Friday, September 28, 2007

DEMOCRACY

Padded with power here they come
International loan sharks backed by the guns
Of market hungry military profiteers
Whose word is a swamp and whose brow is smeared
With the blood of the poor
Who rob life of its quality
Who render rage a necessity
By turning countries into labour camps
Modern slavers in drag as champions of freedom

Sinister cynical instrument
Who makes the gun into a sacrament --
The only response to the deification
Of tyranny by so-called "developed" nations'
Idolatry of ideology
North South East West
Kill the best and buy the rest
It's just spend a buck to make a buck
You don't really give a flying fuck
About the people in misery

IMF dirty MF
Takes away everything it can get
Always making certain that there's one thing left
Keep them on the hook with insupportable debt

See the paid-off local bottom feeders
Passing themselves off as leaders
Kiss the ladies shake hands with the fellows
Open for business like a cheap bordello
And they call it democracy
And they call it democracy
And they call it democracy
And they call it democracy

See the loaded eyes of the children too
Trying to make the best of it the way kids do
One day you're going to rise from your habitual feast
To find yourself staring down the throat of the beast
They call the revolution
and they call it Democracy

IMF dirty MF
Takes away everything it can get
Always making certain that there's one thing left
Keep them on the hook with insupportable debt

B.COCKBURN

Monday, September 24, 2007

A CHEF IS MANY THINGS

functions and formulas

The company sent me to school last week for three days. I learned all about the MOS Program "Excel" and to a lesser degree "Access".
It is "Access" that I use the most.

I had no idea that you could do all that stuff with Excel.
I am very impressed that some fellows had time to put all that together.
I can imagine when they got through they were right impressed with themselves.


Dress to Impress

I learned quite a bit about Excel, but I had a real breakthrough while I was getting dressed for the second days class.
The shirt I was going to wear looked a little bit ragged.
I do not own an Iron, and there was no time to take it to the Laundry.
I was out of any shirts that were crisp and fresh from the Laundry.

Did you know that you can iron a shirt using a 4" Sauce Pot, a 10 Inch Skillet and a French Knife? All you have to do is heat em up and press away!

BAM!
I GUARANTEE!

Impressed yet?
Low works well for Polyester and Rayon and Medium for Blends. While I recommend Medium-High for Cotton, the timing is critical, and I need to research the Metallurgy on the Cookware.
As soon as I get it all down, I will label my stove.

I also found that for Cuffs and Collars its tough to beat your George Forman Grill.
I'm gonna go buy an Ironing Board and some spray starch today!

Friday, September 14, 2007

TENTS

When the Water Baby was about 9 months old, we took her on her first Camp-out. Arrived at Toledo Bend Lake on the Texas -Louisiana border about 3a.m. The Campsite I go to there is very primitive. Fired up two Colman Lanterns and proceeded to set up the tent.

When Mrs. Bulletholes and I began Camping in the early days, before kids, our tent was a
Two-Man Pup Tent that you could not even stand up in. Of course, it did little to keep out rain, and there was no floor...we had to get cozy right down in the dirt.
I called it "Roughin' it".
How The Mrs. hung in there I don't know.
The Mrs. "Lobbied" for many a year for me to get a better tent...that is to say a REAL tent...and when Water Babe was born, she put her foot down, and we now had a "Family" style Tent that had a floor, mosquito net, 6" tall with an Awning.
Big enough to put in a Pool Table and Wet Bar.
Anyway, as I set up the Campsite and Tent, with the shadows from the Lanterns dancing on Pine trees, the Water baby cried and cried and cried...she was in totally unfamiliar territory and she did not like it! Her Mother held her tight, trying to comfort and reaasure her that all was fine.
But even familiar objects like pacifiers and bottles and Rattles, and the little cooing sounds a Mother makes, or rocking and swaying in Moms arms could not ease the terror of this strange place.
She was just flat horrified.

I finally got the tent set up. I took the poor girl in my arms and tried to show her the trees, the Lantern, the lake.
"See honey, everythings cool...its OK...you are going to love this place....amd look!
I have this Tent set up for you to sleep in...its like a little room with walls and you'll be safe in here..."

And I set her down on the floor in the tent.
She looked up to the right, then up to the left...she crawled in a circle, giving herself a Panaorama of what daddy had been working on...and she finally stopped crying.
She looked up at me and flashed a little grin...
Then she did something she still does to this day...
Her eyes will close with a pleasure that comes from knowing everything is going your way, not just everything, no, the entire Universe.
Then she will raise her face slightly to the heavens, further basking in Gods good humor, while the contentedness just washes over her...its like something out of a Charlie Brown Cartoon I swear...you would think shes eating Ice Cream!
And thats what she is doing now...alll the fear and unknowing and reluctance has been replaced like an old tent....she is right where she should be and I hope she gets everything out of it she can.
Then she's going to help save the Planet!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Category 1 Hurricane

UPDATE ON THE WATER BABY

"Daddy, I love going to School at A&M in Galveston! Yesterday there was a Tropical Storm named Humberto and the waves at the beach were awesome!"
"So last night everyone came to MY apartment and we had a party and Humberto turned into a Hurricane!"
"Of course I went swimming "out there in that hurricane"....DUH!"
"I sooo love it down here!"
"Classes? Oh yeah, I have four classes"
"Yeah, I've been on time...I mean they don't start till 1:00P.M. ...so I can stay up all night!"
"Yeah, I'm making lots of friends...they are all boys!"
'His name is Travis and we went to the Football game on Saturday and it went into Triple Overtime...but guess what?
"WE WON!!!"
"I'm coming home the 28th of October for the weekend"
'Where will I stay? I don't know...has my brother taken my room yet?"
"Cool...love you Daddy..bye!"

Monday, September 10, 2007

MY 9/11 STORY

FROM THE ABANDONED BLOG

Everyone has their story to tell concerning 9/11 and so do I.
In February of 1993 I had been looking for a Chef position for several months with not much luck. I finally found work with a good company out of Dallas called “Culinaire’ International” . They had their fingers in a lot of pots, so to speak, including several Private Clubs and a High End Catering operation that did a lot of business with Ross Perot. The biggest part of their operation was doing foodservice for some large concerns in the Trade Area of Dallas. In addition to the Apparell Mart (Clothing), the Info Mart (Technology) and Market Hall (Housewares and Furnishings), they also did events at the Dallas Convention Center. They worked out of a huge kitchen in the World Trade Center @ Dallas.
On a “try-out” basis, I was hired to work mainly on one event coming up- the “Mary Kay” convention @ the Convention Center. It was breakfast lunch and Dinner for 10,000 ladies for 3 days. We spent 2 weeks operating really as a food processor, sealing Foods we prepared into bags and storing them in 2 -18 wheel Trailers. This was all done in and just outside the World Trade Center@ Dallas.
When it came event time, the trailers and an awful lot of equipment went to the Convention Center from the World Trade Center. Included in the Equipment were about a dozen of what we called “Boiling Oceans”. They were big water baths or “Bain Maries” as we call them in the business. I don’t know how many gallons of water they held, but they were about 12’ x3’ and 2 feet deep. We used them to heat up all the food that we had been "Seal-a-Mealing” for the last 2 weeks. The heat was generated by big propane tanks, not the backyard BBQ kind, but the one’s that look like Torpedoes.
The 3 days went smoothly, and I was impressed by the company and they seemed to like me. It took 2 days of hard work to get the Conevention Center cleaned up and everything back to the World Trade Center.
On my lastday there, one of the last tasks I had was to take the leftover Propane tanks and put them in cages on the 2nd floor of the World Trade Center. On the way up I checked to make sure the valves were completely closed. Outside the cage, I again checked to make sure the valves were completely shut. And after putting them in the cages ….checked again. All 20 are secure. Cage is locked.
An hour later I was on my way home. It’s a beautiful February day in 1993 and I am excited about the prospects of going to work for “Culinaire International”. At some point I turn on the radio for some tunes but what I get is a “Special Report”.
It is breaking news and what I hear is this:
“There has been an explosion at the World Trade Center. I can see smoke pouring out of the 2nd Floor window and people are being evacuated. Emergency vehicles are arriving but we have no further information. Stay tuned for further information..”
Well, I am freakin’ out.
“I know none of those tanks were open. I checked them all. I double checked them all…” I am saying to myself.
“Then what caused the explosion?” the other voice in my head asks.
Should I go back and explain that it could not be the tanks on the second floor that I had “Secured” that had caused this explosion? Sure, I’ll tell the newsguy that and the backdrop can be the smoke pouring out of the 2nd floor window.
Like I said, I’m freakin’ out.
I frantically search the radio dial all the way home. One more report confirms the explosion being at the World Trade Center and that the smoke is coming out of windows all the way up to the 5th floor now and there appear to be only a few minor injuries. Information is still sketchy as this has just occurred within the hour.
Freakin’ out. I'm losin' it.
Pull into my driveway, run into the house to turn on the news. I am sure that not only have my chances at”Culinaire” gone up in smoke, but I am forever to be known as the guy that blew up the WTC @ Dallas.
T.V. is on.
I can stop freakin’ out.
By coincidence some fanatic had parked a Van full of fertilizer in the garage of the World Trade Center in New York City.
That event that day would come to be known as the "First World Trade Center Bombing"
That was 14 years ago and I had no idea at the time just how common this kind of thing might become.
I had no idea I would wake up one morning to find someone had flown a plane into each of those two towers.
That’s my story.

Friday, September 07, 2007

CUPID BLIND DID RISE

APELLES SONG

CUPID and my Campaspe played
At cards for kisses,—Cupid paid;
He stakes his quiver, bow and arrows,
His mother's doves,
and team of sparrows:
Loses them too.
Then down he throws
The coral of his lip, the rose
Growing on's cheek (but none knows how) ;
With these the crystal of his brow,
And then the dimple of his chin :
All these did my Campaspe win.
At last he set her both his eyes ;
She won, and Cupid blind did rise.
Love, has she done this to thee ?
O' What shall, alas, become of me ?
John Lyle

Chavonne bumped into me at the Mall.
Literally.
I had not seen her since High School but I recognized her rght away.
She was holding the hand of a girlfriend of hers that I recognized as well and squinting at me through very thick glasses.

"Watch where you are going, Chavonne" says I.
" How do you know my name?" asks she.
"Oh, no, not him!"" says her friend, Debbie and I knew her as well.

"Its me, Steve from High School...you were in my Speech Class"

Chavonne lit up like a Roman candle, like fire and Gasoline.She was pretty easy to look at; Strawberry blonde, a Pixie face shaped like a Hamadryad...that is to say her breasts were way bigger than her frame would suggest.
If you put wings on her she would look like Tinkerbelle.

I had that feeling behind my eyeballs we were going to be good friends.Her friend Debbie seemed to disapprove, but we were already there. I got her number and called her that night and went to her house.
I found out that Chavonne, for all practical purposes, was blind. She could not drive, nor could she go in public by herself. It was due to Diabetes.

For the next two months we were friends and lovers and we had the best time. We would go to Keg Parties at the Lake at night. I would lead her through the bushes to the site, the whole time exhorting her to hurry up, watch out, this way.
She was delighted.
In the woods, we would dance like Pagans around the bonfire.
She loved Aerosmith and a Band called Moxy. We would dance at her apartment and sometimes we would go to clubs and dance.
Her friend Debra didn't like me taking her to the lake or to Clubs.
I called Debbie "Miss Fussy Britches", which did not earn me any points with Debbie, but always delighted Chavonne.
Chavonne also liked to play pool and wasn't too bad. The balls were close and brightly colored and didn't move. So we played pool alot.

But what she really liked to do was Play Ping-Pong.
Thats right, Ping-Pong!
I had a friend with a table and Chavonne never got to be any good but we would get high and she would play by sound and I would help her make a game of it. Sometimes I'd let her win and we would just laugh and laugh and laugh. Chavonne loved me because I would play Ping-Pong with her.
I don't think Miss Fussy Britches liked that either!

We laughed all the time.

In early September in 1978 I went Dove hunting with a friend. I didn't take Chavonne but I told her next time she could go and we would shoot the guns if she wanted.

Ready!
Aim!
Fire!
Like Mr. Magoo with a gun!
"Chavonne, you have to promise me not to shoot 'Miss Fussy britches."
We just couldn't stop laughin'.

I was gone for three days and when I got back I called for her. There was no answer. I called again. I went by her place.
She was not home.
Two days passed before I got the call...
Her mother said her appendix had burst.
Her mother said she was in a coma.
Her mother said that Chavonne had loved me so much because she had never had a friend like me.
Chavonne loved me so much because I did not know how sick she was.
If I had known, I'd have been like all her other friends.
I never once asked what her blood sugar level was.
I never asked if she had her shot or even how she was feelin'.
I never tried to stop her from doing anything she liked to do, even if it was bad for her.
I never had that look of concern on my face the way her other friends did sometimes.
I never had a picture of her.
I never gave her a present, took her out to eat, cooked her a meal.
She never came out of the coma.
Chavonne died this week 31 years ago.

I pleaded to her mother at the funeral “I just did’nt know how sick she was”
I’ll never forget the soft empathy in her mothers voice and the kind look on her face as she tried to comfort me
“Steve, don’t you know why Chavonne loved you so much?”’
‘No”
‘Chavonne loved you so much because you didn’t know.”
What a rare privilege that is, not to know.
Its her mothers face that replays in my mind from time to time.


I always think about Chavonne this time of year. We were friends for only two months.
How could I ever think someone was taken from me...
When its so clear that someone was sent for Chavonne?


It was many years later that I found, in my own life, how rare a friend it is that will look past your limitations, your weakness, your faults, and treat you as though you were complete and proper just as you stand.
I wonder sometimes about Miss Fussy Britches, and if she ever got the rare privilege to be the kind of friend to someone that I was to Chavonne.
There is so much about our own stories that we may never quite know completely.

Tonight, I dance!.

From the old "Abandoned Blog"....this is actually the second post I ever did...

I have purposely left this pretty well as I wrote it 4 years ago. It wasn’t until Debbie Williams-Short (Miss Fussy Britches) found me on Facebook that I found that I had spelled her name wrong.
It wasn’t until a month ago that I knew the exact date of Shavonne Freitas' death….September 16, 1978.
I had hoped to find Debbie when I joined Facebook in order to share this story and wondered how long it would take.
I never considered the idea that Debbie would find me in less than 12 hours.
We have also found Doug, Shavonnes brother, and her mother too.
I can’t begin to tell them what an effect Shavonne continues to have in my Psyche.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

PLANET CARAVAN

We sail through endless skies
Stars shine like eyes
The black night sighs
The moon in silver trees
Falls down in tears
Light of the night
The earth, a purple blaze
Of sapphire haze
In orbit always

While down below the trees
Bathed in cool breeze
Silver starlight

breaks down the night
And so we pass on by

the crimson eye
Of great God mars
As we travel the universe
Black Sabbath


Cliffs near the northern polar region of Mars as taken by ESA's (European Space Agency) Mars Express. Clearly visible in this enhanced photograph are ice, red rock, and sand. The darker colored regions are believed to be Volcanic ash.

For more about this photo and Mars Express...click here







I remember Dad showing me the "Man in the Moon when I was 4 years old and telling him I couldn't see a man but the was definitly a Rabbit up there.
Like most kids, I was fascinated by space and planets and the man in the moon.
In the 8th grade I was President of the Rocket club.
I wasn't geeky enough to be NASA material...that is to say I was not studious or smart enough, and Math held no big attraction.



My best friend Scott and I would get together and each build a Rocket every Friday night, staying up till 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, riding our bikes up nto the 7-11 and getting an Apple Beer at 3:30.
It was while building those rockets in the deep watches of the night that I caught on to Rock and Roll and the Beatles.
Then we would oversleep till 7 or 8:00, having hoped to be up at 6:00, taking our launch pads and rockets and engines up to the School.





Anyway, I am still fascinated by the Universe. I have a very good Astronomy book that has fairly simple and basic explanations of the physical Laws that govern our universe and all that is in it.
I watched Barbara Morgan and the Space Shuttle "Endeavor" launch last week, beginning the completion of the mission that Christa McCollough began 22 years ago.
We, and all the wide eyed youngsters at last have a Teacher in orbit and involved "hands on" in space, working alongside some very smart people on the Space Station.



Mars has always been a source of intrigue and fascination. It is currently the only planet in the Solar System on which there is a strong possibility of finding life - past, or perhaps present. It is a prime candidate for future manned exploration, and even colonization.
I believe that this will happen.

NASA currently has two rovers on Mars. They have been in operation since January 2004.
The two rockets that took them there were launched 20 days apart. It took them each 6 months to arrive in orbit around Mars.
I remember doing the math at the time...Mars was 53 Million miles away at launch and traveling at 18,000 MPH it didn't quite add up...these spacecraft would be traveling 77 million miles, not 53 million.
Then I realized that since the Earth and Mars are both moving, they would have to travel more than 53 million miles because of that movement.
The level of difficulty was compared to hitting a golf ball in Los Angeles and hitting a coffee cup that was in motion in New York City.
The rockets carried a couple of remote control Dune Buggys called Rovers and like my old boat, they had a lot of High Tech equipment in them. Unlike my old boat, they are able to transmit data back from the surface of Mars.


What I find extremely remarkable is that the estimated life span for the two rovers was 3 months...and they have now been in operation for three and a half years!!! For the last several weeks they have been in danger from dust storms that keep the solar panels from providing power but as of 8/24 they are back in business!
The Spirit and Opportunity rovers were named through a student essay competition.
The winning entry was by Sofi Collis, a third-grade Russian-American student from Arizona.

"I used to live in an Orphanage.
It was dark and cold and lonely.
At night, I looked up at the sparkly sky and felt better.
I dreamed I could fly there. Thank-you for the SPIRIT and OPPORTUNITY"