never get a tattoo, because the Bible forbids it. My friend said, "Well you know I have a tattoo, don't you?", to which she received a mumbled response of some sort. Anyway, it made me wonder, seeing as how I recently got a tattoo myself...

The section of scripture that the person was referring to is from Leviticus Chapter 19, Verse 28 (NIV); "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord." It appears to me to be talking about the ritual practice of defacing your body in grief, such as was practiced by some of the people at the time, in order to appease the gods of death, etc., so I guess if you are getting a tattoo for idolatrous reasons that would be wrong. But isn't it interesting how we can sometimes take things like this passage out of the Bible and apply them to others, without worrying about the rest of the reference? For instance, in verse 28 it says, " 'Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard." and in Verse 19b; "Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material". Hmmmmm, perhaps I need to re-examine my wardrobe, and change my personal grooming habits.

One section of this Chapter of Leviticus that really jumped out at me though was verses 33 and 34; "When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God."

Somehow it seems to me that this admonition has much more relevance and applicability today, for me anyway, than a warning that I should not breed different kinds of animals together. (Verse 19a).

A new look

2010-07-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

I promised Scott that if he would get his haircut in March that I would get a tattoo. This was not just a spur of the moment thing, but something I had been thinking about for some time. The design is a combination of two elements. The ichthus, which of course is symbolic of Christ, surrounding 143, which has always been the way that Jan and I have communicated "I Love You" (The number of letters in each word, I-1, Love-4 and You - 3). So after considering it for some time, and four months after I made the commitment to Scott, I decided to go with him on Thursday to see about getting the tattoo. In my mind, this meant that I would find out if they could do it, and when, and how much it would be, etc. At any rate, one hour later, this is what my upper arm looked like.

For those who might be wondering, it really did not hurt that badly, and the worst part so far was sleeping the first night, since it is on my right arm, and I generally sleep on my right side, but even that was like having a bad sunburn.

A Special Day!

2009-10-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Mark Mastin and Brittney Hood!! Be sure and tell them to have a very Happy Birthday today. These are two very special people to the Gohring family. Brittney, because of her sense of humor and warm spirit, and Mark, well, what can I say? He is the first man who ever said to me, "I would have loved to run in my underwear with you."

Happy Birthday you two.

Buying online.... and why it sucks.

2009-10-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

There is something inherently wrong with ordering tickets online. I just ordered a ticket for Scott for a concert he wanted to go to in Dallas in a couple of weeks. I ordered it from an online service that I will not identify, but let's call them Picketfaster. The "price" of the ticket was $22. Once I got in and pulled it up to order it, I was told that there was a $6 "convenience" fee to be paid, plus some other amount that I failed to read completely. I thought to myself, OK, this is where the Picketfaster folks make their money, I am cool with that. So we are at $30 for the ticket. Then the seriously stupid stuff started. I was asked if I wanted to print the ticket out on-line, "RECOMMENDED" it said. This would cost an additional $2.50, or I could opt to have them mail it to me for no charge. OK, in what parallel universe does that makes sense? I can print the ticket out myself, thus creating less work for anyone else, but I have to pay extra to do so? Ummmmm, no. Moving on through the process, I enter my credit card info, hit the complete purchase button and before I hit "Accept" I notice that there is now a 5.40 "Order processing fee". what the heck was the previous $6 "convenience" fee for then? Unavoidable I suppose, so I hit "accept", then I am asked if I want the "recommended" insurance on the tickets, (in the event they are lost in the mail, I suppose) for an additional $7. (Attention Picketfaster - If I fail to receive my tickets, I will be instructing my bank to deny payment on the credit card purchase - that is all the insurance I need.) At this point I am saying no to everything, finish up the transaction, and I am told that they will be mailing me my $22 ticket and charging me $36.50 for the transaction. That is a 66% markup on the price of the ticket which, even with paying someone to stuff a ticket in the envelope and slap on some postage, seems like an unbelievable margin.

Interesting Fact

2009-05-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

I learned from the FEEDJIT app on the right hand side of this blog that if you perform a google search for "misshapen head haircut", the first hit is my blog!! Also if you ask the question "What's cupcaking?" you are directed here as the most relevant entry. (Relevant, obviously being a very subjective concept.)

Facts like these lead me to believe that it is high time I got back to blogging. In the near future I will try to post some important discussions of things such as cupcaking and misshapen heads. Who knows, perhaps a whole blog devoted to cupcaking with misshapen heads?

I would like to take this opportunity also to semi-publically apologize to anyone who legitimately was looking for insight into cupcaking and/or pointers on how to properly cut the hair on a misshapen head, and ended up here instead. I am sure that the information you seek is somewhere in the cyber realm, but if you are looking for answers, this is probably not the best place to look. Keep searching, and I have no doubt that somewhere out there, amongst the E.D. ads, the online pharmaceutical offers, and the cheap but spectacular imitation watch deals, you will find your answers. Bueno suerte mi amigos.

Haircuts

2009-03-02T07:36:00.000-08:00

When we first talked about Jan undergoing chemo, three years ago, I agreed that if her hair fell out, I would get a matching haircut. I dodged a bullet then, as she went through almost the entire regimen and only lost a little hair, not enough for anyone to notice. Well, this new chemo had a different effect, so, being a man of my word, I give you the haircut.

Staci is an excellent barber, in case anyone is interested in getting her to cut their hair.

Do I appear a little nervous?

I was a little concerned that I would have a misshapen head, I have not had a haircut like this since I was maybe 3.

Me and my beautiful wife. They say that couples start to look alike after being together for a long time. I think they might be right! (That makes me beautiful too, apparently)

Scott even got into the fun, although it took considerably longer to get him sheared.

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night we had all the kids home (with significant others) for a night of Taco Soup and pumpkin carving. The soup was delicious, (if I must say so myself), and the carving was a lot of fun. I thought I would share some pictures of the festivities with the two or three people who still visit this blog.

At work on the pumpkins. As any experienced pumpkin carver knows, the job begins with cutting into the gourd and pulling out the lovely stuff inside.

It is very important that you keep your head down and follow through on your scraping motion. Here, Stephen helps me keep my head down. This was, in fact, the first of two pumpkins which I cleaned, a certain someone, who will remain unnamed, batted her eyes at me, much the same way she did some 27 years ago, and I caved in and relinquished my cleaned out pumpkin.

Scott shows some natural Gohring scraping abilities. (Note the powerful elbow motion, you just can't teach this stuff.)

There was some concern as to whether Brittany would complete her pumpkin by Halloween.

Scott let Chelsey share in the joy of cleaning out the seeds and goo.

Chris is something of a speed-carver. He was the first one finished. Staci, as you can see, was a bit more meticulous.

Heads down and working, Stephen is nearly finished carving, and Brittany is still working on the design.

Jan eschews the traditional carving implements and works exclusively with power tools. She has recently bought a full set of pumpkin bits for her Craftsman Router.

My pumpkins always tend to look like this.

The completed Jack-o-lanterns!

Illuminated!!!

Scott and Chelsey - Skeletonish

Staci - spooky

Chris - Sic 'em Bears!!!!

Brittany - well worth the wait.

Stephen - a chip off the block, huh?

Jan - artsy fartsy

Steve - no comment

Now they are all ready to line the steps for Halloween tonight.

Bring on the Trick-or-treaters.

Driving in Texas - A Primer for those not from here.

2008-10-26T11:08:00.000-07:00

Since adding the Feedjit Widget to my blog, I have noticed that I have received visits from Canada, Ireland, UK, Norway, Germany, Venezuela and France. Not to mention such foreign places as New York and Oregon. This got me to thinking that I should advise any of you that might be planning on visiting our fair state that you should be aware of some of our driving habits. For this purpose I offer the following tips and advice for driving in Texas.

1. Speed Limits - Posted throughout the state are signs which indicate the posted "speed limit" for the road that you are driving on. If you notice that you are going the speed posted on the speed limit sign, you will also notice that you are a.) being passed as if you are standing still and/or b.) getting honked at continuously and receiving various gestures, most of which appear to involve only one finger. This is because if there are no state troopers present, you are expected to exceed the posted limit by at least 10 miles per hour. In the event that a trooper is seen, then the standard protocol is to slow down to a speed approximately 5 mph slower than that posted, and to do so suddenly, so as to cause the cars coming up behind you to have to slam on their brakes.

2. Traffic Lights - Located at numerous intersections, these multicolored lights are used to indicate instructions to drivers as to when it is safe to proceed through the intersection. Like all other states, Red = Stop, Green = Go and Yellow is meaningless and considered to be green. There is a major exception to these standard rules in Texas. Red still equals stop, but only after it is "good and red". You generally assume that you have a good 2-3 seconds before it is red enough to stop. Green means go, but, due to the interpretation of red mentioned above, it doesn't mean go right away. As also mentioned, yellow means green, but hurry up and go, because red is coming. So long as you have any part of your car into the intersection before the light turns red, you made it.

3. Exit Signs - These signs are located on the highway, indicating to the driver that there is an exit approaching on the right or left that will take you to the place indicated. You might be fooled by this to think that it means that you should change lanes and move to the extreme left or right (as the case may be) so as to be able to exit. But this would be a mistake. In order to drive like a Texan you should speed up around the cars that are lining up on the right (silly foreign drivers), and then, at the last possible moment, attempt to change lanes into the exit lane. There will inevitably be someone there to let you in, and you just got ahead of all of those other people who foolishly queued up for the exit. Do not lose sight of the fact that this is, after all, a race to see who can get where you are going the fastest. Do not let the fact that the others are not aware that they are racing you dissuade you from this.

4. White Lines. - Are pretty, other than that they have no meaning.

5. Double White Lines - Are twice as pretty.

6. Right of way - Is something that people should give you. It is not something anyone should ever expect from you.

7. Yield Signs - Intersection indicators that indicate that there is no need to stop. They are fairly well universally ignored.

8. Stop Signs - Intersection signs that are placed there to make you slow down, until you determine that another car is not coming on the intersecting street. So long as there are no other cars, or in the event that it is a four-way stop, and those cars are already stopped, they can be ignored, other than a brief slow-down.

9. Turn Indicators - You basically have two options. If you are under the age of 70, you do not use them. Over the age of 70, you turn them on in one direction, and do not turn them off until you reach your destination.

Hopefully these simple rules will enable you to successfully operate a motor vehicle in the State of Texas. These observations are based on the experiences and knowledge of the author, your results might vary.

UPDATE:

I left out one important fact. Like many other places, we have a 'right turn on red" law. But, of course, ours is slightly different. While in other places the general rule is that you can turn on red if no cars are approaching, here you turn right on red if you feel like you can make it, or if "that car were going slower, I would have made it easy". The important thing is, as long as you can get your car in front of the other one, then it probably will be their fault if they hit you. Good Luck.

A trip down memory lane....

2008-09-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

I was looking through old yearbooks, and I really don't think I have changed that much. Sure, I have put on some weight since High School (haven't we all?) but all in all, I still have the same "core" look. Which is pretty impressive, since it took me about 20 years to get out of high school. I am attaching a couple of my favorite pics for your pleasure.

This first was from early on in my high school experience. I was secretary for the Young Republicans.

This one is more recent, I had been watching a lot of "Saved by the Bell", and that kind of influenced my hairstyle choices.

Ahhh, high school. Good times.

UPDATE:

OK, those aren't real, they are from yearbookyourself.com, but how about an actual yearbook photo?

Poor Scott, see what he has to look forward to?

One of those list things.

2008-08-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

OK, MAB tagged me on one of those list things, so in order to not get my butt cosmically karma kicked, I am posting my responses, but I am not going to tag anyone else, thereby ending this portion of the chain with me. Those of you unharmed by this particular list can thank me personally at a later date. (Actually it was kind of fun, and hard to come up with a single word answer to these questions.)

1. Where is your cell phone? hip
2. Your significant other? driving
3. Your hair? thinning
4. Your mother? deceased
5. Your father? neighbor
6. Your favorite thing? rain
7. Your dream last night? unknown
8 Your favorite drink? diet
9. Your dream/goal? retirement
10. The room you’re in? office
11. Your hobby? procrastination
12. Your fear? loneliness
13. What do you want to be in 6 years? older
14. What you’re not? thin
15. Muffins? yes
16. One of your wish list items? muffins
17. Where you grew up? everywhere
18. The last thing you did? reception
19. What are you wearing? khakis
20. Favorite gadget? shuffle
21. Your pets? Ella
22. Your computer? laptop
23. Your mood? harried
24. Missing someone? mom
25. Your car? dad's
26. Something you’re not wearing? cologne
27. Favorite store? none
28. Like someone? YES
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? recently

Pop Quiz - Current Events

2008-08-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

So, I am reading an article online about the higher incidence of people choosing not to immunize their children against childhood diseases, and they cite two moms in a small community in Oregon, one who immunizes her children as recommended by her Doctor and required by the school system, and another who decided to opt out and obtain a waiver based on her belief that it is unnecessary and potentially harmful to immunize.

Question: Based on the names of the children, can you guess which mother takes which stand?

Mother A (Jennifer) - children are named Hesperus, Athena and Etani

Mother B (Vanessa) - children are named Isabella and Haley

Lake Weekend Getaway

2008-08-13T06:28:00.000-07:00

We had a great time last weekend as the College Department went to the Witcher's Lake House on Lake Buchanan for a day of fun in the sun. Below are a few pictures from the day.

I will not comment on the above photo, other than to say Jeff hasn't called me since, and I am heartbroken.

July 23, 1981

2008-07-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

27 Years ago today.....

Jan and her best friend Sandy were at my house, I was locked out, having to spend the day and night with Andy Allen, my best man. Jan was getting ready for the wedding and packing my suitcase for our honeymoon at Lakeway in Austin. Andy and I spent a leisurely day doing next to nothing. Upon arrival at the church the next day I realized that the clothes that I brought to change into after the wedding did not include socks, so I was going to have to leave the church in gray slacks and shirt with the white socks from the tuxedo. Realizing the pants would be plenty long enough to cover, I was not worried about it. Arriving at our destination late that evening, I unpacked the suitcase that Jan had packed for our honeymoon weekend (Friday night to Sunday). It contained a couple changes of clothes, my tennis shoes, every single pair of underwear I owned, and, surprisingly NO SOCKS!

Still, I guess there could be worse things than having no socks on your honeymoon.

July 24, 1981

2008-07-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

That was the date, the anniversary of which is this week, that Jan and I set out on an amazing adventure. It has had its twists and turns, some unbelievable highs and some really devastating lows, but all in all, I can think of no other person that I would want on the ride with me. I hope that she feels the same. So if you see or e-mail Momma G this week, tell her what a fantastic, saintly, courageous, awesome, stunning, fabulous, good-humored, sweet-natured and loving person she must be to have put up with me for 27 years.
(oh yeah, and for me, pray that she has it in her to keep this thing going for a whole lot longer.)

Happy Anniversary Jan!!! You still rock my world.

QUICK UPDATE:
For fans of the movie "Parenthood", I give you my favorite passage from the movie. Grandma's story.

"You know, when l was younger Grandpa took me on a roller coaster. Up, down, up, down. - Oh, what a ride.- I always wanted to go again. lt was just interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited and so thrilled all together. Some didn´t like it.They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it."

Pondering Cliff's Blog

2008-06-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

Has anyone else noticed that something odd seems to have happened over at Cliff's Blog?

It used to be the kind of place you would go and read, and hope that noone else noticed that you were doing it. Sort of a guilty pleasure as you read the inane comments and views of Cliff, and you were able to ridicule him for what he said and posted.

But lately, it has been wholesome, uplifting, even (dare I say it) spiritual. Something is going on over there at Cliff's blog, and I for one DO NOT CARE FOR IT AT ALL.

I mean, it is becoming the kind of a place you would tell your pastor about. Somewhere you might talk about at a Sunday School Teacher's Training Meeting. His poll questions have evolved from "Do you pick your nose?" to "Have you been on a Mission Trip in the past 12 months?" To quote the Cliff I used to know, "Holy Crap, what is going on here?".

If you, like me are concerned with this paradigm shift, if you honestly believe, as I do, that Cliff's heartwarming blog entries are contributing to global warming, then it is incumbent upon you to do something about it. Let your voice be heard! Let the blogosphere know that we want Cliff's blog to be filled with meaningless drivel, the way that God Himself intended it to be.

Thank you, and good night.

Random Thought

2008-06-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

So if I go another two-plus years, and haven't had my mid-life crisis yet, does that mean I am going to live to be at least 100?

The Etymology of Crap

2008-06-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since my last post, so I am way past due. I have to give thanks to Britty for the suggestion for today's entry. MAB and I have had numerous blog based discussions regarding this word, which we are fairly well in agreement has caught a bad rap. It is just a great word for describing things. It has uses as a noun, such as in "Could you please move your crap off the table?", as an adjective, as in "I have had a really crappy day/week/month/life" and as a verb, like in "Our plans to go away for the weekend were crapped out." It is also used, extensively by this author, as an expletive, i.e. "CRAP!, who left this matchbox car right in the middle of the hallway, where I would be sure to step on it in my barefeet." More recently this has been supplanted by "CRAP!!!, when was the last time the dog was let out, because something is soaking through my sock."

When I was growing up we had a drawer in the kitchen, (I am sure that all of you have one of these drawers in your house somewhere), where all the little items that didn't go anywhere else were kept. You would look in this drawer if you needed one of those little plug adapters so that you can plug in a three pronged cord into a two pronged outlet. You would look in that drawer if you needed a twist tie for any reason. There were always a handful of pencils with the tips snapped off, a screwdriver (but never the kind you needed, if you needed phillips, it was flat, and vice versa), some twine, electrical tape, paper clips and odd bits of hardware that came with some appliances (the majority of which we no longer owned). This was called the "crap" drawer. Anytime I would ask my mom for something she would say "Look in the crap drawer".

When Scott was a toddler, there was a Saturday morning that stands out in my mind when I discuss my proclivity to use the word crap. I had decided that morning to replace our hall bathroom sink, and install a vanity. I had to remove the old sink, put together a vanity, install the base, which involved cutting away a portion of the baseboard and fastening the whole thing to the wall, and connect the new sink to the existing plumbing lines. I had completed most all of this, but just needed to reconnect the cold water line, and Momma G had somewhere she needed to be. So with my assurances that there was about 5 minutes of work and clean-up left for the job, she set up the playpen in the hall, just outside the bathroom door, and plopped our impressionable little angel in the playpen to wait for his daddy to finish up. Two hours later, she returns to find that daddy is still in the bathroom, wrestling with a completely stripped out water connection, and Scott is hanging onto the side of the playpen saying "crap, crap, crap, crap...." All of this to say, that it must be a genetic thing, because I would have never said that in front of my child.

Jan has a blog!

2008-06-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

Check out Jan's new blog here.

Scott on Stage!!

2008-05-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

I will try to get better videos of the attached two clips to post on here later, but for now, these home videos show you what our youngest has been up to at Waco High School. They are here and here. These are from the Big Show that they do every year at the end of the school year to showcase the various choirs. We were very proud of him to be singing a solo and all, and also when he was awarded the Spirit of the Choir award at the end of the night. There, I am done bragging, go back to whatever you were doing.

An update and a quick word of praise.

2008-04-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

Most of you probably already know this, but for those of you that do not, I feel a need to bring you up to date on what Jan and I, (mostly Jan), have been going through for the last several weeks. Jan had an ovarian cyst that showed up on her last CT Scan (she has one every 6 months to look for any recurrence of cancer from the colon cancer, in addition to blood tests every 3 months to check for the particular serum that shows up if the cancer was to come back.) They also did a blood test to look for a 'cancer marker' associated with ovarian cancer, which came back negative. So we scheduled surgery to have the ovary removed (Jan's only remaining ovary, since they removed the other when she had a hysterectomy 12 years ago.) This was on March 26th. The surgery was done laparoscopically and should have taken a short amount of time, but it took an hour and a half, because Jan had already had 5 prior abdominal surgeries (Three c-sections, hysterectomy and removal of ascending colon and tumor), so things just weren't quite where they were supposed to be, complicating things for the surgeon. Other than that all went well, and the ovary was sent to the pathologist for final confirmation of whether or not it was malignant. On March 28th, Jan went to Dallas for her annual mammogram, and they discovered a "gathering of cells" on one side that they felt needed further investigation. They scheduled a needle biopsy for May 6th. After getting home, Jan determined that there was no way she could handle waiting until May to have the test done, so she called back and talked them into moving the biopsy back to April 10th. On Monday of last week we received the welcome news that the pathology report on the ovary was negative. Jan had the needle biopsy on Thursday, and when she called back on Friday afternoon, (yesterday), they told her that the results of the biopsy were that it was benign.

To all who prayed us through all of this, please know that your prayers were felt greatly. It is only through the support of our loving family and friends that we have been able to bear up under all the things that have come our way the last few years. God is good, all the time.

A new writing contest.

2008-03-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

I am home alone, bored, watching my season two video of the Office for the umpteenth time, so it is time once again for a writing contest such as we have had in the past. This will accomplish several things. 1. It will allow me to kill some time on a Saturday night waiting for Scott to come home from wherever it is 16 year olds go on Saturday night. 2. It will possibly confirm my suspicions that very few people are actually paying any attention to this blog anymore. and 3. It will provide some entertainment for me and Cliff and possibly MAB.

As a reminder you can check out a previous post containing our literary efforts here.

The word list.

pernicious
lackadaisical
abjure
xenophobia
suave
sycophant
amity

OK, one sentence, using as many of these words as you can, extra credit for making me laugh.

The Media is out to get me.

2008-03-12T14:41:00.001-07:00

I should have known better than to bring up my solution for global-warming, because as soon as I presented my plan, crack-pot theories are being tossed out by the media in an attempt to drown out my voice in a sea of lunacy.

No doubt the local news writer who (whom?) I occasionally play basketball with has been reading my blog, and has notified his superiors at the paper about my "Two-fer Tuesdays"TM plans for solving the world's excess CO2 problems. This cabal then plotted on ways to discredit me. How else would they have come up with this unlikely article on the front page of the paper today, under the headline "Recipe for a CO2 Solution?".

Trib Article

Baking Soda? You have got to be kidding me. Who makes this crap up? It all sounds like alchemy to me, not a well thought-out plan such as "Two-fer Tuesday"TM .

Well we'll just have to see if combining CO2 with NaHO really makes NaHCO3. That seems to me to be about as likely as SO3 and H2O making H2SO4.

An inconvenient truth?

2008-03-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

OK, this is going to sound like a crackpot idea, but hear me out. We all know that global warming has become more and more of a problem, what with the loss of arctic ice, and whatnot, and you might be wondering what can I, a loyal reader of Steve's blog do about it? Well in all of the discussions of methane emissions from cows, the CO2 in the air from coal burning for the production of electricity, and the emissions from all of those cars out there, there is one area that has been completely missed altogether, and we are all guilty of adding to the problem. I am referring, of course, to the CO2 that we all produce each time we breathe out. So, in an effort to curb this growing problem, (The world population of living, and therefore breathing people is now estimated at 4 kajillion* or so, give or take.), I intend to spend Tuesday of each week breathing in twice for every time that I breathe out. This should help in two ways. A.) It will filter an additional amount of what I will call "bad" air through my lungs, and 2.) I will produce less CO2, and thus reduce the collective burden on the trees of our planet, and allow for the harvesting of just that much more rainforest. In a test run of this plan earlier last week, the results were somewhat promising. However, I apparently took in more 'bad' air than I had anticipated, and after 15 minutes I fell over backwards and had to switch back to a one breath in to every breath out mode. I am certain though that if more of us would do this, then the amount of 'bad' air that we would be required to breathe in would be reduced and we would experience a much higher level of success. So remember, "Two-fer Tuesdays" for a brighter tomorrow.

* - I didn't have time to look up an actual number, but I rememer hearing it was really a lot.

Prison Trip

2008-03-03T18:47:00.000-08:00

We were on the Columbus Avenue Baptist Church Choir Prison trip this last weekend, and we had a very good time. We always enjoy these trips, when we have the opportunity to go and minister to prisoners. If you are ever presented with a similar opportunity, I would highly recommend that you take advantage of it. I have never been around a group of people that so clearly appreciates an act of kindness as when I go on the prison trip. The offenders in all the units are excited to see us as we arrive, pay complete attention the entire time we are there, and sing along and laugh and just enjoy themselves while the concert is performed. I am sure that a big part of it is that they spend a lot of time seeing the same relatively small group of people day after day and any deviation from the norm is appreciated.

Public Service Announcement
The serious portion of this blog has now ended. If you do not want to suffer my inane comments, I suggest that you stop reading the rest of this post, and do something more edifying with your computer time, like google your name and see what you come up with.

Random Observations from the Back of the Tenor Section.

This year our trip included a side trip to possibly the tackiest place on earth, the Texas Prison Museum. Here in addition to historical displays of various shivs and other homemade weapons that prisoners have made, there is a replica of a jail cell that you can have your picture taken in, complete with the stainless steel toilet/sink unit that no jail cell would be complete without. An electric chair, a model of the historic Walls Unit, and various other items of historical significance are also on display. At the gift shop, in addition to must-have items, such as leather beer can koozies (made by offenders), bobble head convicts in striped clothing, and other typical gift shop crap, you can purchase T-Shirts that are emblazoned with "Pen State" and other equally tacky slogans. I was going to suggest that they begin to offer a "My Daddy rode the lightning, and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt" shirt, but by then it was time to get back on the bus.

The next day, when we were at the Walls Unit, we were all very surprised to learn that one of our number, (I believe it was number 17), was not only a former volunteer at the Walls Unit, but apparently is also the only surviving Civil War veteran. (I may have that wrong, but ask Chuck, I think he can confirm it.)

A New Post

2008-02-24T20:40:00.000-08:00

OK, haven't posted in like forever, but we wanted to share this video with all of y'all. It is a good sample of what the deaf community feels about the world around them, and contains a brief history and synopsis of the attitudes that many hearing people have about the non-hearing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKnF9CCYQPQ

Go Jesus!

2007-12-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

This made me laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYy8AdYHWSc

Merry Christmas!

Papa Steve and Mama G and Ethan

2007-11-12T12:34:00.001-08:00

Could we be any more excited?

I submit that we could not.

Lil' E Busts a Rhyme

2007-11-08T15:17:00.000-08:00

Wik-a wik-a wik-a,

My name is Lil’ E,
My hat is bigger than me,
I may not be too large,
But I’ll show you who’s in charge.

Word.

Peace. We Out.

Waco Today

2007-11-08T14:55:00.000-08:00

I was on my way back to work after lunch today with several of my co-workers, and one of them was commenting on something in the "Waco Today" magazine. If you live in Waco you have probably seen this magazine, but if you live somewhere else you certainly have seen similar publications. It has short articles in it about relatively mundane things, recipes, and whatnot, but it is primarily used as a vehicle to promote various activities around town, and to allow people to have their pictures published, and to look and see if anyone that they know attended different events, and so on. In between the Symphony ads, the recipes, and other items, the "filler" consists of light articles about things in Waco and photo shoots of various Waco residents attired in seasonal clothing. This month the feature was about coats, and they decided to tie in that most human need to buy a new coat with the local charitable organization Caritas, which collects clothing and food for those less fortunate in our community, and with Thanksgiving coming we are all thinking about all that for which we are so thankful.

So, there are a dozen or so pictures of young ladies wearing coats priced in the $150 - $400 range posing on, in front of and cavorting around (I wish I were making this up, but I am not that imaginative), bales of used clothing, shelves full of generic mac and cheese and other foodstuffs donated for the hungry and needy in our community. The problem is, I don't think it was intended as irony.

I have no idea what to say about that except, that is Waco Today.

Tagged.

2007-08-16T14:56:00.000-07:00

My mysterious friend on another continent tagged me with the following. I assume it would be the worst form of netiquette for me not to go along with this.

The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their 8 things) and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1. I was born left-handed, but as the youngest of three boys, with my oldest brother being only two and a half years older than me, my mom decided that my family could not afford to buy all new mitts, scissors, and whatnot, so she decided that she would train me to use my right hand for everything. You would think that this would make me slightly ambidextrous, but, in fact, I am pretty useless at everything, no matter which hand I use. This also contributed to the fact that I could not tie my shoes until relatively late, and I was born way before Velcro.

2. I have lived in Texas for almost 33 years, and yet, I don't think of myself as being a Texan.

3. I have remarkably thin wrists considering how wide the rest of me is. (This is not my wrist, by the way.)

4. My first swim lesson was in Long Island Sound. It consisted of a fat guy rowing me about 50 yards out in a boat, throwing me out, and telling me to swim back to shore. If you made it to the beach, you got your Red Cross Minnow card. I sank like a rock. Consequently I would not go above waist high in water until I was 11.

5. I don't like to take baths. Maybe because of the previous fact, but mostly because, like Lewis Grizzard, I do not want to wash my face in water that I have been sitting in.

6. In the entire time that we have been married I have held three jobs. Two of them have been for the last 25 years. I only mention this, because I have learned that longevity on any job is becoming a thing of the past.

7. Growing up we had two dogs, one a Pekingese, the other a Brittany Spaniel, both were named Joey. We loved dogs, we just weren't too good at coming up with names.

8. One of my mostest favoritest foods in the world is Bleu Cheese. I can eat this stuff right out of the package on a cracker, melted on a hamburger, in salad dressing, whatever. The sharper the flavor the better. Mama G just refuses to have anything to do with me after I eat it, until I go and brush my teeth.

If I now must tag other persons, then I would like to pick on, er, um, pick Tito (he can publish his list on Britty's Blog), Mark M., Alan B., and Cliffie.

The importance of an answer to a question.

2007-07-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

26 years ago today, a rather short man holding a book looked up at the two of us and asked Jan a question that fantastically changed my life for the better. Why she responded to that question by saying "I do" will forever remain one of life's greatest mysteries. But she did, we have, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Happy Anniversary to Momma G, my wife and best friend!

Something that happened today.

2007-06-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

I know that I am not the most ecologically with-it sort of person. I don't sort my refuse, have a compost pile in my backyard, or that sort of thing. But something happened today that really irritated me. Scott and I were on our way home after taking four tables to the church that we had borrowed for a garage sale that we had at our house today, when Scott commented that there was a new SUV ahead of us. He is at that age where he is always on the look out for a car that he might like for dad to buy him, and pointing out possibilities. (He turned 16 two months ago, and I think he is not enjoying sharing a truck with the old man.) Well, when I looked at the car in question, the driver tossed a bag of something, I assume the remains of a sandwich or whatnot, which unceremoniously plopped in the middle of the road. Not that it makes it any better or worse, but we were on a residential street, in front of a bunch of peoples houses, and I was left thinking, "what would this person think if people routinely just tossed their crappy garbage out of their windows on their street, or in their yard." I am sure a portion of my feelings are based on the fact that when Jan and I first got married we lived on 15th Street and Lyle, and had a large side yard that fronted a good stretch of Lyle, and I couldn't begin to describe the collection of trash that I would have to pick up every time I mowed, that people tossed out of their cars, but I will tell you that invariably there were diapers mixed in with whatever I found. I guess that experience made me realize that anywhere you drop your trash, you are just leaving it for someone else to pick up, and I can't imagine doing that, which causes me to be amazed when I see it happen. I should add, that we pulled up next to the littering car at the next light, and we just looked at the driver and passengers, with our best "what the heck is wrong with you" expression on our faces, but the returning look we received told us all that I needed to know. Some people still hold to the belief that they are the center of the universe, and the rest of us are here merely for their convenience.

Thanks for allowing me to rant.

Additional Post

2007-05-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

This one is just so you don't have to look at Cliff anymore. You are welcome.

Why are you still looking at this blog?

2007-05-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

Clearly this blogger has nothing to say. Otherwise he would comment more than once every two months or so.

The definitive Cliff sighting.

2007-03-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

B-Hood pointed out on her blog that you can see Cliff on the new Quizno's commercial, but I thought that it was incumbent upon me to point out that this is not the first time that Cliff has dabbled as an actor.

The movie is Moulin Rouge, and in order to keep this a family-friendly blog, I "corrected" the outfit that the statue lady is wearing. Cliff turned out to be quite a dancer as he hoofed it to the tune of "Like a Virgin". Ask him about the experience sometime.

Scripture of the Week

2007-03-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

Judges 4:21 "But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died." NIV

And you thought that you were having a bad week.

I actually tried to get someone to recite that as their favorite scripture during the share time on the prison trip a couple of weeks ago, but Tito pointed out that one of the offenders might have shouted out, "Hey, that's why I'm in here!"

On Cupcaking and other things that happened in prison.

2007-03-09T15:49:00.000-08:00

One of my frequent blog readers... Ok, my only blog reader, has asked me to explain what the expression "Cupcaking" means. Well, all I can say is that if you were on the CABC Choir Prison Trip a couple of weekends ago you would have seen a world-class example of cupcaking. There are several slang definitions for cupcaking, so to clarify I am referring to flirting. Some of the singers appeared to be looking a little too deeply into each others eyes during their number to be appropriate for a religious song. But enough about Cornerstone.

We had a great time, and you can read much more about it on Brit's blog.

But, if we had just parked a little bit closer to the prisons, we wouldn't had to have walked so far. (tee hee hee).

Important Legislation Update

2007-02-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

Apparently there is a movement in California to legislate appropriate parenting. According to this article, if legislation is passed, it would be a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine or one year in jail to spank your child who is under the age of 4. The article quotes experts who seem to be of the opinion that only parents who allow things to get out of control ever resort to spanking, and suggests alternatives to spanking. It also indicates that spanking can have no long term ill effects on a child, but some children do suffer long term effects from the experience. Interesting to me is the poll that was attached, which, at the time I read the article indicated that 89% of nearly 10,000 people who have responded think that "There's nothing wrong with an occasional spank on the butt." One can only assume that most of those respondents were not this particular legislator's constituents.

UPDATE: This article talks about new legislation that is pending in New York that will make it a crime to listen to an Ipod or talk on the cell phone while crossing a street in NYC. The impetus for this legislation apparently was the death of two individuals in Brooklyn who stepped in front of moving vehicles while listening to their tunes. I think that is essentially a case of natural selection. If you don't have the ability to listen to music and walk and look out for cars or buses, (in the street, which is where you expect to find them), then chances are if you didn't get hit by the car you were destined to succumb to something else fairly quickly.

New Post

2007-02-03T17:21:00.000-08:00

Giving in to peer pressure, I am compelled to post something on my blog. Why the delay in posting anything to the blog, you ask? Because I had nothing to say. I still have nothing profound to say, but I am going to say it anyway. I had a great opportunity last week to go with the Adult Mission Trip to the Valley, specifically we were working on two churches. The first was a church in a small community called Peñitas. We were only there for a day and a half, but we were able to get quite a bit done. This was a new church building, but there were a number of things that had not been completed. The last part of the week we worked at a small church in the town of La Grulla, which is further west on the way to Rio Grande City. Our plans were to put up siding that we had bought for the church all around the outside of the older parts of the church building, but it rained all week, and we were not able to do that. So we concentrated on what we could do on the inside. The church had an annex that they had built, and it was not completed. We got to work on that, and by the end of the week, the space was completed, and ready to be used. On Friday I talked to one of the ladies of the church, who told me that they had built this annex 4 years earlier and had not been able to use it that whole time. I realized, once again, how it does not matter what our plans are, even if they are well thought out and perfectly executed,
God's plans are so much better. If not for the rain He sent that week, they would have had a church that was pretty on the outside, but still not fully functional on the inside. My prayer for each of us is that we are open to allow God to do the work He needs to do on the inside, and stop spending our time worrying so much about the appearances of the outside.

Christmas Songs!!?!

2006-12-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

One of our local radio stations began playing “Christmas” music the week before Thanksgiving, and will continue until Christmas day. It is something that they have done for several years now, but it strikes me as funny as what is considered “Christmas” music. At least three or four times a day you can hear Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton sing that old Christmas favorite “Baby it’s cold outside”. I am sure you remember singing this one at church on Christmas Eve during the candlelight service…

“Now really I'd better scurry,
sweetheart, what's your hurry
Well, maybe just a half a drink more,
why don't you put some records on while I pour?”

Ahhh, the memories, singing the good old Christmas songs about men plying young ladies (Dolly Parton – young?) well, ladies with drink, and encouraging them to stay the night.

I will say that it is kind of fun to listen to the songs that they play. (Where else are you going to hear the Band Aid song “Do They Know It’s Christmas” anymore?)
But honestly, if I have to hear the Wham song “Last Christmas” much more, I do not know if I will make it until December 25th. This is the one that features those compelling lines

“Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away,
This year, to save me from tears, I’ll give it someone special….”

I can’t believe that Wham ever had to break up.

So what’s your favorite “Christmas” song?

This blog brought to you today by the fantabulous "Waco Christmas Celebration" at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church!!!

Come on by this weekend, and bring your unsaved friends!

UPDATE: Cliff messaged me last night and said "i like that song...i hadn't heard it before until I heard it on Elf". OK, two things. I am not commenting on the "Likeability" of the song, Secondly, does the fact that the song is sung in a Christmas movie make it a Christmas song? If that is true, then why isn't the Irving Berlin song "Sisters" from "White Christmas" played every year?

"Sisters, Sisters,
There were never such devoted sisters,
Never had to have a chaperone, no sir,
I'm there to keep my eye on her
Caring, sharing
Every little thing that we are wearing
When a certain gentleman arrived from Rome
She wore the dress, and I stayed home"

If it were snowing when the naked one stayed home, would that have made it more Christmas-y? Or should the certain gentleman have arrived from Nome, would that have done it? Just wondering.

A New Post

2006-12-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

OK, this is not the usual "Papa Steve" post, in that it is not at all humorous, or even an attempt at humor, but reading this in the paper the other day got me to thinking, so I thought I would share it.

From Letters to the Editor – Waco Tribune Herald - Wednesday, December 06, 2006

‘In Allah, we trust’?

As the first Muslim elected to Congress, Keith Ellison, D-Minn., has chosen to be sworn into office Jan. 7 on the Koran instead of the Bible. Even though he has previously chosen to downplay his religious beliefs, this is a slap in the face for Americans. Some background: In 1992, Ellison helped organize a demonstration against Minneapolis police. He represented a group called United for Peace — consisting of “vice-lords” whose leader was a convicted murderer. In 2000, he gave a speech to the National Lawyer’s Guild speaking favorably of police killers Mumia Abu-Jamal and Assata Shakur. Last year, Shakur was placed on the FBI’s terrorist list with a $1 million reward. Ellison has received funds and support from the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), some of whose members have been convicted, of supporting terrorists. Many Jews and Mormons have taken oaths of public office using the Bible, though they have their own sacred literature. When all elected officials take their oaths of office with their hands on the very same book, they all affirm that some unifying value system underlies American civilization. This is America, and Ellison is swearing to protect this country — not Islam. When does political correctness end? Although we are made up of many cultures, we should come together as one nation if we are going to survive.

Now I am curious, what do you think about this? I for one, do not take it as a ‘slap in the face’ if this person wants to swear in with his hand on the Koran, nor am I particularly comforted by the knowledge that so many people would take an oath and pledge on the Bible, if they truly do not believe it.

OK, I posted, so what do you have to say?

UPDATE!

2006-10-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

I have it on good authority that the church staff has decided against the posting of a list of givers. I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly with their decision.

Balancing the Church Budget

2006-10-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

Brit said I should blog about something that happened in church this morning, so I am going to take her advice. As some of you are aware, our church has had a long-running issue with not meeting the budget. We are a large church, and have a correspondingly large budget, and I could go on for days about some of the things that make it into the budget that I don't exactly understand, but I won't. I could also point out how unnecessary any of this is, since our church has no business having money problems, since if only a fraction of our members were faithful in giving, then there would be more than enough to accomplish all that is needed and more. But the purpose of this post is for me to vent about the way we are going about correcting the problem. A grass-roots movement of people, who I am sure are sincere in their desire to help the church, has come up with a plan that is..., well, let me describe it and you can determine for yourself what it is. The idea is to ask the church membership to make special contributions to make up the short-fall. Today they asked for everyone to go home and eat a peanut butter sandwich at home and send the money that they would otherwise spend on lunch, (don't forget the tip!), into the special fund to balance the budget. The children of the church were asked to ask their parents for an increase in their allowance so that they could also give, but to make sure that the donation is in the form of a check made payable to the church for this special program. (I will point out that so far I have no problem with any of this.) Finally, it was pointed out that everyone who gives to this special cause, no matter what the amount, would have their name placed on a special listing, (on acid-free paper), that will be posted in a conspicuous place near the church office. (Being a child of the sixties, when I heard the acid-free list mentioned, I immediately started wondering if I was going to have to submit a blood sample to determine my eligibility.) Unspoken was the fact that anyone who does not conspicuously give something to this cause will not have their name on "The List".

So you tell me, what do you, my loyal blog readers, (both of you), think of all this?

I am really interested in your opinions.

Signs of Intelligence?

2006-09-21T15:42:00.000-07:00

I have been at some NAGGL (National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders) training this week in San Antonio, and just got back this afternoon. Our training was conducted at the Sheraton Gunter in downtown S.A., and it is a nice hotel. At one point during the training, I ducked out the back door to make use of the facilities, and noticed this sign on the wall next to the back door to our meeting room. I had to take a picture to share with you.

So, here is today's contest. Give me a definition of the word "quardangle". Best definition wins! (Brit, this could be your chance to snag the fertility goddess!)

***UPDATE***

I am unable to call a winner in the last contest. I think that I will have to call it a tie between KarenD and MAB. I liked Lydia's and Brit's entries as well, (especially Brit's use of piffle), but these two had the shortest, most coherent sentences using some really depressing words. (I disqualified my limerick because I am not sure it rhymes, nor does it have the proper meter.) Meanwhile, I will work on what fabulous prize these two can share.

Writing Contest

2006-09-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

Recently, on one of the blogs that I frequent, we were asked to write a sentence using a list of words, and MAB, the blogster who started this bit of puffery asked me to present a list of words for the next round of the contest. So here they are.

ameliorate
egregious
lobotomize
perfunctory
sardonic
succinct
tête-à-tête

The rules are simple. Write a single sentence using as many of the words as you can (forms of the words can also be used, ie. succinctly or sardonically). We will read your sentence and enjoy the results.

Special Cliff Rule(s): You can't use the word incorrectly, and then say the word that you meant, you should punctuate properly, have no more than one parenthetical comment, and for goodness sake, don't use the word(?) 'anyways'.

So get to thinking and come up with your own original sentence. This would be a great time for any of you who might, by chance, read this blog, to speak up.

Did you know Cowboys have their own church??

2006-08-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to Whitney, to do some volunteer work at a Deaf Retreat Center called Isaiah's Place. Deaf and hearing people meet there every two months to fly model airplanes. Men usually do the flying and the ladies sit around and chat while stamping or working on scrapbooks. It was a very fun weekend. But the most interesting part was Sunday morning when we all went to Cowboy church. I know we have one here close to Waco but I have never experienced this for myself. Cowboys and cowgirls greet you at the gate on horseback and show you where to park you stallion or chevy, whatever the case may be. One should remember to look at the ground while walking into the church building or you might end up with a little something special on the bottom of your shoes.

Bad Hair Day

2006-08-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

This morning Scott and I went for breakfast to one of our favorite places, Lolita's. We were waiting in line to order, when I noticed a gentleman who appeared to be roughly 20 years older than myself, with jet black hair. I am not saying it wasn't his hair, because I am certain he paid for it. It looked a little like this.

Now when I say black, I do not mean the color of a black lab, I am talking about the black that represents the total absence of light, such as one might expect to associate with a black hole. It made me think about a sports figure that was in the news in past years.

Now I am not ashamed to admit to a certain amount of gray hairs, though I am not particularly proud of them. In fact, the gray was a large motivation behind shaving my facial hair off.

Before

After

Amazing what a shave can do for you, huh?

Anyway, if you ever see me wearing a toupee, combing my hair over a receding hairline, like this guy;

or (heaven forbid) growing my hair extremely long and weaving it around in an attempt to redistribute it over my dome, like this fellow;

please remind me about how hard Scott and I (discreetly) laughed this morning.

Oh, and if you were at Lolita's this morning, that wasn't you, it was some other guy.

Eschatalogical Signs

2006-08-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

I have received incredible, unbelievable and almost incomprehensible information from a source whom I have previously found to be truthful, so I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the information.

I don't want to just come out and say this because I know that this will come as a shock to most of you. Not just your ordinary "Oh my gosh, that guy from 'N Sync was gay" kind of shock either. Far more indicative of an end-times event than North Korea or Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. Tim LeHay will probably incorporate this fact into his next series of books. I believe that once I have divulged the information revealed to me, you will all agree with me, (as well as with R.E.M.), when I say "It's the end of the world as we know it." The fact that has been revealed to me is Clifford P. Lusk has completed his education!!!!

That is correct, after 23 short years, the formal education of Cliffy is largely complete. If you see him tell him congratulations (and it's about time). And if I know Cliff, I am sure he is praying that Jesus will come now, so that he won't have to actually take a real job.

Anniversary Trip

2006-08-06T20:10:00.000-07:00

Well, we had a good trip down to Lakeway on Lake Travis for our anniversary, here are two pictures of the view from our room.

The hotel was pretty, but still a lot of construction going on. This is where Jan and I went for our honeymoon 25 years ago, and we did not recognize anything. The entire area has changed dramatically, and the old resort where we stayed has been completely torn down and rebuilt in the intervening years. Thankfully, we are still the same. On Saturday we drove around and went swimming in the lake, and just relaxed. Unfortunately Jan's good friend Button Burns passed away this weekend, so she spent a lot of time on the phone contacting people that she needed to speak with, and we hurried back a little earlier than we expected this morning, but all in all, it was a good time away for us.

25 Years Ago Today

2006-07-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

Twenty-Five years ago, this very day (July 24th), Jan made me the happiest man in the world, and for those of you that know me well, I haven't really stopped smiling since. (The goatee is gone now, but the smile is still there.) Let's hope I can keep her from figuring out how far over my head I married until we have made it to at least 50. I want to say Thank You to all you friends and relatives that have supported us through your prayers through all the events of the past 25 years.

Summer is Here, Trish and Scott (and Toby) are not.

2006-06-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it is the first day of summer and that means that the weather can go ahead and start getting hot here in Texas. In honor of the first day of Summer, TXU Energy just sent me the last electric bill of Spring, and it is the largest electric bill that I believe we have ever received. I know that it has to be the largest May/June bill we have ever gotten, so it has me worried about July/August and August/September. I mean, we are just now starting summertime!!! Oh well, it's only money, right?

We failed to get any pictures up before now of Trish and Rick from the wedding so here are a few.

The above picture was sponsored by The Lactose Intolerance Society of America. "Milk, mmmmmmm."

I am sure that Trish was just being shy as she hid behind her flowers. She couldn't have been making a wisecrack....

Too many pictures can be trying... or is it just the punch?

I really like this shot Jan took of the two of them as they were leaving.

Scott is gone to Nicaragua (Toby went too!) for a week of mission work. The blog updates sound like they are having a wonderful time. You can read about it here.

Happy Father's Day

2006-06-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

Somehow the wishing of "Happy Father's Day" or even "Happy Mother's Day" always seems to fall on the non-celebrated spouse...whatever the case may be. Ie: Today is Father's Day. A day for all children to honor their fathers. Not for spouses to honor THE person with whom they share offspring. Now...I need to say here that many times Steve has reminded our children to "Remember Your Mother for Mother's Day"...AND had it not been for that gentle reminder(or him actually running to the store to purchase gifts in the name of our children..which by the way is very acceptable) I might not have experienced the HONOR of the day. And visa versa: I have reminded our children to remember their father on HIS special day. Now to all of you out there whose children are younger than ours...there is hope for the future. At some point in their young lives your own children will remember..all by themselves to honor you on YOUR day. I know this because of our wonderful children. They have join the world of being responsible. Yes, they actually remember birthdays and even Father's Day and Mother's Day. Wow...what great kids we have!!!!

You can probably guess what Steve is doing for Father's day... yep. Playing golf with one from our brood. Steve and Stephen are out at Cottonwood right now enjoying the beautiful sunshine and cool, fresh air. Oh wait...it's probably not that cool out today. But don't tell them how hot it will be. Seems golfers don't really pay attention to the temperture. They are just out on a mission to move that little white ball around on some nice green grass. What could possibly be more fun!!!

A shout out now to our Heavenly Father YEAH GOD!!! who blesses us daily beyond belief. Thank you for your son Jesus who died for our sins.I can't imagine watching one of our children suffer and die. Thank you to our Heavenly Father.

Brit's Wedding Hair

2006-06-05T19:46:00.000-07:00

Brit asked what we thought she should do with her hair for the wedding, and Jan and I thought that the way she wore it on the College Prison Trip was a good look for her. Here she is with Tito.

Be sure and let her know what you think.

2006-05-14T06:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day
http://www.tnpsc.com/ssaver/moms.html

Pick Your Nose

2006-05-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

You can pick your friends
and you can pick your nose
but you can't pick your friend's nose.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Make your guesses...cast your votes. Which noses look the most alike?
Can you name those noses? HINT: They are ALL Gohring noses.

Work Dilemma

2006-05-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

I have this problem at work, and I could use some advice. My office is close to the back door, which I have always liked, because it is a quick shot out the back door to my truck and home. The problem that I am currently facing is that my office is also next to the men's room.

Up to this point, this had been a good thing as well, because it is just a few steps from my desk to..., anyway, on to the real issue. The walls at most offices are not real thick, because they are interior walls, they don't require insulation, so the wall next to my desk is not a great deterrent to sound. Now, I know what you are thinking, "What could possibly make that much noise to be a problem?" No doubt your mind racing to all sorts of possible answers, which I assure you are most likely NOT the case. This issue is this. I have a coworker that frequents this facility on average twice a day, and he proceeds to, after other activities, I suppose, begin a ritual of sinus clearing, snorting etc. that is genuinely troubling. The first week or so, I felt real compassion for the guy, he clearly had a bad head cold. But this has been going on for MONTHS. I tried clearing my throat loudly in my office to convey the relative thinness of the walls, no effect. I took to turning music on in my office when it started, to try and cover up the sound, no luck. This really makes me nauseous to hear daily, but the topper of all came this last week, when I was in the aforementioned room, sitting in one of the designated spots, when the door opened. I performed the requisite rituals observed by men everywhere when someone enters the facility when it is in use. I tapped my foot, cleared my throat, you know, the usual. But Mr. Phlegmy, much to my astonishment, finished up his preliminary activity, and then began the sinus project, while I sat there having to listen to it in that surreal bathroom tile acoustic environment. Upon my attempt to exit the situation, as I was washing my hands, this person then backed away from the sink and dropped his pants to adjust his shirt tuck, etc., as he was talking to me, so clearly any attempt on my part to appeal to his sense of propriety would be wasted. I look forward to hearing anyone's thoughts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STACI!!!

2006-05-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

19 years ago today, my favorite daughter, Staci, was born. (Sorry about that Trish and Brit), and today is also her last final and her last official day of freshman-dom?-ry?-ism?

Please wish her a Happy Birthday if you see her today.

Sorori-Tea

2006-04-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon presented a wonderful opportunity for us to change into our better clothing, (including a tie for Papa Steve, which as I am sure most of you are aware is definitely one of his favorite things), and go to the Founders Day Alpha Delta Pi Tea.

There were some pretty good things to eat. A big highlight was the chocolate fountain, which looked like it had blue chocolate in it, but Katie let us know that is was really "white chocolate, but it's blue." In this picture I am concerned about the plate capacity. I am not sure that the girls correctly calculated the load limit.

Katie and Staci both got roses as new members.

I'll put Katie's rose picture up first, since they always do these things alphabetically, and she is usually at the end, I think she deserves to go first.

Staci was still a little bit hungry....

On the way out the girls noticed that there was a cookie bouquet that they somehow missed on the way in.

All told it was only about an hour or so, and was not that bad, so far as sitting around in a tie goes.

Prison Trip Recap

2006-04-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry I am just now getting around to this, but we had a great time last weekend on the prison trip. (And, yes, they let us back out, although it is decidedly easier to get into prisons than it is to get out.) Jan and I did, I think, an admirable job as grown-ups. (My impersonation of Ed W. singing Sir Mix-a-Lot notwithstanding) That is to say, no one was maimed or otherwise seriously injured, and we had a good time, so that qualifies as a successful trip in my book.

F'real though, beyond having a lot of fun on the bus (and what happens on the bus, stays on the bus), the College Singers and Ringers did a wonderful job bringing the meaning of the Easter season to the prisoners. The dramas were dramatic, the music was musical and the bells were bell-rific. I hoped to have some pictures to share, but that will have to wait until I get some from B-Hoody and the "kids" (as Uncle Chucky called them) from the trip.

As a side comment, there were a lot more prisoners this trip, than any other that I have been on in the past, that came up to me and told me that they were from Waco, and that they were planning on coming to our church when they were released, and others asking for our church address so that they can write to us.

***UPDATE!!!***
I forgot about this picture of the Hood-lums that was on my phone. So here is your picture from the weekend.

Prison Bound

2006-04-12T07:53:00.001-07:00

Jan and I are off to prison tomorrow with the College Choir, Chuck, Toph, the Hoods and the Marshalls. Please pray for this group as they share with our brothers and sisters in chains. This is always a great trip because it is such a joy to be there as these eager folks join us in worship, and we are allowed to reflect on how very little difference there is in our lives and theirs. We all have fallen into sin at times in the past, and only by the grace of God are we restored. Thank God, that although the immediate consequences of our actions are unavoidable, the eternal consequences have been eliminated through His ultimate sacrifice. And what better time of the year to have all of these thoughts than the weekend when we honor the memory of what He has done for us, even before we were willing to acknowledge Him as Lord.

Rom 5:1-2 (NCV) "Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God. This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has brought us into that blessing of God's grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God's glory."

Rom 5:6 "When we were unable to help ourselves, at the moment of our need, Christ died for us, although we were living against God."

Krackuh a celebrity?

2006-04-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

I was watching Frasier tonight in my hotel room, and an advertisement for something called "Lip Explosion" came on, and I think that Krackuh has been moonlighting as a lip model, but here are the lips from their website, so you can decide yourself.

Honestly, I do not know what this product allegedly does, but the website says that it "is the first non-burning, non-drying, non-chafing, instant lip plumper."

Is this really something that the world could not get by without, a lip plumper? Also do you think that the result of using this product is that your lips are stuck in the position displayed in the picture?

Shake Your Body

2006-04-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

Do we serve an AMAZING God or what?? We were so blessed by these children..I can't even begin to explain it.

We hosted some of the Mwangaza Children's Choir this weekend. We had three boys; Ivan, Abbey and Godfrey and the choir director, Alex. We went to visit Suzanne and family for dinner. Here you see the boys teaching us some moves.

More pictures coming later.

.

Remember Spring Break???

2006-03-23T16:26:00.000-08:00

OK, Nostalgia time... Remember getting to go on a road trip for Spring Break?

Getting up before dawn to get an early start...

Driving in shifts....

and sleeping in shifts...

Doing things that you would NEVER get to do in Waco....

Meeting some interesting people....

and bonding through some difficult times?

The only problem now is deciding what to do next break???
THINK

THINK

THINK

THINK

THINK

THINK

We will have to let you know next time what they came up with....

Warning: The streets of Waco are no longer safe

2006-03-21T18:25:00.000-08:00

That's right.... If you are wise you will stay off the streets for a while. Scott is getting his permit in less than one month. I have ordered the Parent Taught Driver Education packet from Austin...and as soon as it arrives we will start the process. I'm sure he will fall in line with our other children and turn out to be a wonderful driver.

Another Post

2006-03-13T18:10:00.000-08:00

Well, Cliff is out of town, and no longer nagging me, so I guess I will post another message on this here blog. There is not much going on in the Gohring household. Staci is gone to Colorado for Spring Break with her friend, Sorority Sister and fellow armpit purse wearer Katie,

Trish is gone to Nicaragua,

and Scott has been gone on the Youth mission trip to Waco.

The momma and I have just been chillin' at the house, thinking about what life with an empty nest is going to be like. (and I think it will be gooooood.)

Question of the day...

2006-02-16T20:06:00.000-08:00

Can anyone explain to me why the only part of my body that doesn't continuously sprout hair, is the part that is supposed to have hair?

Just wondering.

Has anyone seen my son?

2006-02-15T10:23:00.001-08:00

He needed a haircut...but it was his decision. We forgot what his eyes looked like. Here are some before shots.

Handsome Young Man, Huh?

for those of you out there in blogger land that don't see Scott often... here is the new look. Makes him looks older, I think.

Happy Valentine's Day

2006-02-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day!

In response to B Hoody's List of great conversation heart gifts, I am please to present....

Steve's Semi-Autobiographical Top Ten List of What NOT to get your wife for Valentine's Day

10. The book, "Dick Cheney's Guide to Hunting Safety"

9. Clothes, because it will be too big (not good), too small (worse) or just right (still not good).

8. Thigh Master (self-explanatory)

7. Depilatory Products (possibly practical, but not very romantic)

6. Cookware (no matter how many times she has said she wants a dutch oven, this is not when she wants it.)

5. Anything that you would like to receive. (A Sand Wedge is an excellent gift for me, but apparently not a good choice for her.)

4. Swiss Army Spork

3. A Chia Pet

2. A Jew's Harp

1. Nothing, I don't need a special day to tell my wife I love her.

Happy Valentine's Day, and I hope that the rest of you don't need a special day to the special ones in your life that you love them.

- Steve

Ties?

2006-02-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share a thought with my faithful blog readers. (Both of you.) I will start by saying that I am still fighting this gulf-coast crud that I have had since about half-way into the adult mission trip to Pascagoula, and I am tired of sneezing, aching and coughing. That notwithstanding, I am at work this week, and because of visits by auditors, examiners, directors, etc., I am required all week long to wear a tie. Now, I own quite a few ties, and don't mind occasionally wearing one, but an entire week???!!! (I have gotten quite spoiled since my days at the Bank, when I wore a suit every day of the week, and only enjoyed an infrequent casual Friday.) At any rate, this has gotten me, once again, started thinking about ties. At what point in the history of man did it suddenly become fashionable to tie a colored piece of fabric tightly around your throat? Why do we equate being uncomfortable with being fashionable? I guess there are a lot of other things that we can be thankful are no longer considered fashionable. Top Hats, monocles, spats, canes (I'm getting an image of Mr. Peanut all of the sudden....)

and notice that even HE, natty dresser that he is, doesn't wear a tie. (Although that might not be a fashion statement as much as an acknowledgement that he has no neck. I mean, look at him, he would have to tie the tie around his middle, and it would probably have to go under his arms. Come to think of it, if Mr. Potato Head had a tie, he would wear it just above his shoes. Maybe I just need to rethink tie placement... they said I had to wear one, they didn't dictate the exact location. HMMM.....)

That last little bit only makes sense if you think about the current Mr. Potato Head.

But back in the day, Mr. Potato Head had a fo' real body (with legs!) and his arms didn't come out the side of his skull like some sort of mutant. But if you remembered this, then you are probably as old as me.

Blog Tag - Steve's

2006-02-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

FOUR JOBS I'VE HAD
Movie Theater Manager
Grocery Store Stocker
Liquor Store Manager (Yes, LIQUOR Store)
Forklift Operator

FOUR MOVIES I COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN
Star Wars Movies
It's a Wonderful Life
Princess Bride
The Jerk

FOUR BOOKS I COULD READ OVER AND OVER AGAIN
(I read a lot, so I don't generally go back and reread any, but...)
C.S. Lewis books
Max Schulman Trilogy (He also wrote "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis", and if you remember that you are really old.)
"My Ten Years in a Quandary, and How they Grew." - Robert Benchley (He was the man who said "There are two types of people in the world, those who believe there are two types of people, and those who don't.")
and of course the Bible

FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED
Yonkers, NY
Cleveland OH
Darien, CT
Des Moines, IA

FOUR TV SHOWS I WATCH
Family Guy
Friends
Everybody Loves Raymond
Mythbusters

FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN ON VACATION
Maui
Sugarbush, Vermont
Alaska
Belize

FOUR WEBSITES I VISIT DAILY
MSNBC.com
blogger.com
yahoo sports
inside.fcfc.com

FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS
Spinach Enchiladas from Ninfas
French Fries from WingStop
Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich from Griff's
Macaroni and Cheese (Baked like mama used to make)

FOUR PLACES I WOULD LIKE TO BE RIGHT NOW
On a Caribbean cruise
Somewhere they have never heard of ties
Sitting down with my accountant trying to figure out how I ended up with so much money.
Right where I am.

I'm Back!

2006-02-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

Sorry that I was gone for a time from Bloggerdom, but things here have been really busy. This is the first Tuesday Night update in quite some time. These particular pictures are from a Tuesday night several weeks (maybe even a couple of months) ago.

Brit and Trish decided it would be a great idea to get a coconut from H.E.B. and have that with our dinner. So they found one that was 'pre-cracked' (first sign that you are in trouble.) Actually this coconut was scored around the middle so that it would break open easier, and had a hole in the top that had been filled in with something (?) so you could puncture it and remove the milk.

I poked a hole in the top, and started pouring out some nasty looking stuff. First was a bunch of dirt, which we assumed was from the stuff that got poked into the coconut as I was opening the top, and then was a clearish liquid that did not smell right to me, but which Brit drank anyway. Then I broke the coconut open and this is what we found.

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

Brit suddenly didn't feel so well. (Heck, I didn't feel so well, and all I did was touch the thing.)

Fortunately we had a number of items on hand that we could use as an antidote, so Brit hurriedly tried all of them .

And, in the end, to noone's surprise the magic cure for molded coconut sickness was Krackuh's Magic Cheeseball!

After all that excitement we all settled down and played Golf. You can see how I am unable to contain my excitement and exuberance in this next picture. (There was more on the Golf Game on clifford p's blog but he removed it for some reason.)

Coming SOON - Pictures from my Dad's 80th Birthday party!!!

Blog Tag

2006-01-27T12:27:00.000-08:00

FOUR JOBS I'VE HAD
1. Taco Torch (anyone remember that..nah.y'all are too young!)
2. Flower Shop
3. Bank Teller
4. Sign Language Interpreter

FOUR MOVIES I COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN
1. Ever After
2. Princess Bride
3. The Jerk
4. My Fair Lady

FOUR BOOKS I COULD READ OVER AND OVER AGAIN
1. Any book by Beverly Lewis
2. Any book by John Grisham
3. Anne of Green Gables Series
4. The Princess by Lori Wick

FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED
1. Waco
2. Waco
3. Bellmead
4. Waco

FOUR TV SHOW I WATCH
1. ER
2. Seinfield
3. Everybody Loves Raymond
4. Law and Order

FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN ON VACATION
1. Cancun, Mexico
2. Maui, Hawaii
3. San Deigo, California
4. Alaska (Cruise)

FOUR WEBSITE I VISIT DAILY
1. google
2. www.wacoisd.org
3. stevegohring.blogspot.com
4. needsoutreach.org

FOUR OF MY FAVOIRTIE FOODS
1. Pappa Steve's fajitas
2. Roast, potatoes, and carrots
3. Pizza
4. Chinese Food

FOUR PLACES I WOULD LIKE TO BE RIGHT NOW
1. Maui, Hawaii
2. Stutguart, Germany
3. Boston
4. Santa Monica, California

FOUR BLOGGERS I AM TAGGING
1. Regina M
2. Dana B
3. Laura C
4. E. White

Happy Boxing Day!

2005-12-26T10:29:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a very Merry Chistmas, and that they were able to spend time with the people that they care for the most. We had a good day, gathering together, just the five of us, we opened presents in the morning and went to church, and then late last night had a Christmas dinner. Pictures from that are attached.

Staci got pictures of everyone's "Christmas Face" with her new digital camera.

Dad was tired...

Mom was content with her children at home...

Stephen was glad to not be working...

Staci was excited about Christmas...

Scott was a little 'sugared-up'...

Staci also wanted me to let everyone know that she is available to babysit, if you need someone dependable for New Year's Eve.

(Oh, that's sparkling grape juice, by the way.)

I hope that you had an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of the season, the gift of Jesus Christ. Hope to see all of you soon and that you have a wonderful and safe New Year.

Happy Birthday Trish-Fish!!!

2005-12-17T18:54:00.000-08:00

Kind of late with this post, but we had a small gathering last Tuesday night for Trish's birthday. Here are some pictures from that gathering. We knew that Hacker was coming, and our house only has so many windows,

so we had this one at Baris, next to a brick wall, just to be safe.

Tom, Hacker, Brittney and Krackuh.

Scott, Jan and Trish

Trish and Abby,

Staci and me,

and Cliff and Teresa.

Mindy joined us at the house later for cake... which Trish was wearing.

Jonathan and Ronda caught up with us later too.

Finally a Post

2005-12-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

Forgive me Bloggers for I have sinned, it has been 2 weeks since my last blog...

OK, so I took a hiatus from posting, largely because I had nothing to say, and also because when I started to write things for the blog, they came out kind of gloomy. But now, WCC is over, and the world can return to some semblance of normalcy. (Just kidding Brittney, WCC was fine, I could have done without some (most) of the first hour, but it was entertaining in its own special way.)

For those of you who attend church with me, what was the deal with the applause yesterday morning? I mean, I was as excited as the next guy that O'Brien finished at 11:45, but that was not cause to applaud! Do you think that with all the staging and the lights in the sanctuary that some of the attendees got confused for a minute and thought they were on the 'Jerry Springer Show'? I guess we were lucky they didn't start chanting "Randall!, Randall!, Randall!"

Side Comment: I was fascinated to learn that Dr. O'Brien had written two books, I didn't know that we had so much in common, I have read two books! (Although not his books, the books I read were "The Pokey Little Puppy" and "Horton Hears A Who.")

Staci's Back!!! Staci has finished her first semester at Baylor, with, we think, a solid 3.0, which is so much better than my own first semester at Baylor. I remember that first (only) semester so well..... Computer Science, where we wrote programs and actually created punch cards to run them in the computer lab, Freshman English, where the teacher told us the first day of class that her job was to 'weed' us out, a History class I don't remember a great deal from, Old Testament with Dr. Cresson, (those last two honors courses) as well as a P.E. class thrown in for good measure. All told 15 hours with an additional class requirement for the religion class of a small group discussion once a week covering the lectures. For those of you that may not know, I was weeded out! (perhaps it was my reading that did me in?) So I am extremely proud of Staci, as she has now progressed farther along in her Baylor career than her old man!

On a much more serious note, Dad (my Dad) is in the hospital, recovering from the amputation of his right leg. He developed some problems from a sore on his right heel while recovering from his hip replacement surgery on the left leg, and due to very poor circulation he was not able to heal properly and lost the limb from above the right knee down. Please lift him up in your prayers, as he needs to build up his strength so that he can try to use a prosthesis to walk again, and so that they can do a bypass procedure on the other leg to avoid this happening again.

My Thanksgiving List

2005-11-29T18:21:00.000-08:00

Kind of late, but here are some of the things for which I am thankful.

My loving wife of almost 25 years.

Stephen, our oldest son.

Staci, my favorite biological daughter.

Scott, who gets to take care of us, now that we are getting older.

Trish, our basement dwelling 'other' daughter.

Oh, and of course, all of those friends that have made Tuesday nights so much fun these past months.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and that you all have a wonderful holiday season, and my prayer will continue to be that none of us get what we truly deserve.

- Steve

Midget Pirate Cousin turns 40!!!

2005-11-29T14:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Roni Sue's, (she calls herself Roni, we all call her Raunchy), 40th Birthday!! Be sure to go by and leave her a message on her blog and leave her a Birthday Greeting.

Happy Turkey Day

2005-11-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

I am a little behind on posting on the Blog. Cliff points out that he got a new internet-enabled phone so he can track changes in the blogs, and he chided me for not having any new posts.

I hope that you and your family had a blessed and safe Thansgiving. Ours was good. My brother Bill and his family came over, as did my Dad, and all of the kids, Scott, Staci, Stephen and Trish were all here as well. We had the huge meal, and then played some touch football in the front yard. It was a most excellent day.

The only picture we managed to take was the one of the table before we put the food out. Once we began eating, we failed to take any more pix.

Ella thinks that Thanksgiving smells REAL good!

Party in the hizouse!!

2005-11-16T06:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I decided that I really needed to go to the Deacon's meeting. I haven't gone to a Deacon's meeting in months, and yesterday I was reminded why. All through the meeting Jan, Cliff and Jeff were texting me to tell me that I needed to get home for the Tuesday Night Family dinner, and I responded that they should go ahead and eat without me. I thought the meeting was nearly over several times, but it finally concluded a little after 8, and I headed home. On the way I called Jan's cell phone and Jonathan picked up, and I said I was on my way, and thought to myself "cool, Jonathan finally came to a Tuesday Night dinner". I pulled down 42nd Street, and noticed a whole lot more cars than I expected, and then, as I turned into my driveway, I encountered way more people than I thought should be there for Family Night. It was a Surprise Party for me! A week late, so it was a surprise for sure. After I got over the surprise, my next thought was, "Who is feeding all of these people?" There was cake and Birthday cards, and I had a great time, even though I had missed most of the party. Thanks so much for everyone who came, who made this birthday week such a memorable one. I am truly blessed to have friends that not only care enough to come to a surprise party for me, but even are willing to wait an hour and a half (or more) for me to show up. I wish I had pictures from last night to post, but I never even got to get my camera, but I believe that B. Hood has some pictures that she will (no doubt) be blogging in the very near future. Again thanks to everyone who came to wish me Happy Birthday, and to everyone who didn't come, but still wished me a Happy Birthday, and to everyone else who is just reading this for that matter.

45 is not nearly as bad as one might expect.

(For Mark, Alan and Trenton - Sorry that because of me you didn't get to miss the Deacon's Meeting, but at least we can look forward to the Spring Retreat!)

- Papa Steve

Happy Birthday Alan!

2005-11-11T06:56:00.000-08:00

Today's Blog is dedicated to my Hero, Alan Bowden. He is the 'wind beneath my wings'.

Here's to you Alan, I hope that you have a great day, even though you have to share it with all those Veterans.

Birthday, Yesterday, That is all

2005-11-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

Other than thanks for everyone who called, e-mailed, tried to e-mail (allegedly-Trish), mailed, etc.

I have a great family and friends.

Hey, come by the house sometime and we can play our "45's" on my new record player. (It's groovy!)

Game Day!!

2005-11-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the Baylor-UT game, and I won't bore you with the score, but suffice to say that Baylor has some really cute girls in the Baylor Line!! Here are some pix that Staci took yesterday at the game. (Two blogs today, so be sure and not miss the one below.)

That Good Ole Baylor Line!

Crackuh Lips!!! It's sweeping the nation!!!

Staci's Hair was blown, but not blown out, unlike the football team. :(

More pix to come next game. Sic 'em Bears!!!