"The highest compliment one can give a writer is not to say that one wholeheartedly agrees with his observations, but that he provoked - really, forced - difficult thinking about consequential matters and internal questioning of one's own assumptions, often without quick or clear resolution." ~ Glenn Greenwald, American lawyer, journalist and author

 *** Happy Birthday to our daughter-in-law Sherrie. We thank God for her and her family. Our Chris, and their daughters Tiffany, Brittany, Stefani, and their granddaughter and our great grand Madelyn Joy are also true blessings to us all. We pray that God will continue to bless Sherrie as she continues to serve Him and others. Amen. ***

It's Monday and time to get on with another work week here on this July 27, 2015. I saw a fellow who posted this one and it reminded me of some old timers that I grew up around. This fellow happened to have been visiting Ireland. He asked one of the locals who was sitting on a bench smoking a pipe what was the fastest way to get to the next little town. The fellow looked up at him and simply asked, "Are you walking or driving a car?" The visitor responded, "Of course, I'm in a car!" To which the old fellow nodded and said that would be the fastest choice. We are all people. And, people are funny. We all have our little idiosyncrasies. I saw a fellow the other day that was posting some very positive slogans. One in particular announced how much he loved Jesus. The very next one was a photo of a large amount of currency rolled into many little rolls. The caption said that if one were to forward that to someone else they would be receiving the money in the photo within a few days. I'm not criticizing that fellow at all. Just observing. I do know that I can spot the other person's quirks a little quicker than I do my own. I know I probably riled some folks last week in my comments about Donald Trump. For those who think he might make a good president I wanted to let you know that he did say in an interview that he would likely change his tone when he becomes president. He said he did have a sophisticated side that he could demonstrate. I read that and thought it might make someone feel a little better about how he might conduct himself later. (One would only hope!) Just passing it on, for what it's worth. That's what I do.

I had a couple of mishaps in last Friday's blog. No. Not the subjects covered but the words used or not used. There's not much that can be done about the subject matter. I left out an important word or two and I think I might have put in one that shouldn't have been there as well. Sorry about that. In all fairness I did announce at the outset that my body had returned from Louisiana but my mind, well, that may have been anybody's guess. I did have them pointed out to me and I do appreciate those who notice. They know how serious I am about trying to at least get it on the page as correctly as I can. I'm not talking about content, interest, or anything like that. Just the accuracy in dotting the 'i's' and crossing the 't's'. Let me see. I think the senior moment excuse has been much overdone but I do remember one a former pastor used to offer. He said that maybe his head went out on him for a moment or two. Sounds good to me. Very plausible.

The other day when I was visiting mom and dad I observed all the trouble they were having in trying to get mom's medications delivered. The coverage they use insist that some meds be sent in the mail or by delivery service. That's the only way the insurance will cover. When something goes wrong and the meds don't arrive that triggers a huge mess of dad trying to figure out what happened and then all the time it takes to get it straightened out. In the meantime, they don't the critical meds they need. In this last instance he finally got their doctor to issue an emergency prescription only to have it rejected because the insurance folks said the missed shipment was now on its way. I think dad said he was on the phone for nearly 7 hours trying to get all of this straight. I could tell they were both in a tizzy trying to work through the maze of entangled bureaucracy. My point? This is how it goes for the elderly and in my opinion it's a crying shame. I know this. You don't have to be old to get caught in these endless phone call sessions trying to solve issues with healthcare. In their case they seemed at least to be at peace with the fact that this is how it works. I would complain to someone but you and I both know that it would take another 7 hours with little to no chance of change. On that note, be thankful if you haven't had to deal with that situation yet. Yet. And, know that I'm proud of them at their age in them still being able to hang in there. Take care. Have a good one. And, may God bless one and all. Amen. ....More later.