I walked over to our little neighborhood “C” store today. Normally, I really enjoy the walk, well, its more of a amble or stroll than a walk. But, when I do that the temperature is high eighties or low nineties….Today, I’m pretty sure it was touching a 100. I have not seen the temperature posted anywhere yet, but its hot. I told Sweetie “I like it hot, but today is about my limit.” She quits the outside a lot quicker than I do, saying, “it’s hot” pretty quick. I even get out and do my painting in our shed on most days….Not today, no way Jose, I’m sticking with this air conditioner. I don’t know who invented the a/c, but bless you, man, bless you….Whew, “It’s hot.”…..

Five Star Plumbing, 505-553-2939, Rio Rancho, NM Lic # 381734

I love children…I have 5 children, 5 grand children, 2 great grand children and a bunch of nieces, nephews, cousins and all of their children. They are all so precious. The Lord demands that we love the little children and He tells us it is better to have a mill stone tied round your neck and then be dropped in the middle of the ocean than to harm  a child…..45,000 plus children have fought and struggled to come from Central America through Mexico and into the USA to get here, hoping for a better future. It is heart wrenching to have to send them back into the poverty they tried so hard to escape, but can we afford to keep them? Do we offend God to send them back? I’m torn about it all with my heart saying, “keep them” and my head saying we cannot afford to knowing that keeping them will only promote more coming. We do have our own children to care for and that is also now a pretty good job. I think we have to send them back, hopefully with a Care package to help them short term. The only other solution I can think of is if some of the big foundation will chip in to help pay their way. Oprah, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, the Koch brothers, and many, many, more who have the big buck could make a difference….How about it guys? Just a few million bucks apiece? Well, at least think about, ok? But hurry, time is running out…..

I do not have this one framed yet. I explained to no. 2 son that I wanted to do a still life and he set this up in my little tool shed where I paint. I have a working spot light and he even clamped the light in place for the shadows. I had to move the scene to get around in the small confines of the shed so the shadows angle moved some. Other than that, I thought it was passable for my first time still life….Pete

The NBA draft is going on tonight making for several new millionaires. It’s no wonder the kids will not stay in college and graduate. To do so, with their degree, they would probably start out at a 50 to 60,000 dollar a year job, if they can even find one. So if a kid is a good basketball player, why get the degree? The only thing, the kid may think he is good, but if the coaches and general managers in the pros think differently, then the kid has lost his scholarship and lost his chance at the college degreed job. The fast food stores don’t pay all that well, so they are taking a big chance declaring for the draft….Here’s hoping they all get big paydays…..Some are going to be disappointed, huh? Well, that’s life….Millionaire or fast food worker…Nah, I’m kidding…There is plenty in between…And personally, I see the fast food worker lots more than I do the millionaires…You?

At Vallecito Reservoir east of Durango, Co is the home of some fine trout and salmon fishing, but how about Pike? From the bank…This is John Keyte….He is up working with Bob Croll of Croll Cabin’s this year and seems to be loving it. He came through Louisiana on his way up from Florida and watched Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty baptize 6 folks…That’s great, huh? He was telling us the tenderloin, right down the back of these big Pike is some fine eating…We did not get to share but this is a nice one. He and his wife Barbara, pictured below, do a lot of fishing in their spare time….Nice folks…..click on picture to enlarge..eh, while enlarged did you read John’s shirt?

The husband comes in from work fifteen minutes after his wife and shouts, “What’s for supper?” She replies, “Whatever you want to fix.”…..Most husbands have learned to share the homemaking responsibilities,   but there are a few out there who put the entire burden of meal making on the wife, and some that puts all the household chores on the wife….Sorry, fellows, but if she is helping pay the bills you need to help with the chores. Even if she stays home you need to help her out. Keeping a house is a lot of work. A short time ago Sweetie came down with back problems….bad back problems that stopped her from doing anything. I became the caregiver for several weeks. What an eye opener that turned out to be…Try this…let your wife sit for a week and you do it all…After one week, you will change your attitude. I guarantee it. So, it’s best to share the load, helping one another out and it will also help her attitude…You’ll see….She’ll love you more than ever and you will appreciate everything she does more that ever…Yeah, you’ll probably love her more also…Pete Hester

Now that is as in lead, heavy metal…not lead. as to go first…..When we first got up to Vallecito we received a tip to fish 3 colors….We had no idea what three colors were….different colored lures?, different colored power bait?, different colored artificial worms?, what kind of different colors. Well, we tried it all and one day, after 3 days of slow fishing, two grandsons went into Durango. There a clerk at Walmart suggested that they try trolling a lead line to get down to where the fish were….We knew they were at 18 to 20 feet deep because they were showing up in large schools at that depth on our fish finder. You attach the lead line to your regular line and fish 2 or 3 colors. Each color is 10 feet of line, so to fish 3 colors you would have 30 feet of the lead line added to your regular line. It’s heavy and big and you have to take off a lot of your regular line. ….Dang, it worked. Finally we could get our lures down to where the fish were. We started catching fish.. Lots of fish…. Maybe you already knew about lead, as in heavy metal, lines…We did not, but we do now….Dang, I wish our fishing trip could start over…Next year, you dad barn salmon, next year,….. you gonna be hooked!!!!!…..

The United States is the leading reader of hesterbooks.com so far this month with 8180 hits and that is way behind a few months ago before I left for a while. The Ukraine is second with 660 hits. That surprises me as I don’t think I have posted much that might be of interest to that nation. But, I sure don’t know. I know nothing about Ukraine. I don’t know if they want to self govern, be controlled by Russia or a big spit over which way to go, which seems to me where they are. If some of you folks can and will weigh in on this subject I would appreciate it. All of you can use the name, say, Jabonski or Babenski,  or some other good old Irish name, I would just like some of your comments. I heard CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, and even sometimes the BBC but I have not heard from a real Ukrainian. Tell us, ok?…….

The Washington Redskins are not nearly fierce enough to be named the Redskins. I mean to the early frontiersman the term Redskin sent shivers into their very heart, knowing they were about to be under attack from the Redskins and they were correct to have that fear. Those guys were tough and skillful and the paleface were invading their territory. “You are not wanted here” the message was sent to them all. Yet the Paleface kept coming, but the Redskins never quit fighting, well, for a long time anyway. And the one that did, Geronimo and his tribe, were kept prisoner for 27 long years because he did not want to surrender. The United States of America did not want to have to fight Geronimo, the most bad azz Redskin to ever walk the earth, again, ever….He struck fear into the hearts of Mexicans and Americans in the Southwestern parts of the United States and Northwest Mexico. Yes sir, those guys were Redskins, fierce and rock solid leaders: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Mangas Colorado, Cochise, Victorio, Nana, and even, Lozen, the daughter of Victorio, who claimed she could outfight any of his other warriors…Yes sir, Redskins all. The Washington Redskins are not tough enough to carry the name Redskin. I don’t blame the Native Americans for being pissed…Dad barn bunch of lazy sissies being called a football team. And if the Vikings don’t pick it up a bunch of folks across the sea is gonna be pissed at them and demand a name change….. And, the Cowboys, man, up in Montana and Wyoming they roll their eyes when the Cowboy football team is mentioned. …..If I were a Native American, a descendent of one of those fierce and great and famous leaders of the tribes of America, I would be proud to have a team named after the bunch of heroes called Redskin….But I would want that team to reflect the heart and soul of my people….Go Redskins….E. V. Pete Hester

ps: some more famous Redskins: George Allen, Joe Gibbs, LaVar Arrington, Sammy Baugh, Larry Brown, Sam Huff, Sonny Jurgenson (who I patterned my gut after), Billy Kilmer, Dexter Manly, Art Monk, John Riggins, Joe Theismann and many, many more. They were fierce warriors also….ps….I re-read my posting here and wondered if you knew I was for the Washington Redskins keeping their name…Yes, I am…It is not a hurtful to anyone. I wanted to make a point that the name Redskin was a feared name in the annals of history. It is in no way derogatory or demeaning. Please get over it, folks, its a good name…..