I am visiting my son for a few days. This big boy has to be near me all the time. I woke up with two Akitas and a cat in bed with me this morning. I wasn’t lonely.
Month: September 2020
Texas Chili Cookoff
Texas Chili Contest
For those of you who have lived in Texas, you know how true this is. They actually have a chili cook-off about the time Halloween comes around. It takes up a major portion of a parking lot at the San Antonio city park. The notes are from an inexperienced chili taster named Frank, who has visited from Springfield IL.
Frank: “Recently, I was honored to be selected as a judge at a chili cooking contest. The original person called in sick at the last moment and I happened to be standing there at the judges table asking for directions to the Coors Light truck, when the call came in. I was assured by the other two judges (native Texans) that the chili wouldn’t be all that spicy and, besides, they told me that I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted.”
Here are the scorecards from the advent: (Frank is Judge 3)
Chili #1 Eddie’s Maniac Monster Chili
>Judge #1 — A little too heavy on the tomato. Amusing kick.
>Judge #2 — Nice, smooth tomato flavor. Very mild.
>Judge #3 — (Frank) What the hell is this stuff?! You could remove dried paint on my driveway. Took me two beers to put out the flames. I hope that’s the worst one. These Texans are crazy!
Chili #2 Austin’s Afterburner Chili
>Judge #1 — Smoky, with a hint of pork. Slight jalapeno tang.
>Judge #2 — Exiting BBQ flavor; needs more peppers to be taken seriously.
>Judge #3 — Keep this out of reach of children. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver. They had to rush in more beer when they saw the look on my face.
Chili #3 Ronny’s Famous Burn Down the Barn Chili
>Judge #1 — Excellent firehouse chili. Great kick. Needs more beans.
>Judge #2 — A bean less chili, a bit salty, good use of peppers.
>Judge #3 — Call the EPA. I’ve located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been snorting Drano. Everyone knows the routine by now. Get me more beer before I ignite. Barmaid pounded me on the back, now my back bone is in the front part of my chest. I’m getting pie-eyed from all the beer…
Chili #4 Dave’s Black Magic
>Judge #1 — Black bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.
>Judge #2 — Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish, or other mild foods; not much of a chili.
>Judge #3 — I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Is it possible to burn out taste buds? Sally, the barmaid, was standing behind me with fresh refills. That 300-lb woman is starting to look HOT…just like this nuclear waste I’m eating! Is chili an aphrodisiac?
Chili #5 Lisa’s Legal Lip Remover
>Judge #1 — Meaty, strong chili. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding considerable kick. Very impressive.
>Judge #2 — Chili using shredded beef, could use more tomato. Must admit the cayenne peppers make a strong statement.
>Judge #3 – My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off may forehead, and I can no longer focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chili had given me brain damage. Sally saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly on it from the pitcher. I wonder if I’m burning my lips off. It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming. Screw those rednecks.
Chili #6 Pam’s Very Vegetarian Variety
>Judge #1 — Thin yet bold vegetarian variety chili. Good balance of spices and peppers.
> Judge #2 — The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, and garlic. Superb.
> Judge #3 — My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous sulphuric flames. I pooped on myself when I farted and I’m worried it will eat through the chair! No one seems inclined to stand behind me anymore. I need to wipe my butt with a snow cone.
Chili #7 Carla’s Screaming Sensation Chili
>Judge #1 — A mediocre chili with too much reliance on canned peppers.
>Judge #2 — Ho-hum; tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chili peppers at the last minute. **I should take note that I am worried about Judge #3. He appears to be in a bit of distress, as he is cursing uncontrollably.
>Judge #3 — You could put a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin, and I wouldn’t feel a thing. I’ve lost sight in one eye, and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with chili, which slid unnoticed out of my mouth. My pants are filled with lave to match my shirt. At least during the autopsy, they’ll know what killed me. I’ve decided to stop breathing; it’s too painful. Screw it; I’m not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air, I’ll just suck it through the 4-inch hole in my stomach.
Chili #8 Karen’s Toenail Curling Chili
>Judge #1 — The perfect ending, this is a nice blend chili. Not too bold, but spicy enough to declare its existence.
>Judge #2 — This final entry is a good, balanced chili. Neither mild, nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge #3 farted, passed out, fell over, and pulled the chili pot down on top of himself. Not sure if he’s going to make it. Poor fella, wonder how he’d have reacted to REALLY hot chili.
Tough Critics
We didn’t get out much when our kids were little. We learned early on, if people in our pay grade had children, they didn’t have much else. What seemed like a fun and inexpensive hobby, turned out to be an expensive proposition. Having friends over for dinner was about as far as our budget stretched.
One night we had dinner guests and sat the two three-year-old boys down with a plate of what I thought looked like delicious manicotti, a dish new to both of them. Soon, I realized it was a big mistake. My John was a champion talker and felt everyone needed his opinion. Tasting the sauce sauce and announced. “ I don’t like it. Can I have a hot dog.”
“At least try it. I answered. “If you don’t like it, you can have a hot dog.”
He poked it with a fork and spiced meat pressed out. “I can’t eat this, Mommy.!” He yowled. “ “It’s got doo doo in it!”
After that, his little friend Neil refused to try it.. “This is delicious.” He stated flatly, laying his fork down.
His mom cleared things up for me. “He says food is delicious when it’s disgusting.” I knew when I was whipped and went for the hot dogs.
Best Jokes of the Evening
| WORLD’S BEST JOKES |
| The University of Hertfordshire recently concluded a research project to find the best jokes in the world. Here they are: |
| Best Joke in the world | A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: “My friend is dead! What can I do?”
The operator, in a calm soothing voice says: “Just take it easy. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy’s voice comes back on the line. He says: “OK, now what?“ |
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| Second Place | Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson go on a camping trip. After a good dinner and a bottle of wine, they retire for the night, and go to sleep.
Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and nudges his faithful friend. “Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.” “I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes” replies Watson. “And what do you deduce from that?” Watson ponders for a minute. “Well,
But what does it tell you, Holmes?” Holmes is silent for a moment. “Watson, you idiot!” he says. “Someone has stolen our tent!” |
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| Top joke in USA | A man and a friend are playing golf one day at their local golf course. One of the guys is about to chip onto the green when he sees a long funeral procession on the road next to the course. He stops in mid-swing, takes off his golf cap, closes his eyes, and bows down in prayer.
His friend says: “Wow, that is the most thoughtful and touching thing I have ever seen. You truly are a kind man.” The man then replies: “Yeah, well we were married 35 years.” |
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| Top joke in Canada | When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300°C.
The Russians used a pencil. |
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| Top joke in Australia | This woman rushed to see her doctor, looking very much worried and all strung out. She rattles off: “Doctor, take a look at me. When I woke up this morning, I looked at myself in the mirror and saw my hair all wiry and frazzled up, my skin was all wrinkled and pasty, my eyes were bloodshot and bugging out, and I had this corpse-like look on my face! What’s WRONG with me, Doctor!?”
The doctor looks her over for a couple of minutes, then calmly says: “Well, I can tell you that there ain’t nothing wrong with your eyesight….” |
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| Top joke in Belgium | Why do ducks have webbed feet?
Why do elephants have flat feet?
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| Top joke in Germany | A general noticed one of his soldiers behaving oddly. The soldier would pick up any piece of paper he found, frown and say: “That’s not it” and put it down again. This went on for some time, until the general arranged to have the soldier psychologically tested. The psychologist concluded that the soldier was deranged, and wrote out his discharge from the army.
The soldier picked it up, smiled and said: “That’s it.” |
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| Top joke in UK
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A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says: “That’s the ugliest baby that I’ve ever seen. Ugh!” The woman goes to the rear of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: “The driver just insulted me!”
The man says: “You go right up there and tell him off – go ahead, I’ll hold your monkey for you.” |
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| Top Joke in England | Two guys are sitting on a bar stool. One starts to insult the other one. He screams, “I slept with your mother!” The bar gets quiet as everyone listens to see what the other weasel will do. The first again yells, “I SLEPT WITH YOUR MOTHER!”
The other says, “Go home dad you’re drunk.” |
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| Top Joke in Wales | A turtle was walking down an alley in New York when he was mugged by a gang of snails. A police detective came to investigate and asked the turtle if he could explain what happened.
The turtle looked at the detective with a confused look on his face and replied “I don’t know, it all happened so fast.” |
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| Top Joke in Northern Ireland | A doctor says to his patient, “I have bad news and worse news”.
“Oh dear, what’s the bad news?” asks the patient. The doctor replies, “You only have 24 hours to live.” “That’s terrible”, said the patient. “How can the news possibly be worse?” The doctor replies, “I’ve been trying to contact you since yesterday.” |
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| Also Rans | Texan: “Where are you from?” Harvard grad: “I come from a place where we do not end our sentences with prepositions.” Texan: “Okay – where are you from, jackass?”
An Alsatian went to a telegram office, took out a blank form and wrote, “Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof.” The clerk examined the paper and politely told the dog: “There are only nine words here. You could send another ‘Woof’ for the same price.” “But,” the dog replied, “that would make no sense at all.” Two fish in a tank.
What do you call a monkey in a minefield ?
A scientist and a philosopher were being chased by a hungry lion. The scientist made some quick calculations, he said “it’s no good trying to outrun it, its catching up”. The philosopher kept a little ahead and replied “I am not trying to outrun the lion, I am trying to outrun you !” Which day of the week do fish hate?…….
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| And, saved till last, my own favourite . | |||||||||||
| Top Joke in Scotland | I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather.
Not screaming in terror like his passengers. |
My Favorite Joke
I apologize for posting this joke again, but I just love it. I am taking a page from Bud’s book. When he finds a joke he likes, he nurture’s it, polishing it, perfecting it, and escorting it to gatherings to share with company worthy of its excellence. That’s how I feel about Mithuth Thmith.
The crowds had been packing the traveling tent revival every night that week, grateful offerings filling the pockets of the evangelist. Cure after cure was enacted in the sweltering heat of those July evenings. Emotions were at an all time high on the last night as the last two afflicted souls reached the evangelist at the front of the tent.
Struggling up the steps on her crutches poor Mrs. Smith hobbled up to the evangelist. “Heal me! I haven’t been able to walk without crutches in twenty years.”
“Yes, Sister! You will be healed! Go behind that curtain and wait with the others waiting for healing.” Mrs. Smith slowly and painfully made her way behind the curtain.
Johnny Jones was the last in line. “I have a lifth. It hath made my life awful. Pleath heal me of my lifth!”
“Yes, Brother! You will be healed! Go behind the curtain with all the others and you will all be healed at once.”
The evangelist offered up a long, heartfelt prayer for healing. Weeping could be heard all over the tent. Finally, he concluded, calling out dramatically. “Mrs. Smith, you haven’t been able to walk without crutches for twenty years, have you?”
“No, Lord!” she replied from behind the curtain.
“You are healed! Throw your right crutch over the curtain.” Her right crutch flew over the curtain and clattered on the floor. “Now throw your left crutch over the curtain.” The left crutch followed.
Thunderous “Amens!” echoed all over the tent.
“Johnny Jones, you are healed of your lisp. Call out to us in a loud, clear voice so all can hear!” demanded the evangelist!
“Mithuth Thmith just fell on her ath!”
I asked Bud for his favorite. Here you go.
An old man was fishing the lake with his buddy when a funeral procession passed. He stood up and took his hat off.
His companion stated. “ I have to say, I am surprised at the respect you showthe deceased.”
The old man replied, “Well, that was a good, old lady. We were married nearly fifty years.”
That one worries me a little.
Naked Versus Necked
NECKED
Tightwad Joke
A miserly old man was diagnosed with a terminal illness and determined to prove wrong the old saying, “You can’t take it with you.”
After much thought, the old geezer finally figured out how to take at least some of his money with him when he died.
He instructed his wife to go to the bank and withdraw enough money to fill two pillowcases. and take the bags of money to the attic and leave them directly above his bed.
His plan: When he passed away, he would reach out and grab the bags on his way to heaven. Several weeks after the funeral, the deceased man’s wife, up in the attic cleaning came upon the two forgotten pillowcases stuffed with cash.
“Oh, that old skinflint” she exclaimed. “I knew he should have told me put the money in the basement.”
Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without
Some thing you just can’t get away from. Everyday when I got home from school, it was the same thing.. Mother met us at the door. “Take off your clothes and hang them up. Take off your shoes and put them under the bed. Get a biscuit out of the oven and do your homework. Then you can go play.”
I hated hanging up my clothes, preferring to pitch them wherever they landed. I got sick of hearing how much work went into washing, starching, and ironing them. After all, she had a wringer washer, clothesline, and iron. What else did she have to do anyway? She was a mother, not a person. I got sick of all that nagging about my shoes. I didn’t always have time to go back and put my shoes away when I tried to slip out to play. Many times I’d kicked them off in the yard. Once a dog chewed one up, a disaster, since getting new shoes involved pinching pennies and careful timing. Daddy got paid on Thursdays. Mother went to the bank and did all her shopping Thursdays. There would be no money till the next payday. A Tuesday shoe emergency messed up the whole plan. Daddy also had to be dealt with. When we messed up, she was responsible. It rained on the just and unjust alike.
Finally, the point of the story. Despite my best efforts, Mother’s teaching, or genetic input took control. The instant I get home, I change and hang up my clothes and put my shoes in the closet. If I had one, I’d certainly have gotten a biscuit. This just isn’t right. You’d think after more than sixty years , I’d get a break.
Worse yet, I have to be frugal. I have to use it up. Wear it out. Make do or do without, just like people were directed during World War II. Paper towels and napkins are wasteful, so I use dish cloths and cloth napkins. Buzzy went into a clawing frenzy and scratched a hole in my nice bamboo sheet a while back. He is not frugal. I couldn’t bear to toss those beautiful sheets and pillow cases, so I am making them into napkins and hankies. Bamboo hankies are $19.99 per six pack. Bamboo napkins cost $19.99 per twelve. So far, I’ve made a dozen napkins and a dozen hankies and some sleeping shorts for Bud. . There is enough left over for more several more hankies, napkins , dish towels, dust cloths, and doilies for embroidery. I am sick of the carcass of those sheets , but can’t bear to throw them away when all this costs nothing but some work. I think I need therapy.
Rock and Roll, Mama
When I was a kid, nothing would have shocked me more than the thought of hurting my mother. Despite this, when I was about ten, my brother and I came upon my mother rocking the baby, one of her few opportunities to take a break out of her impossible day. She had very little lap for the baby, since she was hugely pregnant with another.. Most often, she drifted off for a little nap herself. We thought it would be fun to surprise her by pulling on the back of the rocker, tipping her back. She must have been shocked or extremely good-natured, because she laughed out loud. Foolishly inferring we’d pleased her, we rocked her even further back, with her continued shrieks of, “Stop! Stop! You’re going to drop me!” Because she seemed to be having so much fun, we kept it up till the chair tipped backwards, leaving her stranded, lying with the rocker back on the floor, swollen feet high in the air, under the weight of two babies, one on top of her belly, the other inside nearly ready to pop out.
We were horrified, thinking we’d killed her. The baby was howling at being upside down on her incapacitated Mama. Of course, Mother could do nothing to help herself, except shout, “Help, get me up! Get me up!” I thought we’d killed her, and probably the squalling baby, as well as the one on the way. The two of us struggled to get the chair up, learning a valuable lesson in physics at the same time. It’s a lot easier to tip a pregnant woman over than to get to her upright. Everybody did survive, despite our idiocy. The miracle was, the whole situation struck Mother as funny. Since then, I’ve never tempted to tip another pregnant woman over.
Nutsrok 