Short and Sweet 09.30.16

            No, not me, I am tall and sweet!

            This is the last day of September, where did the first 9 months go? Now that I am looking back it seems as if time has flown this year, but there was days this summer that were so hot and dry that they seemed as if they would never end. Memories usually seem nicer and faster than they actually were.

            Well that has nothing to do with the subject of this short and sweet story, or does it. Possibly my memory of last evenings ride is better than the actual ride, not!

            We met at 6:00pm and decided to ride directly to Clifton Texas, to have our evening repast at the Bunkhouse. The ride was about 40 minutes long and the temperature was a perfect 77 degrees. Not hot and not cold, just right for riding.

            The food and lively discussions at the Bunkhouse were very enjoyable.

            After eating we decided to take a less direct route back home. Casual riding as the sun was setting through numerous curves and hills made the ride relaxing. The temperature dropped to 63 on the country roads causing me to think I should have had a heavier jacket on.

            I was back home by 8:30 all relaxed and happy.

            It was a, “Short and Sweet ride”.

May you have a sweet, relaxing day!

Don Ford

Foxy 09.29.16

            You are correct, this time! “Foxy”, does not describe me! You are correct again, the proper animalistic definition of me would be, “Hound Dog!” Although hound dogs are often thought of as being lazy laid back and calm, they are great hunters, which means they are good providers for family. It is not often that you are correct, but today you have been!

            The provocative title of my story has nothing to do with a good looking young lady, who dresses in a very small yellow bikini while working in her yard. Now that I think of it, to the best of my knowledge there are no young ladies that even live on our street, let alone that might wear a bikini, darn it!

            The title has to do with my early morning brisk walk, during the pre-dawn hours (pre-dawn means before the sun rise). I was heading north on the avenue when a creature that was hiding in plain sight, moved.

            By hiding in plain sight I mean, it was dark enough that had this creature not moved, I may not have seen it at all. Now that I think of it I could have been attacked during my innocent morning exercise program.

            This creature was actually in the street against the curb and I got within about 50 feet of it before it moved. Startled I stopped and observed as best I could. It was a hairy creature, choosing to run down the avenue and again stop hunkering down at the curb.

            I, being a brave individual, began to move forward toward the creature, determined to see what it was. Remember, it is pre-dawn, AKA dark.

            There, it moved down the street again and I could see what appeared to be a fox. Yes, even in this less than adequate lighting event, I could see it was that orange red color of a hairy fox. The big bushy tail was a dead giveaway. What would a fox be doing in our neighborhood? Now that I think of it I have seen a deer, and wild turkeys on this street in the past, so a fox would not be to unusual.

            As I continued toward the creature it decided to leave the Avenue and go through a neighbor’s yard. In the dim light I could see the profile of the creature and it was in fact a fuzzy orange cat. Disappointed that it wasn’t a fox I continued walking.

Foxy or hound dog, if you can’t have fun, don’t do it!

Don Ford

Bucket in a Bucket 09.27.16

            Over the years I have attempted to impart my knowledge to those who may be knowledge-less! Some have listened and learned while others have, let us say, “Not listened and are still lacking in knowledge”. Did you see how I use a politically correct phrase, in an effort to not upset the reading public?

            Yesterday, our grounds Manager was allowed to get on his hands and knees to pull weeds at the Ford Homestead. He originally baulked at the work request stating that he did not want to pull those wonderful wildflowers, photo to follow.

            You may want to click on the photo in an effort to see the bloom of the so called wild flower. After a short debate, I did agree with the grounds manager that the plants were wild and they did have very small blooms, AKA flowers. I end the debate saying pull the wild flowers AKA weeds, now!

            I did keep a close eye on his endeavors as I thought he might stop pulling the weeds. I noticed that our grounds manager, although he may be lazy, does manage his time and energy. The title of this wonderful article, “Bucket in a Bucket”, came from a process I observed our grounds manager using. He placed a bucket inside a bucket then he got down on his knees and began to pull the wild flowers weeds. Seeing this, I decided to investigate. I asked, why a bucket inside a bucket, to which he replied, “Time and energy management”.

            What do you mean time and energy management? He began to explain in his slow and rhythmic voice. It is easier to carry one bucket than two, so I put one inside the other. He continued, when I am on the ground pulling the wild flowers and placing the remains in the bucket, I must occasionally move from point A to point B, and having a bucket inside a bucket means I only need to make one move to get both buckets to point B.

            When the inner bucket is full I remove it and let it set as I continue to eradicate the wild flowers. Having two buckets saves me from wasting energy of getting up to empty a single bucket, thus half as many trips to the trash container.

            I give the grounds keeper credit, he is a wise manager of time and energy!

            He also uses an old floor mat from a vehicle to sit on when his knees and back gets tired. I noticed that he had moved away from the mat for a few minutes and Charlie, our adopted cat, had been supervising the removal of the wild flowers weeds and decided to use the floor mat for himself. The grounds manager was not surprised and allowed him to continue using the mat.

                The grounds manager still has about an hour or so of weed removal to do today, even though his hands and other muscles are tired and sore.  

May all your wild flowers be pretty!

Don Ford

Too Much Time 09.26.16

            For the retired senior person who is on a fixed income, what do they do to pass the time? Well this retired person who is on a fixed income, (and would you believe, can’t afford to participate in activities that require money), takes sticks and scrap pieces of wood that others have tossed out, and passes his time trying to make things. It is difficult to be on a fixed income! Donations are accepted in amounts of $100.00 or more at the Ford Homestead, “Fund for the retired person with limited financial abilities”.

            I will post photos of projects that required no expense.

 

 

Stick snake, as I have named the above project, was shown to my grandson and he thought it was scary and would be a good thing to take with him, trick or treating.

Another project is a version of tic tac toe, commonly known as X and O’s. As you may be able to see, I started with a piece of wood, cut a few groove in the wood and then stained it a little.

 

I still need to put something like varnish on the boards to finish the project, if I wasn’t on a fixed income I could be done by now.

 

The red and black circular items (known as home made checkers) are from a previous checker board project. Yes, I still have the checker board. I have learned that the checker board can be use under my lap top when sitting in the recliner, too keep my tender legs from getting hot!

                Different subject:

            Here at the Ford Homestead we had a service that was going to renew in a couple days, at a cost that we could not afford being on a fixed income. I called the service, name not to be divulged, and told them I want to cancel. They asked why, and I replied it is too costly. The person said she would look for any special offers that they might have. She then said we have a promotional price for a one year agreement and told me the cost, asking if I was interested. The promotional price was 48% less that the original. Almost half off just for asking! You should ask for a discount where ever you go! 

                Different subject:

                Our grounds manager, as he is now known, will be on his hands and knees in the back yard not only praying, but also pulling weeds. We received an inch of rain Sunday, which makes it easier to get the roots of the weeds. Yes, this week is 6 weeks since his operation and we now expect him to get back to work!

Watch the debate this evening, it might be fun!

Don Ford

Karate Kids 09.23.16

            The grand kids have started karate classes. My present spouse and I observed the class last evening. I think it is a good thing for the kids if they will stay interested. They do not just teach people how to defend themselves, they also teach the kids that they must read every day, they must have three chores that they do each day, and they must say sir and mam when addressing adults. There is exercise and stretching at the beginning of the class.

The above photo taken at the Ford Homestead. Below photo taken during class.

Different subject:

They are almost promising rain for this weekend, so I watered everything today.

            I have another photo of an abandoned home. It is so sad that the neighbors just move out without saying goodbye. Photo below, click on photo to enlarge.

May your day be filled with kindness!

Don Ford 

Hit Again 09.23.16

            It is difficult for me, a retired senior citizen, to believe I have been, “hit again”.

            Assaulted in my own neighborhood twice, in two days, first by a leaf from the pecan tree, and now today by a flying insect. It all happen this morning during a predawn hour as I strolled south on Oklahoma Ave.   

            I left the Ford Homestead at 15 minutes before 7:00am this morning, and it was still dark. I believe I will need a flash light in the future if I am going to walk prior to the 7:00am hour, as it was not light enough to see everything I need to see. 

            Possibly the sun rise is now occurring later, due to this being the first day of fall.

            What was today’s assault? It was an unknown flying bug that flew into the glass portion of my glasses, over the left eye. Had it not been for the glasses I could have lost my left eye. Before you ask, yes there was bug juice left on my glasses. I now assume the assault was, “a suicide attack”. What type bug flies before sunrise?

            Could this be some type of vindictive assault on my person? If not, why were both attacks at or near my left eye, and during my morning walk? This seems to me to be a coordinated event!

            I can see that one person, you know the person, he is always ready to ask a question that he believes will either prove me wrong, or upset me. Yes, he is happy that I have been assaulted twice in two days. Could it be this person is coordinating the assaults?

            Different subject:

            The prognosticators are predicting that our temperatures will be much cooler in about three days. Remember, we had a day that was 99 degrees this week, and next week our high may be what the low was this week, 75 degrees! Finally, we may be able to turn the air conditioner off, but, we will most likely need to turn the furnace on! L

            The weather is controlled by career politicians, and they cause it to change drastically in order to force us to pay higher utility bills. This is done so they can help those who donate to them, utility companies and others, to make more money, so they can donate more!

May your day be comfortable!

Don Ford

Feel Good Day 09.21.16

            Yes tomorrow is the first day of fall, but no one believes it here in Texas. It was 99 degrees here yesterday, missing the all-time record high set in 1954 of 100 degrees, by just one degree. They say it will cool down in the future, but we are not sure they know what they are talking about.

            The above paragraph has nothing to do with today’s subject, so you can ignore it!

            Today subject has to do with a comment made by our neighbor lady this morning, during my morning meditative walk.

            Before we get into today’s subject I would like to impart some information that also occurred during this morning’s walk. I was walking under a pecan tree when a single leaf impacted my head. This leaf was about 4 inches long and about one inch wide. I was in full stride when I observed an object just above my left eye. It was too late to take any action as this quickly rotating leaf was just a couple inches from my head.

            The actual impact occurred at my left temple where my glasses cross the side of my head. I believe that is the first time I have knowingly been impacted by a leaf falling from a tree. I was glad it wasn’t a pecan, there may have been injuries if it had been a pecan! The photo below is of pecan leaves, providing you with a view of several pecan leaves. Click on photo to enlarge.

 

            Now let us get started with today’s feel good story. I am not saying it will make you feel good, but it did make me and my spouse of 47 years feel good.

            I was walking west on Arkansas Street approaching Oklahoma Ave. when I observed a female neighbor and her grandson, Noah, (he is about 8 years old) leaving the front door of their home heading for their vehicle. This lady lives next door to the Ford Homestead. She asked if I wanted to hear something funny, to which I replied, “yes”. I walked closer so I could hear her better, senior retired people, sometimes can’t hear that good.

            She began, “this is the week that grandparents can eat lunch with their grand kids at school. She said that Noah wanted to know if her or her husband (grandma and grandpa) were going to come to school and eat with him. She then said Noah asked, “what about Don and Donna”. Noah has always called my first wife and me by our first names.

            I can’t tell you how very happy it made me feel, to know that Noah, thought of us as grandparents, and that he would want us to come to school and have lunch with him!

            I explained to Noah that we are kind of like, “adopted grandparents” and he seemed to like that idea.

            I then explained to our neighbor, that I had in fact eat lunch at school during grandparent’s week with another young man that was not our grandson. That young man is now a junior in college.

            As I stated earlier, it might not make you feel good, but to know that a young person would consider us as grandparent’s, and would want us to come to school and eat lunch with them and their friends, made Donna and me feel special!

I hope your day is as good as ours!

Don Ford

How to do it 09.20.16

It is true that each of us learn from experiences, and that is today’s topic.

If you touch something hot, you learn quickly that it is hot, and not to repeat that action, “learned from experience”.

We go to school and experience the learning process. You may want to consider all the interactions and experiences you had while in school. Not only what the teachers presented, you learned from their actions and reactions. Think of the things you learned from class mates and others you met in school, after school and school events. I can’t speak for you, but I learned more from the other students than I did from the teachers.

We learn from experiences with our parents. What we learn from parents (good and not so good) will last throughout our life. I learned many things that I have used throughout my life, even though I did not understand that I was learning at the time. My parent’s actions and reactions are with me still today.

I believe children should have two parents! Consider a child with one parent, he / she receives half as much interactions (experiences). Even though it is a one sided experience, it is better than no experience, but not as good as two. Often the one parent may be bitter, and may unknowingly express this bitterness to the child.

            Consider, what occurs if there are no parents. The child may be put in foster home/s and those experiences, even the good ones, or no substitute for real parents. Possibly the child is raise by grandparents who sometimes are just too old, or too tired to provide the necessary guidance for a young person.

            We learn from interactions of those we choose to associate with. This applies to all stages of our life. As children, we should be involved with other good kids. All children will at some point associate with a less than desirable kid. How the good kid responds will often depend on their experiences with their parents.

            There is an old saying that goes something like this, “you are known by the company you keep”. You are influenced by those same people, and these experiences are likely to form your actions and thoughts, now and in the future. It is almost impossible to associate with others (friends, co-workers, family) without being influenced, either negatively or positively by their actions and comments.

            Again, this applies to all stages of our life. Although we would like to believe, as adults, we would choose to associate with upstanding people, and that when we were in the presence of less than upstanding people, we would not be influenced by their actions or comments.  We are influenced by others even when we think we are not.

            Being aware of the fact that others influence us, is the only way we can be sure that the influence is what we want it to be. Being aware is our key to developing our own attitudes.

            For those of you with children, being aware of all their interactions with others is an impossible task, but that should not keep you from being aware of as much of their interactions as possible.

            Parents, you must set good examples all the time. How do you do this, by remembering that your children are watching and learning from all your actions and comments?

            Want to learn what is going on in your child’s life, find a way to talk with your kids in a non-serious manner. Conversations that seem casual will provide you with much good information. When someone is not guarded, adults or children, they are apt to open up in their comments.

           

In summary;

Being aware is the key to developing your own attitude!

Being aware and being there, is the key to helping your children develop their attitudes.

Don Ford

Managers 09.15.16

            This tale is about managers and or management.

            “Many are called but few are chosen”, and some of them should not have been.

            There will be a couple parts to this story, although there could be many. This tale has to do with two situations.

First, we will address the situation here at the Ford Homestead. Our Grounds keeper has read a couple of my posts and now wants to be called, “The Grounds Manager”! Initially I was against this but after some careful consideration, I have decided to be benevolent and change his title. He is now officially, “The Ford Homestead Grounds Manager”. (I decided to give in on this demand, as it keeps him from asking for a pay increase!) .

Second, deals with a situation that occurred yesterday. As I was filling in for The Grounds Manager, watering the flower in the front yard, I noticed a young man walking down the street with a clip board in his hand. Now this fellow appeared to be early twenties. There was no question as to what he was doing, he was attempting to sell new windows. Any of the homes that has new windows he would walk past but those that do not have new windows he would knock on their door.

These so called sells people are seen in the neighborhoods almost every month. As I water the flowers, I observed his actions and interactions with the few people who came to the door. Many of the people in this area have already had new windows put in so these sells people do more walking than selling. As he was attempting to pass in front of my house I called out to him and asked if he was selling windows, to which he replied, yes.

I asked if he would answer a question for me, and he said he would. I asked why he did not ride a bike. He said, he would be stopping often to talk with homeowners. I noted that most of the homes on this street, and I would assume most of the streets in this area of town where the homes are 35 or more years old, have new windows. He acknowledged that many do have new windows, which means he would just walk past that home.

He then said, my manager lets me out on a street and I start walking and looking. I then provided him with information, which he could give to his manager as a possible way to save money. I had his attention.

1.     Provide bikes to the sells personnel. The sells person would be able to cover two or three times the area per hour which would provide them with two or three times the opportunities to sell.

2.     One person covering the area that two or three people would normally cover, would mean they would not need as many sales people, which is a cost savings.

3.     Keep all the sales people and cover two or three times the area, in the same amount of time.

The young man smiled and thanked me for the idea and went on his way. I doubt that he would approach his manager with the idea, and I assume he thought that I was just some senior person that has nothing else to do other than talk to strangers.

Once a manager, always a manager.

 

These photos were taken on a cloudy day. 

 

The weather seems to be just right for roses. Click on a photo to enlarge.

Manage your life wisely!

Don Ford

F Y I 09.14.16

            As an FYI, the grounds keeper is doing well, he has two more weeks and then he should be considered totally recovered.

            We sent him to town yesterday to get a water filter for the Ice Box (refrigerator for those younger folks). He procured the filter and installed it without incident.

            Recovered or not, he was required to change out a video camera that was going bad. The camera had some odd colors and spots in the video. He told the story of working from a cement bench which is under the camera location, when he was going to step off this 20 inch high bench he just happened to look down, and there was molly lying where he would have stepped.

            Camera replaced, and settings correctly entered into the VCR, the grounds keeper is heading for the recliner. He can’t trim tree limbs, and the grass don’t need to be mowed so he just sits around like a retired person.

 

May your grounds keeper be energetic!

 

Don Ford

 

 

 

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

 

 

                  Donald Ford         NARBNL

 

             Click below for the Blog experiance                                  

 

            www.first-consider-this.blogspot.com 

 

Our entire life is 09.12.16

            I was sitting in the recliner wishing there was something interesting to do, when the TV person on the so called morning news, began talking about cell phones that are being recalled due to exploding batteries. The statement was something to the effect of, airlines are asking people to turn off these particular phones and not use them or charge them during flights. The one female so called news person said, “Our entire lives are on smart phones, it is devastating to be told the shut them off!”

            I sat there thinking about that statement, “Our entire lives are on the smart phones…” and what a sad state it is, if our entire lives are on these smart phones.

            I have a cell phone on which I get a call or two every week. I also get some unwanted calls (sales calls) that I do not answer. I get a couple text messages every week and I get email over the cell phone (most of the emails are advertisements).

To be honest, whether I am on the computer or cell phone, the emails I receive from people I know, might total 2 or 3 a month. Now that I have considered this, I wonder why I even have access to the internet.

I do occasionally look something up using the cell phone, and I occasionally purchase something using the computer, but to say my life is on the cell phone would be totally wrong.

Let’s change the subject and talk about me! I did mow the front yard of the house, next to our house. I knew the grass was tall, but it was taller and thicker than I had expected. First I use the walk behind mower to get close to the house, fence, basketball goal, tree, and mail box. Then I brought the rider over to do the actual mowing. I was mowing very slow as the grass was very thick. My mower will mow a 42 inch wide path, but I was mowing less than half that amount in each pass.

That yard looks a little better now, but it would have been better if all the cut grass would have been picked up. Nope, I was not going to rake up the cuttings.

            I believe one should, sweep his own porch, before he sweeps his neighbors. I had mowed my yard, before I mowed the neighbors.

Have a great week!

Don Ford

Nuts, I prefer to be called silly 09.10.16

            As the professionally composed title indicates, I would rather be referred to as silly, and not nuts. Yes I am kinda nuts at times, but silly seems to be more politically correct. Oh my, now I am trying to be politically correct! I guess I have gone over the edge!

            I want to show you my pecans, but then I would need a photo, and as you know I only produce, “professional quality photography”. The question now is, “how do I get the quality photo that would show my pecans in a manner that would not only show their size, but also be composed in a manner that in years to come, would show my professional abilities with a camera. I will consider this conundrum and get back to you on the subject.

            On a different subject, the house next door is vacant and the grass is getting tall. I have considered mowing the front yard just to keep the neighborhood looking a little better. I am not sure if I were to go and mow the yard whether I could get into trouble as a trespasser or not. I would first need to walk through the almost knee high grass and look for sticks and other objects that could be hit by the lawn mower blade.

            I thought about using the riding mower but the grass is so deep that it would probably be difficult to mow. I could use the walk behind mower as its blade can be raised a little higher than the rider. I am sure that mowing the yard one time would leave so much cut grass that it would need to be mowed a second time in order to mulch up the clippings from the first cut.

            I have also looked at the back yard too. Yes I would be willing to mow the front yard for free to enhance the neighborhood’s appearance, the back yard is a totally different matter. If they offered $100.00 to mow it I might consider. The back yard is mostly weeds and has almost no grass. The people who lived there never ventured out of the house although they would let their dogs out occasionally to do their business in the back yard.

            As you can see, trying to be a good neighbor would require a lot of work. It is difficult being such a nice person!

            Ok, back to the titled subject of this document. I have been able to get a photo of my pecans, which I believe will show their size, and how healthy they are, along with allowing future generations to see my mastery of the art of photography. Enjoy!

            Clicking on the photo will enlarge it. 

 

                The pecans (nuts) on our little tree are looking real nice this year and as you can see they are large nuts! Let’s hope the squirrels stay away!

Have a great weekend!

Don Ford

                I am silly, and only a little nuts!

9-11 remembered 09.10.16

The following article has been previously posted. I am reposting it today as it is my memories of, “9-11”.

September 11, 2001       by Don Ford

                        I am sure everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing on Tuesday, September 11^th, 2001.

            A friend suggested I might consider putting my memories of that date and the following days, in an article and post it to the blog.

            It should be understood, I was in New York State but not in New York City.

            I was working at the Do it Best Corp’s Service Center, in Montgomery New York, as interim manager.

Montgomery N. Y. is probably best known for Orange County Choppers, they make chopper motorcycles and had a TV show for a while.

As I am sure most would say, that day seemed to be just like any other day until…

I learned of the attack when a supervisor came into the manager’s office and said, “A plane has crashed into the world trade center”.

            To be totally honest, I had no idea what the world trade center was, until that day, never having been in the City of New York.

One of the supervisors had received a call telling him what had happened saying, that is all that’s on the TV.  

            Shocked by such an event, we wanted to see what was happening. I asked where the TV was located. They did not have a TV in the office or break room.  I knew we stocked some portable TVs so I asked the supervisor to get one out of stock quickly and set it in the break room so everyone can see it during break.

            Not having a TV meant they did not have cable either. We attempted to watch this portable TV with rabbit ears for an antenna. The picture was poor but we could see some of what was happening. I remember as most of us were watching and listening to the announcer, there was little if any conversation in the break room.

            They had a radio in the office which was providing additional information.

Two planes had flown into the world trade center buildings. We now knew these were terrorist attacks. We had also learned there was a third plane that evidently had been hijacked, and they were not sure where it was.

I briefly thought, our building is large, what would we do if the plane decided to crash into it. There was nothing we could do, other than evacuate. If we had no advanced notice that a plane was heading our way we could do nothing preemptive.

Some of the staff members had friends or relatives who worked in those buildings. I remember a couple people asked if they could leave and try to find out if their families were ok.  

The FAA was grounding all flights. Those that were already in the air were instructed to land immediately.

We learned somewhat later that the third plane had crashed in a field with no survivors.

Considering all the tragic events unfolding during the day, the staff at the Montgomery center somehow were able to complete that day’s work. I would say they all should be commended for their ability to stay somewhat focused on their work during that day, and the following days. 

All flights were canceled meaning no civilian planes were flying anywhere and they were not saying when they would be allowed to fly again. This meant all travelers (including me) that were relying on flying to their home destination, were just out of luck.

There was a message sent to DIB travelers stating something to the effect, if you are traveling for the company and have a rental car, you should keep your rental car, do not turn it in. You may be required to drive home.

The rental car I had was a full size boat of a car. Even though the company rented smaller vehicles, occasionally the rental company would be out of the size you had requested and you would get something larger. If I were to need to drive home, it would be a long drive but it would be comfortable.

The New York State police were marshaling in the Stewart / Newburgh area, which is just a few miles from Montgomery and where my hotel was. The state police were gathering here before being dispatched to New York City. It was amazing the number of state police vehicles you would see on the roads. There were literally hundreds of state police vehicles in the area. One evening as I was driving to the hotel there were at least five state police cars in front of me and more than that behind me, while there were others driving on the opposite side of the highway. I felt as if I was the misfit in a parade of police vehicles.

Authorities were considering all terrorist possibilities even to the point of having guards stationed at area water reservoirs.  

Unfortunately, during this time of turmoil, one employee pushed another employee which subjects him to termination. After all the necessary calls to the HR department it was decided to terminate this person. During the time this decision was being made, another staff member told me this person had said, “If they think they are going to terminate me they better have the police here”.  

            Being a person who likes to accommodate the wishes of others, I called the police and explained the situation. They explained that they were very busy, but they would send someone over when we were ready to terminate. I explained that we were ready now. In just a few minutes the officer arrived. I remember this officer as, “a walking mountain”, he was big and strong.

We called the employee to the office. When he arrived, the officer walked up to him, got in the employees face and said, this man has something to tell you, sit down and listen.

The officer turned to me and said go ahead. When I finished, the officer got back in this person’s face again and asked, “Do you understand what this man has told you, will I need to come back? The person replied I understand and you will not need to come back. 

After several days there were a few flights taking to the air. The airport at Stewart where I normally would fly into and out of, was still closed.

I received a call from the home office with instructions to go to the Stewart airport the next morning. When I went to return the rental car there was instructions on the closed gate to take the car several blocks away from the airport. A rental car employee brought me back to the airport.

There was an airport employee who met me and another lady outside the building. We were put in a taxi that drove us to an airport near White Planes N.Y.

I should not have been surprised at the amount of security present. We went through a police road block in which the officer looked through the taxi and the trunk before allowing us to get close to the airport. The two of us got out of the taxi and went into the airport to check in. I checked my suit case for the flight home and they opened it to be sure there was no bombs or weapons.

I always carry a pocket knife and have done so since I was in the third grade. When I flew, I would put the knife in the suit case and check the bag. The fellow opened my bag and saw the knife. He immediately called his supervisor and a police officer to see what he found. They looked at the knife (it wasn’t a small pocket knife) and then looked at me. I said, the bag is checked, is there a problem? As soon as they realized it was a checked bag, they shut it and patted me down, just to be sure I had no other knives and then let me go through security.

There weren’t many travelers in the airport, I assume only people trying to get back home were flying. As I remember it, there was as many, if not more, uniformed officers and soldiers in the airport as there were civilian travelers.

The flight from White Planes to an airport just outside New York City (I can’t remember which airport it was) was very short. As we were beginning to descend to the airport I looked out the window to see the New York sky line, and I thought I might see the remains of the two buildings. I did not see the destruction, what I did see was a military jet plane flying on the right side of our plane. It was a little unsettling to know that he was there to keep our plane away from flying into a building.

We landed safely, I along with the other passengers went into the airport. I found my gate and took a seat. There were National Guard Soldiers and police carrying guns throughout the building. There was no one talking, very little noise of any type, everyone was very sober acting. I sat in my seat the entire time without saying a word.

I am here to tell you, I was more than happy when we boarded the plane heading away from New York. My flight took me through another airport but I can’t remember if it was Philadelphia or Chicago. I can say I was much happier when we were descending to the Dallas airport. All the flights that I took that day were late starting and arriving.

Arriving at the Dallas airport I saw extra security and even though they were on high alert the atmosphere was not as intimidating as the New York air ports.

The flight from Dallas to Waco which only takes about 25 minutes left Dallas after midnight. I arrived in Waco about 1:00am on a Sunday morning. My wife met me at the Waco airport. 

Arriving this late, or early, however you want to look at it, I missed the annual profit sharing meeting. This was the first profit sharing meeting that I had missed during my employment at DIB. I was to receive a service award for thirty years of employment (a ring) at that meeting. My wife accepted the award for me, but it would have been nicer if I could have made it home in time to accept the ring for myself.

                                  

Those are my memories of September 11^th, 2001.

Don Ford                        

It happened this way 09.08.16

            I want to tell the story of my morning stroll but first I will offer an update of our grounds keeper’s health. He has been moving a lot better recently and day before yesterday he was on his knees pulling weeds. Yesterday he started the weed eater and trimmed the front and back yard. He was surprised at how tired he was after about an hour and twenty minutes of work. He made his way to the recliner for a rest period after a quick shower.

            After lunch he decided to mow, which he completed at 2:00pm. He showered and got ready to pick up the grandees after school. This morning he was overheard saying, he is surprised at how tired he is, and that he has sore muscles, after yesterday’s yard work.

Some of his biker friends were planning a ride, but the grounds keeper decided to wait another couple weeks before attempting a ride. He noted that riding is no problem but parking lots with gravel on them can be slippery, and he did not want to attempt to hold up a huge Gold Wing until he is totally back to normal.

Now back to me!

I was walking yesterday morning, when I for some unknown reason, walked toward Texas Ave.  Now Texas Ave. is only one block away from Oklahoma Ave., but there is a world of difference. The traffic on Texas Ave. is hectic, and the drivers don’t share the street with pedestrians. More than once I had to step over the curb on to someone’s yard, to avoid being impacted by some north end of a south bound horse. These are mostly horse’s behinds (both male and female) who are taking their kids to school before going to work.

Those so called people were not the most unusual thing that happened to me during that one block walk on Texas Ave.! I would not believe this if it hadn’t happen to me. There was a male of the species, on a bicycle, helmet, shorts and all the necessary attire for a professional rider. He was on the same side of the street as me, I am walking down hill and he is riding up hill. He has the bike shifted in to a lower gear as he is peddling kind of fast but moving slow. Did I state that he appeared to be close to my age?

I thought to myself is he going to go around me, or will I need to step off the street for this cyclist. This world class rider was looking down at the road or possibly his front wheel but he was not looking where he was headed. I must assume his slow speed caused him to assume he did not need to look forward.

To make this short story longer, either he saw me and did not care, or he never saw me. At the last second I stepped off the street into a yard and shouted at him, “Maybe you should look where you are going”! The horse’s butt never looked back. I later wished I had used my walking stick to see if his helmet was any good.

May you be attentive to your surroundings!

Don Ford

Squirrels Rabbits and Rooster 09.06.16

            As my reading public knows, I walk for about 30 minutes most mornings. At this time I want to impart unto you, a few observations and or memories.

            First, let me tell you about the rooster.

            It was a nice September morning as I was wondering along Oklahoma Ave. when, to my surprise, I heard the crowing of a rooster. Now had I have only heard it crow one time, I may have considered the sound to be something else. I was privileged to the sounds of this rooster crowing several times.

Why was this a surprise? There is an ordnance against having livestock within the city limits.

What is considered livestock? The ordnance started out for the larger animals such as horses, cows and pigs. Then it was determined that even smaller animals should be included, so basically any domestic animal other than cats and dogs.

Why was this ordnance enacted? There are a several reasons, smell, noise, and the eventual ending of the animal.

What do I mean by eventual ending? Consider this, the neighbor has a rabbit hutch with several female rabbits, and each female has babies, most likely 8 per female. The neighbor kids come over and get to see the rabbits and think the babies are real cute. A few months later these 30 babies are now grown and it is time to butcher them.

The owner grabs the first from the hutch and either using his hand or possibly the handle of a hammer, breaks the rabbits neck. He then skins the rabbit and guts it, all of which was observed by the neighbor kids.

Now the kids tell mommy and she calls the law. As you can see this doesn’t turn out well for anyone. That is why no one is supposed to have livestock.

My dad usually kept rabbits and they were not pets. When the babies were large enough they were butchered and later eaten. Rabbits provide a couple other positive things other than supper. They make fertilizer (rabbit poop) and there are always some real big worms in the poop below the cages, which can be used as fishing bate!

Let’s go to a less stressful but true story, about the squirrel. Now I do not hate squirrels but I would appreciate it if they would only remove the darn acorns from my Homestead and leave the pecans alone. I am thankful for the neighbor two houses down the street, who traps the squirrels and the animal control officer (use to be dog catcher) comes and gets the squirrel and takes it somewhere and turns it loose. Yes, they probably come back in a few days.

Yesterday, as I was talking to my sister in Missouri via phone, I observed a young squirrel cross the street and come into my yard. I was sitting in the rocker so I could not do much to discourage him, but I did wave my arms and wish that Charlie would have been there to chase the squirrel away. This varmint approached the red oak tree to my right and ascended it. I continued to observe his progress as he went from one tree to the next. When he jumped onto the third oak tree I was a little bit happier because he wasn’t heading for the pecans.

The trespasser had now descended to the lower part of the tree where he observed me for a few moments. His stare was deliberate, and I believe he was attempting to intimidate me.

Then it happened, he jumped from the tree to the bird bath and again stared at me. With reckless abandon, he took a drink, occasionally looking at me to see if I was going to react.

Finished with his drink, he jumped from the bird bath and shook his tail at me several times, then returned across the road from wince he came. Not even a thank you for the water!

            That’s it from The Ford Homestead.

May the animals in your life appreciate you!

Don Ford