“The weather is nature's disruptor of human plans and busybodies. Of all the things on earth, nature's disruption is what we know we can depend on, as it is essentially uncontrolled by men.” ― Criss Jami, Author

Hello once again and welcome. It's Thursday, the last day of May, the 31st, 2018. This early heatwave has contributed to some very unstable weather events in and around Texas. I have a fellow who worked for me at the big company in the early 1970's. His name is Rick and he now owns an insurance agency in San Saba, Texas. That town is a couple of hours northwest of Austin. He and I are friends on Facebook. Being an insurance agent, he received quite a few photos the other day after a sudden thunderstorm with high winds and hail hit the nearby town of Richland Springs. It happened last Saturday, May 26. (The photo above was one of those sent to him.) The fellow who sent that photo had this message with it, "Everything metal looks like this after 25 minutes of hail. All roofs in town are toast. All windows and windshields are smashed. What a sight!" Another posted this message, "We had 25 minutes of hail, 95 mph winds, 1-1/2 inches of rain. Rain was a blessing. The others were not. Volunteers are everywhere. People are wonderful. No one hurt that we know of. We will survive." Sounds like there will be a whole lot of insurance claims. When I knew Ricky he was an early 20 something, single, and very fun to work with. Someone would have had to work at it not to like Ricky. He is now a grandpa who likes to spend a lot of time on the golf course. He and I agree that our time together 'back in the day' were some of the most enjoyable of our working careers.

It was Memorial Day. There was a championship softball playoff being played in Fresno, California. Before one of the games started, the crowd stood up only to hear the public address announcer say they were not going to do the national anthem since it had already been played before a previous game. It was Memorial Day. The crowd started booing then that gave way to some quiet singing which spread throughout the crowd. They didn't need someone to lead them, they sang the anthem themselves without musical accompaniment. No one told them to do it. But, they were determined to show honor to the fallen and to the country they love. At 3 p.m., on Memorial Day, I was watching the Astros play the Yankees in Yankee Stadium. They announced a brief pause for everyone to stand and observe a moment of silence to honor those who have paid the ultimate price while serving in our military. The moment of silence ended. It was very moving, but, then, a chant began and it got louder and louder. There were 50,000 people in attendance and most everyone was chanting USA --- USA ---- USA! I don't know about you but those kinds of things make me proud to be a citizen of the United States of America. That video of the people singing the anthem was shot on someone's cell phone and it has now been seen by some 1.7 million on YouTube. I ask you one more time, is this a great country, or what?

The reboot of the TV program 'Roseanne' has been canceled to the dismay of many who liked it. The star, Roseanne Barr, was canned for tweeting out a racially charged joke about a former Obama aide. The TV Network, ABC, acted immediately. Guess who is blamed for this situation? According to the maligned Obama aide, the blame lies directly at the feet of President Trump. That should not surprise anyone. It is a part of the narrative they must all pledge to honor or they will no longer be allowed into their private club, the elite leftist society. Anyone within their circle who deviates in any way from the groupthink mentality of their talking points is immediately ostracized. I'm not saying it doesn't work that way in the conservative world, but, to me, it's at least not so blatantly obvious. President Bill Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, recently trashed President Trump while on a foreign visit. She spoke to how President Trump had degraded the office itself. Has she not read the history of her own parents? That's a great example of the polarization that exists within our country. President Trump didn't invent this divide, but, perhaps, he has furthered its recognition through his manner of speaking. Regarding the Roseanne matter, I, for one, do not care. I've never watched that program. I actually don't care to see it. I'm not sure what category that puts me in, but, I'm okay with the cancellation of any program I never cared to watch. That's how I roll. You can roll the way you choose. Or, I think we can still do that. I might need to check and get back to you on that one. Until next time, I am praying for our nation and her leaders. God is our only hope. Amen. ....More later.