Happy Friday to one and all!

Good morning. It is Friday, June 29, 2012. The Community is tasting pretty good this morning and I'm thankful to be able to enjoy it and to bring you a few thoughts to close out our week. As we have been sweltering in this heat I do keep up with that little town up in Idaho. It is in an isolated valley and last Tuesday evening they reported an overnight low of 22. I had someone here in the office to check the map with me to make sure that was a correct reading. It was, and there were plenty of low thirties around them. A fellow who used to work here with me always wanted me to check the overnight lows for a particular part of the country. He thought Flagstaff, Arizona would be the ideal spot, especially for folks that like mild to cooler temps. Flagstaff is currently experiencing some mid 80's each day for highs but their overnight lows range from 45 to 50. I would always check it for him and report the results. He was a very early bird like me and we used to enjoy swapping stories each morning. He too enjoyed a strong cup of Community but he did add both sugar and cream, quite a bit of both. I forgave him for that insult to my Louisiana brew a long time ago, and to tell you the truth, I do miss our good times together. It was not a bad way to start a day.

I suppose corn is the cause for some pretty bad jokes. That's right. Corn is where the word corny comes from. Corny definition: Unsophisticated, old-fashioned, or excessively sentimental. One story says this expression began in the 1890’s. Companies selling seeds sent their catalogs to farmers. Jokes and riddles were added to the seed catalogs, but the jokes were obvious and trite. They became known as corn catalog jokes, then corn jokes, and eventually the adjective “corny” was born. They might have used this one: "Don't tell secrets in the cornfield because there are just too many ears." ~ "Have you heard about the latest garlic diet? You eat lots of it. You don't actually lose so much weight but your friends think you look thinner, from a distance." ~ "What did the carrot say to the celery? Quit stalking me." ~ "Why did the man at the orange juice factory lose his job? He couldn't concentrate." You probably have some of your own but I will give you a couple more to give you either a grin or a grimace. ~ "The first grader proudly announced, 'They taught me how to write today.' His mom asked, 'What did you write?', he responded, "I don't know, they haven't taught us how to read yet." ~ "The receptionist told the doctor that an invisible man was in the waiting room. The doctor told her to inform him that he could not see him now." Okay. They are bad but I remember growing up how we used to enjoy little ditties like these.

It has been a very busy week. I have not had too much trouble falling asleep at night. My grandfather always believed those two had something to do with each other. He always promoted staying busy in your work in order to then be able to get a good night's sleep. I know that doesn't work for everyone because many people do deal with sleep disorders today. Solomon, who was reported as the wisest man who ever lived, outside of our Savior of course, said something about this relationship between work and rest in his collected writings found in Ecclesiastes, "The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep." (Chapter 5, Verse 12) There's much more to the context but it does put forth the idea that work and sleep do connect in a special way. And, as they say, it works for me, and I am so very thankful that it does. I do realize how important sleep is for me. I don't require much but I do require the amount that I need in order to be productive each day. I know firsthand some who struggle with getting enough sleep each night. It is a very difficult problem and one I wouldn't wish on anyone. But, it's time to say farewell once again. Thanks so much for allowing me to visit with you this week, and Lord willing, I'll try to have something for your morning coffee next Monday. Until then, may God bless each one. Amen.       ....More later.