Can You Help a Brutha Out?

It's a New Category  :)

I am a proud man. Despite the circumstances of life that have, at times, beat me down, I have always been able to fight back and kick ass and take names. I can no longer do that so easily. The time has come for me to put my pride aside and do something that I never wanted nor expected to do. I am going to ask you, the reader, to consider making a donation to my PayPal Account. It's safe and secure and I use them myself and I don't take online security lightly. In my opinion, PayPal keeps your information safe and secure. I hope that allays any concerns you might have.

Here's the Deal: First off, let me tell you that I expect no sympathy nor do I ask for any. I am simply asking you to consider making a donation because I have worked  very hard to make my blogs better each day. True, my readership has grown by leaps and bounds, but that doesn't necessarily translate into any income for me. I understand that that's the way blogging is, so I am not blind nor ignorant to such facts. I do my blogs for fun but with the idea of making a little money, too. So far, I have readers in at 97 countries, but as of this point, no cash flow. Many small independent bloggers experience this type of situation, so what am I doing is not out of line, it's just humbling and embarrassing. However, I have to swallow my pride and present to you the facts about my current situation and you can make your decision.

Here's the Deal, Part II: If you've made it this far, thank you for sticking with me. My lifestyle has dramatically changed over the last year or so. I have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia and each has gotten progressively worse. I am able to walk (just barely), but I'm sure I'll need a wheelchair or something to get around very soon. It's hard for me dress myself and sometimes  my wife has to help me tie my shoes. Worse yet, soon I won't be able to walk a creek bank where Fish.Fear.Me. I can't play with my 4 year old little girl like a "normal" Daddy and that hurts me worse than anything. Hell, it hurts like a son of a bitch just to sit here and type this post. I go on, but I think you get the idea.

If your able to throw in a couple of bucks, just click on the PayPal Donate button in the right sidebar and you'll be prompted to so what needs to be done from there. Let me remind that I am simply asking for a little help, but if you wanna hit the Tip Jar with enough to buy a new bass boat, that's cool too. LOL

I am grateful for each one of you and whether or not you hit the Tip Jar will in no way affect my sincere appreciation for your continuing readership. Besides, I wouldn't know who donated what anyway.

Thank you for helping my dream of the TexNetMaine Blogging Empire getting closer, day by day, to becoming  player in the blogosphere. Without you, I would be an awful lonely voice way out there in the ether.


Thank you,
Toby, CEO and a Bunch of Other Letters That are Meant to Be Impressive, but I am simply The Head Dumbass of the TexNetMaine Blogging Empire

Texas Tidbits: A Magical Rock

You know when you're on a road trip and on the way to your destination, you see an interesting road sign or billboard that says something like : "Visit Podunk, Home of Podunkin Donuts"? I have seen a million of those signs and have always said, "Next time I come through here, I am gonna visit Podunk and have me some Podunkin Donuts". Inevitably, you go past the same sign months later and vow to visit Podunk for some Podunkin Donuts. But you never do. Then 35 years down the road, you still haven't visited Podunk for some Podunkin Donuts, but by now you are over 2000 miles away in a foreign land - like Maine. The next best thing to do at this point is to remind those who are near enough to Podunk, to visit Podunk and try some Podunkin Donuts. That is my task today. Except it isn't exactly Podunk I am talking about, it's Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. If you substitute "Enchanted Rock State Natural Area" for "Podunk" above, you'll see what I'm talking about here. I have passed signs that extol the virtues of ERSNA a gazillion times and have never followed them. I am a dumbass - a dumbass that sits over 2000 miles from Enchanted Rock, with little prospect of seeing it soon. Enchanted Rock is located near Fredericksburg in the Hill Country. ER is an outcrop of pink granite that sits in the center of a never-erupted volcano and rises 425 above the surrounding terrain and covers about 640 acres. That's a B.F.R. (big frakkin rock)! In the photo above, Enchanted Rock doesn't look that big , but look at this picture and you'll see the enormity of this magnificent monadnock. The Comanche, Apache and Tonkawa tribes that once inhabited the area around the rock believed it possessed mystical and magical powers. Today, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is a mecca for rock climbers and hikers from all over the place. Take a peek at this page of short videos to learn and see more of ERSNA. I could kick myself in the butt for not stopping at least once to absorb the majesty that the Indians of hundreds of years ago saw in Enchanted Rock. The next time you are headed down I-35 and see the sign that invites you to visit Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, do it! Don't pass it by or you could end up a never-have-seen-Enchanted-Rock dumbass like me.Or you could end up in Podunk and Podunkin Donuts will be closed. Damn the bad luck.