The Gift, Chapter One-Tree Farm

Posted on 23/12/2012 by Grumpa Joe

THE GIFT-Chapter One-Tree Farm

“There is the farm,” said Morty to himself. “Look at all those trees.”

He came to the sign: Covert Tree Farm, Christmas Trees for Sale. Morty slowed Sky-scooter, and made a sharp right turn into the opening between the trees. The gravel drive wound through a grove of spruce trees. The tall trees shaded the forest floor, and kept it dark.  Occasionally, a bird flitted from tree to tree and sang a sweet song. A beam of sunshine peeked through. God is shining a spotlight on me he thought. The ferns under the spotlight were lime green surrounded by dark green in the shade.

“These twists and turns are fun,” he said to Sky. He talked to his scooter whenever he was alone. Morty steered through forest leaning one way, then the other. His curl swayed from side to side. He was anxious to find the perfect present for his Boss. An opening of bright light led into the meadow where the farmer lived.

He spotted the sign for parking, and another sign on the barn stated rules for cutting Christmas trees.

1. Cut the tree at the ground. Do not cut in the middle.

2. Use only the saw provided.

3. Bring your tree to the barn for wrapping.

4. Trees are $8.00 per foot.

Morty grabbed a saw and jumped onto the hay wagon behind the tractor. A cow mooed, and the horse whinnied in the barn. Chickens wandered all around the barnyard pecking for seed. He sat and looked around while he waited for the farmer.

Gosh, look at all those trees. They surround the entire pasture as far as I can see. He daydreamed while he sat waiting.

Farmer Jim raises trees. He sells some at Christmas, and takes the large ones to the lumber mill in the town. He plants replacement trees to keep the forest alive. It takes fifty years to grow a tree big enough to sell for lumber, and twelve years to grow a tree tall enough for Christmas.

Morty sat staring at the trees and talking to himself. I love coming to the tree farm. It is fun to explore the woods. The forest is beautiful, peaceful, quiet, and majestic. I talk to them and they talk to me. When we are alone I hug them.

Farmer Jim had a secret grove of old trees. He never cut these trees nor did his father, grandfather, or great-grandfather. His great-grandfather told him that they were there when he came to the farm in 1875. Some of them were two hundred feet tall. Morty discovered the grove last year, and fell in love with the old trees. His favorite was over two hundred years old. It lived through much of the history of our country. The big tree was a teenager when the very first settlers moved to the valley from the east.

I have to find a tree to give to baby Jesus on his birthday. I will invite my friends to help decorate, and make it special. The hay wagon jerked forward, and broke his thoughts. He was on his way to find the perfect tree.

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When Hollywood Swears Not To Make Movies With Guns

Posted on 21/12/2012 by Grumpa Joe
Gun Control

Gun Control (Photo credit: cgulyas2002)

Those who know what Communism is and what it stands for realize that Progressivism is a code word for Communism. Before Progressivism was invented the code word was called Liberalism. It seems the ideology needs a new name to describe it every so often to fool the people into thinking it is something different, new, and exciting. Communism is a simple-minded ideology: “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine.”

There are several reasons researched by the late Paul Harvey for why we must not cannot allow a loss of our Second Amendment rights:

In 1929 the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, approximately 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915-1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, 13 million Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally ill, and others, who were unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Gun control works great to protect the bad guys.

I for one, do not trust Obama and his administration from taking the route that some of the above countries took.

Take this approach: Give up your Second  Amendment rights when Hollywood swears on the bible and the koran not to produce any movies that have gun crimes in the story, and demonstrates it for ten years.

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Crazy Is As Crazy Does

Posted on 19/12/2012 by Grumpa Joe
121219-Two Faces of Gun Control

TWO FACES OF GUN CONTROL

So many things have happened while I slaved in Santa’s workshop. I can’t believe it all. The new furor about gun control really irks me. I will give up  my gun when Hollywood refuses to make any movies with stories that involve guns. I do think the U.S. should outlaw crazies. I’m sure our Progressive Liberal élite think tanks can come up with a suitable test to decide which of us is inclined to be a crazy who shoots innocent children and conservative people. Once they have that test solidified, they can begin putting it to use by gassing everyone who tests positive for crazy.

Of course guns are not the only things that kill school kids while they are in school. Back in the nineteen-fifties a school fire at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic school in Chicago killed ninety-two kids. These kids died a very painful slow death not a quick sudden one. Yes, we should ban fire. There shouldn’t be any open flame allowed anywhere within a block of a school building. That means no furnaces to keep kids warm in winter. They can use electric heat instead. Of course we all know that electrical problems cause fires too. Yep, lets ban electricity too.

The U.S. government is also responsible for promoting crazy. Let’s talk about Fast and Furious. The idea of shipping guns to Mexico to find crazies across the border is really a gem. How about Benghazi-gate. Shipping guns to the Libyans resulted in them using these U.S. provided weapons to kill our embassy ambassador and three others. During the Russian occupation of Afghanistan the U.S. fed guns to the Afghan rebels who now use them against us. The list goes on and on. Instead of stopping the problem at its root-cause we attack the Constitution. The Second Amendment provides we the Sheeple with the ability to revolt against a government gone wild. The government knows this and fears the idea. That is exactly what the Founders intended with the right. The problem is that we the Sheeple haven’t figured out how to revolt. We are way too comfortable watching violent TV shows and movies that promote gun crime, or play our video games that fill our sub conscious minds with the ease of solving problems with the push of a button.

I don’t know what the answer is to keeping crazies from killing with guns, but I do know that collecting all the guns in America is not the solution. If it were, we must incarcerate smokers because cigarettes kill far more people than guns. Cancer is also another killer, i.e. after heart attacks. Maybe a law banning the consumption of all fatty foods is in order. Yeah shut down MacDonalds, Burger King, Wendys. Taco Bell, Culvers, What a Burger, In and Out Burger, and every pizza joint in the country. That move would kill another several million jobs and cause more of us to go on welfare.

Another killer is the automobile. I lay awake at night fearing a middle of night attack by my faithful Death Star parked in the garage. I say ban all cars except the President’s. He needs to ride in a bullet-proof, bomb-proof vehicle to stay safe. People argue “you can’t do that,  how will we get to work?” Tough, if you still have a job, try riding a bicycle to work, or ride a bus. The Greens would love that. Think of all the carbon load you would cut by walking instead of driving that killer car.

A stationary car cannot kill anyone, unless rigged to blow up like a bomb. A stationary gun cannot kill anyone. The only way these instruments of destruction can kill is if there is a crazy using it. When it comes to cars, I argue that we are all guilty of some form of crazy. We have laws to punish us if we speed, run red-lights, drink, and drive, but we still do it. The problem is we all feel in control and do it anyway. Legislating to prevent crazies from committing a crime is as crazy as the crazy himself.

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The Christmas Lights Ride in Frankfort, Illinois

Posted on 19/12/2012 by Grumpa Joe

The little town of Frankfort Illinois dolls up for Christmas every year by donning lights on its centerpiece park “The Breidert Green.” The mayor presides over the tree lighting ceremony and the season is officially open.

The lights brighten up long dark weary nights and add a festivity to the air. Combine that with the Mid-night Madness sale on a Friday night and the sleepy town stays up late to celebrate.

About ten years ago, I led a Folks on Spokes bike ride on a Friday night called the Christmas Lights Ride. Twenty of us met in the empty town parking lot at 5:30 p.m. The route I charted took us around the town on the most brightly decorated streets. I charted the ride to visit every neighborhood in town starting with the historic district and winding through each subdivision. The darkest stretch was along the Old Plank Trail which allowed us to cross route 45 a major thoroughfare safely. After an hour of slow riding a chill beset us and there was a mist in the air. One rider, dressed as he would for a twenty-mile an hour training ride was on the verge of hypothermia, so I directed him to the town center via a short cut to a warming place. The rest of the troupe valiantly proceeded for another half hour. The grand finale took us down Ginger Lane where the folks decorate the parkway trees as well as their homes. Residents wrap each tree trunk with green lights, and the canopy is strung in white. Riding down this curvy street arched in lights has a magic about it to put a person in the right Christmas spirit. Most of us had decorated our bicycles with battery powered mini lights to make the entourage just as intriguing. The neighbors who were out walking the displays, and those still hanging lights were surprised to see a chain of lighted bicycles powered by riders with Santa hats, reindeer antlers and Elf adornments streaming down the street all lit up. We ended the ride ready for a meal. A rider asked me if I made reservations at a restaurant. I replied, “in this sleepy town at this hour there will be no need for reservations.”

Upon our return at 7:30 cold, and damp there was a marked difference in town. There were cars parked everywhere. We scurried to load our bikes onto our cars and to head to the Kansas Street Grill across the street. I hurried across the street to get a table arranged while the rest of the group locked their bikes.

“I’m sorry sir, but the wait is forty-five minutes.”

“What?”

“Forty-five minutes.” That folks, is how I learned about Frankfort’s Midnight Madness.

At this point, I had twenty surly and hungry bike riders who had one thing on their mind, well several things: get warm, get a drink, get some food.

Don’t panic, I said to myself. Think!

“Let’s all go to visit Brent at the bike shop across the street,” I said.

Thankfully Brent a fellow bike club member welcomed us with open arms. Next door to Brent’s bike shop was a new pizza place with an empty room. I walked in and asked how long it would take them to seat a party of twenty.

“Ten minutes,” was the reply.

“Thank you Lord,” I whispered under my breath. I went next door to tell the group the new plan and to drink some warm cider.

The Christmas Lights Ride launched Tony’s Villa Rosa that night. The place became a village focal point from that point on until Tony decided he didn’t love his wife anymore and divorced her for another woman. Tony’s Villa Rosa is no longer in business.

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A Great Cost Analysis

Posted on 13/12/2012 by Grumpa Joe
Tax and Spend % GDP 1993-2008

Tax and Spend % GDP 1993-2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My cousin Sharon from California always sends me great stuff. Today, she sent me a cost analysis. Because engineers are always looking at the cost of things, I have a special place in my heart for this analogy. How dumb do the Progressives think we the Sheeple are? Or worse yet, do they buy into this preposterous bargain and believe it will save the world?

You may want to follow this advice and have a party with the amount of money you save by cutting back. Just think of all the great social programs you can support for the “good of the people.”

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Do the math.

I’m cutting back and you may want to also….

I’m going to bite the bullet, too!

President Obama ordered the cabinet to cut $100,000,000.00 ($100 million) from the $3,500,000,000,000.00 ($3.5 trillion) federal budget.

I’m so impressed by this sacrifice that I have decided to do the same thing with my personal budget. I spend about $2,000 a month on groceries, household expenses, medicine, utilities, etc., but it’s time to get out the budget cutting axe, go through my expenses, and cut back.

I’m going to cut my spending at exactly the same ratio (1/35,000) of my total budget. After doing the math, it looks like instead of spending $2,000 a month, I’m going to have to cut that number by six cents. Yes, I’m going to have to get by with $1999.94, but that’s what sacrifice is all about.

I’ll just have to do without some things, that are, frankly, luxuries – six cents worth.

Did this President actually think no one would do the math? Please send this to everyone on your list so people understand how idiotic a $100 million cut is in a $3.5 trillion budget – ludicrous!

“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation…
One is by sword…
The other is by debt.”
John Adams 1826

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Are you a Looter,

or a

Tax Slave?

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