Northwest Garland at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday

It would probably have been safer for me to stay at home this morning and not gone for my early morning run. There was a negative energy in the air that just made things not feel right.

This was northwest Garland at 4:30 a.m. today.

I wasn't bothered at all by the biggest possum I'd ever seen giving me a big smile as I headed down the street towards Shiloh Rd. After all, I am one with nature early in the morning.

Up ahead near Goodwill at Shiloh and Beltline there was a group of 5 teens talking loud and cursing. I thought, "This can't be good." So, I crossed to the other side of the road, and they didn't bother me other than to throw a few choice words in my direction.

It seemed like there were 10 times as many cars as usual on Shiloh this morning. Lots of loud thumping bass music. Maybe the big party had just let out.

Just north of Arapaho on Shiloh I heard a man on his back porch yelling out, "Shut the f up!, and shut your f-ing mouth!" at someone over and over. That was unnerving. I was going to flag down the GPD if I saw one this morning -- I usually do see them in the mornings.

Up ahead near the Shiloh bridge, I noticed another runner out. Another early morning soul. But, he swung down into the Spring Creek Reserve to a car that was waiting down at the bottom. I wondered what kind of a deal was being made down there this morning.

I was barked at for the first time in months by several different dogs this morning. They had finally gotten used to me and had decided to just sleep and not bother with me anymore. But this morning, I guess they sensed the negative energy and were up and barking.

On my way back from 190/George Bush Freeway, it was finally energizing to see and wave at "Cap'n Jack" (who always wears a fishing cap) -- my other regular early-morning sidewalk mover.

Back near Arapaho and Shiloh again, I heard someone pumping up a pellet gun (I know the sound -- I went through several pellet guns as a kid.) I imagined being hit by a pellet at any minute, but was able to duck by the fence and get up on the alley where I felt more protected.

Obviously, I made it home safely, but I hope mornings in Northwest Garland in the future are a lot less interesting than today was.

Muslim Wedding Ceremony

I went to a Pakistani Muslim wedding ceremony on Friday night for two of my favorite people in this world. You didn't need to understand the language they were saying blessings in, and singing prayers in, to be overwhelmed and brought to tears by the love that filled that room.

I've never seen a young man and young woman so honored and adored as I saw on Friday night. This world needs more of that.

Fishing

The spider webs are back.

I run a little later on Sunday mornings -- sleep in a little, and don't want to be out too early when some are just coming home from their Saturday nights (they tend to be unruly towards early morning runners.) I like to time my Sunday morning runs so that at my turnaround the sun is just rising.

It's a beautiful time of morning. The birds are really singing their morning songs.

As I crossed the Shiloh bridge this morning, headed south and back home, the sun was lighting up the new spider webs. On virtually every corner of every square in the railing, there was a glistening web -- probably a total of 50 different webs. Fishing for their breakfast. Casting their seines, perhaps.

Some appeared to be novice webs -- irregularly shaped, corners flapping in the wind. Others were the webs of experienced spiders -- perfectly symmetric, beautiful and built to last.

As I shuffled by, enthralled by the sunlight on the webs, I was sure at any minute I was going to see the words, "SOME PIG".

Harrisburg, PA

My wife, daughter and I went to visit my son in Harrisburg, PA over the holiday weekend.

We visited Hershey's Chocolate World in Hershey, PA twice and came home with bellyaches, tight waistbands, and a carry-on bag full of types of Hershey's chocolate one cannot find in Texas (i.e., hot cocoa flavored Kisses, Reeses brownies, chocolate truffle Kisses, etc.)

We made a trip to the Amish country (Intercourse, PA - formerly Cross Keys, PA) and saw the traditional images (horse-drawn buggies, mule-pulled plows), and the non-traditional images (a blushing Amish girl clearing the pebble driveway with a gas-powered blower).

We flew into Baltimore and drove to Harrisburg (much cheaper airfare). In Texas, one can just reverse the map to return. In Pennsylvania, that doesn't work so well. On our way back to the airport, we got on (OK, I got us on) a turnpike going the wrong way and had to drive 19 miles in the wrong direction to get to an exit to turn around.

We are all thrilled to be back in Texas, except that our son is still in Pennsylvania.

Silent Auction

I went to a silent auction on Friday night. I was outbid at the last minute on a Pampered Chef stoneware bar pan. Rats! Duped again.

I have a whole cabinet full of pans for bars, but I sure wanted that one.

When my daughter Katie was in elementary school, my wife and I were working the food line at the annual school carnival, serving up pizza and hot dogs and corny dogs and nachos. We weren't able to get away to the silent auction, so Katie took my wife's secret number and went to check it out.

Katie's concept of a silent auction was that you bid what you thought each item was worth, and the closest bidder wins the item. She was curious that everyone else was not also bidding on each item.

My wife got a call the next Monday with the good news that she had won 14 of the items in the silent auction. And, the school secretary said, "You really gave me a run for my money on that big Mary Kay basket!"

After lengthy discussion and negotiations, my wife was able to talk her into only paying for the 6 items for which there were no other bidders -- and let the second place bidders claim the other 8 items.

Our 6 prizes included a very large stuffed goose, a wire basket with a big square of bird seed suet, lunches with 3 different unpopular teachers, and one item so awful we can't even remember what it was. Please make your check payable to Kimberlin PTA for $49.

Katie (now in college) and her boyfriend Joe were at the silent auction with us on Friday night. It was also an art show, and my wife was there selling her original artisan southwestern turquoise jewelry. Katie said, "Why did you bid on that Pampered Chef pan? Shaina's mother sells that stuff and will probably give you one. Hey, what's your secret number, anyway?"

I'll just stop there and let you figure out the rest of the story.

A Wild Morning

Big storms last night in Garland, but they were over and out of the area by 4:15 when I left for my run this morning. Everything was washed clean. A few large tree limbs down.

Sometimes a black plastic trash bag looks like a skunk when you're out running, and sometimes a skunk looks like a black plastic trash bag, the former always being better than the latter.

This morning, I experienced the latter. Luckily, the skunk didn't spray, but I surprised him, and he surprised me. He jumped about 2 feet in the air, and I jumped about 4 feet in the air.

Hootie the owl in the top of the tree off in the distance must have seen it all and thought it was pretty funny (a hoot) because he immediately started hooting. And, he hooted until I was up and over the hill.

I don't know if wild animals have some kind of special communication or not, but when I got home, a raccoon was crossing the street in front of the house. He stopped and looked at me, and I was close enough to see a kind of smirk on his face, like he was thinking, "you goofball."

It was a wild morning for a run.

I'm Jamie Lee

Do you remember this scene in the movie Halloween? Jamie Lee Curtis had been to the house across the street and seen the horrific carnage, and was stumbling back across the street to the house in which she was babysitting. Michael Myers was following her, zombie like. She got to the house and couldn't get the front door open, and here he came.

I was Jamie Lee this morning.

I had finished my run and was finishing up my "newspaper ministry", putting several neighbors' newspapers up on their front porch. I was at the house directly across the street from mine and was headed back home when 3 mean-looking dogs ran through the yard between our and my neighbor's house.

They turned and headed down the street away from me, so I thought, "OK. Just walk slowly to the front door, and everything will be fine." I eased my keyring out of my pocket, and it jangled. Drat it all!

They turned and looked my way, and then started running towards me. Bah!

I rushed to the front door, pepper spray in one hand, key in the other. For the life of me, I couldn't get that key in the door, couldn't concentrate enough on the lock to stick in the key! They were barking now as they got closer. Gaaa!!!

I finally got the key in the lock, opened the door, and pulled the glass door shut right as they got to the door. Noseprints all over the glass door.

I really prefer that my morning runs be a lot less exciting.