First I just want to say how happy I am with the news of the new Pope for the Roman Catholic Church. He appears to be somewhat like Pope Francis in his humbleness and attention to pastoral matters, rather than bureaucracy. That’s something I’ve always thought the Church should be more focused on, because isn’t it there to serve the people?
Sorta reminds me of governments, too. So often those in positions of power and leadership forget why they have that in the first place. But that’s a commentary for another time.
For today, like so many American Catholics, I’m pleased and excited to have our first American-born pope. Leo XIV was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, Illinois, in 1955. He is the first U.S. pope in the church’s history, and is also a citizen of Peru, where he worked for many years before being called to the Vatican by Pope Francis.
It will be very interesting to see what impact this new papacy will have on the church going foreword, and I do hope he lives as modestly as Pope Francis did. That was one of the things I admired so much about Francis, he didn’t waste church money on all the trappings like former popes. He also wasn’t afraid to speak out for the welfare of so many marginalized people.
Now because I need to get to work on a new editing job, I’ll turn the space over to Slim Randles and the guys down at the Mule-Barn Truck Stop. You never know what they’ll be up to next, but it’s always entertaining. Enjoy…
The scene played out like buzzards circling the body.
The Jones kid, Randy, was out in the Mule Barn parking lot with the hood up on his car. He was staring down into it the way a first-time parachutist would look out the airplane door – you never quite knew for sure what lay ahead.
“Looks like Randy’s got problems,” said Steve.
“Let’s have a look,” said Dud.
So coffee was left to get cold and the entire Supreme Court of All Things Mechanical – Steve, Dud, Doc, Herb and Dewey – trooped out to see what was going on.
They formed a powerful semi-circle of wisdom around the youth and his engine with folded arms and facial expressions that said, “It’s okay, Kid. We’re here.”
Dewey spoke first. “Having trouble, Randy?”
“Won’t start.”
Doc, who has the most initials after his name, said, “Give it a try.”
Randy ground the engine, but it wouldn’t kick over.
“Stop! Stop!” Doc yelled. “Don’t want to flood it.”
All Doc knows about flooding is that the animals went on board, two by two.
“Randy, I think it’s the solenoid,” said Steve, looking wise. And of course he pronounced it sell-a-noid.
“Doesn’t have one, Steve,” Randy said.
“Sure it does. All cars have solenoids.”
“Not the new ones. Haven’t made solenoids in years.”
Steve’s expression said, “Young punks, what do they know?” But his voice said, “Well, what do you know about that?”
“Need a jump?” Dewey asked.
“Got plenty of spark,” Randy said.
Randy looked at the older men and then bent to the engine and smiled. His voice came floating up over the radiator. “Might be the junction fibrillator. Or it could be a malfunction of the Johnson switch. If I rerun the wire from the organ housing to the pump by-pass, that might get it done.”
When Randy looked up, all the men had gone back in for coffee. He smile and called Triple A on his cell phone.
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Brought to you by the new novella Whimsy Castle by Slim Randles. Contains plenty of words and laughs. Cheap, too.
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Check out all of Slim’s award-winning books at his Goodreads Page and in better bookstores and bunkhouses throughout the free world.
All of the posts here are from his syndicated column, Home Country that is read in hundreds of newspapers across the country. I am always happy to have him share his wit and wisdom here.
Slim Randles is a veteran newspaperman, hunting guide, cowboy and dog musher. He was a feature writer and columnist for The Anchorage Daily News for 10 years and guided hunters in the Alaska Range and the Talkeetna Mountains. A resident of New Mexico now for more than 30 years, Randles is the prize-winning author of a dozen books, and is host of two podcasts and a television program.
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That’s all from me for today, folks. Whatever your weekend plans are, I hope they are filled with good times and good people. Be happy. Be safe.