ROAD TRIP

I represented Orphan Grain Train at the Nebraska District LCMS pastors' retreat in Kearney on MON & TUE. Here are some highlights & not-so-highlights.

* Worship at these conferences are always a highlight. 

* People stopped by the OGT table to visit, & many had questions about what OGT is doing to help with the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. I was able to share with them that we are working to send relief supplies to aid refugees in Moldova, Poland, & Romania. Interested in knowing what you can do to help? Visit our web page:  ogt.org.

* I thought I would see some sandhill cranes between Grand Island & Kearney, but I did not. Did you know that 600,000 cranes migrate through Nebraska each March? Yes, the whale migration we witnessed in Hawaii was pretty dramatic, but there weren't 600,000 whales. Anyway, stick with my posts & you will learn all sorts of fascinating facts.

* Although it didn't quite compare with the seafood we sampled in FL last month, I did manage to "enjoy" some seafood in Kearney. I ate at a Chinese buffet on SUN night. It was rather mundane as far as buffets go, but they did have oysters. On MON night I had supper at Long John Silver's. Rachel & I used to eat at LJS's when it was open in Norfolk. It was a lot greasier than I remembered. And yesterday I ordered a McFish from McD's.

* I stayed at the Crowne Plaza, which was very nice. However, no free breakfast! I had to get coffee & a breakfast sandwich from the in-house Starbucks on MON morning. Pricey.

* I got to connect with a lot of pastors that I know. One of them was Greg Rathke, who served with me for many years at Lutheran High Northeast in Norfolk. He's now a vicar at Trinity Lutheran Church in Fremont. Great teacher & good friend.

OIL

The other day I posted about oil & gas prices. It may very well be that Big Oil is contributing to the enormous price increases. I find it interesting, however, that oil companies are ramping up their contributions to Democrats. Hmmm. I also find it interesting that our president is putting the blame on Putin, yet he revoked the Keystone XL pipeline permit & has pleaded with Saudi Arabia to increase their oil production, even as the U.S. has perhaps the largest oil reserves in the country. What's with that?

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME

"Senate UNANIMOUSLY approves making Daylight Savings Time permanent." Drudge Report. I do NOT like springing ahead, but I do like falling back, so I hope the change happens after we fall back this year.

HERE'S TO YOUR HEALTH

"STUDY:  Exposure to even small amount of light while sleep bad for heart." Drudge

"Live cold, die old. Lower body temp linked to longer life." Drudge. FYI:  We lower our thermostat to 62 at night.

TOM BRADY

"Tom Brady realizes it's easier to be hit by 300-lb linemen than stay home all day with young kids." Babylon Bee