Knock On Wood

I have to knock on wood. I wonder if pressed wood is OK?

"The Big Bounce" by Elmore Leonard

This  is the story of a washed up baseball player, now a petty criminal, neither career amounting to anything, looking for the next score. He meets his match with a seductress who pushes her boundaries and drags him along. It is not a western as I first suspected but tries to be a crime novel that comes off more like a bunch of juvenile delinquents. More talk than action.

A Great Question

It seems like a plague. Every time a reporter asks the guest a question, he is answered with, "That'a a great question." Can't they be truthful sometimes and say, "That's a stupid question." Or, "Why would you ask a question like that?" Makes me wonder if they are rewarded with a great answer.

Anxiety

For one reason or another, everyone has anxiety. The Corona virus may cause it now, we all had it before the virus came along. For some of us it may be caused by stress or financial concerns. For others, it is always a part of their daily life.

Need A Haircut

My wife gave me a haircut yesterday. It was kind of scraggy. She used the clippers on the back and did the rest with scissors. When she was finished, I rubbed my hand over my head and it didn't feel much different than when the barber cut it. I can't see it and no one else cares. At a time like now, I will hardly be seeing anyone. This is not the first time she cut my hair. She did it for a number of years. I can't remember why we stopped. Anyway, good for another month. 

"The Wettest County in the World:" by Matt Bondurant

This is a slice of American history brought on by the depression, lack of education and alcoholism. Violence is a given. It follows the American tradition of making outlaws into folk heroes. It is a good story but I had a problem with the sequence of chapters. The numbers were in sequence but not the content. It kept jumping back and forth between the years making it hard to follow. If you like this era of history, you will enjoy the book.

World On Reboot

Sometimes when a computer gets a virus, we give it a reboot. It appears the world is in the same situation. We have been given a reboot. I wonder if they have installed a new program and if it really works? Maybe the virus stays with us and we will need another reboot.

Good and Evil

In a battle between good and evil, does good always win? I would like to think so but sometimes it may take a very long time, so that in some situations it seems that evil reigns supreme. True evil is eventually subdued but malice or hatred seem to go on indefinitely. 

Dinosaurs

If we had lived in the time of the dinosaurs, we would not have lived in the time of the dinosaurs.

Self Inflicted Injury

A headache from a hangover is an injury that is self inflicted. Theoretically you should be charged with assault. Then again, the headache is probably enough punishment. 

"Long Range (Joe Pickett, #20)" by C.J.Box

"Long Range" is the 20th. installment of the Joe Pickett series. I've loved all these books and can't decide if this was the best so far. Lots of action and stories within stories. I was completely surprised to find out who the perpetrator was. The author kept me completely in the dark. It was an excellent story, well written and getting five stars.

Lip Reading

During this lock down I decided to start a new hobby. And it is lip reading. What I found out was that I was really good at it when I kept the sound on up high. At other times, not so good. When the sound was turned off, the only word I really knew was the four letter word. They say, I don't know who "they' are but they seem to say a lot. Have you noticed that? Every time you turn around, it's, they say this, they say that. Anyway, they say that a person reads about every third word and just fills in the rest. Of course that means nothing if the person says the F word five times in a row.

Perception

I have this neighbor who lives around the corner from me. I think I've only seen him about three times in the past year. He has a hedge around his house, overgrown to all proportions so that you can hardly see his house and nothing of his yard. He is about 6' 6" tall and broad shouldered with a grey beard down to his belt. He also wears a kilt.
When I first saw him, I thought to myself that if I had been an 18th. century English soldier in the highlands of Scotland and saw this guy running towards me wielding a broadsword, I would run like hell. Perception. 
The next time I saw him he was walking his dog. You're probably expecting him to have something like a Scottish Deerhound or such. I swear, I think that the weight of the dog leash was more than the weight of the dog. So now I saw him walking over the highlands with the tiny dog cradled to his Brest minus the broadsword. Perception. (A way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental impression.)

Right Hand Driving

Did you know. At 2:00 am April 15 1923, Cape Bretoners, like other Nova Scotians, stopped driving automobiles and horse-drawn vehicles on the left-hand side of the road and started driving on the right hand side. Horses were well-trained and very habitual in their trips into Canada. On reaching the middle of the bridge after the changeover, they automatically moved to the left as they had always done, causing some mayhem with motorists and others travelling south. It was some time before all of the teams had been re-trained to stay to the right for the entire trip.

The same problem apparently occurred between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in the four and a half months they had different driving laws. There were other considerations as well resulting from the changes. The History of Automobiles website reports that “Nova Scotia Tramways & Power Company Limited, which owned and operated the electric streetcar system in Halifax, sued the provincial government to recover the cost of changing the doors on all streetcars to the other side, and the cost of changes in track layout. In Lunenburg County, 1923 is still known as The Year of Free Beef; the price of beef dropped precipitously because oxen which had been trained to keep to the left could not be retrained — oxen are notoriously slow-witted — and many teamsters had to replace their oxen with new ones trained to keep to the right; the displaced oxen were sent to slaughter.”

Coffee and Sugar

When I was 18, for Lent I gave up sugar in my tea. Later on, in the Air Force, I drank coffee without sugar. Just think. Sixty years without sugar. I must have had a major effect on sugar prices. That must have been felt down through the whole food train. 
Someone gave me a coffee one day with sugar. Couldn't drink it. In my house we only use sugar for baking. So there is no big rush to buy sugar when it is on sale. 
I've read this, "Even if someone tells you the truth, who will listen?" That goes very well with what is going on now. Some listen, some don't. Possibly we only listen to what we want to hear. All leaders assume they are right and want to pull us into their sphere. Right or wrong, we suffer the results.
Alright, confession. I never read that sentence, I wrote it.

The Art of Reading

On the last cruise I had taken, two years ago, I ran into this guy carrying an armload of books. As it turned out, it was six books and he was reading them at the same time. If it had been a contest to see how many books you could carry, I would have won hands down with my kindle downloaded with twelve books. As to the number of books to read, I  myself always read two books. It's the recommended number I'm told. I tried reading three books but found it too confusing. Every time I saw this guy, he was reading. At the dinner table he sat alone, five books stacked on the table, one book in one hand, fork in the other. I wish I had asked him how many books he read in a year.

"One Way" by Jeff Lane

I love the book but I was disappointed in the cover. It is bland and may turn some readers off.  This is unfortunate because it is a very good story. The first part of a book is its cover and I can't stress its importance. It is the very first chance to catch a reader. The story involves travelling back in time without the use of a time machine but the using your own mind. A great concept with great possibilities worthy of a sequel. When I read the first page of a book, I usually get an idea if it will be well written and in this case I was not disappointed. Highly recommended. Giving it four stars, losing one star because of the cover. 

Friends

I've read that a man is defined by his friends. What about his enemies?

"The Stand" by Stephen King

I have the edition of this book that has all the pages. If you read it, be prepared for the long haul, as it moves at a snails pace. It's after a Pandemic. The remainder of society forming into groups. Daily survival is a struggle in this battle between good and evil on the human and supernatural level. A book well written with characters well formed, slow at times but so is life. Sacrifices of life and tremendous hardship have to be made for any hope of winning in the end. 

Happy Life

The key to a happy life is to accept your place in it.

Toothbrush 23 cents

This is a 1947
Johnson and Johnson Toothbrush
Magazine Ad

Measures 10" x 13"

https://www.oldmagazineads.net/

Canadian Achievement

This is a 1961

Seagram's VO
Magazine Ad
Measures 8" x 11"

https://www.oldmagazineads.net/

Medical Gowns

Stanfields is making medical gowns. I wonder if they will look like long johns?

Jackasses

There are always jackasses around. Is it because we are stuck at home that we are able to take more notice of them or is it because we are stuck at home we become more easily annoyed?

Set In Her Ways

I know a woman so set in her ways that she finds the same nickle every day when she goes for a walk.

Appropriate For Our Times

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” 

― Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

COVID-19

If you could see COVID-19, would you still go out? Stay home. Be safe.

Difficult Times

During difficult times the first ones you have to keep under control are the jackasses who don't understand the danger & do as they please.

International Trucks

This is an original 1960

International Truck
Magazine Ad
Measures 14" x 10 1/2"

https://www.oldmagazineads.net/

Soldier of the Raj (James Ogilvie, #3) - McCutchan, Philip

Another good addition to the James Ogilvie series. Rather than a book of blood and guts, it is a book of intrigue, a spy rather than a soldier. He is still a magnet for danger and becomes more involved with the woman he loves.

Power Outage

Power went off for 2 hrs. in the middle of the night. Quite a surprise when you look at your clock in the morning. So I was late for retirement.

Too many experts with too many opinions.

Turnstone (DI Joe Faraday, #1)- by Graham Hurley

The only way for me to describe this book is that it has too much clutter. I didn't connect with the characters and it was too many, too soon.