"Breaktime"...

Jennifer?

 Good "On Break" Saturday Morning, y'all.

This is a picture of the trauma created by me when I walked out of a department store without paying for pair of slacks that I finally found acceptable enough to buy.

After deciding to purchase it, I draped it around my left arm so I wouldn't trip over on it while perusing the dress shirts. Not finding anything interesting, I headed for the front where I was assured there would be a cashier, but there was none. So, with my mind focused on other things, I casually sauntered out of the one pair of glass doors.

Noticing a woman approaching the second pair of doors, I opened it for her and started to head for the parking lot. When I couldn't remember where my car was parked, I noticed the slacks still draped across my forearm.

With a startled smile, I headed back into the store and stopped at the nearest counter where a cashier was hoping to sell me some cosmetics.

"Hey there, Miss," I said. I need to pay for these pants. Can you help me?"

"Well, the cashier with the cash register is over to the next aisle and..."

She leaned over to check the line of customers waiting to pay for their goodies.

"I guess I can handle this for ya," she said.

"Great, I responded, because I found myself in the parking lot when I realized that I hadn't paid for the pants!"

"I thought, for sure, some electronic buzzer attached to the pants would have alerted me before too long, but I guess there isn't anything attached, is there?"

"No, the "cosmopolitan" replied. We don't use that system anymore. We have a computerized security system now!"

"Well, it doesn't seem to be working too well!

"Oh no, she insisted, it works really well. You just got lucky they didn't send the security guards down to get ya!"

"Jennifer must have been on break," she said.

"Yes, I guess I did get lucky. And, I found a pair of pants that fit, too!"

Having paid my bill, I walked out thinking what a shoplifting advantage that would be...

Knowing how often and what time Jennifer takes her breaks. Ha!

Second GiddyUp cup!

Copyright 2021/ Ben Bensen III

"The Further Adventures of Mary's Mustang"...

The banana spider is called that for the color of the web it creates!

 Good Throwback Thursday Morning, all bodies.

Pursuing further the continuing adventures of Mary's Mustang, she told me a her encounter with a spider that somehow took up temporary residence on her moody mustang. Rio, that's the mustang's apparent name, didn't seem to be bothered by the rather large insect, but it bothered the motherly Mary.

Like many, spiders, no matter what shape or size, rate high with poisonous and non poisonous snakes, so Mary decided to shoo away the nasty bug. Unfortunately, she grabbed the closest available tool to dislodge the spider off of Rio's right ear.

It was the "switch stick" Mary uses to move along her herd. Rio was not planning on staying in his stall and in mustang talk let Mary know.

"Mustangs are wild and moody animals," she told me.

"And, Rio bites!"

"You know, Ben, I'm getting too old for this kinda shit!"

Apparently, Rio looked back at her with that switch and backed up towards her out of the stall attempting to give Mary a good kick.

"It's not worth all this drama," she said. If the damn spider isn't bothering him, fine with me!"

The tension subsided when Mary dropped the stick, and backed away to to find that Rio had shook his head a few times to flip the unwanted aural intruder away.

"I'm getting too old for this," Mary reiterated.

My encounter, five years ago, with the seasonal banana spider is "documented" at: https://graphicgumbo3.blogspot.com/.../it-was-big-enough...

Second Giddy Up cup!

Copyright 2021/ Ben Bensen III

"Semper Fi" Saturday...

 

Good "Semper Fi" Saturday, y'all.

Those huge black 18 wheeled debris trucks are all about picking up a plethora of hurricane debris up and down Hwy#40 and Hwy#25. Occasionally, driving by the neighborhood on the way to the hospital or back from it, I noticed a Merrywood favorite out in his front yard sprucing up.

John is one of those positive forces in everyone's life. Whenever I see him at a local community event, I never recognize him and with good reason.

I always expect to see him in running shoes, shorts, a polo shirt and his olive drab, Marine Corp cap worn smartly no matter what kind of yard work he's doing. A few days ago, I spotted him raking under a huge magnolia tree and decided to roll down the car window to harass him.

"You've got to be kiddin' me," I said. "How many pushups are you up to lately, dude?"

John walked over to the side of the road with rake in hand and replied that he lost count!

"How ya been?", he asked me.

"Well, I'm hanging in there... Not feeling as good as you look," I replied.

"How's about those situps? How many times a week you down on the floor crunching?"

"I don't know, Ben. I do a couple of sets every so often!"

"Well, I said, whatever you are doing, keep it up 'cuz it looks good on you!"

We "small talked" our way through Covid, the hurricane and the debris pickup, amongst everything else.

Just before I started to pull away, I once again complimented him on his robust 'tude on life.

With a smile, with rake in hand, John asks, "How old you think I am, man?" Betcha' can't guess!"

Before I could muster up a good answer, he throws out that he was born in 1935.

"I was born in 1935, Ben, so you do the math!"

"Dude, I said, now you have me at a disadvantage... Math was never my forte, man!"

With a laugh, I replied as I started to drive away,"I'll get back to you on that, okay?"

Checking my rear view mirror, I noticed as we both waved good bye, and he started back raking, I thought...

"86," eh?

Third cup of courage!

Copyright 2021/Ben Bensen III

The Difference Between A Country Boy And A City Boy!"

No Deposit, No Return?

 Good wet Wednesday, all bodies..

The other sunny and dry morning I sat outside on the patio at Giddy Up and had a great conversation with a "local favorite!" We touched on all sorts of nostalgia, but listening to his stories about how country the Village of Folsom was in the fifties, was a treat.

Somehow, we ended up talking about bahia grass, mowing the lawn on a tractor, bailing hay and... snakes. I told him about our one adventure with a cottonmouth...

https://graphicgumbo3.blogspot.com/.../snakes-alivea...

... and he told me how he and his buddies would capture all kinds of snakes, put them in a burlap sack and sell them to an animal farm off Highway 11.

"See now, I quipped, "that's the difference between a country boy and a city boy."

"Oh yeh? he replied.

"Yeh, a country boy supplements his allowance by collecting snakes and a city boy does the same collecting coke and beer bottles!"

First cup and then back to the grind...

Copyright 2021/ Ben Bensen III

"A Slick Maneuver"

A Quickie Sketch...

 Good "Ack"... It's Monday all ready, y'all.

I finally finished that paperback from long ago called "Thunderbolt!" Of the many stories that abound in the book, the most intriguing to me is of the Polish pilot recruited by USAF group commander Major Francis Gabreski from the British Air Force. The trigger happy pilot, Boleslaw "Mike" Gladych, apparently had a rathered checkered past with the French and Polish Air Force.

One of the stories is about him attacking three German aircraft and downing one of them, but he could not shake the other two which tailed him and shot him up halfway to the coastline.

As Mike tried to out run his pursuers, he, never missing a chance to disturb a few "Krauts", flew low and hard passed a enemy airdrome and decided to attack.

It was common knowledge that in a ground attack, it is the first aircraft that strafes untouched by anti-aircraft fire. But, with the element of surprise gone, it is the other attacking aircraft that takes the shellacking.

The German gunners missed Mike's Thunderbolt, but shot down the two pursuing German aircraft assuming that they were also American Thunderbolts attacking the field.

Pretty quick and slick thinking under duress.

My sketch of the encounter is pretty basic, but I'm impressed with my ability to still be able draw a Thunderbolt from memory.

First "easing into the week" cup!

Copyright 2021/ Ben Bensen III

"My Men Wear English Leather Or"...

 

It's Friday again... Good "TGIF" Morning, all bodies.

Had a great time yesterday talking to my SoCal friend. Ninety minutes sure flies by when you are having fun. But after that, I had even more fun.

In an never ending struggle to rid myself of stuff, I chanced upon a used up bottle of men's cologne. I've seen it shuffled around in the medicine cabinet behind one medication or another as if it really didn't want anyone to notice that the bottle was empty and had been for many years.

Looking for something to sketch between cups of coffee, I grabbed the ultra-hip, pseudo woodsy bottle of manliness from the top shelf and took it with me.

Just about 10:30, after finishing my sketch, I packed up my laptop, sketchbook, coffee cup and square bottle of "The Sixties" to walk out the front door, but just as I did, a voice called out my name.

"Ben, it's Tanya... Where ya going?"

"Oh wow, Tanya. What you doing so far away from Mandeville here at Giddy Up?"

Apparently, she was entertaining an artist friend, Karen George, from Ohio and on the friend's last day, decided to check out the hill country of Folsom.

With a giggle and a smirk that only Tanya Dishler can do, she invited me to come back and I join them and as she did, she inquired about my bottle of cologne.

"What IS that?" she asked.

"It looks like a bottle of English Leather." "What ARE you doing with that old bottle," she inquired in such a sordidly curious way.

I started to show her the pen sketch I created from the bottle and to recite that promo line about getting naked, but she turned back toward the front door and headed for the barista.

I closed the sketchbook and followed her back in.

Once I was introduced to her friend Karen, Tanya offered me a coffee or something to knosh on, but I declined. I was kinda coffee-ed out!

Eventually, we got around to talking about men and colognes and those halcyon days of peace, love and bellbottoms.

"How long have you had it and does it still smell like English Leather?" they both asked.

"I don't know. I guess so. I've never tried smelling it since it all dried up, but I guess it still does," I replied.

I then unscrewed the wooden top and took a sniff, and then, with a satisfied smile, handed it over to Tanya.

A smile appeared on her face as if, for one fleeting moment, she was reliving a romantic encounter so far away in the Sixties. As she gave me a bit of a sly look, she handed it over to Karen and said, "Yes... that's English Leather!"

Karen giggled in agreement and handed it over to Frank Richerand for a whiff.

"Yeh, that's the smell," he said. "I used to wear English Leather before I switched to another kind."

"Me too, Frank, for the longest time," I replied and managed to get in a little dig... for fun.

"Oh man, Frank, I always thought you were a "High Karate" kind of guy!"

Frank had dropped by to chat and after Tanya and Karen finished their lunch, planned to give the ladies the grand tour of the place including the Paddock grounds and the gallery.

I've been on that tour many times, so I dismissed myself from the get together and headed for the car with my laptop, sketchbook, coffee cup and a square, wooden topped bottle memories.

I passed by a trash can en route to the car and stopped momentarily to contemplate the fate of my fragrant youth. I don't know, maybe, I'll just keep it a little while longer.

I had been at the coffeehouse for over four hours and had a great time avoiding the realities of life with an impromptu special "Throwback Thursday", though, I was never in the position to incorporate into any conversation the familiar line...

"My men wear English Leather or they wear nothing at all!

First cup!

Copyright 2021/ Ben Bensen III

"When All At Once A Mighty Herd Of Red Eyed Cows, He Saw,"

Badass Larry

Good "Throwback Thursday" Day, y'all.

So funny. A couple days ago, at GiddyUp, Frank, me, Badass Larry, and big Al were sitting around yapping about our "dead zones" when Larry mentions a time when he took his girlfriend out to a local dance hall and requested Fat's,"Blueberry Hill", and "Ghost Riders In the Sky" which the band played.

"Last Saturday, at The GiddyUp, he said, I asked the band to play "Ghost Riders" and the man never heard of it."

"Whaddya think about that, Ben?"

"Well, did you ask the guitar player?" I asked.

"Weren't no gitar player in the band!"

"Aw man. Well, that's why the band couldn't play it," I said.

"You know, I used to be able to play that song... It is really not that hard to learn!"

So, as I'm playing air guitar and singing the clippity-clop bass line of the song, Frank sneaks in with the first stanza...

"An old cowboy went ridin' out one dark and windy day,

Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way.

When all at once a mighty herd of red eyed cows, he saw,

Plowed through the ragged skies and up a cloudy draw!"

Slappin' my hands against my thighs, and still singing the bass line, Big Al jumps in with,"Yippee Yi Yea", Yippee Yi Oooooo". Then, we all, 'cept Badass, sang...

"The Ghost Riders In the Sky!"

"Well, damn, Larry replied, you guys are REALLY good!"

No one could remember the line about the brands on fire, so we kinda laughed it all off. Frank got distracted and moseyed off, and we went back to sippin' our coffee.

Once again, just yesterday, Larry mentioned "GhostRiders!"

"Do you know who first did that song?" he asked.

"Um, I'm pretty sure Vaughn Monroe made the song popular, but I think the first to perform it was the "'Sons of the Pioneers!"

"Tell you what, Larry, let's look it up in Wikipedia... Whaddya say?"

So we looked the song up and found that a movie cowhand named Stan Jones wrote the song in 1948/49. I then said... "You wanna hear Vaughn Monroe's version?"

"Yeh, Badass Larry replied. We can listen to him "first!"

"First?" I said.

Then came, Johnny Cash's version. Then, Bing Crosby, believe it or not. Then came, Willie Nelson, then Burl Ives (that's the version I like best... keepin' it simple!) and finally, Frankie Laine.

I know that I put a smile on old Larry's face, but with his Covid concerns, it was kinda hard to tell!

First cup!

Copyright 2021/ Ben Bensen III