courageous

BobbyBob says--"Stories not only tell us truth but they can also point us toward living lives that are more true." I think another of my heroes used a lot of stories but folks call them Parables.

We got an invite from some old Butter Co friends. They gave us some options with the invite. One option was for us to “stuff it.” We didn’t take that option nor the option of “stick it in your ear.” We have been friends for about 55 years soooo that is how longtime friends can kid each other. Longtime friends get to know each other pretty good soooo we don’t have to treat each other like we are handling eggs. What a hoot! JoeBlow says—Some folks are pretty touchy a.k.a. fragile alright! A golf buddy asked another golf buddy if he is going to play golf this year—no I’m not as I don’t have my good set of clubs here but just an old set—does it really make any difference! VioletStillwater says if girls would talk to each other that way they would cry or at least not talk to each other ever again! Holly chicken strips!

I pray for opportunities and that I might recognize them and that I have the courage to act on them. A friend tells me that with every opportunity there is risk. I agree. Opportunities have a spectrum and on that spectrum there is always some good and bad.  I like the opportunities that have potential which there is a high percentage of good and low percentage of bad (i.e. those opportunities I seem I enjoy more, like the odds are in my favor but I will take a long shot sometimes). But, I know that there is always some bad with the good soooo I’m not surprised. Nuttin is 100 percent perfect. AI says—A courageous person has the ability to face fear, danger, or adversity with bravery and determination. A courageous person is often willing to take risks and embark on difficult endeavors, despite the potential for negative outcomes. This quality is admired in various contexts, from personal challenges to acts of heroism and leadership. That is what AI says! DoubtingHerman says—I don’t think I’m very courageous!

RickyRick says—"Now, God doesn’t bless you so you can live for yourself and spend everything on yourself. God does not bless selfishness or self-centeredness. But he wants to bless you so you can be a blessing to others.” I believe that. A narcissist is a good example of a self-centered person. A friend was married to such a person, and it didn’t go well; it was a terrible life for her, she told us. I can believe that based on being around folks who I think are narcissists. I don’t care to be around them. I was telling a friend about that I wanted to read a book about narcissism. He factiously said—I don’t want to read such a book as it might turn into an autobiography! hahaha You think all of us are a little self-centered? MissPerfect says--I guess we would have to be pretty courageous to even think about that!

Cinderella land is not the real world (i.e. in life in general, in our business or occupation, in a friendship, in a marriage, etc.). There are going to be speed bumps. Soooo don’t be surprised in fact, expect them. They ain’t nuttin new! We know a senior lady who is divorced who told us she doesn’t ever want to get married again (i.e. I have heard this from many divorced and widows). Sooooo we asked her why. She had two reasons; she doesn’t want to take care of a sick old man (i.e. doesn’t want to be the nurse and the purse) and she has seen tooooo many women get scammed by men in second marriages from experiences in her profession. She has her reasons! I got the impression that she might like to have a relationship with a right man though. But flip the pancake, I know many divorced and widows that want to get married again but can’t find the right man. And I also know senior women who have said a lot of stuff but then fall in love and what they said meant nuttin (i.e. like falling off a cliff)!  Huh, interesting!

AI says--"King David’s life serves as an enduring reminder that true greatness is found not in power or prestige, but in a heart that humbly seeks and serves the divine will." That is why he is a hero of mine. But we have to really be courageous to live a life of humility in our current world’s culture, it appears. But many do it and it appears they are well received much more than the arrogant. (i.e. especially in the long run; in the short run maybe it might appear that arrogant folks win, but maybe not). But I don’t know for sure. I might be arrogant in thinking that! 

Here is a response I got that shows that many young folks need courage to go forward with what is right. I think it’s a big challenge they face in our culture. That is my opinion but it seems that the general public is really starting to wonder.  A Northwestern College friend says--"As for how to get the younger generation to see what is of value, I think it’s by showing love and developing caring relationships with them. There is so much negativity in the world. Positive caring relationships matter! Write on and be the light of Jesus!" ArrogantRudy says—Over my dead body am I going to believe that humility bologna.

He is very courageous. Recently I had a great conversation with an acquaintance, who could be a friend, I think. I asked him how his pickleball is going—not good—what’s the deal—I can’t see out of one eye—that’s not good, what’s going on—I need some work done on it to fix it—well it is good that they can fix it—yes, it is; I had a torn retina in the other eye which was fixed and it went real well, I have confidence that this procedure well go well too. He is very confident, has a great attitude! Soooooo, what if the repair of the retina didn’t go well, I wonder if that would change his attitude. I have a new friend who had a terrible experience with a certain brand of electric car. He will never buy that brand of car again, he said. He has no confidence in them. Success breeds success—that is what Frank Lloyd Wright said and attributed way back to Aristotle. 

Nancy, anybody can be a Nancy, says—"The Sioux people of the northern Great Plains in North America believed the longest distance we journey in life is between our head and our heart. This distance is approximately 18 inches. But sometimes it takes us a lifetime to travel that distance. For example, many people love the familiar song, ‘Jesus Loves Me.’ The words are easy to sing. But why is it hard to believe this truth in our hearts that we are loved?” I think it takes a lot of courage to truly believe that; it appears that many folks just won’t believe that. Maybe because they were never loved or had a bad experience with love, I don’t know. But reality is, God’s love is agape love and that is way a different ball game. BUT, it does take a huge massive amount of courage to believe that, my opinion. We have to get out of the boat!

Recently, another Northwestern College friend called me to talk. His wife has advanced Alzheimer's and is her 24/7 care giver and wanted my advice since I have been through the whole, long process. He is experiencing much of what I had experienced. We talked a common language and experience. I told him in conclusion that he had to be courageous; take one hour at a time, one day at a time and it is very exhausting physically and mentally and spiritually. Later in the day I was with a group of folks who don’t have a spouse or has not been a caregiver for someone who has/had Alzheimer’s’. They thought that they maybe had all the answers; but in reality they had no idea! I can understand that, yes I can; we can’t understand things if we haven’t experienced them, my opinion.

LazyHerman from Yakima said—As a young person I could never see myself getting up early in the morning to workout. Well, I was right about that!  RickyRick says—"Everybody, at some point in their life, has what I call a SODSAT moment, when they say, “Somebody ought to do something about that!” In fact, nothing at all really happens until somebody has that kind of moment.”  Are we courageous to do something for someone who needs help of some kind or are we more the kind of person that sits on the couch, eats chips and does nuttin? AverageJoe says—I think I know both kinds of folks! VioletStillwater says—There are soooo many folks that need encouragement! As the pastor said Sunday, we all have something to groan about and we all groan. Soooo let’s all groan together.  Soooo he had all of us do a vocal groan together! We all seemed to be pretty good at it!

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

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said--The world is changed by our example, not by our opinion.

off balance

Saturday question—What perception do we have of ourselves? Do you think our perception is accurate? Maybe, just maybe, some of us have an inaccurate perception of ourselves, maybe they are a little off balance. I don’t know, but it could be! 

If we get toooo off balance there will be some push back for sure!  Oh ya! Even in our lives, if we are not balanced, we will have problems, we will even get some internal push back (i.e. physically, mentally and spiritually). It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out (i.e. folks get out of whack). AverageJoe says—Moderation my friend, moderation. You can eat one hot dog but not a dozen!  “C’mon, tooooo many hot dogs and we start looking and acting like hot dogs!

Humor can be soooo much fun (i.e. my opinion). BUT not everyone has the same interest in humor; tooooo some humor is humorous and others not soooo much! But some folks don’t have the same type of humor (i.e. they don’t understand each other’s humor); this could be because of different geographical areas, countries, families, past environment, current environment, businesses etc. What is humorous to one person isn’t humorous to another. BUT good humor seems to be humorous toooo most, my opinion as it makes folks laugh and laughing is good, my opinion. It gets them off balance a little bit! SusieQ says—I know some folks who never laugh or seem happy! They seem to always have a cocklebur in their underwear. Yikes!

At church recently we were waiting for RuthAnnfromMN who usually sits with us. A lady came up to me and just started talking a blue streak. She was from Worthington,MN. I asked what her name was—Quiet Kathy—she said it’s quiet when I leave! She told me that her neighbor (i.e. she called her neighbor by name but I don’t want to offend anyone) went to see her grandson graduate from military training and said that her grandson was the only soldier that marched correctly!

SylviaStinkfuss says--I’m nice until I’m not nice! When SylviaStinkfuss loses her balance, well, it ain’t pretty!  I read that folks can become tooooo nice that they lose their balance and then they really aren’t nice anymore a.k.a. dark side of being overly nice. AI says—"Excessive niceness or agreeableness can lead to people-pleasing behaviors, where individuals prioritize others' needs over their own, often at the expense of their well-being.” Soooo nice that they can become not nice. AI is now an option on word; it’s quite amazing; it’s a new feature,  I have no idea where this AI is going but it is really amazing to me. Listen folks, you will be able to tell very easily if I would use AI to write “It’s Saturday.”  There is a big difference in the quality, and it would be very noticeable. Big time. The modern office looks different than the old throw-back office. Where is this all going. The pic is one I took at a quite large company. I don’t know if it is currently used or not, but it made me laugh!

We were waiting to refill our jugs with water at WinCo the other day. A guy was filling his jugs in front of us.  He says--the water is really running slow today; we can bitch all we want but it ain’t goin’ help! Aye!

WildWilly says--The pendulum seems to go toooo far one way and then toooo far the other way. Yabut WildWilly if the pendulum stays in the middle, then the radicals on both ends will be mad or at least unhappy. Soooo there will always be folks who are unhappy no matter where the pendulum is. But each person has their opinion on where the pendulum should be. ItchieBitchie says—It’s really hard to have everyone happy. Somebody will always think that the pendulum is off balance.

If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.--Charles Spurgeon

Some old friends who live here in Mesa, old friends in many years and in age, invited us to go to a music concert with them. They are originally from Butler Co but only lived about 100 yards from Grundy County.  Soooooo there. I got this email from them in making our plans:  You dummy! I said you pick a day. I sit here with my butt glued to the recliner, what do you mean busy schedule?? My neighbor (hippy like) keeps telling me to get off my ass and walk. How about Thursday, March 6?...I'll phone today, like to get early tickets before they fill up with tour groups. I'm crazier than a bed bug, that will never change. Have a good one. She is a hoot and we love her..

Being on balance for me is that my Hope is a confident expectation of a guaranteed result. I am going to let you guess what my guaranteed result is and also what my confident expectation is. I can get off balance in thinking what they are at times Remember, I’m just a little ol’ farm boy from a mile and quarter south of Roseland, MN. But, always when I’m on balance my Hope is perfect.

I sometimes have technical problems, and I ask our son for help.  He tells me most of the time that it’s erv’s error. Whowhatme! Sometimes I just call the MI-wizard for help; he’s cheap and he’s nice as pie (i.e. most of the time his wife says). ANYWAY, when we were at our son, daughter-in-law and grandkids, I missed the last step going in the basement and hurt my knee and also bruised my back. Toooo top in off, Jeanne fell off into their sunken family room and injured her foot. And I’m always cold in their house; it’s berzzy berzzy there. Our son says next time we come they are going to wrap us in bubble wrap! When we age, we lose our balance some and it ain’t pretty!  On the plane coming back, Jeanne and I were talking about what they probably said about us when we left—They’re getting old; we can’t imagine what’s next! Albert Einstein said—Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.

A buddy told me the other day that he fell hard on the pickleball court but was very lucky that he didn’t get hurt.  Another buddy told me that he was getting off his bike and tipped over and got hurt. And his wife did the same and hurt herself also. Another buddy fell off some scaffolding and broke his arm. Another guy told us that he fell off a small ladder putting up Christmas lights and still isn’t normal. Another buddy last year here in the Valley of the Sun was walking with his wife and sorta kinda lost his balance and fell off the sidewalk into a cactus and had to go to urgent care to get the barbs out; it was really nasty. Stuff happens folks and it seems it happens more when we get older like when we lose our balance more. And that ain’t funny!

Have we ever been around a person and wonder if they are off balance or is it just our opinion? ANYWAY, one of us sure seems to be off balance!  Or maybe we are both off balance. Folks have such different opinions about everything; it’s really crazy! It used to be that only a few could read soooo someone who could read told others what was right and they believed it but now everyone knows what is right, or think they do; if you don’t think soooo just ask them (i.e. well maybe not in North Korea).

It appears that I don’t hear folks described as much as being “off balanced”; it’s more of an old term I think even though they are still off balanced. Now we use more modern terms that are less offensive, a.k.a. politically correct. But folks still seem to be off balanced in many ways, but we might describe those folks by different names.  Each of us might be off balanced in a certain part of our life. But here is something to think about; AA says that the first thing folks must do to recover is admit they have a problem. In some ways of being off balanced, we can learn to manage our shortages and in some case eliminate them. Jeanne won’t let me or herself trim the orange tree in front of our tin hut here in AZ.  We have heard toooo many stories of folks getting hurt doing that. I think that is wisdom (i.e. she is soooo smart).  Besides, now I don’t have to do it!

Abraham Lincoln, a hero of mine, used humor as a deflection. He would use it when there was a tremendous amount of tension and right in the middle of it he would tell a funny story. It would just drive the folks crazy as it changed the mood. It usually was something that had nuttin to do with what they were arguing about. Go figure! A great deflection. That even makes me smile. And many of his deflections were about himself. Saturday question—Can you laugh at yourself? We had the opportunity last night to have dinner with some friends from IA. It was a hoot! They are great folks. They can laugh at themselves!

Fritz, there aren’t many Fritzs, says--“Truth is truth, no matter where we find it.” He went on to say—"I can honestly say most of the failures and grief I have experienced in business and my personal life can be attributed to violating principles and precepts that are either clearly stated or taught by example from the Scriptures.”  

A husband wanted to be soooo kind and loving to his wife for Valentine's Day that he made a paper map of the whole world and put it on the refrigerator. He gave her a magnetic dart and said, sweetheart, throw the dart at the map and wherever it lands, I will take you there for vacation. She winds up and lets the dart fly. I guess we are going on vacation behind the refrigerator!

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

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said--The greatest remedy for anger is delay.

motive

A guest pastor at a Butler County church asked how long he should preach. An older man named Don, said—Pastor, you may preach as long as you want but we are all leaving in an hour! Sooooo that tells me to keep this “It’s Saturday” short! Some folks' attention spans aren't very long!

Maybe about 20 years ago our son said to me—Dad, what is your motive in doing this certain project (i.e. referencing to “It’s Saturday”)? If your motive is wrong, then you have it wrong, and it probably isn’t going to work!  He was saying I think, if my motive was my ego, it was not right and it probably won’t work. He, I think, was dead on. I never forgot that!

Saturday question—What do you think is the #1 motive of folks in America? In the world? There are many motives that folks have of course. What is our motive for living a.k.a. our purpose of our life?

I was putting my running shoes on (i.e. actually my walking shoes now) the other day and noticed that the tops look good but the bottoms not soooo much. It isn’t that I burnt the soles off as I don’t move that fast. There must be a defect in the shoes!  hahaha  Has to be. They remind me of some folks who look good on the top but if you really get to know them, they don’t look all that good! Yikes. What is their motive to be fakers anyway? But flip the pancake; we were at our 55+ park dance and met a guy who we call Rocky as he likes to work with rocks. He told us that he did something quite impressive for Jeanne’s sister a year ago and we didn’t even know it. His physical look looked way out of character to be that tender. He obviously has a big motor of kindness, and we would have never known it by looking at him (i.e. he’s incognito). Now that was impressive to us!

RickyRick says—"Don’t let the shifting winds of culture and other people’s opinions wear us out anymore. We have the steadfast hope of God’s Word—the only thing in this world that does not change.” I don’t understand why folks won’t change when life is not going well: why folks won’t change!  I just don’t get it. It seems that they would rather keep hitting their heads against the wall instead of changing. I don’t get it. Should I feel sorry for them? Saturday question—What is their motive anyway?

OneSmartPerson says--I have been reassured all over again that if a person stinks a little bit when at the top of the barrel, when we get to the bottom of the barrel they will really stink; don’t kid yourself. I rediscovered this by smelling something about a person the first time I met them and when I really got to know them it was really bad. Ouchy ouchy!  FlipThePancake! I also got to know a person and felt something was really neat about this person and after I got to really know them, they were really great. Bingo! OneSmartPerson also says—But, I have been wrong tooooo!

I read in the paper soooo it must be right that the NCAA playoff is not fair—Not perfect or fair! Well, nobody ever believed that it was! The only thing that’s fair is the Butler County Fair and that’s in June. Sooooo, don’t think anything or everything is going to be fair ‘cause it ain’t!  Just believe me on that! Even when they judge the hogs at the Butler County Fair, there are personal subjective feelings by the judge; don’t kid yourself. I remember in getting a degree that I would write on the test what the professor wanted to hear, and I got a good grade, but it wasn’t what was right nor what I believed. It didn’t matter, I had to say what he wanted to hear. Da! It ain’t fair but it worked! Bingo! Basically, I kissed his butt! That was my motive! He was a big Vince Lombardi fan soooo I always snuck in one of his philosophies!

Robert, anybody can be a Robert, says—"God can change our motives. When I realize I have gotten off track, focusing on the wrong things, I like to pause and assess where I am and where I would like to be. Then I pray as King David prayed during a difficult time, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). I like David, he’s one of my heroes. I think that is good thinking! When we wee buying our books in Beaverdale book store I asked the gal working there that I wanted a book about David and his humility as he is one of my heroes. She said we would have to order one as we don't have one in stock. Later, she came over to me and told me that David is one of her heroes tooooo! Huh, interesting. 

Have we ever had someone misunderstand us as to what our motive was (i.e. especially when we were trying to help someone). I have many times. Sometimes it really really hurts; they just don’t understand our motive. Ouchy ouchy!  When that happens, it can really make us pull in our horns for our future for some time; actually, it can be very humbling as well. But flip the pancake. Sometimes folks truly understand our motive and it feels oh soooooo good (e.g. Jeanne ran an ad in our 55+ community engage communication for clothing for the homeless and low-income folks at Community of Hope where we volunteer. Many folks brought us clothing and were very excited about doing so. One lady thanked Jeanne in saying thank you for the opportunity for me to give these clothes that have never been worn to someone who can really use them. She said it with great emotion.

When walking in our park, a professional was trimming some orange trees, and he was making a mess on the street.  I said—you sure made a mess—yes, we did--But I see you are really good at it—yes we sure are.  Sooooo there!  It appears that some folks are really good at making a mess out of almost everything they touch, and they aren’t even really trying or know it. And some others just make everything heavenly (i.e. they seem magical). Why is that anyway? I don’t think it’s necessarily their motive to do that; I really don’t, but it could be! LuckyEddie says—Oh, I don’t know, some folks seem like they like to make messes (i.e. always stirring the pot)!

I told Jeanne that she is the “star of my show!  Now that is a lot of responsibility! hahaha Some folks like to be the star of the show and others don’t, that is for sure. BUT folks can be the star of the show without even trying, that is an incredible person (i.e. they don’t even try to be the star of the show while others’ motive is to be the star of the show but aren’t). AveragJoe says--On TV the star of the show gets most of the attention! 

I wonder if time is passing me by. It’s a new era and things are changing (e.g. university football play has and is changing). I want to run this by you. I have been doing “It’s Saturday” for a lot of years. My blind copy emailing list probably has names on it that the folks are dead or can’t even read it anymore. BUT I’m still amazed in the large number of you that keep reading it. I ain’t that good of a writer as some of you have told me. Actually, it was never my motive to even do this writing; it just fell in my lap! Here is what I want your opinion about—The younger generations, it seems maybe, don’t care to read the type of material that is in this type of blog; they read way different stuff; the stuff I mostly write about seems to be more unimportant to them. At some point, maybe my material will be obsolete (i.e. just like going to church or checkbooks, or newspapers or stuff in your garage) but I hope not (i.e. maybe there will be a change)! I feel maybe no matter how I would change my style; the material is not as popular to the younger generations and even to some of the older generations.  Any suggestions for me to get the younger folks more interested? This reminds me of a story—An old member of our church in Butler County told me once; we can’t get a pastor bad enough for me to leave our church!  BUT the younger generation, that might be a different story!

But flip the pancake! We went with a group of folks to Organ Stop Pizza where a organ comes up out of the floor and a person plays it while we eat our pizza. ANYWAY, this guy plays all kinds of different music like Fathom of the Opera, star war music, classical music, old fun songs, etc. The biggest applause he got by far was from playing Handel Messiah and Amazing Grace. I never heard him play this type of music before. This is a public audience. Figure that out!

Saturday question—What motives us? Can we really self-evaluate ourselves in properly, totally figuring that out? I discovered that others and I have done somethings or acted a certain way or thought a certain way for soooo long that we don’t even know we-they act/think that way. It’s probably easier to see it in others than it is ourselves. I guess the habit is soooo engrained that we don’t even know we act that way (i.e. that could be a good thing or bad thing). LuckieEddie asks—Do we even know how we act is good or bad?  VioletStllwater says—BoogieWoogieWoogie!

Jeanne and I came to AZ this year with three motives that we wanted to accomplish. We have started all three and are on schedule. Amazing!  It isn’t that we don’t have challenges in doing them as we do. I have a friend from back in Butler County who says—Problems are just opportunities!  I think he is saying--Turn our obstacles into opportunities and our problems into possibilities.

We were walking a dog Jeanne is dog sitting at Red Mountain Park and met two spunky ladies who were in their middle 90s from ND. We said--You girls probably own oil wells and are super super rich--no no, we are are on the wrong side of the the state--We're sorry to hear that--we are toooo!

My guide book says--When we ask, we do not receive, because we ask with the wrong motives, that we many spend what we get on our pleasurers. Whowhatme?

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

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said--If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.

in the groove

CarzyMarvin says—Many times I think I’m in the groove but I’m not really, I just think I am, but I have based my thinking on wrong information. Soooo take that into consideration when reading this “It’s Saturday.”

I read in the paper sooo it must be right that REI is struggling and is pruning unprofitable parts of its business. They are going to try to get back in the groove. ItchieBitchie says—For me, it’s a good idea go get rid of parts of my life that aren’t working for the best in my life; Da! It seems it’s a good idea to not continue to throw money down a black hole and watch it disappear. Or continue doing something to satisfy my ego to only produce more bad results. I read recently that we must evaluate our situation and reorientate (i.e. I like that word, reorientate, I think it’s colorful). I personally got up early the other morning and while watching the sunrise, did some thinking about reorientating some of my life; I thought a part of me was nonproductive and was not me! I think it’s best for me to make some adjustments a.k.a. prune (i.e. become more humble was part of it). Saturday question—What groove do you operate best in?

Do we ever get a lot of checks in the boxes but in the wrong column?  Ouchy ouchy!  If that is us, we might be in the groove alright but obviously in the wrong groove! MissPerfect says—But I think I’m groovy). MissPerfect, who decides if we are groovy?

I think we all have a choice as to the perspective we take on life, that’s my opinion. I really think we all have a choice in the perspective a.k.a. the groove we take about living, I really do. If I am right, then we have to decide which is one of the different perspectives we are going to choose. And that perspective can and most likely will change as we grow with experience based on our early life’s perspectives we chose getting to were we are now and our future chooces probably (e.g. have you ever been humbled by having a great disappointment or have you got in a different groove by having great success). Different events sure have changed my life’s perspective! Oh ya!

What are you really sick of?  What are you really happy about? JoeBlow says—Now those are two completely opposite thinkings. MissPerfect says—I really think I’m groovey but maybe I am and maybe I’m not! Who knows for sure! I was told a story by a friend recently who had a conflict with their employer about ethics.  That employee decided to move because of some pressure put on by management to not be completely ethical. That employee landed a great job in an environment that was much more compatible with their ethics. They told me that as time went along, the management in the old company who were not ethical all lost their jobs. It appears that their thinking was wrong!

It’s a “now what moment!” I read that according to psychologists, the ability and skill to have conflict resolution is very important in maintaining good relationships. It was said that if we have conflicts that never get resolved can really hurt relationships (i.e. they just never go away they say).  Soooo if we really want to get in the groove, we need to learn how to resolve conflict as we are all going to have relational conflicts, they are inevitable.  AverageJoe asks—Do we ever think that we could/might be wrong (i.e. maybe even just once that we could be wrong)?

LuckieEddie asks—When is the best time to get in the right groove?  RickieRick says—“The first key to a fresh start in our life: Whatever we’re going to do, do it now. Don’t say, Next year I’m going to make a fresh start, or “Next month I’m going to make some changes, or “Tomorrow I’m going to make that a priority. It’s now or never. Seize the moment!” WorldClassLarry says—The best time to do anything is now! Don’t kid yourself!  Just hit the gas!

Dr.J says—"Faith is the title deed of our hope. If someone has hope, it is because they have faith that God is working things out—faith is “the evidence of things not seen” When someone says they have “lost all hope,” it means they have lost their faith, their assurance.” I pray for and have prayed for a lot of folks for them to get their live in the groove as I think they would be much happier and content. It appears that many are not changing or being changed (i.e. not yet anyway but maybe tomorrow). BUT I hope I don’t lose my hope in others (i.e. but maybe I don’t see the whole picture). I sorta kinda wonder sometimes if a change is even possible for some folks (i.e. am I just blowing smoke in praying for a change in them). Then a little sign of hope might happen, and I renew my hope!  Aren’t I really something! A friend tells me—erv, always believe that something wonderful is going to happen!

Could a groove be a rut maybe!  OneSmartPerson says--I don’t know what step we need to take next, but I do know we need to take it. If you don’t, we’re going to get stuck in a rut. And the only difference between a grave and a rut is the length.” Yikes! Have we ever been in a rut and got out of it?  How did it feel? CoachB says—There are three types of our physical conditions that folks might say to us: you need to work out, do you work out, or where do you work out! And that can be physically or mentally or spiritually!

Have you ever met Violet Stillwater?  You might have and don’t even know it. I have met her.  It is her bar name as she says (i.e. I didn’t meet her in a bar but where we volunteer). She uses that name when she doesn’t want others to know her real name soooo she calls herself Violet Stillwater. She is a hoot! A hoot with a big heart. I like the groove she is in!  Soooo when Violet Stillwater talks, I listen! I hope you get to meet her!  It would be your pleasure; her real name is Syliva Stinkfuss! I’m just giving you a heads up! You believe that that SylivaStinkfull is her real name?

British writer Julia McGuinness said, “Writing prayers down rather than speaking them out loud or voicing them in your head can be a powerful, patient act of worship…. The very act of writing may make you more mindful and attentive to what it is you want to pray.” I find writing anything down is powerful to me; it seems to be more powerful than just saying it. SusieQ says--Talk is cheap but action is more important. We have a tendency to talk a lot about what we should do but never do it but occasionally we do! Such is life!

It’s always a great time to be around family. Probably all families interact differently I would guess. But we had a good time being at our son, daughter-in-law and grand kids in Waukee for the weekend. We laughed a lot and that always seems to be good!  Our family is soooo good to me/us. We packed a lot into our week-end visit before heading back to Mesa where it is a lot warmer! And that is no joke! Such is life.

Part of our belated Christmas and birthday gifts was they took us to their favorite bookstore, Beaverdale Book Store, and gave Jeanne and I the opportunity to each buy two books of our choice. What a fun time we all had (i.e. pretty unique alright). We brought along the game Racehorse which was a fun activity (i.e. we laughed a lot). Rookie got to be the horsemaster! I gave them dimes too play the game in trying to teach them some life concepts (i.e. I don’t know if I did teach all the concepts I wanted as Rookie said to me—It’s only $30 grandpa)! We got to see Charlie perform in her show choir and club volleyball. It’s fun to be with family for sure! Encouragement is always good, we think.

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

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said--A kind word never hurts the tongue. 

making my point

One day the late actor Walter Matthau read a book entitled The Secret in the Daisy. It had a profound impact on him, turning him “from a miserable, unhappy wretch to a joy-full, glad-to-be-alive human.” He searched out the author, Carol Grace, fell in love with her, and married her! CrazyMarvin says—Sooooo that tells me what I read can change my life soooo I better be careful what I read! Did I make my point?

Thanksgiving Day, 2024 Jeanne and I came to our 55+ community with excitement as we started the year together. It has really been pleasant, fun, joyous and different (i.e. it seems like most of the folks are much nicer this year). A friend sat on our deck with us recently and she asked us how we were doing—we explained the above but said we don’t know quite what the reason was—she said she could tell us, it’s because you are way happier, and it is very obvious which makes it way different how folks react to you. Wow! I guess we answered our own question!

A buddy of our Buddies Group teaches tennis and asked if we wanted to come to let him teach us some tennis, soooo I went. When I got back, I sent him this text—Coach of the Year, I might not be able to continue my tennis career. When I took off my deck shoes, I noticed that I moved soooo fast on the tennis court that I ruined my shoes. His response was—Maybe after 12 years you’re due for a new pair! Our daughter said—They aren’t wearing out Dad, they ARE worn out! Soooo a friend gives me this web site to buy new deck shoes that have big sales. I bought a pair of size 12 and they came in a couple of days. They were tooooo tight and I had to send them back. When doing so I found out why they were toooo tight. They were size 12 women shoes! Da! Soooo what’s my point?

Jeanne and I have both since we have been in AZ workout at the exercise gym routinely. We seem to enjoy it but…we will not make the cover of Muscle Magazine (i.e. not yet anyway). Steve, anybody can be a Steve, says—"Praying is much like exercising. We know it’s beneficial, we often don’t do it as frequently as we’d like, we can’t always see an immediate impact, and it can be very rewarding. Prayer is the primary way we communicate with God. Through prayer we can praise, confess, intercede for others, express gratitude, and ask for God’s help.” Making my point…!

It’s all about the money. I have said that many times, and it sure seems that's the way it is today as always (i.e. nuttin has changed). I read this in the paper while eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it--When Nick Saban announced his retirement in January 2024, he denied it had anything to do with the growing influence of NIL. However, during a Congressional hearing on NIL in March, he admitted that it did influence his decision, realizing the landscape of college football was changing and that change was driven by money. “It’s whoever wants to pay the most money, raise the most money, buy the most players, is going to have the best opportunity to win,” Saban said and that is exactly what is happening. OneSmartPerson said—It is what it is! My mentor would say to me—erv, the worldly golden rule is, whoever has the most gold wins compared to the Biblical golden rule being—Do unto others what you would have them do to you. Making my point!

A new acquaintance I made through pickleball told me that their large circle of close friends back home is fundamentally the same. They had a couple of “couple friends” who were not fundamentally the same as their circle and as time went along, they disappeared from their circle of friends (i.e. just not compatible). They probably didn’t enjoy being around us and we probably didn’t enjoy being around them. Making my point!

I was at the work out center and overheard a guy tell another guy—My sister is messed up, my brother is messed up, my daughter is messed up and my son is messed up. Maybe he’s the one who’s messed up and they are normal!  I wonder! Who knows! I hear a lot from folks in our 55+ community talk about family dynamics (i.e. all families seem to have problems to some degree with that). Many families don’t agree on many many subjects; some subjects are fundamental and others just trivial a.k.a. micky mouse. JoeBlow says—It’s ain’t nuttin new, it’s been that way for ever. Those differences can really be hard on family relations sometimes thou. Many times, it seems to be generational or cultural or sometimes very fundamental like money management or lifestyles or many more (i.e. you all know what I’m talking about). I learned from my buddies in our buddies group that preaching doesn’t seem to help in changing others including family members. ItchieBitchie says—I just fly away to the south for the winter soooo I don’t have to see those family dynamics; it’s a lot less stressful. We are in IA this weekend visiting our son, daughter-in-law and grandkids.  No preaching erv, keep your mouth shut erv; bite your tongue if need be erv. Making my point!

Makingmypoint!  It doesn’t require a lot of time or money to encourage/bless someone God has put in your life. Myexperience—The giver gets as much uplifting as does the receiver! Now that is how I see it and feel it!  Our spiritual leader where we volunteer said—It is soooo satisfying to be around folks who don’t need self-glorification (i.e. not being egoistic a.k.a. big headed). Suck it up cupcake and let’s get going!

WorldClassLarry says--We are never tooooo important not to be nice to others. I’m surely not very important as I try to boss Leo, our neighbor’s dog, as he doesn’t even listen to me. But treats work!  Don’t forget those treats to manipulate; they work. Preaching doesn’t but treats do!  A friend sent me this to prove the point--I am responsible for Prime rib and deviled eggs for our Christmas meal eaten at 1:30 on Christmas day. Everyone eats prime rib and it gets wolfed down. Sixteen pounds of it. The son-in-laws and I love the deviled eggs. And a few others do too. This year I said it's time for everyone to try deviled eggs so I negotiated all the way down to a five dollar bill for every grand kid who ate one of my deviled eggs. They wanted twenty dollars at first. So it cost me forty dollars but will be remembered forever.

The other day we went for a hike and there was a lady selling her Bonsai plants by the trail head. They just fascinate me. The ones in the picture are 20 years old and she sells them for about $300. She trains and trims them to make them look soooo neat. I thought of the analogy of us being trained and trimmed in making us who we are (i.e. and most of us are still in the process of being trained and trimmed and some maybe not). She trains and trims her plants to all be different and unique (i.e. just like us, all different and unique; some folks are more different and unique than others; some folks are just like everyone else and get the same results just like everyone else, but some folks are outliers)!  My point is…!

Jeanne got a compliment from her pickleball instructor, Jeanne thinks it’s a compliment anyway—Her instructor said, You’re pretty limber for your age! Soooo my point is…! 

Google says—Bible sales in the United States have increased significantly in recent years., with 2024 sales up 22% compared to 2023. This growth is much higher than the overall increase in print book sales, which was less than 1% in 2023. What do you think the reasons are? There must be a point.

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

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said--A word of advice, don't give it.

our huggability rating

I was leaving the pickleball court the other morning and met a new friend. I asked her, what’s new?  There was no Tuesday donut talk meeting soooo some neighbors got some donuts and we had our own donut talk. Soooo what did you talk about? Nothing important, just goofy talk.  But free donuts is always the right idea to get folks to join a meeting for goofy talk. Sooooo, folks, this “It’s Saturday” is probably just goofy talk without the donuts!  But remember folks, I’m just another bozo on the bus soooo don't get your expectations toooo high!

During a football game many times they have a noise test seeing how loud the noise is using a decibel meter. The louder the noise many times, the bigger the advantage is for the home team. SusieQ says--It appears that many folks and groups of folks think that the more noise they make about themselves will make them more important and likeable (i.e. it raises their huggability rating). But in reality, it’s a distortion of reality; it usually lessens their huggability rating. Saturday questions—Sooooo what kind of person has a high huggability rating? What actually is a true definition of a huggable person? Are we huggable? Is being huggable an actual physical act or is it a non-tangible reaction to someone?

Social media is a good example that causes a lot of problems especially for folks with low confidence. It appears that the downside of social media can make many folks feel unhuggable. LuckieEddie says—Self-evaluation is very difficult, and most folks are not accurate in their self-evaluation. Some think they are better than they are, and others don’t think they are as good as they are. It appears that it is really hard to be accurate in our self-evaluation (i.e. we have a distorted image of ourselves sometimes). And maybe we can have a distorted purpose of our lives at times. I see Florida has passed a law that outlaws anyone under 14 to set up a Facebook account. A friend says that it should be the responsibility of parents and not the state. BUT not all parents do a very good job doing it.

I wonder if we struggle sometimes in who we want to be. I mean do we want to be a high powered, strong willed, in charge, demanding person or a kind, nice, humble person?  I think I see folks struggling with that. And I think some folks waffle and wobble in who they want to be and who they are. A zillion years ago when I started actually supporting myself, I was a teacher for a few years. I would do sociograms of my classes sometimes.  I would ask the students to fill out a short questionnaire asking questions like who would you like to study with, who is the nicest person in the class, who you would like to be your friend etc. It was always surprising who was the most wanted were. It was not the ones that we would think most of the time. It was many times a person or persons who never thought they were that popular. Huh, interesting. I think that is the same in the adult world most of the time. We soooo often have a distorted idea of what great is

It has been said—While you might spend a lot of time thinking about what other people think of you, the reality is that most people are primarily focused on their own lives and don’t actually give as much thought to your actions or opinions as you might believe. Or a friend says to me—Half of the folks don’t know and the other half don’t care about you. ItchieBitchie says—Most folks are toooo busy thinking about themselves that they really don’t care tooooo much about you. BUT as I read in a novel that I like—The good ones all do it; that is they care about others. Do you know any good ones? Are we good ones? How do we learn to be a good person?

We had the opportunity to be around many like minded folks at Christmas. We really enjoyed them. We also were around some folks who were not like minded and “it was what it was!” It seems like birds of a feather flock together pretty much. Some folks are soooo real, kind and humble which makes them soooo much fun to be around (i.e. very huggable). Did you experience this especially during the Christmas season? BUT we need to cut some folks some slack as Christmas can bring out some bad feelings of all kinds (i.e. some not soooo pretty ‘cause of the past that we have no idea about). Many times folks just show their “social media side” of themselves and not the real side of themselves. Ouchy ouchy!

A rich money tycoon once said—If you think money can buy anything and everything, you never ever never had money! Many folks think if a person has a whole lot of money their problems will be solved. But reality is, money only solves money problems. And sometimes a whole lot of money brings on many problems of its own. Money doesn’t solve every problem but just money problems. AverageJoe says—I will take those problems and the money! Saturday question—Does money make folks better folks? I don’t know, what do you think? Does more money make us more huggable?

Dr. J says—“Jesus: There’s just something about that name! As He is King of kings, so His name is above all names. Jesus is a simple word. Yet somehow His name stirs the deepest passions in humanity. To believers it’s a holy word; to others it’s a curse word.” Playing pickleball the other morning, one of our opponents missed a shot and said loudly, Jesus Christ (i.e. I don’t think he is a priest or a pastor)! Now that is a contradictory thinking probably. I would guess those two types of folks think completely opposite. I know which group of folks I want to be around. No question. I think one group is much more huggable than the other. That’s my opinion.

Are you back being huggable again mothers?  A 2023 survey reported by the American Heart Association noted that out of 1,000 respondents, 63 percent said the Christmas holidays are more stressful than the April tax season. And 51 percent reported that it takes weeks to recover from the holidays, especially for mothers. Hang in their mothers, it’s almost time to start thinking about Christmas 2025!

At Christmas and New Years, we have a tendency to hug more, maybe. Some families and folks are huggers and others not soooo much. Some parents teach their children by example to be huggers and others teach them not to be huggers so much. No question about it. Then there are friends who give us “wet wash rag hugs” and some that hug with great meaning. Such is life.

Are you internally huggable? I mean do we like ourselves or do we have a dog fight going on internally? Are we content or do we have a war going on internally? Do we want more social status, more stuff, more power, are we extremely competitive, or are we really happy in our own skin? A new acquaintance told us he had a minor stroke and can’t do some sport activities like he did before. He is and still is quite competitive, which creates a problem for him. His doctor suggested he learn new hobbies in which are non-competitive, even activities that he never did before which no one expects him to be good at (i.e. has no stress). That might even be a good idea for us as we age. Could be. MissPerfect says—But don’t pick up the hobby of eating!

Robert, anybody can be a Robert, says—"God offers us a new start; through Jesus Christ we can “restart.” And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

It appears that some folks are more huggable than others. Saturday question—Are we like a snotty nose kid? Maybe we need to wipe our snot away soooo we are more huggable!

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

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said--Praise to a child is as water to a thirsty plant.

I usedacould

An old friend said to me when I told him (i.e. kiddingly) that he knows everything—He said—It’s cause I’m soooo old; I knew most of the stuff before you were even born! But the problem is now no one pays any attention to me! I usedathink I was important!

It has been said that Simon Peter was always putting his foot in his mouth. He was eager for the important things but often acted on impulse. Ouchy ouchy, that sounds like me sometimes. Abraham Lincoln said—It’s better to keep my mouth shut and have folks think I’m a fool instead of opening it and remove all doubt! GeorgeTheCrook says—I usedabe better at keeping my mouth shut but now that I’m old, I seem to think I know more soooo I open it more! But it seems like no one listens to me anyway!

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” ~ William Shakespeare  I know/knew 5 generations of a family and I see similar traits in the folks in all 5 generations. Wow! you say! Dr.J says—"We often hear the expression, “Like father, like son”—and similar expressions: “Like mother, like daughter,” “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” and “chip off the old block.” We know the meaning of all these proverbs: The traits and appearance of a mother or father are often replicated in their children. Traits are not perfectly passed on, but seeing parent and child together makes us think, “Oh, I’m not surprised!” AverageJoe says—I usedawanttobe different than my parents but now I'm more like them; why did I change? A company rep many years ago told me—erv, when we are young and not liberal, we have no heart but when we get older and we aren’t conservative we have no brain! Do you think that is true?

Soooo how do we pick good folks to be around? Look at the folks you have decided to be around. Why do you want to be around them; how did you decide? Are we much like our long-time friends? How about our short-term friends? Do the type of folks we hang around with change as we get older? Do we think about the type of folks we want to be around? Are we happier when around certain types of folks? Should we be concerned about the type of folks we spend a lot of time with? ItchieBitchie says—I usedahave different types of friends than I do now but I don’t know why!

No smoke and mirrors! JoeBlow says--I like the concept of being a team in many situations instead of being all about me,me,me (e.g. like it is written in the book--“That there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”) It appears that we see a lot of me,me,me in our culture we life in. My Daddy, Chester, would say to me—erv, if you are good, you don’t have to tell anyone, they will know! HotShotMary says—I usedaremember being that way but now I have changed and have a huge massive ego! Wintering in a 55+ community, because of age, we see many HotShotMarys get humbled by illness, accident, and limitations including ageing. WorldClassLarry says-It appears that the general population don’t care much for the HotShotMarys!

I usedanotcare but now I do.  A new acquaintance down here in the Valley of the Sun said to me—I spent 15 minutes doing something that was useless (i.e. his opinion)—Now that is 15 minutes that I can’t get back. I asked what he thought was the 15 minutes that was useless. It was waiting for his wife and another lady looking at purses that were way over priced and soooo they didn’t buy one. But they looked at all of them and touched them all and unzipped them all!

MissPerfect says--I usedahavetoalwayshavetoprovemypoint (i.e. get the last word in) but not soooo much anymore. I usedatoalways have to be right! At times, I still act that way even when I don’t want to act that way. It’s hard to change; I’ve done it for soooo long; I’m used to running the show! I like to be around folks who I can be the alpha dog, no question. BUT the question is MissPerfect, do others like to be around you!

In the Butler County area where I spent much of my life, there was a family that moved from Germany probably in the early 1900s or late 1800s. They had large families and many named their sons John. As a result, there were a lot of Johns with the same last name. Soooo to distinguish which John they were talking about they useda give them nicknames like Creamery John, Railroad John, John T, Potato Nose John etc. Some families still do name their children after some past family members as a memory.  Do any of you have a given name or middle name of a past or current family member? I think that’s pretty neat! I read that the most popular town name in the United Sates is Washington?  It said there are 89 Washingtons. There aren’t any towns called Mellema!

I usedaget all excited about disappointments and all excited about positive situations. Not soooo much anymore.  I take things more now just as they come. Of course I do like positive situations better; who wouldn’t! Our lives are sorta kinda A to Z and we are somewhere in the middle. As we get closer to the Z somethings don’t look soooo important anymore and some things look more important. Da!  I still play pickle ball but every year I can’t play as well. I don’t like it; I admit it! It is rather hard on my ego; I admit it. I’m even more careful when I play so that I don’t fall and get hurt, an injury would limit myself doing other activities (i.e. seniors get hurt playing pb let me tell ya)! Some folks say to me—erv, you still play well for your age! That doesn’t make me feel any better.

A snowbird friend showed some emotion that we never saw before; she is typically stoic. We mentioned this to mutual friends. Their response was--She’s had a lot on her plate lately and before. And our emotions are more on the surface when we get old.

Comedian Milton Berle said, “Laughter is an instant vacation.” We have really enjoyed this past Christmas season; it was good. We had a lot of good laughter because of fun and fellowship. We really did enjoy it. We all probably go through periods of our life that are more fun than others which is probably natural as we all have events and circumstances that are more pleasant than others. We are no different than anyone else. Sooooo was your Christmas season this year a more pleasant one or more unpleasant one?  One to ten, tell me! And tell me why. I’m interested in your life.

“Wisdom doesn’t come from experience. It comes from reflecting on experiences. Between ages 25 and 75, the correlation between age and wisdom is zero. Gaining insight and perspective is not about the number of years we've lived. It's about the number of lessons we've learned.” — Adam Grant  You think that is true? I wonder how many lessons I have learned! It seems like I useda know more! This quote is rather scary to me—“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” ~  Oscar Wilde. You think that is true? I’m scratching my head about that!

Have any of you folks gained any weight between Thanksgiving and the New Years?  Here is a suggestion, don't worry so much about the food you ate during the holidays but be more concern what you eat between New Years and Thanksgiving in 2025!

Dr. J says--There’s not a better plan than recording your thoughts in the form of a prayer as the old goes out and the new comes in. Ireallybelievethat!

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

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said--Laughter is the sunlight of the soul.