Pull Tight

“When you read between the lines, you must have bloody good eyesight because I can't see a bloody thing!”  ―  Anthony T.Hincks Had my annual routine eye exam this week.  My eyes are very good for someone in my age bracket.  No trace of glaucoma or age-related macular degeneration and very minimal cataract development. My optometrist says my distance vision has actually improved slightly in the past 12 months.  Any positive change for someone my age is notable. There have been some changes in my life.  Have attended boot camp exercise sessions religiously 3 times per week for the past couple of years with a stretching session at the end of each.  For the past several months, intermittent fasting for about 5 days each week has also become part of my routine.  Also for the past several months, I have gone to a yoga class 1 day per week. Doing a little research on the Internet (thanks Google) indicates all these activ...

Driving out of Glen Rose after spending some time with Mom at the Rehab Center. Pictured here are 3 buzzards sitting on top of the sign for Chicken Express. Maybe they were watching for the dead chicken on the sign to fall to the ground.  Or maybe they were offering a subtle review of the restaurant. Whatever the reason, it brought an unexpected smile to my face.

From around 1925 to 1960 all John Deere tractors were 2 cylinder. They ran at a relatively low RPM causing the engine sound to be sort of pop pop pop pop sound. The nickname for any of these John Deere tractors became Popping Johnny. In 1955 my dad bought a model 50 as pictured here. Being 5 years old, I was quite excited about this purchase and what 5 year old would not be excited about a new green shiny tractor making a pop pop pop sound. In 1955 most everyone in and around Paluxy received their mail at the Post Office http://pulltight.blogspot.com/2012/07/play-ball-revisited.html One morning soon after the acquisition, I was with mom at the post office one morning to pick up the mail.   The operator manual for the new tractor happened to be in the car and was my prize possession on this occasion. Although I don’t remember the actual event, two of the local men, Floyd and Ramon saw me with my book and asked about it.   With the imagination and expertis...

“A day will come when the story inside you will want to breathe on its own. That’s when you will start writing.” Sarah Noffke Started Pulltight blog in 2005 and have kept the entries online with blogger over the years. Many times I wrote straight into the site with no other documentation. That there was no backup or hard copy of Pulltight started to be somewhat concerning as the years passed; there are a few stories I might not recall or record again if lost. Admittedly much of the blog has been just day to day thoughts on random topics.   But a few of the stories, particularly about old friends, Paluxy or family could be worth remembering and easily it could all be lost. My son started bugging me about making a backup a few months ago. Then he asks for a hard copy for his birthday.   This was the tipping point for converting to a hard copy. Decided to have it bound and make an actual hard copy (Book? Blook?) In chronological order from the date of the first post. ...

Growing up I thought Horace had some of the coolest cars. The first one I remember was the one he was driving when his brother was the preacher in Paluxy. He was dating my aunt Glenda. It was a 1955 Chevy, dark green 2 door with dual exhaust, a real classic. I think it was after he and Glenda married that they had a 55 or 56 Ford Crown Victoria. This was the one with an actual crown.   There was a strip of chrome extending from door post to door post over the top of the car. Black, white and chrome; bet is a real collector’s item today, but back in the day it was definitely a cool car. Then a few years later, a blue and white Nash Metropolitan.   Bet you can find these in car museums around the world (and the same color). A fun unique car. Some used to say the Nash looked like an inverted bath tub.   Had to use your imagination a little, but yea, maybe. And then there was the 1967 Pontiac GTO.   White with black vinyl roof; I was old enough to drive by t...

Since mom has been in the hospital, rehab and nursing home the past few months following an accident and a stroke, Dad has had much more time to read. He has always enjoyed reading, but usually just read a few books per year. Recently he is reading 1-2 books per week. He has a Kindle which makes it easy to send books to him. After finishing a fictional series of 18 books, our conversation went sort of like this. Me: What would you like to read next? Dad: Maybe I will write a book? This was a bit of a surprise. Me: Dad, what would you write about? Dad: My life. At 92 years of age, he has many stories and memories we have never heard.   He would sometimes have stories for us, but rarely did anyone sit down just with him.   And, mom always had a lot to say. The family joke was she used all of her words and most of his words each day. This could be interesting. Since Dad will not actually put pen to paper, this seemed an excellent time for me to spend some time ju...

About 2.5 million years ago the claws of our primate ancestors evolved into fingernails as we began using tools. Probably have been mostly dirty ever since. Was in the hospital with mom a few months ago when she suffered serious injuries followed by a stroke.   Noticed her fingernails were a bit dirty even after a few days in ICU.   Suspect, even at age 91, she may have been doing something on the farm or her yard the day of the accident that involved getting her hands and fingernails dirty. Think I might have been in my teens before I realized dirt wasn’t the natural color of fingernails. Dirt was one of my favorite toys and certainly the most ubiquitous as a child. Dirt, mud, toy tractors and trucks took up most of my days until I was old enough to help out on the farm.   Working with old farm equipment just added a new stubborn ingredient - grease (a whole new level of dirty). It was years before my nails would be clean for more than a day or two. What...

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....

Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews