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I sometimes wonder, are, are they really doing anything, or, Right, well, I think we're going to see a streamlining in the government. I just, you know, I, I don't know what kind of, uh, I don't know what, what level, or what, how long it will take for, you know, our country to start, the public in general to start saying, Hey, this is too much. We're not going to pay any more. You know, we're not going to pay for this, and you're out, you know. I think we're starting to see it a little bit now, but I think, uh, I don't know what, what kind of input we're going to get from the public and how they're going to go about doing it. Because I think, I think we're just getting taxed way too much. Yeah. I mean, right now we're getting taxed probably, probably around thirty-five percent, or more. And that's, that's, you know, that's me not making a whole lot of money. Yeah. Well, they got so many hidden taxes, that it's really hard to figure out how much you are paying, because, go to a grocery store, something like that, and you're paying a little tax here and you Right. so. Gas, I don't know about you guys, but there's probably at least about twenty-five to, to thirty cents of different taxes on, on our gas.
Right. And you don't realize, Yeah, we got a sales tax. Our sales tax is like eight percent, and I don't know what our gas tax is. I think it's somewhere around twenty five cents a gallon. Yeah. So. I mean, they're hitting us up, and they may not raise it, you know, federally as much one year, but then they'll raise it somewhere in the state or the sales tax or property tax or whatever. It's just, I mean, you can see that your money is just not going that far. Yeah. Well, I know they say like with Reagan, they say no new taxes, but they changed the, uh, deductions on you, and that just raises your taxes, you know, they just get it a different way Right. so, I mean, to me, it did, uh, raise my taxes. Right, well, I mean, you could tell just by, just by how much money you have left over,
and all of a sudden, I don't know it's just, it's eating me alive. Yeah, I heard someone say that, uh, if they would just, something about with the, uh, the defense budget, all that extra money they're throwing back, if they cut back by so much percentage, it could throw back about six hundred dollars, on an average, six hundred dollars, Okay, I'll let you start this time. Well, how much do you like lawn and garden work? Well, uh, even though it's totally out of my, uh, my degree training, I've been working as, as, in the horticultural aspect, so the last, I don't know, fifteen, twenty years, so Uh, I'm, Oh. Oh, for goodness sakes. What do you do? Well, I work for the state as, as a grounds keeper. Uh-huh, well, that's interesting. Um, so, at this time of the year are you doing much garden work? No, mostly snow removal, which we've had a lot of, but, uh, I don't know, I, I guess, uh, growing up on the farm and, and that, I, I've always had a big interest, uh. Right. I have a, uh, when I have an area to do, I, I always had a big garden and enjoy working on lawns and, and everything.
Uh-huh. Well I love to work outside, really, and I enjoy flowers and stuff. I don't do a whole lot of it, um, at this exact point in my life, um, because I have two teenage boys, and so they do all the lawn all the lawn care Okay. but I still take care of the, you know, flower beds and things like that. I was even planning to go out and to, uh, dig up some hibiscus plants that will not make it through the winter here, but, you know, were planted in the ground since last spring Uh-huh. and I was going to dig them up for a friend and for some starters for me, and lo and behold, about five days ago, we had a freeze down to about, oh, twenty-three degrees or something Uh-huh. so the hibiscus plants no longer exist Oh, that's terrible. Twenty-three And I really feel bad about it, it's a plant that we've had for probably twenty-five years that these were cuttings off of, you know. Yeah. Yeah. So, they're all gone at this point.
Gardening in Texas is really interesting, though. I grew up in Illinois Yeah. and, um, Texas is just so hot in the summer and so dry, why, you know, everyone that lives in town and has yards practically has uh, watering system. Uh-huh. And so with that, why, our lawns do stay, um, you know, pretty nice all summer, if you water. Uh-huh. But in the winter, we have Bermuda grass Uh-huh. and in the winter it turns as brown as a grocery sack Right, yeah. and and I just think it's ugly When I go back home to my parents in Illinois in the winter, you know, and their grass is fairly green. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's one, one aspect of a lot of those grasses, they go dormant. I think the Saint Augustine and, uh, Centipede grass is another one you have quite a bit of down there Uh-huh,
uh-huh. yeah, those two. Yeah. Some people have, I think it's fescue that stays green all winter, Yeah. but they really have a heck of a time keeping it going in the middle of the summer. They have to water an incredible amount. But, um, those those lawns look nice during the winter, but, you know, they almost stick out like a, I guess not a sore thumb, a pretty thumb. But, you know, when you look at the neighborhoods and they're all brown except the one, you know, it's sort of like, well, Well, I know my folks live, uh, in Arizona there, and, uh, you know, they just grow rocks Right. So. I know I was in, uh, Houston when I was working for a company once, and we were taking care of lawns out there, and, uh, that particular year they had just tons of rain, you know, it was raining continuously. Uh-huh.
And then, I know with all that moisture, a lot of the lawns get a lot of disease problems. Yes, that's true. Yeah, Houston is a lot, um, a lot wetter than, than Dallas, Dallas area, that's where Plano is, and, um, and just humidity you know, just all the time, it's an awfully lot more humid. Uh-huh. Are, are you, uh, able to get, uh, sometimes a double crops of, of certain things in your garden? Yes, uh-huh, I think people do. Yeah. I don't have a vegetable garden, haven't for, I guess I never have here, actually, but, um, but, yes, uh-huh, we have Neil Sperry talks on the radio, Okay. So what do you guys having up there?
I haven't been up there since, oh, Lord, forty-eight, I guess Forty-eight. That's a long time. Uh. Well, no, it wasn't forty-eight, it was, it was, uh, let's see, yeah, it was forty-eight. I was in the Air Force. Uh-huh. We did an air show out at, uh, out at, uh, Boone Greene, no out at, uh Andrews, Andrews? yeah. So what's it been like up there? Well, for the past week or two it's been cold and wet Uh-huh. but before that, for most of the year, it's been hot and dry. Yeah. Uh, like September was hot and dry, October. Um, September really was, I'm not sure about October.
I think for about twelve months through September the, the average temperature has been higher than normal each month. Um, lots of ninety degree days during the summer. Really? Huh. It really has been strange here this year, I mean, this whole course this whole year has been a different year in more ways than one. Uh-huh. But, uh, we had, uh, you know, all these, we have all these, uh, somebody said, you know, you're either a stranger or a fool to try to predict Texas weather, but. Well, always, they were saying it was going to be the hottest summer ever, Uh-huh. and we had all this rain, and it really is not a bad summer at all, really cool. But all of a sudden, in, in, uh, in October, uh, September, October it got real hot and dry and just stayed that way for a long time. And, uh, then the end of October it started rain almost a week without stopping, just pouring down, you know. There were flash floods everywhere, that kind of deal, and then uh, into of November, the first, like the second week, uh, you know, the first week actually, we had, we had a freeze, Uh-huh. and the average, you know, the average, uh, first frost is like the fifteenth of November here Oh, if you had it early. but usually it's not until later
It's really strange. Yeah, I think we usually have a frost in October. Yeah. Uh, but, you know. We really need the rain that we've been getting, and it has not today, but the last few days it's been, been pouring most of the day. Is it, is it, is it flooding anywhere? Flooding anywhere. I have not heard of it, any problems of it flooding anywhere, I mean, that's occurred certainly at times in the past, but, uh, no, I've not heard of any particular problems this time. It's just kind of, uh, we're supposed to have a chance to get some rain the next couple of days here, uh, which will be, you know, a little bit more typical, uh, autumn weather. But really it's strange. We haven't really had an autumn. It's like we went into winter Yes. you know, the poor trees, said what Yes,
yeah, we had summer lasting long and then it, then it, then it became winter like, uh today it's, today it's sort of change to warmer to sort of more typical autumn day. Yeah, uh, it's, Yeah, there, you, you know, usually there's, uh, I have a farm a hundred miles east of here in East Texas, and you know, all these huge trees just like the eastern hard wood belt all the way up to Maine, you know, it's that same trees, pines and, and hard woods, you know hickories and oaks and stuff, Yeah. and, uh, I was up there last weekend, and there are trees that, that still have their leaves on, and they're green, but they're dead You know, the, the freeze just got them. They, they weren't ready for it at all apparently, and, and we haven't had a typical fall at all. Not much color, you know, changes have occurred at all.
Really weird this year. I'm not sure what that, what that means. I don't know. Yeah, our leaves are, are all on, on the ground now. I think it was an especially good winter for fall colors. So you, you all actually had some color, huh? Oh, yeah, yeah. It kind of crept in and, Yeah, we, we did, for a time. Yeah, it's usually beautiful up there isn't it? Uh-huh. Gorgeous. That's, you know, I think you could drive along in Maryland and look at the sweet gum trees on each side and the, and the pines and what not, and you could, you know, you could be driving along in East Texas and looks just the same.
It's almost, you know, identical kind of country. Uh-huh. Beautiful. Been that this year for the trees for the leaves. Yeah. Oh. Yeah, I was up, I was up there cutting some firewood this weekend, so. Um. Little, little oak tree that was dead, and cut it up and split it . Yeah, that's because it, it can't tolerate a freeze this early. Is that right? Well. If it would came later it would be all right? Uh, it, there's some trees like the oaks, like the white oaks seem to be pretty hardy. There's, nothing bothers them.
Their leaves are still green, and some of the other oaks. There are a few oaks that have lost their leaves. Um, what I notice mostly is the red maples, that the leaves are just dead, the dogwoods still look, still look, you know, they got, uh, bit on the ends of the leaves a little bit, but they still look pretty good. Um. It just depends on the, on the, uh, on the tree. Okay. Well, it's not often you get, uh, many women interested in football Oh well Do you follow football very much? I'm sorry, what? Do you follow football very much? I don't, no, I haven't recently, um. Well we can talk about something else. Do you have any, uh, you married? No, I'm not,
no. No, well, I guess kids are out. What's that? Kids are out. Yep Are you married? Yeah, I, I'm married. Got two boys. Oh, really. Yeah. Wow. So do you like football? Oh, I follow the, uh, the Cowboys but that's about it, uh. The, the same here Yeah. Do you live in Dallas? Yeah,
I, I, I am a pretty big Dallas fan, been for a long time Yeah. but I haven't been to any games recently. But, uh, I try to catch the game every weekend that I can. Really? Yeah. Have you ever been to a Cowboy's game? I haven't, huh-uh. Um, it's pretty nice. We we decided just to watch them at home But. That's good. At least you, uh, follow the game a little bit. Yeah. Um, yeah, I'm not a fanatic about it. I don't know who played when and who does what like some guys are. I just like to watch, and, and hopefully they win
Uh-huh. That's about the extent of it. Yeah. Right now I'm in, um, college, so I'm more into college football than professional, I think. Oh, I see. What, uh, school are you going to? Um, I'm at B Y U. B Y U, okay. Yeah, so. Leslie, what are you studying? Nursing. Nursing. Great. Yeah. My mom's an L V N. Oh, really. Yeah.
So, what are you planning to go into? Do you want to be an R N or, Yeah, yeah. Um, I haven't really picked a field. I haven't, I, I don't know, I've thought a lot about labor and delivery but I don't know. Uh-huh. Try that. That's what my mom does, labor and delivery. Oh, really. Wow. Yeah, she loves it. She, she really, uh, enjoys. Is she a nurse in Dallas? No, she's a nurse in San Antonio Oh.
but, uh, she's been, she's been working a, uh, on a late shift. She works the, uh, I guess the graveyard's what you'd call it. Uh-huh. She works the graveyard shift. And she's worked that for, oh, years, when I was small. Um. Uh, I guess probably going on twenty years now. Wow. And she really enjoys it. She likes the quiet that you have at that time of the night and, uh, and, uh, she's, uh, she just started a new job at a different hospital, closer to where she lives Uh-huh. and she's really enjoying herself. She really likes it. Well, that's great. Well, good luck to you in pursuing your nursing degree. Oh thanks Hope you'll like it. Yeah. Do you plan on staying in, in the Dallas area?
Um, I'd like to come back to Dallas. Right now I'm in Utah, of course. Oh, uh-huh So, um, but, my family's there, so, yeah, I'd like to go back. Yeah, uh, I think Texas, San Antonio in particular, has got a large, uh, base of hospitals. Uh, I don't know about Dallas. I think Dallas is pretty scattered. Are you in San Antonio? No, I'm, I'm in Dallas Oh, okay. but I'm originally from San Antonio Um. and they've got large medical, uh, center down there. They've got the U T Health Science Center out there also.
Right. So if ever wanted, you know, pursue anything more than your nursing degree, that, that'd be the place to do it. Yeah, my brother-in-law, um, is in the medical profession, I mean, he's at medical school in San Antonio right now. Oh, great. So. Great. Yeah. Well, like I said, good luck to you. Thanks. All right, well, um, take care, and maybe we'll meet up again some time. All right. Okay. Bye-bye. Hello. Hi. Hi. My name is, uh, Donna Donahue,
and I live in Plano, Texas. Hi. My name is Lowell, and I live in Raleigh, North Carolina. Oh, okay. Um, do you want to start or should I start? Go right ahead. Okay, um, I would say that our home is a very typical home for the area that we live in. We have, um, three children, and, um, they attend the public school here and are very active in a lot of the sports, soccer and baseball and, well, my little girl goes to tap dance, and my little one goes to preschool and, um, I'm home with the children, just do a lot of running around. It seems like a lot of my neighbors kind of have a similar type, I don't know, life. Um, what about you? I'm, I'm single, and I, I live in a town home here in Raleigh, Uh-huh.
and it's pretty typical of the other town homes in the area Uh-huh. Okay. we, we have a lot of town homes here as well as single family homes, Uh-huh. and at the time that I bought this one it was just a, a much better arrangement for me personally. I'm not home a lot. I travel a great deal with my job, Uh-huh. and so it was easier to have a home that didn't exactly that somebody else looks out for the maintenance. Was sort of maintenance free. Yeah. Oh yeah, well, um, that, that sounds, that sounds pretty good for I know my husband takes an awful lot of time on the weekends, not so much now, but to, um, maintain the lawn and the edging and the flower beds, and it's a lot of work, owning a home with a little bit of property attached to it. It's It certainly is. sometimes I think, um, it would be nice to have a town home, with not having all that responsibility. Well, if you ever get one, be sure the walls are good and thick because if they're not you can hear.
I, that's the main thing when I was shopping for one, I wanted to make sure I could, I couldn't hear my neighbors and that was Right. so I bought one that's more like living in a, once you're inside, you don't know you're in a town home. Oh, that sounds lovely. It is. They're kind of built on a catty-cornered instead of like side by side Uh-huh. so you don't actually hear anybody next door to you. Uh-huh. So in, in your area then there's probably a lot of, um, career type people that have those type homes and Yes, definitely. uh-huh, and, um, the area that we're settled in is, um, definitely young, young families with, with kids. They're still doing, um, a lot of building in the neighborhood. So the people that move here seem to move from all over the country, which we're from, um, the northeast,
and, um, seems like a people just don't, or also don't have any family around. So it, um, also gives you a common bond when you don't have a lot of relatives visiting your neighbors, and you know, um But, um , Well, we also in this area seem to have a lot of retirees people who don't want the heat of Florida but don't want the heat of the, the cold of the northeast Uh-huh. so they settle sort of in-between. Right, right. Uh-huh. Now it's, um, is it very wooded around where you are, there lots of pretty trees and, Yes Yeah. as a matter of fact this is a, uh, this particular community that I live in is very wooded. Oh, how pretty. It is nice. I do miss that. Around here in Plano there are very few trees and it's pretty flat and, and kind of barren and that's the only thing that we don't like about living in Texas, is we miss all the beautiful trees and the Fall
and, and, um, uh, the landscape is much different here in Texas than it is, you know, in the north. Um, or even where you are. Uh, we definitely have a lot of trees here. A lot of leaves to rake up too, I bet. Yes but fortunately the home owner's association does all that. Does that, well, see, that's another plus. Yes, I don't have to worry about that and this is the time of year we're starting to lose, they're all falling now. That's right, that's right, they are. I'm going to get the kids to get outside with the other neighbor kids and do the little bit of raking that needs to be done. We just have a few trees in the front and a few in the back but, not, not much. Just, just a little kind of just in more of a make a little bit of a mess for a few weeks and if you didn't do anything about it, then they'd probably the leaves just blow away Right. It's not too bad. Okay,
do we have to speak for a certain amount of time? No, I don't think so. Okay. Okay. It was really nice speaking to you. It was good to speak with you too. Okay, and have a happy Thanksgiving. Thank you, you too. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. The way, I'll go ahead and start the way I work, uh, the way I dress for work is, uh, this year, nineteen ninety-one has been really suit and tie, Uh-huh. or I shouldn't say suit, but coat and tie every day. Uh-huh. A, a year ago, I changed jobs from being a researcher to doing marketing for the research group.
Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Which means kind of a, I guess it's a different set of standards, I guess. Yeah. So, uh, I, I dress almost the same every day. I mean, pretty much it's a white shirt and slacks and shoes and a coat. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But, it was very different before. How do you dress? Well, I'm a drafter, so I just wear blue jeans and tennis shoes and I have sweatshirt on today. Uh-huh. And that's pretty much the norm for me. If I come in in a dress, everybody's shocked Yeah, I understand. They ask me, you know, what are you doing in a dress and it's usually I haven't done my laundry lately
Right. Ran out of jeans I understand, that's funny So, does it change? No. Your dress, no. No, huh-uh. So, or, I guess, do you have things like presentations to do or anything like that? No, huh-uh. So, back in my old job, up until through nineteen eighty I would usually wear blue jeans and pullover shirts and the like, Uh-huh. but, probably once a month or so, there was some reason that I would have to put on a suit. For a customer presentation or something. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Every now and then I'll get dressed up and come in,
but that's for my husband's job and not mine Oh, I see, I understand. I have to go to a business meeting once a month with him, but So, Oh. Well, that's interesting. Let's see, uh, what else about this, uh, it, it seems like T I is pretty cut and dried with two, like, two or three levels. Uh-huh. That there's the upper management that always wears gray suits. And the people that don't, uh, Uh-huh. I would, if you, if I want to say don't have power or don't have authority or whatever like I used to be in that research Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and I guess you are. Uh-huh. That we dress in the jeans and then there's kind of the, the branch manager level or marketing people that kind of do that middle thing. Uh-huh. Yeah,
yeah. But there's not much, middle of the road. It's nice that there's not a requirement for it. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Sometimes I think there should be. Some of these women around here look like they came off of Harry Hines. Oh, yeah, right Yeah, I guess you see those once in a while. And you know the, they have the no shorts deal, and some of these mini skirts, you know, are worse than shorts ever thought about being. Sure. But, uh, You know, that's, I guess that's one of the things you got to put up with when you don't have a dress code. Yeah. That's right, that's right. I guess they're, the, isn't there a dress code, something about spaghetti straps,
I'm not even sure what they are. Supposedly and backless things Oh, backless, all right. but, I've seen those, too, but, Okay, so this wasn't necessarily a big conversation, but, I think we, we did it Uh, yeah. Okay, and, and your name was Lisa. Lisa. Great. Are you the Expressway sites? I am, yes, and I work in the north building. Oh, okay. Uh, well, thank you.
Thank you. All right, good day. Uh-huh, bye-bye. Uh, advice on son or daughter going to college. Right. Uh, that's advice that I will need in time future for my children, rather than one that I have, uh, personal experience with Uh-huh. Uh, I suppose I would ask what the child wants to do in life and what the child hopes to, to get out of college and what sort of college would best meet, meet those needs. Uh-huh. Right, uh, let's see, when I, when I went away to school, I'm trying to think my criteria. I guess when you're, when you're eighteen or so, uh, it would be important to know if it was a coed college That was a, a strict requirement for me. Uh, again what, uh, how serious a person is according to, uh, uh, you know, what, what they want to get out of school, and, uh, I guess they'd have to consider how expensive the college is and how close to home, if they could handle being away for real long periods of time or if they need to be somewhere where they can drive home when they needed to get home. Uh, let's see, uh, now what was the question, what, what's the criteria for picking a college?
What advice would you give? What advice. Oh, okay, uh, I guess one clear-cut piece of advice is by all means visit the college campus. Yes. Uh, stay in a dormitory if you can. Go to classes, talk to faculty members and students. Yes, and also, uh, depending on how, uh, uh, adjustable your child would be, or, or flexible, I guess it would be, uh, if, if they chose a college in a different part of the country that maybe the, they were unused to their, that, the way they run things, I mean, the, the northern colleges are very different than the southern colleges, I think. The people are different and, uh, you have to be more flexible and more willing to, uh, uh, adjust to other people's mannerisms and customs or ways of doing things. You know, you have to be a flexible person to be able to go all the way across country to something totally different than what you're used to. Uh, Yes, I'm thinking what, what problems my children might have in that, uh, You think so but I agree with you. Uh, let's see,
what else. Uh, well, climate would be, you know, you'd have to Uh-huh. you know, is somewhat, if, uh, if it's something different than the one they're used to, I guess, uh, if they're used to the northern weather then the southern weather they might kind of feel like they need to go out and play all the time, not be in studying If you're in Florida or California. Uh, I, I'd also advise them that, uh, if mom and dad paid for their college, that, uh, if they decided to drop a course or decided that they need another year, then they'd have to get a loan to continue. Yeah. Well, course it, it is a big factor in having an understanding of how much parents will pay and how much has to come from other sources and your willingness, one, to, to work during the summer or, or part time. And two, uh, to, to take out loans to assume, uh, debt after college. That's right. There's, The, the responsibility of that. And, uh, uh, uh, they could, they could work and earn money towards college. Also if they stay within their state, you get a lot more financial aid or it's a lot cheaper if you stay within your state than if you go out of state to a private school, uh, Yes. and, like I said, if they was willing to work, uh, in the summers and also maybe then the parents could pay a third and then maybe they could take out a loan for a third depending on how expensive it is. By the time, I have an eleven year old is my oldest,
so, it's not too far away, but it's, Mine is twelve. Oh, okay. But it's getting there, I mean, we still have, definitely can put away the money for college now. Uh, I would advise that, that they did not have a car at college. They would, That's my gut feeling, too. I, my son is certainly not persuaded of that Hello? Yes, I'm here. Oh, yeah, uh, yes, I didn't have a car in college. I think it's more an a burden to, to provide for. No. I think so, too.
I think, I think because most kids don't have a car at college, the ones that do get taken advantage of and, you know, there is just, I think it's just trouble waiting to happen. So I would advise they didn't, they didn't take a car and, uh they didn't take a television Is it, and they didn't take a refrigerator Maybe that, Uh, I didn't do any of those, though, I feel less strongly about the T V and refrigerators. No, I, I, Yeah, we didn't have, Well, let me see, what have you seen lately? Well, uh, CITY SLICKERS, and STAR TREK FIVE. FIVE? Yeah yeah. only, only five?
Yeah. I thought I'd better see that one before I go and see six. Well, no, didn't need to. No, I found that out How about yourself? I just saw the latest one. How is it? It was fantastic. Oh, I can't wait. Yeah, it's, the lines in there were just perfect. I mean, it was classic TREK. Now, does the old STAR TREK guys meet the new guys? No, huh-uh. No, it's just the old guys still.
Yeah, it was just a rumor that that would happen this time. However, the rumor is, is that it will happen next, happen next time so, You know, that I read in PEOPLE or somewhere, no, it was U S A TODAY Uh-huh. that they said they weren't going to do anymore. That was it. Uh-huh. But, Yeah, uh, except that the rumor is, is that they still might, but it may not include the entire crew and it will be a next generation meets this generation Huh. So, I'm not sure what the difference in light years between the new generation and the, the old guys was. I think it's a hundred years. Huh. Somewhere in that range.
Considering that Spock was on an, uh, you know, couple weeks ago and that the, the very first episode of NEXT GENERATION, they had McCoy. Oh, that's right. Is that right? He was a doctor still? And, Uh-huh. Yeah, well, you know, he was rear admiral, whatever, you know, and he just kind of hobbled down the halls real slow. Vulcans age a lot better Well, yeah, he didn't look too bad, did he? No, huh-uh. Matter of fact, he looks just as about as old and the, uh, NEXT GENERATION as he does in the latest STAR TREK Imagine that. Yeah, that's amazing. But, did they have some pretty good special effects? Oh, excellent, excellent special effects.
But I think the script was, you know, just incredible compared to the last one. Yeah, FIVE was, the script was bad, bad, bad Well, you know why? No, I don't. Why? Uh, William Shatner wrote it. Oh, is that right? And even worse, he directed it. Uh, Leonard, Nimoy, he does a lot better. Oh, yeah, he, in fact, uh, he didn't direct this one. He produced this one But he directed the one before, uh, I think STAR TREK FOUR, something like that. IN SEARCH OF SPOCK, or, no, JOURNEY HOME, I think that was. Yeah, uh-huh. Are, you're a real life Trekkie?
I think so I really like them. I, I wouldn't go so far as being a Trekkie, but Uh-huh. uh, Well, I've gone to, you know, one for real live Trek Convention but, Oh, really? Yeah, I saw James Doohan, you know, the guy that plays, uh, Scotty. Huh, did you get to talk to him? No It was crowded. Not in a crowd like that. Huh-uh. No. It was like, uh, want an autograph, want to stand in line for about four hours. Yeah. Wow.
It was a pretty crowded place. Huh. They have some good management principals in this NEW GENERATION. Oh, yeah, yeah, I, it's, it's kind of funny. I, uh, was reading in, uh, a book. Uh, trying to think, I can't quite remember the name of the book, but it was, it was saying don't do STAR TREK management style. And they were referring to, you know, Captain Kirk, every time he left the Enterprise, everything went to hell. Oh. And nothing got righted until he got back up on the ship Right, so he kind of was a cowboy type, too. Uh-huh Made all the decisions but, uh, Jean Luke does more of a, a, committee type of management. Uh-huh, yeah,
uh, it's definitely a lot better A lot more realistic really. What other movies have you seen? Uh, saw THE ADDAMS FAMILY last week. Oh, how was that? It was pretty good. Uh, there were a few things different than the old series, but on the, on the whole, it was pretty similar. And, a lot of fun. Lots of little funny spots, huh. Oh, yeah, yeah. Did they have Thing and, Oh, yes, in fact, Thing has a big, much bigger role than he does in the series. I mean, you know, there is lots of areas where Thing saves the day. Really? And he runs around a lot. How did, I've always wondered how he gets around. Uh, you know, just finger hopping.
But he's in a box, right? No, no, no, in fact, it's funny. He never did, does come in out of a box, I don't think. Yeah, he was just kind of walking around. Didn't he used to? Not really. He was always in the box before. Oh. Oh, that's, yeah, that's, okay. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Well, do you do any recycling? Uh, we do here. Uh, see, what do we recycle? We, they recycle,
they have bins Yeah. and they also have centers where you can take aluminum cans and, uh, plastic bottles and I think that's all they have. Oh. What about you guys? Well, we, uh, there is a lot of things that you can recycle down here, although the only thing I guess I wind up recycling religiously is, uh, aluminum cans. Uh-huh. But, uh, we've got a, we've got a couple of different things, uh, places, uh, they're like unattended aluminum can smashers And you can go up there and, and, uh, redeem, we've got one that gives you like a penny a can, so if you, Really? Yeah For smashed cans? Well, actually, you have to give, put them in there unsmashed. Uh-huh. And, uh, when you do that it, it basically crushes them and then drops a penny down a little shoot.
Oh, can you, can you hold on for just a minute? Sure. I'm going to try pressing one again to make sure that I pressed it hard enough because, okay, just succeed Okay. Okay? Oh, okay, well, I guess, I guess, Well, I heard it that, I heard it that time Yeah Okay, well, anyways, you guys only get a penny a can. Well, when you buy like, uh, canned drinks and stuff like that, do they charge you for the deposit? Uh, no, you probably get charged like a nickel or something like that. Yeah. Exactly and so it's like they charge you for the deposit, so when you turn in the cans unsmashed, you're just, like, reimbursed. Oh, okay. Type of thing.
Okay, no, they don't charge us that extra nickel. That's sort of nice, though Yeah, it, it really is. Really what happens is we just get a penny a can back off the, off the price, if you want to think of it that way. Uh-huh. So when we get like, uh, uh, a twelve pack, then that's like twelve cents back. Yeah, so you guys can actually get ahead Yeah But, uh, they have sort of like, uh, things that you you're not like reimbursed for or paid for. Like we can recycle, uh, clear glass, brown glass, green glass. Uh, and milk jugs and, uh, newspapers, you know, Yeah. everyone does newspapers. Yeah, yeah, everybody does newspapers. But, that, that kind of stuff.
Yeah. But they, they said they can't be smashed or else, uh, it doesn't fit in their little containers and they're not reimbursed by the, the people who are over them or something. Well, shoot, maybe what we ought to do is start sending unsmashed, uh, Pepsi cans and whatever up there Yeah Exactly, yeah, send it to this address, no But, uh, let's see, they said that, how, ways, can encourage recycling, uh, I, I, I tell you what, what really works, uh, at least down here is, if there is, if there is some, even some money basically to take care of the gas to recycle it, you know what I mean, then people tend to do it. Uh, Yeah, that's, In other words, taking care of the environment is, is all well and good Uh-huh. but if it's going to cost you to take care of the environment, they're not quite as, uh likely to do it as if, uh, if you get something back for it. You know. As likely to do it. Yeah.
Yeah, that's true. And, uh, so, you know, if there are some energy savings or if there is some significant savings, anything that they can pass on to the consumer, you know, it kind of reminds me of using an A T M card, you know, to get money or doing your banking. Uh-huh. Yeah. You know, if it's free, people will use it, if it costs them something, then they're not as likely to use it. Yeah, exactly. You know. But, uh, I know we had a problem down here with, uh, oil, people taking oil out of their cars and just putting it down the you know, the the drain sewer. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, uh, all that, because there was, apparently a lot of people, you know, every time they change the oil, they just dump all the their old oil down there. Uh-huh. Now they're starting to recycle that stuff. Oh, that's good. Uh, another thing I thought of, I guess, to recycle would be like clothes, because I mean everybody gets rid of their clothes sometime or other.
And one way that we do it sort of in, in Iowa is that we can take some of our clothes to the consignment shops. Yeah. And that way, you know, you don't get near enough as, as much as you bought it for, but you, you got the use out of it and what you're going to basically donate to a Goodwill or whatever, anyways, you can get a little bit of money for. Yeah. And so that's something that I've never, Yeah. I, we're, we're new to Iowa so that's something that I hadn't, you know, looked into before. But that's one way to sort of get money and still recycle, I guess. Yeah, I know a lot of places, they, uh, uh, Okay. Okay, I guess we're ready to start. Well, I guess, what part of what part of the country do you live in? I'm in Dallas, Texas. Oh, okay. What about yourself?
Well, I'm also in Dallas. Okay. The reason that I ask is the two conversations I've had, have been out of state. Uh-huh. But, uh, have you always lived here in Dallas and, No, I've lived here for almost five years now. I see. And I'm a, uh, before that I was at school in Rochester, New York and I'm originally from Boston. Oh, well, you are seeing quite a different climate and quite a different neighborhood. That's right, but I like it. You probably have enjoyed getting away from the snow. Well, I missed it at first, but now I go back there and I'm a real wimp about the cold So I like it here.
Yeah. It's nice. Well, that's good. I, I have lived in Texas essentially all my life. Uh-huh. Around in Texas and, uh, I have traveled up in the northeast and around and have enjoyed it. Uh-huh. But, uh, I don't know, I'm not sure I would want to take on those winters. I'm getting older and, uh, not sure that's something I want to do. I know. I live, uh, over in the Lake Highlands area if you're familiar with that. Uh, tell me where that is, uh, Okay. I, I probably do know, Uh, you, but I don't know it by that name. This is pretty well where L B J and Audelia, Skillman cross. Okay.
Sure. We're just north of, uh, White Rock Lake. Oh, okay, yeah, I know that area. That's a nice area. Oh, that's quite a range. Well, we have some very nice homes here in this area. Uh, my particular, I guess they want us to describe the area, so, uh my particular area, the homes run anywhere from about sixty-five, eighty thousand dollars on up to probably half a million. Yes, uh, the homes that were here earlier were smaller. Now they've gotten larger and larger as, as they have developed the land. And, of course, it's pretty static right now and all the values over here have dropped off because of the economy. Uh-huh, yeah. How about you? Well, I am, uh, I'm, gosh, I'm barely in Dallas. I'm just north of Addison Airport up on the tollway.
Okay. Okay. And, I guess we have a similar situation. I mean, we've got houses two streets away that are probably around seventy, eighty thousand Uh-huh. and then we've got Bent Tree right across the street so I don't I don't even know how high those go, Okay. but some of those are pretty big. Yes, those are over a million. Yeah So, it's, that's the strange thing about, I guess, Dallas because back where I'm from, you wouldn't have that sort of a variation at all. They'd all be pretty similar to one another within a, a couple miles. So, Well, we have suffered from real lack of land use planning in Dallas. Yeah. Not as bad as Houston, but, exactly what you're describing is what happens all over. Uh-huh,
yeah, I've noticed that. Well, now, do you live in a, a home, or zero lot home, Uh-huh. or, Uh, we've got a house, let's see, we moved in about four years ago and it was, it had previously been unoccupied, but it had existed for three years. Okay. This is a whole block of homes that, uh, a builder built all of them and, I guess he, he did some crazy thing to get some extra money from the bank and then ran away, type of deal So the whole block was all foreclosed. Oh. And, so, some were vacant for quite a while before they, you know, they finally sold them because there were so many. Well, your, was your house in good shape, was it damaged? Yes, no,
the only thing that we were worried about was the air conditioner because they'd have it just running constantly with the doors and windows open Oh, it was? But, yeah. Oh. So we just, you know, we bargained to get an extra warrantee on that. I see. And, uh, we're really, we haven't had any problems and, you know, we had originally thought we'd have to get a fix up special or something because being from the northeast we figured we couldn't afford anything. But the prices are much lower here and this was definitely not a fix up special, but I'll tell you, it takes all my time Between, we put in our own sprinkler system and I just finished repainting the exterior and, you know, making drapes and buying furniture, it's just a money pit. Really is. Yes, I am familiar with that. I, where I live is a house that's seventeen years old when I bought it. And we bought it from someone who was in it,
but before they had it, I found out after I had been in the house, it, it had sat empty for the better part of a year. Uh-huh. And I'm not sure what happened, but I do know the folks that we bought it from had done virtually no maintenance for, for about four years. Oh, no. I, I, I found a lot of things, but, I say Arlington, Texas now because I talked one night to somebody in Arlington, Virginia. Oh, my, yeah. Well, and Plano, Texas rather than Plano, Illinois. Oh, do they have one? Yes, they do. Oh, I didn't know that. Well, I learned something already Yeah. Well, let's see, the three questions are what, uh, How much time do you spend with your children?
Very little. Because they're grown. Oh What? They're grown and gone. Oh, yeah, well, mine is, uh, down at U T Austin at college and the other one is in high school. Huh. So you do spend less time then? Yeah because they don't want to know, they almost don't want to know us. They want to be with their friends. How old are your kids? Are they married or what? Uh, yes, I have, uh, two married, two and then two almost married and the other two, I'm not sure. Well, Two two, two, uh, uh, for sure are single. Oh, boy, you have a lot of kids. Yeah,
we have, between the spouse and myself we have six. Oh, well, that's kind of nice, though. You you shouldn't be lonesome on a holiday, huh? Because I came with a split family and she had, Well, no, there is so much of them are gone and they're doing their own things and and a lot of times they, they've got, you know, uh when the holidays, Well, that's true. They have to see their other parent, I guess too. Yeah and sometimes they want to do their own thing, so sometimes it's just spouse and me. I know. And, and you know what? What? Sometimes that's okay. I know Because,
That's what my mother said one time. You know, right, because who says that they just must got to come over to see us all the time for the holidays. Right. No, that's true, and if they force them to, you know that's not good either. Yeah. That becomes a drudgery Well, do they all live in the area? got, of the six, we've got four around here. Uh-huh, oh, wow. Uh, you know, well, we're talking like north Texas. Uh-huh. And then, one is in Vermont, uh, Montpelier Montpelier, Vermont Golly. and the other one is in Everett, Washington. How did they end up so far away? Well, that is, that's, the, the, my little pair. And my second marriage.
Uh-huh. Uh, and, uh, Those are the youngest ones? Yeah, well, the the, the, the, the fourth and fifth child of the of the, of the, uh, six are the two that are scattered like that. Uh-huh. Boy, that's, those are a long way. And, Well, they wanted to go, uh, How, J R, my, my, my last son or my middle son, excuse me, fell in love with Washington state Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and the, the, the, third daughter fell in love with, uh, uh, Vermont. Vermont. So, So they wanted to make their homes there. Yeah, that's where they've gone to make their homes. My goodness.
Are they, are those two married? No. They, uh, just working up there or going to school or what? Well, uh, let's see, yeah, I guess you'd say J R is working, going to trying to go to school. Uh-huh. I wish to God he would go back. Oh, they do. Especially if they, if they're meant to, I think. Yeah. Well, I certainly hope so. I mean, I've got a daughter that's a sophomore at U T and I'm, I'm going to U T A right now myself so it's never too late. Uh-huh. Well, it's, oh, I agree it's never too late. Right. And, Especially in some of these schools around here, I think they have about twenty percent older students. Yeah,
and when you're saying older, we're talking fifty up. Oh, yeah, I've seen some people that are really quite up there you know they look like in their very late sixties Uh-huh. and I say that's great, why not, you know. Oh, my, uh-huh. Yes, why not because that's a, a lot of times, well, it's, I believe that, uh, we in that category, and I'm not in that category quite yet No. but, we are seasoned minds. Oh, yeah, you're really ready to learn finally. Yes, uh-huh. I mean, I don't know why I even went to college when I was seventeen. Yeah, it was,
It was a complete waste of money. Yeah, settle down, we know what we're wanting to, to, uh, study and, uh we know our limitations. Right, right. We, Right and, uh, And we don't try to burn the candle at both ends and in the middle altogether. No. We don't go out drinking beer till three and try to go to class in the morning At seven, yeah. We're past, yeah, we're past that age Yes, we're, we're smarter now. We know what we can do Yeah,
right, uh, so let's see. So mine I don't spend a whole lot of time because they're not here. Uh-huh. And so the second question, forgot what the second question, What was it, uh, what do the trends in families and do we approve what other, families do. Well, uh, the trends in the families were to spread apart, do your own thing. That's right. But I have seen lately, yes, I am seeing, I'm seeing a change that, whoops, government can't do it, A change? I was going to say the same thing. schools are not able to Uh-huh. Uh-huh. and between a person's religion, uh, their, their faith in their maker whether, you know, uh, whether you're Christian or Jewish or whatever, uh, Right. Right. and the family
Are going to have to solve some of the problem, huh. those are the two that can, that, that have the wherewithal and, of course, Judeo-Christianity, uh, and of the Jewish folks, too, believe that the family unit is the one that was given the, uh, uh, mission by the Lord to do this very thing. Uh-huh. So when another group of, of, uh, people step in, try to do it, they're, they're tromping on our territory, so to speak, so Oh. I firmly believe that, uh, Okay. You think you're getting your money's worth? Uh, never Uh, the only thing I'm, I'm thankful of is that we don't have to pay any income tax in, in Texas. Well, that's probably the next year's agenda. Yeah. Boy, I tell you what, I sure hope they don't pass something like that. Oh, yeah. They're finding a way to tax you every time you turn around, and I, I think one way or the other, we're going to pay for the bureaucracy, I guess. Uh, it's one area that is really, I, I think hurting the economy more than anything.
I think the taxes have just, every time you turn around they, they have taking more bite out of the dollars that are available for spending for any kind of products, and I, I, I think that is probably as big a item fueling the recession as anything right now. Well, I, I tell you, um, I remember every time, it seems like, we turned around, they're adding another nickel or a few more cents onto the price of gasoline. That's right. That's right. And actually, that one, the, the, the taxes on gasoline don't, don't bug me as much as, uh, uh, what are we, eight and a quarter percent sales tax? Yep, that's right. And every time you go to buy anything now, uh, even, you know, they, they tax food. That's the one that really kind of bothers me. Well, I think that, uh, that the problem with the sales tax, of course, is it's an unfair tax across the board, uh, as far as ability to pay, which allegedly, allegedly taxes are supposed to be directed towards. But, uh, now people with the lowest income pay a hundred percent almost of, you know, taxes on everything they buy, and where people that make, you know, two hundred, three hundred thousand dollars a year, certainly a portion of that, they aren't going to be paying taxes on, you know. And, uh, that's the unfair equity, inequities of sales tax as a main source of revenue, but I don't think it is anymore, not in Texas anyway. Oh, I got you, because people that, uh, don't make very much money wind up spending it all. That's right, that's right. Yeah,
whatever they spent it on, they have to pay tax on. That's right, that's right. And that's the unfairness of the thing, but, uh, I think taxes generally are unfair so what do you think of that new luxury car tax, anything over ten or thirty thousand dollars? Well, you know, like other things, if they don't affect you, you don't worry about them too much. I have trouble buying a twenty thousand dollar car still, so it doesn't, I, I think, uh, you know, generally the prices of cars have gotten out of line, which is, uh, you know. Oh, sure. And, uh, I guess if people got thirty, forty thousand bucks to spend on a car, uh, that's their prerogative, you know I, I, I don't have a whole of sympathy on that . You, maybe you buy that, you know, and I don't mean to be knocking, uh, No, uh, no, I haven't, but it, it to me it seems really interesting that they come along and add another ten percent tax, uh, on top of it.
And there's an awful lot of cars that cost more than thirty thousand. Yeah, there are, there are. And the idea of that kind of taxation is to have people think twice on putting their money into that, I guess, you know, unless they really want it, buy something that, you know, more, well, it, it's just like having taxes on, or exemptions for kids, you know. It's a way of increasing the population, that, that was one of the initial ideas of, you know, giving exemptions on kids, on, on federal taxes. Yeah. And where you exempt things, like, uh, uh, one of the best things I heard on taxes to stimulate the economy, someone, brilliant deductor, probably Lloyd Bentsen, said that all, you know, if they gave back the deductions on credit cards on your federal taxes people would probably be, you know, spending more money using their credit cards. Right. Right. Now, I don't know if that's true or not, but if you look on all interest things, not just credit cards, but on your cars and, you know, any kind of interest that you're paying, from a personal point of view, that might make certain sense in stimulating consumer purchasers. Sure. So that's a lot of the games that politicians play on where they want to go, you know, tax things that they don't, you know, to a degree, well, like booze, you know, example, they keep raising the taxes on booze, it gets to the point, you know, it makes drunks sober, you know They quit buying it. Well, what, what about the taxes on cigarettes? Well, tell me about your home.
Okay. Uh, right now we're living in, well it's me, my wife and, uh, two young boys. And, uh, right now we're in a, uh, I guess it's either a zero lot line or a garden home. Which you might call it. Uh-huh. So we don't have a, a big yard. Uh, but, uh, when my wife and I first moved in, it was just the two of us. So it was enough. Uh-huh. Uh, and it's, uh, I guess what they call a story and a half. Because it's not a full two story. Where, you know, everything on top is on bottom. Yeah. So, it's got real high ceilings on half the house and the other half is just standard sized ceilings. Huh. And, uh, it's about a five year old house now. It sounds nice. It's, uh, pretty nice. Unfortunately, the builder who built it went out of business already Oh, yeah?
Yeah. It was a, Landmark is the one who built it. Yeah. Well, you know, these guys that gambled high lost big you know. Yeah. That's true. And, uh I'm insulating myself from that problem. Exactly what happened to them. I'm building my own house. Oh, that's nice. And as I look out the window of my trailer, I can envision all the insulation that's going up today Oh, really. Yeah. Are you doing it yourself? Yeah. Wow. I used to be a builder. Oh, that's nice. And I retired about five years ago and started college.
Oh, I see. Huh. And now I'm a college educated builder There's still no work, you know. Yeah. So, uh, you know, I decided this summer that, uh, you know, we had enough credit on the credit cards to buy the materials so I did. That's great. And, uh, see the, the, the state has a law that says you cannot borrow the money to build your own home. is that so? I didn't know that. You can borrow the money to pay somebody else to build your house but you can't borrow the money to build your own. Well that sounds kind of dumb. Well, it's to protect the, the banks from guys that say yeah I want to build my own house and go out a build a spec home Uh-huh. and then it doesn't sell and then the bank's holding the bag. Yeah. Yeah.
Well. Huh. As, as you know, anything that involves the government is, works half as well as it's supposed to costs three times as much. Right? That's right Hence the savings and loan problem we have. Yeah, that's true. But, uh, you know, my home is, uh, fairly simple. It's designed to be added on to. Uh-huh. That's good. Yeah. Well, I figure it's just me and my wife but, you know, I like to do stuff with my hands and whatnot, so I want to have a shop. Yeah. How big a lot do you got it on? Ten acres. Wow. That's nice.
That's real nice. Well, yeah. It's really nice too because I can't see my nearest neighbor. He's on the other side of a hill. Oh. And my second nearest neighbor is a dot on the horizon. Seriously. God. That's pretty good. Well, in the winter time, I can see, see another guy but, you know, he's Uh-huh. I can just make out his place, you know. I've got a thirty mile view to the east and about ten miles to the north. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, Oh, that's pretty good. Yeah. Well, I took a lot of time in choosing this site because the, the house has no heating or air conditioning. Uh-huh.
Oh, you, you, you don't plan on putting any, any of that in? Well, it's got a, a very small furnace. Uh-huh. And a, uh, we'll use a wood burning stove as well. Yeah. But, in the house itself, I've been working inside, you know, these, these many months Uh-huh. and I have not had to use the heat. Wow. Because it's all geothermal. Yeah. That's pretty good. And with all the, see I've got, on the south side is all glass. Well, as much as I could get in it, you know. And, uh, the east side is glass. Yeah. I've got one, two, three, four, five, six windows in the east side on forty-eight feet. So it's almost all glass. Wow.
And, uh, My wife would love that Oh, yeah. I mean, you know. There's no place in the house where you can stand and not see four windows. She loves lots of windows. That's great. So, uh, Is it a single story? Well, not really. It's, uh, it's on the side of a hill. Oh, I see. So the first, you know, the, the, the, what I call residential level at the side that's in the hill is about four feet deep. Uh-huh. Um, I see. And the side that's on the, uh, the other side is about six feet high. Oh. So I've got a pretty good grade there. Yeah.
And then when I put the verandas which will be twelve feet out all the way around on the north, south and east sides that will define the shop. Uh-huh. Yeah, that's kind of like, like a Victorian style? Exactly. Yeah. I, I've always liked that. The, you know, I, we don't have much yard but I built a small deck in the back. Uh-huh. But, you know, I, I see these magazines where, you know, dig your, your own deck. Uh-huh. I, I kind of wish I had them, those size property and, and, uh, one with a grade on it so I can build a real nice deck. Uh, what sort of camping do you like to do the most? Uh, well, I, I do, uh, real rough type camping. I have a motor home Huh, rough type, huh Yeah. Okay.
Uh. Oh, yeah, motor homes can be a lot of fun. Yeah, they really are. Yeah. They really are. I've, I've enjoyed it. I've never actually done any, uh, like tent camping, Uh, that can be a lot of fun, too. Yeah. How about you? Well, so far my wife and I have pretty much had to stick with tent camping. Uh-huh. This summer we went to, uh, the Smokey Mountain National Park. And, uh, stayed about three or four days in there. Oh, how great. It was wonderful. Oh, yeah. Nights were cool enough to where they're comfortable. Um.
And the days were nice and warm and, it was beautiful, beautiful few days. Uh-huh. That's great. It worked out particularly well, especially considering she was, what, six months pregnant. Uh-huh. So I don't know, it worked pretty well. It was one of those, uh, those, dome type pop up tents. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Nice and quick and easy to put up. Yeah. Packs away nice and small and, about had to be something like that getting around in a Pinto. Well, that's true, that's true. It was a lot of fun. I guess the last real, uh, camping trip I took was, has been a couple years ago. Oh, yeah?
Uh, I went to California up to the Sequoias. Wow, that's got to be beautiful territory. Yeah, it's gorgeous, I love the big trees. Just, just the drive up through, uh, up the coast line and then cut over in, into the, into the parks, it's gorgeous, though. Yeah. What, like, Sequoia National Park? Uh-huh. Uh. Uh-huh, yeah, I had been there before when I lived in California, but that's my first trip back in, oh, goodness, um, um, thirty years maybe Yeah. But, that is God's country, it has to be. Yeah. Yeah.
Do they still have the, uh, the scenic, uh, roadways that cut through the center of some of those trees? Uh, no, they don't, they, the last one, well, the first time I was there, the, the tree was still standing, but it has since come down. Okay. Yeah. But, they are huge. If you've never seen them, it's, it's very awe inspiring. No, so far, New Orleans is far west as I've gotten. Well, New Orleans and, uh, Minneapolis. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, well, there is lots of pretty country further west. Oh, yeah. Yeah. We're hoping one of these days soon after we're out of school to head that way. Yeah.
Yeah, and you just need to take the little one. Show them all the, all the pretties before they go away. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They seem to be trailing out quickly. Yeah because there is lots to see There is, course, the the Grand Canyon and, uh, the Painted Desert is, is real pretty, in a different sort of way. Yes. And, course, the, the Sequoias and the Redwoods and and you get up into Bryce Canyon and Yellowstone and, uh, the Grand Tetons are gorgeous, too. I imagine. Yeah, I would imagine they are. Course, I, I guess I'm partial to big tree country. Yeah. I don't know why I got stuck down here in Texas now I think it's called a job,
I don't know Uh, not a whole lot of forestry down there, is there? No not around here. Oh. Not around here Place is forested with with those concrete trees. Uh-huh, lot, lot of concrete and glass, you know. Yeah. Well, I guess that's God's place, too. Anyway, Uh, what do you figure has been the longest trip you've taken camping? Yeah. Uh, probably the, the last one that I went to California I took, uh, three weeks. Three weeks. And I was actually on the road a little more than three weeks. Yeah, the whole family, then, was in on this? Uh-huh.
Everybody Yeah. Yep. That would have to be a blast. Yeah, it really was, it was great. What, well, you went out from Texas up in, into that area? Uh-huh, yeah. We went, uh, we took the southern route and went, went through, uh, uh, the Grand Canyon, again and we stopped at, uh, uh, Las Vegas for a couple of nights, and then, uh, went into Malibu in California over on the coast. Yeah. And then we went up the, the Big Sur Highway all the way up to San Francisco. And, uh, and then cut across through the wine country. And then went down to, to, uh, Sequoia National Park. Okay. Oh, wow. Okay, Big Sur Highway, that's, uh, where you're pretty much in view of the ocean almost all the time aren't you? Oh, yeah. Okay, um,
do you have any pets now? Well, we don't right now, no. We've, uh, I grew up with, uh, with pets. My folks and I always had a dog and a cat, some, birds, Yeah. but, uh, right now we don't have anything. Oh, okay. Um, that, What about you? a matter of choice, or compulsion? Well, we've just, uh, it seems like, we've always been at a place where we'd have to go away for the summer or something and, uh, it was, never convenient to have anything. Yeah. we were thinking about getting a dog if we get into a house. Yeah. Uh, someplace where there, you know, we can take care of it and everything.
We've got, some children who would just really, uh, enjoy having an animal, you know, a dog, I think Yeah. and, What about you all? Yeah. Well, right now I'm a student, and campus housing does not even allow thinking about that Oh, no. No, we almost got chased out of here for feeding a stray cat. Is that right? Yeah. They're very strict about it. But you like, uh, you like pets and things? Oh, I love animals. Oh, yeah . I was raised, our house when I, when I was growing up there was almost never, uh, at least one cat in the house. Uh-huh. It was almost always at least one cat, sometimes, you know, like fifteen or twenty. But, uh, always cats in the house. Oh, yeah.
We, we, enjoyed them. Oh. We like, we like pets, but, uh, you know, you've got to deal with, uh, taking care of them and, and feeding them and everything like that. Yeah. And our kids are, we've got some children and they're not, not used to it, you know, on a daily basis. They, they, uh, How old are your kids? Oh, from fourteen down to seven. Okay. You sound like you've got some small ones in the background. One. Is that right? Our first. He's about eleven weeks now. Oh, great. Yeah. Congratulations.
Yeah. Where are you from? Uh, originally? Uh-huh. West Virginia. Okay. Um, I don't know how familiar you are with that area of the country but, I've been to Charleston. Charleston, West Virginia? Yes, uh-huh. Okay, that's pretty much the south end of the state, or the southern quarter of the state, anyway? Uh-huh. Okay, in the north end of the state, you've got that little narrow strip of West Virginia going up between Ohio and Pennsylvania Uh-huh. Right at the base of that northern peninsula is my hometown. Uh-huh
Well, that's, yeah, that's interesting. So it's really up north in the country, really, . Yeah, I guess so. yeah. It's, well, um, my parents' house is like three miles south of where the Mason-Dixon Line would have hit the Ohio River had it continued that far. Gosh. I see. So, It's pretty nice country up there? Oh, it's beautiful. Hills, or what? Uh, well, from my neck of the woods, it's hilly. Uh-huh. Um, you know, uh, maybe three hundred, four hundred feet elevation, uh, type variations from the valleys up to the hills, the hilltops. Uh-huh Is it farmland? Um, not a lot of farmland there. Mostly it's, uh,
I mean, you know, there's, you know, individuals with their own, own uh, growing their own food. Uh, most of the agriculture, it's more in the way of, uh, sheep and cattle. Oh, yes. And even that's, you know, small time mostly. Sure. Uh, the biggest chunk of what's going on there is, is, uh, industry. Uh-huh. It's coal mines and chemical plants and power plants. Okay. Uh, aluminum plants. There's like two aluminum plants . What are you, what are you studying there at Heidelberg ? Computer engineering. Oh, yeah. What year? Uh, just finished up my fourth semester. Well, great. Yeah. Yeah. I hope that works out well.
Yeah, it's a big change. Yeah. I spent, twenty years as a mechanic What's, so, Oh, did you? Yeah. Well, you've got some experience behind you in the work force. Yeah. Yeah. Are you, uh, shooting for a bachelor's now, or a master's, or what? I'm working on a bachelor's degree. Oh, okay, good. I'm working on a bachelor's degree. It'll be Hope it's a good program there. Pardon? Hope it's a good program there.
Uh, it seems to me, from what I've been able to find out. Yeah, good. That's considered a pretty good program. It's nice and small, which means, you know, if you don't get the class this semester, then you've got to wait or three or four you know, anywhere from two to four semesters to get, it again. Huh But, uh, it's worth it once you get it. Well, yes, that's good. And probably a good, uh, student teacher ratio and things. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah Most the class are pretty small. Good. That works out real well. Well, I, I was wondering what, if you all were to get a pet, like if you were to move into an apartment or a house somewhere, what would you get? Uh, well, um, first off we'd probably wind up with a, a cat or maybe a puppy. Uh-huh.
I, I, I'm partial towards the larger dogs. Uh-huh. Um, our last, we've, we've had a couple of cats before we moved on campus. Uh-huh. Uh, had a hamster or two, and they, they got, to be a lot of fun. A hamster. Oh, yeah. Uh, it's amazing how much character, Okay. Your family have reunions on a regular basis? Probably, once every five years. Once every five years? Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh, you have got a pretty big family. Yeah and that is the hardest part about getting the the stuff together and everyone is spread out all over Timbuktu. Oh, yeah.
And you? Yeah, we have a pretty big family, but most of us, well, uh, uh, I am originally from West Virginia. Uh-huh. Most of the family is right in the West Virginia, uh, uh, what they call Tri-State area, uh, northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania. Yeah. Most everybody is right in that area. That makes it a lot easier. A lot more convenient. That is why we only do it once every five or ten years. Yeah. because it is always that hard to get everyone together. Yeah. They put one together for our family about once every June. It was on my grandmother's birthday, but she is, she is gone now. Yeah, see that is kind of what happened with ours.
That is why we have not had one in a long time. Yeah. Uh. So, so, to make one successful, I mean, I mean what do you all do. Oh, Do you all just start planning real far ahead of time? Pardon. Uh, do you all start planning real far ahead of time? Well, no. There is kind of a set pattern to it. There is, uh, so, uh, the day it happens is ninety-eight percent of the planning usually. Oh, really Yeah. Uh, we, uh, get together, at the, uh, the park, uh, the, uh, the park, and playground area of the Church I was raised in Yeah. and, uh, everybody brings lots of food and some put up the volleyball net and sit around and tell stories and catch up and play volleyball all day and get really fat Eat a lot. Oh, gosh.
It is a lot harder for us because we are like I said we are spread out Yeah. and so we have to plan anywhere from six, well really probably a year ahead of time so that everyone, can uh, start their, uh, vacation time. Schedule vacation time and yeah. We uh, Sat, uh, Sunday afternoon or, uh, sometimes it has been like on a Saturday afternoon. Uh-huh. Usually, it is like Sunday afternoon and most people do not have more than you know a couple of hours drive at tops to get there and back. Yeah. Yeah, is that one of your, uh, I mean, uh, Well, where I am calling from is southern Mississippi. So, we have got, uh, uh, my wife and I have, uh, a bit longer ways to go than most. But, you also manage to make them. uh, actually, we, we have only made one of them since we got married about four years ago. One of the family reunions. Yeah. But we are both in school
so that makes it kind of tough. Yeah. They usually, uh, they have been happening, uh, just after the summer semester starts. You can't really get away. Usually not. We managed to get to one. That was before I started school and she took that summer off. But, uh, Well, now that we have been talking about it, I, uh, I am kind of getting home sick now. Because it has been over three years since I have been home to see my grandparents. Oh goodness. Well, my, my grandfather is the only one that is still around. Yeah. And see, my grandmother is the one that use to plan this stuff basically. Yeah. So, unless the aunts and uncles really get on the ball and put stuff together, it is kind of like. She was like the glue, so. Yeah,
I understand. Where is home for you? Originally, uh, I, uh, was born in Missouri. Yeah. But, uh, you know, we have relatives scattered out all over Louisiana, Mississippi, uh, here in Texas Yeah. but it is harder for everyone to get in, get home. Yeah. Well, maybe this year you can find a more central location. Well, but the majority of them are in, like, just like how you said in close, close quarters. So it is easier for us few stragglers to go home. Oh, okay. Then the majority of them are still in the Missouri area. Yeah. Okay. You know our family right now, uh, the most of it, there is only a few stragglers, uh, with any distance. There is one cousin out in Colorado, uh, uh, some cousins over in Phoenix, uh, I got a sister over in, in, uh, Washington State Uh, the rest of them are within, you know, a couple hours drive. Well, uh, how do you all communicate? Like to plan it and every thing.
Do you all just call each other up on the phone and say this is the weekend we are going to do it, or do you all like mail out stuff? That is pretty much it. Yeah. It is going to be such and such, uh, weekend and, uh, you all come. Yeah. That is about it And you know this is the standard pattern. It, uh, everybody brings their favorite dish and, somebody brings the volleyball net, somebody brings a whole lot of ice for the watermelon and, Well, uh, uh, I guess probably the last one I went to I met so many people that I had not seen in probably ten, over ten years. It was like, don't you remember me. And I am like no Am I related to you? Yeah. I know.