Ruth

Here are some photo’s of the family for you to look at.

I did not post pictures of the daughter in laws, Kass and Hope as they cuss me when I do! Women are so critical of their pictures! Click on these to make them larger to see them easier.

Another one from Bill

Woo hoo! Chuck Schmidt won the saddle bronc riding last night at the 2nd round of the NFR! His first year there and what a great way to start it off.

Must be karma or something. I got this in an email from Bill, the Blindman and he said I could post it.

Enjoy.

 

Even though the story I’m about to tell happened in the nineties, it could have just as easily been today. Only the faces would be different, the stories would be nearly the same. I just got through watching the first round of the NFR on tv and it reminded me of what had happened almost  twenty years ago.
I had been down in western Nebraska coon hunting with some friends. We had spent a couple of nights on the big irrigation system north of Scottsbluff and we decided that it would be a good idea to start a little later in the evening to give the dogs a chance to rest up. These big fields all emptied into a recovery dam right in the middle and it didn’t seem to matter where we would turn loose, the dogs would always end up there. What we thought would be easy hunting when we headed down there from South Dakota, was tough.
Anyway, I was told before I left home that if I got the chance I was supposed to go visit an old friend of the family that was in a rest home down there. Well I had time to burn so I had the boys drop me off at the  home and they were going to pick me up when they headed out hunting.
It was just after dinner and people were moving around from room to room either getting ready to take a nap or do some kind of activity or another. Our friend was setting on her bed when I found out what room she was in and when I knocked she yelled to come on in. It was then that I remembered that she was hard of hearing and I knew then that I would be in for a rough afternoon trying to have a conversation with her.
I don’t know how long we tried, it really isn’t important to this story, but eventually she said she was getting tired and wanted to take a nap. So I said my goodbyes and headed down the hall. It was then that I heard the unmistakable sound of a rodeo coming from one of the little rec rooms that the home had. I still had a couple of hours to waist so I did what every other cowboy would have done and followed the sound through the door where I was almost knocked over by a little old white haired lady coming out. “I hate rodeo” she grunted as she elbowed her way past me.
There set three old men that we will call Larry, Moe and Curly. They all had on old jeans and western shirts, Larry had a pair of moccasins, Moe had on a pair of slippers, and Curly had a bright white pair of Adidas on his feet. They were all in easy chairs with Larry and Moe setting side by side and Curly a little apart form the other two so he had room for his oxygen tank.
The first words I heard from any of them was “there goes a cold fish” and then “yeah, I don’t for the life of me know how that witch kept a man for over fifty years with the personality she has”.
When they noticed me I was told to “set down and stay out of the way because we get wild in here” and then they all laughed. They all looked to be in their eighties and not to well preserved if you know what I mean. They talked with the familier talk that only old friends of that age could have. I could tell that they no longer felt the need to tell big tales because they all knew everything about the other two both the good and the bad.
When I walked into the room the tie down roping had just started and Roy Cooper had just roped in under ten. Moe said ” damn that guys hands are fast I bet he could steal your money and make change before you had a chance to know it was missing”. A small chuckle came from each man, and myself.
It didn’t look like there was an overpowering interest in the roping so I took a chance and asked if they always watched rodeo together. “Yeah, every damn one that they will give up the tv so we can do it without those damn old busy bodies botherin us.” Without me so much as asking another question Curly started to talk. “Moe and me have know’d one another for almost seventy years. Our dads used to travel together in the old days. Mom and me stayed one summer with them when we was about ten years old while our dads tried to make a living riding broncs”. They continued to talk about their dads riding with Casey Tibbs. It seemed that their dads spent their time at home cussing him half the time and wondering half the time how one man could be that damn good on a bronc.
Then it was Moe’s turn ” we ripped it up that year. We stole enough maters and melons from the neighbors garden to keep ten kids sick for a year. It was fifteen years after that that we started to travel together and  then it was our turn to lose all our money on bad horses and loose women”.
Then it was Curly’s turn again. “We didn’t get to know Larry until forty years ago. We knowd who he was but we just never was in the same place at the same time.” Moe jumped in again “We never had that kind of luck either.We was always just trying to make enough money for the next go and from what we heard he was always cash heavy and living the high life.”
Larry “it wasn’t always that good. I spent my time eatin’ beans and bummin rides and I spent six months in the hospital that the two of you never had to do.” It was then I noticed his left foot was at an angle to his other foot and a cane leaned up against his chair. I pointed and he just said, “it was time anyways but it would have been nice to quit without getten busted up.”
Well we talked back and forth for a while until the bronc riddin came on then Moe got up and turned up the volume a little so we could hear what was going on. He had no more then got set down when Larry said ” man a snort would sure hit the spot right now.” Nothing was said for a while we just looked at the tv screen. Then I saw Curly reach into the bag that held his tank and bring out a pint bottle of CLC. “Where in the hell did you get that?” ” My son gave it to me yesterday, he knew we would be rodeoing today and he couldn’t stay here so he gave me this. Boy would you open this thing, my hands don’t work to good on the plastic on the cap. If these two had to depend on me for a drink we never would get anything.”
I fumbled with the plastic myself before I got it off but eventually I did. “You go ahead and have the first pull then go stand guard so we have some warning when one of the old bitties comes along.

Larry, “I aint had a drink in over ten years.”

Moe, “neither have I but if I remember right you hold the big end and suck on the little end.” Big laugh all around while I took my drink.

Luck was with all of us that day because nobody came down that hall to see what the laughing was about. Three men in their eighties, and a boy in his forties passing a jug around. As the bottle got lighter the years started to melt away from those old men. The voices got a little firmer and backs got a little straighter.
It was then I noticed something that I have found common among bronc riders. When the gate opened every one of those old men moved their feet just a little trying to time the horse. And you heard things like “dirty SOB”, ” man that was a nasty turn” and “what he even get on for if he wasn’t going to try?”
I had been setting there for almost two hours and the bull riding was over. I got up, shook each mans hand and started to leave. “Hey pard if your leavin’ us take the bottle with ya, the empty will only get us in trouble around here.” With that they all had one final pull and gave me the jug.
I was just about to go out the front door when I heard a yell come from the rec room “YEE, HAW”  I knew then that coon hunting would mean something a little less that night.
When old cowboys die they take a little bit of all of us with them. You might not realize it at the time but sooner or later when you are cinching up a saddle or cussing because a horse stomped on your foot, or watching the NFR on tv they will be back again.  Such is life.
The Blindman

Read it and remember it!

  This is just a history lesson and nothing can change it.  I thought it timely on the day after Barney Frank annonced he will retire

The day the Democrats took over was not January 22nd 2009. It was actually January 3rd 2007, the day the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very start of the 110th Congress.

The Democratic Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995.

For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is “Bush’s Fault”, think about this:
January 3rd, 2007, the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress:
The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77
The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%
The Unemployment rate was 4.6%
George Bush’s Economic policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB CREATION!

Remember that day…
January 3rd, 2007 was the day that Barney Frank took over the House
Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking
Committee. The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what
part of the economy?

BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES!
THANK YOU DEMOCRATS (especially Barney ) for taking us from 13,000 DOW,

3.5 % GDP and 4.6% Unemployment…to this CRISIS by (among MANY other things)
dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac FIASCOES!
(BTW: Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie -starting in
2001 because it was financially risky for the US economy). Barney blocked it
and called it a “Chicken Little Philosophy” (and the sky did fall!)
And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac?
OBAMA
And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie?
OBAMA and the Democrat Congress, especially BARNEY!!!!

So when someone tries to blame Bush…
REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd, 2007…. THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!”
Bush may have been in the car but the Democrats were in charge of the gas
pedal and steering wheel they were driving the economy into the ditch.
Budgets do not come from the White House.. They come from Congress and the
party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democratic Party.
Furthermore, the Democrats controlled the budget process for 2008 & 2009 as
well as 2010 & 2011.

In that first year, they had to contend with George Bush, which caused them
to compromise on spending, when Bush somewhat belatedly got tough on
spending increases.

For 2009 though, Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid bypassed George Bush entirely,
passing continuing resolutions to keep government running until Barack Obama
could take office. At that time, they passed a massive omnibus spending bill
to complete the 2009 budget.

And where was Barack Obama during this time? He was a member of that very
Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills, and he signed the
omnibus bill as President to complete 2009. Let’s remember what the deficits
looked like during that period:
If the Democrats inherited any deficit, it was the 2007 deficit, the last of
the Republican budgets. That deficit was the lowest in five years, and the
fourth straight decline in deficit spending. After that, Democrats in
Congress took control of spending, and that includes Barack Obama, who voted
for the budgets.

If Obama inherited anything, he inherited it from himself.
In a nutshell, what Obama is saying is “I inherited a deficit that I voted
for, and then I voted to expand that deficit four-fold since January 20th.”
There is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it
on!

So simple

I just got this in email from an old friend. I’d seen it before but never posted it here. So very true! Please read…

 


To my Family and Friends
 
ONCE YOU READ THIS,  YOU WILL UNDERSTAND!   How very true.

A young man learns what’s most important in life from the guy next door. 

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days. 

“Jack, did you hear me?” 

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said… 

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him. 

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said. 

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said. 

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry,” he said. “I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important. Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,” Jack said. 

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away. 

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. 

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture. Jack stopped suddenly… 

“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked. 

“The box is gone,” he said 

“What box?” Mom asked. 

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most,'” Jack said. 

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it. 

“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said. “I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.” 

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. “Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days,” the note read. Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. “Mr. Harold Belser” it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside. 

“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. 

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved: 

“Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser.” 

“The thing he valued most was… my time” 

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” Janet, his assistant asked. 

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said. 

“Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!”
 

Think about this. You may not realize it, but it’s 100% true. 


1. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.. 

2 A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’t like you. 

3 Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.

4.. You mean the world to someone. 

5. If not for you, someone may not be living. 

6. You are special and unique. 

7. When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won’t get it, but if you trust God to do what’s best, and wait on His time, sooner or later, you will get it or something better. 

8. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good can still come from it. 

9. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look: you most likely turned your back on the world. 

10. Someone that you don’t even know exists loves you. 

11.. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks. 

12 . Always tell someone how you feel about them; you will feel much better when they know and you’ll both be happy . 

13. If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great.

Lucky guy

Was just looking at Facebook while waiting for warmer temps and saw that my brother had an incident. Evidently he was driving his truck along when a front tire blew. He got pulled over to the side with no problem, but the tire started a fire that he could not put out. He salvaged as much as he could out of his sleeper and was close to a city where we have a sister living who took him in until he can catch a ride back home. He wasn’t hurt. Lucky guy and from all I hear a good driver. So I suppose he will have a new truck to drive. At least new to him.

I am waiting a bit for a little more warmth then off with another load of cattle to the sale. We got a lie dusting of snow but so far no real wind. Supposed to warm up a little tomorrow. I am waiting to give the highway guys plenty of time to move the snow off the highways and put sand down on the hills. I doubt the roads will be too bad, but then I don’t have the best tread on my pickup. Highway tread, as I haven’t put the winter tires on yet. I had the old ones re-capped and they could only re-cap two so I need to find two more with similar tread and the same size. It’s always something….   😉

By the way, I got a great call, night before last. A cousin who I hadn’t heard from in several years. She and I are the same age and played together as children. Always good to hear her voice. Glad you called Ruth! Keep in touch! And come visit when you get a chance!

Last day of November

And it was a nice one. Not much for wind and temps up in the upper 30’s to 40’s. We are supposed to have some snow coming in tonight and in the morning with high winds. We’ll see.

Chance and Hope shipped some cows so we sorted them off this morning and then we each hauled a load. I just got home a bit a go and did my chores. I need to haul another load tomorrow or real early Friday morning, depending on the weather.

Fighting this cold and been eating Lysine and echinasia and I think I am winning, but all I want to do is sleep.

Worked on some leather projects yesterday. Been waiting on parts for my sewing machine and they arrived the other day. So I guess it’s time for Santa’s leather shop to get to going!

More beautiful weather

Been very nice, weather wise. for this time of the year.

I took off yesterday morning and headed to New Underwood and met up with Paul Larson and we headed for Martin. We took the scenic route, wich as a matter of fact, took us beside the small burg of Scenic on Hiway 44. On to Interior, which must have been named for being at the interior of the Badlands, slaunchwise off towards Wanblee , Lakota for eagle, and then south towards Martin. A pretty drive. Real nice country down there. It didn’t take us nearly as long as we had thought so we arrived in fine fashion. We inquired as to a place to set down and eat and were told that on Sunday mornings there was no place open to eat at, other then the snacks and such at the gas station, but that there was a good cafe that would be open at Merimman, just across the Nebraska state line, about 15 miles away, so we headed down there, to find that in fact the cafe was not open on Sunday morning. So turned around and drove the 15 miles back, located the school where the gig was being held and unloaded our gear and worked with the sound man and got the mic’s all good. Wasn’t too long and Ken Cook showed up and in a short time the crowd started coming in. The ladies were providing lunch for the people so they gave us each a sandwich and life took on a rosy glow. We did the show and had a great time and everyone but me did excellent and I found that when I have a cold there are a few songs I usually sing that I shouldn’t attempt! But the crowd was gracious and clapped enthusiastically when we were done, just like I hadn’t messed up a song or two. Of course the rest of the crew did excellent.

Marty Blocker had arrived before we started so with 4 of us sharing about, it wasn’t long and we were done. We all chatted a bit, and then headed out. Paul and I stopped at a small place and had a real good hamburger and then rolled back to the northwest following the same route, tho’ it got dark on us so we couldn’t take in the sights so well, but did see some real close ups with several deer, one being a large buck with a stately rack. Made me kind of wish I had dropped him with the car and had that rack to hang up somewhere!

I dropped Paul off at New Underwood and headed home and got here before 8 pm, roughly 13 hours after I had left. Good time, good friends and lots of fun. Hope the good people of Martin allow us to come back and do it again sometime and makes me look forward to working with these fine fellows on the 7th of January up at Beslers Cadillac Ranch.

Pictures of recent days

Family

All 3 sons and family were here yesterday. The boys and I shot trap and after I went thru’ my one box of shells, I switched over to my 22 pistol. Fr Tyler was a twerp and would shot my stationary targets with his shotgun! Oh, he let me have one shot, but then, BAM, obliteration! (He is a good shot!) But then how hard is it to shoot a setting clay pigeon at 30 paces, with a 12 gauge shotgun?!

We had a blast. Literally! I loaned my 22 out to one of the boys and went and got my Ruger Bisley Vaquero 45 and the first target, as I walked up, I just stuck the gun up, pulled the trigger and hit the target. Of course, I could not repeat this feat of derring do and marksmanship! Shot up a box of 50 and I sure need the practice. Glad I had my ear plugs in!

Kass and I made bread in the morning and Cindy had the turkey all ready, all we had to do was plug in the big electric roaster pan. Fr Tyler brought goodies we all enjoyed and Hope brought a cake she made, that was way cool. I’ll try and post pictures. We snacked all day and ate about 5 as Cindy had to work. I had cooked a roast also and made gravy when we pulled the roast out. Delicious!

I have a gig in Martin with the other musketeers, Marty Bl;ocker, Ken Cook and Paul Larsen, on Sunday. We are on at 2, but need to be there at 12:30 for a sound check. It’s a free to the public event at the auditorium in the grade school, they tell me. So if you are in the area, come on over.

Now, I need to go do something to lose some extra weight that snuck in, in the past few days!