YES, I AM STILL HERE peeking out of the newspaper’s window on Main Street and I am really depressed by some items in the news.
First, the Tennessee legislature expelled two members because they broke a rule of decorum by bringing a bullhorn to the floor. There were three who protested their fellow legislators avoiding the gun issue after six persons were gunned down in a private school days earlier. Two of the legislators were black; one was white. The Tennessee legislature displayed itself by expelling the two black solons. The white lady survivor (by one vote) said it was due to skin color.
Two, some judges and the perception that they are biased. I agree that the judge in Trump’s criminal case should recuse himself after it was revealed he had made a $15 donation to President Biden. The amount doesn’t matter. The donation itself reveals his inclination, and it gives the paranoid Trump followers a perfect arguing point.
The other judge was Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas who — we have learned — for decades has not disclosed that he was taking hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of trips and flights annually courtesy of a big GOP donor. The fact that he kept it secret tells a lot.
It the APPEARANCE of possible bias that is troubling, gentlemen. Both should recuse or resign.
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THERE ARE some repeat revelations this week because of our printing difficulties last week. I know a lot of you looked at the newspaper online, but still there are hundreds who just sat and fumed at not getting a hard copy in the mail. I love you.
This is one of the repeated bits from last week: I enjoyed a legal mixed drink in Murfreesboro. Yes. A margarita to go with my gumbo at the Feed Bin which now obviously has a private club license. Thank you, Westfall proprietors and Feed Bin.
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ANIMAL CRACKERS. My eyes do not deceive. I have bluebirds flying to the box on my patio. If they’re building, they’re doing it atop last year’s nest because Lazy Louie did not clean out the old one.
Perhaps owing to the fact that I frequently forget to put out peanuts, my yard’s population of bluejays and cardinals has dropped.
MORE ANIMAL CRACKERS. The Arkansas legislature has rejected an effort to remove the mockingbird (the SOB of backyard birds) — as state bird of Arkansas — and replace it with either the painted bunting or the mallard duck.
Thank goodness they have involved themselves in this important pursuit, and have been able to avoid unfortunate world publicity such as that created by their Tennessee brethren.
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RE-ENFORCED. Our need for a Senior Citizens Nose and Ear Hair Clinic at Howard Memorial Hospital cannot be mentioned enough.
This time of year, the pollen can get stuck on, and heavily coat, a senior citizen’s copious nostril forestation.
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ALARMED THAT just like Hitler days in Germany, some people and groups are attempting to ban certain books in public libraries and school libraries.
Some conservatives and liberals alike want to keep children and students from reading anything containing mention of anything they don’t personally like.
Some of the books include: (excuse my avoidance of quote marks) To Kill a Mockingbird; The Color Purple; Dr. Seuss books; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; and my second favorite book of all time, Catch 22.
The Ark Ledge in its infinite wisdom even approved criminal charges for librarians that make offensive books available to impressionable minds. It would be easier to buy an AR-15 than to get a copy of Huckleberry Finn, I suppose.
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DON’T FORGET. On Tuesday, April 18, at 6 p.m. an expert from the Parks and Tourism Commission will speak here on what our area is likely to experience before, during and after the total Solar Eclipse.
The eclipse will be on April 8, 2024. The speaking event will be at the Nashville campus of UA-Cossatot, and it is free. Remember: 6 p.m.
The eclipse is expected to last 3-4 minutes and Nashville will be very close to the actual path that total darkness will take.
I am predicting a rainy, overcast day.
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THINGS I LEARNED by opening another email: How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?
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WORD GAMES. Nifty dancers: Heel and Toe.
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HE SAID: “Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.” Nathaniel Hawthorne, novelist
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SHE SAID: “For me, singing sad songs often has a way of healing a situation. It gets the hurt out in the open into the light, out of the darkness.” Reba McEntire, ‘Queen of Country’ and actress
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SWEET DREAMS, Baby
