May 2009

You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream For…

May 31, 2009

You might scream for “ice cream,” but I scream for Italian Ice — “gelato.” I know, I know. It ruins the rhyme. I’ve told you before that it’s not summer until my Italian Ice stand opens here in Denton. I went there yesterday, jonesing for some “brain freeze.” Unfortunately the tiny establishment, New York’s Famous [...]

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Who Was Mother Neff, And Why Does She Get A State Park?

May 30, 2009

I’ve often seen the road sign pointing to Mother Neff State Park as I drove on Interstate 35 south of Waco, Texas. Being curious, I’ve always wondered, “Who the heck is Mother Neff? Why does she get a park named for her?” I always meant to stop for a few minutes and see if I [...]

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Good To The Last Bite

May 29, 2009

Some of you may know that I stopped watching the television news quite awhile ago. I determined that all I ever saw was bad news, and it made me sad to see it. My friend Marcia taught me a couple of years ago that if you want your world to be filled with good, then [...]

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It’s A Puzzle

May 27, 2009

A few days ago, I was searching the internet trying (unsuccessfully) to identify butterflies I had seen at Wild-Connections Butterfly Farm. I came across this magnificent picture of a handmade jigsaw puzzle with a brilliant blue butterfly. When I discovered that it was made in Texas, I had to follow down all the links to [...]

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If Wishes Were Horses

May 26, 2009

My Papaw didn’t take too much stock in “wishes.” He always said, “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” Papaw had other colorful phrases, as well. He said, “IF a frog had wings, it wouldn’t bump its butt when it hops.” He didn’t like us to use the word “if.” Papaw believed we should just [...]

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Medicine Bag Project in the Home Stretch

May 25, 2009

We now have a grand total of 108 medicine bags for The Good Medicine Project. Before the middle of next month, I hope to get 32 more so that all 140 children who attend Camp Sanguinity will receive one. If you aren’t familiar with it, Camp Sanguinity is a summer camp for kids with cancer [...]

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Butterflies Flutter By In My Neck Of The Woods

May 23, 2009

I almost missed seeing this little fellow as he nestled in the leaves at Wild-Connections Butterfly Farm. This caterpillar, munching away, will shortly turn into an amazing butterfly. But, I don’t know which one he will be! I obviously didn’t take the educational tour when I visited this nature center near Austin last week — [...]

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Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig. Only The Good Friday.

May 22, 2009

This little piggy is back home again, and I couldn’t be more delighted. Now, don’t get me wrong — I enjoy taking vacations to see new places. I always anticipate the adventures and the break from routine. A “vacation,” however, is different in my mind than a “road trip,” because road trip is synonymous with [...]

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Scenes From The River Walk

May 21, 2009

One of the most lovely attractions of San Antonio, Texas is the downtown River Walk. We didn’t have much time to spend there after work yesterday (and trust me — you could spend hours there). Most of our time was spent in a pub. That’s a story for another day! I’m driving across Texas today [...]

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Leapin’ Lizards

May 20, 2009

He stared at me from the edge of the porch, watching every move I made. Like a miniature pre-historic monster, that lizard seemed as curious about me as I was about him. Perhaps he thought I was “prey.” If I’m to assign human qualities to a reptile, I’m sure he had an enormous ego. From [...]

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Juan Sebastián Elcano

May 19, 2009

It’s natural that in school my favorite subject was History — after all, you can’t have “history” without “story.” While I didn’t enjoy learning dates (for that smacked of my most detested subject: math), I enjoyed reading about the early explorers who “discovered” this continent. Recently I learned the name of one Spanish explorer who [...]

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Up, Up, And Away

May 18, 2009

I was not a Boy Scout, so the motto “Be Prepared” never imprinted itself on my brain. I was only in Camp Fire Girls, and our motto was “WoHeLo,” which means “Work, Health, Love.” The “work” and “health” part didn’t imprint either, but I digress. Mr. Tucker and I went to get coffee a few [...]

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Libraries Give Our Children Dreams

May 17, 2009

I believe that the library is the heart of a school, although I admit that it’s possible I could be prejudiced. It thrills this storyteller to go into a school which has a library overflowing with books. Those libraries are often teeming with students eager to read. I usually perform my storytelling in those libraries, [...]

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Gruene With Envy. My Neck Of The Woods.

May 16, 2009

After visiting Gruene, Texas several times over the years I remembered it as a bucolic, sleepy little place just slightly northwest of New Braunfels. If that means nothing to you, think, “thirty minutes north of San Antonio.” If that doesn’t tell you anything, then I need to get you to Texas, child, because your education [...]

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Supporting Our Troops, One CD at a Time. Only The Good Friday

May 15, 2009

“I know people say kids are lazy, and have no goals. Well I wanted to show that kids are ambitious, and have a strong sense of pride. I started Tunes 4 the Troops to let the brave soldiers serving around the world know who they are serving and fighting for. It is the future of [...]

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The Knack

May 14, 2009

I’m sorry. This Dilbert video is a little bit of “engineering humor. If you don’t get it, that’s OK. Mr. Tucker gets it, because he’s got it … “the Knack,” that is. If you don’t live with an engineer, you don’t understand this at all. I’m not sure that I always do. I asked Mr. [...]

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It’s All Geek To Me

May 13, 2009

Have y’all ever been in a foreign country and didn’t speak the language? Perhaps you were surrounded by people who didn’t speak your language either. All of a sudden you have to go to the bathroom, but you don’t know the word to call it. When you try express yourself to ask someone where the [...]

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More Medicine Bags

May 12, 2009

Some of you are aware that volunteers from around the globe have been helping with a project called, “The Good Medicine Project.” It’s one of those “feel good” projects. The medicine bags and charms that you see on this page will be given to children at Camp Sanguinity, a summer camp for kids with cancer [...]

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Win $50 from Snapfish and BlogHer…just in time for Father’s Day!

May 11, 2009

You can make the Dad in your life a totally cool gift for Father’s Day, and it might not even cost you a dime! Isn’t that a better deal than the lottery? ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO WIN IS COMMENT! NO! Don’t comment here. This is a sticky post (I hope)! (Oops– I unstuck [...]

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St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Lindsay, Texas. My Neck Of The Woods

May 9, 2009

Traveling in Texas on US Highway 82 from Paris to Lubbock you are likely to see more beef on the hoof than you will beef patties at the Dairy Queen. It’s mostly a string of small towns with a lot of rolling farmland in between. You will notice the “skyline” of the tiny hamlet of [...]

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