Michael, You mean I have to wear socks and shoes tonight if I go way up north to Birmingham? I just hate doing card tricks with mittens on.

Are there frost warnings? Should I stock up on Moon Pies and dog food right now? Call out the National Guard! Sand the dirt roads! Blanket the mules! Draw up two extra buckets of water! Gather up the eggs before they freeze and bust! Is it going to be a three dog night? I bet the Yankees caused this!

Now who's going to keep the fire going at the still? This will really set business back! It's Rick and them rocket ships. They're more dangerous than a razor totin' woman.

(I really did have to bootleg some grits to the ranch in Wyoming! My daughter was starving.)

I have wasted the day reading insurance papers and printing labels. Now I have to go get hay and feed so I can leave early for Birmingham, that frozen citified waste land way up north with traffic lights. (Kinda show-offy people, you know? And kan't hardly none of them whittle good! A good stick of cedar is just ruined. Some of them even hold publick jobs! No class at all! Lot of them don't even have a truck. I'm just glad the goats stay home. They'd never believe it.)

Tabman, take an extra swig for that leg! You don't want to be hobbling when the fish start biting.

Daniel, come down here and we'll teach you how to use a branding iron. But you can't do it indoors. (It smells too bad!)

Bubba

Just had my circular saw kick back...chunk the wood and just miss my gut or leg by a hair. Was a prety piece of wood too!

When I lived in Tahoe in Myers (Calif side) we would get a few times a yers mind you...5 feet of snow over night. Say from 8pm to 7 am or so. In June there was still 15 feet plus in the yard with a huge canyon dug through for the car.
I HATE SNOW!
When I lived in Anchorage Alaska we only got a few inches a YEAR.
I HATE TAHOE!

Now...back to yelling at my saw...


D

Glad you're ok Xmosis!!! It doesn't matter how good you are or how safe (well it does) but you never know when something freak will happen like hitting a knot or striking a nail with a saw blade.

Yikes!!! 15' of snow in June!!! I bet it gets pretty muddy there during the big thaw!!

-=tabman

June is supposed to be thawing...that 15 feet is whats left over AFTER the May thaw!

I don't know what happened with the saw...operator error I guess...I was being very methodical...maybe too methodical. Now I'm cranky...not only that...I'm on a deadline with hair application on a slew of 'Heads'...not a fun thing when your cranky and have glue to fling! (accurately place I mean)

Glad you're doing well Mr. Higley. 15 feet of snow is outrageous!


Mr. Sanders...thanks for the offer LOL Yes, us Yanks sent used our PK powers to send ton of snow over....keep making those comments and watch what we'll do...



Daniel

Doug, did you say you make heads??? That sounds interesting.

My granddaddy made his living in a one man boat shop, well he had a couple of helpers over the years, but he told me that once you stopped being afraid of a tool, motorcycle, race boat, pocket knife, shotgun, woman, etc that you were looking for trouble.

A couple months ago I was ripping a piece of plywood on my table saw making some Café Tables. I was getting ready for the last shove and dropped my push stick. I let go of the piece of ply and bent over to pick up the push stick just as the plywood went sailing at high speed over my head.

Boy, I hope I win the Powerball tomorrow night!!!! If I do then all the PMZZers will benefit!!! We'll fly Doug and Daniel in and hire Pete Biro to do his famous 17 hour lecture for us at the Ole Heidelberg. We will buy out the back room.

-=tabman

Can I have the money instead?

Yes I make Heads...but not nautical 'Heads'like found in a bost shop...hahaha...


"Shrunken Heads" (see sig)

Sure you can have the dough instead but you'll have to come to Alabama to get it!!!

Oh, now I get it. Shrunken heads. I had to put my glasses on for the small print. That does sound interesting. I will check out your website in the morning when I get back. Ive got to get home and take it easy for a few hours. It's been a long week.

-=tabman

Hey, I thought I was gonna win the powerball! LOL.

Of course you did!!! I was just hoping that I would.

Maybe someone really deserving will win it. I sure hope so. I don't need wealth but it would be a lot of fun to spread it around to my family and friends.

-=tabman

Will this cause the Great Grits Shortage of 2005?

Thousands starve while gazing at empty plates and hunks of butter with no place to melt. Moon shiners too weak to work! No watermelons planted for summer. NASCAR folds! Coon dogs howl for government aid! Baseball cap sales fall to an all-time low. Uncontrolled growth of catfish strangles rivers since Southerners are too sober to fish. Highway traffic halted by hazards of over populated roving hoards of possums, coons and armadillos. Whole estates of rusty cars and trucks up on blocks abandoned! Children are encouraged to learn English to survive in northern captivity. Folks living in trailers, hunt wheels! Signs everywhere “Grits Is Groceries!”

Would you do that?

Bob

And today ESPN has BASEBALL. Spring training. I LOVE baseball.

Tabby, I'd do the same thing. Take enough to live comfortable on and spread the rest to family and friends. Use some to hire people to give them a good job in a creative company.

Me too! I could sit and watch a live ballgame all day! Anything from T-Ball up, too! This is the first year my son has not played ball since he was 3! He's very involved in Tae Kwon Do right now (and school), so the time just wasn't there to play baseball. He was a catcher, and really good. I'll miss that.



Painting Zig Zags perhaps???

Sir No Bob,

The Great Grits Shortage of 2005??? ... the historical inspiration for, "The Grits of Wrath"??? Is Ricardo behaving???

I cut a bunch of Cherry this morning. Smells good in here! I got a hunk 2 x 4 x about 4ft. It had a chunk out near one end, so I got a great deal. I cut about 18" off one end, including the bad area. Then I ripped it into 4" wide planks and planed to 1/4". Smells good in here! Not sure what I'm going to make with it, but it's ready to go!

~michael

Here's a pic of me, my two sons and my grandson taken last summer outside my favorite ML ball park.

-=tabman

Wrigley Field... no doubt!!!

Baseball was being played in Clanton as Lucy and I were driving through last night. All was well with the world! Peace starts with "Play Ball!"

My son Jake played three seasons of baseball for many years before going off to college. As a single Dad and Mr. Mom, I can tell you that I spent about as many hours in a ball park as at work. The last time I tried batting, the machine was set on 70 MPH and I only heard the ball when it hit behind me! I never saw it! (I think it was a magic trick.) I miss all that too. This is my first year of not having a kid at my elbow since 1981. It's been a very long year!

Grits of Wrath! Michael, we are going to find a way to turn that green$$$. I will start with a flaming book. Next?

All this talk about Money, why? Everyone knows that professional magicians are rolling in it! My folks came over on debtor ships and then things got worse. The same was true for ranching. How many times did I hear, "If I had a million dollars, I'd just ranch it away"? An advantage of magic is that the world just thinks it must be hiding somewhere else. They don't know that vanishes and productions are not always equal.

Remember I was ranch raised. The financial advice I got was "Most of my money I spent on women and whiskey. The rest I just wasted."

Ricardo is standing in a place of honor on the bedroom dresser. (No mirror behind him.) He's a handsome rabbit with the skills of a master card cheat! Ricardo's act is quite erie and he comes with a whole set of rabbit's feet for good luck. We're proud to have his company. I look forward to his leaping into action with the Easter Frog! (The Easter Frog is a routine I created and started doing in the 70s that I am going to put on the market someday when Lucy finishes the artwork.)

I meant to bring a TV card frame last night. But just like "Teach-a-trick" I'm always one meeting behind. The one-behind method should have some of the advantages of the one-ahead method!

Card Warp was one I had forgotten. It is a great trick. Thanks Michael!

Lucy and I are planning on Europe for August 2006. Should I take grits? What's a birdman going to do in Europe without doves? I also understand that there is a special license in UK for mental magic tricks. How am I going to prove there is nothing mental in my act? Could I get certified?

We have several hardwood trees down from Ivan. Is there anything you guys could use? There are some small pieces of cedar too. We plan to bull doze it and burn it.
We have some chestnut trees but Lucy thinks those survived the storm. There is a lot of oak and poplar.

We're looking forward to March 12. Is that still on? Michael, are you brave enough to ride with me again?

Bob

I think that Tabby is the only one that doesn't know about the 12th yet. I'm good to go on any day, but then, Im only an hour away.

We can meet in Athens, which would save Tabby about 25 minutes driving (and you guys too). I know the Catfish Cabin is a nice place we won't get run out of. Or we could do a German afternoon if you guys are up to it.

I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Think since I'm near done with this proposal, I'm gonna go get me some wood and build me a Harbin folding table.

Ok, I give up....

Where in the world can I find some spring hinges that will work with the Harbin table.

No one in town has them, and I can't find any on the web....

Did they just stop making them.

March 12 may be a problem for me now. I've had a show offer and if it gels, the money is good, and needed. Won't know for a few days, though.

Sir No Bob, Can't take doves to Europe... take silks. You can fit a bunch of 'em in a small space!

The wood would be great, I just can't handle huge pieces. Either Oak or Poplar is always useful, but don't make a special effort if it puts you out any. Thanks!

Rick, You will have to make all the spring hinges. I make them for the card stars and the rabbit trick Bob and Lucy just got from me. I also have to make a set for the haunted house door. They aren't all that hard to do, but you will sure need a pile of 'em for that Harbin table! Let me know if you need any advice on spring winding, or anything.

~michael

The Dog Days are near.... evillish: Be prepared!