"You ever drive around with an old person who knows where everything didn't used to be?" ~ Jack Mayberry, American Comedian

Come on in and sit for a spell. It's good to see you here on this Monday, September 14, 2015. I do hope that all is well with you. One of my childhood buddies had a birthday last week. I sent him a greeting on Facebook. I addressed my birthday greeting to him by calling him my schoolyard buddy. That was a long time ago. I suppose that's one of the positives from Facebook as we were reunited there after many years of having gone our separate ways. He has lived most of his life over in Alabama. We were pretty close from the time I moved to that little rural town in the third grade through high school. We ran together. We hunted and fished together. We got to see each other last year at our 50th high school reunion. It was good to fellowship forth and back in what us older folks call talking about the good old days. I can tell from his Facebook postings that he has been a man of faith and family throughout his sojourn. He is well respected. He and I fought many battles out in the field in front of our house. One time we would be the US Calvary against the hostile Indians. (It was called playing cowboys and indians back then.) Another time we would be reenacting battles we knew next to nothing about from WW2.  It's obvious he loves his wife and children and is so proud of his grandchildren. He also does his best to practice his faith in His Savior. We grew to be very different in so many ways but our common background, upbringing, and the faith we found there still maintains the basis for our connection.

How far is too far?

Some six years ago when I got into the Santa enterprise the wife was supportive but certainly not in love with the concept. When I later added her to the mix which has been very successful, she went along with it but still has not felt totally immersed into the Mrs. Claus representation. I don't know why because everybody loves her. However, she did wholeheartedly buy into the Santa motif. I do not know the headcount total on the variety of Santa facsimiles we have in our domicile but they do fill up many boxes. The photo above is a bed set that is available from a foreign company. One of my fellow real bearded Santas posted it the other day. (The real bearded designation is very important these days. Just so you know.) I am not inclined to share the ordering information with Mrs. Claus because knowing her, that would be right down her ally. I'm not sure many use that 'right down their ally' slang anymore but I think most of you will catch it on the first read. They say knowing your audience is real important. It does bring a smile when I think about some of the notes I have received from across the globe. There's no telling what they think about some of the illustrative sayings I use. At any rate, when it comes to Santa decor I can truly report, there is no end in sight. You can count on the accuracy of that statement since it really does come from a member in good standing of the IBRBS (International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas). That would be yours truly for those who are keeping score.

With all the hype going on with the return of NFL football I sometimes think I need to have my man-card reviewed since I'm not insanely excited about it starting up again. I enjoy watching a well contested football game but I had no countdown clocks in my home or on my computer that were set to alarm when the first whistle was blown last Thursday evening. I can do the water cooler talk because I read enough to keep up. I'm not into fantasy football. That's where you build an imaginary team and bet real money on it. There are millions who play. There are billions being made, mostly by the administering companies. They have not collected a penny from me. I know. There are many leagues that are just for fun and no money is being won or lost. However, that is a good way to get younger ones conditioned for the step up to the billion dollar leagues. Just my thought about that one in passing. I will tell you one thing. I would be willing to cough up a few bucks if someone would raise enough money to get that commercial off the air about the one fellow going crazy when he wins $1 million in his fantasy league. It is on nearly every channel twenty times an hour. Or it seems that way to me. Who came up with this man-card business anyway? It's rather insulting when you think about it. But, that's neither here nor there, as they say. I believe they do say that. Right? Somewhere. Take care and may God bless each one. Amen. ....More later.