More "Good Stuff" from PBS

 Last night, I watched the 2nd installment of, "Southern Storytellers." 

 My take?  Love it!

Not yet shown are scenes and/or stories of Southeast Kentucky, where coal mines were the mainstay of the population.  I don't know how many installments were made, but thus far, it's another set of nostalgia, coupled with some hard swallows.  I did associate some of the two with Hazard, Kentucky, where I've been helping since 1996 and have come to know a fine group of the folks, who shared their stories....Wow!

I'll tell you no more, other than to implore your watching the series of, "Southern Storytelling."

Had I known many of these true tales, I would have begun a journal when I was 4!!!

Peace, love, scrambled eggs, good biscuits and gravy!  Oh yeah...and BACON!!!

7-23-23 was a slow day between the headsets

A query re QWERTY:  If all things computer are determined using only 0 and 1, why in the name of Nikolai Tesla does a keyboard have so many danged buttons?!?

 Have you or anyone you know ever phoned someone and said, "We need to text!"?

Until I gripe again, folks.....Saul Igott

Shows to go ya...Some things never change.....

 From an anonymous person, circa 2012

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days." The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations." She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day. Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day. Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. This was to ensure that public property, (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags. But too bad we didn't do the green thing back then. We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day. Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throwaway kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from  their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day. Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then. We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then. Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint. But isn't it sad that the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then? Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartass young person... We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to tick us off.

My Letter to the Editor: States of Confusion

I truly love reading both Street Talk and these LTEs, terrific spots in which I'm exposed to so many viewpoints, all being what makes our US of A such a good place to be!  There are and will always be issues and I pray good people will recognize and resolve them.

The LTE section is an open forum , as noted at the page top, wherein it's defined, 'Opinion.' Some are debatable, 4ntertaining, enlightening, hilarious, questionable, painful, but all reflect the right to free speech. Today's episode, (7-12-23). brings me to my confusion of sorts and not a personal attack on his intellect. Mr. J H wrote a fine opinion, which, in part stated,

'What I don’t have is the right to demand that The Post, or any publication or broadcaster spread my opinions on their platforms.'

My conundrum: We who submit opinions accept publication and its inherent dissemination to all who subscribe. Right?  If we don't wish to have said letters published, we should make the request known and it would then be read by only the editor. The only option is to not send the letter. Doing that, though, no one would know your feelings/opinions. Right? Again, not an attack, merely an observation. 

My goat sent me a text, informing that this really gets his human! The meaning of WOKE is 'aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues' Those 11 words emphatically tell us that people have studied and are understanding of its content. Yet, those who don't agree with its definite intent have chosen to defy logic by turning it 180 degrees! That qualifies their thinking as a 'What the Hell moment!' I'm told Satan himself rolled his eyes on that one! By the way, in the book, '1984,' re-writing fact and history is the task of the book's main character.

Finally, (you're welcome), when writing, I use italics, bold and occasional words with all upper case to accentuate moods. I called Al Gore, 'inventor of the internet,' to explain why The Post takes away my methodology, His response was an emphatic, 'Huh!' So, Mr. B.T.,. any help on your end?

7 come 11---It ain't just for dice games, anymore!

On THIS day , let's all take a moment for salutations and use them wisely; Remember to wish a "Happy Shopping!" to your local 7-11 Store manager.  He might be Abu Shamalama and she might be Babu Shka. the loving couple who smile as they give you lottery tickets, aka, "The Nohope Weekly."  Something akin to the Tooth Fairy, but in THIS case, you place them under your pillow at night, so, when you flip that hunk of chicken feathers at sun-up, they magically become bookmarks...YAY!  

Curmudgeon Cannot Conceptualize the Constant Kerfuffle

 What ignites MY fireworks?  Have a seat!

Ohio's governor sez he's not a fan of cannabis.  Okay...fair enough.  SO, what the (Insert your own expletive) was he smoking when he shouted, "Guns fer ALL, Y'all!!!"  Maybe we can forgive that if he missed reading newspaper articles about the rise in street murders or the 5 year-old who shot his baby brother or Mom.  Or...MAYbe, there's not even a cable or satellite that brings TV to his neighborhood? 

 Where were the Marshall and all his deputies when the yay-hoos told us pretty much to go to hell after being informed their new version of gerrymander was illegal?  UMMM, Mike, that IS against the state constitution.  They should have been arrested, tossed in the clink and their plan returned to its proper status!  

Kids are vaping, consuming alcohol, buying drugs and killing on my and your streets.  

Expensive cell phones are killing innocent people.  How difficult is it to prevent a car from starting and running when the phone is on?  My Smart A-- phone asks if I'm driving.  I merely tap the "No" button to override the software.  Can you hear me, Mr. Gates?

Back to the cannabis.  Believe it or not, every plant has a purpose. Need proof?  For one, consider George Washington Carver and his cohorts, who found many uses for the everyday peanut!  Need a tasty, soft wine on your dinner table?  Consider one brewed from dandelions.  Get the picture?  All it takes is the people, time and effort for success.  

The meds you see in countless commercials are "born" by combining a complex variety of chemicals!  Open any prescription box or even many Over-the-Counters and you'll see a 1" square bundle of paper that unfolds until it becomes the size of the Disneyworld parking lot!  Once fully open, the words are so tiny, they can barely get focused by the Hubble or Webb telescope!  And yet, the words cover any and perhaps all instances of side-effects, none of which are their fault.  After all, they told you so!  

Folks, you get side-effects because your body is fighting off what it deems to be harm producing invaders!  Even organ transplants are carefully monitored for that reason.

The pretty poppy has redeeming medicinal value. But, as mentioned above, unsavory people took the time to determine said methods necessary to become enormously rich.  However, they don't supply cautionary papers and once you purchase product, you're on your own.  No doctor will call.  There are no clinics.  You become an addict. Without help, odds are, you'll die soon.  Your supplier will find another addict/customer.

Peace and love...until the next time you get me started