Joke: It's hot, in fact it's so hot I actually saw a funeral procession stopped at a Dairy Queen!

Yesterday's blog was number 1,100. That's a lot of wailing and gnashing, no matter how you look at it. But here we are again and this is Wednesday and we welcome Wednesday because it is the last day of August, 2011. Here in our territory, they predict that we will have only one lonely day in August that did not top the 100 degree mark, and we are glad to be putting all of this record setting stuff in our rear view mirror. They tell us that time flies when you are having fun, but, if it's okay with you, I would tell August to just get on down the road. In fact, if I could hit a fast forward button to some of those frosty mornings, I would, but I also have learned that I am not the one calling the shots. The other thing I've learned is that we had all better make the best of it because you, me, all of us, we all wait at the same speed. Now. Thinking about that frost on the ground conjures up so many wonderful memories. I'm thinking that if I had some of that outside my door right now I would run out there and do exactly the same thing the Pope does when he visits a foreign land, I would bend down and give that frozen turf a big old smooch. Amen. Some folks are having it pretty rough. One of my granddaughters told me they had not been using their nice pool much because the water is just too hot. I believe she said it was in the high 80's. Ouch. Thinking about those frosty mornings might just make the temperature feel a notch or two cooler but if you want to make sure that dream becomes a reality you could go ahead and crank down that thermostat!

These are tough times. I hear that FEMA is running out of money and they will soon be asking for more from Congress. The head dude said they would have to slow down some of the spending currently underway in areas like Joplin, Missouri, to divert some funds to those suffering from Hurricane Irene. The senators from Missouri have already chimed in. There had better not be any slowing down of anything going to their states. See what I mean folks? It's nothing but a handout until you are the one receiving it, then, it is deserved, and it's something you are entitled to, and we could go on and on. This is why they can never get anything changed in Washington. This is why they are still paying out subsidies for crops that haven't been grown in years, or for research that has already been made obsolete. My state, my projects, my people, and oh yes, the really big one, my reelection! I know the funds for these recovery activities are likely needed. I also know that the longer they are available and the longer the projects go on, it is the tougher for them to ever be shut down, for any reason whatsoever, even when it is completed! Examples: The so called Stimulus Bill included over $500k to replace windows in a forest ranger station that has been shuttered and shut down for years; A college grant of over $700k to develop a computerized dance choreography program; $2 million grant to photograph exotic ants; $90k to replace sidewalks in a small town that lead to nowhere; and $300k to study dog domestication. I rest my case, that is, until I'm the one in line, then I just might be heard singing, "I've got the hungries for your love and I'm waitin in your welfare line." (Buck Owens) 


I'm not down on our country. I'm not down on our way of life. I'm actually amazed that we have somehow made it to where we are, given all the challenges we have faced. Only by the grace of God. I recently heard from a couple of people who became employed within a government run operation. This program had to do with protecting citizens. They quickly concluded that the folks operating the program were perhaps a bigger threat than the criminal element. Hello? This is why I say, only by the grace of God. Our form of government is messy and in need of a lot of improvement, but, it will never get done until we get over the me first syndrome. It's always easier to raise the other folks taxes or cut spending in the other person's state. Somehow and in someway our government needs to come together for the collective good of the nation, for the good of our offspring, and for the good of becoming once again, One Nation under God! Can it be done? Like always, yes it can, but only with His help. I'll never forget a couple of guys who begged me to keep them on at the big company when we were facing cutbacks. They were nearing retirement age. They were barely adequate performers but they shed tears and I did find a way to keep them on. About a year later I saw them at a shareholder meeting and they loudly protested to me how the Company needed to cut back because their retirement income from share royalties was being impacted. They had recently been prime candidates for some of the cutback that was needed but now they wanted what didn't happen to them to happen to someone else so they could benefit. That's the reality we all must face. We really do live in a me, myself, and I world, and perhaps doing something there is the very best place to start. Enough already. Have a great day and may God bless. Amen.         .... More later.