The beans were good, the coffee better, and he divided a chunk of sourdough betwixt us.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (Tucker)

It was a good trip, Pard.  We had a little cabin up on Little Pine Creek in northern Pennsylvania.  The wife was able to see plenty of relatives and we broke bread together.  I don’t think it was sourdough, but the fixin’s were good, just the same.  Plus on our little trip we sat by the fire and drank plenty of coffee.  Yes, it was a good trip.
    A person just never knows what next week might hold for them.  Why there could be an unexpected obstacle along the trail or a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  Not sayin’ there is, for I’ve been there a couple of times and there weren’t no gold, or else someone had already come along an’ swiped it.
    Speakin’ of not knowin’ what may come along just think of the President and his wife.  All should be prayin’ for them instead of playin’ the devil.  My mercy, it’s a real shame when folks are laughin’ and hopin’ the President dies.  That goes to show yuh the state of our country.  Shame, real shame.
    That son of that preacher Billy, Franklin, has said it right, “President Trump will stay President until God’s vision is complete.”  Now what that is, I don’t rightly know, but His plan will come to pass.  Pard, we need to be prayin’ for the man, his wife, and the country.  The Lord is bringin’ His will to pass, yuh better put worldly things aside and be trustin’ in Him.
    Yeah, I know, my coffee got cold, but I’ll get a refill.  In fact, I’ve got some coffee from Canada on the trip, no bad, at least the way I fix it.  Don’t yuh go traipsin’ around in a stew all week, be trustin’ in the Lord.  Be alert, keep yur weapons handy, and be sure and check yur cinch before mountin’!

          Vaya con Dios!

My fire was dying but the coffee was still hot.  I drank another cup and then stretched out on my bed and slept like a baby.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (Passin’ Through)

Mornin’, Pard, come on in an’ join in this joyous day.  What’s the occasion?  Why my ol’ gizzard is just a bubblin’ with joy.  With you showin’ up, and the coffeepot full, and the Lord smilin’ down on me, what else is needed?
    Sure seems like the world has gone mad.  No, it doesn’t seem, it has.  It is just a show case, a display, of what is to come.  Hatred, my mercy, have yuh ever seen the like.  Lack of respect, lack of a work ethic, things are just goin’ to mess, but still, through it all, my ol’ gizzard is smilin’.  Yes, I know, wearin’ a mask one can’t see my fantastic smile.  
    But even with the mask coverin’ the face, there is the feelin’ of weariness, of despair, of hopelessness that permeates the country.  Why, Pard, just look at the despair that is causin’ all those riots.  Hopelessness held in will result in a scream.  Add to that, hatred and yuh have madness.  Drink yur coffee, Pard, while I do some philosophyzin’.  Let chaos come, for that is what the Antichrist will come out of and that means the Lord’s return will happen.
    Now, with that, Pard — say, ain’t that coffee good this mornin’?  Mmmm, yep, I’m smilin’ deep inside, for I’m lookin’ up.  In the midst of the madness I believe the Lord will be headin’ back this way for us.  Yuh just have to stay ready.  Say Pard, how ’bout a round of “I’ll Fly Away”?
    Maybe next week I’ll have a story for yuh as we’re headin’ for the hills of Pennsylvania.  There’s a cabin just waitin’ for our appearance.  Yuh stay strong an’ happy, Pard.  Be alert an’ check that cinch.
           Vaya con Dios.

Coffee boiled in a pot in the corner of the fireplace.   The old man poured a cup of cold water in to settle grounds and brought the pot up to set it on the rough table.”
              –Elmer Kelton (Llano River)

Here we are, Pard.  I’ve got the coffee in front of me, back in the east country.  Things shore are different out here, folks wear masks more than back home.  Hope to sit back and enjoy myself these few days.  In fact, today is a big one; I’m makin’ chili for the grandson’s birthday.  
    No problems along the trip; didn’t see a hostile along the way, but I’ll tell yuh, Pard, I was watchin’.  We are told by ol’ Peter and Paul that our job is to be wary and alert.  In these days those are words to live by.  This is true not only spiritually, but out there in the world as we travel through it.
    Why, Pard, do yuh remember the days when we could leave the door unlocked, the coffee on the table, and the pot on the stove?  Go on in, make yur coffee, but jist clean up afterward.  My mercy, the two groups that are most unsafe these days are unborn infants and police officers.  Insane!  Jist plain crazy!
    Now, listen here, an’ listen tight–the problem isn’t the corona.  The problem is that the days are evil!  Before the time of the Lord’s return the days will get worser and worser.  The great deceiver will blind the eyes of folk not immersed in the Bible.  People are goin’ to be duped more and more if’n they are not followin’ the words of our Lord.
    Well, wanted to get a note out this mornin’ to let yuh know I’m safe an’ well.  Needed to sit down with yuh an’ enjoy the coffee.  Don’t be frettin’ if the days seem restless; that’s a good sign–yippi-ki-yay, that means the Lord’s on His way.  You jist be readin’ yur Bible, watchin’ the signs around yuh along the trail, and keep yur gun handy.  Oh, oh, an’ don’t forget to be checkin’ yur cinch.

By the time pecan pie and coffee had been served, he had grown weary of political talk and war stories about people he didn’t know.”  
              –G.P. Hutchinson  (Strong Conviction)

Pard, I’m sick of it all.  My mercy, if anyone knows how to lie it’s the media and bureaucrats.  They lie deeper than a bug in a rug.  Worst part of it is, they don’t care as long as it pleases their selfish vanity.  But let’s drink our coffee an’ think of better things.
    Not sure where I’ll be come next Saturday.  The missus an’ me are hittin’ the trail to visit the daughter’s family back in Maryland.  That bein’ said, I wonder how those paranoid folks back there will take to a Texan comin’ for a spell.  Guess I’ll keep a clean bandanna in the pocket just in case I have to throw on a mask.
    Coffee’s good this mornin’, or is it just my wonderful personality that is makin’ yuh smile?  This ol’ world is sure topsy-turvy, at least a person can have some good, hot, strong coffee.  It kinda keeps a person on a level keel.  Speakin’ of coffee, which is the topic of the Saturday Perc, sometimes with some cowboy philosophyzin’ thrown in, I read where a fellow by the name of George Ewing, a Texas boy, said that he drank somewhere up to 48,000 gallons of coffee in the 53 years of his life.  Hmmm, makes me wonder about how many I’ve had over the years.
    Say, Pard, before we have to leave this Saturday, I’ll empty the pot in yur cup, but I’ve figured out a way to shut out the lies of the media.  Instead of readin’ or listenin’ to them spout lies, there’s a cure in readin’ the holy writ of the Bible.  It’s like cotton in the ears when the talkers get to runnin’ their jaws.
    Be seein’ yuh sometime, maybe next week, maybe not.  Yep, I’m not forgettin’, I’ll be checkin’ my cinch before ridin’ out.
                             Vaya con Dios.