"Grandchildren are a grandparent's link to the future, and grandparents are the child's link to the past." ~ Author: Unknown

Good morning and welcome. It's Thursday, September 17, 2015. I hope this day finds you and yours doing well. Last Sunday was celebrated as Grandparent's Day. We've never really been into this recognition but some do use it as a way to honor their folks. That's always a good thing and it has God's commendation on doing so. (Exodus 20:12 and Ephesians 6:2) This past Monday evening the wife's cell phone sounded off. It was about 8:15 p.m. It was our little great grand Madelyn Joy calling to honor us. (She will be six in January.) She was on the phone with her great grand MiMi for about 10 minutes. Then it became my turn. It was like music to my soul. We laughed and talked. Talked and laughed. I may become a devoted supporter of Grandparent's Day. I know that will make the people at Hallmark happy. Little things like a phone call from a five year old can help make your day. And, now you know why I named her our little bundle of Madelyn Joy from the get go. I know how I feel about my grandparents. I know how the wife feels about hers. They were important to our upbringing and our well being. We are thankful for that. We want to be important in the upbringing and well being our our grand kids as well. Thank you Lord for giving us a little blessing of a handful on purpose from our Madi girl. Thank you Lord for the grandparents in our lives who were instrumental in us becoming who we are today. Amen.

That photo is of our little great grand school girl. Speaking of that, I do drive through quite a few school zones as I am out and about. Early in the morning the traffic can be really slow as folks do their best to observe all the safety rules. Low speed and no cell phone in operation. Plenty of rules and rightly so. I see the kids unloading from their parent's vehicles. For the most part they are bright eyed and bushy tailed. Ready for their day. Their moms. Not so much. They get the kids up. They feed them. They make sure they are alert and ready. But just my observation, many times they look like they are sleep walking through a bad dream. Hair going in every direction. They look like they could fall over at any moment. Sleepy. It may be just me but doesn't that seem to be somewhat of a disconnect? I mean the kids need to be awake and ready to take on the world. But mom, and it is typically mom, well, she may need a pillow and a designated driver just to get back home. Sometimes they even exit their vehicle to get something for the child. Oh my. Still in your housecoat? Sorry. Maybe they need a new roadside test to check the viability of those dropping kids off. It could be called a sleep-o-lyzer, you know, they have to breathe into it to see if they are alert enough to pilot a carload of kids. Okay. I may be piling on a little but not much. Next time you are slowly making your way through a school zone early in the morning, check it out. In this case I am only a sideline reporter. Hey, I didn't say that everyday would produce news you could use.

The other day I was in one of the huge home improvement stores. I was waiting to be checked out. The fellow behind me commented about my white beard and red hat and shirt. He was observant, therefore, he made the connection. He looked to be somewhere near my age and he asked me this question: "How do you get it to be so white?" Before I could answer he went on to say that he would love to play Santa but his hair was still way too dark. I thought about the body chemistry angle and could have shared this with him: "As we get older, the pigment cells in our hair follicles gradually die. When there are fewer pigment cells in a hair follicle, that strand of hair will no longer contain as much melanin and will become a more transparent color — like gray, silver, or white — as it grows." I settled for telling him my white was attained through natural means. You know. One day I woke up and found out I was old enough to have white hair and a white beard. I gave the fellow one of our cards. He loved it. He said that he was trying to be a spiritual Santa. Hopefully that meant something good. I didn't have time to find out exactly what he was talking about. I had to get myself and my age induced white hair and beard back on the road. You just never know what might happen at the check out stand. Take care and have yourself a most wonderful day. And, may God bless us all. Amen. ....More later.