Way better than I deserve

This post is going to take math. Let’s see, 2025…carry the one…Got it. 

Forty-one years ago today I walked out of the Methodist Church married to this chick. Brains, freckles, dark curly hair, a nice rack (😎), a sweet smile, a great sense of humor, she had it all.  She still does. 

It was intentional on my part. I suspect she was under some psychological event. What was she thinking getting tied up with me? 

Anyway, here we are, four plus decades into it and she is still my best friend. Through thick and thin she has been there, the rock of the family. She puts up with my crap, my bad jokes, my rapid mood changes. 

It occurs to me for the millionth time that I am indeed a lucky man.

Htv hi urfhz

In lieu of intelligent, interesting , or witty repartee this morning, here is a picture of a hibiscus flower next to my patio. 

A wrong-headed policy

I think I’ll run for mayor of Mudsock. The property tax issue needs adjusted. For one thing, the poor minority neighborhoods need more services so we should shift the tax burden to those neighborhoods. 

Yes, that is racist as hell. Even typing it makes me ill. 

What is the difference when the mayoral candidate for New York City says  he wants to “shift the tax burden to richer and whiter neighborhoods.”?

Racism is wrong no matter what color of skin is being targeted. 

All I really needed

 

Friday music. You will listen and you will like it. 

I will be on it. 

Secret Fears

Today is confession day. 

I have this secret, irrational fear that occurs to me every day. It is unreasonable and, frankly, stupid. This phobia is certainly not debilitating. The notion occurs to me only briefly and I move on. 

Every time I go through the laundry room and open the door to the garage I fully expect a black snake to be coiled on the door mat. 

I know. I have no idea where this idea comes from. It has haunted me for years. The thing is, I’ve never…knock on wood…seen a snake here in my yard. Bunnies, chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, yes, so I would not be surprised one was slinking around in the flower beds.

What makes my mind fear one is waiting just outside my door? I don’t know, but I look down every time I go to the garage.  Crazy, right?

What secret fear hides in your heart?

When the sun beats down and melts the tar on the roof

 It’s hot. I suspect it is hot at your house too. I know why snd it has nothing to do with carbon or ozone or fossil fuels or global climate.

It is summer. It’s all about the tilt of the Earth and the sun. 

The grandgirls were simply astounded to learn I lived through summer heat without air conditioning as a kid. “Didn’t you get hot?” The oldest asked. 

Yes I did, but no one else I knew had air conditioning either. It just was summer. 

My brother and I slept outside in a tent a lot on the summer. 

We went to the public pool. We had fun and sweated and life was good. It was just summer. It was hot. 

So it goes.

Leave the Gun. Take the Cannolis

 I have stuff going on 

Here is a picture of a baby bunny on my patio. 

There is no reason to post it, but it is better than nothing, right?

Iran and Israel call for peace

 Looks like the war is over and peace — at least temporarily — will reign. Makes the panic and hand wringing a little silly. 

A few well placed bombs seem to have pacified the Iranians. 

At least until a democrat judge somewhere says  the peace is illegal because Trump.

Copied from a comment I left in a previous post.

One summer never ends, one summer never began

 

Get off your soapbox.

I don’t know if bombing Iran was the right thing. I suspect it was. Heck, we probably should have done it in 1979 and periodically in the intervening years. History will judge. 

I do know the hysteria over Trump not coming to Congress first and declaring war is pure partisan rhetoric and a lot of TDS. 

Nearly every president, starting with Washington, initiated military action without declaring war. Some of the same Congressmen now shouting foul had nothing to say when Clinton went into the Balkans and Obama bombed Libya. 

Give it a rest. Is anyone really on Iran’s side here?

Summer Read

In honor of summer my first novel, Suburban Moon, will be on sale this week. You can grab the e-book version for 67% off the list price. If you prefer to hold my words in your hand there is a paperback version too. 

Get yourself a cheap beach book for less than a dollar. 

You can get a free e-reader if you don’t have a Kindle.

My second novel, Hoosier Flats, will hopefully be done by fall. 

I’m making no promises though. 

Summer has arrived

It’s  going to be a long day. 

That’s a summer joke. You know, many hours of sunlight… Never mind. 

We are heading off to hang at a friend’s pool . Afterward we will go listen to some live music. Cigars, beer, laughs are all on the schedule. Some days it is good to be me. 

A little summery music

Slipped my Mind

 I cannot believe I missed Juneteenth. I suppose it slipped my mind since slavery was abolished in those states in a state of rebellion by the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863. Slavery was officially banned throughout the United States by the 13th Amendment, ratified December 6, 1865. 

Neither of those events happened in June. 

Hey, you celebrate as you see fit. It doesn’t bother me at all. 

Found SOTI

 

Could be my favorite meme ever. I don’t know where I found it.  If I stole it from you I wish I could give credit. 

I was defeated, you won the war

On this date in 1815 the Battle of Waterloo was fought. It was a close thing, the Coalition (You might as well say British) Army was hanging on by their fingernails through the massive French assaults. Luckily the Prussians finally arrived ( because Marshal Grouchy did nothing to slow them down) and the day ended with Napoleon in retreat and the Old Guard surrendering. 

Napoleon was pretty invested in the whole No Kings movement back in his day, right up until he made himself one. Leftists always seem to follow that path.

The hit ABBA song has nothing to do with the battle, but it is catchy, even if the lyrics are a bit insipid.

Just sayin’

 It may be legit, but the optics stink. Trump has raised tariffs on imported phones, hitting Apple particularly hard. Now his company is going into the phone business. 

If Biden did this the MAGA crowd would howl. 

Flashdance Flashback

The grandgirls had their big dance recital Saturday. They did great. That’s not what’s I want to write about.

Each spring the dance company recognizes the graduating seniors and each does a solo dance. Usually it is some kind of artistic modern affair with dramatic poses and rolling on the ground. Just once I would love to see one of the fine young ladies pop off a Flashdance finale. 

We all know it would be a show-stopper in a good way. 

Just in case you are not old and have no clue what I am talking about. 

Sunday Wishes

 Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there.

I miss you Dad.

It was back in the seventies

 

If there was a soundtrack to my youth, this song would be part of it. 

Dedicated to her

 

I don’t think we’ve listened to ELO here at the old blog. Until today.

More, more

 Keep on rioting. What little sympathy we had for the plight of so-called immigrants will dissipate like the smoke from burning cars fanned by the waving of Mexican flags. 

And those who support and encourage these riots, well you convinced me even more that you do not have American’s  best interests in your heart. 

For goodness sake 148 Congressional Democrats voted that they see no issue with non-citizens voting in Washington DC elections.

I don’t even have words. I cannot conceive of the logic behind this. 

Another legend is gone

 I just heard Brian Wilson has died. He was a true musical genius.

Deep Analysis

Time to lighten up  a bit. 

Here’s something I bet you didn’t know. When I was young I hated facial hair. 

Then it grew on me.

Semantics

Can we get something straight? If you entered the country without permission you are not a migrant, you are an illegal alien. You have absolutely no right to be here. And frankly, as far as I am concerned, you have no Constitutional protections beyond innocent until proven guilty. If you are not an American citizen and have no green card your only right is a humane and safe deportation. 

As for the splitting families argument, well criminals are split from their families every day. Does the court worry about the family of a convicted drunk driver? Nope, and you don’t either. 

If you are here illegally and now are rioting, all I can say is  so long, farewell.

Interference with an officer is a crime, resisting arrest is a crime, even if you use non-violent means. Assaulting a police officer is a felony. Harboring an illegal is a crime. I have no sympathy. And I hope the feds use every means possible to track you down and send you to prison just like they did the J6 rioters. 

BTW, you do know Trump has deported a fraction of the illegals sent packing by Obama, right? Is your anger over deportations or who is doing it? A little soul searching may be in order. 

Anarchy or the rule of law

 What he said

I read another blog this morning that wondered why ICE keeps going back to LA to “poke the bear”? Because the riots are anarchy. Because they are criminals. Because if you let it go then there is no rule of law. 

This same blogger remains outraged over January 6th. I could ask the same question— why not let them riot? 

Every single Democrat that sides with the protesters in LA shows they love votes and power more than their country. They hate Trump more than the rule of law. 

The fact the protesters are shouting in Spanish and waving foreign flags tells you all you need to know. If Mexico is so great head on back. 

Sunday Music on Monday

 

Irony, Hyperbole, or Ignorance?

 A rabid antisemite tries to burn a bunch of Jews alive and then his lawyer calls the US government Nazis. 

What a piece of shit who makes lawyers look worse, if possible. You cannot hate some lawyers enough. I would spit on that attorney if I ever met him.

Yeah, you will quote me

 I wanted to be a baker, but I didn’t think I could make enough dough.

I wish I had duck feet

 

 So I have a little fountain beside my patio. It is a pleasant water feature. 

Last evening after work I went to plop on the couch to watch me some Emergency! and I noticed a blur of yellow out the window. I suspected a gold finch was getting a drink from the upper barrel. 

I looked out the window and noticed the fountain wasn’t flowing. “Damn cottonwoods,” I muttered and slipped on some shoes to go clean out the pump. I reached in the water and noticed a dead bird floating against the pump. A stupid robin had somehow drowned itself. I grabbed some rubber gloves from the garage and pulled out the body and tossed it in the trash. 

I came back to start taking apart the fountain to clean it and there was a second bird floating under the first. Was this some kind of avian suicide cult? I pulled the gloves back on and fished out the second robin. As I took it from the water he feebly shook his wings. This one was alive. Barely. 

I sat him nearby on the mulch and he sat shivering taking little breaths but not moving. I cleaned and put the fountain back together. He sat there watching me, unmoving. 

I went in and scrubbed my hands and arms. 

About an hour later I glanced out the r window he still sat there. I went out and he turned his soggy head to look at me, but made no other move. I got my gloves and moved him over under a sugar maple tree to give him a little protection and comfort. 

After supper I went to roll the garbage bins to the curb. I checked and the stupid robin had moved a few feet . I looked at him and he hopped away. 

He may live, if his wings aren’t damaged. It started in raining in the overnight. I bet that bird is as sick of water as a non-duck can be. 

Drifting’ back to the eighties agsin

 

Now it’s stuck in your head too.

But man she was hot.

Morning ritual

I love my digital devices and screens. At a touch I can access the information of the world. But a little bit of me misses the morning newspaper. I would sip my coffee at the table and read from the spread out pages the news of the day - especially the local news. 

In the early 2010s the local paper became a shell of itself, filled with old news, typos and poorly written articles. At the same time my vision was slowly going to hell from undiagnosed Fuchs Dystrophy and we cancelled the paper since I couldn’t see the newsprint and no one else read it. Not long after we moved to Mudsock and a local paper was not an option and I didn’t care. 

What is the point? There is none. My mother encouraged me to read the morning paper starting when I was seven or eight and I continued for the next forty or fifty years. Some days I miss it. But my screen doesn’t leave ink stains on my fingers. 

Wait, What?

 If you were to hang with me, yesterday’s post is exactly my sense of humor.  Our conversation would be peppered with similar comments. 

I still remember my mom’s admonition when I was a teen and entering the world of dating. “Remember Joe,” she said, “Not e everyone gets your sense of humor.” She did, I got it from her. 

I had one boss in particular who did not get me at all, and would just give me a quizzical look as if he knew something was in jest but feared the joke was on him when he didn’t get it. 

Oh well, my wife still finds me funny and my family is used to my puns, dad jokes, sarcastic comments, and dry observations. Those who don’t? Well it sucks to be you. 

Helpful Advice

 I told my wife she should embrace her mistakes.

She did not get mad. 

She hugged me.

Let's play Twister, let's play Risk

 

This is stuck in my head this morning