Page 2,

 

On the Road Again!! -Jim Joe Bob

For all y’all who are new to the “Arky Watch” let me go over the time line with y’all

  • 1993 Arky moves to Pleasanton, CA, works at eti

     
  • 1994 or 1995 Arky Moves to St. Louis, MO works for another company

     
  • 1996 stays in St. Louis, but works again for eti

     
  • 1998(?) leaves eti, moves to Texas

     
  • Same year, leaves Texas, goes to Kansas City, MO back to eti

     
  • 2000 Leaves KC, comes back to California, still with eti

     
  • Six months later he moves to Fort Worth, Texas, begins working for same company as in 1998(?)

     
  • Present- Arky and his lovely wife, Joanna (aka, Mouse) have moved to Midland, TX. After the company he worked for was bought out.

 

So here is the latest news.  They hate the Midland / Odessa area, and who wouldn’t, it is bleak, dry and in the middle of nowhere.  Arky is looking around to find some greener grass!

 

So somebody please send me a bottle of White-Out for my address book would ya!

 

 

 

 

 

A Boy, his Uncle and a Fish

– Joe Marriott

As a young child I did not have a lot of male influences in my life.  My dad was out of the area, my step-dad and I were not very close and there were no other males in my family nearby.

My Aunt Deanna began dating Terry when I was around four or five if my recollection is correct, and Deanna and Terry would baby-sit me and my sisters on a regular basis over a year or more.  Now don’t take this wrong, I love my Aunt Deanna with all my heart, but Terry and I bonded as only boys could. 

Terry fixed things like cars, sinks and other things around the house.  Terry taught me how to fish, how to eat ‘Pork ‘n Beans’ out of the can.  Terry also taught me how to have the patience to sit for hours waiting for a fish to bite. Even though they were not married I always called Terry “Uncle Terry”.

So all is normal you think?  I did, and you know what I still do!

You see, Terry was my Aunts partner for 15, maybe 20 years, they never married though as that would not be legal.  Terry is a “woman”; my Aunt Deanna is gay, heck she was out of the closet back in the day when closets were not opened! 

I always “knew” Terry was a woman, I guess I just never thought about it since I was exposed to “it” at such an early age.  Kids are born without prejudices, we instill it in them!

In the past 15 years I have only seen Terry sporadically, a family event here, a visit there.  In March I had some family members over for dinner and I had Terry, Deanna and my cousin Chanell over as “surprise” guests, much to the delight of my sisters.  I realized how much I have missed them, how they were such a big part of my childhood and how much Terry provided me with the male influences a boy needs!

Yeah, yeah, maybe all the females in my life and a female “Uncle” have helped mold me into a sensitive & caring male. Yes, I am straight but I am not afraid to embrace those in my family and several of my friends who are not.

Thanks Uncle Terry!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lucky man….      

 

You often hear men and women complaining about their in-laws.  How they don’t get along or how the mother in-law is not so nice, etc.  I am so lucky, my soon to be in-laws are the greatest.  From day one they welcomed me into their family and have always treated me great.  I actually look forward to spending time with them.

This is not just her parents either, but everyone from her brother to her grandmother, her great aunt and the plentiful number of aunts and uncles she has.  They all treated me like family from day one and having come from a very small family it is so nice to have all of these “extended” family members.

I often teased Yvonne that if she did not marry me that I would have to marry one of her many cousins as she has such a great family and that is not something you find everyday. 

My thanks to all of her family!

 

 

 

 

2003, The Year of the Wedding!

 

This year has been nothing but weddings for us, as mentioned above, Lee & Kollette started it off in May with their wedding.  In June, Yvonne’s cousin Christine was married to Gabe and then in July her brother Michael and his bride Julia were married.

It has been a season of love!

 

You can find photos to all the weddings at www.spiketimes.com

 

 

 

 

 

(That is me at my heaviest ever, I have now lost over 30 lbs.)

 

 

 

Spike to wed!

Yep, you read that right!  After 5 years of dating Yvonne I was finally able to beat her into submission and place a ring on her finger.

Yvonne told me within days of meeting that she was not going to get married until she was 40.  After all, she majored in “Women’s Studies” at U.C. Davis.

Five years of dating should be a long enough courtship to realize if that person is the one you want to spend the rest of your life with or not. 

I have always wanted certain things to be in place before I married, including a good job and a house.  So last year when I was laid off of work my plans to ask her to marry me were delayed.  I wanted to make the day a memorable one that she would look back on and smile, I also wanted it to be a complete surprise.

Yvonne loves to hike, give the girl a hill and she is all over it.  Her favorite place to hike is in Woodside, it is named “Huddart Park” and it his has a ton of great hiking trails surrounded my redwood trees.

We first met in August of 1997 and it is a month that Yvonne has always liked so I took her hiking on August 9th of this past year at Huddart Park.  I had thought it all through, but had to find the perfect time.

At one point Yvonne suggested that maybe we should turn around and head back.  Much to her surprise I wanted to keep on going.

As we headed up a hill I stopped and pretended to be winded (Not much acting needed!) and needed to rest.  After a minute, with the ring in one hand I kneeled down as to “rest” but my acting was better then I thought and Yvonne kneeled down next to me to see if I was ok!  She had to be standing!  So I “rested” for a minute and asked her to “help” me up, as she stood and offered her hand to aid me I grabbed it and one fell swoop I placed the ringer on her finger while telling her that “I could not go on” (which worried her, she thought I meant hiking) “…that I could not go on without her being my wife”

Very stunned and happy she said “yes”, I stood and we hugged and kissed.  Now she had to sit and catch her breath!

Our wedding date is set for August 21, 2004.

 

 

 You can find more pictures, this issue and an archive of past issues of “The Spike Times” at www.spiketimes.com

 

 

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