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Posted by Deggesty on Saturday, May 17, 2014 10:34 AM

And, sometimes the mule is smarter than the driver. Fifty-five years ago, I was at a country church, talking with one of the older members. He told me of an event that took place when the centennial of the church was celebrated, fifty-six years earlier.

When people were leaving for their homes, one mule did not want to leave. So the owner built a fire under the mule to get him started; the mule started, and stopped when he was safely away from the fire--but the wagon was right over the fire; by then, the fire was burning so well that it caught the wagon on fire and, before anybody could take action, the wagon was burned up.

I understand that if you are buying a mule from someone you do not know well you should look for fire marks on the mule's underside.

Johnny

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Posted by Paul_D_North_Jr on Saturday, May 17, 2014 9:02 AM

As an old Tennessean friend used to tell me: "First, you gotta be smarter than the mule . . . ".  Smile, Wink & Grin  (R.I.P., Wally Vance). 

Mischief  Interesting how the woman was treating the prospector in much the same way as she was reprimanding him for treating the mule !

- Paul North. 

"This Fascinating Railroad Business" (title of 1943 book by Robert Selph Henry of the AAR)
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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Friday, May 16, 2014 1:20 PM

A woman from the ASPCA sees on old prospector trying to get his mule to move.  He is whipping the poor animal, kicking it, jerking it by the bridle and cussin' up a storm.  But, the mule is just not budging, so he kicks it some more and is beating on it with his fists.

The woman can't stand it, so she goes over and grabs the man by the collar and turns him away from the poor mule.  "How dare you treat this beast of burden in such a way!  It is just a poor animal and you have no right to be abusing it thusly!" she shouts at him.

The man is totally taken aback, and just stands there in shock as she berates him and his behavior.

"You should treat this animal with kindness and with calm demeanor.  You should not be shouting at it like this.  You should only need to ask it to do what you want, not beat it so."

She apparently has an affect on him and he begins to scrape his foot on the ground, hanging his head in shame and nods in agreement as she continues to rail at him.

When she finally stops to catch her breath, he stammers out, "Yes, you are right; Bessy and I have been partners for many years and I have not been treating her right.  I have been cruel to her.  I vow, here and now, to begin to treat her right.  I am ashamed of my actions and I will, from now on, only ask her to do what I need!"

The woman smiles at him and says she is proud that he has had a change of heart.

The old prospector then turns back to his mule, picks up a 2x4 board and wallops it over the head, breaking the 2x4 in two.

The woman is aghast! "How dare you?  You said you were going to be kind to your mule and treat her well."

The old prospector says, "Yes, I will... I was just getting her attention so I could ask her to get off my foot!"

 

Semper Vaporo

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Posted by dmoore74 on Monday, March 31, 2014 3:30 PM

Healthy Eating

A Doctor who was addressing a large audience said "The material we put into our stomach is enough to have killed most of us sitting here years ago.

"Red meat is awful.  Soft drinks corrode your stomach lining.  Chinese food is loaded with MSG.  High fat diets can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long-term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water.  But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have, or will, eat it.  Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"


After several seconds of quiet, a 75-year-old man in the front row raised his hand, and softly said, "Wedding Cake."

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Posted by wanswheel on Saturday, March 29, 2014 12:28 PM
Johnny, it’s tube bad your train arrived in standard fashion. - Mike http://www.britishpathe.com/video/washington-train-smash-aka-u-s-train-wreck/query/USA+train+washington
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Posted by Deggesty on Saturday, March 29, 2014 9:00 AM

Back in 1968, I thought I was going to ride this train from Baltimore to Washington; imagine my dismay when only "standard" cars were on the train when it arrived in Baltimore.

Johnny

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Posted by wanswheel on Saturday, March 29, 2014 2:36 AM
I was drafted, then swore an oath at Fort Hamilton, then boarded a train at Penn Station. http://www.britishpathe.com/video/news-from-usa-tubular-train/query/USA+train
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Posted by Paul of Covington on Monday, March 10, 2014 10:33 AM

matthewsaggie

I was not drafted but still have my draft card. I was 1A, but lucky. Never even applied for a deferment. Who out there still has their pre-volunteer army draft card?

   Don't have the card but I still remember my draft card number as well as my army serial number.

_____________ 

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Posted by tree68 on Sunday, March 9, 2014 10:42 PM

matthewsaggie

I was not drafted but still have my draft card. I was 1A, but lucky. Never even applied for a deferment. Who out there still has their pre-volunteer army draft card?

I enlisted in the Air Force in 1968 and entered active service while I was still 17.  Unlike most guys of my generation, I never had a draft card - I never had to register.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by Phoebe Vet on Sunday, March 9, 2014 8:34 PM

matthewsaggie

I was not drafted but still have my draft card. I was 1A, but lucky. Never even applied for a deferment. Who out there still has their pre-volunteer army draft card?

I was not drafted, either.  Like both of my younger brothers, I volunteered.  I don't have my draft card, but I still have my DD214.

Dave

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Posted by matthewsaggie on Sunday, March 9, 2014 7:38 PM

I was not drafted but still have my draft card. I was 1A, but lucky. Never even applied for a deferment. Who out there still has their pre-volunteer army draft card?

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Posted by Phoebe Vet on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 12:09 PM

In my age group, almost every male served in the armed forces.  People your age did not.  The DD214 is the declaration that you are separated from active service even though you may not actually be discharged.

The DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty.

Dave

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 12:04 PM

Phoebe Vet

narig01
Let me retry the above

From the bottom if my DD 214. " Do not abrev. "

Rgds IGN

A quick question:

How many of our younger members, born after 1960, don't know what a DD214 is?

   According to the description given, I'm not one of the younger members, having been born during 1960.... I do not know what a DD214 is.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Phoebe Vet on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 12:01 PM

narig01
Let me retry the above

From the bottom if my DD 214. " Do not abrev. "

Rgds IGN

A quick question:

How many of our younger members, born after 1960, don't know what a DD214 is?

Dave

Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow

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Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 11:07 AM

The government has reduced paper consumption--from its stock. Except for my 1040ES, I have to provide all the paper for both IRS and state income tax returns. And, I have to provide the paper for the estimated tax this year, since someone does not understand that when a man has reported that his wife  has died he is to receive the form--and the form for this year was addressed to my wife, who died almost two years ago. I even had a copy of the death certificate sent to these people last year.

Let us laugh at the inefficiencies of government.

Johnny

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Posted by Overmod on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 10:48 AM

narig01
From the bottom of my DD 214. " Do not abbrev. "

As an interesting note:  The I-9 form, one of the most important of the Government forms concerning employment, recently had the number of pages increase.

The reason for the increase is the inclusion of a mandated reference to a Government paperwork-reduction program. 

If you don't believe me, download the .pdf from USCIS and see...

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 10:01 AM

ACY
The preacher was encouraging the flock to exceed last year's donations for the building fund. He said, "Mr. and Mrs. Simpkins increased their donation compared with last year's. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkerson upped theirs. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey upped theirs. So up yours!"

    Where my wife was a church secretary, the minister would have a yearly sermon about why it was important to increase giving, in order  to cover all the costs involved in a running a church.  Each year, at the end of his sermon, a well known member- who thought  quite highly of himself and his image- would leap up, and enthusiastically proclaim that he would double his pledge from the year before.  The congregation always applauded him.  Those that new the reality- that he gave ZERO each and every year did not.

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Posted by narig01 on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 8:48 AM
Let me retry the above

From the bottom if my DD 214. " Do not abrev. "

Rgds IGN
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Posted by narig01 on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 8:47 AM
From the bottom of my DD214. " Do not abbreviate."

Rgds IGN
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Posted by ACY Tom on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 10:40 PM
The preacher was encouraging the flock to exceed last year's donations for the building fund. He said, "Mr. and Mrs. Simpkins increased their donation compared with last year's. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkerson upped theirs. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey upped theirs. So up yours!"
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Posted by Murphy Siding on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 4:42 PM

       In church Sunday, our priest was talking about the annual parish fundraising appeal.  He said that this year's goal was 100% participation- from everyone!  I thought "Surely, you can't be serious" about using a phrase like that.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by ACY Tom on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 3:49 PM
I think I have to take a break. My head is full.
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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 2:04 PM

Overmod

tree68

ACY
Gardendance: Many years ago, in a previous job, one of my duties was to proofread and edit documents. Over my desk hung a sign that said: ABSOLUTELY NO Redundancy, Unnecessary Repetition, Superfluity, or Extraneous Reiteration! NEVER NEVER NEVER!

You didn't work in the Department of Redundancy Department, did you?

There is no 'Department of Redundancy' Department any more.  As with the other areas upon which the beneficial halo effect of political correctness has descended.  It's conducive to poor self-image and perception of worth to use the word 'redundant', with its connotations of unnecessary duplication.

It is now the department of robust operational response realization in operational contexts response department.  We champion the engineer's concept of redundancy -- a safeguard and an assurance, not the semantic equivalent of sesquipedalian obfuscation (q.v.)

 

Uh....  Ummmm.... Yeah, what he said!

 

Semper Vaporo

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Posted by Overmod on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 1:44 PM

tree68

ACY
Gardendance: Many years ago, in a previous job, one of my duties was to proofread and edit documents. Over my desk hung a sign that said: ABSOLUTELY NO Redundancy, Unnecessary Repetition, Superfluity, or Extraneous Reiteration! NEVER NEVER NEVER!

You didn't work in the Department of Redundancy Department, did you?

There is no 'Department of Redundancy' Department any more.  As with the other areas upon which the beneficial halo effect of political correctness has descended.  It's conducive to poor self-image and perception of worth to use the word 'redundant', with its connotations of unnecessary duplication.

It is now the department of robust operational response realization in operational contexts response department.  We champion the engineer's concept of redundancy -- a safeguard and an assurance, not the semantic equivalent of sesquipedalian obfuscation (q.v.)

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Posted by ACY Tom on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 1:31 PM
Tree: Many, many, many times.
Tags: And often.
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Posted by tree68 on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 1:24 PM

ACY
Gardendance: Many years ago, in a previous job, one of my duties was to proofread and edit documents. Over my desk hung a sign that said: ABSOLUTELY NO Redundancy, Unnecessary Repetition, Superfluity, or Extraneous Reiteration! NEVER NEVER NEVER!

You didn't work in the Department of Redundancy Department, did you?

LarryWhistling
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Posted by ACY Tom on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 12:02 PM
Gardendance: Many years ago, in a previous job, one of my duties was to proofread and edit documents. Over my desk hung a sign that said: ABSOLUTELY NO Redundancy, Unnecessary Repetition, Superfluity, or Extraneous Reiteration! NEVER NEVER NEVER!
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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 12:01 PM

And the corollary: when you offer an opinion, you are not humble.

Johnny

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Posted by tree68 on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 10:43 AM

Humility is a fleeting thing.  The moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date
Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

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Posted by Overmod on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 10:42 AM

gardendance

Where's your mother?
She ain't home.
Where's your grammar?
She ain't home neither.

1. Always Avoid Alliteration. Always. ...

#27.  Eschew sesquipedalian obfuscation.

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