SERGEANT JOE FRIDAY: "By the way, what do you do for a living?", Response:"I'm a systems analyst myself." SERGEANT JOE FRIDAY: "Oh? What's a systems analyst do?" Response: "I analyze systems." SERGEANT JOE FRIDAY: "Makes sense."

I almost remembered a really great story to share with you today, on this Thursday, February 14, 2013. Almost. While I hate it when that happens I'm not overly concerned about it because it will come back to me and when it does I will have another opportunity to forget to remember it. What's that? I could jot it down when I think of it? Now that is a great idea. I'll think about how that might fit into my 'modus operandi' or M.O. You remember that one from the old Dragnet shows, don't you? That's where Sergeant Joe Friday and his sidekick were always trying to figure out the bad guy's mode of operation and that M.O. was the shorthand they used. I'm sure some of you have taken Tums over the years because of not having been able to figure that one out. Now you can do your version of the happy dance. Woodrow Wilson is quoted as saying, "All things come to him who waits - - provided he knows what he is waiting for." I'm not so sure he was right about that one because I often find stuff after waiting that I didn't have a clue about, except, for that really good story, but it will resurface again, typically while I am waiting, or maybe not. We'll see. Now that I've cleared that up, let's move on. You noticed I resisted using Sergeant Joe's famous, "Just the facts ma'am, just the facts." You did notice that, didn't you?

Dragnet was on for many years. Radio and then television. There's a number of websites that anyone can access free of charge and they have cataloged literally thousands of old time radio programs. There are numerous episodes of Dragnet. Just do a Google search on Old Time Radio (OTR). I invite you to try it out. There's something of interest for everyone. Go for it. There's one show that aired from 1947 through 1948, "You Are There." It reenacted recognized historical events like, 'Assassination of Lincoln', 'July 4, 1776', "Fall of Troy', and a number of others. It is portrayed from a reporter's viewpoint who is an eyewitness to what is happening. I like those. You might like the comedy stuff. Groucho Marx's 'You Bet Your Life', or one of the hundreds of episodes of 'Fibber MaGee and Molly', or the 'Red Skelton Show'. That will bring back memories to many of my readers because they heard some of them when they actually aired. For others, it might just be a great way of getting in touch with the entertainment that was available for their parents or more likely their grandparents. One constant: The Commericals! Did you know that some of the cigarettes made back then could actually soothe your sore throat? Many of them are classics. There are also several that feature the Big Band music from that era by the likes of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, just to name a few. Good stuff!



My Valentine!

Today is the day set aside to express love. Marilyn and I have been exchanging Valentine greetings for over 50 years. Back in the day I used to purchase cards and candy. For the past 25 plus years I've made the cards myself. She still has many of them stuck here and there. They are predicting that nearly 19 billion dollars will be contributed to the economy this year because of this set aside special day. That's a lot of moola where I come from. Too bad that in our culture true love is not as obvious as the spending.The Bible has much to say about how to define love. We tell our inner city Bible club kids to think about Jesus on the Cross anytime they want to remember what true love is all about. This tells us that true love always involves sacrifice on behalf of another. Maybe that's the main ingredient that our 'me-myself-and-I-first' culture has left out, sacrifice. I do thank God for my wife who does know that meaning well and I pray that I will practice it towards her as well. Happy Valentine's Day Sweetheart! May God bless us all as we continue our journey here. Amen.    .....More later.