Mike Jones

Jim won't like this photo, but that's him on the right, practicing one of his numbers with the rest of us. Jim's a phenomenal lyricist and singer.

He called me this morning to let me know that he's been invited along with some others (none pictured here) to sing for President George Bush when he comes to Tucson soon.

The president will be helping raise funds for Tim Bee, who's running for congress.

Jim didn't say anything about tag-alongs, so I'll have to see what's going on on KVOA-TV, Channel 4.

We're pretty proud!

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender.

Think of me as your local expert.

photo copyright Mike in Tucson

This photo is the perfect example of that! This is GARBAGE! And it's wonderful!

I ran into an acquaintance who hasn't seen me for more than six months.

She looked sort of sorrowful as she asked "Oh. How have you been doing in this awful market? I know it must be a struggle. Everything I read is SO bad!"

"I am SO glad to be in the lending business right now!" I replied. "You know what they say about making lemonade if all you have is lemons? That's what it's like right now. And the lemonade that I have is selling. People must be real thirsty."

Every time I close a loan, people are happy. Agents, title officers, my appraiser, not to mention the buyer and the seller. I'm doing important work, and my clients appreciate it.

This roadrunner stands sentinel along a stretch of I-10 coming into Las Cruces, NM. He stands on the south side of the highway, facing east. I don't know how many times I've passed him in the last ten years, but two weeks ago, I decided to pull off the highway and photograph him.

I got the surprise of my life. What looks like a beautiful sculpture from the highway is a bunch of junk tied around a steel re-bar frame with chicken wire. It stands about 18 feet high.

It's garbage! Isn't it great? I know I'd like the sculptor. I'll bet he or she has not a negative bone in their body!

It's not what you have. It's what you DO with what you have. In this market, there's a big life lesson for every one of us in the real estate world.

Chin up!

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender.

Think of me as your local expert.

You're looking at history. The creekbed is solid limestone, a layer geologists call the Goodland layer. It runs through the GlenMar Ranch in Caddo, OK.

My Darlin' and I spent a day together, walking the creek, looking carefully at the limestone beneath our feet. It had just rained the night before, and the creek was flowing.

We were looking for a specific fossil, an ancient animal that lived under the sea. It's called an Ammonite. Most of them are two or three inches in diameter.

Bigger Ammonites existed, though. I've seen fossilized Ammonites the size of steering wheels at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in February.

They're right there, buried in the limestone. Sometimes all you'll see is a tiny ridged curve in the stone.

We each found one. We're driving back to Tucson with our prizes carefully wrapped. We've been converted to amateur paleontologists!

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, Arizona Mortgage Lender

Think of me as your local expert.

No one has written a history of the rock post. They anchor barbed wire fences on most of the ranches in southeastern Oklahoma. This post on your left is a typical rock post along Route 22 between Caddo & Kenefic.

The Colonel isn't a typical rancher. He's made his rock posts into works of art, as evidenced by this post on the right. It graces a fence corner near the house and barn.

Folks wondered for a long time if the dark rocks were painted. They're not.

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, Arizona Mortgage Lender

Think of me as your local expert.

Pastures in Southeastern Oklahoma are full of rocks. Ancient rocks, actually. There's one layer of rock called Kiamichi. Pieces of the layer are laying in the pasture there on your left.

Look closely, and you'll see fossilized oyster shells from way back when. The entire place used to be at the bottom of a sea.

That's the subject for another post, though. Snakes live under these rocks. Some of them are poisonous Copperheads. Others just look like Copperheads. This young corn snake is a look-alike. The similarity is designed to keep predators away from the snake. In this case, however, the similarity cost him his life.

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, Arizona Mortgage Lender

Think of me as your local expert.