Alabama Football Fans! ::

Photographed a couple of years ago in Gurley, Alabama.

Yard Sale Heaven ::

I was just up in Grant visiting my vet to pick up some pills for my dog and today is yard sale day up there with sales all over the mountain. I should've taken a photograph, but I didn't. If you love yard sales you should head up there! It's also a pretty drive!

Another Ernest Nunley Update ::

I got this just a few minutes ago in comments:

Ernest Nunley is back on the road and made it through Spicewood Texas today on Hwy 71 west headed toward Llano. His one horse wagon has been set up now for two horses to pull it. Pulling his wagon are Shorty and Big John, and of course he still has Snowey. Today is Saturday Sept 18th, 2010.

I didn't know that Ernest was using a wagon now, but that must be easier than just riding Snowey.

Here's a photo of Ernest riding Snowey from when he passed through here a couple of years ago:

Governer's Race Debate ::

I forgot about this debate and came into it about halfway through. From what I can see so far Sparks is winning and is highlighting more positive programs than Bentley.

[update] Unfortunately Sparks seems to have bypassed the grammer classes in school, or at least he didn't learn anything. One thing that really turns me off is bad grammer!

[update] Bentley doesn't believe that the tax code in Alabama is unfair to lower income Alabama residents? WTF!

[update] Yep, Sparks is kicking Bentley's butt on health care.

[update] Closing statements and Sparks was very forceful, but I wonder just how the few who watched this feel about the outcome of the debate. I'll also be interested in seeing how the newspapers write this up tomorrow.

I will head over to the local Democratic Headquarters this weekend and pick up a Sparks for Governor sign!

The Owens Crossroads Volunteer Fire Dept. ::

The great news is that the Owens Crossroads volunteer fire department won the fire engine that was being given away by E-One, a manufacturer and marketer of emergency vehicles.



Here is the complete article about the winning fire department:

CHICAGO, Ill. -- An Alabama chief still struggles to find the words to describe what winning a new fire truck will mean to his community.

"Unbelievable, unreal -- I just can't think of all the adjectives I want to use," a jubilant Owens Cross Roads Fire Chief Dan Kelly said Monday.

Kelly said he and his firefighters are still awestruck that they were the winners of an E-ONE Tradition ES commercial pumper. The announcement was made Friday afternoon at FRI 2010 in Chicago.

The engine replaces a 1968 truck that recently failed a pump test, he explained.

The story about the rural department -- one of several hundred received by E-ONE --included a very personal tidbit along with the need for the replacement engine.

Members wrote about the dedication and devotion of a founding member, the late Robert Murray Maples, who spent a lot of his own money to keep their old engine in service for many years.

"I think we told a very touching, heart-felt story about our assistant chief of 51 years," Kelly said.

When the department was notified in April that it was one of the seven finalists, members were stunned. "I thought it was a joke at first," Kelly said. "I just couldn't believe it."

Knowing they were up against some really tough competition from other needy departments, Kelly said he brainstormed with members about how to get people to vote for them. Their efforts, that included contacting organizations across the country, paid off.

People voted for their favorite department online, and Kelly said his crew is grateful for those who chose their story.

"This is a once in a lifetime experience for our small department," he said. "We can't thank everyone enough."

While the engine was lettered as they watched, Kelly said he was so excited he didn't mention that they got the name of his department wrong. "They've promised to fix it, and add an 'S' to road," he said with a laugh. "I was just so blown away..."

Kelly said he still doesn't know when it will actually be rolling into their little town of 3,400.

E-ONE officials also haven't told them when the firefighters will get training on their new engine that comes with five-inch hose and tools.

Whenever the training is set, Kelly said he and his crew will be ready.

"The friendships I made with the folks from other departments was something else. We were close, and everybody was rooting for everybody. It was just incredible."

Late Monday afternoon, the chief still sounded like a child on Christmas morning. "I'd again just like to thank everybody involved twice or three times again. We still can't believe we're getting a new truck here."

E-ONE CEO Peter Guile said in a prepared statement, "We were again moved by the compelling nature of the stories and the immense need for equipment and apparatus in the fire service. We are very proud to be able to offer another deserving department a new fire truck and would like to thank all those who entered."

My congratulations to the Owens Crossroads fire department and to the entire community which made this possible.

I hope to have some photographs of the new fire truck after it is delivered!

Madison Co. Democratic Headquarters Grand Opening ::

Here's an update on this morning's under publicized event as published in the "Today's Events" section of The Huntsville Times:

Grand opening of Madison County Democratic Headquarters, music, food, speeches and meet and greet candiates, Old Huntsville Times building, 216 Holmes Ave., 10am., ddermody@prodigy.net

It looks like I'm going to be in town at some time during that time period and I hope to have the chance to stop by. Hope to see you there!




Note that this is a cross post and the event is this morning, Sat., September 11 at the address above.

More Ernest Nunley News ::

This from an anonymous poster earlier this afternoon:

Howdy y'all, it's 4 o'clock Friday afternoon and Ernest left our shop in Austin a little while ago heading out west towards Dripping Springs. Thank you Lord for having our paths cross. He has enriched all of us as I'm sure he does wherever he goes. My heart is happy and I can't remember the last time I had a smile this wide on my face. May his journey be filled with blessings and please give him and his horses safety on their travels.

A New Update On Ernest Nunley ::

Just received from his daughter:

im happy to say one fat cowboy is in austin TX and doing well he's working on his cart making modification to it for pasage through ruff terrain think all of you for your support and kind words it means a lot to me to see the number of pepole tuched by what my dad is doing

The Owens Crossroads Volunteer Fire Dept. ::

is currently involved in an on-line competition with seven other volunteer fire departments around the country and the prize will be a much needed pumper truck. You can go to www.e-one.com and vote for the OCR department once per e-mail address.

I visited earlier today and voted once for each of my 2 e-mail addresses and I urge you to do the same. Pumper trucks like this are extremely expensive and Owens Crossroads just doesn't have the money available to make this purchase.

Senator Shelby's BFF! ::

Oh, the hypocrisy!

Buying Coffee ::

Actually that's not what I was going to post here, but I was in downtown Huntsville around noon buying some Sumatran Decaf coffee at the Kaffeeklatch (I highly recommend it) and I passed by the courthouse on my way back to work and what did I see on the sidewalk but a guy with a hot dog cart in front of the courthouse. I didn't have the opportunity to stop, but I love the idea of being able to walk out and get a hot dog from a vendor! I would rather buy from someone like this than go to most of the restaurants around the square!

Computer Woes! ::

My modem died over the weekend plus somewhere along the way some seriously bad malware decided to take over my desktop computer so I've been gone for the past few days. I finally got the laptop back up, but I'm still working on getting the malware off the desktop. Hopefully I'll have everything sorted out shortly and I'll be back soon.

Update To The Motocycle Patrol Post ::

If the Huntsville Times had a decent web site, something other than al.com, I would post a link to the story, but today's dead tree edition had a story about 14 motorcycle patrols with state troopers on the local highways. I took the afternoon off in order to do some work around the house and, on the way home, I noticed that the police presence was heightened and tickets were being written. Glad I don't speed!

Motorcycle Cops On The Highway ::

I was making my way down Hobbs Island Road on my way home this afternoon and I ran across a motorcycle policeman writing a ticket to a Porsche driver. I assume that this was a state trooper and this was the first time I had seen one on a bike. I remember back several years when Huntsville had mounted motorcycle police and I was very happy when they went away so I'm hoping that this sighting was a relatively isolated event. I'm not terribly worried about getting stopped for speeding, but I've noticed more and more unmarked cars lately. Fortunately most of them are relatively conspicuous.

Another Ernest Nunley Update ::

I got this a little earlier from an anonymous poster:

I saw Earnest 7/28/2010 in Navasota Texas about 4:00 p.m.
I was with my Dad could not stop to talk
I am a cancer survior of 15 years ; but have lost several family and friends to this
I know the childrens situations he is talking about I worked in public schools over 30 years

If you happen to run across Ernest in his trip to California please toss him as much help as you can. The story of his quest is at this link.

An Ernest Nunley Update ::

I got this from an anonymous poster this morning:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Earnest Nunley-One Fat Cowboy! ::":

Nunley is heading west on Texas 105(Conroe) to Texas 290, where he will head to Lubbock and then New Mexico. For more information or to make a donation to support his mission, visit www.onefatcowboy.com.

Here's a photo of Ernest when he passed through Huntsville, Alabama a couple of years ago:

Love Fest 2 ::

Happens this coming Sunday afternoon at Lowe Mill on the back dock. Here's a short blurb about the happening:

Sunday – 18th – 5-9 PM - Love Fest – Back Dock - Admission back pack or $5 donation (free admission for children 13 and under) -

This event will benefit the “Got Your Backpack” Back to School Supply Drive. Our objective is to assist families that have limited resources, with children K-8th grades, to have a successful start to a new school year. This collaborative event will feature live musical performances by Abstract Jazz Band, Canita Rogers (Neo Soul Artist) Pla Station (R&B) Band as well as youth poets and other activities. The artists are donating their time and talents to help others while providing an evening of stress free family entertainment. This family-friendly event is hosted by United Stylists, Soujourn Church, Lowe Mill, and Art n’ Soul Society of Expression along with other local/community artists.

Here's a photo from last year's event:



I don't know what the schedule for the musicians appearances are and I have little experience with most of them, but I can highly recommend Abstract. Although known a primarily a jazz band, they can get down with some great blues also.

I hope to see you there for this very worthy event which supports school children throughout the city! Last year was the 1st year for this event and the turnout was very good and we're hoping for more this year!

Let me also say that in addition to accepting a backpack as a price of admission, school supplies are also welcomed. Given the cuts and prorations of this year any help for the school children is appreciated!

A Videographer's Experience On The Gulf Coast ::

Given what we've heard from other media types trying to cover the oil spill clean-up I guess this is not at all unusual:

The Byrne/Bradley Debate ::

I just finished listening to what was more of a pandering to the republican base rather than a real debate, but what was even more disappointing was the performance of the "journalists" asking the questions. I wish I had recorded this, but I'm sure there will be a transcript up on the web soon. There were many patently untrue replies from both candidates which went unchallenged. The one that stands out the most for me concerns the federal response to the oil spill in the gulf. BP gets all of the press, but the response has truly been international and Exxon and Shell are both very involved in trying to solve the problem. In additon, no international involvement has been turned down and several countries have responded with offers of help and that help has been accepted.

The republicans are truly desperate!

Happy 4th Of July! ::

Taken this morning in downtown New Hope,Alabama, such as it is!