Cooler Weather

A dry cold front moved through the South and it was a welcomed break from the heat and humidity to which we are so accustomed. I battled in the Privet Wars last Friday without soaking my t-shirt and overalls. And, the temperatures at night made sleeping a sheer delight. I turned off the air conditioner in the Airstream and enjoyed the 58 degree coolness. The only problem is, of course, this means that winter cannot be far behind. I am a warm weather guy. My tentative plan is to drag the Airstream down to Gulf Shores at about 3 pm on Christmas Day and staying there until it is safe -- probably mid-February or early March.

The Old Goat was all exercised today. He gat his car tag renewal in the mail and was sleepless until it was paid. Some might call him anal retentive, me included. No problems, though, because I had him at the Chambers County Courthouse at five minutes till 8 this morning. He likes being first in line. We paid our for our tag renewals then I treated him to a Starbucks coffee over in LaGrange.

The Bishop is visiting Barney's Church and Bar this Sunday. The crowd is expected to be 35, maybe even 40. I offered to assist in the preparations for the annual visit. A sweet matriarch of the parish patted my arm and said, "well, dear, thank you but the women have it well in hand." I can just imagine my daughter hearing that. Which is why neither of my kids are communing with the Anglicans. By my estimate, the Episcopal Church in America will cease to exist in about 2040. There is no youth to speak of. That is really too bad because we are the good guys. We are the ones who take Jesus at his word to love your neighbor, even is he is gay or she is a lesbian. We get a little carried away when we are confronted by Scripture about lilies of the field. Last week the Lectionary had a passage from Luke about in order to be a disciple you had to give away all your possessions. Episcopalians skip over those Sundays. We are far better at writing checks than checking on rights.

The Privet Wars continue unabated. Major fighting was reported in the area of Sharp Turn with heavy casualties on the Privet side. The only injuries reported on the side of truth, beauty and justice side were minor scrapes. From field reports, there are piles of privet chips littering the battlefield.

I will be a foreign correspondent next week. Bob from Coffeyville is getting married. I am attending the wedding, something I am loathed to do but am, strangely, excited about in this case. Nice guy marrying a nice girl. I still like my idea of term-limited marriages. The idea is to marry young. Breed immediately. When the kids are gone, you are freed from the obligation in order that you can pursue your real life. The women I know don't seem to share my enthusiasm for the idea.

And, finally, Tinker has not been feeling well these last few days. It concerns me but he is in the same mold as The Old Goat, stubborn. We were going to plant the winter garden yesterday but he slept the entire day away. It worries me. Keep him in your thoughts, if you would.