What Happened...

 There was a time when I could walk the street in front of my building, day or night, without fear.  Not any more.

There was a time when there was no question about which locker room or bathroom to use.  Not any more.

There was a time when children could go to 'story hour' at the public library without encountering men dressed as grotesque women.  Not any more.

There was a time when sex education did not include elementary school children.  Not any more.

There was a time when the language I hear coming from some kids would have earned them the experience of learning what a bar of soap tastes like.  Not any more.

What happened?  How did we reach the place where the question of the day is, "What is a woman?"  News flash - just take a peek inside your knickers.  Indoor pumbing belongs to women.  Outdoor plumbing indicates a man.  Easy peasy.

I am so very tired of all the foolishness.  Common sense seems to have left the building.  At what point did so many Americans buy into the culture of 'woke.'

Seems to me we need to pay attention to the ways of our parents and grandparents.  They didn't waste time on silly things like defining a woman.  In my family they were too busy tending the crops, milking the cows, working in the lumber mills or, in the case of my Dad, holding down two and sometimes three jobs to feed his family and care for his invalid wife.

It is my opinion that the downward spiral mostly began when our government decided that God has no place in our schools or our office buildings or in our lives.  The war against religion has escelated.

I am thinking that as we watch our nation sink deeper into the mud and mire, perhaps now might be a good time for prayer before that is banned as well.

Potato Experiment

 A number of years ago, my oldest son would go to the large Farmer's Market in St. Paul, Minnesota.  He would bring me all sorts of fresh produce for canning or dehydrating or freezing.  One time he showed up with 100 lbs. of russet potatoes.  And because at that time I wasn't all that familiar with the process of dehydrating potatoes, I canned most of them.

What I later discovered was that the top inch or so of the potatoes in the jars turned gray.  They weren't rotten.  They were just gray.

I'm pretty sure that nobody is fond of eating gray potatoes.  I know that the persnickety members of my family would surely go "EEEWW" at the sight of them.  They haven't as yet been truly hungry.

Sometimes I am tempted to relate what I saw on a program about a high school class visiting a German concentration camp.  At that time, a number of years ago, the camp had lush, green lawns.  A student asked the guide, who had been imprisoned at that camp, who mowed the lawn when he was there.  His reply was, "Nobody mowed lawns.  If we saw a blade of grass, we ate it."

Back to the potatoes.  I decided to try dehydrating some of the potatoes, thus eliminating the gray pieces.  So I opened several jars, drained and rinsed the pieces, spread them out on dehydrator trays, picking out the gray pieces and tossing them.

During the dehydrating process, the potato pieces took on a dark brown color that didn't go away when rehydrated.  And the potato pieces did not rehydrate well enough to be useful.  This experiment was a total failure.

So what will I do with the 75 lbs. of potatoes I still have in jars?  Use them.  Just like I have been using them.  I pick out the gray pieces.  Then I fry them up for a breakfast potato.  Or use them in a potato salad.  Or heat them and pour gravy over them.  Or make mashed potatoes from them.

These days it seems prudent to use up what we have, even if we might want something else.  Grocery prices, in my area anyway, continue to rise.  I can not afford to waste food.  Or anything else, for that matter. 

I don't see things getting better any time soon.  Perhaps now would be a good time to concentrate on the old ways of doing things.  At least that way, we will be able to continue on while others are wondering what happened.

  

My Son Was Right

 He told me that if I didn't have a place to rant, my head would explode.  And I have to admit that the explosion is getting close.

This morning I watched a video by our bumbler and chief.  He again wants to take our guns.  And if he can't get his hands on them, he wants us to keep our guns under lock and key.  Now I can understand that perhaps households with small children might want to keep their guns out of reach.  

Just for the record, my four children were raised around firearms.  They were taught about safety and respect for the tools, for that is what they are.  That tool brought home venison to feed them.   That tool chased off someone who might have done them harm.  They, unlike many today, were raised to have respect for their parents and for the rules.

Picture a 77 year old woman who lives alone in an apartment located in the downtown area of a rather large suburb.  When I first moved here about 25 years ago, I knew the neighbors.  Even though I am surrounded by bars, I had no fear of walking my dogs after dark.  I worked in the neighborhood and had no fear of walking a few blocks home after 10 PM.

That has changed.  I wouldn't consider going out after dark now.  The neighborhood has changed in that there seem to be more people who are angry most of the time compared to the friendly neighbors of years past.  My building is over 100 years old.  The cheapest of doors were used when the upper floor was converted to apartments.  A good swift kick could open my door.

I don't move fast at all any more.  The pace of a herd of turtles is an apt description!  So someone kicks in my door.  What am I supposed to do.  Ask the intruder politely to please wait to hurt or kill me while I go unlock my gun safe?  Or without any protection, perhaps if I throw a can of tomatoes at him, that might just keep me alive.  (snark)

I want to peacefully live out my remaining years.  And that includes avoiding any violence.  We all know that violence is becoming more prevalant in our society.  I pray the time never comes when I need to protect myself from the bad guys.  Who have guns.  Who will never give up their guns.

And because our government is only going after the good guys with guns, mine will stay within reach.  And will not be locked up.  And will not be turned in no matter what fraudulant laws the state or federal boneheads come up with.  After all, the Second Amendment is there to protect the citizens from a tyranical government.

Looks like we may need them sooner than later.