Slough is a term you don’t hear much about in New Mexico….They don’t have them to my knowledge….Back in the southeast you have a bunch..That is a small area of water cut off from the main stream except for during flood stage. They are always full of fish…And you fellows in Alabama and Mississippi know all about them. In one of the Chapters of  one of my books I talked about us cousins mudding a slough. This is a true story from this fiction writer and worth repeating I think. There were several sloughs close to Coal Fire, AL on Coal Fire Creek and one looked ready to be muddied. We made our paddles for raking the mud and paddles for slapping out the sick fish. I think we may have had several Uncles with us. Anyway, we got the slough all muddied up and the  fish started coming to the top.   The Uncles were chasing the fish around and slapping the fish from the water and us cousins were running around gathering them up. One of us cousins, I won’t call any names, always wanted to be first. They slapped out this dang jack. and you know the old jack has around 35,000 sharp teeth (now that may be fiction) and Cousin picked him up but somehow he got his thumb in that jack’s mouth….Big mistake….That boy almost lost a thumb…..I guess to jack’s,  fingers and thumbs look a lot like worms…..Seems to me like it took a long time for that thumb to heal….And it took a long time for the rest of us cousins to pick up a dang old jack, I can tell you that…

A friend of mine had an accident Friday evening  during rush hour. His accident happened at home. His wife called for an ambulance and within less than five minutes help was there. She called us when the ambulance left the house explaining what happened and that she would be following the ambulance to the hospital. We left shortly after receiving the call to be there for them as moral support. What is amazing is that when we got there he was already receiving care. I had forgotten how busy an emergency room can be….Friday night was not exception…It is easy to see why the medical profession has such a heavy demand for nurses and doctors….I personaly have a daughter, two granddaughters, a daughter in law and a niece all in the profession or headed to that profession…And you know what….Thank God for those that choose the medical profession…What a wonderful service  all these people  provide….Thank you Doctors and Nurses and CNA’s of America…We need you….

I have some more stuff writing for you…This is hot stuff…Did you ever go the the store to buy plants and find out later they were mis- labeled? Well, I invested some hard earn money into a beautiful Big Boy tomato plant. It was a good size and tomato production seemed immediate. When it produced,  the dad-blamed thing was cherry tomatoes. So, I don’t have any Big Boys this year thanks to some worker….Then I bought a bell pepper and it turns out to be a Jalapeno bell…a little spicy, but that was totally my fault. Then, we have had some of our green chiles marked “mild” that were really hot….That does not happen all that often, but when it does, it will perk you up a bit…sometimes more that a bit. …Taste is relative, huh….Have a friend from Illinois originally and not really into hot and spicy..He was watching me eat some salsa at a restaurant one day and he says, “is that hot” and I say, honestly, “not at all”. He takes a bite then grabs the water glass and gives me a very stern look, later saying “that is extremely hot”….It’s always something….

Many years ago I worked with a very nice fellow down in Carlsbad, NM…A colorful fellow who could tell very good stories and every day seems like he had a good story to tell. My favorite  story went like this: He was sent down from Denver to be the new terminal manager for Continental Airlines. He was a young man, new family and pretty near broke. He needed some money very badly to move his family to Carlsbad and set up house keeping. Some of the Carlsbad residents told this fellow that the banker he was using was very tight and critical about loaning money and to get a loan from him was like pulling teeth. He felt like he should use them as they were the bank his company used. He had never had a loan before and was scared as he could be about the upcoming encounter with this banker to try and secure a loan to move his family. Never-the-less, he charged on and he was scared and concerned waiting for the banker to see him. Sure enough, the banker raked him over the coals about savings, managing his money, repaying loans and the need for bankers to verify the character of the individuals borrowing money and on and on went the lessons of being a good citizen but he finally said, “well, ok, you seem like you will be a good risk, now what did you say your name was?” He told me he thought and thought, thinking “now what the hell is my name” and his name would not come to him. He said, “Sir, you talked me out of borrowing any money”  and walked out of the bank. He got outside the bank and thought, “what the hell is my name?’ Shortly, he said he snapped his fingers and said, “oh yeah” saying his own name out loud. He said, “So, I went across the street and borrowed the money from the other bank in town.”…. I have laughed at that story every time I think of it. I also borrowed money from that banker and he was tough. Folks around town still remember who it is….If you are familiar with Carlsbad, you know you have to go back many, many years to find when Continental Airlines served them,  huh? I think it was just after the Air Base closed there just after WWII..I hope you liked the story…Pete

In the Fifties in Alabama the school were segragated…But we had a few black friends during our teen years, two that we hunted, swam, and fished with pretty regularly. I rolled those two guys into one character and called him Homer. Most of the stories involving him are based on fact and in the Final Chapter of the book  is mostly true. In chapter three, there are a couple of stories, one about the wreck of the Chevy Panel Wagon was told to me as a true story, but I changed the characters and then the story of about us working at the sawmill is dang sure facts. But anyway, I think this chapter turns out pretty well and I hope you will enjoy taking the time to read it.

Chapter 3 Homer and Frog Giggin’

Let me ask a favor of you folks. You see where it says comments, would you click on that and give me your city and state so I will know what areas that read my stuff. I promise not to use it for anything other than my edification. You know I visit Coal Fire, AL from time to time and Branson, Mo via Joplin and Springfield ever chance I get. ‘Course that takes me through Rogers, AK and War Eagle Mill and sometimes through Bentonville and Springdale, where we buy the Sunshine Brand Turnip Greens, uh um, um. And folks down in San Antonio, I love that area…Houston and Galveston and Freeport…The Johnston used to take us fishing every year…I remember one of their boats, “Ann’s Dream”..We were out in the gulf one day and she was Captain of course and all you could see was water for miles..She knew I was on old desert dweller and she really laughed when I asked her to “take me by the dam cause it had to be one big sucker”….Any way, you folks from other parts of the nation, let me know you read me…I may have a story to tell about your town, Yazoo City, MS or Morenci, AZ or Memphis, TN or Decatur, TX county seat of Wise…I used to lead singing some at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church No. Two, many years ago….Let me hear from you and if you want to write something about your town, please do…Just click on the comments and tell me..Pete

You probably remember me talking about us old folks getting our New Mexico fishing license for free, after we attain a certain age, which I ain’t taking about today thank you. “Course probably one reason we do get them for free is cause we have to drive so dang far to fish. Well, that is not what I want to talk about. But what I do want to talk about is license’s and the requirements for same.I had to show my driver’s license and they wrote the number on my license and I had to give them the last four digits of my social security number, which they wrote on the fishing license. Now, if the game warden ask me and you to see our fishing license, he’s just checking licenses. Since we all have to drive somewhere to go fishing, both in New Mexico and Arizona, I am proposing that when policemen stop someone, that they ask to see our fishing license…If they say they are not going fishing the policeman says, “well, my I see your drivers license.”  If they are going fishing ask  to see drivers license and  social security card. It’s not racial profiling to ask to see the fishing license…. so I don’t think the illegals would say anything about wanting to see their fishing license….well, the brothers and sisters of the illegals might get mad….oh, and the President of Mexico is probably gonna be insulted….well, its just a thought…..

Fix the immigration problem they say….What does that mean? I am not sure but it is certainly not tracking down illegal immigrants and sending them home…What is up with that…You know if those folks attain citizenship that they are not going to vote on any conservative tickets or platforms…So, if I am a liberal I am all for amnesty for the 12 million lawbreakers…I believe that is what is taking place, don’t you?…I mean, the law is on the books and the ACLU thinks we are breaking the constitution? How?….Mexico wants us to open our borders….And we are doing it..They are taking over and never firing a shot….I have tried being a “stuff writer” until I read the newspaper, then I get angry and fire away again….Where is the liberals brain? How can we afford all these illegals….Send them home for green cards, then let them come back in.The immigration system ain’t broken…If you suspect some one is a lawbreaker, report him, check his id, if he is a killer, a drug runner, a robber or a illegal alien, arrest him….That will fix the problem….Racial profiling my butt…..It’s common sense…..Pete Hester

I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but when one dies you have to bury it and the sooner the better. (We have discussed this before.) The paper is reporting that the leak was discovered in 1999, and they say it has probably been leaking for decades prior to the discovery.  Now the Air Force is proposing to drill 23 monitor wells. Air Force monitoring wells have already discovered jet fuel floating atop the aquifer, in a layer that is in some places  3 feet thick. EPA says the Air Force is not moving fast enough. Concern is that soon the fuel may reach Albuquerque drinking water…Golly Mr EPA Man, it has only been eleven years, why are you upset? Did you mean “right away”? Wonder if some of the Air Force officials are now working for BP?…. It’s not like we have a whole lot of choices when it comes to drinking water…Let’s hope they soon get some flares or recovery efforts made…Eleven years?…Wow