Truth In Advertising

I have seen several similar pictures on Facebook, but I always thought they were fake - somebody's idea a a photoshop joke.  This one is real - shot with my cell phone at WalMart in New Caney on 8/27/2019.
Either somebody has very poor math skills, doesn't understand the concept of Roll Back, or is way too honest to work at WalMart.

Parking Lot Poem

I just realized that it's been a week since I posted anything.  Not much new to report so I thought I would share a poem I originally posted to the Addicted to Limericks page on Facebook.....

I patiently sat while she made up her face

Before backing out of that parking space

She pulled out, I started in

You zipped in ahead with a triumphant grin

The champion of the parking lot race

Yes, I was upset, but I didn’t cry

You must need that parking spot much more than I

But I hope you contract S-T-Ds

Your home is invaded by roaches and fleas

And you watch your pet parakeet curl up and die

May your daughter run off with her boyfriend the pimp

Your son get arrested with a truckload of hemp

May your engine stop working right there in that space

And spill oil and coolant all over the place

And your Viagra quit working leaving you limp

May your mom write a book called My Life as a Whore

Your wife run away with the woman next door
May your teeth all fall out and your gums start to itch
For stealing my spot, you son of a bitch
Now have you had enough, cause I’ve got a lot more

Finally

I have mentioned several times over the past months that we have owls who take advantage of our birdbaths, and I have been trying all this time to get a picture.  I finally got one this morning.  It's not a good picture - taken from about 60 feet away with my cell phone - but at least you should be able to tell that he is there, and not just a figment of my imagination.

Fonda Wisdom

It was reported that Peter Fonda died yesterday.  
I didn't like his politics, and recently posted about trying to watch Easy Rider and finding it too bad to stay with it more than the first half hour. I do think it is sad that, in what I see as a desperate attempt to  stay relevant, he made that horrible statement about Barron Trump.
But - He did say something on the old Tonight Show that I have remembered for about fifty years.  I tried a search for the clip, but it didn't come up so I'll have to paraphrase.
When Johnny Carson expressed surprise that Fonda was a gun owner, he explained that he was not only a gun owner but also an avid hunter, and that some of his fondest memories of his father were of hunting trips they had taken when he was growing up.
Then he said, "We never hunted for trophies or just for sport. My father had one hard and fast rule - you eat what you shoot."  
He went on to say "I think if that rule was universally applied we could end war."

Owl Bath

I didn't take this picture - our owls visit our birdbaths often in this hot dry weather, but usually in the very early morning or very late evening when it's too dark to take a photo.

They are much more sedate and dignified bathers than the jays, cardinals and bluebirds that visit during the day.  They don't splash a lot, but they will squat and get their chests wet.

Last night was the first time we've seen two in the birdbath together, and it was in the small metal birdbath that is only about 20 inches in diameter.  To say they filled it up is an understatement, but they seemed happy enough, and we watched them for about five minutes before they flew away.

Smile

Trickle

The water pressure at the old Boggy Thicket had dropped off significantly, so I called Robbie Eshee at R & D Water Wells to come out and take a look.  
It turned out that the pressure switch that was supposed to turn the pump on at 35 lbs. was not coming on until the pressure dropped below 20. Robbie replaced the switch (the new one turns on at 40 lbs.) and everything is back to, or better than, normal.

Seventy-Seven

I never expected to live this long, but, here I am - 77 years old.
I could say  I don't feel a day over 60, or 55 for that matter, but the truth is that I have slowed down a bit. I get tired sooner, and the heat bothers me more than it used to.
Part of the problem is that I've allowed myself to become more sedentary - I know I'm not getting enough exercise.  Maybe I'll do something about that... Sometime soon - whenever I get around to it.

When A Compliment Makes You Sad

I was out running an errand and Honey was sitting under the pergola when the young man came by to read our light meter yesterday.
She said, "Hi. How are you doing." and he said he was fine.
After he read the meter, he stopped and said, "You know, the world needs more people like you and your husband."
She asked him what he meant and he said "Every time I come by here, you always greet me with a friendly word and a smile.  Most places, the people either ignore me or frown and watch me like they think I'm about to steal something. You folks make my day."
She thanked him and he went on his way.
When she told me, we got to thinking about it.  It never occurred to us that we were doing anything special, it was just the way we were raised.  
What a shame it is that common courtesy isn't common any more. 

Birthday

If you had asked my mother, she would have told you that I was born on August 8th.  I wasn't, but she got it wrong for most of my life.
She explained it this way -

• When she learned she was pregnant, she was given a due date of August 8th.
• She went into labor on the 8th.
• She checked into the hospital on the 8th.
• Her water broke on the 8th.

So, if I didn't arrive until the 9th, it wasn't her fault.

Say It Ain't So, Dan

Referring to the mass shootings last weekend, my representative, Dan Crenshaw, posted the following recently -

The solutions aren’t obvious, even if we pretend they are. But we must try. Let’s start with the TAPS Act. Maybe also implement state “red flag” laws, or gun violence restraining orders. Stop them before they can hurt someone. I have been a Crenshaw supporter from day one, but I hope he will reconsider. His first sentence is absolutely true, but denying anyone their constitutional rights because they might do something wrong in the future goes against the very concepts our country was founded upon. I don't have an answer to the scourge of mass shootings, but I'm pretty sure the TAPS act isn't it.

Eyes

Went to the eye doctor yesterday. 
I guess I had a premonition, because I chose not to go to the optometrist I've been seeing and decided to go to the opthmatologist that did Honey's surgery last year.  He confirmed that I do have cataracts in both eyes and am a candidate for surgery.

Catch 22

During a thunderstorm the other night, a tree at the south end of our property fell and knocked down the Suddenlink cable.  It isn't causing us any problem, but the cable is now hanging a couple feet off the ground and blocking the driveways at our next door neighbor's place.

I tried calling the cable company, and the Suddenlink representative told me that, since I was not a customer, she could not take a repair request and that my only option was to call their local store in Kingwood.  

I said "OK, give me that number." to which she replied,

"The only number I have for the Kingwood store would route you right back to me.  Sorry for the inconvenience.  Is there anything else I can help you with today?"