I may not look as good as I was 30 or 40 years ago But I'd have to be 30 or 40 years younger for me to feel any better than I do MOST days now. I still feel that I could keep up with a lot of the younger guys and even pass some of them.
I truly thank God every day for that. He has blessed me in SO many ways that I couldn't begin to count them all.

My brother in law, Kenneth Pounds, who was a University of Texas graduate from Decatur, Wise Country, Texas, related this story to me. He said there happened to be a farm family there in Wise Country that loved okra. In fact, they loved it to the point they decided to go into the business of growing and selling okra to the local groceries and open-air markets in the area.

To implement their plan and have to an adequate supply of fresh okra, they decided to plant about five or more acres of okra. Everything went well and they got a good crop started. And at the beginning there was a ready acceptance of their fresh okra early in the season. They were correct in assuming other families would also enjoy having this garden-fresh item.

Well, it was not long after they had begun this wholesale operation it became obvious, they had created a problem. If anyone has never grown okra, they may not realize that once it has started growing, the farmer must harvest the okra pods every day, and five acres of okra requires a large work force to just keep up with the rapid growth, not allowing all the pods to reach a stage where they are no longer tender and marketable.

It was not long before the family realized they had a monster crop. They were unable to harvest all the okra pods produced in a timely manner. However, not everything was alarmed! The local birds were delighted with this bonanza. As the larger, tough, and un-marketable okra pods burst open and spilled their seed on the ground, more and more birds would visit daily for a feast.

Now, if that had been the end no one would have noticed. However, the law of unintended consequences had kicked in. Not all the seeds ingested by the avian horde were digested, unfortunately. So, there were seeds of okra scattered all over Wise County and probably even beyond. In every flower bed, garden, even on the Wise Country Court House lawn and flower beds came up volunteer okra plants the next spring! In fact, all over Wise County these okra seed had found a home in the fertile soil and thus arose volunteer okra plants, whether they were welcomed or not! There was a wave of revulsion, city folk were disgusted and irritated at this phenomenon that occurred.

This farm family became infamous having made themselves a hiss and byword in the community for their good intentions which had backfired! So, not only does the world have the saying, “Eighter from Decatur, Country seat of Wise!” but for the local folks there was the okra epidemic! Just Sayin…RJS

Andy Rooney said this about women over 60: "As I grow in age, I value women over 60 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 60 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, 'What are you thinking?' She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 60 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She goes and does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting.

Women over 60 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you...if they think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 60.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 60 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk of if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 60 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. Ladies, I apologize."

Andy Rooney was a really smart guy!

And, an ADDENDUM for the 'rest of us' over 60.

Q: Where can men over the age of 60 find younger women who are interested in them?
A: Try a bookstore...under 'fiction'.
Q: What can a man do while his wife is going through menopause?
A: Keep busy. If you're handy with tools, you can finish the basement. When you're done, you'll have a place to live.
Q: How can you increase the heart rate of your 60+year old husband?
A: Tell him you're pregnant.
Q: How can you avoid that terrible curse of the elderly wrinkles?
A: Take off your glasses.
Q: Why should 60+year old people use valet parking?
A: Valets don't forget where they park your car.
Q: Is it common for 60+year old people to have problems with short term memory storage?
A: Storing memory is not a problem...retrieving it is the problem.
Q: As people age, do they sleep more soundly?
A: Yes, but usually in the afternoon.
Q: Where should 60+year old people look for eye glasses?
A: On their foreheads.
Q: Leading cause of diminished sex drive among senior citizens?
A: Nudity.
Q: What is the most common remark made by 60+year old people entering antique stores?
A: Gosh, I remember these!

The next time you are washing your hands and complaining because the water temperature isn't just the way you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good in June. Thus, the trend of being a June bride. However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor, hence, the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children, and last of all, the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs, thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs." There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, 'dirt poor'. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a 'threshold'.

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence, the rhyme: "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old." Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could 'bring home the bacon'. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and 'chew the fat'.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the 'upper crust'.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road could take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up, hence the custom of holding a 'wake'.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So, they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When re-opening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside. They realized they had been burying people alive, so they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground. They would tie it to a bell. Then, someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell. Thus, someone could be 'saved by the bell' or was considered a 'dead ringer'.

This article was written by an elderly man for a publication found in a local nursing home, 'Seniorific News'.

I worked in the Maine area for most af one year. Got quite accustomed to their lobster if you know what I mean. A great guy & good friend from up there who has now passed on taught me daily about lobster. I got so I could tell You if I was eating a male or female lobster I ate so many. I now have lobsters overnighted to me three or four times a year for special occasions. Really cant take the taste of any other lobsters but the upper Atlantic Lobsters -Massachusetts, Maine, up into Eastern Canada. They just don’t taste the same from anywhere else! Its kinda like good Scotch - or Whiskey. Each has their own unique taste.