"The trouble with practical jokes is that very often they get elected." Will Rogers

Hello out there in the wide wide world where digital bits and bytes fly here and there making it possible for us to have this little get together, here on this Wednesday, August 13, 2014. I grew up loving to swim. We did our swimming in creeks, lakes, ponds, and old fashioned swimming holes. I never even had a chance to get into one of those fancy cement ponds until one year I visited my cousins, Don and John, in Port Arthur, Texas, and they had access privileges down at the YMCA. That was quite an experience and I actually learned to swim the right way while I was there that summer. The swimming holes we frequented typically were checked out first to make sure we didn't have any stray water snakes passing through. The other day I saw a little homemade video of some folks enjoying the lake in their inner tubes. Suddenly a gator starts swimming towards the group. At first they didn't see it coming. When they did they panicked. Then wild splashing and thrashing ensued. Meanwhile, the gator casually turned around and headed back to the bank. It was a remote controlled gator about three feet long. As a confirmed swimming hole supporter, here's what I have to say about the fellow who did that. He and his gator needed to be dealt with in a way that would render the gator forever inoperable and when finished with the would be prankster, he would be left with nary a desire to ever do such a thing again. I first was worried for the people's safety. But, when I saw it was a fake gator, I was ready to dole out some swift swimming hole justice to the jokester. I get riled up just thinking about it. If it was supposed to be funny, well excuse..... me, because I forgot to laugh.

I can enjoy a good prank as well as anyone but those types of scare tactics are uncalled for. It reminds me of the time some of my granddad's work mates put a sparrow in his lunch bucket. Granny Mac opened it up and it flew into her face and she nearly passed out. My granddad didn't think it to be funny. At all. I was not with him when he returned to work the next day but based on little things I heard from his dealing with those who did the deed, well, they never ever wanted to play any games with him again. Never ever! Bad sport? I don't think so. But, he did know how to make someone understand they had crossed the line. And, doing anything that brought harm or potential harm to Granny, well, it's a wonder I didn't see Paw Paw's photo in the Leesville Leader with a headline that read: Older Worker Beats the Living Daylights out of Several Younger Employees. What's that? They most likely thought he would have opened the lunch bucket? If so, that was bad calculations on their part, and that's about all I can say about it. You think our family may be wound a little too tight? Could be but I can tell you this. I would not have wanted to be one of those fellows that had to deal with Paw Paw Mac when he was fit to be tied. (Just so you know: The origin of the 'fit to be tied' which means angry and agitated has something to do with restraining uncontrollable and dangerous people as with a straitjacket.)

From time to time, the wife and I have talked about downsizing our living arrangements. We recently had a problem with our central air conditioning. We thought we could fix it ourselves. (That's a collective we, including my boys with me as an observer.) However, the initial diagnosis didn't pan out and in the end we called out a technician who fixed it all up in less than 45 minutes. During the several days it was out, we slept on a blow up mattress in my office upstairs where I have a small window unit. Talk about downsizing! It might be 120 square feet. We essentially learned how to zig when the other one zagged. Someone told me the other day that the tiny house concept is very popular right now. I think we will need a little more than 120 square feet, but, the good news is that when it was 84° downstairs, the close quarters didn't seem to bother us that much. I can't get that old saying right. Necessity is the mother of invention. Or invention is the mother of necessity. Either way, we felt blessed to have a place to cool our heels. Literally. Okay. These are the little tidbits in life that help to occupy our time and effort as we continue our journey together. Go out there. Have a great day. Enjoy. And, may God add His blessings to each one. Amen.  .....More later.