I wuz chewing the fat with my neighbor last week and we were discussing our grandkids and great-grandkids.
My neighbor related that his big brood of “grands” were visiting on a nice, sunny day recently and they wanted to know what life was like for Grandpa when he wuz growing up in the 1940s and 1950s.
My neighbor told me how he answered their question. He gathered up all their smartphones, shut down his internet and wi-fi, gave each of them a Popsicle and told them to go outside and play until the sun went down.
He said the kids were lost outside until he went out and taught them how to play “Drop the Handkerchief” and ” “Hide and Seek.” Then he helped them gather up some scrap lumber and they built some bluebird houses and mounted them around his farm.
“I think they had fun,” he told me, “but they’ll never admit it.”
***
Speaking of using the internet, my memory is so terrible that I had to change my password to “incorrect.”
Now I get a reminder “Your password is incorrect” every time I enter it wrong.
***
A farm daddy is working in his shop when his young son comes running out of the house calling to him.
“Daddy, daddy, what’s sex?” asks the boy.
For a moment ol’ Dad is dumbstruck, but then decides that if his son has asked the question, then he must do his best to answer it.
So, for the next few minutes dad talks about the birds and the bees, then human relationships, love, that babies live in mommy’s belly until they are born, etc. In fact, he does a pretty good job of covering every aspect.
Eventually, he comes to a stop and notices how oddly his son is looking at him. So, he asked his son, “Why did you want to know?”
“Well, Mommy said to come out and tell you that dinner would be ready in two secs.”
***
I’ve raised chickens with roosters for the past 40 years. And, I’ve had my fair share of ill-tempered roosters that would flog me if given a chance. With few exceptions, I’ve broken the feisty roosters, and gained their respect, by showing them I’m the real boss of the henhouse. Down through the years, there’s been a few that I’ve had to turn into flavoring for chicken and noodles. But, that’s been rare
Now I read a true story about a mean rooster that caught my attention. An Irish guy, 67, was killed by an aggressive rooster when the bird flogged his leg and plunged its spur into an artery and the poor bloke bled so much that he died of a heart attack.
I guess I’ve been lucky. Well, I won’t have to worry about mean rooster attacks for many more months. When we get our new home built and moved into, the local zoning laws prohibit my owning a flock of chickens.
That will be sad in a way because I’ll have to resort to eating yucky store-bought eggs. Or, maybe, hopefully I can find a farmer who is selling farm fresh eggs.
***
Speaking of our new home we finally took a positive step in the right direction last week. Remember that we have the property bought and a nice water well drilled on it.
We met with the builder in Manhattan and reviewed the sequence of construction needs. First priority was picking out kitchen cabinets and vanities and counter tops. So, we went to a vendor near Topeka and selected light-colored, knotty birch wood for our cabinetry. While there, we selected the cabinetry hardware, too.
On our way back to Manhattan, we stopped in St. Mary’s at a quartz and counter top dealer with a huge inventory. We ended up choosing a light-colored, slightly-veined quartz for our countertops.
We overnighted with long-time friends in Wamego and spent an enjoyable evening playing card games with as many as nine players.
The next day we stopped at a major building supply company and evaluated emergency electricity generators for our new home.
After that, Nevah went to a baby shower for our 4th great-grandchild — a great-grandson expected to arrive on the scene in late March. While she was “showering,” I enjoyed a stag party close by.
***
Well, about the only sporting event that made me happy this week was the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl. Other than that, both my college alma maters — Bea Wilder U I and II, lost basketball games to their big rivals. Hopefully, we’ll “git ‘em next time.”
***
Words of wisdom for the week, “A firearm is like a parachute. If you need one, and don’t have one, you’ll probably never need one again.”
And, from Plato: “If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools”
Have a good ‘un.
