Food for my turtle

DeWayne and I went to lunch a few days ago at local place just down the street from the school called Town Branch Eatery. We were enjoying burger baskets when this kid walked in with a turtle in his hands. He walked right up to our waitress and said, "Do you have some food for my turtle?" The waitress said she had to check with her manager, even though she was clearing a half eaten burger and fries basket while speaking with him.

The manager came out and took one look at the kid and and the turtle and said "We don't have any free food. Get that turtle out of here." A little harsh? I thought so too. I thought it was funny. The kid turned around and walked out with his head down. Poor guy. We saw him put the turtle back in the creek that runs right by the restaurant, so it really was not his turtle. Nor was it a starving turtle, so do not worry about sending any donations. Then the kid skipped on down the road.

DeWayne and I were both laughing about it, but I could not help but wonder, why was he not in school?

Muster

I attended Muster this past Wednesday night in Tulsa. This was the first time I had gotten together with the A&M Club in Tulsa. They seem to be a pretty inactive club. I think their last get together was last September, so this was my first opportunity to get involved. Muster was at the Stokely Event Center, which was a place I had never been. It is in an area of Tulsa that is not all that attractive, but it is definitely a diamond in the ruff. The outside is deceiving. It is just a metal building that used to be an old sign shop. The man who owned it and rented it to our group used to have a sign business there with his father. They closed the shop a few years ago and hung up a bunch of their old signs just for fun. People they knew came by and admired the look and asked if they could rent it out. They refinished the floors, bought some tables and chairs and began renting it out for events a little over a year ago. The picture is from inside the building and it really does not do the whole place justice. It was really an awesome sight!

As I said, it was my first visit to the Tulsa A&M Club. I had yet to meet anyone from the club, so I was looking forward to getting to know some new people. Our muster speaker and backup speaker both fell through, so our program was a little short. One of the men who helped with Muster, Jim, stood up to say a few words and start the program. After welcoming us he quickly moved on to say that we have three open positions to fill within the club. We need a new president, treasurer and Muster chair. He addressed the floor for volunteers and nominations, going through each position. He probably stood up at the front for three or four minutes and got not one single nomination or even a raised hand. It was painfully silent! He finally gave up and said he would be available afterward in case we knew anyone that might be interested.

I have really wanted to get involved with an A&M group since I left College Station. The Las Vegas group is active now, but was just getting going about the time I left. The Corpus Christi group struggled the whole time I was there and never really seemed to get anything accomplished. And of course the Portales club was non existent because most Aggies no better than to live there. The closest club when I lived there was in Amarillo or Lubbock and they were still two hours away. Needless to say, I am ready to get involved! I decided to go talk to Jim after we were dismissed from Muster to see what I could help with. I told him that I did not live in Tulsa, but was in or near town at least every other week and that I would be happy to help with anything I could. He said they really needed to fill two positions immediately, which were president and treasurer. I said I would be happy to help with whatever I could. He asked me if I had a preference and I said no. His exact words were, " I think we just found our new president." I was shocked! I laughed and then figured it was time to go over and pay my dues. When I turned around he got on the microphone and said "I'd like to introduce you to our new club president, Cole Martin, Class of '03." It's official! Everyone started coming up and handing me business cards and offering to help. I really appreciated that, but where were they when Jim was looking for volunteers? Anyway, I am pretty excited about it! I was nervous until I realized that the group is not all that active. Sure it may be hard to get people out at first, but at least I will be able to exceed expectations and not try to fill the shoes of someone who was really on point. Besides, my first order of business will be monthly happy hours. I figure it makes sense to start with what you know.

Smart Car?

I've run into the man in this car a couple of times, but this is the first time I had a chance to snap a picture without being totally obvious. The first time I saw him was outside of the grocery store. DeWayne and I were ordering some food for a store meeting we were having. He spotted the car and we went over to check it out. The man who owns it came out while we were looking and started telling us all about it. This is what I remember from what he told us.

"It is road tested and approved. It is electric. It can go for four days before I have to recharge it. It is manufactured by Chrysler. It gave me a $6500 tax credit. It can be driven on the road and on the golf course. It is the perfect around town car to pick up groceries, go to church and go get my haircuts. It tops out at speeds of...........25 mph!"

Awww, shucks! You almost hooked me! Seriously? All other attributes aside, 25 mph? I don't think so. I don't think I have "a need for speed," but 25 mph as a top speed is too slow for me. I generally follow the posted speed limits, but I also treat them as guidelines and not laws. I only have one speeding ticket to date. (knock on wood) The reason your car only has to charge every four days is because a four wheeler can out run you. Perhaps even a ball on a steep incline!

My car can drive on the golf course too, it is just not a socially acceptable golfing vehicle. Perhaps this is not the selling point he thinks it is. And a $6500 tax credit? That's great, but to me that says you spent substantially more money than that to purchase this road worthy golf cart. I certainly have no right to judge anyone for how they spend their money, as I do own all 5 seasons of Pee-Wee's Playhouse, but any extra money that I can put aside for a new "toy" car will hopefully be used to buy a jeep wrangler. I can go get my haircut in that car too.

The gentleman was very nice and was obviously enthusiastic about his new car. I'm happy for him. He is enjoying his retirement and I am all for that. He and his wife can "Sunday drive" all over town for all I care. More power to him! I just hope I don't get stuck behind him in a 30 mph zone.

Elementary Education

Many of you know that my little brother Clay is working for Teach for America. We were both home this past weekend for Easter and he told us a hilarious story about a kid in one of his friend's 2nd grade classes. I cannot remember the exact names of the people involved, but we'll call the teacher Mr. Smith and the student Jamal. This teacher is married with a wife and a cat, which he apparently speaks more about in his class than he realizes. That will make more sense as you continue reading. Reading the conversation that took place below cannot really do this story justice. Clay added the hilarious, yet true, accent to the kids voice that does not translate well in the written form. I will do my best to repeat. I trust that those reading this blog can use their own accent.

Jamal: Hey Mr. Smith, I got a picture to show you.

Mr. Smith: Sure, let me see it.

Jamal: (describing the picture) That's me in my Escalade. You lying in the ditch with X's on your eyes cause I kilt you. Then I stole yo wife and yo cat.

Mr. Smith: (thinking this picture is hilarious) Jamal, can I keep this picture?

Jamal: Why, you gonna turn me in?

Mr. Smith: No, I'm going to hang it on my fridge.

Jamal: Yeah, it's good, ain't it.

The whole family laughed for several minutes when Clay told this story. It really is pretty priceless. I'm not sure which I think is funnier, the part about the wife and the cat, or the part about Jamal knowing the picture is "good." After years of hearing stories from my mother about elementary school students, I have decided that elementary education is where all the funny stories are! We have told Mom for years that she should be writing these stories down and someday write a book. Between Mom and Clay, both could probably write several volumes!