WICKEDLY TIMELESS

Okay, every one - - let's all hold hands and think negative thoughts.....which, if we succeed, might expunge the positive thoughts I offered in my previous post.

After all, nobody wants to hear anything optimistic that might have occurred in my dreadfully drastic existence.

As a start, I will consider removing the photo of the Jeep (where the hell did I get that vehicle, anyway?).

I'm talking nonsense.

I might be wounding you with sarcasm.

My enigmatical blog posts often leave recipients speechless. Other more courageous recipients kindly take time to read between lines - desperately trying extract a semblance of logic and reason.

Logic? Reason?

Only I know what and why I write.

Taking detours far away from tedious, depressing, joyless, foul, endless medical updates would be a unique break.....a  breath of fresh (?) air....

he assumes......

I still brashly (and erroneously) believe that I'm the most interesting person I know.

With several exceptions.

AND NOW

I'll give you what you're waiting for.

A DELICIOUS MEDICAL UPDATE!

Last Friday (August 14th) my followup dr. appt.

I was nervous beyond belief, as to what the ctscan would reveal. My recent petscan yielded so many dire and dismal things, that even  Doctor Johnson was speechless.

On Friday, I was so scared waiting for the doctor that I nearly passed out. The nurse took my blood pressure and said it was completely normal.

The results for my scans were not as bad as expected. I was positive that bone cancer was in my right arm. The pain is INTENSE. The dr. said it is coming from nerve pain. It seems to be bursitis. I'll get treatments for that.

The doctor's biggest concern is my liver and left lung. Since he only deals with radiation, I was transferred to a new oncologist who specializes in chemo, Dr. Penny Heinrich.

I got an appt. with her on Sept 1st.

I had seven weeks of chemo and radiation three years ago.

.....and so it goes....

If this post annoys you, I would gladly put you in my shoes and let you go through the absolute medical HELL that I endured these past three years. Every minute was agony. I held up incredibly well - -

During the past few weeks I'm completely losing strength and sanity. I never knew a depression could be so ravaging. I'm bearly hanging on to a very thin thread.

Jon

AT LONG LAST

 

During the past two months, I think I only wrote two blog posts. This is extremely unusual, since blogging is my addiction. I can't stop, even when my posts are crappy ad nauseam.

Despite my flaws....

Wait a moment, Jon. You only have maybe one flaw. You're nearly perfect.

Despite my few flaws, my faithful blog readers never abandon me. They are the sole reason I blog. I would never intentionally abandon my blog......if so, there would have to be a very good reason.

Here's the good reason.

I like my room here in Signature - - but it has one flaw (much like myself).

I can't get a connection to the Internet in this room. I tried everything posssible. Even members of the administration here have worked at it, but couldn't get a connection, either.

Ever since the past few years - when I spent so much time in hospitals and rehab - the Internet has been my only connection to the outside world. I blog, text, email, do online banking, pay my monthly bills, watch endless videos on YouTube, buy food from Walmart, purchase stuff I don't need. I couldn't exist without the Internet.

Cut the endless crap, Jon. Condense. Get to the point!

Hey, amigo, verbosity is part of my charm.

SO...........

the good members of the administration got some kind of technical thingie on Amazon that connects errant phones to the Internet. I truly don't know what it's called or how it works.

Today  it worked!!! I finally have Internet access.

Today was filled with some positive things. I got the Internet, got an air mattress for this uncomfortable bed, and I sat in a chair to get my legs circulating.....

MY NEW AIR MATTRESS

I know you're waiting anxiously for a new medical update.

Unfortunately, it's not positive news.

So much has happened lately that my weary mind is muddled. I completed three weeks of radiation therapy last week. 15 days, instead of the intended 20. 

It helped somewhat. They had to radiate six cancerous "wounds" and/or lumps. Afterwards, I noticed that four are not exactly healing as they should. And I presently have severe soreness in my arm, where some of the largest lumps are. A very bad indication that ......things aren't going well. I also have some other problems that show up on my PETscan. 

I really don't feel like delving into unpleasant things right now.

On my last day of radiation, the oncologist said if I feel like I need further treatments, I should contact them again.

Yesterday I had the head nurse contact them, and an appointment will be schedualed.

As usual, I still have lots more to say, but I'll cut it short for now. It's always an uphill struggle. Always. But I'm willing to climb.....

Jon, exhausted but not ready to surrender. ❤️

Top picture is one of my old AIs. The clouds are parting, perhaps there's a home somewhere on the horizon. 

Somewhere.

P.S.

Many thanks to

Jane from Strawberry Plains

and

Dorothy from NH

💚💚 your thoughtfulness is appreciated.

THE DEPTHS OF HELL

 

Of course I don't believe in a real hell. Gehenna, the Valley of Hinnom outside of Jerusalem, where pagan practices abounded along with the worship of the false God Moloch - rather than that of Jehovah.

Hell is merely a metaphor for the wages of sin.

I'm not as dumb as I look, boys and girls. I always maintained that hell is here on earth - - the absolute CRAP we go through during this journey of life. That's punishment enough....we don't need an afterlife hellfire.

First of all I want to give a heartfelt thanks to the three people who kindly acknowledged my rerun of "The Ghost of Sharon Tate". You have equisite taste. And I've had one helluva life. More old reruns are being excavated especially for you.

Bitter sarcasm

Today I'm torturing you with an unecessary update. Seems to be the popular blog genre.

I'm in a very ROTTEN mood, which always inspires me to abandon my intoxicating sweetness and undeniable charm. When I'm in a dismal mood, I can be......

.....cold blooded, condescending, rude, insulting, depressing, nasty, curt, despicable, and brutally honest.

Prepare.

Now, why should I completely abandon my blog when I'm such a mesmerizing writer?

First of all, let's acknowledge the fact that my AI images are damn good. Or.....almost tolerable. Maybe.

I learned at an early age, modesty will get you nowhere.

Ready....set.....GO!!!!

So Tuesday, I was taken on the looong hour journey to Cookeville. A surprisingly cool day with rain. I got autumn vibes.

Thought I was going to get surgery on my arm (see previous posts). Imagine my SHOCK when I was brought to the dermatologist's office. Again!

Instead of getting desperately-needed surgery, I wasted the whole goddamn day having a cute tete-a-tete with doctor what's-her-name.

BUT

she admitted that the dermatological surgeon wasn't equipped to work on my arm. He only does surgery in his office.

I am going to be referred to a cosmetic surgeon who has all the needed surgical apparatus. I could get radiation ( which I'd prefer) but it would be grueling going back and forth from Jamestown to Cookeville.

Another looooong wait, which might take ten more years. They're stalling forever.

While they stall, the squamous cell carcinoma on my arm bleeds continuously. Truth to tell, I am extremely worried. And I mean extremely......

Another horror story for you to ponder.

Happened very late Wednesday night, early Thursday morning. My heavily bandaged arm started seeping blood again. I called the night nurse.

To my absolute ALARM, she was the incompetent nurse who knows nothing. She tried to reinforce the upper part of the bandage. Kept asking me "Do you think this is right?"   "Does it look okay?"   "Are these the correct pads?"

Finally she finished 

Ten minutes later.....and I am not exaggerating....

a hemorrhage happened. Blood was pouring out of the upper and lower bandages. I COULD NOT stop it. I desperately kept pressing the call button. I grabbed some nearby towels and folded sheets.

I swear to God I was absolutely terrified. I am usually calm and rational. I was completely terrified....positive I was bleeding to death.

Absolutely out of character

I YELLED and SCREAMED over and over. Nobody came.

The morning nurse appeared around 7:00 a.m.   I was on the verge of passing out.

An hour later I bearly managed to get through breakfast, still shaken.

Two hours later I was given the bad news - - - -

After being blissfully alone, I'm getting a roommate!!!

The staff was telling me about the roommate.....and I BLEW UP!

"I don't give a crap about a roommate!" I shouted. " I need a surgeon!!!!".

My exact words.

So.....he's over 90, at least.

I tried to calm down and be civil. Not an easy task.

To be continued. Maybe.

Jon 🖤 in the realms of Hades

P.S.

To Rita, I got your card and it gave me smiles. Many thanks for thinking of me.

To the rest of you....thanks for continuing to tolerate me.

I'm worth the effort.

And thanks for your comments on my previous Tate/Manson post 🙂

THOUGHTS AFTER MIDNIGHT

 A frigid winter wind is leisurely sweeping through the forest trees. The deep night is sightless and silent, interrupted by the occasional hoots of restless owls. There were two inches of snow yesterday, which is more than enough winter joy to sustain me.

 I'm much more restless than the owls, my mind racing like a runaway ghost train that spans years and decades rather than miles. The long winter midnight hours encourage rampant thoughts and penetrating memories

It's long after midnight now as I'm writing this and the temperature is dropping. The leisurely wind is turning icy. I hate cold weather - especially in a frigid house with a faulty furnace. But I hate hot weather, too.
My favorite seasons are autumn and spring - the transitional seasons.

Random disjointed thoughts.....

The mysterious question that I wrote on my previous blog post (in case anybody was wondering) was directed solely to someone who dislikes me but won't let go. One big drawback of having a public blog.
There's a specific purpose for everything I  write, although it doesn't always clearly manifest itself to others.
I often sarcastically like to rub salt into wounds.
My father was a master at doing this. His words cut like a knife and were intended to kill. 

 My intention is merely to inflict superficial wounds.

I've probably inadvertently offended more people than any other blogger. 

Some people take offense at my (very) occasional rough language.
Oh, come on - my blog posts could be read in your grandchildren's Sunday school class. 

I've offended gays by saying transgenders shouldn't be in the military.
Then I retracted my statement by agreeing that transgenders should be in the military. They should be placed in the front lines...That appeased a few idiots. 

I infuriated several readers who think I don't take the pandemic seriously.
Twenty years from now they're going to wake up in their basements with plague masks plastered to their faces and finally realize they've been bamboozled, hoodwinked, and screwed.

Liberals go completely insane whenever I write a political blog post.
That's exactly why I do it. 

I deleted a post that I wrote last night (Midnight Confession) because I thought it might offend the church ladies who read my blog. I didn't think they wanted to hear about an erotic encounter with a priest on the altar of a church...
Relax. It happened long ago. Nowadays I'm pure and innocent as the wind-driven snow. Almost. If you want to put some sizzle in your Geritol, just wait until you read my memoirs.....

One more thing before I go :
I always like to respond to your comments, and I like to leave comments on other blogs. However I sometimes don't, because I'm using a Keyboard from Hell.
The keyboard on my laptop no longer works, so I have to use another one plugged into a USB. This USB keyboard is so bad that it sometimes takes hours to write one blog post. 

It skips letters when I type, disconnects automatically from the computer when I least expect it, and often erases complete sentences as I'm writing. It's the only contraption on earth that makes me scream and reduces me to tears.
Never buy a keyboard at Walmart.   

One more thing (again)  

On my previous blog post I wrote about a red-tailed hawk. In the comments Susie (from Persimmon Moon Cottage) wrote an interesting incident about her father rescuing a red-tailed hawk. I thought it's worth re-posting for those who didn't see it.   

susie @ persimmon moon cottageFebruary 1, 2021 at 8:25 AM

Many smaller animals eat pumpkin, especially after it is broken apart so they can easily get to the mildly sweet insides of it. There may have been mice, chipmunks, or a squirrel at the pumpkin that the hawk was stalking before you looked out the window.
When I was about 13 years old my Dad came in the door with something wrapped in his jacket. It was a big red tailed hawk that had hit the windshield of the car in front of my Dad's car on a country road. The hawk was laying at the side of the road moving just a little. My Dad pulled over and put his jacket over the hawk and wrapped it and put it in the back seat for the trip home. We had Big Boy the hawk for about 2 weeks. Within two days of having him, my Dad made falconry equipment for him. He had a big steel round jingle bell on his ankle on a leather strip briefly. He was able to bend the jingle bell metal and open it and take the metal ball out of the middle of it, so it no longer jingled. Big Boy was very tame within two days. He ate raw meat. He would sit on my Dad's or my arm near the wrist (It was winter we wore coats and gloves). My Dad could hold him up, but Big Boy was so heavy that I couldn't hold him up, and as my wrist dropped lower he climbed up my arm more until he was wanting to sit on my shoulder. His beak was amazingly strong, and his talons were huge. I didn't let him sit on my shoulder, I didn't know him well enough to trust him with my eye or ear, but he never did bite me or Dad. When he fully regained his strength we drove him back to the country road where Dad found him and set him free. We were all sad to let him go, I was crying. He flew up to the top of a telephone pole and sat there watching us as we drove away. Dad went up the road a ways and went back the way we came and there was Big Boy still up on the pole looking down at us as we drove by him again. Hawks are so smart, and to touch one and look into its eyes and interact with it was unforgettable. I think that a squirrel or rabbit is about as much as a big hawk could fly a distance with, but if they tried to pick up a cat or small dog their talons would wound them. We have red tailed hawks around here occasionally, and I wouldn't let my 8 lb Pomeranian out if I saw one anywhere around. I wouldn't risk those talons piercing into Fuzzy

 

 

 

 

UNMITIGATED JOY AND HAWKS

 

 Before I begin my incredibly interesting and unbearably entertaining blog post, I have a question:

If you disliked someone intensely and disagreed with all their points of view, would you continue to read their blog for years?

No reason for this question. I was just wondering (he says with a wry smile).
That person would have to be a certified masochist.

I secretly think it  has something to do with my charm. It's irresistible - even to certified masochists.

Change of subject

Well, Jon, you haven't written a genuine blog post in awhile. You've been too busy writing brilliantly apt political essays.
Tell us how you're doing.

I'm glad you asked.
My health issues are getting so serious that I'm usually scared witless. The weather is bitterly cold and I'm having trouble with the furnace and water heater. There's a mouse infestation. Squirrels and racoons are ripping my roof apart. The mud is so deep around here that I'm afraid to go outside. Half of the time I'm so cold, nervous, depressed, and sick that I simply crawl into bed (with the cats) and give thanks for the electric blanket.
Those are only the minor things. I won't mention the major ones.

In general, my life is filled with a never-ending banquet of unmitigated joy.

Yesterday I looked out the kitchen window and was startled to see a red-tailed hawk sitting three feet from the back porch. He (she?) was eating one of the pumpkins that I had left over from Halloween (they were preserved by the cold weather).

I grabbed my El Cheapo digital camera - - and when I tried to photograph the hawk, the batteries went dead! Incredibly ironic since I use lithium batteries, which last for months.

Fortunately the hawk was in no hurry, so I quickly put in new batteries.
Unfortunately, I had to take photos through the dirty kitchen window and the quality is blurry and horrible. 

The hawk is difficult to see because he blended in with the surrounding background. There were traces of snow on the ground, and the weird winter sunlight seemed to distort everything.

I lifted a picture of a red-tailed hawk from the internet, so you can clearly see what one looks like.

Here are photos that I took.

Side view, you can see the red tail feathers

Back view

Hawks fly around here very often but I never saw one that close before. When he finally took off his wing-span was incredible.

I'm admittedly worried now that I saw how close to the porch he was - since I occasionally let the cats out on the porch for air and a change of scene.
A hawk could easily turn them into Hors d'oeuvres.

More frigid weather and ice is predicted for next week. Don't know when the heck I'll be able to drive to town.

I'm still disenchanted with blogging. It's a complete waste of valuable time. And certain interlopers make it torture.

I'm grateful for the kind, rational people who read my blog.

I'm extremely disgusted with the occasional certified masochists (antagonists) who lurk in the shadows.....eager to do devious things......

WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG.....

We interrupt this blog to inflict you with some issues that I want to address.

This isn't going to be a "regular" post. It's a semi-rant - -  selfishly intended to unleash my pent-up feelings.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.......


Rather recently, a little bird perched on my shoulder. After he took a crap, he whispered in my ear something that he heard through the Blogger Grapevine: 

I have irritated and dismayed several fellow bloggers, because they don't think I take the Plague - - oops, I mean Covid19 - - seriously enough. 
And I have insulted humanity by constantly spoofing the Plague Masks and vowing never to wear one.

My readership is dwindling because of my seemingly cold-hearted indifference to the Plague.

Boys and girls -
I take the pandemic very seriously and lament the fact that many people are dying from it.
Many people are also dying from cancer, heart failure, murder, auto accidents, drugs, and alcohol. 
It's one helluva cruel world.

I also have great empathy for those people who've been wounded or killed in the on-going anti-America riots - - - especially the innocent children.

Despite having sympathy for the victims of Covid19, I don't feel the urge to permanently wear a Plague Mask and sequester myself forever as a sacred sacrifice to save others.

Turning ourselves into the Living Dead because of the Plague is foolish, worthless, and destructive.


Here's a confession:

I often enjoy irritating, goading, and annoying people by discarding the mainstream mode of thinking.

 I especially derive a sadistic pleasure in torturing the liberal leftists - - solely because so many of them are  humorless, hateful, and perpetually angry.
Stirring their wrath is easy and amusing.

I'm NOT a hateful, angry person, Jon. I just want to kill Trump!!!!!

  My pathetic pastime is dangerous and an extreme risk, because it has caused me to make many enemies....
but I can't control myself.

In the fall of 2016 I caused mass hysteria in Blogland by trashing Hillary Clinton. I said she was an extremely bad campaigner, incredibly unlikable, and would never win the election.

And I was right on target!

This caused a negative backlash that exceeded my wildest expectations.
Many (many) longtime faithful readers of my blog dropped me like a proverbial hotcake. I received an alarming amount of hate mail, and even one anonymous death threat.

I never dreamed that liberals could be so psychotic and easily triggered.

I'm not psychotic or triggered, Jon!!
I'd just like to kill you, skin you, and hang you out to dry!!!! 

After Trump won, I (jokingly, of course) said the first thing he should do in the White House is change the toilet seats.

( I thought it was hilarious )

That caustic utterance signed my Death Warrant.


Never one to learn my lesson from bitter experience, my next intended debacle was when I said that transgenders shouldn't be in the military. My humorous post on the subject infuriated a myriad of gays.
They tumbled out of closets and hurled flouncy fluffs of fury at me.

  An old gay blogger in Florida actually wrote a scathing blog post about me. And his wicked friends (who didn't know me and never heard of me) left caustic comments about me on his blog!

Sooooooo.....

In a rare moment of guilt and penance, I wrote another post - in which I apologized. I said that I had changed my mind. Transgenders should be in the military.....
....they should be put in the front lines.

That appeased a few idiots. 

So there you have it, boys, girls, and...transgenders. The woeful tale of my bumpy ride along the treacherous road of Blogdom.


There's another presidential election just around the corner -
and senile Joe Biden is such a pathetic joke that he almost makes Hillary look good.
I said almost......

If Biden's keepers are ever able to drag him out of his Basement Hideaway to have a presidential debate (which I seriously doubt), Trump will eat him alive and spit out the bones.

Here's something to digest:

The blind rage of the liberals - and their unrelenting insane hatred for President Trump -  have inspired me to keep voicing my opinions with absolutely no regrets.

After all, I'm on the winning team.

 

OUT OF THE CLOSET

Out of the closet??
Jon, are you gay???

Gay? Well, hombre, let's just say that I'm occasionally cautiously happy.

I was particularly happy to see the positive (and very encouraging) comments on my previous post. Many thanks!!

I did notice, however, that most of my "liberal" blogger "friends" didn't bother to comment.
They'd secretly be glad to get rid of me. 

I've decided to slip out of my cloistered closet and blog more freely about what I think - - rather than what I think people want to hear.

When I'm feeling deeply depressed, I plan to depress the hell out of you.

When I'm in a psychotically nostalgic and melancholic  mood (a curse of my Hungarian heritage) I'm going to drown you in sentimentality.

When I occasionally use foul language, I'll hopefully shock you.
Come on, comrades - my blog posts are (usually) so benign that you could read them to your grandchildren.

I'll serenade you with my piano music - just to show off.

I'll occasionally make you laugh.....
and annoy you with sarcasm.

I'll more than occasionally infuriate you with political posts.
I'm officially out of the political closet.
Why the hell should I apologize for my political beliefs??
I'm on the winning team.

Holy crap-
immediately after I wrote that, all the people who left kind comments on my previous post just abandoned me. 

Sooooo......      
what have I been doing lately?
besides battling wasps, bees, flies, mosquitoes, mice mice mice, 'possums, raccoons, twenty-foot-high "weeds" with thorns, and mice....

I've been making homemade booze. Moonshine.
NO - I AM NOT KIDDING.
Since I can't buy the damn stuff in this godforsaken place, I've resorted to brewing my own.

It's still in the fermenting process.
In my next post I'll write more about it.

Here's a photo that will horrify you.
Every once in awhile I enjoy scaring the Plague masks off of you.

 Actually, this photo was taken when I first moved to Texas. A big gust of wind blew the flag as I was holding it.
My parents bought this flag loooong ago at some famous Civil War site (I don't remember where).

 

THE LONG GOODBYE

For a long time I have been contemplating whether or not to close this blog permanently.

This is solely due to increasing personal problems and dwindling readership.

The decision is difficult, since I've been blogging for a helluva long time. 
I've always (secretly) considered blogging to be a worthless, thankless endeavor - - but I desperately needed it as a personal catharsis, an emotional outlet.
And I still do.

Long ago I used to describe myself as the most fascinating person I know - and it wasn't very far from the truth.
I was unique, colorful, diverse (creatively speaking), unpredictable, and unconventional.

Lately, I've become the most boring, depressing person I know - and it infiltrates my writing.

If nothing else, I'm a realist. I always unleash my genuine feelings and beliefs - which have very often annoyed and/or angered others.
I'll never apologize for being honest.

I'm presently working on my memoirs, which will be in two volumes. Hopefully I will finish them by the end of summer or autumn.
Before my mind starts to deteriorate.
Before death.

As for blogging -
I'd truly miss it if it were abandoned.
and I'd miss all the good people who care....
I'll have to think about it.

Until later......
                      Jon



 

SUNSETS AND FRAGMENTS OF RAW REALITY

I've been in a very deep depression for an extremely long time. My increasing health issues and the infinite complexities and inconveniences of rural living presently have me teetering between a nervous breakdown and intentional death.

No need to worry - - I've survived far worse things than this. I'm just not in the mood to be cute, funny, congenial, or social. When I'm depressed I retreat into my own private cocoon - which is the most comfortable place to be.
Some might find that difficult to understand.

Blogging is a useless, worthless, thankless diversion that appeals to armchair exhibitionists.
People love you when they agree with you
abandon you when they disagree 
and forget your name five minutes after you die.

I used to blog to please others - which is a very serious mistake. Now I blog to convince myself that I'm still alive......among other selfish purposes.
You're merely a curious interloper in my private domain.

I'm not always pleasant or congenial or easily understood - - but neither is the raw reality of life. 
I was never ever mainstream. 
I've marched to the beat of a different drummer as long as I can remember.... 

It's probably a mistake to unleash too much of oneself, but my writing always reveals the real me. 
I don't claim to be St. John or Mary Poppins.
 Candy kisses, sugar-coated rainbows, or inspiring quotes from Kahlil Gibran aren't my style.

Let's change the subject.
How about sunsets? They've been beautiful lately:
glorious reminders that the weary day is finally over and blessed eternal rest awaits.
That's morbidly poetic.

How about verdure gone rampant?
The result of three months of rain. 

If this were your yard, would you panic?

I panicked (slightly) on Monday morning when I woke up and there was no water. I had planned on driving to town but was forced to scrap it.
Called the utility company. They were working on the pipes.
It was 90 degrees that day.
I had no water, no milk, no soda, no juice. No liquids of any kind.
Breathed a Big Sigh of relief when the water was turned back on at 7:00 in the evening.

So I drove to town on Tuesday. They put in new gas pumps at the place where I get gas (petrol, for those of you in Liverpool).
It took over five LOOOONG minutes for me to figure out how to use them.
Am I really that inept??

After four looong months, Walmart is still in Plague Mode. It's a futile exercise in complete insanity.

I parked by the garden shop, convinced that it was finally open. The gate was wide open. I was met by an ancient ghoulish employee wearing a mask, who informed me I had to use the front entrance.

So I walked ten miles to the front (very slight exaggeration). Almost passed out from the heat and my ravaged back.
Ever since the onslaught of the Plague, Walmart has been an extremely dismal and depressing place to shop.
Or even more dismal than it always is.....

Masked, surrealistic cretins wandering like somnambulists around the store....

I have a strong feeling that Walmart - like most of America - will remain in Plague Mode the rest of our lives.
Don't doubt me.
It's the new highly appealing norm.

I always breathe an incredible sigh of relief when I get home.....
but....

How would you like to drag dozens of grocery bags from the car, up a hill, and through this mess??
(I always use the back door, where the kitchen is)

There's a "path" here, somewhere (that's the garage on the left).

I get mercilessly attacked by wasps and bees along the way.....and ALL of the bushes have thorns - which rip the plastic grocery bags and shred my clothes.

It takes an hour to drag in all the groceries. I always bring in the perishable stuff first.....and say "to hell with the rest".

I've given up long ago. I don't give a rat's royal ass about anything anymore.

I got a migraine after I came home on Tuesday.

By the way -
late last night there were gunshots alarmingly near my house. Scared the jeeters out of me but the shots didn't last long.

At least the cats are content. They (finally) have food and water.

 

Scratch

Bosco  

I have plans for future blog posts - -

you'll like some

and you'll undoubtedly hate some.

Hell, that's part of my charm.

BTW-

Glad to know that a few people appreciated Greta Garbo. Thanks!!

ALL ABOUT BLOGGING

 
Did you ever try to change the format of your blog? I did (several times recently) but screwed everything up so badly that I quickly reverted to my old tried and true format.
Which looks cluttered and stuffy. And rather tired.

I hate having ads on blogs - yet I (reluctantly) plug my books and Zazzle stores. Where the heck else can I pimp them? 

I dislike the title of my blog, but I chose Lone Wolf Concerto only because it was similar to my old Texas blog Lone Star Concerto.
Heck, I live alone. In the woods. I'm not exactly a wolf. But concerto reflects my musical and poetic soul.

I don't have the popular "Followers" thingie on my blog, mainly because I think it's tacky. And misleading.
If you have 2,000 followers, people assume that your blog is great.
If you have 6 followers, they think it's crappy.
Truthfully, most followers never bother to read the blogs that they follow.

And the cult-like concept of followers is slightly disconcerting.
Rasputin had followers.
Charles Manson had followers. So did Jim Jones.....

I intensely dislike Comment Moderation, yet I have it on my blog. There's nothing worse than writing a comment on a blog and getting the rude message: Your comment will be published after approval (or something like that).
It makes me sound like judge and jury.

I have comment moderation to filter out the loonies, the haters, and spam.

Jon, it seems completely inconceivable that anyone could hate you.

Well, Kemosabe, let's just say that my intense charm doesn't captivate everyone.  

I always envy those bloggers who have no comment moderation at all. They write a post, and immediately (within 30 seconds) get 50 adoring comments, telling them how wonderful their post is.
That's never happened to me. Never.

And while I'm on a roll -
I always envy those bloggers who post a photo of themselves and immediately (within 20 seconds) get 50 adoring comments, saying how fantastic they look.

That's never happened to me. Never.
In twenty years of blogging (or so it seems) I've only gotten two (that I can remember) compliments on my photos. Both were from men....
......who obviously have good taste

Usually I'll get a semi-snide remark, like I've never really been attracted to blondes.

Relax, sweetheart. There's no chance that we're ever going to copulate. It's just a photo. 

When I had my Texas blog Lone Star Concerto, one of my readers told me she hated my profile photo. This was coming from a woman who looked like Marie Dressler's ugly sister. 

I'll pause here and give you time to Google Marie Dressler.  

In a rage over one of my political posts, some misguided moron called me a Nazi and accused me of looking like Donald Trump!

Hey, comrade - I'd rather look like Trump than Bernie Sanders.

But this is all beside the point. Assuming there ever was a point.... 

I absolutely can not tolerate people who are super-sensitive. Over the years I've lost an extraordinary amount of readers who disagreed with my opinions. Especially my political opinions. If you can't handle opinions that differ from your own, you shouldn't be reading blogs. 

I now (very reluctantly) keep my most controversial opinions to myself. But I'm always tempted to unleash them.....

I dislike the cluttered sidebar on my blog - - but the things that I put on it sometimes subtlety give hints as to my predilections. 
...quotes by Marcel Proust or Oscar Wilde....the Metropolitan Opera....
an American eagle with a flag (I'm sure that scares the crap out of some people)
"Proudly politically incorrect".

In reality, I don't adhere to any affiliations. I'm merely a free-thinker. And a realist.


You know what really bugs me about blogs? Microscopic fonts. There's nothing more annoying than trying to read a good post when you have to use reading glasses and a microscope. 
It's not that difficult to enlarge your damn font. It doesn't require a college degree.

My blog font is unnervingly large, because I want people to actually see what I write.
Sometimes.  
 
I often (very often) regret what I write. It sounds great while I'm writing it, but bombs Big Time when I reread it. My blog is nothing more than me thinking out loud. I'm not here to educate you or impress you. I don't purposely try to entertain you.

I'm just me being me. What you read is exactly who I am. Sometimes I'm funny. Sometimes I'm depressing. 

I try to be as honest as possible.
Lately I've been boring. 
I used to (jokingly) say that I'm the most fascinating person I know. Well, perhaps I wasn't joking. 
Perhaps....

You know what irritates the hell out of me? Excessively long blog posts.
Anybody who writes them should get a good swift kick in the ass.

Am I smiling here? Yes.

ALMOST SUMMER

There are times when I get so tired of blogging that a temporary break is required. When I re-read the posts that I've written, I dislike every one of them. I get frustrated when I start boring myself. After all, I've often said I'm the most fascinating person I know.

My "fascinating" aspects have lately disintegrated into mundane crap.
My readership has dwindled. Comments on my blog are nearly non-existent.

I made two recent blog blunders:
Writing a pro-Trump post (which I'm sure infuriated 99 per cent of my readers)
and writing a quasi gay pride post (which probably caused a few of the church ladies to grab their smelling salts).

An aside here:
Some people might be puzzled or annoyed at my occasional "church lady" remarks. I started using that phrase long, long ago when I first started blogging.
I used to jokingly say that I'd better not put anything risque in my blog, or it will offend all the innocent church ladies.
I still think it's kinda cute.
And maybe kinda true.

Anyway, when I write in my blog, I'm mostly just talking to myself. That's why I bitch, complain, and ramble.
And occasionally blurt out my real feelings.

I plan to "blurt" my real feelings much more often. It's extremely invigorating.

When you live alone in the wilderness, like I do, blogging is an emotional outlet - a way of convincing myself I'm still alive. Finding creative ways to write about mundane things isn't always easy. Or interesting.

Change of subject

Tomorrow (Friday) is the first official day of summer.
Summer??
I'll believe it when the weather warms up. And when the incessant rain stops.

Rain, rain, continual, endless rain every day without letup. Severe storms last night which nearly put the fear of God in me. My cats retreated to safe places.
I got out the candles and oil lamps. 

I used to think the Missouri Ozarks was the rainiest place on earth. Hell, it can't compare with Tennessee.

This morning was foggy and autumnal (I liked it).
This afternoon - just before I started writing this - the clouds broke and the sun appeared. This rare event nearly took my breath away.

I looked for a rainbow but there was none.

Sunlight appeared this afternoon:

a rare occurrence

Bosco (this afternoon)

enjoying the open window in my bedroom

Kitzee (also known as Scratch)

enjoying the open window 

in the living room

(I never open the living room windows all the way, because the rain pours in)