This seems to me, to be a good way to start the column this week. I think we could use a little more cowboy code in our lives right now. What has happened to politeness, gentility, civility, manners, along with respect for ourselves and others? Only we can change this.

Gene Autry’s Cowboy Code

1. The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.
2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
3. He must always tell the truth.
4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.
5. He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
6. He must help people in distress.
7. He must be a good worker.
8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.
9. He must respect women, parents, and his nations laws.
10. The Cowboy is a patriot.

There is a rooster in Germany that starts at 8am each morning and won’t stop until evening time – 100 to 200 times throughout the day until he is locked away for the evening. According to his owner, Magda the rooster is a necessary component to keep the hens behaving. But no one really understands why he goes on and on all day. The neighbors just want to be able to sit on their back patios in quiet, so they are taking Magda and his owner to court to end their nightmare and have him removed from the neighborhood. It’s not the first time someone brought home a few chicks with the intention of collecting fresh eggs for breakfast, only to find that the girls were actually guys.

Kentucky Fried Chicken has revealed their newest menu item, chicken-free, plant-based, Wicked Popcorn. Bite sized pieces of Beyond Fried Chicken covered in KFC’s Wicked Wings spice blend, accompanied with a brand-new lime ranch dipping sauce, and it’s all supposed to taste just like the same old chicken we know and love. It could be that the rooster above is just upset about this whole chicken-less chicken deal, and just doesn’t know how to let the girls know. Maybe the Colonel is slipping him a little extra to whine the only way he knows how to whine, by cock-a-doodle-doo-ing. Beyond Fried Chicken is only available while supplies last and where supplies are available.

Seen on a greeting card in Tennessee: Do OLD cowboys wear boxers or briefs? Depends.

This weekend, I was working at my desk while my daughter was sitting on the sofa at back of the office with Teller, while struggling with her calculus studies. Moments like this are the times I will miss the most when she goes off to school again. Not fancy dinners out, pedicures, shopping, movies, or anything like that, but just ordinary quiet moments spent together that we never gave much thought to. I took a picture. Yes, I will miss this and more.

RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Singer Dash Crofts of Seals and Crofts is 84. Singer David Crosby is 81. Actor-musician Steve Martin is 77. Actor Antonio Fargas of Starsky and Hutch is 76. Bassist Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone is 76. Actor Susan St. James is 76. Romance novelist Danielle Steel is 75. She has written 190 books, including over 141 novels. Her books have been translated into 43 languages and can be found in 69 countries across the globe. Cartoonist Gary Larson of The Far Side is 72. Singer Sarah Brightman is 62. Actor Susan Olsen of The Brady Bunch is 61. Actor Halle Berry is 56. Actor Pat Priest of The Munsters is 86. Drummer Pete York of The Spencer Davis Group is 80. Author-journalist Linda Ellerbee is 78. Singer-guitarist Tom Johnston of The Doobie Brothers is 74. Actor Larry Mathews of The Dick Van Dyke Show is 67. Little Richie Petrie. Actor Julie Newmar is 89. Actor Bob Balaban is 77.

Judith Durham, lead singer of the 1960’s Australian folk-pop band The Seekers, died at 79. She was a classically trained vocalist, with Elton John once saying she possessed the purest voice in popular music. Her own mother said that she sang nursery rhymes in perfect tune when she was two. Georgy Girl, the title song from the 1966 hit movie starring Lynn Redgrave was a huge hit, nominated for an Academy Award and #2 on the Billboard singles in the US. The Seekers became the first Australian pop group to achieve global success, paving the way for other acts based in Australia, like the Bee Gees and Olivia Newton-John.

Dame Olivia Newton-John, singer songwriter, four-time Grammy winner and star of the musical Grease, died of breast cancer at 73. Her initial mammogram in 1992 did not catch the disease, then a needle biopsy didn’t reveal anything either. She always said that sometimes you must trust your own instincts. She felt something was wrong and decided with her surgeon to do a surgical biopsy, which did show cancer in her right breast. She then created the Olivia Newton-John Wellness & Research Centre in Melbourne, so she could help other women with their breast cancer journeys.

Wordle, the very popular daily online game that a software engineer originally created for his sweetheart on Valentine’s Day, is now also a board game, Wordle: The Party Game, due out October 1. It promises to be “authentic to the Wordle experience.”

Facebook employees are bracing for job cuts as high as 10%. Now that we know Ivana Trump is buried next to the first hole of Trumps’ golf course, can we assume that Melania will be buried on the third hole? Did you know that pineapple is packed with the enzyme bromelain, which breaks down protein chains, making it an ideal marinade for meats? That’s why pineapple doesn’t work for making jellies or jams, it breaks down the gelatin as well.

A Maryland woman was stabbed by a 100-pound sailfish that leaped out of the water off the Florida coast while she was fishing for him. Hmmm. An accident? Or just a really smart fish? The Backstreet Boys’ fab five will put out their first Christmas album which includes a combo of cover and original songs. Wildfires are setting off hundreds of unexploded bombs on WWI battlefields, endangering firefighters. Greenland has been hit with unusually extensive melting of ice sheets, boosting sea levels. Some little girls are starting puberty as early as age 6 or 7. Researchers are now studying the role of obesity, chemicals, and stress in their lives.

On Sesame Street, Elmo’s dad Louis talked to their family’s pediatrician about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine for kids, the forever 3-1/2-year-old Elmo received his shot in a Public Service Announcement clip. Elmo said, “There was a little pinch, but it was okay.”

Inspired by Blanche, Dorothy, Rose and Sophia’s iconic moments, The Golden Girls Kitchen opened in LA last month on National Golden Girl’s Day. They will serve dishes like Sophia’s Lasagna Al Forno and the Lanai Miami Style Cuban Sandwich. There are many photo ops including the iconic kitchen table. A 170-carat pink diamond called the Lulo Rose has been discovered in Angola. Only one in 10,000 diamonds is colored pink. The gemstone is expected to bring a very high value when auctioned. I bet J. Lo is thinking pink might now be her favorite color.

A woman sued a man for $10,000 because in 2020, he had stood her up for a date on her late mother’s birthday, and that caused her much emotional distress. Then she got into a screaming match and smarted off to the judge… several times, he had to tell her, “Be quiet while I am talking!”  The case was referred to another court.  According to information from Michigan District Court and Circuit Court, the woman has filed at least a dozen suits in both court jurisdictions over the past two decades – one dating as far back as 2000. Hmmm. I’m thinking the guy was spot-on in not showing up for the date. In fact, if I was him, I would move to an undisclosed location and check his woman-picker app because it may be broken.

My first car was a 1966 Mustang, so I still seem to have a soft spot for Mustangs. Even back then in the dark ages, I was quite proud of it. When the car sat for a while, condensation built up behind the glove box, so when you gassed it to drive forward, water would pour over my passenger’s feet, and it kept the carpet wet to the point of a nasty mildewy smell, but I still loved that car. I had a tendency to let my foot off the brake at stop signs, so I touched the bumpers of a couple of cars sitting in front of me. Here’s some good news. The seventh-generation Mustang will be unveiled at the 2022 Detroit Motor Show on September 14. It is quoted as being a “stunning car” that will retain a three-pedal option.  Ford has subtly hidden a six-speed manual H-pattern inside the ‘O’ in the word generation. I found a very fuzzy ‘leaked’ picture of the front end and it is quite sexy, but it will never be another 1966 Sahara Beige. A hybrid version is reportedly in the works.

My daughter was trying to see everyone before she left for school again so she invited a friend (since they met in 4^th grade) and the friend’s boyfriend over for dinner. She wanted to make curry, but I suggested something cooler, like a nice summer meal of chicken salad and fruit. She agreed, so I picked up a 2-pound container of chicken salad from Bodega in downtown Lake Jackson. It was the best chicken salad I’ve ever eaten. Big chunks of smoked chicken, (that’s the secret), halved sweet red grapes, cranberries, sliced almonds and maybe just a touch of celery. I tried to look up the ingredients but couldn’t find them, so you’ll just have to try it yourself. Our downtown is experiencing some real heartache with construction right now so please support some of the restaurants involved. I made chicken salad boats that evening, along with watermelon, strawberries, cherries, and the HEB copycat Kale salad, and a nice bottle of chilled white wine. The guests brought a key lime pie. Perfect! It’s so much fun to see your kids grow up and bring their friends back home. The couple adopted a kitten while they were in town, so I am now a God-Grandmother to Slushy the striped Tabby cat. Life is good.

Have you noticed the beautiful crepe myrtles in full bloom around town? They are absolutely beautiful! And obviously a little more drought tolerant than most other things we have in the ground.

Thank You for reading us this week!

😊 LISA

Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com