"Son, quit leaning on the saw, you know better, I didn't eat your breakfast so don't make me carry it too!"

It is Wednesday, and I bid you welcome here on September 14, 2011. When I was a young lad this was the time of year Paw Paw Mac went out to gather firewood for the upcoming winter. My grandfather did not have much in the way of formal education but there was not much he couldn't do with his hands and using his head, as he would say it, for something other than a hat rack. We used the old fashioned crosscut saw. That's the one you see with a painted farm scene hanging in people's dens. But we used it to fell many a tree and then cut it up into appropriate lengths for the fireplace. If it had been left up to me I would have probably voted to wait until it became a little cooler but with the cooler weather came the wet weather and some of the areas where we cut wood may have been inaccessible. I can see that now. But as a young teenaged boy, it seemed like mighty hard work out in the heat. In one of the lives that God had given to me in the business world, I had to do a significant amount of planning for the future. I often thought about my grandfather and how he prepared for the winter. He would painstakingly get everything ready before we left for the woods. He would check and recheck to make sure we had everything we would need including backups if the primary didn't work. He had to make sure the old pickup was serviced and ready because it would be coming back home loaded down, and I do mean loaded down. Lessons in life are not always taught in the classroom, many of them are caught on the fly. Thanks to my grandfather and many others for preparing me to have a fairly decent run in the management game in the high tech world of communications and computers. 

Looking back. That's not a good thing for some folks since they have so many bad memories from their past. I have many regrets but not so many bad memories and I count myself to be blessed to be able to greatly enjoy a walk down memory lane. Sure. At the time I was involved in many activities I had no clue they would end up being a special memory, later. The good news for me is that I did come to realize this at a fairly young age. I thank God for this because I did try to show my appreciation to those who had poured so much into my life. It was later than it should have been but the fact that I did it at all is a blessing because I've had so many special people who contributed to my life. In my family and in my extended world in our community, folks that went out of their way to make a difference in my life. You never had it that way? I'm sorry. Maybe some had it better than they think but they've never been able to see it that way. Whatever the case, we know that God ordained that we should help one another as we make our way in life. I've not done as much of that as I should but I do recognize it as both a privilege and a responsibility. And, if I need to know if it can really work, I can always do myself just a little remembering of those who did it for me. May God bless their memory. Amen.

Can I conjure up some really bad stuff from the past to agitate about? I could and most likely I have but that is about as useless as a screen door on a submarine, which used to be a funny, that is, way back in the day. We've all got some scars and I know some people who are still fighting battles about perceived slights from people who have many years ago gone on to their reward. I'm not being critical but I just can't see anything positive at all that can come from that kind of thinking. And, as I have told others, no one is having trouble but the individual who dwells on such matters. When I've heard some of what really bothers folks, it isn't big, in my way of seeing it. I know. Different strokes for different folks, but I just hate to see people lose out on the good memories that can become islands of refreshment and they truly can become, as the song tells us, Precious Memories. No. I am not working to replace Dr. Phil. And, no. I've never watched Dr. Phil but I do know who he is. At the same time we can always encourage one another and that's what I am desiring to do. Have a good day and don't forget to remember the good things from your past. Amen.     ....More later.