Just Wandering

The wife and I notice things in our neighborhood and not simply because we are any more nosy than anyone else … sometimes you just can’t help but observe.

Our street, like many around us, was designed such that all the mail boxes are set up on one side of it in pods of four with each box set atop its own post about 8 inches apart. This allows the mail carrier to deliver our bills and Christmas cards in an efficient and timely manner . I’m all for it but there is a price for all concerned .

For a start half the members of each pod are forced, like myself, to walk across the street daily in order to retrieve the mail . The other half is burdened by four posts on their property line requiring a bit more effort on mowing day should neatness count for anything . And that brings us to our first observation made 12 years ago . Neatness doesn’t count .

For twelve years every lawn day I have walked across the street and weed wacked around those four posts as no one else will step up to the task. Once in a while in silent protest I’ll just not do it only to be rewarded with the very unkempt view and once I even stop watched my weekly effort . From the garage door down the drive, across the street, weed wack and back …. 48 seconds flat and one would think that hardly worth the complaint on my part .

We’ve recently returned from a rather lengthy stay away and on our first morning back looked out to be rewarded with our first observation of interest . During our absence some one had clearly , and surprisingly taken the time to weed wack around the mail box posts.  Well , three of them anyway ….

One mail box was left untouched , it’s post surrounded by a thick bush of overgrown weeds and grass and we couldn’t help but notice that it was ours ….

Of all my trips “south of the border” this one one has a glaring and difficult not to notice difference . An almost complete lack of interest, though not on my part. All  previous trips to Colombia I’ve enjoyed have entailed a ceaseless barrage of questions about the United States …” How much money can you make ? … how much does this cost… or that ? is rent expensive, do you have a car ?” and the like. Not this time.

This time like a switch was thrown the interest has waned to just about zilch and I barely fielded a question about life in the North at all . One person did ask how the economy is doing up there though he didn’t bother to wait for an answer . Another questioned me ceaselessly about dog racing ……. dog racing.  As in greyhounds. And he was more than enthused to hear I have attended dog racing numerous times in the past .

I went on to inform that in my own state of Florida live dog racing has been banned as it has been deemed that training dogs to race around an oval in pursuit of a mechanical rabbit is cruel . His blank non comprehending stare urged me not to bother mentioning that the same state has no qualms about calf roping but that’s another issue. He did get a kick out of my story of once attending the dog races in Adelaide, Australia one night when the electricity went out mid race . Three minutes later when the lights came back on that fake rabbit was a shredded lump on the track.

Last night I watched two kids on one bicycle racing for all their might through the center of heavy traffic , a large and barking dog directly on their tail , until they were out of sight . I sure hope the lights didn’t go out for them ……

I’d had it …… I was tired of the incessant whines from people with nothing more in what little is left of wasted lives spent glued to the news wanting nothing more than to be pissed off . After these past five years I didn’t care anymore, I was just plain and simply all out of fucks to give and so embarked on a great experiment and cut myself off from all of it. Very little outside contact and zero news of the world if only for an all too brief a period of time.

I found Colombia a very easy place to ignore the “news” as in all my time here I didn’t meet anyone else who bothered with it apart from an old guy who tuned in once a week to catch the soccer scores. And honest to Christ not one political comment reached my ears from anyone in all this time .

That experiment ended this morning as I’ll soon be returning to the world and foolishly allowed curiosity to win and for the first time accessed the internet news . First article to catch my eye was a poll stating   An overwhelming majority of Americans believe the U.S. is in the grips of a full-blown mental health crisis. I’m not certain of its accuracy but that seems a shame considering here in Colombia everyone appears to be happy as a lark while enjoying life , laughing and drinking coffee and beer with neighbors and friends .

I noticed lots of other things during a half hour of internet perusal as well . I noticed there is still a “belief ” that Trump won. There are still elected political “leaders” pushing the Q Anon theory , some people still don’t believe Covid even exists while numerous anti vaxers have dropped like flies . Some are still claiming that what happened at the Capitol one year ago was nothing more than a peaceful gathering of people exercising their rights and many that accept it as violent lay claim it was instigated by the FBI or some secret government agency in order to make Trump look bad….. and I notice without amusement that those who do believe all this are those who loudly flail out at Fake News .

I think I’ve just  talked myself into continuing on gleefully with simply having no more fucks to give ….

It had been quite some time since the last time and suddenly there it was, twice in the same day. Spoken English. The first time spooked me a little as it turned out to be non other than me talking to myself but we needn’t follow that train just yet.

The next was a man who recognized my poor Spanish and introduced himself as someone who had spent some time long ago in New Jersey. Almost immediately he hit me with a question I hadn’t given a thought to in the previous months ….

” What do you miss the most about the United States ? ”

I tactfully pretended to give this some thought but there were answers to that question that hit my thoughts in an instant. Like very hard seriously sharp cheddar cheese for one. I’m not fond of the very soft almost liquid creamy cheeses in Colombia that they seem so very proud of .

Good craft beer jumped right in line as well . This one would be a difficult explanation on my part as the entire barrio is completely aware of the copious amounts of local brew that is purified through my overtaxed kidney’s on a daily basis. I’m quite certain I offer the impression that I think it’s the best and they seem pleased about that so I’d prefer not to deny them any joy in that regard .

A rib eye . I’m talking a one and a half inch thick heavily marbled slab of beef singed on the outside, moist on the inside and tender enough to cut through with a single pass of a moderately sharp blade. Of all the wonderful food items to be found in Colombia a decent steak just isn’t one of them . I might add that having it served without rice and music   playing would be pleasant as well , both being a staple of each and every meal . In fact rice is such a staple that I recently asked for my meal to be served sans rice and everyone laughed at the obvious Gringo joke . I was served a double portion of it in honor of my obviously great sense of humor……

There’s a lot about Colombia that appeals to my chameleon like personality . Contrasts  are far deeper there than just the difference between black and white and yesterday was a fine example of this.

I found myself miles up a dirt road outside Anserma, Colombia where surprisingly a somewhat upscale restaurant sits perched below the peak of a high Andean mountain . The  incredible view from the outdoor balcony dining area was an endless valley , its wide vista contained two distant cities , small towns and far below us  several hundred’s of acres of farm owned by whom I lunched with.

The gentleman in question is just that as he politely disguised his disappointment in my decline of a nice white wine to complement my grilled trout and instead go with a blue collar beer. As is often the case with men of means the conversation came round to how incredibly hard one must work to be so successful .

Four hours later I was sitting at a table in an outstandingly dingy corner store sharing a beer and a laugh with a man who works the sugar cane fields somewhere in that very same valley. I felt no need to tell him where I had eaten because he would know I had just spent two days of his pay for lunch and that somehow embarrasses me . He politely couldn’t disguise his enthusiasm at my offer of paying ten cents more per bottle for better beer .

Later, as is often the case with working men he explained how hard he works cutting cane and we shared four empanada’s at twenty five cents each and I found them quite filling. Much more so than butterflied trout with white sauce and champignons , even if the view was not quite the same.

I didn’t always write useless little stories on a blog , instead I used the time to read a great deal and as of late I’ve found time to reacquaint myself with that pleasure. Inevitably my stash of unread English language books has quickly become a might thin.

Friends here in Colombia point out it shouldn’t really be an issue as they’ve often noted how well I read Spanish . What they don’t get is that just because I can read all the signs in the street with perfect inflection , doesn’t mean I know what the hell all those words actually mean . But I had spied a ramshackle used book store a while back  on an old street .

The “Biblioteca de Libros Usado ” reminded me of many used book stores I’ve visited around the globe and instantly felt right at home as I entered to ask the proprietor….

” No hay libros en Engles ? ”

” Si Senor …. they are on the center shelf on the back wall .” ……. and so they were.

They turned out to be predominantly ” How to Speak English ” books but there was a gem or two to be found . One large volume was The HISTORY of LATEX but it had no pictures so I gave it a miss as I did the book explaining a religion I’d never heard of . All was not lost however as I forked over my pesos for a story about some Italian guy who lived in the 1830’s and a 1950’s Hardy Boys mystery .

I’ll have to try and read at a more relaxed pace, I mean if I plow through that Hardy Boys mystery too quickly I’ll be forced to go back for The History of Latex … if someone doesn’t get it first.

Well it was inevitable, the only surprise being was how long it took to witness . I was sitting outside my favorite corner store recently when WHAM !  The car struck cyclist flew towards me like a cape less superman to face plant halfway across the busy intersection . The driver of the vehicle was quick as a bunny and immediately hopped out from behind the wheel to inspect his fender for damages while superman rose to his knees .

The endless traffic that politely drove around the victim prevented any assistance I might have offered but I was relieved to notice a police vehicle with two Policia coming up the road. They too proved very polite and also carefully drove around the hapless one to continue on their journey with nary an interested look .

” They’re probably not traffic police ”   was the response someone offered at my dismay.

The victim turned out to be unharmed I’m well pleased to report  , but this did leave me with the sincere hope that should I ever become a victim of violent crime here in Colombia  it’s not witnessed by a mere traffic cop …..

A wonderful thing happened and I’m ever so grateful it did. Our 100 yr. old terracotta roof started to leak during an intense midnight equatorial style rain storm and the drip found its way south directly over my bed prone body.

It was my hope that an extended trip to South America would free me from all those household fix it chores for a while and having recently retired from the handyman services game this held strong appeal. But alas , upon arrival the wife found numerous things needing attention. I changed out ceiling lights on our twelve foot ceilings , swapped out electrical outlets and rebuilt the cabinetry at the outdoor barbecue including back splash.

The roof however needed more than my abilities and so we hired someone we know who spent a few hours and fixed the roof with great success.

” How much is he charging ? ”  I asked the wife

” Thirty thousand pesos but I gave him forty ”  she said.

Some quick math with knowledge of the exchange rate of four thousand pesos to the buck and

………….” what ?…… you got me doing all this stuff when I can hire someone for nine bucks a day ?”

Our roofer has been invited back and is outside right now replacing the corrugated roof over the barbecue area. He’ll be finished around 4 p.m. and I’m not getting off my ass until then as I have a serious amount of important nothing to do. When finished I’m certain he’ll accept the invite to beers and traffic watching at the corner store while I indulge a true retired lifestyle  …… if only until we get back to the States.

Is it safe ?

That’s the question I’m asked every time I’ve ever mentioned I’m heading south to Colombia. In all honesty I’m going to have to admit that no … it is not safe. A clarification on this is in order .

Colombia suffers a bad rap from a violent past and I do recall my first visit so many years ago when it was imperative to be aware of the locations of guerrillas. Colombia was the kidnap capitol of the globe and the possibility of aggressive robbery after dark was very real. But things have changed and Colombia has managed something my own country has failed at. It has improved itself in many ways and I no longer worry on this .

The daily assaults I suffer here now are relatively harmless intrusions on the senses …. like sound, as Colombia is a country of decibel. The “true” danger in Colombia still lurks however and is ever present in that at some point it becomes necessary to become a pedestrian. Me thinks a more hazardous endeavor would be difficult to find outside combat in a war zone . Pedestrian right of way is a myth here if anyone has even ever heard of it. Once off the sidewalk you are fair game .

The side walks themselves are a hazard as the likelihood of catching a toe on uneven pavement or stepping in a hole while avoiding dog shit is huge . Simply crossing the street can be an experience worthy of a prescription of sedatives as once off the sidewalk a suicidal saunter is definitely not in order. Colombia is working hard on improving this as well …

This year our town has set up traffic lights at numerous intersections and this has proven a truly huge aide to a “ped” crossing the street . It is proven they effectively stop a large percentage of vehicles and motorcycles from roaring through giving the walker a running chance. Some streets even have the internationally recognized zebra crossings. Unfortunately it is believed they are merely decorations painted on to improve an otherwise ugly pavement.

It’s highly unlikely that I’ll ever possess the nads to ride a bicycle here so we need not bother discussing those hazards

At present I don’t have a watch . I can’t recall the last time I turned on my phone, or even where the hell it is. A moot point if ever there was one as its charger was left behind in another country and there are far better things to do with the money than to replace it .

Like most people where I am I’ve developed a morning routine and mine is to sit outside as the sun just shows , sipping strong black coffee while surrounded by aromatic flowering trees full of colorful vociferous birds . This mornings ritual was particularly pleasant as it suddenly  occurred to me that I didn’t have a clue as to what day it was . More pleasing still was the realization that the effort to garner that information would bring no  gain of any importance.

Should you look up the two similar words submerse and submerge you’ll find that experts on the English language place their meanings very closely. Both are verbs, yet one can also be used as an adjective and I have chosen it as a descriptive of what has apparently happened to me .  I have submerged below the surface hopefully like a submarine , and not sunk like rock.

It’s been weeks since I suffered my last viewing of a news broadcast  , or heard a single political comment of any kind from anyone and I can’t describe the wonder of it . I have exchanged all that for something beautiful , I’ve swapped it for laughing joking people socializing at the corner stores and parks who have a grasp on what is important .

I’ve come to conclude I needed this far more than I realized and so do you . So my advice to all those back in The States ….. turn off your daytime television for a week and walk outside and see the sun . And take note of the difference in your conversations …..

In huge contrast to my usual I’m here to sing praise to those I’ve long denigrated …. design engineers . They’ve earned a bit more respect from me as of late as I’ve been indulging a favored Colombian past time .  I love spending the last hour of daylight before the sun recedes at 6 p.m. at a roadside table sipping beer and watching the very interesting traffic on those busy streets.

Those streets are filled with trucks from the 60s hauling their loads, very colorful open air buses packed with everything from construction materials , produce and humans. Small motorcycles and scooters are witnessed by the droves also carrying exotic cargo . I remember my first visit here when few had personal transportation, but true growth and improved economy has allowed a large portion of the population to indulge in 125 cc motorcycles and scooters .

I’ve witnessed these small machines transport some incredible items ….. but one particular item is by far a standout ….. women. You see the vehicle of choice among women in Colombia seems to be motor scooters and the streets are jammed with them . And hence the praise of my dear friend the design engineer . I’ll explain ….

The scooters are designed in such a way that the rider must sit upright with the slightly spread thighs perfectly horizontal . The position of the handle bars should also be construed as pure genius as they force the upright rider to bring the elbows so far back it forces a rather proud positioning of the chest. I can only conclude the designers of these fine machines share similar perversions to my own .

And so I have long  given up being intrigued by 125 cc bikes hauling families of four, sacks of concrete and washing machines …. that is so boring .

One of the first things I do when back in the barrio is visit my favorite corner store for the ambiance, jokes , laughs and copious amounts of cerveza. After a two year absence I walked in to find the owner had installed another member of the extended family to take care of the place in the evenings .

The gang introduced him to me as Mario ….. Mario Brose ….  and I instantly had the feeling that I recognized Mario. The fact that he had recently arrived from a small town outside of Medellin far to the north however, meant it unlikely we had ever met …. but I was certain I knew the face .

Mario proved interesting in that he holds an unshakable belief that one night he witnessed an apparition, a ghost. His trust in the Shamans ability to heal is equally profound and after a week of similar stories he informed me his name isn’t really Mario, but Carlos.

” I don’t know ”   he answered when I asked why they all call him Mario so I asked someone else.

” Because he looks just like Mario on the Nintendo Super Mario Bros. game series ”  was the answer and it is so ….he’s spitting image . I just knew I saw that face somewhere .

So it would seem that not only is Carlos unaware of the existence of Mario  everyone else is unaware that in English , Bros. is short for brothers and not a last name, hence Mario Bros .

We walked into a traditional Colombian take out food joint just around the corner from the house the other day to be pleasantly surprised. First by the quality of the food and secondly the amount of it received for the peso equivalent of $3.09  per lunch purchased.

Another surprise of the meal is typical of some of the weird shit that should be expected in daily South American life . The nice fresh fruit juice that comes with the meal for instance . You’d be surprised too if you found it packed  in a thin plastic bag sealed with a knot tied in it creating the need to be creative in order to get it into a glass.

There’s some remodeling going on two doors down and after that lunch a horse drawn cart parked in front of our house to unload building materials for the re modelers. Once unloaded I was stunned to see attached behind the seat a licence plate from my own home state of New Hampshire. The driver was equally surprised when I showed him a coffee table book of New Hampshire.

Having found that licence plate years ago in some trash he hauled to the dump he was up to that time unaware of where New Hampshire was . This nice little surprise , like endless surprises I experience here, created another excuse for what Colombians do well ….. take the time for pleasantries and a chat .

So who gets to choose what rules they follow or don’t ? …. certainly not me as it would appear I’m denied my personal freedoms every day.

You see, I’d really like to sip bourbon while speeding through school zones on the way to and from the Liquor Store. Bourbon may well be a proven detriment to my health but I’m OK with chancing it so what’s the prob ? It’s my body and should be my choice right ?

Oh… I forgot , at this point someone is going to throw the safety of the children thing in my face . Allow me to counter that with a question. How many children have actually died to bourbon sipping speeders on their way to the liquor store before that personally oppressive law came to be ? …. and can we actually “believe” those statistics used to enact it. I’m thinking a large percentage might possibly have been drinking something else giving bourbon a bad rap.

But… rules are rules and I’m forced to go along even though it’s likely that Mothers Against Drunk Driving are probably a bunch of whiny knee jerk reaction Democrats trying to help oppress the people.

My Governor here in Florida is offering a $5000 sign on bonus to any law enforcement officer that refuses the mandated vaccine elsewhere . Initially I felt I really didn’t want rule breakers on my local police force, and especially wasn’t interested in luring them at five grand a pop. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that those un-vaccinated Cops might likely be a little more sympathetic to my personal choices and total disregard for the safety of school children ….

kids are probably Democrats anyway …

Having few close personal friends with similar interests I occasionally play chess against the computer and am well pleased to boast a fair win percentage for a man with a lowly GED education . Sometimes though , I find the the computer finds the need to cheat in order to win even against the likes of me .

” Kings Pawn Forward ” is a classic opening chess move, and with good reason.

It’s an aggressive first move to help take control of the center of the board and men like the past Grand Master’s Bobby Fischer and Anatoly Karpov understood this concept well. They knew that to take control of the center meant they would win twice as often than if they had controlled the left or the right side.

What they never understood was cheating .

This morning for the third time in a month my unorthodox moves had eliminated all my opponents pieces except for the King . With a full fifty percent of my own pieces remaining, and zero doubt I had the ability to ultimately check mate, the computer suddenly called the game a draw .

It’s apparent that unlike Bobby Fischer, my personal computer understands the value in cheating . Unable to comprehend loss it has embraced it and bends the rules when I least expect it . I’m thinking another month of this and my P.C. shall gerrymander me to playing chess on my my lap top giving itself free reign to win all it wants ….

While making plans for an extended departure one of the things to think about was

” Who’s gonna cut the grass while we’re gone ? “

Well, we figured the nice Mexican guy who cuts the lawn next door might be interested. For a couple of years now his crew of Latinos have arrived like clock work and have always done a bang up job for the neighbor. So when he recently showed up next door we went to ask if he could help . He didn’t seem all that enthused ….. and we noticed he was alone .

The Mexican lawn cutter explained that his ability to help will depend on his ability to obtain more workers …. he hinted that I don’t hold my breath . His crew had moved on to construction work and for the past two weeks he’s been attending his 165 monthly clients alone and and so far hasn’t been able to fill his empty positions.

A recent President boasted no end that he would be the ” Greatest Jobs Creator of All Time” and I won’t argue… perhaps he did just that. There are lots of new business’ that have sprung up here in Florida and all of them are hiring . But ya know… a job opening ain’t worth a shit with out a proficient worker to fill the position . I mean , what good are a million new jobs if there are only two hundred thousand applicants for them ?

I believe that we are all about to learn something . And that would be that when even a Mexican can’t hire a Mexican

… who’s gonna cut the grass ?

{ and we were all concerned about raising the minimum wage …..}

I notice Mike Pence has come to the fore and proclaimed his backing of a High School Football coach that was relieved of his job in 2015 . Seems the coach would habitually kneel in silent prayer at the 50 yd line at the end of each game and in so doing , defied the rules separating religion and State. …. hmph.

I’m certainly not criticizing past Vice President Pence on his defense of someone kneeling in a show of defiance such as this . But I do seem to recall he once flew halfway across the nation to attend a football game for no other reason than to be televised walking out in protest of someone kneeling .

It would seem he has a thing about …. kneeling ….

We just received a new can opener from Amazon . Beyond all odds and going well against the norm it worked absolutely without flaw. We just tried it out and it is the first can opener we’ve owned in years that completely and effortlessly removed the top off the can and I shall now take a knee myself.

America being America I just know that as I kneel in silent gratitude to the almighty Amazon delivered Chinese products Gods ….. someone will be offended .

I remember working with a bricklayer many years ago who needed one singular day off . He used that unpaid day to take his wife to the hospital where she gave birth to twins….. almost like Pete and Chasten Buttigieg did .

Unlike Pete Buttigieg however, that Bricklayer was back on the wall with his fellow brickies , tired and haggard, that very next day . It had never even occurred to him that both he and the wife would need three months to get used to parenting . His wife maintained the children during the day while he continued on with his job of building a school that his twins would ultimately attend .

That Bricklayer and his wife never expected anything different ….. and it wasn’t easy I’m sure .

For “Pete’s Sake ” Mr. Buttigieg …. Abandon the unnecessary play act, leave the kids at home with the other and get back on the damn wall.

It’s not difficult to tell the source from which people obtain their latest intelligence of important world events. The weekly…almost daily… derogatory point of view is broadcast , absorbed and repeated until the next “new” seed is planted.

Yesterdays weekly “news” lament was expressed to me not once but thrice. Seems a short inspirational video aimed towards the youth by the Vice President brought quite a critique . No one mentioned what she said in this video, but were instead pleased to be offended by the chance the children in the film were paid child actors.

I’m not certain whether the youth of the nation will find Kamala Harris’ video inspirational or not. But I am certain it was worth the effort . I’m also certain it is of little importance if those children were paid or not to help get a message out.

To those who would deem this inspirational video a fake for using paid actors I simply must ask your opinion on Omarosa Manigault Newman …. you remember her….

the “reality” TV star invited into the White House and employed as an aide and adviser to a past President of the United States ….hmph, guess no one told us we should have had an opinion about that

The wife has a thing about bathroom scales that just about borders fetish .

She desires something that will consistently lie in order to make her feel better . It must also be accurate enough to truthfully weigh suitcases before a flight overseas in order to get the max free poundage of gifts brought to family south . She’s fond of mechanical scales with large round faces and we recently found one online .

It arrived quickly and as usual, with a glitch . The as advertised “large” round face was in fact large ….. but also fact was that the numerals were just too small to read without the use of binoculars. Binoculars add inappropriate weight so it was promptly returned to sender for a refund.

Choice two was from a well known top American manufacturer of scales whose manufacturing plant is now “off shore”. It too arrived promptly along with the customary online purchase glitch . The indicator to point out the pounds was not evident on the large round face as it was instead poking itself out of the bottom of the scale . The seller was very understanding and proficiently had a replacement shipped right away .

I found a pair of shoes today at the mall. I liked them and beyond belief they fit. Unfortunately the computer system was down and no one in the store could rectify the problem and take payment and so I came home shoe less to find my replacement scale leaning against the front door.

This could almost be a winner . The bright red indicator sits at 68 lbs which would be 2 lbs less than overweight luggage fee’s and certainly light enough to please the wife while standing on it. But no matter what it just always reads 68 lbs.

Customer Service has just asked if I’d like it replaced ….

“No … I just want my friggin money back ” … or a shotgun … or something …

Christ … do I ever stop bitching ?

I’ve lamented no end on my “piss and moans” over the so called advances we’ve made with the help of design engineers . You may recall my whining over the coffee maker carafe that “pisses” near as much coffee over the counter top as it delivers to the cup . Along with many others ….

Now, I’ve yet another …

We were heading south just north of Tampa last weekend when the wife thought it important that we stop at a sighted Panera Bread for her favorite breakfast wrap and use of the facilities. I placed the order and then entered the mens’ room to encounter a man with an ugly countenance wiping down his legs with wet paper towels . He did seem ugly, so we didn’t speak as I presented myself to the urinal.

Instinct is a wonderful thing if only you are sharp enough to follow it. It instantly informed me something was just not right. For a start I’ll admit with some embarrassment that I’m definitely not “long enough” to require a urinal so close to the floor. That urinal seemed an odd shape as well. It was somewhat shallow and its basin not round and it had a flat back that angled towards the user at 45 degrees. This caused 45 percent of my own flow to ricochet back to every point south of my knees.

As I wiped down my legs with a wet paper towel another victim entered . Noticing my ugly countenance he didn’t utter a word as he presented himself to the latest and greatest urinal.

Once in a while you’ll witness a cat chase his own tail . Suddenly one will actually catch it and then know not what to do. I think we’ve just witnessed that with Texas …. poor Texas.

Texas is a big place filled with big people who loudly cheered when a recent President claimed we need to eliminate regulations … Texans it would seem embraced the mantra of less regulation, less government intrusion and don’t step on my personal freedoms by God because I’m now carrying a gun .

Yet, Texas has recently surpassed everyone else in its creation of new laws . I might agree with one or two of their multitudes of new voting laws but what really interests me is Mexico’s reaction to the new regs on abortion in Texas. You see, Mexico immediately decriminalized abortion right over the border.

The Latin world is unlikely to ever forgive a slight and I’m betting they’re not forgetting the insults of them being bull horned to the world by a recent President of the United States . I can already see in my minds eye a whole new cottage industry springing to “life” , so to speak, as little clinics mushroom just south of the border. Not to mention a sudden increase in cross border “tourism” headed south .

Won’t be long before throngs of pot bellied Texas women are standing at the wall chanting ….

” Build a Gate ! Build a Gate ! Build a Gate ! “

Mexico will tell the world they will build a “big beautiful gate” , and America is going to pay for it.

Oh…. on the uptick, All those jobs created at the new “clinics” will negate any need for their employees to cross over the border and pick our lettuce. All sounds like a win, …. doesn’t it?

It is said that Noah gathered them to his ark two by two ….. and I can relate. Permit me to rehash a little complaint I recently made here on the blog about the difficulty of finding clothes to buy . I’ve had a tough time recently in the purchase of new wardrobe items and I just don’t understand why .

Due to the fact that local stores carry shirts in two sizes only …. small and XXL …. I’ve been forced to shop online.

Now you can’t try things on while shopping online so …..

So it appears that like Noah I’ve gathered them all two by two . In this very room in which I type I’m surrounded by couples . A couple of Brand X shirts for instance are interesting in that their size medium is just plain too tight across the shoulders, and their size large fits like a maternity dress . Brand Y have the same story to tell .

I also have here next to me four pairs of pants . Brand X pants with a 34 inch waist are just way too loose while Brand Y with a 34 inch waist simply can’t be buttoned . The other two brands fit the waist as they should, however …. a 30 inch leg length in Brand Y puts the hem above the ankle , while Brand Z puts a 30 inch leg length somewhere below the heal ….

Got a couple bags of underwear here as well … size XL and my junk hangs uncomfortably out the side. Same brands large and I can’t get them past the halfway point of my thighs . And don’t even get me started on shoes …

Only difference between the two pairs of recently delivered shoes are the color. Same brand, same style , all marked size 9 1/2. And yet the gray ones will require clipping my toe nails if there is ever a hope of shoe horning them on . The chocolate colored ones slip right on, and so they should as they are large enough to be considered friggin clown shoes .

Noah should have let em all drown and Adam and Eve may have had the answer after all

On occasion I’m confronted by things that bring back memories, and in truth not all of them are welcome. The study of past history was one of the few subjects I excelled at in school, yet there are parts of my own history I’d just as soon let go of. But that’s impossible …

I awoke in the middle of last night to that truth with the thought of the 29 Afghan children from Sacramento still stranded in Afghanistan . They brought back memories of Afghan children I had met so many years ago while they too were someplace they didn’t belong . I’ve long been guilty of wishing that one day I could forget meeting those children . But that’s impossible …

I didn’t watch it, but I have no doubt that three bobble headed bitches on Fox News have used these children’s plight to attack the present government for leaving them behind. I’m not here to say they shouldn’t , I am here to say it’s unlikely they give a shit about those children. And I’m certain they wouldn’t bring up the same questions I might have .

Those presently stranded children are students of the San Juan Unified School in Sacramento who all went to visit Afghanistan and family over the school break. That break runs from the second week of June to the first week of August and I can’t help but ask ….. why would you bring those children there?

The children I met so many years ago were dangerously brought to where we met to take them from harms way . Yet now I see in the news that children were brought into it. The situation in Afghanistan was no secret six weeks ago, especially if you had family there . And yet someone took those children from the safety of Sacramento to the war zone of Afghanistan . That someone then ignored all that was obvious even while there.

So who is truly responsible for those children ? those who didn’t get them out… or those who brought them there in the first place ?

Its been a dozen years now since Congressman Charlie Wilson from east Texas passed away. Had he still been alive I believe he would have quoted himself yesterday as the last of our troops finally came home from Afghanistan ……

Charlie Wilson had pushed hard in Congress for tax payers dollars to help the Afghans wage war with the Russians in the 1980s . His efforts … our efforts … in supplying large amounts of advanced arms to the Mujahedin brought the death of countless numbers of Russians , Afghan combatants, and civilians alike. In the end though, he did see the need to take it one more important step. As the Russians left Afghanistan in 1989 after their failed war Charlie Wilson saw the light and wanted to then invest in the infrastructure and future of that Muslim nation by building a school . A simple school, and our Congress had no interest.

At that point the United States threw away a golden opportunity to change the course of world history for the better . We turned our backs to the Afghan people and walked away , leaving them to return to their tribal loyalties and open to the best opportunity offered. And that best opportunity was not good for us .

In 1989 Charlie Wilson said in response to no funding for a school in Afghanistan ….

” We just never get it right. “

if only we’d started with that school , .. maybe we wouldn’t have had to take twenty years coming home