"Tail wagging the dog." Meaning: A matter of minor importance dominating a situation. American origin with first quoted reference from 1871. (A rather important distinction reflecting many if not most of my 3,333 episodes.)

It's another day and another opportunity. That is, to do something. Good, bad, or indifferent. It's my choice and it is also your choice. I hope all is well on this Tuesday, May 19, 2020. Even the casual observer knows I do a fair amount of strolling on the crooked paths of my growing up days. Some might get the idea I didn't have a whole lot of bad stuff on my journey. That would not be correct, however, I pretty much steer away from that, not because of the bad memories reflected but a lot of it is just not that interesting. My point? No one, or at least no one I have ever known, has a completely idyllic life. In fact, what we have learned is how those thought to have it all are later revealed to have had their own issues. Over the past two weeks, the wife and I have watched a huge number of episodes from the Midsomer Murder series from across the pond. I think they are now into their 21st season. At any rate, evil and wrongdoing as reflected in these investigations are never limited by class, status, or any other so-called well off indicators. The Bible tells us 'all have sinned'. We learn also how we sin because of us inherently being a sinner, not because we have to be taught to sin. It's a universal condition as declared by The Creator. I've read those who tend to really enjoy reveling in their past sins even those they did as kids. I'm not saying some of the things done growing up that were wrong do not have some humor in them, however, basking in 'badness' just doesn't appeal to me. Honestly, I am not pleased or proud of many of those things. I thought I would share that even though I'm pretty sure no one was that interested. (Born a sinner, alienated from God, is why we need to be reborn as we put our faith and trust in Jesus the Christ. Amen.)

I'm continuing to make progress in dealing with my sleep-related disorder. I am doing fairly well in terms of the events per hour. On average, I am below the target of 5 negative events per hour. (My sleep study number was 42.5 negative events per hour.) My biggest challenge can be summed up like this: Sir Bentley Barksalot, Esq. He typically goes to bed around 10 p.m. He immediately goes to sleep. No problem. However, after four to five hours of being in his very roomy kennel, he is ready to get out. Not because he needs to go outside. He just wants out. Period. I can relocate to the family room and put the two of us in the recliner and he will go back to sleep. The sleep experts want me to have the mask on six or more hours and I currently average around 4.5 hours. We are trying new things with Mr. Bentley. On Sunday night we put him on the bottom of our bed and he was fine there until 1:30 a.m. when we moved him from the bed to the kennel. He made it for nearly 3 more hours and that gave me over six which is a rarity. I'm not upset with him. He is doing what a dog will do. We do know he naps a lot during the hours leading up to his bedtime. That may be part of it as well. It can be irritating but not because he is. I got pretty upset with him early one morning and treated him pretty roughly. He was unhappy that I was unhappy with him. That made me feel bad for treating him roughly. Thank goodness he doesn't hold a grudge as we continue to work together to solve these issues. (This will sound very weird to those who have hundreds of recollections of me saying I am not a pet person, period. Sorry about that. I don't know if I am one now but I do know Mr. Bentley has, in many ways, gotten to me.)

Mr. Bentley, four months old.

Someone recommended we send him to obedience school. We would need to first send him to a seminar that teaches him he is a dog. Over the past 14 months, he has single-handedly turned our schedules upside down. (He was 2 months old when we brought him to our home.) But, I'm sure that's true for folks all around. I know it is for the people who post on the Shih Tzu pages I follow. Did you hear that? The Shih Tzu pages I follow? I suppose I should apologize to the folks who worked for me throughout my management days when I smirked because they needed time off to deal with a pet-related issue. Fast forward to me taking Mr. Bentley to the vet. The wife says, "I'll take him if you want me to." Me, "Nope, I want to hear exactly what they have to say." It's too late for me to sing that song 'please say it isn't so'. Maybe it's a phase I'm going through. You know. One of those where you have one foot in reality and the other foot in the age-related dreamworld. I can blame it on that or maybe you could help me come up with something better. (His birthday is in November. If you hear about me organizing a drive-by parade for him. Go ahead and call the folks in the white coats.) For better or worse, it's the world I am currently living in. Don't feel sorry for me because it really is quite enjoyable. It is. And, I am thankful for it. Take care and may God add His blessings. Amen. .....More later.