Pull Tight

I spent time outside this weekend, on the family farm and a couple of bike rides. My favorite wild flowers may be the prickly pear flower and the bull nettle flower which are both blooming now. If I were to write sonnets, the maidens would have skin as white and soft as the bull nettle flower. One of the common names for the bull nettle is Mala Mujer which translates to evil woman. Perhaps I should write that sonnet, the pretty flower on the poisonous plant named after an evil woman…… Hope all you Moms had a great day.

I have continued at the gym and with cycling. Maybe, I have permanently changed my diet, I don't miss what I have given up and I feel better. Down to around 180 and planning on dropping another 20 lbs by mid summer. I have talked about riding in the RAGBRIA for years. I think this is the year. Signed up with my daughter, a neice and a friend. The ride is across Iowa the last week of July covering about 470 miles in 7 days. Last year there about 18,000 riders.

Haven’t you lost weight? A few years ago I worked with a woman I will call Jane Doe. We would see each other every few months. Her standard greeting was, “Hi Terry, how have you been? Have you lost weight?” I hadn’t, but I always enjoyed the compliment. I did, however, notice that she greeted most of our other coworkers the same way. I came to refer to her as Jane Haven’t You Lost Weight Doe. If a few years ago, someone told me I would be happy to see my weight go below 200 lbs, I would have thought they were nuts. But, here I am down to 198 and feeling pretty good not to see 2__ on the scale. The last couple of years I have weighed in at about 205 – 210. When I mentioned losing some weight, people seemed surprised at how heavy I am (I have very good actors for friends). I am down from 210 in January and would like to get close to my High School weight of about 150. I have begun bicycling more intensely, joined a Gym (today) and cut out most bread and food with refined sugar...

    I found this photo while looking for something else. John Meek was the orginal anglo settler in Paluxy. Maybe it was Pull Tight before it was Paluxy. My great great grandmother is 2nd from left in light colored blouse. Note the person behind John, it is one of the daughters, but she was in California when the photo was taken. The image is a portrait. I read that John Meek had 365 living descents at about this time. Guess they wouldn't all fit in the photo.

I am frequently asked by friends or relatives around the country what the weather is like in Texas. The usual perception is scorching hot and dry with an occasional break for a tornado. I would like to set the record straight, starting with the current season. It is Fall in Texas • When you don’t use your car air conditioner on maximum……..before noon • Monthly home air conditioning bills plummet to below $500 • Heat stroke is a possibility working outside during the day…the north wind blows in and…..frostbite seems a possibility the same evening while watching a high school football game If you are from Texas please add your comments and/or observations

Europe Vacation Click picture above for a slide show.

Yesterday I rode in a bike rally near where I wrote in The Ride, in http://pulltight.blogspot.com/2006/08/ride.html. What a difference 40 degrees makes. Very well organized ride along some very nice country roads, through tiny towns like Nemo and Eulogy, but with a bit more traffic than I expected. We shared the road with many trucks for the burgeoning natural gas fields in the area. As I was passed by a somewhat beat up pick up truck with a confederate flag decal, a pit bull in the back and pulling a trailer with a four wheeler, this thought went through my mind. How much right of way will this guy yield to a bunch of middle aged guys in brightly colored shirts and spandex pants? As far as I know we all survived the ride.