Neanderpundit

That people who have arrived at their ignorance bereft of any path involving reason, cannot be reasoned out of it, it’s all feeling and contains nothing of actual substance.

it has been my conclusion that those incapable of reason are either genetically flawed or were damaged. Nature or nurture, take your pick- but the bottomline is they have no business making any decision more complex than what asswipe to use. And that only for theirselves, not me.

I have, because of my feelings on this specific subject, been accused of things like ‘Dehumanizing my enemies making it easier to destroy them”, but this is of course not the case. I simply render my trust to those who are trustworthy. Painfully this throws politicians out, in the main, but if you look around you, it’s also about 4 out of 7 people you know, and that may be generous.

I have, on multiple occasions, set out to do something, as Llewelyn Moss said, “Dumber’n hell”. Nearly every time I do this, and I cannot discuss particulars, I have been given sharp, pointed reminders by the Creator that those things were things I ought to avoid.

Occasionally, I do that dumbern’ hell thing, and I pull it off, and the results astound me- as if the Creator himself were guiding my hands.

There is a clear direction in this, and while I know that it is right, it frightens the beejus out of me.

but I can be startled. Twice Saturday I scared up snakes- the first time I walked back to the Cushman and there was one laying right where I had been laying. At this point I was wearing Crocs and since I nearly stepped on the bastard I treated partner to a couple of steps of the traditional dance of my peoples. The second time we were putting some spare dirt on a hole where a stump is rotting, and a snake [popped out of there. I would have never done a thing except he turned and threatened me, and I decided, small though he was, he had crossed over the “live and let live” line. Both were thamnopis in nature, common as dirt and they swarm on my yard at certain times of the year.

I am at this point moved to share with you some wisdom from Josh Billings, from “the complete works”

STRIPED SNAKE.

The striped snake iz one ov the slipperyest jobs that natur ever turned loose.

They travel on the lower side ov themselfs, and kan slip out ov sight like blowing out a kandle. They were made for sum good purpose, but i never hav bin informed for what, unless it waz tew hav their heds smashed.

They are sed tew be innocent, but they hav got a bad reputashun, and all the innocence in the world won’t kure a bad reputashun.

They liv in the grass but seldom git stept on, bekauze they don’t stay long enuff in the right place.
p. 130
When i waz a little boy, and wore naked feet, and waz loafing around loose for strawberrys, i waz often times just a going tew step on a striped snaik, but it alwus cured me ov strawberrys.

If a striped snaik got into a 10-aker lot before i did, i alwus konsidered that all the strawberrys in that lot belonged tew the snaik.

“Fust cum, fust sarve,” was mi motto.

I am just az fraid ov snaiks now az i waz 40 years ago, and if i should liv tew be az old az Nebudkennezer waz, and go tew grass as he did, one striped snaik would spile 50 akers ov good pasture for me.

Wimmin don’t luv snaiks enny more than i do, and i respekt her for this.

How on earth Eve waz seduced by a snaik, iz a fust class mistery tew me, and if i hadn’t read it in the bible, i would bet aginst it.

I beleave everything thare iz in the bible, the things i kant understand, I beleave the most.

I wouldn’t swop oph the phaith i hav got for any living man’s knoweledge.

Snaiks are all sorts, and all sizes, and the smaller they are, the more i am afrade ov them.

I wouldn’t buy a farm at haff price that had a striped snaik on it.

Ded snaik are a weakness with me; i always respekt them, and whenever i see a ded one in the road, i dont drop a tear on him, but i drop another stone on him, for fear he might alter his mind and cum tew life agin, for a snaik hates tew die just az much az a kat duz.

I never could ackount for a snaik or a kat hateing tew die so bad, unless it waz bekauze they waz so poorly prepared for deth

All of the projects and other things that have reared their ugly heads have temprarily stalled, so I was able to take the time to reassemble the Cushman. The engine had been “Almost” for some time now, and between friday and saturday Partner and I managed to get it back together. With the plug inserts properly installed and the compression more balanced it runs like a scalded dog. Need to do some brake work to it, and get a few more hours on it, then do an oilchange and maybe some new tires