Ale for the Soul

Yesterday was my 47th birthday!  How did I get this old?  Honestly, I figured yours truly would have passed on by now, but maybe Abba Father has something in store for me.  The day came and went without incident; in fact, there were a couple of times I forgot it was my birthday.  Ha!  All of us siblings went out to lunch at The Oasis near the Austin/Del Valle area.  Afterward, my brother and I found a coffee shop and proceeded to order two mochas while the ladies shopped.  The rest of the afternoon was spent at our brother's house watching the first half of the Dallas Cowboy's football game.  Yuck!  I found a quiet corner of the house to watch TV on my phone.  To my relief, the 1968 World Series between the Cardinals and Tigers was on one of the channels.  The rest of the evening was spent smoking two cigars in order to celebrate another milestone.  Now I'm waiting at the hotel for my mother and step-father to pick me up. ...

As I stare down the end of another year, I am surprised at how much life can get crammed into such a short space.  Since Thanksgiving, I have been working with a friend who is employed by Cowtown Covers.  He hired me as his helper on a temporary basis.  It's general day labor type stuff, but I was glad he thought of me to ask.  Certainly I can use the money for living expenses till I can find something more permanent.  When he called me, the only two criteria for working these types of projects was an extra set of hands and the ability to follow instructions.  Knowing there's nothing in life that simple, I couldn't help but chuckle; however, I agreed to check it out nonetheless.  After assembling a few patio covers, I made the determination this type of work wasn't for me.  My friend was very gracious and wasn't offended.  What I really enjoyed about the time spent in this endeavor was getting to know my co-worker.  Now it's back to the ...