Good Morning World!

Just want to open my eyes and say that!  It is before 6:00 AM and I do not have the news on yet, although AOL news let me know that the world's oldest manatee turns 100.  How they know that beats hell out of me, but be sure it is way better news then I am going to get when I turn the silly television on and watch Hillary and Donald, both frothing at the mouth because the other one is a total asshole.  "Vote for me, because I am the lesser of the two evils!"  I ask you, is this how to run an election?

Oh, and over on the side lines we have the Bernie supporters who are not going to give up on Bernie because he will change the world.  I am sick of hearing it all and we are still 3 full months away from going into the voting booth, if we actually get to do that any more.  I forget the last time I drove over to Pleasantview and walked out with my little  "I voted" sticker.

Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Independent and whoever else is running for the highest office in this land, you all need to know something up front.  I am not voting for the candidate that is put forth by whatever party simply because that is my party.  I am not voting for the one who has the latest dirt on the other candidate.  I am not voting   for the candidate who screams the loudest, uses the dirtiest words, or points a finger upward and declares, " I am running because I beleive in God and I will bring our country back to God!"  God did not nominate any of you.

I do not want to know what Hillary did in her emails, because all of them do the same thing.  I do not want to know that Trump's wife plagurized Michelle Obama or that he screwed people out of money.  What I want to know is did any of you read the constitution?  Did any of you study our history from the time we set foot on this shore and seen this country through the eyes of the immigrants in Ellis Island?  Do you know what Ellis Island is and what it represented to those people?  Do you understand that WE were the immigrants?  Do you know how many Indians we massacred to get to where we are today?

Did you study what the slaves, brought here in the bellies of ships owned by slave traders endured?  Did you study how they were auctioned off like so many cattle in public squares and sold to men owning big plantations that needed free labor?  Did you know that when babies were born they became the property of the "Massa"?  Did you study how many souls were lost in the Civil War on both sides of the battle? Did you know it was illegal for a slave to know how to read or write?

Do you remember John F. Kennedy?  Did you study the Civil Rights movement at all?

Do you know what the Stonewall Rebellion is about?

Does World Trade mean anything to you?

What is fracking?

What are GMO's.

Why do we pay property taxes?

Why is Black Hills Energy allowed to gouge people that are unable to pay?

What are we going to do about the homeless people that are seen daily on our streets?

Why is the pharmacuetical industry not checked on thier prices?

Why is medical care so high?

What about the pet population?

What about the illegal drugs that are killing our kids?

I could go on all day, but the bottom line is this...I do not give a rat's ass if Hillary spent her money on a dress from wherever and I am going to look at what her record actually is, not what the spin doctors tell me.  The state of Donald Trump's hair and whether or not he has ever been faithful to anything or anyone is none of my business.  Until we, as a people, stand up and demand decency from the highest leaders of the land  we might as well forget that there is an election coming up and set in our little pile of shit and stay comfortable.  As long as we stay in that pile it is warm, it is when we try to get out of it that we get cold and uncomfortable and realize what a stinking mess we are in today.

Debbie told me that.

Happiness is a BLT and a trip past Linger Longer Lane.

This is the Rye Café from the inside out!

And this is the menu

Here are a couple shots of the interior.  Real homey place

And a  look out the back door.

This is the BLT, or what is left of it that Nancy and I traveled to Rye specifically to eat.  Whoops!  That is a lie.  This is the muffin she ate after.  I did not take a picture of the BLT, but I can tell you this, it was wonderful.  Crisp Bacon, crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes and just the right amount of Mayonnaise served on freshly baked slices of French Bread.  It was well worth the trip.

After we ate we drove around and checked out the scenery.  Rye sure has that.  And look at this sky.

And on our way down we saw this sign and I had to make a U-turn and go back and make sure I seen it correctly.  I would love to Linger Longer on Linger Longer Lane!

So take it from, an old bacon eater from way back, this is the place to go.  And if you get a chance see if you can find Linger Longer Lane.  It may very well be a figment of my imagination!

Barefeet and chicken poop.

When my daughter, Dona Marie, came to see me over Mother's Day, she gave me a pedicure.  I have always had rather pretty feet, or so I think.  She did a beautiful job and finished off with a very nice massage and pink polish on the nail part.  A very wonderful Mothers Day gift in my opinion and I do thank her for that.  Wish she lived with me!
I must confess that due to the development of a little problem called Morton's Neuroma, my second toe now has a tendency to want to point skyward.  Not only is this uncomfortable but it detracts from the beauty of my foot.  It also sometimes makes walking long distances a real challenge.  Nonetheless, it is what it is and until I can carve out a block of time when I do not need my foot,  I will live with the condition.  I suppose I can just cut a hole in the top of my shoe and let toe #2 poke out into the outside world, but I am not quite ready to go that route.  It would definitely be a conversation starter, or a very awkward moment when making new acquaintances.  I am missing the point here.
Fast backward to Nickerson, Kansas 65 years ago.  Plus or minus on that.  We lived on a dirt road without benefit of running water and bath night occurred on Saturday night.  Now since we were basically heathens running the streets and did not attend church, I do not know why Saturday night was special.  I do not remember if I have explained that bath situation to you or not, but I will touch on it briefly.  Bath time consisted of a round metal tub which mother filled with water heated on the stove.  Baby Dorothy was always first since she was little.  Then Mary followed by Donna and then me.  By this time the water was getting a little gray and had a scum on top which gave a whole new meaning to "bath."  I do not remember how, when or where the older kids took their baths, but I strongly suspect Jake was a river rat.  Josephine must have privacy because she had actual breasts! Mom and dad were always a mystery to me.
So back to the feet.  In the fall we all got a brand new pair of shoes for the first day of school.  There were 2 days a year that were sacred.  Every Sunday and the first day of school  Money was saved all year so when it came time momma would set down with dad and open the Sears and Roebuck catalog.  The middle of the catalog was where there was an outline of a foot and we each took a turn at standing on the outline while mother figured out our size.  Louella-size 4, Donna-size 3...you get the idea.  Then we were given a choice of color.  We could have brown or black.  My God!  I remember when saddle oxfords came into being and how bad I wanted a pair.  They were white with black or white with brown.  I might as well have wanted the moon.  Brown it was for me and brown for all the other kids so one did not feel privileged.  Now comes the part you are not going to believe. 
When the order was all filled out with size and color (brown) the total amount owed plus the postage was figured and the amount was carefully counted out, placed in an envelope and sealed.  The amount was written on the outside along with the name and address the shoes should be sent to when ready.  This money was placed inside the order blank which was placed in the envelope from the Sears and Roebuck catalog and mailed off to the head office.  There was never a question about whether it was safe to send money through the mail or not.  That was just how it was done.  Then we began the wait for our shoes to come.  It usually took 5-6 weeks and the day they arrived was like the second coming!  Our shoes were here!  Of course we were allowed to try them on, but we had to wash our feet first and be sure they were dry.  Then they were placed carefully under the bed to await the first day of school. 
I can recall how proud we were as we traipsed off to school in our new shoes.  And we wore those shoes until about the first of March.  By then our feet had grown enough that our shoes were getting tight.    At that point, Josephine went shoeless, and I stepped into her "hand me downs".  They were a little too big, but I tied them tight and they stayed on my feet pretty much.   My shoes were handed down to Donna, Donna's to Mary and you get the picture.  By summer we were all through with shoes and we ran barefoot every where we went. 
Did I tell you we had chickens running loose in the yard along with Muscovy Ducks?  Kansas is hot, humid and the soil in Nickerson was mostly dust.  I guess you would call it sandy.  Of course!  That is where they pick Sand Hill Plums by the bushel basket!  I can recall running my toes down into the sand  and thinking that this was surely heaven.  We ran barefooted across fields and through the cemetery and into Bull Creek.  Of course we ran through the chicken poop and the duck poop.  We were kids, that was what we did.  When bedtime came there was one rule and that was we HAD to wash our feet before we got into bed.  And we did.  There was a basin in the kitchen and momma made sure we went to bed with clean feet.  To this day, no matter where I am, or what I have been doing, my feet are going to be clean before I go to bed.  Usually I have socks on all day, but not always shoes, so my feet are not dirty, but unless I am dead tired my feet are going to get a quick rinse, just in case there might be a little dust or goose poop on them!  One can not be too careful you know.
When I write about my days of long ago I get very nostalgic.  I miss my momma and I guess I always will.  I miss the old home place although it is no longer there.  I guess what I miss most is that I had someone to take care of me and someone who had to love me.  When I was young all I wanted was to get older and get out on my own.  I wish I knew then what I know now!  I really think life would be much better lived in reverse.

Momma Goose has taken a new husband.

 You are getting the first look at Momma Goose's new mate.  We shall call him Momma's new husband.  No one was more surprised then me when I went out there this evening and found the 2 of them over by the Russian Olive tree.  Her late husband was such a debonair fellow that I thought he would be very hard to replace.  I have 2 Emiden ganders and they were both pretty short on feathers after the last breeding season, but this little guy must have sized up the situation and grew some feathers.  He knew if he was going to replace her late husband that he was going to have to do something and he did.  Damn I am proud of him.

Here he is following her back into the corner so they can look for bugs in the leaves back there.  Hard to believe that he was so scrounging looking yesterday!  Guess there is nothing like the love of a good female to bring out the best in any man.  This next picture cracks me up.

Here he is guarding her while she dings around.  He needs to know that this is how her last mate met his fate with the wily  fox.  But it looks like he might have a little back up there. 

That is his brother.  Maybe the two of them can keep her in one piece.

So for tonight there is peace out here on South Road and Momma Goose is snuggled down with her new mate.  Yes, there is a goose God up there somewhere.

RIP First Husband.

I have them eating out of my hand...well, drinking out of my hand.

This is momma goose.  She has been setting on rotten eggs ever since her husband was brutally killed May 16.  I know it only takes 27-28 days, but she seems to be happy doing it so I let her.  I pull weeds for her and take her fresh water several times a day.  When she does not want any more water she makes a sort of guttural sound and I do not press her.  She never hisses at me and is always glad to see me, so I just let her set on the eggs that will never hatch and are probably dried up by now.  At least I hope so.

This is sister goose.  I am not sure who her husband is.  I think it is the African Gray named Johnny that Bret helped out of his shell many years ago.  But in all fairness I do her hanging out with the big Chinese gander and the old African Gray.  Truth be known, I think she is a bit of a slut.  Goose slut.

She is always ready for fresh water, but unlike momma goose, she hisses at me.  I think she could inflict some pain because I see very sharp teeth in that beak of hers!  Oh, the other day I gave them watermelon and they really liked that.  Eats that right out of the hand, she does.  Guess I should get some more.  They are on sale at LaGrees.  I can eat the leftovers.

Now, I am not sure if her eggs are any good or not.  Guess time will tell.  She has about worn her eggs out moving them.  I think she is supposed to just turn them once a day, but she moved her whole  nest about 2 feet to the south.  Who am I to know?  I do know that something should happen in the next week.  If I do not hear peeping by the 7th of July I am going to be the big mean woman and rake up the straw in the goose house, sweep the floor and put new straw down.  That is going to tick them off I am sure, but I know momma goose will forgive me.  Sister may be another story!

Wish me luck!

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Liberal? Conservative? Or just plain mean?

Why is it that people do not hear what I say?  I try to be clear, but before  the words are out of my mouth they have that aghast look on their face and are pissed off because I advocate taking their guns away!  That seems to be a lot of people's biggest fear in the world today.  Not hunger.  Not health care.  Not animal cruelty and certainly not the fact that Monsanto is poisoning our food and they do not even have to tell us.

I made a statement like "I think if a person is over sedated with anti depression pills and on the FBI wanted list or under investigation, they should not be allowed to purchase an assault rifle without a waiting period."  Silly me!  That is not an assault rifle and I should know the difference between an assault rifle and an automatic rifle.  I do know this, call it what you will I am not going to believe for one minute you need one of those to hunt a rabbit!  Nor do you need one to protect your home from the dreaded intruder.  If you set around every night with one of those on your lap waiting for Mr. Bad Guy to kick in your door, you have a real problem and all the fire power in the world is not going to save you.  Or maybe you have friends that you might want to take a closer look at.

I am a Liberal.  I have always been a Liberal and I am pretty sure that when my time comes I will die a Liberal.  I am also pretty sure my funeral will be pretty well attended by other Liberals as well as Conservatives, Gays, Blacks, Chicanos, a few Indians, animal lovers, Illegal Immigrants, Catholics, Protestants and if I am real lucky, Westboro Baptist Church will send protesters!

I realize you have every right to your gun and I think you should have it.  You need it.  You need it as part of the well regulated Militia  that this country needs to survive.  And I am sure you need lots of guns.  You can only shoot one at a time, but be sure you keep all of them.  I sure do not want any of them.  I will defend your right to carry one also, but know this, if you are behind me in the line at the grocery store with your gun under your shirt and a "bad guy" walks in with his AR-15 or whatever intent on shooting up the store, please step out of line before you pull your gun to save me because I do not want to be caught in the crossfire.

 I am sure my God has a plan for me and when it is my time, he will let me know and I sincerely hope that when my time comes I am in my little bed dreaming of a peaceful world where everyone has health care, a full belly at night, shade in the field, and a roof over their head.  I do not want to be displayed on the 6:00 o'clock news covered with blood and laying on a cold tile floor next to you with your gun in your hand.  Just grant me that!

I realize I have probably made enemies with this missive, but so be it.  I respect your right to have what ever firearms you want in your personal space, please respect my right to think thier should be some sort of laws in place to protect us from the crazies.  Kind of like saying, "You go to your church and I'll go to mine, but let's both walk along together."

Full text of my speech in case you missed it last night.

MY NAME IS LOU MERCER.  I STAND BEFORE YOU AS THE PROUD MOTHER OF A GAY SON.  I STAND BEFORE YOU AS THE PROUD SISTER OF A LESBIAN.  I STAND BEFORE YOU AS THE PROUD AUNT OF A GAY NIECE.  MY LEGION OF FRIENDS ARE GAY.AND I STAND PROUDLY TONIGHT AS ONE WHO HAS WORKED TIRELESSLY TO HAVE MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY ACCEPTED AND PROTECTED IN THIS GREAT COUNTRY OF OURS.

I WAS THERE TO DEFEAT AMENDMENT 2.  I WAS THERE TO SEE GAY MARRIAGE BECOME A REALITY.  I WAS THERE TO SEE GAY ADOPTIONS.  I SEE GAY REPRESENTATIVES  AND SENATORS AND GOVERNORS AND MAYORS AND MINISTERS.  I HAVE MARCHED IN GAY PRIDE PARADES , BUT TONIGHT I STAND BEFORE YOU AS A HUMAN BEING MOURNING THE LOSS OF MY FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS IN A SENSELESS KILLING.

HE KNEW NONE OF HIS VICTIMS.  MORE WILL COME OUT AS THEY INVESTIGATE THIS MURDER THAT IS NOW BEING KNOWN AS THE LARGEST LOSS OF LIFE IN A KILLING ON UNITED STATES SOIL BY A SINGLE GUNMAN.   I HAVE HEARD HE PLEDGED HIS LOYALTY TO ISIS WHICH MEANS THEY CAN TIE HIM TO THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY.

NO!  NO!  WE ARE NOT GOING TO ACCEPT THIS.  CALL IT WHAT IT IS….A HOMOPHOBIC ASSHOLE THAT WANTED TO KILL GAYS.  OUR COUNTRY IS IN A DOWNWARD SPIRAL BECAUSE THE LAWS WE WORKED SO HARD TO PUT INTO PLACE ARE BEING HELD UP AND RIDICULED BY DONALD TRUMP AND HIS FOLLOWERS.  HE IS BEING HELD UP BY SO CALLED CHRISTIANS THAT POINT OUT TO US DAY AFTER DAY THAT ACCORDING THE BIBLE, HOMOSEXUALITY IS A SIN.  DO THESE PEOPLE EVEN READ THE BIBLE?  I THINK NOT.

THE NEW TESTAMENT SET ASIDE ALL THE OLD LAWS SUCH AS BURNING A CALF ON THE ALTER, MARRYING YOUR BROTHERS WIDOW , AND GOD FORBID YOU EAT SHRIMP!  HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT EVEN DISCUSSED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AND MOST IMPORTANTLY TO ME….JESUS CHRIST NEVER ADDRESSED THE SUBJECT.

SO LETS JUST CALL THIS WHAT IT IS, A BIGOTED PERSON WANTED TO SHOOT QUEERS AND HE DID IT! 

I AM HERE TONIGHT FOR ONLY ONE REASON AND THAT IS TO ASK US ALL TO COME TOGETHER AND REMEMBER STONEWALL.  REMEMBER WHEN THE POLICE RAIDED THE GAY CLUB AGAIN AND THE PATRONS SAID “NO MORE!”  WE HAVE COME A LONG WAYS WITH PEACEFUL RESISTANCE AND WE CAN NOT NOW BOW DOWN AND GO BACK IN THE CLOSET   WE ARE OUT!  WE ARE PROUD!  AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO BACK DOWN FROM THIS ADVERSITY. 

WE ARE IN AN ELECTION YEAR AND WE NEED TO VOTE AND WE NEED TO VOTE WISELY.  RESEARCH YOUR CANDIDATES AND PUT YOUR “X” WERE YOUR MOUTH IS.

GOD LOVES EVERYONE OF US JUST AS WE ARE.  UNFORTUNEATLY HE GAVE THE HUMAN RACE FREE WILL AND A LOT OF PEOPLE CHOOSE TO TRY TO IMPOSE THEIR FREE WILL ON US, BUT, HONEY, IT AIN’T HAPPENING ON OUR WATCH!!!