From the East Wing, With Sophia On The Hot Seat, The Space Station, Blood Red Moon, Come September, Bud Lite or Miller, The 200 lb Goose of Southfork

Greeting to all and welcome new friends to the East Wing.

And I thought the she missed me till Sophia found out I was home. That little girl cat came over, hopped up on my lap curled up and licked my hand. After ‘bout 5 minutes of purrs and smiles, jumped down ran to the cat house and came back with a list of all the things that ran amuck while I was away.

Not to my surprise, Spike headed the list. Sophia said Spike had been bad, had not listened to her and had even told the 2girldogs that she’s a democrat spy tying to infiltrate the republican partly by using her position as National Spokescat for the CCCA, as well as her other spokescat positions across the country. Spike had even threatened to deface her autographed picture of Herbert Hoover by peeing on it. She was so afraid that Spike would do damage to her stuff and to my stuff she had stayed awake most every hour I’d been gone. The 2girldogs were no help at all and had even helped Spike in some of the bad things he’d done. And she had a separate list of bad things the 2girldogs had done while I was away.

And then came Spike. Jumping up and down, so excited and mad he’s ‘bout to pee his pants, saying he didn’t do nothing wrong ever. It’s all Sophia’s fault. She’s been really bad. She tried to boss everybody around all the time I was gone. She wouldn’t take turns of being in charge like I said to do before I left. That he didn’t ever get to be in charge one time and Sophia bossed him around even when he didn’t need any bossing around by anybody ‘cause he was being a good boy cat. And Sophia drank from the big water bowl and not one time did she drink from the little water bowl like she’s supposed to. And Sophia bossed the 2girldogs around all the time too. And she even told the 2girldogs that if they didn’t do what she said, she’d scratch ‘em. And Sophia drank his half & half every time he got some from Regina. And Sophia sat in my chair even though I had said for nobody to sit in my chair. And Sophia had not used her computer one time while I was gone, she had used my computer every day and not hers. And Sophia had read all my email, and some of the email she had answered and signed my name.

I did notice that as Spike made his point by point case, Sophia got quitter and quitter. Just when I thought Sophia was going to say something more, Gray Lady James spoke up and said.

“Spike only knows ‘bout half the stuff Sophia’s done. Spike don’t know ‘bout Sophia telling Mustina that you said not to give Mustina a turn of being in charge, and Sophia was to take her turn. Spike don’t know ‘bout Sophia telling Mustina that Mustina was the only one you said to wash the water bowls every day. Spike don’t know ‘bout Sophia telling Mustina that you said Sophia could have all of Mustina’s treats for being such a good girl. Spike don’t know ‘bout Sophia telling Mustina that you said for Sophia to sleep on Mustina’s couch while you were gone.”

Things were not looking good for the cat as I turned toward Sophia. Gray Lady continued “Spike don’t know ‘bout Sophia telling Mustina that the new rules she made up was that change that President Obama had been promising a couple summers ago. I turned toward the cat.

“WHAT!!” She said. “Are you gona believe ‘em?” “The 2girldogs and Spike, they’re democrats. They’re all the same, that bunch, them, them democrats. They’re the same ones who told ya the stimulus would work and everybody would go back to work, and world would be better. The health care law would reduce health care cost, they’re the same bunch of democrats that hired a group of tax cheats to run the IRS and the rest of the government and they’re the ones who’ve appointed more czars than are in Russia on this very day. They’re the same ones who told ya change ya could believe in and look at what we got.”

“The 2girldogs and Spike, they’re part of that Washington crap that even Joe Donnelly don’t want to be associate with, and ya know Joe Donnelly’s a democrat, even when he don’t’ want to tell anybody in Indiana he is one , and you’re gona believe ‘en” “Ya gotta joking but remember that if ya believe the 2girldogs and Spike on this thing, then you’re by association, believing Charlie Rangel and that other Congress Woman from California that said she didn’t do nothing wrong either.” “Ya know them democrats, they got a track record on this sorta thing” “They try to kill the messenger when they can’t make the argument, Theses are the same ones who talk green and the only green they know is the green pond scum they slither in, those, those, those democrats ” said the cat as her green eyes twinkled, and oh, such a smile, that Sophia smile. Damn Republican Cat!

Did ya ever look at the Space Station at night? Yes, ya can see it from time to time. Go to the nasa.gov website, click on the shuttle / space station icon on the upper right side and follow the directions to input your precise data location. In the USA a zip is all ya need, but it’ll work anywhere in the world. It’s kinda cool to watch it go by. It goes too fast to put the telescope on it, but ya can catch it with binoculars if ya want. The really cool part is when the space station rises high enough in the sky to catch the light from the moon. It’s like Motel 6 leaving the light on for ya.

Had an email the other day from a fellow stargazer wanting to know if I used any mnemonic devices (little things that help ya remember stuff) to help me in remembering the names of celestial objects. Well DUH! How do ya think I remember all this stargazing stuff, what little I do know, without help of some kind, and the Lord knows I need all the help I can get. One of the best known astronomy mnemonics is "Arc to Arcturus, then drive a spike to Spica."

This is an easy one that most everybody can do. First begin by finding the Big Dipper, one of the sky’s most prominent asterisms (star patterns). Just ‘bout everybody can find the Big Dipper in the sky. Now if ya extend the arc formed by the Dipper’s handle, you'll soon find yourself at the bright star Arcturus, in the constellation Boötes.

From there, it’s a straight line to Spica, the brightest star in Virgo. And just that easy ya became a stargazer. Did ya see the color difference between yellowish Arcturus and blue-white Spica? Some people can actually see the difference just by looking, I never could, weak eyes I guess. Now looking through my telescope, well, that’s a star of a different color so to speak. My telescope brings a whole new meaning to “I saw the light”.

A few days ago I was asked if I’d ever seen a blood red moon? I’ve not, and would probably crap my pants if I did. That blood red moon things been ‘round for a long time. Remember hearing ‘bout that when I was a kid, I know there’s a quotation in the bible, actually it’s from Revelation (6:12-13): "And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind."

This is the only creditable reference to a blood red moon that I’m aware of to , but seems like I’ve read of some reference to a reddish hue in the center of the moon during a total eclipse. I’ve seen several total eclipses of the moon, and none of ‘em looked even the least bit reddish to me.

That Revelation stuff’s something else, and I don’t have a clue what any of it means. I some times read parts of Revelation and think somebody’s smoking and writing at the same time. Guess ya can tell by my writing, I'm not smoking the same stuff.

But now those TV Preachers, they sure want ya to believe they know all the answers to all the questions posed by the Book of Revelation. They don’t. They too are a joke, kinda like Bill Clinton trying to explain to we the people what “is” is. But I think Wild Bill has mellowed out somewhat ‘cause now he just tries to explain what “is” was.

WOW ! Labor Day Tomorrow, and there went summer in the minds of some folks. Not the case here in the East Wing, it’s summer till it’s fall, and if it gets hot, then it’s like summer. Talk ‘bout weather seasons, I got an email from a friend in Mississippi thanking me for telling the whole world ‘bout the beautiful change of seasons in Mississippi.

For someone who my have missed that, I said Mississippi seasons consist of “Almost Summer, Summer, Still Summer, Christmas. I was reminded that Christmas is the shortest season in Mississippi, and the other three seasons share the other 364 days equally. It was hot when I’s in Mississippi. Think I was there when it was Still Summer.

Such neat things happen in September, Labor Day, cooler weather, the official start of fall. This year it’s 9-22-2010 at 11:09PM, yah fall starts in the nighttime this year, that’s kinda cool. Now if ya ever wondered how come every four years we have an extra day in February, well a simple explanation is next year the start of fall is 9-23-11 at 5:15 AM, a difference of some 6 hours. Now if ya pick up say 6 hours ever year, after ‘bout 4 years ya have an extra day, ‘cause 6 times 4 equal 24 new hours and that’s how we stick February 29th in there every once in a while.

Another holiday that used to be a real biggie, we’re talking bigger than big, almost as big as Christmas is today. The forgotten holiday of the ages is Michaelmas.

The feast day of St. Michael, the archangel and overcomer of the Devil, is a Christian celebration based on the ancient Celtic calendar. Again like many church holidays, this too is rooted in pre-Christian activity. Its main importance in people's lives was that of a seasonal signpost in the year. In the British Isles, a long, long time ago crops were harvested and the surplus sold by late September, so this became the time when farmers would pay their yearly rents to landowners.

Everyone ate goose at Michaelmas to bring prosperity, and many farmers included "a goose fit for the lord's dinner" with their rent payments. Great market fairs occurred just before the feast day, and the large crowds these attracted made it convenient to hold elections at this time. They even had Republican Calico Cats back then too.

Michaelmas was also a "Quarter Day." These ancient Celtic people would divide the year into four major sections, or quarters, and then divided each of these in half to make an eight-part year that reflected the natural progression of the seasons. Foods traditional for Michaelmas include new wine; goose; cakes of oats, barley, and rye; and carrots. “bout the only ones who still retain any semblance to this old holiday are the Pennsylvania Dutch, out east, they’ve kept Michaelmas, or "Harvest Home," traditions alive amongst themselves.

Guess if ya really want to keep good holidays around for a long time, it needs to somehow be associated with Bud Lite or Miller, ‘cause they’ll supply free banners for the party. New wine, goose, oat cakes and carrots just don’t make it any more.

Maybe that’s what they’re talking ‘bout when somebody says “life was simple and easy back then”. I’m not sure if new wine and oat cakes beat Bud Lite or Miller, but I’m sure it don’t beat Makers Mark with a straw.

That reminds me that I only ate a goose one time. The only goose contact I ever had was on Southfork . Now Lou had several geese at Southfork, and one ole boy goose, well he just decided he was going to show me who was boss. That goose chased me all over the yard, damn near scared me to death, being six years old and being chased by what I’d swear was a 200 lb goose. I barely escaped with my life and made it inside the back door to safety of the kitchen, a mere half step in front of that renegade goose.

When Lou found out ‘bout that goose chasing me ‘round the yard, she promptly marched outside to confront my attacker. We had baked goose that night for supper and it wasn’t even a holiday or anything, we just had baked goose for supper. Now Lou and me, we never talked bout why she killed that goose, but I guess Lou just decided she couldn’t rehabilitate a goose gone wild.

Kinda funny that the ole goose never chased anybody ‘cept me, but what he didn’t know was that Lou was my Mother Goose. She looked out for me. And it was such stuff like that why Lou and I got along. Such a great Grandmother, I never once called her grandma, I called her Lou.

Stay safe in Afghanistan

From the East Wing, With Sophia On The Hot Seat, The Space Station, Blood Red Moon, Come September, Bud Lite or Miller, The 200 lb Goose of Southfork

I wish you well,
BobbyRay