The Rock Wall

One of the regular unsolicited columns I receive included these thoughts:

And this expert opinion on armed citizens on planes:

“I think only law enforcement officers or ex-lawmen should have access to weapons on planes because they have the necessary training. ‘Wannabe John Waynes’ could really cause a disaster…”

“I know because I retired from federal law enforcement and had expertise concerning the use of firearms – especially on planes.”

Pssst… we think he was an air marshal. We’ll keep that between us.

A disarming suggestion:

“Rather than having anyone armed on board an airplane, how about having a ‘Naked Airline’ where everyone is totally naked boarding the plane? Nothing hidden, no carry-ons, just your boarding pass and ID.”

“A big deterrent….?”

Yes. To flying.

-Adrian, Cain and Van are scheduled to fly into Springfield early Friday afternoon, rent a car and drive up here. Van probably wouldn’t mind the “Naked Airline” thing unless it’s too cold.

Adrian and Cain found out last week that they are expecting a little brother for Van. The doctor set the due date at Sept. 8 but you remember that Van’s due date was Nov. 28. At 8 a.m. the morning of Saturday, Oct. 28, the phone rang on our kitchen counter. I reluctantly got out of bed and headed that way muttering under my breath, “This had better be good.” The kids know we like to sleep in on Saturday morning.

When I answered the phone, it was Adrian who told me she had been in the hospital since 6 a.m. and “they tell me I will have a baby before I go home.” OK, that justifies an early Saturday morning call.

After periodic progress reports during the day, we finally got the call that told us we had a grandson born at 6:15 that evening. One day in the NIC (Neonatal Intensive Care) Unit (a new term I learned) and he was ready to go see Momma. They released her in a day or so and Van at the end of the week. She just had to go back and feed him.

Now, Reese, on the other hand, arrived right on time Wednesday, March 6, during daylight hours (9:31 a.m.) in what her momma, Erica, called an easy and fun delivery.

At first Reese slept like a baby is ideally supposed to. With a little over a month of experience, she now keeps her momma up a lot at night and is about to wear her out.

– While Adran, Cain and Van were on vacation a couple of weekends ago, Van picked up an addiction – golf carts. He absolutely loves to ride in one. And since he can’t talk, how do they know that? Because of the howl he puts out when they try to remove him.

I wasn’t much older than Van when Albert Stebbins rode his horse over to our house and took me for a ride. I can still remember the saddle squeaking when he lifted me on. It was love at first ride. I’ve been a horse lover ever since.

I have a photo my mom took of me and Grandpa Miller, in on a visit from Bakersfield, CA, hunting rabbits in the snow east of our house with corn shocks in the field. Grandpa had his shotgun and I had my cap pistol and we had a couple of rabbits. In the background, about a quarter mile away, you can see the house on the Koonts place where Albert (or Bob) sometimes lived with his dad, Steve. Until recently, there was a big cedar tree west of the house with a basketball goal on it where Bob shot hoops. KL