“Learn to see what you are looking at.” ~ Christopher Paolini, Author

Good morning and welcome to this day, Friday, where we will be making the best of it on this July 20, 2018. I had one thing to add to my police story. I now have been stopped twice by the police over the past three years. Could it be that Santa Claus is now a part of the profiling problem? I've not yet resorted to a Santa Claus Lives Matter t-shirt, but, if they keep up this pattern, I may have to take to the streets. Okay. Settle down. Hear me out. The first one was for a tail light that wasn't working. And, the most recent for changing lanes without signaling. Those sound just a bit fishy to me. What say you? With the wife gone, I have myself set up for some really good things to do this weekend. Yep. Early Saturday morning, Men's Prayer Breakfast. Sunday morning, I teach my class. Sunday evening, a gospel concert at our local fellowship. If nothing else, those should keep me occupied. I did see the suitcase she had packed to go on her trip. She borrowed it. We have some large ones, but, this one is mega-sized. I'm not sure it could be pulled if it had wheels on the bottom. I think maybe a good sized motor with a steering wheel might do the trick. When she checks her baggage they may tell her she will have to charter a plane for her luggage. I just wanted everyone to know that I do notice things.

Here's a little story I wrote eleven years ago today about our next door neighbors. "The year was 1971 and we signed up for a brand new 1,300 square foot mansion (to us) with 3 bedrooms and 1-1/2 baths for the alarmingly high price of $16,999.99. I think our notes were $168 per month and we wondered how in the world we would be able to meet them. The neighborhood was made up of mostly younger marrieds with small children. We worked hard and had a decent yard but next door we had one of those one-of-a-kind fanatics who was of German descent. His name was Paul and he was the dedicated “tool guy” before Lowe’s and Home Depot became the rage. Paul set out to build his yard into a showcase. He worked and worked and worked some more. For some reason, he couldn’t get grass to grow in the front yard. They planted, re-planted, and used every kind of method known but the grass would eventually die. He was a decent fellow but very off-putting in his perfect garage where every tool had its place with an outline to match. He even had a tennis ball on a string so his wife would park the car in the same place every time. He was the consummate do it yourself and usually, it turned out really well. I think I’ve repented of taking some enjoyment out of the time he used a paint sprayer on the outside of his house and painted several cars in the neighborhood. The fact was, the house didn’t need to be painted and most of the men thought he was doing it just to make us all look bad. We didn’t do our yard on the same schedule as he did and sometimes because I worked many overtime hours our grass would get pretty high. They had a toddler who played with our boys and sometimes when he came over to get her he would comment that she might be hiding in some of our brush. We laughed but to tell you the truth I didn’t appreciate the insinuation. About two years into his escapades in trying to grow grass in his front yard he dug down deep enough to discover that there was a huge amount of paint cans buried there. I think maybe the builder paid some but he ended up having a backhoe come in to dig it all up, have it treated, and then start over. Sad for the rest of us men on the cul-de-sac because he did eventually get grass started."

Another work week has come and gone. As you have come to understand, just because things that happen to me are no big deal, it doesn't mean that I don't make a big deal out of them. I think they call what I do observational humor. For instance, most ladies no longer have to dig around in their purses to find their checkbook in the checkout line, therefore, things are so much better for us all. However, instead of holding folks up in the checkout line, they now drive 50 MPH on the freeway where the speed limit is 65 but everyone drives 75. That was intended to be an example. For literary purposes only. If anyone complains I may have to flash my Santa Claus Lives Matter t-shirt. At any rate, that is all I have for this week. I do hope you have a great Saturday and that Lord's Day Sunday will find us all meeting up with other believers to worship our Great God. Take care and I will do my best, Lord willing, to catch back up with everyone, come next Monday. Amen. ....More later.