waiting

Novelist Robertson Davies says—"To ask an author...if his work is autobiographical is like asking a spider where he buys his thread. No author ever weaves words from someone else’s being. They are always his words, reflecting his soul.” Yikes, am I reflecting my soul even if I don’t know it in this “It’s Saturday? I didn’t know I was exposing my soul!

Take a break—like take a hike—wait a little while before deciding, like an hour, like a day or a week or a month; it ain’t going to make a difference. LuckieEddie, who is world class, says--But our culture tells us to make the decision now.  Waiting is hard.  But think about taking a break (i.e. take a hike). For most of us it’s not part of our DNA. It is certainly not embraced by society.  They would most likely label us as recluses or as displaying anti-social behavior.  Instead of pulling away, taking some time, getting some rest, society says charge on, full speed ahead. I have done it both ways; how about you?  Which way works best for you?  That is what I thought.

I was just waiting around picking my nose!  A friend who is a good pickleball player was my partner the other day in a game.  In one of the rallies, he must of hit 9 consecutive shots.  He said to me—It was good of you to just stay out of my way! I responded--I didn’t want to trip you!  He is a good guy with a good heart, my kind of guy.  What a hoot! Here is a fool proof tip for pickleballers—If you want to win more, get a better partner!

Some of my days are “na, not today” days. Sometimes I have a “today-day” and some days I have “not today-day" day. Sometimes I walk the razor edge and sometimes I walk the sidewalk.  How do I decide?  Sometimes I just don’t feel like it.  You ever feel like you don’t want to do it today. RalphWaldo Emerson says—"Be not the slave of your past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.” TomSmart says—YaBut, there are some days when everything works perfect and on others, not soooooo much.

My grandpa Nicklaus seemed old to me, and I think he was.  He had a huge massive garden and would each fall dig it all up using a 4-tine garden fork.  I always thought it sure took a lot of time and effort.  He didn’t seem to mind.  I’m starting to think he enjoyed doing it; it was a time of quietness and rest.  A cousin of mine told me that he remembers him coming to their farm as a kid (i.e. he remembered him as old toooo) with probably that same 4-tine garden fork and dug in the quack grass patches digging out the roots.  There was no spray back then and quack grass was hard to kill.  I guess it didn’t take any time away from his lake home, motorcycle, boat, seeing his 86 grandkids play soccer, watchin’ the NFL or his golf game.  haha

MyAllTimeFavoriteBill, who is in our Tuesday foursome and is 87 years old, says--I have been retired more years that I worked.  My worry is that I might live toooo long! He hit one of his very few bad shots and said to me--erv, I said a bad word and meant ever bit of it.  

In “Richard II,” William Shakespeare wrote, “O, call back yesterday, bid time return.”  Do you ever wish you could turn back time? I don’t know if I do, my parents, Chester and Anna, and all the folks before us had to work very hard and really didn’t have it that good.  Now it seems that all over the country folks can’t buy vacation houses fast enough and for crazy prices.  It seems everyone has a big screen TV, a new car and a cell phone. Most of Americans are obese; have a problem of eating toooo much. FastFreddie asks-- Where does it end in the amount that we want? “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”--Winston Churchill. Now there is a contrast for sure! Looks like a wait and see situation. One person says one thing and another person says another. 

I got the mail the other day and got this advertisement just like everyone else did.  There were two senor ladies also getting their mail (i.e. like about 75).  I asked them why many of the gals seem to put their hand on their hips when getting their pictures taken—they are posing—but why do they do it—they think it makes them look better—do you gals do it—yes, and if we don’t like it we ask for a retaken; we have standards; social media has brought this on—will you show me how you do it—sure.  I told them that I was impressed. What a hoot. We all had a good laugh.

There are “can’t-miss opportunities” and “opportunities that don’t have a prayer” it seems!  The story is told of a man who was caught stealing in a far-off kingdom.  As he was brought before the king, he was informed that the penalty for stealing is death.  Despite the stress of the inevitable, the man seemed relatively calm.  He knew what the king had a beloved prized horse that was treated like a member of the family.  And the thief planned on playing a hunch.  When the man was brought before the king to be judged and sent to his execution, the thief asked if he could say a few words.  The king agreed. “Your Majesty, I know you have a wonderful horse.  If you will give me one year to work with him, I will teach your horse to talk. If I am successful, you will spare my life.” The king thought over the man’s offer for a moment and the king agreed. On the way out of the king’s chamber, one of the man’s friends said “Are you crazy? You can’t teach the horse to talk! You’ll be dead in a year.” To which the temporarily reprieved man replied, “You may be right. But you know what? A lot can happen in a year. I may die of natural causes, the king may die, or…the horse may talk.”

Do we ever sit around waiting for the perfect time?  I do that sometimes.  I have excuses. They are good excuses, and they are legitimate excuses. Yes they are but no one really cares about my excuses, absolutely no one.  Sooo I have to be stronger than my excuses.  And that is hard. Sooooo enough is enough, I pruned my grapefruit tree in front of my place.  I gave it a skeleton pruning.  Pretty ugly, huh.  It will come back, hopefully better than it was before.  MyNeighborKarl use to say—erv, you can’t prune them harsh enough; they will come back; ya got to prune them sooo you can throw a cat through them.  The Bible says this about pruning—(Jesus) I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

How do you pick the right time? MyNeighborKarl said—When the saw is sharp is the best time to prune!  Our neighbor growing up a mile and fourth south of Roseland, MN went to the university and got a degree in agriculture.  He would not plant his corn until the soil temperature was a certain degree.  In MN that was almost the 4^th of July while others’ corn was up and growing.  My Daddy, Chester, could never understand him as his crop was always bad.  My Daddy, Chester, taught me that the timing in saving isn’t soooo critical but the attitude to save is very important (i.e. do it consistently and often).  A friend here in the park taught personal finances to high school kids.  The first lesson of each year was teaching the rule of 72 (i.e. divide 72 by the interest rate which will tell you how many years the money will double).  Kids were just amazed by that.  He had no idea if any of them saved. RudyJoke gives more financial advice--Never buy insurance from a Christian Insurance Company as they think everything is an act of God!

Sooo I was walking in the park the other morning and went past Doreeeen and Gordy’s place—I said to Gordy—what are you going to do today Gordy —not a damn thing—you got the life—ain’t that the way it is supposed to be?  Gordy is just waiting around until the Gonger gongs I guess (i.e. just killing time).

Eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it I read what Dr.J says—"Whistleblowers from social media companies are warning us that these sites use algorithms that ‘weaponize human nature,’ by promoting content that makes us angry or disgusted. That fires us up, and we spend more time obsessing over the posts. Our outrage spills over into politics, and we’re ready to “cancel” anyone with whom we disagree. Please be careful! Avoid the outrage and don’t give in to harsh words or angry outbursts. Proverbs 29:11 says, ‘Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.’ We should model humility and not retaliation. Outrage and outbursts seldom have a good outcome in any situation.”  I think Dr.J knows what he is talking about.  “Kindness makes a person attractive. If you want to win the world, melt it, do not hammer it.”—OneSmartPerson.

Wait a second buddy!  Just wait a second.  Are you facing the truth or are you not?  I always don’t like to face the truth, but the truth is what sets me free.  Sounds crazy?  Until I face the truth, I’m a hopeless case.  If I continue to live in the make belief, well, life will probably not change but if I face reality and face the truth, positive change can happen. Well, hello there! Anybody home! Well, strike up the band! Have you ever thought of yourself as a living advertisement (i.e. a walking, living billboard)?

Wait now, let me see! I read in the paper soooo it must be right that a guy from NY called 911 two days in a row as he got lost hiking up ‘er in ‘em Superstition Mountains. I guess he didn’t learn that you have to stay on the trail. Where have I been and where am I going? Have I been down this trail before? Is it a good or bad trail that I'm on? Have I been going uphill, or have I been going downhill? Have I been planting seeds or always thinking of the harvest (i.e. stuff for me)? Have I accomplished stuff during being on this trail?  Do I really want to accomplish anything?  Is my trial all about me or others or what?  And the trail will continue.  Soooo put on your hiking shoes and let’s get going! But stay on the trail for Pete's sake. Such is life.

Is it just crazy or is it just miraculous? Soooo one of my old buddies from years back, who now is 80 years old, called me up and invited me to play golf in our old-time group. He told me his wife died and he is remarried. I asked him how that went. He said I knew this lady for 25 years and I had a condo when a pipe broke so I asked her if I could stay one night. She said I could. I never moved out!

Around the first of April many of the snowbirds head back north (i.e. it's like the Robin migration). They say our park with be about to 30%.  I have no idea if the time in the south has changed them; maybe and maybe not.  Probably when they get home they will be the same and probably not much has changed there as well.  Just back to the regular life they are use toooooo.  BUT a change is stimulating to folks, my opinion. What do you think?  That is what I thought.

Did you know that it's Biblical to come to Phoenix for the winter?  Oh ya!.  Acts 27:12 says--Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there.  

Don’t forget folks, sometimes if we wait and are patient, the miraculous happens in time like the horse may talk! 

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

erv

MyFriendJean said--Live a life of gratitude, giving thanks in all circumstances.

objectives

Disclaimer—Almost everything I say in this “It’s Saturday” will be misunderstood by you folks.  You folks all think differently. No question.  All have different opinions and thoughts which are formed by your past environment and your current environment and your genetics. No question! The only way I can stop from being misunderstood is not to say anything.  Sooooo don’t take anything I say tooooo serious.  Especially if you are a radical!!!! haha Saturday question—Do radicals know they are radical?

The great psychologist Carl Jung says this: “Everything that irritates us about others is a window into ourselves.”  Holy smokes, if Carl is correct, many of you have a lot of issues as you are irritated about others a lot.  You might say—Carl is utterly ridiculous; he has no idea what he is saying!  If you think that, well then, you are good or you really have a problem!  Or both! We will never know now will we.

Our future, well, that’s another story all of its own. I don’t know if we can really fathom it.  Really! The pastor at the church I attend here in the Valley used this to end his sermon--He asked folks to take their watch off and get the keys out of their pockets.  The watch indicates time that at some point will end (i.e. we will all die from this earth; it is for sure and it’s unpredictable).  Our keys, in many cases are to the maybe the most prized possessions we own and some day we won’t need the keys anymore; they will have no meaning to us as we no longer might have the possessions.  Soooooo in the meantime, we should think about using our time and our possessions (i.e. all just loaned to us) to the best that we can for others (i.e. nuttin but net). Pretty good advice I thought.  What do you think?  That is what I thought. But you might interpret it differently! haha

I really enjoy road runners that are here in the desert (i.e. out in no man's land).  They just make me laugh (i.e. probably enhanced from the cartoon character as well).  I mentioned it to a friend (i.e.who has a megawatt attitude), and she bought one for me for a yard ordainment (i.e. pretty special).  A great memory for sure. I was fastening it to the ground as the wind would blow it over when a senor lady walked by and said—Does that sucker want to run away?  I said—He’s a runner alright! We both laughed. Oh, my friend named him, Rusty The Roadrunner.  

I have to admit that I don’t understand prayer very well; it’s way beyond me (i.e. His understanding I cannot fathom). BUT I must admit that I believe in prayer and pray.  I think it’s soooo important.  Saturday question—Have you experience the power of prayer? I am sure that many of you have. Duke University’s divinity and medical schools even did a joint study a few years ago to assess how a patient’s health, in conjunction with medical treatments and with continued treatment, was affected for a patient who believed in God and prayed for, as opposed to a patient who didn’t claim to have faith in God or a consistent prayer life.  Sure enough, the patients who prayed or were prayed for had better outcomes. That rings my bell! JoeBlow, who seems to run deadhead a lot, says—Ya, I pray when I get in a pinch otherwise not soooo much; I’m pretty much a greedy person and think mostly about myself. And when I pray, I only pray for myself like God bless me!  

ItchieBitchie says—I am not bitchie, I’m really not and surely not a prick like from a Cohoe cactus of the Senora Desert. That’s your opinion ItchieBitchie. What is the opinion that others have of you? Missperfect says—We all think of you differently ItchieBitchie. Oh ya! Oscar Wild says--Some people cause happiness where ever they go; others when ever they go!

Sooooo what are your objectives in life?  I think about this stuff. Do you? A person recently referred to a deceased neighbor as a grumpy old fart who was never happy.  Maybe he lived out his objective in life.  I met a 90-year old woman recently who was as sweet as pie.  She tooooo might be living her objective. I don’t know.  If I write down my objectives and read them back but if am not doing them, then I need to make a change in my life maybe. Do I say one thing but do another?  Where does ervie spend his time and money and what does he think about?  That will tell ervie something I guess. AverageJoe says--It seems like it’s a story I’ve seen before.

You could be a “X factor.” I read this while eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it—Doyle Royal said—“Act like you been there before.”  Meaning, don’t act crazy.  Act with class and poise. Sure, you can be excited but within reason and be classy. Enjoy the excitement of the moment. BUT it seems like TV shows the folks who go crazy (i.e. soooo if folks want to be on TV, they act crazy).  But there are folks who win the lottery that don’t seem very excited—Just another day!  They go home and hoe the garden.  I was introduced to a high-level Canadian government leader by a golf buddy who is his neighbor.  He was described to me as being an AverageJoe (i.e. very unassuming and common—no crown or anything—a regular down to earth type of guy).  He was.  He was much like talking to my neighbor in Butler County. Pretty impressive to me.  I guess we all have different objectives in life. 

Do you believe Winston Churchill as what he said?  His opinion and your opinion might be different. For sure!  Like I say--None of us think the same.  We are all different and some folks "way different" it appears compared to others.  Seems like they are way out in right field compared to us.  Such is life.

LuckyEddie says—"You cannot spend day after day in the world without it affecting your mind and soul and heart. It doesn’t take long to become disoriented to the ways of God.” Also, if we spend a lot of time thinking about whatever objectives we have for our life, it will affect us (e.g. how I can help others).” WildWilly says--It appears what we think about the most will affect our lives both short term and long term. Bingo!  Soooo don’t act surprised that you act the way you do; you have been thinking that way for a long time (i.e. either good or bad).  It’s not rocket science. MyFriendsFromEly said—What you think is what you’ll be!  I think they said that; those guys from Northern MN (i.e. iron ore country folks) are hard to understand; they have been hit in the head by hockey pucks a few times and have no real front teeth!

I really think we learn a lot more when we figure it out for ourselves; folks can preach to me, but it makes more sense when I touch the burner and find out that it’s hot for myself.  My parents gave me a lot of responsibility early in my life (i.e. I had to make the decisions).  I learned from my experiences and sometimes suffered the consequences and sometimes reaped the rewards.  I really like the Socratic method of teaching.  Actually, Socratics got much of the credit for this method, but Jesus was really the first and best teacher of this method.  This is my favorite story of Jesus doing it.  The rich young Pharisee who knew the Jewish law extremely well and thought he kept all the laws (i.e. actually 613 of them).  He asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life.  He asked this to praise himself in how great he thought he was (i.e. he thought he kept all 613 laws).  Jesus said—Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.  Soooo he asked Jesus—Who is my neighbor expecting Jesus to give him a short list of folks; again he asked with the idea of praising himself as to how great he thought he was. Jesus told him a parable (i.e. earthly story with a heavenly meaning). It was of the story of the good Smartian.  Short version—A guy was robbed on the trail and left to die. A priest came by but left him there. A Levite came by and passed on the other side. A Smartian came by and took care of him and saved his life.  Jesus asked him who was the good neighbor.  The Pharisee answered--it was the good guy who helped him (i.e. now that is sticking the landing). My Daddy, Chester, would say—erv, you got to ask questions and the right questions; it’s the easiest and best way to learn. Edward Hodnett, who wrote “The Art of Problem Solving: How to Improve Your Methods,” pointed out that “if you don’t ask the right questions, you don’t get the right answers. A question asked in the right way often points to its own answer.  WorldClassLarry says--Asking questions is the ABC of diagnosis. Only the inquiring mind solves problems.”

I buy some groceries from this store that has this sticker at their check outs.  It always gets my attention.  I really think they try to do what they say.  I do.  Maybe we should all have that sticker on our foreheads, no, maybe on the back of our hands soooo we can see it and are constantly reminded.  What do you think? That is what I thought.  Romans 15:2 says--Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.

A friend and I were having a conversation and he said something to me at the end of one of his sentences that was short but it expressed his inner self (i.e. it seemed to me). We were among others and we had no conversation about it.  He knew he said it, I think, and he knew I heard it I think and I think he knew that I understood what he meant.  It was profound and revealing; I never heard him say something like this before (i.e. he seemed to expose himself to me). BUT did I understand him correctly!  I think sooooo! 

To prove my point of being misunderstood--I said to a female friend recently—You look nice today.  She said—Are you saying that other days I don’t look nice! Was she kidding or was she serious?  I really don’t know.  But I think I know but what good is that!  Ouchy ouchy! TheMI-Engineer says--erv, indeed, you don't get it!

“You know what I mean” is an expression that some folks use.  When folks say that to a friend, he says to them—no, I don’t know what you mean, please tell me.  Why do folks think we know what they mean? We don’t; we can’t figure out their minds.  SusieQ, who is a grown woman, says—That is just a statement they say when they don’t know what they mean (i.e. an escape goat).  Soooooo next time someone says to you—you know what I mean—tell them you don’t know what they mean soooo please tell me what you mean.  You might be surprised what they say!  They might not even know themselves!  

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

erv

MyFriendJean said—Life isn’t about waiting for the showers to pass. It is about learning to dance in the rain.

fantastical

John Key, the 38th prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016, said--"You get out of life what you put into it.  I think you need a bit of luck, but you also make a bit of luck."

This is why I buy newspapers—To get the good, accurate, toooo the point, and information that is new and stimulating.  Maybe this “It’s Saturday” is much like the newspaper heading.  Maybe I just hedge soooo I make everyone feel good (i.e. very wishie washie).  Remember, you get what you pay for.  Sooooo I got a letter form the Waterloo Courier saying my digital subscription is going up from $13 a month to $19.  Soooo I called them and told them it was toooo much—well, we can keep it at $13—is that your lowest price; I get the Arizona Republic digital subscription for 6 months for $1—let me check—I can give it to you for $8.  Fantastical! Everything is a game it seems. 

How is your life JoeEverything, who is a colorful old coot whose therapist says he has HIC (i.e. “he is crazy”)—Fantastical, but it could be better. As the story goes, a very wealthy man was being interviewed by a reporter. Toward the close of the meeting, the reporter looked at the billionaire industrial magnate and boldly asked, “Sir, how much is enough?” With a slight grin, the prominent business leader responded by holding two fingers slightly apart and saying, “Just a little bit more.” That seems to be the motto of our materialistic times: “Just a little bit more.” The world has pretty much tried to condition us to never be satisfied with what we have. Now that is a battle of life for many and maybe all.  Comparison and envy are constantly in our face (i.e. it’s everywhere). SusieQ says—It’s fantastical for capitalism.  BUT, I think capitalism is the best, by far. Look around folks, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. That is unless you don’t want to work and have the government take care of you (i.e. everyone gets rice and beans to eat except the corrupted government leaders). That is my opinion.  BUT I might be wrong, AGAIN!

Many folks won’t make a change until they feel the heat and that many times is pretty late or even toooo late as when we feel the pain of the heat (i.e. the damage is done).  If we see the light before we feel the heat, we are way better off.  Soooo the question is then—how do we see the light? A buddy here in our park just had the fluid behind his eyeball replaced as he couldn’t see very well.  It’s just amazing what they do to fix folks up isn’t it.  Sooooo he got fixed up.  Maybe we need to get fixed up soooo we can see a lot better (i.e. see the light). My opinion is that thinking and meditating and reading good stuff and being around good folks can influence me to see more of the light.  I wonder if many times we know what the light is but don’t head the warnings.  It maybe might save a lot of pain.

I had breakfast with a friend down her in the Valley of the Sun.  He had something he wanted to talk to me about.  We had the best conversation.  We talked about what he wanted to talk about. I don’t know if I helped him much (i.e. I think he solved his own problem), but I think he ended up helping me a lot about a situation I have.  Fantastical!  Isn’t that strange how that works sometimes.  Crazy for sure. What a great time we had. He is soooo smart!

Recently I went for a bike ride in a near by 55+ community.  I was just interested in seeing what that park looked like.  It was pretty much double wide mobile homes with not as many rules as some parks as folks seemed to be allowed to have more freedom with what they could have and do to their places.  There was a guy sitting in the sun on his drive having a late afternoon beer soooo I stopped and talked to him.  Found out that about 50% of the population live here full time and prices range somewhere between $120,000 to maybe $250,000. He told me that he was 60 but looked like 50.  He said more folks say that.  He was from MN but also has a house in SD but lives here most of the time because he got tired of the snow and cold. He was a programmer for a large bank and worked from home.  He liked his situation but maybe it was not fantastical.  He said he wasn’t married but has a son.  He said he did something real terrible, real terrible in his past. I am ok but I was not a good person.  I was real fortunate not to lose my job.  I have dated some, but I enjoy my freedom and I find many women do toooo. I said to him when leaving—peace and prosperity to you and he said—the same to you. I got the impression that he was a good guy but made a big mistake.  Ouchy ouchy! Can any of you folks relate to that?

LuckieEddie, who can get in my head, says—"Employees with an above-average attitude toward their work will generate higher customer satisfaction, high productivity, and higher profits. In addition, companies with higher morale (more than 70 percent) outperformed others in the same industries by 11.3 percent.” It’s fantastical! LuckieEddie, I don’t know if those figures are correct, but the reality is probably.  Missperfect, who is considered snooty at times, says—I think you can include family, church, and individuals to that equation.  The question is how do we ramp up the attitude part of the equation?  GeorgeTheCrook says—When you have leadership that has a good attitude it seems to help (i.e. get around good folks). And if there is a bad apple in the barrel it seems to affect the whole barrel of apples (i.e. stay away from rotten apples).  I can testify to those statements. I really have a choice as to who I choose to be around here in the desert.  If I don’t want to get close to a rattle snake, I just go around them. JoeAtomBomb says—Smile at them, wish them the best, and leave them. YaBut RickyRick says--It’s easy to quickly think of five things that other people do to offend you. But can you name five things you do that offend your spouse, friend, or co-worker? If not, then you can always ask them. They’ll be glad to tell you!

I read in the paper soooo it must be right that the folks of the United States seem to be in a “grand funk.” Why, JoeAverage asks. IckieVkckie says--I know ‘cause I live the life.  Many might say—The list of negative stuff is pretty long (i.e. it seems overwhelming at times)! Here are some interesting figures—The pastor at the church I attend here in the Valley said—On a Sunday morning in the U.S. and Canada combined, there are about 100,000,000 folks who attend church.  That is more than all the folks who attend all kinds of sports events in one year in the U.S. and Canada combined.  That is what he said folks.  Sooooo if this soooo called “grand funk” continues or increases, will that number increase? I was at a group men’s study recently where the facilitator said—In order for a person to get better, they have to get to the very low point (i.e. you can give them stuff to help them but it seems like that doesn’t work; they got to learn it themselves—figure it out themselves). That was his opinion. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink. JoeCool says—BUT, it helps to put a little salt in their food!  BUT really, facts from newspapers! If you believe them, I have some great land to sell you in the Florida swamp!

My opinion—Ya got to keep moving; ya got to move 6 days a week and rest the seventh.  Ya just got toooo.  It improves your attitude immensely.  Or you can sit on the couch and eat chips and watch the news; now that will kill ya for sure.  Being in a warmer climate sure adds to the opportunity to be outside and move 6 days a week doing a multiple of activities.  It just does. And it seems to help with everyone’s attitude.  It’s not rocket science folks.  WorldClassLarry says--Exercise based on medical science is the #1 thing that you can do to improve your health and increase your life span.  My opinion—And have a much more enjoyable life.  And you gals can wear more Spandex outfits!

This story came from a smart person, a kind person, a survivor who wasn’t born with a gold spoon in her mouth, a person who knows how to milk the cow and did and is humble a.k.a a great one.   COWS DON’T GIVE MILK  A father used to say to his children when they were young—When you all reach the age of 12 I will tell you the secret of life.  One day when the oldest turned 12, he anxiously asked his father what was the secret of life.  The father replied that he was going to tell him, but that he should not reveal it to his brothers. – The secret of life is this. The cow does not give mile. “What are you saying?” Asked the boy incredulously.—As you hear it son, The cow does not give milk, you have to milk it.  You have to get up at 4 in the morning, go to the field, walk through the coral full of manure, tie the tail, hobble the legs of the cow, sit on the stool, place the bucket and do the work yourself.  This is the secret of life, the cow does not give mile.  You milk her or you don’t get milk.  There is the generation that think that cows GIVE milk.  That things are automatic and free, their mentality is that if “I wish, I ask…I obtain.” They have been accustomed to get whatever they want the easy way...But in life is not a matter of wishing, asking and obtaining. The things that one receives are the effort of what one does.  Happiness is the result of effort. Lack of effort creates frustration.

Here is an analogy about the above smart person.  It’s just like “March Madness,”—“survive and move on”  or “lose and you’re done” a.k.a. just hanging on to win and go forward (i.e. winning never gets old). I have to admit that I sorta kinda feel like a “Cinderella team” in the final four (i.e. me and my two sisters were/are survivors; not much different than many of you folks).  ANYWAY, I was on a high school basketball team that went to the MN State Tournament many years ago (i.e. back then it was just one class—a really big deal for little Danube High). I never was in a hotel before and ate very few meals in a restaurant (i.e. I was a little ol’ farm boy from a mile and quarter south of Roseland, MN who probably shot more hoops at the basket on our farm light pole than I did in a gym.  I literally was the kid who when stepped into Williams Area a.k.a. The Barn on the University of MN campus where the state tournament was played who said—This sure would hold a lot of hay! The pic was on Coach Black's(i.e. a very good man) recent funeral program. Yes that is me. My Mom, Anna, always cut my hair with a hand clippers. Really not bad! 

CoachB says—"It’s not going to work unless you do it! Many people are looking for the easy out. They just want to snooze and lay back and have everything just given to them.  Well, most folks who have success in most anything, have put a lot of work into it.  It’s not going to work unless you do it.” Missperfect says—Not entirely soooooo Coach B, I inherited a pile of money and I’m lazy and my sister married money and she hasn’t worked a day in her life (i.e. and let me tell you, she sure has a lot of clothes plus a new car)! CoachB says--Soooo get up and go get your destiny.

ItchieBitchie says—I just love it when everything goes my way (i.e. when I grab the bull by the horns and take charge).  It’s fantastical.  BUT when things don’t go my way, well, that is another story.  I have experienced both! “Incidents and events that make no sense at all now will one day make perfect sense—if not in this life, then in heaven.”—Oneperson’sopinionwhoIagreewith! Let that sizzle in your spirit! Soooo suck it up cupcake and lets get going!

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

erv

MyFriendJean said--A person's heart plans their course, But the Lord directs their steps.

good and bad company

An Apache proverb found in the Superstition Mts along the Apache Trail is this—A danger foreseen is half-avoided.

Disclaimer:  Remember folks, when you get something free, you can't complain about it. And this "It's Saturday" is free! Besides, most complaining doesn't seem to get folks much anyway. CryBabyJoe says--I complain to my mom and she gives me what I want (i.e. food and a clean diaper). . 

George Washington said—It’s better to be alone than in bad company.  How in the world can we discern who is bad company and who is good company?  SusieQ says--I pretty much end up being like the folks I’m around. WorldClassLarry says—I can and you can toooo figure that out in no time; it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out but first of all we have to decide who we are and most folks have a hard time doing that.  If we don’t know who we are, we become like the folks we are around. 

A friend told me this funny story (i.e. maybe it wasn’t soooo funny to his mother)—His parents wintered in the south for maybe 10 years.  His dad was a great guy and was also very handy (i.e. could fix about anything).  His mother was telling my friend on the phone one day that she was really unhappy with him.  He would go for walks and the widow ladies would approach him (i.e. butter him up) and ask him if he could fix their problems in their houses.  He was kind and always would do them.  She didn’t like that; she though he spent way tooooo much time with those ladies!!!!!

MyNeighborAcrossTheStreet told me that he used to know almost everyone in the park (i.e. about 1,500 folks when it’s full) but not anymore. In the last several years, about 60% of the folks have changed. In the little town I live in, Aplington with a population of about 1,000 deep in Butler Co., I think that percentage is about the same or maybe even more. I have had multiple folks encourage me to move here in the Valley full time (i.e. I don’t know about that, I really like most of the folks I still know back in IA). GeorgeTheCrook says—erv, there are good and bad folks were ever you go. Yabut I have some pretty special long-time friends back home. Hey listen erv, folks do it all the time.

I recently talked to a gal who is about 90 I would guess.  She seems to be a very nice person as I have ran into her like three times now (i.e. one time she sat next to me in church). ANYWAY, she said to me this last visit that she was married three times.  Her first husband who fathered her children wanted a divorce after 20 years of marriage, the next husband died after 17 years of marriage and the third husband died recently after 18 years of marriage. That is not unusual here in the Valley with older folks.  There are all kinds of lifestyles, living accommodations, relationships, etc. and maybe a lot more that I have any idea about.  You can’t tell what folks’ backgrounds are by just doing activities with them.  I’m just surprised when they tell you some of their backgrounds. That isn’t any different than the folks who live in Butler Co. Many folks do not like to be alone.  My local bank warned its customers in their newsletter--After investment scams, romance scams are the second most profitable types of fraud on social media. More than 33% of people who said they lost money to an online romance scam in 2021 said it began on Facebook or Instagram. Such is life.

I read while eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it—Pain is enviable, but misery is optional. I played golf with a guy who had arteritis pretty bad and was in pain, but he was not miserable; he had a good time. He really had a good attitude. We probably all have had stuff in our past that is painful, but we don’t necessarily have to be miserable.   Maybe that is up to us.  What do you think? That is what I thought.  And guess who gets to make the decision. Such is life.

It’s nice when folks tell each other that they care for each other.  Even if it’s a simple text saying I care about you.  Someone stopped at my house, but I wasn’t home.  They left a message that they care about me (i.e. unique message shown in the pic).  I had to laugh.  I ask folks (i.e. some of you guys) what is a good book to read and I read many of them that you suggest.  I think it’s a way of showing that I care about you. Many folks have different tastes in books for sure. A bookseller conducting a market survey asked a woman, "Which book has helped you most in your life?" The woman replied, "My husband’s checkbook!” Oh for Pete’s sake!

Here is an interesting thinking.  A friend called the other day and one of interesting things we talked about is him doing “iron man competitions,” he’s a real strong guy in soooo many ways.  He is 59 and the competitors are in age brackets of 5 years.  He is in the oldest year of his age bracket which make it hard to compete as he is dealing with folks basically 5 years younger than him.  It doesn’t seem a big deal but the older a person gets, the more noticeable it is.  Every five years can make a huge massive difference in some areas of our lives.  Others not soooo much.  BUT my friend, wait until next year when you will be the youngest in the 60 to death age bracket. You will kick butt for sure (i.e. if that is your objective)—you’ll have the newest and most powerful motor in the group—and ramped up to its peak performance). If you don’t win, it will have to be the equipment!!! haha

Do we ever speak out of both sides of our mouth? I was hiking on one of my favorite trails late in the afternoon up ‘er in ‘em mountains (i.e. just plain beautiful). I met a biker coming down and he stopped to let me through.  We talked.  JoeBike was a 40-year-old rivet supervisor for Boeing. You like your job—it’s monotonous but pays well—is that an electric bike you have—yep, it will go up the mountain trails very well—maybe about a $2,000 bike—you crazy; where have you been; this is an aluminum one and not top of the line but it cost $8,000; sorta kinda in the middle price range; it’s paid for but I drive a 2002 Ford Ranger that is paid for toooo—you must be a good money manager—now I am but when I got out of the Marines I was upside down; had no money management sense. He splattered his conversation with some colorful language that he maybe learned in the Marines and in the factory.  Sooo we ended our conversation and I said to him--peace and prosperity to you.  As I started up the mountain, he hollered—God bless you. I waved back. Then he hollered—Good day my friend. I waved again. Sooooo did our conversation in the mountains give him an opportunity to speak his heart and soul in a non-intimating environment (i.e. we will never see each other again and we were not around any other folks)? I will never know. I don’t need to know.

I have a friend who told me some of his story of good and bad company.  He told me that he had no plans when graduating from high school.  I think he said a relative said if he would move to a different state that he was in, he had a job for him.  He did and did very well for himself.  Sooooo he went on to say that if he would have stayed in his old environment (i.e. bad company) he would have probably drank himself to death and had 6 illegitimate kids.  I think he made the right decision.  But 6 illegitimate kids; he said he had a lot of girlfriends!!!! I can’t imagine the monthly child support bill that would have been. He would of probably became a mountain man and got eaten by a grizzly bear and never seen again. But he would have made the grizzly bear happy!

One of my neighbors here in the park I didn’t know if they were good or bad folks.  The reason was I don’t know them is because I never see them.  I talked to him once in 2 months.  The other day he was out smoking and I was doing a project and we talked again. Then his wife came out and we all talked maybe a half an hour.  Seem to be really nice folks but they did admit that they are very private.  Since then we communicated more and more. They’re good folks. Now isn’t that interesting.  Abraham Lincoln once said: The best way to make a friend of an enemy is to love them. It’s hard to get to know folks if you don’t associate with them. He has some health issues soooo I said I would trim his orange tree for him.  He said—erv, you don’t have toooo.  I know but I want tooooo! He laughed.

I have learned here in Sun Valley that sometimes I’m good company to myself and sometimes I’m bad company to myself.  What I mean about that is—sometimes I think good stuff that stimulates me positively and sometimes I think actually bad stuff that really hurts me.  I was particularly thinking about thinking negative stuff about/against folks.  They don’t know I think this bad stuff of them; I’m the only one that knows my thoughts.  Sooooo I’m really only hurting me, myself and I.  Flip the pancake. If I think good stuff about folks, I’m the only person who knows what those thoughts are also.  Soooo I really get the benefit of that thinking.  Sooooo the conclusion of the matter is, I can be good company to myself or bad company to myself. Like my deceased friend would say to me—erv, decisions have consequences and guess who gets to make the decisions! Saturday question—Can you and I control what we think?

Happenstance, na, I don’t think soooo! Recently, I had breakfast with an old friend who we met here in the Valley starting maybe 8 years ago.  After breakfast at Mickey D's, I stopped at the Wal-Mart in Apache Junction. I parked in the outer back edge of the parking lot.  As I got out there was a cart sitting in the middle of the parking lot.  A guy walked over to it and pushed it to the collection area near me.  I said to him—you are one good guy—he pointed to his cap and said he was from MN—I pointed to my cap and said I was from IA.  He was a retired farmer from SW MN.  We talked and found out we both lost our wives about 2 years ago.  We shared our emotions and feelings as we had a lot in common.  He shared that he had two wives and they both died.  The more we shared the more we had in common and seemed to really like each other (i.e. one common area was that we are both believers).  He shared that when he got married the first time and after about two years, their marriage was not going well.  He realized that a big part of that was due to him being all about himself (i.e. a great humbling self-evaluation).  One night he went up in a bedroom of their old farmhouse and laid on the bed and just cried and asked God to change his life.  God did and he was never the same again. The more we talked the more we seemed to like each other in the parking lot of Wal-Mart in Apache Junction, AZ. Crazy for sure!

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

erv

MyFriendJean said—It’s good to be blessed. It’s better to be a blessing.