tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66187663570712833512024-03-13T22:14:18.131-05:00Arguing with a fencepostit was either put my head in a bucket and holler real loud, or argue with a fencepost. i chose the latter.dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-46045242574924512572022-02-20T17:14:00.001-06:002022-03-09T11:52:20.125-06:00My Big BrotherI recently had the honor of speaking at my big brother's memorial service:Winnie & Sons- Whitney's Wedding I got married in December of 2020 and my new wife was crazy enough to let me plan the wedding and our travels afterward. I wanted her to meet my family and so we headed to Pampa to knock out several introductions in one trip. Janie was, of course, anxious about meeting everyone but dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-78975580336885496802020-04-12T17:12:00.000-05:002020-04-12T17:12:47.353-05:00Sunshowers
My street - Hartwood Dr.
I was in junior high, probably 7th grade, the first time I heard the phrase "the devil is beating his wife." I was on Bus #9, parked beside the tennis courts at Pampa High School, waiting for Delbert to drive us to our drop off on Farley Street. Farley was the last street on the southwest side of Pampa and all the kids from Farley and Christy and Dwight used to walk dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-42863108892576363702020-03-25T21:53:00.000-05:002020-03-26T07:03:18.557-05:00In Search of Comfort
Of an evening I like to find a comfortable chair with an easy reading light and sip a smidgen of bourbon, with a little ice, from a hefty glass while reading The Bible aloud to no one. Please understand that this says more about my humanity, my creatureliness, my search for comfort than it does about my righteousness. I make no claim to that. None. Even the act of reading is a selfish search dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-65600785442867788922020-01-01T17:32:00.000-06:002020-01-01T17:32:01.755-06:00Happy New Year!
New Year's Eve 2019 was spent with old friends that I haven't seen in quite some time. For many, many years we would gather at Brenda and David's house on New Year's Eve. Our kids would draw names and exchange gifts. We would watch whatever football game was on, eat, drink, talk, and tease. We would kiss our sweeties and toast when the ball dropped in New York City, 11PM our time. Sometimes we dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-14064763555660575532019-03-25T21:29:00.001-05:002019-03-25T22:15:38.747-05:00Roller Coaster
March 25, 2017
It's been one year since my love passed away. Fifteen months before that we learned the cancer had metastasized. Three months before that she had the last of her reconstruction surgery done, which took several surgeries over 14 months. Before that process started she had been in chemotherapy and radiation treatments for 8 months. That treatment started 6 weeks after the dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-63096652735264215362019-02-11T19:58:00.003-06:002019-02-11T19:59:31.175-06:00My Big Sister
Dear Whitney and Jessica,
It was an honor to be asked to speak at my sister, your mother's, memorial service. I'm posting my words from the service here, so that everyone knows the love and admiration I had for Jennifer. Your father Dan, but especially your mother, Jennifer, were huge influences in my life. Not only did they teach me ... they supported me, believed in me, trusted me.dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-35832893046887161752018-12-09T18:45:00.002-06:002018-12-09T18:46:30.523-06:00Patience and Peace
Thanksgiving in Edmond, 2018
I eat too fast. When I sit down at a meal with friends or family I'm nearly always the first to finish. When I eat by myself it's even worse. Once the food is in front of me it becomes my sole focus. If it's really good food I'm not distracted by conversation or manners, I just keep chewing. I know this about myself, but have only recently been concerned about it. dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-52497348186770244422018-09-08T11:30:00.001-05:002018-09-11T14:14:46.284-05:00Introduction / Contents
The Next Great Adventure: A True Story
Introduction / Contents
I think I know myself fairly well. I know, for instance, that I lean to the glass half empty side of perception, and that it often takes me a long time to collect data, think things through, and come to some sort of understanding. I know that writing not only forces me to organize my thoughts, but it also gives me an outlet for dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-76475176403041692352018-09-04T22:27:00.000-05:002018-09-05T09:26:52.901-05:00Saved
The Next Great Adventure: A True Story
Saved
Initially, the move to Sugar Land seemed to be just what we needed ... the next great adventure, a new start for a new chapter. When we learned the cancer had metastasized it took on a different feeling. Instead of an adventure, it was more like a winding down, a tidying up, a gathering of loose ends. I was struck by the symmetry of the course dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-71266117531877651452018-08-04T19:28:00.000-05:002018-09-03T10:53:23.498-05:00Sowing & Reaping
The Next Great Adventure: A True Story
Sowing & Reaping
Menu from Stampede 66
31st Anniversary Dinner
January 15, 2014, 31 years into it, we were poised for the next phase, the next adventure, and our conversations often drifted to retirement, to what's next, to the future. Cindy was well into her career at Oxy and many of her peers and mentors were actively planning retirement. She haddxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-87771224503646718222018-07-07T21:50:00.000-05:002018-07-07T22:20:13.133-05:00For Richer, For Poorer
The Next Great Adventure: A True Story
For Richer, For Poorer
Just before the wedding, in January of 1983, my friend and mentor, David Johnson, gave me some marriage advice that he said he was passing along from Jerry Hancock.
"There are three things you need to take care of in marriage - money, sex, & in-laws - not necessarily in that order."
When I shared that advice with Cindy she dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-80101128035865847102018-06-26T23:18:00.000-05:002019-09-24T10:39:56.075-05:00The Best Dog Ever
We got the dog because Kerry couldn't say no to a rescue. We got a poodle because Cindy had declared "The next dog will not shed!" We got a Standard Poodle because I don't do little, yippy dogs, and because Griffin would have been happy with any dog. Despite all those conditions, we some how wound up with the best dog ever, and I will forever be grateful for having him in our lives.
The dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-83095197792451065832018-06-19T20:23:00.003-05:002018-06-19T20:23:57.653-05:00Faith and Control
The Next Great Adventure: A True Story
Faith and Control
When Griffin moved up to a "big boy" bed, we bought bunk beds. As a kid, I loved having bunk beds. Cindy and I understood how great it is to have siblings, how much of an impact they have on you, and that an only child has unique difficulties to overcome ... mainly revolving around being the only non-parent in the house. One or more dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-79367697822151521462018-06-09T23:50:00.000-05:002018-06-10T14:13:23.599-05:00Things Change
The Next Great Adventure: A True Story
Things Change
Though there was a waterbed store near Parker Rd and Alma Dr in Plano in the 1990s, there's a good chance that Cindy and I were the last married couple in Collin County to ditch their water bed in 1996. I bought one when I moved to Atlanta in 1982 because they were cheap. We got a slightly better model when we moved into our house in dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-16725013514211305142018-05-22T00:54:00.000-05:002018-05-22T10:49:53.400-05:00Birthdays, Babies and Brides
The Next Great Adventure: A True Story
Birthdays, Babies and Brides
We moved to Plano, TX in 1992 and lived there until 2016, twenty-four years. We owned two different houses and 10 different vehicles, 3 of which are still in the fleet. Cindy worked for Oxy the entire time. I made a major career change and worked for eight different companies. We had one child, Griffin. We joined a churchdxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-21475601324082136402018-05-13T18:00:00.000-05:002018-05-13T18:00:35.675-05:00H-Town, Part One
The Next Great Adventure: A True Story
H-Town, Part One
My math could be wrong, maybe off by a year, but I think this is right. We lived in Victoria for seven years so that means we moved to Houston, Missouri City specifically, around June, 1991. Cindy's job was relocated to Houston, but in practical terms she was already working regularly at the Greenway Plaza offices near The Summitdxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-38066007029463950642018-04-30T20:47:00.000-05:002018-05-01T18:42:55.761-05:00Gone To Texas
The Next Great Adventure: A True Story
Gone To Texas!
Mom, me, Neil, Cindy, Jennifer
My annual performance review at Kraft in 1984 was nothing but good news, or so Harry, the Accounting Center Manager, informed me. I graded out as the top accounting center supervisor, I received the highest percentage raise possible (3%!), and if I went back to school to get an MBA I could be eligible fordxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-17767524972240303312018-04-22T22:28:00.000-05:002018-04-23T08:20:24.236-05:00Oh, Atlanta!
The Next Great Adventure: A True Story
Oh, Atlanta!
We were married on a Saturday night, and spent that night in a hotel we could afford in Denton, Texas. The next morning we drove to Rowlett, loaded a small U-Haul trailer with a few pieces of furniture, and various housewares and clothes, and hitched it the back of Cindy's Buick Regal. After lunch with her family, we headed to Atlanta. The dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-64101947408535330052018-04-20T13:20:00.000-05:002018-08-19T16:29:52.740-05:00Not Nearly EnoughThe following is what I wrote and read at Cindy's memorial service, April 7, 2018. It was not nearly enough; we always want more. It's hard to honor a life with words alone. These words are not a testament to anything but my desire to publicly honor my wife at her memorial. My hope is that our love and our life together was testimony enough.
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0pxdxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-6555943390564064142018-04-15T20:40:00.002-05:002018-04-15T20:40:25.538-05:00The In Between Time
The Next Great Adventure: A True Story
The In Between Time
Cindy at Fleetwood Mac - Sept 1982
The summer of 1982 was wonderfully confusing. I was making a real salary with a real company, but my responsibilities were vague and money was still tight. I had developed a new group of friends in Denton and Garland, but could feel my old Pampa friendships beginning to fray and dreaded losing themdxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-36338291223418995392018-04-03T17:12:00.000-05:002018-04-03T17:17:52.744-05:00An Interlude
The Next Great Adventure: A True Story
An Interlude
The months that followed my move to Atlanta in the summer of 1982 were filled with many things - a new job, a new city, a new apartment - but mostly they were filled with missing Cindy. Then, as now, I did a lot of thinking by writing. Unlike now, writing then required a pen and paper, and a postage stamp if you wanted someone else to read itdxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-3792125835815680342018-04-01T17:13:00.001-05:002018-04-01T17:13:16.583-05:00The Adventure Begins
The Next Great Adventure: A True Story
The Adventure Begins
Cindy and I met in June of 1981 when I went to work in the Southwest Regional Accounting Center for Kraft Foods in Garland, TX just after graduating from North Texas State University. She was an Accounts Payable clerk there. I was a shy kid and my boss, Quinn Hunter, decided that I was not interacting enough with the other dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-49430293426078169412018-03-28T22:58:00.001-05:002022-03-09T12:44:32.129-06:00X Marks the SpotI did not go to kindergarten, however, my older sisters, wise in the ways of elementary school, provided me all the preparation I needed to survive and thrive in first grade. I knew the alphabet and how to print my first name. I could count to one hundred. They taught me how to tie my shoes and my right hand from my left, and I also learned bonus insider information about which teachers were meandxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-8884227456095691732017-04-16T22:17:00.000-05:002018-09-03T14:51:16.146-05:00Burning Bush or Fever Dream?From time to time I mention my faith - my belief in the Triune God, my confidence in The Bible, the sense of purpose and fulfillment that I get from participating and worshiping at church. I mention my struggles as well - the doubt we all have, my distrust of man-made institutions, the conflicts between the spiritual and the secular. There is, however, one "faith thing" that I rarely mention, anddxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618766357071283351.post-89885475877165446812017-03-06T22:34:00.000-06:002017-03-06T22:50:34.058-06:00Brother Dan
He drove a black Volkswagen Beetle. Dad called it "one of those furrin' death traps." Mom said it worked out as she predicted; Jennifer would marry the first man she dated that was taller than her. I was a kid, recently turned 7 years old, and the first of my many brothers-in-law had come to town. He was there to marry my oldest sister, Jennifer, and I distinctly remember my first interaction dxturnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04162757658670588752noreply@blogger.com0