–Louis L’Amour  (Conagher)

 

Here yuh go, Pard.  Nice and hot, and plenty strong.  Sure hopin’ it puts yuh in a good mood, yuh know what they say.  What?  My coffee is strong enough to remove a tattoo?  Well, Pard, I wish it was, there’s shore enough of them bein’ painted on folks anymore.  What a sight!  But no, here’s what I was goin’ to say, this mornin’s good mood is sponsored by coffee good and strong.  No cinos, just plain coffee.  Ahhh, that’ll fix yur mood right up.  Fact is the only thing better is to add some time with the Lord to it.  My, how I enjoy sittin’, readin’, lookin’ out in the trees, and drinkin’ my mornin’ coffee.  Life is good, God is good.

     Pard, Thanksgivin’ is right around the corner.  Time for some nostalgia, time to be thinkin’ of times past, and more importantly, it’s time to be makin’ new memories.  Yep, the missus will be makin’ several pies, some pumpkin pecan, a German chocolate, maybe an apple, a cherry-berry, and of course that Thanksgivin’ staple, plain ol’ pumpkin.  Whoop!  The stomach is jumpin’ already in delight just a-thinkin’.  Then we’ll be with friends and family at the campsite.  Looks like no campfire this year as we’ve got a burn ban goin’.  Shame we have to have those, but folks just don’t know how to be good woodsmen.  Think it sorta ties in with the fact that they don’t know how to be good stewards. 

     People get sloppy, careless an’ many don’t even care ’bout what they’re doin’ an’ what could happen.  I’ve seen plenty a fellow burnt, or cut, or walk away leavin’ a fire burnin’.  They don’t care, or if’n they do they don’t show it.  Same ways with the things of the Lord.  He gives a blessin’ an’ it’s ignored, or used wrongly.  Some folks don’t take care of the things He gives ’em, they waste, they disfigure, they abuse those wonderful blessin’ of the Lord.  Some of the things they do with the gifts from the Lord are worse than diggin’ a hole and buryin’ it.

     But ‘nough of that negativity; it’s Thanksgiving.  Time to be rememberin’ our blessin’s and thankin’ the Lord for them and all that He has done.  My mercy, Pard, that shore a heapful!  An’ what’s more–He keeps on a-givin’ an’ a-blessin’.  Take a deep breath, no, there’s not a pie in the oven, but go ahead.  Now, think, He has given you the breath of life, and even more so because of Jesus He’s given us the breath of eternal life.  My, my…

     So Pard, be enjoyin’ all the blessin’s that are part of Thanksgivin’.  Some don’t have it so well.  Some lost it all, like ol’ Job.  But then remember, that old man got more than before.  It’ll be the same when we walk through the gates of that heavenly city, an’ sit down at that table.  My, I wonder if’n we’ll find out that manna was really apple pie?  

     Be havin’ a good week, and bein’ thankful.  Don’t spoil it all by not checkin’ yur cinch.

     Vaya con Dios.

                    –B.N. Rundell  (Wagon Wheel Gap)

 

     Take a deep sip, Pard.  That thar coffee comes from roasters way over in Silver City, New Mexico.  No, thar’s not no pintos nor peppers in it; it’s coffee yuh dodo.  Fresh, hot, black elixir from my own kitchen.  Ahhh, good to have it this mornin’.  Doc prescribed a stress test for me, an’ that meant no coffee for twenty-four hours.  Whoopee, I’ll tell yuh I sure wanted a cup that night before.  After the test, I rode the ol’ steel mount over to the daughter’s house where I promptly swallered three cups.

     Ha, when I first read what ol’ BN wrote I had to chuckle.  Shore did remind me of somethin’ my Grandpa Jones said once on a trip.  He stopped for coffee on a trip back to those wheatfields of Kansas and almost had a combustion fit when he found out that coffee at the cafe cost him a whole dime.  Mom said, he slammed his hand on the table, “Who ever heard of coffee costin’ more than a nickel?”  Ain’t like that now, that’s for shore.

     Things just don’t stop.  The foolishness and stupidity continues.  I know that thar are some out there that’s a-wantin’ a global society.  An’ I tell yuh they don’t know what they’re askin’ for.  When that comes about it’ll be too late for them for that ol’ devil-filled man of lawlessness will be in control.  Pard, if’n yur around then, yuh better seek shelter quick an’ hang on, not only will coffee become scarce or too expensive to buy they’re be a lot of the devil’s doin’ goin’ on.  In fact, this ol’ world will be bustin’ wide open with evil.  But for a politician, a supposedly American mayor (Chicago) to ask for the United Notions to step in an interfere with immigration enforcement in this here U.S.A. is downright shameful.

     Go ahead, Pard, yuh can drink it.  I know it’s the last of the brew, but I’m good to share.  Don’t blame yuh for wantin’ more.  Now, back to my pontificatin’, what I don’t understand is why these so-called leaders, an’ yuh know of whom I’m a-speakin’, go on about things that are illegal.  Illegal immigrants, illegal drugs, Illegal this and that, but don’t they get it?  The term is “illegal.”  How can stoppin’ cartel drugs from comin’ into the U.S. be illegal?  How can stoppin’ noncitizens from votin’ be illegal?  Do yuh get my drift?   

     On top of all this there was the shenanigans the liberals did by shuttin’ down the government.  Didn’t hurt them none, exceptin’ maybe they got their feelin’s hurt by not gettin’ their own way.  An’ most of that was over this ideal of givin’ handouts, welfare, and insurance to–yuh got it–illegals.  My mercy, if’n we’d follow them and check them out I’m a-thinkin’ they mount up not checkin’ their cinch.  No wonder they’re looney; they’ve fallen on their noggin’ too many times an’ don’t know up from down, much less right from wrong.

     Yuh be havin’ a good and safe week, Pard.  Sit tall in the saddle, knowin’ of whom yuh serve.  He’s got it all under control and we all can be a-trustin’ Him, even if’n we have to pay a little more for coffee.

     Vaya con Dios.

                    –Donald L. Robertson  (The Loyal Star)

 

Hold the cup, whilst I finish pourin’.  Don’t want to pour it on yur arm, yuh might get scalded.  Yuh be a sippin’ whilst I pour my cup.  Yuh needn’t be expectin’ me to be spoutin’ off this mornin’.  Nope, gonna hold my piece.  Ain’t gonna say nothin’ ’bout them moronic dummies in New York.  They’ll soon be wallowin’ in the mire of their own makin’ so ain’t gonna be mentionin’ it.  Ahh, but the coffee is good.

     Shore hits the gizzard jist right don’t it?  Pard, keep enjoyin’ it and don’t expect me to say nothin’ ’bout the foolishness of the Mexican President when she said that fighting a war against drug cartels is unlawful because it would violate the rights of drug traffickers and it would be fascist.  Nope, ain’t gonna say nothin’ regardin’ that absurd statement.  Not gonna say nothin’ ’bout the craziness that is goin’ on in the world.  Ahhh, but don’t that coffee hit the spot?

     “Nother cup, shore Pard, comin’ right up.  Got it sittin’ right here on the stove top.  Glad to see yur enjoyin’ it an’ not wantin’ me to be spewin’ political nonsense at yuh.  Nope, puttin’ the urge aside.  Those liberal left-wing democrats who are keepin’ the government shut down, don’t deserve mentionin’ from an ol’ fence post like me.  Seems like stupidity is still at large in those marble halls of Congress.  Say, Pard, did yuh ever think about if’n we had a parliamentary government like the UK that Pelosi would have been prime minister?  See there are things to be thankful about our government despite some of the foolish an’ demented people in it.  An’ aren’t yuh glad I kept back my urges to spout off?   Ahhh, sure glad that the coffee is good this mornin’.

     Pard, I’m just a happy man.  Like ol’ Robertson, happy, happy, happy.  Why shore there are things that need fixin’.  Shore there are fools all around.  Shore there are the lazy bums that want nothin’ more than a handout.  Shore, as the Lord told us, the poor will be with us always, and I’ve always reckoned that He didn’t jist mean the poor in the wallet, but the poor in character as well.  Yep, got a sweet wife, who bakes me pies and other sorts of goodies and fixes superb meals.  She bakes bread, slices me off a piece, butters it, an’ sometimes puts some jam or honey on it.  Yep, I’m a happy man.  Got a good family.  Ahh, but ain’t the coffee good!

     Good coffee, good food, good fellowship, my mercy, what more is there?  Yuh be havin’ a good week.  Ride straight and tall, let folks know yuh’re a-ridin’ for the Lord.  Keep yur gun oiled and handy, have yur Bible read, and be checkin’ yur cinch.

    Vaya con Dios.

                    –C.J. Petit  (Chance)

 

Glad yuh made it this mornin’, Pard.  I was a-fearin’ that the goblins might have gotten to yuh like that little orphan girl feared.  Yep, there are plenty of them things out there on the highways and byways.  Didn’t use to see ’em much, but now yuh can’t seem to go any place without seein’ some sort of wickedness.  Why just look at the faces and eyes of some of them politicians–pure evil.  May not be a goblin, but close to it, an ogre maybe.  Pard, yuh just stay watchful and don’t be frettin’, the worse ones are still locked in the abyss.

     What’s that?  Nah, this is good coffee.  Fresh, I wouldn’t serve my guest stale coffee, but I’ve sure have tasted some in my lifetime.  I will say this, stale coffee beats no coffee.  An’ the campfire–why that coffee’ll sit there for the day an’ if’n there’s still plenty in the pot, most likely it will be there at mornin’ light.

     Go ‘head, swaller it up while I do some spoutin’.  I saw where a woman was complain’ about not gettin’ her welfare.  She was wonderin’ how she was goin’ to feed her seven kids.  Now, there’s several issues with this.  Unless she’s a cripple, she needs to be workin’.  And while it wasn’t missin’ I’ll ask where was her husband?  Hmmm, how many has she had?  Do the kids have the same father?  Meddlin’?  Who me?  Nope, just statin’ the facts the way they are.  See the problem isn’t necessarily her lack of character, but the root problem is sin.  That ol’ statistical giant, Barna wrote recently that fifty percent of American no longer see “traditional” sins as wrong.  Listen, Pard, an’ don’t be snortin’ out any of that coffee–73% see drunkenness, gambling, and premarital sex as morally acceptable.  Yuh see the problem?  Man is wantin’ to redefine sin.  Barna says that this has led to “decades of social turbulence and spiritual confusion.”

     No, the problems won’t go away, but they can be dealt with if’n we had morally upright people.  People, who maybe don’t consistently practice it, but understand the difference between right an’ wrong.  Pard, man can say what he wants, he can go about redefinin’ right and wrong, but that don’t change the truth of God’s Word!  Hatred, bitterness, foolishness, why they can be taken care of if’n folks would just turn to the Lord.  He is the solution to their hungry hearts.

     Oh, the government shutdown?  Pard, let me tell yuh I have just one thing to say to those boot-lickin’ lackies in Washington, those liberal, left-wing goblins.  Yuh ready?  Ptui!! with double exclamation marks!  That’s why I’m tellin’ yuh be ridin’ wary.  Be a man, set apart for the Lord and walk in the light of His Word.  If’n for some reason yuh didn’t check yur cinch an’ yuh fall from yur saddle, get yurself back up, recinch and mount up.  The ride ain’t over until yuh get called on to glory an’ it’d be a shame if yur obituary said he died ’cause he forgot to check his cinch, or that he wasn’t totin’ his gun, or that his Bible was dusty.

    Vaya con Dios.