High Desert Visit

We recently visited some property in Central Oregon that my family owns. It is high desert country covered with juniper trees and some gorgeous views. Parts of it are flat and covered with sage brush. But it has a strange, rustic, quality to it that makes ya' think about an old western movie.

The problem is that there is no power, no EMS, and at this time no water, on it. In the early 1960's when my uncle bought the property they drilled a well shaft on one piece of the property and came up with nothing, except cold air constantly blowing for the last 40 plus years. All of the people we have talked to say that this could only be caused by moving water.

We just found out that the EMS problem may be being solved soon too. It is real cow country, and that means horses. We didn't see a single bad looking horse in our travels. And that includes the local horse rescue facility. We are hoping that things keep going well, and that we might be looking at this as a possible home. We aren't holding our breaths. And if it doesn't work out in the near future we are still looking into the south of Oklahoma, or Texas.

Our travels and our dreams, and the recent loss of loved ones, have made us realize that we need to get on with our own lives. And that means building a world of our own making. And for me that means horses. I may not be able to ride like I used to, but I still love 'em, and love to be on them for a quiet walk through the woods or down a trail.

If this property works out I hope we will have visitors to come join us for a time on our rustic homestead.

In Memory Of

At 0010 Patricia E Overacker, my Mom, passed from this world to wherever we all go. We had our moments of joy and sorrow, our times of anger and of love. Our life wasn't perfect but she tried to raise me to be a good man. For the most part I think she has done a good job. Even though I do have my moments.

I will miss her.

It seems almost like some kind of a release that only minutes after my last blog she left us. To wierd, or at least it seems so.

In the end the only thing I can think of to say is. I LOVE YOU MOM, wherever you may be.

OK so I have the best wife in the world!! I gotta say that. She is the rock to which I cling when the world decides to crap all over me. Guano, HAH! We are talking full blown Cowshit. Outside of needing barn boots I believe that I have needed hip waders and a wet suit this week.
I recently posted a blog about the possibility of losing my father. Well I know that will occur eventually but it will be my mother I lose sometime this weekend. On Wednesday she was admitted to MAMC with breathing problems. It was to the point of her needing a tube to breath. The next morning she was awake and just needing a mask, and being able to talk. She was extremely weak but holding her own. At least that is what we thought. My sister, my dad, and niece, were all there with her when I arrived so they decided to go have lunch. I was left alone to talk to mom and just spend some time with her. After about 40 minutes my mom looked at me and said "I need help" and started gasping for breath. Those were the last words I have heard from my mom.

We are now waiting for her to go.

And through it all, and behind the scenes, Donna has been helping with phone calls, drinks, and just general support. I just can't say enough. Besides all that I think she's kinda cute too. So add it all up and my wife is the most beautiful woman I have ever met.

Thanks my love.

American Cowboys

In the days of being politically correct there are people who insist that the life of the American Cowboy is still alive and kicking. They travel from town to town in search of a payday. They may have ranches where they work during the week but on the weekends you can find them at rodeos. What I consider the true American sport. Baseball, football, and basketball have become such a publicity show and if a player gets a sore toe he doesn't play and is still paid a fortune. The rodeo cowboy actually pays to compete to try to win the purse. What would football be if the players had to do that. But when you see these guys all dressed up in what most people would consider a cowboy costume, and I have heard it put exactly that way, you are looking at a piece of American history. Those clothes you see aren't a costume, just everyday working clothes.

But it isn't just the clothes or the sport, it's family. These guys will ignore you if they don't know you, but if they see your kid is in trouble they'll put their lives on the line to protect them. They don't have a lot of money but they'll loan you their last dollar if it means you compete against them or not. You can't touch their hat without them being insulted but they'll lend you their horse to go rope a calf or bulldog a steer. And on any weekend you'll find them and their kids all involved in the same sport. Fathers against sons, mothers against daughters, and in the stands the little boys and girls watching wanting to be just like their dads and moms, and falling asleep in their dad, or moms, arms while they watch another kid doing the same thing on horseback.

At the beginning of every rodeo is the National Anthem, and a prayer, and nobody complains. Probably because that complaint would fall on deaf ears. These people all believe in our country and what it stands for, and to hell with anyone who doesn't like it.

Like I said they aren't the most politically correct people in the world. Just some of the best.

To Boldly Go

Well Donna and I just finished watching the newest version of Star Trek. I have to say that we totally enjoyed it. The special effects were incredible, the characters were believable (in a Star Trek way). And most importantly if you grew up with the series, the original series that is, you can catch all the little things that made it a true version of Star Trek. For those of you who believe that two hours is to long to deal with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scottie, I can tell you that it seemed like we had watched an hour long episode of the original show. There is no chance to get bored in this one. So for all you who grew up on it, and all of you to young but still have a curiosity, go see it. Get a few laughs and watch a good action flick.

Updates on THINGS

Well Donna and I are doing OK.. Not great but OK.. We'll get by one way or another.. As Donna has posted I got to be a guest of MAMC once again.. What a waste of government money.. It took the doctors two days to figure out what a cardiac nurse saw in the first 10 minutes of reading my test results.. My potassium was to low and was causing irregular heart thumps.. Other than that we are just trying to get through Donna's school without strangling teachers, bosses, bosses bosses, and most importantly each other..
I'm still working out, and restarted the water aerobics again.. Trying to get to where I look like a human being instead of a beached whale.. I figure it's gonna take a while because I am not able to workout like you see younger and healthier doing it.. But I am trying.. My bmi (body mass index) has already dropped from 29.6 to 27.7. That means I've gone from being morbidly obese to just plain obese. Not that I can tell any difference as of yet.. To me FAT is FAT.. But I want to get there and have alot of support in the way of my trainer and a couple of body builders who are there at the same time I am.. And a Jerry Rice clone of a SgtMajor who is there almost all the time.. Or was, I think he went somewhere with the corp, or something, y'all know the Army.
Anyway that's the update on what's happening.. OOOPS Leanna is growing like a weed and now chases Moose all over the house.. He just runs, jumps the gate, and goes and hides in bed.. My mom is in the hospital/nursing facility with MRSA and EColi in her lungs, and is being given all kinds of meds to fight it.. Dad has decided to go through a medication regimine instead of surgery to try to fight the cancer.. So with those last little details you are now up to date on it all.
Love to all my family and extended family.. We Miss You..

Life

Well once again I found myself a guest of Madigan Army Medical Center. It was a minor thing involving a med that I haven't taken in about a year, and low potassium levels. Thank God for thorough docs and nurses who know my history. It all boils down to lots of stress, mostly self inflicted, and wrong meds, and overworking myself.
Leanna is still a pure joy our lives and makes me laugh every time she comes over. Growling at PawPaw is one of her things, of course she loves it when I growl back. She chases Moose around the room, and he doesn't know what to do with her. He'll run up to her and give her a kiss and then runs away when she giggles.
About three weeks ago Chance invited Donna and I to go team penning with him. He told me later that he didn't expect me to show up, but guess what I DID. And I had planned on getting back in the saddle about June. I blew that out of the water, even if I did have problems with my balance. It felt really good. A few days later I went back and got on Chance's horse Cowboy again and spent about an hour just riding at a walk and getting the feel back again. Can't stand his trot he is so short backed it's like sitting on a jackhammer.
That's about the extent of the excitement in my life so now you are up to date with everything happening.
Hope this finds you all in good health, spirits, and taking care of each other.
Love to you all who are parts of my family, including those I have adopted.