Message of the Week - April 25

It is the last week of the month--I can't believe how fast the time is going. I think we may have had our last cool front--It seems everytime I see the news/weather it will be hot and humid for the next seven days. Oh, to have air conditioning again. At least the maintenance office has air conditioning and a fan.

My parents are planning to visit sometime in May. Along with paying me a visit they will spend some time visiting Maxwell, Matthew and Maddie. Matthew and Maddie will be turning 10 on May 17. I wonder what they will be doing for their birthday.

I finished two books this week. Silent Witness by Richard North Patterson was the first book with his character Tony Lord. The storyline showed how he and Stacy Tarrant got together. The other book I finished was The Woods by Harlan Coben. It too was very good. It wasn't the usual Myron Bolitar novel. However the main character, Cope, was a good read.

Tonight I started a new Daniel Silva book called Death in Vienna. It has his usual character Gabriel Allen, and so far it is taking place in Vienna.

I saw a recipe for a Straberry Crumb Cake in the April Food & Wine magazine. It looked real good. I wrote the recipe down in my journal so if anyone wants it let me know!
editorial note: it might be this recipe: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/warm-strawberry-crumb-cake

That's all for this week. Please pass the address around as I look forward to receiving any kind of mail.

Thanks all!

Tom

Ways to Communicate

I spoke with a blog follower today who asked a question about blog comments. She asked if it was possible to post a comment that would not be posted to the blog but which would be forwarded to Tom. The answer is yes, and here's how it works.

If you post a comment and begin it with "For Tom only" I will not post the comment for everyone to read, but I will print it and send it along to him when I send the other blog comments. Because I am moderating the comments before they are posted, I have the ability to keep your communication private, or at least semi-private, since there's no way I can avoid seeing it. Your secrets are safe with the ghostwriter, though.

Another post from Tom should be up by Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Letter From Tom: April 18, 2009

Hey--
I hope everyone had a nice Easter! Mine was good. We got to feast on "one" fabulous rib.

The week went by quickly. They hired someone to take my place in Maintenance, so I've spent the last couple of weeks training him. This way they will have someone in place when I leave. I don't have as much to do now. It seems I have more time to read.

Speaking of reading, I just finished The Messenger by Daniel Silva; The Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke and Outside Man by Richard North Patterson. The Messenger was really good--a very quick read. While I enjoyed The Carrot Cake Murder, I really liked the recipes that are included in the book. I look forward to reading one of her other six mystery books because the recipes sound so good.

In the food section of the Houston Chronicle (Don gets it & gives me the Wednesday food section from both that paper and the Victoria Advocate) there was an article about using fried eggs on the top of various dishes. Lately I've seen this in Bon Appetit and Food and Wine magazines. But the Houston Chronicle has a photo of three fried eggs on top of a sausage & pepperoni pizza. They say the creaminess of the egg combined with the cheese is fantastic. I can't wait to try this on top of a Gio's pizza. Someday!

We went to the commissary this week and that is always something to look forward to. I had a pint of Moolenium Crunch - Blue Bell. OH, so good.

Last night I made my version of "Frito Pie" (OK, Mike from San Antonio made it). Recently I've been craving chili, especially since the commissary has been out of "Chili No Beans" for the past two months. I'm glad it is finally back in stock. I also tasted some enchiladas that Bryan from New Orleans made. He makes them with rice and they were quite good. It is amazing what you can come up with using just hot water to cook and make things warm.

I'm going to end with a "Rhyme" written by my neighbor SWAT. He is from Houston and has been a part of the recording industry prior to me meeting him here. SWAT stands for the area of Houston he is from but his real name is Jesse Brown BKA (better known as)

Going through dis struggle bein' true to da game

My family also hurtin' by da choices I made

It took some time to overstand

Yeah, it's been a waste

Days turn to years

Still watchin' em fade

Can't blame no one else for bein' lost in my ways.

Been learned to live with regrets

In control I remain

NOT. Into. Games. Gotta. Advance. Strong

Doin' my thang

Hard

Prayin to God

Hopin' dis change come soon

Similar to a theater near you

It's notta film fool

You might assume right

dis is Treu life

with many consequences to your actions true right

Presume life is a lesson that you're not taught but always tested

Show and prove which dis essence comin' from

When these gates open wider than a female mouth

I'm comin' on.

J-Styles

B.K.A. SWAT

MySpace.com/chozzenfew

Until next time--

Tom

From the blog ghostwriter (moderator)

Hi, Friends of Tom,
I'm glad you've discovered the blog and have begun to comment. You'll grow to love this communication tool, I'm sure. There are a few little things to know, just in case you're not an experienced blogger.
I have enabled comment moderation, which means that your comments won't be posted until after I've reviewed them. While I know that no Friend of Tom would ever say anything inappropriate, the blogosphere is wide open, and anyone can view this blog and make comments right now. That's why there may be a delay between leaving your comments and when they are posted. I'll try to be vigilant about posting your comments with twelve hours of your posting.
If you have any photo files you'd like for me to post here, please email them to me at twickett@gmail.com.

Happy Easter from Tom - April 12, 2009

With the help of Traci, we are going to attempt to post this (a message) once a week or so and see how it goes. Bear with me during this process as it will be a "work in progress."

Unfortunately, I am going to be gone a little while longer. Although Arnold and Bobby tried, I was set off for another year. I will go through the process again in December. As we get closer I'll enlist your help to write letters of support and then to make phone calls. Arnold spoke with a Mr. Morales who didn't seem to budge. We'll hope and pray for next year.

I am coming up on two years (so much for four months!). Oh, well! And my time here at Lopez will be coming to an end. In the next month or so I will be leaving here and will be sent to another facility. I'm hoping the change and the move will help the long, hot summer go by a little more quickly than if I would have stayed here. We'll see.

Hopefully by putting this on the internet I will be able to reach more people (as I still haven't gotten used to writing letters) and will save on postage. Also the reverse will be true for those who don't like to write letters, get a stamp and mail a letter. A simple stroke on the keyboard can get me a message.

Wish me luck and I'll wait to see how this goes. I hope blogging will make the next year go by quickly.

Take care and thanks!

Tom

Welcome to my blog

I hatched this idea today while visiting with my friend Traci who will serve as my ghostwriter and translator. The idea is that I can write a letter of general interest, send it to Traci and she will post it here to share with all of you.

I hope you will enjoy the blog and that you will comment frequently. Traci will compile the comments every week and send them to me, so if you've always wished I had email this will be the next best thing. There is a rumor that I might have email within the next few months, but who knows whether or not that's a reliable rumor. :)

Watch for more news soon.