With yet another humongous storm in the southeastern United States, it's been another of those weeks you don't want to write anything about in your diary.
Which may explain the absence of entries in my blog for the past several days.
But each day I wake and open my eyes with surprise and some degree of elation so I hope passing on some humor will help those in nature's angry path and those with friends and family in those areas.
So, once again, here goes.
Well, that's the best I can do, my friends.
Now let's all take care of each other and try your best to have the bestest of weekends.
This past weekend was the time for not only the Fall Harvest Festival I told you about yesterday.
It was also when a Pony Only show was held just a short distance away.
For those of you not in the know, a Pony Only Show is where owners of the Ford Mustang automobile get to strut their stuff.
You're probably thinking "Are they all red?"
And though it is a popular hue, the answer is "no".
They come in all colors.
This "pretty in pink" model even had a "pony" posing under the hood!
The owner of this Shelby Mustang doesn't want his hood stolen.
Notice that heavy chain holding onto it?
Speaking of hoods . . . the promoters of this show encouraged Mustang owners to bring their cars in no matter the condition.
They said whether it runs or not, needs to be towed, hauled on a trailer, is in process of being restored or not . . whatever the condition, bring it in.
One owner apparently took that invitation seriously.
So the temperature outside as I am writing this is 91 degrees here and 108 in Phoenix.
But I can assure you that Autumn has arrived.
How can I say that?
Because I looked in on Prescott Valley's official Harvest Festival yesterday.
These three stalwarts were viewing the flurry of activity at the town's Civic Center as the finishing touches were being put on the set-up for the Fall Festival.
Recorded music was blasting out over the grounds but equipment was being put in place and hooked up for the live music coming later in the day.
The police were putting on a bike rodeo, there were pony rides and a small train taking people around the grounds, a cornhole game had been set up and was attracting players, bounce houses were installed and active and delighted shrieks and screams were coming from the passengers in this whirling carnival ride.
And best of all for this reporter, there were a variety of food trucks!
This heart-adorned little girl seemed to be thinking, "Will he just hurry up and take his picture so I can get into that treat!!!"
I had an email the other day from a long-ago colleague and friend in Phoenix.
He said after 45 years in Arizona, he's moving back to California to be closer to the children and grandchildren of he and his wife.
He pointed out that the two of them were now closer to 80 than 70 and all of their family lives there.
Well, I'm nearly halfway through my 84th year on the planet and I sympathized with him as I thought of all of the friends that I've lost in recent years.
The Old Gang is getting smaller every day, it seems.
All of this came up because of news of the death of Kris Kristofferson this past weekend.
He, along with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willy Nelson once formed a group they called The Highwaymen.
Now, only Willy is still alive.
And like Old Man River he just keeps on, still playing concerts and living his song "On The Road Again".
He's got another song out now and it seems prophetic, given Kristofferson's death.
Give it a listen.
By the way, I have to thank Gwyneth in faraway Scotland, known to readers of her "OOK" blog as "gz", for letting me know about this sad and sentimental song.
This past weekend was not particularly a good one for a lot of folks, particularly in North Carolina where Dana Bug and Dr. M live just east of where the worst happened around Asheville.
They escaped a direct hit but their electricity went out on Friday and isn't expected to be restored until next Friday!
Dr. M took this picture of one of his routes to check on his father.
No getting through that but the resourceful driver finally found a way to get where he was going and his dad was okay.
Those Carolina folk are gritty.
Over here I got a message from Tommy Terrific on the Left Coast.
He shared a photo of one of their cats lazing in the sun.
That's Hemingway, so named because of his huge six-toed paws, like the cats Ernest Hemingway had as pets in Key West.
SWMBO loves an orange or yellow cat so she enjoyed seeing him again.
Meanwhile, the music world lost a giant over the weekend.
Kris Kristofferson died at his home on Maui, where his friend Willy Nelson also has a home.
I communicated with my longtime photographer friend, Timmer, up in Colorado, and he reminded me that he had once shot a story on the third re-make of the movie "A Star Is Born".
This one starred Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand and Timmer still has the mug the movie crew gave him on that day.
So nothing much to report but it seems now like it was a busy weekend.
Here in still-hot Arizona I keep bangin' away at my Spanish lessons from Duolingo.
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