Hey again,
Its been a long couple of weeks. My girlfriends grandmother passed away. She was 83 years old. Her dad owns a small engine business and since this happened, he has been way behind. I have been trying to help him catch up, though it feels like if we get three lawn mowers or tillers done, five more come in. It has been tough trying to juggle school and that at the same time. It is going ok, but I wish it was going better. Working full time and going to school full time is tough when you are trying to have a life also. I have been trying to pay all my toys off so I can buy a house, so I have been working for a lot of cash jobs on top of helping with small engines. I put a new bumper on my truck this morning because I hit a deer and pushed my other one against my tire. Every time I would turn it would rub. I was afraid I was going to have a flat. I have an enduro coming up in June and have had no time to work on my car. I enjoy school, though cant wait to be done with it. It probably isn't a good thing to be thinking right now. This is only my first semester of college, so I have a long ways to go. I was also hoping to plant a garden this year so hopefully I can find time to do that. I have been farming again here and there when they need me also. I haven't done that since high school so it was kind of fun. Well thats all for now.

The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle in my opinion was a great book. The entire time I read it, I thought "Wow, they really lived like this?". It made me feel bad for her family, though toward the end I was happy that all the kids turned out great. I think it really taught them all to cherish life more then most kids. Their experiences in Welch really kept me hoping they would just move out of there. The uncle and grandma trying to do things to Jeannette and Brian were just horrible. They are people that, in most kid's lives, that they should feel they can turn to and trust to be there for them. In this case they didn't want to be in the same room alone with them. It kind of made me mad reading about those incidents and knowing nothing got done about it. I couldn't believe that her mom would just say "poor Stanley". The house they lived in started getting a coating of mold growing throughout it and Brian had to put a tarp over himself on the nights it rained because the roof over his bed had collapsed. I couldn't even imagine having to do that. After reading it you realize that Rex and Rose Mary loved their kids as much or more then most parents love their children. They certainly had a weird way of showing it, but they too weren't raised in the greatest of ways and I think a lot of what they did really reflected that. The kids went through more then most kids will ever have to. I would strongly recommend that every child or teenager read this book. At least for me, I think it gives me a whole different outlook on life and in a positive way. There was a lot in this book that I could really relate to, and through everything that my family has been through, a lot of people are astonished because they say they have never seen a family as close as my parents and us five kids. I think the Walls family was the same way. This book really reflects on why you should never give up on someone, no matter what they are going through. I think more people need to realize that everything in life happens for a reason. Everything and everyone is put in our lives for a reason. This book is a prime example of that.  Jeannette said in the beginning of the book "everyone who is interesting has a past". That phrase carried with me through the entire book. I love it!

last week

This last week has been busy. When I was not doing homework I have been tanning two deer hides. A lady who lives in Iowa and does taxidermy for a living asked me to tan them for her because she don't have time. She has been busy mounting deer heads. I have a form for a raccoon I want to mount also, though I haven't had time. I got the hide ready to put on the form and that is as far as I got. I am hoping I can get it mounted this weekend if I can get enough homework done this week.

Another project I have wanted to continue working on is my 27' Chevy. I want to take the radiator out of it and have a shop boil it. It was overheating when I parked it this last fall and I am hoping that will solve my problem. I put a head gasket in it this last fall and the whole back of the motor was full of gunk so I know it is in the radiator. I finally found a light that was missing when I bought the car that I want to put on it one of these days too. I have been looking for one for a long time. It isn't very easy finding original parts for a car that is 85 years old. I have been hoping I can have it ready to drive again this spring as soon as the salt is off the roads.