Blog Roll

Upward Photo Album, #4 ...

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:55 GMT

Upward Basketball & Cheerleading recently wrapped-up its Spring 2010 season here, in the Tall City. Here are some moments from that season, in the last of four batches of photos. Trying to take these photos gave me a TREMENDOUS appreciation for the work done by professional sports photographers who regularly deliver resiults far better than I can manage.

Upward introduces children to Jesus Christ by creating opportunities to serve through sports. Upward is a fun, reliable, passionate and encouraging sports experience for boys and girls, in K5 through sixth grade. Upward provides first class, organized and detailed sports programming. Unique aspects of Upward include an evaluation system that promotes equal and competitive teams as well as a substitution system which allows for equal playing time for all participants.Through Upward, children are exposed to quality coaching and sport development. Upward emphasizes character and integrity instead of a “win at all costs” mentality associated with today’s sports world.

And, NO, you don't have to be a member of a church in order to participate!

There are all kinds of ways you can help the Upward program in your community ... all kinds of ways you can become a West Texas Missioner. You can be a coach, or an assistant, a referee or a timekeeper. You may also choose to present a brief devotional to the audience during the halftimes, while the teams are resting and getting ready for the next round of play. Your focus can be current events, a piece of Scripture from the Bible, or sports. You can compose your own, or work from guidelines that participating churches will provide you. You can also help by signing-up your child, then heading to the game and cheering for everyone on the floor!

In Midland, there are programs at First Baptist Church and First Presbyterian Church. In Odessa, there are programs at First Baptist Church, Second Baptist Church and First Church of the Nazarene. And in Lamesa, there is a program at First Baptist Church.

What if you die before your pet? (Part 2)

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:11 GMT

Hang out with dog owners long enough and you'll hear someone refer to a dog's owner as the dog's parent. Sounds silly at first, but dogs and cats serve a great purpose for humans because that unconditional love they have for their owners provides a feeling the humans may not get anywhere else. (I'm not that sure about cats, but let's give them an equal opportunity here.)

According to a U.S. Census XLS spreadsheet, 43 millions households (37.2 %) had pets in 2006. The pet breakdown came to 72.1 million dogs, 81.7 million cats, 11.2 million birds, and 7.3 million horses. The average (mean) veterinary expenditures per household amounted to $356. And there's a bristling business in pet food, toys and accessories as childless people and empty nesters pour their money and affection onto their animals.

Pets and people don't age at the same rate, and most pet owners have dealt with the death of a beloved pet. Check out some of the online memorials to deceased pets, but first, go get a box of tissues. BTW, those grieving pet owners shell out $25 per year for each of those memorials.

Cancer centers have discovered the benefits of canine therapy. And a dying person's own pets provide tremendous comfort to them. But sometimes the pet owner may be too sick to care for the animal. And there's the added pressure of not knowing what will happen to the pet when the owner dies.

There's a fascinating new program catching on, and HospiceMidland, the only nonprofit hospice in Midland, Texas, could become the first hospice in the state to get involved with it. It's called Pet Peace of Mind.

The other day a group of about a dozen HospiceMidland volunteers engaged in a conference call with the program creator, Delana Taylor McNac in which Ms. McNac gave an overview of the problems faced by pet owning hospice patients and how the plan can help them.

A dying pet owner has enough problems to face. And while they may still enjoy the love of an animal, sometimes the animal may get neglected. So that's where the program comes in to help where it's needed, whether it's feeding, trips to the vet, providing a little companionship, or finding a new home for the pet. But most importantly, it provides peace of mind to the pet owner.

Pet Peace of Mind, once implemented, will be a great benefit to pet owning Midlanders.

Previously, see What if you die before your pet? (Part 1).

What's the size of almost 1,700 football fields and can't be shoved inside a Volkswagen?

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:07 GMT

Elephant Mountain, about 20 miles south of Alpine in Brewster County, is one of grandest views of the entire Big Bend region. Located on 23,000 acres of wildlife management area, the flat top of Elephant (6,225 ft. elevation) is 2,200 square acres in geographical area. To put that in West Texas terms, that's roughly the equivalent of 1,670 football fields side to side and end to end. The enormity of Elephant Mountain is captivating

Upward Photo Album, #3 ...

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:55 GMT

Upward Basketball & Cheerleading recently wrapped-up its Spring 2010 season here, in the Tall City. Here are some moments from that season, in the third of four batches of photos. Trying to take these photos gave me a TREMENDOUS appreciation for the work done by professional sports photographers who regularly deliver resiults far better than I can manage.

Upward introduces children to Jesus Christ by creating opportunities to serve through sports. Upward is a fun, reliable, passionate and encouraging sports experience for boys and girls, in K5 through sixth grade. Upward provides first class, organized and detailed sports programming. Unique aspects of Upward include an evaluation system that promotes equal and competitive teams as well as a substitution system which allows for equal playing time for all participants.Through Upward, children are exposed to quality coaching and sport development. Upward emphasizes character and integrity instead of a “win at all costs” mentality associated with today’s sports world.

And, NO, you don't have to be a member of a church in order to participate!

There are all kinds of ways you can help the Upward program in your community ... all kinds of ways you can become a West Texas Missioner. You can be a coach, or an assistant, a referee or a timekeeper. You may also choose to present a brief devotional to the audience during the halftimes, while the teams are resting and getting ready for the next round of play. Your focus can be current events, a piece of Scripture from the Bible, or sports. You can compose your own, or work from guidelines that participating churches will provide you.

You can also help by signing-up your child, then heading to the game and cheering for everyone on the floor!

In Midland, there are programs at First Baptist Church and First Presbyterian Church. In Odessa, there are programs at First Baptist Church, Second Baptist Church and First Church of the Nazarene. And in Lamesa, there is a program at First Baptist Church.

What if you die before your pet? (Part 1)

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:25 GMT

Leona Helmsley really must have loved her dog. But don't we all love our pets? Helmsley anticipated that she might die first, so she left $12 million to a trust fund for Trouble, the Maltese. Unfortunately, a cat fight broke out over the will, and the resulting settlement trimmed the dog's share to $2 million, according to Foxnews.com. What will that money buy? Reuters says:

Carl Lekic, the general manager of a Helmsley hotel in Florida and now Trouble's caretaker, said $2 million would be "enough money to pay for the dog's maintenance and welfare at the highest standards of care for more than 10 years," according to an affidavit.

Lekic said the money would cover annual costs of $100,000 for full-time security, $8,000 for grooming and $1,200 for food. Lekic is paid a $60,000 annual guardian fee out of the inheritance.

Not bad for a dog. And hopefully Trouble is living the good life, if he is still living. And we know he's looking good if he gets eight grand worth of grooming each year.

It's fun to poke fun at this, but Helmsley was onto something. A few years ago the media hammered us right and left to prepare end-of-life documents. But what about the pets?

Many states allow trusts for pets, and the State of Texas has a statute for that at Texas Property Code Sec. 112.037. The trust would provide for care of the pets, and if the caregiver wasn't measuring up, anyone else interested in the animals' welfare could petition the court to replace original caregiver. The trust would terminate when the last of the animals dies.

If you've read this far you obviously have an interest in the topic, so I would direct you to Texas Tech law professor Gerry W. Beyer's Estate Planning for Pet Owners where you can find sample trust provisions and all sorts of stuff.

So how much money would your pet need? If you want him/her to live the life of Trouble, $169,200 per year should about do it.

Coming up in part 2, pet care for hospice patients.

Upward Photo Album, #2 ...

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:55 GMT

Upward Basketball & Cheerleading recently wrapped-up its Spring 2010 season here, in the Tall City. Here are some moments from that season, in the second of four batches of photos. Trying to take these photos gave me a TREMENDOUS appreciation for the work done by professional sports photographers who regularly deliver resiults far better than I can manage.

Upward introduces children to Jesus Christ by creating opportunities to serve through sports. Upward is a fun, reliable, passionate and encouraging sports experience for boys and girls, in K5 through sixth grade. Upward provides first class, organized and detailed sports programming. Unique aspects of Upward include an evaluation system that promotes equal and competitive teams as well as a substitution system which allows for equal playing time for all participants.Through Upward, children are exposed to quality coaching and sport development. Upward emphasizes character and integrity instead of a “win at all costs” mentality associated with today’s sports world.

And, NO, you don't have to be a member of a church in order to participate!

There are all kinds of ways you can help the Upward program in your community ... all kinds of ways you can become a West Texas Missioner. You can be a coach, or an assistant, a referee or a timekeeper. You may also choose to present a brief devotional to the audience during the halftimes, while the teams are resting and getting ready for the next round of play. Your focus can be current events, a piece of Scripture from the Bible, or sports. You can compose your own, or work from guidelines that participating churches will provide you.

You can also help by signing-up your child, then heading to the game and cheering for everyone on the floor!

In Midland, there are programs at First Baptist Church and First Presbyterian Church. In Odessa, there are programs at First Baptist Church, Second Baptist Church and First Church of the Nazarene. And in Lamesa, there is a program at First Baptist Church.

Officials worried about spring breakers in Mexico

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:29 GMT

Not this part of Mexico ... as seen from The Big Hill atop the 45 mile River Road from Lajitas to Presidio and what is possibly the most spectacular view in all of Texas.

H2S suicide -- quick, efficient, dangerous to bystanders

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:43 GMT

Last month the Wake County, North Carolina, EMS Division distributed a warning PDF to homeland security agencies, and PreparingTexas.org featured it as a Hot Topic due to the potentially deadly nature of the event.

It seems that the occurrence in North Carolina was identical to one in Idaho last year, and according to the Idaho notice, it's "popular in Japan."

They call it "detergent suicide." Apparently common chemicals, such as Muriatic or Sulfuric acid, mixed with an organic phosphate, such as toilet bowl cleaner or insecticide will create H2S which will kill a person who inhales one breath.

In these two cases, the victims mixed the substances in closed vehicles, inhaled the gas, and dropped dead. They were considerate enough to have placed notes on the outside warning others about what to expect. So rescue crews blocked off the areas and approached in full haz-mat gear.

H2S is a deadly gas. It stinks, too, or so I've heard.