Who Knows What the Tide Will Bring?

Because of Nita's exhaustive (and exhausting) research into the fam tree, we're excited to read all about our past. I thought about this tonight after viewing (again) one of my favorite movies, "Cast Away" with Tom Hanks, our cousin.

Yep, he's our cousin...a bit distant, but our cousin.

I still can't believe Helen Hunt gave up on her search. If only she had held out, but he went on down to Texas and the movie leaves us believing he found his soul mate after all, the pretty girl in the old Ford pickup like Pap used to drive. The pickup I learned to drive, backing up and back in the driveway while Pap snoozed on the couch.

But I do look at Tom Hanks differently now. Kinda weird, knowin' he's kin. I keep looking for a resemblance of some sort. He kinda has Chris' hair...kinda talks like we do, too. Anway, I always thought he was about the best actor around, him and Harrison Ford and Eastwood (Outlaw Josey Wales...now there's a movie, bub.)

Yep, settled in for the movie after watching unranked Wake beat the Blue Devils. First time Wake has beaten a ranked team since 1994 and that's when they beat Duke, Duke going on to the Final Four to be beaten by the Hogs in the championship game. I was there, at Charlotte, when Scotty hit the big one. I found an old photo the other night, of me at that game. I sure was lucky to get to go to so many places and see so many fun things. Me and my buddies stayed up all night that night, at the hotel, where we had rooms where the team stayed. Nolan was happier than ever that evening, apparently finally shedding some of his inner strife...but he really never did. I hated that for him cause he was some kinda wonderful coach. I miss those kinds of teams. The guys we have now...well, they sure can let you down. Good one night, sorry as heck the next outing.

Ate some fine fish for lunch today. We cooked up a big Sunday meal for son and daughter-in-law and Luke Bo Duke. He's lost a second tooth now, both in the middle, front, bottom row. He's a dandy and he loves fish, especially when I catch 'em and they're fresh. We rode in the golf cart, visited Bet (Joe was napping) and we inspected a dead beaver afloat in the pond. Best I can tell, he was a victim of the cold weather--that can catch a beaver off guard some time. Luke poked him with a stick and was amazed at the animal's big flat tail. I told him it was nature in the raw.
He's getting real good at driving the golf cart. Like Leslie did when she was tearing up and down the hill here.

Not much else to report. Peanut has the day off tomorrow, honoring our Presidents and all. We'll probably be lazy and not do a whole lot, resting up from our big night out Saturday at the fancy eat place in the capital city. It costs an arm and a leg, but it sure is tasty. I like the piano player, too, and he plays some of my favorites, 'specially when I put a big tip in the glass jar. I always ask for "Send in the Clowns." I guess it reminds me of my days when the legislators came into town.

Speaking of Prez Day, I'll always remember when me and Bob and Harold went to the horse races on one of those Mondays. The traffic was jammed and Bob was antsy so he got out of the car I was driving and started walking, so he could get inside and get his double bet down. Finally, we got close to the track entrance and Harold got out, too. I told him I would find a parking place and I told him I had some box seats, to meet me at Window 4. Well, I looked to my right and right in front of the front entrance there was a vacant spot at this little motel. I pulled into the spot and the manager popped out to say I couldn't park there. "How much will it cost me?" I asked. He said I could park there for $20 so I gave him his money and walked inside where I got to Harold quickly, before he even got to the box seat place. He asked how I got inside so quickly and I showed him the car, parked right in front. He asked how I got to park there. I told him I gave the man $20. "My God, Bill," big brother exclaimed. I told him it would be the best $20 I would spend all day. We laughed and went about our business. I'll always remember him that day, the way he grinned and said, "My God, Bill." He said that a lot to me, seems like. Like the time I cleaned out my closet and phoned him to ask if he needed any golf shirts. "How many you got?" he inquired. "Oh, at least a hundred," I said. "My God, Bill," he answered, just like I knew he would. And the time Eric and I returned from a sensational bass fishing trip. We had 60 big bass, all about 5 pounds, laid out on the lawn at the east side of the house. Harold drove up, got out of his truck, walked up and walked around the back of my truck and saw the bass. Yep, he said it again, and then laughed that great laugh.


Well, if you haven't seen Cuz Tom Hanks in Cast Away, rent it sometime. It's good. It has several memorable lines, like when he tells Helen Hunt, who is dripping wet, "You have to go home." And then the closer, "Who knows what the tide will bring?"

That's all for this time, 'til next time, thanks for your time. Happy Presidents Day.

Toothy News

Luke Bo Duke surprised me and Peanut with a 9:30 p.m. phone call to say he'd lost his first tooth. I told him that means he's officially on his way to becoming a big boy. Man, Luke losing a tooth! Time sure gets away from us. Seems like yesterday we were looking at him in the 'spital, worried sick about his delicate condition and now he's calling and laughing about his tooth coming out.



The call came right after the Hogs fell to the Vols. We were outmanned, seriously outmanned, and we regressed back into the way we were playing the first of the season. Beverley's got to get it in his thick head that he can't come out of the blocks fouling. When we lose him to early foul trouble, we're toast.



Headin' to the fishin' hole in the morning with my buddy Broad. We've been chasing those wily bass since first grade and we still can't get our fill. It'll be frosty at first light, but warming to 60 by mid-day and that'll be nice. I did pretty well at this reservoir last year.



I've got two big bass at the taxidermist now, from a November trip with brother-in-law Joe Boyd. Back-to-back throws with a spinner bait and I was looking at the two biggest bass I ever hauled in. It was incredible...that day...and Joe had to twist my arm to even go. I'll be eternally grateful to him--specially when I get the lunkers back from the taxidermist and up on the wall. Like I need another thing on my study wall, but these things were huge--my catch of a lifetime and I been at it a longgggggg time.



Tragic news just up the road from us a few hours ago. About five o'clock, sirens everywhere and we learn a young skateboarder, eighth-grader, lost his life when he skated out in front of a car. Up by Little Creek Church, just up the road here. Those things, skateboards, sure look dangerous to me. Lots rather have my kid on a bike, or even a motorcycle. Such a waste.



Had a pleasant chat with our governor today. He called mid-afternoon and I was shopping at the Sheridan Wal-Mart. It was good to put my grocery shopping on hold a few minutes to catch up with him. He's been swamped of late, with the tornadoes and all, touring the hard-hit areas and dealing with all the gov-mut red tape involved in the cleanup and salvage work. Your heart goes out to those people...hard-working folks who lost everything in the blink of an eye. I have a friend whose brother drove to Atkins to volunteer with the cleanup. Those things can also bring out the best in people, too.



Not much else. Had a bit of a run-in with the U.S. Post Office today. They sold be some rolls of stamps several months ago and they turned out to be 26-centers instead of 41s. I've been using them for several months and didn't even know til my mail carrier caught it. They apologized for the error, checked their computer and sure enough, said they goofed. This was shortly before noon and the nice lady said they'd try not to mess things up again. Five hours later, sis called from next door to say the new mail carrier left my mail over at her house today. This was about six hours after the Fed Ex man left my mail-ordered medicine at the old house down the road. And we wonder why our luggage gets lost.



That's all for this time, 'til next time, thanks for your time.

youngin' visit

The youngest youngin' visited over the weekend. Always comforting to have her here...close...over on the couch, sost I can lay eyes on her. She stays busy, workin' and churchin' and lookin' after others. Quite a youngin. I sure am a lucky pap, to have two of 'em turn out so good.

I'm over the Super Bowl. My Giants won. My second-favorite team was on the losing end. I was proud for the gun-slinger kid from Miss-i-sip, but hated to see Brady knocked around. But the Pats' coach sure acted a fool at the end, running off with his tail tucked like that. Not very pro-like.

Got a phone call yestiddy from an old legislator friend, from my days in the lower House. He was laughing about Bro's column on the Bush rebate. He also said he sured missed our sis who departed this earthly hold recently. He knew her thru her outstanding banking career. I miss her too, somethin awful this week for some reason. Maybe she was sending out some heavenly vibe that I couldn't quite reel in. We were always connected thru the supernatural so I spect it's even more supernatural now. Least I believe so.

Ate over at Prattsville Saturday night. The catfish was better than usual and that's sayin' a mouthful. It was my third night in a row to eat fish--returning home for catfish after two days and nights at my bass fishin' cabin. Boy I love fishin. Speaking of which, my pal Jerry Mc is one of our inductees in the upcoming Hall of Fame class, which sends me and Peanut to a big fancy dinner in a couple of weeks. We have official duties there besides just eatin' and applaudin'. We "hold" the inductees in the green room before the big shindig kicks off. It's a big night. Besides the fishin' man, Tommy Tubberfield, Torri Hunter, Tod Day and lots of others will be there....with us...quite a night ahead.

Keep sending up a prayer for some buddies of mine. Locally, Roney and up at Little Rock, John G. They're both fightin' hard and they could use a prayer or two. I sure hate it when my friends are down. Bums me to the hilt.

Don't know much else. Quiet out here on the Redfield Road. I know winter will make one more run...kinda like a good basketball team having that one "run" left in 'em...but I also know I'll be mowing grass soon. Or as Don Wells used to say, "mowering the grass." Time sure flies, more than ever seems like, but that's okay cause I sure am surrounded by pleasant souls and two sweet puppies, Zoey Rae and Newt. Me and Peanut just sit and hold them and that's pretty special. Gets my mind off what I talked about earlier, few paragraphs up, you know, 'bout sis and how much we all miss her. She sure as heck deserved a better shake and I aim to ask the Good Lord about all that one day. But she'll probably head me off if I get a little too vocal--she always did know how to do that. Just smile and look at you, lettin' you down easy, knowin' you'd said enough.

Happy Valentine's. Me and Peanut are headed north to the big city to have one of them $200 steaks. Lots to spend, but worth every cent. The piano player and John, our favorite waiter, make us feel right at home in our favorite restaurant. I like Valentine's Day--comes and goes without all the Christmas-type hassles.

That's all for this time, til' next time, thanks for your time.

...and the call the wind...

The winter wind storm hit here yesterday, Tuesday, and it caused a little excitement. A tree blew across the power line and shorted things out for a spell. The tree caught fire, sparks flew, squirrels ran and Reddy Kilowatt boys came in for quick repairs. The dogs spooked over the howling winds, up to 50-plus mph, but everything settled by dusky dark.

Triple L phoned to say I needed to update the blog and the wind storm was the best news I had. I did spend Monday on the river west of here, floating and chunkin' for Kentucks with my old pal, who also recently retired. It had been a spell since we floated down-river and it was fun. Cold, but fun, and we only had two pullovers, where we had to exit the MonArk and pull over logs and junk.

I guess a float trip is about the best tonic I know. Seeing the fish come up in the clear water to gulp down the crankbait. They are beautiful creatures and the outings bring back such a rush of memories, of long-ago days with Pap in the old wooden boat. I remember one cold winter day, just the two of us, him paddlin' and me chunkin', the water so cold that ice formed on my reel early-on, but unnoticable as the first few casts netted two handsome three-pounders. The river just keeps on giving, making me happy and letting me remember so many good things. I miss ole Pap something awful sometimes. Maybe I've had him on my mind a lot more lately after finding some precious old photos of him and Momma. I even found the courthouse receits from his last purchase of poll taxes for him and Momma. They had to pay two bucks apiece to vote back then and today, well, people don't even seem to wanna go vote and it's free. Spect folks might appreciate something a little more iffin they pay for it. I had an old friend once who told me never to give away my talent--that folks would appreciate it more if you charged for it. Spect there was a grain of truth in that.

I'll cut this short. Gotta go have my eyes examed. Think I'm due for some new glasses--ones I've had for a spell a bit scratched. I'm hard on glasses. My buddies kid me about having so many pairs of sunglasses in the Chevy, but I lose em and sit on em and generally just beat em to pieces. I wear contacts and this helps, but every once in a while I have to take em out and give the eyeballs a rest.

Say a little prayer if you will for my grandson. He's been under the weather and is fighting back. He's a tough little booger and smart as a whip. I'll be checking on him in a minute or two, seeing if the pesky fever is down.

I hope these ramblings satisfy Triple L up in the hills. She's the one who rang up and said I needed to "refresh" the blog. I got work ahead, connected with the Feb. 5 election. I voted "early" yesterday and the lines were already long. I won't say how I voted, but I sure hope she wins.

That's all for this time...til next time, thanks for your time. (This is my new signoff. I used it years ago when I broadcast the Sheridan Yellow Jacket football games. It was a long time ago and I think I stole those lines from Jack Buck, but I don't really remember. I said it was a long time ago.)

Ain't Nothin' Easy

Little wonder that I like doing business with Bass Pro in Missouri. You order something, either by computer or phone, and it's on your doorstep next morning. No hassle, no mess, no loose ends a-danglin.





I bring this up because of two things. I tried to purchase the Ark-Ga. cage game the other night off my Dish network. I phoned at 5 and they said no problem, the game airing at 6, and it would be on. My cost about $10. Well, you guessed it, when gametime arrives nothing. I called again. The man said hold the line and he'd check. After 15 minutes, this man in the Phillipines (I finally asked where he was located because of heavy accent and our inability to communicate) asked, "This should be on your TV, it is NBA game right?" I knew then I was in deep you know what. After 20 minutes and his failure to locate a supervisor, I hung up with him telling me I would be charged even tho the game did not come on. I hang up, phone back to the same number, a nice lady (also in the Phillipines) says they'll remove the charge. I doubt that this will happen, however, and I think I'm in for several months of wrangling with Dish over the charge.





Then, the following day, I try to order the Democrat-Gaz to the house. Nice man on the phone, seemed in tune with it all, but the next morning I trudged down to the old house 200 yards to the south, in the rain, to pick up my new paper. Oh well, back to the phones.



Nothin' seems easy any more.





My last dilemma...my favorite teams in pro football are the Giants and Pats...well, guess I can't lose in the Super Bowl. Eli really has become a good quarterback but still no match for Brady. Giants defense is better, tho, and it ought to be a great game.





Huge snowfalls up north bodes well for my fishing prospects this summer. Big snowmelts mean flooded Mississippi River which means the White River Refuge in south Arkansas, near my fishing cabin, will also flood, and this is good for our remote lakes where the big bass live. Can't wait...been working on my tackle box in these cold months.

"Is That Joy?"

"Is that Joy?"



Part of the Saturday afternoon was spent watching Buzzard's wonderful VCR tape, the one with old family "films" from yesteryear. What a treat. I was captivated by old faces and I hope to watch it again and again.



It was weird. I had forgotten how mother talked, how she "sounded" and it was so wonderful to sit and listen to her lengthy "interview" with her beloved Buzz, her story of how she and her Speck family arrived in Arkansas on the wagon.



She talked about how she and Dad borrowed Uncle Carney's car to go to an FFA party during Harold's high school years. They were planning on walking to town for the event because they walked about everywhere, she recalled. "If it was too far to walk" Daddy didn't go, she said with a laugh. Sounds like Daddy.



But they went in the borrowed car and came out of the party only to discover that all four of their tires were missing. She remembers the sheriff caught the culprits and rounded up Carney and Aunt Kate's tires the next day. I bet Aunt Kate was doing some loud, serious complaining to the sheriff, don't you know.



But the "film" is wonderful, a grainy old look back, how much we loved each other--you can see it in all of the millions of smiles, everybody always smiling. The wonderful photos of Nita and good looking Lee Ester and those three "perfect" little kids. Tommy was so handsome, in his white jacket, and Karen had to be the cutest little girl in the world. And Buzzard, always in motion, spinning and twisting and blowing out birthday candles.



The old house, which seems to tiny now, was plenty big for all of us in the Christmas shots, Karen standing next to Pap to help him with the presents. And Leslie sitting with her idols, Laura and Sandi...and Eric and Scott and all of 'em in their cool sunglasses.



Even Brother Ted Herscher, Daddy's favorite preacher, is riding a bike with Nita and Lee's kids and ends up juggling. I didn't remember him being so talented.



But I'm so glad Buzz saved this stuff and put it together--much of it to timely tunes--because it lifted me so high this day, seeing Momma and Daddy again, and Joy and Brother and Lee. In the interview, Mom hears a noise outside and leans into the camera. "Is that Joy?" she asks excitedly. She was so excited, speechless, to know Joy had dropped in...just like we all were.



I'll close now...little choked up. Guess I said all I can say right now.

I cleared out previous posts, thought my many readers might be getting annoyed navigating thru all that chatter.



My news today to those interested is that my cancer screening Wed. came back all clear...the annual blood drawing etc. Always a comforting feeling to say the least. I always think of the Seinfeld episode, George getting news from his cancer doctor, the doctor saying the tests were negative, and George going crazy. He thought negative meant bad and he's got a point when you think about it. But the news was good.



Been three years now since the big surgery and almost a year since my knee work. My buddy Dragline had one of his knees cut on yesterday and I feel for him...it'll be a tough three months but it sure is nice when it's over.



Not much else to report. Redfield Road crew doing pretty good although Yankee sister-n-law still a bit sniffly. We're watching over her.



Got my big lawnmower in the shop, getting a few things fixed before the grass emerges. Lots of grass to mow, even went down the road to cut Mable's last fall. Hated seeing her place go to the dogs...she wouldn't have liked her yard lookin' like that. I miss her.



Got all my yo-yo's and trotlines ready...headin' to Lake Ouachita when my bud Broadhead gets back from a visit to his daughter's up north. We aim to land us some big crappies.



Been workin' out at the gym. Pretty bad when I'm the youngest in there, but I'm trying to shape up in time for spring-summer sports. Feelin' better already, too.



Heading up to the big boat show...searching for another outboard motor. Got plenty, but need another one bad. It ought to be fun.



My book sales are still good....huge full=page ad coming out this quarter (this month) in U of A alumni magazine, touting the book etc...the ad reaching several hundred thousand folks. You can buy more if you like by webbing up Phoenixbase.com. That's a neat website. Or you can phone me for details.



Gotta run...dog's a howlin