It Gets Worse, I've Named Him CD! Does That Mean Anything To You? 

If You Know Where This Kitten's Mother Is, Please Call! 

Each New Day Is A Welcome Surprise!

I left for a few hours this evening to attend prayers and meetings at the church. This is perfectly normal for a Wednesday night. Cheryl arrived home about 50 minutes after I left to find a kitten(7-8 weeks old)crying beneath "Old Blue," our '86 Chevy conversion van. She did not get the name from her color, although she is two tone blue. Blue has 260,000 miles on her 315 cu. in. V8 and when started up takes about 30 minutes before the exhaust changes to a normal color. Probably valve seals, or just flat out old age, but I digress. The kitten is now living comfortably in a box in my dining room, and has mastered the art of whining to get whatever it needs from my wife. My daughter, Jasmine, who turns 20 the day after tomorrow thought it was the sweetest thing. She arrived shortly after the kitten to show us her "new" car. Now, I love my wife, and I love my daughter, and I even like Jasmine's friend Dave, but the kitty has got to go! We reside on the fastest, busiest street in the entire hamlet, and the life expectancy of a cat in this neighborhood is between 6 and 7 months, tops. Cats by nature are independent(this is a male)and prone to wandering far and wide. As much as everyone adores this kitten planted on our(almost)doorstep, it just would not be fair to the feline. Our neighbor to the east, Joel, a retired college professor, has lost two cats already this year to traffic. The scary part of this whole situation is the picture thing. Jazz has a new phone to go with her new car, and it takes pictures. The phone, not the car! It has always seemed a little like if we start taking pictures of an animal in the house it has to stay until claimed by natural causes or naturally(can't you see it flat)unfriendly(downright inhospitable and unforgiving)traffic. This is the last thing I will share with you this evening. Did you know they have "in-dash" DVD, CD, MP3 players for vehicles? I didn't! Think about it, my 20 year old daughter that is moving to Boulder, soon, can zoom down the highway watching a movie on her dash while talking on the phone and taking pictures of all the new things she is seeing. Throw a coke and a burger in to the mix and please, please, if you are out there on the highway watch out for her! She's driving a new green Pontiac Grand Am two door with a sunroof. If you see her in Colorado, tell her that dad is praying for her every day! God bless, Preacher.

A California Desert Sunrise! Photo Courtesy Of The Kind Folks At "Webshots." 

A Mini Vacation In The Land Of "10,000" Lakes!

Taking time away from everything that we do on a daily basis, my wife, Cheryl, and I found this unique piece of history depicted in the photos below. Whenever we tour on the big HD we try to travel roads we haven't been on before. Yesterday was no exception, and for our time we received the most exciting reward. On a less traveled two-lane black top in Minnesota we came on this relic of a bygone era. It's only 20 miles from the interstate! Holding the southwest corner as it has for years, this railroad car was history before it arrived here! Shutters clicking and forgetting all about the inherent dangers in such a find, we explored. The concrete footings in front and the sidewalks which at one time ran all around indicated to me that this had been a sizable gas station. Two ancient concrete pylons indicated where the single pumps had once stood sentry at the front of the station. There were signs of a possible camping areas to the north, and there had to have been picnic and playground areas as well. I wish we could show you all of the pics. In the early days of our love affair with the automobile this had to have been a wonderful place to stop on the way to anywhere USA! It brings back visions of pop machines that vended like a one armed bandit, and cars "without" radios and heaters. Probably already here for years when the first roads were "tarred" this symbol of a once traveled highway now awaits the casually curious camera equipped traveler. Many blessings, Preacher.

My imagination stirred to the feint sounds of steam power first heard in my youth. 

The interior shows signs of having been "lived in" until the late1950s or early 60s.