Uncle Thor's Lessons, Anecdotes and Humor

Did you know that the song Dixieland (“ I wish I were in Dixie…”) was originally a show tune? Before it became a marching song for Confederate troops, it was a tune in a play in New York, written by a Northerner. It turns out the Northern writer was very unhappy that the [...]

The reason that some of the Germanic cultures had holidays like Ostara and Eostre may be obvious, but what about choosing the date? The modern date is the first full moon after the Equinox. In ancient times, it might be the first full moon after the local stream floods due to the thaw. [...]

It has been a tradition the past few years to go to Audrey’s cousin’s house for dinner on Easter. For us, this is a family thing, not a religion thing. They know where we stand on religion, and that is that. However, the cousins are church people who belong to the choir, [...]

Loki Pranks
Sometimes we get to play pranks on an entire continent. An old friend had a lot of expressions based on Australians. They were not flattering, but they were funny. I used to use a couple of them myself, back when I was counseling substance abusers. He recently got some of [...]

If you look at some of the more famous Western gunfighters, you cannot escape one salient fact. Those fellows all had a knack for trouble. They placed themselves in dangerous situations and enjoyed being there. Johnny Ringo faced trial several times for murders committed all over Texas. Wyatt Earp and his [...]

Audrey and I recently watched an exciting movie “3:10 to Yuma.” It was a classic Western shoot-em-up. They do not make many Westerns any more. You can find horror and mystery and every kind of chick flick, but few Cowboy movies.
Years ago, there were plenty of Westerns. They had them [...]

I am living proof that life is not fair. I have endured more than my share of troubles. It began at birth. I was adopted by an Irish-American family who eventually came to resent me. (Genetically, I am Western Scandinavian and German, not a bit of Celt in me.) Add the [...]

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I love history. It is part of two of my hobbies, in fact: electric trains and military miniatures. The history of railroading is a fascinating study of how our nation expanded and how it supplied itself. Military history is a look at a very powerful side of human experience. Of [...]

There are so-called Heathens who spent monumental efforts on researching trhe findings of academics. They pore over tomes and obscure journals for any notes on Norse lore. They think they are uncovering facts, but in 9 out of 10 instances they are only reading the opinions of academic scholars. Opinons, not facts. [...]