Hi Blog-o-philes !

How about the New Fall TV Lineup ?

Way, Way Back in the early days of TV, when all the hoopla had worn off about what a boon it would be for Education and Culture, a wise man named Newton Minnow said that, " Television is a Vast Wasteland". I agreed with him so much, that during my time stateside while I was in the Navy, I seldom watched any TV. Oh, there was the occasional Big Football game, like the Rose Bowl, that I would watch with my male relatives, and I would try to watch the NCAA Basketball Play-offs if I were home. I guess my wife must have shared my aversion to "The Tube", because she didn't bitch much when I didn't want one in our first house.

All that changed when one of my classes at Foothill Community College assigned us to watch "All in The Family", AKA "Archie Bunker".
This was "cutting-edge TV", where every social and generational conflict from Race to The War, through Drugs and Free Love were viewed from the bigoted eyes of Archie, and where his prejudices were opposed by All the other characters, from his black neighbors, "The Jeffersons", to his Son-in-law Rob Riener, (AKA Meathead).

So, I relented and started watching Archie & Company, and then found a few other programs that were worth the time. Then, PBS started the "Nature" series, and that became a 'must see' show every week. From there, I watched all those excellent mini-series in the seventies. From "The Kent Family Chronicles", through "Rich Man -Poor Man", and including "Dallas" and the Barringtons ?? (The one with Efrem Zimbalist JR, and Joan Collins ??).

O.K., Now you've got the whole picture of how I became addicted to "The Idiot Box", So, Now I want to talk and ask some questions about this season's new shows that I've seen.
As a long-time NCIS junkie, I of course welcomed the spin-off, NCIS LA, and I've always thought LL Cool J was a pretty good actor for a rapper ! Maybe no Will Smith, but a good believable actor, who I also like to see on the talk shows.
Another new one that I really like is "The Good Wife". The 'back-story' is good, and she's a great character. Her job as a Lawyer, and her Kid's and her interactions with her incarcerated Husband, and his prosecutor the State's Attorney, make for some good drama, as does her performance as a defense attorney for a variety of defendants.
The Hospital Soap, "Three Rivers" has all kinds of potential too, as does the Chevy Chase show, "Community College", and I've watched a few episodes of "Parks & Recreation" which I realize isn't new, but I didn't watch it last year.
Another show I really like, (which also isn't new), is "The Mentalist" , Simon Baker's character is a hoot, and his wacky methods, and his con-artist past are great plot lines that just don't get stale.
What are Your Favorites of the New Season, and Your "Never Miss" shows from recent years ??

Hybrid Books From Publishers Like Simon and Schuster Add Video and Web Features to Reading - NYTimes.com

This seems to be the future of Books ! As someone who is interested in Video blogging as well as writing, I find this trend both exciting and challenging. Check out this article, and leave me a comment on your opinion and ideas for this innovative idea ?
Hybrid Books From Publishers Like Simon and Schuster Add Video and Web Features to Reading - NYTimes.com

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The Health-Scare Debate !

The effort to insure health care for millions of uninsured Americans has provided the News and Humor Business with an overdose of material. The same proposed legislation has also put PR and Lobbying firms back in business. The list of so-called "Astroturf" organizations has grown to impossible length, with Big Pharmaceuticals and Big Insurance Companies trying hard to out-bullshit each other in their efforts to derail Health Care Reform.

My favorite of these rumors, lies, and complete fallacies being pushed by the paid-protesters, is the idea that health care rationing will lead to "Death Panels", which will decide if older people are worth the time and resources to save their miserable lives. Here is Bill Mahr's take on the Death Panels !

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/16/bill-maher-explores-what_n_260617.html

Let me know what You think about this whole mess?

Friday Fill-In's Agianz #137

#137

Graphic courtesy of Tonya!

And...here we go!

1. When will __Q roadtrip to Indiana ___?

2. _Extreme Loggers____ was the last good book I read or movie I saw or tv show I watched.

3. Everything has its beauty but __anuses don't ever look good___.

4. _A massive Cheeseburger____ is what I had for dinner.

5. I'd like your digits_____.

6. _UpInYa____ is where I want to be right now.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to reading_, tomorrow my plans include celibacy_ and Sunday, I want to Cook-Out_!

Posted by Janet at 9:05 PM 106 comments Links to this post

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New GiveAway at TJ's Place !

Hello Friends and Neighbors, Good Friend "TJ" has started a New Store on Etsy to sell his Son's Incredible "Hand Thrown" Ceramics. In honor of this new business, "T" is giving away this Beautiful Coffee Mug :

"TJ's" Popular Blog "The Price of Convenience" is at the top of the list of 'My Daily Blog Visits', and is always interesting, if only for the "tude' he sometimes displays when his blogging gene takes a little rest. Another plus to being a Regular at TJ's, is that if you are lucky enough to get on his exclusive mailing list, you can receive valuable gifts at random intervals, stuff like these "Karma Koins" :

















Well, That's all for Now, Please Click on everything "Clickable" so I can win that Great Coffee Mug !

reBlog from hermansbdailyblog.com: President Obama’s Diplomatic Travels

I found this fascinating quote today:

The President’s trips to Russia, and to the G-8 meeting in Italy, have been a reminder to me of the “Good Old Days” of American Diplomacy. I’m talking about the 50’s through the 90’s, when Our President traveling to foreign capitals was something the whole Nation watched and cared about.hermansbdailyblog.com, President Obama’s Diplomatic Travels, Jul 2009

You should read the whole article.

TMI Tuesday 7-07-09

1. Where was the first place you ever had sex? : Church basement

2. How often do you lie? : You wouldn't believe me if I told Ya !

3. If you could only be one, would you rather be smart or good looking? : Smart ain't got me laid too many times, so I'll go with Good Lookin' !

4. Have you ever passed out or suffered memory loss from drinking too m

Image via Wikipedia

uch? : Yes, back before I ran over the Cop Car, and quit drinkin' Jack & Jim.

5. Top or bottom? : Bottom, especially since I grew this gut !

Bonus: Do you have any catalogs for toys/videos/lingerie delivered to your home?:I know my mailman, so I had to stop the Victoria's Secret purchases !

Image via Wikipedia

Friday Fill-Ins # 131

Once again, encouraged by the infamous "Q", I will post my version of the Friday Phil-Ins. Even at the risk of OverShadowing the More Interesting post Below !

And...here we go!

1. When I heard Micheal Jackson died_ I Felt sorry for his little kids_.

2. Laughter and Sex are the_ best medicine.

3. It's late,_ but My neighbors are playing loud music, so I can too !__

4. _America The Beautiful, First,Last, and__always.

5. My eyes_have seen a lot of shit they didn't want to !_____.

6. _I Love My Country__ strongly.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Building a new Web Page_____, tomorrow my plans include a little Partying_? and Sunday, I want to Go to Texas_!

He was " A Thriller " and Always will Be !!

Yes Boys and Girls, even I was a MJ Fan back in the day ! LoL, Below is the Video where he first did "The Moonwalk". I remember this show almost as well as I remember the "Real" Moonwalk. My Girlfriend and I had our usual houseful of company, and we were all on our feet dancing from the start of Billy Jean. When he did that first 'moonwalk', we were all screaming, "Did You See That Shit ???". " That's Impossible !!", and of course the rest is History. A sad history of decline and dysfunctionality.
For the Good part of the memories, we will always have this video of him making the unforgetable statement " The Chair is Not my son",....Enjoy

Friday Fill-In's Agianz

Friday Fill-Ins

Serendipity

Graphic courtesy of Tonya!

And...here we go!

1. She had a great big Ghetto Booty_.

2. My Glock "9"_ is by my side, always.

3. I know this: I'm 2 days late for Friday-fill-ins___!__

4. _Q won't give-it-Up____ still.

5. These words apply to me: Patriotic Liberal_.

6. _Last time I looked_ the sun was shining.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to gettin' High, tomorrow my plans include Stonyness, and Sunday, I want to _Cop another Buzz____!

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Quiz For Q" : do you know who the guy in the middle is ?:

My first "Fill-IN Friday" Post / Friday Fill-In ?

And...here we go!

1. I grew up thinking, with My Dick_.

2. _HippyVet's Opinion Blog, was the last website I was at before coming here.

3. Why don't you,Love me like ya yousta do ?_?

4. Touching myself with fuzzy objects,_helps me relax.

5. Thanks for,the Mammary's_____.

6. _That "Stop" sign on your thong is, very off-putting.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to The Coven Meeting_____, tomorrow my plans include Virgin Sacrifice, and Sunday, I want to _fly !



Posted by Janet at 8:34 PM 113 comments Links to this post

I Need Me Some Laughs ! How 'bout You ?

Hi There ! Since I've gotten some nice hits on the "FaceBook Etiquette" Video on the last post, ( Thanks in part to My Good Buddy "Q" ), I thought I would post some recent additions to my stock of Funny Stuff.
For My "Best Emailed Videos of 2008" collection, it's available for download at my domain link to This Post's Title. And Now, with No Further Ado :

The Landlord from Will Ferrell

I couldn't embed this one, so click here for "The Waldo Ultimatum"

Sign by Danasoft - For Backgrounds and Layouts

"The First Hundred Days"

Proud to Be an Obama Supporter !

The First Hundred Days of the Obama Administration has been widely discussed throughout the Week. I listened to it on the car radio Wednesday Night, with my brother chasing down stations every few minutes as we sped our way across Ohio, on our way home to Indiana, following a great visit with Our Mom in suburban DC.

I thought at the time that it was an excellent speech, with just the right amount of Optimism, tempered with a dose of reality. I enjoyed his answers to the few heavy questions sent his way. I was glad to hear the whole thing on NPR, so I could turn it off before the pundits started telling me what I had just heard !
That crap drives me up the wall, even though I realize that such simplifications are necessary for the Rush Limbaugh fans who might tune in!. Those few who a smart enough to actually operated their radio dials. ! LoL.

I give the Prez' an "A" for his performance thus far. Even his harshest critics have had to admit that he has more on his plate than any President since FDR. Maybe it's a heavier burden than FDR's, since it includes 2 Wars, as well as numerous "Hotspots" around the globe, along with a crippled economy. Add to that, a Foriegn Policy left in tatters from the Bush / Cheney Gang, and you've got "A Lot On Your Plate".

My Big Worry This Week, is the troubles in Pakistan ! Whew, talk about a Mess !
Between the rapid advances of the Taliban / Al Queda insurgency, which is now in control of areas as near as 60 miles from the Capital of Islamibad, there is also the "World-Threatening" problem of Pakistan's Nuclear Arsenal. Nobody is being honest with Us about how many young Officers in the Paki' Military and their Intelligence Agency,(INI), are more sympathetic to the Taliban than they are to the US, and NATO. In fact, many of them see the Karzi Government in Afghanistan, and all our combined forces there, as Allies to India, and therefore enemies of Pakistan. This fear of India as their Primary enemy in the world, has for decades blinded the Pakistani Army to the dangers of their Taliban buddie's Ambitions.

I don't know about You all, but the idea of a Taliban / Al Queda group in control of a 100+ Nuke's, scares the Hell out of Me !

With all these scary possibilities ringing in my head, all I heard on the Sunday Talk and News shows, was more about the, (Not gonna Happen), Flu Pandemic . There was also a lot of discussion about Senator Specter's Party switch. While I think that's significant, and have some misgivings about it, I still think The Pakistan Situation should be at the top of everyone's agenda right Now.
The Only show today which discussed these matters was Farheed Zakaria's GPS program, where he had SecDef Robert Gates as his only guest, and they discussed both wars, the First Hundred Days, and the Paki' Problems.

The title of this post is linked to David Gergen's article about The First Hundred Days, well worth reading.

Below is an hilarious video about "FaceBook Manners" that I think You'll all enjoy.

Hippy Vet's Opinion Blog is Launched !

Hi Folks, I just finished my first post on my New Blog at "Blogatize.com", and I'm pretty glad to have my own Domain Name for it !

This blog is not only a paying proposition, but it gives me a place to rant about politics and world events, without boring my readers to death on this fine Blog ! LoL, (sarcasm). The Title of this post is linked to the new blog, and I'll post it here too !
http://hermansbdailyblog.com/hippy-vets-first-post/

Oh, While I'm about hyping things, these folks at Blogatize have a huge network with about 50 categories of Blogging possiblity. They use "WordPress" which works nearly the same as Blogger, and has some cool themes with options. Mine's pretty generic just now, but that will all change when I get back from visiting my Mom on the 1st of May.
BTW, here's a repost of a link to some of the Funniest & Best emailed videos of 2008,..on my Food Blog site at : "http://casualcommerce101.com/funny_files".

The Hermiverse is Expanding !

Hi There Folks, bet you thought I'd be ashamed to come back so soon after posting that horrible picture last night ! But, Y'all know I have no Shame ! LoL

Anyway, as I've been babbling about in recent weeks, I've been trying to channel all my many hours of Blogging, (and reading your Blogs), into some kind of badly needed income.
This is not an easy thing to do. While I know a whole lot about a lot of subjects, the thing that I've done all my life, which is cooking, bartending , and managing Restaurants and Taverns, is probably the most Overloaded Niche on the Web. It's not even a "niche" anymore, it's more like a huge Arena!

My next thought was; since I don't want to compete with all these beautiful and knowledgeable folks in the Recipe and Menu sector, I would instead focus my blog on teaching some basic skills, and advising on how to build an elementary set of kitchen equipment, and a basic pantry of spices and staples, that would allow an interested reader to begin cooking some of those 5 million wonderful recipes they can find online.

I've been creating such a blog at my new domain in recent days, and was making some decent progress. I started with a simple list of 10 skills and procedures that I would blog about in the order I presented them.
So I wrote the intro to the First subject "Knife Skills", in which I explained how fine cutlery is made, and why it should never be sharpened with anything but a "Steel".

At that point, I realized that I was going to need a decent Video Cam to record some actions in order for my techniques to make sense. Since I don't even have a digicam that can be programed to take a frame every 30 seconds or so, I couldn't even build a good Power Point presentation to demonstrate my methods.

Well, at this point, I'm fairly frustrated, so I start looking around for another way I can spend all this spare time while waiting on the rest of my disability claims to be settled.
I spent last week signing on to every Social Networking and blog related site in the whole CyberVerse, some that I'd never heard of until my Blogging Guru, Darren Rowse include a list in one of the lessons of the course I've been taking this month "31 days to Building a better Blog".

I'm having a good time learning all these new sites, and building profiles for hours at a time. (About My Favorite Subject ME !), when Thursday afternoon,(Aussie Time) 2:AM in Hermville, Darren puts out a tweet about this new posting he's gotten on ProBlogger's Job Board. I instantly click on it, and find that this new Blog Network, called "Blogatize" is looking for people to blog on a variety of subjects,....One of them is Politics ! TaDuh !!

So, weary but stoked, I fill out the application, stating what type of blog I would like to have, and writing a sample posting, which was supposed to be new, but I used the 'Navy Seals Rescue Captain' post I'd written here at Blogger, and told them it was 2:30 AM and my thinker was pretty tired. LoL, Honesty really is the best policy !

This Morning, when I fired up the old 'puter and went to my Google home page, there's a letter from the Team at Blogatize telling me I've got the job !
They want my Google adsense codes, done their way, and want to know if I want my new Domian name to end in Dot Net or Dot Com,.....Hooray Friends and Neighbors !!

In about a week, this Blog will be known as "HippyVet's Daily Opinions", and I'll be blogging about Politics, News, and Opinions from around the US media !
See, They even liked my Twitter and photobucket moniker ! and though I've been "The Hermanator" since the early eighties, I have also always,(since '68), been a "HippyVeteran", so I can live with that as my byline.

So, Please follow me on my new adventure, and I'll still be visiting all my friends, and TJ's on a daily basis, just like I have done since last year when I first started visiting "The Price of Convenience" and discovered what a cool circle of friends TJ had here on the InterWeb Nets.com !

Thanks Again, Wish Me Luck ! Herm

I've been tagged ! Pass it On

Ari "tagged" Kelwhy, who played along,(as per usium), then she put it on her blog,
Then she told folks to play along too, (but left Me off the List ?), So I obeyed her command, took a pic right then, and here it is !



See, Letterman is doing his monologue, I just got up from a three-hour nap, and Sadly, this is what I look like when I get up from a nap !
Now, You take a pic', right Now, and post it on Your Blog, and post a comment here to send us to it !

Happy Friday Blog Buds !

Oh The Irony of it All !

I've been so busy with the "31 Days to a Better Blog" challenge, that I've neglected all my Blogs ! Man, (and Woman), have I been a busy guy !
In Just the past 6 days I've :

1. Been Tweeting my brains out on "Twitter".
2. Devoted to "Delicious".
3. Lying on "LinkedIn".
4. Up the creek on "Ustream".
5. Been rewarded for writing a Testimonial @"DMS Publications".
6. Squandered time at "Squidoo".
7. Been Adamant about "AdSense"
8. Gushed over "Google's Beta's".
9. Bragged on Myself @ "Blogatize"(Job App.)
10. Dug being on "Diigo".

And that's just the start of a list too long to deal with!

So, I hope my Few Faithful Followers and Daily Visitors will understand, and more importantly, help me build this, and my "Foodie" blog at CasualCommerce101.com into something worthwhile that We can all share and enjoy !

Again, I Thank You for your Support thus far, and ask you to send me Anyone who's warped Sense of Humor, and curiosity about Life and Living are approximately as Weird as Ours ! LoL

Go Navy !

I think the Whole World is in awe of Our fantastic Navy Seals, who were able to take-out 3 of the 4 pirate / terrorists holding the American Ship's Captain hostage.
I'm also impressed that President Obama had no qualms about authorizing deadly force to deal with this scum. Most people can't even imagine the precision marksmanship it took for those Seals, on one bobbing and rolling vessel at sea, to hit their targets on another, (much smaller), vessel, with even more motion on the high seas. The fact that they took all of the pirates out of play before they could shoot the Captain, is nothing short of miraculous ! The sad part of this tale is that there are still 200+ people, aboard several ships, who are still held captive in Somali territorial waters.

This is a country that has had No government or legal structure since the Clinton administration's ill-fated "Blackhawk Down" incident in the 90's. When we sent Cruise missiles in there to take out Bin Laden's chemical weapons factory, we should have followed up with a brigade or two of Marines, and put all those warlords on notice, that if we see you armed, you are dead meat !

By now, those innocent civilians would have some sort of leadership structure, and even if it were radical Islamists, even that would be better than what they have now ! After our horrible experience there, it's a small wonder that the United Nations, nor any country has tried to bring a stop to the violence and anarchy that rules this sorry part of Africa, and that says a lot about Courage and Principles in the 21st Century !

Back To The Future Past !

Hello Folks, I'm smiling and absolutely "chirpy" this morning!
The reason for my elevated mood level, is that as we speak, (read, write, type, whatever), a nice young man is crawling around outside, drilling holes in my walls.
Now, normally when I tell people about someone drilling holes in my walls, I soon have a visit from these nice fellows in white lab coats, who want to give me a ride in their nice padded Van.
This time it's different, and I know he's real because my neighbor spoke to him as she was leaving for work. Plus, I can go online and see where my bank account was debited by AT&T for installation of my New Direct TV dish ! Hooray !
After 5 months in my new place, watching furry pictures on Broadcast TV, aided by 'rabbit ears' of uncertain age, I will at last have Real TV !

Now, you've got to understand that I'm not much of a Television guy. I love History Channel, Food Networks, and all the news I can watch, but I spend too much time Online here at the Webernets to allow for much viewing of 'the idiot box'.

There are a few shows that I like to watch on a regular basis. Two and a half Men, NCIS, Without a Trace, and lately, on my friend TJ's advice, I've been watching Friday Night Lights.

So, my man is gone, and I'm about to hook up my Deluxe Home Theater system for the first time, and blow the neighbor's ears off to repay him for his 3:AM jam sessions ! LoL
More later, Herm

Build A Better Blog in 31 Days !

Hello There BlogReadingans,

Today, April 6th, I began this month-long course through My Blog Guru, Darren Rowse's ProBlogger.com site. If you aren't familiar with Darren, and if you are an avid Photographer or Blogger, you need to Check him Out.
Today's assignment was "How to write an "Elevator Pitch" for your Blog", which told us what an Elevator Pitch was, and how to write or Improve our blog's tagline, and how to work your Elevator Pitch into more than a catch phrase or 'hook' that encourages folks to read your postings. You really really observant peeps will have noticed that I expanded the Head picture of "Change", and added a bit to my blogs title pitch.

The Blog I'm going to focus most of this new-found wisdom on is my old "Casual Catering" blog on my new Domain. That Blog's niche is going to be about "How to Cook", and will be about simple cooking techniques and terminology, that will allow you to cook all the Great Recipes you find on the ten Million Foodie Blogs in the Blogoverse. Here's one of the best "Foodie" sites that I visit: "Off Her Cork".

Isn't it Nice ?

Isn’t it nice to have a First Family We can be Proud of ?.

This week’s G-20 Summit has been a great success, with President Obama making an excellent impression with both his knowledge of World Affairs, and his Candor, as well as his easy rapport with the citizens and press of our EU allies.
Michelle Obama so impressed “The Queen”, that there was a rare display of emotion from the notoriously steely and reserved Monarch.

Not since JFK and Jackie have a First Family made such a splash with the World press on their first outing on the International Stage.
I have a feeling that the Agreements and Policies coming out of this Summit will also be substantive, and do positive things to the World’s struggling economic institutions.

I’m confident that most Americans share my pride and joy at having such fine representatives out there repairing our damaged alliances and friendships, and I urge all of you to express your positive feelings at “TheWhiteHouse.gov”.
The “Office of Public Liaison” page is the place to do it !
Thanks for Visiting; HoosierHerm

The sympathy mangles the overlong baby.

Yes, That's another RGS, Title, that has absolutely nothing to do with the post ! I just can't get enough of the Damn things !
This post is about an interview I just listened to on NPR with John Mellencamp. Now, some of you may know that I've got a long and contentious relationship with John, that dates back to the late seventies, early eighties. We just naturally didn't like each other, and despite a number of mutual friends, we never got along real well. I liked his music, and his band liked my "Party Favors" I would bring to every local gig.
We got along somewhat better, or at least treated each other with respect while our kids were in high school together, but I never really liked John's personality until he had his little heart-attack in 1994, and realized he was Mortal !
His music, and his attitude both improved greatly, and has now evolved Back to Folk !

He discusses his latest album, which apparently is just him and his acoustic guitar, and there are three of the new songs on the site you can listen to, and he plays those and some other stuff during the interview. The Interview is linked to both the NPR above, and to the Post Title, so if you are interested, I think it's worth a listen !

A New Game / Puzzle ? Whatchamaycallit

KelWhy had this brilliant idea, and TJ liked it too, So here's mine !

Here's the Challenge ; Use only 1 Band.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to a gazillion people and include me. Try not to repeat a song title. It's harder than you think...


Name The Artist: The Eagles

Are you male or female: Outlaw Man

How do you feel about yourself: Peaceful Easy Feeling

Describe where you currently live: Seven Bridges Road

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Hole in The World

Your best friend is: Doolin' Dalton

Your favorite color is: Tequila Sunrise

What's the weather like: No more Cloudy Days

If your life was a tv show, what would it be called? Take it ti The Limit

What is life to you: Busy Being Fabulous.

What is the best advice you have to give: Get Over It.

If you could change your name, what would it be: James Dean

Your favorite food is: Eagles Live.

What's your favorite time of the year: Hell Freezes Over

What are you wearing? Those Shoes.

So, there you have my answers. Those of you that read this, I ask you to play along.

Oh, and if you do, please leave me a comment letting me know that you're playing along.

Thinkin' bout Music 'N History

Earlier today, while filling out a profile on iLike.comI was writing about my earliest exposure to popular music. Those early listening sessions took place on my Morgan County, Indiana schoolbus. That would have been around 1952-53 school year. Truman was President back then, and my "Old-Maid" teachers hated his picture being in their classroom, and were fond of saying, "The General's picture will be up there soon".

Back to music. We listened to WIBC AM radio out of Indianapolis. FM stations didn't exist, at least none we knew of, so the bus drivers chose the one that played the most music, because us kids were quickly bored with grain and cattle reports. Early on, we would hear a lot of country. Hank Williams, Ferlin Husky, a lot of Grand Ol' Opry people, plus Patty Page, Perry Como, Spike Jones,( almost said Spike Lee ! lol), and whatever songs were on "The Hit Parade" that week. As time went on, we began to hear some Little Richard, some Bo Diddley, and finally, about 1956, some Elvis ! Hooray !

We would pretty much all sing along, to songs like "Big John", Tennessee Ernie Ford singing "16 tons", and the novelty songs, like "One-eyed One-horned Flying Purple People Eater", and a big favorite, that nobody understood, "Hey Louis Louis". The song "Duke of Earl" was another sing-along favorite, and the high-school boys would compete for who could hit the lowest low notes in the chorus.
Now, I understand how you younger folks can have a hard time imagining a whole bus full of kids from 5 to 18 singing along with AM radio, but it was a simpler, and less self-conscious time.

OK, I'm back after the "Service Break" for Blogger!

Anyway, from the schoolbus days of music appreciation I moved on to attending some "Hootnannies", which were basically bluegrass and folk music concerts. My friend's older sister took us to some at Butler U, and then some of the cousins and church friends drove us to some in Bloominton at IU.

I think it was at those early concerts that people like Joan Baez and others began to make me politically aware. Things like civil rights, the Mine Worker's Unions, and the growth of corporate powers and the "Military-Industrial Complex" began to reach my brain. Before those days, I guess I thought that colored people, and poor folks had it just as easy as we did?
Not that we were rich, but my Mom's family made sure we never did without anything, and our parent's divorce was only scandalous to other people, to us it just meant we were free of our Dad's Nazi domination !

Anyway, Baez led to Alan Ginzburg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, City Lights Bookstore, Beatnik poets, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and me being in San Francisco for the start of the Hippy Movement, and the decline of the Haight-Ashbury. Of course my involvement with the "Scene" was a little impaired by my Navy Haircut, and a lot of people thought we were Narc's, but a chance encounter with Pigpen of the Grateful Dead, led to my friend Dave Johnson and I getting to trip with the Merry Pranksters, meet and get to know Bill Graham, ( He called us his "Silly Swabbies", for our goofy ability to always get back-stage) , and we got to meet and see people like Janis, Grace Slick, and really all the Bay Area Groups on a regular and "Up-Close" basis.

"Speed" and Tourists really spelled the end of the Haight-Ashbury, but a hard core of cool people still chose to live there, and ignore the speed freaks, cops and rip-off artists that thrived on the tourists. For anyone who has ever done much acid, you'll be impressed to know that we met "Owlsley", and had his "Orange Barrel" acid long before the masses ever heard of it!

Quicksilver Messenger Service eventually became my favorite Bay Area band, with Santana, Ten-Years After, Lee Micheals & Frosty, and then Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, and all the LA bands that spawned The Eagles, Stone Ponies, and the whole Country-Western Rock thing.

Boz Scaggs, Steve Miller, Eldon Bishop, and of course The Dead, were bands that we saw, followed and partied with all the time. Procol Harem and Steppenwolf were around a lot too, and we saw Hendrix at Monterey 67, and made a lot of trips home to Santa Monica, so we could cruise "The Strip" and see folks like Mama's and Papas, Lovin' Spoonful, and tried several times to see The Doors at the Whiskey-au-Go-Go, but Morrison was always screwing up thier gigs there and at The Trip. Oh Yeah, LA groups, Saw the Beach Boys jam for free at Zuma Beach, and I think Paradise Cove, but it could have just been North Malibu? I'm drawing a big blank on this one Black artist who had like a jazz-rock fusion group that was killer, but I'll have to add their name later, like when it pops into my head at 3 AM. LoL

After all that music, and all those experiences, Today, I listen to more Country artist than I do Rock.

I hate Hip-Hop, Rap, whatever that negative, repetitive crap is the kids love to boom their bass lines of, I can't stand it, and don't think it's music, maybe dirty lewd poetry poorly done !

In recent years, Country is full of young and brilliant artists,( like my Favorite "Taylor Swift"), and the only rock bands I've liked in decades are people like Dave Mathews, Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, Green Day, Matchbox 20, of Course Darius and Hootie were great, and now Darius is a Country star too !

The " Change " Came Today !

Today's Mail brought new Bounty from The Treasury @ TJ's !
I was expecting a new stash of "Change", but Lo & Behold, I also got a chunk of the Berlin Wall, with Certificate of Authenticity, a really cool LED Flashlight, Some "Change" style tokens suitable for necklace or medallion use, some incense, Some beautiful Bowls from the Potter's wheel of young Micheal Stratham, that Huge cache of new Change, as well as 2 cool DVD's and last, but not least, some of those nice fat ink pens from TJ's work !
*( Antique Car, Porpoises, Clock,Candles and 'Booney' hat Not included)

As you might imagine, I am Pleased and grateful, and can now get the " Change to Pay-it-Forward" thing going here in sunny and Beautiful Downtown Midwest.
Oh, yeah, another reason why my Bounty was such a timely gift: I found it when I returned home after spending all afternoon doing about $52.00 worth of laundry !
A lot of this stuff has built up because I haven't had wheels for four months, and some of it was in storage all summer and fall, and I was just avoiding this trip. For the past eight years, I had a house with washer / dryer hook-ups, but this place lacks that convenience, so,....I'm spoiled and lazy !
So, most of today's wash will go right into storage bins, and be put away until about November, plus. wait for it cuz it's way cool,........I'm wearing shorts right now, and hopefully will be for the next 8 Months ! My tan isn't completely gone either, so I'll be able to "brown-up" real quick, and be ready for my summer GQ modeling job when they call !! LoL

A Little Sillyness is in Order!

If I could write like Dylan, and sing like Willie,
Every album and song would make the young girls silly,
I'd travel around an old stony bus,
and never have reason to grumble or cuss.

If I could take pictures like Galen Rowell,
every body that seen 'em would praise and howl,
The Stars out west would pay me big bucks,
While the Texans drove me around, in their Big Ol' trucks.

If I could write, as well as I cook,
every couple o' days would see a new book,
every chapter and verse would be hailed as genius,
guess this is the spot where I mention my Penis?

If I could Pilot, as well as I drive, any wings I wanted would quickly arrive,
I'd meet-up with Jimmy, and some Parrotheads too,
then there'd sure be a party where ever we flew.
If money was bullshit, you know I'd have plenty, I'd light my joints with a ten or a twenty,
I'd roll those hundreds like back in the eighties, and fill my limo with foxy lil' ladies.

If I could write screenplays, the way I do doggerel,
Hollywood wouldn't treat me like a mutt or a mongrel,
I hang with Billy Bob, Smiling Jack, and Sam Jackson,
and write Ol' Bruce, some Willis-type action.
I'd make m. night shyamalan change his name,
before I cut him in on my deal-to-fame.
Spielberg and Coppola would know my digits, and the studio brass would start to fidgit !

If I loved Work, like I love Candy, any job on earth would be just dandy,
You'd see me slaving, for a dime or a dollar,
and come payday, I'd still Whoop 'N Holler,
and take my check home to my Little Darlin',
then tell some jokes like old George Carlin.

If I could realize my fantasies and dreams,
I'd teach Mr. Madoff some brand new schemes,
I'd stack up dollars 'til I owned the Chinese,
they'd bow and shuffle, saying Mr. Morgan "Please",
don't sell our land to the evil Tiawanese,
or North Korea, No, Please Please Please !

Outside the doubling blame blinks the ugly ward.

Outside the doubling blame blinks the ugly ward. farther along, An envy withdraws throughout the firework. As we continue I wonder, Will the aerial domestic stretch the limb?

Nonsense You Say ? Well, yes, that would be a safe assumption!
The above sentences are randomly generated by a very cool site that Friend TJ got me hooked on this morning. He intends to use these sentences for a little post-script deal that he does each day. These snippets are usually aligned with the "NaBloPoMo" theme for the day.

Being an addictive personality type, I wasted a lot of time there, cracking myself up with the absurd random phrases. Then, I decided that I would save a few, and try to do a post of them.
The sentence fragments in italics are my linking words to tie the RSG sentences together, here's a few more: A closer cook blanks a likelihood of standing farther away. A memory disappears across an absurd poet, as he forgets The overlap jerks a transmitted ace under the problem. Opposite a transparent flour treks your threatening seat.

If you want to fool around with this thing, the Title of this post is linked to the page, also on the same site are random word and paragraph links.Here's a paragraph:" Will panties wave? Sailors crashes below a disconnected continental. panties congratulates sailors. Another cow commissions panties before a mindless mirror. A hum floors a prerequisite. panties cants the developer next to the vacuum".
If you enjoy it, come back and leave me a comment.
See Ya, Herm

Do Humans Naturally Crave Confict ? OR: "What the Hell Is Wrong with This World??"

At the risk of sounding like Andy Rooney , Did Ya ever Notice, that somebody somewhere, has always got his ass-in-the-Air, and wants to kill his neighbors, another race of people, or just Kill Something ?

Never in my lifetime, do I recall a period of time, when some Country some where, was not at war with someone else. Sure, it seemed peaceful enough during the Eisenhower years, but in reality, we were still fighting WWII, plus we all lived under fear of death from the Russian A-Bombs. Back then, even us kids laughed when they told us to get under our desks, tuck our head between our knees, and cover our heads with our linked hands. We laughed because we knew what the adults said about these "Air-Raid Drills", and that was,"Bend over, tuck your head between your knees,.. and kiss your Ass Goodbye".

This constant state of conflict isn't just limited to Nations either. Right here in my own family, there's always some kinda shit brewing! Right now, as I type, about half of my family is secretly pissed-off, that after almost 5 years of suffering, and 8 years of being unemployable, I am finally starting to receive some of the benefits I worked 37 years to build, spending 28 months of those 37 in a Combat Zone, working on, and flying in these old, slow, seaplanes, who's best protection was being too slow, and flying too low, for modern anti-aircraft guns to contact. ( Small arms, and the occasional ground-to-air missile not included. ).
Anyway, since nearly the entire huge clan has always been more prosperous than I, and have had much less complicated lives, you would think that they would be glad for me, but, (Hear John Belushi here>)but NOoooo!, They're not glad for me, in fact one of them has been pissed, ever since I was first too sick to work, (2000) and the state was sending me to school to learn a new skill. At the Holiday gatherings that year, I made the mistake of telling some of her friends that I was "Retired I guessed". Well, she hates her job, or in fact, any job, and she snapped ! " Before You can retire, You must have a job and a Career" she screamed ! Well, I worked most of those thirty seven years in the restaurant and tavern business, and if that ain't a career, what is ?

Anyway, I'm pretty sure my siblings and I aren't a lot different than you and yours, and that's my point! If we can't even get along with our own "kinfolk", how can huge Nations have any hope of avoiding conflict ?

Just spoke with Friend TJ, and am off to download some new pic's from his place. More soon, Herm

Once Upon a Time in HermAmerica

Sorry about the long lapse between posts. I've been dealing with correcting my tax returns, and spending like 1/2 hours on hold at the IRS. Oh Joy !
What fun it is to be a poorguy in 2009's America! So, Last week, I wrote a short email the WhiteHouse.gov, informing them that I probably wouldn't be participating in all their Blogs and Forums as I have done since Hillary dropped out of the Primaries. I explained that the Veteran's Administrations constant delays in my Pension was probably going to make me homeless in a couple of weeks, and that nothing myself or my Congressman's staff had done was getting anywhere with these people. I logged-off, and went to bed for a little depression-nap, and about two hours later, I got a call from the Milwaukee Pension Processing Center!. A very nice young man told me he had my file in his hand, and after I answered a couple of questions, he would be taking it to a "rater", whom he would advise to "Urgently Expedite" my claim.
Coincidence, or someone high-up's intervention ? I don't know, but will soon find out. If it turns out that someone in the Administration made a call, or interceded in any way, I'm going to be a Happy Camper. Why You ask ?
Because, if they know who I am, and have noticed my comments and job application, then I may soon have a position of some kind, in the area where I can be the most help. Whether that's in Veteran's Affairs, or something ecological, I don't care! I'd just love to be able to contribute to this "New Start" were making in this country! Maybe it will turn out better than the last time I served my country, ( Vietnam )
So, That's why I've been too busy to post here, although I have made some progress on my Windows Live and MySpace Blogs and pages.
I've also been active on my Buddy TJ's page. He's kinda sickly this week, so I'm trying to be humorous and supportive over there.
Well, That's my news for the day,..now it's off for more phone calls to the peeps that can Help !

Friday the Thirteenth,...And: A Full Moon

Friday the Thirteenth: A Day that is universally acknowledged to be Bad Luck !
I've never been one to fear that day, and I didn't find the endless movies by that name very scary either. BUT......., I've spent a lifetime working in, and hanging around Bars,Taverns,Pubs, Roadhouses,Watering Holes,Gin Joints, Hell Holes,...well, You know what I mean !
In all that time of assisting other people get their drink on, I have come to believe the Oldest of Barroom Myths. Yep, I'm talking about the one about the Dreaded Full Moon. It is true about the old European stories, where some people become "Lunatics" when the moon is Full.
Back here in the sticks of Indiana, the old Waitresses, Barmaids,Servers, Nurses,cocktail whores,...get my drift here? Anyway, they used to tell me when it was a full moon, and tell me stuff like,"Mark my Words, There will be a fight tonight, and it won't be About anything". I would tell them that it was a safe bet that there would be a fight that night, because we were working in the roughest dive in town!.,(My stepfather's place). Weekend nights, we could be assured of several fights, hell, half of them might involve some of my crew !, and not just the Bouncer !.
As time wore On, I came to dread a full moon Friday. Even in Country Club Lounges, and Upscale Martini Bars, something about the Lunar Fecundity would bring out the worst in people, both Men and Women !. I have even gone so far as to wear old shirts to work on those occasions, with a spare in the car, for when the other one got ripped up in a fight.
In all those years of working the mostly redneck bars, only once did I ever have to go to the emergency room after a fight. That time was on a full moon friday, when I must have been crazy, because I broke the Number One rule of Bouncers and Bartenders World Wide,....wait for It,....Yes, I jumped into the middle of a "Cat Fight", three other women had called out my pretty young bartending partner, and tough as she was, they had gotten her down. I cleared the bar, unarmed with my blackjack, billy club, or anything, and waded into on of those fights like you see in cartoons. You know the kind, where there's a cloud of cussing and dust surrounding this ball of humans, and you can tell it's humans, because every once-in-a-while an elbow, fist or knee will emerge from the pile, and it's usually still connected to a body !
As I waded in, I punched the biggest one, right on the end of her chin, as hard as if she had been a man. She went down like I'd shot her, the crowd roared with applause, then all three of the remaining fighters turned on me !
Yikes!
Even my bar mate!. A few elbows thrown, and a few well-placed kicks, and I drug the barkeeps free of the stack, and drug her by her collar back behind the bar. The crowd got the rest out the door, the debris got cleaned up, the band went back to the stage, (Couldn't see the fight for the stack of amps, they told me?).

While I was in the walk-in cooler cleaning up and cooling down,a waitress came in to assess the damage. I already knew I had lost some hair, my pony tail was undone, and blood was trickling down behind one ear. I had major scratches on the arms and chest, and a bite-mark on my thigh that was bleeding through some uneven dents above my knee. (The snaggle-toothed bitch did It).

I put a waitress behind the bar with the barely-damaged Bar Maid, and drove myself to the emergency room. The Doctor, who knew me, laughed his ass off when I told him it was women that did it, and he said,"Even I know better than to try and break-up a catfight!", Very funny! Not,
A few stitches in my scalp, some scrubbing of the scratches,like with a nail brush !!, and a tetnus shot, and I drug my wounded pride back to work.

That's just one of many occasions that made me a believer in The Full Moon Myth. It ain't no myth ! But, there is a corollary phenomenon, and this stems from the last part of the myth. Most of the Old Bar Folk say it this way; " Full Moon tonight, and they'll all be either Lovers or Fighters".
That part of the deal got me lucky many times, when I wasn't even looking!, Ah, who am I foolin'? In those days I was Always Lookin'! (For some strange?) Beleive me, many of those chicks were strange !
Happy Friday the Thirteenth !

BTW: Image credit unknown, I found it somewhere, and it has no copyright or watermark

My "Stephen King Exercise in Futility"

As I said in an earlier post, I have been reading Stephen King's book on Writing. It's called. oddly enough, "On Writing". It's a book that Friend TJ gave me last spring, yet I just got around to reading it this month. Anyway, there is one, (and only one), exercise in this book. In the set-up for this exercise, King tells you this story about an abusive relationship, where the woman finally divorces the man. As happens a lot in "real" life, the divorce, and subsequent restraining orders only serve to make the guy crazier and more vicious. After a particularly outrageous public attack on his wife, he is jailed. King goes on to outline a tale where the man escapes jail, and as the woman hears about the jail break on TV, she smells her husbands ever-present hair oil, and hears a footstep on her basement stairs.
So, having given us the set-up, SK then challenges us to change the genders of the two characters, and write the story in our own way.
Mr. King then goes on to ask us to submit our product for review to his website. Well, seeing as the book is 9 years old, I figured it would be impossible to submit, and that turned out to be true. Never one to dodge a challenge, I spent about 4 hours over a two day period writing the sad tale "My Way", which was the only manner in which I could figure out how to tell the story, and have it make sense. I never enjoy writing dialogue, unless I am using a real exchange I have taken part in, or witnessed, Thus my narration from the point-of-view as a travel writer who knew the characters in real life. What follows is my attempt at this exercise. Comments are appreciated, yet, kindness is requested too, so be brutally honest, but bear in mind that I'm an unstable personality, and very insecure about my writing skills ! LoL,....Here goes:>

A Sad turn to an "All-too-Common" Tale.
Exclusive for NYT by: Hurston P. Morgan III

While most readers of this piece may recognize my byline from my Travelogues and Trip Reports for this newspaper, let me warn you that this is unlike anything you have read from me before. This is a very common story these days. Sadly enough, you can scarcely read your daily paper, nor watch your local TV newscast, without hearing a story about an abusive relationship turned tragedy. This is such a story, and one I wouldn’t be writing if I didn’t know both the victim, and the perpetrator.

Jack and Diane met during their college years. They lived together their last two years of school, and married soon after graduation. "Typical Midwestern couple" you would think if you met them at Jack’s real estate office or at the local literacy coalition where Diane volunteered her time.
I knew them from college, attended their wedding with a mutual friend, and purchased my first house through Jack’s agency. Jack and Diane’s son, JR. was born within days of our first child, so we also saw them a lot at the Pediatrician’s office in those days. My wife knew them too, through the law offices where she worked.

For all the above reasons, we were beyond shocked when we heard last week that Jack was dead, and Diane was under arrest for his murder. "What had gone wrong?" We asked ourselves, for this absurd crime to have happened to people once known so well? It was then that I started asking neighbors and friends at the Police station about this incredible tragedy. Below is the story as best I can determine:

Shortly after JR’s birth, Diane began to resent her marriage, fell out of love with Jack, and began a series of affairs with the sort of "street people" and such, that she had come in contact with through her job at the Literacy program. Some of these men were recently released convicts. Most living in halfway houses and studying for their GED’s to comply with court ordered conditions of their parole. I think it’s safe to say that few-if-any of these men had ever had occasion to even meet a college educated woman of beauty and charm like they found in their new "tutor". Probably none of them had even dreamed of bedding such a woman either, so Lord knows what kind of thoughts passed through their minds when she let it be known she was available, and looking.

Such goings on don’t go undetected for too long in a small town like ours, and so it was only days before Jack found out about Diane’s activities, and confronted her with the facts. Friends of the couple say that Diane confessed to her sins, and agreed to go to a marriage counselor, as well as seeing a therapist on her own. Evidently, she had also become distant to her child, yet denied post-partum depression, or any other excuses for her neglect and indifference to the child.

For his part, Jack didn’t let the shame of his wife’s actions prevent him from grabbing hold of the situation, and becoming the nurturing parent in little JR’s life. Jack also kept up appearances at his business and his social roles in town. His golfing buddies say they were only a little bit surprised at the stoic way he ignored the gossip, and kept up a façade of normalcy in his life.

The sessions with the marriage counselor hadn’t gone well, soon the therapist too was finding out that Diane had no interest in exploring her actions, and since she felt no remorse for her infidelity and promiscuity, she ended her appointments with the therapist too.

While seemingly keeping her promises to Jack to end her liasons with her pupils, Diane acted much like an reforming addict, in that she replaced the sexual exploits with a switch to alchohol, and was soon drinking every night. At his wits end, Jack gave her the ultimatum; either she commit herself to a course of treatment at a rehab center, and return to therapy afterward, or move out of the house, where their toddler son would not have to witness her behaviors.

Diane’s few remaining friends were as shocked as Jack’s family, when she voluntarily committed herself to a mental health facility in the neighboring town. It was in the confines of this hospital where Diane really began her decline. Faced with the end of her marriage, her shameful treatment of her child, and her ruined status in the community, she began to exhibit the symptoms of full-blown paranoid schizophrenia.

Suddenly, all the Doctors, the nurses, and especially the other patients in her group, were all part of a vast conspiracy to ruin her life, and claim her inherited fortune, a fortune that only existed in her troubled mind.

For Jack’s part, he continued to visit her, at first bringing the boy along too. Soon, Jack himself was becoming concerned that the treatment was more detrimental than her actions before hand had been. The Doctors went to great lengths to assure him that she would have had a psychotic episode, possibly a dangerous one, whether or not she was in their care.

As months dragged on, Jack continued to provide excellent loving care to his son, all the while maintaining his real estate business, and praying for his wife’s recovery. In her more lucid moments, Diane began to accuse Jack of having an affair with one of the girls in his office. She had even decided that it was the youngest one, a college girl named Connie, who had interned at the firm, and had worked there prior to that when she was the phone receptionist during high school.

Discouraged with Diane’s slow recovery and increasingly pessimistic about their future together, Jack began to think about divorce. He knew that no court would recognize Diane as capable of understanding her legal position, and unwilling to just abandon his wife to her illness, He nonetheless contacted his attorney, and told him to begin the paperwork for a dissolution.

After instructing the lawyer to work up a settlement that would give Diane a monthly stipend, and supervised visitation with their son on her release from treatment, Jack tried to broach the subject with Diane, with her Doctors present. It’s redundant for me to tell you about her reaction, yet it was much worse than you might expect. Exploding from her chair, screaming that she would kill him, his son, and everyone else, Diane exhibited that uncanny strength given only to the insane, grabbing a china teacup, she broke it on the conference table, and was slashing at Jack’s face before the Doctors and orderlies could restrain her. Bleeding from a horrible slash on his cheek, one that barely missed his right eye, Jack was able to stumble out of the room, and get clear of the fracas involving his once beautiful, dainty wife, and the 5 full-grown men it took to restrain her.

The next day, Jack told his lawyer to go ahead and file for the divorce. His trip by ambulance to the city hospital had been noted on the police blotter, and an enterprising reporter learned all the details, and told the story in the next morning’s newspaper. As with anything sensational, the local TV stations, and then the cable news channels picked it up, and soon Diane’s insane actions and Jack’s filing for divorce were all over the nation.

With the media jackals haunting his every move, Jack became a prisoner in his own home. He literally couldn’t show his face at work, had to change his home phone numbers, and was working overtime to keep little Jack Junior from realizing how crazy and chaotic their lives had become. In the third week of the media circus, Jack finally caught a break. One of JR’s little playmates was having a Birthday party, and the mother called, asking if JR could come, and offering to keep him overnight for a sleepover party.

Relieved to have his son involved in something fun for the day, Jack dropped by the office, where he found everything running pretty smoothly, and even a few new listings coming in. Feeling the need for some escape himself, he dropped into a local bookstore, looking for something fast-paced and exciting to read on his "night off" from parenting. The bookseller, a famous local gossip, was at great pains to restrain himself from the million questions he would have liked to ask, but did so out of sympathy for his long-time customer.

Arriving home with his paperback novel and some carry-out Chinese, Jack was pleased to find only a few persistent news vultures outside, and these he easily avoided by driving straight into the garage, closing the overhead door before they had time to besiege him. Walking into an unusually quiet house, something pinged in Jack’s brain , an eerie feeling crept up his spine. He quickly shunted his instincts aside, writing it off as the absence of a hyper little 4 year-old who was usually the rambunctious spirit of the home.

Making short work of the Chinese food, while perched on a stool at the kitchen’s bar, Jack and his Stephen King novel soon found their place in his favorite Lazy Boy chair. Turning on the TV in his den, Jack caught the end of a news alert, something about an escape in the next county. Turning the annoying box off, Jack found that his ill-at-ease feelings were still strong in the back of his mind, with something trying to get his attention. He was just figuring out what was out of whack. It was the smell of Diane’s perfume, strong in his nostrils, after months of her absence in their home.

He knew the scent well, it was Diane’s custom-made scent, one she had designed for her at a little Paris perfumery, on their honeymoon, and which he had ordered her bottles of each anniversary since. No sooner had he realized what was amiss, when he heard a footstep on the basement stairs. Before he could even get out of his recliner, there stood Diane, holding his Mossberg 12 gauge and pointing it right at him. "What in the world are you doing?" he gasped

"Some of the girls on the jail ward were breaking out, and it would have been rude not to come along" she replied,

"Where’s your little whore Connie at? And where is my son?"

"Connie is at work where she belongs, and JR is spending the night at the Ford’s, because it’s Tommy’s birthday" "What do you want here?" he added.

"I don’t want anything, I’m here to keep my promise to you" she growled.

"Why would you want to hurt me?" I’ve never done anything to harm you, never even been unkind to you, no matter what you’ve done".

"No, you’ve never done anything that would keep you from getting my money!"

"I don’t know what money you’re talking about. The only money you’ve brought into this marriage was from your Grandmother’s house she left you, and I sold that for a lot more than it was worth, and gave you every cent"

" Don’t try to fool me ‘cause you think I’m crazy, you know what money I want"

"No, I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I wish you would put that gun down before something bad happens, and somebody gets hurt"

No sooner had the words come out of his mouth, when there was a loud knocking on the front door. "Mrs. Seymour, this is Captain Stout, State Police. We need you to come out now"

"Go Away" she screeched, then turning back to Jack, she caught him just as he was pitching forward to get out of his chair. The deputy watching through a window, says that she never hesitated, she fired the 12 gauge shotgun right into Jack’s chest, quickly worked the slide to chamber another round, and turned to fire towards the front door

.
It was at that point that the sniper on the neighbor’s roof fired at her, right through a big bay window, his round hitting her in the shoulder, and sending her cart-wheeling across the floor, loosing her grip on the shotgun, and being piled onto by several SWAT team members the second she landed.

So that’s how this sad story ends, another tragedy that no social service, court, or counsel could have averted. I’m not sure what we can learn from this tragedy. There is no clear point where Diane’s slide into madness could have been halted; nothing that any social services officer, nor law enforcement could have intervened.

The young son is the ultimate loser in this story, the only bright side of his fate being that Jack’s parents are still relatively young, and that Jack had two sisters who will also have a hand in JR’s upbringing. Even so, what will they tell the boy when he’s old enough to ask what happened to his parents? Another facet of his future that is in doubt,…how will the people raising him ever be able to watch as he matures, and not look for signs of the insanity that is in his genes, and wonder if he will someday snap like his Mother did?

The End!