Admit It:

the proposed Trump $250 bill

You want one.

And why not?

He's the President of the United States during our country's 250th anniversary.

When we celebrated 150 years in 1926, the U.S. minted a half dollar coin with President Calvin Coolidge's image on it:

There's no guarantee this will happen, of course; there are laws now against putting the image of living people on our currency:

<$Trump 250$>

But fear not; if this does come to pass, it will be great fun watching the TDS gang collectively lose what passes for their fragile little minds in public.

You'll see deranged blue haired unemployed marxist D's in search of a life...

antifa mugshots; all dressed up for the riots

...burning $250 Trump bills for CNN's cameras, paid for by some lefty billionaire (Soros, Steyer, Gates, Zuckerberg) who recognizes useful idiots when he sees them.

The irony will be he'll pay his army of trolls with the leftover Trump $250 bills that he bought but didn't burn.

God bless America, y'all.

It's now official:

...summer hath arrived at the Castle Frankenstein.

It is always a joyous occasion when we open the pool: the official kickoff to our outdoor living season.

Admittedly it's a work in progress; still balancing the chemicals, vacuuming winter's spoils from the bottom of the pool and rescuing summer's decor...

it's a little known fact flamingos hibernate upside down

...from the storage shed.

First swim target date: Monday.

Can't wait.

It's possible...

teeing off on #2...I didn't splash it, but neither did I hit the green

...this is the last HGU you'll ever have to endure.

I've decided from now on I'll only include hickory golf updates when I win...i.e., bogey or better on at least 5 of the 9 holes.

All other outings - like my most recent one, when I had 3 pars and a bogey against 5 double/triple bogeys - will be banished silently, without comment, to the dustbin of shamefaced history.

thought you might appreciate that

My problem so far this year is one of consistency.

Missing 3 rounds already due to rain hasn't helped; definitely feeling behind.

But more to the point are my dicey mechanics.

Every swing is an exciting adventure, a romp through the nerve wracking world of the unexpected.

Occasionally the little white sphere lands exactly where I hoped it would; often it veers off into the realm of bizarre physics and parts unknown.

I do think I may have discovered the hitch in my giddyup late in this last round, but time will tell.

About the only good thing I have to report is I've remained calm in the midst of my golfing woes.

Yes, it's been disappointing, but I've avoided the angry meltdowns for which golf is (in)famous:

Another innocent club pays the price for the sins of the golfer

Not that I haven't been tempted, but so far by God's grace, I've steered clear of the nonsense.

More to come?

Time will tell.

Remember, you can only get genuine 23 Skidoo here, at the AMC.

(this Accept No Substitute ad paid for by the Accept No Substitute advertising council which reminds you to...well, you know.)

found this guy on a window in our courtyard catching bugs...Loki sniffed him and mr. frog dropped down to the sidewalk where he graciously agreed to pose for this pic

rooster cogburn makes his first seasonal appearance

we put those pavers in when we first moved here...the decree came down from on high to carve away 9 years of grassy growth

the view from our front garden

peonies are starting to pop

"moon over the water", from Larry at his cottage

a blast from the past...summer, 2018

There's been a lot of hoopla recently about aliens...

a 2025 documentary by Dan Farah

...stoking renewed interest in the question human beanies have asked for years:

Are we alone in the universe?

"Mars Attacks", 1996

Well, if we do have company, and if they look anything like Tim Burton's Martians, I say we vote them off the island.

Who wants to listen to Slim Whitman yodeling all the time?

But on a more serious note, that question - are we alone in the universe? - was definitively answered by God the Creator ages ago.

The envelope please...

<No, We Are Not Alone In The Universe!>

In fact, we're the Johnny-come-lately's; God created angels long before us (Job 38:4-7).

But praise God in heaven we have help; the LORD knows we need it.

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be the heirs of salvation?

    - Hebrews 1:14

Food for thought, mcm fans...

In The "Strange But True" Department...

...is this company memo I once received. 

Ok, that's not the actual memo from 35 years ago; it's a facsimile with the names changed to protect the guilty.

But it is accurate and the title says it all, yes?

"Death/Company Picnic"

The president's secretary published the company memo weekly on a sheet of paper - email hadn't saved the world's forests yet.

These memos were always factual but rarely noteworthy; this one shattered that mold for all the wrong reasons.

Everyone wondered at the callous thought process that found this jarring juxtaposition of the tragic and mundane perfectly acceptable.

"Sorry about your dead uncle but hey!  It's our company picnic!"

A stream of coworkers stopped by my desk to roll their eyes and wag their tongues over that one.

I actually saved that sheet of paper for years until it finally dawned on me:

We do this exact same thing on a national level every year.

We call it <"Memorial Day">.

Yes, we honor those service members who gave their lives in defense of our country.

We have parades and give speeches and for many of us, the sentiment is sincere...

The soldier fights, not because he hates what’s in front of him, but because he loves what’s behind him.
    - G.K. Chesterton

...even reverent.

And what else do we do?

We have picnics and barbecues...

...and go on vacations...

...and celebrate the start of summer:

The airwaves and our inboxes are filled with advertisements for Memorial Day sales…

…encouraging us to worship at the altar of retail.

So what's the problem?

Is it wrong for a company to have a picnic for its employees?

Should we not welcome the start of summer and the onset of outdoor living?

Is it improper to enjoy time with family and friends on a holiday?

Of course not, but consider:

We're able to do all of these things for one and only one reason.

The freedom we enjoy was purchased in blood by the brave men and women of our armed forces.

Don't let that foundational truth get lost in revelry.

Respect implies decorum, which decency always accommodates.

Another busy weekend of trying to whip the Castle Frankenstein back into summer shape.

They finally came and finished the driveway project; here's the "before"...

...and here's the "after":

And as always Karen worked me like a borrowed mule doing yardwork: mowing, digging, hauling, planting, cutting dead tree limbs, spreading mulch, and hickory golfing (don't tell Karen; she was sleeping.)

So far this May has been pretty dry...we're something like 3 inches below normal rainfall totals for the month.

In spite of that meteorological tidbit, I've been rained out of my last 2 tee times.

But this week I did finally get on the links again, with mixed results.

I only had 3 tee shots out of 9 that looked like I had a clue; the other 6 were comical examples for the blooper reel.

Even so, I managed to hang around with an almost competent short game and some surprising (for me) putting.

My first competent tee shot yielded a par on #4...

...and my other 2 decent tee shots netted a bogey on 7 and a par on 8.  Along the way I managed to snag another bogey in there (on 2), which means when I tee'd it up on the par 3, 9th hole, I was all square - 4 lost holes to 4 won holes.

Naturally I hit a lousy tee shot - it was that kind of day.

And my 2nd shot landed just off the green, from where I chipped to about 5 feet from the flag:

the U.S. flag was a nice touch

That's my bogey putt...miss it and lose the match, make it and walk off the last green a winner.

So which was it...

...the Lady or the Tiger?

Buckle up for another excitin' jaunt...

That's just creepy...

...through 23 Skidoo:

never forget

hardscape in bloom

courtyard almost complete

almost time for tiger lilies

sunny sailboat scene

Don't blink, folks...we've just skated by the first of the twin bookends of summer.

Memorial Day weekend is in the books, and before you're ready, its less popular twin, Labor Day weekend, will be here.

Make the most of what's in between, and as you frisk and frolic, always remember why that's possible:

¹³ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

    - John 15:13

later, mcm fans...