Monday, May 29, 2006

Grandma Esta
When I was ten years old my grandfather died and my uncle had the idea that my cousins and I would take turns staying with Grandma Esta. At first I didn’t like the idea. I guess I don’t like change. I grew though to like the idea. We would watch the Today show on television and Grandma Esta was always interested in the weather in Arkansas where she grew up. She said that one of her goals before she died was to see all 50 states. She didn’t make to all 50 states so now that has become my goal. She was a great storyteller. She once told me this story: She had two brothers; Dee and Luis who went with their dad to hunt for the family turkey on Thanksgiving Day. They spread out and Dee saw a big turkey in the bushes. He raised his gun and shot. He ran over with his dad to where the turkey was. They looked down and saw not the turkey but Luis and Grandpa Fowler said, “Dee you shot Luis.” It turned out to be just a flesh wound and Luis was okay. Later in the day they shot a turkey and the family had a good Thanksgiving meal…

Monday, May 22, 2006

Vegetarians
Being a vegetarian can be tough sometimes. When I go to lunch with friends from work they give me a hard time. “Jim you want some tree bark or Jim are you sure you’re getting enough protein or Jim vegetarian is an Indian term meaning lousy hunter.” If I wasn’t so weak from being a vegetarian I would kick their butts. What about the idea that more people can eat if we eat lower on the food chain or the vegetarian diet is healthier and that you will live longer. My theory is that most vegetarians do it for the attention. It takes longer to order = more attention. “Is there lard in the beans?” “Does the soup have chicken broth?” “Any diary in the guacamole?” All of these I feel are pathetic cries for attention. I’m a vegetarian but I would never date one. They’re all much too pale and weird for me…

Sunday, May 14, 2006

If I could start a magazine it would be called DATING FOR MEN—the Magazine to give men hope about dating
This would be my table of contents for May
1. Know your Chinese Astrological Sign and Hers
2. Develop your sense of humor—women love to laugh
3. What should you talk about on the 1st Date
4. 25 Romantic things to do in Southern California
5. What if she falls in love
6. How to be a good listener
7. Safe sex and how to talk about it—wait until the 3rd date—you get points for waiting
8. How to talk Mars/Venus—only it she brings it up
9. 25 gifts that women love—they all don’t cost money…
These are my ideas for articles now I just need to write them….

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Buddha and Baseball
My grandfather once told me a baseball story. While living in a small mountain community in 1938 in Utah my grandfather played on a local baseball team. In those days it was hard to find team sponsorship but in the Salt Lake area there was a small Buddhist temple that agreed to sponsor the team and there were several Buddhists on the team. The players wore hats with small fountains on them and the logo on the front of their jersey said, “You can grapple with the vibes of other spiritual groups or join the force of goodness of Buddha.” The players that were recruited for the team were big and there were several home run hitters on the team. The players were very ethereal and meditated 5 minutes between innings which made the other team angry since they would have to wait. Because of this my grandfather’s team had an undefeated season. I asked my father about this and his only comment was “sometimes your grandfather makes stuff up”…

Monday, May 01, 2006

My Imaginary Friend
When I was growing up I had an imaginary friend. There weren’t many other kids in the neighborhood to play with. We had long conversations about Howdy Doody and fighting Indians in my back yard. I liked and respected him most in the imaginary games of baseball that we played. He was an excellent player manager I loved his strategy for the game. For example he once had Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle in the same outfield. He won most of the time. I always went for pitching because “in baseball good pitching will always beat good hitting”. Not in our games. I sometimes miss him and the last I had heard he moved with his family to Dallas which seems appropriate because my friend’s name was Cowboy Boots...