Did You Hear About Our Dog?

Last November Archie Brown and his family rescued a beautiful yellow Lab from a local shelter,and named him Buccanneer. The vet determined that Buc was between 10 months and a year old and in very good health.

Their two grandsons, who live in our home, love the dog. They play with him every day, and do a pretty good job of being responsible for his welfare, at least as well as can be expected of a 5 and a 6 year old. They feed and water Buc and even scoop the poop without complaint.

Buc is smart, he learned simple commands very quickly. He is gentle with the boys, loves to wrestle and fetch and run. It is a true joy to see the boys lay on the ground in the sun, with Buc as a pillow. Buc seems like a normal Lab, he chews everything left in his reach, he digs in places we'd rather he did not.

The one thing Archie can't figure out is why Buc squats to pee in stead of hiking his leg and marking his space. Does anyone have an idea why? Will the other dogs think he is a sissy and make fun of him? Does Archie need to be concerned about his becoming a cross-dresser?

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Did You Hear About Beauty & The Beast On Broadway?

Archie and his wife had enjoyed the Disney animated film "Beauty and the Beast". It had become sort of a running joke that it was descriptive of us, she is a beauty and he---. When Disney decided to create a Broadway musical out of the story, they were excited to learn that they would open the show in Houston before taking it to Broadway. They bought tickets to the first ever performance and were blown away by it. It was a wonderful evening.


They were in D.C. the day of the 9/11 attacks, on a family vacation. On their way home they saw an appeal by the shows on Broadway not to let the terrorist win. They determined that the shows must go on and plead for folks to attend. Our 35th anniversary was coming up the next March, and Arch determined he would surprise his bride with a weekend in New York and a night at the play.


In October of 01 Archie Brown had already made travel arrangements, hotel arrangements and bought tickets on the 5th row center to see Beauty & the Beast on Broadway. But he kept it a secret through the Christmas season.


In January of 02, Disney released the film in IMAX form and it had a run in Houston. They made plans to see it, his wife and Arch and thier kids, their kids, his wife's mom and one of his wife's friends from work. They did not make reservations, and when they got to the theater, it was sold out. They left, and as they were leaving the parking lot, Archie's wife was telling everyone how she had really hoped to see it, and how fun it had been to see the Broadway version. Archie asked her if she would like to see again, and she said yes. So Arch reached in his coat pocket and pulled out our tickets for March in New York. She squealed like a little girl.

Archie had pulled off the surprise and become a prince!

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Did You Hear About Spring Break Plans?

Archie Brown is looking forward to the week of spring break next week. He and the two grandsons that live with him are making all kinds of plans to have some fun. They will go to a park, and go to ride a ferry from Galveston to Bolivar and back, they may fly a kite and see a movie. It should be a lot of fun. He is praying for enough stamina to do all the kids need and want to do!

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Did You Hear About My Wife's Mom?

Archie and Ronda went to see her mom this afternoon. It is a week since Ronda's step dad passed away unexpectedly. Her mom is not eating and drinking as she should. She has a little cough that is worrysome. It may be time to consider having her mom move in with Archie and Ronda or into assisted living.

Not Fun!

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Did You Hear About Our Quiet Evening?

Archie and Ronda Brown love to have a quiet evening at home with nothing better to do than sit and watch an episode of Law and Order. The episode tonight is even one of they have seen before, but they don't care. All they wanted was not to have to think or move. It was a nice evening.

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Did You Hear About Our Building Project?

Because of the numerical growth of the congregation where Archie and Ronda Brown worship, there is a construction project going on. The auditorium is expanding from 450 seats to nearly 900. The Education wing and offices are being expanded and the parking lot is growing. It will be nice when it is finished, but for now it is a pain!

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Did You Hear About Our Church?

Archie and Ronda Brown have been attending the congregation for over 18 years and have watched it grow from 200 to 400 members. It is a loving and active congregation that teaches from the Bible with clarity and compassion and people there are dedicated to the sharing of the Word of God.

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Did You Hear About The Island of the Blue Dolphin?

Archie Brown was given a copy of the book, The Island Of The Blue Dolphins for Christmas. It was a gift from his granddaughter. Archie enjoyed the read, it is a story of a young female stranded on an island, something of a young Robinson Crusoe. Archie was astonished to find out in the author's note at the back of the book that the book is based on a true story!

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Did You Hear About Spring In The Air?

The Arizona Ash trees are putting on the leaves and the area is turning green. This week the azaleas have burst into bloom, really brightening the gardens, and the spirits of guys like Archie Brown, who love spring and warm weather. It won't be long till it is summer time and sweat will be dripping from his nose. It is a beginning.

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Did You Hear About Walter Reed Army Hospital?

Archie Brown was never in the military service, but he grew up in a time when patriotism was the order of the day. The debacle at Walter Reed Army Hospital has outraged him and everyone he knows. Fortunately the one's in charge have lost their jobs and remedies are going to be made to the facility and the care given to our wounded troops should improve. It is a disgrace they should never have had to endure!

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Did You Hear About Our Cruise Plans?

Archie and Ronda Brown are within three weeks of their fortieth anniversary. They have booked a cruise to Cozumel, leaving from Galveston, Texas. Arch took Ronda shopping last week to get a few things that will come in handy on the trip. They both are getting anxious for the trip. They still are excited about each other and their time together!

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Did You Hear About My Long Sunday?

Archie Brown had a long day today. He went to services, both Sunday School and worship services, then to a fellowship meal. Afterward he met with a new arrival in the city. The man wants to learn to speak Englih more fluently. Next came the preparation meeting for a trip to the Caribbean, followed by evening worship. He finally got home at about nine o'clock. He was tired!

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Did You Hear About Prices Going Down After You Bought?

Archie Brown was in charge of finding and buy the airline tickets for a church group to go to the Caribbean this summer. He was very excited when he was able to find the fares were lower than they had been in several years, so he quickly bought the tickets for all of the group who were already committed to go. He was very proud of himself.

But a day or two later, a few more decided to join the group. When Archie priced their tickets, he found that they had dropped by $30 each ticket! And the next day when one more was added, it was $25 less than the day before!

The early bird sure got the worm on this one!

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Did You Hear About The Astros' L Train?

Archie Brwon has been an Astros' fan for a long time and has really enjoyed the era of the Kiler B's. Centered around Biggio and Bagwell, and lately Berkman, there have been an array of players with B for and initial.

This year there has been a move to L. Carlos Lee, Jason Lane, Mark Loreta, Luke Scott, and Lance Berkman. Archie thinks maybe it is time for him to get on the L train!

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Did You Hear About Charlie's Funeral?

Archie and Ronda Brown went to the funeral for Charlie B. today. The words said were very nice, several times they laughed at some memory brought up by the minister. Often there were tears at the recall of some poignant memory of the importance Charlie had been to one or the other family member. There were three letters of tribute read, two from grand daughters one from a great grandson. All three were very sweet.

I think Charlie's wife, Marcie, was encouraged and comforted.

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Did You Hear About The Erroll Le Vant Blog?

Archie Brown has heard that one of the current ways to improve the value of a blog site is to create links from one blog to another. There are a few bloggers Archie began blogging with who have decided to spend a little time building a network of links between their sites. They want to all improve our page ranking with Google, which is one indicator of visibility of a particualr blog.

Here is a link to still one other of the bloggers. Erroll Le Vant's Blog

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Did You Hear About Charlie & Marcie?

Charlie passed away, leaving everyone in the Archie Brown home sad. Charlie was Archie's father in law. Ronda loved Charlie because he had been so good to her mom. Charlie and Marcie had been married for thirty five years, after each had been hurt by a previous mate. They really had a wonderful life together, in large part because Charlie was such a kind man. He will be missed!

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