the best

I saw our Waukee grandkids Saturday.  It’s the best!  Here is some of their best!  Sooooo our son asked 8-year-old Henry, who I call Rookie, what is going on in your head anyway. Henry responded, Dad, it is not that difficult to figure out; there are only three things going on in my head. They are Pokémon, potty jokes and ways I can irritate Charlotte, his sister who I call Charlie. Soooo we are driving to the Noodle Place to pick up our Saturday lunch and Charlie is riding shotgun. I said to her—Charlie, who is 11 years old--Three more years you’ll be driving the car. She says—Grandpa, no I am not going to learn how to drive when I’m 14 but I am going to wait till I’m 15 because I won’t be responsible enough to drive a car and drive Henry around at 14. Oh! We picked up their mac and cheese!

JoeSixPack says—The best deception has an element of truth and an element of lie (e.g. a wolf in sheep’s clothing).  Now that is a great doozy of a deception (i.e. it seems to work). It’s like a good magician needs a distraction to create an illusion. Now you get to discern what you think is the truth and what you think is a lie in this “It’s Saturday!” The lie or the truth might be in the eye of the beholder! I guess it will be different for different folks.  For sure! BUT folks, I’m not trying to deceive you, really! You guys are really something else. haha I couldn’t fool you folks even if I tried; you all are way toooo smart for me!!! I’m just a little ol’ farm boy from a mile and a fourth south of Roseland, MN. 

A friend of a friend’s granddaughter competed in a show (i.e. a performance).  She didn’t win.  She was crushed (i.e. she is just a young kid). MyWiseFriend tried to teach her about winning and losing.  I tell ya what little girl, you are probably not always going to win or be the best all the time, in fact, you are probably going to lose more that you win in the real world.  I’m a great believer in encouraging children or anyone to do their best and don’t put tooooo much emphases on winning (i.e. but I like to win; doesn’t everyone); I think encouragement to do your best is better (i.e. even let them lose is good).  SusieQ says—And for you and me, we need to apply that principle as well. Then at the end of our life we can say—I tried to do the best in everything I did.  I gave it my best shot; it might not be the best compared to others (i.e. I didn’t win the trophy), but it was my best; I feel good about myself. 

You guys are the best!  One quality that many of you have is that you are sooooo real which makes you pretty humble, most of the time haha (e.g. a friend sent me this email this last week--went to my arthritis dr this week after weighing in we went to the room and she checked my hip and shoulder...then asked questions..1st was do I have problems getting my food to my mouth....I said "we just came from the scale...what do you think" she just laughed!).

A friend was telling me recently that he thinks they have a clinical narcissist in their family.  I researched it a little and it’s also called a “narcissistic personality disorder.”  What I read, it can come from a combination of genetics and environment.  It can be adjusted sometimes by therapy but basically incurable. It appears it is a form of mental illness.  I would guess we think we all know folks who have a form of this illness (i.e. some worse than others).  GeorgeTheCrook says—It appears that my wife has it in her family!  Most all of them seem to be that way. Anyway, after 50 years of marriage and trying to fix her, I can’t fix her; she is as arrogant as she ever was.  BUT she doesn’t even know it! Ouchy ouchy! She gets all the breaks!

And Carol said and which I read what she said while eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it—"When Esther “wins” we’re not sure whether to laugh or cry (i.e. celebrate or be concerned).” Winning can change folks and winning puts life in a different perspective for many folks (i.e. like inheriting a lot of money for many folks—it can change them). We all think winning is the cat’s meow.  Maybe it’s a false illusion and can really mess us up. I have said it many times, success can really change folks and very few folks can really handle success (i.e. it gets in their heads and screws them up).  Sometimes success makes folks think they know everything, and many times folks don’t have time for their old friends but now they think they are God almighty themselves (i.e. hang around with a way different crowd and think they are Queen Sheba).  I wonder if I need some “agony of defeat to put life in perspective after I have had the thrill of victory (i.e. that was the saying Jim McKay use to say when opening up the broadcast of The Wide World of Sports—The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat).  Listen folks, probably many of us have had the agony of defeat.  JoeBlow, who does his best when he is not thinking, says—I have a friend that needs some annoy of defeat, their head is pretty darn big right now (i.e. pretty cocky) but I also have a friend who needs some thrill of victory right now as well as they have been beat up pretty bad! 

Wonder if you are the best pickleball player in Butler county (i.e. or even just think you are but maybe you aren’t). You might feel like HighAndMightyBillyBob until you complete against the best in the state or the best in the United States or the best in the world.  Even if you get number one ranking in the world, it usually only lasts a short time as there is always someone better.  ItchieBitchie says—What is even worse is the person who thinks they are HighAndMightyBillyBob but really aren’t that good; they are the only ones who think they are that good.  Ouchy ouchy!

Buggy, our granddaughter called the other night and she was making GrandmaArlene’s chocolate chip cookies (i.e. the best she thinks—all grandkids should think that).  Grandma’s cookies or bars or cakes or whatever are always the best to each grandkid.  They are the best to you and me and that is all that counts. I have said this many times—I had great parents, but they just didn’t live long enough.  Chester and Anna were the best but they died at 56 and 57.  They would have been great grandparents but never experienced the grandkids or the grandkids never experienced them.  Some of you have great grandparents and some of you have no grandparents and some of you had bad experiences with your parents and grandparents.  Life isn’t fair; the only thing that is fair is the Butler County Fair and that is in June.

A wise friend passed this wisdom unto me--“As we discussed, if we can’t challenge the ones we love who will we challenge to seek their own salvation. We can shine the light—the best we can.” CrazyMarvin asked me—erv, what did your friend mean when she said “seek their own salvation?”  I don’t understand that.  Salvation from what; like a hangover? Could be CrazyMarvin, could be! That could be pretty deep for some and maybe you CrazyMarvin.  We all surely don’t understand stuff the same and never will.  That is a certainty. But my friend, it seems like it is a lot easier to challenge the guy on the street in San Francisco instead of anyone we are close to.  We are a whole lot braver as no one knows us and we will probably never see that person again (i.e. sorta kinda like talking to your neighbor’s dog that barks all the time). And yet the folks we are close to are much more important than the folks we don’t know.  BUT, ANYWAY, raise you support money soooo you can go to San Francisco.  haha

And my wise friend said--How we deliver the bread is important toooo. Anyone can deliver the bread, but some deliver it and present it in a much better way than others who deliver it all smashed up in a crunched-up pile (i.e. not very appealing and tempting to look at).  TheWisdomLady says—That’s the same with teaching.  Presentation FastFreddy, presentation (i.e. it’s all in the presentation method). JoeTeacher says—That technique can be taught and improved, but some have a knack for it better than others.  Some even have a subliminal way of doing it.  And some try to force a square peg in a round hole with the attitude of I’m going make it work, you get it (i.e. just hit it harder with a bigger hammer)! That method of presentation doesn’t seem to work very well (i.e. unless you have extreme power over a person and probably that person will probably never like you, like never and will never be convinced by you and only do it because they have toooo and only for a short time).  Ouchy ouchy!

Sooooo the wise friend told me this story about herself.  She got a new phone and was trying to sync it to the Bluetooth in her car.  She just couldn’t get it.  She said to herself—I’m spending way toooo much time trying to figure this out.  There has to be an easier way to get this done (i.e. that is wisdom).  There is always someone who is smarter than we are or have done it many times before or a person who would even enjoy doing it for me (i.e. that is wisdom).  Soooo she stopped by the car dealer where she bought the car and pulled up and this young salesman came out and asked if he could help her and she told him, and he fiddled with it a short time and bingo it was done, and she was happy and she thinks the young salesman was happy too (i.e. that is wisdom in solving a problem and saving a ton of time and frustration).  RalphTheSmartOl’CatSkinner says--There is a lot of ways to skin a cat but tooooo figure out the best and easiest way is wisdom and is also anxiety relief/decompression. TheZinker says. Use your noggin!

David McKay, president and CEO of RBC, Canada’s largest bank, has offered an affirming perspective on work: “Let us recognize that the privilege to work is a gift, that the power to work is a blessing, and that love of work is success.” Think through that folks.  ATTITUDE ATTITUDE ATTITUDE! GallopingGertie asks—What does that tell ya? I don’t get that work thing! I was told that much of the stimulus money goes into folks’ savings account and is not spent.  Wow!  PuppetBoyOtto says--Soooo why work if the government keeps sending me money.  I love it.

Mercy mercy!  RickyRick says--God set up the world with universal principles. One of those principles is that the more you help other people, the more you will succeed and the happier you will be. Happiness doesn’t come from living for yourself (i.e. like DuaneTheWorm who is big on self-glorifying himself). Happiness comes from giving your life away and being merciful.” Proverbs 11:17 says, “A merciful person helps himself, but a cruel person hurts himself” (GW). Now that is some of the best wisdom a person can think about folks (i.e. my opinion). BUT can we do it, that is another question. StabbyStab, who is a diamond in the rough, says—It doesn’t seem very American right now erv.  Well for mercy sakes alive! Great balls of fire! My long-time friend from childhood on, Dean, really liked that Hank Williams song—well, great balls of fire!

Saturday question—What or who is going toooo decide your future? Think about that folks.  Could you decide the future of someone (i.e. maybe by what you said to them or how you act)?  MissPerfect, who has quirks, says--If you think soooo, do right to everyone and in everything.  My Mom, Anna, would say to me—erv, do what is right all the time.  I try but I can't.  I don’t know if she knew how hard that is!  She was quite a lady (i.e. the best), she was, soooooo maybe she did. JoeFromTheOtherSideOfTheTracks says—Being a good person doesn’t mean you fit the life of every person you meet!

It seems like for me the hardest part of many things is getting started.  How about you.  I have this cupboard that I have been meaning to clean out for a month.  It isn’t very big and really doesn’t have that much in it, but I just seem like I don’t get at it.  Huh!  Sooooo many projects or situations, it seems to me, that getting started is the hardest part. And once I get started, I enjoy doing them and they aren’t bad at all.  And the best part, is when I am done.  It feels, oh, soooooo good! I did clean out that cupboard out today!  Holy smokes, what got into me anyway! Maybe it was the left-over lasagna I ate last night!  Could be!

Do you what to be the best you can?  If you don’t want toooo get any better, you don’t have to read this paragraph, just go to check out; you are ready to check out as you are toast, you are done! Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft says—Ultimately the learn it all will always do better than the know it all.  OneSmartPerson says—When you are in the learning mode, you will eventually surpass the person who stops learning.  If you stop learning, your knowledge become stagnate a.k.a. old information and that is just that, old knowledge (i.e. and it is hard on your attitude, for sure)!  LuckieEddie says—No matter how smart you are or think you are, keep learning. Besides, dried out burnt toast (i.e. the know it all) doesn’t taste very good!  Penny says—Whenever you hear words like “should” or “must” from people giving you advice, beware of their words. They are usually reciting old “scripts” that may not apply to you (i.e. wolfs in sheep clothing maybe are the “think they know it alls”).  Just be cautious.  MyNeighborDownTheStreet says—The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive.  The great opportunity is where you are.

JoeBlow in 1832 said—“Falsehood is never so successful as when she baits her hook with truth, and not opinions so fatally mislead us, as those that are not wholly wrong; as no watches so effectually deceive the wearer as those that are sometimes right.”

Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude. Zig Ziglar

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyFriendJean said--It's more pleasant to give than receive...especially medicine and advice.