"When your mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it is a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway." ~ Erma Bombeck

Another day has arrived and this one gets us one day closer to the last day of this week and first day of next week, typically referred to as the weekend, or Saturday and Sunday, but first we need to get on with Friday, March 11, 2016. I thought I would get us started today with some recollections of what we heard growing up.  There's a lot of stuff that gets posted to Facebook each day. I saw this one the other day and I could identify with it. It's under the heading, 'Hillarious Things My Mother Taught Me...' ~ She taught me the value of a clean house: "If you're going to kill each other then do it outside, I just finished cleaning." ~ The value of religion: "You had better pray that will come out of the carpet." ~ Time Travel: "If you don't straighten up I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week." ~ Definition of logic: "Because I said so, that's why!" ~ Logic Part 2: "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck you're not going to the store with me." ~ About thinking ahead: Make sure you wear clean underwear in case you're in an accident." ~ The meaning of irony: "Just keep crying and I will give you something to cry about." ~ Osmosis: "Shut your mouth right now and eat your supper." ~ Contortionism: "You just look at the dirt on the back of your neck." ~ Stamina: "You will sit there until every bite of that spinach is gone." While my mom may not have used these exact wordings I can assure you I heard the sentiments expressed. Many times. We all did. And, that's a good thing. It's fun to think about those things but I always thank God for my mom and all she did to try and raise us up right. Amen.

Have you ever noticed something that just looked odd to you? The other day I was at the pharmacy I use and the lady standing over near the register was taking some pills. I told her that looked odd to me. You know. The lady was taking pills at the pill place. She assured me it was not any of the pills from that pharmacy. I didn't say it was. It just looked funny. I was there to fetch pills. She was looking for my pills and in the meantime she was taking a couple. She seemed a little uneasy about me sharing that observation. One of the huge restaurant chains was offering free pancakes the other day. They gave away small stacks to anyone who came in on that particular day. They were also promoting donations to charities. Here again I noticed something odd. In a local Facebook posting three members of some group were promoting the local restaurant giving away the pancakes because their group was one of the organizations receiving donations for their good causes. The photo struck me as being a little odd. On the top was a stack of free pancakes with syrup running all over them. On the bottom stood the three members each with a big smile. They must have weighed at least 300 pounds each. It just caught my eye. No. I'm not making fun of them. They may have some kind of glandular issue. The photo looked odd to me. That's all. Nothing more than that.

Yes. I am aware that I most likely am the odd observation to someone else. I actually think that's the way it works. A couple of weeks ago I attended a men's program along with several thousand other guys where Tony Dungy, the great NFL player and coach, was speaking. Tony is a devoted believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, a great family man, and a inspirational speaker to encourage men to be the men, dads, and husbands God has called them to be. He will be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame with the next class. It was Friday evening. I had been up since 3:30 a.m. They had a lot of music. They had other speakers. From time to time I dozed off. I didn't know if anyone noticed or not. No one said anything about it. The next Sunday I found out someone did notice and several were invited to see my chin hit my chest. I knew I had done it. I couldn't deny it. I just didn't know that I had become part of the odd observation that evening. See what I mean? I thought nothing of it. It was all in fun. No wonder they gave me a special invitation to be a part of the new old people's group. I know. That too sounds odd. The new old people's group. Life is just one odd observation after another but if we can smile at the end of the day, well, that's a good thing. I did, by the way, hear all of what Bro. Tony had to say. I can't be sure about the rest of it but you do know why. Right? Take care, enjoy your time off, and may God bless each one. Amen. ....More later.