Saturday, February 14, 2026

Recognize This?


Well howdy, stranger...it's been awhile.

Haven't seen much of Mr. Sun lately; we've had actual winter this year, replete with clouds and cold and snow and ice.

In a word, grim.

But according to the weather nerds, we're on the front end of a week long stretch of sunny and warmer, and I am so here for it.

is that Harry Vardon?

Ok, that might be stretching the stretch just a bit - they're calling for sunny and 40's and we're still more than a month away from <Spring!> - but I can dream...
 


Shocking news from the mental defectives with the big blue D after their names:


Obviously, they don't want any of the 20 million illegals recruited during the Biden/Harris years to be deported.

That tidal wave of foreign nationals was their strategy to avoid political extinction; it had nothing to do with compassion, only power.

Their plan was to use these illegals to reshape the electorate, then rule for generations.

But trying to build a case for keeping murderers and rapists in our country seems a bridge too far, even for moral reprobates like them.

So the latest tactic by the Jackass party...


...is trying to gin up support for letting all the rest of the illegal aliens stay because they're non-violent.

That apparently means they're cool with pedophiles, drug dealers, child pornographers, drunk drivers, human traffickers, embezzlers and burglars - all of whom are being deported for their "non-violent" crimes.

Do you want to live in that neighborhood?

Neither do the AWFLs*, but they figure they won't have to.

At the end of their <paid stint attacking federal agents>  arresting criminals, they'll return to their gated communities far from the madding crowd, congratulating themselves for being so real. 

For them, the bottom line is always the same:


It's just all wrong because Trump, or something.

America used to be "the melting pot"...where immigrants came legally to assimilate.

Of course they retained and celebrated their heritage, but they left their country for the freedoms and opportunities that America offered and proudly became Americans.

They studied our history, embraced our culture, learned our language and often became better citizens than those of us born here; too often we took our good fortune for granted while they treasured their new home.

But as the recent revelation of <widespread Somali fraud> has proved, what I described above belongs to a bygone generation.

Now America is seen as little more than a cookie jar filled with goodies to be raided.


They're not here to become Americans, but rather to rip off the American tax payer and build mini-countries of their own on our soil.

You know, enjoy the freedoms and prosperity America provides while creating their own caliphates:

Live under sharia law, build communities where Americans and law enforcement aren't welcome, and in general give the middle finger to our country and culture while stealing our money.

a Somali daycare with zero children; it's good work if you can get it

Trump was elected to do the job he's doing - deport illegal aliens, secure our borders, strengthen our military, protect our citizens, safeguard our elections, improve our economy.

Rock on.

*AWFL - Affluent White Female Liberal


I would be remiss if I did not give a tip o' the hat to everyone's favorite Hallmark Holiday:

the tulips on the left are still hanging in from Karen's birthday a couple of weeks ago; the ones on the right are Aldi specials just in time for Cupid's big dustup

Valentine's Day!  May you remember to do all the right things and thus avoid <the fate of St. Valentine>.

And as an added bonus, it's also <Pale Blue Dot Day>!

Do something useful with your free trip around the sun this year:

16  The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

    - Psalm 115:16

He made the earth for us; we should be kind and do right by our fellow sojourners.

As the old saying opines, "When you were born, you cried and others rejoiced.

"Live in such a way that when death comes, you rejoice and others cry."


Brace yourselves, it's time to 23 Skidoo:

99% positive ratings from viewers; 92% negative from critics.  you can depend on this surefire rule: "if the critics hate it, it's a good movie".


me, dreaming I've gained 15 lbs; Loki, wondering how long until the inert lump gets up and lets him out


Ziggy, courtesy of Tom Wilson, adding some much needed humor to current events

my beloved made an apple pie for Valentine's day...note the hearts and arrows in the crust

deer dinner date


The other day I was buying bags of bird seed and deer feed when the young girl at the checkout asked me, "Do you need help loading those bags?"

"No," I replied, as I tore off my jacket and flexed my enormous muskuls...


..."that's why I let my wife tag along."

Ok, none of that past the word "No" actually happened, witness the fact I'm writing this from my living room rather than a jail cell.

But Karen did suggest I might want to use that line - and only that line - next time.

The sad reality is my youth has fled like a coward before the schoolyard bully of advancing years.

Now people look at me and think, "Gramps is gonna need help lifting that".

The good news is, I actually don't need help - yet.

The days are definitely coming, but so far a regular exercise routine and healthy diet are helping me stay physically fit.

But a more important question might be, how's my spiritual fitness?

How's my walk with God?

The Apostle Paul makes it clear which realm - the physical or spiritual - is most important as we tread this mortal coil:

8  For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

    - I Timothy 4:8

Don't neglect your body, it's the only one you get this side of heaven.

But your walk with God is far more important; it helps you navigate life's many problems now, and continues into eternity.

later, mcm fans...


Saturday, February 7, 2026

It's Stupor Bowl Weekend...


...when the Lions,
led by Hall Of Fame quarterback Dutch Clark:

a little athletic tape on that broken nose should do the trick.  a rival coach once said, "if dutch clark, red grange, george gipp and jim thorpe played on the same team, dutch would be the general".

...will take on the Bears and their bruising All-Universe fullback, Bronko Nagurski:

footballs were bigger back then; look at the size of his hands.  they used to say, "to see the path nagurski ran, follow the blood trail".

Game starts when the meatwagons arrive, and I'll bet you a sawbuck it's going to be aces for the Lions.  1935 is their year.

So give your calico a honey cooler, then sit back and have a swell time.

Just remember, if you're driving your flivver home, don't get spifflicated or you might get pinched by a bull.


Back in the real world I'm pretty sure it's the whoevers vs the who cares...


...which this year equates to the Seahawks vs the Patriots.

The game will be on since Karen likes to see the commercials, and I'll glance at it now and then, but don't have a dog in this hunt, so don't care who wins.

I'm just glad Liberal Bubble Girl (<"F* the patriarchy!">, <"vote for Kamala!">) and the future Mr. Liberal Bubble Girl...

After he lost the big game and she was booed for the 1st time in her career, T&T ditched the spotlight and settled into a sedate middle class existence somewhere in suburbia.

...aren't involved in any way this year.

Go Lions!


As promised, I read Distant Replay...


...Jerry Kramer's third book in a trilogy that covers his epic journey from obscurity in a little Idaho town to the top of the NFL world - oddly enough, in a little Wisconsin city - and ending with a reunion of his fellow champions two decades later.

In some ways this is the best of the three.

It details how these very different, highly competitive individuals, with a shared past rooted in the Lombardi legend, embraced the victories and endured the losses of life after football.

And there were far more victories, at least on a business level, than losses.

The reason given for their successes by almost all of them is the same:

Vince Lombardi.


His impact on them re: pursuing and achieving excellence - no shortcuts, no cheating - in every aspect of life was both undeniable and far reaching.

But Kramer's recounting of this reunion isn't all happy talk.

The parts about Hall Of Fame running back Jim Taylor are tough to read, and the sad fate of Lionel Aldridge reminds us life is hard and we all struggle.

Even if football and sports are not your thing, these three books - Instant Replay, Farewell To Football, Distant Replay - are worth your time.

Together they provide a window into a world very few of us will ever experience, while expounding a set of principles all of us would do well to emulate.

Don't say I never did nuthin' for ya.


Enough football already!  Let's 23 Skidoo:

as if we needed it, a fresh snowfall reminds us it's still winter


this is by far the cutest little deer we have hanging around...


...joined here by his friends and relatives


a look at what they do while we're sleeping

a good Harry Edison jazz album recommended to me by #1 grandson

Loki - aka Mr. Imperious - in a feisty mood.  in the middle of the night when he wants to go outside he jumps on the bed and, certain I'm not doing anything important, perches on my chest until I rise and obey.



I could tell when reading Distant Replay that Jerry Kramer was searching for something - something that all his achievements in athletics, writing and business were unable to give him.

He said, "My dream is to strike a harmonious balance among work, family and my own personal quest.

"I don't know if it's spiritual or emotional or what, but I do know that I'm searching for some kind of answers that will bring me a certain measure of peace.

It's the "same old story in our fight for love and glory" - we have a hole in our souls that nothing can fill except God Himself.

That's by design.

Jesus said,

"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.  No man cometh unto the Father but by Me."

    - John 14:6

I don't know if Jerry Kramer ever came to Christ - I hope so.

He's 90 years old now, so time is running out.

The good news is God's not hiding from us, but we are specifically commanded to seek Him.

"6  Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.

"7  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."

    - Isaiah 55:6,7

God is present and available; we must be ready and willing.

later, mcm fans...


Sunday, February 1, 2026

The Faux Outrage And Political Theater...


...the AWFLs* and paid protesters and apparatchiks and useful idiots <using Signal Chats> to harass federal officers in the performance of their duties...I'm over it.

I'm done with morons in sub zero weather attacking federal agents who are trying to arrest and deport illegal aliens charged with murder, rape, sexual assault, child molestation and a host of other heinous crimes.

Yes, it's too bad when halfwits get themselves shot and killed, but what did they expect?

When you drive your SUV into armed federal officers, you get shot.

When you carry a loaded weapon and interfere with federal officers making an arrest, you get shot.

This is called Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes.

If brainless twits want to die defending rapists and murderers who are in this country illegally, if that's their idea of nobility and heroism, that's ok with me.

Just remember, it was the dems who created this disaster, letting millions of unvetted aliens cross our borders illegally during the Biden years.

They don't get to complain now when others have to clean up their dog's dinner.

Yes, it's messy at times, and no, the process isn't perfect.

Dems should have thought of that before creating this invasion of illegal aliens who have killed, raped, robbed and defrauded American citizens.

None of this would be necessary now if they had simply enforced the law then.

Y'know, like Obama did back in 2015 when he <awarded Tom Homan the "Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Service"> for deporting a million illegal aliens.


Yes, that's the same Tom Homan who is now called a nazi and regularly receives death threats from the lunatic left.

But the fake news bunch suffer from selective amnesia and that which was laudable then is despicable now, based solely on their incurable case of TDS.**

After four years of the disastrous Biden dumpster fire, Trump was elected to reinstate Law and Order and to deport criminal illegal aliens.

That's what the overwhelming majority of Americans voted for, and that's going to keep happening until the job is done.

*AWFL - Affluent White Female Liberals
**TDS - Trump Derangement Syndrome


Finally finished Jerry Kramer's book...


...Farewell To Football.

It took a bit to get past the recounting of 1968, his last depressing season in the NFL.

After being on top for so long, it was a tough way to go out, and it’s tough slogging through his retelling of it.

But then he switches to his life's story, from childhood through college and his career with the Green Bay Packers.

The mood lightens considerably and it becomes an easy and worthwhile read.


And I daresay it's well written and interesting even to non-football types.

That is to say, it's not a sports book, but rather a "life's lessons" book.

For younger readers it will probably be shocking in parts - children were actually disciplined in his day, and he disciplined his children.

(That's not to be confused with sitting Muffy and Biff’s dainty little behinds in a "time out" chair and hiring therapists to help them self-actualize.)

From his experiences - some of them harrowing - you come to understand how it was possible for a hick from Idaho to ascend to the pinnacle of his chosen profession.

It may not change your life, but then again it might.

He's honest about his struggles and open about his motives, inspirations and methods that helped him become a success.

(Hint: it involves a 4 letter word - "work".)

The last chapter is a bit of a muddle, but you can tell he's struggling with the all important question:

What next?

He's headed full throttle into business, or he might retire to Sandpoint, Idaho and enjoy an idyllic life of fishing, hunting, golfing, skiing, relaxing.

Then again he might give politics a whirl, but if Vince Lombardi - who left Green Bay for the Washington Redskins - asked him, he might just un-retire and play another year.

In the end, however, he seems to make up his mind because he states definitively:

"I'm retired.  I'm through.  I'm going to wear suits and ties, not shoulder pads and cleats...

"Goodbye Football!"

Worth the read; and now on to "Distant Replay" to find out what he - and his championship teammates - actually did after football.


I've mentioned this before - that instead of floundering around in hickory golf as I did starting in 2017 -

my original 1920's hickory playset

- I wish I had first read Harry Vardon's excellent book, "The Gist Of Golf" - 


- and then delved into pre-1900 golf.

my current pre-1900 playset

There still would have been a year or so of experimentation, trial and error and figuring out how it all works.

No matter what you're doing you've got to take the theory out of the classroom - or in my case, off the pages of a book - into the real world and get your hands dirty.

I've gotta believe - under the tutelage of Mr. V -


- there would be many more enjoyable rounds and far fewer lost balls in my past had I started that way.

But that's filed under the "water under the bridge" section; I'm where I'm at now, and we roll on.

Can't wait for <Spring>.


Gentlemen, hold onto your hats...


...it's time to 23 Skidoo:

Happy (I'll never tell) Birthday to my beautiful wife!


know what those are?


deer tracks...


lots of 'em


In light of all the chaos being ginned up by the party of slavery, segregation, killing babies in utero and insurrection, I thought it would be instructive to revisit a quote from WWII General-turned-President, Dwight D. Eisenhower:

"Without God, there could be no American form of Government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first -- the most basic -- expression of Americanism. Thus the Founding Fathers saw it, and thus, with God's help, it will continue to be."

    - Remarks Recorded for the "Back-to-God" Program of the American Legion, 2/20/55

later, mcm fans...