Mandates are issued when the people are too stupid, too short-sighted, too bull-headed, or too misguided to do what is best.

If a person refused to wear a mask and get the COVID 19 shots,  and they contracted the disease and they infected another person who died, could the errant person be charged with first degree murder?

Here’s another dumb one. The law says you don’t have to wear a mask and protect your fellow citizens, but you must carry a fetus full term regardless of viability.

The controversy over wearing a mask is being fueled by morons. It’s like a cop not wearing a bullet proof vest though he knows the situation Is about to escalate.                                       

I still can’t process the idea that nurses would refuse the COVID 19 vaccinations. What the hell?

Based on the movie box office receipts, it looks like Americans are becoming the inhabitants of fantasy land. It looks like America’s heroes are Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, and the Green Hornet. Maybe that’s why so many Americans have fallen for the b.s. espoused by the flim-flam man, the head scum bag.

The Bigot States or Red  States, if you prefer, are shutting down the right to vote if you are anything other than white skinned. Well, so much for democracy.

Not much has been done in Washington, D.C. these past 13 years. We can thank the GOP for most of that. Imagine where we could be if all 535 of our elected people were focused on the same problem. We could fix anything. I know that a few of our reps are trying to do a good job. What’s wrong with the rest of them? Are they owned by big corporations or fat hogs like the “Kook” brothers? Have they been threatened with black mail? Have they been threatened with physical harm? How can these guys look at themselves in the mirror each morning?

Dave Thomas

1/18/2022

What passes for country music these days isn’t much to my liking. I think the people in Nashville are way off the track. I think they have left the country and gone to the city where they joined up with a bunch of teeny-boppers.

When I was working from the 1960’s through the 1990’s, my one way commute took from 25 to 45 minutes, depending on traffic. I would listen to the local news and then, for the rest of the time, listen to country music. I knew every song and every singer. Now, I don’t recognize anything or anybody. The last few years, I have really been down in the dumps about the music scene.

Fortunately, I recently learned some magic words that have straightened out my head and restored my good humor. I just step into my living room and say the magic words “Alexa, play Pandora Classic Country.” The next thing I know, I might hear Willie, Waylon, Kris, Johnny Cash, Loretta, George Strait, Tammy, George Jones, Barbara Mandel, Reba, Charlie Pride, Charlie Rich, Randy Travis, Eddy Arnold, Ronnie Milsap, Mickey Gilley, The Judds, or the Oak Ridge Boys, and many more. It’s really magic.

Dave Thomas

1/13/2022

My hitch in the Navy was up in March of 1961, and Pat and I were happy to be staying in San Diego. We had purchased a home there in 1960 and thought we were there to stay. By 1964, our twin boys, Russ and Doug, were almost six, and our daughter, Terri, was almost three. The boys were continually suffering with colds and respiratory problems, and our pediatrician suggested that they might do better if we lived farther inland, away from the ocean breezes. We decided to try our luck in the city of El Cajon. It was probably 10 miles east, as the crow flies, and located in an inland valley that was normally 10-20 degrees warmer than coastal San Diego. We decided to rent for a year and try out the location before buying. We made the move in July of 1964. We found a nearly new 3 bedroom home on 1/3 acre that was on the eastern edge of town, and it even had a horse shed and small corral in back. They came in handy later.

It didn’t take Pat and the kids long to meet our new neighbors. The favorites were the Trivetts who lived on the corner, 3 houses away. Norm and Margaret Trivett had three daughters- Karen, Lori, and Susan. Susan was the same age as Terri, and the other girls were about the same age as Russ and Doug. Pat and Margaret became good friends, and the women and kids did a lot of things together. The Trivetts had a swimming pool, so our gang was over at their place almost every day.

When it got close to Christmas, Margaret mentioned the large family gatherings they hosted every Christmas Eve. She asked Pat what we would be doing that night, and Pat explained that our families were back in Kansas, so it would just be the five of us for the holidays. Margaret said that they had plenty of room for us, so we should spend Christmas Eve with them. Thus began a tradition that lasted for over 50 years.

The Christmas Eve parties were always a lot of fun. We enjoyed meeting and getting to know the extended families of both Norm and Margaret. We met their parents, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, cousins, and all of their spouses. As time passed, we got acquainted with kids and grandkids as they arrived. Our own kids and grandkids have attended throughout the years.

Lives changed over the years. When Norm retired, he and Margaret moved up to the four corners country in Colorado. They bought one of those log cabin kits, and Norm erected it using the construction skills he had learned as an ironworker foreman. He was an extraordinary craftsman, and had the eye of an artist. I think they made it back to California for Christmas most years. Pat and I moved to Texas for seven years, but we made it back for the holidays several times.

The hosting job got passed around some over the years. Margaret’s sister, Liz, held the party at her home in La Mesa for four years. Liz’s son, Brad, and his wife, Liz, hosted at their home in Escondido, CA for 2 years. Margaret and Norm’s daughter, Susan, and her husband, Chris, then took over. Susan lost Chris to cancer, but she has carried on the tradition since.

The last year we were able to be with Norm and Margaret was 2019. 2020 was the COVID year, and we weren’t feeling too spry anyhow, so we decided not to attend the party on Christmas Eve.  Pat, Terri, and Terri’s husband, Steve, had gone over on Christmas Eve day just to say hello to Susan and Margaret and the family as a nod to our long-standing tradition. We lost Margaret in January of 2021, and lost Norm a few months later. It’s hard to believe they are gone. It’s also hard to believe we shared Christmas Eve for 55  years. Merry Christmas, Norm and Margaret. Thanks for the memories.

Dave Thomas

1/4/2022