What did you have for supper last night?

I had hot dogs. (Two of them. Nathan's Coney Island foot-long dogs. With mustard and Nissan's hot dog rolls.)

I also had corn on the cob, zucchini and summer squash from my garden. (I cut the squash and zucchini length-wise, about a quarter-inch thick. I throw them on the grill with olive oil and brown them on one side, and then I flip the pieces and smother them in parmesan cheese. When the cheese turns brown, the stuff is done...and is it EVER GOOD!!!!)

Later in the evening, after watching the Jack Nicholson/Diane Keaton movie, Somethin g's Got To Give , on my high-definition, 46-inch, flat-screen TV, I was hungry again, so I cooked up a sirloin burger with American cheese and a thick slice of ripe, juicy tomato.

I went to bed stuffed! (Thank God I work out every day! If I didn't, I'd weigh over three hundred pounds, easily.)

How about you? Did you have a good supper last night? I'll bet you did.

Good for you!

By the way, did you know that in Somalia, there's a famine going on of historic proportions and 29,000 children have died there from starvation in the last three months? Did you know that, according to the United Nations, there are over 340,000 children under the age of five right now who are classified as not just malnourished, but as acutely malnourished? (That means that they are starving to death.)

A very good friend of mine, who is a staunch member of The Tea Party, rants that the U.S. has given FOURTEEN BILLION DOLLARS to Somalia in the past year for famine relief. He is the nicest guy you would ever want to meet, and I respect him and cherish his friendship, but I think he should check his facts.

Here are the facts that I found:

- In the first six months of this year, the United States gave over $431,000,000 for famine relief to that country.

- On July 21 st , we gave them another $28,000,000.

- Then, on August 8 th , we gave yet another $100,000,000.

Human beings are dying long, drawn-out, torturous deaths through no fault of their own. They are starving to death. Parents are watching their children starve to death. (I couldn't imagine the horror and woe of watching people I love starve to death! My kids! My wife! My grandkids!)

Millions of them. All due to drought. NOT due to laziness or ignorance or anything else except the lack of rainfall. We cannot accuse these folks of being slugs or fat, ungrateful jerks that we tend to accuse those in this country of when they cannot pay their bills.

I hear people in this country scream that Obama should not be giving money to these folks, since we here in the United States are broke, and we cannot afford it.

Are you broke?

I'm not broke.

I'm not as well off as I was a while ago, but I'm not broke.

I still have a house. (Two houses, in fact.)

I still have my vehicles and my pets (Dogs, cats, horses and a pony...which all eat very well and get excellent medical care and have clean and comfortable places to live .).

I still have electricity and computers and internet and cable TV and cell phones and money with which to go out to eat and to go on vacations.

I still eat and drink well every single day. (My freezers and refrigerator are full.)

I still have air conditioning in the heat of the summer and a nicely heated home in the winter.

I have a soft bed to sleep on and clean clothes to wear every day.

My sinuses were bothering me today, so I took a Benadryl tablet. I also took both of my heart medications and my 81-miligram Bayer aspirin tablet.

I had fresh coffee this morning. (I couldn't imagine a morning without coffee!) And I made fresh peppermint tea for my wife.

I have fresh, clean, safe water to drink and to wash in.

I am not broke.

Neither are you.

We here in the United States do not know what real poverty is.

Come with me sometime to The Dominican Republic. (I'm not talking about the Sandals Resort here. I'm talking about the real Domincan Republic where Mary Ellen and I worked building schools and meeting people who lived in plywood huts with dirt floors and no electricity nor running water.) That's poverty.

We are the wealthiest people on the face of the earth, and we consume far more than our share of the earth's resources. How can we possibly complain about helping out others who have absolutely nothing?

To be honest with you, I think we should take the trillions of dollars that we spend in Iraq and Afghanistan to kill people, and use that money to help alleviate some of the suffering in Somalia and other similar Third World countries.

I read a book one time that talked about beating swords into plowshares and caring for the sick and disadvantaged. Ever read it? It's called The Bible.

I will go home tonight, work out, sit out on a lawn chair in my yard, play with my dogs, talk to my wife, drink a Bloody Mary made from Absolut Vodka and Mrs. T's Bloody Mary Mix (Extra Spicy), and garnished with three olives stuffed with garlic cloves.

Then, I'll eat a supper of meat and fresh vegetables.

After that, I'll watch a little TV, and then finally go to bed.

Life is good . . . here.

I am not broke or living in poverty.


Neither are you.

Just the opposite. To be honest with you, when compared to the rest of the world, we live like kings and queens here.

I am an American . . . and that's like winning the lottery.

I am a winner . . . just because of where I happened to be born.