Puff's Story

About two and a half years back, a female stray cat began to hang around the house. It was obvious that it had never been petted much. After supper every night we began to talk to it and give it table scraps. After a few days, it would finally tolerate a hand rubbing its back, and I was able to ascertain its gender without doubt. We decided that we did not need a female cat having kittens all the time, and her life was spared when my grand daughter came to visit us and was able to pet the cat. Every few minutes of the day she would go outside to see about the cat. She and her grandmother settled on naming the cat KeeKee. KeeKee was a young cat, and I know she had been put out because she was female. We talked about having her fixed and were just about to do it when guess what?...you got it!...kittens on the way!

The days pass, and we know the time is near for kittens to be born. My wife has a big heart for animals, and she was hoping KeeKee would have her kittens in a safe place where they could easily be found...didn't work...one day the pregnant cat disappeared. A couple of days later my wife heard a cat crying insistently at the back door. She opened the door and there stood KeeKee as we say in the south, "justa squalin!". It was obvious that she was no longer pregnant, but, where were her kittens?
Time passed and my wife went to the door again and heard a kitten cry inside the storage room.  She located the kitten and placed her in a box inside the storage room and went back inside.  After a little while she opened the back door and saw KeKe running across with deck with kitten number two in her mouth.  The cat marched up and laid it down on the deck then took off again...in a little while she brought another...then another.. for a total of four, two males and two females.

KeKe was a good mother, and we enjoyed watching the kittens play and grow to "adoption age." They were pretty kittens and for once social media paid off. The two males and one female were taken by friends and family. By this time my wife had decided to keep the biggest, long haired black and white kitten. She named her "Puffy", "Puff" for short. We had already neutered KeeKee, and as soon as Puff was old enough, we had her "fixed" as well.

Puff grew and became larger than her mother. When Puff came home from the vet, KeeKee would have nothing to do with her. They would hiss and slap at one another until finally all out cat fights began to take place. Puff was the larger cat and soon chased her mother away. Most of the time we have had only Puff but KeKe would return occasionally. Puff has always been an "outside" cat, but she had access to the inside of the house during the day. On Wednesday night of last week we put her out for the night. The next morning I got up early and went to play golf. Usually, Puff would be waiting at the door and come bolting in when it was opened, but, this day she was not there. I thought nothing of it for there had been other days when she would be missing then show up a little later in the morning. I loaded my cart then drove to the golf course. I had played 4 or 5 holes when my phone rang...My wife said, "I hate to bother you while you're playing golf, but, can you come home and help me find Puff? I hear her meowing in the woods in front of the house, and she won't come out. She's crying, and I can't find her!". I'm thinking I don't want to leave my golf game so I try to reassure her  that Puff is all right. She doesn't buy it and insists that the cat is hurt or trapped and desperately needs help. A rain shower was approaching the golf course so, I loaded my cart and went  home to see about Puff!

When I got home, I found my wife standing out in the front yard calling Puff. I took my time, unloaded my cart, and walked down the hill to see what I could do to locate the cat. We both began to call and Puff answered "meow!". It sounded like the cat was somewhere near us up a little draw in the side of the hill that once was used as a "wet weather spring". The area around the spring is covered with  brambles, bushes, and trees of various ages and heights. The old spring emanated from the base of a huge sweet gum tree that has two trunks rising from the same root system. The trees are probably at least 80' high. The thickest part is along the edge where the smaller bushes and brambles were growing. "Puff is in there somewhere..She's hurt or hung, and we have to find her!  Listen to her crying!" said my frightened wife.

We spent hours looking for Puff. We would call, and she would answer. I knew that cats usually escape danger by climbing, so I spent a considerable amount of time looking up those two giant sweet gums. I could not see her in the trees and it certainly sounded like she was underground close to us. We came to the conclusion that the cat had somehow crawled into a hole in the ground somewhere and was stuck. I searched and searched the banks of the spring hole and finally found a slick looking hole which led me to think, *Well, she might have went in after a squirrel or rabbit or something and got lost in a maze of tunnels where she couldn't figure out how to get back out*. It sounded like the cat was in the bank just to the right of the base of those two sweet gums. I got my shovel and began to dig into the bank where we thought her cries were coming from. I must have dug a dozen or so holes finding nothing that looked remotely like a tunnel.  I decided that Puff's only chance was for her to figure out how to get out on her own..I had done all I could do.

The sad and forlorn look on a woman's face can stir a man to try stuff even when he knows it's pointless. So it was with me, and after sitting through the heat of the day, Thursday evening I got my shovel once again and dug more holes hoping to get lucky.  Late that evening my neighbors came to help us look. Now the search party consisted of two grown men and two women. We call, Puff answers "meow".  All four of us think she's here or there, but, no cat to be found. Finally dark arrives and things get quiet and still. Another neighbor came to help with a flashlight.  He shines his light up and down the trees and finally sees Puff's glowing eyes about 75 feet up the tree.  Jubilation is the best way to describe how my wife felt...the rest of us were relieved as well, although I was a tad aggravated that I had spent nearly all day digging holes and fighting through briers and brambles! Knowing the cat was in the tree and assuring my wife that she would come down, we went to bed that night thinking Puff would be at the door Friday morning.

We got up Friday morning earlier than usual expecting to see Puff dash in when we opened the door. Still no Puff! Her meows told us she was still up the tree. Intermittently all day long and into the night we called and she wouldn't budge. She would prance out to the end of the limb she was on, meow at us, look around a bit, then go back to her perch. Once during the day she actually came down one limb lower than she had been, but went back up. I'm thinking the cat can and will come down..eventually. My wife feared the worst, that the cat couldn't figure out how to back down and would stay in the tree till she passed out and fell. All this time, my wife had been on social media with her friends and neighbors and by now, the whole community was worried about Puff. Finally late Friday night we gave up and hoped for better results on Saturday.

My wife's fear was that the cat was in great need of water. She had been in the tree three nights and two days without any food or water and the days were mid 90's and very humid. Again we got up early and opened the door on Saturday morning...still no Puff. Nothing had changed, Puff was exactly where she had been the day before! We began to call as sweetly as we could and amazingly, the cat began to come down! With much coaxing from the both of us, she would back down the trunk from one limb to the next. Each time she reached a lower limb, she would walk out on it and look around for what seemed the longest time before going back to the trunk and sitting a while. After a couple of hours calling her, she made it to the lowest limb on the sweet gum tree. It was a long limb and stretched all the way out to the edge of the thicket. Puff would walk out all the way to the end of the limb then back.  Even though this was the lowest limb, it was a good 20' above ground and the cat absolutely would not get back on the trunk and back down. Finally she made a move...she climbed back up to her original spot! Now my wife is in a tizzy. She was afraid the cat would die from lack of water, and she looked at me with a pitiful face. I'm at a loss as to what I could do. She wants me to spray the water hose up in the tree...I know it won't reach, not even close. I had worked a ladder up the tree as high as I could. It reached to a point under the lowest limb but not high enough to reach the cat. Even up the ladder, the hose wouldn't reach.

What could we do to get Puff some food and water? Well, country boy ingenuity set in. I got my open faced reel and tied a good size weight on the line. I made my first cast at the limb that Puff was sitting on and missed. The weight hung on a twig, and I broke the line trying to pull it out. A second try ended the same way. The third cast hit my mark. The weight pulled the line all the way to the ground underneath the tree. I tied a  nylon line with a large pound test to the fishing line and pulled it over the limb and out to the point in the yard where I had made the cast. We tied a picnic basket to the twine underneath the tree then hoisted it up the tree with some food and water in it. We hoped the cat would actually get into the basket, and we could then lower her. I pulled the basket all the way up to the limb where Puff was perched. She walked out to the basket, looked into it, retreated, came back, looked again, then stuck her head down and drank some water. That silly cat then went back to her perch and stretched out for a nap! I throw up my hands and proclaim, "Well, I'm done! That cat will come down when she passes out I bet!". Again we are out of thoughts as to how to get Puff out of the sweet gum tree.

My daughters who live hours away from us were texting and calling my wife constantly wanting to know about Puff. They suggested calling the fire department, the phone company, the power company, or someone who owns a bucket truck. We live in the country...the fire department is volunteer and has no ladder truck, the utility companies just cannot do such things, and as far as I know, no one has a bucket truck. Besides, heavy equipment would ruin my yard!  Finally my oldest daughter told her mother that something just had to be done, so, she searched the internet until she found a person who would try to rescue the cat. He lived about 85 miles from us, but, said he would drive as far as three hours to attempt a rescue. She called him and gave him her mother's number. Early Sunday morning, he called and said he could be here by 10:30. The whole community and all of the Facebook connections are relieved. Finally, Puff is going to be rescued!...we hope!

I teach Sunday School so I went to Sunday school while my wife waited for the rescuer. My friends and neighbors in my class were well aware of the "Puff" crisis, and they wholeheartedly supported my decision to shorten the lesson so that I could be home in time to meet the cat rescuer.  About 10:45 he called and said that he had inadvertently placed the wrong address in his GPS but would arrive in about 15 minutes. Mr. Bob arrived around 11 and after papers were signed protecting us if he got hurt as well as protection for him in case the cat got hurt, we walked down to the sweet gum tree. He told me that he had made several hundred cat rescues, two or three dog rescues, and one drone rescue. His last rescue was about the same height as this one, so, the height didn't bother him.

After surveying the situation, Mr Bob decided that the line I had already worked over the limb was a bit too far out for the limb to safely hold his weight, so, another had to be secured closer to the trunk. He got his trusty Big Shot out of the truck. It was a giant sling shot. He tied a bean bag to a sturdy line and shot it up into the tree over the limb just above Puff's perch. It took three tries, but on the third, the bag hit its mark and pulled the line over the limb. Now Mr. Bob tied a heavy rope to the line and pulled it over the limb, then secured it to a nearby tree. The line had been shot from the yard over the undergrowth, so the rope had to be worked through the brush so that it hung vertically. We pulled as much as we could, then Mr. Bob said his body weight would do the rest. He donned his climbing gear and hooked to the rope. As expected, his body weight pulled the rope through the brush until it was a straight up climb. Now he started to climb the rope.

When he got to the lowest limb he paused to rest. All the while we are talking and pleading with Puff, still trying to coax her down a bit. Again he starts up and climbs to a point just under Puff's perch. She just sat there looking at him. He spent several minutes talking to her and even offered her a cat treat (this guy had everything imaginable). Finally he moved within reach and just as Puff had decided to move up higher, he grabbed her and put her in a cloth sack. After repelling down the rope, he handed the sack to me and told me to take her inside the house to let her out. Inside the house, I opened the bag and let her out. She seemed distressed and disoriented for a bit, but, soon settled down and took a little food and water. Puff was out of the tree finally and safe inside the house.

Word spread quickly over our little community and many people showed their relief by text message, phone calls, and Facebook posts. Many have said that this was the most exciting thing to happen in our community in years! Puff was a celebrity! Mr. Bob would take no pay for his magnificent work. He simply asked for a small donation to his humane society chapter. After collecting a nice contribution, Mr. Bob headed home. and we go inside with Puff...just look at where she decided to settle down!

After all the trouble we went through, now she gets in the basket! *rollin eyes*

How I grow tomatoes, aka 'maters

For most southern folk, the time period between mid-August till early June is a  little sad because we have to buy our tomatoes from a store somewhere.  Although better than nothing, we enjoy eating them about as much as we enjoy going to the dentist! They are often tough skinned, bland flavored and the fleshy part is... well...it's just a sad time if you like tomatoes! Here's how I grow tomatoes every year.

I set my plants in basically the same spot of ground every year because it seems to suit them very well. Once every 5 years or so I cut in some lime. This helps prevent the bottom rot  on the fruit. Other than that I just use commercial fertilizer (13-13-13) and ammonia (34-0-0).

I order tomato seed around the first of December each year. Better Boy hybrids are my favorite, but, Big Boy, Celebrity, Marion, and Early Girl are also good choices.  Beefsteaks hold up good in hot and dry weather, but have too much of a stem core to suit me. Heirloom varieties are good too, but, my wife likes her tomatoes red! I plant the seed one at a time in seed trays about the middle of January to have them big enough to set out by March. It's trouble having to move the trays in and out from the cold and keeping the plants watered, but once they get two sets of leaves on them, they are ready to go.

Here in the deep south, the weather usually agrees and the ground begins to warm around the first week or two in March. Sometimes (as it was this year) I have to cover the plants overnight to keep frost from killing them but those that survive will produce  by early June.  In the meantime I fertilize them generously, set a wire and stick each plant. As the vines grow, I tie them to their stick with jute string and prune out every sucker branch keeping only the main vine climbing the pole. Tomatoes really like ammonia, so about every week and a half or so, I pitch about a table spoon at the base of each plant, but not directly touching the plant. Ammonia causes the stems to thicken which makes the plant much more hardy and it also causes the plant to produce more fruit. I use a garden tiller to keep the middles clean and an old fashion hoe to work between the plants.

The next thing to consider is bug control. In my little piece of the world, I must defeat aphids, white flies, spider mites and horned worms. Aphids are stem and leaf suckers while white flies and spider mites ruin the blooms. Tomato worms consume the leaves and stems. Later on in the summer we are beset by stinkbugs. You can buy various products that supposedly will control each pest, but, that can get expensive and may or may not control them. You also must be a little concerned about consuming the chemical products, so, be sure to read the labels! I discovered by looking at a label for a certain pest control product that it contained 95% canola oil and sold for $16.95. Well shoot, you can buy a jug of canola oil for less than 3 bucks, so I bought some and found that if you mix a cup of canola oil to a gallon of water and spray it as needed, it will keep these pests off. I still use Sevin dust for the worms and I've also found that dawn dish wash soap mixed in water kills stink bugs. So there you have it.

This year I have around 225 tomato plants in my garden. I am getting some fine tomatoes now and I have about 90 plants that are just getting big enough to stick. A home grown tomato tastes nothing like one bought in a store or from a green house. The flavor and acidity make all the work worth while. We eat them every day while we have them fresh from the garden. Two pieces of loaf bread with mayonnaise  and a big ol slice or two of fresh cold tomato will make a fellow want to slap something!
They are also delicious as sides for other meals.  Sometimes we just peel and slice one, salt it a little and just eat plain tomato! Green tomato slices coated in meal and fried in hot grease are plumb sinful. They make salads taste totally different and tomato juice keeps several years in mason jars, so my wife puts up a lot of juice each year to make stews and soups for all my family.

It does take a little hard work and time spent to have good tomatoes, but, in the end when you taste one you will be glad. I also very much enjoy giving some away to my neighbors. Most all of us love tomatoes but not all are able to grow their own.

If you can keep the plants watered and mostly free of bugs, they will make until frost so, set out some tomatoes around your house somewhere and enjoy the fresh juicy taste of a home grown tomato. I promise there's nothing else like it!

Scary Moments

I realize that with age health issues may arise. I just expected that I would be the first to go down with something...not my wife! We both had colonoscopies at the recommended ages. Mine was clear but she had polyps. We were informed by the doctor that there are two types of polyps. The normal polyp grows outward from the colon wall and is generally benign. He removed them easily with the endoscope. He called these "tree" polyps. The other polyp grows laterally within the wall of the colon and because of this, he called it a "flat" polyp. These are more difficult to detect and remove than the others. My precious wife had one flat polyp and a couple of tree polyps. The first time, the flat polyp was small enough that he was able to remove it somehow with the scope.  I was told to have another scope when my insurance allowed, but, because of the flat polyp, my wife needed to be checked in a couple of years.

Time passes quickly and my wife goes in for her second colonoscopy. This time the doctor finds more tree polyps and wants to see her again in a year. I remember my wife saying, "I must be growing a forest in my colon!". We are concerned , but, the doctor assures us that all is well and she just needs to be checked within the next year. Ok...it is what it is.

The third colonoscopy revealed that she had two almost nothing tree polyps and another flat one. While waking up from the anesthesia, she overhears one of the nurses say "She'll need to see a surgeon." This scares my wife to death even though she's still not completely coherent from the anesthesia. While she's waking up, the doctor comes and informs me that she has one "unusually large" flat polyp that has grown so deep in the wall of her colon that he could not remove it with his instrument safely, so he marked it with blue dye and a gold marker. He assured me that it didn't look cancerous but he biopsied it just in case. At this point we get a medical term for her condition..."tubular adenoma". "I want to see her in two weeks." he said. Two weeks pass..two weeks!...and her doctor knew the day of her colonoscopy what we would be up against. Why he did not inform us that day is beyond me...makes a body wonder if he simply didn't think it urgent enough or knowing we were at his mercy, maybe he wanted a little more money before he turned us over to the next guy! Surely it was the former...still? *scratchin my head*.

Again at this visit, the news almost blows my wife away. The doctor tells her that he must refer her to a surgeon for a colon resection operation. This is startling news as she has no symptoms whatsoever! He explains to her that the polyp has grown deep into her colon wall and removing it by surgery is the only way. He then told her that the biopsy showed the polyp benign at the moment but it was precancerous and had to be dealt with. Six inches to a foot of colon would have to be removed. I suppose he saw the shocked, frightened and then despondent look on her face, then he told her, "Don't worry...Don't worry! You have plenty of colon. You won't even miss it!".  If he thought this would calm her down he was badly mistaken! Now I'm scared too!

Another couple of weeks before we see the surgeon gives us time to research the operation. We find that most are done with a scope and hospital stay is from 3 to 7 days. This is a MAJOR surgery. A section of the colon is removed with instruments that reach through small incisions rather than a single large incision. Because of this, recuperation time is much shorter...supposedly. We proceed to the surgeon's office for the initial visit and he begins to explain the operation. He says he plans to start with the scope, but, it might be necessary to open her up. It would depend on what he found when he got in. An x-ray had been sent to his office showing the location of the polyp in her transverse colon, but he had not looked at it yet, so, his explanation as to what he would do was not explicit at all. He told us that if the adenoma was left of her center line, he would take a 6 to 8 inch section out. If the adenoma was right of her center line, he would take her entire colon from the spot down to her appendix, then stretch the two sections together attaching the small duct at the head of the small intestine to the large intestine. The only other option was to plug out the spot, but, this would risk having to go back in with a much more invasive procedure should the polyp show cancer. Well?...what can you do? We set the date for her surgery on December 28 with the assurance of the surgeon that he would do whatever was necessary to make sure all areas that could be cancerous are removed. He tells us not to worry, he has done thousands of these operations, he is confident that he can fix her completely with no leaks. His confidence that all will go well gives us some peace of mind. He tells us that 3 to 4 days in the hospital after surgery is the normal because it takes a while for the colon to "wake up" after such trauma. Still, you can't help but worry.

During the time till surgery date, my gritty wife develops the "Well...the thing has to come out, so, let's get it over with!" attitude and I assure you that many prayers were offered by each of us and our immediate family. As the word got out to her friends and the community, she began to hear from some of them that they had undergone the same surgery. This eased her mind greatly that everything would be alright...mine too. Our church family gave us great support and encouragement and their prayers were truly felt. Now it's just count the days till the 28th. One bottle of magnesium citrate and a light dose of laxative is all the prep required on the 27th and she's good to go.

The day of the surgery arrived and we were to be at the hospital at 6AM. We park in the parking garage and walk down to admissions pulling and carrying luggage enough for a 3 or 4 day stay. We spend the next 20 minutes or so standing in line waiting to be admitted. A wristband is applied and we're off to the same day surgery center of the hospital. The nurse at the desk takes her papers and whisks us off to a room where we are told to wait till the surgeon and operating room is ready. She gets her hospital robe on and climbs up in the bed. Shortly a nurse comes in and after several questions about previous surgeries and medicine allergies etc, my wife is given a saline drip for hydration purposes.  We are told that it shouldn't be long, so, the wait begins. Next comes the anesthesiologist who explains how she would be put under. He was impressive with his plan and we were satisfied that he knew his business.  About 45 minutes later and after we had dragged her drip line and bag to the bathroom about a dozen times, *whew*, she is given two valium tablets. I know now that it won't be too long before they take her back. Within ten minutes she is really...I mean REALLY relaxed. She thinks that she can't open her eyes, so she jabbers with her eyes closed. She tells everyone that speaks that she loves them..even total strangers! My two daughters who were there with us told her afterward, "Mama, We've seen you on drugs now!".

Soon she is wheeled back to the operating room and I am told to wait by the phone to be updated as needed. About 30 minutes pass and at 10:35AM, the nurse calls and tells me they are about to start. She also tells me to expect an hour to hour and a half operation. I spend the next 20 minutes or so notifying friends and family via text message that the operation has begun. An hour passes and no word yet. I'm a little worried, but there's still a half hour to play with. Another 30 minutes pass and still no word...now I'm getting scared. "Something must be wrong!...What if they can't stop a leak?...What if he has to take the entire colon and build a colostomy? (He had assured us that no ostomy would be needed unless something went wrong)...What if she died!" are things that run through a semi-panicked mind. Finally within the next few minutes I get the call that they are finishing up and it went well. I am relieved of course but still wonder why it took so long. After several minutes the doctor comes in and tells me that he removed about 6 inches of the transverse colon. He said that it took longer because in the time since the last colonoscopy, the blue dye and marker had been lost, so he had to use the x-ray and pinpoint the lesion by measurement. Once the position was located, he found it difficult to reach due to scar tissue from previous hysterectomy and tubal ligation surgeries. He said he had to move a "lot of stuff around" to get to it and finally could not get the section out with his instruments. He explained that he had to expand the primary incision just slightly so that he could get his fingers inside her enough that he could get the section out. Once that was done, he said the rest was a "piece of cake" and that the polyp did not look cancerous to him or his associates at all. I asked if he had removed lymph nodes also. He said there might be two or three along the section removed, but he deemed it unnecessary to remove any others as he was confident that there was no cancer. The section would be sent to pathology for testing to make sure and we should hear from them in a few days. Great news!

A few minutes later a nurse tells me to gather my bags and report to room 336 in the hospital and wait about an hour for her to come out of recovery. I tell all our folks who are waiting in the lobby and proceed to the room. Finally after two solid hours they bring her up to the room. She is still under the effects of the anesthesia and pain medicines, so, she still loves everybody! I'm so glad the operation is over that I just about can't stand it! She shows us the incisions and I count 4 staples just under her breast bone, 16 holding together the larger incision from just above her navel to a couple inches below and small taped puncture wounds on either side of the center line of her abdomen. She says nothing hurts and she thinks this won't be as bad as the hysterectomy. The first afternoon and night were good. She slept from the medicines she had been given. I tried to sleep on a cot provided but wound up just sitting in a very uncomfortable chair thinking what in the world would I do if I had lost her.

The next day she began to hurt...not so much a continuous pain, but sharp pain when she tried to move. Moving from one side to the other hurt her, the process of sitting up on the side of the bed hurt her etc. A morphine pain pump had been supplied for her to use as needed but she determined that she would not because she was afraid it would make her gag and heave. That would really hurt. She bore the pain till the end of that day. Finally her nurse asked her about pain and she explained that she feared the morphine. The nurse said "We can give you Norco ( hydrocodein) tablets for the pain. This was great because she had used them before through the years with no side effects. Also her mouth was dry as a desert because of the nausea patch that had been applied on surgery day. The nurse removed it and promised to bring some kind of lemon flavored swab to help the dryness. Things like this are available to surgery patients, but, the average person(like us) wouldn't know to ask! Not long after the pain pills, she sleeps all night. I am exhausted by now and the body reaches a point where it has to rest, so, even on the most uncomfortable cot in the world, I slept most all night too. During the rest of our stay, short naps were all we could do.

Her doctor checked on her promptly at 8AM each day and told us everything looked good. All she needed to do to go home was have a bowel movement. Finally on the 4th day, New Years eve, we are allowed to come home. Yesterday we heard that the pathology was clear and no cancer was present. The cells tested precancerous as they had before. We still have a follow up visit to attend, but she's now on the mend. Perhaps this story will help prepare someone who is about to undergo a colon resection surgery. There will be some scary moments, but, the choice of not seeing a gastro specialist for a colonoscopy and winding up with colon cancer is much scarier! Get your colon checked..it saved my wife from the horrible experience of cancer treatment. It can save your life!

Praise the Lord who watches over us all!

Goodness gracious! It might snow!!

People of the Deep South take on extreme heat and humidity with an air of indifference. After all, it is supposed to be hot and humid here. I suppose it is the stuff of legend in that the southern climate is given by many as the reason southerners talk and move slowly.  Maybe, but, I tend to think it's just our nature to roll with the punch.

I mean, we get tornado warning and we'll go outside to see if we can see the tornado! We get a hurricane warning down on the coast and most just move out of its way. No big deal for them other than possible destruction of property and inconvenience. Those who choose to stay in the path know the risk to life and limb, but, it is their choice.

One would think that living through these events in the way that we do would prepare us for anything Mother Nature might do to us.....not so! Today we received word from the national weather service....." The national weather service has issued a winter storm watch/warning for the following counties......".  Whoa! Goodness gracious! It might snow tonight! The situation is dire!

Here's what it sounds like in homes across the Deep South. "I hope we don't lose power! We got plenty bread and milk? Go out yonder and check how much propane we got! Reckon they'll have school tomorrow? We might oughta leave the heater on low tonight, don't want no pipes to freeze! Catch up some water case we get out! The cars and trucks got plenty gas?  Go get that old raggedy blanket out of the closet and put it in the car port so them dogs/cats can lay on it and stay warm. Remember that time it stayed on the ground for nearly two weeks? 'At was bout 1963 wad'nt it? Hey! You cranked that generator lately? What we gonna eat?...I reckon we can make a big ol pot of soup and eat that. I don't mind a good snow but I don't want no freezin rain! Maybe it'll be enough to build a snowman and make some snow ice cream! I hope it snows a foot!"

Yep! You want to get a southerner giddy with excitement, just mention the "s" word. The tv weather men and women always wait till the last minute to predict snow...they know the phone, email, and texting will explode...especially if the event doesn't happen as predicted which happens more than not!

And then the next morning....."Wow! Look at all the snow! It's still fallin! Boy it's really comin down! It's sho is pretty ain't it? Wonder how long it'll be here? Put ye on a bunch of clothes and a big ol coat fore ye go out....you put them freezer bags over ye socks fore ye put ye shoes on?  Ye don't need to git ye feet wet..ye'll get sick shore as the world!   Ah-ite! Get out there and build ye a snowman, just don't stay out too long...don't need no frost bit toes or nothin! Man! It's comin a blizzard out there! Better find them candles...might lose power!"

Most consider a little snow and temperatures around freezing no big deal, but, for the people around here who seldom see even a flurry, a snow covered ground is a spectacular event!

God bless us all during this Christmas season and thanks to Him for the beautiful snow! Goodness gracious! It's snowin in Dixie!

The "eyes" have it!

My wife and I have reached the age where much of our casual conversations with friends concerns the latest procedure or surgery we've been through! "Did they put you to sleep?", "Did it leave a scar?", "When are you getting the other one done?", or " Is it hurting you?" are some of the conversation starters for us these days.

Our latest adventure was cataract surgery. My sweet wife (bless her heart) had been told she had cataracts a couple years ago. At that time the optometrist assured her that they were small and need not be addressed. On her last visit, he said "Gracious! Those things have really grown! You'll need to have them seen about!". With her vision seeming fairly normal to her, and knowing that Medicare will cover cataract surgery, she asked if she could wait until she reached Medicare age. He told her "Sure...you can wait, but you're already illegal to drive in one eye, the other is not far behind and they're only gonna get worse!" This convinced her, so, here we go...he set her up to see a specialist in cataract removal surgery.

The first visit to Dr. M's office involved meeting and greeting and a quick "see for my self" type eye exam. He said "Yep! You have some fine cataracts there!", then he moves over to his computer. My wife has a gift. She can talk to people and make them think that they are the best thing since sliced bread! She noticed how fast Dr. M was typing and, being a former business teacher, she said "My! You are fast! We need to give you a timed writing!" He grinned and said "My parents made me take typing in high school...hated it then, but now, I'm glad they did!".  Well, this opened the door to a variety of conversation topics and I guarantee that by the end of the visit, she had him feeling really good about himself!

The next visit was scheduled about a week later. We arrived at his office and the waiting room was packed. Worried that we might be in for a long wait, my wife asked the receptionist "What's going on today?...almost standing room only!" We were told that a V.A. doc visited Dr. M's clinic once a month and this was the day. Relieved that most of the people there were to see him, not Dr. M, we sat down and waited. This time it was a quick "Hello, how ye doin?" from the doc, then a technician took her and measured the lens in each eye. Not too many years back, the only option was to remove the cataracts restoring the vision a person had before. Now they remove both cataracts and natural lenses and insert an artificial lens. This amazing technology not only eliminates the cataracts, it also improves vision to the point that glasses are no longer needed except maybe to read. With measurements complete, we were given a surgery date a couple of weeks later and then instructed to go and register at the surgery center used by Dr. M. With all this done, it was time to go home and wait.

Waiting on a surgery date is certainly more stressful than waiting on a vacation. You think a vacation date will never get here, but, a surgery date gets here much quicker than you want. Anxiety nags at you more and more each day even though you know 99% of people have no problems with cataract surgery. So it was with my wife. Bravely, she got into the car on the morning of the surgery and we set out for the surgery center. She was scheduled for 10AM, but when 11 rolled by, we were both about ready to say "Forget it!". Finally about 11:15 they called her back. I'm thinking about an hour and then we'll be on our way...not the case of course! Three hours slowly drag by and I have just about sat a hole in my chair. I am now a little worried that something is wrong, but, I've heard nothing and I reason that they would tell me if something was up! I sat there nearly another hour and finally a nurse sticks her head out calling for my wife's family. I gather up her purse (which I had been complimented on several times during the waiting period by total strangers) and followed the nurse to the back. There she was sitting up in a recliner, still groggy from anesthesia, and still hooked up to monitors of all sorts. I greeted her awake and rubbed her back and shoulders a little, then asked to see her eye. She opened it. I could not tell that anything had been done to it. She told me that her eye did not hurt and that she could see very well. About 5 minutes later I am told to go get the car and bring it to the patient departure area to pick her up. I'm out and back quickly and we're on our way home.

The next day we head back to Dr. M's office for a follow up examination. Her eye now has 20-20 vision! Again she thanks and praises the doc on his amazing skill.  He told her that he had done over 40,000 cataract surgeries.  Her first eye is now fixed and healing nicely. Now for the second eye.

Having watched the actual surgery on her first eye from a video provided by Dr. M, my wife prepared herself for the second eye. Even though she knew what to expect, it still weighed on her mind that someone was going to poke around in her eye again! The anesthesia had made her sick at her stomach the first time, so, IV Zofran  was administered during the second surgery to alleviate the sick stomach. It did its job well. The second eye took about the same time as the first. The cataract on the second eye was much more involved and thicker than on the first. After watching the video this time, we both wondered how she could have seen at all from that eye! It's amazing how much different it is to her now.

The follow up on the next day verified what we had expected...she is now 20-20 in both eyes! Praise the Lord my wife can see clearly again! Now and for the next couple of weeks we are to administer drops in her eyes to make sure they heal properly and have no infection.  Hopefully we are done with "procedures" for a while, but, for now, she has another great conversation experience that she can share with all her buddies. I guarantee she will!

America?... Where are you?

I grew up in America, the United States. I still live in the place where we roamed the woods and fields freely, never worried about locking doors, learned Christian values and lived by them, and went to sleep each night feeling safe and secure. We made slingshots, bow and arrows, and learned to shoot and respect guns at an early age. We went to school and started each day with the pledge of allegiance and a short Christian devotional that ended with prayer. Teachers commanded and received respect from students just as parents did. There was no uproar when a student was disciplined, parents expected the school to make their children behave.  We didn't have to worry about so called "gays" or " transgenders". If there were any, they kept it secret for they knew that if it got out, somebody would beat the tar out of them, not to injure them badly, just to "straighten " them out.

I lived through the turbulent times of the 1960's.  America staggered a bit with all the civil unrest at the time, but, came out unified once again under the boundaries of common sense and decency.  Then we were plunged into the Vietnam war by a presidential administration that could not give clear cut reason for it. Mistrust in our government and leadership began to appear. People began to dodge the draft by leaving the country or going to jail. Our brave soldiers fought the war without the full backing of the country. Many died and many were wounded taking a piece of land from the Viet Cong, only to walk off and leave it. People never understood this war, yet, men and women across the nation observed the draft and served valiantly out of love and respect for America. Still, most Americans believed and trusted that our president and lawmakers were working to make our country better and stronger.

Through the next fifty or so years we dealt with Presidential scandals, Middle East wars, and terror attacks. All the while, liberalists have slowly become "super" liberal, to the point that an entire generation of people now think that they are "entitled" to an affluent lifestyle without having to work a day in their lives. The ideals of the "American way" that were instilled in me mean nothing to the present generation of people. Many of our leaders are so liberal that they want to give the whole country away it seems.

America? Where are you? It seems that every day we wake up in a new country.  The president gets away with ridiculous executive orders, liberal judges rule against the will of the people, and law enforcement gets crucified every time they do their duty. The idea that a person can lawfully enter a bathroom based on what they "feel" is their gender on a given day is beyond ludicrous! The idea that we should not restrict immigration from Islamic countries is downright foolish. The toleration of a presidential candidate who has been under FBI investigation is mind boggling.

America? Where are you? The "Black Lives Matter" protests are being sensationalized by the media to the point where individuals are purposefully getting arrested so that a buddy can film it and submit it to a tv network. Reporters go on and on about police brutality or misuse of deadly force directed toward persons of color and barely mention that the person injured or killed has a criminal record or is threatening the life of the officer. Do black lives matter?.....well....Duh! All human life matters to anyone with a shred of decency. It is almost a sure bet that a man who works for his living and lives a sober, law abiding life will never have a bad experience with an officer of the law.

I suppose I'm disgusted, disgruntled, or dis-something with the way America is changing. I hoped the country would be an even better place for my kids and grandkids than it was for me....doesn't look that good right now. America? Where are you?

Keepin up with the Grands

Getting old is not for sissies! Your body does not cooperate with your mind in the way it did when you were younger! I still try to do things as I did when I was a young man and feel just fine during the act. It's the after effects that tell me "Yep! You're old!".

Well, even so, there are some perks with age and one of the best is grand children. We have seven grand children at the moment. Two of them live close to us and we see them regularly. The others live hours away and we miss seeing them all the time!

It's funny....when the grands come around, we go into the entertaining mode immediately. We've bought new toys, fresh chalk, crayons, coloring books, play dough, and brought out old stuff that "Nana" saved from our own kids' childhood. Once here, the playing starts and is non-stop until they either leave or reach bed time. I guess that because we know we won't have much time with them, we think we have to make it count!...so, we do! It's exhausting but worth every minute. We wallow around on the floor with them, well, one of us at the time...we learned that one of was needed to help the other get up off the floor! We sing to them and tell them stories, trying to make as many memories as possible in the short time they are with us. Nana, bless her heart, tries her best to get a "good" picture, but, one or more have their eyes shut, or, are looking at something other than the camera...they just don't get it!

Two of my grand sons are teenagers and are in a different world all together. They just sort of grunt a "Hey Papaw" then settle into their world of silence. Iphones with unlimited text plans have almost taken open verbal conversation out of their lives! Even our own daughters and son spend a lot of visit time looking at their phones....thinking about a "no phone" zone at my house!

One of our former pastors talked about his grandchildren at times. He said "The little angels would arrive early in the morning and the little devils left at dark!" We knew he was joking and he, like us, wanted to have his grand children with him as much as possible.

We are about to pack up and go to one of my daughter's house to keep our 2 and 3 year old grand daughters for a couple of days. Pray for us...they are a busy pair and get into everything!  Still, we look forward to it with great anticipation. We'll play with them, sing songs, rock them, feed them, and love them to death. Nana will once again try for that illusive "good" picture, and we'll make memories as we spend our time keeping up with the grands!

Scratching my head!

I consider myself a fairly sensible man. I know what's right and what's wrong most of the time. I would  think that there are others who cater to the same lines of thought. This being said, I'm " scratchin " my head over some recent events.

In the first place, what judge with good sense would even hear a case involving whether a cake was baked or not?  Is there not enough cases of true crime to keep a judge busy? I mean, come on now. In years past judges refused to hear such nonsense...I'm scratchin my head!

I hear that some type of courage award is to be given to a man named Jenner who now wears women's clothes. Since when did the United States of America consider it courageous to glorify such idiocy?  There are people in this country who have been maimed serving her. There are people who have put their own lives in danger to save others. There are people who have overcome great hardships in service to our country or countrymen, yet, they are somehow undeserving of a courage award, and, second to, of all things, a male nut in a dress....I'm scratchin my head!

What's going on with this Supreme Court ruling that allows a couple of the same gender to call themselves married? Again I ask, don't they have better things to judge than something like this? Oh yes, I had forgotten their ruling on Obamacare! ...which of course, they, the President, and the congress are exempted from. I can see nothing but detriment for our country from both of these rulings. Are you happy to be paying for your own health insurance and for someone else who had rather drive a Cadillac than buy their own? Have you tried to see a doctor lately? In the immortal words of Charlie Brown, " Good grief!"....I 'm scratchin my head!

I turned the TV on this morning and there was the man we call our President lauding the fact that he and his Secretary of State had reached a "deal" with Iran over the development of nuclear weapons there.  Does our President fear Iran? I remember when this nation would demand a cease and desist, and, back it up with the most powerful military in the world.  What's changed? Why should we cower down to a nation that cannot be trusted and wants nothing better than to destroy us? What does our great ally in the Middle East, Israel, think of us now? ....I'm scratchin my head!

I have seen in my lifetime a change in public sentiment from "Work hard to get ahead" to "I 'm entitled to a free ride". Doesn't the constitution say we are entitled to life, liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness, and doesn't a pursuit require a bit of work on our part?.... I 'm scratchin my head!

The list of things that make a sensible man scratch his head goes on and on. I've not commented on the Mexican border situation, nor, the President's redistribution of wealth policies. Frivolous lawsuits are heard every day, I have absolutely no confidence in our President, I don't think our society's morals are what they ought to be, and, I worry that my children and grandchildren will not be able to live their lives with as much freedom as I have enjoyed.

God bless America...I 'll just keep scratchin my head and let Him handle it!

"Settin" out hooks

As teenage boys in the rural south of the 1960's, our pastimes were sports, hunting, fishing, and of course girls! A few of us had an old worn out car or truck, but most had no girlfriend, or if we did, it meant only one date a week...maybe twice if she'd let you come sit with her on Sunday afternoon between church services. Shoot, we couldn't afford more than that anyway..movies were $1.50 a head, burgers for both would nearly be a 5-spot, and if you used the family car, you were expected to replace all the 25 cent per gallon gas that was used, so, there was always some of my friends ready to go with me to set out hooks.

Spring break was a prime time for "settin" the hooks. We had a whole week to fish. I would "make up" 25-30 lines. I'd take a spool of strong nylon twine and cut pieces about 6 feet long. I'd tie a granny knot on one end and then a slip knot on the same end forming a loop. On the other end I'd tie a large hook and then crimp a large piece of lead about 4 inches above the hook.

Once the lines were ready, it was time to gather some bait. A catfish is a bottom feeder and will eat most anything. Preferably the bait needed to be sturdy enough to withstand the constant pecking from the panfish in the creek. Earthworms and catalpa worms are better used after dark because of this and you can bet the hook will be clean the next morning.  My favorite baits were crawfish and " puppy dawgs". "Puppy dawgs" are spotted salamanders indigenous to our area. They are found in the woods under old rotting logs and large tree limbs. It took some effort to find enough of them to bait the hooks for several nights, but it was fun finding them and well worth the effort.

Now with hooks and bait, I'd head over to the creek. Poles could usually be cut along the creek banks unless the hooks were to be set down one of the many cow pastures that existed in those days. Small hardwood saplings were good because they were sturdy and you could usually leave a small fork on the top end which made fastening the line easier. Cane poles were also good, but, required a little more care to fasten the lines so that they wouldn't slip off the end.

To set the pole I would try to select a spot on the bank that would be easy to reach in the dark, then I would stick the butt end of the pole in the bank, pushing down on the pole so that when the ground raised it back a little, the hook would be suspended slightly off the bottom. Depth of the creek didn't matter. If the hole  took all the line, so be it, or if the creek was shallow in a spot, just wrap the line around the end of the pole till it reached the desired depth.

Along about dark, we'd all gather up and head to the creek. Most brought a light, a quilt or sleeping bag to sit on, and something to eat and drink. The first thing to do was clean off a spot and build a small fire. Wieners or smoked sausage links roasted over an open fire were some of the best tasting things in the world! Sometimes we'd make a stew, sometimes we'd just snack on cookies or cakes, whatever we could round up to bring. It was all good and we all shared what we had. We joked about each other's performance in the last ballgame, our parents and friends, and our lives in general. We carried on serious conversations about the Vietnam war and especially the draft. We talked of our dreams and ambitions, all the while making jokes and wisecracks. You learn a lot about your friends sitting around a camp fire where nothing inhibits your thoughts and words. Secrets were unveiled and lifelong friendships were formed.

After we ate, when it had become good dark, we'd run the lines. Generally on the first night we'd catch a lot oh mud cat and eel. They are good eating but the prize catch was channel cat, the big boys of the creek. You could tell by the way the pole acted whether you had a good fish or a small one. If the pole was bouncing or just slapping the water...mud cat or eel. If the pole was being pulled under or pulled down and hung up, you knew you had a good fish...channel cat or maybe a blue, flat head, or spotted cat. We'd take turns at each hook, giving everyone a chance to catch something. We'd run the lines four or five times between dark and about midnight, then we'd gather up our stuff, take care to kill the fire, and then walk out, usually with a good mess of fish. Sometimes we caught nothing at all! It didn't matter, we were young and strong, full of hope and ambition, and on the verge of being completely on our own.

If you can read between the lines, setting the hooks was a viable reason for us to get out from under our parents for a while. Jimmy, Bobby, Festus, Lip, Chub, Joe, Chunk, Wesley, Bob and Rocky (brothers), and Moose are some of the guys whose company I enjoyed on these fishing trips. Some were drafted and went to Vietnam. Joe gave his life there. Others chose the military as a career, some made accountants, some farmers, some business men, and a couple made school teachers. Those of us who are left are older now. We don't see each other as often, but, we'll always remember the good times we had "settin" out those hooks!

It is what it is

We couldn't put a finger on it. Something wasn't quite right with our grandson. He was born five weeks early but healthy. He did have a bad case of jaundice, but, so do many babies, and there is seldom any lasting effect. Having raised four children of our own and from our careers as public school teachers, my wife and I had been exposed to all sorts of behavioral, social, and mental disorders in children, and as we held him in our arms we just knew. His eyes never became fixed on anything, especially us! He didn't gurgle and coo as most babies do, nor did he often cry.

As he began to sit on his own and crawl, it seemed that he was oblivious to anything around him except for the one thing his little mind was focused on. Perhaps he could not hear? Tests showed his hearing was fine. "Oh well, he's just taking his time about talking." we thought. Finally he began to speak, well, sort of..he still would not respond if you called his name. It seemed that he just ignored your presence. You could put your hand on him and he would push it away, as if he didn't wish to be bothered. After a while he might get up and come give you a hug...just "out of the blue".

It became apparent early on that he was very smart. He taught himself to read by watching children's educational television shows. He absorbed information like a sponge absorbs water. He might suddenly walk up say something incredibly technical about some topic he had read or heard on TV. He became fascinated with Thomas the Train and could name every engine. Later on, Angry Bird and action figures took precedent. Again, he could name each one and even began to write his own stories about them, including crude illustrations. Still, it was very apparent that he would rather play alone, rather than with someone. Social interaction escapes him. He takes everything said to him literally. Picking at him is impossible.

Suddenly, we realized that he had always been aware when we spoke to him. He just had the ability to stay focused on whatever he was doing and hear every word said to him at the same time. It just never occurred to him to acknowledge our presence and our attempts to interact with him. He doesn't like loud noises or music. If you whistle or sing around him, he will say "Stop!". There was no doubt he was a bit different.

We all worried about him starting school. With our public school background, we understood how the system could help a child through various programs, but, at the time we still were not sure what or if anything was wrong. We had no objection when my daughter placed him in a small private academy. Kindergarten year went by with some problems. Soon after beginning his first grade year, he began to get in trouble because of "unusual " behaviors in the classroom. He acted as he did at home. His teacher could get little or no response from him. He would get up out of his seat and walk around, play alone on the playground, and just seem bored and uninterested in anything to do with school. Things began to mount, then one morning just prior to the Thanksgiving holidays of his second grade year, the principal of the school met my daughter at her car as she was about to drop him off. He informed her that the school board had met and decided that my grandson was such a problem that he could no longer attend school there. This devastated her. The next week she enrolled him in the public school...the best thing that could have happened to him.

My wife and the special education director had worked together and were great friends, so, she called her and informed her of our grandson's unusual characteristics. This gracious lady put her at ease telling her not to worry, they would figure out how to best serve him. Soon after enrollment, he was tested and the results pointed toward a condition called Asperger's Syndrome. On the other hand, they also indicated that he was a gifted child!  Finally...we had a direction. Appointments with psychologists confirmed that we had a child with Asperger's.

Now it all made sense. After studying about his condition, we realized that he did in fact love us all, he was not purposely ignoring us, he heard everything that was said to him, and he was super smart! We now know that Asperger's children must be taught social skills. Making eye contact is very difficult for them...again this has to be taught. Socially they may come across as arrogant, obnoxious, even disrespectful. They find any sort of change in routine or surrounding unsettling and it may cause them to become very agitated. An outburst may occur if a chair is out of place or something new replaces something worn out.

It is what it is. Our grandson is a great kid and we love him dearly. He will have Asperger's Syndrome all his life. He is now in fourth grade and doing well. He still has trouble with some things, but he is much better in general and we pray that he will grow into a happy and productive adult able to accomplish whatever he desires. God bless all children with Asperger's and their families!

Thanksgiving ....my way of thinking!

It's the season to be thankful and I certainly am. This great country, family and friends, good health, and the good food are primary reasons to be thankful for most people, but along with these, I present the following things for which I am very thankful.

1)  I am thankful that I live out in the sticks. I can often see deer or turkey out back of my house along with a group of resident squirrels that enjoy the hickory nut trees on the edge of the woods. In the springtime the smell of honeysuckle permeates the air with a fragrance like no other, and in the heat of the summer I enjoy working a garden and sitting on the porch late in the evening with my wife ( mostly listening to her account of the day).  Hunting or fishing provides for much entertainment year round, so, I'll take the country living anytime.

2) At my age I am thankful that I still have teeth!...well most of them anyway. I have lost  two or three over the years, each damaged playing football in my youth which contributed to their demise.  Yesterday I chomped down on a bite of hamburger steak with a bone shaving in it and broke another of my enameled jewels...looks like it will have to go as well. I hate it, but, at least so far it doesn't hurt and I still have plenty left!

3) I am thankful for expressions of the south.  Southerners say things to each other that only they can understand. Here are a few examples:
   
     "Bless ye heart!".....an expression of sympathy, love, consideration, exclamation at circumstance
     "Happy as": a) a pig in the sunshine, b) a duck in the water, c) a baby "knawin" on his first chicken
                          bone ( and many more).....blissfulness
     "Like a mule staring at a new gate"....confusion, caution, hesitation
      "A long row to hoe".... A difficult task...time consuming task..etc.
      " treated like a red headed step child"... being ignored or put aside
       "crazy like a fox"....presenting oneself dumber than he really is
      " he's got rabbits in that briar patch"..... He needs a hair cut
      " hotter than a $2 pistol.....reference to a pretty woman; reference to a sports team on a winning
         streak or an individual player performing at a high level
      "even a blind hog will find an acorn once in a while"....encouragement to persevere
       "Old as Methusala".... Description of an elderly person
There are many, many more!

4) I am thankful for SEC football. This season has provided some great games and I really believe it's
the best conference in America.  Certainly the conference winner and possibly a couple more
should play for the national championship this year...trouble is, by the end of the season all the
SEC teams are so beat up from playing each other, it might be difficult to beat a healthy Florida
State or Oregon team who has played a much lighter schedule!

5) I am thankful for the smells of the holidays and the sound of children playing. The aromas of the           different foods cooking and the anticipation of the mouthwatering goodness along with the squeals of laughter coming from children having a good time provide a sense of contentment like none other!

6) I am thankful that I still sleep through the night. I seldom have to get up during the night and I wake up feeling rested and ready to meet the day.

7) I am thankful for new underwear...silly I guess, but true nonetheless! It didn't use to matter much as I was younger but now it's a wonderful feeling to put on a new pair of underwear that fits like it's supposed to fit...feels mighty good!

8) I am thankful for gas logs...a wonderful invention! I know how hard it is to heat a big house with firewood in open fireplaces or inserted wood heaters, and I know how expensive it is to run central heat. With one turn of a knob, I have instant heat, something you can back up to, the unit is thermostatically controlled, and the propane is affordable....a marvelous thing!

9) I am thankful for veterans. These men and women deserve the utmost admiration. My Dad and Uncles along with many others in our area served in World War II and Korea, many my age went to Vietnam, I have a son in law who has been to Afghanistan twice. Their valiant and heroic service has allowed me to live a most blessed life and I am very thankful for what they have done for me. God bless every one of them.

10) I am thankful for love...the love of God who sent His own Son to offer us eternal life, the love of Jesus who offered Himself a living sacrifice for us all, the love of the Holy Spirit who remains within us today to guide us through life, the love of my wife and children and their families...my legacy if you will...that comforts and sustains me, and the love of my Christian brothers and sisters who support and encourage me.

These are just ten things that I am thankful for. Some may seem odd to the reader, and I suppose they are, but, to a man like me, based on my life and experiences, they are truly reasons to be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

A typical day...Busy, busy, busy!

I am astonished at how much there is to do with my time now that I have retired. I honestly don't know how I got it all done while I was working.....guess I just let a lot of stuff go.(no reference to "Frozen" intended!)

Knowing that I have decent remodeling skills, my wife gently demanded that I rework her kitchen cabinets again. Of course I agreed and after a trip or two to the local building materials store for paints and new cabinet hardware, I was ready to begin. By today's standards, we have a small kitchen, but, that thing is full of cabinets that were hand made when I built my house back in the 70's. There are 24 doors and 9 drawers as well as the facings all coated with a dark wood stain.  Over the past two weeks, I have removed, sanded, stain blocked, painted (2 coats), and replaced it all, and I must say...it looks pretty good!

Yesterday, Thinking I was about through and deserving a restful, fiddle around day, I had just settled into my chair when I hear, "We need to replace the contact paper on the shelves...I'm gonna run up to the dollar store and get some...be back in a little."  I'm thinking this won't be too bad, just peel and stick..right?

The old paper comes right out, my wife uses it to cut the new paper then peels back about a foot of the slick paper. It's to be my job to hold one end while she " works" the sticky end into place...trouble is, the lower shelf is 4" off the floor!  Hands and knees and backsides are the only way to go, so, down we go!

If you've never seen two 60+ year old people flopping around on the floor, well, just wait...you'll probably be there someday. We managed to get the shelf covered and then we looked at each other both thinking the same thing...how in the world are we going to get up?  We both unfurl our legs and attempt to rise but we are both tall people and the space in the kitchen floor is tight, so, we knock each other around a little and then I say "time out...one at the time, me first!" I manage to get my knees under me and raise myself up, then I grab her hands and pull her up....flexibility is a fleeting thing for sure!

Today, I was putting the finishing touches on the cabinet doors when my cell phone rings. It is a fellow trustee of our church calling. A new commode was needed in the parsonage and he had it in his truck and he just wondered if I could maybe come down there and put it in.  So here I go down to the church already sore as the devil from the previous day shelf paper extravaganza. Truthfully, putting in a new pot is a one-man job and I was the one man. My friend is a great organizer and facilitator, but, not much on actually doing the work...but...I knew this a forehand so, I begin to take out the old pot.  Invariably, the nuts on the commode bolts will not come off easily, and I wind up on my knees with my head stuck down under the pot for nearly an hour before they finally come off.  I then put the new commode together and set it up  quickly ...no leaks!

While all this is taking place, my wife calls from her cousin's house and says " She's bought a new couch and she's giving me her old one and it's just what I've always wanted... Come get it!"  I tell her what I'm doing and that I'll be on as soon as I can. I'm thinking " What's wrong with the couch we have? I wonder how heavy it is. What will we do with the one we have? How am I going to move it by myself?".  Anyway, I go get the couch, load it in my truck, haul it home, back it up to the front porch steps, wrestle it out onto the porch then through the front door...whew!

Tonight as I write this post, I know tomorrow brings my annual wellness checkup at the doctor's office and probably a stint in Walmart. After that, who knows? In any case, I am very grateful that I am blessed with good health at my age and as happy as a pig in the sunshine to stay... " Busy, busy, busy!

Smoke on the Bottle

Psalm 119: 83: For I am become like a bottle in the smoke, yet do I not forget thy statutes.

In David’s day, most people did not have houses as we know them today. The majority lived in small huts or tents, others lived in mud brick structures in towns or small villages. They were poor folk who didn’t have much. For warmth and for cooking, they would simply build a fire somewhere in the room and since there was no fireplace and chimney to hold the fire, the room would soon fill with smoke. They would build their roofs leaving a small opening in the top so that the smoke could escape, so, I suppose the women would light the fire, then leave the room until most of the smoke had a chance to rise and clear a little. 

Also, water was not readily available to every household. Most all of them had to walk to a well or stream somewhere to get water, so they would make bottles out of goat skins and bring it back to their homes. The best place of safety for these bottles would be to hang them on a nail inside the house or from the rafters someway. Of course, each day the bottle hung in the house, the rising smoke from the fire began to blacken it, even to make it shrivel above the level of what it contained. David lamented that he was like the bottle in the smoke.

God’s people have their trials and tribulations don’t they? Throughout the Bible we can read about Godly men and women who went through terrible trials and tribulations.  Jesus himself tells us in John 16:33...”In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world”. 
  
What are the sources of the smoke in our lives? Many people will tell you that the main source of trouble in their lives is their job. A wise schoolteacher once sent a note home to the parents on the first day of school that read “If you won’t believe everything your child says happens at school, I won’t believe everything that he says happens at home! Being a retired school teacher, I fully understand the significance of this statement! Things happen on every job and the more salary you command or the more you can advance in the workplace, the more responsibility you have…smoke!

Often trials arise from the things that make us comfortable. Many people want the finest houses and all the modern conveniences of today to the point that they will take on more than they can handle. Think about the fire that warmed those people in their huts. Did it not also smoke the bottle and the warmer they kept the house with a fire, the more the bottle blackened. In today’s world, the more comforts we have, the more responsibility we have to take care of them---smoke!

Most of us have children and they certainly should be a comfort to us as they are one of God’s many blessings, but, they often do things or don’t do things that are against the way we tried to teach them…smoke!

Many people are losing their livelihoods because of economic conditions. It is very troubling when a company dissolves or moves to a place where labor is cheaper. People who have devoted their entire careers to a company are left out in the cold…smoke!

Even the church can be a source of smoke to the Christian. Have you ever come to church thinking that all is well, going good, and then the preacher delivers a convicting sermon that sort of bursts your bubble? Maybe you’ve come to church with a warm heart toward your brothers and sisters and then left with a heart blackened by something that happened during church or by what someone said. Perhaps you try to perform a Christian service for someone with your heart in the right place and the person you tried to help takes it the wrong way or seems unappreciative…smoke!

Personal health issues like high blood pressure or diabetes, caring for an elderly parent, sickness in a family, the death of a loved one, abusive relationships, terrorism, war and many other things are ever present contributors to the smoke in our lives.

A question: Does being saved mean that we should not feel the effects of our trials and tribulations? Think again of the water bottle in the hut. Does it feel the effect of the smoke? Of course it does, it turns black, it shrivels up because of the smoke. It is not a single puff that does it but rather a daily bombardment over a long period of time. So it is with us, we feel the hurt and pains of our trials and tribulations, often, to the point that we think they will get the best of us, and they never seem to let up on us. But realize this, although the smoke aggravates and damages the water bottle, it does not destroy it. It would take the flame of the fire itself to do that and the water bottle is kept safely away from the flame. A Christian will most certainly feel the pain of his smoke throughout his life, but the Holy Spirit within us will keep us away from the fires of this world and they will not consume us unless we let them.

Perhaps we feel as David did, a bottle in the smoke. What then can we do to make it through? David said though he felt like a bottle in the smoke, he would not forget God’s statutes. The smoke could harm the outside of the bottle, but, it had no power over what was on the inside. Could this be our source of strength and comfort in the face of trials and tribulations? Most people think of statutes as laws, the ten commandments, and we will do well to remember them in the face of adversity, but if you think about it, isn’t everything God says a statute? The Bible is God’s word and it is absolutely true, so, shouldn’t we remember His promises also as statutes? This seems to me the only logical way to withstand the smoke in our lives, remember His promise to those of us who believe. Jesus said “Let not your hearts be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3) Jesus is going to return for us. He promised! Well, “when?“ do we say. No man knows the answer to this, so, what are we to do in the mean time? Jesus says “If ye love me, keep my commandments and I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever“(John 14:15-16) “ Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28) In the mean time, we are to keep Jesus’ commandments, i.e., love God with all our hearts and souls and love each other, the second causing all the other commandments to fall into place. If we do this, Jesus promises another Comforter, the Holy Spirit will reside inside us forever.

Although we all have smoke in our lives from various sources, as believers we all have one thing in common, that steadfast faith that God will not desert us. We must hold tightly to our faith even when we cannot understand why the God that we love allows things to happen to us His children. The promise that Jesus will return for us is our comfort, our strength is the presence of the Comforter-the Holy Spirit-within us, and our peace is the promise that there is a place of rest awaiting those of us who refuse to let the smoke in our lives cause us to forget God‘s statutes.  The future seems uncertain but God’s law and his promises will stand forever. If you feel battle scarred and wounded by life’s trials and tribulations, uncertain about the future, or beaten down by circumstances, remember the example of the bottle in the smoke, blackened and wrinkled on the outside but clean and safe on the inside.

God bless us all!

(adapted from a sermon given by C.H. Spurgeon, March 23, 1856)

"Aww, it don't matter."

"What do you want for supper?" she asked. "Aww..it don't matter." I said. Dang! All I meant was that I loved her and..I appreciated the fact that she was willing to cook for me and...I was trying to let her know that I would eat anything she wanted to fix and..she didn't have to go to a lot of trouble.  It didn't go over with her that way...."Just tell me what you want and I'll fix it!", she exclaims and so, I start making suggestions.

I must admit that first thoughts in response to the question were steak and potatoes, or fish and hush puppies, with pies or cakes and ice cream and such...but..in reality I know better. I like plain food........ham sandwiches....butter beans, peas, cornbread, biscuits, potatoes, greens, or anything out of the freezer..and she can make any of it taste really good.

I have found that "It don't matter" is not a good response for other questions as well.  "Do you like this outfit or this one?"  Best not answer "It don't matter."... even though you mean " you look good in either one.", she reads that answer as you don't like me in either.  "Do you want to go out or stay at home?" ....to her "It don't matter." automatically means stay at home. You get the idea.

Communication in any relationship is very important and sometimes it requires reading between the lines. Most men like me are not well schooled in this ability. We make our remarks without thinking about feelings. This often gets us into trouble!

I guess it's just a gender thing mostly. When menfolk say "it don't matter", it usually doesn't and they are giving the lady the choice.  Women read it differently apparently.  Make the choice ladies! We're just happy as a baby gnawing on his first chicken bone that you put up with us, so...what do I want for supper?........"Aww....it don't matter!".

Teach Your Children

My wife and I have been watching the TV series Once Upon a Time by Netflix DVD rental. I really like watching TV this way as there are no commercials. I'm spoiled. The show is full of fairy tale characters and it is interesting how the writers have intertwined the characters of the different fairy tales to make a progressing story line on the series.

So far, we've seen Snow White, Prince Charming, the dwarfs, and the evil Queen, Jiminy Cricket,  Pinochio, Rumplestiltskin, Captain Hook, Peter Pan, Belle, Frankenstein, Ariel, Mr. Shmee, Robin Hood, Tinkerbell, and now the Wicked Witch and flying monkeys from Oz.

We are now at the point where we try to guess who the next character introduced into the show will be.  In the current season, the Wicked Witch is the meanie. My wife keeps asking, "Why don't they just throw some water on her and melt her?".  I say, " Maybe they want to bring Dorothy in to do it.". Sure enough, Dorothy shows up, dashes water on the Wicked Witch and melts her down! (Doesn't put an end to her though, guess she plays the evil too good).

I don't think today's kids know nursery rhymes and fairy tales very well. Whatever they do know comes from an iPad or computer and that's sad to me.  They have heard of some of the characters, but, they don't know the stories very well, so, I'm afraid that eventually, this method of parent to children interaction will be lost, along with part of the way parents communicate to their children that they want them to grow up to be "good" rather than "evil".  The TV programs and computer games that they watch and play make the difference between good and evil a bit of a gray area. I mean, from what I've seen, the hero/ heroine contributes about as much to the violence and mayhem as the villain!

I realize that the world changes with every generation,  but, that change is controlled to a great extent by the people living in that time, and if the difference between good and evil is a gray area, what will life be like?  Teach your kids the difference! Take them to church, talk to them, let them know you want them to be good people, tell them fairy tales and nursery rhymes...be a parent!  They will love it and you will too!

"Smart" Cars and DTV

Last February, we bought a 2013 Ford Taurus and we really like it. The car is a six cylinder with power everything and it provides us with a quiet, comfortable ride. From the outside, the car is easy on the eye, but appears as normal as any other machine of its type. That's where the normality ends. The car has no ignition switch or key! It's a "smart" car. It comes with a keyless remote that allows you to unlock and open the doors simply by walking up and pulling the door handle. You don't have to ever take the remote out of your pocket or purse...I like that. Once you enter the car, the steering wheel telescopes out and the seat adjusts to where it was the last time you rode...when you turn the engine off, the steering wheel telescopes down and the seat moves all the way back..that's good...makes it easy for us old codgers to get in and out. To crank the engine you mash the brake pedal and press a button...the thing fires right up. It has bluetooth technology, dual zone heating and cooling, GPS, radio and CD player, and many other buttons and whistles that I have yet to discover. Everything is accessible through a touch screen or buttons on the steering wheel. It's an amazing machine! Wait..it is a machine isn't it? One day shortly after we got it my wife got out of the car and left her remote on the seat. The car immediately started blasting the anti-theft horn...how did it know to do that? Does it have a mind of its own? Twice now I have found the car sitting in my garage with both front windows down and the doors unlocked...I don't like that! We always lock the car at night, so I know neither of us just forgot and left it that way. What's going on with this thing? Imagine taking a trip somewhere and leaving the car in a busy parking lot, locked when you left it, but wide open when you got back! Shortly after it happened the first time, I asked the manager of the service department at the local dealership if he knew why this might happen. He had no clue about it...said he'd never heard about it before. I just shrugged it off as a freak occurrence that would probably never happen again, but then, it did! Now I'm really scratching my head, so, when all else fails, read the instructions! I pull out the manual (about 3 inches thick) and start searching for the reason that my car would do this. No luck there, so, I do the modern day thing....Google! It turns out that my car along with many other late models from all companies have a feature on the remote that not even the salesmen nor the mechanics know about. If you press and hold the unlock button on  the remote for about 5 seconds, the doors will unlock and both front windows will come down! I carry my remote in my pocket all the time and apparently the button was being pressed by some other item in my pocket long enough for this to happen. Mystery solved...maybe...or is this "smart" car just trying to aggravate me? Hmmm! I know it couldn't happen, but what if that thing decided one day to crank itself up and drive off somewhere? Sure hope it tells me where it's going before it leaves! Naaa...it couldn't do that...could it?

We now watch digital TV via microwave technology. This is supposed to be quite an improvement over the old analog TV which received the radio waves. I really can't tell any difference between digital and non-digital broadcasts, they look the same to these old eyes. I agree that the picture is sharper and clearer, but I'm not convinced that it is because of the microwave signal..might be that TV sets are just made a lot better. *shrug* What I don't like about it is that if the wind blows just right or there's a cloud in the sky, you have no picture or sound at all! With the old system, there would be a picture, maybe fuzzy but watchable, and sound, either the actual program or frying. At least you knew the set was working properly. Now you get a silent dark screen with a message "No signal or weak signal" and that's it!, or the screen freezes right in the middle of what you are trying to watch. It drives a person nuts!

Technology challenged? As fast as new things come out, who's not at least a little bit challenged? We try to keep up, but, change is a slow process for us. My kids tell us all the time that we need new and updated stuff. Why? Our old stuff still works..I don't have to watch movies on my phone! I still use the old fashioned dial a number and talk to someone approach. I don't need a text plan....shoot...I don't text much! Facetime is great, I can see my grandkids regularly, but, I lived 55 or so years without it and made it all right. It's a wonderful, fascinating techno world that we live in, but hey, I know how to live without it and still be happy.

If you see a car moving down the road with no one driving it, it'll probably be mine taking a trip without me! If you do, just don't try to out"smart" it!

God bless us all!

What I think about...

Grand children.....one of the best perks of growing older.  I enjoy their company immensely and  I want them to enjoy being with us as well. Our pastor encourages us to pray a fence around our kids and grand kids....I'm sure tryin! I hope that as they get older, they will still want to see us from time to time. God bless them and that's what I think about it.

The idea of entitlement....where is it written that if you are born in the U.S., you are "entitled" to  a free ride in life?  Doesn't  our constitution entitle us to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Focus on the word "pursuit"! In my mind it means to chase something, which in turn implys action. The idea that a man can be or have whatever he wants in America as long as he's willing to work for it (pursuit of happiness) seems to have been replaced by the idea of entitlement. I despise the fact that I must give such a large percentage of my hard earned money to the government each year, knowing that it is used in part to fund these entitlement programs. Corruption is rampant. People who are perfectly able to work and be productive are taking advantage of the system. How else could a person drive a Cadillac and purchase groceries with food stamps? It doesn't seem right to me...and that's what I think about it.

Obamacare.....scares me to death!  I have read parts of the original bill that I don't like at all. The full impact of this monster has not fell upon us yet. I believe it was designed to force hard working, honest people to foot the bill....another exertion of government control over the people. In time, healthcare as we know it will be no more. Look at countries that have government controlled healthcare systems. Ask their people if they like it...they despise it! People who are in great pain must wait weeks or months for minor surgeries that would alleviate their problems. In my own experience, I have paid out of pocket over $3000 more since the healthcare law has taken effect than I would have paid last year. Why?....Obamacare forced my insurance carrier to raise the out of pocket expense per person from $2500 to $6500! Thanks a lot Mr. President!

I worry for people my age and older. Healthcare for us will be sparse if the law is not changed or repealed. Of course our illustrious congressmen, senators, and president along with their staff are exempt, so, no worries for them. I cannot understand how a so called president was able to force such  a burdensome and unpopular law on the people. It needs to be done away with...and that's what I think about it.

Strange coffee and grits....it is said that variety is the spice of life, but c'mon now! Since I am now retired, I get "sent" to the grocery store a good bit. I get to the aisle with grits or coffee on the shelf and I'm supposed to buy a certain flavor. Why does there have to be 40 different flavors of grits and 75 different flavors of "strange" coffee?  Plain grits and plain coffee would make my shopping experience much easier.....that's what I think about it.

Gun control....another effort in futility. Recent random acts of violence have escalated the talk of gun control. Throughout the ages, there have been acts of violence whether calculated, premeditated, or random in which many precious and innocent lives have been lost. Whether it be with a club, sword, bow, or an AK-47, the act is heinous. How can it be prevented is a question like why is water wet! Taking away a man's guns is certainly not the answer. I understand why some people think that the average citizen does not need an assault rifle, but at the same time, this is America where we are guaranteed the right to bear arms, and, if a man is willing to work and pay for a rifle to possess legally, then by Granny, he ought to be able to have it. That's what I think about it.

Marriage....an institution ordained by God between a man and a woman. Call me a bigot, call me biased, call me whatever, but honestly, the thought of two men or two women interacting as more than just friends is repulsive to me. The mutual love and respect found in a marriage nourish and sustain peace, contentment, and fulfillment. Liberalistic views of today's culture condone and promote the so called "same sex marriage". As the Ol boy would say, "They ain't no such thang!". That's what I think about it.