GOOD MORNING, FRIENDS

A REMEMBERAMBLE for October 14, 2025

Okay, hang on, here we go, once again. I was thinking of our manner of speaking, of course we southerners are well known for speaking with a bit of a drawl, and our ability to make words, our personal property, and delight in our mangling thereof. Let me ask you this, is it hamburger meat or ground beef? Is it a water hose or a hose pipe? Is it sammon or salmon? Guy wire or guide wire. Trunk lid or cooter shell? Brick or brickbat? Is it a fish pond or just a pond? Water heater or hot water heater? Pender or peanut?

Pen or ink pen? I could go on and on, but you get my drift as we used to say. Can you say, "hissed and slithered," which is what a snake might do. That can be a minor tongue twister. Speaking of peanuts, it is cotton pickin', peanut boiling time! Folks will soon be firing up their syrup "kittles," and begin making good cane syrup. I think we are coming up to fried mullet-time, and I want my share, and if you don't like it, I will eat your portion too. I am sure you can remember when fishing on Sunday was frowned upon, and seen as sinful.

My mama was raised right and cautioned to never fish on Sunday. When she graduated from Kite High School, towards the end of WW II, she went to Macon and hired on with Southern Bell as a telephone operator. Well, she was far from home, so she felt that if she slipped around and fished in the river there, that no one from home would know of it. Well, "be sure your sin will find you out!" Yep, she loved to fish, so she rigged herself a cane pole, with hook, line, and sinker, and walked to a secluded area of the Ocmulgee River.

She cast her bait upon the water. How, you ask did that turn out? Not well, for her. Fish were stealing her bait, as we say. The second time she had to rebait her hook, she heard a sort of silent commotion vaguely behind her and lo and behold, a black church congregation was pouring down the embankment behind her, and enveloping her in their midst. Yessir she was quick to toss her cane pole aside as if it had suddenly burned her hands. The pastor baptized four souls, and the congregation was well pleased.

Mama found it right nice also. When it was over and the pastor prayed the benediction, she was wafted away with the crowd, and felt like she had been a part of something special. And no, she never fished on a Sunday again. When the Lord sends you a sign, you read it, and heed it. Do you recall "blue laws?" Blue laws pertained to what you could not do on Sundays, such laws had their roots in Christian tradition. Georgia had them, and local governments often did too.

I believe South Carolina had some of the most onerous blue laws. Of course it was unlawful to sell alcoholic beverages on Sunday, but others prohibited things like furniture, appliances, dry goods, and such from being sold on the sabbath. It was unlawful to haul logging equipment or move wide loads on Sundays, also to move mobile homes. Barber shops and beauty parlors closed on Sundays. So did car dealers. Speaking of car dealers, do you recall how we all anticipated the new model year cars when they were unveiled.

The dealers would hide them, so as to keep it all a big secret until the day of the rollout of the new models. It was fun and games, real cat and mouse stuff. Getting a glimpse of them before they made their official debut, was a great victory, indeed. We were so naive and innocent back then and none were jaded as young folks are now. We got excited about the new cars, and the latest episode of Hee Haw. Bless our hearts. Speaking of Hee Haw, I do believe that Roy Clark was the absolute best player of stringed instruments in the whole world.

Sometimes his playing seemed to be superhuman. Now, this leads me to another topic, but, I forgot what it was! It was probably a barn-burner of a topic, but it has passed over into never, never land. Well, let me close with another observation, how about coon hunting, it was a wonderful thing back when it was still a wonderful thing, you can study on that and figure out what it means. The sounds of a pack of hounds on the run, baying and just making joyful noises in their excitement, was music to the ears.

It was thrilling indeed. I will mention one more thing that maybe you have not thought to formulate as I have, but it is not something anyone seems to think to mention. Here it is if I can make it make sense. You know, this era is filled to the brim with those who seek to retrain us, such that we will embrace wokeness, and mental illness, and make it our own. Most of us resist these efforts and consign those folks to the dustheap of society.

When these people hear you use a word that is now considered anathema by the societal security guards, they will pour on the coal of anger and eviscerate you with their perfidious diatribes, meant to flay you, figuratively. If I, in all innocence use a word that the Orwellian assholes have declared to be "on the list," and you were not being unkind when you spoke the term, they feel free to come at you like one of those red ass monkeys. They will hoot and holler until their pucker string fails.

Now, we come to my point here. Which is the greater wrong, the one who spoke a newlydisdained word in innocence, or the rabid who-who that shows their butt in anger and hate towards you for your minor mistake, when you meant well? Think about that. I can tell you the answer, the greater wrong was done by the rabid he-heifer or whatever, who railed at you unmercifully for a minor offense. You must tow the line, but if they decide to flog you with a proverbial tongue lashing, they feel free to be as brutal as they care to be.

When you hold those two up to the light, yes, you can see through it all, and let me assure you, those folks are not truly offended by your word usage, they welcome it, they crave it, and enjoy it, because it makes them feel powerful. They are rubbing their proverbial hands together in lip smacking delight hoping for the opportunity to show their superior ignorance. They are true foamers, with frothy mouths from which they issue their petty demands. I ain't buying it.

You may attack me with vicious words if I misuse a word? Is that what you are saying? And you think that entitles you to be a harpy, spewing self-righteous bull crap? Nuhuh, it does not. Okay, rant over. Oh, by the way, Dr. Brown is putting me on a diuretic (boo, hiss, boo, I dislike diuretics), and has me scheduled for some heart tests next month. Okay, I hope was not too harsh this morning, but a crazy fallen world must be dealt with harshly. Thanks for sticking with me, it means the world to us.

.....NUMBERS 6: 24-26 KJV

.....we boyz three, babee conway, lil merle, & me