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I had been scheduled to speak at a winter retreat in Pennsylvania. I lived in New Jersey. It was the kind of thing where I could drive to Well, that day, winter decided it was time to do some serious wintering. We had heavy snow all day long and I knew it was going to be a very exciting drive along Interstate 80 out to Pennsylvania.
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You know, you and I are living in a, well, a pretty adjustable world. I mean, we have adjustable rate mortgages, and I have an adjustable wrench that changes sizes for different jobs. Good thing we have adjustable clothes, because it seems like we have adjustable bodies don't we? We have one size that fits all even . And, of course, negotiations that go on between nations, oh yeah, constantly adjusting their views, and their policies, and their public statements. And then politicians...you get it. As the situation changes, we all seem willing to change almost everything with it-sometimes including the truth.
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A few months earlier it had been "Wild Winter." And then it came into spring, what they called "Soggy Spring" that year - the sequel. Oh yeah, we might have thought that we had seen the last of those mountains of snow. Wrong again. In fact, the weather guys had predicted that all that snow would come floating in melted form down our rivers and streams. And there were the floods again! Listen, I lived a long time in a town who has one claim to fame in national newscasts - major flooding. They made it again that year. It's just a heartache that we knew all too well.
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I'm one of those people with a wall-to-wall schedule I'm afraid. And maybe like you, there's just like no time in there for Murphy's Law - no time for anything to go wrong. Occasionally, Mr. Murphy does visit me.
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If you're a sports spectator, it's the least exciting part of the event. If you're a player, it can really make an important difference. It's called a "time out." Now on TV, a time out is a good excuse for a commercial. Right? But some important things are sorted out during time outs. A coach can give you some perspective on what you're doing right or wrong, some suggestions on how to play better, to improve, to change the play, look at the weaknesses of the other team. You can catch your breath, you can recover, you can regroup. A time out wisely used can actually make a decisive difference in the game... in your game.
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A number of years ago I was driving for a pretty extended trip with my son. And in that relaxed moment I said, "Hey, there's something we need to talk about." He rolled his eyes, "Dad, is this 'the talk'?" Well, he must have read me pretty well. He was right. It was time for "the talk."
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Gross and net. Yeah, that's the words that you can use to describe what you really can use from your paycheck. Gross, of course, is the total amount you get in the paycheck. Then, of course, that's not what you can use, because net is the amount that's left after taxes, right? That's what you've still got in the net. You've never even seen the government's share... and that's what's gross. Well, they call what goes to the government withholding tax. Now, it's not just the government that's in the withholding business. No, you and I are too, and it's gross.
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Now, I haven't seen my son angry very often, but I remember one time. And I think it's safe to say that he was "fit to be tied." See, he had this elaborate race car set that his grandparents had given him, and it was all set up in the basement. Then the cars raced with each other and they did these loops, and went around these curves. He loved that! I mean, he loved this thing. And there were dump trucks that could be loaded and unloaded with gravel, and he had all kinds of lights and sounds, and bells and whistles.
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For years, Haiti's had a special place in the hearts of my wife and myself. We've been there sometimes. My wife went down there on a photography mission. It's always touched our hearts. And when it's in the news, like earthquakes etc. it really gets to us. You know, I remember some years ago when my wife brought back a strange souvenir from her visit. She came home with I guess you'd call it a bacterial souvenir from a mission trip there.
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When you use our kitchen sink, you notice this little contraption attached to the faucet. It's one of those sophisticated water filters. Before the water arrives in your glass or container, it passes through that filter. Now, I don't know about you, but I hate surprises in my water. How about you? I mean, I was amazed the first time that we took that filter off to clean it. Oh, it needed lots of cleaning! It had screened out of our drinking water this layer of dirty stuff. I didn't even want to think about that going into my body. Let's hear it for the filter!
