Sunday snicker

When I started the Sunday snicker segment of this blog on
October 3, 2015 I didn’t think it would be around this long. So
in celebration of the snicker here is the very first Sunday
snicker.
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On the outskirts of town, there was a huge nut tree
by the cemetery fence. One day two boys filled up
a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out
of sight, and began dividing the nuts.

“One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me,”
said one boy.

The bucket was so full, several rolled out toward the
fence.

Cycling down the road by the cemetery was a third boy.
As he passed he thought he heard voices from inside
the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure
enough, he heard, “One for you, one for me. One for
you, one for me.”

He knew what it was. “Oh, my!” he shuddered, “It’s
Satan and St. Peter dividing the souls at the
cemetery!” He cycled down the road as fast as he
could and found an old man with a cane, hobbling along.

“Come quick!” said the boy. “You won’t believe what I
heard. Satan and St. Peter are down at the cemetery
dividing the souls.”

The man said, “Shoo, you brat! Can’t you see I’m finding
it hard to walk as it is!”

After several pleas, the man hobbled to the cemetery.
Standing by the fence he heard, “One for you, one for
me. One for you, one for me…”

The old man whispered, “Boy, you’ve been telling the
truth! Let’s see if we can see the Devil himself.”

Shivering with fear, they peered through the fence, yet
they were still unable to see anything. The old man
and the boy gripped the wrought ironbars of the fence
tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse
of Satan. At last they heard, “One for you, one for
me. And one last one for you. That’s all. Now let’s
go get those nuts by the fence, and we’ll be done.”

They say the old guy made it back to town 5 minutes
before the boy.

What a pizza!

Today I’ve been busier than a Jehovah’s Witness at Doors
Unlimited! Just woke up in overdrive and haven’t slowed down
yet. Guess I should make the best pizza ever more often. Just
hang on a minute and I’ll try and explain.

It all started last night with a Jack’s bacon cheeseburger
pizza, various leftovers, and grated cheddar cheese. I thought
that perhaps if I threw everything together it would make a
monster super deluxe cheeseburger pizza.

So after I got the pizza oven down and the frozen pizza out I
went to work. First I added about a third pound of shaved steak,
red and green peppers, onions, a half pound of loose hamburger,
hot pepper rings, and about a half pound of cheddar cheese.

Things didn’t go easy as I had to stop often to wipe the drool
off my t-shirt. But I managed to get the now 4 pound pizza into
the pizza oven and waited. The pizza smelled great cooking but
the proof was in the tasting.

I am not ashamed to admit that only one piece remained when I
could eat no more so the lone soldier was left for a snack at a
later time. My taste buds felt like I’d consumed the bacon
cheeseburger pizza, a Philly cheese-steak, and a couple Maid-
Rite sandwiches all at the same time.

But in hindsight, I don’t believe I’ll make another pizza like
this as I have so much energy today it will be quitting time
around midnight. But that is just in time for my midnight
pizza. I may just have cheeseburgers tonight.

Enjoy our Friday as the weekend has begun. Now I need a lot
more coffee until I start winding down.
Comments are always welcome.

Something going on

The sunset was a good one last night and the color reminded us
that tomorrow another warm-up begins. With a heat index of 109
it could get steamy.

So when I went out this morning not expecting any Kodak moments,
this little critter surprised me. It’s body was only about a
half inch long and wings weren’t much longer. Seen lots of
birds, beetles, critters and cats, but hardly any butterflies
this year. Which made me wonder if they got smaller for survivals’
sake or is this just a young one.

To show how small it is the picture above is of a cat food
dish that has about a half inch lip around the top. That is one
small critter. Then I remembered the birds who dive bomb the
dish and the raccoon who helps himself to the cat food by the
paw full, and now butterflies want the cat food?

I think dry cat food should be renamed ” And Critter That
Happens Along Food”. Don’t get me wrong the feral cats aren’t
starving while the other critters are getting half the food.
We’ll figure something out so the cats get more and sneaky
thieving critters less.

Enjoy our Thursday as we will because tomorrow we got to stock
up on pizza and lesser food supplies. Now for another cup of
coffee to build up my strength to eat the super pizza that will
be built later.
Comments are always welcome.

Little white lie

Distractions can be odd work mates and I had a doozy yesterday
that is still hanging around today. This one involves High
School and the dreaded Principal’s Office. At the time many
fellow students thought a friend and myself were going for all-
time school record of being sent to said Principal’s Office.

We considered ourselves free thinkers. One incident in
particular stuck out more than others as it got both of us in
more trouble with our parents than the school. And it all came
down to a little white lie.

Our school had a strict dress code and one day we decided to
ignore it. We wore what were called ‘surfer shirts’ at the time
which were basically short sleeve sweatshirts with buttons. We
walked into the first class of the day and were quickly taken
to the Principal’s Office as punishment for breaking the dress
code.

We explained that the shirts had buttons which met the dress
code and the Principal countered the shirts had no collars and
that was against the rules. So he sent us home to change with
a note that simply said we were sent home for a dress code
violation.

Walking to our cars we decided to stretch the truth a bit and
tell our moms that we were kicked out for the day for wearing
shirts with no collars. And things went well, or so we thought.
When we made an appearance the next day we were again sent to
see the Principal.

He told us we had an unauthorized absence the previous day as
we didn’t go home, change the offending shirts, and return to
the halls of higher learning. We explained that he did not
specify the return part, only that we couldn’t keep the shirts
on and stay on school property.

Imagine our surprise a few days later when both of our Moms
read us the riot act for our little white lie. My Mon pulled
out a sheet of paper and told me to read it. It stated that
the Principal had told us to go home, change our shirts, and
return to school!

The rat! We thought we covered that in his office. So we
learned an important lesson. Yeah, we never wore those shirts
to school again.

Enjoy our Wednesday as we’re all still breathing. Now for some
more coffee and a buritto or two.
Comments are always welcome.

Did you ever wonder…

why whiskey and the military just seem to go together. Well,
according to Military Times whiskey has been a favorite of those
who wear the uniform as long as people have been wearing said
uniform.

Not all whiskey is bourbon yet if it’s made in America it is
considered bourbon. When the Revolutionary War started rum was
not an option as it was favored by the English so whiskey filled
the void. In November of 1775 our Congress authorized a whiskey
ration for the Continental Army.

Some even say heroic acts on the battlefield would be rewarded
with an even bigger ration of the whiskey! We can’t forget the
Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 almost threatened another revolution.

But too much of a good thing can be too much. By the early
1800s the ration was increased which caused Meriwether Lewis to
complain of incessant drunkenness in his company during the Lewis
& Clark expedition.

On September 14, 1803 wrote the following in his journal: Set
out at 11 oClock (sic) was prevented from setting out earlier
(sic) in consequence of two of my men getting drunk and
absenting themselves. I finally found them and had them brought
on board, so drunk they were unable to help themselves.

During the 8,000 mile expedition by boat and horseback, from
St. Louis to Oregon and back most of the company was drunk and
Lewis was shot in the leg during a drunken hunt.

During the Civil War medics used whiskey to calm the nerves of
the soldiers, which was also consumed freely during breaks in
the fighting. President Lincoln even developed an appreciation
for the drink. When asked about General Grant’s constant
inebriation Lincoln said: if I could find out what brand of
whiskey Grant drank I would send a barrel of it to all the other
commanders.

Jack Daniel’s started the “By the Barrel” bottling program
in 1997,and in 2016 one of the master distillers told Business
Insider that the U.S. Military is the largest purchaser since
the program began.

I no longer drink but when I did considered it patriotic to
have a shot of whiskey now and then. Enjoy our Tuesday as we’re
that much closer to hump day. Now I need coffee and a Snicker’s
so I don’t get grumpy.
Comments are always welcome.

A few photos

When I step outside in the morning to feed the critters the
first thing I see, and hear, is the cat pictured above. He’s a
feral cat but lately I’ve been able to pet him before he gets
fed.

Then I glanced around and saw this strange cloud grouping to
the south. It lit up near the church steeple but the higher I
looked the darker the sky got. And the clouds seem to linger
and hung around most of the day.

The little guy pictured above has been raiding the cat food
bowl at night which made him bolder and I noticed him trying to
sneak up on the food. Don’t know why I run him off as the food
bowl is almost empty by the time he starts looking.

And the sunsets have shifted to the north which means the only
shots of the event I can get have houses, trees, power lines,
phone lines, and other assorted obstacles in the way. Later this
year I may get some good shots of the sunset when we cruise west
to Idaho.

To the southwest the sky took on a spotted look. While it may
appear strange it had a calming effect on me while I watched it.
It was different.

Finally, on June 28th we’ll have a full moon at 12:53 am
eastern time. Which means it will be close enough to full
Wednesday night and/or early Thursday morning. The Farmer’s
Almanac calls this full moon the Strawberry Moon.

So enjoy our Monday as they’re all the same when you’re
retired. Now I need some more coffee and Snicker’s to get
ready to finish mowing the lawn.
Comments are always welcome.

Grinning fool

I was cruising the information highway yesterday when I came
across this picture and it started a trip down memory lane that
has me grinning yet today. Couldn’t find who took the picture
but we’re thankful they did.

This was a normal occurrence most days during our early years,
and several years after. When friends would get together and
help other friends get their ride back on the road. With little
knowledge, even fewer tools, and about enough money to buy some
cheeseburgers and Cokes we’d tackle these jobs.

Before OSHA, neighbors getting offended by kids having fun, and
high gas prices, this was our entertainment. No steel toed boots
or safety glasses, no gloves to keep our hands clean, and very
little thought of how safe our makeshift cranes were, we’d
manage to get the job done.

When we progressed to having garages to work out of it was
still, at times, a challenge. We’d spend more time moving stuff
out of the way than working on the cars. But we got the job done
most times with varying degrees of success. Through it all we
gained good friends while we learned from our mistakes.

And though the owners of the vehicles changed, the friends and
lessons learned stuck with us and the memories remain. It was
just too bad we were so busy working on the cars we didn’t have
time to run the country or things would be a lot different
today.

Some of these kids I bonded with in my gasoline fueled youth
are retired, others are in nursing homes, a few have died. But
the fire we lit way back then still burns in the hearts of those
of us around to remember. I might just keep grinning all week
and let people wonder what I’m up to.

Enjoy our Sunday as the work week is just a dream away. Now for
some more coffee and a race or two on TV.
Comments are always welcome.

Sunday snicker

A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up and it started to thunder and lightning. The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm her child.

Although it hadn’t begun to rain, thunder and lightning began cutting through the sky. Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child’s school. As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile. Another and another were to follow quickly and with each the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile. When the mother’s car drew up beside the child she lowered the window and called to her, “What are you doing? Why do you keep stopping?”

The child answered, “I stop and smile because God keeps taking my picture.”

Just a couple events

It’s been a while since we’ve mentioned upcoming events on
Friday so here are a couple to think about. One is in Minnesota
and the other in Iowa.

The first is the Minnesota Street Rod Association (MRSA)
sponsored 45th Annual Back to the Fifties Weekend at the
Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul, Minnesota. It runs from
today through Sunday and last year had over 11,000 vehicles
registered for the show.

We’re told this show is one that some don’t even see all the
cars at the event even though they spend the whole weekend
trying. One of these years we might even make it up there to
check it out.

If you’re around eastern Iowa around Labor Day, you may want to
head towards Mt. Pleasant and take in the Midwest Old Threshers
Reunion. This event runs from August 30th through September 3rd.

We won’t make this event as we’ll be cruising west toward
Idaho if everything works out. That said this is more for those
who want to know what it was like back in the day. Over the
weekend you can see horse pulls, the Cavalcade of Power on the
track, concerts, museums, steam tractors, take a trip around the
grounds on a train, and get some good eats and souvenirs too.

If you wish to know more click on the links and get the
information from the source. Enjoy our Friday as we will now
that rain stopped and the basements’ dry. Now for some more
coffee and some much needed sunshine.
Comments are always welcome.

Great weather for ducks

Yesterday was a day we’ll remember as we are ready to build an
ark due to the heavy rainfall here. Rivers and cricks are out of
their banks, streets are flooded, and many basements have become
swimming pools. We even had a tornado warning.

So here shortly I’ll be pulling on my rubber boots and going to
the basement to start the sump pump and pump out the water so
the water heater doesn’t float away. A storm like this hit in
the early 90s so we know what to expect.

With all this rain the weeds are growing like, well, weeds. As
soon as things dry out the yard will need attention also. And in
a few weeks this storm will be mostly forgotten and a new topic
of discussion will take its place.

On the plus side we haven’t heard of anyone being hurt even
though there were some rescues of people stranded after trying
to drive through standing water and getting stuck. One day soon
the sun will come back out to dry things out and the farmers
needed the rain for their crops.

Now I’m heading to the basement to remove the wading pool and
dry the floor. Enjoy our Thursday as that means the weekend is
just a dream away.
Comments are always welcome.