Pushing Buttons

(6) Last night, Rodney's mother was talking about one of my cousins who changes jobs a lot. Mom said that, like me, this cousin doesn't know what they want to be when they grow up, but, Mom added, at least this cousin tries new things. As someone once said, who better to push your buttons than the person who installed them.

- Since I was a wee lad I have always wanted to draw comic books. After I graduated from high school, while I was working at the local Super S Food Store, I applied to the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. Rodney's mother helped me prepare a portfolio to send off to this school. I was interviewed by Joe Kubert himself! (It was phone interview, and the guy said he was Joe Kubert, anyway.) I was accepted. Then I began to hear all the reasons why I couldn't go: too far away, no money for tuition, have to work full-time to have a place to live, and the ever popular, "you'll just give up anyway." I was advised that I had better focus my attentions on my job at the grocery store, because I could be a supervisor. After a couple of weeks of this, I declined my position at the school.

- After I became night manager of the store (eventually working my way to assistant manager), one of our employees got beat up by his step dad. (In retrospect, he deserved it.) When he was accepted to Schreiner College, now University, suddenly being a supervisor for a small grocery chain was beneath me. I was encouraged to apply, and money for my education appeared from thin air. When I thought about teaching for a living, it got a partial okay. (Aunt Audrey was especially happy about that choice.) Then I fell into the Japan Exchange program. I was told that whatever it took, I could go. I came back with a burning desire to teach English in Japan. (Admittedly, I had a girlfriend in Japan, something that hadn't happened too often here.) I was encouraged to apply for graduate school to get a teaching degree. I did. I got in. I worked part time for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

- After I graduated from UT, with a degree in foreign language education and a minor in English as a Second Language, I applied for teaching jobs in Japan, and had a couple of phone interviews and even had a glimmer of hope about getting a job in Japan. Now all the objections about me going to Japan surfaced: too far from family, need to pay student loans, you should work for the tobacco company, etc. So I declined the job in Japan and got a job selling cigarettes. The company was great to work for. But I hated every minute of the job. I lasted 5 years. (At least my cousin tries new jobs.)

- I could take it no longer. I left RJR under less than flattering circumstances. Frankly, I abandoned the job. I couldn't even face my boss, who I really liked. I moved back home. I got a job at Gastehaus Schmidt instead.

I used to try new things. Things I wanted to do. But each time I get excited about something, I get to hear about all the reasons why it wouldn't work out, and about how I should be practical, and work in another field where I could advance. While my mother may be disappointed with how my life turned out, I ain't too much happier. But I have learned to settle for things, because I have been taught to. Should the flames of passion engulf me, I can count on Mom to come along and put out the fire. Now, I don't try new things, so Mom won't have to get all worked up about how I will eventually fail anyway.

I Know Just Enough to Be Dangerous

Well. I have designed yet another website. Check out Gastehaus Schmidt Kerrville. Before you flame me for the colors, I used the companies brochure as the basis of the design. I didn't pick the color.

Radio Margaritaville

Jimmy Buffett had an Internet concert last night. So I listened to it. He had a really cool, folk version of "Boat Drinks" and "Why Don't We Get Drunk." Of course, while I was listening, Sean tried to call us. Busy. Called his Mom. Answering machine. Tried to call Rodney and had the wrong (old) number. Apparently, his platoon won some sort of prize where they got a 10 minute phone call. By the time he got his Mom, he only had a minute left. She said he was still gung-ho. I guess the brain washing is taking hold.

Looking at Hot, Young Girls

I was driving home from Super S this evening when I passed the city pool. The lifeguards were closing the place down. When I was a wee lad, before I had to have a job to support my car, I used to hang out at the pool a lot during the summer. I don't remember the lifeguards looking that good. One girl was standing against the chainlink fence as the other knelt on the ground writing something on a sign. Oh. My God. I wonder how many wrecks happen there. While I don't remember the lifeguards of my youth looking that good, I am pretty sure they didn't wear read bikini bottoms with the word "LIFE" on their left cheek, and the word "GUARD" on the other.

Our L'il Leatherneck

Late July we went to Coleman for a funeral. Aunt Ann Holt's mother passed away, and Dad Mom and I went up to see Staci and Steven, who had come down. Sure was fun to see them. It's a shame it's so far between the families.

Sean finally got into the Marine Corps. He talked to mom last night, and she said he was so hoarse that she had a problem understanding him.

I worked at Night in Old Fredericksburg over the weekend. It was a pretty good time. Okay. I poured beer and didn't actually work. More of a labor of love thing, you understand. Sean stopped by Sunday for lunch. He is due to leave San Antonio on Monday for basic training. He left his PlayStation with me. I tried a couple of his games, but I had been waiting for this day to buy Medal of Honor: Frontline. This is a one person shooter that lets you get off the landing craft at Normandy in 1944, and fight your way ashore. If you don't hear from me for a while, that's why.

Sean was supposed to have gone to San Diego today. He showed up at Fort Sam on Friday at 4 am. They told him that there were too many people that needed to go, and that he would be shipped off the next weekend. He spent the next 11 hours watching CNN. (The only way he could leave, was when everyone else left.) Sean was kind of pissed. He said that he had given away all of his clothes, except for a couple of pairs of shorts, and a few shirts. So check here later to see if he made it.

Gary stopped by Sunday afternoon. He had been at Fort Sam for the last week, and was on his way back to Midland. He looks so good in his uniform.

Rain!

The first two weeks of July rained. All the area rivers got up, and San Antonio flooded. The media was eager to convey images of the disaster: they showed helicopters picking people out of trees, submerged cars. Things were bad. On July 3, roads that came to Fredericksburg were damaged or underwater, but by the evening, the roads were open again.

I work at a bed and breakfast reservation service. I had some rocket scientist email me on Wednesday asking what the river would be like on Thursday. He asked me if the river would be safe for his kids to play in. I told him that it wouldn't. He came down on Thursday and spent the weekend with us.

On Monday, I got an email from my little Einstein. He said he had had as much fun as possible, but would have liked to reschedule. I responded that I was sorry I misunderstood his email, and that I would have been happy to reschedule for him. He responded by saying that I had mislead him. When I said the river was up, he said he knew that rivers went up and down all the time. When I said the river would be unsafe, he said that no river is safe. But he didn't expect river 200 yards across full of debris, and that he had to drive through water, and I quote, "over the hood of my SUV" to get to the house. He didn't feel like he should have been "encouraged to come."

Fortunately, the boss stopped me from sending an email that began "Jane, you ignorant slut . . ."! However, I would like to go on record that
Kenneth Kimball of College Station, Texas, is a complete and total moron.

Midland

As part of Sean's Graduation/Going Away present, I took him to Midland to play golf with Gary. Originally, Dad and Rodney were going with us. Then Dad got sick and he couldn't make it. Then Rodney had to move and he couldn't make it. Sean and I showed them. We had fun anyway.

We got in to Midland Friday afternoon, and Gary took us out to Hogan Park. Damn! It was hot! At the end of the day, I beat Gary by two strokes. On Saturday, Gary took us to Nueva Vista, a new course near his apartment. I had played both courses before, but I kind of like Neuva Vista a bit better. Gary broke 100 to beat me by 3 strokes. Sean's score? Well, he had some fine shots, but he lost a bunch of golf balls. His most used phrase of the weekend was "I'll drop up by you guys."

We met the new addition to the Turner family: Bonnie, the Scottie. Sharpest teeth in creation! Amy's dad was in town, and she spent most of the weekend with him. Gary assured us we didn't have B. O. or anything, she was just busy.

On Sunday, about 8:30 am, Sean and I decided to leave. I have Aunt Audrey's patience: I'm always in a hurry to get somewhere. I'm sure Gary was disappointed we didn't stay longer (I would have been in his shoes), and I know Amy missed us when she got up shortly after we left.

I would like to go on record and apologize to Aunt Ann and Uncle Bob. About the time we got to Eden, we ran under the storm clouds that had covered the Hill Country since Saturday, and that would drench the area for the next full week. I thought about taking Sean to Voss to visit the other Turners. Really I did. But the lure of getting home, combined with the worsening weather made me decide to keep driving. Once I pulled up in front of the house and put the van in park, I knew I had made a mistake. They deserved to see Sean too. Sorry, guys!