Glen Brammell Journal

Thanks to Darwin Barton

The baseball fields were slammed on a spring Saturday morning. The moms were gathering in regular fashion with packed coolers ready to watch the tournaments all day. It was a gorgeous day and a great time to catch up with my “mom” friends. We had a new mom in the group who was new to the area as well. I quickly befriended her and learned her move had not been a simple one and now that she had settled in, she was ready to get some advice on the things she could change. One of which was her electricity provider. The customer support she had been receiving was less than acceptable and many of us moms suggested she log onto www.texaselectricityproviders.com/ and check out the options available in our region of Texas. Most of us had been in the area for quite some time and was happy to offer advice to any new comers while relaxing at the ball fields. I think she left there feeling much better her options but not much better about our team who lost.

When we create our Facebook accounts we are supposed to fill out a lot of information fields describing what we like, favorite quotes, where we’ve lived or grown up – all kinds of information. Which I am fine with that – I don’t put up anything on the internet that is going to come back some day and bite me.I’m sensitive to privacy issues, but then again,  don’t have anything to hide, either.

But in my rush to get the account set up, I had skipped over some of the fields and just today realized that I needed to add some details. The section about your favorite TV shows, movies, books and sports got neglected the first time around. So I added some information.

As a kid, I was a Redskins fan and a Baltimore Orioles fan. I didn’t care about NASCAR or hockey, and don’t really remember much about basketball. So to pick a sports hero, I would have to go with Cal Ripken, Jr. This man was not only a great baseball player, he was a family man and a good citizen. You never heard anything bad about Cal Ripken. I’m glad he was able to have such a gerat career, he made good money, and now he is retired and still doing good things, like his work with kids.

We’ve hit 80 degrees a couple of times already, so I’m starting to think SUMMER. As much as I like the beach, sometimes you don’t want to deal with the parking issues, the long hike, and the sand in your shoes just to get some swimming. There are plenty of days when I would really like to get home from work, throw on my swim trunks and jump in a swimming pool.

Our neighborhood does not have a community pool – one of the drawbacks of living in a house instead of an apartment. So, we’ve been looking at above ground swimming pools to fit in a corner of our backyard. Both of our neighbors have installed high privacy fences, so all we would have to do is put up a fence cross the back – for safety.

I know the neighbors would want to get to be better friends if they thought we would invite them over for a swim in our backyard pool. And we could have some righteous pool parties on Friday nights, with the barbecue grill smoking and some ice cold beverages. Maybe even some string lights around the edges and a couple of outdoor speakers for good music. It’s starting to sound like a really good plan to me.

Saw this photo and couldn’t help but think, “Nice change to see a kid climbing the wall instead of the parents.” Guess I was feeling pretty cynical that day.

The NFL is proud of their biggest game and they are ready to sell it to America. The good news is that many companies are buying. Spending during the Super Bowl is expected to reach a record level this year as companies are ready to put their money down to treat customers to a good time.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area is ready for the increased sales of hotel rooms, food, and drinks. They have a new stadium and are ready to receive the benefits for hosting the game. It’s good to see the economy is growing again.