Early November Miscellaneous

Below our house a large cornfield stood until stiff winds of a month ago knocked many of the stalks flat to the ground.  We noticed upon returning home from Branson that the field had been harvested for what still stood.  Hordes of geese moved in, tens of thousands of them, to finish gleaning corn laying on the ground. They provided an entertaining view each time we drove past.  One morning I heard shotguns blasting away, and now, there are no more geese gathering.  I miss them.

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We bought tickets for the new James Bond movie "Skyfall."  This was just for the heck of it.  James Bond isn't too brainy, so a person doesn't have to do much thinking, just sit back and watch.  We didn't feel cheated because it was entertaining.  Several months ago while we toured the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, I stopped to look at an exhibit.(How this got into a collection of cowboy stuff, I don't know.)  A Walther PPK pistol sat in a showcase and was identified as the type of gun James Bond carries.  So I looked closely when he drew his iron, and sure enough, it looked the same to me.

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The folks downriver on the Missouri have been complaining about the low level of water in the river that endangers barge traffic.  On one of our trips we spent time in Mark Twain's town of Hannibal, Missouri.  We stopped atop a hill overlooking the river and watched barge traffic float slowly by.  Barges are large, and I imagine cost of freighting grain, or any other products, is quite economical.  Politics will start getting played real hard to protect that industry.

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I can't resist telling this story on my wife.  Krolls restaurants offer a good bargain each afternoon: two-for-one burgers, fries, and malts.  When it's close to suppertime, we will occasionally go and fill up.  The best part of the deal is the malts.  They mix each one up in the silver cans we used to see as a kid.  They serve the finished product in a glass container.  The good part is this: There is enough left in the tin container to fill the glass once again.  And upon request, they bring a styrofoam cup to take the excess brew home.  I enjoy my malts to the last drop and like to draw hard on the last slurp and make it go braaackkk.  Drives Mary crazy!  Well, last week, there she was enjoying hers to the last drop and BRAAACKK she goes.  I made immediate eye contact with her over that, but the good part was that a brassy old woman had come in and ordered at the counter.  She turned around and said, "You big kid!!"  But she scolded in fun and we had a good laugh over it.  Some comeuppance for the wife, though.

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It's been an interesting week for me.  This coming Saturday I've been invited to come to Medora for a book signing at their Cowboy Christmas celebration...  I had an email from a gentleman who is reviewing my book for the Western Writers of America and needed additional information...  An email arrived from Paris, France from a gentleman researching the West who wants a book.  Not knowing postage costs I went to the post office and discovered that postage for the book is $10.03...  Ole, while not a brilliant scholar, was a gifted portrait artist. His fame grew and soon people from all over the country were coming to Minnesota to have portraits done. One day, a stretch limo pulled up to his house.

Inside was a beautiful woman, who asked Ole if he would paint her in the nude. This was the first time anyone had made this request of Ole. The woman said money was no object. She was willing to pay $50,000. Not wanting to get into trouble with his wife, Ole asked the woman to wait while he went in the house and conferred with Lena, his missus.

In a few minutes, he returned and said to the lady, "Ya, shoor, you betcha. I'll paint ya in da nude, but I'll haff ta leave my socks on so I'll have a place to wipe my brushes."