WHISTLING PAST THE JUNKYARD

LOOKS PRETTY, BUT WILL IT GET VERY FAR?

Wednesday, 9:00 AM.  -6 degrees F at the City Dock, -3 on the back porch.  The wind is calm and the sky is blue.  The humidity is 75% and the barometer is down, now at 29.97".  Buddy didn't need his jacket this morning and we had a fine walk, it is a beautiful winter day.
   I watched the President's State of the Union speech last night, which was the usual hour and a bit longer, but seemed interminable.  At least Vice President Biden somehow managed to stay awake this time.  Blah, blah, blah, on and on...filed with inflated rhetoric and old ideas, most of which haven't worked.
   It reminded me of when I was a young fellow and couldn't afford anything but clunker cars, and would go to the junk yard periodically to find replacement parts to keep the old vehicle running, and just as importantly, to find ways to spruce up its appearance.  I would scour the rows of junk cars for a fancier shift lever knob, or shinier hub caps.  I couldn't afford anything better but I could spend a few bucks to gussy it up a bit.  I may have thought the old rattle-trap looked good, but but it didn't impress the girls.
   So the President's speech was like a clunker resurrected from the junk yard (we did that too, but it was hard to get a title and a valid license for it).  I don't expect his recycled ideas will get very far down the road.