The elusive ebony lioness crouches motionless in the tall grass, the only sign of life being the occasional flick of the tail and the dilation of golden pupils as she watches her prey approach. Today's ritual sacrifice to the goddess of her raw hunger is a tawny antelope, unwittingly approaching her impending doom on gangly legs. A jackal and a desert fox wait in the distance for the outcome of what is sure to be…

Dad here; we were going to make our first attempt at letting Miss Sandy stay inside last night, but evidently no good deed goes unpunished. As usual, she hung out in the kitchen with the other inmates until bedtime, then everybody stampeded outside for one last gallivant before settling in for the evening. Then they all dutifully troop back in, ready to assume their self-assigned territories on the beds. Except Sandy and Ajax. Evidently, she…

Dad has been in Memphis for the last few days, undergoing some job training, doing some customer entertaining, etc... posh hotel a few blocks off of Beale St, fine food, fantastic company, you know, the "perks" of corporate life. His last event was supposed to be a dinner last night, then back to the room afterwards to return to the Casa this morning. When offered the option of leaving for home after the entertainment and…

Warning: excessive motorcycle jargon ahead, proceed at your own risk. Since Charlie and I returned from Colorado last month, it has been obvious that a change in bikes was needed. Our Suzuki DR650 enduro did fantastic, but is light, fairly tall, and has no forward protection from the elements. Charlie weighs 55#, and when you figure in all of our camping gear, that's like having another person on the back of the bike for 2000…

Dear Senorita Charlie; This letter is long overdue, but better late than never, eh? I am writing to thank you and the inmates of the Casa del Whackos for the kindness and guidance you showed my wandering son; he went by many names during his troubled years, El Zurdo, Bull Taco, El Guapo, but he will always be little Lupe' to me. He was a charming rogue created in the likeness of his papa, and…

Ajax here; since establishing residence at the Casa del Whackos, I have learned many things, the most important being the Wi-Fi password. So while mom and dad are at work, I'm busy on the Web assimilating tons of useless trivia; mom can't figure out how I can remember the deepest spot on earth(the Mariannas Trench) and who invented gunpowder(the Chinese), but can't seem to remember that the fireplace hearth is not my personal toilet. Another…