Time to bring out the BRRRRometer

Here's the view out my back window...

I called my friend Dave and left him a message that I had some orange golf balls if he wanted to go hit some later.

ACU cancelled classes today. We used to joke when I was here the first time that a tornado could take out the Ad building and they wouldn't cancel class. They didn't cancel class when we had 6" of snow my freshman year. Guess times have changed.

Stay warm!

Here's a good joke...

Today a friend of mine was talking and he said "good customer service" and "Walmart" in the same sentence.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Doing what I do for Academy, I had to laugh.

People used to complain about Walmart having 34 checkout stands and 3 cashiers. Now they've got all of those self checkout stands and 3 cashiers. The other day, I actually had to wait in line to check myself out.

Research says that 90% of customers will never complain, but of that 10% who do, 96% of them will tell ten or more people their bad customer service story.

I wonder if that statistic holds for churches. Do 90% of people who have a bad experience at church never complain? Do those people who do complain tell ten or more people their story?

Anecdotal evidence seems to confirm the statistics.

Oh Deer, and Black Friday

Well, I finally went and did it. I killed a couple of does this weekend, so now I have enough meat to get the family through the year. Thanks to my cousin Casey for keeping the feeder running at Spicewood. That guy sure knows how to set up a bow stand. Too bad I had my gun, but the end result is the same.

In other news, I am spending Thanksgiving by myself for the first time in 29 years. I work until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, and have to work at 7 a.m. on Friday. The family all went to the Millers' for the holiday. They left today and won't be back until Monday.

And so, I think I'll do what alot of people do when things don't go quite right. . . I'll go fishing.
Why not? Only problem might be the wind, and that the bait store probably won't be open on Thursday.

I finished hiring a bunch of folks at work. I think I did 22 interviews last week and hired 16 people. Some of them are working out well, others not so much, but that's just the way it goes.

Friday is "Black Friday," one of the biggest shopping days of the year, when all of the holiday maniacs come out of the woodwork to save 5$ on a pair of sweat pants or whatever. Should be madness.

I guess that's about it. Been working alot getting ready for the crazy time...

Today is...

Today is the 29th anniversary of my terrestrial intervention.

I have a cold, complete with head full of snot.

I have to work 12-10, and I have six interviews so I can't call in.

My family has school, so I probably won't see them any more today.

I lost my hunting place this week. Landowner moved his cows into that pasture and it gives him the willies to have me bowhunt next to them.

Some people want to postpone birthdays indefinitely. I'd settle for a couple of days. Today I'm going to just do my normal stuff today and celebrate this weekend.

I'm going to my grandparents and parents.

I'm going to get to deer hunt. I need two deer to match the pork in the freezer.

I get to spend time with Shana and the boys.

Should all turn out just fine.
Jason

Psalm 8:6-7

Last year I began using my hunting time to study and pray. I haven't been as diligent this year, but I did break out the Bible last night while I hunted. I was working my way through Psalm 8 when I found this:

"You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild..."

I was thinking: I could sure use some animals of the wild under my feet about now.

I saw a deer back in the brush feeding away when I got to my stand. Couldn't tell the gender, and it never came back. About 20 minutes before dark, a small pig came out. I put an arrow through the lungs, and it ran into the brush. Being as it was getting dark and I was supposed to be in town by 6:30, I got down after two or three minutes to go find it. I left the bow, grabbed the .223 and headed into the brush, where I immediately saw a pig staring at me. I generally don't like pigs staring at me, so I shot him. Several others ran away at the shot. I ended up finding the blood trail of the bow-shot pig and following it about 50 or 60 yards. By this time it was dark, and I found the place where the pig crossed the fence into another person's place. Since it was now 6:15, and dark, and I had a pig on the ground, I quit looking. I field dressed the pig, collected my gear, and headed back to town at 6:32. When I made it to town at 7:07, covered in pig goo, the boys were going berserk, mama was frustrated, and daddy was in trouble.

I decided not to go back this morning to look for the pig, mostly because it's the fifth pig this week. Maybe next time out I'll use my sniffer to find it and collect my arrow.

I think we've got enough pork now for sausage. If I can find a couple of deer we'll be good to go.
Jason

A Cuttin A Pig Meat

Trey and I and three other guys from church went out hunting this morning. Not five minutes after I get to my stand, I hear the "don't shoot me" whistle and Trey comes out of the brush behind me. He had seen some pigs on the way to his stand, and had circled around to pick me up before he went after them. I figured it was a low percentage play, but I appreciated the gesture. We went to where the pigs were last seen and began working toward where we figured they went. As we rounded the corner of a brush pile, we saw two pigs about 100 yards away. I had no rest and was exceptionally unsteady, but I managed to knock down a pig with the first shot. Two or maybe three more pigs ran toward us. I shot three more times, and I think Trey shot three or four times at the runners. I smacked one DRT (dead right there) and Trey said he thought he got a piece of one. After the smackdown had ended, we went looking and found our pigs. The first one I had hit in the spine about even with the pelvis. Told you I was wobbly :) It took a finishing shot behind the ear. Second one was DRT. We hunted a bit through the brush where the pigs ran away, and just as we were leaving found the third with two bullet holes. They were all about 100 pounds each live weight. We collected the other hunters, came back and skinned pigs, and went home. Of course, no one had thought to bring a camera. These are the first pigs I've killed since Texarkana. Even after I give some backstrap to the other four guys, I should still have plenty of pork for grinding. The title of the post is what Jonathan said we were doing at the kitchen table this afternoon. From watching hunting shows with me, he's about got it figured out that you shoot pigs and deer with a gun, the pig or deer dies, and then you cut it up, cook it and eat it. Who says you can't teach them early?

Talking to people on the other side of the world

As I write, I'm talking online with my cousin in New Zealand. Other times I talk with my brother in Africa. All for free! The internet is cool. World wide web indeed.

He's telling me about how the clergy in NZ are atheists. The liturgy committee of the church he was attending decided not to preach about resurrection at Easter because someone was offended last year. Talk about holy crap.

They also sing the Sanctus (a communion hymn) to the tune of "This land is your land, this land is my land."

There are Catholic bishops in Africa that are married with the sanction of the church, and they don't take a vow of poverty. Wisecracks about Catholics make my cousin mad.

He believes in apostolic succession and that the Catholic church is the historical keeper of the deposit of the faith, and therefore the best church.

Quite an interesting fellow.