"It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech." ~ Mark Twain

Hello and welcome to Wednesday, November 6, 2013. I typically go grocery shopping every other week for my snacks needed to keep me going at work. I mostly buy the same things because of the diabetic viewfinder through which I am forced to see the world. The 100 calorie packs help me to manage my dietary intake. Lately, the choices in this category tend to be on the decline. I suppose it's due to adjustments in demand. On my most recent visit I am searching up and down the shelves for my little packaged treats and there on the bottom shelf I spot full cases of Moon Pies. Really? These little marsh mellow chocolate morsels are a part of our heritage, right up there with Tom's Salted Peanuts poured into an RC Cola. That stocker must have thought that to be real funny. Low fat, sugar free, 100 Calorie, and then bang zoom to the moon, as in Moon Pie! Also, just for the record, I hate it when I buy multiples of something at a really good price only to find out at the checkout counter they were aligned on the wrong tag. Man, no wonder I'm a nervous wreck.

I am an official alumnus. I proudly wore the jacket for four years. I'm talking about the Future Farmers of America, FFA. Last Friday and Saturday I was able to watch several hours of the live proceedings from the FFA National Convention on RFD-TV. The event was held in Louisville, Kentucky, with over 56,000 members participating over the course of the week. You must have been hurting for entertainment? Maybe so, but let me tell you this. Watching those young people challenge each other with soaring speeches actually caused me to be encouraged about the future. Wow! Some had personal stories that brought tears. They all spoke of service to others as a common thread. Talk about outstanding speakers! It was inspiring. I told the wife I thought I might go upstairs and fetch my jacket and put it on. She said she remembered me wearing that jacket and asked if I intended to zip it up or not. Her speech was not quite as inspiring as theirs.

One lady tweeted that she had read where Pandas eat 12 hours a day. Her conclusion: She's not fat, she's a Panda. Another fellow observed that in India when they say there's an elephant in the room, there really is an elephant in the room. There's always at least one silly report:  It sounded like someone on a moped was approaching but it turned out to be 1,000 bees on a regular bicycle. One had this to say about Halloween: I'm surprised carving faces into vegetables after pulling out their innards isn't incorporated into more American holidays. And finally, a lady confessed: I tried dusting the house after drinking five energy drinks but I started a fire. Okay. Those should add some perplexed parsings to your pondering for today. Light on humor? I've told you before, I can add as little as the next guy. Go out there and have a good one, and may our Great God add His blessings to your day. Amen.   ....More later.