"When I was a child my mother said to me, ‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general. If you become a monk, you’ll be the Pope.’ Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso." ~ Pablo Picasso

Happy Tuesday to one and all on this June 9, 2020. I continue to see information being put out there depicting how this Coronavirus is not going away. In fact, some are talking about another round of mitigation actions. These would be similar but not the same as during the worst of the pandemic. I heard someone say the hot weather would rid us once and for all of this modern-day plague. (I looked up the official stance on the influence of hot and humid weather on the virus and the current thinking is there's not enough information to know yet.) That means they are waiting to find out just like the rest of us. I do know it has been really hot around here the last several days. So hot, when outside we had to take turns catching our breath. And, if history is any indication there's more heat on the way. One thing we all have been reminded of throughout this ordeal is how weak we are. It's easy to be lulled to sleep in thinking our brilliance, our technological prowess, and our scientific acumen can solve every threat. We saw all of those wilt in the face of this threat. Some are still trusting these same disciplines to save us. I think we all would do well to look to our only hope and that is our Creator God. Psalm 20:7 "Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses, but we take pride in the name of Yahweh our God." (from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, HCSB)

Talking yesterday about stamina and the lack thereof, I see those young kids down on the ball field going ninety to nothing in the scorching hot sun. No shade. I can't help but wonder if that is actually good for them but then I am reminded how I did just that when I was a kid. Some days I played multiple games and practiced some too. I didn't even think about it back then. I can see them from the backyard of our place about a block away. Some of them have their little faces on fire just like mine used to be. I remember we had a container of water to drink from, but, I don't remember anyone ever mentioning anything to us about us staying hydrated. We would drink when we felt like we needed a drink. Now everyone has their bottled water and specialty sports drinks. Today, I may mow for 20 minutes and take a break. I tell myself it's because I'm in no hurray but the truth is I need to sit, catch my breath, and drink some water. My helpmeet does often offer to relieve me for a few minutes, but, that only makes me want to get up and get back at it. She may be a year younger but when she volunteers to take my place that uncorks the reserve energy and gets me back on my feet. She typically responds, "Stubborn man!" Maybe that would be classified as a preexisting condition.

One of the things I've noticed is how much more debris we get thrown into our yard during the summer months from folks going from and to the subdivision swimming pool. We are very much on one of the main access routes. Why folks would throw their water bottles, candy wrappers, and other junk in our yard, well, it just goes to show you. People can be irritating. I was likely pretty irritating at times as a teenager. I say that here, but, I will not cover the fact that I'm a wee bit ticked off when they use our yard for their trash disposal. Did I ever do anything like that? Or worse? That was way back then. This is now! We probably thought of ourselves back in the day as just out having a good time. The people we irritated may have had a different opinion of our shenanigans. Closer to home, I pick up the stuff and put it in the trash can but I most likely see them as just short of hooligan status. That includes their parents and I'm sure, 60 plus years ago mine was called into question as well. I do know one difference. I'm not sure what the parents of these litterbugs would say today, but, I have no doubt whatsoever as to what my mom would have done. She would have forced me to go and apologize which as bad and embarrassing as that sounds, that would have been easy compared to her applying the board of knowledge to the seat of my education. In her case, it would have been a thick plum tree switch but I can tell you it would have hurt like ole billy heck. Her justice was swift and intense. I love her for wanting me to conduct myself decently. I'm not saying I always did, but, it wasn't for her lack of effort. Amen. .....More later.