WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE




if I can't spell? You knew what I meant.



Like a lot of arguments, it wasn't based on sound principles. (Or is it principals?)



When one leaves out one letter, as in the photo courtesy of Mrs. Jeron Hayes from Washington D.C. and former student of mine, she knows the importance of clarity and proofreading.

There are so many examples from advertising that they are too numerous to mention. Jay Leno used to do a good job. There are books that contain misspellings and grammatical malfunctions. Even a book, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves examines the pitfalls of language usage and abusage. Hey, maybe I just coined a word. Whether I'm the first to use it or not, I don't know, but I like it, and I've never heard it before.

Before I leave my Close Reader(s), one more abusage told to me recently by a pastor when we were playing golf. It comes from church bulletins with misinformation. Some are listed in a book, but I didn't catch the title. One example, before the favorite of mine is "Weight Watchers meeting will be held in the annex. Please enter through the double wide door."

But what I laughed most about came from an associate pastor who was trying to get the congregation to increase their giving. He stated in a blurb in the church bulletin. "Consider giving more of your money for tithes. I've upped mine. Up yours."

All that's needed is the Laugh-In's little ditty--da,da,da,da,da,da with accents on the third and sixth da.

SYNERGISTIC SYMBOLISM

Now I give up. This picture is just crazy. No way can I analyze it. Yet Faithful Reader(s) just knows I'm going to try.

Nope. You're on your own. I'm not even going to explain what I see. I'm not even going to speculate about mini Abe or the rabbit carving a ham. I'm telling you, I'm stumped.

As a grad and undergrad, I've been exposed to my share of symbolism. I stopped trying to figure out what stood for what when I though a ruler named McFlecknoe was sitting high on a throne ruling his kingdom from a seat of power.

How could I have known that the poet was talking about an ineffective, laughable king sitting on top of, well, a pile of poop he'd made? "High on a throne of his self-made he sits." I had heard all my life of self-made men. That's when I knew that I would have to wait for my instructor to tell me what I had missed.

I missed some more this week in BSF in our study of the book of Isaiah. I thought God was angered at His people, the northern kingdom of Israel (and He was) and He was going to use Assyria to discipline them. But with "His hand stretched still," I thought it meant in my ESV edition that He would show His grace (and He eventually would) by restoring the country. It seems I had misinterpreted still and He was still angered and His hand was more in a fist. I had pictured open palm, steady, not clutched.

You can never be too old (or young) to miss symbolism. I'm certain that there's going to be a ton more that I miss in Isaiah. Out of 66 chapters, we're only on Chapter 9, so there's a good chance I'll add to my misinterpretation. Hmm 66. Aren't there 66 books in the Holy Bible, too? And 66 chapters. I may be on to something.

And doesn't Isaiah backwards spell Haiasi? Well, maybe I'm looking a little too deep.

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN TIME

At least that's what a song from the '60's told us. IS THAT ALL THERE IS? was another one of that same era. Along with TIME IS ON MY SIDE. Buttressed by I CAN'T WAIT FOREVER. So what is it? If the Decade of the '60's where we had all the answers is ambivalent, then how am I supposed to know?

Chicago, the group not the city, posed perhaps the best time question, DOES ANYBODY REALLY KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS Followed by the lyric "Does anybody really care" In one of the strangest songs of the decade, in the last '60's we were even told about MACARTHUR'S PARK that WAS MELTING IN THE DARK Crazy times, you bet. When even one group took the name for themselves from time--Strawberry Alarm Clock.

So, what are my thoughts today about time? Every age is golden. Every age is perfect. Time is our most valuable resource. Yet we know how we waste it. How we look at a classroom clock and wish our lives away. How we live for the weekends. For 104 days a year while we wish 261 would pass quickly. We even mark mid-week as Hump Day.

We can't wait to finish schooling so we can get out in the real world. Then many of us reflect back to those good old days that we were in school. We want both our parents and our kids to leave us alone. They have or will. THE CAT'S IN THE CRADLE is perhaps the truest of all the 60's songs about time

So now you're enlightened and you'll go out and cherish every minute of every day. Right? Sure, we make that vow after every friend or family member passes away all too soon. But will we change? Even for one day? Because these are THE TIMES OF OUR LIVES.

It's up to us, and of course, Father Time.

WHAT'S ON MY TUBE

I don't really think there are tubes in televisions anymore. Computer chips, I'm sure, but as far as tubes, the elongated ones that the tv repairman would change and hold up for inspection. They have gone the wayside like a person trying to fix his own car. Not without a computer monitor board.

But when the show HEROES concluded last year, it marked just another void in my tv viewing. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS begins this week, but only if you have Direct TV. We don't so it's a 7-month wait for me. Another void on Friday night.

So what do we watch? Besides lots of sports which I can singularize. Except for golf's THE BIG BREAK, I'm usually on my own, though my wife gets updates and final scores and standings. She never requests them, but I feel like it's a service I provide. She on more than one occasion will hear a thunderous clapping or a yell.

THE AMAZING RACE is our favorite. SURVIVOR is good, too. UNDERCOVERS and HAWAII 5-0 are our two new favorites. GLEE, I wanted to type that in lower case, but thought I should fess up. I'm almost always a sucker for school shows, although the last season of BOSTON PUBLIC got way too liberal in its message for me.

A little surfing will almost always find me stopped on BILL O'REILLY though I haven't watched a full hour of that show. I usually stop at JEOPARDY and SMARTER THAN until I miss a question, which sometimes means not very long. HANNITY, like O'REILLY; BECK even less. Some music channel, that I can't recall(Palladia?) except for #718, but they're mostly too freaky looking for me. PBS when they're showing some DO WOP, but only for a song or two. The old BILLY GRAHAM CRUSADES, but they don't seem to be on much anymore.

And that's it.

Oh, when I'm gone, my wife likes some of the DANCING SHOWS. And I'll watch AMERICAN IDOL with her until Seacrest runs me out of the room. With Tyler and Lopez it could be good this year. Last Summer I met DIGuardo's dad in New York and talked to him for awhile. He was running for office and he gave me a card which I passed on to our oldest granddaughter who loves the show. When he found out I didn't live in New York and couldn't vote for him, well, that was the end of our talk. But if I could, I would.

When I walk or drive in our neighborhood at night, I see the lights glowing from their televisions. One conveniently placed tv turned to an old favorite 24, used to tell me if I was getting home in time for the start. But 24, like HEROES, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, DAVY CROCKETT on WALT DISNEY have left the building. And, as a result, left my tv screen dark most of the time.

at the pet store

I thought about not using any capital letters since I still can't figure out how to get bigger pictures, but I will. That EBay change was about as helpful as "Yes We Can" change we heard two years ago. I saw a tee shirt the other day that showed our Prez's picture on it with the caption "Guess, We Can't". Talk about truth in advertising.

At the Fashion Mall in Scottsdale on Friday, the lingering recession showed with few shoppers. It's been that way for some time now. And it's not just at that once popular mall. On at least three occasions in the past year, we have gone to a restaurant for a good meal only to find it had closed. Theses were places that usually had a big crowd, that sometimes required waiting. Kinda like our neighborhood. The past two years have found more houses for sale than the previous seven years we've been here totalled. It's that kind of economy still in the Far West.

So, to the point of this entry, I suggested we amble into the pet store. Just browsing, of course. My wife is slowly teaching me that you can shop or look with absolutely no intention of buying. And, no, there is no denouement: that is, we did not buy a dog.

For one thing, I couldn't afford one. One cute little guy with near perfect coloring (I would identify the breed, but I don't remember except the first word of it looked a little obscene and in Jack Paar days would have been censored) had a nifty price tag of $1,400, plus an additional $125 for carrying costs or something like that. My goodness, I thought, this dog must talk or something, but he just walked around the little glass cage that warned not to tap the glass. Are you kidding me? I couldn't get out of there fast enough, afraid I might do something that would force me to buy the dog.

But cute. One guy, also with a fancy name and fancy price tag, just looked at us with blue eyes, not begging but questioning, "Are you going to buy me?" He was cool. He was checking us out, too, to see if we would be suitable owners. Tempting, but I'm the altruistic kind of guy that wouldn't want to take the pleasure away from someone else as enamored with him as I.

We left as so many potential buyers had left before us. What with trilllion (I know there are only 2 l's, but I think for that kind of debt, maybe there just should be a third l) dollar budget, stimulus money, health care for all, well there just doesn't seem to be enough room in most people's budgets these days for necessities. Like clothes and food and dogs.

HOW WAS I HURTING ANYTHING?

You see I've blogged for awhile now. To the tune of 1,600 times, I believe. That's only counting On The QT. My other blog One Way addressed Christian topics.

Reader(s) would ask where I got my ideas. Where I got my pictures. Where I got my topic. Where I got my ideas My answer--EBay.

But for some reason last week, they changed their policy. The pictures I can get, I cannot enlarge anymore. But I'm not giving up. I'll figure it out. But for today bear with my castle picture, minuscule as it is. I really wanted to write about pet store dogs today anyhow.

There's a great castle in Germany built for Ludwig II. He only occupied it for 172 days. You see, they thought back in the mid-1800's that he was insane. Maybe because he had a cave in his castle. Not a man cave. A real cave just off the crown room which was just off the living room. One of the 16 rooms furnished in the 110 room castle.

The cave was complete with stalag and stalactites. It was so much out of place that it did seem more than unique. It seemed, well kinda crazy. But, on the other hand, you gotta hand it to a guy that can pull that off.

Next time maybe I'll write about dogs. With a bigger picture for you to enjoy. I always try to keep my reader(s) on the cutting edge.

"AND YOU'RE GOING TO LET HER DRIVE?"

An actual picture taken by a friend of ours when the younger bro strapped himself in the backseat to go for a ride with his newly licensed sister. The glazed look of fear. It's a great shot.

But should the driving age be raised to 18? Heck, no. I know, I'm usually on the side of safety and conservatism to the point that some might say I'm reactionary. But even though I recall putting 3 dings in the family car before I was 18, I still say let them drive.

For one thing their reflexes are better. Because they're well, young. They're also better at texting. Again because they're young. Older people texting takes longer, which takes their eyes off the road longer.

For another thing, they have at least a little trouble obtaining alcohol. For the most part. Though these days, if I worked at a liquor store, I'd have to resort to Hooters' way of carding everyone. I mean, I do not know how to tell the difference between some teens and some twenty or maybe even thirty somethings. Remember I qualified by saying some. When I was younger there were only two guys that looked a whole lot older. One had a moustache in Little League, and the other started shaving in grade six.

Finally, they're extremely helpful in picking up, dropping off, and running errands. What would we do without them? Plus, they don't care. They still have that simple love for driving. Remember that feeling? I have so lost it that I can't stand to drive anymore.

First of all, I know, no matter how hard, how determined I am not to complain about other drivers that it's just not gonna happen. I don't get to the point of road rage, but I do get to the point of "other drivers really tick me off almost rage". I won't bore you with the details of pitfalls I encounter. You know them all.

But, you know what? Most do not involve 16 year-olds. So give them and us good drivers a break and let them have their drivers' licenses. I might even say, drop the age limit to 14.

Whoa! Am I a radical?