This and that on a Sunday afternoon

Various ramblings while I watch a purple #4 try to stage another 4th quarter comeback...

When did guys start thinking it's ok to wear shorts when it's 35 degrees out? To me that's just as dumb as wearing pants with your underwear showing out the top. Our neighbor is one of these guys. Of course he also likes to take his riding mower with the bagger unit around and collect everyone's leaves, except ours of course, and then allows his lawn to look like some sort of landfill. Go figure.

What's worse, hardly ever hearing from someone you care about or only seeming to have them call you when they have had too much to drink? Not sure, but I sure like talking to sober people a lot more than I like trying to converse with intoxicated ones.

I've noticed the 50th anniversary patches on the uniforms of the Vikings today. I remember when they came into the league. Man, I must be getting old.

I wonder what my Mom would think about a lot of this technology "stuff". She was the one who "encouraged" me to go to tech school and study computers. She was certain there was a big future in them. Boy, she nailed that! I still regret disappointing her by bailing out on that line of work after only a couple of years. I hope she's ok with me becoming a mailman. I guess I could have done worse, like become a politician or used car salesman although I've met a few of those folks over the years that have almost seemed human.

I can't wait to get out into my boat and go fishing again. It would really be great to go someday with my son and grandson.

All I really want for Christmas this year is to go to church on Christmas Eve with my daughter.

I'm Back!

After a long absence from the blogging keyboard, I've decided it's time to get back in the swing of things as far as blogging goes. I guess my long absence can be explained by one word, baseball. The long season has finally ended and as a lifelong fan I guess my brain gets stretched in too many different directions for me to effectively "multi-task" as long as there are games on the radio or on TV.

Oh well, I guess this will be my sort of "spring training"for what I hope to write about next year. That topic...my last year on my mail route. Yup, retirement for me will come at the end of 2011 and I'd like to take the time to record as many of my daily observations as possible. Reading that stuff will be a sure cure for a sleepless night. Stay tuned...

It Makes Me Stop and Think

For the past several weeks, I've noticed ads on TV being sponsored by the Catholic church. As a Christian, my initial reaction was that I thought they were a pretty neat outreach to the members of the Catholic faith who have fallen away from their churches. Being involved in my church as our congregations vice chairman, I appreciate what they are attempting to do. I wish more of our members would attend more than just occasionally. How do you get them to do just that is the age old question.

The commercial I just saw, was the best I've seen. It's intent is to try and stir those inactive members to come back to church. In it, the narrator speaks of the "movie of our life" and how it will be used to judge us some day. Wow! The movie of my life is one I wouldn't want anyone else to see! I've done far too many sinful things, said too many sinful words, and conjured up so many sinful thoughts it makes me sick just to think of it all.

Thankfully, I know that my Lord and Savior has taken care of all my transgressions by his death on the cross. All I can do each and every day that he grants me on this earth is to try to be worthy of the price that he paid for me. I know I never can, but I keep trying just the same.

At the risk on jumping the gun by about 10 days, let me leave you with the following!

Happy Easter ! He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

Apology Accepted

I lost a old friend the other day. Old in that he was in his 80's, not that we had been friends forever. Oscar was a fellow who lived with his wife on my mail route. You get to know a lot of people over the years just by delivering their mail. Some you get to know better than others. Oscar was one of those. Over the years I'd learned that Oscar joined the Army the day after he graduated high school in 1943. He ended up at Normandy about a week after D Day in 1944. He ended up losing an eye in battle and returned home. As we both loved fishing, I always hoped to get to go sometime with him. Sadly, that never happened.

The last time I saw him was a couple of weeks ago, when I just stopped to see how he and his wife were doing. Oscar was in the kitchen, cleaning a mess of bluegills that he had caught earlier that day. He apologized to me for not having the sidewalk cleared of the inch of snow that had fallen earlier that day while he was out fishing. I told him "no problem" and ended my visit and went on my way, to the next stop on my route, where two young guys in there teens along with their Uncle reside. The sidewalk there is never shoveled, a reflection in part as to the type of guys who live there. To bad they aren't more like their neighbor Oscar. I'll miss him...a lot.

Perspective?

Yesterday while delivering mail, I had a small padded envelope that required the addressee's signature. I arrived at her address, knocked on her door, and informed her that I needed her to sign for a piece of mail. She wondered what it might be that required her John Hancock and I informed her it was from a local casino. With that information now disclosed, she became elated, as it I now learned that she had lost her wallet on a recent gambling trip. I told her that I hoped her wallet contents had remained intact. Her response left me amused and confounded as well. She was concerned that someone may have taken the booklet of "forever stamps" she had just purchased out of her wallet.

Hmmm, let me get this straight. You go to the casino and are willing to LOSE money, money that you probably can NOT afford to lose. You end up losing your wallet and upon it's safe return, your first concern is as to the possible disappearance of a book of stamps, retail value $8.80?

Such is the mindset, I'm afraid, of far too many folks who go to the casinos on a regular basis. File this one under "Sad but True" I guess.