"How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?" If you don't know the punch line to this old joke, it's at the end of this post. Once again, a minority on a sacred mission is attempting to legislate morality. We seem to be doomed to repeat the failures of human history. The Roundheads attempted it in the English Civil War in the 1640s...

We all have places we want to go, things we want to do, and experiences we want to have in our lives. It's only natural, I suppose. Some of us want to attend the Super Bowl, others the Rose Parade, or a Papal audience. Maybe your dream is to visit the top of the Eiffel Tower or the bottom of the Grand Canyon, Antarctica, or the Macy's Thanksgiving ...

Small wonder that the survivalists are putting aside rice, beans, and instant water (just add water) against the coming cataclysm. The evangelicals are looking for signs of the apocalypse. From every mountaintop some self-proclaimed prophet is shouting the doomsday lyrics. The end is coming! From the right and left come the clarion call of doom. I ...

If you know me, you know that I'm driven to create. Creating comes in many forms. I am a worker in wood. I write stories and books. I love to cook. All are forms of creation. I'll admit that my woodwork is not world famous. Those who have read my books are numbered in tens. And, those who have enjoyed the fruits of my culinary labors are limited to...

Where did the American soul go? Our leaders, great and small, local and national, and I use that term leader with great despair, are exemplifying all of the worst characteristics of third-world despots. What happened to civility? I've heard members of the Legislative branch threaten and insult members of the Judiciary. Multiple members of the Execu...

Well, I'm sure there are a thousand recipes for rice, but I just want to point out a few familiar, flavorful, and famous ones as an example of the versatility of that tiny white grain. Each of these recipes is a cultural icon in its own right, yet each is a close cousin to the other. I'm talking about Paella (Spain), Jambalaya (The U.S. South), and...

I think I may have finally defined our governmental process. We have become the mob in a flashback to ancient Rome; Patricians versus plebeians. It is class warfare at its bloodiest. For centuries, men of worth (money-wise, at least) would gather in obscure places around a wooden ring to fight aggressive roosters. They called it the 'sport' of cock...

A tip the pot lid to Oryza Sativa – Asian rice, first domesticated in the Yangtze River basin between 8,200 and 13,500 years ago. Quite simply, rice is the world's food. Sixty percent of the world's population obtains its major nutrition from rice. While more corn is produced than rice, annually, most corn is processed into other inedible products,...

"Make America Great Again!" What a slogan. Supposedly, it says it all. I'm just not sure what it says. But it's not the first campaign slogan by any means. Slogans to promote presidential candidates go back to, at least, 1840 and the campaign of William Henry Harrison; "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." Some other memorable slogans endure, such as: 54:40 ...

I saved the best for last, creamed chipped beef on toast. I'm not sure when I was first introduced to this comfy delight. It may have been in my childhood, or certainly at Navy Boot Camp in 1965. The Armed Forces Recipe Service version (AFRS card L052) is a mixture of salty and creamy, but remains otherwise boring. That said, I don't remember lefto...

By its own words, the Constitution is able to defend itself, needing only the strength of the population to uphold it. In a recent court ruling in New Mexico, a county commissioner was removed from his elected office as 'disqualified' to hold any office. The county official had been found guilty of participating in the January 6th insurrection. Spe...

Armed Forces Recipe Service card number L 030 is for Creamed Ground Beef, good old SOS. Back in the day, this was the preferred something-on-toast on my ships, both when I was enlisted and when I held a commission and was responsible for feeding the crew. It is, quite simply, a cream gravy made from a flour-shortening roux, milk, Worcestershire sau...

It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis (1935) As sometimes happens, my attention was drawn to this novel while reading an off-the-wall other book, a pre-WWII mystery that has nothing to do with the story I'm bringing you. Sometimes, fate just intervenes.. In brief, the story is one of a fascist take-over of the United States, in 1935, through ...

Previously known as the General Mess Historically known as The Mess Decks or Chow Hall Now that we've got the politically correct renaming of that place where millions of American's have eaten breakfast out of the way, I want to jog memories of dented steel trays, one-size-fits-all spoons, and coffee cups full of grainy reconstituted orange juice. ...

Let me set the stage. I am a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Male Heterosexual Retiree Navy Veteran who joined the Republican party during the tenure of Richard Nixon and resigned in disgust in 2021. That gives me a certain imprimatur to speak about the aforementioned Republican Party. As I observe the ultra-conservative political servants of the evan...

Look beyond the hype, the talking heads, and social media. See the choice facing our republic and our future. Will we choose to be governed, as we have been for 246 years, or will we succumb to the growing angry buzz and choose to be ruled? Govern or rule? They are often listed as synonyms. Yet, in the world facing us, they are nowhere near synonym...

In part 1 of this BLOG, I proposed that a simple citizenship test be a requirement to hold any Federal office that might impact the citizenry of this country in general. That means that Representatives, Senators, Justices, and both the President and Vice President would take this test. I propose that it be part of the process required to become a c...

For the past several years we've undertaken to grow tomatoes. Each year, we get fewer, despite moving the garden from place to place, changing varieties, and feeding them routinely. We just never seemed to get many tomatoes. It's because there are fewer bees in the neighborhood to pollinate. Fast forward to this year. We now own an Aerogarden indoo...

Let's consider a great misstep in the makeup of our governing body, as defined by the Constitution of the United States. A Representative (e.g., member of the House of Representatives) shall be at least 25 years old, a U.S. Citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the state which he/she represents. A Senator shall be at least 30 years ol...

I'm resurrecting my Blog after a two-year break. I'm truly concerned about the state and direction of our country and have as much right to emote about it as the uneducated boobs, career politicians, and media ego-hogs that fill the airwaves and media. Agree with me or not. Read me or not. Share my words or not. You have all those rights as America...