July 30

What? Another day here already? Seems to be, for it is light out but the sun hasn't joined us. Solid clouds and a chance for rain with a gentle breeze out of the north is helping to keep us a little cool so far.

Here, in our protected place, we can never be sure from which direction the wind comes, but the bottom of the windsock on the dock does drift somewhat to the south....which means nothing more than there is a breeze. The temperature indicator on the wall says it is 73 degrees outside at this time.

Somehow I knew this information would be welcomed by you. That instead of a sorrowful tale of woe would be my choice too.

Good for me I'm not woeful, good for you I don't have a tale either. I either haft to sign off or make up something to wag.

Dory and Ruthie left here around 2:45 yesterday to meet some of Ruthie's friends at Osage Beach for a meal and plans to take in the show at the Main Street Music Hall. It sounded pretty good to me.

It was so hot and humid a laze around nappy afternoon with some reading was a strong visualization.........But, I don't do naps very well and couldn't yesterday. I think I know the reason now. Were you ever too lazy to sleep? I do believe that is my problem! The little effort to sleep was more than my lazy self wanted to put out.

Can't understand it. All these failed feeble interesting note typing attempts require a much greater stretch of effort, yet I stubbornly keep pushing myself into it. I must be sick!

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Talk happiness. The world is sad enough without your woe.~Orison Sweet Marden

July 29

Ended up not doing a whole lot yesterday. I mean didn't do a lot of extracurricular stuff. If you think about it just by being alive there are trillions of important unnoticed happenings.

With more than 100 billion neuron nerve cells working for you things are really going on. With all the Chemoreceptors, Mechanoreceptors, Photoreceptors, Thermoreceptors, Nociceptors and Auditory receptors still working even when you sit, things are working. With about 60,000 miles of blood vessels that the heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood through everyday, things are working.

A few more unnoticed happenings are the 600,000 skin particals being shed every hour that must be replaced. A new stomach lining that is being repaced every three or four days. The making of saliva which must be quite a daily chore because I've read where in a lifetime a person produces enough to fill two swiming pools. From only the 500,000 sweat glands of your feet producing more than a pint of sweat every day..........Brother a heck of a lot of things are getting done everyday whether we sit or work.

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin alive, stayin alive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin alive.

Pumpin blood and all that other goo.
Now don't tell me I've nothin' to do.
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I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainty that just to be alive is a grand thing.-Agatha Christie

July 28

Thank goodness my back is feeling much better finally! It seemed to be getting a little better each day but this morning the grand finale came. Dory, using both of her little hands to rub my back up and down, masterly abated most of the remaining tension. Actually, I think the gentleness of her caressing palms only transferred the tension to another area but I'm proud of the way my back feels now anyway. I only had to think about some of the chores I need to do which rapidly relieved or removed completely, the tension from the newly transferred station.

We had some good enjoyable company over the weekend. At least until around 10:00 yesterday morning, then we spent the rest of the day cleaning and straightening up. For that reason plus the impending rain possibility, we might make this a day for resting rather than a day of actively pursuing the accomplishment of the relegated chores. Just a small matter of moving a few things around on our priority list and we do that really well!

We don't know where this will come to you from but it originated in a house on the bank of the Lick Branch cove of the Lake of the Ozarks. An area commonly referred to as Rocky Mount, Missouri but isn't.

Just like I call this a note.....it usually isn't.
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Typing a word by some is like striking a note on the keyboard of the imagination. Unfortunately, imagination is a lacking attribute of many.~Unknown

July 25

I don't have much time to tarry this morning! No time to preach nor moan. No time to do more than run a quickie. I can't stop a frown from my face and I have a terrible time stopping some unkind words when anyone tells me they don't have time for this or that or whatever. The problem is a person can prioritize their time in a way that can enable them to do almost anything! If it isn't high enough on the list it is usually erroneously stated as "not having time!

I've got a few things to do and one of them requires a trip to the little store up the road to pick up a couple cable thimbles for the repaired no wake buoy that with Dale's help and if it doesn't rain, we'll put back out where it's supposed to be.

Ron L. gained another number to add to his total on Wednesday and I did the same yesterday. In honor of these two glorious occasions, sweet Mary Jo and Dale had us all down, including Ruthie, for a very fine supper. Grilled steak, grilled perfectly and........excuse me, the memory just created a huge burst of saliva, enough to choke me some. The steak was served along with a passel of other fine eats and I dug into them all. Mary Jo has the ability to do many things and do them well but her cooking skills have got to be up near the top of the list. Yesiree, I gained another digit to my age total and thanks or no thanks to Mary Jo, I gained another pound to my body total.

I urge everyone to suck all the happiness possible into every minute of everyday for you never know how soon some of those minutes may become only memories. Only happy memories are worth the space required for storage and most have a very nice soothing medicinal effect when retrieved at an older age, with good sexual memories being a possible exception.
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I went on a diet, swore off drinking and heavy eating, and in 14 days I lost two weeks.-Joe E. Lewis

July 24

It doesn't happen often and I can't even remember the last time but yesterday I saw the light. Actually it was several little lights that looked like miniature stars. Immediately before this sight I was helping bring an encapsulate piece of foam out of the water onto a trailer backed in at Davy's boat ramp. As I made a step into the water covered part of the ramp I heard a huge bang and bamo, there were the stars. That was a very slippery step after which I found myself getting up with a sore shin, bloody elbow and a renewed knowledge as to how venerable man is and just how quickly shit can happen.

To me the step and the bang when my head hit the concrete flashing me the stars was all at the same instant. At least I can't conjure up any conscious thought or movement between the step and the bang. Next thing I knew I was all wet and trying to get up. No I didn't, the water that wet me up was supplied by the lake...........I think.

I've had a back problem for several weeks now but was making some headway in getting it better, however this morning I notice this area has had a relapse and seems to have been able to drag some of the adjoining areas into the fray with it. Tho my elbow area doesn't seem to be a problem I can't say the same for my scabbed up shin. Ugg! Pain is just about the nastiest four letter word that I know.

Looky here now, along with looking forward to every new day and the things that come with it, I have added the biggie of being well again. I'm overweight and have a sore back but I am still able to carry a huge load of thankfulness for all our blessings and also for what the fall could have been but wasn't.

Whew, looks like I only have me on my mind this morning...........Sorry about that.


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A danger foreseen is half-avoided. -American Indian Proverb

July 23

Another way to lose yet gain; Money doesn't really weigh too much but it has got to be heavier than nothing. Well, after running around happily frittering some of it away yesterday at the joint and thinking about it this morning, the loss has greatly increased the things that weigh so heavily on my meager mind. You may call us stupid but don't call us fat head!

Columbia received 4.5 inches of rain yesterday and I'm positive it reached over to our route to the boat. Gee what a miserable drive! It began raining on us about 30 minutes into the trip and rained very hard. 66 miles at 35/40 mph makes for a very long trip. Add three women and it's indescribable.

As you might guess, as soon as we drove into Boonville the rain stopped. The sun peeking thru the clouds and no rain after the hell we had come out of was a good feeling and gave us a thought that the remarkable change could indicate a huge surge of luck. And I suppose it did but there was a slight miscalculation on our part as to the recipients.

66 down the road of life, and I'm gonna make it 67 tonight! Actually, if you believe correctly, and me believing I was a full term baby, I made it to 67 just a day short of nine months ago. That is probably one of the reasons I look older than what I am.

Horseshoe on the wall; Of course I don't believe in it. But I understand that it brings you luck whether you believe in it or not. -Neils Bohr

July 22

Blessed are we that have received another of the most valuable things in the world, another day of life. Elements for some could cause a cursing or unhappiness which would only come from those who fail to give it real thought or those who take life for granted and spite any problems. We're probably all guilty of this at one time or another. It's a slow process but getting older seems to enable some of us to better realize the blessing and the resulting thankfulness dims most of the problems immensely.

It's not unusual but yesiree, I come here again with nothing to say.

I'd say that if I used perky to describe my mood this morning it could probably be defined as an oxymoron. I read way too late last night.

I sure hope that I don't bruise my butt too much this morning. Dory and Ruthie are forcing me to drive them, in Ruthie's car, the 66 miles to the gaming joint which means I'll need to drag my rear up seven carpeted steps, five concrete steps and seven wooden steps. The carpet steps doesn't worry me much nor does the shorter concrete steps but banging my buns up the splintery wooden steps could create a prick in the rear. To me, that would not be a very gay happening at all!


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If you regret things in life you've not been paying attention. Regret is just imagining that you know what would have happened had you played it differently. But you don't know; you couldn't possibly know. You can only imagine.~Lisa Unger

July 21

You can't believe all the boats still out there running around sucking that $4.59 fuel from the tank. Well, not so much this morning but was over the weekend and a lot during the week too. I guess this is the place to vacation this year.

Some really large boats with the exhaust open roaring up and down the cove for sure creating a hearing problem later in life for the poor kid hanging on to the tiny little tube the boat is pulling. Some at about a third throttle causing the bow to be too high for the driver to see over. This way the boat pushes the water out of the way instead of cutting thru it. Wow, what waves! You don't even need a boat to pull you around for excitement. Just sit in a tube in the water and rider'er out.

There is something back there in my memory about some days when we were up to getting out there too. Wonder what in the world we must have been thinking lolling around in the sun killing our skin cells and burning up the money as we kept pumping the fuel thru the motor of the boat. Lots of work to make yourself believe that you're having a great time. Gone are those days and I'm not a bit unhappy about that!

Again, nothing could I find in the mix of my mind to create enough desire for me to set here and beat out with three of my most knowledgeable fingers, any B. S.xxxx I mean much B. S.

I did take typing in high school but I waited way too long to begin using the learned skills so they gradually disappeared. I suppose they're laying out there somewhere with a good part of my hearing, eyesight and quite a few other things that have come up missing over the years. No, I'm not really sure that I could still ride a bicycle or roller-skate either.

It's not such a funny thing but both my feet went missing yesterday for several hours. You know what they say, "out of sight out of mind". Well, in a standing position I can't see my feet so they were lost most of the morning as I worked around in the garage. When I came in and sat down in the old lounge chair, leaned way back and pulled the footrest up, WALLA! There they were. I've temporally lost track of several things below my belly during the past year, however all things can be found if they want to be found.

Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my circumstances were not so modest. Thank the Lord, for life and the few things he has enabled me to hold on to despite my destructive way of living during my earlier years.

Life is like riding a bicycle. You don't fall off unless you stop peddling. — Claude Pepper

July 19

Time, she sure does fly when you're having fun. I don't know, time might not be called a she but I'm positive I've heard it that way. A picture comes to mind called Father Time and he doesn't look like a she. He doesn't look like he could fly or have fun either as far as that goes. Something must be wrong with the first statement.

I don't particularly like weekends now but I do remember liking them in the past but they were always over pretty chop chop. Seems that by the time I was able to get work almost out of my system it was time to begin ramping it back up for Monday. I really did spend a lot of time working and thought I enjoyed it. Zippity do dah!

Funny thinking back, some of the things I remember, like the nearly every workday morning sickness created by my head as it disturbed my nerves that took it out on my stomach. Didn't go so far as to throw up but gagged around till I got in the car and headed out, then things calmed down. I thought I enjoyed that? Probably no different than an athlete or a performer just before their performance. Butterflies that is.

The apprehension for me was probably greater because I was so far out of my element, dumb you know, in over my head. It was because most of the people, (friends), I called on were very kind, patient and knew what they needed that I attribute as a huge factor in my somewhat success. They just led me along, showing me how to help them make their choice and purchase. Some just signed a blank order so I could fill it out later when I was alone so I'd have a chance to learn without interruptions, how to do at least some part of my job. They were all so kind, patient and trustful. Trust was a very large thing because some of the blank orders were for more than a hundred thousand dollars. They were all great friends!

Tho I've been sold things in the past, I can't imagine a real sincere caring person selling a product. If your friend has a need and you help him fill it, did you sell it? I never sold a thing, I just assisted my friends in making the most intelligent purchasing decision. Helped them in seeing things that they might have overlooked or deemed unimportant. I did lose a few friends along the way. Those that couldn't be helped in any manner no matter what. Maybe if I had been a salesman..........

You know none of this would have been possible without a great honest and customer oriented company backing you up. I've been gone for over eleven years now and feel pretty sure and comfortable that the company still has someone out there helping my friends.

Well heck, we're retired and I don't do much anymore so subject matter is scarce. Sorry I had to resort to such uninteresting 'back then' for a subject but the show must go on is my thinking and I don't want to break a leg.


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Emotional intelligence, more than any other factor, more than I.Q. or expertise, accounts for 85% to 90% of success at work... I.Q. is a threshold competence. You need it, but it doesn't make you a star. Emotional intelligence can. -Warren Bennis

July 17

Another day another dollar ......... Now what is that supposed to mean? I've heard it all my life but still don't know the meaning. If it refers to earnings it won't apply to us for sure. If it applies to expenditures it won't apply to us for for damn sure. Electricity or even the computer hook up alone requires more than that. Even if we only ate the fish caught from our dock there are some cost in the cooking oils and lost lures. Live another day and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt.

Dory got up this morning around 1:00 am and read till around 3:30 before coming back to bed. That means she stayed in bed pretty late which could have made this day one of those two meal days unless I cooked my own breakfast. I couldn't do that! Problems start when you start stripping duties from someone. Next thing you know they become bored and begin loosing their jest for life. Then comes the getting fat and sleeping all the time. Life becomes only a pain to be dreaded each day. No! I didn't cook my own breakfast! I made the sacrifice for Glenda's continued joy for living. A man has got to be wary of doing the wrong thing all of the time!

Haven't had either boat out so far this year yet the tri-toon is getting pretty low on fuel. Yep, with gasoline prices so high along with our humble financial situation I've been forced to siphon gas out of the boats gas tank to use for the lawn mower, blower and weed cutter.

May not need it for this mower any more because I hit a root or something while mowing yesterday and it flat died and wouldn't restart. Hey, this is a new lawn mower that has only mowed the lawn one and a little over a half times.

I really liked this. Guy said he came from a large family of thirteen children. Six sets of twins, said he thought that he was crossed eyed until he was near twelve years old.

"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein."-- H. Jackson Brown

July 16

Shucks, I wish I hadn't but this morning I paid attention and realized that getting started in the morning for me is like starting a train from a dead stop and no, I am not heavy as a train!.

I wake, then after the message to arise finally meanders it's way out of the thought center to wherever, it begins a rev of the engine and the first clunk clang happens. Then another body part moves initiating the second clunk clang. This clunk clang thing keeps slowly progressing down the line until almost everything begins to move into a get up mode. The old engine seems to grunt with almost every clung clang but soon the train is up and slowly moving down the daily tracks.

It takes a terrible amount of clunky clangies before the caboose gets a tug and some mornings are slower than others. I believe this is one of those slower mornings as Glenda says, my head is usually stuck up my caboose and this morning my mind hasn't really began moving yet.

Gotta cho cho on outta here anyway!

"Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown." - Edward M. Forster

July 14

Not a cloud in the sky this morning and already 74 degrees but we're not complaining. I haven't heard the forecast and it doesn't concern me all that much. At my age a surprise is as welcome as can be no matter where it comes from. Well, I'd rule out a few things like potting in my drawers and such. Major surprises like that could make for a crappy day. I've seen adult diapers so I guess that is a possibility.

Yuk! Old does have it's downsides but I don't sit around wishing to be young again. I earned the me that I am and I'm not all that unhappy about it plus I'm very happy to still be here! Thinking back, that was a terrible crooked and sometimes rough road from there to here. No matter some pleasures along the way, with all of it's hilly ups and downs, curves and detours, I don't think I would ever want to travel that long road again.

Usually it is later in life when folks finally pack it up and retire. With later in life comes old where a lot of ones physical attributes seem to begin withering away as the body parts start sagging here and there. Where the skin on the face and other places begin producing lots of wrinkles in a doomed to failure last ditch effort to tighten things up.

It's probably a good design that along with the withering comes dwindling desires and want too's. It works good that my want to has lessened as my ability to shovel the snow off the drive or mow the complete lawn right away and quickly has faded. That mellowed want to lets me take a day if necessary and the happiness of achieving my goal isn't diminished one iota.

You can usually tell how one is responding to the old by which way the corners of their mouths are turned. Turned up is a good sign and probably belong on the faces of those that have adjusted comfortably to the changes, while a down turn says to me, that there was a hitch somewhere in the transition that hasn't yet been overcome.

I suppose with so many dues paid to get this far out here into the old, one has surely earned the right to be however they decide. Still, one may want to continue being considerate of other's because it isn't over until it's over and that could be a long time down the road. You just never know when you might need a few well maintained friendly acquaintances.

"The mind that is wise mourns less for what age takes away; than what it leaves behind." - William Wordsworth

July 12

Yes, I do realize that nothing is better than these notes but what the hey, I may unknowingly put something of value in one if I keep trying. So far it has been a good deal, at least in my mind, you get nothing and it cost nothing. Well, if you're into the, "time is money" thing these could be less than free I guess. However, the superior feeling you probably get after forcing yourself to read one should be worth something. Knowing all this I just keep beating myself up trying anyway.

A trip to Osage Beach for some staples then back home to await the forecasted rain is our main aim today. But you know how right forecasts can be ...or not. Cast can be a lot of things, from casting a lure in hopes of pulling in a catch, to giving birth prematurely, to warp; twist, to contrive; devise and then we have to calculate or compute which might cover the weather. As you can see the cast of fore doesn't keep very good company.

So much for this day's attempt...................Without some sort of an attempt, even a simple little failure is most unlikely.

The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public or sit to type an unsolicited note.~George Jessel (edt)

July 11

Another nice day here weather-wise. Otherwise there are a few of those big bad boats back. Their unintentional but, 'I don't give a damn' wake coupled with the nice little wind that we're blessed with, sure does play havoc with the docks. Without the 'I don't give a damn' attitude it would be possible to play and not leave the havoc but it is not to be. "If you can't stand the shaky wake, move off the wakey lake!"

Did you ever think about what a moving boat and a person has in common. Like a boat a person leaves a wake in his passing, some big and some small but like the boat, hardly ever does the person realize it. After the person is ten or even hundreds of miles down the road and out of sight, his wake could still be influencing people along the path he/she just traveled.

A few things to be done around here today if you believe some of what the residing sadist monarch resident has to say. According to her, the concrete square steps down both sides of the house need a little attention and since I'm not going bowling with them, today would be a real good day to take care of it. It sounds like the train is beginning to roll, or is that only the creaking of her leathers. I think it is! The creaking is about to get me cracking.

The sun keeps hiding behind some clouds then peeking out again. Possible rain later might have me sitting inside reading keeps sloshing thru my almost thought free inapt mind. Maybe sooner than later, just the thoughts of digging and heaving for those steps is making me pretty tired. And in about an hour and a half there won't be anyone here to crack the whip.

"Every time you wake up and ask yourself, "What good things am I going to do today?", remember that when the sun goes down at sunset, it will take a part of your life with it."-"Indian Proverb"

July 10

Somehow, I don't know what we did but I guess we deserved it. We received another 1.2 inches of rain Tuesday night and I've always heard that sooner or later you always get what you deserve.

It sure did perk the weeds and grass in our lawn up. That means I'll need to get out the lawn mower and follow it around for an hour or so long before I wanted to. This twice a week stuff is a killer and you know the gasoline to power the blade isn't cheap either. Actually I don't follow it but a little more than half the time. After I get the outer edges cut and cleaned up I push the lawn mower across the lawn then move over 20" or so and mow pulling it back. I'd say I mow coming and going.

Glenda is heading out for the weekly bridge game at the Lions Club. I'm growing more fond of that lady every day. Monday she stayed home, but Tuesday she went out with the ladies for a luncheon, yesterday she went to Jeff to visit Lena, today is the bridge game then tomorrow she will go bowling. Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

We have 16 full sized trees on our little plot and I just read that every year one tree generates $625 worth of oxygen, provides $1240 worth of air pollution control, recycles $750 worth of water, and controls $625 worth of soil erosion. Lets see now, 16x3240 = $51,840.00 total value that our trees contribute toward the well being of the land yet we still are forced to pay taxes out the ying yang every year. One would think we should be getting a little payment of some kind. Heck, that should more than cover our carbon foot print and still leave us some to sell. What do you think?

I know, I know, unlike my mowing this message does going a lot better than it comes.

It's a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water. -Franklin P. Jones

July 7

The lake unexpectedly came up almost a tenth of a foot sometime Friday. I thought it to be strange so gave it a little off and on thought since then. It wasn't until driving back from the visitation in Saint Charles last evening that a good solid thought came to mind. After the God awful amount of boats being pulled away from the lake was brought to my attention, I checked the lake level when we got home and discovered it was back to it's normal level. I came to the conclusion that those thousands of boats that were put on the lake had displaced enough water to raise the lake level. Then of course, after they were all taken out.....it was back to normal.

You can't imagine how nice the lake looks now that it isn't necessary to view it through the misty watery veil caused by all the many, many boats. Their constantly produced huge waves crash against the seawall, splashing water higher than the wall is what creates the near day long veil. Every so often a small rainbow is evident in a part of the view but the terrible negative thoughts of the boat operators pretty well negates any beauty there in.

Anyway most of the worst is over now until the next big splash out of the Labor Day weekend. I think by then our minds will be cleaned enough that we can start with a new attitude at that time but you know an attitude can be bent faster and with more ease than a rubber band.

A little cranky might have helped start a Model A Ford but can be a huge detriment in today's world.~Unknown

July 4

Man'O, that global warming is about to put me back into long pants this morning. Cloudy, 64 degrees with a good stiff breeze blowing but I think it might be the worry of the possible global warming created problems that has these small chill bumps popping up on my body.

Good grief! Just look at one of the newspapers head lines this morning, Plasma, LCDs blamed for accelerating global warming. I can take about anything even have no problems drinking that gallon of stuff when preparing for the colonoscopy but this kind of crap is becoming more than I can stomach.

More silly things are adding to my sickness, like, 'Pregnant Man' Gives Birth to Girl. Then add these, Faceless 'aliens' spotted in crowd at Wimbledon, World's oldest mother gives birth to twins at 70 and Prayer Vigils at Gas Stations Across the Country...A Pray at the Pump Movement.

Another worrier is to learn that at GM, the company's current market value is smaller than that of Mattel Inc., maker of Matchbox cars.

And what about all that carbon being added to the atmosphere from the hundreds of blazes that have ravaged sections of parched California over the last two weeks, burning more than 500,000 acres, destroying homes and other property.

Spare me, please spare me!

Warm is when it's not quite hot, but not cold either.~Answers.com

July 3

How high's the water, mama? "Two feet high and risin'." How high's the water, papa? She said, "It's two feet high and risin'." It isn't quite that way here but by 7:00 a.m. we had received 2.5 inches of rain and it was still raining. Wet is me.......er no, I think that should be woe is me or woe is us. Couldn't get along with out it but more doesn't necessarily equate to better with some things. I do believe that rain has made itself a qualifier.

I read that all this rain in the Midwest was due to..........of course, global warming. It said warmer temperatures is always capable of carrying more moisture. So there you go, global warming. Seems to me they may have missed the fact that this time of the year it is and has always been pretty damn warm around here. Yucky yuck, I'm about greened out!

Here the rain is possibly doing us all a favor in diluting some of the E. coli that we have in the shitty water. One sample from the 20.5 mile marker showed E. coli more than four times the acceptable standard for swimming and other aquatic recreation. And hey, we're down stream from there.

Today Glenda is going with her lurch, joining with others for their weekly game of bridge at the Lions Club. This time she will be on her own. Other times she has had kind of an assistant to help her along. Some take the game very serous and are quick to bite those who screw up which has Glenda pretty nervous about it but she's tough enough to go anyway.

Lazy Larry has a pretty uncomfortable back problem and may do a lot of sitting with the hopes the rest will allow the overly taut muscles or whatever to give up the antagonizing revenge for every wrong move. My goodness, can you imagine how much worse it could have been had the problem been in the much larger front instead of the smaller back?

“The biofuels debacle is global warm-mongering in a nutshell: The first victims of poseur environmentalism will always be developing countries. In order for you to put biofuel in your Prius and feel good about yourself for no reason, real actual people in faraway places have to starve to death.” —Mark Steyn

July 2

Shoot! I've always believed that I was a very thoughtful person but I must have been wrong! For the life of me I can't think of a thing worthy of typing. It has been that way for some time now, you as my witness.

I suspect that a lot of folks are like me and can't really read when being bothered by music. So I added a little music to this mornings note in hopes of fuzzing the fact there is no content. Only thing wrong is for some, I had to cut it short, not knowing if they were still using a dial-up service or not. If you are still using dial-up, I guess I can add you to the growing list of folks who are aggravated at me for one reason or another. If you are using dial-up please let me know so I can keep my 'aggra list' straight.

One thought maybe, I replaced an old timber wall yesterday. As near as I call determine, in this very hot heat and high humidity, I moved over a half ton, around 1215 pounds, of concrete blocks to do it. The little wall was only five feet long and two blocks high but it was in a near impossible area behind a bush.

We thought we had more blocks at home than we did so ended up one short. The small 12" wide and 6" thick only weighted 27 pounds apiece but when you move each of the nine blocks we had, five times or more that weight really adds up. Ooooh my sore knees and aching back. My tongue is kinda sore and bloody too but I was able to cut short a lot of cuss words before they left my mouth.

Anyway, where there is life there is hope and we both woke up full of it this morning. We're trusting you did too!

I still believe in Hope - mostly because there's no such place as Fingers Crossed, Arkansas.~Molly Ivins

July 1

No pain but my big stomach growling made me end up with another crappy note this morning. When my tummy growls it resounds in that huge arena very loudly. This morning it was so loud that it caused both Mikey and Tomi to flee the room in terror thinking the big dog was read to bite. Stupidly I went on line to check it out. Stupid being as stupid does, I decided to stick a shortened version of the info into this note. Mostly because I don't have anything to say again.

Everyone knows that the digestive system is, in essence, a long tube that starts at the mouth and ends at the anus. What a complicated sounding process happens without any of us even thinking about it. It just happens! Not all of the stuff that we stick into our mouths end up exiting at the anus but the most of it does. What does gets turned into chyme as the peristalsis process moves it from the duodenum to the jejunum, through that to the ileum then to the cecum where at the end it is eventually pushed out. At least this is the way I understood it.

Now with a computer, when a distasteful note is detected, the speediest way to get it pushed out the exit where it belongs is to click on delete. Go ahead, I don't blame you!

That is exatly how I, and rightly so, defecate from the bowels of this computer all the liberal bull shit like, 'we cannot drill our way to lower gas prices'. Oh, gag me!

The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism, but under the name of liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program until one day America will be a Socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened. -Norman Thomas