Spoke with no. 3 son last night before the Auburn game. Being Alabama fans, we both decided to pull for Auburn….good choice and a good game, bad ending…but that’s not my story from that call. He was telling me that he has double paned windows in his house and it was so cold there, that moisture on the inside of his house was freezing on the windows…His sweetie is a school teacher and she and all the students got the day off today because of the cold. With the wind chill,  it was minus a bunch, I forget how much, but after zero, who is counting????Wow…minus 9 degrees there this morning. Let us pray that the power stays on in Wisconsin and all the other states that are suffering through this cold spell. I think it is suppose to warm up to 11 degrees tomorrow…a dad barn heat wave, huh? Makes our 27 degrees here this morning seem like summer…..Pete

Dear regular readers….I suppose that you have missed some THINGS being posted on this site…..Such as any reference to certain FOOTBALL scores, huh? Well, it ain’t gonna happen…I ain’t gonna talk about it……several upsets have already come about. So enough about college football for this year…And one other thing, who in their right mind would play a football game in minus 10 degree weather? Special suits are needed for players who must endure this hardship.(How about those tough guys who go sleeveless? Real Smart Guys….Mr. Packer’s management team, you folks could borrow or rent an indoor arena….Jerry Jones had one available……Cheap too….Pete   (Should one write, ha ha, when they are kidding? Well, I don’t know for sure, however, you will note that I did not.) Oh, what the heck, ha ha…….

This is a e-mail from friends here in Albuquerque….Thank you for sharing…

I don’t know about you, but one of the big things around our house is the changing of the mantle….Christmas is a biggie, more than the other seasons because we decorate more than just the mantle….So, you get out all the Christmas stuff, decorate the mantle and the house and after Christmas reverse the process. We go right from Christmas to a valentine décor…Now, mind you, I am a very junior player in this process, more of a fetcher and “yes, that looks real good” type, but that is very important stuff, especially the “that looks real good”. That can reduce the time process a considerable  amount. Now, every once in a while, just for good measure, I throw in a “would that look better over there” and every once in a while I get a “yes, I think you are right”. But, anyway, Sweetie does a good job decorating and I am happy to assist her. She makes the house look good and makes changes inside without buying new furniture and the like, er, which I really like…Next change I guess is St. Patrick’s Day and then another biggie, Easter….A few years ago I could get the boxes down in a few minutes….now, not so fast. I guess I should be happy I can still move and walk….let me rephrase that, I am happy I can still move and walk….It really is a pleasure being Sweetie’s assistant….Pretty good job, really…..Oh yeah, and Happy New Year….No mantle change there……Pete

I had a very good conversation with number 3 son yesterday, who called to wish us a Merry Christmas. He was doing well and enjoying his white Christmas, well, for the most part he was. I was envious as he was discussing his snow early on in our conversation, but when he started telling me the reality of a heavy snow fall in his part of the world, I looked out my patio doors and noted the heavy sunshine covering all of our world, thinking about what he was saying, I quickly changed my mind. He mention that when he first bought his home there in Wisconsin that friends and neighbors spoke of his “long driveway” and he did not fully understand the meaning of those statements then and why they would even mention that aspect of his home……After the first snow, he fully understood. The snow makes the it’s initial deposit, which he shovels, then the snowplow runs and throws more snow into the driveway, which he shovels and then the following snows all season long, he shovels and every rerun of the snowplow, he shovels…..He did not say he was wanting to move back to sunny New Mexico, and he probably does not, but I did wonder about that. It can snow here overnight and a lot of times by sundown that day it’s all gone. I have lived here at this location for 20 years and have shoveled my driveway three or four times. I did not buy a snow shovel until about three years ago and I have used it a couple of times……Well, I feel for those of you who shovel their driveways many times a season and say a prayer that sunshine prevails in our part of the world….Bah, humbug to a white Christmas…..Pete Hester

From my house to your house, we wish you a very Merry Christmas……

Oh, and Happy Bowl Games, too….Pete

No, Santa Claus is not always white….We had a teacher tell a black student here in New Mexico a few days ago that Santa Claus was white. He has been suspended. We all know Santa is multi-racial and multi-cultural, always has been. But, you tell me when you describe Santa what do you say…..Yeah, fat, white, white beard, rosy cheeks, glasses and a hardy laugh….always white in the ads on TV and in the newspapers, etc. Ever since that incident I have taken note, NO BLACK SANTA’S, NO BROWN SANTA’S ….So, again, as with Phil on Duck Dynasty, we shoot the messenger….How dare the teacher tell a student that Santa is white? Even the teacher had never seen a Santa that wasn’t white….But, we took care of him… All the while every example we see daily, everywhere you look, you see a white Santa…..Are we crazy or what?…  Pete

Phil is right….The press can say what it wants to about gays, important people can tout the fine, upstanding folks who are coming out…..I can defend the gay community, etc, etc……but, until God gives his ok, and  changes what He has to say about it, it will rate right up there with all the other sinful acts as stated in the Bible. I am not pointing fingers. I am not throwing stones. I am saying I got my sins and you have your sins….Wrong is wrong. I don’t do wrong and try and tell you what’s wrong is right….Conversely, don’t try and tell me same sex partners are  right. Get the amendments so stated in the Bible, then everything will be alright…..It is not Phil and me that you have to worry about, folks…Let me rephrase that, It is not anyone on this earth that you should worry about….I imagine that Phil is like me and has enough problems of his own to not worry about yours. But on the other hand, God tells us to warn others of wrong doing when we see it…It’s not easy being a watchman, something goes wrong and everyone wants to know where the watchmen were….Come back…..Pete Hester         ps…..”To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” Thomas Aquinas     (This reminder in one’s of todays e-mails. Thanks, Danny.)

Gold: I heard this morning that Fort Knox may be empty. Huge shipments of gold have been reportedly shipped from the USA to points in South Africa….Some reported that China wanted gold to loan us money and we had to ship them some of our gold. Audits have been requested at Fort Knox just to see if we have any gold left there…..DO WE REALLY WANT TO KNOW?

Water: Here in Albuquerque we have had a concerted effort to conserve water. The citizens of our city have responded in a powerful way. Guess what?  The city water department now is in financial trouble because the revenue has dropped so much. Well, dud, wonder why? Anyway, long story short, they gonna have to raise our rates on water to cover a 3.6 million dollar short fall.

Cowboy football: It all started with the firing of Tom Landry….About the time I think they are gonna work it all out, they do something else stupid. They have had some great coaches and fired them because of egos at the top, well, in my opinion anyway, then other stupid decisions one after the other. I have been a Cowboy fan since Eddy LaBaron was quarterback. Remember him? But I am really having problems hanging on with them. I may switch to the Denver Broncos unless they can do something to redeem themselves in my eyes…. It is really not about losing nearly so much as it is about stupid…..Well, that’s the way I see it …..You know what? I think Tom Landry and GOD are pretty close…..And neither one of them is very happy with the Cowboys…..Well, there again, that’s just another opinion….Pete

Are my children smart or dumb? Well, some parents are saying I don’t really know, but I don’t want you and the state to know either. So, they want and are trying to have the right to opt out on standard testing of their children. I guess that’s ok, but at some point folks, you folks are gonna need to know. A kid has to be educated enough to hold his own out in the world. Makes you feel like these parent know or suspect the child has learning problems from the get-go or they would not be opposed to testing….Would they?…. Oh, what the heck, maybe I’m missing something….I probably would have faired better without testing, probably convincing others I’m a dad blamed genius….Well, maybe not….But good or bad folks, you need to know about that child. I mean, really…..Pete