In All Sincerity

Sometimes when I'm told to "Have a nice day!" and it doesn't seem particularly sincere, I will reply:

"Thanks anyway, I've made other plans."

Slow Ride - Foghat

Remember where you were, what you were doing, the first time you ever heard a certain song?

I certainly do with this one.

It was an early summer afternoon, I was sleeping in the back seat of a speeding car, on my way to a double shift on a drilling rig. I heard one of the guys in the front seat say something like "Where's the fog at?" After having only a few hours of sleep after a regular shift and knowing I had 16 more to go, I wasn't interested in anything other than a little bit more rest before I got to the rig.

Then the speakers blasted out the beginnings to this song.

It's not a favorite song of mine, but I'll always remember where I heard it the very first time. Needless to say, I didn't get a nap in before work.

Check out the guy's eyes right at 1:00 into the video. Creepy. That's how my eyes looked that day.

A Glowering Glow

A few days ago "glower" was the word on the Word of the Day feed in the right-hand column. I knew what the word was, what it meant, mostly because I've had many teachers, ex-girlfriends, my ex-wife and even my sisters and parents practice that particular expression on me many, many times.

glower \GLAU-uhr\, intransitive
verb:1. To look or stare angrily or with a scowl.
noun:1. An angry or scowling look or stare.

It made me think about someone just trying to learn the English language and what they would think of this word the first time they saw it.

The root of the word is "glow":

glow intr.v. glowed, glow·ing, glows

1. To shine brightly and steadily, especially without a flame: Embers glowed in the furnace.

2. a. To have a bright, warm, usually reddish color: The children's cheeks glowed from the cold.

b. To flush; blush.

3. To be exuberant or radiant: parents glowing with pride.

n. 1. A light produced by a body heated to luminosity; incandescence.

2. Brilliance or warmth of color, especially redness: "the evening glow of the city streets when the sun has gone behind the tallest houses" (Seán O'Faoláin).

3. A sensation of physical warmth.

4. A warm feeling, as of pleasure or well-being

So, two words, nearly alike, meaning almost the opposite in certain instances.

No wonder foreigners have so much trouble learning English.

Heck, no wonder I have so much trouble with it!

A Tree Tunnel

One of but a few places left along Hwy 60 east of Miami where the tops of the trees touch each other from opposite sides of the road. It's not as nice as some, but here in the Panhandle where trees can sometimes be scarce -especially along highways- it's a lovely sight.

(The Texas Dept. of Transportation recently announced plans to cut down some of these trees in order to make the highway "safer". There was an uproar from the public and I *think* the project was put on hold, perhaps a compromise was reached. I need to find out.)

When I was a kid, we used to go camping every summer, and at some lake (I can't remember which one, think it was Fort Supply in Oklahoma) there was a long stretch of dirt road that was named "The Tree Tunnel" because the trees enveloped the road, creating a long, dark tunnel of green, with some beautiful rays of light where the sun pierced the canopy of leaves.

This photo was taken last year, and I plan on making another "Foliage Tour" of my own when the leaves start turning colors.

Nothin' But Naval

Another set of those odd coincidences I love.

First thing this morning, I navigate to Drudge to check the news. I read where the U.S. Navy is confronting the Russians in Georgia, but if sending an unarmed ship full of humanitarian aid is "confronting" with a naval force....

(Sometimes Drudge does a broadside with their headlines.)

I then go to my Excite entertainment page and bring up the TV listings for tonight and see where Navy is playing Ball State (ol' Ball U) on ESPN, six o'clock CST - if anyone's interested.

I don't think I will be and I can always turn the channel to TNT and watch "Titanic". Thanks to cable, there's oceans of viewing pleasure. Uh huh.

After checking what's on the tube, I go to Start Sampling to see if there's anything new and to look at the recipes and helpful hints. To add to the odd coincidences, I see that someone is complaining of "naval irritation".

It was a spelling error, they meant "navel"- their belly button- but it just made it that much more amusing.

Later, while searching for a particular file, I found several of my Battleship games. I always liked the one I "made" , but the Miniclip version is my particular favorite.

The day's still young; will there be any more "naval" things to come?

We shall sea.

EDIT: I posted this, then opened up my Yahoo Launchcast player, selected one of the oldies station and got...first song, mind you..."Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay". If it plays "Sea of Love" later....