Frogtown

Robert Toots His Own Horn!

2009-09-13T22:07:00.000-05:00

Robert is in junior high band this year! He wants to play drums, but according to the rules he must first learn to play the baritone! Robert's response to that was "B-R-A-A-A-P!"

Liz Prepares for the New School Year!

2009-08-16T22:36:00.001-05:00

You Might Be a Republican

2009-08-14T22:16:00.000-05:00

(Continuing with our theme of destruction and demolition, we turn our attention to the GOP, which is having its worst period of time since Watergate. I still consider myself a conservative and a Republican, but I am able to laugh at their current misfortunes. It sure beats crying.

Thanks to Rawhide for the text.

I found the pictures everywhere.)

1. You might be a Republican if...

You've ever complained about a liberal bias in the obituaries section.

2. You might be a Republican if...

You'll spend $20 billion guarding a bridge against the possibility of a terrorist attack, but won't spend 20 cents to keep it from falling down on its own.

3. You might be a Republican if...

You think a Lynch film is a documentary on race relations.

4. You might be a Republican if...

You think spooning is something you do at Dairy Queen.

5. You might be a Republican if...

You think smeared bagels are victims of the New York Times.

6. You might be a Republican if...

You think the right to free assembly is talking about construction companies.

7. You might be a Republican if...

Your desk has a drawer for holding computer punchcards.

8. You might be a Republican if...

You think "proletariat" is a type of cheese.

9. You might be a Republican if...

You once broke loose at a party and removed your neck tie.

10. You might be a Republican if...

You ever told a child that Oscar the Grouch "lives in a trash can because he is lazy and doesn't want to contribute to society."

Adopt Liz's Classroom

2009-08-09T22:42:00.003-05:00

Are you looking for a worthy cause? Liz's classroom needs help with just basic supplies. Last year we put over $3,000 of our own money into her classroom. This year, however, we've both had medical expenses that have cut into Liz's classroom supply fund. Through the Adopt-a-Classroom program, donations are collected for the adopted classroom, and the teacher (Liz) will be able to purchase instructional materials, games, etc. at cost. In turn, the sponsored classroom will communicate with the individual(s) who adopt the classroom. The donation is 100% tax deductible, and no overhead costs are collected by Adopt-a-Classroom. If you would like to help or need additional information, please click here. Your help would be greatly appreciated by Liz and her students. Thanks a bunch!

East Primary Demolition Update

2009-08-07T22:59:00.000-05:00

Oh, the humanity!

The technology center is where our computer was born.

Maybe we can steal a brick as a souvenir?

See Room 19's asbestos abate.

Above is the front door as it was ...

... and as it is now.

So much for our idea of stealing a brick, huh?

(Photo from KISD's website.) Demolition started at the back, and pretty soon ...

You can see one corner of Room 19 is still standing. Oddly enough, it was the draftiest corner. We thought it would be the first spot to collapse.

Destruction is fascinating.

Meanwhile, at the new building ...

Lotsa boxes await us. No problem.

Say Hello to Harvard!

2009-08-03T22:33:00.002-05:00

This is my new great-great nephew Harvard, son of one of my great-nieces!

Scripture Sign

2009-07-18T21:41:00.001-05:00

Check out the verse. The original site missed it.

Gotta Love It #3

2009-07-16T07:24:00.000-05:00

Future restroom?

Gotta Love It #2

2009-07-15T15:30:00.004-05:00

(From the Wizard of Otin.)

Gotta Love It!

2009-07-12T22:53:00.000-05:00

(Thanks to Rawhide.)

Deer Cupcake Award

2009-07-06T23:19:00.000-05:00

Among blog awards, none is more prestigious and coveted than the Deer Cupcake Award!

Actually, the first I heard of it was when the great Neolibrarium awarded it to this blog back on June 5th, three eternities ago in blog time!

Now, this award is not entirely received by grace. In order to accept it, I must do some works of obedience, to wit:

I must answer all the following questions on this blog,

I must replace one question I dislike with a question of mine own invention,

and then I must add one additional question. Eventually, some poor blogger, who seeks to accept this award, will wind up having to answer a hundred questions, huh? But not today!

So, here goes. Some of these lies are true:

1). What is your current obsession?
I've been obsessed with helping my wife survive the school year. It's been a very rough one.

2). Where are you right now?
Kermit, Texas, in front of the computer. Where else?

3). Coffee or tea?
Sweet tea with ice. The larger the better.

(Odessa, July 4th.)

4).What’s one of your favorite movies?
The new Star Trek. Also, anything that shows up on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

5). What’s one thing you’re looking forward to?
A date night with Liz.

6). Who was your childhood crush?
The first one ever? Probably Kate Jackson as Daphne Harridge on Dark Shadows.

7). What is your (current) favorite Song?
"Wonders Never Cease" by Morcheeba.

8). What would you like to get rid of?
Excess pounds. And Widget, our mama cat. (See method illustrated below.)

9). What’s your favorite book?
Chick tracts are unique little pieces of Americana. Now I can read 'em all online and spend the rest of my day going "HAW HAW" to my (rapidly decreasing) circle of friends.

(SEE BONUS PARODY: The Satellite of Love discovers Chick's world.)

10). Why did you start your blog?
It all started when I discovered that ...

My city has a Muppet on its watertower.

"Weird Al" Yankovic belongs to my faith.

None of the above. I just like to hear myself yammer.

11). If money was not an issue, what is one thing you would purchase for yourself?
A movie theatre to show weird films. In Kermit. It would lose lots of money.
Also, I'd start a restaurant called "Woulda Coulda Shoulda", where you always wish you had ordered what someone else ordered.

12). If you could live in a foreign country, which one would you choose?
Djibhouti. I like the name.

13). What is one trait about yourself that you wish you could change?
I start things but I never seem to finis

14). Chocolate of choice?
Peanut M&M's.

15). What is one thing you've changed your mind about in the last ten years? I now think Journey was a pretty good band. I used to hate them.

16). What is one thing you've changed your mind about in the last ten days? I now think Keith Richards and Willie Nelson will outlive every last one of us.

17) If you had to choose between books and movies and could only read or view one or the other the rest of your life, which would you choose?
Books. Of course.

Okay. Now, in turn, I offer the Deer Cupcake Award to three wonderful blogs: The Blog Prophet for always being thought-provoking and funny, jel's place for saying so much without words, and Loom & Wheel just for being great. Have a great summer, everybody! HAW HAW!

Farewell to East Primary ... and Room 19!

2009-06-20T22:56:00.000-05:00

These pictures were taken on June 4th, the last class day ever at East Primary.

This mural pre-dates Nemo and is located near the gym.

Lockers in Room 19.

Everything is packed and ready to go ...

This weenie dog showed up at lunch.

We saved the board that says "I love this school."

The Looney Tunes mural is by the front door.

Robert is Commended!

2009-06-12T22:44:00.002-05:00

Robert received a trophy for achieving a "commended" score on his science TAKS test! Way to go, Robert!

#A-105: A Room With A View!

2009-06-11T22:07:00.000-05:00

Is this a body?

The new Kermit Elementary School has two types of classrooms:

rooms with windows, and ...

rooms without windows, which remind me of ...

this type of room.

Anyway, by luck of the draw, and much to the dismay of certain teachers with more seniority, Liz got a room with windows!

Liz gets a first look at her new room.

Nice view of the pyramid house across the highway.

Next door is the science lab (sorry about the glarey glass!)

The green cross marks the spot.

The approach.

The getaway.

Robert prepares to be Emeril in the teachers' work room,

which is big enough for ... uh, a teacher fight?
Maybe.

The cafetorium is open and all decked out from a banquet the night before.

Are we even supposed to be in here?

They moved the piano without realizing it would have to be tuned!

Robert plays Fur Elise.

You can see more pictures of the new school right here.

Please Pray for Abby Riggs

2009-05-24T15:57:00.005-05:00

Abby is related to a lady at the church we go to. Please check out the Riggs Family Blog for Abby's story. Thanks.

First Celebrity Dies of Swine Flu!

2009-05-21T21:55:00.003-05:00

... and we all know who the carrier is!

Dry Season

2009-05-07T17:39:00.000-05:00

(Lubbock, Texas is voting on whether to allow package liquor sales on May 9. This story originally appeared in Texas Monthly, and I'm rebroadcasting it without permission.)

Letter From Lubbock: High Plains Snifter

After 118 years without a liquor store inside their city’s limits, Lubbockites are on the verge of voting with their thirst.

by Katy Vine

Drinking Problem: Existing liquor stores on the Strip may go out of business if voters authorize package sales throughout the city.
Photograph by Artie Limmer

Victory Life Baptist Church, in Lubbock, is located on the southwestern edge of town, past the encroaching brick-home developments and box stores, out in an expanse of yellow, treeless fields so flat you can stand on the church’s doorstep and watch the membership approach from miles away. About eight hundred loyal churchgoers congregate here each Sunday to listen to the lanky, baby-faced 35-year-old pastor, Brad Jurkovich; they find his youthful enthusiasm, as well as his unapologetic and unembarrassed conviction, refreshing. One recent Sunday, for example, he grabbed his lectern, leaned forward, closed his eyes, and addressed the Lord by saying, “God, you are so great. You are just awesome.”

Such passion for worship, some would argue, is flagging among newer generations of Lubbockites. The strict moral code that has defined life for decades on this stretch of the plains has lately shown signs of erosion. Case in point: the referendum on May 9 that would authorize package sales of alcohol countywide. Lubbock was the largest dry city in the country until 1972, when voters finally gave restaurants and bars the benediction. They confined liquor stores, however, to a single precinct, a little Vegas-like oasis at the edge of town known as the Strip. Now Lubbock seems to have outgrown it: The proposal to allow package sales is drawing bold, even strident support. For Jurkovich and his parishioners, it’s as if aliens have invaded the city.

“I have struggled to find in Scripture ‘Thou shalt not ever take a drink,’” he told them on the Sunday I visited. “I wish I could point to words that said that. I can’t.” He nonetheless encouraged them to vote against the proposition. “I understand we see the great beer commercials, and I think they are a hoot! They’re funny! But I deal with the end result of the commercial. They never show you that on TV.”

A woman in the second row muttered, “No, they don’t.”

“So why would we want to be flippant with this issue? I don’t see the benefit. You go from twenty-five alcohol outlets to two hundred fifty—I’m like, ‘Wow, that’ll bless you.’”

This point has not been lost on the two hundred-plus people who work in the Strip’s liquor stores, all of which will likely close if the referendum passes and alcohol becomes more accessible. The Strip is a landmark in this area. A crowded stretch of stores on a short road (named the Short Road by some literal-minded local), it can be driven end to end in about twenty seconds, but its fame transcends its size. Locals take visitors to see it at night. They gawk at giant marquees and red neon arrows that point to enormous drive-through garages where employees take your order right at your window. Texas Tech flags, surrounding the parking lots, are tattered to shreds by the brutal wind.

Still, no roadside attraction committee or historical commission has come to the Strip’s defense, and as in other localities on the verge of a dramatic expansion of liquor sales, existing purveyors of alcohol and pastors who oppose its consumption have become incongruous allies. Johnnie Stone, the supervisor of Doc’s Beer Depot, is a tidy, middle-aged man with oval glasses and a trim mustache. Standing in a wine aisle on the day I visited, he told me halfheartedly, “I do hear from some people who want the Strip to stay here.” But two college students wearing Texas Tech sweatshirts with cases of beer hoisted on their shoulders provided a clear picture of what Jurkovich and Stone are up against. “Move it to the city!” one said.

“Less hassle. Especially when gas prices are high,” said the other.

As Stone arranged bottles on shelves nearby, a beefy Lubbock native named Ruben Venegas shouted that he’d been waiting fifty years for this moment. “Yeah, I signed the petition,” he said, his wife giggling and nodding at his side. “I was there the first day! I wanted to sign two!”

Dry districts have been falling like dominoes since 2003, when a lawsuit supported by the Texas Restaurant Association made it easier for local governments to modify alcohol regulations. The numbers from the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission tell the tale: Before 2003, Texas had 51 completely dry counties; by 2008, that number had fallen to 32. In the past six years, more than five hundred petitions to expand alcohol sales have been issued across the state.

But how had Lubbock become vulnerable to this trend? For 82 years it held off saloons and kept its restaurants from selling liquor. The city is home to Lubbock Christian University and Wayland Baptist University; it is the place where George W. Bush lost a 1978 congressional race in part because he hosted a free kegger: A subsequent anti-Bush mass mailing addressed Nineteenth District voters as “fellow Christians” and decried Bush’s cynical use of alcohol to gain favor with the community. (He was also hurt by an ad that showed him jogging.)

These days, such moralizing would have far less traction. “I haven’t worked with a campaign in twenty years that had an objection to having wine at a reception,” local conservative talk show host Robert Pratt told me. “The community has changed tremendously.”

“What was once known as the Bible Belt has become just as secularized as the rest of the country in worldview,” explained Bobby Dagnel, the pastor of First Baptist Church. “I just think it’s the result of a post-church, post-denominational culture in which we live. And that has happened across the South.” So much so that when the Lubbock police hauled off some oiled-up Chippendales dancers in mid-hip thrust two years ago for dancing in an unlicensed facility, the police force, not the dancers, received the city’s ire.

The conversion has even permeated the churches. Many Baptists now cringe at the stereotype of the Bible-thumping preacher. I called about fifty Baptist churches for interviews, and only a dozen held the line. David Wilson, the pastor of Southcrest Baptist Church, told me that he believed Jesus had turned water into unfermented wine, but such was the cultural change in Lubbock that some local ministers were even in favor of the vote’s passage. “My opinion is I think it’s absolutely pointless to keep bringing it up,” said youth pastor Mika McDaniel, of Heights Fellowship. “People have already spoken. Leave it alone. Let’s move on.” (My voice recorder didn’t pick up the sound, but I believe I heard the town’s churchgoing founders rolling in their graves.)

Some, like Lubbock county elections administrator Dorothy Kennedy, have witnessed the steadily growing interest up close. Since 2003, when the statewide petition rules were changed, an average of one Lubbockite per week has called Kennedy’s office to ask how to start a liquor petition. The callers want easier access to liquor, more competitive pricing, and additional tax revenue for the city. For a while, however, no one was organized enough to get the required 18,745 signatures in the allotted sixty-day period.

That changed when the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce got involved. For city leaders, extra sales-tax revenue is irresistible. According to one study, Lubbock stands to rake in $5.2 million. Last July the chamber formed a political action committee called Let Lubbock Vote and hired a firm called Texas Petition Strategies to collect signatures. On October 1, the TPS machine sent an army of professional petitioners to the local Wal-Marts.

The response was overwhelming. Petition workers were looking for 350 signatures; by the end of that first day, they had 4,000. They complained to their bosses that they couldn’t get up from their tables to take rest-room breaks without being accosted by people who had come specifically to sign the petition. Let Lubbock Vote had the standard sixty days to conclude the drive. Its petitioners finished in nine.

“Lubbock is different from other towns I have worked on in one respect,” said TPS co-founder John Hatch. “I’ve never seen a community more anxious to have this vote.”

Aside from the small efforts of pastors like Jurkovich to rally their troops against the measure, the only thing that has a chance of stopping it is the vigorous opposition of Brant O’Hair, a 53-year-old with a head of thick white hair and the healthy glow of a man in an advertisement for heart medication. When he is not running O’Hair Shutters, a business started by his father, O’Hair acts as the spokesperson for Truth About Alcohol Sales, a political action committee that has enjoyed the strong support of the Lubbock Area Baptist Association. One morning a few weeks ago, I visited him at his office, where dark-wood custom shutters adorned every window. He told me that underage drinking was his main concern. “A combination of that and our not wanting to see our town start looking more like Amarillo.”

Years ago, church leaders could have made political headway using religious arguments. But public persuasion has to be more secular nowadays. O’Hair claims, for example, that an increased number of liquor outlets would result in increased crime. “The proponents of this consider it to be economic development,” he told me. “What a crock. At what cost?” He feels that big businesses from outside Lubbock are exploiting the community for their profit, pointing out Wal-Mart’s contribution of $50,000 to the Let Lubbock Vote PAC. He insists he is not a prohibitionist. “We’ve got the Strip,” he said. “There it is. Have fun.”

O’Hair is counting on his ability to mobilize the churchgoing base: He envisions a quiet, determined voting bloc, perhaps a minority but still large enough and single-minded enough to swing the election. So far, he has signed up over one hundred volunteers and raised more than $30,000. He’s hoping for small contributions from the Baptist families of Lubbock and plans a surgical strike of direct mail to likely voters. If the measure passes, he believes, “it’s just another step down the slippery slope.”

“You know Jimmy Stewart? It’s a Wonderful Life?” he asked. “I don’t want to see Lubbock look like Pottersville.”

Will O’Hair’s silent base materialize on May 9? Does it even exist anymore? I assumed I would find plenty of traditional, no-liquor types at Furr’s cafeteria. I headed over on Super Bowl Sunday, looking for a canary in the coal mine.

I sidled up to an older couple, Marty and Bobby Dalton, who were ordering ham and turkey dinners. Their children had left home years ago, and now they were retired, spending most of their time babying their dachshunds. Bobby had worked for 31 years as an auto mechanic in a shop right near the Strip, and on Tuesday and Friday paydays, folks lined up to get onto the Short Road, blocking the entrance to his business.

“I usually closed at five-thirty, but on those days I’d close at seven o’clock because I couldn’t get out of the driveway,” he said. “Our churches in Lubbock have been pretty strongly against having packaged alcohol, but I asked our preacher if he’d preach on it and he said, ‘I hope they pass it!’” He laughed. “We don’t drink, but . . .” He shrugged. His wife looked up. “We’re voting for it,” she said.

Digging Dinosaurs 2009

2009-04-24T22:13:00.000-05:00

I obviously have no way to enforce this, but I respectfully suggest that you read last year's posts one and two and three. Okay? Okay. Thanks.

My lovely and gracious wife Liz worked hard again this year for her second-graders' open house. Once more, the theme was dinosaurs!

Parts of the Texas Dinosaur map are recycled from last year.

The cool pterodactyls belong to Ms. Cates, the teacher in room 17 next door.

Meat or vegetables? This chart lists the dinosaurs' diets, so you know which ones to run from.

Liz's dinosaur door. Through the window you can see ...

... the volcano! Notice the pterodactyl that got barbecued in midflight.

Essays line the hall.

My dinosaur would look like this ...

How can I think outside the box when they won't let me out?

Ha! My pebbles don't stink!

These dinos are looking a bit thin ...

Jurassic Park is a popular theme.

I'll guard these jelly beans with my life!

There's a glass candle holder under this volcano.

The hanging pterodactyl is a distinctive feature of this girl's display.

Dinosour World. When we open our mouths, you can see all the way to our toes. Or worse.

This boy chose to do a very good drawing.

The Hulk wrangles a dino. I like it.

This board includes some of our Dallas pictures.

As I said last year, thank God open house is over!

Gaa!
Not a dinosaur, this is Baby! Baby was the neighbors' cat, but I coaxed him/her and two sibling cats over with superior food. (It's not the same as stealing!) The siblings soon died, but Baby remains, along with our other cats.

Police Brutality in Baton Rouge!

2009-04-12T22:43:00.000-05:00

This actually happened to someone we know.

Brian Townsend is a most excellent teacher and coach in Kermit. Two years ago he was brutally attacked by a police officer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who was responding to a noise complaint. Now the officer has plead guilty to excessive force.

You can look at the
Baton Rouge news coverage here and here and here. You can also view a video of the attack at Brian's MySpace page, but be advised it's not for the squeamish -- or the underage!

This case is reportedly the first civil rights conviction in Louisiana in the past ten years. Sentencing is to follow in two or three months. I will do my best to provide further updates!

He Coulda Won a Grammy ...

2009-03-30T22:20:00.000-05:00

On Friday March 13th, we went to Dallas to see King Tut. Well, his treasures anyway.

I wasn't allowed to take pictures of the artifacts, but Floyd's Ancient Wonders Blog was evidently able to sneak a camera in.

The piece above was on the head of Tutankhamun when they found him.

Tutankhamun's name in heiroglyphics.

There's a cool story about the scarab in the above picture. It was carved from obsidian glass which may have been formed by a meteorite. (Watch out for the auto-start music!)

The tour ended with a sign that said this exhibit had hopefully honored Tutankhamun's memory and given him the eternal life which he had so eagerly sought.

Not 50 feet away from the aforementioned sign, the gift shop had this tacky Tut tissue box for sale. What kind of afterlife is this?
But then these stuffed camels were kinda cute.

We met up with our great niece and her fiance, both of whom blog also. It was good to see them again.

The next day, we went to the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science to see dinosaur bones found in the Big Bend area of Texas.

Robert digging for plaster casts of dinosaur bones.

We almost visited Rick Atchley's church on Sunday, but my tired family was ready to come home, so that's what we did.

The Notrees Wind Farm Nears Completion

2009-03-09T23:03:00.006-05:00

(Notrees is a tiny, almost-ghost town 21 miles east of Kermit, and it does have trees. It also boasts a big honkin' wind farm. This article is used without permission from The Odessa American. The photo, also without permission, comes from The Winkler Post.)

BY BEN ADAMS

Drivers on Kermit Highway near Notrees might need to concentrate on keeping their eyes on the road.

Duke Energy now has 95 wind turbines up and nearly ready to enter commercial operation.

"All the turbines have been erected at this point. There's still some substation work that remains and site restoration, but we're expecting completion of all the onsite work in June 2009," Duke Energy spokesman Greg Efthimiou said.

Phase 1A of the Notrees wind power project went online in February during a test phase. The 55 1.65-megawatt Vestas wind turbines in Winkler County began spinning and pushing electrons on the state's power grid. A commercial operation date will be declared later this month, Efthimiou said. Construction of phase 1A began in June 2008.

Phase 1B, which began in October 2008 and has 11 of its 40 1.5-megawatt GE turbines in Ector County, has a commercial operation date scheduled for April.

The farms have a peak capacity of 150 megawatts. One megawatt provides enough power for about 800 to 1,000 homes.

Efthimiou said the turbines will provide up to 15 percent of the power needs of all Wal-mart and Sam's Club locations in Texas as well as their respective warehouses.

The project has provided an economic boost to the area, said Gary Vest, economic development director for the Odessa Chamber of Commerce. Each tower required between 100 and 150 workers to build.

"Sometimes they work around the clock," Vest said.

The base of each tower requires 400 cubic yards of concrete as well as lots of electrical work. Vest said local contractors such as Sun Electric, Dixie Electric and Saulsbury Industries helped to build the towers.

"That has a tremendous impact to our local economy when that's going on," Vest said. "It's hard to put an exact number on it."

Texas leads the country in wind power production, and companies like Duke are helping keep it that way.

"We've got a pretty large wind power presence in Texas for obvious reasons, it's a free and abundant resource," Efthimiou said.

(OTHER VOICES: Here's another blogger's view of the Notrees wind turbines.)

Yet Another Kermit

2009-03-08T22:01:00.002-05:00

This one is behind the metal shop at Kermit High School. I didn't know of its existence until Liz asked me why I hadn't blogged it.

For Her Son and Jesus ...

2009-02-18T10:28:00.000-06:00

(The Huffmans used to minister in Kermit before they moved to Lubbock and opened an excellent bookstore. I hope all three of my readers will shop there. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal published this touching story about them in their Sunday February 15th edition. I am excerpting it without permission as always.)

Melody Huffman, 51, keeps memories alive.

She dresses up as Aunt Lydia (as in Lydia from Thyatira, from the book of Acts) in a modest purple robe (like the kind Lydia might have sold) inside her Christian book store, The Bible Barn. She tells stories about giants and whales and fiery furnaces. On Feb. 7, five little kids - some she knew, some she didn't - marched around the store and blew kazoos and sucked on Dum Dums and the walls of Jericho came down.

"What do you think the name of this city is?" she asks her audience. "Do you think it's called Lubbock?"

Noooo.

"Do you think it's called Dallas?"

Noooo.

"No, not Dallas. It's ... called ... Jerrrrrichooo. Can you say that? One, two, three: Jerrrricchooo."
Monty, Huffman's husband, watches and smiles.

"She's been a Bible class teacher all her life," says Monty, 52, a minister at Central Lubbock Church of Christ, where the two attend. "She's probably been teaching Bible class since she was a pre-teenager. She's had 40 years of experience. It's something on her heart, and a way to use her gifts for something good."

The couple opened The Bible Barn in September 2007. Aunt Lydia was born two months later.

"I just love kids and just wanted to have something where they could come," Melody says of her alter ego and the weekly story time she calls Matthew's Korner, named in honor of her son. "I thought it would be something to help bring people in, something different. It's little. It's been slow. Sometimes kids are here; sometimes they're not, you know. But I'm always ready."

Ready or not

On Aug. 9, 1991, she wasn't ready. Parents never are, even when they know God holds the future and they'll all meet again one day. But little Matthew, 7 years, 1 month, and 1 day old when he died, was as ready as anyone's ever been.

The whole family was in Brazil. Melody and Monty were missionaries. The boys, Matthew and Micah, chased lizards and climbed trees. On Saturday night, Aug. 3, Matthew got sick. He was vomiting. He had headaches. The doctors said it was the Brazilian mumps. It wasn't.

"I was in the backseat as we were driving 30 miles to the hospital," Melody says with tears in her eyes. "And Matthew kept reaching out. He had spinal meningitis. He'd already gone blind and lost his ability to walk, and he just kept reaching his hand.

"I'd hold it and he'd tell me, 'No, I don't want it.' And, just in desperation I said, 'Well whatever you want, I'll get it. Just tell me.' And he just said, 'I'm trying to reach Jesus' hand,' and his hand closed in the air and ... that was it."

Telling stories

Christian author Max Lucado, a former missionary to Brazil himself and pastor of Oak Hills Church of Christ in San Antonio where relatives of the Huffmans attended, wrote about their ordeal in his 1993 book "And the Angels Were Silent."

"Max wrote about that and what his last words were," Melody said. " 'I'm reaching for Jesus.' "

It's still hard to talk about. Some days she can't. But each Saturday she'll sit down in front of photos of Matthew, framed and hung on the wall in his "Korner," and tell other people's children all the stories she used to tell him.

Five-year-old Andy Woods even kind of looks like him.

"What's that?" he asks, sucker in his mouth, pointing to a book just before things get going on Saturday.

"That is a book about The Story Keepers," Melody says. "They keep the story of Jesus alive."
(OTHER VOICES: Matthew Morine has a great post about the future of the largest churches of Christ. Check it out.)

Artoo-Detoo - Imperial, Texas

2009-02-16T22:11:00.002-06:00

48 miles south of Kermit,

on the campus of the Buena Vista Independent School District.

Metal shop project?

A New Kermit ... and Two Old Ones

2009-02-15T22:29:00.002-06:00

This one really is new. It appeared about June 2008 on the front window of a local bar called Spanky's. It depicts Kermit the Frog as a Dallas Cowboys player.

We do love the Cowboys around here.
These two Kermits date back to the 2005 celebration. The building housed a bicycle shop at that time. It since closed, and a tortilleria recently went in. They preserved the window art though!