Chorus: “A glad day, a wonderful day.. Glad day, a glorious day..There with all the holy angels and loved ones to stay.. That will be a glad reunion day..” Song: That Glad Reunion Day by Iris Dement, Singer/Songwriter

Good morning and welcome. It's already Thursday, August 20, 2015, and I have had an interesting week. What about you? I took off from work this past Tuesday so the wife and I could drive to Tyler, Texas to be a part of a time of reunion for mom and her brother, Uncle Waymon. Mom and dad drove from Louisiana and were there to meet Uncle Waymon and Aunt Elwanda. I think the average age of those four to be somewhere near the 89 mark. A huge thank you to their daughter Cindy for bringing her parents from Dallas and for helping to make this meeting a reality. It was a dream come true for my mom who has been longing to see her last remaining sibling, her brother. While none of us know what tomorrow will hold, from mom's point of view this get together could very well be their last face to face in their journey in this old world. That, of course, is in God's hands. She always quickly adds they will one day join their Savior and all the rest of their family who have preceded them to their heavenly home. What a blessing to be a part of this little get together. It's one of those precious memories that I will always treasure. May God add His blessings to these seasoned saints. Amen.

We officially received our first inquiry about Santa and Mrs. Claus for the upcoming season. A new event. We know the people well who checked into our availability and would be honored to work with them if we can. All of our events over the years have been generated by word of mouth and we do our best to honor first those who schedule us each year. Since joining a number of the Santa related Facebook pages I have gained an appreciation for the multitude of ways that Santa interacts with the public. Some work full time traveling all over. Some film commercials. Many seasoned veterans teach schools on how to be a better Santa. Some actually do Santa in far flung locations all over the world. It seems that real bearded Santas are somewhat in demand. I see many posted openings from all over the US and even a number of international venues. When I was a teenager they laughed at me for having to shave at such an early age. Who's laughing now? Ho! Ho! Ho! (I was also one of the earliest to have hair on my chest. At that time it was thought to be an indication of manliness not like today where it's considered to be gross and it needs to be removed as quickly as possible.) Who ever heard tell?

Example only: I don't know these people!

I sure hope that we keep a lot of older folks around. That's my 'man on the street' observation at the Cracker Barrel in Tyler, Texas. For the sake of Cracker Barrel if nothing else. Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of families who eat at that place. There are workers that do too. But, the vast majority of folks patronizing that one were folks who had long ago received their first invitation to join AARP. (We have nothing to do with that particular organization. It's a political decision on our part. Just so you know.) I was out on the porch for over an hour so I did get the lay of the land, so to speak. Lots of folks vying for handicapped parking spaces. Lots of folks using canes and walkers. And, many of us proudly wearing the white hair and a few like me wearing the white beard. No. I did not see any ladies wearing a white beard. While on the porch we could listen to some really good old fashioned country music. I did notice a stark contrast. After Garth Brooks belted out his mega hit 'Friends in Low Places', the next song was the Gaither classic 'Because He Lives." Just doing my part to keep everyone informed and in living up to the creed that Yogi Berra put forth: "You can observe a lot by just watching." I add to that, just listening, and I think I'm set. Take care and may God bless us one and all. Amen. ....More later.