Vacation??
Well, actually, every day out here in the wilderness is like a vacation - with the wasps and the bees and the flies, the weeds, thorns, poison ivy, mud, the mice, snakes, 'possums, skunks, coyotes.....
....it's like a never-ending naturalistic purgatory, hosted by Rod Sterling and directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
But I'm straying from the initial subject.
Easter?
I didn't dye eggs. I didn't go to church (hell, I'm a heathen). I didn't see any relatives (most of them have disowned me).
I didn't have a ham for dinner. Thanks to the ice, fog, and frigid temperatures last week, I didn't dare drive to town to go shopping.
I made a tried-and-true pot roast. With carrots, onions, and potatoes.
I ate a near-lethal surplus of jelly beans. They are now called Jelly Bird Eggs for some inconceivable reason. When I was a kid, jelly beans came in a rainbow of spring colors: yellow, pink, purple...
When I opened the bag this time around, half of them were black! That might be great for Halloween, but it was immensely depressing for Easter. Why black? Was it a mistake....or some secret message??
What are you, Jon - a racist?
Hey, Trotsky, blow it out your liberal pipeline!
I can safely say anything I want on my blog, because nobody reads it anymore. I've managed to either bore or offend everybody.
Only three or four brave people (with exquisitely good taste) still hang on. People who understand my tongue-in-cheek dark humor....my unabashedly raw realism.....my unobtrusive but undeniable charm....
,,,,and my quasi-bi-polar mood swings.
Oh, returning to Easter - -
I watched the 1948 movie Easter Parade - which, incidentally, doesn't have very much to do with Easter. As you watch this movie, you probably wonder why the heck 25-year-old Judy Garland is passionately in love with Fred Astaire - who has to be in his 90s or early 100s.
Hollywood trivia comin' at you
Gene Kelly was initially supposed to be the leading man, but he broke his ankle - so Fred Astaire came out of retirement and took his place.
Is Easter Parade a good movie? Well, it's entertaining. I love Judy Garland. She's a great talent and a genuine Hollywood icon...
BUT
after you hear her belt out fifteen or twenty songs in a row.........it can be slightly disconcerting.
(......do I use too many dots?........)
Change of subject
Do you think I should have gotten a Plague Vaccine for Easter? Everyone I know has been scrambling to get it, as though it was God's elixir for eternal life.
I don't trust vaccines. Especially new ones. If you didn't get the Plague in the past year, why worry about it now?
You'll undoubtedly die of Plague Fear before you'll perish from the Plague itself.
These are the kinds of opinions that make me lose readers.
Independent thinking is a very dangerous thing.
Warm, mild weather has finally returned to the Tennessee wilderness. Unfortunately it's too late. Many of the beautiful blossoms died from last week's frost.
Well, I think I've said enough.
(actually, I haven't said nearly enough).
Easter is over. What's the next holiday -
Mother's Day? Father's Day? Memorial Day?
Mao Tse-tung Day?
Who knows.
So many black jelly beans? No, I wouldn't put that past those 'let's shove BLM down your throats 'til you gag' folks. I ask, when was the last time you watched a prime-time television commercial featuring caucasian, hetrosexuals. (OK, I digress.)
ReplyDeleteWe enjoyed a solo dinner of steaks and asparagus, but your pot roast and veggies sounds delicious!
Don't get me started on those subjects. I'm so tired and disgusted with the Diversity mantra....and BLM. I wonder if black jelly beans matter...?
DeleteWhere in hell did you get your jelly beans? I got two bags here and they both had a myriad of colors...black, white, pink, purple, red, yellow, green, orange and yellow. The bags are even spiced flavored or fruit flavors. I should send you a bag. I love Easter Parade...but mostly for the great Ann Miller. I cant get enough of her in movies.
ReplyDeleteAnn Miller was so elegant in "Easter Parade" and she did some of her best dancing in that film.
DeleteI got my black jelly beans at Walmart .....which says it all.
I much prefer pot roast to ham, and don't like jelly beans of any color. Candy malted milk eggs, the more the better. Chocolate coconut nests, YES! I am vaccinated and delighted to be so. Of course I've traveled extensively and am vaccinated for just about everything, including yellow fever.
ReplyDeleteI've been having too much pot roast lately - but I never get tired of it. I love malted milk eggs and anything chocolate. I'm not exactly crazy about jelly beans, but when I start eating them, I can't stop.
DeleteI'm still here. We have this situation in our house: my husband was a trump man, although he admits the guy did things he did not agree with. I didn't like either of the guys in the last election, but I wanted Trump out. We have fun with it. Cliff will parrot things he's heard the Trump fans say... for instance, right now we're fighting with a hospital that is charging us for some surgery, procedure, whatever, that isn't ours, yet we got a bill for Cliff for $40,000 a year after Cliff was in the hospital for a very minor thing. His actual bill was paid, mostly by medicare; the rest by us. I get calls every day, tell them the same story, and that we WILL NOT pay for that bill. Cliff likes to tell me, "If Trump were still president, this wouldn't have happened."
ReplyDeleteWe laugh. Sometimes I will counter with, "Well, at least old Sleepy Joe isn't on Twitter all day." We laugh again, and that's the end of that.
Even though you and Cliff are in political opposition, it's great that you can be rational about it.
DeleteGetting a $40,000 hospital bill that isn't your must be horrifying (not to mention frustrating). I certainly hope it all gets straightened out!
I’m here! Sorry I never comment! But I am a fateful reader- I’ll try to do better!
ReplyDeleteI don’t trust any of the vaccines- but that’s just me! Just read on the AP News that the European Union drug regulator finds a “possible link” between the AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots, ummmm....... (lots of dots😉) NOT ME! Have a good day Jon!
Hey, Louise, it's reassuring to know that you haven't abandoned me! Even if you don't comment, you're here in spirit.
DeleteVaccines have always scared me - especially new ones. I think they often do more harm than good.
You are quite right - not just independent thinking, but COMMON SENSE thinking! I will not be anyone's experiment - PERIOD! My mother's doctor is correct. It IS TOO SOON to tell what the effects will be of this vaccine and furthermore it screws up your immune system pretty badly according to her own docotr who herself is NOT going to get the shots. Smart woman doctor! People HAVE already died after getting it, but hey, if people want to play Russian Roulette with their life, so be it.
ReplyDeleteWe had a pretty low-key Easter as well. Just me, my husband and my mom. We have a very small family anymore anyhow - many of our relatives have passed away years ago.
It surprises and frustrates me to know that most people don't think for themselves - but rather let the media do it for them. And it's even more infuriating when they hate/ignore opposing opinions. Common sense seems to be a thing of the past.
DeleteLow-key holidays are the best!
Yuck! Black licorice flavored jelly beans make me want to lose it. Even the scent of them is enough to get to me.
ReplyDeleteI used to enjoy Judy Garland musical's so much when I was a child especially. My favorite was Meet Me In St Louis, I also liked Easter Parade back then, when I was too young to even notice age differences, but as I have gotten older I don't care for Easter Parade very much.
Your woods are starting to look like spring. I can't tell if that is a red bud flowering or some other type of flowering tree. I love seeing Dog woods growing in the woods with the red bud trees.
It's almost time to go mushroom hunting, Jon. Have you ever hunted mushrooms to cook? Those woodsy hills look like they would be full of mushrooms.
Look for morel mushrooms, they are delicious thoroughly rinsed and dried and dredged in flour and fried. Watch out for any immoral mushrooms -- they might make you blush.
I'm admittedly ignorant when it comes to trees or plants. They could be Dog Woods. The blossoms are a very dark pink color and they're everywhere around here.
DeleteI remember picking mushrooms with my cousins when I was a child in New Jersey. Nowadays I'd be hesitant to try it. With my "luck", I'd probably get something poisonous...
Any news about your eye surgery?
DeleteAs you know from my blog post, Jin (thanks for your comment) our holiday meant the 1st family visit in way too long. We did the egg coloring. Not a jelly bean fan, but prefer Peeps, and only the original yellow chicks & not the myriad variations that are now available. We also watched Easter Parade at home as a pre-Easter tradition for us and why Garland’s character didn’t go for Johnny played by Peter Lawford was a mistake. There’s nothing like watching Astaire and Miller hoof it up because as you and I know,they don’t make ‘em like that anymore. Those BLM signs annoy me as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you were finally able to have a real in-person holiday with your family. It gives me a sense of optimism for the future.
DeleteMy criticism of "Easter Parade" was probably over the top. It's an entertaining movie - with great dancing by Astaire and Ann Miller (I met Ann Miller long ago in California - she was gracious and charming).
I am a faithful reader, though I do not comment--I am FAR more liberal than you are, and you probably would not appreciate my comments! :) But everyone has a right to his or her opinion, and I respect your right to yours. Personally, I think Trump was the worst thing that ever happened to this country and I think that Biden is doing a great job--I told you that you wouldn't like my comments! But I still like your blog and I worry about you. How is your back? I have 2 herniated discs in my lower back so I have an inkling of the pain you must be feeling. Please keep letting us know how you are doing.
ReplyDeleteJackie in CA
Knowing that you are a faithful reader is much more important to me than your political views. If we all thought alike it would be a boring world.
DeleteIf I ever revealed all of my health problems this would be a boring blog. I can fully identify with your back problems. I destroyed my spine when I fell down a flight of stairs over 30 years ago - - then I re-injured it again when I fell on the ice here in TN. As a result, I have great difficulty walking or standing. I refuse to get surgery - as long as I can get around.
Anyway, take care - and thanks for your comment!
Jon, I particularly enjoy your stories of old Hollywood--I work as an administrator at a private school in the heart of Hollywood--between Sunset and Hollywood Blvd. just a couple of blocks down from Vermont. If you get to Normandie, you've passed the school street. So, although I don't wander around Hollywood a lot, I do have some familiarity with the places you mention and describe. I use crutches or a walker to get around, depending on the situation. I miss being able to walk unaided SO much, but we all carry on as best we can. Is there nothing you can do for your back short of surgery?
ReplyDeleteJackie
Jon,
ReplyDeleteAnother spring is here! We're having a wonderful spring here in southern Delaware. No untimely frosts (thank goodnes). Your picture of the redbud tree reminds me of a couple we had at our wooded 6.875 hillside wooded property in Pennsylvania.
I don't usually read your other commenters but I'm going to start reading them. They're very interesting. I know you have a large female following (what's that all about?) I don't know what kind of following I have. I rarely get more than four comments on my blog. You get a lot more than I do. I've been blogging since 2005. I think I've peaked out. I blog mainly for myself though. As you know our political views don't line up exactly (do you think?). At one time I thought it was cool for Trump to run for president but when I realized what a dishonest, selfish, non-patriotic, criminal con man that he really was, I quickly grew to hate him and what he's done to his millions of cult followers including my brother whom I no longer speak too. Also, as you know basically I'm a conservative who was radicalized by the Right's (read Republicans) demonization of me because I'm gay (read 1992 Republican Conention). The Republican are for nothing but power. That do nothing for me or the average person other than demonize The Other. I'm not a fan of Joe Biden either, he can barely get through a sentence without stuttering. I have nothing against stuttering, I used to myself when I was in grade school but I overcame it. But I do think today's Democrats will do more for the average person in this country than this pack of Republicans who collectively don't have enough backbone to stand up to the Greatest Con Man Of All Time, Donald J. Trump. There, I've had my say. That said, I like you and I like your blog. Keep on blogging my friend. You have a lot of friends and folks who like you, regardless of your political views. Hell, my neighbor is a Trumper but I couldn't ask for a better neighbor. We understand one another and Don't Go There, unlike my brother who calls me a "Fucking Democrat" when I dared to disagree with him that "George Floyed killed himself". People like my brother whose brain function is permanentlyruined by his blind racist hatred, I can no longer keep in my life. I don't have that much time left to tolerate them. Let them wallow in their ignorance is what I say. I don't it. I would rather spend my time with my kind friends like Larry (cat lover), Pat (who also has favorable views of Trump but doesn't call me a "fucking Democrat!"), Glenn, Bill and others. Make each day count, eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive.
Ron