"Blue Moon of Kentucky, keep on shinin'...."

God or the universe (for the secularists among you) has provided all that man needs or will ever need; neither God nor science has the capability to provide all that man wants!

Well, here t'is a Blue Moon Friday 'n cooler weather is upon us…ain't that a kick? They say there ain't gonna be another one 'til 2015…'course, the moon don't really take on a blue color, it's just that people call it that….y'know, once in a blue moon kind'a thing…signifies the rarity of two full moons in one month…well, heck!  it's sumthin' other than politics to talk about anyway…

 Labor Day signifies the end of summer 'n darned if the weather don't co-operate by cooling off almost enuff to switch into long pants 'n on our evening walk, I almost wish's….nah! not yet….

We got a big ol black 'n white rooster 'cross the street that thinks he's the Cock o' the walk…the Chicken Wrangler gives him a lot of special attention 'n he's getting a little aggressive, enuff so that one of my neighbors has taken to carrying a stick on her walks…

he don't mess with me 'n da boy howsumever 'cause I'd let Willie at him…they're about the same size but if he don't take to the air, Willie's liable to get hisself a mouthful of tail feathers…That'd be an Eastwood day for him….

On a slightly p'litical side note, I liked Old Clint's improv…he's been taking some heat from the liberal media over it…anywhere from old 'n slightly demented to scripted Republican ploy that failed….

After listening to the pontification of a whole gang of over-blown p'litical know-it-all's, I'd just like to say that for all of Mr. Eastwood's success, he seems to have retained a sense of where he came from 'n his common-sense remarks hit pretty close to home..at least, that's how I understood it….

'n on a final note, I don't think Sandra Fluke'll come even close to the once upon a time Rowdy Yates…..

Sunday dinner at Grandma's house....

I got accused t'other day of 'too many p'litical rants' so this's the only thing I'm going to say about politics t'day….

"Alexander Hamilton started the U.S.Treasury with nothing -  'n that's the closest our country has ever been to being even."  Will Rogers

When I wuz a boy, we almost always went to Grandma's for Sunday dinner….I'm not sure when they bought the log house on Calvert Lane in Nauvoo (West Portsmouth) altho' I'm pretty sure that's where brother John wuz born…I know they lived there when I wuz eight years old cuz for awhile, we lived right across the street from 'em….'n then we moved to Beattyville 'n I started in Third Grade…

It wuz a small house with, I think, two bedrooms altho' I could be mistaken…but I recall the dining room 'n Sunday dinners on a big round table…for the adults, of course….there wuz a smaller table, a 'Kid's Table'….I don't remember just how old I wuz when I got to move to the adult table…

It wuz a 'tradition' and it continued after we made the move to California 'cept now it wuz my parents 'n the family all went to Granny's for Sunday dinner…

We don't do that any more!

Well, it wuz a lot of work 'n times have changed…"We live in changing times" is a phrase that pops up now 'n  then, quite often accompanied with a profound nod as tho' it only happens now 'n then…I think there's a magazine somewhere called 'Changing Times' 'n I know there's an 'Antique' store in Ol Fair Oaks by that name…Heck!  There may be hundreds of 'Antique' stores across the country (maybe the world) by that name…

I do miss the family dinners although I don't think I'm up for all the effort that would be required…I don't think they'll make a comeback in my lifetime…well, at least not in my family…I'm sure that it's a continuing tradition in some families...

God or the universe (for the secularists among you) has provided all that man needs or will ever need; neither God nor science has the capability to provide all that man wants!  

Cheers for an August moon.....

The sun was shining on the sea,

Shining with all his might:

He did his very best to make

The billows smooth and bright--And this was odd, because it was

The middle of the night. Chas. Dodgson

Three-quarter moon in a bright blue NorCal sky….but da boyz didn't seem t'care at all….

A quiet eve in Ol Fair Oaks…y' can't get away from the p'litical nooze 'n I just found another reason to vote for Romney…seems he 'n I have the same affinity for Costco tee-shirts…as a reformed, once't upon a time Democrat, I s'pect that's a valid reason for casting a vote for Ol Mitt….

An apology (of sorts)....

"A round man cannot be expected to fit into a square hole right away.  He must have time to modify his shape."  

Mark Twain

Todd Akin is a misogynistic asshole.  And his public statements further define himself as at least a borderline idiot.  

That said, defining his statements as some kind of Republican tenet is unwarranted and unconscionable and simply demonstrates the bigotry ('n I wuz gonna say Democrats) when it dawned on me that I wuz being guilty of the same darn thing…so, I'm gonna take a moment to apologize to my Democrat friends (at least, I hope they're still my friends)…

Y'see, at one time, I wuz a Democrat…'n I wuz proud of being a Democrat…I use'ta say, "I wuz born a Democrat in a Democrat county in a Democrat State (Ky) 'n I fully expected to live out my life as a Democrat."  

But then, the 'Progressive Democrat' entered from Stage Left 'n the Democrat Party 'n me began to drift apart…I didn't pay a lot of attention at first 'cuz like most working Americans, I wuz just too darn busy with staying employed 'n paying bills 'n raising a family 'n then I raised my head 'n looked around 'n realized that the world wuz evidently passing me by 'n that most of the people that I'd been voting for had (to steal an old phrase) 'sold me down the river'….

Anyways, after a great deal of thought, in the late '90's, I re-registered as a Republican so's I could vote for McCain in the California primary…'n I been a Republican ever' since…

Now, my good buddy 'Pig' Phillips wuz profoundly disgusted to find out that I had become a Republican 'n even went so far as to denounce me to his Mother as an Atheist…

'Course, at the time, Pig wuz agonizing over the fact that, as a Democrat, he might be forced to vote for a woman but that's another story…..

Anyway, Todd Akins misogynistic view of women is no more representative of the Republican party than it is of the male gender entirely.  And while males as a whole may at times appear to be knuckle-dragging Neanderthals whose primary function is to take out the garbage, we do have a purpose in this life (even if we have trouble expressing it)….

Detente or not detente...

"Was you ever bit by a dead bee?"  Eddie (Walter Brennan) To Have 'n Have not

Normally, I like to take a 'live 'n let live' attitude toward life….if I were a practicing Buddhist, why I wudn't even kill a fly but I ain't a Buddhist, practicing or otherwise, 'n I'll kill a fly in a heartbeat if it chances to bother me….of course, if it don't bother me, why I'm quite content to share my world with it…'n with other assorted critters 'n I try not t'be judgmental about it….BUT when ants invade my kitchen, they gotta go 'n if they won't (or can't) listen to reason, I'll break out the bombs 'n do a Hiroshima on 'em…AND when it comes to yellowjackets 'n wasps, I'd prefer not to do battle with 'em but when they get so territorial that they attack me (mostly their stings don't hurt all that much but the little beggar t'other nite…) anyway, the little beggar got me in the foot 'n I spent the evening with my foot propped up 'n an ice bag on it…that necessitated a trip to Lowe's 'n the purchase of some heavy duty spray that guaranteed to eliminate hornets, wasps, 'n yellowjackets 'n other flying insects too numerous to name….Anyways, I want to take this opportunity to apologize to Buddha 'n to suggest that if he has any influence over these critters, he should at least negotiate a 'Mexican standoff' kind of detonated where we could all live 'n let live…….

"She will promise you more

than the Garden of Eden,

Then she'll carelessly cut you

And laugh while you're bleeding."

Billy Joel

While our Governor Moonbeam is fond of saying that everything happens first in California, he just may be overlooking Greece 'n the teetering countries of Europe…I don't know if Jerry is aware of the fact that while those countries may actually go bankrupt, California doesn't have that option…Individual Californians can go bankrupt, California towns 'n cities can go bankrupt but the State of California cannot seek protection under the bankruptcy laws…like Stella, we may have to depend on 'the kindness of strangers'….in this case, the rest of the USA….ah well, hopes 'n dreams…..

Now Jerry says the people of California  just gotta vote to raise taxes on themselves 'cause the Legislature, as wonderful as those folks are, can't do it all 'n the State needs more money to pay for all those wonderful new programs that will enrich the lives of the citizens of California…(am I overusing the word wonderful?)

Y'know, all those wonderful programs that will eventually pay their own way…like Jerry's legacy high-speed rail that will just absolutely replace jet planes 'n automobiles that require so much (ugh) fossil fuel to operate 'n highways that are in constant need of upkeep 'n repair 'n just eat up tax money that could be better spent on…..well, whatever the Legislature wants to spend tax money on…maybe, welfare programs for illegals that the State needs for all those 'green' jobs that are going to replace all those nasty manufacturing jobs that enslave people 'n make  them dependent on that weekly paycheck to buy stuff like…oh , I dunno…food 'n housing 'n unimportant stuff like that….anybody that would actually want a job like that should go to Texas or Alabama or someplace that doesn't have the protection of a union….'n speaking of unions, every Californian that wants to give part of their paycheck to a union should vote a resounding NO on Proposition 32….on that proverbial other hand, howsumever, if you believe that unions are part of the problem, a YES vote is a good way of telling them to keep their hands out of your pocket….

Anyway, Jerry says that we need more tax money or else we'll have to cut funding for Calfornia schools and condemn our children to a lifetime of ignorance and limited opportunities…why, they might have to (gasp) leave paradise 'n go live 'n work in one of those unenlightened Right to Work states like Texas or Alabama or Ohio or one of those less than wonderful States that lie between the oceans… 

“

I've learned a lot about women. I think I've learned exactly how the fall of man occured in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, and Adam said one day, "Wow, Eve, here we are, at one with nature, at one with God, we'll never age, we'll never die, and all our dreams come true the instant that we have them." And Eve said, "Yeah... it's just not enough is it?"

"Roosters crow just before the sun rises.

Therefore, roosters crowing cause the sun to rise."

an example of 'Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (after this, therefore because of this)

Turned the bedroom air down to 72o 'n slept like a…I wuz gonna say 'baby' but you know that's a lie…the only time someone my age sleeps like a baby is when they got a healthy dose of drugs in their belly…but I slept pretty well last nite…Rusty got me up only once to remind me that we're both old 'n need to pee…he's a good old dogger but I didn't want to wake up at that p'ticklar time..at least, I tho't I didn't, turns out, I did….walked outside, the sky wuz clear 'n there wuz just the slightest hint of a breeze…not enough to be called a Delta Breeze (which 'ud be nice) but still, a Who is a Who no matter how small…

Both dogs have been out, they've been fed 'n watered 'n my coffee is ready….oh, 'n I'm quite happy with the Romney/Ryan Express, thank you 'n have a good day!

"Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get."  Mark Twain

"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it."  Mark Twain or maybe Will Rogers, possibly both 'n now, me!

It's a quiet village…

as the heat settles upon us here in Ol Fair Oaks….well, we were having a good run as far as summer heat goes…only a few triple-digit days so far this year but now (shrug) it's s'pozed t'be our turn to burn….

I'm gonna take a 'wait 'n see' attitude to the 'hole thing….the last couple summers we only had a few dayz of classic Sackamenna summer….thanks to the El Nino or the La Nina, I never c'n remember which one is responsible…

This heat wave, the first of the season apparently, according to the weather guys anyway, is supposed to stick around for a week, give or take….that can't hold a candle to what's been happening back in the States (east of the Rockies)….some of those people back there, the lucky ones with a/c, got some horrendous 'lectric bills 'cause they've been running their a/c day 'n nite for over a month…..

When I wuz a boy (back in those halcyon daze of yore) we had heard of air-conditioning but few of us had actually experienced such a thing….some people had electric fans but most made do with the little hand-held cardboard fans…(churches would stock them in the pews with the songbooks)…people would sit outside in the evening shade, fanning 'n gossiping about whatever the daily doing's had been…

I had a Ford convertible when we first came to California 'n I put the top down in February 'n left it down until June when it got so hot I had to put it back up to get away from the sun…that first summer is when I became acquainted with 'swamp' coolers….they worked pretty well…put a lot of moisture in the air 'n cooled things off considerably but they had drawbacks also….f'r one thing, if you had  one in a window with a wooden casement, it didn't take long for the rot to set in but, considering the alternative, people replaced a lot of casements….

Almost never see water coolers t'day…once in a rare while, I'll wander into a store that has a huge commercial water cooler going….makes a pleasant change from 'refrigerated' air….

A trip to the dentist 'n a mem'ry....

"If I ever lose my mouth, all my teeth, north 'n south, I won't have to talk no more…" Cat Stevens

When I wuz eleven years old or maybe twelve, I had my eyeteeth taken out….(taken out sounds like they went on a date or sumthin') 

The dentist's name wuz Tremper (I think, mem'ries are a funny thing) 'n I wuz so scared of needles that I wudn't let him anestethise me…(big oops, setting the stage for a number of wrong-headed decisions in my life)…

Now, I don't mind talking about some of the wrong decisions that I've made in this go-round...(not sure what happens when a body shuffles off this mortal coil but it's nice to think that you get more'n one shot at getting it right)...anyway, this's all about a tooth, one simple little tooth that has been hiding in a dark corner of my mouth for years 'n years....

T'day, early this afternoon, I had that p'ticklar tooth removed…the last natural tooth, if you absolutely have to know, 'n I had a shot of novocaine 'n didn't feel a thing…not even regret…from here on out, whenever I will have need to see a dentist, I'll just hand them to him (or her) 'n sit back waiting for them t'be returned…

In the after time, I'm taking an antibiotic to deal with the minor infection from the tooth 'n vicodin to deal with…well, whatever…ackshully kind'a looking forward to some pleasant vicodin dreams t'nite…

Well, y'know…The Lord giveth 'n the Lord taketh away 'n at this stage of my life, a fella needs t'be thankful for whatever small goodies come his way…

'Course that's just nonsensical cuz losing your teeth ain't gonna stop a talker from talking…I c'd say that ain't near enough reason for a Smith to stop bloviating but that'd sound like I wuz just bragging...

Journey to Crescent City 'n back ag'in, jiggety-jog

Well, we went 'n now, we're back….'n a big ol hairy-ass trip, it wuz…all the way t' the northwest corner of the state 'n back…we looked at all the alternate routes we c'd take 'n  none of 'em seemed like a good way to go so we flipped a coin 'n wudn't cha know, we took the wrong one….well, it ain't like there wuz a right choice anyway….what we did, wuz we took 80 down to Vallejo 'n crossed over to 101 at San Rafael 'n found that we wuz stuck in 'The  101 parking lot north…that is t'say, bumper t'bumper t'bumper all the way to Santa Rosa 'n beyond….somewhere south of Eureka, we had ourselves a little rain 'n fog 'n that, coupled with a long 'n winding road took us all the way to Crescent City….'n it only took about 12 hours….ah well, as Barretta use'ta say in almost every show, "That's the name of that tune."

Anyways people, it's green up there on the north coast 'n a lot cooler than the Sacramento valley…I took a light jacket 'n long pants 'n my goat ropers but I never used them at all…what it wuz, wuz just cool enuff to make me sleepy…

There wuz a big house party overlooking the ocean where everybody sat around telling lies 'n slapping their knees (hyperbole) 'n eating 'n drinking 'n generally having a good time….

Back at the KOA that evening, we had a bonfire (well, durn near everyone in the campground had their own individual bonfires) 'n sat around rehashing the day over s'mores 'n other stuff 'n then off to bed as the fog rolled in….

Woke up to thunder 'n a handful of raindrops 'n the obligatory decision as to the route home….

After the coin flip, we headed for Oregon 'n the circuitous route that, on paper at least, seemed longest but turned out t'be shorter 'n much less complicated….ah well, live 'n learn, live 'n learn…..