"I am patient with stupidity, but not with those who are proud of it." ~ Edith Sitwell, British Poet, (1887-1964)

Yesterday, August 6, we observed the 19th birthday of our twin granddaughters, Alesha (back) and Amanda (with phone). These girls are a hoot and they are also near and dear to our hearts. We thank God for them and seek His best as they continue their journey. Happy Birthday girls. Know that we love you. mimi and poppy.

Welcome back. It is Monday, August 7, 2017, and I'm going to start off with a little humorous anecdote to get our day going. If you download a movie illegally while vacationing in Jamaica, does that make you a Pirate of the Caribbean? Please. No grumbling so early into the day. Maybe it's too early in the morning. I happen to have thought it was worth sharing. Why? Because I laughed when I saw it. It most certainly was not because I am a fan of the movies that carry that name. They did play the first one at the house one time many years ago and I thought it was mostly weird and to me, there definitely was no there, there. The skeleton pirates were beyond ridiculous. I know. I am well aware that some people love those movies. I think they have made a lot of money. I still think that little joke is a good one. It's like the Jamaican saying, translated into English, "I came here to drink milk, not to count cows." I suppose you need the application. I am glad to oblige: "This is a reminder that we should conduct business in a straightforward manner. It also means that you should deliver what you promise and not waste time talking about it." I know there are some forums where you can get a CEU (Continuing Education Unit) for reading their materials. I don't think I'm eligible to issue one, but, it might be worth considering.

I could have used the other one I recently saw. One night two yokels in Missouri were sitting on the tailgate of their truck and one asked the other which one did he think was farther away, the moon or Alabama. The other one just chuckled, "That one's way too easy, now I ask you, from here, which one can you actually see?"  That was a two blondes talking to each other joke, but, I just couldn't get into the stereotyping mode today. Too easy. It was unattributed, therefore, I didn't feel guilty altering it for today's episode. There you were, thinking I might tilt a little towards being insensitive. I surprise myself sometimes. We all have those days. You know what I am talking about. You feel like you have a stick in your hand and everyone looks like a pinata. It's the kind of day when you almost understand one of those mind twisters: "At the greatest pain in labor, a woman can almost understand how her man feels when he has a cold." I still have trouble with that one, but, one of my toes is a little achy this morning. Perhaps I could do better with this one, "There are times when I wished I had listened to my mother." "Why? What did she say?" "I don't know, I wasn't listening." See what I mean? My life is not that easy. Believe me. It isn't. It really isn't.

I will not plead the 5th. My answer is: I do not have a word quota each day. Some of you may have thought that I did, given the number of words that have little or no meaning. It's really not that complicated. I start with a blank page. When I finish, I have three paragraphs, some graphic illustrations, a title, and lastly, a partridge in a pear tree. I know this might be a little disturbing, but, I actually write whatever it is that comes to mind. I know. It can be scary to me also. You should see the stuff that I delete. If I read something I wrote and it immediately makes me wonder about the sanity of the author, it is out of here. You think perhaps I've missed a few of those along the way? Good eye. You do know I'm just having a wee bit of fun today. You know that. Right? I settled for that illustration. It's supposed to show stuff coming from my mind. I don't advise anyone to do a Google Image search on "mind blowing". Yikes! Talk about some graphic graphics! Seeing my little clock on the sidebar of my screen, I notice that it's time for me to wrap this up. You, yes, I'm talking to you. You go out there and have yourself a blessed day and may God go with you is my prayer. Amen. ....More later.