Recent Articles
Memories of my dad and his love of fruit trees
Apr 9, 2010 Things I like 1 Comment
I have many wonderful memories from my childhood, some of which will remain with me until the day I die. And one of my most treasured memories of all is of my dad’s love for fruit trees.
Regardless of where we lived, we always had a fruit tree or two growing on our property, and at one point in time dad even had a small orchard growing on a hill behind our house “up in the holler” in Widener Valley, Virginia. He had apple trees, pear trees, peach trees, cherry trees, apricot trees…if it was a fruit tree he probably had it growing somewhere in that little orchard.
Weather permitting, most every morning he would walk among his beloved trees and inspect the blossoms and fruits hanging from the branches. He would carefully pinch off the ones that appeared to be damaged in some way, ensuring that the ones that remained would mature into large, healthy fruits for mom to “can” and for us to enjoy at the dining room table.
Dad’s favorite time of the year was spring, that wonderful season of renewal when the trees he had so lovingly planted and nurtured over the years awoke from their winter slumber and blossomed in all their colorful glory, promising a delightful harvest just a few short months down the road. He tended those blossoms as if they were babies, even going so far as to stay up all night and keep a fire burning in a “smudge-pot” to keep the tender buds on his peach trees from freezing on frosty spring nights. Although his efforts with the fires rarely paid off, he never gave up. After all, those peach blossoms were just as special to dad as the air he breathed.
My dad went to be with the Lord a decade ago, but his enduring love for fruit trees remains just as strong in my treasured memories as they have ever been. This morning as I took Houdini for his first walk, I noticed that the cherry, apple and pear trees that reside in my own back yard were putting on quite a remarkable show of their own. I’m sure dad was looking down from his home above enjoying the show right along with us.
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“Just pay separate shipping & handling”
Apr 4, 2010 Pet Peeves 1 Comment
I’m constantly amazed at the ingenious ways marketers come up with to entice consumers to part with their hard-earned money. The scams employed vary all the time as folks finally begin to catch on, and it’s always interesting to see what angle they come up with next.
Right now the ploy of choice seems to be something along the lines of “Order right now and we’ll send you a second widget absolutely free“, and then the announcer quickly says in a hushed voice: ”Just pay separate shipping and handling.”
The first time I heard that pitch on a television commercial I thought “Now what sense does that make? That little widget is about the size of a candy bar and weighs about two ounces. Why on earth should they expect me to pay double for shipping and handling for a product they’re gonna let me have for free?”
The answer of course is profit. If the fast-talking announcer can talk you into paying $12 “separate” shipping and handling for an “extra” widget that costs them something like $3, they just made a fast and easy $9. And since they’ll just toss that second widget right into the same box they’re shipping the first one in, that $9 is pretty much pure profit.
What amazes me even more than the ingenious scam tactics these companies come up with is the fact that people actually fall for them - and in large numbers. One would think it would be easy to see through the thin layer of smoke that veils this scam, but apparently not.
Oh, by the way, if you like this blog post I’ll let you read two more for free! Just send me $10 shipping and handling. Don’t worry, you’ll be getting almost as much for your money as you would if you purchased a pair of those widgets from the fast-talking TV announcer!
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ShopWiki
Apr 4, 2010 Sponsored Posts Leave a comment
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“At The Movies” canceled after this season
Apr 4, 2010 My thoughts on... 2 Comments
Well, it has finally happened. Disney recently announced that the syndicated movie review program “At The Movies” will not be renewed after the current season ends. To be honest, I don’t see how it managed to hold on as long as it did.
Launched in the 1970′s by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, the weekly show featured the two film critics squaring off about their likes and dislikes among new movie releases. The opinions they offered for each movie was easy to understand – either a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down, and the pair often gave different opinions. The critics staffing the show have changed over the years, but the format has remained basically the same.
The problem with the critics on “At The Movies” has always been their inclination to give reviews that didn’t jive with the success or failure the films would ultimately find in the marketplace. Films that receive two thumbs down often turn out to be blockbusters while the ones the critics rave about often turn out to be flops. But with only a handful of people reviewing movies, those who paid attention to them had little choice but to watch the show even if it meant taking the opinions rendered with a grain of salt.
As with so many other media industries, the undoing of “At The Movies” came courtesy of the Internet. Nowadays all one has to do to find out how good a movie is is visit a couple of blogs where real people – lots of them – post reviews of their own. No longer are we stuck with the opinions of just two opinionated critics who make their living telling others what they will or won’t enjoy. Now, in a matter of minutes we can read a couple of dozen reviews by real people just like you and me. I ask you, which reviews are likely to be the most relevant?
And so it goes. “At The Movies” certainly had a good run, but in all the years that it has been on the air I have never watched more than a few minutes of any particular show. Why? I always found it hard to find any common ground between what I liked and what the critics liked. And apparently I wasn’t alone.
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Amazing basketball shots by “Dude Perfect”
Apr 3, 2010 Things I like Leave a comment
The title to this post is self-explanatory. I’m not a huge basketball fan and you don’t have to be either to enjoy watching these amazing shots. And yes, they truly are amazing. Check them out right here.
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Trust In God by Lightnin’ Charlie
Apr 1, 2010 Things I like 3 Comments
If you have ever seen the incomparable Lightnin’ Charlie perform, you know what an incredible talent and all around great guy he is. If you haven’t, you simply don’t know what you’re missing.
Lightnin’ Charlie Dolinger has been delighting audiences with his unique style of singing and guitar work for decades. With an amazing ability to transition right from Marty Robbins to Fats Domino to Bill Monroe to Squire Parsons in an instant, you never know exactly what you’re going to hear next whenever Lightnin’ is on a stage, but you can rest assured that whatever it is will be simply outstanding!
Charlie’s latest release is the wonderful CD “Trust In God“, and in that grand Lightnin’ Charlie tradition he and his equally-talented wife Beth bring to life 13 of the greatest hymns and inspirational America song ever recorded. “Walk Dem Golden Stairs“, “I Saw The Light“, “America The Beautiful“, “How Great Thou Art” and nine other inspirational classics are delivered in the way that only the great Lightnin’ Charlie can deliver them.
There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who love Lightnin’ Charlie, and those who haven’t had the good fortune to hear him yet. If you fall in the second group, you can take care of that right now by ordering “Trust In God“. Click here to visit Lightnin’ Charlie’s website and sample a few tracks from the CD!
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The decline of America
Apr 1, 2010 My thoughts on... 2 Comments
For over two centuries now the United States of America has been the envy of the world. She has long stood tall and proud, a great nation whose strength and resolve have been admired like no other – even by her enemies. Our country and the free market economic system upon which it is based have not only allowed us Americans to enjoy the highest standard of living in the history of the world, they have also helped billions of people in other countries persevere through times of great trouble and distress when disaster struck.
But now as we head into the second decade of the new millennium, we Americans see our elected leaders taking us down a path of political and economic destruction. The boom created by the greatest economic engine ever devised by man and blessed by the Creator could soon give way to gloom and doom thanks to massive government spending and ever-stronger restraints on personal liberty and free enterprise. If our elected leaders fail to wake up to the idiocy of their actions, the United States of America will soon become just a hollow shell of the bastion of freedom, power and prosperity that she has been since rising triumphantly from the ashes of tyranny way back in 1776.
As an American patriot it pains me to see this great country being ruined by a temporary majority who have absolutely no qualms whatsoever about governing against the will and wishes of the governed. Make no mistake about it: America is in decline. It’s up to us, the REAL Americans, to reverse the nation’s course this November. If we don’t, the America we all know and love could quite possibly cease to exist.
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Picking up sycamore branches
Mar 30, 2010 Pet Peeves 1 Comment
Well, it’s springtime again, and around here that always means having to pick up a ton of sycamore branches before the first mowing of the season can take place. Lots of the gnarled branches fall to the ground every winter, but the gale-force winds and heavy snows we had this year left a lot more of them than usual littering our yard.
As anyone with a sycamore in his/her yard will tell you, they are beautiful trees with distinctive bark and huge, plate-sized leaves. But they will also tell you that they sure can make a mess as their brittle branches break off and fall to the ground.
The better part of this afternoon was spent picking up and hauling off this year’s “crop” of sycamore branches, and now it’s time to begin the seemingly endless cycle of mowing three acres of grass once a week until autumn. It’s all fun and games until the branches start falling again – which will likely be during the very next thunderstorm.
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