Home Sweet Home

Granddaughter Alesha showing us our Mr. Bentley.

John Denver was right. "A'int it good to be back home again." Hello and welcome to Monday, August 26, 2019. I know many of you wonder how it was for us not to see Mr. Bentley for nearly 6 days. Y'all do remember that I never wanted a dog. Right? Well, I cannot lie. I missed the little dude waking me up at 5 a.m. each morning for me to take him outside. I never wanted to miss a dog. But, life is made up of new experiences and feelings. The wife called our middle son and asked how Bentley was doing. He said Bentley was fine and just for the record if we were interested, he and granddaughter Alesha were okay too. On Tuesday, I asked them to send me a photo of the pup. They did. In fact, they followed up with a video. He was jumping around and acting like he always does. I told them he might need to go outside. My son sent back a note that essentially said, you take care of you, we've got this. Like I say, I never thought I would get attached to a pet of any kind, but, as Pogo in the comic strip used to say, "We have met the enemy and he is us!"

In our recent drive of 1900 miles roundtrip, I think the best I did in my quest for lower temperatures was a 46 degree reading in Taos, NM. I had bought in to the forecast that promised low 40s. I know what some of you are thinking. That should be close enough for government work. Right? I agree. Yet, even though the weather was post card picture beautiful our entire journey, I secretly harbored a desire to embrace at least one 39 degree reading. I am not complaining, just sharing. I hear you. "Bless his heart, he didn't get the cold he was looking for." I send back a 'bless your heart' for blessing mine. Not every detail on our trip was hunky dory. The place we stayed in at Alamosa, Colorado, had some water that had a wee bit of a wang to it. Community Coffee can overcome nearly anything, but, alas, I could still taste it a smidgen even in my coffee. I made sure from that time on to have plenty of bottled water on hand. Community Coffee deserves only the best water available. You do know that I am being a little over the top with regards to my coffee, a little, just a tiny bit. I think you get the picture.

We had numerous responses from folks who recognized us as the real Santa and Mrs. Claus. I wasn't exactly traveling incognito, that is, wearing the red cap and red suspenders. One young guy took my card, went away, and after a few minutes he came back. He said, "That's really you, right?" I told him that was me in the photo. He had that 'now I get it' look. He then gave me one of those questions that kids come up with, "Do you have to have flight clearance across the globe for you and your sleigh?" I gave him my typical come back, "That's a really good question." He kept waiting, so, I then said, "Remember, it is all about the magic of Christmas." He pondered that for a moment, and, finally gave me a big grin and headed back over to his little brother and his parents. Whew! I was relieved. I figured a question might be coming about quantum mechanics or velocity theory. After returning to the depot after our train ride, the wife, as is her wont, went into the train gift shop. I dutifully tagged along. While we were there, Rose, one of the ladies who served us on the train, brought out a little lady who was maybe 4 feet tall. She said this lady was the one who had cooked the meals for us and she wanted her to meet us because of her love for all things Christmas. I shook her hand and gave her a card and she might near melted right there in the gift shop. As we made our way to the car I told the wife what I say so often, "It really doesn't take much to make someone's day." Time doesn't permit me to talk about the counter working ladies at the McDonalds in Taos who had their photos made sitting in my lap. Probably, more about those types of things later. One thing we all might take note of: It would be good if all of us would try that out today, that is, make someone's day. Amen. .....More later.