“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived. The odors of fruits waft me to my southern home, to my childhood frolics in the peach orchard. Other odors, instantaneous and fleeting, cause my heart to dilate joyously or contract with remembered grief. Even as I think of smells, my nose is full of scents that start awake sweet memories of summers gone and ripening fields far away.” ― Helen Keller, Celebrated Author, (1880-1968), who overcame being blind and deaf

That great rushing sound of air is the exhaling of relief from all those who have waited patiently all week for this day and especially since it ushers in a long holiday weekend! Whoop Whoop! I promise you that to the best of my knowledge I've never uttered those whoop whoop words but I've seen them used quite a bit so I thought I would throw them in for this particular occasion. It is Friday, May 22, 2015, and I'm just glad to be able to visit with you via today's edition. The other day I was washing up here at work and a combination of smells hit me. It's been rainy rainy here. We have well water. I grew up with well water. I've stayed overnight with some relatives who didn't have running water. Something about that humidity drenched atmosphere along with the faucet pulling that water from deep inside the earth, well, I could just as easily have been on the back porch at Granny and Paw Paw Mac's playing in the water as Granny worked through the clothes washing chore using one of those old wringer type machines. I have to tell you this. I love it when things like that happen. I looked around to make sure that no one saw me looking around to enjoy the moment. It didn't take long to shrug it off and realize that I was still in Kansas Toto but those flashbacks are special and I do thank the good Lord above for designing us so that we can grab hold of a smell that will take us back to where a sweet memory abides. Amen.

My mother in law was a very special lady. She married my wife's dad without knowing that she would spend her life as a pastor's wife. She faced adversities and physical infirmities throughout her time here but she did so with such humility and grace. One of the things she lost along the way was her sense of smell. I'm sure it was a huge liability but I never really heard her complain about it. This woman was a plant and flower lover with a green thumb but she couldn't begin to smell the roses. She was an excellent cook but she never got to enjoy that wonderful aroma we experienced as we waited for the call to the table. The kids always worried about food spoilage and things like that but somehow God took care of them. She loved music, especially music about her Lord and Savior. Her favorite style included the mandolin and guitar. She could play the mandolin. She was an avid poem writer and letter writer. Those poems were a way for her to capture some of her favorite memories. She may have even been able to remember some of the smells from the times she wrote about. And, she was a woman of great faith. I'm blessed that her daughters took after her. Amen.

All of that from washing up? I'm afraid so. It really is the simple things in life folks. It really is. Okay. I think I've done my best this week to make my word quota which is a number that varies depending on the day and how well the gray cells happen to be cooperating. They don't always show up on time and ready to work. It shows? I would be the first one to agree with that. Now, it's own to the weekend. I do hope you enjoy your Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday. I also hope that we all will take some time to remember those who have worn the uniform of our nation and in so doing they have given up their lives for us and for our freedoms. This is what Memorial Day is all about. I know what some of you are thinking. I finished a long time ago, maybe as far back as Wednesday, but I kept on slinging stuff on the page anyway. Some weeks are like that. Maybe the next visit will be better. We can all hope. Take care and may God bless us all and especially the memories of our dead warriors. Amen.    .....More later.