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July 12, 2013

Mr. Speaker to Mr. President

James K. Polk was the only former Speaker of the House (1835-1838) who also served as President. (1845-1849) Photographs of him are the earliest surviving taken of any President while in office.



July 11, 2013

Forever and Ever, Amen-Randy Travis

Hope you get well, Randy Travis.

One of my favorite Travis tunes.


I still like this song, even though it reminds me of a relationship gone very badly. (not the song;  it's about a long-lasting love, but it was on the charts when we were dating) The woman was a huge Travis fan and it was a long while after the breakup before I could listen to him again.  His previous hits remind me of just after my divorce a few years earlier;  I'd go to the bar and sit and nurse a few beers and play "Diggin' Up Bones" and "On the Other Hand" on the jukebox...and go home alone.

My mom called me on a Sunday after one of those nights at the bar.  "Where were you last night?" she asked. "Dad and I went out to eat and wanted to take you out."  When I told her I was at the bar, she wondered "Why were you there?  You don't hardly drink!"  I told her I was hoping to meet a woman there. "Oh Michael," she sniffed in only the way mothers do when they WANT to chew you out but don't. "You won't meet a nice woman in a bar.  You should go to church, meet one there."  I allowed as that was probably the right thing to do. (and mommas are always right; even if they're not, you certainly don't tell them they aren't)  Somehow I doubted I would meet the type of woman I really wanted to meet - at that point in my life -  in church, but what the heck?

So, I started going with them to a small church they attended.  ("small" is almost too generous - the entire family, my sister, her sons and their families went one Sunday and we nearly tripled the attendance) There WERE some single women that went to the church, too.

I think the youngest one was around 70 yrs. old.

July 10, 2013

Four-Eyed Fish

Did you know there's a Four-eyed fish? The Anableps anableps is the most common type. (there are two other recognized species in the genus, the Anableps dowei and the Anableps microlepis ) Actually, the fish doesn't have four eyes, but the pupils of both eyes are divided giving the surface swimmer the ability to search above for food while watching for predators below it.



What Religion is Your Bra?


This joke came in a weekly newsletter I get and I started to post the text version and while looking for some bra clip art to accompany it (not a very good selection; I thought maybe a Madonna pointed type would be funny to go along with the joke)I found the video.

It reminded me of when this was posted somewhere in an MSN Group - the joke was semi-funny, but the comments under it were even funnier. Several of us made additions to the list and they were better than the original ones. I didn't save the comments (or if I did, that was several computers and failed hard drives ago) but maybe we can get some more contributions.

One of my entries was the Pentecostal bra with two pockets - one for the snake and another for the strychnine.

OK, not all the comments were funny.

July 9, 2013

Just Don't Push My Buttons

You Are Relaxed

You're not just patient, you are on 'island time' no matter what you happen to be doing.

You refuse to be in a rush or anyone or anything. It's not worth the stress. You'll get there when you get there.

Despite your seemingly lackadaisical attitude about rushing, you often get to places early. You leave with enough time.


You take everything that happens in stride. As far as you're concerned, very little is worth getting worked up about.

If you were a TV channel, you would be Discovery, BBC, or PBS. If you were a cheese, you'd be mozzarella.


If you were a store, you'd be Brooks Brothers or Banana Republic. If you were a wine, you'd be Shiraz. 



Sad Survey Stats

This was the survey question today on StartSampling; I voted for "No, not at all" but it was sad to see the "Yes, absolutely" percentage and even sadder to see the "Not familiar with the issue" numbers.



"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

 - Ben Franklin