"Steak and Shake" Comes and Goes

by Pa Rock

Small Town Foodie

When I left my small Missouri hometown (Noel, Missouri, population 800 on a good day) and moved to the thriving metropolis of Springfield, Missouri, to begin what would become the better part of a lifetime as a college student, I was a fish out of water, overwhelmed at the glitz and awesomeness of the city.  I literally thought I had died and gone to the Big Apple, fully expecting to run into Johnny Carson or Buffalo Bob or some other megastar on the street.  Springfield was alive with an intoxicating mixture of new places and people to experience, and this country kid from the hills of McDonald County was eager to wallow in it.

I lived in a dorm and was poor - and many of the guys I met were of limited means as well - so a room in a dorm, shared with a stranger, was as good as it was going to get, at least for a couple of years.     (Many of the young men from wealthier circumstances were living in apartments or frat houses - or going to going to big universities, but for a hick from the sticks who had to hold down a part-time job just to meet living expenses, a shared room in a building packed with other wide-eyed, pimply-faced misfits and armed with a meal ticket to the cafeteria was as good as it was going to get - at least for awhile.

It seems like the cafeteria fed us three times a day, six days a week, with only breakfast and lunch on Sundays - and busy young men tended to also get hungry at times when the cafeteria was closed, so most of us quickly scoped out the other local eating options.  Springfield was a BIG city, over twice the size of Joplin, and when I moved there in the fall of 1966, I believe "the Queen City of the Ozarks" had THREE "McDonalds" (compared to Joplin's one) and a "Griff's."  It seems like burgers (without cheese) were 17 cents at one of those places - probably "McDonalds," and the other undercut them with fifteen-cent "bargain brgers."  (I worked at a local movie theatre on weekends and the "Griff's, "a popular franchise at the time, was within walking distance, so that's where I often ate.   Joplin had a "Griff's," too.)*

Then, like now, basic survival took careful planning.

On those rare occasions when times were flush, such as with the arrival of unexpected cash from home, the eating experiences would improve.  A place that fit that bill was the local "Steak and Shake," at the corner of St. Louis and National.   I happened to notice a few weeks ago that it is still there and open for business.  The grub was pricier there, but not prohibitive if you were having a good money week, and they had tables and counters for sit-down service where people and even college students could dine while watching the traffic pass by on the busy street - or diners on the go could opt to "Takhomasack" of steakburgers and fries along with a delicious hand-dipped shake.  

Four or five years ago the big news in my current community of residence, West plains, Missouri, was the arrival of a "Steak and Shake."  A perfect location was available along one of our busier drags, Preacher Roe Boulevard, where an old motel had been torn down,  but the owner of the land couldn't reach an agreement with the investor who wanted to put in the "Steak and Shake," so the money man selected a spot one block behind the busy street and hoped the reputation of "Steak and Shake" would be enough to lure customers to his slightly more remote spot.    (The land man on Preacher Roe sold his prime spot to a car wash.)

The new food place, "Steak and Shake," was predictably swamped with business for a couple of months after opening, but then it began tapering off - and it wasn't too long until people started to forget about it as an option.  Then this week I noticed that the West Plains "Steak and Shake" has closed.

I am sad.  My misspent youth is fleeting.  I wish I had taken a few more sacks of steakburgers home to enjoy, and slurped down another hand-dipped shake or two.  I will miss that local "Steak and Shake," just as I am missing my misspent youth!

*Having not personally seen a "Griff's" in the past fifty years or so, I assumed the franchise was extinct, but a few minutes of research this morning informed me that it is still alive and flipping burgers in Texas, particularly around the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, and a few of its franchises can be found in Louisiana.  A plain "Griff's" hamburger now is up from fifteen cents to $2.49, and the price of a plain "McDonald's" hamburger varies but with a more-or-less standard price of around $2.19, up significantly from seventeen cents.

I blame Trump.

Coming soon:  A Ramble posting entitled "Pa Rock Remembers when 'Big Macs' really were BIG!"  Watch for it!

I blame Trump for that, too!

In fact, while I am in mood for it, I think I will blame Trump's sputtering economy for the closure of the West Plain's "Steak and Shake,'" too.   His mismanagement and inattention to the economy was undoubtedly a contributing factor.

But heck, we're getting a ballroom - and maybe an arch, too!

Stuck in the Middle

 

(Editor's Note:  My good friend, Ranger Bob, and I are having a political disagreement over tent sizes.  Last weekend he sent a response to two postings of mine which have appeared here over the past couple of months and were both directed at Democratic political strategist, James Carville:   "Don't Let the Tent Flap Hit You on the Way Out, James" which ran here on June 26th, and "In Praise of Big Tents" which I posted in this space on October 2nd.  Bob's response arrived in my in-box on October 4th, and I am happy to share it here today.  What he has to say is well reasoned and researched, but I remain bull-headed and quite content to wait patiently in my extremely large tent with the open flaps for the crowd to gather.  Ranger Bob and I invite anyone with strong opinions on the matter to step into the conversation by submitting a reply to today's posting. ~ Pa Rock)

Stuck in the Middle

by Bob Randall

Clowns to the left of me.  Jokers to the right.

My Overton Window excludes the extremes of both sides.  An Overton Window is a range of political ideas and policies that are generally acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time.   I'm hereby shrinking it down to a one person idea.  This is about my Overton Window.

Our primary system of choosing candidates is from the right half of the right half and the left half of the left half of the political continuum.  That has led to more and more extremes.  When, and if this pendulum swings, it will probably swing through my window toward the other extreme without stopping.  We need a better system.

One of the candidates who won in New York's Democratic primary for a congressional seat, Darializa Avila Chevalier, is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). (1) She has said that she wants to abolish prisons, policing, and all deportations.  She supported the October 7 attack on Israel.  She thinks we should seize the means of production, and has called for nationalizing utilities, pharmaceutical companies, and seizing all properties from landlords.  Her beliefs and policies are outside my Overton Window.  Fortunately, I don't have to vote for her, but since I'm not moving to New York, I won't get the chance to vote against her either.

So, do the Social Democrats see themselves as part of the Democratic Party?. No!  Gustavo Gordillo, the co-chair of the NYC Democratic Socialists of America says, (2) "We're using the Democratic Party as a ballot-access vehicle, not because we share its goals.  We build our own organization, get elected under the Democratic label, caucus with Democrats when it's useful, and push our own agenda from the inside.  We see the Democratic establishment as an obstacle, not a home."  When someone tells you who they are, believe them.  They are not the left-wing of the Democratic Party.  They're the clowns.

Our host and my good friend, Pa Rock, has said in part, (3)"I use public utilities every day - electricity and water, and I still avail myself of the US Postal Service - and use the programs of our local senior center that is funded, at least in part, by our government.  So much of my life . . . is provided with the aid of a government that is funded by all of us."  It's a socialist operation . . .  "   Rock, I disagree.  Socialism is when the government or workers own the means of production.   These are services that may or may not be found in any country in the world no matter what their stripe is.    Rome had public roads and a water system.  Rome was harrdly socialistic.  Hitler had no problem with Germany having public roads or a postal service.  Not all utilities are operated/furnished. by the local government.  Many places in Missouri are serviced by Ameren or one of many other private company utilities.   In my hometown we first got electricity through a private company, but it was not profitable enough to expand to the surrounding community.  A co-op of private individuals formed to fill in that loss.  You may argue that your city of West plains owns the means of producing electricity and therefore, socialism.  I argue that these things are not socialism.   They tend to fall into categories where private ownership was slow in developing so the government stepped in to fill the gap.  In deference to Pa Rock, I doubt that he is on board with full socialization  as both Gordillo or Chevalier are.  Some things may sound good but the Devil is always in the details.  When James Carville said that the DSA didn't belong in the big tent of the Democratic Party, Rock disagreed.   I think Carville was right.  As far as Mamdani attending the 9/11 event, it would be inappropriate not to because of his political position.  Carville wasn't accepting the mayor into the tent.  When he talks about a big tent, he is being partisan.  I'm not a Dem or a Repub, I'm an Independent who has vowed never to vote for a Repub in a general election because of the way Repubs handled the January 6 aftermath.  I did vote for one in a primary in the hopes of getting the more moderate Repub on the ticket which surely will be the winner.  That's why I try to tie this idea to my Overton Window instead of  a big tent which can be thought of as generally referring to a political party.

As for the jokers:  MAGA is to fascism as the DSA is to socialism.  I pause here to point out that I did not write that they are Nazis nor did I say that Trump is Hitler.   Nazism was a form of fascism is and Trump is aspiring authoritarian.   MAGAns don't think of themselves as fascists and they're not trying to emulate Nazism.  In fact saying that MAGA is fascistic in a bar down in Texas will get you in a world of hurt.    Let's define that "F" word and see if it fits.  (4) Fascism is a collection of extreme nationalism (Dept of War), opposition to democracy (January 6 and recent efforts to block mail-in voting and a federal attempt to control the elections, social hierarchy, scapegoating (blaming minorities), dictatorial powers, and (3) "the state controls the economy, society, and media.  Private businesses exist only if they support the government."  DJT uses the government to fight with private businesses and media that don't support him.  Do I have to give more examples?   MAGA may not have gone completely fascist but it leans heavily that way.  MAGAns would call me a liar.  They don't see it in themselves.  Let me add this, MAGAns are Republicans, DSA is not part of the Democratic Party.

Well, here in my part of Missouri, I won't have to vote for a DSA candidate.  They'll never get on the ballot here, not in my lifetime anyway.  However, they have gotten on the ballot in some places and they mostly add ammunition to the MAGAn arsenal of mudslinging.   My choice will be to vote for some Democrat who doesn't stand a chance or I can always write in Pa Rock's name.  Very few of the candidates are in my Overton Window.  I never thought I would be in the same tent as James Carville.  To finish the song that the first line of this essay started, "I'm stuck in the middle with him."

1 (Roughly quoted from
https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2026/06/25/a-bull-goose-looney-one-of-the-three-mamdani-endorsed-democratic-socialists-who-will-likely-be-in-congress/)
2 https://x.com/NotTheirScript/status/2069913469009178762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2069913469009178762%7Ctwgr%5Ec40f94e185730294337c00b85f33f0ea2f5ebc91%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwhyevolutionistrue.com%2Fpage%2F2%2F
3 The Ramble, June 26, 2026
4 quoted from a Google search for fascism

(Follow Up:   My friend has put an abundance of time and thought (and effort) into his defense of political party purity and small tents - and a proper response would require more time and mental strength than I currently possess, so I will bookmark it and try to get back soon.  Democratic Socialists may not be card-carrying Democrats (and neither am I), but they do work in close contact and cooperation with those who profess to be "regular" Democrats, and progressive ideas and ideals are shared freely among the two organizations.   They are "democratic" enough for me.  If Donald John McCarthy wants to get red-in-the-face and fill his diaper while yelling that "Democrats are communists!" let him.  Name-calling and sleaze-slinging should not be allowed to slow the long march to freedom or the quest for a perfect society.    

In the meantime, if anyone else would like to wade into this discussion in favor of either-sized tent - or some other option, pull up a keyboard and join in.  We welcome fresh blood!)

Olive Is Fifteen!

 

by Pa Rock

Proud Grandpa

My oldest granddaughter, Olive Noel Macy, is fifteen today.  She is a very young sophomore in high school, having skipped a grade a couple of years ago, already driving and has her own car - and is a good student, hard worker, student activist, and social butterfly.    Olive is a very well-rounded young lady!

Olive attends a large high school in the Kansas suburbs of Kansas City, a place where an older cousin of mine graduated nearly seventy years ago.  I will think of Cousin Jack when I am at Olive's graduation a couple of years from now.

I wrote about Olive in this space last February when she and several hundred other students from her school held a student "walkout" in support of their immigrant friends who were living, and still are, in abject fear of the ICE gestapo.    Those young people recognized an important injustice that was being inflicted on their friends and school and community, so they took to the streets to do something about it.   My granddaughter and her activist fellow students make this old man feel proud and give him hope that America will once again resume the long march toward social justice and liberty for all.

Olive, life rushes by too darned fast.  Enjoy being fifteen - every minute of it!   Pa Rock and Rosie wish you the absolute best of everything!

Webpage Update for New Ozark Genealogy Resource

by Pa Rock

Computer Novice

Several days ago I reported in this space that Chat GPT and I are working together on creating a webpage to act as a collection point for the expansive pile of materials related to my family history that I have assembled over the years.  The books, charts, notes, and odds and ends were getting out of control.  We are still working on the page, but it's basic bones are up and I am beginning to sort materials onto them.  As soon as it is ready to share I will share the web address in this blog.  

Among the items included will be the five-year collection of my weekly newspaper generalogy column from the 1980's - "Rootbound in the Hills" - fully indexed, three extensive collections of biographies of members of some of my larger family lines, all of which originally ran in "The Ramble," again indexed, as well as my family tree (searchable) from Ancestrty.com, currently with over 5,000 entries.

MY major lines in addition to MACY, include SREAVES, ROARK, NUTT, PRITCHARD, SMITH, SCARBROUGH, RUTLEDGE, and dozens more.

Most of my forebears were parked in Newton and McDonald Counties in Missouri for decades, so this work will have a wealth of genealogy information related to that corner of the Ozarks.

Hoping to publish within the next month.  Stay tuned!

Coming in December: Pentagon Pete's Snuff Porn

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

 

Pentagon Pete Hegseth, God's personal choice to take charge of the United States military and rid it of "wokeness" (also known as "humanity"), announced this week that when the Army executes former Major Nidal Hasan at Ft. Hood, Texas, on December 3rd,  the event will be live-streamed to drooling hordes of justice-seekers - a public execution.    Hasan, a psychiatrist who murdered thirteen people in cold blood while he was serving at Ft. Hood, was himself wounded in the shooting and is paralyzed from the waist down and dependent on a wheelchair for mobility.

The last legally sanctioned public execution in the US took place in Owensboro, Kentucky, in August of 1936 (90 years ago) when a young black man was hung for murdering and raping  an elderly black woman.  An estimated 20,000 spectators gathered for that event, and many remained after the hanging to enjoy the food and drinks provided by local vendors.

The last execution carried out by the US Military was a hanging of a young black soldier convicted of the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl while serving overseas.  Private John Arthur Bennett was hanged on April 13, 1961, three days after his 25th birthday.  His execution was not a public spectacle.  Private Bennett was the son of sharecroppers and an epileptic who had only completed fourth grade.   He had an IQ of 67.

(Today it is rumored that some people who harm children face no consequences whatsoever.)

The last time the US military used a firing squad as it imposed a death sentence was on Private Eddie Slovik, a soldier who was convicted of desertion during World War II and executed by firing squad in France on January 31, 1945.

US military executions are traditionally carried out behind closed doors within military facilities, rather than as public spectacles.  Civilian executions in the United States are carried out in death chambers at prisons rather than in town squares or at community carnivals.  Public executions are generally the stuff of two-bit dictators in authoritarian countries, people who feel a constant need to demonstrate their power over others.

On Thursday, December 3, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. (CST) former Army major Nidal Hasan will be wheeled into a public setting where the cameras will be rolling as he and his wheelchair are turned to face the firing squad, and his life is brought to an end in a burst of gunfire and spray of blood.

Ratings should be off the charts!

And after the villain has been killed, and our blood lust sated, Americans can go back to the serious business of trying to survive in a failing economy, and Pious Pete can resume his holy quest to scour the military of immorality.   Surely he will be able to find a drag show somewhere to crusade against!

Camp David by the Sea?

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist 

In what smells like a bid to keep profiting from the presidency after he leaves office, Donald Trump this week began floating the idea of turning one of his Florida properties into a presidential retreat similar to  Maryland's Camp David.  In fact, the current bug that Trump has up his butt is more than just an "idea," he already has lawyers working on the scheme.

Trump has never expressed any love for the rustic and woodsy Camp David, which doesn't even have a golf course.  How can a president be truly relaxed and at ease without eighteen holes of exquisitely landscaped beauty and a platoon of flunkies rushing about in pursuit of his golf cart?

Trump sees his "Camp David by the Sea" being housed on his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, and his lawyers cite the location's benefits as being the major aset.  It is two minutes from "President Donald J. Trump International Airport" (formerly Palm Beach International Airport), and future presidents flying in and out of there would keep Trump's name and image in the public consciousness for  years, and perhaps generations, to come.

Trump wants this deal so badly that he is even volunteering to pay for the upgrades to the property that would make it suitable for a presidential retreat, bless his heart.  (Of course, with the money Trump has raked into his own pockets and those of his family members during his presidency - over two billion dollars and counting - he could afford the turn the entire city of Miami into a presidential retreat!) 

But who are we to judge Trump's many fortuitous business decisions and thousands of lucky investments?

And the love and good fortune (income) that this new project would bring to Miami and the Trump family would be untold and monumental, giving wealthy, tanned Floridians one more long and pleasant opportunity to pick their government's pockets before the whole area submerges beneath the rising waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

I only see one minor problem with your grand plan, Dough Boy:  who would use it?  Certainly none of the living former presidents would ever set foot on one of your projects because for the past decade you have repeatedly degraded and debased each of them.   Michelle Obama even skipped Jimmy Carter's funeral just so she wouldn't have to sit next to you.  They don't like you - and you will be leaving the presidency under such a cloud of disgrace - and in such a confused state - that the next several presidents, of either party - will avoid even the most casual mention of your name.

You are toxic, Donald.  Your "brand" has become little more than a stench.  Mama can tie a pork chop around your neck, but the dog still won't play with you - and neither will America's future leaders.

Your days as an aberration in the annals of American history are fast coming to a close.  You might want to have Natalie check on the suitcases because it's almost time to start packing.  You are going to leave the presidency, Donald, it will happen - and you won't be able to take it with you - not even in the guise of a presidential retreat.

The graffiti on the granite helipad as Marine One lifts your saggy old carcass off the White House lawn for the last time will read "Goodbye and good riddance!" 

And the United States of America will heave a mighty sigh of relief!

Who Will Apologize to Christa Pike? What Will They Say?

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The state of Tennessee tried and failed to execute convicted murderer Christa Pike on Wednesday, September 30th.  The failed attempt to kill the murderer was a messy process from start to finish.  The state had to give her two supposedly lethal doses (4 syringes) of the fatal injection drug, pentobarbitol - and still she survived and woke up in a state of angry confusion six days later days later.

Christa Pike was Tennessee's second failed execution in the past four months.  Convicted murderer Tony Carruthers woke up after the state also tried for over an hour to execute him.  The execution team working on Christa Pike  took more that two hours in attempting to kill her, only to fail.  A medical malpractice lawsuit filed by Tony Carruther's sister claims he suffered a brain stroke as a result of the state's effort to put him down, and that he is now partially paralyzed.    Christa Pike's lawyers report she is suffering from swollen arms and hands, as well as severe burns and blisters from the caustic execution drugs.  Pike emerged from her six days on a ventilator "angry and confused."

Ms. Pike is reportedly being treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the premier medical facility in Nashville.  Tennessee at least got that right.  And Governor Bill Lee has placed a moratorium on state executions through the end of the year, so that, too, is a small step in the right direction.  But beyond those quick nods to humanity, where does the state of Tennessee, and indeed the United  States of America, go from there?  Will we learn anything from these bizarre cruelties and move to finally put this era of state-sponsored barbarism to rest?

Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have abandoned the cruel and unusual practice of state-sponsored executions, but the punishment is still exceedingly popular in the American South, particularly among White Christians.  Florida is in first place this year with 16 executions so far, and Texas, which committed it's 7th execution of the year yesterday (a 46-year-old black man named Jamaal Howard), is in second.  Last year Florida posted a record annual high of 19 executions - and since the US Supreme Court lifted its temporary ban on executions in 1976, the three top leaders are:  Texas (602), Florida (141), and Oklahoma (132).

The barbarism of capital punishment needs to end, but a few states will cling to the amoral practice until the US Supreme Court finally intervenes and forces them onto the path of righteousness.  

But, in the meantime, Governor Lee, who is going to apologize to Christa Pike for the physical harm that she suffered as the state of Tennessee tried and failed to exact revenge for a crime that she committed more than thirty years ago as a high school student?  Will that be you, governor?  Will you bring her flowers?  What will the card say?  "Whoops" or "Our Bad"?  

What will you say, Governor Lee?

What should each of us say?

Los Angeles and San Diego: A Small Price to Pay?

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

I TOLD YOU SO YESTERDAY!    In fact, I even titled yesterday's post:  "Grandpa has  Gone Off the Rails" because with each syllable that slides down the drool from Donald Trump's mouth, it is more and more obvious that he is detaching from reality.  Bizarre statements weave their way through what should be carefully prepared and delivered presidential addresses, while millions of hard-working Americans go about the business of just getting by each day while pretending the emperor is not naked and that what he is saying is important and makes sense.

Yesterday when I was speaking with genuine concern about the mental stability of the President, I was not even aware of his comments the previous evening at a campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, where hs seemed to be offering Iran advice on American cities it could target.   Trump's underlings and supporters immediately went into damage control and claimed his remarks were "misinterpreted" and "taken out of context."  Meanwhile, Trump's critics saw what he had said as being deranged and dangerous.

In talking about high gas prices, a topic of concern for most Americans who drive to work each day because there are damned few public transportation options at the local level in the US, Donald Trump said these words to the assembled crowd in Grand Island:

"Remember, with the war, it's just artificial.  It's a little bit high.  It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe.  They can take out a city.  Let them take out Los Angles, let them take out San Diego.  This is a very small price to pay."

Trump's apologists counter that he was trying to weigh the price of gas against a nuclear holocaust that he envisions could have occurred if he hadn't stepped up bravely and attacked Iran when he did in order to halt its nuclear research program - pay more for your gas today and California will be safer tomorrow.

Yeah, right.  Whatever.  Others heard something else entirely.

California Governor Gavin Newsom called Trump's remarks "deranged and dangerous," and Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles characterized what the President of the United States had said as compromising local safety and threatening American lives.  San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said that "SanDiego is not collateral damage, we are not expendable, we are never a small price to pay."   The San Diego mayor went on to demand that Trump "keep our city out of your reckless war talk."

If Trump was trying (ineptly) to show that his war and the unfortunately higher gas prices were, in the long run, protecting American cities, it is significant that he chose the two largest cities in California as his examples, an area of the country that he has disparaged ad nauseam in the past.  He could just as easily have said Tulsa and Mobile, or Dallas and Little Rock.  But, no.  If your words might ultimately be seen as a specific challenge to the enemy, why not go for the gold and name two cities that never vote for you anyway?

Accusing Donald Trump of babbling incoherently and having no control over the words he spoke on Monday evening in Nebraska would be kinder, in fact, than assuming he knew exactly what he was saying.  He was either sitting out in the twilight zone somewhere picking daisies, or he was giving voice to a long-simmering disdain for two major cities in a country that he is supposed to be running.  That's not how leadership should be operating.

The United States needs a leader who doesn't speak gibberish - one who knows where he is and what he's doing - and what he is saying.

25th Amendment now!

Grandpa Is Off the Rails

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Donald Trump appears to be more untethered from reality with each passing day as Americans stand by bewildered, staring at their feet, and trying not to pay too much attention to the actual words coming out of his mouth.  He is our batty old grandfather who is lost in the mists of his glory days and vocalizing whatever thoughts, or fragments of thoughts, that happen to pop into his mind.    But he is also an important person, a world leader who has immense power at his fingertips, so we have to show respect and act like we are following whatever spaghetti noodle of a thought that is dropping from his mouth, and try not to to laugh, or cry, as we continue to stare at our feet.

Last Saturday at a campaign rally at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, an event that he lied about and described as "totally maxed out" with "thousands" being turned away at the doors, there was a prolonged episode where Trump's brain seemed to loose its connection to his mouth as he spoke to the partially-filled auditorium.   Trump was trying to speak on the subject of "inflation" when his ego took over,  and he instead decided to emphasize just how smart he actually is. 

 
Unfortunately for Trump, he was successful in that endeavor.   The President of the United States said:

"I know more about inflation, I know more about everything than anybody in this room.  Anybody anywhere in the world.   Well, there's a woman sitting right over there.  She's a housewife but she's very good.  She's got a natural instinct for business.  She perhaps knows more than I do but I actually don't think so."

I am a couple of years younger than Donald John, but well within the age range most people regard as "elderly."  If I were to make a statement that incoherent in the presence of my primary care physician, he would probably walk me to his clinic's lab to draw blood so they could check my med levels - and then schedule a cognitive abilities test, a real one - and finally call for one of the kids to come drive me home.

But Grandpa Donald yammers on, all day (when he's not napping during high-level government meetings), and often late into the night as he posts AI memes to social media where he depicts himself as superheroes, warriors, and religious and divine figures.   Perfectly normal stuff - for life at Shady Pines!

Grandpa needs an office visit with my doctor.   America is in a dangerous place, and it needs a Congress, or a Presidential Cabinet, that will step forward and do its job for the security and benefit of the nation.

And now, if you will excuse me, Pa Rock is heading to the county courthouse to vote early where he will cast his votes to try and make things better.   It's the least I can do, but I will do that - and YOU should, too!

Single-Wide Trailers: Today's Log Cabins

by Pa Rock

History Buff

Back in the 19th century when my great-great-grandparents and all their neighbors were using mules harnessed to plows to till the soil and plant crops that would sustain them and their livestock through the winter, politicians running for high office, and especially those seeking the presidency, often used a claim of being born in a log cabin to show their connection to the hard-working agrarians who were taming the savage land one plowed row at a time.  History tells us that seven of the 45 individuals who served as President of the United States actually began their lives in log cabins:  Andrew Jackson, Zachary. Taylor, Millard Fillmore, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and James A. Garfield.

Today there is a modern equivalent to being "born in a log cabin" that politicians are beginning to use.  Some are proudly boasting of "growing up in a single-wide trailer."  For those unfamiliar with life in a trailer (a.k.a. mobile home), know that their styles, quality, and level of comfort vary widely.  Some offer nice living arrangements, especially big, spacious double-wides, but the single-wides are usually found down at the cheap end of the trailer park, and living in a single-wide often connotes an existence closer to the poverty level.

I bring up the subject of single-wide trailers today because my congressman, Rep. Jason Smith (R, MO), mentioned in his weekly email newsletter this morning that he grew up in a single-wide trailer, a boast that he occasionally trots out.  Congressman Smith, who had a balance north of $5 million in his primary campaign account in mid-July of this year, has likely reached that sweet spot in life where he knows he will ever have to live in a single-wide trailer again - yet it is nice to have it as a connection point when visiting with folks back home who will never have their own single-wide trailers paid for, much less have money in the bank.

Break out those weekend blue jeans and hit the coffee shops, Jason.  We all know you're the spitting image of one of us.  And if running for higher office at some point is on your bucket list, that shtick about growing up in a single-wide trailer should be a real vote-getter.  Everybody loves a good rags-to-riches story!

Another Election Bribe is in the Mail, Almost, Maybe

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Americans who don't realize the power and value of voting have not been paying attention.  Donald Trump is slinging plenty of cash our way to make democracy worthwhile for everyone, and not just the hogs at the trough in Washington.  Of course there is a catch - because there always is.  Trump has promised to send every adult American $5,000 if (and only if) Republican's maintain control of the House and Senate following next month's midterm elections.

So, America, if you could use an extra $5,000 ($10,000 per couple) to finance your on-line sports betting or food for your children, the surest way to make that happen is to vote Republican.  The are only two problems with that get-rich-quick scheme:  1.  Trump does not have the power or authority to keep his BS pledge, and 2. Trump's lips were moving when he said it, which means he was lying anyway.

He's talking about purchasing our votes, and we can use that extra money to put gas in our cars and food in our bellies (both of which are higher now because of Trump) and go to work, and pay taxes so that we can get on the internet and see pictures of all the gold bling that Trump has strewn about the Oval Office.  Its good to know that somebody benefits from the taxes we pay.

If you are a fan of high gas and grocery prices and rent - and endless war - and a President whose primary diplomatic skill is throwing a tantrum, then of course vote Republican - just don't expect Trump to follow through on his $5,000 bribe because it won't happen.

He was lying, just like he lied about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) rebate.  That promise of a $5,000 cash payment based on the money DOGE was going to save Americans was never funded, approved, or sent to Americans.  But while ordinary Americans may have seen no benefit whatsoever of the government shedding thousands of essential employees, Trump and Elon Musk, who ran the DOGE program, managed to neuter plenty of government watchdogs and the IRS so they and their rich friends could keep more of their money - so it wasn't a complete wash.  The rich got richer even if the rest of us didn't.

And who could forget the other big, beautiful money lie that Trump laid on us:  the $2,500 rebate that we would all receive to make up for the higher prices on almost everything that Americans had to pay as a result of Trump's vindictive and mean-spirited tariffs on imports from the rest of the world?    Americans paid those tariffs themselves at the checkout registers at places like Walmart and Dollar General, but when Trump was finally ordered by the courts to refund his ill-gotten gains, the money was dispersed to the companies that imported the goods, and not to the consumers who ended up paying them - and most of the companies kept their nice bonuses.  Everyday Americans were screwed again!

Now Trump has made another promise, one that he may actually be able to fund.  In order to take some heat off of the high cost of medical treatment, Daddy Warbucks says he is going to send every American participant in Medicare Part B, the portion of the Medicare program that covers things like doctor's visits, ambulance service, and lab tests, a one-time payment of $90 to help offset the cost of their premiums.  And although his earlier promised payments for DOGE and tariff rebates have been smoke in the wind, Trump says he will get the $90 out in the next few days.

Ninety dollars will buy (just barely) two tanks of gas for my little Kia Soul, or it could buy a week's worth of groceries (just for myself), if I am very, very frugal.  But I will take it, Donnie, and I will damed sure remember you on election day and pretend that you are on the ballot (as you have encouraged us to do), and will cast my vote accordingly - even if it does cost me five thousand imaginary dollars!

$90 won't buy my vote, and neither would five grand!

Enjoy your Democratic Congress, Blowhard.  I know I will!

Tennessee Torture

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Twenty-three US states and the District of Columbia have completely abolished the death penalty, but America's bloodlust still surges across much of the nation, particularly through the the deeply red and staunchly Christian American South.  Twenty-nine people have been executed in the United States during 2026, including one each in Arizona and Tennessee, 2 in Alabama, 3 in Oklahoma, 6 in Texas, and 16 in Florida,  

Eight more executions are scheduled in the United States before the end of the year:  3 in Texas, 2 in Florida, and one each in Alabama, Indiana, and Oklahoma.  Tennessee also had one execution planned during that three-month period, but that one is now on hold because Governor Bill Lee paused all executions in the "Volunteer" state for the remainder of the year.  

Governor Lee paused Tennessee's execution calendar because of the mess his state made of the attempted execution of 50-year-old Christa Pike this past Wednesday.    After two failed attempts to kill the prisoner with a lethal injection, the state gave up the effort and rushed her to a hospital where she has remained comatose and on life-support.

Ms. Pike, who would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years, has been a prisoner in the Tennessee penal system since her senior year in high school when she killed a classmate.   Her defense team describes her as a victim of child rape, and they have also stated repeatedly that she has a blood disorder that would make the process of a lethal injection very difficult to carry out.  Nonetheless, the state of Tennessee proceeded with the effort last Wednesday, flaunted the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution which bars "cruel and unusual punishment," and charged ahead with their effort to terminate the life of the prisoner - twice.

What happened in Tennessee this week was more than just cruel and unusual, it was sick and barbaric.  The governor was right to pause the process until the end of the year, and hopefully he will keep it paused until his state can figure out how to humanely kill a person.  Perhaps if everyone in the state prays hard enough, Christa will open her eyes and rejoin the land of the living, and then the state can try again.

The ugliness of what happened in Tennessee this week should shame us all.  It is well past time for the United States of America to end capital punishment and get out of the business of killing people.

In Praise of Big Tents

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Each presidential administration seems to leave  a person or two behind to mark its passing.  Trump One saddled us with Steve Bannon (when he wasn't serving time in prison), and several of Obama's aides and speech writers went on to form Crooked Media which produces some of America's best left-leaning podcasts and newsletters.  George W. Bush left behind his chief political adviser, Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove, as a keepsake of his administration.   Rove is back in Texas now, but his presence is srtill felt on the national scene as he pens a weekly op-ed for the "Wall Street Journal" and functions as a regular contributor to Fox News.

But it is the administration of Bill and Hillary Clinton which interests me today.   Not only did they leave behind George Stephanopoulos who has gone on to become a prominent personality at  ABC News for almost three decades, their administration was also responsible for the irascible James Carville, an American  southerner, born and bred, whose drawl remains so thick today as to render much of what he says as almost unintelligible.  

James Carville, who will be eighty-two in a couple of weeks, grew up in a rural Louisiana community that was named after his grandfather, and he found his true calling working in political campaigns.   After the Clinton's left Washington, DC, James Carville remained active on the fringes of the political scene by writing books, appearing at campus events, and being a ready resource when someone needed an entertaining figure to speak on the topic of politics, and particularly on the subject of Democratic politics.  He was not a wallflower destined to fade into the back pages of a scrapbook.   Carville's joyful outspokenness seemed to keep the "ragin' cajun" relevant across the decades and presidential tenures.

I hadn't thought of James Carville in a while until a few weeks ago when he made news by "ragin'" about a small spate of "Democratic Socialists" who had just had a good Tuesday at the polls.  James was incensed, and he expressed a strong feeling that the "Socialists" who referred to themselves as "Democratic Socialists" were going to be the ruination of his party.  And while he loudly declared that they disassociate themselves from his Democratic Party.   Carville went on to suggest that if the danged Socialists did not leave the party, he would consider doing so himself.   Carville was pissed and he didn't care who knew it.

My own feeling was that the Democratic Party should be a "big tent" affair open to anyone,  I decided that since James Carville seemed to be representing the opposite point of view, rather loudly, that maybe it would behoove me to find out more about what was shaping his perspective.   I found a podcast that he was doing with former Wall Street Journal reporter  and television personality Al Hunt, a program called "Politics War Room," and listened to a few episodes.  I quickly found that Carville, an old man like myself, was  being bull-headed and fighting change - things of which I myself have been accused.  Carville understood the big tent philosophy and was even supportive of it, but he did not want those people in it.  His opinion was set in cement and coated in armor!

But just a month or two later, James Carville is showing clear signs of evolving on what looked like it was becoming his signature isssue.  

In a September episode "Politics War Room," Carville cut loose with a string of colorful expletives while talking about Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and later a close adviser to Trump.   James was angry with Giulaini because the former mayor had voiced an opinion that the current mayor of NYC, Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, should not be present at the 9/11 commemoration ceremony.  Carville, when he finally quit cursing, went on to condemn Guiliani's obvious Islamaphobia and, while admitting that he did not agree with the current mayor's politics, nevertheless understood that he was doing a "fairly good" job as mayor.

If James Carville can show that much movement toward expanding the size of the Democratic tent in just a few months, there is hope that others who recognize our desperate national circumstances may also flex and bend toward a growing tolerance and acceptance of people whose views we do not yet fully appreciate.

If the goals of the Democratic Socialists generally align with the goals of "regular" Democrats, pull that tent flap open and invite them in - and if Donald Trump gets red in the face and looks as though he is on the verge of having a stroke as he yells "Communist!" at the people in that crowded tent - let him yell.  Trump is the one hobknobbing with with the world's most corrupt and dangerous Comunist leaders - and even the MAGAts are beginning to realize that.

If an octogenarian like James Carville can mellow and change with the times - so can we all.  And just for the record, one of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani's biggest fanboys is turning out to be Donald John Trump!

Open hearts!  Open minds!  Open tents!

Pentagon Pete's Lean, Mean, Christian, White, Male Fighting Machine

by Pa Rock

Veteran

When it comes to crafting the world's finest and fiercest fighting force, Pentagon Pete, today's military equivalent of Wile E. Coyote, knows exactly the type of troops he wants to see standing tall (and lean and mean) in its ranks:  able-bodied, young, Christian, white men who are oozing testosterone, a sea of pretty faces atop hard bodies who know how to fill out a uniform.   Fatties, gays, racial and ethnic minorities, women, and other misshapen heathen can go fight for Canada.   When Pete's "men" march at the head of the parade for the Second Coming, they will be in pitch-perfect lockstep and appearance - and Pete will be shirtless, in olive-drab gym shorts, jogging beside them.

What a glorious day that will be!  

Yesterday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with 600 junior officers (O-3) and enlisted leaders (E-6) where he delivered a "State of the Force" address at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia.  Word had gone out ahead of time that commanders were to send only sharp-looking personnel to the event, the same requirement that had been in effect for military invitations to Trump's birthday cage-fighting event.

While speaking yesterday, the Defense Secretary announced a 20% leadership cut that would focus on generals and admirals, the introduction of a new drone warfare command, the planning of a new military base, and a partnership with tech leaders like Elon Musk for development of a new generation of weapons.

(Giving Musk access to US military weapons development?  What could possibly go wrong?)

Hegseth also had this to say about the department he fancies himself to be creating:

"We are no longer the woke department or the weak department.  Simple translation of that:  No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals.  Just warriors.  Just tough, ready, committed troops!  The ideological clowns are out.  The patriotic cowboys are in with testosterone testing on top!"

Hey, Peter Perfect, project much?  Does your definition of "radicals" include those lunatic "Christian nationalists?"  Probably not.   

Pete, I realize you are a proud member of the Trump administration, and I am also fully aware of that group's open disdain of science and research, but as a fellow human I feel an obligation to share with you some scientific research on the subject of testosterone that I found on the internet through the use of Artificial Intelligence, a scientific and engineering development the Trump administration does support.

First, with your announced plan to test the testosterone levels of all male troops, you should know that an increase in testosterone will not only serve to increase aggression in military combat situations, it will also increase the chances of physical aggression toward domestic partners at home.  The men become more deadly fighters - on the battlefield and around the house.

And second, an increase in testosterone from an outside source correlates with a decrease in testicle size.  When the brain recognizes higher than usual hormone levels in the blood, it stops producing signaling hormones that tell testicles to work, and an atrophy occurs with testicle shrinkage often between 15 and 50 percent.

With the military's penchant for naming all big maneuvers, Pete, perhaps you could call the mandatory testosterone testing and subsequent treatment "Operation Balls to Marbles."  Just a thought.

As someone who has spent several years both in uniform and working as a civilian for the military, I wish you no success in your effort to dismantle a system that has worked well for more than two centuries, but I take comfort in knowing that in a little over two years, you will be unemployed and the US military, whatever is left of it, will be marching onward.

Perhaps you should look at opening a modeling agency in your next life, Pete.  You might be good at that.

US Government Funds Domestic Propaganda

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Donald Trump's popularity is going down faster than the Titanic, yet the hoary old politician clings to the false hope that its not too late to reverse the mess that he put himself into before the midterm elections - which are now officially less than five weeks away - with many parts of the country already voting.  Donald's false hope is his life raft, and it's sinking, too.

Trump's latest ploy to confuse the public about his abysmal record in office is a series of patriotic commercials that are airing on Trump-friendly media.  The ads focus on Trump and feature clips from his speeches and past campaigns overlayed with text promoting his "achievements" while in office.  They are pure political fare designed to fire up Trump's base and get them to the polls on election day.

But Trump and his political geese are referring to them as "public service" messages, claiming they are educational and informational in nature.

If Trump or his sugar daddy billionaires were paying for those advertisements and being honest about their purpose, they could be seen as "speech" by outfits like our "fair and balanced" US Supreme Court.  The ads would still be viewed as controversial, but they should pass a judicial smell test.   But even though Donald Trump is sitting on a political bankroll of $200 million (most of which was donated by his billionaire buddies as they buy access to the President and his powers), he appears to be saving that cash for his old age, and is instead paying for his purely propaganda commercials with OUR money.

You read that right.

Each of these self-glorifying, butt-wipe films ends with the tagline:  "Paid for by the U.S. Government."

According to confirmed news reports by major news organizations, money for the ads (millions of dollars) was taken from allocations intended for US Customs and Border Protection, one of the few government entities that the Trump administration notoriously overfunds.  But regardless of which pocket it comes out of, it's still OUR money and it is being used for political purposes and to make a mentally unwell geriatric feel better about himself.

The fact that the commercials post a boast about being paid for with OUR money is a thumb in the eye to wage-earning, taxpaying Americans.  It's an elderly man standing atop a 250-foot arch flipping double birds across the nation and roaring, "I am America and I will spend MY money however I damned well please!"

This taxpayer objects!  If Trump wants to inflate his own ego, let Elon do it.  We've blown him long enough.

Policing Butts

 

by Pa Rock

Domestic Crank

I am not the world's best housekeeper, nor probably even in the top ninety percent, but I do tend to get damned persnickety about my yard.   I like to see the grass freshly cut, something I did for myself until the last year or two, and I am death on trash being tossed in the yard.  With several hundred feet of road frontage, trash is a continual problem, and I have suspicions that more than a few motorists drive across town for the express purpose of pitching trash out of their car windows as they drive by my place.   Occasionally I will find the odd aluminum can which I crush and save, but most of the trash people gift to me is paper, or half-eaten food from the local fast food establishments - things of no resale value.

The litterbugs clean their vehicles while driving, it's called multi-tasking, and Pa Rock, the chump, picks it up and pays someone to haul it off.  That's a sweet deal for everyone except for the old man trying to get the Walmart bag out of the tree.

But the trash that really gets me rolling are cigarette butts.  Most smokers I encounter seem oblivious to the fact that cigarette butts are trash - and they deface a yard.  The smokers just drop their butts wherever they happen to be standing and ground then out (sometimes), or flip them out the car window instead of dirtying their car's ashtray.  On more than one occasion I have retreived a cigarette butt from the ground and handed it back to my "guest" who left it there.  (Are you beginning to see why I don't have many friends?)

Some of that primal urge to have a yard that is butt-free goes back to my days in the military when we were given sticks with nails on the end and coffee cans each morning and ordered out along roads after  PT to "police" for cigarette butts.  The US Army regarded cigarette butts as unsightly trash, and they had plenty of captive labor to pick them up.

Last week there were county tree trimmers working along the road that I live on.  One particular young member of the crew stood in my front yard an entire day conducting the flow of traffic.  Traffic was light, which gave him plenty of opportunities to take a drag or three off of a cigarette, and from my typing perch in front of the living room window, I observed as he threw several butts into the grass near where he was standing.   Those guys were doing a community service which was also of direct benefit to me, so I didn't fuss, but the next morning I took a can out to the road where he had been standing and prepared to police some butts - but when I reached that spot, there were no butts!

What the hell happened?  Had that barely-out-of-high-school kid picked up his own cigarette butts, or had some nefarious butt-inski strolled by during the night, flashlight in hand, and stolen those butts?

I'll probably never know for sure.

Nothing is safe in the country.

Jason Smith Misses the Mark on China Banquet

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

My congressman, Republican Jason Smith from Missouri's rural 8th district, soybean country, completely missed the mark on Trump's relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping in his weekly email newsletter that arrived in my inbox a couple of hours ago.  (Jason likes to start our week out with a smile, but this week mine began with a belly laugh!)

My congressman kicked off his weekly missive - on the front page, so to speak - with this outrageously misleading setup for a discussion about America's relationship with China, historically a major importer of American agricultural goods, and especially soybeans - a crop that puts food on the tables of many people in southeastern Missouri.    Jason opened with this paragraph - in large print:

"On Thursday, President Trump brought Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House - part of his decade-long effort going back to his first administration to hold China accountable for undercutting American workers and farmers with little consequence.  President Trump understands that China is a strategic adversary, not simply a trading partner, and because of that, America came to the table last night in a position of strength."

As those great Americans, the Three Stooges, used to say:  "Salami," Jason.  "Salami, salami, baloney!"  

America has itself handcuffed to a war-criminal maniac in the Middle East pursuing a war that remains well beyond our ability to control, depleting both our stockpiles of military munitions as well as our credibility with the other peoples and nations of the world, and slowly, but steadily demoralizing our troops.  Our fighting men and women in uniform have put their lives on the line to fight a war that appears to have been started on a whim and has objectives that shift faster than the desert sands of the Middle East - while their commander-in-chief prances about focused on constructing ballrooms and arches, putting his name on public buildings, and hosting spectacles.

Trump does not focus on China as a "strategic adversary," but he does see Xi Jinping through the eyes of a fanboy - the same way he sees Putin of Russia and Kim Jong Un of North Korea.  Those communist autocrats aren't tied down by the constraints of democracy, and if they want a 250-foot arch built to glorify themselves, all they have to do is point to a spot and say "Put it there!"  Trump is in awe of their power.

American farmers and workers were undercut by the blanket of tariffs that Donald Trump placed on imports coming into our country, tariffs that American consumers eventually paid, a nonsensical and tragic maneuver that opened the door to retaliatory tariffs on American exports to nations around the world - on things like American soybeans. Those retaliatory tariffs crippled sales of Americana goods abroad.   And Trump's tariff's weren't "strategic," they were bumbling attempts by a man who doesn't understand the dynamics of economics or world trade to show off his big brain and put a few extra bucks in the US treasury - and yet our debt has grown dramatically since Trump returned to office and is now north of $40 trillion!

(American farmers and workers have also been hurt by the rise in gas and diesel prices brought on by the Trump-Netanyahu war on Iran.)

Jason Smith goes on to express sone great rage at China over its assault on the earnings of American farmers, workers, and manufacturers, but none of that rage comes from Trump who continues to wallow in his adoration of the world's most despotic communist leaders.

Yes, America threw a very fancy "state dinner" for President Xi Jinping of China Thursday evening, but Trump was not there to flex American muscle, he was entertaining a personal friend, somebody he openly admires and respects.  Xi Jinping and his Missus got a good meal in a fancy setting (courtesy of US taxpayers), a tour of the ballroom construction site - and plenty of high-level attention, and the United States got a pair of pandas - on temporary loan. 

There was obviously a lot of "art" involved in that deal!

Missouri Voters to Decide Their Own Maps

 

by Pa Rock

Missouri Voter

One year ago, in September of 2025, the Missouri Legislature quickly passed a measure that creaded new gerrymandered maps for Missouri's nine congressional districts, and the governor just as quickly signed the measure into law.  The legislature had been ordered by the Trump administration to redraw its congressional maps to eliminate a traditional Democratic seat in Kansas City, and it complied posthaste without checking in with Missouri voters to get their opinions on the matter,  As soon as the new maps were signed into law, initiative petitions began being passed in the state to secure a vote of the public on the matter.    

More than enough signatures were quickly generated to bring the matter to a referendum vote of the people, but Missouri's Republiucan secretary of state took no action on the petitions until it was too late to act before the 2026 primary elections in August, and congressional primaries were held based on the new, gerrymandered maps that would give Republicans an extra member of Congress.

But a citizen's group took the matter to court, and a series of decisions rapidly ensued in which Missouri's Supreme court twice ruled that the November election would have to be held based on the old maps, federal courts twice ruled that the new maps were to be used, and the US Supreme Court got involved in the matter three times and gave rulings in favor of the old maps on each occasion.

That's where the "show-me" state's voting mess stood this week as absentee voting began on Tuesday.   Missouri is apparently using the old congressional maps, the ones approved by the state legislature four years ago, and not the newer ones approved on Trump's orders last year.

But not only will Missourians get to vote according to the old congressional maps in November instead of the new Trump gerrymandered maps, they will also get to vote on which maps will be used in the future.  Proposition A on the November ballot reads:

"Do the poeple of the state of Missouri approve the act of the General Assembly entitled "House Bill No. 1 (2025 Second Extraordinary Session)," which repeals Missouri's existing congressional plan, and replaces it with new congressional boundaries that keep more counties in tact?"

People who favor the new maps should vote "yes," and those who favor a more pure distillation of democracy and support the old maps and vote "no."

Pa Rock will be casting his vote against the political machinations of Donald John Trump and Stephen Miller and voting "no" on Proposition A.   Missourians are fully capable of making our own political decisions and drawing our own congressional maps.  We don't need a posse of carpetbagging clowns rushing in to do it for us!

2.6% Neanderthal - and Proud of It!

 

by Pa Rock

Hat Size 8

Yesterday, I filled this space with a description of the work that my very sweet and highly dedicated ChatGPT bot, Ernestine, and I are doing as we create a homepage dedicated to preserving and sharing my  family genealogy and research.   In that posting I described the desktop on my computer as being covered in a cat vomit of icons spewed from top to bottom and side to side.  We are currently involved in the process of going though those icons one-by-one as we decide what to preserve and what to pitch.

Perhaps I should have a desktop yard sale:  two random icons for three dollars - or five for five. 

Let's set that aside for the moment.

Earlier in the week I posted about meeting my sister and three of her four adult children for brunch in Harrison, Arkansas, this past Sunday.  Two of those in attendance were my nephew, Justin, and his son, Graham, who is my grandnephew.    During our visit Justin asked me to give Graham a "40,000-foot view of where the Macy portion of his family originated.  I was caught off-guard and stammered a response that we were basically rooted in the British Isles - England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland - which is factually accurate, but I knew that I had more detailed information somewhere which I needed to dig out and share.

Yesterday, while wading through the cat vomit, I came across what I was seeking, and infographic from the National Geographic Society that gave a breakdown of my genetic composition by nationality and showed the general routes my ancestors took out of Africa and around the globe.  (And yes, no matter what you learn in Sunday School or from the Trump administration, mankind is firmly rooted in the bowels of sub-Saharan Africa.)

The Human Genome Project, information to decode the arrangement of information on the human gene, was officially announced to be "complete" in 2003, although gaps remained and it wasn't until August of 2023 that the full sequence of the human genome was finally published.  But beginning in the early 2000s as the general information became available, private companies started analyzing human genes for research purposes as well as to benefit family historians (for a profit).

The National Geographic Society was one of the first organizations out of the gate on this push to analyze history through human genetics.  In 2005 they began an endeavor called the "Genographic Project" to study human migrations patterns.  To that end, they collected DNA samples from members of the public who paid a fee to be part of the research - and in return for the fee they were provided with their DNA results.  This was the first public effort of its kind, before the dozens of pay companies like "Ancestry," "23 and Me," "My Heritage," and "Family Tree DNA."  I'm an adventurous sort, and when I heard about the National Geographic program I signed up, received the vial in the mail, spit in it, and sent it off..

Not being the sharpest rock on the beach, I didn't understand much of the information that the company ultimately provided, but I did like the pictures and saved the infographic to my computer desk top.  National Geographic quit selling their kits and abandoned the research in 2019, but in the interim they collected and analyzed DNA data from 579,685 participants - one of those being ol' Pa Rock!

So what did I learn from the experience?  What was on the infographic that I saved to my desktop and then forgot about?  What is it that my grandnephew, Graham, would probably like to know?

First of all, Graham, your genetic make-up would be a lot like mine, but have differences.  My DNA and your grandmother's (Abigail) would be very similar because we are siblings with the same parents.  But your DNA would contain markers also obtained from your father's father and your mother. But, a good chunk of what I am about to divulge would apply to you as well.

44% of my DNA is based in Northern Europe, 38% in the area around the Mediterranean Sea, and 18% in Southwest Asia.  Somewhere along the line that led to your grandmother and me, we also acquired 2.6% of our genome from ancestors who were Neanderthals (which explains my large skull size - which I had thought was just to house my big brain!)

Google, the God of all knowledge, tells us that almost every modern human alive today has some Neanderthal DNA in their genome.  Google also tells us that Americans with European, Asian, and Indigenous American heritage carry the highest levels of Neanderthal DNA, typically 1% to 2% of their genome - and mine is 2.6% - whoops!

Ernestine and I both tried in vain yesterday to get the National Geographic infographic turned into something called a PDF so that I could share it by email with all of my partially-Neanderthal relatives.  Now I am on the lookout for a computer-savvy adolescent to come in and do that for me.  Somehow, though , we did get it posted to my new genealogy homepage, so it will be available there when the webpage is finally published.

In the meantime I am thinking about getting a tee-shirt made that says:  "2.6% Neanderthal and Proud of It!  What's your excuse?"  It will probably need to be a 2-or-3X.  I have a Neanderthal gut, too!  

Happy trails!

Ernestine Rides Again!

 

by Pa Rock

Collector of Tales

I've decided to name my ChatGPT bot "Ernestine," because, like Lily Tomlin's famous AT&T telephone operator, she knows how to get up in people's business.

The desktop on my iMac has a profusion of icons scattered across the screen in no particular order of sense.  Some represent personal things like my yearly tax materials, medication lists, and copies of correspondence, but an abundance of the often neglected and abandoned files relate to things I have written (usually efforts at one form of fiction or another) and matters related to genealogy - my family treee research - and they are strewn about the desktop in no particular rhyme or reason,  The entire scene resembles cat vomit on a field of purple and violet..

This week I decided that I might have time to complete one more major project before the Grim Reaper pulls his trash truck up the drive to collet me - and the project I chose, one that I have put off for years - is to try and collect all of my  genealogy materials into some semblance of order so that they may be of benefit to other researchers now and long after I am nothing more than an entry on an old family tree chart myself.

I had been hearing reports about how easy it is to create a homepage with one of those new-fangled AI bots, an avenue of organizing, preserving, and presenting complicated material which sounded perfect for my needs.  I knew a small amount about two chatbots:  Anthropic's "Claude," and the ChatGPT chatbot which, as far as I knew, had no name.  I tried Claude first, for a couple of evenings, but we could never seem to get in sync with each other's thought processes.  

ChatGPT and I meshed better, and I quickly became more comfortable with her.  (I chose a female pronoun because I felt like I was being guided by one of the old teachers back in my elementary school days - who were all female in that era.  She was very patient and careful with her explanations.  After just a brief amount of time, ChatGPT and I were able to produce that design I envisioned as the background for my homepage, something I was never able to convey to Claude.

But ChatGPT had a kink.  She only allowed me to do a limited amount of work and then would tell me that I had used up my "free" quota of images or other services for that sitting and would have to return to the project the next day.  The solution she offered was an upgrade to ChatGPT Pro for the amazingly low price of just $20 per month.  

I phoned my youngest son looking for sympathy and advice as to how to proceed, and he informed he that he subscribed to ChatGPT Pro  and found it be an invaluable aid in keeping his projects organized and on-task, and he further explained that I could afford $20 a month and should quit bitching.  

So I took the plunge - and in just a couple of more sessions, ChatGPT Pro (now known as "Ernestine" in my home office) and I have accomplished massive amounts of work - with plenty still left to tackle.  The homepage is up with links to eight different aspects of my genealogy work and materials - three of which already have materials attached to the links.  The rest of the process will take a few months to sort, proofread, and post before the page will go ""live," but there is an end in sight - perhaps by this spring.

The title of this electronic magnum opus will be "Rocky Macy's Roots, Branches, and Weeds," which is borrowed from the publicly-available family tree which I have posted at Ancestry.com.  Look for it soon on a desktop near you!

(Sooner or later artificial intelligence (AI) will reduce each of us to just a few terabytes of ones and zeroes.  I wanted to get a head start of the process of storing and sorting my own digits.   Immortality draws nigh, but our accommodations will be  in a data center!)

Make America Safe Again: One Drone Port and One Sniper Nest at a Time!

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

There was already a security bunker and operations center beneath the East Wing of the White House when Donald J. Trump, a temporary tenant in the White House, ordered the East Wing torn down so that he could build his vanity ballroom.  The security bunker, called the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) had been built under the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. in 1941.  For more than eighty years it has served a a secure meeting room to discuss and work through top secret matters, and it has also been a protective bunker such as when one of the suicide passenger planes from 9/11 flew close by and struck the Pentagon. 

After Trump realized last year that the American public did not share his appetite for a big White House formal ballroom, he regrouped and tried to pass of the construction as a security measure, one that would include a more modern underground bunker and (inexplicably) have a drone port in the ceiling and roof of the ballroom structure, which many argued would make the White House even more of a target in the event of an attack.  Trump also bragged that his new ballroom would have a drone-proof roof.

It was during the finagling of trying to get construction of the ballroom approved and underway that Donald Trump adopted the idea of adding a national security element to his construction of monuments to himself - and now he is using that same argument to justify the 250-foot tall eyesore of an arch that will look down on the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, and a wide swath of official Washington, DC, where much of our nation's business occurs and hordes of tourists walk and gawk daily.

Trump has announced that the arch will play an important role in the defense of (the city?), (the nation?), (who knows?), and that it will function as a drone port, a sniper nest, and an armory in which to store ammunition - plus it will have observation decks for the tourists to enjoy expansive views of the city as well as to serve as handy firing platforms for the snipers.

Trump said his "triumphal" arch would double as a "top grade military complex" at the "strong request of the United States military."  By the term "United States military," he would appear to be referencing Pentagon Pete Hegseth, the parttime Fox News weekend host whom Trump appointed to be Secretary of Defense.  So, yeah, his guy Pete affirms Trump's need for a monument to himself that will double as a battle station to hover over a 639-acre cemetery, an obvious top target on any terrorist hit list.

But why stop there?   The Washington Monument is over twice that tall (555 feet) and has eight observation windows at the 500-foot level - two facing in each direction.  On a clear day visitors can see twenty five miles from those windows, a view that covers the major landmarks of the city including the White House, Capitol, and even the Pentagon.  The Washington Monument could serve as a super sniper's nest, ammo storage facility, and maybe small drones could be launched by hand from the observation windows.  With a couple of dozen eighteen-year-olds armed with fully automatic weapons and constantly manning that fortress in the sky, Washington, DC, would surely be the safest big city on earth!

But why stop with our nation's capital?  The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor has twenty-five windows in its crown which offer a 360-degree view of the harbor and city.  It, too, would be a premier location for snipers and a drone patrol.

I can't believe no one has thought of these obvious security measures before.  Maybe I should get tattooed and apply for Pete's jobas soon as he's impeached and removed from office - or get a "human printer" and run for President!

Make America safe again - one drone port and one sniper nest at a time!

Tim Macy: A Busy Dad has a Birthday!

 

by Pa Rock

Proud Papa

My youngest, Tim, turns forty-seven today,  He was born on a beautiful Sunday morning at the small community hospital in Mountain View, Missouri.  It was the first day of autumn, just like it is today. Tim and his beautiful wife, Erin, live in the Kansas suburbs of Kansas City and  stay busy raising their two of my six wonderful grandchildren:  Olive, who is fourteen and a sophomore in high school, and Sully, a ten-year-old fifth grader.

The thing I admire most about my youngest son and his wife is their constant focus on Olive and Sully and the amount of time and personal interest that they share with the kids.  Tim and Erin are very involved in their children's lives.  Their house is where the kids and their friends seem to congregate, and somebody always finds time to take Sully fishing when the mood hits him - which is almost daily!

Tim is an accomplished, professional writer, and I have bragged about that aspect of his life in this space on numerous times.  He has written two scripts which have been made into full-length movies, and he was involved in the production process on both films.    Tim has also worked in the creation and production of a stage musical based on one of his stories and films that has been workshopped and performed professionally in venues in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.  

The only time I was ever at the Kennedy Center in Washington,DC, was at the beginning of this millennium when a short play Tim wrote while he was a graduate student at the University of Kansas placed as a finalist in a national writing contest for university students - and the finalist plays were all presented in that magnificent venue.  Talk about a proud papa!

And if you happen to be sitting on several pounds of manuscript that need to be pounded into something readable, my son, the writer, is a talented writing coach and editor - and a budding literary agent.  Don't ask me how I know that!

Happy birthday, Tim.  If you don't know by now how proud your dad is of all you've accomplished in life, and especially the wonderful family you and Erin have created, well, you haven't been paying attention!

Now somebody get out there and take Sully fishing to help him celebrate your big day!