Friday, April 30, 2010
MIKESCHAIR - Let The Waters Rise
Brent Hale's Masterpiece, Whats Old Is New Again ...
Brent Hale, One Of Dudley's College Roommates ...
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Dudley Got His New Manual Wheelchair Yesterday ...
and Frank put it together last night. All he had to do was put the footrests on and the dust caps on the front wheels. Just took him a minute and did not require any tools. Dudley is going to use this wheelchair to go places that require a lot of walking which Dudley is not able to do any more. Dudley will have to get Frank to push him as Dudley's arms are too weak to provide the power to roll the thing. Dudley told Frank not to worry, it is just like pushing a lawn mower. Frank responded that the lawn mowers at work are self propelled. Dudley told him it would be good exercises for reeling in all of the big fish we are going to catch down in Matagorda. Dudley is still trying to save up the money to buy a lift for his pick up so he can transport his power wheel chair. One of these days Dudley will have enough money saved up. Dudley got a good deal on the Invacare wheelchair from Amazon. Total cost was one hundred and fifty eight dollars with free two day shipping via FEDEX.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Saw This Over At Grouchy Old Cripple ...
Frank Went Out In His Kayak Yesterday ...
after he got out of school. It was windy so he went to the river and paddled up to his favorite creek. He caught about ten sunfish and one small bass. Look at the colors on that sunfish, simply beautiful!Monday, April 26, 2010
Dudley Called This Morning And Got Signed Up ...
for the fishing trip down at the coast. It sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun. They are going to have a fish fry Friday night and Dudley and Frank will get to hang out with the other disabled fishermen and meet the fishing guide that will take us out fishing on Saturday. They are going to have fried catfish at the dinner which is one of Dudley's favorite things to eat since Dudley developed an allergy to shrimp. Dudley has made reservations for three nights in a new motel right in town close to everything. Frank is going to take his kayak down and do some kayak fishing while we are down at the coast. I think we are going to take Frank's truck since it has 4wd as you can drive for miles on the beach on the peninsula of land that runs from the Colorado River to the east on the south side of East Matagorda Bay. We should make some new friends and have a great time fishing and hopefully bring home some fish fillets.Sunday, April 25, 2010
This Is An Interesting Photo Dudley Found ...
of Tyler State Park in East TX. It is one of the most beautiful and oldest parks in the state. It is situated in the rolling hills surrounded by pine trees, oaks, hickory, elm and dogwood trees among others. Right in the middle of the park is a spring fed lake around 60 acres in size. During the depression, the CCC built a lot of the facilities in the park. There are structures built out of logs and the iron ore rocks that are common to the area. When Dudley was in high school, he used to go camping out and fishing there with his buddies. One year Dudley was launching his twelve foot Terry Bass Boat that was powered by an Evinrude 9.5 hp outboard when he slipped on the wet moss covered concrete ramp and put a nasty gash in his lower leg all the way to the bone. That required a trip to the ER in Tyler to have the wound cleaned and sewed back up with a bunch of stitches. Dudley still has the scar to this day to show for his trouble. Dudley ended up not putting the boat in the water the rest of that trip. The above photo was taken on September 12, 1963 after the dam failed suddenly and all of the water in the lake rushed out and flowed into the Sabine River. Dudley had never heard that story until he found the above photo on the Internet one night. When we lived in Tyler, we used to take the kids out there to go swimming or fishing or to have a picnic or a paddle boat ride. If there is a prettier place to go camping and fishing in East Texas, Dudley has not seen it. And Dudley has seen a lot of them.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Dudley Is Looking Into Going On A Fishing Trip ...
in August down on the coast at Matagorda TX. It is located about midway between Galveston and Corpus Cristi. A group is putting on an event for disabled fishermen like Dudley to go out in the bay fishing for a day with an experienced fishing guide. Sounds like a lot of fun and a good way to catch some fish and bring home some fillets. Dudley is going to find out Monday if he can go on the trip. Hopefully everything will work out and Dudley can go fishing again. It has been a few years since Dudley has been fishing down at the coast. Frank should be able to go and with him and one other person helping, Dudley should be able to get in and out of the boat. If we get to go, we will drive down on a Friday and go to an auction and dinner at the local V.F.D. Friday night. We will meet up with our assigned guide Saturday morning for a day of fishing for Speckled Sea Trout and Redfish. We would head home on Sunday hopefully with memories of a great day of fishing and some fish fillets in the ice chest.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Got This From Texas Fred ...
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Dudley Went And Had A Nuclear Stress Test ...
done today at his cardiologists office. It took about two hours total start to finish. I had told my doctor I really did not want to do another one of these tests. Had one about eight years ago and since Dudley has muscular dystrophy, he is unable to do a regular stress test on a treadmill. Dudley has to have the chemical stress test where they inject you with drugs that put your heart under stress. The last time it lasted about five minutes and felt like a large elephant was sitting on Dudley's chest. It was not a pleasant experience but the doctor assured me they are using a different drug and it is not as bad. He was right which gives me a good feeling about this doctor. I did not care for the first cardiologist I went to but believe this one is going to be a lot better.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Frank Went Fishing This Afternoon To An Indoor Fishing Barge ...
went he got out of school. He got lucky and got a walk in his last class for the day and got an early start. He just sent me a text and said he had only been fishing about five minutes and he hooked a big slab crappie and got it up to the surface. He did not have a net and as he reached to try and grab the fish, it managed to pull off. He said he had only been fishing for five minutes when he hooked the fish. He will be motivated to fish now for a while. He took his little headset radio so he can fish and listen to the Ranger game tonight and later the Mavericks game if he stays that long. Dudley hopes he will bring back a stringer of crappie. Sure would be great as Dudley can not remember the last time he ate some fried crappie. Dudley can almost taste them now.Tuesday, April 20, 2010
What A Dumb Ass ...
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Good Ol USA Ain't What It Used To Be ...
when Dudley was a kid, you could go into any hardware store, marina, bait store or department store and buy a quality galvanized steel two piece floating minnow bucket for a nominal amount of money. The bucket would be marked with made in the USA and if taken care of and not abused could last the lifetime of it's owner. Dudley has an old Falls City minnow bucket that is decades old. Dudley can not even remember where it came from or when it was purchased but Dudley has had it forever it seems like. Dudley better hang on to it. They don't make them like that any more., Now they are nearly all made of plastic and Dudley would be willing to bet they won't last more than a season or two. There is one company that makes a metal minnow bucket that is close to the one above but it is made in China and imported into the USA. Damn thing costs close to twenty five bucks and no doubt is not as well built as the old USA made buckets. Dudley misses the good old days.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Back When Dudley Was A Kid He Spent Many Enjoyable Hours ...
at a local indoor fishing barge. Some people here in Texas call them Crappie Houses. If you hit it right in the late winter or early spring, the fishing can be pretty good in a fishing barge. The nicer fishing barges even had snack bars inside where you could take a break and eat lunch and drink a cold drink. Dudley remembers catching bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish at one time or another. It was always exciting whenever anyone caught a fish. Dudley has not been to a fishing barge in years. Probably could not stand the smoke hanging in the air these days as a lot of the patrons smoke. Fishing barges are becoming rarer with each passing year. Dudley would not be surprised if they disappear entirely one of these days like a lot of other good things from the past. Saturday, April 17, 2010
Dudley Woke Up This Morning To The Sound Of Rain ...
falling outside and inside. The leak inside the house is getting worse. Dudley has a bucket under the leak to catch the water but now the water is coming in above the window and is getting on Dudley's television and wood floor. Dudley has had three different roofers out to try to find and repair the leak with no luck. I am beginning to have a very low opinion of roofers. They take your money to fix a leak and when you call them to tell them the roof is still leaking they tell you they will be back out to take a look at it and they never show up and avoid your calls. Dudley called and has a fourth roofer coming out to take a look at the roof. Dudley is starting to get a little exasperated. What can you do?Thursday, April 15, 2010
"The Super Chief" Dudley Was Born Too Late ...
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Dudley's Sister Has Had An Exciting Twenty Four Hours ...
She was at work yesterday morning slaving away at her computer when she noticed one of her eyes suddenly started acting funny. She was seeing all kinds of floaters which became flashes of light and then darkness in one eye. Needless to say she became a little concerned. She called an opthamologist that she knew, who is on her insurance. She went over her symptoms and was told it sounds like you have a detached retina and she was told to contact a retina specialist immediately. They referred her to one and she made an appointment for yesterday afternoon. She went to the doctor and he examined her and said she had a torn retina and she was scheduled for surgery a little after seven this morning. The surgery went well and she is at home resting now. Dudley's daughter went over to stay with her for a few days as she has to take it pretty easy for a while. Lizzie will have a great time, she can play on the computer, watch the big screen t.v. and play with Aunt Lo's dog. She can also drive Aunt Lo's Equinox all over town running errands for her and her Grandmother. Big Sis I know you could use a nice vacation from work but isn't ripping your eyeball out a little extreme?
Monday, April 12, 2010
Texas Stadium, Gone But Not Forgotten ...
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Tiger Woods Has A New Book Coming Out ...
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Now This Is Funny, If You Are A Guy Anyway ...
Friday, April 9, 2010
Dudley Had A Great Time This Afternoon ...
going to see the restored Union Pacific Steam Locomotive #844 as it rolled into Fort Worth. Dudley signed up to get live Tweet updates from the train so Dudley could keep track of it's progress as it steamed towards Fort Worth. Dudley's daughter got a kick out of my tweeting and I just told her Dad was a High Tech Red Neck! The five photos above are some of the best one's Dudley managed to take from the cab of his truck. Dudley really got a kick out of the photo of the engineer of the Kiddie train standing on his tip toes straining to get the first glimpse of Ol 844 as she came down the tracks. Dudley used to ride that kiddie train down in Forest Park with his grandfather when he was a small child. Dudley's kids have ridden the kiddie train with their grandparents as well. A lot of great memories. Dudley loves trains, always has and always will.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Happy 18th Birthday Lizzie ...
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Find The Hidden History Lesson ...
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Government Health Care Please Take A Number ...
Monday, April 5, 2010
Frank Is Skipping His College Classes Today ...
to go to the Texas Rangers Home Opener. He and a bunch of his buddies went out to the ball park this morning. They are going to have a tailgate party and cook hamburgers on the grill and then go enjoy the baseball game. They bought their tickets months ago which is a good thing because the game is sold out. They were selling some standing room only tickets last Dudley heard. Dudley will watch the game on t.v. Frank stayed up last night working on his math homework. Dudley was no help as Frank completed his quadratic equations. Dudley did help Frank scan the four pages of homework and emailed the attached files to Franks laptop computer so he could forward to his math teacher via email. Frank said he let all of his teachers know he would not be in class today and made arrangements to get all of his work done. Maybe this will be the year the Rangers put it all together and go to the World Series. Then again Dudley may stand a better chance of figuring out a bunch of Quadratic Equations, Go Rangers!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Happy Easter From Dudley's Diary ...
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Dudley Did One Constructive Thing Today ...
completed the 2010 Census form. Maybe tomorrow I will get motivated and take it by the Post Office and drop it in the mailbox.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Dudley Is Staying Home Today Watching The ...
Barrett Jackson Classic Car Auction. After that he is going to watch the Texas Rangers preseason baseball game. Tomorrow morning early, Dudley's wife and kids are going to go to East Texas to visit with the in laws for Easter. Dudley is going to stay home and hold down the fort and take care of Foxy and White Kitty. Dudley is looking forward to a little peace and quiet for a couple of days. There should be plenty to watch on t.v. between the auction and the Rangers and Mavericks ball games. If Dudley could only win the Lottery, then he could buy the classic car or truck of his dreams.Thursday, April 1, 2010
Too Late To Apologize: A Declaration ...
It Got Up Into The Mid Eighties Yesterday ...
and Frank took advantage of the warm weather and went fishing when he got out of school. It was windy so he took his kayak to the river and paddled up to his favorite creek. He had a great day on the water catching six or seven Sunfish including the large Long Ear variety in the top photo. He caught one small bass in the middle photo and last but not least, he caught the five pound bass in the bottom photo. All of his fish yesterday were caught on his ultra light Mitchell Spinning Reel and his ultra light Berkley Cherry wood Spinning Rod and a Yo-Zuri Pins Minnow with a purple back. When he hooked the big bass, he said she took off across the creek pulling out drag. He kept a tight line on the fish and held his breath as she jumped out of the water two different times trying to throw the lure. He fought the big bass for several minutes finally wearing her down enough to pull her along side and grab her lower jaw and pull her into his kayak. Dudley is proud of Frank for catching such a big bass on ultra light tackle. It is not his biggest bass by any means but it is a special catch that he will no doubt remember as long as life lasts.
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