You have heard the expression he’s quirky, meaning; among other things he does things that are out of the ordinary. As a boy I knew a family named Quirk. To say the Quirks were quirky is not an overstatement. They were a family of five, the mother, two girls about seven or eight, and two boys about twelve and fourteen.
The father had long since died, leaving the mother to fend for herself, and for her children. I don’t think any of the children had any schooling if they did it couldn’t have been more than a year or two. These people were poor, so poor that they reminded me of the sweeper class in India when the caste system was used to keep people in there place.
The things, I’m saying about this family isn’t to be viewed as putting them down, it’s only telling it like it was. The mother had no money, that is none except a very little from what was called relief, money that the government gave her.
This is not to be confused with welfare, and all the other programs of today. What they got was almost nothing. I don’t know how they got the two dollars a month to pay their rent for a small two room house. Hygiene was something they were not acquainted with. To get water they had to take a bucket, go about two blocks, climb through a barbed wire fence, then walk through a field with prickly pears all over it. The prickly pear had sharp spines and fine hair like stickers on it. It must have been in the cactus family. You didn’t want to touch them or you would spend a lot of time trying to relieve the pain. They would then dip the water from a spring, and carry it home.
Now the girls tried to be friendly, and were seemingly happy, but I could hardly stand to look at them. They were raggedy, with dirty hair all matted, it didn’t look like they ever combed it, and besides that they appeared to me that they were ugly to boot. I always manage to look the other way when the girls were around.
The younger boy was worthless; he wouldn’t do anything to help their situation, which says it all about him. James the older boy hung around my uncle’s place hoping to get some work. He knew he could get some food at least.
James wasn’t very smart and to show that I will give you a “for instance.”
Even with all the exciting things that go on at a farm, like watching the roosters chase the hens, and watching the martin (birds) chase away the chicken hawks, I was bored. So here I was chopping on the top of a stump, not doing anything just marking time.
James saw me and came over and put his finger where I was chopping and said hit it. I stopped chopping, and told him to keep his finger back or it would get cut off. You are probably far ahead of me at this point, but any way to continue; I started to chop again and he would put his finger on the stump and say hit it, over and over. I kept chopping at a rhythmic pace and apparently he didn’t have any rhythm because he put his finger on the stump on the down beat instead of the up beat, and I cut his finger off with just a little piece of skin still holding it.
This shocked both of us, he grabbed his finger and tried to stick it back on and ran to the house to show my uncle. After my uncle gave me some undesirable words, we went back to the barn and got some milk pads which were used for straining milk and were made of cotton and gauze. We used them for wrapping his finger back into position, no stitches, no antibiotics just the milk pads tied with string. A few days later he came over and my uncle removed the old covering and his finger looked like it was rotting.
About this time I decided to return to the city, and didn’t see James for two years, and when I did I asked about his finger. He showed it to me and it was a little crooked, but it was useable and didn’t look that bad.
Today when I hear someone speak about the poor, the vision of the Quirks comes into view, and there no comparison of the poor of today, and the poor of the depression age.
Theirs was a fight for survival while today it is battle for comfort.
I don’t know what happen to the Quirks, the last I heard, James had got a job working at the carbon factory and there he should have made a decent living wage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfoQxfY7Q4g&feature=related
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
PROFILING A REDNECK
Profiling is the practice of gathering data, analyzing it, in order that it can be categorized and produce an identity.
To profile a redneck we must examine several things associated with one.
The first thing we look at is food. If a man eats, grits, fatback, red gravy, fried taters, biscuits and eggs for breakfast, he may be a redneck.
If he has an old Ford pickup that is beat up, and he is proud of it, and it has a gun rack with a shot gun and a rifle on it, and the bed is full of beer cans, he might be a redneck.
If his gal has a tooth missing in front, and it doesn’t bother him cause he knows that redneck beauty doesn’t require teeth, this man probably is a redneck.
Now we check his dog preference; if he has either a hound dog for night hunting, or a bird dog for birds, or some fox hounds to chase foxes while a bunch of guys set around a fire, tell stories, lie and drink beer, he might be a redneck.
The last test is to check and see what kind of pocket knife he carries. If he has a stockman, he probably likes to whittle, and use it for general purposes.
If he has a muskrat, he uses it to skin small animals. He likes the convenience of two identical blades that are always sharp.
If he carries an old time Barlow, he is hard worker he stands for no foolishness and is very austere.
If he has a small tooth pick knife, it will be a hygiene tool for picking his teeth.
If he exhibits two or more of these traits you can be sure he is a redneck and GOD bless him for the time will come the only place to observe one will be in the zoo.
Preliminary census reports show that the rednecks will soon be an endangered species, and as such they should be protected by the federal government, but it seems there are no plans to do so. Government has no problem with the demise of this noble clan, but I have a plan and a solution for saving the rednecks of America.
First we find 50,000 redneck couples; each one will have 12 kids plus 1 for attrition. In the first generation the increase will be 10 fold to 500,000 couples. These will have 12 kids plus 1. This will increase the clan to 5,000,000 couples in the second generation. The third generation will have 12 kids plus 1 and the result will be 5,000,000,000 couples and these will have - - - till the time will come when we're talking real people.
The secret of this is that everybody lives on welfare, and nobody works. There is not a soul can live on less than a redneck. Home school the kids, and work the system, and wave the flag, for we have it coming to us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XluWvWa8pIc&feature=related
To profile a redneck we must examine several things associated with one.
The first thing we look at is food. If a man eats, grits, fatback, red gravy, fried taters, biscuits and eggs for breakfast, he may be a redneck.
If he has an old Ford pickup that is beat up, and he is proud of it, and it has a gun rack with a shot gun and a rifle on it, and the bed is full of beer cans, he might be a redneck.
If his gal has a tooth missing in front, and it doesn’t bother him cause he knows that redneck beauty doesn’t require teeth, this man probably is a redneck.
Now we check his dog preference; if he has either a hound dog for night hunting, or a bird dog for birds, or some fox hounds to chase foxes while a bunch of guys set around a fire, tell stories, lie and drink beer, he might be a redneck.
The last test is to check and see what kind of pocket knife he carries. If he has a stockman, he probably likes to whittle, and use it for general purposes.
If he has a muskrat, he uses it to skin small animals. He likes the convenience of two identical blades that are always sharp.
If he carries an old time Barlow, he is hard worker he stands for no foolishness and is very austere.
If he has a small tooth pick knife, it will be a hygiene tool for picking his teeth.
If he exhibits two or more of these traits you can be sure he is a redneck and GOD bless him for the time will come the only place to observe one will be in the zoo.
Preliminary census reports show that the rednecks will soon be an endangered species, and as such they should be protected by the federal government, but it seems there are no plans to do so. Government has no problem with the demise of this noble clan, but I have a plan and a solution for saving the rednecks of America.
First we find 50,000 redneck couples; each one will have 12 kids plus 1 for attrition. In the first generation the increase will be 10 fold to 500,000 couples. These will have 12 kids plus 1. This will increase the clan to 5,000,000 couples in the second generation. The third generation will have 12 kids plus 1 and the result will be 5,000,000,000 couples and these will have - - - till the time will come when we're talking real people.
The secret of this is that everybody lives on welfare, and nobody works. There is not a soul can live on less than a redneck. Home school the kids, and work the system, and wave the flag, for we have it coming to us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XluWvWa8pIc&feature=related
Monday, July 5, 2010
THE LAST OF THE - - -
It’s with fear and trembling that I sit at my key board writing about the latest government cover up. I’m not sure why the Feds do not want America to have this information that I discovered by accident. It seems my email address was put in someone’s address book by mistake, and that is how the cover up information came to me. This news could have affected the stock market; in fact it could have caused a crash.
As I understand it from the information I received; there were two government agents looking for moon shiners in the great Smokey Mountains when they came across two mountain men (that is another name for hill billies.) The Feds were able to sneak up on them, for the mountain men had enjoyed too much of their own mountain dew. It was just for personal and medical use, and they were not too cognizant of what was going around them.
They awoke to find themselves, hand cuffed, and being interrogated. The Feds had trouble understanding what the men were saying because they had never heard the dialect they were speaking. After much painstaking effort they were able to piece together the story of who they were.
As the story goes these two men feared for their life, and had avoided all contact with the outer world altogether. The mother had died a short time ago from tooth poisoning; thereby making the father and son the last of THE REDNECKS in existence.
Some none initiated people might say; there are rednecks everywhere but that just shows how little they know. What is commonly known as rednecks today are breeds. They have commingled with people from the north and west and because of the mixed blood they have become blended. What you now have is “White trash rednecks.”
These mountain men were full bloodied reds. They were covertly taken out of the hills by the Feds and exposed to the city life. Years ago the father had seen a T model car, but was frightened when he first rode in the Feds automobile. He couldn’t understand why everyone was in such a hurry when everything looked the same to him.
Outside of traveling from the mountains to the university they were kept pretty much isolated from people. The scientists wanted to observe them before they were polluted by the modern world. As time passed the son got ill from the city food and the in spite of the doctors best efforts he died.
This was a grief to the father and he never got over it, even though they were people around him he felt alone for no one else spoke “Hill billie.”
As he became more depressed he decided to end it all. He drank poison, actually it was coke cola but not being used to it, his system wasn’t able to handle it and he also passed on.
They took them back to the mountains from whence they came and buried them next to the mother. Then they put up a sign that read, “THE LAST OF THE REDNECKS;” for they were an endangered species that was no more.
Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FljdY5jV4nA&feature=related
As I understand it from the information I received; there were two government agents looking for moon shiners in the great Smokey Mountains when they came across two mountain men (that is another name for hill billies.) The Feds were able to sneak up on them, for the mountain men had enjoyed too much of their own mountain dew. It was just for personal and medical use, and they were not too cognizant of what was going around them.
They awoke to find themselves, hand cuffed, and being interrogated. The Feds had trouble understanding what the men were saying because they had never heard the dialect they were speaking. After much painstaking effort they were able to piece together the story of who they were.
As the story goes these two men feared for their life, and had avoided all contact with the outer world altogether. The mother had died a short time ago from tooth poisoning; thereby making the father and son the last of THE REDNECKS in existence.
Some none initiated people might say; there are rednecks everywhere but that just shows how little they know. What is commonly known as rednecks today are breeds. They have commingled with people from the north and west and because of the mixed blood they have become blended. What you now have is “White trash rednecks.”
These mountain men were full bloodied reds. They were covertly taken out of the hills by the Feds and exposed to the city life. Years ago the father had seen a T model car, but was frightened when he first rode in the Feds automobile. He couldn’t understand why everyone was in such a hurry when everything looked the same to him.
Outside of traveling from the mountains to the university they were kept pretty much isolated from people. The scientists wanted to observe them before they were polluted by the modern world. As time passed the son got ill from the city food and the in spite of the doctors best efforts he died.
This was a grief to the father and he never got over it, even though they were people around him he felt alone for no one else spoke “Hill billie.”
As he became more depressed he decided to end it all. He drank poison, actually it was coke cola but not being used to it, his system wasn’t able to handle it and he also passed on.
They took them back to the mountains from whence they came and buried them next to the mother. Then they put up a sign that read, “THE LAST OF THE REDNECKS;” for they were an endangered species that was no more.
Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FljdY5jV4nA&feature=related
Sunday, July 4, 2010
WHEN THEY BEGIN THE BEGUINE
You may wonder what does "Begin the Beguine" mean? I first heard those words as a boy in a song by Artie Shaw a band leader. He was a band member who wanted to be a band leader with his own sound. In the big band days each had to have his own particular sound, whether it was Glenn miller, Count Basie, the Dorsey’s, and so many others.
After three bars you knew immediately who was playing. This song always mystified me, because I didn’t know what “Begin the Beguine” meant. In later years I looked it up on the Internet and found out it could mean several things
The Roman Catholic Church had lay sisterhoods whose members were Beguines. They did not take vows as the nuns do, but lived a life somewhat similar. From the old French it could have meant “One who rattles off prayers”
Then there was both a bolero style dance, and the music for the dance which had it’s origin in South America. This sounded more like what the song meant. Part of the verse is:
A moments divine, what rapture serene,
To clouds came along, to disperse the joys we had tasted,
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted,
I know but too well, what they mean.”
We here in America had our chances but now they are wasted. An opportunity to rebuild America’s infrastructure, research and development, to fit our people for the future, instead we choose war, and now socialism. I fear the beguine has begun.
Check out a beautiful Japanese production using Julio Iglesias version at the site below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hA5C4C6ShI&feature=related
After three bars you knew immediately who was playing. This song always mystified me, because I didn’t know what “Begin the Beguine” meant. In later years I looked it up on the Internet and found out it could mean several things
The Roman Catholic Church had lay sisterhoods whose members were Beguines. They did not take vows as the nuns do, but lived a life somewhat similar. From the old French it could have meant “One who rattles off prayers”
Then there was both a bolero style dance, and the music for the dance which had it’s origin in South America. This sounded more like what the song meant. Part of the verse is:
A moments divine, what rapture serene,
To clouds came along, to disperse the joys we had tasted,
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted,
I know but too well, what they mean.”
We here in America had our chances but now they are wasted. An opportunity to rebuild America’s infrastructure, research and development, to fit our people for the future, instead we choose war, and now socialism. I fear the beguine has begun.
Check out a beautiful Japanese production using Julio Iglesias version at the site below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hA5C4C6ShI&feature=related
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Be Careful How You Choose Your Sin
Using my 98 cent theology training I often form an opinion about certain teachings from the scripture. The exegesis of one such scripture that is wrongly expressed is, Romans 14:7 For not one of us lives for himself and not one of us dies for himself.
Verse 8 explains what is meant in verse 7 and any other interpretation would be in error. Simply stated; “We live for the Lord and not ourselves”. Having said that I reckon I might have missed that myself a wee bit.
Some have drawn from this passage that we should live for others, but the scripture doesn’t support this.
There are additional scriptures that do teach self sacrifice for the benefit of others, but the focus here is on our relationship responsibility to GOD.
The implication of living for the Lord comes down pretty heavy on us. We may think I gotta be me, and that is a problem, living for the Lord carries with it, living like the Lord.
The Ten Commandments were unforgiving to the point of condemnation for violating any one of them. GOD in His wisdom saw that this was not going to work. Sins imprint was implanted too deep in man and he was doomed under the law for man couldn’t keep it by himself. The next phase in redeeming man was where GOD would do it for him. Thus Jesus died for us, so that we could live for him.
We, the born again ones, stand in forgiveness rather than having to work or seek it. The question arises, “What happens if I sin now?”
Again the simplistic answer is the loss of fellowship with GOD. Its like you come in at dinner time and there is no plate on the table for you and your chair is missing. You can’t feast on the Father’s abundance, and this will be your state until you come to the Father and confess, “I have messed up.” Along with the confession there must be a repentant heart.
What about this living for others? How far does this go? It is broad in its application; all men whether saved or not are bound by it. Violation of this principle diminishes us all.
Will all men sin? The answer is yes and every sin will extract a price that must be paid. Every sin is a defiance of GOD’S desires; his will is no secret, it is known both inwardly and outwardly. The selling of sin for profit and pleasure makes it harder to avoid, and can cause one to live for one’s self, but doesn't excuse you in GOD’S sight.
Now to the price for sin; how much are you willing to pay? We often judge sin on a scale of 1 to 10. However there are all forms and variations of sin such as: greed, stealing (all types), murder, broken marriage vows, illicit sexual acts and so on. There is a greater or lesser effect from acts of sin, some of which will continue to affect generations to come.
Know this; all sin is a sin against yourself, and against GOD which he doesn't take kindly to. All sin has a price to pay, be careful how you choose your sin for all sin is a 10 in GOD’S sight, and every sin has a price that must be paid by someone. That someone may be you.
Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKhtD3TsftI&feature=related
Verse 8 explains what is meant in verse 7 and any other interpretation would be in error. Simply stated; “We live for the Lord and not ourselves”. Having said that I reckon I might have missed that myself a wee bit.
Some have drawn from this passage that we should live for others, but the scripture doesn’t support this.
There are additional scriptures that do teach self sacrifice for the benefit of others, but the focus here is on our relationship responsibility to GOD.
The implication of living for the Lord comes down pretty heavy on us. We may think I gotta be me, and that is a problem, living for the Lord carries with it, living like the Lord.
The Ten Commandments were unforgiving to the point of condemnation for violating any one of them. GOD in His wisdom saw that this was not going to work. Sins imprint was implanted too deep in man and he was doomed under the law for man couldn’t keep it by himself. The next phase in redeeming man was where GOD would do it for him. Thus Jesus died for us, so that we could live for him.
We, the born again ones, stand in forgiveness rather than having to work or seek it. The question arises, “What happens if I sin now?”
Again the simplistic answer is the loss of fellowship with GOD. Its like you come in at dinner time and there is no plate on the table for you and your chair is missing. You can’t feast on the Father’s abundance, and this will be your state until you come to the Father and confess, “I have messed up.” Along with the confession there must be a repentant heart.
What about this living for others? How far does this go? It is broad in its application; all men whether saved or not are bound by it. Violation of this principle diminishes us all.
Will all men sin? The answer is yes and every sin will extract a price that must be paid. Every sin is a defiance of GOD’S desires; his will is no secret, it is known both inwardly and outwardly. The selling of sin for profit and pleasure makes it harder to avoid, and can cause one to live for one’s self, but doesn't excuse you in GOD’S sight.
Now to the price for sin; how much are you willing to pay? We often judge sin on a scale of 1 to 10. However there are all forms and variations of sin such as: greed, stealing (all types), murder, broken marriage vows, illicit sexual acts and so on. There is a greater or lesser effect from acts of sin, some of which will continue to affect generations to come.
Know this; all sin is a sin against yourself, and against GOD which he doesn't take kindly to. All sin has a price to pay, be careful how you choose your sin for all sin is a 10 in GOD’S sight, and every sin has a price that must be paid by someone. That someone may be you.
Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKhtD3TsftI&feature=related
Friday, July 2, 2010
CHANG AND ENG BUNKER
The bunkers were co-joined twins who were born in Siam, hence the name Siamese twins. After playing the freak circuit for awhile, they came to America, bought a farm, and purchased some slaves to work it.
They both wanted a normal life, but were hindered by being joined together. Each choose a wife and were married. At first they lived together sharing a bed built for four. Chang had 10 kids and Eng had 11; to say the least, this took some cooperation among all parties. They overcame all obstacles and did not allow any thing to keep them from being who they were. Even co-joined, each was their own person.
Today as Christians we find ourselves connected to others who are not Christians. It may be work related, family related, or in a marriage where one is not saved. Regardless of the state you find yourself in, you are still you, and as such your will is, in spite of everything, your own.
This is an example to illustrate this. If Chang had got saved, and Eng had not, Chang would have been joined to the Lord and Eng would not have been.
In the fore mentioned illustration it was a physical relationship, but there is a spiritual relationship which supersedes the physical one.
1 Corinthians 6:17
But he who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
Chang and Eng were two persons, one body, but they were two spirits and in today’s world they could have been easily physically separated.
When one is joined to the Lord it is an eternal act where the two become one spirit, there is no longer any distinction for you are one.
Could it be that we as Christians may not realize this relationship fully? The reason I ask this is because if we did, I think we (I) might be more conscious of our conduct, attitude, and speech. Would we fervently maintain our dedication?
There is a broader truth in what I am saying, but I am going to let you discover it for yourself as you walk with your Lord.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang_and_Eng_Bunker
They both wanted a normal life, but were hindered by being joined together. Each choose a wife and were married. At first they lived together sharing a bed built for four. Chang had 10 kids and Eng had 11; to say the least, this took some cooperation among all parties. They overcame all obstacles and did not allow any thing to keep them from being who they were. Even co-joined, each was their own person.
Today as Christians we find ourselves connected to others who are not Christians. It may be work related, family related, or in a marriage where one is not saved. Regardless of the state you find yourself in, you are still you, and as such your will is, in spite of everything, your own.
This is an example to illustrate this. If Chang had got saved, and Eng had not, Chang would have been joined to the Lord and Eng would not have been.
In the fore mentioned illustration it was a physical relationship, but there is a spiritual relationship which supersedes the physical one.
1 Corinthians 6:17
But he who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
Chang and Eng were two persons, one body, but they were two spirits and in today’s world they could have been easily physically separated.
When one is joined to the Lord it is an eternal act where the two become one spirit, there is no longer any distinction for you are one.
Could it be that we as Christians may not realize this relationship fully? The reason I ask this is because if we did, I think we (I) might be more conscious of our conduct, attitude, and speech. Would we fervently maintain our dedication?
There is a broader truth in what I am saying, but I am going to let you discover it for yourself as you walk with your Lord.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang_and_Eng_Bunker
Thursday, July 1, 2010
WHITE ELEPHANT
When I was a kid I remember reading the story about a practice where if you wanted to destroy an enemy you would give him a white elephant. The reasoning was, he wouldn’t be allowed by law to get rid of it, and the cost of keeping it would turn him into a pauper and an outcast.
The term “White Elephant” derives from the sacred white elephants kept by Southeast Asian monarchs in Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. To possess a white elephant was regarded (and is still regarded in Thailand and Burma) as a sign that the monarch reigned with justice and power, and that the kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity.
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost (particularly the cost of upkeep) is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth. (Wikipedia)
I have had several free dogs (puppies) given to me and the first thing I faced was the one hundred dollar puppy package. Included were shots, worming pills, checkups and checking its weight. As time went on the normal care and maintenance, plus food rounded out to be about two thousand dollars. Surgery and snake bites treatments were on top of that.
The reason these free pups were not in the white elephant category was I had elected to take them.
Today in America we are on the receiving end of the white elephant treatment. In the last six years we have received white elephants such as: the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The trillion bailout of financial institutions, free money for automobiles, and homes, millions, to the Palestinian Muslims, a government health care program, a finance reform bill to be paid for by working men and women.
Looming on the future is a back breaker cap and trade bill, and a lack of an energy program and so on.
The main point to remember is the white elephant is designed to look good and to destroy the recipient of it.
I will soon will be singing “busted”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrOOihyxPlo&feature=related
The term “White Elephant” derives from the sacred white elephants kept by Southeast Asian monarchs in Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. To possess a white elephant was regarded (and is still regarded in Thailand and Burma) as a sign that the monarch reigned with justice and power, and that the kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity.
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost (particularly the cost of upkeep) is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth. (Wikipedia)
I have had several free dogs (puppies) given to me and the first thing I faced was the one hundred dollar puppy package. Included were shots, worming pills, checkups and checking its weight. As time went on the normal care and maintenance, plus food rounded out to be about two thousand dollars. Surgery and snake bites treatments were on top of that.
The reason these free pups were not in the white elephant category was I had elected to take them.
Today in America we are on the receiving end of the white elephant treatment. In the last six years we have received white elephants such as: the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The trillion bailout of financial institutions, free money for automobiles, and homes, millions, to the Palestinian Muslims, a government health care program, a finance reform bill to be paid for by working men and women.
Looming on the future is a back breaker cap and trade bill, and a lack of an energy program and so on.
The main point to remember is the white elephant is designed to look good and to destroy the recipient of it.
I will soon will be singing “busted”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrOOihyxPlo&feature=related
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