"Who Says You Can't Go Home" ~ Title of song written by Bon Jovi

This week is going by faster than a speeding bullet. Yep. That fast. I am feeling somewhat nostalgic on this Wednesday, February 26, 2020, and opening today's visit that way reminded me of one of my favorite TV programs as a kid growing up: "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!" "Look! Up in the sky!" "It's a bird!" "It's a plane!" "It's Superman!" I can see myself sprawled out on the floor watching Superman on our black and white TV. We moved into our own home in rural Louisiana in 1957. As you might imagine, I made hundreds of trips back there over the years since I left that area. Even towards the time for mom and dad to take their heavenly flight back in 2017, I can still remember how being in that same house would flush out memories from the past. I could look down the hall and see a single bed in exactly the place where my single bed had been. I can remember laying there at night listening to the train go by and conjuring up dreams of traveling to faraway places. (I can't help it. I actually still do that very same thing today.) Please don't write to me saying there's a pill that might help. I take enough already. My point? We all have recollections in our lives. I thought about this as I climbed our stairs the other day. We've been in this same house since the summer of 1984. These stairs have seen lots of traffic from our boys and later, their children, grandchildren, and now, even the great-grands. These stairs became the school bus when our granddaughters were toddlers. They would come through the back door and begin pleading for me to turn the stairs into the school bus. I would use a stool for the steering wheel and they would find what they could to make them look like they were ready to go to school. I sat near the bottom with my steering wheel and then I would stop along the way to pick up these kiddoes waiting for their ride to school. Our eldest granddaughter has her own ten-year-old and is expecting a new addition this year. She was one of the main recipients of the school bus ride on our stairs. Now there's a memory for me, and, hopefully, for her as well.

I am now officially a member of the choir of our local fellowship. It is a good-sized group of folks, maybe 80 to 100 in number. I resisted being up there for a good long time. My contention had to do with me having my own little choir in the area where I used to sit each Sunday. My wife encouraged me to join and try it especially with Resurrection Sunday coming up with all the special music being worked on. The folks I used to sit with were sad that I was no longer in my place, however, they have encouraged me because they say they can tell I am giving it my all. I am doing the best I know how to do. I should be better than I am. I have been exposed to enough music and I have even had training. The wife and I sang specials together for years. My point? It's not my gift, but, it is something I can do, and, I am enjoying it thus far. It did come with some requirements. As many of you know, I inherited Paw Paw Mac's ability to sleep pretty much anywhere at any time without fanfare or notice being given. When this would happen during the services this condition brought about many motions and stares from the wife up in the choir. Now, she is concerned that I might fall asleep in the choir and because of how steep it is, she thought it might be possible for me to fall out of the choir. That would have upped the ante on her embarrassment quotient. Therefore, I have ordered in a caseload of 5 Hour Energy Extra Strength stay awake juice. I've used it for two Sundays and haven't even thought about thinking about dozing off. Maybe that stuff is why one of my peeps told me that while he missed me being in my spot he could tell I was going all out, loud and proud, is how he put it.

I couldn't have predicted what might show up today. I do appreciate the feedback I get. Part of the fun of doing these blogs over the years is how they often surprise me. Sometimes I have something in mind before I start. Often, if I do I don't know about it. While I will be the first to admit they often fall short in terms of their entertainment value, you might be surprised how many times I erase an entire segment because it just doesn't work. I only do that after trying to figure out a way to salvage it, but, this is how it goes in the blogosphere world. We continue to ask prayers for our middle, Jimmy. He has a 35-year history of being treated for a severe bi-polar condition that makes his life very difficult at times. He is currently being treated at a mental health facility, hoping to find the right coordinated medications to help his situation. Statistics show that one out of five adults experiences a mental illness with an additional 10 million who live with a serious mental illness. Great progress has been made in understanding these illnesses and especially in the treatment options available today. I can assure you it is an ordeal. Especially for him, but also for us, and, for his children. I know we have great prayer warriors who do receive my blog each day. Thanks for remembering our Jimmy. May God bless each one. Amen. ....More later.