"Let us whenever we shall have the opportunity of using the right of voting, use it as in the sight of Almighty God, knowing that for everything we shall be brought into account, and for that amongst the rest, seeing that we are entrusted with it." ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Preacher of the Gospel, (1834-1892)

Hello folks and welcome to the second Friday of me celebrating my retirement, this one falling on November 9, 2018. I voted last Tuesday. I voted my conscience. Sort of. I did vote for the lesser of evils. I did not necessarily support the people I voted for. Most of them, if not all, are a part of the problem we have in our country. They may represent a particular party or stated creed, however, most of them, if not all, are entrenched in the world of incumbent mediocrity. They, most of them, if not all, do share some of the responsibility for how we have arrived where in response people are clamoring for a socialistic and/or a communistic type of government. How? If they are on the take, if they are beholden to their benefactors, to the extent that representation of the ordinary American citizen has taken a back seat, well, that's one of the reasons we have such a calamitous environment. The rest lies with folks like me. The parents. The grandparents. I'm not going to get into all of that, but, I have at times in the past been proud to cast my vote for those I voted for. That has been a while ago. I am against any form of government that will change the freedoms and liberty this nation has stood for since its founding. I am against. I vote against any movement towards seeing something like this happen. Against. Voting against instead of voting for is not the best, but, it will have to do for now. That's my take and me, myself, and I approved this message.

For Flashback Friday, eleven years ago I wrote a piece in my blog about things that once held my attention and I spent a lot of my time pursuing them. They were not bad things. Just things. Over time, they didn't change but I did. Here is how I concluded that story on that day, (November 8, 2007). ~  I guess pretty soon we will just sit and watch each other and play games with the 'clapper' (if we had one) taking turns playing turn the light on and off. No, we wouldn’t do that because it would lessen the life of the light bulbs and might cause other troubles. That wisdom thing sure can take the fun out of stuff! Maybe I have finally fulfilled the joke from so many years ago. It went like this: “When I was young it was wine, women, and song. Now it’s Metrecal, same old gal, and sing along with Mitch”. Okay, for you younger folks, Metrecal was one of the original food supplement diet drinks and the Mitch Miller television program was one where people could sing along and it featured many of the all-time old standards. For you, it would be like inviting someone over to your house to listen to elevator music. With all of those special interests no longer on my radar screen, I wonder why I am fully occupied and busy as a bee for eighteen hours a day? Maybe soon I will try to figure this out. ~ That was 11 years ago, fast forward to today where I would suppose this change in attitude about things and stuff has only gotten more so as the years have gone by. Like I say, it's not because they were 'bad' things, it's just that in the grand scheme of things, like life and eternity, they don't, as they used to say back home, "amount to a hill of beans."

Do I ever think about my duties and responsibilities at my last job? Often. Without even thinking. Before I left, one of the fellows in the office reminded me that I could stop using the 'we' since I was leaving and it would now be 'them'. And, it does seem strange to not be checking emails, following-up on customer requests, taking phone calls, walking through the shop, and the other daily activities that filled up my days. I am told by many who have been where I am now that I will eventually really miss that world. They should know, but, for me, I'm not so sure. I see it more like I changed jobs rather than l left the working world. On Wednesday, October 31, 2018, I left my workplace on good terms. On Thursday, November 1, 2018, I started my new job which is still in the process of being fully defined. I remember when I worked for the federal government back in the 1960's. They, of course, had a detailed job description for every job. Page after page of detailed gobbly gook. At the very bottom, each official job description had this statement: Other Duties as Assigned. You will not find it hard to believe that much of what I did fell into that catch-all. That is where I find myself today. Other duties as assigned. I do hope you enjoyed your week. Don't forget that Sunday will be a day where God's people meet to honor Him and build each other up in the faith. Until next time, may God continue to bless is my prayer. Amen. ....More later.