Author: leeduigon(patty)

I have lived in Metuchen, NJ, all my life. I have been married to my wife Patricia since 1977. I am a former newspaper editor and reporter. I was also the owner-operator of my own small business for several years. I wrote various novels and short stories published during 1980s and 1990s. I am a long-time student of judo and Japanese swordsmanship (kenjutsu). I also play chess, basketball, and military and sports simulations.

You Can Help Oppressed Zillionaires!

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When lavishly-paid football player Colin Whatsisname made world news by refusing to stand for America’s national anthem–because, you see, this is an oppressive country, a real racist hell-hole–he inspired a great philanthropic endeavor: the Fund for Oppressed Professional Zillionaires (FOPZ).

All over this evil land, millionaire celebrities are feeling oppressed. Even the president feels oppressed, no matter how many opulent taxpayer-financed vacations and getaways he takes.

Well, FOPZ is going to do something about it! We want our rich and pampered athletes, entertainers, and government big shots to feel happy and contented. It’s just not enough for them to be rich and powerful and famous. We want them to be happy, too.

So here’s the deal. The dollars that you contribute to FOPZ will be used to purchase some of those hateful ordinary working people for use as human sacrifices. Yes: those nasty little nobodys who pay Colin Whatsisname’s salary, and pay for the president’s vacations, each month one of them will be sacrificed upon an altar, the ashes to be put in plastic vials and sent to whatever celebrities are feeling oppressed lately.

Whether you’re a multimillion-dollar athlete, rock star, rap artiste, reality show star, or government official, FOPZ is dedicated to easing your feelings of oppression by catering to your sense of entitlement.

Hey! You’ll run out of money before we run out of little people to sacrifice.

‘Follow, Follow, I Would Follow Jesus’

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This hymn was bestowed on us in 1878, and it’s another one that might move you to turn up the volume. Something about this arrangement calls me into fellowship with the saints of the 19th century; and it’s good to be in their gracious company.

‘You Can Take Your Hands Off the Wheel!’

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The self-driving taxicab from “Total Recall”

Every now and then, some chump from the government accidentally says something that says a whole lot more than he really means to say.

As the Obama administration (God help us) announces its total support for driverless cars–pay no attention to those annoying crashes–the director of the National Economic Council says, “We envision in the future, you can take your hands off the wheel” ( http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/20/technology/self-driving-cars-guidelines.html ).

Isn’t that precisely what world leaders have been doing for the last eight years?

Take your hands off the wheel. Let the car drive itself. Let your life drive itself, while you’re at it. Responsibility? What’s that? Just let ‘er rip! And if you’re running a country, just keep those crazy public policies coming hot and heavy, and never mind the consequences–take your hands off the wheel!

The director adds that it’s gonna be really great that the cars of the near future will be autonomous.

Too bad the people in them won’t be.

By Request, ‘Love at Home’

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This is a sweet old hymn from the 19th century, requested by Swee.

Lean back and enjoy it.

Comment Contest: Less Than 50 to Go!

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Come on, now–whoever posts Comment No. 9,000 is going to win big, big, big! And there are less than 50 comments left to go.

Anyone can play: just leave a comment under any post on this blog. The rules are simple. All comments are eligible, except for any that are abusive to me or to another reader, any that include the f-bomb or other profanity (but I’ll just delete those), commercials thinly disguised as comments, blasphemy, or any remarks just too inane to bother with. Aside from that, anything goes. The last contest was won by a reader who just said “Ugh.” Please don’t let that become a trend.

“So what do I get if I win the contest?”

Well, you get an autographed copy of one of my books. I know–last week I promised the winner would get the country of his choice to be absolute ruler of. I haven’t been able to swing that deal. Sorry!

A Reminder: We Take Hymn and Prayer Requests

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Some new readers have joined this blog lately, and I’d like to take the opportunity to let them know, and remind everybody else, that we do hymn and prayer requests.

If there’s a hymn you’d like to share with your fellow readers by having it posted here, just say the word–and it shall be done. Post your request in the form of a comment, and I’ll do the rest.

Only a few of you have made hymn requests, so far. But it’s open to one and all, so don’t be shy.

We also post prayer requests. If you have one, let me know about it via a comment. It can’t hurt to have Christians from all over the world praying for you when you need a prayer.

A Hymn from Two Centuries: ‘Jesus the Name High Over All’

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Before I started posting hymns for you, I always tried to avoid modern worship music. But I’ve learned that some of it is wonderful!

Jesus the Name High Over All–lyrics from the 18th century, by Charles Wesley, and music from the 21st, by Godfrey Birtill: with overall direction by the Holy Spirit.

And it works–it really works. You might want to turn up the volume on this one.

Cows vs… Toy Car?

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Those of us who don’t know cows very well ten to think of them as these big, plasic things that just stand around and swish their tails. But throw a remote-controlled toy car into the mix and watch what happens.

First the cows chase the car. Then it chases them. Are they angry, scared–or just playing?

I guess you’d have to ask them.

Memory Lane: Crazy Ikes

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Wow! Remember this toy from the 1950s–Crazy Ikes? Snap the pieces together, and build just about anything you can imagine, including people and animals.

I have a fond memory of sitting outside on a summer day with my friend, David. He had Crazy Ikes, too, so we could pool our sets and build bigger and more complicated things. I was five years old, at most.

Keep your video games, and give me back my Crazy Ikes!

Where I’ve Been Today (*Sigh*)

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If any of you have wondered why I haven’t discussed any news or current events today, lemme tellya–

A tutor has been trying to teach me to perform a certain kind of computer operation, and oh, boy! Me head is poundin’, mon! Where’s that duct tape? I can’t even describe what I’m trying to learn how to do. It would be good for my employers, and good for my fellow employees, if I could learn it. But after an hour or so, I’m ready to fall over with pink foam coming out my ears.

Well, nobody can do everything. I’m blessed that I can write stuff. But when it comes to hi-tech tasks, what you see on this very page is all I’ve got to offer. And that didn’t come easy!

Tomorrow, I hope, my blogging will be back to normal, I’ll get back to work on The Silver Trumpet, and those little sutures in my skull will close up again.

Meanwhile, I’m bushed.