Ale for the Soul

Once again, another year has flown by making my head spin.  Overall, 2024 can be placed under the "win" column as I have been able to scratch off quite a few bucket list items.  Primarily this has been the year to catch up on a few health issues: annual physical, lab work, cataract surgery, and so much more.  I still have one medical issue outstanding, but I remain diligent in taking care of yours truly.  In August, I celebrated 18 years of sobriety at my local A.A. group.  This was definitely a memorable event as I never thought I would be alcohol-free for this long.  A testament to the power and influence of God in my life.  Another focus is that of relationships.  As I grow older, especially after turning 51 a few days ago, the value and worth of friendships and family ties increases exponentially.  It is with great pleasure that I was able to help celebrate the marriage of my brother and his fiance with the blending of two families in the...

Today I began working a secondary form employment with Cartan's.  It is a shoe store selling men's and women's footwear located on Magnolia in the Near Southside of Fort Worth.  Ever since I moved here I have tried to get hired on with this place of business.  I formerly worked for the owner at the Rockport Shops in Houston.  Figured I was a "shoe" in with the amount of experience yours truly offered.  Finally, I was hired on and began by working from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  I dove right in and tried my best.  Slowly but surely, all of my skills and abilities will come back.  The manager seemed pleased and thought I really didn't need much help.  I shadowed him and a few other employees while they waited on customers.  In addition, I helped to put away drags, which are leftover shoes from the sale.  The store hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday.  Woohoo!  Think I have found my home....

Last week I was able to get away from the land of exile in order to visit and spend time with family.  Even though part of our plans for a trip to East Texas fell apart, I very much enjoyed spending three wonderful days with my mother in Yoakum.  During this time, as she still had to work her shifts at the church, I was able to scratch off quite a few items from the bucket list.  Many of these items have been on there for several years awaiting much-needed closure.  On top of the list, but really in no particular order, was to visit the Alchoholics Anonymous group in Victoria where I tried to get sober in 2004.  Even though I didn't recognize anyone in attendance, I did enjoy the time spent in fellowship.  Then a visit was made to Memory Gardens Cemetery where three acquaintances are interred.  One in particular, my friend Amy, was buried there in 2021.  Regretting not being able to attend her funeral services, I made every effort to locate her gr...

About ten years ago I stumbled across a website called Find A Grave .  It is a free website associated with Ancestry , possibly started by the same person.  For about nine of those years I was a "member", I dabbled with it until I began discovering family members.  Over the previous year, I quickly began connecting the dots on the family history: who was married to whom, dates born and died, where they are buried, and a whole treasure trove of information.  As I fell down the rabbit hole of genealogy, I discovered the tools at my disposal through the interactive site.  One of the tools is the Suggested Edit tab, in which I can fill in information and connect family members to one another: parents to children, husbands to wives, where they were born, and so much more.  In fact, I've taken the process far beyond the initial personal goal of finding kinfolk.  As of right now, I have a little under 8,000 memorials I manage and am slowly, but surely, workin...

A little over a week ago, I finished working at Ole Grapevine Cigar & Tobacco Shop for a second tour of duty.  Once again, I found this particular place of employment extremely toxic and dysfunctional.  With the exception of one other staff member, the crew at the shop were too chummy with one another in very unhealthy ways.  Similar to the first experience, I was micro-managed and isolated from feeling a part of the "family", as the manager liked to call the company.  I never felt included...only taken advantage of and then made to feel inferior and worthless.  The customer base wasn't too much better than the work environment.  In some ways, the customers were worse...a bunch of entitled, rich people who wanted their way while everyone else be damned.  Spoiled-rotten brats!  The manager summarily decided, without even consulting me, that I would be moved to an "on call" position.  Since I'm not naive, I realize this means I'll never wor...

As I grow older, the search for significance and meaning increases.  Most of my life has fallen through the cracks without much to show for fifty years of living on this planet.  However, I can take joy in and thank God for His continued Sheparding of this life and the manifold blessings evident all around me.  This world is not my home, but I can enjoy the journey with my eyes fixed on True North.  Father God and His Son, the Lord Jesus, are the only relationships that make this life worth living.  On April 4th, I underwent the second and final cataract and lens replacement procedure.  Knowing what to expect, I was a lot calmer while in the operating room.  Beyond that, the subsequent weeks of healing couldn't have been any more different from the first procedure.  There were lots of draining, irritation, and discomfort.  Wow!  I couldn't help but to become concerned I might lose the use of my left eye or come out with diminished vision...