He got his bedroll out and as he lay there, sipping hot coffee, he thought about all that had happened up to now.”
              –Robert J. Thomas  (The Reckoning)

Yep, you saw right, the ol’ silver stage is ready to roll.  The wife is ridin’ shotgun with me as we travel up to north Texas.  We’ll be ready to roll as soon as we have our coffee.
    It was a pretty good week.  I was treated like a king, well, maybe just a duke, but whichever, it was mighty fine.  Nice to have a birthday!  Yuh know what it means to not have one, don’t yuh?  Even had a piece, or a few pieces of apple pie.  Annie made apple pie instead of cake for my birthday; let me tell yuh, pard, it was mighty tasty.  
    On a more somber note, went to the funeral of an ol’ friend.  I’m just a few days older than he was; goes to show you that one never knows when the good Lord is goin’ to call you home.  But there is some comfort there as it is “home.”  
    Go ahead, pour yurself another cup.  We’re buildin’ a house down here, and with the help of Annie it will become a home, but that is still temporary.  We’ve lived in several places down here, but there will be that day when none of us will ever move again.  Plus there is the added fact that the contractor of our permanent home can be fully trusted.  I’m beginnin’ to understand why the Lord was a carpenter while down here on earth.  It gave him practice for our heavenly abode.
    Hopefully in a few weeks, yuh can enjoy a Perc that I’ve sent from the new homestead.  Mercy, pard, we finished that pot in a hurry; guess yuh understood that I need to be hittin’ the trail.  
    Sure is easy to ponder the things of the past, sittin’ here, sippin’ coffee.  Yuh hear all sorts of smart-folk out there sayin’ that we shouldn’t look back, but then what are memories for?  Fact is pard, yuh ain’t suppose to live in the past, nor dwell in it, but to learn from it, and let some of those folk who crossed yur trail bring a smile to yur face.
    We’re ridin’ in the ol’ silver stage, but that don’t mean you shouldn’t be checkin’ your cinch when you mount up to leave.

Spring was almost over but the nights were still chilly, and he buttoned up his coat as he sat and drank his morning coffee and ate his breakfast, remarking to himself not for the first time on how good food tasted when it had been cooked over a campfire out in the clean, wild air.”
              –C.M. Curtis  (Silent Mountain Guns)

Howdy, pard.  Graylight’s comin’ upon us, that means soon ol’ sol will be makin’ his way over the horizon.  Come on in, an’ throw yur ankles under the table.  Coffee has been waitin’ for yuh.  Sure hope yur week was a goodun.  
    I’ve been wonderin’, pard.  Since my gizzard sure thinks it’s delightful when a cup of coffee is poured in it, do yuh think it would help as a liniment on my ol’ bones?  Sure have been achin’ lately.  
    Say, that must be good coffee this mornin’, yur eyes sure lit up with that first sip.  Chilly out again; sure been a strange spring here in this part of Texas.  Nice and delightful.  Sure wish I could get in my new homeplace to watch the sun come up and enjoy coffee out on the porch.  Figure we may be moved in by Christmas….
    But I’m not frettin’ any, so sir, if the Lord decides it’s time for my last venture, then I reckon coffee out on the veranda up in glory won’t be back at all.  I’m a-wonderin’ that since some folk don’t care much for the hardy, robust coffee that yur havin’ this mornin’ that if when that heavenly brew touches yur lips that it will be just right?
    Cup gone dry?  Let’s finish this pot.  Say, pard, if yuh haven’t read my new book, be sure and get a copy.  It goes fine with a pot of coffee.  Since I was talkin’ about heavenly coffee, I came across this phrase,
         “Now, when I get to heaven,
          If that should be my lot,
          I hope St. Peter greets me
          With a steaming coffee pot.”
Don’t know the ol’ boy that coined that poem, but it came from a book by Ernestine Sewell Linck.  And don’t you be a-frettin’ about me either; my lot is cast toward those pearly gates.
    My, I’ve done rambled enough this mornin’.  Sky is turnin’ a bright pink with the sun beginnin’ to show, and that means I’ve got to be gettin’ cleaned up some.  Headin’ for Coldspring this mornin’.  Plan on eatin’ breakfast at a little place up there and do some meanderin’ around.
    Yep, you got it, I’ll check my cinch before ridin’ out.

It was still cold and dark as the boys crawled from under their blankets and squatted round the fire to eat jerky, biscuits and gravy, and to drink cupfuls of hot, black coffee.”
           –William MacLeod Raine  (Wyoming)

Mornin’ pard, yep, it’s graylight.  I know that you have to get things done, but come on inside for a cup.  Busy week, and my legs are sure feelin’ it.  Sure hopin’ that one of these days you can join me for coffee at the new homestead.  Keep waitin’ for electricity.  Ain’t it somethin’ how we depend on things like that?  If the grid ever does go down, most will be in a real fix.  Hmmm, makes me wonder if folk are too comfortable in their relationship with the Lord.  Wonder what will happen if the spiritual grid would go down, or up in the case of the rapture.
    We lost a good lady this week–Barbara Bush.  Sometimes we have idiots out there; I think they just wait for events to show their stupidity.  Some college professor, remember she is supposed to have some form of intelligence, said the day after Mrs. Bush passed on that she was a racist and raised a war criminal.  Someone needs to teach her some manners.
    I played in some cold baseball games in my life while growing up.  Sure, we might complain, but we wanted to play.  But I saw where the Cubs, and I can’t remember the team they were playing, were complainin’ the other day that their game didn’t get canceled.  It was too cold.  What I think is some of the players would miss their appointment at the manicurist.  Ol’ Ernie Banks was rolling over in his grave; he would be sayin’, “let’s play two.”  Can you imagine the prima donnas of today’s game playin’ doubleheaders?  My gracious, it would take too much energy.
    I read something this week that has me just perplexed.  Maybe you know the answer, ‘specially if you’re a math whiz. Why do pizzas come in square boxes, made as circles, and eaten as triangles?  Ahh, the coffee sure is good this morning–hot, strong, an’ black.  Even in retirement, life seems to be goin’ by at a terrific rate’ just can’t seem to get everything done that I want done each day.  Yuh don’t suppose it has anything to do with age?  Maybe I need to slow down some when I go ’round the turns.
    You be checkin’ that cinch when you go out this comin’ week.  See yuh pard.

Looks to me like it’s gonna be a gully washer.  How about stopping for a cup of coffee while we can.”
              –Donald L. Robertson

Best be gettin’ inside this house before yur soaked to the bone.  From what I see the sky is beginning to clear, but there was quite the lightning show.  Sit down, coffee is ready.  It’ll help what ails yuh this mornin’.  My ol’ bones sure ache the day before a storm.  Used to hear folk talk about that; I kinda always thought it was an ol’ wives tale.
    Wish I could be out at the house on my back deck, listening to the birds, and the rain drops fallin’ from the tress.  Don’t know if the coffee could taste any better though.  I heard someone say that the only thing worse than cold coffee is no coffee.  Well, for sure, I like my coffee hot and strong.  I can put up with life that way, but what works on my gizzard are the inept people out there, or those who only do part of a job.  I learned along time ago to do a job right the first time, and do it right.  Yep, I know there have always been those kind of people around, but from what I’m a-seein’ is they are multiplyin’ rapidly.  Heard one the other day from a person who said they did their job.  Upon checkin’ they did a portion of their job, then they made the excuse, “Well, I’m not perfect.”  My mercy!  
    I read a little story–maybe you remember the comic strip “Crankshaft”?  I always like to read that one.  It was about a cranky ol’ man–kinda like me.  The secretary in their office was responsible for keepin’ the coffee pot full.  Her coffee was always bad and they would complain.  Once, after a vacation, Crankshaft and others drank their mornin’ coffee.  They were talkin’ about how incredible it was that she had the coffee ready at 5:30 in the mornin’ to which she replied, “Nope, just forgot to unplug before leavin’ for the holiday.”  Now, that might truly be some strong coffee!
    Here comes the rain, again, and yur just gettin’ ready to mount up and leave.  What’s that, coffee’s all gone so there’s no need to stay?  Pard, yur hurtin’ me to the quick, but I understand that there are things to be did today.  Keep yur slicker handy, you might not get rained on too bad, but say, you need a bath anyway, want me to get yuh a bar of soap to take along?
    You be a-trustin’ in the Lord this comin’ week.  No matter the storm, you be sure to keep your cinch tight.