Autumn is Welcomed

I'm so pleased to have Slim Randles as my Wednesday's Guest this week. Instead of his usual humorous offering, he has a rather poetic piece about autumn. I guess since there is cowboy poetry, Slim won't be offended by me referring to this as poetic. Since he is helping us welcome in Autumn, I thought a typical fall drink of apple cider would be in order. Please do join me in welcoming Slim. Enjoy...

Courtesy of Love Your Reflection Blog with a recipe for hot apple cider.

It comes to us slowly and delicately, as all beautiful things should. It’s usually in the early morning. We can smell it. We can feel it. That little nip that teases us … autumn. Almost autumn.

Summer is heat and work and sweat and cold drinks of water and swimming and barbecues. But autumn is Fall … the pinnacle. This is when people have the county and state fairs, because the vegetables and animals are at their peak and ready to show. The heat drove some of us into the house this stifling summer and led us to make quilts, make furniture, can fruit. And now, if they’re good enough (and we know, if no one else does) they can go to the fair, too.

In the mountains, the deer and elk are at their finest, with antlers dark brown with the patina of age and wisdom and those tips white as ivory. Polished. This is the polished time.

We are all at some kind of pinnacle in autumn. We have worked through the heat and now we can plan to ratchet it back a bit. We can take our skills to the mountains for hunting and fishing, or just discover a new hobby there at the house that will keep hands and mind busy during the cold to come.

The children are off to school, preparing themselves so someday their autumns will be like this, sweet with fulfillment, honed to a point, seeping with satisfaction the way ours are.

Autumn … come and whisper to us in the morning. I’m almost here. Almost here. Almost here.
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Slim writes the popular Home Country columns, which are syndicated in hundreds of newspapers. Some of those columns have been collected and published in his book, Home Country, and now you can listen to the “Home Country Hour” podcast on your computer or other electronic marvels, at www.slimrandles.com

Monday Morning Musings

 It is another gray, cold day here in East Texas, so I'm enjoying some hot apple cider this morning. Just for something different. Grab a cup and sit back as I rant just a bit. Then we'll have some fun. I promise.

Photo Courtesy of A BestKitchen.com where you can find a recipe for Hot Apple Cider. Mine doesn't look this good. It is in a Mason jar without those cute garnishes. Still tastes good, though.

Did you watch the Super Bowl last night? I'll admit that I did. I have long been a football fan, although I have to say that my enthusiasm has waned in the past twenty years. Maybe even longer as more and more moral and even criminal behavioral issues arose with players that athletic programs seemed to ignore. They covered up what they could, didn't impose consequences, and basically gave the message that the only thing that mattered was what players did on the field. The game, and winning the game at all costs has become paramount in athletic programs from high schools to colleges and on to the pros.

I just read an article about Keith Frazier, a high school player in Dallas who was given a scholarship to SMU. I wasn't upset about the scholarship. What bothered me is that his school, Kimball High School, altered his grades and attendance records to make him eligible for the scholarship. Shame on the people who were involved. Had these actions not been discovered and revealed, what lesson would Frazier have learned? That it is okay to lie and cheat to get what you want?

There's way too much of that going on in our society without teaching it to more young people.

Another discouraging bit of news I saw over the weekend involved what is happening on some comedy shows on television. I haven't watched sit-coms on TV for years. Partly because I hated when the focus switched from humor to sex - who was having it and who was not - and also because of the irritating laugh tracks. I know when something is funny, thank you very much. I don't need someone to tell me when it is time to laugh.

Yesterday I read a letter to the editor in the Dallas Morning News written by Nancy Friedel in which she lamented the fact that sit coms have now started using theft as entertainment. She cited three shows, "Two Broke Girls", "How I Met Your Mother", and "Mike and Molly", that have used theft as bonding rituals between characters in episodes this year. Friedel asks, "When did theft become a comic plot device on TV?"

My question is, when did the viewing public accept that as okay? Geesh!

Okay, enough of the negative stuff. Here's a joke to start your week off with a laugh.

A new pastor was visiting the homes of his parishioners.

At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. Therefore, he took out a card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door.

When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, Genesis 3:10."

Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter.

Revelation 3:20 begins "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Genesis 3:10 reads, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid, for I was naked."

 If you watched the Superbowl, which commercial did you like the best? The Budweiser commercial with the puppy and the horses was great. I also liked the Dorito's commercial with the kid tricking the dad about the time machine. Microsoft had a nice one called "Empowering", and the new Cheerios commercial was cute.

For those of you who did not watch the game but might like to see some of the commercials, here is a link to 2014's Best Superbowl Commercials on Syracuse.com. You can even vote for them if you care to.