Last Month, my friend, TZ opened a new place for members to meet up and enjoy a little conversation/a little coffee and a lot of FUN!  New folks should start at the WELCOME...PLEASE START HERE Post.

Everyday there's a new discussion at TABLE ONE (CURRENT DATE) TOPIC! EVEN conversations like, "Do real men eat QUICHE?"

The Coffee Shop opened it's doors to Entertainment in the MY POINT POST where anyone can insert funny posts of all sorts. TZ is the resident comedian posting everything from "Rules on Dating My Daughter" to "The New Texas Gun Control."

We serve Coffee 24/7 along with a light fare and enough goodies to actually make you hungry! So bring your donut, muffin or  toasted bagel -  and your coffee cup -  to the computer with you!

The wait staff is always friendly and help you if you have a question on navigating the site! Smiles abound!  And when the "Boss" mixes it up with the "Staff" it's the cat's meow! Literally, the cat is screamin'! We have a blast whether it's morning, noon or night!

... and when the sun goes down, things tend to get a little more crazy!

So come on down to the Coffee Shop! We'll keep the coffee brewing for you!

See you there!

  Dale Jr. has a new interest now, besides the race track. In April, he opened a new night club called Whiskey River! The club exposes his country side and he has decorated it as such with guitars on the walls. But it also has a modern "feel" to it.

Folks have the choice to dance on a floor he built upstairs, sit and chat, or meet folks at the bar! Speaking of which, the bar itself has fiber optic lights installed in it’s top. Those pin drop lights keep time to the music too! The front of the bar is decorated with beautiful gold and silver Belt Buckles!

Reserve a security table online where there is a locked box to keep your valuables while you dance. These tables are Dale’s favorites.

 Either way, all of the tables are nice!

And Dale is real proud of his new ride too!!!

So if you dare to try the bucking Bull and you like music and a real Hopping place to enjoy, schmooze on down to Whisky River and tell Dale we said HI!

  Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - Earth Day! This is the day we tell Mother Earth how much we love and respect her! And why? Mostly because as the old Indian folklore tells us, "If you do not take care of the land, it will not sustain you."

   So, what are your plans for the day?

For those of you who wake a bit before sunrise, let me suggest taking a moment to watch the meteor shower.

Look between Northeast and eastern sky just before sunrise.

   Some folks have taken the day more seriously by remodeling their homes to be more energy efficient.

   Some folks in Texas tried taking a classroom around the state to teach how to solar cook.

   Another good way is to teach children about saving the Earth by writing children's books like this one.

   Other really good ways are to buy only "green" products to clean your home and laundry.

   Speaking of buying, for those of us who love retail therapy, Walmart has featured products to purchase that are organic and good for us as well as the earth, such as organic coffee. The makers of these products donate money from their earnings to organizations responsible for cleaning our environment. And have you seen the t-shirts made from recycled plastic bottles? 

   Whether your day involves cleaning a park or planting a tree, cherish the good feeling you will get from doing the good deed for Mother Earth. Bottom line, we'll all breathe much cleaner air and create a healthier place for our children and grandchildren to live!

Hi All,

Just a quick note tonight. I was in a blue mood this week and so I went glitter searching. I found Disney characters and thought they were so cute... not considering copyright infringement.

If you received anything from me like that, please delete them as I have. I'll stick to non-specific glitter from now on.

Thank you, my friends.

Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might - I hope my wish comes true.

Wishing on a star is something we all do as children and even some of us do as  adults. But Why? Does a first star of night or a shooting star really have anything to do with making a wish come true? Or is it a game to see if what we are wishing for ever actually does come true despite the odds?

On the same wavelength, does a coin in a wishing pond ever grant a wish?

Once I knew a child who threw a coin in a fountain, then crawled into the fountain and took four cents change. As an adult, the gentleman still carries the shiny penny that caught his eye on that day. "It’s my good luck charm," he told me years later. "I won $5,000 in Vegas with this penny!"

Honestly, years ago when I was a child, I sat on my mother’s front porch and counted the stars as they decorated the evening sky. I made tons of wishes and most of them came true - at least the realistic ones. I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to meet my crush on Robin from Batman, the series. And I wanted to help children.

As an adult, I have written many articles about character education for parenting magazines. I even traveled to New York to meet the Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles (the rock band in 1990.) They sang about character education. 

I taught good manners at a daycare and later at a high school - by example - showing students that treating people as you want to be treated always works in making friends.

And all during those years, I wrote on a freelance basis interviewing pop stars and local officials... and yes, even Robin, the boy wonder!

It wasn't such an awful day. I woke without fanfare to a dense fog hanging all over my world outside. But that wasn't it.

I got ready to fix breakfast... no bread, no milk, no eggs. But that wasn't it.

Sitting in front of the TV with my hot cup of coffee calmed me. Reaching for the remote - there was no picture. No picture? But the cable bill was paid - so I called the company to find there was an outtage in our area and they didn't know how long it would take to fix it. THAT WAS IT!!

Sure, I had other things to do, but it was a foggy/drizzly day - the kind where you just like to sit curled up in front of the TV.

Somedays are like black & white film. They have an image, but in drab colors. We have to plan for those "Grey" days. In my case, the AARP Online Community saved my "warm & fuzzy" feeling. I walked through a rose garden, read some interesting stories and went on a picnic and found the rainbow's end!

And while I was missing "the race;" finally, cable returned @ 11 pm - just in time for me to see the end...

It's Nascar Sunday, ya'll. I've waited all week for this event! I even took a sneek peek on Saturday and Whoa!

Before                            After

This is what happened right before my eyes! Michael McDowell got loose, hit the wall at 150 MPH, spun and rolled 7 times before his car caught fire and came to a stop. The safety features extinguished the fire and this lucky young man was pulled from the wreckage with only a limp as he got into the ambulance. Needless to say, he'll be using his #00 back up car today.

Later on, I "happened"  to catch the end of the Nationwide Series and look who won!       It must have been a good race. Now let's see if he can do it again today!

Speaking of TODAY, Jr. has the pole!                 

Ah, such excitement! It's a NASCAR SUNDAY! Yep, that's for sure!

Let's go racing Boys!

Spring is here, the trees are budding, the flowers are blooming and the birds... The BIRDS are back!! Back in town, that is.

Still a nip in the air and a drizzly day to boot, it would have been better if they played this game in Florida too. In my opinion, they need some more practice to pull the team together. 12 new players... the pitching staff didn't seem like much. But nevertheless, they are back in town and if you belong to Baltimore - you've got to love 'em!

Welcome back, Orioles! Now let's get to work!

Oh, to be a child waiting for the Easter Bunny, looking for eggs on a hunt in your grandmother's back yard, and sleeping while the "real Bunnies" were at work coloring hard eggs for the day! Easter morning would bring baskets of chocolate eggs, white crosses, marshmallow peeps and the most desired Peanut Butter Eggs! Ah Easter! The candy bar stock goes down for 2 weeks afterward.

Grandparents enjoy the pleasures of shopping for the perfect "huggable."  Will it be a pink bunny for Maggie or a floppy yellow duck for Jonathan? Don't forget the camera, of course, for the action of the day!

As we grow older, we are the elder parents and grandparents who have taught our own children how to celebrate the holiday. The trips to Church for Good Friday and Easter now are the highlight. Family dinners with friends too play a major part! Then, as the festivities settle, quiet reminiscence brings the smiles and appreciation of the blessings which came from long ago.

And sometimes, now that we are older, our adult children provide a special Easter Treat for us! Cooking the Easter Dinner, Baking the Easter Dessert, and the clean up far outweigh any chocolate Easter Bunny! But let's not forget, "there has to be a Chocolate Peanut Butter Egg!

Hope your Holiday was Happy!

When I was a child, I would be exhausted at the end of my day. Kickball, hopscotch and homework kept me busy the hours after school. Most often after dinner, I was hustled to a bath with many bubbles, and dressed for bed in the softest fleece robe my father could find when he shopped for his little girl. We watched family TV for a bit then there would be bedtime prayers. Seldom would I get a bedtime story like I read for my children as they grew. Mom was always busy packing lunches for the next day.

As a caregiver for my mother and father, I remember wanting them to have a pleasant and comforting time before I left them to go to sleep. Sometimes, I gave them a brief foot or back massage. Other times, we shared quieting conversation. They would almost be asleep before I would leave.

My last words were always, "Nite, nite. Sweet dreams." Those were actually my last words to my father who died in the middle of the night while he was in the hospital.

So, "Good night, Moon. Good night, cow jumping over the moon." Sweet dreams. Good night.