Left is right; right is wrong

That is what I learned when I lived in London for a few months. "Left is right and right is wrong." Later, I lived in the Cayman Islands and learned that they feel that way about it, too. Even later, I lived in Bangkok, Thailand. Yep, they, too, think that left is right and right is wrong.

They should be able to read this line, at least the first part of it.

,siht daer nac uoy fI

?esenihC era uoy ebyam

If you can read this,

Maybe you are Chinese?

The first part is written from right to left and says the same thing as the second portion.

To help clear up my ramblings, let me explain. As an American, I believe that the right side of the road is the right side of the road on which to drive and that the left side of the road is the wrong side of the road for driving.

The Brits (and their former colonies) feel that the right side is the wrong side of the road and that the left side is the right side of the road on which to drive.

Makes sense, right? (I mean, correct?)

I wonder who has the right to say which side is correct. To me it feels write (or rite) (or right) to drive on the right.

Collect Telephone Calls

Do you know what are the biggest days of the year for receiving collect telephone calls? Here is a list of the top three:

3. Third biggest day for getting collect calls is Valentine's Day. How thoughtful is your darling to remember you on the special "Love Day"! Can you imagine the phone ringing and the operator telling you, "You have a collect call from your girlfriend. Will you accept the charges?"

2. The second largest day of collect calls is Mom's Day in May. "You have a collect call from your son in Montana. Will you accept the charges, Mother?" "Of course, put him on." It is so nice to know that he loves me enough to call my on Mother's Day, even if I must pay the cost.

1. Number one on the list for most collect calls is Father's Day. Dear old Dad deserves a call from his offspring. However, my own telephone bill is unpaid. I doubt they will let me make a call unless Dad will pay for it.

In the year 1992, 83 million calls were made on Father's day. However, Mother;s Day had 106 million calls. The hooker, though, is that 27 percent of those of Father's Day were COLLECT calls.

Let's just say that....

Stretching the truth is not actually lying, is it? I mean, if it is a lie, it is only a white one, right?

Maybe a half lie will work. A half lie is half true, I guess, so it isn't all as bad as a completely false lie.

"Be sure your sin will find you out," says the writer of inspiration. In other words, no matter how well we hide our error or our fault, some day the truth will be exposed.

Consider this little story:

These boys really hated their first period high school class. None of them did well under that particular teacher. They connived and came up with a plan.

They skipped that first period class and decided to say that there was a car problem if the teacher ever asked them. It was not true, of course, but who would know?

Later that day, when they got to school, they went to their second period class. It was more to their liking. However, when that class ended and they went into the hallway of the school to go to the third period class, their first period teacher saw them and cornered them. She asked them to come to her home room at the end of the school day to make up work that they missed in class that day. They reluctantly agreed.

After the final class of the day, those four boys went to the first period teacher's home room. She asked them why they were absent from her class that day. One of the boys said, "We had a flat tire."

"You need to take a short quiz, boys," the teacher told them. She assigned them seats around the classroom. She asked them to take out a sheet of paper on which to write. When they had complied, she wrote on the blackboard only one question.
"Which tire was flat?"

Be sure your sin will find you out.

Burma Shave

People under the age of fifty may not be aware of those Burma Shave signs along America's highways. Their pithy verses often had great lessons for travelers. The red and white signs were spaced far enough apart that you could read them comfortably while driving at the normal speed of 55 mph. Here is an example for those who don't know what they were.

A drive along a country road often brought smiles, even laughter, to everyone in the car as they read the sayings.

At first, the company used the signs only to advertise its product, a brushless shaving cream. Later, the rhyming verses had a message in addition to the final sign which said, "Burma Shave".


Guess what has happened. The signs are no longer used, and neither is Burma Shave. When Interstate highways came along, such signs were not used and would not have been read much if they had continued to be used.

Here are a few of the witty Burma Shave sign messages:

Drinking drivers,
Nothing worse.
They get the quart
Before the hearse.
Burma Shave.


You'll love your wife;
You'll love her paw.
You'll even love
Your mother-in-law
If you use Burma Shave
Burma Shave.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

On Jeopardy the other night, the final question was... How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns ---- All three missed it --

This is really an awesome sight to watch if you've never had the chance. It is very fascinating.

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why?

21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is

The highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.

2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why?

21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1


Why are his gloves wet?

His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.


4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time
And if not, why not?

He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.

5. How often are the guards changed?

Guards are changed every thirty minutes,

Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?


For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be

Between 5' 10' and 6' 2' tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30'. Other

Requirements of the Guard: They must commit 2 years of life to guard the

Tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on

Or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the

Rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in

Any way. After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on

Their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only

400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their

Lives or give up the wreath pin.

The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat

And cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the

Top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt.

There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty is
In front of a full-length mirror.

The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor

Watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid

To rest in Arlington National Cemetery . A guard must memorize who they are

And where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe

E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most

Decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame.

Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for

Guard duty.

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington , DC , our

US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC

Evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the

Hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of

The Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They

Respectfully declined the offer, 'No way, Sir!' Soaked to the skin,

Marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding

The Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be

Afforded to a serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled continuously,

24/7, since 1930.

God Bless and keep them.

Dictionary Definition

M-W Dictionary definition:


chickenhawk: a hawk that preys or is believed to prey on chickens.




Other Dictionary's definition:

Chickenhawk: A US President or Congressman who was afraid to fight when in the military service, making excuses instead of risking his own life, but who becomes a strong advocate of pushing other people's children into the devastation of a war he creates to put himself into the history books.



Let's show mercy to the turkey.


Runs in the family, I guess.

I Wonder What They Used Before.

We used pages from the Montgomery Ward Catalog or Sears Roebuck Catalog when I was a kid.

We did not like to use the colored pages as they were stiffer and less pleasant than the black and white pages. My parents kept a catalog in the outhouse for that purpose. That was when our house was 'five rooms and a path' as they said it back then.

I have read that the Chinese invented the idea around 589 AD. The first foreigners to confirm that the Chinese used it were Arabs in 851 AD.

Even after the bidet was invented sometime after 1700 AD, the paper was still more popular among the masses. That bidet was expensive and besides, who wants a wet behinder after doing the business?

I wonder about a side issue of this subject. I wonder what they used before this product when it came to TPing trees.