New volume

Wow ....

I came in this morning ....

To sit down a spell ...

And take a load off .....

And there was a great big padlock on the door .....

"Oh no" .....

Mr. A.B. closed up shop during the night ....

Boarded up the place ....

Padlocked the door ....

And sailed off into the sunset ...

In his big boat .....

Maybe getting it out of the path of Ernesto .....

But whoever does really know these things ...

When none of us really exist in here ....

And so ....

Don't have eyes to see these things ...

Or ears to hear ....

Hyperventilation time ....

But then ...

Well ...

I dropped back ten .....

Ran around for a bit back there .....

Which is what the football players do, anyway ....

When they drop back ten ....

Maybe hyperventilated some more ...

I just don't know ...

The stress was just terrible ....

And then ...

Hey, wait a minute said I to myself ...

Since no one else was there ...

I'll just go back to the directory .....

Instead of trying to come directly here ...

Through my last post ....

Like I always do ...

And "Whew" ....

Here's Mr. A.B.'s place .....

Just like it always was ...

Except now ....

We're in a new volume ....

And so .....

I'm innocent! I'm innocent!

Honest. I had nothing to do with it.

I don't even own a boat anymore.

Wait a minute -

I'm not going to answer any questions.

Not that anybody asked me any.

I going to call my lawyer.

A.B.

Good morning, Mr. A.B ....

Well, I'm off to my son's first high school soccer game

See you all later...and I leave you with a bit of humor:

Biblical one-liners

Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he married?
A. Ruthless

Q. What do they call pastors in Germany?
A. German Shepherds.

Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. Noah. He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.

Q. What was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
A. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.

Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?
A. Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury.
David's Triumph was heard throughout the land.
Honda, because the apostles were all in one Accord.

Q. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A. Samson. He brought the house down.

Q. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden?
A. Your mother ate us out of house and home.

Q. Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy?
A. The area around Jordan. The banks were always overflowing.

Q. Who is the greatest baby-sitter mentioned in the Bible?
A. David. He rocked Goliath to a very deep sleep.

Q. Which Bible character had no parents?
A. Joshua, son of Nun.

Good luck at the game ...

Another milestone reached ......

I May Never See Tomorrow

I may never see tomorrow ....

There's no written guarantee ....

And things that happened yesterday ...

Belong to history .....

I can't predict the future ....

I can't change the past .....

I have just the present moments .....

To treat as my last ......

I must use this moment wisely ....

For soon it will pass away ....

And be lost forever ....

As a part of yesterday .....

I must exercise compassion ....

Help the fallen to their feet .....

Be a friend unto the friendless ....

Make their life complete .....

The unkind things I do today ....

May never be undone ....

And friendships that I fail to win ....

May never more be won .....

I may not have another chance .....

On bended knees to pray ....

And I thank God ....

With a humble heart ....

For giving me this day .....

That is absolutely beautiful. Thank you for posting it Liv. I'm going to send it to my son to put into his corner of things to live by. I'm partial to these sorts of things, and am a real sentimental sap when it comes to these especially as I get ready to head north in your direction this Sunday, likely to be bringing the rain from Ernesto with me, or at least track it all the way up. Yes, it is that time of the year when college resumes as do the drives. I was hoping for a little sunshine in route, but its not clear at this point whether I will see it before next week. Have a nice weekend.
The Snuff

I was just wondering how you were doing down there, Snuf .....

I heard that God had it in his head to clean that place right out ...

And so ...

They were sand-bagging down there ....

To keep George W. Bush and the Congress from being washed right down the drain .....

I don't know if you are in a flood-prone area or not ...

And I hope you are not ....

But given enough water ...

Any place can flood ...

And so ....

It's supposed to be tropical up here tomarrow .....

With a lot of rain ....

But clearing out some on Sunday ....

And so ...

And me, too, Snuf ....

I am sappy for those kinds of things as well .....

Must be my "inner liberal" in there, or something anyway .....

Of course, if you have an "inner liberal" up here in REDNECK COUNTRY ....

You have to watch out .....

That someone don't set their dogs onto it ....

If it gets too far out ....

And you act sappy or gushy in public ....

But outside of that .....

Outside of being sappy, anyway .....

I guess I can deal with the stress of it .....

As long as Mr. A.B. don't padlock the place on us, anyway ....

Like it was this morning, when I tried to get in ....

And so ....

But since I'm also headed to "redneck" country Liv, I've got all my country cds to listen to in the car on Route 22. Between the various mixes I and Snuff Jr. have made, we can just sing our hearts out when the sun comes out. I smell a "Living in Fast Forward' a la Kenny Chesney coming on. Truckin music.
The Roadie

Are we talking route 22 NY?

If so, that is a GREAT road. Takes you through a lot of historic places. New Lebanon, for example. One of the Shaker Communities of the mid 18th century.

WOW, jeffmoskin .....

You are a world-class traveler, indeed .....

And yes, we are talking, or rather, Snuf is talking about NY 22 .....

I live just to the west of where that Shaker Village is located .....

Rt. 22 used to be called "The Rum-runners Highway" .....

From back in prohibition days .....

When the rum-runners would make the trip south from Canada .....

Down to NYC .....

To keep the speak-easy's up and running ....

And so .....

And speaking of truckin', Snuf .....

How is the new vehicle doing?

My son's team won the game: 3-1 He played a good portion of the game and did well as a center and right midfielder.

However, I think many members of the opposing team would benefit from reading and abiding by the message offered in the poem you posted (really lovely and thank you, Livy ).
Three players of the opposing team(including their goalie) received red cards for bad behavior which benched them for the remainder of the game and for the next game. A few players were were given "time out" for their bad behavior on the field. The obnoxious behaviors included threatening words to our team members, talking back to the ref and spitting on a parent from our team as he walked by on the side lines!! Meanwhile, our boys, in spite of the adrenalin running high, showed restraint (not easy) and refrained from responding in kind. I have been to many soccer games and I have NEVER seen behavior like this from so many players. Apparently, this behavior is not out of the ordinary for them....what a shame...they hurt their team, they hurt the players who do behave appropriately and and their bad reputation will follow them throughout high school. Sad, indeed... Will be inetersting to see how they behave when we play them again....

Well, it's raining, windy and chilly here (Ernesto's influence). Flood watches again....I think we'll be okay because the really heavy rains are expected south of us...

Love your words, too, Livy.

We will be heading through AL, TN, and KY this week. I, too, plan to crank on the music...
my son got me Bruce Springsteen's CD "We Shall Overcome" and it is great traveling music.


Congrats on your son's game, Amy. Sorry to hear sportsmanship was so lacking on the other team- sounds like they may need a new coach.

I hope you all have a nice weekend.

I leave you with this sample of history:

Safe travels, Pie ....

Enjoy the road ....

And thanks for the picture ....

And the view of history that it gives ....

That is just down the road from me ...

Over to the east a bit .....

In the direction that Snuf is heading in ....

This weekend ....

And so ....

Over in my veterans thread, amy ....

I quote from the Afterward to the book The Long Gray Line ......

Where the author, Rick Atkinson .....

Talks about the Honor System ...

At the United States Military Academy .....

In 1999 .....

More than twenty years after Viet Nam ended .....

And twenty years or so .....

After the GREAT CHEATING SCANDAL .....

At West Point .....

In or about 1975 ......

That rocked the Military Academy .....

And perhaps woke it up some .....

As well .....

Concerning ....

The "ethical values" .....

Of the "new generations" .....

And the passage in question .....

Is as follows:

"The Honor System remained paramount, BUT CLEARLY WITH SHADES OF GRAY."

"THE ACADEMY NO LONGER ASSUMED THAT NEOPHYTES ARRIVED WITH A SENSE OF HONOR IN FULL FLOWER; INTEGRITY WAS TAUGHT, ROBUSTLY, AND HONOR VIOLATORS WERE SUBJECT TO A BROAD RANGE OF PUNISHMENTS, INCLUDING PENANCE AS AN ENLISTED SOLDIER IN THE ARMY FOR A YEAR."

Now ....

That is really quite a statement, when you think about it .....

Young adults reaching the age of 17 or 18 years of age ....

And not knowing about honor or integrity ....

Which is almost impossible, when you think on it .....

What it says to me .....

Is that in seventeen or eighteen years of living .....

These young people have encountered no one around them with either honor ....

Or integrity ....

In their schools ....

Or their sports teams ....

Or in their communities .....

And what you are speaking to ....

With regard to this other soccer team ...

Sort of goes right to the heart of that equation .....

Where cheating is de rigueur ...

And acting with integrity ....

Is for saps ....

And so ....

Of course, poor sportsmanship itself is nothing new ....

It was around when I was in high school ....

Playing sports .....

But it was not rampant then ....

Nor was it tolerated .....

Somehow .....

That has changed ....

In terms of the balance that seems to have existed then ....

And that is a real statement about this America that we now live in ...

That an institution like the United States Military Academy ....

Out of thousands of applicants ....

Can't be assured ....

Of finding any at all with honor ...

Or integrity ....

And so ...

It is a sign of hope ....

That your son is associated with people ....

Who have not cast their values aside .....

For the sake of convenience ....

For the moment ....

And an advantage for themselves ....

Notwithstanding the "cost" of that advantage ....

And so ....

Well ....

Ernesto is on the move, I guess .....

Somewhere, anyway ....

We didn't get what they said we were going to get .....

But then ....

I'm not sure if we ever really do ....

And so .....

It's clearing now .....

And it's windy out there .....

Kind of like a spring day, in that regard ....

And so .....

Hi Pie!
When is the family reunion?

Actually, the coach of that team is new this season...maybe the boys were testing him...he's got his work cut out for him.....

Safe travels to you and your husband and Buddy, too, of course.....




For sure, poor sportsmanship will always be a part of any sport. And, the players on my son's team misbehave too, at times. But it does seem that the nature of the inappropriate behavior has changed somewhat.....seems to be nastier these days....verbal threats to other players......spitting on a parent????.....belligerance to a ref........
Cheating in school and very aggressive behavior in sports reflect what is valued in today's society..achieving...winning...but the "character" factor seems to be missing .....the "end" seems to be more important that the means that are used to achieve those ends....

I think there's a disconnect .....Americans would say that integrity and honesty are valued character traits, but we are seeing less and less of that in today's society....

I attended an orientation for our high school Freshman, and the principal listed the reasons cell phones are forbidden in the school.....of course most of the parents, including myself, only considered the more obvious reasons for a ban on cell phones....noisy...distracting...prevent drug dealing on school property. Well, we were enlightened that they are banned for those reasons but also to prevent students from using them for cheating on tests and for taking pics of students in the locker rooms and in the bathrooms and posting the pics on the internet... New and improved ways for misusing cell phones.. School personnel certainly have much to deal with.....I don't envy them.

Well, I'm off to fight the crowds at the mall...school clothes shopping..again....
Hope everyone's day is a good one...

"On my honor" ......

Are words that have been with me for a long time now .....

And as with many .....

Or most things, perhaps ......

The only one who can really put any meaning into those words .....

Is me .....

And putting meaning in ....

Means really putting meaning into ....

By actions ....

And not by words at all .....

Back when I was young .....

And out in the country ...

Where things like a warm house in winter ....

Had to be won from the land ...

By the sweat of one's brow .....

There was little time .....

Nor need ....

For talk ....

And so ....

When you are not talking .....

But doing .....

It is amazing .....

What you are leaving undone .....

At the same time .....

Which is the things .....

That enough idle time .....

To talk a lot ....

Seems to produce ....

And so ....

In that time ....

You knew the wood was cut ....

When the barn was full ....

And you knew the hay-picking was done ....

When there was no more hay in the field to be seen ....

And you knew the field was plowed ....

When you could look out .....

And see fresh brown furrows .....

And so ...

Being a slick talker back then didn't get your house heated for you .....

Like it does today .....

And it sure was not going to serve to make someone think you had done something that by the independent use of one's own eyes was clearly not done .....

Like a field of hay bales .....

Still sitting there .....

When the man with the fancy mouth ...

Is saying the job is now done .....

Because it just got too hot to work out there, anymore ....

And so ....

To me, anyway .....

Who came from a much different time and space than that which exists around me right now ...

Where I am ....

There does seem to be a viciousness ....

Where I never sensed it before .....

And that includes being down in Texas ....

And Louisiana .....

In the Viet Nam times ....

And so ....

Maybe not "world-class"... only "state class."

My recollection is that the Shaker movement was begun by Mother Ann Lee, a Brit as I recall. The Shakers took their name from "Shaking Quakers" because of some of their dances. (Come life Shaker life, come life eternal, shake shake out of me all that is carnal)

Aye, there's the rub.

No sex.

No kids.

Except for the vagrants they took in. They were probably one of New York/New England's first foster home network. They farmed and prospered, in spite of their self-imposed birth-control. After the Civil War, what with the railroads providing opportunities elsewhere and the means to get there, the Shaker Communities (there were 4 major ones) withered and died off.

There is now a museum near Pittsfield, MA. I believe the New Lebanon site has turned into regular housing or was absorbed by the Darrow School, a private school nearby.

Your comments on honor, integrity, and commitment resonate with me Liv. Last year, my son and two other prefects at his school spent an inordinate amount of time trying to change and strengthen the honor code, and Honor Council proceedings at their highschool, to ensure among other things, transparency in the process, fairness, a firm articulation of the rules and their application, disclosure of honor council meetings to the students, articulation of the reasons for disciplinary actions etc - and were met with resistance first by parents - most of whom do not support concepts of zero tolerance, and who sought to make everything private and under the table; and the then resistance by the faculty who didn't want transparency in the process; and resistance by a Headmaster who believes in delegating such decisions to underlings and can't be bothered to do more than just raise funds for the school a la a capital campaign; an upper school head who doesn't understand the value of the meaning of saying no and meaning it - and I could go on. You wind up with a process that a boy who comes from money gets the slap on the wrist, the boy who doesn't gets severly reprimanded or expelled. No I'm not being naive here. The students asked the proverbial question - what is it about a rule that says "no cheating' or "no drinking" you don't understand. And if you break the rule these are the consequences.?

Take it to the sports field - I've seen the most God awful behavior by parents in highschool athletic gyms in Maryland, Virginia, and DC. Its not an inner city phenomenon. Its rampant all of the place. I've seen parents verbally abuse coaches, officials, etc. Catcalls, yelling, slapping, snickering, booing, egging on the athletes, game interference etc. Doesn't take long for things to erupt on the playing field among the players. I don't blame the kids. I blame the parents.

Well, Snuf .....

In the end .....

It is hard to assign "blame" .....

Although I have to agree that children ....

Or more properly young adults .....

Or more likely influenced by their parents ....

Than the converse .....

And so .....

That is an interesting story that you tell ....

About that situation at that school ....

And it reminds me of an incident from up here ....

At the same high school where I went .....

Where older kids on the football team ....

Were hazing younger players ....

In a real gross and perverted way .....

And the administration wrapped its arms around those who were doing this perverted hazing .....

Because they were the "stars", of course ....

And that whole episode .....

Really kind of set a tone up here .....

As to the kinds of "values" that are taught in that place today .....

Where if you are bigger ....

And stronger ....

And "good" at athletics .....

You are allowed by the school administration .....

To prey on those weaker than you .....

And so ....

I was taught .....

In that school .....

That you keep your hands to yourself .....

And you don't prey on those weaker than you .....

But somehow ...

Those values have long since departed that high school .....

Likely because they departed the community surrounding it ....

And so ....

The original Shaker site I believe is in what is today Colonie, New York, up near the Albany, New York airport.

Some or several of the original buildings are there, and this weekend coming, they have a craft fair at that site.

The museum is along Rt. 20 on the way from Lebanon, New York to Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

I have been by it many times, but have never stopped in, although I know people who have, and they say it is well worth a visit.

There are some quite good craftspeople associated with that Shaker museum site, and the Shaker furniture, of course, is still in demand up this way, anyway.

Those Shaker chairs were designed to be hung along the walls when they were not in use, to get them out of the way of cleaning .....

And their whole lifestyle was based on simplicity .....

And efficiency .....

And so .....

Simple Gifts:

Simple Gifts was written by Shaker Elder Joseph Brackett, Jr. in 1848. It was first published in The Gift to be Simple: Shaker Rituals and Songs. Simple Gifts was a work song sung by the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing (more commonly called the Shakers, an offshoot of the Quakers).

'Tis the gift to be simple,
'tis the gift to be free,
'tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
It will be in the valley of love and delight.

Refrain:

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be our delight,
'Til by turning, turning we come round right

'Tis the gift to be loved and that love to return,
'Tis the gift to be taught and a richer gift to learn,
And when we expect of others what we try to live each day,
Then we'll all live together and we'll all learn to say,

Refrain:

'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be,
'Tis the gift to think of others not to only think of "me",
And when we hear what others really think and really feel,
Then we'll all live together with a love that is real.

This poem was the basis of the main theme from Aaron Copeland's "Appalachian Spring", AKA Ballet for Martha (Graham).

jeffmoskin ....

You're quite a treasure trove of Americana ......

That is for sure ....

Especially with your knowledge of the Shakers .....

Who I believe are probably somewhat obscure today .....

Here in OUR America .....

And hence .....

Are likely unknown by many here in this country ....

Even though they were so much a part of our local history up here ....

And so .....

Well ...

It is a grey day up here, us ....

Kind of cool ....

Certainly not tropical warm ...

And now it is raining some .....

Clouds being squeezed out most likely .....

A lot of wind over to the east of me ....

Scattered a lot of branches around .....

And plastered the road in places with them ....

But not over here where I am .....

Which is in a different watershed .....

Which means a different "air basin" over head ......

That delivers the air gusts here or there .....

And distributes them ....

Down onto the heads .....

Of those who live in their direct path ....

Which over the years has been all around me .....

But not on me ...

Because of where I live on a local ridge system .....

With good-sized valleys on either side to balance out the wind gusts where I am .....

Like competing bellows ....

In sympathetic harmony with each other .....

And so ...

This time .....

I didn't get the bad wind .....

And so ....

The other morning ....

I and some others ....

Were just amazed at the air that was streaming in up here .....

Over our heads ...

Air from the south going farther north than I am ....

Real fast .....

And real steady .....

Which is the source of the big wind ....

Over east of me .....

That scattered all those branches about ....

And so ....

Today ....

Earlier ...

I saw something .....

That some others up here have seen ...

And commented on ......

And that was a mother turkey ......

Out there with some young chicks .....

That look like chicks from May or so .....

Except that this is September ....

And so .....

We aren't sure if that is two .....

Or three broods this year .....

But whatever ...

It is late to see little turkeys like that .....

And so ......

What it means is what it means, of course ......

And whoever is to know .....

But to us up here .....

Nature controls the cycles of life .....

And the balance of things ...

And when nature revises that balance upwards ...

By giving a late brood to the turkeys up here ...

Well ...

It's a thing of curiosity for us, anyway ......

Why nature would go and do that .....

Put these extra turkeys out there, so to speak .....

What that might mean .....

For this species .....

That gets eaten by turkeys .....

Or that species .....

Which gets to eat turkeys .....

In their turn .....

But apparently hasn't been .....

Since the turkeys are doing pretty good for themselves up here these days .....

In a place where there were none when I was young .....

Especially with that late brood of theirs up here this year ....

Which is favorable to their numbers rising ....

And so .....

Perhaps nature has made a determination .....

That populating the world with turkeys ...

Rather than human beings ......

Is more in line with its plans ...

For the future of the earth ...

And so .....

In any event ....

What nature intends .....

Well .....

Just have to wait and see .....

And so ....

The turkey, of course ....

Is a beneficial creature to nature .....

So far as I can see anyway .....

You never see them making wars, anyway .....

Or at least they haven't where I am, anyway ...

And so .....

If that is any indication .....

They seem to be right peacable ...

And so .....

And they are definitely community-oriented .....

With a real good day-care system ......

That leaves no chick behind .....

And so .....

Nature could do worse ....

Than to have them ....

As the dominant two-legged species here on this earth of ours ....

And so ....

Well ...

It's cloudy up here, us .....

And rainy .....

Although not heavy .....

Labor Day is over ....

And summer with it, I guess ....

Or that is what people say, anyway .....

And it probably is true .....

Or people wouldn't say it ....

And so .....

I have left your neighborhood LIv and headed south to Westchester making good time on the Taconic. It was gray for three days. I mean really Gray. Reminded me of Detroit it was so gray. Occasionally the sun would peak in, but not for long. Last year at this time I remember it being sunny. Maybe the weather just complemented my mood dropping my son off for his second year in college. His dorm is a better one this year with a little more room than last year. The storage warehouse where he housed some of his stuff was a disaster. I spent a day wiping everything down from the dust. The refrigerator was a lost cause to mold and I refused to let him take that into the dorm. Multiple trips to Walmart to get tools, cleansers, vacuum, another refrigerator etc. It seemed to take longer this year to get him settled. Classes begin tomorrow; he's sleeping in today. Two of his basketball teammates from California lost their luggage in route to Albany. I can only imagine the fallout in the event they can't find it. I will be back in DC tomorrow.

It's an adventure out there .....

On life's highway, Snuf .....

How is the old song ...

Get your kicks ....

On Rte. 66?

Something like that, anyway ....

And so ......

Boy ...

If you didn't know any other way .....

That the season is waning ....

Instead of waxing ....

The birds up here would be a give-away, anyway .....

They're moving around now .....

Flocking up ....

And storing up on food ....

Fattening themselves up to make a trip south .....

One of these days, anyway ....

In the spring ....

The birds are more carefree ....

They have a season ahead of them .....

And they know it .....

Now ....

That season is behind them .....

And they know that, too .....

And so ...

There is a kind of insistence to their movements .....

Purposefulness ....

That wasn't there in the spring ....

And so .....

And once again ...

Here in CYBERSPACE ....

It is a whole new day ....

With new possibilities .....

And so ......

And now ....

Outside ....

In non-CYBERSPACE .....

If there really is such a place, anymore ....

It has gotten quite nice, actually .....

These next few weeks can be a real nice time of the year up here ....

OR NOT ....

But when they are .....

You really appreciate them ....

Because the memory of them has to last you till spring rolls round again ....

And so ....

Nice out here in Kah-Lee-FAWN-Yah, too.

A lot of towering cumulo-nimbus clouds over the desert - - moisture sucked in from the tropical storm down in Baja - - creating downpours.

Otherwise, "It's just another perfect day... I love LA"

Well, jeffmoskin .....

It's good to see you around more regular these days .....

I was just over in Life in OUR America .....

Where I was edified by you this morning .....

As to what is really happening over there in Iraq .....

Despite any appearances ....

And there are many ....

To the contrary ......

It is good to be edified every now and then ....

Especially as we get older .....

And our brain begins to solidify .....

Into something resembling a peach pit .....

And so ....

Good Morning...It's Friday!



Some humor to start out the week-end.....
From the internet:

The Year's Best Actual

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You know you're in California when.....

1. Your coworker has 8 body piercings and none are visible.

2. You make over $200,000 and still can't afford a house.

3. You take a bus and are shocked at two people carrying on a conversation in English.

4. Your child's 3rd-grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and is named Breeze.

5. You can't remember...is pot illegal?

6. You have a very strong opinion about where your coffee beans are grown, and you can taste the difference between Sumatran and Ethiopian.

7 You can't remember...is pot illegal?

8. A really great parking space can totally move you to tears.

9.Gas costs $1.00 per gallon more than anywhere else in the U.S.

10. Unlike back home, the guy at 8:30 am at Starbucks wearing the baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney really IS George Clooney.

11. Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.

12. You can't remember...is pot illegal?

13. Its barely sprinkling rain and there's a report on every news station: "STORM WATCH 2006".

14. You pass an elementary school playground and the children are all busy with their cells or pagers.

15. It's barely sprinkling rain outside, so you leave for work an hour early to avoid all the weather-related accidents.

16. Both you AND your dog have therapists

24. .. and, the Terminator is your governor....

Well, it's a beautiful day in my neck of the woods...I'm off to work in my garden.....

Hope everyone's week-end is a good one!

There were more than a few chuckles in what you posted up there, amy ......

And I was kind of wondering myself ....

What those seven-foot doctors were suing that hospital for .....

Maybe the ceilings were too low ....

Or the doors ....

Or something, anyway .....

Perhaps they couldn't get their legs under the desks that the hospital provided for them .....

Assuming that hospitals do provide desks for doctors ....

And that is pretty uncommon, I would think, in the first place .....

To have a bunch of seven-foot doctors around .....

Although it is obviously not impossible .....

And so .....

Up here where I am .....

And maybe this is actually everywhere .....

Although I can't really tell .....

Since I'm only here .....

Starbucks is now going toe-to-toe .....

With Dunkin Donuts ......

In that Starbucks is going with a take-out window .....

At least up here .....

So that you can now get Starbucks-joe-on-the-go ......

No need to go inside and sit with a bunch of yuppies .....

Or whomever is in there .....

English teachers, maybe .....

Talking Elizabethan sonnets .....

Or rocket scientists .....

Talking astro-physics ......

Or whatever it is that they do at Starbucks when they do go in there .....

Which is likely not to gawk at George Clooney .....

At least up here ....

Since he is only out there at the California Starbucks ....

Yes .....

Pretty soon .....

You'll just be able to pull up to the take-out window .....

And just like that .....

You'll have a five or ten dollar cup of Starbucks coffee in your hand .....

And you'll be back on the highway ......

Lickety-split .....

And so .....

We don't know yet whether or not Starbucks with a take-out window ....

Being right next to Dunkin Donuts .....

Like they are up here .....

Is going to set off any price wars or anything like that .....

With Dunkin Donuts making their coffee more expensive .....

To compete with Starbucks ....

Because higher price does make for a better cup of coffee, or so we have heard, anyway .....

And so .....

Anyway ...

If every Starbucks does go with the take-out window scheme .....

I wonder what impact that might have on George Clooney?

I wonder if anyone at Starbucks has given any thought to that impact of this big change-over ......

The action at Starbucks switching over to the take-out window .....

Or whether in the corporate scheme of things .....

At Starbucks .....

Where these kinds of high-level decisions are made ....

The fate of George Clooney hanging around outside the door .....

In his baseball cap and sunglasses .....

Waiting to be "seen" .....

When all the action is now at the drive-through window ...

Was simply too trivial for them to consider .....

Which sure would be a blow to George Clooney's ego .....

And who knows whatever other adverse impacts that might have .....

ON ANYTHING .....

And so .....

Yes, indeed .....

We're going high-tech up here in the hinterlands of civilization .....

With a brand new Starbucks take-out coffee place being built right next to a Dunkin Donuts take-out place .....

And it's quite the "buzz" around the place, that is for sure .....

All kinds of speculation running rampant up here .....

As to whether you could see Brad Pitt there ...

Or maybe George Clooney .....

After all ...

As the saying goes ...

"If you build it, they will come ..."

And so they could, I guess ....

But whoever really does know those kinds of things, after all ...

What factors might or might not influence the peregrinations of either Brad Pitt ....

Or George Clooney .....

So that conceivably .....

They could be right there ..

Right ahead of you .....

In that great huge HUMMER ....

With the tinted windows that you can't see through ....

And so ....

Seeing the great huge HUMMER with the tinted windows ....

In the take-out line at the new Starbucks ....

Is the next best thing to actually seeing Brad Pitt ....

Since he really could have been in there .....

Making a celebrity appearance ....

To christen the new take-out window, so to speak ....

And you just would not have known ....

Because you couldn't see him through the tinted windows ....

And so ....

Yes, indeed .....

Big, big news ....

Vee ahhr trying very very hahd to remedy dis situation, here in Kah-Lee-FAWN-Yah. Vee weel appreciate any help vee can get from concerned outsiders like yourself.

Oops - - I just noticed who my daily avatar is today.

Boy ....

That's a nasty cut on his lip, there .....

Must have been from when he went crazy with his motorcycle or whatever it was that happened to him that day .....

Maybe he went temporarily Terminator in his mind and tried to bite out a piece of a car .....

Whatever .....

That sure is a nasty cut on his lip .....

Which just goes to show you .....

Something or other, anyway .....

And so ....

We got some thunder up overhead today, right now, us .....

Which reminded me ....

What an odd summer season it was up here, weather-wise .....

This is the first thunder-storm we have had in a while, it seems ....

And we didn't get hardly any in August ...

When there usually are some good powerful ones .....

I don't know whose weather this is that we are getting these days .....

But it sure does seem different .....

And so .....

Well ....

We just got hammered ....

Right after I made that last post ....

The wind came up ....

And rain ....

And hail ....

Thunder ....

Lightning ....

Branches and leaves all over the road ....

And so ....

And once again .....

The sun is rising here in the BLOG-O-SPHERE ....

And the virtual roosters are crowing .....

And so .....

A new day begins .....

With all the promise that new days bring ....

And so ....

And out here ....

Outside of the BLOG-O-SPHERE ......

Assuming arguendo that the tenuous boundary between is still holding ....

It is coolish ....

A nice fall day ....

Sun shining ....

A good breeze has been blowing ....

Which has it tending towards chilly ....

When you are in the breeze ....

And so .....

Well ....

It's cool out there this morning ....

Down in the 40's .....

I guess summer is on the slide back out again ....

Oh, well ....

DAYLIGHT AND MOONLIGHT

In broad daylight, and at noon,
Yesterday I saw the moon
Sailing high, but faint and white,
As a school-boy's paper kite.

In broad daylight, yesterday,
I read a Poet's mystic lay;
And it seemed to me at most
As a phantom, or a ghost.

But at length the feverish day
Like a passion died away,
And the night, serene and still,
Fell on village, vale, and hill.

Then the moon, in all her pride,
Like a spirit glorified,
Filled and overflowed the night
With revelations of her light.

And the Poet's song again
Passed like music through my brain;
Night interpreted to me
All its grace and mystery.
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Goodnight.....