Povey Prattle

When William Jefferson Clinton was first running for President there were various published stories about his predation on women when he was Governor of Arkansas. I, to my shame, "wrote off these reports" as bilge from the right wing. I was so wrong.  When his sleazy behaviour in the White House became a matter of fact, I believed and said out loud that he should resign. He is still not a hero for me,  In fact I voted for Barack Obama and not for Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primaries because I dreaded the thought that WJC could become too close to the White House. Now in 2016 we have another sexual predator  (verified by his own words, not by rumours) who wishes to become the President of my beloved United States of America, It is hard for me to understand why any decent Republican or Democrat would even think of voting for him. Do we really want or need another sexual predator in the White House. I am shocked beyond belief that "moralistically conservative...

via my friend Chris G.

I met Lee through our mutual friend Diana E. She  (Lee)  is a delightful (and as wee bit frail) woman who lives here in SRQ at a fine retirement community called "Plymouth Harbour". Earlier this year I met Lee after one of her hospital appointments, with the express intention of treating her to lunch, and then driving her home. We had a good  lunch at the "First Watch" breakfast and lunch cafe at the intersection of Bee Ridge Rd and Cattlemen Rd.  After lunch as  we made our way through the parking lot we passed a "Taco Bell" fast food joint. Lee exclaimed   "oh, I love Taco Bell" . I promised that I would take her to a Taco Bell, a promise that I fulfilled yesterday.  It was my first ever visit to a Taco Bell. I learned that this fast food chain had been founded by a man whose last name was "Bell".  The name "Taco Bell" now  makes some kind of sense to me. The one we visited was all but empty, but there seemed to ...

Farewell to my old Frigidaire Stove .  It has probably been in my Condo. for twenty or more years. Certainly before I inherited when I moved to SRQ ten years ago. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to my new G.E. range.   It is basic  with nothing fancy.. It was affordable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I bought it at the family owned "Mullets Appliances"  on Clark Road here in SRQ.  I was so pleased that the salesman did not put me under pressure to buy something fancier and more expensive. (It turned out that he was Nate Mullet: a family member). My new range arrived today.  It was "out with the old", and "in with the new" in less than 40 minutes. When all was done I asked the lead installer "what is it like to work for Mullets?"  He replied "W...

On of the chief joys of retirement is that it affords time and space to connect with dear and long time friends. Thus it was that this afternoon I 'phoned my dear and trusty friend the Revd,. Gwen W. Sears. I first met Gwen   back in 1975 when she was one of the trainers for my summer ministry in the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts. (I was in between my junior and senior years at St. John's College, Nottingham, UK.) Soon after I returned from the U.K. to Western Mass in 1976 (as a newly minted Deacon) [there's  a long story here!]  Gwen and I were both members of the Christian Education Committee of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts. We were both Deputies to the Episcopal Church General Convention in New Orleans (1982), by which time Gwen had been ordained as Deacon. We took time out to have dinner at the "Spaghetti Factory", and I remember saying "Gwen, I'd love to know you better". Little did we know that by 19...

Despite the fact that  my oven/stove/ cooker (whatever you call it) has been out of service for a couple of weeks, I still look at it to check the time. This is all very silly: because I could  just as easily check the time on the gizmo which  abides on my kitchen window sill;  a machine which is connected to the Atomic Clock, and shows the current external and internal temperatures, phases of the moon; internal humidity etc   and the current length  of Donald Tr-mp's nose. My window sill gizmo. And of course there is a watch on my right wrist. It too tells the time OLD HABITS DIE HARD.

You will remember that I have been allowing Adelaide to go outside.  She yowled me into compliance after Ada left us. It was a big mistake.  Adelaide did not come back in our home alone.  She transported unwanted guests; undocumented immigrants. Adelaide gladly introduced some  (many)  of this immigrants  to Penne. I have been de-fleaing my dog, my cat, and my home.   Luckily the only carpeted room is the guest bedroom entrance to which is banned for my pets.  Nor are the pets allowed to rest or sleep on any of the soft upholstered furniture. Penne's bed had lots of small blood spots, as did an area rug on my Lanai ( one of those hard textured indoor/out door one)  on which the cats were allowed to scratch, and Penne loved to roll. I decided that cleaning the rug and the bed (both well beaten-up and about nine years old) would not necessarily rid them of fleas, so they are on the way to the dump.  Penne will ha...