"I wanted to have a career in sports when I was young, but I had to give it up. I'm only six feet tall, so I couldn't play basketball. I'm only 190 pounds, so I couldn't play football. And I have 20-20 vision, so I couldn't be a referee." ~ Jay Leno

I received word last evening that mom is now being treated for pneumonia. She is still scheduled for a follow-up today with the surgeon regarding the infection she has developed. Our prayer is that God will give her peace and work according to His perfect will. Amen.

You have to admire true believers. I was talking to a true Houston Texans diehard the other evening and he said he had this gut feeling that told him Houston would beat New England to advance to the next round. He also said that same gut told him Dallas would win their game against Green Bay. He goes to many of the Houston games. He does have all the shirts and other gear. However, my thought is that it might just be time for him to consider a gut-check up, a reset, or maybe even a complete download of some new parameters. But, I do admire his positive vibe and his, somewhat blind, support for his team. It's Tuesday, January 17, 2017, and nothing creates a buzz like professional football. I've either listened to or watched some of all of the games in the playoffs this year. There's no doubt that the Dallas versus Green Bay, Kansas City versus Pittsburg games were, not only some of the best for this year, but, they also rank up there favorably with those considered to be classic contests from the past. What distinguished them from others? They were hard fought, close battles. The games could have gone either way. Everyone enjoys that type of game better than a blowout. There have not been very many of those types of nailbiter games this playoff season and that should be of some concern to the NFL brain trust. That's what my gut tells me. For what it is worth.

No. They haven't called me up and asked me what I think about these matters. I'm just exercising the rights I have that were bought and paid for by the millions of commercials I've watched during the games. Speaking of that, what's with this new approach of playing the same commercial back to back? The first one finishes and before you can take the next breath, it starts again, the very same commercial. It happens so fast and it takes you by surprise making it hard to reach both the remote and the boiling point before its over and done. Since I knew that inquiring minds would want to know what's behind this, I did my best to find out. Sometimes it happens when a network switches to an affiliate and the affiliate happens to run the same commercial that just ended. However, the practice of running the same back to back is not new. It's been around a long time. It's done for impact. In fact, it's called impact scheduling. According to an expert who tracks advertising, this practice was once used sporadically but since it is often viewed negatively, it mostly went away. Looking at recent complaints he has received, it appears the practice has made a comeback. My response: It might just make me say no twice to whatever product is being hawked.

I am aware that broadcast TV is available free of charge because of the advertising. I suppose that's why I pay around $100 a month to have these free channels piped into my home via satellite. No thank you, I'm not inclined to go back to a roof mounted antenna or rabbit ears. However, I can still complain if I want to, it is, after all, a free country. Right? Hopefully, for the fun of it, and in good taste. It's just those back to back hit a nerve. Maybe not my last nerve. Speaking of the last nerve figure of speech, here is what one literary major had to say about it, "The phrase “you’re getting on my last nerve” supposes that you have many nerves running through your body that can become agitated from the insensitivities that life has to offer. Most of us internalize the bumps and grinds of a bad day hoping things might get better till that unfortunate moment when we are at our limit and feel we don’t have a calm reserve left. That just might be the moment we have to interact with someone who is trying our patience, yet again. It takes a certain sense of self to warn someone they need to either leave our company or tone their presence down so as not to send us over to the bad side because we truly have reached our limit of calm." Yeah. That sounds about right to me. I think my mom used that 'last nerve' deal more than anyone else. It had something to do with her being widowed and trying her best to corral us six kids. I'm pretty sure she was entitled to own that one. Take care and do your best, with God's help, to have a great rest of the day. Amen.  .....More later.