The Fireside Post

The Redneck Walks The Immigrant Trail

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:58:12 +0000

The trail ends at Saint Joseph, Missouri. Some say it also begins there. The Immigrant Trail has not yet been officially documented by historians – but the trail exists today. When documented there is good cause to believe there will be a trail of tears. But I get ahead of myself. I live just outside Punkin [...]

I Was A Grade School Bully

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:22:53 +0000

My grandson is beginning the sixth grade. The past few years he has been practically overwhelmed by three school bullies. Jubila is intellectually gifted – from the perspective of a proud grandfather. He has exceptional language skills – that is to say that he has a strong vocabulary. His natural interest is probably centered around [...]

Redneck Medicine

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:43:57 +0000

I live in rural northwest Missouri. My mother’s family came here by horse-drawn covered wagon in the beginning of the 20th Century. My father’s family came here from Pennsylvania about the same time. Wherever you go – there you are. The two families mixed with the locals – and with some folks from the Missouri [...]

Lessons On Exercise For Seniors – And The Need For Stretching

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:39:06 +0000

I am a senior. That is somewhere between middle age and elderly. Everyone wants to live a long time but no one wants to be old, as the saying goes. I am just another person trying to delay feeble living. I have learned a few hard lessons along the path to regular exercise. I wrote a [...]

Hunting For Jesse James Gold

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:14:12 +0000

When I was a child my parents would often take our family on picnics at Houston Wyeth Park in St. Joseph, Missouri – we just called the place Wyeth Hill. Wyeth Hill runs along the top of the Missouri River Bluffs in northwest St. Joseph. The hill overlooks downtown St. Joe to the south, the [...]

Muslim Rednecks

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:59:24 +0000

I know a bunch of Rednecks. They live in my neighborhood and gather at my family functions. Their language is unique, something like Ebonics but with a twang. There are not many Muslims around Northwest Missouri – or at least they don’t publicly admit to their faith. About a hundred years ago regular Catholics did [...]

Inside The Minds of Rednecks – And Consequences

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:47:18 +0000

I recently had breakfast and invested my Saturday morning with a Redneck. It was not his idea. My truck needed repair and I wanted a sure fix. A sure fix that did not cost me a bundle of anxiety and an empty pocket book. (Pocket Book is a funny term). I’ll call my Redneck friend [...]

Youth Violence – Not Just Fight or Flight

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:11:47 +0000

Mark Twain used youth violence as a humorous anecdote necessary to the maturing process of young boys. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer two boys (one is Tom) confront each other on the street; they taunt, tease, dare, and then scuffle. Tom is victorious when the other boy cries 'nuff!' Not one sociologist at the time raised a stink about Twain's portrayal of youth violence.

Searching for Honesty and Integrity in Nationally Known Politicians

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 02:56:48 +0000

Sometimes I just write satire, or just sarcasm. The folly of national politics seems somehow unworthy of serious commentary. But however foolish the politicians seem – the business of our government is serious. Real people are directly and immediately impacted by political decisions. Real wars are fought. Real soldiers die. Real debt is incurred. Generations [...]

Hello, My Name is John Boehner And I Am An Addicted Politician

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:30:29 +0000

Oh! My! GOD! I said it. I actually accepted responsibility for my atrocious public service. I am an addicted politician. Like many others I thought I could control myself. My hopes for the future of my golf game depended on my control over my tan – but again, vanity won and here I am. I [...]

Old Women Talk Proposition 8

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:54:14 +0000

My mother is eighty-five years old. She has been living alone the past two months after my father, her husband of sixty-three years, passed away. She asked me to help refinish her dining room table – and what are you gonna’ do? So I sanded and polished while she sat and talked. I was surprised [...]

Illegal Immigrants Cause Global Warming

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:21:10 +0000

It is hot in Missouri – the folks who know are saying it is hotter than it was the last time it was hot – and I believe them. And I know why. Global Warming, it is as simple as that. But the cause has been uncovered with some simple research conducted at the South [...]

Religious Tolerance Is An Oxy-Moron, Let The Spitting Begin

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:05:03 +0000

It seems the very definition of religion would deny tolerance. What are some words that are synonymous with religion? Superstition? Superhuman? Faith? Grace? Devotion? Ritual? Or phrases: Fundamental set of beliefs? A Particular set of beliefs? Ritual observance of faith? Strict faithfulness? Deep conviction? Which of these words or phrases represent tolerance? None! The inherent virtue [...]

Walker Texas Ranger Marathon

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:11:20 +0000

I like the part where Chuck Norris kicks the bad guy in the face. Book Mark it-> del.icio.us | Reddit | Slashdot | Digg |

A Soldier’s Funeral, A Sour War

bpc621@gmail.com (bryan clark www.thefiresidepost.com) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:15:24 +0000

We Americans should never forget the cost of War. And the death of a soldier warrants more than an incremental ticker on Page Two B