Yes, I know that occasionally I take the big risk of telling my readers what has really been going on in my life. Most of my family just read posts like this to find excuses to get mad at me or offer unsolicited criticism. I write this stuff anyway because this is a personal blog and a way for me to record my experiences and feelings.
The following are not in order of priority or chronological order, just stuff that has happened recently.
My best Man from my wedding in 2003, had a heart attack about two weeks ago, and if not for someone present that was medically trained, he probably wouldn’t be on the planet any longer. He had a heart attack on Friday and a quadruple bypass about Tuesday of the following week. He is recovering. A lousy way to celebrate his birthday, but at least he lived to see another year.
One of my other good friends has a father that is approaching the end of his cancer journey, what a euphemism for saying that his dad’s expiration date is coming soon. My friend has a cascading number of difficulties from this and other things happening in his life. My brother, I love you and pray for you frequently. Call if you wanna talk.
My biological son has gone radio silent on me during the last few months. It’s nothing that I did. The woke mind virus has led him to a new religion that can’t tolerate Truth or the idea that God doesn’t make mistakes. He doesn’t answer my phone calls or text messages. His stepbrother says that he is still on the planet and walking upright. I guess Discord counts as proof of life in some circles.
My father-in-law’s girlfriend died a couple months ago. I text him a few times each week and we call about once a week. Sadly, there is little info that I can relay to him about his grandsons. He is keeping busy and adjusting to finding new things to do in life since his GF is gone. He is a likeable guy but is reluctant to yield his life to Christ.
This next one will cause people’s heads to explode. I offered yesterday to adopt a three-year-old child. Yep, really. Father is a gangbanger and mom is stuck as the sole supporter of both the husband and her child. Any money he gets reportedly goes to support his activities with friends including his use of illegal narcotics. (No word whether he likes spending her money on pepperoni pizza for his friends.) Yep, I’m leaving out lots of details but I’m offering mom and child both a new start in life. Understandably, she is reluctant to give up the child but it’s one of the few ways to deny her husband a claim on the child at any time in the future.
I have plans to use my passport later this year to see my girlfriend. Just be aware that my Facebook status is a lagging indicator of where things are in our relationship. ICE will be delivered but I need to pick up the pace in accumulating the 13 coins required to move things along. Oh, special note to Greg, it will take more than a basket of papayas to resolve the situation on this trip. I may need to trade her dad a cow. (-: Yep, there is a backstory for these comments.
A few weeks ago, I almost got put on alert for evacuation due to a nearby fire. I was having flashbacks to the Paradise fire due to the wind and smoke that was hitting my area. I had half of the suitcase packed and a mental list of stuff to load in the car on the way out of town. The combination of wind and smoke drove the visibility to under a mile. I did plan to leave room in case I needed to get someone else across the bridge and away from the fire. The evacuation zone was three miles from my house. The size and amount of ash on the ground the following day was memorable. Only one structure, a barn, was reported lost. Lots of folks were evacuated to the fairgrounds right across the river from me.
My leak in the water filtration system is back again. It’s a cheap Chinese part that is used for air draws during the self-cleaning cycle that is run each day. The leak rate is steady at one drop every six seconds. Said leak is manageable, but I have no idea if it will get worse over time. I lack funds for repair until mid-August. It’s at least a three hour round trip for the service guy to drive here and back.
I applied for an absentee ballot for the November election. Ballots will be mailed on September 18. Plenty of time to do my civic duty.
I also made some changes to my will. Yep, exciting stuff. New executor and a new beneficiary, recipient, or whatever added. What’s that line from Star Wars about, “I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.” I will look again at revisions in 2027. The Trust will probably get a huge rewrite to reflect life choices.
Also, I am enjoying the wonders of another diet. Depending on what I use as a baseline, I can claim to have lost 13 pounds thus far in July. I’m five pounds away from tying my lowest weight in the last 30 years. I plan to keep going for a few months and see where I end up.
Oh, I am retiring my wife’s cell phone next week. It requires charging every four to six hours of use. The internal app claims the battery is fine, but it is not working as it should. I’m getting my first foldable phone. I hope I like it. I also got the new watch to go with it. I really like my Garmin, but it can’t tell when I’m awake or asleep. If I watch a movie before bedtime, it counts it as sleep time. If I’m awake at night it still counts it as sleep. Texting, chatting, and any other use of the phone in the middle of the night counts as sleep time. When I wake up in the morning and check my cell phone, it counts as sleep time until I literally remove the Garmin watch from my wrist.
Lastly, Bob, the love dog, is getting older and a bit slower. We still do two walks a day. Some mornings we go outside for bonus time in the yard. I don’t have a fence around the property, so I have to keep an eye on him or he wonders off.
Anyway, that gives you an idea of my summer thus far.
Oh, one last story. A random kid (about 20 years old) dropped by the church on a Thursday afternoon a few weeks ago. Thursday night I attend a Bible Study at the church. The guy leading the study is on staff at the church. The young man attended the Bible study. Following it’s conclusion, the leader announced that the kid needed a place to stay. It was one of those times when I knew it was my turn to do something, so I stepped up. I put the kid up in a hotel room. At the time I was grumbling to God about the cost but did it anyway. The following Thursday, I learned the rest of the story.
The next week, the kid was at the Bible study with his wife and young child (about 7 months old). This is what happened as a result of me putting him in the hotel.
The Thursday night that I put him up in the hotel was literally the first night for the new managers of the hotel. As a result of me ponying up some money for one night at a hotel, the kid got a job working at the hotel. They even provided him with a place to live. Now he has his wife and son living with him. He is attending our church, and as an added bonus, the owners of the hotel are also attending our church. Wow.
When God tells you to do stuff outside of the box, go for it or miss a blessing that you can’t foresee.