It's Saturday: it all depends

Disclaimer—Don’t take yourself soooo serious and don’t take me soooo serious. Take my jocular remarks just as that (i.e. don’t get all bent out of shape). Let us just have some fun. I’m not important and maybe you aren’t as important as you think you are. Just maybe. But maybe you are. JoeBlow said--I had a lesson recently about this, but I don’t know if I learned anything! I’m still thinking through it! I’m a slow learner! AverageJoe says— erv, what you say is just a bunch of hogwash; go and jump in the lake!

Early last Saturday, when in CO, I went for a 3-mile hike/run on Mt. Falcon. It was a misty morning (i.e. my kind of morning). I totally enjoyed it. GeorgeTheCrook says—erv, you have a screw lose (i.e. you are goofy). LuckyEddie says—Last Saturday morning I got up late and went to Casey’s and got a Bismarck and a glazed donut which I nerfed down (i.e. I totally enjoyed them); then I went back to my recliner and took a nap! Heather, our daughter, also got up early Saturday morning and ran 10 miles with one of her running friends. Some of you might think she is even crazier than her dad!

Soooo what is important to you? What is funny to you? Can what is important or what is funny to me be different to you? A friend said to me—erv, what is “nothing” to you is very important to someone else. Why is that do you think? Could it be because of confidence, current environment, parents, education, ego, good experiences, bad experiences, etc.? I have no idea but we are all different alright. Soooo folks it all depends how we relate to a situation I guess. ItchieBitchie says—It’s my way or the highway; I don’t roll with the punch very well!

CharlieMuck (i.e. whose brain is slower than his tongue) asks--What are you fighting today—It all depends—depends on what—depends what surfaces first that affects my attitude; it’s usually about love or money or the love of money a.k.a. the giant sloth. It said in the paper, soooo it must be right, that scientists have uncovered fossilized evidence of humans attacking giant sloths 11,700 years ago. And those folks thought they had problems! We still have giant sloths (i.e. maybe even bigger and more vicious) to battle but maybe just a little different kind of giant sloth.

" 'A part of all I earn is mine to keep.' Say it in the morning. Say it at noon. Say it at night. Say it each hour of every day. Say it to yourself until the words stand out like letters of fire across the sky." - The Richest Man in Babylon WorldClassLarry says—The wise do not learn from their mistakes but from other folks’ mistakes! Bingo!

How does the following fit you? It depends. As Seth Godin, an author, entrepreneur and blogger, observed, "The campus you spent four years on 30 years ago makes very little contribution to the job you are going to do. Here is what matters: The way you approach your work. What have you built? What have you led? How do you make decisions?... How do you act when no one is looking? You are not your resume. You are the trail you have left behind, the people you have influenced, the work you have done." I think he is saying—What is your track record? Or do we just wear a big cowboy hat but own no cattle? Have you ever bought some piece of clothes a little tight and said—I will lose a little weight and it will be fine. You never do and then just give it away as it’s uncomfortable. Quite different when I was a kid. Most of my clothes came from my cousins when they out grew them. If Chester and Anna bought me something new, it was two sizes tooooo big soooo I could grow into them. They all looked that way tooooo!!!! Most of those clothes I wore out before they fit me. Such is life.

A friend told me the other day that she got a new job. She really wanted a different job but they couldn’t afford her. The place had a master contract where the pay was based on education and experience. She had 10 years of experience. They could only afford a 0 to 2-year experienced person. It appears that some jobs it really doesn’t make any difference if you have more experience or more education but other jobs it does (e.g. a master electrician or some production line employee). Sooooo it all depends.

I am thinking of two particular folks who are both my friends (i.e. it could be some of you toooo but these two came to my mind first). These folks are very confident and have very good qualities and use their talents. Along with being very talented and they have such good attitudes. They are basically kind, humble folks. They have good hearts and are real folks (i.e. my kind of folks). ANYWAY, are they always this way? It depends I guess. I told a friend recently that she is a meek person (i.e. that is a great compliment). I read this in the paper soooo it must be right—Meekness is the foundation of spirituality. In the new religions, there is no place for meekness. The very word is a negative. The meek do not inherit the earth. The world belongs to the strident, the self-righteous and the powerful. What do you think of that? That is what I thought.

I’m going to try an experiment (i.e. something different—I get bored easily). I have no idea how it will turn out. It all depends. We went and did a new thing Saturday in CO. We went to a brewery (i.e. you say what’s new about that). It was called The New Terrain Brewery on the edge of Golden. It overlooks the mountains probably where they got their name. North Table Mountain has a lot of bike and hiking/running trails soooo the brewery caters to all the CO outdoor enthusiasts. But they don’t serve food (i.e. that is the new thing). What they do is have food trucks come in and serve the food (i.e. different trucks with different foods different week-ends). It’s a yuppie thing in CO and the folks really buy into it along with their dogs (i.e. a lot of dogs it seems in CO). Sooooo would this work in IA? Ok, here is my experiment—My report is my opinion; I have asked James and Heather (i.e. in their 40s a.k.a. genXers to tell you about the same visit—it’s like listening to the news on FOX and CBS). It will be interesting how they report about the brewery.

Heather’s version--There are over 300 breweries in Colorado. Small little breweries are everywhere. They are becoming “the thing to do” and the place to be. It’s about the scene and trying new beer. Sometimes they have some pretty unique tastings- think cilantro lime and coffee chocolate stout. They offer outside patios and attract families and hipsters. Popular spot for day drinking and a meeting place after outside adventurers-biking and running groups. People like the casual atmosphere. They aren’t restaurants so you can bring your own food, order pizza delivery, or visit the rotating food truck on site. The community tables lend to socializing with new people. What is there to not like?

Talk about the difference in how ages see and do things. Driving back from CO (i.e. I drove it straight through and got home a 3:30 a.m.—totally enjoyed the drive) I noticed all the cows and new calves in CO and NE (i.e. I enjoy that--uplifting). I asked my friend, “TheMTcowboy” if the calving is pretty much done—yes, except for some cows that didn’t settle the first time they were in heat soooo they got breed the second go around. He said it’s now branding time. The ranchers get together and have a cowboy branding party (i.e. probably tell some stories and drink some beverage I would guess). ANYWAY. I asked him who decides who does what—it’s just an unspoken rule that the teenagers and guys in their 20s do the wrangling, roping, bull dogging of the calves, the next age bracket do the branding, the next age bracket do the castrating, the next age bracket give the shots and the next age bracket point their fingers and tell others what to do. ha ha Soooo to answer the question—it all depends!

I stopped by Kearney, NB on the way home. I had my Bobby Jones cap on. The clerk at the register asked me if I was Bobby Jones—no no—Is he a basketball star—no no—who is he—he is a deceased golfer who I respect—that is neat; I have never heard of him. I could have told her I was Bobby Jones and made up a great story about myself. MissPerfect (i.e. who is a real buzzard gizzard) says—Soooo it depends if folks are telling you the truth or just making up a story; everything folks tell you isn’t always the truth; a lot of those stories are based on how old the folks are who is telling them (i.e. they just think they are the truth). ha ha! When I was around Rookie (i.e. age 5), I asked him if he was telling me the truth or was it a lie. Rookie said—I’m telling you the truth this time! What a hoot!

I think a lot of stuff affects me that I don’t really understand how it affects me. Does that make any sense to you? Even if I don’t recognize certain things, I think they alter me (e.g. constant stress, seeing Arlene deteriorate, tiredness, comparing, etc.--those negative things are way beyond my understanding--flip the pancake, many of you folks are soooo kind to me in many ways; that is the other side of the equation). I really think respites help me to be a better caregiver to Arlene. They might even be good for Arlene. They might even save my life (i.e. respites are about listening to God). WorldClassLarry says--Change is painful. Few people have the courage to seek out change. Most people won’t change until the pain of where they are exceeds the pain of change. Ouchy ouchy!

My ex-business partner of 34 years passed this week. We never had words in being business partners for those 34 years (i.e. but I think he did tell me to be quiet a few times when he was hitting his drive and putting ha ha). Amazing isn’t it. We talked many times why our partnership worked and others don’t. We think that the basic reason was that we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savor and tried to pattern our morals and values after His example. Mike would then always say—We are soooo fortunate to have such good wives. The outfit Mike is wearing in the pic is his burial outfit. He really enjoyed playing golf. He played more rounds than anyone I know.

PastorJohn said at Mike's funeral that we should continue to support Diane and the family weeks after the funeral in many ways. He said a note is sooooo appreciative. We got this note Friday from some real good folks with good hearts; my kind of folks. How do you think it made us feel? That is what I thought.