My mom & my grandson

Wylder and Granny Mead

America will never be destroyed from the outside, if we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. ABRAHAM LINCOLN

E PLURIBUS UNUM

GOD BLESS AMERICA, ALL OF IT, NOW & FOREVER!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascription's justly due to Him for such singular deliverance's and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: 

Abraham Lincoln

This Thanksgiving I am grateful for all of America’s Presidents, past and present

I recently had the great privilege of enjoying Daniel Day-Lewis in his role as “LINCOLN”.  I highly recommend this movie to anyone who considers themselves a proud American.  This Thanksgiving I am grateful for all of America’s Presidents, past and present, and for all the patriotic Americans who have dedicated themselves to the cause of freedom and to the preservation of our incomparable nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.  SC

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

FALL FLOURISH

SC

HANGTOWN /PLACERVILLE, CA

!900  Placerville

Placerville, 1900

1871 Placerville, California

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND THOSE WHO SERVE

OLD HANGTOWN: Clearing a spot on the frosted window I squinted and peered outside.

OLD HANGTOWN

Outside the storm continued.  The sleet came down fitfully against the window, and periodically a gust of wind would find its way down the stovepipe and the old cast iron heater would belch smoke from around its damper and its red-hot lid.  After a while the rough plank roof began dripping and leaking like a sieve, and one by one a strategically placed company of pots and kettles joined in a chorus of plops, plinks, and piddles, as they filled quickly with their captured leakage and began to splash rhythmically on the rip sawn floor. As twilight approached, I sat by the potbellied stove staring out the window into the empty street, and listening to the moan of the howling wind as it tore at the shingles and rattled the chimney cap.  I could hear the hiss of sleet as it began to fill the ruts and hoof prints in the muddy street, and icicles began to form and hung in profusion from the eaves. Clearing a spot on the frosted window I squinted and peered outside.  The storm was relenting and I began to see some stars.  I warmed a blanket for myself, kicked back in my chair and leaned against the wall.  I remember watching the firelight from the damper, dancing on the wall behind the stove, and then the cobwebs came and the darkness took me in.  “OBIE’S QUEST” SC   

ol' Nellie Belle

My '41 CHEVY

His smile drives their sorrows all away

O they tell me that He smiles on His children there,

And His smile drives their sorrows all away;

And they tell me that no tears ever come again

In that lovely land of unclouded day.

Josiah K. Alwood

"Potter isn't selling; Potter's buying."

Yes, the stock market is likely to be volatile for awhile. A few billionaires invested big bucks intending to buy the election.  It didn't pay off and they're not pleased.  Old glory is beleaguered and bruised, but she's still not for sale.

   Much of the world is celebrating the President's reelection.  Given time, the stock market will reflect that optimism. SC

May we be too wise to brazenly threaten others, and sufficiently strong that none dare threaten us

And now brothers and sisters, the torch is once more passed.  It’s time to turn from resentment and unite in liberty’s cause. Many have given their lives in order to secure the freedoms we enjoy today.  Honor their sacrifice.  Honor our veterans and all those who choose a life of service. Honor individuality, revere tolerance, and exhort all those who lift up the cause of freedom. Freedom is every heart’s desire and every just government’s goal. Let us shower down freedom across a thirsty land. Our country’s greatest strength is diversity, honor diversity and keep America strong. Let us praise the God that offers grace, and the shining nation that lights the way to peace. May we be too wise to brazenly threaten others, and sufficiently strong that none dare threatens us, leaving condemnation to a merciful God, and dedicating ourselves to pursuit of His matchless mercy, doing justly, loving mercy, walking humbly with our God, in America’s quest for liberty and justice for all.  SC 

Now, let us put our backs and hearts into it, lifting those who stumble, encouraging those who lead, and moving forward praising God and raising old glory high. SC

“My country, ‘tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;

Land where my father’s died,

Land of the pilgrim’s pride,

From every mountainside let freedom ring”

BRONCOBAMA RIDES AGAIN!

:)

EVERYBODY WINS

It’s true that at the conclusion of any contest, there are winners and losers.  It’s equally true that when a hard fought political process comes to a peaceful conclusion, everybody wins.  Peaceful coexistence is an old term and carries some baggage, but the concept is worthy of consideration.  We in this country have some very real differences; we also have much in common and much at stake. We have much to gain by learning to come to grips with our differences and working together peacefully. Regardless of the outcome of this hard-fought campaign, I pledge to do so.  And I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.  SC

God’s purpose for mankind, according to God’s word

²⁴ And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them. Genesis 1

⁸ Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹ TheLord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Genesis 2

The balmy fall afternoon was almost summer-like, and between the sounds of children at play, frogs sang from the creek bank and a pair of mourning doves cooed a melancholy refrain in the distance.

A wet weather stream meanders through the middle, and here and there Spruce trees pierce the dense canopy of briars, competing for the sunshine and littering the ravine floor with a luxurious carpet of dry needles.  Several of the evergreens sport tree-forts assembled from lumber the children have salvaged from the wreckage of an abandoned barn.  A network of paths and tunnels connect the forts with each other and the outer banks. The balmy fall afternoon was almost summer-like, and between the sounds of children at play, frogs sang from the creek bank and a pair of mourning doves cooed a melancholy refrain in the distance.  A well-traveled trail formed several switchbacks during its’ decent down the steep bank and ended abruptly at a small clearing just inside the thicket. From this point on, the four of us would have to crawl on our hands and knees.  Earlier in the season, our efforts might have been rewarded with a bounty of juicy blackberries.  The berries were long gone, but the sharp thorns remained, camouflaged by the thick purple foliage of an extended Indian summer.  Despite our best efforts, the thorns snatched at our clothes, and periodically resulted in a “youch!” and a grimace, as a determined thorn found it’s mark and pierced somebody’s hide.   OBIE’S QUEST, SC      

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,

1“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Mathew 7

13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Mathew 7

24The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is^e to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”   Mark 10

21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” Mathew 7

8He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

GOD

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent and praiseworthy, think about such things.”