“My blog is a collection of answers people don’t want to hear to questions they didn’t ask.” ― Sebastyne Young

Well, hello there, seems like it was only yesterday we were talking about this, that, and oh yeah, the other as well. Good to meet back up with you here on this Thursday, December 8, 2016. Welcome one and all. I've often thought about developing a type of warning notification to accompany my blogs. You know, it might be like those signs that warn of danger ahead. I really never know exactly what might end up on the electronic page until it is there. Contrary to what you might think, I do edit out a lot of stuff. I'm pretty fussy about this part of my daily activities. Makes you wonder about some of the stuff that ends up staying in, doesn't it? While I may not be able to plead the 5th, I typically can embrace the 'eye of the beholder' excuse as a way of explaining the stuff I share. I saw a statement attributed to Uncle Si of Duck Dynasty fame. It went something like this, "If you don't want to see guns being used and our family praying, then don't watch our show." I'm not sure he actually said that because social media makes up stuff all the time, but, it does sound like him. I mention that because I really do understand how my view of life, the reflections on my journey, and other areas that I write a lot about are not everyone's cup of tea. But, when it's all said and done, it's a blog, a personal blog, therefore, what you see is what you get, (WYSIWYG). Knowing this to be true makes me very appreciative of those who take the time to read. Thanks.

I just remembered another calamitous situation that occurred back in my formative years. I was elected class president three out of my four years in high school. I was nominated every year. I was beaten my sophomore year. Three out of four. Not bad. Right? Not so fast. I was beaten by a girl. Her name was Sudie. I am well aware that times have changed. This was the early 1960's. Beaten by a girl! Humiliation served up by plenty of my sidekicks who relished seeing my downfall. What was up with this girl Sudie? When I had the position I was mostly a figurehead. Girls. She took the job seriously. I can still hear the taunts, "Guess who got beat by a girl?" That's not the end of my sad story. Sudie came to our school in the 5th grade. Until she showed up, I was the consensus master sketch artist of my class. She's the one the other girls used to concoct a showdown drawing contest on the blackboard. I was a sketch person. At recess one day the girls challenged me. The boys were my supporters and they thought I could easily beat this new girl, after all, she was a girl. She started drawing. I started drawing. Her depiction actually looked like an illustration, next to hers mine looked like stick figures. My world came crashing down. The boys acted like I had let them down. But, oh no, it wasn't over. It may have been on the back burner for six years, but it was obviously still simmering. She didn't have to accept the nomination for class president. After all, she was running against me. Me. But, just like that day she showed me up on the blackboard, Bam!, she went and did it again. I don't know whatever became of that girl but as you can tell, I hardly even recollect anything about her.

Please don't tell me how that little revelation explains a lot. I prefer to spend my time still thrashing about trying to figure out where it all went wrong. Don't believe a word of that. Although, on second thought, I would think my psychological development over time would be something worth figuring out. When I get it solved, I will let you know. Let me see. I'm 70 now, well, I wouldn't waste too much time waiting to hear back from me on that one. I don't mind being a work in progress. I think that really is the way we are described as those who seek to follow our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is always working on me. That molding process to shape me into something useful in His Kingdom is a life long project and I'm thankful that He is still chipping away on me. For those who have arrived and are no longer in need of any growth or changes, I say, congratulations and good for you. That would not be me. In fact, thinking about high school, I can't even remember what I was voted most likely to be. I know I was. I may have been given two categories. I did have a little Einstein sitting on Santa's lap the other day and he had a pretty good idea of where he was headed. He might have been 7 or 8, and after giving me the mathematical formulations for how robots work, he volunteered his life goals. When he grows up he wants to be a scientist, an astronaut, and a pizza man. I can't remember ever having any specific goals other than I wanted to draw better than Sudie and beat her when she ran against me for class president. That's a joke. You can laugh. It's okay. Take care and may God bless us one and all. Amen. ....More later.