HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

It's my little brother Mark's birthday today. Happy Birthday, Mark! One of my favorite memories is playing tennis with him in 90-degree weather--so hot that the asphalt on the tennis court was getting soggy. When we got home, his face was beet red, & I would get yelled at.

A PRAYER

I came across this prayer during my daily quiet time this morning. It seems apt, considering the state of our country.

"Behold in mercy al who are in authority over us. Supply them with Your blessing that they may be inclined to Your will & walk according to Your commandments." Lutheran Service Book

BADMINTON

"493 km/hour. That's ow fast a badminton birdie (shuttlecock) travels, making it the fastest moving object in sports. Badminton became an official Olympic sport in 1992." Parade Magazine, 7/11/21  My brother, sister, & I used to play endless games of badminton across the fence bordering our backyard with our neighbor, Selma Lange.

COVID

"LA county sheriff will not enforce new mask mandate." Drudge Report

TRENDING

"Far more adults don't want children than previously thought." Drudge

"Scientists warn that within 6 months humanity will run out of things to call racist." Babylon Bee

RULES

"Rules for being the age you are . . . Tone down the cynicism. At some point in life, we get the idea that believing in things--art, politics--makes you a sucker & that 'being real' means accepting how rotten to the core everything is. True, there is a lot of rottenness in the world. But cynicism is radically incomplete. In fact, human beings are often splendid, the world is often glorious, & nature, red in tooth & claw, also invented kindness, charity, & love. Believe in that." Reader's Digest, March 2021

HERE'S TO YOUR HEALTH

"Lower risks from diabetes. Science has long suggested that saunas & hot tubs help improve blood sugar & body far percentage, but unless you've got an in-home spa, those things can be hard to come by on a regular basis. A study presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the European association for the Study of Diabetes found that subjects with type 2 diabetes who spent anywhere from 2-30 minutes in the bath four times per week showed decreased body weight, body mass index (BMI), waste circumference, diastolic blood pressure, & glycated hemoglobin. All that from a good old-fashioned soak in a warm tub! Ditto

GROCERY LINES

"Dan Meyer, chief academic officer at math software company Desmos, estimates that in a standard checkout line each item takes 3 seconds to scan & the rest of the transaction (niceties, paying, etc.) takes 41 seconds. So one overloaded person with 100 items will take less than 6 minutes to be rung up, while four 4 people with 20 items each will take around 7. In other words, you're better off behind the 1 customer with the overflowing cart than behind a line of less encumbered express shoppers." Reader's Digest, April 2021

DEPT. OF SHAMELESS JOKE-STEALING *

* Courtesy of Reader's Digest, April 2021

> I'm afraid of being murdered only because they would record my stomach contents.

> Fries should be offered more often, like, Yes, your mortgage was approved. Would you like fries with that?

> Saw some idiot at the gym put a water bottle in the Pringles holder on the treadmill.

> Doctor's orders say 30 crunches a day . . . That's an awful lot of chocolate, but I guess I can give it a shot.