POST DEFLATE GATE HEARING HODGEPODGE!

     Yesterday, Tom Brady had his hearing before the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about whether or not he participated in the tampering of air pressure in footballs that were used in games, particularly last season's AFC Championship which the New England Patriots won in a blowout. 
     Today, however, is Wednesday which means it is time for the weekly hodgepodge of questions that we all take great pleasure in thinking about and answering for all to see. Thank you for stopping by for a visit. I hope you enjoy this edition of the Hodgepodge. 
     Also, thank you to Joyce Daley, our Hodgepodge Mistress, who cranks out these questions every week.  

1. June 23rd is National Pink Day. What's your favorite something pink?

     My favorite pink is Cotton Candy. 

2. What did you enjoy most about gym class when you were in school? How about the least?

     I was not a huge fan of gym class. I pushed my way through it all the same. The worse part of gym class for me was running laps. I am not a runner! I never have been, I never will be a runner!

3. What memory is brought to mind by the smell of roses?

     Funerals! I hate going to funerals! I do it to honor the dearly departed and their family members...but I truly dislike going to funerals.

4. Do you prefer to read or write?

     It really depends upon whether I have something to say. I enjoy doing both but for me the scale tips in favor of reading.

5. Sam Keen is quoted as saying, 'Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.' Would you agree? Is laziness ever respectable? How will you be lazy this summer?

     Speaking as a lazy person I do think that there are times when being lazy is respectable. Vacations come to mind as a respectable time to be lazy. Another time would be when convalescing from a medical procedure or another type of illness, being lazy is respectable.

6. The Florida Keys, Disney World, or a resort somewhere on the Gulf Coast...which Florida destination would you choose (and why) if the trip were today?

     I would prefer the resort on the Gulf Coast. I'm not a fan of huge crowds and/or standing in long lines in oppressive heat to see an attraction or to get on a ride.

7. What question do you hate to answer?

     It really depends on who is asking the question and their relationship to me. I generally decline to answer questions that the person asking has no business asking. Here is what I mean...SWMBO can ask me pretty much anything she wants. A person who I just met may not delve into personal subjects. They may inquire about my beliefs, opinions, personal history, experiences, hobbies, etc, within certain limits. I reserve the right to refuse to answer ANY questions for ANY reason.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

     My heart is breaking! Charleston, South Carolina...need I say more! If we have gotten to the point where we must go to a Bible Study or a worship service armed, we are done as a society! May God have mercy on the family of the victims of evil that just played out.

PRE-FATHER'S DAY HODGEPODGE

     Welcome back Wednesday Hodgepodge. Our friend and host Joyce is in the process of relocating to another state. A reading of her recent blogs might lead one to believe she is moving to the state of confusion...but I digress. Father's Day is this Sunday. Today is Wednesday, hence another edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you Joyce and good luck with the relocation! Enjoy this week's Hodgepodge!

1. June is National Great Outdoors Month. Have you spent any time appreciating the great outdoors this month? If so where, and if not do you have any plans to enjoy the great outdoors before the calendar turns?

     Living in New Hampshire, I always have an opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. I essentially live in the great outdoors. I love the Granite State! We have wonderful lakes, terrific mountains, wonderful seashore. All of these places have beautiful hiking trails. (Okay smartass, and you know who your are, I meant hiking trails along the lake shores!) I love the great outdoors! 

2. What's a current hot button issue for you?

     My current hot button issue are people who expect us to go along with their self deception. Case #1 - Caitlyn (A.K.A. Bruce) Jenner. I don't care how many operations he gets, he will never be a she. He was born male and post surgery he will still be male, only with manufactured female anatomy. 
     Case #2 -  Rachel Dolezal, the former director of the NAACP in Seattle, WA. She was born caucasian to caucasian parents. However, she self identifies as black. She apparently decided at some point in her life that she was black. She even came up with a false narrative about her father having to leave the southern United States because he had a physical altercation with an over zealous white police officer. Her false narrative also included memories of child abuse, being whipped with a baboon whip by her father.
     It seems to me that these cases are like "The Emperor's New Clothes." Only those people who are really cool could see the new clothes. In our cases only really cool people go along with the delusion. I REFUSE TO BE COOL! THE EMPEROR IS NAKED!

3. What's a food or treat that 'disappears like hotcakes' in your house?

     That's easy...Cream Horns. Those flaky pastry horns filled with sweet vanilla cream. They never last long around here! My beloved SWMBO and I just love them. It's one of our guilty pleasures!

4. How hot is too hot?

    Temperature-wise anything above 78 degree's farenheit with 65% and up humidity. If you're talking salsa or other spicy foods, anything above "medium" hotness is too hot. If you're talking super models, there is no such thing as a too hot super model! 

5. Do you have an artistic outlook on life? What does that mean to you?

     I'm not sure I know what you mean. My outlook on life is formed, in large part, by my understanding of the Bible. I play music, I write, I listen to all kinds of music. I love a well acted movie, or a play, or a well crafted song or a well crafted sermon or speech. Like I said, I'm not sure I now what you mean by the question.

6. What's one question you'd like to ask your father, or one you wish you could ask your father?

     I would like to talk to him about his experiences during World War II. He was in North Africa and he participated in the D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy. Other than an amusing anecdote from time to time he never spoke with any degree of specificity of his experiences during the war.

7. Something you learned from your father?

     I learned how to play Chess from Dad. I did not become a man until the day that I finally beat him. I knew when he was about to lower the boom on me because he would say after I made a move "That's a really good move in case you don't know it." Invariably, within five or six moves after hearing him say that, I heard the word "Checkmate!"

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

     I have come to know way more about cancer than I ever wanted to. As many of you know, my beloved SWMBO is thankfully currently in remission. She has Multiple Myeloma, the same type of cancer that NBC Newsman Tom Brokaw has. 
     Recently, a dear friend was diagnosed with Leukemia and is currently undergoing chemo treatments in the hospital. He's expected to be there for a period of a month to six weeks. 
     In my life I have had family members and friends who battled valiantly and were either cured or put into remission. I have also had family members and friends who battled just as valiantly if not more and lost their battle.
     I hate cancer! I hate the impact this awful disease, in all it's forms, has not only on the patient but on their family and friends. It's like a hand grenade going off in their life scattering shrapnel everywhere cutting into everyone who is nearby.
     I hate cancer! Thank you for attending my self-pity party!

PROFANING MARRIAGE PART DEUX!

     Yesterday I made some fairly strong comments about the profaning of marriage in our contemporary society. It became apparent from some of the comments I received that I ought to elaborate on a few points.
     I do not hate anybody! I do have many disagreements with the views and opinions of others, but I do not think less of them solely because their opinion differs from mine. I have sarcastically and jocularly observed that we live in a free country and people who disagree with me have the unalienable right to be wrong. I say this out of good natured ribbing and not out of any arrogance on my part.
     I opined yesterday that the joining of two same sex people is not a marriage. My intention was not to offend anyone! I understand that my opinion may offend some people nonetheless, regardless of my intentions. The fact is that marriage has always been and will always be the covenantal union of a man and a woman...period! 
     Some states have passed laws extending the same privileges and legal benefits afforded heterosexual couples to same sex couples. Whether I agree of disagree with their action, those states are well within their legal rights to enact such laws, notwithstanding the moral implications of such laws. A state law calling the union of same sex couples a marriage, however, does not make such a union a marriage. A state enacting a law calling a skunk a rose would not cause the skunk to smell like a rose, much less be a rose. 
    I also made some general comments about divorce that were upon reflection insensitive. Marriage is intended to be a lifelong commitment. However, there are some exceptions. For example, if one of the spouses commits adultery, the other spouse is free to divorce the offending spouse. 
     Also, it is entirely proper, if not necessary, for a spouse who is in an abusive relationship to separate from the abusive spouse. Depending on the circumstances, divorce may or may not be appropriate.
     I sincerely apologize for any offense or hurt that I may have caused by my comments. I have fairly strong opinions on some issues but it is NEVER my intention to cause offense when I exercise my right to express them. 
    Whether you agree or disagree, I appreciate your comments.    

THE PROFANING OF MARRIAGE!

     There is a lot of talk in contemporary society about marriage. There are so called reality shows related to the subject of marriage. Also there is the ease of divorce. In my view, these discussions and reality shows and divorce have gone a long way towards taking something that is sacred, pure and beautiful and has greatly profaned it. 
     The talk in society seems to mostly revolve around the subject of "marriage equality," also known as "gay marriage." At the risk of being politically incorrect to the extreme, the fact of the matter is that marriage is the invention of God. Therefore He gets to say what is and what isn't a marriage. From it's inception marriage has been the joining in covenant of two separate unrelated people who become one related people, or family if you prefer, until they are parted by death. Marriage is intended to be a life long commitment! 
     Adoption is an example of another similar type of a covenant joining of unrelated people to become related. When a child is adopted into a family they have all the rights and privileges as the children who were born into that family. 
     God has defined marriage as being the joining of a man and a woman who have left their respective families to form a new entity, that is a new family. The man and the woman are still related to their respective families but they are a new entity unto themselves before God. Ever since societies have formed, marriage has been between a man and a woman. Any other joining of human beings, a man to another man or a woman to another woman, is NOT a marriage. To call such a union a marriage profanes what true marriage, as defined by the inventor of marriage, is. Next, reality television.
     I made the mistake of watching an episode of The Bachelor and it's related show The Bachelorette. The purpose of these shows apparently is for a group of single men or women to compete for the affections of one man or women. depending on which show you happen to be watching. The season ends in a marriage proposal. 
     In my humble opinion, it takes significantly more time than ten weeks or so to get to know someone well enough to be able to commit to them for life. The track record of successful marriages of these shows is not good. Either the marriage didn't happen to if it did, it ended in divorce within a relatively short time. 
     Another show that makes my point is "Married at First Sight." Six people agree to participate in an experiment. A sexologist, a spiritualist, a psychologist and a sociologist use "scientific matchmaking methods" to determine each couple who will not have met or had contact with each other until the wedding day. The couple is followed through the first weeks of their marriage and will have to decide after several weeks whether to stay married or get divorced.  'Nuff said!
     Last but not least Divorce has been a serious cause of many of our society's ills. God hates divorce and upon a brief survey of the wreckage that lies in the wake of many divorces it becomes clear why. It does not matter how amicable the divorce may be, any children will be adversely affected, most likely for life. This applies to adult children as well. Divorce is bad!
     I have been married for just about 43 years. My beloved SWMBO has chosen to stick it out with me for reasons that escape me. I am profoundly thankful and glad that she has made that choice. Through those years I have learned that marriage is sometimes difficult, but you must choose to stick it out. Loving someone is a choice, not a warm fuzzy emotion. Choosing to divorce, it seems to me, stems from selfishness and a sense of entitlement. Marriage is NOT a 50/50 proposition. It is an "ALL IN" partnership. You choose to love your spouse. It is not dependent upon how you feel it depends in large part upon what you do.   Think about it!
       

DROUGHT MITTIGATION HODGEPODGE!

1. What's something you're looking forward to in the month of June?
     I am looking forward to attending the 2015 Laconia Motor Cycle Rally on the week of Father's Day. I don't ride a motorcycle myself. In fact, you could not get me on a motorcycle at gunpoint. I am fascinated with the biker culture, both outlaw and law abiding as well. I worked the event as a cop and I try to go up every year to get a Rally Pin and an Italian Sausage loaded with green peppers and onions...and maybe a soft serve ice-cream. Some of the motorcycles have exquisitely creative and colorful  paint jobs. It really is a nice day.

2. In what way have you come full circle?
     I don't know...maybe when I completed my 61st orbit around the Sun back in April.

3. Lonely Planet lists 10 spots in America you should see in 2015 and the reasons why. How many on the list have you seen? Which one on the list would you most like to see?

Queens NY, Western South Dakota, New Orleans, Colorado River Region, North Conway NH, Indianapolis IN, Greenville SC, Oakland CA, Duluth MN, and the Mount Shasta Region CA
     I have been to North Conway, NH, many times. That should come as no surprise considering that I live in New Hampshire. I think the place I would most like to visit is western South Dakota. New Orleans, LA, is a close second.

4. A song that describes your mood right now?
     "A Man I'll Never Be" by BOSTON

5. Strawberry ice cream, strawberry short cake, strawberry pie, or strawberries right off the vine...your favorite?
     I can choose only one? Strawberry Short Cake please!

6. Aesop's birthday is celebrated on June 4th, although there is some disagreement as to whether or not that's accurate, or if he was even a real person. Regardless, the name Aesop is associated to this day with many well known fables. Which of the following best applies to something in your life right now? The Tortoise and the Hare (Slow and Steady wins the race), The Ant and the Grasshopper (Be prepared), The Fox and the Goat (Look before you leap) or The Crow and the Pitcher (Necessity is the mother of invention)?
     The Tortoise and the Hare. Slow and steady does win the race. I tend to be very deliberate, tortoise like, in things of importance. I'm the hare in things of little significance, like deciding what to order off a menu in restaurant.

7. The answer is yes...what's the question?
     Do I have the most remarkable and devoted wife to have ever drawn breath?

8. Insert your own random thought here.
     Have you ever read the Declaration of Independence? In that founding document our founding fathers listed a number of grievances the King George III perpetrated against the colonists in America. In effect King George was treating his subjects in America more oppressively than his subjects in the British Isles. We fought a war to press our case and thereby gained our independence from Great Britain.
     If you were to compare what the United States government is doing to United States citizens, you might come away with the view that King George on balance wasn't so bad.
     I am not advocating revolution. I am advocating that "We the People" bring our government back under control, back into conformity with that other founding document, the U.S. Constitution.  Think about it!