Wiping Lead!

I've been getting some practice wiping lead. Here I'm working on my fourth termination. I was still going too slow, though, and Junior would have to take over for the final stages. It was fun, and by this one I had lost my initial nervousness.


With each one I got better, and more confident. The fifth wipe has excellent shape. We were able to get two done in a day, but I still needed Junior to finish each one.

Snow day!

I made it into work today, though I was a few minutes late. I KNEW I should have gotten out of bed at 5:30, instead of snuggling under the blankets for that extra half-hour. I expected NASA to be closed, due to all of the snow, but they opened on a delayed schedule. It turned out my little truck made it's way through the snow with no problem. Well, there was one, small, problem. Last night, I noticed my driver's side, rear tire was low, so when I got home from work, I filled it with air. This morning, it was low again, so I filled it with air again, while I shoveled out the drive. I figured I'd take it to the gas station after work, to have it checked for leaks. Unfortunately, the snow just kept coming down, and NASA closed at noon. I was in such a hurry to shoot home (not really, I was shooting to the bar to have lunch and a beer with one of my friends), that I didn't check the tire for air pressure, and just hopped in the truck and drove off. I had no problems for the first mile or so, but then I noticed a definite shimmy, coming from the rear. There was so much snow on the road, that I didn't dare stop, for fear of getting stuck in the middle of the road, with no shovel to dig out with. So I just kept going.....right home. I finally did get stuck, right in front of my house. It turned out that I had a full flat, and by the time I got home, the tire was shredded. The other tire was doing all the work, and it just kept spinning out on the ice, as I tried to turn into my drive. As luck would have it, a couple of North Olmsted snow plows came down the street, and their drivers stopped to help push my truck into the drive. I was able to swap the bad tire for the spare, and luckily for me, the rim wasn't damaged (crosses-fingers) due to the amount of cushioning snow on the road. So for $135 bucks, I got a new tire put on, and I'm ready for work again tomorrow.


Good little truck! Junior has really gotten the hang of wiping the molten lead onto these solder-tight terminators. He'll do a few more, to really let the feel sink in, then I'm hoping that I'll get to do a few. We've got 12 left to do.


I spent Monday freezing my tail off, testing the cables. Junior was right with me the whole time, but while I tested, he worked on cleaning up the area, and getting us ready to move down to the next set of 6 terminations. The day started in single digits, but got up to a whopping 18 degrees that afternoon.

Christmas day

We all went to my sister Megan's house for Christmas dinner, and boy did we have a blast! It's been a long time since I've laughed that much, and I was on a roll. I got a lot of milage out of my sister's 120 degree tree! Since it was an artificial one, she only built one side, and fastened the tree to the walls with string and thumbtacks. This saved her lots of room, which actually, was a stroke of genius, but I couldn't let my sister know that.... So I joked about how many more presents there seemed to be this year, while actually being 2/3rds less, and how she was saving on electricity, only using 1/3rd of the lights, etc.


I also called it her 4th Dimension tree, saying that the rest of it was in a quasi-dimensional state between our reality, and being shared with two other Megans in different planes of existance. Yeah, not many other people got that one, but my brother did! Just look at that shirt! It's got science geek written all over it! He's a typical Carter, rocks at the green pie pieces, but sucks at the orange.

Dad excitedly unwrapped his present, and couldn't WAIT to give it a try!

The funniest part of the day was when my sister, Kerry, relayed a story that our brother Shane told her about his son, David. Shane asked David what he wanted for Christmas, and David quickly replied, "A penguin." Shane asked if he was sure he wanted a penguin, that maybe he would like a truck or some other toy better. David thought for a moment, but decided to stick with the penguin. So Shane tried to dissuade David from his choice, and went into an elaborate story about how young David would have to travel many, many thousands of miles, first by bus, then by train, through harrowing weather, then by boat, across the mighty ocean, then by dogsled, mushing across the frozen ice, in search of his penguin, since they only live in the antarctic. Shane went on to say that such a trip would take many years, and that by the time David returned, he would be a grown man! Shane doubted that he would even recognize his own son, after such a long journey. Without a hitch, David replied, "Of course you would, dad. I would be the guy with the penguin."

Oh, man, does that make me laugh! It also reminds me of another David story. Not too long ago, David was really into trucks. He liked any kind of large machinery, and he knew all the construction vehicles, back-hoes, loaders, etc. One day, in the summer, Shane and Kristen were driving through town with David in the back seat. They came up on a construction site, where one of the foreman was lamenting about one of the trucks being late. He must have been on the handheld radio or something, but he said, quite loudly, "Where's the fucking truck?" David shot up excitedly, asking, "Dad, what is a fucking truck? I do not know what a fucking truck is. I know what a tow truck is, but not a fucking truck. Where is the fucking truck? I do not see it. I see a dump truck, but I do not know what a fucking truck is." Shane and Kristen were laughing too hard to speak.

Any story about the funny things kids say wouldn't be complete without my favorite Autumn story. This happened probably 15 years ago, since Autumn is going to be 19 soon. The song "No more tears" by Ozzy Osbourne was being played heavily on the airwaves. One night, we had a family poker party at my parents' house, and my sister came with Autumn. Some of us were drinking heavily, and eventually I ran out of beer. As I finished the last can of Budweiser, I sniffled, and sang "No more beers, beers, beers. No more beers, beers, beers" to the Ozzy tune. We all laughed, and soon the poker game wrapped up and everyone went home. The next day, mom and dad were watching Autumn. When I came downstairs (I still lived there at the time) Autumn was at the kitchen table coloring, and drinking out of her sippy-cup. As she swallowed the last bit of liquid, she slammed the cup down, and broke into song, "No more choca-milk, milk, milk. No more choca-milk, milk, milk"

Christmas

I've been pretty bummed out over the last week, so I wasn't really looking forward to the holiday season. That all changed yesterday, when I started hearing my favorite Christmas songs. I've got several favorites, each of which represents a certain time of my life.

Let There be Peace on Earth - I guess this isn't an "official" Christmas song, but I heard it the other day, and I found the words speeding their way up from the deep trenches of my memory to explode on my consciousness with feelings and images of my childhood. This is the song I sang at my First Communion! I still knew all the words! It was a weird feeling, but good weird.

Do You Hear What I Hear - This is one of my all-time favorite songs, but the Perry Como version is the best. It's another song from my childhood that I remember when mom would put a stack of LP's on the turntable, and we'd just go through them over and over, all day long. There were several good songs in that stack, but this has always been my favorite. I haven't heard the Perry Como version yet...I'm still hoping. Hah! The song just started on WDOK! It's not Perry, though. :-(

Father Christmas - This song, done by The Kinks, came out when I was in high school. The only time I ever hear it is on the classic rock station, once or twice a year, at Christmas. This is THE defining Christmas song for me. It's one of two that I need to hear every year, to be put in the Christmas spirit. I just heard it, for the first time this year, yesterday. Junior had not heard it before, but laughed along as he listened to the lyrics unfold. Christmas was that "" close to not happening for me.... Oh, and the rules are, I have to hear it on the radio, by chance. I can't buy it, or download it, or copy it. It's that magical.

Happy Xmas (War is over) - I just read that this song came out in 1971 as a protest to the Vietnam war. I remember it most from my college years, with the slight change in lyrics to read "And so this is Christmas, and another new year, let's pray for a good one, with plenty of beer!" It gained a lot of air time after John Lennon's death in 1980. Junior and I sang this just yesterday, in the truck!

White Christmas - This is the other song that I need to hear each year, validating that we're actually in the Christmas season. Of course, no one can sing it like Bing, though many try.

2000 Miles - I've liked this song since it came out, but it really sunk into my brain when I was in the Navy. A good friend of mine, Devon Bunch, was putting together a package for his new wife at Christmas. We were on a six-month WestPac (1986-87) cruise, and he missed her just an incredible amount. He wanted some suggestions for a tape he was making for her, so I suggested Bargain, by The Who, but he couldn't see the romantic side of that one. Then I played this song off the Learning to Crawl tape, and he loved it. We went on to make a short video of him dancing side by side with two other friends to the song I Can't Help Myself, aka "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch" by The Four Tops. Just imagine three white guys trying to dance like the Four Tops, snapping fingers, spinning around, fancy footwork in step, mostly....fortunately for all, I was the cameraman. Whenever I hear this song, I go back to that instant of my life, and, I swear, I can smell the sweet, oily steam of the catapults and the overpowering, acrid stench of jet exhaust.

Honorable Mentions: Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, by Bruce Springsteen. I Believe in Father Christmas, by Greg Lake, which has a beautiful melody, totally incongruent with the lyrics. Carol Of The Bells, preferably at night, while driving, looking at Christmas lights

Every Rose Has It's Thorn - This is a favorite Christmas song in a very convoluted way. It's not a Christmas song at all, obviously, but it reminds me of someone who, to this day and forever, holds a very special place in my heart. This was Rose's favorite song. She was a barmaid at a hole-in-the-wall joint we used to drink at, in Lemoore, Ca. when I was stationed there. On this date, in 1988, (My God, that's 20 years ago!!) on a last-minute whim, she invited me to a small Christmas party she was hosting for friends and family. I was a bit homesick, and felt depressed and lonely. She really had to talk me into going. I protested because I didn't know many people there; but she persevered and got me to climb in the truck with her and Bill. We had a few drinks, and some great food, then they started handing out presents. I sat quietly in the background, watching the gift-exchange that had been set up weeks before. Her children were there. Her friends from the bar, and from outside the bar were there. Rose would pick up a gift, read the name, pass it to that person, and we'd all cheer and applaud as they opened it. I felt awkward, and left out, but I participated in the cheering. Then, to my utter surprise, she called my name. I was dumbfounded. "How did you know that I was going to be here?", I asked. "Santa knows everything", she replied, with an air of what I can only describe as "duh". I unwrapped the paper to find this:



That was the single most gracious, generous, and unexpected gift ever bestowed upon me. To this day, I'm moved by her kindness and empathy. A Budweiser stein; still one of my most treasured gifts of all. That year, Rose demonstrated that the Christmas spirit is about sharing with friends and family, and even a stranger from a small town in Ohio.

How Browns' fans celebrate the Christmas season

Last Sunday, my friend Rick and I went downtown for a tailgate party before the Cleveland Browns game. As you can see, it was a beautiful day in Cleveland, down by the lake, with the wind chill of negative 25. Someone brought a Christmas tree, so we decorated it with empty beer cans. The beer was freezing in the cans as soon as we popped the top, so we had to drink fast...like the guy in the picture is demonstrating. I taught him everything he knows...btw.

Deneen had asked Rick and I to judge the annual chili cook-off held by a group of her Browns' fans friends (BFF's?). Deneen is the pretty one in the middle. Rick and I are the troll-like bookends. In the background is the USS Cod submarine.


Here's another shot of the USS Cod. Man, is that a tiny boat!

Let the chili tasting begin! There were half a dozen or so entries. This was the first contestant. His chili was very sweet. Not what I was expecting at all, but I really liked it. His came in second place for me. My first place pick was the most traditional American chili, which was spicy, with plenty of ground beef, lots of beans, and with a strong tomato background taste.. My third place choice was a traditional Mexican chili, made with ground beef, some pulled pork, and several different types of beans, but very little tomato. Two types had turkey rather than beef (good, but I'm a traditionalist), one entry left a pleasant hotness lingering after it was gone. This was Rick's first choice. Rick's third choice was a venison based chili. It was also good, but not the best.

Since Rick and I had different 1st and 3rd winners, but agreed on 2nd place, we chose him as the winner. Here the lovely Deneen is awarding the coveted trophy, which will no doubt sit in a box of Browns paraphernalia until next year's contest.