Nov 10 Last mention of election

 

Hayter for Nov 12, 2024

“Now for Something Totally Different”

 

          The only good thing about the past week for me is that now I don’t have to worry about the capital building being attacked this January. Unfortunately, those who are currently serving prison for the original attack will be released on or near January 20. But, what the hey? It’s just a sign of the times.

          At the moment, Kay and I are experiencing a bad sign from yesterday’s time. It has nothing to do with the presidency. It involves our garbage disposal. It’s the first disposal we ever had, and it has just reached its seventh year of service. That’s a short term for a refrigerator, but it’s pretty much the life expectancy of a garbage disposal.

          On YouTube I watched a guy take apart a six-year-old leaking garbage disposal. He intended to show the viewer how to locate and possibly replace the part that was leaking. Watching him remove the disposal from the bottom of the sink wore me out. Then he started disassembling the thing. By the time he removed the skin of the disposal, I was in tears. I thought, “Oh the humanity!”

          Eventually, he worked his way down to the part that was leaking. It looked like a three-inch round piece of wood or concrete. It was orange-like and connected to the bottom portion of the disposal. I never heard the name of the particular part, but it’s now moot.

          Because, after seeing what needed to be done to remove the thing, and then how to replace it, I was exhausted.  At that point, I fast-forwarded so I could see how it all came out. What I saw and heard, was a man practically in tears.  He had experimented on his neighbor’s 6-year-old leaking garbage disposal, and without finishing the job, he had a new solution. He said that we’d be better off buying a new one.

          And, get this, the man was not selling any garbage disposals. He mentioned the type he was working on and suggested that it might be best to just replace the old one with a new one of the same brand and name.   

          By the way, I ask you to remember that my mind is still not working on all cylinders due to the election result. So the plumber is supposed to show up tomorrow in the late morning. When he gets here, hopefully, he will not bring up the election. Kay and I are two out of only 16 Democrats in the county.

          But, let’s try to forget that and return to the topic of “garbage disposal repair”. Realizing the plumber would show up the next morning, I went ahead and removed all of the weird stuff from under the kitchen sink, after which I sopped up the water that had dripped from the stupid disposal. I must keep in mind that it is an over-the-hill disposal, that I should not castigate.

          That being said, at the moment, I’m tired of writing about the garbage disposal. So, right now I choose to talk about the insanity of raising tariffs on imports. It will result in the raising of prices and a depletion of labor—I apologize. I’m better now.

          Uh, so at the moment we’re going to look at a few of the spray bottles that I confiscated from the cabinet located under the sink. First of all, here’s a spray can of “Blaster Penetrating Catalyst.” I’m not sure what it does, but it was hiding under the sink just waiting to be called upon.  

          Next is a plastic squirt bottle of “Scratch Out”. The label reads “Fine Scratch+ Swirl Remover.” It apparently removes Swirls but has yet to be used on any of ours. One of us, say, Kay, saw the bottle on one of the aisles in HEB and feared I might scratch the water heater. It could happen any minute now.

And here’s a squirt bottle of “Goof Off Adhesive Gunk Remover”. Any year now, that will come in handy. Then we’ve got “Goo Gone: For Automotive Goo and Sticker Removal.” We can’t have enough of that. And here’s a small jar, about the size of a can of Bean Dip that is called “Wright’s Silver Cream.” It’s used to polish silverware. Our silverware is now stored somewhere in the bowels of the house. We haven’t used the tarnished implements since Kay and I received it as a wedding gift.  

          Here we have two spray cans of unused “Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish” to be used on the only stainless steel piece in the house – the refrigerator. If we ever get around to polishing that thing, believe me, we’ve got the stuff to do it. Oops, I just found a half-filled bottle of tarnish remover. It’s called “Tarn-Z”. Get it? We’re blessed that there’s not a great deal of tarnishing around here.

           That’s pretty much all I’ve got for you today. Hopefully, a few of you will still be reading me next week. Again, I would like to tell you how pleased I am that no one will storm the Capital or White House in late January.

I am confident that the losing party this time has proved itself to be less violent. The vote didn’t turn out as hoped, but that’s just the way it is. Who knows,  perhaps the Republican Party is on the right track. I’m not sure what it is, but there’s plenty of time to find it. God bless us one and all.   

end

hayter.mark@gmail.com

Nov 3 Will Rogers Election help

 

Hayter Nov 3 Article

“Will Rogers on Elections?”

            Some of you are aware of the fact that Elsie and Faris Hayter had four sons and three daughters. I’m certain, that was not their intent. Parents with seven kids occasionally have to act their buns off pretending that they’re not showing favorites... as if Dennis didn’t know.

We each expected to get our fair share of whatever was going on. We didn’t enjoy the same TV programs, so, unless Dad was around, we had to bargain on what we would watch. When mom cooked fried chicken we each wanted a chicken breast. Unfortunately, hens only have two. Since mom never fried multiple chickens, she managed to carve up one chicken into pieces that only the Chinese could recognize. On occasion, Mom would try to trick us by slicing up a thigh to make it look like part of a breast. What a tricker mother.

Regardless, all seven of the Hayter kids got along fine in the sense that we generally fought with words, instead of fists. . We only had close encounters when one of us recognized that something wasn’t fair. As children, we thought we had fairness down to an art. We knew where the dividing line was on a candy bar, a bottle of pop, or a stay in the bathroom.  

            It is those squabbles over decision-making that can tear a family apart. And, that my friend, is a segue into today’s message which is, “Be nice both before and after the election.” At the moment there is little indication that that will be the case. One particular side in the election has vowed that if their candidate doesn’t win, the election will be unfair. And there will be riots in the streets until the issue is settled between both factions.

            Regardless, we all know that following the election, there will be a major split in the minds of the populace. This is not the first time there has been this much political disparity among us. When I started college in the fall of ’68, a presidential election between Richard Nixon and Vice President Hubert Humphrey, was in the works. (By the way, Humphrey was likely the only American ever named Hubert.)

During the campaign, Nixon said he had a plan to get us out of Vietnam, and that he would share his plan upon being elected. Humphrey had plans, but nothing good to say about Vietnam. Of course, the War in Vietnam was not the only issue, but it was a big one.

            Americans were going bonkers in the late ‘60s. If memory serves, riots took place in every city except Bristow, Oklahoma. For me, the greatest thing that came out of 1968 was a song written by Stephen Stills and sung by his group “Buffalo Springfield”. It was called “For What It’s Worth”. There are so many good lines in the lyrics, but one of my favorites was – “There’s battle lines being drawn, and nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong.”

            That’s where we are today… and, likely, will be for months or years to come. Both sides are apparently willing to fight and die for their right to be right. That’s what you call a battle that cannot be won.

            It’s a battle that calls for the person most qualified to settle such a dilemma. Fear not, I have chosen humorist, cowboy, showman, stage and movie actor, writer, roper, and all-together wise man, Will Rogers to calm things down. Rogers was born in Oologah, Oklahoma on November 4, 1879, which was 28 years before Oklahoma would join the Union.

It’s not possible to come up with a description of what Rogers did during his short time in life. He was involved in numerous projects but is mostly remembered for his comments on politics and societal discourse. Here are a few examples.

            Concerning politics, Rogers said, “Democrats are the only reason to vote for Republicans.” Then he turned around and said, “I don’t belong to any organized political party. I’m a Democrat.’”

            In his newspaper column, he once wrote, “I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.” -- Yep. The man found humor in practically everything. He once said, “The person who never makes a mistake must get tired of doing nothing.”

            Concerning World politics, Wills said, “Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘Nice doggie’ until you can find a rock.” The leaders of all countries have taken on that attitude, but Hitler was the best. There are numerous nations that he signed treaties with, only to turn around and invade each of them. Yet, the Germans loved what this particular Austrian had to say, so much so that they drowned out many of his ramblings.

            Concerning political leaders, Will Rogers once said, “We always want the best person to win an election. Unfortunately, the right person never runs.” What I consider to be the most accurate appraisal of elections is this quote of his, “Ignorance lies not in the things you don’t know, but in the things you know that aren’t so.”

And that my friend, is the reason one should never argue with a person who believes in a false truth. Today, both sides see that in the other. It’s one of those situations where nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong. That’s the one thing I’ve been stewing over for too long.

            Fortunately, this morning I received an email from a friend who, sensing my political concerns, wrote “Take heart and focus, my friend; God is forever.” – Yep, it’s time for a focus change. There’s no telling how long this attitude of ours will last. But, fortunately, it won’t last forever. But it would sure be helpful if we could satisfy one another’s fears sooner than later.

end

hayter.mark@gmail.com

Oct 27 Sick

 

Hayter for Oct 27, 2024

“What a columnist might write while sick.”

            Do you have any idea how many articles I’ve written while sick? Well, I’ve done the math and have come up with 132 sick articles out of the 2244 that I’ve written. I’d borrow one of my old sick articles right now, but it would take the rest of the day for me to find one. I don’t remember ever using the word “sick” in the title of anything. Till now.

            So, what I’ve done here is laid the groundwork for today’s article which I’m titling. “What--“ Oh, you can see the title up at the top. Of course, I can’t write about something while pretending to be well. What do you think? – No comment? Okay, then I’m writing while feeling lousy.

            I don’t really know if what I caught has a name. Kay recently had something like it. Of course, she’s seldom as sick as I am. (You might keep that comment to yourself.) I don’t know the name of what I’ve got, but it’s probably got one. Maybe it’s COVID 87. My symptoms started with being tired, addle-brained, head achy, in possession of a sore throat, achy bones and muscles, a runny nose, and a cough that started at my feet and ended at the base of my throat. That, and I’m not really excited about going anywhere or carrying on a conversation.

            I have to sleep in the guest room because my coughing keeps both Kay and me awake. If not COVID it may be one of the 600 flu’s going around. I don’t know if I’m contagious, but I’m going to try to play racquetball with Brad tomorrow just to see if I can generate some energy. Bradford will be happy to hear I’m sick because I’ll be so much easier to beat. The big goof beats me most of the time, anyway. 

            The only common childhood sickness that I recall catching was chicken pox. After having the pox, I remember having small indention in my skin.  I haven’t noticed them lately, because I have collected so many other spots and indention's of late. I never got the mumps or the measles. I remember hoping I’d get the measles so I could skip school. If I recall, the mumps caused your neck to swell. I never had a fat neck. Don’t care for one now.

            I do not remember ever missing a day of school. I always got a perfect attendance award. I remember in junior high I broke my collarbone in P.E. and Mom had to pick me up at school and take me to the doctor. On the last day of school, when they handed out perfect attendance awards, they did not intend to give me one, because I missed half a day after my collarbone injury. But, Mrs. Speights, my math teacher, who just happened to go to the same church as my family, went to the office and told the Principal that I was denied perfect attendance due to an injury I acquired while at school. And I came back after I got a shoulder wrap. Mrs. Speights was a thoughtful lady. God knows that better than I do.

            Hold on, just a second. -- Kay’s wanting my attention. You might grab more coffee or a Dr Pepper. I’ll be back in a second.

“What is it sweet pea? -- Well that’s nice of you, but I’ll sleep in the guest room again tonight. Actually, it doesn’t matter what room, because I doubt I’ll sleep anyway. Right now I need to get a handful of cough drops. The readers didn’t say anything, but they’re bound to notice that I’m coughing a lot. – No worries. I’ll be through in just a bit. – Love you, too.”     

            Okay, is everybody back? Well, I lost a few of you. I more than understand. I wanted to share with you a story about the day when a horrible sickness spread across the campus of Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, TX.  I’m thinking it was the fall of 68. It happened on the Saturday of our Homecoming Football game. We were playing some college out of Louisiana.

Well, it turned out that on the Friday before the game or the morning of the big game, a third of the campus got sick as a dog. Or cat. Let’s use cats. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m not a cat man. They’re too proud to be sick. --  Anyway, the food prepared the evening before or the morning of the big game did a number on a bunch of us.  Johnny Sutton and his roommate Gary Glover, my brother Dennis, and I, each ate at the cafeteria closest to our dorm. And each of us got sick.

Johnny was the first. O’ the horror. Dennis drove to Brookshire Brothers and managed to buy the last jar of Kaopectate. It was too late to help Johnny. The boy lost everything he had eaten both the day before and the morning of the big game. The three who weren’t sick, left our adjoining rooms and sat on the brick wall looking over the football stadium.

Gary was the first to join Johnny. He just up and ran. I don’t know if Johnny was out of the restroom or not. I didn’t want to know. Eventually, it was Dennis’ turn. O’ the horror! I would get my turn after the game. My digestive system has always been weird.

Yes, my friend, it a was cool and lovely day, but it wasn’t a good day for a lot of us. Fortunately, that weekend the Lumberjack football players catered their meals. One thing is certain, there are some old SFA Alumni, spread out across this state and country, who remember that they were among the SFA Lumberjacks who got sick at homecoming in ‘68.  I have no remembrance of who won the game. While I didn’t really care at the time, now I’m curious. -- O’ the horror.

end

hayter.mark@gmail.com