"Once Upon A Time..."

... there was this little boy.

His mother put him in a kindergarten at a place called 

Hell Hill Demonstration School...

His recollection is that his kindergarten 

teacher just didn't like him...

He recalls that she looked something kinda sorta like this...

... only meaner...

... nastier...

...uglier...

He recalls that she was always angry with him... always grabbing him by the shoulder... by the sleeve of his shirt... and pulling him down the hallway and putting him by himself...

He remembers one day that he and his kindergarten class mates were coming in from having played outside for a while... he remembers standing in line to get a drink of water from a water fountain... and when it was his turn to go up the three-step stand, being grabbed and pulled away by the teacher... 

I... uh... he remembers a little girl who was a class mate saying, "... but he wasn't DOING anything!!!"

He has this memory of getting into the car when his Mom picked him up at noon that day...  and with all of the energy and might that a four year old could muster,and telling her...

"I am NOT going back to that school!!!!!!!!"

When I went back to kindergarten, 

my Mom took me to a new place...

There were two teachers there... they were so kind... SO nice...

But there was this one woman that was special...

... and remember, I was just a kid.

Even though I spent a short time... less than a year with this teacher, she made such an impact on my Life...

I can't even begin to count the number of times I have thought of this woman down through the years... 

I remember our Christmas Parade that year... how is THAT for a memory... and this photo that my Mom had...

My  little brother (right) and me...

Just in the past few weeks, 

I have learned that she is still with us....

and here very  soon, I am going to make the 

drive to go down and visit with her...

Tell her what all of her kindness, tenderness, and sweetness 

did for a goofy four year  old... that grew up into a goofy adult...

It's amazing the impact that a teacher can have on someone... even the smallest of us... there are many teachers whose names I don't or can't remember...

Yet, I have never forgotten this lady...

Thank God for teachers, for people like her... 

that make this kind of committment to what they do...

and the impact that they have on their students.

God Bless You!!!

~Little Boy Shoes~

"Carved In Stone..."

Is the name 

I will remember...

I know someone... that every time we would discuss music, I would talk about my favorite band... and every time I had a new favorite band... and I would... and I did...and she would call me out on it... 

ppffttt...

Somewhere in my Top Ten Favorite Band list is a group of guys who originated down in New Orleans... their music seems to be a blend of New Orleans Rhythm and Blues... folk music... cajun/zydeco and gospel... just to name a few..

The subdudes

Members of the band have included Tom Malone, John Magnie, Steve Amadee, Jimmy Messa, Tim Cook, and Johnny Ray Allen.

"Late At Night..."

You may not own a pair of dancin' shoes... but if your feet don't move to this song, something may be wrong with you...

Another one of my favorite subdude songs is this one...

"All The Time In The World..."

I really enjoy their music... they have great energy at their live performances...

It was interesting to me that I selected two live performances to share... but they are that good in concert that they can pull of the studio sound.

John Magnie, Tommy Malone, Steve Amedee, Johnny Ray Allen

original line up...

They originally broke up back in 1996, but would get together and play from time to time... I had read that they recently regrouped to play at a benefit for a deceased friend.. and that was the first time that Johnny Allen had played with them since they first dissolved back in '96.

Word leaked out that they had played... and there was enough interest generated that they decided to reform and are back out on the road touring... 

I was saddened to read today that Johnny Ray Allen 
died last Friday...

that made me think of this song...

'Carved In Stone...'

None of us get out of here alive...

as I told my doctor this afternoon,

"Life in itself is terminal..."

I want to share this song, just to leave this post on a positive note...

Wait for it...

It fades in...

... and, of course, you turned it up...

Loud...

~shoes~

"Insignificant..."

Edited:  I was going through my blog role... and found this that I had written a while back.  When I saw the title and that it was still in draft form, that I must have made a duplicate of the previous post.  Evidently, I've had these 'insignificant' issues for a while.

Star Dust...

Have you ever just stared at the sky...?

To see what you could see??

I don't think one gets the sense of "insignificance" 

until one stares at the sky at night...

I think this,  above,  is probably a true statement...

Stephen Hawking has made the comment... 

that if we are ever visited by aliens from outer space

(not Mexico...)

that they are more likely to be like those depicted in

"Independence Day"

more so than those like E.T.

Anyway...

I digress....

I have been to some wonderful places... where you could lie on your back at night... and stare into the skies...

... and the stars seemed to be right at your finger tips...

Some of my trips to Nantahala, North Carolina were like that...

no light pollution...

The stars would be so bright.

I need to go back out West...

... if I am going to feel insignificant,

it may as well be in a place that I enjoy...

~shoes~

"Missing In Action..."

I'm OK...

You're OK...

Good evening, folks...

I've been missing...

I've been struggling...

I've been feeling rather beat up...

I've felt very insignificant...

I can't tell you enough how much

I've appreciated the emails and messages from you...

asking about me...

checking on me...

I'm OK...

God Bless you all...

~shoes~

"Seventy Years Ago Today..."

Repost...

In Honor and Memory of this historic date, I want to re-post this...

This is the 70th anniversary of this event.

___________________________

Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of 

The Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months.  The eyes of the World are upon you.  The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.  In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one.  Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year, 1944!  Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41.  The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats in open battle, man-to-man.  Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground.  Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men.  The tide has turned!  The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle.  We will accept nothing less than full victory!

Good luck!  And let us beseech  the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Supreme Allied Commander

____________

Seventy years ago this morning, June 6th, 1944, the Allied Forces landed in Normandy, France... to begin the liberation of France from  Nazi Germany, and to try to facilitate the end of WWII in Europe.

Most models that the Allied planners ran on the invasion indicated mortality rates as high as 90%...  Eisenhower had already written his letter of resignation from his role as Supreme Allied Commander, because there was no assurance  that the invasion would succeed.

May God Bless...

A few weeks ago, when I was out in Arizona Scattering Scooter, I noticed flags flying at half-mast.  Since the American Flag was at half-mast, I figured that something significant had happened.  It turned out that one of the remaining Navajo Code Talkers had just passed away.  I had no idea how few of them remained.

Mr. Chester Nez

I read in the news that the last remaining original Navajo Code Talker died yesterday.  These men were true American heroes... who communicated in their Native language... that the Japanese were unable to decode.

God Speed, Mr. Nez...

~shoes~

"Memorial Day, 2014..."

In Flanders Fields

John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place, and in the sky,

The larks, still bravely singing, fly,

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead; short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe!

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high!

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow 

In Flanders Fields

__________________

There was a young fellow who came to our country as an exchange student from France...he wound up at our university and made quite an impact.  He was quick to make friends and seemed to put 100% into anything and everything he did...

He loved this country... and later joined the military...

Captain Patrick Marc Rapicault

... the Marines, to be exact.

I've read somewhere that he was a SEAL...

That wouldn't have surprised me...

Take a few moments to read 

this story that is linked... 

HERE...

watch the embedded video... 

and see 'Frenchy'...

Take another few moments

and read the remarks that are left 

HERE

He would appreciate it...

So... what are you doing today?

~shoes~

"The Valley Of The Gods..."

Monument 

Valley

Scattering Scooter... Day 5

There is an area in Southeast Utah/Northwest Arizona that the Navajo refer to as the "Valley of the Gods"... this encompasses the area of Monument Valley as well as up around Mexican Hat...

My favorite part is Monument Valley... but I also desire to get back out and look at the other areas... there is so much to be seen.

Mexican Hat

in Utah

(not my photo...)

I have been enthralled with this place ever since the first time I saw it from the air... while flying back home from San Francisco, CA... although I had seen it many times in any number of John Ford / John Wayne westerns... my favorite is 'The Searchers'... I will watch it every time it is on TV just to see those fantastic mesas and buttes...

John Wayne... 

Merrick's Butte in the immediate back ground... 

One of the Mittens to the left..

One my first visit ever out there, I took some photos, and have them framed on my office wall... Scooter was visiting day and looking deep into the images...

His comment was something along the lines of... 

"Take me there..."

I told him that if he would get well, and able to travel, I would do that... I told him that I didn't need to be throwing his body out along the side of the interstate outside of Amarillo... 

So he and I had a deal... a commitment...

------------------

So... we set out from Farmington on Friday morning... and saw some spectacular scenery between there and Kayenta, AZ... and then you turn north on Hwy 163...

... and you start to see some amazing vistas... 

The most recognized buttes of that area are The Mittens...

Left and Center, The Mittens... 

to the right , Merrick's Butte...

(my photo)

... although one of my favorite buttes is 

Castle Rock

This is the most spiritual place I think I have ever been...

No matter how many times I've been, 

I always want to go another time.

Scooter knew this...

Maybe this was one of the reasons for his request...

knowing that it would get me back there one more time.

So, Scooter... we made it out there...

All 1,439 miles...

(at least 2,878 miles round trip...)

It was an honor and a privilege to do this for you...

~shoes~