President Trump Declares Sunday, September 3. a National Day of Prayer

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 3, 2017, as a National Day of Prayer for the Victims of Hurricane Harvey and for our National Response and Recovery Efforts.  We give thanks for the generosity and goodness of all those who have responded to the needs of their fellow Americans.  I urge Americans of all faiths and religious traditions and backgrounds to offer prayers today for all those harmed by Hurricane Harvey . . . "

As response and recovery efforts continue, and as Americans provide much needed relief to the people of Texas and Louisiana, we are reminded of Scripture's promise that "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."  Melania and I are grateful to everyone devoting time, effort, and resources to the ongoing response, recovery, and rebuilding efforts.  We invite all Americans to join us as we continue to pray for those who have lost family members or friends, and for those who are suffering in this time of crisis.
From the White House

It takes a mighty tempest at our inoffensive shores

To force the President to ask for Heaven’s open doors.

A Day of Prayer he has proclaimed upon this Sabbath day;

A time to humbly ask the Deity to hear us pray.

Although he’s never claimed to be a man of God, this Chief

Must suspect the Lord of Hosts can always bring relief.

Forgive us for our partisan and sectarian divide --

And help us, Father, succour to our Texas friends provide!

It Happened at McDonald's

A writer at McDonald’s found a wrapper round his straw;

It struck him as a metaphor for miscarriages raw.

Shoving his Big Mac and fries away in thoughts so deep

He heeded not that ketchup on his pants began to seep.

That wrapper loomed so large to him, in such a mystic way,

That he began to write things down upon his plastic tray.

He wrote of inequality, of falling leaves, of death;

He scribbled how a milk shake could be likened to Macbeth.

He gazed upon the customers around his shabby booth,

And wept to think that most of them would never know the truth.

His great heart yearned to educate the fast food hoi polloi,

While gobs of special sauce most of his arteries did cloy.

And as he slumped right over on his placemat quietly,

He was heard to murmur “Quarter Pounders make you free.”

I Used to be a Circus Clown

Maybe it’s the recent announcement of a new Joker origin story, or perhaps just 2017’s general specter of clownish grotesquerie, but something feels perfectly timely about Pennywise.

The villain from Stephen King’s “It” terrified when he was left to childhood imaginations in the author’s 1986 doorstopper. And he is likely to send similar shudders after appearing, in the form of young Swedish actor Bill Skarsgard, in the new Warner Bros. release opening Sept. 8.

One of the great fixtures of modern literary evil, Pennywise the clown, with the help of the 27-year-old Skarsgard, is attempting to jump mediums and give a new generation an injection of fear.  From the Los Angeles Times. 

I used to be a circus clown -- at parties oft requested.

But now if I put on greasepaint I just might be arrested.

I loved to take a pratfall and to throw a pie or two --

Today such actions label me a terrorist cuckoo.

I never thought I’d see the day when clowns became so scary.

How did Bozo transform into creepy adversary?

I think we’ve lost the aptitude to belly laugh our way

Out of existential dread and general dismay.

Instead of celebrating all the silliness that life

Hands us on a platter, we must concentrate on strife.

And make a monster of a clown, and make a mock of God --

And all our happiness and cheer declare to be a fraud.

A people who prefer to wallow in sadistic gore

Are Coliseum-bound to watch the Christians die once more.

The Clown Haters are at it Again

Winooski, Vermont, is a small town in the middle of the state known for its picturesque waterfalls and boutique shopping center in an old converted woolen mill. It also was gaining ground for its annual “Cinema Clowns Film Festival,” held each November at the city’s Community Hall. But it looks like the clown haters will see to it that the Festival is canceled this year.

According to Reuters, one Julie Crandall, a citizen of Winooski and the founder of RSMG (Racial Slurs Must Go) has put the town on notice that some of their proposed films are highly objectionable, and if they are not pulled from the Festival RSMG is going to file a civil suit against the town. Ms. Crandall lists the following films as objectionable on the grounds of “hateful racial epithets contained in the film:”

The Dentist, starring W.C. Fields. In this classic Mack Sennett short Fields essays the role of a crotchety dentist -- who at one point tells a patient “The doctor down the street treated a fellow for yellow jaundice for nine years, then found out he was a Jap . . . “  

This is admittedly a crude line, but it fits the whole pattern of this slapstick gem -- earlier in the film when the nurse informs Fields that a patient screaming in agony out in the foyer is waiting to see him, he brusquely replies “Ah, the hell with her!”

Duck Soup, starring the Marx Brothers. This film features half a dozen classic slapstick routines that originated in clown alley, such as the mirror scene and the lemonade stand battle between Harpo and Edgar Kennedy. Groucho was never more brilliant than in this zany political satire, but he is given one unfortunate line that goes: “And that’s how little darkies were born.”

In theatrical showings no one ever hears this line because of the wave of continuous laughter that washes over it. But that doesn’t stop Ms. Crandall from wanting the whole film banned for that one miscue.

The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek, directed by Preston Sturges. This slapstick comedy pokes fun at America’s patriotic mania during World War Two. A daring satire at the time, the censors made Sturges edit out much of the pungent dialogue he was famous for -- but they didn’t catch the line uttered by William Demarest, who started out in showbiz as a waterboy for the Hagenback Wallace Circus, where he tells someone who has just done him a favor: “That’s mighty white of you, brother!!”

I’m not sure how this fits the description of a racial slur, but admittedly it is an unfortunate quote of American vernacular from the 40’s. Because of this one little misstep, Ms. Crandall is determined to deny the public the fun of watching this beautiful American comedy, which has one of the strangest ending gags in cinematic history.    

Daniel Jenkins, who has run the Winooski “Cinema Clowns Film Festival” for the past five years says he’s now afraid to run any films, for fear of offending some special interest group that will sue the city. He says: “Much as I hate to say it, it looks like clowning is just too politically incorrect to show to the public anymore.”

I’m giving the last word to Julie Crandall -- not because I want to, but because the below outrageous statement is the icing on the cake -- a cake that ought to be thrown in her face. She is quoted as saying: “We are also looking into the German films of the clown Grock, who was suspected of having ties with the Nazis.”

I think Stymie and Our Gang better watch out!

Charles Lindbergh and Citrus Oil

In 1927 an obscure barnstorming pilot, who made ends meet by occasionally flying U.S. Mail routes, became the darling of nations and an immortal hero to Americans by becoming the first person to fly directly from the United States to Europe in his monoplane, The Spirit of Saint Louis.

Charles Lindbergh spent his formative years on a farm in Little Falls, Minnesota. His parents were of Swedish ancestry, and Lindbergh recalled in his autobiography that the kitchen was always redolent with the scent of cardamom. His mother used cardamom oil not only for flavoring but for doctoring the children when they were ill -- giving them a drop or two in a glass of well water to settle their colicky dispositions, and rubbing it into Lindbergh’s hair when he had trouble memorizing the multiplication table. A chemistry teacher at the local high school, Lindbergh’s mother distilled all of the essential oils used in her own household.

According to Lindbergh biographer A. Scott Berg, prior to taking off on his record-breaking flight Lindbergh received a postcard from his mother giving him some advice about the use of essential oils:

“Camphor for colds.

Clove for toothache.

Fennel for digestion.

Citrus for concentration.”

Lindbergh records that he took only three ham sandwiches and a thermos of coffee for his 33-hour flight across the ocean. But in a footnote in his autobiography he writes that he also took along a small glass vial of citrus oil to help keep him focused and awake: “The oil was given to me by a well-wisher from Florida, who said rubbing it on my temples and inhaling it every two hours would help keep me from nodding off at the wheel.”

After his world-famous flight, Lindbergh and his wife Anne became interested in holistic and homeopathic medicine. While living in Hawaii they experimented with tropical oils from ylang ylang blossoms and fever tree bark, but refused to use their discoveries for commercial purposes -- giving their research instead to the United States Army at the outbreak of World War Two. The Army, however, disregarded the Lindbergh’s claims that essential oils could help soldiers recover more quickly from shell shock and trench foot -- and their research was relegated to a dusty file somewhere in the Pentagon, and eventually lost entirely.  

45 years after Lindbergh’s death, his belief in the restorative power of organic essential oils is being validated by medical researchers all over the globe. Whether for aromatherapy, skin treatments, or as an internal medication, essential oils are once again the focus of intense scrutiny as scientists struggle to find ways to treat mankind’s many ills without having to resort to harsh and sometimes deadly chemicals and radiation.

For further information, and for an absolutely free, no obligation, sample of three of the most commonly used oils, including lemon and lavender, contact Wellness Advocate Amy Snyder at http://bit.ly/2vHgrH6 Please put your name and address in her Comments box.  She has used these superb essential oils for years herself and will be delighted to share her experiences with you in a professional and friendly manner!

NOTICE TO READERS: The information contained in this blog is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any emotional or physical condition, illness, or injury. The author, publishers, and distributors of this blog shall have no liability or responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any and all alleged damage, loss, or injury caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this work. This work contains suggested uses of oils based on acceptable dosage amounts recommended by the manufacturer. The author makes no claim to have verified or validated these suggestions. The readers must validate acceptable dosage amounts from the manufacturer before application. The information in this book is in no way intended as a substitute for medical advice. We recommend that all readers obtain medical advice from a licensed healthcare professional before using essential oils for any reason.

The Scourge of Robocalls

My cell phone sits upon the shelf, dusty and neglected,

Because with robocalls galore it has now been infected.

The ID of these automated bugs is not effective --

To figure out the true from false is work for a detective.

Technology has brought us to this pretty pass today --

To weed out all the robo-tares would take the CIA.

This unwanted attention from an overseas flimflammer

Makes me want to use unholy and disgusting grammar.

The only answer I can see to all my agitation

Is to regress back in time to simpler communication.

The telegraph might be the best and cheapest sort of mode

To foil the grifters while I’m talking only in Morse code!

The Fountain of all Law

“Our whole social order could self-destruct over the obsession with freedom disconnected from responsibility . . . “   Boyd K. Packer.

Let freedom ring, but not extol

Practices that kill the soul.

Privilege that lacks restraint

Society will surely taint.

My rights I cherish constantly,

But they might be debauchery

If I don’t turn my face to God

To keep from thinking that is flawed.

As ‘natural’ as I am now,

I trust the Lord and ev’ry vow

He asks me to obey with awe --

He is the fountain of all law.

Was Picasso's Blue Period Cured by Fennel Oil?

Pablo Picasso was one of the titans of Twentieth Century art. His paintings blazed the trail for every other painter from the years 1901 to 1953. All artists, of whatever stripe, owe something to Picasso’s elastic and protean spirit and work.

Yet this larger-than-life and pugnacious man fell into a deep depression in the year 1901, stemming, in part, from the death of his closest Spanish friend, Carlos Casagemas. His suicide plunged Picasso into a spiritual and artistic crisis that art historians now call his ‘Blue Period.’

For four years, Picasso painted only doleful subjects in a monochrome of blue and blue-green. He drank heavily and became carelessly promiscuous. His friends and his art dealers despaired of pulling him out of his funk, and his work began to lose its appeal in the French market.

One day, so the story goes, Picasso met his friend, the journalist Max Jacob, at a Parisian bistro for a drink, and became intrigued by Jacob’s use of a few drops of fennel oil in a glass of water as a substitute for the highly toxic alcoholic absinthe that Picasso was drinking. Jacob explained to Picasso that his doctor had told him to quit drinking alcohol completely and use fennel leaves in salads and fennel oil in water to relieve his fatigue and melancholy. It would also, the doctor promised, significantly improve his digestion.

Picasso impulsively threw his glass of absinthe into the street and began using fennel oil, giving up all alcohol except for an occasional glass of Spanish wine when with friends. This coincided with the start of his famous ‘Rose Period’, when his painting began to take on the heady colors of a carnival.    

Was it the fennel oil that turned things around for Picasso? He never sought any medical or spiritual help for his deep depression during those four years. Those who knew him best during those years were at a loss to explain what finally brought him up out of the depths -- except for Max Jacob. He went on to a successful journalistic career in France and then Canada, and always claimed that what saved Picasso from becoming just a footnote in Art History was his use of fennel oil to fight off bilious depression.

Today fennel oil is recognized as a safe and reliable appetite suppressant, especially for the sweet tooth. It is used on the skin to enhance smoothness and hydration. And its’ licorice-like flavor is a favorite with French bakers in the making of pastries and by French doctors for curing dyspepsia.

For further information, and for an absolutely free, no obligation, sample of three of the most commonly used oils, including lemon and lavender, contact Wellness Advocate Amy Snyder at http://bit.ly/2vHgrH6 Please put your name and address in her Comments box.  She has used these superb essential oils for years herself and will be delighted to share her experiences with you in a professional and friendly manner!

NOTICE TO READERS: The information contained in this blog is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any emotional or physical condition, illness, or injury. The author, publishers, and distributors of this blog shall have no liability or responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any and all alleged damage, loss, or injury caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this work. This work contains suggested uses of oils based on acceptable dosage amounts recommended by the manufacturer. The author makes no claim to have verified or validated these suggestions. The readers must validate acceptable dosage amounts from the manufacturer before application. The information in this book is in no way intended as a substitute for medical advice. We recommend that all readers obtain medical advice from a licensed healthcare professional before using essential oils for any reason.

My Supermarket

A supermarket is a place of wonder to this guy.

Although the prices there continue reaching for the sky.

I’m not a big consumer of organic or free range --

Rather, I just like to see what’s au courant and strange.

Edamame beans now come in cans and frozen packs.

They look about as toothsome as a can of green Ajax.

Hormel still offers pigs feet in a bottle of clear brine --

King Oscar and his sardines on the shelf still do repine.

Varieties of cheeses have now multiplied ten-fold.

(But nobody has Limburger like in the days of old.)

Strolling down the aisles, I might get lost in reverie

at Morton’s Salt now boasting of its fresh impurity.

Don’t tell the doc I’m stocking up on frozen pizza, please.

Or that I’m buying pickled beets and bagels and cream cheese.

My eating habits are obscene, according to my kids --

But supermarkets ain’t a place to use the word ‘forbids!’

State by State, Columbus Day is Being Dropped

‘Columbus’ is a dirty word; don’t say it overloud --

Or you will be strung up by some exacerbated crowd.

The holiday we used to hold to celebrate his life

Is now a firecracker that explodes with lots of strife.

The poor guy cannot catch a break; the hist’ry books revile

All his dash and daring with a sea of petty bile.

I guess we don’t want heroes anymore for holidays.

Instead it’s demographics that we have to sing and praise.