Have you heard about the woman from Arkansas who wrote an open letter to our political leaders? You should. I’d like to meet her just so I could shake her hand. No partisan views. No right or left. Just a plain and simple albeit lengthy “what the heck are you thinking”… a public plea for upholding the constitution… outrage at rewarding the incompetent… and a bit of insight about changes that fly in the face of the principals that make this country great.

The Letter

What’s that rumble I hear? Ah… it’s just our founding fathers turning over in their graves.

So we’re coming home from the grocery store, turn the corner onto French Road and almost hit a horse. Just wandering down the road as if a lone horse out for an evening stroll was perfectly normal.

I have no idea who it belongs to. Tried to call Mike and Zoe — they used to have a horse, but I haven’t seen it in ages. I was going to leave it be, but then I started thinking… what if the rider is laying in a ditch somewhere. Worse yet, what if he’s laying in the woods with the fox, coyotes and bears we have around here.

So I called the Henniker Police Department. Do you know how stupid it feels to tell some cop there’s a horse roaming around the neighborhood? So much so that I felt it necessary to start the conversation with “please don’t laugh, but…”. I think she may have thought I was a little crazy.

There’s something like a line of gold thread running through a man’s words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself.

— John Gregory Brown, Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery, 1994

I miss you.

Tom and I knew that New Hampshire was a nice place before we moved here in 1998. When I say “nice”, I’m not talking about pretty or clean — although the state is all of those things and more. I’m talking about people. The people who live here are just nice… and when I tend to not think about it, there’s always someone waiting to remind me.

When we put in the pool last summer, we had to cut down a bunch of trees. We barely got them sectioned and stacked before winter settled in and we’re just now getting rid of them. I finally managed to convince Tom he just didn’t need 40 years worth of firewood, so I posted to craigslist and the phone calls started pouring in.

One day I got a call from a guy who makes himself 4 or 5 gallons of maple syrup every spring. He came and picked up a small load… then came back a few days later and brought us a pint of syrup.

This morning, I got a visit from a husband and wife woodworking team and they brought me a TUIT (see below if you don’t know what a TUIT is). As if that wasn’t enough, when they came back to pick up their tractor they brought me two of the most beautiful maple bowl (New Hampshire maple, of course).

All told, trucks have been in and out almost every day for the past week and other than the fact that the wood piles are a lot smaller, you can’t even tell they’ve been here.

New Hampshire folks may have equals, but there are none better!

References:
Time-Honored Designs
Wikipedia

About First Contact Day

About April Fools Day

Happy Birthday Mother.
It’s sure to be the best one yet.
Though you left me here behind,
Did you think that I’d forget?

Your cake this year will surely be
A beauty to behold,
With the icing made of Silver
And the candles made of Gold.

Yes, your birthday in Heaven
Will be such a grand affair.
And I know you’ll look so lovely
With a halo in your hair.

The Angels will come from everywhere
To sing your birthday song,
And I know they’ll be so happy
That you’ve joined God’s Happy Throng.

No, I can’t send a card this year
Or give a gift so fine.
So I’ll just send a special prayer,
To that wonderful mother of mine.

By Winnie Lovett 1968

Happy Birthday, Mom. We miss you!

References:
Winnie Lovett’s Poems

A United States Marine was attending some college courses between assignments. He had completed missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of the courses had a professor who was an avowed atheist and a member of the ACLU.

One day the professor shocked the class when he came in. He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, “God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I’ll give you exactly 15 minutes.” The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, “Here I am God. I’m still waiting.” It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him knocking him off the platform. The professor was out cold. The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently. The other students were shocked and stunned and sat there looking on in silence. The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked, “What the hell is the matter with you? Why did you do that?”

The Marine calmly replied, “God was too busy today protecting America’s soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid shit and act like an asshole…so, He sent me.”

It’s test kitchen night. That’s the night I browse the cupboards and freezer, start pulling out what appeals to me and turn it into dinner. Here’s tonight’s experiment.

1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1/2 c. Southern Comfort
1/2 14-oz can Hunts tomato sauce
1/4 c. Plochman’s mustard
2 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 1/2 tsp. cumin seed
2 lbs. beef tips

Mix all ingredients except the tips in a sauce pan and simmer while you prepare the tips.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat until it starts to smoke. Brown the tips in the skillet.
Coat the tips with the sauce, cover and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes.

I’ll post an update when it’s done, but it smells yummy.

About π Day