"Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught falsehoods in school. And the person that dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and fool." ~ Plato

Good morning and welcome to Wednesday, February 5, 2019. I won't even try to describe how absolutely weird the politics of our day have become. I feel that if I tried the oxygen mask would drop down and I would have to put it on to survive. Strange times we are living in. The other day the wife was over in Louisiana and she ran into a fellow I knew in high school. I'm pretty sure I haven't seen him since the mid-1960s. He asked about me. Here is what he said, "Is he still alive?" Strange times we are living in. The wife and I walked in the mall the other day. We came around a corner and outside there was a large construction of new stuff underway. It had a huge sign that said this: Pardon our appearance. The place was crawling with workers. I told the wife that perhaps they could change their orange-colored safety helmets to a different color if they are worried about their appearance. Strange times we are living in. I tried to advise the phlebotomist who was preparing to draw four vials of my blood how they had done it previously. She grunted. I told her they had to use a little jumper because of not being able to zero in on a major vein. She grunted. About that time she stuck the needle in and within seconds she had filled up the four vials. She looked directly at me. And one last time, she grunted. Strange times we are living in. I heard about the man who had headaches so bad they would make him throw up. He suffered for ten years before a brain scan found a tapeworm living inside his head. That made me wonder what has taken up residence in mine. Strange times we are living in.

I am most happy to report the wife is some better. Some. Better. We are overjoyed and feel extremely blessed for her to be the least bit better. She is not out of the woods yet. (The metaphoric phrase had at its root a sense of one not feeling safe until they are out of danger. The proverb originated in the United States and has been traced back to 'Papers of Benjamin Franklin'.) I told my old people's class the joke I had seen where the man said his wife was so ill he had to pick her up off the couch and take her to the kitchen to fix his breakfast. Old people know how to laugh too. I quickly added that I had not done that. In fact, I've done a fair amount of cooking and other chores to try and relieve her. I certainly did none of them as well as she can but it will do until we can do better. This made me think about all the jokes told about the difference between the husband being sick and the wife ailing. ~ When in labor a wife is in such horrific pain, only then can she imagine how her husband must feel when he has the sniffles. ~ "I think I might be getting sick." The most dreaded words a wife can hear from her husband. ~ Man Flu defined: An illness that causes a male to be sicker than any other member of the household. In females: A cold. ~ Wife speaking to her husband as he lays on the couch, "I know the doctor told you to get plenty of rest to deal with your nasty cold. But, best I can count, that was five years ago." ~ At least our differences give us something to laugh about.

Some think one should quit while they are ahead. You know. The so-called 'drop mic' moment. That's when the entertainer feels so great about their performance they drop the microphone. It is figuratively an expression of triumph for a successful event and indicates a boastful attitude toward one's own performance. I tried to think of any times when I felt that way about something I had done. None come to mind, however, I can think of a few where I wrongly thought I had done something really well only to find out that was not the case. Surprise! Surprise! Thinking I had been called to be told they have arranged for my star to be placed on the walk of fame, only to find out I was on the wrong track and the project needed to be redone. That, my friend, is what I call a collision. Even worse, I've actually shown up thinking I was to get a reward only to receive a reprimand. This is the problem with reading your own press releases. I could give you the details but it's tough enough just to mention some of them in passing. My point? Stay humble by having a genuine humble spirit. Trust me on that one. Take care and may God help us all. Amen. .....More later.