"There are no maps to where we are. It's a forgotten place. But it's warm, and it's safe...

...So we try to live as well as we can. And we try to take care of each other."

I don't list some of the 'I'm thankful for' stuff some people might expect. Sure, I'm glad to have a job, a roof over my head, food on the table & other stuff like that. I'm glad for the love of family and friends, sure. But for me it's much simpler - and much deeper - than that.

I'm not thankful for 'life'. Life can be pretty rotten, and life without purpose can be absolutely unbearable. Without purpose my life would be meaningless. That's the thing I'm thankful to God for: Purpose. I matter. I matter to God or he wouldn't have bothered to put me here. I matter to my wife. She counts on me for love, companionship, and to help give her life purpose. I matter to my children. When it gets too deep they know they can come to me. I matter to my employer or he wouldn't keep me around. I matter to my church or they wouldn't keep finding tons of things for me to do. I matter to my friends if their greetings and hugs when I see them is any indication. THIS is the stuff that I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for purpose. It has nothing to do with the size of my bank account, what I drive, where I live. None of it would matter without purpose. God and I have this deal: the minute...the very second...that my life here has no more purpose and I can't be of help to anyone any more He's going to call me home, and I'll go gladly.

So today be thankful for the purpose in your life. No matter how bleak it seems or how lonely you feel I guaranty you there is a purpose to your life...you MATTER to someone. Heck, if you're reading this you matter a great deal to me and I am ever 'thankful' for the purpose you've given me by reading what I write here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Winter is (almost) here...

Winter...or nearly winter...arrived today. The sun set yesterday to 78 degrees and sunny and rose this morning to 45 degrees, a howling 30-40 mph north wind and a driving rain. We lost about half the leaves that had turned gold an amber on the Red Oaks and Cedar Elms but the ones on the Post Oaks an Pecans haven't even started to turn yet...they're still green. Maybe when they turn in the next week or so we will get some color out of them too. Supposed to get into the mid 30's the next couple of nights so that should help them along.

I'll be doing something this weekend I haven't done in a long, long time. I'm going deer hunting. Before you cry about 'poor Bambi' and call me a killer let me tell you my philosophy on hunting: Hunting is an excuse to buy neat toys then take them to the middle of nowhere and sit in a, for lack of a better way of putting it, little-boy-turned-grown-man's tree house...in the middle of nowhere...no phone...no work...no civilization.

My weapon of choice on such outings: binoculars (for star-gazing & watching the con-trails and wondering where all those people are rushing to); camera (for 'shooting' Bambi and all his friends); rifle (to make it look respectable to the other guys I'm hunting with who are probably doing the same thing I am); MP3 player (obvious). One of the things I'm looking forward to is Saturday night's Leonid Meteor Shower. It's one of the best reasons to get away from the city in mid-November.

If I have a successful 'hunt' I will have come pics to post next week. I promise not to kill anything but time...unless a snake tries to bite me. Then all bets are off. He may get it if I don't mess myself first.

Rushing through November

Back to summer! Supposed to be pushing 90 today. Funny, about 5 weeks ago 85-90 felt like a breath of fresh air. Now it feels downright hot. But, one thing we can count on this time of year around here: if you don't like the weather just wait a few minutes and it will change. Be back to the mid 60's for highs this weekend...I do love this time of year!

UPDATE: Just realized Thanksgiving is 2 weeks from today!

I worked at the polls on election day. Our precinct saw about a 42% turnout. Not bad. That was better than last November's off year election. We had 385 early vote and 289 vote on election day. The early voting is getting more and more popular with all age groups but there were quite a few who came in Tuesday that said they just liked the feel of voting on election day. I don't blame them. It's something pretty special.

In other news: I was a little disappointed in Sam's entry Tuesday. As much as he complains about politics, politicians, and the government in general I thought he would want people to get involved. I guess the thing that disappoints me the most is he seems to want to limit the freedom of speech of those trying to encourage participation in the process and calling them names to boot. I would never call him a name like that...I have too much respect for him as a man and for his passion and the contribution he makes to our country through his work. We had one very critical issue in our city that would have turned out quite differently if people hadn't been encouraged to go make their wishes known. My whole reason for encouraging people to vote is it doesn't make sense to me when people complain about the way things are but they won't go try to do anything about it.

I do agree with something he said a while back about voting, though, and I should have mentioned it in my 'go vote' post: if you aren't going to take time to learn what the candidates REALLY stand for and learn what the propositions and amendments REALLY mean STAY HOME. Too many cities and school boards count on un-educated voters to pass questionable props and bond packages with misleading language & too many politicians have been elected on the back of deceptive, slick campaign adds.

ELECTION DAY 2006

Get out and vote! If you don't bother to vote don't you DARE complain about what gets passed or who gets elected.

Random Stuff

From Cory

1. WHAT TIME DID YOU GET UP THIS MORNING? 7:30 or so.
2. DIAMONDS OR PEARLS? Diamonds, just 'cause they're hardest.
3. WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA? 'The Departed '
4. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE T.V. SHOW AS A KID? Star Trek TOS & any Warner Bors. Cartoons...wait-they still are my favorites!
5. WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? Egg McMuffin.
6. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? N/A
7. CANDY OR FLOWERS? Candy any day.
8. WHAT FOODS DO YOU DISLIKE? Veggies unless mixed with some unhealthy partners.
9. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHIP FLAVOR? Sour cream & onion, baby!
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CD AT THE MOMENT? Soundtrak from Phantom Of The Opera.
11. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE? No car, '78 Honda 750, or Trek XO1
12. FAVORITE SANDWICH? Tuna with a little low-cal mayo.
13. WHAT CHARACTERISTICS ANNOY YOU? Arogance.
14. WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU LOVE MOST? Like Cory a dry witt and an open mind.
15. WEIRDEST THING SAID TO YOU ON A DATE? "My other boyfriend is really hot"...for some reason that was our last date.
16. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? North West Montana.
17. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHROOM? Beige and Earth Tones.
18. SPY MOVIES OR ROMANTIC COMEDY? Romantic comedy if that's the only 2 choices.
19. TO WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE? North West Montana.
20. ANY TATTOOS? Nope.
21. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Pro Cycling or Nascar.
22. SWEET POTATO OR YAM? Same thing, isn't it? Therefore, neither.
23. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER? Roses.
24. WHAT IS YOUR MOTHER'S FIRST NAME? JOY!
25. WHAT’S YOUR SIGN? Scorpio.
26. LAST TIME YOU SAID SOMETHING YOU REGRET? Daily.
27. ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT PERSON? Both: I can get up with the sun and put out the stars when I go to bed.
28. BROTHERS AND SISTERS? One brother, no longer living.
29. LAST E-MAIL YOU RECEIVED? Prayer list from biker bible study group.
30. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BEDSPREAD? Dark brown.
31. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE? Profootballl player.
32. HOW OLD ARE YOU TODAY? "I AM NOTPROGRAMMEDD TO RESPOND IN THAT AREA"
33. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY? Has to be Peanut M&Ms!
34. WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE AS A BIRTHDAY CAKE? Chocolate with white icing so sweet it makes your teeth hurt.
35. LAST PLACE YOU HAD A STIFF DRINK? Brother-in-law's house.
36. WHERE IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE EVER BEEN FROM HOME? Roosville B.C. just north of Eureka MT.
37. A SMALL THING YOU REALLY ENJOY? Leaning back in my recliner when I first get home and drifting off for a nap.
38. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Do I have to grow up?
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING? Trying to catch up on my magazines from the summer.
40. LAST TIME YOU SAW LIVE ART? 'Whose Line Is It Anyway'!!!
41. LIVING PERSON YOU MISS THE MOST? 'Unspoken'
42. NON-LIVING PERSON YOU MISS THE MOST? My Brother.
43. FAVORITE WINTER MOVIE? 'Legends Of The Fall. '
44. FAVE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE? Coors Original on-tap...but it's been years.
45. LAST DVD WATCHED? LOTR: Fellowship, Two Towers & Return Of The King...all in a Friday-into-Saturday marathon.
46. WHAT DO YOU WANT FORCHRISTMASS? I don't need a thing. Just need to try and help those less fortunate.
47. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE AM BEVERAGE? Diet Dr. Pepper!!!
48. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU COOKED? Non-nuked would have to be burgers on the grill.
49. HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN ANYONE'S HEART? Yes. Not proud of it, though.
50. HAVE YOU EVER HAD YOUR HEART BROKEN? Only a few dozen times.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

(From Glacier National Park today. It's a little north of Dave...you're a lucky guy Dave!)

Well, it's started. Halloween has officially kicked off the Holiday Season. We woke up yesterday morning to 65 degrees and muggy. About 9:30 a cold front blew in right on cue. It's been upper 40s to lower 5o's with gray and blustery skies since...perfect Holiday weather! The trees haven't quite started to turn yet but this fall has been one of my favorites: the days have gotten ever-so-slightly-and-gradually cooler and the night have mostly been brisk and refreshing, at least for here. I hope this combination along with the hot & dry summer we had will make for some beautiful color...at this rate it should peak around Thanksgiving.

The last 2 weeks of October are always special. The world starts gearing up for the final run to the end of the year: Baseball has just ended, football is in full swing, all the fall festivals and carnivals are cranking up plus Election Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years all around the corner. It all starts with Halloween. (Oh yes...all the candy is pretty neat too!)

This year we will have family visiting from out of town for a couple of weeks. Looking forward to that. Hope your season is special!