St. Patrick's Day

In 2018 I was lucky enough to be invited by family to participate in the Irish-Italian Parade in Metairie, LA.  If you know anything about NOLA, you know they have a parade for everything.  This parade included throwing cabbages, carrots, potatoes and ramen noodles along with the customary beads and stuffed animals.  Not only did we have a great time but we decided to make it an annual event and this year two more family members are joining the group.  This year we are on a float in the St. Patrick's Day parade which will take a different, and more sentimental route.  The parade will go down Severn Street in Metairie which is where my aunt's mother, Dolores, affectionately known as "My Darlin'"  lived for many years. 

My Aunt Cindy married into my family when I was first born.  My mother and her were best friends as teenagers and she ended up marrying my mom's little brother.  From that point forward I gained a whole new family which consisted of her brothers and sisters (8 in all) along with her aunts and uncles.  I fell into the habit of calling them family and it wasn't until I was a teenager that I realized that my "aunts" uncles" and "cousins" from her family were not actually blood related to me.  The bond is even stronger this many years later though. 

I am thankful for this extended "family" which truly embodies the many sayings about families not always being blood.  I look forward to every new adventure I have with this group....and the group keeps growing.  My Darlin' would be so proud. 

I'm back! (originally titled "Calling in sick")

Hello!

I'm back!  Not that I have anyone left reading this blog!  My last post was 2013 so suffice it to say that anyone who may have been marginally interested in my ramblings here has gone on to bigger and better things!  Anyway --- I thought of a funny story and this blog came to mind and I thought -- why not?

Back in 1981 I was a police cadet at the Odessa, Texas Police Department.  I loved that job!  One morning I woke up to the 5 am alarm with absolutely no voice.  No warning, no pain, no coughing --- but definitely no voice.  Since my job consisted of dealing with the public for a solid 8 - 9 hours on shift at the front desk there was no way for me to be effective at work.  I could not answer calls, talk to those who walked in or communicate with the dispatchers who were relying on me get details on anything the police needed to tend to.  The only thing to do was to call in sick, even though I felt perfectly fine.  So I picked up the phone and called the front desk.  Sgt. Tommey Morris, pictured below, answered the phone,
Sgt: "Odessa Police Department"
Me: (silently mouthing "hello, hello" in my loudest non-existent voice)
Sgt: "Hello?  HELLO?"
CLICK as he hung up the phone
I called again -- I don't know why -- I just thought it was the thing to do.
Sgt: "Odessa Police Department"
Me: NOTHING -- NO SOUND would come
Sgt: "Look, this is a PO-LICE DEPARTMENT, not a place to prank call!"
CLICK as he hung up again

I silently (of course) took a shower, got dressed and drove to work.  I walked in and saw Sgt. Morris there.  He greeted me and started to tell me all that had been going on overnight.  He finally noticed I was not responding and asked me "Cat got your tongue?" to which I mouthed the words "I have no voice".  He did not understand me (I'm telling you I could not even whisper).  He finally figured out I could not speak and said, "Why the heck did you come to work?  You should have called in sick!" 

EXACTLY.

Sgt. Tommey Morris at his retirement.  I didn't make it to the festivities but I did send the party organizers the above story to tell.  I hope he remembered!

Let Your Fingers do the Walking

Does anyone use the phone book anymore?  Specifically the Yellow Pages?  I know my Aunt Cindy doesn't.  She also does not use the internet.  Honestly, she doesn't use the internet because she is just not that savvy about it, but she does not use the Yellow Pages because she doesn't have to.  Because she has me.  And I have the internet.  A typical week's requests have included:

• Archery places in Odessa
• Railroad ties to buy in Midland
• Does Wal-Mart still sell Vidal Sassoon shampoo?
• Can I still buy an old-fashioned dispenser for Borax?
• Oh yeah, do they even make Borax hand soap anymore?
• Where do they sell Borax hand soap in Odessa?
• Does anyone in Odessa teach fencing to kids?
• How many points do I have on my Southwest Rewards account?
• How much if I fly Midland to Houston?
• Midland to New Orleans?
• Midland to New Orleans by way of Houston?
• On Southwest?
• On American?
• On a Sunday? Monday? Thursday?
• early?
• late?
• What time is the Driver's License Office open?
• Which office is less crowded?
• Does Dr. Bartlett still have an office in Odessa?
• Does anyone sell used carburetor parts?
• How many miles from Odessa to Kerrville, Texas
• How long would it take to get there?
• Is that the midpoint between Odessa and Houston?
• Are there any belly dance places in League City?
• Spring?
• The Woodlands?
• Webster?
• Dickinson?

These are the types of requests I receive just about every week.  I love that woman to pieces and would do anything for her, but I sure hope she has a backup plan in case she's not able to reach me for a few days! 

Aunt Cindyand Me

Christmas Day 2012

Christmas Day 2012 - Plano, Texas

Listening to the news a week or so ago I learned that in order for there to be an "official" White Christmas in North Texas, there needed to be a 1" accumulation of snow on the ground and after recent record and near record high temperatures, it was a long shot.  As Christmas Day approached, however, the possibility became a reality and sometime after lunch on Christmas Day it began to snow.  Ron Jackson on Fox 4 News informed us that this was the first snowfall on Christmas day in North Texas in 37 years!  Four years ago it snowed on Christmas Eve and lasted into Christmas Day, but this year the snow came on December 25th.  My cousins in California are so jealous!

I'm just glad I got to be a part of it!



Life in West Texas

One night when I was home with my 3 year old (many years ago in Odessa) I was about to go to bed and I walked into my bedroom and just as I turned off the light I thought I saw a flash of movement near the head of the bed.  I quickly turned the light back on and carefully looked where it had been and there was nothing.  I thought I was seeing things but decided to explore further.  I lifted up the corner of the mattress and right there laying flat at the top of the bed between the mattress and box springs I saw this:

Common Scorpion found in the Southwest

I quickly dropped the mattress back down into place and stood there paralyzed (and I had not even been stung!)  I did not know what to do, but of course I started to itch all over thinking that I was covered in scorpions.  I was alone in the house with my child so I knew I had to:

1. Go back in, find the scorpion and destroy it, or;
2. Find another place to live ---THAT NIGHT

Believe me, #2 was a viable option at that time, especially if I was unable to locate this thing quickly.  I went back into my room with a drinking glass, having no idea exactly what I was going to do and feeling pretty sure that when the mattress had slammed down on him earlier he took off, probably to burrow deep into my blankets.  Still, I pulled back the mattress and there he was!  He did not move.  He was laying flat and motionless and I began to think maybe I had killed him when the mattress fell back down during my hasty retreat.  By this time, my son had heard the commotion and wandered into the room to see what was going on.  He watched as I carefully placed the jar over the scorpion and we both jumped back as the scorpion came back to life and began thrashing against the jar.  I let the mattress fall back again, but luckily it fell back onto the jar and did not tip it, instead trapping the flailing scorpion inside glass between the mattress and box springs.  Several hours later when a more capable person with a clearer head finally extracted the critter from my house I was still wide awake and waiting for a call back from the exterminator.  Life in west Texas is not for the faint of heart!

Tim McGraw's Best Side

Tim McGraw at Cowboy's Stadium, June 2012

I was not a huge fan of Tim McGraw's music until I saw him live in concert a few years ago.  That was outdoors at night and the pictures that I took then just did not do him justice.  A couple of months ago my husband and I met up with friends at the Kenny Chesney-Tim McGraw concert at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.  The pictures came out much better. 

Have you ever been to a concert and seen all the empty seats behind the stage?  Well, at a Tim McGraw concert, I would think that behind the stage would be a pretty popular place to be.  Just sayin'.

It's What's for Lunch!

I had a standard lunch during the times I went to the junior high schools or high schools that had snack bars in the cafeterias in Texas:  a deep-fried burrito similar to the below picture (just one mind you!)

and a Nutty Bar. 

Altogether this cost .75 cents.  I would usually save the .25 cents left over from my dollar each day to buy a 2nd Nutty Bar if the first one didn't hit the spot.  Gosh I loved those things and still do.  I always tried to make them last longer by peeling apart each wafer and eating them singly.  It just feels like I'm getting more bang for my buck or in this case my buck .79. 

Anyway, I have two boxes of these in my pantry right now with plans to see how long I can make them last.  I don't think peeling them apart is going to really make a difference.  I give myself a week.  We'll see.

Archie!

I have a friend and co-worker who is a loyal reader of my ramblings here.  God bless her!  My birthday is coming up and she came in with a pretty pink bag about a week early and said she couldn't wait to give me my gifts.  She gave me the go ahead to rip into the bag and it soon became clear why she couldn't wait:

Yes, I'm an Archies fan---hence the name of my blog.  My friend saw this in a grocery store and said she couldn't resist.  I think Archie was my first "human" crush (my first crush was actually Atom Ant --- the cartoon character -- when I was about 4 or 5, but that's for another day).  This double digest is awesome and I plan to read every word!  Thank you Sherry!

Atom Ant - circa 1965 -- He's dreamy!

One for the history books!

Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps

Before the Olympics started, I was hearing all kinds of predictions from Ryan Lochte followers and Ryan Lochte himself about him taking over the Olympic swimming events and while he did do well, I think it's pretty clear who took over.  I'm a Michael Phelps fan, but I also knew that he'd admitted to not really working as hard as as he had in the past, so I was prepared to watch him fade into the sunset while the new kid took over. Little did I (or Ryan Lochte) know, but it appears that his premature boasting may have helped propel Phelps into the history books!!  

Gabbymania!

All-Around Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas and Coach Liang Chow

She did it! I just knew that she could!

Go U.S.A.!!!

I love the Olympics.  Summer and Winter---each time they come on I am ready for whatever version it's time for.  In the winter I love the luge, the skeleton, the bobsledding, the skiing, the ice skating, the speed skating, you name it, I'll watch it --- and that includes the curling!  When it's time for the Summer Olympics, I'm more than ready for them too.  All the running, swimming, diving, volleyball, cycling, archery, rowing --- I even watch the fencing!  It's all exciting to me, but this year I can't wait to see the gymnastics.  It's fun to watch no matter what, but like most people it's always fun to see your home country win and rooting for them is all a part of the experience.  These girls on the U.S. Gymnastics Team just really get to me this year, especially little Gabby Douglas, who I think is about as cute as they come.  It looks like both the Men's and Women's teams have a good shot to bring home the gold and now, since Gabby pulled the upset and is poised to perform in the Women's All-Around Final, I can't wait to cheer her on.  Go Gabby!  Go U.S.A.!!!

15th Street Cafe



There's this little gem of an eating place right across the street from where I work.  The 15th Street Cafe barely qualifies as a "hole in the wall" size-wise but every single thing that I have ever eaten there has been GIGANTIC on flavor.  If you are reading this you may or may not have read a post of mine from February concerning soup http://tambourinebetty.blogspot.com/2012/02/soup-for-breakfast.html where I mentioned this place and the fact that soup is one of my favorite meals, no matter the time of day or the time of year.  This place serves great soups (although I have yet to try the carrot soup or the gazpacho).  They have a different "Soup of the Day" every week, but thankfully they always have their tortilla soup.  I could eat that stuff way more than once a week and this week I have!

My 3rd bowl of 15th Street Cafe tortilla soup in the last 5 days!



It's Friday!



This guy has been trying to get IN my office for two days.  He comes zooming toward the building and hits my window time and time again.  It's like he thinks he's going to force his way in.  He is relentless as he backs off and tries again.  Sometimes he crawls in a circle for a while, as if to "shake it off" but then he's right back at it again.  I'm finally used to the "tap - tap - tapping" but I keep trying to tell him, "You're going the wrong way!  It's Friday and we are all wanting to get OUT of here!" 

My Sweet Tooth!



I work for a neat group of people.  Some have offices here in the suite, so we interact with them more and the others are in and out and you never know when you are going to get to see them.  The last time one of the "in and outers" was here he dropped off some goodies.  I was in a meeting, so I am just thankful the others saved me some of what he brought.  Someone must have told him about my sweet tooth!

The President Smells Awesome!

Me, President Bush, Tammy Hawkins and Susie Whitson - circa 1993

I thought I would take a break from the continuing saga of my past few posts to say that I love this guy!!  Back in the early 1990's, George W. Bush announced he was going to run for governor of Texas and one of his main platforms was juvenile justice.  Being that he lived in Odessa as a young man, and that he still had many ties to the area, he decided to make Odessa Teen Court one of the stops along the way as he began to campaign.  This was a great fit as Odessa had one of the very first established teen/peer courts in the United States, and had great success in dealing with first-time juvenile offenders.  I worked for Teen Court for 6 years and had been a juvenile detective prior to that, so I was very interested in what he had to say.  We did not have much notice that he was coming, but we did have it confirmed the night before, so I was ready with my camera. 

Whether you are a fan of President George W. Bush or not, there is no denying he has charm and charisma.  I am a fan and continue to be. I love the sincerity that seems to be such a part of him.  I love his relatability and his respectability and the fact that he adores his family.  There was never a time that I was "ashamed" of this president.  I felt safer and now my head just spins when I try to understand where we are headed.  You can see in the picture how giddy I am.  He spoke to us like friends, he was very genuine and concerned and while I know that is the "way" of politicians I can tell you that I did not feel at all that he was being anything other than real during my interaction with him.  He was traveling light and did not have an entourage, although there were a couple of guys who accompanied him.  There had been enough press about his visit that there were some citizens who showed up to talk to him.  What I witnessed as I stood off to the side was a very caring and compassionate man who talked to every last person who was there to see him.  He did not appear to be on any schedule and if the gentlemen who were there with him were security, they stayed their distance (The senior President Bush had just ended his term a few months earlier - so I don't know the protocol as far as secret service traveling with adult children of past presidents). 

I can tell you one thing with certainty.  The President smells awesome!

New Stuff!

1980 Chevy Monza courtesy of thetruthaboutcars.com

Once the paychecks started coming regularly, so did the "new stuff" My mom bought a new 1980 Chevy Monza and my step-dad bought a new 1980 Chevy dually double-cab pickup (I just wish I could find a picture of one of those sweet rides!). Like Mom's car it was bright red. We were on top of the world. This was the best we, as a family, had ever done, and perhaps that is one of the reasons I will always have such fond memories of Odessa.  We ate out, and not just at McDonald's!  We went to the movies!  I went to work at Susie's Casuals in the Permian Mall and was able to use my paycheck to buy clothes and shoes for myself and not groceries!  Things really seemed to be looking up.  Not only did my family have one small burst of financial prosperity, but this is where I graduated from high school (after attending 15 total in 4 years), where I got my first real job (at the Odessa Police Department), where I met many of my closest friends, and where, when the time came (as it always did) for my family to pack up and move, I was able to stay put, and make a life for myself there. Sure, it could have been any one of the others places we'd lived---Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles --- places where there were trees, water, activities, mountains --- but it was Odessa. Many people call it "Slowdeatha" but I'm not one of those. Odessa will always be home to me.

Less than two years after this time of plenty, things were changing and the boom was turning to bust.......



The Move (Part 2)

Mobile Home very similar to our new home in 1980

Our new home was massive (to us) and gorgeous!  It was decked out in all the latest colors and fabrics that 1980 had to offer.  It was moved into a space just few trailers down from where we started and we immediately began to try to figure out who was going to have the big room on the end where the bay window was.  Turns out my mom had that pegged for us three girls.  My brother got his own room and us three girls were in the bigger room on the end.  My parents' room was on the opposite end.  Although just about 2 months earlier we had lived in a regular house in Riverside, California, it had been long enough that we felt like we had all the space in the world.  Things are so different when you are a kid.  Space and time and perceived hardships have a different definition.  I remember that we loved the new space at first and then, as with most things, we got used to it and the walls started closing in.  But at first it was glorious!  A new trailer has much the same smell, in my opinion, as a new car and we couldn't get enough of it!  The mobile home was not the only new thing that we got in short order.....

The Move (Part 1)

photo from http://www.lasvegasbuyeragent.com/

 

My mom was notified of the available trailer while I was in Artesia at school, so I never saw it prior to moving in.  When I returned "home" I was not overly impressed, but was assured this was temporary.  My mom could not believe I was complaining about having a roof over my head as opposed to the tent situation.  The above trailer is almost identical to the one we lived in for a time----the colors are the same and the rust even looks familiar.  Some of the walls inside had been torn down, so there was little privacy, and with four females that was a nightmare.  By now it was summertime and school was out, so we were all home, all day,  We made friends in the trailer park and stayed gone A LOT.  We got involved with the Baptist church which was a block away and went to Vacation Bible School and many of the youth activities, but mostly we just stayed out late into the night, hanging out with our friends.  "Home" became just a place to sleep and my mom was so busy trying to make other living arrangements that we pretty much took care of ourselves.  After about a month we were notified that our new trailer was going to be delivered.  We had not been a part of the process of getting the new trailer, so while we knew it was likely to be nicer than what we were in --- we were not  prepared for what we got. 

The Trip

Very similar to our 1962 GMC pickup

I have to back up here to tell a short story about how we got to Odessa in the first place.  I sure wish I had a picture of the actual pickup that we arrived in.  It was early 1980 and we were living in Riverside, California. We had one vehicle --- a 1962 GMC pickup.  It was so ugly!  It was a very similar color of green to the above picture---although it was a primer finish.  Us kids hated that truck!  When, after a few months in Riverside, my parents decided to leave California, we loaded up the six of us into this truck and headed east.  Whatever could not fit for the trip, either got left behind or got put into storage.  As you can see, this is a single cab truck.  The cab was reserved for my parents and the dog.  That left a limited amount of space in the bed of the truck for my parents to pack us four kids in.  We also had to share that space with a Lincoln welder and assorted pots, pans, blankets, clothing and other necessities.  Thinking back, I am reminded of the tent situation I wrote about earlier and how crazy it all seems now, but back then, we just did what we had to do.  And we had to get on the road.  So that's how we made that trip.  We were actually on our way to Louisiana and about halfway there my dad called a friend and learned that Odessa was booming.  So Odessa is where we ended up.  We drove from Riverside, California to Odessa, Texas (1037 miles according to Google) with us four kids packed into the back of that truck.  I guess the fact that it was early spring and we traveled mainly at night helped it to be bearable, but I still shake my head when I think of that journey.  What's even more amazing is that I remember arriving in Odessa and looking around and no one even gave us a second glance.  People were arriving there in droves and they were getting there in every way and shape possible, so we probably had it good compared to many others......

The Tent (continued from "The Boom" posted on 6/25)

photo from www.wforums.com

In May of 1980 my family, which consisted of my step-dad, my mom, me (age 16), my sisters (age 11 & 12) and my brother (age 10) and our half chow/half German Shepherd had moved to Odessa, Texas where the oilfield was booming.  We had one day to find somewhere to live because our only transportation was my step-dad's pickup, which carried his Lincoln welder which supported the family.  In other words, he had to take that truck to work every day, so we had to find a place and find it fast before he had to start at work.  After unsuccessfully checking for apartments, houses, trailers and hotel rooms within a decent distance from his job, we heard that the new arrivals, like us, were being sent the way of campgrounds in the area.  We didn't have a trailer, but we did have a tent, very similar to the above picture. 

Honestly, now I think I would go bonkers, but back then I don't remember it really being so much of a big deal.  In May it was hot, but not outrageously so, and the KOA that we ended up at had a pool, an air-conditioned game room and a snack bar and we just looked at it as an extended camping trip.  Just the year before , we'd traipsed across the country for a year in a travel trailer, following the work, so we were used to minimal accomodations.  During the day we swam, played at the arcade, hung out at the snack bar and just basically did what kids did back in the pre-gaming system days.  We had the place pretty much to ourselves during the day since school was still in session for the "regular" kids.  I did travel some during the week to Artesia, New Mexico to finish up my junior year in high school, while living with family friends, so that gave me the break that my younger siblings did not have. 

Within a few weeks a very small trailer became available in the trailer park right across the highway from where my step-dad worked and my mom jumped at the chance to get out of the tent.  Actually the trailer was a step down in our opinion because we lost use of the pool and game room, but we were living in a trailer park where there were other kids and we met and made friends there very quickly.  Many of them were in the same shape as us, with dads working across the highway and having just moved from out of state, not knowing anyone.  Many were without transportation as well, but after the paychecks started coming regularly, that all changed.  Oh, how it changed------ (to be continued)