Landman

Headed to south Texas tomorrow. Falfurrias, to be exact. I am there working, doing what I do. I'll be in the county courthouse going through the deed records as they relate to a tract of land the company I am working for wants to drill a natural gas well on. That's what I do. I am what you call a landman; sort of a unique occupation. The job is limited to areas where there is onshore oil and gas drilling/production. Many people are ignorant about the true nature of this business. Of course, here in Texas, it is a part of life, especially in the (mostly) rural areas where exploration occurs. In most of these rural areas, natural gas exploration is, and has been since the 1930's, the main driving force of the economy. For instance, I stay in a hotel 4 nights a week in the little town and eat every meal in a local restuarant. I try to avoid the fast-food chains...for two reasons, yes. Mostly, I prefer to patronize the local establishments and also, I need to eat better. I have a terrible diet. I eat out 90% of my meals, even when I'm at home; but that's another story. I guess I just wanted to talk about the "business" and how a lot of people use the products and take it for granted and then complain about it. Oh, well. Too lazy to provide specifics, just a generalization, I know.

Snook

Check out this snook caught in Texas....very unusual. Good Vektor Tables, too.

Caller.com: Fishing

Whack

I have learned two words you don't want to hear: uninsured motorist. Got rear-ended this morning, in the rain. Not a bad accident, really; my truck is only damaged on the bumper, but his truck, whew. Not good. He has no insurance, so...I felt bad for the guy; he was going to work with a truck load of guys, pulling a trailer and with a big, heavy load in the bed. He couldn't have been going over 15 mph when he hit me... as I was turning, with my blinker on, into the parking lot of the county courthouse! It was raining, so the road was slick and he just slid right into me...he tried to veer to the left so he hit my right rear bumper. Had to call the cops; didn't want to as I knew it would be trouble for the guy, but I felt like I needed to have the police report so my insurance could collect under my uninsured motorist coverage...apparently that's a better way to claim it than under your collision coverage. On the good side, no one was hurt and I think I will get a new, better bumper...I just hope there is no damage that is not visible...like frame or whatever...
It's interesting how things happen....I only went to town this morning on a hunch that something I had worked on about a year ago needed a second look; normally, I would have been 60 miles away, but there I was and that's where I got hit. What caused me to be in that spot at that time? The same thing that caused me to not be in many other accidents, I suppose.