Grasshopper

Two versions of the same story:

OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself.

MODERN VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.' Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake. Nancy Pelosi and John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share. Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government. The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010.

Milestone

The Miles Brothers Corp likes to take special note of big, round-number birthdays. Well, how is 22,000 days old, for a nice, big, round number? Congratulations, Jimmy, on reaching another Major Milestone on Friday, September 25th.

Perhaps, we might best on-goingly celebrate this occasion by writing a series of Haikus!

In the comments section below, please leave a quick, spontaneous haiku, if the spirit moves you. 5-7-5 would be nice, but we always promote creativity.

Give it a shot, what'cha got, maybe a lot!

Jimmy: Tatanka To You!
Happy 22,000 days old!
You don't look a day over 21,000 :o)

Bean Box

Stare at this box for a moment. What do you see?

Swiss Chicken Casserole

Here is the recipe for my favorite casserole that Kit makes. She may have gotten the recipe from her Mom who may have gotten it from a friend.

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Swiss Chicken Casserole*

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1. Mix all ingredients in a casserole.

2. Top with slivered almonds.

3. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 350.

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The ingredients:

4 cups diced cooked chicken

half pound shredded swiss cheese

2 cups diced celery

half cup diced yellow onion

2 cups seasoned croutons (don't forget these!)

1 cup mayonnaise

half cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

quarter teaspoon pepper

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*Trust me. Try it!

Chaosism

Chaos is a name

for any order

that produces confusion

in our minds.

./././

--George Santayana

Ten Red Tomatoes

Ten Red Tomatoes sitting in a row

Ten Red Tomatoes all ready to go

Ten Red Tomatoes looking for some fun

Ten Red Tomatoes just basking in the sun.

d

Ten Red Tomatoes lounging on the deck

Ten Red Tomatoes wondering what the heck

Ten Red Tomatoes asking "True or Falsa...

One of these days will we be salsa?"