The Shoes

I admit I didn't actually read any of the stories about the incident but I seem to have spent a little too much time thinking about it after reading the headlines. Why was (at least) the second shoe not blocked by a secret service agent jumping in front of it? Can you image the briefing afterwards? Was each agent present going over it in his head again and again? How would one feel after reacting and with what care for the chain of evidence were the shoes collected? Did they smell? I'm assuming there was no gel inserts. Will the judge have mercy on the actor's soles?

Grackles

Whenever we go through the drive-thru at Rosa's near the MCM Mall I can't help but think that there's got to be a way to get rid of 'em. I guess I've spent a little too much time thinking about it lately because I had a dream in which I discovered a way to get rid of those nasty, noisy, long-tailed vermin.

I first rigged up a series of hoses to each tree around the mall. The hoses ran underground from a nearby building where I had large tanks of carbon dioxide. As the filthy feathered frequent fliers arrived to roost in the evening, I pumped the CO2 into the hoses and the birds just dropped like so many pine needles onto the pavement below.

Well, sure enough, a government man showed up and told me I couldn't do that anymore because the CO2 was contributing to Global Warming. So, I went to work to find a suitable substitute for the unwanted gas.

I tried oxygen but it seemed to have no affect on the little buggers. That is until I added igniters near the hose ends. I figured a quick ignition of the pure oxygen would do the trees no harm because the flames would consume the O2 and then immediately extinguish before the tree leaves/needles had time to ignite. And sure enough, the quick combustion did no harm to the trees - but it did succeed in lighting the feathers of all those grackles. I woke up before I found out what happened when thousands of flaming birds made their way into the neighborhoods.

Roy, Dale, Gene & Hopalong

(If you don't recognize those names you might as well stop reading now.)

When I was a little kid I watched Roy Rogers at 6:30 a.m. every Saturday morning. Most Saturdays I had to watch the test pattern for about 30 minutes-to-an-hour until it was time for Roy to ride in. I was an early riser.

While visiting family and eating my favorite foods to celebrate Thanksgiving I had the opportunity to visit a big kid's dreamland. Its name is Wild West Toys in Azle, Texas.

This family-owned business has acquired many old cap gun molds and produces new cap guns built the old-fashioned way. Take a look at their website. They obviously have devoted more of their talents to toys than to website design but I say their priorities are right.

I got to meet the family (they go to church with my sister and brother-in-law) and they are really nice people. They all play musical instruments and have had a music store for many years. (It's right next door to the toy store.) After spending a few minutes with them, you'd have no doubt how much they love the old west some of us grew up with on TV and they've dedicated much effort to preserve it.

If you have a little boy, or nephew or grandson, who needs a cap gun, you now know where to find a good one. And if you want to wrangle up some fun western memories of the 1950's and 1960's drop in and handle the guns. Bob will be glad to furnish the caps if you want to try some out.

I double-dog-dare you to shoot the Bronco model and not reach for your wallet.