"Family Planning: Having all your children while their grandparents are still young enough to be babysitters." (copied)

I do love the little ones.

Another week rushing by. Sometimes it seems like it is nearly a blur. If we stop long enough to grab hold of today we find that it is Thursday, August 27, 2015. People who know me are aware that I do my very best to get close to the little ones that are in our life. Not only my own but any and all I come in contact with. I work at it. It's part of who I am. I have been told that my dad was a lover of the little ones also. Maybe that's why there were six of us. This past Sunday I had myself one of those remarkable blessing experiences. This grandma came into the family life center holding her four year old granddaughter. This little one has been a work in progress as I have attempted to warm up to her. On this day she spotted me across the room and she literally jumped out of her grandma's arms and ran all the way across the building and jumped up into my arms. Her grandma was flabbergasted, mouth wide open, in disbelief. I was beaming. I like beaming. It goes well with my white beard. On the same day I had this other little girl maybe six or seven and she is very serious about the Santa program. She said she knew I was one of his best helpers but was curious if I had ever seen him face to face. I told her that was an excellent question and I would get back to her on it. Maybe she will forget. Maybe I will forget. She's kind of in that transition age but I love it anyway. Last week when we met up with my uncle and aunt, she told me something I had not remembered. Because of mom being widowed with six young children they did what they could to help. She asked if I remembered the year I got the bicycle. I did remember the bicycle. But she went on to say they had brought the bicycle but she never saw anyone more convinced that Santa had brought it. Another piece of the puzzle. No wonder I am the way I am. And, I thought I had to learn how to say ho ho ho. Silly me.

I know some of you must be wondering why I never use any of those emoticon symbols. You haven't been wondering about that? Well, humor me anyway since I've decided to talk about it. I get these all the time on messages sent via the various forms of social media. Sometimes they don't get translated correctly. This causes me to believe the person who sent them may have either secretly encoded something or maybe while I wasn't looking they learned how to speak the Japanese language. I'm not against people using them if that helps them to convey whatever it is they want to communicate. If I want you to know I am happy I will say exactly that. If I want you to know I'm sad I will do my best to express that in my writing. Oh, that's right. Some limit the amount of words you can use so those little emoticons help. Limiting the number of words I can use is like trying to give a fish a bath. Sorry. I saw that on somebody's posting the other day and I also have no idea what it means or how it applies. It sounded like something good to throw in at that particular time. On the charts I looked at I did not see an image for Community Coffee. That shows you how out of touch folks are when it comes to things that really matter. Please don't write me. I am well aware there's more important things in life than Community Coffee. As soon as I have some time I will try to think of one or two. If that's confusing please help in the search to find out who that Amber Alert lady is who keeps calling cellphones.

Recently I was jawing with a fellow about the features of true country living. I recalled the time as a young teen that I visited some of our relatives who lived out in the Sabine river bottom. They were very isolated. They had electricity but no running water. Their light bulbs were on the end of a cord hanging down from the ceiling. They had great water but it had to be pumped into containers for use including the shower. I think I passed on the shower. One thing they did have was a small black and white TV that sat in the corner in their living room. The number one purpose for that TV was to catch the wrestling matches. My uncle and my cousin were avid fans. They had a stack of magazines with bloody faces on nearly every cover. They could get both animated and agitated just discussing particular bouts they had watched. Even as a kid I knew it was all a show. Fake. And, yes I know people did get hurt doing it. We used to get hurt all the time from running into something or falling on a stick. There could be blood. That's when the iodine came out. At any rate it reminded me that in the midst of this transition between the rudimentary rural lifestyle and a more modern world I could see the spectacle of how those wrestling programs became an integral part of the scheduling of their lives. I'm not into social commentary, just reporting a recollection from my past. That's all folks. Thanks for humoring me today. Maybe tomorrow we will have something better. Don't count on it. Until then, take care and may our Great God add his wonderful blessings to our day. Amen. ....More later.