1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and Saying;     14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men!”

From our house to yours: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS YOU…The Hester’s

Well, do you remember me writing earlier this year about visiting down at Claunch…About my first trip down there and I could not find the Motel 6…And that either it was not there or they did not leave the light on for me? Well, come to find out they  don’t have a motel…Anyway, back to my story on elk…We visited with a kinfolk rancher down that way and they sent me a picture of an elk taken from the back porch, first shot,  of the house the other day…She chased that sucker all over the ranch and all she had to shoot with was a camera..she got several good shots too…and she sent them to me and a few other folks…I cannot upload them into my web site for some reason…What a beautiful animal…Man, you folks aught to be mad at me for not being able to upload those pictures….It sure was some good ones, but you’ll just have to take by word for it now…I am going to keep trying however….we will see, Pete

Hey, Mr. I. R. S. Director, where do we send donations to for the Federal Treasury? We can do that, huh?  And are donations tax deductible? They tell me if, and maybe I should say when, the foreign entities refuse to loan us anymore money we are up the creek, like right now, today… We are borrowed out on the home front. … And besides that, I don’t like for America to be borrowing from other countries anyway, do you? There just should be something us ordinary Americans can do to help. Do you agree? Do you have some ideas? Seems to me like if any thinking is gonna be done it is gonna have to come from somewhere other that Washington…Yeah, I know…There are some good folks up there, but they don’t own any nine digit calculators, so we gotta use ours…Can we come up with something? What about donations? Will that work if enough of us get involved? I’ll bet some of you have some outstanding ideas also…How about you, Tom? You seemed well informed with a good head on your shoulders, what can we do? Let me hear from you, ok? ….We need to get this down to the little guy to get this resolved…Not the Minutemen, but the Pennymen….That’s us….Pete

I guess it is ok to plug a product on one’s own web site, huh? Well, I have to say this. One of my neighbors has had three wooden fences to my one. His have just fallen down and he has put up new ones.. I think it is because I spray my fence with Thompson’s Waterseal, every year. Well, honestly I missed last year and so this year it really soaked up the waterseal. 11 gallons to do all my fences. I had to do it over several days as the ambient temperature had to be at least 40 degrees. Today was a perfect day for spraying. The Boss even came out and helped me. She’s great help and a good boss, you know, pointing out places I had missed here and there and actually spraying some of the fence. Matter of fact, she is pretty good. To let her know I was watching, I would point out where she missed spots from time to time, just to be helpful, of course. Well, she took care of all problem areas to my satistification, therefore passing my test for quality help. You know how it is when the sprayer is going to be back in your hands before to much longer….Well, I ain’t dumb… or at least not totally….Well, most of the time anyway…I better change subjects…Thompson’s Waterseal really is good stuff…I am sold on it…..

Why is the A & M basketball coach coming down on New Mexico Basketball. The Lobos went down to Houston to play them and the A & M coach was complaining about not having some competition available worthy to play his team, like Duke or North Carolina (They would have really kicked your butts)…The Lobo’s were kicking the crap out of A & M for forty-five minutes and finally the Aggies staged a come back, I think because the Lobo’s were feeling sorry for them…The Lobo’s still won by, what 84 – 81, and A & M coach is still carrying on…Take it like a man coach, whining does not look good for you or your team…So, man-up coach and go on….to sweet sixteen?….well, maybe…it could happen

You don’t have to call them Pronghorn, and you don’t have to call them Prongbuck and you don’t have to call them Antelope, you can just call them Antilocapra Americana….Well, I am gonna go back to calling them Antelope…American Antelope, the only living member of the Antilocapridae family, since they are American then we call  them Antelope…That’s a good name for a beautiful animal, huh? You can drive between Vaughn, NM and Roswell, NM and you cannot see much of anything, beautiful county of course, except antelope…bunches and bunches…Well, and down around Claunch, plenty down there….Up toward Raton, bunches up that way as well…There is probably a lot of other places now…But did you know that at one time they were as plentiful as buffalo on the American Plains, but by the beginning of the 20th Century they had been nearly exterminated by hunting. They are now protected and there is very strict hunting regulations, so they are making a come back. As a traveling salesman, for years I passed the time between Albuquerque to Artesia and Carlsbad by counting Antelope…Yea, I know, sometimes it don’t take a hell’va lot to entertain some folks….But sometimes I would pass a herd, so many I could not count, then estimate and then end up by saying a bunch….There are bunches of herds down that way..They can reach speeds of 60 miles per hour running..They are poor jumpers…..They run through fences full speed…Dangest thang I ever witnessed, never slow down or break stride, leastwise that I can tell….Looks to me like they would tear something off….Maybe they can tuck things in somehow, reckon?

Every once in a while, I just don’t have a whole lot to say, struck dumb so to speak….Tonight I am kind’a of that way, but the words have come to me, BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.  I forget exactly where that scripture is, but it is in the Bible somewhere, trust me….So, tonight let’s be still and ask for God’s Blessings on us and our families…Amen?

Man, if Mack Brown had finished up number one I wonder how much he would have gotten. So, now, the Alabama coach needs a raise….and Florida, what about him? Matter of fact, several will be wanting one. Wonder what a pay stubb would look like if you were one of those miracle workers. Now let me see 5 million divided by 12 = 416,667 per month. Do you just put that in a checking account or what? If you want your account FDIC protected, wow, old Mack is probably putting money in every bank in Texas….Well, I am not making fun, don’t get me wrong. I heard the AD of the University of Texas on ESPN today. The football program brings in 87 million annually to the athletic department. He also said they gave around 6 million annually to the school…That seems a little stingy to me, huh? But between the school’s 6 million and Mack 5 million there ain’t a whole lot left after boarding and feeding them big ole boys….Probably an 18 wheeler every week bringing in food for them fellers….

Hey folks, I have had about four hundred visits to my web site so far this month. As far as I know, myself and three others are the only graduates of Pickens County High that regularly visit this site. If you do visit, would you leave me a comment or drop me an e-mail at pete@hesterbooks.com. I would like to hear from you guys that graduated about the time that I did, year of Aw gee, wow, that’s a long time ago, “you know what I mean, Vern?”…You and I know, but we don’t have to spread that kind of information all around, huh?..Did you see where the Tornadoes went 12 – 2 this year and had a 11 – 2 season last year? Pretty good….Do we still play Gordo and Aliceville?…Surely we do…One time a friend and I were hitchhiking from Columbus, MS back to Reform. This minister picked us up. “Where you boys going?” he asked.”To Reform, Al, sir.”… “Well,” he said, “somebody needs to.”….Dad gum wise guy for a preacher if you ask me…..

Chapter_Eleven…We had one store in my community back in Alabama. It was situated on top of a hill. At the bottom of this hill was my uncle’s corn patch, beautiful rows of tall corn. The airplane crash happened and several of us cousins were there. This is that story, kind of, as I might have souped it up just a little, but not much…It was an exciting few days around our community.Read about it here in this download. Click on the blue Chaper Eleven to read or just click on all the downloads over to the right column. thanks, Pete