Rock and Roll USA

Monday, January 8th was Elvis Presley's birthday. In today's Post Tribune an article ran about a freshman representative's first speech. The headline said, "Rep gets all shook up in Congress". Naturally this caught my eye.

As I read, "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, Jan 8, was the 72nd anniversary of the birth of the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis Presley. Elvis was a Memphian, a U.S. Army veteran, and an ambassador of goodwill throughout the world through his music and movies. I'm here to tell you that Elvis is still alive today....." I panicked!

Have the people of Tennessee elected a representative that has seen Elvis at the 7/11?

Upon further reading I relaxed, .... "in spirit and as relevant as ever."

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. went on to talk enthusiastically about the Democratic 100 hours. He used Elvis metaphors that not only made me line up behind the effort, but also left me all shook up. Consider: "it's now or never' that we make changes America needs". Or responding to why the Democrats should make the 100 hour push, "because we will do the people's will so we will not be 'returned to sender.'

The article ended with the following quote, "And we won't be cruel to those who are being paid the minimum wage."

I stood up at the breakfast table and gyrated, but only from the waist up. I sure hope the Democrats are successful or we may all be in the "heartbreak hotel".

--Willi

WWC: What's Missing

When I was a kid in the sixties getting doughnuts was a treat. We often had them when my grandfather was in town. He always had a warning for us before we would start feasting on the warm doughnuts, "Be careful not to eat the hole."

I would try to out fox him by eating all of the outside of the doughnut about halfway. This would leave a hole. Of course now days you don't worry about eating the holes. Instead you just buy a box of holes without the doughnuts.

Courtesy of Odd Mix, the words are Missing and Mystery.

Missing:

Mystery:

Proof:

Christmas Tales Remembered

I have been reading a few Christmas blogs over the recently past season. It set me to thinking of what I might share -that was a week ago- what the hay, so I'm a little slow!

My dad was quite the prankster. Sometimes people would find his pranks funny and sometimes not so funny. We had this old double barrel shotgun, a Nitro shooter from St.Louis circa late 1800's or early 1900's. It was in the Strait family and prized amongst the sons of Janie. My dad had retrieved it from a distant cousin, Ralph and then after my dad passed my uncle had it. I retrieved it from him. Back to the story....

Every Christmas when I was a kid my dad would go to E.G.'s house cause he reloaded shotgun shells and get a couple of 12 guage empty shells. He would throw them into the chambers of the old "Strait" double barrel and pull the hammers back. Then he would announce that he was staying up late and was gonna shoot Santa Claus. Got us kids in hysterics! Woke up the next morning and Santa Claus had come, but he made a mess of setting up the Fort Apache.

The above story when retold has been labeled not so funny. But, it did not warp me as a kid and in fact I got hoot out of it. Nothing matches the hoot we all still get out of a story that most would call funny.

My dad always had a habit of announcing that he was going to hang his stocking, a burlap sack, on the mailbox and see what Santa would bring him. (Why would a round bearded man who had been threatened with empty shotgun shells from an antique gun want to leave this loony tune anything escapes us all.)

Every Christmas morning my dad went to the mailbox and returned to the living room to empty his stocking. Of course nothing came out. He would announce that it appeared that he had been naughty, not nice. We all knew that anyway.

One Christmas my uncle and aunt from my mom's side of the family were living in Little Rock. They came over on Christmas Eve with my cousins. At the end of the evening my dad made his "stocking hanging proclamation" then proceeded to march to the mailbox.

The next morning my dad went to fetch his stocking. He returned to the living room with a puzzled look on his face. Then he poured out a mess of produce (I recall potatoes. My mom recalls onions. So we will refer to it as produce for accuaracy.)

Guess my uncle figured he would pull his own prank!

-willi