"It's not that we are so old, it's that we're way past our warranty." ~ copied

We made it to Friday, April 17, 2026, and, I am here at the ole keyboard clicking and clacking out today's episode. I do bid each one a hearty hello and warm welcome. While I was waiting for the wife of my youth to finish her appointment with the gastro doctor, a young couple with maybe three year old twin girls came up to check in and I heard the dad give his information including his birthday which he mentioned was the year 2000. Really? Yes, friends, I am aware there are people born since 2000, but, it kind of hit me in the gut because it reminded me that 1946 was, literally, a long time ago. The statistics show that well over 100 million babies have been born in the United States since 2000. Is it any wonder that we who are in our age group are the new minority. Duh! That's how it works, dummy. In my age group and older there are slightly less than 15 million remaining. That's one way of saying it. We are at this stage in life.... remaining. Back in the day, in a galaxy far far away, when I ran a large computing and networking organization consisting of over 150 people, I used to tell the managers that reported to me how I had no desire to burn out, but, I preferred burning up in my commitment to getting the job done. That was way back in the early 1990's, and, knowing what I know now, maybe I would have been a little more moderate in my exclamations. I did quite a lot of exclaiming back in those days, but, we live and we learn, and, one day we wake up as those 'remaining', therefore, I conclude that God still has a reason to keep me around, at least, for now. If for nothing else, I can continue my clicking and clacking. That fellow checking in gave me the opportunity to remind myself that I certainly have socks older than him. I do, or, at least I think I do, but, they may have found themselves victims of the clean sweep program instituted by you know who. But, I'm not going to mention any names, but, believe me, you do know what I mean, right Vern?

 

It has been a busy week for me. I've been in the chauffeur training program and it has been challenging, especially with my trainer giving me a boatload of instruction. I can now add this experience to my resume, not that I graduated but the experience itself has been very meaningful. All of those people out there on the highways and byways giving me so much attention, so much recognition, they were waving at me, honking their horns, and some were even jerking to get out of my way. What respect! And, they looked so passionate as they commended my driving. Okay. Maybe they were not quite that receptive and perhaps the lip reading I did was aimed at someone else. Give me a break. "Get off the road!" Surely, that wasn't for me. Or, was it? You do know I am mostly joking around about getting back out during rush hour, don't you? Mostly. We do thank God for His provision each day. His goodness to someone like me is nothing short of amazing. Yeah. I know. That's what they call it: Amazing Grace. I, for one, am thankful that His grace that was and continues to be daily extended to me. It is. It really is. What say you? I can say with some experience that the traffic on Sunday mornings heading north on I-45 is very light indeed. Therefore, come check out a gathering of people where God is honored and His Word is shared, at Mims Baptist, 1609 Porter Rd., Conroe, TX 77301. We have two worship/preaching services, one at 9 a.m., the other at 10:40 a.m. We also have life groups often called Bible study groups or Sunday school for all ages. Come check us out and I promise you will be in the presence of God, and, you, me, all of us need to experience His presence. Right? I thought you would agree. See you next week and may God bless us all. Amen.

"Drive like your life depends on it." ~ copied

Yeah. It's only gotten worse folks, it has, it really has. Now you know how I feel about it. You do. You really do. It is Thursday, April 16, 2026, and, since the wife is currently on hiatus from driving and since she is covering for staff from our local Church who are tracking the steps of the Apostle Paul in Greece where our pastor is preaching at each of Paul's stops, (Over 80 folks over there), well, that leaves me to be the designated driver which means I've been fighting, literally, the traffic from The Woodlands to Conroe via I-45, around 16 miles, to get her there before 8:30 a.m. and fetch her by 4:30 p.m., well, it's a battle royal if you ask me. You didn't? But, I told you anyway. This week thus far there has been two major accidents on my return back. Sure. I used to travel the highways and byways for 50 plus years but it was a zoo back then and now it has turned into a calamitous chaos. It has. It really has. Maybe it's because of my age? Could be, but, I will tell you I am getting sick and tired of waking up from a bad dream where orange cones are attacking me. I know. I could have given an exaggeration alert, but, believe me, it has been taxing. Speaking of that, have you ever looked at the many pages of your 1040 submission so many times, you just got sick and tired doing it, so, you hit the button and sent it in? (Mine is 19 pages this year.) I have some very recent experience doing just that. By the way, for the first time since the early days of our federal tax filings, we eked out a small refund this year. That's very scary. I talked to my tax advisor and he said many of the tax changes were put in to help older people. He can vouch for me. I am one of those. He happens to be our eldest son, Chris, and we typically talk everyday from the time he leaves his office in Pearland until he gets to his destination in Kingwood, around 45 minutes on average and since he told me what he did as my tax advisor, a position I appointed him to without his knowledge or permission, I decided that just maybe that less than $200 tax refund was okay, maybe, so I went with it. I've never undergone a tax audit but I've had a number of associates who have and based on their stories about it, well, I would just as soon not have one. You can quote me and my tax advisor on that one. Ha!

 

I will admit how me, at my age, can instill fear into those jockeying for position out on the roadway. Today is her last day for this week and she will be doing the same schedule next week, Monday through Thursday. Here's an oldie from way back but it gave me a chuckle, so I share it, again: ~ An elderly man is pulled over for going 100 mph in a new sports car. The cop says, "If you give me a reason I've never heard before, I'll let you go." The man replies, "Years ago, my wife ran away with a state trooper. I saw you chasing me and thought you were bringing her back." The cop lets him go. ~ And one more: ~ A neighbor sees a woman in her 90s drive her car through his hedge and into his front lawn. He rushes to help her, saying, "You seem too old to be driving!" "Well, I'll be 97 next month," she replies proudly, "And I'm now old enough that I don't even need a driver's license anymore." "How do you know?" he asks. "The last time I went to my doctor, I showed him my license, he took scissors, cut it into pieces, and said: 'You won't need this anymore!' So I thanked him and left!"~ I scare my passenger enough each time we venture out, so, I really don't need to impose on others. Now, that, my friend, is about as close to the truth as I can share for today. She obviously dreamed of being a driving instructor as a child..... and, I will leave it at that. I will. I really will. Be careful out there and look out for the calamitous chaos coming to a freeway near you, soon. Have a great rest of the day and may God add His blessings. Amen.

“As you get older, three things happen. The first is your memory goes, and I can’t remember the other two.” ~ copied

Today is the day and it's getting where if we are going to get anything at all done, we better get with it, and, that starts with this brand new gift, the 'present', or in other words, today, Wednesday April 15, 2026. My brand new start for this brand new day begins with a growing realization. All those times, over all those years, especially back when I was much younger, well, me doing my impression of Tim Conway's impression of the 'old man', okay, here it comes, I can do the old man now but it is no longer an impression. Can you feel where I am coming from? Playing the role of clumsy and finding out you now are, well, that's a hard pill to swallow, but, it's even harder to swallow if it catapulted out of your hand to where no one knows where. Tim may have had to dream up his routines, I don't. You can Google why this clumsiness comes with older age, but, that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. I have one that I often find myself repeating. I call it the chasing lids game. I know how to unscrew the lid, on a bottle of water or a jar of apple jelly, but, I do not know how to control the lid as it goes flying through the air. I'm not the only one, so, don't be so smug about all of this. The other evening the wife of my youth who is roughly half a year younger than me, well, she's been training for our clumsy tour, and she accidentally launched one of her nighttime medications into the wild blue yonder. Not to worry. I told her I would find it for her, because, we do not want Lil Miss Biscuit locating them because she will ingest any and all things she finds. I brought the bright light, very gingerly got down on the floor, I did, I really did, and I began to do a search party approach for the lost item. I am laying on the floor, literally, wondering how I will get back up, but, that will have to wait, and I began to describe some of the candidates I was seeing. There's a bottle cap under the recliner, hers, I might add, and also an aging Cheeto, and an assortment of other items but not the pill we were looking for, which, she didn't even know which one it was since it jettisoned out when she put the rest of them in her mouth. She was very sad. Because we couldn't find the errant pill? Not really. She had that guilt trip from her upbringing how she must be a bad housekeeper. I thought about cheering her up by asking if she wanted me to show her what was under my recliner. Thankfully, and, I do mean that in the most reverent way possible, thankfully, she chose to forego that exercise. When I finally got hold of enough of whatever I could to get myself up off the floor we both had a great laugh. We did. We really did. And, that's the answer folks. Don't curse the darkness because of natural stuff that happens to you as a result of God's blessing you with a longer lifespan, thank Him and laugh about it. I do think I may have laughed a little more because it was her, but, more importantly, we both laughed.

Researchers tell us that it's true that many older people laugh more than their younger counterparts, at the same time, older people have more trouble understanding the jokes. Yikes. The old two edged sword, again. Life is like that. I recently heard someone telling about their dear friend who worked hard many years anticipating a life where she could finally enjoy all the things she had in mind to pursue. Travel here, there, and, travel everywhere. Sadly, she, in her retirement is now battling a very severe cancer and that battle is taking up most of her time. We never know, folks, we just never know. And, while it is true we don't know, we can know and trust the One who does know. We can. We really can. I do not want to be that person who goes through the last quarter of my life dealing with all the struggles that come with it, without having God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit with me each second of my time. I mentioned Brother Moses the other day and his relationship with God. (Check out the summary from Deuteronomy 34.) What a model for us to pursue folks. And, what an encouragement to see God's response to the life, the times, and even the death of His beloved servant. It starts with recognizing we are alienated from our Creator due to our sin. It doesn't matter how old you are. If you have never responded to God's provision of salvation through Jesus Christ, you may have a loving family to be with you, but, you will still be lacking the need we all have, God with us, yesterday, today, and forever. I say amen to that. Thinking about it, I haven't fallen out of my chair anytime recently, that is, that I can remember, therefore, I am thankful for that. I am. I really am. May God bless each one. Amen.

“And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” (1 John 3:23)

Hello and welcome to the place where we will be busy embracing the day the Lord has given to us, this one being Tuesday, April 14, 2026. I do thank those who take the time to peruse my stuff and especially to those who occasionally respond and mention how some little something I wrote about was a wee bit of help to them. That's gratifying to me because think about it, that's how God works. It's amazing how God will bring to my remembrance something said by our pastor or a teacher or someone giving a testimony, maybe a particular lyric from a song, someone on radio or television, or, even via social media, He will cause me to regurgitate what was said and camp out on it for a while. I know some of you know exactly what I am talking about. Typically, that partially buried thought comes up because it relates to something I happen to be dealing with at the time. Still with me? Buckle up because I'm just getting started. Not really. I thought I would put that in as a wee bit of comic relief. Our pastor likes to say when he gets all fired up how he's decided to just 'let-er rip tater chip!". You think his is better than mine? I don't mind that at all, I don't. I really don't. Getting back to the subject at hand or as you might see on a Sponge Bob episode, "A few moments later", God can use anything at anytime to get our attention and one of the ways He does that in my life is through my remembering of inputs from others. Inputs from others can be difficult at times. Sometimes they are things we need to know but maybe we are not too inclined to receive them, things that challenge us and encourage us to be more faithful in our walk with the Lord. Oh, I get it. We all remember stuff where folks were being mean or critical. Isn't it amazing how we can remember that kind of hurtful input even though it may have happened in our early days in school? Those inputs are powerful but even more powerful are the inputs that have the truth of God's word delivered with love. At any rate, those are insights into the things that make up the long running series I know most about, that is, 'the days of my life', not the other one that ran for like 100 years on TV. If you are with me, give me your best Amen. Okay. We will try that one again after you've had more time to practice. Ha!

 

You will not be surprised to know that often when I reread one of my blogs, I too end up scratching my head. Not because I'm puzzled but because I may have had a coincidental head itch. Just joking. Your first interpretation, whatever it was, was likely the best understanding. Still joking. Honestly, I can say this about my blogs. Even with all of the painful prose and grammatical glitches one can typically pick up on the underlying theme. Maybe. I do try to make sure that anyone who might uncover my blog buried in some computer vault 100's of years later will see that humanity's greatest need is that each individual would recognize their sinful condition and respond to God's provision of salvation through the finished work of Jesus the Christ. (Here are the verses often used to witness to those who are lost, called the Roman Road, as found in the Book of Romans, Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-10, 5:1, and 8:1.) I will be the first to admit that I have not always made this truth the main focus of my life and I sure haven't made it the main focus of my communication with others. But, it is what I know to be the truth and I do hope my blogs encourage others to see it as the greatest need every person who breathes air on the planet has, period. Okay. Let me finish with a comment about the recent space adventures as we all followed those who were flung out into the regions beyond. First of all, God bless those on board who daily referenced and gave honor to their Creator God. I say Amen. 

 

I will leave you with what Little Miss Biscuit thought about it. She was pretty excited. She was. She really was. Ha! 

Matthew 6:20 New Living Translation NLT ~ "Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal."

I feel blessed to be able to send out my blog today. Believe it or not, being able to sit down at the keyboard and put together these episodes, well, it encourages me to thank God for any and all abilities He has allowed me to have. That's the truth. It is. It really is. Today is Monday, April 13, 2026, and, we are still getting ready to get ready to finish up our 2025 tax return. Not to worry. Their most important provision is the one that allows payment via an online transaction. The return itself can follow. The money, do it now! I read how the projected federal income tax collections added to the payroll taxes collected will be well over $3 trillion. The watchdogs already project a nearly $2 trillion deficit for the federal budget for 2026, therefore, we can readily see that ongoing operations will decimate the collections and the overall deficit will continue to balloon. We are nearly $40 trillion in the hole, the federal debt, which means we would need 40 Elon Musk trillionaires to donate all their monies in order to pay this off, however, if and when they do, it will only escalate again because that, my friend, is how we as a nation roll these days. It is. It really is. Let me further qualify my comments: Elon is not a trillionaire yet but is getting closer each day and having 39 more is quite unexpected, and, having all of them donate their fortunes to reduce the US debt, it was just a crazy thought. Okay? Don't get out there on social media and tell people I said this is how it could be fixed. It was a made up illustration, but, it does point out the burden we are passing down to those generations that come behind us. Be sure these deficits will one day bite us. They will. They really will. The best thing we can do for future generations is hand down a legacy of the truth so they can know Jesus as their Savior and have heaven as they final destination. That's the place Jesus said you can store up real treasures that will never fade or decay. (Matthew Chapter 6) What kind of treasures? My thought is it will be the works done expressly for the honor and glory of God. We will surely find out when we get there. Hope to see you too. Amen.

 

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I believe I have met the test of that first paragraph qualifying for a Discombobulated Award. I confess it could be that it's that way because it came from the noggin of a discombobulated thinker. I can't remember when I first learned the word discombobulated but I feel sure I didn't pick it up from some of the good ole boys I used to run with, that is, before I met you know who. That being the Preacher's daughter and he was pastor of New Hope Baptist Church. When I traded my time with those ole friends for this brand new friend, well, they couldn't help themselves. They called me all kinds of names and used to say I was not going to get anywhere by going out to that No Hope Church. They were wrong in so many ways. They were. They really were. I actually came to know Jesus as my Savior at that little no hope Church, in January of 1964. My wife's dad became a very close friend to me. I used to tell him that I owed him much because he was preaching the night I was saved, he gave me his daughter, and, he gave me his wisdom and his friendship. Her mom too. She was reluctant having heard I was a wild fast driver. I pretty much gave that up too. As they used to say back home, "You had it bad, boy, you had it bad!" And, I did. I've said all of that to say this: God has been so much better to me than I have been to Him. He has. He really has. I do thank Him for the people He brought into my life and I give Him the praise for working the way He did, is doing, and will do, to the very end. That end chapter is much closer for me than it has ever been. No. It's not morbid, it's a statement of the reality of being in the fourth quarter and getting close to the two minute warning. If you can't parse that example, ask someone who knows about football and they will explain it to you. Y'all have a good day and a good week and remember to remember to thank God for His blessings. Amen. 

Jean Baptiste Colbert (17th Century): "The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing".

Hello y'all and that includes you too. I bid you greetings from the home of the brave and the land of the free, on this day, Friday, April 10, 2025. I say land of the free even though the land the house is on sits on property that has been paid off for years, yet, it is still taxed, therefore, do I actually own it or not? I report you decide. Several years ago I sent my property taxes in but it took five days for the check to arrive from our bank. It was a day or two late, but, I received a notice that I was delinquent in paying my taxes and if it was not promptly paid it could result in my property being taken by the county. I don't have that form letter in front of me but that is the gist of what it said. Hello? No late notice per se, just, a threat to take over your property if the funds were not received. Yikes. Okay. I've written too much about that subject over the years because it is one that seems to garner a lot of attention when the state governing authorities are in session, but, other than a temporary adjustment here and there, there never seems to be the will to fix the property tax system. Why? How many guesses do I get? Just one. Okay. It's the money, period. Okay, enough already. Today is Friday. Next Wednesday is the filing deadline for our federal taxes. I could come up with a lot of excuses as to why we have not prepared ours yet, but, it really doesn't matter because we do need to 'git er done'. It will take us several hours working together to account for the stuff we have to report. Our Santa Enterprise requires a lot of documentation and other activities to identify all the associated expenses. We do have a software program that we have used for years. How long? When we started, the package was less than $50. This year I paid $175 for the updated version. I could find a cheaper alternative but I know this one well and it does automatically do a lot of stuff that is directly applicable to our situation. Plus, to change it would require me to no longer maintain my procrastination status. You do know what I mean. Right?

Okay. Based on the title on today's edition, I suppose I exceeded my hissing quota, but, I feel good we can still share our thoughts. Never get the idea I am against paying my taxes because doing so is a God ordained duty, (Bible, Romans 13:1): "For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing". It's the abuse of taxpayer funds that we all abhor. In 1774, Alexander Hamilton put it this way, "the fruits of his daily toil are consumed in oppressive taxes, that serve to gratify the ambition, avarice, and lusts of his superiors". I couldn't have said it better myself. Take for instance the recent revelations about widespread fraud in programs paid for by me and you, to the tune of $billions with many $billions yet to be discovered. This means dollars that flowed out from Federal funding never got to the impoverished, the malnourished children, and many other such needs that were never met. Meanwhile, these fraud recipients lived in luxury and because of our woke judicial system, some of them have already been adjudicated a slap on the wrist for their wrongdoing. Don't get me started on how our judiciary nationwide has been corrupted due to liberal ideology that dominates. But, you didn't tune in today to hear me whine. I admit I am pretty good at doing it. It probably comes from practice. It does. It really does. I am thankful that God knows all about it all and He will take care of it in His own good time. He will. He really will. You can, I can, we all can count on that. Amen, and Amen.

"I am determined to seek self-sufficiency in energy as an urgent national priority. My goal is to make America independent of foreign energy sources by 1985." ~ Gerald R. Ford

Good morning and welcome. Running a little late this morning. The wife of my youth was at the urgent care for several hours last night with some esophageal issues, but, we came home and she seems to be doing better as we embrace this brand new today, it being Thursday, April 9, 2026. I feel like I should be a wee bit less wordy in today's visit. It is a goal not a promise and I have good evidence to prove I actually talk the way I write. Many years ago when I was teaching a Bible study each week I would write my thoughts about the lesson, with some illustrations, and, generally, how the text had spoken to my heart. One day a lady told me how much she appreciated getting those handouts because later when she read them, she could hear me talking. Wow! So, now you know. I am as prone to wordiness in my speech as I am in my writing. I don't think I get points for consistency but as I so often remind us all, and I know you tire from reading it, but, it really is what it is. I think we all have questions about the current status of the Iran situation. I mention this one fully realizing there are many who have much more to worry about since their experience during this conflict has resulted in either the death of a loved one or life altering injuries sustained. I am a retiree and I am blessed to have adequate funds coming in to meet our needs. The gasoline price is one that is puzzling to me. We, the United States, has been reported by the Administration to be totally self-sufficient in terms of the production of energy. Yet, our nation's gas prices are up at least 50% since the start of the Iran conflict. Yes. I have heard about it being an issue of distribution, but, that still seems to fly in the face of how we are supposedly self-sufficient. I know this from direct experience every time I fill up the truck. My Paw Paw Mac would perhaps have put it this way: "Self-sufficient my foot!" And, it doesn't take a rocket scientist or a petroleum engineer to know that when diesel sky rockets everything goes up in price since it all has to be trucked and delivered. Like I say, the economic strain is small compared to the cost of those dealing with loss of life, but, it is where the rubber meets the road for so many in our nation. Many are unable to adjust their spending to afford these price hikes because their income is so limited. I pray it will all soon be settled and things will return to some semblance of normal affordability. That's my say, what say you?

 

Thinking about how God has provided throughout my life, during good times, when it looked like there was no way forward, and, when sorrow gripped my heart, He was there all the time and He knew all about it, and, while I did not always respond as I should have, He was still the answer. When you get my age you do have a proclivity to look back and think about significant times when God intervened. Oh. Sorry. You are one who doesn't believe God intervenes in people's lives? That thinking is very foreign to His revealed love and caring for His own. Just thinking about the times when He helped me not to go in the direction I thought I was going to go. At the time I was disappointed but now, looking back, I can see where many of those situations would have been disasters for myself and my family. Life at its best is a mess folks and I just want to say this about it, I would not want to live without Him in my life. Believe me, I have failed Him so many times it makes me sick just to think about it, however, even when the consequences have been a hard and bitter pill to swallow, His love has been unwavering. I can't grasp why He loved me in the first place and it's even harder to understand His love for me as His child weebles and wobbles along. But He did and He does. And, I love Him as best I know how. I do. I really do. Now you know the summation of my story. He loves me. This I know. For the Bible tells me so. Amen.