USMB Coffee Shop IV

[Ernie S.]

I appreciate that you posted a shot from Doc Hollidays!
As always, everyone raved about my butt (pulled pork for you folks with dirty minds) and our Pirates Bash was a great night. We had live entertainment from a two piece group called Delta Smoke and we featured rum drinks, adding 5 new ones to the repertoire. Here's a shot of me with 2 of my favorite bar wenches.View attachment 79594

Yes, that is a real sword and I do know how to use it.

Looking good Ernie. But why do I imagine you as a star on Duck Dynasty? Love the outfits.

I get that a lot. Or, ZZ Top or Oak Ridge Boys, Alabama or someone from a TV show about moonshiners. I'm unconventional, I guess; always have been, but people do remember me.

Looks like you need a shave........

(Hopefully that was a different approach....... )

I've "looked like I needed a shave" for 44 years come 7/9 There are damned few people in my life that have ever seen my chin.

Tee he! he! I am one of them.

P.S. You have a very nice looking chin by the way.

Thank you, Angel.

 

[Ernie S.]

Just for a laugh..

I know her without the British accent.

 

[Ringel05]

I just got back a little while ago from taking something called the COMPASS test, it's a placement test for colleges. I'm trying to get into an online course from an in-state tech school. I did great until I got to the algebra, then I didn't remember how any of that shit gets done.

Took algebra 3 times (including college), aced it every time...... I couldn't do an algebraic equation today if my life depended on it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I know her without the British accent.

My ex-wife was never as bad as that but...

I have always used the expression "6 to 1, Half a dozen to the other". 3 or 4 years into our relationship we were riding along in my pick-up and she busted out laughing. I asked her what was funny? She would not tell me for the longest time then she finally gave in. She had just figured out what I meant when I said "6 to 1, Half a dozen to the other".

 

[ChrisL]

Happy Tuesday, coffee shop!

 

[Ringel05]

Been working on my frock coat, yup lots of little details to pay attention to and there'll be lots of hand stitching I'll have to do to finish it. Right now I have the upper shell 2/3s done, have to put in the padding, attach the collar and finish the cuffs then I get to put the skirt together and attach it to the upper before I finally install the lining. Will baste the shell upper and skirt together first because I know it will need some adjusting before I attach it for keeps.

 

[Foxfyre]

Good night darlinks. I really do love you guys.

And we keep vigil for:

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
TK, and TK's grandma,
Becki and Becki’s hubby,
Mrs. O and SFCOllie,
GW's daughter, her friend Sachendra, and Sachendra's husband Bob and son Gary.
Noomi!!!
Nosmo's mom,
Ernie's stop smoking project,
Sherry’s Mom,
Sixfoot's bad back,
Rod, GW's partner,
IamwhatIseem's bad hip,
The Ringels in difficult transition,
Mr. Kat and Kat's mom,
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,

And the light is left on for Alan, Noomi, Freedombecki, Oddball, BBD, Spoonman, 007, BigBlackDog, and all the others who we miss and hope to return.

Sunset over Benson AZ

 

[blackhawk]

 

[Nosmo King]

I had an old friend drop by last evening. I've known him for forty years. He and I and Puddin' Head and several others were thick as thieves. He got married, Puddin' Head got married, everyone else got married. I travelled to Europe and the Caribbean and the major cities of North America for work, living out of a suit case and armed with a set of plans and a contract specification book riding herd on unscrupulous general contractors.

We kept in touch. Holidays we would make the effort to get together. Puddin' Head threw biannual Pig Roasts and we got together then too.

But my old friend developed a gambling addition. There are casinos and 'cafes' in nearby West Virginia that offer table games, slot machines, poker both real and virtual and keno. Keno, as it turned out, was my buddy's game of choice.

He stopped by to borrow some tobacco as he had none and was flat broke. His car had been repossessed and his bank account was empty. He confessed that he easily lost better than $100,000 in the past four years.

He was divorced after his gambling got out of control. His daughter had recently graduated from high school. During the commencement ceremony, the graduates are each given a rose which they are to present to the person who has proven to be the best influence on their young lives. My friend was seated next to his ex-wife and her father. His daughter gave the rose to her grandfather. My friend realized that he did not deserve that rose, but he was crushed to make that realization so tangible.

I hope and pray that he can get the help he needs to overcome this crushing addition. I told him that it is a process and there are professionals who deal with his sort of problem every day. Of course, in his mind he thought that there would be some magic bullet, some bumper sticker method to kick his gambling addiction. "I thought the counselor would say 'Do this then this then this and you'll be okay.'"

"If it was that easy" I said "They would print it on a t shirt and there would be no more addictive personalities."

"I know that now, but I'm discouraged." he explained.

I hope he gets back to a counselor and gets the help he needs.

 

[Foxfyre]

I had an old friend drop by last evening. I've known him for forty years. He and I and Puddin' Head and several others were thick as thieves. He got married, Puddin' Head got married, everyone else got married. I travelled to Europe and the Caribbean and the major cities of North America for work, living out of a suit case and armed with a set of plans and a contract specification book riding herd on unscrupulous general contractors.

We kept in touch. Holidays we would make the effort to get together. Puddin' Head threw biannual Pig Roasts and we got together then too.

But my old friend developed a gambling addition. There are casinos and 'cafes' in nearby West Virginia that offer table games, slot machines, poker both real and virtual and keno. Keno, as it turned out, was my buddy's game of choice.

He stopped by to borrow some tobacco as he had none and was flat broke. His car had been repossessed and his bank account was empty. He confessed that he easily lost better than $100,000 in the past four years.

He was divorced after his gambling got out of control. His daughter had recently graduated from high school. During the commencement ceremony, the graduates are each given a rose which they are to present to the person who has proven to be the best influence on their young lives. My friend was seated next to his ex-wife and her father. His daughter gave the rose to her grandfather. My friend realized that he did not deserve that rose, but he was crushed to make that realization so tangible.

I hope and pray that he can get the help he needs to overcome this crushing addition. I told him that it is a process and there are professionals who deal with his sort of problem every day. Of course, in his mind he thought that there would be some magic bullet, some bumper sticker method to kick his gambling addiction. "I thought the counselor would say 'Do this then this then this and you'll be okay.'"

"If it was that easy" I said "They would print it on a t shirt and there would be no more addictive personalities."

"I know that now, but I'm discouraged." he explained.

I hope he gets back to a counselor and gets the help he needs.

I lost a beloved relative to a gambling addiction. He too lost two houses and all his life savings. He attended a Gamblers-anon group for awhile, but neither he nor his wife ever 'got the problem'. It was too uncomfortable for both and they soon quit attending. She would go to the casino with him so she could 'control' the situation but he would also go without her. And because he had a serious illness that he seriously aggravated by long hours standing at a craps table, not eating properly, not getting sufficient rest, etc., it took him much earlier than would have likely been the case. After he died she still goes to the casino regularly and does without things she really needs in order to have money to gamble.

Needless to say I used to find casinos great fun. I no longer find them so appealing and they have largely lost their allure.

 

[Nosmo King]

I had an old friend drop by last evening. I've known him for forty years. He and I and Puddin' Head and several others were thick as thieves. He got married, Puddin' Head got married, everyone else got married. I travelled to Europe and the Caribbean and the major cities of North America for work, living out of a suit case and armed with a set of plans and a contract specification book riding herd on unscrupulous general contractors.

We kept in touch. Holidays we would make the effort to get together. Puddin' Head threw biannual Pig Roasts and we got together then too.

But my old friend developed a gambling addition. There are casinos and 'cafes' in nearby West Virginia that offer table games, slot machines, poker both real and virtual and keno. Keno, as it turned out, was my buddy's game of choice.

He stopped by to borrow some tobacco as he had none and was flat broke. His car had been repossessed and his bank account was empty. He confessed that he easily lost better than $100,000 in the past four years.

He was divorced after his gambling got out of control. His daughter had recently graduated from high school. During the commencement ceremony, the graduates are each given a rose which they are to present to the person who has proven to be the best influence on their young lives. My friend was seated next to his ex-wife and her father. His daughter gave the rose to her grandfather. My friend realized that he did not deserve that rose, but he was crushed to make that realization so tangible.

I hope and pray that he can get the help he needs to overcome this crushing addition. I told him that it is a process and there are professionals who deal with his sort of problem every day. Of course, in his mind he thought that there would be some magic bullet, some bumper sticker method to kick his gambling addiction. "I thought the counselor would say 'Do this then this then this and you'll be okay.'"

"If it was that easy" I said "They would print it on a t shirt and there would be no more addictive personalities."

"I know that now, but I'm discouraged." he explained.

I hope he gets back to a counselor and gets the help he needs.

I lost a beloved relative to a gambling addiction. He too lost two houses and all his life savings. He attended a Gamblers-anon group for awhile, but neither he nor his wife ever 'got the problem'. It was too uncomfortable for both and they soon quit attending. She would go to the casino with him so she could 'control' the situation but he would also go without her. And because he had a serious illness that he seriously aggravated by long hours standing at a craps table, not eating properly, not getting sufficient rest, etc., it took him much earlier than would have likely been the case. After he died she still goes to the casino regularly and does without things she really needs in order to have money to gamble.

Needless to say I used to find casinos great fun. I no longer find them so appealing and they have largely lost their allure.

On a project that took me and my crew to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Groton in eastern Connecticut, we decided to visit the Foxwoods casino in nearby Ashley. The place is huge, I mean Bernie Sanders HUUGE! I told everyone to rally at the statue of the Indian with the bow and arrow at 2:00 am so we could get back to our hotel that Saturday night.

I got back to the statue at 1:45 and was amazed to see two grade school aged kids cuddled up on a sofa. What a pitiful sight to see. Then I found a small non descript office where, if you brought the DEED TO YOUR HOME the casino would extend you a line of credit.

Vampires. Vampires on both sides of the gaming tables.

Parents sucking the life from their children and casinos sucking the life out of their players.

 

[WelfareQueen]

Some music for your pleasure.


BirdsEJ by user183852791

 

[Foxfyre]

Some music for your pleasure.


BirdsEJ by user183852791

I like it.

 

[Hossfly]

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[Montrovant]

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[Hossfly]

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[Foxfyre]

​

Aw. Sad coffee cup. But no. It's Wednesday. And everybody must be busy doing other stuff today. I know I have been. So just giving out a group hug and hoping all is well with all.

 

[blackhawk]

 

[Ernie S.]

​

Aw. Sad coffee cup. But no. It's Wednesday. And everybody must be busy doing other stuff today. I know I have been. So just giving out a group hug and hoping all is well with all.

Wednesday is my Friday. Off tomorrow. Going to go pay someone to inflict pain.

 

[Foxfyre]

Good night darlinks. I really do love you guys.

And we keep vigil for:

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
TK, and TK's grandma,
Becki and Becki’s hubby,
Mrs. O and SFCOllie,
GW's daughter, her friend Sachendra, and Sachendra's husband Bob and son Gary.
Noomi!!!
Nosmo's mom,
Ernie's stop smoking project,
Sherry’s Mom,
Sixfoot's bad back,
Rod, GW's partner,
IamwhatIseem's bad hip,
The Ringels in difficult transition,
Mr. Kat and Kat's mom,
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,

And the light is left on for Alan, Noomi, Freedombecki, Oddball, BBD, Spoonman, 007, BigBlackDog, and all the others who we miss and hope to return.

Sunset over Fort Worth TX