Seven years ago this week I was in Des Moines, Iowa for the floods that had hit that state. After about three weeks of 12 hour days, 7 days a week, I finally had a weekend off and used the opportunity to walk around downtown Des Moines taking photos.
Here’s a photo I took from the State Capitol of the downtown Des Moines skyline on June 29, 2008.
Today I was driving in Western Oklahoma from a meeting around 11:30 in the morning, heading back to Oklahoma City. I had just completed a phone call with Cindy, using my hands-free bluetooth earpiece (of course) and was listening to a podcast as I steered down the two lane paved road.
As I scanned the road ahead of me, a familiar sight greeted my eyes. A small, black and white furry bundle in the middle of the road, lying right across the double yellow line in the center. Yes, it was a dead skunk in the middle of the road…again.
You see, almost 7 years ago, in August of 2008, I was in Iowa driving down the cornfield-surrounded roads in a very rural part of the state when I came across a dead skunk in the middle of the road, prompting me to write this post in my The Word Of Jeff blog that recalled the 1973 hit song “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road” by Louden Wainright III. Click the link and go look at that post and photo, I’ll be here waiting.
Back? Ok, good. Here’s a video of the song with the lyrics. If you’ve never heard the song, you’ll probably laugh as much as I did the first time I heard it. Enjoy!
The cover of today’s New Yorker magazine features the theme of a modern-day playdate where two girls are in the same room playing “Minecraft” with each other on their separate devices. My middle granddaughter, Heather, is a big fan of the game and so I immediately wondered if this is how she plays it with her friends. Maybe her mom will read this and provide an answer in the comments.
As more and more of our interaction moves online through games and apps, this really isn’t all that far-fetched, is it?
Happy Summer Solstice. Here’s Mungo Jerry and their only hit song in the U.S. from 1970, In The Summertime.
This brought back fond memories when I found it in my files.
In June of 2009 I was working a disaster in Atlanta, GA, The Peach State. One weekend in June, Cindy flew up from Orlando to visit and we took a trip over to Stone Mountain. This is one of my favorite photos of her on top of the mountain that day.
Good times!
Here in Oklahoma City we’re about to be walloped by remnants of Tropical Storm Bill. Normally, this would not be a problem but OKC is still reeling from flooding and straight-line winds in May (which is why I’m here) and all of the rivers, lakes, ponds and creeks, not to mention the ground itself, are not going to be able to handle the predicted 5-10” of rain we’re expecting tonight and into mid-afternoon tomorrow.
Flash flood warnings are in effect and, lucky me, my hotel room is on the first floor. So I’ve moved all my personal belongings up as high as I’m able to in the room. The closet isn’t all that large, and I’ve had to put the rest of my stuff on top of the cabinets in the kitchen. And, as always, my Mini-Maglite will be on my nightstand if the power goes out. At least if I’m awakened in the middle of the night by water rushing into the door or window, I’ll only have to worry about getting ME to higher ground.
Most people know that, despite being “sister states” (a term used by officials from both states), there has been a long-time rivalry between The Sooner State and The Lone Star State. Yesterday I saw a little bit of that rivalry manifested on the men’s room wall.
Our office is located in a mall that, 35 years ago was THE place to shop in Oklahoma City but today is populated with a few small businesses and absolutely no anchor stores. Our office is in one of the former locations of a large anchor store. As I walk through the area during the course of my workday, talking to different program area specialists, it is easy to see that no one has been in this building in a long time.
All that to say that, when I stepped into the men’s restroom yesterday and saw this graffiti on the wall of the stall, I knew that it had been there for many years.
And yes, I laughed.
This is a second test. Please disregard.
This is a test post. Please disregard.
This week’s Throwback Thursday takes us back 14 years today to the birth of my first grandson, Mikey, on June 11, 2001. In this photo, I’m just looking at him as it took me several hours to even try and hold him. He was such a tiny little fellow that I was afraid I would crush him simply by holding him. Today he’s bigger than his mom, lol.
