All Hail The Noble Ubangi! (STOMP!)
I have been fascinated by Ubangis from the time I was old enough to gawk at the dinner plate adorned lips of African tribes-people on the pages of National Geographic. And justly so, I do think. These labret-laden heathens have been capturing the fancy of wide-eyed Westerners since they were first introduced to our culture in the 1930′s. Read more…
Grumpy Underpants Polka
So, since I’m stuck in an office thus am not free to roam about the city at will, I’ve spent my day amusing myself at my desk composing poetry. I submit it to you, dear reader, for feedback and further amusement.
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Returning Home
“The fullness of existence embodies an overwhelmingly intricate balance of defined, ill-defined, un-defined, moving, stopping, dancing, falling, singing, coughing, growling, dying, timeless and time-bound molecules — and the spaces in between.”
– Tom Robbins
Weekend Scoop for June 23, 2010
The brilliant paintbox of colors that explode with the coming of spring have given way to the deep emerald greens of summer and with them the balmy, sun-kissed warmth of spring has been traded for the cloying, sticky heat that is summer in Georgia. I feel wilted. I feel lethargic. Lately it’s been taking increasingly more to motivate me out of my comfortable, air-conditioned house but I’ve found a few things going on around the region that seem worth venturing out of my cave.
Read more…
Lake Martin Breakfast Burritos
I’ve just returned from a weekend camping at Lake Martin. Sgt. Grumpy was able to celebrate Father’s Day surrounded by me and the children and sunshine and laughter and trees and cool water. Lucky Sgt. Grumpy. Our first morning out there I decided it was far too hot already to spend however long it takes standing in front of a hot stove to make enough pancakes to feed the crew. (They can put down an astonishing amount of pancakes.) Instead I improvised a veggie breakfast burrito recipe that wowed the whole gang so much they requested a repeat for the next morning.
New Bits Of Hooch
They’ve opened up a new piece of Riverwalk! Sgt. Grumpy and The Hoochlings and I went downtown for a stroll yesterday. As we wandered down the steps adjacent to the southern side of the Eagle-Phenix Mill courtyard we noticed that the section of the Riverwalk, previously under construction and barricaded by a chain-link fence was open to the public. Walkers, bikers, strollers, fishermen, roller-bladers and motion-minded folks of all types are now free to locomote in whatever form they see fit along a half-mile or so of brand-new sidewalk past previously closed-to-the-public views of the backside of the Eagle-Phenix mill and dam.
Gettin’ Picky
Sgt. Grumpy and I have been reading Michael Pollan’s book ‘In Defense Of Food’ together recently, which espouses a return to the consumption of ‘Real Food’ rather than the ‘Food-Like Products’ that comprise most of what’s available in grocery stores today. One of his suggested rules for eating is to ‘Shake the hand that feeds you.’ I whole-heartedly agree. I think it is important — for children especially — to be aware of the origins of their food. I want my children to know that their food is grown on farms by farmers rather than springing into spontaneous existence in sanitary packaging on grocery store shelves. To this end, I decided to take the children on a Very Serious And Important learning expedition.
A Soldier’s Thoughts On Memorial Day
By Guest Writer, Sgt. Grumpy
On Memorial Day I packed the family up in my truck (the kids named it ‘Sarge’) and headed out to The National Infantry Museum at Ft. Benning. I wanted them to see the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall. I had the chance to see the real thing back in the ’80s on a family trip to Washington, DC. To a young teenager The Wall was overwhelming, even more so when I saw my father, Maj. Grumpy, (I’m a junior) tearing up while viewing the names of two of his fellow squad members. I didn’t understand it then. It took a few years for me to get it. Read more…
Happy Memorial Day Y’all!
I usually make an effort to write something worthwhile on a Monday to get you back into the swing of your work week but today I’d like to do something different. Today I am writing something short and sweet so I can have more time to head outside and play with this guy — or at least the guy this guy grew up to be.
This picture was taken in Korea around 1994 or 1995. Sgt. Grumpy was still Spc. Grumpy. Oh what a baby he was here — and that hairline! Where did it go?
I’d like to use this short, sweet post to thank all the Sgt. Grumpys out there — past, present, and future. I owe you all a debt I can never, ever repay.
