Change in plans

Well shucks. I was going to take Wednesday off so LJ, Bear, and I could take the boat to the river. I was looking forward to seeing how Bear liked riding in the boat. I had the day off and everything. Then John got called in at his job; Circuit City.

Oh well, I guess I would rather work anyway. Rats!

This calls for a laugh or two from my inbox:

So if things aren't going your way, step back and have a good laugh. It won't get you what you want, but it will help you put it in perspective.

Until the next time
John Strain

A chip off the old block

My mother has a way of squeezing out new meaning from familiar things. This year for Father’s Day, I received a box containing a rock and the following note:

John,

This may seem silly but I think it is perfect for Father’s Day. Do you remember working for Gene Lawson and how he dallied around here before he would finally go to work? One morning he was showing off his rock cutter and picked up this rock, cutting it in two. I always thought it was very pretty and put the two pieces on my special rock pile around the garage. Every time I passed by, I thought of both of you and that morning.

On one of your visits here, LJ picked up both pieces and brought them in for you to see. I knew he would like to have them so I told him those were special, and why. I told him to take one half and I’d keep the other. The thought came to me, that since you are so woven into that day and since LJ had the other half, I should send this to you on Father’s Day.

You are each part of a whole and together you make one. No matter how far apart the two of you may travel in life’s journeys, you will always have a part of the other. It’s the little things in life that bind us together. . . . . in thought and deed. I hope you find a nice place to put this to remind you how close a son and a father are.

With love,

Mom

Until the next time
John Strain

Name That Puppy

The folks at Other World Computing are sponsoring another Working Class Dog. This 3-week-old female puppy will be trained and placed with a child who has autism. The only problem is this pup does not have a name. If you would like to submit a name for consideration, you can go here and submit your entry.

So go over there and name that puppy.

Until the next time
John Strain

Happy Father's Day

Good morning and Happy Father's Day. To celebrate, I am going for a nice easy 10 mile run. As a special gift, God sent some cool air that is uncharacteristic for this time of year: 71 degrees and 86% humidity feels cool, now where's my long sleeved shirt?

After the run and a bowl of cereal, Bear dog gets to go to the river and retrieve his tennis ball. The other day when I came home from work, a baseball was laying by the porch. I let Bear come outside to do his business and as soon as he saw the ball, he grabbed it and hopped in the back of John's truck. His eyes sparkle and he is full of life. The dog just bounces. He did not get to go to the river that night, but he got to chase the ball until he was tripping over his tongue. If I leave his leash on the floor, he brings it to me wagging his tail and looking all cute, as if to say, "Let's go dad, hint, hint."

You may notice some changes to the blog. I spent all day yesterday making the horizontial menu bar under my banner and a few other "enhancements." I need to take a course in web design. It takes me forever to do simple things, because I do not have the fundamentals down. I have an idea of what I want to do, then search the web for examples, cut and paste, then tweak. Please let me know if there are any problems viewing this blog and tell me what browser you use.

Tomorrow, I am going to share something meaningful that my mother did to help me celebrate Father's Day.

Until the next time
John Strain

Procrastination

I planned to write a post about procrastination for today, but I did not get around to it. Maybe tomorrow.

In the mean time, have a great weekend and remember your father's out there.

A trip down memory lane

Until the next time
John Strain