photobucket

Let me say this about that.

The English language was quite useful for communication – that is until the Americans got hold of it.  You can’t really tell what something is just by the English name given to it.  Everyone has heard the old adage: “Why do Americans drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?”  But non-sensical Americanized names of people, places, and things  are all around us.

I used to own property near the small  western North Carolina town Andrews.  Andrews sits in a valley between two mountain ranges.  The valley is named the “River Valley” because of the river that runs through it.  The name of the river is the “Valley River.”  Apparently this part of Appalachia has fewer words in their vocabulary than the rest of America, so they must economize.

And speaking of geography, where exactly is…    (more…)

photobucket

Let me say this about that.

Guys love their sports, especially ones in which they can participate.  Participation sports are important for men as a way to disperse the pressure and frustration that builds up on the job by the end of each week.  Sometimes I wonder if, in fact, participation sports can actually make the situation worse.  Take for example, hunting.

Personally, I’m not a hunter simply because I just don’t get the appeal of vaporizing a tree squirrel with a high-powered assault rifle.  Until grocery stores are outlawed, you don’t need to hunt for food,  and until massage parlors are…    (more…)

photobucket

Let me say this about that.

I am constantly amazed by the volume of prescription drug ads we are bombarded with every day.  It appears that we Americans have become victims of a variety of diseases, conditions, and syndromes that most of us never heard of a few years ago.  A favorite ruse by the pharmaceutical companies is to begin the ad with common symptoms we all have, and then declare you have some new…    (more…)

photobucket

Let me say this about that.

Ever since I was in military school, I have been fascinated by stories of life in the armed forces.  It takes a special kind of person to deal with all the physical demands of the training and the psychological stress  of potentially ……….well, getting shot. 

After graduating from military school, I spent the summer with the Army in Fort Benning, Georgia.  In the summertime, Ft. Benning is the hottest place on the planet. I’m talking Africa hot.  And dry.  So dry, the fish in the local ponds are…    (more…)

photobucket

Let me say this about that.

Is it possible that, in America, we have forgotten how to question some of the bull dung that is slung at us every day?  Perhaps this is one of the downsides of the so-called “information age”.  Too much information to comprehend, let alone question.  That’s why the only two sources of information I trust are kids and old farts.  These are the last two groups of Americans that are not afraid to ask “why”.  Let me give you a couple of examples.

A few years ago, my God-daughter was dropped off at my house for a couple of nights while her parents went out of town.  At the time, she was only 4 years old but, an extremely bright little rugrat.  On the first morning of her visit, my wife had given her a bowl of cereal to eat and turned on a Popeye cartoon.  I walked into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee just as Bluto (Popeye’s arch enemy) kidnapped Olive Oyl (Popeye’s girlfriend).  As the background music grew louder, Popeye produced a can of spinach and…    (more…)

photobucket

Let me say this about that.

You may have heard the story about Winston Churchill coming to Washington in the early days of World War II.  The purpose of his trip was to request America’s help in fighting Nazi Germany.  At the end of the first day’s negotiation, President Roosevelt invited Churchill to have dinner with his wife Eleanor and himself.  Churchill, who had a reputation as being a bit of a tippler, showed-up drunk as a lord.  Mrs. Roosevelt, a complete teetotaller, pointed her finger at England’s Prime Minister and screeched:  “Sir, you are drunk!”  Churchill calmly replied:  “I am indeed, Madam, and you are ugly.  But, in the morning, I will be sober, and you will still be ugly.”  Probably fictional, but I love that story anyway.

Most folks love a good squelch, especially when it targets a…    (more…)

photobucket

Let me say this about that.

For those of you that have read this blog for a while, you know I am no fan of all the useless new laws that are passed every day in the U.S.  There are thousands of new laws hitting the books each year, but it seems that the areas that really need regulation continue to go wanting.

For example, in 2007,  16% of  U.S. students aged 16 and up, dropped out of high school.  There has been an idea floating around for some time that could solve this problem.  And, it would create a new law that actually might do some good.  Let’s make it illegal to issue a permanent driver’s license to anyone that cannot produce a valid high school diploma.  This simple law would improve the chances of a kid to getting a decent job, reduce crime rates, reduce welfare rolls,  and have all manner of other secondary benefits.  Yet our lawmakers are far too busy making laws that govern such things as…    (more…)

photobucket

Let me say this about that.

If you have ever clicked on “About” in the upper left-hand corner of this blog, you know that I have spent a lot of time outside the United States and even took up residency in a few of these countries.  I had an opportunity to learn different cultures that can only be acheived by actually living in a foreign country.  There was one  experience however, that was totally unexpected.  Living in other countries gave me a whole new perspective on America.

I never realized it before but, when dressed informally, Americans are basically walking billboards.  Go to your closet right now and see if…    (more…)

Let me say this about that.

No sir, you simply cannot come up with a topic for the adult American male that carries more raw emotion than a favorite car he owned  at some point in his youth.  For me, it was a 1970 Pontiac GTO  – “Goat”, to those uninitiated in the lexicon of muscle cars.  (That would include all you…   (more…)

photobucket

Let me say this about that.

There are two kinds of people in this world — people who like to eat out at fancy restaurants and people who don’t.  Count me among the “don’t” population.  Eating out is for those who enjoy overpriced food, described in pretentious terms, and served at a glacial pace by surly men with ponytails.  It’s about as much fun as a four-fingered prostate exam.

These places tend to have snooty names like Chez Michelle,  Fleur del Mar, or Maison la Petit Toot.  Some of these restaurants are even owned by (what is termed as) a “celebrity chef”.  If you decide to dine at one of these places, you might want to think about getting a second mortgage before you go.

Their waiters all have a case of  “attitude” that would make the President of Iran look like Mr. Rogers.  You can count on the fact that at some point in the evening, your waiter will inform you that…    (more…)