What Would Jimmy Do?

Welcome to 2019 — it may be a new year, but the news headlines seem like they may be left over from last year. The government is shut down, the majority of people think global warming and environmental issues are threatening the existence of the human race, but Washington claims it’s fake news and then of course we have to worry about all the thousands/millions of people pouring across our southern border.

Not that the President needs my help, but I think it’s my civic duty to offer up another topic to add to his tweets. We all know he doesn’t believe in climate change or global warming or anything that pertains to the health of the Earth — I think his next step should be to call out the fake news for spreading the rumor that the Earth is round. I think this topic could be a big hit at his next major rally with his evangelical christian followers.

The Bible plainly states that the Earth is square — not round. If you need proof, go read the Book of Revelation, Chapter 7, Verse 1 — it clearly states the shape of the earth: “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the Earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.” This statement makes it obvious that the Earth has four corners. A circle or sphere does not have corners. So — the President should take this and run with it. He has far more justification for proclaiming that the Earth is square than he has for most of his other claims.
He has long claimed that the press and Hollywood are in alliance with the devil. He can now point to the fact that NASA is also in alliance with the devil for pulling this round Earth sham.

I think this topic, along with border security, should keep the President occupied long enough that maybe Washington can get some real work done.
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With the new year just hours way, I’m thinking about ordering a pizza at about 11:50 and when it arrives, asking what took so long, because I ordered it last year…..
May the upcoming year bring more delight to you than last year. May we all have an incredible year.
Happy New Year 2019 to everyone.
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Oscar Wilde once said, “Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.” But as both faithful readers know,  I usually make New Year’s Resolutions because…. well, I really don’t know why — I just kind of got in the habit and do it almost every year.
And every year I remind everyone (and me) how new year resolutions aren’t very realistic.
The fact is, the only one who really has an investment in your resolutions for the new year is you. It’s in your best interest not to lie when you tell yourself that your are going to be a better you next year.

A few years ago, my only New Years resolution was to not have any resolutions so I wouldn’t disappoint myself…. still disappointed myself. Last year I shortened and simplified my resolution list and tried to make it more realistic and more achievable. I think that worked out pretty good and I had my highest success rate of keeping resolutions ever. Here’s my list for 2019 — all of which will be truly achievable. So — here we go with this years resolutions.

• I will drive by the Shepherd Wellness Center once a week.
(Since this is the only resolution from last year that I didn’t complete to my satisfaction I’m going to try it once more…)
• I will learn the difference between ‘effect’ and ‘affect’
• I will make a new friend each month
(I know I’ve tried this one before, but I think I can do it this time)
• I will make usual things unusual
• I will not run while juggling knives
(I only added this one to guarantee I will keep at least one resolution)

So that’s it for 2019 — my goals for making me a better me. Some people will continue making resolutions with very specific challenges in mind — I admire folks that undertake things while wondering how they are possibly going to do them. But again this year, my goals are doable — check back about this time next year and see how I did…
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There’s been lots of news about the Catholic Church lately. But most of it centers around Priests and their mis-conduct. One group that, as far as I know, has escaped any criticism or scandal is the Nuns.

Well, another bubble burst — I just read that two nuns who worked for decades at a Catholic school in California embezzled a “substantial” amount of money from tuitions and other school funds. At first I thought it might be for a good cause, but it turns out they used the money to pay for gambling trips to Las Vegas.

Apparently both nuns acknowledged the theft when confronted, apologized and are cooperating with an ongoing investigation. They both expressed deep remorse for their actions and asked for forgiveness and prayers.
Church officials don’t plan to press charges at this time and just want the matter resolved internally with the money repaid and the nuns disciplined by their order.
I suppose — even for nuns — it’s never too late to repent….
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It’s almost New Year’s Resolutions time again and every year at this time, I take the time to review how I did with the ones I made last year. You may remember, or you can check back to last year’s entry, that I was more realistic with my resolutions than in the past…. I only made a few that I really thought I could keep. So let’s see how I did.

• make better bad decisions in 2018
Aced this one, I believe most of my bad decisions were much better than in the past.

• I will assume full responsibility for my actions, except the ones that are someone else’s fault
Another home run. I stepped up and took responsibility for both my actions that weren’t someone else’s fault.

• I will drive by the Shepherd Fitness Center at least once a week
I have to admit I didn’t do quite as well on this one — I did drive by the fitness center, but I didn’t reach my every week goal. I did, however, think about driving past almost every week so I give myself credit for that.

So overall, I think I did pretty good — actually, better than most years. Now on to 2019 and another chance to be a better me….
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Well, here it is time for my (sometimes) annual Christmas Blog. It’s been particularly busy around our house this year, lots of it not attributable to Christmas. Nonetheless, Christmas is almost here. It’ll be fun this year because we now have four grandchildren under eight years of age.

I know in years past that I’ve talked about reindeer — especially Santa’s reindeer because they seem to have special powers, like being able to fly.
I never thought much about them lately until the other day I read an article explaining that all of Santa’s reindeer are girls — not boys. I’m not sure why, but I always assumed they were boys…. but here’s the scoop. Santa’s reindeer must all be female because male reindeer shed their antlers during the winter, while female reindeers retain theirs. Santa’s reindeer are always shown with antlers. Also — male reindeer lose nourishment and vitality during the winter months, so only the females are strong and healthy enough to pull a sleigh full of toys. So there you go — who knew?

And while we’re on the subject of reindeer — how about their names? I know the tendency these days is to come up with non-traditional names, but… Blitzer? Vixen? Who in the world would come up with names like those? I’d guessed that the reindeer must have been named by Clement C. Moore who wrote the ‘Night Before Christmas’ poem. But just about like everything today, there’s a little controversy here, too.
The ‘Night Before Christmas’ was first published anonymously in a New York newspaper on December 23, 1823. The poem was later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, but there is bit of disagreement and some people attribute the authorship to a Dutch migrant, Henry Livingston.

Anyhow, originally/traditionally there are eight reindeer — Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. These eight reindeer pulled Santa’s sleigh until 1939 when Rudolph, the mis-fit with the red nose came along. Rudolph first appeared in a coloring book by Robert L. May. Soon afterwards, the song was written (for Gene Autry.)

I suppose I shouldn’t leave this subject without mentioning Santa’s tenth reindeer, who gets almost no notice at all — Bruno the brown-nosed reindeer. Bruno gets a bum rap just because he can run just as fast as the others, but can’t stop as quickly.

Merry Christmas to everyone!!
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All of us have people come into our lives at various times. Some stick around, some move on. But some of those people not only stick around, they become a part of our lives. Winfried was one of those people.
By any measure, Winfried was a very successful, truly self-made man.

To say he got off to a rough start, would be an understatement. He was born in Germany just before World War II started — he was premature and so undersized and puny that knowledgeable people, including the doctors, recommended not going to the trouble of saving him. Everyone thought he probably wouldn’t make it and if he did, he’d never be “right.” Of course his mother wasn’t hearing any of that and since times were hard in Germany in those days and facilities were limited, with no incubators, she put him in the oven to keep him warm. I always told Winfried that his future was determined right then and there — anyone placed in an oven at birth was destined to become a baker.

Winfried came to the US when he was 22 years old, seeking a better life. He was encouraged by a distant relative that worked in the baking industry in the Washington, D.C. area. After arriving in the US, Winfried became active in the German choir in Washington. It was through the choir that Winfried met Anne. From what I’ve heard, it was love at first sight for Winfried…. for Anne, maybe not so much. But he convinced Anne to go out with him and things were looking up. He was doing very well as a baker; his reputation and talent for “fancy” baked goods enabled him to earn a number of promotions and he and Anne were becoming a couple….

But then, of all things, he was drafted! I didn’t even know that was possible — for a German citizen to be drafted into the US services — but — it turns out it was. Military service certainly wasn’t in Winfried’s long-range plans, but he convinced Anne to get engaged before he left for bootcamp — as Winfried put it, he kind of wanted to “lock her in.”
One thing you should know about Winfried — there are only about 4 or 5 people on the face of the Earth that are more prone to seasickness than he is. So naturally, he was drafted into the Navy and assigned to a ship. What followed was two years of seasickness, but even under those conditions, he excelled in his trade as a baker, rising to the chief baker on the ship. He did some truly amazing things like baking a cake for the Marine Corps birthday that was so big it had to be lifted by a crane. All this while being perpetually seasick.

After returning from the Navy, Anne and Winfried got married —he became well known as an expert baker in the Washington area and also an excellent business man, managing the Safeway baking operation for many years. He also volunteered untold hours to community service, like the German choir. How he ever found time to sleep is a mystery to me.

After retirement, the Oxforts bought a beautiful piece of property and built a beautiful house in Shepherdstown. Just because he retired didn’t mean he slowed down, however. He always jumped in to help any good cause for the community. He baked bread in his own (Anne’s?) oven to help St. Agnes pay for a new church building. He contributed all the money to the church — totaling many, many thousands of dollars.

A few years ago, Winfried made a very detailed, exact scale model of the St. Agnes Chapel — out of gingerbread. A true work of art. He then raffled it off to the kids of St. Agnes. There was no money associated with the raffle — you just had to be a kid and write your name for a chance to win the model.
He didn’t do this to impress anyone, or to make any money. It was just another act of kindness by one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.
We will miss his humor, skill, professionalism, and courage. The world will be an appreciably worse place without him….
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When I was working, we had a procedure called “need to know.” This meant that if the information in question wasn’t necessary for you to do your job, you didn’t “need to know” the information. Over the years, I’ve used the term often when someone would ask about something that was none of their business. Of course, I’ve also used it when I didn’t know the answer to the question being asked.
Anyhow, I’ve used and abused the phrase over the years and just this past week I used it again… this time I probably could have provided the information, but just decided it wasn’t appropriate for me to give it out.
Well, all that said, it reminded me of an old joke — I actually told it to a friend when he seemed to be a little annoyed that I was withholding something from him. After he heard the story, he seemed satisfied — or at least he smiled.

A man’s car broke down as he was driving past a beautiful old monastery. He walked up the drive and knocked on the front door of the monastery. A monk answered, listened to the man’s story and graciously invited him to spend the night.
The monks fed the man and led him to a tiny chamber in which to sleep. The man thanked the monks and slept serenely until he was awakened by a strange yet beautiful sound. The next morning, as the monks repaired his car, he asked about the sound that woke him.
The monks said, “We’re sorry. We can’t tell you about the sound. You’re not a monk.” The man was disappointed, but eager to be gone, so he thanked the monks for their kindness and went on his way.
During quiet moments afterward, the man pondered the source of the alluring sound. Several years later, the man was driving in the same area. He stopped at the monastery on a whim and asked admittance. He explained to the monks that he had so enjoyed his previous stay, he wondered if he might be permitted to spend another night under their peaceful roof. The monks agreed and the man stayed. Late that night, he heard the sound again.
The next morning, he begged the monks to explain the sound. The monks said, ”We’re sorry. We can’t tell you about the sound. You’re not a monk.”
By now, the man’s curiosity had turned to obsession. He decided to give up everything and become a monk if that was the only way to learn about the sound. He informed the monks of his decision and began the long and arduous task of becoming a monk.
Seventeen years later, the man was finally established as a true member of the order. When the celebration ended, he humbly went to the leader of the order and asked to be told the source of the sound. Silently, the old monk led the new monk to a huge wooden door. He opened the door with a golden key. That door swung open to reveal a second door of silver, then a third of gold and so on until they had passed through twelve doors, each more magnificent than the last.
The new monk’s face was awash with tears of joy as he finally beheld the wondrous source of the mysterious sound he had heard so many years before.

But, I can’t tell you what it was. You’re not a monk.
See? There are some things that you just can’t know….
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Talk about amazing facts….Today, two people had a birthday. But wait — those two people were not only born on the same day, they were born in the same city and  in the same hospital and… hold on to your hat!! They have the same mother.

Happy first birthday to Rory and Ellie!!
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Locke recently had a birthday and he received a pair of “cowboy boots” from his Auntie Dana. I put cowboy boots in quotes because that’s the only thing they’re called in Texas and Oklahoma. I’ve heard them referred to as western boots and various other names. But in Oklahoma and Texas, they’re cowboy boots.

Anyhow, Dana has been visiting this week and when we went to see Locke and his family. His dad asked him if he wanted to wear his cowboy boots since Dana was coming to visit.
Locke’s response was, NO!!… I don’t like the Cowboys! I like the Redskins!

These are now referred to as boots on Cromwell Drive….
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