Our Promise To You:

Politics is such a dirty business; I always feel the need to shower after talking about it.

'Twould be lovely to ignore it; unfortunately, we do so at our peril.

The truth is your freedoms are being abrogated by Washington's Uni-Party...all those <rich men north of Richmond>, regardless of whether they identify as an elephant or a jackass.

So what are you going to do about it?

As our Declaration of Independence states:

1) God gave us rights: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness;

2) We institute Government to secure those rights;

- and -

3) Government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed.

And that, kind reader, is where we come in:  giving our consent via voting in elections.

Our job as responsible citizens is to tune in!

Hold your nose if you have to, but be informed so you can make a good decision.

The quality of your life - and the future of your country - depends on it.

In happier news, it's St. Patrick's Day...

...and we're going to party like it's March 17th!

Because, you know, it is.

A word to the wise:  avoid green beer; your insides will thank you.

Stick to...

-or-

...in moderation, of course.  Slainte!

And whate'er ye do, durst ye not forget to sing <Danny Boy> wi’ your muckers.

In the photography department, I had pictures developed from my Reto 35mm, Brownie/Hawkeye 126 film, and Brownie/Starflash 127 film.

A few of the Reto 35mm pics:

I told him to stay out of the picture, but would he listen?

it's aht...y'know, nature and stuff

cool, serendipitous effect of the camera lens and sun angle

love the <shadow play>

Some from my Hawkeye 620 film camera:

Karen made that wrap for modesty's sake...love the gold belt

all 6'6" of #3 son after breakfast at the Grille

next time I'm going to hold the camera still when I click the shutter

practice makes mediocre in my case

And a few from my Starflash 127 film camera:

1st pic taken with my Starflash

gotta hold it still when pressing the shutter!

a favorite shot with all my cameras...I just like that stuff

my financial advisor reviewing the books

It's official; I need to stop buying vintage cameras.

If you won't 23 skidoo, I guess I'll hafta do it for ya:

hickory golf knows no season

when my drive landed here I said I couldn't do it again if you paid me a million dollars...

...now I'd like my money, please.

I warned you!  didn't I warn you?  you know I warned you.

not sure how, but he actually sleeps like that.

for the first time I can remember, it appears Spring really has sprung early

And speaking of Spring, here's a reminder from God's Word:

"For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

"The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land..."

  - Song of Solomon 2:11,12

later, mcm fans...

While Digging In The Archives...

...I stumbled across this box. 

Curiosity piqued, I took it down and opened it up:

Cool!  I love old phones, so I pulled it out of the box and set it up.

gotta love Jimmy Durante

Wow...that is old...no dial.

Wondering if it actually works, I rummaged around a bit and found a couple of typewritten pages of useful info, to wit:

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE:

This phone is circa 1905 so it converts everything to that time period.

To make a phone call:

1. Pick up the handset

2. Press the receiver a couple of times

3. Wait for the operator to greet you

4. Give her the phone number you wish to call.  It will automatically be converted to phone numbers from that time period, e.g., COdswallop 371 or FLotsam 592.

5. When your party answers, speak normally.  The phone will translate common phrases to the appropriate colloquialism of that era.

E.g., "I paid $8.00 to see a movie" will be rendered as "It cost me a jitney to see the flickers".

6. When finished with your call, say goodbye and replace the handset in the receiver.

If you experience problems, see below:

TROUBLESHOOTING COMMON PROBLEMS

"I don't hear anything."

REMEMBER THERE'S NO DIAL SO YOU WON'T HEAR A DIAL TONE

"I don't mean the dial tone; I don't hear anything."

SPEAK LOUDER; PHONE EQUIPMENT IN THE EARLY 1900'S WASN'T AS GOOD AS TODAY

"That's crazy!  How will speaking louder help?"

IT MIGHT NOT BUT IT CAN'T HURT

"What I'm saying is I don't hear any sounds!"

TRY YOUR OTHER EAR

"It's not me!  There's no one on the line at all!"

HOW DO YOU KNOW?   JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T HEAR THEM DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE NOT THERE    MAYBE THEY DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU

"Ok, this doesn't actually work, does it?"

OF COURSE IT DOES   THE OPERATOR PROBABLY HAS THE DAY OFF   TRY AGAIN TOMORROW

Just for the record:

a) in spite of what Karen says, that's hilarious, -and-

b) the phone does work...even has a ringer, but as noted, no dial, so you can't dial out with it.

You can however talk to whomever calls you.

But remember, they might not understand "What a goop!  He was on the make with a choice bit of calico until the Sheba's big six bopped his beezer!"*

* what a dope!  he was flirting with a good looking woman until her big boyfriend punched him in the nose!

In the "Woo Hoo!" department, we've finally kissed February farewell...

...and welcomed March with a firm, manly handshake.

note: moustache and handgun optional

March may not be the prettiest month of the year but it does boast the time change...

...when it stays light later;

St. Patrick's Day...

...when everyone's Irish (another Guinness please);

And best of all:  Spring!

...when I can finally change paragraph separators.

Ok, I may be jumping the gun a bit, but it's my blog so take that:

In case you've been so busy fakebooking and X'ing (formerly twitting) that you've missed what's happening in the real world, here's the latest fascist to proudly parade her ignorance in the public square:

Meet Ms. Przybyla, Politico hack, who recently criticized what she called "Christian Nationalists", because they stupidly believe that "...rights don’t come from Congress, they don’t come from the Supreme Court, they come from God.” 

In her cloistered, echo-chamber world, the following statement is not just false, it's radically dangerous:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

Ms. Przybyla should do a few things:

1) buy a vowel

2) avoid battles of wit since she's obviously unarmed

-and-

3) read our nation's founding documents, starting with the Declaration Of Independence.

Mercy.

March hath arrived with an abundance of blessed sunshine and moderate temperatures, so why the heck are you reading this blog?

Let's blow this popsicle stand and 23 Skidoo:

the launch pad...

...and the landing site...note the grouping.  def doesn't happen all the time, but I may be gaining on it.

speaking of delusional, still hoping someone, somewhere wants to give me a 1956 Ford Thunderbird

the great Francis Ouimet, circa 1913 (yes, Virginia, they did have movie cameras then)

might try this Vardon Flyer ball this spring

saw this cool 1950 Philco radio / phono at a resale shop...neither work, but it's only $20...decisions, decisions...

A word of advice as you go:

Kids, do not try this at home...

...or anywhere else for that matter.

later, mcm fans...