Thru a glass darkly...or whatever...

“Old age is when your classmates are so gray ‘n wrinkled ‘n bald they don’t recognize you.” Bennet Cerf

It ain’t that I really need to wear glasses, y’understand...it’s only if I want to ackshully see whatever it is that I’m lookin’ at...even if it’s only my reflection in the mirror...Actually, when it’s my own reflection, ‘specially if I happen t’be lost in the moment (so to speak) I don’t look all that bad...I c’n almost see the person I use’ta be...well, until I put the glasses back on ‘n wonder fleetingly, what the hell happened t’me ‘n when did I get so old?

I’ll tell’ya, modern technology ain’t the be-all ‘n end-all that so many of the younger generations think it is...I understand that it’s ‘hip’ or ‘cool’ or the absolute ‘new’ thing, whatever phraseology happens t’be current...Heck! Maybe ‘current’ is the word to use...I don’t know...I’m old ‘n don’t really care but I c’n tell you that science as a religion is not just dumb but basic dumb, sort’a Dumb 101...’n people who put their faith in science are people who have lost the way ‘n that’s just sad...

When a man (or woman, f’r that matter) tells me that they are Atheist, well, I c’n respect that...up until they begin spouting scientific nonsense to back up their statement about there not being a God...

‘n that’s when they lose me altogether...

Y’see, you simply can’t replace God with science no matter how you try...

Which is all mere nattering, y’know... what I wuz talkin’ about is looking into a mirror ‘n seein’ who I use’ta be as opposed to who I am t’day...like going to a class reunion ‘n wondering who the heck are all these people that got old while I stayed the same...

“True terror is to wake up one morning ‘n discover that your high school class is running the country.” Kurt Vonnegut

"A clear conscience is gen'elly the sign of a bad mem'ry."

Random tho’ts in idle moments ‘n idle tho’ts in random moments...sometimes it’s really hard to tell the difference...sort’a like the weather in a transition season...of course, all seasons are transitory, that being the nature of things...time ‘n tide wait for no man...seasons come ‘n go ‘n mankind...well, humankind as a nod to womanhood, really has nothing to say about it. We just think we do...

As humans, we tend to think a lot, almost entirely about ourselves...when we think about the world around us, it’s always how it relates to us...we’re a very narcissistic lot, we humans...the world (our world, the only one we have) revolves around us...Our reality is all that we have ‘n we tend to question that in many ‘n sundry ways...

How did we get here? Where did we come from? What is the purpose of life? Is there a God?

We are cast in the image of God, they tell us.....the ‘they’ being those who have gone before...

Or did we invent God? Is God cast in our image? And if there is no God, why isn’t there? There ought’a be a God!

We’ve been talking to God for a long time, we humans, in our conceit.

All the billions of people that came before the billions that are here now talked to God.

And all the billions that are to come will talk to God. Even the atheists among us that deny the very existence of God spend an inordinate amount of time and effort in that denial.

Agnostics fret over the possibility that there is no God. Or maybe, there is. It is an age-old conundrum, an unprovable riddle that keeps us awake at night.....

Well, something keeps us awake at night and pondering deep thoughts is more socially acceptable than computer Solitaire.....or for that matter, pondering what may or may not be socially acceptable.

I once had a teacher whose name I have long since forgot though I can picture him in my mind. The picture I have in my mind may or may not be accurate...memories get twisted over the years, bent by innumerable stories, movies and television shows.

I recall a tall, angular, narrow-shouldered, dark visaged man in his early 30’s. A man of effete mannerisms who fairly dripped disdain as he lectured what he probably saw as a parade of intellectually inferior Neanderthalians.

We viewed each other from diametrically opposed positions thus quite possibly clouding each others judgments, although it’s not only possible but highly probable that I’m the only one who misjudged the whole experience.

Age is a wondrous thing, allowing as it does, the opportunity to look back over your life and guage the depth of your early ignorance by comparing it to the infinite vastness of a horizonless ocean of ignorance in which we swim.

So my idle ‘n random tho’ts have meandered on for almost 500 words, give or take, ‘n if you’ve read all this, you really need to get a grip....

”Say goodnight, Gracie” Geo. Burns

Just one of those Satidaze...

“It’s best to read the weather forecast before praying for rain.” Mark Twain

The squirrels’re teasing Rocky ‘n Bulwinkel this morning...well, not really Rocky ‘n Bulwinkel...they’re teasing Willie ‘n he want’s to go outside ‘n play with ‘em ‘n Rusty dudn’t want to be left behind...if anything’s happening, the Ol Poodle Dogger wants t’be there too... otherwise, he don’t give a Tinkers Darn about squirrels...or most of the chickens for that matter...he only gets interested when Willie gets excited ‘n Willie c’n get excited about a leaf blowing in the wind sumtimes...

We been getting fog in the mornings but it’s been burning off about the time I struggle out of bed but not this morning...Carl Sandburg wrote about the Windy City that the ‘fog creeps in on little cat’s feet, sits silently on its haunches, ‘n then moves on.”....maybe in the Windy City but not in the great central valley of California...at least, not always...sumtimes it stays ‘n stays ‘n stays like an unwelcome guest that don’t know when to leave the party...I only say that becuz I’ve had that kind of guest ‘n I’ve also been that kind of guest...but that wuz long ago ‘n far away in another time ‘n dimension...

I wuz just thinkin’ that bad weather always looks worse thru a window but it makes the coffee taste better...

TGIF!!!!!!!....

Ahhhh, you just gotta love the sound of leafblowers in the mornin’...

A bright ‘n sunny day after Turkey day...

me ‘n da boyz went strolling ‘round ‘n about the village...just a handful of turistas, mostly locals at the deli enjoying their whatevers...couple people in Plaza Park feeding the chickens but we avoided them altogether by ambling down the sidewalk ‘n looking at the Christmas decorations already in the windows...the big tree in the Park has their ‘Christmas’ lights up ‘n lighting up the nite sky...I saw‘em from my front porch last nite...I’m pretty sure that means I’ll have to hang my outside lights pretty soon (like this weekend I imagine)...Millyrose is already talking about ‘The Tree’ ‘n how it’s time to put it up...I expect I’ll have to get ‘round to that this weekend also...it’s plain t’see that it’s gonna be a ‘round tuit weekend’ what with Christmas lights, Christmas tree, soggy leaves on the ground that need my attention no matter how I personally feel about the whole thing...

On the p’litical side of things, Newt Gingrich evidently shocked the entire political spectrum during the last Republican debate when he advocated a type of amnesty for some of the illegal aliens residing in the USA...His opponents condemned the idea, the Democrats condemned the idea, the pundits condemned the idea...I think Newt is really onto something here...if Congress would just issue a writ of condemnation here, I’d be positive that Newt is the prob’ly the only person that is qualified to be the next President...’course, if being qualified to be President were a qualification, then we wudn’t have the guy we got now...that’s an oxymoron, right?

The first Presidential election that I ever voted in (I think) was in 1960 but it may have been in 1956...I wuz eligible to vote in ‘56 ‘n I may well have done so but if I did, I voted in ignorance ‘n don’t recall who it might have been that I voted for altho’ it must have been a Democrat cuz I know I didn’t vote for ol ‘Ike’ cuz I didn’t like him ‘n besides he wuz a durn republican ‘n I wuz born a democrat...took me years to grow out of being a democrat but I finally did it tho’ I disremember just exactly when it wuz...

which kind’a brings the whole thing into perspective which is that politics ain’t the be-all ‘n end-all...Heckfire! I’ve seen barroom fistfights that made a lot more sense even tho’ the people doing the fighting cudn’t remember the next day what it wuz they wuz fighting about...

“Nothing is more terrible than t’see ignorance in action.” Goethe

"Don't worry about avoiding temptation ~ as you grow older, it starts avoiding you." Anon

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey be plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!” Anon

A rainy turkey day here in Ol Fair Oaks Village...not a stormy rain, mind you, just a steady dripping thing...y’could say a perfect rain for another cup of coffee kind of Thanksgiving day...I haven’t had ‘The Big Parade’ on yet, not really my thing, just sumthin’ that I only normally watch when someone else is watching also...

Anyways, the bird is in the oven (sorry ‘bout that Mr Bird)...The Bee (snoozier than usual) is read ‘n I’ve drank up my 3 mugs of coffee...da boyz keep lookin’ out the window but when they get outside, they look at the rain ‘n don’t want t’get off the porch...they just come back inside ‘n plop down ‘n sleep...you’d almost think they’d already had their Thanksgiving dinner...

Hope ever’body enjoys this day but please don’t bust a gut...Happy Thanksgiving

"Tofu or not tofu..."

“Those Autumn leaves of red ‘n gold...”

A gorjuss day here in Ol Fair Oaks,..sun streaming thru high, thin clouds, temp in the hi 60s...did my half-hour in the pool easy-peasy as Whoopi sez...

Sum daze tho’...I swear that sumtimes I think the only thing getting old beats is the alternative...I’m in the fourth year of my last five year plan...next year I’ll have to take into consideration the next five years...

Anyways ‘salmost ‘Turkey Day’...I picked up ‘the bird’ t’day, one ‘a them broadbreasted etcetera etcetera ‘fresh’ thingy that has only been a little bit frozen...I dunno, I think it’s all about marketing...I mean, the riverbank is alive with really fresh turkeys but the ‘peta’ influence is alive ‘n well here in sunny California ‘n if you mention (even jokingly) the possibility of serving a fresh wild turkey on Thanksgiving, you get disapproving looks ‘specially from...well, actually exclusively from, the women...it’s like they can’t draw a line from that naked frozen carcass in the supermarket to that lumbering wild turkey parading thru the backyards ‘n parks of Fair Oaks...’n it ain’t just here, it’s all over the country...my good buddy E.V. McGuire of Greenup, Ky has a flock of wild turkeys living on his hilltop homestead...I told him he wudn’t have to look far for his holiday bird but he just sighed ‘n sed, “My grandkids’ud have a fit if I wuz to hurt one ‘a them birds.”

Ah well, Happy Thanksgiving anyways....

”Tofu or not tofu....” Sid Joelson

The Chicken Whisperer....

“Fate tried to conceal him by naming him Smith.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

Now, of course, it wudn’t me that came up with the name of Chicken Whisperer...

Millyrose told the story of our neighbor who loves the chickens to our son who is sojourning in Saudi Arabia for the winter ‘n he came up with the appellation, which is just another name for nickname...which I right away appropriated ‘n will use as I see fit since I can...

Back a few months or maybe a little longer, we had a young(er) friend of ours do some painting for us...He hates chickens so he definitely cudn’t be a chicken whisperer...he p’ticklarly hated this big old white rooster that wuz hanging around the homestead...now, the white rooster wuz ackshully hiding out here cuz he’d got his butt kicked bigtime by this ferocious red fighting rooster that I nicknamed Badman Jose (after an old song)..

Well, our young(er) friend’ud get all frusterated ‘n go outside ‘n chase the big old white rooster which tickled my funnybone sumwhat ‘n I nicknamed the white rooster MacFail which teed off our young(er) friend so much he stopped speaking to me ‘n only communicated with me thru Millyrose...(life gets so complicated with those artistic types)...

Back in those long-ago daze of my youth, people had nick-names ‘n they came from all kinds of places, sum of ‘em a little on the dark side but the thing about nicknames is that all of ‘em pretty much are temporary...they c’n be affectionate or mean-spirited or anything in between...

Some of ‘em, like my good buddy, ‘Pig’ Phillips who acquired his nickname from his Uncle Bob while he ‘uz still a baby ‘n has hung on to the appellation his whole entire life tho’ I’m quite sure that he wud have been just as happy if it had never happened...I think that’s prob’ly true of most Juniors in this world also...

‘Cept maybe down south where the more common form of Junior is Sonny or Buddy ‘n seems to stick with a body their whole livelong life...

“You ain’t allowed t’give y’rself a nickname; this’s true in life as well as in poker.”

I think it's gonna rain....

“One can find so many pains when the rain is falling.” ~ John Steinbeck

Got da boyz ready for the holidaze... washed ‘n trimmed ‘n just in time, it seems, cuz the weather appears to be changing...cool front moving in...overcast, rain ‘n snow in the forecast...well, snow way up in the Sierra anyways...there’ll be chain controls ‘n local nooze guyz’ll be runnin’ up to Blue Canyon to stand in the slush ‘n such ‘n try to top each others comments...’n of course, the obligatory gridlocked traffic as hundreds of curious flatlanders rush t’see if they c’n get stuck on the mountain...

A couple years ago, a carload full of valley-gurl types spun out ‘n had t’be rescued...seems they had a front wheel drive automocar ‘n they put the chains on the rear wheels (sighhhh)...ain’t that farfetched a thing t’do ‘n you wudn’t even have t’be a valleygurl type t’do it...

I’ve never done that but I most certainly have done things equally as dumb ‘n maybe even dumber but I don’t intend to dwell on ‘em...if age does nuthin’ else for you, it teaches you to keep your mouth shut when it comes to dumb things that you might or might not have done in those halycon daze gone by...

“I’uz just thinkin’ that the best thing t’do when it rains is to let it rain.”

“If you wake up in the morning wond’ring if your earthly mission is finished...It ain’t!”

Early morning quiet....well, except for the durn roosters calling out the sun...when I went outside for the snooze-nooze I c’d hear the traffic noise from Sunrise (sounds like rushing water ‘cept for the odd siren or kiddiebike)...

Has a lot t’do with age, I s’poze... leastways ev’ry old person I ever knew complained that they woke up early cuz they just cudn’t sleep anymore...then they all took nap(s) ev’erday ‘n went t’bed early (with the durn chickens)...

Dunno why chickens go t’roost as early as they do...tradition, maybe...or could be they know that chicken-loving predators come out at dusk ‘n treetops are safer places t’be than scratching around in the dirt...or maybe the just have poor eyesight...lack of night vision, p’haps...lots of old people have problems with night vision so if you see any of us old people driving after dark, you’d be advised to give us a wide berth lest we offend thee...’course, lots of us old people have similar problems in the daytime as well so it’d prob’ly be a good idea to give us a wide berth then also...

Old people c’n be querulous ‘n quarrelsome ‘n curmudgeonly...we drive slower for a variety of reasons but mainly cuz we pretty much know about our final destination ‘n we ain’t in any hurry t’get there ‘n that thing about going into another room ‘n forgetting what it wuz that we went in there for also applies when we’re driving...sumtimes we been known to forget that we’re driving (‘course, this don’t apply to your parents or grandparents cuz the exception to ev’ry rule applies)...

Anyways, we get up early cuz we can’t sleep ‘n we take naps cuz we can’t stay awake ‘n we go to bed early cuz the durn chickens do or teevee is boring ‘n it’s too hard to read at night or maybe we’re just being peevish...

Peevish is another good word that applies to old farts...means easily irritated ‘n that makes us seem churlish ‘n curmudgeonly when the truth is we just got up too darn early ‘n need a nap...

“I have a simple philosphy; fill what’s empty, empty what’s full ‘n scratch where it itches...”

Hazy daze of November....

.

“There wuz some things he stretched a bit but mainly he told the truth.” Mark Twain

Well, I ain’t writ anything a’tall for a coupla daze now cuz truth be told, there ain’t been much of nuthin’ going on here in Ol Fair Oaks...I think mainly it’s becuz of the weather, y’see...it being November ‘n all, we been having cold nites (well, cold to old Fair Oakians anyway the temp falling into the 40’s at nite)...the daze are nice, sunny with a few clouds floating by on their way to the mountains...cool enuff to wear a shirt over my tee shirt whilst pretending t’do yard work...

I guess the most excitement wuz when one of my neighbors, reknown for her being an outspoken chicken-lover (she feeds ‘em, she talks to ‘em ‘n even maintains a running census of ‘em) called the County Animal Controll people cuz another neighbor (a new one) when she wuz moving in, her dog got out ‘n went after a chicken in my south forty...can’t blame a dog too awful much for chasing a chicken that puts up a racket ‘n runs...anyways, I heard the noise ‘n looked out a back window in time t’see the chase...the bird wuz screaming ‘n durn near flying ‘n the dog (a fine looking Chow) wuz right behind her (or him, I cudn’t tell, they wuz moving fast)

out the yard ‘n up the hill they went ‘til the chicken turned into driveway that leads to Gene Hall’s old place, Gene Hall having gone t’meet his maker, y’see)...

That wuz a mistake on the birds part cuz there’s a big ol iron gate there ‘n it wuz closed...

Now normally that closed gate ain’t a problem for the chickens that routinely use that passage for reasons of their own but it became a major problem for the fleeing fowl on this p’ticklar date cuz it slowed him (or her) down ‘n that Chow wuz right there...end of chicken...

And since it happened almost on the chicken-loving ladies doorstep, so t’ speak, natchelly she got upset ‘n called the Sacramento County Animal Control who prob’ly informed her that the colorful chickens of Fair Oaks are considered ‘feral’ ‘n therefore unprotected by government rules ‘n regulations ‘n there simply wudn’t anything that c’d be done about it ‘cept of course if she wanted to make a complaint about a dog running unrestrained which nowadaze is again the law ‘n they c’d come out on that issue ‘n have a talk with the owner...’n so they did!

“I wake up most mornin’s torn between a desire to improve the world ‘n a desire to just kick back ‘n enjoy it. It makes it difficult to plan the day.”

“One of the best things about getting old is that all those things that you cudn’t have when you were young, you don’t want anymore.”

My brand-new pair of Old West Goatropers that I just got from Sheplers in Wichita, KS were made in India...’n in the same box wuz a brochure for an American Buffalo wallet with a genuine American Buffalo nickel for only $59.95 plus shipping...I dunno but maybe this puts a ‘hole ‘nother spin on the Cowboys ‘n Indians thing...

Now, I don’t want’a be misunderstood here...they’re pretty okay boots for the price ‘n ever'thing ‘cuz all I wanted wuz a pair of knockaround boots...but I ain’t sure that I wud’a bought ‘em if I had known they were made in India...not that I have anything against stuff from India ‘cept maybe every cotton shirt I’ve bought that wuz made in India shrunk so much that I gave ‘em away after the 2nd washing...’course, that wuz clearly my own durn fault for ignoring the ‘once burned, twice shy’ rule...

A lot of people are upset over the fact that everything they buy from Walmart seems t’have been made in China but you’d think that with all the publicity about that issue that the only surprise’ud be if you wuz to find sumthin’ in Walmart that wuz made in the USA...

When I wuz a boy, all the cheap stuff wuz made in Japan...’course, that wuz after WWII, ‘n the Japanese were tryin’ really hard t’get back on their feet after the two A-bombs being dropped on ‘em...

I recall when I wuz over there that there wuz a story going ‘round about a Japanese town that changed it’s name to Usa so they could tag their goods “Made in USA’...dunno how true it wuz but it made for a good story at the time...

Now, of course, Japan has radically improved the quality of their goods ‘n the pricing reflects that...

I expect the same thing’ll happen with Chinese goods unless we really are in the ‘final daze’ ‘n we’re all going to rapture...not quite sure what that rapture thing is but, at my age, if it don’t happen in the near future, I’ll prob’ly miss it...

“The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.”

It’s a funny thing but whether or not you believe in God, Heaven ‘n Hell, life in the hereafter or whatever, it still has a major effect on human behavior....

Changing Times....

The computer ‘n the internet are wondrous things...at least for those of us who have only the most basic understanding of ‘em...I wuz born in the age of steam...steamboats that plied the rivers, steamships that sailed the seven seas, steam engines that pulled the trains...’course, by the time that I arrived the steam age wuz ‘most over...

it got extended a little bit during the war years when most of the petroleum went into the war effort but after the war, the steamboats disappeared ‘n wuz replaced by diesel powered boats...the giant steam locomotives disappeared ‘n wuz replaced by sleek new diesel engines...’n the rockets that we’d heard about signalled the coming of the jet planes...’course, there never wuz any steam powered aeroplanes anyway...no matter, what it wuz, wuz times a-changing...

“The only thing constant is change.” That’s a truism ‘n there ain’t a lot of them...the times are forever changing ‘n that’s the only point I wuz making in this long-winded approach to what I started out to say....Thanks to the computer ‘n the Internet, I read my hometown paper ‘most every day...well, at least the obits anyway...kind’a hard to express the feeling that you get when you read the obits ‘n find a name out of your past...someone you knew...someone you were friends with in that long ago time...Paul Bradley wuz that name in the Portsmouth Times t’day...Paul wuz a high school friend...he ‘n his brother, Elbert...

Paul wuz the same age as me tho’ he wuz a year behind me in school ‘n Elbert wuz his younger brother...Paul wuz dark ‘n Elbert was durn near blond enuff that he wuz almost an albino...both of ‘em married their high school sweethearts ‘n both marriages ended in divorce tho’ it’s a given that when you’re young, it’s impossible to see that rocky road that lies ahead of all of us...I didn’t see much or even hear much of Paul ‘n Elbert over the years...I went back home in the late ‘80s ‘n run into Paul at Druthers Restaurant in South Shore...we didn’t know each other but since I wuz there with someone that Paul saw on a regular basis, he came ‘n sat down with us ‘n we re-introduced ourselves...I hadn’t been in South Shore in over 20 years at the time ‘n Paul asked me where I’d been...”California” I replied. “Well,” he said, “I knew I hadn’t seen you around for awhile.”

Well, I remember Paul ‘n Ruthie ‘n Elbert ‘n Berniece ‘n in my mem’ries, they’re still young ‘n happy...kind’a funny how memory does that to a body.

“Gaily I lived as ease ‘n nature taught,

And spent my little life without a tho’t,

And am amazed that Death, that tyrant grim,

Should think of me, who never tho’t of him.” Rene Francois Regnier

“A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” Mark Twain

So we (Millyrose ‘n me) are shopping at the dollar store in O’vale for packing tape...

I’m wand’ring the aisles, gandering here ‘n there ‘n I meet an old boy holding a sign that sez, “Alabama, at least we’re not Mississippi” ‘n he’s cracking up over it...come to find out he owns a home in Somerset, Ky ‘n one in Orangevale...sez he needs t’sell the one in O’vale cuz his ‘only responsible’ daughter lives in Somerset ‘n his wife wants to live back there... I told him I tho’t Kentucky wuz a little too cold in the wintertime but otherwise those were two very good reasons...

He told me it wuz 2500 miles door to door from O’vale to Somerset ‘n he had a Dodge truck that got 12 miles to the gallon ‘n I should never buy a Dodge cuz the Dodge dealer in Somerset lied to him...I opined (always wanted t’use that word) that I’d prob’ly never buy one from the Dodge dealer in Somerset, Ky...

Then he asked me what I tho’t he should do investment-wise cuz he had some CD’s coming due ‘n he wudn’t get much of a return on his investment...

I resisted the urge to comment on the wisdom of choosing an investment counselor that he’d met shopping in a 99 cent store ‘n merely stated that at our age, green bananas could be considered a long-term investment...

“It’s always a silly thing to give advice, but to give good advice is absolutely fatal.” Mark Twain

Seems t’me that the denial of Creationism is pretty good proof of the lack of Evolution in the denier!

So, I found m’self listening to a conversation that I didn’t want’a hear...

I wudn’t eavesdropping, she wuz just that loud ‘ n there wuz no place for me to get away from it...

It wudn’t so much of a conversation as it wuz a rant....now I ain’t one for being against ranting as I’ve been known to rant m’ownself from time to time but I’ve heard this p’ticklar rant too many times...”SECOND-HAND SMOKE KILLS!” ‘n she said it very loudly...But, she wuz wrong ‘n I am so very tired of people repeating ‘n repeating a lie...Saying it over ‘n over never did turn a lie into the truth ‘n the truth is that 2nd hand smoke don’t kill, that’s a crock...well, maybe if a body gets so upset that someone has the temerity to ackshully smoke in their percieved vicinity ‘n that body gets so upset about it that they ackshully have a heart attack ‘n ackshully fall down dead, well, maybe in that respect, y’cud say that 2nd hand smoke kills...but on the upside, y’know that silver lining thing comes into play ‘n it ‘ud be taking that person out of the gene pool ‘n that’d prob’ly be a good thing....

‘N speaking of ranters....that noted ranter, Jesse Ventura’s in the nooze again....you remember Jesse Ventura...

he was a champeen ranter during his ‘rasslin’ daze...his ranting got him elected Governor of Minnehaha (‘n some say got him un-elected also)...he ranted here ‘n he ranted there ‘n now he’s taking his rant ‘n moving to Mexico to get away from the ‘FACIST USA’ where he vows to never ever stand for the national anthem ever again...

"I didn't say it wuz your fault, I said I wuz blaming you."

“The older I get, the more I distrust the doctrine that age brings wisdom.”

T’is a Friday but it feels a lot like a Satiday...what with leafblowers blowing, chain saws sawing, lawnmowers mowing...

the neighborhood is a busy place t’day...

m’next door neighbor’s in a sweat t’get his place ready for the new tenant...he’s running almost a week behind schedule (his timetable, I’d guess longer)...he’s got people working inside, people working outside...digging holes, building fences ‘n Gawd alone knows what all is going on inside...

On t’other side of me, AT&T has two workers with a chainsaw ‘n a pickup truck...don’t hurt my feelin’s none at all, just wish I c’ud afford to hire some of these guys...I feel pretty wimpy out there with my ‘lectric leafblower ‘n ‘lectric lawnmower...I ain’t claimin’ to be using electric power ‘cuz it’s better for the environment, it’s just easier for me...I hate yanking on those durn starter cords...

For all the cur’us out there, Millyrose is home from her stay in the hospital ‘n seems t’be none the worse for wear since she’s out ‘n about gallivanting with sister Francisca whilst I elected t’stay home ‘n play at doing some yard work...

This weekend is the time change weekend..it having been postponed for the sake of the Halloweening children (so they say)...I dunno, I’m thinking maybe Daylight Savings Time has outlived it’s purpose...I think it wuz either during or after World War I but it goes back a lot farther...at least as far back as that old pot-stirrer Ben Franklin who proposed DST ‘way back when...sumtimes I think, old Ben had an awful lot to account for when he went to meet his maker....

Anyways, it’s November ‘n the weather is changing...breezy with a hint of moisture on the air...more leaves falling which means more leaves to rake...when I wuz a boy in Beattyville, people (the ones who bothered to rake their leaves) burned them...’course, Autumn back there has a tang in the air, they’ve prob’ly had their first frost already...I expect it’s already snowed in the mountains of West Virginia ‘n anybody who ain’t already prepared for winter is...well, just late is all....

"As far as being late is concerned, I always blame it on Daylight Savings Time..."

“There’ll be a load of compromisin’

on the road to my horizon...” Rhinestone Cowboy

Ah, the neighborhood....

Times change, y’know, but not that much...back in those halycon daze of the ‘40’s, specially after WWII, the village of Beattyville wuz basically what they call t’day, a bedroom community...

‘course, back then, most women, not all of ‘em but most, were stay at home moms so Beattyville had a daytime population of women, kids ‘n a handful of old people ‘cuz all the men worked for the most part, ‘cross the river in Ohio...

One of the innarestin’ aspects of life in a small town is that ever’one knows ever’one else ‘n ever’one else’ bizness...

It’s a good thing when trouble strikes ‘cuz they all come out to help...but, when things are running smoothly, there’s always someone to stir the pot ‘cuz an idle mind is the Devil’s workshop ‘n gossip in a small community is nuthin’ if not rampant...’n compromise is essential anytime people get t’gether.....

T’day....well, it’s been relatively quiet for awhile here in Ol Fair Oaks ‘n I guess it’s kind’a like that little valve on a teapot, the one that whistles when it’s gettin’ ready to boil...anyways, it wudn’t really surprisin’ that a Sac County Sherrif’s deputy showed up on our rustic little byway...well, not surprisin’ t’me anyways...

It’s a small street, only a short block ‘n only got about a dozen residents if you don’t count the Mexican family across the street who hold themselves aloof from the rest of us...not sure why, but there’s about a dozen of them, mostly kids ‘n half a dozen dogs, give or take...

Anyways, two of the resident women on our little street had struck up a friendship over the pet chickens that people have been dropping off to fend for themselves here in Ol Fair Oaks..

They seemed to have bonded over saving chickens, at least for a spell but now, for whatever reason, seem to be at odds with one another...not exactly sure why...not really my bizness...but now one of ‘em is feeding the chickens up ‘n down the street ‘n t’other one ain’t...

It’s my personal opinion that if nobody fed the chickens ‘n cats we’d have a lot fewer of ‘em hanging out here but as far as the vicissitudes of life goes, that’s pretty small stuff....

Anyways, one wants to save ‘em all ‘n t’other one wants ‘em to go away...that seems t’be the crux of the matter...

‘n the one that wants to save ‘em evidently spread her bounty too close to the little corner of the world that t’other calls home, so t’other one called the Sherrif to come do sumthin’ about it...

Well, y’know, it ain’t like Sacramento county got tons of funds ‘n we’re a little short on law enforcment (so I’m told) but nonetheless we got a visit from John Law, a pleasant enuff young man whose job appears to be as arbiter between the differing views of the chicken ladies of Crestline Avenue...

Back in the day in Beattyville, we didn’t have nobody to act as arbiter, heck, we hardly ever saw any representatives of Greenup county except when it got close to election time ‘n they come to spread a little gravel ‘n ask for votes... but sumhow all the village quarrels got compromised one way or another anyhow...

“A smart person knows what t’say; a wise person knows whether or not to say it ~ I don’t think I ever got the hang of that.”