What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it?
I looked up Virginia Williams, an old time Fiddling Champion. She was a delightful lady. I loved her conversation and music. Sadly, this lovely lady died in 2023 of ALS.
Bud spilled sausage gravy on his favorite shirt this morning. That made such a nice spot he coughed up a big gob next to it. I told him he was on such a roll he ought to just go ahead and see how many stains he could manage. It’s sitting on washer now pretreating before washing. .
From saloons to spurs to health insurance – here is a fun mix of cowboy humor from the comical elves of North Pole West.
Saloon
A cowboy rides into town and stops at the saloon. However, when he’s finished his drink, he walks out to find his horse has been stolen. The cowboy walks back into the bar, loosens his guns in their holsters and says, ‘I’m gonna have another beer and if my horse ain’t back outside by the time I’m finished, I’m gonna do what I dun back in Texas.’ The cowboy has his drink and goes out to find his horse is back where he left it. The bartender calls out after him, ‘Hey partner, what exactly did happen in Texas?’ The cowboy says, ‘I had to walk home!’
Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger and Tonto are caught in an ambush. ‘Indians ahead of us! Indians behind us! And Indians on both sides!’ shouts the Lone Ranger. ‘Well, Tonto, old friend, it looks like we’re done for!’ Tonto looks at him and says, ‘What you mean… “We”?’
Shoes
Visitor: Wow, you have a lot of flies buzzing round your horses and cows. Do you ever shoo them?
Cowboy: No we just let them go barefoot.
Health Insurance
The cowboy was trying to buy a health insurance policy. The insurance agent was going down the list of standard questions.”Ever have an accident?””Nope, nary a one.””None? You’ve never had any accidents.””Nope. Ain’t never had one. Never.””Well, you said on this form you were bit by a snake once. Wouldn’t you consider that an accident?””Heck, no. That dang varmint bit me on purpose.”
A horseman went into a saddlers shop and asked for one spur. “One spur?” asked the saddler. “Surely you mean a pair of spurs, sir?” “No, just one,” replied the horseman. “If I can get one side of the horse to go, the other side is bound to come with it!”
Prospector
A prospector in the Wild West is crossing the mountains in a horse and wagon. With him is his daughter and $10,000 in cash. Suddenly the pair are stopped by a bandit who searches the wagon then rides off with it. ‘Dang it!’ says the prospector. ‘There goes my $10,000!’ ‘No, Pa,’ says his daughter. ‘Look. I managed to hide the money in my mouth.’ ‘Jeepers!’ says the prospector. ‘If only your Ma was here we could have saved the horse and wagon too!’
Saloon 2
An old cowboy goes to a bar and orders a drink. As he sits sipping his whiskey, a young lady sits down next to him. ‘Are you a real cowboy?’ she asks. He replies, ‘Well, I’ve spent my whole life on the ranch, herding horses, mending fences, and branding cattle, so I guess I am.’ The woman says, ‘Well I’m a lesbian. I spend my whole day thinking about women. As soon as I get up in the morning, I think about women. When I shower, watch TV or eat, I think of women. In fact everything seems to make me think of women.’ The woman leaves and a little while later a man sits down next to the old cowboy. ‘Are you a real cowboy?’ asks the man. The cowboy replies, ‘Well, I always thought I was, but I just found out I’m a lesbian.’
The Attack
An army fort in the Wild West is about to be attacked by renegades. The captain sends for his trustiest Indian scout. ‘Use all your tracking skills to estimate the sort of war party we’re up against,’ orders the captain. The scout lays down and put his ear to the ground. ‘Big war party,’ he says. ‘One hundred braves in warpaint. Two chiefs, one on a black horse, one on a white mare. Also a medicine man with a limp.’ ‘Good God!’ exclaims the captain. ‘You can tell all that just by listening to the ground?’ ‘No, sir,’ replies the scout. ‘I’m looking under the gate.’
Cowboy Boots
A woman went into a bar in Texas and saw a cowboy with his feet propped up on a table. He had the biggest feet she’d ever seen.
The woman asked the cowboy if it’s true what they say about men with big feet.
The cowboy grinned and said, “Sure is, little lady! Why don’t you come on out to the bunk house and let me prove it to you!”
The woman wanted to find out for herself, so she spent the night with him.
The next morning she handed him a $100 bill. Blushing, he said, “Well, thank ya Ma’am. I’m real flattered. Aitn’t nobody ever paid me fer mah services before.”
“Don’t be flattered,” the woman replied. “Take the money and buy yourself some boots that fit.”
Cowboy Boots 2
An elderly couple, Margaret and Bert, moved to Texas. Bert always wanted a pair of authentic cowboy boots, so seeing some on sale, he bought them and wore them home. Walking proudly, he sauntered into the kitchen and said to his wife, ‘ notice anything different about me’? Margaret looked him over. “Nope’. Frustrated, Bert stormed off into the bathroom, undressed and walked back into the kitchen completely naked except for the boots. Again he asked Margaret, a little louder this time, ‘ Notice anything different NOW’? Margaret looked up and exclaimed, ‘Bert, what’s different? It’s hanging down today, it was hanging down yesterday, it’ll be hanging down again tomorrow!’ Furious, Bert yelled, ‘AND DO YOU KNOW WHY IT’S HANGING DOWN, MARGARET? ‘ Nope’, she replied. IT’S HANGING DOWN BECAUSE IT’S LOOKING AT MY NEW COWBOY BOOTS!!!! Without changing her expression, Margaret replied, ‘ Shoulda bought a hat Bert, shoulda bought a hat.
I needed Lassie. I was sure if I’d had Lassie I could tackle anything that came my way. Timmy was such a dope, always falling in a well, getting in a mine cave-in, or getting stuck high in a tree. I could clearly see the danger that he was headed for, putting Lassie to the trouble of bailing Timmy out. If she wasn’t staring down a mountain lion, or nudging a branch toward Timmy stuck in quicksand, she’d race home in record time to bring back help. Can you imagine what she’d have accomplished had she been blessed with vocal cords and opposable thumbs?
One day a city stockbroker decides he has just had too much. Too much stress, too much of the big city, too much everything. So he quits him job, gives up his apartment and rents out a Cabin in the middle of the wilderness. For six months he lives in tranquillity and isolation. Then, one day, there is a knock at the door.
He opens the door to see this huge lumberjack with a giant beard shuffling from foot to foot nervously. Eventually the big man speaks:
“I’m yer neighbour from the cabin about a mile down the road. Anyhow, I’m having a party on Saturday and I wondered if you’d like to come.”
The guy pauses for a second and then replies: “You know what, that would be great. It is about time I got out and it would be nice to meet some new people. I’d love to come.”
“Right,” says the lumberjack, looking a little relieved. “I’ll see you about eight o’clock on Saturday then.” And then he turns to leave.
But he pauses for a second and then turns back: “I should probably warn you, there is gonna be some pretty heavy drinking.”
“Well, I’m sure that’s OK. I used to drink quite a bit myself back in the city, so I think I’ll be alright with a bit of hard liquor.”
“Right then,” says the big man. “Well, eight o’clock then.”
But as he turns to go he pauses again and turns back: “Yeah, I should also mention: most likely there will also be a bit of fighting before the evening finishes.”
“Uh, well, OK,” the guy replies. “I mean, I get on pretty well with most people so I don’t see that being a problem. But if it gets rough, then I am sure I can take care of myself.”
“Right then,” says the big man. “See you at eight o’clock then.”
But once again he pauses and turns back, scratching his beard: “So I probably also need to tell you: there might be some pretty wild sex.”
The guy perks up a bit at that. “Well, you know, we are all consenting adults. And after all this time out here alone, I don’t think I’d have any problem with some intimate company if that’s what happens.”
“OK then,” says the man. “Well, see you Saturday.” And with that he turns and starts to stroll away.
“Oh wait, just one question,” says the guy. “What should I wear?”
The lumberjack pauses to think, and scratches his beard again. “I don’t suppose it really matters much. I just gonna be you and me.”
This is a repost of one of my favorite posts about my eccentric family. I posted it when my blog was new, so many of my readers haven’t seen it. Enjoy! If you’ve read it, please be patient.
When you are dealing with family, it clarifies things to have a scale. You don’t have to waste time analyzing people when you have a ready reference. This one works pretty well for my family.
1.Has a monogrammed straight jacket and standing reservation on mental ward.
2.Family is likely to move away without leaving forwarding address. Has jail time in the past or the future
3.People say, “Oh, crap. Here comes Johnny.”
4.Person can go either way. Gets by on a good day. Never has been arrested. Can be lots of fun or a real mess. Relatives usually will invite in for coffee. Likely to have hormone-induced behavior.
5.Regular guy. Holds down a job. Mostly takes care of business. Probably not a serial marrier. Attends church when he has to.
6.Good fellow. Almost everybody likes him or her. Volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. Manages money well enough to retire early.
7.High achiever. Business is in order. Serves on city council.
8.Looks too good to be true. What’s really going on?
9.Over-achiever. Affairs are in order. Solid citizen. Dull, dull, dull. Could end up as a 1
Instead of saying, “Uncle Henry’s a pretty good guy, but sometimes he goes off the deep end, you could say, ‘He’s a usually about a 6 but he was a little 4-ish after Aunt Lou took his new truck and ran off with his brother’.” Or…
“Why in the world did Betty marry him? He was a jerk to her when she was married to his daddy.”
“Well, you know she’s a 5.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.” Or…
“You set the house on fire trying to dry your underwear in the oven?? What in the hell were you thinking?? And you call yourself a 6?”
“Look, you know darn well I’m a 6. It just seemed like a good idea. Appliances should be multifunctional. I’ve seen you pull a 2 lot of times and never threw it up to you. It could happen to anyone.” Or…
“You forgot and put the turnip greens through the spin cycle and now the washing machine drain is stopped up! I’m not even going to ask you what turnip greens were doing in the washing machine! You’re a 2 if I ever saw one. Your mama and sisters are 2′s, too!! Did you put the beans in the dishwasher, too, while you were at it?”
“No, I’m not an idiot. You cook beans on the stove. I put my rolls in the dishwasher to rise.”
Our family reunions are an eclectic mix of mostly 5′s who can tip into categories 4 and 6 when pressed. Most are fairly regular folks, seasoned with a picante’ dash of street-corner preachers, nude airport racers, and folks who are just interesting in general. We have a couple of 7′s thrown in, reminders of what we could do if we tried. A person’s position on the social ladder is likely to be greatly influenced by his company or partner. For instance, if a submissive #5 marries a dominant #7, it is likely he or she will benefit. If the lower number Is dominant, not so much.
I was comfortable growing up in this eccentric milieu in the 1950’s. While I gave lip service to my parents’ goal of strict respectability, I enjoyed a ringside seat to periodic lunacy. It also justified my lapses. It ran it the family! And no matter how disappointed my parents might be when I messed up, at least I hadn’t been caught naked in traffic yet.
When considering parenthood, most people entertain hormone-tinged delusions, imagining their children as cute, well-behaved, athletic, and smart. We gaze fondly at our partners imagining a baby with his blue eyes, her sweet smile when’s we should have looked a little closer at Grandpa’s buck teeth or Grandma’s frizzy hair. Even better, this baby is just as likely to inherit genes from a great-great grandpa, the horse thief, as from Grandpa John, the Pulitzer Prize Winner. The baby might look a lot more like Aunt Fanny, the lady wrestler, than its pretty mama. A better plan would probably be to put all babies in a lottery at birth, so parents could credit their lumps to bad luck and the joys to good parenting for the next twenty-one years. The kids would definitely appreciate it.
I learned to make the easiest apple butter ever. I didn’t even peel my apples, just cored and sectioned them. I was gifted 20 lbs of apples. They went straight into apple butter. 1 lb apples yields about a pint of apple butter. I will use this recipe for pumpkin, peach,pear or whatever produce I come by. Taste as you cook. You may add or decrease sugar or spices to your taste.
5 lbs apples (fills 6 qt crockpot. I heaped them up)
4 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Core and section apples. Top with sugar and spices. Set crockpot on medium. Cook 12 -18 hours. Blend till smooth with hand mixer. Jar in clean jars with new flats and rings. Cover with water, bring to boil and boil 10 minutes to seal. I did in pressure cooker since I made a lot. Excellent on hot biscuits. This makes an excellent gift!
This is about half my apple butter. The rest is still cooking. The house smells wonderful!
A garda was patrolling down O’Connell Streetin Dublin when he sees two fellas pissing up against the window of a shop. He parks the car and runs over to them.
He asks the first fella for his name and address. The man replies, ‘I’m Paddy O’Toole of no fixed abode.’
The Garda turns to the second fella and asks the same question.
He replies, ‘I’m Ben Riordain, and I live in the flat above Paddy!’”
Delirrrrrah
“Anto’s missus was in the Rotunda Hospital, ready to give birth to their first child.
When they arrived, the nurse asked, ‘How dilated is she, sir?’.
Anto replied, ‘Delighted? She’s over the fu*king moon!‘”
Ordering a pint
“‘Sorry, love, can I have a pint of Guinnessand a packet of crisps where you’re ready there’.
‘Oh. You must be Irish‘, she replied. The man was evidently offended and responded, ‘The cheek, just because I order a pint of Guinness you assume I’m Irish.
If I ordered a bowl of pasta would you that make me Italian?!’
‘No’ she replied. ‘But this is a newsagents…‘”
Feeling himself
“Sheamus drops into the local pub on the way back home from visiting the doctor. ‘What’s the story?’ Paddy asks when he sees the look on Sheamus’s face.
‘I haven’t been feeling myself lately‘, Sheamus replied. ‘That’s good’ says Paddy. ‘Sure you’d be arrested for less!’”
Flies in a pint
This is one of the many Irish stereotype jokes that’s flying around, but unlike many it isn’t exactly offensive.
“An Englishman, a Scotsman and an Irishman wander into a little old pub in Kildare. They each ask the barman for a pint of Guinness. After the pints are placed onto the bar, three bluebottles drop into each man’s freshly poured pint.
The Englishman pushes his pint away in disgust and orders up another. The Scot reaches in and plucks the fly out.
The Irishman reaches in, picks the fly out, holds it up close to his face and shouts, “Spit it out you little b*stard.””
Legal advice
“An English lawyer was sat with his Irish client. ‘Marty’ he sighed, ‘Why is it that whenever you ask an Irishman a question, he replies with another question?’‘Bollocks. Who told you that?’ asked Marty.”
Death by Guinness
It’s been doing the rounds on WhatsApp for a while, but hopefully it’ll give you a laugh.
“It was a cold Friday evening when the doorbell rang is Mrs Molloy’s house. When she answered the door, Pat Glynn, her husband’s manager at the brewery, was stood on the doorstep.
‘Pat. Hello. Where’s my husband? He should have been home from work 3 hours ago?’ The man sighed. ‘I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, Mrs Molloy, but there was an accident over in the brewery. Your husband fell into a vat of Guinness and drowned’.
Ten shots, please
‘Oh my God’ she replied. ‘Please tell me it was quick?!’ ‘Well… no. It wasn’t. He climbed out 4 times to take a p*ss‘.”
“Ben walked into the local bar all a fluster and ordered seven shots of Irish whiskeyand a pint of Smwithicks. When the barman arrived back with the pint, all of the shots of whiskey had been drunk.
‘Ah here, you drank those very quickly‘ said the barman. ‘Well’ says Ben, ‘If you had what I had you’d drink them quickly, too’.
‘Shite’ replied the barman ‘What do you have?’ ‘A tenner’ replied Ben.”
My little niece Jenny got some quality time with scissors. She walked into the room holding a long lock of freshly shorn hair. She’d sheared her waist-length hair into a jagged mess right above the ear. Shocked, my sister burst into tears and fled the room. Following her mother’s lead, Chelsea, her little sister wailed and ran. Turning to her dad, Jenny wept and said, “I cut my hair and now, now nobody loves me!”