Poppy Claus strikes again!

I want to send out a request for prayer for our daughter-in-law's sister, Paula, who will be undergoing surgery today. It does involve cancer, therefore, we seek God's help for her and for her family as she goes through this procedure.


Note: The blogging utility used to produce this electronic page has a problem loading images today. I apologize for the inconvenience. Use your imagination! It’s Wednesday, September 9, 2009 and everything seems out of whack because of being off on Monday. But that’s a good being out of whack kind of feeling. On Monday I went up to the big mall to carry a lunch to my dear wife. As I approached one of the main entrances a huge wave of garbage smell hit me. It was putrid! I thought that this was probably not a very good greeting for potential shoppers coming to the mall. Duh? Then it dawned on me. It was Labor Day and they had no trash pickup just like at our home. Wow! Millions upon millions spent to make the place look so inviting but it smelled like Bourbon Street at 6 a.m. in the morning. (We spent a week in New Orleans once and we did smell that street but we did nothing to contribute to its odor!) You can’t make this stuff up. Life in the reality zone is pretty funny most of the time, don’t you think?

Last Saturday I went to stand in line at the drug place to get my diabetic monitoring supplies. That’s those little needle things you load into a cartridge and explode it into your finger to extract a droplet of blood. Then you take the monitoring strip and try and get it to engage the blood droplet so you can find out your blood glucose reading. Just last week I must have zigged when I should have zagged because I hit my middle finger just right and it still feels like I hit it with a hammer. I hate it when this happens and while I know it is somewhat of a minor issue compared to what others face each day, it still is an aggravation. These kinds of experiences make me very much interested in the new technologies that will give readings without a finger prick. There are already a number in the production phase but they are typically prescribed for people who have to monitor their numbers on a minute-by-minute basis. Some day this will work itself down to the average diabetic person. Why? Because that’s where the money is!!!!

As I was standing in line a young African American boy looked up at me and said, “Hey, you sure do have a huge moustache.” I answered, “You think so?” He then asked, “Who are you, anyway?” I responded, “In about a month I will be Santa Claus.” His eyes got huge and he exclaimed, “Really?” I told him, “That’s right and I will be having photos made with children just like you.” He then inquired, “Can I come to see you?” I said, “You most certainly can.” He then asked, “Can my granny come too?” I told him, “She is welcome as well.” His grandmother finished her business and by now we had an audience of people laughing about the conversation. When I got to the counter the sales lady told me that I had certainly caught that young man on his best behavior. She then told me how they had seen him get so angry when he didn’t get his way that he would actually kick or hit his granny. They had actually considered calling someone about it. Her story horrified me. He seemed like such a nice little dude. On my way out of the store I caught up with him and his granny as they were standing there waiting for their ride. I bent down and looked him in the eyes and said, “Young man you had better be good!” He replied in a loud voice, “Yes sir!” And his granny said, “Thank you very much.” This concludes another insight into the life and times of Poppy Claus and I finish it with a God bless you to one and all. Amen. ……More later.