"I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph." ~ Shirley Temple, former child mega-star

Working on it!

Happy Friday everyone and to all a good day would be my greeting for this September 13, 2013. You may have picked up on the Santa tone in my greeting. I'm slowly working myself into it, so to speak. I am beginning to begin to get some recognition here and there that I might just be the jolly old dude. This is mostly in the mall where we have been walking some. I can tell I have sparked a connection with a little kid when they continue looking back even as their mom drags them along their way. Sorry about the skid marks but that's pretty exciting stuff to a little one. I read this as a summation represented by the 4 phases of life: "1. You believe in Santa Claus as a kid. 2. You don't believe in Santa Claus as an adult. 3. You are Santa Claus to your children. 4. Finally, you end up looking like Santa Claus." I'm not sure about those four because I've always believed in Santa in terms of the symbol and spirit of giving and the enjoyment of Christmas. However, it's no secret that I work very hard to impersonate him, therefore, I must plead guilty to the aggravated pursuit of phase 4. And, as he went out of sight he proclaimed....and to all a good day!

I happen to love the subject of things that end up being unintentionally odd or funny. A headline that reads: Audit Reveals Painted Camouflaged Military Truck is Missing. Maybe they should look in the woods. How about this one: Man Who Killed Lawyer gets New Attorney. That makes some sense but this one may be a little iffy: Homicide Victims Rarely Talk to Investigators. Then we have the patently obvious: Poison Control Center Advises People Not to Take Poison. You think? Some supposedly intelligent headline writer came up with this jewel: Teen Pregnancy Drops Off Significantly After Age 25. I would have thought 20 but with the new math, who can tell? We learn: State Prisons Will Replace Easy Open Locks and we all breathe a collective sigh of relief. Here's one for the books. The other day I read about a famous singer, John Fogerty, who sold off the rights to many of his early songs when he was young. He has fought for years in the courts to get them back but when he sang them anyway he ended up being sued for plagiarizing his own written words and music. Do we live in a great country or what?

Ike came humming Hello Walls!

I read a little posting from a fellow who said his wife had tripped over her purse and danced and slipped and slid and nearly fell out in the floor. He said he had never laughed so much in his life. It would have made a wonderful video. Then he shared this little insight: "Just so you know, I am tweeting this from the spare bedroom." Today marks five years since Hurricane Ike. Most of you know that was one of the most protracted trying times in our lives. While it tested every fiber of our being, there were also tremendous blessings as people responded to do what they could to help. Next week we will observe the 8th anniversary of Hurricane Rita. It was pretty tough but our little Alexander Benjamin showed up as the storm made her presence known. We can't remember that storm without thanking God for that little guy. We come out of all these challenges with a common theme of thankfulness to God for seeing us through. That will do it for me this week. Have a great Saturday and Lord Day's Sunday and I will do my best to show up to share a cup come next Monday morning. May God bless. Amen.   ....More later.