The Ralph Diaries~ JUNE 15 1967- San Antonio- Thursday- Went with Mom to Hostess Cakes and bought a lot of stuff. Went to T-Bird Pool. Saw Cathy Butler there. Stayed too long, got sunburnt. 1968- Chicago- Saturday- Whole family went to the Diamond Match Company picnic. It was fun, I hung around with the bosss daughter, Karen Duncan, most of the time. 1969- Chicago- Sunday- Went to church, Christ The King. Shirley and I went with Ken and Olivia to the Sky-Hi Drive-In. They came by and picked me up. I really was with Shirley, but Olivia and I played footsie all night. We had a good time. I heard a really cool song on the radio, Communication Breakdown by a new group, Led Zeppelin. 1970- Lubbock- Monday- Drove all day through Oklahoma and into Texas. Finally arrived in Lubbock. Looks pretty bad. A huge tornado destroyed a lot of the town about a month ago. Theres debris everywhere. Were gonna stay at a Holiday Inn for a couple of days until the moving van gets here.There are a bunch of ABC-TV people staying at the motel, for some reason. Dad took us to see our new house. Its pretty cool, I get my own room. (note: Found out they were there for the Coaches All-America Football Game, a Lubbock tradition for many years.) 1971- Chicago- Tuesday- Called Liv, then went by her house at noon. We went out for pizza with Michelle and Theresa. Then Liv and I went to a park and talked. We swung on the park swings and kissed a lot. Shes supposed to marry the new guy this fall, but I may have talked her out of it. I think Im still in love with her. (note: Poor Liv gave me several chances, but as soon as I would get back to Texas, my mind would be elsewhere. She did marry the new guy. When they divorced years later, she called me, probably to see if I was still interested. Im sure I told her I was, and then didnt follow up, as usual.) 1974- Lubbock- Saturday- Went with Tims band, Spellbound to Lockney for a teen dance. I took a date, Kathy McDonald. Shes the girl I met at the Maxey dance last week. Jaime took Elaine Rahm. We had a cool time. As we were kissing goodnight at Kathys front door, a couple of guys lost control of their car and crashed into a tree in her next-door neighbors front yard. Cops were called, etc. (note: I now own a rent house a couple of blocks away from the house. Every time I drive by, I see that scarred tree.) 1975- Lubbock- Sunday-Went over to parents house to wish Dad a Happy Fathers Day. Went to church. Wrote $54 check for my loan payment at bank. Drove cab tonight. 1983- Lubbock- Wednesday- Worked at Univ. store with Damon. Tonight went to Abbey Road to see local guy, Paul Waters, perform. He does a great Buddy Holly tribute. 1984- Lubbock- Friday- Worked at Univ. store. Mike, Mel and I went to Coliseum to see Roberto Duran/ Tommy Hearns fight on closed-circuit TV. Duran knocked him out in the 2nd round. Then we went out clubbing at Willow Hill Diner. 1985- Lubbock- Saturday- Worked at Univ. store. Watched boxing on TV, then went out partying. 1986- Lubbock- Sunday- Drove home from Beckys house. Showered, then went over to parents house, took Dad a Fathers Day card. Hung around their house most of the day. 1987- Lubbock- Monday- Worked at Univ. store. Had the guys over to watch boxing, Cooney vs. Spinks Spinks won in 5 rounds. Its all over for Cooney. 1991- San Antonio- Saturday- More Holmes 71 reunion activities. Had afternoon lunch, where people brought their kids. Polly is pregnant with our first. Mike and Beverly brought their 6-week old, Mitch. Beverly stayed in the bathroom all day with her baby, which didnt please Mike. Tonight, had a nice dinner at another Country Club. Took lots of pictures. Polly says I ignored her most of the night, which is probably true. Spouses should probably not come to these things. Cheryls husband wasnt too happy with her, either. Saw many old friends. David Kelley showed up. He missed last night. Enjoyed seeing the old gang, especially Renae Duncan and Cheryl Pate. Seemed like old times. Afterwards, some of us met at my motel pool and hung out. Judi Reiffert was there, it was good to see her. Renae and I talked for a long time. Shes still beautiful, she won Least-Changed. She and her husband, Robert, won Longest Married, although it seems there is trouble in paradise. 1992- Lubbock- Monday- Worked all day at the new 82nd st. store. Got a new store phone line installed today, for the ticket computer. 1993- Lubbock- Tuesday- Paid bills, made federal tax deposit. Tower Appliance came to the house. Charlie fixed our dryer, even showed me how to fix it myself next time. Went by both stores today. Robert Earl Keen playing at The Depot tonight. 1998- Ransom Canyon- Monday- Larry & Karen Martin took Polly and I to lunch at Hub City Brewery. Was nice, but embarrassing, because Karen always sends her food back, whether its necessary or not. Took that damn Volvo to Daltons for repair. Stock market tumbled 207 points today, 5th worst % drop ever. 2000- Ruidoso- Thursday- Polly and the kids and I are having a great time in Ruidoso, N.M. Went go-kart riding. Went swimming in a stream. Played at the playground by our cabins. We really like the DanDee cabins. There are supposed to be bears around, but we havent seen any, thank goodness. 2001- Lubbock- Friday- Worked at 82nd st. store. Bill Gaither tickers went on sale today. I pulled some good ones for my insurance agent, Don Freeman. 2002- Lubbock- Saturday- Polly and I took Joey to his closing baseball ceremonies at Southwest Little League. He got a trophy. Cleaned the pool today, went swimming. This evening, the whole family (even Alison) went to Joeys playoff game at Dixie Field. They beat the Raiders, 12-3. Afterwards, we ate at Popeyes. Went by the store, picked up the money.Big Mike Griffin playing at The Spoon tonight. 2003- Lubbock- Sunday- Took the family to church, 11AM. They gave me cards and kisses for Fathers Day. Called Dad to wish him a Happy Fathers Day. The Temptations are in town tonight. 2007- Lubbock- Friday- Went by insurance agents, bank, post office. Found out my employee, Nick, was hired by Texas Tech Health-Science Center, so he will be gone soon. Worked at 82nd st. store. Went by Univ store a for a little while. Polly and I met Mel and Pandy at Buffalo Wild Wings for wings and beer.Had a great time, drank too much beer. I had to go back to the store at 11:00 and do the books. Tried to hurry home before Polly passed out, but too late... 2009- Lubbock- Monday- I hate Mondays. Lots of family drama going on. Talked to Steve, Sam, Tim and Norma today. Craziness abounds. Worked with Fluitt and Ricky. Went out to the warehouse. The guy who bought the next-door lot now has 3 junked cars for me to look at. Went to the bank. Last Friday, I watched the head security guy escort the head teller out the door, carrying his personal items. Sure enough, his office was empty today. 2010- Lubbock- Tuesday- The Alstons left this morning for Houston. Hot tubbed, worked out. McKenzie called, changed our lunch from today to tomorrow. Mike V. and I had dinner at Rib Crib, always good. Took home some rib bones for my barking dog, Max. Polly and I watched Last Comic Standing. Joey worked at Tinseltown tonight, didnt get home till 1:45 AM. 2011- Grand Turk Island- Wednesday- Port-of call at Grand Turk. We all went on a snorkeling excursion. Of course, I was the only one to lose my dive mask when I jumped in the water, and it sank to the bottom. Thank goodness the crew leader could dive down 20 feet and retrieve it. It was fun, although I think snorkeling is more work than play. However, the bartender on the boat, Dr. Feelgood made a killer rum punch, which definitely gave me a buzz. We went to a beautiful beach, where everyone stood in the water and drank his concoction. On the way back to the ship. Tim led everyone ion a drunken sing-along. Polly and I went to a Repeat Passengers party for returning Carnival cruisers., with free drinks (more rum punch for me!) Tonight, in the Dining Room, I had spicy pork chops, Caesars salad and Cherries Jubilee (and wine, of course). Afterwards, we hit the casino, played blackjack. 2012- Lubbock- Friday- Busy day at the store. At 5:00, we had an in-store performance with Joe King Carrasco & The Crowns. Only about 20 people showed, but it was a lot of fun. Their manager is Joe Nick Patoski, a Texas Monthly writer. He was fun to talk to. Also there was Bruce Clarke, bassist for Sha Na Na, played at Woodstock. Tonight, Mike V. and I went to Bash Riprocks to see Joe King. Great show, only about 10 people there. Its hard to get the old people out in Lubbock. If it was sponsored by the Junior League, at the Civic Center, with wine and cheese in the lobby, it would have been packed. Sad... 2013- Ransom Canyon- Saturday- Finally talked to Bruce, my ex-pool guy, who informed me that he just didnt have enough time to do my pool. Well,duh, its been 3 months. You could have called. Went to the store about 3:00, worked till 7:00. Tonight, Polly and I went to a Dinner Club at Bill & Janna Knoxs house. Had a great time, talked to Sam and Candy most of the night. Donna & Rod, Randall & Joanie, Paul Bullock, Becky Farris, lots of others were there. 2014- Comfort- Sunday- Staying at Tim & Lisas. Lisa took us for a drive in her new Volvo convertible, pretty cool. I bought everyone brunch at Le Bistro, which was really good. Walked around downtown Comfort (High Street), saw some cool old buildings. Then, back to Tim & Lisas, where we packed for out trip home. We bought their 2007 Chrysler for Alisons new car. Its beautiful, runs great, hope Alison keeps it in the same condition. We left about 1:00, made good time, arrived in Lubbock at 6:00. Max was happy to see us. We left him home alone for 3 days, although Joey checked on him yesterday.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 14:21:30 +0000
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