"I am not a morning person. Never have been - never want to be. As a matter of fact, I am vaguely distrustful of people who bound out of bed early like demented puppies. It's barbaric to wake up before 9:00 a.m." ~ P. C. Cast, American romance/fantasy author

Good morning class and welcome to Election Day for Tuesday, November 6, 2018. It's time to allow all of our voices to be heard, regardless of what side you happen to be on. Last Saturday morning I went alone to walk the mall. The wife had Christmas choir practice at our local assembly. Early on Saturday morning, the mall can be a very quiet place. You may have noticed that I am a noticer. The food places at the food court were getting prepared for the day. One of them had the door open to the kitchen. I saw a young teen standing over the grill. He had something on the grill but his head was on his chest. I think he was finishing his nap. I've never understood people being so lethargic in the morning. Why? I will confess openly for everyone to know and understand, once and for all, I am a MORNING PERSON! That teenaged boy was either out too late Friday night or he was not a morning person. I have also picked up, over the years, how that people who are not morning people do not necessarily have fond feelings towards those of us who are morning people. There's something about bright eyed and bushy tailed that just tends to hack them off. I cannot tell you how I became a morning person. It may have been in my genes because I do come from a long line of hard-working people who had to get up and get with it from early to late. Or, maybe, it was the conditioning of my upbringing where seeing the sunrise each morning was almost like a rule of religion in the family. Whatever, we all become who we are. I'm not against those who are not inclined to be whistling when they roll into work, however, I actually enjoy being who I am. At least in regard to this particular trait.

Having always been a morning person and now with a different twist on my schedule, I may become a nap person as well. That's right. I have tried that out at my workplace a few times but with mixed results. Once I went to sleep during the lunch break. I was listening to a train roll down the tracks in the rain through my earbuds. I slipped right out of my chair and onto the floor. I begin getting up before I got down. That's always a dangerous maneuver. Both of my sidekicks were in the office but glued to their computer screens. They didn't see me fall. Hallelujah! I was back up in my chair in a jiffy with only some minor pains from getting up so quickly. I would have never heard the end of that one. Now that I am officially retired, I have every right to hear and respond to the whimpering whisper of my recliner calling out for me. I had already been practicing some on building up my napping skills before I retired. According to a reliable source, the wife of my youth, she observed that on any Saturday or Sunday afternoon I could be asleep before I finished whatever it is I was saying. I can remember watching Paw Paw Mac sitting in his rocking chair reading his Bible. He typically didn't get far in his reading. He would be fast asleep before he finished John 11:35. ("Jesus wept.", the shortest verse in the Bible.) Come to think about it, it actually may be in my genes.

I've used this one many times before. An all-time favorite.

The wife of my youth and myself are still in the process of beginning to begin sorting out exactly what this new phase of our life will look like. People who know that I no longer go into the workplace as I had before typically ask how I am coping with my newfound freedom. That is interesting because here I sit, around the same wee hours of the morning just like I did before at the Ole Blogger Ranch, and I am contemplating and writing about the wave of freedom that has become mine to enjoy. Come to think about it, I was free this morning to get up when I wanted to, and that I did when I chose to climb the stairs to The Home Office. I could have chosen to stay in bed longer. And, maybe later I will. I have stayed up later at night some since I made the change. That is also a choice. We are already looking forward to finishing the Santa Enterprise schedule for this season. After the smoke settles from that venture we will think about getting away for a few days. Meanwhile, I have not had what one might call a lot of downtime since I left the public workplace. We are typically on the go here, there, and the other place, seemingly for good reasons. Seemingly. One thing I am very clear on. I am not in the least bit stressed about making the change. And, making it up as we go may be our way of fleshing out the way things will go. Tune in tomorrow because all of this is subject to change. Thanks. May God bless us all is my prayer. Amen. ....More later.