Stephen Ray Puckett

Robbie - We got 7.81 inches of rainfall, per the official weather station a few blocks away. Most of it was between 9 AM and 3 PM. It was righteous, Houston-style rain, with 50+ mph wind gusts. Many basements were flooded, including mine (leaking through the walls) but we cleared it quickly - hope the things that did get wet dry quickly and without problems.  Some folks around us had much worse problems than ours, including basements flooded to the ceiling.  Yuck!  Rivers and creeks continue to rise, resulting in record-setting flooding. They are talking about evacuating buildings along the Hudson River, some a few blocks away from our house.

A million NY folks were without power and we lost power at 9 PM last night. They expect to have our neighborhood restored by this evening, as soon as they find the source of the problem.

Thankfully Irene was not as bad as it could have been! And it was cool - only in the 60's, much much cooler than 110 F as it is in some places. We have some friends-of-friends who just moved here after living most of their lives in Austin and so far they say they would rather put up with the typical Winter here and the occasional hurricane than the heat and drought.  Of course, they have not experienced an exceptional Winter here, complete with no power for weeks!

Sturbridge Mass (in central Mass., on the Masspike) got 5.52 inches but Worcester MA a few miles to the east only got 2.63 so your children were pretty much spared.

I see on Wunderground that the White Plains NY (Westchester area) weather station logged 6.65 inches yesterday. I would indeed expect a wet soggy mess there.  Where it is hilly, there may be road closures still this afternoon.

Jennie Anderson (Dylan)

 Amen!  Please post this on the 64 website too!

Bernard Brady

Jan- Thanks for your very kind comments.

Sharon- Lynn Kiel is home from Rehab. His phone is 936-653-2320.  He had a birthday last week. His stroke is quite serious but he can talk on the phone. His attitude is superb.

He has appreciated my calls. Keep wife Peggy also in your prayers. Love to all - BJ

Stephen Ray Puckett

Memories of 9/11

I was at work on the 5th floor of my building near downtown Albany when somebody told us somehow that someone had just blown up the WTC tower, 150 miles sout of us in NYC. Many of us then confirmed this via the Internet. Soon the big boss had set up for us in the main conference room a TV set to show the news.  We then saw live the 2nd plane hit and they started talking about probable terrorist attacks.  Many folks then went home.  As I recall, cell phone service started getting overloaded so folks could not reach others.  Some of us would keep a nervous watch out the southward-facing windows in case we saw something bad flying, mushroom clouds, etc.

I called Lil who was working at the church.  She was getting non-stop calls
from upset church members, parents of kids in daycare there, etc.  Luckily
she used to work in emergency communications so could handle it.  In the
early evening they had at the church a prayer service so she stayed to help
organize that.  I had been in various emergencies myself so stayed at or
near my desk into the evening in case something was needed to be done at
work.

I heard that the Albany hospitals went over to emergency status in case
there were problems around Albany or we got overflow from NYC.

Of course, folks stayed glued to the TV and radio for the next few days.

Some interesting followup stories:

A guy who worked at my office had a brother who had an office next to the
WTC.  He tried to reach him that day but the secretary informed my coworker
that his brother had had an appointment at 9 AM inside the WTC at an upper
floor - they had not heard from him and feared the worst.  Late that
afternoon my coworker got a call from his mother.  His brother had just
called her from outside Manhattan.  For the first time ever, he had gotten
his appointments mixed up and had mistakenly arrived at 9 AM clear across
Manhattan only to discover that he had showed up to his afternoon appt.,
that the WTC had been hit, etc.  He later walked across a bridge and finally
got to a place where his cell phone worked then called his mom so she could
tell the family, etc., that he was OK.  I guess Somebody was looking out for
him!

Friday night after 9/11 we heard some loud explosions.  It didn't sound like
cannon fire to me so I went outside to see what was going on, as did many
neighbors.  It was nearby fireworks!!!  Lil called the police but the
switchboard was swamped with worried callers.  She then called the fire
dept.  They replied that the local country club was shooting off fireworks
and fire & police officials were headed that way to tell them to stop it.
It was a big fancy wedding, complete with fireworks.  When told to stop it,
folks there said that they didn't have to, they had a valid license, etc.,
etc.  The officials got them to stop it anyway - I bet they found a few ways
to be very persuasive!  I heard the next day that folks 15 miles away could
hear the fireworks and were alarmed.

Bless all the many heroes of that day.  Bless all the families that lost loved ones.

Richard Meek

It is funny what you remember about where you were and what transpired after the attack. One thing that still sticks with me was how strange it was to have no airplanes flying anywhere. With two major airports, one military base and maybe half a dozen private airports there is a lot of air traffic in Houston. You just take it for granted. It's part of everyday routine. Then for those days after 9/11 there were no planes in the sky. Often when I see a jetliner crossing the sky it reminds of those days when the sky was empty. Let's hope we never have another day like that again.

Stephen Ray Puckett

I read where rain and cooler temps may return to Texas.  Yay!  Have fun!!

Anita Marbury (Marbury)

On Saturday I was headed to  Telluride for the Blues and Brews Festival.

I ran into rain that didn't stop. It became snow and more snow. So, I said enough.

It was too early for me and snow. My car found the Enterprise bar in Rico.  I had a beer and burger and watched football until the snow cleared.

I missed the tunes but came home for the Autumn Arts Festival in Durango. Bright blue skies and cool temps here. I 'm sending the rain to Houston hope it makes it down there to cool all of you off.

Another note. All of you knew Mike Parker. He lived in Ft. Stockton. A sudden illness and he was gone. I will miss his big laugh and hugs.

Enjoy the days.

Sweetie

Richard Meek

Sweetie if you have anymore presip. you can send this way please do so. The rain this weekend was great but Rob is right we need way more than .3 inches. its also a relief since the heat wave seems to be over. It was a good summer though. . . no hurricane!

The Waltrip Alumni Assn. has plans for the homecoming weekend. Waltrip plays Reagan on Friday the 30th with an event before. There is also a social gathering planned for Sat. Oct. 1st. Just go to the website to get the details. Waltrip vs. Reagan for homecoming. Just like "in the day".

Richard Meek

Apparently I wasn't keeping track of the rain. A neighbor with a rain gauge tells me that we got slightly over an inch. Sounds good to me.

John Leediker

Well, no rain here in AZ...we need it badly.....but first priority is to get it to cool down. Here we are past mid-September and today (almost 4PM here now) the temperature is 107.6F per my thermometer. It is a bit cooler in the mornings now...so at least there is a sign that Fall may be coming soon. Best to all.

-John

Richard Meek

Afternoon all. Are those of you in the area enjoying the "Fall" weather? Obviously Fall in name only. It is better than 109 for sure!

Here is a quote worth thinking about: "If you didn't know how old you are. How old would you be?" That quote is from basball legend Satchel Paige.

Richard

Stephen Ray Puckett

How old would I be?  '29' comes to mind.  Some mornings I feel 70, though.  If I eat something I used to have no trouble with when I was 29, I may then have a problem and feel perhaps 50+.  Gone are the days when I would have no problems at all with a double cheeseburger, a large fries, and a big chocolate malt.  Or a big pizza.      Of course, I would be very happy while I was eating it!

Kay Watters (Greene)

Thanks for the pic Jan and the words to the song Robby,  I don't know why I never get the words, never have, just the rhrytem of music.  Is this a girl thing? Or just me! Probably me, I'm a reality nut, news nut. Clark Howard nut!

Stephen Ray Puckett

Kay, I didn't know who Clark Howard was so googled it and found his website.  Very interesting and may become more so since I am on the edge of retirement (voluntary or perhaps otherwise), a double dip of the Great Recession may be looming, etc.  I will have to explore his website more now.

Here at the office (data processing at a big bank) we are going through a second wave of  outsourcing (mostly offshore to India), the first wave was 2-3 years ago and was for uncomplicated areas.  This time is in areas that are more difficult.  Also, it is tough for me to see empty desks around me now where I used to see friends and long-time coworkers.  Thankfully most of them seem to be getting new work right away - I am thankful for that for them & their family but also for me because it shows hope if my number comes up!  Anyway, I am used to working with India nationals, having worked with them all my working career in Austin and Houston, so I get along with them OK. 

One of the new India guys was talking with me about the Northeast, that his father was a professor of American and English literature and so father & son were interested in the history of this area.  He has no car so I drove him around nearby Vermont on Saturday to show him the pretty Fall Foliage and to see sites connected with the poet Robert Frost, who his father reveres.  We had a great time seeing his house and family gravesite in Bennington and also his camp in the mountains east of Middlebury.  We also talked to many of the Vermont folks who were very friendly and inviting.  One man in a little town was so interested talking to him that he and his wife made lunch for us!  It was a great trip for both of us and he got lots of good photos to share with his family and friends.

One of the ladies got into an interesting discussion with us about offshore outsourcing - she was against it when US folks needed jobs.  I was able to bring personal experience to the discussion, having been the recipient several times of outsourcing and also being a guest worker in 2 different countries.  We had a lively but friendly discussion, mostly between the woman and me.  My coworker was surprised and happy that we felt free to discuss the various sides of this issue without sloganeering, name-calling, etc.  Very interesting.

Richard Meek

Afternoon all. A few weeks ago we went to Lakeside Bar & Grill outside of Bryan/College Station. The lake is the Bryan city reservoir. It's a nice place with live performances on a big deck by the lake. The night we were there Ray Wiley Hubbard was the performer. None other than the man who wrote about Luckenback, Texas. Some one requested the song. He made the comment that he didn't often do it at his gigs after doing it for however many hundreds of times he had done it. He said a few years ago he wouldn't do it at all. He was sick of it. Wished he had never written the sound. But things were pretty tight financially. He walked out to his mail box and there was a royalty check for Luckenbach. He said it became crystal clear why he is now glad he wrote that song and he performs it again. If you ever get a chance to go hear him take it. He puts on a very good show. He doe rock, R&B as well as C&W. Funny guy too. He carries on a running commentary with the audience. At the performance we saw it was only a $12 per person cover charge. Pretty cheap good quality entertainment.

Going out to the Firehouse Saloon Friday to see a singer named Jon Wolfe that Ray Wiley mentioned was very good and had been is opening act before.   I think Wolfe starts at11:00.His opening act will be Clay Farmer at 9:00. I heard Clay Farmer in Fredricksburg on Labor Day weekend. He's very good. I've never been to the Firehouse Saloon so I don't know what it's like. It's on the corner of SW Fwy (Hwy 59) and Fountainview. Come on out should be fun.

Rich

Kay Watters (Greene)

Oh my gosh....Clark Howard is the most sincere honest "geek" I've ever heard.  He is a walking encyclopedia of finance intellect, just try to stump him....from airline info, retirement, scams, phones, etc.....he knows all and glad to share.  See if you can get him on radio.  In my TX area, he's on 3-5 p.m. on AM 1550 and a pleasure to listen to....manners and all.

Richard Meek

Greetings all. I have a great announcement. The Whirld Affairs and Burger Evaluation Committee has scheduled a meeting. You have probably asked yourself how do get involved with such and interesting sounding committee? The answer is simple. Can you still fog a mirror? If so, you're a committee member. On Nov. 12th, Saturday, at 1:00 PM we will have our first ever out of town meeting!!!! As you'll there will be a brief business meeting to consider Whirld Peas. That will last 30 seconds. In that length of time we may be able to visualize Whirld Peas. After that it's whatever. The meeting will take place at Abuelo's (Mexican Food with a full bar, Rob Wallis< no burger joint). We ate there this weekend. The food is excellent and moderately priced. We have a private dining room reserved. Easy to get to 840 University Dr., just a block or so west of HWY 6. There is no home football game that week so there will plaenty of hotel rooms if anyone wants to stay overnight. All you local folks better show up. Houston is only 90 minutes away. Austin is about and hr and 45 min. Dallas/Ft. Worth I'm not sure. It is always good to see your fellow Waltripians. this a pretty restaurant with good food and adult beverages.  Come on  to College Station on the 12th and have a good time. See you there!!!!

Bernard Brady

Hi, all,
 
This note is to let you know that my father, B. C. Brady, age 90, died Monday morning, October 17, at about 5:06 a.m.
 
He was in the hospital with severe pneumonia, totally unresponsive to any stimuli; he was on a respirator, and his doctor finally encouraged the family to honor Pop's Do Not Resuscitate request and the terms set out in his living will. The family was all at the hospital when he was taken off the respirator and removed from life support. Pop was in late stage Alzheimer's, and had emphysema, COPD, and diabetes. It was time for him to go home, and not suffer any more.
 
I already had a good-bye with Pop several weeks ago while he was still lucid. So it is a relief to know that Pop will be in pain no more.
 
Pop's memorial will be Saturday, October 22, at 2:00 p.m., at Emanuel Episcopal Church in San Angelo, Texas. Just thought you might want to know.
 
Thanks,
 
B. J. / Bernard

Richard Meek

B.J. I deepest sympathy to you and all your family at this time of loss. It is a loss even though you know it is best for all concerned. Having walked the path you're now walking as many of us have I know how you feel. You are probably feeling all sorts of things from grief to relief. It's all part of it. You'll be in my thoughts and prayers. May your dad rest in peace.

Richard

Richard Meek

Rob consider yourself coerced. I already have commitments from Beau and Diane Wann, Jim and Jan Taylor, Kay Watters, myself and Paige Carter. So you and Fran come on to College Station on Nov. 12th. . The place to BE!!!

Richard Meek

When I have eaten at Abuelo's I haven't seen anyone dancing. However I haven't seen any signs posted that say No Dancing either!

Kay Watters (Greene)

Hey Robby, dancing is all over B/CS area - college town, bars, clubs, etc.  Almost can dance in the streets! 

BJ - how fortunate to have a Dad that lived that long in your lifetime!  May he rest in peace!

Jan Barnes (Nimtz)

Okay Robby & Rich... you got me going this morning.  Beautiful & invigorating here in Boerne at 36 degrees.  Out on the porch (in shorts) with hubby at 8:45 when we hear Proud Mary (Rolling on the River) by CCR.  Could not help but start dancing!  That certainly got our hearts pumping, but hubby said he felt like an idiot that early in the morning (and outdoors).  But out here where no one else can see we were having the time of our lives!

Richard Meek

Jan, sounds like a great way to start the day. Remember to keep on dancing and also dance like no one is watching. Heck people dance outdoors all over Texas. Just keep on keeping on! If you want to get bold dance naked on the deck. That's as long as the pastor doesn't pay unexpected visits of course.

Rob, I'm looking into some names of places you can dance in College Station. As Kay said they're bound to be there since it's a college town. Hey folks we need a little more enthusiasm from the Class of '65 about this Waltrip gathering in College Station on Nov. 12th. The Class of '64 is getting a pretty good group together!

Rich

Stay Calm, Carry On

Jan Barnes (Nimtz)

  Okay all you hunteresses and hunters wives.  These are just in at Bass Pro Shop and are just in time for deer season.  SILK!  The guy said they are flying off the shelves.  Be the first in your neighborhood to own one!