Friday, September 21, 2012

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I guess it was just the way the light reflected off the building, but it set the stage for one of the more unusual boxing matches I've ever seen. It was night, and there was one large floodlight that illuminated the front of the chapel in this conference center where we were. There were two teenage guys standing out in front of the chapel. One stood in just the right place to cast a giant shadow of himself on that building. It looked like some monster up against the building. The shadow must have been at least like five times the size of the fellow, and of course you know what the other guy was doing. He was boxing with a giant shadow. It didn't look like he was in his weight class, that's for sure. Well, needless to say, you can never win if you're just boxing with a shadow.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

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There was this plant in my office that had seen some good days and some bad days. It had really seen some pretty bad days for a while, and it looked like it was about to be a memory and there was going to be a little empty spot in the corner of my office. But one of our staff very lovingly took a knife to that plant. That doesn't sound very nice, but the plant was on its last legs and so she went and pruned out some of the dead or dying branches.

Monday, August 27, 2012

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When you hear about the weather on the East Coast, you almost always hear about a place called Cape Hatteras. It's a barrier reef off the coast of North Carolina; it's been called the Graveyard of the Atlantic. And it's probably the storm center of the East Coast. In fact, when you look at the map or hear the weatherman in the morning he'll say, "There's a blizzard off of Cape Hatteras. There's a hurricane off of Cape Hatteras. There's a major storm system off of Cape Hatteras."

Friday, July 27, 2012

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When someone in our house felt overworked or unfairly overloaded, sometimes you'd hear them say, kiddingly I think, "Hey, I thought Lincoln freed the slaves!" Well, actually, I think the members of our family might have been right about all of us. We do need an update on that Emancipation Proclamation. In fact, you might be surprised who the slaves are today, and the slave master. The slaves are nice people, successful people; maybe someone like you.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

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Some years ago, we learned a great way to make our vacation dollars stretch, and that's important these days! We ordered ice water with our meals instead of like Coke or something.

Now you say, "Well, that's no big deal." Yeah, it is. We finally talked our kids into it because the five of us, we figured, could save three or four dollars every time we ate out. And pretty soon you add those up and you've got enough to eat another meal out. We also learned it was a good idea to do that throughout the year. Hey, listen, drinking water is good for you.

Friday, March 2, 2012

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I think I've been on a diet since I was about three days old, and I've become somewhat of an expert at what works and what doesn't work at losing weight...or putting it on.

Frankly, I find it very difficult to lose weight, especially during times when I'm under pressure. Oh, maybe you're one of those people who are terminally thin, and so of course you don't even understand what I'm talking about! But maybe you're the one who does understand about losing weight and gaining it; your thorn in the flesh is your metabolism. Well, when things are calm and normal - status quo - it's a lot easier to maintain your diet disciplines. Then the crunch comes - extra stress - and out comes the crunch of cookies, and chips, and candy, and an attack of the munchies to help you get through the pressure. Pressure gives you this strangely expanded desire to eat. Now, usually, that's a bad response...usually. In some cases, it's actually a good idea.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

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They call it the shark tunnel. Yeah, that has to make you think twice about going in. It's an attraction, if you want to call it an attraction, at some of the aquariums and theme parks in America.

The tourists walk through this tunnel that's surrounded by glass above them and on both sides there's water all around them. And on the other side in that water are huge sharks swimming menacingly in their tank, and occasionally bumping into the glass. I think just about everyone has this primeval fear of sharks. Now I can't speak for everyone, but I do. And suddenly there they were all around me, and I was paying to see them - one wall between me and those monsters! But it made all the difference.

Monday, February 13, 2012

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Have you ever noticed how a baby learns to walk? Yeah, it's the "step, boom" method. Someone comes along and says, "I think it's about time", sets them up on their legs - you know, kind of spaghetti legs - and they take one step, boom. And, of course, they get up again, and the next time it's step, step, boom. And then step, step, step, boom, etc. You know.

Friday, February 10, 2012

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It was one of those 3-H summer days: hazy, hot, and humid. It's not advisable to sweat on those days, because there's really no place to go. You keep running into your own sweat. And you know how it is on those days; you kind of feel "ugh"...you feel like doing nothing. Well, it was one of those days, and a brief storm went through. It was the leading edge of a cold front the weather man said, and the temperature dropped almost 25 degrees in a four-hour period of time. That heavy, muggy, hazy air suddenly cleared out; people started moving around again. I'll tell you, the view all of a sudden was crystal clear; no haze. The atmosphere was refreshing finally. Did you know a person can actually have that affect?

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

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We're pretty avid New York Giants football fans at our house. Don't hold that against us. You know, you can understand it if you follow football at all. We're eager after a long basketball season and a baseball season to see the first games, even when they're exhibition games. Now, when my children were growing up, there was a particular game on one season that we really wanted to see, because it was against a top NFL team.