whimsical WED
You've got to scroll down the page a little to get to some actual whimsy today. I wrote the bulk of this is the comfort of my living-dining room in Norfolk, NE, on TUE 10/11. Lois & I are now sitting in the breakfast room at a Comfort Inn, located in Davenport, IA, in transit to the LEA Convocation which begins tomorrow in Grand Rapids, MI. [More on that below.] Nice hotel . . . the wonderful shower controls helped to make up for the biscuits & gravy, which were just a little too spicy for my tastes. [MY RATING: 4.5 stars out of 5.]There Is No Place Like . . .
IOWA!
From Omaha World Herald (10/9): "Friends of late farmer help finish final harvest. LaVerne Burck was a perfectionist in the field, taking care to do everything right. 'A very dedicated farmer. Always had good crops. He was just a good steward of the land,' friend Dave Spetman said. 'The best of the best.'
Burck, 59, died in July after a brief battle w/lung cancer, leaving his daughter Jessica, who had joined his farming operation 3 years ago, to harvest about 1,300 acres in Pottawattamie County south of Council Bluffs & near Treynor. Jessica knew she couldn't do it alone. And she didn't have to.
About 30 friends of LaVerne's--some farmers, others just willing to help---have teamed up to harvest the field, donating their time, labor & equipment to get the job done. [I've been known to--occasionally--"pick" on Iowa--but this is really cool. I will have to revise my thinking about my Iowanian tactics. * ]
* No, I won't.
NEBRASKA!
From Lincoln Journal Star (10/7): "Moose sightings reported in Nebraska. Officials are urging people to steer clear of a loose moose spotted in northeast Nebraska. Someone spotted the young bull moose northwest of Columbus near Platte Center on SEP 26. Then came a sighting near Wayne, about 60 miles northeast, followed by one TUE near Dixon, about 12 miles north of Wayne. Rarely seen in Nebraska, moose prefer more rugged terrain to the west & north." [Our terrain in Northeast Nebraska may not be rugged, but it is exceptionally moose-friendly. Also, this would have put the moose within a 50- or so -mile radius of Norfolk.]
Criminal Minds
From Norfolk Daily News (10/8): "High school students cited for clown prank. Authorities said a Lincoln high school student caused a panic by peering into a classroom wearing a clown mask. Seven students connected to a THU prank at Lincoln South High School have been cited w/disturbing the peace, a misdemeanor . . . " [Dept. of Nostalgia: Not long after the Columbine shootings, I was sitting in my office at Lutheran High Northeast in Norfolk when my school secretary alerted me that we might have an issue & told me to look out the front door. As I remember it, four high school-age students were walking toward our front doors, dressed in black trench coats, also wearing clown masks. I walked out onto the sidewalk & confronted them. They said they were just there to "prank" some of their friends from Pierce. [They were students from Pierce High School. * ] I quickly "read them the riot act." ** They were apologetic, turned & left, I think before any of our students or other faculty & staff were aware of their "prank."
* No, I don't care to omit names to protect the dumb.
** I apologize for using "administrators' jargon.
Wide World of Wacky Celebrities
Also from NDN (9/28): "Most dangerous celeb. Amy Schumer is the most dangerous celebrity on the internet--& not just because of her no-holds-barred personality. Intel Security announced WED that the actress comedian topped its 10th annual list of the most dangerous celebrities online. A search for the 'Trainwreck' & 'Inside Amy Schumer' star carries over 16% chance of connecting w/a site that carries viruses or malware . . . " [Ms. Schumer was also honored recently on the Cornhusker State Blog's 1st Annual list of the most self-absorbed yet least funny comedy performers.]
Wednesday Whimsy
Also from NDN (10/8): "Don't expect Fitbits to improve health. Wearing a fitness tracker may help you keep tabs on how many steps you take, but the devices themselves--even w/the lure of a cash reward--probably won't improve your health, according to the biggest study yet done on the trendy technology . . . " [Dear kids & kids-in-law, Lois & I are still grateful for the Fitbits you got us for Christmas last year. Here's my suggestion for this year. "Gift" us w/cash rewards every time we achieve a bench mark. Here are my suggestions, which I am quite confident Lois would confirm.
- 10,000 steps per week = $10/week [each]
- 50,000 steps per month = $50/month
- 100,000 steps quarterly = $100/quarterly
- 500,000 steps semi-annual = $250/semi-annually
- 1,000,steps annually = $500 annually
Your always loving father, Paul [Dad]
Also from LJS (10/8): "Believing in miracles hazardous to health? There are many moments--the loss of a job, finding out you have cancer, a child's walk home from school in a dangerous neighborhood-when faith in a loving God watching over you can provide comfort & hope, several studies have found. But are there times when too much control can be ceded to God?
When it come to health, the answer in many cases may be yes . . . [You know how hesitant I am to blog about spiritual matters, but I would say that failing to believe in at least ONE miracle * could provide a HEEUUUGE hazard to one's eternal health.]
* Hint: It has to do with a "dead man come back to life." **
** Source: "I'm on My Way," CCM Matt Maher
From "Ask Marilyn", Parade Magazine (10/9/16): J. Brown from Fairfax, VA. asks, "Do any other female animals experience menopause?" Marilyn vos Savant answers, "At last, something we have in common w/killer whales! . . . " [Alas, space does not permit me to reprint the "World's Smartest Woman's" answer. Here's what I can provide . . . DEPT. of Imaginary Phone Conversations. NASA: Ms. Vos Savant! MVS: Speaking. NASA: A killer asteroid is speeding toward our planet. We've tried every option we can think of. Nothing has worked. It's trajectory places it's landing point in the middle of New York City. Your our last hope for a solution to saving our planet from utter devastation. MVS: I'll have to get back to you. I'm answering one of my readers' questions about animal-menopause.]
Mental Health MON . . . Special WED Feature
A personal note: Lois & I left yesterday (11/11) for Grand Rapids, MI, where we will be attending the National Lutheran Education Association Convocation from OCT 13-15. On FRI 10/14, I will be presenting a sectional entitled, "Fizzling? Drop & Roll." The content involves distinguishing between burnout & depression; & I will be working to provide insights & resources re: these topics. I have been working feverishly on a PP presentation, along w/my notes [a Word document], along w/a handout [also a Word document, adapted from my notes.]This has been quite an order, as you might imagine, for someone who suffers from a general anxiety disorder, along w/an OCD. KUDOs to my wife Lois & son Nathan who have provided moral support & technical assistance. I think everything I need is packed & ready to go.
My trip is also partially sponsored by Orphan Grain Train. I am taking along OGT materials & will be the official "host" of an OGT booth in the vendors' area. You can help me out by:
- Praying for our safe travel, along with hundreds of other Lutheran educators from all across the U.S.A & internationally, as well.
- Praying for all the support staff, sectional leaders, entertainers, keynoters, vendors, & me.
- If you are going to be in Grand Rapids for the Convocation, look me up!
political whimsy
Re: She-Who-Should-Be-Indicted-by-Now & He-Who-Just-Can't-Help-Himself
"In 2016, Facts, Logic & History have Ceased to Matter," by Charles Krauthammer, posted on NRO (9/29). I read on 9/30. [My comments are below.]"Lester Holt Learns His Lauer Lesson," by Brent Bozell & Tim Graham," posted on mdc/Newsbusters (9/27). I read via Drudge Report on 9/30. [My comments are below.]
Who Is Fit to Be Elected President?
Also from LJS (10/8): "Trump bragged of groping women in tape. DT bragged in vulgar terms about kissing, groping & trying to have sex w/women during a 2005 conversation caught on a hot microphone,saying that 'when you're a star, they let you do it,'according to video obtained by The Washington Post . . . " [My comments are below.]
Ditto (10/8): " . . . Planned Parenthood Action Fun, which has endorsed Clinton, issued a statement from Executive VP FDawn Lagoons saying: 'What Trump described in these tapes amounts to sexual assault . . . " [My comments follow.]
MY TUE 10/11 COMMENTS:
- Although I have been upfront for months that I am a #NeverHillary partisan, I have NEVER, repeat NEVER endorsed DT. In light of his most recent comments, I never will.
- Who will I cast my vote for? Now there's a question that I will continue to ponder & pray about.
- Let's talk about hypocrisy.
- You anti-Trump haters . . . Spare me your sanctimonious pronouncements about DT & his contemptuous comments about women, not to mention his "sexual assaults" perpetrated against women.
- Yes, you read me correctly. I said "sanctimonious!"
- I do not remember Planned Parenthood ever, ever, ever describing HC's spouse's actions as "amounting to sexual assault."
- I would say that there may be an objective difference between DT's words & actions & HC's spouse's documented actions; but then it would sound like I was condoning DT's deplorable behavior. I am not & will not condone it.
- This man is not fit to be POTUS.
- Back to She-Who-Should-Be-Indicted-by-Now . . .
- And she is fit to be POTUS because?
- Of all her major accomplishments when she was married to the POTUS?
- All her major accomplishments when she was Secretary of State?
- Her chronic, compulsive lying, which has been documented over & over, ad infinitum?
- Her incompetent at best, treasonous at worse use of multiple servers to expose other countries to our country's top secret data, putting the lives of Americans at jeopardy & possibly contributing to their demise?
- Her party's continued support for the slaughter of unborn children, open borders despite many documented crimes committed by illegal aliens, treaties w/countries openly hostile to the U.S.A. & our allies?
- Her own crude comments & language, also well-documented.
- The complicit support she continues to receive from both the mainstream & cable media.
- Her documented enabling of her spouse's documented sexual escapes? This so-called "champion" of women's degrading actions & comments re: the victims of her husband's deplorable actions toward women. Sorry . . . I'm getting tingles running up & down my legs--BOTH legs.
Okay, I better rest now. Time to finish loading the car, so I can go pick up Lois & we can take off for the Quad Cities [our overnight stop] in a timely matter. Plus, this is NOT necessarily a good example of writing for self-therapy.
Our country & our country's leaders & military are on my daily prayer list.
WED 10/12 POST-SCRIPT
Gotta save & post this, since Lois went upstairs to finish getting ready & so must I, so we can hit the road. This morning's headline news on the Fox News channel & USA Today portend nothing new in the way of good political news. I linked over to my favorite partisan pundit's web site to catch-up but only made it through the opening few lines before my stomach started to churn. You are on your on this morning.
Or in the words of another favorite CCM recording artist, Twila Paris, "God is control, we believe that His children will not be forsaken."
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