He had a frying pan and coffeepot in his saddle roll; and some bacon and a can of beans.  He boiled up the coffee, fried the bacon and heated the beans in the frying pan’s grease.  Having no other utensils, they took turns at the frying pan, using their pocket knives, and drank the coffee straight from the pot.”
            –Ernest Haycox  (Saddle and Ride)

Git yurself in here, Pard, before the hostiles see yuh.  I’m bein’ overdramatic, but yuh never know, there might come a day when we’ll be declared the hostiles.  Right now there are some sayin’ that folks such as you and me need to have our brains deprogrammed.  Hmmm, I don’t recall havin’ them programmed the first time.
    Speakin’ of hostiles, I have a print hanging up in my office by Fred Deaver, titled, “Hostile Sound.”  The ol’ boy sittin’ by the night’s fire hears somethin’ and is reachin’ for his Hawken rifle.  He was ready, alert, as we all should be, not just because the days are gettin’ more evil, however that is reason enough, but because the Lord instructed us to walk in this world, alert, wary, with courage and integrity.
    How’s the coffee?  It’s all the way from that country of New Guinea.  It and Kona are my two favorites.  Don’t pay the price of Kona only on rare occasions, but New Guinea, made strong, and drank black will sure enough help get yuh through the day.  Did yuh read what that ol’ boy Haycox wrote?  I’ve traveled many a mile with a coffeepot in the steel mount.  Stopped several times along the way to boil up a pot, plus kept it in case of desperate times.  When I lived up in northern country a person might not know when they might get caught in a blizzard.  I had some sterno, a little stove, coffee, water, and a pot to brew it up–just in case.
    Blizzard–kinda of what the bureaucrats are in now.  They can’t see their way to do anything but what is contrary to God’s Word.  They wander around gropin’ in the fog of the storm.  The ol’ guy they put in charge is a real case of lunacy in charge.  Be alert pard, there’s hostiles.  
    One thing, for certain, even with the nut and in the highest office of the land, he is allowed to be there by the Almighty, and for a reason.  Yuh know that could be scary if it wasn’t for the Almighty bein’ in charge.  ‘Bout like ridin’ out into a blizzard without checkin’ yur cinch.
     Vaya con Dios,

The others nodded their heads in agreement, looking into their coffee as their eyes glazed with their thinking and wondering.”  
              –B.N. Rundell  (Escape to Exile)

Come on in, Pard, I’ll get yur coffee.  I’ve been fightin’ a case of the gripe since Wednesday.  A fever?  No, not the grippe, the gripe!  No, it’s not the China virus.  The gripe!  Have you not ever had a gripe with someone or something?   I remember having the gripe once diggin’ out a tree stump, another time I was out fishin’ and got a terrible backlash in my reel–the gripe.  That’s when yuh get angry without sinnin’ and, Pard, at times it’s hard.
    See, yur ponderin’ what I said, for I see yuh starin’ in yur cup.  Or is there a gnat in it?  Don’t yuh strangle on it while swallowin’.  No, jist thinkin’ about the absurdity of our supposed leaders; bah, bureaucrats!  Another impeachment.  I would think with all the goin’s on in this country, Antifa, BLM, the virus, and other things they would have something better to do than fill their own ego.  Why, Pard, it’s already full of hatred and bitterness.
    More and more, I’m seein’ the truth of what Proverbs calls a “fool.”  More and more, in my ol’ age, I’m seein’ the scriptures bein’ fulfilled, that wickedness will abound in the last days.  Drink up, Pard, don’t mean to have yuh staring in yur cup, and yur eyes a-glazin’ over.  Perk up!  The Lord is in charge, so that’s why I got the hatred out.  The Lord told me to be workin’ at doin’ good where I’m at.  Keep my gizzard juice all sweet.  Too many other ailments in this ol’ body so sure don’t need the gripe.
    Pard!  Stop!  Yur gonna make me gripe at you!  Check that cinch!  And don’t yuh be ridin’ where yuh shouldn’t be this week.  Stay away from things that might sour yur gizzard.
    Vaya con Dios.

I settled down with a small fire, the air now turning brisk, and sipped at my coffee looking up at the stars.”
              –D. C. Adkisson  (The Shepherd)

Ha,ha,ha, don’t mind me Pard, I’m just singin’.  “Awomen, see the little baby, awomen; lyin’ in a manger, on Christmas mornin’, awomen, awomen, awomen.”  Ha,ha,ha; if it wasn’t so sad, it would be hilarious.
    Come on in, Pard, the coffee’s waitin’ for us.  My, my, what a week it’s been.  It’s already started and Biden hasn’t even been sworn in yet.  I wonder if at a restaurant if we’ll have our choice of womenu or menu?  Yuh know, I make fun of it, and it is rather silly, but on another note it is downright serious.  Making jest of God’s creation, man and woman.
    Then the riotin’ in D.C.  Another mess, and there’s something not quite right with what’s bein’ reported.  Oh, well, what can one expect from a country that no longer believes in or practices the Truth?  And now there’s another impeachment looming.  My goodness with only twelve days left, the House is going to waste time on impeachment rather than get down to business.  Well, that’s a paid bureaucrat for yuh.  Puttin’ yur money to good use.  What I see is hatred in action.
    I don’t know about you, Pard, but this ol’ boy is goin’ settle back, enjoy the woods and wildlife that come a-visitin’, and enjoy my coffee.  Ahhhh, not goin’ to let the media trouble my ol’ gizzard–I’ve been keepin’ it calm and soothed, and plan on keepin’ it that way.
    Along with good coffee, keepin’ things simple, the Lord’s been fillin’ my heart with songs.  Join me, “I’m gonna cling to His precious hand, and I know my Lord’s gonna lead me out of the pilgrim land.”  Yeehaw!  Just have to put a hearty end to it.  I would have said “Amen,” but don’t want to be gettin’ myself into trouble.
    Yuh be watchful now as yuh travel the roads out there.  Don’t be a-frettin’, just be rememberin’ that the Lord has everythin’ under control.  Why even if yur cinch slips, He’s there with yuh.
    Vaya con Dios. 

The coffee was hot and strong enough to stand by itself, without any cup.  I drank it and liked it.”
              –Louis L’Amour (The Proving Trail)

Welcome, Pard, welcome.  Woooeee, we’ve got a new year in front of us.  Let’s climb aboard and see what kind of ride we’ll have this year.  Yeehaw!  Powder River let ‘er buck!
    Whew, enough of that.  I don’t want to get worn out right at the start.  Coffee’s on; it’s hot and strong.  Fact is; its downright black.  I received a gift of a new brand out of San Antonio, Texas–Gonzalez Garrison, and it’ll catch yur attention, but this mornin’, due to yur delicate nature I stuck with my regular blend–strong.
    Looking back over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that though it is a New Year, nothing is really new.  Same ol’ stuff from December 31st is followin’ us into the year.  Fact of the matter, I heard that the virus has mutated in Colorado, and there’s a new one found in China.  My, can you believe that?  Ha, ha, the world is wringin’ their hands, that is, except for those in charge.
    Me, well, I’m thinkin’ that right now the best I can do is sit down, watch the birds flitter on the branches, and sip my coffee slow and easy.  Ahhh, not much I can do about the world’s situation, and I’m surely not goin’ to get in a frenzy over a virus whether it’s natural or man-made.  One way or the other, the Lord will see me through.  He’ll see me through the troubles of 2021, or He’ll see me over the Great Divide and into those pearly gates.
    Thanks for joinin’ me this first Saturday of 2021.  Always enjoy yuh stoppin’ by an’ always have time to swaller some coffee with yuh.  Don’t yuh be forgettin’ yur resolutions!  Check yur cinch!  See, some things don’t change.
     Vaya con Dios,