Take The Time To Remember The Fallen Heroes...

December 7, 1941...A true day of infamy.

The bombing of the ships at Pearl Harbor is one of the saddest days in the history of the United States. A surprise attack by the Japanese forced the United States into the ongoing war, and history was forever changed.

You will see a lot of political people on television, wearing their public faces and trying to look as though they remember that the many, many lives lost on that day were lost for the freedom that we enjoy today. But when it's all over, when the speeches are finished, when the last camera is turned elsewhere, when it is no longer important to be seen with the "right" people, doing the "right" thing and presenting a solid and unified front working for the common good...the politicians will go about carrying on business as usual. The truth and honor and justice that so many gave their lives to protect will again be put in harm's way to justify the whims of the few and not the needs of a country in serious trouble.

Shame on those that only remember the fallen when a photo opp is present, shame on those proclaiming to be the leaders when they are causing more problems than they help solve, shame on those of us that somehow let these types get put in charge of our future and make it even more shaky than it was already.

I say "God Bless the Fallen Heroes" and the principles that they died trying to protect...and God help the USA through the rough times ahead.



Now, let's have some coffee and toast to those gone but not forgotten!

A Modern Parable...Or Fact ?

Something to think about...

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (Ford Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.

They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rowers. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses. The pension program was trimmed to 'equal the competition' and some of the resultant savings were channeled into morale-boosting programs and teamwork posters.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid off one rower, halted development of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses.

The next year, try as he might, the lone designated rower was unable to even finish the race (having no paddles,) so he was laid off for unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India.

Sadly, the End.

Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US, claiming they can't make money paying American wages.

TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US. The last quarter's results:

TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses.

Ford folks are still scratching their heads, and collecting bonuses...

IF THIS WEREN'T SO TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY !

Now...let's get a fresh cup of coffee, my friend!

A New Version Of An Old Classic...

I like this...it was sent to me by my friend in New Zealand and I thought I would share it with you.


**Why did the chicken cross the road? **

First, the politicians' answers; then other celebrities and celebrity Wannabees.

* BARACK OBAMA: * The chicken crossed the road because it was time for A *change *! The chicken wanted *change *!

* JOHN MC CAIN: * My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

* HILLARY CLINTON: * When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure - right from Day One! - that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.

* GEORGE W. BUSH: * We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road.Or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

* DICK CHENEY : * Where's my gun?

* COLIN POWELL: * Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

* BILL CLINTON: * I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

* AL** GORE: * I invented the chicken.

* JOHN KERRY: * Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

* AL SHARPTON: * Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

* DR. PHIL: * The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on *this* side of the road before it goes after the problem on the *other * side of the road... What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

*OPRAH: * Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

* NANCY GRACE: * That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

* MARTHA STEWART: * No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

* DR SEUSS: *Did the chicken cross the road?Did he cross it with a toad?Did he cross it with a hare?Did he cross it with a bear?Did he check if the road was hot?I kinda doubt it, I think not!Yes, the chicken crossed the road,But why it crossed, I've not been told.Just one more thing I have to say,it's been bugging me to this very day.If the Chicken is a she ,Why do we keep saying HE?

* ERNEST HEMINGWAY: * To die in the rain, alone.

* JERRY FALWELL: * Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like 'the other side.' That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

*GRANDPA: * In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

* BARBARA WALTERS: * Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

*ARISTOTLE: * It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

* JOHN LENNON: * Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

* BILL GATES: * I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your chequebook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra..... .#@&&^(C%... .......reboot !

* ALBERT EINSTEIN: * Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

*COLONEL SANDERS: * Did I miss one?

I know it's a little silly, but sometimes a little silly is good and goes a long way! Now, how about a nice cup of coffee, my friend?

Have A Good Laugh On Me...

I'm taking the day off just because I am too lazy to post anything original, OK? But just so you all can start your day off with a good laugh, I have searched high and low to find the perfect video to aid in that endeavor...enjoy!!

Oh, and help yourself to the coffee, OK? OK!

Learn To Know Yourself...

Not only do I not know what's going on, I wouldn't know what to do about it if I did.
George Carlin

Although this quote by George Carlin was meant to be funny, it describes way too many of us today. Maybe it's because of too much information available everywhere. Maybe it's because we read to much or maybe read too little. Maybe it's because we no longer have any opinions of our own, but instead are swayed by the opinions of others.

Instead of striving to be an acceptable member of the mob, our time would be better spent in improving our position as a functioning, thinking and self-supporting individual!

The individual is the one that will find the way to get something done which is best for him. Without the input or guidance or interference of another, the individual is forced to accept the responsibility of getting the job done. In the end, the individual must succeed or fail on his own.

Now this is not to say that the ideas and solutions put forth by the individual cannot be improved upon. On the contrary, once put into practise even the individual creator sometimes sees the need for improvement. That's when the input of others can be of the greatest use.

An idea that is working, no matter how poorly, is much easier to improve upon than one that has not been put into practise yet. That's when we start to learn from the mistakes of our past and the mistakes of others.

What I am trying to convey here is the fact that we should all be an individual first, standing on our own two feet, solving our own problems, implementing and putting into action our own ideas, no matter how poorly they work. The important thing at first is that we make them work!

Once we prove to ourselves that we can work and succeed as an individual, then we can become a more productive and contributing member of a team or group of our choosing. We now know how to share ideas, how to expound on our own experiences with failures and the causes of them, and perhaps by the sharing of them we can learn more from them than before.

We also gain a certain knowledge, maybe the most important knowledge that we will ever attain! The knowledge of who and what we are as individuals. And most importantly, somewhere along the way we find that we actually like ourselves. Once you like yourself, you can begin the long and sometimes tedious task of learning to know and like others as well.

No one ever said it was going to be easy, but the hardest part of any journey is always the first step. Now, how about some fresh coffee, my friend?

The Five Basic Freedoms...

OK, folks...a little test for all of you.

Can you name the five basic freedoms guaranteed by the second amendment? Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, here is a news flash for you! More Americans than you want to believe don't know them all. In fact, some don't know any!

The five basic freedoms of the first amendment are as follows:
1. freedom of press
2. freedom of petition
3. freedom of religion
4. freedom of speech
5. assemble peaceably

A survey by the First Amendment Center in the US has reached the shocking conclusion that most American citizens don't know the five basic freedoms enshrined in the constitution.

The study found that no more than 3 percent of Americans remember"petition" among the First Amendment's five basic freedoms.

However, freedom of speech was remembered by the majority of respondents - 56 percent.

The others freedoms enshrined in the constitution appeared to have made little impression: freedom of religion was named by 15 percent; the same percentage remembered press freedom as a constitutional right while just 14 percent knew they had a right to assembly.

The number of respondents who remembered freedom of speech was the lowest in the history of the survey, conducted each year for the past eleven years.

What makes this year's results more shocking is that 4 out of 10 people questioned could not name any freedom at all.

Whatever freedoms the constitution of the country may guarantee, it does not matter much since these rights are neither remembered nor needed as such.

The findings indicate that modern Americans do not think along the same lines as the Founders of the U.S.

Nowadays, it would seem, many Americans do not consider their basic rights and freedoms inalienable and are ready to delegate them to state or federal officials.

More than two centuries ago it did not take long for the Founders of the United States of America to realize the necessity of preserving individual freedoms in a system of individual states with a strong federal governmental center.

In 1791, just four years after the declaration in 1787 of the American Constitution, the states adopted the First Amendment together with the Bill of Rights to guarantee that the strong federal government would not trample on basic individual rights and freedoms.

Moreover, there are rights totally forgotten by the American society,meaning most Americans are not familiar with the freedoms guaranteed by the American Constitution.

Freedom of speech and religion are among the first liberties introduced to the American Constitution by the Bill of Rights. Traditionally, most of the questioned Americans recalled them. But regarding freedom of the press, freedom to assemble and to petition... these seem to be lost in oblivion.

Personally folks, I think that is a shame. I really do. All I can say is "Shame on us...shame on us all!!"

Hell, I need some fresh coffee....how about you?

Another Texas Recipe...

Ok, folks...I know you are getting tired of turkey by now...

Turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, turkey casserole, turkey salad, turkey everything! So how about a dish straight from the heart of Texas? A beef dish! Remember beef? The stuff you used to have before thanksgiving? Well, this is a recipe that makes the best of the good stuff...and you don't even need cranberry sauce with it.

Probably the very best thing about this particular recipe is the secret ingredient...COFFEE! That's right, my Friends. Leave it to the Hermit to find you a Beef recipe that has coffee in it. Pretty neat, huh?

Cowboy Brisket

4 pounds first cut brisket of beef

3 cloves garlic, slivered 3 cloves garlic, crushed

4 large onions, thinly sliced

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons bacon fat

1 cup strong black coffee

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup water

With a long thin, sharp knife, make slits in the meat and insert the slivers of garlic. Place the meat in a bowl, spread 1 sliced onion and the crushed garlic over the meat, and pour in the vinegar. Marinate for 6 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator, turning several times.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the bacon fat in a deep, heavy skillet large enough to hold the brisket. Remove the brisket from the marinade and discard the onion and vinegar. Dry with paper towels. Brown the meat well on all sides. Remove brisket to a platter.

In the fat remaining in the skillet, saut the remaining sliced onions until deeply browned. Pour in 1/2 cup coffee. Bring to a boil, stirring and scraping the bottom of the skillet to loosen the browned bits. Spread the onions and liquid from the skillet in a shallow baking dish. Place the brisket on the onions. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Pour in the remaining coffee and water. Cover tightly with foil and place in oven for 1/2 hour.

Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F and bake for an additional 2 hours or until meat is very tender.

Slice the brisket thinly against the grain. Skim the fat from the pan liquid. Return the meat slices to the pan. Serve at once or refrigerate for later use.

I stole this recipe from a place called Recipe Goldmine, and even though they won't admit to it I think these folks must be from Texas!

Anyway, enjoy the recipe and I now invite you to join me on the patio for a fresh cup of coffee and maybe a piece of leftover peach pie...