How About A Peaceful Scene...

...of serenity and beauty as a welcome change of pace?  

That's a sunrise over the lake at Larry's cottage.

Love the mast splitting the sun and the smooth as glass, mirrored water.

Don't know about you, but I could live in that moment for awhile.

It's a refreshing break from the hateful and chaotic atmosphere that has enveloped us ever since Charlie Kirk was assassinated.

In response to that shocking tragedy, the House of Representatives recently put forth a resolution that:

a) condemns in the strongest possible terms the assassination of Kirk and all forms of political violence;

b) commends law enforcement for finding the perp so quickly;

c) extends condolences to Charlie Kirk's family and prays for comfort, peace and healing;

d) honors Kirk for his life of dedication to the constitution, civil discourse and Biblical truth;

-and-

e) calls upon all of us to reject political violence and embrace respectful debate and our fellow Americans.

The good news?

It passed.

The shocking news?

Fully 58 democrats voted against it...and another 38 simply voted "present", which is the coward's way of saying "I'm a gutless wimp whose only talent is sitting on the fence".

We know from Paul's letters to the Corinthians that sometimes evil comes <disguised as ministers of righteousness>.

You regularly see that in churches claiming to speak for God when in fact they openly oppose the plain teachings of Christ.

But here, in this case, evil is making no attempt to hide.

They're right out in the open about their hatred for peace and civility.

You can't condemn the assassination of a public figure?

You can't offer condolences to a widow and her fatherless children?

You can't reject the culture of violence and embrace civil discourse?

Welcome to the democrat party of 2025.

Trump recently designated Antifa as a terrorist organization.

He should strongly consider doing the same for the party of slavery, segregation, abortion and now, assassination.

Democrats have told us plainly who they are.

We should take them at their word and vote accordingly.

Had another applicant for our upcoming "Walk of Fear", premiering October 31st:

He made no bones about the fact he's hungry for success and really needs this job.

I don't doubt it, he looks like he hasn't eaten in, well, a really long time.

I told him I like his bare bones approach to acting, but there's a lot of competition this year.

"Keep your fingers crossed," I said.

"Don't have any," he muttered as he skull-ked away.

I'd apologize but realistically, this is probably going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Let's do the HGU, shall we?

Managed a couple of decent rounds this week at my usual early tee time.

Much improved over the disastrous conga line round from last week, no doubt thanks to reviewing Vardon's basic instructions.

just starting to see a little color in the trees on my first round this week

It's actually fairly simple -

(note: do NOT confuse "simple" with "easy")

- once you've got the grip and stance down:

Head still, see the ball, face the target, and remember: 

No tautness in the muscles at all.

amazing the difference a few days make...besides the persistent drought conditions eroding what used to be fairway, you can also see the rapidly changing colors of the season

Definitely wasn't perfect by a long shot, but I was once again hitting pretty well from the tees and fairways.

on in 2 with a chance for birdie; happily settled for a par

End results were 2 wins - 4 and 3, then 3 and 2.

Plus had an enjoyable conversation on my way back to the clubhouse with an older gent (translation: same age as me) about pre-1900 hickory golf.

Starting this coming week, earliest tee times are moving to 8 am, so yeah...the end is near.

Still hoping to beat or at least match my best effort from last year - 5 bogeys, 4 pars.

Time is running out...

And speaking of the end, let's 23 Skidoo:

some more peace and serenity imported from "up north" courtesy of Larry

ditto

ibid

Loki doing that cute thing again

don't get me started on the Jimmy Kimmel whiners...1st amendment free speech doesn't mean "no consequences for blatant lies told with ill intent over the public airwaves".  Trump didn't suspend that lying sack of unfunny bat guano, ABC and Bob Iger from Disney did.

91 year old Pat Boone had the wisest take on this tempest in a teapot:

“Jimmy….you’re still perfectly free to say anything you want, anywhere you choose, but freedom isn’t free as you’re finding out…there is a responsibility with it and consequence from its’ misuse and that’s why it’s so precious.

“So shout, shout on! Speak your views publicly in the streets without fear, but don’t expect to be paid millions when you bite the hand that feeds you.”

It's disheartening to see so much blatant evil in the world...people rejoicing over the cold blooded murder of a good man who invited open debate.

But this is exactly what the Scripture foretold:

"1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

"2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

"3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

"4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

"5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:  from such turn away."

    - 2 Timothy 3:1-5

"From such turn away."

Good advice.

later, mcm fans...

How Would You Like To Be Shot...

...for standing up and inviting open debate?  

Unless you're living under a rock, you know that Charlie Kirk, conservative Christian activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was murdered by a gutless left wing radical -

- on Wednesday, September 10th.

This animal is in a cage now.

Apparently he's so stupid he actually believed he'd get away with it.

All his devious planning and subterfuge, arranging a drop point for his weapon, his craven deed, then slithering away like the snake he is.

Elapsed time from his murderous act until his incarceration:

33 hours.

So much for his brilliant plan of murdering an innocent man in front of thousands of witnesses, then quietly slipping away to a blissful life with his trans lover.

We're talking an IQ hovering somewhere around his shoe size.

I'd list his name here but it doesn't matter; he's a dead man walking at this point.

"The coward" will suffice until he's executed, which in Utah - appropriately - can be by firing squad.

Charlie Kirk was at the Utah Valley University campus holding one of his immensely popular "Prove Me Wrong" rallies - 

- where he invites people who disagree with him to ask questions and challenge his beliefs.

A born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, he valued responding to people directly - eye to eye - about their doubts, disagreements and questions, and used these interactions to spread the gospel while encouraging civil debate.

It was in this setting that Charlie was murdered in cold blood.

The coward's intent was clear - not just killing one man, but silencing the viewpoints of all conservatives who agreed with Kirk.

To put it mildly, <he failed>.

Spectacularly.

Instead of silencing us, he unleashed a tidal wave of Charlie Kirk videos online, proclaiming the gospel of Christ;

and an outpouring of support, of love, of commitment to continuing Kirk's ministry.

It has been 6 decades since a <high profile political activist> has been assassinated in this country, and it's certain this will be remembered as a watershed moment:

How appropriate is that?

A Turning Point.

I'm reminded of what Jesus told His disciples as the time of His sacrifice approached:

"24  Verily, verily I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

"25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal."

    - John 12:24,25

Evil fails; God prevails.

Rest In Peace, Charlie Kirk.

What a week.

Right after an assassination, we're gut punched with the 24th anniversary of <9/11>.

Never Forget.

In a faint hearted effort to take a swing at normalcy, here's the essence of this week's HGU:

Almost, but not quite.

With my summer 3 day weekends now in the rearview, I'm scrambling to fit in hickory golf whenever I can.

So I uncharacteristically booked a 4:30 pm tee time; never again.

It was like playing golf in a conga line, and I let the distractions of waiting for people ahead of me and being pushed by those behind me throw me way off my game.

Nothing went well; nothing at all.

When I got home I went back to the drawing board, aka Harry Vardon's book, and studied his swing:

Harry Vardon, circa 1913

That's about 3/4 speed, so slower than real life.

But what do you notice about his swing?

In his book, "The Gist Of Golf", he says "...there should be no tautness in the muscles at all".

That's what I see in his swing:  complete relaxation and an easy rhythm.

He doesn't look like he's trying hard to crush the ball.

He's not gripping the club tightly and swinging for the fences with all his might.

Quite the opposite; he looks smooth, relaxed and rhythmic, almost unhurried.

Vardon toured the U.S. back in 1900 and was largely responsible for the rapid growth of the game here in the states.

He was met with large and enthusiastic crowds everywhere he went, all wanting to watch and learn from the world's best golfer.

After one particularly good shot, a fan rushed up to him and asked, "Which arm did you use to do that?"

Vardon recounted this incident with amusement, because in his mind there was no distinction.

Once you have the correct grip and stance, the club is simply an extension of your body.

Left arm, right arm, club - they form one unit, moving smoothly back then forward to strike the ball, like a balanced machine.

You can clearly see that in the video, but in my world that's very difficult to mimic.

It sounds oxymoronic, but I have to consciously take a breath, loosen my stranglehold on the club and force myself into a relaxed and rhythmic swing.

When I do achieve this state of golf nirvana, the improvement in my game is amazing.

At least while practicing.

We'll see how it goes on the links this coming week - Lord willing - at my usual early morning tee time.

We've staggered to the end of this somber week; let's 23 Skidoo:

lazy evening at the command center

a reminder from Larry that his views are better than mine

Silas Scarecrow, auditioning for a spot in our Walk of Fear

a walk through a local park revealed these guys escaping the muck pond

not a great pic, but that's a blue spruce we planted in 2018...

...and that's our baby today

It has been discouraging to see the sickness in our nation bubbling up like overflowing sewage in the septic tank of the internet.

That there are so many sub-humans actually celebrating and cheering the assassination of Charlie Kirk is disturbing, to say the least.

Even a relative posted online that while they don't approve of his assassination (really?  you don't approve of murder?  how noble!) yet they're happy his voice has been removed from the public realm.

Translation:  sorry he was murdered in cold blood, but yeah...not sorry.

What was the cause of this relative's ire?

He'd watched a deceptively edited video online that appeared to show Charlie using the racial slur "chink" toward an off camera Asian person.

Only problem?

In reality that off screen person was this man:

Uygur is a well-known leftist and creator of <The Young Turks>, a "progressive" podcast, who regularly calls Trump and his followers nazis.

Since his first name is pronounced "Chenk", the quick jump cut made it appear Kirk was a racist.

This relative readily believed the intended deception - because it agrees with his leftist world view - and without any actual research into the life and views of Charlie Kirk, pronounced his murder justifiable.

Let's be clear - you cannot cheer the result of evil and distance yourself from the act of evil.

In that case you have no moral high ground.

You’re not just part of the problem, you ARE the problem.

The irony is people like our relative who celebrate Kirk's death are precisely the ones Charlie invited to debate him publicly.

Do you see the glaring contrast here?

Charlie was so strong he welcomed their dissenting viewpoints in a free exchange of ideas.

He gladly handed them the microphone and gave them their say in public, then shared his Bible based viewpoints on whatever their issues happened to be.

Tragically, they're so weak they can't tolerate any views other than their own and so resort to violence.

As always, darkness hates light, and so they did their evil worst to extinguish that light.

They failed, of course, though they did inflict a grievous wound on the collective psyche of our country.

We are grieving, not just for the loss of Charlie Kirk, but for the sobering realization that kind of evil exists and in some quarters is even celebrated.

So, does time heal all wounds?

As a wag once countered, time wounds all heels.

Let us hope so in the case of the coward who assassinated Charlie Kirk, and yes, for all those who cheer and approve of this dastardly deed.

Praying that justice will be both swift and sure.

In the meantime, we soldier on.

How?

By heeding the encouragement of Jesus to all who follow Him:

"33  These things have I spoken unto you, that in Me you might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

    - John 16:33

later, mcm fans...

Would You Buy...

...a used car from this man?  

That's failed VP candidate and current Virginia senator Tim Kaine, democrat, during a recent <senate foreign relations hearing>.

They were assessing nominees for various positions in the Trump administration.

One of the nominees is a man named Riley Barnes, who in his statement to the committee said this:

“We are a nation founded on a powerful principle, and that powerful principle is that all men are created equal, because our rights come from God our Creator – not from our laws, not from our governments.”

Intelligent folk might recognize that from the 2nd paragraph of <The Declaration Of Independence>.

Hardly a controversial statement here in America, right?

It elucidates the principles upon which our country is founded.

Enter genius level senator Kaine - who by the way, hails from the same state as Thomas Jefferson, author of our Declaration Of Indpendence.

Kaine replied:

"The notion that rights don’t come from laws and don’t come from the government, but come from the Creator... that’s what the Iranian government believes...the statement that our rights do not come from our laws or our governments is extremely troubling."

Reading Kaine's response puts me in mind of God's question to Job:

"Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?"

    - Job 38:2

That Kaine is an ignoramus is self-evident, and yes, I chose that term specifically because it's the same one Jefferson used when he penned:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness..."

Self-evident:  intuitively obvious to even the most casual observer.

Unless, apparently, you're a democrat:

- the party of slavery in the 1800's - it was republican president Abraham Lincoln who freed the slaves;

- the party of segregation in the 1900's - it was a democrat who proclaimed <segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever>; it was a democrat who <barred black students from a white high school>; and it was the democrats who <opposed the 1960's voting rights act>;

- the party of abortion today - 83% of democrats are pro-abortion.

All those beliefs stand in direct opposition to our founding.

Why?

To be ok with killing babies in utero, you must believe they're less than human, so it's fine for you to deprive them of the God given right to Life.

The same is true with slavery, because you're affirming they do not have a God given right to Liberty.

And also with segregation when you deprive them of the God given right to the Pursuit of Happiness.

So back to the essence of my original query:

Do you trust this democrat senator?

Or his party?

With anything?

In the "Exciting News" department, Karen found our next house:

It's a humble dwelling, only 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, but it's nicely appointed.

Lots of windows and who doesn't like spiral staircases, right?

Furnishings need an upgrade but it's an inviting open concept.

Best feature?

Comes with a little land in a pleasant setting...about 40 acres or so.

And you do have your own private beach, so that's a plus.

That's it tucked away in a beautiful wooded setting:

the shaded red line area is where we have to cut down the trees...why live on the shore when you can't see the water?

And I surmise from the listing it comes with its own bumble bee.

Now if I can just remember where I left that cool million...

...we'll be on our way.

It's gotta be around here somewhere.

I was just getting ready to tee off on #5 on Ryan's Hickory Links the other day.

It's one of 2 holes with a water hazard:

The other one is #6, which comes back the other way:

gonna hafta talk to management about keeping non-players off the greens

Anyway, I've got my lofting iron in hand, focusing on a smooth swing and making solid contact so I don't drop it in the drink, when I hear something behind me.

Turned around and saw this guy staring at me.

"Hey," I said in my best New York accent, "what are you looking at?

"I'm golfin' here!"

He just kept munching on some leaves, then eventually wandered down into the woods.

Kids these days.

It's time for everyone's fave, the HGU.

it's been awhile since we've seen these guys

This was the last of my "3 day summer weekends"; it's how I take much of my vacation time since Karen and I prefer "staycations" to traveling...and I get to walk 9 early on Monday mornings.

After this week it's back to 5 day work weeks and publishing this blog on the weekends; whatever hickory golf is left in this rapidly disappearing season will be on a catch as catch can basis.

Mr. Moon was there to greet me when I teed off...

...and it was a chilly - 44 degrees - but enjoyable stroll through the countryside.

After a good drive to kick off the round, I foozled my 2nd shot and ended up with a double bogey, so right away I'm down 1.

Righted the ship through 6, however, going bogey, bogey, par, bogey, par, and that was the match, 4 and 3.

7 is unplayable at that time of the morning...sun is directly in your eyes and you truly can't see a thing.

So with the match won, I retreated to the far edges of the fairway seeking shade from which to hit, and treated it as practice.

8 is a par 5 with an elevated tee and had my best drive of the morning, 200 yards straight away, followed by a decent short spoon to here:

40 yards from the green but managed a solid strike with my lofter which easily cleared the water, and then just as easily cleared the green.

Chalking it up to adrenaline, I found it in the weeds and forced an awkward hit onto the green and watched it roll off the other side.

3 to get down from there, so my 2nd double bogey.

Salvaged 9 with a bogey on the way out and thought how lovely to spend this crisp September morning...

...with my hickories on the links.

September is so delightful, if only it would hang around for the next 3 or 4 months!

Let's 23 Skidoo, shall we?

Larry sent me some shots of the moon rising over the lake.  I think this is my favorite due to the blue sky contrasting with the dark woods...

...but gotta love the spooky vibes of this one, too.

another pic of our meandering buck

An early fall stroll through some of Karen's garden spots...

always a good idea

the hares hiding out with the peacock

black eyed susans hanging on for the time being

dreaming of summer days

rose of sharon still doing well

the hollyhocks staged a late season comeback

Rusty the frog and whatever those puffy purple things are, chillin' by the pond

One of my grandsons is getting married next month, so Karen put us back on a diet.

Don't know why, really...I thought I looked pretty good...

...though it's possible I could be wrong.

I think I've done pretty well so far...

IOU's are perfectly legal tender as ruled in Wimpy v Geezil, Sweethaven, 1935

...though I will admit it hasn't been perfect.

Hopefully I'll pass muster for my grandson's upcoming nuptials.

More importantly, I pray he'll do his best to follow God's command to every husband:

"Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it..."

    - Ephesians 5:25

It's the pathway to a happy union.

later, mcm fans...