Yes, it is true Dorothy, we are not in Kansas anymore.

Did you say you prefer to deal with only the facts? Okay. It is Friday, March 4, 2011. It is the day the Lord has given to us and we have some choices to make about it. But it is still early, therefore, we can at least take some time and think about it. Do you like pleasant surprises? I do. No. I am not talking about playing the lottery because my understanding is you have to buy a ticket to win. I am talking about this past Wednesday evening coming in the back door and suddenly I was slapped up side the head with these blissful aromas. Where have I smelled this before? Mom's? Granny Mac's? Bingo! Both of them! My wife had prepared me a home cooked meal that she knew I loved. Smothered steak with rice and gravy, black eyed peas, fried okra, mustard greens, sliced tomatoes, piping hot cornbread, some good pepper sauce, and a large glass of iced tea. Talk about playing my song! I could see Granny standing there watching me eat. She loved to cook and she loved to see other people love to eat what she had cooked. I can only imagine some of you are thinking to yourself, but I don't think that would be an exciting meal to me. That's okay. You may like something entirely different but what a blessing to be surprised with something so special, to me. Because of my commitment to trying to be sensible, I had only one plate, which would have never been allowed in Granny Mac's kitchen. But that one plate was not only superbly delicious, it was also a wonderful time of recollecting those special cooks like those I mentioned along with my mother-in-law, and, of course, the lady who actually prepared the meal, my dear wife. I'll let you in on a secret. I've tried dozens of those places that claim to feature home cooked or home style meals. I've never found one that has even come close to the spread we had on Wednesday. Sadly, I know folks who think those places actually prepare real home cooked meals, and I sure am glad for their sake they haven't tasted the real stuff, because if and when they do, they will never go in those places again, just like me!


Do you have enough to do for the upcoming month? We are officially off and running in the month of March where college basketball becomes the craze, and it's even referred to as madness, as in, March Madness. Some observe Ash Wednesday in this month. Here in our area the history is remembered of the founding of the Republic of  Texas along with the familiar "Remember the Alamo."  It's also the month in which Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated his invention, the telephone. That was in 1876, and if he were still around, he could observe a huge mass of not so smart people using what they now call a smart version of his invention. Speaking of smart, Albert Eeinstein was born on the 14th. Many believe he was a skeptic or agnostic when it came to a belief in God, and I can tell you that long term, like in eternity, that is not very smart at all. And, we have the spring forward to do with our clocks to make sure we gain as much daylight as we can, and there's that Ides of March deal on the 15th, remembering when Julius Caesar was assassinated, giving Shakespeare his inspiration for the famous, "Beware the Ides of March." We also have St. Patrick's day which will be a green day and an excuse for many folks to party. I suppose we could have our own Patrick Henry Day since he did do his midnight ride on March 23, 1775. It's also the birthday of my late mother-in-law, on the 26th, and I think for obvious reasons, she became a very important person in my life. There were three presidents born in March, but October holds the record with six. Then we all have our own stuff already penciled in, family birthdays, special events, and other activities booked. Don't forget to schedule some downtime. I've heard of that before. Does anyone know exactly what it is?

I'm not complaining, just sharing. It was like me sleeping in the recliner the other evening and giving the excuse that I was only resting my eyes. That's an old one but my wife's grandmother used to use it the most so I awarded her ownership of that particular phrase. I suppose it is interesting to think about how we all got by before we had so much clamoring for every second of our time and attention. Work is a given. I grew up in an environment where work was interwoven into the fabric of life. But, we somehow got by without a Daytimer, or an automated schedule keeper on our computer or smart phone. It's like the recent report on fever. According to the high muckety mucks in the medical scientific world we have become a fever focused people. As the report stated, fever is the natural response of the body to a problem. It is not the problem. When we focus on treating the indicator instead of the underlying cause we can easily fix the wrong problem. Uh oh. We have an entire system of how the world works based on getting that temp down. The school operates on it and so does most of the rest of our world. Back in the day, there was something we experienced and it was called, letting it take its course, but that did take time, and that's what we already have too little of. Or, was that love? Or, do I have a clue? Most likely not, therefore, I will bid you a good Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday and see if something meaningful comes along before we meet again. Until then, may God bless. Amen.       ....More later.