What's Up Melton?

We live in the cities, the suburbs, on the farm, and out in the country. We live at home, and some of us live away from home. Some of us are wealthy, and most of us aren’t so much – some of us are just needing the basics of survival. We are still, in my mind, “just plain folks!” Wherever we live, we are “just plain folks.” We go to school, to work wherever we find it, in our homes, our industries, and in all manner of social services. I see people everywhere wanting to have a good life. We all deserve to have a good life – to be happy, healthy, and prosperous. Thank God we live in America where we have the opportunity to achieve that good life if we choose! I believe we are seeing hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of potential leaders who are called to see our great country return to her greatness – to help us achieve that good life we all want. Even now, in 2022, those leaders are stepping out and showing us the great American way. For a time, I was worried our future was i...

90,000 people needing to believe in an honest hope for their future amassed in Conroe, Texas today! President Donald J. Trump came to the good people of Texas, and He didn’t leave until later this evening. The Donald Trump Freedom Rally was packed, standing room only, with his faithful supporters and a great number of political, super star guests (whom he introduced individually, and thanked for their service), those who have given the real values and ethics in the past, that have stuck to the bones of real Americans across this great country. Being an American, I am proud of my country, my people! I want to see our great country return to her greatness! Will President Trump run for his deserved office in 2024? I don’t know. But at last, I see a glimmer of hope for our nation, our hard-working families, our neighbors, our businesses, our children, our brave and honorable men and women in blue, and our core values! I believe we will see America great again! Let’s pray for our gre...

The day I almost died -- there have been others. I’m not a daredevil, but I have lived dangerously many times in my life. On this one morning, I was going about my business. I was on my way to Lowes in Livingston (Texas) to buy some lumber for a deck I was building at the back of our house. This was the day the railroad commission decided to install crossing bars and warning lights at this dangerous railroad crossing. A very smart move! There had been several tragic accidents in the past at this same crossing. Driving along, I was thinking about my shopping list for our deck. Traffic was moderate, it was early in the morning, but ahead cars were slowing down. There were several orange traffic cones placed alongside the road, just before coming to the crossing. The workmen there had on their bright yellow safety vests and were directing the oncoming cars and trucks. Traffic slowed for the construction. I want to add that one of the reasons this crossing was so dangerous was both sid...

  What I’m getting ready to tell you happened to me! Really! It’s a strange little story, but true! During the years of 1958-1962, I served in the United States Air Force. I was stationed in New Jersey and my parents lived in Louisiana. Somewhere around 1959, I got 2-weeks leave to go home and visit my family. I caught a train (people actually traveled by train back then) connected with a Trailways bus (also viable transportation back then that didn’t cost much) and was making my way home. I smoked Marlboro cigarettes at the time, a lot of us young servicemen did back then. It made us feel like cool adults…at 19 appearing cool and grown-up was pretty important! Somewhere along the way, while on the train, I needed a “smoke.” Smoking while in the passenger cars was not permitted. Trains back then had “ smoking-allowed” cars towards the back of the train. Standing between the cars was another option if you wanted to light up a cigarette. Doing so was a bit scary though – it wa...

I think sometimes it’s best to put doing somethings off until we have taken the right amount of time to think about what we want to do more thoroughly. Am I lazy? I don’t think so. How many times have we bought something and later wished we hadn’t? How many times have we started a project without thinking about its real cost, only to have serious regrets later? Our answer to these questions is? Most likely, plenty of times! For example, I can get excited about a new accessory for one of my drones and jump on Amazon to order it! It comes next day in the mail (Amazon spoils me like this). However, what I ordered turns out not to be suitable for my particular drone. It happens! I was so excited to buy it I didn’t read the fine print. I send it back! Instructions! Most of us men don’t read them. We already know the thing has screws and widgets! We know a lot about screws and widgets! How hard could it be to throw this thing together? A piece a cake! Wrong, and then the little wifey...

A bowl of chili, a warm blanket, and maybe a good movie. That’s how we humans handle our cold weather, but what about alligators? How do they deal with the cold in winter? Alligators must have sunlight to warm them up and increase their metabolism. So, when winter temperatures drop below 40 degrees they slow way down, then go into a hibernation-like state. They “brumate” - go into brumation it is called, where their metabolism slows way down. They become lethargic and drop down to the bottom of the river, lake, or pond. Alligators can hold their breath for up to 24 hours! When it’s that cold they surface just long enough to grab a few deep breaths of air and then settle back on the bottom! That’s crazy! Some alligators dig themselves a nice musty smelling hole just above the water table out of the cold. I’ll bet they doze with one eye open just in case a curious critter or human hand pokes around their winter home’s sleeping quarters! I have seen gators 12-14 feet long on our Lake Livi...

                                                  Raw Oysters! Some of us will eat them, most won't. That's okay! Granted, raw oyster consumption is not for everyone. I do enjoy eating them! Years ago, a friend of mine, who lived in Maryland had a home at the shore, on the Chesapeake Bay. One weekend he invited me to go with him to gather some clams and oysters so we could prepare a fresh seafood feast for ourselves and our wives. This turned out to be an exciting adventure I'll never forget. It was late in the afternoon - low tide - and it was chilly. It had been raining. We took his dory (small paddle boat) from the beach, where we dug for our clams to a large oyster bed near the inlet and an estuary. The shallow water now revealed thousands of oysters all clustered and growing on top of each other. We had on heavy rubber boots and waders. We pried them apart or...