Just Out for a Run

Driving on a sparsely traveled Farm Road a couple weeks ago. On this stretch of road it is not uncommon to meet motorcyclists, bicyclists or runners. This day it was a runner.  This runner was going at a good pace and he was wearing the same clothes and shoes he might have worn in the Boston Marathon.  Except for one thing;  he was wearing a cowboy hat with an extra wide brim that was bouncing several inches with every stride.

Fantasia

The Disney movie Fantasia is at the Bass Hall tonight with music by the Fort Worth Symphony. Any time Fantasia comes to a theater or a symphony hall, I always remember a conversation from sometime back in the late 1970s.

Elizabeth, who was married to my very good friend Bob. She met Bob, got married and had a couple of kids. One day, a door to door Mormon missionary knocked on her door and converted her.   Before this time Elizabeth was a true flower child of the 1960s.  But I only knew her a converted Mormon. 

Fantasia was coming to town and they were taking the kids  She confided to me that she dropped acid (LSD) just before seeing the movie a few years before Bob and the kids.  This was not an uncommon activity for a flower child from the 1960s.  

If you attend the show tonight watch out for those silver haired former hippie/flower children. They might be in an altered state of mind.

Pulltight Honey

From my sister the beekeeper. The nickname for Paluxy and the name of my blog, mostly about the area, is Pulltight. Smiled to see the name of the honey. Her bees dine on the flowers of the Paluxy River valley. In my mind, these flowers providing nectar to her bees are flower descendants of flowers growing here over 100,000,000 years ago.  Those flowers of so many years ago were fertilized by the droppings of dinosaurs who used to roam this same valley.

If you are a paleontologist or just like dinosaurs, you can see the traces from the Paluxy valley in a few places.  The New York Musem of Natural History
https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dinosaurs-among-us  has an exhibit of dino tracks from the Paluxy River. The Fort Worth Museum of Science History has a skeleton of Paluxysaurus jonsei, the Texas state dinosaur who was found within the range of Sharon's bees https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/texas/state-dinosaur-fossil/paluxysaurus-jonesi. Or probably best of all you could visit Dinosaur Valley State Park, a national natural landmark.  There are over 90 dinosaur tracks exposed in the river bed.https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/dinosaur-valley

Any can enjoy learning about seeing the remains of the dinosaurs.  But to enjoy the honey from where they roamed, you need to know my sister.

Where are you mentioned?

Reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Paraphrasing a passage that brought a nod and a smile. As adults, we attempt behavior that keeps our names out of the news. As parents/grandparents, we hope our behavior lands our names in the content of school essays and children's stories.

Scary bug juice

My grandsons and I sometimes make up nonsensical stories together. Grandson (age 2 1/2) and I were enjoying a cranberry sparkling water with our dinner a couple of days ago. About 2 months ago Elliott's great uncle Butch told him about seeing a bear on a recent hunting trip.  This more than impressed Elliott.

Me: Elliott, one of your great uncles used to call red drinks bug juice.  It is the same uncle who recently saw a bear.

Elliott: Uncle Butch saw a bear and threw bug juice to scare it.

The 4 Pigs

Our good friend Todd visited us on Thanksgiving evening.  There must be close to 50 years difference in age between Todd and our 2 ½-year-old grandson, Elliott. They bonded over an appreciation of all things superhero.  Must have played some variation superhero games for an hour or more. Not sure if Elliott or Todd impressed me the most with their exhaustive knowledge of superhero figurines and superpowers.

At bedtime, I read a book to Elliott.  And, then I as sometimes did when my kids were small we made up a story. This time it was a variation of a classic. It began as….

Me: Once upon a time there were 3 pigs, G-Dad Pig, Nana Pig and Elliot Pig.

Elliott: And, Todd Pig.

No Sun Screen

On my way into work, I drive past a small family-owned funeral home.  This cool, windless, cloudless bright morning brought to mind a drive by a couple of years ago.  A morning just like this.  The parking lot was completely empty except for an open casket on a stand.  The lid was opened toward the sun.  Guess the patron of the casket must have wanted to have just a little more color in their cheeks as they proceeded into the next life.