Fit Moms Chontel Duncan and Stacie Venagro Gave Birth to Healthy Baby Boys!

If the world, or least Americans, are not getting dumber and dumber my uncle's a monkey.  Read the above headline: two women give birth.  No, one woman gave birth.  It isn't possible for a woman to get another pregnant.  I believe in tolerance but I also believe in telling the truth.  Two women can not and have never been able to make a baby.   

Trump is afraid he will win.

 The election of 2016 seems to be coming down to the rejects of 2008: Hillary and the Donald.  Hillary is serious about being President while Donald Trump just wanted free publicity for his on-going business concerns.  This year it backfired and people thought he might be a good candidate. 
  Our system of government only works if the populace is educated.  I'm afraid the American population isn't as educated as they would like  to believe.  They can't get their faces out of their electronic devices long enough to pay attention.  Americans ability to express themselves via the written world has seriously deteriorated.  Computers, once thought to be the gateway to knowledge, is only a platform to watch movies and play games.  Many of the news stories on the web are now presented in video form. 
   It seems the American public wants to smoke as much marijuana as they want without being arrested for it, drive as fast as they want without being ticketed for it, party as hard as they want without being held responsible for their actions, want to be paid as much as possible for doing as little as they can, and if they screw up, they want everyone else to pitch in and bail them out without themselves having to face the consequences of their actions.  Americans want to live in an idealistic world were everyone is love, respected, and well taken care of but where everyone really means themselves. 
   Donald Trump is not Presidential material.  We live in a real world where we have real enemies and they want to do us harm.  They consider most Americans infidels and to be honest, they might not be too far off the mark.  But being an infidel gives no one the right to do us harm.  To survive as a  country we need to change some things.  Donald Trump is not the person to lead this nation to bring about these changes.
  

diet soda in the news: again

The article was titled "What diet soda is doing to your body"  and indicates that diet soda is bad for a person.  What exactly is it that is bad for a person?  Soda is carbonated water, sweeter and flavoring along with preservatives.  All soda has carbonated water yet it isn't regular soda or carbonated soda getting the bad rap.  Regular soda doesn't contain sugar  but corn syrup or corn sugar which diet soda doesn't have.  Diet soda has an artificial sweetener that regular soda doesn't have  but it isn't the sweetener that is getting the bad rap.  The other ingredients in sodas vary from drink to drink: that's what makes them different. 
  So exactly what is the problem with diet soda?

Not so buddy

Just read an article on MSN that was entitled "He retired at 33, so can you."  Sorry but I passed that milestone 35 years ago.  My brother retired yesterday  but the rich brother is still working.  Go figure. 

neighbors yard

  This is what I have to look at everyday.  The shed in the backyard is not finished and the fenced lot on the right of the house is for yappy little dogs.  He has an untagged yard machine which he rides on the streets, blocks the road with excess vehicles and broken trailers, and is constantly swapping junk
but is always bringing more than taking. 
  Bot only is the place an eyesore the man is drawing disability but is constantly working, building, tearing down, loading and unloading junk.

A different kind of march mdness

    March is known for St. Patty's Day and for March Madness, the NCAA Basketball tournament.  It is also the month that One Way Baptist has it's annual revival services.  This year the speaker was Danny Castle from Shinning Light Baptist Church in Morganton, NC.  He was one of the best speaker's I've ever heard.  But more than being able to deliver an interesting and entertaining speech, he was able to present the gospel  in an appealing way. 
   You missed the services this year but we are having him back next year so mark your calendars for next March.

Revival services at One Way Baptist

  Danny Castle from the Morganton area is the guest speaker at One Way Baptist.  Although I am the longest attending active member of the church having missed only a couple of services (not Sunday morning services but all services of the church) my pastor and I have very different tastes when it comes to "good preaching".  It seems the louder and more flamboyant a speaker is the more holy our preacher thinks he is.  Flaying od the arms, hacking, and screaming at the top of ones lungs does nothings to enhance a mans message.  Granted, these types of preachers can generate excitement and garner a lot of whops and hollers  but rarely have anything of substance to say.  The ones I dislike the most are the ones that have speech impediments that make them hard to understand.  It seems though that this type of preacher is the type preferred by my pastor and it also seems the more animated, the louder, and the worse the speech  impediment the better the preacher likes it. 
  I will agree that a message should be delivered with a degree of enthusiasm so that time seems to fly by and your interest held but I also think the message should have a beginning, a body and an ending and to have gone somewhere.  Some preachers can spew out well worn phrases for an hour and never actually make a point.  One preacher carried two handkerchiefs, one in each hand, and wiped his face constantly as he spoke, using one hanky to swipe his brow and the other to wipe his lips.  He would start on his cheek wipe down and the across his lips and then down to his chin.  He has the required speech impediment   and wiping his lips made it impossible to understand what he was saying.  That made for a long evenings  and to be subjected to that night after night was a little more than one soul could bear. 
  I have been looking forward to this weeks revival services with dread especially since the preacher seemed to be so excited about the proposed preacher.  It would be a big shock to everyone at the church if I wasn't there but I had already informed my wife that if this preacher was anything like the last three preachers that had been booked for our revival services I was staying in Hickory and not coming back until all the work there was done and I was serious when I said that. 
  I was pleasantly surprised last night.  Danny Castle is one of the best speakers I've heard in a long time.  I will be back tonight.  

Remodel complete

  I picked the tops up from Lowes Tuesday morning, purchased some liquid nails from Wal-mart and glued the tops down.  I had the project complete by 7:05 am.  I was then able to visit Mom to have breakfast with her.  I then brought her to her house to see the finished project and to do some cleaning.  She was very pleased with the results,  She said my younger brother, who saw it Sunday, was pleased with the results also. 

Remodel almost complete

    I'm going to Hickory tomorrow and pick up the counter tops.  Once they are installed the remodel will be complete.  Of course there is still plenty of work to be done, the hardest of which will be the clean-up.  I have an out building to paint, grass to plant, and  china cabinet glass to replace and furniture and stuff to arrange and window to wash. 
  There is, of course, things I wanted done I couldn't get done like the flooring in the kitchen and bathroom replaced, a dishwasher installed, and the yard professional landscaped, and the stumps ground, but some of that will come in due time.  I had the money to get all the undone stuff completed but because of time constraints most of Moms money went to pay the Bryan Center and Omnicare.  If all the money had been available from the start and I could have paid for everything up front then I could have completed all the necessary projects. 
   I know Lowes refused to replace the bathroom and kitchen flooring but I could have found someone to do it.  But things are were thy are and I did the best I could under the circumstances.  The house is much improved and I believe all the work and aggravation   was worth it to get the final results. 

Upholding science at the expense of religion

    In todays paper one of the feature guest writers extolled the virtues of science while depicting religious institutions of being close-minded and pig-headed, believing in miracles where non exists and he has every right to feel that way and to say so publicly.  But that doesn't make him right.   
  First of all, what the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church did has no reflection om the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.  True religion is having a relationship with Jesus Christ  and not debating the value of religion over science or denying the accomplishments of science.  What scientist have been able to prove in no wise contradicts the scriptures.  What some scientist conclude about what they believe but can't prove, however sometimes sounds more foolish than what is taught in the scriptures. 
   During WWII a German Doctor operated on hundreds of Jews without them having need of an operation and without them having the benefit of pain killers all in the name of science yet I would not hold him up as an example of what science is about yet secular people like to hold up the ungodly popes of centuries gone by as typical of the Christian attitude yet these popes were not Christian at all.  The crusades were waged by the Catholic church against Christians because they choose to believe the teaching of Christ was that salvation was through Him yet the Church wanted people to believe that only the Catholic Church could grant salvation. 
  The secular world disallows creation to be taught in school yet they teach a theory as fact.  Who is being close-minded and pig-headed.  If an idea cannot be proven as fact then it should not be taught at all or opposite and/or opposing views should be allowed. 
  I'm sure the writer is willing to dismiss claims of miraculous healings as just consequence but exactly how many consequences in a row does it take for one to think there may be a divine hand in things?  Impossible things do not happen to one person often yet when the impossible happens over and over and over again for years on end then does that prove mere luck or provide a cause to believe
in divine intervention? 
  While the writer mocks the early church and modern day believers he conveniently leaves Christ alone while is the only wisw thing he did. 

Trump for President

    It seems the Donald is doing a good job of getting people to turn out to vote in the primaries and to vote for him.  The trouble is, Donald Trump doesn't really want to be President.  It's all a joke to him and I believe he is as shocked and the RNC is that people are taking him seriously.  Lately he has been doing things and saying things to derail his campaign but no one seems to be paying attention.  In the last week or so he made the statement that he would not be surprised to lose the nomination and this week he bragged about the size of his manhood.  The President of North Korea might be interested in that but the rest of the world does not care. 
 

Black History Month

The year was 1966, the year after I graduated from the last all-white high school in my home town.  I was home from college and I saw an article in the newspaper about busing.  The writer, a local parent, was objecting to busing because, the writer claimed, that busing the black kids across town to attend the formerly all white school was a dangerous thing to do.  The kids got less sleep, might not have time for breakfast, and all the miles spent on the road in a bus increased the changes of them being in an accident.  In response I wrote the following article which was read on WBTV Charlotte.

   "I don't know if busing is a good thing or a bad thing and I'm not for nor against it.  I do know that the writer of the article against busing is blowing smoke.  While on the surface it may seem like he has legitimate concerns, the truth is he isn't concerned with the safety and welfare of the black students.  He just doesn't want his white kids to go to school with them.  If the writer and his friends were really concerned about the safety of the children then where were they six years ago?  I lived just a few blocks from the black high school yet I had to walk almost two miles to school every day for three years then walk the same two miles for another three years to catch a bus to the white high school yet no one was concerned about me.  Is the writer now claiming he cares more about the black kids then he did the white kids that had to be bused across town so they didn't have to go to school with the black children?  I think he needs to be honest about the real reason he objects to busing.

Profession of faith

A lady at the church had been praying for her grand daughter when she heard a TV preacher say something that upset her, indicating that her prayer's were not getting through to God.  She called me really upset about what this man had said.  I assured her what she heard was just a Haggiism and not biblical truth.  Last night her grand daughter came to church and midway through the service this lady's prayers were answered.  Be careful who you listen to.  If it isn't scriptural the man may be a servant of the devil. 

Back in town

    I made my weekly trek to Hickory.  Tuesday was more of a visitation day with Mom although I did do some remodeling to the new out building.  The building came with shelves  along each side from front to back but with a full run of shelves there wasn't a place to hang rakes, and shovels and other long tools so I took out half of the shelves on one side and hung those shelves above the other shelf on that side giving me a place to stack cans and bottles and also allowing me to hang the long tools.
   I also put a tamper proof hasp  on the door .  I was going to secure the hasp with carriage bolts but the ones I purchased were to short.  I also bought a can of window glaze to frost the windows so one cannot see into the shed but can see out. 
    Mom was feeling somewhat better after a bought with some kind of virus that severely effective ones digestive system.  I took her laundry home to do while she enjoyed lunch and we had a nice visit in the evening.  I decided to spend the night in Hickory because I needed to do some studying and with the impending bad weather I thought it to be much safer to stay as I had to be in Hickory for the inspector. 
   After breakfast Wednesday morning I refinished the bathtub (2nd coat) leveled the stove and dryer, washed all the dirty dishes, vacuumed, and cleaned the rug in the den.  After lunch I went to visit Mom for an hour or two.  I left there at two and headed to the house to pack up, load the car and head for Hickory.  I needed time to prepare for Wednesday night so the inspection would just have to wait for another day. 
   I got my car loaded up and then I noticed two cans of paint I had forgot to take to the out building so I did that and as I turned to walk to the car to leave I saw a man standing in  my yard.  It was the inspector.  If he was 30 later or if I had not put away the paint cans we would have missed each other.  I was glad to get the inspection over with. 
   Winds were rough and blew a big pine tree in Mom's neighbors yard across the street not only blocking the toad but taking down the power lines. 
  The trip home was safe and uneventful.

If this is our best, we really suck.

“I hear the phrase, ‘Make America great again,’” said Jackson, reciting Trump’s campaign slogan with a tone of disbelief. “This is the best America’s ever been!”

   Jesse Jackson claims America is at it's best at this very moment. 

  There is a bill in Charlotte that proposes that all public bathrooms in the city can be used by anyone claiming to be of whatever gender they choose.  In other words, a man can claim he is a woman and use the women's bathroom.  One might assume that men would not mind if women used their restroom but not so.  I'm not about to expose myself in front of a female even if she claims she is a man trapped in a man's body.  Is allowing our wives and daughters to subject themselves to possible lewd behavior the best of America?  I think not.
    Our country allows women the right to kill their unborn children by allowing the women to claim that whatever is growing inside of them is just tissue and is not human at all.  Jesse Jackson says this is the best we have ever been. 
   We have interpreted the constitution as saying we have freedom from religion and not freedom of religion and yet Jackson says this is the best America has ever been. 
  While it is true that America has never been without problems and even at our best we had glaring deficiencies, this is not the best America has every been  It may be the best America will ever be but it is not the best America has ever been.

Some delays, some success, and a tie.

   They cabinets I ordered back in December finally came in (the second time) but no laminate tops so they will be a three week delay.  Window World had problems with the large window so their installation date (scheduled for February 1 has been pushed back to the second week in March. 
   The out building has been delivered and set up.  To be honest, the hasps and hinges are designed to keep the doors on the building  but will have to be changed in order for the building to ne secure.  I am having it tied into the home alarm as well.  The front door and new storm door were delivered and installed.  I didn't notice until after the man left that the bracket for the deadbolt on the main door was set too high so the deadbolt wouldn't set so I fixed the problem myself.  The refinishing job I did on her 58 year old bathtub turned out good so I'm pleased with that.
   The success is I finally got Mom qualified for Medicaid.  It was really stressful combining all her accounts into one account, spending money  fixing up the house, trying to get the money in the annuity released, scheduling the workers, painting, moving stuff over and over, doing minor repair work and so much cleaning.  The most stressful part was that I had no idea how much money I had in the bank account plus I had no power of attorney to even write a check let alone obtain the information in order to balance the check book.  I finally had to take Mom to the bank.  But now everything is done as far as qualifying   Mom and in three weeks the house should be completed.
  There were a few minor problems I have to deal with on my own.  The truck delivering the shed got stuck so I had to hire the wrecker to pull him out of the mud and pay a walking fee, ($180.00 total)  I had to pay $89.00  for the laminate countertops and I will have to pay for the alarm system upgrades ($250.00) plus I'll have to change the hasp and hinges and paint the building out of my own pocket. 
  Now all the expense of running the roads between Randleman and Hickory will be out of my own pocket but you know, a man only has one Mom and he needs to do right by her.  After all she has always been there for me. 

I didn't know that but wish I did.

Fun Fact: After the first season, Davy Jones received a draft notice -- and starved himself for three weeks in order to fail the physical.

  That's Davy Jones of the Monkees.  I thought the TV show was stupid back then and I still think it is dumb.  I also knew that some, if not all, the band members were anti-Vietnam War.  So was I.  But I served two tours in Vietnam anyway and as a volunteer.  There are certain things one is called to do in life:  serve in the military, pull jury duty, and salute the American flag during the playing of the national anthem.  No, I had no wish to die and I certainly don't look forward to taking my own time to sit in judgement of my fellow man.  
   To intentionally jeopardize one's own health in an effort to subvert ones duty to ones country and put another woman's child in danger (someone had to take his place) is a criminal act punishable as cowardice would be punished by the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  You probably disagree but then you probably didn't have to fight in Vietnam because someone else wimped out. 

Obama says "Trump will not be President"

This is one case in which I hope Obama is correct.  Trump has ran for that office for many elections and is like celebrity divorces 5 decades ago: a mere publicity stunt and ego booster.  The people I'm most afraid of are the people who think Trump is Presidential material. 
   Many years ago George Wallace ran for President and the Prime Minister of England made the statement that American is such a great country that even a person like George Wallace could run for President but also such a scary place that a man like George Wallace might actually get elected.  Well, I feel the same about Trump.  He's a loose cannon.  Yea, he's cocky and thinks he has all the answers but all he does is spew the uninformed opinion  of the man on the street. 
   Obama claimed that all America needed to do was sit down with our enemies and talk out our problems and the Democrats ate that up.  Most blacks voted for him because he was black and Democratic regardless of what he claimed.  Well Obama found out what everyone else already knew.  One cannot sit down and reason with radical Islam nor can one negotiate with the likes of the leader of North Korea.  In other words, talk is cheap.  Reality is where we ought to live.   Much of what Trump says is based on our feelings and our frustrations.  Yea, building a fence   to keep the illegals out sounds good but who is going to pay for all that wire? 
   Half my neighborhood is made up of illegals.  Their yards are messy, they mistreat their pets, and they disregard local laws which, I suppose was okay in their homeland. but it really isn't here.  But Americans kill so many babies that if it wasn't for the illegals who would do the jobs they do?  The truth is the illegals are no more of a ban to our existence than the   Jews were to Hitler's Germany.    
Trump is using them to stir our emotions and cloud our judgement is much the same manner as Hitler did the Jews.  He is not the thinking mans candidate.

Halftime show

Seems like there is a lot of controversy about Beyoncé's halftime performance.  Things like that are one of the reasons I never watch the Super Bowl. 

Valentine's on the 7th.

    Have you ever tried to take your sweetie out to a restaurant on Valentines Day?  Long lines and impossible waits are the rule.  My wife and I stay home on that day.  Since her aneurysm she doesn't do well in crowds so it is best we not venture out that day anyway. 
  We usually go out to dinner after church on Sunday morning a couple of times a month.  Roadhouse express and a local Mexican Food restaurant are our usual places to dine but we had decided we would like a steak.  The best steak I've eaten was at the Texas Roadhouse in Hickory but that's too far to go.  There are some good places in Greensboro like the Outback or Longhorn but the trouble with most steakhouses today is that slap a piece of meat on a plate and call it a meal.  I'm sorry but I'm southern.  I like a potato and a salad with my meat. 
   I know there is a descent steakhouse in Randleman but for my money I'd rather drive to Archdale to the Pioneer.  I know most people think of the pioneer as a buffet place and it is and a second rate one at that.  Golden Coral has the best selection but Snyder Farms has the best food, by far.  The truth be told though, the Pioneer serves a good steak.  One gets your choice of baked potato or fries, roll or toast and a trip to the salad bar and the desert bar.   Most steak places give you a piece of meat and a hunk of hard bread and a sampling of butter.  The steak should be the center piece of the meal but  not the whole thing.