StraightAhead » Life

The Horn

Terry — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:16:50 +0000

At the Horn out on Richmond, I heard The Houston Funk Factory last night, Kelly and the boys were really fun. I’m glad I made the trip to see and hear them. There were many highlights but one of the biggest for me was hearing Andre Hayward for the first time. He was cookin. You don’t hear bone players like that too often in your life. It was good to hear Lonnie the lead trumpet … Read Morefor the first time too. He’s a Hoss. Not sure how to spell his last name so I won’t try here. David Axelrod was steady and funky on the drums too. Of course Dennis Dotson, what can I say. All in all it is a great reincarnation of Tkoh, better than ever. Get out there every Sunday evening at 7:30 next Sunday. Great Hang.

Cops

Terry — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:37:00 +0000

Cops, you can’t live with them, you can’t live without them? hmm. Cops are fresh on my mind lately. I got a speeding ticket for going 70 in a 50 on a road where the speed limit should be at least 65 mph. near La Porte Texas, two nights ago. Ok, I have a new vette which naturally needs to be aired out every now and then. That’s why they build them , right? No body else on the road, dry conditions, anyway. I ran across this article today. Those damn yankee cops in Dallas. Anything above Conroe is yankee land. I’m glad that Powell lost his job over his treatment of Moats.

Side view

Terry — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:50:44 +0000

Side view

Originally uploaded by Memphis Joe

I got this last tuesday. It goes way beyond awesome. Good fireman’s color don’t you think?

Flickr

Terry — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:47:52 +0000

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Pretty Cool

Terry — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:38:38 +0000

This is pretty cool or at least interesting, especially if he could somehow keep it.

My Heart Is Broken

Terry — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:14:36 +0000

My wife of 38 years died a week ago today. We’ve already had the memorial service and it was beautiful. I just heard a voice mail from her when she was in the hospital this last time after she had had two brain surgeries. She had just gotten to where she could actually use her cell phone again to call out. I know I should delete it so I never hear it again because it is so sad. Her voice was no where near what it used to be, it was very weak. She is asking for Milk of Mag because she had trouble getting the nurses to bring it. We had trouble getting most of the nurses to do anything in a timely manner. I was up there at the hospital everyday with her for over four weeks and I stayed pissed off most of the time dealing with the people that work on the floors and elsewhere. Don’t get me wrong, there were exceptions, nurses who had compassion and were really trying to do their job. The compassion is what mattered.
My wife kept getting infections and her blood pressure was fluctuating badly the whole stay. They didn’t stay on top of her platelets and blood pressure in icu, they didn’t keep it under control and I think that is why she had the blood clot that they had to go back in for.
She said to me after 4 weeks of this “please don’t make me stay here anymore”, broken heart. She decided on coming home into hospice care and lasted two nights at home before passing away. I and my kids were there. I have a broken heart because I keep seeing her cry which she did so often after the first surgery when she could no longer use her left arm or walk very well. She got a little better with the crying after a while, I don’t know why. I have a very sick feeling in the pit of my stomach too. I’m finally getting to where I can put some of these feelings into words. I miss her so much it’s impossible to say. It feels like punishment right now for offenses I have done. I was not a great husband in my own eyes now, but she always said I was. I have so many mixed emotions it is overwhelming. I’m really glad my kids are across the street. Most of the time I’m just fine but I haven’t been without her very long yet. I think it gets worse then slowly gets better. She was my little girl in that bed, not my wife, or she was both. Broken heart.

He’s God You’re Not

Terry — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:05:46 +0000

I hear this a lot. I also hear that all things work for good for those that love the lord. I also hear that the prayers of a righteous man availeth much. Or , We can’t see the big picture of what God has in mind for us because we are mere humans, but it will be good if we believe and have faith. I think that if all of this, the suffering and death that we must go through, is because of the fall of Adam and Eve, then there are any number of ways that God, if he’s the man, could have remedied all of this very long ago. He decided that man should suffer and that the devil should have power in this world throughout the ages. The last thing I want to do is discount the death of his only Son, our hope of eternal life, and I know that as Christians we believe that is how he remedied the fall of man. I know all this, yet in the middle of something so bad that is happening to somebody you love, it’s little consolation at times. There had to be another way if God is in charge that we didn’t have to suffer in this life. Write it off as a bad experiment or something and try something else that doesn’t entail mankind suffering until, through faith, we do the right thing while we are alive and believe something we can’t see or understand and achieve through grace, of course, eternal life where we sing and worship that God for all eternity. I know, my faith is low this morning because my wife can’t move her left arm and the left side of her face is drooping despite all the doctors saying that this would not be happening because of where the tumor was and that it was sooooo easy to get to.

I really do appreciate all my friends and family thinking about us and praying for us. It does lift my spirits. It’s always good to have that support. I love you all

Spidey

Terry — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:38:43 +0000

I took this great picture of a banana spider and it’s mate. It’s going to be in wikipedia sometime. My son is helping me with that.

Come into my Parlor

Hmm! Amazing

Terry — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:22:26 +0000

This is pretty entertaining and hurts, too!

Another Day

Terry — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:51:09 +0000

I haven’t posted anything in a while so I thought I would just write down a few things or a diary of my day and what has been happening in my life lately. My wife has a donor for her bone marrow transplant who is not going to back out it seems, as some have done in the past. She will be going into the hospital July 19th to start the process and we are both very thankful that it will begin, but also pretty apprehensive about it all. We really look forward to it working and us both coming out on the other side of this tunnel. After this is all over , I will be retiring from the fire department. It’s about time, I guess. I will have 32 years in the pension at the end of this year and will actually make more money retired than I do working, so I don’t want to lose money, who does? It will be good to be free of working for somebody else. I may actually look into some other things to make money after I retire. I know that I will have more time to play my trumpet and start up at least one new band to do the kind of music that I want. I may deliver fire trucks to towns or cities that buy a new one. I’m going to have to get my cdl for that, if I actually decide to look into that. I think I will do little or nothing the first year I’m retired other than working out and playing my trumpet. I will continue to stay in shape for sure.

I’m at the fire station today and it has been a pretty quite shift so far. I just had one call yesterday to a vacant building that had the fire alarm going off for no good reason. It was a fine opportunity to have some fun making forcible entry, but I decided against it. I couldn’t see any smoke or fire from the outside so all was cool.

I’ve started reading the blog of a good friend of mine. He is having a lot of physical problems right now and I am wishing for his quick recovery. He is a very funny writer. I have been on some trips with him, one being a long driving trip so I have heard a lot of his humor or dare I say shtick. I know he loves to make people laugh and that it does him a lot of good. He sure makes me laugh. Get well, Dave!!! I’ve got to clean this place up and wipe the truck off. I get off in the morning , which is a very good thing. Adios, over and out.