Pic of the Month

JUNE 2025
University of Texas at Austin
 June 9; 1:25 pm
I was visiting the Briscoe Center for American History
searching through a box of archived papers
for a letter written in 1919 by a WWI Veteran,
Anton Janyska, whose biography I'm writing.
I looked up from the table and said,
"Oh, what a great view of the campus!"
_________

MAY 2025
Observing Memorial Day
at my family's cemetery
After mowing my family cemetery each May,
I plant ground flags beside each of our veterans.
105 years ago this veteran was shot by a fellow resident
in our hometown of Granger, TX.
Anton had only a few months earlier returned home
from The Great War in Europe.
This tragedy - who shot him and why -
remains a mystery.
But my recent research into his life revealed
that Anton was no stranger to tragedy.
The Life & Death of Anton Janyska 
_________________

APRIL 2025
BIRTHDAY MONTH!
My former AISD colleagues
Joe Ramirez (l.) & Sharon Kay Fayad (r.)
took me to Chez Zee for dinner;
my friend Chad & his Mom
took me to Thai Palace at Mueller District;
and friend Jan had me to her home for dinner.
It was a great birthday!

MARCH 2025
Anti-Vaxxers Blame Immigrants
for Measles Outbreak in Texas
that Anti-Vaxxers Caused
Child in West Texas hospital infected with measles.

  • Texas is experiencing its largest measles outbreak in 30 years.   

  • The virus has infected
    more than 600 people and
    killed two school-aged children. 

  • Texas has one of the largest unvaccinated populations among U.S states thanks to the wrong-headed, conspiracy-laced, social media campaign of ultra-right-wing conservatives in the state.  

  • There are two main groups within Texas' large unvaccinated population: white conservatives in rural areas, and Hispanic and Black people in big cities.

After over a month of watching this outbreak grow worse and worse our mindless Republican-led Texas legislature thought it might be time to call in the state's Health Commissioner to get some answers.   Instead, you guessed it, it turned into an opportunity for the right-wing legislators to question the efficacy of vaccines and blame immigrants.

State Rep. Mike Olcott, R-Fort Worth, asked Shuford repeatedly if the West Texas outbreak could be tied to the influx of undocumented immigrants into Texas.

“Have you all considered the possibility, because of the enormous surge of foreign nationals coming into this country recently, many of whom, maybe even most of whom, are not vaccinated, that could have been the source of the outbreak?” Olcott said.

Shuford said she had no data pinpointing how the outbreak started.  And finally, after repeatedly being asked about an undocumented immigrant connection to a bunch of unvaccinated children getting measles, said: "Well sir, the epicenter of this and its spread is in rural area, not a large urban area where most undocumented immigrants generally settle. "  

Let me be clear. 
You anti-vaxxers made your bed,
now you lie in it. 
Stop lying about vaccines -
they are safe and effective. 
Measles was practically eradicated
two decades ago and now we're
seeing shit like this happen again
because of you!

Shuford explained that the elimination of measles depends on a community having an immunization of at least 95% to keep the disease from spreading.

“At 95%, we have what’s called herd immunity,” she said. ”We know when those vaccine levels get lower than 95% that there’s enough unprotected people together to cause an outbreak.”

What happened in Gaines County, she said, was that measles was able to latch onto a community where there were lower immunization rates.

One of the county’s local public school districts with only 143 students, according to 2023-24 school year data, has the highest school vaccine exemption rate in the state — 48% of Loop school district students have conscientious exemptions from required vaccinations.

Imbeciles!

__________

FEBRUARY 2025
Mitch the Maverick
While the rest of his sheep continued onward
in their blind allegiance to their Fuhrer,

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
finally showed some balls,
broke rank, and said "No!"
to the latest of President Trump's
outrageous Cabinet nominations --
the idiot anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
as our Secretary of Health & Human Services.

I suppose when you're so near death's door 
as this ol' fart,
you've got nothing to lose
if you finally embrace the truth.
About damn time, Mitch.

That leaves 48 of your Senate colleagues
still embracing MAGA's "alternate truths"
(or, lies, as we once called them).
__________

JANUARY 2025
The Galloping Horse

You all know by now I'm
selling my property.

So,
my good friend Jan texted me:

"Feng shui says when you are
attempting to sell a property,
a galloping horse is needed
in the house.
I found one in Kerrville
in an antique shop and
was able to
sell my house soon after.

I named him Whitey -
and I think you need him
in your home."

Hell yeah --
bring Whitey on!
I think he looks good
beside my
favorite Queen LP.
__________

DECEMBER 2024
Terry's End of Year
Political Cartoon

It's become a tradition...
I hope you like what I came up with this year.

This is my new Series titled
"America's Inglorious Restoration"
and here is my
Dec. 1, 2024 Issue 1 titled:
"Christmas Comes to Moscow"


See Issue 2 in this series
LAUGHING AT OUR POLITICS:
My Memories of Political Cartoons

   I miss receiving a printed newspaper.  Do you as well?  

I simply can not justify the exorbitant subscription rates publishers now demand for something that's become so reduced in size and substance.  I mean, gone are the days of wielding in your raised arms billowing sheets of newsprint filled with wide columns of detailed information about events, provided in a type font visible to the human eye.  Today's remaining newspapers have been reduced to the size of a magazine page with skinny columns written by some poor chap who has clearly been admonished by a frugal editor not to exceed in length the diminished capacities of the twitter generation.  

What I miss most about the grand newspapers of the past is the Editorial page and its collection of Political Cartoons. I truly enjoyed those poking fun at the Left and the Right, whether Carter or Reagan, Clinton or Bush - they made me laugh, but more importantly they made me think.  

Political Cartoons have been around for centuries, certainly since America's origins.  It is thought that Benjamin Franklin's "Join or Die" cartoon published in his Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9, 1754 was the first to be published here in the colonies.  

I fear the disappearance of our newspapers and their offering up of this lampooning by artists on both sides of the political aisle has contributed to our inability today in this country to engage (with literacy) in civil debate - indeed, i fear we've lost the ability to laugh at ourselves and our leaders no matter their stripes.  Instead, everyone's just angry.  

Today I enjoy a weekly dose of what our political cartoonists have to offer at: https://www.politico.com/tag/cartoon-carousel or at https://www.usnews.com/cartoons

Well, have you figured out what I'm trying to get across in my Year Ending Political Cartoon above?   Hope so.  What a year it's been, huh?   Geez...God help us.

I've got four years of material coming at me, watch the evolution here: 
America's Inglorious Restoration.   
__________

NOVEMBER 2024
"A great Darkness fell over the land..."

10 days after the tragic re-election of the
tax-dodging felon Donald J. Trump...
...neo-NAZIs
- long-term proud members of Trump's MAGAs -
strode through Columbus Ohio on Saturday, November 16.

"Mexicans, go home!"
"Death to Jews!"
"F**k all Ni***rs!"
and
"Fight, Trump, Fight!"

were a few of the repetitious chants
stunned onlookers reported hearing.

The incident ignited a memory of a passage in a World History textbook I had on my shelf:

"It is not surprising that after Hitler seized full dictatorial powers his extremist base was emboldened to embark on inciteful public displays aimed at striking fear in Germany's Jewish and immigrant communities...actions that were a direct response to the hate-filled speeches of the fanatical leader...the seeds of fear and hate had been perniciously planted by the cult leader and a crop of disciples were eager to act now...confident that in this new regime their actions would be called just..."
[A History of the Modern World,
authored by Robert Palmer; 1950]

In my humble opinion,
the only reason for an American
to hold a NAZI flag
is if it was taken in battle.

But, unfortunately,


“Those who cannot remember the past 
are condemned to repeat it.”
– George Santayana, 
The Life of Reason, 1905.
_____________________________

"...The number of events organized or attended by White supremacists in the United States hit a new high in 2024 during the presidential campaign at 282 documented incidents, according to the Anti-Defamation League that monitors the activities of such groups, including their online recruitment efforts.  Marches and public gatherings of White nationalists or people with Nazi flags have unfolded in recent years in Nashville, New Hampshire, Boston, Arkansas, Virginia, Washington, DC, and Michigan, where flags with swastikas were toted this month outside a community theater performance of “The Diary of Anne Frank...”

__________

OCTOBER 2024
Czech Pride
Can you locate me?
I attended the annual reunion
of my Czech maternal side.
Our wonderful day together
included amazing home cooked
casserole dishes, salads, & desserts;
history lessons & old photos;
a silent and a live auction
at which I finally bid high enough
and now have this awesome
family genealogical wall chart:

Thank you Darwin & Nancy!
I'm so proud to have this
on my wall of family history!

______________

SEPTEMBER 2024
Leisure Time
Wildfire; Georgetown, TX

On my week of stay-cation
my wonderful Aunts invited me out
for shopping and dining
on the Square in Georgetown.
These ladies know how to shop!

My best finds were at a Vinyl shop -
two Remastered selections:
David Bowie: At the National Bowl, 1990
and
Queen: A Night At the Opera.

I also got two pairs of shoes.
Oh, and tons of goodies at
Natural Grocers!
________

AUGUST 2024
The Choice Before US
August 6, 2024

On the day following Vice President Harris
announcing her running mate would be the
affable Tim Walz of Minnesota,
Harris smiled and gave an intelligent interview

while her incoherent opponent gave ...
well, as you can see.  (Sigh)

Who would you rather spend
the next 4 years with?
________

JULY 2024
Peaches & Ice Cream
July 7, 2024
What a heavenly combo!

It is a tradition each 4th of July
to pull out my
Whynter ICM-201SB
Automatic Ice Cream Maker
and I make multiple 2-quart batches
and place in my freezer.

This year the tradition coincided
with an amazing peach crop,
thanks to a lot of Spring rains.

I filled my freezer with
35 quart size bags of
sliced peaches --
ready for the smoothies,
ice cream, and my favorite
dinner guests' dessert:
Braised in Brown Sugar!
________

JUNE 2024
A View I Will Miss Dearly
June 5, 2024

While sitting on my patio,
the property's south view
is one of so many things I will miss.

Today the property was listed.
I have mixed feelings, mostly sadness.
________

MAY 2024
Guilty, Guilty, Guilty...
34 times Guilty!
May 31, 2024
The Royal Highness Wannabe,
Mr. "Everyone's out to get po' ol' me" Trump,
was convicted on all 34 counts of
falsifying business records by
a jury of 12 New Yorkers, who
deliberated over two days to reach
a decision in a case rife with tawdriness:
descriptions of secret deals,
a porn star and a
bitter third wife,
and a devilish Oval Office pact
with echoes of Watergate.
Lordy,
can we please be done with this idiot
once and for all?
_______

APRIL 2024
Where were you for the Eclipse?
I was so excited to find an available
appointment on the DMV website
for April 8 at 2 pm!
Well, duh-h-h, of course there was!
Worried about traffic delays,
I arrived an hour early for my DL renewal
and enjoyed my Eclipse Tailgater
in the DMV parking lot
featuring a tray of sushi and green tea
from my local HEB.
Got a good laugh from the DMV clerk
when putting on my eclipse glasses
for the eye exam.
Hope you enjoyed the Eclipse!
____________

MARCH 2024
FORLORN & REJECTED
I like reading out on my back patio.
Arne insists he should sit in my lap.
It's been a struggle getting him to sit,
instead, on the adjacent chair.
He does so now,
but this is the look I have to endure.
____________

FEBRUARY 2024
BABY CHICKS ARRIVE


Always a delightful harbinger of Spring / Easter being near - the arrival of the baby chicks at my local feed store. My aunt and uncle and their children have operated Granger Feed & Supply for many years and keep on hand a bit of everything. 
 
Ya'll pay 'em a visit - it's so important we support our local, family-owned businesses!  
__________

JANUARY 2024
WINTER RAINS ARRIVE
Photo: Terry
I hate our summer droughts, so -
I get ecstatic
when the winter rains come.

January 21 -23 I received 4.5 inches! Yay!
Had I the (br-r-r-r) balls,
I would have jumped in to celebrate with
my dog Arne [shown in pic of the month].

Oh, wait...he's the one missing the...

A second pet photo this month -
rains paused,
and out came Ralph, my Rooster.
I was pleasantly surprised by the length
his tail feather has grown this winter.
I measured it.  Almost 2 feet in length!
Go Ralph!
Photo: Terry
__________

DECEMBER 2023
REMEMBERING MOM
Photo: Terry

First Christmas without Mom was an inner struggle. She always loved this holiday so much.  We always enjoyed pulling all the crates of decorations out each year and decorating together.  Her favorite color was red and so I decided to go all out on a new tree on my front patio -- done in bright, bright red.  Just for you, Mom! 

I liked this photo because it includes her brass bell with etched angels and, in the distance, our neighbor's cross lights up the horizon.
 __________

NOVEMBER 2023
THE POWER OF WOMEN...in Ohio!

Jason Hickman (left), Shakti Rambarran (front)
of the Ohio Women's Alliance,
react during a gathering for supporters
of issue 1 at Hyatt Regency in Columbus, Ohio.
Issue 1 establishes a constitutional
right to abortion in the state.
Adam Cairns, Columbus Dispatch; November 2023.


I chose this pic because it is November - and we're 1 year away from an election.

I chose this pic because it is a reminder of what women in this nation lost thanks to our Trump-packed Court.

I chose this pic because it proclaims what women united can accomplish --
and they did it, and this is relevant, in Ohio!

I chose this pic because I believe the only thing that can prevent further harmful rollbacks by our Trump-packed Court, or a prolonging of the Circus that is our GOP-controlled House, or - God forbid - Trump returning to the White House ...
is enlightened women.

Please ladies, get out your vote in '24!
___________

OCTOBER 2023
Grief in Gaza
Palestinian woman Inas Abu Maamar, 36, embraces
the body of her 5-year-old niece Saly,
who was killed in an Israeli strike,
at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis
in the southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 17.
Mohammed Salem—Reuters

I watched the video clips from the Bar Be'eri Kibbutz on Oct. 7, 2023 that captured Hamas terrorists taking over the guard house, ambushing and killing unsuspecting Israeli citizens waiting for the gate to open and then rushing in to commit more slayings. Such brutality.

Now I watch the retribution in Gaza.  Really, Israel?   

Is it allowed that I grieve for both sides?
Am I allowed to grieve and be angry at the same time?

____________

Terry's Moonlit Home; October 28, 2023.
[Photo taken by friend Chad Cotton]

Story:
You'll note Chad's car in my driveway. 
He and Dwight had come out on the day after my hernia surgery
to check on me and they brought dinner with them - -
delicious Indian fare from Sitara.

After we ate and visited for awhile,
it was past due time for me to have another walk
and they kindly accompanied me.
We stepped outside and discovered
a magnificent sky over Circleville.
We used an app on Dwight's phone to
identify the bright stars in the constellations above.

After making it up to my folk's circle drive,
on our descent we were treated to
the Saturday evening fireworks show
at the Sweet Eats Fruit Farm
that lies west of my location.

What a way to cap off a perfect evening!

Terry’s “Good Living” Guide:

Body:
Avoid the 3 PsBsSs
Processed Foods, Phthalates, Plastics;
Beef, Butter, Breads;
Sedentary activities, Sugars, Salt.
Trust me,
you’ll be feeling better in no time!

Mind & Spirit:
Avoid the 3 F’s
Manufactured in these mediums are
misinformation, fear, anger and hate!

JOIN ME IN ENSURING AN EDUCATED CITIZENRY!

JOIN ME IN ENSURING AN EDUCATED CITIZENRY!

Join me in ensuring an educated citizenry!
BECOME A SUSTAINING MEMBER TODAY!
___________

TERRY's ADVERTISEMENT:
I love coffee! 

I drink it morning through late afternoon.

Best Bean Ever!

While on my vacation in Oregon I fell in love with the many varieties I discovered at Portland Coffee Roasters, as well as their Mission & History. 

I recommend both Morning (I love the milk chocolate and cherry finish.)

and Steel (Most popular blend. One taste and you’ll see why: it’s rich, smooth, and full of sweet toffee flavor. It tastes great as both a coffee or an espresso. An instant classic when introduced over 20 years ago.)


No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)