The coffee was pitch-black and thick.  It took him three cups before he decided he liked it.”
               –Stephen Bly  (I’m Off to Montana)

It’s been a good week, don’t yuh think Pard?  The coffee’s been ready, so is yur cup, so start yur swallowin’.  Yuh know the other day was my anniversary.  I remember when I used to serenade the sweet gal.  Now!  There yuh go, snortin’ yur coffee again, an’ sloshin’ it on the table.  My, I don’t know why my singin’ gets yuh all so flustered.  She liked it.  It sorta set the mood for spoonin’.  What’s that yuh say?  Her ears were stuffed with cotton?  Yuh just don’t have a taste for music from the heart, that’s all.
     Yuh got yur guns all oiled up?  We may be in for a rip-roarin’ time with folks callin’ for an end to the police.  Do yuh know what will happen if they do away with the police?  Sorta contradictory, but we’ll end up with a police state.  Now, in muh studies of history, I have noticed that after any form of democracy there is a time of anarchy which will eventually turn into tyranny.  These imbeciles, oops that not politically correct these days, these twinkies are so dumb, however, more than ever I’m convinced that there is something more sinister behind it all.
     Don’t be spillin’ any more coffee!  Next time I’ll give yuh dishwater.  Fella with yur tastes wouldn’t know the difference nohow.  And no, I’m not a conpiracist, but I do believe that the devil and his demons are ultimately behind it all.  The spirit of antichrist is surely at work.  But don’t let that rile yur liver none, for the Lord has everything under control.  I’m a-thinkin’ that His appearin’ will be happenin’ shortly–be sure yur ready for that as well.
     Yuh watch where yur ride; check the signs around yuh and be a-watchin’ for hostiles.  Jist like the old days, Pard.  Oh, an’ one more thing, be checkin’ yur cinch.
 

You need to learn to make a pot of coffee that doesn’t taste like cactus pulp.”
              –Paul Bagdon  (Stallions of Burnt Rock)

The coffee’s hot and strong, so get yurself in here an’ grab a cup.  Come visit me when yuh want a cup of good coffee.  I heard a song the other day, an’ don’t be a-frettin’ I’m not goin’ to sing it ’cause I cayn’t remember all the words but here’s a thought from it.  A couple of ol’ cowpokes stopped in at one of them Do Drop By cafes along the highway.  They were seekin’ a good cup of coffee.  When the waitress brought the coffee to them, one of the ‘pokes stated, “Yur shore get a lot of coffee outta one bean.”  Mercy, Pard, I’ve had poor, weak coffee thrust at me a time or two, but that would jist have to be about the worse.
    Say, with all the doin’s with idiots out there tearin’ down our country, vandalizin’ and lootin’ I wonder if there will be much left.  Shame that they’re usin’ the murder of one person to kill others and destroy the property of others.  On top of that add some of the imbecilic ideas of the bureaucrats.  I saw where the plan is to disband the Minneapolis Police Department.  They are goin’ to start a “community-driven public safety program.”  Yippi-yi-yo, Pard, call 9-1-1 and who will come to your rescue, Chubby-Tubby from next door?
    But, on the brighter side, this is a day of cheers!  My eldest granddaughter is graduatin’ from high school.  Yeehaw!  Another milestone in her life.  The Lord shore has been good to her.  She was able to get a job this week on top of that.  Hope it’s enough to take me out for a hamburger, or some decent coffee.
    Yuh be havin’ yurself a good day.  Be sure yur gun is oiled and loaded an’ that yur carryin’ the Word in yur heart.  An’ on top of that, be checkin’ yur cinch, with the nuts out there yuh might have to make a getaway.

In the short days he woke in the dark at exactly half-past four.  He started a fire in the bunkhouse stove, and set coffee on.”
          –Alan LeMay  (The Searchers)

     Howdy-do, Pard.  Glad to have yuh this mornin’, yur cup is ready an’ I’ll be fillin’ it shortly.  Say, that kinda reminds me of how the Lord wants us to be–we need to have our cup ready to be filled.  Methinks that far too often the Lord want to pour us full of the Spirit, but we don’t have our cup ready, or can’t find it, or maybe stored it away somewhere.  We need to have it ready so it can be poured full.
     Ahhh, shore does taste mighty good this mornin’.  ‘Course it taste good all the time, but the cup of coffee in yur hand is the one that tastes the best.  I was readin’ what ol’ LeMay wrote, and it made me think back to my workin’ days when I was up at 4:30 puttin’ the coffee on, any gettin’ my cup ready.  My mercy, hard for this ol’ fence post to get up at 6:00 any more.  Ah, where are the days of youth?  Spent too quickly; time has stolen them.  But yuh know what?  I’m goin’ to enjoy today, an’ another cup of coffee.
     Speakin’ of time; another month has sped by.  Where did the days and hours go?  Do yuh find Him gettin’ sweeter as the days go by?  This quarantine thing, if’n yuh took advantage of it was a time to be spendin’ with the Lord.  As much as I enjoy sharin’ coffee with yuh every Saturday, I enjoy the days of sittin’ with the Lord drinkin’ my coffee with Him. 
     What?  Cup’s empty; pot’s empty.  Well, Pard, we shore guzzled that down fast this mornin’.  I’ll keep a cup here, ready for yuh when yuh stop by.  Yuh best be carryin’ one in yur gear; I always keep one in the steel mount.  Never know when I might need to stop along the trail–always best to be ready.  Say, an’ as important as that cup is, maybe more important is the fact that yuh need to check yur cinch before mountin’.
          Vaya con Dios,
 

I heated up a canteen cup of coffee with a sterno tablet.  I had to hover over it to keep the rain from drowning it out.”
               –E.B. Sledge (With the Old Breed)

Mornin’ already?  Goodness, Pard, this ol’ fence post slept in this mornin’.  That’s what happens in this here retirement.  Sorry if I kept yuh waitin’ for my purely delightful words and company.
     Folks are really in an uproar in some places over this virus.  My mercy, yuh’d think someone stole their chewin’ gum.  Some give yuh the evil eye if’n yuh aren’t wearin’ a mask.  Not in my area of the woods, but in some places.  I think some folk just have a cantankerous bone and have to spite everyone an’ everythin’.  We’re supposed to be rejoicin’ folk an’ be givin’ thanks to the Lord.
     Ol’ Sledge mentioned heatin’ up coffee over sterno. I’ve done that a few times, but I had a miniature tripod that would hold one hexamine tablet–just enough for one canteen size cup of coffee.  I made that more than a few times.  Used to always carry a pot in the car with a sterno stove; a person can’t go about unprepared.
     Not too bad, go ahead take a long, deep sip.  Ahhh, nothin’ better than a good cup of coffee in the mornin’.  But then there’s nothing better than a good cup of coffee after supper, or for, that matter, for a mid-mornin’ beverage.  Speakin’ of bein’ prepared.  I trust yur lookin’ up and have prepared yurself for that trumpet sound.
     Yuh be havin’ yurself a good Memorial Day.  Remember the fallen, that is the purpose of the Day.  Don’t rile yur gizzard, stay away from lookin’ at the news too much.  And for goodness sake don’t forget to check yur cinch.
                Vaya con Dios,