Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Shootin' The Bull


The President of the United States - yes, the real deal! - came to Illinois on his 3-day bus tour of the Midwest.  Somehow my invitation must have been lost in the mail, so I had to watch on TV.  Thank goodness for live coverage, or I would have missed his blooper on the name of his hosts.  He said he'd like to thank the "Waffles" family.   Immediately about 20 people called out the correct pronunciation of the name, Wyffels, with a short "i" sound as in "wit" or (dare I say it?) "wisdom".  The President laughed, said he hadn't had lunch yet, and segued right into his speech without missing a beat.

Somehow instead of sounding lame the gaffe was oddly reassuring.  Career politicians the world over come out occasionally to shake hands and give speeches, sort of like Punxsutawney Phil.  Then they go back to wherever they came from and the rest of us can get back to living.  As the witty and wise Will Rogers said, "Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."

Now back to our regularly scheduled photos.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

One For The Road


One more shot from the gorgeous West, new home of my heart, as my body settles back into orderly cultivated Midwestern patterns.  Not that I'm trashing the Midwest, under-appreciated breadbasket to the world and bastion of honest work in a 'Me' society.  But . . . oh, the spare, tough beauty of sage . . . .

Sturdy Shelter