A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that our huge pine tree, Ol' Coney, was getting cut down because it had been struck by lightning a couple of times and was dying.When I say Ol' Coney was a huge tree, I mean it. Here's the stump with Winston, our boxer/St. Bernard mix, standing on it.
That dog weighs around 140 pounds and he looked small while playing "King of the Stump." He loves to stand on the stump and bark. Perhaps he figures his voice projects farther due to the elevation. Who knows?
The company that cut down Ol' Coney also took out another huge pine tree and accidentally took out a black walnut tree and a mimosa while they were at it. Several of our bushes were "accidnetally" ruined, too.
I was mad about all that until that same company dropped a tree on top of my parents' house, causing $100,000 in damages. Mom and dad, fortunately, are fine and the maniacs that crushed their home were insured. My parents have a great house to stay in until the damage is repaired.
The whole incident bothered me to the core. Mom and dad live across town from me and I grew up in that house. What a mess.
Dad wrote a book!
My mom and dad, understandably, have been irate since their house got crushed by a tree. So, I've been trying to buy some unusual, fun Christmas gifts that they might enjoy -- kind of keep their minds off of things, right?
In dad's case, I found a great MP3 player and a bunch of old time radio shows from the fantastic OTRCat.com. However, it occurs to me that something that would really make my dad happy is if more people bought his book, Poems from a Baseball Fan by Howard A. Nobles.
Now, dad's retired and he's set for money, so there are no problems there. He's been a baseball nut all of his life and published poems about the sport he's put together for about the past 40 years. This book, then, is something he regards as a hobby that he'd like to share with other folks.
So, if you know a baseball fan who might like something unique, why not click the Amazon.com ad up there and pick up a copy of my dad's book? Come on, folks! Make a retired educator's day!
The Razorbacks fail ... again.
5 comments:
Wow! That is so cool that your dad wrote a book. Must be where you got your love of writing.
What was up with that tree removal business? Are they still in business?
Karen:
I believe they are. We've not seen a bill from them for cutting down trees at either house.
Go figure...
I love that you named your tree Ol' Coney. For some reason, that just tickles me.
Your dad wrote a book! I thought that was going to be some kind of joke. That might make a good Secret Santa gift for my brother-in-law who is definitely a baseball fan. I'm gonna go check it out!
JD at I Do Things
Your dog is quite large, yet that tree stump makes him look small.
Are you planning to grind that stump, burn it, or what?
JD -- Nope. Wasn't kidding at all. Dad wrote a book and he's quite happy about it all. I hope you like what you see when you check it out.
I'm gifted when it comes to naming plants, see? There was Ol' Coney and I had some kind of fern-like plant in college named Silas McDirt.
Very descriptive, see?
Paul -- I don't know what we're going to do with that stump. We'll figure out something, eventually.
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