There’s Moving and Then There is MOVING

There’s Moving and Then There’s ‘MOVING’ Started; June 22,2021, Finished; December 9, 2023 A friend recently told me that statistically most people move about 10 or 11 times in their lifetime. Wow! Once I started to put the facts together, there was no doubt I had that beat by over a mile. I was born […]

Lost Family

I have an Aunt (I never met her) Grandpa Clark’s oldest daughter Mary Elizabeth Clark b. November 3, 1904 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. I haven’t found records that state when she began working for American Reduction Company in Pittsburgh, but I do know she worked there because her occupation and place of work are on […]

Fifty Years Ago July 20, 1969

July 20 1969… I was not yet 21 years old, married, to my Husband David who was not yet 23, with a Son Thomas who was 9 months old. We lived in North St. Louis County, Normandy, MO in a rented house ($100 monthly rent) we shared with my Father in Law Thomas, 61 years […]

Implication vs Assurance

I’m addicted to Facebook, no point in denying it! All my friends and family see me there everyday. Mostly I’m addicted to sharing my thoughts on anything and everything. Social media has given me an opportunity to not leave this world without showing out. I know you think I said that wrong and it should […]

Free Ranging Kids

The Clark Station on Mitchell, this was ‘Our Gangs’ pit stop on the way home from playing at Devil’s Backbone. My cousins and I would spend the day playing dirt clod war at ‘Bird Heaven’ or playing at mountain climbing on the 12th street side or sliding down the grassy steep hill on cardboard or […]

Serenity and Social Justice

I like the idea of social justice.  Probably because there are many opportunities to challenge society, to fight with others, to maintain the moral high ground, to bask in the righteousness of being right all the time.  Social Justice has been a ball and chain in my life. Check this out: I just googled who […]

Who Pulled Your Chain

Pardon my OCD a moment please. Sometimes I get intrigued (my chain gets pulled) by words and/or phrases I hear or read. The phrase in question “Shut your mouth your mind is hanging out” was spoken by one cowboy to another in a movie my husband was watching yesterday evening and I, by consequence, was […]

Kansas City City Market, Beignet, and Moody Football Fans

We invested a day at the Kansas City City Market.  Today, in fact.  A Sunday and the Chiefs are playing – but we have a DVR and are recording the game.  We are at the market to meet family and are hoping that we do not inadvertently hear the score of the game.  We did […]

My Curiosity Defeats My Timidity

As the title eludes, I like to think I have a defense from fear. Many long years ago, my eldest son was about three. Our yard was fenced in and the best place for him and his sister to be in the summer. Our house was not air-conditioned.  This particular day I was visiting with […]

Karma and Life Lessons

Shorthand, I know what it is, but can’t read it. Many years ago at Lowy Enterprises. I received a promotion to work with Dave in Accounts Receivable. At high school I refused typing and shorthand because I didn’t plan on being any man’s secretary, Hah. So, one of my new jobs was to take dictation […]

Barking Dogs and Refugees

Nearly thirty years ago, I was living through a particularly rough patch of life. My husband and I were divorcing. All the usual ugliness that comes with divorce was going full force. My family was literally diminishing before my eyes. My oldest son was in the Navy on board the USS Forrestal which was in […]

Perceptions and Homemade Bread

Before I get much further, I just want to say this is not, a crying in your beer or milk, sob story of a life in poverty. Now that’s out of the way and here we go. I am the second child of the nine children my mother gave birth to. If my mother was […]

Advice From Farmer John

Farmer John and I do not always agree on politics – but he does have some simple but wise thoughts about life.  I found this posted on facebook: Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong. Keep skunks and bankers at a distance. Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. A bumble […]

Preparing For The Emotional Downtime of Winter

I am a sunshine guy.  I much prefer hot weather to cold.  With St. Joseph, Missouri, as my hometown my weather experience is of all extremes.  Northwest Missouri is like that – the joke is this:  If you don’t like Missouri weather wait a day and it will change.  Being a sunshine guy does not […]

The Oddities of Genius

Have you ever known a genius?  Genius is usually a word used to describe certain traits of intelligence.  We might say a genius has a passion for learning and has unique processing capabilities.  They generally show a creativity and intelligence beyond their peers.  Some definitions are more fixed or measurable, like the score on an […]

The Conumdrum of the 2nd Amendment in the Post Modern Era

We humans have crossed a threshold, a military threshold.  When the Constitution and Bill of Rights were written there was an equality of arms between a ‘militia’ and any government.  Governments of that era did have canons – but these were of limited mobility and accuracy.  Most militia men living along the Potomac did not […]

Choosing the right coffee drink

The owner of the coffee shop where I worked was a stickler for quality, and I worked with him for over two years. There were customers in our store that came to our location because I was working, trusting that my skill with steamed milk and my knowledge of espresso would come together in a […]

Retired? How Do You Know?

I live in Missouri, northern Missouri.  I tell people that I am one generation removed from hillbillies – which means my parents were most likely rednecks, and it follows that I am a redneck too.  Or was.  I went to college and the rednecks disqualified me.  Anyway, I know some hillbillies, rednecks, and the watered […]

Grand Canyon 2012 Winter Expedition

Grand Canyon Rafting – National Park Service Orientation Video

Excitement abounds.  After a hard year in my life I will wrap up 2012 with a very dear old friend on a 25  day rafting/camping trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon National Park.  The trip has a degree of danger so the Park Rangers require an orientation – first by video (included […]

Trayvon and Black on Black Violence

NOTE TO READERS:  This post originally contained a racist cartoon image at the top right.  Some found it offensive and we agreed.  We removed the image and apologize for any hurt.  The new picture is of HELL – which is where I am going if I don’t change my ways. I have a facebook friend, […]

Treachery On The Trail To The Presidency

Every four years scores of people venture out on the trail to the Presidency.  Ultimately only one will finish the journey – will reach the goal.  There is danger at every turn.  One false step and the candidacy can be doomed.  Some recover from a slip or a slide – some perish, dashed on the […]

The Redneck Walks The Immigrant Trail

The trail ends at Saint Joseph, Missouri.  Some say it also begins there.  The Immigrant Trail has not yet been officially documented by historians – but the trail exists today.  When documented there is good cause to believe there will be a trail of tears.  But I get ahead of myself. I live just outside […]

The Need For A Really Big Government to Intervene in the Gulf

British Petroleum, along with their contractors, has created the worst environmental disaster in history.  But that does not clearly state the magnitude of the devastation.  We too often throw words around – words like environmental disaster – and then a real disaster strikes and we sound like the boy who cried wolf.  As President Obama […]

America is the Definition of Cosmopolitan

Everything about America that is considered great and wonderful is the result of the melding of cultural ideals brought here by immigrants. People across this country enjoy Mexican Restaurants – as long as there are no actual Mexicans in the place.