And Unto Them. . .

. . . a child was born. And his name will be Cooper Leo Morrow. If you have read Cliff’s blog, you know Cooper was born at 7:49 AM on September 22. You also know he weighed in at 8 pounds 9 ounces and was 20 ½” tall.

I like Cooper much better than his first name. When I got to the hospital, the poor little guy was still nameless. Tom took me to the nursery to see ‘What’s his name’. Later, Tom and I went back down to the nursery to see if they were done with ‘What’s his name’. There was a moment in time I thought the poor little guy was going to go through life as What’s His Name Morrow. But, Tom and Stephanie decided on Cooper Leo.

Tom and Stephanie are great parents. All you have to do is hang around their oldest child to discover that. Besides that, they are really troopers. They put up with me the whole afternoon.

This is only the second baby in the world I have held before Char. It is the only baby I have held before Char that shares my birthday.

I’ll forget many birthdays but I think I’ll remember Cooper’s.

Sunday Funnies

A little boy, not accustomed to seeing the priest in his robe went up to the priest and asked, “Why do you dress so funny?” The priest replied, “This is the uniform that I wear when I work.”

The child, still staring at him, asked, “Do you have a boo boo?” The priest was somewhat puzzled, but quickly figured out that the child was looking at his white and black collar. The priest pulled out the white plastic insert and showed it to the child telling him that it was also part of his uniform.

On the back side of the collar, there was some writing which the priest showed to the little boy and asked him “Do you know what these words say?”

The little boy, obviously much too young to read, stated, “I sure do.” The priest was taken aback then replies, “OK then, tell me what they say.”

The little boy replied, “Kills fleas and ticks for up to six months.”

Fish Fry

This past weekend Char and I attended a fish fry. It was the finest fish fry I have ever been to but a bit unusual. It was a two-day event and fish were optional.

Since we had to provide the fish we started early in the morning. This time of year, mornings at Harlan County Reservoir are foggy and cool.

Most people would not have gone out under such conditions but our Captain was fearless. He knew his boat and he knew these waters.

The first task was to catch some bait. This was almost a religious experience. I was in charge of ‘casting the net upon on the waters’. We were in search of shad a small fish often used as bait for larger fish.

Then we headed out to open waters. The majority of the crew took shelter from the harsh elements of Mother Nature. Okay, maybe the weather conditions weren't that harsh but it was a little cool.

The first mate, Marilyn, made ready the poles. We all knew the fish fry depended on us. Marilyn was intense. Up until this trip I never realized she was a two handed fishing woman.

Fishing was great but the catching was slow. After awhile the fishing boat was transformed into a party boat complete with shrimp, cocktail sauce, assorted meats and cheeses, fruit, and other goodies. We might not be catching fish but were sure having fun.

Just as we were feeling all hope was lost, the Captain hooked a fish. After a lengthy battle with this creature, also known as a channel catfish, the Captain successfully landed the fish - the only fish. The fish fry was saved!

Back on dry land, we returned to our fishing shanty, also known as a cabin. On the concrete, you’ll notice a propane burner with a Dutch Oven. That pot produced fried potatoes and onions, and fried catfish. Inside the cabin fried okra was prepared while fresh homegrown tomatoes where sliced. Put it altogether and you have a feast.

But, after a couple days, the sun set on the fish fry at Harlan County Reservoir.

Sunday Funnies

"Anyone with needs to be prayed over, come forward, to the front at the altar," the Preacher says.

Leroy gets in line, and when it's his turn, the preacher asks: "Leroy, what do you want me to pray about for you."

Leroy replies: "Preacher, I need you to pray for my hearing." The preacher puts one finger in Leroy's ear, and he places the other hand on top of Leroy's head and prays and prays and prays, he prays a blue streak for Leroy.

After a few minutes, the Preacher removes his hands, stands back and asks,"Leroy, how is your hearing now?"

Leroy says, "I don't know, Reverend, it ain't til next Wednesday."

(Thanks to Paul)

Exercising Rights

Usually when driving I don’t listen to the radio. Occasionally I will listen to the news and maybe even the traffic. Today within one and half miles, I exercised several of the rights we have as Americans.

Waiting for the news to come on the young man speaking on the radio said, “the greatest crisis in our lifetime will be not passing health care”. Freedom of speech, I acknowledge his right to say it. Then in a loud, verbally outburst containing several adjectives I exercised another right – my right not to agree with him.

I then exercised a right we do not use enough - the power button. I exercised that right hard enough I thought I broke the button.

Driving down the road I started thinking of all the crisis’s that had occurred in my lifetime. The passing of family and friends, a number of wars, two space shuttle explosions, the assassination of a President, hurricanes, tornados, devastating wildfires. . . .the list kept growing. I also realized I had no idea how anyone could “rank” these in any particular order. Each and every one of them was a crisis.

As Americans, we also have the right to fly the flag. I’d encourage you to do so on September 11th and here’s why . . . .

Flag 2172
September 12, 2005. Today I walked amongst 5,000 American flags. Each flag measured three feet by five feet and stood eight feet tall. They will be up for a week. It's called the 2005 Healing Field and was constructed on ten acres near my home. Each flag is labeled with a number and a name of someone who has died in the war against terrorism since September 11, 2001. This includes the victims of September 11th, the first responders, and military people who have died in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq. There is also a place where people from other countries have flags placed in their honor.

September 8, 2001. I had been there for a week and stood many times on my hotel balcony overlooking the city. Far off in the distance I could see the pentagon.

Tonight I was invited to join a group of foresters from Hawaii many from an organization called the Outdoor Circle. They were a fun group to be with. Our experiences in the tree world were different but also remarkably similar. As the evening wore on the group thinned out until it was just Christine Snyder and I. The place we met closed and we moved to the lobby of the hotel talking about families, programs, projects, but mainly about trees. Early the morning of September 9th before heading back to my room, I asked if she had any information on the Outdoor Circle. She assured me she did and she would get it to me before we left the following day.

That morning walking towards the shower I noticed a packet had been slipped under my hotel door. I opened it to discover all kinds of information about the Outdoor Circle and a note from Christine telling me she enjoyed our conversation the night before and was looking forward to staying in touch about tree programs and projects. I showered and headed to the airport. After a week in DC, I was finally heading home.

The flag above is flag 2,172. It has Christine Snyder's name on it. She was aboard flight 93 on September 11, 2001.

Sunday Funnies

The wise old Mother Superior was dying. The nuns gathered around her bed trying to make her comfortable. They gave her some warm milk to drink, but she refused it. One nun remembered they had received a bottle of Irish whiskey the previous Christmas. Taking the glass into the kitchen, she opened the whiskey and poured a generous amount into the warm milk.

Walking back into the room, she held the glass to Mother Superior’s lips. The Mother drank a little, then a little more. Before they knew it, she emptied the glass.

“Mother,” the nuns asked with earnest, “please give us some wisdom before you die.”

She raised herself up in bed and with a pious look on her face said, “Don’t sell that cow.”

Somebody Is Lying

I have often told Char I notice things a normal person does not. She counters with I also think things a normal person does not. Then she mumbles something about normal.

Tonight I proved my point. Walking through the garage telling Cliff a joke over the phone I noticed this.

Both these containers are the exact same height. Both claim to hold three pounds, four ounces. Yet, one gives me ’80 more cups than the 39 oz'. The other gives me ’90 more cups than 39 oz’.

I don’t think these people are drinking from the same cup.