Buck's Babble

Crazy, but normal, storms have begun their late summer travels through Siskiyou county. Knocked the power out last night for about 2 1/2 hours, torrential downpour most of the night, and lightning fires everywhere. I tried to listen to the scanner for Ang but lost her after they left to the Lucky Springs incident. She was up most night chasing strikes down all over. In fact, everyone, everywhere locally was called out to lightning strike fires last night. Not as bas tonight but we've had some interesting cells pass over tonight and some pretty good downstrikes but the radio has been quiet. Me...hwo knows. Had my own little dispatch center in my room with maps spread out and fires marked with highlighter. Emily spending the night up the street. I'm vegging on the tube, loving the time of the morning. Wonderful wonders of love.

Today my buddy James and I started at 0800 and did some scratching of each others back. I helped him for a few hours and then he helped me with a big project I had already got money for; and spent. 2 truck loads to the dump! It was another scorcher in the high 90s. Worried about Ang cus she called the other day and is off to a fire in Hoopa; which is around the Marble Mountains and is pretty gnarly terrain. Very ancient geology and incredibly steep and rugged country. If you look at a map and go due west you'll hit the Marbles well before the coast in between. Hope she's staying safe. She has an awesome head on her shoulders and everyone at her station is recognizing this. She busts ass with the best of them and also pays close attention to safety things. Talented woman that one is. Forever will it shine when with her you become. Got a pizza when a I got done so I have dinner in the bag and I can vegetate for a while with a beer. Fat Tire is my latest favorite. Fr...

Unmotivated the write anything and not even sure why I am. Started early driving Ang to work for a while. Got back and did a big yard but on a riding mower which was nice. Then vegged hardcore at home until dinner and then my class. Only 3 more classes left for the accelerated summer course. Civil War is about 10 years away right now in my reading. You'll see a pic of my haircut below. No difference, its only hair. My mother even prooved this right when she said I looked so nice but was referring to the revolutionary photo in which I still had my long hair but in my normal ponytail. All gone now and sent to Locks of Love. They make wigs for kids with cancer. Kids start school again Aug 24! Sam junior high, 7th and Emily 5th and both will be at the same school for the first time. They are awesome kids and really have a tight bond with each other. They may fight like normal siblings but this bond is there more than the fighting. It has been truly special getting to wit...

The Dew 

Chillin from the heat! 

Today was lots of home stuff. Reading tons of chapters in my history book because I'm about 3 chapters behind; now only 2. Test on Tuesday. Been cleaning house today: laundry, floors, dishes, etc. Hit the 100 degree mark in the shade today. HOT HOT HOT !!!! Supposed to top out at 104 today and start gradually cooling off. Been killer on the yard work in the heat! Fish sticks, pasta salad and veggies for Sam and I. Emily spent the night across the street and is having dinner again over there tonight. Waiting to watch NHRA finals in Denver. Then Seattle next weekend and then Sonoma. Unfortunately, my buddy, James, and I will not be attending our yearly NHRA event in Sonoma. Not sure why but things just not falling together for either one of us this year. Busy week coming up.

Did all my yards today and still have two tomorrow. Been close to 100 past few days and been killing me outdoors. Ang had Tues/Wed off and I dropped her off this morning. Had class tonight and now relaxing. Been real busy. Took a Medford grocery run for Ang's next weeks food and to replenish our cupboards from the 4th still. Now we have food for awhile but looks like we are in the hole. Go figure. Every time I think we've got a handle on things, something comes up to fuck it up. Picked up more work and so schedule is getting crazy. Still unsure if my mower is going to make it through the season or not. Plan on going Snapper cus they are rugged and mow great. I have a deck I found and so all I need is an engine to throw on it and voila, a Snapper for 1/2 the cost. Cut my hair last week. I'll try to get a pic up. No big deal, long time coming. Got old, hot, and a pain in the ass to take care of. Feel much cooler and probably look younger and least that's ...

Well its back to quiet here at home. 1 load of laundry per week, 1 load dishes per week, and an easy 1 hour clean of whole house. With everyone here we were running 2-3 loads per day of laundry plus 1-2 dish loads each day. I'm pretty much caught up with my yards and even added another contract to my growing list. Been getting the house straight. Working in the garden and spraying for bugs inside and outside the house. Went to the races with Emily last night. Sam says they are too long and doesn't like them. It was a blast, as usual. Just got an email form Christy's Jon in Iraq with some great pictures included. Wishing them the best over there and to come home soon. Ang is staying busy and we expect her home Tuesday night. She usually has Tues/Wed off but her Tuesdays are being taken up by training for a while. Hope everyone checked out the photos both here and at Yahoo photos. Love.

Look at that firefighter ASS !!! 

Sarah's beautiful stomach 

The Ladies 

Aneesha (?), Ang, pregnant Sarah, Chucky, Dray, John Sr 

Chucky, Mom, Sarah 

Emily & Eli 

New Buckner crest by Emily 

30 minute blog, creative writing Summer, like every summer before this one, was very special to me. This one promised to be even more intriguing as I was planning on starting a new book. Lately, my literary exploits had taken me through some of the higher numbered Hardy Boys books, continuing a series that seemed to last forever. I needed change and a different perspective of things. Never having read any fantasy I decided I needed to see for myself what I had only heard from other kids, usually older. After consulting with a nice, but really old looking librarian, I was directed to an aisle with a name and a number and began my search in the Ts for my number. At the very end of the aisle I found my book. I gazed in disappointment at my selection. The book was small and had been well read. The binding was disintegrating and the cover was barely readable. The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. Instead of dragons and wizards on the cover, a painted picture showed some snow capped mount...

Every so often as my fingers are running along the edges of my CD collection, trying to find a fit for my mood, this song beckons to be heard. Tonight was one of those rare occasions. The wife and kids were gone and the empty house’s silence begged to be broken. My mood needed something only the right music could satisfy. Music had and has always been able to create the right atmosphere, at just the right time, for any and every occasion. The song I was setting up to listen to would transport me to a time of incredible change and growth in my life; a time of self discovery and exploration. Music existed for me based on what my parents listened to around the house, bland and boring. When I was finally introduced to other types of music, they impacted me heavily. Rock and Roll affected my lifestyle the most of any genre. As my adolescent rebellion coincided with my self discovery, music followed suit, matching my attitudes step for step. A roller coaster ride ridden by an overl...

New Buckner crest by Emily 

Tomorrow the fun family reunion officially comes to an end and the fun of cleaning begins. Posting some old writings in place of my personal musings. They are all original by me from some class i was taking at the time. Enjoy.

The writings of Lao-tzu, Douglas, Marx, Machiavelli, and Rousseau each contain an emotional appeal to the heart which strikes a revolutionary chord in every reader who desires a better world. The appeal reaches across cultures as well as across time. Each of these writers is successful at planting an idea into the reader which is further fed by the ideas of others. Eventually these seeds blossom into beliefs shared by us all about change and equality in an American culture where the social gaps are widening quickly. Each of these writers is capable of appealing to the average American struggling to make ends meet in an ever-changing economic and social world. Taken together the ideas from each of these works are incredibly powerful. The root of these writings emphasizes the individual who is at the center of these ideas and the changes which result from them. Lao-tzu initially invites us into a euphoric dream world. His appeals to the heart focus on a world of tranquility, pea...

The world of religion introduces the readers to a controversial and debated subject which tends to bring out the highest of emotional arguments in the readers. Our world history has been full of religious wars and conflicts between people who have read and believe in one of the writers who we have read. It confounds me that so much human effort and destruction can revolve around people’s convictions and beliefs. I am more troubled by the messages and tone that these writers bring to the readers. One such recurring theme which seems to pervade each of these religious writings is the focus on the afterlife while seemingly ignoring and shunning the world at hand. This ominous theme depicts life as meaningless and worthless and full of troubles and sorrows. Each writer presents the reader with their version of how to escape the life-torture. Job begins our journey into madness by showing the reader a God who, in my opinion, is rather scary and intimidating. The reader is also prese...

Yesterday I hit the attic and got down all of the baseball card boxes. John Sr. and I repacked everything and got them ready to ship off. We finished the busy day with a trip to the local races for all the guys. Me and Sam, Zack, John Sr, Chucky (Sarah's boyfriend), and Dray, chucky's 11 yr old son. We had a blast and are probably going to go to the races tonight, too. I spent today making a huge dump run, and then cleaning my garage room, and the garden. Now I've been relaxing watching some boxing on HBO (Mayweather kicked Gatti's ass!!). Now I'm checking out some of this Deep Impact coverage. I'm hoping to get a view of it tonight. I also got our personal fireworks for tomorrow. We will be attending our local fireworks which should be great again this year. They raised the funds they needed and the plans look nice. There is also a free concert with a couple of bands the hours leading up to the firework show. Should be great. Ang has been coming h...

Today was decent, even if the temperatures were 95+. I worked around the house in the morning and then went to do my last residential job for the week. Was soooo hot! Then me John Sr (Cathey's new husband) and Emily went for a drive down to the Klamath. John has never been to California so its nice giving him the impression of this beautiful country up here instead of some polluted city. We went gold panning and just walking along the Klamath. We got back and I grabbed Emily, Mariah, and Sam, hopped in the truck,. grabbed 3 foot longs from Subway (for only $8.00 cus I had a bunch of card stamps. Then we cruised to Miner St Park for a concert by some Fleetwood Mac Tribute band. Its a weekly free summer concert series that one of the local banks sponsors every summer. About 400-500 people show up at this beautiful park with lounge chairs and coolers and we just relax and listen to some music. Then Ang called me on my cell and said she had come back for the night so she sto...