Family Happenings

Still here, still busy as hell, but just hadda share what my stepson has done now. Last week, he went to Texas A&M to take a firefighters training course. He serves as a volunteer firefighter, and the department sent him and a few others to this course, on the department. About halfway through the week, he gets such a feeling of brotherhood and camaraderie, he gets some of the other attendees to take him comparison shopping, and he purchases a symbol of his devotion. Friday, when he comes home, we are greeted with this:



What was funniest about the whole thing was his mother's reaction. She laughed about it, and liked the tattoo, but she told him that he would have to tell me and his grandparents by himself, expecting us to hit the roof. When I got home from work, she came into the bedroom where I was changing and said "Da Boy has something to tell you, and I want you to listen, and not get mad until he's finished, if you get mad."
After interrogating her as to whether I was going to get mad or laugh, and her not telling me, except to say she laughed, she called him in.

He started telling me about how, even though he was a part of the VFD, he didn't really feel like a member, and that after some time in the class , he now felt that way, and that as a result of that new bond, he wanted to show his devotion to the brotherhood. Then he lifted his shirt and showed me the tat.

My first thought was "Where in the hell did he find a temporary tattoo that good?", and my second reaction was "Cool!" when I figured out it wasn't temporary. His grandparents had much the same reaction. This took all the wind out of my wife's sails. "I thought you would react more than this. You're taking all the fun out of this!", she exclaimed, after neither his grandparents nor I evinced much of a reaction past "You're eighteen. Do what you want." She was expecting explosions and got wet powder.

Oh, I know it looks big but it's not really. It's only about an inch and a half across. Here's how it looks on him, fuller view:



Kids. What are ya gonna do? Can't live with 'em, can't seal 'em in a barrel, and feed 'em through the bunghole 'til they're twenty, either.

Walrilla

Rumors Of My Demise...

Are greatly exaggerated. Well, maybe not greatly, but still exaggerated, nonetheless. Y'all know how it gets sometimes, too much to do, and not enough time to do it all. That seems to be my main problem, that and too much month at the end of my money, but we've all got that complaint. B-)>

I've been tasked to take over new responsibilities at work. Ain't giving up none of the old, though, so I've been busier than a one-legged midget at an ass-kicking contest(you think about that for a minute). C'est la guerre!

Good to see Livey and Jimbo finally got rid of their steam-driven computers and moved into the jet age.

On a related note, look who's blogging now! That's right, it's SweetThing, GuyK's better, and much prettier, half! Charming, just charming! And she is, too.

I went back tonight and read all the comments y'all left on that post letting you all know about my amputation. Damn. Talk about an outpouring of love, for somebody most of y'all had never met. I still get choked up reading them. That was a major reason I got through it so well. If I haven't told y'all lately, then just read on.


Y'all are some DAMN GOOD PEEPS!!!


That can't be said loud enough, or often enough, to express my love for all y'all and everything y'all did, just by your thoughts, prayers, and good wishes!

Walrilla

P.S. I know I say y'all a lot. I'm just trying to educate the rest of America on proper usage. Y'all can mean one to three people, while all y'all means four or more.
Just tryin' to do my part for proper grammar. Proper Texas grammar, that is.

Asking For Help Again

Where my literary dawgs at?!

Y'all helped me the last time, when I was looking for a movie, and gave you just a small description of the opening credits. Now let's see what you do with a description of a novel I read a couple of years ago.

It starts off just after the Civil War. Two fellow ex-soldiers are bumming around the south and run into an elephant and its trainer from a defunct circus. They then decide to open their own circus. The story goes on about the trials and travails of nomadic circus life for several years. It's an amazing book, albeit somewhat dark and disturbing.

For the life of me, I cannot remember the title or the author. I'm depending on y'all, the intelligentsia of the bloggy-sphere, 'cause I've racked my brain to no avail.

Any and all help would be appreciated.

Walrilla


UPDATE: See, this is why I love y'all. I posted this about 1:30 pm. By 3:15 pm, I already had my answer from this lovely lady, and by 03:30 pm, somebody else was already sayin' they had read it and others by the same author. I actually remember reading Aztec, too. I'm gonna keep looking until I find something obscure enough to stump y'all.

Check me out!

Hey, y'all! Check out this video of me dancing last weekend.


Riiiiight! Like y'all believed that was my fat ass out there.

Seriously, though, these guys are amazing! I couldn't do that if I lost 90 lbs. and took lessons for 10 years!

Walrilla