Swine Time

We’ve got a new addition to the neighborhood. This is Cinderella and no, she isn’t the world’s ugliest Blue Healer puppy. She is in fact a wayward potbellied pig, who roams at will over an area the size of a small town. She was raised on a farm about a mile away (as the crow flies) and stayed close to it for the first couple of years of her life. Apparently she woke up one day and found herself wondering what lay over the horizon (the horizon being pretty low for something with her stature) and she just took off. I saw her the first time around the house a few weeks ago and watched as she meandered through, ignoring the barking dogs and disappearing into the Wildlife Refuge that lies in front of our place.

I would have bet anything that would be the last anyone ever saw of her, what with all the coyotes and miles of real estate to get lost in. But no, she was spotted a couple days later back near her own home. I guess she hadn’t completely “flown the coup” after all. These days, her circle keeps getting wider and wider. She’s popped up in so many places that everyone in this part of the county has seen her.

I don’t know, but she looks lonely to me; I wish she could find some nice young male pig that would treat her right and not “Boar” her to death. It could happen, right?

Almost Home For Christmas

Well it’s Christmas time in Tennessee and in Germany as well. The two locations are half a world apart and seem even farther for me and my family right about now. My little girl is over there with her new husband and (through no fault of his own) he couldn’t get away from his work for long enough for them to make the trip, so for the first time in her life we’re separated during the holidays. It would be horrible except for the marvels of modern communications. Today we used Skype to video-conference us all together as we each opened a gift simultaneously. It was amazingly festive and gratifying. Certainly not as good as being together, but I’m thankful to Al Gore, Bill Gates and anybody else who had a hand in allowing me to gaze upon the prettiest face on two continents, as she smiled and spoke to us like we were in the same room. I take comfort too in the fact that I know she’ll be home for the holidays next year and until then, I’ll have to hug ole Clay twice as often (he loves it when I do that).

From Tammy and me, here’s wishing you all a Merry Christmas.

Sweet Ride

Sam winning the door prize



A Tight Sqeeze Waiting To Happen

Circumstances have conspired to prohibit me from taking any sort of rode-ride for over a year. Over a YEAR? Is that right? Wow….. It was first a little knife work on my back, then came winter, next came my little door-to-door neighborhood hiking tour that kept me tied up for 6 months and then some. Finally with no excuses remaining and the weather near perfect this past weekend, it was time to break away for some much-needed R&R (riding and rejuvenation), so I dropped a hint to the (always ready to ride) Adcock boys and the plan was set to meet at the Antique tractor show in Waverly on Saturday. We hooked up there with new buddies Meleia, Dale and Freddy for a tour of points of interest in Humphreys County. A highlight of the day was a side trip to Andy Dodson’s farm where that worthy was busy processing his guinea corn crop, old school style. Sweet sorghum molasses, squeezed into submission. Andy gave us an interesting demonstration and a tour of the place as well. It was a good time and we walked away with some samples of the sweet stuff to boot. Thanks to him, his crew and to Meleia, who shared some insight into the family history of the place. A pretty good day and just what I needed to recharge the system a little. Thanks guys.

She's My First Lady, Anyway

My Tammy works for an insurance agency and when she returned to work after taking off Friday (to recover from the Thursday election), this is how she found her office decorated. They were very supportive and it tickled her that my win made them happy enough to want to celebrate in some way.

Two Weeks To Go

Well it’s been a while since I posted anything here, so I do so now while I’m thinking about it. If someone had told me a year ago what the next 12 months were going to be like, I might have crawled into the big ice box with Walt Disney and Ted Williams’ head. This run for county-wide office is a demand that cannot be described in mere words. Suffice it to say, it has been all-consuming. So much so that I’ve neglected my Job, my family and my friends, for about 5 months now. Too, too much. It’s like being tossed into the middle of the ocean and told to swim for it. At this moment, there’s only 13 days, 5 hours and 21 minutes until the polls close and my life can begin returning to normal. I feel I’ve forgotten how to have fun, so I’m going to need some help getting back to normal. I’m open to ideas for making that happen……….

Something Old (me), Somethin New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

A couple weeks ago, my little girl had her big day. The whole family made the trip down to Sanibel Island in Florida, for a wedding just like she had always dreamed of. It couldn’t have gone any better, even if it where a little on the warm side and everyone (but me) lost their shoes.

I wasn't crying, that was just sand in my eyes........

Monroe Gold

Here Fearless Charlie shows Peewee how he photographed his own bling, while Barry stolls along in what passes for sunshine in North Carolina. Good people make for good times.

You know you've had enough of winter when........

COME ON, Will Somebody Just Kiss Me Already? I'm Freezing Out Here

Dang, I hate February. This month has been a historically hard one for me. Why? Well to begin with it’s still cold. I’m old and so I hate the cold. Then the days are too short. I leave for work in the dark and I come home in the dark (or is it the other way around?). What else? Oh yeah; February is obnoxiously undependable. I mean, it’ll go 2 or 3 years making me suffer for 28 days and then “BAM” it’s a whole day longer. I hate that about this month! There’s no trials events to ride in, the fish won’t bite and duck hunting season is over.

Oh well, soon it’ll be spring, followed shortly by summer. Gone will be the memory of sunlight depredation and frostbite. The days will be long and the world will smell like fresh-cut grass. Cutting grass….man, that’s a hot job. Come July, the grass will grow so fast that you got to cut it twice a week. Course the days are longer, so I’ll have a couple of hours every evening to go at it, after getting home from work. Whew, that makes for a long day…….Dang, I hate July

My Pal, John Prine

There’s a restaurant in Gulfport Florida (outside Tampa) called Yummies. A short while back Leslie and Scott were paying up after a meal when they noticed a signed photo of John Prine hanging there by the cash register. Scott comments to the manager of the place that his father-in-law is a huge fan, about the campfire singing, and how I love that “In Spite of Ourselves” song. The guy replies that Prine has a place nearby and stops in to eat from time to time. He goes on to say what a nice guy Prine is and if Leslie will give him their address, he’ll get Prine to sign something for old Pap. A month or so later, this picture shows up in her mail box and she sends it to me for my birthday. How cool is that? If you don’t know the song, you owe it to yourself to check it out on youtube.

Merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year to all of you

Playing Through

SO the police asked Tiger's wife how many times she'd hit him with the golf club and she replied "I don't know for sure, but put me down for a Five"

Thanksgiving

We’re closing in on the end of another year and I’m taking a few minutes to itemize all that I have to be grateful for. The list is too long to document, but I’ll cover a few highlights here.

To begin with, I’m healthier than I was at the beginning of the year and I’m getting better every day. The down time I had was barely a bump in the road.

I went on a couple of big adventures with my buddy Mennonite Mike this year. The first was back in February when we participated in one of Danny Walker’s flat-track supercamps. It was one of those things that you talk about doing, but is out there just far enough to be sort of an abstract. Old Malcolm brought that trip to life for us and I don’t think I could have had more fun being thrown from a short motorcycle to a hard track. The other trip was a four day, thousand mile road bike tour of east Tennessee and northern Georgia. There are some great roads in that part of the world and the weather was near perfect. We made just enough progress everyday to stay ahead of the rain.



I had a fine time with all my trials buddies this year and I’m thankful to all of them for the relentless joy they brought to those occasions when we got together. We were like school kids playing out in the woods. Thanks too, to the promoters of the events that gave us the opportunity to get together like we did.



I had some really great dual sport/sport bike rides this year. The best were with my pals Peewee and Sam. They team up for these mini-adventures on a very regular basis and I feel very fortunate to have been included in a few of them. It’s a shame it has to get cold around here.



Back in April, Tammy and I made a trip out to Arizona for a company thing. They always try to offer some kind of outing to go with all the meetings and one of the choices this year was a one-day Bondurant racing school. Now that was a trip. After some class room stuff, they put us in our own Pontiac Solstice and turned us loose on this little TT track for an hour of timed runs through a series of hairpins. Next they lined us up on a full blown road course and turned us loose to bang on those things as hard as we could go at ‘em for a couple hours. Now that was fun. I also had a chance to ride a helicopter over the Grand Canyon on this trip; not so much fun as the driving course.



There’s other stuff to give thanks for, like a good job in hard times and a home that I’m glad to get back to everyday. But most of all I’m thankful for my family. I’m lucky enough to still have my mom and dad, plus the three brothers that I grew up with. I’ve got my daughter Leslie living a happy life in the warm Florida sunshine with my future son-in-law Scott. I have my son Clay here at home where I get to see him for at least a few minutes everyday. Then there’s the one thing I’m most thankful for in this whole world. That is my little mini-fridge in the laundry room, which is full of nothing but cold beer. How great is that thing? Just joking of course; I am most thankful for my Tammy and the fact that she’s put up with me for another year. That alone puts me in the upper percentile of the luckiest guys anywhere.

Harris C Wallace and Harris E Wallace



Here’s hoping that everyone reading this has as much to be thankful for and that next year brings more of the same. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

SUPERHERO REVEALED!

The prospects looked dim as the group gathered to discuss the obstacles lying before them. There were hills to climb and ditches to cross, logs to jump and ribbons strung up everywhere. It was one huge wooded maze that they must find their way through. But how? Sure there were arrows pointing into the dark nether-regions beyond the clearing where they camped, but were they to just trust this meager guidance? Everything was so chaotic and frightening, the mystery too deep for the mere mortals they were. What they need is someone to lead them. Someone who is brave and wise and skilled enough to clear a path and show the way, but where would they find such a person? Just when they thought all was lost, they looked up to see a Superhero emerging from gloom astride a roaring green machine that was terrible to behold. He was dressed from head to foot in a form-fitting blue suit, with strange markings on front and back. The crowd was struck dumb as the stranger bellowed, “Fear not for I am the Captain and I’m here to save you”. And save them he did, weaving back and forth between the red and blue ribbons with the others trailing in his wake. Once, twice, three times he lead them in and out of the darkness before disappearing into the distance as the people shouted,

“THANK YOU CAPTAIN SAUSAGE!

I Said DON"T BLINK!!!!

This past weekend, we all made the trip to Marion IL to help our good buddy Fearless Charlie Nash celebrate his birthday. We rode motorbikes during the day and paid homage to the hour's hero in the evening. It was Speck-tacular from beginning to end. Even the good folks from the Mid-West Trials scene pitched in by throwing a big BBQ dinner in Chuck's honor Saturday night. Later we gathered around the camp-inferno to tell him jokes and sing him songs, all of which he seemed to enjoy a great deal. I know I did.

One more time HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE

Won't Be Long Now

I spent a long day first driving to the bone doc's office, then waiting for him to make the same trip. Two hours sitting in the little exam room, in a chair that would have killed me before the back surgery.

It was worth the wait as the word was all good. He turned me loose to work, run, lift weights.....in short, all the things I've spent a lifetime avoiding. HAH! No really, that's pretty good news to me because it means I'm ready to start getting back to near normal.

As we were talking, I purposely avoided asking him about riding my trials bike. This was because I was afraid he'd tell me that it was off limits forever. I figured if I didn't ask, I could decide that for myself. I know some doctors are anti-motorcycle to begin with and I just didn't want to give him a chance to tell me that I should no longer do something that I dearly love.

Ah, but all wondering (combined with the memory of my whining about it) proved to be just too much for Tammy as she piped in with the question before I knew it was coming, "When can he ride his dirt bike?". Well, I gulped real hard just before I heard him say "he can ride now if he can avoid wrecking the thing". He went on to say that if I did plan to crash (which let's face it, is more than likely), I should probably wait for a month before I do it.

Whew, how 'bout that? I mean it's not like I would have given it up if he'd replied as I had anticapated he would. Still, it's good to know that the next time I pile up with the old Yamaha landing on top of me, I'm only following doctor's orders.

Dr David McCord - Nashville TN is my hero

Salvation

I went to Dickson last weekend to experience a little of the final rounds of the ITSA North American Championship. Nothing like a little time spent out of doors to lift you after you’ve been cooped up for a month or so. The good times began with a trip Friday night to the ranch for a much needed influx of the kind of camaraderie that I can only get from my campfire buddies. The music and the jokes, the teasing back and forth, the old stories, the fire, the smoke and the welcome I got, all worked wonders at improving my deposition. I felt better there than I’d felt in a while.

The next day was a mess for everybody and it took its toll on me. Something about slipping and sliding around in the muck ran me out of gas pretty early. I loaded up and went home shortly after the trials started and didn’t do anything else the entire day. I hate I missed the Saturday night campfire, but I knew the sun was going to shine on us Sunday morning and I wanted to be up for it.

Sunday delivered as promised and the riders had blasted off by the time I got to the site. It had dried considerably so I decided I’d try to make my way backwards on the loop to a point where I could see a little riding. I found the hiking a little easier than I thought it would be, to the point that I found myself a good ways back in the woods by the time I heard the first motorcycles coming my way. I actually had time to walk a couple of sections before none other than Captain Dick came over the hill, leading a group of riders who were obviously enjoying the better conditions of the day. It was a good spot to watch the action and before I moved on I’d seen every contestant in action. I walked and walked during the remainder of the day, finding several good spots to watch competition. It was well worth the effort, although it pained me a little not to be among those riding. At least I was out in the woods, rather than staring at the world out the window.

The weekend ended on a high note too, as the guys all made their way back into the pits and began relaxing from all the activity. This continued until the Guru called everyone together to hand out awards for the day and the series. A final gathering around the campfire followed the awards and (as always) no one seemed to want the day to end. This included me and even though I was really beat, I was still one of the last ones to make their way to the truck.

I figured I would pay dearly for the day’s activity when I got up the next day, but this proved not to be the case. I reckon all the climbing and bending as I’d made way around the uneven terrain, was just what I needed to loosen up what ailed me. I awoke with a lot less pain and was not nearly as stiff as I had been just a couple of days before. The physical activity combined with the mental therapy to….....well, to save me. Thanks to all of you who contributed so much to my salvation. I owe you a lot. Can’t wait till the next one.

Not the Only One Who's Dealing With A Pain

“Honey, my back hurts, I wish I had a nice steak cooked out on the grill, but I know it’s raining and dark out…..OHHHHHHHH, but it hurts”

What a gal, huh?

Morning Walk

I got up this morning at 6:30 and dressed in a hurry. By that I mean I was ready to go outside for my morning walk by 7. I find I do everything SLOW these days, which is counter-intuitive for me, but I’m making progress and at least dressing myself now. I took off down the road for a half mile before I felt myself run out of gas. Whew, time to stop this marathon and set down for breakfast and maybe a little nap. Of course I had a little problem, in that I didn’t anticipate my commitment level when I needed to. What I should have done would be to walk OUT a quarter mile, then back IN another quarter. Now, I find myself down the road and up the creek, with no legs, paddle, or ambulance service to fall into. Just when I thought I was destined to my own version of Man Vs Wild (with me curled up under a tree for shelter), up pulls Tammy in the truck. “Hey” she says, “You want a ride or something?” Man, was that a good nap I had a few minutes later.

Recovery

Most all of you know I underwent back surgery on August 24th and again on the 26th, to correct some disc problems, which have been causing quite a bit of pain and numbness for me, as well as a quickly increasing loss of leg strength over the course of the last couple years.

I went to several doctors and got a bunch of different diagnosis and as many prognosis, before deciding to let this surgeon have a go at me. He talked a good talk and if he's straight up and I work hard enough, I should emerge in a few months like a kid again (as far as my back goes, anyway).

I've had some rough road since the knife, like a really bad reaction to the first post-surgery pain medication. I threw up for about 12 hours that first night and let me tell you, that ain’t no fun with three brand new incisions in my gut and over my hips. Then, I have this cut down my back, which leaves me cut on all four corners. This makes it pretty tough to lay down with any level of comfort. That part is getting better everyday.

I’m working through this to get back on my feet and fully reap the benefits of the work done on me. It’s been a week and a half and I’m already up to walking a (total) of a half mile a day on the treadmill. I think soon I can abandon the walker I use any other time I’m up and move the work outside. Doc says if I can get to 1.5 miles a day unassisted by the end of 6 weeks, in another 6 I can bust loose to do anything I want to.

I’ll keep posting some updates here in case anyone is interested. I’ve received a lot of inquiries from a number of you. My very good buddies Mennonite Mike and Fearless Charlie Nash have been especially persistent with their displays of concern, as well as Peewee and the Captain who have called to wish me the best. I can feel a lot of you out there who care and who are concerned and I tell you, it means a lot to me. I’ll add a word of thanks here to my friends David T and Jon, who have stepped up to help in a big way, but who I doubt would ever have occasion to read this blog.

My final word here today is about my family. Leslie who is 800 miles away, but lifts me up everyday because I know she cares so very much. Only by threats have we been able to keep her where she is and needs to be. And also Clay, who has stood by like a guard at the gate (complete with walky-talky), ready to do anything I ask him at anytime he’s not been in school or in the sickbed himself (bad sick). And mostly my Tammy, who has barely left my side since the first doctor’s visit. Nursing me, bathing me, feeding me and jumping at my every need, all the while sleeping in chairs just to stay in the same room with me while I moan and groan. Words fail me here…..

Anyway, don’t count me out and I’ll be seeing you all down the road a piece.

Thanks,
Jesco