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Bill Watterson This is about as clear as I can find. All that wondering what should have been or shouldn't. No explanation of why it happens or where it comes from but there obviously isn't someone to "blame". Here is a puzzle: Identical twins growing up together have the same genes, family environments, and peer groups, but the correlations in their traits are only around 50 percent. Ergo, neither genes nor families nor peer groups, nor the interactions among these factors, can explain what makes them different. Researchers have hunted for other possible causes, such as sibling rivalry or differential treatment by parents, but none has panned out. As with Bob Dylan's Mister Jones, something is happening here but we don't know what it is. My own

I remember the smooth stones that surrounded the old well there in Oldfield. I sat on the concrete footing and sifted through the smooth creek stones that lay there. Once I found a completely flat stone. Maw told me it was a "mad stone". Something to be used in case of a dog bite. Somehow it was supposed to help if bitten by a rabid dog. Mamadesser was always worried about me playing near that old well. She must have imagined me falling through the old boards that made up the sides and falling down there to drown. Those afternoons back then felt like months. The summer days lasted so long to me. Sitting there on the cool cement playing in the cool earth was my world. Even the distance from the windlass to the cool water below seemed very far. I could stand down below the flower beds and gaze toward Bull Gap. Those hills were like a foreign land. Unreachable to my thinking. But I remember these days like that. Days before I learned to write or read or add or subtract. My whole

The boys came to Thanksgiving in Cullman. This year was a big turnout for the family. Nikki had to work but almost everyone else came. In the first picture we have Cooper, Colin, Jonathan, Cody, and Cade. Of course we have Paw Paw and Max and David.

Broken promises don't upset me. I just think, why did they believe me? Jack Handy Well, Sara didn't make it for the ride this morning. I don't know what happened*. Bev and I took the ride I intended to do. We didn't get to go as far as I would have liked. Whompus developed a problem. On a sharp incline I heard a noise and suddenly we lost a chain. The freewheel I bought from Nashbar broke . It froze up and wouldn't allow the rear wheel to turn freely. So we had to keep pedaling to keep the rear cog turning so we wouldn't jam the chain and have a wreck. Of course each ride we take is an adventure. We got in 60 minutes of riding. You could let yourself be disappointed, but the trees were especially beautiful out there today. I can't recall more beautiful c o l o r s ever ! With the overcast skies helped make the leaves even brighter. The drive from 148 back to Sylacauga was as good as the Blue Ridge Parkway last month. *Sara finally called her Mother. Seems

Sara called to tell me that Max took 2 steps from Grammy to her and then again from her to Nikki. These little milestones are precious. At first they take a few halting steps, then they walk, then they get into everything. Next thing you know they are grown up. It slips by so quickly. By Thanksgiving we should have the boy toddling all around Maw-Maw's.

This past week we took the boys to Cullman. While there we rode the tandem around the farm and trails there. They were overgrown and it wasn't easy riding. Even Max got into it. We did a couple of rides down to the Old House. While riding David, we saw an Armadillo. We chased it around the field. Next time maybe we can ride up in the Bankhead National Forest. Here is a photo with Max riding in the bike trailer.

Paul and I walked about 3 miles of the Pinhoti this morning. He had his Nikon digital camera along. I asked him to snap a couple of photos because the red of the Sourwood trees was so pretty.

Sara and I rode the New Rocky Mount Road today. The woods have turned on the Autumn colors for us. Today the REDS were especially pretty. Some of the Sourwood trees were are red as fire. We got started a little later this morning and with the combination of Central Standard Time, we avoided the early morning chill. The little old tandem isn't shifting as sweet as I would like. It may be time to invest in a better dérailleur. We were able to explore down some of the side roads even though the pine straw had built up making traction a little worse. Sara pedaled strongly through most of the ride. On the way back, we rolled out and hit 25 mph on some flat stretches. Sara had fun and so did I. This has to become a weekly event. There were a couple of climbs that weren't as much fun for her. We had to push hard to get up them and her muscles started to burn. It gets better as she rides more.