"I despise people who go to the gutter on either the right or the left and hurl rocks at those in the center." ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

Good Wednesday morning to one and all, on this October 12, 2016. I've been staying away from the political stuff but I did want to share a statement from the Christian comedian Mark Lowry. Last Sunday evening he posted on Facebook a photo of himself in a crash helmet. He said he was preparing for the upcoming televised presidential debate. He went on to say the choices appear to be which toilet bowl are you going to lick. I know. That's a distasteful image. However, it does ring true with me. (This is not lost on the watching world. I saw a teaser for a panel discussion from France. It was entitled: The Low Road to the US Presidential Election.) I'm telling you, it really is like our entire political process has become a sleep depriving episode of The Twilight Zone. Sad to say, it's not a TV show, therefore, we cannot switch it off, and we cannot avoid the consequences that await us. The foregoing message was entirely of my own making and it does not reflect the views or opinions of anyone else. Now back to my intentionally interrupted non-political story telling. I'm always telling the wife that she should write things down. That's because she often laments forgetting something. I feel like maybe I should start taking my own advice. Just this past weekend I was reminded of several good story lines to share with my readers. I can feel in my bones how good they were. One problem. I can't remember what they were. They most likely will boomerang themselves back onto the scene sooner or later but when they do I will then think them to be brand new and not the ones I forgot. No wonder Paw Paw always said I acted like I woke up in a new world every few minutes. He may have said I was like a chicken or a duck in that regard. I can't be sure about that one, but I think you get the idea.

I heard a report on the BBC about a thriving business in South Korea. They are into cloning in a big way. This is a super high tech business and they have turned it into a hugely profitable enterprise. They clone and produce copies of people's beloved pets, mostly dogs or cats. Here's the deal. You can replace your animal friend, they call them companions, for a mere $100,000.00. According to the advertising people for this business, this has become popular due to the humanization of animal companions. They mentioned in the report that in the United States, a total of over $60 billion was spent on pet care last year. They interviewed a couple from the UK that had recently had their family dog, excuse me, their family animal companion, cloned in South Korea. The husband said as the time neared for the wife's companion animal to breathe his last, she became distraught and inconsolable. He had to do something. The quality of his wife's life was at stake. He checked into the cloning process and found out what they needed to do to capture the requisite cell materials. Their project was so successful they produced twin puppies, two replicas of her animal companion. The money? This couple was not without some means but they did end up selling assets to pay the fees, however, he said it was worth every penny. This is my double take story for today. I really don't know what to say about it. Maybe you can come up with something.

Maybe that story fits the Law of Triviality as propounded by C. Northcote Parkinson. His 1957 take said that members of an organization give disproportionate weight to trivial issues. His theory says weightier issues are less well understood, therefore, they may not be given as much attention as the trivial which is easier to grasp. This can lead to mistakes in direction. In fact, he said that if you aren't careful you could be perceived as being someone who wakes up in a new world every few minutes. Not really. He didn't say that. I said that. Trying to make a joke. Well actually, Paw Paw said it. About me. This grasping of the less important may be why they try to make commercials as most outrageously stupid as possible. If they gave you the proven facts you likely wouldn't even pause to notice. But two guys sitting in a car at a drive-in fast food restaurant can present some of the craziest dialogue ever and everyone stops to pay attention. Maybe that one followed by the fellow who used to say, "Can you hear me now?", is enough to support my argument. That is, if I had one to begin with. Okay. I think my work is done for today. If you happen to spot a boomerang loaded up with good story lines, let me know. I'm pretty sure you can tell I'm missing one. Until next time, may God bless us all. Amen. ....More later.