What's Up Melton?

(Photo credit: Anonymous Christian Artist)  At times, I want to get away with God, to feel that my undivided attention is directed only upon Him, and His on me. Do you know what I mean? However, my world also surrounds me - demanding my undivided attention. I have to resist! My feelings of steadiness and security in my daily life also requires this private time with my Lord! My prayer shawl (tallit) allows me to feel I am wrapped in His loving arms. In ancient times, God's people sought means to be wrapped in the presence of God every day of their lives. In Scripture... (Numbers 15:38-40) God gave the people specific instructions to make tassels (tzitzit) to the corners of their garments to remind them of all the commands of the Lord. I am not Jewish. However, I do enjoy the outward, visible sign of God's love and care, and the manifested presence of His revealed Son and Holy Spirit I feel my tallit allows. I occasionally wear my tallit when I am alone, recognizing it is fille

Most of our adult lives our commitments consume our time. We don't dislike having to be busy and responsible for others. It's what we do! As we age our obligations and priorities change - that's not always a bad thing! If we live long enough it happens! Once retired, our retirement frees up our personal time, so we can pretty much can do whatever we want. If we have a choice, we can fritter our time away doing nothing , or we can do something !  My interests are all over the place -- seldom am I ever bored. Cartooning, creating caricatures for tourists at popular resorts here in the states and abroad, in the past, and music appreciation, church involvement, sailing, photography, creative writing, cooking and flying my drones, as well as, fooling around with my tractor on our property have been my occupation since retiring in my late fifties. In the days and weeks to come, I want to slow down on my writing to spend more of my time editing and producing my videos for my YouT

I'm not a fan of sleeping with a fan -- especially, all night long! My wife is, and that's all I'm going to say about that! Best I don't go there, so I am changing the subject! What about dreams? What are they? Why do we have them? Are dreams real? Let's see, here's what I can report about dreams. "In your dreams!" Now, that's funny! When we dream, we get to act out what we probably wouldn't do in reality. That ca n be fun! In the 19th century, Sigmund Freud pioneered the study of dreams. However, in spite of all the advanced research done with science, through the years, and since then, we still don't know everything about dreams or why we have them.  Here's what I have discovered in my research on the subject of dreams : Typically, we spend about two hours each night dreaming. Our dreams can last anywhere from 5-20 minutes each. Sometimes, it seems, I dream all night long. Other times, I may not dream at all. I don't always rememb

What is Bipolar Express ? Why did I choose to title this message "Bipolar Express?" For those that have symptoms of, or who are already suffering from the disorder known as; being bipolar --  having one's doctor accurately diagnose this medical condition as soon as possible is very important!  I want to help everyone who might be suffering from the extreme highs and lows of these mood swings by providing some direction to reliable resources. Not everyone knows whether they have symptoms of bipolar, or what they should do about them. Hopefully, my information will help someone. 1. Feeling sad, empty or hopeless most of the day. every day can be a symptom of bipolar. 2. Trouble sleeping at night and staying awake all day can be a symptom. 3. Often feeling worthless or guilty all the time is not normal, may be a symptom of bipolar. 4. Work, family and/or social life is suffering. 5. At times, feeling very euphoric, revved up, and/or irritable. Dopamine: Science has shown th

"We need Life Flight!" Desperate words when lives are in serious danger! It happens, all too often, especially in bad weather, traffic accidents or when a family member suffers a stroke or has seriously injured themselves. Memorial Hermann Life Flight is based in Houston, Texas and provides critical care medical air transport services within 150-mile radius of the Texas Medical Center located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1976 by James "Red" Duke, MD the service operates around the clock - weather permitting - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Life Flight is able to transport up to two patients at a time, with each flight staffed by highly skilled personnel and equipped with advanced emergency equipment and necessary medications. There is so much more to know about Memorial Hermann Life Flight you will enjoy visiting their web page which I provide here. ( My accurate source of this important information and yours.) https://memorialhermann.org/services/specialties/tr

Someone says: "You sound like a screech owl when you sing!" And then, they follow up with "I'm just kidding!" Or a spouse says, "Maybe you need to stay away from the donuts! I'm just kidding. " Hurtful words spoken, and then followed up with an excuse of they are only joking, can still be very hurtful! Are they really joking, or do they actually intend to insult us by making what they think is a harmless insinuation? How are we to take them? We may not know for sure! Their words can still hurt! I might ask that person: "Do you really mean to hurt me with those words? If so, you have!" Hate speech is NOT always as described:  Hate speech is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thought to include communications of animosity or disparagement of an

  How can I describe this snapshot of our Texas-Mexico border, taken on a trip we made to our Texas Big Bend country, other than spectacular ! We were driving Texas' state road 170 heading to Presidio from Terlingua. We were a little spooked since we were the only vehicle on the road. Along this section of the road, we didn't pass any other cars or trucks. I must say, this desolate part of Texas is just as rugged as it is beautiful! Every curvy turn of this lonely highway presented yet another picture postcard panorama. It would be hard to believe anyone would risk their life crossing such treacherous terrain, but I imagine some have, at one time or another. In the summer, temperatures go well into the hundreds and the dangers of heat exhaustion and death are very real! Diamond-back rattle snakes and scorpions happily make this desert their home -- we never saw any though. We held our breath while traveling on this deserted, stretch of road, not wanting to think of having any e

Beginning this Sunday, February 13th thru Tuesday 15th yours truly will be taking a short break from my daily stories. I will be involved in SUPER BOWL fun, carrying over thru VALENTINES! I should be back and writing more material on Wednesday, February 16th.  Have a great weekend and a HAPPY VALENTINES all you sweethearts!

                                                          If you have ever been in Wal-Mart or Lowe's, you have likely seen people driving comfortably through the store, riding one of those little battery-operated scooters. They are great if you are a person who has difficulties standing too long or walking around on hard concrete floors carrying a can of paint and your new cordless drill. Seriously, problems with your knees, back or walking can be a strain (comes with age.) Eventually, you might enjoy taking advantage of these one of these nice conveniences provided by many of the larger retailers.  I used to think my ego wouldn't allow me to get on one of those in public! I'm not that handicapped, I would say to myself! Poo! What is my real handicap, sore knees, or a stymied mental attitude about what other people think?  A year ago, I asked my doctor if he could give me a prescription for a scooter. I wanted one of my own. He said, no, not legal unless I was seriously h

Maybe you have been on a commercial flight and overheard your flight crew use some kind of weird "code-talk". They do this when they need to communicate with each other without the passengers knowing what they are talking about. Could be harmless chatter among themselves or it could be something a lot more serious. Here are 10 examples of their interesting "secret code-talk". 1. "Deadhead": A crew member who is traveling as a passenger only - not on duty. 2. "Slam-click": When a crew member stays in their hotel room until it's time to fly. 3. "Code-bravo": Flight crew uses this term to distract passengers while they may be attempting to take care of a serious problem. 4. "Air pocket": A nice way of saying hold on to your drinks, bumpy ride coming up! 5. "The sin bin": Coming into Vegas? No, it's the area your plane is holding in while waiting to takeoff. 6. "Blue-Juice": Tropical drink? Nope! It is

Actually, I’m glad we’re not familiar with the infamous mammoth man-eating croc of Africa’s wetlands locals have named “Gustave”. Estimated to weigh over 2,000 pounds, and said to be around 40 feet long, the monster crocodile has reportedly killed and eaten over 300 people along the banks of Lake Tanganyika in the state of Barundi in Africa. Gustave is too smart to be captured, although many have tried! Well-known herpetologist Patrice Faye has spent many years tracking and studying this beast. He even built a very large steel trap rigged with a live goat for bait and placed along the water’s edge in the attempt to capture Gustave. Faye’s trap failed, the trap being found wrecked, and the poor goat gone! Again, Gustave proved to be too smart for his captors! Gustave has been estimated to be well over 80 years old! He was last spotted in 2009. Reportedly, he was last seen in 2015 dragging an antelope into the murky water, whether this was really Gustave or not, no one knows. Indeed, hi

Recently, I searched for a better poached egg. Good grief, Melton, you might say, how hard can it be to poach an egg? I know, simple! Always, in the past, I boiled water, dropped my egg in the water, waited to see my egg turn white and no longer clear, and it was then done right? Not exactly! It was still a very fluid, a runny mess! Done, but not pretty!  Here’s a little secret I discovered! No big deal, just an easy way to help your egg transform perfectly so you can serve your guests a better poached egg! Easy now! Boil your water in a deep boiler (saucepan). I recommend 3-4 inches and brought to a rapid boil. With a large spoon, stir in a tablespoon of white vinegar. Create a strong swirl in the boiling water before dropping your egg into the water. The swirling water helps to keep the egg together. My egg was deliciously, runny, and done in only 4 minutes! Perfecto-mundo! I placed my better poached egg on a buttered, slice of Jewish Rye bread but suit yourself my friends, y

The Bible describes God’s character as the lion and the lamb. The lion being ferocious, strong, and like a king. The lamb being more docile, peaceful, and not intimidating. God, being seen as a lion is probably what most people prefer to liken to God’s character. Jesus, on the other hand, is endeared to be more like the peaceful lamb. We often think of God having the distinct character of both, the lion , and the lamb. In the Old Testament, God is a roaring lion calling his people from Assyria and Egypt back to Israel. The blood of lambs was sacrificed for the salvation of the Israelites from the wicked rulers in Egypt. Priests of that time would sacrifice lambs for the sins of Israel. In the New Testament, John the Baptist, profoundly declared: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” We can read more in (John 1:29). God is roaring like a lion in the Old Testament. The lion was a metaphor image of the Jewish Messiah. He would come as the conquering king. Not

Here's my story -- brace yourself it's going to get nasty! (A true story) My wife and I were celebrating her birthday. I had chosen a very nice restaurant (not mentioning any name) let's just say it was in Texas to protect the innocent. Reservations were required, well in advance, as this was a very popular eatery! It was crowded that evening, and a long line of hungry patrons waited for their table, each held a little courtesy buzzer that lit up and vibrated when their table was ready. I had reserved a nice table close to a window. We had a great view of the city lights! Our server brought the bottle of wine I had selected for us, it was a nice  before dinner wine -- it was elegant. We were presented our menus' and our choices were difficult as every entree and side-order was so described to entice even the most serious vegan or a less-than-hungry diner. I believe that night, I had chosen Escargots a la Bourguignonne as our appetizer. We both enjoy this very traditi

"Unlimited data!" Hey, I like the sound of that! Since for some reason, in my "Photos" folder on my phone and laptop, I usually have 8 or 9 photos of the same image for some reason, and I keep getting "You are out of storage space!" messages. It's extremely irritating when I read these annoying announcements! I thought the salesperson at the phone store told me I had unlimited data! Come to find out I don't really have unlimited data. "The cloud! The cloud!" friends keep telling me. They tell me to transfer all my stuff to the cloud ! Yeah. yeah. I know! Well, my cloud tells me I need more storage space and for only $12.99 a month, paid annually, I can have actually own real unlimited storage space! Yeah right! I know, friends, no need to explain the technical realities of actual  unlimited data to me. I'm being a little facetious here. It's just that I hate those notices about...well, you know...that warning! I have decided to

                                      Despite unfavorable press regarding our law enforcement and border patrol officers, these dedicated men and women are worthy of our respect. These brave individuals have chosen a mostly thankless occupation, one that is extremely dangerous! They choose to serve us, to help us and to protect us! God bless them because, when we need special assistance, they are there! Here are just a few ways we can show them our simple appreciation and honor them: Show them respect - they deserve it! When close to them, give them a smile and a "thumbs up." Greet them with a "thank you!" Keep in mind they are our defenders and our helpers. Be aware of their personal safety! Our peace officers work in shifts -- they get hungry -- they eat out; buy them a meal. See two or three of them sitting together at a table in a cafe or burger restaurant, anonymously, get their server's attention and offer to pay their tickets. When they go to pay, they w

Typically, when I make chili, it is easy. My ingredients are simple, ground beef, tomatoes, yellow onion, cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin and pinto beans. This past week, however, I was looking for more of a smoky taste, not necessarily hot or spicy, from scratch, and knowing "kind-of" what I was going for. I got all my select ingredients together and made a recipe plan. This chili was going to be something different - more like I might expect to order in a more traditional Mexican restaurant. This was my project for my wife was off doing her own thing. My recipe was going to require a lot more of everything! I was going to need more than my usual skillet, stewpot and a wooden spoon. For sure! For this recipe, I was going to need my blender, two black-iron skillets, a cookie pan, some foil, a sharp butcher knife and a variety of tasty spices typically used in cooking Mexican. I wanted the taste of two different roasted peppers (Poblanos and Anjou) and my choice of beef w

Dixie and I have been together for almost fourteen years – a long time. We got her when she was only eight -weeks old from our local SPCA. My wife and I adopted her and her sister from a litter of six beautiful little pups. Dixie is a mixture of Australian Shepherd and Blue Heeler, two good breeds of dogs known for their herding cattle or sheep skills. These dogs are very intelligent and make wonderful companions. They love the outdoors and enjoy a good romp in the woods with their owners. When my wife and I visited our local SPCA fourteen years ago, to adopt a new puppy to replace our last great dog we had to put down. The kind person at the SPCA put us outside in their yard with six little puppies, all from the same litter. We sat in the grass and got mauled (in a good way) by all these little wannabe foster-companions! “Take me home mommy and daddy!” they all enthusiastically seem to beg. Well, we each picked one, or should I say, these two picked us! We named them Dixie and Chix.

LAMININ. Today, my story is about Laminin, a tiny family of protein cells that is the sticky glue that holds our bodily tissue and microscopic cells all together. God's amazing creation! In our Bible, Colossians 1:17 reads: By Him (Yeshua) all things are held together. I believe it is by no coincidence that under an extremely powerful microscope we can see this little protein cell bears the shape of a cross ! (Graphic representation above.) There's more! I include these links below for my reader's convenience to more explicit information about this little Laminin fact. GOOGLE: "How Great is Our God Laminin Louie Giglio" A video featuring this great work of God! Louie describes our universe, and then, this amazing, tiny protein cell: LAMININ. Truly amazing! You will want to watch this video in its entirety. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+cross+in+our+bodies+by+a+physician+louie+giglio&&view=detail&mid=46E7CD8941087BBD7BA546E7CD8941087BBD7BA5&

We live in the cities, the suburbs, on the farm, and out in the country. We live at home, and some of us live away from home. Some of us are wealthy, and most of us aren’t so much – some of us are just needing the basics of survival. We are still, in my mind, “just plain folks!” Wherever we live, we are “just plain folks.” We go to school, to work wherever we find it, in our homes, our industries, and in all manner of social services. I see people everywhere wanting to have a good life. We all deserve to have a good life – to be happy, healthy, and prosperous. Thank God we live in America where we have the opportunity to achieve that good life if we choose! I believe we are seeing hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of potential leaders who are called to see our great country return to her greatness – to help us achieve that good life we all want. Even now, in 2022, those leaders are stepping out and showing us the great American way. For a time, I was worried our future was i

90,000 people needing to believe in an honest hope for their future amassed in Conroe, Texas today! President Donald J. Trump came to the good people of Texas, and He didn’t leave until later this evening. The Donald Trump Freedom Rally was packed, standing room only, with his faithful supporters and a great number of political, super star guests (whom he introduced individually, and thanked for their service), those who have given the real values and ethics in the past, that have stuck to the bones of real Americans across this great country. Being an American, I am proud of my country, my people! I want to see our great country return to her greatness! Will President Trump run for his deserved office in 2024? I don’t know. But at last, I see a glimmer of hope for our nation, our hard-working families, our neighbors, our businesses, our children, our brave and honorable men and women in blue, and our core values! I believe we will see America great again! Let’s pray for our gre

The day I almost died -- there have been others. I’m not a daredevil, but I have lived dangerously many times in my life. On this one morning, I was going about my business. I was on my way to Lowes in Livingston (Texas) to buy some lumber for a deck I was building at the back of our house. This was the day the railroad commission decided to install crossing bars and warning lights at this dangerous railroad crossing. A very smart move! There had been several tragic accidents in the past at this same crossing. Driving along, I was thinking about my shopping list for our deck. Traffic was moderate, it was early in the morning, but ahead cars were slowing down. There were several orange traffic cones placed alongside the road, just before coming to the crossing. The workmen there had on their bright yellow safety vests and were directing the oncoming cars and trucks. Traffic slowed for the construction. I want to add that one of the reasons this crossing was so dangerous was both sid

  What I’m getting ready to tell you happened to me! Really! It’s a strange little story, but true! During the years of 1958-1962, I served in the United States Air Force. I was stationed in New Jersey and my parents lived in Louisiana. Somewhere around 1959, I got 2-weeks leave to go home and visit my family. I caught a train (people actually traveled by train back then) connected with a Trailways bus (also viable transportation back then that didn’t cost much) and was making my way home. I smoked Marlboro cigarettes at the time, a lot of us young servicemen did back then. It made us feel like cool adults…at 19 appearing cool and grown-up was pretty important! Somewhere along the way, while on the train, I needed a “smoke.” Smoking while in the passenger cars was not permitted. Trains back then had “ smoking-allowed” cars towards the back of the train. Standing between the cars was another option if you wanted to light up a cigarette. Doing so was a bit scary though – it was re

I think sometimes it’s best to put doing somethings off until we have taken the right amount of time to think about what we want to do more thoroughly. Am I lazy? I don’t think so. How many times have we bought something and later wished we hadn’t? How many times have we started a project without thinking about its real cost, only to have serious regrets later? Our answer to these questions is? Most likely, plenty of times! For example, I can get excited about a new accessory for one of my drones and jump on Amazon to order it! It comes next day in the mail (Amazon spoils me like this). However, what I ordered turns out not to be suitable for my particular drone. It happens! I was so excited to buy it I didn’t read the fine print. I send it back! Instructions! Most of us men don’t read them. We already know the thing has screws and widgets! We know a lot about screws and widgets! How hard could it be to throw this thing together? A piece a cake! Wrong, and then the little wifey

A bowl of chili, a warm blanket, and maybe a good movie. That’s how we humans handle our cold weather, but what about alligators? How do they deal with the cold in winter? Alligators must have sunlight to warm them up and increase their metabolism. So, when winter temperatures drop below 40 degrees they slow way down, then go into a hibernation-like state. They “brumate” - go into brumation it is called, where their metabolism slows way down. They become lethargic and drop down to the bottom of the river, lake, or pond. Alligators can hold their breath for up to 24 hours! When it’s that cold they surface just long enough to grab a few deep breaths of air and then settle back on the bottom! That’s crazy! Some alligators dig themselves a nice musty smelling hole just above the water table out of the cold. I’ll bet they doze with one eye open just in case a curious critter or human hand pokes around their winter home’s sleeping quarters! I have seen gators 12-14 feet long on our Lake Livi

                                                  Raw Oysters! Some of us will eat them, most won't. That's okay! Granted, raw oyster consumption is not for everyone. I do enjoy eating them! Years ago, a friend of mine, who lived in Maryland had a home at the shore, on the Chesapeake Bay. One weekend he invited me to go with him to gather some clams and oysters so we could prepare a fresh seafood feast for ourselves and our wives. This turned out to be an exciting adventure I'll never forget. It was late in the afternoon - low tide - and it was chilly. It had been raining. We took his dory (small paddle boat) from the beach, where we dug for our clams to a large oyster bed near the inlet and an estuary. The shallow water now revealed thousands of oysters all clustered and growing on top of each other. We had on heavy rubber boots and waders. We pried them apart or broke them off the reef with long handled hoes designed for such a job. My friend took a special oyster knife f

 Our Allies and Strategic Partners , the Pentagon, and White House officials throw these words out a lot. What do they mean? I have a basic understanding of the words but they sort of have the same meaning don't they? They do! When we hear our Defense Department officials use these words, they are very careful about how they use them. How so? In the world of international relations, they have two different meanings. Alliances Where we have alliances, we have formal agreements with other countries. Agreements in national defense that other countries promise they will support each other, especially during a war. The U.S. is in alliance with NATO -- the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NORAD -- the North American Aerospace Defense Command (with Canada), ANZUS -- Australia, New Zealand and U.S. Security Treaty, and the Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship -- Which is America's oldest unbroken treaty. Documents that make alliances official are treaties, aka "treaty ally.&

"We have no hot water!" I yelled through the house from our shower. I had turned on the faucet in the shower about midway and waited for my water to heat up. I continued to wait...and wait...and nothing! No hot water! Well, Sally hadn't been running the dishwasher or the washing machine, so what happened? I diagnosed a heating element must have gone bad. They do when you have hard water and lime deposits short these heating rods. I went to Lowe's, bought two new elements and the little tool to install them and got back home ready to solve my no hot water problem. That was not the problem! The real problem was water in the trip pan beneath the water heater had entered the bottom of the heater itself and eventually over the past five years slowly saturated the internal insulation, which caused rust to get to everything inside the water heater. The electrical connections, the elements and the tank itself - all eaten up with rust! It was the weekend and no one to call. At

Ever since I was a kid, I have wanted to fly. Being able to spread my wings and soar up there with the eagles and blue jays. Wow, that would be cool I thought! My dad was always working on Saturdays, that freed me up to use his tools, our empty single car garage, and my mom would allow me to convince her I could do anything, any brilliant, imaginative five-year old boy could do. She would just say, "Okay honey be careful!" I would assure her I had everything under control! One day I decided to build my own airplane. I employed my two-year old little brother to help me. We got very busy. I found an empty wooden peach crate, a mop handle from the pantry, a couple old boards and some cardboard, and that's all we needed to build our airplane. I found a rope - probably had something to do with a clothesline. I theorized I could wrap the rope around my propellor shaft, pull it real fast and the prop would spin. All we had to do next was pull it up into the big oak tree in the f

Back in the late 70's, I was in New York on business. My employer, back in North Carolina, kept an apartment in the city on Central Park west and 58th St. In the evenings, I would take in some of the popular theaters, pubs and small neighborhood pizza shops, and found my way into a few of the more popular night clubs. New York, New York! What a city! So much to do all hours of the day and night! One evening, I caught a cab, and had my driver drop me off at the famous "Birdland Jazz Club" on W 44th St. All the best jazz men and women played at Birdland's, at one time or another - great jazz! The club is not all that big, so it was usually crowded. The night I was there I was lucky I saw one empty stool at the bar and quickly plopped down on it. I asked the two black guys sitting next to me if my stool was saved for anyone, the blind guy next to me said no. We started a small conversation about Birdland and all that Jazz! My new black friend then asked me what my drink

I am not a doctor. I make no claim to know what causes night terrors, or why we have bad dreams. I am only sharing from my own personal experience, and what disturbs my sleep at night. Maybe you have had trouble yourself falling asleep in the evening, or you wake up at 2 in the morning, worrying about this and that! If so, you are not alone! It is not uncommon for many of us to have our worries or fears when we could be sleeping. It happens! We are vulnerable late at night. At this time, everyone else is sleeping -- we haven't settled our concerns about what went on during our day. There is no one to talk to at that hour, or those who we could talk to have business hours only during daylight hours. They are not available when we need them! Sound familiar? I have laid awake for hours worrying about how my doctor's nurse left me a message to call her back and I forgot! It's Friday night, and I broke a crown eating potato chips! I can't go to church Sunday with a broken f

                                         We all need prayer. At times, we pray for ourselves, our family, our friends, for our country. And sometimes, we ask for prayer for ourselves. Prayer is powerful! Long before we need prayer, we have someone who is praying for us. His name is Jesus ,  he prays because he loves us! Oh,  how He loves us! He is the son of almighty God, the morning star, bread of life, prince of peace, lord of lords, alpha and omega, living water, savior, redeemer…and still , he prays  you , and me! Thank you, Jesus . Here is how Jesus prays to his Holy Father for you and for me from (John 17:20-26).  “My prayer is not for them alone, I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you have given me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. M

Have you ever been to a theme park or a county fair and watched an artist sketching funny or exaggerated cartoons of people?  That's a "caricature". Some caricatures are really distorted on purpose to bring special recognition to whatever it is that helps you know who the subject is. Will Smith and Michael Jackson (shown above) are easily recognized here. The artist shown is using a charcoal pencil, but many use a black marker. Caricatures can insult or compliment, some are political, most are for entertainment only. Caricatures are not portraits. They are typically created fast, on the spot, others are drawn in the artist's studio in color or black and white but drawn in a lot more detail. A simple caricature may be of one subject or combine others. Caricatures of kids and pets are very popular too. Prices can vary from less than twenty-five dollars for a black and white to hundreds of dollars for full color and depend on their complexity and the customer's ulti

  Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler! In other words, “Let the good times roll!” Mardi Gras is just around the corner, and Mardi Gras is about letting go of the not-so-good times and having yourself a whole lot of fun! This year, Tuesday, March 1, 2022, Mardi Gras in New Orleans returns after another year of the pandemic. Mayor LaToya Cantrell has told New Orleans Mardi Gras will return to the city in 2022. However, there are changes, mostly in altered routes of the famous parade through the city. Interested in going? Check with event planners. Thanks to French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville, it is believed Mardi Gras began March 3, 1699 when he camped just downriver from what is now New Orleans. Back in France, it was Fat Tuesday. Pierre named the camping spot Point du Mardi Gras and held a party there! I suppose he likely toasted to the event exclaiming “Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!” I don’t know this for a fact but I’m going to go with it! A few years later, a group

                                        I am not Jewish, but I sure do love  Lox and Bagels ! Have you ever enjoyed this delicious, Yiddish inspired sandwich? No? Okay, first of all, you need a good bagel. Bagel? Most people know what a bagel is. Not many have enjoyed their bagel with the Lox, or as translated from   the Yiddesh word " laks ." Here's a little other knowledge to familiarize my readers with what I'm talking about. Lox or laks, is thinly sliced salmon fillet, cured in a salty brine. The processing method began in Scandinavia. Interesting to know, native Americans smoked and dried their salmon for consumption later. Around 1869, that transcontinental railroad carried barrels of salted Pacific salmon to the east coast, New York in particular, where immigrant European Jewish immigrants were already familiar with smoked, dried fish. Now, bagels appeared in Italy around the fourteenth century. Capers came from Italy, and cream cheese came from Britain. When

"Melton, come quick, a little bird is trapped on our porch, and she's trying to get out!" My wife yells. This happens a lot when we leave the screen door open. You've probably had this happen at your house too. Most of the time, these trapped, little birds are what are known as: Troglodytes Aedon's  or Texas House Wrens - A familiar backyard bird that tends to want to nest around human homes. They are very inquisitive, like to bounce around a lot and chirp consistently, like little cheerleaders.  House wrens prefer the open woods, gardens and thickets of underbrush. In the winter, they can be found in dense wooded areas; sometimes they nest alongside stream beds. Male birds defend their nesting territories by loud, quick chirping. Both parents take on the chore of hunting for food and for feeding their little ones. Their favorite foods include millipedes, grasshoppers, snails, spiders and crickets. Thank goodness, I can use all the help I can get eradicating these

                                              Founded by Spaniards in 1779 on the banks of the Bayou Teche, New Iberia eventually became home to French settlers known as Acadians, who had been driven from Nova Scotia by British troops. The Acadians, who in their new home became known as Cajuns. When my dad, who worked for an oil company, got transferred to New Iberia from Houston, we had to move from the big city to this small country town in south Louisiana. A culture shock for me! I was 15 years old back then and had to leave all my friends back home in Houston. I eventually, made new ones in my new "hometown." It was tough! However, I wound up loving New Iberia and all my new Cajun friends. My mother was a nurse; she found work with the Jefferson Island Salt Co. on nearby Avery Island - it was one of the biggest employers in the area at the time. How do you get to New Iberia? Google Maps will get you there from wherever you live. And, you really do need to get away to New