Pages

Thursday, January 28, 2016

What's to Happen?

Do you think we are living in scary times or 
is it business as usual for you without a care
in the world? 

Are you watching the presidential debates or do you leave that up to
someone else?  Trump said he may skip the debate tonight because of
Megyn Kelly but Joe Skousen says it's because Trump doesn't want to
get pinned down at this point with his answers to the Muslim
questions. That sounds more reasonable. Would Trump ever back
away from M. Kelly?  I think not. We'll see if he's there tonight.

I like Joel Skousen's political savvy, just as I liked his uncle, Cleon
Skousen, when he wrote "The Naked Communist" back in 1958.

Have you noticed how America has taken a flip-flop from the
times of the cold war?  Little kids used to check under their
beds at night to make sure there were no "commies" hiding.
Now, that kindly looking old gent and socialist,  Bernie Sanders,
draws in the young people by the thousands.

Do you think there will be an election in 2017 or do you think
there is a possibility of a national disaster?

Where do you think the stock market is heading?  Do you
think the Feds have scrapped the bottom of the barrel or do
you think they'll try a QE4? Everything seems to be in another
bubble right now. Will they burst and then fly around the room
backwards, like pricking a balloon? I have several
close widow friends who have their money tied up in the
market and naively trust a stock broker.  I suggested it may
be a good time to get out and buy metals. Nope, they trust
that "same as a shoe salesman," looking out for their best
interest.  Oh My God.

Just a few thoughts to ponder.




Monday, January 18, 2016

One of Those Days

That night, there was a warm rain and then it froze and froze and
froze. Next morning, the news showed hysterical shots of  cars
smashing and people falling. My chickens were bewildered as
they slid across ice and fell, another fell, they were all falling
in a skater's mish-mash.

With garbage bag in hand, I was trying to make my way up a
small hill to the alley garbage can. Seemingly from out of no-
where, a white knight in the form of a youthful, agile young
man ran sliding down the hill and said, "Let me put your garbage
in the can." He further explained he was a guest at the neighbors
across the alley. I expressed my thanks and I was grateful to
return to the house in one piece.

The next morning I was feeding the chickens and that same
white knight was again in the alley with his dog.  We exchanged
a few pleasantries and I asked him if he had eaten his
breakfast. When he said he had not, I offered him two warm
fresh eggs I had just taken from the nest. He came over in a
second and we were chatting about chickens, organic food
and gardens.

He was Gary from California and he was telling me about his
organic garden on the roof of his house that was in the heart
of a city. I envisioned a raised bed or two, growing the usual
vegetables, as he was getting his phone out to show me a
video of the garden.

OMG....... he showed me a video of a fairy tale garden.  The
whole top of this vast area was filled with small trees, lush
plants and greenery everywhere. It was magical. There was
even a greenhouse building that put my little greenhouse into
elf category.  It had been a small building, that was being
discarded that he took apart and revamped it into this. The
whole garden was rustic, it was wild, it was bursting with
the fruits of the earth, way up there, with only the blue sky
as a backdrop.

After we said good-by and he left to have his breakfast,  lol I
thought of countless questions I wanted to ask.  By that time
I was wondering how much reinforcement a roof would need
to support a garden of that size.

So dear friends, you never know what delightful conversations
will follow an encounter on a slippery-slope, in an alley, on
the way to the trash can.

Monday, January 4, 2016

Life is Measured by the Hole in the Shoe

Each generation has a rendezvous with it's destiny 
                 

May I be so bold as to suggest that the first 10 years of a person's life
sets the stage for the beliefs, goals, attitude and ambition for the rest of
that life. My life started in 1930, two months after the stock market
fell, ringing in the start of the depression. The 1st ten years of my
life surrounded me with a poverty never since seen in this country.
The only way to describe those ten years is just to say, poverty
reigned supreme. Think of scenes from the "Grapes of Wrath" and
that is how I remember my childhood.  I'm not saying it was all
gloom and doom as the human spirit can find joy in any situation.

Today I laugh at people who say they are poor while they are
surrounded with new autos, iPhones, TV's, computers and oh yes,
plumbing. No one seems to lack life's material offerings and free
 food is always available (although be it GMO's).

The word "waste" was never in my vocabulary.  I can't under-
stand why people go to a restaurant, pay for a plate of food,  eat
a few bites and leave it. Recently, I was trapped into going out
 to a family breakfast with a few members of the younger
generation.

I distinctly heard them order "extra bacon" and when
 the waitress came to collect the plates, they were still brimming
with bacon,  I quickly snatched bacon from the plates and questioned
"You're not eating this bacon?"  I know.......I'm an embarrassment
but in my memory, wasting bacon is a sin, yes, a sin right
up there with "Thou shall not commit adultry."  LOL

The other day as I was taking off my shoes,  I noticed a small
hole in my sock. Without even thinking, I got out my sewing
basket and a light bulb and was starting to mend my sock. OMG
what was I doing? I had just given generous Christmas bonuses
(enough money that a family could have lived on for a year back
in the 30's) to delivery people and people who had helped me
throughout the year and I WAS BEGINNING TO MEND A
SOCK?????  Crazy......huh? This time, almost embarrassed
for myself,  I tossed the sock and put away the sewing box.
My happy thought was, that I DO know how to weave threads
to make a sock look like new. I also know I could still cut the
perfect size cardboard to cover the big hole in the bottom of a
shoe.

DO YOU THINK THESE SKILLS WILL EVER COME 
IN HANDY AGAIN?