A Feelng Called the Blues

Feeling a bit of age loneliness. People dieing around me; friends, family of friends, my family; it’s all a bit much. I’m filthy with the blues…

The blues is losing someone you love and not having enough money to immerse yourself in drink.
~ Henry Rollins

Around the House

They are laying another railroad track beside the one behind my house. Possibly extending the Telford siding track so they can run longer trains. Whatever it’s for, it can’t be good for we who live so near the tracks.

I wonder what gives with the tulip poplar trees around my house? Their leaves are very small compared to normal and so are the blossoms. Probably something to do with the weather changes we are causing.

Bear Bears Hardship in Mate Search

I read an article about a young bear leaving its home in the Polish Tatra mountains and traveling across country into foreign lands in search of romance. I wonder if the bear checked the internet first; there is probably a dating site for them such as Bear Zoosk or Bear Match.com, and for bears of faith there is Bear Christian Mingle where God Himself will show Bro Bear the sow of HIS choice. Amen.

For Medicinal Use Only

I use cannabis whenever I can get it. It is illegal in Tennessee but I choose to ignore that and use it for RA pain. I’ve known since the 70s that it helps control pain but much of the weed we had back in the day wasn’t powerful enough unless I consumed a lot of it. Today, it certainly is strong enough to control some heavy discomfort for several hours at a time, especially if it is cannabis oil baked in cookies or brownies or such, One thing for sure, it beats eating prescription pain killers made from opium which can be very habit forming and even deadly.

Thank You

“Thank you” and “You’re welcome” are more conversation than some people are able to muster.

If you keep yourself bottled up within yourself, no one will savor the fine wine which is you.

With all the media hullabaloo about cops beating and sometimes killing unarmed and non-threatening people, are you now afraid to summon the police even for a non-violent matter? Do you fear you or a family member may be harmed or even shot by the police as a coincidence of your call for help?

Thank you for reading my blog.

Elvis

Rare daytime sight

If Elvis were still alive he’d probably be dead now.

Cloudy, mild, and pleasant day in the hills.  A typical late May I suppose. Just finishing drinking a Dr. Enuf pop … delicious. I believe the sodas are addictive; probably the caffeine. Something else I’ve become addicted to is Tootsie Pops. I like most of the fruit flavors except for banana.

Gaining ground on my eyesight. I now have two-to-three  hours each day when I can see fairly well. I went for three months without being much able to use the PC, watch TV, or read. I am finally back to perusing a book that Maggie recommended about a Canadian journalist’s look at America and its policies in the past decade. Very good reading.

Ain’t it hard to believe we are in the middle of the second decade of the 21st century? Seems like just a year or two ago when the popular press tried to horrify us with tales of certain doom and gloom pending the arrival of the year 2000, or Y2K as it was widely known.

Around the Homestead

My worst drawback in entertaining the boys is they don’t yet understand my dark sense of humor. Sammy just says “Papaw’s crazy” but Mason may be catching onto me a bit. Sunday he pushed me down into a chair and when I squalled like I was in agony, he grinned. Jaden–whom we now call ‘Little Bear’–growls and shakes his finger at me.

We’ve had a very warm spring so far; a slight case of dogwood winter has been the only setback. Temps have been around 90° (32°C) a few times.

I’ve finally got Carolyn to making biscuits again. I sure missed them the several years she didn’t bake them. I don’t pressure her too much for them because it causes her to get out of her comfort zone of baking her favorite canned biscuits or worse, light bread.

Sam

Thoughtful Sammy

Bloomin'

Pensive Mason

Eyesight is slowly improving.

Blackberry briars are in bloom as well as tulip poplar trees. My blossom left many springs ago but I still feel like sowing some seed.

Jake Phillips and the Jones House

A bit of History on the
Theodore and Kate Jones house
of Union Church Road, formerly known as
Headtown Road and before that, Fairgrounds Road

Preliminary Information
In the wee hours of Sunday morning, May 14, 1916, a shot rang out and a man was left dead on the floor. Details are not known to me but the tragedy apparently occurred during or directly after a poker game. Who fired the shot and for what reason, I don’t know. However, the victim was 36 year old James Oliver, a husband and a father of four young girls.

The House
The frame house was built on property—where it still stands—by a local grocery merchant named Jacob (Jake) Phillips and expressly built for the use of the widow of James Oliver and his daughters. Beside the house, Jake built a grocery store which was run by him or others until about 1940. I don’t know the date the house was built but the information may be on record in Washington Co. Courthouse.

I have no idea why Jake built and deeded the home for and to the needy family unless it was from the goodness of his heart. Earlier in his life, he had been married but I think the union wasn’t long lasting. There were—and still are—rumors in the family that Jake sired a daughter out of wedlock and that the child may have been one of the Oliver girls. I have found information to contradict the last part of the hearsay but a daughter actually was born by another a local woman from an affair. I know the names of the alleged mother and child but I will not reveal them.

Some of the Oliver family lived in the house until the Jones family bought it in the late 1940’s. I remember two of the daughters from yo youth, one married a Truelove and the other married a Bulla. Jake is buried in an unmarked grave in the Union Church cemetery just a few yards from the house.

I See

Been off the new RA med for a few days and I can tell that my vision is improving. Of course, the disease is running rampant in me but it still beats losing my eye sight. I have been able to do very little lately; I am happy that I can see well enough to again write this blog.

Anxious to see the boys tomorrow. Jaden has finally taken up with me and demands lap time which Mason jealously guards; I don’t know how the pecking order will turn out. Mason is wanting a Spider-man bicycle like Sammy’s because Sam wont allow anyone but himself to touch his. Sam wants a big wheel, too. Maybe I can hold him off until his July birthday.

Now and Then

Farmers

Run Hillary, run! Run for the border that is. We do not need more of the problems and that is all the Republicans and Democrats desire to give us. The two parties want and need to keep the status quo so that big business money flows into their coffers. A pox on both their houses!

When I was a kid and riding somewhere with my parents, we would at times pass a public park where kids played and families picnicked. I dreamed of how nice it must be to have such a place to play and I was very envious of those kids riding swings, slides, and having other fun opportunities. When finally I grew up, I realized that living in the country and having fields and woods, along with rocks and stumps was a much better experience for a youngster than what the city kids had at a controlled park. After all, I had the world as a playground whereas the urban kids had a “neighborhood” and maybe a few blocks where one street was much like the other.  and did not offer much challenge to a curious and developing imagination.

The boys are covered with poison ivy rash which they caught at a public park where they were playing.

Finally cancelled my Flickr Pro account. Wasn’t using it and it was not worth $25 per year for the little I do there.

Vibes

No Greater Love ...

It has been a difficult winter in many ways, not only nasty weather but also some personal issues. It is that time of year when I visit doctors. I’ve seen two in the past couple of weeks and have two more to go.

Seems like one has to see a specialist for everything from hangnails to achy muscles. Used to be the family doctor could take care of all except the most serious ailments.Like everything else, it is all about money.

What about the Arkansas newbie senator sending a letter to our vowed enemy, Iran? He and a lot of his cronies warned that religious-based government not to trust President Obama. All this while we are trying to achieve a nuclear arms treaty with Iran. If that isn’t treason, I don’t know what is. The Constitution gives the power to make treaties to the executive branch and gives none to the legislative branch. Trying to usurp the lawful powers of a sitting president while he is acting in what he sees as the best course for our country is not only deplorable but should be illegal. All who signed that letter should be held accountable to the letter of the law and by the voters. The Arkansas senator should scrape the pig shit off his shoes before he tackles issues of national interest. Sooooo-eeeee Hog!

Baby It's Cold Outside

Yesterday 8:00 am — 0°F (-17.78°C)
Today 6:00 am — -6°F (-21.1°C)
Winter storm warning for tonight and tomorrow. Nothing like living in the balmy South!

February Freeze

It is 28°F (-2.2C), raining, sleeting, snowing, and windy. Mother Nature is not even trying to get on my good side. Probably won’t be long until the power lines come down but I have my dollar flashlight handy, my phone is charged, and the kerosene heater is filled and waiting in the living room.

All things equal, tomorrow will be my last day with Comcast internet service. We are going back to the phone company’s slower but more reliable (I hope) DSL service. We dropped Comcast’s cable TV service last week and with a small outdoor antenna we still receive 15 over-the air stations, all clear digital plus five of them are high-definition.

I just finished pissing off some pseudo-Christian conservatives over on Facebook. Makes me happy to accommodate their complete ignorance of the bible and our Constitution. I usually ignore them but I am in a bad mood because of the gloom and doom weather.