Three Songs About Smugglers

One of the biggest challenges for organized crime is finding people who will smuggle drugs or other contraband through customs so it can be sold on the black market. It takes a special kind of criminal to handle the deliveries of the supplies that are in demand!

The three songs I've chosen for this topic are about the people who do the smuggling. We will end with two songs about smugglers who do the smuggling differently: one by land, the other by sea. Before we get to those songs, let's listen to a song about the dangers inherent in the smuggling racket.

My Daughter's Wife

As wrong as my daughter got it the first time, she got it that right the second time!

Her wife doesn't need to be the center of attention, and she doesn't need to use some really tough experiences in her life to explain abnormal behavior. Rather, she uses her experiences to imagine how others must feel in their circumstances. She has a healthy ego, but she also has a lot of empathy. She has a keen awareness about herself. She listens to learn rather than to know what memorized response is appropriate.

Firing My Shrink

Who knows if I really was accessing the thoughts of Socrates and Einstein, or if I was simply going deep into my own mind to search archives that I had blocked for whatever reasons I may have had? Perhaps, I had merely happened upon a stream of collective knowledge to which we all have access. Whatever it was that I was doing concerned my friends and family. They would sometimes catch me in deep, self-induced trances, but mostly they would see me doing research to challenge or verify thoughts I had while in the trances.

I can't disagree with them that it seems like a type of insanity; however, if it is insanity, I have been insane for as long as I can remember. For example, I was fairly adept at dividing large numbers by the time we learned long division in school. There was no way for me to calculate earned run averages for the pitchers on our make-believe teams without that. When Mr. Reed was showing us the proper way to divide big numbers in eighth grade, I told him about the method I figured out years earlier that also worked. He challenged me on that. I proved it to him.

Cousin Lee Died Today

Mom called this morning to tell me that my cousin Lee lost his battle with cancer today. He was 61, and about six months younger than me. That made him and his twin Lyle the cousins who were the closest in age to me.

Lee's father, Garth, was the brother of my father, Wayne. They lived on five acres not too far from Rogers High School. It was always cool going out to Uncle Garth and Aunt Dellora's home. There were farm animals, abandoned cars, and even a part-time swamp way in the back. We were allowed to roam. I have no idea what our parents thought we were doing, but they would not have approved of much of what we actually did!

Three Songs About Revenge Murders

If there is one tradition that humans have brought forward from days of yore, it is murdering people to get even with them for something they've done. Again, there are many songs to choose from even with the limitation of "revenge" being added to "murders."

Each of these songs are fictional, but each is also a story about people who have been murdered for revenge. One is a tale of a revenge murder for another revenge murder, one is from the perspective of the person who was murdered in revenge, and one is from the perspective of the vengeful murderer.

Cashing in a Magic Dime

My granddaughter has more toys than she needs. She also has more clothes than she needs. That always poses a problem for me when it comes to gifts for birthdays. I don't want to add to the excess. Giving only money may be fine in time, but this is my granddaughter who still uses her imagination in ways that make me smile!

Gemma recently turned seven years old. She loves playing with me. We make up all kinds of games to play. However, she had to have something tangible as a gift, but not something that would add to her excesses.

The Fishing Trip (A Final Version): Dedicated to Chas Henderson

My friend asks me if I’m ready to go, but I’m mixed about making the trip. 

Most people don’t even know I exist to care if I go, but those who know me are giving me mixed signals. I tell him that I am ready, but that I need a moment to make sure it’s really okay with everybody. “People tell me they are okay with me going fishing, but I suspect they really are not.”

Remembering Dad: Lunches with Ron MacDonald

Dad was proud to be a Marine. He would defend the Marine Corps against all other branches - except when we had lunch with Ron MacDonald. Ron was a client who worked at Westop Credit Union, and had retired from the Army as a Sergeant Major. Like Dad, Ron served during the Korean War. He also served during the Vietnam War.

Three Songs About Masturbation

Masturbation can be such a sticky topic. Most people want to keep their thoughts on the topic as private as their practice of it. We are told that we should love ourselves by some of the greatest minds that have ever lived, but we still find that if the topic of masturbation comes up that many people just want to jerk the conversation a different direction. Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

If music is art, and art reflects life, and masturbation is part of life, then it follows that some music is about masturbation. Of course, some is!

I selected three songs by artists who wrap their fingers around this topic and massage it with various stories of beating it in the game of love!

The Census Taker

Though I understand the reasons that the census must be taken as it pertains to representation in Congress, some of the questions that are asked seem to me to be totally irrelevant to knowing how many people live where I live. That is likely why I had put off filling out the census form in 2000 and failing to fill it out and send it back drew a knock on the door from a census taker.

Movie Review: The Unkindness of Ravens

After a chance encounter on the internet, I have been following Lawrie Brewster and Sarah Daly since about the time they released their first film, "White Out." Some might say it's a story about climate change. I would say it is an exploration into the degradation of the human spirit and soul in an apocalyptic setting. It's available to stream if you want to see for yourself.

Me, Myself, or I

I try to consider the points of view of other people even if I am likely to disagree with someone’s opinion on a topic. I find it extremely difficult to give much intellectual credit to an argument in which there are misspelled words, poor use of grammar or punctuation, and incorrect use of words. If the person does not have the intellect to state his or her opinion correctly, why is it incumbent upon me to decipher it to figure out what the person really means, and then hold the opinion in high esteem?

Recipe: Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

I love sausage gravy and biscuits. However, I am so often disappointed with the lack of flavor and zing of the serving when I order it at restaurants.

I decided to try my hand at making it one day, but I didn’t want to go through all the trouble the really good chefs go through to make it to their high standards. Despite its simplicity, this recipe makes a very tasty meal that mocks the flavor those classy chefs provide through their painstaking process.

It is so good, in fact, that it is often requested by visitors, and has become a family favorite!

Recipe: Ellasagna

Here is the recipe for Elliana’s lasagna, aka Ellasagna

Recipe: Blackened Salmon or Steelhead

It isn’t so much that I felt twenty dollars for a small filet of blackened salmon served with a salad was necessarily out of line. It was more that I really enjoyed it, and did not want to get it only when I happened to be at a restaurant that serves this delicacy.

Salmon is not particularly difficult to prepare. Some recipes are more complex than others, of course, and some are better than others.

The objective with most of these recipes is to have the salmon remain moist. Blackened salmon, however, is a bit dryer and flakier, and quite flavorful.

I figured I would have to give it several tries before finally getting it correct. That didn’t happen. My first attempt came out so good that I have not adjusted the recipe since, except that sometimes I use steelhead instead of salmon. I actually prefer the steelhead.