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Tucson, A bicycle friendly city
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Nov 21, 2009 12:34 pm
Mood: adventurous,
17 Views
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That was one of the advantages of living in Tucson. They have bicycle lanes along many of the major streets. There public buses also have bike racks on the front of them where you can place you bike to take you to different places when you get tired of riding on your bike.
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There was a balloon blocking the road
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Nov 21, 2009 12:32 pm
Mood: contemplative,
22 Views
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Last night on the U of A campus here in Tucson they had an event they call Hot Air Balloon Glow. There were several big hot air balloons there. As the event was ending when they deflated one of the balloons it fell across the road on campus blocking the traffic for about ten minutes. That was the first time I have seen a hot air balloon doing that. 
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Soon I will be on the bus
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Aug 29, 2009 10:20 am
Mood: adventurous,
108 Views
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At the end of November I will be on a bus heading back to Port Charlotte, Florida. For the last two months I have been looking for work in Tucson with no luck. My money is about gone and I can non longer afford to live here. I have also heard on the news that they have extended unemployment benefits again.
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I Owe You
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Aug 18, 2009 10:29 am
Mood: melancholy,
124 Views
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This is an old song written my Jimmy Dean. It always brings a tear to my eye when I think about it.
You know most people look through their wallets or their pocket books
and way down at the bottom, past their credit cards and the baby pictures
and green stamps, you can usually find a little ole dog-eared piece of poetry of some kind ...
"I was cleanin' out my wallet the other day and I ran across a whole bunch of IOU's some of 'em 30 years overdue. And the funny thing is that all these IOU's are owed to one person, and I just kinda thought that maybe now might be a pretty good time for an accounting ...
"Mom? You listenin'?"
"Mom, I owe you for so many things, a lot of different services, like Night Watchman for instance, for lyin' awake nights listenin' for coughs, cries and creakin' floorboards, and me comin' in too late. Oh, you had the eye of an eagle, the roar of a lion, but ya always had a heart as big as a house.
"I owe you for services as a short order cook, chef, baker, for makin' sirloin outta hamburger, turkey outta tuna fish and big old strappin' boys outta leftovers ...
"I owe you for cleanin' services, for the daily scrubbin' of face and ears, all work done by hand, and for the frequent dustin' of a small boy's pants to try to make sure that he led a spotless life, and for washin' and ironin' that no laundry could ever do, for dryin' the tears of childhood, and for ironin' out the problems of growin' up ...
"I owe you for services as a bodyguard, for protectin' me from the terrors of thunderstorms and nightmares, and too many green apples ...
"And Lord knows I owe you for medical attention, for nursin' me through measles, mumps, bruises, bumps, splinters and spring fever. And let's not forget medical advice either. Oh no, important things like "if you don't quit scratchin' that it ain't never gonna' get well," and "if ya cross your eyes like that they're gonna stick like that" and probably the most important was, "boy, you be sure you've got on clean underwear in case you're in an accident."
"And I owe you for veterinarian services, for feedin' every lost dog that I dragged home at the end of a rope, for healin' the pains of puppy love ...
"And I owe you for entertainment, entertainment that kept the household goin' through some pretty tough times, for wonderful productions at Christmas, 4th of July, birthdays, and for somehow makin' ''make believe" come true on a very limited budget ...
"I own you for construction work, for buildin' kites, and confidence, and hopes and dreams and somehow ya made 'em all touch the sky, and for cementin' together a family, so that it could stand the worst kinds of shocks and blows, and for layin' down that good strong foundation to build a life on ....
"I owe you for carryin' charges, for carryin' me on your books for the necessities of life things that a growin' boy just gotta' have. Things like a pair of high top boots with a little pocket on the side for a jack knife ...
"And one thing, Mom, I will never ever forget when there were only two pieces of apple pie and three hungry people, I noticed that you were always the one that suddenly decided that you really weren't hungry any how ...
"These are just a few of the things for which payment is long overdue. The person I owe 'em to worked very, very cheap. She managed simply by doin' without a whole lotta things that she needed herself ...
"My IOU's add up to much more than I could ever ever hope to repay. But you know the nicest thing about it all is that I know that she'll mark the whole bill "paid in full" for just one kiss, and four little words ...
"Ma, I love you."
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It would have looked like a funny site
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Aug 1, 2009 10:20 am
Mood: adventurist,
180 Views
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Last week I was busy. I gave a lady a ride on the back of my bike three different times. She is 48 years old and weighs next to nothing. If you saw it you would have laughed. She was sitting on top of my back bicycle baskets. 
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2
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Yester day I finally did it
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Jul 16, 2009 10:38 am
Mood: hopeful,
178 Views
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I sent a copy of the book I wrote to a literally agent. It was on a flash drive. Now I have nothing left to do but wait. 
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4
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White Tiger
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Dec 31, 2008 8:26 am
Mood: Story telling,
279 Views
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White Tiger by wander_in_star
The following story is completely fiction.
If you ever saw that 56 Chevy pick up truck coming down this Texas county road you would swear that it was heading to old man Wilson's scrap yard. To say it had just a few spots of rust on it would be an under statement. From a far distance it looked like complete rust from its front to its rear. Now if you were standing right be side it you would be scratching your head. Who in the world would want to have a brand new paint job on it in the color of rust, but that was Frank for you. Forever and a day I tried to get Frank, the truck's owner to paint it a different color. One that was more pleasing to the eye, but he was as stubborn as Daisy his old mule. When the other day I once again mentioned to him the idea of changing its color and he shook his ugly face vigorously no and then stick out his tongue and give me the raspberries. In his mind it was his truck and he would do as he pleased no matter what anyone else said.
Besides Frank being so ugly he was short. So short that he could barely see over the dash board. Before I started up the truck I had to make sure that my seat belt was buckled. Now most people know that those old trucks didn't come with them. Well Frank had them added sparing no expense. Safety first was his motto. Frank was also pure Texas redneck. A thing he was most proud of being. He had a gun rack mounted against the back window and everywhere we went he took that old double barreled shot gun of his. Now he was near sited and couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. When ever I mentioned this to him he would point at the silver plate on the stock of the gun that had engraved two simple words, "peace maker". At close range very few people would want to face the barrels of a scatter gun.
On this day we had George tagging along with us as happens more time than naught. If ever he wasn't with us we would wonder what was wrong with him. Now the cab was to small for the three of us to fit in and Georgia took his favorite position lying down in the bed of that truck. Frank had especially installed a two inch thick all weather royal blue shag carpet to make him comfortable. That way he could soak in the sun as he slept back there.
Today the sun was shining brightly as we headed down that stretch of road. It is normally deserted at this time of day, but today we came across it sitting on the side of the road. It was a black Trans-Am and looked to be in mint condition. Coming out of the bushes was a man about six foot in height. He tried to open the door but it seemed to have locked itself on him. He then put his face against the window and it grew red in color. I knew exactly what Frank was thinking, "city slicker".
So, I pulled the pickup off the road behind the car to offer my assistance. As soon as I got out the man noticed me and shouted that he didn't need any help. That is when the alarm bells went off in my head. There was something there that he didn't want me to see. I took another step forward and started to tell him that I was just being neighborly. That is when he reached his right hand down and pulled a gun out of his belt. Pointing it at me, he shouted, "I told you that I don't need any help."
That is when George decided to let him know that he was there. Two heavy clunks on top of the cab as he put his front legs up there. It only took the man a couple of seconds to glance over there and realize that I was not alone. His gun hand began to shake and he exclaimed, "That is a white tiger."
I looked back at George and said, "George did you know you were a white tiger?" George said nothing he just stared at the man. I then added, "George have you eaten yet today?"
The man didn't find that amusing. His gun hand was now shaking like a leaf. There was a stutter in his voice as he said, "If that tiger makes a move, I will kill him."
I gave a man a wry smile, "Not with a head shot. You have to hit him in the heart."
The man now had both hands on the gun trying to steady himself. "I will give you to the count of three to get out of here. One"
That is when the sounds came from behind him as Frank pulled back on the hammers of the shot gun. The next thing the man felt was it barrels in his back.
As I looked at the man that now was frozen in place I stated, "That is Frank with a double barreled shot gun in your back and from this distance he never misses. Now the best thing for you to do is make sure the safety in on that gun of yours and handed it to me handle first." Now he should us he wasn't stupid and could follow instructions. After giving me the gun we had him kneel on the ground and then lay down face first with his hands behind his back. Frank then put the hand cuffs on him and got his wallet out of his back pocket.
Just then the Sheriff pulled up. Before getting out of the truck Frank had activated the GPS signal to let him know that we may need back up on this one. The sheriff ran the mans ID and found out that he had outstanding warrants on him and the car had been reported stolen just a few hours earlier. Getting up the man looked at Frank and gave a weird laugh. "I was stopped by a monkey." Now Frank is no ordinary monkey. He is an official deputy sheriff for the county. He wears a brown vest with his badge proudly displayed on it. He also wears a deputy sheriffs hat.
Frank then turned to the car and noticed that there was a five year old girl in it. He got her to open the door and she grabbed a hold of him crying, "I want my mommy." Frank put his arms around her to comfort her. It turned out that she had been sleeping the back seat when her mommy had stopped at a store and left the keys in the car. The man who stole the car didn't realize she was back there and when he stopped along the road to visit the bushes she locked him out.
Once again Frank got his picture on the front page of the paper with the girl's mommy giving him a kiss. He's got all the luck. He saves the day and gets the girl in the end.
By now you are wondering why I called this story White Tiger when Frank is the hero and not George. You see Frank doesn't like all the attention he gets. To him he is just doing his job. Also, to him if it wasn't for George distracting the man he would not have been able to sneak up behind him.
As for me I am the writer here. That is because neither Frank or George know how to spell.
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To link to this blog (wander_in_star) use [blog wander_in_star] in your messages.
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