One of Pat’s crow friends seems to be bilingual. It speaks both crow and chicken. We know the crows are great communicators among themselves and I believe they want to talk to other species. Pat’s crows talk to her and then listen when she speaks. Among their other interesting traits is the ability to recognize people and cars. They also will follow or escort someone they know. This next little story illustrates some of these characteristics.

Pat had to go to the lab for a blood draw prior to her next chemotherapy session. She hit the remote and opened the garage door. As she headed for the van, she heard a sound like the clucking of a chicken. She smiled knowing that it was one of her crow friends talking to her. She backed the van out of the garage and headed down the street. She noticed the crow flying ahead of her. When she got to the corner, the crow was sitting in a tree and waiting for her. She turned the corner and headed south and, again, the crow was flying ahead of her. In a few minutes, she was at the hospital and pulled into the multi-story parking garage. She lucked out and immediately found a disabled parking spot. She parked and got her walker out of the side door of the van. She again heard the clucking of a chicken, and as she got to the rear of the van, saw a crow walking around on the concreted behind it. She thought it was pretty neat to have had an escort on her trip. When she left the lab and went home, she didn’t see the crow.

I should digress for a moment and tell you that our daughter, Terri, takes Pat and I to our Dr. appointments. She keeps a wheelchair in her car to transport us to and from these things. Pat has back problems and can’t walk very far. After chemotherapy, she is so doped up that she is half asleep, and it’s not safe to walk. My balance is shot, and I have fallen and broken and cracked enough bones that I’m not safe either.

Getting back to the story, two days after the lab trip, Terri was driving Pat to her chemo appointment. As they drove to the hospital, Pat was telling Terri about the crow that clucked like a chicken and followed her around. When she finished, Terri said, “Sure, Mom,” and we’re not positive, but she may have rolled her eyes.

Terri pulled into the parking garage and was able to get the same disabled spot that Pat had used. She got out of the car and went to the back to get the wheelchair. Pat joined her and suddenly exclaimed “Here’s my proof! Look behind you!” Terri turned around and there she saw a perfect circle of a white bird dropping that contrasted very nicely with the dark blue of the disabled parking notification painted on the floor. Terri says, “Okay, Mom. I believe you!”

Dave Thomas

10/10/2024

Federal Prosecutor Jack Smith should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The guy never quits.

Dave Thomas

10/3/24

The pro-life people are opposed to abortion even in the event of rape or incest. Basking in their arrogance and ignorance, they willfully sentence a young victim (a mother not by her choice) to a life she would never have chosen. We need to make this situation more equitable. We must pass what I will call the Fiscal Adoption Act. This would decree that a member of the Pro-life belief would financially adopt the victim and her baby for life. This obligation is only financial, not custodial, so would involve setting up trust accounts for both mother and child. I feel that these Pro-Life people should feel some financial pain for what they are doing to the victims. It’s kind of like karma in that you get what you deserve. Hey, fair is fair.

Dave Thomas

10/3/24

In the spring and early summer, vacationers pour into Southern California. We know they have been looking forward to beaches, sunshine, and a dip in the beautiful blue Pacific. Admittedly, as nice as it is here, we do have some minor weather occurrences. They happen regularly, so we don’t make much of a fuss over them. People on the East Coast name their weather anomalies such as hurricanes and tropical storms using female names one year and male names the next. Our stuff is so inconsequential we just use the same names every year. We have two female names and one male name. They are “May Gray” and “June Gloom” for the ladies, and “Coastal Eddy” for the guy. We Southern Californians are just thankful we don’t have to put up with the likes of Jack Frost.

Dave Thomas

9/26/2024

Vote Kamala to Save Democracy

The election of November 5, 2024, will be our country’s most important event since 1776. 238 years of freedom and self-determination can be lost if we fail to protect our democracy. There is a weak, immoral felon named Donald John Trump who wants to become president and destroy the finest country the world has ever known.  On January 5, 2021, Trump called together a mob who attempted a coup against our government and four of the heroic police died in the struggle or soon after. Donald Trump is a traitor. Why isn’t he in jail?

Donald Trump’s followers are a bunch of people who have lost the ability to think for themselves. They were mesmerized by Trump’s rantings and the incessant lies of Fox TV.

Trump’s followers are not happy with our Constitution and our way of life. Admittedly, our democracy is a work in progress. We are working on it. Don’t throw it away. Get off your ass and help fix it!

His followers  don’t seem to understand what our way of life would become if Trump won and declared himself a dictator. Trump would destroy Social Security, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Education, and anything else that takes money from the bottom line of him and his rich friends. Rules and regulations would be gutted. Inspectors and inspections would have to go. That kind of stuff costs money. Many corporations would find themselves in the same shape that Boeing is in today. Stockholders would push for higher profits, and all decisions would be about the bottom line and profits. Trying to cut costs and boost production would be pushed harder and harder. Pride of workmanship would be lost to the endless pursuit for higher profit. Morale would suffer when the errors would show their ugly heads.

Among the first things to go would be pensions and 401K plans. They could be outright stolen or taxed so heavily they would disappear. Again, anything requiring inspection would be jeopardized. Beef is subject to e-coli, chicken to Salmonella, pork to trichinosis. The rich guys could pay for the inspection, but most of us would have to take our chances.

I could go on and on about the losses to our way of life. Instead, let’s end up with a partial list of what can be attributed to Donald John Trump:

Vulgar

Dead-beat: Trump hires contractors and then doesn’t pay them.

Liar

Traitor

Rapist

Felon

Tax Cheater? (Still waiting to see taxes)

Fraud

Poor Manager

No empathy

No Compassion

Bully

Adulterer

Surely, Trump’s followers would find at least one thing on the list so disgusting they would abandon the moron.

Another big item is Trump’s attitude toward women. Trump things women are stupid and should be subservient and powerless. So much for Women’s Rights along with Civil Rights and Voting Rights.

We can’t lose our America. Vote and tell all your friends to do so. Tell everyone you see that we only want this scumbag in jail.

Vote for Kamala.

Dave Thomas

9/19/2024

1. Debating a woman is not a good idea.
2. The dogs and cats are not being eaten in Springfield, Ohio.

Dave Thomas

9/12/2024

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning

It’s August 27^th. I’m sitting here, drinking a cup of coffee and mostly minding my own business. I am 88 years old today. I don’t know how that happened. I’ll attribute it to being happy. That is due to having a wonderful wife who is smart and fun to be around. Add three nifty kids who are also smart and fun to be around. Next comes four grandkids that are growing up just fine, and then throw in six great grandkids that are smart and cute, and you’ve got the whole enchilada for the close family group. Beyond those guys, I’m so lucky to have cousins and long-time friends.

November is a serious month for us. This year, Pat will be 87. Our twin boys, Russ and Doug, will be 66. Our daughter, Terri, will be 63. Pat and I will be married 67 years. The numbers just keep getting bigger.

We still enjoy getting up early and having coffee and the news. We are certainly not as active as we once were. We couldn’t survive now without our daughter, Terri, and the million things she does for us.

Thanks to all of you for the calls, cards, and Facebook greetings. It’s been a great day!

Dave Thomas

8/27/2024

Have you noticed that when Trump is blowing smoke at us (which is every time he opens his mouth), his voice changes to that of a little boy. His whining voice then gives us the same performance the little boy would give when trying to convince us that his BB gun didn’t break our window.

There was Trump, in the middle of the stage, mispronouncing Kamala’s name. Is this a grown-up or what? He may be 78, but he acts more like 8.

Dave Thomas

08/22/2024

Pat finished buying her groceries. Leaving the store, she was carefully threading her way through the parking lot and was being careful not to bump into any cars. She heard a strange noise overhead. It sounded like the clucking of a chicken. That, being a far-fetched idea, was discarded, and she decided it must be one of her crows. Being worried about a misstep causing a fall, she decided not to look up. “Safety first” is the motto of old folks. Pat continued to hear the strange noise as she put the groceries in the car and headed out. Going down the street, she suddenly had a crow flying right in front of her. The crow changed speed and elevation in what appeared to be an effort to make sure that Pat noticed it. This continued all the way home. When Pat pulled into the driveway, the crow landed in a nearby tree. The crow started talking immediately, and when Pat was able to get a word in, she thanked it for escorting her home. Then, as further thanks for the thoughtfulness, she put out some food. The crows extend favors, and she tries to recognize them and reward the good deeds.

Dave Thomas

8/15/2024

Follow That Car

Pat was visiting with our neighbor, Leslie, the other morning. Leslie was amused by the fact that whenever Pat left the house, she was followed by a bunch of crows. Check the next paragraph for more about this.

A Wing Man or Escort

Pat had a doctor’s appointment that afternoon, so at the proper time, she backed out of the garage and headed down the street. The office was about 15 minutes away, and several times she noticed a crow flying ahead of her. When she got to her destination, she pulled into the multistory garage and was able to park on the first floor. As she got out of the car and started for the office, she noticed a crow walking around on the floor behind the car. Apparently, it had followed her all the way from home and was just making sure everything was okay. Pat thanked the crow for being an escort and a part of the full-service security outfit.

Dave Thomas

8/8/2024