So, Linda, did you ever take my advice on purchasing that used Jaguar car on the cheap? Tell us, how is that little gem turning out to be? CHUCKLE…I THINK WE’VE BOUGHT ANOTHER JAG OR TWO, ANOTHER DIESEL MERCEDES, AND A PAIR OF DIESEL TRUCKS, SINCE THEN, ONE OF THEM A REPO TRUCK!How do you like the idea that when it quits for no particular reason and then it may or may not run well for a while and then quits again? WELL, I WOULDN’T LIKE IT AT ALL, BUT FORTUNATELY I HAVE THREE FELLOWS WHO KNOW A THING OR TWO. I’D THINK OF A FUEL PROBLEM, FIRST, CRUD IN THE LINES OR SOMEWHERE. I ASKED CHARLES AND HE SAID THAT AFTER HE HAD CHECKED THE FUEL SYSTEM HE WOULD SEE IF THE COMPUTER IS OVERHEATING.

How do you like the idea that your favourite mechanic must send you a substantial bill to fix it as he spent so much time on it researching the many idiosynchrasies of the cat known as Jaguar that he himself lost a lot of revenue by not working on other jobs but could not bring himself to charge you for the real hours he spent on it? And of course the cycle starts all over again after it runs very well for a period of time. SYMPATHY ON BOTH SIDES. CHUCKLE. CHARLES JUST EXCLAIMED, “HOW ARE YOU GETTING INVOLVED IN ANSWERING…” HE KNOWS I STILL THINK THINGS HAVE CARBURETORS. Great feeling going to town in a nice looking used Jag that is not quite so cheap any more, but heck the neighbors won’t know this will they? By the time you realize it is a money pit, you will very glad to give it to someone, maybe your mechanic who will disown you if you do! Hah, I own three of these lovely older ladies, but it is just a hobby for me to see who can outsmart who, the lady cat or me. ADDICTIVE, AREN’T THEY?!

Anyway, so commenting on the Canadian Health Care System, who is doing better financially, Canada or the USA? BOTH ARE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE. The proof is in the pudding as the old saying goes. BTW, I enjoy reading your stuff, well it is corny sometimes but……. Best Regards, CanadaNorth CORNY?! YOU LOUSE! ROFL. HEY, I WRITE FOR FUN, AND MY SIMPLE JESTS AMUSE ME.

WE STILL HAVEN’T REPAIRED THE HARNESS AND TAUGHT A HORSE TO PULL OUR BEAUTIFUL, GLOSSY BLACK DOCTOR’S BUGGY. WHAT ARE YOU UP TO OTHER THAN TRYING TO TAME CATS? I HAD A 528E ONCE THAT OBJECTED SO TO BEING TAKEN OVER THE ROCKIES THAT PLATOONS OF LITTLE GERMAN ELVES COULDN’T COAX THE GAS GAUGE INTO WORKING…LINDA

That’s all you really need to know to see what’s coming. I love the perpetual motion machine reference, but I’m afraid that concept too is an illusion, like the greenshoots….IT WAS DEFINITELY TONGUE IN CHEEK. I KEPT THINKING OF STARBELLY SNEETCHES.

Maybe someday after TSHTF, those of us who have covered our posteriers can get together and cook up some of those catfish. Statist of course will not be welcome…WAHOO, THAT’S A VERY FINE IDEA. THE STATIST WILL BE OUT GRUBBING ROOTS, AT BEST.

I HAD REALLY INTENDED TO COME IN HERE AND WHOMP UP A LITTLE FANTASY ABOUT SOME CITY SLICKERS WHO FIND THEMSELVES OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE TRYING TO SURVIVE WITH NO KNOWLEDGE AT ALL. WE SCRAMBLE LIKE CRAZY, OURSELVES, AND HAD A CASE OF OAK LEAF POISONING THIS WEEK. OUR SWEET ABDUL, THE BULL-BULL EMIR (AMOUR) (A MOOER) IS GETTING OUT OF THREE DAYS IN THE VET’S HOSPITAL TOMORROW. WE LEARNED THE HARD WAY WHAT GOATS DO TO TREE BARK (WE’RE HAVING TO FELL 5 TREES IN THE YARD), AND WOE BETIED ANYONE WHO LETS AN ANIMAL OF ANY SORT NEAR A GREEN HOUSE OR THE GARDEN. WHAT SORTA PLACE YOU GOT, AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO PREPARE? THANKS FOR WRITING. LINDA

Anyway, so commenting on the Canadian Health Care System, who is doing better financially, Canada or the USA? The proof is in the pudding as the old saying goes. BTW, I enjoy reading your stuff, well it is corny sometimes but……. Best Regards, CanadaNorth

That’s all you really need to know to see what’s coming. I love the perpetual motion machine reference, but I’m afraid that concept too is an illusion, like the greenshoots….

Maybe someday after TSHTF, those of us who have covered our posteriers can get together and cook up some of those catfish. Statist of course will not be welcome…

When up comes to a recently …and presumably…deceased b’ar or wild boar, blinders can get you dead in a hurry. Or at least a resident in the local hospital for an extended stay. On an economic front, those who buy into the idea that the bull market is back have conveniently ignored the fact that the b’ar is only napping, deciding how much of that lucious looking backside he wants to devour when he awakens.

Love your analysis, comments, humor, pithy sayings and prognostications. Hang in there and don’t let the lack of comments get you down.

My new Foreman hit town tonight at 5:15, long after this article went out. Over dinner at the best steak house in town, conveniently on the way home, I discussed having him check out the dams and silting on our two lakes. The man is a former SEAL, so this makes sense, right?

I said that I thought he probably needed more than swim fins, arm floaties, and a little plastic spade and pail, and asked his opinion on whether a dry suit would be sufficient, or if a full wet suit would be better, and added that I didn’t suppose he needed a bathysphere. Of course I talk to the Foreman like that. He has a fine sense of humor and being a nut is a prerequisite for a job around here.

He didn’t even choke over a porterhouse steak that was all but hanging off the edge of his plate but replied that from the reports he had received on the lakes he not only advised a full wet suit but underwater lights!

I had hoped to get him to call me “Boss Lady,” ’cause it jest sounds so danged Texan, but durned if he didn’t go to callin’ me “Miss Linda” as the rest of the hands do. Ah’ll tell you again that it is THEIR idea. Shucks. I had visions of gettin’ me one of them thar de-vided suede riding skirts an’ a quirt…well, okay, so I’m ‘funning. He’s going to train a horse to pull my glossy black doctor’s buggy, and we’re all on the lookout for a side saddle! Seriously. I’ll probably end up riding Bonnie Blue with an English saddle. Hey, by the time you put a rotund little old lady on a big Western saddle she’d look like Humpty Dumpty straddling the great wall of China. As long as it has been since I have riden I’ll be be lucky not to end up on a leading rein.

To get back to the subject, you don’t have to be a frogman or a “web foot,” as I am told I can refer to him reasonably politely (The guys still won’t tell me what other Navy types call SEALs when ladies are not around, although I learned that my darling Charles can be referred to with some decorum as a “bubble head.”) to see that the market and the political-economic-social system are about as easy to deal with at present as our lakes. Don’t go in without full protection and a way to shine extra light on any stock that catches your eye. It is not difficult for even someone with no training to see that even an expert is going to want all the protection he can get!

Uh…what is it I said that is too dull to comment on and not even harsh enough to provoke a Statist?!

LBT