"I actually think of being funny as an odd turn of mind, like a mild disability, some weird way of looking at the world that you can't get rid of." ~ Calvin Trillin

"If you live to be 100. I hope to live to be 100 minus 1. So I never have to live without you." That would be a quote from no less of a recognized philosopher than Winnie the Pooh himself. I'm not sure it makes a lot of sense but it no doubt does express some sentiment and that was what I was looking for to get us started here on this Wednesday, March 19, 2014. Those expressions of friendship and commitment are special. I'm not as sure about this one: "If I was trapped in a blizzard with everyone I ever knew, loved, or cared about, I would totally eat you last." I saw one card that had a family of ducks on the front standing in the rain. The inscription said, "Rain or shine, you quack me up!" One birthday greeting had this to say, "The older you get the better you look, that is, unless you are a banana." I guess there are some that are just downright mean. One was to a dad and it read like this, "To a man that no one would want to see anyone turn into..." Obviously that was not a mushy one. And finally, here's some advice that someone offered up, probably intended for us guys: "When buying a romantic card, buy two, then hand write the caption from Card A underneath the inscription on Card B and pretend that you know how to write such sweet things." Who said my blogs were of little educational value?

Last Saturday morning I invited my wife to accompany me upstairs to scrub the numbers on our tax return. She first wanted to know exactly what kind of scrubbing we were planning on doing. I did my best to assure her it was only a figure of speech. I actually wanted to work through all the inputs to make certain I had gotten all the numbers correct. She reminded me that if history served as a guide, we actually don't work that well together especially on something like doing a tax return. We climbed the stairs and went to work. We did find some areas that needed to be corrected. There could have been a moment or two when some tension could have been detected had there been a test of the air in the room, however, it was very small indeed. We started up the stairs owing one amount but when we came out of the office we had added $700. She announced that she was pleased that it was correct. I announced that it was what it was and she returned to her rat killing and I went on with mine.

When we were doing the taxes we went over all the Santa business we conducted for last season. This reminded me of some of the events we were a part of. The boys in this photo are brothers who actually saw me greeting them at the door at our local fellowship for at least three years. They were a part of our children's Bible club ministry on Sunday evenings. Most of the time they gave me a hug. The subdivision where they live engaged us to come and do our Santa and Mrs. Claus routine and they showed up appropriately attired in their jammies. Here's the funny part. They didn't have a clue. They were mesmerized and transfixed and never grasped that the one they were pouring out their wish lists to was the same fellow that greeted them each Sunday evening. I later sent their mom a note and to my surprise she had not recognized me either. She did say they were captivated by Santa and she felt like they were caught up in the love they felt. Sounded good to me and I do enjoy seeing the photos and remembering, even if they never know it was the real me. Have a good rest of the day and may God bless each one. Amen. ....More later.