Getting Close...

It's getting close to time for a brand new hip. Less than a month from now I'll go under the knife (doesn't that sound ominous) and have my old worn out hip replaced with a brand new one! I hate to wish my life away but I wish it were tomorrow or even today.

It's also time to change the picture in my profile. I've decided to do that every week or so, that is, if I can rememer to do it.

The photo just there was my Grandfather and me in 1953 when I was in the US Army. It was made in one of those 50 cent photo booths. Grandpa was a real cowboy.
He used to have fun with me by daring me to run by him when he had a rope fashioned into a lasso. He'd say he could rope my feet and I'd swear he couldn't. I ran by him at every speed imaginable, fast, slow and lifting my feet high and dragging them on the ground. He always got me.

He used to have two favorite names for me. Sometimes he'd call me 'Buck Jones', the name of an old silent movies cowboy and some times he'd call me 'Popeye.'

He gave me my first Stetson cowboy hat. I always wanted one and he finally gave one of his old ones to me when he wore it out. I was about ten years old at that time. I kept it for years and wore it everywhere, even though it was way too big for me.

Grandpa was a real cowboy. He went on cattle drives when he was young. His twin brother owned a cattle ranch in Hot Springs, New Mexico. Hot Springs is gone now. The name was changed in 1950 to Truth or Consequences in honor of a radio program by that name emcee'd by Ralph Edwards that was broadcast from there.

Grandpa's brother, Uncle Bert, had a couple of sons who also owned cattle ranches there. Their Ranch was used for the location for the movie, "High Lonesome," that starred Chill Wills, John Drew Barrymore and others. It was supposed to be in Texas but the ranch scenes were in New Mexico.

Anyway, that's the old photo and here's the new one. I'm wearing my own Stetson here and am posed at what was a regular pose in those days; a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

Donna and I had a night club and I sang lead in a country band called , "Half Fast Country."

It was a great band, strictly Nashville. The lead picker was Leon and his brother, Ray, also played every instrument you can imagine. They both had played Nashville in their younger days, for Marty Robbins and Barbara Mandrell and others.

Howard played Bass guitar and Leons' daughter played drums and we all sang. It was a great band and a wonderful time in our lives. On down the line somewhere I'll post a picture of the band.

But for now, I wait with bated breath the advent of my hip replacement. I already have a new shoulder. I hope everything goes well. I'm pretty sure it will. We'll see.

Later...