Her husband was sawing out the winter’s wood from a huge fir windfall; she carried a jug of coffee for him and the two of them sat on the log, alternately taking turns at the jug.”
              –Ernest Haycox  (Canyon Passage)

Mornin’ to yuh, Pard.  It’s upon us, reckon yuh know what that is.  Yuh don’t?  My, in what world do yuh live?  Maybe if’n I fill yur cup up first yuh can think better.  Try again.  Yep, the first day of the last month of the year.  See, all it took was a guzzle of hot coffee to get that pea-brain of yurn a-rattlin’.
    Lord help us in the comin’ year.  I’ve seen some of the stuff that new hare-brained Congresswoman from New York has said.  Guess she’ll keep us laughin’ some in the new year, but it’s a fearful thing to have someone like that makin’ our laws.  What is even more frightenin’ is the fact that there are folks out there who elected her.  My, my….that sure calls for a finish to this cup, go ‘head, I’ve got the pot right here and I’ll fill it back up, quick like.
    I was readin’ what ol’ St. Pete said in the Holy Writ, in chapter 3.  That’s a chapter that should sober any person right up.  All the Lord is waitin’ for before He comes back is that last person to accept Him.  Why, pard, that could be any day.  An’ he goes on further to say it will come like a thief in the night.  Don’ fret yurself, I’m not goin’ to start preachyfyin’ but it caught my attention.  
    This is the time, the month for nostalgia.  More coffee?  My mercy, pard, yur gizzard is sure empty this mornin’.  Back to nostalgia.  We’ll take the time to think of Christmases past, but don’t yuh lose sight of this Christmas.  Why ‘ccordin’ to St. Pete it could be our last on earth.  It all starts off fer me on this day.  Pard, this is my Mom’s and Aunt Bern’s birthday.  Let’s see, if I do muh figurin’ right Mom would have been, my mercy, this is her centennial–100.  Bern would have been 95.  But they’re both passed over the Great Divide, enjoyin’ things better than we can even imagine any Christmas could be.
    Remember, there’s plenty of nuts out there; think of those who elected some of the folk.  That’ll catch yur attention.  So, stay focused, keep yur gun oiled and ready, yur Bible close by and read, and for mercy goodness don’t forget to check yur cinch!

Dinner consisted of beef stew and bread.  She was a pretty good cook.  For dessert they had apple pie.  He ate a good helping of stew and then a big slice of pie.  He finished his pie, washing it down with another cup of hot coffee, and pushed himself away from the table.”
              –Robert J. Thomas  (The Reckoning)

My goodness, yuh look frightful pard; shirt’s torn, scrap on yur face.  Get yurself in here and set yurself down.  What…don’t tell me that yuh went out to do some shoppin’?  They call it Black Friday for a reason, an’ sure guessin’ yuh found out why.  Here, I’ll pour yuh a cup of coffee.  It won’t fix the tear in the shirt or that little addition to yur looks, but it’ll help soothe the gizzard an’ may even help out the soul.
    Ahhh, that help any?  Calm yurself, relax before goin’ out again.  Pard, there’s so many changes takin’ place an’ I’m tellin’ yuh that it’ll soon come to pass that folks won’t be beatin’ each other up, at least not as much, in the future.  Nope, they’ll be doin’ all their shoppin’ on that internet.  
    Remember when I was a kid.  Mom would often do down to Denver to shop the stores.  It was a different time.  The lights, the Christmas decorations, there was not the urgency in shoppin’.  I especially remember that the large stores would have trains runnin’ an’ folks would stand and just enjoy the time watchin’ them.  Maybe folks took time to enjoy the season more.  Why, I see where they even try to get folks to shop on Thanksgivin’ now.  Take away that family day for the frenzy of greed.
    Don’t fret, I see yuh pushin’ yur cup toward me.  I’ll get the pot for a refill.  There’s no rush…is there pard?  Here yuh go, sip it deep and slow.  I was readin’ just yesterday from Luke.  Get this, and get it tight, “…one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.”  Now, ain’t that the truth?  We spend so much time gettin’ that we forget to be thankful and givin’.  That’s what we need to be a-doin’–thankin’ and givin’.
    Yur goin’ back out there?  Oh, it’s fur my present, wal then I’ll sure let yuh.  Finish that last cup an’ I’ll be seein’ yuh to the door.  With all the hustle an’ bustle out there yuh be shore and check yur cinch; then hold on tight.

I melted snow water in a lard pail.  I don’t think hot coffee ever hit the spot more than it did on that night of the Arctic blizzard.”
              –Richard P. Hobson, Jr.

Brrr, it’s been gettin’ chilly the past several mornin’s, but that’s to be expected this time of year.  Get yurself in here, pard, warm yurself up, and I’ll be bringin’ the coffee shortly to warm up the innards as well.  Hope yuh had a good week, not got yurself in any trouble.  Been quite a spell since I’ve made coffee from snow, don’t yuh worry, I didn’t use the lake water either.
    Yuh know, pard, trouble just happens with life.  It is part of it, the thing we have to do is not bein’ the cause of too much of our own troubles.  The Lord has said, that each day has enough trouble of its own, so we don’t need to be addin’ to it.  What we need to be doin’ instead is thankin’ the good Lord for all His manifold blessin’s.
    Ahhh, now what do yuh think of that thyar coffee?  Mighty tasty if yur askin’ me.  Plumb delightful.  Thank the Lord for good tastin’ coffee.  Not much better than that simple little thing unless, that is, if yuh want to add a piece of pie to go along with it.  Thanksgivin’ is comin’ and that surely must mean some pie.
    Saw where some of those fruit-loop, far-left liberals are upset that a pastor told a man he could not come to church dressed as a woman.  My mercy!  Right is right, and that’s all there is about it. If a man don’t know he’s a man, well there’s certainly somethin’ wrong.  Thing is that for the last three decades and more they, as our ol’ pard C.S. Lewis said, are tryin’ to emasculate man.  Pard, yuh can’t even whistle at a girl no more, she might be a guy and he might get, sore, then again…  Then again, it might also be considered harassment.  Whatever happened to the days when men were men, and women were glad of it?
    My mercy, pard, they’re even wantin’ us to weaken our coffee with all kinds of sweet stuff.  Just like all of this other goin’s on, that just makes my ol’ stomach queasy.
    “Nough said, yuh be havin’ a good Thanksgivin’ week.  Don’t each too much of that turkey and pie; definitely don’t drink any of them “cinos” or my gracious, punkin-spice coffee.  And be sure not to be lazy and not check yur cinch yur hoss might just see one of them strange characters, gender-benders, on the streets and rear up on yuh.

He busied himself with the coffee, not wanting to discuss, or think about, aging any more.”
              –C. Wayne Winkle  (Yancy’s Ride)

Coffee’s hot and strong; yur cup’s on the table so sit yurself and I’ll bring the pot.  Sure feelin’ much better than last Saturday.  Whew, I was feelin’ a mite rough.
    I’m sure tired of all the snibblin’, whinin’, and blubberin’.  I was just a-thinkin’ the other day, what would happen if Miles Forrest would come upon some of those whiners and snowflakes?  He’d surely want to lift that Greener he was always carryin’ an’ give them a good thunk alongside the noggin’.  Maybe it would knock some sense in, surely couldn’t knock any out.
    Speakin’ about ol’ Miles.  I recall the first time I saw the fellow.  He was comin’ down off Pawnee Pass and into my camp.  I looked him over some and remembered his smile.  After that the first thing I noticed as I handed him a cup of coffee were his hands.  They were used to hard work.  They were scarred up some and after comin’ to know him I knew they were from fights, working with axe and rope; in other words, they had seen some time.
    Before turnin’ in that first night, he mentioned that he knew of a top-hand who had used a whip a few times and had scars on his hands as well, so he reckoned he was in good company.  Then he smiled, and winked sayin’ that this Man was always around camp somewhere and with him on the trail.  If yuh don’t know Him, you should be a-meetin’ Him.  I nodded at Miles and said that the Lord was a good Friend of mine.
    Yep, ol’ Miles was one to ride the river with.  He was always doin’ what needed to be done, most of the time doin’ more.  Just like the good Lord does.  He’s always around the camp, always along the trail, doin’ what needs to be done an’ more.
    My goodness, didn’t mean to get all nostalgic on yuh.  Let’s finish the pot so you can be gettin’ on down the trail for yur daily duties.  Hope to be seein’ yuh next week.  You be careful with all those moronic people out there and don’t do somethin’ stupid like forgettin’ to check yur cinch.