Just Strollin'.

Some things you take for granted, like walking the dog to the nearest Pick 'n Steal, then boom, disaster falls, you've got three screws in your upper femur and you can't walk. All of a sudden you start to appreciate simple things, like putting one foot in front of the other. That in mind, I took Blue Eschaton for a walk today, the first since a crazy Arab kicked me off her back.

The Meth Shack

We strolled through the bucolic avenues of this rural Texan haven via the Meth Shack, and it's doing well with seasonal decorations and a fearsome clown dressed in a camo onesie. Not be trifled with.

Note Water Offering

I waved at a couple of Shackers, who seemed a little bit worse for wear after a hard night on the meth, then ambled over to the Shamrock. The Shamrock's an Irish filling station, owned by Nepalese and staffed by Mexicans, right here in North Central Texas. Benefits of multiculturalism aside, they have good coffee and I got a "refill" while Blue Guard sat outside, it's a ritual. Then we headed for home under an increasingly glowering Lone Star sky.

Mission Accomplished

Back at the Compound it was all well done, mission accomplished! and it felt good to do something so simple as go out with the Blue again. Result. In other exciting news, the Cadet's on his last stretch of Basic, Blue Phase, and he's done well so far. 

How Lovely

Still, he has to pass a final APFT (fitness test) and a field exercise to graduate on schedule. I don't anticipate a fail in either but hey, accidents and all else besides... so fingers crossed. 

Your Finally Walking Pal,

LSP

Feast of St. James of Jerusalem

St. James became the first bishop of the Church in Jerusalem, only to be thrown from the pinnacle of the Temple and clubbed to death by a baker. Here's his Collect:

GRANT, O merciful God, that, as thine holy Apostle Saint James, leaving his father and all that he had, without delay was obedient unto the calling of thy Son Jesus Christ, and followed him; so we, forsaking all worldly and carnal affections, may be evermore ready to follow thy holy commandments; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God bless,

LSP

A Typical Trans Texas Street Scene

Here we are on the streets of Texas, God is in his heaven and we're down on earth as the sun shines in a hazy blue sky, X-Rays of the screwed together femur report positive and, what's this? Let's zoom in.

A child riding on a gaily maned, pink-hoofed unicorn! You scratch your head in wonder, is this rural Texas or San Francisco, maybe Austin? Then you remember that a Dallas court just ruled against a man who tried to stop his estranged wife giving his 7 year old son a sex-change.

That's right, the kid liked some Disney cartoon flick called Frozen, featuring Elsa the Snow Queen, so his mother decided he was a girl and now the little guy's looking forward to enriching Big Pharma and riding the rainbow for the rest of his life. If he survives, many don't.

Remember, unicorns may look cute and harmless but the frolicksome beasts have a notoriously sharp horn, to say nothing of fiercely thudding hooves. And since when was a 7 year old qualified to make decisions about anything, much less a g*dammed sex change?

Sounds like the Devil's work, to say nothing of insanity. Perhaps the two go hand in hand, according to the infernal logic of the Pit.

Your Friend,

LSP

Impending Doom!

I feel it's only right to post this important if frightening Health & Safety infographic. Parents, take note. Of course the damage is multiplied, if less poignant, when adults do it. They're heavier you see.

God bless,

LSP

Fish Fry

"Hey, Padre, good news and bad news," went the early morning text. You see, these days churchpeople tend to text instead of call and in fairness it takes ring-tone beastliness out of your morning coffee, so I'm not complaining. 

The bad news? Someone had to stay in hospital an extra day or two, she's eager to be out, and the good news was a ticket for the FFA (Future Farmers of America) fish fry. Would it be welcome relief from the National Menstrual Equality Day or a trial?

So, after a hard day's sweating over a hot computer I drove off to find out. Turns out it was good, it felt great to be in the countryside and see my friend's place, it's been awhile. I asked him, "How's it been?" and he replied, "Busy, busy, and busy." 

I told him I was "busy learning to walk again," which he seemed to like, "You're doing pretty dang good at that. Could've been doing pretty dang bad." We parted ways, he had work to do, organizing the operation.

And I tell you, what a good crew of straight-up people having fun in the clean country air of a Texan evening, everyone getting convivial and taking it easy, the food was delicious too. But then it was time to leave JM's not inconsiderable Compound and head back to mine in the light of the setting sun. I won't say it wasn't beautiful because it was.

There was a time when I'd have laughed and accused you of being a deluded fool if you'd said I'd end up in rural Texas. God, it seems, is full of surprises.

Your Friend,

LSP

Feast of St. Luke

You're probably finding it hard to tear your eyes away from the revolt in Spain, Brexit in England and here in the US, the Star Chamber of Secrecy which is working desperately behind closed doors to destroy the President and overthrow an election. 

Why the Star Chamber furore? Because 45's a Ukrainian Crime Lord, apparently, unlike say, the Bidens or Nancy Pelosi's son. All this to say nothing of ongoing unrest in Hong Kong where you'll see more US flags than at any Democrat debate, cubed. Seriously, do these people hate our country?

By way of antidote, reflect on St. Luke, whose Feast is today.  He was a physician, a healer, a close friend and disciple of the great Paul and loved Our Lady. Tradition has it that he drew the first portrait of Mary, making him an artist as well as a doctor. 

Of course physical and spiritual healing go together and we see this outwardly in the life of Luke, to say nothing of inwardly in his Gospel and Acts. It's summed up in the Collect:

ALMIGHTY God, who didst inspire thy servant Saint Luke the Physician, to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of thy Son; Manifest in thy Church the like power and love, to the healing of our bodies and our souls; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Have a blessed Feast and may the powerful intercession of Luke and Our Lady come to our aid.

Love not hate,

LSP

Tree Top Flyer Best Version Ever

Because this shallow mind blog's all about CSNY, here's what we at the Compound think is the best version of Mr. Stills' Tree Top Flyer. Perhaps there's better, if so, send it on.

C Troop 6-6 Cavalry? Respect.

LSP

Magnum Mysterium!

I drove to Waco this morning to visit the sick in hospital and by some miracle didn't end up in hospital myself, given the driving on I35. All well and good, even though I wasn't able to visit the remarkable, awesome, amazing, Magnolia Moneyspinner Rip-Off Silos. 

People travel from all over America to visit the Silos. Why? It's a mystery, and when I got back to the Compound I found another. Here it is.

Who could possibly have done such a thing? Did some intruder, possibly a Ukrainian, break in and attempt a little quid pro quo, a little legal-pad-shredding malfeasance only to be chased off by a ferocious Blue Guard? Or was there another culprit?

Perhaps, readers, we need a closed door inquiry.

Transparently,

LSP

Hippies Stole My Boat

Yeah, right, it's all "peace and love" 'til the nearest hippie rips off your boat. What then? 

Southern cross.

Your Friend,

LSP

Snake Demon or Just Another Millionaire Socialist?

Socialist Nancy Pelosi's estimated net worth is over $100 million making her one of America's richest politicians. Which is interesting because her salary as Speaker of the House is $223,000. 

Is Nancy a Snake Demon or just another run-of-the-mill Millionaire Socialist, or both?

You be the judge,

LSP

Cadet Update

Far-sighted readers of this inconsequential mind-blog might recall that my eldest boy walked away from a life of Canadian basements and Scandanavian Death Metal to a life in the US Army and, presumably, yet more Death Metal. Good call, kid, and he's in Basic right now at Fort Benning. How's it going?

Well, it seems. The kid's in White Phase, which is all about weapons and fitness, and he shot "expert." The Cadet wrote, "I can shoot an M4, apparently." 

And so you should. No excuses, only results, not that there's any, ahem, parental pressure. He can also run, he tells me, which is important in the Infantry and a miracle given sheer laziness leading up to his ordeal in Georgia. But hey, 19 years old and ready to go, well done.

Some kids, he writes, are so unfit they have to be recycled through BCT again, how did they get past the recruiters? Quotas, I'd imagine. Regardless, the boy's doing well and respect, he's made a good turn 'round. I do not say that lightly.

Signals

Next step? Blue Phase and Graduation, I'll be driving over to the Army in Georgia for the occasion. Of course he's fixing to go jump school... easy tiger.

God bless,

LSP

Peak Degeneracy?

This is GQ's New Masculinity issue. You've probably seen it and scratched your head wondering how some simperer dressed up in a sleeping bag dress counts as masculine. Good question.

Here at the Compound we think what used to be called Western Civilization's getting close to peak degeneracy, and reached out to readers to see if they agreed. Here's a sample.

"It's horrid. Ridiculous. And obscene. #SATAN running amok." Strong words from MW, who's a stylist in Dallas. GBW, writing from Georgia had this to say, "So hot and beautiful and awesome. Kill it with fire."

GQ stands for "Gentlemen's Quarterly." Some kind of joke? Feel free to disagree.

Your Old Pal,

LSP