In life it is difficult to find anything that has universal appeal the way the arrival of Spring does.  There is just some sort of psychological effect that Spring time brings on people.  Every year there is something in the air when the trees start to bloom, the birds are singing and it is warm outside.  Even the air smells fresh to breathe and I want to go out as much as possible.  This fresh air does not really apply at my house since an oil company has been drilling for oil less than a half mile from my house.  Now when I go outside, I can smell oil any time the wind comes from the South.

Since my vacation time has reached the use or lose point, I took off today on this first day of Spring.  The world is a better place today or at least I can pretend.  I sure wish my advisor would write me back and tell me that my paper is great as is and that no other work is needed.  I know… I can dream on this first day of Spring.  As I am watching television posting this message, Little House on the Prairie is coming on.  Now this is not a program that I would typically watch but it does have a strange nostalgia attached to it.  I remember going to visit my grandparents in New Mexico as a kid and my tough Grandpa Taylor would be watching this show.  It was so ironic that he would be watching this because I saw him as such a tough, strong guy.  He died in 1980 and I still miss him today.

Also my mom was always into Westerns and so seeing one reminds me of her.  My mom’s favorite place in the world was Tucson, Arizona.  She would love to go see “Old Tucson Studios” where many cowboy shows were made including several from John Wayne.  Since we always went there as a child, that was my first choice in bases when I joined the Air Force.  I filled out my “dream sheet” and selected Davis-Monthan AFB as my first choice and they gave it to me.  That was where my wife and I had our first home and where my oldest son was born.  The only negative thing about living in Arizona was that it was way too hot in the summer time.  I distinctively remember the absence of this euphoric Spring time feeling when I was there.  Spring was not distinctive because it never got cold.  Spring was almost a downer because it was a reminder of the 150+ days over 100 degrees that was coming.  When I was there, it was fall that I really loved because I knew cooler days were on the way.

Despite the heat, I have great memories of the desert Southwest from living there as well as childhood memories.  I still have many family members that live in Southern New Mexico in Deming, and Las Cruces.  It is rare that we have Springtime, a day off, and nothing pressing to do.  I may just go out and take some Springtime pictures today.  But first my wife and I are going to go to the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) for breakfast in Bricktown OKC.  We are going to spend time together and be thankful to God for making this such a wonderful day and blessing us so much.  My son is back home and life is great.  It would not do God justice to fail to give him credit for the blessings that we have been fortunate to enjoy.

As I post this, my television is being covered by the rumbling sound of jet engines from nearby Tinker AFB.  Even on my day off I can hear my work.  The Air Force has been part of my life for more than 20 years.  Actually if you count the time my dad worked at Tinker AFB as a child, I have been around the Air Force my entire life.  Our home is just about a mile and a half off the end of their northwest runway so we often have airplanes flying over our house that are so loud that we cannot even hear the television.  To many people that would be something to complain about.  To us it is just another blessing to see how God has blessed us with a stable job that we can live a decent life.  The Air Force has been and will continue to be a part of our lives.