Calvin Luna Balli

Many of us share an appreciation that values the time and management of our flora. Our kind loves plants and everything to do with collecting them and of sharing garden information with others. Plants give us joy, so we start…

What time is it? It's plant swap time! 

My wife Eileen started a plant swap group 5 years ago in our area for people who love plants. It is for those who like to trade their plants in exchange for…

By Calvin Luna Balli 

October 19, 2021 

This might be a little long but please give a listen. It is a story of the time I lived in Killeen, an arid mid-Texas city halfway between Waco and Austin. I was…

The year 1964 was an important year for me since I was eleven and growing up quick. As an army brat who had already traveled very much in my short lifetime, I had experienced a vast variety of foods, cultures…

Upon my official retirement in 2012, I relaxed a bit too much and sat watching television then gained weight. After forty seven years of a professional career and paying my taxes (and still paying), I needed a break from the…

You never know who you'll meet at Luby's! 

My wife, Eileen and I volunteered for the 2019 Thanksgiving Day parade in downtown Houston handling a giant Dr. Seuss Lorax balloon. Since we had so much fun handling a NASA astronaut…

Camping in Texas in December can be a wonderful experience... 

Our Texas Ladybug teardrop camper was packed up and ready to go. My wife, Eileen had a couple of days off from work and told me that we should go…

Since the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing is upon us this year, these are my own experiences of where I was at during that incredible time.

During the early summer of 1964, the Balli family moved from the…

(NOTE: In honor of the Ken Burns Vietnam documentary on PBS,
I am writing this story from my own experiences during that time frame.)

I was a teenage army brat living in Fort Hood,Texas, which was at the time the…

I began my trip to Chaco Canyon in the fall of 1986 while working as an illustrator for an oilfield company. I drove my white 1984 Jeep Laredo from Houston to Amarillo, then along Route 66 to Albuquerque. Just before…