WHAT'S YOUR KRYPTONITE?

A long time ago before any of us had to grow up, wiffle ball games in anybody's back yard ruled. Every yard had its own nuances, and therefore separate rules. Playing board games whenever we felt like it, but mostly on rainy days occupied our time and built character or patience or camaraderie.

At night the game of hide and go seek. I still love it when I hear kids also use the superfluous go. Flashlight tag disturbed the people on our block, too, but not kids who never wanted to stop and go to bed right now!

Another day commenced of climbing trees--cherry, mulberry, the huge elm in our yard, or plum trees. We might get on our bikes later and ride all day. A picnic sounds good. With baloney sandwiches and pickles, cold to the touch and leaving a green stain on smashed fresh bread.

But our folks said, "Wait a minute! You've got to grow up. And stop. So get your head in the window and quit letting the bugs smack you in the face!"

BLESSED BE THE TIE

A great old hymn written by John Fawcett in 1782. The tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. Where before Our Father's throne, we pour our ardent prayers, sharing our mutual woes.

Our fears, our hopes, our aims, our comforts, our cares are the fellowship of kindred minds. And often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.

Oh, I know I butchered the lyrics, at least order-wise. Also, I left out some great clauses. But it's such a meaningful verse, that it doesn't matter if you change the order. We're told in scripture that three cords bound together as one are hard to break apart. And Christians joining together for worship, fellowship, praise, or battle are powerful.

Being bound together. Sharing. Hoping. Caring. Aiming. Offering prayers. Providing comfort. Sympathizing. And most importantly loving. Wow. We are really blessed or blest as in the original title. We are closely knit when we share in Adult Bible Fellowship, Small Group, or Bible Study. As long as God is our collective focus. I encourage you to get into the Word. It won't disappoint.

THE MEL TORME BIRD

"Hold me, Hold me, Never let me go, Just hold me," I don't know who sang that oldie. A guy named Carter comes to mind; I don't know why I thought it was Mel Torme. Wasn't he the "Velvet Fog"?

I also don't know why this picture of this bird made me think of that song. But it did.

I mean that song was about enduring. Lasting love. Since I heard it when I was in high school, it means to me enduring and lasting high school love/like. That was so important to so many back when.

Not me. Probably because the only ones I thought I could endure had a different notion about me. So I got tired of the ones who would go out with me. Kinda like Mark Twain's saying, "I wouldn't want to belong to a club or organization that would have me as a member."

I'd blog more today, but I need to get back to the internet site that makes me think of old songs. I wonder if there's a www. do wop. com?

BLACK GOLD/ TEXAS TEA

At about $3.00 a barrel, oil made the Clampetts rich back in the 60's tv series The Beverly Hillbillies. So why is oil $78.00 a barrel today and the price of gas in Scottsdale $2.65 per gallon?

Something about supply and demand. Something about green. Something about imports and exports. And, yes, something about capitalism.

Now I'm going to give a thumbnail sketch about oil prices. They're based on observing the oil patch for 30 plus years. Of course, you might get a different perspective from another, but hey, this is my blog and this is how I see it.

First, despite the cries from the oil industry back in the mid-70's, the US never developed an energy policy. Oh, there were attempts at curtailing the profits to discourage investments and calculated risks (remember the windfall profit tax spawned by Edward Kennedy, et. al.?) But that was about it. And who did that hurt the most? The people, mostly farmers, who allowed exploratory drilling on their properties. Did it hurt Big Oil? Nope.

Secondly, why do Americans think gas and oil and electricity are one of the inalienable rights? What about water prices escalating? Cable tv rates? Entertainment? Clothing? Food? Remember when Congress paid farmers for not growing crops? What about for not drilling?

Inflation hurts all. What were gas prices back in the 60's? Less than 50 cents per gallon. What were housing costs? What was the average annual income? What was minimum wage? I'd only hazard a guess on the first, but I know the average income per worker was less than $10,000 per year and the minimum wage was $.75 per hour. Had gas prices risen the same percentage, we would be paying a whole lot more for fill- ups than we are now.

How about risks? How about restrictions? How about a world economy? How about a world gone mad for oil? I told you this was only a thumbnail, and I'm afraid I'm getting into the digits now, so I'll close.

Poor choices, poor decisions, poor public relations by the oil companies themselves, and far too many regulations have resulted in a bad situation. The consumers have it good right now. (And I didn't even address the amount of taxes added to the price of gas, including hotel/motel bed taxes.) The situation will only get compounded by various other problems until alternative fuels can be discovered and utilized. But don't hold your breath.