"Slaves, your job is to obey your masters, not with the idea of currying favour, but as a sincere expression of your devotion to God. Whatever you do, put your whole heart and soul into it, as into work done for God, and not merely for men—knowing that your real reward, a heavenly one, will come from God, since you are actually employed by Christ, and not just by your earthly master. But the wicked man will be punished for his misdeeds, and naturally no distinction will be made between master and man." ~ Colossians 3:22-25 as rendered by The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips

Welcome back to my little corner of the world. Or, better said, my inestimably small and my insignificantly tiny piece of the blogosphere. That's where this episode is cataloged until a meteor strikes the server farm where it resides. Don't be concerned, no one will even know it is missing. No. Those who know I have a rural background, the server farm has to do with technology, not agriculture. It is good to welcome you today to The Home Office on this Monday, November 26, 2018. We had Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and now it's time for many to return to their workstation on what they might think of as Bleak Monday. I never felt that way about it, but, my oh my, I've known plenty who treated nearly every Monday in that way. It was a part of my routine for so many years, therefore, I actually never dreaded it. At all. It was curious to me how some of the younger workers could drag in and they would tell me how fortunate I was to be able to retire when I wanted to. Dreaming about retirement? They still had thirty plus years to go. I'm not trying to be a smart aleck here, just pointing out how we are all put together differently. I can remember when they tried to force my grandfather out of his Civil Service Carpenter Leaderman's job at 65. He applied and was granted an extension to age 70, but, the people in charge most likely had someone in mind for his job. They may have already made some plans. They treated this extension with some hostility, but, my grandfather just did what he always did, outworked all of those on his crew, every single day. Maybe I got just a smidgen of the old-fashioned gumption he had. Maybe. Even a smidgen would be a great compliment.

Sorry about writing so much stuff about the working life. It is a part of my DNA and since this is the blog I write and I am limited to whatever the gray cells provide for me each day, well, WYSISYG. (What You See Is What You Get) Maybe I will become a world traveler in this next phase of my journey. That will give me something new to write about. I might rejoin my roots of being into hunting and fishing and camping. Nearly all of those endeavors would provide many anecdotal scenarios for me to share. Or, I might continue to chug along and do my best to follow the prescription from the old song, "Brighten the corner where you are! Brighten the corner where you are! Someone far from harbor 'you' may guide across the bar; Brighten the corner where you are!" Let me know if you need any additional interpretation of those lyrics, but, essentially, they tell us to do our best to make a difference wherever we happen to be and in whatever we find ourselves engaged in. Especially, as it relates to helping others. People have done that for me in my life. At times when I needed some encouragement. That kind of thing. Or, maybe, I will continue to perfect my napping skills, although, based on what I hear, I'm pretty much at the top of my game already.

Some time ago when I would slip up or make a mistake I would joke and say, "Well, you know how it is with old people." Folks would laugh. They knew I was joking. If I say that today, they nod in agreement. Don't tell me it's easy to be 72 years young. And, the worst part, I get why it is no longer a joke. I almost wish I didn't. But, that is some of the reality I deal with on a much too frequent basis. Take it all in stride. Or, at least try. When we were at our Thanksgiving Day gathering in our eldest son's home, he and our youngest had the NFL football game on. I told them this was our second year to not watch any of the games. Our youngest explained he did that for a while but it came to him that he was not going to let a few players protesting take something he really enjoyed away from him. They both chimed in that in the games they are watching they haven't seen any of the protestings anyway. I know it continues to be a controversial situation and I'm not trying to be some kind of martyr. I stopped watching because it is a choice to watch or not. I didn't think the kneeling was an appropriate show of respect for a public, paid entertainment event. Some say the viewers at home watch it free. Really? Have you tallied the number of commercials lately? Just sayin. Everyone can decide for themselves. I don't have any problem with those who watch and obviously, I don't have any problem with those who don't. In the time it was on I could recall how I used to be so focused on it. It is easy to get on that bandwagon, but, that train left for us. But, we do still watch some college football. Feel free to make your own choice. And, always remember, watch it or not watch it, God loves us all. Amen. ....More later.