my life and times

Howdy, or as Riders in the Sky would say, Howdy, Buckaroos and Buckarettes. Important announcement, so Listen Up. On September 13, I will be hanging out with a different bunch of folks in Jefferson City, and we all want you to join us there. Actually, they’re not really different. Just really, really focused. The Citizen Climate Lobby (CCL) is hosting a regional meeting for interested folks throughout Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and southern Illinois. And I get to offer some commentary during the process.

In case you just said “Who, What or Why”, the CCL is a national/international group of citizen volunteers working to repay our (worst) Congress (in history) to pass a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend to address some of the worst, and ironically some of the easiest fixed, excesses in climate changing behaviors [activities?].   Simply put, it is a simple and elegant way to steer us away from fossil fuels through a graduated fee attached to the use of carbon emitting fuels, and collected at the point of extraction or import.  The dividends will then be returned to every household in the U.S. to offset the slight increases in fuel costs passed on to consumers. The funds can also be used to purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles or renewables, and improve overall energy efficiency.

Not so simple, I admit. But if you suspect this is a bunch of dreamers, you should know their members include Nobel laureate economists, climate activist Bill McKibben, and politicians from both parties. Two carbon fee bills were introduced in Congress this year.

The folks coming to address the Jefferson City meeting will include Mark Reynolds, CCL Executive Director, and Madeleine Para, CCL Program Director, as well as old hillbilly me – helping to put these lofty and extremely important ideas into common language and scale, addressing what these ideas might mean on a personal level, and how we might want to support their efforts. This is not a pie-in-the-sky notion. A lot of work and planning has gone into determining what’s do-able and practical, and how it can get passed into law. The cost for the meeting, entertainment, and a gourmet vegan dinner is $35 but scholarships (and some free lodging) are available if you sign up now.

For more information, go to the event website. (https://donate.citizensclimateeducationcorp.org/events/detail?eid=34912)

(And incidentally, in case you’re just coming to see me, I will also have CDs, books, and a newly released 4-CD spoken word collection of my last five years of radio shows for sale.) Join us for a lively discussion and come away heartened by the possibilities created by the good efforts of these good folks.

OOOOh, I’m goin’ down that road fee – and then I’m not. This time stuck in a parking lot 20 miles from home. Took my truck out of mothballs and drove it down to the salvage yard to deliver the title to Automobilius defunctus. Stopped by the store for groceries and to pick up my meds. Truck, which has been parked for a year and something due to bad behavior, had a smoking front wheel. Drove it to garage where it was diagnosed with a stuck brake. I also told them about the above mentioned bad behavior, and got a ride home with a friend. It was a message from God, who always starts with the words, “I SAID …” This time the rest of the sentence was “Go home, sit down and finish the damned book, bitch!” She gets so touchy sometimes. So I’m at home, at the computer, and clear, completely and altogether out of excuses. See you when the book’s done. Meanwhile, Tune in here Satureday if you don’t catch this month’s edition of “These Ozarks Hills” on KSMU-FM Springfield (91.1), College of the Ozarks (90.5) or West Plains (90.3). It airs at 7:30 a.m. and repeats at 4:30 p.m. first Friday of each month

The text will be posted here and on the KSMU.org archives, where you can also listen to it streaming later

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Auto hearse just came and picked up poor old Prizm. She’s on her way across that auto rainbow bridge, in hopes of one day becoming a coffeepot in China.

Taking the truck to make it legal tomorrow. Still need reliable transportation.

Truck, whose name is Tonto, got in with a gang of renegade Pontiacs last year after I made it drink some of that 35-mph Arkansas gas and then ran it dry (not my fault if the damn gas gauge doesn’t work) and now it occasionally and randomly abandons me on some godforsaken patch of the lone prairie – not often, usually just when I forget about it and go off somewhere in a carefree manor. So, I repeat, still looking for ReLIABLE transportation. And did I say good gas mileage. Working gas gauge. Cheap. Working heat/ac. Maybe a radio, if it wouldn’t be asking too much. If you spot it out somewhere looking affordable and lonesome, let me know. Thanks. You’re a pal.

Dear Pals. I need some input on a project i’m thinking about taking on. But be nice. No being a jerk. This is serious, at least to me, and I’m putting this in the form of a questionnaire. Here we go –

I’m considering putting together an hour or half-hour-long program of stories and songs, with guest appearances, and or show-and-tells, with a general theme of old times or music or storytelling or some such (suggestions welcome). The program (in uncut version of about 1-2 hours)  would take place before a live audience at the Yellow House. It would be edited down to an appropriate size and net cast on my YouTube Channel monthly. Here are my questions.

1. Would you watch?

2. What would you like to see or hear on such a program, and how often? (All ideas, including the absurd, will be considered)

3. Would you watch on YouTube, live and uncut at the Yellow House, or both?

4. Would you like to be involved in the production of such a program? (Be specific if possible)

5. How do you think such a program should be funded?

6. Would you consider being involved in funding or fundraising for such a program?

7. Would you consider buying merchandise such as CDs, DVDs of the program, cool T-shirts, cool hats, posters etc. to help fund and advertise the program.

You can check in at my web site: http://www.maridethsisco.com for the ongoing discussions and the results of this questionnaire.