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Pull Tight

the ironies of life, rural Texas, bicycling, theater, wildlife, Paluxy,

Beam me up Scotty

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RAGBRAI DAY 2

July 21, 2008 82 Miles (officially) We logged a little over 84 The road goes on forever and the party never ends Lyrics from a song by Robert Earl Keene The day started off at 2:30 AM with a siren and an announcement by loud speaker of an upcoming storm with high winds and large hail. We all left out tents (did I mention the tents?) and were directed to a storm shelter near the campsite we were in. A couple thousand of us crowded into a Quonset Hut (spell?) for a half hour while the main part of the storm passed near but didn’t hit us. Back into the tent until about 6 AM when we broke camp and began cycling again. I am doing this trip with my niece, Ave, from Mass who met me here. We contracted with a bike club to haul our gear and find a campsite each day. Ave is a teacher, pretty organized, very easy to get along with and an excellent traveling companion. We are both enjoying the trip so much we are talking about our next and who might or might not invite. This day was rated ...

Photos from bike ride

http://picasaweb.google.com/tdmcintire/RAGBRAI362008 Click either link above for pictures

The Mississippi - we made it

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Pulltight: ARLINGTON, TX, United States

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Mom

Cynthia McIntire Born to Ben and Montie Holmes Wann, the second of five children on April 9, 1927. Cynthia was born, raised, and lived in Paluxy where she spent the next more than ninety years. Only leaving Paluxy for a few months in Florida early in her marriage and then for her last couple of years in a nursing home as the result of a fall followed by a stroke. She is survived by Clinton (Junior to many), husband of 73 years, children Terry, Sheila, Sharon, sister Glenda, sister in law Jean, 7 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren. While the last 3 years of her life were difficult because of declining health, very few of us will experience 91 good, happy years with family, friends, and home. And, this is what she had. She and Clinton were rarely apart. They worked together side by side on the farm. They traveled and socialized extensively after retirement mostly with the local Good Sams group of which they were members for over 25 years. She was a great mother, but cou...

250

Almost 2 years ago, I decided to try a different type of physical workout. Signed up with Camp Gladiator (CG) for "boot camp". Committed to showing up with a yoga mat and dumbbells for a whole body work out 3 times per week. Realized at my first workout that I was one of a very few participants who was old enough to qualify for Medicare. I was probably in slightly better shape than average for my age, but maybe that doesn't say much for me or the average senior citizen. I had to walk most of the warm up lap. Any exercise that involved getting on the ground or up from the ground took me a bit longer, I probably consistently missed the first couple of reps. At one my first work outs, I was breathing very hard and struggling. The woman next to me (Amanda) turned to me and reassuring said "It's OK Terry, I am a nurse trained in CPR". I have yet to need it, but a few times might have been pretty close. The work outs can be pretty high impact....

Wild Melons

The things that trigger our memories are fascinating. Driving down the road a couple of days ago and saw a wild melon vine growing down the road cut. All of a sudden I was 10 years old again and eating biscuits with wild melon (pine melon?) preserves at a childhood friend's house. The preserves were thick and very sweet. Been craving them all week.

Hauling horses

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/03/12/horse-transported-in-pickup-bed/ This article caused me to remember my grandfather Ben Wann. Apparently, he would haul Smokey, his palomino mare around the ranch in a pick up without any kind of frames/sideboards in the 1950s. Can't remember seeing him haul the horse in this manner, but this has been confirmed by other sources. I rode with him on this horse as a child. And, also recall many times riding around with him in his old Chevy pick up truck looking through his cows and/or goats. Grandpa was gifted in mathematical ability and would impress me by counting his goats by 6s and 7s as a herd of a couple of hundred came running to meet us.

Dwayne

September 11, 2017

“Some trails are happy ones, Others are blue. It's the way you ride the trail that counts…” Happy Trails by Dale Evans “Life is far too important to be taken seriously” by Oscar Wilde is one my favorite quotes. Not sure if Dwayne ever heard this quote, but to all outward appearances he lived his life with this philosophy. Always ready with a joke and a less than serious observation of life’s circumstances. He most times had the smile on his face and the twinkle in his eye of either just pulling something off or just about to. Let’s remember him when we become a little too concerned with the rest of the world. Dwayne was for several years growing up my closest neighbor. We had many adventures as kids and teenagers. And yes he was a cousin too. Someone once remarked that the grandchildren of Ben and Montie Wann didn’t have friends, they just have cousins. And, yes there is a unique bond among this group, but especially wi...

Pulltight

Pull Tight is the nickname for Paluxy. I'm not sure if is Pull-tight, Pull Tight or Pulltight, although I tend to think of it as one word (Pulltight). The origin of the term, and later the name, Pulltight, probably comes from the teams of horses having to pull so tight to get loads of freshly ground grain up the river bank. The pull up from the old grist mill is somewhat steep and sandy. It must have taken an extra effort to pull the wagons out of the river bed onto the river bottom and then on up the hill to Paluxy. Most likely the nickname caught on when one of the early settlers used to remark “We are going to have to pull tight to make our town succeed”. My favorite version, but probably the not the favorite of my Baptist relatives, is that one day after an afternoon of drinking, in the Paluxy saloon, one of the old men was too drunk to say “We are all full tight” and it came out “We are all pull tight”. I like to think of pulltight as having a meaning other than a nick...

4.3 (Life throws a curve)

About 2 months ago I went to a physician because of trouble sleeping. The sleep problem was probably just due to work/life stress and some very long hours. The physician suggested some lab work. It had been 4-5 years since I had any lab work. When she discovered this along with the fact all of my lab work was free because of where I worked, she ordered an extensive battery of tests. Although a PSA would have nothing to do with insomnia, it was ordered also. Everything came back pretty much normal except the PSA. The value was 4.3 (upper limit of normal is 4.0). Next was a visit to my General Practitioner. He and I talked about the assay. He told me how there was controversy about using PSA and GPs aren't trained well for digital exams. Then he had me drop my pants for the exam anyway. He didn't think I should be too concerned. I was placed on a regimen of antibiotics and asked to come by for retesting when completed. It came up in conversation that although there was not much t...

No Pain No Gain

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. Confucius Although probably in slightly better shape than the average Medicare recipient, realize I am still pretty out of shape. Walking, leisurely bike rides (even if over 25 miles), a standing desk and a better than average diet wasn't getting me where I should be. Have committed to spin classes for a year or two on occasion resulting in some lost weight and better cardiovascular condition. But, this didn't do much for strength, flexibility or helping lose the extra 35 lbs. Decided to give boot camp a try after hear a presentation by Camp Gladiator. Just completed week 4. Going to a camp close to home 3 days a week in the early morning hours. To say I am the oldest and most out of shape, would be an understatement, I describe the camp to friends and coworkers as me, the old guy and a bunch of mostly 30ish women who probably participated in the Olympic tria...

RAGBRAI DAY 2

July 21, 2008 82 Miles (officially) We logged a little over 84 The road goes on forever and the party never ends Lyrics from a song by Robert Earl Keene The day started off at 2:30 AM with a siren and an announcement by loud speaker of an upcoming storm with high winds and large hail. We all left out tents (did I mention the tents?) and were directed to a storm shelter near the campsite we were in. A couple thousand of us crowded into a Quonset Hut (spell?) for a half hour while the main part of the storm passed near but didn’t hit us. Back into the tent until about 6 AM when we broke camp and began cycling again. I am doing this trip with my niece, Ave, from Mass who met me here. We contracted with a bike club to haul our gear and find a campsite each day. Ave is a teacher, pretty organized, very easy to get along with and an excellent traveling companion. We are both enjoying the trip so much we are talking about our next and who might or might not invite. This day was rated ...

Nothing Runs Like a Deere

Nothing Runs Like a Deere Yesterday while working in Fort Worth, I received a call there was an accident on the farm and Dad was on his way by Careflight helicopter to Harris Medical Center. He had been in a tractor accident. I was in the parking lot next door and came directly to the ER. As I arrived at the ER, I received a call from my brother in law, Ken. It seems that while Mom and Dad were moving hay from a field to near their house, Dad was run over by the tractor. Being the first to the ER, a security guard escorted me to a family room and immediately one of the hospital chaplains came to see me. He had just come from seeing Dad. He said Dad was alert and on his way for a CT scan. He told Dad he would pray for him and he said Dad thanked him. I refrained from telling the Chaplin of the study just completed about prayer. It seems that patients who know they are prayed for in fact may have more complications than patients that do not know. Mom gave me the story of what h...

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Popular posts from this blog

RAGBRAI DAY 2

July 21, 2008 82 Miles (officially) We logged a little over 84 The road goes on forever and the party never ends Lyrics from a song by Robert Earl Keene The day started off at 2:30 AM with a siren and an announcement by loud speaker of an upcoming storm with high winds and large hail. We all left out tents (did I mention the tents?) and were directed to a storm shelter near the campsite we were in. A couple thousand of us crowded into a Quonset Hut (spell?) for a half hour while the main part of the storm passed near but didn’t hit us. Back into the tent until about 6 AM when we broke camp and began cycling again. I am doing this trip with my niece, Ave, from Mass who met me here. We contracted with a bike club to haul our gear and find a campsite each day. Ave is a teacher, pretty organized, very easy to get along with and an excellent traveling companion. We are both enjoying the trip so much we are talking about our next and who might or might not invite. This day was rated ...

Photos from bike ride

http://picasaweb.google.com/tdmcintire/RAGBRAI362008 Click either link above for pictures

The Mississippi - we made it

Popular posts from this blog

Mom

Cynthia McIntire Born to Ben and Montie Holmes Wann, the second of five children on April 9, 1927. Cynthia was born, raised, and lived in Paluxy where she spent the next more than ninety years. Only leaving Paluxy for a few months in Florida early in her marriage and then for her last couple of years in a nursing home as the result of a fall followed by a stroke. She is survived by Clinton (Junior to many), husband of 73 years, children Terry, Sheila, Sharon, sister Glenda, sister in law Jean, 7 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren. While the last 3 years of her life were difficult because of declining health, very few of us will experience 91 good, happy years with family, friends, and home. And, this is what she had. She and Clinton were rarely apart. They worked together side by side on the farm. They traveled and socialized extensively after retirement mostly with the local Good Sams group of which they were members for over 25 years. She was a great mother, but cou...

250

Almost 2 years ago, I decided to try a different type of physical workout. Signed up with Camp Gladiator (CG) for "boot camp". Committed to showing up with a yoga mat and dumbbells for a whole body work out 3 times per week. Realized at my first workout that I was one of a very few participants who was old enough to qualify for Medicare. I was probably in slightly better shape than average for my age, but maybe that doesn't say much for me or the average senior citizen. I had to walk most of the warm up lap. Any exercise that involved getting on the ground or up from the ground took me a bit longer, I probably consistently missed the first couple of reps. At one my first work outs, I was breathing very hard and struggling. The woman next to me (Amanda) turned to me and reassuring said "It's OK Terry, I am a nurse trained in CPR". I have yet to need it, but a few times might have been pretty close. The work outs can be pretty high impact....

Wild Melons

The things that trigger our memories are fascinating. Driving down the road a couple of days ago and saw a wild melon vine growing down the road cut. All of a sudden I was 10 years old again and eating biscuits with wild melon (pine melon?) preserves at a childhood friend's house. The preserves were thick and very sweet. Been craving them all week.

Hauling horses

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/03/12/horse-transported-in-pickup-bed/ This article caused me to remember my grandfather Ben Wann. Apparently, he would haul Smokey, his palomino mare around the ranch in a pick up without any kind of frames/sideboards in the 1950s. Can't remember seeing him haul the horse in this manner, but this has been confirmed by other sources. I rode with him on this horse as a child. And, also recall many times riding around with him in his old Chevy pick up truck looking through his cows and/or goats. Grandpa was gifted in mathematical ability and would impress me by counting his goats by 6s and 7s as a herd of a couple of hundred came running to meet us.

Dwayne

September 11, 2017

“Some trails are happy ones, Others are blue. It's the way you ride the trail that counts…” Happy Trails by Dale Evans “Life is far too important to be taken seriously” by Oscar Wilde is one my favorite quotes. Not sure if Dwayne ever heard this quote, but to all outward appearances he lived his life with this philosophy. Always ready with a joke and a less than serious observation of life’s circumstances. He most times had the smile on his face and the twinkle in his eye of either just pulling something off or just about to. Let’s remember him when we become a little too concerned with the rest of the world. Dwayne was for several years growing up my closest neighbor. We had many adventures as kids and teenagers. And yes he was a cousin too. Someone once remarked that the grandchildren of Ben and Montie Wann didn’t have friends, they just have cousins. And, yes there is a unique bond among this group, but especially wi...

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