The New American Digest

A month from now, Gerard’s work will be gone forever. Enjoy the Archives while you may.
And bless Neo for her work in keeping his spirit and works alive as long as she did.
I still miss Ol’ Remus’ works; soon American Digest goes on the list as well.

Damn! Can’t get through a celebration without some crazy going crazy. Not going to be able to say anything even close to pleasant or family-friendly other than may God rest the souls of those wanting nothing more than to celebrate in NO.

We hadn’t had any significant snow since last winter. A light dusting a month or so ago but that was gone shortly after falling. Set a new record for latest snowfall. But it started last night just past midnight and is still coming down as I write this. Weather site says it will continue until tomorrow morning.

May you all have a happy 2025 and may America rise once again from the flames of “them”.

Something different than Auld Lang Syne
Found in what must have been my great-grandmother’s belongings.

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox circa 1909

Mortal:
“The night is cold, the hour is late, the world is bleak and drear;
Who is it knocking at my door?“

The New Year:
“I am Good Cheer.“

Mortal:
“Your voice is strange; I know you not; in shadows dark I grope.
What seek you here?“

The New Year:
“Friend, let me in; my name is Hope.“

Mortal:
“And mine is Failure; you but mock the life you seek to bless. Pass on.“

The New Year:
“Nay, open wide the door; I am Success.“

Mortal:
“But I am ill and spent with pain; too late has come your wealth. I cannot use it.“

The New Year:
“Listen, friend; I am Good Health.“

Mortal:
“Now, wide I fling my door. Come in, and your fair statements prove.“

The New Year:
“But you must open, too, your heart, for I am Love.“

The new Burpee catalog has arrived.

Sometime around Thanksgiving, my fairly new wife and I realized it was time to leave Colorado and start our lives someplace else. She was a foreigner with green card and only knew LA (where she attended language school) and the Front Range so the selection of “where” was up to me.

I knew I didn’t want to move east. I had lived and worked in most every state west of the Rockies and preferred that region of the country. But when it came down to betting my life on this decision, I decided to leave it in the hands of God … or fate … or pure circumstance.

California was out. Seattle was out. Both of us had professional degrees so our selection needed to account for job possibilities. We discussed options and came down to three choices: Oregon, Idaho, or Montana.

I wrote those choices on pieces of paper, rolled those pieces into little balls, and tossed them in the air like flipping a coin.

Funny how life can take a turn …

I held my hand out to catch one of the balls.

One ball missed my hand completely, another bounced off my thumb, the third landed in the middle of my palm.

We arrived 25 years ago today.

Welcome to Idaho

You may not like guns.
That is your right.

You may not believe in God.
That is your choice.

But if someone breaks into your house,
The first two things you are going to do are …
Call someone with a gun and pray they get there in time.

And I can tell people we arrived here in the ’90s

🙂