Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Summer days like these remind me of a time almost 40 years ago that I learned my grandma had smoked The Marijuana. My father's mother would sit in her easy chair in the corner of the living room, smoking a filterless Raleigh cigarette and watching her soap operas. Between her shows she would tell tales of long ago or pontificate on the rules of life. But she really surprised me when she said she smoked The Marijuana. Me and my buddy Dick had been shooting the breeze on the back porch of "The Old Home Place," talking about a...
Have you ever lost your driver's license? I lost mine last week. I wouldn't have noticed it, except I dropped my wallet the other day at a yard sale. There it lay, wide open on the ground and something was missing. "My driver's license is gone!" I exclaimed to The Lady of the House. "MY DRIVER'S LICENSE IS GONE!" I repeated in a higher octave. "When did you have it last?" asked The Lady of the House in a calm voice. My mind raced… Did I have it at the bank? Yes. Did I have it at the library book sale? No, I missed the l...
Have you ever lost your driver's license? I lost mine last week. I wouldn't have noticed it, except I dropped my wallet the other day at a yard sale. There it lay, wide open on the ground and something was missing. "My driver's license is gone!" I exclaimed to The Lady of the House. "MY DRIVER'S LICENSE IS GONE!" I repeated in a higher octave. "When did you have it last?" asked The Lady of the House in a calm voice. My mind raced… Did I have it at the bank? Yes. Did I have it at the library book sale? No, I missed the l...
So I'm kickin' back in my recliner at The Stucco Hacienda, watching the TV, when one of those ads comes on for a lawyer. You know the ones: "CALL ME IF YOU NEED SOMEONE TO 'KICK REAR AND TAKE NAMES IN COURT FOR YOU." Well, it doesn't actually say that, but you get the idea. How do you know this lawyer is all that and a bag of chips just based on a TV ad? I thought back over the years about trying to find a good lawyer. There's always a family friend if you still live in the home town. But there was this one time I thought I...
So I'm kickin' back in my recliner at The Stucco Hacienda, watching the TV, when one of those ads comes on for a lawyer. You know the ones: "CALL ME IF YOU NEED SOMEONE TO 'KICK REAR AND TAKE NAMES IN COURT FOR YOU." Well, it doesn't actually say that, but you get the idea. How do you know this lawyer is all that and a bag of chips just based on a TV ad? I thought back over the years about trying to find a good lawyer. There's always a family friend if you still live in the home town. But there was this one time I thought I...
Did you hear about the huge storm that ravaged some states back east last Friday? My West Virginia daughter was caught in it. It began with a phone call. "DAD! THE SKY IS BLACK AND A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 5 MILES AWAY AND THE BABY'S AT MOM'S!" daughter is yelling. "You're driving in a bad storm?" I asked. "IT'S THE STORM FROM HELL!" She yelled. "I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT. THE SKY IS BLACK, THERE'S THIS INCREDIBLE WIND, TREES AND LINES ARE DOWN AND I CAN'T GET TO THE BABY BECAUSE THERE'S A TREE DOWN OVER THE ROAD."...
Did you hear about the huge storm that ravaged some states back east last Friday? My West Virginia daughter was caught in it. It began with a phone call. "DAD! THE SKY IS BLACK AND A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 5 MILES AWAY AND THE BABY'S AT MOM'S!" daughter is yelling. "You're driving in a bad storm?" I asked. "IT'S THE STORM FROM HELL!" She yelled. "I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT. THE SKY IS BLACK, THERE'S THIS INCREDIBLE WIND, TREES AND LINES ARE DOWN AND I CAN'T GET TO THE BABY BECAUSE THERE'S A TREE DOWN OVER THE ROAD."...
A few weeks ago The Lady of the House and I were leaving a church rummage sale when something across the street caught my eye: A nice fence had a gaping hole in it. It looked like some vehicle had rocketed off the road, then smashed the fence and the storage building behind it. "Wow," said The Lady of the House. "Look at that. I bet a car went through there." Last Saturday there was a yard sale at the house on the other side of the house with the damaged fence and building. "Let's go to that yard sale," I said to The Lady of... Full story
A few weeks ago The Lady of the House and I were leaving a church rummage sale when something across the street caught my eye: A nice fence had a gaping hole in it. It looked like some vehicle had rocketed off the road, then smashed the fence and the storage building behind it. "Wow," said The Lady of the House. "Look at that. I bet a car went through there." Last Saturday there was a yard sale at the house on the other side of the house with the damaged fence and building. "Let's go to that yard sale," I said to The Lady of...
The Lady of the House and I went road trippin' to a town over 75 miles from here. The town shall remain un-named for reasons that will become obvious to you. One of the things we wanted to do was eat at a small restaurant we liked in the downtown section of this little burg. The place was out of business. A bit later at a nearby shop I asked the woman behind the counter about the restaurant. "Oh, the Health Department shut them down a few months ago," she said. "Why?" I asked. The woman looked from side to side. "I'm not the...
The Lady of the House and I went road trippin' to a town over 75 miles from here. The town shall remain un-named for reasons that will become obvious to you. One of the things we wanted to do was eat at a small restaurant we liked in the downtown section of this little burg. The place was out of business. A bit later at a nearby shop I asked the woman behind the counter about the restaurant. "Oh, the Health Department shut them down a few months ago," she said. "Why?" I asked. The woman looked from side to side. "I'm not the...
Father's Day is tomorrow. I'm thinking of my dad who "went on to Glory" almost 30 years ago. He was a busy guy, always working, that was his contribution to the family. He worked, mom took care of the family. Knowing I needed much more he shipped me off to the Boy Scouts. And with that I want to remember Scoutmaster Phil from the rogue Boy Scout troop I belonged to as a kid. What's a rogue troop? An example: One time our troop was on a backpacking adventure when we were caught in an Appalachian spring squall of cold winds,... Full story
Father's Day is tomorrow. I'm thinking of my dad who "went on to Glory" almost 30 years ago. He was a busy guy, always working, that was his contribution to the family. He worked, mom took care of the family. Knowing I needed much more he shipped me off to the Boy Scouts. And with that I want to remember Scoutmaster Phil from the rogue Boy Scout troop I belonged to as a kid. What's a rogue troop? An example: One time our troop was on a backpacking adventure when we were caught in an Appalachian spring squall of cold winds,... Full story
Have you ever found yourself face-to-face with someone repeatedly and you can't remember their name? Try as much as you can, you just can't pull that person's name out of your biomechanical hard drive. It happens to me a lot. I got to thinking about forgetting names because I keep running into this guy around town and as try as I may I can't remember his name. I see him a lot on those Saturday mornings when The Lady of the House and I go yard sale-ing. "Hey, how's it going?" I say when I see Mr. Familiar. "Not bad,...
Have you ever found yourself face-to-face with someone repeatedly and you can't remember their name? Try as much as you can, you just can't pull that person's name out of your biomechanical hard drive. It happens to me a lot. I got to thinking about forgetting names because I keep running into this guy around town and as try as I may I can't remember his name. I see him a lot on those Saturday mornings when The Lady of the House and I go yard sale-ing. "Hey, how's it going?" I say when I see Mr. Familiar. "Not bad,...
The other week I was wondering: Did anyone else see a li'l ol' herd of cattle wandering the residential streets of the north side of town? I'll explain. I was kicking back in my recliner, The Lady of the House was in the kitchen when son Justin, just up from a mid-day doze walked into the living room. "I think I'm really going crazy," Justin said. "Oh?" I said. I was not surprised. I have not forgotten life at age 30, many a-time I thought I was going nuts myself. "I'm coming home at 3 a.m. and as I turn the corner I see... Full story
The other week I was wondering: Did anyone else see a li'l ol' herd of cattle wandering the residential streets of the north side of town? I'll explain. I was kicking back in my recliner, The Lady of the House was in the kitchen when son Justin, just up from a mid-day doze walked into the living room. "I think I'm really going crazy," Justin said. "Oh?" I said. I was not surprised. I have not forgotten life at age 30, many a-time I thought I was going nuts myself. "I'm coming home at 3 a.m. and as I turn the corner I see... Full story
Someone was on Facebook asking: "What's the fastest you've ever driven?" Some were reluctant to answer, basically writing, "I'm not making that public." Others wrote of rocketing down the highway as fast as 150 mph. Me? Oh yeah, I remember where and when I hit my highest speed ever. It was one night long ago and far away, back when the bits of mischief a juvenile might get into weren't deemed threats to national security. I had a glorious mop of hair on my head, I was 17 and I was unknowingly testing the boundaries of my... Full story
Someone was on Facebook asking: "What's the fastest you've ever driven?" Some were reluctant to answer, basically writing, "I'm not making that public." Others wrote of rocketing down the highway as fast as 150 mph. Me? Oh yeah, I remember where and when I hit my highest speed ever. It was one night long ago and far away, back when the bits of mischief a juvenile might get into weren't deemed threats to national security. I had a glorious mop of hair on my head, I was 17 and I was unknowingly testing the boundaries of my...
The grass was growing higher and higher in the yard of The Stucco Hacienda. The weeds leered at me. I hadn't seen a goat-head yet, but I was sure it was only a matter of time. Here it was not even the first of May and the yard was in need of mowing. What was I to do? I didn't have time for mowing, there were too many things to do, too many responsibilities: My day job, the bicycle shop, cleaning the kitty litter box, putting away the dishes. There was no way to properly care for the yard. Where was Gene? Gene is this great...
The grass was growing higher and higher in the yard of The Stucco Hacienda. The weeds leered at me. I hadn't seen a goat-head yet, but I was sure it was only a matter of time. Here it was not even the first of May and the yard was in need of mowing. What was I to do? I didn't have time for mowing, there were too many things to do, too many responsibilities: My day job, the bicycle shop, cleaning the kitty litter box, putting away the dishes. There was no way to properly care for the yard. Where was Gene? Gene is this great...
Every time I drive by the building where the pizza place used to be I chuckle. I still find it amazing that they packed everything up and moved out practically overnight last fall. I'm not mentioning the pizza place by name because you know how folks are, we live in such a litigious world these days. I remember when I found out the pizza place had left town I went online to try to get more information. It looked like the Giant Pizza Corporation had done the same thing in some little towns about our size in Texas, Idaho, Calif... Full story
Every time I drive by the building where the pizza place used to be I chuckle. I still find it amazing that they packed everything up and moved out practically overnight last fall. I'm not mentioning the pizza place by name because you know how folks are, we live in such a litigious world these days. I remember when I found out the pizza place had left town I went online to try to get more information. It looked like the Giant Pizza Corporation had done the same thing in some little towns about our size in Texas, Idaho, Calif... Full story
I was riding my bicycle along one of our streets the other day and noticed some yellow flowers. I thought they brightened up the vacant lot. I saw yellow flowers; I knew many more folks would just see weeds. I ponder weeds a lot because at times in my life they've meant yard work. For instance there are times The Lady of the House asks me to help her pull them up. At our house, when it rains we turn off the TV then go outside and appreciate it. A few minutes will pass then The Lady of the House usually says, "Oh good, I get... Full story
I was riding my bicycle along one of our streets the other day and noticed some yellow flowers. I thought they brightened up the vacant lot. I saw yellow flowers; I knew many more folks would just see weeds. I ponder weeds a lot because at times in my life they've meant yard work. For instance there are times The Lady of the House asks me to help her pull them up. At our house, when it rains we turn off the TV then go outside and appreciate it. A few minutes will pass then The Lady of the House usually says, "Oh good, I get...
