Christmas 2011

A few days before Christmas a tornado tore through Gordon County and caused a lot of destruction. One community was hit hard. We had hard rains but we were lucky and didn't have any storm damage here.  

The weather was just the opposite of last year. This year at Christmas we had warm temperatures, plenty of rain, and a tornado. Last year we had an unprecedented (in my lifetime) snow storm on Christmas day. We didn't go to the yearly family dinner last year. I remember eating lots and lots of deviled eggs and potato salad we were supposed to take to the family dinner. Gads. 

This year Momma and I didn't plan anything because I was sick for a couple of weeks and she has bronchitis. Donny and Colt and I were hacking and coughing for a while but I think we are all finally on the mend. I hope nobody else catches what we had. 

The holidays always make me melancholy. I pine for the 'good old days' when the kids were little, or I was young. I don't know why nostalgia seems so sweet as I get older. I just didn't have the Christmas spirit this year. We didn't even put up a single ornament

We had our family get together at Donny's sister's house this year. It was a beautiful day. After the dinner we didn't start home until after dark. We had to drive through a blanket of fog all the way home. Visibility was limited. I asked Donny to drive through Dalton so I could see the Christmas decorations but it was so foggy the lights weren't impressive. It had a creepy, slasher-movie feel to the night.

It's so muddy around here that Colt's car got stuck when he was pulling out and he slung mud all over the white picket fence beside the house. Donny helped Colt clean the fence. Donny was determined to get some gravel.

We got some gravel for the driveway and since one load wasn't enough we got another load today. Yeah! No more slopping around in the mud when it rains. No more having to straddle the mud as I get the groceries out of the car in inclement weather.

Scout is going to borrow Bob's tractor this weekend to smooth down the gravel and spread it out evenly. I can hardly wait.

*****

By The Way my contest was a bust and nobody guessed correctly about my little quiz. Since my buddy Jerry White did respond he won by default. Colt delivered his award. I hope you like the peppers Jerry. Thanks for participating. 

AS ALWAYS

PIO

The Spy Who Loves Me

Now tell me what the Russians are looking for. Are they trying to get insight into me, or merely access my natural wit and humor? Hmm ... I wonder. I'm serious yall, the Ruskies are watching me. No, I am not crazy, although crazy is in the eye of the beholder. 

At first I was flattered when I realized they were coming to Resaca Rose. I thought 'How nice. I wonder how they found me.' I love having visitors from around the world. I've even talked to a couple of people from other countries. 

Russia is one of my top visitors, which is cool but, the only problem is, they don't show up on any of my locators. That raised my little spidey senses and got me to thinking about why some of these countries don't show up on all my various locators. Maybe they are the web-crawlers that sneak in looking for information. That's just plain weird. 

I told a friend about the Russians loving me and she said she loves the Russians, especially one man who was a business associate and a very sweet and charming man. But she also said she thought he was rubbed out by the Russian mob. (Get out of here!) It seems he was competing with the Black Market and disappeared. Poof! He was never seen, or heard from again. Who'd of knew? I'm just surprised to realize that stuff like that really happens. 


I never thought about the mob controlling imports and 'taking care of' competition.  It never occurred to me that people are smuggling merchandise in products they buy from America and shipping them into other countries. I live a  very bucolic and simple life. Things like that just don't happen in my world.

I have wondered how the Russian economy was advancing after the collapse of the USSR. I thought it was a wonderful opportunity for the American entrepreneurial spirit to establish businesses in Russia. Places like Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut. It would have been a perfect way to help Russian's develop business opportunities and also expand American businesses.

Despite the fact that it's a joke that Sarah Palin can see Russia from her house, Russia is becoming very connected to America. Russia has announced plans to build a 65 mile underground tunnel between Russia and Alaska under the Bering Straits. It will be twice as long as the famous Chunnel which runs between England and France but the tunnel isn't being built for passenger traffic. It will be a route for shipping cargo underground. I wonder what's so important that they need to build an underground tunnel.

No doubt we will be hearing more about this amazing feat of engineering in the coming years. It will be interesting to see this come to fruition.


I imagine the Russians who are coming to visit me are not like the fellow on TV who says 'Hello. My name is Peggy.' I don't know what they're looking for but it's making me paranoid. That's all I need.


It's not like I'm not paranoid enough, what with all the wars and fighting and recession around the world. The economy is shaky and we're one year away from another Presidential election which can send America spinning in another direction and throwing us off course. 


We haven't adjusted from the entire mess the Bush administration left the country in. I dread thinking about the country's future after the next election. 


I wonder what Russia's government is doing trying to ship cargo through Alaska and how that will impact America. Will Homeland Security be able to monitor everything that will be shipped through the underground tunnel. Will terrorists target the tunnel and try to ship something in or might they try to bomb it? See, I told you I didn't need anybody making me more paranoid than I already am. It keeps growing and growing and growing.


Let's just hope the Russians are nice Russians like Yakov Smirnoff. He's one funny Russian.


Now I wonder what those Slovenians are up to. 

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Kim's Couch

Little Layla and the couch.

How do you like Kim's couch Momma covered with the help of me and Scout and Kim? That's some bright and cheerful material. I think that couch will be remembered for a long time. 

Kim found the couch at an estate sale for ten dollars. It's very retro with the woodwork on the arms. I think it was probably bought in the 60's and decorated in a French style. I like the modern update. Don't you?

Scout and Kim sanded the wood and then we put several coats of polyurethane on it. Momma covered the couch and worked on the cushions. I helped her tear them back down. She finished everything up Saturday with Scout and Kim's assistance.

I didn't get to go up there this weekend and help them because I have some kind of bug and didn't want to chance being around them all and making them sick, especially Momma. She and Daddy have to watch their health. Momma had those blood clots the summer before last and had to go to the hospital. She doesn't need a chest cold.

I have a sneaking feeling that Colt made me sick. He has been coughing and spitting up for a while now. I figure he passed it on to me. We're always together because I get on the computer in his room and he watches TV in here. He thinks he probably got his cough from the neighbor's kids.

Justin and Sydnei have three little boys who are four and below. Colt said Zack coughed on him and he told the kid to cover his mouth. Zackary thought that was funny so he would run up to Colt and cough on him again and again.

Later on Sydnei said the boys had foot and mouth disease (not to be confused with hoof and mouth disease found in livestock). It's Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. It manifests in sores around and within the mouth or on the hands or feet of children.

Being the paranoid person I am, I think I have foot and mouth disease because Colt was exposed to the germy little rug rats. I doubt mankind will go out with a bang. We'll probably go out with a whimper as we succumb to some odious germ.

Maybe I should start carrying around a can of Lysol and spray for germs everywhere I go. Who am I kidding? They'd lock me if if I sprayed Lysol on kids. Kids are all just little walking petri dishes.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

An Update

Thursday I went to my dental implant dentist and had my teeth cleaned. They gave me a clean bill of health and want me to come back in six months. They have been so nice to me that I took them a bag of greens. 

Our turnip greens have taken over the garden. Donny likes to cook a 'big mess' of them on weekends. We've got so many that we've been sharing them with some of our friends and family. I like having something to eat out of the garden this time of year. This is only the second time that we ever had a late garden. I wouldn't mind making it a tradition.

After I got out of the dentist's office I stopped at Momma's and Daddy's to see what Momma had been doing with Scout's couch. Momma hasn't been able to resist working on their couch. It's coming along nicely.


I went back to the upholstery shop today and helped Momma work on the couch. We worked on the cushions and scrapped the first plan and are now on to the second. I'll take some pictures after we get it together. Momma and I are on a roll.


Speaking of being on a roll, wonder what's up with that 'tree'? Maybe it's one of those politically correct type Christmas trees designed to appeal to the masses. Maybe it's an antenna that will get signals from Mars. Maybe it's a big old squirrel cage for them to play on. Welcome to the 21st century in the south. 


Good old Gordon County. Last winter a dump truck with a scraper blade. loaded with gravel fell through the parking deck at the court house. Maybe they took the insurance money and used it to buy this beautiful (cough, cough) holiday decoration. I don't know. I only know I wish I could vote on the commissioners but I can't because I live in the county. I can't even vote for Resaca's commissioners because we don't live in the city limits. That's just downright annoying.

Watch out for the Grinch.

Everybody look lively out there. Home invasions and daytime burglaries are on the rise. My sister-in-law was robbed this week. My cousin told about a couple of strangers showing up at her house late at night, up to no good. The thieves and lowlifes are cranking up their business for the holiday season. Don't be caught unaware.


I just wanted to thank the people who commented on my previous post. Since no one guessed what PIO stands for, and only one person commented, I guess Jerry won by default. Thank you Jerry for kindly guessing. I'll contact you soon about your pepper.

I'll be back when I'm feeling better. I think I've caught a bug.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

DECEMBER

Momma and I haven't been covering anything this week, mainly because we're waiting on Scout and Kim to work on their couch. I took advantage of being home and have been trying to clean up some of the crap I have laying around here. To say I'm OC/DC is to put it politely. 

Piles of newspapers are spread out around my dining room. I won't throw them away or burn them because I want to save the print newspapers. I want to buy some wheat paste and make a huge ornament with shredded papers and our giant beach ball. I'm in the process of separating the print from the colored papers for my ball project. I've got to start my project before the cats or dogs burst my ball. My little imaginary projects never seem to get anywhere. Wonder why?

I don't know if I'm in the doldrums or if it's just my usual disdain for the holiday season but I am not revved up for Christmas. I figure it's mostly because the boys are grown up and live away from home. Scout's not here to decorate everything and run up the electric bill like he usually does. Colt's not big into decorating so he doesn't care very much and I don't care any more.

I know it's almost Christmas but I haven't done a thing. I hope the rest of yall are doing better than that. I'm about as excited as ... well, I'm not excited so I thought, why not do something fun for everyone and generate some excitement.


How about a contest, or a riddle, or a quiz? I'll ask a question and give yall a chance to answer it. Just make a comment and, if you win, give me your mailing address and I will send you a prize. I thought, since I still have plenty of peppers in my freezer from last year, I would share some of them. How about that? So, without further ado ...


What does it mean when I end my posts with PIO? Post your answer on COMMENTS. The contest will be over when someone answers correctly or by December 8th.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Schylar, Scout, Amanda, Kiersten, Tony, Denise, Todd, Carmen, Andy, Noody, and Carole

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Diane and Larry

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Seeing Double

I told you we were going to cover the other little rocker to match the first one I showed you. (See My Rocking Chair) Momma and I worked this week to tear it down and try to match the first one we covered before. It was challenging but I believe they passed muster. We worked on it Monday through Thursday and took Friday off for our family Thanksgiving dinner. I went back up there on Saturday and we worked until we got it finished. I loaded both rockers in the back of the pickup truck and brought them home.

Momma let me do a lot more work on the second rocker. I cut out fabric and made cording and sewed some. I even learned how to tie on buttons. Until then I had been dreading trying to tie buttons but it turned out to be pretty simple. 

Kim wanted to host Thanksgiving for our family so Momma and Daddy and Donny and I had dinner with them. Colt showed up with his friends, Sydney and Justin. We had plenty to eat. Kim is a great cook and hostess.  It was fun for us all to spend time with Scout and Kim and Layla. Thanks yall.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Thankfully

Momma and I went to Walmart after we finished working for the day. I needed to pick up a few things to make potato salad and deviled eggs. Momma had to pick up a few things of her own. We were cruising up and down the aisles and circling around looking for something on an aisle we had already been down before. It was very crowded. I hate crowds.

I noticed a man standing at the end of the aisle. I told Momma it was my old friend Stan*. He and his wife Joy* used to be my friends. She was walking behind him, pushing a buggy. He noticed us and said 'hi'. Joy saw us and came up, hugged me and started talking to me and Momma. See? You can be polite to someone even if you aren't friends any more.

They asked about the old Airstream camper Momma bought from them. She told them she sold it. Stan asked how Colt was doing and Joy said her son Dan* was going back to Dalton State College. That implied he had dropped out sometime since I last saw them, I guess. Then we wished each other a happy Thanksgiving and went on our way. 

I was mentally scratching my head and marveling at fate, or serendipity, or whatever it was that brought us to that point at that time together. I had mentioned them the other day. I had asked Momma if she ever saw anything in the newspaper about their divorce. Momma hadn't seen anything. Now Momma and I ran into them at Walmart on Thanksgiving eve. How cool was that? I had my answer. They're still together. I'm glad. They're made for each other in a crazy, dysfunctional sort of way.

Joy is the woman that dropped by after Christmas a couple of years ago to tell me she was divorcing Stan. (See Da-Dumb-Dum) She and I had a couple of disagreements and quit talking years ago. She's the woman that my old friend (Peg*) gossiped about. I didn't believe the gossip and quit talking to Peg. Friends and former friends. What can I say? I'm getting too old for anyone's crap any more. 

When I have days like this I imagine the stars are aligned or something. My cell phone rang on the way home. Scout called to say that Colt was bringing a couple of our friends home. I could barely understand what he was saying but he wanted me to send the turkey and ham Kim is going to cook via Colt and his buddies to his house.

I took Momma home and helped carry in her groceries then headed home. I was sooo happy. Two of my favorite guys were here.

Allen was here with Colt and Timbo. We've known Allen since we moved here 23 years ago. He was seven years old. He would follow Donny around, talking a mile a minute, all day long. Allen moved to Murray County and we don't get to see him very much any more. Allen has been sick and in the hospital. I worry about him because he doesn't take care of himself. He thinks I nag him. I only do it because I love him.

Timbo is Scout's other buddy that moved back to Florida a few years ago. He was involved in the '80 Mexicans' fiasco in Scoping Out The Neighbors. It's wonderful to see some of our very special friends sometimes. It reminds me of old times when there used to be lots of commotion and laughter around here. I always enjoyed picking on the boys and their friends. They always gave as good as they got so there was no telling what was going on. 

It's a lot quieter around here now that Scout and Colt don't live here any more. Colt comes home from the university on weekends but half of the week it is very lonely and a little bit sad. That's why it was so great to see some old friends and familiar faces. That can make anyone smile.

Old friends, family, and loved ones. Now that's something worthwhile to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving yall.

AS ALWAYS

PIO
********

*Aliases were used.

Random Shots

Bees in November?

I spy two monkeys up a tree.

60 Years Together.

A cheeky monkey ignoring me.

A monkey's mother.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

My Rocking Chair

Tearing down the rocker.

Almost stripped.

Putting it back together.

Getting the back lined up.

The skirt is attached.

The back is on.

The other side of the rocker.

My finished rocking chair.
Big improvement, isn't it?

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Guns and God

Some states are starting to relax their gun laws and some have even advocated for allowing concealed weapons to be carried in places where they were never allowed before. People are being allowed to carry weapons to public places like parks and schools and open bars. They used to be banned from group meetings for safety reasons. Some people even advocate carrying weapons to church.

I questioned a few people and read a couple of things and it seems like a lot of Christians think it's a good idea to be able to pack heat in church. People thought that it would help ensure the safety of the congregation.

I'm beginning to worry about America. The anger and viciousness is becoming palpable. Hate and loathing seethes from conservatives and liberals. Name calling and a determination to undercut their opponant at any cost is the rule of the day. Conservatives and liberals are clashing over gun control.

I support the right to own and operate guns. I believe everybody who isn't a felon or mentally handicapped or under psychiatric care has the right to protect themselves however they please. But, in the light of today's volatile world I don't believe that gun owners should have the right to carry a gun into all establishments or businesses. The main ones I frown on are church and beer joints. I also don't want some trigger happy person carrying a concealed weapon on the school grounds, for obvious reasons.

Some people are volatile and explosive. They don't need to be carrying guns. If they get into an argument they might pull out a gun and shoot you. Crazy people shoot at people on the highways in California.

Guns in church. Either you have faith in the Lord to protect you in the shadow of death or you don't. I think, when you become a gun toting Christian you show a lack of faith in the Lord. Isn't every Christian waiting to be carried home to Jesus. Then why would they arm themselves and risk taking another person's life and eternal damnation by having a gun in church?

Sure there are some crazies out there. A few people have attacked people in church. A couple of occasions in the past few years involved some domestic disagreement that spilled over into the church when some husband or boyfriend flipped out and attacked people. 

People who call for arming themselves in church scare me. I wouldn't want to go to church where they go. We don't live in the old west and people aren't killing each other right and left in America in our houses of worship. There have only been a handful of cases. The worst case was when the Amish* people were attacked.

Nobody called for carrying guns after that attack but now the fanatical conservatives are pushing to carry guns in church. These frightened Americans sure aren't black people. If black people wanted to carry guns in church we would be up in arms with outrage. They couldn't have broached the subject after the Birmingham Baptist Church bombing in 1963 so why do white Christians find the need to arm themselves today? Churches and guns don't mix.

I knew a preacher who kept guns in his trunk 'just in case'. He kept all kinds, not just a rifle or shotgun. Another lady kept guns hidden all over her house and said she carried one with her all the time. I'm not that paranoid.

The only time I carried a gun on me was when I sold Tupperware and gave parties at all times of the day and night. I remember sitting at a railroad crossing waiting on a train and becoming nervous late one night. I pulled out my little gun and tried to cock it. The safety was on. I got it stuck and couldn't do a thing to fix it sitting in the dark. That's when I realized that I would have been beaten to death with my own gun if I was attacked and got the gun hung. I couldn't just raise my hand and say "Wait just a minute till I fix this gun." now, could I?

That's all Folks!

AS ALWAYS

PIO

*The Amish shooting was at a school house.

You might also be interested in reading WHAT'S GOING ON

Time Flies

Since we have about a dozen clocks I decided to start resetting them early Saturday afternoon because of the end of Daylight Saving Time. I set Donny's and my alarm clock which was easy since they are digital. Then I set Colt's clock which is like ours. 


I was going to set the clock in the washroom when I asked Colt what time it was. It was 9 o'clock so I set the clock to 10 o'clock. Then Colt said to set it for 8 o'clock. That's when I realized I had to reset the clocks again and run them back. Geesh! I wish they'd pick a time and stick to it. This switching the clocks back and forth twice a year is just plain annoying. 


It's so much trouble to set the clock in my car that I keep it on regular time and have to mentally add an hour when it's Daylight Savings Time. It's too much trouble resetting it. The other day I turned on the flashers and had to pull over and read the book before I could figure out how to turn them off. See why I don't reset my car clock? It's too much trouble.


I hate it when it gets dark earlier. Now it will be getting dark at 6 o'clock instead of 7 o'clock. I'll have to put the dogs up and feed them and the cats around 5 o'clock instead of at 6 o'clock because I don't like feeding the animals in the dark. The cats will run around your legs and kill you if you're not watching. 


I'll have to cook dinner around 7 o'clock which used to be 8 o'clock so Donny will be hungry an hour longer until his body gets adjusted to the new time.


Like I said, I think they should quit screwing around with the time and leave it alone. 


I went back to Momma's and started tearing down a chair we are going to upholster. It seems like it takes as long to tear something down as it does to put it back together again. I have two little rockers my aunt gave me. I am tearing down the dirtiest of the two and going to cover it. Then I'll cover the other one just like the first. 


I'm trying to be very serious about this and really learn how to upholster. Momma has wanted me to learn for years. She has a nice little upholstery shop and supplies to work with. I had some material to cover the chairs with but Momma and I went to Wal-Mart and looked at some upholstery material they carry. She bought a couple of nice bolts of fabric that we can use for our projects. She used to have a fabric book to order upholstery. Maybe, if I get any good, we can get another catalog to order fabrics for our customers.


I've tried to learn to upholster before but something would always get in the way and I never got into it like I should have. Momma keeps reminding me that she won't be around forever and she might not be able to teach me much longer. Momma is health now, for her age, but you never get any guarantees so I figured if I really want to learn this I better jump on the opportunity she has offered me and go for it.


The added bonus about this is the time I get to spend with my momma doing something she enjoys. I've come to appreciate and admire my momma's talents and stamina. She isn't the type of person to live a sedentary lifestyle. I think that would drive her mad. She and my daddy are always up to something. 


While we were tearing down the little rocker, Daddy started working on a floor lamp he was rewiring, right there on the upholstery table. He got Momma to help him work on it. It is an antique lamp. It will turn out to be fabulous like everything else they ever do. Momma and Daddy are perfectionists and very talented. I only wish I had half their enthusiasm and I'd be happy. They run rings around me.


I feel like everything that's old is new again. Momma wants me and Scout to learn to upholster. I couldn't think of a better teacher or a better mentor. It's time to learn because, as everyone knows, time flies.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

*******

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Comments Welcome

NOVEMBER

It doesn't seem like it's time for Thanksgiving already. It seems like it was only yesterday that we were picking squash out of the garden. Oh well. Time to bundle up and stay warm. We didn't get half the things done we needed to this summer. We still have some projects to finish before very long. The faucets need covered; things like that.


Momma has been teaching me to upholster. We recovered a recliner. Momma had to totally rebuilt the back. It had been stuffed full of loose filling and it crumbled when we took the back apart. She had some foam that she glued together and shaped for the cushion. It is covered in a midnight blue velour. I am very proud of it. We had to improvise but it turned out great. 


Scout and Kim are also learning to upholster. Kim bought a couch from an estate sale for ten dollars. It has wooden arms and legs and trim with a tufted back with 40 buttons. Scout and Kim started tearing the couch down this weekend. It's down to the springs. Once Kim finds some fabric we can get started. I can hardly wait.

We forgot to take BEFORE pictures.

How do you like my recliner? It looks a little bit cattywompus but I don't care. We'll do better next time. I helped Momma cover it and it's mine so I'm happy. It sits like a dream.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Samantha, Dawn, and Larry

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Roy and Sara

HAPPY THANKSGIVING YALL

AS ALWAYS

PIO
***********
Yall try to make a comment. I don't know why people can't comment. Thanks.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween Everybody. We had the house decorated up real nice last year. We didn't do as much this year.

We don't have many trick-or-treaters around here. Some years we never see a kid. I always buy some candy, just in case, but I pick out stuff we like to eat. Win, win!

I loved Halloween when I was a kid. Sometimes I'd see kids with pillowcases loaded down with candy. Those kids usually went to neighborhoods in towns or subdivisions. We only trick-or-treated in our neighborhood. When people ran out of candy they would turn off their lights and go to bed. That's when some people would soap their windows or TP (toilet paper) their yards.

We've had our magnolia trees TP'ed. I've read you can light the toilet paper and burn the paper out of the trees. I was afraid to try that because magnolia   leaves are very flammable. They make a nice cracking fire. I was afraid the fire might spread from the toilet paper to the treetops and catch them on fire. That would have been a sight!

One year we had a ceramic pumpkin jack-o-lantern and a ceramic skull with a candle in it, too, sitting on our stoop. Someone stole them and placed them on the shoulder of the highway and ran over one and crushed it. The next day we found them beside the road. You could see tire marks on the slope by the ditch. Instead of running over them with their right tire the idiots had aimed the drivers wheel towards the decorations and run over them. The car could have turned over and flipped into our front driveway. I'd of paid a dollar to see that!

I can never think about being toilet papered without thinking about an incident that happened when I was in high school. One day a girl in our class came to school and said that someone had TP'ed her house. Some other girls were smirking and acting catty. She didn't notice her friends giggling behind her back. 

She said "My mother and I were so thankful because we had run out of toilet paper and didn't have any money to go to the store. We tore that toilet paper down and used it." She seemed so happy and good spirited about it that I was impressed with her. 

She was probably kidding but she made sure to let the people who had toilet papered her house know that she didn't let them get to her. That brought her up a peg or two in my book and I learned a lesson from her. She turned a trick around and made it a treat. Way to go! Never let them get you down.

I don't mind little pranks but when somebody becomes mean or malicious they cross the line. Toilet paper all over your front yard might not look attractive but it's lots better than some of the mean tricks we've all been brought up to believe. Everybody knows to search for razor blades in their apples and you never know when someone might slip some ex-lax in their homemade chocolate treats. 

My favorite trick, although we never did it, was the story about putting dog crap in a paper bag and ringing the doorbell and setting the bag on fire. I can just imagine some homeowner panicking and stomping the bag. Yuck!

When we were kids some people put soap in a downtown fountain and it had bubbles in it for days. Someone even put dye in the fountain but that was a mess. I'm not sure it was even Halloween when that happened.

Have a safe and happy Halloween this year and no matter which end you're on, enjoy the experience. It is a magical time for little kids. That's why it's my favorite holiday.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

*****

You still haven't figured it out, have you?

Ramblin

IF YOU ARE a new visitor to Resaca Rose and you are interested in following me you can become a FOLLOWER. I'd appreciate it and you'd be making me look good. (hint, hint...wink, wink)


Did you notice all the crap I have on the sidebar? I really have some neat things. If you are interested in sewing, or if you're just a young mother looking for inspiration, I'd check out 'Craftiness is not Optional'. That girl can sew! She whips them out faster than lightning. She sews for her two precious daughters. They are also her models. Jess is a talented young woman who is adorably shy. You'll like her.


'Back in the U.S.A." is my new favorite blog. This lady takes amazing photographs of wildlife close up. She is dynamite! Speaking of which, for people interested in a perspective on our involvement in the Middle East, check out 'Musings On Iraq'. He is still focused on our entanglement in Iraq, unlike the lack of in depth coverage we are receiving in the news.


For you English lovers, I'd like to suggest 'Random Ramblings'. She has some incredible pictures on her blog, too, and she has the sweetest little bird sounds to listen to and create a mellow mood. I like knowing that all women are connected because of the earth and their love of the flora and fauna around them.


If you are a southerner you have to read '180 True South'. It might inspire you. I know I've learned a thing or two about history and the ongoing struggle to preserve history all across the south.


'Calling People Names' is a brutally honest and amusing blog about a disillusioned southern belle. All these blogs are interesting (to me) in one way or another. Check them all out on BLOGS I'M FOLLOWING.


I have found so many interesting blogs and groups since I got on Facebook and learned to blog. If you want to explore the blogosphere  try clicking on the NEXT BLOG at the top of the page and see what blog pops up next. I have found some interesting blogs that way.


I don't like playing games on the internet. I like surfing the web and learning things. I consider the internet like a monstrous library with all kinds of information in it. All you have to do is research. Research any subject or problem or information you need. We don't have to rely on one person's opinion. We can learn about it for ourselves as long as we can read. That is why educating people is the most important process of enlightenment we can share. It can shine a light on the truth.


For some reason recently I have become popular on the blogosphere. I received three or so friend requests on Facebook, which is strange because I don't normally attract friends. I usually say something inappropriate or sarcastic and repel people so you can imagine my surprise when I suddenly started receiving these overtures. What was equally strange was that it was all friend requests from men. It's not that I don't like men. I do. It's just that I can't figure out where the heck they came from. 


The people who belong to a southern discussion group, I can understand. They've seen me comment on there. But the other guys ... where did they come from? Or, rather, how did they connect with me? I am way old enough to be their mothers (uh,hmm ...grandmother). Well, not all of them but most of them. Maybe they like the cougar in me. Boy, that's funny! Not.


Seriously, though, I have really been enjoying my little activist groups and blogs. I believe that knowledge is power and the internet is unstoppable. Thank God! Oh yeah, and thank you Steve Jobs. He is the man we have to thank for the advances in the internet. It's a shame he died so young. Imagine what he could have accomplished if he had lived. I was oblivious  to his genius until he died. He was amazing.


Last night I got 278 hits on my blog! That really messed up my stats. I am obsessed with my stats. I stare at them so much I have learned to read them. It has to be some web-bots crawling the web. Damn you web-bots, die! I'll never be able to compete with that next month. Yikes!


On a lighter note, I have been spending quality time with my parents this week. It's great to have smart and talented parents. Momma is a character and she can do anything. She covered a beautiful couch for my aunt Patsy recently. She is teaching me to upholster. Daddy tore down the chair and Momma and I ripped the fabric apart for patterns. Now we are putting it back together. It's going to look great.


I fed the animals before I went to Momma's and Daddy's house. We have about two dozen cats. One of the little cats had a mouse in it's mouth about as big as it was. It was growling at the other cats, then it climbed in the feeding bowl with the dead rat in it's mouth. I guess it was trying to hog all the dry food, too.


The other day when I went to feed the cats one of my big black and white cats had pried the lid off the bucket I store dry food in and was eating it. I took the plastic scoop I use and beat the crap out of him until he finally jumped out. The greedy little monsters will eat until they puke. It costs a ton of money to feed all our pets. They should all be hunting rats!


Anybody want a cat? Anybody?


I told you I was ramblin'.

AS ALWAYS

PIO


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Fear Not

Have you ever wondered what the rest of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's speech was about when he said, "... the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" during his first inaugural address to the nation. It is as relevant today as it was in 1933. Without further ado ...

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I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impel. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days


In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.


More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.


Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind’s goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.


True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.


The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.


Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.


Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live.


Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now.


Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources.


Hand in hand with this we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers and, by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land. The task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities. It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms. It can be helped by insistence that the Federal, State, and local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced. It can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, and unequal. It can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities which have a definitely public character. There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it. We must act and act quickly.


Finally, in our progress toward a resumption of work we require two safeguards against a return of the evils of the old order; there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments; there must be an end to speculation with other people’s money, and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.


There are the lines of attack. I shall presently urge upon a new Congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and I shall seek the immediate assistance of the several States.


Through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo. Our international trade relations, though vastly important, are in point of time and necessity secondary to the establishment of a sound national economy. I favor as a practical policy the putting of first things first. I shall spare no effort to restore world trade by international economic readjustment, but the emergency at home cannot wait on that accomplishment.


The basic thought that guides these specific means of national recovery is not narrowly nationalistic. It is the insistence, as a first consideration, upon the interdependence of the various elements in all parts of the United States—a recognition of the old and permanently important manifestation of the American spirit of the pioneer. It is the way to recovery. It is the immediate way. It is the strongest assurance that the recovery will endure.


In the field of world policy I would dedicate this Nation to the policy of the good neighbor—the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others—the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors.


If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other; that we can not merely take but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective. We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at a larger good. This I propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will bind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in time of armed strife.


With this pledge taken, I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems.


Action in this image and to this end is feasible under the form of government which we have inherited from our ancestors. Our Constitution is so simple and practical that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form. That is why our constitutional system has proved itself the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has produced. It has met every stress of vast expansion of territory, of foreign wars, of bitter internal strife, of world relations.


It is to be hoped that the normal balance of executive and legislative authority may be wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented task before us. But it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure.


I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption.


But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis—broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.


For the trust reposed in me I will return the courage and the devotion that befit the time. I can do no less.


We face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of the national unity; with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values; with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike. We aim at the assurance of a rounded and permanent national life.


We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the spirit of the gift I take it.


In this dedication of a Nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come.


VIA History Matters Source: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933, as published in Samuel Rosenman, ed., The Public Papers of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Volume Two: The Year of Crisis, 1933 (New York: Random House, 1938), 11–16. 

AS ALWAYS

PIO