November Road-trip 2023

I left the town of Arcola, Texas around 11:00 a.m. on Monday, the 6th, with no idea nor plan as to what

I was going to do the rest of the day, nor especially the rest of the week.     All I knew was that I was going to likely have several days of freedom.

I had a delivery to complete before I could leave town, and that was on the far west side of Houston.

I completed that about 1:30 p.m.     There was no reason to ever return to my estranged-wife's house,

but I knew I would eventually have to face the realities of my life and go back in a few days.

I needed to get the H*ll out of Dodge for 24 hours and get some fresh air and exercise.     In my younger

days ( 1987 ), it would have been a no-brainer.    I would have headed for the Sierra Madres, most likely

to make a futile attempt at solo-hiking to the top El Pico de Candela ( I never made it even half-way to the top )

So I was now driving through northwest Houston pondering what to do about lunch.

I called up my estranged-deranged-biological-father and asked him if I could come visit and tell him happy birthday in person for his 79th Birthday.   He sounded non-interested at best.

I explained that I may not get another chance to visit until Christmas, and he subtly replied, “so what.”

( or maybe like "who gives a sh*t ? )

A little background on all my drama before I continue.       60 years and one month ago, my mom

was a junior in high-school in Oak Cliff ( south of Dallas ) and she got pregnant to some jerkwad

alcoholic abusive moron.     Every since that tragic-conception, every single tiny aspect of my life has been

an enormous clusterph*ck.

In May of this year, his wife of 44 years, passed away after nearly ten years of dementia.     He has been alone ever since, living in a nice house, but he does not keep it clean.      A part of me, sadly feels that there is an opportunity for he and I to make up for these lost 59 years.     But he just likes to berate me humorously, that he doubts he is my father.

In the past 40 years, I have only briefly visited him for a few hours around Christmas.    I always leave driving like a bat-out-of-hell out of the drive way with him cussing up a storm lots of awful sh*t.

I was passing near one of my favorite restaurants, "Niko-Niko's," so I decided to get a really

nice lunch.    From there, I drove to Midlothian non-stop via Hwy 6. thru College Station and Waco.

Whenever on a road-trip, I ponder things, daydream, plan things, worry about things etc.    I had learned

the day before that the grandson of my paternal-grandma's older-sister had passed away and nobody told me nor did anyone I knew know about it.     I had just stumbled onto it will doing obituary-research.   He

was ten years older than me and I had not seen him in over 45 years.     

The weather was perfect for a road-trip and there was a nice sunset as I was passing the traffic-scam-community of Reagan. 

I arrived at my biological-father's house about at 7:30 p.m.        I always know that I will be walking into

a fire, so I have to do some yoga first.    Most often, I will stop a few blocks away and meditate and pray that an asteroid strikes the house before I get there.        When I got there, he was standing in the garage with the door open and it was dark, and some weird lady about 40 years old was sitting in his lounge-chair.

Turns out she was a meth-head that lived next door and was recovering from a really bad car-wreck and he

was Ubering her around.      We all went inside and I gave her the left-overs from my lunch at Niko-Nikos,

just to try to break the ice, or pretend to be nice.       Then comes in some prostitute about 24 years old that looked like a young Michelle *b*%a.       My dad and the hooker, went to go take care of business, and the wacko-crackhead left to go home next door.      So I just went straight to bed.      The air was so dusty and stagnant that I breathing was uncomfortable, and I thought about bailing out and going to get a motel.

Fortunately, his wi-fi was working  as I woke up at 11 p.m and it took me a while to fall back asleep.     I was concerned about the following day.      I was sure, I would have to bail out suddenly and drive back to Houston, but his 79th birthday was still 36 hours away, and I had vague hopes of making it to the November meeting of the DFW Grotto.

He let me sleep in, as he had to drive the crackhead-lady to the store.       I had never in my life, been alone in my dad's house in 59 years.     It was awkward, especially since the house was really his deceased-wife's and he had just mooched off of her for 44 years.      

When he got back he had a long list of chores he wanted me to help him with.     I knew this would be problem.     I have told him a thousand times that I am having trouble with my hernia, and he always berates me very toxically, saying something angrily such as "go to the ph*cking doctor you d**khead.         It is really unbearable to be around him.         

Eventually, we decided to go to lunch and he drove way across town in his junker-crappy truck that my younger very estranged-brother had gifted him, and we ate lunch at "The Cotton Patch."     He made a big stink about me ordering a salad, and so it was an unpleasant lunch.     I told him that having lunch with him was his birthday-gift and that was the best I could do this year.       And he replied, "I don't care about that sh*t."

So I went back to his house and took a shower and watched a movie on his Prime Freevee channel, "Bourne Legacy."     I had never seen it.    I ate the left-over salad.     

Then I tried to watch some ridiculous British tv show called "Return to the Land of the Lost," or something like that.     It was awful, so I went to bed early, and surfed the web to see what all was going on in the Middle East.       The channel ILDV ( Israeli tv )  seems to have the most accurate propaganda, and by far the hottest news-caster on the planet, Miss Amit Harari.

I still did not know what my plans were on Wednesday, and it seemed grim that I would make it there

long enough in Midlothian in order to make it to the grotto meeting.

I called my sister in Mansfield about 30 minutes away, and practically begged her to let me come over

for a minute to say hello.       [ Her and her husband are nice to me, but they both work remotely from home and are big-wigs at a defense-contractor, and so they have hectic life. ]     I got there in time to see my brother-in-law.     He changed his mind and said he and his wife would take me to lunch.     But

they are super duper extra-finicky about about eating out and so they drove me clear into Arlington to a Mediterranean Grill.       I didn't need to eat that cr*p nor waste that kind of money.     And that got

me all off schedule.       

Afterwards, I called my biological-father and he sounded drunk and didn't want me to come back.     So I changed course and started heading towards the grotto-meeting a few hours early.      

I stumbled upon an antique-mall in Arlington, so I figured I would frolick there until 6 p.m.     I found a roaster-pan, that Magdalena had been wanting.      The old aluminum kind from the 1960's.    It was in great shape and I knew she would love it.     She has three, but had mentioned she wanted one more.    I also found some hippie-bell-bottom jeans for Dalena that looked like new-condition.     So I bought those

too.     

I went to the grotto-meeting.      The drive there was past my physical-limits as I had not had

my daily nap.     I got there totally wiped-out.      My hernia was really bothering me, so I decided not to

eat any barbecue.          After the meeting, I called my biological-father up and I told him that I was leaving 

Irving and heading to Houston.        He said that he would leave the back-door unlocked.      He has

never done that for me in 59 years.        As I was driving though Dallas, I was listening to the radio.

The music stations in Dallas are really good, and the ones in Houston are extremely awful.     A song I had never heard was playing, "Washington Square" by The Village Stompers from 1963.      That

was really uplifting.

When I got to his house, the same hooker was back for the third time, and she was parked in the driveway, but

by the time I was getting ready to watch tv, she was leaving.        I watched "The Bourne Identity," which

I had likely seen it in the theater way back years ago when I had premiered.          I went to bed, and

the hooker's g-string was laying on the floor.     He hadn't even changed the d*%n sheets.     Her name

is Mineh May or something like that.     She was about 24 and skinny like a heroin-addict.

One good thing about the house, is that the shower in the master-bath has the walkin-spacious style with the glass door and large tile.    The water-pressure and hot-water and quality of the water are awesome.      But he has a $ 5 shower-head from The Five Below Store.      That just rankles me.      The toilet is in one of those fancy private closets, but it is a real kiddie-toilet.     It is tiny little things like that make this BnB the worst on Earth.

I left early on Thursday, and had lunch at "The Waffle House" in Corsicana.     I tried to hook up with a caver there, but they were in Dallas.

My next stop was to pretend to look for caves near the ghost-town of Cayuga.     I was really just trying to get some fresh air and exercise.     I had hoped to drive around the Gus Engeling Wildlife Management Area on the other side of the town of Bethel, but I ran out of time, and the weather was misty, and very cloudy.

     https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/wma/find_a_wma/list/?id=10

I finally made contact with my daughter and her college via text.       I was going to have to drive recklessly for almost two hours to get to her college in Nacogdoches on time.         I got there and gave to her the bell-bottom jeans from the antique-store and then drove her around campus for 10 minutes, and then we sat outside her math-class and talked for five minutes.      I had hoped to get her old iPhone from her so I could trade it with her mom's old iPhone.      But Dalena was not ready to give it to me yet.

I stopped in Livingston at the famous Catfish King restaurant.      I had not eaten there in at least 31 years.   Then the rain came down.      I knew the wipers on my Sequoia were rotten.     I had not driven in the rain in months.

I had a delivery in downtown Houston that I wished I could have worked on.      I was downtown, and only about 45 minutes early.      But I had forgot to find a printer and print out the stuff that I needed to deliver.       Coupled with the rain and being totally exhausted I decided to blow off my work.     I know that will  come back to bite me in the a%#.

It is 10 p.m. now and Magdalena is sound asleep on the couch with the tv blaring just as she has done every night since she became an empty-nester two months ago.      She is not even the same person anymore.

to be continued..... ( or edited ).

2022 Personal Update

Hello, this is David Locklear.

For those of you who have no idea who I am, I did most of my caving in 1987

while living either in College Station or Dallas.    I am sort-of married to a lady

from Monterrey, Mexico.   I am the father of CAVEPEARL, but the sad truth is

she would not know a cave if it bit her on the %&#.     I tried once futilely to take

her camping when she was about six years old.     Now she is almost nineteen.

Below are some random thoughts and opinions on experiences that

I had or my family had in 2022.  

First of all, the first five weeks of 2022, I was almost bedridden with an illness. Doctors claimed I had COVID, but I say they were full of sh*t.   My symptoms were more like myalgia, than the flu.   I sensed I was starting to improve on the second of February, however, I have not felt like I have improved since then.     I have now been sick for over 12 months, and I never had any nasal issues, meaning, no sneezing, nor sinus problems.     Most of the pain was in a 14 inch diameter area centered just below the groin.     But there was some other stuff going on down there, that I just can't talk about, some of which is hernia related.

Not only were the doctors worthless, but they sent me $ 20,000 in medical bills.

I tried to stay employed ( in my self-employed job where I deliver subpoenas ).

That really did not go well at all.

Meanwhile, my estranged wife worked 70 to 80 hours a week all year, but at

very low pay.

CAVEPEARL was almost a nuisance the entire year.     I 

came close to disowning her on a daily basis, and now I am trying to get her

married-off, instead of going to college.

She thinks she wants to move out in August and move up to Nacogdoches

to live in a dormitory on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

She claims she wants to be an elementary-school librarian.       I doubt she could finish reading a novel at the fifth-grade level.

She was sick quite a bit in 2022 and we had to take her to see someone

almost on a weekly basis.      At one point, just keeping her out of jail

seemed unlikely.

My beloved 4x4 Toyota Sequoia has been practically sitting on cinder-blocks

for over a year.     It needs some transmission work, but I can't find an honest

mechanic that understands the issue.

I am not currently healthy enough to go on a two-mile hike, especially

if it is uphill on a really hot or humid day.      I have gained an enormous

amount of weight from my sedentary lifestyle.

I am not a Tr*mp fan-boy, and disagree with him on a number of

important issues, but I feel he is our only hope.     I am not

a Republican.      Most of my friends or potential friends vote Democrat,

so I have to just bite my tongue.

I spent almost all of the past few months watching YouTube videos trying to learn

different topics.      Probably watched 1,000 music videos over the course of the

pandemic, yet I still can't play a plastic-flute-recorder.

I will be 59 in June.      In all my adult life, I have never been in such debt.

However, Magdalena only owes less than $ 66,000 on her house.     If she

or CAVEPEARL ever sell the house, it should fetch at least $ 175,000 as

is.    It is 20 years old and has never had any maintenance done to it.    The

stove has been upgraded.

Some of you might remember my mother-in-law, who tagged along with us

to several caver-gatherings.     She lives in the Las Fuentes part of Monterrey,

which is sort of due south of the campus of I.T.E.S.M. along the western flack

of the the famous saddle-shaped mountain.      She is probably healthier than

any of us, and I attribute that to her strict diet of non-processed foods, and

only corn-tortillas.

If anybody would like to know more please email me at 

       dlocklear01@gmail.com

If it is something serious, email me at work at:

     david@houston-subpoena.com

My personal-cell is:    346-801-4962

My work-cell is:    346-247-1954

Linux News - Fedora 31

There is probably somebody out there that uses

a Linux "desktop" computer ( as opposed to a Linux server ).    

The rest of you, please hit the delete button.

I am posting this news item, as you won't see it on CNN or

Foxnews, or hardly even Linux News.     Sort of a hot off

the presses thing.

This message is coming to you from my computer running

only Fedora 31.    This version 31 of Fedora will be released in

a Beta version next week, so this brief post is only to state that

the new version of the operating system is functional.

I have been using Fedora 31 about 4 hours for routine simple task.

( I have previous experience with the older versions, and developmental

versions, having run my computer for my business on Fedora 29 for nearly

a year.  )

One of the odd things about new Linux versions is something

called "regressions."     A fancy way of saying that new bugs were

created by trying to fix the old bugs.    It is likely that it will take

months to fix any regressions that pop up, but then new ones

seem to always pop-up after that.  

It does not take a powerful computer to use Fedora 31.    I imagine

it would work okay, on just about any 5 year old computer.

Someone familiar with Linux, should be able to install Fedora 31 in

about 20 minutes.

Back in the early days of Linux, the display on the screen was controlled

by something called X11.    That component became antiquated in recent years,

and so Fedora 31 uses something else instead, called Wayland.    What is different

about Fedora 31 over other Linux distros with Wayland, is that much of the

time the user is sort of stuck in between the two using something called

Xwayland.     But now, Fedora only does that when it has no other choice.

If you have never used Fedora, then you might find parts of Fedora 31

simple to use.     But still there is a learning curve or a need to know

something about Linux in order to use it to get any work done.

Unless a user wants to donate money to Linux projects, a majority of the

software is free.    I have been using Linux now going on 3 years to run

the computer for my tiny business, and it seems like a good idea from

my perspective, and experience.

A complete install of Fedora 31 Workstation will get you just about

every popular Linux software, pre-installed, except for GIMP.     That and hundreds

of other apps can be installed from a simple graphical menu, but it is fairly easy to learn

how to install them from a command-line if you are into that sort of thing, and that

is why many Linux nerds prefer Linux.

One of the perks to Fedora 31, is that it will eventually use kernel 5.3.1, probably

in about a month or two.     That will allow it to work on lots of knew hardware, like

the new AMD CPU's.  

In theory, Fedora 31 be more stable in its Final Release in October or November,

than what I am currently using.     I should never have to change anything or install

anything for another year, but just run a simple update every few days or so.

D.L.

Ref.:    https://wayland.freedesktop.org/architecture.html

             https://www.gnome.org/news/2019/09/gnome-3-34-released/

             https://www.kernel.org/

August 20th, 2019 personal update

I lost my beloved 3 bedroom 1,200 sq. ft. apartment in Alief.     Thanks to things outside of my control.    Hopefully, I will get some of the $ 1,000 deposit back in 8 weeks.     The management is already trying to screw me, as the previous tenant did not turn in their parking-sticker, and that person had agreed to stay on in the apartments as my roommate, but they instead skipped town before I moved in.   That is a $ 100 penalty.     To make matters worse, this person agreed to give me the parking-sticker, so I took off work and wasted two hours going to get it, only for them to tell me they didn't have it, but had seen it 3 days ago, and assumed it was still lying around somewhere.    I wasted an hour helping them hunt for it.


I am now temporarily renting a tiny room from a guy that ran a roommate ad on Craigslist.    I have been here seven days so far, but I have not moved any heavy
furniture in yet.    The guy's name is allegedly, N*ah Eck*rt.     I was not able to find his internet footprint on any social media.      He claims to be obsessed with
Japanase anime ( cartoons ). .    I have no interest in that topic, although, I was
a big fan of Speed Racer cartoon in the early 1970's.    He seems to chat loudly
with other gamers playing anime cartoon games.     I only agreed to live here a month, with possible month-to-month lease, as long as on Sept. 15th, I also pay a $ 500 deposit.      I have spent 3 days cleaning the common areas of the apartment.    There is still so much cleaning to do that it seems futile to stay here.    But problem # 1 is the air-filtration system is broken, and dust is in the air.    And # 2, my roommate and I do not seem to be compatible.

The apartments he lives in are 62 years old and in a part of town that is primarily Honduran and Salvadorean.        However, these apartments are slightly better than the others in this specific area, and far more expensive, and thus, the tenants are a mixture of various types of people, from one driving a
new Lamborghini, to me just vagabonding with a rucksack.

The name of the place, is Colony Oaks apartments, and is at 6666 Chetwood
St. which is about 5 miles due south of The Galleria or about a mile northwest
of Bellaire.     Apparently, his unit is one of the worst in the complex.    The others especially on the opposite end have been remodeled and have more greenspace.

At the present time, I have most of my clothes there and my 65 in SHARP
smart-tv, and a few odds and ends.

The apartments seem to have good water pressure, lots of trees, a few
areas of greenspace, and even a tiny private park.     The other units are
nice, but this particular unit has some serious issues, one of which is way
too much dust in the air.     All the tenants have dogs, and the dogs poop and
pee all over the place.     The smell of dog-poop is overwhelming to my sensitive nose.


My sofa and bed are temporarily at my girlfriend's apartment.      She has
a tiny one-bedroom apartment in far north Houston is a really crappy part
of town, and her sister and teenage niece live with her too.   I have a few days
worth of groceries there and about 2 days worth of clothes.    It is likely that
I may put more stuff there, but I hope to have my own apartment in 2 or 3 months, certainly by February.     I have also installed a mini-office in her bedroom, with high-speed internet and a desk, fax machine, land-line and printer, but no wi-fi just yet.      I hope to move all that by October to my own
apartment.



Meanwhile, my Sequoia transmission has 275,000 miles on it as does much
of the rest of the vehicle, ( except for the motor ).      I wish I could get a
newer vehicle.    It seems pointless to continue to throw money into up-keep
for this old clunker.

Things at work are just awful - almost helacious.      But I am turning down work almost every day.   My briefcase is full of difficult subpoenas.      I still have my own fancy office though, in Hedwig Village, and still have income coming in.     But at this stage of my career ( being self-proprietor as a process server for 21 years ), I feel I should be getting close to retirement.

I still have my rental storage unit in Brenham, but also temporarily renting a tiny one in Alief until I can get an apartment.    All that is such a huge waste of money and time.  

Here is a link to some recent pictures:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7d86o95efxtqwpj/AAA5JwEM8gX7-XXyB7mDXGbma?dl=0  

Another missed TSA Spring Convention

I am almost convinced now that Oztotl did not want me to go to Kerrville this past weekend.

I can't question his or her or its motive.

All I know was, that in hindsight, there was nothing I could have done differently to leave Houston area.

 

It is a bummer missing the 2019 TSA Spring Convention.     I really wanted to go.     But it is also embarrassing to show up a caving event, and being totally

disorganized, and out of the loop when it comes to caving topics.    I am so fat and out-of shape now that I probably could not even take a commercial cave tour, without sitting down to take a rest.

 

 

It 11 p.m. on Sunday night, and I am still at work in Houston, with a to-do list tomorrow that is going to be overwhelming.     Heading home now though, as

all my deliveries were again goose chases just like they were Friday night and Saturday night.

Most people would love to be stable self-employed, but it has a lot of drawbacks - especially if you despise your work task and your customers.

 

Imagine if you owned a hair-salon and all of your customers came in wanting

their child's hair-cut, but their child was invisible, and only visible to them, and

you had to pretend for an hour to cut their child's hair, before they would pay you $ 5

and then, they would only agree to mail you the money after you "faxed" them an invoice, and the check would be written off some odd bank account like Iberia Bank.     And then if they didn't like the way you were pretending to cut the invisible child's hair, and you told them to go F.O., then they would tell all your

other customers to not hire you because "you were a little strange."     My job is even more retarded than that, and I have now been doing it over 21 years.

 

 

Today, is the 18th anniversary that my estranged wife and I had a formal wedding ceremony at a lake in east Texas.     Several cavers were present to testify to

that event.   At least one of them is on CaveTex.     I actually called my ex and told her happy anniversary, even though I spent most of the day with my current lady-friend, Maria Martinez of Morelia, Mexico.

 

 

My daughter took her exam this past Satuday in order to test-out of high-school foreign language elective requirement.      She thinks she may have passed it.

My mean-old step-mother has had partial dementia for several months.   Saturday morning, she allegedly went over the deep end and had to be admitted to a hospital.    I think it is near Mansfield, Texas.    If I can get off work this week, 

I may drop by there for a few minutes.    I do not really blame her for being a mean-old stepmother, as 100% of the drama was initiated by my deranged biological father.     There is no way he could have married any better.  He was

way out of her league, and I can't figure out why she married him.

My Sequoia now has 260,000 miles on it. 

 

 

Saturday night, my daughter and I went to see the new movie, "Shazam."   It was

okay, considering the material they had to work with.    Shazam was never really

a big superhero like Captain Marvel, eventhough they originally shared some of the same foundation.   

I had some good food this weekend.   I had dinner yesterday at The Truckyard - one of downtown Houston's newest patio party restaurants.      I had lunch today at Louisiana Chicken and Seafood.      I have mostly been eating at Burger King type places for the past 6 months, since moving into my 1,200 sq. ft. 3-bedroom apartment.

 

I stumbled on to an amazing art festival concert in Houston on Saturday afternoon, but I only stayed for one song, as I was burdened with a ton of problems at work.

Tonight, I had dinner with my mom and stepfather.    She will soon be 73 years old.

If I can get paid on all this work and get it completed this week, then I should finally be able to purchase a new laptop with some modern features.    I could be more efficient if I had a really good laptop.     Part of the problem with that is I do not want a Windows laptop nor a Apple laptop.   I want a Linux laptop, but those things are pricey, and I am not 100% certain, I could make one myself that I could do my work on.

I am ready to disown most of my family, especially 4 of my 5 siblings.   I have  reached a point where their problems and lifestyle just are ludicrous.

To be continued....

Personal update - 02-05-2019

From David Locklear

I have a new coffee cup, purchased for 99 cents plus tax

https://www.dropbox.com/s/et974wwvlhnkeco/Davids%20Cup.jpg?dl=0

I took the tour of this cave before the NSS Convention in Waynesville.   I missed the last tour of the nearby Cathedral Cave that day, and so, I hope to do take that tour someday. 

On a totally different note, I mentioned last year in a lengthy post my quest to learn Spanish, which officially began in 1985.  I have an Associate's Degree from Houston Community College completing all the Spanish classes that they offered.   But it would be more accurate to say my "certificate" is for Mechanical Engineering Technology.

Anyways, 34 years later, I can now distinguish a Spanish speaker's accent quickly and tell what country they are from.  Unfortunately, I am too hard of hearing to understand exactly what they are saying.   Along with Attention Deficit Disorder and early pre-stages of Alzheimer's ( forgetfulness ? ), I can just get the gist of what they are saying.    I can usually get my point across though verbally, and impress them with my bilingual skills and knowledge of their culture.  Unfortunately, due to having GOMS ( grumpy old man syndrome ), I am usually disinterested.   What really sucks, is I have yet to ever really use this bilingual skill to make any money.

My interest now ( in what little spare time that I have ) is with Linux desktop computers.  Yesterday, I did a new install of Fedora Rawhide, which means I am now using Linus Torvald's latest kernel.  This will be Fedora 30 in November.   I would not recommend Fedora to most people.

The Death Row Debacle

I was taught in grade-school that when you are taking at test, and you encounter a problem that can not be quickly solved, then you must skip it and move on to the next problem.

Life is essentially a test.   We are all just one giant experiment, just like the dinosaurs and the Pre-Cambrian trilobites that came before them.   Some people woudld argue that it is all random while, others would firmly argue that it all has a predetermined final destiny.

I say we have all been bamboozled, but that is another story.

Any ways, this unique phenomena is not unique to Texas nor to the USA nor to the Western Hemisphere, and especially not unique to 2018 nor even last millenia of human history.

People who are not part of the power structure in a society, are not treated as fair as those who are part of the power structure.

This phenomena is not going to go away, and I would theorize that it is going to increase due to socio-economic trends in the Western Hemisphere.

Anyways, back to the test.      We as a society must skip this problem for now and move on to other problems that can be solved in 2019.    In the very near future robots will have a larger place in our society and Houstonians will eventually welcome with open-arms robot-businesses, self-driving cars, robot-police officers, crime-fighting drones, public online schools.   Poor people will have to compete in that society, more so than they do in our current system.