Santa has a lot to do to get ready for the upcoming season!

Really? It's Wednesday, August 28, 2019. Already? Time. It, at times, seems to kick into overdrive. Because of what we experienced on our recent excursion, with the amount of fatigue and other things, we really are going to be trying to start a regimen of preparation for our upcoming Santa Season. We may not do more events than before, but, we already know that some of those on the schedule will be very demanding, and, very taxing. Therefore, we will be walking more. At the mall. We became so busy doing other stuff we pretty much had quit going. I went a couple of weeks ago and a sweet lady stopped me, touched my elbow, and said, "Hey, are y'all okay, we haven't seen y'all lately. Not sick, I hope?" I assured her we were okay, but, we do need to get back into a more dedicated walking routine. I noticed at the recent promotional photoshoot that I'm pretty much out of shape in terms of lifting and holding children. It was my first time this year for me to wear the 'big suit' and all the gear that goes with it. If the schedule holds up, there are some days where we will do our best to do multiple appearances. (As many as three in one day.) Many of these are very worthwhile charity events. Yep. I am well aware that we do have the option to just say no. They will get someone else to do it. I don't mind doing that but I prefer to work them if we can.

We are a seriously divided nation regarding political matters. The photo of the Trump family has popped up several times but with a variety of different captions. One said, "Aren't you proud of our President and his family? If so, please like and share." The same photo with a different caption, "These people are taking our country to the cleaners. Don't you agree it's time to get rid of them?" I heard a story about a roundtable on CNN where mental health experts were prompted to talk about the President's fitness for office based on his mental status. (Another round of craziness being pursued based on the removal process outlined in the 25th Amendment.) They obviously had not vetted all of their experts because one of them, (a highly respected former head of psychiatry at Duke University), said doing these kinds of assessments of a sitting President was ludicrous and it had the potential to seriously hurt others who live daily with legitimate mental issues. That was a slap in the face to the host of this party convened to proclaim the President as a certified nut case. When hatred is the prism through which all things are evaluated, you get these kinds of irrational, if not insane, programs. The other side of the coin can be just as wild and crazy. The crowd that says we will stand with this President regardless of what he has done, what he does now, or what he will do in the future, regardless, well, that's not a very sound way to look at the situation. Those two extremes tend to dominate the news cycle making it appear we are even more divided than we are even though the divisions are there and they are significant. That's my take. You are entitled to your own take. We all should at least have a take.

While I watch very few baseball games, I do try and keep up with the Houston Astros. The current ownership and organizational leaders have done a remarkable job in building the current roster and the farm system that develops new talent. I occasionally stop on the Major League Baseball channel to hear what they are saying about the teams who are competing. There is an avalanche of information on the New York Yankees, followed closely by the Los Angeles Dodgers. While they may make a comment or two conceding how good the Astros are and how deep their bench is, they rarely devote full segments to covering what the oddsmakers continue to say is the team best positioned to win the world series. We all know the drill here. Even though the Houston metro-area is close to 7 million in population, the TV market for our baseball team is still considered 'small' by comparison to NY and LA. I remember the last time the Astros were in the World Series where many of the articles written lamented the loss of revenue from what was considered to be a small market team. In a world where being the best is supposed to be what competing is all about, I have always cringed how the so-called 'small market' teams are treated. Yep. That's how capitalism works. I get it. But, and I am unanimous in my own opinion, I don't have to like it. And, in case you missed it, I don't like it. Thank you very much. Now we can all get on with things much more important. Like living for our Lord by touching the lives of others. Amen. ....More later.