"If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever." Thomas Aquinas

Good Tuesday morning where I bring you greetings on this 19th day of February, 2013. We had folks from our Church on that stranded cruise ship along with other friends. Since it had departed from Galveston, it was a huge news story, non stop, on all our local news feeds. I know everyone is glad that the 'lost at sea' episode is over and it appears that everyone is safe and sound. According to the medical experts, there remains warnings about potential delayed infections and illnesses. What an experience for a ship named Triumph. My take is that while this was about the worst possible slow motion public relations nightmare for the cruise line company, obviously excluding ship related sinkings and deaths, it did offer up some interesting insights into this long strung out affair. We had the cruise people giving one side of the story and we had the eye witness accounts that often tended to give a differing view. One of the things that struck me was how that so many people focused on the free stuff the passengers will be getting. Hello? I'm not sure anything could make up for the nightmare they had experienced, but even a little girl related to our Church folks who were on board was able to give me a laundry list of all the reimbursements they would be getting. It almost sounded like they had said the secret word on You Bet Your Life. My guess is that this little episode will soon be nothing more than a blip on the cruise line business, albeit, a very expensive blip, and then everyone will be back on board, so to speak. I think you understand what I'm getting at. Right?


Jimmy Jr., 16

I did a little cook out for our guests last weekend. Nothing out of the ordinary. Fired up the charcoal grill and gave it a go. I did some chicken, beef ribs, and beef sausage. I made my variation of Granny Mac's homemade barbecue sauce. It all turned out great and I was glad. You never know how those things will go, especially when you don't do it very often. The thing I enjoyed most was having my grandson there with me to help and to learn. I told him that someday his Poppy would not be around to do this anymore but it would be good if he could carry on the tradition. The way we do it is pretty much old school. It takes time and effort. Lots of tending. He quizzed me about the details and was particularly interested in why people did it differently. Of course being my primary helper entitled him to an appointment as the official taster as we progressed towards finishing. His review was important to me: "Poppy, I don't understand why anyone would do it any other way than your way." Let me just say this about that. I'll take that endorsement any day of the week. Food Network eat your heart out, or something to that effect. He also wants to learn how to make the barbecue sauce. It was time well spent, yes, time well spent.

That cartoon featuring Droopy as the hero was made in 1951 in case you are interested. You can actually watch it on YouTube if you like. I did. I read a blurb recently that said a leading geneticist believes that humanity is becoming dumber. That would explain a growing number of the absolutely stupid television programs. Here's what Dr. Allen Crabtree recently wrote: “I would wager that if an average citizen from Athens of 1000 BC were to appear suddenly among us, he or she would be among the brightest and most intellectually alive of our colleagues and companions, with a good memory, a broad range of ideas, and a clear-sighted view of important issues. Furthermore, I would guess that he or she would be among the most emotionally stable of our friends and colleagues." The article went on to identify possible reasons for this decline. Fluoride in the our water. Pesticides. Processed foods with chemicals added. I have no way of knowing whether this assessment is accurate or not, however, I do know that it is like us as human beings to come up with ways that seem really super smart but they turn out to be hurtful in the long run. That part of it sounds right. How do we know this to be true? Just check out the number of lawsuit advertising ads that permeates the TV channels these days. Stuff that was highly touted to be just what was needed is now the basis of suing for millions. I did read the other day about a young lady who scored a 161 on her IQ test which makes her smarter than Einstein, and other notable brainiacs. Maybe she didn't drink the water. Who knows? Have a great Tuesday and may God bless us all. Amen. ..... More later.