Made it back from the farm in Grand Junction right at 12 noon. Good to see Randy and the girls. When I say the girls, I mean Annie and Katie who must be in their 70’s. They pick the veggies at the farm and work tirelessly every day. They’re both permanently hunched over from bending over 8 to 10 hours a day. Annie needs back surgery but has been trying for 2 years to get her bones strong enough for surgery. I loaded up with two cases each of fresh Olathe corn, Palisades peaches, a bunch of strawberries, peppers, tomatoes, and more. We gave Dea next door a bunch and then went to work shucking corn and bagging it for the freezer. We did cook up half a dozen ears and boy was it good. It reminded me of when we were kids and Tommy and I stayed at Grandma and Grandpa’s in Wisconsin, and one night for dinner, Grandpa cooked up about 20 ears of corn, and nothing else. I can still smell the dirt floor of their basement and Grandpa’s tool shed in the garage. Also, Grandma’s leftover pie crust that she would bake with sugar on it. That was better than the pie itself!
Looks like we could be a new Aunt and Uncle officially today. Robi and Robert are in Texas waiting for violet to be born. This is Billy’s first child which is due anytime. Here’s Robi taking life seriously in Texas.
That’s my little sis, cowboy boots and hat, atta girl.
Clear and nice up here. Today we’ll peel peaches and get them in the freezer too. Lots going on at work. Nothing to talk about today but should have some news soon. James and the boys played Soldier Field last night in Chicago and have another show tomorrow. Then he’s home for 3 days before heading to Minneapolis, then Alberta Canada and then they’ll close things out in Seattle, at the end of the month.
I’m reading a great book by Joaquin Jackson. He actually signed it for me years ago. He was probably the most famous Texas Ranger in their history. The book is his autobiography called One Ranger. Joaquin died at his home in Alpine Texas in June of 2016, I think the 15th as I remember the day, but I never got around the reading the book until now. He was born in 1935 and lived a storied life until he passed at 81 years old. He was a cool guy who ended up starring in a bunch of movies and many actors from Nick Nolte to Jeff Bridges, Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones, modeled characters they played in movies, after his life. I only mention this as reading his life story, it’s a tale of a time long gone. His last movie was with Robert Duvall in 2015! Wish I read it earlier so I could have told him what a great book it was. There were some strange similarities between him and the three of us kids growing up, both with abusive fathers. I’ll leave that alone, but if anyone wants to read a good book, let me know.
I received a call from another old timer in El Paso Texas yesterday. My friend, who I met through a close friend of many years (also older) is the man when it comes to crafting hand carved ivory grips for handguns. Paul doesn’t take on any new work these days except from close friends, and I only got in, due to my long-time buddy Bob, who lives back in Tennessee. Bob’s a story in his own right, but we’ll tackle that another time as well. We talk at least a few times a week. Anyhow, Paul is making me a set of one-piece ivory grips for my 3rd generation Colt Single Action Army made in 1979. When done, it’ll be a beauty and an heirloom, but also a shooter. It’ll take a couple months, so I’ll probably see it around November. Next week, Paul is sending me a couple sets of 1911 grips I said I’d take as you just can’t get ivory grips anymore. They were deemed illegal (importing ivory) decades ago to protect elephants or something. Paul is one of the only guys who had true ivory from years ago and can still legally craft grips. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Luckily for me, I still get 1980 prices too. Another example of a time long gone. What was common a short 30, 40 or 50 years ago, in our World, is now either illegal, immoral (not politically correct), or unavailable, due to the craftsman or artist, no longer around, or retired. Many of the old ways of doing things are dying with the folks that did them. Handmade quality products of the past are fading away. The lesson here is that new doesn’t always mean better, and that goes for our World too! Enough said.
Have a great weekend. take care, be safe and enjoy the day, they go fast. God Bless.