The Sons of Anak (Deuteronomy 9:2)

Now I been telling far and wide across the country that the grandkids of Elmer and Alma Riggs ain't no slouches when it comes to height.  Out of ten first cousins, seven of us are at least six feet tall.  On the Saturday after Christmas, Ralph, Lisa, Tami and I crashed the Hendrix Christmas get-together at Shaun and Cindy Hendrix house and got to look eyeball to eyeball with some of'em!  We really enjoyed the visit and if our calcumputions were correct, it has been at least fifteen years since some of us had been together.  It has been even longer since I got to sit down and visit with my Uncle Bill Hendrix.  I would have to say that this was one of the big highlights of my year. 

Picture left to right: Ralph Riggs, David Hendrix, Ray Riggs, Uncle Bill Hendrix, Danita (Hendrix) Frazier and Dennis Hendrix. (Danita says she is 5'11¾" tall so she's standing on tippy-toe for the picture!).  (BTW...Ralph and I have the fancy duds on because we sang at a funeral Saturday afternoon)

The height does carry on to the next generation!..selectively..!  Shaun Hendrix (Dennis' son) is on the far right.  However!...Dennis' daughter, Heather Lockett, is the "shorty" standing in front!!

And the next generation!!...Brianna Hendrix (Shaun's daughter) with Ralph

A final note...Even though I am above average height, I don't make fun of polygamys...they can't help it if they're not tall....

Happy 50th!

I had a great birthday day yesterday!  We went to El Charro and ate with all the Riggs (except Steph, Ryan & Shayla & Isabella).  Hosea and all our other Latino friends at the restaurant sang for me and then filled my nose with whipped cream!  Then we went home and celebrated with cake and ice cream (and of course...coffee)  Tami counted eighteen people in our little abode so it was really cozy!!  I received some nice cards and gifts, including a loaf of Banana Bread.  I also received books....so I will be out of Tami's hair for awhile!  Thanks everybody for making this a memorable day!

Honorable Mention!

Some friends just deserve "Honorable Mention".  Allie Routh just baked me my favorite kind of birthday cake....yellow cake with milk chocolate icing!  I just finished off a big piece with a glass of cold milk and it was delicious!  Thanks "Ally-oop"!  You da best!

Castle Air Museum - Atwater, CA

While we were in Atwater, California over the Thanksgiving Holiday, I was privileged to tour the Castle Air Museum.  It is adjacent to the Castle Air Force Base (closed) and is home to approximately eighty aircraft.  There is also an indoor museum that has a lot of interesting displays.  Anson, Austin Burris and myself spent most of two hours here and it was very entertaining and educational.  You can read about it here and here.  I have also linked to Wikipedia on the names of the planes.

 Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

The raunchy "Nose Art" had been removed or "clothed" on the planes but some of the titles still remained.

 B-24M Liberator

 

 Boeing WB-50 Superfortress

 Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter

 B-29A Superfortress

 Boeing B-52D Stratofortress

 Grumman HU-16B Albatross

Last but certainly not least, the SR-71A Blackbird.  This bird flew from Los Angeles to Washington DC in 64 minutes 20 seconds with an average speed of 2144.8 MPH (Mach 3.51)...Now THAT my friends is what you call "Carrying the Mail"!!!

Stay tuned...

...I will be making some posts of our Thanksgiving trip to California.....

Rambo the Reindeer!

Did you know that "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" has a not-so-famous brother named "Rambo the Reindeer"?  While we were making a quick trip to Mississippi last Friday/Saturday, we discovered this "little" known relative of old Rudy.  We were driving downtown Canton, MS searching for a good eating place and found him grazing in the old courthouse lawn with the sleigh hooked up and ready to go!...and no, that is not Santa Claus in the sleigh!