I could smell the coffee and the bacon. My stomach could smell it too and started to grumble.”
–Lou Bradshaw (One Man Standing)
Come in here an’ light; don’t be a-grumblin’ the coffee’s on its way. It’s hot, pard, so don’t go burnin’ yur lips. Ahhh, the simple delight of a small pleasure.
Pard, the wife and I were a-sittin’, just like we are now, last week when our gizzards almost jumped right out of our mouth. Crash! Without lookin’ at each other we lept up out of our chairs an’ rushed to the sound. There it was, “The End of the Trail”, lying there, on the floor of my office, the glass broken as it had fallen from where I had it hung. It was a painting given to me by my Grandma Jones many years ago. Upon closer inspection we found that the painting had not been damaged by the broken glass, that was a relief. The second thing we discovered was that the string that held it on the wall had broke.
I need a swaller before I continue. It was my fault. When we dug out the picture I noticed the string and wondered how long it had been on the frame. I even thought about changin’ it, but no, didn’t listen to myself and hung it up. My goodness, pard, that string might have been older than yur’s truly, and that would make it old. At least no harm was done and it’s back up on the wall, right at the exit of my office.
It’s like the fella that went fishin’. He hadn’t been in a year or so an’ he was enjoyin’ himself. Then he got a strike, set the hook and started reelin’ the fish in when it happened. The line broke. The line was old, weak, and frayed, and he didn’t bother to put on new line or at least check the line on the reel. Yep, the big one got away, again.
We need to be checkin’ our equipment and tools ever so often. Probably more than we do. That’s why I keep tellin’ yuh to keep yur gun cleaned and oiled. To be readin’ and learnin’ yur Bible. Reminds me, I need to sharpen a couple of knives. Hmmmm, do you have the “sword of the Spirit” sharp and ready for use?
You be checkin’ that cinch before yuh mount! Maybe it’s time to check the shoes of that ol’ hoss as well. You be havin’ a good week!