The Weekly Dragon Wordzzle Award

Our dragons had their weekly meeting to pick the top wordzzle of the day.

The rules were simple. You had to post by 6:00 Eastern time to be entered.
Then you had to have fantastic writing that amused or enlightened our dragons.
Variety also scored points.
On this the year anniversary of the most important contest on the net ( dragons like to think they are important) the task was made doubly hard by the return of several people to the writing. This, of course, meant more reading. At least they didn't have to read Dr. John's or Betty's blogs because they can't be considered. Even if they could Elijah John's grandson interrupted the meeting of the dragons and knocked one off of the computer. If he was in the contest there would be lots of points off for that.
But today when all were read there was no question in the dragon's minds as to the winner.
The award goes to the Queen of wordzzles, the master of words, the great picker of phrases who today gave us three examples of how good she could be, all completely different. She had a little thing about her, a story on everybody's life, and a intergalactic adventure. All with superb writing.
So the winner of the Dragon Award is

Raven

May she write many more great stories and keep us in words forever.

Raven's Challenge 52

Today's Link
Thoughts-Usually with an Attitude

Today's Saying
Life is a mixed blessing, which we vainly try to unmix. ~Mignon McLaughlin

Today's Picture
My First Parish -Betty and I

It is Saturday and time to play with words supplied by Raven's Wordzzle
This Week's Ten Word Challenge will be: Netflix, mortgage, skunk, flagrant, the New York Times, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, perpendicular, geometry, crabby, shoveling snow
Mini Challenge: pragmatic, crystal ball, laundry, safflower oil, Gregorian chants

The Mega Challenge Expressed in The Ongoing Adventures of Agent 012

Agent 012 feigning being insulted and crabby said “ That’s a rather personal question isn’t it.” This gave him enough time to think of a reasonable story. “For your information the bathroom was so full of cigarette smoke from flagrant smokers that I went outside for some fresh air and got it caught on a bush. There are some really nasty thorns out there.”
At this point the host put on the next Netflix DVD “the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”
Having seen the movie fourteen times already , it was his youngest son’s favorite, Agent 012 moved off to the reading room where he pretended to be reading the New York Times but in reality was studying the room. He noticed that the walls in the room were not really perpendicular like walls should be but were at slight angles. He simply did not understand the geometry of such a room which was clearly not pragmatic. Even stranger was the crystal ball on the back of a plaster skunk which was in the exact center of the room. In his mind’s eye he could see strange people dressed in black with white stripes down their back intoning strange Gregorian chants over the ball.
In one corner was a shelf with a large bottle of safflower oil clearly not there to do the laundry with. “What could they be doing with the oil“, he thought.
At this point it was obvious a huge amount of money had gone into the place and he wondered what the mortgage had set them back. At least they didn’t have to worry about shoveling snow.
Suddenly A man materialized in front of him. He just seemed to pop out of the air. “ At last I have you Agent 012” he said.
Agent 012 now knew two things for sure. He was no longer dealing with Mute and this was not going to be his day.

The ten word Challenge- Bad Mail

Fransica was unhappy. She had ordered the “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” from Netflix but they had sent her “ The Crabby Skunk” instead.
Her copy of the New York Times came with the first three pages shredded and unreadable.
She got a notice her mortgage had gone up another half point in interest.
There was a note from the neighborhood boy that he would no longer be shoveling snow and the worst blizzard of the year was coming.
There was a letter from her son’s teacher explaining that he was flunking geometry because he just couldn’t understand three dimensional perpendicular lines.
Now there was only one letter left to open and she was afraid less it be an even more flagrant crushing of her life.
Mail was just bad news. One bit after the other until the weight was so heavy you fell down.
And the last bit of mail was from a lawyer.
She wondered :
Did her dog bite somebody?
Did her son break a window?
Did her ex-husband find a new way to get money from her?
What horrible thing was in this letter?
Did the lady at the tea hear her call her a bitch?
More bad news , on top of all the rest.
But it had to be opened.
On fancy legal paper with the name of some law firm in the center she was informed that her great uncle Frodo Frilkins had died and left her his most prized possession because she was the only one to ever show an interest in it. There was a telephone number for her to call.
With great excitement she called thinking that maybe the mail wasn’t so bad after all. Her great uncle had been very rich. But then she remembered she had only visited there once and she was five years old. What could she have said then that impressed him?
When the law firm answered she was transferred to the lawyer in charge of her great uncle’s estate. He told her her inheritance was being shipped tomorrow.
“Could I ask just what it is?” she asked.
“ I thought you knew” he said. “Its his 600 pound fifteen times life size statue of a Western Trail Skunk.”
Well it could have been worse Frodo could have collected live skunks. She thought.
But it certainly doesn’t constitute good mail.

The Mini Challenge- Skunked Good

It did not take a crystal ball to tell that Fransica was unhappy. She was listening to a recording of Gregorian chants for funerals while she stuffed the tablecloth her son had managed to soak in safflower oil into the washing machine. Ever since that stupid skunk arrived things had been going down hill rapidly. Looking out the laundry room window she could see her car with the four flat tires sitting in the driveway. She suspected it was done by the neighbor who paraded by every evening with the sign which said “ The Skunk must go!”. Her new skunk statue was not very popular except with the children who loved to climb on it just like she did when she was five.
The only pragmatic thing would be to get rid of it despite how cute it was. So she picked up the sledge hammer she had purchased for just this purpose and marched out to the skunk. It would be far cheaper to break it up and haul it away piece by piece that to hire somebody to haul it away. At least she thought it would be.
She decided to start on the back end , not its most lovable feature. She hit as hard as she could and much to her surprise the sledge hammer went right through and into the skunk. She pulled it out and it was followed by gold coins and the little plastic popcorn that kept them from making noise. This skunk sprayed wealth.

Wow! What an inheritance. What a really, really great uncle. She decided then and there when she got all the coins out she would have the end redone and the statue kept in memory of Frodo.

All Fifteen words in one sentence

The crystal ball was placed carefully according to mystical geometry on top of the Netflix DVD, on top of the “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” which was on top of the November 7th edition of the “New York Times”, on the somewhat perpendicular stand while crabby Thomas Skunk who, if at all pragmatic would have been shoveling snow or doing laundry was flagrant in his pouring safflower oil over it while intoning Gregorian chants hoping to cause his mortgage to disappear.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Its Saturday and time to look back on the week in Pigeon Falls.
Monday– Kevin Maki who was home from Northern for a three day break tried to explain to his mother what his class on the Apanthropinization of English Literature was all about. The term apanthropinization was so complex and outdated that he found himself with a paucity of words that could be used to explain it. It would be easier, he thought, to teach her to play the Zither.
Tuesday– Freddy Williams went door to door looking for little jobs that would earn him the four dollars he needed for the latest issue of Makeral Comics “ The Mighty Walking Wizard”. In the last issue the Wizard in his secret identity as a volgivagant drunk was caught by the demon posing as an isangelous waitress. He was too drunk to say the Latin words and become the Wizard. It looked like his time as a fighter against cynicocratical demon lead government was over. Freddy knew his Hero would escape but how? He needed that issue. So here he was cleaning out Tom Mattson’s pig pen.
Wednesday– There was another fracas over at the Fly Inn. Wednesday night is becoming fight night. This time the fight wasn’t over numismatics but rather in the area of linguistics. It seems that Robert Mattson felt that Perceival Pemberthy’s saying that he had “perspicacious judgment” was said to impress people with high falutin talk.So Perceivil proved he was correct by socking Robert. As usual they paid for the damages.
Thursday-Mrs. Trumble used a line of casuistry that would have made a Jesuit proud to get the Town Council to approve a full time constable. She pointed to many quondam instances of opprobrious conduct at the Fly Inn and the many times the State Police had to be called in. One council member voted no saying that it would be enough to have the part time constable sit in the Fly Inn on Wednesday Nights.

Wrap UP

Very busy day. Three of my grandsons are here and they did allow me a little computer time. I visited all the people listed on Raven's blog that had written wordzzles and left comments. I played canasta and Alex and I defeated Betty and Pat. Alex showed me some animation on the computer and let me know he made the honor roll again. All in all it was one great day even if I did miss my computer a little at times. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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Kids are Better than Dogs

Today's Link
Don't Eat the Tomatoes

Saying for the Day
I have so much on my plate and the plate is so small it can't hold it. --Dr. John

Picture of the Day
Greeting on Ash Wednesday

The other day I read on Lasy Daisy’s blog thirteen reasons why dogs are better than kids.
I don’t agree having raised both. So here are my fifteen reasons kids are better than dogs.

Fifteen Reasons kids are better than dogs

They:
1. Don’t have to be protected from chocolate, grapes, and broccoli.
2. Will come when called ( Most of the time)
3. Don’t chew up everybody’s shoes
4. Never drink out of the toilet even if the door is open
5. Are covered by your health insurance
6. Never get you up at 2:30 in the morning to go outside to pee
7. Don’t get hair all over the sofa
8. Don’t need a fence to keep them in the yard
9. Obey when you tell them not to do something ( most of the time)
10. Can learn to play the Zither.
11. Will hold same instead of knocking over the ladder
12. Won’t chew up the little pool you bought so they would stay out of the big one.
13. Won’t dig up all your flowers chasing a rabbit
14. Will sleep in their own bed (most of the time)
15. Can say I love you with words as well as actions

But in truth having both kids and dogs makes for the best of both worlds.

Eleven reasons why having both kids and dogs is best
1. They can amuse each other and stay out of your hair
2. The dog will eat the food the kid doesn’t like but is pretending to eat
3. The kid can chase the dog when it doesn’t come when called
4. The dog can help find the kid when it doesn’t come when called
5. The kid can keep the dog in his room off of your bed
6. The dog will protect the kid from neighborhood bullies.
7. They can huddle together during a thunder storm
8. The kid will always have a friend
9. The dog will lick your face when you fall off the ladder the kid was supposed to be holding.
10. Together they help in your growth toward an apanthropinization of your thought.
11. There will never be a paucity of unconditional love.

I just love kids and dogs so there.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.

Poor Nancy spent two nights at the Coffee Shop. She was afraid to go outside. The one time she did was to get some more coffee and the rash returned in all its multi-colors the moment she passed through the doorway. The itch came back as well and she wanted to scratch her skin off. She carried the coin with her but saw no leprechaun to give it to. It was so good to get back in the shop and be back to normal . So today when she needed flour she called and had it delivered. She was tempted to tip the delivery man the leprechaun’s coin but she didn’t. If only Tommy TW , her husband, was here but he wouldn’t be home for a few more days since things were going so well they extended his tour. She didn’t have the heart to tell him what was happening to her.
In the midst of this Tommy UK stopped at Nancy’s Coffee Shop. He was depressed and hoped Nancy could cheer him up. Instead he found a depressed Nancy more in need of cheering than able to dispense cheer. So he listened to her sad tale instead of telling her his. When she finished telling him about the Leprechaun and its magic and how her poltergeist kept her safe in the shop he knew what he had to do.
He left the shop , went home and got his rock from his hiding place. Then he went back to the coffee shop. He asked Nancy to give him the coin and said he would take care of the curse. Nancy, of course, was reluctant to give it to him because she didn’t want him cursed as well. She had kept the coin and not given it out as change because she didn’t want anyone else to suffer. Tommy assured her that he could handle it
and get her curse lifted as well. Finally Nancy gave him the coin .
Holding the coin in one hand and his rock in the other Tommy went out to face the leprechaun.

Wrap UP

Started the day by redoing my links page . Now it explains the colors and the numbers. Read new blogs ( to me) looking for blogs to recommend in the “ today’s link slot”. Posted the coming Sunday’s bulletin on St. Mark’s blog. Visited all the blogs that left comments on mine yesterday and some from the day before. Cleaned off my computer desk because my grandsons come tonight. Tomorrow they will be on the computer and things tend to move around a lot. So I organized and got rid of the movable clutter . Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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A Super Hero-Quilly Story

Today's Link
Big Blue Barn West

Saying for the Day
Men are probably nearer the central truth in their superstitions than in their science.
~Henry David Thoreau

Picture of the Day
Another day , another look at our kitchen counter
The high cost of repentance

It is time for another three word Quilly story.
And the three words are:
opprobrious,
quondam, &
casuistry.
Click on the word for a definition.
I am a Super Hero. I know I’m not the best Super Hero around. I know I have been accused more than once of opprobrious conduct but think of the scum I have to fight. It is my task given at a quondam time to keep the world safe from evil dragons and demons. To carry on this fight I have only my faithful miniature dragon Doris, my magic staff, and the ability to see through the most convoluted casuistry as the nonsense it is.
I know that people were upset when I turned those demons posing as Jesuit priests into pillars of salt. A bit theatrical , perhaps, but certainly not opprobrious behavior. I mean how much casuistry can one put up with. I just decided to take it with a grain of salt.
I wasn’t always a Super Hero. At a quondam time I was just a drunk. Then I found that parchment and when I sobered up I read the Latin words out loud. The lightning hit me and I became the Mighty Walking Wizard. Now I even have my own comic book. Those are powerful Latin words.Despite the paucity of Super Heroes today I am sometimes helped by Harpy whose weapon is a magic zither than can put anyone to sleep. Of course he has four arms , two heads , and is purple another step toward the apanthropinization of humankind.
I can go back to being a drunk anytime I say the Latin words out loud and backward. Being a drunk is a wonderful secret identity. You become part of the volgivagant crowd. You can stop playing the isangelous hero. You don’t even have to be good at anything.
The only problem with this Super Hero thing is the green skin . People have trouble relating to wizards to begin with and the green skin doesn’t help any. I wonder if I’m mispronouncing one of the Latin words.
I still remember the look on the faces of the Secret Service agents that figured I was an alien because of the green skin. I was in Washington because a demon , posing as a human, had at a quondam time used demon casuistry to get elected as a United States Senator. It was now involved in the most opprobrious conduct even by Senate standards, part of the cynicocratical bunch. In any case the agents had me surrounded with their guns drawn expecting a fracas. I thumped my staff on the floor and disappeared. One of them was so upset he even gave up drinking took up nusimatics, I think. I sent him a copy of the comic book.
Then my dear perspicacious Doris and I sent the demon Senator back to its starting place. The rest of the world saw him die in a plane crash. He was replaced by some governor with one of his lovers but at least she wasn’t a demon.
So rest assured Doris and I are standing guard. The world is safe.
Be nice to the next drunk you see. It could be me.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Poor Nancy slept last night at the Coffee Shop. At least she was free of the rash and the saffron buns weren't moldy.
She had to figure some way to get the coin back to the Leprechaun and end this nonsense. But how does one do that. The leprechaun can’t come in because of the poltergeist and she was afraid to go out. She could open the door and throw the coin out but somebody might pick it up and the leprechaun would be after them. She couldn’t do that to anybody. So she was stuck. Perhaps when Tommy TW comes back from his latest book signing tour He’ll have some idea on how to get his wife out of this mess.
Tommy UK was not having a much better week. He really wanted to talk to his lawyer uncle about his adoption but when he called to set up a meeting his uncle explained that this coming weekend he had to be out of town again. The meeting had been scheduled over a month ago. But the following Saturday he would be back and they could talk. But now Tommy had to wait. He had tried to get his uncle to talk about it on the phone but his uncle dsaid that it wasn’t the kind of thing you talked about on the phone. It was so frustrating.
Petrovich still hasn’t been seen and the rumors continue that he is working on a driblet to end all driblets. Every time the rumor passes the nature of the driblet gets worse. The weird thing about rumors is they seldom move toward better. But then for the most part the translated driblets have not been good news.
Herman continues going to the Lay School of Theology. He wants to be able to fill in when Pastor Joan takes her vacation time. The town's quondam super hero and demon fighter is now studying Church history. He is appalled by the opprobrious behavior of some of the clerics during the period of Jesuit casuistry. But he is learning that the people God uses are always Saint and Sinner at the same time.

Wrap UP

A good breathing day . Brought St. Mark's website up to date with the Newsletter for the month and pictures from Ah Wednesday. This took longer than I anticipated. Betty went to therapy. I visited all the blogs that visited me yesterday and left comments on new entries. They might be surprised to see the little kid is gone and I am now a Super Hero. Life doesn't stand still. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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John Needs Blingo or Google

Today's Link
Fat, Frumpy, and Fifty

Saying for the Day
Our names are labels, plainly printed on the bottled essence of our past behavior. ~Logan Pearsall Smith

Picture for the Day
Our Kitchen Counter on an Ordinary Day

In visiting blogs I came across this idea ( Can’t remember which one) . You put your name in Google followed by the word needs. Then you see what it gives you. You pick the first ten usable ones.

Well I tried Blingo first because I hoped to win a prize. ( I didn’t win)

But this is my list of ten.

From Blingo

1. John needs basketball tickets ( But with handicapped seating)
2. John needs affirmative action ( Don’t tell me they don’t discriminate against dumb Finns I know better)
3. John needs more paper on Viemo ( I forgot I had a Viemo to cover)
4. Big Bad John needs a hug ( Hey a smile would be more than enough)
5. John needs help ( Everybody who reads my poems knows that)
6. John needs knives ( Now if only Betty would stand still while I practice throwing. I can hit the apple)
7. John needs a Yoko ( And a poko cuz he’s loco)
8. John needs to get his patootie back here ( Nope I’m never going back)
9. John needs workers ( My basement still isn’t clean, I’ll soon have a garden to plant, the garage needs cleaning)
10. John needs neck surgery ( I really hope not . It’s the only part that doesn’t hurt)


That went so well I thought I’d see if Google would give me a different result.

Here are my ten from Google.

From Google

1. Big Bad John needs a hug ( no surprise there)
2. John Needs help- ( This is getting repetitive)
3. John needs thirteen bottles of water from the store ( I am thirsty and Neenah water has lead but I prefer cola)
4. John needs a plumber ( I could use hotter bath water)
5. John needs to fall off his high horse ( Let’s not get personal besides it’s a long way down)
6. John needs big plays ( You can’t win at three handed canasta without a big play)
7. John Needs Joe more than ever ( I haven’t seen Joe for years and now I need him?)
8. John needs a way to assign an item’s UUID ( There is nothing worse than an item with an unassigned UUID)
9. John needs to embrace family values ( Depends on which family’s values you want me to embrace)
10. John needs charisma ( A little charisma would be nice . It might even up my comment count.)

That was rather fun.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
As soon as Nancy left the Coffee Shop last night her rash returned itchier than ever. She stopped and bought some bread but by the time she got home it was moldy. It was at this point that she decide to Google Leprechaun . She discovered that one source said “they are depicted as ill-natured and mischievous, with a mind for cunning .“ They were not just cute little creatures as she had pictured them. But at least she knew that all that was happening to her was the result of Leprechaun magic. She needed to get the coin back to him or she was afraid she would be scratching forever except in the Coffee Shop. Apparently his magic couldn’t touch her there. It must be that her poltergeist protected her. Its magic was stronger or as strong as the leprechaun. If worse came to worse she could go and live in the Coffee Shop eating saffron buns and drinking coffee until she figured this out.
She needed more information so she gave in and called the opprobrious, Shamus O’Malloory . Perhaps his grandmother had in one of her quondam stories read him something that would help her. Shamus remembered a bit of Irish casuistry that applied to dealing with leprechauns. Like all casuistry it had no absolute rules on how to proceed but gave suggestions that may or may not apply to the case at hand. Shamus left poor Nancy even more confused.

Wrap UP

I got up this morning and after my breathing treatment I took a bath. I usually take a bath at night but this is Ash Wednesday and we are going to Church tonight. I worked on learning more about movie editing this morning. In the afternoon I visited all the blogs of people who left comments yesterday or the day before and left comments. If you didn't get a comment one of the following three reasons apply:
1. I left a comment yesterday and you still had the same entry.
2. I goofed
3. Your name is Melli and I always save your blog for last.
At 4:00 we started a new tradition. Every day we are going to stop at 4:00 and have a cup of tea. When we cleaned the cupboard we found we had enough tea to carry us for a full year so we have started using it up. I kind of like the tea break. We are putting it in Javanagogh cups instead of those dainty tea cups. Now I have to go get ready for Church. When I get back I'll have a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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Cure or Disease?

Today's Link
Suldog

The Saying of the Day
A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away.
~Barry Goldwater

Picture of the Day
My Sister Dawn on Tessie

I saw a cancer patient on TV the other night. Her cancer was in remission but she looked terrible. The experimental drug she took to cure the disease had all kinds of side effects. There was increased pain. There was hair loss.. Her skin became very dry. The drug could have killed her. But the cancer was gone. She was recovering. As horrible as the cure was the disease was worse it would have destroyed her.
This set me to thinking about our current economic woes. Our depression or economic turn down or whatever you call it. Just suppose the depression is not the disease but a truly horrible cure. A cure with all kinds of side effects which are not pleasant.
Then the stimulus package would be a cure for the cure.
Before you decide I’ve flipped my lid let me explain.
The disease is extreme self centeredness which manifests as greed and a grab for pleasure. A condition that puts the individual at the center and the world exists to serve him. He is entitled to pleasure and government and other people exist to give to him or her.
Some examples:
CEO’s who to in order to keep their high salaries and good dividends in their company stock close the factory and send the jobs out of country. Tough that the workers are out. Let them fend for themselves.
Workers who won’t let the company cut back on any of their hard earned benefits even if the company goes bankrupt.
Companies that buy up other companies not to make a better product but to rob the pension fund.
Millionaires who to obtain even more money swindle others out of millions.
Rich people buying six or even seven houses because it feels good to do so.
A large per cent of the population doing “ recreational drugs” because it makes them feel good. They don’t care about the huge criminal population they support or that their money pays for the murder of judges in Columbia. Pleasure above all.
Husbands and wives looking for even more pleasure cheat on their spouse and then leave for somebody that can make them happier. The kids are left confused and pulled in every direction. Who cares.
Athletes on steroids making millions in football and baseball while average people just get buy. They provide the circuses for our pleasure.
Doctors who no longer care about patients just the bottom financial line. Pushing specialized surgery out of reach for much of the population.
Conservatives talking about morality and goodness and having neither.
Liberals willing to give somebody else's money to the poor but keeping their yachts , houses, and private jets.
People who buy houses not to live in but to sell again at a higher price pushing housing costs above the reach of the average guy.
Banks and loan companies exploiting the mortgage market.
Oil and gas companies pulling in record profits while the little guy can’t afford to drive anywhere.
Workers who couldn’t care less about the product they create as long as they get paid well.
Governors who sell Senate seats to the highest bidder.
A national increase in drunk driving convictions. Really happy people running over others.
Our National elected leaders that at one time counted among their number 29 spousal abusers, 7 people arrested for fraud, 19 bad check writers, 117 whose business went bankrupt, 3 arrested for assault, 71 whose credit is so bad they can’t get a credit card, 14 arrested on drug related charges, 8 arrested for shoplifting , and 81 caught drunk driving. They make the law. We elected them. Sorry to tell you both parties are included in the numbers and one Independent. But the promises they make we believe.

Everywhere you look Greed and self centeredness.

But an economic depression cures this disease.
People that had five houses find out what it’s like to have none.
People who looked down on the guy on welfare are now the guys on welfare.
CEOs who ran their company into bankruptcy are now out on the street ( unless the government bailed them out and even let them get big bonuses )
Workers are discovering that the union can’t help when the company is gone.
The cost of housing is coming down.
People are rediscovering old values.

It is a hard and painful cure. But my grandparents and parents learned from it.
They learned :
To share what they had with others.
Buy as little on credit as possible.
Be loyal to the company you work for and give it your best.
If you move up don’t forget the little guy.
Work for the common good.
Personal pleasure is not as important as personal responsibility.

There is one other side effect. People so committed to themselves give more and more power to the government in exchange for it giving them what they want. At the same time they look for scapegoats. It’s the fault of illegal migrant workers, it’s the fault of the evil Republicans, it’s the fault of radio conservatives, it’s the fault of nasty Democrats who spend too much, and on and on.

So in the last great depression while we were learning and changing the Germans turned to Hitler and gave him all the power. He scapegoated the Jews.

Perhaps, by the time the stimulus package kicks in we will have begun to heal.
If not we will be down here again or worse.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Nancy got up this morning and went to make herself some toast only to find that all the bread in the house had gone moldy. She just bought the loaf yesterday so it made no sense. Well she thought she could still have a nice fried egg but when cracked open the egg it was obviously rotten. In fact she had never smelled anything that bad. She poured a glass of milk only to find it was sour but the refrigerator was working fine. Then she noticed that she had a rash on her arm and it seemed to be getting worse.
She called Carol who sometimes helped out at the Coffee Shop and went to the clinic. Both the Nurse Practitioner and the Physician’s Assistant were at a loss. They had never seen anything like it. As they watched it it kept changing colors and getting itchier and itchier . Old Doc Simons wouldn’t be back until Thursday so they took pictures and sent them over the internet to a Doctor in Iron Mountain.
Nancy went down to the coffee shop. The moment she entered the building the rash disappeared. That in itself was a little weird but she also felt like a heavy load had been lifted from her shoulders. She couldn’t understand what was happening to her. This was certainly an unlucky day.

Wrap UP

Today the sun was shining again. Then it is going to get warm enough to have an ice storm. Will it never end. Today I visited everyone of my links and left comments on many of them. It took over three and one half hours . I do this once a week. The rest of the week I just visit the people's blogs who commented on mine the day before. In the afternoon ,between reading blogs, Betty and I cleaned out another cabinet. A lot of stuff went into the garbage and we organized everything. My sister Dawn called to tell me she was right the last time we talked and I was wrong. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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More of Me Monday

Today's Link
The Social Frog

Saying for the Day
Hating people is like burning down your own house to get rid of a rat. ~Henry Emerson Fosdick

Picture of the Day
Fun Monday- My Kitchen Counter

It is More of Me Monday and I am going to tell you two things you probably already know.
1. I sometimes write “poetry”, or doggerel or whatever.
2. I like soap operas.
One soap opera I used to watch was “ All My Children”. I say used to watch because they just got rid of Greenlee a character I liked and could relate to. This ticked me off so I quit watching them.
Of course they had a good reason. The actress that played Greenlee wouldn’t sign a new contract saying it was too hard on her family to keep flying from California to New York for the taping. Rather than recast they simply got rid of her but in a way that allows for her to come back. Remember the rule “ If there is no body they may not be really dead”
In any case I wrote this “poem” for Greenlee.

ODE to Greenlee
She would not sign the contract
She would fly no more
So they threw her in the river
To float along the shore

They ignored that we loved her
And wanted her to stay
She wouldn’t sign the contract
So they threw her away

Her opprobrious conduct
In quondam story lines
Required casuistry in writing
In The Valley of the Pines

Poor Kendal thinks its her fault
She’ll take the blame
Zach will protect her
But his excuses are all lame

Her friends will search the river
They won’t find a clue
Because for the writers
This plot line is through

But those of us who love her
Say she never sank
Know she’s in a cabin
Down by the river bank

When the plot lines need her
When the show is falling fast
They will go and find her
Bring her back at last

Her head will be empty
Her memory washed away
But Ryan will still love her
As much as on this day

So hang in there Greenlee
We know that you’ll be back
You can’t spend eternity
In a down river shack.

One other poem made necssary by today's picture.

Apology
I’m really sorry Betty
For the pictures that I took
I know you were cooking
I saw the old cook book

But it was Fun Monday
It’s a real shame
They wanted counter pictures
Now I’ve wrecked your name

When people think of Betty
The scholar they won’t see
Or the really great mother
Or the nurse for me

They’ll see your messy counter
Think your messy too
Though I’m sorry
I don’t know what to do.

It was the fun Monday
That was no Fun for you
I’m not a cynicocratical ruller
We can talk it through.

I’ll tell the world I will
That’s what I’ll do
Your not volgivagant matrerial
My wonderful isangelous you.

This Drivel by Dr. John

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Tommy UK is really unhappy. He wanted to talk to his uncle in Iron Mountain on Saturday only he discovered his uncle was at a workshop in Lansing. It seems that his uncle who is an expert on Senior law was being brought up to speed on the latest changes in that area. With the new administration and the economic crunch things are changing very rapidly and he owes it to the bulk of his clients to keep up.
So instead of going to Iron Mountain Tommy took a snowmobile ride out to the Lake of The Loons in time to see the whale surface through the hole in the ice at the center of the lake. At least that made him feel good.
On the way to the café this morning Nancy swears she saw a little man about four inches tall. He had red hair and a long red beard. He was wearing an emerald green frock coat, and a cocked-hat with a pointed end. In fact he stood on the point of his hat and set himself spinning like a top. When he stopped spinning he said to her in a very low voice “ I want my coin back lady”. Nancy ran all the way to coffee shop and never looked back. She has decided to stop unbelieving in Leprechauns. She would have given him the coin right there but he didn’t have it with her. She ran away because her perspicacious judgment prevented her from getting into a fracas with a leprechaun over a matter that belonged to numismatics and not coffee shops. But now she had to figure out how to get the coin back to the little guy.

Wrap UP

The sun was shining again today. I started the morning by making a loaf of Diet Rite Bread.It requires so little. Just a bread machine, yeast , flour, and Diet Rite Cola. But it makes great bread. With the new bread machine it was ready for lunch. Then I visited fun Monday people and looked at their kitchens. I have never seen such organization.By the end of the tour I was reduced to tears. In the afternoon I helped Betty clean out the kitcchen cupboards, the lesast I could do after posting that picture.We organized everything by category before putting it backi. For the next few days we can find anything. Then I visited the blogs of everybody that left comments yesterday. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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Transfiguration Sunday

Today's Link
HEvencense

Saying for the Day
God gave us memories that we might have roses in December. ~J.M. Barrie, Courage, 1922
Picture of the Day
One of my Mountain Tops

In churches following the Common Lectionary this is Transfiguration Sunday ( Not to be confused with the Feast of the Transfiguration which in Orthodox and Catholic Churches is celebrated on August 6). It marks the end of the Epiphany Season. The Gospel is Mark 9:2-9.
This is the text that gives us the expression “ Mountain Top Experience”. Jesus takes three of his disciples up on the mountain and there he is transfigured. His garments begin to glow brighter than anything the disciples have ever seen. Since Epiphany is about the light of God breaking into the world through Christ this a wonderful way to bring the season to an end.
One of my problems with this text , over the years, is that I looked at the edge rather than the center of the text. On the edge is a scared to babbling Peter. He is familiar to me. He needs to talk. He can’t just stand there. I’ve been in Peter’s place so I feel with him. I preached that sermon.
Then there is Moses and Elijah also on the edge. They invite the preacher to see the coming together of Old and New Testaments. I’ve preached that sermon.
But they aren’t the center of the text. They aren’t the wrap up of Epiphany. Jesus is. Here the light shines at its brightest blinding us. Here the voice God announces that Jesus is his Son . Here The Father tells us to listen to the Son.. It is a mountain top experience. for the disciples. They will never forget it.
The problem with mountain top experiences is that you have come down
.
The disciples had to come down to a world where the garments of Jesus didn’t shine. A world in which some people would crucify Him. They had to come down.
Nobody gets to stay on the mountain. That’s the bad news.
I met Jesus at Bible Camp but at the end of the week I had to go home. I had to leave the mountain top where loving Jesus was good to go home where my experience was met with some disdain.
I went to the Great Charismatic Conference were Christians of all different denominations came together. I went up on the mountain and Jesus was closer to me than He had ever been. But I had to come down and go back to my parish. Back to teaching Confirmation, burying people, and all the other daily tasks of the Pastor.
One Sunday I looked out over the congregation and I could feel the Holy Spirit moving over the congregation. It was a remarkable experience. But I had to come down from that mountain and lead the liturgy where I left out a full page ( gleefully pointed out to me by the acolyte).
Nobody has to tell us we can’t stay on the mountain. We know it. We’ve been there.
But what we sometimes forget is we can go back and visit . God has given us memory. For a moment we can see and feel what we saw and felt on our mountain.
Those visits help to sustain us as we struggle to follow Christ to the cross.
I’m sure that in the difficult times after they came down from the mountain the disciples replayed the event over and over again in their minds and it gave them strength to go on.
My return visits to my mountain tops have certainly helped me.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Pastor Joan really got the congregation thinking this morning here is a part of her sermon:
“ I want you to come on the mountain with the disciples. I can’t tell you why. The disciples don’t know why.
Now look Jesus gets out ahead of you and stands on the side of the mountain.
Your not looking. Some of you are having such a hard time seeing this .
Lets try an experiment.
Close your eyes.
Now with your mind see Jesus. See Him standing there.
Oh! Look his robe is beginning to glow. It is getting brighter and brighter. You have never seen anything so bright. It’s a bit scarey isn’t it.
Now look two people are suddenly there talking to Him. Why it’s Moses and Elijah . But only Jesus is glowing.
Now listen. Hear the Father telling you that Jesus is his Son.
And one more thing. You should listen to Him.
Will you? “
At the coffee after the early service Herman said you know for a moment I really could see Jesus.

Wrap UP

It was one great day. I got up and the sun was shining. It wasn't warm but it looked so good. Church was just great. As I rolled around taking pictures of the Sunday School for the website I got to talk to the nicest people. The service had both the children's choir and the bell choir and both were uplifting. We had a hymn sing where the congregation picked the hymns and they really sang. The sermon was great as we move from Epiphany to lent. When we came home we had Apple Roast for dinner cooked in the slow cooker. All afternoon I worked on the Church website. I was learning some new things as I went along so that was good. I visited "toady's link" and all the links of people who commented yesterday. Now I need a breathing treatment,
GBYA

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Dragon Award

We The Dragon Committe on Blog Awards (shown below)

held our weekly meeting and decided that it was time for the second weekly Dragon Wordzzle Award. The rules were simple( Same as last week) . You had to be registered with Mr. Linky on Raven's blog by 6:00 PM Eastern Time on Saturday. ( Dr. John and Betty are excluded because we dragons live in their house and have to post on his blog)
We dragons would read all the posted blogs and pick the best one to receive the award. We looked at character development, humor, pathos, suspense, all the things that make for good writing. Then we choose a winner.
This week was really hard after you removed Bettygram and Dr. John there were seven blogs left in contention. We read them all , out loud. Our discussion then became rather heated and we apologize to Dr. John for the burn marks on his computer desk. Finally we narrowed it down to two blogs. One that had used Quilly's words and had a seamless story that ran through all the challenges. The other had great writing and worked in pictures as well. It was a hard choice.
But the writers ability to use all the words in the mini-challenge in one sentence swung the decision in her favor .

The winner of the Second Weekly Dragon Wordzzle Award is:

Finding Pam

Congratulations Pam

Raven's Challenge 51

Today's Link
1 Door Away from Heaven

Saying for the Day
Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too. ~Voltaire
Picture of the Day
The Good Old Days

It is Saturday and time to play with words supplied by Raven's Wordzzle
This Week's Ten Word Challenge will be: spring fever, coyote, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, birds of a feather, broken camera, artificial flavoring, cane, garage, ask and it is given, gay
Mini Challenge: glorious, sugar and spice, premature baldness, gargoyles, campaign trail

The Maxi Challenge in The Ongoing Adventures of Agent 012

Agent 012 pulled his leg free from the bear trap and looked down to see the broken camera that had been strapped to his leg still held securely by the trap. The Agency was not going to like this that was one expensive camera. He would , of course, remind them that if he had been eaten by a coyote in the woods they would not only have lost the camera but the rest of his expensive equipment as well. The Agency’s “ ask and it is given” policy on equipment came with long lectures on cost of said equipment. He remembered when he broke the super automatic cane over the head of a dangerous Mute Agent and saved the Chief’s life he still got static for ruining the cane.
The voices continued coming from the bus but his “ extra ear” another expensive piece of equipment had fallen out when the bear trap closed. It was lost in the brush . So going on the assumption that birds of a feather flock together he pulled his instant welder out of his sleeve and welded the door to the bus shut. They would stay safely there until the Agency sent a team to pick them up.
Hastening back to the center he entered quietly through the back door and went to rejoin the group. They were all watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on the unbelievable ten foot screen television. At first he thought it was a DVD but then it was interrupted by commercials for a glorious cure for premature baldness and a set of home gargoyles for your front door.
When it ended the late evening news came on with a feature on how in the grips of spring fever some politicians were already on the campaign trail for the 2010 Congressional elections. They were just oozing sugar and spice and making enough promises to fill your garage. This was followed by a warning that the newest artificial flavoring was causing cancer in gay mice.
“ I didn’t even know there were happy mice “ Agent 012 blurted out. Everybody looked at him like one might look at a dumb cousin just in from the farm.
“ Not that kind of gay” somebody said and left out the word stupid.
Poor Agent 912 got all flustered.” I never thought that mice could be that way . Not that I think there is anything wrong with their being that way. I think every mouse should decide for itself what it wants to be. Unless of course it’s a product of its genes.”
At that point Agent 012 shut up.
“How did you rip your pants” somebody asked.
Agent 012 needed a story in a hurry or this really wouldn’t be his day. If only he had the Raven’s ability to tell stories.

The Ten Word Challenge

Andrew McCarthy was one happy gay. He had found a committed partner in Ted Coyote Cane who told him over and over just ask and it is given. Ted was rich enough to keep that promise. He and Ted were birds of a feather like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Not that Butch and Sundance were gay though they very well could have been but that they thought alike.
Today caught up in spring fever they were cleaning out the garage. The broken camera that they had planned on fixing would have to go and those ten containers of cancer causing artificial flavoring with it. The old door that used to be in the front would never be used again so out with it.
So they worked all Saturday and Sunday trying not to think that the two of them both lawyers would argue a case in front of the California Supreme Court on Monday. It was too important to worry about and all the legal work was done. They knew in their hearts that the referendum that prevented gay marriage was unconstitutional. All they had to do was prove it.

The Mini Challenge

It was a glorious day that greeted Reinfield Calhoun Esquire as he walked out the front door past the gargoyles that stood in front of his California mansion. He checked to be sure his hairpiece covered his premature baldness then climbed into his limousine . His driver took him to the first stop on the campaign trail for the day. He would be addressing a volgivagant group of the worst kind. You know the common rabble that probably didn’t even know what volgivagant meant. There was a large number of woman present and so he decided to use his “sugar and spice” speech. The one in which he promised them all kinds of things he knew he couldn’t deliver and that in any case they didn’t deserve. In that speech He described every woman present as part of an isangelous group of people who loved what was right and wanted the good to prevail. He of course was the good.
He just loved politics. He firmly believed in cynicocratical rule.

The Fifteen Words in one sentence

Robert S. Gay whose failed businesses included the Glorious Garage Gargoyle Statue Shop, Birds of A Feather Wiggs for Premature Baldness, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Swimming School, Ask and It Is Given Fantasy Fulfillment, and the Coyote Cane Calorie Free Artificial Flavoring Company put aside his broken camera, and in the grasp of spring fever decided to try one more time with The Sugar and Spice Campaign Trail Consultant Company.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal
It is Saturday and time to look back over the week in Pigeon Falls.
Monday– Starting on Monday evening the Fracas Four played at the Happy Pigeon all week long. The Fracas Four consists of four musicians who look like they just stumbled out of a bar fight, hence the name Fracas Four. They probably have been part of many a fracas in their lives. They used to be the Fracas Five but one quondam singer gave up and went into the flower business. In any case they fit right in with the volgivagant bar crowd. The Happy Pigeon had to turn away crowds every night.
Tuesday– Nancy when she was closing up found a strange looking coin in the cash drawer. It had this isangelous image that she had never seen before and a strange language. She called Harley Warmire , the only man in town into numismatics and asked him what it was worth and where it was from. He told her he was too busy to bother with such a trifling matter at this time. Nancy felt this was totally opprobrious conduct on his part. He certainly could have said no in a nicer manner.
Wednesday-Yello Brooks , Pigeon Falls leading conservative. Told Nancy that he was listening to Glen Beck and other leaders and was convinced that we have the most cynicocratical government in the world. Our leaders don’t really care about us. He could prove this by sharing what he had learned from conservative blogs. He didn’t have enough perspicacious judgment to see the argument as the pure casuistry that it was.
Thursday– Nancy showed the coin with the angel like figure on it to everyone who came in for coffee. She hoped somebody might recognize it and tell her about it. Finally Shamus O’Malloory came in , took one look, and gasped.
“Where did you get that coin” he asked.
Nancy explained it was in the cash drawer when she closed up.
“It’s part of a Leprechaun's treasure”, he said. ”My grandmother showed me pictures of it when I was a little boy.”
Nancy told him she didn’t believe in Leprechauns . To which he responded “ I don’t believe in poltergeists either but that doesn’t stop yours from pouring coffee.”

Wrap UP

Spent the morning reading stories written witj Raven's words. There are really talented people out there and they write great stories. I enjoyed them all. Words are such fun to play with. I worked at getting a visit counter onto the st. Mark website in the afternoon. That gave me a lot of trouble.Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA
Note my dragonds met to pick the best wordzzle blog of the day. I let them post just below this one. In the morning I will move it above. If you haven't read their choice you should.

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Me and My Pony

Today's Link
Noe Noe Girl..Tall Tales from a Short Chick

Saying for the Day
One person's joy is another person's sorrow. Dr. John

Picture of the Day
Me and Tony

Ever since I read a blog on Monday or Tuesday about somebody's experience with a pony when they were little I have had this image from a quondam experience in my life. I am sitting in the middle of a creek watching Tony, the pony, who dumped me there run off. You will have to admit that it was opprobrious conduct for a pony. To take a poor , not to sharp kid, and dump him in the creek can not be turned into a good thing no matter what kind of casuistry my father employed to convince me otherwise.
Believe me the experience did not improve my character or give me something to laugh about. It was humiliating, painful, and I ended up with a cold. If anything it made me feel like one of the volgivagant crowd and was not an isangelous experience.
The pony went on into the neighborhood where it caused quite a fracas as it drove Mrs. Stetson into her house and her husband came after it with a two by four. This was not a wise thing to do but then nobody ever accused my neighbor of having a perspicacious mind . I can’t tell you how far the pony kicked that two by four but it was far enough to send the neighbor scurrying into the house.
Then my dad showed up and brought it home. Most of the time Tony obeyed my dad. In fact we all obeyed my dad. His was a cynicocratical rule only because he approached everything with cynicism. But we loved him anyway which is more than I can say for the pony. I stood in terror of it.
My dad still made me ride it.
He was making a man out of me.
I had to face what I was afraid of.
The whole experience did do one thing for me. I gave up wanting to be a singing cowboy and thought I might take up Philately or Numismatics.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Tommy UK is planning on going to Iron mountain to visit his uncle tomorrow. This week has seemed to go on forever and ever. He has so many questions that only his uncle can answer. He really wants those answers. He will go over to Iron mountain on the milk train and come home on the last train in the evening since he has to acolyte on Sunday with Tammy.
Nobody has seen Petrovich for several days which usually means he is hard at work at translating a driblet. First he does a general translation from the Coptic. Then he goes back and works word by word. Then he looks for the little nuances that are hard to convey from one language to another but in a prophecy can make all the difference in the world. When all of that is finished he e-maiks the translation and the orginal to two friends who are experts in Coptic and has them critigue it. When all of that is finished he publishes the driblet.
Of course he might not be translating a driblet he might just be playing with the twins and giving his wife a break. But then that wouldn’t make a good rumor would it?

Wrap UP

It was one of those weird days. I bought some new movie editing software to help with the St. Mark's Website. I spent most of the morning on a very slow learning curve. Betty went to therapy imn the afternoon. I published the coming Sunday's bulletin to the website. Betty came home and asked why the Bible sections were all run together. The problem was they were perfect in firefox but not in Explorer. It took an hour and a half to find away around the problem. Then I visited the blogs of everybody who left a comment yesterday. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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A Quilly Story -at last

Today's Link
MJ Keith

Saying for the Day
We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs. ~Gloria Steinem

Picture of the Day
Service of Clowns

Today we offer you a story built around Quilly's three words for the day which are * fracas, * numismatics, and * perspicacious

Andrew had been into numismatics for as long as he could remember. At first he had collected pennies. When he tired of that he moved on to silver dollars. He had in his collection some of the very best silver dollars that still existed. Those alone were woth close to a million dollars. Of course, money had never been a problem. He was the last surviving heir of one of the few billionaires the planet had produced. He could spend whatever he wanted on his collection.
What he wanted now was to complete his collection of Silver Sixpences of English Monarchs. All he was missing was the Silver Sixpence of Edward VI that was minted in the period 1551-1553. He had a badly worn copy but he wanted one like new. Since Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary) wanted all reminders of Edward VI removed the coins had been collected and melted down leaving only a few that had been hidden away.
The judgment of most collectors was that there were only three or four left. One of those four was in the Royal Museum . It had been found in perfect shape at the Tudor Castle tucked in a little nook. In the museum it was kept under a glass container in which moisture and heat were controlled and was surrounded by burglar alarms of one kind or another. It had to be it was valued at over a million dollars.
Andrew had offered the museum two million for it and they turned him down. It was a precious part of English history they said. Having failed at the attempt to buy it outright Andrew offered the museum one hundred thousand dollars for the right to photograph it for a numismatics magazine. This they accepted . The coin was removed from the glass enclosure by an attendant wearing sterile gloves and placed on a sterile cloth. Andrew then took multiple pictures of each side and the edges . Two armed guards stood by during the entire procedure so the coin was well protected. When he finished it was returned to the glass enclosure and the alarms were turned back on.
There was no way that they could have known that the cameras were special cameras each costing more than the coin was worth. With the film placed in a special machine a 3-D reproduction of the original could be made. This reproduction was then used to create the mold in which a new coin could be cast. Andrew melted down his worn copy and a badly worn copy from a few years later minting. He used this to recast the coin. When he finished he had a coin that in every way looked and felt like the one in the museum. Not even the most perspicacious numismatist could tell the difference.
But Andrew could. He knew it wasn’t the original. Even if it fooled everybody else, yet he knew!
So he put the last part of his plan into action .
He paid two men to get into a fracas next to the glass container with the coins.
One pushed the other into the container.
It fell over and the coin fell on the floor.
The alarm went off.
The men continued fighting.
There was chaos.
During this time Andrew switched the coins.
It went perfectly.
His two employees were arrested for disturbing the peace.
The coin was placed under the unbroken glass container.
The alarm was turned back on.
Everything had gone perfectly except:
As he was leaving a young boy ran into him and almost knocked him down.
When he got to the car he reached into his pocket to look at his new treasure and it was gone.
GONE!
His pocket had been picked.
The young boy was long gone as well.
He discovered a hard truth :
No matter how rich or how smart you are you can’t always get everything you want.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal
There was a bit of a fracas over at the museum this morning. Some guy who didn’t know you had to buy your ticket in advance came a long way to hear the ghost piano player. When told the soonest he could get a ticket was next Monday he threw a punch at Brian Walsworth the volunteer on duty. That was a mistake. Brian is a retired Marine and the man soon found himself sitting in a snow bank.
He went from there ,spouting opprobrious epithets ,over to Nancy’s and ordered a cup of coffee. Then he decided to have a saffron bun as well. But after the first bite he made a face and spit the bun back on the table. “ That’s the most horrible thing I have ever tasted” he said. Suddenly he found himself flying through the air, out the door, and into another snow bank. Nancy’s poltergeist doesn’t take kindly to spitting and insults. All the poor guy wanted to do was to hear one more time the music of the quondam piano player. Well at least the guy has some kind of ghostly experience to talk about when he gets home.
The Tommy Club is following up on a rumor that the Man in Black was seen behind the town hall during the recent fight with the demon. They talked to Mrs. Trumble but she said she was busy trying to fight the demon and didn’t notice much of anything else. There were footprints in the snow behind the building but they were from many different boots. It looks like people hid there while the battle was going on.
The dragons are flying their regular pattern again with no long term damage from the battle.
Rumor has it that Petrovich is busy translating another driblet that pertains to Pigeon Falls. But it is only a rumor and you know how they come and go in a small town. Some of them are woven with such casuistry as would make a Jesuit proud.

Wrap UP

The snow is not going away and we are supposed to have more coming. I spent a good part of the day continuing my effort to organize this computer. In the afternoon Betty went to Bible Study. I visited every blog that commented on mine yesterday and the " today's link". I also went looking for a good movie editing program. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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A Penny for your Dollars

Today's Link
Trav's Thoughts

Saying for the Day
Gambling: The sure way of getting nothing from something. ~Wilson Mizner

Picture of the Day
But Tomorrow more Snow

We may be on the edge of the next great depression but the American entrepreneurial ability to make a dollar out of a pennie is still alive and kicking.
The mint is in the process of minting five new pennies. Two will be minted this year. Two will be minted next year . One will be minted the year after. They are in honor of the Lincoln bicentennial. When they are put into circulation they will be worth one cent.
That’s the base cost for our entrepreneurs. You add to that five cents for plastic to encase them in and ten cents for a page that gives a little history and you can sell the whole thing for twenty dollars plus postage and handling.
I have done some research and the selling price can be as low as $12.95 and as high as $30.00 for one penny. And don’t forget the postage and handling. Some of these places handle it a lot and the cost can be as much as $7.95.
Their advertisements on television , in newspapers, and in mailings urge you to get in now before they are all gone.
“Before they are all gone”, they haven’t even been minted yet. When they are you should be able to pick up one in uncirculated ( Encased in plastic) at your local bank for $5.00 if the centennial quarters are any indication. Thus for $25.00 the entire set can be yours. You see there is no need to get involved in any kind of fracas to obtain them. Better yet talk to your bank or credit union and buy a roll when they arrive. It will cost you $.50 and they are all uncirculated. Then buy some cheap plastic holders and you have a bunch of $12.95 coins minus the postage and handling.
Of course our sellers know this so to further entice you they offer the coins gold platted for just a little extra. That should boast their value , right? Wrong! They are still worth a penny. In fact according to my friends who are into numismatics they are now worth less than before. Real coin collectors want “original” condition coins not coins that have been altered.
Some of our sellers with great perspicacious insight are offering to sell you all five not yet minted coins. You pay now and they send them to you as they become available. They will include the cute plastic containers, a nice album with Lincoln information and if you want the gold plating. The price for such helpfulness is anywhere from $89.95 to $ 123.00 . Of course you have to add to that the proverbial postage and handling. Now this is a great deal. They have your money to play with and you still have to wait until the mint puts out the coins.
You might be thinking that everything I said is true but you want to leave something that will be of value to your great grandchildren . One hundred years from now just think of what those gold plated, plastic encased pennies will be worth.
Lets assume they are worth one hundred times their original value. That by the way is pretty good for an average coin. Most coins do not increase that much. Your great grandkids now have five pennies worth $5.00 . That’s lots less than what you paid but life is like that.
Or as P.T. Barnum said “ There’s a sucker born every minute.”

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal
Poor Tommy UK spent all of yesterday wishing he knew more about his birth parents. It’s not that he loved his adoptive parents any less or even that he wanted to replace them. No! He was just curious. What kind of birth parent could leave him a rock with such power?
Tommy’s uncle might know. He had, after all, arranged the adoption. But there was no way he could get to Iron Mountain until Saturday . Until then he would just have to wonder. He did think of using the rock to transport himself to Iron Mountain. But that had two problems. First of all he had promised to use the rock properly and he wasn’t sure if that was a proper use. And second he had no idea how to use it in that manner. In fact he had no idea how to use it period! When he helped Herman it had all seemed to come automatically .He didn’t know if you wished on it or or commanded it or what you did to make it work.
In addition to his desire to find out who his birth parents were Tommy felt a need to tell somebody what he had learned about himself. It was not the kind of thing you shouted from the roof top but still he needed to tell somebody. His first choice would have been Tammy but they still weren’t talking. For a moment, just for a moment, he thought of zapping her with his rock so she would like him again. But then he thought that came under the proper use category.
He began to feel like Parker in the Spider Man comic . With great power came great responsibility.
Responsibility he was discovering was a real pain.

Wrap UP

It snowed so much last night our handy man had to come and shovel us out. So far the month has been a tease. For a bit it was warming up and melting. You could see the grass . Now it is all white again. Did I say I hate winter. At least my oxygen was good this morning. I printed out my November blogs to send to my sister Dawn. That took all morning. In the afternoon I got back to trying to organize my computer. I need to label a lot of pictures. It would have been so much easier if I had labeled them when I loaded them in. Since I visited every link yesterday today I only visited those that left comments and the link of the day. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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