Stray Thoughts

By

William D. Dannenmaier

I may have been blaming House Speaker Pelosi, perhaps erroneously, for her manipulation of House rules preventing the continuation of the anti-terrorist act. I confess I wondered how many factories she and her husband owned in Muslim nations which might be bombed if she didn’t kill the ability of the government to eavesdrop on enemy terrorists telephoning their superiors in other countries. But Robert Novak (“Torts and Terrorism, February 18, Townhall.com) reports that, in a closed caucus, House Democrats voted with a four to one margin to have her proceed as she did. Persons who support their Democratic Representatives should take heed that their Representative helped make the next terrorist attack in the United States possible. The “Blue Dog Democrats,” of whom my representative is one, did not support her action.

On the positive side, reading the tabloid news while standing in line at Murphy’s Cee Bee grocery store, I found a reason to vote for Hillary if she obtains the Democratic nomination. The article said that she and Smiling Bill have an agreement that they will divorce if she loses the nomination, but remain married for appearances sake (which we all know is all it has been for years) if she becomes President. Think of it. Making her President could keep those two corrupt hellions tied to each other for four more years. Defeating her gives them freedom.

Smiling Bill has a public history of treating all women as disposable objects. That must reassure women who have voted for him in the past.

My bride is seriously unhappy with the House for another reason. She points out that they don’t have time to consider such issues as the invasion of the United States by twelve or fifteen million illegal Mexicans, protection of Islamic terrorists, the bankruptcy of Social Security, the defiance of Federal laws by various cities and churches and other issues, but they do have time to worry about baseball and then they take a week’s vacation. She says we have truant officers to pick up children who are truant from school to attend baseball games and we need truant officers for congress representatives more.

Finally, the last of the wood from the sugar maple that fell in the yard is gone. I have pecked at it for two months, supplying firewood to several families (none of whom, I sorrow to say, helped cut it). This past Friday, a friend from the cardiac club, Tommy Patrick, came and helped cut the final part of the trunk. He is a wood carver and, keeping both of our chain saws busy, we cut pieces to his desire. I let him load most of them into his truck although I helped with some of the larger ones. Then he returned on Saturday with his wife, Belinda, who had unloaded the truck when he got home. Fortunately, Stephen and Andrew were home and after Tommy and I sawed half way through the log from the one side, the four of us were able to roll it over and, sawing from the other side, cut it into two, reasonably manageable, lengths. We spent the remainder of the day cutting it up and Stephen semi-volunteered to load them in the truck as we cut. 

Belinda, who had been concerned about all of the lifting and had come to load the truck, spent a mutually happy visit with Sheila, their efforts being limited to supplying Tommy with glasses of water, me with coffee, and frowning as we lit our pipes during rests. Tommy mentioned, and I agreed, that we were fortunate that Mary Ann, who runs the cardiac club with a smile and a bull whip – I think she calls it the Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit, wasn’t around to see our pipes. During a recent workout, I suggested she throw out the stupid rowing machine and replace it with a hot tub and called for a vote. All working members present voted in favor, but Mary Ann said it wasn’t a democracy, to forget it.    

I will plant a shagbark hickory, which promises an easily cracked shell (unlike the pignut hickories of which I have plenty) and a tasty nut meat as a replacement tree. Not counting the oak trees which surround my yard, whose acorns are tasty only to squirrels, the yard currently contains four pecans (three young trees and one hundred foot giant in the backyard), three chestnut trees, two English walnuts, one black walnut and five hazelnut bushes. I told my bride that instead of the Dannenmaier house it will be the nut house. I won’t include Sheila’s reply.