Ten minutes after rising, he had the stove heated and the coffee pot on.”
–C.J. Petit

Come in, come in, put good coffee on this morning.  Feels good out there, 53 degrees here in Germantown, Maryland.  Ahhh, that first cup always hits the spot, but the ones that follow aren’t bad either.  I read where yesterday was National Coffee Day.  That surprised me, for I thought every day was coffee day.  
Say, I’ve got a question for yuh.  Out there is Hollywood on the Walk of Fame there are five categories:  film, television, music, radio, and live performance.  Who is the only person put on the Walk in every category?  A clue, let me sing it, “I’m back in the saddle again…”  Don’t hold yur ears.  It’s our ol’ pard–Gene Autry.  How ’bout that; somethin’ I didn’t know.
“Nother cup?  See, told yuh it was good coffee this mornin’.  I caught my daughter the other day puttin’ some of that sweet stuff in it.  Yuh try and raise them properly…  At least it was just sweetner and not that flavored cream–that almost makes my ol’ gizzard flip thinkin’ ’bout it.  But we went to the Amish Market again; that’s my favorite place to eat up here.  There’s a refreshin’ atmosphere there, and no it’s not outside.  Very busy, but friendly, and courteous.  The waitress wrote on the back of our check, “Jesus Loves You.”  I made sure I grabbed her on the way out and told her, that He loves her too.  Things like that just help to make a person’s day; at least it did this ol’ fence post.  Somethin’ positive, instead of all the junk and lies the media throws our way!
On the way to the Market a fox ran out in front of the car.  Rare to see them with so many people livin’ near.  Guess even in the middle of this postmodern, enlightened civilization there are still some throwbacks from the ol’ days.  And on my walk yesterday, a nice, 4-point buck came out of the woods in front of me.  I haven’t seen that big un that I saw a couple weeks ago again.
You be sure and have a good week.  We’ll be headin’ back to Texas in a spell; yuh better be lookin’ for us.  Go out there an’ ride tall in the saddle, but before yuh sit up there, be sure an’ check yur cinch.

Soon the smell of boiling coffee would fill the campsite, along with the smell of frying bacon and biscuits heating by the fire.”
–J.S. Stroud

Howdy there pard,  whew, sure glad the seerers changed their minds and today is not the end of the world.  Get yurself in here, the coffee is hot and black.  No sirree, no additives today.  Now, ifn yuh have to be puttin’ in some cream or sugar, I’ll turn my back while you do it.  This morning I made “Midnight Ride,” ahhh, that’s good coffee.
Now this strange occurrence that is takin’ place with the constellations and planets is somethin’ to take notice of.  There will be signs in the skies, and there will be wars and rumors of wars, and the earth will be groaning; to me all this points to the fact that the Father is ready to seen, and the Lord Jesus is coming back for His children.  When He does, whoa Nellie, things are gonna get mighty worse.
That cup was good, how ’bout you, ready for a refill?  I wonder what absurdities will come to us today?  I did hear that Hobby Lobby sold out of cotton for displays.  Guess some folk were not offended.  Makes me wonder if the person who made the statement knows anything about her ancestry.  Can she trace her ancestry back to the cotton-fields?  Hmmmm, reminds me of a song I used to hear as a kid, “In Them Old Cotton Fields Back Home.”
Mercy, pard!  We done drained that pot!  That should keep yuh goin’, at least for a while.  Not sure of any plans today.  Just take the day as it comes.  Who knows, it may be the day the Lord returns; you remember that term don’t yuh?  Rapture!  Yeehaw, that will sure be one ride flyin’ up through the sky.
Have a good day, you take care of yurself.  Hey!  Wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute!  Don’t you dare mount up without checkin’ yur cinch!

After placing some rocks around the fire, he picked up a large cast iron skillet, placed it over the fire, filled it half full of water and added a hand full of coffee grounds.”
–J.S. Stroud

Get down off that hoss, I’ve got the coffee poured and ready for yuh. Sure been enjoyin’ my vacation. Sunday I’m takin’ a vacation in the middle of my vacation. Goin’ over to the beach on Sunday for a few days. Sure hope yuh had a good week.
Let me ask yuh pard, ever get frustrated over people? Took the little buckaroo, Garrett, to Chuck E. Cheese yesterday. There was a family (??) there with three kids. They were runnin’ ’round and tryin’ to ride with Garrett. Then I got to watchin’ those kids run around and stop ever so often at the buffet and grab pizza. It finally riled my gizzard enough to see the management. One guy kinda put up his hands as to say, “What can we do?”. The boss-lady finally went to the people and asked them to leave. Just before leavin’ the mom stopped by and grabbed a couple more pieces. And we wonder why kids grow up thinkin’ they’re entitled to the profit from the hard work of others.
How’s the coffee? I woke up to a little treat this mornin’. Since I’m gettin’ lazy on this vacation, I woke up a little later and traipsed on downstairs. I thought I could smell the aroma of coffee driftin’ up through the stairway and there it was–my eldest was up and the coffee was made. Ahhhh, now that a good start to the day.
Say, don’t expect me to be sittin’ ’round and sendin’ out the Echoes next week. Vacation time within vacation means the computer stays packed up and will not be used. Perhaps havin’ coffee on the beach will give me time for some thoughts. I remember one time the Lord walked on the waves; yuh never know how He might come a-visitin’. What we need to be doin’ is keepin’ the house clean just in case He comes knockin’ at the door. I remember my Aunt Bern sayin’ that was why she straightened up the house, just in case Nancy (Reagan) decided to stop by and visit. ‘Course we should be cleanin’ our “temple” regularly.
Let’s finish this pot and be gettin’ movin’ down the road. I know yur chores are callin’ you. I’ll just prop my feet up and do some readin’, since I’m on vacation.
Don’t worry pard, I’m not so relaxed that if I have to go out I’ll forget to tighten my cinch.

Well, Pard, we made it in alright.  But one thing really riled me on the trip.  You remember ol’ Davy, the b’ar-hunter from Tennessee?  Yep, the one who sacrificed his life at the Alamo for the freedom of Texas.  I was plumb disturbed to find out that he wasn’t born on a mountaintop in Tennessee.  More like the canebreaks along the Nolichucky River.  Besides the disturbance from finding the truth from the song, it was an enjoyable experience.  They have done an excellent job with the restoration of his birthplace and what life would have been like livin’ on the frontier in the early 1800s.
The trip up from Texas was nice with one very hard rainstorm the Lord allowed to wash all the lovebugs off the jeep.  We were able to find the grave of my great, great, great grandparents Thomas Jefferson and Rebecca Coulter.  It was just off Coulterville Road in the country of Tennessee.  
Yesterday I went to one of my favorite restaurants, the Amish Market and had chipped beef gravy and biscuits, of course with an egg on top.  Then we went to the orchard to pick apples.  So vacation/retirement is going well.  I’ve been enjoying sitting outside in the cool weather, snoozing and reading.  Ahhhh, and drinkin’ coffee.
Speakin’ of good coffee, let me fill your cup up again.  Ahhhh, yep, sure does make the ol’ gizzard quiver in delight.  ‘Nother good thing, no news to listen to or see!  That in itself soothes the gizzard.  All the stupidity put aside for a few days of travelin’ along the trail.  When I travel like that I always think of what it would have been like back in the 1800s.  What it was like for the Coulters travelin’ and settlin’ in Tennessee?
‘Cuse me pard, for gettin’ nostalgic on you.  Not sure what plans are for the day on my end, but don’t want you sittin’ ’round ifn you have things to get done.  Brrr, little cold outside here this mornin’, 51 degrees, but I’m really enjoyin’ it.  You have yourself a good day.  Now, don’t go mountin’ up without checkin’ that cinch.