Why Do They Say That?

I had to get a shot before I went on our trip to Nicaragua. For me that is the worst part of traveling. When I was a missionary in Africa I had to get shots by the bucket full and I never got used to it. There is something about a needle approaching my skin that I just can't handle. It is an over-active defense mechanism I think.

When the day came for my appointment Adam and I rode down to the Health Department. Adam had to get a different shot that would hurt a little bit more while I had to get an easy one. Had my wife been in my place I'm sure she would have been wishing she could get the more painful shot in his place. I tried that but I couldn't get past thinking it was better him than me. How pathetic.

We both survived and something on TV yesterday reminded us of what they usually say when you get a shot. People who give shots usually tell you two things. First, they let you know that you are going to feel a little prick. I suppose this is a good thing. I prefer it when people are straightforward with me so if I'm going to feel it let me know.

(There are limits however. One time I had a nurse comment on how thick the gamma globulin was and how hard it was to load the syringe. All I could think about was how much that was going to sting as it got pumped into my backside.)

The second thing they tell you makes no sense whatsoever. After telling you they are going to stick you with a needle they tell you not to tense up and to relax. Yeah, right! As if I have any control over that. Sorry but my muscles refuse to obey my mind in those situations. I try to think happy thoughts but the sting of a needle forcing it's way through tight muscle reveals my failure. The only consolation I have is that at least the needle didn't bounce. It happens.

I wonder what people think when I tell them that life brings pain, be happy all the time.

The End of a Great Season

I took two of my sons down to watch our local high school football team play in the state final. They play all the finals at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis which is just under two hours away. Unfortunately they lost a defensive struggle 7-0. Our team certainly had their chances but the other team was definitely the better team today. It was Bishop Chatard, a Catholic prep school in Indianapolis who is a regular fixture in the state finals. They made few mistakes, had decent line play on both sides of the ball and seemed to consistently picked up 3-5 yards every play on offense.

I feel bad for our team. They went into the game undefeated and we had a huge crowd there at the game. We must have outnumbered the Chatard fans 5-1. They must feel like they let down the whole community. I think most people were proud of them though. They sure should be.

After the game I took the boys to a restaurant that has tons of arcade type games. They had a blast playing games while I had fun watching people. I got a kick out of a husband and wife who were playing air hockey against each other. He was working really hard trying to score while she spent most of her time defending patiently. She won much to his chagrin.

Woke Up This Morning

High School Bands

I was talking with Adam the other day and we agreed that "Woke Up This Morning" would be the perfect name for most high school bands. I was asking about bands at his school and he said there really weren't any good ones. Apparently a lot of them don't have that much musical talent. To make matters worse they seem to despise the idea of doing covers and insist on doing their own original music. The result is a lot of really bad music with really bad lyrics, ninety percent of which begin with the phrase "Woke up this morning" or a variation there of.

Of course there are some great high school bands. My friend Dan has a son that had a good band when he was in high school. Come to think of it they did mostly covers too. And I have to give credit to the rest of them. At least they have managed to get organized, find people to play and spend a lot of time practicing.


Did I Really See That?

I went to the hospital the other day and saw something that I thought was ironic. Not far from the various hospital entrances they have designated smoking areas. I often see hospital employees and a few visitors in these areas. This trip to the hospital took me to an entrance that I don't usually use. What shocked me was that the designated smoking area was filled with surgical folks.

There they were all dressed up in their surgical scrubs. There were probably 8 or 9 of them standing around getting their nicotine fix before the next surgery. I don't know why it shocked me. I don't even think twice about most other medical people who smoke. But for some reason I thought surgical staff would be more health conscious. I have always thought that the best way to lose weight would be to work for a plastic surgeon who did liposuction everyday. Maybe I'll have to rethink that.

Cruising Into Thanksgiving

Though I enjoy Thanksgiving there is one down side to it. I have to get everything done that I usually do in a normal week with one less day. I make up for that by just letting some stuff slide. It just isn't always worth it. Thus, I blog.

My son Adam helped rake the leaves at the church on Saturday. It is always a soul searching time for me because I start the process rather angry. We don't have any trees on our property so all those leaves are blown here from someone else. As I process this I begin to feel bad because it really isn't that big of a deal. In a sense I'm getting the opportunity to serve someone without them ever knowing it. That's good for my soul. I end up thinking that God blew those leaves onto the property just to teach me a lesson.

As a thank you to Adam for the help I took him to a movie. He chose the new Bond film. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm not sure if that is good or bad. It had plenty of action and not that great of a plot. My kind of movie for when I'm trying to relax and not think too hard. It lost me a little bit when it transitioned to the ending. (Everyone knows that Bond will never fall in love and live happily ever after. The girl must die.) But other than that it was good. I like the new Bond guy.

We live next to a meat locker. Most of the time they process farm animals but at this time of year they are swamped with venison from the hunters in the area. They had a funny sign out on their building the other day. "We Are NOT Excepting Roadkill Deer." Is that great or what? I wondered if the misspelling had anything to do with their wanting to get an "EX" on their sign. I need to get a picture of it before they take it down.

We had a community thanksgiving service last night. A good crowd from our church showed up including a good number of our youth group. I was supposed to lead the sharing time (I think that was what I was supposed to do) and of course Adam had to give his two cents. I didn't mind his praise but the additional comment about needing a raise in his allowance was over the top. I guess I should be grateful that he had the courage to stand up and say something.

Well, that is all the meanderings I have for today.

Peeking Out From Under The Covers

It has been over 7 months since I've blogged here. As far as I can tell no one has even checked here except me. I check every now and then just to make sure this site hasn't been taken over by hackers who use it to spread vicious lies and rumors. Okay, so I'm a little paranoid.

Anyway, I think I may start blogging here again.