"What does Santa suffer from if he gets stuck in a chimney? Claustrophobia!" ~ copied

Running just a wee bit late this morning since I was up early and away to take care of some old people tasks. It is Thursday, July 17, 2025, and I do bid each one a hearty hello. Yep. I was over at the doctors, (that's what they used to say back home, I had to go to the doctors today), did some lab work and then I had a session with my pulmonary physician. He is really a great doctor but can be a tiny bit of a grouch whenever I'm not taking or following his directions. With my face full of hair I am in a constant battle to get the cpap apparatus to work properly. Forget about getting a good seal. I do need a new mask. The one I'm using is pretty much shot but I didn't know the name of the one I wear until the doctor told me this morning, it is a Dreamwear Nasal Mask. I put that there so I can refer back to it when I am arguing with the people who provide me with medical supplies. He checked me over. Listened to my breathing. And, he reminded me of the tiny little nodual on my lung and how I needed to get a chest scan so we can see how it's doing. Hopefully, the same with no noticeable development. Right? I had actually put that one in the nothing burger stack but he told me it was his job to remember even if I had forgotten about it. He and his staff were really happy to hear that we had decided, Lord willing, to go for our 16th season delivering joy as Santa and Mrs. Claus. I think my pulmonologist sees it as an opportunity for me to get up and be more active. He also mentioned that long after I'm gone there will be photos of me put up on the mantle at Christmas time. I hadn't planned on hearing that one, but, he was very accurate in that prediction. We've seen some of the photos turned into paintings of us and children that people proudly hang on their walls, one said she loved hers so much she leaves it over the fireplace year round. There you have it. Go to the doctor and end up talking about the photos I will leave behind when I breathe my last. One last thing: I am so thankful for the doctors I have including a number of specialists. They work hard to keep this soon to be 79 year old able to wake up, get up, and get going. Thank You Lord. Amen.

 

There's derivatives of a quote from yesteryear that frequently makes its rounds when talking about watching our government at work. Otto von Bismark, 1815-1898, Prime Minister of Prussia and founder and first Chancellor of the German Empire, said this, "Laws are like sausages. It is best not to see them being made." I hear the sausage making analogy quite often from various politicians. I like sausage. I have in my younger years participated in the making of sausage. I get the idea behind his quote. Most people who enjoy sausages likely would never want to see them made. The problem I have in Bismark's quotation has to do with the end result. Yep. Sausage making because it is very messy and yucky isn't all that pleasant and watching local, state, and national government going through their endless gyrations isn't at all pleasant. The end result of sausage making is typically something good. The end result of all the government endless gyrations when completed and signed into law can be very distasteful and a source of downright frustration and anger. We have the paid YouTube channel so we can watch our fill of sausage making within government function on a 24 hour basis. I'm not recommending it, just, telling you it is available. My wife is most happy to not see any of it. I watch too much of it because I feel it necessary to be informed and as a result I am often infuriated. That was my little bit of Paul Harvey's trademarked, "Now you know the rest of the story." (Never heard of Paul Harvey. You missed out on a great one. Look him up, listen to some of his recordings. It will be well worth your time.) At the end of it all I can rest in knowing that God's got this! And, we can count on Him to always do right. Amen.