I’m growing more and more unsettled with the direction of my church these days. It just doesn’t seem to be getting the job done with respect to guiding me and the rest of the flock. It’s kind of like having one of those cool hippy moms that are more focused on being their children’s friend than being a parent. A recent sermon asked, what does being a Methodist mean to you? It got me to thinking.

It means never hearing about sin, or how we fall short of the glory of God for one thing. It means belonging to a church that is just too squeamish to broach the subjects of homosexuality and abortion. In fact, its greatest concern lately seems to be why the pews are virtually empty and the median age of the congregation hovers at about 60 years old. I cannot recall any serious discussion or pronouncement on any moral issue from the pulpit in the past three years. But it is clear that the Preacher is a Global Warming true believer and impulsively anti-war.

As a recovering Catholic, with substantial indoctrination in the values of that church, I grew up expecting the church to be a moral guide, a proxy for the Trinity. They call the priests “Father” for a reason. Unfortunately, whatever moral authority the Catholic Church once had has been squandered by protecting scores of the vilest predators for decades with full knowledge of what they were doing. I just can’t follow them anymore.

The Missus has a friend that collects bulletins when she visits other churches, and she was absolutely livid that the cover of one from another parish had a fetus on it. “How could they talk about that with all the babies being killed in Iraq!?” was her first and only comment. When the Missus asked me what I thought about this, I told her it was because our church had failed her. Instead of giving this woman guidance and moral direction, she is adrift in a sea of moral relativism. Had the church been doing its job, the difference should have been clear to her.

While I disagree with the anti-war crowd, I can respect some of their positions. One can make an honest argument that we shouldn’t have gone into this war in the first place; I can respect that. An argument that things have been handled badly is also not out of line. But to equate the accidental killing of children while combating a culture that wantonly kills its own women and children is a bridge too far to me. To use this ridiculous comparative to shift the focus away from the uncomfortable truth that we’ve allowed the deliberate murder of over 45 million babies here at home is just unconscionable.. There simply isn’t any equivalence.

We are in an existential struggle with an ideology that sanctions murder of innocents all over the world. This culture deliberately bombs public places where women and children gather. It bombs weddings. It kills people that speak out against it, like Theo Van Gogh. It bombs subways and trains, like in London and Spain. Its adherents are responsible for the burning of over one hundred cars every night in France. This ideology has stated its aim as nothing less than our utter destruction.

Contrast these zealots with the unbelievable restraint and professionalism of our military. I simply do not believe our soldiers deliberately kill women and children, and no rational person does either. I believe we put ourselves at a great disadvantage on many occasions to avoid such unwanted destruction and death. How many mosques that have served as firebases and weapons caches have been destroyed? NONE! Why is it so easy to believe our own young men and women are monsters while ignoring the flagrant and deliberate destruction being wrought by those we fight? Moral blindness, that’s why. Lack of guidance and spiritual leadership, that’s why. Lack of faith in our country, ourselves, and the truth of the word of God, that’s why. And in my book that’s the first obligation of a church.

God didn’t outlaw war. He sanctioned many wars. He took sides in them. There is no biblical prohibition to war. Deliberate killing of the innocent is forbidden, but not war. Sometimes, evil has to be faced; with courage and faith in the rightness of your actions. Why don’t we hear that from the pulpit? Where is the guidance teaching the difference between the unfortunate but necessary tragedy of war and the abject slaughter being perpetrated by our enemies? These aren’t morally equivalent, so why is the church silent on one of the great moral issues of our time?

And witness how this confusion allows a regular church-goer to leap to such a morally bankrupt comparision to avoid dealing with the voluntary destruction of more babies than the entire population of Iraq. How can the church put people in the pews if it can’t convey the basic moral guidelines that have under girded our nation for over two hundred years? Frankly, I’m looking for a new church. Maybe the Baptists can make a spot for me in the front row.

Scottie

I have to say, the term discrimination tends to be treated like the proverbial skunk at the intellectual picnic these days, but it shouldn’t be. I would like to explore this term for what it really is and encourage you to consider the concept a little more deeply. The intelligencia derides the whole concept as inherently evil, but is it really? I don’t think so.

Discrimination means nothing more than choosing carefully. If you are a discriminating shopper, you consider your purchases carefully and investigate as many of the alternatives as you can before you make an informed choice. Sometimes the proper decision is to forego the purchase altogether. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact if you act irrationally or emotionally, you act indiscriminately. The ability to discriminate simply means you have the ability to make sound choices.

I think the Left has devolved to the point that it is utterly incapable of discriminating. Evan Sayet calls them the cult of the indiscriminate. Look at some of the choices they make and you decide.

The feminists (a subgroup of the Left) give tacit support to an ideology that advocates stoning women to death, prevents their education, executes them for being raped, and makes them wear a tent over themselves on the rare occasions they are allowed to leave the house. They also deify a sexual predator and turn a blind eye to his misogynistic behavior as long as he keeps abortion legal. Surely they should be more discriminating.

The antiwar crowd can’t seem to discriminate between freedom fighters and terrorists. They also seem to think we are imperialists bent on stealing oil from a country we have freed from an oppressive maniac. And all the while paying nearly twice what we did a couple of years ago for gasoline and sacrificing thousands of lives in the process. Shouldn’t gas prices be coming down in light of all of this stolen oil by now? And where is this empire we’re supposed to be accumulating? Surely we should have more than a few islands as territories by now given we are virtually unopposed by the rest of the world militarily. Or maybe accusing America of being an Imperialist oil thief is an indiscriminate thing to say.

The Left thinks we should extend the rights we reserve for our own citizens to people that are here illegally. It also wants to extend these rights to people who have vowed to kill us. If they can’t manage that, we should at least extend Geneva Convention protection to them, even though they are not signatories to the treaty and engage in the very behavior the treaty intended to prevent. The Left can’t discriminate between good and evil, even when the differences are writ large for all to see.

Now the inability to discriminate seems to be infecting some on the Right as well. We are urged to support candidates that have nothing more in common with our values than their willingness to fight for our survival. While the willingness to fight for our survival should be universal, unfortunately it isn’t. But what good is surviving if we aren’t willing to uphold our core cultural values as well; to merely survive as a shadow of ourselves?

I encourage you to shop among the candidates carefully as the primaries approach. Support the candidate that best reflects your values. Discriminate, it’s the Right thing to do.

Scottie

No one will say it, but the reason this psycho wasn’t confronted earlier, when many people around him recognized he was a danger, was fear of being called names by a bunch of weak kneed sissies enforcing the PC code. Had anyone confronted this deranged individual for his erratic and threatening behavior in advance of this slaughter, they would have been unjustly pilloried for being “racist” and “xenophobic”. Yet even in death, this sick individual will not be called what HE truly was: evil.

Instead of action when action was called for, we hear "Why weren't we warned?", "Why didn't someone protect us?"  When evil clearly telegraphed its approach, who stood up to confront it? When did we surrender our obligation to stand up for ourselves? When did we become so soft, so dependent, so afraid of mere words? 

Pity his students weren’t taught the values so forthrightly demonstrated by their professor. Pity the fear of being demonized by the PC police had to cost so many lives. More the pity that the lesson, paid for in blood by an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances, won’t merit the attention and admiration it justly deserves while the psycho and his sickness will be 24/7 news for a week. Evil must be confronted, not bargained with, no matter the cost.  And the longer you wait to confront it, the higher that cost will be. God bless Professor Liberscu, a true hero and exemplar of what manhood should be. 

Scottie

Update:
Having read the Smith article today, I soberly reconsider my previous questioning of the actions of the students at VT.  As Anonmyous Coward tried in vain to convey, there are some considerations I have obviously overlooked. In light of this new perspective, I find my previous position assinine and I sincerely regret having taken it. See for yourself:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/column.aspx?UrlTitle=va_tech_students_under_fire_why_didnt_someone_stop_cho&ns=WThomasSmithJr&dt=04/26/2007&page=full&comments=true#c636cf6c-03b1-4dde-ba14-f646102a84ce

In my opinion, what Imus did was objectively wrong.  You don’t refer to women as whores.  I hoped that this would highlight the ubiquitous and vulgar use of the term by rap artists. But instead of absorbing the lesson, we are treated with the endless twisting by those that would defend this behavior for blacks, while demonizing it for whites.  Well, they can’t really defend it for blacks either, but when black people use the term it’s different somehow even though it means exactly the same thing.  It’s a cultural difference and how dare anyone show any insensitivity to someone else’s culture.  This also explains why blacks can call each other “n_gga” and why blacks cannot be racists.  What is objectively wrong for whites simply doesn’t apply to them.

You’ll notice that in order to appear consistent, those arguing against Imus readily condemn the use of the term by rappers.  But this is more of a “gimme” forced by the situation than a deeply held view.  I’ve noticed the Imus controversy; how could I avoid hearing about it?  But I haven’t noted any similar outrage prior to this about Snoop Dog and his ilk.  These current condemnations ring hollow even as they are offered.  In the coming weeks, does anyone seriously believe black rappers are going to be excoriated by the same mob that came for Imus?

That’s because those currently outraged at Imus don’t truly believe that what Snoop Dog does is the same as what Imus did; even though it is exactly the same. Well you see, Snoop is an entertainer; So is Imus.  Well when Snoop does it, it’s an act, it’s art, you wouldn’t understand, it’s a black thing.  Horse puckey!  Calling women whores is wrong.  It is wrong to do it on the radio, or at home, or in rap music.  It’s wrong when Imus does it and it’s just as wrong when Snoop Dog does it.  Either that or Snoop Dog’s “culture” is somehow morally defective.

Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it!

    In college I took an honor’s independent study course one summer. My advisor, a wise and patient mentor, designed a program tailor-made for me. This was no mean feat; at the time, I had decided I was going to be the next Danny Bonaduce, the next Alex Keeton, a money guru heretofore only imagined by mere mortals. I wanted to know everything about money, finance, taxes, and business. I had a rapacious appetite for anything to do with money. I read the Wall Street Journal every morning while sitting in a veritable fortress of magazines. Money, Fortune, CEO, and other financial periodicals littered my study area at home. I was intent on reaching for true financial greatness.

    My assignment was: find and interview some lottery winners and write a ten-page essay with my findings. Yowza! I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I knew I was going to produce the feel-good story of the century. How could I fail to hit this one out of the park? I gladly accepted the assignment and we submitted the contract to the dean, who readily approved it. I was set for a summer of hobnobbing with people that had it made.

    What I learned that summer absolutely destroyed my naiveté. I found people without exception that were isolated, suspicious, and so profoundly confused about their “good fortune” that I struggled to comprehend much less communicate what they were telling me. Just getting them to grant me an interview was unbelievably difficult. You see, when you win the lottery you become very popular with people “working an angle” as one winner, “Bill”, put it. Since this guy was typical of what I found, I’ll elaborate a little about “Bill”.

    “Bill” had won over twelve million dollars about five years before I met him. In the intervening years, he had purchased a lovely home in the country, cars for his kids, and an awesome pickup truck for himself. His home was appointed with beautiful furniture, and his game room was to die for. A carved Brunswick pool table dominated a room complete with several pinball and video arcade machines, a soda fountain, a fully stocked bar, and matching leather furniture. I took a seat at the poker table across from “Bill” and we had a very enlightening chat for the next couple of hours.

    “Bill”, it turned out, was a very lonely man. His wife had left him not long after the flood of money came along. The stress of the change in lifestyle; and the new possibilities now afforded her, had fundamentally changed their relationship. He had a certain fatalism about things as he reminisced. It seems that most of his former friends had also been corrupted by the change in his financial status. When he stopped buying things for them, they too seemed to fade away over the next year or so. He said they acted like they were entitled to a piece of the “good fortune” he had come into; but none of them wanted to, or could, help him deal with all the new problems having money had delivered.

    He offered me this advice if I were ever “lucky” enough to win the ottery: “Disconnect your phone son; just yank it out of the wall. You won’t get any peace until you do.” He went on to tell me of the multitude of “investment advisors” and brokers and lawyers that called him at all hours of the day and night until he just unplugged it. He also said you had to have a heart of stone to turn down the endless pleas for assistance from kids needing operations, charities, and less scrupulous sorts of people. He had never had to deal with these things before and had been pretty badly burned a couple of times before he said he had just had enough of it. He hired a local lawyer that he knew from high school to handle his business affairs. He knew the guy was in over his head, but then he was over his head, too. So it all balanced out; almost. He couldn’t really be sure his high school buddy was a real friend or just a “money-friend.”

    You see, “Bill” learned that money had solved all of the problems he ever had before he won the lottery. But it had also brought him a lot of problems he never could have anticipated. He was a farmer before he won. He was a simple man with a simple world-view that didn’t enjoy endless meetings about estate planning. He didn’t like having to make decisions about tax planning, or being hounded by those that wanted to “help” him all the time. He was tired of being sued by people that knew he hadn’t done anything to them, but also knew they would get some kind of settlement to go away. He wasn’t very impressed with many people he had to deal with these days.

    “Money doesn’t make you anything more or less than what you were without it; but it sure does change the people around you. You don’t fit in with the old crowd anymore; and you sure don’t fit in with the new crowd. You wind up in a beautiful cage. Isn’t it ironic that we’re sitting at a poker table, but there haven’t been enough people in this house for a game of poker since I bought it?” I sat there thunderstruck by the words coming from this man. Maybe I had missed a few of the finer points about money.

    My professor was duly impressed with my paper when I turned it in. She could have failed me and it wouldn’t have made a bit of difference to me at the time. I was so shell-shocked by my discoveries that summer; it took me a couple of years to digest all that I had learned. I eventually graduated (Magna cm Laude) with a degree in Accountancy, passed the uniform CPA exams and went out to apply the knowledge I had amassed. But I’ll never forget the lessons I learned that summer. Getting rich is a process and it sure isn’t for everybody. The jump forward in wealth from a lottery win is kind of like skipping high school and starting college with an eighth grade education. And while money has been central to my livelihood for a long time now, it is no longer an object of worship to me. I am grateful for a college professor that understood that reality, and took the opportunity to really teach me something of enduring value one summer, long ago.

Scottie

I am convinced that entropy is the most powerful force in the universe. Nothing works anymore. It’s like the system was designed by idiots, and then endlessly tweaked by even greater idiots to maximize the friction and waste within the system. Let me give you a few examples:

Our schools don’t teach anymore. At the K-12 level, the system amounts to warehousing kids and indoctrinating them. For the more affluent, the children that actually receive a decent primary education, they're promoted to universities where they are not taught how to think, but rather what to think. People with no fear of losing their cushy jobs staff the entire system; receive absolutely sterling health and retirement benefits, and have no accountability whatsoever for the end results. What idiot designed this?

Our police don’t enforce the law anymore. They basically take reports, often over the phone, and file the paper away. They aren’t allowed to check to see if the person before them is in the country illegally. If they shoot a drug smuggler during the commission of a crime, they get put in jail and the drug runner wins the lottery in court. The border patrol isn’t allowed to exceed the speed limit when pursuing bad guys. What idiot designed this system?

Our courts don’t work anymore. They’ve become a means for imposing a hidden tax on everything and everybody for the benefit of lawyers. Justice has become so commoditized, no one cares about right and wrong anymore; most just want to find the cheapest way out of a system more rigged than a three-masted schooner under full sail. The Supreme Court has almost become a punch line and the confirmation process will likely keep jurists with any self-respect from seeking a seat there. What idiot designed this system?

Our political system doesn’t work anymore. 80% of the citizens in this country are in favor of English first, most are opposed to unfettered immigration, and the overwhelming majority are opposed to same-sex marriage. And while there may be wide disagreement with the prosecution of the war, most Americans are not in favor of a precipitous pullout from Iraq. Meanwhile, our borders are wide open, we’re under a continuing existential threat from Islamofascists, and the biggest concern of our elected officials have is whether some lawyers may have unfairly lost their cushy government jobs. Isn’t this an example of a system as dysfunctional as the Bundys? Only the Bundys aren’t real and these problems are! What idiot designed this system?

The NAACP doesn’t represent black people anymore. Virtually every position they take is in opposition to the fundamental views of black people. The same can be said for the AARP. Hijacked by the left and carefully hidden behind a slick marketing campaign. But it’s not the fact that they’ve been hijacked that’s so troubling; it’s the fact that their members continue to blindly support them. What kind of idiot supports an organization that actively undermines them?

The Republican Party doesn’t work anymore either. The party of small government has presided over the largest growth in government in the nation’s history. They’ve added prescription drug benefits for the AARP crowd, expanded the Department of Education with a No Child Left Behind program that hasn’t improved schools in any significant way while increasing spending threefold. The party of fiscal restraint has bloated the federal budget to beyond anything ever seen before in the history of civilization. The party of integrity has so soiled itself with scandals real and imagined that it stands impotent in the face of real criminals. (Think Sandy Berger, $90K Jefferson, ABSCAM Murtha) I’m giving up on the Republican Party. In the end, they’ve sold us out in their pursuit of power and incumbency. What idiot designed this clusterflop?

WE DID! When we stopped fighting for the quality of our children’s education and handed it over to the teachers unions, we did. When we accepted poor or non-existent law enforcement, or worse, allowed others to demonize those that put their lives on the line for political gain, we did. When we valued convenience over justice and settled with someone when we knew it was wrong, we did. When we voted to keep judges that don’t uphold justice, we did. When we (re)elected people that didn’t deserve our vote, we did. When we joined and supported special interest groups that said one thing and did another and turned a blind eye to it out of misguided loyalty, we did. When we became complacent and accepted the dismal state of the Republican Party and voted for the lesser of evils in election after election, we did. As the great philosopher Pogo once said, “We have met the enemy and he is us!”

It’s not the evil Democrats; it’s our unwillingness to actively fight their agenda. It’s not the teacher’s unions, it’s our unwillingness to confront them and hold our ground. It's not the leftist universities; it's our donations to the Alumni Associations and the tuition checks we send with our children that fuels the system.  It’s not the courts; it’s our willingness to forsake justice for the sake of convenience. It's not the politicians, it's our votes cast while holding our collective noses that props them up. Until we’re totally fed up with the status quo, things will not change. Entropy will continue to degrade the system until it finally prompts us to do something about it. Then we will have to muster the will to overcome inertia and reshape the system. Until we are ready to put our butts in first gear and bust a clutch, nothing will change. What idiot designed this system? The answer is as close as the nearest mirror.

Scottie



PS:  OOOh Rah! to Gunny and Nee for representing at the GoE rally.  That's exactly what I'm talkin' 'bout!

What incentive does the “rebate” company have to give your money back to you in a timely fashion, if at all? The terms for recovering your money, euphemistically referred to as a “rebate”, are set by the third party. And therein lies the problem. The original vendor doesn’t care; they already have their money. You can’t turn to a competitor that doesn’t rely on this scheme, because all of these supposedly reputable companies have entered an unholy alliance with these modern-day usurers. And your collection costs are never factored into the equation. To have any hope of collecting your money, you had better send your claim certified mail (add $5.00) or be prepared to produce copies of everything you sent in for the inevitable “We can’t seem to find it, could you send us another copy of your claim form and your receipt?” ploy. Then be ready for the “We’re sorry but your claim was received past the deadline” gambit.

I have looked for products that do not have this inconvenience attached. I’ve even tried to buy software directly from the vendor online, but to no avail. The marketing geniuses have grown too cleaver by half with this scheme. I guess to borrow a phrase from Lewis Black, “They must think we’re just meat with eyes!” How is it possible for consumers to overlook this obvious fraud and continue to go along with it? How is it possible for companies to willfully add this added layer of complication between themselves and their customers and suffer no ill effect in the marketplace?

Why is everyone worried about Muslims being offended for receiving extra scrutiny at airports?  Presumably they want to live, too; and if they don’t, haven’t we identified the problem at that point?

How do the proponents of Marxist philosophy do so with a straight face given that every time it has been tried it has been an utter failure?  This wonderful ideology didn’t work in the Soviet Union despite consuming over 20 million lives while it was being fine-tuned to the inevitable dictatorship it became.  Ignorance is one thing, but willful blindness is quite another.

When someone refers to “Religious Fundamentalists”, why don’t Buddhist Monks or the Amish spring to mind?  Why is it considered impossible to be devout without being dangerous?  Does anyone really fear the Jehovah’s Witnesses?  Aren’t there Secular Fundamentalists, and aren’t they at least as extreme as those they seek to vilify?

Why does Hollywood rail against “Corporate Interests” when everyone in Hollywood is incorporated?  If corporations are evil, why are actors, producers, agents, film companies, special effects companies and every other segment of the film industry incorporated?

Why do they ask you for your ethnicity and sex on a job application “for EEOC Purposes” while simultaneously claiming it makes no difference?  If it makes no difference, why ask the question in the first place?  If it makes no difference, why not ask people after they are hired?  Then the answers couldn’t possibly effect the decision.

How does a physician, schooled in anatomy, reassemble the tissue removed from a woman during an abortion and then reconcile their Hippocratic oath to do no harm with the reassembly of what is obviously a dismembered human?

My intended dug up an old love letter I sent to her when we were both still besotted with one another way back when. I think we all remember those precious times in our lives when love was new, and all things possible. On the eve of my wedding, I thought I would share that letter with you, my readers.

My Dearest Tish,

I usually have no problem expressing myself, but I am overwhelmed at the moment. I pinch myself; is this really happening at last? I am experiencing feelings that I haven’t felt for many, many years. My heart is full of hope for a long awaited new beginning and for now I am content to let it run free and unencumbered. I need some time for my mind to grasp what my heart is so unwaveringly demanding. Be assured that what you are feeling is mutual. I dabbled most of the night last night, unable to sleep. It seems my muse was about and I was moved to compose what follows. I hope this trifle will soothe you during our short but necessary separation.

The Wizard’s Contemplation

The Wizard sits with eastward gaze
And silently peers through the haze
And contemplates the princess there
The one that caught him unaware
So many questions does this raise.

Is he the one that she requires
To kindle in her soul a fire
To worship him as he will her?
Emotions churn and slowly stir
Perhaps she’s all that he desires

He casts once more a patience spell
To stem his need to know her well
So many questions yet unspoken
Silence only barely broken
These yearnings difficult to quell

Anon he’ll be within her sphere
Her presence soon perchance makes clear
The many mysteries she presents
The hours in her company spent
Will fly, he knows, like frightened deer

Befuddled and excited he
Ponders deep the mystery
Then cradles palm about his chin
As presently it comes to him
The answer is to wait and see!

I agree with the Missus. "You're a good guy, Scottie.! Now, explain why you call her Missus if she wants to marry you - which means you are not married yet. That would make her the "Missus in waiting." – Sandra Wise

It’s a fair point worthy of a proper response.  I wanted to pop off a short answer, but as I sat to compose it, I was struck by the complexity of the real answer.  So some history is in order.  When I came along, Tish had been a single parent to two boys for quite some time.  Without a strong masculine role model, the boys were basically out of control and operating without a clue as to what proper male behavior was.  Her authority was non-existent, and the house was in chaos.  She asked me to take the boys under my wing, realizing that something had to be done, and I agreed.

Notwithstanding the inevitable friction this caused initially, I undertook to bring order to the household.  The first thing that had to stop was the boys were not allowed to call their mother by her first name.  I insisted they call her Mom, or Mother, or Ma’am.  In order to reinforce the importance of recognizing that they were not peers with their mother, I took to addressing her as Mrs. Miller in a formal fashion to reinforce her superiority and referring to her as The Missus to the boys.  I also made it clear that she was in charge of the household and her orders were to be followed not only by the boys, but also by me as well.

This clear delineation of authority, and my uncompromising support for it soon changed the tone in the household.  By seeing my respectful treatment of their mother, and my insistence that they do the same, the boys came to appreciate their mother’s inherent authority.  It took a while, but by consistently reinforcing good and correcting inappropriate behavior, the house slowly settled into an orderly place that was a sanctuary for The Missus rather than a second battle front in her life.  Her boys came to appreciate the order in their lives. 

Now the boys are gone out into the world.  But my respect for The Missus hasn’t diminished, and her title has become second nature to me whenever I am in front of others.  So I see no inconsistency in referring to her as such when I present her to the world in my blog.  She was Mrs. Miller; she will soon be Mrs. Scott.  But she is The Missus in this household, and the boys and I are better men for it.

Scottie

As for the second cat critter, I guess I’m just getting soft in my old age.  A couple of months ago a little cat slipped into the house unnoticed when the Missus stepped out to check the mail.  Of course the resident cat was delighted with his new smaller playmate.  I discovered the intruder as the two played a rollicking game of tag throughout the house the following morning.  The new cat looked healthy, but had no collar.  Later that day, she whined to be let out and I obliged, thinking that was the last of it.  She stopped by a couple of times a week and played with our cat for a while, ate her fill from his bowl, and then returned to the great outdoors to continue her routine.  As time went on, we noticed that the little vagabond was losing weight, and dropping by more frequently.  We’ve kept an eye on the lost and found section of the newspaper, but no one seems to be looking for her.

Well, the last couple of weeks have been bitterly cold with daytime temps in the single digits.  Our prodigal houseguest showed up looking the worse for missing a few meals and obviously freezing outdoors.  When I went to get the morning paper, her plaintive cries were more than this old hardass could bear, so I let her in despite the agreement I had with the Missus that we shouldn’t let this intruder in anymore.  She was awful thin, and not likely to make it through the rest of the week in this ungodly cold weather.  So now I have two cats I never wanted.  I just ignore them for the most part, feed them in the morning with enough to get them through the day, clean the cat box, and go about my business.  I haven’t seen much of my lap buddy lately, but I expect he will return after the novelty wears off.  And the little one seems to be making tentative overtures to the Missus, which prompts gushes of maternal doting from her.  I grumble occasionally about having not one but two cats I never asked for and the Missus just kisses me on the bald spot on the top of my head and tells me, “You’re a good man, Scottie.”   Maybe that’s part of why she wants to marry me.

Scottie

Apparently, I’ve been tagged. According to my friend Celtic Dragon, I am obliged to disclose the rules here. I am required to write a blog article disclosing six things about myself that aren’t known and could be considered somewhat idiosyncratic. I am also supposed to “tag” six other people. I am going to willfully violate the rules in that respect as the exponential growth at a factor of six is just way too much to keep up with, and Celtic Dragon has taken many of my preferred targets already. However, I will tag a few of my fellow bloggers that have posted at my previous articles, and hold the rest in reserve. Live in fear!

1. I tear up when I watch Ghost and when I hear Enya singing.

2. I’m a frustrated Norm Abram wannabe. I just hope to one day have an adequate shop space. (I’m thinking 100’ X 200’ should be enough)

3. While I am a voracious reader of serious non-fiction works, South Park is my favorite brain candy.

4. I am a spreadsheet guru. If it can be done in Excel, I can do it, or I know how to find out how.

5. I love Pachebel’s Cannon in D Major, and collect various arrangements of it. My favorite is by the guitarist Jose Miguel Coo from Brazil.

6. Kids see right through me; I’m one of them. I’m always up for a little roughhousing with them, and they seem to know it instinctively. At 6’2” and 290 pounds, I don’t intimidate them at all.

So there you have it; six things about me that you probably didn’t know. Now to pass this little nugget of joy to some unsuspecting friends . . . Hmmmmmm.

Well I think I will pass this proverbial hot potato to:

Sandra Wise from Word to the Wise

And

Peppermint from Peppermints Place

And

Dawncy from Dawn's Early Light

Three other bloggers posting comments on my blog will very likely get tagged in the future.   

Scottie