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Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose *

In many ways I wish I had not read this book.

Don’t get me wrong, as always with Ambrose, it is a wonderfully written and researched book. I have always had a minor interest in the Lewis and Clark expedition.  I have a vague recollection of reading a book about the expedition aimed at young readers when I was an early teen.  Having moved to St. Louis a few years ago this interest has grown.  It is hard to move around this area without being reminded that the expedition started and ended here.  When I ride my bicycle across the Missouri River into St. Charles I pass a historic marker commemorating Lewis and Clark.  The markers are all along the Katy Trail which in many places runs close to the Missouri River.

A few years I obtained an older book on the Lewis and Clark expedition.   It touched on all the key points of the trip Continue reading “Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose *”

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #952

yeah I know you did not ask!

Now here is a wall I would like to see on our southern border…

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The Curmudgeon and His Muse*

My bride, the inestimable Ms. Robin, has from time to time referred to me as writer.  Mostly I just ignore it when she makes these wild statements. At other times I take umbrage, and I debate with her about her commentary on my activities.

To me a writer is someone like our friend Jeanne Felfe.  Jeanne has self-published several novels and has had many short stories accepted for publication.  Jeanne retired from AT&T after nearly a century there, and has made writing her new career.  I’m going to plug our friend a little, to see Jeanne’s books on Amazon click this link: Jeanne Felfe -Author Or you can go to her website Jeanne Felfe – Emotional journeys beyond truth and love

I think of what I do as a compulsion bordering on OCD, discursive diarrhea that I spew into the black hole of cyber-space.

If I could make myself stop I would.

Fortunately for me and the world it is a minor aberration that generally harms no one.  Although querida Robin has had more than one discussion with this unworthy neurotic about a story I wrote.  She is not always happy being the protagonist of my ramblings.  She is also not buying the theory that she should be honored to be my muse. Go figure.

Looks like I am spewing some more!

* The Curmudgeon and His Muse… Now there is a short story begging to be written.

Just a reminder since we are speaking of books and Amazon.  You can help support the Paul H. Carr (my uncle) Memorial Foundation when shopping on Amazon.  To find out how, just follow this link: Help Support The Carr Exhibit with Amazon Smile

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How can I comment?

This is a new layout for Curmudgeon Alley.  I am using a packaged theme over which I have but limited ability to change. The comments are a little hard to find.

To read or write comments:

  • If you are already within an article scroll towards the bottom.
  • If you are on the scroll (multiple articles are visible), click on the article title then scroll towards the bottom of the page.

Don’t forget to hit the Submit button  after you are done with your pithy commentary.

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Juanita Rush was channeling Confucius

A while back I put out a quote from my mother, Juanita Rush,  who came up it while in an Alzheimer’s ward.  She said, “When we were younger, the things we thought were hard were really pretty easy.”

Recently I have been doing some work on the web presence of my blog and I came across this quote I had posted attributed to  Confucius which states:  “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.“

It dawned on me  my mother was Continue reading “Juanita Rush was channeling Confucius”

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #6,833

yeah I know you did not ask!

My bride, Robin, has a minor hobby.  She likes to go to estate sales, not often, she may average a little more than once a month.  She frequently buys nothing, or perhaps some little gewgaw.  Once in a great while she will find a real bargain. She invariably goes on Sunday when everything is half priced, but has been picked over. She really seems to enjoy the hunt.

Perhaps once or twice a year she manages to talk me into going with her.  When I go I am mainly looking for books of classical literature or history, maybe fishing gear.  Once I did find an nice erotic painting that is now hanging in our bedroom.  My main problem with going to estate sales is that they absolutely depress the hell out of me.  I will unfailingly find myself muttering as we leave, “You are born, you live, you die, and in the end strangers pick through your shit for pennies on the dollar.“

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What’s Opera, Doc? or Bugs Dies…

I stand corrected (somewhat, Bugs did have the last word).  Bugs Bunny dies in the episode “What’s Opera, Doc?”  And having finally triumphed Elmer Fudd did show remorse for his actions or those of his magic helmet.

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #4,831

yeah I know you did not ask!

Here is something I have been ruminating on for the past few days.  If Bugs Bunny and Superman were to go head-to-head, one-on-one,  eye-to-eye, super hero to rabbit, who would come out on top?

Anyone old enough to have watched much Looney Tunes knows that Bugs Bunny always, and I mean always, triumphs.  And of course, the Man of Steel is, well, the Man of Steel.

I’m putting my money on Bugs and giving odds.

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¿Estudiando español? Studying Spanish? 3 Recommendations

If you are studying Spanish outside of normal channels, that is by yourself and not in a classroom, I have 3 recommendations for you. One thing to realize is that as a second language, Spanish is the second most studied language in the world, just behind French and Mandarin. As such there is a whole industry, cottage and corporate, available for aiding you in your language journey. The chore is sifting through all of it.

My 1st Recommendation:  Check out iTalki.com

This is a platform for connecting students and teachers from around the globe.   There are many other sites that do this, but when I was first looking iTalki was getting the best reviews and comments.  And deservedly so. There are basically 2 types of teachers Continue reading “¿Estudiando español? Studying Spanish? 3 Recommendations”

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Squirrelly Squatter

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It is extremely cold outside the last couple days, and creatures are looking for refuge where ever they can.  This particularly enterprising individual took up residence in an old birdhouse at the corner of our patio.  I wonder if he is going to file a homestead exemption?  I wonder if he realizes I am replacing his abode come springtime? And most importantly,  I wonder why did he split the blanket with Bullwinkle?