I smell a rat

I went for a walk in our park and saw this Cadillac Escalade with a cow catcher on the front.  Now you don’t see that every day!  Soooo let’s ponder why this person has a cow catcher on their Cadillac.  First of all, do you think a man or woman owns the Cadillac? There could be many reasons why they have a cow catcher on their Cadillac.  Maybe some very good reasons.  I noticed it had Montana license plates. Now that even stimulates my thinking more.  Let your speculations rip! Saturday question—Do you ever speculate about other folks’ actions? Soooo you ever wonder about your own actions?

You might have been taught by someone to never point a finger at another. “When you do,” they said, “three of your own fingers point back at you.” OneSmartPerson, who can hold serve, said-- “We judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their behavior.” Aren’t we something else?  Crazy we are. And some are crazier than others, for sure. I wonder who is the craziest person you know.  It could be me. Yikes. And I don’t even know it.  But surely not you. haha  Sometimes it’s hard to smell the rat! As the story goes, JoeBlow was told in law school—If after three weeks of classes, if you don’t know who the class jerk is, it’s you!

I read in the paper soooo it must be right that sitting is the new smoking.  Boy do we sit a lot in our world.  Maybe we should so something when we sit (i.e. like exercise while talking on the phone—multi task).  What do you think? That is what I thought.  A high energy friend said this about an injury—If you sit and do nuttin the injury takes forever to get better; it’s just like life, it just deteriorates from there.  Think about that folks. Even if it’s hard and unpleasant you got to keep moving.  If you don’t, well, usually it’s not good.  But another friend told me about a lady that she helps who is about 100 who has been sedentary all her life; she just sits.  Huh, interesting. Rookie, our 9-year-old grandson, said after being asked how his leg was after hurting it on our family hike climbing on the rocks at Thanksgiving—My sprained ankle gets better faster when I’m enjoying myself: I heal faster! Our other grandson told  his mom this week--I'm worried Mom, usually by this time there are gifts under the tree for me and there are none! These guys just make me laugh. 

There is an old Yiddish proverb that says—“Man plans. God laughs.” That makes me laugh as I have made soooo many plans that didn’t work out like I planned.  How about you?  Some things went just the opposite.  Way different than what I planned.  BUT I still think it’s good to have a plan (i.e. plan to go in the right direction and stay on track).  But that is my opinion, not everyone agrees with me as many folks have no plans about anything; they just wander through life and then die and even then, they don’t have an exit plan for eternity.  Ouchy ouchy! TheFriendFromNorthOfTown, who is a channel flipper, says--But many have big trucks to haul their stuff around!

I met a 50-year old couple on a vista on one of my favorite trails up 'er in 'em mountains this week.  They had three children with the youngest in college and also had on grandchild--did you get married at 15--no she said, at 19.  ANYWAY, they told me they just moved here to the Valley for him to take a new job.  He said he was a manager of company and had a lot of responsibility which created a lot of stress but also paid a lot of money.  His wife told him that he probably will have a heart attach.  He took a different job in management with a different company at a lesser pay but still very good (i.e. I would listen to her tooooo as she was one sweet woman). Sooooo do you like your new job.  Sooooooo much!  Here I'm hiking on a weekday afternoon with my wife.  I asked his wife--is he different--way sooooo, he is much happier and more enjoyable.  Soooooo maybe it's not all about the money for everyone!  

I was leaving pickleball the other morning and soooo was another guy.  I hear that you and I have something in common—what’s that—I hear that your wife passed on as well as mine—yes, last Christmas.  He told me his story and some of his emotions.  He is maybe 60 and retired at 50 and he said his wife and him had their live together all planned out. She had longevity in her family, and he didn’t soooooo they prepared accordingly but it didn’t work out that way. He is hurting pretty bad.  I asked him if he was a believer—sometimes; it has really been hard.  I smell a rat! We decided to get together and talk more.

I smell a rat!  RickyRick agrees with me or I agree with him, either way. ANYWAY he says--You don’t get wisdom from television. You don’t get it from the Internet. You don’t get it from magazines. Wisdom comes from God. The Bible says, “A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash” (Proverbs 15:14 NLT). Soooo it appears that trash is the rat!

Our park has this naivety scene up by the activity center.  They tell me that it's been up there for many years.  I like it and others must toooooo.  PastorJohn said Sunday that Washington will not have a naivety scene this year--they couldn't find three wise men.

Saturday question—How do you know when something happens to you if it’s good or bad?  As the story goes, a farmer finally saved enough money to buy a horse to help him make life easier on the farm. The horse ran away. His friends came to console him. He said—Maybe it’s bad and maybe it’s good!  The horse came back with 20 wild horses.  His friends came and congratulated him about his good fortune.  He said—Maybe it’s good and maybe it’s bad. His son was training one of the wild horses and broke his leg really bad.  His friends came to console him.  He said—Maybe it’s bad and maybe it’s good.  War broke out and all young men had to go to war, but his son was not wanted and most of them died.  His friend came and was happy for him. He said—Maybe it was good and maybe it is bad!

It appears that many folks have an agenda shown by their talk and their actions.  Sometimes it’s a good agenda and sometimes not soooo good. AverageJoe, who has deep pockets, says—There is a sucker born every minute. Have you ever been the sucker? I think all of us have already. Abraham Lincoln said—You can fool all the people some of the time, some of the people all the time but you can fool all the people all the time.  I say—If you and I can smell a rat, others can tooooo; we ain’t that smart that only we can smell the rat. I was talking to a friend the other day about an activity we do. Part of our talking was about a couple of other folks that participate toooo.  We both noticed something about both of them.  Soooooo folks if my friend and I can notice that characteristic in them than others can toooo. We ain’t that smart (i.e. he is a lot smarter than me though)!  Saturday question—The characteristic we saw in the two other folks, was it a good one or not soooo good?  What do you think?

In the fine print of every prospectus for an investment product is found some version of these words: “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.” Everyone who reads that disclaimer knows what the warning actually means: Just because this investment made money in the past does not mean it will make money in the future. You think the economy will continue to fly high?  EconomistPete says--It won’t, it never has in the past anyway soooo why will it in the future.  Sooooo don’t be surprised when it doesn’t do soooo well.  It isn’t if, it’s when.  There is a rat, and some folks seem to smell it and others don’t.

When in CO for Thanksgiving, I slept in the basement with Buggy’s Guinee Pigs.  We got along great.  We seemed to understand each other.  But I did think I smelt a rat!  Actually they aren’t really related to  rats. Guinea pigs are rodents, more closely related to chinchillas than to rats or mice. They are the domesticated counterparts of wild guinea pigs from South America. Thanks to their docile nature and low-maintenance upkeep, guinea pigs can be great pets for kids. I call Buggy’s pets pigs.  She really takes good care of them; does a very good job.  I still thought I smelt a rat!

LuckieEddie says—It’s hard to change “what you are use tooooo!” Oh, soooo true LuckieEddie, soooo true.  “What we are use tooooo” becomes our normal until we make something else “what we are use toooo” and then that is our normal. But we have to do it a few times to make it feel like our normal; at first it feels strange (e.g. like changing our eating habits or changing our way of life or changing our thinking or reading the newspaper digitally). Sometimes I’m forced to change and don’t like it until I get used to it and then think nuttin about it.  I’m really something else.

I read in the paper soooo it must be right that the artificial intelligence (AI) market could reach more than $190 billion by 2025 and grow more than 30% a year and it’s just one part of a broader disruptive trend in process automation that includes “co-bots” working alongside humans.  I smell a rat folks!  I read in the paper soooo it must be right that the U.S. Army is testing a new type of night-vision goggles that give soldiers the ability to see in absolute darkness, even the ability to see through walls using cutting edge camera technology (i.e. looking for the rat!). But with all our technology, we still don’t have the ability to see into the human soul and read the inner workings of the heart and mind (i.e. finding the rat; what could that rat be). Rats! Scotty, anyone can be a Scott, says--By way of analogy: suppose you went to your doctor for a routine physical. Suppose that before you saw the doctor, a nurse came into the room with a large syringe and needle. “Wait a second!” you might exclaim. “I don’t need that. I’m not sick!” No one wants a cure for a sickness they don’t believe they have.

SusieQ, who seems to be leaking oil, said to me—erv, maybe you just need to step back and not fight it.  It maybe just ain’t worth it; sometimes there are some strategies when you sit down and count the cost, you may find out that the war just isn’t worth it (i.e. you need to sit in the back and keep your mouth shut or just plain exit).  I recently have been taught a very good lesson AGAIN!  I have learned it before but forgot it seems.  Actually, three lessons and all related (i.e. it was a heavy duty application).  Yikes!  They are all related to the same problem I have about myself.  I got really humbled AGAIN! I have my tail between my legs for sure.  BUT I think I will be a better person; I really do.  Until I forget AGAIN and get cocky AGAIN! SlimySlim says—I feel sorry for you erv, I don’t have that problem because I have such a huge massive ego that it never gets affected; I’m very fortunate that I am soooo great! erv, the key is to become more egotistical. SlimySlim, I read this that you might want to think about--God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble James 4:6.

I don’t know everything. I wish I did, but I can’t even get away with pretending to know everything. Too many folks have made it painfully clear that I don’t. But over the years, I have become more and more comfortable admitting that and listening to others.  While eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it, I read what Tony Dungy wrote—A need to be “the expert” about something rarely impresses others and can actually hinder your own growth.  Always be in the process of learning. Seek the counsel of others. Listen to their experiences. Feel free to say, “I don’t know—enlighten me.” And let them fuel your growth.

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

erv

MyFriendJean said—Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.