Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes

I was watching a little kids show the other day and the kids where doing some exercise to a neat little song.  The song went "head and shoulders knees and toes, knees  and toes da da da da da da, and so on. The teacher was getting the kids to exercise and methodically touch these parts of the body in doing so.  I tried it. One thing I noticed was that touching the toes was getting to be a bit more of a challenge.  I think for many of us that I am not alone in this.  If I did reach the toes I was having a bit more problem getting back to the head than I can recall in past years.  I am turning 61 in a week or so. Kind of hard to think about, but it is the truth. The  birthday comes around election day.  (Nov 3)

So I have reported many fine things about Deb and her battle.  Today though I want to tell you a couple of things about her that has always kind of bugged me.  Sometimes, when we are riding in the car she can get a little commanding in the car control department. She does not like it when I leave the windshield wipers on when it is done raining.  She does not like it when I blame all the drivers around me for some rather dumb driving. Plus, she likes to play the radio.  I like it when it is quite. I kind of soak in the things around me.  I will say to her once in a while "I drive so much alone that when I have a hottie like you next to me in the car I prefer to revel in the thought of what people are thinking when they see me with such stunning beauty."  To this she always trots out a two syllable term, the first of which is what you all know as a male cow.

You know, the other thing that bugs me is that when we are riding, and when I go in to one of my quite times, she will interrupt and say this. "Penny for your thoughts?".  Now folks, I have always thought that how after 37 years she might think some of my thoughts were worth more than a penny.  I look for a raise. Perhaps when I turn 61 I will hear "nickle for your thoughts".  Not holding my breath, but something I have always hoped for.

I was sitting in church yesterday and the pastor had a good sermon.  Someplace in the sermon he told about the scene in the garden when they were coming to arrest Jesus. I think it was Peter who got out his sword and hacked off the ear of one of the Romans.  Jesus fixed it.   I think I have been watching too much Law and Order.  I started to wonder how you can hack off an ear without the sword doing some damage to something else.  I picture this as a descending blow that would also hit the shoulder area.  Then I thought some about what would have happened if the sword bearer got the whole head. As I thought I wondered a if Jesus could do heads.   I wondered about  if ears were in the game why not whole heads.  And it was not very long that I started to wonder if it was the whole head, if it was possible for Jesus to get it on straight.  (I think he can sometimes do good at this).  Anyway  that night I had a dream about this Roman with a real sore ear and a real sore head.  I think this is why Deb has concentrated all these years to get me to turn off the windshield wipers sooner and wants to play the radio a little more. It is just so hard for me to listen to these stories and not wonder about them on the way home.  I watched football that afternoon and with all of the violence I am kind of hoping that whole heads are in the realm.  Kind of wonder also why I like football so much.

It is interesting to me as I reflect on this that I often think we might be wise to take these and other writings from these ancient times in a figurative way more than in a literal way.  I wondered if  in that sense those stories might have an even greater meaning.  It seems to me when we might endeavor to think more about this we might reach a point of greater understanding.  Not sure all the reasons, but this is why I was thinking about head and shoulders, knees, ears and toes. Hoping the amputation thereof has the same scope on the big scale.

For now I think it might be best to pay lots of attention to the windshield wipers and let Deb keep the radio on.  Not sure all this is worth the nickle but if it gets you thinking it is worth the penny.  You can bet it on it.

Stan the Man

Rain Rain go Away

 It has been raining here lately. If I am not mistaken I kind of sense that winter is nearby.  Not sure I have met anybody that says I love these Michigan winters. I know people who are spring lovers, same for summer and fall, but never winter.  Of recent I have been listening  a little to the campaigns.  About the only way I fit in is that I think I could maybe write some of those Saturday Night Live spoofs.  So I think right now, how did I get the job I have instead of something like that. Not sure I will ever have the answer but I do find the campaigns for election range someplace between the comical and the hysterical   Wish it could be something else but I am not a big enough player is the game to change this all that much. So it is  It seems to me that recent days have been dominated somewhat by the rain.  Oh yeh, the Tigers are winning, the campaigns are winding to election day, preachers are still preaching, teachers are still teaching, but with all of this we are headed to winter in our state that is not always so good. It is what it is.


Been attending a somewhat interesting class at the church lately about the topic of heaven. It has been little while since I have thought about this all that much but some of the comments from the people in the class have been making me think a little.    On the topic of heaven, which is good to think about in the winter, I have some thoughts.  I believe at one time people kind of had thoughts about floating around for lots of years on a cloud with a harp. As time has past I think many people want to think of this more.  A few of people have found a way to make some money on the topic of heaven.  They reach and publish conclusions that we go here and there for a thousand years of so and then after Jesus comes back for the second time we go someplace else.  I suspect that the outcome will perhaps be someplace outside of what people are able to perceive.  This given, I am prone to not think about it all that much.  It will be what it will be.  One of the class members commented that it would be a place without sin.  I even thought about this.  That night I woke up and thought "there is nothing like a little sinnin once in a while".  With this thought I conclude this paragraph before I get myself in trouble.

Either way it is kind of an interesting topic.  Are you the same as me?  Do you open the paper and see the obit's and find more people around your age in these things?   Oh well maybe this is just me. In any case it does bring some reason for thought.  Have you ever had this thought?  Some things seem like they just happened yesterday and when you think more it seems like eons ago.  It seems like yesterday I was driving my bike to a little league game that I was going to play in. When I think again it seems like it happened in another century.  (Hey, come to think of it, it did.)  Enough of this.  For now,  I am just glad that some have figured our what is going to happen in heaven.  I suspect that they like the element of surprise because I think that is what they will get.

I find amazing the idea of churches.  Overall, I think they are good places.  When you think of it though the pastors of these places have the task of explaining God.  It seems to me that it is a truth that God resides in an arena  that falls beyond the mind of most of us. The attempts to lay a mind on these issues  have somewhat of a futile nature.   I have spent more than a little time trying to figure out which God I want.  Is it the one who deals the swift and mighty sword to the opposition.. Might I prefer the Ward Cleaver in the sky, who rewards His children when they are nice and reprimands them when they are naughty. Or might I prefer the something else.  I gotta tell ya that I have not figured this out.  When I do I will post it.  You can be sure.

I think it might be right to say that as long as we hang around here we are not going to have all these answers.  All I know for sure right now is that it has been raining a lot, the trees have some nice colors, the snow will be falling soon, and life around here is improving a little on the health front. A few adventures, but nothing we cannot handle.  I guess that is about all I know right now.  No definitive answers, plenty of questions, and the daily task of dealing as best I can with what faces me now.

Stan the Man