The Feminine Mystique: Time to confess

The Feminine Mystique: Betty Friedan,  I read this ground breaking book shortly after graduating from Purdue University. A good portion of the book dealt with female freedom in the area of sexuality (That’s why I read the book!) Hey, at age 21 I was driven by different forces that at my current age of 71. Friedan’s book, and 50 years of marriage---anniversary Jan 24, 2013, has not resolved the wonderful God-given mystery that distinguishes women from men. OK, I got the biological part without much difficulty. It’s the emotional and mental part that still has me stumped. Neither space or time permits me to discuss all of the areas that baffle me (e.g. clothes, shoes, Christmas shopping when its 100 degrees outside, moods that defy cause or calendar, etc.) This Post will deal with just two areas: 1.    Beauty Shops (aka Salons): Please note: I understand completely the female desire, and in many cases the need, to enhance and maintain their beauty. What I don’t understand is the internal atmosphere of a beauty shop. Because of my wife’s medical condition, I take her everywhere and often stay until her appointment is concluded. a.     The discussions between patrons and the stylists---Everything, I mean everything, is discussed. Topics cover the waterfront (medical, marriage, misery, money, in-laws, work outside the home, children/grandchildren, personal relationships, religion and an unending list of other topics). Stylists make good counselors----most of the time. On one occasion, I passed a chair while I was in route to help my wife from her chair to the front door. The stylist was telling her patron how to take care of her hair while engaged in the most intimate of husband/wife relations. Maybe the stylist was really Dr. Ruth in disguise!  Guess I got too close; however, neither the patron or stylist seemed embarrassed.that I could over hear them.   The noise level seems to grow exponentially with the addition of each new patron. Maybe it is an unwritten rule to talk loud to drown out the conversations of other patrons and stylists.  b.    The smell. I do not understand how any woman can tolerate this week after week. It’s awful---really awful. 2.    Jewelry---OK, some jewelry is fine. But why collect rings, ear rings, watches, broaches, necklaces, and bracelets like a 4-H member collects leaves for a forestry project for the county fair? I guess it will be Heaven before I understand this baffling aspect of women. For the record, I wear a $17.00 Wal-Mart Casio wrist watch. While I do not understand a lot about the feminine mystique, I know and love a woman that does. And at the end of the day that is good enough for me!

Life is Like a Mountain Railroad--Lyrics you wanted

I am amazed at the tremendous interest in Posts dealing with Hobos and the Railroads. You keep asking for them I'll keep Posting them. (BTW: We sing this song in the church I am privileged to pastor.)

LIFE IS LIKE A MOUNTAIN RAILROAD

Life is like a mountain railroad
With an engineer that's brave
We must make the run successful
From the cradle to the grave

Chorus: Blessed Saviour thou wilt guide us
Till we reach that blissful shore
With the angels there to join us
In God's grace forevermore (2x to end)

Heed the curves and watch the tunnels
Never falter, never fail
Keep your hands upon the throttle
And your eye upon the rail

Chorus here

As you roll across the trestle
Spanning Jordan's swelling tide
You will reach the Union Depot
Into which your train will ride
There you'll meet the superintendent
God the father, God the son
With a happy joyous plaudit
Weary pilgrim, welcome home

HOBO BILL LYRICS---In Response To Blog Hits

The song Hobo Bill was written for Jimmy Rodgers (not the Honey Comb guy) Go to You Tube many artists have covered this great tune. What follows is the original long version (BTW: I have a second cousin who is an engineer on the Southern Railroad)

Riding on an eastbound freight train, speeding through the night,
Hobo Bill, the railroad bum, was fighting for his life.

The sadness of his eyes revealed the torture of his soul,
As he raised a weak and weary hand to brush away the cold.

Oh-oh, boh-boh, Billy

As the train sped through the darkness, with that raging storm outside,
Hobo Bill, the railroad bum, was taking his last ride.

No warm light flickered around him, no blanket to fold.
Nothing but the howling wind and the driving rain so cold.

Oh-oh, boh-boh, Billy
Yodels...

Well he heard the whistle blowing in a dreamy sort of way,
The hobo seemed contented, for he smiled there where he lay.

Outside the rain was a-pouring on that lonely boxcar door,
And the little form of Hobo Bill lay still upon the floor.

Oh-oh, boh-boh, Billy
Yodels...

As the train sped through the darkness, with that raging storm outside,
No one knew that Hobo Bill was taking his last ride.

Oh-oh, boh-boh, Billy

He heard the whistle blowing in a dreamy sort of way,
The smile lingered o'er his face but Hobo passed away.

Yodels

It was early in the morning when they raised the hobo's head,
The smile still lingered on his face, but Hobo Bill was dead.

There was no mother's longing to think of his weary soul,
He was nothing but a railroad bum who died out in the cold.

This Song Says Volumes About Today--Please listen

"Are The Good Times Really Over For Good?"

Sung by Merle Haggard (aka The Hag)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ9OzIn9-o4

"How Long Has It Been Since.................................??

During Uncle Coleman's viewing and funeral I met a good number of our classmates, other PCHS students, and/or spouses. Here is a brief summary of my meetings:

1. Much concern for deceased former students and thanksgiving for being among the living.


2. Most were in remarkably good health. Some looked years younger than their actual age.


3. Many were continuing to work for a variety of reasons. All seemed happy with their work.


4. Stories about former classmates and sports teams. I had to brag about the night I went 18 for 23. Got the ball  23 times and shot it 18 times. I did not remind anyone how many actually went in.


5. A goodly number spoke of their active, personal and dynamic relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!


6. Most had missed out visiting the great State of Oklahoma. If all of the people I invited come at the same time I'm in trouble.

7  Everybody wants to tell you about their grandkids!!!

8. Some had experienced relationship problems. Some had been victims of spouses who did not keep their marriage vows. Addiction is all down hill.

9. One woman who I had honor of dating once (no guesses please) in PCHS days still maintains a beautiful figure and her voice could still charm honey bees off of roses!!!!!


10. The conversations under the most difficult of circumstances proves good often comes from bad.T

"KING OF THE ROAD"---Roger Miller

THIS POST IS IN RESPONSE TO THE UNPRECEDENTED DEMAND FOR HOBO RELATED MATERIAL.  BY THE WAY ROGER MILLER WAS FROM OKLAHOMA !!!!

Roger Miller King Of The Road Lyrics

Songwriters: KRISTOFFERSON, KRISTOFFER

Trailer for sale or rent 
Rooms to let fifty cents
No phone no pool no pets 
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah but, two hours of pushing broom 
Buys a eight by twelve four bit room
I'm a man of means by no means 
King of the road

Third boxcar midnight train 
Destination Bangor Maine
Old worn out suit and shoes 
I don't pay no union dues
I smoke old stogies I have found 
Short but not too big around
I'm a man of means by no means 
King of the road
I know every engineer on every train 
All of the children and all of their names
And every handout in every town 
And every lock that ain't locked when no one's around
I sing trailers for sale or rent...

Rooms to let fifty cents
No phone no pool no pets 
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah but, two hours of pushing broom 
Buys a eight by twelve four bit room
I'm a man of means by no means 
King of the road

Trailers for sale or rent 
Rooms to let fifty cents
No phone no pool no pets 
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah but, two hours of pushing broom

King Of The Road lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Tribute to Coleman Frederick

I have just returned from a very quick visit to Indiana to help with Coleman Frederick's funeral. I saw so many of the PCHS gang. Really was heartwarming to see so many. Here is the Eulogy I shared during his funeral:

Coleman Frederick has changed his Zip code. He has moved to a mansion whose builder and maker is a Thrice Holy God. We gather here today to celebrate his long life which had so much meaning and purpose to so many people. We also gather as family and friends to share our love and support for each other. Most importantly, we come here to hear a Word from the Lord.

(I want to say a few words especially for the younger children present. This is not Grandpa Coleman. This is just the tent he lived in while he was here. He has gone home to Heaven.)

Sometimes you hear folks say “Those senior citizens sure hate to change.” I contend that senior adults, especially those who have celebrated 97 birthday days are all about change. Consider what Coleman experienced: He lived to see the Wright Brothers AND the Super Mario Brothers. In communications he saw the change from the telegraph to Text messages and Tweets. In the area of transportation he saw the transition from mules to moon rockets and Mars’ rovers. When he was born the US Flag had just 48 stars. Seventeen different presidents served this great nation during his 97 years.

He spent his life leaning forward in the saddle and he drove looking through the windshield with only an occasional look into the rear view mirror.

But he was much more than just adaptive to Change. He was a man of Character.

Maybe you've seen the church signs that define character as “What you do in the dark when you know no one is watching.” Another said, “Character is what you do when you know there is nothing in it that benefits you.” Those are not bad, but isn't character more than just what you do, or don’t do, it is what you ARE. Coleman Frederick was a man of his word. Honesty was not a policy with him, it was his way of life. Integrity, reliability, hard work, and a ton of other descriptions all apply to this man of solid character. He was dependable for his family, friends and neighbors and his Lord.

Coleman Frederick is the only person I have ever met who could tell you the time of day with a laugh and a smile. His voice was honey laced. I do believe he could just smile and stop an argument. His self-depreciating humor and his humble understatement reminded me of a combination of Gary Cooper and EF Hutton. When a grandson was named after him, I remarked, “That ought to have happened a long time ago.” He said, in his low voice wrapped in a chuckle he smiled and said, “Glenn, that’s kinda what I was thinking.” He knew how to laugh and he helped others to respond in kind.”

He was an involved citizen in the political affairs of his community, county, and country. I don’t know if Guiness keeps records on the oldest person to regularly write letters to the editor. If they do Coleman Frederick should be at the top of the list. He did not shy away from delicate or controversial issues. Our Founding Fathers had Coleman in mind when our Republic was established. An informed, involved citizenry made this country strong and will keep it strong.

He was a much sought after counselor for family and friends alike. Most of us here can give examples where he has listened and suggested ways to solve some of life’s most challenging issues.

But it is his compassion that enriched the lives of his large family, his community and his church that I will forever remember. He and Aunt Corene ran the Frederick Hilton for many, many years. They took in blood kin, friends of their children, and others who needed a night or several months of food and shelter and some old fashion love.. Somehow they could stretch a pot of beans and cornbread to fed the multitude. They even took in some stray dogs.

At night sleeping pallets and spare beds seemed to fall from the sky. Unannounced visitors never saw a “No Vacancy” sign. There was always room for one more. The Bible says we entertain angels unawares. In the case of Uncle Coleman and Aunt Corene the angels ran the Hotel!!!!

I don’t know all the songs believers will sing in Heaven. It could be that on the all eternity Gospel Singing program there is smiling guitar player singing “On the Jericho Road there’s room for just two, no more and no less, just Jesus and you…” and I suspect there are others there and others coming that will sang about Coleman Frederick, “Thank you for giving to the Lord, I am a life that was changed…”

Coleman Frederick you have fought a good fight, finished your race, and have kept the faith.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I sure will miss him. He was my second Dad,

WOW !!!! NEW PAGE VIEW RECORD SET !!!!!

OVER 135 PAGE VIEWS OF THE POST BELOW THIS ONE IN 48 HOU RS!! MUST BE LOTS OF INTEREST IN RIDING THE RAILS. MAYBE WE CAN ALL FORM THE PCHS HOBO JUNGLE.

           (I know a few HOBO songs I learned from my kinfolks. "All around the water tank waiting for a train--- Hobo Bill the railroad bum.....)


       THE AWESOME RESPONSE TELLS ME I
       STRUCK A MAJOR HOT BUTTON!

      LOOK FOR MORE POSTS ABOUT RAILROADS, HOBOS, AND SURVIVING HARD TIMES. HEY, WE ARE ALL IN THIS THING TOGETHER !!!!!

     

Just In Case You Need To Know---HOBO LINGO

I AM NOT A PROPHET OR A SON OF A PROPHET. HOWEVER, HARD TIMES MAY BE COMING. THIS POST JUST MIGHT HELP YOU SURVIVE. DON'T HOP MY RATTLER!

HOBO TERMS, SLANG, AND LINGO (LIST COPIED)

Note the references to "HOOSIER"

Accommodation - A local freight train. It may carry passengers.
Adam and Eve on a raft - Two fried eggs on toast. "Wreck 'em" if they are scrambled. "With their eyes open," if not.
Alligator bait - Fried or stewed liver. Too costly now for hobos.
Anchor - A pick. Companion tool of the shovel or banjo.
Angel - A person who gives more than you expect. One who takes an interest without trying to reform you.
Angel food - Mission preaching about the Bread of Life.
Angelina - Punk or road kid acting as a hobo's companion.
A-No-1 - A famous tramp who writes his name "on everything like J. B. King." He writes books about his alleged adventures. Many young hobos write this monicker on water tanks
Auntie - Angelina grown older.
Axle grease - Butter. Sometimes called plaster.
Baldy - Generally an old man "with a high forehead".
Balloon - A roll of bedding carried on the back; a bindle.
Banjo - A short-handled shovel.
Barnacle - A fellow who sticks to one job a year or more.
Bazoo - Mouth. A term of derision. "Shut your bazoo!"
Beefer - One who whines. Sometimes an informer.
Belly robber - A boarding boss who tries to save money on food.
Benny - An overcoat. A vest used to be called a ben.
Big four - A duck egg omelet. See chapter on food.
Big Ole - The fellow who tries to show the boss how strong he is. He'll do all your work if you praise him.
Big school or house - The state penitentiary. (The stir.)
Bindle - Bedding roll slung on the back.
Biscuit shooter - Camp waiter or hash slinger. Also a flunkey.
Bit or jolt - A term in prison. A long stretch is the opposite of a short term or sleep.
Bitch - A tin-can lamp with a shirt-tail wick. See bug. Also more recently a lamb or preshun.
Black bottle - Poison allegedly given hobos in hospitals. Many hobos believe this bottle exists.
Blanket stiff - Western type of hobo who carries his bed. He is also called a bindle bum.
Blinds - False door at end of baggage car. Hobo ridingplace.
Blinkey - A blind hobo
Block
Bohunk - A Polish or other Slavic laborer.
Boil up - To cook one's clothes
Bone polisher - A vicious dog. Also called a tailor's helper.
Boneyard - Any graveyard. Also refers to a hospital
Boodle - Cheap grafting
Boodle jail - A jail that may be worked for a good winter's lodging.
Boomer - A hobo who is always on the go. He has a travel itch.
Boston bum - One of those superior fellows
Bottle wagon - An iron coal-car.
Bouncer - The strong man who throws the sleepers and drunks out of the mission. He is usually a mission stiff.
Bowery barometer - Curbstone philosopher from the New York main stem. General information bureau but not a highbrow.
Bridal chamber - Flop house where the guests lie on the floor. It is also a mining term meaning the miner's workplace.
Broad or brod - A woman
Browning Sisters - The Angelina sorority. "He belongs to the Browning Sisters" or "to the Brown Family."
Buck - A Catholic priest good for a dollar.
Bug - Same as bitch. These are lamps for the jungle.
Bull artist - A hobo with the gift of gab. Becoming a parlor term.
Bull cook - Camp flunkey doing the heavy work for the chef.
Bum - Amply defined in the book. It is a term of many meanings
Bumpers - Couplings between freight cars upon which hobos sometimes ride if there are no empties on the train.
Bundle tosser - Hobo harvest hand who pitches bundles or bouquets.
Butts - The stem of a cigar picked up on the street.
Cacklers - White collar workers.
Cages - The cubicle rooms in the cheap lodging houses.
Cake eater - The nice boy of the town. Not used much by hobos.
Calaboose - The police station or the village lock-up.
California blankets - Newspapers when used to sleep on.
Call - Hobo dish: Baked potato mashed with butter and served with liverwurst and onions.
Candle eaters - Term sometimes used for the Russians.
Candy - Candy kid is the fellow who gets the good breaks. Candy job is the pleasant job. Candy team is the favorite span of mules in the outfit.
Cannon ball - A fast train. "The Wabash Cannon Ball" is the mythical hobo train that travels everywhere.
Captain - Hobo salutation of the head man or big shot.
Card man - A union man or a hobo with a red I. W. W. card.
Carry the banner - To walk the street all night for want of shelter. Sometimes it is called to lead Bruno.
Cat house - A brothel
Cat wagon - A brothel on wheels visiting the chaste villages of the middle west or following the harvest crews.
Checker-board crew - A mixed gang of white and negro workers.
Cheesy - To be filthy with dirt.
Chicken in the clay - Fowl rolled in mud for roasting. See chapter on food.
Chow - Becoming now a common word meaning food.
Christ killing - To speak from the soap box giving the economic argument.
Chuck a dummy - To pretend a fainting fit.
Coffin nail - A vanishing term for cigarettes.
Collar and shoulder style - Everything is put on the table and the hobo guest helps himself.
Combination stew - An ordinary jungle dish of vegetables and meat.
Combination train - A mixed passenger and freight local train. Is also called an accommodation
Come to Jesus - A come-to-Jesus manner means to feign piety. A come-to-Jesus collar is one worn by a preacher.
Come-on guy - A fellow who boosts things along on the job
Con - A con is a tubercular person. The con is the conductor on a train. An ex-con is a former convict.
Con game - This refers to any kind of graft involving trickery.
Con man - A grafter or trickster. It may mean ex-convict.
Connect - To make a touch. The reward for good panhandling.
Cookee - The second in command to the main stew-builder.
Cousin Jack - Generally refers to a Cornish miner
Croaker or croacus - A member of the medical fraternity
Crooked arm - Signal the boss gives when he wants more speed.
Crum boss - Man who builds fires in the bunk houses.
Crum up - Same as boil up.
Crummy - To be lousy. Also refers to the caboose on a train.
Crums - What the hobo may get but never keeps: lice. Also called gray backs and seam squirrels.
Cushions
Damper - Cash till or cash register.
Dead one - A drunken hobo. Also a hobo who has just spent all his money.
Dead picker - A yegg who robs a drunk or dead one. He kicks him first to see if he is dead to the world and then robs him.
Dead soldier - An empty whiskey bottle lying beside the road.
Deck 'em - To ride the top of a passenger train.
Decorate the mahogany - To buy the drinks; to line the bar with thirsty throats and brimming glasses.
Dick or fly cop - A detective either in public or private employ.
Dinkey skinner - The man who runs a dinkey engine on construction jobs.
Dipsy - Workhouse sentence. See give him the works.
Discard artist - One who carries around or wears picked-up clothes.
Dog robber - Boarding house keeper
Doughnut philosopher - A fellow who is satisfied with the price of a coffee and feed. He does not object to the doughnut hole getting larger because it will take more dough to go around it. He is the original breadline optimist.
Drag - A long
Drag - Hobo term for the main street of the town
Ducket - A ticket
Dump or joint - Hobo hangout or gathering place. It also applies to a restaurant or flophouse.
Dyno or dino - A rock man who handles dynamite. On the Coast he is a front and back man who carries his blanket on his back like a western hobo and his cooking cans in front like an Australian tramp.
Eat snowballs - To stay up North during the winter.
Economic argument - Soap-box talk about economics. Generally opposed to the religious argument called angel food.
Evil eye - Some people are supposed to have an eye for wishing bad luck. Panhandlers try to avoid such.
Exhibition meal - A handout eaten on the doorstep. The madam wants the neighbors to witness her generosity.
Extra gang - A crew that works on the railroad track.
Eye doctor - A panhandler who can catch the eye of his client and hold it without quailing. Also a pederast.
Eye opener - An early morning drink
Faded bogey - Negro acting as an informer.
Fagot or fag - A road kid with homosexual tendencies.
Fall guy - The goat. The fellow who gets caught. In the world of crime he is one who takes the rap without squealing.
Fanner or fan - To be hit on the soles while sleeping on a park bench. To get a fanner is to be moved on by the police.
Fink - A scab. One who takes a striker's job. Good hobos frown upon this practice.
Fish - Jail term for new prisoners.
Fisheries - Missions along the main stem.
Flagged - It may mean to be driven out of town
Flannel mouth - An Irishman. Sometimes called a chaw.
Flicker - To faint or simulate fainting.
Flipping a rattler - Boarding a moving box-car.
Floater - Same as boomer
Flop - To sleep or a place to sleep. To prone the body.
Flop house - A cheap lodging house or any hobo hotel.
Flunkey - Camp waiter. Always male. A woman is a hasher.
Fly-away - A deserter from the army or navy.
Forty-fives - Monicker for navy beans
Frisk or shakedown - To search. It usually means search by the police. But train crews also go through the hobos.
Frog or frog eater - A Frenchman. A Canadian Frenchman is a pea soup.
Front - A whole layout of new clothes. "Put on a front."
Fuzz tail - Name for unpopular fellow. He is also a ring tail. Such hobos are often under suspicion.
Galway - A priest.
Gandy dancer - Hobo track laborer
Gandy gumbo - Hobo dish described in the chapter on food.
Gay cat - Tenderfoot among the hobos.
Gentry - The leading natives of a place
Ghost story - Plausible tale told to the housewife.
Gin mill - Very old hobo term for a speakeasy.
Give him the works - To be given a job by a social agency
Glauming - Refers to crop gathering. We have berry glauming
Go with the birds - To go south for the winter.
Go-getter - Hobo who worries the social workers by writing to or calling on the wealthy contributors.
Going by hand - To walk. Hiking to the next water tank.
Going on the farm - When a train goes on the sidetrack. Also a railroad term.
Gooseberry bush - The clothes line. Gooseberries are the garments that adorn the line in the moonlight.
Goy - Hobo who can work the Jewish agencies. Plural
Graveyard shift - Night work
Graveyard stew - Hot milk and toast.
Gummy - A hanger-on. A bum who goes along with the crowd but never contributes. A sort of dead head.
Gunnells or guts - The rods or trucks of the train where hobos ride.
Gyppo - A sub-contractor with poor equipment
Handout - A parcel of food given out by the housewife. A lump.
Hard tails - Mules
Harness bull - A policeman who wears a uniform.
Haywire - When everything is balled up. A haywire outfit is something that is all tied and patched together.
Head end - The front of the train. In front of or near the engine.
High ball - Signal for a train to pull out of town.
High diver - Yegg who picks pockets.
High jacker - Yegg who robs hobos with a gun or by brute strength.
His Nibs - The police magistrate.
Hit the ball - To speed up on the job.
Hitch - Prison term or army term. Same as bit.
Hitting the grit - To be forced off a fast moving train.
Hobo - The highest form of the genus vagrant.
Hobohemia - Universe of the hobo.
Hoghead or hogger - The engineer. This is also a railroad term.
Home guard - A fellow who always stays in town. Some live their lives on a single block in the main stem.
Honey dipping - Working as a shovel stiff in a sewer
Hoosegow - Same as calaboose. Often called the can.
Hoosier - The natives
Hot - A person is hot when he is wanted by the law. No hobo will travel with a man who is hot.
Hot shot - A fast freight or passenger train.
Hot stuff - Stolen goods. Something that must be dropped.
Hotel de Gink - A charitable or a municipal lodging house.
House dog - A fellow who goes about hunting jobs
How strong are you? - Meaning
Hump - "Over the hump" means to cross the mountains to the West Coast. It also refers to the elevation in the freight yards for switching cars
Hundred proof - Meaning whiskey of the purest.
Hunkydory - Everything is fine. The term is getting into popular usage.
Hunt a wampus - A wild goose chase. The wampus is a black cat with a white tail and it lives in the tall timber.
J. B. - J. B. Stetson hat. Prized among hobos because the band may be sold for half a dollar.
Jail bird - A fellow who brags about his vag record.
Jake or George - The same as hunkydory.
Jawbone - Credit. To buy in the company store against one's pay.
Jerries - Men who work on the section gang. They do maintenance work while gandy dancers work on contract jobs.
Jesus guy - A mission stiff. Sometimes called a faith man.
Jocker - A hobo who goes about with a road kid or punk.
John Family - This term is sometimes applied to the farmers
Jungle - Hobo's summer home. See the first chapter.
Jungle buzzard - A bum who loafs about the jungle begging from the hobos.
Junker or junky - A fellow who uses drugs
Kangaroo court - Mock court held in jail for the purpose of forcing new prisoners to divide their money.
Keister - A suit case. Not often carried by hobos.
Kick - A pocket in the trousers.
Kicks - Shoes. Also called slides.
Knowledge box - Country school house where hobos sometimes sleep.
Lamb - Boy tramp or road kid. Boy companion of the wolf.
Lambing - To herd sheep
Leather poke - A wallet.
Lee of a reefer - The ice-box in a refrigerator car.
Library birds - Down and outers who loaf or roost in libraries.
Lighthouse - Stingy person. A procurer for a house of sin. Also one who is placed to watch for the bulls.
Limpy - A cripple. If he has a wooden leg he is peg.
Little red wagon - A dump wagon. Driving one is a favorite job.
Little school - Reformatory or house of correction.
Lizzie tramps - Sometimes refers to the hitch-hikers and again to wandering families traveling in automobiles.
Louse - A fellow who will steal the shoes of a hobo who befriends him.
Lump - Food received at the back door; a handout.
M. & C. - "Marmon and Cadillac," meaning morphine and cocaine.
Main guy - Same as captain. Refers to the person in charge.
Main stem - The chief hobo street in town.
Making a riffle - Same as to connect
Manana - Spanish for "tomorrow." Means put it off and embodies the spirit of postponement.
Man-catcher - The shark's assistant who urges a job on the hobo - usually to fill a shipment of men.
Manifest - Fast freight carrying fruit or cattle.
Mark - A mark is a person or place good for food
Mission stiff - Man who gets "saved" for food and a flop.
Mix me a hike - Meaning "pay me off," or "give it to me."
Moll - A woman who pals with hobos. This term is not used much by the hobos.
Monicker - The hobo's informal name
Monkey chasers - West Indians or other Negroes from the tropics.
Mooching - A low form of begging. See chapter on subject.
Mop Mary - A scrub woman.
Moper - A bum who is even lower than a moocher.
Mouthpiece - The name the yeggs apply to lawyers.
Mud - Strong coffee mixed with weak milk.
Munie - Familiar term for a municipal lodging house.
Mushfaker - A go-about repair man. He may solder pots or mend umbrellas. Sometimes hobos follow the art.
Nickel note - Five-dollar bill.
Noch - Hebrew shelter for homeless men. From hochnosis orchim
Nose bag - Lunch handed out in a paper sack.
Nuttery - Hospital for the insane. Also a nut factory.
O. B. U. - One Big Union. The ideal of the soap boxers.
Odd fellows - Fraternal symbol: three doughnuts and coffee.
On the hummer - Being on the bum but not down and out.
On the uppers - Being on the bum and nearly down and out.
One-Eyed Connolly - A gate crasher. Term refers to the famous no-pay fight fan by that name. He has hobo imitators.
P. K. - The principal keeper of the little school.
Packing the mustard - Carrying the hod.
Padding the hoof - Going by foot. A practice good hobos avoid.
Palooka - A roving boxer who lives in the past.
Panhandling - Read the chapter on the subject.
Paul Bunyan - A chronic
Pay station - Social welfare agency that gives out money. Very rare.
Pay streak - To have a job that pays well.
Pea soup - French Canadian or Canuck. Often a lumber jack.
Peanut farm - Workhouse where the inmates crack stones.
Peddler or bob tail - A short local freight train.
Peg house - A place where
Pennsylvania salve - Apple butter.
Peoria - Thin soup. Generally potato water with salt.
Phoney man - Fellow who peddles cheap jewelry.
Pie card - One who hangs around and lives on a remittance man or some other person with money.
Pig's vest with buttons - Sow belly
Pile driver or Java - Coffee
Pill peddler - The camp doctor. The label may fit any M. D.
Pogey - The workhouse. Sometimes the poor farm.
Poke - A leather wallet. Also a gin mill.
Possesh - Road kid. The hobo's boy companion.
Possum belly - The boxes under passenger cars where hobos sometimes ride.
Potatoes and with it - Western jungle dish. See chapter on food.
Pound your ear - To sleep in a bed.
Preshun - Same as punk or possesh.
Prone the body - To lie down and rest.
Punk - Bread. Southern bread is called pone.
Punk - Road kid. Often used in derision.
Punk and gut - Bread and sausage.
Punk and plaster route - Traveling among the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Pusher - The straw boss. One in charge of the job.
Rank cats - Lowest of the genus bum.
Rattler - A fast train
Razor back - Circus roustabout. Also an Arkansas hog.
Read your shirt - To examine your clothes for crums.
Red ball - Fast fruit train. Good for long rides.
Reefer - A refrigerator car. Like many another railroad term it also belongs to the hobo's lingo.
Remittance man - Hobo paid by his family to stay away from home.
Road kid - The boy apprentice among the hobos.
Robbing the mail - Snatching food and milk delivered at the doorstep early in the morning.
Rods - The nether structure of a freight car. Modern cars do not have rods. A rod is a gun.
Roll - To roll means to rob a sleeping drunk.
Roll in the sawdust - In the barrel house
Sagebrush philosopher - Gabby fellow from the West.
Sallies - Salvation Army hotels and industrial workshops.
Salve eater - A snuff-chewing Swede. He is also a roundhead.
Sap - The policeman's persuader. To get sapped means to be clubbed by the bulls.
Scissorbill - Hobo who believes he can become President. He never gets next to himself
Scoffing - To eat. To scoff regularly means to miss no meals.
Scrape the pavement - To get a shave.
Scrapers' school - Barber college where students practice on hobos.
Screw your nut - Get wise to yourself.
Sea food - A sailor.
Set-down - To eat with your feet under the table. The reverse of the handout.
Sewer hogs - Ditch diggers.
Shack - A brakeman. Railroad term.
Shack fever - Tired feeling that comes in the spring. It is also called itching feet.
Shakedown - Same as frisk.
Shanty man - Same as gyppo contractor.
Shanty queen - Wife of the shanty man. Any woman around a camp.
Shark - A man who sells jobs to the hobos. His assistant is called a man catcher.
Shatting on the uppers - To be broke
Shavetail - Young mules. See hard tail. A young army officer of low rank is also a shavetail.
Sheets - Newspapers for a bed.
Shellacker - Booster or promoter who puts on the varnish.
Shine - A Negro. Also called a burr head.
Shiner - A ten-cent piece.
Shiv - Razor. A blade but never a safety razor.
Shoo fly - A railroad detour
Side door pullman - A box car. Hobo's home en route.
Skinner - One who drives mules. Especially on construction jobs.
Skinner's delight - Hobo jungle dish. See chapter on food.
Sky pilot - A highbrow preacher. Not one of the mission kind.
Slave market - That part of the main stem where jobs are sold.
Sleep - A short term in the workhouse or jail. To be buried deep is a long term.
Slob sister - A moocher who weeps to his clients.
Sloughed - To be arrested; pronounced "slowed."
Slum - Derisive term for an uninviting stew or slumgullion.
Smoke - Strong liquor. Denatured alcohol.
Smoke wagon or gat - Same as rod
Snake - Hobo and railroad term for switchman. A snake is more friendly than a shack to the hobos.
Snapper rig - Second-hand suit of clothes.
Snipe - Section hand or jerry. A section boss is a king snipe.
Snipe or navy - Butts of cigarettes and cigars.
Snipe shooting - To hunt for snipes in the gutter.
Snowbirds - A junker
Son of Adam - Hobo willing to do a chore for a handout.
Song and dance - To give the madam at the backdoor an interesting and entertaining argument.
Soup - Liquid explosives for blowing safes. Used by yeggs.
Spearing biscuits - To fish food out of garbage cans.
Speed balls - Sherry wine. These days it may be any wine
Spider - A small frying-pan with a long handle. It may be an improvised one.
Spittoon philosopher - A hanger-on about the gin mill or along the curbstone
Splinter belly - A man who works on bridges and trestles.
Stable dog - A man who looks after the camp stables. He is often called chambermaid to the mules.
Stack of bones - Cheap hash-house dish
Stake - Money in the pocket after leaving the job. The pile.
Stall - Any excuse that meets the difficulty. It also refers to the yegg assisting the high diver or pickpocket.
Stemming - Panhandling or mooching along the streets.
Sterno - Dangerous alcoholic drink made by heating sterno can.
Stew builder - A hobo camp cook
Stew bum - Booze fighting bums that never leave the stem.
Stiff - A hobo worker. There are harvest stiffs
Stir - State prison. The big house or big school.
Stool pigeon - An informer
Straight and narrow - The way to eternal life and salvation.
Sugan - Bed comforter. Usually the old style quilts.
Swamper - Fellow who cleans out the bar-room.
Sweat board - Concrete mixing by hand.
Sweet back - Hobo sheik who is only sampling hobo life.
Tallow pot - The fireman on the train.
Tally - Meaning
Tear baby - Fellow who bums women or men with women. Often puts up a pitiful story
Thin ones - Small coins; dimes
Three Star Hennessy - Good old brand of liquor.
Throw your feet - Same as stemming or panhandling.
Throw your guts - To squeal. To give information to the bulls.
Tie pass - Fictitious permit from the railroad president to walk over the ties.
Timber wolf - A worker in the woods
Tin horn - A petty sport hanging around the main stem. He is sometimes called a rustler.
Tin roof - A free drink. So-called because it is "on the house."
Tip the office - To warn a fellow hobo by giving some signal.
Toot the ringer - To ring backdoor bells.
Toppings - Dessert. Something toothsome to touch off a meal.
Town clown - The village constable.
Tramps - Migrating non-working vagrants. A grade higher than scenery bums
Trapeze artist - A hobo who rides the gunnells or rods.
Trombenick - A Jewish hobo. They are scarce as hen's teeth.
Trombo - Refers to a hobo pugilist
Turkey - A bundle
Twist a dream - To roll a cigarette.
Underslung - To get underslung means to ride under a train and have the shacks throw things at you
Vag or vag 'em - To be jailed or fanned out of town for being a vag.
Wagon tramps - Families who travel in covered wagons or schooners.
Wallies - Town bums who never lose sight of the city walls.
White mule - Old-fashioned white corn whiskey.
Willies - The Good Will Industries of the Methodists.
Wingey - Hobo with one arm or crippled arm. Also army.
Winoes - Those who drink the dago red wine of California.
Wobblies - Hobos who belong to the I. W. W.
Wolf - Older hobo exploiting the road kid. The pair is known as the wolf and the lamb.
Wood butcher - A carpenter. A hobo who can do odd repair j obs.
Wood tick - Same as timber wolf.
Woolies - Sbeep. Going with the woolies means to take a job as sheep herder.
Working for Jesus - The job of being a mission stiff. To be actively engaged around the fisheries or missions.
Y. M. C. A. - You Must Come Across. The hobo expects nothing from the Y. M. C. A. that is not paid for.
Yahoo - A hoosier who has no apologies for his ignorance.
Yard dick - Private policeman of the railroads who makes it his business to keep hobos off the trains.
Yeggs - The crooks of Hobohemia; too mean to be bums and too lazy to be good tramps.

 

 

---

VERY OLD YET VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE !!!

PLEASE NOTE: I DO NOT HOLD THE COPYRIGHT TO THIS ARTICLE.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 !!!

MAY YOU EXPERIENCE A SAFE, HAPPY AND BLESSED 2013 !!!!!

The Sad but True Account of a Doofus !!!!!!!!!

I have a mixture of sadness and laughter as I tell this true story.

Several years ago my Wash D.C./CA grandson was on a father/son Boy Scout Camping trip in VA. A senior scout was in charge and you will soon see why my son-in-law tabbed the senior scout a "Doofus."

This story starts with a scout honored tradition of naming each section or patrol of scouts. Since the camp out was only overnight the name selected would only have very temporary application. The senior scout said how about "Gangsta Bunnies"? The younger boys strongly objected and instead opted for a more manly name----Crusaders. The senior scout shot that down and said you are the "Gangsta Bunnies."

Next the senior scout accused the younger scouts of stealing his camping  gear. My son-in-law didn't indicate how the younger scouts discovered the senior scout had in fact intentionally hide his own gear so he could blame the younger scouts for stealing the gear. Finally he "found" his own gear.

Here this true story takes an even weirder turn. The senior scout starts a demonstration on how to start a fire and within a few seconds he sustains what my son-in-law describes as second or third degree burns and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. This was the last straw and the camp out was stopped and the younger scouts and dads returned to their homes.

My grandson quit the scouting program soon after this event. The term "Doofus" seems appropriate for this obviously ill prepared senior scout.

HAPPY 12-21-12 TO YOU TOO !!!!!!!!

THE REASON THE MYAN CALENDAR ENDED AT 12-21-12 IS SOMEONE FORGOT TO FLIP THE ROCK OVER !!!!!!

WHITE CHRISTMAS Best Version Ever---My Opinion

As a teenager in Indiana, I "discovered" this unique
"White Christmas" version by The Drifters. The computer age has added a cartoon to the vocals. I first heard the song on WLAC--Nashville, TN. I later heard it late at night on KOMA in OKC,OK. Yep. I could receive KOMA on one of the radios I built.

Check this out and pass it along! It's great!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddVZOK_9UUI

I am the biggest Do Wop fan in our county.

Glenn <><

INDIANA H.S. BASKETBALL HERO

Indiana H.S. Basketball Hero

He was a natural, really good
Everything an All-Stater should

Confidence chiseled on his face
Colleges followed him every place

A double sure winning shot bet
Three point shot---nothing but net

Sectional finals--fans they did shout
3...2...1 last shot--hit the rim--In & Out!

Glenn C. Peck <><

He Did Not Need To Knock

HE DID NOT NEED TO KNOCK


He did not need to knock
Nor I the front door unlock
He comes each year you know
When it's cold and maybe snow

He is big and very, very bright
Rises early and spends the night
His clothes adorned by shiny belt
He always reminds me of youth felt

Strength and honorable victory won
Manly sword no coward's hidden gun
Orion comes each winter you know
When it's cold and maybe snow 

Glenn C. Peck    December 2012

I could not say it better

IN DICKENS IMMORTAL "CHRISTMAS CAROL" TINY TIM SAYS MY CHRISTMAS GREETING TO ALL READERS OF THIS BLOG:

"God Bless Us Everyone!"


Glenn C. Peck <><

"Are The Good Times Really Over For Good?"

THE HAG----MERLE HAGGARD---- IS MY FAVORITE ALL TIME COUNTRY WESTERN SINGER
Follow this You Tube  link to hear the answer to Merle's question:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFHJ41ktt3Q 

Glenn <><

You Might Be From Oklahoma If You..........

YOU MIGHT BE FROM OKLAHOMA IF YOU.........

1. Have more deer hunting pictures in your cell phone than photos of your kids/grandkids

(Deer hunting is very big in OK. Kids and wives often join Dad to bring home a 10 pointer)

2. Believe Texas should be expelled from the UN

(Texas is almost a bad word in OK.)

3. Are certain Pretty Boy Floyd was seen by a relative

(He was a Robin Hood crook during the time of Bonnie and Clyde)

4. Start a petition to make Noodling an Olympic sport

(Noodling is catching catfish---big catfish with bare hands) 

5. Believe the long drought can only be broken by a 365 day State Fair

(It always seems to rain during the State Fair)

6. Think Okra should be the National Vegetable

(I can't stand boiled Okra--most Okies love it!)

7. Believe Will Rogers should be post-humously knighted by Queen Elizabeth

(Will is Oklahoma's most famous and best loved favorite son)

8. Know for sure the Gaint Catfish story at the Ten Killer Dam is 100 percent correct

(Short version---Leak in Dam. Divers went down to inspect. Resurfaced because the catfish were too large.)

9. Believe the hymn "Plant my feet on higher ground" is the State Song of Colorado

(Colorado with high mountains is a favorite vacation spot for Okies)

10. Think the the 3 "R's" stand for Rod, Reel and Rifle

(Okies love the the great outdoors)

Glenn C. Peck----------Adopted Okie Since May 28, 1986

Sullivan's Travels---Starring Joel McCrea

The plot is good......a Hollywood Director becomes a bum to understand the realities faced by the poor and destitute. His girlfriend thinks he has been killed as he passes out 1000 five dollar bills. He survives and loses his memory following a fight with a yard cop. Goes to prison and understands the injustice of the poor in prison

WHERE DID THAT WHITE BUS GO?

Toward the end of the White Star Bus Company, it made round trips from Madison to Cummins in Columbus. A Cummins worker drove the bus. It was a 1937 model, leaked every fluid put into it. A small snow fall would cause all kinds of zig zag driving. I wrote this as a tribute to the now out-of-business bus line:

Where Did That White Bus Go?

I was carrying a load of Liberty gates on a big order to fill       (NOTE 1)

My rig brakes failed coming down ice-covered Milton Hill      (NOTE 2)

I was praying hard, my heart was beating fifth gear fast

No doubt about it this was my end, the roll call at last

An old white bus mysteriously appeared in the front

Ice was flying and my runaway speed did slowly shunt

I pulled into a station and slowly stumbled from the truck

Crying, yet talking, I told the mechanic of my incredible luck

“Son, your were saved by the Phantom White Star Bus    (NOTE 3)

It happens so often nobody here makes any big fuss

Many years ago my ball team bus got stuck in the snow

Down Hanging Rock Hill an empty White Star Bus did go

The driver had seconds to decide if it was him or us

He saved the boys and flipped that old White Star Bus

We watched in horror as it cart wheeled over the side

We served as pall bearers in honor of his heroic ride

Folks say there were two miracles on that snowy night

Next day the police found no bus it was clean outta sight”  

Glenn C. Peck 12-23-10 (Dedicated to all White Star riders/drivers)

Note 1---The overwhelming number of Farm and Temp pens are made in Liberty, KY--My birth place

Note 2---This is on the Ky side of the Ohio River down a very steep hill

Note 3 ---Idea came from trucker song"Phantom 409"

I NEVER TOLD YOU THIS.............

During my PCHS days I saw two movies that continue to impact my life. No, I didn't see them in the Park or Ritz theathers in North Vernon. Ditto the Crump in Columbus. In fact, I do not remember the name of the theater. The theater was located in Covington, KY. Covington is just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati.

One of Dad's sisters lived in Covington for a while with here husband (the original Archie Bunker) and four boys and a girl. We would make an annual trip from Jennings County to visit our "city kinfolks." In fact, Cousin Albert and I walked to Crosley Field three times to see the Reds play baseball. I guess a round trip distance was 10-15 miles. When the Reds were not at Home playing on a Sunday, my three older cousins, my brother and I walked to a matinee showing at a theater which was about five blocks from the cousin's home. What follows is about two movies that are in my All-time Favorite Top Ten.


This Post is about those two very special movies: The Searchers, staring John Wayne and Moby Dick, staring Gregory Peck (no relation, I think).

Searchers has my all-time favorite musical score; (second is The Big Country, also staring Gregory Peck

"YOU KNOW OLD RIVERS DIED"---Walter Brennan

Seems like every day the truth of this song resonates in my heart with greater clarity. I've known a bunch of "Old Rivers"---still do. They were and are friends of mine.

Walter Brennan
Old Rivers lyrics

(Words and music by Crofford)

How old was I when I first seen old Rivers?
I can't remember when he weren't around
Well, that old fellow did a heap of work
Spent his whole life walking plowed ground.

He had a one-room shack not far from us
And well, we was about as poor as him
He had one old mule he called Midnight
And I'd trailed along after them.

He used to plow them rows straight and deep
And I'd come along near behind
A-bustin' up clods with my own bare feet
Old Rivers was a friend of mine.

That sun'd get high and that mule would work
Till old Rivers'd say, ''Whoa!''
He'd wipe his brow, lean back on the reins
And talk about a place he was gonna go.

Chorus:
He'd say, one of these days
I'm gonna climb that mountain
Walk up there amoung the clouds
Where the cotton's high
And the corn's a-growin'
And there ain't no fields to plow.

--- Instrumental ---

I got a letter today from the folks back home and
They're all fine and crops is dry
Down at the end my mama said, ''Son
You know old Rivers died.''

Just sittin' here now on this new-plowed earth
Trying to find me a little shade
With the sun beating down 'cross the field I see

That mule, old Rivers and me. 

HOUND OF HELL STILL ALIVE AND WELL!

I strongly suspect only a fraction of readers of this Post will have any clue as what I talking about. The cold hard facts of life is that Satan is real and alive and well.

In an earlier Post I spoke of the Hound of Hell being on my trail. This time he has brought the whole liter with him!

I ask for your prayers. This is serious stuff. Thanks.

""D.....MN, Your Dim Lights!!"

A fellow classmate was driving his car on the highway near the old Nixon's store. His passengers include three other Juniors, one of which was me.

An approaching car had its lights on High Beam. The driver, wanting to impress us said, "D....mn, your dim lights." We all had a big laugh because he meant to say, "Dim your D...mn lights!"

We kidded him many, many times thereafter.


Side Note:   I do not recall many times when boys would use bad language around girls during our high school days. Today, you hear girls using the same bad language as the boys. The easily overheard language today is loaded with "F Bombs" and crude references to body parts and sexual activity. References to past or future parties are frequent. Please, please understand this side note is in no way justifying the use of bad language by boys OR girls.

WELL, WHAT COULD I DO ???????????

           WELL, WHAT COULD I DO ???????

                Life is full of choices, more than just a few
                At the end of the day,surprise old and new 

                Critics gather like like ants to catch a view
                Speculation runs high as to what I might do

                It's getting very late; almost near curfew
                Choices,choices, what in the world to do

                It was an unpopular choice, made most blue
                My only defense, "Well, what could I do?" 

                                   ----Glenn C. Peck

TIME IN A BOTTLE ---Jim Croce

This song means more to me each year.

Songwriters: CROCE, JAMES

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day
Till Eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with

SONG OF SUCCESS---Robert Service

Robert Service has captured in this short poem what all of us are feeling: Getting old is coming too fast and the pleasures and vigor of youth is gone, forever gone, He laments we have only memories and not much time.

I have said publicly I would give all the money I could find to be 17 years old again on a Friday night in Indiana playing basketball! A date with a pretty girl afterward would be as close to Heaven a guy can get without a funeral! 

A Song Of Success

Ho! we were strong, we were swift, we were brave.
Youth was a challenge, and Life was a fight.
All that was best in us gladly we gave,
Sprang from the rally, and leapt for the height.
Smiling is Love in a foam of Spring flowers:
Harden our hearts to him -- on let us press!
Oh, what a triumph and pride shall be ours!
See where it beacons, the star of success!

Cares seem to crowd on us -- so much to do;
New fields to conquer, and time's on the wing.
Grey hairs are showing, a wrinkle or two;
Somehow our footstep is losing its spring.
Pleasure's forsaken us, Love ceased to smile;
Youth has been funeralled; Age travels fast.
Sometimes we wonder: is it worth while?
There! we have gained to the summit at last.

Aye, we have triumphed! Now must we haste,
Revel in victory . . . why! what is wrong?
Life's choicest vintage is flat to the taste --
Are we too late? Have we laboured too long?
Wealth, power, fame we hold . . . ah! but the truth:
Would we not give this vain glory of ours
For one mad, glad year of glorious youth,
Life in the Springtide, and Love in the flowers. 

Robert William Service

ROBERT FROST REVISITED

Robert Frost can be called America's best known poet. I found an old paperback book of his poems in my boxes of stuff and discovered a very haunting and touching poem. It follows:

THE IMPULSE ----Robert Frost

It was too lonely for her there,
And too wild,
And since there were but two of them,
And no child,
And work was little in the house,
She was free,
And followed where he furrowed field,
Or felled tree.
She rested on a log and tossed
The fresh chips,
With a song only to herself
On her lips.
And once she went to break a bough
Of black alder.
She strayed so far she scarcely heard.
When he called her--
And didn't answer -- didn't speak --
Or return.
She stood, and then she ran and hid
In the fern.
He never found her, though he looked
Everywhere,
And he asked at her mother's house
Was she there.
Sudden and swift and light as that
The ties gave,
And he learned of finalities
Besides the grave.

LOVE IN THE AUTUMN YEARS

                LOVE IN THE AUTUMN YEARS  

Rush and Hush quietly surrender to Slow and Know

Hallway pictures brightly echo of love from long ago

Once whispered words now fill all rooms in the house

Today, all day, joy is celebrate with my loving spouse 

Our love is always work in progress, never completed

Each chapter our very own and never to be repeated       

------Glenn C. Peck            

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2012 !!!!!

In spite of the many challenges we face as a nation and as individuals, we are indeed most blest.

Statistically, we should have been born and reared in a nation with meager economic means. Statistically, we should have a much lower standard of living and life expectancy. Statistically, we should live in a country with much less freedom and opportunity. Statistically, we should live in a country with limited or no religious liberty.

But our all knowing, all powerful Heavenly Father chose by His Sovereign Grace and Mercy to place us outside statistics and permit us to enjoy the blessings of America.

Perhaps the words from the old hymn says it best: "Count your many blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings and see what God has done." 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2012 !!!!!!!!!!