Tulsa Burning

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The Tulsa race massacre, which was largely forgotten or ignored by history until recently, began one hundred years ago today.  The bloody riots completely destroyed the black-owned Greenwood section of Tulsa, burning it to the ground, and left as many as three hundred of the city's black citizens dead and buried anonymously in large mass graves.  Hundreds of others were injured, and thousands were left homeless.  The Greenwood section of the city was also known as "Black Wall Street" because of its many thriving businesses.  It was an example of economic success that undoubtedly caused resentment among some of their white neighbors who were not as well off.

The trouble began when a nineteen-year-old black shoeshiner got on an elevator that was being operated by a seventeen-year-old white girl.  Someone said they heard a scream from within the elevator, and the black man was dragged out and arrested.  The girl refused to press charges and the police determined that no crime had taken place, but at least one white-owned newspaper ran a headline which suggested "Lynching the Negro."   A mob of more than two thousand white men showed up at the courthouse where the black man was being held, and around seventy-five black men were there to protect him.

The trouble spread into the streets, and the rest, as they say, is history - or at least it is finally history now.  Growing up less than a hundred miles from Tulsa, just across the line in Missouri, I never heard of the Tulsa race massacre, and, quite astoundingly, it was apparently not even discussed or taught in Oklahoma schools.  (Being a history major in college, I also had three college level courses dealing with the United States in the 1920's, and the Tulsa race riot was not mentioned in any of those classes either.)  The Tulsa riot - an upheaval engineered and carried out by white people - was something best forgotten.

Now the story is out and it is spreading faster than racial hatred on a hot night in May.   It is being featured in documentaries, across internet news sites, and is even the cover story of the current issue of National Geographic magazine.  An effort is also being launched to exhume bodies in one of the mass graves and try to identify the remains through DNA testing.  

The timing of this anniversary and subsequent publicity is particularly fortuitous in that there is currently a push on in roughly a quarter of the state legislatures to limit the ability of public school teachers to  teach about the history of racism in the United States.

More than a dozen states are actively legislating to keep teachers from promoting what is being called "critical race theory" in their classrooms.  Proponents of critical race theory argue that federal law has preserved the unequal treatment of people based on race, and that they country was founded on the theft of land (from native Americans) and the theft of labor (from slaves).  Ironically, Oklahoma is one of the states involved in the current push to limit what teachers can teach about the history of racism in America.

But controlling the news and shaping history today will likely prove to be infinitely harder than it was a century ago.  

It's time to quit distorting the past and to face the world as it really is.   Anything less continues the horrible wrong that was done to the black citizens of Tulsa a century ago - and helps to maintain racism as an open, festering wound in America.

Postal Banking: An Idea Whose Time has Arrived!

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Yesterday I used this space to complain about a financial affront that is being perpetrated against my hometown by a large bank chain and the family of billionaires who own that business.  The town is Noel, a tourist community is southwest Missouri which today boasts several active canoe camps in and around the town as well as a large Tyson Foods poultry processing plant that is within in city limits and has a large payroll.  Noel currently has a population of approximately 2,100 individuals.

The financial affront being perpetrated against my hometown in the closing of the town's only bank - and the perpetrator of this dastardly deed is Arvest Bank, a chain of banks that has more than 270 branches across a large swath of Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas.  The Arvest chain, which began with the purchase of the old Bank of Bentonville Arkansas by the (Walmart) Walton family, is today wholly owned by the members of the Walton family.

Arvest announced recently that it will be closing thirty-one locations.  Noel will not be the only small town in the realignment that will lose its only bank.

Small towns, particularly those that are still economically viable like Noel, should have a bank.  Local residents need places that are easily accessible in which to deposit their savings, manage their checking, and make and repay loans - and hometown banks are convenient and logical places to acquire those services.  Banks are also important components of a community's identity, and if the local bank disappears, so too does an important piece of that community's character.

But the Walton's and their wholly-owned bank chain, Arvest, are closing Noel's only bank.  It's a cold, calculated business decision, a matter of dollars and cents that is not up for discussion or appeal from anyone outside of the corporation or the family.  The residents of Noel - and of the other communities affected by this "business" decision - will just have to find other places to conduct their financial affairs.

Communities identify with their banks.  I mentioned in yesterday's posting that they also identify with their post offices, and then I noted that there is a movement afoot in some political circles to promote the notion of Postal Banking, a concept whereby US post offices would begin providing some basic financial services to customers.  That idea may sound a bit radical in a country that has never experienced using its post offices for banking services, but currently over one hundred and thirty countries in the world are providing banking services through their post offices.  It is an idea that works - and works well.

The Campaign for Postal Banking describes the concept this way:

"Postal Banking is simply the provision of low-cost, consumer-driven financial services via the Postal Service.  Products and services could range from check cashing to bill payment to savings accounts to small-dollar loans. Postal Banking will benefit consumers who do not have access to traditional banks as well as those who would prefer a more public option.  Every other developed country in the world has postal banking.  The expansion of services would also strengthen our public Postal Service."

One major argument for Postal Banking is that it provides an easy way to save, and would especially benefit individuals who have no available banks - like impoverished communities that traditionally lack services, as well as economically viable communities, like Noel, that have lost their established banking facilities. Another advantage is that it would eliminate arbitrary and mean-spirited bank charges that traditionally prey on the poor.  It also might keep some people from falling into the clutches of predatory pay-day lenders.   And, the addition of a banking function would help to bring more people and business into America's struggling post offices.

Postal Banking would be good for Americans who are in need of more and better banking options, and it would help to save the US Postal Service.  It would be, in a very real sense, a win-win proposition! 

Gentle Reminder from the Walmart Waltons

 

by Pa Rock

Member of the Proletariat

I received a chatty epistle from the Walton family of northwest Arkansas, they who own what little of America that Jeff Bezos does not.  The Waltons were writing to remind me that they are closing the bank in my hometown of Noel, Missouri, on June 30th and that I need to clear out my safety deposit box before they lock the doors of the bank for good.

I say "the bank" because it is indeed the only bank in Noel, Missouri.  

And. the letter wasn't really "chatty."  It was headed with *********"FINAL NOTICE"********* (all caps and underlined and framed with a set of asterisks!)  When the Walton's tell you to do something, they BY God mean it!

For years Noel's bank was a locally owned enterprise known as 'The State Bank of Noel," but then a few years back a regional chain of banks called "Arvest" bought it out.  Arvest is wholly owned by members of the Walmart Walton family.  There are no public shareholders, it is strictly a family cash cow.    Arvest gobbled up many small town banks in the Midwest for several years, but then, during the pandemic, the company apparently figured out that people can bank without physically going into a bank, and a decision was made to close some of the less profitable ones.

(Could it be a plot to force people to bank inside of their local Walmarts?)

And so Noel, Missouri, will lose its only bank on June 30th, and if Louis DeJoy is not soon fired from heading the US Postal Service, many local post offices may begin closing as well.  There may soon come a day when we have no options but email, electronic banking, and ATMs.

There are some radicals in Congress who are proposing that the nation's postal service be given a banking mission as well, something that would provide a bigger income stream to post offices and perhaps pull some income away from American banks that are too-big-to-care.  I believe that I could support that plan - enthusiastically!

But until that happens we must all continue to huddle in fear and degradation as Bezos and the Waltons and the McConnells rig a society and an economic system that will benefit them and leave the rest of us fighting over the most meager of scraps.

Hopefully the Walton family will quit trying to piss me off, because if there ever was a good time to change banks, this would be it!  

Ancestor Archives: William Masey (1790-1853)

 

by Rocky Macy

William MASEY was born on March 6, 1790 to Robert F. MAYSEY and Mary (Unknown) in Fairfax County, Virginia.  He married Mary Elizabeth “Polly” HUFF on January 9, 1813, in Breckenridge County, Kentucky.  William passed away on May 20, 1853 in Breckenridge County, Kentucky.
 
Although some family researchers list his middle name as “Blain,” I have found nothing in the public record at this point to confirm that – other than the fact that one of his great-great grandsons was Lee Blain Macy (1924-1978).
 
William and Polly’s dates of birth, as well as those of all of their children, were established through notations in the family Bible of William and Polly’s son, Charles MACY, and his family.  Copies and transcriptions are included in the 1998 book “Macy Family,” by one of William’s descendants, Betty TUGGLE BELL.
 
William MASEY was my g-g-g-grandfather.
 
William’s surname was spelled in a variety of manners, with “Masey” seeming to be the most common.   His widow’s tombstone identifies her as the wife of “Wm. Masey.”  ”At least two of his William’s sons, Charles  and Jesse, spelled their surname as “Macy,” a variant which remained with their descendants.
 
William MASEY was a resident of Kentucky by 1812 when he enlisted as a Private in Captain William Walker’s Infantry Company of the 3^rd Regiment of the Kentucky Detached Militia.  Private MASEY joined the military on September 1, 1812 and was mustered out on Christmas Day of the same year.   He served three months and twenty-five days at a pay rate of $6.66 per month – and received a total pay of $25.33.  His name was recorded as “William Masy” on the company pay roll and the first company muster roll.  On the second company muster roll his name was recorded as “William Masey.”
 
William married Mary Elizabeth “Polly” HUFF in Breckenridge County, Kentucky, less than a month after his discharge from the military.  They spent the remainder of their lives in Breckenridge County where they had at least twelve children.
 
The known children of William and Polly MASEY were:  Winnie Ann (born October 14, 1813), Elihu (July 15, 1815 – March 11, 1876), Lydia (November 18, 1817 - October 24, 1907), Benjamin (September 18, 1819 – September 5, 1850), Robert (February 8, 1822 – December 6, 1849), Nancy (May 31, 1824 – October 24, 1907), Daniel (February 4, 1827 – July 11, 1858), William (June 20, 1829), Charles (February 4, 1831 – February 28, 1876), Jesse (August 7, 1832 – November 9, 1921), Joshua (December 29, 1833 – after 1850), and Mary (October 6, 1836 – after 1850).
 
Winnie Ann married James BRUINGTON on October 12, 1833.  Elihu married Martha J. BRUINGTON on October 2, 1839.   Lydia married William DAVIS on September 14, 1865, when she was nearing the age of fifty.  Nancy married Jas. P.R. SNIDER on April 16, 1845.  Daniel married Rebecca HOOK in 1854.  Charles married Mary Jane MEADOR on February 19, 1852.   Jesse’s first wife was Docia MEADOWS (a sister to Mary Jane MEADOR), and after Docia’s death he married Sarah DAVIS.  Mary, the youngest child in the family, married James PETTYPOOL (or possibly James POOLE) on April 9, 1858.
 
In the 1820 US Census (enumerated on August 7, 1820) “Wm Marsey” and his family were listed as living in Stephens Port, Breckinridge County, Kentucky.  At that time there were six people residing in the household: one free white male between the ages of 26 and 44 (William), one free white female between the ages of 16 and 25 (Polly), as well as two free white males under the age of 10 (Elihu and Benjamin), and  two free white females under the age of 10 (Winnie Ann and Lydia).   There were no slaves listed with the household.
 
(Note:  The community was actually “Stephensport” a village that sits along the Ohio River in Breckenridge County, Kentucky.  The town was plotted in 1803 and incorporated in 1825.  The town was named for Richard STEPHENS who received a very large land grant in the area (100,000 acres) for three years of service to General Washington in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.)
 
William was listed under the name “William Masey” in the 1830 US Census, and his address is simply stated as “Breckenridge, Kentucky.”   At that time there were ten people residing in the household:  one free white male between the ages of 40 and 49 (William), one free white female between the ages of 30 and 39 (Polly), two free white males between 10 and 14 (Elihu and Benjamin), one free white male between 5 and 9 (Robert), and two free white males under the age of 5 (Daniel and William).  There was also one free white female between the ages of 15 and 19 (Winnie Ann), one free white female between the ages of 10-14 (Lydia), and one free white female under the age of 5 ((Nancy) in the enumeration.  There were no slaves recorded with the household.
 
In the 1840 US Census (the last census to not list all of the household members by name), “Wm. Macy” was the head of a household living in “Breckenridge, Kentucky.”  At that time there were eleven people residing in the household:  one free white male between the ages of 50 and 59 (William), one free white male between the ages of 20 and 29 (Benjamin), one free white male between the ages of 15 and 19 (Robert), one freed white male between the ages of 10 and 14 (Daniel or William), one free white male between the ages of 5 and 9 (probably Charles), and two free white males under the age of 5 (Jesse and Joshua – both of whom would have actually been a little older.)  
 
In the household of “Wm. Macy” in 1840 there was also one free white female between the ages of 40 and 48 (Polly), one free white female between the ages of 20 and 29 (Lydia), one free white female between the ages of 10 and 14 (Nancy, who was actually a bit older), and one free white female under the age of 5 (Mary).
 
Again there were no slaves listed in the household in 1840.
 
In the 1850 US Census, the enumeration where more information on household members begins to be given, “William Magsay”  (age 61) is listed as the head of the household that is located in District 2, Breckenridge County, Kentucky  (Dwelling #649, Family #649).  That census lists his birth as occurring in Virginia around 1789 and his occupation as a farmer and states that he owned real estate valued at $800.   Also listed in the household were Mary (Polly) (age 56), Lydia (30), Daniel (23), Charles (20), Jesse (18), Joshua (16), and Mary (13).
 
William MASEY passed away in Breckenridge County, Kentucky, on May 20, 1853.   He is presumed to be buried at the Ephesus Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Harned, Breckenridge County, Kentucky, which is where Mary (“Polly”) MASEY’s tombstone is located.  
 
William was only sixty-three at the time of his death, but in those six decades he had witnessed a great deal of history.  He was born during the first year of George Washington’s presidency, and passed away during the first year of Franklin’s Pierce’s only term in the White House.  Pierce was our country’s fourteenth President.  As a young man William MASEY had crossed the Appalachian Mountains and helped to settle Kentucky.  He served in the War of 1812, married and raised a large family, and lived long enough to see many of his neighbors heading west to push the boundaries of the country even further.  
 
William MASEY was a true pioneer.

Nice Shoes

 

by Pa Rock

Careful Shopper

Being a diabetic, I have to take special care of my feet.  I pay close attention to each foot as I shower, making concentrated efforts to scrub between the toes and rinse and dry well.  I have foot powder that I use, especially during damp or humid conditions, I keep my toenails clipped, and I wear good shoes that will protect my feet.

Foot care has become more difficult as I have gotten older and wider, but its importance increases with age and I attempt to give the matter my full attention.  For the past few years I had my toenails clipped on a monthly basis at a special clinic at our local senior center, but then the pandemic closed the senior center and I feared that I would have to  begin doing the chore myself - and it was a chore, both getting down to the level where I could actually see what I was doing, and tackling the nails on my two big toes which bear a strong resemblance to horses' hooves.

But about the time the senior center closed, my local health clinic brought a podiatrist on staff - and a relative told me that her podiatrist clipped toenails - and that Medicare picked up the bill.   After learning that this young doctor would also clip toenails of diabetic Medicare patients, I signed up and have been seeing him for that service ever since.  (Of course the good doctor also examines my antique feet while he is clipping the nails.).   He will only provide this service once every three months, but I can make that work.

When I arrive at the podiatrist's office, his nurse puts me in a special lift chair and raises me up to where the doctor can get at my feet without bending over.  Because of that airborne position, I could not reach my feet even if I had a mind to, so the doctor very graciously puts my socks and shoes back on my feet when he is finished.  

I have three pairs of shoes that I wear most often.  One pair is for mowing, one pair is for general wear around the house and on trips to town, and one nicer pair is for formal activities.  I wear the better pair on doctor visits.  The first time I visited the foot doctor here locally, as he was putting my shoes back on my feet, he suddenly stopped and took a closer look - and then said, "Hey, these are really nice shoes."  This past week, on about my fourth visit to his office, the podiatrist again commented on my "nice shoes."

I bought my "nice shoes" a few years ago on a visit to see my grandchildren in Salem, Oregon.  It was a rainy afternoon and my grandchildren wanted to go exploring in the "Good Will" store that is close to their house.  It is a very large store with a nice assortment of merchandize and clothing.  While we were there, I wandered through the shoe section and came across a pair of good-looking, hand-sewn leather shoes that had been made in Vietnam.  They were my size, and when I tried them on I was pleased to see that they fit absolutely perfectly - and were unbelievably comfortable!   And while I considered the price of twelve dollars to be a bit steep, especially for "used" shoes, I decided to take the plunge anyway.   They were - and are - very nice shoes!

Today those nice shoes are the mainstay of my wardrobe.  I keep them under the bed so that if the house catches fire during the nighttime, I will know exactly where to reach for them as I roll out of bed and head for the door!

I know some people may feel that I am putting on airs, but there is nothing wrong with having a few nice things in life!

Special feet need nice shoes!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race, Cy Vance!

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The big political and crime news yesterday was that Cy Vance, Jr, the District Attorney of New York County, New York (also known as the "Manhattan District Attorney") has empaneled a grand jury to study and hear evidence in New York's criminal probe into the Trump organization.  In his dogged pursuit of justice in relation to the Trump family's business dealings, Vance had recently hired former mafia prosecutor Mark Pomerantz as a special assistant for the probe into Trump's finances.  Pomerantz, while serving as a special prosecutor, had overseen the prosecution of John Gotti, the Gambino family crime boss. 

Pomerantz was brought onto the Vance team in February of this year.  That was also the same month that Vance had finally received the infamous Trump tax returns.  The tax returns had been officially subpoenaed in August of 2019, but Trump's attorneys went to court and tried to block that move,  In July of 2020 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 vote (with Justices Thomas and Alito dissenting) that the Vance team was entitled to examine the tax documents in its probe of the Trump organization.

So while it would seem to many of us that things in New York's investigation of the Trump family and their businesses are moving at a snail's pace, they are definitely still moving - and heating up - and the snail (or, more accurately, the slug) is finally beginning to cook!

National journalistic treasure Dan Rather posted this clever observation on Twitter yesterday regarding the empaneling of a grand jury.  It would appear to be his tongue-in-cheek take on what Trump's childlike view of the development might be:

“A grand jury? That’s all they got? My juries are the best juries. The most beautiful juries you’ve ever seen. They’re at least a hundred grand.”

Slow and steady wins the race, Cy Vance.  Keep plugging along!

Ammon Bundy Prepares to Rise Again

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

News reports indicate that Ammon Bundy, Cliven's son who is infamous in his own right, is preparing to file paperwork to run for governor of Idaho as an independent.  

Bundy, who like his father is a blooming right-wing nut job, was involved in a 2014 standoff at a ranch belonging to Daddy, and two years later instigated a hillbilly militia takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, an act of vandalism and civil disobedience that ultimately resulted in the death of one of the invaders and the wounding of another.  Bundy was subsequently acquitted of that act of aggression against the federal government.  And last summer Ammon Bundy, a man who has trouble staying out of the news, was arrested twice in the Idaho state capitol for protests against COVID restrictions, and he has been banned from entering that building for one year.

And now he wants to be governor.

Bundy, a native of Nevada, lists his current address as a post office box in Emmett, Idaho, and while he undoubtedly does not reside within the confines of that address, he probably does have a home, of sorts, somewhere up in the hills where he keeps plenty of guns and perhaps even some of his kids - and he will no doubt ultimately meet the state standards for candidcacy.  But he did hit one major glitch in his push to get on the ballot:  Ammon Bundy is not - or until very recently was not - registered to vote in the state of Idaho.

Being registered is a requirement for both running for governor - and for serving as the campaign treasurer of someone who is running for governor.  Bundy's initial application to run listed himself as the treasurer of his campaign - and it was rejected because he was not a registered voter.  He has since named another individual as his campaign treasurer.

If Ammon Bundy does make it onto the ballot in Idaho as an Independent running for governor, he is likely to face strong opposition from several prominent Republicans.  Brad Little, the incumbent Republican governor who has taken criticism from within his own party for being too cautious in the face of the pandemic, is likely to run for re-election, as is Republican Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin, a noisy conservative radical who has positioned herself so far to the right of Governor Little that the two reportedly no longer speak to one another.  Idaho Republican Chair (and former congressman) Raul Labrador is also considering running.

So with that many GOP all-stars vying to be governor, plus a few lesser-knowns, anything is possible - maybe even Ammon Bundy.  The next question would be does he have the stamina and ability to hold down a regular nine-to-five job.

Only time will tell.

But first Ammon will have to take that formidable step of getting registered to vote!

Good luck, Idaho!

Dylan at Eighty

by Pa Rock

Poetry Appreciator

Legendary American singer, songwriter, and poet, Bob Dylan was born eighty years ago today (as Robert Allen Zimmerman) in Hibbing, Minnesota.   Dylan, who expressed a love of music at an early age, learned to play guitar and formed his own band in high school.  By the time the "peace and love" movement began to flower in the 1960's, Bob Dylan had already established himself as one of the preeminent folk singers and songwriters of that era.   Over the ensuing years his immeasurable talent has continued to expand and spread in many directions.

Bob Dylan's songs form much of the landscape of twentieth century American music, and while his original compositions number literally in the hundreds, many are quickly recognizable across generations of music lovers.   The classic "Like a Rolling Stone," Dylan's signature song, is still going strong, as are many of his other classics like "Positively 4th Street," "Blowin' in the Wind," "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," "Mr. Tambourine Man," "It Ain't Me Babe," "The Times They are A-Changin'," "Lay Lady Lay," "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall," and the list goes on and on.

In 2016 the Nobel Committee in Stockholm, Sweden, displayed the uncommonly good sense of awarding Bob Dylan the Nobel Prize in Literature for his poetry.

Happy birthday, Mr. Dylan, sir!

As a birthday acknowledgment to the American music icon I would like to share one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs.  "Subterranean Homesick Blues" was recorded in 1965 and became Dylan's first "top forty" song in the United States.  It is a very quick (two minutes and twenty seconds) and compressed view of the social scene in the 1960's that touches on things like the Beat Generation, recreational drugs, and the Civil Rights movement - and, in fact, everyone seems to have their own take on what the song means.

Subterranean Homesick Blues

by Bob Dylan

Johnny's in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
Thinking about the government
The man in the trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says he's got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off
Look out kid
It's somethin' you did
God knows when
But you're doing it again
You better duck down the alley way
Lookin' for a new friend
A man in the coonskin cap, in the pig pen
Wants eleven dollar bills, you only got ten

Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin' that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phone's tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the D.A. Look out kid
Don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don't tie no bows
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows

Oh, get sick, get well
Hang around a ink well
Hang bail, hard to tell
If anything is goin' to sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write braille
Get jailed, jump bail
Join the army, if you fail
Look out kid
You're gonna get hit
But losers, cheaters
Six-time users
Hang around the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool
Lookin' for a new fool
Don't follow leaders, watch the parkin' meters

Oh, get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance
Learn to dance, get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don't steal, don't lift
Twenty years of schoolin'
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid
They keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole
Light yourself a candle
Don't wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don't want to be a bum
You better chew gum
The pump don't work
'Cause the vandals took the handles

 

Vaccine Lotteries

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

As of yesterday morning the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that 129,006,463 individuals, or 38.9% of the United States' population, have been fully vaccinated against COVID. - and that over 48% have had at least one dose of a two-dose regimen. Those numbers are somewhat misleading in that they represent the entire population of the United States, and, as of now, children under the age of twelve are not eligible to be vaccinated - so the rate of "eligible" people who have been vaccinated is obviously higher.  The CDC has reported that the rate of fully vaccinated people aged eighteen and over in the United States was recently at 48.8 percent.

The northeastern portion of the United States is leading the nation in COVID vaccinations.  The state of Maine is out in front with 51.82 percent of its population fully vaccinated.  The next four highest vaccinated states are Connecticut (50.9%), Vermont (50.84%), Massachusetts (49.77%), and Rhode Island (49.32%).  

The states with the lowest rates of COVID vaccinations are in the South.  Mississippi is the worst  at 26.47%, with the next four worst being Alabama (28.49%), Arkansas (30.07%) Louisiana (30.35%), and Georgia (30.48%).

Now, unfortunately, the big rush to get vaccinated has subsided, and the rates of vaccinations have slowed.  Governments at all levels have been increasing efforts to spread the word about the health risks associated with not getting immunized against COVID, and more people have been made eligible through the lowering of age limits.  Also, vaccines are being distributed to more inoculation sites.  Businesses have been encouraged to give people time off to get vaccinated, and some businesses (such as the cruise ship industry) are requiring that employees and customers be vaccinated.

But still the numbers are waning.

Several weeks ago the governor of Ohio announced that his state would have a million dollar lottery for people who have been fully vaccinated.  Each person who had gotten their shots would receive one entry into the lottery.  That was such a great idea that New York and Maryland quickly came on board with similar plans.  And now Oregon has also entered the COVID vaccination lottery program.  The governor there is proposing a lottery that will offer multiple prizes for those eighteen and over who get their COVID shots - prizes ranging from $10,000 to one million dollars.  And while Oregon doesn't allow lottery gambling for those under the age of eighteen, the state will offer college and trade school scholarships of $100,000 to several lucky vaccinated kids between the ages of twelve and eighteen.

So there are three good reasons that many people will have for getting vaccinated against COVID: 

 

• the shots will protect them and their loved ones from the ravages of a deadly disease;
• being vaccinated helps to protect society in general;  and,
• there is that all-American dream of winning the lottery!

Offering people a chance to strike it rich for doing what is in their own best interest - and the right thing - seems a bit like a bribe, but getting the country vaccinated and the world back to functioning normally is in the public interest, and if that requires pandering to a base instinct like greed in order to get the job done, well, so be it.  

Maybe we will be a more altruistic nation by the time the next pandemic rolls around!

Bluebirds of Happiness

by Pa Rock

Fool on a Mower

Family members and I returned from our hurried trip to North Carolina on May 3rd, just nineteen days ago, and in that time I have mowed much of my yard twice - and should complete the second mowing today.  That is quite a accomplishment considering that it has rained most of those nineteen days, a fact hat keeps me off of the mower while at the same time encourages the grass to grow even faster!

The has been one very wet spring!

In my spare time, those rare occasions when I am not on the mower or busy emptying the rain gauges, I am now caring for baby chicks.  I have several running loose in the enclosed brooder room in the henhouse, and a few more (baby guineas) still living in a cage.  Starting next week I will let them out into the penned-in area outside, and there they should be easier to care for.  I also have six eggs in the house percolating in an incubator, four should hatch on the 31st of May, and the other two on June 4th.

Then there are the birds in the wild, several of whom are almost pets.  Small black birds are building a next under the metal roof that sits just above the window where I type.  This is the second year in a row that they have chosen to homestead in that particular spot.  One just landed on the roof a few minutes ago with a grub worm in his beak that looked big and juicy enough to feed both parents and the christening party!

There is a female cardinal in the back yard who has developed an obsession with the other female cardinals that she has discovered living in the side mirrors on the car and pick-up.  She is constantly socializing by flying into her mirror-image in attempts to reach the other birds.  My fear is that she will eventually exhaust herself (or knock herself out) and then fall to the ground where she will immediately become cat food.

Robins are carnivores, and they love to follow me around as I mow - keeping their sharp eyes peeled fort things that the mower stirs up - like bugs, and grasshoppers, and the occasional worm.

I have a bluebird box out by the driveway that has lived up to its name and is home to a nesting pair of the beautiful little birds.  Papa Bluebird spends much of each day sunning on a plant hook that is twenty feet or so in front of my typing window, and he occasionally turns to chatter at me as I bang away relentlessly on the keyboard.  There are a lot of bluebirds this year - in spite of all the rain - and the cats - and they all seem deliriously happy with their lot in life.  

Bluebirds don't mow.  They have humans to do that for them.

We could learn a lot from bluebirds!

Ancestor Archives: Comfort Poe (1822-1902)

 

by Rocky Macy

Comfort POE was born November 11, 1822, in Allen County, Kentucky, to William Jefferson and Delana (AUSTIN) POE.  She was most likely named for her paternal grandmother, Comfort (JOHNSON) POE.  Comfort married William Carroll ROARK in Allen County, Kentucky, on November 10, 1838, one day before her sixteenth birthday, and she passed away in Newton County, Missouri, on February 12, 1902.
 
Comfort POE ROARK was my g-g-grandmother.
 
Comfort and William began their married life in Allen County, Kentucky, the place where she was born.   Their first six children were born in Allen County (Martha Emmaline (1839-1920), Camily Frances (1841-1915), Nathan Wilson (1844-1908), Joseph Austin (1846-1922), William Robert (1849-1909), and Henry Durham (1852-1927).
 
Sometime shortly after the birth of Henry Durham ROARK on June 7, 1852, the family pulled up stakes and moved to Missouri with their six young children.   They were in Missouri by the time their seventh child, Samuel James ROARK, was born on February 25, 1855.  The 1860 census found the ROARK family in Granby Township of Newton County, Missouri.  William and Comfort and at least nine of their eleven children remained in Newton or McDonald Counties of Missouri for the rest of their lives.
 
After Samuel James ROARK (1855-1925) was born in Missouri, four additional children were born to the family, all in Missouri.  Those four were:  Mary Jane (1857-1923), Nancy (born  in 1860), Albert Curtis (1864-1934), and Sarah Elizabeth (1866-1951).
 
The children of William and Comfort (POE) ROARK married the following individuals:  Martha Emmaline (Henry S. REYNOLDS);  Camily Frances (William R. KELLY);  Nathan Wilson (1. Margaret J. HIRE, 2. Martha Jane MARTIN);  Joseph Austin (Siotha Tennessee WOOD);  William Robert (Samantha Ann BUTRUM);  Henry Durham (Rebecca Victoria LANKFORD);  Samuel James (Nancy Anthaline SCARBROUGH);  Mary Jane (John W. COOK);  Nancy (Unknown);  Albert Curtis (Julia Olive BLANKENSHIP);  and, Sarah Elizabeth (Edgar Harrison MATTHEWS).
 
Comfort was listed on the 1850 census of Allen County, Kentucky, as 27-year-old “C. Roark” in William’s household along with their oldest five children.  She was on the 1860 census of Granby Township in Newton County, Missouri, in William’s household as “Comfort Rouark,” age 36, along with eight children (Martha Emmaline was no longer in the home).  By the time of the 1870 US Census, 47-year-old “Comfort Roark” was in William’s household in Elk Township of McDonald County, Missouri, with six children still in the home.
 
“Comfort ROARK” was listed in the Missouri State Census of 1876 as living in Township 23 of McDonald County, Missouri.  When the 1880 US Census was taken whe was listed as 58-year-old “Comfort Roark” in William’s household in Buffalo Township of McDonald County, Missouri.  Three children were still living at home at that time:  31-year-old William R. Roark, 17-year-old “Curtis” Roark, and 14-year-od Sarah E. Roark.  
 
William Carroll ROARK passed away at the couple’s home in Seneca, Newton County, Missouri, in 1888, leaving Comfort to spend the final fourteen years of her life as a widow.   The 1890 US Census no longer exists, and Comfort, who passed away on February 12, 1902, has not been found on the 1900 US Census.
 
Comfort (POE) ROARK was buried next to her husband, William Carroll ROARK, at the Swars Prairie Baptist Cemetery in rural Newton County, Missouri.  Many of their children and grandchildren and subsequent generations are at rest in the same cemetery.  

Like countless farm wives of her generation, Comfort (POE) ROARK left a substantial progeny to travel trails and view vistas that she could not even imagine.  Today her descendants are at home in many states - and even a few foreign locales - with hundreds or more still residing in the beautiful Ozarks that have been home to the ROARK family since the 1850's when William and Comfort stepped down from their wagon and proceeded to make a home in the hills.

Some GOP House Members Show Signs of Growing Spines

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Yesterday the US House of Representatives voted 252-175 in favor of creating a non-partisan commission to investigate the terrorist insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6th.  All Democratic representatives voted to form the commission along with thirty-five House Republicans.  The remaining Republicans cast the "no" votes.  House Republican leaders Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise lobbied against the measure and encouraged their members not to support it, so the thirty-five Republicans who voted in favor of forming the commission showed a fair amount of personal fortitude in standing up against their party's leadership.

Republicans who opposed the creation of a special commission to investigate the riots at the Capitol argued that it was unnecessary because various police agencies are already looking into it.  Democrats countered that a special commission was necessary in order to compel certain people to testify, particularly members of Congress - some of whom may either have particular knowledge of what went on that day, and others of whom may have even had some involvement in the day's anarchy.

Even though the motion to form a special commission passed the House by a substantial vote margin, it is likely to fail in the Senate where the Senate's arcane rules will require sixty votes (of 100) for it to pass, and the Republican Party controls fifty seats.  The GOP Minority Leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, yesterday came out in opposition to the formation of the commission, a move that will likely kill it.   McConnell, who had been observed as visibly angry with the events of January 6th, and whose wife resigned early from her post as Secretary of Transportation as a direct result of the riots, now seems to sense a political advantage in throwing up roadblocks to a thorough investigation of the matter.

And if Mitch McConnell, a notorious impediment to democracy, doesn't want something to happen, chances are fairly good that it will not.  Thirty-five House members showed signs of growing spines yesterday.  It would be great if ten senators could do the same!

For the record, the thirty-five GOP House members who had to courage to stand tall for democracy were:  Don Bacon (NE), Cliff Bent (OR), Stephanie Bice (OK), Liz Cheney (WY), John Curtis (UT), Rodney Davis (IL), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Jeff Fortenberry (NE), Andrew Garbarino (NY), Carlos Gimenez (FL), Tony Gonzales (TX), Anthony Gonzales (OH), Michael Guest (MS), Jamie Herrera Beutler (WA), French Hill (AR), Trey Hollingsworth (IN), Chris Jacobs (NY), Dusty Johnson (SD), Dave Joyce (OH), John Katko (NY), Adam Kinzinger (IL), David McKinley (WV), Peter Meijer (MI), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA), Blake Moore (UT), Dan Newhouse (WA), Tom Reed (NY), Tom Rice (SC), Maria E. Salazar (FL), Mike Simpson (ID), Chris Smith (NJ), Van Taylor (TX), Fred Upton (MI), David Valadao (CA), and Steve Womack (AR).

My Republican Representative in Congress, Jason Smith (MO), didn't rise to the occasion.  No surprise there!

January 6th Was About Treachery and Treason

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Andrew Clyde, a Republican congressman from the Georgia, the same state that coughed up Marjorie Taylor Greene onto the floor of Congress, made news a couple of times this week.   First, Rep Clyde put himself at the forefront of the GOP effort to downplay the riot that swept through the Capitol on that fateful day, comparing the insurrection to a "normal tourist visit."

Clyde lied, of course.  As of yesterday 483 Trump-loving rioters had been arrested for their parts in that "normal tourist visit," with more arrests sure to follow - and numerous representatives and senators have rebutted Clyde's minimizing of the insurrection by posting photos on Twitter of damage done to their offices by the "tourists."  

Yesterday Andrew Clyde again made the news when a couple of embarrassing photos of him made their way into the news cycle.  One showed Rep. Clyde along with some other House members on January 6th barricading an interior door to the House chamber with an upturned desk.  A second photo, according to Britain's "Independent" newspaper "appears to show Rep. Clyde screaming in terror inside the House chamber.  His hands are up in the air, and his face contorted in fear."

What a shame that pistol-packing Marjorie wasn't around to protect him!

There is now apparently a move afoot in Congress to censure Rep. Clyde for his disingenuous remarks regarding whatever it was that occurred at the US Capitol on January 6th of this year, an event that brought about the deaths of five individuals - including an on-duty Capitol Police officer.

Normal tourist visit indeed!

January 6th was an attempt to overthrow democracy in the United States of America.  It needs to be investigated by a high-level, non-partisan commission and the citizens of this nation must be informed of the role that any government officials may have played in organizing and carrying out the events of that day.  Anything less would be tantamount to a coverup and would provide a breeding ground for future acts of treachery and treason!

Making Good Use of "The Epoch Times"

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Although I have yet to stumble across it, I am beginning to suspect that somewhere in my huge yard is a sign alerting passers-by that "a fool with money lives here," and if there is, that's sad - really - because, although likely a fool, I am actually also a retired person with a very fixed - and modest - income.  I don't have the means to donate to every grifter with a postal permit, but I do have internet access and am more than happy to post my thoughts on whatever makes its way into my mailbox.

Last week the National Rifle Association in all of its vainglory sent a packet of materials encouraging me to send them money and join their (hopefully soon to be defunct) fascist organization.  I did destroy their materials to prevent them from falling into the hands of someone more gullible than myself, and I mailed their postage-paid envelope back to relieve their treasury of the price of a stamp.  And then I "tweeted" the NRA with a suggestion that if money was so tight, perhaps they should consider selling some of Wayne LaPierre's fine Italian suits!

Yesterday I received another piece of right-wing, crackpot mail.  Somehow a sample edition of a weekly newspaper calling itself "The Epoch Times" found its way into my sylvan lane mailbox.   (Actually this is the third or fourth time that the publication has reached me over the past few years.  I really don't mind because when living on a farm there is always some good use for old newspapers.  My new baby chicks will appreciate this one!)

Since the good folks at The Epoch Times went to the trouble and expense of sending a free copy of their paper, I gave it a cursory examination to see what I would be missing when I didn't subscribe.  There was a notice at the top of the front page which declared:

"Dear Reader,

We hope you'll enjoy this sample copy of The Epoch Times.  Inside, you'll find traditional, honest, journalism without any spin, false narratives, or hidden agendas.  It's real news that can be delivered to your home every week!"

That conjures memories of Fox News' ancient claim to be "fair and balanced."  It's hard to "balance" news, and Fox never even tried, so I was doubtful that The Epoch Times had found the key to delivering "journalism without any spin, false narratives, or hidden agendas."  It only took mere moments to prove myself right.  A few highlights follow.

On page two there was a pair of graphs depicting the "most and least favorite US Presidents" as picked by Epoch Times Readers in a poll that was conducted on President's Day.  The results of that poll alone give a mighty indication of which way the newspaper leans politically.  The top five favorite presidents were:  1. The Orange Menace who just left office this past January, 2. Reagan, 3. Washington, 4. Lincoln, and 5. Jefferson.  The least favorite presidents of the Epoch Times readers were:  1. Obama, 2. Biden, 3. Clinton, 4. Carter, and 5. Lyndon Johnson.  Clearly the "regular" readers of this publication were troglodytes.

There was also an interesting set of graphs showing how Epoch Times readers rated the media bias of that publication as compared to the BBC, Bloomberg, AP, and New York Times.  Epoch Times readers found this publication to be more "centrist" than the others.  I thought it odd that Fox News wasn't included in that reader survey - an inclusion that might have skewered the result they were apparently seeking.

Other news articles in the sample issue focused on a right-wing author's contention that a socialist revolution is underway in the US, the continuing election turmoil in Arizona from what appeared to be the GOP perspective, vaccine "mandates" for college students, complaints about "open borders," Disney using "Critical Race Theory" in employee training, and articles slanted against abortion and transgender rights.

In the "editorial" section - and really most of the publication had the flavor of editorial writing - there was a piece supporting home-schooling, another minimizing the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th, one attacking the green movement, one in support of home-birthing, one featuring ways to "save" America from socialism, one attacking Nancy Pelosi as coming to get your guns, and multiple pages focused on the evils of the Chinese Communist Party.

And there was plenty more in this publication, not all of it right-wing drivel.  But the majority was, in fact, right-wing drivel and my attention waned as I waded through the many pages.  Then I came to a set of endorsements that told me all I really needed to know - including one from Sean Hannity of Fox News who described himself as reading The Epoch Times daily, another from Seb Gorka who credited the paper with keeping the communist threat front and center, and one from looney Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar who said that it is the first paper he reads.  That was more than enough to convince me that it was anything but something without spin, false narratives, or hidden agendas.

Having examined the sample edition, I turned to Wikipedia to find out what I could regarding the weekly publication.    That source had this to say:

"The Epoch Times is a far-right international multi-language newspaper and media company affiliated with the Falun Gong new religious movement. The newspaper, based in New York City, is part of the Epoch Media Group, which also operates New Tang Dynasty Television." 

(And that probably explains the multiple pages highlighting the evils of the Chinese Communist Party.)

It wasn't some "mom and pop" operation that had sprung up and grown by meeting the unique market needs of some segment of society, but was rather a publication financed and fostered by a foreign religious movement.  The Epoch Times grew curiouser and curiouser!   

So, all of you good folks at The Epoch Times and Falun Gong, I guess I will pass for now.  The next time you send a copy, if you would enclose return postage, I would be happy to send it back.  Meanwhile, my new little chicks will get a lot of enjoyment out of pooping on this one!

Cheers!

Damned (and) Loudermilk

by Pa Rock

Social Worker 

I had two primary vocations during my years of employment.  From my mid-twenties, after I had left the army and gone back to school to prepare for a real career, I was an educator - a public school teacher for a brief period to time and then way too many years working as a school principal.  I also did some low-paid college teaching along the way to help meet the day-to-day costs of raising a family.     In my mid-forties I left education, dabbled briefly in real estate sales, a job that was easy to hate, and finally landed in social work, first as a state child protection worker and later an administrator with the same agency, and finally ten years or so as a civilian social worker with the military.

All of the jobs that I held during my work career with low-paying and often thankless, but even so I liked each of them - except the real estate sales - until I eventually came up with an intolerable boss - and then I would move on.  It was as a social worker where I finally hit my stride and achieved the most work satisfaction.  For the past couple of weeks I have been thinking about my years of doing social work.  Those memories have been stoked by a couple of television shows - ones that I would heartily recommend to anyone considering a career in social work.

"Damned" is a British sitcom with dramatic overtones that ran for two seasons on the BBC (2016-2018) and has twelve episodes that are currently streaming on Britbox.  It was created by Jo Brand and Morewenna Banks, and in addition to starring both of those ladies, the show also features British actor Alan Davies ("Jonathan Creek") and several other well known British character actors.  

The action in "Damned" takes place in a child protection agency, and it is easily the best representation of that unique milieu that I've ever encountered in the entertainment media.  The crises never let up.  The social workers race about making quick, on-the-fly decisions that will impact families for years, and while they counsel, and make arrangements, and do never-ending paperwork, they also manage interpersonal relationships within the office and work on their own personal and private issues.  It's a mad house on steroids and the phones just keep ringing!

Those without a background in child protection would probably view an episode or two of "Damned" and feel that it is an over-the-top depiction of what many might consider to be a less-than-noble profession.  But unfortunately, child protection has become a necessary and essential component of modern society, and the office depicted in this series, although set in Great Britain, bears strong similarities to its American counterparts - right down to, and including, the bio-hazard staff lounge!

For those considering a career working with children, either in education or social work, viewing all twelve episodes of "Damned" would be a good prelude to an actual internship!  Watch it if you dare, and after you've seen it, go out and hug a social worker!

The second half of my social work "career" was as a civilian social worker with the military.  Most of that involved individual counseling of young military personnel and members of their families.  I also usually ran a therapy group for divorced males.  A few weeks ago I came across a series on Amazon Prime that captured that group therapy experience quite well.  ATT produced three seasons (30 episodes) of "Loudermilk," the story of a caustic and angry ex-addict, Sam Loudermilk (Ron Livingston) who runs a men's group in Seattle for individuals dealing with addiction issues.

(Apparently ATT has dropped the series and it has been picked up by Amazon Prime with a new season currently in the works.)

Sam Loudermilk isn't Fraser Crane - and he isn't BobNewhart.  Loudermilk is an addict trying to keep himself and his group clean and sober as they navigate their daily lives.   Loudermilk is very real, and so are his group members, and so are their problems and the daily pressures which threaten their recoveries.

"Loudermilk" is another great show - one that all potential social workers and therapists need to experience.

When it comes to fictional depictions of real life social work, "Damned" and "Loudermilk" are as real as it gets!

Homicide and Voter Fraud

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

I've only heard of a few cases of voter fraud, and, of those few, each was perpetrated by Republicans for the specific purpose of benefitting the most recent GOP President, the wobbly, orange one.

Barry Morphew is a registered Republican in the state of Colorado (Chafee County) who has admitted marking and casting two ballots in last November's election.   The reason I know that Barry is a registered Republican is because if you Google him on the internet, one of the first things that pops up is a notice that he is a resident of Salida, Colorado, and is associated with the Republican Party.  I also know Barry is a Republican because when he admitted his voter fraud - although he didn't regard it as wrong - he said that he did it to benefit the Republican in the White House because he knew the other side was cheating so he was just trying to even things out.

Barry was able to vote and cast his wife's ballot, in addition to his own, because she was missing from home when her absentee ballot arrived.  In fact, she had been missing since Mother's Day weekend the previous May (six months earlier) when she rode off on her bicycle and never returned.

Barry Morphew could be in really deep doggie doo for casting two ballots, but it turns out that is just a minor problem for the vote fraudster.   Police agencies were still looking for Barry's wife at the time he was busy voting her ballot, and they have since arrested poor Barry - for his wife's murder!

Whoops!  

I did mention that Barry Morphew is a registered Republican and that he committed voter fraud, didn't I?

Chicken Farming, Redux

by Pa Rock

Farmer in Spring

I have had a couple of good years raising chickens at my retirement farm,  but the past several years have have been more difficult.

Last year was a particularly tough one for poultry at The Roost.  When spring arrived I had two birds, an old rooster and his bossy red hen.   In the spring I bought forty pullet chicks and three baby cockerels (roosters).  I had them for about a month with minimal losses, and they had begun growing pin feathers and becoming independent, although I still kept them in a pen and the chicken coop as a precaution against predators.  But not long after that, before they were old enough to begin working the yard independently, something managed to get into my very secure henhouse one night and kill about half of the young birds.  Over the next couple of nights he finished the mission.  

I suspect the villain was a raccoon.  They are bright, and very skilled at breaking and entering.

Late in the summer the little red hen who had lived at The Roost for several years suddenly started becoming very weak, and a few days later she passed away quietly, leaving the old red rooster a forlorn widower.    One rainy evening instead of going to the coop, as was his usual practice, I found him trying to roost in the rain on the back deck.  I led him to the coop, and he turned and fled.  Finally I carried him to the coop and watched as he climbed to a high rafter to roost for the evening.  He seemed fearful that something was either in the coop or had been in the coop the previous evening.  I searched the coop and could find no predators and no openings.

The next morning he, too was dead, mutilated by some unknown killer.

This year I resolved not to get back into the poultry game.

But last week a friend of my son's brought by four warm farm eggs that he said were fertile and presented them to me.  My son had told him that I have a good incubator and would welcome the eggs.  He said he would bring more in the following days.  (Five days later and he has brought two additional eggs, all of which are incubating nicely on my kitchen table.)

Today I went to a "swap meet" where local farmers gather to sell and trade poultry, rabbits, pigs, cats, and dogs, and even the occasional goat.   I was looking for a banty hen to mother the chicks when they hatch - and possibly a noisy rooster.  I didn't find the hen I wanted, and I did come across one rooster.  I expect to pay two dollars for a grown rooster at a swap meet, and the lady who had this one wanted ten!  I  kept looking!  

But (and here is the bad news) while I was at the swap meet I wound up buying eighteen banty chicks (six each of three different varieties) and ten baby guineas.  The whole menagerie is now in the "secure" room in the coop and under heat lamps, although six of the bantys are big enough that they have pin feathers and should do fine without extra heat.

So I am (temporarily, at least) back in the poultry business - and the good news is probably already spreading through the raccoon grapevine!  The raccoons at Rock's Roost are very smart, and they eat well!

Ancestor Archives: William Carroll Roark (1820-1888)

 

by Rocky Macy

William Carroll ROARK was born in Tennessee to William and Dicey (JENT) ROARK on September 18, 1820.  He married Comfort POE in Allen County, Kentucky, on November 10, 1838, and passed away in Newton County, Missouri, on February 21, 1888.
 
William Carroll ROARK was my great-great-grandfather.
 
When William Carroll ROARK and Comfort POE were married in 1838 he was eighteen-years-old and she was one day shy of her sixteenth birthday.  By the time he passed away in 1888, they were in their fiftieth year of marriage, a union that had produced eleven children, and whose descendants have spread across much of the nation as well as around the world.
 
William and his young bride began married life in Allen County, Kentucky, the place where Comfort was from, and likely in close proximity to her parents.  Their first six children were born in Allen County, and then sometime between the birth of Henry Durham ROARK, (#6) on June 7, 1852, and (#7), Samuel James ROARK,  on February 25, 1855, the family loaded into wagons along with other relatives and friends, and headed to southwest Missouri.  By the time of the 1860 US Census the ROARK family was located in Granby Township of Newton County, Missouri.
 
William’s parents also migrated to Newton County, Missouri, presumably at the same time that their oldest son (William Carroll) and his family made the move.
 
According to an article written by their great-grandson, the late Sam NUNN of Newton County, Missouri, in the book,  “McDonald County Sesquincentennial (1849-1999) Family Histories,” William and Comfort moved south into McDonald County during the 1860’s.  They settled in the community of Hart which was in the northwest corner of the county and bordered on Oklahoma Territory and Newton County.   William and Comfort and three of their sons owned adjoining land in what was then called “Roark Valley.”  One of the farms was in Newton County, and the other three were in McDonald County.  A creek called the “Roark Branch” flowed through the property and remains active today.
 
William and Comfort spent the rest of their lives raising children and farming in the Missouri counties of Newton and McDonald.  Their home was listed as being in “Elk” Township of McDonald County in 1870, and they were living in Buffalo Township of McDonald County when the 1880 census was taken.  Sometime after the 1880 census was taken and their family was successfully raised, William and Comfort relocated to Seneca in Newton County where they spent the remainder of their lives.
 
The eleven children of William Carroll and Comfort (POE) ROARK were:  Martha Emmaline (1839-1920;  married Henry S. REYNOLDS);  Camily Frances (1841-1915;  married William R. KELLY);  Nathan Wilson (1844-1908;  married 1. Margaret J. HIRE, 2. Martha Jane MARTIN);  Joseph Austin (1846-1922;  married Siotha Tennessee WOOD);  William Robert (1849-1909;  married Samantha Ann BUTRUM);  Henry Durham (1852-1927;  married Rebecca Victoria LANKFORD);  Samuel James (1855-1925;  married Nancy Anthaline SCARBROUGH);  Mary Jane (1857-1923; married John W. COOK);  Nancy (born 1860);  Albert Curtis (1864-1934;  married Julia Olive BLANKENSHIP);  and, Sarah Elizabeth (1866-1951;  married Edgar Harrison MATTHEWS).
 
William and Comfort’s eleven children (and their spouses) managed to provide the aging farm couple with at least seventy-five grandchildren, with the reproductive leader being Nathan Wilson ROARK of Anderson, (McDonald County) Missouri, who fathered fifteen children by two wives.
 
William Carroll ROARK passed away on February 21, 1888, at his home in Seneca, Missouri.   Probate papers were filed one week later, on February 28, which listed as his heirs his widow, Comfort, and ten of the couple’s eleven children.  Their ninth child, Nancy, who had been born in 1860, was not listed, an indication that she had probably proceeded her father in death.
 
Of the heirs who were mentioned in the probate record, Comfort ROARK and the couple’s son, Albert, were both listed as living in Newton County, Missouri, daughter Mary Jane COOK was noted as being a resident of the state of Idaho, and the remaining eight were listed as residents of McDonald County, Missouri.  Obviously many residents of Newton and McDonald County today can trace their ancestry back to William and Comfort.
 
William Carroll ROARK is buried next to Comfort at the Swars Prairie Baptist Cemetery in rural Newton County, Missouri.  There they rest among family and friends, their travels and earthly chores complete.

Bags of Gasoline

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Two weeks ago today members of my family and I set out on a road trip from my home in West Plains, Missouri, to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina.   That journey represented the first time that I had been on the road since the pandemic began in early 2020.  Our timing for that adventure appears to have been highly fortuitous.

Interstate 40, the route that we took across Tennessee and into North Carolina, had been closed in eastern Tennessee due to forest fires just before we hit the road, and we went through the affected area not long after it reopened.  And now, mere days later, many of the gas stations  in states where we drove (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia) are either out of gas and closed, or suffering huge lines of frustrated motorists who are waiting impatiently to top off their tanks.

The gas crisis has come about from a computer "hack' of one pipeline company that supplies gas to much of the east coast, an attack that was apparently launched out of Russia and was for the purpose of extorting money from the operators of the pipeline.

Yesterday photos began appearing in the news of people in the gas lines who were doing more than just topping off their tanks.  Some were filling plastic bags with gasoline, and others were filling large plastic packing tubs with gas.  They would then put these oddball - and very dangerous - gas-filled containers into their cars and drive off - no doubt some puffing on their cigarettes as they did so!

All of that, of course, sinks the concept of moronic behaviors to a new low.  Who even knew that it was possible to contain gasoline in large sandwich bags?  Somehow, I assumed that like styrofoam cups, the bags would disintegrate when they came into contact with gas.  But, I store my mower gas in a five-gallon hard plastic container, so I guess the composition of plastic sandwich bags must have similar qualities.

Still, it has to be a messy process, getting the gas into the bags - and then later getting it out of the bags and into the vehicle's tank - and the opportunities for explosive and fiery incidents are almost without measure.  One wag on Twitter described the practice as the latest expression of the Theory of Natural Selection, and another noted that it is this year's MAGA IQ test - and that last year's MAGA IQ test involved injecting bleach.

But regardless of their best efforts to self-annihilate, the human equivalents of cockroaches still somehow seem to persist!

Uppity Woman Driven from GOP Leadership Post

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

"In today's Republican Party, there is no greater offense than honesty."

    Jeff Flake, former Republican US Senator from Arizona 

This morning Republican members of the US House of Representatives made good on their threat to remove Rep. Liz Cheney, Wyoming's only member of the House of Representatives, from her leadership position within the House.   Her unforgivable offense:  failure to support the last Republican president's big lie that he actually won the 2020 election and that it was stolen from him.  Cheney also continued to correctly link the former president to the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

Meanwhile Matt Gaetz, another Republican member of Congress (but one who supports the bogus claims of the former president - and is a male), is still serving on the prestigious House Judiciary Committee, even though he is reportedly under investigation by the FBI for sex-trafficking.

Cheney faced a similar attempt to remove her from her House leadership position back in February, but at that time she handily won a secret ballot to retain the position by a vote of 145-61.  Today's vote was held in a different manner, perhaps to avoid the embarrassment of a close result or of the possibility of Cheney again winning the vote.  Today the caucus used a "voice vote" rather than a "roll call" or a "secret ballot."  Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican from Colorado, a supporter of Congresswoman Cheney, said afterward that some wanted a "recorded vote," but that was "not agreed to."  So it would appear that Republican leadership carefully arranged a "vote" that would have no pesky numbers attached to it that the press could then analyze so see exactly how much support Liz Cheney (or party leader Kevin McCarthy) actually could muster.

Democracy, Republican style.

The former president whose persistent lying triggered the events that led to Liz Cheney being politically ostracized by her fellow House Republicans quickly issued one of his mean - and highly projective - diatribes in which he called Congresswoman Cheney "a bitter, horrible human being."   Liz Cheney, a person who will not be silenced, immediately shot back that she would "do everything I can to ensure that the former president never gets anywhere near the Oval Office."

And Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, a former GOP presidential nominee, summed this morning's circus in the House up this way:

"Expelling Liz Cheney from leadership won't gain the GOP one additional vote, but it will cost us quite a few."

Liz Cheney only lost a title this morning, but the Republican Party lost what little credibility it had left - and perhaps its soul as well.

 

I'll Never Be as Smart as My Phone

by Pa Rock

Anachronism

One of the major learnings that I acquired during the recent Macy family road trip to North Carolina was how woefully out-of-touch I am with modern technology - and particularly with the many uses of "smart" phones.  There were four adults in the car, each of whom had a smart phone on their person.  

My daughter used hers to stay in contact with her three children and husband who were back home in Oregon, and her kids were basically right in the car with us through Skype or Zoom or whatever the current term is that covers video calls.  There was no drama playing out back in Oregon to which Molly - and the rest of us - were not a party.  

Erin, my daughter-in-law, was often on her phone trying to arrange the evening's accommodations.  She used the phone's internet access to locate possible places to stay, and then called ahead to negotiate reservations.  Tim, our driver, would use his phone to show drive-through personnel various coupons and discounts to save us money on road meals.

And my smart phone wisely stayed in my pocket where it wouldn't interfere with the others that were getting things done!

Then there was the Sunday night in Tupelo when all of us - and some others - were gathered in the stairwell of a Red Roof Inn trying to stay safe from a massive tornado that was reportedly headed our way.  Everyone (except me, of course) had their cell phones out and were working some angle regarding the storm.  Some were tuned to the National Weather Center for updates, at least one was following a Tupelo television weather forecaster, Molly was on the phone with her husband in Oregon getting updates on the Mississippi storm from him - and everyone was swapping information in real time.  There was probably more technological power emanating from that stairwell than NASA had on the day that Alan Shepard became the first American to rocket into space!

So, as a recent graduate of Road Trip U, I was beginning to realize just how woefully ignorant I am when it comes to smart phones - and I resolved to begin correcting that situation.

I use an iPhone, which is an Apple product.  My computer is a MacBook Air, which is also an Apple product.  I made my first purchase of both at an Apple Store in Phoenix shortly after returning from two years on Okinawa in 2012.    At that time I resolved to learn as much as I could about both devices.  I signed up for a beginner's course for the iPhone that the Apple Store provided free-of-charge, but the experience quickly became a bust when the teacher allowed a blue-haired harpy who was sitting directly in front of him to take over and derail the presentation.  She was there to learn how to use the camera and store her photos, and she would not tolerate any other topics being discussed.  I left disappointed and decided that I would make it a point to learn on my own - something I never did.

But now I am ready and fired up again.  Should I buy a book - something like an "iPhone for Dummies," or try to find a YouTube video that would explain things?

Up until now I have used my phone for basically two things:  making (or answering) phone calls, and checking my email.  I have on very rare occasions strayed onto the internet with my phone, but usually I can't remember how to do that.  I also will occasionally take a picture with my phone, and then it takes about half-a-day to figure out how to get the picture off of the phone and onto my computer so that I can share it.  Once or twice I have even figured out how to share photos with the phone, but those are rare days that usually only happen near Blue Moons that occur during Leap Years.

This week my phone suddenly quit letting me check my email, and I don't have many friends, so making - and receiving - calls has never put much strain on the device.    Yesterday I went to the local Verizon Store where I had purchased my latest iteration of the iPhone.  If I understood the lady there correctly, Apple has screwed me over by sending out an update that killed my ability to pull up email, and then they had sent out a "fix" to that, but the fix required that I access the Cloud.  So since I don't believe in passwords, she set up new ones for me, accessed the Cloud (whatever the hell that is), and fixed the problem.

My new friend was very nice, and while she worked I brought up the topic of classes for the iPhone.  She said that other people have asked her the same question, but that there are no local classes on how to use an iPhone.  (Welcome to West Plains, Missouri!)  I have a discount phone plan that occasionally sends me threats that saying I am running out of time, or room, or service, or something - so I asked about an "unlimited" plan.  She told me that I could go from sporadic harassment to using as much of whatever it is that Verizon sells for just five extra dollars a month.  And because the lady was so nice, I eventually had her sign me up.   Now, if I knew what I was doing, I could create as much havoc with my iPhone as any thirteen-year-old!

But, of course, I do not know what I am doing.

The lady at the Verizon Store told me that with the new plan I could now download and watch movies - on my phone!  (Like that's a real thing!)   But I am smart enough to know that my iPhone has a lot of untapped potential - and I would like to learn and master some of what it can do to make my life better - or at least a little more interesting.

Today I am going to work on figuring out how to download an "Ap."   That's one thing I learned at Road Trip U - Aps can save you money!

(I will close today's Ramble with a funny - and true - story.  Years ago when I was working in State Child Protection, our agency shared an office with State Welfare.  An old man came to the window one day and asked to see a certain welfare worker - who was busy taking an application for benefits.  The secretary told the old man at the window that the worker he had requested couldn't help him right at that moment because he was "taking an ap."  And the fellow went home and called the governor.  The governor's office phoned later and asked if all state employees in our county office took naps during the work day, or just the one guy.)