Neddy's Palaver

I am wondering if this Masonic Temple on a hill in Alexandria, Virginia will be featured in the new novel by Dan Brown The Lost Symbol.

Dan Brown had said that his next book was to be entitled “The Solomon Key.” Obviously he has changed those plans, as it is now published as “The Lost Symbol.” George Washington and many of the Founding Fathers were Masons as were founders of Mormonism: Masonry and Mormon Mysteries.

I snapped the picture one day while awaiting the Metro train at the King Street Station in Alexandria. The AmTrak Station is just next to it.

The image, Amtrak Train, was originally uploaded by Edna Barney. It is posted here from Barneykin’s account.

Visit Neddy’s Archives for more of Edna’s writings.

Women are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. Most men don’t reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they ofttimes take the apples from the ground that aren’t as good, but easy to pick up. The apples remaining at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality, they are the strongest and most delicious apples. They just have to wait for the right man to come along, the one who is brave enough to climb all the way to the tip top of the tree.

Men are like a fine wine. They begin as grapes, and it’s up to women to stomp upon them again and again until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with!

Linked at basil’s blog Picnic Lunch.

According to the Women Who Created This List, You Men Are Just Happier People Because Life Is Simpler for You .

1. Your last name stays put.
2. The garage is all yours.
3. Wedding plans take care of themselves.
4. Chocolate is just another snack.
5. You can be President, but you can never be pregnant.
6. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park.
7. Car mechanics tell you the truth.
8. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.
9. You don’t have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
10. Wrinkles add character.
11. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental — $100.00.
12. People don’t stare at your chest when you’re talking to them.
13. The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
14. New shoes don’t cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
15. One mood all the time.
16. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
17. You know stuff about tanks.
18. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
19. You can open all your own jars.
20. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
21. If someone forgets to invite you, they can still be your friend.
22. Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
23. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
24. You almost never have strap problems in public.
25. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
26. Everything on your face stays its original color.
27. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
28. You only have to shave your face and neck.
29. You can play with toys all your life.
30. Your belly usually hides your big hips.
31. One wallet and one pair of shoes one color for all seasons.
32. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
33. You can “do” your nails with a pocket knife.
34. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.
35. You can do Christmas shopping for all your relatives on December 24th in 30 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

I am reminded of that book, the title of which is “How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe’s Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything in It”.

Well, it seems that the Scots have really gone and done it now. Or, at least they’ve conquered the former cowboys in the western United States. Men of Washington state are taking to the wearing of skirts, or as they euphemistically refer to them, “utilikilts“. They love the comfort of the new fashion and since they are not plaid nor tartan, there’s little risk of being attacked by the bloodthirsty McCampbell clan. Just “Don’t call them men in skirts - they’re men in Utilikilts” says “The Seattle Post”.

Steven Villegas, invented the Utilikilt in 1996, while he was refurbishing a motorcycle in his garage. He found his pants were uncomfortable for the task, so he cut them up and refurbished them into a kind of kilt. The trousers he used were his favorite work outfit - a pair of green military field pants. One day he absent-mindedly wore the skirt/kilt outside of the garage and the rest is history, so to speak. Mr. Villegas found he didn’t really care what anyone else thought about his new style of attire, however passersby approved. “Someone said: ‘Nice kilt.’ And a girl said: ‘Nice legs.’ And an old lady said: ‘That looks good on you.‘”. He now describes men who wear kilts as self-confident free thinkers who are unconcerned with what the world thinks of their fashion statement. Since then he has converted many other “free thinkers” to his new style of attire for men.

The Utilikilt is now the company uniform at Germano & Associates, Inc., a firm of marine biologists who analyze a variety of sediment from fresh water to the deep sea. “We’re the only kilted marine biologists and so people always remember us when we do a job,” said Joe Germano, 54, the company’s president. “They’re just a wonderful marketing angle.” The pockets, used to hold such tools as wrenches, screwdrivers and batteries, are practical on the field, said Germano, 54. And pants simply aren’t as fun to wear.

So ladies, for those men in your life, you know where to go for your Christmas shopping this year. From their reaction to your novel gifts, you will be able to discern which of them is really a free thinker and “his own man”.

Tracked at basil’s blog LUNCH, Stop the ACLU and Wizbang’s Carnival of Trackbacks XXX!