Monday, January 25, 2010

THE RIDE

It was one of those days
I wanted to sneak in a
little longer ride. The
wife must have gone
some where. So the
proposed ride was to
take in four states in
one day.

From here that was not too hard. Just loop up
through Oklahoma into Kansas. Then head East
into Missouri dropping down into Arkansas and
back home.

It was up in North East Oklahoma that I spotted them.
Sahara type sand dunes in a lush area of Oklahoma?
The picture is small. But if you look close in the top
photo, behind the telephone pole in the center of the
image is the first sand dune coming up.

It ends up that they were not sand dunes at all. A
little research revealed that they are the tailings
from zinc and lead mining. They are toxic. So in
all the years they have been there nothing will grow
on them.

These are just south of
the quaint town of
Picher, Oklahoma.

A tornado when through
May 10, 2008 tearing
up the town and killing a
number of people. The
last report I read is that
because of the toxic nature of these "hills" or tailings.
And the danger of the old mines caving in, the
government is buying the town out.

After a number of hours
in the saddle I was needing
a bush to hide behind.

Found one. A touch further
south on the fringe of the
area near Douthat, OK.

Obviously old ruins are
a real attraction to me. Could not pass this up.

Get on the Internet, like
you are now. Punch in,
"Map of Picher, Oklahoma".
Now switch to the
satellite view.

You will see the area is
just dotted with the
"dunes" (Tailings). It
makes an interesting and informative view. Better
yet, take a drive up through that part of Oklahoma.
It's a great way to get out of town.

Got all four states in that day with only 326 miles and
back home in the late afternoon. I've been back through
there again. And hope to again. It's that interesting
to see.




Wednesday, January 20, 2010

A DODGE MOTORCYCLE

There. You can see
it with your own
eyes. A "DODGE"
motorcycle.

This belongs to a
friend so I knew
where to look for it.
I've ridden a lot
of miles with him and that old motorcycle. NO,
not on it with him. I was on whatever motorcycle
I was riding that day.

Here is more proof.
The name plate on
the right side of the
motorcycle.

Now if you believe
this, it proves two
things.

l. You do not know anything about motorcycles.
That's O.K. No hard feelings.
2. You are very easily deceived.

Things simply are not always what they appear
to be.

Kinda reminds me of a fellow I used to be
acquainted with. When I got acquainted with him,
we were both lonely guys. Our wives had dumped
us. They were a lot smarter than us. Had to have
been. Why else would they have left us?

Now he had a going business in a neighboring
community. And he drove a new American made
luxury car. One of the best. I didn't have either.

Some times we would be setting together in
Church. He had a way of putting in his offering
so every one could see the size of his donation.
Yep. It was about twice the size of mine.

He invited me over to his place to see his new
indoor pool. I don't think I ever told him where
I lived. It would not begin to compare.

We both got married within about a week of each
other. And yes, it just happened that our wives
were acquainted with each other.

Just about the time he returned his "luxury"
vehicle, to the dealership I worked for - so they
would not have to repossess it. I found out by way
of the "wifevine" that he did not have any money
after all. It was all a big show. I had always
suspected that his "new" wife was attracted by his
flamboyant ways. When she dumped him real
quick for someone else, I was even more suspicious
of it.

Things are not always what they appear to be.

Even The Book says, "Some people pretend to
be rich, but have nothing. Others pretend to be
poor, but own a fortune."

The next time you see some one who is pretending
to be;
  • Rich
  • Smart
  • Strong
  • Informed
  • Spiritual
  • Gifted
  • etc.
just remember, they may not be a bit ahead of
you and me. Maybe even behind us.

Shakespeare said, "All the world is a stage. And
the people on it are actors."

If he did not say it, he should have.

We may fool others. But we sure don't fool God.


















Monday, January 18, 2010

WHAT PROPS YOU UP?

The owner of this place
gave me permission to
poke around on it.

It happens that I know
more about this old
shed than the owner
does. I have been
acquainted with the
last three owners, and the builder of the shed.


The old shed was built
in the mid nineteen
fifties. It is a draw well.
You know. Where you
drop a long skinny bucket
down the well attached
to a rope.

The old well was used
until the early nineteen seventies. That is when a
new modern deep well was put into service.

At that point being as it was no longer being used,
you know what happened. The owners wife begin
to store (Throw) stuff in the old well house.

What's the point? It appears that is all that is
holding the old building up. All the stuff "stored"
in it.

Here looking through
one wall you can see
about a rick of fire
wood stored. It is
old slab wood. It does
a pretty good job of
holding up it's side of
the building.


Through the door here is
a small portion of the "good
stuff" that has been saved
for who knows how long.

It may not be doing the
owner any good. But it
sure is helping the poor
old well house stay up.

This makes me wonder
about my life. Is that all
that is holding me up, stuff. Material stuff.
  • House
  • Land
  • Bank account
  • Investments
  • Stocks
  • Bonds
  • Business
  • Fun toys
  • Entertainment?
If that is all my life consists of, I'm in real trouble.

God said,

"Beware, and be on your guard against every form
of greed, for not even when one has an abundance
does this life consist of his possessions."
(Luke 12:15 NASB)











Saturday, January 9, 2010

OH BOY, MORE LAWS

WOW. Aren't you
glad. That should
fix everything.

I had been poking
around on the Internet
and did not want to
believe it. So I
read it again. Right
there on the Internet
was a news burp.
(My opinion.)
Yes. It said that in
this country there
were over 40,000
new laws, ordinances,
regulations and rules
going into effect the first of 2010.

Oh joy. We will be entering a new period of peace and
prosperity. It'll be Utopia. Just think. All these laws ought
to cover about everything. Wow.
  • No more murders.
  • No more lies told.
  • No more stealing
  • No more cheating
  • No more bad things.
  • No more speeding.
Look. Even a book has been
put out with rules to put
everything in order.
No more confusion.
And consider. Maybe next year they will even
outlaw war. And while they are at it outlaw;
  • Earthquakes.
  • Volcano's.
  • Tsunamis.
  • Hurricanes.
  • Tornado's.
  • And blizzards.
Especially blizzards. Then we can enjoy our
Global warming.

Why we will be in a virtual Paradise. All from
more laws. [Law makers are such heroes.]

You and I both know that laws don't work.(Period.)
They only shackle or restrict a person - when
other people are looking.

The only thing that truly helps - is to change the
person. And only God can do that.
















Wednesday, January 6, 2010

THE FISHERMAN'S PRAYER




Found POKING AROUND in Buckeye, Arkansas







I just trust that he was the Lord Jesus Christ's fisherman.  May he rest in peace.








Tuesday, January 5, 2010

JUST LOVE MY GOOD NEIGHBORS

These are a couple of
neighbors who came
over to visit with me
a few days back.

Real good neighbors.
They are kinda shy
neighbors. So I had
to do all the talking that day.

And these are the
neighbors who got
me to thinking about
neighbors.

One day I was just
watching them do
their thing. They
were not a bother
to anybody. Just being
good neighbors going about their business.

God has been real good to me with my neighbors.
On the West and on the South of me are the type
neighbors you see in the pictures.

On the East and the North of me are neighbors
who don't have as many legs. But still good neighbors.

I have lived here about thirty six or thirty seven
years. And in all that time I do not remember any
of my neighbors (no matter how many legs.) trying
to tell me,
  • What color to paint my house.
  • How long or short my grass should be.
  • Where I could park my boat - if I had one.
  • Where I can park my car or truck.
  • How loud my motorcycle can be.
  • Etc.
  • Etc.
  • Etc.

As you can see
here. God has
just given me
good neighbors.
Curious sometimes,
but good.



The place just to the East of me is a rent house.
Even there with neighbors coming and going
for around twenty five years, I can only remember
one neighbor who resembles this picture.

And then, it was only for
a short time. The renters
have always been temporary.

I think their landlord has a
way of running them off.

Do you know. In all these
years the ONLY ones who
gave me trouble. (Tried to
tell me how to live.) Were
not even neighbors. They
came all the way from town to stick their nose in
my business. It only happened once. And they were
not even neighbors.

Yes. I thank God for the neighbors I have and
have had. Even the one walking away from you
in the picture above.

Monday, January 4, 2010

GLOBAL WARMING, STOP IT PLEASE















STOP

GLOBAL WARMING

BEFORE THE WHOLE COUNTRY

FREEZES UP





It is not supposed to get that cold in this part of the country.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

TRYING SOME THING NEW

Things were pretty much
shut down today. So that
gave time to go out and
fiddle with the camera
a little.

That is, until it got too
cold and time for coffee.

I thought it was time to try
blogging a little
differently.

So "POKING AROUND" is an attempt at a
different approach to blogging for me.


It is supposed to be obvious to you that this is a snow day
here in the Ozarks.










So, I'll just sit around and wait for "Global Warming"