Lord knows it may be time!

Yesterday, my wife had an encounter with one of the partners at her job. He has had to sell off his investment business due to lack of income. He has been uninvolved with the other part of his business and now is struggling to regain control. His attacks are based on opinion and not facts.
Pray for my family.

Let's make a new deal.

I have been truly amazed by comments made by the younger generation of adults. My son-in-laws friends recently made this comment, "America has gone downhill since they elected Franklin Roosevelt."

I was not only stunned, but surprised at how uninformed this young man was about history. Sure there are always going to be a number of citizens that thought that the government should have let the economy self-destruct.

I can also sympathize with someone so ill informed.

The new conservatives of the South have bought in to this "big government is bad" philosophy without the advantages of an educational system that teaches contemporary history. Facts are difficult for them to get the heads around. Most of these new conservatives watch television, read by electric lights, drive automobiles, visit national parks and some even have jobs. Truly they do not grasp the impact the "New Deal" had on the nation, but specifically the South. Prior to FDR the South was in the dark, literally. There were no major highways, let alone paved roads. Jobs were created by the government through the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) . Other articles have been written about its successes and accomplishments. The obvious misinformed individuals either came from "old money", "prejudiced against the poor and others" and ignorant of history.

In both today's economic strife as was in Roosevelt's day, the current administration followed a disastrous one. And today the conservatives continue to blame the current office with the results of the previous one.

Fear not. (An excerpt from Associated Baptist Press)

I wandered up on this story from the Associated Baptist Press just after I received another one of those scathing emails about the unreliability of sites that debunk false emails. After researching the previously mentioned email all of the examples they gave as reliable sites all debunked the claims it made against that site.
When we pass on email information to our friends, we must insure that what we forward is the "truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." When our political agenda lures us into passing on these false claims it weakens our witness. We are so sure that something is true, we don't check the facts.
There are enough problems in this world, why should we as Christians contribute to the mess?

The link to the article is: http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4496&ltemid==53

Affordable Care Act

Do not think that we are finished. Healthcare is almost a reality for most Americans. A few glitches and hiccups on the first day. But what did you expect? The problems and waiting are not unlike black Friday. If people will stand in line for a Holiday Barbie, then they can surely be patient on healthcare.

What's happenin' here?

What it is isn't exactly clear.
Some time during the week I receive another "well meaning" email from a friend. These emails are almost always funny, including the blatant political ones. Amazing as it may seem in a world full of skeptics, my friends have become sheep. If someone that knows someone that knows someone that knows someone that knows someone sends out an email claiming a certain "certain-ness" regarding a particular subject it has got to be true.
Last week a friend of mine had a friend of theirs, who had a friend of theirs, who had a friend of theirs; (well you get the picture) send out an email with claims that certain rumor debunking sites were prejudiced, especially against the conservative element. It gave a list of preferred sources that were "more truthful" that a specific one.
The only problem with this email was that the "preferred sources" debunked the email itself. Then claim involved a link to a website, let's say "snopes.com", but did not take you to http://www.snopes.com but instead it took you to http://snopes.com/>. These are not the same website. The first one is the correct link, however the other address takes you to a site that uses the snopes logo off of their listing page, but instead of giving a list of related stories, it gives you a flash message stating "I can't find the page you're looking for. It was probably a page about something really interesting,but the URL you entered doesn't point to anything on this site.
Might I recommend you try the search engine at http://www.snopes.com/search to help you locate the item you want?
You really should try it.
I have lots of great stories to tell you about vanishing hitchhikers,and bloody hooks,and exploding whales,and glurge,and gun-toting grannies,and hairy-armed hitchhikers,and murdered roommates."
Well, beyond all belief the Search Engine "link below" for snopes search engine was an actual link to the correct web address. Imagine that!
Also on this "Page Not Found" is a link to the BS watch, http://www.bswatch.com/. If you dig a little bit at this site you will find a link to Joey Skaggs site, http://joeyskaggs.com/, a well known hoaxer and comedian. Who goes on to say in this commentary http://joeyskaggs.com/html/comm/comm15.html That he has the perfect formula to pull a hoax on anyone. Use the information he gives and you can prank anyone.
Why do these things get passed on by honest, truthful people. Because it fits the agenda they want to push.
I believe, but I am still skeptical. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is; even if it fits the position you would like to find true. Check the facts, check the source and most of all, be informed.

School Days, School Days Dear Old Golden Rule Days

Thinking back to the time of my youth, I find myself remembering the oddest things. I remember walking home from school, taking shortcuts through the yards along the way. Some days with classmates, some insufferably alone.

I can still recall the machine in the cafeteria of my elementary school having a machine that dispensed milk just like the ones in a restaurant. You know, the ones with the weighted handles that would stop the flow, just in case an errant school child would try to leave it open. The large stainless machine had a whole white milk side and another that gave the “good” kids chocolate milk. Before I moved from the elementary school to the junior high the nostalgia of the machine was replaced by milk in a carton. Five cents for white milk and a whole Six cents for chocolate. Milk, not the 2% kind they serve in schools now, but honest to goodness whole milk. Lunches were 25 cents then. I even remember the food actually tasted good.

I can almost smell the stairwell leading down to the cafeteria from the ground level classrooms. Oiled covered stairs that retained the aroma of the oil used to treat the floors or for that matter any thing wooden in the building. Up and down each hall and each classroom the janitor moved with a deliberate stride. Taking time to push the floor mop along to gather any dust left behind by the traffic of children.

I can remember riding to school with my mom and dad. Taking the new Buick, with chrome holes on the fender, each morning to the land of learning and the planet of play.

Recess stands out in my mind most of all. During our planned excursions to the playground, socialization allowed us to meet others of our age. Recess was the ultimate networking time. Ball games were played after painfully choosing sides. Shouts of “Red Rover Come Over” filled the air. Hopefully your team could withstand the charge of the opposing side, capturing the assailant. Monkey bars (jungle gyms) climbed to the sky. If you were brave enough hanging upside down was a show of daring. Seesaws or teeter totters, what ever you called them, we knew that you tried not to step off while your companion was in the air. Lots of running, jumping and yelling burned off the pent up steam from classroom work.

How those teachers calmed us down I still can't comprehend. Those carefree days gave me a world of experience that I value today: Spend some time in play to remain sane in this fast paced world we live in.

We have forgotten how to play without it being a competition. Play refreshes the soul, as well as the body.

Take time to play today.

What is going on?

I can't log on, well maybe>