1.0The News Journalhttps://qa.thenewsjournal.netrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="WFtGkkTP29"><a href="https://qa.thenewsjournal.net/promises-promises/">Promises, promises . . .</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://qa.thenewsjournal.net/promises-promises/embed/#?secret=WFtGkkTP29" width="600" height="338" title="“Promises, promises . . .” — The News Journal" data-secret="WFtGkkTP29" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> https://qa.thenewsjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Bena-Mae-mug166.jpg200300Promises, promises … Sheriff Andy Taylor and Floyd the barber are sitting on a bench in front of Floyd’s barbershop in Mayberry one hot summer day. Andy says “well, as Mark Twain said, everybody complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it.” Floyd answers, “Did he say that? Andy says “Uh-huh.” Floyd says, “ I thought Calvin Coolidge said that.” “No, no Floyd,” Andy says. “Calvin Coolidge didn’t say that,” Floyd looks at Andy and asks, “what did Calvin Coolidge say?” I don’t remember what Andy said after that, but history tells us that Calvin Coolidge was a good president who was the soul of brevity. He didn’t talk much and when he did it was always short and to the point. Hence the name “Silent Cal.”  He made no extravagant promises, didn’t need to as the country was barreling along through a prosperous period. In 1928, He was succeeded in office by Herbert Hoover whose team ran on the promise of “a chicken in every pot, and a car in every garage.” I got to thinking about that and my curiosity got the best of me. So I went to google and asked how many cars were on the road in 1928. The answer: 3,033. In the whole U.S. of A. And that got me to thinking, just how many homes in Corbin had garages? The answer, if I recall correctly, very, very few. That led me to “a chicken in every pot,” which conjured up a picture of men in an old ramshackle pickup throwing chickens to houses on each side of the road. Now if history serves me right, there were no zoning laws in Corbin that forbade its citizens to raise chickens in their backyard. So there was no shortage of chickens. We even had fried chicken for breakfast, let alone Sunday dinner three Sundays out of four. But back to campaign promises of another day. In 1928, Herbert Hoover won the presidential race by a landslide by beating New Yorker Al Smith who was a democrat  and also a catholic.  Hoover warned the nation that Al Smith would turn the Holland Tunnel into a 3500 yard tunnel that reached all the way to the Vatican and that the White House would be a palace for the Pope. He also said he would bring the nation to a much grander prosperity than it had ever known. And we all know what happened after that. Seven months into his presidency, the stock market crashed and the country went into The Great Depression that lasted for years. Millions of people were out of work. I vaguely remember what we called “hobo’s” riding the rails and looking for jobs. I recall some of the times when they knocked on our back door begging for food. This happened often when they dropped off the train when it stopped in Corbin. It was a sad scenario of what was taking place all across the nation. Mama always had something for them to eat and I remember us sitting on the back steps listening to their sad stories. It was a terrible time and it took the country years to get over it. But Hoover wasn’t alone when he made promises he couldn’t keep. Just turn on your TV.  It’s deja vu all over again. Blueberry Cream Cheese Dump Cake Fresh blueberries sit on the bottom with chunks of cream cheese scattered throughout. All this goodness is topped with a buttery cake layer. Ingredients ½ cup butter 1 egg, lightly beaten 1 cup milk, 1%, 2% or whole may be used 1 and ½ cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 4 cups blueberries 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F Place butter in 9×13 inch cake pan and place in oven for butter to melt. Mix together the egg, milk, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Remove pan with melted butter and gently pour batter over butter. Evenly spread the blueberries over the batter. Do not stir. Place cubes of cream cheese over berries so that each piece when sliced will have some cream cheese Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping.