My bride took us to the Dr. today, I'm writing this in the waiting room . My oldest daughter Holley and  our gran boy spent the night with us last night. I got up around 6 and made some cheese eggs  to go with the steak that Susan cooked Saturday night . Landyn and I ate while Holley was getting showered. Susan wasn't hungry. Landyn had to have dip sauce on his steak and ketchup on his eggs.
I started getting sick again ( I been to the hospital 6 days this month so far ) so we went  to the den and played go fish using my lap desk on my stomach for a card table  while I lay on the couch letting the pain and nausea subside. Landyn won two hands while Susan and Holley chatted in the kitchen, then it was time for them to head to Gulf Shores. Landyn is in the his cousins beach wedding . They are are very excited.
  After They left I listened to book tv. Jeff  Shara talked about his new Vicksburg book and then a senator from NC shared about the Robert Smalls book he' s reading this summer. Smalls was the slave that stole a Confederate ship and turned it over to the Union Army.

Click

Thewre's something about the click of a spoon against the side of a bowl. My granboy Landyn is eating cheerios  very intently. Then he says, "have you seen the picture of when mommy was a little girl and she was holding that fish that she ' d caught? .
"oh yes I took the picture . Why do you ask?"

Woodrow Goes Camping

 I got up to go see Holley's bunch about 6 am. Thought about mornings when I was 14 ,delivering the Birminham Post Herald. Cruising around before the sun rolling and slinging papers , Making money, I  bought a Kawasaki 350 and put  canvas sadle bags on it . When I filled it with Sunday papers it was so wide anyway you had to  alternately throw out out of one side then the other .And I was reminded of this fact everytime I let it turn over. But the bags were so full that it was like having roll bars , they kept the big 350 off my legs. It took some finese . And if the bags got on the muffler you had hot news....   
  Later, my uncle found a deal on a car and  with my hard earned money. I was warm and safe in my four door '62 Dodge Pioneer. A powder blue  but one door was white . My buddy's kidded me and I told them it was a special door , front passenger , for ladies only!   
  Once I got used to getting up early and smelling news print , I loved it, being the only one awake in the whole town. They dropped papers off  around 2:00 am, at a little covered porch that used to be hooked on to a hambuger joint . It was a good place to put the papers together each morning.They came in two stacks on most days and three on Wednesdays with four or so on Sunday depending on how many extra sections and coupons there were.
  The guy who trained me when I took over his route , Pete , a hippie minus the drugs, but with two volkswagens, a fu man chew mustache and smoked a bent pipe, he was around 30 ,(which seemed like 50 to me at the time) . He showed me how to lay out the sections in stacks , with the spines turned to the right and the main big part of the paper at the end so you could quickly assemble them. And he could literally fly when it came to delivering "The Post" ,stacking , slinging 'em  on the porches and slamming them in the orange boxes without even coming to a full stop. All the while telling anectdotes about each customer. He began delivering , because " im up early anyway I may as well do something constructive. 
  I couldn't wait till I could deliver like Pete too ,  and it wasn't long till I could. I bought two motorcycles , two cars,  various black lights, posters, magazines, books, fast food , asundry  rockets , model cars . All with my "paper money".
  Mom ,my accountant ,( she was a bookkeeper by trade) was in charge of  paper bills. I got a rubber stamp to put my  address on the collection envelopes and I was a business man. That stamp print made its way on nearly every thing I owned I was pretty proud of it.... 
  Well, Pete tturnede me loose after afew days the first day went well . The second day  I a rose at 330 as planned but  around 600 I awoke dressed my feet on the floor and may back on the bed sound asleep, I felt like id been hit in the face with a wet squirrel.
Im fired , ithought. I rushed to my bike and took of .
       

Grieve and Ulogize a Brother

Tying the easy knot
quick
but not tight
stiff shiny
lace ups
suit to match
wife and youngest son
in black
siting in back
son drives
wife accessorizes
and finds Dad's ring
in a travel jewelry box
it fits , his hand seemed
bigger than mine
in '99.
More than blood
inheritance or legacy
a memory
fresh as
laughing baby
in its
first bath.
Arms ,  carriage,  station wagon
trike, bike,  bus
skates , scooter , motorcycle
plane, hot rod, airline
coup , sedan, minivan
limousine , hearst , the wind

Ham Lets Story by Willie Jake Speer

My son had to write about Hamlet and I thought he needed the born in the woods , raised by a bear double set of jaw teeth triple coat of hair , caste iron belly steele covered jaw mean old booger Ima rebel all y'all " version ....... Let me know what I've left out..... I think I melted my Spell Check....



Taken from Hamlet

(Taken from Ham Lets)

(Taken from the time Ham Lets told Willie Jake Speer that he heard firsthand heard what Plebus Teel said rat fore his boy Versy Teel went off to Birmin'ham to do carpderin' work (Versy later had a dawter named Very (short for Verylene Ann) and he gave her his name fer her middle name , now you talk about a ring tale tooter Verylene Ann Versy Teel was a pure hell cat she could handle anything, now I mean that ol' gal ... but that's another story allt'gether ...



A.K.A -You Gotta be Ready fer Anythang Down thar Boy , I didn't

Give You that Name fer Nothing , Now Earn It don't Rurn It !



A.K.A - If it Smells Rurnt it Probly Is



POLONIUS'S ADVICE TO LAERTES

(Plebus Tells Versy How to "Act Like Somebody ")



A father's advice to his son how to conduct himself in the world:

( A Daddy makes fer dang sure he puts in his two cents fore he turns out his boy plum out)



Don't tell all you think, or put into action thoughts out of harmony or proportion with the occasion.

(Don't rattle on and on about any an ever lil thang you thank, ner do thangs outta the way , don't you embareass me or spesslee yeMama )



Be friendly, but not common; don't dull your palm by effusively shaking hands with every chance newcomer.

(Be friendlylike but I betternot hearayou goin round stickin yor paw out to ever Tom , Dick and Harry that you comes up on )



Avoid quarrels if you can, but if they are forced on you, give a good account of yourself.

(Don't start nuttin' but ,by ned , don't you take nuttin' neither , you hear ?)



Hear every man's censure (opinion), but express your own ideas to few.

(let ever feller have his say , but don't try to shove ever idee that pops in yer head , down HIS throat )



Dress well, but not ostentatiously.

(Don't get all gussied up like yer puttin on the dawg)



Neither borrow nor lend.

(Don't bum off people , and vice versy Versy , Wipe that grin offa yer face or the next thang you know you want know nothin! " ) I actually heard Corbin say that last thing to a dog that kept gettin his way when he was "tryin to make a dollar " remodeling Tom Frazier's bathroom at his service station... you can't make stuff like that up....



And guarantee yourself against being false to others by setting up the high moral principle of being true to yourself.

(Ye word is ye bond boy , ye gotta be true to you! ats t-o-be-t-r-u !)



Give thy thoughts no tongue,

Nor any unproportion'd thought his act.

(You better Thank afore you do say , an don't say a bit more than you ort too , after you take time to thank of what you ort to say )



Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar;

( And like I done told you and told you, be a friend but don't you never be the least bit vulgar , you got that.)



The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,

Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;

But do not dull thy palm with entertainment

Of each new-hatch'd, unfledg'd comrade.

(The good buddy's you got that's tried and true , Hold to 'em like  a like a chicken snake on a .. well ah chicken .. thats right , like a chicken snake ona chicken , don't you grin at me boy, I'll knock out ! )



Beware

Of entrance to a quarrel, but, being in,

Bear 't that th' opposed may beware of thee.

(Don't be sitin listen to every wet behin the ear whippersnapper that comes down the pike , let 'em know if ther aghen you, that you " cover the ground you stand on" , and when the dust settles they gonna know they been in a fight ,by cracky , that'll learn'em durn'em ect., ect. , ect.)



Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice;

Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.

( Now din , pay attansion to everbody , but don't go loosin yer tongue at both ends to anybody and everbody within ear shot ov ye an the jury's out ,til you see fer sure what they gonna do NOT what they say they gonna do , you got that ? you better boy , listen here ....I'll slap you naked and hide your clothes you hear me? )



Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,

But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;

For the apparel oft proclaims the man.

(You gotta have somethin' left over for grocerys , so don't bite off more then you kin chew , it's all fine an well to have nice stuff , but I reckin' you member when Miss Ima Pig , you know Aunt Ura's twin sister , well , she come back from Addison the other week acting all high and mighty , anyhow , the man makes the clothes it aint the other around, am I right ? you best believe I am! We ain't scrapped clawed our way up to have you fall flat , member Ill run pick you up if ye get to far down , but I'll kick yor tale if you get to high up and don't you fergetit!)



Neither a borrower, nor a lender be;

For loan oft loses both itself and friend,

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry

( I done sed it once an I'm a gonna say it aghin , I'll might near whoop you like a rented mule if I ever come to find out you been spongin off folks ,and member , two can play that game , so watch ye money nothin takes the edge offah the blade of friendship like barrin' or wantin' somebody to scotch fer ye all the dadblame time )



This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

William Shakespeare.



(Now din , Look at ye daddy son , And if you don't member nothin' else that I've ever told you...like fall follers summer , You gotta be true to yorself er yon't never be true to another soliterry soul ! Cuz when it's all over and you preepare to meet yor maker you gotta do it by yorself neither me ner yer momma can do it fer you , now get on outta here yer our boy and we couldn't be prouder !)

Willie Jake Speer

( and yes , he is related to The Speer Family that sangs together that yer kin to on yer Daddy's side )












My son had to write about Hamlet and I thought he needed the "Free State " A.K.A -"born in woods , raised by a bear double set of jaw teeth triple coat of hair , caste iron belly steelecovered jaw mean old booger I ma rebel all y'all " version ....... Let me know what I've left out..... I think I melted my Spell Check....
Taken from Hamlet
(Taken from Ham Lets)
(Taken from the time Ham Lets told Willie Jake Speer that he heard firsthand heard what Plebus Teel said rat fore his boy Versy Teel went off to Birmin'ham to do carpderin' work (Versy later had a dawter named Very (short for Verylene Ann) and he gave her his name fer her middle name , now you talk about a ring tale tooter Verylene Ann Versy Teel was a pure hell cat she could handle anything, now I mean that ol' gal ... but that's another story allt'gether ...
A.K.A -You Gotta be Ready fer Anythang Down thar Boy , I didn't
Give You that Name fer Nothing , Now Earn It don't Rurn It !
A.K.A - If it Smells Rurnt it Probly Is
POLONIUS'S ADVICE TO LAERTES
(Plebus Tells Versy How to "Act Like Somebody ")
A father's advice to his son how to conduct himself in the world:
( A Daddy makes fer dang sure he puts in his two cents fore he turns out his boy plum out)

Don't tell all you think, or put into action thoughts out of harmony or proportion with the occasion.
(Don't rattle on and on about any an ever lil thang you thank, ner do thangs outta the way , don't you embareass me or spesslee yeMama )
Be friendly, but not common; don't dull your palm by effusively shaking hands with every chance newcomer.
(Be friendlylike but I betternot hearayou goin round stickin yor paw out to ever Tom , Dick and Harry that you comes up on )
Avoid quarrels if you can, but if they are forced on you, give a good account of yourself.
(Don't start nuttin' but ,by ned , don't you take nuttin' neither , you hear ?)
Hear every man's censure (opinion), but express your own ideas to few.
(let ever feller have his say , but don't try to shove ever idee that pops in yer head , down his throat )
Dress well, but not ostentatiously.
(Don't get all gussied up like yer puttin on the dawg)
Neither borrow nor lend.
(Don't bum off people , and vice versy Versy , Wipe that grin offa yer face or the next thang you know you want know nothin! " ) I actually heard Corbin say that last thing to a dog that kept gettin his way when he was "tryin to make a dollar " remodeling Tom Frazier's bathroom at his service station... you can't make stuff like that up....
And guarantee yourself against being false to others by setting up the high moral principle of being true to yourself.
(Ye word is ye bond boy , ye gotta be true to you! ats t-o-be-t-r-u)
Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportion'd thought his act.
(You better Thank afore you do say , an don't say a bit more than you ort too , after you take time to thank of what you ort to say )
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar;
( And like I done told you and told you, be a friend but don't you never be the least bit vulgar , you got that.)
The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledg'd comrade.
(The good buddy's you got that's tried and true , Hold to 'em like like a like a chicken snake on a .. well ah chicken .. thats right , like a chicken snake ona chicken , don't you grin at me boy, I'll knock out ! )
Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel, but, being in,
Bear 't that th' opposed may beware of thee.
(Don't be sitin listen to every wet behin the ear whippersnapper that comes down the pike , let 'em know if ther aghen you, that you " cover the ground you stand on" , and when the dust settles they gonna know they been in a fight ,by cracky , that'll learn'em durn'em ect., ect. , ect.)
Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
( Now din , pay attansion to everbody , but don't go loosin yer tongue at both ends to anybody and everbody within ear shot ov ye an the jury's out ,til you see fer sure what they gonna do not what they say they gonna do , you got that ? you better boy , listen here ....I'll slap you naked and hide your clothes you hear me? )
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man.
(You gotta have somethin' left over for grocerys , so don't bite off more then you kin chew , it's all fine an well to have nice stuff , but I reckin' you member when Miss Ima Pig , you know Aunt Ura's twin sister , well , she come back from Addison the other week acting all high and mighty , anyhow , the man makes the clothes it aint the other around, am I right ? you best believe I am! We ain't scrapped clawed our way up to have you fall flat , member Ill run pick you up if ye get to far down , but I'll kick yor tale if you get to high up and don't you fergetit!)
Neither a borrower, nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry
( I done sed it once an I'm a gonna say it aghin , I'll might near whoop you like a rented mule if I ever come to find out you been spongin off folks ,and member , two can play that game , so watch ye money nothin takes the edge offah the blade of friendship like barrin' or wantin' somebody to scotch fer ye all the dadblame time )
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
William Shakespeare.
(Now din , Look at ye daddy son , And if you don't member nothin' else that I've ever told you...like fall follers summer , You gotta be true to yorself er yon't never be true to another soliterry soul ! Cuz when it's all over and you preepare to meet yor maker you gotta do it by yorself neither me ner yer momma can do it fer you , now get on outta here yer our boy and we couldn't be prouder !)
Willie Jake Speer
( and yes , he is related to The Speer Family that sangs together that yer kin to on yer Daddy's side )　
　
　　
　
　

A Warm Wind

 I was headed to see mom on a hot Thursday morning . No a/c on the truck so I decided to go early , the back way, my favorite. The road less traveled is the story of my life in many ways.That's why I drive an 88 Ford Ranger 4x4. "It don't get to rough " for and old stump jumper.
 I remembered that I had to get my mechanic to look at the  truck so he could order the air conditioner , so I want burn up and make the Multiple Sclerosis worse. (M.S. is an autoimmune disease caused by your body attacking the mylein sheathe that protects your  nerves ,like an electric chord that has brittle insulation. It causes lesions on your nerves , I got three they say one on my brain , one on my spine and one on my optic nerve. It causes heat sensitivity , my neurologist says "don't go outside it's too hot".)There's also Photo sensitivity bright sun and lights can make the M.S. worse and the most challenging thing is exhaustion 70% of all "M.Sers" are exhausted much of the time for no reason. However, I'm very blessed that I have relapsing remitting M.S., it's not progressive, I won't end up in a wheelchair.
 Anyway ,as I turned the truck around I was thinking about my 3 year old granboy. He can go to pre K next year but I think he can learn more and build stronger family ties by hanging with Pop (me) and his " Pop paw" and "Me Me".Which is what I did . It occurred to me how I haven't taught him about nature like I did  with my kids because I can't "stand the heat and exhaustion " of the outdoors any more . At that very moment I saw a flash of red followed by blue go through the air in front of me, a sparrow hawk chasing a cardinal. The smallest of the  hawks lost and turned back when the cardinal made it to a pine thicket. I think God uses these moments to maybe punctuate a thought so I went down the that "rabbit trail" for a few miles.
 I don't have a radio .I call my truck the truck of praise and prayer, what else is there if we get the electronics out of our faces and ears? We messed up when we took the cord off the phone , you really can't get away. About that time my phone rang, not really( lol ). We talked in Men's group last Sunday about fear. We're all afraid of something that we're afraid to tell . So we insulate ourselves with electronics instead of dealing with it . The fear a.k.a longing depression ect. Is like the hawk and we're the red bird .
  Strangely enough today, again I saw a hawk after a redbird just as  I went out with my coffee (yes I go out with my coffee we've had a tumultuous relationship for 35 plus years she calls me every morning, she keeps me up  at night sometimes!). There was a gaggle of crows carrying on because of the hawk ,I guess . It occurred to me , I wish we were like the crows . When there's danger they call to one another and they stay in groups too. Folks like me it would seem , in time of personal danger or struggle run and hide and keep quiet.
  Maybe that's why it's open season on crows, they 're one of the smartest birds and there's tons of them cause they warn each other and share their fears.   I'm reminded of three simple rules that we taught to kids when I was an elementary teacher about talking to or going with a stranger and avoiding a abuse : say no, get away, and tell someone. As an adult I still haven't learned that. When a fear or doubt comes up: say no , get away ,and tell someone, so they can say no, get away, and tell someone .........be encouraged in the Lord. 

Heat

 Too hot to mow no place to go thats not too hot. But, I got a/c and water and this keyboard , plenty to eat , a faithful maltese at my feet , the forever word , a beautiful savior ! a quiet blue house ..... But , I gotta mow 2 acres and it is hot ....so ill leave this keyybored, ive already eaten, my dog has gas( i gotta take him to the vet before he is buried by mistake!),ive read and prayed, so I ll swim in my above ground crystal oasis and get on my zero turn grass eatter wearing my wet  bue dragon bathing suit , particle mask, goggles and my big 75 dollar guaranteed for life hat my big brother gave . I go round and round and round , cause Im the kind of guy that likes to travel round , why did I wait till 1045?