headwinds

The economy is facing a lot of headwinds.  I like that buzz word! Boy, there sure are a lot of headwinds.  But listen folks, I don’t get paid for my opinions like an attorney does.  My opinions and thoughts are just what most folks don’t pay any attention tooooo.  BUT I was in the top 5 in my class at Roseland elementary, of course there were only 5 in my class. Make sure you take that into consideration when reading this “It’s Saturday.”

There was a gal selling her parents' stuff on a tag sale at their house.  I went to see her stuff and actually bought a couple of things.  She said she had a lot of success selling some stuff on Market Place. The buzz word to sell to the young gals is “mid century modern.”  I never heard of it before.  A friend says the stuff in my house is “mid 70s old.”  Soooooo I think what my friend means is that my stuff is mostly going into the big dumpster someday.  It’s sorta kinda like when I asked the pro what my old golf driver was worth; he said—erv, if you leave it on the driving range, someone might pick it up!

I learned what “bulldozer parents” are on my trip (i.e. a colorful new buzz word). I never heard of that before. Have you?  One of my sub-guides on my trip always said to me—erv, just google it.  Now that was passing the buck. He is soooo smart but wouldn’t always share his knowledge.  I had to pry it out of him (i.e. one tough cookie to get the good information from for sure). My sub-guides said—“Bulldozer parents” are parents who don’t just watch over the child, but he/she/they attempt to remove all obstacles and challenges for the kid even when the kid becomes an adult.  I think these sub-guides wrote google! Soooooo are you a “bulldozer parent” now or were you at one time? SusieQ, who is always a dark horse, says—There is a time when you have to cut the apron strings and let them sink or swim (i.e. let them face the headwinds on their own).  Or maybe not. What do you think?  That is what I thought. I knew a guy who tried to manage his children even from the grave by how he wrote his will.  I don't know how that worked out. 

We make a wish and blow out the candles on the birthday cake. We make a wish and throw a coin in a pool of water.  What do folks mostly wish for do you think?  I would guess money would be high on the list, my opinion.  Pretty shallow wish maybe.  I don’t know.  If gas prices keep going higher, maybe that is a good wish especially if you own one of those big pickups that get 4 miles to a gallon and 2 miles per gallon pulling a big camper that is owned by the bank!  JoeBlow says—That means I will just have to get another credit card to cover my lifestyle.  LuckieEddie asks—Do Americans think the government will just give them more money AGAIN?  ANYWAY, if you could have one wish, what would it be?  The politically correct answer in the Miss America contest is always world peace. GeorgeTheCrook says--Well that ain’t goinga happen.  I say a prayer every morning when I get up during my exercise routine, have done it for years.  I call it my Jericho Prayer as I do it every day as I march around the wall.  haha  What do you think my wish/pray is? Hint, there is a lot of headwinds opposing my wish/prayer.  Saturday question—Is a prayer different than a wish? Some of you have little faith or none (i.e. you may be "showmefolks"). And some of you have a lot of faith like the guy who fall off the roof of a ten-story building and still had a smile on his face when he passed the fifth floor on the way down.  When someone yelled out the window, How are you? he answered, "Okay sooooo far!"

I had my Medicare well care physical this last week.  My doctor told me that little old ladies live the longest and big men live the shortest but there are exceptions.  This is not his philosophy but his experience.  Also, he said—erv, 80 is sorta kinda the magic number when most folks’ health starts to fall apart but there are exceptions.  At 80 there seems to be a lot of headwinds. CadillacJack says—The jury says that there are always exceptions, but the general rule usually holds true to most everything. Again, that is CadillacJack’s opinion or philosophy. DoctorDan said, if I understood him correctly, that it’s really really hard to change mythology to theology.  Saturday question—Where does most of our myths come from anyway? Of course, my neighbor down the street, MissPerfect, who might be seen carrying a microphone around telling folks how great she is, doesn’t think she has any myths, ya right! Just ask her!

AmazingRita says--When we are happy the headwinds never seem as strong.  I have a friend whose motto is “Be Happy.” I have never seen her not happy.  Ok, once maybe when she was unhappy at the plumber, poor guy! RickyRick says—"If you truly want to be happy in life, you’ve got to care about the needs of those around you—and move the focus away from yourself. That’s the starting point for all happiness. Paul looks to Timothy as an example of someone who genuinely cares about others. Philippians 2:20-21 says, ‘There is no one like Timothy for having a real interest in you; everyone else seems to be worrying about his own plans and not those of Jesus Christ’ (TLB). Most people don’t get up in the morning and give their first thought to how someone else is doing. They’re often only concerned about their own problems. And that’s why so many people are unhappy with their lives! Thinking only about yourself eventually leads to misery. If you want to be one of those rare, unselfish, happy people, you need to change your focus.” Aren’t we really something else, at least I am.  I am selfish and self-centered a lot.  Why is that anyway.  Some of you folks are a Top Gun: Maverick. I applaud you.  As TopGunDan said—There will be some surprises when we die and enter eternity as maybe who the Top Guns are.  I went to the movie, Top Gun: Maverick at a neighboring town for a dollar for seniors (i.e. my kind of place).  Hey, a guy has to watch his spending, times are getting tough! I enjoyed the movie.

When Doctor Dan did his talks, he talked about how Paul had many headwinds in many towns when preaching about Jesus, the real God.  Some towns ran him out of town and even threatened to kill him.  But he found encouragement from folks in the next town.  How important is a little encouragement do you think? Some folks in our group were talking about discouragement and encouragement.  They suggested that when we are discouraged with a situation, people, or something, maybe it’s time to pack our bags and move on.  I will put some thought into that.  Yabut, that is what Paul did. He didn't keep kicking a dead horse!

I had the opportunity to be around a Top Gun: Maverick.  I picked his mind.  On Mondays he goes for a ride in his sports convertible and picks up a cup of coffee at a place that coffee is half price on Mondays plus gets his 50% senior discount (i.e. they almost pay him to drink their coffee).  He goes to where the condiments are and puts a hand full of free Stok packets in his pocket (i.e. caffeine enriching shots).  It’s in the same pocket that he keeps his packets of free catchup.  That Stok keeps him on the top of his game a.k.a. razor sharp always.  Now I have an idea why he is soooo darn smart and rich.  Maybe that is why the Turkish folks are sharp as they really like their little cups of expresso Turkish coffee plus 60% of them smoke.  Now that will get them going!

A guy of our traveling group is in charge of a mission organization in India.  He told us that he has traveled to India 60 times. Now that is a wow!  I have no idea how many hours that is in a plane; it’s more than I could handle for sure.  He has learned a lot about the culture of India for sure.  He told us that when they have a meeting and try to put together a deal or form some movement, the Indians will all shake their heads in agreement soooo we think we are in all agreement.  Not soooo! The next day, they do just the opposite and were not in agreement at all.  How come we asked.  They do not like “face to face disagreement."  Soooo we never know what they think (i.e. big headwind).  Hey, I know a guy who when folks keep going on and on (i.e. never get to the point) who just gets up and leaves.  He’s a lot easier to read. And then there are some folks who just agree soooo they can go home (i.e. they are bored to death over some minor discussion that has no impact or importance—like another Turkish old  stone). 

Soooo I was around my traveling group of 19 for 12 days.  Some folks would maybe define themselves as to who they are by their occupation, past occupation or their accomplishments.  That isn’t really who they are.  I wanted to know who they are.  Who are you really?  After 12 days I guess to some degree we found out who we are just by how we act and think and talk. Maybe. I read in John Grisham's new fiction book Sparing Partners--If you want to get to know someone, travel with them.  Sooooo who are you?  Not what your obituary will say how great you were but who are you really? Like Abraham Lincoln said—You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time but you can’t fool all the people all the time.

MyFriendJean was a long-time friend who is deceased.  I stopped and saw her for years, sometimes a couple times a week and sometimes daily.  We became very good friends.  She shared her life with me. I probably know stuff about her and her life that no one else does. Somethings she told me that she never told anyone before she said (i.e. very personal).  I think I know who MyFriendJean was.  She would read and write down sayings for me to use in my blog.  I have hundreds of them.  Neat for sure.

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

erv

MyFriendJean said—The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage.