Life
LIFE is what happens to you when you’re not looking. My life has been like a bumper-car banging into a bunch of other bumper-cars with aggressive drivers. There’s been work and school and preaching and writing and preaching and work and moving and traveling and well, a lot. None of it really makes any sense.
I grew up in the sixties. My family life deteriorated as things went along. My older sister got pregnant and had a “shotgun wedding.” My brother started drinking. By the early seventies they were both living elsewhere. My mom mostly quit on life. My younger sister and I were left to do our own thing.
I was the nerd in school, before nerds were cool. I caught hell for the stupidest things. By 1994 my life sucked badly. I quit school. Not long after that I signed up with the Air Force. I went to Basic in March of 1995. Trade school in April, assignment in October, discharted the next March.
I found the love of my life and got married in 1998. From there the story really goes wacky. I worked part time in radio and a few more assorted jobs. In ’81 we moved to Crane, Texas for a few months where I was program director at a Christian station… until the station sold and that ended. I came home and went to college. My initial major was Political Science. I wanted to run for Congress some day. Sure. I changed my major to history after I grew cynical from what I learned.
I transferred from Stephen F. Austin State University to Corpus Christi State University in ’85. Corpus Christi is a great place. Just a nicer place for my bumper car to bang around. I got involved in a church–of course–until it all blew up in my face. I went to college on and off until I graduated with a BA in History in 1989. I took a few graduate classes but could not afford to do what I wanted, get a Master’s degree and teach college.
We moved back to Lufkin in 1992. Work was scarce even with a degree so I went to Trucking School and off in a big truck in ’93. That was great until I broke my leg falling out of my truck. Ooops. Eventually I got a job as caseworker for the Department of Human Services. That went to shit. Went back on a truck. That went to shit too. We adopted some foster kids and I spent over a decade raising them up being a home parent.
In 2016 I had heart bypass surgery. A year later I went to work driving for Uber and Lyft in Houston. Two and a half years later Covid came along and I had to quit driving for a while. Except it turns out that I never went back because of a nice little nightmare I went through in a hellspittle called St. Luke’s Memorial. (Not covid.) Since then I’ve been on hold.
Many of the things I mentioned here will be written about in other sections of this website. In between these things and in conjunction with these things I explored all kinds of stuff and stuck my finger into a few strange places. I have eclectic interests. I love poetry, I love The Buddha, I am fascinated by the Moon. These are the things this section talks about.
I figured it’d be easier to divide this section into tabs. Take a look!
Happenings:
Back Days ~ The Short Version
When my kids were small, any time something about my childhood or our life before we became parents were mentioned, our kids called those days “Back Days.” So, this is a short version of my Back Days.
Growing Up Hubert
For the first eighteen years of my life I was Hubert James Gresham. Everybody called me Hubert. Then a red-headed airman who was a student with me decided I looked like a Teddy Bear. He and others started calling me that. By the time I made it to my regular base (Tinker AFB, Midwest City Oklahoma) I had fully adopted that name. Since then, only my family has and still does use that name. They and the “official people,” doctors, the VA, etc., where I have to use my official name. They may still call me by that name but Hubert died a very long time ago. Ted took his place.
KTRE RADIO, 1420 AM
Radio! Radio defined us all when I was a kid.
June 23, 1995
It’s a story you’ll hear more than once. One October night a girl came waltzing into the Pizza Parlor where I worked as assistant manager. She asked for a job. She was so beautiful I could not respond very well, just “ah, um, come back for an interview.” She did. We hired her. Of course! The next June we were married. At this writing June 23 is coming up. June 23, 2026, our 45th anniversary. Guess some things last, eh?
Hell hath no fury like an unaccountable hospital.
The worst thing that ever happened to me occurred in 2020. I was sent to a hospital for a minor ailment and wound up there three and a half months. I was not sick, except I had a little bit of a head cold. Somebody did something and caused me to stop reading and it went downhill from there. This is my story. click the image at left for the video.
The Buddha
I am a Buddhist. Before you get your shorts in a wad, don’t go thinking I believe Buddha is god. Buddha was a flesh and blood man just like all of us. Unlike most of us he was extremely loving, caring, determined and brilliant. He developed a philosophy that is the ultimate answer to humanity’s problems. Sadly, humanity doesn’t know it and people are too “attached.” Alas, I struggle with this too. I should specify that I follow Theravada Buddhism, There are no mystical elements to this sect.
Houston Buddhist Vihara
Some years ago I visited the Houston Buddhist Vihara. I was looking to expand my understanding of The Buddha and Buddhists in general and discovered The Vihara, a Therevadist retreat in South Houston. I visited there one morning when there was a celebration going on. Visitors from other temples were present, including several Monks.
I spent time talking with the Monks. It was a delightful and informative thing. One monk visiting from Port Arthur was exceptionally intriguing. He did not seem like an ordinary Monk and I found out why. He had been a Catholic Priest until he could no longer stay with a church he disagreed with. He migrated to Buddhism and became a Buddhist Priest. His was a fit ending to someone who had lost the pull of Christianity. Having had a similar background only in Protestant denominations, I admired him.
I attended a service in the Temple, a beautiful edifice with a magnificent Golden Buddha statue. It is important to understand the statuaries of The Buddha are not created for worship but for veneration. Some sects of Buddhism do follow a “mystic” Buddhist tradition but even their Buddhas are created for veneration. Houston Buddhist Vihara’s Buddha was beautiful. The service involved talks from the Monks and activities of the followers. It was very different from anything in a Christian church. It was delightful.
There was a man there like me, not someone who was part of the Vihara but there because he was delighted and intrigued. We talked and spent time together. I was happy not to be the only “interloper.” We were both much welcomed by everyone there.
At noon the Temple provided a meal, a feast really. I was invited and was happy to join with them. It was a delicious meal. Many of the people there were from Sri Lanca and were finding a bit of home at the Vihara. Manners were informal and the food was great.
I enjoyed the hours I spent at the Vihara and regret that I have never gone back. I should have. For many years I have been a loose soul, wandering around a world where I never felt at home. For a few hours on that day I must admit I had never felt more at home. Bless the Houston Buddhist Vihara, bless the members and monks, and bless The Buddha!
Visit the Facebook of The Houston Buddhist Vihara here.
In the mean time, check out these Buddhist resources
Poetry
I could be a poet and didn’t know it! Really I could. So, corny jokes aside, I have written a few poems and lots of song lyrics. Also, there is a great deal of joy for me to read beautiful poetry. I lean towards the traditional and traditional style but I’m not averse to any style. I also love Shakespeare. My wife and I have gone to a few “Shakespeare in the Park” presentations. Those were great. Hamlet is my ultimate favorite, with its absurd comedy, heart-rending grief, soulful sadness and ultimate tragedy. Other plays I know less well. It would be a great pleasure to strike up a conversation with visitors and discuss great poems or Shakespeare packages.
(This is true. When I was driving a truck for CX transportation one of the ways I kept myself entertained was to listen to audio on my cassette player. (remember those?) I had a tape of Shakespeare poems. What would all those people on the road thought of a big, tough truck driver listening to poetry?)
A lot of people say they find poetry boring or effeminate or some-such but the fact is that anyone who loves music with vocals appreciate poetry. Songs are simply poems put to music. In the ‘back days’ I was pretty good at writing song lyrics. I was not nearly as good developing a tune to go with them.
My favorite works are the classics, “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost and “There Are No Islands Anymore,” by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Millay is one of my great poets. Free-verse poetry does not excite me so much, but when it is real and authentic it’s nice. The important point for you is make sure the poem is original and unaltered. With AI producing poetry and lyrics by the boat load people could get swept up in the artificial and lose touch with the real.
Looking at the Big Wide World
Eventually I’ll drop some of my personal works on this page. I’ll have to dig some of them out of hiding and others, muse willing, I’ll write some more. Until then, here’s a peep at a few great sites where you can spend your time after you’ve browsed and read up on this site, of course.
I love the writing of Edgar Allan Poe! Here’s a link to his work: Poe’s Complete Works at Poemuseum.org