Is moving one of the most demanding things we do as humans that is self-inflicted?

I cannot think of another activity that we plan and often look forward to that is more draining physically, mentally and emotionally.

Having just completed such a move, I can speak with authority. Returning to Decatur has been wonderful, but the actual process of relocating our material goods, and ultimately our lives, takes a tremendous toll.

It requires many days of physical exhaustion as well as mental gymnastics trying to make sure you keep track of essential items and take care of the important stuff like turning utilities off and on or change all those addresses.

Since we left the comfortable confines of Wise County in 1991, we have done this to ourselves five times, the last time eight years ago when we moved across town to one of Henrietta’s neatest houses, a ‘50s ranch style with some interesting features.

Leaving it behind was a bit emotional, and now we start over with a mostly vacant lot upon which to recreate a place to call home.

Starting from scratch, we can do it like we want, but we left behind a lot of toil in establishing a peaceful yard in which to sit and watch the world go by.

We won’t miss the commute, and we relish the challenges of modern-day newspapering. And hopefully a few months down the road when last box will be unpacked it will truly feel like home again.

We went to Woodstock.
No, not the original in ’69, but the 30th anniversary concert in 1999.
And we didn’t exactly go to it, just in the area, quite by accident, and it proved to be a royal pain.
Echoes of “the New York throughway is closed” caused us to take a six-hour bus ride from Philadelphia to Utica, N.Y. when our plane broke down.
It was among the most brutal of several air travel mishaps in recent years.
When Nolan Ryan retired from the Texas Rangers after his storied career as one of baseball’s greatest hurlers, I vowed to be in Cooperstown for his induction five years later.
Traveling to the National Baseball Hall of Fame is a pilgrimage for the baseball fan. Combining it with the induction of the man who epitomizes larger-than-life Texans on the diamond was not to be missed.
So as far in advance as possible we booked the tour, with a motel room in Utica, which is a short drive from Cooperstown and the nearest airport.
But when we got to Philadelphia we found our connecting flight canceled by an air conditioner malfunction on the small jet.
There was only one other flight into Utica that day but it was full.
The final solution was a six-hour bus ride through the Poconos to Utica on one of those rattle-trap shuttle buses meant for short hops, not long trips.
Off we went with three other fellow travelers.
One of the alternatives had been to fly us to Syracuse, about an hour from Utica, and then bus us in from there. But they refused to do that, fearing the 30th anniversary Woodstock concert would again close down the throughway (a concert that had not even been scheduled when we booked our trip).
Turned out that was a crock, because the bus went right down the throughway and there was virtually no traffic.
Then we got to the Utica airport only to find one of our passengers’ bags wasn’t on the bus. Lo and behold it was at the terminal, delivered by the later flight, which it turned out had about a half-dozen empty seats. Think we were happy to hear that?
If the trip wasn’t enough of a mess, the same plane taking us from Utica back to Philadelphia taxied to the end of the runway, revved the engine, and a warning light went on in the cockpit. Back to the terminal and a cab to Syracuse.
When we learned our connector would be through Washington, DC, we used our bad fortune to convince the gate agent that his airline owed us, big time, so we were able to wrangle a two-day layover in DC to visit my sister.
And just to show you things can always be worse, the guy whose bag wasn’t on the bus also couldn’t get his rental car since he did not own a credit card, and his hotel room had been given to someone else when he showed up late.
Woodstock? I think I’ll pass.
The only music I want to hear is “Take me out to the ballgame.”

For three weeks the Mess has been a mess.
Decatur’s downtown improvement project has deterred visitors and detoured drivers around our building as construction closed the block of Trinity south of the courthouse square so that a decorative brick walkway could be placed across the street connecting our southwest corner and the visitor center. As well electrical lines were laid under the street, which will eventually connect a couple of period lights, like those already installed around the square.
Similar projects have been ongoing around the square for a few months, rotating in a clockwise basis. The crews moved on to the west this week.
Last week’s rains, while a blessing, were also a curse, because they helped stretch a project slated for two weeks into three, pushing the closure right up to a critical time for us, selling school supplies.
We made it known that the street had to be reopened by the first of August, and when the barricades went down late Friday afternoon, we were just a little giddy.
The inconvenience to customers is one thing. Jack hammering and other pounding, vibrating and disruptions right outside the window is another.
We’re glad to be rid of both. Come see us.

Top night for the 2009 Wise County Old Settlers Reunion?
Judging by Decatur Lions Club receipts in the parking lot, it was Friday, with1,098 vehicles. Friday has taken over from Saturday in recent years as the busiest night.
In the past attendance built each night Monday through Saturday. But the past few years the Friday crowd has been a little larger – by 177 cars this year and 140 last year.
Overall attendance was up quite a bit this year, as Lions parked more cars on each night for a total of 3,839, compared to 3,464 a year ago. Record attendance in 2007 was 3,859.
Gas prices likely had a negative impact a year ago, and with the cost down about 40 percent in 12 months, and people taking trips closer to home, interest in the event improved.
Why Friday has overtaken Saturday is anybody’s guess. Used to be folks who couldn’t make it during the week would come in for Saturday’s event. But this year it could have been the entertainment or the fact that there were several other organized events Saturday – something that didn’t happen in years past. Scheduling something opposite the Reunion was somewhat akin to having something on Wednesday night. You just didn’t do it.
Manning the parking lot has always been a challenge for Lions, sort of like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. The lot is not a uniform shape and has some trees.
And drivers are not always completely tuned in to the directions Lions are trying to give non-verbally.
We always have a blast doing it and plenty of chuckles wondering how some folks can so badly misinterpret our wild arm-waving.
And seeing what some folks will do when left to their own devices makes you wonder how they ever got a drivers license.

There’s been quite a bit of debate on the topic of turf fields for local sports stadiums. Of particular note are claims and counter claims that artificial surfaces will or won’t pay for themselves over time compared to the cost of maintaining natural turf.

Northwest ISD was the first around here to install an artificial surface on its former grass field. At Monday’s tour of the new Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club, facilities director Dennis McCreary was outlining the multiple fields at BNHS which include natural and artificial surfaces so that players can experience both. He said that the district’s first experience with artificial turf (at the original Texans stadium) paid for itself in seven years. And that includes the cost of converting the stadium from grass to turf. When the first artificial turf is replaced, the cost will be even less since the only expense will be to replace the surface; no conversion costs such as modifying the drainage.

A few years back when the Henrietta ISD was talking about plans for an upcoming bond issue, that district’s grounds maintenance chief also ran the figures and concluded turf would pay for itself. Turf was not included in the bond package, since some doubted a package including turf wouldn’t win approval.

So there’s two opinions from folks in the know that artificial turf is a good investment. You can make many other credible arguments against turf. But cost apparently isn’t one of them.