Thursday Morning Smile Maker

the challenge

As Levi Johnston and his almost mother-in-law Sarah Whatshername continue their spitting contest, Levi now says he will reveal all in Playgirl magazine. I'm hoping Sarah will decide to trump his play by appearing naked in Playboy -- or Newsweek, or any other national mag for that matter. If she really wants to make a splash, there you are!

So, yeah!, I'm cheering them on.

On the town in Webberville

Our Grandson Lemon Joe is spending a couple of days with us. Last night he refused to sleep, so we watched the third period of the Red Wings together as he fussed and resisted, but finally, when the Red Wings won, the kid fell asleep. The timing was perfect, but the hour was late.

We went to Webberville to pick the kid up and while there, we went to the local brewpub for supper. I'm not making judgments about the quality of the quaff, I can leave that to others in the family who know more about beer, but I can say this: If you're looking for a nice meal, keep looking elsewhere. This was some of the worst food I ever have known to be served in a brewpub.

And there was a certain barmaid who flunked waitress school, evidently, but received a job anyway, perhaps in the nature of a mercy hiring. We tipped her generously, but now wonder why.

All of this ordeal could be blamed on Alice. She is the one with all the bad luck, and she claims if we had not taken her along, the food would have been better and the waitress more competent.

Friends Report on Oct 27

Some of the readers of this blog , all of whom I greatly appreciate, are in France these days on a tour that takes them to Paris, then to Avignon on a bullet train, and then Nice. Under the BIRCHES we are jealous of the trip, but we had the chance to go and turned it down.

Eight people who ordinarily come to coffee club on Mondays were also absent, again because they are in France. This includes SPARTY, GIGI, SANDY and LINDA.

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PAT W - Is in the delicious throes of supervising her latest home improvement project. Her workmen are "Re-doing" a master bathroom.

LIAM - The swirl on the back of his head! :)

Click to enlarge

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SOME folks are already in Florida for the winter -- or for large chunks of it. This is where we under the BIRCHES are soon headed, but we expect to have frequent updates from there.I - have a new MacPro laptop which I'm taking to Florida with me.

MARSHA - is trying to unwind after homecoming weekend in Columbia. When you're the head of the Alumni Association, Homecoming is a chore! And that's even if you win, which SC did, beating Vanderbilt.

DASHMANN and SKUZZA - are packing up the cat and heading for Florida.

BILL J. - who has lots of friends in conservative circles, has forwarded this picture which claims to be Clinton's official portrait.

STEVE - is venturing into the job market, interviewing for a new job. He wants to move up, not just sideways, and has passed the first couple of interview stages. We are pulling for him.

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ALICE - says this is her latest favorite joke. It IS pretty funny.

A married couple in their early 60s was celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic restaurant. Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table. She said: "For being such an exemplary marrried couple and for being loving to each other all this time, I will grant you each a wish". The wife answered, "Oh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband." The fairy waved her magic wand and poof! Two tickets for the Queen Mary II appeared in her hands. The husband thought for a monment: Well, this is all very romantic, but an opportunity like this will never come again. I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me." The wife and the fairy were deeply disapointed, but a wish is a wish. So the fairy waved her magic wand and poof! The husband became 92 years old. The moral of this story: Men who are ungrateful bastards should remember fairies are female!

SOME SNAPSHOTS

Liam Standing

Irene's kids: Georgie and Jimmy

JimM.

Sandy and Sue

Pat: At home in any kitchen

Some shavings of bark ---

1. For reasons inexplicable, my computer has not been able to access the internet for about 15 hours. This could be a problem with my computer, or maybe Charter who hosts me, or just a problem with my decaying brains. I was thinking I might have to take my computer in for a checkup, but now it's working. Officially, I've decided to blame Charter.

2. Speaking of Charter. They have sent me a bill which is - alarmingly - 35% higher than last month. They say my specials have run out. When I get done running to Florida, I'm going to raise hell about this, too.

3. I get cranky and anxious when there are workers in the house, possibly because I fear being drawn into the work process, or possibly just because I'm nuts! Not that I don't like the workers -- they're great folks. Our "builder" is one of the good guys of the world and I like to talk to him. Pat is having work done on a bathroom, and I don't do plumbing: PERIOD. But when the pounding and machines have been underway for about 17 seconds, I get nervous. So I called my buddy hoping he might be at the coffee shop, but no, he was rowing on the river. So I went alone and killed about an hour there working on a crossword puzzle and sipping the latte. During this time, a great discussion was waging at a nearby table about race and ethnic differences and what does or does not constitute racism, etc. It's a discussion I could have jumped into, and ordinarily might have since I knew one of the people in it, but to tell the truth, I was enjoying just overhearing it.

Halloween Week

BOO!

for our junior high readers

Yuck-Yuck-Yuck

Why won't the Obamas have a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner? Because Biden will be out of town.

Guffaw!

It's Caturday!

His-and-Her sinks in a master bathroom are a "must"

Goodbye Soupy Sales

Soupy: "Do you know why my life is so miserable?" Pookie: "You got me!" Soupy: "That's why!"

Thursday Morning Smile Maker

ARRESTED!

Would you believe, DWI ?

Yep!

heaven

I went to a funeral today, and as I watched the complex services go forth, I suddenly thought that I could see at last why people get such strange ideas about life, death, heaven and hell. It was like an illumination! For example, I'm sure everyone there was perfectly willing to accept that this person who had died was going to end up in some blissful foreign land full of things and people they know. I can't say this is wrong, but who can say it's right? This is a fantasy. So as it turns out, my illumination was a delusion. I suppose I couldn't really see anything at all.

Have you ever noticed how awkward people are at ceremonies? It's not at all as depicted in movies.

we make the top (or bottom) ten

"The metropolitan areas around Saginaw, Mich., and Flint, Mich., have some of the worst poverty in the nation. Although per capita incomes are higher, the percentage of the population living below half of the poverty line is near 10% in both cities, and 15% of the populations are on food stamps. Other cities in the region are not far behind as manufacturing jobs continue to disappear."

CLICK

this epidemic

We have always known that, some time, a disease bug --- either some unfortunate evolution of a virus strain, or a curse from God depending on your theology --- could overtake the globe and strike us down by the millions. Well, it's more than just a "could happen" actually, it's a statistical probability. People thought it was possible with Ebola, then the chicken flu, then SARS and then the "Asian" or bird flu.

This time it is the H1N1 virus, or as it's popularly known, the swine flu. I have seen two pieces of evidence in the last 2 days that possibly, we are at the beginning of a real epidemic in our country of exactly this. The first was a chart shown on television that illustrates the potential. There have already been as many "physician referrals" this year as there were last year, in February, at the peak of the flu season. This means either that the flu season is peaking 4 months early this year, or we are in for one hell of an epidemic rising until the peak comes in February or March.

Then I heard this morning that "nurses around the hospital" are convinced that we are just at the beginning and that it's going to get lots worse. "Pandemic" was the word used.

In this household, we are keeping up with the inoculations as they are available. If nothing else, perhaps we can avoid spreading the flu to other people we love and want to protect -- our children and grandchildren.

What I have decided for myself is to delay getting the swine flu shot until after the other more vulnerable people have gotten it -- children, pregnant women, etc. But, then I will get it. Meanwhile, I am carrying my own cup to coffee shops, I am carrying hand wipes and hand sanitizers in my car, and I'm remembering to wash my hands and face as often as possible.

The Loyal Opposition

Another clever comment on the President

History 109

I was there.

My roommate in college wanted to see Dylan and gave me a sales pitch because I had never heard of him. We double dated. All I remember about it now was how "different" the guy was and how strange to see him all hooked up like a one-man-band and singing lyrics I could understand but not comprehend and that the girl I took told me this was "pure" folk music not like all those stars who got rich performing. Yeah, right!

SEPTEMBER 19, 1962, ANN ARBOR HIGH AUDITORIUM

A couple of thoughts in passing

I have heard so often that what this society needs is to return to its Christian roots and start to behave like good Christians ought to, and our problems would largely disappear.

Unfortunately, the idea many people have about what good Christian behavior is seems to me to be so rocky that I would prefer to have us find a smoother road. For example, maybe we should try adopting attitudes such as Christ and other religious leaders held. I doubt if Christ would have carried an Uzi, bilked millions of people out of their pensions, or attacked Arabs because they owned oil. Yet all these are perfectly acceptable Christian practices to some folks.

It's Caturday!

Wacko of the Week Award

FELIX -- Has pointed out the newest BIRCHES Wacko of the Week.



Louisiana (Tangipahoa Parish) Justice of the Peace, KEITH BARDWELL, who "refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple."

CLICK HERE FOR FULL FOOLISH DETAIL

a further thought on the Peace Prize MOVED FORWARD

There is a continuing controversy over Obama's Nobel Prize for Peace. Most people I know are just sort of shrugging it off as a tempest in a dutch oven. Obviously, peace makers are not always appreciated in their own country. This has become another of those political issues where the two sides just square up and throw mud at each other.

Some of the people who are most vociferously scornful would have been happy if the National Rifle Association got the Prize. If that organization is correct that the more weapons we have loose then the more peace there will be in society, surely they deserve it, right? This is like 1984 by George Orwell, where "war is peace." So, no doubt, the next winner of the Nobel Peace Prize will be Dick Cheney.