I LOVE GARDENIAS

(From Facebook.)

The winter solstice is upon us. The days are getting shorter. The nights are getting progressively longer and colder. We need solstice celebrations to brighten up this dismal period of time. I wonder what they do to celebrate the same phenomenon "down under" six months later. All this stuff developed in the religions of the northern hemisphere so the denizens of the southern hemisphere are stuck doing it backwards.

I'll have to bring some frost sensitive plants in before the end of the coming week. I guess I'll try to protect the gardenia I planted three years ago by trying to remember to cover it and turn a warming light on every frosty night. I inadvisedly bought it because I love the great perfume of gardenia flowers. They do great in Pasadena. Not so much here. If I get three or four flowers each spring, I'm lucky. Hardly worth the extra water and care. But, I hate to let a beautiful plant just die. I'm sentimental that way.

I guess it goes back to my college days when I discovered gardenia corsages to give my dates on the one or two dance nights we had each year. The girls went wild about them, especially the year when paychecks were delayed and we guys raided the gardenia and other flowering plants on campus to make our own corsages and place them in the plastic fronted sacks in which our laundered, starched and pressed shirts were returned to us by the laundry service. I think those corsages were appreciated much more than the ones we spent good money to buy. Anybody can buy a corsage if they have money, but it takes real caring to figure out how to provide one when you're just plain broke.

My sister had a gardenia bush outside her back door when they lived in Pasadena and when I went to conduct my mother's memorial, it was in bloom. I picked one of those blossoms and pinned it to her lapel as she laid in state in her casket. It was the least I could do as a tribute to one of the most important girls in my life. It would be nice to think that she was somehow aware, but I have no reason to believe that is possible.

Again, I had no idea what I was going to write when I clicked on this box. Now, I know how syndicated writers do it so regularly. You just start out and it flows from deep inside -- if you're a writer at heart.

I'M VERY THANKFUL

The turkey was stuffed, and now I am. So are the dogs. We're all very content.

This is supposed to be a day to count one's blessings. I hardly know where to begin about what I am thankful for. There are so many things.

I'm thankful for my inherited health and family heritage. I went astray into cultism in early adulthood but am thankful I saw the light instead of wasting the rest of my life in a cult splinter. Those have been happening with predictable regularity every since William Miller and Ellen G. White set the original madness in motion. Every generation or so, other fanatics grabbed the ball and ran with it into even worse delusions. They run into the multiple hundreds now.

I'm thankful for having a wonderful soul mate wife to share what to me is an idylic life here in Cottonwood. I'm thankful for the children and grandchildren I've been blessed with. For good and thoughtful neighbors I don't have to be fearful of. For competent medical professionals who keep me and Phyllis in the best shape possible.

Even though we're not "rolling in dough," we have enough to squeak through every month. Many don't. I'm glad I inherited a bit of my dad's ability to squeeze a dollar until it screamed when necessary.

Most of all, I'm thankful I no longer cower in superstitious fear before an imaginary deity that keeps you in bondage to fear and guilt so the preisthood that champions him can ride around in hedonistic luxury.

Life is good. It won't last forever, but while it does, I intend to make the most of it. Thankfully and appreciatively.

NOTE TO OBAMA

My thanksgiving note to President Barack H. Obama:

Mr. President:

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I wish you and your family a very happy and meaningful holiday.

I’m a staunch atheist who happens to hold a degree in theology, so I won’t be thanking any gods for anything. Yet, this is my favorite holiday of the whole year. It’s not necessary to believe in fictional gods to be thankful and at a healthy 79, I am very thankful for a great deal.

One of the things I am thankful for is that we have a sincere and caring man like you as president of our country. I know you’ve been able to accomplish only a small fraction of what you wished to accomplish due to the insane opposition you’ve encountered. If you’d had a democratic congress, much more would have been done and we’d long ago have left this “recession” in the dust.

I want you to know that your efforts are understood and appreciated by people like me and my wife, Phyllis. Thank you for everything you have tried to do and have done to bring sanity back into government, not the least of which being the avoidance of more ill-conceived and unnecessary wars.

In deep appreciation


Allen C. Dexter

LOOKS PROMISING

(From Facebook.)

The storm seems to be over for us. I pity those people on the east coast if it doesn't go off into the Atlantic when it gets there. By one of my gauges, we got just over two and a half inches. By the other, 2.15. All I'm sure of is that it was over two inches. I finished up pretty well with the porch and pantry area today and scrubbed all the muddy foot and paw prints off the vinyl floors.

I'm encouraged that we have what looks like a promising deal with Iran. If the rethugs had been in total power, more of our young men would be giving their lives in a fruitless and ill-conceived new war in both places. Netanyahoo can go do somthing unspeakable to himself.

I'm sick of seeing our treasure and our young men squandered to back up an ancient claim to a piece of land by an invented race. Reminds me again that I'd like to burn that stupid piece of fiction if I didn't need to refer to it once in awhile. I sure don't waste anymore of my precious life sitting around reading it. Never was too keen on novels anyway. I can manufacture my own daydreams.

I guess I'll go see what's on TV.

THE MINIMUM WAGE CASE

(From Facebook.)

I couldn't say it any better, so I won't try. I spent 22 years of my life stuck, by my own stupidity, in an organization with this basic approach. Now, it's the system and lifestyle of my whole nation, and based on the same damn thing -- religion. It's nothing but serfdom and slavery! The rich and the priests, often the same people, like it that way. Everybody else can just go to hell as far as they are concerned.

This is America's sad truth these days. We can start to rebuild the "dream" by saying it's time to Raise The Minimum Wage. This quote is an excerpt from an EXCELLENT comment that was posted on our last meme about Walmart. Here is the full comment:

"To those of you who read this I ask that you share this if possible: I’ve mostly wanted to get this off of my chest in regards to how the minimum wage is a serious issue here in America. To those of you who bitch, whine, and complain that people should go to college, learn a trade/skill, or even get your certification/license, how are people able to do that if they are unable to even take care of themselves with what they are paid? Yeah, having all of that helps, but it doesn’t guarantee that a person will be able to get a better job at all. It could be years that a person is able to get a better job than what they currently have, and that’s IF they get a better job. Having that education, skill, knowledge, certification, etc., isn’t a promissory note that a person will get such a thing when they are done. Even with college grads in today’s world, not everybody is able to go into the field that they studied for and end up working for a low end job. Going to college is ultimately nothing more than a gamble.

You say that raising the minimum wage will increase prices to various products and services, then let me ask you this since you are ignorant to how things currently are: Why is it that things are going up in price, such as rent, gas, utilities, groceries, etc. and the paycheck is remaining low? Untouched for years at a time, while everything else that people need to survive goes up anywhere from a couple days to within a year? Sure, there are programs, and assistance, but that doesn’t last forever since people need a roof over their head, food, medication, and so forth for years to come.

Those of you who complain that the minimum wage should remain the way it is, I give you a challenge. Give up your current job for a job at McDonald’s, Burger King, Wal-mart, somewhere that gives you minimum wage starting out and I would like to see you do this and tell me how easy it is to do things such as pay your bills, take care of your family, and afford to go to college WITHOUT your parents, any other outside help, or even using your current degree, experience and certifications. To those that complain, yeah, you may have worked to get where you are, with connections, parents, etc., but try doing that all on your own from square one, because not everybody in the world is fortunate enough to have someone there to hold their hand, let alone help them.

And we’re supposed to be living the American dream? What dream? Yeah, we have more freedom to do what we want, when we want, how we want, for better or worse, form our own beliefs, and create our own life, right or wrong. But, what country should force its people to struggle, suffer, starve and live in poverty, then turn around and call that a dream?

To those of you that have a problem about what I am saying, issues about the minimum wage, how there are programs that don’t always treat people equally, or anything regarding issues about the minimum wage on this page, there is a back button on the top left corner of your browser, an un-friend option that you can choose, and move on with your life. While you have nothing better to do with your worthless lives than to look down on those who are working like crazy just to survive, and make your hypocritical comments, there are people out there who are doing everything they can to survive for themselves, and possibly their family, while they may never see nowhere near what you may have: a nice car, a nice home, and easier access to a stable lifestyle."

-Zhane Washington

SUCKERED AGAIN!

To say I'm PO'd would be a gross understatement right now.

Last fall, I sucked an aflac duck our dogs had been playing with into my Toro leaf vacuum/blower and burned it up. I'd used it several seasons and the only problem was with the elastic on the leaf bag giving out. An old ranch kid like me knows how to deal with that with the equivalent of baling wire. Problem solved!

I needed a new leaf vacuum and soon found a brand new Weedeater E-Max at a sale, still in the box, for $25. I bought.

Today, I decided to vacuum up the leaves in our back yard so it wouldn't be so messy and went merrrily after them. In about half an hour, ground up leaves started hitting my leg. What the _____?

Inspection revealed that the small twigs that are inevitably a part of such a job had knocked a hole in the housing surrounding the impeler. Off to the shop to contrive a fix.

I discovered that the housing was very brittle and very thin -- less than an eighth of an inch. Also, it's a plastic impeler instead of the metal one in my old vacuum. It already has chips in it.

I'm like the guy with the Tee Shirt that says, "I can fix anything! Where's the duct tape?" It soon became apparent to me that duct tape would be the best repair. After several layers of that, the hole was sealed and I was back on the job -- for about a minute -- at which time leaves started pouring out the other side.

Another hole!

After four stops for repairs which left my tool basically a duct tape wonder. I finished up and all the leaves had been ground up and deposited in my compost bin where they're soaked down and soon will be great composted mulch that's set aside for my patch of egyptian walking onions.

What companies stick people with really frosts me. I'm sure Weed Eater makes a deluxe model, but this certainly isn't it. This is made to trick people who want a leaf vacuum but can't afford a good one to buy this cheaper model and then be stuck with a broken down piece of junk and their money already gone into the ravenous pockets of some millionaire or billionaire.

They'd never stand behind such a piece of junk and just say something was sucked in that never should have been. If I have to sort my leaves to find anything a little bit hard, what's the point in having the tool anyway. My original Toro took care of any small stick without even a grunt, but that stuffed duck was a little too much for it.

Will I ever get to the point where I don't get suckered like this? Doubtful. There isn't time to think every little thing through to the nth degree. I know I'll spend my money for a piece of junk again sometime somewhere. Just gotta live with it -- but, I can at least bitch about it!

INTERESTING DREAM

(From Facebook.)

I had an interesting dream that could never be a reality. For some reason the dream didn't include, I was asked to give a sermon in a Lutheran Church. Being an atheist, I had to preach on the Sermon on the Mount, and I was dwelling on the very things I dwell on here on Facebook and on my blog. The audience reaction was not included. There I was standing and waxing eloquent in the traditional attire of a man's dress.

Dreams are strange things. I guess it just resulted from my being so passionate about some of the things I dwell on here. I always was a fair-minded person, and when I see the blatant unfairness and mindless sloganeering rampant today, it drives me nuts.

Anyway, I've again shared some very pointed observations on the world situation. It's the only preaching I have access to right now.