"To rub someone the wrong way." The phrase is American in origin. The British version is "rub someone up". The phrase originated from cats, who like to be petted from the head to tail and get annoyed with someone doing it in the wrong direction. The cat reference originated in 1819 in "Aunt Mary's Tales".

Good morning and welcome to Thursday, May 28, 2020. You might recall how the big box store opened early for us older folks during the height of the pandemic. I still remember that early morning when the super nice fellow greeted us all with the announcement about them having received a new shipment of toilet paper. I was able to purchase a large package. May I say this about that. The only thing soft about that particular product is the word 'soft' on the outside of the package. This is the time when one is tempted to say something about how those in the deepest darkest regions of Africa would be very thankful for this type of modern convenience. As it pertains to this particular product, I'm actually not sure they would be. Don't get me wrong. I am aware based on my first-hand experience that indoor with cheap toilet paper is much better than the outdoor alternative. When my dad passed away in 1954, our mom and us six kids moved from Port Arthur, Texas to Hornbeck, Louisiana, to live with my mom's parents. They still had the outdoor alternative as a backup to the indoor. (And, the indoor at times was backed up with people waiting in line and literally backed up due to the inadequate sewer system.)  We also had relatives who lived in the Sabine river bottom who had no indoor alternative. Therefore, the moral of my story might be to remind myself to give thanks in all things because to do so is the will of God. (1st Thessalonians 5:18)

I appreciate the hard work being done by the grammar application that seeks to give my readers something more readable each day. If I followed all of its suggestions, my blog might be better but I don't think it understands a lick about the Southern slang that I sling onto the page. Therefore, it flags my wording and my sentence structure and my choice of tense but I have become very persistent in using the 'ignore' feature. I do admit when it underlines my work with red it does slightly irritate me. However, I am reminded of one of my most influential teachers who used to mark all over my essays. I would get them back and she would have left little room anywhere on the page where she had not written critical comments. One day I got up the nerve to talk to her about it. I had one of my papers in my hand. She smiled and told me she wrote more notes on mine than most of the others. She went on to say she did that because she believed I had the potential to express myself well in my writing. I probably thought to myself I wished she wouldn't like me so well, but, years later I realized how much she had contributed to what ends up in my blog each day. In my case, if you can read this and it makes any sense at all, well, I can thank the late Mrs. Reba Jones for her constructive help. And, I do apologize to her and everyone else for the run-on sentences. That was always one of her pet peeves. (Check out the Apostle Paul's run-on style and remember he was inspired by Holy Spirit God.)

Mr. Bentley came to our world but didn't know what boring people we were. On top of that, they implemented a quarantine that exacerbated the problem. He has had to resort to trickery and deceit to get us to pay him the attention he believes he deserves. He is such a good little dog, but, he can be very persistent when he wants to play fetch, or go for a ride, or sit outside doing not much more than watching life unfold, or any other number of things he can think of. He still wakes up very early. When we sit down to watch a TV program he waits until the program starts and then he signals it is time for him to go outside. We have learned that he fakes that a lot. We had zero of any of this before he came and we were very pleased with our lifestyle. But, I have to make it clear, he has endeared himself to us and we pretty much are at his disposal. Okay. I've said it. Something no one would have ever expected to hear from me. He has these little games he likes to play. When I take him out for the last time before bedtime, he, on the way back wants to nip at my pants leg. I want him to stop but I always laugh when he does it. Even when I tell him to stop he knows I don't mean it. I am pitiful but I know it. Who would have ever thought? And, as William Bendix in playing his iconic character, Riley, used to say, "What a revolting development this is!" Have a great rest of the day and may God add His blessings. Amen. ...More later.