GOLF IS A FUNNY GAME

Highlight of the day from yesterday's third round of the PGA Championship.

Australian golfer Jason Day hooked his drive on the second hole far to the left, across a creek and into thick weeds on the far side.  After a television broadcaster and his caddy waded across and located and identified his ball, Day gamely removed his shoes and socks and rolled his pants up to mid-thigh.  He then waded the creek and struggled through the weeds to his ball.  Neatly catching a club his caddy tossed to him over the creek, Day then went to work.  

He hacked the ball out of the weeds and into the rough on the other side of the fairway.  (Second shot)  He then waded back across the creek, dried his feet, re-donned his socks and shoes, rolled down his pants and proceeded.  

He then struck his ball up onto the green.  (Third shot)  Next he calmly sank a 12-foot putt for a par four. Probably one of the most unlikely pars this tournament will see.

It was fun to watch.

As the commercial says "these guys are good!"

SATURDAY SERENADE

This morning's emails revealed a world of chaos.

U.S. warplanes and drones are bombing Islamist jihadists in northern Iraq.

Hamas is once again firing rockets into Israel.  Israel is responding with air strikes.

Closer to home . . the Beautiful Rich Daughter has spent the past 24 to 48 hours under the covers, feeling sick, overworked, overstressed.

Our friend, DK, has moved into her new condominium in Phoenix but in the process has discovered one bed frame missing and injured her mouth in a silly accident.

I rose, as usual, about an hour and a half before SWMBO and began heating a teakettle of water for her morning cuppa.  Then I forgot about it and she discovered a dry kettle, very hot, with the fire still on under it when she came into the kitchen.  My bad.

My big black cat, Blackwell, received fresh water and fresh food this morning and came in and slept on the floor at my feet for an hour.  But a few minutes ago he was opening the cupboard door where his food is kept and letting it slam with a loud "THUMP". While he does this when he needs fresh food I think he also does this because he likes the sound.

So for all of us, let's just chill awhile and listen to Schubert's Serenade, beautifully performed on acoustic guitar by Johanna Beisteiner.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

This is how I feel some mornings.

And so we come to the end of yet another week.  Have a glorious weekend, folks.

(As usual, contributions and thefts are gratefully acknowledged.)

THROWBACK THURSDAY

I have my old buddy, Danny Bananas, to thank for today's photo. He sent it to me yesterday from Bismarck, North Dakota where we once worked together.

Frankly, I have no memory of publishing this desperate plea for help from the hoi polloi but there it is.  In black and white.  So I can't deny it.

Therefore, from the late 1960's to you . . .

(I like the way I neatly lined up the three cities on a typewriter in a pre-computer age!)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

SCIENCE OR SORCERY?

Post by Siakap Keli.

I WON ONE!

Over the years, as in most marriages, there are small and large arguments over small and large disagreements.

SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) had told me the plant in our back yard was an Artemisia.  But I had doubts and had questioned that from time to time.  I said it looked similar to other plants in our area that she had identified as Russian Sage.  Still she insisted it was different and was an Artemisia.

Finally, one day when it was in full purple-blossomed bloom, I looked for pictures of such a plant on the Internet.  I found many gray-green plants that looked very similar to the way ours looked when we first got here but none with purple blossoms.

So I told my garden expert (SWMBO) about it and let it drop.

A few days later she came to me and said something along the lines of "you were right."  As a golden shaft of light struck me and the angels began to sing, she continued "I looked on the Internet and it's a Rocketman Russian Sage."

Then she added a tiny clause.  "So you win once in 43 years.  Big deal."

The ROCKETMAN RUSSIAN SAGE seems to be a hardy plant. Here's a picture of it after a thunderstorm passed through a few days ago.

As you may be able to see, the pounding rain pretty much flattened it.

But here it is a short time later after it had sprung back up.

So, if you see one of these in your yard, remember - it is not an Artemisia.  It is a ROCKETMAN RUSSIAN SAGE!

STUDYING THE CLOUDS

It's a great day for clouds over north-central Arizona.  

This looks like whipped cream in the sky.

Could be a storm moving in to the North.

And rain over the mountains.

CARS, CARS, CARS

Prescott's Watson Lake park was the scene of a classic and antique car show today.

There were cars and trucks of every era on display.

That's a beautifully-restored Model A Ford on the left.

There was an ancient fire truck or two.

One jalopy even had a car-hop's tray with a fake cheeseburger and ice cream soda at the driver's window.

Some of the paint jobs were extravagant.

Some even a little bizarre.

This British MGB proudly sported the Union Jack on its hood.

There was a very old racing car.

And a much newer car with a famous name.

But for my money, the greatest draw had to be this old Reo.

This beauty came from the second motorcar company of Ransom E. Olds and bore his initials.  The company last manufactured automobiles in 1936.  Its name is most commonly found these days in crossword puzzles.

A great day for viewing some marvelous cars.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Have a great weekend, folks, and keep chucklin'.

(Thanks to all contributors, aware and unaware.)

THROWBACK THURSDAY

From sometime in the middle 1960's.  Bismarck, North Dakota. 
Covering live a state Republican convention while suffering under the effects of The Mother of All Hangovers.

A bit later, rising to the occasion.

THE TOOTH FAIRY

My dentist (Dr. Leon Wachtel) is an artiste.  I went to see him today because I (thought I) had broken off a crown Saturday night biting through some very tough crust on a microwaved leftover pizza.  At least that's what it looked like to me when I gazed in the mirror at the scrubby little stub where my tooth had once been.  

I called his office first thing this morning and asked for an ASAP appointment.  I was told he could see me at 2:20 this afternoon.  So I went, with some misgivings.  Those concerned the price of a new crown.  (I apparently had swallowed and  . . . digested . . . the old one and it was nowhere . . . to . . . be . . . found.)

After some chat he looked in my mouth and said "Oh, that wasn't a crown, it was just a composite.  I'm going to just build you a new tooth."  

I said "you mean I don't need a crown?"  (Idiot!)

He said "well, you can have one if you want one."

I quickly said "no, no, no, that's okay."

I had told him I needed it quickly because I was expecting a call any time from Michael McConaughey's people asking me to double for him in his next movie.  I tried out my "all right . . . all right . . . all right" line but no one seemed impressed.

To make a long story short, he built me a composite tooth which looks and feels just like the old one and I am good to go.

It's great to have a good dentist, even if he doesn't get my humor sometimes.

Oh, he said my mouth is full of tartar and I need to schedule a cleaning.  That's now set for September.

Rain update: it's been raining hard all around us today but only a few light sprinkles here.

SUNDAY SERMON

I'll be glad when tomorrow comes.  Last night I nuked a few pieces of leftover pizza from Friday night and in the process of biting through a very hard crust edge I apparently broke off a cap on one of my teeth. One of those unimportant ones.  Right in front.  So I've left a message on my dentist's answering machine and hopefully I'll be able to get in tomorrow for at least a temporary fix.  This is probably the second time this has happened since I got the cap 29 years ago so it's not too bad a history.  I figure this fix will set me up for the rest of my life.

So my Sunday has been spent idly running my tongue over what's left of my tooth and counting the hours.  And reading the Times. Just finished that.

We haven't been visited by bunnies lately and Judy has just put out some carrot scraps and some miniature Brussel sprouts.  I thought Brussel sprouts, especially the small ones, were a little gourmet for some random cottontails.  But the boss said "they like cabbage" and I guess that means Brussel sprouts are just an upgraded cabbage.  

I've been watching.

No bunnies yet.

Lessee, what else is new.  Oh, towering clouds again but no rain. Guess that's not new.

The Diamondbacks lost to the Phillies today.  Guess that's not new either.

I guess nothing much is new.

Wish me luck with the tooth fairy tomorrow.

I'll keep an eye out for bunnies.

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR

Yesterday we had three hard rains.  Today we had lots of thunder but no precipitation.

SWMBO and I did have a nice lunch at a relatively new fine dining spot in Prescott Valley, Cork & Cuisine.  It is in the Entertainment District and features a different menu and a different wine list each month.  Very nice setting with a lounge area, seating at a small bar, tables for dining and a couple of nights a week Chef's Table seating, where you can watch your meal being prepared in an open kitchen and converse with the chef.  Good food, good wine.  We spoke with the aptly-named owner, Sherri Cook, who said they have clientele from Prescott but so far the Prescott Valley crowd is not supporting them.  Give it a try, folks.  It's leisurely dining, not fast food, but a comfortable place to take your time over a good meal and libations.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

As the late Bill Thompson ("Wallace" of Wallace and Ladmo) might have said "always leave 'em laughing."

For those who aren't familiar with Wallace, he was the originator of a children's television show in Phoenix, Arizona on which he starred for 35 years.  He died this week at the age of 82.

Now . . on to the funnies . . .

And finally . . . (as one of my colleagues/bosses used to say) . . .

Have a fab weekend, folks, and keep in mind these words from the Wallace and Ladmo theme song:  "ho-ho-ha-ha-hee-hee-ha-ha"

THROWBACK THURSDAY

When I was a much younger man, one of my "stunts" was to climb up on a roof.  I'm not really sure why.  Maybe the view was better. Maybe because my wife (to be) hated when I did it.  Maybe because ("why do you climb Mt. Everest?") it was there.  At any rate . . .

The urge is still there but I don't do this anymore.