Good Friday morning. I hope this is the end of a good, productive week for everyone. Mine has been anything but. Too many appointments taking me away from my writing this week, but I did get a little bit done yesterday on the third book in the Seasons Mystery Series. If I dedicate most of my writing time next week to that book, I may have it finished. Wish me luck.
IN THE NEWS: Thursday morning, House Democrats had their first high-profile hearing since Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the beginning of a formal impeachment inquiry, as the House Intelligence Committee grilled Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire for his handling of the whistleblower complaint regarding Trump’s quid pro quo.
The whistleblower complaint was unclassified and publicly released, providing critical context for Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president and Rudy Giuliani’s role in the scandal, as well as damning new details of a potential White House cover-up. (You can read the full complaint here.)
Thursday afternoon, the New York Times reported new details on the whistleblower’s identity, even as Trump issued threats to retaliate against those involved in the scandal. Enough Representatives have come out in favor of an impeachment inquiry that a majority of the House of Representatives now supports the inquiry.
FRIDAY FUN: First a couple of jokes from The Laugh Factory:
My friend thinks he is smart. He told me an onion is the only food that makes you cry, so I threw a coconut at his face.
Q: Is Google male or female?
A: Female, because it doesn’t let you finish a sentence before making a suggestion.
Now another post from Slim Randles. This is one he sent me in August that I didn’t use for the Wednesday’s Guest slot because I had authors as guests. Enjoy…
Delbert McLain dropped in at the Mule Barn yesterday for a quick cup. He was wearing his usual suit and tie, despite the heat. Usually Delbert does his coffee drinking and socializing out at the country club where the business guys go. We’ve been there, and the chairs don’t fit as well.
For the past ten years now, Delbert has run the local Chamber of Commerce. The capital letters are on purpose, because that’s how important it is to Delbert. We all have to admit he was a good choice. His job is to promote our town and the surrounding area, which he does by prowling through the town – his ample belly flying under a full spinnaker -looking for out-of-state plates on the cars during tourist season, and then convincing the visitors they should 1. live here forever, 2. hire locals to build them a huge house, and 3. start a business that will hire as many of us as they can stand.
According to Delbert, several things are certain about our area here: it’s the only place in the world that will grow, our water is so good we don’t need dentists except during our tourist season, the deer in the surrounding hills are easy to hunt and are the size of horses, the fish in Lewis Creek are so big children are afraid to swim there, and our average life expectancy is right around 104.
“Boys,” Delbert said with his constant grin, “it’s looking like a good season. I can’t tell all the details now, but it looks like we may be getting three factories and you know how many houses they’ll have to build out on the flats to hold all the employees.”
“Delbert,” said Doc, “you know they shouldn’t build out on the flats. That thing floods out about every six years.”
Delbert saddened there for just a minute as he stirred his coffee, then the sales gleam relit the surface of his face.
“That’s it!” he yelled. “We can call it ‘seasonal waterfront!’”
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Brought to you by Merrick Pet Care in Hereford, Texas. “We know it’s not just food in that bowl, it’s love. And that’s why it has to be the best.”
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Check out all of Slim’s award-winning books at www.slimrandles.com, and in better bookstores and bunkhouses throughout the free world.
All of the posts here are from his syndicated column, Home Country, that is read in hundreds of newspapers across the country. I am always happy to have him share his wit and wisdom here.
That’s all for me folks, I do hope you have a great weekend. Any plans? I’ll be home doing some writing on Saturday, then quilting on Sunday. Whatever your plans are, be happy, be safe.