Thursday, August 31, 2017

"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:..." ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

I am here. All is well. Not to worry. We'll see how long that holds up on this back-top-work Thursday, August 31, 2017. I am at my work workstation for the first time since last Friday. Wow! John Denver is doing his thing in my head, "A'int it good to be back home again." Harvey the Hurricane, AKA, a tropical storm has wreaked havoc, mostly with somewhere around 60 inches of rain. Our home, thank God, has been spared. We haven't had power for around four days, but that, compared to so many others is really nothing to complain about. I didn't say I have not complained. In fact, I've termed myself and the other 73 customers on our street the real Deplorables. On Tuesday afternoon out in our area the sun came out and the sky looked as if it hadn't even made contact with Harvey. Suddenly, the streets were teeming with people. Kids were back on their bicycles and skateboards. Families were out walking here and there. To me, in a very small way, it was like when Noah received that dove with the branch in its mouth back into the ark. We leave Harvey with thankfulness for God's provision and protection along with our heartfelt prayers for so many thousands who have suffered severely at the hands of this storm. That's right. Loss of precious lives and untold damage to property and to people's peace of mind. Okay, John, you can tone it down because I am here and yes, it is good to be back to my home away from home, again.

We have a friend that we've worked with some in the Santa Claus photo business. He likes to book us for some apartment complexes he works with. He passed my name onto an event planning lady. She called me with a specific date. I sent her our information and told her that she should book it soon because it is a Saturday in December and I am certain it will be taken. Suddenly, she started sending me these emails. She is working with some corporate clients. She informs me how particular these corporate clients are and how inflexible they are in their scheduling. I had been mostly dealing with her via email, but, I called her. I told her that I responded to that one date because I did not have anything on my calendar. I then proceeded to explain to her how we work our part of the program. We choose what events we will be involved in. We do not do corporate events unless they are for family and children. We do not do adult parties. We do not do in home visits. She seemed flabbergasted. I told her that we have many folks that have been loyal to us throughout our time doing what we do and that we are loyal to them. We do not have a booking agent. We are not seeking one. She even wants me to sign some kind of contract stating that I will not promote myself while working on her event. Do what? Maybe someday I'll need something like that, but not today. I told her as far as I was concerned I have the one request that I will consider. Nothing more. At this time. I thanked her for her interest and I do admire people who take the ball and run with it, but, slow that train down a little. Thank you.

A couple of weeks ago I showed up here at the workplace and when I got out of my truck I heard a loud booming sound. It was a pounding noise. It sounded like someone in one of our back shop buildings was hitting the side of the wall with a hammer. As I investigated, I could tell the sound was coming from the dumpster. Something was inside and couldn't get out. When our shipping guy arrived I told him about it. He chuckled and said that it happens after the dumpster is emptied and when they go in they can't get out. He was talking about raccoons. He said he had something that would solve the problem. He fetched a long metal pole he had leaning against one of the buildings. He then very tentatively raised the lid on the dumpster and slid the pole down into it. Before he could get out of the way a huge raccoon flew up that pole and jumped out, nearly hitting him on the side of the head. The coon hit the ground and didn't hang around to thank his rescuer because he was on the run. Like greased lightning. Another fellow who used to be here dealt with the same situation differently. His approach involved the use of a 22 caliber pistol. Enough said. I suppose the current fellow is more inclined to live and let live. I think I will leave it there for today, as I try to get my bearings. Do what? The Community Coffee? Thanks for asking. I had my reserve case high and dry on top of my inbox on top of my desk. I thought you would want to know that. May God help all those hurting on this day is my prayer. Amen and Amen. .....More later.

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