" A Fiftieth Anniversary Golden Gulp!"

A 20 ounce cup!

 Good "soon to get wet" Friday Morning, all bodies.

So funny. Yesterday, I showed up to met a guy at Giddy Up around 2pm. I got there early and a casual friend asked,

"What are you doing here? You're an early visitor here, right?

"Yeh, man (I can never remember his name!) I'm here to meet a potential client," I replied.

I got to the coffeehouse with time to spare, so I figured I'd sketch the new coffee mug that Tee surprised me with on our anniversary day, August 11th.

When the "client" strolled, he waved and said hello. We know each other from my Gus's days where I first met his wife many times before being introduced to him. I thought he was waiting for a coffee or to be served, so I didn't bother him.

A few minutes later, noticing him searching for something or someone, he came over to ask me if I saw anyone looking for him...

"I'm here, John said, to meet a client!"

"Yeh, I said, I know... I'm the client you're looking for!"

"What?"

We both had a good laugh and then, got down to business.

First cup!

Copyright 2022/Ben Bensen III

Lost and Found Again...

 Good Friday Morning, all bodies.

Wanna thank everyone for all the wonderful congratulatory comments and well wishes. We had a fun day, yesterday, just being together.

About four or five months ago, I talked Therese into replacing her glasses with some new ones. I didn’t really want to participate in what style glasses she would buy. I felt that just getting her to a place was good enough. Over the many years, she’s always looked great in any of the ones she chose to wear.

Well, about a month ago, she was forced to wear the second pair she bought because she misplaced the first pair which she like best. She didn’t care the second pair which she said was heavy and made her look like her mother.

Man O’ man, we searched EVERYwhere in the house. We even checked under the pillows of the sofas and then, tipped over the sofas to inspect the possibilities, but with no luck. Because she hated that second pair, I talked her into buying two more pair.

This time, I paid attention to what she wanted to buy and gave my approval on the two new ones she bought.

Now, understand me when I say that we looked everywhere for that first pair of glasses. No stone was left unturned… for weeks!

Yet, yesterday, while replacing an old monitor for a new one, behind the sliding tray that housed the computer’s keyboard was, quietly sitting, Therese’s “hide and go seek” glasses. The possibility of ever finding those spectacles would have been slim and none, but now she has four pairs of glasses to wear and to “lose and find!”

Not to be undone, I sent the entire gym full of trainers to search and find my solo car key which I could have sworn I brought with me to the gym. When I know that I’m gonna be active, I usually take my car key off the cumbersome and, always in the way, keychain.

They looked everywhere. Under lifecycles, therapy beds, weights, treadmills, Universal weight machines and benches and just about everywhere, but to no avail. Luckily, Therese brought her purse into the gym which housed her set of keys because my missing solo car key fell out of my pocket and onto the car seat… unbeknownst to me. I later called the gym to thank them for the “wild goose chase” I sent them on to find my solo car key.

Talk about an interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association…Symbiosis has nothing on us.

First cup…

Copyright 2022/Ben Bensen III

"Mind Games"...

Corsair pilot/ The sketch

 Good "humptyDump" Day morning, all bodies.

I noticed about a week ago, that the pilot to my WWII Navy Corsair which hangs on the wall above a bookshelf, was somehow missing.

The large scale models come with a figurine appropriate to each aircraft you buy. The pilots come with a thin pedestal that you can use to display along side of the aircraft. Some figures I seat in their cockpits and some, I attach standing, to the wall with foam tape.

Corsair pilot/ the figurine

When I found the time to search for the "plastic pilot" I found him jammed between two books... One of the books was "Drawing From The Right Side Of The Brain" and the other was Keith Richards biography entitled, "Life."

Who knows what kinda mind games our plastic hero went through before I found him...

Corsair pilot/ Cherried Up

First cup... Homebrewed!

Copyright 2022/ Ben Bensen III

"My After The Concert Discussion"...

A talented musician...

 Good Friday Morning, all bodies.

The charcoal sketch I created last night is of Shaye Cohn, the unofficial leader of the ragtime band, "Tuba Skinny." I first saw the band on streets the French Quarter back in 2018. Shaye starts up the band by counting down, snapping her fingers and tapping her right leg on the street to the cadence of the music. At that time, I was amazed because she never stopped bouncing her right leg.

At the end of the concert, Saturday night, I waited around till the crowd had left for the doors. I wanted to speak to the band, but mostly, to Shaye. I picked out two cd's that she recommended while grilling her about her musical tastes and the band's relationship each other and the music.

Unfortunately, I found out that the band only accepted Venmo or Paypal to purchase any music. Shaye apologized and then, patiently waited as I fumbled to photograph their QR code and get my Paypal account on line... which I never did.

So embarrassed, I apologized for my online incompetence and told her to forget the purchase.

"I tell you what, Shaye offered, if you promise to pay the twenty dollars for the two cd's as soon as you get home, you can have them."

"Aw Shaye, I don't want'cha to do that. I can get them later at the convenience of both of us," I replied.

"No, it is okay," she reiterated. Just promise you'll pay me when you get home!"

"I promise, but it will take me about hour or so because I no longer live in New Orleans."

Just then, a custodian, wanting to close down the lobby, came by asking if we were ready to go. Shaye nodded, and grabbed her satchel as I, grabbed my two cd's and headed for the doors forgetting that she accepted my offer to take a selfie together.

Well damn, if I would've had my wits about me, I could've just asked the custodian to snap a few before he closed up, I thought, as I headed for the adjacent parking lot.

Although I felt like an idiot, I really couldn't complain. It was a great concert. I had a ball sharing the standing room only space with two women that were visiting from Houston and asking anyone who passed by them for a password to get back to their seats. It was hilarious.

It was also a treat to listen to the cd's as I drove across the Pontchartrain.

And, I did keep my promise when I got home!

First cup! 

Copyright 2022/Ben Bensen III

"A Kitchen Knife?"

 

Good "I'll fix it" Monday Morning, everyone!

Well, you see, what had happened was the carafe to our Braun Coffee Maker of about fifteen years couldn't be put back together again. Kinda like Humpty Dumpty!

Why was it disassembled in the first place, you might ask?

The carafe seemed to be taking on water and not just the water that turns into coffee when brewed. Every month or more, the carafe kept getting heavier and heavier and soon could easily used in my kettle bell exercises.

So, I decided to slowly investigate the problem with every handyman's favorite tool, a kitchen knife! A kitchen knife is perfect because I didn't want to go to the garage to find an appropriate tool for just such an event like this.

Besides, a kitchen knife is so non-committal, ya know. Hunting for the right tool to use is not only time wasted, but finding one means I really am serious about fixing the problem. Easy solutions are just perfect for kichen utensils... Right?

Well, Therese went on Amazon and purchased a new coffeemaker, but she hates it. Amazon Man will return it... happily!

No matter which utensil I used, I never did find a way to drain the water locked up in the bottom of the pot. I must admit, though, the sketch came out pretty nicely, so it wasn't a total loss.

First cup... any way I can get it!

Copyright 2022/Ben Bensen III

"Sometimes, The Mindless Doodle Is The Bestest!"

The Elusive Bird..

 Good "Friday" Morning, all bodies!

Well, I reluctantly left the coffeehouse knowing that there was so many things I needed to do that I just didn't want to do. Like a buddy of mine, who decided to leave as I did, admitted he, too, was just procrastinating.

As I drove along the driveway, a small branch from one of the oaks, brushed along the roof of the car a bit more heavily than the day before... and the day before that, and the day before that.

"Okay, okay, I said to myself, that'll be the first thing I will tackle this morning!"

But, when I opened the car door, there was that bird song that some folks tell me belongs to a wood thrush... and maybe it is. I took out the pole mounted pruning saw and headed straight for that driveway branch, but the bird's call seemed to get closer and closer.

What IS that bird?

I can't miss an opportunity like this, I thought. I need vindication!

So, I headed back into the kitchen to grab the best of the three binoculars I own and headed back out to get a glimpse. Oh man, it was so close... so close as I carefully maneuvered my way into a shady position where I could comfortably hold up the binoculars and scan the mid morning sunlit trees.

At 10:30, I was already feeling the heat.

With my back up against a pine tree, I followed the song with every move from one branch to another, but never found the sound. Within ten minutes of my aerial pursuit, the treetops that surrounded me, became silent. The bird's warbling song was not gone, but migrated from one tree to another and every momentary peek I had following that noise produced one regular yardbird after another.

I snuck up onto some commotion in one of our blueberry bushes, only to see a female cardinal fly away with a big, ripe berry in her beak.

"Hey, Lady, I said, glad to be of a service to you!"

The bird call became distant, then, just above me. Then, to the left of me, then, to the right. There had to be more than just one "cheep, cheep, cheree!"

For over three summers now, from late Spring to early Fall, there's a vibe that I can hear, but can never see and maybe, for me, it is just not meant to be. So frustrating!

Seems like we, as a species, always have to find a solution, fix the problem, make all the pieces fit logically, have some sense of reasoning, attempt to explain or justify our existence, and maybe, to seek and inadvertently, destroy.

I don't know, but once again, after wasting about an hour chasing that sonic dream, maybe, just maybe, I'm better off allowing some mysteries to stay mysterious... and magical.

It was something to contemplate indoors, in the air conditioned studio, with a ginger ice tea. And, ya know, that hanging tree branch will still be there hanging tomorrow!

First cup!

Copyright 2022/ Ben Bensen III

"Egads Fly!"

Egads!

 Good "a bit bugged" Friday Morning, y'all.

Well, we used to get annual visits from the Eastern Kingbirds that would sit along the fences to intercept the flies midair. Their aerobatics are fun to watch and their presence certainly makes a difference, but I haven't seen them around this year.

I decided, after getting bit a second time so far, I'd immortalize the incident with a sketch, but one week later there was still no "gadfly" to torment me... until yesterday morning. In its usual way, the bug zips into the car the moment the door is opened. Then, it flies frantically into every window in the car bouncing off each with a hefty sound until you open up a window to release them.

But not this time.

I never understood why it needs to enter the car only to struggle to get out. The fly zipped pass my nose, hit the driver's side window and then, ricocheted off the rear view mirror to settle itself on the dash board after slamming head long into the dash board window. After a couple of misses with my fist, a karate chop here and a karate chop there, I jammed it in between the door panel and the driver's side window with my elbow.

Fears of crushing the bug were totally unfounded because as soon as I lifted my elbow away from the glass, the fly took off and headed straight into the passenger side window and after bouncing off the dash board window, again settled itself into the crevice.

A momentary truce was called.

A bit later, losing my patience with the idea of not smashing it to smithereens, I threw across the front seats, a folded up small umbrella in hopes of dislodging the bug. For the next five minutes it was truly air to air combat but, at long last, I managed kill the blood sucking beast with one final swat...

... Or so I thought!

First cup!

Copyright 2022/Ben Bensen III

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