Surprise me!

If this "It's Saturday" seems goofy to ya, it's 'cause of the high attitude affecting my brain.  Ya, we are in Morrison, CO at James, Heather, Erin, and little Jimmer.  Our good friends Hank and Becky are with us.

I was running the other morning and met a friend who also runs.  We stopped and talked briefly.  He told me I better get going--why--did you look behind you (i.e. I looked behind me)--he said, the vultures are circling!  A golf buddy told me on the 9th tee box the other day--Comedy always contains a certain amount of truth!  Ouchy ouchy!  Such is life.

College football is starting.  This will be our first year of not going to the Iowa Hawkeye games with Hank and Becky in several years. We have really enjoyed the run.  Things change folks.  I read this headline in the paper (i.e. soooo it must be right).  I wonder if Christianity in America is going the same direction.  What do you think? Are you surprised?

Surprise surprise!  This will be a surprise for some folks!  I read in the paper (i.e. soooo it must be right) that half of Iowa seniors are delaying retirement (i.e. a secured retirement is out of reach at retirement age).  Soooo if folks don't have the funds to retire, they have to keep working or lower their standard of living or both.  50% folks, that seems like a lot.  Sooooo if  you are 65 there aren't toooo many other choices.  If you are 35, you can cut your standard of living 20% and save it soooo you can have a secure retirement.  But you might have to change your attitude and standard of living and most 35 year olds don't seem to want to do that.  Soooooo...!  I read in anther newspaper article (i.e. sooooo it must be right) that Millennials and Generation Ys are largely ignored by financial advisers.  The reason is that they don't want to save and don't have much to save (i.e. can't make much money off of them).  The advisers target the baby boomer who have high net worth (i.e. chase the dogs with the money and the saving attitudes).  It's all about the money folks!  Huh, interesting.

I went to an I-Cub game recently.  I stopped for gas on the way in Bondurdant (i.e. a friend claims it's the cheapest priced gas in the state).  On the door was this sign.  Now $8 an hour would be hard for many of you folks to live on.  Then if  you have to save 20%!!!  I had a couple of extra tickets sooooo I gave them to a couple who I thought maybe could use the good fortunate.  They were very appreciative of them.  During the game, the guy was going to buy a beer from the vendor.  He asked how much--$8.50--He said--I'll pass, thank you!  An onesmartgal told me this--Women lose 11% of their earning power by leaving the workforce for less than a year. When they stay out 3 years or longer, they reduce their earning power by almost 40%. Ouchy ouchy!  Wow!  That can't apply to a $8 job can it!!!

No surprise here folks.  Do you think this is smash talk or garbage talk or is it just comedy or the truth? ItchieBitchie says--As we Silver Surfers know, sometimes we have trouble with our computers.  Yesterday, I had a problem, so I called Georgie, the 11 year old next door, whose bedroom looks like Mission Control, and asked him to come over.  Georgie clicked a couple buttons and solved the problem.  As he was walking away, I called after him, So, what was wrong?  He replied, It was an ID ten T error.  I didn't want appear stupid, An, ID ten T error?  What's that?  In case I need to fix it again.  Georgie grinned.  Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?  No, I replied.  Write it down, he said, and I think you'll figure it out.  So I wrote it down:  ID10T!  I use to like Georgie, the little shithead!

Mikie says--Learning to live below your means is one of the most important habits you can develop.  Work at this key point, and your world will change in many positive ways.  Huh, interesting.  "Every action must be due to one or other of seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reasoning, anger, or appetite."  ~Aristotle~

Are you like your parents as to how you manage your money?  Do you want to be like your parents as to how how they manage/managed their money?  Are your children like you as to how you manage your money? A golf buddy told me that he and his siblings don't manage money the same (i.e. one lives for the immediate--spends more that she makes and others don't).  Why is that do you think?  Is this a surprise to you?  I asked a retired couple how they manage to have a good life in retirement--they said we were savers.  Why were you savers?  We learned it from our parents.  Huh, interesting.  Soooo wonder if your parents were not savers!  ItchieBitchie says--Don't use the government as your mentor folks; the government might act like a big "sugar daddy" but don't count on it folks.  Saturday question--Who is the government?  Ouchy ouchy! Such is life.

Now that was a moving surprise, folks!  I was making coffee in our church for our WHO meeting (i.e. we help others) one morning.  The janitor came in the kitchen and looks in the frig.  That is what I thought he said.  I bought grape juice for communion and started thinking, did I buy grape juice or prune juice!  He bought prune juice.  He said they are right next to each other at the store and the bottles look much alike.  Soooo how long ago was it that you bought the juice I asked--maybe two weeks!  And you thought of it now?  Ya, isn't that something! Surprise!  I guess he didn't getaroundtoit as he didn't get them switched around. We had communion the next Sunday and it was prune juice!  Now that is funny to me.  Cut the guy some slack.  I went down to the story to see what he was talking about.  It was an easy mistake.  Besides, there are folks in our church that need to move a little faster anyway!!!

No whining here!  Quit your whining! I believe  everybody should believe in something; I believe I'll have another drink. That quote is a joke yet it contains several lessons. 1. It displays the attitude that sometimes you need to just relax.  2. Many highly religious sorta kinda folks would frown at the reference to taking a drink but wine has considerable mention in scripture (i.e. some of the Christian denominations are against a drink--As the joke goes, I know some say that in church but drink at the golf course, at football games or at parties as long as no others from their church are around).  3. You maybe assumed the writer is talking about alcoholic drinks. I think I will have a drink of water. 4. You jumped to a conclusion didn'tja!  Gottcha! Surprise!

Surprise!  You might not be as good as you think you are.  Could be folks.  For Whom The Bell Tolls! Self evaluation is very hard.  John Donne (1572-1631), Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII: Nunc Lento Sonitu Dicunt, Morieris: "Perchance he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him; and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that."  I, erv,  think of myself sometimes more important than I am.  I know I do.  I get humbled many many times (i.e. get my head shrunk back to size).  Sometimes I wish I was a jerk (i.e. they never realize that they aren't as important as they are--doesn't ring their bell!).  If you don't know something then you can't be bothered about it (i.e. put your head in the sand or something like that).  Such is life.

She's gotta go!  4 guys from church had breakfast together the other morning (i.e. 2 are super seniors who have seen everything, heard everything and done everything).  One super senior friend told us about his son when he was maybe 6.  He was mad at his mother and said to him--Dad, you should divorce that lady!  Another time he made a sign and put it in the the window--Mother for sale $9,999.99 and their phone #!   My friend also told us that when he was 16, he and three other guys went on a two week trip to major league ball parks (i.e. that was 1950).  They slept in parks and one of their dads sent eggs along and they fried eggs to eat.  Some times they would get a motel room--all showered there and 2 would sleep in the room and 2 in the car.  Folks, this was a major trip in 1950.  What would that cost today?  Would parents let their kids do that today?  I said--I was surprised your parents let you do that.  Looking back, I am toooooo.  What were they thinking! It was a different world folks, different world.

Eternal sensibility. Solomon (i.e. the wisest man who ever lived) wrote that we have an eternal sensibility in us.  Do you believe that?  Solomon said--He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  I agree Solomon, that is hard to fathom (i.e. maybe it's impossible for my pea sized human mind to understand). Eternity could really be a surprise for me--SURPRISE!  Bingo!  But, I'm from Butler County, IA, what do I know!

I recently talked to a friend who was getting gas for his lawnmower.  He said it was his last time mowing--really--ya, we are heading out pulling our camper to NJ and camp there for 2 weeks with a camping club and touring New Your City--wow!, that is quite a trip--ya, we plan to take a week going out stopping and seeing friends and family.  These folks are 77 years old (i.e. been savers I think).  From there they will head to AZ where they own a park model.  He did tell me that they are very fortunate to have the finances and health to do that (i.e. they are good folks with good hearts and realize they have been blessed).  Such is life.

Is this a surprise?  I read in the paper (i.e. soooo it must be right) About 36% of workers have less than $1,000 in savings and investments for retirement--not counting their primary residence or defined pensions.  Wow!  Those 36% probably won't be going to tour New York City for two weeks unless they have have a big "sugar daddy" some where.  I also read in the paper that it will cost $254,340 to raise a baby born in 2013 to age 18.  Wow!  Soooo how do folks do that who have large number of kids.  They have to have a big "sugar daddy" some where.  I talked to a friend on a walk the other night.  This person is retiring soooon and is soooooo happy.  Has determined that they will have enough money to retire (i.e. not rich but have enough they said).  This friend is excited folks.

I was surprised but not really!  One response I received from last Saturday's "It's Saturday" was from a very successful businessman.  He asked if he could put Arlene and I on his prayer list!  This guy is a good, real guy with a good heart (i.e. my kind of person).  But still I was sorta kinda surprised that he would express himself soooo openly!  Now that's a big man (i.e. my opinion)!  I heard a golf announcer say last weekend after Furyk missed a 4 footer--Doesn't matter how good your stroke is if you are aiming it in the wrong direction.  My friend has a great stroke and is aiming it in the right direction (i.e. my opinion)!

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

erv

MyFriendJean says--Better to slip with foot than with the tongue.