The old man moved to the fireplace, poured a cup of coffee from a large pot hanging in the hearth.”
              –Cliff Hudgins  (Viejo and the Ranger)

Come in, Pard, throw yur spurs under the table, I’ll be bringin’ the coffee shortly.  I remember some ol’ boys like in the above quotation movin’ slowly to the coffeepot.  They always kept the coffee on, and yuh can be sured it was hot and strong enough where yuh could stand yur spoon up in it.
    Say, Pard!  Didn’t yur Ma tell yuh not to wear yur hat at the table?  I’m surprised, I’ve not known yuh to do it before.  Haircut?  What!? Yuh saw a sign thinkin’ it said saloon and it turned out to be a beauty saloon.  That’ll teach yuh.  They tricked yuh.  Well, don’t feel that yur alone, that smarty-pants from California has said the same thing an’ she’s one of the smart ones, a bureaucrat yuh know.  They told yuh not to smile?  Smiling is now illegal in California?  How would they know if’n yuh had yur mask on.  Oh, it’s not smilin’ it’s bein’ happy.  They’re sayin’ that bein’ happy is discriminatin’ against all those folk out there that ain’t happy.  Poor folk!
    Say, if’n they would come and drink some coffee with us, maybe some of their woes would pass on.  My coffee has a tendency to change one’s demeanor.  Makes yur gizzard want to stand up and say “howdy.”  Gloom and despair are a terrible thing to carry around, much less live in it every day.  My mercy, all they have to do is turn to the Lord.  In fact, He’s a-awaitin’ to ease their gloom and take away that despair and throw it into the sea.
    I jist don’t understand why folks want to choose to be antagonistic toward the Lord.  Now, that’s a big word, do yuh know what it means?  I mean, God is so good to us; why would people choose to be filled with hate.  Hmmm, maybe hate makes ’em happy?  Nah, else they’d be wearin’ a smile instead of a smirk or sneer.
    Why jist bein’ here with yuh this mornin’ Pard, has brought a smile to my face.  The coffee helps, but we both know we’re happy because of the good Lord and how He cares for us.
    Oh, Pard, yuh better put yur hat back on before tryin’ to mount.  It is somethin’ to behold an’ that ol’ nag of yourn might get the heebie-jeebies and will take off before yuh can check yur cinch.
                        Vaya con Dios. 

The coffee was fresh, hot, and strong.  He took his cup in his hand and walked to the door.”  
              –Louis L’Amour  (Heller With a Gun)

Well, Pard, Laura passed us by without even a kiss nor a slap.  That’s fine with me, but some folk down Louisiana way, sure got slapped by her, no kisses for sure.  Ol’ Momma Nature can sure get riled if’n she has a mind to.
    Been interesting how the talk of the corona has died down some thanks to Laura.  I’m sure it’ll pick up again.  Either that or the media will set their sights on another issue and target.  Mail in votin’ has been high on their list.  Hang on to yur hat an’ wait an’ see.  I’m a-wishin’ this election was already over, but in time, my friend, in time.
    This is a time when all true believers need to be determinin’ in how they perceive life in this ol’ world.  Am I a part of the devil and the world system?  Or am I just a wanderer lookin’ for a city?  Just ask up, I’ll fill yur cup, or yuh can wander on over to the stove yurself.
    Listen, the devil has the control of the evil in the world, but never forget that this is God’s world and He has control of the devil.  Why think of that coffee yur a-drinkin’.  He made the soil, He made the plants, He made the means for man to discover how to cultivate it and roast it.  Not sure if He made us to guzzle it the way you do, but it is one of the little satisfactions of life He has given us to enjoy.
    This world is His and what happens in it, He for sure takes notice.  Remember that ol’ song, “He’s got the whole world in His hands…”.  We are part of God’s world; yet we cannot let the world squeeze us into its mold.  Join in the cultural revoluion, drink yur cinos or find your place in the kingdom of God in this world.
    Yeah, yeah, I’ve been preachin’, but some of the best preachin’ I do is to myself.  That’s why I have a cup of coffee with me when I go to preachin’ to myself.  Helps give me a break to take a sip or two, and calms down the gizzard.
    Make sure yur cinch is tight for yuh might just meet some contrary people this week.
                             Vaya con Dios.

I didn’t say anything, just finished my pie and then took a sip of coffee to wash it down.”
              –D.C. Adkisson  (The Shepherd)

Circus?  The circus was in town?  Sorry, Pard I missed it.  TV, you know I don’t watch television nor have access to those stations, that bein’ said, I do watch Have Gun Will Travel and Gunsmoke and some others but not on regular tv.  So you’re tellin’ me that there was a circus in town?  Well, let me get our coffee and yuh can tell me all about it.
    What’s that silly grin?  Are yuh now tellin’ me there wasn’t a circus?  Oh, not one with lions and tigers just plenty of clown acts.  Hmmm, sounds like a political gatherin’ to me with all the clown acts.  Oh!  It was!  Ha, ha, an’ who was the ring master.  No one?  Just clowns up runnin’ their jaws and spewin’ their lies until they handed it over to good ol’ apple polisher Joe.  My, my, my…
    Pard, what can I say?  Let’s sit and enjoy our coffee together.  I’ve never been much on clowns, an’ I certainly am not in favor of pompous bureaucrats.  They kinda get the gizzard riled if I listen to too much of the spiel.  We shore have been havin’ nice mornin’s.  They kinda take the mind away from the noise of the media regardin’ whatever they are targetin’ for the week.  Ahhh, feel that breeze.  My, coffee gone already?  Don’t be frettin’, I made a whole pot.  
    The nonsense that seems to just flow from their mouths, well some of the younger folk just don’t quite grasp it all.  Either they don’t care or they’re brain is flowin’ with muck they have gathered in.  I was ready from that ol’ prophet Isaiah this week, and his words, rather the Lord’s, brought comfort to my soul.  Now take heed, and listen tight, “Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you!  I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.” (46:4)  Now if’n that ain’t talkin’ straight at some of us…
    Yuh leave this place right smart now, sit tall in yur saddle, and don’t be frettin’ over them clowns.  The Lord has a day of reckonin’.  But don’t be foolish…check yur cinch.  It’d be worse if yuh fell off yur horse then to forget yuh puttin’ on yur mask.
                                Vaya con Dios

They came into the living room, declining the coffee I offered.  When a person does that, a warning flag goes up in my mind.  Who turns down a cup of coffee?”
              –D.C. Adkisson (Mal de Ojo)

Come in, Pard.  I’ll bring yuh a cup sooner than yuh can place yur spurs under the table.  Careful there, don’t leave any scratches for the missus to find.  
    Ahhh, now that’s good coffee, if’n I do have to say so myself.  Yuh look right well this mornin’ so yuh must be takin’ care of yurself, or somebody is.  I’m doin’ well, I’ve stayed away from that vicious pack of wolves that snarl an’ bare their teeth at passer-bys–the media.  
    Pard, do yuh remember as a kid, the carnival would come to town, and I’d ride  the tilt-o-whirl?  It’d jerk yuh one way, then spin yuh some, then jerk another.  It was a fun ride.  That’s the way I see things ’bout now.  Bein’ jerked one way, then another, then spun some.  Let me tell yuh one thing:  I wrote somethin’ on a page dedicated to Louis L’Amour about gettin’ on with life an’ facin’ up to troubles.  A woman replied, “but my parents didn’t face the complexities that I do.”  Oh, boo-hoo.  Let’s see, the Depression, Dust Bowl, World War II, the Cold War.  If she was talkin’ ’bout the corona all they faced was tuberculosis, polio, flu.  Yuh get my drift, Pard.  She must have been a sorry sort.  What she needed was a good dose of the Holy Ghost.  He sure is One to ride the river with!
    Been ponderin’ some of the old trails.  Thinkin’ ’bout campsites along the trail of life.  Drinkin’ coffee, speakin’ of which, let me fill yur cup again.  I can remember makin’ camp a few times in the midst of a downpour, but mostly remember some wonderful sunrises and sunsets.  The Lord sure has been with me.  Yuh know, I’m a-thinkin’ there are plenty of spiritual “campsites” we make along the way as well.  Goin’ to ponder that some more.
    Get up in yur saddle, Pard, and sit tall.  There’s plenty of thievin’, sneakin’ scoundrels out there so yuh be ware of them.  Stand yur ground, read yur Bible, keep yur gun handy, and be checkin’ yur cinch before mountin’.