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.

Slip Sliding Away...

As a mail carrier who walks 12 plus miles a day on my route, with winter now in full swing, in spite of what the song on the radio says, it's not necessarily "the most wonderful time of the year". Regardless of what a postal route inspector told me a few years ago, walking in December in Wisconsin is NOT the same as walking in July. You see, there's this crazy little thing called ICE, that forms when the old mercury drops below the mailman's Mendoza line of 32 degrees F and it can make life for folks like me miserable with a capital M! Most of you know what I mean on a somewhat smaller scale, dealing with the slippery adversary while heading out to your car in a parking lot or perhaps going outdoors for a walk on a brisk winter day. Now multiply that little sojourn by about 1000 and you may get a feel for what I deal with every day walking my route. Most folks are pretty good about trying to keep their sidewalks clean, but then again there are always those who can't be troubled with such trivial matters as shoveling their sidewalks. For the most part, the worst sidewalks always seem to be at the houses where the most people live. I guess there too busy inside trying to figure out who the heck all these other people are.

Like most of the trails and tribulations in life, it all depends on how you look at things. Yesterday for example, just up the street from my house, I nearly went on my 57 year old rear end on a guys driveway that for the most part was almost in June like condition. I managed to step on a patch of ice about the size of home plate that caused me to perform a maneuver so complex that I'm not sure if it would have worked better at a gymnastics meet or an ice skating competition. As ice was involved, I guess I'll go with the latter and after further review I believe that the trick I performed in actuality was a completely unrehearsed combination of a double axel and a flying sit spin. Sadly, I do believe the judges would have marked my score down a bit as I had to bounce off of a garage door in order not to go down to the pavement. But down I did NOT go! I maintained my balance, with a bit less dignity the price, and trudged on, for as we all know, the mail must go through! But it sure felt good to get home a few hours later and relax with a nice glass if wine, sure in the knowledge that my work schedule had given me a 4 day reprieve from that crap called ICE!

I think I saw Mrs. Woods

OK, maybe it wasn't Tiger's soon to be ex, but it all happened so fast it just might have been.

I was finishing up my lunch break at Mickey D's today when I headed to the Men's room before leaving. Barely inside the restroom door, I was nearly run over by a tall, good looking, young blond babe who was just exiting the stall. Our eyes met briefly and we both suppressed sheepish grins, me as the catcher and her as the one being caught. I shook my head, did my business, and headed back to work wondering all the while what might have happened had I not stopped at a brochure rack to pick up some information on a couple of ski resorts up north. Those fateful 45 seconds may have prevented one of my greatest blog postings ever. Oh, well, life goes on.

I Deserve a Break Today

After putting up with over a foot of snow and the first big taste of winter weather this week, after church today I headed up to treat myself to a little breakfast at Mickey D's. I love their coffee, but after observing the following while waiting today, I'm not sure it was worth the wait.

As there was only one register open, I was pleased to see there was no line and went up and placed my order and stepped to the left to wait for it to be filled. The next fellow in line asked the counter person if " the meals came with a drink?" When told "yes they did" he said "I'll have a #4". The server then asked "what would you like to drink with that". I nearly wet myself after hearing the guy reply " I don't want a drink".

I guess I get the guy's logic. The meal was cheaper than the two separate items but if you want to display that kind of lunacy in a McDonald's, I think you'd be more at home BEHIND the counter.

A Tale of Two Toilets-Part 2

Earlier today, I was out running a few errands, one of them being stopping at the Pamida pharmacy to pick up a prescription. Before completing this task, I stopped in to use the men's room located near the pharmacy. Upon entering the men's room I saw a 60ish fellow standing by the sink and, thinking nothing of it, I proceeded to the urinal to do my thing. I'd barely unzipped when the guy at the sink asks "How are you doing"? Admittedly caught a bit off guard by his question, I replied with a quick "just fine". He then proceeding to whine about his children "taking some stuff out and now it was going to rain and he'd be left to clean up the mess blah blah blah" By that time I was speechless, wondering what the heck this guys problem/story was. I finished what I'd came to do and went to the sink to wash my hands when the guy asked me if I was working today. Man, this was really getting weird, at least to me. "No", I said, "It's my day off". Thinking I was at last ready to leave this toilet twilight zone, the guy then extended his hand for me to shake. Being a quick thinker on my feet, I offered a somewhat lame "Sorry, I don't shake hands with all the flu and stuff going around". I didn't wait for his reaction to my denial, but got out of there asap. If only that guy know what I WANTED to say. I don't think I don't have to put those words down on paper or whatever it is I'm writing on. Those that know me know exactly what I wanted to say to this nut.

I headed to the phamacy and picked up my prescription. With no other shopping to do, I headed out of the pharmacy, my route ironically taking me past the Depends display. Hmmm, maybe I should pick a few of those up for my next trip to Pamida, kind of a preemptive strike against having to use the restroom here. No, I guess I'll leave them on the shelf. I'd hate to buy the last package and have some guy wet his pants at the next Packer game.