Fire in the belly

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I've posted more often than you probably want to hear of how I don't feel my years.

It's probably more often the truth than not unless sickness or ill health has taken it's toll earlier than we'd wish.

Still my desire to live to be 192 has not diminished with time.........contrarily..........much the opposite. This does not mean that I keep my weight at the ideal setting or munch on carrot sticks twice a day or run 20 miles a week. I'm doing good if I ride the stationary bike 5 miles a week and bend the smallest rod on the bowflex halfway. A fellow has to have a goal......after all.

And it's true that while my sisters hair has all gained beauty and color over the years their brother has begun to silver a bit on top. Every time I get a haircut I try to get the barber to only cut out the gray. He insists I can't afford the time or money for him to pick out only the ones I don't want ........ and besides.....there'd be no insulation between the sun and my brain.

Oh Well......

Anyway.......today I'm back over at Walhalla visiting my Vietnamese lady friend again. We're going over the design for a diamond pendant she wants built out of the top of an old piece filled with CZ stones and putting in new heads and real diamonds. She has a fondness for original pieces of her own design. Fortunately her late husband left her well off.........although when I gave her an estimate of $150 for the labor she screeched like a cat with it's tail caught in a wringer.

We had concluded our business and I was seated at the small table talking and doing a little business with a couple of other good ol' boys.......both of which are of an age with me, and both do a little trading to fill in their spare time........ mostly buying and selling a few shotguns and rifles from time to time.

Sue has gone to the counter to take care of a customer who wanted to pawn an item. She asked how much he needed to borrow and he of course gave a figure higher than was reasonable........so she demurred saying it was more than she could do. Well, as often happens he took a little offense at the price she put forward and started cursing in Spanish which is the first time I looked over and saw he was with 4 other Latinos. Sue proceeds to tell him not to use that kind of language in her store and you should have heard the bones in three old geezers necks pop as heads snapped around and focused on the group. One of the young men immediately raised his hands and said "I didn't do it". I know 2 of us were armed and the third guy at the table had come in to see if she wanted an old Winchester model 94 30-30....so it's reasonable to assume he was carrying also. The youngsters left with only a few mutters and their heads down...........probably were going anyway........but the gimlet eyes we had focused on them might have helped a little. Don't mess with a Southern lady........even if she was originally from South Vietnam..... which doesn't exist anymore........ Not if three over the hill southern gents are there with nothing else to do.

Like they say.......there may be snow on the mountain.......but there's still fire down below.