"He is an old bore. Even the grave yawns for him." ~ Herbert Beerbohm Tree.

Bentley: Definition of a spoiled dog.

Good morning and welcome. It is Wednesday, June 3, 2020, and, we have now passed the threshold of the dog days of summer. I always thought it was called that because when it is very hot the dogs typically find themselves a shade. But, it has something to do with the hottest days and its relationship to the stars, in particular, the star Sirius which was called the dog star. This dates back to the Roman period of world history. My grandfather had his own way of using dogs as a metaphor. If we slept too late which was anytime past 6 a.m., or if on a very hot day we too tried to find a shade, well, he would proclaim us to be, "Laid up like a pack of dogs." There are plenty of other sayings tied to the dog family. Dog tired; Gone to the dogs; Bird dog, when someone is on the trail of someone else; Yellowdog, a Democrat who sometimes votes with the Republicans; Dog fight; To dog it, as in not to even try; Can't teach an old dog new tricks; Dog leg, as in crooked; That dog won't hunt; and Dirty dog, just one step above being a dirty rat. There are plenty of others. We have our own dog metaphor at work 24 by 7 and his name is Mr. Bentley. He reflects all of the meaning and then some of the Big Dog, at least here in his own little world.

In the big Company where I spent many years of my life, I was accused once of hot-dogging it. That assessment came from the executive I reported to. The department I ran was highly respected and well thought of. This fellow thought this to be related to self-promotion and grandstanding. His concept of life in the workplace was one where every person is doing their best to highlight themselves so they can gain recognition and power. If that was the underlying reason behind how I ran my program I can say unequivocally, I didn't have a clue. We were doggedly determined to deliver our services with excellence. I attempted to exemplify that mission in how I went about leading. I was aggressive and narrowly focused in desiring to serve the entities who depended on the work we did. We attempted to do this each and every day. The departments we served gave us excellent marks. His conclusion was I must be trying to pull something. I was. But, it had nothing to do with self-promotion. He actually called me a master game player. My thoughts then and now about him remain the same, "The guilty flee when no one pursues ....." Proverbs 28:1

We have this small lake in the back of our subdivision. In making my inspection tour with Mr. Bentley around daylight I've noticed some young boys at that lake fishing. They were maybe 10 or 11 years old. I was impressed they were there so early in the morning. It reminded me of our growing up days. We had a creek nearby and we loved catching those sun perch, the occasional catfish, and rarely one of the small garfish. We typically didn't get up early unless we had to, but, even in the summer we would wake up early and head to the creek. My brother, Donald, was a fanatical fisherman. He spent more time down on the creek than almost anywhere else. We had not been taught to be deathly afraid of all the dangers we might encounter. We knew there were snakes. When we saw one we gave them their space but we didn't freak out about it. We would come back often with mosquito bites all over. If I didn't catch very many I would throw them back in. Donald never did. It was like a code of his where he kept what he caught. He would clean them and but them in the bottom half of a milk carton, fill it with water, and put it in the freezer. When there were enough to constitute a 'mess' of fish, they were thawed out and fried. Those were good times. And, good memories. Thanks to those young boys for reminding me. And, thanks to God for allowing me to remember. Amen. ....More later.